"Hell Cats And She Ghosts"
By John Richard Jackson, writing as "J. Thundermug Jackson"
John Richard Jackson published this sixth and final collection of stories, poems, and photographs sometime after 2001. It is reproduced here, in sections, exactly as John wrote it, with his sister's blessing as his sole heir.
What follows is reproduced in John's own words, exactly as he wrote them: nothing edited, softened, or left out. Unlike his earlier books, this one carries no copyright date anywhere in its printing. The scanned file is dated February 2018, but that is only when it was scanned, not when it was written or printed. The book's own text gives a firmer date: the story "Curiodditie s" in Part Two opens "Most of this prattle is being written in February and March, 2001, to combat cabin fever," which places the book's writing, and so its printing, in 2001 or later. An earlier working note for this project had guessed "after 1997" from a different story's mention of a cousin's death that year; the 2001 date is what the book itself says and supersedes that guess. B & B Printers of Gunnison, credited on earlier books, is not named anywhere in this one, though the "Hearty Salute to Thundermug" front-matter page below is addressed to a printing crew.
The book gives no table of contents and no chapter divisions of any kind; stories, poems, and pages of photographs simply follow one another, numbered on the book's own printed pages 1 through 24 (the book's page 1 carries no printed folio, but the numbering resumes visibly at page 2). For readability on the web it is split here into two parts of roughly equal length; the part numbers are this site's own division, not John's. Numbers in parentheses are the book's own printed page numbers. Ten of the book's twenty-eight PDF pages are given over entirely to photographs with no accompanying story text; where a page like that is reproduced here it is kept as one composite image rather than split into separate figures, so the original layout and captions stay together.
Contents
The book gives no table of contents of its own. The two parts below are this site's own division, with the stories, poems, and photograph pages each part contains.
Part One (pp. 2–13): Pink and Blue Booties; Snakes Alive; a page of family photographs at "the Ranch"; a page of Jackson family photographs, 1921–1945; Working Stiffs; Double Heart Failure; Hell Cats of a Different Breed; T-Bone; The Bullet Belt; The Lawbreakers; a page of World War II photographs; Hero For A Day; Hell Cats; Survival of the Fittest; Graveyard Poker; Ed and Cherokee; Curiodditie s.
Part Two (pp. 14–24): a reprinted newspaper article, "Mining Town Won't Quit," and a reprinted 1944 "Believe It Or Not" clipping; seven pages of "Favorite Photos"; Looking The Devil Right In The Eye; Short and Shorter; Conscience; and the closing essay, "Here's Laughing at You!"
Front Cover
The cover reads "HELL CATS AND SHE GHOSTS, us what's seen 'em know, "They're Out There!"" over six snapshot portraits, then, in smaller type, "Humorous Short Stories and Poems From a Brain Warped Hard Rock Miner Who Frolicked With Tommy Knockers, Stope Apes and 'Rangutangs In Creede Town, by J. Thundermug Jackson." The Dedication section below identifies the six portraits in its own closing note: top row, left to right, Floyd Dooley, Eugene Wardell, and the author; bottom row, left to right, captioned only as "'rangutang," "she ghost," and "stope ape," John's own joking stand-ins rather than names.
Ode To Lynn "Key" LeZotte
Hell Cats and She Ghosts, Lynn LeZotte knew them all
George Hatfield, Woody Wintz, Hank Slaght and Ray Ball
from the heavy spar mine at Wagon Wheel Gap to the Equity Mine,
far north on the map
Muckers and miners, timbermen in the hole
Walter Waldo, Art Davis, Andy Prince and Bill Kroll
Lynn worked with the best and the best worked with Lynn
their red headed friend with the lopsided grin
Mechanics and blacksmiths, ore sorters and flunkies
Al Birdsey, John Nelson and brave powder monkeys
Lynn learned from them and they learned from Lynn
from the Last Chance shaft to the Commodore bin
Trammers and skinners and concentrates haulers
rough callused hands and grime on their collars
they bonded with Lynn, hard work was their lot
accepting the fate each working day brought
Managers and shifters, bookkeepers, engineers
Erick Nelson, Bill Hayden, Henry Rowley, his peers
Lynn ranked with the best and the best knew that Lynn was the
heart of their mine with his lopsided grin
Below the poem: "Appreciation: A sincere thank you to B & B Printers of Gunnison, Colorado for its facilities and more especially to Jim and Kathy, thereof, who approach my ramblings with all the care of a crew cleaning up a hazardous waste spill. Their only stipulation being a three year "cooling off" period between manuscripts." This is the only place in the book naming B & B Printers, who prepared John's earlier books.
Title Page
Handwritten across the top of the title page: "To Glen and Jerrie Bowers, best friends and confidantes from the Cebolla world, with love & respect, Inie & John." "Inie" is written as shown, a spelling of Inez Schriver Jackson's nickname not used elsewhere on this site.
A Hearty Salute To Thundermug
A page of signatures surrounding a photograph of a man carrying a tool over his shoulder, headed "A Hearty Salute To Thundermug, From the Printing Crew, Following our Fearless Leader." The signatures are handwritten and not all clearly legible; read approximately, left column top to bottom: Pamela Northrop, Juanita Stanley, Patrick Wyzert (or Wysert), a first name ending "-ene" with the surname Bally, Greg George, Mike Stanley, a signature beginning "Pat," and Jim Stanley; right column: Bobby Barksdale, Cynthia D. Wyatt, Mark Fenton (or Fonken), Jesse Cummins, Kathy Carr, and two further signatures too unclear to read with confidence, followed by one reading "Joe" with an illegible surname. As with the printers' signatures in "Get Grandpa Off The Thunder Mug," these are presumed to be printing-crew staff, not otherwise named in the book, and are not given Name Index entries.
