ERIC SHARP's Posts - Warrior Nation2024-03-29T11:20:18ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARPhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2537166598?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://warriornation.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=1lrrw55sthodh&xn_auth=noWe do not Inherittag:warriornation.ning.com,2018-01-22:6193495:BlogPost:5536302018-01-22T03:09:59.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545634044?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545634044?profile=original" width="570" class="align-left"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545634044?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545634044?profile=original" width="570" class="align-left"/></a></p>Great Spirit Prayertag:warriornation.ning.com,2018-01-22:6193495:BlogPost:5537192018-01-22T02:55:01.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<p><span class="font-size-5">Great Spirit Prayer</span></p>
<p>“Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind,<br></br> Whose breath gives life to all the world.<br></br> Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.<br></br> Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever<br></br>
behold the red and purple sunset.<br></br>
Make my hands respect the things you have<br></br>
made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.<br></br>
Make me wise so that I may understand<br></br>
the things you have taught my people.</p>
<p>Help me to…</p>
<p><span class="font-size-5">Great Spirit Prayer</span></p>
<p>“Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind,<br/> Whose breath gives life to all the world.<br/> Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.<br/>
Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever<br/>
behold the red and purple sunset.<br/>
Make my hands respect the things you have<br/>
made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.<br/>
Make me wise so that I may understand<br/>
the things you have taught my people.</p>
<p>Help me to remain calm and strong in<br/> the face of all that comes towards me.<br/> Let me learn the lessons you have hidden<br/>
in every leaf and rock.</p>
<p>Help me seek pure thoughts and act<br/> with the intention of helping others.<br/> Help me find compassion without<br/>
empathy overwhelming me.</p>
<p>I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,<br/> but to fight my greatest enemy Myself.Make me always ready to come to you<br/> with clean hands and straight eyes.</p>
<p>So when life fades, as the fading sunset,<br/> my spirit may come to you without shame.</p>I am He POEMtag:warriornation.ning.com,2014-02-05:6193495:BlogPost:3693002014-02-05T03:20:01.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545627569?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545627569?profile=original" width="500"></img></a> I Am He<br></br><br></br>Back To Native American Poems<br></br>I am he<br></br>that cares too much<br></br>and allows this world to penetrate.<br></br>I am the man<br></br>that loves too deeply,<br></br>while others merely perpetrate.<br></br>Do you see this man<br></br>or the boy inside,<br></br>with emotions to great<br></br>and plentiful to hide?<br></br>They've shorn my hair<br></br>and crushed my pride.<br></br>Taken my…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545627569?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545627569?profile=original" width="500" class="align-center"/></a>I Am He<br/><br/>Back To Native American Poems<br/>I am he<br/>that cares too much<br/>and allows this world to penetrate.<br/>I am the man<br/>that loves too deeply,<br/>while others merely perpetrate.<br/>Do you see this man<br/>or the boy inside,<br/>with emotions to great<br/>and plentiful to hide?<br/>They've shorn my hair<br/>and crushed my pride.<br/>Taken my land<br/>and my wife from my side.<br/>A man of honor,<br/>whose spirit remains free<br/>with love to give,<br/>but finding none that need.<br/>So take the hand<br/>of a distant Crow child<br/>and with the Spirit of my fathers,<br/>the wolf will run wild.</p>
<p>By Robert Ellis</p>I am Hetag:warriornation.ning.com,2014-02-05:6193495:BlogPost:3696042014-02-05T03:16:05.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<p>I Am He<br></br> Back To My Home Page<br></br> Back To Native American Poems<br></br>
I am he<br></br>
that cares too much<br></br>
and allows this world to penetrate.<br></br>
I am the man<br></br>
that loves too deeply,<br></br>
while others merely perpetrate.<br></br>
Do you see this man<br></br>
or the boy inside,<br></br>
with emotions to great<br></br>
and plentiful to hide?<br></br>
They've shorn my hair<br></br>
and crushed my pride.<br></br>
Taken my land<br></br>
and my wife from my side.<br></br>
A man of honor,<br></br>
whose spirit remains…</p>
<p>I Am He<br/> Back To My Home Page<br/>
Back To Native American Poems<br/>
I am he<br/>
that cares too much<br/>
and allows this world to penetrate.<br/>
I am the man<br/>
that loves too deeply,<br/>
while others merely perpetrate.<br/>
Do you see this man<br/>
or the boy inside,<br/>
with emotions to great<br/>
and plentiful to hide?<br/>
They've shorn my hair<br/>
and crushed my pride.<br/>
Taken my land<br/>
and my wife from my side.<br/>
A man of honor,<br/>
whose spirit remains free<br/>
with love to give,<br/>
but finding none that need.<br/>
So take the hand<br/>
of a distant Crow child<br/>
and with the Spirit of my fathers,<br/>
the wolf will run wild.</p>
<p>By Robert Ellis</p>Our inner strengths are very strong! we use them all the timetag:warriornation.ning.com,2013-03-24:6193495:BlogPost:2769542013-03-24T18:17:02.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545625647?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545625647?profile=original" width="168"></img></a></p>
<p>Final Vision by Crowfoot, Blackfoot</p>
<p>Life is the flash of a firefly in the night.<br></br> It is the breath of the buffalo in the winter.<br></br> It is the little shadow which runs across the grass<br></br>
and loses itself in the sunset.</p>
<p>Great Spirit, God, Creator of All by Laurel Singing Water Cat</p>
<p>Great Spirit, God, Creator of All<br></br> I welcome You into my…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545625647?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545625647?profile=original" width="168" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Final Vision by Crowfoot, Blackfoot</p>
<p>Life is the flash of a firefly in the night.<br/> It is the breath of the buffalo in the winter.<br/>
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass<br/>
and loses itself in the sunset.</p>
<p>Great Spirit, God, Creator of All by Laurel Singing Water Cat</p>
<p>Great Spirit, God, Creator of All<br/> I welcome You into my heart, mind, body and soul<br/>
There is always room for You here.<br/>
Grant me the wisdom to heed my inner voice<br/>
And the strength to stay grounded while I sing my sacred song.<br/>
Guide me down my chosen path and give me the courage to pursue<br/>
what is available to me.<br/>
I am thankful for the lessons and grateful for my struggles;<br/>
I have not forgotten what has brought me to where I am today.<br/>
Open my heart to the healing wholeness of nature;<br/>
We are all related, and through this I will find serenity.<br/>
Great Spirit, God, Creator of All<br/>
Cleanse my spirit and wash my soul.<br/>
There is always room for You here.</p>Kitten And Chicken Become Good Friendstag:warriornation.ning.com,2012-05-11:6193495:BlogPost:1805012012-05-11T19:48:19.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<p>Kitten and chicken become good friends <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545617635?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545617635?profile=original" width="300"></img></a></p>
<p>People have always thought that cats and birds are natural enemies. However, Russian girl Maria’s true funny stories told us different fact, her pet cat becomes became close friends with her pet chicken, they eat, sleep and play together, never separated just a moment.<br></br> Maria’s father said Maria adopted the only homeless…</p>
<p>Kitten and chicken become good friends <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545617635?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545617635?profile=original" width="300" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>People have always thought that cats and birds are natural enemies. However, Russian girl Maria’s true funny stories told us different fact, her pet cat becomes became close friends with her pet chicken, they eat, sleep and play together, never separated just a moment.<br/> Maria’s father said Maria adopted the only homeless kittens not long ago, they worried that the cat cannot get on well with her pet chicken in harmonious coexistence, but surprisingly, they immediately became good friends.<br/>
Maria is very happy to find the kitten and chicken becomes good friends, Maria’s father said.</p>A cute short story enjoy : The Greedy Eating Squirrel Was Trapped In A Cagetag:warriornation.ning.com,2012-05-11:6193495:BlogPost:1802232012-05-11T19:32:59.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545617577?profile=original" target="_self"></a></p>
<p><span>Hears true funny stories told you a greedy eating squirrel, it climbed into a cage of wild birds for food, it kept eating the food inside, that the squirrel become too heavy to climb out of the cage. The whole true funny process was shouted.…</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545617577?profile=original" target="_self"></a></p>
<p><span>Hears true funny stories told you a greedy eating squirrel, it climbed into a cage of wild birds for food, it kept eating the food inside, that the squirrel become too heavy to climb out of the cage. The whole true funny process was shouted.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545617577?profile=original" target="_self"></a></p>
<p><span>A man first discovered the greedy squirrel. He put his hand repeatedly touch it, want the squirrel to leave the cage. However, the squirrel just shook itself, can not get up again. Compared to its small claws, the squirrel has too big belly, hardly to crawl.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545617577?profile=original" target="_self"></a></p>
<p><span>People said this greedy squirrels can participate in the “world’s fattest squirrel game,” However, some users said the squirrel looks too fat, it may be South American chinchilla (Chinchilla) or chipmunk.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545617577?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545617577?profile=original" width="505" style="padding: 1px;" class="align-center"/></a></p>Good reading Where did we come from? Part 1 and 2 of a series by Red Wolftag:warriornation.ning.com,2012-04-16:6193495:BlogPost:1751052012-04-16T23:00:00.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
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<p><span class="font-size-5"><br></br> Where did we come from?<br></br> <br></br>
<br></br>
<br></br>
Part 1 of a series by Red Wolf<br></br>
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<br></br>
(Sandi Red Wolf is the Turkey Clan Mother for the United Eastern Lenape Nation based in Sharon, Pa. Grandmother Red Wolf graduated Cum Laude from Kent…</span></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-5"><br/> Where did we come from?<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Part 1 of a series by Red Wolf<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
(Sandi Red Wolf is the Turkey Clan Mother for the United Eastern Lenape Nation based in Sharon, Pa. Grandmother Red Wolf graduated Cum Laude from Kent State University, Ashtabula Campus in 2009 with Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Sociology, and subsequently majored in History.)<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
The Beginning:<br/>
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Debate of this question between Anthropologists and Archaeologists is ongoing and sometimes heated. Anthropologists embrace the Bering Land Bridge theory, believing man crossed over the Bering Strait when the Polar Ice Cap caused the oceans to freeze, lowering the water level and allowing a natural land bridge to be exposed. This is a common theory that seems to have been widely accepted by the scientific community, yet, Archaeologists believe that man crossed the frozen land masses from Siberia down through Canada into the United States. This entire one third of the world was glaciated. This Wisconsin glacier formed as far south as to cover the Great Lakes and south to mid or southern Ohio. If this theory is accepted, man would have been on this continent a good two centuries before the Bering Land Bridge was exposed. Again, these two theories are still being debated and need to be proven.<br/>
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There is proof of a civilization called “Clovis” that occupied the area today known as Texas, about 12,000 years ago. Some scientists believe that 25,000 years before the “Clovis” civilization, humans were slowly migrating into the Americas, but no remains of these people have ever been found, nor have any remains of Neanderthal man been found in the Americas. This means that humans were homo sapien sapiens when they occupied this land (scientific word for true human beings).<br/>
<br/>
The “Clovis” people left behind many artifacts that show us how they survived for thousands of years following the Ice Age. They were hunters, flintnappers who used fluted spear points and tools made of stone and bone. There is proof they used the ribs of Mammoth to build their lodges and used fire to cook and for heat in fire pits. They used red oxide to make paint and were able to write and count. They lived in dangerous times at the end of the ice age from Saber-toothed tigers, Mammoths, 20 ft. long ground sloths, beavers the size of modern bears and the short-faced bear who were twice the size of today’s Grizzly’s. The change in climate at the end of the Ice Age eventually brought these mammals to extinction and the”Clovis” people scattered as their own civilization decreased. Some went North, some West, some East and some South. These people were and are the Original People of the Americas, the beginning of Native Americans of the United States, dating back to 9,500-9,000 B.C. Science has proven that Native Americans are the oldest known species of homo sapein sapiens, anywhere in the world, and they did not evolve from the Cro-Magnon or Neanderthals but were of Asian descent.<br/>
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Everyone knows where and when the white man set foot on American soil, but Native Americans are a people who have inhabited, grown and evolved in North America for over 12,000 years. They changed, as other species that were able to survive their harsh environment changed. It took thousands of years for all other species to evolve into the familiar forms we now know and recognize. Native Americans became more adapt to their surroundings, able to communicate, intelligent enough to care for their families by hunting and gathering. They developed a clan system, a system we still use today, and before they killed an animal they asked its forgiveness, they cared for the land they knew and gave thanks by beating crude drums and dancing around their fires. Not much physical change has occurred, but spiritually, they left behind their mark for all to follow, a mark that hasn’t changed in 12,000 years, the mark of being Native American.<br/>
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<br/>
<br/>
Part 2 of a series by Red Wolf<br/>
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Tribal development<br/>
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As the landscape changed during the post-Ice Age, the Native American culture had to change and adapt to the extremes of temperature and climate. The climate began to warm and the waters that had flooded the western deserts began drying up. Here, a few people remained. Others abandoned the lakes and began to occupy the mountains and their valleys.<br/>
<br/>
(I will now relate to these people as 'Indian' instead of 'Clovis".)<br/>
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The Indians who remained around the disappearing lakes were the ancestors of the Western Plains Indians. We know them as the Apache, Comanche, Kiowa, Crow, Sioux, Hopi, Pueblo and Navajo, just to name a few.<br/>
<br/>
Those that went to the mountain regions were the ancestors of the Shoshone, Paiute, Nez Perce and the Spokane. From here, some traveled East and North. Those who went north were the ancestors of the Eskimos, Aleut and Chipewyan. Some broke off and went to the Northwest and became the Tlingit, Haida, Kwakiutl and the Chinook.<br/>
<br/>
The people that went northeast became the Algonquian, Iroquois, Huron and Chippewa. Others went southeast and became the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole. (These five tribes were later referred to as the Five Civilized Tribes--a European description.)<br/>
<br/>
(There were many more tribes which developed over the centuries, too many to be listed here. I have just skimmed the surface and if I haven't named your ancestry tribe, it was not intentional. From this point on I will concentrate strictly on the Northeastern tribes, especially the Algonquians and their descendents.)<br/>
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<br/>
The Algonquian Nation<br/>
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Through the ages they came; facing, enduring and overcoming obstacles that we cannot even imagine today. Centuries of learning to live with, use to their advantage and overcome the elements of a world devoid of human life (except that of their own), and to evolve into a race of people who understood their world in a way we will never understand ours.<br/>
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They had no one to teach them how to hunt, fish or farm, yet they did and were successful. No one taught them how to skin an animal and make clothing, yet, they did. How did they do these things without instruction? How did they develop a language? So many questions and the only answer that is logical---they did what they had to do and what they thought was right in order to live and develop.<br/>
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The Algonquian territory in the Northeast covered the area from the Rockies to the Atlantic coast. The languages were Algonquian, interspersed with Iroquoian. The Algonquians south of the St. Lawrence were farmers. Those in the North and West were hunters and those along the Great Lakes fished, gathered nuts, wild rice and hunted. Some centuries later the Algonquians in the Minnesota area left for the Northern plains to tend bison herds. These people became the Cheyenne, Blackfeet and the Arapaho.<br/>
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Through the centuries, outbreaks of aggression occurred as a consequence of cultural and regional differences. These differences were dealt with much the same way across the continent. The tribes leaderships were divided between a Chief and a war Captain, and most clans had their own peace and war chiefs. The peace chief ruled most of the time, but when threatening times prevailed, the war chief declared martial law and he would take over. Today we still carry on with these same traditions, to a lesser degree of hostility.<br/>
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For over a millennium, the Algonquian and Iroquois had lived on the land in the Northeast. They spoke different languages and were often at war with each other, yet, they both shared many features of their cultures. Tribes were matrilineal, both were farmers and the women of both tribes planted and harvested the crops. The Hurons to the North were also farmers and spoke the Algonquian language.<br/>
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Eventually, Indian peoples began to branch out, becoming their own nations. The farmers along the coast became the Lenape and from them came the Powhatans of Virginia and the Massachusetts. They developed towns with the usual politician system of chiefdom. Each town was under the care of an elite family known as Sachems or Sakimas. The Sachems, in gratitude for the bounty of their fields, held annual ceremonies of thanksgiving for their town.<br/>
