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Tales of the Ranch

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  • Tales of the Ranch

    The Last Cattle Drive

    March 26, 2022 /

    Up ahead Lloyd saw a rattler taking in the morning sun.  Rattlesnakes were common out here in the summer so you “listened real close” for the rattles when you were out in the pasture.  The Prairie Rattler may be smaller than other rattlesnakes, but it maintains a nasty disposition none the less. Here they were, about ready to cross one’s path with over hundred head of cattle and men on horseback. Before he could say a word out came Oliver’s lariat with a snap, catching the rattler and Lloyd by surprise. Oliver finished off the snake and gave Lloyd the rattles.  What a day, and it had only just begun!…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 2 Comments

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    A Century Since the Great War; Family Ties

    November 12, 2018

    Long Ago and Far Away; Memories of a Log Cabin

    March 25, 2015

    The Goose and Laddie

    February 10, 2016
  • History,  North Dakota History,  The Cowboy Chronicle

    Murderer Lynched: A Frontier Community’s Wrath

    December 17, 2021 /

    She wasn’t even born when it happened, but like for so many in this community tucked away in western North Dakota, the story had a profound effect on her. She remembers as a young child hearing her parents quietly but earnestly talking in the kitchen about it. Even though the incident occurred almost a decade before this conversation, the little girl felt like it had just happened. A family of six, including four children, had been murdered and buried in their own farmyard by a young man who lived and worked in their community. She had bristled at the mention of murdered children. When they saw her peeking in and…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 2 Comments

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    Necessities for a Nomadic Life

    August 18, 2019

    A Century Since the Great War; Family Ties

    November 12, 2018

    The Railroad and Settlement in Early North Dakota

    April 9, 2015
  • Biographies,  History,  Native Americans,  The Cowboy Chronicle,  Western History

    Sakakawea: A Good and Best Woman

    July 27, 2021 /

    Published in The Cowboy Chronicle, July 2021, Volume 25 Issue 4 Much of what we accept as historical fact is often interpretation and legend created from a few known and recorded truths.  It is frequently difficult to separate fact from fiction for many of the famous historical figures in our western heritage. The passing of one such person on December 20, 1812, was sadly noted by clerk John Luttig at Fort Manuel, a short lived (1812-1813) fur trading outpost along the Missouri River in what is now South Dakota.  He wrote, “This evening, the wife of Charbonneau, a Snake squaw died of putrid fever. She was a good and best…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    The Wandering Man

    June 4, 2019

    The Cowboy Doctor

    December 22, 2020

    Harold Schafer, Mr. Bubble and the Legacy of Medora

    April 9, 2015
  • Biographies,  North Dakota History,  North Dakota Horizons magazine

    The Cowboy Doctor

    December 22, 2020 /

    Printed in North Dakota Horizons Magazine Winter 2020 https://www.ndhorizons.com/articles/88/the-cowboy-doctor.aspx On a warm day in late July 1927, all of Dickinson shut down.  Stores and businesses were empty, their doors closed. There was no heart to carry on business as usual.  Crowding the cemetery people were saying goodbye to their beloved “Cowboy Doctor.”  He didn’t just heal and console, he was a friend to almost every family in the region. He was remembered with overwhelming gratitude for his gift of love and 44 years of dedicated service to the people he came to cherish. The “Cowboy Doctor,” Victor Hugo Stickney, was born April 13, 1855. He was raised on the family…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    Lydia Langer: The Unexpected Candidate Amid 1930’s Political Scandal and Intrigue

    October 27, 2016

    Charles Franklin Martell: Pre-1940’s Ranching Division nominee 2019

    February 13, 2019

    Biography of Charles Franklin Martell

    February 28, 2015
  • Native Americans,  The Cowboy Chronicle,  Western History

    Returning Home: the Tragedy and Triumph of the Great American Buffalo

    November 13, 2020 /

    Published in: The Cowboy Chronicle Volume 24 Issue 6 November 2020 Publication of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame With profound joy and a great sense of a spiritual connection they watched the animals step out of the trucks and onto Tribal lands once again, greeting them with traditional welcoming ceremonies. The buffalo and their way of life had been gone for generations, but the longing remained in the people’s souls. The relationship between the buffalo and native people is deep, personal, and ethereal. While the stories and sacred ceremonies had been retained, the youth could not completely understand the kindred relationship because they had not been able to…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    Necessities for a Nomadic Life

    August 18, 2019

    War Bonnet!

