Journal Notes

Thought I’d post this review from New Mexico Magazine about The Lady Was A Gambler. It was my pleasure to write about these unique ladies.

THE LADY WAS A GAMBLER: True Stories of Notorious Women of the Old West
by Chris Enss
TwoDot/Globe Pequot Press, www.GlobePequot.com, 160 pages, paper, $12.95

The Lady Was a Gambler document women who engaged in professions outside the box for their time. The Lady Was a Gambler takes as its subjects 13 women gamblers, including Belle Star; Martha Jane Canary, better known as Calamity Jane; and Eleanora Dumont, a stunningly beautiful and demure young woman whose meteoric rise included owning a highly successful blackjack parlor in Nevada City, California. A wealthy woman, Dumont unwisely married a scamp,lost everything, and returned to dealing blackjack in mining camps before her demise in Bodie, California. Another character was Mary Hamlin, a lucky poker player and bunko artist who pulled off several big scores: In 1869, the sale of shipping rights to the Mississippi River to a group of French investors, a scam akin to selling the Brooklyn Bridge, netted her more than a quarter-million dollars; and in a diamond hoax a few years later, frequently referred to as the West”s Greatest hoax, she and accomplices salted a claim with bogus diamonds, sapphires, and opals, and secured $1 million for it from a wealthy San Francisco banker before leaving town. Hamlin seems to have been one of the few women who lived on the edge and spent most of her life in luxury.
Also included in The Lady Was a Gambler is the legendary Gertrudes Barcelo (circa 18001852), aka Dona Tules, a well-known monte dealer and operator of gambling saloons and entertainment houses in Santa Fe, of which there were many, beginning about 1833. Enss’s efforts whet the appetite for more information about these compelling women, whose lives were hardly the norm for women of the West.

Fox Films will rerelease John Wayne’s first film, The Big Trail on a special DVD set this week. I got a few advanced copies and was impressed with the work Cloverland Productions did on the special features disc. I was happy to be a part of the production. It turned out well. I have a couple of copies to give away and will send them out to readers if they write and let me know who they are. I received an email from a cowboy poet named T. Michael McClure. He kindly sent me a poem he’d written about Abraham Lincoln and it’s very good. Keep an eye out for his work and thank you, Mr. McClure for letting me read your poem. I’ll be at Barnes and Noble in Citrus Heights this Saturday signing copies of the John Wayne DVD and the book The Young Duke. I look forward to meeting many of you there.

My plans to travel to Cody and work on researching the Buffalo Bill book I’m writing had to be set aside this week. My dad had to have triple by-pass surgery. I’m grateful that he did so well and am happy to report that he is home recovering. I did get a chance to work on researching the book about the number of parents who have been falsely accused of sexually abusing their teenagers. It breaks my heart to meet so many people who have suffered from this and to know that Child Protective Services does such a poor job. My dad received visits from many people in the small Missouri town where he lives. Each one of them praised my brother who was falsely accused and shared stories of his kindness towards them and their famililes during various crisis. It’s good to know he made a difference and that many people cannot and will not believe my brother was guilty of anything. They know the other parties involved and shared that many consider them to be “evil human beings who the community at large view try to avoid at all cost.” That information will enhance the volume I’m writing and spur me on toward the ultimate goal. My brother had value and I miss him still.

Over the last few years there have been many heartaches that have interfered with my daily writing schedule. Today it’s that same old heartache brought on by bitterness and the inability to completely forgive. I emailed the associate pastor of my church a week ago to share with him the struggle I continue to have with forgiveness. He was kind and sympathetic and assured me that many people battle with forgiveness. I believe that to be true and believe that God is patient with me, but I wish I could be through with it now. I think it’s because I have to revisit the situation with my brother having been falsely accused that keeps my heart hardened. My family has paid a high price for those false accusations and my dad is the most recent one to succumb to the stress. He’s been a strong man and suffered through a variety of cruel people who have refused to either take care of my parents dog or sell them a car because they say my family are “nothing but pedophiles.” The loss of my brother has been hard on him and his heart is hurting. He’ll be going to the doctor on Thursday and might have to be hospitalized at that point. The anger I feel toward the people who ultimately helped bring this about is overwhelming. There is no going on with your life as it once was after such an experience. It’s hard to live in a world where absolute horrors of human beings continued to breathe. As I write about Wyatt Earp I realize he felt the same way. He knew he couldn’t go on until evil was made to pay. A part of me envies Earp. The even bigger part of me that loves the Lord shudders at the thought and constantly reminds me of how much I’ve been forgiven. I’m holding on tight to that truth.

