Paul Colt's Blog, page 42
August 19, 2017
Snow Blind Luck
Fremont reached Pueblo in mid-November and sought to hire a guide. Seasoned mountain men one after another sought to dissuade him from his plan. Fremont remained adamant. He finally found a grizzled guide who agreed to the enterprise. He recommended a southerly route with more moderate weather conditions. Fremont refused.
High in the San Juan Mountains in mid-December, winter struck with a vengeance. Ten feet of wind-driven snow blanketed the trails and passes. Fremont’s party became stranded. After suffering the elements for ten days, Fremont dispatched four men to return to New Mexico for help. Two weeks later with no relief and his men weakened by frost bite and exposure, Fremont determined to go for help himself, effectively abandoning his men to fend for themselves.
Fremont reached Taos the end of January, frost bitten and snow blind, starved half to death. Ten of his men died in the snow. While recovering he wrote his wife Jessie describing his mission as successfully accomplished. Mountain winter posed no obstacle to a central routing for a transcontinental railroad. Undoubtedly the news was exactly what his father-in-law wanted to hear; but the mere saying of it under the circumstances speaks volumes as to Fremont’s reckless foolishness. Abandoning his men to die in the snow is a statement of flawed character.
Recovered, Fremont continued his journey to California by warm southern route. Once there, he retained an agent to purchase a small tract of land near San Francisco. By miscommunication the agent purchased a seventy square mile tract of wilderness in the Sierra foothills. Fremont was furious. Before he could mount a legal challenge to recover his money, gold was discovered on his erstwhile land holdings, making him one of the richest men in California.
Fremont entered politics and was elected to represent California in the Senate. He lost his bid for reelection in 1850. Once again landing on his feet, the fledgling Republican Party nominated him for president in 1856. His campaign was unsuccessful. Fremont being
Fremont, he bungled a general officer’s command during the civil war nearly forfeiting the war in the west. Bad business decisions bankrupt his California holdings. He died in obscurity in 1890, long lost from his glory days of national fame.
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Ride easy,
Paul
High in the San Juan Mountains in mid-December, winter struck with a vengeance. Ten feet of wind-driven snow blanketed the trails and passes. Fremont’s party became stranded. After suffering the elements for ten days, Fremont dispatched four men to return to New Mexico for help. Two weeks later with no relief and his men weakened by frost bite and exposure, Fremont determined to go for help himself, effectively abandoning his men to fend for themselves.
Fremont reached Taos the end of January, frost bitten and snow blind, starved half to death. Ten of his men died in the snow. While recovering he wrote his wife Jessie describing his mission as successfully accomplished. Mountain winter posed no obstacle to a central routing for a transcontinental railroad. Undoubtedly the news was exactly what his father-in-law wanted to hear; but the mere saying of it under the circumstances speaks volumes as to Fremont’s reckless foolishness. Abandoning his men to die in the snow is a statement of flawed character.
Recovered, Fremont continued his journey to California by warm southern route. Once there, he retained an agent to purchase a small tract of land near San Francisco. By miscommunication the agent purchased a seventy square mile tract of wilderness in the Sierra foothills. Fremont was furious. Before he could mount a legal challenge to recover his money, gold was discovered on his erstwhile land holdings, making him one of the richest men in California.
Fremont entered politics and was elected to represent California in the Senate. He lost his bid for reelection in 1850. Once again landing on his feet, the fledgling Republican Party nominated him for president in 1856. His campaign was unsuccessful. Fremont being
Fremont, he bungled a general officer’s command during the civil war nearly forfeiting the war in the west. Bad business decisions bankrupt his California holdings. He died in obscurity in 1890, long lost from his glory days of national fame.
RETURN TO FACEBOOK TO COMMENT
Ride easy,
Paul
August 12, 2017
Mexican War
President Polk, himself a Manifest Destiny adherent, determined to purchase New Mexico (including Arizona) and California. He sent General Zachery Taylor and an army into Texas along the Rio Grande border region to improve his negotiating position. That territory being in dispute, Mexican officials ordered Taylor to withdraw. When he refused. The Mexicans attacked. On hearing the news, Polk requested and received a congressional declaration of war.
None of this was known to Fremont. He was visited at his camp in Oregon by a Marine Lieutenant, dispatched the previous fall from Washington with special instructions for the American consulate in Monterey. The nature of his communication with Fremont is unknown. Shortly after receiving it however, Fremont marched south into northern California. There he witnessed outbreak of the Bear Flag rebellion by American settlers.
