Welcome, Pardners Happy Thanksgiving! At least I think it's Thanksgiving, seeing as how it's still in the 90s here in Phoenix. But I can smell the turkey and have had reports of coolness in other areas, so it must be true. Be well, all, and enjoy this *stuffed* issue of our newsletter.

NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

WWA President Mike Blakely and WWA Marketing Director Bob Wiseman wants to have a national book signing every year on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. They believe, that with people starting to shop for the holidays this should be a good time to promote a good turnout.

"The modern Western has evolved into something that defies one simple definition," said Blakely, author of Comanche Dawn, Shortgrass Song and numerous other works. "Western Writers of America represents authors who write fiction and nonfiction material about cowboys, Indians, pioneers, trappers, traders, mountain men, and frontiersmen. But now, the Western also includes stories of prehistoric Americans, the contemporary West, women in the West, minorities of the frontier, and western expansion from the Indian point of view. Part genre, and main stream, today's Western takes many shapes and enjoys a broader appeal than ever."

Western Writers of America is the oldest writer's organization in the United States and has a membership of over 500 authors. It's members include novelists, historians, outdoor writers, screen writers, poets, song writers, agents, editors and publishers.

Find out where your book signing is taking place in your area and get involved.

Here's the update on the Nationwide Book Signing schedule: Nine cities/areas are pushing hard for the signing. In addition, we figure that we should have more than 100 writers participating. That's not a bad number for our first ever fully scheduled nationwide book signing.

Active cities/areas:
Where ...........................Chairperson .............Location
Casper, Wyo. .................Jean Henry-Mead...... Blue Heron Book Store
Cheyenne, Wyo. .............Larry Brown ..............City News
Covina, Calif................... Marge Bzovy .............The Book Shop
Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas ..Carmen Goldthwaite ...Barnes & Noble
El Paso, Texas ................Randy Lee Eickhoff ....(Site not confirmed)
NY/Conn. ......................Pax Riddle ..................(Site not confirmed)
Oklahoma City............... M.J. Van Deventer ......Cowboy Hall of Fame
Portland, Ore .................Susan Buttrille .............End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
Tucson, Ariz. .................Sinclair Browning ........Borders

Several good things have come out of this program and there will be many more pluses in the future. Getting the darn signing off the ground is probably the best plus. The second is the involvement by writers who are not members of WWA — their attendance gives us the opportunity to expand our membership as well as show other writers organizations that we like to lead rather than follow. Another plus is the introduction of the first ever book signing kit, an effective tool that can be used year after year. There's more but I'll wait until after the event to post them, along with the totals of all the areas that we tap, i.e.; local/regional/national publicity, member involvement, total book sales, total dollars, and other important demographic data.

Bob Wiseman

ANOTHER EVENT

Update on WRITE ON THE BEACH, which is scheduled for February 2000.

Three editors, an agent, a film producer, and a film director have so far committed to attending. The editors are Pat LoBrutto from Bantam, Shawn Coyne from Doubleday, and Greg Tobin from Ballantine.
Robert Vaughan, who is host of the event, said they will be there to teach writers how to enrich their writing. However, there will be ample time to enjoy the beach and good food, too.
If you're interested in spending time on the beach and want a good way pick up your writing, check out Vaughan's Web page at www.robertvaughan.com

It looks like we will begin shooting THE LAST OUTLAW — a Western about Bill Doolin — in March. The producer and the director will also be at the retreat.

STILL ANOTHER EVENT

Anyone who would like to work on the planning committee for the Gunnison Western Writers Conference scheduled for the third week of July 2001, is welcome to e-mail me. This event is now official, having been passed by the board and the town of Gunnison. We will co-sponsor this along with Western State College, which wants its Western history and English departments to be involved. It'll be fun in the Colorado summer!

Serious planning will begin in January, with monthly meetings via the net, mail and phone. Your input is welcome.

Corinne J. Brown
(Corinnejb@aol.com)

TOUCH OF THE PAST

According to Colorado pioneer rancher Ann Bassett, Butch Cassidy and his outlaw pals once prepared Thanksgiving Dinner for Ann, her father, and some of their neighbors at the Bassetts' Brown's Park ranch in return for the kindness shown the outlaws during their off-and-on use of the Park as a hideout in the 1890s.

