Tuesday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“It is not necessary to change, survival is not mandatory.”

                           W. Edwards Deming

In the early 19^th century the settlers in Texas, especially in the “Hill Country” area complained bitterly about the apparent blasé attitude of the local Comanche. They had a habit of walking into any house unannounced and uninvited and taking whatever they fancied. The Texas government contacted the local Comanche tribe and asked for a conference to try and settle this problem. Seven sub-chiefs showed up in Austin. The whites were expecting them to show up in full regalia astride prancing Spanish mustangs. They showed up naked from the waist up (it was summer), hair in tangles and stained breech clouts. They were astride several different examples of horseflesh including mules. The Comanches were responsive to a peace treaty but the whites demanded that all the white hostages must be released. The next day the Comanches brought in a 16 year old girl that had been a captive for 7 years. The girl was not in good shape. She had many visible burn scars including her nose that had been burned off to the bone which infuriated the whites. The whites also knew that the Comanche had a lot more white captives that this one girl. The seven sub-chiefs were puzzled over the anger of the whites because they believed that it was common practice to keep whatever captives they wanted and treat them anyway they wanted. The whites reacted by hanging four of the sub-chiefs and imprisoning the others in spite of them being there under a flag of truce. The whites ought not to have done that because the enraged Comanches stopped walking in and stealing things and began a campaign of systematic torture and massacre of the white settlers especially those on the banks of the Brazos River (west and north of Houston). The carnage continued until a large contingent of US Cavalry arrived and then the Comanches just melted away into the countryside. At their zenith the Comanche dominated about 250,000 square miles of present day Texas representing about 80% of the state including Marble Falls and it environs. More to come later. By the way a breech clout is a long strip of cloth, animal hide, etc. that is placed between the legs and brought up to the waist in the front and back and held there with a belt.

                   This Date in History   July 7

1863 Frontiersman Christopher “Kit” Carson departed Santa Fe on a mission to gather up all the Navahos in the four corners area and take them 300 miles to a reservation for the duration of the Civil War. Before the outset of the war Carson was a friend and confidant to the Navaho, Mescalero Apache, Kiowa and several other tribes in the southwestern United States. After the Civil war started Carson offered his services to the US and was given the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the 1^st New Mexico Volunteers. He was present at the battle of Val Verde where the Confederates beat the crap out of a US Cavalry unit. Something happened to old Kit as soon as he put on that uniform. Suddenly he became a hater of all Indians and began a campaign of terror against them. When the Navajo resisted going to the reservation, Kit ordered their villages burned, poison their water supply, burned their crops and slaughtered their livestock, mostly sheep and horses. Then the Navajo began a 300 mile walk across the desert to the reservation. There is no use for me to go into what happened to the old and very young. I don’t know what happens to some people when they gain a little power; some of them just go crazy as hell. History is full of examples.

2006 Two days earlier a 31 year of man named Anthony Berry beat another 53 year old man into a coma. It was his father, Jeffrey Berry. Jeffrey was the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. This did not take place in Meridian, Mississippi, it happened in South Bend, Indiana. Earlier, Jeffrey had granted an interview at his house with a local TV station as he being the Grand Wizard. After the interview, the news reporters told him that they would be adding comments from other Klansmen to the interview. Jeffrey said “Like Hell you are, give me that video tape”. As you might expect the reporters refused. Jeffrey’s assistant produced a shotgun and Jeffrey said that they ain’t leaving until they surrender the tape. They did not give up the tape and as soon as they got free they went to the police and filed a complaint for kidnapping. Jeffrey was tried and convicted and sentenced to ten years. He was out on probation after three. No one knows what precipitated the attack on Jeffrey. Isn’t there something about “Live by the sword die by the sword”?

Births and deaths:

1816 English parliamentarian Richard Sheridan dies. When hitting on a potential new mistress he said “Will you come into my garden, my roses would like to see you”. Listen up guys; I don’t know if I have ever heard a better pick-up line than that.

Quotable quotes:

“Character is much easier kept than recovered.”

                             Thomas Paine

“It is the fight alone that pleases us, not the victory”

                               Blaise Pascal

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice your gift.”

                                  Steve Prefontaine

Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow