Wynkoop's Wolf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wynkoop's Wolf

My good friend, Louis Kraft, has written Ned Wynkoop (below) and the Lonely Road From Sand Creek (University of Oklahoma: 2011). I will have a review soon. Louis has the habit of finding people worth knowing and sharing them compassionately and eloquently. Ned Wynkoop is one such individual. This article appeared in the Osage Chronicle (Burlingame, KS) on August, 15, 1868:

(Special correspondent of the Times)
EXCITING FROM THE WEST
Fort Larned, Kan., Aug. 5, 1868

A most fearful and appaling curcumstance transpired at the Fort last evening, the very recolection of which chills my blood with horror.
While a party of ladies and gentlemen were sitting in front of the beautiful quarters of Col. Ed. Wynkoop, as brave, gallant and courteous a gentleman as the West can boast, and who is now Indian Superintendent or Agent of several war like tribes, the entire party almost involuntarily commenced a beautiful song.
While the melody was ringing in the night air, a monstrous' shaggy and rabid wolf dashed madly into the midst of the party, first attacking Lieut. Thompson, 3rd U. S. Infantry, tearing and lacerating his limbs in a most frightful manner.
The monster then broke away, pursued by Col. Wynkoop and his chief scout, James Morrison, who had lost no time in procuring proper arms. Before either of these fearless gentlemen, however, could overtake him, the wolf had attacked the sentry at the guard0house, whom he also bit savagely, the sentinel having fired, but most unfortunately, missed his aim.
From the guard house the wolf next dashed over to the hospital and made an assault upon one of the men there stationed, almost tearing his right arm from his body, after first taking of a finger entire. He then attacked and mutilated a colored soldier of the Tenth Cavalry and subsequently entered the quarters of a laundress, while she was in bed; but owing to the thickness of the bed clothes, fortunately failed to inflict any serious injury on the poor woman.
The maddened creature next caughe sight of the sentinel at the haystacks, who almost providentially, shot him dead.
Besides Lieutenant Thompson there are three persons badly bitten and mutilated by this ferocious monster. What the result will be, God only knows!

I left the errors in tact. I think they reflect the excitement of the writer more than his ability. I was reminded of this incident because of a Facebook post from Fort Hays (KS) historic site:

In the fall of 1872, a soldier at Fort Hays died as a result of being bitten by a rabid wolf and so pet dogs were required to be kept penned up lest they get bitten by a rabid animal too. The fort still had a problem with the disease the following year and after a rabid dog played a visit to the fort on September 2, 1873, further restrictions were instituted. Officers dogs were to be kept tied up but enlisted men, civilian employees and laundresses were not even permitted to own a pet. The obvious implication here was that officers could responsibly control the actions of their dogs while enlisted men, civilians and laundresses were incapable of doing so. Such was the military prejudice at the time.


The actual wolf pictured is not at Fort Larned or Fort Hays, but at Chernobyl. I figure if you've seen one rabid wolf, you've seen them all.

 

Cody, Custer, Hickok: Legendary Kansans

. . . . is now up at the Great Overland Station, North Topeka, Kansas. The highlight of this exhibit is the life-size (6'2') James Butler Hickok by artist Melissa Rau. This is worth the price of admission!

The Westerners

Gary and I had the great fun of being guests at the Corral meeting at the Golden Ox, legendary steakhouse, a couple of weeks ago. Lots of old friends present and made a few new ones. This was my first trip to this eatery -- the decor suited me well! Below, with painting of Buffalo Bill Cody, and toasting the cattle drive! Thanks, Honey, for driving and taking pictures!

 

 

Oregon/California Trail Association

Too much fun! (top photo) At their annual meeting in Lawrence, I was invited to sell books. Again, lots of old friends showed up like Joe Houts and Bryce Benedict and Terry Hobbs. Made lots of new friends, too, like the undertaker in Lincoln, KS. Some days are just too good to be true. Wine and undertakers.

Chiaventone Wins Wrangler Award

Fred Chiaventone has won another Wrangler Award.

Well, we are NOT surprised!!

Fred (pictured above with long-time friend, Gen. David Petraeus) is among my top 5 favorite writers of all time. Two of his books, Moon Of Bitter Cold and A Road We Do Not Know are two of my top five favorite books. I've turned so many people on to Fred's work, I should get commissions. I'll settle for the satisfaction of knowing that other people have been touched by Fred's work. He's a fine historian and a fine writer.

