The McCubbin Auction And The End of An Era

January 31, 2019

   Last weekend the incredible photo collection of Robert G. McCubbin went up for auction at Brian Lebel's Cody Old West Events auction in Mesa, Arizona. 

   Of course, Bob and I have some history together. This coming October, it will have been 20 years since the two of us—the two Bobs—bought True West magazine from the two Steves, in Stillwater, Oklahoma:

October 16, 1999: The two Steves (Steve Cundiff and Steve Gragert) sell True West magazine to the two Bobs for $60,000 and change (okay, we took on some debt of theirs and it ended up being closer to $110,000).

   Back to the auction: I read in the papers that attorneys for Lincoln County, New Mexico demanded 12 documents out of the collection that were related to Lincoln County, and then the State Attorney General of New Mexico demanded 30 items. All were taken out of the auction and the McCubbin family has retained a lawyer to defend the items.

   This just in from my contact in Lincoln County: "I have just learned that the McCubbin family has donated all the AG pulled documents to the state!!    The AG is supposed to be putting out a statement on that shortly."

   Six of the biggest Western photo collectors in the world attended the auction and we will be running the results of their purchases in the next issue of True West magazine.

   It also needs to be said that Bob McCubbin was always generous with his collection and he shared virtually all of his images with True West for the past 20 years for the simple reason that he loved history and he loved to see the correct photos run, preferably large, so that everyone could see them in all their glory. Often he would ask us to take care of commercial inquiries, like tv shows who wanted to use his photos, and our production manager, Robert Ray, would send scans and collect a modest fee for Bob, for the usage rights. These fees were in the range of $50 per photo and more often than not Bob would remit the fee back to Robert Ray for his time spent finding and sending the images. Almost without exception, Bob shared his collection and was gracious to all inquiries.

   Last weekend the Mesa auction had an incident over a Ray Swanson painting of a Navajo. A guy named Derek Begay came in to the show room, and gave a speech in front of the painting saying it was a painting of his grandfather and the Navajos should have it, and then he took it off the wall and tried to leave. He was arrested. Begay is all over Facebook talking about the incident and demanding justice, etc.

   Let's end on a high note:

"Not only was Bob McCubbin a historian in his own right, he collected all of this for his own amusement and then he shared it with the world. You can't ask for a better legacy than that."

—Brian Lebel, on his friend Robert G. McCubbin

The Pitch Project Face Off

January 30, 2019
   Home stretch on the Pitch Project.

"The Face Off"

  
 Just when Sharlot thought she had failed in her first big assignment she gets a reprieve when she finds out from Charles Goodnight, that Olive Oatman is still alive and living in Texas. She is so hungry for the big win and now she can almost taste it. As an added bonus, she can use the money to help save the family ranch and she will be redeemed in her father's eyes. 

The Showdown 
   Sharlot travels by train to Texas, witnessing all the incredible progress the country is making. At Sherman, Sharlot confronts the real Olive Oatman, who has married rich from a prestigious career on the stage. She handles all of Sharlot's questions with aplomb and sophistication. There was no child. That is a vicious rumor spread by bigots and the Mojave treated her as a house guest and never made any advances on her honor. At the end, Sharlot is defeated, and stands to leave. She thanks Olive for her time and then remembers something. She reaches in her satchel: "Allow me to leave you a gift from the Mojave." She pulls out the small, crude hand-made doll. Olive is struck dumb by the sight. She knows exactly what it is. Her eyes fill with tears. "That was the happiest day of my life."

   She confesses to Sharlot that when she lived in upstate New York she heard about the great Mojave chief Irataba being feted at the White House (he met Lincoln!). When the Irataba road show took landed in New York City, Olive took the train from her home to Manhattan, and met Irataba in the lobby of the Metropolitan Hotel.

"We met as friends giving the left hand in friendship, which is held as a sacred pledge, among some tribes."

—Olive Oatman, on meeting Irataba

   Although the event was covered in the press, what they actually talked about was unknown since Olive and Irataba spoke in the Mojave tongue.

