Joseph Isaac Clanton, The Cowboys Outlaw Who Got Away & 5 Free Chapters

Joseph 'Ike' Isaac Clanton

 Joseph Isaac Clanton (1847-1887), most well-known simply as Ike Clanton, was a heavy drinker, possessed a quick temper and tended to talk too much. But he lives in infamy because he was an enemy of Wyatt Earp. 

This enmity was triggered in 1880 when Wyatt learned Ike and his ranch hands stole his horse. Wyatt and friend Doc Holliday rode out with legal papers from Tombstone to the Clanton Ranch in Charleston, Arizona Territory, to retrieve it. 

This so angered Ike that a lifelong war started between them.

During the confrontation, insolent eighteen-year-old Billy Clanton handed the

Billy Clanton

horse over to Wyatt with the snide remark, “You got any more horses to lose?” That didn't sit well either.

Ike Clanton was one of seven children born to Newman and Maria Clanton. His father ‘Old Man Clanton’ worked as a day laborer, gold miner, farmer, and later a cattleman in Arizona Territory. Old Man Clanton allowed a group of outlaws known as The Cowboys to base their operation on his Arizona ranch.

The animosity between Ike and Wyatt grew through several different conflicts. 

In October 1880, Wyatt Earp arrested William ‘Curly Bill’ Brocius, one of The Cowboys, for the murder of Tombstone marshal Fred White. When Brocius was found not guilty, tensions intensified.

Wyatt Earp

Wyatt believed The Cowboys were involved in a bungled stagecoach robbery in March 1881. Two men on the stage were killed. Ike Clanton blamed Doc Holliday instead.

In July 1881, Curly Bill Brocius and gunfighter Johnny Ringo headed for New Mexico to kill two brothers, William and Isaac Haslett. A few weeks earlier Cowboy members Bill Leonard and Harry Head died during an attempted robbery at the Haslett brothers’ general store.

Later that month, Curly Bill led an ambush against a Mexican trail herd at San Luis Pass. They killed six vaqueros and tortured eight.*

William 'Curly Bill' Brocius

When Old Man Clanton died in the Guadalupe Canyon Massacre of August 1881, Curly Bill took over The Cowboys. 

Some have portrayed the town of Tombstone as living in fear of The Cowboys. This was not the case. With the exception of Ike Clanton, who was widely disliked, most of The Cowboys were seen as harmless or merely a nuisance.
All of that changed with the gunfight at the OK Corral on Lot #22, Block 17. 

On a cold day, Wednesday afternoon, October 26th, 1881, 3:00 p.m., in Tombstone on a lot eighteen feet wide, over thirty shots were fired. In thirty seconds. Three Clantons were killed. 

Unarmed Ike Clanton ran away without firing a shot. 

The Earps and Doc Holliday hated him the most, but they didn’t shoot him. After all, he had no weapon. That’s the way things were done in the Old West. The Code. 

Ike Clanton's run-ins with the law were not over. Charged with cattle rustling,

Ike Clanton

Ike and his brother Fin were cornered by detective Jonas V. Brighton on June 1, 1887, in Springerville, Arizona. Fin Clanton surrendered. Ike resisted and was shot dead.

*My husband Stephen once hiked into the canyon where the Mexican smugglers were ambushed. Don’t think of these smugglers as evil, violent men. They were usually merchants who wanted to bypass the often corrupt officials at custom houses on both sides of the border.

