5 December: Bill Pickett

Born on this date in 1870 was Bill Pickett, an American rodeo cowboy who was the first African American to be inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971. 10 things you might not know about him:

1. Picket was born in Texas, and was one of 13 children. His father, Thomas Jefferson, was a former slave. Bill dropped out of school after fifth grade to work as a ranch hand.
2. He was just 5' 7" tall and weighed 145 pounds.
3. He was known as the "Dusky Demon".
4. Steer wrestling, an event still popular in rodeo shows today, was invented by Bill Pickett. It was something he'd needed to do while working as a cowboy in Texas, when it was necessary to catch one steer in areas with heavy brush which made lassoing the animal with a rope impossible. Pickett came up with the idea of biting the steer on the lip once he had hold of it by the horns, as a bulldog would do. The animal would be shocked enough to allow him to pull it to the ground. Bulldogging is an alternative name for steer wrestling. Most cowboys, however, baulk at the idea of biting a steer's lip. That and the objections raised by humane societies meant that the sport was modified. Pickett would often be fined for animal cruelty when he pretended to use the move as part of a show.
5. Bill got his big break when he went to Fort Worth, Texas, to visit his cousin, and while he was there, take part in some rodeo shows to make some extra money. In the audience was Colonel Zack Miller, one of the owners of the 101 Ranch, who put on exhibition rodeos. Bill Pickett went on to work for Ranch 101 for 25 years and became their star attraction.
6. As part of the Ranch 101 show, Bill got to travel, not only all over the USA, but as far afield as Argentina and Britain, where he performed for the royal family.
7. Once, in Mexico, one of the Miller brothers bet 5,000 pesos that Bill could ride a Mexican fighting bull for five minutes. Pickett stayed on the bull's back for seven and a half minutes, but broke three ribs in the process and was severely gashed by the bull, which also gored his horse. The local crowd were angry because to them, it was disrespect for the tradition of bullfighting. Mounted police had to come in to stop the ensuing riot as the crowd threw bottles and rubbish at the 101 Ranch performers.
8. He appeared in a couple of films in the early 1920s - The Bull-Dogger and The Crimson Skull.
9. Most cowboy movies, however, didn't feature Bill Pickett, or any other of the thousands of African American cowboys working at the time. Only recently have historians begun to tell their stories, with the help of Bill Pickett's great-grandson, who was raised by his grandmother, Pickett's daughter, Bessie, who'd told him many stories about Bill as he was growing up.
10. Pickett retired from performing in 1916 and bought a ranch in Oklahoma. It was here, in 1932, that he tripped while roping a stallion. The Horse kicked him in the head, fracturing his Skull. He died of the injury 11 days later. His funeral was one of the largest ever held in the state of Oklahoma.

Golden Thread

Terry Kennedy is inexplicably and inexorably drawn to the small town of Fiveswood as a place to live and work after university. He is sure he has never visited the town before, but when he arrives there, it seems oddly familiar.

Fiveswood has a rich and intriguing history. Local legends speak of giants, angels, wolves, a local Robin Hood, but most of all, a knight in golden armour. Fiveswood's history also has a dark side - mysterious deaths blamed on the plague, a ghostly black panther, and a landslide which buried the smugglers' caves.

Terry buys an apartment in The Heights, a house which has been empty for decades, since the previous owner disappeared. Now he has finally been declared dead, developers have moved in and turned it into six flats. Terry has the odd feeling he has lived in this enigmatic house before. But that is not all. Since childhood, Terry has had recurring, disturbing dreams which have been increasing in frequency so that now, he has them almost every night. To his dismay, the people from his nightmares are his new neighbours.

Except, that is, for Eleanor Millbrook. She is refreshingly unfamiliar. After Terry saves her from a mysterious attacker, they become close. However, Terry's nightmares encroach more and more on his waking life, until they lead him to a devastating discovery about who he really is.

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