MAKING LIFE BETTER FOR OTHERS

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

Photo property of the author

I've been focusing on women who banded together to improve the status of all women in the West and the Country. The year 2020 is the centennial of women receiving the right to vote, but the journey began long before that. For this post, I'll be focusing on Colorado. I hope you enjoy this short exploration.

Dr. Alida Avery
en-wikipedia

Women Doctors were one of the first groups of women in Colorado who not only strove to help the sick but were also involved with the suffrage movement along with the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Even while still a territory, there were discussions about women's suffrage. Dr. Alida Avery left her position as a physician and professor at Vassar College to move to Colorado in 1874. One here, she was involved in the Colorado and National suffrage movement, traveling and speaking on behalf of women. She also was an early proponent of women being a part of the medical association, requesting membership within two years of her arrival.

On a side note, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was a fictional show that may have been based in part on the life of Dr. Susan Anderson and her work in Fraser, Colorado after she moved there in 1907 over thirty years after the first female doctor, who graduated from a medical school, arrived in Colorado.

By 1881, Colorado was licensing physicians, and women were licensed the same as men if they met the state's qualifications. A look at those who were licensed included a number of women.

It was no just women who were pushing for suffrage. Men were also involved. In 1876 the head of the Colorado Medical Society made waves when he advocated that women be included not only in organizations, but they should attend medical schools on an equal basis.

1893 Referendum - Colorado
en-wikipedia

By the early 1890s, the women regrouped to finish the push for suffrage in Colorado. One of those who helped in that final effort was Dr. Mary Helen Barker Bates. She arrived in Colorado in 1879-80 with her husband and settled in Leadville where she was the lone female doctor for a brief while. Moving to Denver because of her husband's ill health, Dr. Bates was active not only on behalf of children in the schools, but also working for the right for women to vote and be a part of the voice making policy for all. The effort paid off. In 1893 the state of Colorado was the first state to make women's suffrage a part of the constitution.

I confess to being in awe of these early women and their commitment to making life better for not only themselves but for others. These histories, while not always explicit in my fiction writing, play a big part in the development of my female characters. What are your 'role models' for your characters? I'd love to know.

I confess the first novel I wrote had a female doctor as the heroine. She was fun to write and has a special place in my heart. Below is an excerpt from that book:

Will didn’t know who he was, where he came from, despite being told his name was Will Murphy. All he knew was this doctor, a woman at that, was an irritant. Since the Haneys, father and son, had brought him in, she had been ordering him about. He was tired of lying in bed. His head felt better, and the cuts and scrapes were healing nicely. It was time to get up and get going. Blasted woman, doctor or not, he figured he knew what was best for himself.

He was going to get up out of the bed. Now that his decision was made, Will swung his legs out from under the covers, only to gasp as the doctor walked in.

Will quickly covered himself with the sheet, for no woman should see a man in his altogether.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The soft voice asked. “And don’t be embarrassed, after all, I am a doctor. You have nothing I’ve not seen before,” the voice continued, with a hint of laughter.

That soft voice, so enticing, almost had Will returning to his bed. The doctor’s green eyes were daring him to continue.

Very well, Will thought, I’ll show you. Will continued his journey from the bed. Dropping the sheet, Will moved until his feet touched the floor. With the aid of his arms, Will slowly raised his body up to his feet, precariously balancing on legs that were more feeble than he’d hoped.

Glancing at the doctor, sweat trickling down his nose and cheeks, he braced himself for a scolding, while praying that he could remain upright.

The scolding never came. Instead the doctor, Josie he thought they called her, stood watching him, hands on hips, compressed lips, but with the hint of a smile and admiration in her eyes.

If he believed in love, Will thought, he would fall head over heels right now. That fact that he was wavering probably would have made it a fact, if the good doctor hadn’t spoiled it by asking, “Do you feel better now, or should I help you back into bed before you fall?”

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Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

Books: Angela Raines Books

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE PAST #Christmas #OldWestChristmas

As we move into the Christmas Holiday season, many of us are feeling the 'stress' of getting everything done. For some, it's children, others family and friends and the rounds of parties, food, candy and presents. But what of those days of Christmas past? 