Stephen mentioned this ambush, a part of the backstory of the OK Corral gunfight, in cowboy poetry he wrote entitled, “Ridin’ The Divide.” You can find it here: http://www.blybooks.com/2015/11/ridin-the-divide-cowboy-poetry/

~~~~~~~~

Janet Chester Bly

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Janet Chester Bly has written and co-written 32 books with her late husband, Christy Award winning western author Stephen Bly. She and her three sons completed Stephen’s last historical novel for him, Book 7 of the Stuart Brannon Series: Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot. Can a committee write historical fiction? The Bly family had a four month deadline to find out. Read about the story of the writing process here: http://www.blybooks.com/category/finishing-dads-novel/. Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot, a Selah Award Finalist, is set near Portland, Oregon in 1905.

Wind in the Wires, Book 1, Trails of Reba Cahill, is her first solo adult novel. It’s

Wind in the Wires
Trails of Reba Cahill Series

a 1991 western mystery. It’s a road adventure with a touch of romance. It’s Cowgirl Lit. Janet is working on Book 2 now with a scheduled Spring 2016 release.

More info about the Blys here: http://www.BlyBooks.com  

Free! 5 Chapters of Wind in the Wires to receive right now when you sign up for Bly Books Almost Monthly News here: https://blybooks.leadpages.net/5-chapters-witw-optin/

Cowboy Girls & Their Hats

Cowboy Girls in back row
with Will Rogers

Ever heard of cowboy girls before? The first half of the 20th Century, they didn’t call themselves cowgirls. They insisted on the term cowboy girl. You can usually spot the era of a cowboy girl by the hat she wore. 

Cowboy girls participated in the famous Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show. In 1906 women’s hats were wide brimmed, just like the fancy ones from Paris. Split skirts were acceptable in the show and gals who had the nerve to wear pants were considered real daredevils. 

Cowboy girl hats got even bigger in the 1920s. By then they were active in

rodeos. Not just racing around barrels, but riding bucking stock as well. Fake cowboy girl models wore costumes. The pose, the bare forearms, the make-up, and especially the huge, floppy hats gave them away. Just like today, you could go into a photography studio and dress up in an old-time looking photo. Gals that never got bucked off in their lives could, for a few moments, pretend to be cowboy girls, like the gal in the poem below.

Multi-tasking cowboy girls during WWII or right after, would wear the hat, ride the saddle, and carry a babe in their arms. In some parts of the West, this phenomenon continued into the early 1950s. She and little Buster rode down to meet the mailman to see if hubby sent her a letter from Europe or the Pacific or even Korea.

By the late 1940s and early 1950s, cowboy girl hats were changing and by 1960 small hats worked well on barrel racers. Today cowboy girls wear the same hat as the cowboys. If she is a professional barrel racer like the legendary Charmayne James, she’ll wear a black, beaver-felt, Resistol hat. My husband

Barrel Racer Charmayne James
with her horse, Scamper

Stephen and I watched Charmayne win several national championships and have an autographed photo of her on the bunkhouse wall. 



The Cowboy Girl
Stephen Bly

She wants to be a cowboy girl,
and sit in the saddle tall
Wearin’ chaps and floppy wide-brimmed hat
when she gathers them cows in the fall.

She wants to perch by an open range fire
sippin’ coffee from a cup of tin
Swappin’ stories with the boys about the roundups they’ve seen
and all of the places where they’ve been.

She wants to bend over the coals ‘til the iron is red
and the burnt cowhide begins to smell
Settle them down on the bedground at night
and listen for the cookie’s bell.

Cowboy Girl Wanna-Be

She wants to stretch her blankets on level ground
right under the full moon’s stare
Then go someplace to find a hot shower
and slowly wash her hair.

She wants to settle down between clean white sheets
and maybe get a teddy bear hug
And dream of ridin’ the range far and wide
in a land without snake or bug.

Oh, she wants to be a cowboy girl
with a whoop and a ty-yii-yea!
But she’s hopin’ that her mascara don’t run
and she ain’t havin’ a bad hair day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Janet Chester Bly

Janet Chester Bly has authored 32 nonfiction and fiction books, 20 she co-authored with Christy Award winning western author Stephen Bly. Stuart Brannon's Final Shot, Stephen’s last novel, was completed by Janet and their three sons--Russell, Michael, and Aaron--and was a Selah Award Finalist. Janet resides at 4200 ft. elev. on the Idaho Nez Perce Indian Reservation. 
Website: www.BlyBooks.com  
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“For me, history is not the story of grand ideas, or broad sweeps describing movements, events or social progress. History is the story of individual people. Not all are famous, but all do help define who we are today, and why we think and act the way we do.”

-- Stephen Bly

Pancho Villa: Outlaw or Hero?

Pancho Villa in the center

At 2:30 a.m., March 9, 1916, Pancho Villa and 500 men attacked the 13th U.S. Cavalry at Camp Furlong near Columbus, New Mexico, the first attack on American soil since 1812. Despite prior knowledge that Villa and his men pillaged, raped, and murdered their way toward the border, the cavalry was caught by surprise.

Reasons for the cavalry’s sluggishness? Some of the troops had been drinking. But more important, all of their rifles were chained and locked in gun racks. Even so, the cavalry managed to get organized and fought off the Villistas, killing many in the process.

During their retreat, the Villistas stopped at Columbus, New Mexico for a looting and window shooting spree. For three hours, bullets struck houses amid shouts in the streets of “Viva Villa! Viva Mexico! Muerte a los Americanos!” They were among the first to shout, “Death to Americans!”

The town was set on fire. Villa’s men gained nothing beyond a few dollars and some merchandise from the burnt stores. The terror continued until about 7:00 a.m. when Villa finally rode away. The smoke-filled streets of Columbus littered with the dead and wounded, fourteen American soldiers and ten civilians were killed in the raid.

Controversial Francisco “Pancho” Villa’s original name was Doroteo Arango (June 5,

Pancho Villa
the revolutionary

1878 – July 20, 1923). The son of a sharecropper farmer, he became a Mexican revolutionary and guerrilla leader. When Villa was 15, his father died, so Villa worked to protect and help support his mother and four siblings. One day he discovered the owner of the hacienda attacking his sister. He shot the man and ran for the mountains, spending six years on the run. There he joined a group of fugitives.

He changed his name while on the run to avoid getting caught by authorities. In the late 1890s, he worked as a miner in Chihuahua in addition to selling stolen cattle. He soon added more serious crimes to his record: robbing banks and stealing from the wealthy.

Though he started as a bandit, he was later inspired by reformer Francisco Modero and helped him win the Mexican Revolution. After a coup by Victoriano Herta, Villa opposed the dictator and fought many battles against him. He was a very effective revolutionary leader. However, in May 1911, Villa resigned from command because of differences he had with another commander, Pascual Orozco, Jr.

Pancho Villa
the folk hero 

On May 29, 1911, Villa married Maria Luz Corral and tried to settle down to a quiet life, although she was not the only woman in his life. Unfortunately, political unrest again appeared in Mexico. Villa gathered troops and chose his sides. He was almost executed when accused of stealing a horse but got a last minute reprieve. He was imprisoned but later escaped.

Villa won battle after battle during the next several years. Then Mexico became embroiled in a civil war. The United States supported Villa’s enemy, Venustiano Carranza. Thus, the attack on the town of Columbus, New Mexico happened as reprisal.

On May 20, 1920, Carranza was assassinated and Adolfo De la Huerta became the interim president of Mexico. De la Huerta wanted peace in Mexico so negotiated with Villa for his retirement. Part of the peace agreement was that Villa would receive a hacienda in Chihuahua. But he enjoyed only a short retirement.

On July 20, 1923, though Villa usually traveled with a number of bodyguards, this

Pancho Villa & Maria Luz Corral

time he went with only four associates. On his drive home, in a 1919 Dodge roadster that can be viewed at the Historical Museum of the Mexican Revolution, someone shouted out "Viva Villa!" and seven riflemen fired more than forty bullets into the car. His body was found with his hand reaching for his gun. He was 45 years old.

Pancho Villa retired

By stealing from the rich and often giving to the poor, some saw Pancho Villa as a modern-day Robin Hood. Villa captured the imagination of many Americans and his exploits were regularly filmed by a Hollywood movie company. He even signed a contract with Hollywood’s Mutual Film Company (1913) to have several of his battles filmed. Some report he advocated for the poor and wanted agrarian reform. Though he was a killer, a bandit, and a revolutionary leader, many remember him also as a folk hero.

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What do you think? Is Pancho Villa a bad guy or good guy? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janet Chester Bly

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Janet Chester Bly has written and co-written 32 nonfiction and fiction books with her late husband, award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Her published works include Wind in the Wires, Book 1, Trails of Reba Cahill. She is now working on Book 2 to be released later this fall. Find out more at website: http://www.BlyBooks.com  or blog: http://www.blybooks.com/blog/

