Blythe Intaglios: Geoglyphs in the California Desert

By Kristy McCaffrey

You’ve likely heard of the Nazca Lines in Peru. Did you know that similar ground drawings—known as geoglyphs—are present around the world? The Colorado Desert in California (part of the larger Sonoran Desert) contains the only known desert ground drawings, or intaglios, in North America. These geoglyphs (well over 200 of them) are located along the Colorado River, with the Blythe Intaglios (near Blythe, California) the most well-known.

The Blythe Intaglios consist of three human figures, two four-legged animals, and a spiral. The largest human figure is 171 feet long.

Blythe Intaglios

Since the intaglios are best viewed from the air, they weren’t discovered until 1932 when pilot George Palmer noticed them while flying between Las Vegas, Nevada, and Blythe. In 1982, they were placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Blythe Intaglios

Since no Native American tribe has claimed ownership, it’s believed that the drawings might be from the prehistoric period, but radiocarbon dating has led researchers to claim the figures were produced between 900 B.C. and 1200 A.D.

The 1961 Hardy Boys novel, Mystery of the Desert Giant, featured the intaglios.

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The Enchanting Frozen Charlotte

During our initial tour of the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City, Kansas, I was amazed at the thousands of items from the 1800s that were preserved in mud in a farmer’s field.

“The Arabia Steamboat Museum is home to a true time capsule of frontier life in the 1800s. The Arabia was headed up the Missouri River in the fall of 1856 when she struck a tree snag and sank just north of Kansas City. Her cargo hold was full of 200 tons of supplies bound for general stores and pioneer settlements.” 

[http://www.visitkc.com/member-details/index.aspx?id=28981]

The Arabia was a typical western steamboat. A twin side-wheel steamer, she was built long and flat to carry maximum cargo. Measuring 171 feet long, with three decks and a wheel house above the water line, she plied the waters of the mighty Missouri River, pushing upstream at more than 5 miles per hour.

On August 30, she left St. Louis headed for Sioux City, Iowa, by way of Kansas (present-day Kansas City, MO), Weston (MO), St. Joseph (MO), and Council Bluffs (IA).  The Missouri River was wide and shallow and her rushing muddy waters hid dangerous snags—tree trunks that had fallen into the water when the river undercut their roots. Going full steam upriver against the current the Arabia struck the trunk of a large submerged walnut tree that smashed her hull open. She sank fast, until only the wheelhouse was visible, and that quickly broke up in the current.

All the 130 passengers and crew got off safely, but the cargo was buried in sand and mud at the bottom of the Missouri. Over the years, the river changed course with the floods and dry times, layering the site of the wreck under successive years of dirt. When the Arabia was finally located in 1986 she lay in a farmer’s corn field half a mile from the current river’s course and under 45 feet of dirt—and below the water table.

It took 4 months and twenty (20) irrigation wells pumping out up to 20,000 gallons of water per minute to get to the Arabia. The team of family and friends brought up boxes, barrels and crates of frontier merchandise, both necessities and available luxuries, items meant for General Stores all along the river: castor oil, needles, nutmegs, windowpanes, brass and silver locks and keys, eyeglasses, syrup bottles, rubber overshoes and wedding bands; jars of pickles that were still edible (yes, one of the team tried one); French perfume that still held it’s scent thanks to the ambergris that was a main ingredient; carpenter’s tools; a Frozen Charlotte figurine; buttons and scissors; even over one million Venetian glass beads meant as trade goods.

Of all the items, I was enchanted by that Frozen Charlotte. Not the gold or diamonds or beautiful venetian glass, but a tiny doll. The three-inch doll was discovered wrapped in wool and tucked at the bottom of a carpenter’s tool box.

Manufactured from 1850-1920, the Frozen Charlotte dolls ranged in size from less than 1” to more than 18”.

If your grandmother had a bathing baby doll in a little porcelain tub—that’s a type of Frozen Charlotte.

The doll was named for a popular American Folk Ballad, Fair Charlotte, which tells of a young girl (Charlotte) who froze to death on a sleigh ride because she refused to dress warmly. The Frozen Charlotte appeared as everything from a charm in a Christmas Pudding to the inhabitant of a doll house to the pampered favorite possession of many little girls.

Since our visit to the museum, I think of the Frozen Charlotte on the Arabia at odd moments. Who was it meant for? Was a hard-working carpenter who’d been earning money back East bringing a gift for his daughter in St. Joseph? Or perhaps a litle girl had wrapped her favorite doll in a bit of wool blanket and hid it at the bottom of her daddy’s tool box as a momento, a reminder that she was waiting for him at home.

