Saturday, September 4, 1915. Fighting Carranza in Texas, and Cowboy Boots before the war.

 The headline was correct, at least in a fashion.  Mexican Sedicionistas, who were supporters of Carranza, had crossed into Texas in a raid.  Normally, we'd think of Carranza's men as Constitutionalists, but frankly in Mexico at the time that would imply a level of adherence to the law that would not be warranted.

This event focuses us on something that was soon to really matter. Carranza did not like the United States.  His troops were raiding over the border.  He had placed himself, however, in Mexico City, and Woodrow Wilson was moving towards recognizing him as the legitimate head of the country, even though the Convention of Aguascalientes had created a new government which was supported by Zapata and Villa.

I didn't run this on its anniversary,  back in August, but chances are that it was run in the Rawlins newspaper more than once.

Lex Anteinternet: Cowboy Boots: Title: An array of boots at the F.M. Light & Sons western-wear store in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  Library of Congress photographs...

Rawlins Republican, August 1915.

This advertisement discusses something we addressed in an earlier post:

Well, like a lot of things, the boots changed as a result of a war.  World War One to be exact.

 Stretching leather, about 1915.

Because World War Two was such a colossal war, and because we tend to simply accept the line that the United States was the "arsenal of democracy" during the Great War, we have a pretty skewed concept of American production in the World War One time frame. Simply put, it was a mess.

Not only was the Army trying to raise a force, at breakneck speed (more rapidly by quite some measure than during World War Two) but it was trying to deploy it overnight.  It was also trying to equip it overnight.  The peacetime Army didn't have anywhere near the amount of stuff necessary to equip the huge Army that the US was trying to raise, equip, ship and deploy in 1917.

And this included leather goods.

The US didn't really even know what it needed in the way of leather goods, so it let out contracts for things like saddles and boots in absurdly large numbers.  There's a real reason that M1904 McClellan saddles are so common.  They made so darned many. Same with boots, the numbers made were astounding.  Absurd, even.

With that sort of demand going on for leather goods, the supply became very strained, and cowboy boots were the victims of that. The leather for high topped boots just wasn't there. So, as a wartime measure, bootmakers introduced the "stubbie" or "pee wee" boot, which is what most people, at least those who aren't cowboys, wear today.

 Tom Mix, 1919.  Mix was an actor, not a cowboy by trade, although the World War One veteran did buy a ranch in Wyoming after the war and he actually ranched here.  Anyhow, actors make notoriously bad examples of what cowboys actual wore, and this is no exception.  The hat is far too large for anything outside of Texas (where sugarloaf sombreros were really large), the pistols are M1873 cavalry models, which had 7" barrels and which were not favored by cowboys, who instead favorted the 5" artillery model. the pants are way too tight. The boots, moreover, are peewees. The heels, however, are just right for the era, and not uncommon amongst working cowhands now.

That was the wartime solution.  And it impacted how the boots were actually worn. Prior to WWI cowboys normally tucked their trouser in their boots, and they still sometimes will, as the photo posted above shows.  This was the routine habit, although sometimes they'd pull their pants down over their boots.  Having worn boots both ways while riding, if I'm going to ride for a long time, I'll tuck them in.  More comfortable, for the long haul.

But you really can't do that very well with pee wees, and cowboys who had to buy new boots during the war were embarrassed by the economy of leather and how it looked, so they took to pulling their pants down over their boots.  Better to wear out your pants and get them dirty than to look like a boofador.

Traditional boots do not go on as easy as peewees.  And you'll want some high socks if you wear them also.  My Olathe traditional mule hide cowboy boots.

There's a lot more to that post, but we can see here, in 1915, you could get handmade cowboy boots in Rawlins, and they were going to be real cowboy boots.  You can still get them, and still get them handmade, but probably not in Rawlins.

Figures at the dedication of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Rocky Mountain Park in Colorado was dedicated.

