On August 5, 1775, the Spanish packet boat San Carlos entered San Francisco Bay for the first time. It was under the command of Lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala. He and his crew of 30 men spent six weeks surveying the bay from its shallow southern end to the northern end of what is now known as Suisun Bay.
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August 5, 1861: President Lincoln signed the first US personal Income Tax into law. It levied 3% of incomes over $800.
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On August 5, 1846, the Oregon territory was divided between the United States and Britain at the 49th Parallel.
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August 5th is also the sad anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire in Montana that took the lives of 13 firefighters (including 12 smokejumpers and one former smokejumper), in 1949. The intense, fast-moving forest fire took place in what later became the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. The events of that fire were chronicled in the book Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean and immortalized in the haunting lyrics of the ballad “Cold Missouri Waters“, by James Keelaghan.
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A reminder: I will have five tables at the Missoula, Montana Gun Show on August 9-10-11, 2024. This is your chance to shop from about 80% of the Elk Creek Company inventory, including more than 30 antique cartridge guns and percussion guns that have not yet been cataloged. This will include a new batch of several antique Model 1896/11 Swiss rifles. The show will be held in the modest convention center of the Hilton Garden Inn, on North Reserve Street, just south of I-90. To find my tables, look for a five-foot-wide tan “Pre-1899 Guns” banner sign, five tables with dark blue table drapes, and beau coup Mausers. Out-of-state buyers are welcome. But of course, consult your state and local laws before you make a purchase. Thankfully, both pre-1899 guns and blackpowder replicas are exempt in most states.
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Today’s feature article is a review penned by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.
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We are seeking entries for Round 114 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 114 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.