Moss Capt John (1 results)

Newspaper. 2 'Supplement' issues of the Weekly Arizona Miner, April 20 and May 4, 1877. Each issue measures 16 x 11 inches. Supplements would accompany certain issues of the Weekly Arizona Miner. Both issues were apparently extracted from bound issues as the left margin shows glue residue and the margins are rough but no loss of content, with one area of archival repair. The April 20, 1877 issue gives three columns to the story of Captain John Moss and his claim to be the first through the Colorado River on a raft, in the summer of 1861. Moss was a well-known prospector, adventurer and storyteller in and around the lower Colorado River Basin. Moss's story, as published, is a fantastical read worthy of any great novelist but adds to the lore of the Grand Canyon and its early exploration. The May 4th issue publishes an extensive rebuttal to Moss' story by a "Col. R______on. This mystery author recounts his explorations of the same region Moss explored and provides many discrepancies in Moss' account. Moss then replies saying, "Permit me to inform you that you are a pig. I have selected the spot on your hide where I intend my bullet shall enter.I am anxious to eradicate from your polluted carcass, that effervescing ulcer which has become so obnoxious to my olfactory nerves." Signed John Moss. Col. R______on appointed the following morning choose Henry Rifles at fifty paces, but Moss fled the scene. Great reading of pure fiction. References are also made to John D. Lee and the Mountain Meadows Massacre. ; 4 pp.