Scientists used google earth to find 2 uninhabited forests in Mozambique. Outside of isolated mountain forests like these, Mozambique has 0% virgin forest left. The first is Mount Lico, a granite mountain surrounded by agricultural lowlands. Mt. Lico is classified as an inselberg or isolated mountain. It is made of erosion-resistant granite. Formerly, it was about the same elevation as the surrounding land, but over time precipitation caused the surrounding land to erode away, leaving this isolated mountain. The forest growing on top of this mountain has been isolated for millions of years. Scientists first explored Mt. Lico in 2018, and every expedition finds species new to science. Though pottery has been found on Mt. Lico, the locals say no one in recent history has scaled the cliffs to get there. Scientists have already named 9 new species found here including mistletoe, 2 snakes, 2 pygmy chameleons, a bat, and 3 kinds of butterflies. Potentially, there will be more new species named because they found numerous amphibians, a catfish, more butterflies, crabs, and small mammals not known to science. There are hundreds of unknown species of fungi here as well. Mt. Lico is an important refuge for species of birds that prefer closed canopy forests, now rare elsewhere in the region. Of the 126 species of birds found here, 9 are considered endangered. Mt. Lico is now protected.
Mt. Lico in Mozambique. The sheer walls protect it from human settlement.Scientists had to scale a cliff to explore Mt. Lico.Mt. Lico is an inselberg–a granite mountain that resists erosion. The land surrounding it was formerly the same height, but rain has eroded it away.Amphibians abound on Mt. Lico.Pygmy chameleons and hundreds of other animal and plant species new to science live on Mt. Lico.Mt. Lico from inside the forest.Mt. Mabu is uninhabited because the natives think the spirits of the dead reside here.This is 1 of 7 rare species of birds that live on these isolated tropical mountains in Mozambique.
Mt. Mabu is uninhabited for a different reason. The local natives believe spirits of the dead reside here, and they avoid it for superstitious reasons, though limited hunting and gathering takes place here. Researchers say it is eerily quiet, and animal tracks are everywhere. Caterpillars are so abundant that caterpillar scat falls like rain from the treetops. Mt. Mabu is 5600 feet above sea level and 27 square miles in extent. Uninhabited forests like these are getting harder and harder to find as the human population on earth heads towards 10 billion.
References:
Silva, Bettencourt, G., J. Bayless, and W. Conradson
“First Herpetological Survey of Mount Lico and Mount Socone, Mozambique”
Amphibian and Reptile Conservation 14 (2) 2020
Spotteswood, G., and J. Bayless
“Threatened Bird Species on 2 Little Known Mountains (Cheperone and Mabu) in Northern Mozambique
Ostrich–The Journal of African Ornithology 74 (1) 2008
One of the first species of fish I ever caught was the brown bullhead catfish (Amerius nebulosa). I caught it in a canal that marked the border of my grandfather’s backyard when he lived in Inverness, Florida circa 1972. I remembered how good it tasted, so I was surprised when I first began sampling farm-raised catfish being marketed during the 1980s. Farmers in Mississippi and Alabama raise channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). The farm-raised catfish tasted ok, but the flesh had a flabby texture, and it was filled with streaks of tasteless fat. Frying the fish makes the fat crisp, but it is just not a versatile product. During the 1990s Vietnamese catfish farmers began flooding the American market with their farm-raised catfish, and The American Catfish Farmers of America went to work trying to cheat away the competition. During 2003 this organization convinced Senator Trent Lott to add an amendment to an appropriations bill that made it illegal for Asian catfish to be marketed as catfish. Asian catfish farmers were forced to rename their product as swai (Panganius hypothalmus) and basa (P. bocourti). The catfish Vietnamese farmers raise are known as the shark catfish, though they are true catfish and not related to sharks. However, Vietnamese raised catfish were still cheaper, and consumers seemed to prefer it over American farm-raised catfish. Not surprisingly, during 2008 American catfish farmers unsuccessfully tried to force Vietnamese catfish farmers to change the names of swai and basa back to catfish.
Brown bullhead. This is 1 of the first species of fish I ever caught. Some call it a trash fish, but it tastes just as good as American farm-raised catfish and the flesh has a better texture.Adult and juvenile channel catfish. American catfish farmers raise this species. The flesh has a flabby texture and there are big blobs of fat in it. Vietnamese farm-raised catfish is better.Vietnamese catfish farmers raise 2 species of shark catfish known as swai and basa because American catfish farmers bribed politicians to pass a law not allowing them to be called catfish. Vietnamese catfish is superior in texture compared to American farm-raised catfish, and beat it in a small blind taste test involving 58 people.