As many know, I love research and reading old newspapers. With a day job, my research sometimes has to take the back seat. So, for this post, I thought I'd share some stories I've found along the way.

In Lawrence, Kansas in 1874, the Christmas decorating may have gotten to be to much according to the following article. Imagine having to put a notice in the paper that you were not going to be able to have Christmas Eve services due to decorating. Still, I admire their dedication.

Of course in the resort towns of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs, things were a bit different in 1875. Things were spoken of and put on in a grand scale for citizens and visitors.

Of course those in Helena, Montana seemed to have had a wonderful time in the year 1879,

I will leave you with probably one of my favorite Christmas stories. I've shared it before on other posts, but feel it needs to be repeated, for it has such a true feeling of the season.

In 1863 one family on the Arkansas river, up close to the cut off to what is now Monarch pass, had been cut off from others and the towns due to heavy fall snow storms that year.  They had been working their claim, even in the heart of winter. When Christmas arrived, they had plenty of food, but not much variety. One daughter, with the help of her siblings decided to bring out the good china brought from their home in Nebraska and serve up a feast of mock turkey made from beef and beans along with substitute coffee, made from browned bran. The parents were the guest of honor. 

Here's wishing everyone the best that the holiday season has to offer. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

And a couple of songs to listen to as you relax.

Oh Holy Night

Do You Hear What I Hear

And probably one of my all time favorites

Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Writing fiction as Angela Raines

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

A Western Mystery: Who Shot Johnny Ringo? by Sarah J. McNeal

A Western Mystery: Who Shot Johnny Ringo?

                 Johnny Ringo

 In my all time favorite western, Tombstone, Johnny Ringo was portrayed as a well educated member of the criminal gang known as The Cowboys. He mentally sparred with Doc Holiday and was apparently the fastest gun in the gang. I remember the part where Wyatt asked Doc why Johnny Ringo did the terrible things that he did and Doc replied that Johnny was angry for being born which implies that Johnny had some dark childhood. In the end, Doc beat Wyatt to the wooded area where Johnny waited to shoot it out and shot Johnny Ringo in the head with one fatal shot while Johnny had his gun in his hand, but didn’t get off a shot before he died.

But what’s the truth? What really happened at that shoot-out? And who was Johnny Ringo anyway? Well I dug around doing some research and found some very interesting facts about Johnny Ringo and the mystery of what happened that day when Johnny Ringo died.

Johnny Ringo was born John Peters, May 3, 1850 in Greensfork, Indiana. His family moved to Independence, Missouri in 1856 where Johnny met Frank and Jesse James who lived in Kearney, a town nearby.  His aunt, Augusta Peters married Coleman Younger, uncle of the famous Younger outlaw making him their cousin. I can see the early connection he had to outlaws by the time he was six, but the coincidences didn’t end there.

In 1858 the family moved to Gallatin, Missouri where they rented a house from John W. Sheets who would become the victim of the James-Younger gang when they robbed The Daviess County Savings and Loan Association in 1869.

 

               The Younger Brothers with their sister, Henrietta.

The Ringo family was traveling through Wyoming when Johnny’s father, Martin Ringo, stepped off the wagon with his shotgun and accidently shot himself in the head. Johnny, then age fourteen, and his family buried Martin on a hillside along the trail.

Ringo moved from San Jose, California to Mason County, Texas in the mid 1870’s and became acquainted with Scott Cooley, an ex-Texas Ranger who was the adopted son of a local rancher, Tim Williamson. 

But life didn’t remain quiet for Johnny Ringo. Two American rustlers were taken from the jail and hanged by a predominantly German crowd. On May 13, 1875, an all-out war started when Tim Williamson was arrested by a posse and murdered by a German farmer named Peter Bader. Cooley and his friends, including Ringo, began a terror campaign officially called the Mason County War, but by locals, referred to as the Hoodoo War. Cooley killed a German ex-deputy sheriff named John Whorley. Cooley didn’t just shoot Whorley; he scalped him and dumped his body in a well on August 10, 1875.

