Livestock herders in the Americas arose from a tradition based in Spain and Portugal, who brought their riding and herding skills with them when Mexico and California were colonized in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today, many of the skills of the western ‘cowboy’ can be attributed to these early vaqueros and their mastery of… Continue reading Vaqueros
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This quote by Charles Dickens was meant to describe the upheaval caused by the French Revolution. But it could just as easily have been used to describe the chaos that erupted shortly after a certain carpenter named James Wilson Marshall, from New Jersey, found… Continue reading The California Gold Rush 1849: The Wonder and The Horror
Back in the 1850s, California was swept with a gust of crime and killings perpetrated by not only the infamous “Five Joaquins” gang, but other bandits following the newly discovered gold-mining potential in California. Virtually, everyone from across the globe was settling down in California to try their luck mining gold and potentially create themselves… Continue reading California Rangers
The main pathway followed by Americans looking for new lands and opportunities on the frontier, during the 1800s, was known as the Oregon Trail. The route stretched 2000 miles from Missouri, over the Great Plains and the Continental Divide, ending in the Californian gold fields and the Willamette Valley. Between 1840 and 1860 more than… Continue reading The Oregon Trail – America’s Pioneer Route
The Great Basin of North America has long been inhabited and enjoyed for its beauty. The area, which covers nearly all of Nevada, most of Utah and Oregon and even parts of California, Wyoming, and Idaho, has known the presence of people since at least 10,000 BC. Native American tribes, notably the Paiute, the Shoshone,… Continue reading Great Basin of North America
Carl Dane - Western Author 