Before long, Fremont assumed a leadership role in the rebellion, organizing his men and the rebels to form the California Battalion. He quickly subdued weak Mexican resistance and planted the American flag in northern California. About this time he learned the United States was at war with Mexico. The California Battalion then marched south, arriving in Los Angeles shortly after it had fallen to U.S. troops under the command of General Stephen Kearny, supported by navel-forces under the command of Commodore Robert Stockton. Stockton promptly took it upon himself to appoint Fremont governor of California.
Kearny didn’t think much of Fremont. He lacked substance and military discipline. He thought even less of the junior officer’s power grab at the California governorship. He ordered Fremont to disband the California Battalion. Fremont dithered for a time and eventually refused. Whereupon Kearny had him arrested, charged with insubordination and returned to Washington to stand court-marital.
Fremont defended his actions in California. He was found guilty and sentenced to a dishonorable discharge. President Polk, likely with the encouragement of some of Fremont’s influential friends offered to commute the sentence. Fremont declined and resigned. This brought Fremont’s military explorations to a close. It did not much affect his personal celebrity, allowing him to reinvent himself and continue his explorations.
Next week: Snow Blind Luck
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Ride easy,
Paul
None of this was known to Fremont. He was visited at his camp in Oregon by a Marine Lieutenant, dispatched the previous fall from Washington with special instructions for the American consulate in Monterey. The nature of his communication with Fremont is unknown. Shortly after receiving it however, Fremont marched south into northern California. There he witnessed outbreak of the Bear Flag rebellion by American settlers.
Before long, Fremont assumed a leadership role in the rebellion, organizing his men and the rebels to form the California Battalion. He quickly subdued weak Mexican resistance and planted the American flag in northern California. About this time he learned the United States was at war with Mexico. The California Battalion then marched south, arriving in Los Angeles shortly after it had fallen to U.S. troops under the command of General Stephen Kearny, supported by navel-forces under the command of Commodore Robert Stockton. Stockton promptly took it upon himself to appoint Fremont governor of California.
Kearny didn’t think much of Fremont. He lacked substance and military discipline. He thought even less of the junior officer’s power grab at the California governorship. He ordered Fremont to disband the California Battalion. Fremont dithered for a time and eventually refused. Whereupon Kearny had him arrested, charged with insubordination and returned to Washington to stand court-marital.
Fremont defended his actions in California. He was found guilty and sentenced to a dishonorable discharge. President Polk, likely with the encouragement of some of Fremont’s influential friends offered to commute the sentence. Fremont declined and resigned. This brought Fremont’s military explorations to a close. It did not much affect his personal celebrity, allowing him to reinvent himself and continue his explorations.
Next week: Snow Blind Luck
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Ride easy,
Paul
August 5, 2017
Following Fremont's Footsteps
Following in Fremont’s footsteps came at one’s own peril. His second report extolled the splendor of Utah with its great salt lake, which Fremont mischaracterized as fresh water. His report influenced the subsequent Mormon migration and settlement. Struggling with desert and drought it is little wonder Brigham Young and his followers came to regard Fremont with contempt for his lack judgement and truthfulness. It is doubtful Fremont intended to deceive; but his penchant for rose colored viewing undoubtedly tainted his report.
His third expedition departed in 1845 intent on exploring the Great Basin and routes through the Sierras to California. Guided by Joe Walker and Kit Carson, Fremont’s party of sixty trekked west to Bent’s Fort. From there they followed Arkansas River, crossed the Continental Divide to western Colorado into Utah. There they turned south across the Great Basin where surveys were taken. They continued west across the desert to the Sierra.
On the east slopes of the Sierra the party divided. Joe Walker led the main body south to Walker Pass and across to the San Joaquin Valley. Fremont with Carson and fourteen men opted for a shorter more adventuresome pass through the mountains. Here Fremont would blaze another trail, footprints that would yet again be followed. Though the season was late, they managed the crossing just ahead of the first heavy snows. One wonders what influence Fremont’s passing might have had a year later on the Donner Party’s decision to attempt a similar crossing. The pass isn’t named for Fremont, but then he didn’t parish in the snow.
Fremont rejoined Walker and the main body near San Jose in February 1846. By this time Fremont’s travels had come to irritate Mexico. Americans were settling California. Mexico had seen this before in Texas. Faced with a band of sixty well-armed men under the command of a U.S. Army officer, provincial officials ordered Fremont to leave California. Fremont responded as you might expect. He seized a nearby mountain peak, fortified it, planted an American flag and dared Mexican authorities to challenge him. When the Mexicans prepared to oblige, Fremont quietly slipped away to the north.