Cooley killed several more during the “war” adding to his reputation as a dangerous man and, amazingly, gained respect as a Texas Ranger. When Moses Baird, one of Cooley’s supporters was killed, Ringo and his friend, Bill Williams, went to James Cheyney’s house (the man who led the ambush of Baird). He was unarmed when he came out on the porch and invited them in. Ringo shot and killed him. Next, the two of them rode to Dave Doole’s house and called him out, but when he showed up on the porch with a shotgun, the two fled back into town.

Later, Cooley and Ringo mistook Charley Bader for his brother Peter and killed him. They were jailed in Burnet, Texas for the crime by Sheriff Strickland. They weren’t there long before their friends broke them out of jail.

After the Mason County War ended and many lives were lost, Ringo and his friend, George Gladden, were locked up again. One of his cell mates was the notorious, John Wesley Hardin. Gladden was sentenced to 99 years and Ringo was acquitted. Two years later, Johnny Ringo served as constable in Loyal County, Texas. There seems to be a blurry line between lawmen and outlaws in the old west. Not long after that, Johnny Ringo migrated to Arizona. He showed up in Cochise County, Arizona Territory with his friend John Graves from the “war”. He got drunk in a saloon in Safford, Arizona and shot an unarmed man named Louis Hancock for refusing a complimentary drink of whiskey because he preferred beer. Hancock survived the wound. I should add here that Ringo did not take part in the gunfight at the OK Corral as some may believe.

Ringo and Doc Holiday got into a confrontation on January 17, 1882 that was about to lead to a gunfight when they were both arrested by Tombstone’s new chief of police, James Flynn. The former chief had been Virgil Earp who had suffered a bad wound in an ambush just a few weeks prior. Ringo and Doc were and fined for carrying guns in town and Ringo was rearrested and jailed over the weekend for outstanding charges of robbery.

Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp (they look a lot like Val Kilmer and Kirt Russel playing their parts in Tombstone.)

Ringo had a reputation for his bad temper by the folks in Tombstone and he may have had a connection with the outlaw gang known as the Cowboys for some robberies and killings. A couple months later, the Earps suspected Ringo of murdering their brother, Morgan, on March 18, 1882. Later in court, Pete Spence’s wife testified that her husband, Frank Stilwell, “Indian Charlie” Cruz and a half-breed named Fries had killed Morgan. The Earps tracked down the men and killed Cruz.

After Wyatt and his posse found and killed Frank Stilwell, the Cochise County sheriff, Johnny Behan deputized Ringo and 19 other men, mostly members of the Cowboys gang and friends of Frank Stilwell to tract down the federal posse, but they never found Wyatt and his men.

Wyatt Earp killed Ringo’s friend, Curly Bill, in a gunfight in Iron Springs, about 20 miles from Tombstone 2 days after he killed Cruz. Wyatt later told his biographer that Cruz confessed to being an outlook for Morgan’s murder and that Cruz said Johnny Ringo, Frank Stilwell, Hank Swilling, and Curly Bill were Morgan's killers.

                                William Brocius "Curly Bill"


On July 14, 1882 Ringo was found dead leaning against a tree with a bullet hole in his head that exited out the back. His gun hung from one finger. Now the mystery/controversy begins. Some said that Ringo’s gun had one shot out of the chamber and his feet were wrapped in pieces of his undershirt. They found his horse two weeks later with Ringo’s boots tied to the saddle. The coroner declared the official cause of death was suicide. Some reports revealed that no bullet had been fired from Ringo’s gun leading to the suspicion of murder either by Wyatt Earp or Doc Holiday. Of course, there was that memorable scene in the movie Tombstone where Doc Holiday challenged Johnny Ringo to a fight and shot him before Johnny could fire his drawn gun.

Ringo was buried at the site of his death In West Turkey Creek Canyon which lies on private property now. Visitors must request to view the burial site from the owners before they can be admitted to the area.

The controversy over Ringo’s death continues to this day.

It must be said that Louis L’Amour didn’t think much of Johnny Ringo as a tough outlaw. He perceived him to be a loudmouth, mean drunk who wasn’t even fast with a gun and that his only claim to fame was killing the unarmed Louis Hancock over a drink of whiskey. Some authors believe Ringo’s claim to fame only came because of his opposition to the popular good Earp brothers.

