A Chronicle of the Plum Creek Shooting...

Last month Jake Jonesshared a photo of a 40-

horse team. He told us it

was incorrectly captioned.The team was not haulingborax out of Death Valley. Itwas pulling a “bandwagon.”Jake promised more aboutthe 40-horse team later.Later and more are now!

The CircusThe first circus opened in

England in 1768. The earlycircus focused mostly onfeats of horsemanship,

although acrobats, jugglersand clowns often filled thegaps between equestrianperformances. The firstcircus performance inAmerica was in 1793.George Washington attendeda performance that sameyear. During and after theCivil War, circuses were verypopular and came to beconsidered part of everydaylife in America.

Agarita Ranch Lockhart, Texas

A Chronicle of the Plum Creek Shooting SocietyNovember 2016

Find Delta Raider ……………… 11 Long Juan Here ………………… 10 Match Photos …………………… 11 Ditties from Jake Jones ………. 9 President’s Word ………………… 2 Special Dispatches …………….. 8 Stories from Jake Paladin ….. 8

Continued on page 5

by Long JuanEditor’s Note: While researching more about Jake Jones’ 40-horse team, I found that I couldnot resist writing about “the circus.” Next month, we’ll return to more traditional Old Westand Cowboy Action Shooting content.

President - Dragon HillDaveDavid DonaldsonAustin, TX [email protected]

Vice President - JoeDarterTom MorrisSeguin, TX [email protected]

Secretary - OpenTreasurer & ScoringMarshal - GeneralBurlesonStarr Kealhofer IIISan Antonio, [email protected]

Territorial Governor -Jake PaladinJ.P. ForageAustin, TX [email protected]

Range Marshal - OpenSafety and Flag Marshal -ArtimanJay DavisLockhart, TX [email protected]

Editor, Agarita Gazette -Long JuanJohn SouleAustin, TX [email protected]

Web Marshal - Bolo Bob

www.pccss.org

Plum Creek PresidentDragon Hill Dave

Well it turned out to be a“Magnificent” day for our shoot

in November. The weather cooperatedand the rain held off to allow 70shooters to enjoy 6 stages of CowboyAction Shooting at Plum Creek basedon the new movie, The MagnificentSeven.This month we voted on proposedbylaws changes. All amendmentsproposed by the Board were adopted.Other amendments proposed by Delta Raider were notadopted. As a result of the amended bylaws, we havemore officer positions to fill. We are talking nominationsfor the positions of Treasurer, Vice President and RangeMarshal. I already have nominations of General Burlesonfor the position of Treasurer, Joe Darter for the positionof Vice President, and Two Spurs for the position ofRange Marshal. But nominations are still open.Under the provisions of the amended bylaws,nominations for officers being elected at our annualmeeting during the December match must be submitted20 days prior to the election. With the election havingbeen previously announced for 12/3/16, the deadlinefor nominations is this coming Saturday, 11/12/16.Please email any other nominations to me [email protected]. Ballots and instructions forvoting will be emailed sometime next week.In addition to the positions that we must elect thisDecember, the Board needs to appoint some folks for thepositions of Scoring Marshal and Secretary. We needsome volunteers to step up and help us in thesepositions. It would be nice to have a full Board as weenter the New Year.But what about the shooting? With Veterans’ Day comingup, we began the shoot with a celebration of Veterans,which included a dramatic reading by Joe Darter of apoem by Texas Drifter. That poem is reproduced ionpage 4.

We also auctioned of a beautiful guncart donated by TheTexan. The cart was made by his son, who is 57 yearsold and blind. The high bidder was Just H, whose bidwas $100. When he learned that all the proceeds weregoing to benefit the club, he increased his bid to $150.

mailto:[email protected]

What a great demonstrationof the Cowboy Way!