Excerpt from Stephen Bly's novel, Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon:

Bronc hooted. “I asked Big Margarita to marry me six times one night.”

Cowboy For a Rainy Afternoon

Shorty sat straight up and yanked off his hat. “You did?”

“Yep. Her and every other woman in the cantina that night.”
“And they all turned you down?” I asked.
Bronc grinned. “It was my lucky night.”
Quirt balanced his revolver on the worn slick knee of his suit pants. I couldn’t tell if he had bullets in five or all six chambers. “I heard she cold-cocked one of Pancho Villa’s men when they made that raid across the border.”
“She cold-cocked his horse,” Shorty reported.
I swallowed hard and jammed my cap gun back into the holster. “His horse?”
“Yep. That Mexican hit the ground runnin’ toward the border. He might still be running,” Shorty said. “Not even Villa could face the wrath of Big Margarita with a lead pipe in her hand.”
“Is she the ole gal who gave you that black eye?” Granddaddy asked.
Shorty sighed. “Two of them.”
“She gave you two black eyes?” I quizzed.
Shorty shrugged. “Little Brother, some men is slow learners.” 

Mind Your P’s & Q’s: Cowboy Slang On the Trail & Giveaway!

Cowboy Slang

When writing about the Old West, colorful cowboy speak adds atmosphere and realism to the story. It’s part of the charm and atmosphere of the Old West. A touch of twang, slang, and jargon validates authentic dialogue. But too much reeks of amateur writing and stereotype characters.

Ever since a man rode a horse, there has been cowboy wisdom growing out of lifestyle and language. I’ve listed a sampling of some P’s & Q’s that include inspired cowboy lingo that could also convey life lessons to build character. 

Cowboy Speak & Westernisms in P’s & Q’s

Placed his saddle in the wagon … referred to a fired cowboy no longer worked for the ranch. Most likely the origin based on the fact that the cowhand owned his saddle but the horse belonged to the boss. When he was asked to put his saddle in the wagon, he was let go and would be driven back to town. Sometimes failures make us feel like we’re being dumped in that fashion. But it can also lead to another job, another chance at a reassignment to do it right.

Prospector legends

Prospector … a person engaged in exploring for valuable minerals. Believed there was a good chance worthy unearthed treasures could be uncovered with hard work, perseverance, mineral savvy, and hope of discovery. Some dug for years with varying results on the spectrum from desolation to rich finds. Provided morality tales, parables, myths and legends, and multitudes of incredible stories around campfires.

Prunes and Proverbs … as in, “like she was raised on prunes and proverbs.” A judgement on how a person looks rather than their abilities or character. Think frumpy, no makeup or jewelry, horned rim glasses. Drives an old white Buick. That type can surprise you though, if you take the time to talk with them. Comedy romance movies often have the heroine begin with this look and then, Voila! The Cinderella change.    

Puddin’ foot … big, wide, awkward feet like a circus clown. Often meant to ridicule, but could also be a term of endearment. A unique person with comical ways but managing to accomplish a purpose in doing what God created them to do.

Pull in his horns … back away from a fight when a purposeless death is most certain. Or you suddenly realize you were in the wrong. Or discovered a better way to accomplish the same goal. At times, even the bravest men backed away from conflict, when they valued living in peace with their neighbors.

Pump handler … a horse that bucks with a seesaw effect and lands alternately

Kid Horse
Pump Handler

on its front and rear feet. An animal that’s so systematic it’s impossible to get bucked off. Can be a good kid horse, but in rodeo is a worthless plug. You can be handed a situation that rocks you like a pump handle but once you catch on to the rhythm, gets easier to control.

Pumpkin roller … a whiner, grumbler, or agitator. Not able to do the work, no matter how difficult, without complaint. A tendency to want to work less and get paid more. The cowboy code was work hard. Don’t gripe.

Puncher … most likely came from the cowboy’s task of forcing old mossy horns to run up loading chutes of cattle cars. They would often punch the cattle up the ramp with short, sharp sticks. The word cowboy wasn’t used all that much until after the turn of the century. They were called drovers because they drove cattle to the market. Or they were cowpokes or cowpunchers, abbreviated to punchers. They provided a crucial jab like encouragers or exhorters to focus direction. Out on the frontier there was a saying, “even a kick in the caboose is a step forward.”