Ann, who wrote about the event in detail years later, claimed to have remembered the day well, which is not too surprising: several sources suggest that, as a young teenager, she had a crush on Butch, and at the time of the Thanksgiving gathering, they may have been having an affair.

The year was 1896, and Butch was resuming his outlaw career after an 18-month stretch in the Wyoming State Penitentiary. Three months earlier, he and two members of his gang had robbed a bank at Montpelier, Idaho.

According to Ann, the main course of the dinner was traditional: roast turkey with chestnut dressing, giblet gravy, cranberries, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and creamed peas. Dessert consisted of pumpkin pie and plum pudding.

In describing the guests, Ann wrote that the men wore dark suits with vests, white shirts with "stiff starched collars." She added, "No man would be seen minus a coat and a bow tie . . . if it killed them, and it almost did I am sure." Their mustaches, she said, were "waxed and curled."

The women wore tight-fitting long dresses with "leg-o-mutton" sleeves and boned collars, and their hair was "done up on top of the head either in a French twist or a bun and bangs, curled into a friz." Girls in their teens, she said, wore dresses about three inches below their knees, "with spring-heeled slippers and their hair in curls or braids tucked up with a big bow of ribbons and [the] nap of [their] neck."

Ann recalled that there were at least 35 people at the gathering. Butch and his pals Elzy Lay and Harry (Sundance Kid) Longabaugh (Ann called him Harry Roudenbaugh) served as waiters, and some of the other members of the gang worked in the kitchen. Ann remembered that Butch was a clumsy waiter. Poking fun at him, she wrote: "Poor Butch, he could perform such minor jobs as robbing banks and holding up pay trains without the flicker of an eye lash, but serving coffee at a grand party, that was something else." He "became panicky and showed that his nerve was completely shot to bits."

Apparently Butch got all befuddled serving coffee, and some of his friends had to inform him that "it was not good form to pour coffee from a big black coffee pot and reach from left to right across a guest's plate [and] grab a cup right under their noses." Ann decided that it was a good example of "how etiquette can put fear into a brave man's heart."

Despite Butch's shortcomings, the gathering was apparently a success. Ann recalled that it lasted well into the evening, and for some of the partygoers, all night. Perhaps understandably, Ann's remembrances ended there.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Western Writers Chat Group: When did you first realize you wanted to write?

John Chandler: As far back as I can remember. I was always writing stories and by the time I graduated from high school, I was pretty good. I followed the songwriter’s path, however, and concentrated on lyrics as my fiction outlet for many years. I kept my skills honed through my corporate life as a public relations creative director and copywriter.

WW: Why did you choose the western genre?

JC: I'm a Western man. My mother’s people were pioneers, coming to Colorado from Georgia in the 1850s, and I'm a fourth-generation Coloradan. One great-grandfather, Morgan Patterson, was a legendary deputy sheriff, justice of the peace, miner, hunter, fiddle player and pal of Buffalo Bill’s. Another great-grandfather, Curtis Chandler, was shot in the jaw at Gettysburg and rejoined the Iron Brigade just in time to take a rebel ball in his leg at Battle of the Wilderness. He later homesteaded in south-central Nebraska and ran a supply route from Missouri to Colorado along the Platte River. My grandfather Russell Patterson, to whom THE SPANISH PEAKS is dedicated, loved Zane Grey, and passed that love on to me. My brother and I devoured Louis L’Amour’s books and I always imagined the West of my forebears as my Dad and I fished the rivers of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.

WW: Was your main character, Tom Tobin a real person?

JC: Yes. Tobin was a close friend of Kit Carson's. In fact, Tobin's daughter and Carson's son were married. In his later years, Tobin had a famous reply when asked if he knew Carson. “Yep,” he'd say, “Me'n Kit et many a beaver tail together.” Tobin's most famous exploit came in 1863 when he tracked down and killed the surviving two members of the notorious Espinosa Gang. The Espinosas had terrorized southern Colorado, killing as many as 25 Anglo settlers, reportedly at the behest of the Virgin Mary. Vivian Espinosa was apparently a religious fanatic bent on eradicating Anglos, perhaps going off the deep end after white traders allegedly raped and killed female members of his family. Along with his brother and nephew, he robbed and killed for several years. The army caught up with them near Cripple Creek and killed Vivian. Tobin, along with Army scouts, tracked the remaining two to a camp near La Veta Pass, where Tobin killed and beheaded them. He took the heads in a gunny sack to Fort Garland, near present-day Alamosa, Colorado, and rolled the heads at the feet of Colonel Tappan. The great-grandfather I mentioned above, Morgan Patterson, knew Tobin, as did Morgan's father, Nathan, grandfather, Samuel, and Uncle Decatur. Although Tobin killed the Espinosas to collect reward money, his story was still compelling. I changed his name and gave him a conscience he likely lacked. The result was THE SPANISH PEAKS.