The American Catfish Farmers of America are a bunch of liars. They’ve convinced celebrity chefs including Alton Brown and Emeril Lagasse that farm-raised catfish tastes better than wild catfish, but from my experience I know this is untrue. Perhaps wild catfish caught in evaporating mud puddles do taste muddy, but wild catfish caught in clear water taste just as clean as farm-raised catfish. They want to discourage competition from sports anglers. This organization is also probably behind propaganda videos that falsely claim Vietnamese farm-raised catfish are raised in sewage and are contaminated with bacteria. An independent study conducted by Alan Marshall and Amit Pal of Mississippi State University found that Vietnamese raised catfish were just as safe to eat as American farm-raised catfish. Moreover, in a taste test involving 58 people, Vietnamese farm-raised catfish beat American farm-raised catfish. Accusing Vietnamese farmers of raising unsanitary food seems a bit racist to me. The Vietnamese eat their own product. They wouldn’t feed hazardous food to customers in their own country. In my opinion the American Catfish Farmers of America is a dishonest and racist organization. They represent unethical rednecks.
I made fried swai, hush puppies, and okra and tomatoes for supper last Sunday.
I recently discovered swai, and the product was so good it inspired me to research what exactly it was. It is an economical and quality product. The flesh is meaty without the flabby texture and streaks of fat found in American farm-raised catfish. It is as good as farm raised tilapia. I will be a regular consumer of this product.
I already wrote an article with this title 2 years ago, but a minor disaster last week inspired me to rewrite it. In the original article I wrote the fossilized human footprints found at White Sands National Park were at least 11,000 years old. A new study published last year determined the footprints were between 23,000 years-21,000 years old. I tried to edit in a note to the old article explaining the results of the new study, and some kind of glitch erased the last 2 paragraphs and the image I used for the original article. I could look for the old handwritten first draft in a stack of old notebooks I keep in a dusty, old, cardboard box, then retype it, but I decided to start all over and rewrite it completely.
During the late Pleistocene climate patterns were much different in the American Southwest than they are today. The region enjoyed higher rainfall and a cooler more temperate climate, resulting in abundant lakes. Lake Otero, now a completely dry lakebed, was filled with water then and surrounded with lush prairie and scattered trees. A drier climate phase struck, and the lake began to recede, leaving a muddy shoreline where many species of mammals left trackways, including humans, mammoths, camels, bison, Harlan’s ground sloths, saber-toothed cats, giant lions, and dire wolves. Some of the human trackways crisscross those of a ground sloth, and it appears as if the sloth paused and stood, so the animal could better detect the human scent. 61 fossilized human footprints have been found here, and they are mostly of teenagers and children. Apparently, the teenagers were going back and forth, as if they were carrying objects. Children appear to be playing. Scientists hypothesize the adults were fishing and/or collecting edible aquatic plants, and the teens were carrying the items to a camp (not yet found by archaeologists). One teenager was babysitting a toddler and carrying it around.
Human trackways at White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Some scientists estimate these footprints are about 21,000 years old. Human trackways are interspersed with the prints of Pleistocene megafauna.Artist’s rendition of White Sands National Park 21,000 years ago. Image is a courtesy of the National Park Service.
Of course, fossilized footprints can’t be radiocarbon dated, so how did scientists date the trackways? They radiocarbon dated the ditch grass (Ruppia cirrhosa) seeds found in sediment above and below where the trackways are located. They determined the trackways are between 23,000 years BP-21,000 years BP. This evidence contradicts mainstream archaeologists who believe humans didn’t arrive in North America until about 14,000 years ago.
Diagram showing how the conclusions by the above discussed study could be wrong. Gary Haynes believes wind erosion redeposited older sediment over younger sediment or simply displaced younger sediment so 21,000-year-old ditch grass seeds were on the surface when men and megafauna walked in the area 13,000 years ago.Image from the below reference (Haynes 2022).
