Allison Bruning's Blog, page 65

5 Sparks that Jump Started Scott Bury's Book.

What kicked off my current book? By Scott Bury
My current book — the latest one now on the virtual bookshelves — is The Bones of the Earth. I like to describe it as “historical magic realism,” but many classify it as epic fantasy.What was the spark? There were several that combined into a blaze.


Spark 1: Dissatisfaction With Dragons When my children were still pretty small, I thought I would like to write a story about dragons for them. They enjoyed The Hobbit, but my wife pointed out that the dragon really wasn’t in it for that long. My children also enjoyed My Father’s Dragon and How to Train Your Dragon. 
But I was dismayed when I looked at the bookshelves. Stories about dragons for a long time have been about nice dragons, dragons working with humans, dragons that let people ride on them like horses.
I did some research into the oldest mythologies about dragons. There is a lot of variation, but one common idea  I wanted a story about dragons as ancient, the oldest creatures in the world. In Chinese mythology, dragons teach humanity the art of agriculture. In almost every culture that has dragon myths, they’re symbols of fertility and the power of the natural world.
That’s what I wanted dragons to represent in my story: the life force of the earth itself.
Spark 2: Coincidence of Calamity! In 2001 or so, I came across something on the Internet (or maybe it was the radio, or something else — for the life of me, I can’t find it again), which posited that, if they actually existed, both King Arthur and Beowulf died in the same year: 535 CE. I wondered, what was going on at that time, which we in the West in the 21st century call the “dark ages,” that would account for two bright lights of  civilization in that dark time, dying at the same time? Was there some force that was working to eradicate civilization?
Then I read David Keys’ Catastrophe! He said that the last time global climate change transformed the earth was in the sixth century CE, during the Dark Age. He theorized that the cause was an enormous volcanic eruption, probably of Krakatoa. The ash cloud spread over the entire world, according to keys. Crops failed because of lack of sunlight, putting more stress on civilizations from China to Persia to Rome, Africa and even Mesoamerica.
Keys  states that the eruption and the cooling of the world’s temperature is what brought the Bubonic Plague from central Africa to spread around the world. The first appearance of the Black Death actually killed the Roman Emperor (most of us today call him the Byzantine Emperor) Justinian, as recounted in William Rosen’s book Justinian’s Flea: The First Great Plague and the End of the Roman Empire. Yes, the Emperor Justinian died of Bubonic Plague, inflicted by a flea bite, in 565 CE.
The climatic change also led to more waves of so-called barbarian invasions across Eurasia. The Avars, swept across Eurasia and invaded the eastern territories of the Roman Empire in the sixth century. At one point, they executed 90,000 Roman Legionnaires they had captured when the Emperor Maurice refused to pay the ransom.
So when did this multiple calamity-causing volcano erupt? In the year 535 CE. The same year that Arthur and Beowulf died, I thought. What a coincidence.
Spark 3: Natural Nastiness The volcanic eruption was not the only natural event that threatened civilization in that era. I read elsewhere that the sea levels were rising through the Dark Ages; there is evidence of drowned villages near the shores of the Black Sea, which indicates that the sea was significantly smaller at one time.The climate was changing, partly as a result of that world-spanning ash cloud, but that had several other impacts that overall made human life more difficult.
Spark 4: Faith Fractures The school systems don’t teach much of the history of the sixth century, nor about the Eastern Roman Empire. Just enough to spark my curiosity. 
One of the oversimplified ideas we’re taught is that religion was incredibly important to people at that time. It played a much larger part in everyone’s daily life than it does today.
But just a little research shows that faith was fractured and changing. The religious ideas, the tenets we accept as inarguable today, were hotly debated among the Christians of the day. Whether Christ was half human and half divine, versus completely human and completely divine, caused riots more than once. Then there were riots against the Jews and more riots over all the other abstruse religious divisions. Was Mary Magdalene the “fallen woman”? And what about all those gospels? Do we include those of Philip, Mary Magdalene, Thomas and others in the main part of the canon?
Meanwhile, most of Europe at the time was not Christian, so there were debates beyond Rome’s borders over the nature of religion, itself.
And don’t forget that by 600, there was another religion rising just outside Rome’s borders, one that would suddenly conquer half the known world.
Spark 5: Limits Of Literature I read pretty widely: history, science, classic literature, magic realism, fantasy, science fiction, mysteries, and occasionally a best-seller.
I began to realize that the books pushed hardest by the major publishers and their allies in the newspapers and magazines that review books (which are owned by the same conglomerates) have a certain ... sameness. Tropes, sacred cows. Certain beliefs and certain characters and situations that keep repeating. Some ideas get repeated until they’re almost gospel and some ideas get almost no attention. I wanted to do something completely different. Now, I believe part of the writer’s job is to bring together different idea, connect the dots in new ways. I took these dots and looked for some ways to connect them. How did I do?
I’ll let you decide that for yourself.
The Bones of the Earth can be found on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Bones-Earth-Dark-Age-ebook/dp/B006PI0NRG/
Scott Bury is a journalist, editor and writer living in Ottawa. His articles have been published in newspapers and magazines in Canada, the US, UK and Australia.
The Bones of the Earth is his first novel to be published.
He has two sons, an orange cat and a loving wife who puts up with a lot. You can read more of Scott’s writing at Written Words and Scott’s Travel Blog, and on his website, The Written Word. Follow him on Twitter @ScottTheWriter.

