Did Indians have a smoke “Morse Code” that sent messages, or were the smoke signals a confirmation of a pre-arranged plan? Ron Vermillion Chattanooga, Tennessee Unlike sign language, which has a standardized code, smoke signals aimed to send a secret message, usually some sort of pre-arranged code, since the smoke signals would be visible to both friend and foe. Yet some basic signals were used. For example, one puff meant “Attention.” Two puffs, “All’s Well.” Three puffs, “Dan

August 2009
In This Issue:
Features
Western Books & Movies
More In This Issue
- The Show Must Go On
- What happened to the corpses of guys killed in running gunfights in the Old West?
- Did Indians have a smoke “Morse Code” that sent messages?
- Did outlaws prefer Spanish Mustangs?
- My husband and I have noticed that some of the big stars rode the same horses in a lot of their movies.
- Was there ever a “Code of the West”?
- Were the Spanish vaqueros the first to round up and herd cattle in the West?
- What’s It Like to Live There—Fort Smith, AR
- Preservation: Surrender Site
- Ken Spurgeon
- Pueblo Revival Living
- Below the Equator
- The Non-British “English” Sharps
- Rollin’, Rollin’, Respectin’ Along the Western Trail
- Out to Lunch
- The Evolution of Western Wear
- A Dust-Up in Delta
- The Cheyenne Suitcase
- “Green” Ranching
- The Death of Chief Crazy Horse
- Skating In New Directions