One thing’s for sure; there is nothing boring about the old west. No wonder we just can’t get enough western stories. So, what do you think? Did Ringo commit suicide? Did Wyatt kill him? Did Doc Holliday kill him? Do you think he was murdered or did he lose in a gunfight with either Wyatt or Doc?

A NOTE:

This is a repost of my article on Sweethearts of the West from June 2013. 
I have a NEW RELEASE!

Beautiful June Wingate’s perfect marriage is in shambles—and she hasn’t even left the wedding reception! When she overhears two gossips discussing the real reason Kit Wilding married her, June believes there must be some truth to it—after all, things have happened just the way they said.  Is her marriage only make believe? Trust is hard for June to accept, and now, her faith in her husband has been broken—along with her fragile heart.

Kit Wilding has loved June since the moment he laid eyes on her—a vision in pink that he couldn’t get out of his mind. Now that he’s married her, he can’t understand the changes that have suddenly turned her secretive and distant. How can he make things right between them when he doesn’t know what he’s up against?

But the tables are turned when June’s father, a pillar of the community, is accused of a crime that brings shame on the Wingate family—along with prison time. Kit Wilding’s not the kind of man to give up easily, but with his budding political career at stake, will he be able to hold his marriage together? Or will he be forced to admit IT’S ONLY MAKE BELIEVE…

EXCERPT

     A loud slap echoed through the house. June’s hand stung as she placed it back in the pocket of her dressing gown, part of her vast trousseau paid for by her parents.

     Kit stepped back and rubbed his reddened cheek with his left hand while Snort, Kit’s dog, barked. June couldn’t help but notice the flash of his golden wedding band in the light of the dressing room. Her heart clenched at the sight of it. They’d been married only a few hours, and now this…

     “Hush that barking, Snort.” The dog quieted, but kept a sharp eye on June, just in case. Kit glanced from the dog to June. “What the hell was that for, June? Did I do something wrong by trying to kiss my wife?”

     “You bet you did. I thought you loved me, and now…” 

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Sarah J. McNeal is a multi-published author who writes diverse stories filled with heart. She is a retired ER and Critical Care nurse who lives in North Carolina with her four-legged children, Lily, the Golden Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides her devotion to writing, she also has a great love of music and plays several instruments including violin, bagpipes, guitar and harmonica. Her books and short stories may be found at Prairie Rose Publications and its imprints Painted Pony Books, and Fire Star Press and Sundown Press. She welcomes you to her website and social media:

Website 

My Amazon Author’s Page

Facebook

Twitter

The Wildings

Fantasy and Dreams Blog

Sweethearts of the West

Prairie Rose Publications Blog

LITTLE WOLF, THE GREAT CHEYENNE CHIEF

Chief Little Wolf

As a Southeasterner, I haven’t had an opportunity to become acquainted with the descendants of the western tribes of Native Americans. The Cherokee and Lumbee Indians where I live have become widely incorporated into our blended society. Although there is a Cherokee reservation in the mountains of North Carolina, most of the Cherokee were forced to leave their native land here by President Andrew Jackson on the now infamous Trail of Tears exodus.

Because I’m a western author, I am fascinated by western tribes and their battle to maintain their culture and land. One of these famous American Indian leaders was Cheyenne Chief, Little Wolf or Ohcumgache which literally translated means Little Coyote. Little Wolf was born in Montana in the mid-1820’s. As he grew into adulthood, he became greatly respected and honored by his people. Little Wolf was chosen as one of the "Old Man" chiefs among the Council of Forty-four, a high honor in traditional Cheyenne culture. He was also chosen as Sweet Medicine Chief, bearer of the spiritual incarnation of Sweet Medicine, a primary culture hero and spiritual ancestor of the Cheyenne. Because of this honorary title, he was expected to be above anger, as well as concerned only for his people and not for himself.

Little Wolf is known as a great military tactician and led a group of warriors known as the "Elk Horn Scrapers" during the Northern Plains War. He also fought in Red Cloud's War and the war for the Bozeman Trail, which lasted from 1866 to 1868. He was the chief of the Bowstring Soldiers, an elite Cheyenne military society. Even in his youth, Little Wolf demonstrated exceptional bravery and brilliant understanding of battle tactics. First in conflicts with other Indians like the Kiowa and then in disputes with the U.S. Army, Little Wolf led or assisted in dozens of important Cheyenne victories.