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The Northern Indians, who broke from the Lenape, moved up the Northeast coast and become the Micmac, Malecites and the Ojibwa. These three tribes eventually crossed into Canadian territory. All together, there are at least twenty-seven different tribes that originated from the Lenape in the Northeast and Canada, not including the sub-cultures that broke off from them that we know today.<br/>
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For thousands of years these people developed in mind, body and spirit against odds that if thrown in the paths of today's Americans, one would have to wonder if we could survive as they did. With no guns, no bombs or modern day conveniences, just our intellect and wit, could we understand our world and survive? What would the first Europeans who set foot on this soil have done if they came face to face with a beaver the size of a bear? Makes one wonder, doesn't it?</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545626053?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="500" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545626053?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="500" class="align-center"/></a></p>I found this little article on catstag:warriornation.ning.com,2012-03-13:6193495:BlogPost:1648862012-03-13T02:01:09.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545625964?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545625964?profile=original" width="360"></img></a></p>
<p>ByStacey Brecher<br></br> From The Daily Cat</p>
<p>How do you know if your relationship with your cat has crossed over into an unhealthy obsession?</p>
<p>If caring for your cat has heavily interfered with everyday aspects of your life, you may be obsessed, according to Debra Rothschild, clinical psychologist and addictions expert.</p>
<p>Putting off work deadlines or…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545625964?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545625964?profile=original" width="360" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>ByStacey Brecher<br/> From The Daily Cat</p>
<p>How do you know if your relationship with your cat has crossed over into an unhealthy obsession?</p>
<p>If caring for your cat has heavily interfered with everyday aspects of your life, you may be obsessed, according to Debra Rothschild, clinical psychologist and addictions expert.</p>
<p>Putting off work deadlines or social plans to spend time with your cat is a red flag. A good indication of a problem is if you find yourself prioritizing your cat over potential human interactions.</p>
<p>"The unconditional love of a cat is something to cherish, but it shouldn't replace a real relationship with other people, whether it is friendship or romantic," says Rothschild.</p>
<p>It is also important to assess any behavior that is making your life unmanageable, such as spending too much money on cat products when you can't afford necessities for yourself.</p>
<p>"The number of cats in your home does not necessarily indicate a problem," says Rothschild. "If you have a large home, then you have the space for more cats. Alternatively, if you live in a small apartment with 10 cats and this inhibits company from visiting, then you need to reevaluate your situation."</p>
<p>If you are concerned that you may be spending too much time with your cat, there are ways to change your behavior.</p>
<p>"It is important to know that your cats will be alright without you, as they are independent creatures," says Rothschild. "You should try to spend time with other people. Think of activities you enjoy, and pursue those interests."</p>
<p>If you realize that you have no interest in spending time without your cats, then professional help is an option to assist you in reestablishing those missing aspects of your life.</p>Censorship: is hear read a free Country we are not !tag:warriornation.ning.com,2012-01-22:6193495:BlogPost:1556522012-01-22T16:30:05.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
Native Books Banned in Tucson:<br />
Reports in the media that the Tucson Unified School District banned books by prominent Native American and Mexican authors and has discontinued its Mexican-American Studies programs spread like wildfire and prompted outrage from people all across the country. Is this taking compliance to Arizona HB-2281 too far? What books are on the list and no longer available for students and teachers to use in the classroom? Guests are author and educator Simon Ortiz (Acoma),…
Native Books Banned in Tucson:<br />
Reports in the media that the Tucson Unified School District banned books by prominent Native American and Mexican authors and has discontinued its Mexican-American Studies programs spread like wildfire and prompted outrage from people all across the country. Is this taking compliance to Arizona HB-2281 too far? What books are on the list and no longer available for students and teachers to use in the classroom? Guests are author and educator Simon Ortiz (Acoma), activist and author Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabe) and Cara Rene, Communications Director/TUSD.A STORY: The wandering Cowtag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-09-16:6193495:BlogPost:1328362011-09-16T17:46:30.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<span class="font-size-4"><span style="font-family: arial black,avant garde;"><br />
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For three months, she’s held a whole country spellbound. As if sensing that she was next in line for the slaughterhouse, Yvonne the cow broke through an electric fence on a farm near Munich, Germany, and headed for the forest.<br />
<br />
A few days later she was almost hit by a police car while crossing a highway, and was promptly designated a public danger who should be shot on sight.<br />
<br />
But 6-year-old Yvonne managed to…</span></span>
<span class="font-size-4"><span style="font-family: arial black,avant garde;"><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
For three months, she’s held a whole country spellbound. As if sensing that she was next in line for the slaughterhouse, Yvonne the cow broke through an electric fence on a farm near Munich, Germany, and headed for the forest.<br />
<br />
A few days later she was almost hit by a police car while crossing a highway, and was promptly designated a public danger who should be shot on sight.<br />
<br />
But 6-year-old Yvonne managed to outwit numerous search parties, hanging out in the depths of the Black Forest.<br />
<br />
In one attempt to recapture her, local authorities brought her calf out to the forest to try to lure her in.<br />
<br />
When that failed, the founder of the Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary, Michael Aufhauser, brought in Ernst, a virile bull with “a deep baritone moo” to lure her home. “He is the George Clooney of bulls,” Aufhauser said. Yvonne, however, was not impressed by the Clooney moo-alike.<br />
<br />
Then an animal communicator from Switzerland professed to be in contact with her telepathically. But Yvonne clearly wasn’t giving out her psychic phone number.<br />
<br />
Finally, a few days ago, apparently feeling lonely, Yvonne jumped a fence, wandered onto a farm near the Austrian border, and made friends with the cows there.<br />
<br />
The farmer checked her ear tag and then called to claim the 10,000-euro prize offered by the German newspaper Bild.<br />
<br />
“She went back into the woods when she saw us,” farm owner Konrad Guttman told the British Daily Mail. “She was very nervous. You could see the stress of the past days and weeks had taken its toll on her.”<br />
<br />
By now, the German public was in no mood to allow her to be taken away to the slaughterhouse. Instead, the Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary purchased her from her original farm, and she is now grazing happily at her new home-for-life with two other cows, Friesi and her sister Waltraud.<br />
By Michael Mountain on Zoe: It's Our Nature, September 2011<br />
<br />
</span></span>The Modoc war a piece of our Historytag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-09-07:6193495:BlogPost:1290152011-09-07T03:31:12.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<span class="font-size-4"><br />
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California and the Indian Wars<br />
The Modoc War, 1872-1873<br />
by Warren A. Beck and Ynez D. Hasse<br />
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This conflict resulted from forces common to all Indian wars: the encroachment of whites upon traditional Indian land until the aboriginal way of life was threatened with extinction. However, it was complicated by the appearance of the Ghost Dance religion, which (it was believed) protected the Indians from the white man's bullets and stirred many of the young braves to…</span>
<span class="font-size-4"><br />
<br />
<br />
California and the Indian Wars<br />
The Modoc War, 1872-1873<br />
by Warren A. Beck and Ynez D. Hasse<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This conflict resulted from forces common to all Indian wars: the encroachment of whites upon traditional Indian land until the aboriginal way of life was threatened with extinction. However, it was complicated by the appearance of the Ghost Dance religion, which (it was believed) protected the Indians from the white man's bullets and stirred many of the young braves to fanatical deeds, the presence of bitter rivalries among tribal leaders, and the leadership talents of Captain Jack Kientopoos. Roots of the war went back to 1852, when Indians slaughtered sixty-five whites in a wagon train at Bloody Point, and in retaliation forty-one Modocs were murdered by whites at a peace parley. Hostility continued until 1864, when the Modocs signed a peace treaty and agreed to live on the reservation in Oregon. Unable to coexist their enemies, the Klamaths, the Modocs fled the reservation in 1865, returned briefly in 1869, but left finally in Apnl, 1870.<br />
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The war began when troops tried to force Captain Jack's band, camped on Lost River, back to the reservation on November 29, 1872. As the Indians fled, they murdered thirteen (or eighteen) settlers. The Modocs retreated to "The Stronghold," a vast lava bed honeycombed with outcroppings, caves, and caverns, making it a virtually impregnable rocky fortress. Efforts to dislodge the Modocs in heavy fog on January 17, 1873, cost the army thirty-five dead and many wounded, with no casualties for the Indians. Weeks of negotiation followed, with the army reluctant to risk more casualties and Captain Jack desirous of stalling until spring so he could more easily maneuver in the mountains. The deadlock ended on Good Friday, April 11, 1873, when General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby was murdered, with other peace negotiators, by Captain Jack, while unarmed and conducting peace negotiations. (Canby thus became the only army general to die in the Indian wars.) The usually astute Captam Jack was goaded to this misdeed by warriors convinced that the army would leave if their leader was gone.<br />
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On April 14, 1873, the army laid siege to the Stronghold, and, lacking water, Captain Jack fled southward. After Canby's death, General Jefferson C. Davis, another distinguished Civil War veteran, commanded the troops. At Hardin Butte, on April 26, the bungling army suffered another disaster when a force of some eighty-five men were ambushed and suffered two-thirds casualties. By this time the Modoc leaders had a force that varied from forty-nine but never was reported as more than eighty-nine to ward off more than a thousand army regulars, plus volunteers, and Indian allies. The end was near.<br />
<br />
Badly outnumbered, short of supplies, and lacking horses, Captain Jack's followers began to desert him. Hooker Jim led one band to Fairchild Ranch (he knew and trusted the rancher) and surrendered. Braves who had urged a more aggressive policy for the Modoc leader now guided the army in its pursuit. In an attempted ambush of an army unit at Sorass Lake on May 10, the Modocs suffered several casualties, and lost twenty-four pack animals with most of their ammunition. Captain Jack continued to lead the army on a wild chase, but this battle sealed his doom. At Big Sand Butte the resourceful Indian led his band (then only thirty-three) out of an army trap involving more than three hundred soldiers. But one by one the Modocs surrendered, with the guarantee they would be treated as prisoners of war, and on June 1, Captain Jack laid down his rifle.<br />
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The Modoc War cost over half a million dollars, the lives of some eighty-three whites, and a total of seventeen Indians. Captain Jack and three others were hanged for the murder of the peace commissioners, while two other Indians had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. The rest of the Modocs were removed to a reservation in Indian Territory.<br />
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<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545618965?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545618965?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a><br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/r_r-MzPbi6U">http://youtu.be/r_r-MzPbi6U</a><br />
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MODOC: The Tribe That Wouldn’t Die<br />
By Cheewa James<br />
Prelude to War<br />
In war it is tempting, but simplistic, to label the warring factions as<br />
“right” or “wrong,” “good” or “bad.” War spawns cruel acts but also brings<br />
humane actions on both sides. The complexity of any war asks that naïve,<br />
one-dimensional conclusions not be drawn. War itself is the true evil.<br />
The Modoc War of 1873 stands as an amazing conflict in United<br />
States history.<br />
• It was the most costly Indian war in United States military<br />
history, in terms of both lives and money, considering the small number<br />
of Indians who battled.<br />
• By the end of the six-month war, over 1,000 U. S. military<br />
troops were engaged in bringing 50 – 60 Modoc men, who had their<br />
families with them throughout the entire war, under control. Army<br />
troops outnumbered Modoc fighting men about 20 to 1.<br />
• The Modoc War is the only Indian war in American history in<br />
Were it not for the George Armstrong Custer fight at the Little<br />
Bighorn against the Lakota and Cheyenne only three years after the Modoc<br />
War, the Modoc conflict would probably be remembered as the most<br />
significant Indian confrontation in America's western history.<br />
The Modoc War involved only one relatively small group of<br />
American Indian people. However, it is a riveting example of what happened<br />
across the United States as non-Indian settlers, landowners, and military<br />
persevered in efforts to continue western expansion.<br />
The Modoc saga is one that belongs equally to California and Oregon.<br />
But the end of the war would see Oklahoma become a part of this poignant<br />
story.<br />
Archaeological research has documented that for many millenniums<br />
the Modocs had inhabited an area in northern California and southern<br />
Oregon. They were spread over about 5,000 square miles, roughly 100<br />
miles, of territory. The Modocs’ summer hunting ranged from Mount Shasta<br />
eastward and north to Goose Lake. Their permanent villages were in Lost<br />
River country, including Tule Lake, on what is today the central OregonCalifornia border. The Modocs were water people, much of their livelihood<br />
and culture stemming from their waterways.<br />
Examining the findings from Night Fire Island, a recent-time<br />
archeological site in ancestral Modoc land, author Carrol Howe says, “It<br />
seems doubtful that any place will be found that was continuously occupied<br />
longer than the Modoc homeland.”<br />
Their population number fluctuated between 400–800 at any given<br />
time. Over those many centuries, the Modocs’ culture, theology, and life had<br />
become perfectly tuned to their environment and the richness of the<br />
resources it provided them. Their nomadic patterns took them to the right<br />
places at the right times for their hunting, fishing, and food gathering<br />
activities. Then the last move of the year brought them back to the favored<br />
areas for building their winter homes and storing their winter food caches.<br />
Above all, the Modocs loved their land. It was, in every sense, their world.<br />
<br />
<br />
The environment sometimes could be adversarial, but Modocs knew<br />
ways to cope. They understood the land. It was that knowledge that made<br />
them powerful in combat. Neighboring tribes regarded them as skilled<br />
fighters. They were masters at using the land to their advantage against the<br />
enemy. This trait was a major factor in their ability to battle the U. S.<br />
military so successfully.<br />
Too often the Modocs have been stigmatized as warring savages, with<br />
little understanding given to other facets of their culture. Their tenacious<br />
staying power over thousands of years refutes this narrow stereotype.<br />
Investigation into the past reveals the Modocs as a solid, enduring people<br />
with a vast history. The aspects of their lives that dealt with social customs,<br />
family, theology, and art were well developed.<br />
It is critical to realize that the Modocs were never a unified tribe but<br />
several autonomous bands. Each band had its own leadership and operated<br />
independently, except in war when they joined forces and selected a war<br />
chief. Modoc bands were not dictatorships. Both military and civil decisions<br />
were made by consensus of the entire group. This held true in the Modoc<br />
War, and the assembly of Modoc fighters met often to strategize.<br />
The roots of the war began sometime in the mid-1800s. Increasing<br />
numbers of Anglo-European intruders, in their quest for new land, began to<br />
infiltrate and encroach on ancestral Modoc land. In the fall of 1847 the<br />
immigrants brought smallpox. It is unknown how many Modocs died,<br />
although there have been estimates as high as 130. Other Indian groups to<br />
the north suffered losses between 25 and 50 percent of their people. Some<br />
bands in the Columbia Valley of present day Oregon were eliminated<br />
completely.<br />
<br />
<br />
The impact of the plague on the Modoc culture can only be imagined.<br />
The very young and the elderly are especially susceptible in an outbreak of<br />
this sort. The elders had always been the leaders and were the greatest<br />
reservoirs of knowledge and tradition. With the passing of the older people,<br />
there can be no doubt but that Modoc culture and leadership were adversely<br />
affected.<br />
The bloody and tragic Modoc War could have been averted. The<br />
underlying cause of the war can be summed up in one four-letter word—<br />
land.<br />
Land to the immigrants meant ownership. To the Modocs, land could<br />
not be owned any more than could air or water or clouds. It was<br />
inconceivable to the Modocs that they could be forced to leave their home<br />
and environment—relinquish their life-style. The case of the Modocs is<br />
similar to that of many other Indian tribes of mid-nineteenth century<br />
America. As more and more non-Indians poured westward, more and more<br />
land—the richer, more fertile Indian land—was being claimed by these<br />
immigrants.<br />
The issue of how land was now to be parceled out and lived upon<br />
created great chasms between two cultures. There was even dissention<br />
among the immigrant settlers, landowners, and government as to who should<br />
get the land and how. When Yreka, California, gold fields opened in 1850,<br />
conflicts became more frequent between Indians and non-Indians. There was<br />
violence and bloodshed as the two cultures clashed.<br />
But other things also generated and prolonged the war. Missed<br />
