Vol. 7, No. 18
.jpg)
July 15, 2010
Nevada's Online State News Journal -- Serving Informed Nevadans Since 2003
Links Of Interest==================================Income Tax Day "Americans are split on their overall opinion of the country's tax system: 49 percent say it's fair and 50 percent say it's unfair, according to the poll." Poll: Most Americans say tax dollars are wasted (CNN) Six in 10 Americans Expect Their Taxes to Increase (Gallup) Americans Split on Whether Their Income Taxes Are Too High (Gallup) _____ Latest Polls Government Ethics and Corruption Edges Economy as Most Important Issue (Rasmussen Reports) Deficit Concerns Rise, But Solutions Are Elusive (Pew Research) 34% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction (Rasmussen Reports) Election 2012: Barack Obama 42%, Ron Paul 41% (Rasmussen Reports) Generic Congressional Ballot: Republicans 45%, Democrats 36% (Rasmussen Reports) Tea Party Activists Unveil 'Contract from America' (ABC) Going Negative in November -- Can it Win for the GOP? (Pew Research) AP-GfK Poll: Resistance to health care bill strong (Associated Press) 39% Say Supreme Court Too Liberal, 25% Too Conservative (Rasmussen Reports) Gun Control Splits America (Pew Research) Broad Public Support For Legalizing Medical Marijuana (Pew Research) U.S. Birth Rate Decline Linked to Recession (Pew Research) ================================== April 1, 2010 All Fools' Day To scientists, laughter is no joke — it's serious (Associated Press) _____ Area 51 vets break silence: Sorry, but no space aliens or UFOs (Seattle Times) The National Economy Why a $14/hour employee costs $20 (CNN) America's Most Underwater Housing Markets (US News & World Report) "Just as bank executives got bonuses despite taking on dangerous amounts of risk, regulators got taxpayer-funded bonuses despite missing or ignoring signs that the system was on the verge of a meltdown." AP IMPACT: Gov't bank auditors got big bonuses (Associated Press) Report on the Troubled Asset Relief Program--March 2010 (Congressional Budget Office) Preliminary Analysis of the President's Budget (Congressional Budget Office) The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases (Congressional Research Service) Economic Growth and Employment in the Short Term (Congressional Budget Office) Fiscal Policy Choices (Congressional Budget Office) The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2010 to 2020 (Congressional Budget Office) "A fundamental objective of congressional oversight is to hold executive officials accountable for the implementation of delegated authority. This objective is especially important given the huge expansion of executive influence in the modern era. If the Founding Fathers returned to observe their handiwork, they would likely be surprised by such developments as the creation of a "presidential branch" of government (the Office of Management and Budget, the National Security Council, and the like) and the establishment of so many federal departments and agencies." Congressional Oversight: An Overview (Congressional Research Service) Our Nation's Armed Forces "Al Qaeda (AQ) has evolved into a significantly different terrorist organization than the one that perpetrated the September 11, 2001, attacks." Al Qaeda and Affiliates: Historical Perspective, Global Presence, and Implications for U.S. Policy (Congressional Research Service) Hamid Karzai’s brother to stay in power despite heroin trade claims (London Times) Nato will fail unless you end corruption, US commander tells Karzai (London Times) Afghanistan Drug Control: Strategy Evolving and Progress Reported, but Interim Performance Targets and Evaluation of Justice Reform Efforts Needed (Government Accountability Office) A Strategic Perspective on Taliban Warfare (Small Wars Journal) Economics: The Better Bullet for Grey War (Small Wars Journal) Warfighter Support: Continued Actions Needed by DOD to Improve and Institutionalize Contractor Support in Contingency Operations (Government Accountability Office) Freedom And Authority Poll: Most Americans would trim liberties to be safer (McClatchy) Meet Mikey, 8: U.S. Has Him on Watch List (New York Times) Lawmakers Eyeing National ID Card (Wired) Court OKs Repeated Tasering of Pregnant Woman (Wired) Court Says Bush Illegally Wiretapped Two Americans (Wired) Secret Police: Can Personal Privacy Survive the Digital