Tumbleweed

Tumbleweed
Attractions	Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe Thunder Mesa Daily Messenger
Type	Mining Town
Location	Western River Valley, Arizona
Inhabitants	Spirit of Big Thunder Big Thunder Mining Company Barnabas T. Bullion Pecos Bill Slue-Foot Sue Widowmaker Billy the Goat Old Prospector Cousin Elrod G. Willikers Mother Lode D. Hydrate & U. Wither Costas A. Lott Liddy Stockley Chase M. Down Eberhardt Z Debra Mae U.B. Underhill Buckaroo Burke Calamity Clem Jolley the Kid Little Big Gibson Mama Hutchinson Matchstick Marc Skittish Skip Wild Wolf Joerger
Visitors	Annie Oakley Buffalo Bill Captain Horace Bixby Casey Jones Cumulus Isobar Hash Knife Gang Lone Ranger Paul Bunyan Rosita Sam Clemens

Tumbleweed is a fictional location from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Description

Tumbleweed was a 19th century mining town found along Big Thunder Mountain in the Western River Valley of Arizona. The town received much of its business from the Big Thunder Mining Company, whose activities also upset the Spirit of Big Thunder causing accidents and natural disasters to plague the town with droughts, flash-floods, and mine-trains running wild on their own. The town was also located nearby a series of geysers.

The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad passed through the main portion of the town. The town was also located within the vicinity of the Rivers of the Far West/Rivers of America which steamboats would pass along, allowing for connection to other towns around Big Thunder. The Butterfly Stage Line also connected to Tumbleweed from Quake City, California. This stop could be used to connect with the San Francisco and Carolwood-Paciifc Railroad Company.

Features

• Big Thunder Boarding House: This boarding-house was where miners of the Big Thunder Mining Company were required to stay with no exceptions. Meals were provided daily and baths weekly while fees were deducted by the miners' pay. This boarding house was run by Mrs. Liddy Stockley.
• Big Thunder Mining Company Offices: This was the primary headquarters for the Big Thunder Mining Company and held the office of its president, Barnabas T. Bullion. These offices served as a depot for the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which passed through Tumbleweed and the mountain.
  • Big Thunder Mining Co. Telegram Office: This was an office which ran the service of the Great Western Telegraph & Cable Co.. Despite being run and used by the mining-company, it was also central telegram service for the townsfolk of Tumbleweed such as Sheriff Chase M. Down.
• Boothill Layaway: The town's burial-grounds, run by the Tumbleweed Cabinet & Casket Co. and U.B. Underhill.
• B.T. Bullion Company Store: Miners were required to purchase their equipment, clothing and personal belongings from this company store with other items not being permitted by the company. All sales were final, and fees were deducted by the earnings of miners. This store was run by Costas A. Lott.
• Dave V. Jones Mine: This was a mine-tunnel directly adjacent to the main-town which the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad passed through.
• Docks: A small wooden dock used on the Rivers of America.
• Dry Goods: The Dry Goods store was run by D. Hydrate & U. Wither. It was ironically enough flooded in one of Tumbleweed's flash-floods.
• The Gold Dust Saloon: The Gold Dust Saloon was a, "Miner's Hall" establishment aimed towards miners of the Big Thunder Mining Company, providing them with hot baths, pure wines, cigars, liquor and cold lager. The saloon was adjacent to the Dry Goods store and run by one, "Mother Lode".
• Nugget Way: Nugget Way was a path outside of the Big Thunder Mining Company Offices.
• Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe: The Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe was established by Texan folk-hero, "Pecos Bill" in the year 1878. This establishment had a, "Mile Long Bar", promoted Pecos Bill's, "Code of the West", and kept mementos from various famous friends of Pecos Bill with many having visited the inn.
• Train-Station: Tumbleweed had some train-station connecting to the San Francisco and Carolwood-Paciifc Railroad Company.
  • It is possible that this is synonymous with the Frontierland Station found in the Magic Kingdom.
• Tumbleweed Cabinet & Casket Co.:
• Water-Tower: A ramshackle, wooden water-tower found in the main town.

History

Background

Origins

Tumbleweed was a mining-town, likely founded by the year 1849. The town was built on stolen Indigenous land and used by the amoral Big Thunder Mining Company to mine for gold in Big Thunder Mountain. Tumbleweed's population would cap at 2,015 citizens. Around the late 1850s, the town's vicinity was also passed through by the Liberty Belle Riverboat captained by one Horace Bixby with a young Sam Clemens, the latter of which became familiar with the town's lore.