Next Week: Mexican War
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Ride easy,
Paul
His third expedition departed in 1845 intent on exploring the Great Basin and routes through the Sierras to California. Guided by Joe Walker and Kit Carson, Fremont’s party of sixty trekked west to Bent’s Fort. From there they followed Arkansas River, crossed the Continental Divide to western Colorado into Utah. There they turned south across the Great Basin where surveys were taken. They continued west across the desert to the Sierra.
On the east slopes of the Sierra the party divided. Joe Walker led the main body south to Walker Pass and across to the San Joaquin Valley. Fremont with Carson and fourteen men opted for a shorter more adventuresome pass through the mountains. Here Fremont would blaze another trail, footprints that would yet again be followed. Though the season was late, they managed the crossing just ahead of the first heavy snows. One wonders what influence Fremont’s passing might have had a year later on the Donner Party’s decision to attempt a similar crossing. The pass isn’t named for Fremont, but then he didn’t parish in the snow.
Fremont rejoined Walker and the main body near San Jose in February 1846. By this time Fremont’s travels had come to irritate Mexico. Americans were settling California. Mexico had seen this before in Texas. Faced with a band of sixty well-armed men under the command of a U.S. Army officer, provincial officials ordered Fremont to leave California. Fremont responded as you might expect. He seized a nearby mountain peak, fortified it, planted an American flag and dared Mexican authorities to challenge him. When the Mexicans prepared to oblige, Fremont quietly slipped away to the north.
Next Week: Mexican War
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Ride easy,
Paul
July 29, 2017
Oregon Territory
Fremont organized his second expedition in St. Louis in the spring of 1844. As part of provisioning and equipping his outfit he procured a carriage mounted howitzer, twelve pounder. When his superiors got wind of the cannon they became alarmed. Parts of the territories Fremont was to explore were claimed by England and Mexico. The presence of a heavily armed military expedition they feared might provoke an international incident if not war. They dispatched a letter, ordering Fremont to leave the cannon behind; or return to Washington to explain his need for it. The latter would have effectively called off the expedition for a year. The fate of the letter is a matter of some dispute. It may never have reached Fremont; or if it did he may have chosen to ignore it. It wouldn’t be the first time Fremont treated his orders casually, nor would it be the last. In any case he and his party abruptly decamped for the west, cannon in tow.
Fremont claimed cannon was intended to frighten hostile Indians. Preuss the cartographer, no fan of Fremont believed the cannon suited Fremont’s self-styled image of the great adventurer. The only devastating purpose the big gun served was to hunt buffalo.
The Oregon passage and exploration proceeded according to plan. Once complete by reaching Fort Vancouver in early November, Fremont being Fremont elected to turn south toward California, territory owned by Mexico. Invading Mexico violated his orders. It also resulted in him leading his expedition in to high Sierras in the dead of winter. A decision fairly nearly resulting in the death of his party. Were it not for the resourcefulness of Kit Carson and the good fortune of a relatively mild winter that year the expedition might well have ended in disaster. Why you might ask would Fremont do such a thing? Why it made a wonderful story.
Having escaped the peril of mountain winter, they would next encounter hostile Indian trouble in Utah. Once again, Fremont’s luck would hold by a chance encounter with mountain man Joe Walker who managed to guide them to Bent’s Fort in southeastern Colorado. From there Fremont found his way back to Washington, arriving in August 1845.
Next Week: Following in Fremont’s Footsteps
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Ride easy,
Paul
Fremont claimed cannon was intended to frighten hostile Indians. Preuss the cartographer, no fan of Fremont believed the cannon suited Fremont’s self-styled image of the great adventurer. The only devastating purpose the big gun served was to hunt buffalo.
The Oregon passage and exploration proceeded according to plan. Once complete by reaching Fort Vancouver in early November, Fremont being Fremont elected to turn south toward California, territory owned by Mexico. Invading Mexico violated his orders. It also resulted in him leading his expedition in to high Sierras in the dead of winter. A decision fairly nearly resulting in the death of his party. Were it not for the resourcefulness of Kit Carson and the good fortune of a relatively mild winter that year the expedition might well have ended in disaster. Why you might ask would Fremont do such a thing? Why it made a wonderful story.
Having escaped the peril of mountain winter, they would next encounter hostile Indian trouble in Utah. Once again, Fremont’s luck would hold by a chance encounter with mountain man Joe Walker who managed to guide them to Bent’s Fort in southeastern Colorado. From there Fremont found his way back to Washington, arriving in August 1845.