Gary Haynes, a renowned archaeologist, casts doubt on the purported age of the trackways. In an article he published in the journal PaleoAmerica, he points out 3 factors that could cause the scientists to reach misleading conclusions about the age of the trackways. The presence of hardwater in an environment causes radiocarbon dates to be older than they actually are. The scientists who dated the trackways were aware of this but think this isn’t a problem because local water is currently not hard. However, Haynes points out they didn’t analyze modern ditch grass to see if it absorbs a greater concentration of hard water than is found in the environment. Another factor that could cause misleading dates is redeposition of sandy sediment by wind. One study of a stratigraphic column in the area nearby found roughly half of the dates were out of order with older sediment on top of younger sediment and alternating with it. Haynes thinks the stratigraphic column in the region where the trackways are found date to between 15,000 years BP-11,000 years BP, dates consistent with when the Clovis culture was known to occur in North America. Finally, he thinks the trackways were made 13,000 years ago, but the exposed sediment where the humans and animals walked happened to be older due to wind redeposition. In other words wind blew the younger sediment away, and people and animals were walking on old sediment.
M. Bennett is the lead author of the study determining the trackways were 21,000 years old. His response to Haynes’s alternative explanation was short and rather obtuse. He believes it was unlikely redeposition of windblown sand occurred, but he offers no explanation why. He also stated the trackways couldn’t be of Holocene age because the human trackways were interspersed with Pleistocene megafauna trackways, and Pleistocene megafauna were extinct by the Holocene (beginning about 11,000 years ago). However, Haynes merely quoted another study that mentioned the trackways being of Holocene age was just 1 of 3 possibilities. Bennett didn’t even address Haynes’s belief that the trackways date to 13,000 years BP when Pleistocene megafauna still roamed the region.
References:
Bennett, M. , et. al.
“Evidence of Humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum”
Science 373 6562 2021
Haynes, G.
“Evidence for Humans at White Sands National Park during the Last Glacial Maximum could be for Clovis People ~13,000 years ago”
There is tantalizing genetic and archaeological evidence suggesting small ephemeral populations of people related to Australian aborigines occupied parts of South America and southwestern North America thousands of years before Amerindians colonized the continents. The archaeological evidence predates or at some sites is simultaneous with the Last Glacial Maximum, the climate phase when the most recent Ice Age glaciers reached their greatest extent about 21,000 years ago. Mainstream archaeologists long believed the first humans arrived in the Americas about 14,000 years ago, but there are just too many compelling archaeological sites, especially in South America and southwestern North America, that contradict this view. The radio-carbon dates can’t be wrong on all of them. Examples of archaeological sites predating or simultaneous with the Last Glacial Maximum include Monte Verde, Chile (33,000 years BP), Toca de Tara Peia, Brazil (20,000 years BP), Arroyo del Vizcaina, Uruguay (30,000 years BP), fossil footprints in Argentina (30,000 years BP), Chiquihuite Cave, Mexico (26,000 years-19,000 years BP), Conxcatlan Cave, Mexico (30,000 years BP) and fossil footprints in New Mexico (21,000 years BP). Now, a recent study of a site in New Mexico determined humans butchered a mammoth and calf here 37,000 years ago.
The recently studied site located in New Mexico is known as the Harley Mammoth Locality named after the hiker who found it. Scientists examined the mammoth bones using CAT scans and determined the mammoths were butchered by humans. The skulls were broken to extract the calorie-rich brains. Ribs were removed from vertebrae–a logical step when breaking down a large mammal. Calorie-rich marrow was extracted from the bones as well. 6 chert flakes, debitage from toolmaking, were found in situ. And it appears as if some of the bones were used for fuel to cook fish over open campfires. Fish scales were found, though the site is 70 yards from the nearest source of water. There is no sign of carnivore scavenging, but the scientists did find termite and cicada burrows in the bones. Insects likely burrowed into the bones after they were slowly buried when rain over time washed sediment downslope over the bones. Later, wind eroded some of this sediment away, allowing Hartley to find some of this material.
Stones modified by tool-making found at the Hartley Mammoth Site dated to an incredible 37,000 years BP. Image from the below reference.Mammoth bones with evidence of human butchering. From the Hartley Mammoth Site located in New Mexico. Image also from the below reference.
3 Indian tribes found in the Amazon Basin, including the Surui, Karitiana, and Xavanti, have a genetic marker suggesting some of their ancestry is related to the ancestors of Australian aborigines. This genetic marker is known as the Y population and is found in no other known populations of Indian tribes. The oldest known human skeleton in the Americas, the Anzick child from South Dakota, dates to about 12,900 years ago and does not have this genetic marker. This genetic evidence suggests 2 different populations colonized the Americas. Aborigines colonized Australia about 40,000 years ago, and it seems likely they were capable of long-distance sea travel then–a knowledge that was lost over time. Small groups of them may have discovered South America at about the same time their relatives found Australia. Maybe, they were so traumatized by harrowing sea journeys, they decided to stick to land, and over a generation they forgot how to travel by sea. I hypothesize populations of aborigines in America remained low over millennia and likely were always on the verge of extinction in the harsh environments of the Late Pleistocene. The later invasion of more technologically advanced Indians probably displaced the aborigines across most of their range with the exception of the Amazon Basin where they interbred. Perhaps, Indians were more dependent upon aborigine knowledge in the more challenging environment of the Amazon jungle.