Definitely a story starter.

DREAMER-THAT'S WHAT I AM

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

Photo property of the author

Do you believe in Kismet, Synchronicity?  On June 27, 2019 a vocal group, Home Free, I am very fond of released a song called 'Dreamer'. Of course my birthday was close to that day and I like to pick my word for the coming year. On top of that, the collection "Hot Western Nights" released on July 4, 2019.

So how does this all fit in? Well, I've decided my word for the coming year is Dreamer. The words to the song just keep rolling around in my head. The first line:  'What will they read on your headstone when you're gone?"  As I stirred these words in my mind, I realized we all are dreamers. The stories we tell are those of people who have and are following their dreams, even if they think they can't achieve them. What will they write on our and our characters headstones?

Fort Union, New Mexico
photo property of author

Another line from the song: "Don't you ever look back with regret, cause a moment is all that you get, and it ain't over yet." I've been able to follow so many dreams, had most of them come true. Life is beautiful, not always easy, not always fair, but beautiful none the less. I realized my stories are about that gift of life.

In my story, 'Duty' in "Hot Western Nights" is about Dan and Miranda, two people who have dreams that they believe they will never realize, so they keep them buried. When they meet, the dreams start to come to life, but will they find fruition? Below is a short excerpt:

Miranda Foster climbed the hill overlooking the ranch her stepfather left her to run for his heirs. Clouds flew across the sky. Standing on the hilltop, she watched a storm building, its track headed toward the ranch house. She didn't begrudge her duty, but by the time her step-brother Byron was old enough to take over, she'd be an old maid.

No one knew she wasn't the owner. It was her step-father's way of keeping the ranch safe. She remembered their conversation. "I know I'm asking a lot of you, but you'll be taken care of."

Miranda thought back on that conversation as she caught movement near the leading edge of the storm. Watching, she saw five specks detach and draw closer. The wind was pushing her back the way she'd come, trying to guide her to safety.

Miranda would not be moved. "You may threaten, cajole, or do me harm, but I will not be swayed from my duty," Miranda sent back to the wind as she waited for the oncoming riders, shotgun in hand. She never left the ranch house without it since the coming of Tate Browning. She stood, a calm determination not to give in.

"A woman can't hold such a place as this," the old man said as he rode up, almost on top of Miranda.

Miranda stood her ground, looking each of the men in the eye. "I've been charged with keeping this land safe, to never sell for any reason. Tell Tate Browning, it's a duty I shall discharge to the best of my ability."

The man glared back, looking for a way to pierce Miranda's armor. The wind whipped by the men and Miranda. Thunder sounded in the distance.

Miranda stood firm as the wind spent its fury. The old man growled, his anger a living thing, pressing on her as was the wind.

So what dreams did you have or have now? I encourage you to Follow them! 

If you haven't already purchased this collection, here is the link:

Amazon ebook

And for those who are wondering what song would affect me so strongly, here is the song/video link. Dreamer

Doris Gardner-McCraw

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in

Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Photo and Poem: Click Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

New Release -- Hot Western Nights Edited by Cheryl Pierson

What’s hotter than a two-dollar pistol and 4th of July fireworks? This wonderful collection of western historical romance novellas! HOT WESTERN NIGHTS is a set of six exciting stories of the old west and sizzling romance all stirred together with the sexy heat of summer! 

Will true love take Nash and Jewel by surprise after all in Karen Michelle Nutt’s FAKE MARRIAGE WITH A DASH OF DESIRE? 

J. Arlene Culiner’s THE LADY PIANO PLAYER is a story of a woman’s escape from a loveless marriage and the talent that brings a new love into her life.

Will Dan Loomis’s search for a dangerous deserter lead him to the love of a lifetime? In Angela Raines’s story, DUTY, helping a beautiful young woman fight off neighboring thugs could keep Dan from going after the man he’s vowed to bring in.

Angela Summers has cared for her grandfather in the mining camp for many years. But when danger strikes, saloon owner Jack Williams must try to protect the woman he loves in DIAMOND JACK’S ANGEL by Elizabeth Clements.

In Julie Lence’s story, a misunderstanding has caused a serious rift in Amy and Ryan Jansen’s marriage. Can they find a way to mend their love and make this A SUMMER TO REMEMBER?

A deputy U. S. marshal comes upon a dying man and finds unexpected love when he carries out the man’s last request in GIVE MY LOVE TO ROSE by Kaye Spencer.

Just in time for summer, this fabulous collection of six sure-fire western love stories are the perfect remedy for “what should I read next” on those HOT WESTERN NIGHTS!

      

THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE By Sarah J. McNeal

Plaque Dedicated to the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence

Before the colonies declared their independence from England in the famous Declaration of Independence presented in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1776, a declaration of independence had already been written and presented by Thomas Polk on the courthouse steps in Charlotte, North Carolina’s town square at the crossroads of Trade and Tryon Streets on May 20, 1775.

Another document was written by a committee led by Thomas Polk when they met at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse to adopt the Mecklenburg Resolves. Unlike the disputed Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, the authenticity of the Resolves has never been in question. This document still exists and was published in the North Carolina Gazette on June 1775. The Resolves was a revolutionary set of resolutions denying Parliament authority over the colonies and investing power over the Provincial Congress. In the absence of an operational new government, the resolves set up some basic set of guidelines. Further, the resolves stated anyone who received a commission from the Crown would be deemed an “enemy to his country” and would be subject to arrest. The country’s militia companies were ordered to arm themselves and maintain vigilance. After the Resolves were widely circulated, similar resolves were adopted in Wilmington on June 19, in Fayetteville on June 30, and in Pitt County on July 1. All of these measures were a prelude to the Halifax Resolves which were signed by the delegates to the Fourth Provincial Congress on April 12, 1776 to give support for the independence of all colonies.

A Rendition of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence

The Mecklenburg Resolves along with the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence were to be delivered by Captain James Jack, but when he arrived in Philadelphia the delegates were not ready to declare war. Captain Jack is quoted as saying, “You can memorialize your King, but for me and Mecklenburg County, we declare independence from Great Britain.” With that statement North Carolina declared its independence.

This is where the controversy over the legitimacy of the Mecklenburg Declaration begins. There is no question that the Mecklenburg Resolves were delivered and its contents were replicated in other documents against the Crown. But what happened to the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence that was allegedly delivered at the same time by Captain Jack?

The Second Copy Created By William Alexander From The Testimony of Those Elderly Men who were Present for the Original Reading of the First Document

The alleged Mecklenburg Declaration did not surface until 44 years later in 1819 when it was published by the Raleigh Register at the request of U.S. Senator Nathaniel Macon. Since the original document was supposedly destroyed in a fire in 1800, the text published was from the memory by John McKnitt Alexander and given to Macon by his son, William Alexander. William Polk, the son of the organizer of the Charlotte meeting, gathered testimony from several elderly men who claimed they had been present at the delivery of the Mecklenburg Declaration. The people of Mecklenburg began to celebrate the date of May 20, 1775. In fact, that date is on the North Carolina flag and the state seal to this day.

The genuineness of the document was never called into serious question until the posthumous publication of Thomas Jefferson’s work in 1829. In a letter to John Adams, Jefferson dismissed the Mecklenburg Declaration as a hoax. The North Carolina legislature was so inflamed by this development that it established a committee to investigate. The chairman of the committee was Thomas G. Polk who had organized the 50^th anniversary celebration of the Mecklenburg Declaration so it came as no surprise that he supported the authenticity of the document.  

In spite of North Carolina’s efforts to claim the Mecklenburg Declaration was authentic, a number of scholars outside the state maintained their stance that the Mecklenburg document was a fraud. In a 1907 publication written by William Henry Hoyt titled “The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence” declared a study of evidence showed the alleged Declaration of Mecklenburg County on may 20^th, 1775 is “spurious.” He maintained that the construction of the declaration was a misconstruction of the Mecklenburg Resolves of May 31, 1775. Most North Carolinians ignored Hoyt’s findings except for Samuel A. Ashe, editor, historian, and descendant of one of the state’s most prominent families. The first volume of his work, History of North Carolina (1908) presented both sides of the issue, but ultimately agreed with those who were dissenters.

The North Carolina assembly broke out in a contentious fight over a bill authorizing the purchase of Ashe’s book for the public schools. House Speaker Augustus W. Graham, the son of a governor and descendant of a “signer” of the Mecklenburg Declaration took the floor and defeated the authorization bill. Opponents of the bill appealed to patriotism and noted the date of May 20, 1775 was enshrined on the North Carolina flag and the state seal.

A Commemorative Coin Minted in Charlotte, North Carolina

The negative opinions of professional historians toward the Mecklenburg Declaration included such authorities as Stephen B. Weeks, John Spencer Bassett, and R.D. W. Connor stood by their opinions unwavering. One academic who did support the Mecklenburg Declaration was Archibald Henderson, a mathematics professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. However, most modern scholars maintain the Mecklenburg Declaration is a myth…almost.

But just hang on a minute because I discovered an article by James A. Becker who adamantly stands by the authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence in his lengthy 2015 article titled:  Proof the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is Not a Myth. In his article he uses the published letters between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams to demonstrate the clash between them in regards to the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and its legitimacy. I’m wondering how they could even talk about it if it was just a myth that early on…just sayin’. Anyway, my take away from this article is that Jefferson was defending his own Declaration of Independence and avoiding a possible scandal of plagiarism in which he used parts of the Mecklenburg document to pen his own draft for a declaration of independence. John Adams, on the other hand, seems to have an opinion that supports the Mecklenburg declaration as authentic after some back and forth in their letters. 

What really got my attention and altered my first opinion was an astounding piece of information I had never heard before in any of the history books I have read or been taught about the American Revolution, but the "Proof" article went to extreme length to point out. Keep in mind that once war is declared, there is no going back, and a war must be financed. 

The Continental Congress was in the middle of a secret meeting in a discussion about money and the Continental dollar when Captain Jack interrupted their discussion to present them with the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and the Mecklenburg Resolves on June 20, 1776.

The article, Proof of Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is Not a Myth  by James Becker states:

During this interruption, the Clandestine Agent was able to quickly see the value of the Mecklenburg Declaration as the North Carolina delegates moved toward the desk of President John Hancock, and Captain James Jack met with the delegates and President Hancock. The Mecklenburg Declaration is a short document and the Agent would have been impressed (as John Adams reflects in his letter of June 22, 1819 to Thomas Jefferson, or on July 15, 1819 to Reverend Bentley upon reading a part of it.)

This document was valuable to him and would provide King Louis XVI with confidence that the Revolution was ready. He would promise Captain James Jack that he intended to utilize one copy of it for the benefit of the Revolution. The Agent was a Mason, (as was Captain Jack), and the Agent could have requested that they not make this document public knowledge, which would account for the document being hidden after the Revolution.

The Clandestine Agent has a name and his return to Europe was for the purpose of obtaining Gold to back the Revolution. Jacob Becker was the Clandestine Agent, returning to release the Gold that would ship without arousing a lot of European suspicion. He is not French, nor Spanish, but related to the Bourbons. His family fled in 1244 as the last of the Cathar to exist in safety with their fellow Jews. This is a special hoard of Gold brought to the caves in France. This Gold was dedicated to the building of a “Promised Land.”

The completion of the mission was far more important than any personal credit. The fear that the mission would be captured by people who would use the Gold for alternate purposes made it necessary to employ strict personal self—discipline. The Templars had filled the caves and would develop the Masonic Order that would assist in building the House not built by Hands. As he sailed back to Europe, the clandestine agent used the Mecklenburg Declaration to construct a signal for King Louis XVI that would communicate the following objectives had been completed after his return to America.

The signed Declaration of Independence would signal: The objective of Unity, the new Nation had been secured; the Colonies that needed to be prepared, had been visited and prepared; that serious “Portrait known as Washington meets with his staff on October 14” that has been displayed at Yorktown Battlefield Museum next to the painting of General Lincoln taking the Yorktown Surrender.

Journal of Continental Congress vol.2, pages 100 and 101.

Recorded business consist of a set of directions to George Washington. Secret Session after formal session to discuss currency legislation voted on June 22 and 23. Jacob Becker’s Masonic Membership.

This Gold is discussed in Caron de Beaumarchais letter to the Committee of Secret Correspondence date August 18, 1776. When Caron hears of the Signed Declaration of Independence, it is his clue to write this letter. By mentioning this Gold in this context he uses, he is disclosing that his letter is a part of a planned activity.

Political objectives have been resolved or removed; a “Secret Treaty” signed, and the information leak from Congress to Parliament and the King of England had been contained. These objectives had been discovered by way of applying the nine principles of warfare to improve the chances of victory. This assured King Louis XVI that the risk he was about to take had been minimized.

While it was important to send the supplies before it was too late, it was also important not to send them too early.

These same objectives can be located within Silas Deane’s letter (dated August 18, 1776) to the committee of Secret Correspondence. Deane’s letter reflects the worrying that would occur after the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, until this knowledge reached the ears in Europe.

This communication lag time enabled us to demonstrate the implementation of planning in France. A secret plan can begin to disappear if the communication’s lag time is acknowledged carefully. Silas Deane is not repeating what they said in America, but what they said in France (before what they knew happened in America) and tells of the worry in France because it was planned in France.