WW: Why did you decide to write THE SPANISH PEAKS?

JC: The area around La Veta, Colorado, is perhaps the most beautiful in the state and is dominated by the Spanish Peaks, two 13,000-foot mountains that literally rise from the plains before joining the Sangre de Cristo Range to the west. Their Ute name was Huajatolla (wa-ha-toy-uh), meaning Breasts of the World. They're mentioned in journals of the Conquistadors and at some point, became los Cumbres Española, the Spanish Peaks. My forebear Decatur Patterson settled there in the early 1860s on land provided by former mountain man Ceran St. Vrain. Patterson and William Green Russell had put together a group of Georgians who discovered gold at the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek in 1858, resulting in the Pikes Peak Gold Rush and, ultimately, Denver. Patterson and his compadres tried to return to Georgia during the Civil War to join the Confederacy, but were captured on the New Mexico/Texas border by Union troops and confined at Fort Union, New Mexico. Three months later, Patterson and one of the Georgia women, Martha Potts, were married at Fort Union, with soldiers reportedly coming up with a $300 dowry. (Now, there's a great story . . . I'd love to find out how that happened.) St. Vrain chipped in the land under the condition that Patterson wait the war out.

About five years ago, an audio publisher hired me to narrate a series of Zane Grey’s westerns, and later asked me to write original Westerns. Tobin's story of Tobin, mixed with my maternal family's adventures in southern Colorado, came to mind, and I wrote of that most beautiful place.

WW: Do you have a particular author who has inspired you to write?

JC: Oh, so many. For a guy whose book spines in his library reads like a membership list from the Old Boys Club, my two favorite authors are actually women. No one has ever written about the Heartland like Willa Cather. Her works are absolutely inspirational and her short story, "Neighbour Rosicky," is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the Promise of America. From a contemporary standpoint, Anne Tyler is simply the best living author. Her characters are the most human I've ever encountered. Don’t believe what you read from all those hoity-toity reviewers: everyone else is a pretender.

Since I first read his books as a teenager, my favorite writer of the West is Fredrik Manfred. His LORD GRIZZLY is still one of the top two or three examinations of mountain men ever written, and easily the best fiction about the fur trade. His HUGH GLASS may be the Western genre's most complex and interesting character. CONQUERING HORSE, whether attributed or not, gave rise to the popularity of the Northern Plains Indians among writers and filmmakers alike. When I write, I often wonder how Manfred would have approached my subject matter. He's a real influence.

Likewise, Louis L’Amour, Will Henry and Zane Grey (I still get chills When Bishop Tull realizes the gunman is actually Lassiter) were great influences. I had the opportunity to share breakfast with L’Amour years ago, and was so impressed by his historical knowledge.

WW: Your THE SPANISH PEAKS novel won the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for the first best novel. What were your feelings on receiving this award?

JC: It took a little while for the honor to set in, then I burst my buttons. I'm extremely gratified that THE SPANISH PEAKS was chosen because it validates my efforts to join the ranks of quality Western fiction writers. A lot of work went into the writing, of course, but the book's design and marketing were also critical. I feel we came up with the whole package and it was wonderful to see the book honored.

WW: Do you have immediate plans for another novel? If so could you give us a brief synopsis about it?

JC: I've finished WYOMING WIND, a new take on the Tom Horn legend. Unlike myriad legends where outlaws cheat death and survive, as Butch Cassidy likely did and Jesse James definitely did not, few have questioned the validity of Tom Horn's execution. Several descendants of Wyoming's prominent cattlemen of the era, however, have raised questions about Horn's hanging that I've explored in a fictional fashion.

WW: Do you think the film industry may do THE SPANISH PEAKS as a movie?

JC: My fingers are crossed. Paul Pape of Red Wall Productions has written a wonderful screenplay that is being circulated. Several prominent actors have expressed interest, as has up-and-coming director Jeff McCracken. Hollywood is notoriously fickle, so I have no idea of whether or not the film will be made, but I like its chances.