The Man Behind the Revolutionary Money: Haym Solomon

TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION
At the start of the American Revolutionary War, Great Britain had obtained the rank as a global military and economical superpower. Great Britain had perfected their military strength by fighting the Nine Years War (1688-97), the War of Spanish Succession (1702-13), the War of Austrian Succession (1739-48), and the Seven Years War (1756-63). Now her rebellious colonies in the New World were staring another war. There were several factors that lead up to the American Revolutionary War. One of the key issues was financial. 
 From 1733-1763, Great Britain operated economically on the mercantile system. Under this system colonists were forbidden to trade with any other nation than Great Britain. The goal of the system was to make the British empire and her government rich. The colonists viewed this regulation as limiting their own finances. France, Spain and other countries had colonies in the New World and had their own trade routes as well. To ensure the colonists complied with the mercantile system, Great Britain enacted the Navigation Acts. The Navigation Acts blocked colonial trade with the Dutch, French and Spanish. The colonists tried their best to avoid the acts. The Navigation Acts were just one of many ways Great Britain limited the financial resources of the colonies.
During the Seven Year's War,  Great Britain did not expect the colonists to generate enough of an income to provide financial resources to the monarchy. At the conclusion of the war, Great Britain changed their view on using colonial finances to relieve the national debt the war had caused. The monarchy has spent  200,000 pounds annually in order to protect the colonists and the the West Indies from Spanish and French invasions. To meet the demand, British Parliament increased colonial taxes and created new acts of taxation over the years. Back in the colonies, the colonists were infuriated. Most people believe the colonists were upset due to the raise in taxes. It was never the raise in taxes that had upset our forefathers but that there was taxation without representation. The colonists felt they should have representation in British Parliament. British Parliment disagreed. By not allowing the colonists to have a say over matters concerning the colonies, parliament was displaying who was really in charge of the colonies. London replied to the colonists request for representation stating the colonists had virtual representation. Virtual representation stated members of Parliament spoke on behalf of all British subjects, not just the ones who had elected them. Since the colonists were British subjects they had representation. Parliment's position in the matter had critics on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In March of 1766, British Parliament had tried to settle the matter by passing the Declaration Act. The Declaration Act declared parliament had full power and control to make whatever laws they had deemed necessary for all the colonies in the New World.

Although there were a series of skirmishs up and down the American coastline the Revolutionary War didn't official begin until April 19, 1775 with "The Shot Heard Around The World." Watch the video to learn more about this event.



At the advent of the Revolutionary War, Great Britain lost control of all colonial trade. The colonists were quick to abolish the restrictions their mother country had placed upon them. With the new found  freedoms to trade with whomever the colonists pleased the colonial trade market flourished. The market also flourished with the help of American pirates stealing resources from British merchant vessels.

