Daily history

Good morning,


Quote of the day:

“Anyone who has lifted a cat by its tail knows five or six things more than someone who hasn’t.”

                                            Mark Twain

I was watching a TV show about the state troopers in Alaska. It brought to mind an incident that occurred while I was there a long time ago. There was a guide leading a group of three hunters around a small hill. The guide was in the lead and was not in sight for about a minute. When the hunters rounded the bend in the trail they found the guide dead as fried chicken. Apparently a grizzly bear was aware of the hunting party and had laid hidden awaiting a chance to ambush. The bear had struck the guide one blow to the side of the head nearly decapitating him and then disappeared into the underbrush. The hunters said that they did not hear a thing until the bear ran away.

My roommate decided that he wanted to go moose hunting and checked out a 30.06 rifle with 6 rounds of ammo. Also included was a .357 magnum S&W revolver plus ammo for protection from the bears. He succeeded in killing a moose. The law in Alaska at that time was that moose meat had to be packed out and given to the Wildlife Authority if it was not wanted. The meat went to charitable organizations. Anyway, he figured that he had about 600 pounds of meat after the moose was field dressed. He cut/sawed the carcass into four sections and began taking it out on his pack board. It was about 1 ½ miles to his truck so it took him quite a while to make the round trip. The moose was in thick cover and he could not see it until he was right on top of it. On his third trip back to the carcass he walked up on a grizzly feeding on the moose. The bear charged and my roomie turned and ran (bad move) but at the same time with one hand he pointed the rifle back toward the bear and fired. The bullet hit the bear in the mouth killing it instantly. It just wasn’t my roomie’s time to go.

A few days ago a 32 year old man was rejoicing in the beauty of the female body at a local strip joint called Platinum Plus. There was some question about the identification this man presented at the bar and a security officer (bouncer) was called over. I personally think that a 32 year old man would appear old enough to drink, but what do I know. I have heard that it is pretty dark in there. Apparently there was a confrontation and the man was escorted to the front door and unceremoniously ejected. A short while later the cops were called along with EMS, the man that was ejected was found dead just outside the door. This past weekend the county coroner determined that the man has died of asphyxiation. This guy was essentially strangled and he also had a few bruises on his head. It is possible that the bouncer had a grip on this man’s throat while walking him to the door. It is possible for the throat to continue to constrict if enough pressure is applied and then released. The bouncer is in deep doo-doo.

This date in history March 29

1776    On this date General George Washington assigns the task of the protection of New York and its waterways to General Israel Putnam. If ever there was a true warrior it was Israel Putnam. He was a lieutenant under George Washington during the French and Indian War. He was captured and tortured by the Caughanawega Indians but eventually escaped. This man was a fire-breathing Patriot from the git-go when the British began with their enactment of laws trying to suppress the colonist’s rebellionishness. He was a founding father of the infamous Sons of Liberty. It was this bunch that was the hosts at the so-called Boston Tea Party. Israel was there. After hostilities really got under way, Israel joined the Continental Army with gusto. He was with Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen at their victories at Ticonderoga and Montreal. After taking command of the troops in New York, he suffered two defeats in a row at Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton in 1777. After these two losses, Washington’s faith in Israel Putnam began to fade. He continued to serve in the Continental Army until he had a career ending stroke in 1779. It is unfortunate that such a warrior ended his career in disrepute. Putnam was raised in Salem, Massachusetts and it was some of his ancestors that were responsible for execution by various means of “witches and warlocks” during the infamous Salem witch trials in 1692.

1951    Earlier nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs was arrested in England by British authorities with the assistance of the FBI. Fuchs worked on the A-bomb project both in England and the United States during the development period. He was arrested for espionage in a conspiracy to give atomic secrets to the Russians. Fuchs readily admitted to the conspiracy and pointed his finger at his “mule” Harry Gold. Gold had been the go-between to deliver the paperwork to the Russians. Gold was arrested and admitted to being the “mule” but said he knew of someone with a hell of a lot more knowledge about the inner workings and pointed to David Greenglass. Greenglass was also arrested who worked at the laboratory at Los Alamos with his sister and brother-in-law Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Greenglass named Ethel as the brains of the conspiracy and Julius was the activator. All four went on trial were convicted. Greenglass and Gold got prison sentences. On this date the Rosenbergs were sentenced to death for treason in spite of the fact that Russia was an ally at the end of WWII. But the “fear” of atomic attack from the Russians was a real one for several years. What condemned the Rosenbergs was that Greenglass and Gold gave almost identical testimony against the Rosenbergs in separate hearings. Julius and Ethel were executed in 1953 in the electric chair in Sing Sing yelling that they were innocent to the very end.

1973    Two weeks after the signing of the peace agreement between North Vietnam and the United States, the last American combat troops leave South Vietnam and the last of the American POW’s (allegedly) are released. After a seven bloody years, the Vietnam War is over for the United States. Within a matter of hours the North Vietnam army enters Saigon and renames it Ho Chi Mien City and Vietnam is one country once again. The mightiest military force the world has ever seen was unable to keep the country split into two nations at the cost of about 70,000 American lives. Thank God that nightmare is over, but another may have replaced it.

1806    On this date the United States Treasury donates $30,000 for the surveying a road beginning near Cumberland, Maryland and headed west to aid in the western expansion of the United States. The road was well received and soon thousands of wagons, horses, cattle and oxen had beaten a well discerned path westward. This road was originally known as the Cumberland Trace but then it became known as the National Road. The road ended in Vandalia, Illinois. It was built between 1806 and 1840 with the US Treasury investing $6 million overall. Eventually, the maintenance of the road was left to each state that it passed through. It was your friend and mine Henry Ford was able to persuade Congress to continue to contribute to the building of roads and highways throughout America. Congress agreed and began collecting taxes to make it work and it was Eisenhower that initiated the US Interstate Highway system which was the death knell to small town America.

1878    Earlier the Boers, or Dutch settlers in Africa, were driven from Natal by the British. In the way was the nation of the Zulu. The Zulus were renowned for their ferocity in battle. The British tried to remove the Zulus but soon found that they had a tiger by the tail and the so-called Zulu Wars began. The British got their ass handed to them on two successive battles, however on this date 2,000 British troops routed about 20,000 Zulus and the conquest of South Africa by Great Britain was complete when the province of Natal was absorbed in the Republic of South Africa.

Born today:

1819    US entrepreneur Edwin Drake. When proposing to his investors that he was going to drill for oil. His investors said “Drill into the ground and expect to find oil! Are you crazy?” I would have said the same thing.

1918    US billionaire Sam Walton. He said “Capital is not scarce; vision is.” Sam was a true visionary.

1959    US singer Peter Farrell. He said “Sometimes to find out that you are well, someone has to come along and hurt you.” I think Peter might be a masochist

Died today:

1885    US writer Anna Strong. She said “I normally do not know where my journey is going until just before I arrive.” I like this girl’s attitude.

1957    English writer Joyce Cary. She said “How unfortunate love is, it is always too much or too little.” That is true except with a dog. They give unconditional love.

2004    English commentator Alistair Cooke. When speaking about Greta Garbo he said “She gave you the impression that, if your imagination had to sin, it could at least congratulate itself on impeccable taste.”

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow