Jonestown: Drinking the Kool-Aid

Jim Jones

I was recently asked about the term "Drinking the Kool-Aid" and where it came from. While I don't do too many articles on fairly modern history, I figured it would be okay to talk about something that many of us read about in the newspapers and saw on television back in 1978.

How and why did the phrase originate in 1978? The phrase originated because of what took place in Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978. It was there that over 900 men, women, and children volunteered to drink a powdered drink laced with cyanide. 

They were members of the Peoples Temple movement, a religious cult. Formally known as "The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ," it was simply known as "Peoples Temple." They were Americans who joined a "new religious movement" that started in 1955.  The Peoples Temple combined elements of Christianity with Communist and Socialist ideologies with an "emphasis on racial equality."

The cult was founded by a self-declared "Reverend" by the name of  Jim Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana. By the early 1960s, Jones moved his cult to California with a headquarters in San Francisco. It was in California that he set up a franchise for his cult. It wasn't long before he expanded his cult from San Francisco to many locations there -- including Oakland and Los Angeles. 

Believe it or not, with contributions pouring into the Peoples Temple, Reverend Jones created close ties with the Democratic Party and many Left-Wing Communist political figures. He made contributions to Leftist organizations, and like Bernie Sanders, advocated Communism. Jones, like Sanders, was a great admirer of Communism under the Soviet Union. Like Sanders, Jones is known to have lavished praise on that Communist nation. Jones reported that his Peoples Temple had 20,000 members nationwide.

In 1974, Jim Jones attempted to expand his Socialist ideology by signing a lease to land in Guyana. The land would be used to create a community called the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, or simply known as "Jonestown." In 1977, the same year that he was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian award at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, he started his settlement with fifty residents.

Jones saw "Jonestown" as a "Socialist paradise" and a "sanctuary" from scrutiny. Increasing media scrutiny based on allegations by former members was exposing Jones for his swindling both cash and property from his followers. After Jones left for Guyana, he encouraged his Temple members to follow him there. Soon, the population of Jonestown grew to over 900 people by 1978. From what I remember, most were black Americans from the San Francisco Bay Area.

It is said that those who moved to Jonestown were promised a tropical paradise free from the supposed wickedness of the outside world. It was supposed to be a place where Socialism and Communism would provide them with a Heaven on earth. Instead, what they found was a Socialist community where Jones ruled through fear and intimidation, a place where medical facilities were non-existent, where simply comforts and food was not available. It was a place where freedom was a thing of the past. 

 

On November 17, 1978, U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan visited Jonestown. He was there investigating claims of abuse and loss of basic civil liberties to the Americans. During Congressman Ryan's visit, several members of the Peoples Temple expressed wanting to return to the United States with him. The next day, November 18, those members trying to flee Jonestown actually accompanied Congressman Ryan and his staff to the local airstrip at Port Kaituma.

I remember watching what took place at that airport because it was filmed and on every news broadcast on television for days. The film showed people milling about while boarding a fairly small plane. Then a tractor pulling a trailer with gunmen pulled up nearby. After the driver of the tractor got off the tractor, the gunmen simply opening fire on the delegation and those trying to escape Jonestown. Then the film was cut off. Later, I found out that the cameraman was one of those killed. 

The order was put out by Reverend Jim Jones to kill the Congressman and those trying to leave. With that, the Congressman's delegation was met as they were boarding their aircraft by Peoples Temple gunmen, who some have called the Peoples Temple security guards. 

Those gunmen opened fire on the group, killing Congressman Ryan, three journalists, and one of the defectors. A few seconds of gunfire from the incident were captured on video by NBC cameraman Bob Brown, one of the journalists killed in the murder spree. Many were wounded during the shooting.

That evening, the Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones proposed "revolutionary suicide" for all of his more than 900 followers. They were to do so by drinking a powdered grape drink laced with cyanide and other drugs. The drink had been prepared by Jones' staff. While it's said that a few who refused were shot, most of those who followed Jones did not question him and simply started "drinking the Kool-Aid."

It's true, Reverend Jim Jones ordered his congregation to drink a powdered concoction laced with cyanide. In all, 918 people died there. And of those, 276 were 17 years of age and under. Yes, just children. Most all volunteered to commit suicide because they were told to do so by their movement's leader, Jim Jones. That's why the term "Drinking the Kool-Aid" has such a negative connotation today. 

A month after the mass suicide at Jonestown, the FBI reported:

California Congressman Leo Ryan was concerned. He’d been hearing that there was trouble in “Jonestown,” the makeshift settlement carved out of the jungle of Guyana by the charismatic Jim Jones and his cult-like following called the Peoples Temple.

The allegations were serious: Jonestown sounded more like a slave camp than a religious center. There was talk of beatings, forced labor and imprisonments, the use of drugs to control behavior, suspicious deaths, and even rehearsals for a mass suicide.

In the fall of 1978, Ryan decided to visit Guyana to find out what was happening to the more than 900 members of Jonestown, many of whom were his constituents from the San Francisco area who’d followed the scandal-plagued Jones to South America.

Ryan and his congressional delegation flew to Guyana on November 14, 1978 — 29 years ago Wednesday. A few days later, they arrived in Jonestown along with various government officials and a group of reporters. There, Ryan met with Jones and interviewed many of his followers. Not surprisingly, some families and several individuals asked to leave with Ryan, while others apparently left on foot on their own. Jones was not happy.

Ryan wanted the entire group to fly out together, fearing retribution to any left behind, but that required a second plane and delayed the departure. The group eventually assembled at a local airstrip on the afternoon of the 18th, but as Ryan’s plane prepared to leave, a dump truck from Jonestown arrived with several armed men. They opened fire on one plane, while a cultist named Larry Layton on board the other pulled out a gun and began shooting. In the melee, Ryan and several others were killed and many wounded.

Meanwhile, back at the compound, Jones was hatching an unthinkable plan. He called his followers together and essentially ordered them to swallow a fruit drink that was apparently laced with cyanide. He rationalized that the attack on the planes would bring harm to the residents of Jonestown. A few apparently objected, but in the end, more than 900 cultists, including more than 200 children, were soon lying lifeless on the ground. Jones, too, was dead, with a gunshot wound to the head.

We soon launched an extensive investigation in concert with other agencies, with our jurisdiction based on a congressional assassination law passed six years earlier. Working with authorities in Guyana, agents interviewed survivors of the mass murder/suicide, while fingerprint and forensic experts from our Disaster Squad identified the many victims and Jones himself. Agents across the nation also searched out and talked with members of the Peoples Temple in the U.S. for further insights.

In the end, along with helping to unravel the chain of events and bring closure to grieving families, we were able to make a case against Larry Layton. Layton, the only member of the Peoples Temple tried in the U.S. for criminal acts at Jonestown, was ultimately extradited, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. 

-- end of the report.

The term "Drinking the Kool-Aid" is today an expression used to refer to people who are blindly obedient to a bad idea, a crooked or dangerous ideology. It refers to someone who accepts Communism and wants Socialism without ever experiencing life under such totalitarian rule. 

The phrase "Drinking the Kool-Aid" really does have negative connotations. It means buying into false claims and promises that are made but never fulfilled. And while it may simply be a term referring to the fact that we should be aware and not "blindly follow" others who may not be very moral or honorable, we should never "drink the Kool-Aid" and follow others who have never done anything to deserve our loyalty. 