Preface
Foreword: Words coming before a preface.
Forward: The way your nose points or eager.
Telling that to a computer is like telling your wife someone else was wearing your shirt when it got lipstick on the collar. I don't own a computer nor do I wish to own one. My sister Pauline Jackson Bates and her daughters operate computers and advise me to avail myself of these metal and glass geniuses in my writings. In the final phase of my last publication I engaged a local firm to retype the stories which were placed by some form of magic on a computer disk to be used by the publisher. It took five weeks of pleading to convince the computer that foreword and forward have different meanings.
A foreword or preface is an introductory to the reader with enticement enough to get the reader to read beyond the preface. I could begin with "Mayor Sprains Knee in Back Seat Romp With Church Organist". Now that would get your attention and you would flip a few pages to see if there were pictures or if a shooting followed but that would be misleading. Actually it was the organist who suffered the sprained knee, the pictures were underexposed and her husband was in a motel room with a barmaid at the time.
The previous is untrue. If you read beyond this you will find stories that were humorous enough for me to remember them. The characters are real people and the events actually happened though you need to be aware the author is old, senile and known to exaggerate as well as outright lie if it better serves his purpose. Every person has a story to tell if we just take the time to listen. I was born and grew up in Creede, Colorado, in an era of poverty when a sense of humor was the greatest asset a person could have to survive each day. The oldsters were patient with children if they were respectful and quiet. They were our main source of knowledge and humor, their stories were priceless and a positive influence on those of us who listened.
Please read on. Your name or a name of someone you know may be mentioned. We all deserve to be remembered because we have all served a purpose in this life. Success is measured in many and varied ways, not the least of which is to be offensive and loud enough to be remembered.
Dedication
Real books always have a page reserved where the author gives thanks to those who contributed in some way during his climb to mediocrity and insolvency. We shall conform though this publication is not to be construed as a real book.
To my loyal wife, Inez Schriver Jackson, who was advised to kill me 50 years ago and tried but could never find a sharp knife.
To my loyal sister, Pauline "Bubbles" Bates, who prevented the killings by dulling the knives and alerting me to danger.
To Dr. Tarr of Gunnison, Dr. Adkisson of Delta and Dr. Lambert of Grand Junction who expertly repaired the dull knife wounds.
To Dr. Huene of Delta, who fixed my running gear.
To dear friends of the U.S. Geological Survey who have shared their knowledge, their children and many laughs.
To my compatriots in Freeport Exploration Company who tried to kill me in such a manner that Inez would receive double indemnity from my insurance policy.
To the dear souls of Creede, Colorado and those I met in my journeys who misbehaved with such gusto that I remembered their foul deeds.
To the dear souls of Creede, Colorado who did not misbehave and inspired me to rise above the gutter. I tried but the others wouldn't let go of my ankles.
I believe you all know which category you belong in. I haven't named you, personally, to spare you embarrassment and I would advise you that a little extra tithing may prevent the names coming up in any future publication. Cash is preferred.
Finally, to Dad Bill and Mom Jo, who never gave up hope that I would make them proud and graciously passed on with that vain hope. I have no excuse. They gave me the proper equipment but the instructions were left in the Stork's basket and went to another child.
Front Cover: In fond memory of my pards, Floyd Dooley and Eugene Wardell, top left and center (author on right), best friends, top miners, who left us too soon. Lower, left to right, 'rangutang, she ghost and stope ape.
Hell Cats And She Ghosts: Origin
A hell cat and a she ghost: Anything incomprehensible that defies the imagination. Anything that scared the hell out of you or a person behaving in a reprehensible manner offensive to his fellow man.
The descriptive phrase was coined by Lynn "Key" LeZotte, a native son of Creede Colorado who shared "Hell Cat and She Ghost" stories with me when we worked together shoveling concentrates at a lead/silver mill and, later, blasting ore to go to the same reduction mill from mines near Creede.
Key was honest, truthful, hard working and always a gentleman in mixed company, the most splendid attributes a person can have. He was burdened with a variety of handicaps as a child from a bout with scarlet fever but he overcame all, was steadily employed and a friend to all who knew him.
We were at an Elk's dance one night, both of us "three sheets in the wind", when he let out a ferocious war whoop and rapped me between the eyes with the butt end of a half-full bottle of beer. Evidently he thought I was behaving like a hell cat and a she ghost and decided to straighten me out which he effectively did, flat on my back. Key felt badly about that. I felt worse with a goose egg above my nose and two blackened eyes. After sobering up and going over the events that led to our momentary disagreement we felt there was no credible way to explain our behavior to these not associated with hell cats and she ghosts and we should just forget about it. And we did that until this writing and long after Key's death.
Lynn "Key" LeZotte, wherever you are, know that we miss you and if we are worthy of being together with you again, put in a good word for us. There are still hell cats and she ghosts around and some of them deserve to be straightened out with the butt end of a beer bottle but we must be politically correct in this era and cannot set the stage with a "war whoop"
Printed page 1 (unnumbered in print). "These" for "those," and the missing closing quotation mark after "war whoop," are printed as shown.