Next Week: Following in Fremont’s Footsteps
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Ride easy,
Paul
July 22, 2017
Exploration
Fremont had his orders. Cross the Missouri River in Kansas and proceed west to the Rocky Mountains. He was to record observations and map the territory with special attention to South Pass as the most practical way west through that region. Unofficially he would paint Senator Benton’s vision of the west in vivid colors so as to appeal to prospective eastern settlers.
For all his flair and style Fremont lacked substance. He would need help to fulfill the letter of his orders. In what turned out to be the young man’s best career move, he hired mountain man Kit Carson for a guide. Carson and Fremont made a strong partnership of their complimentary talents. Carson, level headed and experienced, balanced Fremont’s penchant for the flamboyant. Fremont in turn lionized Carson as a heroic frontiersman.
While Fremont was nominally a cartographer, he was not suited to the exacting detail of the science. For that he hired German cartographer Charles Preuss. Fremont thought Preuss a fine fellow and admired his work. The German thought Fremont shallow and unpredictable. The partnership worked only because Preuss kept his opinions to himself.
The first expedition reached South Pass mid-summer 1842. The pass disappointed Fremont’s sense of adventure for the gentle passage it provided through otherwise rugged terrain. He found greater excitement in mountainous challenges. He selected a peak in the Wind River Range he declared the highest in the Rockies, which it was not, and directed it should be climbed. The peak was eventually scaled to Fremont-style celebratory planting of a flag, cheers, pistol shots and a brandy toast.
The expedition returned to Washington in late fall. The return trip was marred by an unnecessarily risky river passage in which two rafts were lost along with valuable notations and charts gathered in the course of the exploration. Fremont, with his wife’s help, immediately set to work drafting his report in the most glowing of terms. It included enticement and encouragement to the would-be settler along with practical advice on preparation.
Next Week: Oregon Territory
RETURN TO FACEBOOK TO COMMENT
Ride easy,
Paul
For all his flair and style Fremont lacked substance. He would need help to fulfill the letter of his orders. In what turned out to be the young man’s best career move, he hired mountain man Kit Carson for a guide. Carson and Fremont made a strong partnership of their complimentary talents. Carson, level headed and experienced, balanced Fremont’s penchant for the flamboyant. Fremont in turn lionized Carson as a heroic frontiersman.
While Fremont was nominally a cartographer, he was not suited to the exacting detail of the science. For that he hired German cartographer Charles Preuss. Fremont thought Preuss a fine fellow and admired his work. The German thought Fremont shallow and unpredictable. The partnership worked only because Preuss kept his opinions to himself.
The first expedition reached South Pass mid-summer 1842. The pass disappointed Fremont’s sense of adventure for the gentle passage it provided through otherwise rugged terrain. He found greater excitement in mountainous challenges. He selected a peak in the Wind River Range he declared the highest in the Rockies, which it was not, and directed it should be climbed. The peak was eventually scaled to Fremont-style celebratory planting of a flag, cheers, pistol shots and a brandy toast.
The expedition returned to Washington in late fall. The return trip was marred by an unnecessarily risky river passage in which two rafts were lost along with valuable notations and charts gathered in the course of the exploration. Fremont, with his wife’s help, immediately set to work drafting his report in the most glowing of terms. It included enticement and encouragement to the would-be settler along with practical advice on preparation.
Next Week: Oregon Territory
RETURN TO FACEBOOK TO COMMENT
Ride easy,
Paul
July 15, 2017
Map the West
Thomas Hart Benton was a powerful senator from Missouri with an ego as big as his vision of a continental nation. Self-righteous and singular of purpose Benton possessed a violent temper. His gift of oratory singled him out for a mover and shaker in congress; but his vision of a continental United States was just that, a vision. Realizing that vision would take settlement. Settlement in the vast wilds west of the Mississippi. The west would have to be explored, mapped and then sold to settlement. But How?
The unlikely answer to that question came as a shot from Cupid’s little bow. Benton’s fifteen year old daughter Jessie fell in love with a charming dandy on the Washington social scene, one John C. Fremont. A man of dubious lineage, Fremont used his charm to build social mobility among the Washington elite. He was sufficiently connected to win appointment to the prestigious Army Corps of Topographical Engineers by patronage. Appointments to the Corps at the time were generally reserved to those at the top of their West Point class. Fremont was neither.
Senator Benton vehemently opposed his daughter’s romantic attachment to young Fremont. Jessie possessed a stubborn streak sufficient to match her Father’s iron will. When she and Fremont eloped, the senator found himself defeated. Fremont became family in the Benton home. His only redeeming graces were his topographical engineering appointment and the fact he shared the senator’s expansionist vision. His son-in-law could then provide a pragmatic balm to the senator’s wounded ego. He’d put him to work.
