Nederland, Colorado and the Frozen Dead Man

How did Nederland, Colorado get its unusual name? Well, it began in 1871 when Abel Breed bought the silver-rich Caribou Mine and shipped the silver ore from Caribou Hill, elevation 10,000 feet down to Middle Boulder at approximately 8,000 feet because it was “warmer.”

In 1873, Breed sold the mine to a Dutch company, and the miners nicknamed the town Nederland. A year later, when the town was incorporated, the locals chose Nederland as the official name.

Nederland is notorious for the Frozen Dead Guy, who is celebrated in a winter festival each year. It seems that Bredo Morstoel, a native of Norway visited his daughter Aud and his grandson, Trygve Bauge in Boulder, Colorado. Unfortunately on his return to Norway, he would not survive a second heart attack and on November 6, 1989 died. Trygve and his mother owned land in Nederland and decided to use it as the base for a new business venture. They planned to build a cryonics storage facility and place grandpa there along with other cryonic bodies believing that one day they could be restored to life using advanced technology not yet developed. Bredo’s body was shipped from Norway to America in dry ice, processed with liquid nitrogen in California and eventually sent to Nederland.

Unfortunately, Aud and Trygve's business plan did not work out. Their visas were revoked, and they had to return to Norway leaving poor Bredo behind.

For almost 15 years, Bredo Morstoel has been in the hands of Bo Shaffer who is known locally as the Ice Man. Shaffer has been driving from Denver to Nederland hauling nearly a ton of dry ice up the mountain every month since 1995. It is an expensive trip that is paid for by the family. Mr. Bredo Morstoel still resides in his original steel coffin, packed in dry ice, surrounded by an insulated wooden box and sits in a Tuff Shed overlooking Nederland, Colorado.

For more information go to:
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/CP-FrozenDeadGuy.html
http://www.nederlandchamber.org/events_fdgd-home.html

Wild Bill Hickok & Dead Man's Hand

Wild Bill suffered from consumption or TB as it is currently known, and so traveled west hoping the clean air would help his condition. It was not only medical reasons that drew him to Deadwood, South Dakota but also the lure of gold. Unfortunately, it would be the death of him because he died on August 2, 1876 at the hands of a drifter called Jack McCall who supposedly wanted to settle a score . He accused Hickok of killing his brother back in Kansas, and so cowardly crept up behind Hickok as he played cards, shooting him in the back of his head killing him instantly. A jury later acquitted McCall believing his story of revenging his brother’s death. McCall spent the rest of his life boasting of killing the infamous gun slinger.

The whole incident should never have happened because Wild Bill, conscious of those who wanted to kill him for the notoriety it would bring always faced the door in a saloon. Although he was ambidextrous and kept two guns in a sash around his waist, he always used his left hand to drink his whiskey leaving his right hand to draw his gun. On that fateful day, he took the only seat available at the card table, a chair that backed to the door and therefore he never saw his killer’s approach. At his death, Hickok was holding a very strong hand, a pair of aces and a pair of eights since known as the Dead Man’s Hand.

Wild Bill Hickok is buried in St. Moriah’s Cemetery, Deadwood with Calamity Jane’s burial site close by.

Linda Berry's Latest

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending the launch of Linda Berry's latest book Death and the Crossed Wires at the Denver Woman's Press Club. It was a wonderful afternoon as Linda read a short piece from her new book and then fielded questions about the six Trudy Roundtree Mysteries she has penned over the years.

Besides being a member of the Denver Woman's Press Club, Linda is also a member of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and Sisters in Crime. She describes herself as a community arts activist and an insatiable theatre-goer.

For more information on Linda Berry's books go to: www.ogeechee.avigne.org/

Piracy on the Open Seas (origin Jolly Roger)

It was called the Golden Age of Piracy and had colorful characters such as Captain Kidd, Calico Jack, Blackbeard and Black Bart. These pirates roamed the open seas causing fear and creating havoc from 1698 to 1718. Just the sight of their flag, the Jolly Roger, could bring about the surrender of a much larger ship. Often, a captain would rather lose his ship and merchandise than the lives of his men.

A common tactic for a pirate captain would be to sail without displaying a flag of any kind. Then, once they were close enough for battle, the pirates would hoist their flag to intimidate the merchant vessel’s captain into submission. Over years, the color and design of the flag changed. Originally, the flag was red in color with no emblem; the color indicated the pirates would take no quarter. Later, a black flag replaced the red, and sometime later still, an individual sewed the emblem of a grinning skull complete with crossbones (sometimes cutlasses) on the black flag. Perhaps the flag became known as the Jolly Roger because a pirate’s nickname for the devil was “Old Roger” but the exact origins are unknown.

Acts of piracy were not exclusive to men; there were at least two women pirates. Mary Read and Anne Bonny masqueraded as men and by all accounts were able to manage the work and keep their identity hidden. These women played a small part in the history of piracy, but men such as Blackbeard, alias Edward Teach and Black Bart, alias Bartholomew Roberts are the subjects of legends.

Black Beard stood approximately 6’4” had long black hair and a black beard. He was known to matt his black beard into long tendrils and, to further intimidate his opponents, he would push hemp cords under the brim of his hat and then light the bottom so the cords appeared like a mane. These slow burning fuses around Blackbeard’s head gave him an even more menacing appearance. Blackbeard’s pirate flag had a distinct design. His flag displayed a full skeletal figure holding an hourglass in one hand and a weapon pointing towards a bleeding heart in the other.

Blackbeard favored the seas around South Carolina and was anchored at Ocracoke Island in his sloop, the Adventure, when his career ended. It was here that he died after a battle with Lieutenant Robert Maynard, Captain of the HMS Pearl. It is believed that Blackbeard had been drinking heavily and this may have helped in his demise. Later, on examination of his body, it was determined that his death resulted from 5 gunshot and at least 20 stab wounds. Legend has it that Blackbeard’s crew fulfilled their captain’s request should he die in battle. Those instructions were to remove his head and throw his body overboard. It is said Blackbeard’s headless body swam around the ship several times before it sank to its watery grave.

Bartholomew Roberts, alias Black Bart, was a completely different character to Blackbeard. Black Bart dressed immaculately, supposedly drank only tea (although this cannot be substantiated) and rarely used profanity. He ruled his crew with fierce determination and had them adhere to a code of conduct that included a disability clause stating that any crewman losing a limb or becoming unable to work due injury in battle would receive a portion of the bounty commensurate with the injuries received.

Roberts’ career in piracy lasted only four short years but he was extremely successful seizing over 400 ships. At one time, he had over 500 men manning four ships. Black Bart lost is life in battle after being hit in the throat by cannon fire. His crew weighted his body and threw it overboard in accordance with his previously stated wishes.
Black Bart’s motto: A merry life and a short one.

Barber's Pole

When we see one, we know immediately what it means. The red, white and sometimes blue stripe on a pole outside a shop indicates that a barber is hard at work within. The Barber’s Pole has an interesting origin that dates from the Middle Ages. It was associated with the art of bloodletting, leeching, surgery and tooth extractions. After a procedure, the bandages were washed and hung on the pole to dry. As the bandages whipped around in the wind, they formed a spiral, and it’s believed this action began the tradition of a striped pole to indicate a barber’s shop. It is thought the red respresents the blood spilled during surgery and the white the bandages. In England during the late 1800s, a statute was enacted that separated surgical procedures from those performed by barbers. From then on, a red stripe on a pole indicated a surgeon and blue for a barber. This made their places of business easily recognizable for the mostly illiterate population.

The barber’s pole in the photograph is in historic downtown Fort Myers, Florida.

Pub Signs in England

Pub signs have been used in England since the 14th century when in 1393 King Richard II ordered landlords to put signs outside their premises so they were easy to identify. Some pubs have maintained the same name for centuries. The signs were highly graphical to make it easy for travelers who would neither read nor write to recognize the name of the establishment. Pubs (or inns if they offered rooms to rent) were often used as landmarks together with churches, milestones and cairns to help a traveler find their destination. Often the signs indicated an allegiance to the crown with names such as “The King’s Head” or “Queen’s Head”, but others signified the area specialty such as “The Lamb and Fleece” (farming) or “The Cutlers Arms” (an area known for their cutlery expertise).

Another visual image used by the innkeeper provided an instant message. When he had brewed a new batch of ale, he would advertise the fact by wrapping a garland around his door post. The sign was instantly recognizable by any traveler who was therefore enticed into the inn for refreshments.

By the way, a pub is actually short for “Public House”. The landlord “invites” an individual into “his house” and therefore reserves the right to decline service and ask an unruly patron to leave his premises.

Smuggling Signals

The Horsey Wind Pump located close to the North Sea was an important instrument in assisting smugglers of wool, brandy and other contraband to avoid the Revenue Men as they scoured the area. The taxes imposed on these items were so high; the local merchants did all they could to avoid paying them and so reverted to smuggling their goods in and out of Norfolk in a clever and ingenious way. If the Revenue Men had been sighted in the area, the wind pump operator was notified and he would stop the sails so they made an X (the Cross of Saint Andrew). When the danger had passed, the operator would put the sails in the sign of a cross + (Cross of Saint George) to indicate the “all clear.” In the absence of wind, a boy would be asked to climb to the sail and his weight would accomplish what the wind could not and the operator would lock the sails in place.

Seeing the coast was clear, the wherry captains who had dumped their contraband overboard and marked the site with a pointer known only to them, retrieved their goods and went on their merry way.

The Horsey Wind Pump is owned and maintained by the National Trust and is in excellent condition. On the site, there is a little tea and gift shop that is open for refreshments.

More on smuggling can be found in my book Extraordinary Places...Close to London page #35 as well as stories on Vikings, kings, queens, ghosts, witches and the witch finder general. ISBN 0-8038-2031-3