People who experienced their very first Frontierado with Balladeer’s Blog this year agreed it was a warm and beautiful experience they’ll remember for a lifetime. Anyway, to meet the demand for more Frontierado items til next year here’s one last neglected Wild West figure.
Sam Sixkiller
1. SAM SIXKILLER – Not only does this gunslinger have a name that screams out for cinematic treatment (or at least a cable television series) but he also saw more action than many western figures who are better known. Born in 1842 Sam Sixkiller was a Cherokee lawman in Oklahoma back when it was still being called Indian Territory and had not yet been opened up for white settlement. The unique setting of life in Indian Territory and the way it served as a microcosm of issues that the nation at large was dealing with after the Civil War adds layers of depth to Marshal Sixkiller’s tale that I find incredibly intriguing.
After starting out in the Confederate Army, in 1863 Sam enlisted in the Union Army as the Civil War raged and saw action in Arkansas and Indian Territory. Because many Native Americans owned slaves (black and mixed-race) as their tribes had for centuries the Indian Territory was as split in terms of support for the Union and Confederacy as were badly-divided states like Missouri. Between conventional battles and Bushwacker raids the Territory was reduced to a wasteland in many areas by the end of the war. In May 1865 Sam was discharged and returned to his wife Fannie to attend to their farm.
Following the Civil War the slaves in Indian Territory were declared Freedmen like the slaves in the late Confederacy, and as citizens of Indian Territory those Freedmen were in theory entitled to some of the money that was still being paid to the tribes in the Territory and to land. In reality the Five Civilized Tribes who called Indian Territory home were resentful of their former slaves’ new status and often used violence to drive out the freed slaves, even burning down their homes in many cases.
Outlaw bands would ride in to loot and pillage in the Territory then flee outside its borders to escape prosecution. In addition bootlegging and rustling were rampant and construction of railroads through Indian Territory brought new crimes. Throw in the usual inter-tribe conflicts that still surfaced and the Territory was a very dangerous place at the time. Continue reading
UPSETS IN THE TOP TWENTY-FIVE – The unranked DAKOTA STATE TROJANS paid a visit to the number 16 team in the nation – the DAKOTA WESLEYAN TIGERS. At the end of a game that saw 9 lead changes the Trojans defeated the Tigers for the 1st time in 12 years. The final count was DSU 34 DWU 30. ### And the MISSOURI VALLEY COLLEGE VIKINGS toppled the homestanding (23) WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY STATESMEN by a baseball score of EIGHT to SEVEN! 
Gab.ai is billing itself as the free speech alternative to Twitter and Facebook. In response to the grotesque censorship at Twitter and Facebook many people are turning to the social network called Gab. 
UPSET IN THE TOP 20 – The unranked UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS PATRIOTS hosted the number 17 CAMPBELLSVILLE UNIVERSITY TIGERS. The 1st Quarter ended with the Tigers on top 10-0 but by Halftime the Patriots had come from behind to take a 13-10 edge. After the break UC added 10 more points to the 7 managed by Campbellsville University, resulting in a 23-17 Patriots victory. RB Seph Burke rushed for 144 yds for Cumberlands. 
Just a friendly reminder from Balladeer’s Blog that TONIGHT is the start of the 2016 season, no matter how much the weasels at ESPN try to pretend NEXT weekend is the opening weekend for college football.
The action tonight includes games between the UNIVERSITY OF JAMESTOWN JIMMIES and their hosts, the VALLEY CITY STATE VIKINGS … The LYON COLLEGE SCOTS and the visiting WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY PIONEERS (should be the Flying W’s as in the cattle brand) … 
School: Wofford College 
School: Highland College 
FILM VAULT LORE: Our Film Vault Technicians First Class would pull the usual Movie Host duties like providing background info on the films and serials, and would also do comedy sketches centered around their fictional Film Vault Corps before and after commercials. They protected their duty station from menaces like giant rats, cellumites and other threats.
SAN DIEGO PADRES picks
The wait is nearly over for the start of the debut intercollegiate football season for the UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARGONAUTS! 