This latest Wrangler, bestowed by the Western Heritage Museum and Cowboy Hall of Fame, is given to Fred for an April 2010 article in Wild West Magazine on the Pony Express. Fred's first Wrangler award in 2003 recognized Moon Of Bitter Cold and was presented to him by actor, Ernest Borgnine.

Wrangler award winners are a prestigious lot: Robert Duvall, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Utley among them. I'm thrilled to see Fred recognized yet again as he continues to make valuable contributions to literature and history. During his Army career, Fred specialized in counter-terrorism and national security issues. Since retiring, he has written and lectured widely and appeared in numerous documentaries and consulted on feature films, including Ang Lee's "Ride With The Devil". His articles have appeared in American Heritage, The New York Post, Armed Forces Journal, and Cowboys & Indians. He was a contributing editor to the Historical Dictionary of the U. S. Army and to the Oxford Companion to American Military History.

Yaay, Fred!

More News From Talented Friends

Louis Kraft is doing the final edits on his Ned Wynkoop manuscript and I can hardly wait to see it. Just picked up the April issue of Wild West Magazine and Louis has a really excellent article on Wynkoop, who was serving as sheriff of Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory. What a life! Louis may be the best biographer going and he brings Wynkoop back from the past with color and clarity and compassion, just as he did with Geronimo and Charles Gatewood.

Be sure to grab this issue of Wild West and watch for the upcoming biography from the University of Oklahoma, Ned Wynkoop: Walking Between the Races.

We hope to get up to Hardin this summer to hear Louis (above with me at the Kansas City Civil War Roundtable) and good friend, D. K. Clark, on the 135th anniversary of Custer's Last Fight.

The History World spins on.

Such a busy time of year for everyone. . . Still getting settled into the new house, unpacking notes and sorting research and books. . . . Dixie Lee had a great time with the Kansas Division Sons of Confederate Veterans on Saturday evening. Great buds!

In checking the calendar, I notice that yesterday was the birthday of Errol Flynn, born June 20, 1909. Where would Jeb Stuart and George Custer be without him? My friend, Louis Kraft, is working on a biography of Flynn and his frequent costar, Olivia de Havilland, and I can't wait to read it!

"Purtiest man I ever saw!"

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June 20 is a red-letter day in my life, too, because it is the anniversary of the day Gary & I met. It didn't take long for us to realize God had sent us to one another. There have been so many experiences packed into this year, it's more like twenty, but it has all been good or worked for good. I am grateful. It's never too late for love.

Snow in Lowgap and Gift Suggestions

Is this not the most inviting scene? This is the creation of my cousin Cindi's two boys, Tim & Logan. The foot of snow that landed in Lowgap, North Carolina, was obviously enjoyed. I'm including some of her other photos, showing their home in the mountains. She commented that in weather like this, a husband with a backhoe is a handy thing. (Eat your heart out, Red Green!)

The view of the mountains (below) from Cindi & Victor's deck is the Blue Ridge in North Carolina and Virginia. Isn't it beautiful? And you can see the pines around their home. . . Lowgap is famous for Christmas greenery.

The young men responsible for the "cool" living room decor lounge to the left. Creativity really does run in my family!

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Christmas Gifts


Got my first Christmas present the other day. Gary bought me The Assassination of Jesse James starring Brad Pitt. I jumped up and down I was so tickled!!! Isn't the image above just awesome? I'm sure my bud Chuck Rabas will weigh in, but honestly, this movie is worth the price just for images such as these.

This leads me to some gift suggestions for those distraught shoppers among you. Let's make it an historic Christmas!!!!

*Oil lamps. Have you heard the weather forecast? Oil lamps can be bought cheaply at Dollar General or more expensively at an antique store, but be sure to include lamp oil.

*Abraham Lincoln: A Life by Michael Burlingame (left). While you're sitting there in the lamplight, you might as well be reading the ultimate biography of a very interesting and inspiring man, written by a very interesting and inspiring man. Okay, I'll level with you: This is a two-volume, two-thousand page tome and the cost is equivalent to our wine budget for the month (okay, the week), but not since William Herndon has there been such a significant work on the 16th president.

