From: “An Account Of The Remarkable Occurrences In The Life And Travels Of Col. James Smith During His Captivity With The Indians In The Years 1755-1759” (Hat tip to James Hornsby: Skills of the 18th Century Woodsman Facebook page):   In February there came a snow, with a crust, which made a great noise when walking on it and frightened … [Read more...] about A Thanksgiving Message From Col. James Smith

The ship Mayflower that put in to the coast of New England in the fall of 1620 was not the first vessel full of white men the Wampanoag Indians had seen. They’d had many encounters with the European fishermen, traders and sailors who had been poking around up and down the coast in recent years — not all of them positive. Sometimes the white … [Read more...] about The First Thanksgiving Through Wampanoag Eyes

* The Navajo — who called themselves Diné, The People, were pastoralists and orchardists. They were also raiders. For generations, they had preyed upon the settled peoples of New Mexico: Spanish, Mexican and Pueblo. The Utes of southern Colorado were persistent enemies. The Navajo raided for sheep and other livestock, and for slaves, which they … [Read more...] about Canyon de Chelly — Part II — Kit Carson’s War Of Attrition

My friend Jack McGowan has been drawn to Canyon de Chelly for decades, ever since obtaining a magnificent  R.C. Gorman print of the iconic Southwest canyon network — which  hangs in his home. Last month, Jack and his wife Jan ventured into the canyon with a Navajo guide — a high point in an epic seven-week trek across the Great Southwest, which … [Read more...] about Canyon De Chelly — Part I — An Ancient Refuge

I’ve always been ambivalent about Geronimo. Though he is widely celebrated today as a patriot and the last Apache holdout (not quite), the militant Chiricahua Apache shaman and war-band leader (never a chief) was widely reviled in his own day by his own people. He was truculent, dishonest, and a dangerous drunk. But there’s no question that he was … [Read more...] about Once He Moved Like The Wind

The march of the American Republic from sea to shining sea seems inevitable in hindsight. It’s easy to lose sight of contingency in history; moments when the trail could have turned in a different direction. Had the First Nations people of the Ohio Country acted in concert when the American Revolution broke out in 1775, if the British had … [Read more...] about Pluggy Gets Plugged

The big action for November, as far as I’m concerned is the November 11 airing of The Warrior Tradition on PBS. The Warrior Tradition tells the astonishing, heartbreaking, inspiring, and largely-untold story of Native Americans in the United States military. Why would Indian men and women put their lives on the line for the very government that … [Read more...] about Working The Trap Line — November 2019 — The Warrior Tradition

“From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us.” — Scottish prayer Halloween is a most Celtic celebration. Ancient pagan Celts marked Samhain (pronounced sow-un) as the divide between the light of summer and the darkness of winter. In their belief, the veil between the … [Read more...] about Ghoulies, Ghosties and Long-Leggedy Beasties

Charles Cottar was the quintessential American Frontiersman: Adventurous, independent, impatient of authority, entrepreneurial, and tougher than leather. In an earlier day, his epic family saga might have played out in the forests and meadows of Kaintuck, or in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains, or out on the Southwest borderlands. But the Cottar … [Read more...] about American Frontiersman — African Dynasty