3 tribes in the Amazon basin have a genetic signature shared with Australian aborigines. No other Indian tribes in the Americas have this signature. These tribes may be relics from a more widespread population that was displaced by Indiansduring the Late Pleistocene.Linguistic evidence also suggests the former existence of aborigines alongside Amerindians.
Apparently, aborigines didn’t have as negative an impact on megafauna populations as the Indians. They were fewer in number and never specialized in hunting megafauna, though they did occasionally kill large animals. They probably preferred exploiting small game and fish because it was less risky. Small aborigine tribes couldn’t risk casualties when hunting larger more dangerous animals.
Reference:
Rowe, T. et. al.
“Human Occupation of the North American Colorado Plateau ~37,000 years ago”
I live on the beach, or rather it used to be a beach 33 million years ago. Now, this location is about 128 miles inland. Nevertheless, the soil is still sandy, and ecologists classify it as a piedmont sandhill. Plants able to grow in arid sandy conditions thrive here. The co-dominant trees are sand laurel oak and loblolly pine, though I think long leaf pine formerly prevailed. I believe this area was alternately part of the long leaf pine savanna region that before European colonization dominated the coastal plain. The name of the road I live on is “Piney Grove,” indicating its original appearance. It was likely subject to frequent light grass fires. The soil is particularly sandy compared to much of the coastal plain, however, and the local environment may have been quite unique. Cleared lots soon get covered in sand laurel oak saplings, persimmon, sumac, sassafras, prickly pear cactus, and low bush blueberry. Many interesting herbaceous plants grow here as well. I stopped using a lawn mower over 20 years ago and instead use a scythe to keep vegetation in check. I selectively cut my yard and allow interesting plants to form patches. Here are 6 interesting plants that find refuge in my yard.
Florida pusely, a non-native species related to the coffee plant.
Florida pusely (Richardia scabra) is native to South and Central America and Mexico and is also known as Mexican parsley, though it is related to coffee trees, not true clovers which are legumes. Most google results for this plant suggest how to get rid of it. Some people demand perfect lawns. I’d rather have the pusely. It produces pretty white flowers that attract bees and butterflies, and the foliage covers the ground. Reportedly, it is edible, but I wouldn’t try it because it is closely related to a species used to induce vomiting.
Buttonweed, also a non-native species related to the coffee plant.
Next to a patch of Florida pusely is a patch of buttonweed (Hexasepalum teres), also known as poor joe. This species is also a native of South America and belongs in the coffee family. It has tiny blue flowers.
Trumpet vine.
Trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) is a member of the Bignoniaceae family. Its flowers attract hummingbirds, but the rest of the plant is toxic to people and most animals. It is native to eastern North America and fairly abundant in my neighborhood.
Golden cottony aster is very abundant in my yard.Bumble bee on golden cottony aster bloom.
Golden cottony aster (Chrysopsis gossypinus) grows on the edges of wooded areas and blooms from September to November. The flowers attract butterflies and bees, and it is so named because the flower buds resemble the buds on cotton plants before they bloom. It is a member of the aster family.
A big colony of evening primrose grows in my yard next to the road.
A long patch of evening primrose (Oenothern biennis) grows alongside the road on the front part of my yard amidst the Bahia grass. Every part of this plant is reportedly edible including the roots, leaves, and seeds. Evening primrose seed oil is thought to ease the symptoms of PMS, but pharmacological studies are so far inconclusive. Birds eat the seeds, and evening primrose is the host plant for 2 species of moth. Native-Americans used the plant as well. It blooms in June here, especially in the evening, hence the name. It is a member of the Onagraceae family and is found throughout North America.
I destroy sandspurs on sight. Nevertheless, I can’t get rid of them.
