Uncategorized
Buckskin Bill
Published
11 years agoon
Posted By
AdminBy Megan Paulson Outlaw Partners Chief Operating Officer
On the banks of the Salmon River, 52 miles into Idaho’s Frank
Church River of No Return Wilderness, lived a man so captivating
that Sports Illustrated published a 6,000-word feature
on him in 1966.
“On the River of No Return, in the country named Light on
the Mountains, there lives a gray-bearded man who has turned
back time,” wrote Harold Peterson. “At Five Mile Bar, beyond
which no human soul dwells, Jedediah Smith and Christopher
Carson have but recently passed by, and the year is 1844
forever.”
Born Sylvan Hart in Oklahoma Territory in 1906, Buckskin
was a mountain man at heart and in his craft: resourceful,
independent and artistic. From ornate carvings on hand-made
knives and guns bored with a homemade machine, to mining
and smelting copper and creating tools and utensils, he had a
knack for living off the land.
Buckskin spent more than 40 years living on his
Salmon River homestead, fishing, hunting wild elk
and bear, mining gold and copper, making wine from
local fruit, and cultivating an elaborate 10,000-square-foot
garden.
Those who met Buckskin on the river knew him as an
odd and humorous man. The rangers who frequented
the Salmon gave him his nickname, after the handmade
deer hide clothing he wore with the hair on the
inside, next to his skin. Rumor has it, the smell from
the tanned skin clothing was quite rank, justifying the
alias “Buckskin Bill.”
The oldest of six children, Buckskin was averse to
civilization even as a boy. He left Oklahoma during
the Great Depression to work in the Texas oilfields,
then earned an English degree at the University of
Oklahoma and began a master’s program in petroleum
engineering, but never finished.
In 1932, at age 26, he traveled with his father to Five Mile
Bar on the Salmon River from McCall, Idaho, which required
a two-and-a-half hour drive to the old mining town
of Warren, then a 14-hour hike over 20 miles of rugged
trail. They bought 50 acres of land for $1 and lived there a
number of years before the elder Hart left, seeking a connection
to society.
During World War II, Buckskin tried to enlist in the Army,
but medical exams found an enlarged heart, so he worked
instead as a civilian at the Boeing factory in Kansas. Returning
to Five Mile Bar not long after, he settled for good on
the banks of the Salmon.
When a conservation movement led by Howard Zahniser
in 1956 tried to designate the area surrounding the
homestead a Primitive Area, precluding human habitation,
Buckskin built a stone watchtower on the hillside above
his cabin to defend against government acquisition and
U.S. Forest Service enforcement.
While much of the land became designated Wilderness in
the Wilderness Act of 1964, the feds left Buckskin alone,
and he lived at the outpost until his death in 1980.
To this day, the watchtower and the compounds’ hand-hewn
log cabins, root cellar and underground bomb shelter remain
intact, maintained as a museum for floaters on the Salmon
River. Visiting the mountain man’s home today, one can sense
Buckskin’s presence and understand the pride he must have
felt living in this remote and beautiful place.
This story was first published in the summer 2013 issue of Mountain Outlaw magazine.
You may like
Upcoming Events
march, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy
more
Event Details
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy that tells the story of Toby and Melinda, two lonely people whose lives are forever changed the night they encounter a starving coyote at their apartment building. Over time they grow to expect him, leaving ritual offerings to entice the coyote every night. Toby and Melinda forge a connection over this visitor and share curiosity and concern about his presence in the city. The coyote expands their world–until, one night, their world is shattered. Their lives are pushed suddenly into uncharted territory, sending them on a surreal odyssey that changes their city–and the world–forever.
Directed by LX Miller. Starring Max Schneider and Denise Hergett
Verge Theater is continuing their mission to provide accessible theater to our community. Tickets for My Barking Dog are Pay What You Wish with a suggested price of $35. Audience members are offered the opportunity to select the price point that is comfortable for them when purchasing tickets.
My Barking Dog runs March 15-17, 22-24, 28-30
Performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays begin at 7:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees offered at 3:00 p.m.
Suitable for ages 16 . No animals are harmed in the staging of this production.
Tickets are available online at www.vergetheater.com
Time
15 (Friday) 7:00 pm - 30 (Saturday) 8:30 pm
Location
Verge Theater
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
Thursday of the Lord’s Supper Mass St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Event Details
Thursday of the Lord’s Supper Mass
St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Time
(Thursday) 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm