Hale just sent me the galley proofs of Guns of Ponderosa, and I see that the book is now listed on Amazon in various countries for preorder. Don't know how Gary got so many of his books preordered, but I'm hoping mine gets a few.
For some reasona, you can read the first chapter of the book at www.blackhorseexpress.org.
Charlie
If I'm not mistaken, one of the caves on the butte across from where I took this photo in Salt River Canyon, Arizona, is Skeleton Cave. Here's the story.
In December 1872, Colonel George Crook used Apache scouts to find a cave in Salt River Canyon that was being used by Kwevkepaya to mount attacks on White settlers. On December 28, accompanied by 100 Pima scouts, Captain William Brown led 120 of Crook's men to lay siege on the cave. 110 Kwevkepaya were trapped in the cave, when Brown ordered the soldiers to fire at the roof of the cave, causing rock fragments and lead shrapnel to rain down on the Kwevkepaya. Having nowhere else to go, the besieged gathered around the mouth of the cave, where soldiers (accompanied by Crook) pushed boulders onto them from above, killing 76 of the group. The survivors were taken to Camp Grant as prisoners.
Right here, from the pages of JoAnn Finney Hatch's book, Lore and Legends, adventure and history in the White Mountains of Arizona, is living proof of the legend -- Show Low got its name from a card game.
Here's the legend.
Corydon Cooley and Marion Clark jointly owned a 100,000 acre ranch that occupied the entire valley currently known as Show Low. The valley began where a stream emerged from a malpais canyon at the pine tree line (mostly junipers in the lower areas) and spread out on both sides of the stream for nearly 10 miles. Sometimes the valley was a couple of miles wide, other times it bottlenecked into malpai gorges. It was a fantastic place to run cattle, and hay grew naturally in the fields along the creek.
Not many years after the ranch got well started, Cooley and Clark parted company. Legend has it that rather than fight it out at close range with sixguns, the two men decided to play cards to determine who would go and who would stay. As the game drew to a close, Marion Clark supposedly said to Cooley, "Show low and win the ranch." Cooley turned up a deuce of clubs for the win. Clark peacefully went his way.
Cooley often told the story of the card game. But then he often told stories, many of which were highly embellished versions of the truth.
True, Cooley named the place Show Low Ranch. But did the name come from the fabled card game? The Chamber of Commerce of Show Low, Arizona, would have you believe so.
But wait. What was the name of that creek that ran down the middle of Cooley's ranch?
An 1879 map has the stream labelled "Chiloe Creek."
And in 1851, Franz Huning said the Indians referred to the creek as Shothloo.
What a tiny bit of imagination it would take to morph Shothloo into Show Low. The card game makes a good story. Corydon Cooley was famous for his good stories. Dick Cooley, biographer and grandson of Corydon, wrote: "I wish you luck . . .since the dearth of accurate information and the separation of fact from fancy in the life of this remarkable man (Cooley) is not a simple task. His own penchant for story telling and humorous embellishments . . . tend to confuse . . . ."
Jo Ann says, "Whatever the facts of the naming of the town of Show Low, the tourists love Cooley's story as much today as they did 100 years ago. The truth of the matter is safely buried under the sands of time, and will never be known. But if you hear a faint chuckle as the 'Show Low Story' is told, don't be surprised. Old Cooley may be having the last laugh."
Cooley and Clark, immortalized in bronze, play the famous card game. Vandals removed Clark's head. The one in the photo is a temporary replacement until another can be cast. Vandals never cease to amaze me.
This story from the older sister of a classmate from Show Low, Arizona. Only in the West.
Charlie
Hi Everyone, Mark was driving 65 mph this morning when a herd of seven elk ran out from over a big hill and they ran right into him. These are some pictures of the accident this morning. He was driving from Show Low to Payson at 6:45 am. All seven elk were killed and two of them were lodged underneath the front of the car when Mark skidded into the side of the mountain and into a ditch. They were his cushions! Two elk came up over his hood and smashed into his window and the other three went flying over the car and into the highway. They had to shut the road down so they could get the elk out of the way. It looked like a war zone. There was one male, four females and two calves. The pictures are very sad to see. The front and side airbags were deployed and except for a few minor burns and cuts, Mark walked away from this without any injuries. I was in Show Low when a man called me to tell me that Mark had been in this accident. Mark’s phone wasn’t working. He was very nice and had witnessed the accident and he told me that Mark would call me when he got into Payson. He rode back with the tow truck driver. This man worked for the Forest Service and he said that he has never, ever, seen anyone kill seven elk with one vehicle and walk away from it. He told me that Mark holds the record. I told him that our Lord was driving! Our Murano did exactly what it was designed to do! After the accident, Mark said that some of the local hunters came out with trucks and ATV’s & even a tractor with a scoop on it, and they took away all the elk. At least they are getting some good elk steaks to feed their families. What was funny was that the Fish & Game people showed up at the scene and gave Mark “elk permits” because they said that the elk were his! But, of course, he had no way to transport them back home, so they were given to the other people. Our insurance has been wonderful and we already have a rental car to drive until we get this settled. When I look at these pictures, I just can’t believe what happened and how Mark just walked away. Thank you, Lord! We got a call from the Forest Service guy tonight and he said that they want to do a story about this and it’s supposed to be in the Payson Roundup newspaper too. I told Mark that God must not be done with him yet! We’ll keep in touch. I am sending a second email with more pictures which were taken at the salvage yard. Couldn’t get them all in one email. Love you, Toni
I drove up into the White Mountains of Arizona today, to the place where my forthcoming novel "Hell Fire in Paradise" is set. Suffice it to say that Laurel Baker is a widow and owner of a ranch called the Rafter P, located in Paradise Valley. Here is a part of what her valley looked like.
The Class of '59, Snowflake Union High School, met for our 50th anniversary reunion today at the Social Activities Center in Snowflake. There were 63 students who graduated from SUHS in 1959 and more than half of them came to our reunion. Many are in poor health and were unable to attend. Paul Hatch, the cowboy poet, gave us a hilarious reading of some of his cowboy poetry, and I read my short little story, "Requiem for a Pig." Everyone took the mike for a moment to give a 5-minute recap of their lives, and we were able to renew many old friendships. Very nice reunion, thanks to Joe Spear, our Class President, Kathy Rodgers, our secretary, and helpers Larry Butler, Paul Hatch, Phyllis Carlyle, and others. Good time had by all.