WW: What do you do for a living besides writing?

JC: I'm also a singer/songwriter/performer based in Denver as well as a corporate communications consultant. I've released two CDs in the past couple of years, Out West of Laramie and Keepers of the Flame, with a new CD, Westerns, slated for release in the next month. Keepers of the Flame is a tribute to America's farmers and ranchers and has won nine major communications awards to date. The CD was sponsored by conservation and agricultural groups, including the National Association of Conservation Districts and the American Farm Bureau Federation, and is doing well. The new CD, Westerns, is my current priority. I feel it's my best work from songwriting, performance and production standpoints, and hopefully has the chance to make an impact in the Country/Americana market.

WW: What would you suggest new writers do to be able to get published?

JC: The road to getting published is long and lonesome. It's also individual. Networking seems to be the answer, which is why membership in WWA is important. In addition, new authors need to understand the value of good editing. Also, being a glutton for punishment is required. The upside is, someday when the ship comes in, you'll probably be able to paper your writing room with rejection letters.

There's plenty more where this came from, in Part 2 of the newsletter.

Part 2

WRITING ARTICLE

I thought e-publishing consisted of computer downloads you either read on screen or printed to take to bed with you, so I was surprised and pleased to learn that e-books are also available on CD-ROM, complete with sound and illustrations that you can also take to bed via notebook computer. (Or handheld reader.)

Tired of my manuscripts languishing for months at TOR and St. Martins, I decided to sell the electronic rights to a CD-ROM company and I'm pleased with the results. The graphics and sound are great and the company is cooperative in getting out art covers in advance, producing flyers, and letting me have a say in how my work is published.

When both my Wyoming historical, ESCAPE ON THE WIND, and amateur sleuth novel, SHIRL LOCK & HOLMES, were accepted for publication, I started investigating the medium. I joined EPIC, an organization based in Australia's capital, for e-writers of every genre. As a result, I've received a crash course by reading the EPIC list messages from e-writers around the world. Bill Gates and those on down the monetary chain predict that e-books will outdistance those in print within the next five years. I wouldn't be surprised.

Who's writing e-books? Everyone from newbies to award-winning veterans, who sell their electronic rights to RocketBooks and a growing number of electronic publishers springing out of the sagebrush. Some e-books haven't been that well edited, but as the demand for CDs and diskette books have grown, products improve.

My novels are still under consideration for print versions, but in the meantime I'm enjoying increased traffic at my revamped Web site, and I'm hearing from people as far away as Spain and Australia on the EPIC Web ring, asking where they can acquire my books on CD-ROM. Not bad for novels that won't be available until mid-November.

Jean Henry-Mead
http://member.aol.com/jeanhenry/maverickwriters.html

HOLIDAY IDEA

A few years back, I received five holiday cards from an organization. I really didn't know what to do with them, but sent a check. On Sunday I read a Dear Abby column and she asked people to send holiday cards to our servicemen and women across the world.

I dug around and found the four cards and since I didn't want to lose the fifth one, sent it to the local VA hospital, asking it be given to someone who received no mail for the holidays. The four recipients around the world sent me thank you notes, pictures of where they were stationed (mostly desolate spots) and the man in the VA hospital wrote me a thank you note on a paper towel. A nurse sent it to me. Now, I know this is 1999 instead of 1889 but folks are folks. Folks get pretty lonely at the end of the year. Everyone has memories of holiday family feeds, gift sharing and even maybe a kiss under the mistletoe! Below are the four addresses for Dear Abby. I hope the good Western Writers of AOL, will spend a couple of minutes and a few stamps to liven up the holidays for service people who are living in poor conditions far from home. Remember APO addresses take the normal 33-cent stamp.

The U.S. Postal Service will accept this mail from Nov. 15 to Jan. 15.

FOR EUROPE AND SOUTHWEST ASIA:
Any Service Member
Operation DEAR ABBY
APO AE 09135

FOR MEDITERRANEAN BASIN:
Any Service Member
Operation DEAR ABBY
FPO AE 09646

FOR THE FAR EAST:
Any Service Member
OPERATION DEAR ABBY
APO AP 96285

FOR THE PACIFIC BASIN:
Any Service Member
OPERATION DEAR ABBY
FPO AP 96385

WESTERN WEAR

Ask any cowboy what he considers the most important item of clothing he wears and he will probably say, "My hat." If you press the issue, and ask him, "What about your boots?" He'll say, "Hell, you said clothing, not equipment!"

Boots, to a cowboy, are part of his tack, like his saddle, bridle and reins. Maybe that's why a cowboy won't blink at a $300 price tag for a pair of well-made boots.

That is also why the Stewart Boot Co. is a success. It is unique. The last of a breed. The only surviving handmade boot factory in America. Oh, you can still get handmade boots from custom bootmakers like Paul Bond or Jess Bogle, if you don't mind waiting three to five years and paying two to five times as much for your fancy alligator or ostrich 'kickers. You can buy machine-made Tony Lamas, Justins or Dan Posts for about the same price as a pair of Stewarts, but if you want handmade boots, with the quality sewn in, and you don't want to pay a custom bootmaker's price or endure the long wait, then Stewart Boots are the way to go.

Stewart Boot Co., "the largest bootmaker in all of South Tucson," is owned by Victor Borg, who bought it from Ron Stewart in 1970. Stewart and partner Adolpho Romero founded the company in Mexico in 1940. Later, the bootmaker moved to Los Angeles and eventually to Tucson. Borg, an engineer, had tired of working in electronics and wanted to get into business for himself, perhaps in a field where he could work with his hands. "When I walked into Stewart Boots and smelled the leather, I knew I had found a home. I knew nothing about boots, but my father had been an upholsterer and had taught me the business. And, when I tried on a pair of boots, I knew this was the business I wanted to buy."

As luck would have it, Ron Stewart was ready to retire, or at least to move on to something else. Borg made an offer and Stewart accepted. That was how the former Air Force radar mechanic from the Bronx became a manufacturer of fine cowboy boots.

Since then, Borg and Stewart Boots have survived hostile takeover attempts by "the big boys in the boot industry," booms sparked by movies such as "Urban Cowboy" and "City Slickers," and a disastrous storm that tore half the roof off the factory and ruined a roomful of leather hides.

In 1980, John Travolta two-stepped his way to stardom in "Urban Cowboy," a movie that sparked interest in mechanical bull riding, country-Western music, Western apparel and cowboy boots. The result, Borg says, was a disaster for small, independent bootmakers. "Some people got greedy and flooded the market with inferior products. People who bought inferior boots will never buy boots again." (Author's note: Ill fitting boots can ruin your feet. Just ask John Duncklee.) "Half the bootmakers that were in business then have gone belly up."

Unlike other bootmakers, Stewart Boots resisted the temptation to increase production. That caused a rift with some of his customers, Borg says. "They had been ordering two dozen pairs a month, and suddenly started ordering 20 dozen pairs. They just couldn't understand that we couldn't begin to fill the orders. But we just couldn't step up production without sacrificing quality. We do everything by hand."

Stewart Boots is a labor-intensive operation, he explains. "You can run machines day and night, but people have to eat and sleep. We tried stepping up production, but the result was too much pressure on our people. We actually had a fist-fight break out over who was going to use a stitching machine. It just wasn't worth it. We backed off and went back to our Old World approach."

The tribulations caused by the "Urban Cowboy" boom are a memory now, but the pressures to grow beyond their capabilities are still there, Borg says. "There has been a huge trend of mergers and acquisitions all over the country, and the boot business is no different. The little guys have mostly been swallowed up by the big fish. We have fought off numerous efforts to take us over. We want to stay small and maintain the quality we are proud of," he says.

The boots made by Stewart Boots are not fancy boots. "We make the kind of boots that working cowboys wear. Comfort is the key. Our boots are lined with glove-soft horsehide on lasts designed by an orthopedic surgeon. These boots are made to be worn for long hours in comfort. They're not for show, but a lot of our customers do wear them as dress boots."

Stewart Boots are not easy to find, as they are sold only in quality Western apparel stores. You can't just walk into a Wal-Mart or discount store and by a pair of Stewart's, but if you take the time to track down a pair, the result is well worth the effort.

WESTERN HUMOR

Marvin had always wanted to be a gunfighter. As a child he read everything about gunfighters he could find. His hero was Billy the Kid. He dreamed of being just like his hero. One day he went to town and bought himself a black hat, some black clothes, a black horse and two pistols. He went home and every day he went out behind his barn, and practiced shooting.