  The Cost of War
The British had believed the colonial rebellion would be short lived. But the colonists were determined to win their freedoms and birth a nation. The war for independence lasted 8 years and 137 days, ending on September 3, 1783. The drawn out war had nearly bankrupt both sides of the conflict. The financial resources of the colonies began to deteriorate following their victory at the Battle of Saratoga on October 17, 1777. Up until this time the thirteen states did not financially support congress. Each state had their own currency that had to compete with other currencies. To make matter worse, British spies has infiltrated the colonies and began to distribute counterfeit colonial dollars in order to destroy the colonial economy. The British efforts had been successful in causing a rapid deprecation in the value of colonial money. The war had caused a blow to the colonial market as well with inflation, destruction of property and the deaths of able-bodied men. The British also attacked American vessels and confiscated any goods that they were transporting, claiming the cargo as British property. Any profits that were made by colonial merchants were sent to help fund the war efforts. A popular saying back then summed the situation well, "anything of little value is not worth a continental." By 1780, congress had released $400 million in paper money to the colonial troops. Congress had tried to help the economic situation by imposing economic reforms that they had hoped would end the inflation. Their efforts failed. It quickly became apparent to our young nation that they were going to need financial support.


An Answered Prayer - Haym Solomon


Haym Solomon was born on April 7, 1740 in Leszo, Poland to Shepardi Jewish parents from Portugal. Haym spent much of his life traveling around western Europe and England. Although he learned Hebrew in his youth, his adventures granted him the ability to learn a variety of languages. His fluency in a number of languages served him well. In 1770, Haym returned to Poland where he stayed until the Polish partition. He was forced to flee for his life. Haym immigrated to New York in 1772,  where through his education and his fluency ability to speak ten languages he become a successful merchant and dealer of foreign securities. He became friends with  Alexander MacDougall, who was the leader of the New York Sons of Liberty. Through their acquaintance, Haym was introduced to the secret revolutionary organization and became a member. This was a bold move for Haym to make, in that New York was the central hub of British power in the colonies and he was already doing business with wealthy loyalists (those who are loyal to Great Britain). When the American Revolutionary War broke out in New York, Haym had already secured a contract to supply the patriot troops in central New York. During the Great Fire of New York on September 9, 1776, Haym Solomon was arrested by British authorities on grounds of espionage. He was imprisoned and tortured on a British vessel for eighteen months. The British noticed Haym's ability to fluently speak 10 languages. They offered him a pardon if he would serve as a translator for their dealings with the Hessian mercenaries. Haym agreed. Instead of aiding the British he ended used his skills to help other prisoners escape and he encouraged the Hessians to desert their plans to aide the British. He went back to his business and continued to aide the patriots.  In September of 1778, Haym was arrested again by the British for his pro-revolutionary activities. The British charged him with treason and had sentenced him to death by hanging. With the help of his friends, he was able to escape. He fled with his family to the patriot capital of Pennsylvania, where he arrived penniless. Haym immediately went back to work and built up his business. Haym continued to aide the patriots.



 In Pennsylvania, Congress appointed him as Broker to the Office of Finance for the United States of America.  He negotiated many loans from Holland and France for the colonies, never taking a single commission. France appointed him as the Treasurer of the French Army in America. He was able to maintain his personal business transactions and his interest free loans to various members of the Continental Congress, such as James Madison and James Wilson, while he worked for France and congress.  He fed starving patriot soldiers and commanders. He never sought repayment. Haym became so well known for his financial backing of the revolutionary movement that one revolutionary leader wrote in his journal "When money was needed for the Revolutionary War, you went to Haym Salomon." Without Haym's backing the Battle of Yorktown would never have occurred. George Washington and Count de Rochambeau, had decided to take their armies up the Hudson Highlands to Yorktown in order to deliver a final blow to the British. The generals determined it would cost $20,000 to finance the campaign. Problem was both Washington and congress were broke. George Washington ordered Morris, "Send for Haym Salomon." Haym raised the $20,000 and handed it over to George Washington. After the Battle of Yorktown, the British surrendered. Without Haym Solomon, we would not have won the war.  Haym Solomon died penniless in 1785. His modern descendants have recently tried to claim compensation from the American government for close to $683, 000 in which they claim the government owes Haym. Since there are little to no records in existence for personal and government loans Haym had issued, there is no evidence to support their claims. The government has not released any funds to Haym Solomon's descendants.   