I destroy sandspurs (Cenchrus sp.) as much as I can, but I can’t get rid of this tough plant. The hairs on this plant cause annoying itching when they come into contact with human skin, and the seeds are encased in burrs covered with sharp spines that attach themselves to animal fur or human socks and shoes. I’ve spent much time pulling dozens of them off my socks, getting them stuck in my fingers instead. They fall off in the carpet where my bare feet step on them too. The seeds of this plant are spread all over by animal transport. This genus is so successful they are native to 4 continents. Reportedly, the seeds are edible, but may be infected with the ergot fungus–the kind that causes LSD-like reactions.
I don’t know whether it is comforting or disturbing to realize the universe will die in the future. I’m entering the 4th quarter of my life, and I’ve been thinking about my end recently, but nothing lasts forever, not even the universe. According to the majority opinion of astronomers, the universe will die between 1 to 100 trillion years from now. Ironically, the death of the universe may be related to its birth. The theory of the universe’s origin most favored by astronomers is the Big Bang Theory–a slight misnomer because Big Expansion better describes it. About 13.5 billion years ago, all matter, time, and space were contained within 1 tiny singularity. Suddenly, everything expanded at the speed of light. Scientists don’t know what existed before this expansion, but it may be that time itself didn’t exist, and the beginning of the big expansion was literally the beginning of time. It took 300 million years for primitive stars to start forming from the hydrogen to helium nuclear fusion that releases energy. Stars evolved to become more powerful, and when they used up their energy, they exploded in massive supernovas, producing heavier elements such as iron that eventually formed the core of some planets. New stars and planets created from supernovas continued to spread in the ever-expanding universe. Solar systems are the ashes of old supernovas. 9 billion years after the big expansion, earth formed.
Evolution of the universe. The universe is still relatively young, but it won’t exist forever, according to most astronomers.The first stars were short-lived, but they spawned longer-lived stars where more heavy elements were created from nuclear fusion, following supernovas.The universe keeps expanding. Eventually, stars will be so far apart, the night skies will be dark. After a trillion years or more, all the energy in the universe will be expended, and there will be no light, no heat, no mass, and no life.
The expansion that created the universe will cause its death. Stars will move so far away from each other due to expansion that night skies on planets will be dark. Red dwarfs, the longest-lived stars, may survive for hundreds of billions of years, but they too will fade away. When this happens, there will be no light anywhere in the universe. The temperature of the universe will be -273 degrees F, also known as absolute zero. A related theory, known as the Big Rip, suggests even matter will break apart into self-destructing atoms. The universe will be a very cold, very dark, empty space. Of course, nothing could live here.
There is an alternative cosmological theory known as the Big Crunch. This theory posits the expansion of the universe will end and gravity will pull all matter together again into a singularity. A related theory, the Big Bounce, holds that after the Big Crunch, the universe will expand again in another Big Bang and alternating Big Bangs and Big Crunches mean an eternal cycle. Currently known scientific evidence doesn’t support this theory, and it seems to be based on wishful thinking. It is a difficult, disturbing concept to think someday there will be nothing…that the end of the universe is absolute death. Perhaps. the universe will reform again from nothing, but this would be via a process unknown to science.
I was speaking quietly to my friend in the school cafeteria at Washington Elementary in Niles, Ohio 53 years ago when Mrs. Yuhasz snuck up behind me, yanked me up by the back of my shirt, and nailed me on the butt with a club perforated with holes that reduced wind resistance. I was so startled; I literally pissed my pants. The elementary school shared the same building with the junior high, and Mrs. Yuhasz, the junior high counselor, demanded absolute silence because school kids chattering during lunch might interfere with junior high students concentrating on their scholarly studies. Mrs. Yuhasz often slammed her club on a table, transforming the chatter into sudden silence. On other occasions she’d shock the students into silence by beating 1 of us as an example.
5 years after the butt-beating, I had an appointment to see Mrs. Yuhasz while she was performing her official duties as a middle school counselor. She said she was “glad we got along now” as if we ever had had any interaction since she’d clubbed my rear. She remembered that incident, and this suggests to me that Nazi war criminals remembered every act of violence they ever perpetrated on their victims. Mrs. Yuhasz could be nice. I’m sure she baked cookies for kids visiting her house. But I remember her as a brutal woman, and I was reminded of her while reading a history of Nazi war criminals.
