Shoshoni in-laws,

same with all those other diseases Europeans brought us. We didn’t have any immunity to smallpox either, or the common cold, and we still don’t. How long does it take you to get over a cold? Two weeks max, right? For us, it’s thirty to sixty days, and the purer the blood, the longer it takes.’

Walker soon became disgusted by Frémont’s self-promoting histrionics and rank cowardice in the field – a combination he found particularly loathsome. They

Like many a wandering male, before and after him, he was dealing with his emotional pain by trying to outdistance it geographically. For the rest of his life he avoided the central Rockies

This was the reach of the global economy in the early nineteenth century. Here was a line of dominoes set in motion by a fashion coup in Mayfair, reaching deep into the half-explored wilderness of the

And the third: Indian society trained its women to be incredibly obedient and hardworking, and resentful of any attempts by their husbands to help out with the camp chores. It was akin to insulting her, announcing to the rest of the camp that she was inadequate and worthless.

(who thought white notions of romantic love were amusingly silly).

undisturbed and undefeated. The science is inconclusive, but there has been a lot of talk lately about certain enzymes and flushing mechanisms that Europeans use to break down and process alcohol, and which American Indians (and Australian Aborigines) seem to lack. Whether it’s genetic or cultural or both, there is no doubt that the longer a people

deserts on their horses, to raid or conquer or exact tribute. The prophet Jeremiah was probably thinking of the Scythians, the first recorded nomadic warriors in history, and by any civilised standard they were a fearsome and barbaric