Frontier Partisans

The Adventurers, Rangers and Scouts Who Fought the Battles of Empire

‘All I Can Do Is Write About It’ — The Country Soul Of Ronnie Van Zant

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Do you like to see a mountain stream a-flowin’ Do you like to see a young ’un with his dog Did you ever stop to think about, well, the air your breathin’ Well you better listen to my song And lord I can’t make any changes All I can do is write ’em in a song I can see the concrete slowly creepin’ Lord take me and mine before that comes — … [Read more...] about ‘All I Can Do Is Write About It’ — The Country Soul Of Ronnie Van Zant

The Hunt For The White Whirlwind

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Last weekend, Marilyn and Ceili and I trekked over the Misty Mountains cold in the teeth of a potent winter storm. We made it through the Redhorn Gate without having to result to a detour through the Mines of Moria, and all missions on this 500-mile loop from Sisters to Portland to Eugene and back to Sisters in 48 hours were accomplished — though … [Read more...] about The Hunt For The White Whirlwind

Day Of The Tomahawk

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Cut the sign of some interesting doin’s around the all-purpose frontier tool/weapon, the tomahawk. Today, the Cornplanter tomahawk is being formally repatriated to the Seneca Nation. The tomahawk was a gift from George Washington to the Seneca war leader. The son of a Dutch trader and a Seneca woman, Cornplanter was a highly effective partisan in … [Read more...] about Day Of The Tomahawk

The Joy Of Shooting With A 21st Century Annie Oakley

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The world needs more of this. This lovely young woman is doing something that is vital for the shooting sports: promoting the very real “Joy of Shooting.” Asserting the Second Amendement-ensured right of armed self-defense is important, but it is equally vital to communicate the value of the sporting aspect of the … [Read more...] about The Joy Of Shooting With A 21st Century Annie Oakley

Going Rogue

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Amazon Prime has proved to be a rich treasure trove of historical documentaries. Over New Years, I watched the three-part doco based on Ben Macintyre ’s outstanding book SAS: Rogue Heroes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ffkrQuDH60 Presented by Macintyre himself, it serves up dramatizations, period film and interview footage from 1987 … [Read more...] about Going Rogue

Jameson Raid

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I had planned to craft a post for December 29 on the anniversary of the daring, reckless and disastrous Jameson Raid into the Transvaal in 1895. I have decided to defer for a very good reason... * Strange to say, the Raid — which had enormous domestic and international political and strategic consequences — has not been all that deeply explored. … [Read more...] about Jameson Raid