Lucius Beebe & The American West

Before introducing the topic of my post, I'm excited to tell you my new book, BEGUILING DELILAH, is now available on Amazon. At last! 

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FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Now, about Lucius Morris Beebe: (December 9, 1902 – February 4, 1966) Beebe was an American author, gourmet, photographer, railroad historian, journalist, and syndicated columnist.

Lucius Beebe (R) and partner Charles Clegg; back jacket photo - Steamcars To The Comstock

Born in Wakefield, Massachusetts to a prominent Boston family, Beebe attended both Harvard and Yale, where he contributed to the humorous magazine The Yale Record. He was known for pulling pranks, including an attempt to decorate J. P. Morgan’s yacht with toilet paper dropped from a chartered airplane. Consequently, he proudly had the sole distinction of being expelled from both Harvard and Yale. Eventually, he did earn his undergraduate degree from Harvard in 1926, only to be expelled during graduate school.

As a young man, Beebe published several books of poetry, but soon turned to journalism. He worked as a journalist for well-known newspapers in New York, Boston and San Francisco, and was a contributing writer to many magazines.

Beebe wrote a syndicated column for the New York Herald Tribune from the 1930s through 1944 called This New York. The column chronicled the doings of fashionable society, of which he was a notable part, at famous restaurants and nightclubs. He came up with the term “café society” to describe the people in his column.

Beebe in the West

In 1950, Beebe and his long-time life partner, photographer Charles Clegg, moved to Virginia City, Nevada, somewhat of a mecca at that time for writers. Beebe and Clegg purchased and restored the Piper family home.

Piper-Beebe House; Creative Commons; Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Later, the pair purchased the dormant Territorial Enterprise newspaper, relaunching it in 1952. By 1954 the paper had the highest circulation in the West for a weekly newspaper. Beebe and Clegg co-wrote the "That Was the West" series of historical essays for the newspaper.

In 1960, Beebe began writing a syndicated column titled This Wild West for the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition to being a journalist, Beebe wrote over 35 books. His books dealt primarily with railroading and café society. Charles Clegg helped write many of his railroad books.

The pair also authored The American West: The Pictorial Epic of a Continent, first published in 1955 by Dutton Publishing. I own a 1989 hardcover edition published by Bonanza Books. I love it mainly for the plethora of wonderful illustrations. I wish I could share a few of them with you but don’t want to infringe on copyrights. The book is available used on Amazon. I highly recommend it.

Amazon description:

“This truly magnificent book recreates with a wealth of rare pictures and vivid authoritative text the tremendous epic of the American West. As sweeping, spirited and many-sided as its subject, the book portrays the Old West in all its variety, from the days of the first pioneers to the final passing of the frontier. Includes more than 1000 illustrations.”

Reviews: There are only 2, but one is by our own Caroline Clemmons. Both give 5 stars.

A must for any fan of Western history!

By Bob G. on January 27, 2011

“. . .This is an absolute essential piece for your bookshelf if you are an aficionado of US History, particularly the classic era of the Western Frontier. What's most notable about this large volume, with over 500 pages, is the numerous illustrations (over 1000!) that will guarantee hours of your enjoyment. . .

“Worth the visual enjoyment alone, The American West: The Pictorial Epic of a Continent is written in an engaging style of colorful narration not seen in today's academic tomes. Much like the newspapers of the day, the authors Beebe & Clegg make fine use of the English language and deliver humor and excitement in their accounts.

“From the mountain men to the closing of the frontier, the whole story is presented as an illustrated summary that is always fun to pick up and refer to over and over again. A definite keeper!”

Good research tool

By Caroline Clemmons on November 11, 2014

“I bought this book after a friend mentioned it. It's a large book filled with illustrations and old photos to illustrate the text. Very useful for research.”

 Lyn Horner is a multi-published, award-winning author of western historical romance and romantic suspense novels, all spiced with paranormal elements. She is a former fashion illustrator and art instructor who resides in Fort Worth, Texas – “Where the West Begins” - with her husband and a gaggle of very spoiled cats. As well as crafting passionate love stories, Lyn enjoys reading, gardening, visiting with family and friends, and cuddling her furry, four-legged children.

Find Lyn’s books on her Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/Y3aotC

Sign up for Lyn’s Romance Gazette: http://eepurl.com/bMYkeX

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Magical Canyonlands National Park

I became interested in Canyonlands National Park while researching the setting for a dramatic scene in my soon to be released book, BEGUILING DELILAH (Romancing the Guardians, Book 6). Since the park is such a fascinating place, I want to share a little of what I've learned with you today.

Canyonlands National Park; photo in public domain

Located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab, Canyonlands National Park is a colorful wilderness of canyons, mesas, buttes, arches and spires carved by the Colorado and Green rivers and their tributaries. The largest park in Utah, it was officially designated a national park by legislation and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on September 12, 1964.

The park is composed of four districts: Island in the Sky to the north, the Needles to the east, the Maze to the west, and the River district (the Green and Colorado.) These areas share a desert atmosphere but each is very different from the others. Author Edward Abbey described the Canyonlands as “the most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth—there is nothing else like it anywhere.”