This is true when it comes to career politicians, especially if we're being asked to "drink the Kool-Aid" and just blindly trust them when we should not. For example, this is the case with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They too are painting Socialism, over-regulation, and the Ultra-Left's Green New Deal as a paradise, a Heaven on earth. Yet, they have spent years in office and have done nothing for us. 

Biden and Harris are trying to get us to "drink the Kool-Aid" when we all know better.

Tom Correa

I Don't Care If Democrats Hate President Trump

As someone who admires President Trump a great deal, I take offense to those who say President Trump is not a great speaker. I do not see the President as inarticulate, rude, insulting, or insensitive. In fact, I see President Trump as a motivator, an inspiration, a freshness that we've long needed. I see him as the strength called for in this ongoing war against those who want to destroy our country. 

I prayed for someone the likes of President Donald J. Trump. I wanted a president who was cut from the same cloth as Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. I wanted someone who didn't feel he is "above the fray." Someone who would whip off his coat and tie, and climb into a ring on our behalf. I wanted a President not above getting in the mud to fight for us. So yes, I have loved that we have a counter-puncher in President Trump. 

I wanted someone who was not a politician, someone who was an amateur at political disguise. I was tired of professional career politicians. I was sick of their excuses when asked why they weren't getting anything done. I was fed up with their only knowing us during election seasons and disappearing to do less and less after they were re-elected. I was sick of not being able to tell the difference between the Republicans who I voted for and the Democrats who march lockstep to Nancy Pelosi's orders. I was sick of hearing how Republicans needed a majority but then when they got one. They did nothing with it because of fear of reprisals from the Left.

Because of gutless cowards and "Republicans in name only," I was going to stop voting. But I didn't because I knew if Democrats win more seats, we can kiss our freedoms goodbye. And no, it doesn't take looking at tea leaves to know that Democrats seek totalitarianism with them in charge -- and us as slaves of the state.

Instead of giving up, I prayed for a man like President Trump to come to the aid of our country. I wanted someone who didn't take any crap from Democrats or the Mainstream Media that they alone control. I wanted someone who gets angry when he sees that politics is being used to screw the American people. 

I wanted someone willing to use our economic might and influence against our enemies overseas, including doing so instead of using our troops. I wanted someone who says it like it is -- and hands out the unvarnished truth. I wanted someone who could take on Washington and remind the people who want to be our masters that We The People are still in charge. 

Sure, I also wanted a cheerleader, someone like FDR who tells us to have the strength that we are capable of having, someone who sees us as his priority and not the rest of the world. I wanted a President to represent America. I wanted a President who called us his "fellow Americans" and means it. I wanted a President who truly unabashedly loves America. And yes my friends, that's who President Trump really is. The fact is, he's all that and more.

As for my own belief, yes, I believe God sent Donald Trump to us. He sent us a champion in the form of a businessman with a Queens New York accent. He sent us an extraordinary man approve reproach. He sent us a billionaire who likes McDonald's hamburgers, enjoys the company of tradesmen, who unlike other Presidents -- a man who actually pays the women on his staff the exact same thing that he pays the men on his staff. After almost four years of watching and listening to him, after watching him actually fulfill promises, I truly believe he unabashedly and unapologetically loves Americans. I thoroughly believe that he is still everything we need to right our ship of state. 

In recent years, Democrats have made no secret of the agenda. The Left wants to eliminate our rights including our right to free speech, our right to arm ourselves, and our ability to worship as we please. They want this while seeking to destroy our Capitalist system which is the envy of the world. And if that's not enough, these days they want to defund the police while embracing their anarchist supporters. 

From what they have shown us, the Democrat Party is America's enemy within. They have become our enemy, and President Trump is the only person stopping them from carrying out their agenda to change America into some Socialist shithole like Venezuela, or worse some Communist third-world country like Cuba. 

While I absolutely love and respect President Trump, I hate the savagery from the Democrats these days. Since they have tried every underhanded way including a coup de'tat to remove him from office, I worry that a Democrat zealot will try to assassinate President Trump the same way that a Democrat madman assassinated President Lincoln. 

As for people who "turn up their noses at Trump," those are Democrats. And frankly, I wouldn't expect anything less from them. While Democrats have worked relentlessly to slander his name, he has not allowed their hatred for him to sway his efforts to do what is best for America. And no, I don't care if Democrats hate President Trump. After all, he doesn't need them. He has the love and appreciation of millions of supporters.

Democrats have shown themselves as people of low character who aren't even worth the sweat off my brow. Classless America haters like Pelosi, Schumer, Romney, Harris, and the rest aren't worth taking the time to try to change. Their hatred for President Trump, us, and our nation is visceral and neverending. They don't see what they can do for America. they only see what they can rob and steal. 

Frankly, that's why I don't care if Democrats hate President Trump or us who support him. Democrats want an American nation that is amoral and divided, where the people are enslaved by the government, and we are last in line among the countries of the world. 

I'm thankful that President Donald J. Trump is leading our great nation. But even more than that, I thank God that we who openly support him are not alone in this war to defeat the Democrat threat from achieving victory. 

Tom Correa

Newspapers Reports of the Supposed Death of Curly Bill 1882

Among his other stories, Wyatt Earp told everyone that he killed Curly Bill. So did Wyatt Earp kill Curly Bill Brocius? Frankly, he told everyone that he did for more than 30 years but no one can honestly say if he did or didn't. Of course, if it did happen, then it's only Earp's word that we have to go by since no one witnessed it ever taking place. 

As for people believing him, while there were those who did believe him, it appears there were those there at the time who questioned whether Curly Bill was killed at all. What surprised me when researching this is that there were some at the time who did not believe Wyatt Earp's story. 

On March 25, 1882, The Tombstone Epitaph published the following article claiming that Curly Bill Brocius had been killed in a shootout that took place at Burleigh Springs: 

BATTLE OF BURLEIGH

The Earp Party Ambushed by Curly Bill and Eight Cowboys.
A Hand to Hand Encounter in Which Curly Bill is Killed

The town has been full of reports the last two or three days as to the whereabouts of the Earp party, and their probable movements. No sooner had one report got well under way than another was issued which contradicted it. There has been marching and countermarching by the sheriff and his posse until the community has become so used to the ring of spurs and clank of steel that comparatively little attention is paid to the appearance of large bodies of horsemen in the streets. Yesterday afternoon the sheriff with a large force started down the road toward Contention, possibly to follow up the report that the party had been seen in the Whetstone mountains, west of the San Pedro river, with their horses completely fagged out and the men badly demoralized. This, like so many other reports, was a baseless as the fabric of a dream.

The Battle of Burleigh Springs

Yesterday afternoon as the sun was descending low down the western horizon, had a person been traveling on the Crystal or Lewis Spring road towards the Burleigh Spring, as our informant was, he would have seen one of the most desperate fights between the six men of the Earp party and nine fierce cowboys led by the daring and notorious Curly Bill, that ever took place between opposing forces on Arizona soil. Burleigh Springs is about eight miles south of Tombstone and some four miles east of Charleston, near the mine of that name, and near the short road from Tombstone to Hereford. As our informant, who was traveling on horseback leisurely along toward the Burleigh, came to a slight elevation in the road about a half-mile south thereof, he observed a party of six men ride down to the spring from the east, where they all dismounted. They had not much more than got well upon their feet when there rose up at a short distance away

Nine Armed Men

who took deadly aim and fired simultaneously at the Earp party, for such the six men proved to be. Horrified at the sight that like a lightning stroke flashed upon his vision, he instinctively stopped and watched for what was to follow. Not a man went down under the murderous fire, but like a thunderbolt shot from the hand of Jove the six desperate men charged upon their assailants like the light brigade at Balaklava, and when within easy reach returned the fire under which one man went down never more to rise again. The remaining eight fled to the brush and regained their horses when they rode away towards Charleston as if the King of Terrors was at their heels in hot pursuit. The six men fired but one volley and from the close range it is supposed that several of the ambushed cowboys were seriously if not fatally wounded.

