Clio: The History Muse

Westward Movement in the United States

2010-10-02T13:15:00.000-04:00

Book Review of Westward Movement by Historian R. Allen Billington

The purpose of this book was to follow pioneers as they moved west across the United States of America. He begins the book with Anglo-American settlements to the 1890

Allen R. Billington successfully described the Mississippi Valley in his book Westward Movement in the United States. His goal was to reveal the tribulations of the pioneers as they moved west. He further emphasized how the pioneers with integrity adapted to the “mosaic of differing environments that they conquered”.

Billington thoroughly looks into the settlement of the United States stating that not one particular people, economy or industrialization shaped the United States. It was all those together.

Europeans Settling Western Coast of the Mississippi

The book takes the reader in the direction to think “if easterners were not stimulated to move west what would have become of the land/territory that lays west of the Mississippi River?” It is very likely that it would have fell under English or Spanish rule. If that had been the case, how different would the United States be today?

French Asylum: Paris along the Susquehanna River

2010-10-02T13:12:00.000-04:00

Near the banks of the Susquehanna River in Bradford County, Pennsylvania stands a historical marking that states, "Marie Antoinette Scenic View, 2000 feet".

In 1793, during the French Revolution several French loyalists fled France and the French island of Santo Domingo (present-day Haiti) to escape persecution and death for their loyalty to King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. They landed on the shores of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they met three prominent Philadelphians, Robert Morris, John Nicholson, and Stephen Girard, who agreed to finance their stay in Pennsylvania. Stephen Girard purchased 1,600 acres in Northeastern Pennsylvania and gave it to the refugees.

Read more at Suite101: French Asylum: Paris along the Susquehanna River http://www.suite101.com/content/french-azilum-a18667#ixzz11DqmwYCN

Catherine Weldon Attempts to Save Sitting Bull

2010-05-20T01:00:00.002-04:00

Sitting Bull called her Toya heya mani win (Woman Walking Ahead). In June of 1889, the widow, Catherine Weldon, a prominent artist and a member of the National Indian Defense Association, left her home in New York City to travel to the Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakota Territory to meet Sitting Bull and help him keep the United States government from taking Lakota land. Sitting Bull was unable to read or write in English and welcomed Weldon's help.

Her reputation as a prominent white woman from the east became tainted due to her relationship with Sitting Bull, but it did not matter to her. She cared more about the treatment of the Indians than she did of her reputation. Determined to save Sitting Bull and his land she fought aggressively against the government. She moved in with Sitting Bull and his three wives. During her time with him, she wrote letters on his behalf and painted four portraits of him. One portrait hung in his cabin and is now in the possession of the North Dakota Historical Society.

James McLaughlin, the Indian agent for the reservation, and Weldon continually argued over her support for the Lakota. McLaughlin wrote a letter to the Commissioners of Indian Affairs stating that Sitting Bull has become more rebellious and feels certain that it is due to the encouragement of Weldon. McLaughlin eventually forced her to leave the reservation.

Weldon returned to New York. As she attempted to get back to her normal life, she could not stop thinking about Sitting Bull and the beautiful plains. She wrote McLaughlin asking him if she could return and promised that she would not live on the reservation, but live on its edge in a small town called Cannon Ball. Surprisingly, McLaughlin let her return with the understanding she cannot live on the reservation. In the spring of 1890, Weldon returned to the Midwest with her adolescent son, Christie.

Newspapers would refer to Weldon as Sitting Bull's "white squaw." How intimate their relationship became is unknown. However, Sitting Bull did ask her to marry him and she refused. It is no secret that Weldon felt compassion toward Sitting Bull and his people. She supplied money and goods to the Lakota to aide in their survivial.

The Ghost Dance Movement was crossing the plains in the late 1800s, a new religion that brought hope to many tribes throughout the Midwest. Sitting Bull and several of his Lakota followers believed in the Ghost Dance, that it would resurrect the dead and reunite them with those who died. It promised a return to the old ways of life. Weldon was unaware of Sitting Bull's involvement in this new religion.

The United States government felt threatened by the movement, afraid it would cause another Indian upheaval. Kicking Bear, Lakota Holy Man, encouraged the making of the Ghost Dance Shirt. He said the shirt, made of buckskin and painted with "magic" symbols, would prevent bullets from penetrating the body.