Revolution? (American Conservative) How Privacy Vanishes Online (New York Times) Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance: Overarching Guidance Is Needed to Advance Information Sharing (Government Accountability Office) Airport full-body scanners ‘break laws on privacy’ (London Times) Aviation Security: TSA Is Increasing Procurement and Deployment of the Advanced Imaging Technology, but Challenges to This Effort and Other Areas of Aviation Security Remain (Government Accountability Office) Homeland Security: Ongoing Challenges Impact the Federal Protective Service's Ability to Protect Federal Facilities (Government Accountability Office) ================================== March 17, 2010 St. Patrick's Day 20% Will Drink To Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (Rasmussen Reports) 61% - St. Patrick's Day Drinking? (Pew Research) _____ The Latest Polls 27% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction (Rasmussen Reports) Only 21% Say U.S. Government Has Consent of the Governed (Rasmussen Reports) Voters Say Economy, Government Ethics Are Most Important Issues (Rasmussen Reports) Deficit Concerns Rise, But Solutions Are Elusive (Pew Research) Restoring America's Reputation in the World (Pew Research) Obama Not Meeting Americans' Lofty Expectations on Issues (Gallup) Negatives for Pelosi, Reid, Boehner Hit Record Highs (Rasmussen Reports) 38% Give Supreme Court Positive Ratings (Rasmussen Reports) Race for Control of Congress Remains Close (Gallup) Three-Way Ballot: Democrats 34%, GOP 27%, Tea Party 21% (Rasmussen Reports) Favorability Ratings of Labor Unions Fall Sharply (Pew Research) 43% Favor Health Care Plan, 53% Oppose (Rasmussen Reports) The New News Landscape: Rise of the Internet (Pew Research) 81% Say People Learn More Outside The Classroom Than Inside (Rasmussen Reports) Voters Take Global Warming Less Seriously (Rasmussen Reports) In U.S., Many Environmental Issues at 20-Year-Low Concern (Gallup) 49% Say Israel Should Stop Building Settlements As Part of Peace Deal (Rasmussen Reports) Only 15% Think War in Iraq Is Over (Rasmussen Reports) The Right To Know What You're Paying For Sunshine and Shadows: The Clear Obama Message for Freedom of Information Meets Mixed Results (National Security Archive) ================================== February 26, 2010 ------- The National Mood "Fifty-six percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday say they think the federal government's become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens." CNN Poll: Majority says government a threat to citizens' rights (CNN) "Eighty-six percent of people questioned say that the system of government is broken, with 14 percent saying no." Survey: Most Americans believe government broken (CNN) ================================== January 18, 2010 _____ TNO is having more technical difficulties, which we hope to straighten out soon. It never rains but it pours. ================================== January 1, 2010 _____ Happy New Year to all of TNO's readers! Our new issue is up and ready for reading -- see the center column for our features. ================================== December 15, 2009 _____ Back From The Dead !!! TNO is finally up and running again. Check the center column for our latest features! ================================== December 5, 2009 ----- Aaaaaargh !!! To our readers -- TNO's server hard drive failed on November 22, 2009, causing a loss of all programs and files. We're trying to reconstruct, and we apologize for the inconvenience. ================================== November 10, 2009 ----- USMC Birthday
James Montgomery Flagg poster (c. 1918), First in the Fight - Always Faithful - Be A U. S. Marine! [click on image to enlarge] ================================== November 8, 2009 _____ Our Nation's Economy What recovery? Unemployment shoots past 10 percent (Associated Press) Jobless: 10 percent is tougher than it used to be (Associated Press) Broader Measure of U.S. Unemployment Stands at 17.5% (New York Times) "The truth is that long-term unemployment remains at its highest rate since we began measuring it in 1948." Obama Signs Homebuyer, Jobless Aid Bill (Time) Gallup Economic Monthly: Job Market Best in South, East (Gallup Polls) Why won't Obama give you a job? The White House thinks the stimulus is working, and it doesn't want you on its payroll (Washington Post) The Latest