The book signing this past week for How the West Was Worn was a success and I’d like to share the success with those who visit my website. Visitors who email me and tell me what interests them most about women of the Old West will receive a free copy of the book. I’m including a review of the book from a reader named Mark Keehnel to give you an idea of what others like about the material. Mark writes, “This book contains a great deal of helpful information for anyone wanting to know the clothing styles worn during the frontier period in the old west, whether for research purposes or just for the fun of it.” Drop me a line and I’ll send you a book. I was in Arizona the last few days. It was hot, but a joy to visit. My desk was piled with work when I got back, but that’s to be expected. I’ve spent the day working on making sure all my sources are noted on the posse book. I’ve used numerous primary and secondary sources to gather the information needed to write the book. It’s been a pleasure. Look for a copy of How the West Was Worn for all those who send an email. I believe you’ll enjoy the book!

The fashion show based on the book How the West Was Worn was held today. The Nevada County Newcomer’s Club sponsored the event and it was well received. My sweet friends Patti, Brandy, Mary, and Conni, modeled the Old West garments and they looked wonderful. Petticoats and hoop skirts never looked so good. I’m headed to Arizona tomorrow. I’ll be doing a few signings and research for the book I’m writing about false accusations of child abuse. I’m going to be interviewing a couple who have lived through the horror of such lies and have quite a testimony. I trust it will be an encouraging talk.

Chapter nine of the posse book is done! I’ve been paying special attention to note the primary and secondary sources I’ve used to write the tome. Many hisotirans don’t agree about what happened at times. Authors argue about what book is more accurate and what nonfiction book is nothing but fiction. I have reviewed five books on Wyatt Earp and each author states that the other books on the subject are inaccurate. Some of the author’s have stated that the newspaper accounts of the time were wrong too. It leaves you scratching your head and wondering what version of the story you can trust. I learned from the previous volumes I’ve written to reference information better and that aspect of writing has been very time consuming, but very necessary. No matter how hard I try, however, I suspect someone will have a different take on the events around Dora Hand’s murder. I work with a very talented graphic artist that will be assiting me with the maps for the book. Jeff Galpin and his wife Melissa did the illustration for the children’s book I wrote and with their combined talent I’m sure the maps and diagrams for the posse book will be equally as spectacular. I attend church with the Galpins and they have two of the cutest boys. Both of whom have played Jesus in the Christmas program. I have sort of adopted the boys as my nephews. It’s good to have people in your life you can count on and I’m grateful for my church family as a whole because of that. Now, on to chapter ten.

I like to listen to talk radio during the day when I take a periodic break from writing. I find it interested that today the talk show hosts are up in arms about the raid on the church grounds in Texas. They’re criticizing the government for storming the compound and taking the more than 400 children that lived there into custody. The action was prompted by a sixteen year old girl who called authorities claiming to be abused. A girl now no one can find and the mothers at the compound state they don’t know. The talk show hosts are outraged that there was nothing more required than a single allegation for the government to raid the church compound and take the children. I’m not surprised at all. I know from personal experience that entire lives can be lost and ruined by a single allegation. There doesn’t have to be any proof. No evidence. A single allegation and that’s all it takes. And we should all be afraid. Very afraid. I finished chapter nine of the posse book today. It’s an exciting story and I can’t wait to see it in print. Bill Tilghman was indeed the finest of the posse members.

Most days pass with nothing remarkable happening. I spend my days working on a couple of books and a few magazine articles. I make travel plans and prepare for the next lecture and out of town signing, but on the whole, nothing truly remarkable happens. I think I expected this line of work to be more like the life Joan Wilder lived in Romancing the Stone. Id complete a book and turn it into my editor, who happens to be my best friend. Shed read the work and be moved to tears and Id go off on an exotic adventure. Thats what I thought the life of a writer would be like. I like what I do, but I cant help thinking if I were living and writing from Spain like Hemingway did, maybe something remarkable would happen. I did get a call from the California Teachers Association about the schoolmarms book thats coming out in September. They wanted to know the title of the book and the release date. That was encouraging news, but not remarkable. Im not quite sure what I would deem remarkable and maybe thats the problem. Maybe an invitation to talk about the books on Oprahs show, and opportunity to write from a private beach house in Bora Bora&Im just not sure. I think most people spend their days simply doing their jobs and looking forward to the next station in life. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this job, or any job for that matter, is that you have a chance to do it at all. Id like to feel content in that knowledge and think I could&from a private beach house in Bora Bora.

Writing chapter nine of the posse book has been slow going this week, but I think that’s because there’s so much information it’s hard to condense it into 3,000 words. Wyatt, Bat, Charlie, and Bill arrested James Kenedy for the murder of Dora Hand, but Kenedy was not convicted for the crime. In spite of his suspicious behavior and the confession he made to the lawmen, the judge determined that there wasn’t enough evidence to hold him over for trial. All the lawmen were affected by the decision and it changed their opinion of law and order. According to Wyatt he was “soured on the law” after that. Out of the four men only one decided to make being a law enforcement officer a lifetime career. It’s easy to see how corruption and politics have taken over the justice system today, but I guess it’s always been the case more or less. H.L. Mencken defines a court of law as a “place where Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot would be equals, with the betting odds in favour of Judas.” I think Wyatt Earp would have agreed with that. I know I do.