  Olive confesses to Sharlot that Irataba told her that after she left the tribe her son was taken to a neighboring tribe to be raised so the Whites could not come back and take him away. And that tribe was the Chemehuevi!

   Sharlot smiles, realizing Olive's son is none other than her cantankerous guide, Moon. "I must say, your son grew up to be a very impressive gentleman."

   Sharlot realizes "the truth" will harm both Moon and Olive and she decides she cannot tell the story. They have been through enough.

   Sharlot does, however, become the first woman in the territorial Arizona government as state historian and today, a prominent museum is named in her honor.

Every form of refuge has its price.

Late at night a big ol' house gets lonely. I guess every form of refuge has its price. Or, so said an Eagle perhaps privy to Olive's late night sadness. She went to an early grave, distraught over the losses in her life. She lost two mothers, two families and two children from two different worlds. Her only solace was her husband and now he was gone as well. If there is one silver lining it is possibly in the fact that the Mojaves taught her how to swim, and it became a balm to her, a way to relax, to move, at least temporarily, unencumbered by the past.

"Chemehuevi Moon"

"The age demands an image, of its accelerated grimace."
—Ezra Pound

I Can't Believe How Old People My Age Are

January 29, 2019
   We lost two coaches from my youth recently. The first to go was our high school basketball Coach Cunningham, who was hired to coach at Kingman when he was only 21! His full name was J. David Cunningham, although I never knew that. He was always just Coach Cunningham to us. We thought he was so old and he was only about seven years older than us, in 1965. He passed last August.

Kingman High Bulldogs, 1965

Left to right: Wayne Rutschman, Ray Bonham, Dan The Man Harshberger, BBB, Ralph Mullenax, Nay Nish, Coach Cunningham, Manager Mike Tarr

   If someone had asked me how old Coach Cunningham was then I would have said, "Oh, 35 or 40." He was 27!

   Just last week came word that Coach Jim Vandevier had passed on Christmas Day in Kingman. We all called him "Vandy." Here's a photo of him back in the day, teaching auto shop.

Coach Vandevier In Auto Shop with Jim Hornbuckle and Richard Inman.

We all called him "Vandy," or "Coach Vandy."

Vandy and Me at MCUHS 50th Class Reunion

in 2015.

Great guy. We were so much closer in age than I ever realized.

"I can't believe how old people my age are."

—Old Kingman Saying

Maynard Dixon In Dust

January 28, 2019
   I often talk about being The Duke of Dust, but I have to admit, I am just a pretender to the throne when it comes to this guy:

Daily Whip Out: "Maynard Dixon In Dust"

   In Maynardland there is quite a bit of activity going on. In addition to my including Dixon as one of the characters in my Pitch Project, the artist is being featured in a new book coming out in March by Mark Sublette, of Medicine Trail Galleries in Tucson. Mark has found a treasure trove of images that are not in the two massive books I have of Dixon's work. Excited about that.

   Meanwhile, tweaked a couple aerials of the Yuma corridor:

   

Daily Whip Out:

"The Land of Bashan at The Border"

   These are also for the Pitch Project.

Daily Whip Out: "Land of Bashan No. 2"

   Home stretch on water story. Should go to press in a week.

"Listen up girls: unless he is wearing a diaper, you can't change him."

—Mama Knows Best

The Showdown Between Sharlot Hall and Olive Oatman

January 27, 2019

   Finishing up a small, but special project, down at Cattle Track Arts Compound.

Brent Bond Ponders Olives

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Sharlot & Olive Face Off"

The Showdown  
   Sharlot Hall travels to Texas by train, witnessing all the incredible progress the country is making. At Sherman, Sharlot finally confronts the real Olive Oatman, who has married rich from a prestigious career on the stage. She handles all of Sharlot's questions with aplomb and sophistication. There was no child. That is a vicious rumor spread by bigots and the Mojave treated her as a house guest and never made any advances on her honor. 