After two weeks he was getting to be quite a good shot. He decided it was time to show off. He put on his black clothes and hat, strapped on his guns and rode into town. When he walked into the saloon, standing at the bar he saw Billy the Kid. He was so excited! He walked up and said, "Mr. Kid, I am your biggest fan. I have always wanted to be just like you. Look at me. Do I look like a gunfighter?"

Billy looked him over and said, "Well, you have the right clothes and you have a nice black hat, and I see you rode up on a black horse. But, can you shoot?"

Marvin looked around the room and said, "See that piano player over there?" He drew his pistol and fired, shooting the cufflink off the piano player's shirt.

Billy said, "Not bad. Can you shoot with your left hand? A gunfighter's got to be able to shoot with both hands."

Marvin drew his other pistol and fired, shooting off the piano player's other cufflink.

Billy said, "That's mighty fine shooting. I just have one piece of advice for you."

Marvin was bubbling with excitement, "What is it? What else should I do?" Billy spoke slowly, "Well, go back into the kitchen there and get a big tub of lard. Take both of your pistols and rub them around in the lard, get them good and slick."

Marvin was puzzled. He asked, "Why is that important? What good will rubbing my pistols in lard do?"

Billy replied, "It won't help your shooting at all, but when Wyatt Earp finishes playing the piano over there he's going to shove both of your pistols up your ass."

Two Indians and a cowboy walking along in the desert, when, suddenly, one of the Indians took off and ran up a hill to the mouth of a cave. He stopped and hollered into the cave: "Woooooo! Woooooo! Woooooo!" Then he listened very closely until he heard the answer: "Woooooo! Woooooo! Woooooo!" He tore off his clothes and ran in to the cave.

The cowboy was puzzled and asked the other Indian what that was all about. Was that Indian goofy or something?"

"No," the Indian said. "It is mating time for us Indians and when you see a cave and holler, "Woooooo! Woooooo! Woooooo!" and get an answer back, that means she's in there waiting for you. "

Just about that time, the Indian saw a cave. He ran up to it, stopped and hollered, "Woooooo! Woooooo! Woooooo!" When he heard the return, Woooooo! Woooooo! Woooooo!" off came the clothes and into the cave he goes.

The cowboy trudges on, looking for a cave, when he suddenly spots this great big one. "Man!" he thought. "Look at the size of that cave! It's bigger then the ones that those Indians found. There must really be something great in this cave!"

So he took off up the hill as fast as he could run, visions of grand ecstasy dancing in his head. At the cave entrance, he hollered, "Woooooo! Woooooo! Woooooo!"

He was just tickled all over when he heard the answering call, WOOOOOOOOO! WOOOOOOOOO!! WOOOOOOOOO!" big and bold. Off came his clothes and, with a big smile on his face, he raced into the cave.

The next day, in the newspaper, a headline appeared:

NAKED COWBOY RUN OVER BY FREIGHT TRAIN

INFORMATION

You are traveling on the back roads of the Sonora Desert, 40 miles from nowhere, when the engine of your vehicle seizes up. The searing sun beats down on you with 110-degree hostility. Panic races through your mind. Do you know what to do to survive? Are you prepared? Can you make the right decisions to keep you and your companions alive?

If you know what to do, and how to do it, you may look back on this experience in a few months and laugh. But if you lack the knowledge or the survival skills, you will be little more than a fond memory to your friends and family. From the moment you are compromised, the clock starts ticking. If you are to be saved, chances are it will take search and rescue crews 72 hours to reach you, so your survival is in your own hands for the next three days.

You can learn a lot about surviving in the desert by watching old Western movies. Unfortunately, what you learn is often bad advice, and if you do what Duke or Coop do in the movies, you could wind up deader than Liberty Valance. The four things most necessary to survival are shelter, water, food and, sometimes, fire. Think of the clothes on your back as personal shelter, your first line of defense against the elements. You may be tempted to take off your shirt, but you'll burn in a hurry if you do. That hat will keep the sun from baking your brain.

The key is simplicity. Forget the gadgets and the technology, rely on your own skills. Those GPS gadgets are great, but they don't work with dead batteries. Cellular phones are often out of range just a few miles into the desert, especially in the mountains.

The first thing to consider is keeping your body temperature at 98.6. This is where you clothing comes into play. Water comes next, then fire, then group shelter. Other needs are cutting edges, cordage, food procurement and signaling. Master these and you can survive until help arrives.

