The Pioneer Museum in Flagstaff

The Pioneer Museum is part of the Arizona Historical Society, so we were hoping it would give us a sense of the history of Northern Arizona, and Flagstaff in particular. The history recorded here is quaint and frequently presented in first-hand accounts, which we find preferrable to revisionism based on the latest theories. Most of the exhibits are specific to a topic and time period, so we didn't find a general, chronological history of the area, but we did find several interesting vignettes.

The museum is housed in the former Coconino County Hospital for the Indigent, on the grounds of the former "poor farm." Several exhibits recall details and names from the hospital years (1908 to 1938), including a reconstructed surgery and an iron lung.

One of the larger exhibits contained sketches, photos, and first-hand accounts of the volunteers from Arizona that fought with Teddy Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War in Cuba. The Arizona contingent brought a mascot with them: a mountain lion cub named Josephine. Josephine grew to adulthood, and provided many exciting moments for the soldiers, especially when her natural instincts drove her behavior around the dog and eagle that were mascots from other states. That's Josephine's head in the picture above. Her cause of death is undocumented, but her hide was used as a rug for several years until it wore out, and all that was salvaged is what you see above.

Although labeled "Rough Riders," the soldiers displayed amazing horse handling skills and felt the title denigrated those skills. Ironically, very few horses were transported to Cuba with the soldiers, so most of them fought on foot as infantry. The display case shown above contained a campaign hat, a sword, and a rifle, among other things. I don't recall the description of the rifle, so I'll challenge any reader familiar with guns to use what information they can glean from the photo to enlighten the rest of us.

Although originally a homesteading cabin for one of Flagstaff's earliest white settlers, this building was moved to the museum site so folks like us could snoop around in an original structure from about 100 years ago. Ironically, this is one of the most modern dwellings we've visited here in Arizona.

Also on site is this train that had served as a logging train quite a few years ago. Unfortunately, I think I've lost the printed information describing this train, so again I'll challenge a train expert in our readership to help me out on this one. Thanks in advance for your assistance, and thanks for visiting!

In Memory of Mr. Henry Tilney, Apr. 7, 2008 - Dec. 31, 2008

We made it almost a full year before losing another cat. This time Mr. Henry Tilney was not cautious enough crossing the road, and died shortly before noon on December 31. Our last loss was Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, who met a similar fate early on the morning of January 1, 2008. Tilney showed less fear and skittishness than the other two cats in most situations, and that trait ultimately betrayed him. We've included a few photos here to chronicle the short life of a unique pet.


Here's Tilney shortly after he joined us in June. Although kinda scrawny at the time, he was bigger than his cousin, Mr. George Knightley, who joined us at the same time.

That's Knightley playing with Tilney's tail. By this fall Knightley had grown larger than Tilney, although Tilney had in turn grown larger than our third cat, Mr. Charles Bingley.

Looking particularly cute peering over Gretel's shoulder.

Any cat at our house is subject to the will of Gretel, including Tilney. We're not sure if the cats enjoyed the ribbons, but they definitely didn't like the basket. Notice the absence of relaxed postures and purring.

The kitties were pampered with a blanket spread on the deck most days last summer, and they enjoyed many naps in the comfort of the hackberry tree.

Tilney and Knightley enjoying each other's company.

Mr. T was generally happy to be held and the least skittish of the cats. Hey! What's that cat doing in the house?!

You've seen this image before, but it accurately represents the relationship the cats enjoyed this fall and winter. Mr. T was the last to pile on in this pose, and the others were happy to let him join the fun.

Mr. Tilney was the first of the cats to feel comfortable in Gretel's new "walking jacket."

Tilney was the best climber of all the cats, although this ladder is a minor feat for this cat. Tilney would regularly climb the trees in the yard as if hunting for birds or just looking over his domain. He was a bit cruel in that he would coax the other cats into the trees, run from branch to branch while they plodded along carefully behind him, and then leap to the ground and run away while the others were still high in the tree wondering how to get down.

This is our last photo of Mr. Tilney as he explores in the upstairs of the barn on a blurry day. Like any of the other cats, we miss Mr. T already, although as one of our family commented on the day of his passing, "At least it was the stinky one that died." On this blog, even epitaphs tell it like it is.

A new bedroom for the cats

Ever since Hurricane Ike rolled through, the old shed has been pretty damp and miserable -- certainly no place for a cat to call home. At least that's what all the females in the house decided. So the cat food and litter box have moved into the garage, and the cats now sleep there also. This post presents photographic evidence that the cats prefer to sleep on the riding mower.

Lily couldn't resist a few photos of the cats snuggled together. They seemed to be unphased by the flash of the camera.

Same occasion, different angle. I think Lily likes this photo because it reminds her of the way she and Gretel share a bed... only one of the cats should be yelling at the others...

This was an afternoon nap when Mr. Tilney claimed the plush seat, while Mr. Knightley chose the "treat box."

Not only have the cats found a nice supply of mice to play with lately, but here Mr. Knightley demonstrates that cats can have fun killing spiders as well. Good kitty!

Prairie Dog

I'm not sure what attracted Mr. Bingley's attention in the wheel well of the car, but it was enough to make him do his prairie dog imitation. We have witnessed this posture several times before, but have never been able to capture it with the camera, especially since he does not strike this pose as often now as he has in the past. When he was our only cat last winter it was common for him to sit outside the door to the deck "prairie doggin" while waiting for someone to show him some attention. Maybe someday we'll get a better shot of his prairie doggin, but this will have to do for the time being.

Cat on a hot asphalt roof

A few weeks back we witnessed our oldest cat, Mr. Bingley, as he walked along the rail on the deck behind the house and leaped from there into the attic (which was open because the soffit was removed). We were a little concerned, but mainly amused that he would be curious enough to leap into that area. Yesterday, he entertained the girls by making his way on to the roof.

Not content to merely wander the boring roof, Mr. Bingley found the one item of interest: the chimney. If you look carefully at the middle space in the chimney, you'll see a black cat with some white fur on his face and neck. (If you click on the photo, it should enlarge).

Here he has made his way around to the other side of the middle space and seems content to be indifferent to his adoring fans below.

Finally done with his performance he takes a gander in the gutters to see if there are any treats to be had.... I certainly hope he doesn't fall into the chimney on subsequent trips as it would be very difficult to get him out, and he would smell pretty bad after a few weeks, not to mention the mournful meowing we would have to endure. Perish the thought, we may have to take drastic measures if the poor cat ever does fall in.