A Dance With Strangers I Have Come to Love

 January 18, 2026

     At the end of the day, here is what I am after: What are the facts? What can we believe? And, finally, what can we love? And, as for the last one, I must say the quote at the end, down there, sums it up pretty well.

The cast and crew of "The Searchers"

on location

(courtesy of Warner Brothers)

   Thanks to the author Glenn Frankel who gave us permission to excerpt a chapter from his excellent book The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend, we have been getting crazy online traffic, some 250,000 shares just of the above photo. It has really struck a nerve. The feature is in the current issue, on the newsstand even as you read this.

   I am noodling a rugged vaquero whose flinty exterior conceals a kindly heart. . .

Daily Whip Out:

"A Loveable Rugged Vaquero On The Move"

   I'm enchanted with narrative boxes and sometimes they write themselves. . .

Daily Poach: "Fill In The Gaps"

      In the end, gallows humor rescued us all. . .

Daily Whip Out: "Viva Los Cuerudos!"

(Translation: Long live the Leather Guys! Which was slang for The Rurales back in the day)

   I'm also noodling a possible cover on this guy:

Daily Whip Out:

"Edward Fitzgeral Beale In The Field"

Last Light On Sugarloaf

"Sustained historical research is a dance with strangers I have come to love. . ."

—Ian McEwan, What We Can Know

As Dumb As They Come

 January 17, 2026

   I am always interested to see how other artists look in their studios and in fact, a photo of Maynard Dixon in his San Francisco studio was the inspiration for my entryway wall.

Maynard Dixon's Studio Wall

   Here's another cat I admire.

Cowboy Artist Joe Beeler in his studio

   And then there is this classic scene, which is perhaps the single most famous Route 66 photograph ever.

Andreas Fenninger's photograph of

Seligman, Arizona, 1947 ended up on

the cover of Life

Reading The Signs

   The president is 79 and starting to lose it. He claims to be in great shape but only his diehard supporters believe him. Grievances in the countryside have reached critical mass. The political system is inaccessible and re-election campaigns seem unnecessary and are attacked by the press and all but negated by vigorous rigging. If he had stepped down earlier he would have gone down in history quite differently. But he didn't and the result was calcification and oligarchy. It all ended in one of the world's great social revolutions and Porfirio Diaz of Mexico was toppled and driven from office in 1911. This is from the excellent book, Mexico: A 500-Year History by Paul Gillingham and the historic echoes land in our time like lobbed hand grenades.

Trump and Porfirio both at 79 and counting

   My vision is going but at least my hindsight is still twenty-twenty. Meanwhile. . .

When Your Eyesight Is Minus Twenty-Twenty

"All these damn deer on the highway."

"Those are people, Margaret, and you're on the sidewalk."

   So much humor is about the contradictions we live with and very few comedians come angling in from the right, but this guy does.

"Do you think your dad got out of high school and was just 'Alright, it's time to be a prick about everything!'"

—Shane Gillis, explaining how being a Republican sneaks up on you

When The Beatles Ruined My Toenails

 January 15, 2026

I got a pedicure yesterday from this expert toenail clipperer, Gina, at Pinky Nails out on the Carefree Highway.

I know what you are thinking: "And you call yourself a cartoonist?" Well, I know it sounds sissy, but I have a legitimate reason: the Beatles ruined my toenails. Yes, I bought Beatle boots at Central Commercial in 1964 to be cool for school, and well, I got ingrown toenails from wearing these "Puerto Rican Fence Climbers" as they were so affectionately known in redneck Kingman. Anyway, Gina blasted and sanded what's left of my gnarly toenails into shape and I am a very happy camper. Thanks Gina!

And, here for the historical record is me wearing said Beatle boots on New Year's Eve, 1964:

The Exits In The Girl's Gym

December 31st, 1964

(song being played is "Surfbeat" by Dick Dale & The Deltones)

"He's a real toenail man, sitting in his toenail land, making all his toenail plans for nobody."

—The Exits version of Nowhere Man

Getting History Right And The Exciting Prospect of Doing Features On Range Grass

 January 14, 2026

   Oh, man, some of you are damn funny. Here's a good example: this is one of the replies to the Negative Naybob letter about True West needing to find new subject matter (see January 13th blog post):

"How about a special issue devoted to the endlessly fascinating subject of range grass. It was everywhere in the Old West, and yet True West ignores it!!!!!"