    August 13, 2018

    The Legacy of the Horse in the Lives of the Great Plains People

    August 25, 2016
  • The Cowboy Chronicle

    North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Podcast

    November 13, 2020 /

    I was interviewed by Bill Palanuk, Media Director at the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, after my article- “Little Misery”: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Badlands Town, was published. This aired on October 21, 2020 North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame  Any time you pick up an issue of The Cowboy Chronicles newsletter, you have undoubtedly read articles written by Mary Pat Martell Jones. Mary’s passion for history is very evident in her articles and also on her fabulous website writinforthebrand.com which is maintained by her son Michael which she greatly appreciates.We’ll get to know Mary just a bit better today here on Cowboy Chronicles – The…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    The Lewis and Clark Trail Museum

    February 7, 2015

    National Day of the Cowboy: Preserving Pioneer Heritage and Cowboy Culture

    May 29, 2017

    The Goose and Laddie

    February 10, 2016
  • Ghost Towns,  History,  North Dakota History,  The Cowboy Chronicle

    “Little Misery”: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Badlands Town

    October 18, 2020 /

    Published in the Cowboy Chronicle Publication of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Volume 24 Issue 5 Newspapers from New York to Paris and London in the late 1870’s and early 1880’s were abuzz about the Dakota cattle boom on the northern plains of America.  Books, such as James Brisbin’s The Beef Bonanza or How to get Rich on the Plains (1871) and Trans Missouri Stock Raising; the Pasture Lands of North America by Hiram Latham ( 1881), fueled the excitement for the expanding cattle industry.  In 1879 The Bismarck Tribune proclaimed that that western North Dakota possessed “the best grazing lands in the world”.  A writer for the…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    Booming Settlement to Ghost Town: Whispers of the Living History of Charbonneau

    January 29, 2015
  • The Cowboy Chronicle,  Western History

    Just a Bit About the Bit

    June 14, 2020 /

    A good relationship between the horse and his rider is all about communication.  A horse can sense fear, anger and competence, and will react accordingly. However, a good ride whether for work or pleasure, requires effective communication between the horse and rider.  Since ancient times the bit, in one form or another, has been the instrument to help send these messages.   The horse is the only animal we control by putting something inside their mouth. The ancient man’s experience of controlling a pack or riding animal before the domestication of the horse, was by various forms of nose pressure. This method would not work for the equine as its…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    The Railroad and Settlement in Early North Dakota

    April 9, 2015

    The Western Trail

    February 13, 2015

    “It’s a hard way to make an easy living” : Wayne Herman to be Inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame

    February 10, 2015
  • North Dakota History,  North Dakota Horizons magazine,  North Dakota Today

    North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Celebrates Twenty-five Years

    June 13, 2020 /

    The North Dakota Horizons magazine published a shorter version of “Sentinel on the Prairie” in their Summer 2020 edition and online. https://www.ndhorizons.com/articles/86/north-dakota-cowboy-hall-of-fame-celebrates-25-years.aspx The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of fame is celebrating its 25th anniversary. One man’s dream of preserving the stories and character of the state’s forebears has become a renowned center of western culture. Phil Baird thought about this for a long time. So many stories and moments were passing through time, drifting like the wind across the prairies. Countless hours were spent embracing all the memories and history he could. He hated the thought these stories would be lost to time. Those moments wove together the fabric of…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    The Wild Horses of Roosevelt’s Badlands for The Cowboy Chronicle

    November 10, 2017

    Biography of Charles Franklin Martell

    February 28, 2015

    The Lewis and Clark Trail Museum

    February 7, 2015
  • North Dakota Today,  The Cowboy Chronicle

    Sentinel on the Prairie: Celebrating Twenty-five Years of the Preservation and Protection of North Dakota History

    May 28, 2020 /

    He had been thinking about this for a while now.  So many stories and moments, friendships and connections were passing through time. They drifted like the wind across the prairies, and he hated the thought they could all be lost. Countless hours were spent visiting with folks and embracing all the memories and history he could. The stories they told may not have been notable markers in history, but they embodied the character and the essence of the generations.  These moments in time woven together were the fabric of America’s western history and an important part of a great national epic. Those who built North Dakota, who dreamed, sacrificed and…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    The Wild Horses of Roosevelt’s Badlands for The Cowboy Chronicle

    November 10, 2017

    The Wild Horses of Roosevelt’s Badlands

    February 24, 2018

    Knowing Your Past Carries You into the Future

    July 8, 2018
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