A Snake in the Grass. . .

Tis the season. . .

In 1975, I was at Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Virginia, attending Governor's School for the Gifted and Talented. (Don't laugh.)A junior in high school, I was at first terribly homesick. Mama would send me The Enterprise, our hometown newspaper, and I eagerly awaited its arrival. My suitemates, mostly from Washington, D.C. and environs, found the homefolks of Patrick County quaint, but what they thought downright hysterical were the photos of the largest rattlesnake found each week.

Yep, the farmers and orchardists of southwestern Virginia would proudly toss the dead reptile into the back of the pickup truck, drive into Stuart, and get their picture made for the next issue. These images, and those of the largest tomatoes, or potatoes shaped like Nixon, defined the summer season.

Now comes even bigger news! A few weeks ago, Allen Hopkins (above, right, with his brother-in-law, left) was operating a motor grader in Patrick Springs when he spied something strange in the grass. No, it wasn't a snake, worse! It was the snake's skin. Since it was pretty long and didn't look like a blacksnake, Allen took the unusual evidence to veterinarian, Lock Boyce. Gleefully, Boyce noted that this particular epidermis belonged to a a boa constrictor, and the snake is probably still loose in Patrick County. According to the Enterprise, Dr. Boyce said he and his brother Fred, who is also a snake expert, are looking for the missing snake and hope to find it, catch it and display it so people can learn more about the huge reptile. Boyce said the boa constrictor is "incredibly strong" with coils like steel. Oh, and apparently, boa constrictors can climb. The snake is very hard to kill with a gun and should not be approached, Boyce said.

Duh!

Okay, so this story comes on the heels of another item from our friend Jay Jackson in Missouri. He forwarded this image, supposedly Abb Williams and a 9-foot, 97-pound rattlesnake found on his farm near the Springfield Airport. My question is, how did this snake die? I grew up on a farm and if any hillbilly I know had caught sight of this monster creeping toward the henhouse, it would have been blown so full of holes that it would have looked like a Chinese Buffet. It appears that the head is in tact, so it didn't die that way. Perhaps it was old age. From its size, this monster has had several seasons of plenty.

Then, upon closer examination, the snake doesn't appear quite dead. Wouldn't its head be hanging limply? Okay, Abb. If you haven't been eaten by now, please drop me a line and give me the details. In the meantime, I'm sending this one to Dr. Boyce.

I Fought the Law. . .

(A') Breakin' rocks in the ... hot sun
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won

I needed money, 'cause I ... had none
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won

I left my baby and I feel so bad
I guess my race is run
Well, she's the best girl ... I've ever had
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won

Robbin' people with a . . . SIX gun
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won

I miss my baby and the ... good fun
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won

I left my baby and I feel so bad
I guess my race is run
But, she's the best girl ... I've ever had
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won

Up to our eyeballs in reports of crime, criminals, and the criminally insane, the words of this song kept running through my brain...breakin' rocks in the hot sun...which is where a bunch of thugs need to be. I like this song. The guy screws up, commits violent acts, and gets punished. The words were written by Texan, Sonny Curtis, of Buddy Holly and the Crickets fame. Curtis has been a successful songwriter since those days, penning the theme song for the Mary Tyler Moore show and my personal favorite, "I'm No Stranger to the Rain," sung by Keith Whitley. (I listened to Keith Whitley when we were both kids and he and Ricky Skaggs were singing with Ralph Stanley. He died, too young, of course, from alcoholism.)

Back to I Fought the Law: Sonny himself recorded it, but it became a huge hit for the Bobby Fuller Four, another bunch of Texans who were climbing the charts with rockabilly music. They were hitting the big time in Los Angeles when on this day in 1966, bandleader Bobby Fuller (above) was found dead in the front seat of his mom's Oldsmobile, beaten, soaked in gasoline, with a rag stuffed in his mouth.

His death was ruled a suicide.

I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won

Not always.

Wild West Fairy Tales

It was on July 13 or 14 (around midnight), 1881, that Billy the Kid was killed by Pat Garrett. Period. The Kid has not resurfaced in any legitimate form since that day. Period. But. . . confronted with a creative writing assignment in college that required incorporating an historic figure, I appropriated the myth that the Kid somehow survived. The result was an A+ short story.

