Oops! Errata

That post that I put up earlier on "Post World War One" homesteads wasn't complete.

That's the second time I've done that, as I started it about a week ago and just haven't gotten around to publishing it yet. But I've accidentally hit "Publish" twice. 

Sorry!

Wyoming National Guard during World War One

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Note the bucking horse logo.

Contrary to what people commonly believe (and indeed, contrary to the incorrect caption on this photo) the Wyoming National Guard was artillery prior to World War One and only became cavalry after the war.

Painted Bricks: Sidewalk Clock, Casper Wyoming

A landscape feature of days gone by, a sidewalk clock on our of our companion sites.

Painted Bricks: Sidewalk Clock, Casper Wyoming: The March 10 entry on Today In Wyoming's History , which featured a sidewalk clock from outside of Wyoming, reminded me of this o...

Cheyenne Motorcycle club, 1910

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A much earlier example of a motorcycle club, let alone in Wyoming, than I would have guessed.

Motorcycles show up in some fin de cycle movies about the 1890s to the 1910s, but I've always thought that was an exaggeration. Perhaps not.

Learning criminal law the cartoon way. . . .

Hmmmmm. . . . 

Sample_Chapter_15.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Who Grew Your Pint? How Craft Brews Boost Local Farmers : The Salt : NPR

Who Grew Your Pint? How Craft Brews Boost Local Farmers : The Salt : NPR

Branding Sheep

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Not sure of the vintage of this one, but for those who might not know, sheep are branded with paint.

Today In Wyoming's History: March 5

Today In Wyoming's History: March 5:

All the March 5 Presidential Inauguration speeches, from when the Inauguration was in March.  

Today In Wyoming's History: March 4

Today In Wyoming's History: March 4:

Lots of Presidential Inauguration speeches from the past, for those who might be interested.

Brunton Compass

Brunton Pocket Transit, folded for carrying.

This is a Brunton Pocket Transit.  Probably most people who know of them just think of them as the Brunton Compass.  It's an old, old design, having been first made in 1894, although the patent date on the compass references 1896.  I'd be curious to know when  they really started to be common, if we can consider a specialized instrument like this as ever having been common.

I ran across my Brunton compass recently as, for some reason, I'd taken it out of the carrier this fall in order to use it for something.  At this point, I frankly don't know what that something was, as I very rarely use it anymore.  I have a nice Garmin GPS with the topographic map software loaded into it, and I use that now, even though its a model that's now discontinued, and the last software up data makes it a little slow

Brunton Pocket Transit, opened for use in the geologists fashion.

I sure remember getting the compass, however.  It was in 1986, during my last year at the University of Wyoming, when I was a geology student. We had to buy them for our summer field course, which took us all over Albany and Carbon counties, mapping, and all the way down to New Mexico, where we did field work, as well.  At that time, having a compass of this type was an absolute necessity, and they saw 100% employment by geologists who did field work.  I'm told that at one time, graduates of the mining engineering school at the Colorado School of Mines could be identified by the short brim Stetsons they all acquired upon doing their field work (back in the sensible headgear days).  If so, graduates of any geology program anywhere could be identified by the fact that they all owned Brunton compasses.

Brunton compass opened up with mirror facing to catch the sight, in the fashion used by geologists in the field.

The reason for this wasn't fashion, it was necessity.  The compass is a precision instrument, and the official name of "transit" is accurate.  A transit is a surveying instrument, and so is a Brunton compass.  Extremely precise, the location of about anything can be accurately determined by triangulation or even just flat out using it in concert with a drawing compass (the plastic device) and a topographic map.  But we made topographic and geologic maps with them, which requires not only the compass, but more work.

Compass opened, showing the interior device for measuring angles, for determining elevation.  This one is not set, as the level clearly shows.

The reason that the compass can do this is that it not only features the typical magnetic compass feature, but it also has the ability to sight elevations with the use of an internal scale.  And when set on a Jacob's staff, a pole of a known size, distance on the ground may be measured over any sort of terrain while using that feature, with the compass attached to it, while the mapper walks over the ground.  A marvelous instrument.

My first exposure to this instrument didn't come in a geology class, however.  It came at Ft. Sill Oklahoma.  The Brunton Pocket Transit, to soldiers, is known as the artillery compass, and that's where I first learned how to use it, in basic training.

Compass set to site in the Army fashion.

I was actually surprised to learn, while a geology student, that my old friend the Brunton Compass, was used as a geologist's tool.  I just thought it was a marvelously precise Army compass.  Adapting to geology use was, therefore, very easy, even though the Army uses the sights differently.

Compass set to sight in the Army fashion.

Artillerymen used the compass as it is so much more precise than the conventional infantry compass, and artillery needs to be spotted accurately.  Even so, we never used it to the same degree of precision that geologists did.

Combined geology use and artillery use made me glad to have one, even when it turned out that I was never going to be a field geologist, that occupation having entered one of its cyclical slumps at that point in time at which I graduated from the University of Wyoming.  It's just been a field companion since then, which I used for many years when out in the sticks.

But not so much lately. As noted, I've gone to the GPS, although I was a late adapter of that technology.  Indeed, I hadn't looked at the compass for quite some time.

In looking at it, and then determining to post, I thought that it was probably a thing of the past now, but I see that this is one of those many things to which Yeoman's Second Law of History apply, they're still being made today. And they're still pretty pricey, although all in all I actually think they aren't as expensive in real terms now as they used to be.  Indeed, my recollection on this may be inaccurate, but I think the Classic model with the Aluminum body is now cheaper than the plastic cased variant shown in these photos.  It pleases me, frankly, so see that such a useful item is still in use.

I don't know if they're still in Army use or not, but I did learn the following, thanks to Gordon Rottman who sent me the text from his book on World War Two equipment:

M1 and M2 compasses with M19 carrying case This sophisticated compass was based on the William Ainsworth & Sons-made D. W. Brunton’s Pocket Transit dating back to 1894, but adopted by the Army in 1918. The M1 designation was assigned in the 1930s. The “artillery compass” combined a highly accurate surveyor’s compass with a clinometer (for measuring vertical angles and slopes), tubular horizontal level, and circular bubble plumb (vertical level). The circular level was for leveling the instrument before the azimuth values were read and the tubular level for measuring horizontal angles. There was an angle-of-site mechanism and an azimuth scale adjuster assembly making this a complex instrument requiring specialized training. It was used by artillery forward observers. It had a dustproof and moisture proof, dark OD-painted brass case (smooth or crinkled finish), squarish in shape with rounded corners, 2-3/4 x 3in and 1-1/8in thick; 5-7/8in long when  opened exclusive of the sights. A mirror was fitted inside the lid with a black sighting wire. The mirror also proved useful for shaving. There was a black folding front sight on the lid’s top edge. On the rear was a black hinged rear sight holder with a folding sight on top. The compass card was black with white markings. The M1 compass was graduated in degrees only and was phased out before the war by the M2 graduated in mils. M1s may have seen limited use. The mil scales was graduated at 20-mil intervals with 10-mil intermediate tick marks divided into 1-mil ticks. The angle of sight scale was graduated in mils in the same manner, 1200-0-1200 mils. On the compass card, north was indicated by a star and the other cardinal directions by W, S, and E. The radium-painted white end of the needle indicated north. The light brown leather M19 case had a rigid rounded pocket with a snap-secured lid and a trousers belt loop on the back. The rigid dark OD  plastic case (10543560) is post-WWII. Today it is known as the “M2 unmounted magnetic compass.” 0.5-b.

Pretty impressive.  Showing that the test of a tool is its usefulness, not its age.

Op-Ed: It's Time To Recognize The Valor Of Cyber Warriors : NPR

Op-Ed: It's Time To Recognize The Valor Of Cyber Warriors : NPR

Hmmmm. . . I"m not convinced.  Seems like the existing awards had it covered to me.

It's amazing to think that, up until World War One, the award that a U.S. serviceman could get was the Congressional Medal of Honor. That was it.  Just that.  They started awarding that during the Civil War, and that was the only award. Even the Purple Heart didn't exist until after World War One.  WWI US troops received wound stripes.

By World War Two awards had expanded, but to a reasonable level basically.  Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, etc., and the Combat Infantry  Badge. The first two awards came in around World War One, and were regarded as such significant awards that the Army went back and took quite a few Congressional Medals of Honor away from soldiers who had received them during the Indian Wars, much to their horror.  The Combat Infantryman's Badge was so restrictive that at first even medics who served with them couldn't receive it.  Cavalrymen, who were mostly deployed as infantrymen during World War Two, couldn't even get it.  All were pretty well thought out awards.  Those basically carried us through Vietnam. But, for some reason, awards have really expanded since then.

 Audie Murphy, who was for many years the highest decorated member of the U.S. Army from World War Two, although at some point in the 70s or 80s, another individual received a late award and surpassed his total.  Murphy went from being a private to a captain during the war, and is pictured here wearing his Congressional Medal of Honor and other medals. Think this is a lot of awards? Take a look below.

Even I have a medal, awarded to me for my six years of service in the Army National Guard.  It's a Reserve Achievement medal of some type (I'm forgetting the correct name), but basically you get that just for having five or six years of service.  It's sort of the Reserve equivalent of the Good Conduct Medal, which in my view is obsolete.  That medal came about in an era when quite a few troops could get through a career as a private without particularly good conduct.  No more.  Now we have an up or out system, and good conduct is part of just staying in. There's really no reason to even have those medals anymore.  Your good conduct is implied by your remaining in the service, or your Honorable Discharge is proof of it when you get out.

My view of this topic includes ribbons as well.  I have an Army Service Ribbon, which is awarded to you simply for getting through basic training.  Does that make sense?  Seems to me getting to wear the uniform implies that you got through basic training.  And I qualify for an Army Reserve Overseas Service Ribbon.  That one is just for serving in an overseas training mission.  I went to South Korea. But, once again, I was ordered to do that. That wouldn't seem to qualify me for a ribbon.  And should I get to wear a ribbon for going to South Korea when Regular Army troops just were allowed to wear overseas service stripes?  That doesn't make very much sense to me.

All this may not mean much to average people, but in my view the endless creation of ribbons and awards cheapens them all.  All the way up through at least the Vietnam War, ribbons and rewards really meant something.  Now, when a medal is created especially for a class of soldier who isn't really in harm's way, that's much less the case, particularly when that new award takes priority over some of the older, combat awards.

General of the Armies John J. Pershing.  Pershing is the second highest ranking U.S. officer of all time, ranking just below, in a technical sense, George Washington but above the various Generals of the Army of World War Two, such as Eisenhower.  Note how he only has a few ribbons even though he was in the Army from 1886 until 1924.  He saw service during the Indian Wars, the Spanish American War, and World War One.

General David Petreaus.  Petreaus retired as a General (the rank, ie., just above Lieutenant General and just below General of the Army, a rank that nobody has been promoted to since the 1950s).  He entered active service in the Army in 1974, and therefore was in during both wars with Iraq and the war in Afghanistan.  Granted, that's real service. . . but doesn't the ribbon volume seem a bit excessive in comparison to Pershing?

NPR.org » After Horse Meat Scandal, Why Is Some Food Taboo?

NPR.org » After Horse Meat Scandal, Why Is Some Food Taboo?

I have to admit that, other than the Vietnamese dish with "eyeballs" mentioned by "Frank" in the broadcast, almost nothing mentioned here as a food bothers me for some reason.

Help Wanted and Yeoman's Second Law of History

From this past Sunday's Casper Star Tribune.  A couple of great, descriptive advertisments of some iconic Western jobs, which people like to imagine are a thing of the past, but which actually are not.

FARM & RANCH Livestock Worker (Open Range) , Wyoming 3 Livestock Workers (Open Range) wanted. Performs any combination of the following seasonal duties involved in the open range tending of commercial livestock to assist ranch owners. Primary responsibilities are: Attend to livestock on the open range: harness, drive and feed cattle with teams of horses; feeds and waters livestock; herds livestock to pasture for grazing; examines animals to detect diseases and injuries; assists with the vaccination of livestock by herding into corral and/or stall or manually restraining animal on the range; applies medications to cuts and bruises; sprays livestock with insecticide; assists with castration of livestock; clips identifying notches on or brands animals; may assist with irrigating, planting, cultivating, and harvesting hay. Workers must be able to ride and handle horses in a manner to assure the safety of the worker, co-workers, and livestock. Must be able to find and maintain bearings to grazing areas. Must be willing and able to occasionally live and work independently or in small groups of workers in isolated areas for extended periods of time. Attend to cow-calf pairs principally on vast rugged fall, winter, and spring ranges using horses and trained dogs to keep range cattle in designated grazing areas in accordance with federal grazing permits; assist with monitoring/maintenance of water sources, water tanks, pipelines and reservoirs to ensure movement of range cattle to adhere to grazing plans; assist with calving; may help with supplemental feeding of range livestock using trucks, tractors and related trailers; protect and care for cow-calf pairs; may assist with branding, ear notching, dehorning, castrating, vaccinating livestock; report observations of livestock to rancher concerning health and injuries and help with administration of medications; assist with gathering, sorting, weaning and shipment of range livestock; assist with movement of cow-calf pairs through chutes/corrals & onto scales during sorting & shipping process; care for horses including shoeing horses; may assist with care of small herds of sheep/goats; maintain/construct fences/corrals (metal & wood) using related equipment. May assist with irrigation of hay meadows using gravity flow, wheel and pivot; may assist with planting, maintenance and harvest of hay meadows which provide supplemental feed or forage for range livestock; may use tractors, trucks, trailers, other supplemental feeding and hay harvesting equipment, other equipment, etc. necessary for performance of above duties; may assist with maintenance of machinery and equipment; may assist with maintenance of ranch buildings. Lives in mobile camps or other housing principally on the range. On call 24 hrs./day, 7 days/week. Work tools, supplies, equipment provided w/out cost to worker. Employment for of work contract guaranteed. Transportation & subsistence expenses to worksite provided by employer, 6 months experience (exp.) in above duties req'd. & references req'd. to verify exp. ( if exp. has not been in immediate preceding 12 months, up to 2 references req'd.). Must be physically able to perform above job duties. 3 job openings; positions are temporary from 3/01/2013 12/31/2013. Wages: $1500/month plus housing provided at no cost to workers who cannot reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day. Employer: Pretty Water LLC. Location: primarily on range land south of Rock Springs, Wyoming (Sweetwater County) (Southwest Wyoming). Report or send resume to nearest Wyoming Dept. of Workforce Services office. Main office: 100 W. Midwest Ave., Casper, WY 82601 Ph: 307-233-4657. Job Order #2518282