The role of the Clandestine Agent with enormous influence, financial aid, military aid, and valuable insight, was assisting the birth of this country, and is also reflected in the Silas Dean letter. Deane records Count Vergennes (on the subject of independency) as stating, “That as to independency it was an event in the womb of time, and it would be highly improper for him to say anything on that subject until it had actually taken place.” (Remark made on July 11, 1776 in France after the birth had occurred on July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia which the Count would not have known.)

*PROOF posted on www.ncssar.org website

Proof of Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is Not a Myth

By James Becker 2015, Raleigh, NC email: jab109@nc.rr.com

               

               

I know this was a long and detailed excerpt from that 31 page article, but it detailed a very important reason why the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence disappeared and how it was for the greater good of the American Revolution about to take place.

Hezekiah Alexander (signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence)Home--Now A Museum of Charlotte History and in My Neighborhood on Shamrock Drive. 

I think it’s important for North Carolinians to acknowledge and take pride in being the first to declare independence from the tyrannical the King of England. The patriots of North Carolina who signed that declaration were incredibly brave to do so. For the people of North Carolina it is a bitter pill to swallow that their declaration which preceded the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776 has been ignored, unacknowledged, and even denounced as a hoax. Imagine how hurtful it must be to have one’s ancestors disparaged and their courageous patriotism called into question and even expunged from the annals of American history.

Believe what you wish, but I, for one, believe the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence to be genuine and served to greatly increase the chance for victory in the colonies’ fight for freedom.

               

A Plaque in the Middle of Independence Square in Charlotte, NC Commemorating the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary Battle fought In Charlotte in which the North Carolina Militia were called "Hornets" by Gen. Cornwallis.

  

The Statues at Each Corner of Independence Square in the Middle of Uptown Charlotte. The Plaque is between Them in the Middle of the Street Crossing 

The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is commemorated by a plaque in the middle of the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets now known as Independence Square. This particular square also has a history. Trade street began as a Native American trading path and crossed what used to be called the Great Wagon Road, but is now named Tryon Street.

Sarah J. McNeal

Diverse stories filled with heart

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Spy Gadgets and Gizmos of the 19th Century

Spy Gadgets and Gizmos of the 19th Century

C.A. Asbrey

Gun and Sword Canes

 The 19^th century was a time of great innovation and invention, but society also had an eye  to the past. They used very ancient methods and mixed them with the new, the novel, and the downright devious

In The Innocents Mysteries, I identify a number of ways in which criminals and detectives raced to beat one another.  Some of the techniques were used right through to active service in WW2. After all, if something isn't broken, why fix it?

Spy Camera

1. Spy cameras – think that these were impossible in the days of long exposures? Think again. The invention of Gelatine dry plates in the late 1870s made shorter exposures practical for the first time. In 2007 a spy camera hidden in a watch sold for £21,600. We have no record of the oldest version in existence, but we can be sure that this example, made by Lancaster & Co in Birmingham, was not the first. Small hand-held cameras were in use from the 1850s, and then they started to be concealed in hats, clothing and bags. By the 1880s fully commercial versions were being openly demonstrated and sold as novelties. The one sold in 2007 was made for a woman.

They took pretty good photographs too. In the 1890s a very shy young man used one to take pictures of people he greeted on the street. Carl Størmer later found renown as a mathematician, but thank to his work we actually have some copies of pictures taken by a spy camera and the result is surprisingly good.

 He had started by trying to get a picture of a young woman he was infatuated with, but was too shy to approach. The affair came to nothing, but his interest in photography grew. He amassed  a collection of over 500 photographs, and they are remarkably candid when compared to the studio portraits from the period which we are more used to seeing.

2. Gadget canes – We’ve all seen the swords hidden inside canes, but the Victorians loved hiding all kinds of things in them. How many people thought to search an innocuous walking stick when they captured someone? They were commonplace in the 19th century, and were used to add a certain swagger to an outfit. They were not just a means of addressing problems with balance.  We still see telescopes and flasks in canes, but the Victorians took the gadget cane to whole new levels.  Of course there were telescopes, listening devices, keys to ciphers, maps made of silk which could occupy a tiny space and even bottles for poisons. Cane guns were invented very early in the 1800s. Speaking of poisons, there were even poisoned cigarettes which would kill when eaten to evade interrogation or torture.

Gadget canes

3. Listening device – Joseph Toynbee invented the artificial eardrum as a hearing aid in 1852. It didn’t take long before more devious minds saw another use for the vulcanised rubber disc which amplified sound through a rod. They used them for listening through walls or from a nearby table. The Victorians tendency to try to make disability less visible also meant that they came hidden in hats, elaborate hairdos, and even tiaras. Very handy for a spy.