Polls What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls (Rasmussen Reports) Economic Issues 34% Say U.S. Is Heading In The Right Direction (Rasmussen Reports) 52% Say America’s Best Days Are In the Past, Highest Level in Two Years (Rasmussen Reports) Only 10% of Consumers Rate Economy as Good or Excellent (Rasmussen Reports) 59% Favor Extension of Unemployment Benefits (Rasmussen Reports) Americans Favor Home Buyer Tax Credit Until They Hear How Much It Costs (Rasmussen Reports) 33% Say Stimulus Helped Economy, 31% Say It Hurt (Rasmussen Reports) 81% Still Concerned About Inflation (Rasmussen Reports) 38% Say Deficit Reduction Top Priority, 23% Say Health Care Reform (Rasmussen Reports) Americans Favor Limits on Executive Pay For Bailed Out Firms (Rasmussen Reports) Tax Reduction: For All or For Some? (Zogby Polls) Health Care Reform CNN Poll: Public wants Congress to keep working on health care (CNN) 42% Support Health Care Reform After Release of Pelosi's Version (Rasmussen Reports) 83% Say Proof of Citizenship Should Be Required to Get Government Health Aid (Rasmussen Reports) 48% Want Abortion Coverage Banned in Health Care Plan (Rasmussen Reports) 72% Say Health Plan Likely to Shift Employees from Private Insurance to Government Plan (Rasmussen Reports) 44% Say Health Care Plan Likely To Force Them To Change Insurance Coverage (Rasmussen Reports) In U.S., Half See Own Costs Worsening Under Healthcare Bill (Gallup Polls) 57% Say Health Care Plan Will Increase Costs, 53% Say It Will Reduce Quality of Care, 45% Favor Passage (Rasmussen Reports) In U.S., 39% Say View on Healthcare “Depends” on Details: Undecided group generally favors a “public option” component (Gallup Polls) 49% Say No Health Care Reform Better Than Current Plan (Rasmussen Reports) Competition Wanted: 65% Favor Removing Anti-Trust Exemption for Health Insurance Companies (Rasmussen Reports) Most Voters Say They Know Health Care Bill Much Better Than Congress (Rasmussen Reports) Healthcare Reforms Important to Most, Yet Concerns Persist (Zogby Polls) 26% Say A Family Member Lost Health Coverage in Past Year (Zogby Polls) Exercise and Well-Being: A Little Goes a Long Way (Gallup Polls) 63% Say Doctor-Prescribed Pot Is Okay (Rasmussen Reports) Politics In U.S., Majority Now Say Obama’s Policies "Mostly Liberal": Fewer than half believe he has kept his election promises (Gallup Polls) Obama Quarterly Approval Average Slips Nine Points to 53%: Largest second- to third-quarter drop for an elected president (Gallup Polls) Voters Divided On Whether Passing Good Legislation More Important Than Killing Bad Bills (Rasmussen Reports) 55% Expect Washington Politics to Grow More Partisan (Rasmussen Reports) 62% Say Congress More Responsive To Media Than To Voters (Rasmussen Reports) 30% Favor One Party Running the White House and Congress (Rasmussen Reports) Democrats Inch Up in Partisan ID during October, GOP Slips (Rasmussen Reports) Conservatives Maintain Edge as Top Ideological Group (Gallup Polls) Voters Trust Republicans More On 10 Top Issues (Rasmussen Reports) 68% Oppose Cities That Give ‘Sanctuary’ To Illegal Immigrants (Rasmussen Reports) 56% Say U.S. Government Policies Encourage Illegal Immigration (Rasmussen Reports) National Security Matters Confidence in U.S. War on Terror Tumbles To Lowest Level In Nearly Three Years (Rasmussen Reports) Public Divided Over Afghan Troop Requests, But Still Sees Rationale for War (Pew Research) 42% See No Victory in Afghanistan If Pakistan Remains Unstable (Rasmussen Reports) Most Say They Lack Background to Follow Afghan News (Pew Research) 45% Say U.S. Can Win War in Afghanistan, 29% Disagree (Rasmussen Reports) 60% Say Law Should Protect Those in National Guard From Any Job Losses (Rasmussen Reports) Americans Mostly Favorable on Defense Secretary Gates: Democrats view him more positively than Republicans (Gallup Polls) Our American Society Partisanship and Cable News Audiences (Pew Research) Social Isolation and New Technology: How the Internet and Mobile Phones Impact Americans' Social Networks (Pew Research) More Americans Tweeting: 19% of Internet Users on Twitter (Pew Research) But What Do the Polls Show? How public opinion surveys came to play a major role in policymaking and politics (Pew Research) ================================== October 31, 2009 Happy Nevada Day ! The Nevada Observer Turns Seven !!!
