Squawteat Peak

I.H. 10 snakes across Pecos County, just south of Squawteat Peak. The peak is a dominant
feature of the landscape that rises high above the surrounding desert floor and is visible for
miles around. Prehistoric hunter-gatherers returned to camp in the shadow of the peak for
thousands of years. TARL Archives.

Back in the 1980s we lived in Alpine, Texas for a few years. My mother lived in Brownwood and I drove our son back to see his friends. One trip they rode back with us to visit the area. When we traveled the I 10 route Squawteat Peak always signified we were almost home; however, this trip the sign was gone. You know those green highway signs naming the mountain and elevation. Confused I studied every peak we passed. I'd planned to give the boys a history lesson and alas, had nothing to show them. There were several mountains that somewhat resembled the original, but none were in the right place. After some studying, I learned that TXDOT's highway construction had changed the landscape somewhat.

Burned rock middens are all that remain of large rock ovens.

This is what I remembered, but now there were roads around it. From my research I learned that Squawteat Peak is a cone shaped limestone hill hat juts 300 feet from the desert floor. "It is known for its wickiup and tipi rings—all that remain of shelters constructed by prehistoric hunter-gatherers at the site hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years ago." Though there is little vegetation, the bare bedrock supports an abundance of natural resources. They include lechuguilla, sotol, cacti, and mesquite. "Flint resources are also abundant in nearby natural outcroppings."

"Squawteat Peak was first examined by the Archeology Section of the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation (now TxDOT) during mitigation of I.H. 10 in the summer of 1974." A large burned rock midden (trash heap) was located in the right of way and excavated under the direction of Gary Moore. In the early 1980s Wayne Young and Wayne Belyeu of TxDOT returned to Squawteat Peak to make a topographic and feature map of the portions that had not been destroyed, but much information had been lost.

The most important features identified at Squawteat Peak are 14 clusters of stones believed to be wickiup and tipi rings and the rocks were used to hold up the branch supports of small brush shelters. The larger rings would have supported large wooden poles for hide tipis.

One of Squawteat Peak's wickiup rings. The rocks in this ring would have been
used to bolster the branch supports of a small brush structure. TARL Archive.

Pair of mortar holes carved into the bedrock of Squawteat Peak.

Also found were burned rock hearths and mortar holes that have been worn into the exposed bedrock. Some of the mortar holes have been ground to over 12 inches in depth which suggested they were used over long periods of time. They may have used wooden manos to grind cactus fruit (or tunas) or mesquite pods for meal.

"According to archeologist Michael Collins, who surveyed the area in the 1980s prior to the proposed construction of oil rig roads in the area, the use of this quarry goes back to at least the Late Archaic period, if not further, based  on several Shumia projectile points that he recovered during his investigation."

"The largest burned rock hidden was the focus of the 1974 excavation and is the only area of the site that has been radiocarbon dated. The midpoints of the dates taken from the around around the midden range from A.D. 900 to 1530, and midden itself (technically, the last use of the midden) dates to approximately A.D. 1300."

The research data on Squawteat Peak continues but this is all I had room for. I hope if you're interested you'll do more researching on your own. At this time there are no hiking trails to the top of the peak that reaches and elevation of 2,884 feet.

Contributions:
Carly Whelan; Michael Collins; Miller, Miles R and Nancy A. Kenmotsu; Young, Wayne.

Here is my favorite picture. I wish I could say I took it, but I actually found in in in Google images.

Thank you for stopping by Sweethearts of the West today and I hope you'll return often. Please let me know your thoughts on this post.

Linda LaRoque

www.lindalaroque.com

http://www.lindalaroqueauthor.blogspot.com

Women of Controversy in Waco, Texas

This post was first published on Petticoats and Pistols. Due to time constraints, I'd like to use it again this month for my contribution to Sweethearts of the West.

My time travel romance, My Heart Will Find Yours, is set in 1880s Waco, Texas. Located on the Brazos River, in its early history, Waco was known as Six-Shooter Junction. Trail drives herded their cattle across the Brazos in Waco and the cowboys usually spent time in the bawdy houses of the Reservation or Two Street as the red-light district was known. Drinking in the multitude of saloons and card games sometimes led to fights, often involving the use of firearms.