How effective they were isn't recorded, but they kept using them until more modern versions were invented to they must have been some use.

4. Invisible inks/hidden messages – Invisible inks are the stuff of legend and date back to at least 600 BC. There are records of fruit based invisible inks being used in the Middle East and China They are either organic or synthetic in composition. Many things have been used from plant sap, lemon juice, milk, onion juice, urine and even sperm - handy for the male spy. They are developed either by a chemical or by a process like heat, which acts on the ink at a different rate to the paper or fabric the writing was on. Acids, alkalis, heat, or light were all the reagents used
One very old method, which dates from, at least, Elizabethan times, was still in use during WW2. A mixture of alum and vinegar was used to write a message on a boiled egg, which is not visible on the shell once dry. These eggs could then be transported amongst raw eggs. Once peeled the writing was visible in the stained alum inside the egg. You can easily tell a boiled egg from a raw one by spinning it on a hard surface.

5. Ciphers and codes – are as old as writing. Any message could be intercepted. Pigeons could be shot down, messengers captured, and letters stolen. There are many different kinds, and too complex to squeeze into a mere paragraph, but in the 19th century two main kinds were popular. Playfair Cipher is created by generating a random short phrase, and then constructing a 5 by 5 grid of letters. That grid is the required to decode the message. As the alphabet had 26 letters and the code 25, ‘I’ and ‘J’ are interchangeable.
The other is One Time Pad. That is a symmetric encryption system using keys that are changed with every single message. The code takes its name from the fact that the keys were originally written on pads of paper and the name One Time Pad stuck. It requires both the sender and recipient to have the same key. It is best for short messages ads the more the code is repeated the more elements there are which can be used to crack it.

Cipher disk

Cipher discs were invented in 1470 by Leon Battista, and were a means of creating and deciphering a code. The code can be a consistent monoalphabetic substitution for the entire cipher or the disks can be moved periodically making it polyalphabetic.


6. Wire tapping – Crippen is often cited as the first murderer caught by telegraph, but in 1845 John Tawell was apprehended fleeing from Slough. Tawell had been trained as a chemist, and had previously been transported to Australia for the crime of forgery. His religiosity was the only factor which saved him from hanging at that time. His then wife went with him. It's unclear whether or not she died in Australia or England. Nonetheless, he set up home again and reclaimed a reputation and status of the devout and upright Quaker in Berkhamsted. They rejected him, but he dressed the part anyway. Sarah Hart was a servant at the Tawell house and became pregnant. She didn't get an offer of marriage, but she did gain an allowance to pay for the child. Tawell then married a Sarah Cutworth and visited covertly. All went well until Sarah Hart made their ‘arrangement’ official by taking out a court order for maintenance for her and the children, This meant his dirty secret was open to discovery. He would have to do something about this risk, and he did.
He poisoned his mistress with prussic acid to avoid paying child support and to dispose of the problem woman. Before the advent of Morse Code, the system used by telegraphers didn’t have a ‘Q’. Once the police worked out that the message told them that the man ‘dressed as a kwaker’, was, in fact, a ‘Quaker’, they apprehended the man dressed in the full-length black coat who had been travelling in the end carriage as described to them. The case helped the telegraph system to spread, citing public safety and speed of communication. By 1870 it was possible for London to communicate with Bombay in minutes.
However, people have been tapping into wires for as long as they have been used for communication. In the telegraph system it was stupidly simple. It was basically a huge circuit, so could be accessed by attaching a wire and listening in to clicks which passed along it. Wire tapping was routinely used by both sides in the American Civil War, criminals used it to listen to plans to transport valuables, and businesses used it to keep up with rivals. It didn’t stop there either. It was also used to spy on gangs during the prohibition, and even on Civil Rights leaders in the 1960’s.

Innocent Bystander EXCERPT

A vacant-looking man with prominent yellow teeth walked into her field of vision, striding beyond the blinding sun and dragged her roughly from the horse. She had expected to be searched and had ruthlessly bound her body with bandages to try to flatten and conceal her breasts, but the man merely patted down her sides before turning his attentions to her jacket. He pulled out the pistol which had been loosely placed in her pocket and slapped his way down her legs. She was instantly glad she had foregone the Derringer she usually wore at her ankle. A concealed weapon was too risky.

“He’s clean.”

“Well, boy. It seems like you’re gonna get your wish, but if you’ve been messin’ with us and you ain’t Quinn’s kin, you’re gonna regret it. He don’t like to be messed with.”

