See Ya Sacagawea And Death On The Trail

 May 31, 2022

   On the hunt for one of the most famous Native American woman in the history of our country. Here's a sketch of her with a bit of an enigmatic smile.

Daily Sketch Whip Out:

"Sacagawea Meets Mona Lisa"

Death On The Trail

The Oregon Trail has been called the world's longest graveyard. The pioneer immigrants lost their lives to influenza, cholera, severe dysentery, or accidents. They were crushed by wagon wheels, stepped on by oxen or killed when a simple cut turned into a gangrenous infection.

"Passed 7 new-made graves, One had 4 bodies in it—cholera. . . .Another man died. Passed 6 new graves. We have passed 21 new-made graves. . .Made 18 miles. Passed 13 graves today."

—Cecelia Adams, in her 1852 diary

Brutal Horizon

Death Out West

   Yes, it was pretty brutal out here. And it wasn't just wagon train pioneers. Case in point:

A Cowboys Funeral

Photographer unknown,

1891, Baca County, Colorado.

Courtesy of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Dickinson Research Center – captures the funeral of George Brenton, a young cowboy who died during a roundup in 1891 in Baca County, which is located in the southeast corner of Colorado.

"Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie
Where the coyotes howl and the wind blows free
Where there's not a soul that will care for me
Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie"

—Johnny Cash, "Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie"