Post by BigLoad on Sept 20, 2015 10:28:42 GMT -8
When I was in Idaho in July, I picked up "Wilderness Brothers", subtitled "Prospecting, Horse Packing, & Homesteading on the Western Frontier" by G. Wayne Minshall. It is distilled from the diaries of Luman G. Caswell written over 1895-1905. The author is a retired professor of ecology and stream ecosystems who did a lot of his field work by horse-packing into the area of the Caswell's homestead, which gave him good perspective on the difficulty of horse-aided work and travel in the area.
Caswell and his brother Ben, born in Michigan at the close of the civil war, wandered west and mined in Colorado before deciding to take a chance on Idaho, ultimately settling in the heart of the Frank Church wilderness, where they ranched and mined, and were eventually joined by more brothers and half-brothers. There had been some settlement in the area prior to that, but their operation became larger, more stable, and more successful than those around them.
I found this book utterly fascinating, although others would consider it as monotonous as daily farm chores , because that is essentially what it documents. While it contains only the tiniest fragments of actual diary quotes, and is mostly a summary with explication of very limited source material. The author outlines the family's origins and journey to their eventual homestead, after which the narrative settles in to describing a series of time chunks (a days, a weeks, months, or seasons). The chores include tools and saddles made and repaired; logs sawed; cabins, bridges, and fences built; ground plowed; ditches dug; crops planted, tended, and sowed; hunting, trapping, and tanning; horses bought, borrowed, tended, and shod; and food prepared. The arrival of mail and writing of letters is also highlighted. The mailman usually stayed a day or two when he got there, during which Luman often spent nearly the whole time writing letters. He also paid the mailman as much as $15 per visit.
It further describes all visitors and helpers, commercial transactions (food, gear, horses, and mine proceeds), trade with neighboring homesteaders and miners, and best of all, travel in all seasons between the homestead and the mines, neighbors, and distant towns by various routes that were still quite primitive at the time. It was interesting that they traveled as much as they did in the winter. It was also surprising how much mileage they could rack up on foot with homemade backpacks. There are about 20 photos from the time period.
It was interesting to watch the mix of activities evolve as the Caswell's bootstrapped their operation from pocket change to prosperity. The book also briefly but poignantly covers their marriages and subsequent lives in less detail, mainly from other sources. I won't give away how it all played out, but despite their apparent self-sufficiency, they weren't entirely buffered from global economic forces from WW I and beyond.
This book is best for those prone to reading between the lines, because in sticking to the daily details, the author lets the big picture remain mostly implicit, which in some ways underplays the big stories involved. Those who don't like to spend much time thinking beyond the words on the page may be bored to tears.
Caswell and his brother Ben, born in Michigan at the close of the civil war, wandered west and mined in Colorado before deciding to take a chance on Idaho, ultimately settling in the heart of the Frank Church wilderness, where they ranched and mined, and were eventually joined by more brothers and half-brothers. There had been some settlement in the area prior to that, but their operation became larger, more stable, and more successful than those around them.
I found this book utterly fascinating, although others would consider it as monotonous as daily farm chores , because that is essentially what it documents. While it contains only the tiniest fragments of actual diary quotes, and is mostly a summary with explication of very limited source material. The author outlines the family's origins and journey to their eventual homestead, after which the narrative settles in to describing a series of time chunks (a days, a weeks, months, or seasons). The chores include tools and saddles made and repaired; logs sawed; cabins, bridges, and fences built; ground plowed; ditches dug; crops planted, tended, and sowed; hunting, trapping, and tanning; horses bought, borrowed, tended, and shod; and food prepared. The arrival of mail and writing of letters is also highlighted. The mailman usually stayed a day or two when he got there, during which Luman often spent nearly the whole time writing letters. He also paid the mailman as much as $15 per visit.
It further describes all visitors and helpers, commercial transactions (food, gear, horses, and mine proceeds), trade with neighboring homesteaders and miners, and best of all, travel in all seasons between the homestead and the mines, neighbors, and distant towns by various routes that were still quite primitive at the time. It was interesting that they traveled as much as they did in the winter. It was also surprising how much mileage they could rack up on foot with homemade backpacks. There are about 20 photos from the time period.
It was interesting to watch the mix of activities evolve as the Caswell's bootstrapped their operation from pocket change to prosperity. The book also briefly but poignantly covers their marriages and subsequent lives in less detail, mainly from other sources. I won't give away how it all played out, but despite their apparent self-sufficiency, they weren't entirely buffered from global economic forces from WW I and beyond.
This book is best for those prone to reading between the lines, because in sticking to the daily details, the author lets the big picture remain mostly implicit, which in some ways underplays the big stories involved. Those who don't like to spend much time thinking beyond the words on the page may be bored to tears.