   Sharlot busts through that bubble of decency (Spansa translates as "sore vagina"! What's THAT all about?) and then we get anger: "What I did with my body is none of your god damn business!"

   At the end, Sharlot is defeated, and stands to leave. She thanks Olive for her time and then remembers something. She reaches in her satchel: "Allow me to leave you a gift from the Mojave." She pulls out the small, crude hand-made doll. Olive is struck dumb by the sight. She knows exactly what it is. Her eyes fill with tears. "That was the happiest day of my life."

   So, when it came time for Sharlot to write about Olive's secret life among the Mojaves, she left that part out.

   Sharlot does, however, become the first woman in the territorial Arizona government as state historian and today, a prominent museum is named in her honor.

Every form of refuge has its price.

Late at night a big ol' house gets lonely. I guess every form of refuge has its price. Or, so said an Eagle perhaps privy to Olive's late night sadness. She went to an early grave, distraught over the losses in her life. She lost two mothers, two families and two children from two different worlds. Her only solace was her husband and now he was gone as well. If there is one silver lining it is possibly in the fact that the Mojaves taught her how to swim, and it became a balm to her, a way to relax, to move, at least temporarily, unencumbered by the past.

"Sometimes it's better not to know."

—Old Vaquero Saying

"The age demands an image, of its accelerated grimace."
—Ezra Pound

The Land of Bashan Gets Heavy

January 26, 2019
   Some say the Land of Bashan was beget by divine fire.

Daily Whip Out:

"The Land of Bashan Divine Inception"

It certainly was predicted by a rogue Mormon prophet.

A Bold And Crazy Prophesy

   In 1848, a young, Latter-Day-Saints prophet made a bold prediction that would change the life of a beautiful young girl named Olive Oatman. 

   James Collin Brewster, 24, had a vision that there was this rich farming area at the confluence of the Gila and Colorado Rivers which he called the Land of Bashan. Never mind that he had never been there or seen it. Most of the 93 people who set out with him in 1850 never made it to their destination and most of the Oatmans were killed trying to make it there. The ones who did arrive at the Yuma Crossing were crushed by the desolation and unfriendly farming environment (it rains less than three inches a year and sand dunes permeate the landscape.) Almost all of the Brewsterites, as they were called, moved on to California and the coast. 

   It turns out they were just fifty years too early.

Daily Whip Out:

"All The Way to The Mexican Border"

   Thanks to President Teddy Roosevelt and the newly minted Bureau of Reclamation in 1902, The Yuma Project diverted Colorado River water to irrigate more than 58,000 acres along the river, all the way to the Mexican border. 

 The water turned the harsh desert into a lush tableland supporting 275 farms and 90,000 residents. Farming year round, today these farms produce $196 million in crops every year. The Yuma Chamber of Commerce claims that 90% of all wintertime leafy vegetables in the United States come from this area—an area once prophesized as the Land of Bashan.

"In the end, water changes everything."

—BBB

The Babe In The Bowler And John Fusco Rocks!

January 25, 2019
   A wonderful time was had by me at our big Cattle Track Doc Holliday Art Show last night in Scottsdale. Here are two of the people who helped me stay vertical: my curator Kristi Jacobs (The Babe In The Bowler) and Stacy Lorton.

Docs In A Corner

   At the event I presented John Fusco with the True Westerner Award for 2019.

   John gave a heartfelt acceptance speech where he praised the true history of the West and his long-held appreciation for our efforts at True West magazine. It was quite touching and numerous people told me afterwards how impressed they were with Fusco's comments.

   After the ceremony, John sat in with the Dusty Ramblers and they kicked it with some major blues. In addition to his screenwriting abilities (Young Guns, Hidalgo, Thunderheart, The Highwaymen, to name but a few) Fusco is an accomplished keyboard player and singer and the whole place rocked, until I got up on stage and closed the show with, well, the usual:

"Let me tell you 'bout my baby, you know she comes around. She stands about five foot four, from her head to the ground."