*Moon of Bitter Cold by Fred Chiaventone. Today is the anniversary of the Fetterman Massacre, 1866, just outside Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming. Fred's account of Red Cloud's War is priceless. The historic characters we know and love come to life in this novel--(people like Margaret Carrington and Jim Bridger). There is talk of a mini-series. Gosh, I hope so. While you're at it, buy A Road We Do Not Know...I can scarcely talk about this book without weeping. Absolutely the best account of the Little Bighorn.

*Gatewood and Geronimo and Lt. Charles Gatewood and His Apache Wars Memoir by Louis Kraft. Some folks worth knowing have been gone for a long time. Thank God we have people like Louis to bring them back to us, wholly and warmly. I can't tell you how much I love these two books, how much I love Louis, and how I can't wait to read his work on Ned Wynkoop. Louis can teach the class on how to write a memoir.

*Memberships. We all have enough crap. Let's give an experience--a newsletter that keeps coming, an admission that gets us in again and again. Some of my favorites:
Shawnee County Historical Society, Topeka
Pattee House Museum, St. Joseph, Missouri
Civil War Roundtable of Eastern Kansas, Topeka
Kansas City Civil War Roundtable, Mission, Kansas
The Great Overland Station, Topeka

*Music. I am the newest and most ardent fan of Mike Finnigan. Search youtube.com and get a sample of "Let Me See the Light." In fact, that is my gift to each of you.

*Movies. Everyone knows I'm hooked on old westerns. Anything with Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland. Newer ones, movies with a message--just think about the person and what you want to say. There's a movie that fits and it gives joy again and again.

*Art. Do NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT, buy art from a furniture store or KMart or Walmart, or even Target or Macy's. Go to your local art gallery, tell them how much you can spend and get something original and unique. I know too many artists to offend anyone by mentioning names here, but there is something out there to fit your pocketbook and taste. I PROMISE!!!

Okay? Is your mind moving in a different direction? Are you ready to make Christmas an historic event? I knew you could do it. Let me know if you need more help. I'm here for you.

Friends

In this season of counting my blessings, I put friends at the top of the list, but next must be the internet. Somehow I missed the October issue of Wild West. (Lapsed subscription, perhaps?) Anyhow, as I was perusing Historynet I came across this great article by Johnny Boggs. The interviewee is my dear friend, Louis Kraft(with me, above), and his subject is Ned Wynkoop (below). Never heard of Ned Wynkoop? Well, Ned is worth knowing, and thanks to Louis, you will have the opportunity to meet him. This quote comes from Johnny's article:

JB-Why have many historians overlooked Ned Wynkoop? LK-He is ignored by historians who only read what has already been published—a sentence here, a paragraph or two there. Like Lieutenant Charles Gatewood, 6th U.S. Cavalry, he, for well over a century, has been a footnote in history or relegated to the circular file. The reason is simple: Edward W. Wynkoop lived his life on the frontier his way. And, like Charlie Gatewood, he had a conscience and refused to accept the views of his times, the 1860s. This placed him at odds with the settlers, the press, the military, the government and even the Indians he worked with. Wynkoop’s stance during the 1860s Indian wars on the central and southern Plains turned him into a pariah. He dared to speak up against everything he thought was wrong.

Read the rest of this article at: http://www.historynet.com/magazines/wild_west

When I commented to Louis on the quality of the article, he replied:

Johnny's a good, good friend of mine. Actually, I need to talk to him about a writing project that I now won't get to until January 2010 at the earliest. . . . Johnny's a class act, a terrific person, one of the best novelists writing today, and I'm glad to call him "friend."

I'm glad to call Louis "friend." I am also encouraged that good people of conscience, like Louis, are applying their talents to history. Likewise Johnny Boggs.

Jerry Choate Obit

I was so saddened to hear of the passing of Dr. Jerry Choate, well-known to many Kansans as well as those in the field of natural history. He had been a frequent guest on my radio show and was just a joy. Blessings to his family. His obit:

Sunday, Dec 13, 2009

HAYS – Dr. Jerry Choate, 66, former Fort Hays State University professor and director of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, died Dec. 9, 2009, in Denver, Colo.

Jerry was born March 21, 1943, in Bartlesville, Okla. After earning his bachelors degree from Pittsburg State University in 1965, he received a doctoral degree from the University of Kansas in Lawrence in 1969 and began his career at Fort Hays State University in 1971. Jerry retired in June 2009 from Fort Hays State University, where he had worked for nearly 40 years, teaching in the department of biological sciences and serving as director of two different museums – the Museum of the High Plains and then the Sternberg Museum of Natural History.

