Last week the NY Times had this article on colonial era burials excavated in Campeche, Mexico. Researchers were able to identify some of the individuals as African slaves brought to Mexico by the Spanish as their teeth had been filed, showing evidence of an African cultural pattern. Also high levels of the trace element strontium …
Dr. John B. on Coursing
Occasional contributor John Burchard sent me an ominous note on new threats to coursing, which I will report on as they develop. Meanwhile, he has a few other typically wise thoughts on the subject to share. “Here’s a para from something I wrote earlier today, in answer to an obnoxious troll on one of the …
Hunting Song
I stole this lovely thing from my friend Rebecca’s blog; I think it is in this anthology. Frontier sons are lifelong illiterateswho know only how to hunt big game and brag about being tough guys.They feed their Mongolian ponies white grassto make them plump and strong in the autumn.They race proudly on their horses chasing …
Poor Oetzi
Poor Oetzi the Iceman – the more we find out about him the sadder his story becomes. Oetzi is of course the 5300 year-old body found preserved in a glacier in the Alps on the Austrian/Italian border. He was discovered in 1991 and represents one of those “moments frozen in time” we archaeologists love. His …
I confess..
.. that I virtually NEVER watch the State of the Union Address. Howard Veit rather snarkily sums up why: “…are you kidding? Not only does it not make any difference what was said, it doesn’t make any difference period. I fell asleep watching an old movie. The Iraq War is still going; Iran is still …
Another reason to write
From gun writer and pistolero emeritus Colonel Jeff Cooper come these eloquent words: “Did you write it down? If you did not, you should have. This is because only what you have committed to paper has significance. Man’s experience is only that which he has recorded. The more you consider that, the more significant it …
Pretty Gun..
If you are in the market for an $85,000 goose gun– sadly, 8- Bores are legal only in England– I may have found a deal for you. It’s a pristine Prussian (“Lindner”) Charles Daly in Regent Diamond grade, with 36- inch barrels, from the turn of the last century. Maybe a LITTLE too much gold …
More Cetacean Stuff
Ah, synchronicity! Yahoo News has this interesting piece today titled “Killer Whales Set Traps for Gullible Gulls.” Seems researchers in Canada observed a young orca who figured out if he left pieces of chewed fish floating on the water’s surface it would attract gulls who would land to try and eat it. He would lurk …
Roundup
A day late and a dollar short– well, usually more than that– as usual, so, first, a roundup of the usual suspect subjects… The Alpha Environmentalist has a good post up on coyotes. Look, I have no objection to ranching, period, or to killing coyotes that kill stock. But a Gummint Agency killing coyotes on …
Whale Attack!
Last Wednesday evening at just before sunset, Gerald Gormley left Santa Barbara harbor in his new 27 ft Bayliner boat. It was a brand-new boat, only the second time he had taken it out, and two friends accompanied him for a planned sunset run. They were off Leadbetter Beach and Santa Barbara Point when a …