—Unknown

   At this stage of my life, there is one thing I can do and I intend to practice it every day.

   Be present. Be kind.

Getting History Right

   Here is the rub: the late Larry Martin ends his narrative of our cover story at the Colorado River, but obviously the Beale expedition still had 300+ miles to go to El Tejon, north of LA.

   In one version (the one I have heard over and over while growing up in Kingman), the steamer General Jesup just happens to be at the site when Beale shows up and the captain ferries the whole crew and animals across. This is why the artist, Bill Ahrendt portrayal of the event shows the steamboat in the picture:

Bill Ahrendt's "Camel Crossing" done for the Arizona Centennial, so obviously with some "official" history on his side.

   But, in two other narratives I have found, the legendary Hi Jolly sings to the camels and they swim across, while two horses and ten mules drown. I have found another account that on the return trip, the Jesup was there on the Colorado and ferried everyone across. So, which is correct?

Daily Revised Whip Out: "Old Vaquero New"

"The only thing new in this world is the history you don't know."

—Harry Truman

Larry Martin Crosses Over & Camels Crossing The Colorado River

 January 14, 2026

   We just got word that our friend and the author of our cover story in the next issue of True West magazine, Larry Martin, has passed away from cancer. Our sincere condolences go out to his wife Kat and his family. He was a great guy and no one knew more about Ned Beale than Larry.

   We will dedicate the issue to him which goes to press later this month. I was wrapping up some of the loose ends of the story (see below) and it was frustrating because Larry could have answered every question in mere seconds. It is really true that when a historian dies, a library goes with them.

   Here is a sidebar we want to run at the end of his Ned Beale feature story.

The Rest of The Journey

  On October 17th, 1857 Ned Beale and his camel crew arrived at the Colorado River and encountered a military steamboat, The General Jesup (also styled as Jessup).

Beale's Camel Corp arriving at the Colorado River and encountering the General Jesup side-wheeler

(painting by my friend Bill Arhendt)

   In some accounts I've read, the Jesup successfully carried the camels, mules and horses across the wide river. In other versions, one of the American herders, the legendary Hi Jolly, sang to encourage his camels to swim the swift currant of the river and they successfully crossed with no losses. Two horses and ten mules were lost on the crossing. From there, the camel caravan made it to Los Angeles on November 10, 1857, walking the streets as crowds gathered to see the weird humped animals. Beale and his caravan then reached their final destination Fort Tejon, California later in November still carrying their loads of 600 to 800 pounds. Their historic mission was accomplished.

   The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 ended any hope for the building of a railroad along the 35th Parallel in the near future. The government had no more use for its camels and they were either sold as military surplus or turned loose to roam the western deserts of Arizona and California.

Fort Yuma and the Jesup on the Colorado River

by Heinrich Balduin Mollhausen 

   The above image shows the steamboat General Jesup, a small sidewheel steamboat used on the Colorado River to supply Fort Yuma. The General Jesup was used to ferry Beale’s party, including the camels, across the river on the expeditions eastward return home on January 23rd, 1858.

   So, it appears that the Jesup carried the camels across the Colorado on the return trip and not on the October 1857 crossing. We'd like to clarify this in the issue, so if you know this history, or someone who does, please let me know. Thanks.

"I would have written a shorter letter but I didn't have the time."

—Mark Twain

Too Much Doc & Wyatt And Not Enough Baseball at The O.K. Corral

 January 13, 2026

Most dust storms are wide and destructive, but out on the Mojave Desert there are skinny, languid dust devils that wander aimlessly across the desert floor, sometimes two or three others in tow.

Daily Whip Out: "The Lazy Wanderer" 

  If you are seeking perspective on the current collapse of our culture, like I am, here are a couple of clues I have picked up in the last 24 hours: The old WWII order, sometimes called "the postwar liberal international order" is collapsing all around us. Our codes of civility, our respect for the truth and our faith in institutions is nearing zero. 

   There are multiple warnings signs about being on the "wrong side of history," which seems odd to me because most history is merely some version of what happened that most of us agree to believe. Even that is eroding. Why?