Senator Benton succeeded in having Fremont assigned to survey the Oregon Trail. The expedition intended to map a Trans-Mississippi route to the west and to bring back sufficient description so as to make western expansion appealing to prospective settlers in the east. Fremont had all the abilities needed to sell the promise of the west to the American people. He’d need help to carry out the serious work of exploration.
Next Week: Exploration
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Ride easy,
Paul
The unlikely answer to that question came as a shot from Cupid’s little bow. Benton’s fifteen year old daughter Jessie fell in love with a charming dandy on the Washington social scene, one John C. Fremont. A man of dubious lineage, Fremont used his charm to build social mobility among the Washington elite. He was sufficiently connected to win appointment to the prestigious Army Corps of Topographical Engineers by patronage. Appointments to the Corps at the time were generally reserved to those at the top of their West Point class. Fremont was neither.
Senator Benton vehemently opposed his daughter’s romantic attachment to young Fremont. Jessie possessed a stubborn streak sufficient to match her Father’s iron will. When she and Fremont eloped, the senator found himself defeated. Fremont became family in the Benton home. His only redeeming graces were his topographical engineering appointment and the fact he shared the senator’s expansionist vision. His son-in-law could then provide a pragmatic balm to the senator’s wounded ego. He’d put him to work.
Senator Benton succeeded in having Fremont assigned to survey the Oregon Trail. The expedition intended to map a Trans-Mississippi route to the west and to bring back sufficient description so as to make western expansion appealing to prospective settlers in the east. Fremont had all the abilities needed to sell the promise of the west to the American people. He’d need help to carry out the serious work of exploration.
Next Week: Exploration
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Ride easy,
Paul
July 8, 2017
3:10 Reprise
The remake stars Russell Crowe as Ben Wade and Christian Bale as Dan. The screen play credits Halsted Welles along with Michael Brandt and Derek Haas. The remake, directed by James Mangold is based on the classic movie.
Changes to the screen play felt like they were made for the sake of making changes. The stage robbed in the opening is armored and heavily defended, including a Gatling gun. A Civil War legacy comes out that has no precedent in either Leonard’s story or the original Welles screen play. A chase scene through a railroad tunnel construction site with a Chinese labor force is logically obscure in an historic and geographic sense.
Much of the drama in the hotel scenes where Wade plays on Dan’s fears is diluted by introducing some of it into the ride to Contention. Spreading it out over an extended period of time dilutes the intensity of the original film. Part of that is Crowe’s Wade versus Ford’s. Russell Crowe is the cool, cocky tough guy. Ford is more subtle, calculating and manipulative. Christian Bale lacked Van Heflin’s depth in dealing with his demons.
The showdown gun walk to the train is well done down to the climax. Wade and Dan forge the odd partnership that allows them to reach the train where Wade’s gang confronts them. All Wade has to do is step aside and Dan is a dead man. Instead Wade grabs a gun and kills his own men. (Really?) Dan’s fourteen year old son appears and gets the drop on Wade. (Really?). Good thing they started with Welles screen play. Maybe they should have just stayed with it. Redemption comes in the last ten seconds. As the train pulls out for Yuma, Ben Wade can be heard to whistle. His horse bolts from the hitch rack and gallops after the train. Ben Wade has broken out of Yuma before. Best western sight gag since Lee Marvin’s drunk horse in Cat Ballou.
Next Week: Manifest Destiny West
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Ride easy,
Paul
Changes to the screen play felt like they were made for the sake of making changes. The stage robbed in the opening is armored and heavily defended, including a Gatling gun. A Civil War legacy comes out that has no precedent in either Leonard’s story or the original Welles screen play. A chase scene through a railroad tunnel construction site with a Chinese labor force is logically obscure in an historic and geographic sense.
Much of the drama in the hotel scenes where Wade plays on Dan’s fears is diluted by introducing some of it into the ride to Contention. Spreading it out over an extended period of time dilutes the intensity of the original film. Part of that is Crowe’s Wade versus Ford’s. Russell Crowe is the cool, cocky tough guy. Ford is more subtle, calculating and manipulative. Christian Bale lacked Van Heflin’s depth in dealing with his demons.