We had some folks join usfor the first time, including"Hoot" Gibson a Californiatransplant, The Outsiderand his son. AmericanOutlaw. Hoot wasaccompanied by his lovelywife Stampede Pam. Hootis a former TerritorialGovernor for several clubs inCalifornia, so we're happy tosee him becoming part of theCentral Texas CowboyAction Shooting scene. We

also saw the return ofPreacher Kid, who came outto shoot with us again aftermany months. I was on theposse next to his, and whenhe shot his black powderrifle it sounded like abuzzsaw. Great to have himjoin us.We had 10 clean shooters:Crusty Coot, Dakota Doc,Dragon Hill Dave, DutchVan Horn, Gideon TuckerSharps, Long Juan, ShowMe, Skinny, SkyhawkHans, and You Bet.Our fastest couple kept it inthe family with Two Spursas our fastest man andoverall winner and SunnySpurs as our fastest woman.Our top 15 shooters were,counting down from 15,were Bandera Kid, BisonJim, Letsdoit, Travelin’Jones, Joe Darter, SunnySpurs, Kit Carson, DutchVan Horn, Kickshot, RustyShackleford, Reckon,Skyhawk Hans, PreacherKid, You Bet, and Two

Spurs. Congratulations toall of them for a greatshowing.I want to give special thanksto everyone who helped shutdown the range after thematch. It makes so muchdifference when we worktogether. I know there weremany folks who helped.Even if I don’t mention yourname, know that you arethanked. Some of the folkswho did some special workwere Just H (fetched thesigns off the roads, one ofmy least favorite jobs),Shinbone Bob and DustyMines, who helped with thetrash, and Sunny Spurswho was picking up brassand shotgun shells with meafter the shoot.

Hoot (left), Stampede Pam(below), The Outsider &American Outlaw (right)

Just H and his new cart

In celebration of Veteran’s DayNovember 11, 2016

There have been many heroes of VietnamProduced by Hollywood on the silver

screens They can reproduce the sound ofwar

The rattle of gunfire, the bombs and thescreams

Heroes like Wayne and StalloneAnd others too numerous to

name These heroes always winin the end

Regardless of the odds, the endings still thesame

But the real stories about the VietnamWar Can be told in a very different way

Sadly, not by the ones whodied But by the ones who lived it here

todayLet’s remember the families of those who died

Loved ones who came home wounded ormaimed They have heartbreaking stories to

tellOf hardship, broken homes, lives forever

changedToday let’s recognize the ones who arehere But not forget the names on The

Wall Shake their hands, hug andthank them

Show our appreciation for those who gave theirall

We may again be called on to send ourbest America the beautiful, that’s who

we are But today let’s stand, cheerand celebrate With our Heroes of the

Vietnam War.

Large circus tents, calledBig Tops, were introduced astouring circuses replacedstatic venues. P.T. Barnumentered the circus businessin 1870 at the age of 60.Barnum was the first touse circus trains totransport his circus fromtown-to-town. The“traditional” circus format,with a ringmasterintroducing a variety of actsin one or more rings wasalso an Americaninnovation. The rings in theBig Top tents featured high-wire acts, trapezeperformances, animal actsand more.

Outside the Big Top Tents,there was usually a circussideshow, which virtuallyalways included a “freak”show. Know that’s not PC,but it is historically correctand therefore I use it. Theseshows were usually a mix ofscams and exploitation ofpeople with disabilities.There were three basic typesof “freak” shows: (1) the"working acts," such assword swallowers and fireeaters; (2) the "born freaks,"such as Siamese twins andthe unusually small or large;

and (3) the "made freaks,"such as “tattooed” womenand men who covered theirbodies with intricate tattoosand various body piercings.Old West outlaw JoaquinMurieta’s head and thehand of his partner, Three-Fingered Jack, weredisplayed in a bottle at

circus “freak” shows afterthe two outlaws were killedby lawmen. The lawmenwere paid more for the bottlethan the rewards offered anddid not have to transport thebodies to town to collect therewards.

One of the most popularcircus animals in the late19th Century was Jumbo,the elephant. Tousands ofEnglish school childrenwrote Queen Victoria voicingtheir objections, whenJumbo was purchased froma London zoo and brought to

America for exhibition in1882. Jumbo died in 1885when he was hit and fatallyinjured by a railroadlocomotive. Ever thepromoter, P.T. Barnum toldthe “story” that Jumbo diedsaving a younger elephantfrom being hit by thelocomotive.

When Barnum died in1891, James Baileypurchased Barnum’sinterest in the circus andtook Barnum & Bailey’sGreatest Show on Earth toEurope. The show touredthere from 1897 to 1902,impressing everyone with itssize, tents, circus train andits combination of circus

Continued from Page 1

acts, “exotic” animals and, ofcourse, the sideshow.

