Books vs. Experience - The Words of John Muir

"I have a low opinion of books; they are but piles of stones set up to show coming travelers where other minds have been, or at best signal smokes to call attention. Cadmus and all the other inventors of letters receive a thousand-fold more credit than they deserve.  No amount of work-making will ever make a single soul to know these mountains (the Sierras).  As well seek to warm the naked and frostbitten by lectures on caloric and pictures of flame.  One day's exposure to mountains is better than cartloads of books."

Those words were written by John Muir, whose books, essays and letters have been read by millions!


John Muir, a Scottish-born American naturalist was one of the first people to fight for preservation of our wilderness areas.


His opinions and writings are widely used in discussions about nature and political activism.  Muir has been widely quoted by nature photographers, scholars and current-day preservationists.


I'm sorry he had such a low opinion of books, as we have learned much from his writings!

Memorial Day Tribute by John Wayne and Robert Mitchum

I've posted this before, but in honor of Memorial Day and John Wayne's birthday, it thought it was appropriate.

The following post was written by Gary Swanson. Thanks Gary!

I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to those honored dead whom we remember on this day.

 I recalled finding this wonderful remembrance that was sponsored in the past by the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. The following narrative was written by John Mitchum, and eloquently recited by  John Wayne!


 
"Lest We Forget"

The Blood of Heroes by James Donovan

The Blood of Heroes by James Donovan

“The Blood of Heroes” explores the fight for an independent Texas; a big, bold fertile land just waiting for bold men with big ideas and large appetites to populate it.

American “desperados” running away from their obligations found refuge in Texas; men who felt the tug to go west and have their own farm land found fertile ground in Texas; and Americans whose forefathers were heroes in the American Revolutionary War found their own cause to support at the Alamo. 

 

The Americans forgot they were no longer on United States soil and resented Mexico’s way of governance and unfair taxation.  “For these War Dogs, as they were called, independence was the only answer…”   Texas attracted men like William Barret Travis, an extremely ambitious and smart lawyer, who was in dire financial trouble; James Bowie, brave and tough, as well as a scam artist in land speculation; Sam Houston, American statesman, politician and protector of Native Americans against fraud; David Crockett, skilled woodsman, naïve and honest to a fault politician; Stephen Austin, soft-spoken, legal colonizer of Texas.  Many Tejanos, including Juan Seguin who led mounted troops and who was responsible for providing supplies, also supported the move for Texas independence.

On the Mexican side there was Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, president of Mexico; a man who had helped Mexico to win its independence from Spain, after first fighting against it, and who overshadowed and overrode all of his subordinates.  Santa Anna was an arrogant tyrant who felt the newly independent Mexico “was not ready for democracy.”

The first clash between the Texians and Mexican army came about at the Siege of Béxar; a punishing, five-day battle which forced the Mexican army out. The ragtag group of colonists with no proper weapons, no uniforms, no reinforcements, most with no military experience, just a willingness to overcome Mexico’s autocracy was able to defeat a standing army.

During the Battle of Béxar, the Mexicans had established their position in the Alamo, an abandoned Franciscan Mission. While there, they had done much to fortify the mission into a semblance of a fort, and it was the Alamo the Texians regrouped at after the Mexican army retreated, while their fledgling Texas government failed to do anything constructive.

Santa Anna was humiliated by this defeat and was not about to let it stand. His government had no funds and his army was spent after fighting for their own independence for so long. To fill out the ranks, peasants were forced in to the military; they had little training and many would have never fired their weapons until they found themselves in battle. The unprepared army then had to march north during the winter, fight their way through Apaches and Comanches without proper food, water, mules, footwear, or doctors (they had some medical students).

Once the Texians knew for certain that Santa Anna was on his way, they did what they could to reinforce the Alamo, but a mission was never meant to withstand fighting, so there was not a lot that could be done, especially with their acute lack of manpower and supplies. Travis’ desperate pleas for reinforcements met with little success. Sam Houston was gathering forces to rescue the Alamo, but his actions were not quick enough. James Fannin’s troops at Fort Defiance, less than 100 miles away were too unprepared and unorganized to get to their aid.

When the Mexican army raised their red flag, the rebels knew exactly what it meant; Degüello, or “give no quarter.” There was no turning back; they knew they would be executed if they surrendered. The Battle of the Alamo, a 13 day siege pitted perhaps 200, maybe less, Texians against a Mexican army of at least 1,500. At the conclusion, only two of Texians who fought were left alive.

Throughout the siege, Travis wrote letter after letter seeking support, and knowing they would be published, he eloquently and hauntingly wrote to his friend Jesse Grimes, “…If my countrymen do not rally to my relief, I am determined to perish in the defense of this place, and my bones shall reproach my country for her neglect.”

The siege lasted 12 days and on the 13th day, the slaughter began; accompanied by the bugle call, El Degüello. Travis was one of the first to fall, and in just an hour, every rebel lay dead.

Skirmishes continued between the Texians and the Mexican army; and even though many of the Mexican officers wanted the rebels to be treated humanely, as prisoners of war, Santa Anna would not allow it. Under his orders, all warriors captured were to be immediately executed. Finally the United States and other sympathizers were outraged enough to send much needed aid to the Texians; and more importantly, the Texians realized their way of life, as well as their very lives were in peril.

