Oakie's NW Corner...
 This
week found me catching up and playing some friendly games (approach
& retreat) with my horses this week. So what else is new,
huh?
I have been trying a different strategy this week. Instead of walking
directly to my horses, trying to catch him/her to halter -- I have
been walking about half way (or standing at the fence) and
waiting for them to get curious and come to me. It has been working
great so far.
Early this week I was out in the pasture doing some approach and
retreat games with my broodmare (Cindy) and her new sorrel
colt this week. It was fantastic! Cindy come up to me 4 or 5 times
and let me rub on her. Towards the end of the morning, she let her
new colt come near me and do the sniffing, licking thing. All the
while I was watching the mare -- her ears alert but not flattened
-- her eyes watching every move I made -- petting, talking my sweet,
soft talk to her -- rewarding with apple treats for the positive
actions, reactions. With my other hand I got to touch the new li'l
colt on the nose, forehead. Oooooh! It was so soft, delicate. Cindy
did NOT even try to come between the colt and me, either.
The reason I was out in the pasture, was because I was taking pictures
of the Clark's new stud colts & fillys that have been born the
last few weeks. I do carry my carrot stick (arm extension) and use
the blocking techniques I learned at Parelli's to keep the horses
from crowding my space. As always -- respecting their space as well
by sticking out my welcome arm gesture to ask permission to come
into theirs. This Communication, Trust and Respect is just as it
is in any relationship you might be in -- NOT just a horse relationship!
A few readers did send a couple of possible names for my new li'l
sorrel colt. For your info, the colt is a stud... Just in case you
wanted to know. I have not really decided what I will call him,
but his father does have some "Docs" & a lot of "Leo"
in its blood lineage. So... Docs will be apart of the name. Whether
it is Docs Big Al, Docs Li'l Al or Docs Sorrel
Sky or a combination... I don't know yet! I may wait a few months
and see what characteristics start showing, popping up in this new
young stud colt. If you have any suggestions, I would be glad to
hear about them. Just Email
Linda and let me know what's on your mind.
I hope I haven't bored you with talking about my pride and joy
-- the horses in my life. I guess I should send you on your way
to Alva's 1st Homicide
- 1910. Don't forget about Memorial Weekend and Decoration Day.
Let us remember those who served and fought for the Freedoms we
sometimes take for granted. See you all next weekend (June 1st
-- Alva is having its Annual Nescatunga Arts Festival on the downtown
square). I am off this weekend pay my respect to my ancestors
in NW Oklahoma.
~~ Linda "OaKie" ~~
NW Mystery Corner...
This week I have more questions to lay upon you concerning Alva's
First Homicide - 9 November 1910 (Old
Opera House Murder). Are you ready to put on your thinking cap
and keep an opening mind?
One is about the Black Hand letters that Mabel Oakes received
while she was working for Nelson L. Miller. Miller testified that
Mabel had delivered to him over 40 to 50 Black Hand letters that
she had received. Miller, upon Mabel's request, turned those letters
over to his attorney Erskine Snoddy. A few of those Black Hand letters
made it into the Defense
Exhibits 2-15.
A couple in particular caught my attention and curiosity... It
was listed as Exhibit No. 3 -- It reads as follows...
"I have another communication for your bootlegging
friends. Tell them that all of the booze they get here this summer
will not be of much good to them. Tell Goodwine that it will be
WAR to the DEATH for that beer. We will not be BEAT. We shall
WIN. As for you, you are certainly a fool and are watched the
same as, Miller, Shaw, Virden, Shafer, Burge, Goodwine and others."
We know who Miller is they speak of, but who were Virden, Shafer,
Burge, Goodwine and the others?
The other Black Hand letter offered by the defense was Exhibit
No. 11 -- It reads as follows...
"Mabel Oaks. When you read this letter you
will be worse surprised than you ever were in all of your previous
life. I want to say now that I am the writer of all those notes
you have been receiving and now I want to explain my conduct to
you. I am a member of a band, you may call it whatever you like,
but I am the same as a slave and I am forced to do all the bad
work. You made enemies of the band when you defied them about
that bootlegging deal and they then resolved to kidnap you and
keep you for a purpose that is worse than death. I wrote the notes
but I swear to you that I never knew who you were until today.
I knew nothing of you excepting your name and though I have often
seen you I did not know you were the intended victim. So believe
me and do as I tell you. They have decided to make the attempt
to capture you tomorrow night (Friday) or Sat. night. So be prepared
and have help. I ask you to keep this for they would kill me if
they knew I told you. The only reason I have in telling you this
is because I love you and will do anything possible to save you.
I have often tried to meet you but failed. I suppose you would
hate me if you knew me personally and I could not stand that so
I am going to leave here and lead a better life. I would be willing
to die if I could for one day only say you were my wife. But that
cannot be so I will leave and try to forget you. You know there
is always some honor among thieves and this is the only honorable
thing I can do. I wish your life to be all happiness. protect
yourself tonight and tomorrow and forgive me if possible. Good-bye
dear." Yours till death, Anamous
Were these black hand letters written by the extreme religious
right that was determined to use scare tactics and violence to rid
this northwest Woods County community of the bootlegging joints?
Was this a Mafia-based religious secret society in this northwest
Oklahoma community?
My Other Questions are... Who sent these so called Black
Hand letters that Mabel received? Was Miss Oakes being used as a
spy against the bootleggers in the area? Did this secret society
have something to do with Miss Oakes' black eye, bruises, abrasions
on the left side of her face a few days before her death?
In Miller's Testimony and other defense witnesses testimony it
was stated that Mabel had broken her arm a couple of times -- December,
1909 & March, 1910 -- taking off a month of work each time.
It is somewhat very curious, strange that she seemed to break her
arm twice in such a short period of time. Was she accident prone?
Was it the result of one of her sinking spells? ...OR... Was it
the result of some roughing up by the band of the Black Hand group
that allegedly sent Mabel Oakes the threatening letters? Who really
did send those Black Hand letters. Click
Here to review, reread the defense's exhibits of those threatening
letters.
Another Question is... Who is Dan Fletcher and Fred Frederickson
that were being held in the Woods County jail during Miller's murder
trial. Why were they fugitives from justice?
As you read, re-read this week's Defense's
Witness Testimonies and if you have time to do a Timeline
of N. L. Miller's goings and comings, 9 November 1910 (Alva's
1st Homicide), let us all know what you come up with. CLICK
HERE to review, re-read Miller's Testimony. Thanks!
|
May 5-10, 2002
My Horse Savvy Mates
This is how we started our day after
early morning breakfast and feeding, watering our horses each
morning. We would gather in a circle on the volleyball sand pit
to get instructions and see if any of us had any flashing observations
from the previous day of working, learning horse.
It was a great group of people,
instructors and a positive learning experience.
If you are a horse-lover, save up
for and enroll yourself and your horse in Parelli's week-long
or two week-long horse camp. It will make a positive impact on
your life and your horse's life.
I went in there with hardly any knowledge
of horses and came out with a new way of communicating and earning
my horse's respect.
Black Hand Definition...
According to Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition. 2001),
the definition of Black
Hand -- "Symbol and name for a criminal and terroristic
secret society, especially associated with the Mafia and the Camorra.
The Black Hand flourished in Sicily in the late 19th century
-- in the United States it was especially active in New York City
at the beginning of the 20th century. It is estimated that at one
time 90% of New York City’s Italian population was blackmailed
by letters threatening death and marked with a black hand.
Famous incidents associated with the Black Hand include the
murder (1890) in New Orleans of chief of police Daniel Hennessy
and the shooting (1909), in Palermo, Italy, of Lt. Joseph Petrosino
of the New York City police."
I have some other Links concerning the Black
Hand history in the Mailbag & Links Corner below.
Menu:
Linda K McGill Wagner
c/o WWW Publishing Co
PO Box 619, Bayfield, CO 81122
Thanks! You can also view The OkieLegacy online. Copyrighted © 2008 by WWWPubCo & OkieLegacy.
All Rights Reserved.
|
Mailbag & Links Corner....
Miller's
Testimony (1911)... "Mercy! I agree
with you, Miller's memory seems very clear on some points and elusive
in other questions - but he also seems to have his story kind of jumbled
up at times. Boy did the prosecutor really trip him up several times,
huh? The notes, evidence (exhibits) are very interesting, too! "
Miller Verdict from a Reader - Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!...
"Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! And STUPID! Why is he
on the stand? But, what else could his counsel do? He should have
been incarcerated 20 years just for being so damned dumb ... not to
mention the 20 years he should have served for thinking he was so
smart he could talk his way out of anything ... not to mention the
life term he should have served for doing in poor Mable ... I've got
to read this again. I want to plot out on a time line where he said
he went and when he said he went wherever he said he went. I can't
believe the jury didn't rise up en masse and hang him from the court
room ceiling just for being so dumb that he would tell his tale and
expect they or anyone were stoopid enough to believe him."
 Thomas
Jefferson Dyer... "Linda, I response to your question
have you ever read anything about Thomas Jefferson Dyer. YES! He is
my Great-great Grandfather. I have read The History of Oklahoma
and Old Kiowa.I have also read numerous articles from when
he wrote for the newspaper, which due to a tornado on the 17th of
last month were all blown away from my parents home north of Elk City.
My great-grandmother and grandmother both saved these articles for
many years. There was also a book The History of Oklahoma that
had a page on him that was also blown away. Check out this web site
- Thomas
Jefferson Dyer - it has some good information on him. Yes,
his father-in-law was the Pilgirm Bard, Scott Cummins." -- Contact
Jenny White, Weatherford, OK
Editor's Note: Jennie sent more photographs of Thomas Jefferson
Dyer and his family that was taken around 1895 and 1912. 1895 - Click
the following links to view the 1895
- Thomas Jefferson Dyer -- 1912
The Dyers Family (top row left to right: Lillian Eldred, Thomas
Jefferson and Tommy).
Great Mugshot... "Hi
ya kid (what a great "mug shot" and BEAUTIFUL picture you
took of the bridge!) Hey, I really liked the way you handled the (Miller)
testimony! Give a synopsis and let us read the tedious testimony
ourselves - IF we want to and when we want to. Works MUCH better that
way. If you hadn't sent me (the privileged preview, I wouldn't have
known what the notes or the testimony said (don't have a word processing
application on this rented laptop - which is driving me CRAZY!).
Man, some of those notes were really - really nasty and threatening,
weren't they? Anyway, wanted you to know I thought your methodology
for the testimony was great!"
 Blackwell,
OK - Dodge Brothers Auto... "Linda,
found this on eBay & [I know you will agree] --- You don't
have to be from Oklahoma to love this one. Huge 1920's gelatin print
photograph mounted in the style of a cabinet card depicting the MURDOCK
MOTOR COMPANY -- Dealers in Dodge Brothers Motor Cars. Their showroom
and lot, with all the employees standing in the front holding their
Thanksgiving turkeys!  A
wonderful photograph showing the entire Blackwell, Oklahoma Murdock
Motor Company staff standing under a DODGE BROTHERS MOTOR CARS
sign, proudly displaying the Thanksgiving turkeys they were given
by the owners of the dealership! There are car salesmen, mechanics,
and drivers, dressed in their respective uniforms of the day, all
holding large turkeys that have been plucked and are ready for the
oven! The automobile lot can be seen to the right with its inventory
of new Dodge motor cars." ~~ Eric Wells, Charlotte, NC
Paul Larence Dunbar...
"I Really Love Paul Larence Dunbar's Writtings. I am so glad
someone realy thinks so highly that they would allow someone like
me to research Paul Dunbar." -- Contact
Curtis C. Davis
Editor's Note: You can visit my Grandmother's
Legacy to view a poem (Spring
Wooing) written by Paul L. Dunbar and Other
Website Links concerning Paul L. Dunbar's writings.
History
of the Mafia... "The origins of the secret society known
as the Mafia are believed to be as old as the 9th century. During
that period the island of Sicily was occupied by Arab forces. The
original inhabitants were oppressed, and needed places of refuge to
escape to. The word 'Mafia' means 'refuge' in Arabic. When the Normans
invaded Sicily in the 11th century, the native tribes were once again
oppressed and forced into labor on the large estates their rulers
created. Once again, the only way to escape this fate was to seek
refuge in the hills of the island. During every subsequent invasion
of Sicily, the refuges established in earlier centuries were sought
out again ..... By the 19th century the Mafia had grown vast and strong
and where it initially had been a small, partisan organization, it
had turned into a large, criminally oriented society, ignoring all
forms of authority except their own. At this time the most common
form of extortion was the practice of handing out Black Hand
notes, which had started in the 1700s. These notes, handed
to wealthy citizens, were polite requests for an amount of money in
return for protection. Of course, the only people that these victims
needed protection against were the same criminals who handed them
these notes. If the victims did not comply with these requests, they
and their family could usually expect violence, kidnapping, bombings,
and murder to be used against them as convincing arguments."
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Cundiff - Conover Connection...
"Hi, I saw your information posted online. I am
kin to Alora Cundiff through her mother's family. (The Rutherfords)
Do you have a way for me to reach Alora? I don't even know what her
last name is now." -- Contact
Todd Young, Plano, TX
Editor's Note: You can view my family genealogy
for the Conover-Cundiff Connection by visiting ParisTimes
Pioneers Genealogy and Clicking on the Conover
Surnames.