opportunities existed on both sides to solve problems and live cooperatively.<br />
Racial bias and stereotyping influenced decisions. Errors in judgment and<br />
miscalculations contributed. Military and government blunders such aslaunching an attack with too few men and not notifying civilians of an<br />
imminent war were staggering.<br />
The war resulted in great devastation, almost beyond comprehension,<br />
to the Modoc people. It placed them on the brink of cultural destruction.<br />
Even more severe were events after the war, but directly related to the war,<br />
that decimated their population, already very small.<br />
There was the tremendous death and suffering of U. S. soldiers, cast<br />
into a nebulous, confusing war. Families of the wounded and slain dealt for<br />
years with the results of the Modoc War. Certainly among both Indian<br />
warriors and U. S. Army soldiers the feeling of “Why am I here?” was<br />
present. Settlers were caught in the middle of the battle. They suffered death<br />
and destruction while relying on the U. S. government and military to guide<br />
and protect them.<br />
It is naïve to assume that even the separate sides—the Modocs and the<br />
U. S. Army—were cohesive. During the Modoc War there was dissention<br />
internally within both the Indian and military sides. On the side of the<br />
military, for example, dislike of a commanding officer by many of his own<br />
men caused disruption and even the disobeying of orders. The resulting low<br />
morale of the soldiers was a definite hindrance.<br />
On the other hand, internal dissention at the close of the war caused<br />
the Modocs to split back into their separate bands. Bands thought differently<br />
about how to handle surrender and defeat. There were feelings of deception<br />
between separate Modoc bands and they turned on each other. They were no<br />
longer an integrated fighting unit.<br />
Through centuries of existence, the Modoc were a people without a<br />
written language. At the time of the war, many Modocs did not speak fluent<br />
English. Much of what is known is the interpretation by others of what<br />
<br />
Modocs did and said. Modocs were viewed by the U. S. government as “the<br />
other side,” a foe of U. S. military troops. Much of the history of the Modoc<br />
War is written from that perspective.<br />
The Modoc War is often viewed and discussed without a<br />
comprehensive knowledge of the Modocs. Little has been written on the<br />
Modoc culture to enlighten people on this much talked about but little<br />
known tribe. To honestly interpret the war, the impact of Modoc culture on<br />
the war must be taken into account. My hope is that this book will provide<br />
readers with a greater understanding of the Modocs. The appendix of this<br />
book has a section, “The Ancestral Modocs,” which examines what we<br />
know of this ancient group of people,<br />
Certain aspects of Modoc culture related to the war and the ultimate<br />
removal of the Modocs were reported in newspapers, military documents,<br />
and letters of that era: the Modocs’ surprise at being attacked in winter, as<br />
they traditionally did not fight in winter—the right of a Modoc deceased’s<br />
relative(s) to kill a shaman or healer who failed at his task—grieving<br />
mourners wailing for long lengths of time and covering their hair with tree<br />
pitch and ashes—the occasional circumstance of a man having more than<br />
one wife.<br />
Most of what has been written on the Modoc War has not given<br />
sufficient emphasis to the fact that for the entire six months of the war,<br />
Modoc women and children lived and moved with the men of the tribe and<br />
experienced the battles of the Modoc War. I have explored what little we<br />
know of the Modoc women and tried to give them faces and voices.<br />
There were also settler women pulled into the war in tragic<br />
circumstances. The first names of these women are not found in the bulk of<br />
writing on the Modoc War. Mrs. Brotherton, Mrs. Boddy, and Mrs. Schira<br />
did not have first names. They do in my book. I am proud of the Modoc,<br />
settler, and military women who handled the war with strength and grace.<br />
The Modoc War was riveting and highly emotional. The story of the<br />
Modocs as POWs in Oklahoma Indian Territory is equally compelling.<br />
These events are not dry history, and I want people—especially children and<br />
young people—to feel the significance and drama. Accordingly, I have<br />
inserted fictionalized vignettes throughout the book to tell particular stories<br />
that have moved me since I myself was a child. The historical details in the<br />
fictionalized vignettes are precise. Read them and experience the emotion<br />
the story evokes: excitement, bewilderment, pain, horror, pride, sorrow, or<br />
wonderment.<br />
It is also important that an accurate record exists. This book is heavily<br />
researched and documented for those who wish to explore further. There are<br />
also new sources that create fresh reading for Modoc history buffs.<br />
Even though I am of Modoc descent, I have tried to show all sides of<br />
this conflict in an unbiased, well-researched way. As a result, I have a solid<br />
understanding of the background and pattern of the war, know the Modocs<br />
better as individuals, and have come to know certain settlers, soldiers and<br />
government officials well. I feel related to them all.<br />
What I know is that the bitterness of the past must be just that—past.<br />
The understanding and lessons derived from the war must be used to build a<br />
better, more tolerant world today and a stepping-stone to the future. We<br />
must acknowledge, in the Indian way of thinking, that all living things,<br />
including human beings, are interrelated. We are here to care for one<br />
another.<br />
—Cheewa Patricia James, 2007<br />
</span>I like animals, I found this story very funny want to shear this one - it's a hoot !tag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-08-11:6193495:BlogPost:1173012011-08-11T15:00:00.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<p>- What a funny squirrel! I showed Marianne the picture on a magazine.<br></br><br></br>- Oh, don´t talk about squirrels… she sighed.<br></br><br></br>- Why?<br></br><br></br>- Our neighbor isn´t talking to us.<br></br><br></br>- What? Again? What this time? Something to do with squirrels?<br></br><br></br>- Oh yes.<br></br><br></br>- Let´s hear it!<br></br><br></br>- All right. The other day we were a bit tired and had a nap after I had done the laundry, and before it was time to start preparing dinner. Well - I was just about to fall asleep when…</p>
<p>- What a funny squirrel! I showed Marianne the picture on a magazine.<br/><br/>- Oh, don´t talk about squirrels… she sighed.<br/><br/>- Why?<br/><br/>- Our neighbor isn´t talking to us.<br/><br/>- What? Again? What this time? Something to do with squirrels?<br/><br/>- Oh yes.<br/><br/>- Let´s hear it!<br/><br/>- All right. The other day we were a bit tired and had a nap after I had done the laundry, and before it was time to start preparing dinner. Well - I was just about to fall asleep when I heard some noise from the veranda. An odd clatter. John of course did not wake up, but I had to go see what it was.<br/><br/>- Well, what was it?<br/>- I had put some of the more delicate laundry to dry in a clothes airer, on the porch. The kind that stands on the floor. Wouldn´t want my underwear be visible to everyone, I´m sure you understand.<br/><br/>Which I did.<br/><br/>- So - I saw the clothes airer moving on its own through the window. Sort of hopping clumsily.<br/><br/><br/>- What? Again? Weren´t the walking flowers enough?<br/><br/>- Obviously not… I opened the door to see better and the culprit was staring right at me from under the airer.<br/><br/>- A squirrel? I counted one and one together.<br/><br/>- A squirrel. But a very funny squirrel. I mean - why would any squirrel want to steal my bra?<br/><br/>Now that was a question I could not answer. I pleaded to my lack of experience in squirrel psychology and waited to hear how the story of the funny squirrel continued.<br/><br/>- This particular squirrel was doing its best to take my best bra from the airer. Yanking it with both front paws and teeth also. I of course let out a yell to scare it off, but to no avail. I did notice, though, how our neighbor woke up in his hammock. Warm evening, you see. He was also taking a nap. I think his wife had made him take his nap in the hammock - I do believe he snores.<br/><br/>I nodded. Very annoying thing, snoring.<br/><br/>- Right at the same moment when I yelled and our neighbor woke up, the squirrel succeeded. And before I could do a thing it had taken the bra strap in its mouth and started running away. My best white bra! Now I of course ran after it yelling "Come back you bastard!"<br/><br/>- You didn´t?<br/><br/>- I did. Perhaps it was a bit strong choice of words, but I wasn´t going to let my most expensive lingerie disappear into any squirrel´s nest. I managed to grab a broom that was leaning to the wall of the playhouse. I tried to reach the running bra with it.<br/><br/>I could imagine the sight. Marianne running like a sprinter, holding the broom like a knight in a jousting tournament and a squirrel dashing through their garden in front of her.<br/><br/>- But why doesn´t your neighbor talk to you anymore? I don´t get it.<br/><br/>- I had no time to look, but I heard the door slam and that must have been him going indoors. At that moment I got a hold of the bra with the broomstick and that stopped the squirrel. I grabbed the other strap with my hand and pulled - and can you imagine: the squirrel would not let go!<br/><br/>- No…<br/><br/>- Oh yes - the funny squirrel just kept yanking at the other strap! Eventually it let go and I got my bra back. I walked back to the porch and noticed the neighbor´s wife by the fence.<br/><br/>- Do you know what happened to Ed? she asked.<br/><br/>- No - I didn´t notice anything! I said and hid the bra behind my back, - What´s the matter?<br/><br/>- I ´m worried about him… He just ran into the house and yelled that your bra was running away from you and you were flying after it on a broom… He ran to see through the window and said you and the bra were fighting, because the bra did not want to come back.<br/><br/>I exploded in laughter. Marianne looked at me disapprovingly.<br/><br/>- Well the grass was a bit long, I admit, so I suppose he did not see the squirrel, Marianne sighed, - Especially when the sun was already going down and there wasn´t much light. The white bra must have been quite visible, though, hopping along the lawn. And if you think of it, I was holding the broom to my side. But to say I was flying with it… Now that´s a bit thick!<br/><br/>I looked at her flaming red hair and said nothing.<br/><br/>- But ever since then he won´t even come out if he sees me in the garden!<br/><br/>- Perhaps you might discuss the matter with his wife? Tell it like a joke to her. I´m sure the story goes to his ears too.<br/><br/>- You think?<br/><br/>- Yes, I do. Just to keep your neighborly relations good. I mean it might damage your good reputation if he goes about telling how you fly in your garden with a broom, chasing runaway bras.<br/><br/>- Well maybe I should do that then, Marianne said.<br/><br/></p>
<p>- Yes, maybe you should. <img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"/></p>Oil spill cleanup turns up trove of Indian relicstag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-07-24:6193495:BlogPost:1069042011-07-24T00:26:20.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
CAMINADA HEADLAND, La.Cleanup after the BP oil spill has turned up dozens of sites where archaeologists are finding human and animal bones, pottery and primitive weapons left behind by pre-historic Indian settlements — a trove of new clues about the Gulf Coast's mound dwellers more than 1,300 years ago. But they also fear the remains could be damaged by oil or lost to erosion before they can be fully studied.<br />
So far, teams of archaeologists hired by the oil giant have visited more than 100…
CAMINADA HEADLAND, La.Cleanup after the BP oil spill has turned up dozens of sites where archaeologists are finding human and animal bones, pottery and primitive weapons left behind by pre-historic Indian settlements — a trove of new clues about the Gulf Coast's mound dwellers more than 1,300 years ago. But they also fear the remains could be damaged by oil or lost to erosion before they can be fully studied.<br />
So far, teams of archaeologists hired by the oil giant have visited more than 100 sites and sent back a growing list of finds to labs for radiocarbon dating and other tests, though extensive excavations haven't been done. Scholars have also accompanied cleanup crews to make sure they don't unwittingly throw away relics.<br />
The disaster that began when the Deepwater Horizon exploded in April of 2010 has highlighted the urgent need to protect the sites, but a government scientist says neither their discovery — nor the money to study them — would have come as quickly without the spill.<br />
"We're filling in gaps. There is some pioneering archaeological work going on as a result of the oil spill," said Larry Murphy, lead archeologist for a council of government agencies and trustees overseeing the oil cleanup.<br />
He said uncovering the sites, many of them prehistoric, represents "a great leap in cumulative knowledge" about Native Americans in coastal Louisiana, who have been less studied than their counterparts in other regions.<br />
Still, the oil represents an added threat to an area that already was under siege from land loss and rising sea levels. Oil has contaminated some artifacts and can interfere with radiocarbon dating, a primary technique for determining the age of an object. Many shores are still scattered with tar balls.<br />
Louisiana's state archaeologist, Charles McGimsey, said the extent of the oil damage to artifacts isn't known, but he doesn't expect it to be disastrous.<br />
The Associated Press was given a rare glimpse of several sites in June during a guided tour of the Caminada Headland by land warden and amateur archaeologist Forrest Travirca III. The beaches are closed to the public, and the locations of archaeological sites are being closely guarded to prevent looting.<br />
Prehistoric artifacts had been found and recorded on the headland before the spill, but not to the extent now being done. Travirca began finding more of them while keeping watch for BP's black oil last summer on a remote stretch of beach that looks onto the silhouettes of oil rigs and platforms. The headland was one of the hardest-hit spots.<br />
"I was walking on marine shell, rangia clam shell, walking out on a point I know, when I looked down, found a pot sherd, and then I started finding more and more," Travirca recalled.<br />
Travirca, of coastal Louisiana Indian heritage himself, works for the Wisner Foundation, a New Orleans-based public land trust that owns vast tracts of the headland. He's also a member of the Louisiana Archeological Society, and has submitted his research to it.<br />
Travirca believes many artifacts he's finding come from middens, or mounds where families lived and buried their dead. Perhaps, he says, some of the dwellings were built along a meandering bayou that's been lost to sea level rise and land loss. Many artifacts appear to be washing in.<br />
Archaeologists say the sites date to around 700 A.D., well before the earliest known European contact in the 1500s.<br />
Remains of larger Indian villages are known to have existed further inland, which would make the sites here more like a suburban neighborhood, he theorized.<br />
"To me it would have been like a small subdivision," Travirca said as he walked the sands and looked for artifacts. "You would have had three, four family units, huts; the women making pottery, the men making (weapon) points."<br />
As he walked, pointing out tar balls left over from the BP spill, his eyes scanned the beach, awash in driftwood and trash from oil platforms and shrimp boats — hard hats, propane tanks, a tied-up trash bag full of waste from an offshore kitchen.<br />
Amid the debris, he spotted something. He leaned over and picked up what looked like a piece of brown wood.<br />
"That's a piece of pottery," he said, inspecting the smooth curved fragment in his hands. "You see this piece has been in the water a while. You see that barnacle right there."<br />
So far, archeologists have limited their examination to the surface of the sites here, scouring the beaches at low tides. They have found deer antlers that probably were used as spear heads, decorated pieces of pottery and gar fish scales that might have been used as darts. Human bones have been reburied in keeping with the wishes of the Chitimacha tribe, which has links to the ancient settlements.<br />
Richard Weinstein, an archaeologist who specializes in coastal Louisiana Indians, said sites have been documented on the headland since the 1950s. He has reviewed artifacts and evidence gathered since the BP spill.<br />
He said the preponderance of deer bones and antlers found since the spill is fascinating because it indicates the area was once forested with ridges.<br />
"The fact that the Indians in the area were hunting deer to the extent that these guys did makes it very interesting because the coast we have there today is busted-up marsh," he said. "There aren't that many stands of trees and vegetation left."<br />
He said coastal Louisiana is covered in Indian mounds that were organized around a complex society. He also says they could have stretched onto land that's now offshore.<br />
"We're not talking about a bunch of hunters and gatherers who didn't know what they were doing," he said.<br />
BP and the archaeologists it hired through the consulting firm HDR Inc. declined to comment. They referred questions to state and federal officials.<br />
McGimsey, the Louisiana state archaeologist, said he would like to map good sites more thoroughly and excavate where possible. Archeologists with the government BP and tribal organizations are trying to figure out what steps to take next.<br />
As part of its responsibilities to clean up the oil spill, BP is paying for laboratory work to identify and preserve artifacts. Under the law, BP is required to restore the ecosystem it has damaged, but there is no provision to force companies to restore archaeological sites damaged by a spill, McGimsey said.<br />
However, BP has been required to make sure the cleanup does not damage archeological sites, he said.<br />
"Whenever the cleanup crews go out there, shoveling up tar balls, archeologists go out there to make sure artifacts aren't thrown away," he said.<br />
With erosion eating away at south Louisiana, Travirca said it was urgent to preserve and investigate the ancient cultures that lived here. In many other places, coastal sites have been lost to the Gulf.<br />
"We've lost insights into the who, the why, the where of these people," Travirca said, as he walked the beach on the lookout for artifacts. "Extremely little work has been done in coastal Louisiana. We've just touched the surface."A cool story ,Ship lost for more than 150 years is recoveredtag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-07-24:6193495:BlogPost:79272011-07-24T00:15:37.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
Canadian archeologists have found a ship abandoned more than 150 years ago in the quest for the fabled Northwest Passage and which was lost in the search for the doomed expedition of Sir John Franklin, the head of the team said Wednesday.<br></br>
Marc-Andre Bernier, Parks Canada's head of underwater archaeology, said the HMS Investigator, abandoned in the ice in 1853, was found in shallow water in Mercy Bay along the northern coast of Banks Island in Canada's western Arctic.<br></br>
"The ship is…
Canadian archeologists have found a ship abandoned more than 150 years ago in the quest for the fabled Northwest Passage and which was lost in the search for the doomed expedition of Sir John Franklin, the head of the team said Wednesday.<br/>
Marc-Andre Bernier, Parks Canada's head of underwater archaeology, said the HMS Investigator, abandoned in the ice in 1853, was found in shallow water in Mercy Bay along the northern coast of Banks Island in Canada's western Arctic.<br/>