—Van Morrison, Gloria

Charlie Bowdre Bleeds Cash

January 25, 2019
   Big auction this weekend, featuring a ton of priceless photographs from the massive Robert G. McCubbin's Old West Lawmen and Outlaws collection, including this stunner:

The blood-stained photo of

Charlie Bowdre found on his body

by the Garrett posse who shot him.

   The auction which will be held tomorrow and Sunday at the High Noon Auction in Mesa, Arizona is expected to fetch $5 million. In fact, the Brian Lebel auction people have produced two huge catalogues just to list the items being auctioned:

   The two massive catalogues, above, featuring the entire Bob McCubbin collection. If you'd like to order copies, go here:

 http://www.oldwestevents.com/catalogs/

 

   I asked Brian's wife Melissa to give me the stats on what it took to produce the catalogues and the show and she sent me this:

   "The photography collection consists of (approximately) over 51 tintypes, 120 cdvs, 360 photographs, 330 cabinet cards, and 12 stereoviews. The auction estimates for the Friday photo collection are approx $2 million - $2.9 million.

   "The ephemera consists of approximately 630 ephemera "items", though the actual number of individual pieces of paper and envelopes, cards etc. is well into the thousands. There are approximately a dozen artifacts (depending on how you want to define "artifact") The total estimate for the McCubbin portion of the Saturday auction (artifacts and ephemera) is approx $1.6 - 2.3 million.

   "It took our team (5 of us total) over a year to do the entire cataloging (measure, scan, review, describe, index, etc). The McCubbin catalog weighs over 3 pounds, and many, many of the images inside are reproduced at actual size. There are thousands of images included in the online catalog, including the backs of photos, articles of provenance, etc.  https://auctions.oldwestevents.com

"There's a fine line between catching an outlaw and becoming one."
—Old Vaquero Saying

Doc Hangs at Cattle Track

January 24, 2019
   The date has finally arrived. Big show down at Cattletrack this evening.

   Going to be fun.

Docs Just Before Hanging (of Show)

   We will also be presenting an award to this guy:

"Eight pages of iridescent polychromous effulgence that makes the rainbow look like a lead pipe."

—William Randolph Hearst, bragging about his newspaper color comics section, 1895.

Punk Kid Grows Into Solid Citizen

January 23, 2019
   The kid went through a punk phase (along with his dad), but he grew up to be a solid citizen.

I'll give the lad this: he always could style a sugarloaf:

T-Bell Sylin' A Sugarloaf

He also had very creative ideas on fashion:

T-Bell's Strange Leg Deal

  Full disclosure, the boy was not always an angel and could be a tad irritating from time to time. For example, when pushed, T-Bell could really put on a prize winning whine:

"Do I HAVE to go on this hike?"

Deena C., Kathy and Tommy at

El Moro Rock in New Mexico

  I could always get the boy to sleep just by talking about Billy the Kid.

And now, he is a dad and he has taken on the mantle of being a good uncle to his niece.

Frances and Thomas

Happy 36th birthday, Thomas Charles Bell!

"Don't stop to count the years. Sweet songs never last long on broken radios."
—John Prine

My fantasy of what being an artist would be like when I was in my twenties

January 21, 2019
   When we are young many of us have unrealistic ideas on success and how our lives will end up. I was certainly one of those who had delusions of grandeur.

Successful Kingman Kid makes $10,000 per day

painting on a waterbed while an "assistant" tickles him.

   This was my fantasy of what being an artist would be like when I was just starting out. I believe this painting hangs in the Orsey, or, perhaps it's pronounced as the Horse-Hay (as in a horse hayloft) near Chloride, Arizona. It's not one of my favorites, but it is quite accurate to that time and place. I believe the female model later ended up as a Weather Girl on KSLX, in Scottsdale. Perhaps you remember her? Heather The Weather Girl.

"Art is whatever you can get away with."
—Old Vaquero Saying

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp Meets Olive Oatman Under Water

January 19, 2019
   What happens when multiple stories collide and collude? Well, it gets rather murky, like being underwater.