Pure … term applied to a man who can be depended upon to help in time of need. Available to lend a hand. He’s loyal, consistent, and able to discern the best plan of action in a challenge or crisis. Not real flashy or charismatic, but he’s steady and predictable. A great friend when the barn catches fire.

Put a spoke in the wheel … stopping the progress of an active project. Hinder someone from carrying out an action or intention. A hard oak stick shoved into a wooden spoked wheel often caused a wreck that ambushed and damaged a wagon and could harm the people on board. It’s like blowing up a bridge. Or shooting the lead horse. Or throwing trees across the trail. It can be a good strategy for arresting an evil plot. Or vice versa: an evil means of aborting a good cause.

Quartz gold

Quartz gold … gold not rounded and water worn; irregular and often twisted in form. Very bright in color and high quality. Found in the massive underground, richest, most glamorous gold mines in the Old West. Quartz is a natural silica, a common mineral associated in such deposits. To separate the quartz from tons of gold, they constructed very noisy crushers or stamping machines. It took crushing to purify, to release the wealth. And no one around complained of the inconvenience of ground quaking or peace disturbed. They knew the noise meant money for miners, owners, and businesses at the site.

Quicksilver … mercury. A valuable metal in liquid form at all ordinary temperatures because it was used in the amalgamation process of extracting gold and silver from ores. A huge help to enrich the production level for mines. People can be like quicksilver when they rush into a messy scene and draw someone close who is crushed by trails, overwhelmed with stress, and defeated by testing. They affirm them as a treasure worth saving.

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QUESTION: Many of the words and phrases here are in common use today. Which was a new one for you? Did any of these examples bring to your mind another cowboy expression not mentioned?

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About Author & Giveaway of The Dog Who Would Not Smile*

Author Janet Chester Bly

Janet Chester Bly has written and co-written 32 books with her late husband, award-winning western author Stephen Bly. She and her three sons completed Stephen’s last historical novel for him, Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot. Read about the story here: http://www.blybooks.com/category/finishing-dads-novel/.

New release Wind in the Wires, Book 1, Trails of Reba Cahill, is her first solo adult novel. It’s a contemporary (set in 1991) western mystery. It’s a road adventure with a touch of romance. It’s Cowgirl Lit.

For free 5 Chapters of Wind in the Wires to receive right now, sign up for Bly Books Almost Monthly News here:  https://blybooks.leadpages.net/5-chapters-witw-optin/

Comment on this post and enter drawing for The Dog Who Would Not

The Dog Who Would Not Smile

Smile, Book 1, The Nathan T. Riggins Western Adventure Series by Stephen Bly (for 8-12 year old readers). Share with a child you know or a local library. 

Or find here:
Amazon.com
BlyBooks.com

Nathan heads West by stagecoach to find his parents after his grandmother dies. He faces one danger after another--Indians, a masked gunman, a blinding sandstorm, and a rattlesnake. Meanwhile, a dog adopts him and comes to his rescue. When he gets to the Nevada town where he believed he'd reunite with his parents, the place is deserted. Now what will he do?

Cowboy Clothes That Made The Cowboy

Nobby Snakeskin Boot

 Anyone remember the words to the old cowboy song, “Streets of Laredo?” One of the verses stated, “I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy.” First published in 1910 and also known as “The Cowboy’s Lament”, it was sung around campfires and on the trail for many years before that.

For the old-time cowboys, clothes defined who a man was. For himself and for others. Working cowboys tended to wear long sleeve shirts, usually some faded and stained shade of white, with the collar buttoned. This kept the dirt out when they rode down the trail or behind a herd of slow moving cows. White buttoned shirts, an old beat-up Stetson, and often yellow cigarette stains on the fingers became the norm. 

Most old trail and ranch cowboys were also crippled up a bit, had lost a few teeth and a lot of memory too. However, they never lost their cowboy pride. Or forgot a friend, a horse, or a pretty girl. That was considered the cowboy way.

They had a word for fine, expensive clothes and especially boots. That word was ‘nobby.’ Severe pointed toe nobby cowboy boots didn’t gain much popularity until after WWII. Then they were used only on dress-up occasions. Or by wanna-be cowboys trying to impress.

In the 1950s, the most nobby cowboy clothes could be found at a store called

Nudie's Store Poster