The showdown gun walk to the train is well done down to the climax. Wade and Dan forge the odd partnership that allows them to reach the train where Wade’s gang confronts them. All Wade has to do is step aside and Dan is a dead man. Instead Wade grabs a gun and kills his own men. (Really?) Dan’s fourteen year old son appears and gets the drop on Wade. (Really?). Good thing they started with Welles screen play. Maybe they should have just stayed with it. Redemption comes in the last ten seconds. As the train pulls out for Yuma, Ben Wade can be heard to whistle. His horse bolts from the hitch rack and gallops after the train. Ben Wade has broken out of Yuma before. Best western sight gag since Lee Marvin’s drunk horse in Cat Ballou.
Next Week: Manifest Destiny West
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Ride easy,
Paul
July 1, 2017
3:10 to Yuma
In general if I’ve seen the movie, I don’t read the book and vice-versa. I broke the rule for the post series we did on True Grit, so it was easier to do it with a short story. The story was written by Elmore Leonard, a highly respected best-selling author. Imagine my surprise when I read the story and found myself incredulous. ‘This made it across the chasm . . . twice?’ Now I’m a poor one to be critical of a short story. I can’t write them. I’ve tried. I’m no good at it. I’m sorry, this one did nothing for me. I’d seen the movie remake. I enjoyed it, especially the fabulous sight gag in the last ten seconds or so; but how do you get that out of this story?
The Leonard story has deputy lawman Paul Scallon escorting outlaw Jim Kidd from Bisbee Arizona to Contention where he and his prisoner will board the 3:10 train to the penitentiary at Yuma. Scallon is on his own with the prisoner. Fearing Kid’s gang will try to free him on the way to Yuma, a heavily guarded decoy is sent by another route. Scallon hides his prisoner in a hotel room. They spend the day waiting for the train.
The Kid is confident his gang will break him out. He picks at Scallon’s nerves, urging the deputy to let him go before he ends up a dead man. In High Noon style the clock ticks down to a show down walk to the train.
The original film, stars Glen Ford as Ben Wade (Jim Kidd) and Van Heflin as Dan (Paul Scallon). The screen play was written by Halsted Welles and directed by Delmer Daves. Dan is a family man, citizen volunteer who needs the money to save his farm. He has a wife and two sons. The film begins with a stage robbery by Ben Wade and his gang. The gang divides the loot and separates. Wade is captured and the decoy transfer to Yuma is arranged. Curiously, no trial.
Welles screen play creates tension in the hotel wait scenes the original story did not. Glen Ford’s performance as the manipulative Ben Wade makes the story compelling. Van Heflin sweats his life or death with honor choice convincingly. In the showdown walk to the train, Wade becomes oddly cooperative with his captor. Dan survives a gun battle with Wade’s gang and succeeds in putting Wade on the train. The farm is saved. Wade claims he’s broken out of Yuma before.
Next Week: 3:10 Reprise
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Ride easy,
Paul
The Leonard story has deputy lawman Paul Scallon escorting outlaw Jim Kidd from Bisbee Arizona to Contention where he and his prisoner will board the 3:10 train to the penitentiary at Yuma. Scallon is on his own with the prisoner. Fearing Kid’s gang will try to free him on the way to Yuma, a heavily guarded decoy is sent by another route. Scallon hides his prisoner in a hotel room. They spend the day waiting for the train.
The Kid is confident his gang will break him out. He picks at Scallon’s nerves, urging the deputy to let him go before he ends up a dead man. In High Noon style the clock ticks down to a show down walk to the train.
The original film, stars Glen Ford as Ben Wade (Jim Kidd) and Van Heflin as Dan (Paul Scallon). The screen play was written by Halsted Welles and directed by Delmer Daves. Dan is a family man, citizen volunteer who needs the money to save his farm. He has a wife and two sons. The film begins with a stage robbery by Ben Wade and his gang. The gang divides the loot and separates. Wade is captured and the decoy transfer to Yuma is arranged. Curiously, no trial.
Welles screen play creates tension in the hotel wait scenes the original story did not. Glen Ford’s performance as the manipulative Ben Wade makes the story compelling. Van Heflin sweats his life or death with honor choice convincingly. In the showdown walk to the train, Wade becomes oddly cooperative with his captor. Dan survives a gun battle with Wade’s gang and succeeds in putting Wade on the train. The farm is saved. Wade claims he’s broken out of Yuma before.
Next Week: 3:10 Reprise
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Ride easy,
Paul
June 24, 2017
No Show Showdown
Reputations were handy if you were a lawman like Earp or Masterson. More than once both of them defused potentially deadly situations with little more than a steely eye and the imagination of what they might do. Some of those reputations, Masterson’s in particular were inflated by gaudy newspaper accounts, tabloid magazine stories and dime novels. Modesty never entered into debunking those stories. They were cheaper than ammunition.
