KUKSU EXPRESS MAIL
a fantasy Maidu Indian local post
1916/ 2018 lol
Eric Whollem
handmade stamp cover
copyright by the artistboe
THE KUKSU EXPRESS LOCAL POST
The Kuksu Express is a fantasy Maidu Indian local post from Butte County, California. The cover above shows a street scene in Oroville, the capital city of Butte County. The local Indians called Oroville Opatoni. This designation comes from the time that Oroville was called Ophir Town.
In the photo above Oroville did not look too good, as it had gone through a great flood. Today the pristine old town is marred by modern parking lots and shopping malls. The old gold mines under the city are deeply buried under successive floods. The buildings seen today in the old downtown area are in fact the upper sections of old structures, buried under mud and debris. What you see today at street level are the old third stories of the original buildings.
In the photo above Oroville did not look too good, as it had gone through a great flood. Today the pristine old town is marred by modern parking lots and shopping malls. The old gold mines under the city are deeply buried under successive floods. The buildings seen today in the old downtown area are in fact the upper sections of old structures, buried under mud and debris. What you see today at street level are the old third stories of the original buildings.
The cancellation shows that this letter was mailed from Mooretown Ridge, an area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains known for the scenic Feather Falls overlook.
I have created a number of Mooretown Provisional postage stamps over the years. My first issues were made in 1999.
PONDEROSA WAY
fantasy Maidu Indian local courier post
1882/ 2018 lol
Eric Whollem
handmade collaged stamp cover
copyright by the artist
THE PONDEROSA WAY LOCAL POST
Ponderosa Way is an old road from built in the 1930's, to serve as a fire road along the length of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I have taken liberty with historical accuracy, having it appear as an apocryphal road in the Butte County area in the 1880's. Obviously the Civilian Conservation Corps who built the road adapted the name of their road from the one created in my literary imagination. LOL
For Butte County I idealized a local postal service along this route that connected Mooretown Ridge with Forbestown Ridge. One postal substation was located at the Gold Flake Bar in the Feather falls area, the other substation I conceived to exist at the Last Outpost, a bar in Forbestown. Whether these bars existed at this early time may not be historical, but should be, to keep the story here straight. LOL The high postage rate was to accommodate cost of liquor to pay the mail courier, who had to fight through miles of poison oak and rattlesnakes to deliver the mail. This is only fair, because at this time Ponderosa Way was a mish mash of old bear trails that that not yet been surveyed nor graded by the Conservation Corps. LOL
Now I have heard that certain postcards and covers from the Ponderosa Local Post have appeared at auction, selling at high prices for their alleged 'bear bite damage.' Apparently the postal couriers met with trouble along the trail. But these items are greatly in doubt for authenticity. I would advise taking them for forensic analysis by a qualtified cryptozoologist with a paraphilatelic background, to be sure of what you have. It has been reported that some 'bear bites' were in fact poodle bites. So watch out. LOL
Now I have heard that certain postcards and covers from the Ponderosa Local Post have appeared at auction, selling at high prices for their alleged 'bear bite damage.' Apparently the postal couriers met with trouble along the trail. But these items are greatly in doubt for authenticity. I would advise taking them for forensic analysis by a qualtified cryptozoologist with a paraphilatelic background, to be sure of what you have. It has been reported that some 'bear bites' were in fact poodle bites. So watch out. LOL
The above postcard is adapted from an old photo of a gold miner from Butte County, California. This is actually factual! LOL The card was franked on the back, with the address on the other side.
PONDEROSA WAY CANCELLATION
from the Gold Flake
on Mooretown Ridge
1882/ 2018 lol
Eric Whollem
copyright by the artist
I have created other Butte County local post fantasies, such as the stamps of Maidem Kodom, a Black Bart Private Post, and the Hootarooney Post Office. I have also created fantasy poster stamps for Tobin, a small resort on the Feather River Canyon, near Rock Creek.
See My Early California Fantasy Stamps:
My Maidu Indian Fantasy Stamps:
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