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Dolan's Original Songs

The Old Crook Trail

(This song description was provided by Dr. Lloyd Duvall, President, Sierra Vista Symphony, as written in the program notes for Dolan's appearance with the Symphony on April 15, 2005)

This ballad depicts a great moment in Arizona’s history when the famous military man and Indian fighter, General George Crook, established a new military trail from old Camp Verde, up and over the Mogollon Rim, and on to Fort Apache.

This trail was established in the late 1800s to keep men and animals out of the searing heat of the Sonoran Desert. Today, that old trail and its markings are still quite visible. Dolan Ellis, reflecting on his visit to the area, had this to say. “As I bounced along its rutted tracks in my little red Jeep, I could see the old porcelain insulators of the U.S. Army telegraph line still in the tops of the big old Ponderosa pine trees. And, at night around the warmth of my campfire, I thought I could sometimes hear the fleeting sound of the hoof beats of the U.S. Cavalry echoing through the rocky canyons. The spirit of the old west is still very much alive on The Old Crook Trail.”

“General Crook was a skillful outdoorsman and the Apaches respected him for his knowledge of the land. Knowledge that most white men in his position had either forgotten about or never had in the first place. “And let me tell you, he must have been quite a sight for the Indians to see, as he rode down the trail with his soldiers in blue on horseback. For he never dressed in his uniform of a general. No, instead he would always dress in canvas pants and a wool shirt. And to top off his outdoor outfit, he always wore…a pith helmet. And as if that were not enough, his chosen mount for travel was always…his faithful mule.

Listen to a sample of this song 

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