When the suspension bridge opened in 1870, and the railroad arrived in 1871, business in Waco thrived. Trail drives repeatedly lost cattle when herding their livestock across the Brazos. It wasn’t uncommon for a man to be caught in the undertow and drown. Cattle bosses were willing to pay the 50 cents per animal to get their cattle across safely.

In her book, A Spirit So Rare, Patricia Ward Wallace broaches the topic of how women forged a path in the early history of Waco. Her chapter on prostitutes is titled Women of Controversy. Since prostitution plays a minor role in my western time travel romance, I’d like to borrow her title and share some of what I learned.

The first noted record of prostitution in Waco is documented in an 1876 city directory. Matilda Davis of 76 N. Fourth St. is listed as a madam with 10 occupants in her house. The women listed their occupation as actress. Waco had no playhouse at the time. In 1879, the city issued the first license for a bawdy house for an annual fee of $200 and a good behavior bond of $500.

Waco officials legalized prostitution within the Reservation in 1889 making Waco the first town in Texas and the second in the United States to condone a controlled red-light district. Madams paid a yearly fee of $12.50 for each bedroom and $10.00 for each bawd. Prostitutes paid an additional $10.00 license fee and paid the city physician $2.00 twice a month for a medical exam. This guaranteed they didn’t ply their trade outside their designated territory and were disease free. The city prohibited drinking within the area. Fines for violators ranged between $50 and $100. With the large number of prostitutes it’s easy to see the city benefited from trade within the Reservation.

Prostitutes were prohibited from being seen on the streets outside the Reservation yet they were allowed to trade with local businesses. No more than two at a time could travel via a city hack to the stores. Usually tradesmen sent clerks to the curb with merchandise. Some store owners required the prostitutes to stop at the back door.

Life was hard for these working girls. Violence abounded in the bordellos as did drug and alcohol use and abuse. Though licensed, the police had little to do with the establishments. The madams disciplined the women in their houses and maintained order among their clientele. On occasion the police were called when robberies or assaults occurred.

Waco’s most famous madam was Mollie Adams. She had worked in another house but in 1890 opened her own three-room operation. By 1893 she had a seven-room establishment. In 1910 she’d obtained enough wealth to commission a house to be built by the same firm that built the First Baptist Church of Waco and the building now the Dr. Pepper Museum. Her home at 408 N. Second St., had indoor plumbing, electric fixtures, two parlors, a dance hall, and a bell system wired to every room. Her portrait, included here, hung over the fireplace. Though wealthy at this point in her life, she died in an indigent home in 1944. Lorna Lane, the madam in Madison Cooper’s epic novel, Sironia, is supposedly modeled after Mollie Adams.

In 1917, the US Government ordered cities with military bases to shut down red light districts to protect the health of America’s soldiers. Not wanting to lose Camp MacArthur and its 36,000 troops, the city shut down the Reservation in August of 1917. It is rumored some bawdy houses managed to continue business through the 1920s.

References:

Wallace, P. W., A Spirit So Rare, pp. 148-156.

http://wacohistoryproject.org/Places/reservation.htm

Photo:

Courtesy of Texas Collection, Baylor University, Waco, Texas

Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda

www.lindalaroque.com

Chaco Canyon and The Turquoise Legacy

            

            Chaco Canyon and The Turquoise Legacy. To win an e-copy of both books—My Heart Will Find Yours and Flames on the Sky get your comments in TODAY! Books will be awarded on June 17, 2017.

It’s fascinating for those of us who write flying by the seat of our pants when ideas and settings fall into our laps. I’d written My Heart Will Find Yours, a time travel romance that involves an antique turquoise locket. It has magical powers and transports Texanna Keith back to 1876 Waco, Texas. I wanted to write a sequel and knew the story would be set in the present, would include time travel, and revolve around an ancestor of Texanna’s. My research began with turquoise in the Southwest and boy-o-boy, I hit a goldmine—Chaco Canyon in New Mexico.