The Day of the Dead, by Diego Rivera [click on image to enlarge]. ================================== October 10, 2009 _____ Our Troubled Republic Just 31% Believe U.S. Heading in Right Direction (Rasmussen Reports) The Nation's Economy Gallup Economic Monthly: Confidence Up but Wallets Shut -- Consumer spending across income groups is down 30% from year-ago levels (Gallup Polls) 67% Frown On National Sales Tax (Rasmussen Reports) Small U.S. firms face credit squeeze as crisis drags (Reuters) Health Care Reform 54% Favor Middle-Class Tax Cuts Over New Spending on Health Care (Rasmussen Reports) At 16.6%, Number of Uninsured American Adults Ties High: Average percentage uninsured in 2009 significantly higher than in 2008 (Gallup Polls) 55% Oppose Penalty for Not Buying Health Insurance (Rasmussen Reports) To Pay for Health Care Plan, 59% Say No New Taxes on Those Earning Under $250,000 (Rasmussen Reports) "The disconnect between support for specific elements of health care legislation and overall opposition to the proposals in Congress appears to be driven by a lack of understanding about what is being proposed, the complexity of the topic, and declining trust in Congress." Mixed Views of Economic Policies and Health Care Reform Persist: Support for Health Care Principles, Opposition to Package (Pew Research) Falling Public Support For Healthcare Reform Can Be Turned Around (Zogby) Decision Day For Democrats: Poll Shows Path to Healthcare Reform (Zogby) Social Issues 60% View American Society As Fair and Decent (Rasmussen Reports) 49% Say U.S. Kids Need More Time in School (Rasmussen Reports) In U.S., Record-Low Support for Stricter Gun Laws: Forty-four percent favor stricter laws on firearm sales (Gallup Polls) Majority Continues to Support Civil Unions: Most Still Oppose Same-Sex Marriage (Pew Research) Foreign Affairs 43% Give Obama Positive Marks on National Security (Rasmussen Reports) 48% Say American Muslims Should Speak Out Against Terrorist Attacks (Rasmussen Reports) 35% Expect Worse Relations With Muslim World (Rasmussen Reports) Americans Divided on Sending More Troops to Afghanistan: Most believe generals should not make their preferred course of action public (Gallup Polls) Most Would Use Force to Stop Iranian Nukes: Support for Talks and Sanctions, Skepticism They Will Work (Pew Research) Our Nation's Armed Forces In 2008 Afghanistan firefight, US weapons failed (Associated Press) Waste And Corruption "As the Bush administration came to an end, the federal government was not functioning as it should. Just how bad was this government dysfunction? In an effort to answer that question, the Center for Public Integrity embarked on Broken Government, an examination of the worst systematic failures of the executive branch over the past eight years." Broken Government: An Assessment of Executive Branch Failures Since 2000 (Center For Public Integrity) The Murtha Method: Computer Analysis Shows 12 of 16 House Defense Subcommittee Members in Controversial Circles of Lobbyists, Earmarks, and Campaign Cash (Center For Public Integrity) MONEY & POLITICS: Ex-GOP Whip Blunt Gave Earmarks and Got Campaign Cash Through the ‘Murtha Method’ (Center For Public Integrity) "America’s transportation policy is dysfunctional. It’s also nearly bankrupt. Now, as debate reaches a crescendo over a new $500 billion transportation bill, can the national interest trump hundreds of special interests?" The Transportation Lobby (Center For Public Integrity) "The illicit trafficking of tobacco is a multibillion-dollar business today, fueling organized crime and corruption, robbing governments of needed tax money, and spurring addiction to a deadly product. Drawn by profits rivaling those of narcotics, smugglers move cigarettes by the billion, making tobacco the world's most widely smuggled legal substance." Tobacco Underground: The Booming Global Trade in Smuggled Cigarettes (Center For Public Integrity) In The Land Of Silver And Sage
U.S. SENATE SEAT: Two could beat Reid, poll finds -- Lowden, Tarkanian tied atop GOP challengers (Las Vegas Review-Journal) Extramarital affair, illegal lobbying allegations hurting Ensign: Poll shows 22 percent would re-elect him (Las Vegas Review-Journal) GOVERNOR'S RACE: Goodman has good numbers in poll -- Reid would beat Gibbons, but not Sandoval (Las Vegas Review-Journal) "Following up on our two previous analyses in 1999 and 2006, the Center for Public Integrity’s latest financial disclosure rankings for state legislators found that 20 out of the 50 states received a failing grade and three of those states have no disclosure requirements at all." States of Disclosure: The Center's 50-State Ranking of Standards for Legislators (Center For Public Integrity) ================================= October 5, 2009 _____ Latest Polls State Of The Nation 33% Say Country Heading in Right Direction (Rasmussen Reports) 62% Say Today’s Children Will Not Be Better Off Than Their