The Course of the Corset: An Elizabethan Revival

ELIZABETHAN CORSETS
The corset has been around since antiquity. Last week I introduced you to the ancient Minoans who used the corset as an outer garment to hold up their exposed breasts and give them a tiny waist. The Minoan's use of a corset differed from their Grecian counterparts who did not want to enhance a woman's body but hide it. After the fall of the Minoan culture the corset drifted into obscurity and didn't reappear until the Elizabethan Era (1558-1603AD).

Fashion is timeless yet always changing. Ideas about what the perfect body should look like change over time and women strive to conform their body to whatever society demands upon them. During the 16th century, the most desired shape of the female form was a cylinder torso with flatten and raised bust line. There was little to no interest on the waistline. The corset went through many changes during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. A corset, no matter how different they were, was always made of two pieces of fabric called bodies. The bodies were sewn together leaving two ends. It was made to fit around the woman's body then she could fasten the ends together using lace or hooks. Much of what we know about Elizabethan corsets are derived from artwork and from the exhumation of burials from that time period.

EARLY ELIZABETHAN

Eleanor of Toledo (1539-1562) Eleanor of Toledo's burial gownEarly Elizabethan corsets were made from two layers of linen that were held together with a stiff paste. They weren't so much of corsets as they were stiffened bodices.  Stiffened linens held together by lace in the front or back were first worn as undergarments in the fourteenth century. The fashion continued until the middle of the 16th century.  An example of this type of undergarment was found on the body of Eleanor of Toledo, who had died of a combination of pulmonary tuberculosis and malaria. She was buried in 1562. Eleanor was a Spanish noble woman who served as duchess consort of Florence.  Between the ages of 18 to 32 she had given birth to eleven children. She is considered to be one of the first modern first lady. Eleanor and her family's bodies was exhumed in 2004 by a team of anthropologists for scientific exploration to solve many mysteries surrounding the Medici family. The Medici Project revealed many secrets including that Eleanor was five feet tall, had a form of rickets in her youth, suffered from a calcium deficiency, had twisted legs, suffered from toothaches and shin splines caused by inflammation that generally occurred from the later stages of syphilis. At the time of her death she had a severe dental disease and arthritis. She was known to spend a lot of gold on her clothing, which she most likely used to hide her physical ailments. When her body was exhumed her skeleton was covered in two pieces of clothing, her burial gown and stiffened bodice. 
Eleanor of Toledo's stiffed bodice worn underneath her gownEleanor's stiffened bodice was made of red silk velvet and was lined with one to two layers of strong linens. It had no boning in it. The garment was close fitting and lacked sleeves. It was fastened up the center front using hooks and eyes. Small gores set on the sides seams allowed the garment to fit over Eleanor's hips and waist. Eleanor's stiffed bodice is housed at the Palazzo Piti in Florence, Italy.

LATE ELIZABETHAN
The   Pfaltzgräfin   Corset The Pfaltzgräfin CorsetThe second oldest example of Elizabethan Era period corsets comes from Germany. Although, like Eleanor's corset it does not come directly from England, it still gives us a good example of what women of that time period were wearing underneath their clothing. The corset dates to 1598 and was found on the body of Pfaltzgräfin Dorothea Sabina von Neuburg. Known as the Munich bodies, the corset was made from three layers of ivory "lightweight, very fine corded silk" The front layer of silk was backed with linen. Inside the corset were two more layers of linen that contained boning channels. Whale bones would have been inserted between the layers of fabric to give added support. The corset features shoulder straps. Unlike Eleanor of Toledo's corset, whalebone corsets were more confining and required a woman to wear extra undergarments to further exaggerate her figure. The boning configuration of this corset was unique in that it the boning met underneath the breasts, much like the wire of a modern wire bra does today. Doing so allowed for a better fit and a smoother line down the torso. The cups of the breasts were left unboned. Between the breasts was a busk pocket. Here the woman would insert a piece of ivory, bone or wood (called a busk) then tie it into place with a ribbon so it wouldn't shift. The busk would separate the breasts. Eventually when the woman had married she would give the lace to her husband as a symbol of their intimacy. The Pfaltzgräfin corset is housed in Bayerisches National Museum. Sadly the boning, busk and lining have not survived through the centuries. 


