Barnabas T. Bullion is an antagonist from the attraction Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
History[]
Biography[]
Barnabas T. Bullion came from a wealthy East-coast mining-family. Barnabas was a gold-obsessed colonist who believed all gold to be his natural birthright as a result. On the September 23 of 1848, he received a land-grant to extort gold from the Big Thunder Mountain range in the Western River Valley Arizona. Bullion and his affiliates in the Big Thunder Mining Company stole this land from the Indigenous Shoshone peoples, chasing them from their own land.
The Big Thunder Mining Company caused many towns to spring up across the mountain range. Amongst these were Thunder Mesa in 1849, Rainbow Ridge around 1869, Tumbleweed by 1878 and Stillwater Junction at an unknown point in time. The mining operations were however plagued by the Spirit of Big Thunder A.K.A. the Thunderbird, an Indigenous spirit which attempted to avenge its land and its people while trying to fight off the greedy colonists. This resulted in large amounts of natural-disasters and accidents occurring in the region though despite the bloodshed, Bullion refused to cease mining.
Prior to the year 1870, Bullion became a member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, an international guild of colonists and aristocrats. Within this organization, Bullion became close with group-president, inventor Jason Chandler. The two went on an expedition together in the golden city of El Dorado at some point.
Around 1880, Bullion overhauled the Big Thunder Mining Company from their headquarters in Tumbleweed. This involved Bullion contacting Chandler for financial and technological assistance in colonizing the land. Chandler agreed but after consulting with one Madame Zarkov at the Museum of the Weird, urged Bullion to desist. Bullion however did not and is believed to have died between then and 1899.
Development history[]
Barnabas T. Bullion was created for a 2013 refurbishment of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the Magic Kingdom. He was visually based on imagineer Tony Baxter who originally created Big Thunder Mountain Railroad though did not create Bullion's character. Baxter himself was upset with having been used for a villain character. Barnabas paralleled Baxter's own character Henry Ravenswood from Phantom Manor, the murderous original founder of the Big Thunder Mining Company.
Jungle Cruise appearances[]
Tropical Hideaway[]
On a wall in the Tropical Hideaway is a mounted oar with a plaque reading, "B.T. Bullion, Colorado River, 1870".
Other connections[]
Adventurers Club[]
Chandler consulted one Madame Zarkov on Bullion's mining. Zarkov is best known as having been a member of the Adventurers Club, a group created from S.E.A. member Merriweather Adam Pleasure after being disaffected from the society.
Indiana Jones[]
Chandler mentions Bullion and Chandler having adventured in El Dorado. Akator, the Indiana Jones franchise's incarnation of El Dorado is referenced in the story of the Jungle Cruise via Trader Sam's possession of a tablet depicting its crystal skull.
Phantom Manor[]
Thunder Mesa was home the Captain Rowan D. Falls of the Mark Twain Riverboat who was murdered by Henry Ravenswood. It is often assumed that Falls is a relative of Dr. Albert Falls and Alberta Falls.
Skipper Canteen[]
Bullion's friend and business-affiliate from the society Jason Chandler has a map in the Falls estate.
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room[]
The Tumbleweed base of the Big Thunder Mining Company had a cage for Rosita, a bird from the Enchanted Tiki Room. Bullion's oar was also hung outside of the Enchanted Tiki Room itself.
Other appearances[]
Frontierland[]
Barnabas T. Bullion's signature is on a, "Gold Miners Wanted" flyer on a bulletin-board in the Magic Kingdom's Frontierland.[1]
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad[]
There are various references to Bullion in the queue for the Magic Kingdom's Big Thunder. In Disneyland, his portrait is hung in the Panhandle Hotel of Rainbow Ridge.
Big Thunder Trail[]
During the creation of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, a parcel for Bullion was located above Rainbow Ridge's post-office.[2]
Trivia[]
- While not yet confirmed, imagineers have stated behind the scenes that Bullion died, "Long before 1899".