Nudie’s in North Hollywood. Nudie suits were flamboyant cowboy outfits that country-western singers first began to wear, inspired by the singing cowboys in the movies. Rhinestones, bright colors, and intricate embroidery were all hallmarks of a custom-made Nudie suit.

Nudie suits were named after the man who made them -- Nudie Cohn, a North Hollywood tailor who became the go-to clothier for country-western stars. Elvis Presley’s gold lame tuxedo had one of the biggest price tags of any Nudie suit: $10,000. It appeared on the cover of Elvis' 1959 album 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong. Hank William's most iconic outfit was a white Nudie suit with musical notes stitched along the sleeves.

Elvis Presley Gold Lame Nudie's Suit

Nudie’s business boomed in the flush years after World War II, when people weren’t afraid to flaunt their wealth. Superstars like Bob Dylan, Cher, David Byrne, John Wayne, and John Lennon all loved his wild outfits—the gaudier, the better. Nudie's closed down in 1994.

My late husband Stephen Bly bought a cowboy hat at Nudie’s in 1979. A plain, beaver felt, XXX, dark brown Resistol to which he added a horsehair hatband “wore well” for him.  With a 7 7/8 hat size, it was tough to find one that fit.

You can tell a lot by how a man puts down his cowboy hat. Crown down, he’s the real deal. Brim down, he’s faking it. And if he tosses his hat on the bed, he’s never competed in a rodeo. That’s for sure and certain, some say. Or it could depend on the region you’re from, the lifestyle conditions, and the season of the year.

Stetson Cowboy Hat

Here’s nine general Cowboy Hat Etiquette Rules:

1. Don’t mess with a cowboy’s hat. Never touch without permission.

2. Never wear a cowboy hat backwards.

3. Wear felt hats between Labor Day and May and straw otherwise, depending on the weather.

4. Never handle your hat in such a way that flexes or bends the brim or crown.

5. When traveling with an expensive cowboy hat, pack in a hatbox with handles. With less expensive hats, either carry them by hand or protect with a plastic bag.

6. Take the hat off when entering a building or sitting at a table for a meal--unless there’s no place to safely lay it down.

8. Keep a hat on when eating at a counter or out on the range.

9. Touch the brim of a cowboy hat by moving the hand away from the holster to signal a greeting of friendly intentions.

Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon

As a rule, to ask a man what outfit he rode for was common courtesy in cowboy country. However, in the scene below in the 1950's from Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon, it was a derogatory remark to indicate they knew this stranger never worked on a ranch. In this case, the clothes didn’t fool them.

The bent brass bell tinkled when the oak and smudged glass front door of the Matador Hotel swung open. A weak-eyed man with pointed toe cowboy boots and a wide brimmed, rain streaked white Stetson sauntered across the lobby to the registration counter. Quirt Payton reached for the grip of his old single action army revolver. I had to lean forward to peer around the large plaster pillar that blocked my view. All six cowboys fixed their eyes on the intruder. Coosie Harte coughed into his bandanna and called out, “What outfit you ride for, son?” ... When the man shoved his hat back, his ears pushed out and there was no tan line on his forehead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janet Chester Bly

About Author & Free 5 Chapters Giveaway Offer*…

Janet Chester Bly has written and co-written 32 books with her late husband, award-winning western author Stephen Bly. She and her three sons completed Stephen’s last historical novel for him, Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot. Read about the story here: http://www.blybooks.com/category/finishing-dads-novel/.

Recent release Wind in theWires, Book 1, Trails of Reba Cahill, is her first solo adult novel. It’s a contemporary western mystery. It’s a road adventure with a touch of romance. It’s Cowgirl Lit.

*For free 5 Chapters of Wind in the Wires to download now, sign up for Bly

Wind in the Wires
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Cowboy Candy & 5 Chapters Giveaway

Old-fashioned peppermint candy

Peppermints seemed to be a favorite cowboy candy in the Old West, when available. They were tasty, portable, and at least the cowboys thought they covered up the smell of other vices. And they provided other uses too.

Medicinal Uses of Peppermint

While the origin of peppermint candy is unclear, historical accounts reveal peppermint oils have been used since ancient times to calm the stomach and for other remedies. Farmers in Europe began commercially growing the plant, which is a natural cross between watermint and spearmint, in the late 1700s.