Historians believe Little Wolf was most likely involved in the disastrous, Fetterman Massacre of 1866, in which the Cheyenne cleverly lured a force of 80 American soldiers out of their Wyoming fort and wiped them out. After Cheyenne attacks finally forced the U.S. military to abandon Fort Phil Kearney along the Bozeman Trail, Little Wolf is believed to have led the torching of the fort. He was also a leading participant in the greatest of the Plains Indian victories, the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

Although he did not fight in the Little Bighorn battle, he did play a significant role before and after the battle. Some scouts from Little Wolf’s camp found food left behind by Custer’s attack troops and were observed by U.S. military scouts. When it was reported to Custer, he thought he had been discovered by the main camp of the Sioux and Cheyenne on the Little Bighorn and decided it was crucial for him to move forward with his attack in order to prevent the escape of the Indians. When the battle ended, Little Wolf arrived and was almost killed by the angry Sioux who believed he had scouted for the whites. Little Wolf was able to convince the Sioux by his adamant denials and from the support of his fellow Northern Cheyenne present during the battle and, therefore, was saved him from harm.

Little Wolf at Fort Laramie

But, what Little Wolf is most famous for is his great escape from captivity.

After the defeat of Morning Star (Dull Knife) by Col. Ronald S. Mackenzie in November 1876, Little Wolf was forced onto a reservation in Oklahoma's Indian Territory. Two years later, he and Dull Knife led almost 300 Cheyenne from their reservation near Fort Reno, Oklahoma, through Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakota Territory into the Montana Territory, their ancestral home.

All the while, they miraculously eluded the U.S. cavalry units which repeatedly tried to capture them. Though Little Wolf and Dull Knife announced that their intentions were peaceful, settlers in the territory they passed through feared attack. The government dispatched cavalry forces that assaulted the Indians, but Little Wolf’s skillful defensive maneuvers kept Cheyenne casualties low. When the band neared Fort Robinson, Nebraska, Dull Knife and some of his followers stopped there. Little Wolf and the rest of the Cheyenne continued to march north to Montana.

While continuing to travel north, in the spring of 1879, Little Wolf and his followers were overtaken by a cavalry force under the leadership of Captain W.P. Clark, an old friend of Little Wolf’s. The confrontation could have turned violent, but with his force of warriors diminished and his people tired, Little Wolf was reluctant to fight the more powerful American army. Clark’s civilized and gracious treatment of Little Wolf helped convince the chief that further resistance was pointless, and he agreed to surrender.

Little Wolf And His Wife, Morning Star

Later on, Little Wolf would become a scout for the U.S. Army under Gen. Nelson A. Miles. It is unfortunate that Little Wolf became involved in a dispute which resulted in the death of Starving Elk. Drunk, Little Wolf shot and killed Starving Elk at the trading post of Eugene Lamphere on December 12, 1880. Little Wolf went into voluntary exile as a result of this disgrace. His status as a chief was revoked. Though formerly a celebrated Cheyenne warrior, the disgraced Little Wolf lived out the rest of his life in self-imposed exile on the Northern Cheyenne Indian reservation but had no official influence among his own people. He died in 1904 and is interred in the Lame Deer cemetery, alongside the gravesite of Morning Star. George Bird Grinnell, a close friend and ethnographer who documented Little Wolf's life, called him, "the greatest Indian I have ever known."

             Author, Sarah J. McNeal

Sarah McNeal is a multi-published author of several genres including time travel, paranormal, western and historical fiction. She is a retired ER nurse who lives in North Carolina with her four-legged children, Lily, the Golden Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides her devotion to writing, she also has a great love of music and plays several instruments including violin, bagpipes, guitar and harmonica. Her books and short stories may be found at Publishing by Rebecca Vickery, Victory Tales Press, Prairie Rose Publications and Painted Pony Books, and Fire Star Press, imprints of Prairie Rose Publications. She welcomes you to her website and social media:

Website

My Amazon Author’s Page

Facebook

Twitter

Prairie Rose Author Page

The Wildings

You can find all her western stories about the Wilding family saga by clicking onto The Wildings link.