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Weblog for HIST 431: The North American PlainsTuesday, September 30, 2008
RP: Lecture #3
Lecture three, entitled The Great American Desert, told of the accounts that the many explorers had while visiting the Great Plains region. I think its crazy how the plains were seen very differently by the different explorers and people passing through this area. Those discussed in the beginning of this lecture (mostly the Euro explorers) saw it as an area no different from a desert. While the Spaniards were not surprised by this region and kind of liked the place, despite the fact that there was no gold or precious metals to be found. The North Americans just see the place as home and the land they love. While the eastern Americans had a great fascination with the area, they didn't see it fit for normal civilization.
I also found it interesting seeing the different reasons for each group's exploration of this region; How the Europeans came for exploration, the Spaniards in search of gold, the French for commercial connections, and the Americans to assess their newly added territory.
I enjoyed the story of the Turk and how he lead the Spaniards astray (which was also mentioned in Webb's text.) I think he was a very courageous guy to be so brave to take the Spanish explorers on, all for his own interests of getting home.
I also agree with the others who thought that the most interesting section of this lecture was the "X Files" stories. The fair skinned Welsh Indians, a giant mountain made of salt, the stories of Seaman the Newfoundland, and the descendants of Meriwether Lewis and a Yankton Sioux woman. I think we are drawn to these stories because they are not something that you hear about in "everyday" history. They are hidden little details that make life back then seem more interesting and become more real in modern day.
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