Tag: westward expansion

2,412 words

I was downtown in Salt Lake City in 2002 to watch the Pioneer Day parade, also known as “Days Of ’47” — as in 1847, of course. I got to see the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ President Gordon B. Hinckley heading up the column. Although my piety leaves much to be desired, that was something else, indeed! (more…)

Fanny Kelly

2,865 words

Captivity narratives, especially those written by women, were a staple of American literature during the nineteenth century. Stories of white women captured and abused by savage Indians certainly inspired enough fascination and horror in the American public to warrant its own literary genre. And for good reason, considering that there had been thousands of white captives throughout American history up to 1900, and the abuse they in many cases suffered was a fate worse than death. (more…)

Fort Rice, Dakota Territory by Seth Eastman

2,794 words

Part 2 of 2 (Part 1 here)

The Galvanized Yankees

One of the regiments operating in the Dakota Territory during the Civil War was the 1st US Volunteer Infantry. This regiment deserves a special mention because its story includes bringing former white enemies together who then went on to advance American civilization. (more…)

2,424 words

Hypocrisy there is in the story, and weakness, false pride and vaunting, deceit, poltroonery, ugly perversions, and baleful frenzies. But there is more also. Through the story runs the scarlet thread of courage and the golden thread of heroism. — George R. Stewart, Ordeal by Hunger

It may be trite to state that people show their true colors in extreme circumstances, but what better way is there? James Cameron certainly mocked the hubris of the Titanic true believers in the first half of his iconic 1997 movie, but the numbers of the disaster reveal a chivalry which speaks fairly well of the people who traveled and served on that ill-fated, immortalized vessel. (more…)

Laura Ingalls Wilder

3,554 words

I recently visited De Smet, South Dakota. It’s a small town east of central South Dakota named for a black-robed Christian missionary to the Indians. There are many such towns across the North American prairie; what makes this one special is that it is the town where Laura Ingalls Wilder launched her teaching career at the age of 16. Wilder went on to immortalize De Smet, South Dakota, and her family in a series of semi-fictionalized books. (more…)