Among many other professional groups, Jerry was a longtime supporter and member of the Southwestern Association of Naturalists.

Besides his wife, Fi Choate, Jerry is survived by his son, Judd; and a granddaughter, Mahlon.

His body will be cremated and a memorial service in Hays is planned for a later date.
Through the Fort Hays State University Foundation, the Choate family is setting up a memorial for graduate students working in mammalogy at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History.

Tommy Phillips Dies

My Kansas friends will not recognize this name, but folks back home will. Tommy's family operated the Mountain Top Restaurant and Motel at the top of Fancy Gap Mountain, Virginia, (below) for generations.

When my older daughter, Karen, won Little Miss Blue Ridge, we went to have breakfast the next day and she took her trophy, crown and sash to show Tommy. Over country ham and buckwheat cakes, I commented that this honor had not gone to her head and what an humble little beauty queen she was.

Tommy laughed, and asked, "Is that so?"

He could see Karen behind me, primping and adjusting her crown in the mirror above the piano.

Tommy will be so missed I don't even have the words. He was a friend to me and to my sister, Denise, for so many years. We have so many wonderful memories as does his family and we send them blessings.

I had a grandson born November 30. I am reminded that we take our turn coming into this world and we take our turn leaving it. Let us make the most of our time here, be kind and considerate of one another, and appreciative of the blessings of the rich relationships God has given us.

Rubes and Geronimo

A week full of drama:

Since hosting the morning talk show on KMAJ AM, my schedule has just been turned upside down. But it has really been fun. Author/historian Louis Kraft was our guest last week and what a pleasure to spend time with him. (Louis is the author of Gatewood and Geronimo and Lt. Charles Gatewood and his Apache Wars Memoir.)

Cartoonist Leigh Rubin, creator of Rubes (above), was on the radio with me (along with Mike Myers from Creators Syndicate) and then Louis and I attended Leigh's presentation at the local library. There was a standing room only crowd. In fact, they turned away so many folks that they plan to have him back. That was Tuesday. Wednesday was Civil War Roundtable in Kansas City and Thursday was here in Topeka, with Louis speaking each night. It's obvious his background is in drama. Louis (left, in costume) performs a one-man show as Ned Wyncoop, Indian agent extraordinaire. It is a riveting story -- a decent man trying to stop the Plains Indian Wars. The newly established national historic site at the Washita Battlefield in Oklahoma will host this performance in December so we're organizing a field trip.

Speaking of drama, I also interviewed Tom Smith via telephone from sunny Southern California. Tom and I chatted about the new Indiana Jones film, which I went to see by myself because no one would go with me! Tom did visual effects on the first Indiana Jones--one of my favorite films. His inside dish: Harrison Ford is a great guy and the female lead candidates tried out by baking cookies. Apparently, Karen Allen is a good cook. Locals will recall that the Kansas City and Topeka Civil War Roundtables hosted Tom last year about this time. The topic was the fiction he wrote about ancestor William Clark, Massacre at Baxter Springs.

I haven't been to see Sex and the City yet. Can't take that much drama this soon!

Lincoln's Gingerbread Home

The perfect centerpiece for the Lincoln Society Christmas party- - the Lincoln Home in gingerbread. Johanna Rosson created this spicy spectacle for competition with Iron Chef Bobby Flay. Flay, a New Yorker, apparently did a spectacular interpretation of the Empire State Building, and worked from architectural drawings.

The Abe Lincoln House asked Rosson to donate her creation and she said no. She had promised the house to her mom. She did agree to finish the four walls she put together for the show and donate it to the Lincoln House to be displayed at the visitor center.Although Rosson cannot reveal who won the challenge, Springfield's State Journal Register reported that she received top honors. The episode of "Throwdown" featuring gingerbread airs at 9 p.m. Dec. 9 on the Food Network.

I love it when history and food come together.
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Custer, Custer, Custer!

Custer!! We can't get enough of the man or the myth! See Tom's beautiful blog today for confirmation and read Louis Kraft's excellently crafted article in the newest issue of American History. Louis discusses the making of our favorite flick, They Died With Their Boots On, and parallels the personalities of George Custer and Errol Flynn.