"Social media has dissolved the mortar of our society."

—Jonathon Haidt

   Which, if you want to get all technical about it, includes this blog post!

   Meanwhile, in baseball news, got this great flyer from a new league forming up down on Goose Flats.

   Bill Jensen, who did the poster, was wondering if I still had the original to this whip out:

   That's Tom McLaury on the mound and Ike Clanton with his head bandage as the catcher and of course, Doc Holliday using his shotgun as a bat. Ha. I may have to redo this with a little more detail. It's a zany idea.

   Speaking of Tombstone and the boys, in the We Get Mail department, I got this handwritten letter over the Christmas holiday:

Sick to Death of Doc and Wyatt

   I was just wondering if you could tell me: was there anyone else besides the Earps, Doc Holliday and the people who were their enemies who lived in the West during that time? Because most of the stories in the magazine are them. I had a subscription for a few years and every single issue had something about them in it. And some issues it was mostly the book. And most was just information that had been printed in the magazine in the past, sometimes only a few months before! Now I seen a Shooting Back letter about "Billy the Kid" being written and written and written about and he is tired of it. For sure it is the Earp's and Doc Holliday. There has to have been other people in the area and other things going on besides them! I would like to hear and learn about them. Not just the same few people, over and over, and over again! Teach us more about the big cattle ranches, the men and women who owned them, how they got there, and what happened to them. What was day to day life like back then? Who was breeding a good horse to help with the work? Tell us about some of the "Special Cattle" and maybe some stories about certain steers, or Studs that lead the cattle drives or improved the herd and how. It's time to dig deeper and tell us about more than just a few people. Tell us about some of the lesser known gunfighters and how they came to be. What happened to them in their lives, why they were on the "Right side of the law, or the wrong side." It's a lot bigger place than just a few people and we need to learn about!

—Randy Worthington, Sandy, Utah

   Okay, I hate this, but he does have a point. We—especially me!—do sometimes get carried away with our pet characters and movies and perhaps it's time to find a new set of jackasses?

On The Road Again

Just can't wait to get back on the road again.

Me and my four-legged friends backing up traffic to Oatman, once again.

"I've been on facebook for 16 years. I remember when this was all farmland."

—Old Boomer Saying

Dust Storm of The Apocalypse Meets Al Bell's Flying A

 January 12, 2026

   Dust storms were the bane of my life growing up, especially when I got caught between our house and my dad's gas station on a bicycle. Somehow, I survived and in my old age, they seem more romantic, at this great distance.

Daily Whip Out:

"Dust Storm of The Apocalypse"

  And, speaking of my dad's gas station, some twenty years ago the artist Tim Prythero created one of the coolest sculptures of the aforementioned gas station and I have the honor and pleasure of looking at it every single day.

"Al Bell's Flying A & The Tydway Cafe"

by the acclaimed artist Tim Prythero

 

Double Trouble With A Double Downbeat

   My good friend and a fine musician, Greg Smith, reminded me this morning that with the death of Bob Weir, the last two surviving members of the Grateful Dead are the drummers: Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart. I think I know why. Because we get to sit down for all the gigs, and all those other fools have to stand! It adds up, man. Okay, I am prejudiced, and Drummers rule, for sure, although I have to say I was never a fan of rock bands with two drummers (the Almann brothers also had two drummers, Butch Trucks and Johana Johansson). I know, I know—double your pleasure, double your fun, except for rock bands where it seems kind of dumb.

   Speaking of Solid Rockers who have to stand up for the entire gig, just got word this album cover with my artwork may be dropping in the spring, from you know who:

   Yes, that is one of my favorite all time models, Flint Carney, assuming the gunfighter pose. He's lookin' sharp, "'cause every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man."

Best Quote I Had Forgotten I Had Said

"Just remember, the first fifty years of a man's childhood are the most difficult."

—BBB (Toby Orr reminded me I told him this)

Best Coming Home to Roost Quote of The Day

"Wow, BBB, you must have the flu! Quoting Steely Dan? I like them but I know they are far from your favorites. LOL! Hope you get better soon." 

—Mark, TW Maniac #235, on yesterday's blog post