The Six Men

returned to their horses where one was found to be in the agony of death, he having received one of the leaden messengers intended for his rider. The party remained at the spring for some time refreshing themselves and their animals, when they departed going southerly as if they were making for Sonora.

The Dead Man Curly Bill

After the road was clear our informant rode on and came upon the dead man, who, from the description given, was none other than Curly Bill, the man who killed Marshal White in the streets of Tombstone, one year ago last September. Since the above information was obtained it has been learned that friends of Curly Bill went out with a wagon and took the body back to Charleston where the whole affair has been kept a profound secret, so far as the general public is concerned.

-- end of the article. 

The next day, March 26, 1882, The Tombstone Nugget reported the following:

THE TRUE BUSINESS

Conflicting Accounts of the Fight in the Whetstones. Wyatt Earp believed to be seriously wounded.
The weak attempt of the Epitaph to gain a little temporary notoriety, by publishing an account of an imaginary fight between the Earps and the cowboys, did not meet with the hearty reception from the public which its projectors, no doubt, hoped for. The glaring improbability of the whole article was so patent to all, that the only effect produced was an expression of disgust the puerile attempt to trifle with the feelings of an already excited and aroused community, and none were found so credulous as to place the slightest confidence in the truth and veracity of the silly canard.

The Nugget, knowing the movements of the Sheriff’s posse in their attempt to effect the arrest of fugitives from justice is a question in which the entire community feels a vital and absorbing interest, has spared neither trouble nor expense in its efforts to present its readers with the full and true account of the same.

From a party, whose name the Nugget is not at liberty to publish, the following version of the fight was obtained: Our informant had an appointment to meet the Earp party at a certain spring in the Whetstone mountains, about fifteen miles distant from Contention at noon on Friday. He rode up to the spring, which is situated in a canyon, at the appointed time, and was confronted by three cowboys with drawn weapons, who ordered him to dismount, and demanded the cause of his presence there. He told them he was in search of a stray horse, and had come to the spring, thinking that a likely place to find the lost animal. The cowboys, evidently believing the story, abandoned

THEIR HOSTILE ATTITUDE

and invited the stranger to camp there and prepare his dinner, which invitation was accepted. While thus engaged, the cowboys rode off, and soon our informant also departed in search of the Earp party. He had proceeded but a short distance when he came upon Wyatt Earp. Wyatt informed him that some hour previous they (the Earp party) had come to the spring in pursuance of the appointment. They had approached within thirty yards, when they discovered four cowboys camped there. The latter recognized the intruders and firing from both parties began about the same time. One shot from the cowboys passed through the clothing of McMasters, just grazing his side; another killed Texas Jack’s horse; a third knocked the pommel off Wyatt Earp’s saddle; while another cut the straps of the field-glass carried by McMasters. The volley fired by the Earp party apparently did not take effect. The latter then started to retreat, Texas Jack jumping up behind one of the party. As they turned to run, one of the cowboys, whom Wyatt Earp believes to have been

THE NOTORIOUS CURLY BILL

in a spirit of bravado, jumped out from behind a rock, when Wyatt turned in his saddle and fired, and the reckless cowboy fell to the ground. The Earp party retired behind an adjacent hill and halted. They were in a position commanding a view of the spring, a shortly after the fight saw a wagon come to the place and as Wyatt believes, carry away the dead body of Curly Bill. They also saw the informant of the Nugget when he arrived at the spring, but were not in a position to warn him of the presence of the cowboys. Our informant was most positive and emphatic in the statement that neither Wyatt Earp, nor any one of the party, was wounded.

Desirous of presenting its readers with the latest and most authentic information in regard to the lamentable condition of affairs which now prevails, the Nugget last night dispatched couriers to Contention and Charleston, with instruction to ascertain, if possible, the authenticity of the foregoing statements:

THE ANNEXED TELEGRAMS

it will be observed, in a measure corroborate what has been related. The following was received from Charleston at 8:40 p.m.

It is certain that the Earp party have had a fight near the Whetstone Mountains. Wyatt stood fire and was struck with a ball in the breast. The balance ran. Texas Jack hd a horse shot, Impossible to ascertain anything in regard to Curly Bill

The first dispatch from Contention was received at 8:00 p.m., and is as follows:

Behan and posse just arrived. Four of the posse were encountered by the Earps, yesterday while at dinner. Several shots were exchanged. The Earps fled, except Wyatt, who dismounted and emptied his shotgun. Texas Jack’s horse was killed. Wyatt is supposed to be wounded. The posse were unhurt.

The latest from Contention was received at 1 a.m. this morning, and may be considered absolutely reliable. It is as follows:

The Earps were within thirty yards of the camp when the fight commenced. The shooting commenced in the Whetstones, twelve miles distant. Wyatt, without a doubt, is wounded. Sheriff Behan is still here. He states that four men engaged in the fight had no connection with his posse. There is much excitement here, but the report of the killing of Curly Bill is not credited. The Earp party were seen from the train, three miles below here, this afternoon.

-- end of the article. 

 On March 26, 1882, Arizona Daily Star, published the following:

Reported Fight
(Special Dispatch to the Star)

Tombstone, March 25 -- An Epitaph reporter interviewed a reliable man just in from Burleigh Springs, eight miles south of this city. He states that a desperate fight took place there last night between six men of the Earp party and nine cowboys, headed by the notorious Curly Bill, who killed Marshal White of Tombstone. The cowboys ambushed the Earps as they were approaching the spring and poured a deadly fire into them, wounding one man slightly and killing a horse. The Earps returned the fire and then charged upon the cowboys, who ingloriously ran, leaving Curly Bill dead upon the field. 

(This dispatch is mere rumor, and is not credited- Ed. Star)

-- end of the article. 

On March 26, 1882, Arizona Daily Star, published the following: 

LOCAL NOTES

Sheriff Paul still remains in Tombstone. He is confident that it he knew the whereabout of the Earp party he oould effect their arrest peaceably and without bloodshed. He has assurances from friends of the Earpa that the desired information will be imparted to him within a day or two. He alleges the cause of his refusal to accompany the Behan posse, the fact that a meeting of the two parties wonld be sure to result in ths unnecessary loss of a number ol lives. -- Nugget.

Then there is this:  

Pursuit of the Earps.

The telegraphic dispatch from Tomb-atone, which we publish, lacks credibility. It is not believed that such a one-sided encounter has taken place; besides Curly Bill is known to be in another part of the country.

It is exceedingly probable that an encounter has, or will soon take place.

A dispatch was received last evening by Ike Clanton, from John Chenoweth, of Tombstone, as follows: "It is reported that four of the Earps are killed. Another report says one of the Earp party and Curly Bill is killed. There is nothing certain yet."

Under Sheriff Coleman received a dispatch to the effect that Wyatt Erp was mortally wounded and Texas Jack was killed.

Another dispatch waa received which stated that Sheriff Behaa with a party of twelve, and F. Clanton with a party of fourteen, were in close pursuit of the Earp party.