Back in America, the daythe circus came to town waslike a holiday. Arrival of thecircus disrupted daily lives,often to the point that storesclosed, factories shut downand school classes weredismissed. Before the circusarrived, an advance crewposted bills and placards to

advertise the upcomingevent. When the circusarrived, the train wasunloaded and the paradeproceeded down Main Streetto the circus grounds, wherethe Big Top tents were setup. The parade was as

important as the show itself.Specially decorated wagonswere built fand the steamcalliope was introduced foruse in the parade.Performers paraded throughtown with the horses andelephants and vendors pliedthe crowd with circusprograms and confections,as clowns cavorted aboutand helped create a carnival

atmosphere of fun andanticipation.

Big Jake’s 40-HorseTeam

Barnum & Bailey’s circuswas famous the world overfor many reasons, but its40-horse hitch was a

spectacle in and of itself.The guy in charge of the 40tons of horse power was BigJake Posey (no relation to BigJake Jones). Posey droveten rows of Percherons, four

abreast. The lead horseswere more than 80 feet fromBig Jake standing in thebandwagon. The reins aloneweighed more than 100

pounds. To turn a corner,the reins had to be let out asmuch as 20-35 feet. DespiteBig Jake’s size and handsthat could have killed almostany living thing in a matterof seconds, fellow circusmen described him as agood and quiet man wholoved his horses and caredfor them deeply.

During the time Big Jakedrove his 40-horse team,there were few accidents,but one incident in Englandis worth noting. Thebandwagon was rounding acorner on which a pub waslocated. The heavy wheels ofthe bandwagon caught aweak support and pulled outthe entire side of the oldframe building, along withseveral voluptuous barmaids who were leaningagainst the window to watchthe parade.

Big Jake Posey last drovehis 40-horse hitch in 1904.It was almost seven decadeslater, when another 40-horse hitch appeared inMilwaukee’s 1972 July 4th

Schlitz Circus Parade.Elmer “Dick” Sparrow’ drove

the hitch, featuring 40 largeBelgians. It was said at thetime that the Belgianslooked like Clydesdales onsteroids and Big Jake’s

Percherons had looked likeBelgians on steroids.Apparently breeding nowgives the size-edge toClydesdales, but regardless,Big Jake’s and DickSparrow’s teams were BIG!Both Big Jake’s andSparrow’s teams usuallypulled the Two Hemisphere

Band Wagon, the largestcircus bandwagon ever built.Sparrow said of his team,

"although there areproblems with 40 horses,they won't run away. Fortyhorses just don't run." Inlater parades, Sparrow

demonstrated prowess withhis team by stopping next tothe parade reviewing standand backing them up.Those who saw Sparrow’sBelgians said they wereamazing to see up close andmade the ground shake. In1976 Sparrow led a team of48 horses in the CottonBowl Parade, earning a spotin the Guinness Book ofWorld Records.

And there you have it! Allyou ever wanted or neededto know about the circusand the 40-horse teams thatpulled circus bandwagons.Next month, back tocowboys and shooting!

A Pair of Percherons

What’s a bandwagon?Sometime in the second half of the 19th Century, Phineas T. (P.T.)Barnum coined the word “bandwagon” for the brightly decoratedwagon that carried the circus band in the circus parade. Theoriginal bandwagon was one of the many wagons used duringcircus parades. Each type of wagon had a different function:baggage wagons contained props and costumes for the show, cagewagons transported animals, equipment wagons were filled withtent poles and canvas and, of course, bandwagons carried theband. Bandwagons were often decorated with gold leaf, providing aluxurious ride for the band. The band didn’t daintily sit atop theornately decorated wagon. The band belted traditional circusmarches during the entire ride from the circus train right to thecircus grounds.

A special mention in the Dispatches this month for Bronco Six,who sent the following information, appropriate for our match

theme this month! I listened and truly enjoyed it!Several years ago I found and bookmarked Elmer Bernstein's themefrom the original “Magnificent Seven” film, link below. I completelyforgot that I had bookmarked it at the time. It's over five minutes inlength. The video hones in on various sections of the orchestradepending on which instruments have the lead at that moment - verywell done! Enjoy.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-MVReDrRwo

(Jones that is:)“Jumping on the Bandwagon” and More!During its Golden Age, the circus was indelibly fixed ineveryday American life, just like newspapers, thetelegraph, the railroad and mail-order catalogs. Circuslingo found its way into the larger lexicon, adding many

phrases to our everyday lingo, including “Jumping on the bandwagon.” By paradingbandwagons and more through town, circuses were able to attract and excite largeaudiences of spectators. Politicians soon caught on and began using bandwagons whencampaigning for office, hoping to attract large crowds of supporters. Backers would literallyclimb aboard the wagon to show support for the candidate. Soon, a figurative applicationof the phrase entered the national vernacular. The date of transition from literal tofigurative isn't clear, but it was complete in 1899, as evidenced by Teddy Roosevelt’sstatement that year: “When I once became sure of one majority they tumbled over eachother to get aboard the band wagon.”