In my story, Garrett and the Kid staged the murder and the Kid was ordered to disappear, for his own safety and Garrett's reputation. For years, Garrett would receive postcards, unsigned, and vague, from various points in the Northwest. Then mail began arriving from Chinatown, San Francisco, and cards advertised a particular Chinese restaurant. Garrett put 2 & 2 together and went to the grandest city in the West in search of the Kid. Arriving at the restaurant, he was greeted by a stooped, little Chinaman who identified himself as the owner, nodded politely, seated Garrett at a table and proceeded to ask him why he is there. The Chinaman is suspicious. Garrett is wary. Eventually, the Kid removed the silk cap from his head, changed his accent and laughingly shook the hand of his comrade. Small, wily, needing to remain out of sight, Billy had managed to find a Chinese girl whose successful father was willing to bring him into the fold. (Yes, I read lots of fairy tales as a child.) But, I thought it every bit as plausible as any of the other stories about Billy's survival, and am willing to write the screenplay if there are Hollywood agents reading the blog.

In reality, Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett probably weren't friends, just acquaintances. For the real scoop on Pat Garrett, see http://www.nmia.com/~btkog/garrett.htm where historian Leon Metz has posted the timeline of the lawman's life.

Waiting for the Train. . . Robbers

The long awaited premier of the movie featuring Brad Pitt as Jesse James occurs in September. (Do we even have to mention the name?) We are weary of waiting; I've had Brad's 8x10 promo-glossy-as-Jesse hanging in the hallway for a year now. Perhaps the more exciting news is the premier of 3:10 to Yuma, the remake starring Russell Crowe (above), scheduled for theaters September 7. The original with Glenn Ford and Van Heflin is a real classic, and I can't imagine that the studios have improved upon it. But, we froth at the mouth over any Western that Hollywood is willing to make and the opportunity to see the Wild West on the big screen is one we won't miss. The trailer looks exciting . . . but, it was the quiet that made the original so powerful and it seems difficult to make a movie that allows us to pause and ponder. . . . ah . . . .

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From the West. . .

Hi Deb,

I really enjoy your Mason-Dixon Wild West blog, and appreciate what both you and Tom do to help keep alive the Old West.

I'm Mike Harris, publisher for La Frontera Publishing. We publish books about the Old West. We also have an Internet eZine about the Old West focusing on how today's fans of the Old West celebrate Old West traditions. It's called OldWestNewWest.Com. You can find it by going to http://www.oldwestnewwest.com/

I'm writing you about a new series we have started at the eZine called the American Civil War in the West. Our first report is on the Battle of Wilson's Creek outside of Springfield, MO. I'm hoping you'll find our Web Site and our series interesting enough to link to on your blog, and maybe give us a brief mention. We plan to cover how the Civil War impacted the West, including battlefields, skirmish locations, Civil War outposts in the West, etc. in the months ahead.

Hope you take a look at our site.

Cheers,

Mike Harris
Publisher
La Frontera Publishing2710 Thomes Ave., Suite 181Cheyenne, WY. 82001
(307) 778-4752www.lafronterapublishing.com
Bringing You The West In Books(sm)

DG--Mike, thanks for the kudos. Your site looks great; good work. Speaking of Wilson's Creek, our friends at Wideawake Films are working on the videos for the welcome center at the battlefield and Tom has been involved in that process. It's a beautiful area for those of you who have not visited, and an incredible story. So Mike, next time we're in Cheyenne, Tom & I would love to sit down and talk about how much we love Wyoming. You wouldn't have any spare rooms, would you?
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From the East. . .

Paul R. Martin III, President of the Rockland CWRT, writes that the group's summer field trip to the Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, will be Saturday, July 28 at 10:00 a.m. Would that I were closer because this is one I would love to join. Among the thousands of internments are Horace Greeley, Lola Montez (see Tom's blog "Lovely Lola," 1/11/07), Laura Keene (the actress on stage when Lincoln was shot, and Frank Morgan (below, remember the wizard in the Wizard of Oz? ). From Paul, who must be as passionate about graves as me and Andy Waskie:
Over 3,000 Civil War veterans, including 16 Union generals and 2 Confederate generals, are buried in Green-Wood. In fact, Green-Wood has more Civil War generals than any other cemetery except Arlington and West Point. More than 1200 VA gravestones are being installed to mark previously unmarked graves of Civil War veterans. This is your chance to see the many historic monuments and visit the graves and hear interesting stories of Green-Wood's Civil War veterans. Jeff Richman, Green-Wood Cemetery's historian, will be our guide for an unforgettable Civil War tour of one of the world's great cemeteries. Jeff is the author of the just-published Final Camping Ground: Civil War Veterans at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, In Their Own Words. He will lead our tour to many Civil War-related sites and will share the Project's most exciting discoveries--including recently unearthed gravestones. The tour will include time aboard a new trolley service running through the cemetery and will last approximately three hours.