New Colt's Name... "Alazan' is the english
to spanish translation from babelfish for 'sorrel', which then translates
from spanish to english as 'chestnut'. Think about Alazan as a name
for your new baby. I can't wait to see what this colt looks like in
a year or so, with the coloring on his legs and the mark on his forehead.
I love his shape. He looks like he's going to be something special.
If I had a place for him and some company for him, I'd start trying
to talk you out of him right now."
Padding the Ballot
Box... "Grandmare, your new baby sorrel
colt is beautiful. I'm trying to pad the ballot box with another vote
for the name 'Alazan' pronounced either with all the a's
sounding like 'ah' or with the a's sounding as the a
in 'can'. You could call him Al for short; Big Al
when he grows up. Didn't Paul Simon sing: I can be your buddy,
you can call me Al? I love Alazan ... It sounds regal and exotic.
Pleeeeze consider this name before all others." -- DeBeneEsse,
West Bank Of Weaselskin Creek
Sorrel Sky... "Linda,
I started an e-mail and didn't get it finished so don't know where
I left off. It says it got sent so here is the rest. The new art gallery
in Durango was opened by one of Jack's former students and she named
it Sorrell Sky because she had a sorrell horse when she was
little. So I am submitting Sorrell Sky since you already have a moon."
-- Ann
Freedom's
(Oklahoma) Cowboy Cemetery... Reuben
Bristow's Grave -- "As a cousin of Reuben
Bristow, I'm delighted to find the location of his grave. Reuben and
Charlie Colcord were cousins, both from Bourbon County, Kentucky.
I have posted a brief sketch of Reuben on my Bristow Notes website:
Bristow
Homepage. I'll be in Oklahoma this June and stop by to pay my
respects."-- Contact
Neil Allen Bristow
Your New Colt... That colt of yours is beautiful
(at least the coloring sure is! I don't know squat about horses but
I know what I like to see and he is cute! I love the way the white
legs fade into the brown and the white .... uh, muzzle is so striking.
Cute."
Royal Gorge & Savvy Mates... "LK, I
like the picture of you at the Royal Gorge and the bigger picture
of the bridge and its surrounds.
I wish you had included the postcard you sent me of the Ma, 2002 picture
of you and your Savvy-mates and their horses. Maybe you could put
that picture in next week. I enlarged it and it alternates with my
other favorites as wallpaper." -- DeBeneEss, WB of WC
Editor's Note: OK! OK! OK! Is this the picture
you are speaking? The one showing Big George wearing my Parellie
cap. The couple to the left are husband & wife taking the course
together, from Provo, Utah. I am the one with the scraggly, sorrel
mane, standing at knee level, in blue denim shirt. The gentleman to
the right is from Durango and is the Deputy Sheriff. I'm still trying
to place the lady in black shirt to the right. It will come to me
later. I am sure.
History
Channel - History of Memorial Day...
"Memorial Day is much more than a three-day weekend that marks
the beginning of summer. To many people, especially the nation's thousands
of combat veterans, this day, which has a history stretching back
all the way to the Civil War, is an important reminder of those who
died in the service of their country."
Memorial
or Decoration Day... "Memorial Day was originally known
as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the Nation's
Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed
on May 30,1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers,
by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the
Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. An 1880
Memorial Day parade on Riverside Drive in New York City. The
30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with
flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in
defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies
now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the
land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts
and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and
testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit." -- History
Channel Website
Black
Hand Secret Society of Serbia (1911)... "In May
1911, ten men in Serbia formed the Black Hand Secret Society. Early
members included Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the chief of the Intelligence
Department of the Serbian General Staff, Major Voja Tankosic and Milan
Ciganovic. The main objective of the Black Hand was the creation,
by means of violence, of a Greater Serbia. Its stated aim was: "To
realize the national ideal, the unification of all Serbs. This organisation
prefers terrorist action to cultural activities; it will therefore
remain secret."
Black
Hand History... "There also came with the decent,
hardworking men a few of the criminal element. In their homeland they
had been a part of a "society of honor," stressing loyalty
and obedience to their leaders and strict secrecy, but exhibiting
cruelty and ruthlessness in their dealings. In America the society
had been given the name "Black Hand," because those reluctant
to comply with society demands were warned by means of the imprint
of a black hand." |
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