The Buffalo Soldiers Who Rode Bikes

[yonder]

I came across this today listening to our local NPR affiliate. Apparently, there will be a documentary released sometime in the future. I've never heard of this.

Tired and hungry, their bright blue Army-issue blouses tattered and wet from rain and snow, the men of the 25th Infantry Regiment reached Alliance, Nebraska, on July 4, 1897. They had covered 1,000 miles in 21 days, having mastered the Rockies, crossed the Yellowstone and Little Bighorn rivers and surmounted drifts of hail said to be “fully 8 feet high.” The 20 buffalo soldiers, led by Second Lieutenant James A. Moss, still had another 900 miles to go, including a grueling 200-mile trek through Nebraska’s notorious sand hills. Each man carried his own rations, cooking utensils, blanket, tent and other necessities rarely toted by soldiers in the American West—extra parts for needed repairs and spare tires. Yes, tires, because these St. Louis–bound soldiers from Fort Missoula, Montana, were sitting tall on bicycle seats not saddles

More here:

http://www.historynet.com/the-buffalo-soldiers-who-rode-bikes.htm

[MontanaMama]

1. The Fort Missoula museum here in town

has a wonderful tribute to the bicycle riding Buffalo Soldiers. There is some dispute as to where the term “Buffalo Soldier” came from but many attribute the nickname to the Native Americans who called the Black Cavalry by the name Buffalo Soldiers because they had kinky, curly hair like the bison. The last surviving Buffalo Soldier, Mark Matthews, died in 2005 at the age of 111.

I didn’t know about the documentary, thank you for the heads up!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Soldier

[yonder]

2. Occasionally I've come across the term Buffalo Soldiers

but never gave it any mind. Now I know. I'd like to see that museum up there someday. A couple of things from that OP link are those bicycles were supposed to have weighed 32# and they averaged 50 miles a day. I figured they would be quite a bit heavier and considering the 120 year old roads and tracks, that's a pretty good pace. Remarkable, if accurate.

The interview today said they've recreated and filmed some of the scenes just north of Boise here - I'll be looking forward to the documentary as well.

[dem in texas]

3. Buffalo Soldiers at Fort McKavett, Texas

This old fort is maintained as a historical site by the state of Texas. It is remote and out of the way and I think that is why I like it so much.

It is well know for having Buffalo Soldiers stationed there.

I was taking classes in Dreamweaver back in 2002 and built a site for Fort McKavett as one of my assignments. It is still up on my cooking website.

http://www.jalapenocafe.com/portfolio/fortmckavett/assignment4_no3.html