Indian Couple

Today we have another splendid photochrom print. The photograph was taken in 1899 and it shows an Indian man and his wife. The man's name was Pee Viggi. His wife's name is not recorded.

Indian Farmer

Today's picture is from 1902, and it shows a Hopi Indian Man with a hoe. The man is a farmer, and it looks like he is growing corn. The picture was taken in New Mexico. If you have ever tried to garden, you know how hard it is to grow things. I sometimes wonder how mankind survived before mechanized farm implements and pesticides. When I grow things it is an enormous battle with bugs, the weather, and the soil. Even in the picture above, the man has the incredible resource of a steel hoe. Imagine trying to farm before steel implements.

A Comment on Comments:
I think that over the years one of the things that has made this blog successful is the wonderful participation by readers. The insightful comments always add interest to the post. I also understand how unpopular the Word Verification requirement is to post a comment. I have tried hard to make it as easy as possible to for people to comment.

The issue now is that I am getting overwhelmed by spam comments. It is not unusual to get hundreds of spam comments a day. My email becomes almost unusable because my inbox if filled with notifications of these spam comments. Also, as I sort through all this I inadvertently delete real comments.

So, regrettably  I am going to have to go back and turn word verification back on, where you will be asked to type some letters in a box when you comment to show you are a real person. The choice was to do this, or only allow registered users to comment.

I know this is a hassle, but hope you will understand there is really no way for me to manage things otherwise.

Indian Brave

First, we need to follow up on yesterday's picture. On the question of what the string and tab was coming from the cowboy's pocket . . . many of you recognized right off that it was a pouch of Bull Durham tobacco. This was the old roll your own smoke brand. When I was growing up, it was a common sight, and it was quite amazing watching the guys that used it make a cigarette. Truly it was an art form.

Now, on to this week. This will be Indian Portrait week. I have found some really amazing photochrom prints from 1900 that I would like to share with you. The picture above is the first in the series. The man was Arrowmaker, and he was an Ojibwa brave. I love the buckskin and beadwork. He really looks like something you would expect to see in a movie.

Cowboy

We wrap up Ranch Work week with this picture of a cowboy relaxing at the end of the day, having dinner on the ground. The picture was taken in 1939 at the Three Circle Roundup in Powder River, Montana. I really like this picture, and have this little trivia question for you . . . what is the little tab hanging out of his pocket? It is something you never see any more, but was common when I was growing up.

Horse Corral

Today's picture shows a cowboy working horses in a Corral. He has roped one of them with his lariat. The picture was taken in 1939 on a ranch near Spur, Texas.

Throwing Lariat

Today's picture is from 1905, and it shows a cowboy throwing a lariat. Cowboys would "rope" cattle so that they could be branded, dehorned, or other routine maintenance. The picture is from a ranch in Colorado.

Branding

Today's picture shows a group of cowboys on the XIT Ranch in Texas branding cattle. The XIT was a very famous ranch. XIT stood for Ten in Texas, and it was a group of investors who agreed to build the Texas Capitol Building in exchange for 3,000,000 acres of land in the northern part of Texas. The land became the XIT ranch. The XIT had very strict rules and cowboys were not allowed to drink or gamble. If you look at today's value of the 3,000,000 acres, it would likely make the Texas State Capitol Building the most expensive building ever built.

Dehorning Cattle

Today's picture is from 1905, and it shows cowboys dehorning a calf. Some ranchers dehorn their cattle to keep them from goring each other. Others leave the horns on as they can offer some protection from predators. This is a great pictures of cowboys from over 100 years ago.