Sam Houston and his Texian army soundly defeated Santa Anna and the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto, barely a month and a half after the fall of the Alamo, which paved the way for the Republic of Texas. Had it not been for the sacrifices made by the Texians and Tejanos at the Alamo, this probably would not have happened.

Through the painstakingly researched “The Blood of Heroes,” James Donovan brings to life the renowned heroes of the Battle of the Alamo, and the battle for Texas independence; warts and all. These brave, boisterous men have redeemed themselves in the eyes of Texas and all of the United States until they have become seemingly legendary.

It Happened On The Oregon Trail by Tricia Martineau Wagner

It Happened On The Oregon Trail by Tricia Martineau Wagner tells 29 different stories about Oregon Trail pioneers.  These short stories give us a glimpse into the everyday life, adventures, and struggles faced by these new residents of our western frontier.

Some of the people and families you will recognize; like the Applegates, the "Donner Party," Abigail Scott (Duniway) and Ezra Meeker among others.  You'll also read about some of the fun experienced by the teenagers, and you'll realize they're not so different than young people today.

There was also tragedy and death along the trail; like the heartbreaking story of Rebecca Winters who only made it halfway before succumbing to cholera; or the tragic story of a young man standing guard duty who accidentally killed his own father, thinking he was an Indian.

Many of the awe-inspiring sights the pioneers experienced can still be seen today; for example, Craters of the Moon and Thousand Springs in Idaho.

Next time you enjoy an apple grown in Oregon, remember Henderson Luelling and the special "tree wagon" he used to bring his fruit trees to the Willamette Valley all the way from Iowa.

With its short stories, It Happened On The Oregon Trail is a wonderful and easy book to read.  At the back of the book you'll find many references of where to visit the Oregon Trail and from the bibliography, you will find other Oregon Trail reading sources.

Thank you Ezra Meeker for tirelessly working to ensure that the Oregon Trail did not fall into obscurity and become obliterated by modern times (Ezra Meeker first followed the Oregon Trail in 1852, and retraced his steps many times throughout his long life).

It Happened On The Oregon Trail can be purchased now for just $12.95.

or at the Josephine Historical Society's Bookshop located in the Research Library at 512 K Street, Grants Pass; or at their Online Bookshop.

A Honey of a Beeswax Story ...

 The following post comes courtesy of Finn J.D. John.

 

Coming to a beach near you: Ghostly beeswax from the 1600s

Chunks of beeswax that still occasionally wash up on Oregon beaches have been carbon-dated to the early 1600s, and are believed to be from a wrecked Spanish galleon.

 

By Finn J.D. John — March 18, 2009

 

By now, the wreck of the New Carissa — or, rather, the half of it that ended up on a beach near Coos Bay — is just about gone. And just in time, too – sorted, cleaned steel is once again barely worth the cost to salvage, but not long ago it was selling for more than a dime a pound on the scrap-metal market. And there was a lot of it on that beach — plenty enough to qualify, for a properly equipped salvage outfit, as treasure from a shipwreck.

But it certainly isn’t the first trove of shipwreck treasure to be found off the shores of Oregon, and it certainly won’t be the last. In fact, one of the most famous sunken treasure ships off the coast is also quite possibly the oldest — but we remember it well, because bits of it float up onto the shore to remind us even now, more than 400 years later, that it’s out there somewhere.

No one knows for sure what this wreck’s name is, or even what country it’s from. Most scientists and historians agree it’s most likely a Spanish ship. Specifically, they think it’s the galleon “San Francisco Xavier,” which left Manila in 1603. There was an outbreak of civil war there, and several high-ranking Spanish families used the galleon as a refuge from the violence, hoping to start a new life in California.
They never made it. They and their ship vanished without a trace.

Frank J. Kumm, custodian of Pioneer Museum of Tillamook, holds a piece of beeswax found on the nearby beach in 1952. In 1961, radiocarbon dating showed the wax was formed in the 1600s. Historians think it was part of the cargo of a Spanish ship wrecked nearby between 1650 and 1675. (Salem Public Library/Ben Maxwell)

Was it, along with its cargo of prized Asian beeswax and all those wealthy families’ personal treasure, lost near the mouth of the Nehalem River in Oregon? Quite possibly. Or it could have come from another ship. The Spanish greatly preferred beeswax from the east — it had a higher melting point and slower burn rate than the stuff European bees produced, and that was important for the many candles used in the Catholic Mass, which in turn was important to the missions of California. So they loaded and shipped the stuff by the ton, on ship after ship, from India to the missions of California throughout the 1600s and 1700s.

Might one or more of those ships have been blown off course and foundered near Tillamook? Accounts by natives — including one who, interviewed in 1895 at the age of 100 years, said his father had witnessed the wreck of a galleon near the Nehalem — support this theory.

What we do know is, for the last 400 years, chunks of beeswax have been washing up on the Oregon coast. The further north, the more is found, although one big chunk was found recently as far south as Gold Beach. Radiocarbon dating shows these pieces of wax, and the bits of wood embedded in them, are about as old as the San Francisco Xavier.

And somewhere, on the floor of the Pacific Ocean not far from the place where Tillamook Cheese is made, there is a 400-year-old wreck that is probably Spanish — and quite possibly full of gold and jewelry.

Sources: The Beeswax Wreck Project Website (Naga Research Group, Hawaii); NW Limited Magazine; Gulick, Bill. A Roadside History of Oregon. Missoula: Mountain Press, 1991.