Weldon told Sitting Bull and other Lakota leaders that the Ghost Dance would not resurrect the dead, nor would the shirts keep bullets from penetrating the flesh. Sitting Bull and the others ignored Weldon's words and no longer considered her a friend of the Lakota. In fact, one Lakota told her that tragedy would find her because of her disbelief in the Ghost Dance. Weldon broken by the mistrust the Lakota people now had for her left the reservation and went back to Cannon Ball. There she and her son prepared to go to Kansas City.

While visiting the Parkin ranch Weldon's son stepped on a rusty nail and died on the steamship Chaska. She wrote a letter to Sitting Bull and told him of her son's death. From Kansas City, she wrote Sitting Bull more letters, asking him to forgive her, but never heard from him. She learned that on December 15, 1890 forty Sioux police went to the Standing Rock Reservation to arrest Sitting Bull. During the arrest, a struggle took place and a shot was fired; the situation became chaotic, leaving Sitting Bull and many others dead.

Weldon not afraid to travel west alone, live on an Indian reservation, and fight for the rights of Indians in the late 1800s made her a woman ahead of her time. The Indian name Sitting Bull gave her definitely suited her.

If you would like to read more about Catherine Weldon, check out Eileen Pollack’s book, Woman Walking Ahead: In search of Catherine Weldon and Sitting Bull. And to read more about the Ghost Dance of 1890 check out Rex Alan Smith’s book, Moon of Popping Trees.

Tom Horn Has a Friend in John Coble

2010-05-19T22:27:00.002-04:00

In the late 1800s when John Coble decided to leave his home in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and go west, he hoped to begin a life of prosperity in the cattle business. Coble spent time along the North Platte River in Nebraska, working on cattle ranches before moving to Albany County, Wyoming to take a job with another Pennsylvania native, Frank Bosler. That choice defined Coble's life.

Frank Bosler was a prominent cattle rancher in Wyoming and a member of the Wyoming Stock Growers' Association and Cheyenne Cattlemen's Club. He hired Coble as the operations' manager for the Iron Mountain Ranch near Chugwater. Whether Bosler was involved in the Johnson County War is unclear, however, his animosity towards the neighboring homesteaders resulted in him hiring the legendary Tom Horn.
Tom Horn's reputation followed him wherever he went. He did not hesitate to brag about the number of men he killed and it did not matter to him whether the killings were justified or not. He killed for the game of it. Horn resided at the Iron Mountain Ranch and became close friends with John Coble.

On July 18, 1901, Horn was riding the Bosler range when the murder of fourteen-year-old Willie Nickell took place. Nickell , while walking his father's horse though an open gate on his father's farm, was shot twice in the back. Kels Nickell, Willie's father, was the original target for the murder and according to Chip Carlson's book, Blood on the Moon, the person or person's who shot the boy turned the body over and when they realized they killed the wrong person, laid the boy's head on a rock, Tom Horn's signature.

The prime suspect at first was Victor Miller who had an ongoing feud with Nickell. When questioned by the sheriff, Miller said he was having breakfast with his family. The alibi checked out and suspicion turned to Tom Horn because of his killing reputation.

In January 1902, United States Marshal, Joe LeFors met with Horn in Cheyenne under the disguise of wanting him to do a "job" for him. After two days of conversation and in a drunken state, Horn admitted to LeFors that he killed Willie Nickell. Horn's confession and circumstantial evidence led to his arrest.
John Coble believed LeFors tricked Horn into making the confession; therefore, he put together a well-esteemed group of attorneys to prove his friend's innocence. The trial began the following October after his arrest. After two weeks, the jury found Horn guilty. A year later, and a day short of his forty-third birthday, Horn met his maker by hanging.

Coble paid a hundred thousand dollars for Horn's defense. Some of the money he used came from Bosler to purchase cattle. When Bosler learned that Coble used the money towards Horn's defense instead of buying cattle, Bosler was outraged.

Although Bosler hired Horn to protect his cattle from rustlers, he did not believe in Horn's innocence, nor did he want to bring any suspicion to himself. In 1904, Bosler fired Coble and never wanted anything to do with him again.

Coble traveled throughout the Midwest working on various ranches, but the loss of his good friend and his job at the Iron Mountain Ranch sent him into a downward spiral. He wrote Bosler several letters begging for money. One of his letters stated that if Bosler continues to refuse to send him money he would kill himself. The threat meant nothing to Frank Bosler. On December 4, 1914, Coble wrote the following letter to his wife:

Elko, Nev., Dec. 4, 1914.
Dear Elise:
Believe me, I have tried to pull through. I am ALL IN, I AM ALL IN. Believe me - I am yours until the end, and I cannot make good.
Lovingly,
SIGNATURE (Illegible)
Elko Independent 12-4-1914

Coble then took his Smith and Wesson .32 revolver, walked into the ladies bathroom at the Commercial Hotel/Cassino in Elko, Nevada, put the revolver to his head and pulled the trigger.
Coble became a broken man when Tom Horn was put to death and when he lost his position at the Iron Mountain Ranch. His prosperity and his promising life disappeared. Coble's legacy is that of a distraught man who could no longer deal with his own demons.

