Last night I was doing a bit of reading on the Krag-Jorgensen rifle — the main arm of U.S. forces during the Philippine-American War of 1899-1902, which is a key element of Cowboy Revolutionaries: Rough Ride Into The American Century. More on that dark chapter in a future post. The Krag was a good rifle, but its .30-40 cartridge was underpowered … [Read more...]
Black Muddy River, Roll On Forever
When the last rose of summer pricks my finger, And the hot sun chills me to the bone, When I can’t hear the song for the singer, And I can’t tell my pillow from a stone, I will walk alone by the black muddy river, And sing me a song of my own, I will walk alone by the black muddy river, And sing me a song of my own. — Robert Hunter/Jerry … [Read more...]
Triggered By Cowboys
Whoooo boy! That hat sure do trigger some folks! Some news from academia: In early April, Ellen Currano got an email from the University of Wyoming’s marketing department asking if she’d appear in a promotional video for a newly proposed marketing campaign. She was surprised, then angry. It wasn’t the idea of being in a promotional video that … [Read more...]
Smokin’ Wimmin Smokin’
Recently stumbled across a couple of True West Magazine pieces on the artist Ron Lesser, who is best known in Western circles for his iconic movie poster for the dark Clint Eastwood movie High Plains Drifter. Lesser is a well-known artist for paperback novels and movie posters, with a flair for Western iconography. He has a series of paintings … [Read more...]
The Cult Of Wynonna Earp
I haven't seen this show. I don’t know that I ever will see this show. But I absolutely love that the Weird Western Wynonna Earp is a cult hit with a passionate fan base. The New York Times has a feature on the phenomenon, which bodes very well for all of us toiling in our little niches, who do what we do for the love of it — and simply seek to … [Read more...]
Dia del Soldado
Ask me for a sequel that’s as good as the original that inspired it and I’ll give you The Godfather: Part II. That’s about the only one I can think of. Creating a good sequel is a damned hard thing to accomplish. You’ve got to deliver something fresh and engaging while retaining the elements of the original that captured an audience to begin … [Read more...]
Working The Trapline — July 2018
I’ve waded into the jungle swinging a machete, clearing my path toward the next book. Working title is Cowboy Revolutionaries: Rough Ride Into The 20th Century. The structure will be based around understanding the conflicts in the Caribbean, Central America and Southeast Asia as “wars of frontier and empire” that persisted from the … [Read more...]
Blaze
“I don’t want to be a star. I wants to be a legend.” — Blaze Foley There was a time when I bought heavily into the whole drunken wildman outlaw poet mystique. Live fast, die young, be a legend. Jim Morrison, Gram Parsons, Hank Williams, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Steve Earle, Shane McGowan, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt — hell, throw in … [Read more...]
Fair Chase
By Rick Schwertfeger, Captain, Frontier Partisans Southern Command, Austin, Texas “The grace of God won’t carry a man through these prairies. It takes powder and ball.” — Jim Bridger “All who came west brought ample powder and shot…for hunger was a constant and keeping one’s larder full a daily preoccupation. Danger was integral to … [Read more...]
Hillbilly Highways
Ace scout Deuce Richardson sent up a smoke signal Saturday morning, alerting me to a new writer stalking the forest trails and desert traces of the Frontier Partisans wildlands. He is a kinsman, I know, though I have yet to learn his name. This backcountry (and beyond) still was fired up just this month. It’s called Hillbilly Highways: Country … [Read more...]