Parents (Rasmussen Reports) Government Ethics Edges Out Economy As Top Issue Among Voters (Rasmussen Reports) Modest Increase in U.S. Investor Optimism: Investors are more optimistic about their portfolios; views of economy’s direction unchanged (Gallup Polls) Americans Less Sure About Long-Term Strength of Economy (Rasmussen Reports) 63% Say Housing Market Will Improve Only When Economy Does (Rasmussen Reports) 55% Still Blame Bush for Economic Problems (Rasmussen Reports) The Administration U.S. Jews Lead Other Religious Groups in Support of Obama: Dip in approval among Jews similar to that among general public (Gallup Polls) More Independents Lean GOP; Party Gap Smallest Since '05: Democratic advantage on leaned party ID is 48% to 42% (Gallup Polls) Congress Only 16% Like The Job Congress Is Doing (Rasmussen Reports) 83% Say Congress Should Post Bills Online For All To Read Before Voting On Them (Rasmussen Reports) 50% Oppose Stricter Gun Control Laws (Rasmussen Reports) Only 22% Say Most in Congress Will Understand Health Care Plan Before They Vote (Rasmussen Reports) Domestic Programs In U.S., Opposition to Healthcare Legislation Drops Modestly: Support holds steady at 51%, while percentage unsure rises (Gallup Polls) Support for Health Care Reform Plan Up to 46% (Rasmussen Reports) 54% Say Major Changes Needed in Health Care System, 45% Disagree (Rasmussen Reports) Fear of Losing Private Health Insurance Trumps 'Public Option' (Rasmussen Reports) Foreign Affairs Just 30% Say U.S. Will Be Most Powerful Nation At End of Century (Rasmussen Reports) 60% Favor Less International Economic Oversight, Not More (Rasmussen Reports) 43% Say U.S. And Allies Winning War on Terror (Rasmussen Reports) Public Support for Afghan Mission Slips: But Most See Possible Taliban Takeover as Major Threat (Pew Research) 32% Say Iran Is Top Threat to U.S. (Rasmussen Reports) Miscellaneous Matters Strong Support For Watchdog Role, Despite Public Criticism Of News Media (Pew Research) Support For Abortion Slips: Issue Ranks Lower on the Agenda (Pew Research) 75% Say Americans Are Getting Ruder (Rasmussen Reports) Americans Least Happy in Their 50s and Late 80s: Differences by age and gender fit no simple pattern (Gallup Polls) ================================== September 21, 2009 _____ Gloomy Reviews Of The War Against The Taliban Gen. McChrystal's Afghanistan Assessment (US Defense Department) Pakistani Capabilities for a Counterinsurgency Campaign: A Net Assessment (New America Foundation) |
================================================================= In This Issue ----- o0o -----
Woody Barlettani's Latest Cartoons
Humanity, by Woodrow Barlettani [click on image to enlarge; click here to see more.] __________ New In TNO's Reading Room
Nevada History:
"In the spring and early summer of 1858 a series of events took place in western Utah which caused great excitement throughout that region. The first of these was the murder of Henry Gordier, a Frenchman, in Honey Lake valley, and the events that followed were the result of this."
Asa Merrill Fairfield,
The Murder of
Henry Gordier,
__________ "On my return to Honolulu I was astonished to find that 'Mark Twain' had arrived a few days before. He was in San Francisco when I left holding the position of reporter on the Call. 'How in thunder, Mark,' I asked him when we met, 'does it happen that you have come here?' 'Well, you see,' said Mark, in his peculiar drawl, 'I waited for six months for you fellows to discharge me—for I knew you did not want me,—and getting tired of waiting, I discharged myself.'
Col. James J. Ayers,
Mark Twain
Doing the Islands
__________ "I had not been long in the editorial chair of the Enterprise before mysterious hints about marvelous discoveries came from the region of White Pine. Information from that remote locality continued to come to the office during the summer of 1868, and from sources so authentic and direct as to leave no room to doubt that a rich and extensive system of mines had been discovered at Treasure Hill."
Col. James J. Ayers,
A
Disastrous Newspaper Venture
__________ "One of the most joyous comedies of the Days of Gold was the Sage Brush War."
Robert Welles Ritchie,
The Sage Brush War
__________ "Typical adjunct to life in the hellroarin' days of the Argonauts when camps reeked gold and the humors of men were raw as new-plowed prairie land, was that effervescent phenomenon known as the Whizzer."
Robert Welles Ritchie,
Concerning Bald-Headed Whizzers
__________ "Huge, gross, loud swearing, he came to Downieville in the year of '50 and started a monte-and-poker shack on Durgan's Flat."
Robert Welles Ritchie,
How
Reelfoot Williams Got His Name
How Nevada Became a Territory:
The Western United States, 1853 (Mary B. Ansari Map Collection, University of Nevada - Reno) [click on image to enlarge]
Capt. James H. Carleton,
Special Report of the
Mountain Meadow Massacre, House Document No. 605, 57th Cong., 1st Sess.