Abigail felt her arms grabbed as she was roughly turned around and her carefully dirtied hands were bound behind her back, the rope biting deeply into her skin as it was pulled tight. They must have seen her wince as it provoked a chorus of laughter which rang in her ears.

“Looks like this life’s a bit too rough for you, sonny.”

 A thick, smelly bag was thrust over her head, obliterating the world, before she was lifted back onto her little colt and she felt herself led off to face the rest of the gang.

            

90 Seconds of Terror by Elizabeth Clements #prairierosepubs

90 SECONDS OF TERROR  by Elizabeth Clements
 

Have you ever had that moment when you’ve been so captivated by something that time seems to stop? I’ve experienced it a few times, but I’ll share one here as it inspired me to write a love story.

I don’t remember the exact year, but it was back in the 90’s. We were returning from our annual vacation in the mountains and decided to take a side trip to visit the Frank Slide. The Crowsnest Pass of the Rocky Mountains is famous not only for the coal mining town of Frank, Alberta, but also many mining sites, and even a famous ancient tree. Nearby Blairmore had its fair share of excitement during the rum smuggling days of a century ago, keeping the Mounties busy with smugglers, murder and mayhem. The Frank Slide Interpretive Centre is located in Blairmore, 200 km southwest of Calgary and a short jaunt from Frank.

In 1900, the Canadian American Coal and Coke opened a coal mine at the base of Turtle Mountain, “a 7,251-foot-tall limestone peak”. News of work for miners spread across Europe and in no time, immigrants flocked to Frank, seeking a better life from what they’d left behind. Thus, in 1901 the town of Frank was incorporated. The First Nations, Blackfoot and K’tunaxa tribes believed “the mountain that moves” was bad luck and avoided camping near its base. Warnings of the mountain’s instability went unheeded.

Nick Clements Photography - size of boulder in ratio to car

As we approached Frank, we saw huge boulders strewn across the land on both sides of the highway. After looking around and taking pictures, we decided to skip walking the scenic 1.5-km Frank Slide Trail and went inside the visitor center and gift shop. I remember strolling among the many exhibits and displays of mining equipment.

Luckily, my husband kept a watchful eye on the boys because as I stopped before one life-size cardboard cutout of a group of four immigrants, I was drawn to one particular woman’s face. I gazed into her dull eyes, level with mine, and a stillness crept over me. I sensed her sadness, imagined the drudgery and pain she had endured.

Time and place slipped away and there was just her and me in silent communication. I felt her pain, her loneliness upon leaving her homeland behind in search of a better life—and not finding it in the black choking dust of a coal mining town. Someone must have jostled me, or perhaps one of my boys asking a question, and the moment  burst like a bubble. But I’ve never forgotten her face to this very day.

Eventually, we went into the theater and watched an excellent documentary of the Frank Slide—another unforgettable experience undiluted  by time. The screen was dark and silent. Then I heard it—the light clatter of a single rock rolling through the darkness. Then another rock. Then three…a dozen more, building into a roaring crescendo of falling rocks that shook the screen. Shook me.

Nick Clements Photography - view of  mountain slide

In 90 seconds in the still, charcoal pre-dawn of April 29, 1903, at 4:10 a.m., the summit on the east side of Turtle Mountain collapsed and “a section of rock 1,400 feet tall — the height of the Empire State Building — 3,280 feet wide, and 500 feet deep” roared down the mountain. “The southeastern part of Frank, home to 100 people, two miles of railroad, and the coal mine, instantly disappeared beneath 50 to 150 feet of rock,” An estimated 82-90 million tons of limestone rocks and huge boulders spewed for 4 kilometres into the Crowsnest River valley.

Most of the approximately 600 residents of Frank were asleep while the night shift worked deep in the coal mine. It’s estimated 70 or 90 people were killed but only 12 or 18 bodies were recovered (the numbers vary, depending on which research article one reads).

There are many accounts of heroism and people pulling together to help each other. A toddler was thrown from her bed and was found dust-covered but otherwise unhurt on a boulder. Another is of a man who flagged down a train before it would have crashed into the pile of huge boulders strewn across the track. A house was pushed off its foundation but no one inside was killed. 17 miners inside the mine managed to crawl to safety by following a coal seam.

Modern-day satellite coverage of the mountain proves there could be another slide, but not for a long time unless there’s an earthquake. Turtle Mountain moves 1 cm a year. “The primary cause of the Frank Slide was the unstable geological structure of Turtle Mountain. The mountain's once horizontal layers of sedimentary rock had been folded during the mountain building process until almost vertical— the ultimate in mountain instability.”

