“Rain follows the Plow.” It’s a sentence that seems so ridiculous to modern people that we wonder how anyone ever believed it. But in America in the late 19th century, this was gospel truth to some people. Rain follows the plow. The idea behind rain follows the plow was simple and powerful. Proponents needed a […]
Tag: American West
John Wesley Powell – Forgotten Prophet of the Old West?
Back when I first started grad school, I learned about John Wesley Powell. His career was both inspirational and tragic. And Powell’s career was also an interesting encapsulation of the history of the United States after the Civil War. John Wesley Powell was an explorer, a scientist, and, in some ways, a visionary. You’ve probably […]
The John Wesley Powell Map – A Real West That Could’ve Been?
Take a look at the following map of the American West. It is known as the John Wesley Powell map. Study it for a moment. The title is “Arid Region of the United States, Showing Drainage Districts.” A bland name, perhaps, but straightforward. The map’s author is one of the more important scientists in American […]
The Cowboy Way – Prime Historical Nonsense
(Disclaimer: if you like cowboys, you might want to skip this discussion of the cowboy way. It won’t be pretty. Or, alternately, stick around and learn some history.) It was, perhaps, the most worthless hour of my life. I was a college professor, and the motivational speaker at our inservice gathering was about to educate […]