christopherSholes“I replied, ‘That machine is very crude, but there is an idea there that will revolutionize business.’ Mr. Remington asked, 'Do you think we ought to take it up?' I said, ‘We must on no account let it get away. It isn't necessary to tell these people that we are crazy over the invention, but I'm afraid I am pretty nearly so.’”

Before word processing, there was the typewriter.  Before Mr. Sholes's invention, handwriting was the only method of transcribing thoughts or activities of individuals.  Sure, there was the printing press, but what if you only needed one copy?  Millions of typewriters were sold in the ensuing years, until they were displaced by the personal computer.  American ingenuity and production capability made it all possible.

As the fire had been intentionally placed a little distance from Joe’s feet, in order that he might first feel its discomforting heat, thereby prolonging the torture, he had time to yell vigorously, this being his only hope of rescue from sudden death, considering all the while a possibility of so provoking the Indians that they would kill him outright. 
 
Dime novel exploits, or historical facts?  With many of the Mountain Men of the late nineteenth century, fact and fiction blend together, forming a thrilling, if sometimes questionable history.  California Joe was a trapper, miner, scout and all-around tough guy at a time and place where surviving meant having a few stories to tell.
 

"Perceiving that the force of the arrow had been neutralized, I drew a heavy holster pistol, and wheeling half round in my saddle, pointed it at the Apaches.  This caused them to fall back in some alarm, and I took advantage of that fact to redouble my speed."

In the old west, a good horse was sometimes the difference between life and death.  Written by Major John Cremony, who served most of his military career in the Southwest and personally knew Apache Chiefs Mangas Coloradas and Cochise. He was the first white man to become fluent in Apache, publishing the first written compilation of their language.

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