Last night a long dispatch was received at this office, worded in ambiguous language aad to the same purport and from the same party as the dispatch of doubtful credibility which we publish in the telegraphic column.

It cannot be long before authentic news will strive concerning whatever has taken place.

The last dispatch was received at midnight, which reads as follows: "There was a fight in the mountains between the Earps and some of the Sheriff's posse, Texas Jack's horse was killed and Wyatt Earp wounded. Nothing of Curly Bill being killed. Don't think it is so."

The telegraphic dispatch from Tombstone, which we publish, lacks credibility. It is not believed that such a one-sided encounter has taken place; besides Curly Bill is known to be in another part of the country.

-- end of the article. 

As I said before, if it did happen, then it's only Earp's word that we have to go by since no one witnessed it ever taking place. While some like myself question Earp's credibility, it has never helped Earp's credibility that Curly Bill's body was never produced at the time. And besides his body, no one produced his grave or even skeletal remains. Nothing. 

While it is a sin to say such things to many die-hard Earp fans who see Wyatt Earp as more a hero, brave, and bold, it appears that no one will ever know if it actually took place or not. If it did happen, because there were no witnesses, people can only speculate whether it was a case of self-defense against a supposed ambush with the Earps coming under fire and then retreating -- or if there was a shotgun duel as Wyatt Earp said took place. 

While I know full well that there are those who have knelt at the alters of some "Earp Experts" even after they were discredited, I find it sad that some people refuse to keep an open mind and demand irrefutable evidence before accepting Old West stories that simply can't be confirmed. For me, I have gotten a lot of hate mail recently over a few threads that I was a part of. And yes, I find it sort of sad that there are those who will be "personally" offended when I question the known facts of a historical event. 

some things happened the way that myth and legend says they did. There are those who simply 

If it did not happen, it's just one of those Old West stories that some believe took place because they want to -- even though it might be a complete fabrication. 

No one knows the truth if anything took place or not. After all, it could be simply a tall tale from Wyatt Earp in the same way that he took credit for disarming Ben Thompson and killing Johnny Ringo which did not happen. Remember, it wouldn't be the first time he told such a yarn.

Tom Correa

Oklahoma Indian Territory Lawmen 1890 -1891

 

The below Oklahoma lawmen all died in the line of duty in 1890 & 1891. I'm presenting this list to show my readers how truly dangerous it was to be a lawman in the Indian Territory in the 1890s. This list only covers Oklahoma lawmen at the closing of the Old West.

While I hope you find what took place in each situation as interesting as I do, please keep in mind that this was when law enforcement was in its infancy in America. What these men did, both right and wrong, while carrying out their duties as lawmen has served as lessons for others. There is something else, the penalties handed down to some of their killers are the reason why Citizens Committees formed to hang convicted cop killers.

- 1890 -

Robert "Bob" Cox

Deputy U.S. Marshal

About 3 A.M. on the morning of Sunday, April 13, 1890, Deputy Cox and Deputy U. S. Marshal Charley Canon arrested and handcuffed Ed Louthers for selling whiskey during a barn dance in Claremore. A father and son named Alex and Jesse Cochran witnessed the arrest and decided to free Louthers from the deputies. 

As Deputy Cox reached into a closet to retrieve his rifle, Alex Cochran shot him in the neck and shoulders. Deputy Canon returned fire and the men fired a dozen shots, one striking Cox in the thigh. 

The Cochrans and Louthers, still wearing the handcuffs, escaped during the gunfire. Although Cox’s wounds were first thought “not serious”, he died the next day April 14th.

John Poorbear

City Marshal, City of Fort Gibson

Tom and Jim French, Dave Andrews, and John Buchanan, all Cherokee Indians, were on a drinking spree on Sunday, September 14, 1890, in Ft. Gibson. City Marshal Poorbear and a deputy tried to arrest them and, as Poorbear was struggling with Andrews, the marshal was shot in the neck. 

Andrews fired one shot at the marshal and then threw his gun away. Paralyzed Poorbear died on Tuesday, September 23, 1890. Dave Andrews was convicted and sentenced to hang on December 10th, but was pardoned by Cherokee Chief Mayes.

Thomas Johnson Nevitt

City Marshal, El Reno Police Department

At about 6 P.M. on the evening of Thursday, September 18, 1890, Marshal Nevitt, 27, attempted to quite a drunk cowboy named John Sparks who had been firing his gun in the street. Marshal Nevitt approached Sparks with his gun drawn but Sparks fired first hitting Nevitt in the abdomen. 

As the wounded marshal fell to the ground Sparks ran but was soon shot in the left arm and captured by citizens who pursued him. Sparks’ left arm was amputated that evening and Marshal Nevitt died eight hours later about 2 A.M. Friday, September19th. 

Nevitt was the first City Marshal of El Reno and was survived by his wife Floretta, four-year-old son Walter “Rawleigh” and two-year-old daughter Nora “Edna”. Marshal Nevitt was buried in the Poheta Cemetery near the town of Kipp in Kansas.

William Leantine Pitts

Deputy U.S. Marshal

William Pitts was relocated from Paris, Texas, to McAlester in the Choctaw Nation of the Indian Territory. On Sunday, November 30, 1890, he traveled to Lake West where he started a surveillance point after being informed that three Indians were smuggling liquor into Indian Territory from Texas. 

Pitts spotted a wagon traveling north occupied by three Indians. He stepped out of the brush and stopped the wagon. The Indians identified themselves as Isam Frazier, Lige Woods, and Jim Allen. 

Pitts told the three men that he suspected they were transporting illegal liquor and he was going to search their wagon. An argument ensued and escalated into a struggle. As Pitts fought to control the three men, his gun was ripped out of its holster and he was shot in the stomach. Pitts staggered back, dropped to the dirt, and died within minutes. 

The three men quickly left the area. Neighbors found Pitts body and reported the killing to the marshal’s office in Paris, Texas. The three Indian men were captured and jailed in Paris, Texas. All three men pled not guilty. 

Due to several delays, the trial was not conducted until May 1891 and a verdict returned on May 21st. Isam Frazier was found guilty of manslaughter. Jim Allen and Elijah Wood were acquitted of the shooting. Frazier was sentenced to a lengthy-term in prison.

Marion Prickett

Possesman, Deputy U.S. Marshal, U.S. Marshal Service

Deputy U.S. Marshal Anderson Keen and his posse, Marion Pricket, had a warrant to arrest a man named Brown. They learned that Brown had fled into Indian Territory around Tahlequah, the Capitol of the Cherokee Nation. 

On Monday, December 15, 1890, Keen and Prickett knocked on the door of a house and were met by a man fitting the description of Brown. The two men in the house identified themselves as A.B. Smith and Tom Smith. Both men cooperated with the deputies but maintained that they did not know Brown. Keen and Prickett took both men into custody. 

They took the two men to a neighbor’s house, where the neighbor identified the older man as A.B. Smith, stating he was a mason and a good man. Smith then told the deputies he was also a U.S. marshal and suggested they return to his house where he would produce his oath of office. Upon arrival back at the house, Smith produced a deputy’s commission issued by Marshal Jacob Yoes. 

The commission read that it was only for the purpose of arresting Ned Christie, whom Smith told Yoes he knew. Although Keen still believed the suspect was Brown, there was now doubt in his mind and he asked Prickett to join him outside for a conversation. Both lawmen exited the house leaving the Smith’s inside. 

