Page 15 - 2007 DT 12 Issues

Volunteer coordinators from local WESTERN SNAPSHOTS: Like bits of interesting
federal agencies will present the his- knowledge? This is for you! — by Chuck Kleber
tory and mission of the Bureau of Land
Management, the National Park Ser-  You rolled your own in the Old West, and the cowboy's book of
vice, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cigarette paper was frequently called the "Prayer Book."
and the U.S. Forest Service. You will
also learn about the many interesting  The old Spanish peso was a silver coin worth about one dollar,
equal to eight "reales." It was frequently cut into quarters, giving rise to
conservation, recreation, and wildlife the expression, "bits," as in "two bits."
areas managed by these agencies. The
day includes other important informa-  "Looloo" - An odd hand in poker that under local rules became
tion such as the role of volunteers, the best hand. One story has it that in Butte, Montana the "looloo" was
ethics and harassment policies, customer three clubs and two diamonds. It beat four aces.
service techniques, potential dangers in Pioneers often left a message or sign as they trekked westward.
our environment, and tips for staying 
This was commonly done on rocks, using axle grease, which they called
safe in the desert. "wagon dope." One reads, "O.D. Pray, July 3, 1850." He may have done
Additional volunteer training ses- quite a bit of that on such a dangerous journey.
sions will be posted on the website in
March, along with online registration.  When gold was discovered in 1848, California had about 20,000 people.
Please note that volunteer training and  A young captain in the U.S. Army was instrumental in settling a
orientation are offered to active volun- border dispute with the British in the Pacific Northwest. While there, he
teers only. married a beautiful Haida Indian girl. He later became a general . . . in
the Confederate Army. He was George E. Pickett, leader of the massive
Volunteer Events assault on the Union lines at Gettysburg.
Volunteer events scheduled for
2007 will be posted for registration on  Indians were the first to wear buckskin. Frontiersmen soon
copied them, as it was so much more durable than cotton or wool. Those
line when available (watch the Desert fringes were useful, too; you could tie things to your jacket.
Trumpet for a schedule.)
Thank you again for your support  The White Mountain Apaches of east-central Arizona are the only
of the Southern Nevada Interagency segment of this tribe who were never displaced from their homeland.
Volunteer Program. We look forward to Fort Hall was built on the Oregon Trail. When it was completed
working with you throughout the year! 
on August 5, 1834, there was a flag raising ceremony, followed by a party
—Donna Grady, Project Manager, with plenty of liquor. J.K. Townsend was there and recalled, "We had
Interagency Volunteer Program, UNLV gouging, biting, fisticuffing and stomping . . . some even fired pistols at
Public Lands Institute each other . . . mostly harmless in unsteady hands."

 It was Owen Wister's novel, "The Virginian," (1902) that
popularized the cowboy as a man with a six-gun, but a man with honor
who always respected women and sought truth and justice. Hollywood
religiously followed this path in its movies of the 20's and 30's.
Quarterly Membership
Meeting  For Christmas in 1805, the young Shoshone girl, Sacagawea, gave
white weasel tails to William Clark of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
 Five members of the Custer family died at the Battle of the Little Big
Horn; Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer; his brother, Captain Tom Custer;
8:30 - 10:30 a.m. his brother-in-law, Lt. James Calhoun; his younger brother, Boston (a
civilian); and Custer's young nephew, Autie Reed, who came along for the
BLM Field Office excitement of an Indian campaign.
4701 N. Torrey Pines
 Judge Roy Bean was the "Law West of the Pecos," but there is no
Las Vegas, NV 89130 record that he ever sentenced a man to be hanged.

 Sugar was often scarce in the early days of the West, and
molasses was often used as a sweetener. It went by different names,
among them—blackstrap, larrup, lick, long lick and long-tailed sugar.

FORRC/February/2007 Page 7