Interestingly enough, my husband and I had visited Santa Fe and Madrid, New Mexico and been on part of the Turquoise Trail, though unfortunately we did not visit the Carrillo Mines where the Anasazi of Chaco Canyon obtained most of their turquoise back around 1000 AD. Chaco Canyon was a center of trade and prosperous during their time trading turquoise for items not available to them in the canyon. Remains of parrots, macaws, seashells and other artifacts indicate traders came from far distances to barter with the Anasazi.

The Anasazi occupied Chaco Canyon between 850 AD and 1100 AD. No one knows exactly where they went or what happened to them. There are several theories surrounding the mystery. The one I prefer to believe is they migrated to live with other Pueblo tribes.

Chaco Canyon is a mysterious place and covers a vast amount of space. It includes ten buildings, some of which are believed to have been five stories high. “Pueblo Bonito also the center of an elaborate solar calendar:  all of the buildings are either part of the solar calendar that traces the 18.5-year lunar cycle.”

A large rock structure, Fajada Butte, is seen as you enter the canyon. There archaeologist discovered a sun calendar that has been named “The Anasazi Dagger.” “Concentric circles carved in the rock, with slabs of rock placed in just such a way that would make the light passing through turn into a dagger which, when it hit the circles would reveal the solstices and equinoxes.”

It is now believed that the entire Chaco Canyon, the way that its buildings were placed, the directions of the roads, etc. indicate they were aligned so as to line up with the arch of the sun and moon on important dates of the year.

Though Pueblo Bonito is the most impressive structure, my story, Flames on the Sky, revolves around Una Vida as it is nearer the visitor’s center and the setting was perfect for the scenes I created back in 1000 AD.

If you’ve not visited Chaco Canyon, you should stop by if you’re ever in the neighborhood.

References:

http://www.garygordonproductions.com/chaco2.html

http://www.angelfire.com/indie/anna_jones1/sundagger.html - photo of sundagger.

http://www.jqjacobs.net/southwest/chaco.html - photo of Fajada Butte and photo 2 of sundagger.

Links of interest:

http://www.nps.gov/chcu/planyourvisit/directions.htm

http://www.exploratorium.edu/chaco/HTML/canyon.html - this site has interactive videos showing solstice patterns and lighting changes in the canyon.

Here is an excerpt from Flames on the Sky, the second book in the Turquoise Legacy.

“Yes, you need to tell me about the dreams. They started at the time you received the necklace, right?”

Madison nodded. “How did you know?”

“I assumed the ancient Elders would haunt you, but when Lonan called yesterday, I knew so for a fact.” Her smile was sympathetic. “Tell me about them.”

Lilly’s eyes lit with excitement as Madison talked. When she finished, the older woman leaned back and closed her eyes.

Lonan’s brow was furrowed, his mouth pinched. “What did you mean when you said, ‘You are the one’?”

She pierced him with an intent look. “Did not Madison say you were the very image of the warrior in her dream? The prophecy requires that someone from the past, which is you, Son, be chosen to be Madison’s protector.” Lilly turned to Madison.

Oh, no. I don’t think I want to hear this. She held up her hands and shook her head. “No—”

“Yes, Madison, with hair of fire, whether you like it or not, the gods chose you, someone from the future, to find the third stone and reunite the twins with the mother stone. Together, you two will find a way to consign the evil one to the pit below Mother Earth, where he belongs.”

Please leave a comment. On the 17th, a name will be drawn for both books in e-book format.

Thank you for stopping by and Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda

A Touch of Texas Irish—A Contest—My Research

As always, for me the research for this novel was fun. The story begins in Ireland, and my husband and I were fortunate enough to tour parts of Ireland several years ago. So, while writing my heroine's flight from Ireland, I had a good picture in my mind of the town and port of Kinsale, Ireland where she boarded a freighter bound for Boston, Massachusetts.

I knew nothing about Boston, so spent hours researching the port, the docks, and the neighborhoods where Irish Catholics lived. At the time, Boston was a Protestant town and didn't want Catholics in their neighborhoods. During the migration of Catholics from Ireland, many traveled to Boston as well as New York and other cities. I didn't know Boston's port was so extensive.