"The ship is standing upright in very good condition. It's standing in about 11 meters (36 feet) of water," he said. "This is definitely of the utmost importance. This is the ship that sailed the last leg of the Northwest Passage."<br/>
The Investigator was one of many American and British ships sent out to search for the HMS Erebus and the Terror, vessels commanded by Franklin in his ill-fated search for the Northwest Passage in 1845.<br/>
Environment Minister Jim Prentice said the British government has been notified that one of their naval shipwrecks has been discovered, as well as the bodies of three sailors.<br/>
Captained by Robert McClure, the Investigator sailed in 1850. That year, McClure sailed the Investigator into the strait that now bears his name and realized that he was in the final leg of the Northwest Passage, the sea route across North America.<br/>
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But before he could sail into the Beaufort Sea, the ship was blocked by pack ice and forced to winter-over in Prince of Wales Strait along the east coast of Banks Island.<br/>
The following summer, McClure tried again to sail to the end of the Passage, but was again blocked by ice. He steered the ship and crew into a large bay on the island's north coast he called the Bay of Mercy.<br/>
There they were to remain until 1853, when they were rescued by the crew of the HMS Resolute. The Investigator was abandoned.<br/>
"This is actually a human history," said Bernier. "Not only a history of the Passage, but the history of a crew of 60 men who had to overwinter three times in the Arctic not knowing if they were going to survive."<br/>
The Parks Canada team arrived at Mercy Bay on July 22. Three days later, the ice on the bay cleared enough that researchers were able to deploy side-scanning sonar from a small inflatable boat over the site where they believed the wooden ship had eventually sunk. Within 15 minutes, the Investigator was found.<br/>
"The ship had not moved too much from where it was abandoned," said Bernier.<br/>
The masts and rigging have long been sheared off by ice and weather. But the icy waters of the McClure Strait has preserved the vessel in remarkably good condition.<br/>
"It's incredible," said Prentice from Mercy Bay. "You're actually able to peer down into the water and see not only the outline of the ship but actually the individual timbers.<br/>
Archaeologists have also uncovered artifacts on land left behind by the stranded sailors, who unloaded everything before abandoning the Investigator.<br/>
The graves of three sailors thought to have died of scurvy have been marked off and will be left undisturbed, said Bernier.<br/>
Bernier said the next step will be to send down a remote controlled video camera to get actual pictures of the wreck. There are no plans to bring it to the surface and all legal steps will be taken to ensure the site remains protected.In Iceland, hunters and watchers battle over whalestag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-07-24:6193495:BlogPost:1068022011-07-24T00:05:55.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
A slick black head breaks the surface, drawing delighted shrieks from whale watchers in a growing, and lucrative, activity that some say should replace Iceland's controversial whale hunt.<br />
Since their meagre beginning in the 1990s, whale safaris in this island state have grown to attract tens of thousands of visitors each summer. But its proponents tensed up when Iceland reintroduced commercial whaling in 2006, and the two sides remain uneasy bedfellows.<br />
"Whaling is bad for our business,"…
A slick black head breaks the surface, drawing delighted shrieks from whale watchers in a growing, and lucrative, activity that some say should replace Iceland's controversial whale hunt.<br />
Since their meagre beginning in the 1990s, whale safaris in this island state have grown to attract tens of thousands of visitors each summer. But its proponents tensed up when Iceland reintroduced commercial whaling in 2006, and the two sides remain uneasy bedfellows.<br />
"Whaling is bad for our business," lamented Hoerdur Sigurbjarnarson, 58, of the family-run North Sailing tour company based in the tiny northern fishing village of Husavik.<br />
"And it's useless," he exclaimed, hunched over a long wooden table in the galley of one of six large oak boats his company uses for whale-watching tours.<br />
He insists "there's no market for whale meat," a stance that Iceland's Whale Commissioner heartily disputes.<br />
Watching and hunting whales "work perfectly together" in a look-and-cook combo of tourism and gastronomy, Thomas Heider said last week on the sidelines of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) forum on the British Channel Island of Jersey. He said many tourists "go to restaurants afterwards to taste the whale meat".<br />
But Arni Gunnarsson, the chairman of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association, feels like Sigurbjarnarson that whaling only stigmatises the country and contributes little to its crisis-hit economy.<br />
Iceland and Norway are the only two countries in the world that authorise commercial whaling, under a much criticised exemption within IWC rules. Japan officially hunts whales for "scientific purposes", though the whale meat is sold for consumption.<br />
"It's simple: you get more revenues out of watching the whales than out of hunting them," said Gunnarsson, stressing that with no international market, the hunts bring in little to no foreign revenue.<br />
Icelandic whalers insist their financials are sound, but admit they are serving a tiny market comprising only a fraction of the country's 320,000 inhabitants as well as some customers in Japan.<br />
And this sole export market collapsed after Japan was struck by multiple disasters in March.<br />
"Demand has really shrunk (but) it will pick up," said Kristjan Loftsson, the 68-year-old head of Iceland's largest whale-hunting company, Hvalur.<br />
Sigurbjarnarson, meanwhile, says whale-watching is booming. And foreigners account for more than 90 percent of the 30,000 clients his company takes out each year from April to October, when whales migrate to Icelandic waters.<br />
Typical was a recent day when 20 tourists, including nationals from Austria, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, braved freezing rain, towering waves and bad visibility to board one of North Sailing's five daily rides into the whale-rich Skjalfandi Bay.<br />
All shouted with joy when a slick humpback suddenly showed its head then dove back in, slamming its massive tail on the stormy surface. It was followed by two more humpbacks and a school of dolphins during the three-hour tour.<br />
"It was worth it, I think," said green-faced French national Katia Groh, 29, despite a bout of sea sickness on the lurching vessel.<br />
Whale safaris are also booming elsewhere, from New Zealand to Canada, the United States and Mexico. A study published last year in the peer-reviewed journal Marine Policy said whale tourism worldwide topped two billion dollars (1.4 billion euros) in 2009 and was set to grow 10 percent a year.<br />
An advantage in Iceland is the success rate, according to Sigurbjarnarson who says 98 percent of his own tours actually sight whales. And that, he contends, is largely because there is no whale hunting in Skjalfandi Bay.<br />
Hunter Loftsson, like the government, insists that North Atlantic whale populations are abundant and rejects anti-whaling arguments that whalers are depleting what environmentalists say is a dwindling resource.<br />
Estimates, Loftsson said, show Icelandic waters in the summer hold around 20,000 fin whales and some 40,000 minke whales. "So if we take 150 a year, that's nothing," he said, referring to Iceland's annual quota for fin whales.<br />
Sigurbjarnarson, however, says such estimates are "highly questionable". "Whales migrate. They are hard to count and they shouldn't be hunted," he said.<br />
A few whale watching companies straddle the issue, taking tourists -- as Heider told the IWC forum -- to see whales then taste them back at port.<br />
The anti-whaling International Fund For Animal Welfare (IFAW) insists that such tastings account for a large portion of Iceland's domestic whale market, saying 40 percent of tourists try whale thinking it's a traditional Icelandic dish whereas only five percent of Icelanders regularly eat whale.<br />
Their slogan "Meet Us Don't Eat Us" was briefly displayed at Iceland's Keflavik international airport before, according to the IFAW, the powerful whaler lobby -- who defend hunting as part of national heritage -- pressured for its removal last month.<br />
"We want the tourists to realise they can be part of the problem or the solution," said IFAW's Sigursteinn Masson.Big domestic cats there bigtag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-05-23:6193495:BlogPost:749192011-05-23T18:00:00.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
Cats are probably the most popular of pets nowadays. Originally valued for their inbred ability to hunt various house pests such as mice and roaches, cats also offer a warm and affectionate companionship to their owners. In 1987, cats overtook dogs as the number one pet in America (about 50 million cats resided in 24 million homes in 1986) and bout 37% of American homes today have at least one cat. Domestication of cats were first believed to have originated in ancient Egypt in about 3000 BC,…
Cats are probably the most popular of pets nowadays. Originally valued for their inbred ability to hunt various house pests such as mice and roaches, cats also offer a warm and affectionate companionship to their owners. In 1987, cats overtook dogs as the number one pet in America (about 50 million cats resided in 24 million homes in 1986) and bout 37% of American homes today have at least one cat. Domestication of cats were first believed to have originated in ancient Egypt in about 3000 BC, where cats where also revered as sacred animals. Different breeds of domesticated cats come in various sizes. Some pet owners prefer small kitten-sized ones, while some prefer large-size domesticated cat breeds.When choosing pet cats, one must consider the breeds' characteristics in addition to its size. Here are just some of the large domesticated cat breeds that are popular with cat-lovers.<br/>
The Maine Coon<br/><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624002?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624002?profile=original" width="500" class="align-center"/></a>
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The Maine Coon is a native of the state of Maine in the USA where it is also the official state cat. It is one of the largest breeds of domesticated cats where the males can weigh anywhere between 13 and 18 pounds (5.9 and 8.2 kg) on average, and females between 8 and 12 pounds (3.6 and 5.4 kg). In 2006, the Guinness World Records named a male purebred Maine Coon the "Longest Cat". It measured 48 inches (120 cm) in length, from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail, and weighs 35 pounds (16 kg).<br/>
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The Ragamuffin<br/><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624252?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624252?profile=original" width="402" class="align-center"/></a>
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The Ragamuffin is a long-haired domestic cat. Ragamuffins are fairly large cats - females weigh between 10 to 15 pounds (4.54 to 6.80 kg), and males weigh between 15 to 20 pounds (6.80 to 9.07 kg). Ragamuffins are notable for their sweet, friendly personalities and plush, rabbit-like fur. They are adoptable as early as four months of age, but do not reach full maturity until around four years of age. The Ragamuffin is an expensive breed and costs can range from $900 - $1200 per kitten.<br/>
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The Ocicat<br/>
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The Ocicat is an all-domestic breed of cat which resembles a 'wild' cat but has no wild blood. It is named for its resemblance to the ocelot, which is a wild cat. Ocicats are a very outgoing breed. They are often considered to have the spirit of a dog in a cat's body. Most can easily be trained to fetch, walk on a leash and harness, come when called, speak, sit, and lie down on command. On average ocicats weigh about 12.1 pounds or 5.5 kilograms.<br/>
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The Turkish Van<br/><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624407?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624407?profile=original" width="400" class="align-center"/></a>
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The Turkish Van is a large, semi-longhaired cat with a swimmer's body. The cat is moderately long and its back legs are slightly longer than its front legs. The coat is the most fascinating trait on this cat. The semi-long haired, water resistant single coat, is thick in winter but very soft, like rabbit fur or cashmere. During the spring and summer months when it becomes extremely hot, the long hair on the body is shed for a shorter coat that retains the cashmere feel. Male Vans grow to about 16 pounds (7.3 kg) while females tend to be a bit lighter in weight, 12 to 14 pounds (5.4 to 6.4 kg). Vans, because of their fine fur, are hypo-allergenic cats. They are considered excellent pets for those with allergies.<br/>
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Pixie-Bobs<br/><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624396?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624396?profile=original" width="313" class="align-center"/></a>
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Pixie-Bobs are a fully domestic breed of cat bred to resemble the North American Bobcat. Pixie-Bobs are a large breed, with males reaching 18 pounds (8 kg) and females reaching 14 pounds (6 kg). The Pixie-Bob's body is stocky and solid. Pixie-Bobs are also the only polydactyl breed recognized by The International Cat Association (TICA). These cats may have anywhere from six to seven toes on each foot.<br/>
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These large-size cat domestic cat breeds are only a few of the ones available for pet purposes. It is important to take note of the qualities of the breed of cat before we decide which ones to adopt, as this would remarkably affect the way we take care of them. Knowing such could help make things a lot easier for us pet owners as we go about our endeavor in raising our pets.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624401?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624401?profile=original" width="600" class="align-center"/></a>An Abenaki Legend enjoytag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-05-15:6193495:BlogPost:698412011-05-15T19:50:51.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545623832?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545623832?profile=original" width="500"></img></a> <br></br><span class="font-size-4"><span class="font-size-5"><span class="font-size-6" style="font-size: 13px;">W</span>hen Glooscap came in from the sea, he was riding his canoe, which was made of stone. He ran aground near what we now call St. John. He had been chasing two giant beavers. He was trying to stop them from raising any trouble.<br></br>
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He tried to stop them right…</span></span>
<a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545623832?profile=original"><img class="align-center" width="500" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545623832?profile=original"/></a><br/><span class="font-size-4"><span class="font-size-5"><span style="font-size: 13px;" class="font-size-6">W</span>hen Glooscap came in from the sea, he was riding his canoe, which was made of stone. He ran aground near what we now call St. John. He had been chasing two giant beavers. He was trying to stop them from raising any trouble.<br/>
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He tried to stop them right there, where the Reversing Falls is today. He built a dam so they couldn't go up the river. But still, the beavers managed to get past Glooscap, and traveled up the "Beautiful River", which is now called the St. John River.<br/>
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Glooscap took two stones and threw them at these beavers. One stone landed a long way up the river and became Grand Falls.<br/>
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The other stone hit the beaver. It landed in a rocky area, which is now called Plaster Rock. To this day, you can still see the red clay on the river bank. They say that this comes from the blood of the beaver.<br/>
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Glooscap often used animals who were bad to make something good. He paddled up and down this Beautiful River (St. John) many times.<br/>
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Even near Kingsclear where Glooscap came up, long before the Mactaquac Dam was built, he used the ledges to hold on to when he fell. Glooscap even left his image on those rocks. And where he left his snowshoes is where they were transformed and turned into The Snowshoe Islands.<br/>
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These are all sacred places. Even the little people lived near the village of Kingsclear.</span></span><br/>A Passamaquoddy Legend enjoytag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-05-15:6193495:BlogPost:698362011-05-15T18:31:37.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
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<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624159?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624159?profile=original" width="287"></img></a><br />
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What the Micmacs call a Chenoo is known to the Passamaquoddies as a Kewahqu' or Kewoqu'. And this is their origin. When the k'tchi m'téoulin, or Great Big Witch, is conquered by the smaller witches, or M'téoulinssisk, they can kill him or turn him into a Kewahqu'. He still fights,…
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<a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624159?profile=original"><img class="align-center" width="287" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624159?profile=original"/></a><br />
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What the Micmacs call a Chenoo is known to the Passamaquoddies as a Kewahqu' or Kewoqu'. And this is their origin. When the k'tchi m'téoulin, or Great Big Witch, is conquered by the smaller witches, or M'téoulinssisk, they can kill him or turn him into a Kewahqu'. He still fights, however, with the other Kewaquiyck. When they get ready to fight, they suddenly become as tall as the highest trees; their weapons are the trees themselves, which they uproot with great strength. And this strength depends upon the quantity or size of the piece of ice which makes the heart of the Kewahqu'. This piece of ice is like a little human figure, with hands, feet, head, and every member perfect.<br/>
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The female Kewahqu' is more powerful than the male. They make a noise like a roaring lion (pee'htahlo), but sharper (shriller) and more frightful. Their abode is somewhere in Kas mu das doosek, in some cold region in far Northern Canada.<br/>
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In summer time they rub themselves all over with poo-pooka-wigu, or fir balsam, and then roll themselves on the ground, so that everything adheres to the body, moss, leaves, and even small sticks. This was often seen of old by Indian hunters.<br/>
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Once a newly married Indian couple had, according to Indian custom, gone on the long fall and winter hunt. One day when the man was away an old Kewahqu' came and looked into the wigwam. The wife was frightened, but she made up her mind at once: she called him Mittunksl, or "my father." The old Kewahqu' was very proud to be called father. When she heard her husband returning she ran out and told him that a great Kewahqu' was in the camp, and that he must call him M'sil hose, or "father-in-law." So going in he did this, and the Kewahqu' was still more pleased. So they lived with him, and hunted with him. He was very skillful in the chase. When they came to broad and deep waters the Kewahqu' would swim them with his son-in-law on his back. He could run faster than any wild animal.<br/>
