The Spokesrider » Bridges

Consort

Spokesrider — Fri, 13 May 2011 06:52:03 +0000

Over at Ken Steinhoff’s Cape Girardeau History and Photos blog there was some discussion of the designation “consort” on the gravestone of “Charlotte Pemanpieh Bougainville, consort of Lorimer.” (Louis Lorimer and Indian Park). I’ve seen that designation on tombstones here and there, including several that I saw in a cemetery near Cicott Trading Post [...]

Wabash Cannonball Bridge

Spokesrider — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 05:37:59 +0000

Sat Oct 24. Vincennes IN to West Salem IL. At the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge I forgot myself and crossed into Illinois like I’ve done on previous rides. Then I remembered that I had wanted to try the toll bridge across the river at St. Francisville IL. So I went back to the Indiana [...]

Red Bridge

Spokesrider — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 06:41:07 +0000

The near side of the Mississinewa River had been the home of Miami people who had resisted deportation to the west in the 1830s-1850s. They had reserves here through the 1870s, and had lived along the river even after the land had been "allotted," or converted to private property.

Hung here for killing Indians

Spokesrider — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:57:16 +0000

(Sep 29 2009, cont.) Before this ride I somehow had the impression that the monument for the Fall Creek hanging was on the south side of the creek. I was pleased when I spied it on the north side where it belonged, and that there was a bridge over the creek so I could get [...]

A walk in the park

Spokesrider — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:03:56 +0000

(29 Sep 2009, cont.) These are more scenes from the walk in Falls Park. My bicycle and I walked together. I wanted to get down to Fall Creek itself, but railroads prefer not to come down to our level in places like this. I was assured by the increasing height of the railroad bed that [...]

Old trails in Coldwater Township

Spokesrider — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 23:59:47 +0000

(July 26, con’t.) When I visit the Oak Grove Cemetery I sometimes like to get a few photos from the old bridge across the Coldwater River, too. This bridge is now blocked off for vehicles but it’s not hard to climb over the guardrails to walk on it. And a footpath is still left open [...]

Back to Ridgeville

Spokesrider — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:40:39 +0000

There was one long chapter that I almost skipped over. The author seemed to be a good storyteller -- maybe too good, I thought. The language he used would be racially offensive in more ways than one to people nowadays -- he seemed to immerse himself in the stories and the ways of his grandfather's time -- yet he also recognized that what was done to the Indians was wrong. He tells stories of violence that need some corroboration -- I find it remarkable that they would not have gotten the attention of Indian agents and legal authorities -- but I have so far found hardly any in the resources I have at home. He is very specific about places and names, which is what makes for good bicycle destinations; and vague about years and dates, which is frustrating. But I'm going to do what I can with it.

Soldiers Grove

Spokesrider — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:40:31 +0000

Myra alerted me to the news about the recent flooding in Vernon and Crawford Counties, Wisconsin. Soldiers Grove is one of the flooded places. I had ridden through Soldiers Grove on my tour of the Black Hawk War Zone in September 2004. It was on my way to Victory, where the Bad Axe massacre took [...]

A ride on Hwy 49

Spokesrider — Sat, 03 May 2008 04:45:05 +0000

It was while listening to Theodore Rosengarten’s book, “All God’s Dangers : The life of Nate Shaw” that I got the idea that we should go to Alabama to see the places he told about. Myra reminded me that I had never taken her to Florida. So I devised a trip plan that included Florida [...]

Emuckfau

Spokesrider — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:36:45 +0000

More from April 5, 2006. This is a bridge over Emuckfau creek, quite near my destination, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park. The actual village of Emuckfau was a few miles upstream, nearer to Zana (see the Google map below). General Andrew Jackson didn’t quite make it to Emuckfau, either, when he and his Tennesseans came [...]