Last edition:

Friday, September 3, 1915. Ojo de Agua

Labels: 1910, 1910s, Mexican Border War, Mexican Revolution, Sedicionistas, Texas

Thursday, June 10, 1915. Cházaro becomes the disputed President of Mexico.

Francisco Lagos Cházaro became acting contested president of Mexico under convention of the Convention of Aguascalientes.  Carranza, who had declared himself president, did not recognize the Cházaro government.

Today In Wyoming's History: June 10: 1915 Girl Scouts founded.  This was an expansion of the scouting movement started by English Lord Baden Powell, which was a significant movement at the time.

A portion of their guidebook follows on the link.

Last edition:

Wednesday, June 9, 1915. Bryan resigns, Wilson sends a letter.

Labels: 1910s, 1915, Germany, RMS Lusitania, William Jennings Bryan, Woodrow Wilson, World War One

Saturday, November 6, 1914. Eulalio Gutiérrez declared President of Mexico

Eulalio Gutiérrez was declared President of Mexico during the Convention of Aguascalientes.

His presidency was best with problems from the onset as the warring parties that had prevailed in removing Huerta did not agree on much else.  Ultimately, he declared Carranza and Villa to be traitors to the revolution and removed himself to the United States.  He returned in 1920, but later participated in a  subsequent rebellion and again went to the US as an exile.  He returned to Mexico again in 1935 and died in 1939 at age 58.

Japanese troops stormed German defenses at Tsingtao.

Ottoman troops confronted Imperial Russian forces that had entered the country.

British troop conducted an amphibious landing at Fao, Iraq, in order to take the fortress there which threatened British shipping.

Irish member of Parliament Arthur O'Neill was killed in action at Zillebeke, Belgium.  He was an Ulster Unionist.

Last edition:

Thursday, November 5, 1914. Bears.

Labels: 1910s, 1914, British Empire, Casper Wyoming, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Fraternal Organizations, French Foreign Legion, Italy, Ottoman Empire, Royal Navy, United Kingdom, World War One, Wyoming (Casper)

Saturday, October 31, 1914. Convention troubles

Being a Saturday in the Fall, college football was on.

There was brewing trouble in Mexico.

Things weren't going well at the Convention of Aguacalientes.

The Imperial Russian Army prevailed over the Germans and Austro Hungarians in the Battle of Vistula River.

The French and British took back Nieuwpoort, Belgium, brining to an end the Battle of Yser.  The Belgians had lost between 20,000 and 40,000 troops in the campaign, the Germans over 76,000.

The Germans broke through Allied lines near Gheluvelt Belgium but a British counterattack restored the line.

The Japanese Navy began shelling Tsingtao.

The HMS Hermes was sunk by the U-27 in the Starit of Dover.

German troops raided the Portuguese fort at Cuangar, Angola.

The Ecuadorian army defeated rebels at Esmeraldas,Ecuador.

Duluth, Minnesota.

Last edition:

Thursday, October 29, 1914. Turkey bombards Odessa.

Labels: 1910s, 1914, Australia, Battle of the Yser, Black Sea, First Battle of Ypres, German Kriegsmarine, Imperial Russian Army, Odessa Ukraine, Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Navy, Polish Legion, Russia, Ukraine, World War One

Saturday, October 10, 1914. Convention of Aguascalientes

The Convention of Aguascalientes, called by Venustiano Carranza convened.  Carranza, in spite of calling the meeting, did not attend and did not send representatives.  Pancho Villa's representatives were in attendance.  Álvaro Obregón came in person. Zapata's representatives would arrive fifteen days after the start of the convention.  Villista's dominated.

The first thing the convention did was to declare itself sovereign, the de facto government of Mexico.

British and French forces attempted to take the French city of La Bassée.

King Carol I of Romania, who opposed entering the Great War, died.

The SMS Emden left British held Diego Garcia, with its residents unaware that a war had started.

Boston took game two of the World Series, 1 to 0.

Last edition:

Friday, October 9, 1914. Antwerp surrendered.

Labels: 1910s, 1914, 1914 World Series, Antwerp Belgium, baseball, Battle of the Vistula