Rock formations in Needles district; photo by Jesse Varner; creative commons share-alike 2,5 generic

Although many people had never heard of this remote land when the park was established in 1964, prehistoric Native Americans hunted and lived in the area as early as 11,500 B.C. By 1000 B.C. their descendants hunted, gathered and grew corn, and began to establish permanent settlements. These people are known as ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi.)

Ruins of later Puebloan villages have been found in the Needles district, and rock art carved by ancient artists can be seen in all areas of the park. Newspaper Rock Recreation Site, on the road into the Needles district, is a popular example of such petroglyphs.

While the Puebloans and another group called the Fremont People cultivated crops in the canyon bottoms for many years, they abandoned Canyonlands in the 13^th century A.D. A 20-year drought is believed to be the cause.

Fur trappers and explorers entered the region in the1800s. John Wesley Powell, a well-known geologist and explorer of the west, traveled the area by river in 1869 and in 1871, resulting in the first detailed geologic and topographic information on the canyons.

Around this time, Spanish vaqueros were herding cattle through the area and some small settlements were established to the west of the park. By 1885, cattle ranching was becoming a big business in southeast Utah, and cattle were beginning to graze in Canyonlands. Some of the ranchers’ descendants still raise cattle in the area.

In the 1950s and 60s, before Canyonlands was declared a national park, prospectors explored there for uranium deposits. Deep shafts were dug and some ore was found, but not enough to be worth the effort of extracting it.

Which brings me to Shafer Canyon. Built by uranium miners to transport ore extracted from the Triassic Chinle Formation, Shafer Canyon Trail is an 18-mile-long dangerous dirt track located in Canyonlands. The mining road followed the path of a large natural rockfall. A series of steep switchbacks with sharp turns, negotiating the trail requires extreme caution for auto drivers and mountain bikers. It's a favorite with Hollywood movie producers.

 

Shafer Canyon overlook; photo by Dsdugan; creative commons share-alike 4.0 international

A well-known point on the trail is Thelma and Louise Point, where the famous scene in "Thelma & Louise" when the two women drove off the edge, into the canyon, was filmed. The view from the overlook, 2,000 feet above the Colorado River, is one of the most photographed scenic vistas in the world. It’s a breathtaking panorama of Canyonlands' sculpted pinnacles and buttes. Numerous commercials and music videos have been filmed there.

Now here's a snippet from a scene set on Shafer Trail in BEGUILING DELILAH. No, it's not a western historical, but this setting is a spectacular example of our amazing western lands. The Navajo hero is trying to protect the French Guardian he went to Paris to find. They are being followed by her ruthless enemies.

They were at the top of a wide canyon. The view was spectacular, but gazing hundreds of feet down into the huge hole in the mountainous terrain stole her breath.

“This is Shafer Canyon,” Leon said. “Do you see the trail down?”

“Oui.” The dirt road winding into the depths along steep switchbacks and around sharp curves made her head spin. “Surely you cannot mean to drive down that,” she said in a strained voice.

“Yes, I do. I have driven this trail before, and remember we have four-wheel drive. We will be fine, but I know it is frightening for you. When you get too scared, close your eyes, okay?”

She didn’t try to answer as he started slowly down the narrow dirt path. There weren’t even any guardrails. Clutching the edges of her seat, she stared at the cliff face near them, refusing to look at the heart-stopping drop on the opposite side of the car.

Leon swore in Navajo, drawing her terrified gaze. “The fools are following us. I hoped they would get cold feet and turn back.”

“Wh-what will you do now?” She barely got the words out.

“Speed up, I guess.”

“What?! No!” She couldn’t believe her ears.

“I must.” Jaw set, he gave the car more gas and they shot forward down the steep grade, only slowing slightly as they rounded a hairpin curve.

“Sweet Danu! Protect us!” Delilah gulped, feeling the car fishtail before straightening out. Bracing one hand against the dashboard, she squeezed her eyes shut, expecting them to go flying over the edge at any second, to die on the rocks far below.

“Slow down!” she begged, heart in her throat.

“It’s okay. I know what I’m doing,” Leon insisted, somehow making it down another incline and around a second death-defying curve.

She cracked her eyes open as they headed down yet another switchback. Daring a glance back, she saw the SUV edge around the last hairpin turn. “Their driver is going much slower than you,” she said.

Leon gave a dry laugh. “Good. He’s got more sense than I thought.”

Perplexed, she braced again as he calmly negotiated a third dangerous curve just as fast as the first two. When they straightened out on the next decline, she asked, “You expected him to keep up with us?”

He shrugged. “I expected him to try . . . and fail.”

She stared at him aghast. “You thought they would go over the edge and be killed!”

Lyn Horner is a multi-published, award-winning author of western historical romance and romantic suspense novels, all spiced with paranormal elements. She is a former fashion illustrator and art instructor who resides in Fort Worth, Texas – “Where the West  Begins” - with her husband and a gaggle of very spoiled cats. As well as crafting passionate love stories, Lyn enjoys reading, gardening, visiting with family and friends, and cuddling her furry, four-legged children.

Amazon author page: http://amzn.to/Y3aotC

Newsletter:  Lyn’s Romance Gazette http://eepurl.com/bMYkeX

Website:  Lyn Horner’s Corner 

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