Much to my surprise, the first Nazi war criminal extradited from the U.S. to Germany was a woman, and this extradition didn’t occur until 1973. Her name was Hermine Braunsteiner-Ryan. During World War II she was a factory worker when her landlord suggested she sign up to be a SS prison guard. She worked at the Ravensbruck Prison, a concentration camp for women in northern Germany where an estimated 90,000 people died. Then she transferred to the Madjanek Camp in Poland, a slave textile factory with 7 gas chambers and 2 gallows. An estimated 78,000 people died here. Hermine wore hob-nailed boots and carried a whip. She kicked and/or whipped 80 starving women to death. In addition she threw 103 children onto crowded trains headed for gas chambers. She picked the kids up by their hair when she threw them on the trains. After the war the U.S. Army arrested her, and she spent a mere 3 years in an Austrian prison.
Hermine Braunsteiner-Ryan was the first Nazi war criminal extradited from the U.S. back to Germany. She kicked and whipped 80 women to death and threw (literally) over 100 children on trains bound for gas chambers.
Simon Wiesenthal, the famous Nazi hunter, never heard of Hermine until he was eating in a restaurant while on vacation in Israel during 1964. 3 women who served time at Majdanak told him about Hermine, and he went to work locating her. After her release from prison, she worked as a waitress and met an American construction worker vacationing in Austria. They fell in love and got married. They moved to Canada, then New York City. Wiesenthal assigned a New York Times reporter, Joseph Lelyveld, the task of tracking down her exact address. He found her and conducted an interview. He described her as a big boned blonde wearing pink and white shorts and a white blouse. She was in the process of painting the interior of her house during the interview. He informed her Wiesenthal was looking to bring her to justice. She said she’d already served time, but when the reporter told her that was for crimes committed at Ravensbruck and not Madjanak, she burst into tears and lamented that her life was over. Still, her husband supported her and claimed she “wouldn’t hurt a fly.” He crowdfunded her legal defense, and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service kept bungling the case. Hermine had lied on her immigration application about serving time in prison–grounds for immediate deportation. Nevertheless, it took 9 years before she was finally extradited to Germany. She stood trial with 14 other Nazi war criminals. The trial took 2 years, and she was sentenced to life in prison but was released 3 years before her death due to poor health. She had a leg amputated because of diabetes complications. How ironic. I wonder, if this was the leg, she used to kick women to death. Hermine died in 1999.
Of the estimated 10,000 Nazi war criminals who escaped to the U.S., only 128 faced legal proceedings, and of these just 67 were extradited. 28 of these criminals died while awaiting trial. It is shocking that just a fraction of 1% ever faced justice. The Red Cross and the Vatican actively helped Nazi war criminals escape to Argentina. I have no respect for either institution. Most Nazi war criminals have died of old age by now, but many likely served as teachers and school administrators who beat baby boomers with aerodynamically designed clubs when we were in school.
The woke generation believes Europeans were always the bad guys, and American Indians were completely innocent in their historical conflicts. Many of the woke unfairly compare the U.S. government with Nazi Germany’s actions during the holocaust. This politically correct consensus is naive and untrue. The U.S. government never had a “final solution” policy to completely eradicate Indians. The conflict between Europeans and Indians was a war over land, and the Indians were the losers. Perhaps that is why they evoke sympathy, but there were genocides and atrocities committed by both sides. Some argue Indians were justified when killing innocent Europeans because they were defending their land. I reject this apologist reasoning. I also challenge anybody to show me a legal deed with a claim the Indians owned all of the Americas. Killing innocent people is never justifiable.
I surveyed a Wikipedia entry about Indian massacres, focusing on just those that occurred on U.S. territory. I wondered what the statistical breakdown would look like. The Wikipedia list of Indian massacres is not complete, and historians have discovered additional incidents, but the data I used was what was easily available to me.
Results:
From 1539-1700 there were 25 Indian massacres of white people and 21 white massacres of Indians. Between 1700-1800 there were 31 Indian massacres of white people and 16 white massacres of Indians. Between 1800-1911 there were 34 Indian massacres of white people and 79 white massacres of Indians. Between the time of initial European colonization and final defeat of the Indians there were a total of 90 Indian massacres of white people and 116 white massacres of Indians. Historians know of 13 Indian on Indian massacres during this time period, but undoubtedly there were many more. Most Indians never recorded their history.
Artist’s depiction of the Jamestown colony massacre. 1 scholar believes this was an act of genocide according to modern United Nations rules. Indians were not always innocent victims as many of the woke crowd on twitter believe.I don’t believe the U.S. federal government had an official policy of wiping out Indians, but there were regional genocides, especially in California and Utah. Scholars debate whether a genocide against Indians occurred in California. In my opinion it definitely was a genocide. Local greedy businessmen wanted Indians off the land, so they could profit from the natural resources,and they saw them as nothing but potential slaves.