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One day he told his children to go away to a great distance. "There is a great female Kewahqu' coming to fight me. In the struggle I may not know you, and may hurt you." So they went away as fast and as far as they could, but they heard the fighting, the most frightful noises, howls, yells, thundering and crashing of wood and rocks. After a time the man determined to see the fight. When he got to the place he saw a horrible sight: big trees uprooted, the giants in a deadly struggle. Then the Indian, who was very brave, and who was afraid that his father-in-law would be killed, came up and helped as much as he could, and in fact so much that between them they killed the enemy. The old Kewahqu' was badly but not fatally hurt, and the woman was very glad her father came off victorious. She had always heard that a Kewahqu' had a piece of ice for a heart. If this can be taken out, the Kewahqu' can be tamed and cured. So she made a preparation or medicine, and offered it to him. He did not know what it was, nor its strength, so he swallowed it, and it gave him a vomit. She saw something drop, so quietly picked it up: it was the figure of a man of ice; it was the Kewahqu's heart. She, not being seen or noticed, put it in the fire, when he cried, "Daughter, you are killing me now; you destroy my strength." Yet she made him take more of the medicine, and a second heart came out. This she also put on the fire. But when a third came he grabbed it from her hand, and swallowed it. However, he was almost entirely cured.<br/>
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Another time an Indian village was visited by a Kewahqu', but he was driven away by magic. The people marked crosses on the trees where they expected the Kewahqu' to come. There was a great excitement among the Indians, expecting to hear their strange visitor with his frightful noises. It was the old people who gave the advice to mark crosses on the trees.<br/>
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Another time an Indian of either the Passamaquoddy or Mareschite tribe was turned to a Kewahqu'. The last time he was seen was by a party of Indian hunters, who recognized him. He had only small strips of clothing. "This country," he said, "is too warm for me. I am going to a colder one."<br/>
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This story from the Passamaquoddy Anglo-Indian manuscript of Mitchell supplies some very important deficiencies in the preceding Micmac version. We are told that the heart of the Chenoo is of ice in human figure. This human figure is that of the Kewahqu' himself, or rather his very self, or microcosm. It is this, and not the liver, which is swallowed by the victor, who thus adds another frozen "soul" to his own. Of the three vomited by the Kewahqu', two were the hearts of enemies whom he had conquered. He could not give up his own, however. It is much more according to common sense that the woman should have given the cannibal the magic medicine which made him yield his heart than that he should voluntarily have purged himself. In the Micmac tale he merely relieves his stomach; in the Passamaquoddy version he, by woman's influence, loses his icy heart.<br/>
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It is interesting to observe that the use of the Christian cross is in the additional anecdote described as magic.<br/>
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It is the main point in the Chenoo stories that this horrible being, this most devilish of devils, is at first human; perhaps an unusually good girl, or youth. From having the heart once chilled, she or he goes on in cruelty, until at last the sufferer eats the heart of another Chenoo, especially a female's. Then utter wickedness ensues. It is more than probable that this leads us back to some dark and terrible Shaman superstition, older than we can now fathom. There is a passage in the Edda which its translator, Thorpe, thinks can never be explained. "I believe," he writes, "the difficulty is beyond help." The lines are as follows:-<br/>
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"Loki scorched up<br/>
In his heart's affections,<br/>
Had found a half-burnt<br/>
Woman's heart.<br/>
Loki became guileful<br/>
from that wicked woman:<br/>
thence in the world<br/>
are all giantesses come."<br/>
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Of which Thorpe writes, "The sense of this and the following line is not apparent. They stand thus in the original: Loki of hiarta lyrdi brendu, fann hann hâlfsvidthin hugstein konu, for which Grimm (Myth. Vorrede 37) would read Loki ât hiarta lundi brenda, etc., Lokius comedit cor in nemore assum, invenit semiustum mentis lapidem mulieris." Whatever obscurity exists here, it is evident that it means that Loki, having become bad, grew worse after having got the half-burnt stone of a woman's soul. That is, his own heart, half ruined, became utterly so after he had added to it the demoralized hugstein, soul-stone, thought-stone, or heart of a woman. If we assume that stone and heart are the same, the difficulty vanishes. And they are one in the Chenoo, who, like Loki, illustrates or symbolizes the passage from good to evil, which a German writer declares is quicker than thought, or that very same Hugi which the Norse myth puts forwards as swiftest of all runners. Loki, not as yet lost, gets the stone heart of a giantess, and becomes an utter devil at once. The Chenoo becomes an utter devil when he has swallowed the thought-stone of a giantess, and so does Loki.<br/>More health tips: Home Remedies Around the Worldtag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-03-10:6193495:BlogPost:442082011-03-10T17:01:18.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
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Home Remedies Around the World<br></br>
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Chicken Soup for Cold Symptoms<br></br>
Chicken soup may be good for the soul, but some people swear that it’s also good for the body. Many Americans reach for a steaming bowl of chicken soup whenever they’ve got a cold, while the equivalent…
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Home Remedies Around the World<br/>
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Chicken Soup for Cold Symptoms<br/>
Chicken soup may be good for the soul, but some people swear that it’s also good for the body. Many Americans reach for a steaming bowl of chicken soup whenever they’ve got a cold, while the equivalent remedy in Japan is ginger tea. But are these home cures, passed down from generation to generation, really therapeutic? We consulted experts about folk remedies from around the world to see if they’ve got any merit. Sip on as much soup as you can manage, and repeat as necessary. <br/>
Verdict: Chicken soup inhibits white blood cell movement by a whopping 75 percent, which can reduce the symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection, according to a study by University of Nebraska researchers. <br/>
Native American Moms: Garlic Rub for Bee Stings<br/>
Crush garlic bulbs and wrap them in a cloth. Rub the poultice onto the sting.<br/>
Verdict: Do it. Bee venom is acidic, and the natural components of garlic will neutralize the pain so you’ll feel immediate relief, says Ranella Hirsch, MD, clinical assistant professor at Boston University’s School of Medicine in Massachusetts, and past president of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery.<br/>
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Greek Moms: Chamomile Herbal Tea with Honey and Brandy for Cold Symptoms<br/>
Fill a pot with 2 cups of boiling water, add a teaspoon of loose chamomile tea, a cinnamon stick, three cloves and either an orange or lemon peel. Let steep for five minutes. Pour the combination into a cup and add a teaspoon of honey and a splash of Metaxa, a Greek brandy. Drink.<br/>
Verdict: This could help, says Kathi Kemper, MD, author of The Holistic Pediatrician and director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Wake Forest University’s School of Medicine in North Carolina. Chamomile has relaxing properties, honey can help with a cough, and orange and lemon are used in cleaning products to zap germs, Dr. Kemper says. And the brandy? “It would probably be an enjoyable addition,” she adds. <br/>
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Meat Tenderizer for Jellyfish Stings<br/>
Rub meat tenderizer powder directly onto the sting. Wash it off after 10 minutes. Note: The seasoned form of tenderizer may cause irritation, so make sure you use plain meat tenderizer.<br/>
Verdict: Skip it. A May 2010 study by researchers at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography found that papain and bromelain, ingredients commonly found in meat tenderizer, will actually make you feel worse. The pain from a jellyfish sting is caused when there is discharge of jellyfish nematocysts. Unfortunately, meat tenderizer causes even more nematocysts to be discharged. <br/>
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Ginger Tea for Cold and Flu Symptoms<br/>
Mix 2/3 cup of boiling water with 2 teaspoons of grated ginger and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Add a few slices of fresh ginger root and drink the tea.<br/>
Verdict: Helps with some symptoms. Ginger can stimulate your circulation, which will help your body get rid of a cold faster. It’s also been shown to reduce nausea, and drinking liquid when you’re sick can help with congestion, Dr. Kemper says. Adding to that is a 2009 Iranian study that found women who were nauseated and vomiting decreased their illness by 50 percent after taking 1,000 mg of ginger daily. <br/>
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Chinese Moms: Egg Rub for Headaches<br/>
Hard-cook three eggs and peel off shell quickly. Wrap one in a cotton handkerchief and rub it on your head, face, neck and back. When the egg cools, throw it out and repeat the rub with a new, warm egg. Don’t shower for 24 hours. <br/>
Verdict: Skip it. Not one of our experts could figure out any positive effects of this remedy. “The use of an egg in the Chinese home remedy baffles me,” says Judy Fulop, MS, ND, integrative medicine specialist at the Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. And while Dr. Kemper says that they may be using the egg as a heating pad, it would only be helpful for a backache. <br/>
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German Moms: Apple Cider Vinegar Rub for Sunburn<br/>
Rub apple cider vinegar onto the burn. If the burn covers your entire body, pour two or three cups of the vinegar into your bath and soak in the water. <br/>
Verdict: It’s a toss-up. Aloe vera would work much better on a sunburn, but when all else fails, an apple cider vinegar rub couldn’t hurt, Fulop says. In fact, an apple cider vinegar poultice is commonly rubbed onto aching body parts because the alkaline nature of the vinegar decreases pain. <br/>
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Garlic Herbal Tea with Honey for Cold Symptoms<br/>
Bring 3 cups of water with 3 cloves of garlic to a boil. Turn off the heat, and add ½ cup of fresh lemon juice and ½ cup of honey. Drink ½ cup of the warm mixture three times daily. <br/>
Verdict: Each ingredient can help with a cold or the flu, Dr. Kemper says. The garlic has antibacterial properties, lemon is loaded with vitamin C and the honey will soothe your cough. “But it sounds like it will taste terrible,” she adds. <br/>
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Russian and Ukrainian Moms: Vinegar Rub for Fever<br/>
Soak a cotton bed sheet in a mixture of vinegar and water, and wipe it on your entire body.<br/>
Verdict: Eh. “I don’t know what vinegar would do, but if you use lukewarm water, it could lower your fever,” says Jon Abramson, MD, physician-in-chief at Brenner Children’s Hospital in North Carolina, and former chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on infectious diseases. Instead of making the mixture and spoiling a sheet, Dr. Abramson suggests simply hopping into a lukewarm bath to slowly lower your body temperature to the 98–99°F range. <br/>
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South African Moms: Honey and Cinnamon Paste for Acne and Facial Blemishes<br/>
Mix 4 tablespoons of honey with 3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon. Before going to sleep, apply it to your face; leave it on overnight. Apply as often as needed.<br/>
Verdict: The cinnamon is the most important part of this mix because it acts as an anti-inflammatory, and will take down the redness and puffiness, says Dr. Hirsch. But honey is also known for its healing and moisturizing properties when it’s applied to the skin.<br/>
<br/>Home remedies seven good remedies it is a flue season with almentstag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-03-10:6193495:BlogPost:444082011-03-10T16:37:45.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
Home remedies seven good remedies it is a flue season with ailments<br />
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1# Olives for Motion Sickness<br />
Nobody is naysaying the wonders of modern medicine—what would we do without a medication like penicillin to treat infections? But, as it turns out, everyday items have secret curing powers, too. Already popped two aspirin but can’t get rid of the headache? A pencil could do the trick. Below, get medical explanations behind a few bizarre—albeit brilliant—MacGyver-esque home remedies.<br />
According to…
Home remedies seven good remedies it is a flue season with ailments<br />
<br />
<br />
1# Olives for Motion Sickness<br />
Nobody is naysaying the wonders of modern medicine—what would we do without a medication like penicillin to treat infections? But, as it turns out, everyday items have secret curing powers, too. Already popped two aspirin but can’t get rid of the headache? A pencil could do the trick. Below, get medical explanations behind a few bizarre—albeit brilliant—MacGyver-esque home remedies.<br />
According to the National Library of Medicine, there are a number of symptoms that present themselves as a result of motion sickness, including increased salivation, which is the body’s way of protecting the teeth from the high doses of acid accompanied by vomit. Enter olives, which contain tannins that, when released in the mouth, work to dry saliva—first eliminating the symptom and then the body’s instinct to follow suit. However, the treatment is only effective during the early stages of nausea, when the salivation changes first appear.<br />
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2# Vapor Rub to Cure Nail Fungus<br />
While there are no studies to prove coating infected toenails with vapor rub once or twice a day is an effective treatment for nail fungus, a basic Internet search results in a number of personal testaments to the medicinal ointment’s fungus-killing powers. “I’ve heard many patients say that vapor rub does help, but I’m not exactly sure why,” Dr. Blum admits. While some argue it’s the menthol in the balm that kills the fungus and others say it’s the smothering effect of the thick gel, if used consistently, vapor rub has been shown to get rid of not just the fungus, but the infected toenail, too, which will turn black and eventually fall off. When the new nail grows in, it should be fungus-free.<br />
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3 # Oatmeal to Soothe Eczema<br />
“This is absolutely true, as oats have anti-inflammatory properties,” Dr. Blum says. Whether it’s used as a paste or poured into a bath, most experts recommend choosing colloidal (finely ground) oatmeal and soaking the affected area for at least 15 minutes. In addition to reducing inflammation, oats are thought to have an antihistamine effect, Dr. Blum says. By lowering levels of histamine, which triggers inflammation as part of the immune system’s recovery response, she explains, oats prevent or reduce the redness<br />
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4 # Yogurt to Cure Bad Breath<br />
Bad breath comes from a number of places, the two most common being the mouth and the stomach. The neutralizing powers of yogurt and other probiotics treat the latter cause. “Yogurt shouldn’t have any effect at all on the bacteria that live on the tongue because it’s not there long enough,” says Robert Meltzer, MD, a New York City–based gastroenterologist and attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital. However, it likely has a neutralizing effect on the acid that resides anywhere between the mouth and the stomach, including the back of the throat and the esophagus, he explains. “I think almost any milk product or food that contains live cultures would have the same effect." While yogurt can get rid of bad breath that results from gastrological conditions, like acid reflux, it won't have any real effect on bad breath that is the product of gum, liver or lung disease, says Ohio-based dentist Matthew Messina, DDS<br />
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5 # A Spoonful of Sugar to Cure Hiccups<br />
In 1971, Edgar Engelman, MD, conducted a study to find out if a spoonful of sugar really is an effective cure for hiccups. He assembled a group of 20 patients who had been experiencing intractable hiccups for more than six hours, eight of whom had had them anywhere from a full day to six weeks. Each of the test subjects was given one teaspoon of white granulated sugar to swallow dry, and for 19 of the 20 hiccup patients, the cure was immediate. André Dubois, MD, a gastroenterologist in Bethesda, Maryland, noted in The Doctors Book of Home Remedies that “the sugar is probably acting in the mouth to modify the nervous impulses that would otherwise tell the muscles in the diaphragm to contract spasmodically."<br />
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6 # Bite a Pencil to Cure a Headache<br />
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While doctors aren’t sure why we do it, clenching our teeth is a common side effect of stress. According to Fred Sheftell, MD, director of the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connecticut, when we clench up, we strain the muscle that connects the jaw to the temples, which can trigger a tension headache. By placing a pencil between our teeth—but not biting down—we relax our jaw muscles, which eradicates tension and reduces pain. Just remember, the remedy really only applies to tension headaches—not migraines or headaches caused by sinus pressure, etc.<br />
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7 # Gargle Salt Water for a Sore Throat<br />
When you were a kid and had a sore throat, your mom likely made you gargle warm water with salt in it...and she was definitely on to something. According to Douglas Hoffman MD, PhD, author of the website The Medical Consumer's Advocate, a sore throat is an inflammatory response of the infected tissues, and the salt helps draw out the excess fluid to temporarily decrease swelling and the pain it causes. Most remedies call for a ratio of 1 tablespoon salt to 8 ounces of water, but it's always better to opt for more salt rather than less. Just keep in mind that you are treating the symptoms—not the illness. As Dr. Hoffman notes on his website: “The relief is very real, but also tends to be short-lived, since the gargle has done nothing to remove the cause of the sore throat.”"Mayan Indians disapeaared off the face of this plante"tag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-02-24:6193495:BlogPost:383822011-02-24T19:43:42.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
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Well, that explains the average life of the Maya Indians.</span><br></br>
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When…</span><br></br>
