June 3, 2009
Last week when I was in Tucson for my PBS taping, I talked with author and publisher Lynn Bailey who is doing a new book tentatively titled "White Apache" which will be about the only anglo who fought with the Apaches (Bebina Nathaniel Streeter?). I told him I'd give it a plug and this morning I decided to see if I could find any other reference to mister Streeter and Googled both the name and the title.

Couldn't find Streeter, but there have evidently been a couple movies with that title, the first I found, is from Spain in 1984. As usual, Google grabs anything and everything so I had to watch one of the cheesiest and unintentionally funniest rock videos I have ever seen:

Cheesiest "Apache" Ever

But I digress. After reading the revisionist history synopsis for White Apache I realized our version of Mickey Free is way off the charts from the current thinking in Hollywood. Here are my sketches for last night:

Four men: a Buffalo Soldier who won the medal of honor for fighting off Mormon outlaws, a chief of scouts who took no prisoners and fought his way to immortality, a young boy kidnapped by Apaches and beaten blue, and the captivo who brutalized him.

Now all of that is based on real history, but judging by the movie White Apache, if those guys were writing our story these four guys would be portrayed a little differently: A Buffalo Soldier fighting against the tyranny of the White Man's army finds dignity in the arms of an officer's wife, a bigoted cavalry officer gets his head crushed by a boulder levitated and summoned by an Apache shaman, a young boy is saved from the tyranny of an Irish father and learns how to speak another language sitting on the loving knee of a courageous Apache warrior fighting for the rights of the oppressed.

Photos Don't Lie, Part III
"I think Phil has answered the ludicrous pose by the law enforcement officer. I don't know what to suggest regarding the knife and holster combo, but judging by the evidence it seems popular. Anybody suggesting 'they would never' usually has clabber for brains. The only absolute is there are no absolutes.

"I can offer thoughts on the 'V' notched boots. It dates back to the hussar fashion introduced by the Hungarians in the 17th Century with a high fronted, low backed tuck in boot. In the 18th Century this high front was cut with the familiar 'V' notch. From the popular hussar fashion they became the rage for others. During the American Civil War this was a popular design for both sides. Point being it has been around for well over 200 hundred years and was solidly grounded in American military fashion of the 1860s, and like today, military fashion soon becomes just fashion. There are hundreds of images of cow-boys wearing the V-notch boots. Even the Lone Ranger did so.

"I don't know who reviewed your images for authenticity that spurred the article, but me thinks they know too little."
—Alan Huffines

"Lee County Sheriff James S. Scarborough would be a fool to shoot a revolver using the grip he has in the photo on page 37. He'd be sprayed with hot lead shavings and burnt powder ejected from the juncture between the cylinder and the breach of the weapon. That photo is not lying, but he's not shooting, either."
—James C. Burnham.

News From The Front Lines
"We had a family from France attend our Texas Proud Festival because he is an Old West fan and saw the ad in the May issue of True West.
They scheduled their vacation so they could be at our festival. 
Thanks to all of you for your help
."
—Tumbleweed Griffith


"The opposite of war isn't peace, it's creation."
—Jonathan Larson