LIVESTOCK WORKER 5 Livestock Workers wanted. Performs any combination of following seasonal duties for range production of livestock: attend to cow-calf pairs on vast ranges using horses & trained dogs to keep in designated areas; assist w/monitoring/maintenance of water sources, water tanks, pipelines & reservoirs; assist w/ calving, supplemental feeding of range livestock; protect/care for cow-calf pairs; may help w/ branding, ear notching, dehorning, castrating, vaccinating livestock; report observations of livestock concerning health/injuries & help w/ administration of medications; assist w/ gathering, sorting, weaning & shipment of range livestock; may assist w/ care of small herds of sheep/goats; maintain/construct fences/ corrals (metal/wood) using related tools; may assist w/irrigation of hay meadows using gravity flow, wheel & pivot; may assist with planting, maintenance & harvest of hay meadows; may use tractors, trucks, trailers, other supplemental feeding & hay harvesting equipment, etc. necessary to perform above duties; may assist w/ maintenance of machinery & equipment. Live in mobile camps/ housing principally on range. On call 24 hrs/day, 7 days/week. Work tools, supplies, equipment provided w/out cost to worker. Employment for of work contract guaranteed. Transportation & subsistence expenses to worksite provided by employer, 6 months experience (exp.) in above duties req'd. & references req'd. to verify exp. ( if exp. has not been in immediate preceding 12 months, up to 2 references req'd.). Must be physically able to perform above job duties, Employer: Vermillion Ranch Limited Partnership. Location: principally on range land south of Rock Springs, WY, extreme NW CO & NE corner of UT. 5 job openings; positions are temporary from 3/01/2013 11/30/2013. Wages: $1,200/month plus housing and board. Report or send resume to nearest Wyoming Dept. of Workforce Services office. Main Office: 100 W. Midwest Ave., Casper, WY 82601 Ph. 307-233-4657. Job Order # 2518574.

FARM & RANCH Sheepherders 10 Sheepherders wanted: Using horses & trained dogs, care for & herd large flock of sheep on open range; guard flocks from predators & from eating poisonous plants; round up strays; may assist in lambing, docking, branding, drenching, medicating, vaccinating, shearing; tag, clip, & sort/cut culls; check animals for illness/injury; assist w/ supplemental feeding using wagon pulled by draft horses; care for & shoe horse(s), work w/ horses to train to direct ewes back to lambs; repair/construct fences; may assist w/ water pipeline delivery system for sheep. On call 24 hrs/day, 7 days/week. Work tools, supplies, & equipment provided at no cost to workers. Employment for three-forths of work contract guaranteed. Transportation & subsistence expenses to worksite provided by employer. Wages: $750/month + free housing & board to all workers. 3 months experience req'd. & reference req'd. to verify experience. Must be physically able to perform above job duties. 10 job openings; positions are Temporary from 3/5/2013-3/4/2014. Employer: Midland Livestock Company. Location: primarily on range land near Farson & Rock Springs, Wyoming. Report or send resume to nearest Wyoming Dept. of Workforce Services office. Main office: 100 W. Midwest Ave., Casper, WY 82601 Ph: 307-233-4657. Job Order #2518400

The Science Behind Coffee and Why it's Actually Good for Your Health

Hooray, now I can base my morning coffee addiction on science!