Hernando de Soto initiated the violence between Europeans and Indians in the south when he executed 200 Indians for not telling him where non-existent gold was. This is known as the Napitua Massacre. A few years later Indians avenged this massacre and wiped out most of De Soto’s party. However, in the north, the warlike Powhatan Indians drew first blood against the English when they murdered 50 starving colonists in 1609. During 1622 Powhatan Indians entered the Jamestown settlement in Virginia under the guise of offering to sell them food. They picked up farm implements and killed 347 innocent men, women, and children. Then, they blockaded the settlement all winter, causing the starvation deaths of 500 additional people. The English got their revenge the following year when they invited the Indians to a celebration and served them poisoned wine. 250 Indians died. In 1644 the Powhatan killed over 400 settlers. The Powhatan’s chiefs’ goal was to completely wipe out Europeans in America, and scholars do think this would be considered genocide by modern U.N. standards. While the U.S. Army was busy preserving the Union during the Civil War, Indians attacked settlers in Minnesota and killed over 800 people–another example of genocide when white people were the victims.
European treatment of Indians out West, particularly on formerly Spanish-held land, was brutal. Mormons in Utah were really bad. Brigham Young did order the partial extermination of Indians for stealing cattle, and he used them to attack non-Mormon settlers. The Indians were stealing cattle because Europeans eliminated their main food supply–bison. Another regional genocide occurred in California, though I don’t blame the U.S. government. In 1850 the California state government passed the Orwellian sounding The California Act for the Government and Protection of Indians. This law was an excuse to enslave Indians. Local greedy businessmen including farmers, ranchers, miners, and slave-traders killed 10,000 Indians in less than 2 decades. The U.S. government turned a blind eye to this genocide, but I think the effort to preserve the Union was sucking all the oxygen out of the room, and the government was unable to focus on anything else. Scholars debate over whether this was a genocide because 90% of the Indians died due to diseases for which they had little resistance and not direct violence. In my opinion it was a genocide. There were so many massacres of innocent people, disparagingly called “diggers” because they dug for edible roots, that it had to be a deliberate extermination campaign. The Emancipation Proclamation caused the California Indian Act to be repealed in 1863, but by then it was too late. The last white massacre of Indians occurred at Wounded Knee in South Dakota when 190 Indians were murdered.
There is no excuse for the federal government’s neglect of Indians since they’ve been put on reservations.
Some of the best places to see wild megafauna are areas managed by humans. The Yturria Ranch, located in southeast Texas, is a good example of a wildlife haven enhanced by people. During 1849 Francisco Yturria inherited his wife’s land grant and became the owner of 312 square miles. He made a smart decision shortly after the Mexican War and sided with local white people (the winning side) in their dispute with Hispanic partisans who wanted to take land back for Mexicans. This cemented his claim on the land. Today, Richard Butler, a 5th generation descendent of Yturria, owns the ranch, though it has been whittled down to 22 square miles. Still, it is so big it has its own railroad stop. It has always been a working cattle ranch, but now much of the ranch’s revenue comes from offering hunters the chance to shoot exotic big game. The land here has been improved by wildlife managers to help support native species and the introduced populations of African and Indian antelopes that make the ranch an impressive refuge for megafauna.
Tractors are used to disc the land, a process that disturbs the soil and increases the variety of plant species able to thrive, thus providing a wide range of food for animals. Wells and manmade water tanks attract thirsty wildlife. And ranch managers are working to restore native Tamaulipas thorn scrub, a type of environment with dry soils high in calcium. Mesquite, plateau live oak, cenizo, acacia, Texas ebony, Texas persimmon, yucca, and a variety of unusual forbs and grasses grow on Tamaulipas thorn scrub land. Other environments found on the ranch include coastal savannah, live oak forests, mesquite groves, pastures, and wetlands.
The ranch is rich in native and nonnative megafauna populations. In addition to white tail deer and collared peccary, hunters seek out African waterbuck, oryx, and lechwe or Indian blackbuck and nilgai antelope. Feral hogs must also be abundant, though not advertised (hunters can kill them just about anywhere). Zebras roam the ranch too. Predators living on the ranch include coyote, cougar, bobcat, and ocelot. Ranch managers participate in ocelot conservation. This species is uncommon on this side of the Rio Grande. The ranch hosts more species of megafauna today than have been found here since the late Pleistocene, at least 12,000 years ago. The ranch supports healthy populations of turkey and quail. Caracaras, roadrunners, and species of birds that prefer scarce human populations nest on the ranch.