After a short conversation, Keen and Prickett went back into the house and were met by A.B. Smith, who was holding a double-barrel shotgun. Smith fired, missing Keen but striking Prickett in the head killing him instantly. 

Keen grabbed Smith fighting for control of the shotgun. During the scuffle, Smith drew a knife and stabbed Keen repeatedly in the body and the head, breaking the knife. Keen was knocked onto a bed, breaking it. 

Smith yelled to the other man, “Shoot him Tommy” to which Keen replied, “Don’t shoot, I’m already killed” and then Keen passed out. When Keen regained consciousness, the Smiths were gone. Keen checked Prickett and found him dead, and then went for help. 

Keen and several deputies returned to the Smith house to search for anything that would identify these two men. Numerous items were discovered but the most compelling was a cabinet card (photo) found in the house with the inscription “Wesley and Guy Woodson to Tommy D. Shepler” written on the back. 

On April 4, 1892, alias warrants were issued for the arrests of James Smith.

Pete Anderson

Posseman, Deputy Sheriff, Oklahoma County

On December 26, 1890, Pete Anderson, 40, and Frank Cook were deputized by Oklahoma County Deputy Sheriffs Frank Gault and Charles Gilbert to assist them in serving an arrest warrant on John Bly just across the county line in Pottawatomie County. 

As the posse dismounted their horses and was attempting to sneak up in the area of the Bly ranch they were fired upon by Bly with a rifle and the first shot struck Anderson in the forehead, killing him instantly. Bly was wounded by the other posse members and taken into custody. 

Pete Anderson was survived by his wife Julia and seven children.

- 1891 -

Steve Pen-Su-Wau (Pensoneau)
Posseman, U.S. Marshal Service

Pen-Su-Wau was a sergeant of the Kickapoo, Pottawatomie, Iowa and Sac and Fox Indian Police. The Oklahoma City Gazette of February 12, 1891, reported that Pen-Su-Wau had acted as a posse for Frank Cochran and Sheriff DeFord during the arrest of several parties in his neighborhood. 

 Deputy U.S. Marshal Preston Armstrong had an arrest warrant to serve and expected the man named on the warrant to ride along a certain road. Armstrong secreted himself by the roadside and waited for his suspect. Pen-Su-Wau was riding the same road on his way home and as he approached Armstrong stepped out and commanded the Indian policeman to halt. Pen-Su-Wau refused and Armstrong shot him out of the saddle, falling into the dirt, dead. 

Armstrong stated he had fired with his six-shooter, although some witnesses claimed he fired with a shotgun. According to a report printed in the Oklahoma State Capitol of Guthrie on February 21st, Armstrong came in from Shawnee Town the night of the 6th to face trial the following day. 

A coroner's jury was impaneled on the morning of the 7th, returning a verdict of justifiable homicide. John Decker testified that Armstrong had stopped him when Pen-Su-Wau rode up on a horse. 

Armstrong told him to halt, Pen-Su-Wau refused, firing a shot at Armstrong and it was then that Armstrong shot him, firing eight or nine shots, hitting Pen-Su-Wau five times. 

Another report at the Oklahoma State Capitol on November 22, 1894, Deputy U.S. Marshal Frank Cochran brought Captain S.J. Scott, Ex-Sheriff James H. Gill, Deputy U.S. Marshal Preston Armstrong, and Daniel Brestman into Guthrie and jailed them on charges of killing Pen-Su-Wau. 

A separate report states that Pen-Su-Wau was killed by three deputy marshals who mistook him for Bob Counallis or George Howell, both noted outlaws who the marshals were looking for. 

On February 12, 1895, the Guthrie Oklahoma State Capitol reported that Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal John M. Hale and posses left on a train bound for Brooklyn Penitentiary with George Howell who was sentenced to ten years in prison for the killing of Pen-Su-Wau, who was “acting as posseman under Deputy United States Marshal Armstrong.” 

Steve Pen-Su-Wau (Pensoneau) was survived by his wife and several small children.

William Tener Starmer
Posseman, U.S.Marshal Service

On the morning of Saturday, May 2, 1891, William Starmer, 33, was leading a posse chasing after two men who had stolen some horses. Little did Starmer know that the horse thieves he was pursuing were Bob and Emmett Dalton. 

The posse chased the two men into a canyon near Twin Mounds in eastern Payne County. As the posse dismounted the Daltons ambushed them. Starmer was killed. His body showed three bullet holes in his chest, all close enough that a man’s hand would cover them. 

When one of the other marshals saw the bullet wounds in Starmer’s chest, even before the suspects could be identified, he is said to have remarked that only Bob Dalton could shoot like that. The Daltons escaped until they were killed during a bank robbery attempt in Coffeyville, Kansas, in October of 1892.

Armstead Homer
Deputy Sheriff, Kiamichi County, Choctaw Nation, I.T.

In 1891 Kiamichi County covered most of current Choctaw County. On Saturday, May 16, 1891, Deputy Homer went to the farm of James Lowman, near Antlers to search for illegal whiskey. 

While Deputy Homer was talking to Lowman about the whiskey and advising him, he intended to destroy it, Lowman drew his gun and shot the deputy several times killing him. The burial site of Armstead Homer is unknown.

James J. Campbell
Deputy U. S. Marshal U. S. Marshal Service

On Monday, May 25, 1891, Deputy Campbell was in Antlers, I.T. to serve an arrest warrant issued by Commissioner Gibbons. Campbell located the wanted man on a street in Antlers and attempted to arrest him but the man broke away from the deputy, jumped on his horse, and left town with Campbell in pursuit. 

During the pursuit, Campbell was thrown from his horse and “terribly mangled” when his horse fell on him. Campbell was brought back to the railway station and placed on the station platform. Attending doctors intended to transfer Campbell onto the next train and take him to a hospital in Paris, Texas, but Campbell died before the train arrived.

Other deputies were sent to Antlers to track the wanted man. No record can be found whether they ever located him. The burial site of James J. Campbell is unknown.

Running Eagle
Officer, Pawnee Tribal Police, O.T.

On Monday, June 29, 1891, two men were riding through the Pawnee Reservation in Oklahoma Territory when they saw a man sleeping in a location that appeared as though he was hiding. They rode into Pawnee and reported it to the authorities and Tribal Officer Running Eagle was sent to investigate. Running Eagle found the man about 14 miles south of Pawnee. 

As he approached the man, the officer held out his hand to shake hands. The man grabbed the officer’s outstretched hand with his left hand, then drew a gun with his right hand and shot the officer fatally. The suspect escaped and was never identified. The burial site of Running Eagle is unknown.

Bernard "Barney" Connelley

Deputy U.S. Marshal

On Wednesday, August 19, 1891, Deputy Connelley attempted to arrest Shepard ”Shep” Busby on warrants for adultery at his home on Lee’s Creek about 15 miles from Fort Smith in the Cherokee Nation. 

Witnesses heard shots and approached the scene in time to see Busby fleeing into the woods and found Connelley shot dead. Busby surrendered about a week later. He was tried, convicted, and hanged on April 27, 1892, at Fort Smith.

Charles Edwin "Ed" Short

Deputy U.S. Marshal

Charley Bryant was regarded to be a restless and reckless individual who suffered with occasional dysfunctions. Bryant’s nickname was “Black-Faced Charley” because of powder burns from a gun fired too closely to his head resulting in permanently darkened spots on his face. 

Bryant always stated that when he died he wanted to go “in one hell-firin’ minute of action.” Bryant had become acquainted with Emmett Dalton, Bill Doolin, “Bitter Creek” Newcomb and others while working on cattle ranches. He was involved in robbing the Texas Express with these men, headed by Bob Dalton, on May 9, 1891. 