The Science Behind Coffee and Why it's Actually Good for Your Health

Coffee Can Make You Smarter

Coffee doesn't just keep you awake, it may literally make you smarter as well. The active ingredient in coffee is caffeine, which is a stimulant and the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Caffeine's primary mechanism in the brain is blocking the effects of an inhibitory neurotransmitter called Adenosine. By blocking the inhibitory effects of Adenosine, caffeine actually increases neuronal firing in the brain and the release of other neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine (1, 2). Many controlled trials have examined the effects of caffeine on the brain, demonstrating that caffeine can improve mood, reaction time, memory, vigilance and general cognitive function (3).
Bottom Line: Caffeine potently blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, leading to a net stimulant effect. Controlled trials show that caffeine improves both mood and brain function.

 I'd hate to think of how dumb I'd be without it.  Ouch.

Epilogue:

Since I first posted this, there's been a couple of additional items of this type. And here's yet another oddball one, including dual theoretical vices, coffee and beer:

A new study suggests that sugary drinks may slightly raise ones risk of kidney stones while caffeinated and alcoholic drinks may help reduce the risk, CBS News reported.
"Our prospective study confirms that some beverages are associated with a lower risk of kidney stone formation, whereas others are associated with a higher risk," study co-author Dr. Pietro Manual Ferraro, a kidney specialist at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Rome, said in a statement.

 Of course, it isn't really saying drink beer all day long.

It is interesting to note, however, in this context that John "Pandoro" Taylor once credited the saving of the life of a friend of his to "kraal", some sort of weak African beer.  Having said that, it isn't as if alcohol doesn't have its own risks.

Today In Wyoming's History: February 25: The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920

Today In Wyoming's History: February 25:

1920  Woodrow Wilson signed the Minerals Leasing Act of 1920. This act created the modern system of leasing Federal oil and gas  and coal interests, which previously had been subject to claim under the Mining Law of 1872.  

 Grass Creek Wyoming, 1916

The extent to which this revolutionized the oil, gas and coal industries in economic terms can hardly be overestimated.  Prior to 1920, these fossil fuels could be exploited via a simple mining claim, and the land itself could be patented after the claim was "proved up."  The 1920 act ended this practice as to these resources (the 1872 Act continues on for other minerals, in a very modified form, to the present day).  The leasing system meant that the resources never left the public domain in absolute terns, and the payment of the lease was a huge economic boon to the state and Federal government.

Wessels Living History Farm – Farming in the 1940s

Wessels Living History Farm – Farming in the 1940s

Post World War Two Homesteading

I was reading the recent issue of Annals of Wyoming, the journal of the state historical society, and there was an article that somebody had written on cultural geography and Heart Mountain, Wyoming.  Heart Mountain is the location outside of Cody Wyoming, where, during World War Two, there was an Internment Camp for Japanese Americans.

The article was on the relationship of Heart Mountain to the minds of various groups of people, and I wasn't wholly impressed.  Like some academics, the author was overly impressed with the fact that locals put images of Heart Mountain on signs or name things after it. Well, so what?  If you have a business you have to name it something, and a prominent local landscape feature is one of the more obvious choices.  After all, you are unlikely to name a veterinary clinic in Cody something like "The Giant Florida Swamp Vet Clinic."  I did find it interesting that the mountain was somewhat less mentioned by internees than you'd suspect, and that regional Indians didn't seem to mention it at all in their lore.

Anyhow, one of the things the author keeps bringing up again and again is that it featured in the photographs taken by post World War Two homesteaders.  The article suffers from the author's apparent view that everyone knows that there were post wWII homesteaders in the area, even though the Homestead Acts were repealed in in the early 1930s. 

Does anyone know the story of post WWII homesteading?  I know that some lands were opened back up for returning veterans, sort of an agricultural GI Bill, but that's all I know.

Forces with History -- Official Blog of Robert W Mackay: The Canadian Cavalry in the Last 100 Days (Part 3)...

Forces with History -- Official Blog of Robert W Mackay: The Canadian Cavalry in the Last 100 Days (Part 3)...: One of the Canadians caught up in the 2nd Battle of Le Cateau was S. H. Williams, author of “Stand to Your Horses”. He was temporarily atta...

Forces with History -- Official Blog of Robert W Mackay: The Canadian Cavalry in the Last 100 Days (Part 2)...

Forces with History -- Official Blog of Robert W Mackay: The Canadian Cavalry in the Last 100 Days (Part 2)...: The Second Battle of Le Cateau In October 1918 Le Cateau was an important transportation hub some eight or ten miles behind the German fro...

Blog Mirror: The Blizzard of 1949

Nebraska report.

Wyoming Storms and Blizzards.

The North Forty News.

Disasters. The Blizzard of 49.

Blizzard traps the City of San Francisco.

Ed Quillen on the Blizzard of 1949.