Even a short trip into the desert in an air-conditioned car can turn into a disaster in a matter of seconds. The quickest way to get stuck is to drive into a sandy wash. Many people feel invincible if they are driving a four-wheel drive, but even SUVs can get stuck in the sand, or high-centered on a rock.

Before you go on a trip, check out your vehicle. Make sure all you fluids — oil, transmission and brake fluid, and engine coolant — are okay. File a "flight plan" — tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back. That way, you know that if you don't get back on time, someone will be looking for you.

If you do get stuck, stay with your vehicle. A car is much easier to see from the air than a person. Don't try to walk out except as a last resort. If someone knows you're missing, they'll be out looking for you. Distances are deceiving in the desert, and unless you know your way around, it is very easy to get lost.

Know where you are, and where the nearest town or highway is. Once you are off the beaten path, remember that roads seldom get better. A lot of people fall into the trap of staying on a bad road, hoping it will get better. It won't. Usually it gets worse.

It is better to have water with you than to try to find water. It can be done, but chances are, you will use up more water, in the form of perspiration, in digging for water or building a solar still. I always carry at least one gallon per person per day, in my old Bronco when I venture out into the desert.

Now, about that bad advice.

Despite what the Duke says about saving the water in your canteen until you are really thirsty, don't do it! Thirst is a symptom of dehydration. By the time you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated. Conserve water, but don't hoard it. The water in your body is more important than the water in your canteen.

How many times have you heard the hero say, "Suck on a pebble"? Well, you can't forestall dehydration by sucking on a pebble. It may mask the symptom of thirst, but you are still dehydrating.

If you believe what the movies tell you, the rattlesnake is the most dangerous venomous creature in the desert. Sorry, but it just ain't so. Bees kill more people every year than all other venomous creatures combined. And that business about a rattlesnake always rattling before it strikes is also a lie. It may and it may not, don't count on it. You stand a better chance of winning the lottery than you do of getting bitten by a rattlesnake, unless you do something stupid, like trying to pick one up. If you see a snake, just leave it alone. It won't chase you.

If you happen to be unlucky enough to get bitten by a rattler, do not do what Duke did when Joanne Dru got a "poisoned arrow" in her shoulder. He just wanted to give her a hickey. Forget all about the "cut and suck" remedy and all the others you've heard about. Whiskey is not good snakebite medicine, either. Relax and get medical help as soon as possible.

Then there's the old cowboy yarn about purifying water by mixing it with whiskey. Nope! Don't do it! It won't work and it's a bad thing to do to good whiskey.

What about that old saw about getting water from cactus? You can get moisture from the top third of a barrel cactus, perhaps as much as a quart, but chances are good that even a few ounces may make you sick and nauseated, and moisture you can't keep down does you no good at all. I know this from personal experience, but if you want to try it, be my guest. Remember, however, that cacti are protected by law, so unless you are in a real life or death situation, it is best to avoid destroying or damaging cactus.

Okay, so what do you do if you are stuck in the desert and were foolish enough not to bring water? Well, you can sometimes find water in the desert if you know where to look. If you are in a sandy wash, try digging down a few inches. If you hit damp sand, keep digging, if not, give it up before you lose too much moisture by perspiration. Look around. Are there any trees nearby? Trees need water to survive, so chances are you may find some water if you dig close to trees, especially cottonwoods.

Probably the best advice I have for a tenderfoot venturing out into the Arizona desert for the first time is this: Don't go alone. Get an experienced "desert rat" to take you.

BOOK NEWS

The hardcover edition of John Truett's historical novel Clay Allison, Legend of Cimarron was so well received that it is being reissued in trade paperback in January 2000.

In addition, the "downloadable" edition of John's historical novel Maximilian's Gold will be available in trade paperback form via Print On Demand next month (December).

John (Cimjat) has been under the weather of late and if at home trying to get his strength back after a stint in the hospital. He's not much up to writing at this point, so he's waiting to get back to his regular old self so he can continue with another manuscript.

We wish our friend John well. Get better, John!

Well, folks, thanks for reading. Please keep the articles and information coming. This newsletter has gotten some really fine contributions lately. We especially want Christmas stories for next month's issues. Short stories would be nice, but nonfiction pieces about Christmas (and other holidays that come around the same time) in the Old West would be great, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jack and Marge