A couple months later another train robbery was in the works when Bryant became quite ill having to take a room at a local hotel. Ed Short, a Deputy U.S. Marshal and Hennessey’s City Marshal, was out of town when Bryant became ill. When Short returned to Hennessey he was told of the doctor’s new patient staying at the local hotel. 

Short took an opportunity to observe the patient with his knowledge and felt confident that he was one of the “wanted men.” With the cooperation of the hotel owner, Short set forth to capture Bryant. By the time Bryant realized someone else was in his room, Short had him covered and the suspect couldn’t grab either of his guns. Bryant was denied his real “blazing moment of glory.” 

Deputy Short took Bryant on the Rock Island train the next evening heading for the federal jail at Wichita, Kansas. Short placed Bryant in the baggage car figuring this would be the safest place fearing the Daltons would try to rescue their cohort. Deputy Short surmised that if they Daltons did plan a rescue attempt they would most likely attack at Waukomis, the first station north of Hennessey. 

When the train started to slow for that scheduled stop, Short handed his gun to a mail clerk and asked him to watch Bryant while he stepped out on the platform for “a lookout.” The mail clerk was not overly excited about his new assignment and when Short left, he laid the pistol aside. Bryant immediately noticed and decided to make a break for freedom. 

Bryant, with great gusto, sprang to his feet and grabbed the unattended revolver. “Black-Faced Charley” Bryant rushed to the exit, opened the door, and saw his target standing on the platform. Deputy Short realizing the door was opening, turned, and saw Bryant raising the pistol. Bryant fired then Short returned fire. Both men were shot. Each man continued shooting until Bryant fell and began sliding off the railroad car. 

Even though Short was mortally wounded, he grabbed his prisoner and pulled him back on the platform. When the train arrived at Waukomis, O. T. the evening of Sunday, August 23,1891, the prisoner was dead and Deputy Short was dying.

Joseph S. Wilson

Deputy U.S. Marshal

On Tuesday, September 22, 1891, Deputy Marshal Wilson asked a man by the name of John Carey, to guide him to the home of Big Alec who lived about ten miles from Tahlequah on 14 Mile Creek. Deputy Wilson had a warrant for the arrest of Sam Downing. 

Wilson told Carey he would not have to participate in the arrest of Downing, who was using the name of Sam Hickory, only help him find the house. Once the arrest was made, Wilson told Carey he would fire one shot letting him know the arrest was successful. Carey led Wilson to the property owned by Big Alec then retreated to wait for the arrest to be made. 

Wilson found Hickory hitching up a team of horses. He told Hickory of the warrant. Hickory stated he would go with the lawman but first needed to unhitch his team, saddle a horse and then advise Big Alec at a nearby fishing stream. After unhitching the team, Wilson and Henry walked to the house and as Hickory entered Wilson fired off one shot to announce the successful arrest to Carey. 

Hickory grabbed a gun and shot Wilson in the side. The bullet passed through his chest puncturing a lung. Both men exchanged gunfire before Wilson staggered to his horse. He was too weak and unable to mount the horse and fell to the ground. Carey hearing more gunshots than planned left the area. 

Wilson lived through the night and was found the next day still alive by Hickory and Tom Shade. They struck him in the head several times with a piece of wood and an axe. After dragging his body by the neck to a ravine they buried him but not before they stripped him of his hat, coat, pistol and gun belt. They also took his saddle and bridle. 

Carey reported the gunshots and a massive search was started for Wilson. Several days later, Shade and Big Alec turned themselves in but Hickory was nowhere to be found. Wilson’s body was found on Saturday, brought to Tahlequah, examined and then buried. 

Hickory was finally arrested in the Osage Nation and returned to Ft. Smith to await trial. Hickory was found guilty of murder and sentenced to hang. In 1894, after two appeals, a third trial was about to begin when Hickory pled guilty to manslaughter and sentenced to five years and one day in the Columbus, Ohio prison. Tom Shade was acquitted.

Robert E. "Lee" Taylor

Deputy U.S. Marshal

Deputy Taylor, 23, was assigned to work the Osage Nation, now Osage County, Oklahoma. On Thursday, October 1, 1891, Taylor had ridden to the store of William Rogers at Skiatook, a small town located one mile inside the Cherokee Nation of the Indian Territory, and about thirty miles northwest of Tulsa. 

Taylor was at the store in order to interview Ben Haney about the location of a whiskey peddler for whom he had a warrant. Haney’s sister, Nan, worked for Rogers as a housekeeper in the house that adjoined the store. Haney arrived at the store about noon and invited Taylor to have lunch with him at Rogers’ home where Haney’s sister would cook for them. 

William Rogers entered the house while the others were still eating and, evidently displeased at his surprise guests, walked out muttering about “feeding strays.” Rogers had just returned from Coffeeville, KS, where he had been drunk for two days and had not recovered. 

After lunch, Taylor, Haney, and Nan Haney left the house and walked into the front yard where they met Rogers coming out of the store carrying a shotgun. Rogers ordered Deputy Taylor off his property and then raised the shotgun firing both barrels into Taylor’s chest. Taylor dropped to the ground dead. Rogers then hitched a team of horses to a wagon and left the area headed north.

Rogers, a half-blood Cherokee, was well known in the Indian Territory, having operated the general store and post office for fifteen years. He had also previously served as a senator in the Cherokee government. Rogers was tried twice for the murder of Deputy Taylor. The first trial ended in a hung jury. Rogers was acquitted in the second trial. 

Robert Taylor was buried in the Osage Agency Cemetery in Pawhuska in what is now Osage County, Oklahoma. The cemetery no longer exists.

George E. Thornton

Deputy U.S. Marshal

On Wednesday, October 28, 1891, Deputy Thornton, known as one of the most fearless officers who ever served the government, traveled into the Sac and Fox Nation in search of Captain Willy, a wanted Creek/Negro. Willy was wanted for horse theft, selling illegal whiskey, and the murder of a deputy marshal. 

After stopping at his uncle’s house for a short visit, Thornton rode to the Sac and Fox Agency where he met his posse, Fred Williams. The two officers then traveled to the home of Captain Willy. An Indian woman answered the door and allowed the officers to search for Willy after telling them he was not there. 

They then rode to a nearby cabin believing Willy might be there. As they approached the cabin they were met with a hail of gunfire. Thornton and Williams dismounted their horses about sixty yards from the cabin. 

After firing five or six shots from his rifle, Thornton slumped forward. He was able to regain his posture and fire twice more. Thornton then fell to the ground. Williams continued firing toward the cabin until the firing ceased from behind the corncribs. 

He then went to check on Thornton, finding him dead, shot in the side. The bullet had traveled entirely through the body. Williams stayed at the scene throughout the night. 

The next morning he searched the cabin, now abandoned, and found blankets to wrap Thornton’s body in. Being sure the killers had left the area, Williams borrowed a wagon and took Thornton’s body to the Sac and Fox Agency and then on to Guthrie. 

His body was transported to Oklahoma City arriving on Saturday. He was buried in Peoria, IL, where he was born in 1861. Deputy U.S. Marshal Rufus Cannon and three possemen captured Captain Willy in October 1892. He was convicted of manslaughter in the killing of Deputy Thornton and was waiting to be sentenced when he became ill. 