“Multiple factors led to the rockslide, but Turtle Mountain's unstable geology was a primary cause. Tectonic shift during the creation of the Rocky Mountains caused structurally stronger rock layers to sit on top of weaker ones. Water seeped into the mountain through surface cracks, eroding the limestone. When it froze and thawed, the cracks widened, breaking apart the rock from the inside. Mining operations may have contributed to the mountain's instability, but they were not the main cause of the slide.”

 

Nick Clements Photography - close-up view of rock slide

To put this vast rock slide into a visual perspective, a program officer at the interpretive center calculated the enormity of rocks strewn on both sides of the highway: “If you took all the rocks from the slide and made a one-metre wide by six-metre high wall, you could build a wall across Canada from Victoria to Nova Scotia.” Now that boggles my mind as much as some of the house-sized boulders still resting where they’d fallen over a century ago.

A visit to the Frank Slide wouldn’t be complete without looking for Alberta’s most photographed tree—the 700-year Burmis tree. This hardy limber pine is believed to have stood here for centuries, battered by wind and rain and blizzards. The famous landmark died in the late 1970’s, yet remained erect on the rocky mountainside, its branches poking like gnarled fingers into the sky.

Nick Clements Photography - 700-year-old Burmis tree

When a fierce storm finally knocked the tree over, the residents of the area couldn’t bear losing their beloved landmark, banded together and propped the tree up with rods and wires. Thus, the Burmis tree continues to greet visitors passing by on the highway and serenely poses for their cameras. My son took this picture (and all the photos) through the truck windshield. The dark, sullen clouds simply add to the lonely feeling of sadness, devastation and loss that haunt this area.

Soon after we arrived home, I started writing a new historical romance, inspired by what I’d seen and felt at the town of Frank. I finished writing it, then like I had with so many of my other books, put it aside and started a new book. Procrastination has always been my worst vice.

About a dozen years later, on a beautiful Thanksgiving Monday, I took my mom for a little road trip back to Frank. I came prepared with notebook and camera, using both. And I searched for that sad-eyed woman, but in vain. She was gone. But she was far more than just a figment of my imagination.

Thus, this past winter when Cheryl Pearson sent out a call for submissions for a Hot Western Nights anthology set in the western states, I wanted to submit a story. I stalled with two new story ideas…then that dear little sad-eyed woman came to me in the wee, dream-filled hours of the morning and whispered in my ear….

Writing from memory, I condensed that earlier full-length historical into a  novella, changed some of the action and moved the setting to a fictional town in the beautiful Colorado mountains. In some ways it’s different from that earlier book yet retains its essence. I mean, with a hero nicknamed Diamond Jack, how could I possibly change him or his Angel? They’ve lived in my mind for years.

Here is a teaser and an excerpt from my story:

Angela Summers has cared for her grandfather in the mining camp for many years. But when danger strikes, saloon owner Jack Williams must try to protect the woman he loves in DIAMOND JACK’S ANGEL.

Brookstown, Colorado, 1888

“I tell ya, Boss, that crazy old coot’s trouble. Every time it thunders, he says the mountain’s talkin’ to him. And it’s gittin’ worse.”

Sam Brooks sighed and set down his whiskey before looking up at his burly foreman. “All right, Bart, what’s he saying now?”

“He says there’s a fault in the mountain and it’s gonna come down. I tell ya, Boss, that kinda talk’s gonna spook the miners. They’re grumblin’ and talkin’ about goin’ on strike.”

Sam gritted his teeth, fed up with this constant trouble at the mine. Staring into his glass, he sighed like a tired old man and tossed back the rest of the whiskey. “Then take care of it. Make it look like an accident. There’s a bonus in it when the job’s done.”

Bart nodded. “You betcha, Boss. You can count on me.”

“I sure hope so,” Sam muttered, nodding dismissively toward the door.

                                               

 ***

I hope my little blog has whetted…intrigued you to check out my story, Diamond Jack’s Angel, and the novellas of five other authors in the Hot Western Nights anthology.

Available on Amazon: HOT WESTERN NIGHTS

Some special moments I’ve had is the first time I saw my future husband and he smiled at me…his first unforgettable kiss…walking down the aisle to say I Do…my first airplane ride…the wonder of holding my first child…and last year, holding my first published book. Hmmm, all firsts. I guess that’s why I cherish them to this day.

I would love to hear what moment in time –or moment out of time you have experienced that you’ve never been able to forget. Thank you for stopping by and leaving your comments of your unforgettable first.

Beneath a Horse-Thief Moon
Available on Amazon: Digital | KindleUnlimited | Print

Beneath a Fugitive Moon

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