Sources:
Carlson, Chip. Blood on the Moon. High Plains Press, Glendo, Wyoming, 2001.
Bosler Papers, American Heritage Center, Laramie, Wyoming.

Summer Solstice, June 21, 2009

2009-06-21T11:39:00.001-04:00

AP Photo/Akira Suemori

The Summer Solstice celebration has been an event that spans hundreds of years and although I've never had the opportunity to experience the celebration at Stonehenge I still find it intriguing. Stonehenge has left historians, archeologists and visitors of the landmark in awe and curious about how the large rocks came to stand on end.

The one thing for certain is that approximately 35,000 people took part in the Summer Solstice celebration for religious and curiosity reasons today. The area & the event will never cease to amaze me.

To read more on today's summer solstice event at Stonehenge please see ~ Pagans, Partygoers Greet Solstice at Stonehenge

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T11:41:00.001-04:00

Please stop what you are doing at 3 p.m. today and remember those who have fallen in order for America to remain free. For more information, please see the following link ~ http://www.remember.gov/MomentofRemembrance/tabid/54/Default.aspx

Longest Walk 2

2008-08-24T23:31:00.002-04:00

On February 11, 2008, in San Francisco, California, American Indian tribes from all over North America along with supporters began the Longest Walk 2 to commemorate the first Longest Walk held in 1978. The purpose of the walk in 1978, which ended in Washington, D.C. on July 11, was to bring attention to 11 congressional bills that would abrogate Native American treaties by the United States government. The 1978 Longest Walk defeated the bills and one month later, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 was passed.

Thirty years later, on July 11, Longest Walk 2, a grassroots effort to bring attention to environmental disharmony and also intended to bring attention to the health and well being of Mother Earth, human life, all communities, and the preservation of national Native American sacred sites, will commence in Washington, D.C. The mission of LW2 is a parallel mission with the Alliance Community Media that convenes from July 9 to July 12, 2008 in Washington, D.C.

Events while in Pennsylvania

The Walkers arrived in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area after holding a Pow Wow in Farmington, PA on June 21 and on June 28, a prayer vigil in Lewisburg, PA for Leonard Peltier, a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who was wrongly arrested in the mid 1970s for shooting 2 FBI agents and is incarcerated at the Lewisburg Federal Prison.

On June 29, Dan and I had the opportunity to attend a benefit performance by two of the bands, One Tribe and Earth Vision Weavers, at Your Daily Grind in Mechanicsburg, a suburb of Harrisburg.

On July 1, the Walkers held a prayer vigil at the Carlisle Indian School Cemetery where 190 children are buried. The children were students of the Indian school whose deaths were caused by tuberculosis, smallpox, and stress (broken heart). After leaving Carlisle the Walkers traveled to Codorus State Park where they stayed until July 6.

Washington, D.C. Bound

There are two groups of Walkers, the northern Walkers, and the southern Walkers. Each group has its own itinerary with the southern group traveling through the southern part of the United States and the northern group traveling the northern part of the United States.

On July 7, the two groups merged at Greenbelt Park, Maryland, 13 miles from Washington, D.C. The following schedule lists the events that will take place beginning Friday, July 11. Dan and I plan to be in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, July 12 for the Pow Wow that will take place at the National Museum of the American Indian.

(below the schedule are links to various websites that includes photos and stories during the walk)

Highlights of Schedule:

Friday, July 11
7 am Converge at Malcolm X Park and walk to White House
1:30 pm: Walk to Capitol steps, Constitution Ave NE and Independence Ave SW
6 pm: Walk to Sylvan Theater: Washington Monument, 15th St and Independence Ave SW
7:30 pm Honoring walker; film tribute to Floyd Westerman and Vernon Bellecourt
Saturday, July 12
9:30 am: Water ceremony at Lincoln Memorial
Noon: Powwow at National Museum of the American Indian (4th St on DC Mall)
Sunday, July 13
10 am: Powwow at National Museum of American Indian
2 to 6 pm: Concert

http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

The Longest Walk 2