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<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2312011919?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2312011919?profile=original" width="400" style="padding-top: 12px; padding-right: 12px; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 12px;" class="align-center"/></a></span><br/>
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Well, that explains the average life of the Maya Indians.</span><br/>
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When</span><br/>
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Well, if you want to know when they disappeared, most of the great Mayan cities were abandoned near 900 A.D. Nobody knows why! By 1450 all major cities were completely abandoned, religion became less and less important just like art and architecture. While some people think more time was spent at war, and the few people that lived, took refuge in the countryside. But like we said before, no one knows for sure. They might not have disappeared because of a war. They could have just vanished out of thin air!</span><br/>
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Where?</span><br/>
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The Mayan tribes were located in Mexico and they lived in houses just like we do today! But the way they earned a living with farming. Just like in everything else, they were advanced in this too. They had totally sophisticated farming techniques. Damming rivers, lakes and streams to create reservoirs was almost unbelievable back then.</span><br/>
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Why?</span><br/>
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Why did they disappear? One theory went like this. Another Indian tribe attacked the Maya Indians. Then a long war started. While the men were gone all day at war, the women and children were busy cooking and trying to keep up the household. The Mayans couldn't even live in the same houses that they would usually live in. They lived near the countryside while at war. This tribe would have probably made our culture so advanced only to abandon their culture because of war? Does this make sense? I mean, why would they give up their whole culture for a war?</span><br/>
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You almost wish it were true, right? I mean it's sad that they had to go to war and never had their tradition passed along! Vanishing out of thin air! Kinda spooky! That's just a theory, just an educated guess. No one will ever know for sure and they'll probably remain one of the...</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
"MYSRERIES OF THE UNEXPLAINED ? ?"</span><br/>
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MAYAN TEMPLE IN ROSSLYN CHAPEL</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2312012025?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2312012025?profile=original" width="400" style="padding-top: 12px; padding-right: 12px; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 12px;" class="align-center"/></a></span><br/>
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“Da Vinci code” continue’s to Mayan civilization, Keith Ranville’s</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
Rosslyn chapel research gives a updated clue of a Mayan temple depicted</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
in Rosslyn’s Chapel’s mason art. Rosslyns new world corn,</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
beneath the Corn a Maya ruin in the Rosslyn chapel.</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2312012044?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2312012044?profile=original" width="400" style="padding-top: 12px; padding-right: 12px; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 12px;" class="align-center"/></a></span><br/>
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Rosslyn Indian New world Corn wasn’t known to Europeans yet,</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
this is as mysterious as finding coconut husk in the Money pit</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
Keith Ranville ‘’Corn and aloe are prominent plants in the new world</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
all but one Rosslyn plant images was imported by the European explorers</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
to the new world. With these Rosslyn plant clues I searched for more</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
possible clues in the Meso civilizations, Mayan architectural art and</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
block writing gave some indication that there maybe a relation in art</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
and block writing. My Discovery of a Maya temple in the Rosslyn chapel</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
gave futrher indication of Sinclair-Maya connection. This depiction of</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
a Maya temple in the Rosslyn church is a remarkable discovery, this gives</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
the Sinclair new world expedition a lot more exploration credit than realized</span><br/><span class="font-size-5" style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">
by scholars. The Rosslyn Maya temple is a significant discovery for New World history”.</span>COYOTE DANCES WITH THE STARStag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-02-09:6193495:BlogPost:333532011-02-09T06:26:27.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
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Because the Great Mystery Power had given Coyote much of his medicine,<br />
Coyote himself grew very powerful and conceited.<br />
There was nothing, he believed, that he couldn't do.<br />
He even thought he was more powerful than the Great Mystery,<br />
for Coyote was sometimes wise but also a fool.<br />
One day long ago, it came into his mind to dance with a star.<br />
"I really feel like doing this," he…
<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624079?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624079?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a><br />
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Because the Great Mystery Power had given Coyote much of his medicine,<br />
Coyote himself grew very powerful and conceited.<br />
There was nothing, he believed, that he couldn't do.<br />
He even thought he was more powerful than the Great Mystery,<br />
for Coyote was sometimes wise but also a fool.<br />
One day long ago, it came into his mind to dance with a star.<br />
"I really feel like doing this," he said.<br />
He saw a bright star coming up from behind a mountain, and called out:<br />
"Hoh, you star, wait and come down! I want to dance with you."<br />
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The star descended until Coyote could get hold of him,<br />
and then soared up into the sky, with Coyote hanging on for dear life.<br />
Round and round the sky went the star.<br />
Coyote became very tired, and the arm that was holding onto the star grew numb,<br />
as if it were coming out of its socket!<br />
"Star," he said, "I believe I've done enough dancing for now. I'll let go and be getting back home."<br />
"No, wait; we're too high up," said the star.<br />
"Wait until I come lower over the mountain where I picked you up."<br />
Coyote looked down at the earth. He thought it seemed quite near.<br />
"I'm tired, star; I think I'll leave now; we're low enough," he said, and let go.<br />
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Coyote had made a bad mistake. He dropped down, down, down.<br />
He fell for a full ten winters. He plopped through the earth clouds at last,<br />
and when he finally hit ground, he was flattened out like a tanned, stretched deerskin.<br />
So he died right there.<br />
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Now, the Great Mystery Power had amused himself by giving Coyote several lives.<br />
It took Coyote quite a few winters, however, to puff himself up again into his old shape.<br />
He had grown quite a bit older in all that time,<br />
but he had not grown less foolish.<br />
He boasted: "Who besides me could dance with stars, and fall out of the sky for ten long winters,<br />
and be flattened out like a deer hide,and live to tell the tale?<br />
I am Coyote. I am powerful. I can do anything!"<br />
Coyote was sitting in front of his lodge one night, when from behind the mountain rose a strange kind of star,<br />
a very fast one, trailing a long, shining tail.<br />
Coyote said to himself: "Look at that fast star; what fun to dance with him!"<br />
He called out: "Hoh, strange star with the long tail! Wait for me; come down; let's dance!"<br />
<br />
The strange, fast star shot down, and Coyote grabbed hold.<br />
The star whirled off into the vastness of the universe. Again Coyote had made a bad mistake.<br />
Looking up from his lodge into the sky, he had had no idea of that star's real speed.<br />
It was the fastest thing in the universe.<br />
<br />
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Bit by bit, small pieces of Coyote were torn off in this mad race through the skies,<br />
until at last only Coyote's right hand was holding onto that fast star.<br />
Coyote fell back down to earth in little pieces, a bit here and a bit there.<br />
But soon the pieces started looking for each other, slowly coming together, forming up into Coyote again.<br />
<br />
It took a long time; several winters.<br />
At last Coyote was whole again except for his right hand, which was still whirling around in space with the star.<br />
Coyote called out: "Great Mystery! I was wrong.!! I'm not as powerful as you.<br />
I'm not as powerful as I thought, Have pity on me!"<br />
<br />
Then the Great Mystery Power spoke: "Friend Coyote. I have given you four lives.<br />
Two you have already wasted foolishly. Better watch out!"<br />
"Have pity on me," wailed Coyote. "Give me back my right hand."<br />
"That's up to the star with the long tail, my friend. You must have patience.<br />
Wait until the star appears to you, rising from behind the mountain again.<br />
Then maybe he will shake your hand off."<br />
"How often does this star come over the mountain?"<br />
"Once in a hundred lifetimes," said the Great Mystery.Red Cedartag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-02-09:6193495:BlogPost:333502011-02-09T05:55:03.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
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Long ago, long...long ago, when the earth was very new, the Creator made all things, and all things were good. He made the sun, the moon, and the stars in the heavens. And, He made the length of day...twelve hours of daylight - twelve hours of darkness...twelve hours of daylight - twelve hours of darkness. And that was good...until the…
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Long ago, long...long ago, when the earth was very new, the Creator made all things, and all things were good. He made the sun, the moon, and the stars in the heavens. And, He made the length of day...twelve hours of daylight - twelve hours of darkness...twelve hours of daylight - twelve hours of darkness. And that was good...until the people came around.<br />
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They did not see why they needed twelve hours of darkness! It was during the daylight that they got their work done - planting the fields, hunting, making their many crafts - arrowheads, baskets, pots. No, they wanted the light. So, they got together in a circle to discuss it. And, yes, most of the people wanted all light, but, you know, there are always the few nay-sayers. And, they said, "No! We like the night. It is cool, and we can sleep."<br />
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"Huh!" said the others. "You are just lazy. You do not like to work." Since most of the people thought it was good idea to have twenty-fours of daylight, they called forth Eagle. Now, Eagle had a special place among the people. He could talk to the Creator, he could talk to the animals, and he could talk to the people. So, the people said to Eagle, "Eagle, you must go to the Creator and tell Him that we no longer want twelve hours of darkness. It is a waste of time. We want the light."<br />
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Eagle thought this was a strange request, but he flew into the sky and landed at the foot of the Creator. He told Him what the people wanted. The Creator looked surprised for He thought the length of day was good. "Well," He said, "if you are sure that is what the people want, then, so be it. From now on, a day will be twenty-four hours of light."<br />
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Eagle came back to the circle of people and told them what the Creator said. And, those who loved the light called out "Yes! Yes! We love the light!"<br />
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At first, it was a good idea. The corn, the squash, the beans...grew and grew in the sun. The huntiing? The hunting was terrific. Never before had they so much meat to eat and hides for their clothes and houses. In the light they were able to work and work on their many crafts. Yes, this was good....except for one thing. You see, with the sun blaring down all day, the people were not able to sleep. And without sleep, they became, well...crabby.<br />
<br />
"Where is my billet? I laid it right here. You took it."<br />
<br />
"Me? What would I want with your old billet!"<br />
<br />
With the sun blaring - down the vegetables grew, but then the sun dried them up. It came to be that the only things they could grow were weeds! As for as the hunting...well, they soon hunted out the surrounding woods and had to travel many many days to find any game at all...and that was usually some scrawny old rabbit.<br />
<br />
Worst of all, with the sun blaring down - many of the elders and the youngest members became over-heated and some died. It was then that the people knew that they had made a big mistake. They called together another council. "We should have listened to the others. They were right. We do not need the sun. What we need is darkness." This time all the people decided that they wanted twenty-four hours of darkness. So, they called for Eagle and told him of their decision. Eagle did not like this idea, but he did as the people asked and flew up to the Creator. When he told the Creator about what had happened with all that sunlight, the Creator shook His head. "Sometimes, the people have to learn on their own." Then Eagle told Him that now the people wanted twenty-four hours of darkness. The Creator could hardly believe it, but he said, "If you are sure that's what the People want, then, so be it. From now on - twenty-four hours of darkness."<br />
<br />
Eagle came back to the People, and those who loved the night shouted, "Yes, Yes! We love the night!"<br />
<br />
At first, they were right. It was so nice and cool now that the sun was gone. They slept and slept, but when they woke up...it was still dark! They couldn't see to do any of their work. Their gardens didn't grow vegetables or weeds...it grew nothing! And there in the dark, the animals came back, but not just rabbit and deer. The big animals like mountain lion and bear came, too. Worst of all the days grew colder and colder with no sun. Many of the elders and children became sick and many died. It did not take long for the People to decide that they had made a big mistake.<br />
<br />
Again, they talked in council. "What have we done? How can we get back to the way it was? The Creator knew what was best." They called for Eagle and begged him to go back one more time to plead with the Creator to make things as it was before.<br />
<br />
This time Eagle was more than happy to return to the Creator. He sat at His feet and told him all that happened in the darkness. And, when he told Him about how many of the People died...the Creator wept. "Now," said Eagle, "the People want it back the way it was...twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness."<br />
<br />
But, the Creator said, "No. We already tried that, and it did not work. I have a new plan. From now on only two days out of the year will have equal daylight and darkness. On those two days, we will call it the Equinox. Then, as the sun travels to the South, the days will get shorter and shorter until it is the shortest day of the year. We will call that the Winter Solstice. Those who love the night will be happy. And, as the sun travels back to the North, over the Equinox, the days will grow longer and longer until it is the longest day of the year. We will call that the Summer Solstice. Those who love the daylight will be happy. This you must tell the People. And, you must tell them that I will create a new tree, stained with the blood of their ancestors who died so tragically. I will call this tree "The Red Cedar" and it will be a sacred tree."Panda Bearstag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-02-09:6193495:BlogPost:333472011-02-09T05:35:26.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624067?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624067?profile=original" width="450"></img></a><br />
Giant Panda bears do not hibernate during the winter.<br />
<br />
- The mother panda only has one baby every two years.<br />
<br />
- Panda bears can spend up to 16 hours eating.<br />
<br />
- Pandas can live for about 20 years in the wild.<br />
<br />
- Pandas are pink when they are born.<br />
<br />
- Pandas are good at climbing trees. They can also swim.<br />
<br />
- The average Giant Panda consumes between 20 and 40 lbs of food per…
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Giant Panda bears do not hibernate during the winter.<br />
<br />
- The mother panda only has one baby every two years.<br />
<br />
- Panda bears can spend up to 16 hours eating.<br />
<br />
- Pandas can live for about 20 years in the wild.<br />
<br />
- Pandas are pink when they are born.<br />
<br />
- Pandas are good at climbing trees. They can also swim.<br />
<br />
- The average Giant Panda consumes between 20 and 40 lbs of food per day.<br />
<br />
- Pandas live in China on the mountainsides.<br />
<br />
- The Giant Panda has the largest molar teeth of any of the carnivores.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
- The Chinese word for Panda is "Xiongmao" or Giant Cat Bear.<br />
<br />
The Giant Panda has the largest molar teeth of any of the carnivores.<br />
<br />
- The Chinese word for Panda is "Xiongmao" or Giant Cat Bear.<br />
Giant pandas are by nature solitary animals. They communicate periodically through scent marks, calls, and occasional meetings. Giant Panda bears signify aggression by lowering their heads and staring at their opponents.<br />
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<br />
99% of the panda diet is bamboo. Panda bears eat over fifteen different kinds of bamboo. In zoos, giant pandas eat bamboo, sugar cane, carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes. The panda does not hibernate because it cannot store enough fat on a bamboo diet.<br />
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624246?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624246?profile=original" width="400" class="align-full"/></a></p>Black bird, red wingtag:warriornation.ning.com,2011-02-08:6193495:BlogPost:327082011-02-08T03:22:47.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
Black bird, red wing<br />
by Nickole Brown<br />
<br />
So this is where the last year<br />
of the Mayan calendar begins—<br />
5,000 birds falling on Beebe,<br />
Arkansas, a state that could smooth<br />
out with the sway of the plains<br />
but instead sputters the silence<br />
of the first syllable like a pothole<br />
that hits before you're off the<br />
on ramp—say it—<br />
ar-<br />
-can-saw—<br />
ending with that blade<br />
of rusted teeth to chew<br />
through the last of what's left<br />
of those woods, a fast-driving<br />
diesel flatbed of felled trees<br />
and all of us in a tight…
Black bird, red wing<br />
by Nickole Brown<br />
<br />
So this is where the last year<br />
of the Mayan calendar begins—<br />
5,000 birds falling on Beebe,<br />
Arkansas, a state that could smooth<br />