Gamblers like Short and Holiday found comfort in their reputations. They made their livelihoods on the edges of society where liquor, winning, losing and chance might erupt into violence at any moment. Even a drunk might think twice about calling out Doc Holiday, Luke Short, Masterson or any of the Earps. Of the gamblers, Luke Short probably had the quickest gun and a resume as lethal as Holiday's.
During Abilene’s wide open Cowtown days, folks speculated about the speed and gunfighting prowess of Ben Thompson, John Wesley Hardin and City Marshal Wild Bill Hickock. It may have made entertaining speculation, but none of the principals wanted any part of a throw down. Hickock and Thompson may have walked up to the line over the Bull’s Head sign dispute, but that ended with a tongue-in-cheek white-washing of the anatomically correct offensive member. Hickock and Hardin had a respectful relationship. A reader from Hardin’s family tree once told me John Wesley wanted no part of tangling with Wild Bill. Hickock’s behavior suggests the feelings were mutual.
The closest account I can find to a high profile throw down happened in Dodge City September 18, 1878. Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and a collection of no nonsense lawmen were taming the tough Cowtown. Many Texas cowboys resented the lawmen. Wyatt Earp was singled out, likely over the killing of one of their own George Hoy. Shootist Clay Allison rode into town backed by a couple dozen of his Texas pals. From there the story takes on a life of its own with Allison drinking his way around town looking for variously Wyatt Earp or Bat Masterson. Some accounts have a drunken Allison confronting Watt with Wyatt talking Allison down. Other accounts have Masterson hiding from Allison or breaking up the Earp stand-off. What we know is that Masterson was out of town at the time. Earp was busy with the Dull Knife uprising and Allison eventually gave it up and left town.
A post series on old west gunfighters hardly seems complete without mention of Billy the Kid. Regular readers of these posts know I’ve written books on the Kid’s career. The third, Bounty of Greed comes out next month. We’ve previously written about the Kid’s life and times in these posts, so we’ll not go there this time. The scars have barely healed from the last time I offended the Garrett clan.
Next week: 3:10 to Yuma
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Ride easy, Photo-art by Jim Hatzell
Paul https://www.flickr.com/photos/fiddler...
Gamblers like Short and Holiday found comfort in their reputations. They made their livelihoods on the edges of society where liquor, winning, losing and chance might erupt into violence at any moment. Even a drunk might think twice about calling out Doc Holiday, Luke Short, Masterson or any of the Earps. Of the gamblers, Luke Short probably had the quickest gun and a resume as lethal as Holiday's.
During Abilene’s wide open Cowtown days, folks speculated about the speed and gunfighting prowess of Ben Thompson, John Wesley Hardin and City Marshal Wild Bill Hickock. It may have made entertaining speculation, but none of the principals wanted any part of a throw down. Hickock and Thompson may have walked up to the line over the Bull’s Head sign dispute, but that ended with a tongue-in-cheek white-washing of the anatomically correct offensive member. Hickock and Hardin had a respectful relationship. A reader from Hardin’s family tree once told me John Wesley wanted no part of tangling with Wild Bill. Hickock’s behavior suggests the feelings were mutual.
The closest account I can find to a high profile throw down happened in Dodge City September 18, 1878. Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and a collection of no nonsense lawmen were taming the tough Cowtown. Many Texas cowboys resented the lawmen. Wyatt Earp was singled out, likely over the killing of one of their own George Hoy. Shootist Clay Allison rode into town backed by a couple dozen of his Texas pals. From there the story takes on a life of its own with Allison drinking his way around town looking for variously Wyatt Earp or Bat Masterson. Some accounts have a drunken Allison confronting Watt with Wyatt talking Allison down. Other accounts have Masterson hiding from Allison or breaking up the Earp stand-off. What we know is that Masterson was out of town at the time. Earp was busy with the Dull Knife uprising and Allison eventually gave it up and left town.
A post series on old west gunfighters hardly seems complete without mention of Billy the Kid. Regular readers of these posts know I’ve written books on the Kid’s career. The third, Bounty of Greed comes out next month. We’ve previously written about the Kid’s life and times in these posts, so we’ll not go there this time. The scars have barely healed from the last time I offended the Garrett clan.
Next week: 3:10 to Yuma
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Ride easy, Photo-art by Jim Hatzell
Paul https://www.flickr.com/photos/fiddler...