Oil of peppermint contains menthol that is an antiseptic and anesthetic. Chewing a few peppermint leaves is thought to relieve a toothache. Indigestion, cold and flu sufferers can find some relief by drinking peppermint tea. However, peppermint tea can cause insomnia and it is therefore best avoided at night.

Peppermint oil is useful in combating flatulence and mild indigestion. Many over-the-counter stomach aids contain peppermint to both enhance the taste as well as the effectiveness of the medicine. However, in a strange bit of irony, peppermint is something of a trigger food for many suffering from acid reflux and may cause their symptoms to worsen.

History of Peppermint in the United States

When European settlers came to America they found that the American

Modern Wrapped Peppermints

Indians were already aware of the importance of mint, though they were growing different species of mint, native to North America. The settlers brought peppermint and other non-native mints with them and they quickly became naturalized and spread.

Some sources state commercial peppermint history in the United States is believed to have begun in Wayne County, New York in the early part of the 1800s. Others mention the first commercial growing of peppermint in the U.S. began in 1790 in the state of Massachusetts. 

Smith Kendon developed Altoids® in 1780 to relieve intestinal discomfort.

Homemade Peppermint Pillows

A recipe for straight peppermint candy sticks, white with colored stripes, was published in 1844. The first historical reference to the candy cane being in America goes back to 1847, when a German immigrant called August Imgard decorated the Christmas tree in his Wooster, Ohio home with candy canes.

The growing popularity of mint flavored toothpaste, gum, and candy at the turn-of-the twentieth century created a domestic market for high quality peppermint and spearmint oil.

In 1912, Clarence Crane of Cleveland, Ohio invented a mint flavored hard candy that had a strong resemblance to a lifesaving ring that you throw out to someone in distress in the water. In the 1930s, LifeSavers® salesmen made their rounds in distinctive cars shaped like a roll of LifeSavers® candy. They experimented with a variety of flavors, but Pep-O-Mint, flavored with mint, was always one of their most popular flavors.

Peppermint in the Bible

Mint was so valued in Egypt that it was used as a form of currency. In the Bible (Luke 11:39) Jesus tells the Pharisees: But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Other cowboy candy:

In 1847 Oliver Chase invented a machine for cutting lozenges and the fabled Necco Wafer® was born.

In the 1880s Wunderle Candy Company created candy corn.

In 1890 The Piedmont Candy Company manufactured Red Bird Peppermint Puffs in Lexington, North Carolina

In 1891 Claus Doscher opened Doscher Brothers Confections and a few years later introduced taffy after first tasting it in France

In 1893 William Wrigley, Jr. introduced Juicy Fruit® Chewing Gum and Wrigley's Spearmint® Chewing Gum

In 1893 Thomas Richardson introduced Pastel Mints at a department store in Philadelphia, PA

In 1896 Leo Hirshfield, a New York confectioner, introduced Tootsie Rolls®, named after his daughter's nickname, "Tootsie."

In 1890, legend claims an unnamed Southern lady made taffy but added the wrong ingredient resulting in the first batch of peanut brittle

Cowboy Candy Jalapenos

Modern versions of cowboy candy include Pickled Jalapenos and Candied Jalapenos, a combination of maraschino cherries and jalapeno peppers in sweet pickle brine. You can eat this treat with cream cheese on crackers or on a juicy hamburger. 

Find recipes here: 

http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2011/09/candied-jalapenos-cowboy-candy/

or here:

http://www.food.com/recipe/candied-jalapeno-or-cowboy-candy-453141

Or there’s cowboy coffee stirred with a peppermint stick.

Favorite cowboy desserts in the Old West days on the trail were Hounds Ears,

Cowboy Candy with
cream cheese & cracker

Whirlups & Pooch. Find bonafide recipes for these delights on my website: http://www.blybooks.com/2010/01/cowboy-dessert/

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janet Chester Bly

About Author & Free 5 Chapters Giveaway Offer…

Janet Chester Bly has written and co-written 32 books with her late husband, award-winning western author Stephen Bly. She and her three sons completed Stephen’s last historical novel for him, Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot. Read about the story here: http://www.blybooks.com/category/finishing-dads-novel/.

New release Wind in the Wires, Book 1, Trails of Reba Cahill, is her

Wind in the Wires

first solo adult novel. It’s a contemporary western mystery. It’s a road adventure with a touch of romance. She calls it CowgirlLit. 

Find Wind in the Wires here:

Amazon.com   Nook Book  Barnes&Noble  BlyBooks.com

For free 5 Chapters of Windin the Wires to receive right now, sign up for Bly Books Almost Monthly News here: https://blybooks.leadpages.net/5-chapters-witw-optin/