Other circus phrases that worked their way into our everyone lingo include:

● “Rain or shine” (used to promote the tented circus through inclement weather),

● “Hold your horses” (a warning to local horsemen when the circus elephants paradedthrough town),

● “Get the show on the road” (a directive shouted at roustabouts to break down the showand move to the next town),

● “White elephant” (born out of a battle between competing circuses in the exhibit of afraudulent white elephant),

● “Grandstanding” (describing politicians who circulated through the circus grandstandsvying for voters) and

● “Tossing your hat into the ring” (reporters labeled President Woodrow Wilson’s tossing ofhis hate into the ring during a circus performance in Washington, DC as a sign that hewould run for reelection).

Betcha didn’t know all that!!

I confess; I went all infor the circus this

month. If you arewondering how themodern circus mightrelate to the Circus

Maximus of Ancient Rome, the only

connection between the two is the Latinword circus, meaning “circle.” Moderncircus rings are in the shape of a circle.Circus Maximus was in the shape of a longoval. It was designed as a chariot racetrackand is precursor of the modern racetrack.The Circus Maximus was more than 2,000feet long and almost 400 feet wide. At itsmost spectacular in the 1st Century, there

was room for 250,000 spectators to watchchariot races, gladiatorial contests andpublic executions. Today, Circus Maximusis a not-very-well-maintained public park.

A Closing Mote: If anyone wants to readmore about Big Jake Posey, hisautobiography, Last of the 40-Horse Drivers,is available on Amazon for $200. I decidedto pass.

Circus Maximus during our visit to Rome in May

Mentioned in the Dispatches this month forfinding Delta Raider in last months issue: ElSabre, Mad Dog McCoy, Cowtown Scout,Six Goin’ South, Hoss Roonright,Hairtrigger Hayes, Sheriff Robert Love,Shooting Iron Miller, Buffalo Phil, BigJohn Mesquite, Preacher Man Lee,Grayrock, Lefty Leo, Jarhead Jake, Artiman and Lincoln Drifter. Not a record, but agood turn out. Try again this month.

Thanks to and for the photos this monthMore photos are available for viewing at www.pccss.org

It’s tough to tone down Mr. Bling, Bandera Kid!

Name the shooter who wore thisdragon for a mention in the

Dispatches

Attentive listeners at theShooters’ Meeting. Left to

right: Cowboy Small, BanderaKid, Texas Sawbones, Kit

Carson & Bronco Six.Lurking in the background:

Rusty Shackleford & Red BudAnderson.

www.pccss.org

AD Texaz and top overall shooter, Two Spurs

Coyote Catcher

Marshal Bob

Show Me

Cherokee Granny ain’t happy and when Grannyain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy! Just kidding,

Granny. Hope you can take a joke.

Other posses thought someone was shooting a Thompsonsubmachine gun, but no, it was Preacher Kid shooting his ‘73!

WOW!!

Six Goin’ South always gets a great photo of her posse!

Cinch it up quick Lucky ! I can’t hold it in muchlonger! Looking good though Bisbee!

Top Lady Shooter, Sunny Spurs

Michigander, Dakota Doc, and his 4- leggedfriend and, no, that’s not Cactus Kay!

Kickshot

The Texan

Mad Dog McCoy. We‘re glad his autoaccident on the way home from the match

was not more serious!

Perfect for all your cowboy action and

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We offer a full line of cowboy gun building, customizing and gunsmithing.Contact us for more information:

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Please visit our website at rhcustomguns.com and look us up on Facebook!Battle of Plum Creek Vendor - See you there!

Supplier of cowboy & vintage brass to meet all your

reloading needs.

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Longhorn Bullets

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45-70 405 FPT 111 222

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