out with the sway of the plains<br />
but instead sputters the silence<br />
of the first syllable like a pothole<br />
that hits before you're off the<br />
on ramp—say it—<br />
ar-<br />
-can-saw—<br />
ending with that blade<br />
of rusted teeth to chew<br />
through the last of what's left<br />
of those woods, a fast-driving<br />
diesel flatbed of felled trees<br />
and all of us in a tight spot<br />
between that chugging machine<br />
and the concrete barrier<br />
as we hope the straight back<br />
of our consonants will<br />
hold, even if they are quiescent<br />
monsters, reticent prayers,<br />
because we can't help it, we lean<br />
towards letters that do not bend,<br />
try our exhausted weight<br />
on the middle of that state,<br />
that silent K—the shape of a man<br />
trying to hold up the ceiling,<br />
trying not to think<br />
of its falling<br />
as the sky's.A Christmas story enjoytag:warriornation.ning.com,2010-12-19:6193495:BlogPost:270222010-12-19T19:22:15.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn’t been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. He had no decorations, no tree, no lights. It was just another day to him. He didn’t hate Christmas, just couldn’t find a reason to celebrate. There were no children in his life. His wife had gone.<br />
<br />
Christmas winter<br />
<br />
He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man…
The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn’t been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. He had no decorations, no tree, no lights. It was just another day to him. He didn’t hate Christmas, just couldn’t find a reason to celebrate. There were no children in his life. His wife had gone.<br />
<br />
Christmas winter<br />
<br />
He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through. Instead of throwing the man out, George, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the space heater and warm up.<br />
<br />
“Thank you, but I don’t mean to intrude,” said the stranger. “I see you’re busy. I’ll just go.” “Not without something hot in your belly,” George turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. “It ain’t much, but it’s hot and tasty. Stew. Made it myself. When you’re done there’s coffee and it’s fresh.”<br />
<br />
Just at that moment he heard the “ding” of the driveway bell. “Excuse me, be right back,” George said. There in the driveway was an old 53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front. The driver was panicked. “Mister, can you help me!” said the driver with a deep Spanish accent. “My wife is with child and my car is broken.”<br />
<br />
George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold; the car was dead. “You ain’t going in this thing,” George said as he turned away. “But mister – please help.” The door of the office closed behind George as he went in. George went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building and opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting.<br />
<br />
“Here, you can borrow my truck,” he said. “She ain’t the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good.” George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. George turned and walked back inside the office.<br />
<br />
“Glad I loaned em the truck. Their tires were shot too. That ‘ol truck has brand new tires.” George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The thermos was on the desk, empty with a used coffee cup beside it. “Well, at least he got something in his belly,” George thought. George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the block hadn’t cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator.<br />
<br />
“Well, I can fix this,” he said to himself. So he put a new one on. “Those tires ain’t gonna get ‘em through the winter either.” He took the snow treads off of his wife’s old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn’t going to drive the car. As he was working he heard a shot being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, “Help me.” George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention.<br />
<br />
“Pressure to stop the bleeding,” he thought. The laundry company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound. “Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin’,” he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease. “Something for pain,” George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. “These ought to work.” He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills. “You hang in there. I’m going to get you an ambulance.” George said, but the phone was dead.<br />
<br />
“Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your police car.” He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio. He went back in to find the policeman sitting up. “Thanks,” said the officer. “You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the area.”<br />
<br />
George sat down beside him. “I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain’t gonna leave you.” George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. “Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through ‘ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your gonna be right as rain.”<br />
<br />
George got up and poured a cup of coffee. “How do you take it?” he asked. “None for me,” said the officer. “Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city.” Then George added: “Too bad I ain’t got no donuts.” The officer laughed and winced at the same time.<br />
<br />
The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun. “Give me all your cash! Do it now!” the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before. “That’s the guy that shot me!” exclaimed the officer. “Son, why are you doing this?” asked George. “You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt.” The young man was confused. “Shut up old man, or I’ll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!”<br />
<br />
The cop was reaching for his gun. “Put that thing away,” George said to the cop. “We got one too many in here now.” He turned his attention to the young man. “Son, it’s Christmas Eve. If you need the money, well then, here. It ain’t much but it’s all I got. Now put that pee shooter away.”<br />
<br />
George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. “I’m not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son,” he went on. “I’ve lost my job. My rent is due. My car got repossessed last week…”<br />
<br />
George handed the gun to the cop. “Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can.” He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. “Sometimes we do stupid things.” George handed the young man a cup of coffee. “Being stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin’ in here with a gun ain’t the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we’ll sort this thing out.”<br />
<br />
The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. “Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I’m sorry officer.” Shut up and drink your coffee.” the cop said. George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn. “Chuck! You ok?” one of the cops asked the wounded officer. “Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?” “GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?” the other cop asked as he approached the young man.<br />
<br />
Chuck answered him, “I don’t know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran.” George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other. “That guy works here,” the wounded cop continued. “Yep,” George said. “Just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job.” The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, “Why?” Chuck just said, “Merry Christmas, boy. And you too, George, and thanks for everything.”<br />
<br />
“Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems.” George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box. “Here you go. Something for the little woman. I don’t think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day.”<br />
<br />
The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw. “I can’t take this,” said the young man. “It means something to you.” “And now it means something to you,” replied George. “I got my memories. That’s all I need.” George reached into the box again. A toy airplane, a racing car and a little metal truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. “Here’s something for that little man of yours.”<br />
<br />
The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier. “And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that, too. Count it as part of your first week’s pay.” George said. “Now git home to your family.” The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. “I’ll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good.” “Nope. I’m closed Christmas day,” George said. “See ya the day after.”<br />
<br />
George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. “Where’d you come from? I thought you left?” “I have been here. I have always been here,” said the stranger. “You say you don’t celebrate Christmas. Why?” “Well, after my wife passed away I just couldn’t see what all the bother was. Puttin’ up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin’ cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn’t the same by myself and besides I was getting a little chubby.”<br />
<br />
The stranger put his hand on George’s shoulder. “But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor. The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will become a rich man and share his wealth with many people. That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man.”<br />
<br />
George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. “And how do you know all this?” asked the old man. “Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again.” The stranger moved toward the door. “If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned.”<br />
<br />
George watched as the man’s old leather jacket and his torn pants turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill the room. “You see, George, it’s my birthday – Merry Christmas!”What are Badgers like here is some info on them enjoy.tag:warriornation.ning.com,2010-11-08:6193495:BlogPost:223222010-11-08T22:00:00.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
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<p style="text-align: center;"><font size="4"><img alt="" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624819?profile=original"></img></font></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br></br> <br></br><br></br><br></br><br></br><font size="4">Description</font> <br></br><br></br><font size="4">Adult badgers measure 30 inches (76cm) to 35 inches (89cm) in length, including a short furry tail averaging 5.5 inches (14 cm) . Their bodies are wide and give a flat backed appearance. Many adult badgers weigh 12 pounds (5.4 kg) to 16…</font></div>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><font size="4"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624819?profile=original" alt=""/></font></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br/> <br/><br/><br/><br/><font size="4">Description</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">Adult badgers measure 30 inches (76cm) to 35 inches (89cm) in length, including a short furry tail averaging 5.5 inches (14 cm) . Their bodies are wide and give a flat backed appearance. Many adult badgers weigh 12 pounds (5.4 kg) to 16 pounds (7.3 kg), although weights might increase to over 20 pounds (9.1 kg) in the late fall as they store up layers of fat to sustain them during periods of cold weather and deep snow.</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">Colors are mostly gray, with a grizzled effect due to long guard hairs that have a black band ending in a white tip. Their "underfur" is either a light tan, or a creamy white. A white stripe from the nose leads between the eyes and back over the head of the badger, ending between the shoulders.</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">Ears are set low along the sides of the head. Lower legs and feet are black in color. There are five toes on each foot and four of the toes on the front feet have exceptionally long claws of up 11/2 inches (3.8 cm) to 1 3/4 inches (4.5 cm ) in length.</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Badgers have 34 teeth, including four sharply pointed canine teeth. All badgers have a pair of musk producing glands near the anus as well as two skin glands located on the bellies. Badgers walk on their toes (digitigrade) with a characteristic rolling gait.</font><br/></div>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><font size="4"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624854?profile=original" alt=""/></font></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br/><br/><font size="4">Reproduction</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">Male American badgers become sexually mature as yearlings, but 30 percent of females have been found to breed in their first year, when only 4-5 months old. Badgers mate in August or September. Embryos of the badger experience an arrest in development that greatly prolongs gestation. The embryo develops for a few days, then lie dormant in the uterus, being implanted in January. Of the total gestation period of 250 days, growth occurs during only 50. Birth is usually in April, or perhaps as late as June at higher altitudes. Usually 2 to 7 young are born. Although the female has 8 teats, litter sizes tend to be small, and a litter size of 3 is common. Females care for the litter by themselves. The young badgers move out in late summer to begin solitary lifestyles.</font> <br/></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font size="4"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624847?profile=original" alt=""/> Big paws and diggers<br/></font></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font size="4"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624902?profile=original" alt=""/></font></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br/><br/><font size="4">Habits</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">Badgers are territorial throughout most of the year. Most territories are about 3 or 4 square miles (4.8 to 6.4 square km). The size of the territory might vary somewhat due to the availability of rodents, a preferred food. It seems as if territories are not defended against other badgers, or territories overlap regularly in good habitats. Habitats with sandy or porous soils are preferred. Badgers frequent wooded areas when soils are suitable for digging. Other than the dispersal of juveniles, badgers do not seem to emigrate. Typically walking from place to place, they can trot or bound along at a gallop when they chose to. They are mostly nocturnal creatures, but have been known to be active during daylight in quiet areas.</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Badgers have excellent senses of hearing and smell. Both serve in locating food species, which are usually rodents in underground dens. Badgers have been known to plug the exit holes of prey species before the badger tunnels underground to capture the prey. The long claws serve to loosen the soil and pass it backwards where the hind feet kick the soil out behind the digging animal. This dirt is often kicked backwards 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) in an almost continuous arc by a badger digging in earnest. Badgers close their eyes as they dig underground. They rely upon smell and hearing to continue digging towards the prey.</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">Even though Badgers have relatively small territory zones, a number of dens are used regularly over different parts of the territory. These underground dens are quite often elaborate. Most tunnels are 6 to 8 feet 1.8 to 2.4 meters) deep and 20 to 30 feet (6.1 to 9.1 meters) long to the main chamber which is elevated to discourage flooding. A smaller chamber s also dug underground to serve as a toilet area, and many dens have several entrance holes. Dens that have been used for generations by badgers may have as many as 30 to 40 exits, and tunnels as deep as 15 feet (4.6 meters). Bedding grass and leaves are sometimes removed from the den chamber for airing out by a den entrance, after which it is taken back down into the chamber for reuse.</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">Some badgers have demonstrated that they will tolerate a fox or coyote sharing the same den. In 1871, a lost Canadian boy shared a den with a badger, which at first tried to drive him away, and then appeared to adopt him by bringing him food.</font><br/><br/><font size="4">General</font> <br/><br/></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><font size="4"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545624889?profile=original" alt=""/></font></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br/><br/><font size="4">Badgers are determined fighters when they are threatened. They have loose fitting skin, which prevents them from being held securely by another animal.</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">Badgers do not hibernate like bears during winter, but they do sleep for extended periods of time in northern states. Especially during extended periods of cold weather and deep snow. Wintering dens can sometimes be found in woodlands, where the frost does not penetrate as deeply. They can stay underground for weeks at a time, but they come out to hunt occasionally as they do not store food.</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">The American species is the most carnivorous of all badgers, digs out chipmunks, ground hogs, ground squirrels, mice and rabbits; it will eat carrion and invertebrates and also caches food. Rattlesnakes are eaten when a available but the badgers do not eat the rattlesnake head. Carrion is probably an important winter food when the frozen ground is difficult or impossible to dig in.</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">The condition of it's claws are important to a badger. The species sharpens their long claws by scratching on trees or posts.</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">A badger is considered to be old at 12 years of age.</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Tracks</font> <br/><br/></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><br/><font size="4">Badger tracks are easy to spot, due to the long claw marks left by the front feet. Stride distance between tracks on an adult male are usually 9 inches to 10 inches (22 cm to 25 cm) apart.</font> <br/><br/></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><br/><br/> <br/><br/><font size="4">Range</font> <br/><br/><font size="4">Range</font><br/><br/><font size="4">The green area shows where badgers are commonly found in all of the western and north central states and their range has gradually extended eastward over the years. This species is rarely found in the southwest.</font> <br/> <br/><br/><br/><br/><font size="4">Facts and Mythes</font> <br/> <br/><font size="4">Fact - The badger is the fastest digging animal on earth, and the strongest for its size. An American badger in the midwest was observed digging through the asphalt surface of a parking lot. It took him less than two minutes to disappear completely!</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Myth - Badger's won't chase you for wearing Levi Cords, like their TV commercial portrays. But.... in one case an American badger was reported to join some joggers for a distance of about 164 feet (50 meters).</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Fact - Badger's have been known to partner up with other species, and sometimes even share the same burrow. Most common in England is badgers and foxes, in the U.S. it is the coyote and the badger, and on the island of Palewan it is the porcupine (ouch).</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Myth - In medieval times it was said that if a badger crossed behind you on the path you had walked it was good luck. But... if it passed in front of you, it was bad luck. For REALLY bad luck, if it stopped and scratched the earth on the path in front of you, that you were bound to die soon.</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Fact - Eurasian badgers are known to "scent" trees and fence post from 12 to 16 inches (30.5 to 40.6 cm) up the wood by doing hand stands. Then they rub the scent glands in their anus against the tree or post.</font><br/><br/><font size="4">The diferent speises of Badgers</font><br/><br/></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><font size="4">Badgers are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Mustelidae. All species, except the honey badger, are classified in the subfamily Melinae (true badgers).</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Global Distribution of Badgers</font><br/><br/><font size="4">American Badger - Taxidea taxus</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Eurasian Badger - Meles meles</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Honey Badger (or ratel) - Mellivora capensis</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Hog Badger - Arctonyx collaris</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Ferret Badger - Melogale moschata</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Indonesian Stink Badger - Mydaus javanensis</font><br/><br/><font size="4">Palawan Stink Badger - Sullotaxus marchei</font><br/></div>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><font size="4"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545625184?profile=original" alt=""/></font></p>A poem on peace for you to enjoytag:warriornation.ning.com,2010-11-05:6193495:BlogPost:217212010-11-05T03:49:51.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