Willie died suddenly from internal bleeding. Some of the reports claim he died from complications of a wound he received in the earlier gun battle with Thornton.

Thomas Leroy Whitehead

Deputy U.S. Marshal

Josiah Poorboy

Posseman, Deputy U.S. Marshal

On Tuesday, December 8, 1891, Marshal Whitehead, 19, and his posseman, Josiah Poorboy, were staying at Cherokee Nation Judge L. W. Shirley’s home in order to keep watch on the house of Annie Hitchcock. Annie was the daughter of Judge Shirley. 

A charge of adultery was filed against Jim Craig in federal court in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. The indictment alleged Craig had been sexually involved with Annie Hitchcock. Craig has been arrested by Deputy U.S. Marshal Charles Lamb but had escaped from custody. Lamb planned a way to capture Craig by sending in an undercover operative to locate him. Thomas Whitehead agreed to infiltrate the area, locate Craig, and make the arrest. 

He was appointed a Deputy U.S. Marshal. Whitehead appointed Josiah Poorboy, a young Cherokee, his posseman. Annie Hitchcock asked Waco Hampton, an escapee who had been convicted of manslaughter, John Brown, a white man living with Hampton’s step-father, and John Roach, another young man who was friends with Hampton and Brown, to kill Poorboy and Whitehead. 

The three men went to the home of Judge Shirley and Hampton called for Whitehead to come outside. 

The two lawmen came out carrying rifles. Hampton leveled a rifle at Poorboy and fired, while Brown fired at Whitehead who went down and died within minutes. Poorboy kept firing until he was shot and fell to the ground dead. Roach had been wounded and lay moaning on the ground. 

Hampton and Brown fled and were not found until January 30, 1892, by Deputy U.S. Marshal C.A. Bruner. Hampton fired on Bruner when ordered to surrender. Bruner had a double-barrel shotgun and opened fire on Hampton killing him and his horse. John Roach recovered from his wounds and testified against Brown. 

Brown was tried and sentenced to hang by Judge Isaac C. Parker. After several appeals, on December 24, 1896, John Brown pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to one year in the Columbus, Ohio prison. Yes, one year for killing a lawman.

All of the information above was compiled from the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial website. The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. organization has been incorporated in the state of Oklahoma as a non-profit organization since April 15, 2002. 

The U. S. Internal Revenue Service recognizes Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. as a non-profit, charitable corporation under 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Knowing this, I hope my readers will not hesitate to make donations to this outstanding cause.

All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Tax-deductible donations may be made payable to "O.L.E.M." and sent to: 

Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial

PO Box 10776

Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776

Tom Correa

The Donner Party -- A Dreadful Fate 1847

It was in April of 1846 that eight families gathered together in Springfield, Ilinois, all with the common goal of going to California. Their party was originally organized by forty-six-year-old James Reed who was a businessman. 

Reed was born in the north of Ireland and came to America as a boy. He grew to settle in Illinois, and he became known as a sharp businessman. Though prosperous, he had hopes of making an even greater amount of money in California. While the California Gold Rush had not yet happened at that time, many Americans saw California and Oregon as places of boundless opportunity. 

As for Reed, it's said that he also saw California's temperate climate as a place to alleviate his wife's medical conditions. It was certainly seen to be better than the harsh winter climate found in Illinois. So in 1846, Reed saw the West as a better choice for his sickly wife, Margaret, their four children, and Margaret's seventy-year-old mother. When it was time to leave, the Reed family and two servants traveled in three wagons. It's said that Reed had one of the wagons custom-built as a double-decker home of sorts on wheels. James Reed would later be expelled from the wagon train for committing murder.

George Donner, who was a sixty-year-old farmer, was chosen as the wagon train's captain. So subsequently, the expedition took his name -- the Donner Party. It was believed at the time that it should take an estimated four months to make their trek. Before leaving Illinois, James Reed had heard of a newly discovered route through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Known as "Hastings Cutoff," that new route was said to cut as many as 300 miles off of their journey. 

They departed on May 12, 1846, almost an entire month late if they wanted to ensure beating the heavy snows. As they traveled to the Mississippi River, their train of 8 wagons joined others heading in the same direction. In all, the entire caravan is said to have stretched for two miles while underway. 

Although tedious, their journey was uneventful until they reached a small trading post at Fort Bridger in what is present-day Wyoming in mid-July. It was at Fort Bridger that some eighty-seven members of the wagon train, including the Donner brothers and their families, decided to separate from the main body and travel the Hastings Cutoff route west. James Reed was convinced that the Hastings Cutoff would save them time because it was reported as being shorter. 

All of those who traveled the old route and didn't use the Hastings Cutoff arrived in California safely. That was not the case for those who took the newer trail. And yes, at Fort Bridger, all were warned not to take that new route.

When they reached the Humboldt River in present-day Nevada, the wagon train had been underway for over five months. They thought they would be in California by then. Because of that, it's said that nerves were frayed and they were angry. One member of the party, John Snyder, began to beat his oxen with his whip while climbing a steep hill. The frustrated wagon driver did so trying to urge his oxen forward. 

When Reed saw that, he rushed forward to have words with Snyder. Soon, the two men were arguing. Then Reed attacked and killed Snyder with his knife. Reed was bound and tried on the spot. George Donner acted as a judge and the rest of the members of the train acted as a jury. Because Snyder struck Reed first and then actually hit Reed's wife while she tried to stop the fray, what took place was seen as self-defense by some and murder by others. Where one stood on whether to hang him or not depending on whether or not you liked Reed. Frankly, it sounds as though he wasn't very liked since a few were for hanging him. 

With no laws to guide them, since the United States laws were not applicable west of the Continental Divide in what was then Mexican territory, Reed was instead banished from the wagon train. Reed departed alone the next morning. While he left unarmed, it's believed his step-daughter Virginia secretly provided him with a rifle and food. James Reed left the train and went on ahead to California. His invalid wife, children and mother-in-law were left behind to travel to California on their own with the Donner Party. 

As for Margaret's seventy-year-old mother, she had tuberculosis and died on the trip. She is said to have been buried somewhere along the way. And was not part of when they became stranded. I can't find if her resting place was ever noted.

It was October 28, 1846, and the Sierra Mountains were white and cold. Snows had started a month earlier than usual that year. As the Donner Party approached the summit of the Sierra Mountains near what was known as Truckee Lake at the time, they found the pass unpassable. It was clogged with up to six feet of new-fallen snow. 

Realizing that their wagons were no match for the deep snow, they retreated to the lake twelve miles below. That was where the hapless pioneers became trapped, unable to move forward or back. Shortly before, the Donner family had suffered a broken axle on one of their wagons and fallen behind. Also trapped by the snow, they set up camp at Alder Creek six miles from the main group. Soon, survival was on their minds as each camp erected make-shift cabins and hoarded their limited supply of food. 

The snow continued to fall, and some reports say it reached a depth of as much as twenty feet. Those conditions made hunting and foraging for food impossible. It was because of being unable to hunt and forage, and seeing their wagons as unable to move, that they slaughtered their oxen. It is said that when this meat was consumed, they relied on the animals' tough hides. Boiling and eating the hides was not enough. When starvation began to take its toll, and no other option left, supposedly the survivors resorted to cannibalism to survive.

By the middle of December, a group of fifteen of those stranded and starving used makeshift snowshoes to trudge through blizzard conditions to break through the pass and into California. It is said that seven of those 15 survived to alert Sutter's Fort of what happened to the Donner Party. After that, a series of four rescue parties were launched with the first arriving at the Donner camp in late February. Between them, the rescuers were able to lead forty-eight of the original eighty-seven members of the party to safety in California.

