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Posts tagged as “essays”

Shemia, Yuki Warrior

Shemia, a Yuki warrior, died in February, 1885. He was probably in his forties or early fifties at the time of his demise. His death…

The Knife Fight

I directed the actor Slim Pickens in a TV spot for the Forest Service one time. He was an actual cowboy in his early years…

Rope-a-Doping the Army

There is an unsung hero in the Presidio mutiny saga — an honest journalist named Barry Farrell — and an unremarked turning point. In February…

Basket Case

I’ve always thought basketball the most American of sports. Baseball purports to be the “national pastime,” but it is similar to English cricket, indeed, likely…

Covid Confidential

Really, I had no idea. We’re all ambitious in my family, but hardly any of my cousins have become as famous as me. Visiting every…

The Shrum Murder Mystery (Part 2)

Previously, we examined the murder of A.J. Shrum in his Round Valley field one evening in July, 1878. The authorities decided the deed was committed…

Culinary Chaos in History

“Drunken Woodsmen Wreck Cookhouse-Raise Hades at Little Valley Camp.” That’s what a headline in the Mendocino Beacon reported in the November 23, 1918 issue. This…

Defending the Mutineers

A soldier being court-martialed is entitled to an Army defender plus “counsel of choice.” Fourteen of the 27 Presidio stockade prisoners who had been read…

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