Please join us for this exciting and fun filled morning. The cost is $10.00 per person for members and guests, to help defray the cost of our guide’s fee. Following the tour we will go to a local restaurant for a “pay your own” lunch. Friends and family, as always, are welcome. Please call me, Paul Martin, to RSVP and for more information at 914-245-8903 (Silent Sentinel Studio). My cell phone # is 914-980-5267 and I will have it on that Saturday morning. Directions are below. See you there and bring along some friends or family who share our love of American history!I have also included a listing of some other local Civil War related events taking place this summer that you may be interested in attending. Contact numbers are listed but feel free to call me as well for more information. Enjoy your summer! God Bless our troops and God Bless America!
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From the South. . .

Great blog.

I recently visited Cherokee on my way to Asheville (See blog 6/29/07). Very neat place. I loved the museum... just avoid that gift shop if you're a booklover- unless of course you're loaded. I have Frazier's latest on my shelf and will hopefully get to it soon.

Cyberhillbilly

DG: I don't have Frazier's new book yet; please let me know what you think after you read it. I have been engrossed in Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters by Elizabeth Pryor. It should win every non-fiction or Civil War-related award available this year. Your website is very interesting. I really enjoyed the entry on whether or not eastern Kentucky is part of the South or the Midwest. Join the conversation at http://www.cyberhillbilly.blogspot.com/.

Rebels at the Gates

Great issue of Civil War Times on the newsstand! We are in the midst of the anniversary of Jubal Early's assault on Washington, D. C., something our friend Dave Finch has devoted his life to studying. We met Dave several years ago at an impressive reenactment of the Battle of Monocacy, the event that saved the Union capital. (I joked that it seemed strange to me that folks should celebrate saving D.C. and apparently the Yankees surrounding me did not find the comment humorous. I grew up in a land where Jubal Early IV was the family doctor for lots of folks, so it's just better for your health to root for Early!)

The reenactment is also where we met Julia Robb, a reporter who has moved back to her homestate of Texas. She has a fascinating article appearing soon on the death masks of famous outlaws. See Tom's blog today for more details.

Another very interesting story in the current issue of CWTI is that of a couple of Confederate soldiers who were executed after the surrender at Appomattox. Of course, a memorial marks the spot and like many of the events of the Civil War, the action remains controversial. As usual, the magazine is full of good stuff. Don't miss this one.

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Marlette Killed in Car Crash

So saddened to hear of the death of cartoonist Doug Marlette. (http://news.aol.com/story/_a/cartoonist-doug-marlette-dies-in-crash/20070710164709990001) When I was a young reporter in Mount Airy, North Carolina, part of my job was to scan the Charlotte Observer for news each day. Before the headlines, I turned to the comics to read "Kudzu," and the latest antics of the Reverend Will B. Dunn. The name still cracks me up!

Just in case you can't make out the captions below:

Holy Catfish! I got hit with another technical in church league basketball!
The refs are discriminating against us Protestants!
If the Catholics can make the sign of the cross before each free throw. . .
I don't see why I can't handle snakes!


Marlette was only 57. His loss leaves an incredible void, but his life brought so much joy. Is God gonna have a good time when this rebel knocks at the Pearly Gates!

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Speaking of Rebels at the Gates. . . .

Our buddy Rob Hodge is officially moving from Virginia to Kansas City. Spoke with him and his more significant other, Hibah, on the phone yesterday, just as they had packed up the last of their possessions. It is an emotional move. Even though Rob grew up in Ohio (not far from "Monocacy Dave" Finch, coincidentally), his spiritual home has always been Virginia. Likewise, Hibah has only lived in that part of the world. Just to make them feel better, I began listing the things they would miss. . . mountain laurel (left), fall color, cornmeal, oysters, the Blue Ridge Parkway, bluegrass, etc, etc. We plan to start a support group for displaced Virginians. Anyone interested in participating, just buy the bourbon and we'll be there!