I spent a great deal of time researching rail travel, time schedules, and routes. The train didn't travel all the way to Fort Stockton so the hero and heroine had to board a stagecoach in Monahans. It was a rough ride compared to the train. I've researched stage travel for several other books so didn't need to spend much time on this topic.

I lived in Fort Stockton, Texas for several years, but did have to research the area for the time period of 1890. The fort had been closed, so the town lost much of its trade. The store by Comanche Springs was a stopping place for travelers.

Contest:  For the release of A Touch of Texas Irish, I'm giving away a James Avery charm bracelet with a clover heart charm. To enter, go to my website or blog and use the form to sign up for my newsletter. I will enter you into the contest. If you already receive my newsletter, email me at linda@lindalaroque.com and request that I add you to the contest list. I will be checking emails to make sure they're valid and don't time out before a newsletter can download.

Unfortunately, the winner must be in the U.S. A winner outside the US will receive an E copy of this book and a selection of others and another winner will be selected for the bracelet.

Blurb:

Aileen Lynch flees Ireland to escape a forced marriage, but in Boston she marries a frontier doctor needing a mother for his son, and they board a train bound for Texas.

Doctor Samuel Walker attends a medical conference in Boston, and at a colleague's entreaty, marries a young Irish woman to save her from a forced abusive marriage.

While Aileen strives to earn Sam's affection, the frontier doctor vows never to risk Aileen's safety or his heart—he'll not father a child and watch Aileen die.

Excerpt:

Aileen stepped from the washroom wearing her robe with only her chemise underneath. She wanted to be able to dress quickly if need be. Her traveling costume was folded and stored in her portmanteau. It would slide under their bed in case she needed it in a hurry. Sam waited for her right outside the door and walked her to their berth. The porter already had the seats folded down and the bed made. The couple that sat across from them was settled in the bunk above.

Sam held the curtain for her while she crawled across the mattress. He removed his clothes and laid them across the foot of their bed. He slipped under the covers in his drawers. Suddenly shy, Aileen clutched the robe closer to her body.

He untied her robe. "You can't sleep in that. You'll get too hot and become tangled when you try to turn over." She had to admit the car was rather warm. Sam mentioned something about a hot air furnace. "Come on, give it here." He took the robe and tossed it to the end of the bunk. When she'd settled under the covers, he slipped an arm under her head and pulled her close. Her heart thundered in her chest. Surely he'd not make love to her here. She'd die of embarrassment. "Good night, Aileen."

"Night." She released a sigh of relief, but felt a nagging disappointment. The thought of such an activity in these close confines brought forth a giggle.

"What's funny?"

"Sleeping this close to other people is so odd. Lydia is the only person I've ever shared a bed with." And now I'm sharing a bedroom with close to two-dozen people. Sam's heart thrummed away under her ear, and the faint aroma of his aftershave tickled her nostrils. She fidgeted trying to decide what to do with her free arm. The obvious remedy would be to throw it across Sam's chest, but she didn't want him to think her brazen. Finally, he made the decision for her. He took her arm, placed it across his middle, and stroked it with a gentle motion. She closed her eyes, enjoying the closeness and his touch.

"You settled...comfortable?"

 "Yes, thank you. Goodnight, Sam."

He squeezed her with his strong arms in response. She listened to the sounds around her—snoring, coughing, and the occasional passing of gas. Not having slept in such close confines before, the intimate sounds were foreign to her. Though Sam didn't love her, lying wrapped in his embrace, she experienced security for the first time since her mother's passing. A tear leaked from her eye, and she wiped it away. No looking back, Aileen. Mother wanted you to be happy. Aileen would make that happen.

A Touch of Texas Irish is now available for pre-order. The release date is March 8th. Copies are available at—

The Wild Rose Press

Amazon
I have a new release, an anthology about love and modes of travel. It is available

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUX2M8F
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MUX2M8F
Kindle Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MUX2M8F
Kindle Australia: 

https://www....amazon.com.au/dp/B01MUX2M8F