Location of the Yturria ranch.The Yturria ranch. Note the open landscape.The Yturria Ranch is a vast wilderness.Excellent wildlife habitat on the Yturria Ranch.Herd of endangered oryx antelope on the Yturria Ranch.Oryx antelope up close.Blackbuck antelope, native to India, abound on the Yturria Ranch.The owners of the Yturria Ranch love the ocelots that live on their land.
It costs $1500 a night to stay on the ranch, and there is a 2-day minimum. Hunters with the urge to kill exotic animals are probably the most frequent guests, but one doesn’t have to be a hunter to stay here. Guided fishing trips and bird tours led by professional ornithologists are offered. I’d be happy just to take a walk and photograph any wildlife I encountered. I briefly fantasized about living in the area. The ranch spans parts of 2 counties, but from a satellite view it looks like there is just 1 suburban residential development in the area, and shopping centers are scarce. However, San Antonio looks to be about an hour away, and Padre Island beach is about 30 minutes away. New Orleans is a day’s drive. Climate is subtropical and grapefruit are grown nearby. I wonder if beef prices are cheaper here because it is close to the source. I think this region is a pretty nice choice for retirees.
Most people don’t know there were 2 species of fanged cats living in North America during the Pleistocene. Smilodon fatalis is the more famous species because fossil specimens of this extinct animal are relatively abundant, especially from the La Brea Tar Pits fossil site in California. But there was a lesser-known species that was more widespread, ranging from Africa across Eurasia to Florida. This species is often referred to as the scimitar-toothed cat. In Africa and Eurasia it is given the scientific name Homotherium latidens, and in North America it’s given the scientific name H. serum, but genetic evidence suggests they could be considered the same species. Despite a widespread geographic distribution, the genetic evidence also suggests the scimitar-toothed cat existed in low population numbers. It is uncommon in the fossil record, and in Europe there is a large gap in occurrence. Fossil evidence of H. latidens is known from a 300,000-year-old fossil site but is not recorded again in Europe until a specimen was found dating to 28,000 years ago in the North Sea which was above sea level at that time. Although it was never a common animal, the scimitar-toothed cat was a long-lived species, originally evolving during the late Pliocene and not becoming extinct until the late Pleistocene–a time span of over 2 million years. Evidence from the Friesenhahn Cave site in Texas indicates it may have specialized in hunting juvenile mammoths and mastodons in North America. Some think it must have hunted in packs, but it may have had a technique that made individuals capable of bringing down much larger prey. They had unusual sloping backs, much like modern spotted hyenas.
Mauricio Anton is a talented paleo artist who beautifully illustrated the excellent book The Big Cats and their fossil relatives. He works with paleontologists to produce anatomically accurate drawings of extinct species of cats and other animals. His original drawing of the scimitar-toothed cat depicted the fangs protruding when it mouth was closed. However, in a recent study involving 3 scientists, he determined the fangs on this species did not protrude when its mouth was shut.
Images of scimitar-toothed cat and a tiger skull and jaw.Maricio Anton’s new reconstruction of a scimitar-toothed cat’s face. He now believes its fangs didn’t protrude when its mouth was closed. However, he does think the saber-toothed cat (Smilodon fatalis) did have protruding fangs when its mouth was closed.
For this study Anton and his colleagues looked at cat scans of extant big cat skulls and jaws and watched videos of them yawning and opening and closing their jaws. They also re-examined the skulls and jaws of Homotherium specimens. They concluded the fangs were not exposed when the scimitar-toothed cat closed its mouth. They still think the more famous species of saber-toothed cat (Smilodon fatalis) did have exposed fangs when its mouth was closed. The fangs on the latter species were much longer. Other species of pre-historic cats and cat-like species may or may not have had exposed fangs when their jaws were shut, depending upon the characteristics of each individual species.
Note on the reference: In the paper below they refer to the scimitar-toothed cat as the saber-tooth cat for its common name. I prefer to call it the scimitar-toothed cat to prevent confusion with its more famous relative.
Reference:
Anton, M.; G. Siliceo, J. Pastor, and M. Salesa
“Concealed Weapons: A Revised Reconstruction of the Facial Anatomy and Life Appearance of the Sabre-toothed Cat Homotherium latidens (Felidae, Machairodontinae)”
GeorgiaBeforePeople 