Several Readers have inquired as to where Goat Gap is located and the origin of the name.
Goat Gap got its name back in the 1850's when the large goat ranches in EnSest would drive their herds to the seaport of Tainted Town. To avoid the various gangs of bandits that stayed in Nyjerton, the herders would cross Tara Ridge on an old animal trail that would later be called "Goat Gap". The herds could then be taken to Tainted Town or to the rail head at Curdled Milk Junction and shipped via rail to Typhoid Island. Curdled Milk Junction has an interesting origin to its name. The town was originally known as "Old Home Town". There were large dairy farms there and soldiers during the civil war would stop at the station and local folk would offer to sell them cold buttermilk. It was an old tradition of the townsfolk to offer buttermilk but actually sell "passerbys" sour curdled milk. This was done as a form of jest for the locals entertainment. They liked to watch people's reaction when they drank sour milk with taste buds set to something more refreshing. This stopped after the great "Curdled Milk Junction Massacre" (1864).
An interesting note about EnSest: there were over 1200 goat herders in the area but only six surnames.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Goat Gap Geography
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1 comments:
Wayne, excellent synopsis of the history of Goat Gap and the surrounding area. Whereas the Alaskan Tundra is called the land of the midnight sun due to the tilt of the earth during our summer, and is the land of the polar night during the winter where it is dark for 24 hours, Goat Gap is now eternally dark due to a phenomenon known as the “Great Society”.
Since part of my family (and yours) came from EnSest, I asked Uncle Dad to tell me some of the tales from the old times. He said that he would tell me and my sister, Aunt Barker, great stories and heroic adventures of Jimmy Sue Fartus and his mother Ima. I can’t wait!
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