June 17, 2017
Dirty Dave Rudabaugh
Dirty Dave got his start in a gang partnered up with Mysterious Dave holding up stages and rustling cattle. The gang broke up with the law on their trails. Dirty Dave moved his enterprise to Doge City in 1876 where he eventually attracted the law enforcement attention of Wyatt Earp. Dave headed to Texas with Wyatt, now a temporary Deputy U. S. Marshal on his trail. Wyatt trailed Rudabaugh four hundred miles to Griffin Texas, where Doc Holliday informed Wyatt the outlaw had doubled back to Dodge City. It was the beginning of a life-long friendship between Wyatt and the diseased dentist.
In January 1878 Dirty Dave and fellow gang members attempted to rob a train near Dodge. The attempt failed. Newly elected Ford County Sheriff, Bat Masterson, rode out with a posse, eventually capturing Rudabaugh and his gang seeking shelter from a snow storm. Once in jail, Dave turned state’s evidence on his accomplices in return for immunity. He walked on the charges against him.
The following year Dave headed for New Mexico where he reunited in a criminal enterprise known as the Dodge City Gang with Mysterious Dave Mather. When fellow gang member Josh Webb was arrested, Dirty Dave and another member attempted to spring him. The jailbreak attempt failed but Dirty Dave was implicated in killing the jailer.
Dave headed south to Fort Sumner where he signed on to the outlaw exploits of Billy the Kid. He was with the Kid and his gang at Jim Greathouse’s ranch when it was surrounded by White Oaks Deputy Sheriff Jim Carlyle’s posse. Carlyle was given up for Greathouse in a hostage exchange and later killed by his own posse. He may have been killed by the Kid or Dirty Dave. Either way the siege ended.
When Pat Garrett and his posse caught up with the Kid and his gang at Sinking Springs in December 1880, Dave was arrested, charged with the murder of the Las Vegas jailer and sentenced to hang in May 1881. Dave dodged the hangman’s noose when he and Josh Webb broke jail. This time he headed for Arizona where he is believed to have thrown in with the Clanton Cowboy faction in their feud with the Earp brothers. He is suspected of having participated in the assassination attempt on Virgil Earp and the killing of Morgan. He escaped vendetta ride retribution crossing the border into Mexico.
Mystery surrounds Dirty Dave’s death. In one account he was gunned down following a shootout over a card game gone bad. His body was then decapitated and the head paraded around town. By another account he escaped to Montana, took up ranching and dies an alcoholic in Oregon in 1928. There are pictures of a head on a post that looks a good bit like Dirty Dave. You decide.
Next Week: No Show Showdown
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Ride easy,
Paul
In January 1878 Dirty Dave and fellow gang members attempted to rob a train near Dodge. The attempt failed. Newly elected Ford County Sheriff, Bat Masterson, rode out with a posse, eventually capturing Rudabaugh and his gang seeking shelter from a snow storm. Once in jail, Dave turned state’s evidence on his accomplices in return for immunity. He walked on the charges against him.
The following year Dave headed for New Mexico where he reunited in a criminal enterprise known as the Dodge City Gang with Mysterious Dave Mather. When fellow gang member Josh Webb was arrested, Dirty Dave and another member attempted to spring him. The jailbreak attempt failed but Dirty Dave was implicated in killing the jailer.
Dave headed south to Fort Sumner where he signed on to the outlaw exploits of Billy the Kid. He was with the Kid and his gang at Jim Greathouse’s ranch when it was surrounded by White Oaks Deputy Sheriff Jim Carlyle’s posse. Carlyle was given up for Greathouse in a hostage exchange and later killed by his own posse. He may have been killed by the Kid or Dirty Dave. Either way the siege ended.
When Pat Garrett and his posse caught up with the Kid and his gang at Sinking Springs in December 1880, Dave was arrested, charged with the murder of the Las Vegas jailer and sentenced to hang in May 1881. Dave dodged the hangman’s noose when he and Josh Webb broke jail. This time he headed for Arizona where he is believed to have thrown in with the Clanton Cowboy faction in their feud with the Earp brothers. He is suspected of having participated in the assassination attempt on Virgil Earp and the killing of Morgan. He escaped vendetta ride retribution crossing the border into Mexico.
Mystery surrounds Dirty Dave’s death. In one account he was gunned down following a shootout over a card game gone bad. His body was then decapitated and the head paraded around town. By another account he escaped to Montana, took up ranching and dies an alcoholic in Oregon in 1928. There are pictures of a head on a post that looks a good bit like Dirty Dave. You decide.
Next Week: No Show Showdown
Return to Facebook to comment.
Ride easy,
Paul
