Dakota Livesay tells the riveting story of the Apache Kid, who was a White Mountain Apache scout and later a notorious renegade active in the borderlands of the U.S. states of Arizona and New Mexico in the late 19th and possibly the early 20th centuries.
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Tombstone, Az. Sheriff John Behan
John Behan was the sheriff of Cochise County, the county that contained Tombstone, at the time Wyatt Earp was there. He was a friend of the cowboys, the political power at the time. We know of him as a foe of Wyatt. And, the result of movies about the O. K. Corral shootout, we know him as a corrupt lawman. But, just who was John Behan?John Harris Behan was born in Missouri in 1845. As a young man he went to California, and then to Prescott, Arizona where he became the sheriff of Yavapai County. And, according to locals was trustworthy, brave and intelligent. He even served a couple of terms in the state assembly.
When Tombstone was founded Behan moved there. Then in 1881 Tombstone was made the county seat of the newly formed Cochise County, and Behan was appointed the county sheriff. The conflict between Behan and Wyatt Earp was probably more the result of two men displaying their testosterone than a conflict between good and bad.
After being voted out of office, Behan became the superintendent of the Territorial State Prison at Yuma, Arizona, the most severe federal prison in the southwest. Later Behan served as a U. S. agent along the Mexican border fighting smuggling. He joined the military during the Mexican-American War. And continuing his service to his country, served as a “secret agent” for the United States in China during the Boxer Rebellion. In 1901, he was living in Willard’s Hotel at 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C.. The census gave his occupation as “Promoter”.
Finally, at the age of 67, on June 7, 1912, after spending most of his life in service to his government, he died in Tucson, Arizona.
I believe you can agree John Harris Behan was much more than just a corrupt sheriff who opposed Wyatt Earp.
Old West TV – Bucky O’Neill
On this episode of Chronicle of the Old West TV Dakota Livesay tells us about Old West journalist and Rough Rider Bucky O’Neill. Bucky was portrayed in the film Rough Riders by Sam Elliot.
Chuckwagon: Sourdough Cornbread
This recipe comes from the Hashknife Outfit of Winslow, Arizona.
1 cup starter.
Enough cornmeal to make a beatable batter.
1 ½ cups milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs beaten
¼ cup warm melted butter, or fat
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon soda
Mix starter, cornmeal, milk, eggs and stir thoroughly in large bowl. Stir in melted butter, salt and soda. Pour into a 10 inch greased frying pan or Dutch oven, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
Old West Book Review: Lost Mines and Buried Treasures
Lost Mines and Buried Treasures. This dandy little book is fun to read, easy to understand, and is chock full of ideas about hunting for lost treasure in Wyoming.
The author, W.C. Jameson has long been interested in searching for hidden loot, and when still a boy, helped cart gold bars out of the Guadalupe Mountains in Old Mexico. Thus gold fever hit him hard. Now Jameson writes books, conducts writer’s workshops, plays a guitar and sings his Western songs all across the United States. I myself met Jameson in El Paso, Texas some years ago when he was the president of Western Writers of America. Cordial, witty, and easy to like, wearing a beard and long Wyatt Earp coat, he helped aspiring writers find publication. He was even instrumental in having the SPUR awards televised that year at the Camino Real on the Mexican border.
Inside this latest book readers will find 16 stories about lost treasure and how it came to be. Some have to do with stagecoach robberies, holdups and bank shoot-outs that went wrong. Others tell of gold nuggets glistening under the water of cold mountain streams.
Sometimes robbers hid the loot, only to be gunned down by local posses before they could tell the location of buried strong boxes. Other individuals panned gold from creeks only to be murdered by Indians. Some men found the gold all right, but were unable to carry it out of the hills and when they returned later with help, they became disoriented and never could pinpoint the location of the stash.
The idea of sinking a shovel into the earth, hitting a strongbox, and pulling up a million dollar bonanza is a fantasy to many of us, but some brave souls really do strike out with maps and shovels to try their luck. Here you will find the Lost Cabin Gold Mine where rich men lost their lives to marauding Indians and the Snake River Pothole Gold where glistening nuggets lured men to their deaths. The Birdseye Stage Station Gold heist resulted in $30,000 in gold coins buried somewhere near the robbery site. But who can find it now?
Indian raids, lost jade deposits, shoot-outs and the usual double-cross when gold is involved fill these pages. Jameson makes the stories sound believable since he gives directions and information gleaned from original sources. My particular favorite is the buried treasure of Nate Champion, whom I have always considered one of the heroes of the Johnson County Range War. Nate Champion single-handedly held off a passel of hired Texas gunmen. Alone inside his cabin, Champion kept a diary of what happened throughout that long day so those who found his body would know what happened there. According to the Jameson account, Nate had a stash of gold buried outside the cabin his killers never found.
There is the story of Big Nose George Parrot who was not only the ugliest man alive, but a killer and gun-slinging outlaw reported to have buried $150,000 in stolen loot. Of course George died with his lips sealed and his neck stretched by vigilantes. The desecration of his body parts by the local doctor gets even worse as Parrot’s tanned hide became a pair of shoes, and the top of his skull an ashtray. To this day folks still hunt in vain for poor Parrot’s buried treasure.
I suspect the sale of this book will provide more loot than might be found buried beside a burned-out cabin, but readers will have a grand time exploring these tales and who knows? You might be the lucky one.
Jameson’s stories are always fun. Sometimes his topics are controversial, like who is really buried in Billy the Kid’s grave. You will have a good time reading his stories, but remember Jameson might just be pulling your leg. You can join in on the fun and grab this book HERE.
Editor’s Note: The Reviewer, Phyllis Morreale-de la Garza is the author of many published books about the Old West. Her most recent is a novel titled Hell Horse Winter of the Apache Kid published by Silk Label Books, P.O. Box 700, Unionville, New York 10988 Www. silklabelbooks.com.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
