Blaine,
After reading your post, I won't even enter the State of Kansas, let alone get near that house! Daddy Long Legs are the only type of spider that I can stand to encounter without running in terror. My 8th grade boys knew that, if they ever tried to pull a snake or spider trick on me, they were instant dead meat! The boys and the critters...
Yikes. I'm going to have to make up a source where it says Booth and Herold were encased in a giant hamster ball during their time in the pine thicket, so that I can be safe from all the critters when I'm in there.
Interesting that you should bring that up. According to family tradition, Herold and Booth, while hiding in the pine thickett for several days, staved off starvation by eating a giant hamster.
Dave, what month do you plan on doing this? March or April?
Don't worry about mosquitoes and such. All you have to do is rub mud over any exposed skin like we use to do in the Marine Corps!!
Also, didn't Booth have a second derringer on him?
Craig
Craig,
I am planning on doing this the week of April 14th, when I have my spring break from teaching. My grandfather was a marine so perhaps I will channel him and become one with the mud, but I'd rather avoid it.
Booth had two revolvers on him during his escape, but he dropped his derringer in the box after shooting Lincoln. While derringers were usually sold in matching pairs and there have been many claims from people who say they have its partner, no reliable mate to Booth's derringer has ever been found.
Dave has posted a video about his planned camping trip
here. Good luck, Dave!
Dave has done a wonderful job -- "living history" is a great learning tool! He will get great insight into his subject by undertaking this, believe me.
Thanks all. I hope the weather during my camp out is nice and warm like yesterday and not freezing and snowy like today.
My burning question is, "Have you arranged for someone to bring you fried chicken and ham biscuits during your sojourn in the woods?" Remember that James O. Hall and Joan Chaconas found what Mr. Hall was fairly certain the cabin of a lady who did some of the cooking at Jones's bidding. That cabin is long gone now; I can't even find the beginning of what used to be a dirt road to it.
I have two suggestions: One, my daughter lives nearby, so call her and ask her to bring KFC or Popeye's (I raised a heathen child who never fries chicken because she doesn't like it!). Second, you'll be about a mile and a half from Capt. Billy's, so see if they will deliver cream of crab soup and a crab melt. It'll be a little early in the season for soft shells since we've had a hard winter. Don't forget to ask for hush puppies.
How about Dave giving us a detailed account of his experience along with video at next year's conference???
I'll add him to the list of prospects. Believe it or not, I already have about six possibilities.
I would go for the Popeye's Dave.