(1859; reprinted 1902)
__________
John Cradlebaugh, Speech of John Cradlebaugh of Nevada,
on the Admission of Utah As a State (1863)
Speech;
================================================================= Recent Additions To TNO's Reading Room ================================================================= The Creation of Nevada Territory: The Utah Expedition [House Executive Document No. 71, 35th Cong., 1st Sess.] (1858) Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4 Messages and Proclamations of President James Buchanan regarding the Army Expedition to Utah [Excerpts from The Works of James Buchanan, vol. 10 (1908)] Condition of Affairs in Utah Territory [House Executive Document No. 78, 36th Congress, 1st Sess.] (1860) Regional History: H. H. Bancroft, Idaho's Indian Wars [excerpt from H. H. Bancroft, History of Washington, Idaho and Montana (1890)] __________ Nevada History Texts:
David Thompson (comp.), Indian Agency Reports
pertaining to Nevada,
1862;
1863;
1864;
1865;
1866;
1867;
Related Reading David Thompson (comp.), Letters from Nevada Indian Agents 1849-1861 (1981): 1849; 1850; 1851; 1852; 1853; 1854; 1855; 1856; 1857; 1858; 1859; 1860; 1861 Dr. Garland Hurt, Indians of Utah (1860) [From Report of explorations across the great basin of the territory of Utah for a direct wagon-route from Camp Floyd to Genoa, in Carson Valley (1876)] Edward M. Kern, Journal of an Exploration of Mary's or Humboldt River, Carson Lake, and Owens River and Lake in 1845 [From Report of explorations across the great basin of the territory of Utah for a direct wagon-route from Camp Floyd to Genoa, in Carson Valley (1876)] David Thompson (comp.), US Army Operations in Nevada Territory 1861; US Army Operations in Nevada Territory 1862 (Jan-Jun); US Army Operations in Nevada and Utah Territories 1862 (Jul-Dec); US Army Operations in Nevada and Utah Territories 1863 (Jan-Mar); US Army Operations in Nevada and Utah Territories 1863 (Apr-Jun); US Army Operations in Nevada and Utah Territories 1863 (Jul-Dec); US Army Operations in Nevada and Utah Territories 1864 (Jan-Jun); US Army Operations in Nevada and Utah Territories 1864 (Jul-Dec); US Army Operations in Nevada 1865 (Jan-Jun); US Army Operations in Nevada 1865 (Jul-Dec) [From the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series I, vol. 50, Parts 1 & 2] Zoeth Skinner Eldredge, The Comstock Lode [excerpt from Eldredge's History of California vol. 4 (1915)] Regional History: Hubert Howe Bancroft, The Rogue River Indian Wars 1851-1858 [excerpt from Bancroft's History of Oregon vol. 2 (1890)] Hubert Howe Bancroft, The Snake River Indian Wars 1858-1873 [excerpt from Bancroft's History of Oregon vol. 2 (1890)] Hubert Howe Bancroft, The Modoc Indian Wars 1864-1873 [excerpt from Bancroft's History of Oregon vol. 2 (1890)] Theodore H. Hittell, The Modoc Indian War 1873 [excerpt from Hittell's History of California vol. 3 (1897)] More Nevada History: "On the first of April a large column of smoke was seen rising from the vicinity, and the supposition is the station was that day attacked by the Indians. The walls of the house occupied by the men were built from thick pieces of sod. They had made ten loopholes for their rifles on the side attacked. The attack was made from a stone corral about thirty paces off, in front of the house. (To the east and lower than the house.) The whole front of the corral is bespattered with lead of the bullets fired from the house. By appearances the fight is supposed to have lasted about half a day. Curry was killed by a shot through a loophole — a body in the house having been recognized by persons acquainted with him. The legs from below the knees were missing." Asa M. Fairfield, Indian Troubles in Northwestern Nevada [From Asa Merrill Fairfield, Pioneer History of Lassen County (1916)] 1848-59; 1860; 1861-64; 1865-67; 1868-69 __________ "So pleasant was it, so hospitable and social were the people, so much was there to see, that I absolutely found no time during my too brief stay to chronicle incidents and impressions, and I am now almost ashamed to dismiss so delightful an episode of travel in a few brief, dry paragraphs, as I find I must do." Grace Greenwood, A Visit to Nevada in 1871 [From Grace Greenwood, New Life in New Lands: Notes of Travel (1873)] __________ "But the Velvet is the marvel. There they sweep up the surface and ship it. I asked the owner if I could take a sample panning. 'Here's a broom,' he said, 'sweep up some dirt wherever you like and pan it.' I took the broom and swept up a pan from the middle of that wagon road over the claim and panned it, showing a result of $5,500 to the ton." Facts About Goldfield; The Greatest Mining Camp in the World (1904) __________ "The first time a dress suit appeared on the streets of Goldfield one evening, the blue-shirted and khaki-suited miners exclaimed, as they saw it coming up the main street: "What is it? Look at it! Rubber! Let's put it on the stage in the Mint Saloon and have it talk and make it sing!""No sooner said than done, and at the point of half a dozen automatic revolvers he was put upon the Mint Saloon stage and made to dance and sing between the drinks and the hurrahs of the men." John D. Hoff, Tenderfoot