To his credit, James Reed attempted to raise men to save those stranded. Of course of the 48 who survived, only the Reed and Breen families remained intact. The children of Jacob Donner, George Donner, and Franklin Graves were orphaned. William Eddy was alone. Most of the Murphy family had died. Most of the Donner Party members' possessions were discarded.

As for the reports of cannibalism?  Supposedly the survivors resorted to cannibalism to survive. Or did they? Is there any proof that survivors resorted to cannibalism to survive? 

Well, there are conflicting reports from survivors and rescuers. In fact, at one point, a few survivors said yes but then recanted to say no it didn't happen. One of the different groups there, it's said that the Reed family was the only group who is known for certain to have not resorted to cannibalism. Some say it had to do with Margaret Reed refusing to allow it to happen. Considering she was said to be so sickly, that's quite a feat. 

As for evidence of cannibalism? In 2010, a report came out that stated the following, "Members of the infamous Donner Party might not have been cannibals — but some experts are having trouble digesting the idea."

On April 25, 2010, The Tahoe Daily Tribune published an article titled, Cannibalism in Donner Party unlikely, research shows; others disagree. The 2010 article written by Matt Welch states, "Gwen Robbins, an anthropology professor at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., recently completed inspection of 85 pieces of bone found in Alder Creek and found all the bones to be from animals — cows, horses, deer and one dog bone. These findings followed a smaller dig in 2004 that also didn’t find any human bones.

 

Robbins and her team operated under the assumption they would need to test 105 samples to make a more conclusive statement about the cannibalism, but because many of the bones were fragmented, burned and otherwise damaged, only 85 were found.

The researchers were about 70 percent confident they would find at least one human bone, assuming those human bones were less than 1 percent of the sample and their remains were processed and preserved similarly to other fragments, Robbins said. The human bones would have been on the top of the deposit, Robbins said, but none were found.

"The findings don’t prove that cannibalism didn’t take place," Robbins said, "but they suggest that, at the Alder Creek site, cannibalism may have been limited." -- end of the article.

So was there cannibalism? Well, the fact is that there is no physical evidence of cannibalism taking place there. So if there was cannibalism there, it's my belief that it may not have been as rampant as it was portrayed in the sensationalized newspaper accounts of the time.

 

Tom Correa

Hints on Purchase of Riding Horses in 1901

A horse should be rejected for any one really bad fault. The greatest strength of a horse is limited by his worst point. Horses are often bought because they possess one or more very good points. This is a wrong principle in buying. The selection of horses should begin by rejection for bad points. Bad points are of course, in a great measure, a question of degree. Discretion is needed in rejecting as well as buying.

In measuring a horse or judging of his height and size by sight, take care that he stands on a level with yourself. Dealers generally stand a horse, if under-sized, on higher ground, or is over-sized on lower ground that the intending purchaser.

Want of a fair amount of breeding should be an absolute bar.

Reject a horse with a:

• Big coarse head
• A small sunken eye. (They are generally obstinate and sulky).
• A colour light of the sort.
• With a long slack back. (It will not carry weight).
• With a hollow back. (The formation is weak).
• With flat sides. (They will not do work or look well).
• With a slack loin. (Undue length between the last ribs and hind quarters. They are often bad feeders and will run up light with work).
• With a light loin. (Want of breadth over the loins. They run up light with work.)
• With scraggy hips. (They never do credit to feeding particularly if also slack in the loins).
• With a bad girth. (Light through the heart. This formation will always cause trouble in saddling).
• With a thick or short neck.

Unless it has a good rein. (With a clumsy neck the head is in consequence badly set on. Without a good rein a horse will never break well, or be pleasant to ride.)

Reject a horse with very low withers. The saddle will be apt to work forwards, and the 'rein' will probably be deficient, and the leverage for the muscles of the forehand is defective. A slug always a nuisance.

To see the above points stand on the side and form your opinion before the horse moves off.

Reject a horse with a narrow or shallow chest. (There is not sufficient capacity for the Lungs.)

With forelegs very, close together. (This and the former defect generally go together.)

To see these points stand in front. 

Whose forelegs are not straight. (They will not stand wear).

Stand behind the as he walks away from you, and you will be able to notice these defects, if they exist.

• Which is light below the knee, especially if light immediately below the knee. The conformation is essentially weak.
• With long, or with short or with upright pasterns. (Long pasterns are subject to sprains. Short or upright pasterns make a horse unpleasant to ride, and on account of extra concussion are apt to cause ossific deposits).
• With toes turned in of out. The twist generally occurs at the Fetlock. Toes turned out are more objectionable that toes turned in. (When toes are turned out, the fetlocks are generally turned in, and animals so formed are very apt to cut or brush. Both, however, are weak formations).
• Whose hind legs are too far behind. Good propelling power will be wanting, and disease as a result may be expected in the hocks.
• Which goes either very wide or very close behind.
• With very straight or very bent hocks. (The former causes undue concussion, the latter are apt to give way).
• Which is 'split up', (Show much daylight between his thighs. Propelling power comes from behind, and must deficient in horses without due muscular development between the thighs.
• With flat feet or over-large feet, also with very small feet. Medium sizes are the best.
• With one foot smaller than another.

A goose rump is not objectionable as mechanical formation, but it is ugly.

Action must be light, easy, free, and straight. Reject a horse that crosses his legs in walking or trotting. He will be unsafe. Freedom, power to move easily along, is the great point.

A good walk is absolutely essential. Reject a horse that does not walk well; he is never a pleasant ride. If a horse walks well, he will probably trot well; but a horse may trot well without walking well.

To ascertain whether the action is true and straight, stand behind the horse as he walks and trots away from you. You cannot ascertain this important point be standing on the side.

Never omit to stand behind a horse as he walks away.

A good sloping shoulder is an important item in a riding horse, but bad action may co-exist with a good shoulder; and vice versa, good free action may co-exist with a somewhat straight shoulder.

Reject a horse, which is straight in the shoulder and long from the point of the shoulder to the upper part of the forearm. This formation places forelegs too much under the horse, and makes him unsafe to ride.

You may have a plain horse, even if all the above very apparent defects are absent, but you will, at least, have a serviceable one if in addition found sound on veterinary examination.

Having first of all kept clear of all absolute defects such as the above, then select your horses for the presence of good, serviceable, and handsome points, and easy, free, graceful carriage. But, I repeat, begin by rejection for any one positively bad defect. The greatest strength of a chain is limited by the strength of its weakest link.

In purchasing Horses, it is a great point not to lose time. If you see any one radical defect, reject the Horse at once. The Dealer will, of course, try and persuade you to do otherwise, and will call your attention to some very good point or points in the really defective animal.

Do not lose time. A dealer, if you are a stranger to him, will probably bring out and try and palm off on you his inferior horses. But if you are quick in seeing bad points, and at once reject defective animals, he will soon find it necessary to show you his best horse.

Conclusion: We shall conclude these remarks by observing that neither frame nor constitution is of much use without good condition. This latter great essential can only be obtained by food grooming, careful and regular feeding on the best forage, strong and regular exercise, fresh wholesome air in the stables, and general good management.

-- end of the unedited article from Horses and Stables by Lieut. General Sir F Fitzwygram, BART
Published by Longmans, Green, and Co. 39 Paternoster Row, London, New York, and Bombay, 1901.