Reviews for The Rampaging Frontier: Manners and Humors of Pioneer Days in the South and the Middle West

The average rating for The Rampaging Frontier: Manners and Humors of Pioneer Days in the South and the Middle West based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-12-28 00:00:00 Chris Kincaid Some people have a dark cloud hanging over them from the time they are born. Others have that little cloud come dashing out of a clear blue sky when they are older. Nimrod O'Kelly was one of the latter. Nimrod made the Oregon Trail trip from Missouri to Oregon in his 60s. He staked a claim as far away from other peoople as he could and took the maximum number of acres. He walked 100 miles to Oregon City to record his claim. At this time, Oregon wasn't even a US Territory so its records were a bit sloppy. Nimrod built his small cabin and set about making a subsistence living on his land. Over the years, neignbors began encroaching on the adjoining land. Two of them actually staked part of their claims over large parts of Nimrod's. One family even built its cabin right in the middle of his claim. One day, Nimrod and the middle-of-his claim jumper met and when they parted, the claim jumper was dead. And that really brought the rain out of his newly acquired black cloud. He was 72 years old. The book deals not only with what happened to Nimrod as a result of the death but also with the state of government in Oregon as it became first a Territory and then a State. All records from the time Oregon was settled became null and void when it became a Territory, so Nimrod had to re-record his claim. However, he couldn't record until the territory had done an official survey. After the official survey, settlers had to have a private survey done and then record their claims. They also had to prove continuous residency for at least 4 years before the recording. So Nimrod when round and round proving his claim to the land he had settled and reclaiming his land from the claim jumpers. He was hated and reviled in his community; he was single but said he had a family coming. No one believed him. He said he was a veteran of the War of 1812. No one believed him. He was irascible and more than a little impolite to the people he felt were stealing his land. No one liked him for that; his neighbors were good people. And he was a Catholic in a Methodist enclave. While the story of Nimrod's claim goes forward, the book must also deal with his trial. No records were kept of the original trial because they were not required. The judge kept a "diary" of the daily event which could be as little as "the prosecuter presented his information." According to witnesses that sided with Nimrod, the trial was a farce. He was assigned a lawyer he didn't want; was not allowed to call witnesses (or his lawyer was incompetent enough not to call them); he was not allowed to take the stand in his own defense; and the jury returned the verdict without being present - apparently they all wanted to get home after a long day and just handed their verdict to the judge. The judge was also scheduled to sail for the East Coast as soon as possible after the trial. The verdict was death. Since there was no record, it was difficult to appear. Nimrod's supporters tried to approach the legislature, the governor and the State Supreme Court. The judge who had condemned him was also one of three Supreme Court justices. Round and round it went. The death sentence was affirmed. Nimrod's advocates kept trying. Meanwhile, Nimrod walked all the way to Washington DC to see if he could get help with his claim and apply for a land grant as a veteran of the War of 1812. He managed to make a friend of then Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee. (He was originally from Tennessee.) And receive verification of his war service with the land grant. However, this was stolen from him on his way home. Back home things kept chugging along. New court justices were appointed with new administrations. Appeals began again. The death sentence was finally reduced to two years at the state penitenary and Nimrod was pardoned before his time was served. Several years after his death at 83, after spending more than a decade trying to prove his claim, the state determined Nimrod was right: he owned the land that others had claimed. A bit late. The book is a fascinating story of the early history of Oregon and the politics and social connivances that went on during that time. (The Supreme Court justice who affirmed Nimrod's death sentence was also the circuit judge for his district, so he handed down orders to himself to deliver!) Read it and weep (or laugh) and feel sorry for Nimrod with his little black cloud.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-04-04 00:00:00 Brooke Akins This is what history books should be about. Very well researched, includes several maps of the locations and area to get a good idea of what is going on. Goes into detail about how land claims were made in those days (including how measurements were made,) and even talks a bit about legal procedures and how the settlers had to contend with three different sets of laws in this case. Highly recommend this book to anyone who likes history, or even those who just want to read a murder trial biography outside of the normal.