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'Peace' by Christine<br />
If peace was something to hold in your hand,<br />
Something tangible to feel, something like sand,<br />
We could each sprinkle it all over the Earth,<br />
From Capetown to London, from LA to Perth,<br />
It's color would be a bright leafy green,<br />
Glistening and shiny for all to be seen,<br />
This would stop our anger, jealousy and tears,<br />
Calm all our spirits, take away all our fears.<br />
<br />
Next we have purity which…
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<br />
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<br />
'Peace' by Christine<br />
If peace was something to hold in your hand,<br />
Something tangible to feel, something like sand,<br />
We could each sprinkle it all over the Earth,<br />
From Capetown to London, from LA to Perth,<br />
It's color would be a bright leafy green,<br />
Glistening and shiny for all to be seen,<br />
This would stop our anger, jealousy and tears,<br />
Calm all our spirits, take away all our fears.<br />
<br />
Next we have purity which would be airy and light,<br />
It would be the color of snow, a brilliant white,<br />
To go round the world, sideways up and down,<br />
Until it reached every village, city and town,<br />
It would be blown by the wind or a gentle<br />
breeze,<br />
It would get everywhere like this with much ease,<br />
We would be purer in thought, cease to hate,<br />
Let's all do this now before it's too late.<br />
<br />
We would also have healing to send out too,<br />
It's colour would be an electric blue,<br />
This would be carried by birds as they fly,<br />
Onward and upward into the sky,<br />
It would be like confetti but soft and small,<br />
To be caried all over, to be given to all,<br />
We would feel whole in spirit, body and mind,<br />
It would give us wisdom to be gentle and kind.<br />
<br />
Then we have love in the colour of pink,<br />
With this to one another we could easily link,<br />
It would be like fine rain to be spread everywhere,<br />
We would cherish one another, we'd show that we care,<br />
It would come from the clouds way up above,<br />
In this way we could spread this love,<br />
This would make us more open and giving,<br />
To all on this Earth, to all that is living.<br />
<br />
Last but not least we want happiness to go,<br />
All around the globe for everyone to know,<br />
It would come from the might rays of the sun,<br />
A golden yellow to flow over everyone,<br />
Its gentle warmth would touch our souls,<br />
And so it would help us to reach our goals,<br />
We will be glad, forget all our pain,<br />
We would laugh and smile again and again.<br />
<br />
When you pray at night, try to imagine all this,<br />
A perfect world full of endless bliss,<br />
Where all people no matter what color or<br />
creed,<br />
Are all banded together, united indeed!<br />
They would link together all over the place,<br />
Join forces to make a great human race,<br />
It cannot be possible, it is only a dream,<br />
It can't come reality or so it would seem,<br />
But if we pray hard enough, me and you,<br />
We can all work together to make this come true.Hedgehog's a cute and prickly creature I find fascinating and can be a good pet as welltag:warriornation.ning.com,2010-10-22:6193495:BlogPost:200282010-10-22T02:30:00.000ZERIC SHARPhttps://warriornation.ning.com/profile/ERICSHARP
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<br></br><font size="4"><br></br><br></br> It has been said that no other exotic animal has caught the attention of the public quite like the pet hedgehog has. Their spines, friendly and curious nature, as well as that ever-smiling expression have endeared them to millions of confessed hedgehog lovers around the globe.<br></br><br></br>Those in Britain, Europe and parts of Africa have long known about the hedgehogs’ charm. British author and illustrator, Beatrix Potter,…</font>
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<br/><font size="4"><br/><br/> It has been said that no other exotic animal has caught the attention of the public quite like the pet hedgehog has. Their spines, friendly and curious nature, as well as that ever-smiling expression have endeared them to millions of confessed hedgehog lovers around the globe.<br/><br/>Those in Britain, Europe and parts of Africa have long known about the hedgehogs’ charm. British author and illustrator, Beatrix Potter, although most famous for her story of Peter Rabbit, also wrote the wonderful tale of a hedgehog named "Mrs. Tiggy-winkle", a matronly washerwoman. A British wildlife hospital dedicated to rescuing sick and injured hedgehogs is even named after this delightful character.<br/><br/>The interest in hedgehogs doesn't end there, though. Until recently, these remarkable little animals were virtually unknown in North America. But now, thanks to the pioneering efforts of breeders, the African Pygmy Hedgehog is now readily available and can be found in the homes of thousands of happy pet owners. "But why," you may ask, "is there such an interest in hedgehogs as pets?"<br/><br/>Besides having a peaceful and humorous nature, hedgehogs readily lend themselves to just about anyone's lifestyle and schedule. Being diurnal (awake parts of both day and night) just like house cats, nearly everyone can find a time of day in which to enjoy them. They do not require a great deal of room in which to live and their dietary requirements are very easy to meet and, since they are solitary animals by nature they neither require nor want the companionship of another animal.<br/><br/>Unlike hamsters, Guinea Pigs and other small rodents, pet hedgehogs do not give off any appreciable odor and they are easily litter trained. They live much longer than rodents, too. With the proper care and diet, your pet can live to be 4 - 7 years old. Add to all of this the fact that they require no immunization shots and are very disease resistant and you can see why so many people consider hedgehogs to be the perfect pet.<br/><br/>They have adorable little raccoon-like faces, set with beady little black eyes and small pointy noses that seem to twitch constantly, checking out the different odors of the room. Depending on the color variation that you choose, their little white faces may or may not have a mask. Although not related to the porcupine, they are sometimes mistaken for them because of the quills that cover their backs. The similarity ends there, however, since these quills are not barbed or nearly as sharp and remain attached to their bodies. Their little white tummies, on the other hand, are extremely soft and are covered with short, white hair. When frightened, they can roll up into a tight ball and look very much like a sea urchin. They have a short, stubby tail, but this is rarely seen since they keep it tucked up close their bodies. With their tiny little legs and round bodies, it is a real sight to see them scurry across the floor.<br/><br/>African Pygmy HedgehogUnlike their much larger English cousins, the African Pygmy Hedgehog (or pet hedgehog) is rather small in size, with the average adult weighing between ½ and 1 ¼ pounds and are 5 to 8 inches long - about the size of a Guinea Pig. There are a few rare adults that will grow to as much as 1 ¾ to 2 pounds (without being fat) while others are as little as 6 or 7 ounces. Breeders are now concentrating on these differences so that someday, we will have a choice between two different sizes of hedgehogs.<br/><br/>They have a quiet, gentle, disposition that makes them a true delight to own and hold. Each has a distinct personality and will bond to its owner for life. (We are assuming you purchased a socialized pet). They are surprisingly intelligent, fun to play with and are easily entertained. They love to play with tunnels, mazes and specially designed hedgehog wheels. Even something as simple as a toilet paper tube will make a good toy, as they love to stick their heads in them and run about the floor. Despite their solitary nature, they can become very affectionate with their owners and will even enjoying watching TV with you or just snuggling in your lap.<br/><br/>Because they are quiet, they are very easy to travel with. Most people aren’t even aware that a pet hedgehog is nearby. Many hotels that restrict other animals such as cats and dogs will allow hedgehogs. Once trained to a litter box, an adult can pretty well have the run of the house. With its excellent sense of smell, keen eyesight and good memory, it will know where the litter box is and will use it on a regular basis. Because they are not a rodent, they have no body odor, but it is still important to clean the litter box daily to eliminate all smells. Some people are not comfortable with a loose pet, so a cage with a minimum floor area of 16 x 24” will keep it happy and secure.<br/><br/>Hedgehogs truly are a low maintenance pet. Your pet hedgehog should be kept indoors at normal room temperature (65 to 80oF); it can be fed a good quality dry cat food or a specially formulated hedgehog food; they don't bark, although when happy, some will emit a quiet purr; they do not climb curtains or chew on furniture; and, they do not ask to be taken out for a walk. All that your pet asks for is to be fed and watered, loved and appreciated. Besides simply being enjoyed as pets, there is also an active hobby.<br/><br/>Thanks to the efforts of the hard-working folks at the International Hedgehog Association, (IHA) there is now a working show system and standard of perfection for the pet Hedgehog. Breeders and pet owners alike can now show their pets in friendly competition. As well, many breeders are involved in the fascinating and challenging world of color breeding. Many beautiful new colors have already been produced and many breeders are hard at work to produce even more. This adds a whole new dimension to owning hedgehogs and even those with only one or two animals are becoming actively involved.<br/><br/><br/>Although a new animal to North Americans, hedgehogs are nothing new to those in the Old World. It is there that tales about hedgehogs first made there way into literature. Strange tales and myths about hedgehogs are nothing new either. In fact, they have been around for thousands of years. For a clearer picture of these tales and how they began, we need to look far back into the historical documents of the past.<br/><br/>Way back in the first century, Pliny the Elder, in his Historia Naturalis, related the story of how hedgehogs would climb apple trees, knock the fruit down, and would then roll upon the apples, thereby impaling them on the spines so that they could carry them off to their burrows. Not only do hedgehogs not climb trees, but they also do not store food in their burrows. These well documented facts are of little value to the scientists who, in their efforts to prove Pliny right, have tried to duplicate this truly remarkable feat. They have, of course, never succeeded.<br/><br/>Curiously, this particular myth was furthered by Charles Darwin:<br/>"HEDGEHOGS.—As in the August and September numbers, you have published an account of hedgehogs apparently carrying away pears and crabs sticking on their spines, you may think the following statement worth insertion as a further corroboration. I have received this account in a letter dated August 5,1867, from Mr. Swinhoe at Amoy:—"Mr. Gisbert, the Spanish Consul at Amoy, informs me that when he was an engineer on the roads in Spain some years ago, he was fond of shooting and roaming about the country. He states that in the Sierra Morena, a strawberry-tree (Arbutus unedo?) was very abundant, and bore large quantities of red, fruit-like, fine, large, red strawberries. These gave quite a glow to the woods. The district in the mountain chain he refers to, is on the divisional line between the provinces of Seville and Badajos. Under these trees hedgehogs occurred innumerable, and fed on the fruit, which the Spaniards call Madrône [sic - MADROÑO]. Mr. Gisbert has often seen an Erizo (hedgehog) trotting along with at least a dozen of these strawberries sticking on its spines. He supposes that the hedgehogs were carrying the fruit to their holes to eat in quiet and security, and that to procure them they must have rolled themselves on the fruit which was scattered in great abundance all over the ground beneath the trees."— Charles Darwin . <br/></font><p style="text-align: left;"><img width="721" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545629405?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" alt=""/></p>
<br/><font size="4"><br/><br/> Aristotle also wrote of the hedgehog, and like Pliny, did nothing more than add to the list of tales when he spoke of the “Echinus” (hedgehog) that “moved from one wall to another according to the direction of the wind”. Albertus Magnus, a Dominican scholar of the thirteenth century, furthered Aristotles "observations" with the following: "The hedgehog, which lives in its lair in the ground, indicates when storms of wind are coming. It makes three or four exits to its lair or dwelling and when it senses that the wind is going to blow from a certain direction, it closes the corresponding hole."<br/></font><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545629387?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<br/><font size="4"><br/>He also stated that hedgehogs have not one, but two anal passages “through which its waste matter passes”, and that they mate in an upright position “on account of the sharpness of its prickles”. Considering the level of inaccuracy in what he wrote, it makes one wonder if poor Albert had ever actually seen hedgehogs, let alone studied them! Even the Romans had hedgehog myths. Here in North America, where we have no indigenous species of hedgehog, we celebrate “Groundhog Day”. Did you know that the hedgehog was originally the forecaster of spring for the Romans? “If during hibernation, he (the hedgehog) looks out of his den on 2nd February and and sees his shadow it means there is a clear moon and six more weeks of winter so he returns to his burrow.” To this day, groundhogs “Punxsutawney Phil” and “Wiarton Willie” battle it out to see who is the better weather forecaster, but little do they or their handlers know that the original prognosticator of spring was a hedgehog! Using the hedgehog as a barometer likely causes the animal no harm, but other fallacies have caused our little critters no end of trouble. In medieval Britain, farmers believed that hedgehogs stole milk from cows during the night. In 1566, the Elizabethan parliament put a three pence bounty on the head of every hapless hedgehog that could be caught and killed. Even some of the parish church's got in on the act and offered bounties of their own. Thousands were slaughtered as a result, yet no one even to this day has been able to verify this unlikely theory.<br/><br/>Nonetheless, the poor hedgehog was much maligned in Britain for many centuries as a result of these and other stories. The Irish knew the hedgehog as the “graineeogs”, ugly ones, or witches in animal form (Stocker, 1987). Shakespeare did little to further the cause of hedgehogs. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act 2, Scene 3) he grouped hedgehogs with other nasty and vile creatures: <br/></font><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545629450?profile=original" alt=""/></p>
<br/><font size="4"><br/>You spotted snakes with double tongue,<br/>Thorny hedgehogs, not be seen;<br/>Newts and blindworms, do no wrong;<br/>Come not near our Fairy Queen.<br/>In King Richard III, Shakespeare shows the hedgehog to be an animal that has no regard for others. In Act 1, Scene 2, Anne says to Richard:<br/>Dost grant me hedgehog? Then, God grant me too<br/>Thou mayst be damned for that wicked deed!<br/>O, he was gentle, mild and virtuous.<br/><br/>Further attacks were launched when they were next accused of being accomplished egg thieves. While it is true that hedgehogs will on occasion eat eggs, most of these have already been cracked. In fact, it appears that hedgehogs are physically unable to crack open a chicken egg. Still, thousands more were hunted down and killed as a result of this myth - a practice that is still carried out to this very day!<br/><br/>In eastern Africa, the native home of our domestic pets, the skin or spines of the White Bellied hedgehog is regarded as a fertility charm. If a hedgehog’s skin is placed on seed in advance of planting, good harvests are believed to result (Reeve, 1994). They are eaten both in Africa and in parts of England and Europe. The most common method for cooking hedgehog is to roll them in clay, bake them in a fire and then remove the hardened clay, taking the spines with it. At one time, it was believed that eating hedgehogs would cure the sick of all sorts of ailments including leprosy, colic, boils, stones and poor vision. A translation of writings from the mid-fourteenth century by Konrad of Megenberg, includes the following passage.<br/>...the flesh of the hedgehog is wholesome for the stomach and strengthens the same. Likewise it hath a power of drying and relieving the stomach. It deals with the water of dropsy and is of great help to such as are inclined to the sickness called elephantiasis.<br/></font><p style="text-align: left;"><img width="721" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545629681?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" alt=""/></p>
<br/><font size="4"><br/><br/>The gypsies of Europe still eat hedgehogs as a cure for poisoning and, perhaps even, for removing evil spells.<br/><br/>It appears that the only places where hedgehogs are afforded any level of protection is in China, where they are considered sacred, and in most of Europe, where it is illegal to catch, kill, or confine them. Those caught face stiff fines or imprisonment. Great Britain is slowly catching up, with recently introduced legislation that is designed to protect hedgehogs from human predation.<br/><br/>So, as you can clearly see, there has been (and still is) no shortage of fallacies when it comes to our prickly little friends. When one looks back at how long some of these fanciful notions have been around, it is easy to see that they will continue to be with us for some time yet. “Foretold is forewarned” goes the saying and nothing could be closer to the truth than this when it comes to defending our hedgehogs. So, the next time someone tells you that hedgehogs have a poisonous bite, just remember that this and other hedgehog myths have been passed down from generation to generation for countless centuries.<br/><br/>References:<br/>HEDGEHOGS written by Nigel Reeve, published by T & AD Poyser Ltd,<br/>1994<br/>THE COMPLETE HEDGEHOG written by Les Stocker, published by Chatto<br/>& Windus Ltd, 1987 <br/></font>