and expert; a true story and experience of a tenderfoot at Goldfield and Tonopah (1905) __________ "On the outskirts of the hamlet I met a Scotchman who affirmed that his cabin was the oldest dwelling in the region. It was built in 1867. The main part contained a single room, but there was a lean-to at the rear and a little cave ran back under the hill. The owner invited me in to rest myself and offered me a cup of whiskey, or, if I preferred, he would make me a cup of tea, coffee or chocolate. When we entered, a gray cat departed through a missing window-pane. The man said the cat was his pardner; 'And I don't want any other,' he affirmed." Clifton Johnson, A Visit to the Comstock Lode in 1908 [From Clifton Johnson, Highways and Byways of California, with excursions into Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Idaho (1908)] __________ "Nowhere, save in war, have so many costly, high-powered machines been wrecked as over that stretch of lonely desert between Goldfield and Bullfrog when there was not even a semblance of a road. When I made the trip, in quest of magazine material, it was like putting to sea in a flat- bottomed skiff. The law of the survival of the fittest had wrought its pitiless work among the battered automobiles, and from the wreckage loomed the commanding figure of Bill Brown, the only driver who guaranteed to get you there, whether his car held together or not." Ralph D. Paine, An Adventurous Trip on the Bullfrog-Las Vegas Stage [From Ralph D. Paine, Roads of Adventure (1922)] __________
William Audley Maxwell [click on image to enlarge] "More than ever rumors of impending trouble were flying from train to train. Some of these were to the effect that white bandits were in league with Indians in robbing and murdering emigrants. The well-known treachery of the savages, and the stories we heard of emigrants having been slaughtered also by whites — the real facts of which we knew little of — were quite enough to beget fear and suggest the need of plans for the best possible resistance." William Audley Maxwell, Crossing the Plains: Days of '57, A Narrative of Early Emigrant Travel to California by the Ox-Team Method (1915) Part 1 (Chapters 1-6); Part 2 (Chapters 7-13) _____
Maj. Gen. O. O. Howard [click on image to enlarge] "A favorite idea, similar to the ' Messiah craze,' carried by these Dreamers from tribe to tribe all through the Northwest country, was that there would soon be a resurrection of Indians. All the whites were to be killed, and the Indians' wrongs would then be righted." Maj. Gen. O. O. Howard, The Bannock War [excerpt from Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, My life and experiences among our hostile Indians (1907)] _____
Col. William Thompson [click on image to enlarge] "As a rule the young and impatient warriors, thirsting for blood, fame and the property of the white man, to say nothing of scalps, begin to commit acts of outlawry before the plans of older heads are ripe for execution." Col. William Thompson, The Great Bannock War [excerpt from Col. William Thompson, Reminiscences of a Pioneer (1912)] _____ "Dramatic incidents are usually embellished by a woman, and no woman is capable of creating incidents of moment, involving the attention of the public, unless possessed of some extraordinary abilities or peculiar characteristics not in keeping with the usual order of her sex." The Tragic History of the Sharon Cases [excerpt from (ed.) Oscar T. Shuck, History of the bench and bar of California: being biographies of many remarkable men, a store of humorous and pathetic recollections, accounts of important legislation and extraordinary cases, comprehending the judicial history of the state (1901)] _____ "Their wonderful 'find,' the location and production of these vast deposits, added at least $150,000,000 to the wealth of the coast in three years, and made the partners richer than their wildest dreams." The Celebrated Trust Will of James G. Fair [excerpt from (ed.) Oscar T. Shuck, History of the bench and bar of California: being biographies of many remarkable men, a store of humorous and pathetic recollections, accounts of important legislation and extraordinary cases, comprehending the judicial history of the state (1901)] "A 15 mile ride in a flume down the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 35 minutes, was not one of the things contemplated on my visit to Virginia City, and it is entirely within reason to say that I shall never make the trip again." H. J. Ramsdell, The Great Nevada Flume: A Perilous Ride (1881) __________ "Our driver was of course skillful ; but had he met a wagon suddenly on rounding one of the sharp points or projections we were constantly passing, a fearful crash was unavoidable. Had his horses seen fit to run away (as they did run once, on the unhooking of a trace, but at a place where he had room to rein, them out of the road on the upper side, and thus stop them) I know that he could not have held them, and we might have been pitched headlong down a precipice of a thousand feet, where all of the concern that could have been picked up afterward would not have been worth two bits per bushel." Horace Greeley, Across Nevada by Stagecoach in 1859 (1860) [Excerpt from Horace Greeley, An overland journey, from New York to San Francisco in the summer of 1859 (1860)] __________ "Six Pikes Peakers found the body of the station-keeper horribly mutilated, the station burned, and all the stock missing from Simpson's." W. F. Bailey, The Pony Express (1898) __________ "Along the cañon are many towering, sun-burnt rocks, weather-beaten and worn into weird and fantastic shapes, and these and the swift-descending timber, splashing the water up many feet at every turn, to sparkle in the sunlight, the Carson Valley spread out below, with the Pine Nut, Walker and Sweetwater Mountains on one side, and the Sierras opposite, always attract and delight the lover of bold mountain scenery." Henry T. Williams, Touring Lake Tahoe in 1880 [Excerpt from (ed.) Henry T. Williams, The Pacific Tourist: Adams & Bishop's Illustrated Transcontinental Guide (1881)] Nevada Literature: "I went in, and went clear to the bottom. When I went down thar to the Consolidated Virginia works, I made up my mind I'd see it all -- that I'd go as far into the bowels of the yearth as it was possible to git 'thout diggin' any new holes." Dan DeQuille (William Wright), Old Hayseed in the Mines (c. 1877) "In the early days, stage-robbing was one of the most active industries on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. Not exactly a legitimate business, still it was looked on with easy tolerance even by leading citizens." Wells Drury, Knights of the Road (1936) [Excerpt from Wells Drury, An Editor on the Comstock Lode (1936)] __________ "Our animals were in fine condition for a rapid drive, and speedily emerging from this lovely retreat, we passed Eagle Ranch, and, after rounding a small spur of the mountain, we came to the river ; and at this point commences what is commonly known as " Carson Valley" -- and surely a more lovely place the sun never shone upon." Elizabeth Cornelia Woodcock Ferris, From Salt Lake City to Carson Valley by Carriage in 1853 (1856) [Excerpt from Mrs. B. G. Ferris, The Mormons at home; with some incidents of travel from Missouri to California, 1852-3 (1856)] __________ "Las Vegas, further on this way, is another famous camping ground. It is a large meadow with several springs at the head which, uniting, form quite a stream flowing through it. One of these springs is so large as to make a good bathing pool, and the water is warm and boils up with such force as to buoy the swimmer like a cork." Judge Walter Van Dyke, Overland to Los Angeles by the Salt Lake Route in 1849 (1894) __________ "We now found ourselves in the centre of Indian hostilities. Obliged to travel through the daytime with a guard posted each side of our train ready for an attack any moment. United States soldiers were patrolling the country, driving the Indians back from the track of the Pony Express." Ellery Bicknell Crane, An Overland Trip to California in the Year 1860 (1901) __________ "He spoke but once. ' They have killed me, ' then fell on his face and gasped but once. Thus fell the 'old pioneer' whose whole history and life almost is connected with the exciting and wild scenes of the west ; and when this and other generations shall have passed away the traveler will look on the snow-clad buttes, and hear of the fertile meadows that bear his name, and remember with reverence the venerable voyageur." Asa Merrill Fairfield, The Life and Death of Peter Lassen (1915) [Excerpt from Asa Merrill Fairfield, Pioneer History of Lassen County, California (1915)] __________ "The Lassen Trail was a "holy terror," so to speak." Asa Merrill Fairfield, The Lassen Trail [Excerpt from Asa Merrill Fairfield, Pioneer History of Lassen County, California (1915)] __________ "Nowhere in the world can one find greater contrasts than in this region." Robert H. Chapman, The Deserts of Nevada and Death Valley (1906) __________ "The prairie dog villages are a real curiosity. We have passed through several of them, each covering several acres, and each hole inhabited by a curious combination, consisting of the dog and a small owl and a rattlesnake." J. M. Stewart, Overland Trip to California in 1850 (1901) __________ "We did not contemplate the broad field for enterprise and adventure which we were then entering, nor did we even dream of the fact that we were upon the very threshold of the most marvelous mineral discoveries known to the world's history." Alfred James, Early Days in Washoe (1901) __________ "Mr. Rhodes and party — seven in all left alive from his party — arrived through Tehachepi Pass, or near Fort Tejon Pass, more dead than alive. These men, Martin and Townsend, got through on Kern River, and — I believe — then Walker's Pass. They were both murdered by some Spaniards afterwards." George Miller, A Trip to Death Valley in 1869 (1919) __________ "From the very first meeting of the camel and the American mule-whacker who was to be his driver there developed between the two a mutual antipathy." J. M. Guinn, Camel Caravans of the American Desert (1901) ================================================================= The Nevada Observer's Fabulous Cartoon Features !!! The Nevada Observer: Existential Art |
 |
|
|||
.jpg)
.jpg)
%20DFT.jpg)