July in Washington

July 7, 1865, Washington, D. C. -- By 11 a.m., a huge throng had gathered at the upper gate of the Arsenal grounds. To the disappointment of all, a strong guard around the entire perimeter prevented most from entering. Outside the gates, enterprising vendors set up stalls and sold iced lemonade and cakes. As the crowd stood staring at those who came and went, a stir was created when Mary Walker passed by. Not only was Walker the sole female physician in the Union Army, but she was the only woman admitted to the execution. Loathed by some, laughed at by others, Dr. Walker shocked all, male and female alike, due to her penchant for wearing men's trousers. On this day, the young woman added to her scandals by riding a horse through the crowd astraddle like a man.

In the maddening heat and excitement, tempers soon became explosive. As a soldier attempted to pass through the Arsenal gate to fill his canteen, he was halted by the sentry. Sharp words were exchanged between the two when a sergeant of the guards suddenly appeared. Cutting the argument short, the angry officer simply drew his sword and stabbed the thirsty soldier in the eye. With blood streaming down his face, the wounded man was quickly carried away. Learning of the incident, the victim's brother, also a soldier, raced to the scene. As the stunned crowd watched in horror, the outraged brother raised his musket and shot the sergeant dead in his tracks.

Inside, David Herold, Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt waited in the stifling heat to be led to the gallows. It seemed the whole world was insane.

For more, read Tom's book The Darkest Dawn: Lincoln, Booth, and the Great American Tragedy. You'll never forget it.

The Second Day

It was their first trip to Pennsylvania.

Company K, 50th Virginia Infantry, was, like most Civil War units, made up of brothers, cousins, boys who had fished and farmed together. These men were mine; my great-grandfather, his future brothers-in-law, uncles, cousins, maybe a nephew or two. They had a party in Patrick County before setting off to Wytheville to enlist, the Pucketts and the Bowmans in the shadow of Groundhog Mountain, passing a jug of white to bolster their courage and soften the sadness. Their neighbor, James Stuart, was already at war--an officer. Perhaps they toasted him.

My great-grandfather was captured at Culp's Hill ( sketch of Confederate pickets, above, and the battlefield, below) on the second day of the fighting at Gettysburg. He was taken to Fort Delaware, and then to Point Lookout where records say he died. He didn't. He came home, eventually, back to the hollow under Groundhog Mountain, married, had a family, farmed the rocky hillside, buried his wife, vainly lied about his age and married again. My grandfather was born to him and his young wife in 1894.

Grandpa told me stories that his daddy and uncles had told him; once, Great-Grandpa was entrusted with feeding and caring for General Lee's horse. Not until I was an adult did I find that men were eating rats and rotten seagulls that washed up on the beach at Point Lookout. Those stories were not passed on.

At least one of my relatives lies in Hollywood Cemetery, or at least, that's the story. His grave is among the hundreds of unknown soldiers and the family was told that was where his remains were placed. Would he care that he rests with presidents, generals, Stuart himself, or would he have rather died an old man in the Doe Run community he came from?

As Gen. J. E. B. Stuart wrote, expressing the sentiments of every soldier about his home, “If I could get to old Patrick I would be a happy man.” *

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Speaking of John Brown

If you've been following national news at all over the weekend, you've heard about the flooding in Ottawa, Iola, Osawatomie. It's unbelievalbe. Flood gates are all that keep the raging Marais des Cygnes River from flooding the businesses of downtown Ottawa (right). Evacuations have been the order of the day as families all over southeastern Kansas scramble for precious belongings and head for higher ground. Travel is perilous in many places and storm chaser, Joey Ketchum, snapped this image below -- a roadway leading into the water, becoming an all too common sight.


The town of Osawatomie takes its name from the confluence of Pottawatomie Creek and the Osage River. (At that point, it is actually the Marias des Cygnes; it becomes the Osage downstream a ways. ) In the 1850s, Osawatomie was the home of a man soon to make news around the world--the abolitionist John Brown. His sister lived in the town, and Brown and his sons mostly lived a camplife along the nearby creeks. He earned the sobriquet, "Old Osawatomie." It was here that one of the biggest battles of Bleeding Kansas was fought in August, 1856. Looking at those images one would find it hard to believe that John Brown and his men waded the river to escape from the Missourians. Lucky for them, it wasn't flooding that year.
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The Free State of Patrick

For more information on Gen. Jeb Stuart or the boys from Patrick County, click on the link to the right and check out Tom Perry's finely researched and written publications.