October 3, 2006
Last night I finished the last page in my second sketch book (page 100). I've done six drawings a day since last November without missing a day. Of course, the drawings on this page are for the Top Secret Project. The waterfall is in the Sierra Madre Mountains, deep in Taharamara land (it actually falls another two ledges, but I didn't have room), the bottom sketch is of Captain Pierce and Curly (based on reference photos shot by Jim Hatzell) and the Apache woman at right is for a "faces of anguish" page I'm doing for the opening of the story.



Speaking of Jim Hatzell, I have noticed that in cavalry movies like Fort Apache the soldiers move out with full color guards, U.S. flag flying and guidons as well. But in the many sketches and paintings by Remington, who was out here in Arizona in 1886-88, he depicts no guidons on the scouts he rode with and depicted. I asked Jim, who is an expert on all things military, why the discrepancy? Here's his answer:

“The guidon is used when an entire company of Cavalry is in the field. This is a tool used for keeping the line straight during a charge and a rally point when the trumpeter blows recall. Remington may have been illustrating small detachments. By the way, Hollywood always wants to place the guidon at the front of the column but it should be in the center. If you check out Michael Blake's new book Indian Yell there is a photo I've never seen published before of the 7th Cavalry in the field. They are riding with a guidon.

“Also, keep in mind that during the 1880's the US Army began using the red and white guidon again. That was what they used back during the early Dragoon days up to the early battles of the Civil War. It was confusing that the Federals and Confederates were both using the same guidon so the US Army went to the guidon with a Stars & Stripes motif. This was especially irritating to the Rebs because the stars reflected that the South was still part of the country. This was used during the Indian Wars just after the War and up to the Apache conflicts. Beginning in the early 1880s, during the Geronimo time frame, the red & white guidon was used again until the US Cavalry was disbanded.”
—Jim Hatzell

Jim Hatzell is having a photo art opening this weekend. You can check it out at:

www.coyotebluesvillage.com/

Why Isn’t Camp Verde A Fort?
“Hey BBB! According to Ray Brande’s Frontier Military Posts of Arizona, Camp Lincoln was established in January 1864 on the east bank of the Verde River about 1 mile north of the juncture of the Verde and Beaver Creek in Yavapai County. On November 23, 1868 the post was renamed Camp Verde and renamed Fort Verde on April 5, 1879.”
—Gus Walker

“Most people think of success and failure as opposites, but they are actually both products of the same process.”
—Roger von Oech