In the year 1878, folk-hero Pecos Bill was encouraged by his friends to settle-down and open a restaurant, which he did in Tumbleweed with, "Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe". This establishment would be visited by many notable western characters such as Bill's cowgirl lover Slue-Foot Sue, Annie Oakley who left behind playing cards with bullet-holes in them, the showman William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody who left behind boots, railroader Casey Jones who left his train-engineer equipment, the masked vigilante, "The Lone Ranger" who left behind his mask with no name for Pecos to identify it with, and the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan who left Pecos a giant axe with the inscribed message, "To Pecos, from one giant to another best wishes from Paul Bunyan". The inn also included gifts from presumably deceased friends of Bill such as Davy Crockett, George Russell, John Henry, Kit Carson, Johnny Appleseed, Jim Bowie and Wild Bill Hickock.

Drought & Flooding

Around the year 1890, the Big Thunder Mining Company's greedy president Barnabas T. Bullion overhauled the company's headquarters which included improved (albeit dangerous) technology, and assistance from Jason Chandler of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Around this time, an invasive species of goats flooded the area such as one who was a menace in the main town, being spotted atop buildings chewing on sticks of dynamite. Due to this issue, Bullion closed down the mines until further notice and sought out miners with herding experience. Bullion's operations upset the Spirit of Big Thunder, resulting in an intense drought hitting the town of Tumbleweed. This would cause the population to drop from 2,015 to 247, and eventually to only thirteen citizens.

The town became visited by snake-oil salesman Professor Cumulus Isobar, claiming to be a rain-maker. Isobar took the town's money and planned to flee in the night, only for a flash-flood to actually hit the town, flooding it and trapping Isobar in a sinking caravan as townsfolk like, "Cousin Elrod" rejoiced. Around this time, Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue planned to get married and celebrated their wedding in the Gold Dust Saloon. On the day of the wedding, out of envy, Bill's horse Widowmaker bucked Slue-Foot Sue into the air where her dress's bustle caused her to bounce higher and higher. According to legend, this caused Sue to be trapped on the moon and Bill to self-exile into the desert, though both seem to be untrue.

Tumbleweed is also believed to have been targeted by the, "Hash Knife Gang", a criminal outfit consisting of idiot outlaws Theodore Ogelvie and Amos Tucker. The two attempted to rob Barnabas T. Bullions' relative T.W. Bullion at the T.W. Bullion Silver Mine of Virginia City, Nevada, only to make off with lead. Barnabas was warned about their arrival by T.W., while Sheriff Chase M. Down was alerted on July 15th by one, "W.W.".

Appearances

Disneyland

The sign to Tumbleweed

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Outside of Rainbow Ridge is a sign pointing to different locations from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attractions, one of which is Tumbleweed.

Disneyland Paris

Thunder Mesa Daily Messenger

This newspaper has stated Tumbleweed to be connected to Thunder Mesa via the Mark Twain Riverboat on the Rivers of the Far West.

Magic Kingdom

This version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has Tumbleweed as its main setting.

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe

Posters and postings in the queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reveal Pecos Bill's tavern to be set in Tumbleweed.

Trivia

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad's advert affiliates the Tall Tale Inn as having a, "Mile Long Bar", a reference to the defunct Country Bear Jamboree themed, "Mile Long Bar" which pre-dated the Tall Tale Inn. This could also imply that Bill was once in possession of the living taxidermy animal heads Melvin, Buff, and Max whom appeared in the Mile Long Bar.
• On Big Thunder Mountain, townsfolk are visible celebrating in the Gold Dust Saloon.
  • Pecos Bill's reference in Big Thunder could imply that the townsfolk seen partying in the Gold Dust Saloon when riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at night are in-fact townsfolk celebrating Pecos Bill's wedding.
• The Carolwood-Paciifc Railroad Company which passes through Tumbleweed is a tribute to the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, a miniature railroad which Walt Disney created leading to his interest in building theme-parks.
• Dave V. Jones' Mine is an allusion to nautical folktale character Davy Jones who is prominently featured in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
• The population dropping to 13 is a use of the, "Unlucky Number 13" motif, and a likely tribute to Big Thunder's extensive 2013 refurbishment.
• On the docks is a crate labelled, "H. Abiff's Working Tools" covered in freemason imagery. This is a reference to the real-world secret-society the Freemasons, and its mythical figure Hiram Abiff.

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