"She Dove Deep"

"Sliver of Moon"

The "All-Around Sharper"
   Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp led a long, sordid life on the American frontier, moving freely between "sporting women" and the law. Although he was never the marshal of a town or the sheriff of a county he somehow managed to wangle his way into American folklore as the paragon of lawman virtue. There have been 35 films, so far, on his checkered life, mostly told through the eyes of the stalwart lawman.

"Wyatt In Hollywoodland"

   He only spent 22 months in Tombstone, but he spent 22 years along the Colorado River, on the California side, where he dabbled in mining and, according to some, he often frequented Needles where he reportedly fleeced the soldiers from Fort Mojave on payday.

   All of the above meets in an upcoming story I am working on with three friends.

"You sons of bitches have been looking for a fight and now you can have it."
—Wyatt Earp in Fly's side-yard
   

Furnace Creek Mule Team and Mojave Pitch, II

January 18, 2019
   Last October Kathy and I stayed at the refurbished Inn at Furnace Creek. Here is a photo of the place back in 1950:

Twenty Mule Team Parked In Front of

Furnace Creek Inn, 1950

   Here's a sneak peek at part II of the pitch for "Mojave":

   At Drennon, just below the railroad bridge that connects California to Arizona, Barry Stapp hands Sharlot off to a Chemehuevi guide named Moon who lives along the river on the California side. Moon is very tall, six foot three, and he wears an unblocked hat with two feathers stuck in the top of the crown. He speaks perfect English and he has a wicked sense of humor.

   Oh, and he gives Sharlot a very stubborn mule named Molly to ride. They do not get along, but Molly later saves Sharlot's life.

   End of pitch snippet. Meanwhile, here's a historic photo of my kids, Tommy and Deena on one of their first road trips back in 1984. This is at the turn to Billy the Kid's grave, about 25 miles north of Socorro, New Mexico.

Tommy, 2, and Deena, 4, at Fina

"The road is the only thing."
—Old Vaquero Saying

The Mojave Pitch, Part I

January 17, 2019
   Here's a sneak peek at the project I'm working on.

Mojave: The Desert. The Tribe. The Captive.

   Out on the Mojave, water changes everything.

"Dust Storm Over The Needles"

"The Pitch"

The Pitch
   Sharlot Hall is nervous. If she can sell her pitch she will perhaps finally be taken serious as a writer (everyone underestimates her, especially her father). She has to sell two men, Charles Lummis, the publisher and driving force behind Out West magazine, and his managing editor, who is a gruff, ink-stained-wretch who sees Sharlot as a member of "the weaker sex".

   Sharlot starts to make her pitch about the true story of a beautiful young girl on a wagon train bound for California who is captured by Apaches and marked for life. After five years in captivity, she is rescued, writes a book about her ordeal and becomes a national sensation, touring the country and. . .

   The managing editor cuts her off, saying, "Yes, everyone knows the Olive Oatman story. We've run a boatload of stories on her."

Sharlot [stalling for time to readjust her pitch which has been blown out of the water]: "Yes, but I believe something is wrong with the official story. Something is missing."

Lummis: "Like what?"

Sharlot: "Well, there is a rumor she had a child while she was a Mojave captive."

Lummis brightens: "Can you prove it?"

Sharlot: "That's what I aim to find out."

Managing Editor: "Good luck finding anything at this late date, Honey. And, besides, everyone knows she ended up in an insane asylum."

Sharlot [defensively]: "Don't you think we owe it to history to find out the true story?"

Managing Editor: "History has its own issues. Hey, Geronimo just rode in Teddy's inaugural parade. Give us 2,500 words on that old bastard—the Apache, not the president. We'll buy that right now!"

Lummis, [writing on a notepad]: "Okay, I have two leads for you. One is Susan Thompson, who was on the wagon train with Olive and lives near here, and two, is our cover artist, Maynard Dixon, who is on assignment in Needles."

Cut to Sharlot on the train home with a burning and determined look in her eyes. A conductor comes thru the car saying loudly, "Next stop Needles!"

"Next Stop, Needles!"

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."

—Ernest Hemingway