Ryan Reeder
History 200
Final
Chapters six and seven of The Combing of History provide an interesting discussion of the Johnson County Cattle War of 1892. Chapter six analyzes the differences between Michael Cimino's 1980 movie Heaven's Gate and an analysis of the film in Final Cut by Steven Bach. Chapter seven describes a detailed account of the events surrounding the one hundredth anniversary of the Cattle Wars in 1892. Speeches by Jack McDermott, organizer of the event, Mark Harvey, a student of the wars, and comments by participants, many of whom were descendants of those originally involved, are presented and analyzed. One essential feature of the events were the presentation of the two sides involved. Many of the people of Buffalo, Wyoming were descendants of both parties through intermarriage. They generally scoffed at the production of Heaven's Gate-McDermott claimed Shane was a better representation of the era. While Shane dealt with an entirely different storyline, it was seen as a good allegorical representation. Bach, heavily involved in the production of Heaven's Gate from the beginning, also criticized the historical inaccuracies of Cimino's work. The movie, pulled from production after three days, caused the downfall of United Artists. Those at the symposium did not even mention the film until prompted. Those speaking mentioned their intention to not start the war over again. In order to do so, Harvey switched black and white hats to represent the different parties involved. Thomas Tisdale delivered a moving address at the site where his grandfather, John A. Tisdale, was killed. Cohen finds through analyzation of the various viewpoints that people tended to be selective in their memories, recalling those details which were advantageous to their position. There were also attempts to avoid contention, or to play with the facts for greater cinematic effect. The Johnson County Cattle War is an interesting example of how history is remembered and made.
My paper describes the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru. I began my paper in 1959 during the official organization of the Andes Mission in Peru. Then I wrote a flashback describing how this point was reached, beginning at Parley P. Pratt's mission to South America in 1852. I then described how the Church entered each country in chronological order-Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador-and described the biographical history of a few key players in the Church in those countries. Once I had reached that point, I described the major events in the Church in those areas over the past thirty years, describing the programs, visits of the prophet, setbacks, including the assassinations of five missionaries, growth, and the construction of temples in the area. Then I gave a concluding paragraph, tying the paper together with a statement Elder Harold B. Lee had made in 1959.
The paper tends to emphasize the positive aspects, though it does not ignore the negative factors. However, there is a feeling that the growth is upward, placing the paper somewhere between a romance and a comedy, according to White's typologies of emplotment. Good triumphs over evil in the long run, though there may be some downward trends-something like a financial growth chart with lines going up and down, but the general movement is up. I tended to de-emphasize the personal testimonies of the players in favor of actual chronological events. While these beliefs may be the principal cause of support and growth for the church, they do not provide much historical narrative per se. Instead, I emphasized the more dramatic events, such as the slayings of Elders Wilson, Balls, Hidalgo, Ugarte, and Zapata, as well as the consequences of these events. I noted that over time, the assassinations and their results were de-emphasized to the point that they were hardly mentioned, thus, I drew upon my own experiences as a missionary in the Bolivia Cochabamba Mission shortly after North American missionaries began to reenter the country.
My personal perspective in writing this paper was one of its greatest strengths, as well as a weakness. While I was able to provide some first-hand accounts of information, I did not view the events objectively, as an outsider to the Mormon faith might. I may have used some terms, such as various offices in the Church, without adequate definition for a general audience. I also feel that the organization of the paper is a great strength, as well as the sheer number of references and sources. As an aside, that blew me away. The actual text of the paper was only about nine pages, but with the 80 footnotes and over one hundred entries in the bibliography (many quoted, most read, all useful) the paper reached over 21 pages in length. Wow. Anyway, I also feel that the paper brings out many little-known incidents and provides evidence of research.
Probably my greatest mistake in this paper was not having it done a month earlier, when it was due. I like the style and format-it just took too long to do it. Last week, working on the paper, I drove myself to absolute exhaustion-I collapsed and fell asleep while looking something up in the periodical shelves one morning. Somehow, I would have liked to have gotten it all done earlier, although the intensity of work on the project was a benefit.
My thinking on the theoretical issues of historical truth, etc. was not changed much through writing this paper. Reconstructing the past is difficult, tedious, and often yields little results. Sometimes detailed records exist, often they do not. Despite efforts over several years, I have been unable to confirm or debunk whether Spencer W. Kimball interpreted the ruins at Tiahuanaco or not, an event I refer to in passing. More details can be constructed in other instances, such as my account of the killings of Elders Wilson and Balls, for which I have accounts of a conversation with the man who was the first to reenter their area after their deaths. A holistic account of the past, while helpful, is often unnecessary in unraveling the mysteries of the past. Conjectures can be made within parameters of the missing details.