The Effigy Corset
The Effigy Corset at Westminster AbbeyBack in England, the fashion of Queen Elizabeth expected the women of her courtly classes to wear a long stiff corset that reached from the bust to below the natural waistline. Today we are fortunate enough to have an example of an Elizabethan courtly corset in the Effigy Corset. Westminster Abbey has been home to items that has belonged to English monarch for generations. In 1995, the officials of Westminster Abbey had pulled out an effigy that contained clothes they had been mistakenly dated to 1760. The clothes were in need of repair and cleaning. Renowned costume researcher Janet Arnold was given permission to examine the panniers and corset that was on the effigy. The opportunity to examine this never worn corset was a chance of a lifetime. Most corset that were worn by humans stank from sweat or had evidence of the years of wear and tear. After a through examination of both the panniers and the corset, Arnold concluded the panniers were of the 18th century but the corset had been much older. She dated the corset to 1603, which is towards the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign. The design of the corset could easily fool anyone who is not familiar with period costumes to believe it had originated from the 18th century. Corset of both time periods are very similar in design. The corset is shaped and fully boned like an 18th century corset but it is the pattern of boning that sets it apart as being Elizabethan. Corsets of the 18th century had boning that changed direction from front to back in order to create the distinguished V shape in the middle of the woman's body. Whereas the boning in Elizabethan corsets always run parallel from front to back never changing direction. A noticeable and major difference between the two corsets lies in the rear closer. Elizabethan corsets did not have rear closures whereas 18th century corsets, even if they had lacing in the front, always were tied in the back. The front closure of the 18th century corset held the stomacher in place. Janet Arnold concluded that the corset could have belonged to Queen Elizabeth I. If so then, she concluded, the dimensions of the corset could represent the exact bodily dimensions of the queen just before her death. The Effigy Corset is housed at Westminster Abbey. You can find Janet Arnold's detailed report at the Westminster Library.

Join me tomorrow as we pay special tribute the Jewish patriot, Hyman Soloman,  and learn how without his support the United States wouldn't exist. 


What is your favorite outfit to wear?

One Nation Under God - With The Help Of The Jews

WE OWE OUR THANKS TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE!


Have you ever taken a close look on the back of the United States one dollar bill?

On the left hand side, just above the eagle are a grouping of thirteen stars that are shaped in the pattern of the Star of David. This wasn't just a coincidence. President George Washington ordered the design to be placed on our dollar bill. But why would our first president, a Christian, do that?


Join me this Fourth of July for a special in-depth look at President George Washington reason behind his decision to honor the Jewish people on the dollar bill and how without the help of the Jewish patriots this country wouldn't exist.

Zombies and Duckies?

This week on the Tasha Turner Virtual Blog Tour we were asked to compose a short story to share with our readers from a picture. Mine can been viewed at http://xarrok.com/2012/07/vbt-field-of-grace-fiction-by-allison-bruning/. My guest for this week is Canadian author, Bruce Blake. He chose to write about "colorful, plastic duckies." Take it away, Bruce!

TTVBT: Zombies and Duckies?

For the last few years, I've been writing novels pretty much exclusively. In fact, every time I get an idea for a short story, it ends up blossoming, growing, sucking in some other idea, and turning itself into a novel, like a sprig of ivy that takes over an entire wall of a building. So please forgive me if I'm a little rusty in this short form; it is not my comfort zone.
I hope you enjoy my sweet little story about some cute, colourful plastic duckys.

Wind set the plastic ducks bobbing in the wave pool, yellow plastic clicking against orange, against pink, against blue. Once, not so long ago, adult hands paid a dollar a chance for child's hands to grab the loops on the duck heads and turn them upside down, searching for the prize. Children laughed then; parents smiled proudly or glanced away, embarrassed.
There's no laughter, now, only the click of plastic against plastic, the whistle of wind gusting through the loops on the ducks' heads. I sit on the bench feeling the sun on my face and the wind tugging at my hair, and I wish these things could bring me joy again like they once did. I was one of the smiling parents before it happened. I loved the kiss of the sun and the sound of laughter.
There's no one left to laugh.
I look away from the duck pool across the cracked pavement waiting to be overrun by ragweed and dandelions. In the distance, I see cars in the parking lot, but I know they sit empty, long since looted, the gas syphoned. Their owners won't be returning with half-eaten sticks of cotton candy or over-sized stuffed animal prizes. Children begging to stay just a few minutes more won't climb grudgingly into the back seats; wives won't gasp in shock at the burn of hot leather or vinyl against their bare legs; fathers won't promise to come back again soon.
The plague ended all that.
None of us believed it, at first. It was the stuff of movies and comic books, television shows and horror novels. When the plague came, the world grew tense, worried. When the dead rose, the laughter stopped.
I stand stiffly, joints popping with the effort. I've been sitting a long time, it seems, but time has lost its meaning; only my knees care about the passing of time. I tilt my head back, look away from the deserted park toward the sun, and have to squint so it doesn't blind me. I raise my arm to shield my eyes, but my arm doesn't raise. My arm is gone, and I have forgotten that it is.
My gaze returns to the ducks. I lick my lips, tongue rasping across them like sandpaper across rock. Somewhere inside, I know I can't eat the ducks; they are made of plastic. But I am hungry.
So hungry.
I lurch away from the bench, my nearly-useless right leg dragging behind me. My jaw opens and closes as I practise the movement I will use should I find sustenance. The hunger gnaws my gut, the feeling of it unsettlingly close to the actual hole in my torso where one of the dead ate my liver. It was this wound that killed me, not the blood loss from my arm.
In my condition, it takes a while for me to leave the park with its bobbing ducks, promise of prizes, its aching emptiness. I miss the laughter, I miss the children who are all gone along with their parents, their aunts and uncles, their babysitters.
I long for the taste of their brains.

Biography
Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog sled to the nearest coffee shop to work on his short stories and novels.
Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words like "colour" and "neighbour" then he does shovelling. The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy husband of burlesque diva Miss Rosie Bitts.
Bruce has been writing since grade school but it wasn't until five years ago he set his sights on becoming a full-time writer. Since then, his first short story, "Another Man's Shoes" was published in the Winter 2008 edition of Cemetery Moon, another short, "Yardwork", was made into a podcast in Oct., 2011 by Pseudopod and his first Icarus Fell novel, "On Unfaithful Wings", was published to Kindle in Dec., 2011. The second Icarus Fell novel, “All Who Wander Are Lost”, is scheduled for release in July, 2012, with the first book in the four-part “Khirro's Journey” epic fantasy coming soon after. He has plans for at least three more Icarus novels, several stand alones, and a YA fantasy co-written with his eleven-year-old daughter.

On Unfaithful Wings
I was alive, then I was dead, now I’m stuck somewhere in between.
My name is Icarus Fell. I am a harvester.
The archangel Michael brought me back to collect souls and help them on their way to Heaven--that’s what a harvester does. If I get enough of them before the bad guys do--if I do a good job--I can have my life back. Now people I knew in life are dying, killed by a murderer’s knife, their bodies defiled, and the cops think I’m the killer.
I’m not, but I think I know who is.
But how does a dead man, a man who no longer exists, stop a psycho? I’m not sure, but I’m going to stop him before everyone I know is dead.
I have to stop him before he gets to my son.

My blog
Guild of Dreams
www.on-unfaithful-wings.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/bruce.blake.585
Twitter: @bruceablake
Kindle: http://amzn.to/GKi7mq
bruceblake@hotmail.ca

Field of Grace by Allison Bruning

Field of Grace Based on a true story











“It all happened right here,” My father says as we climb upon the top of the picnic table. I stare out towards the farmer’s field. Nothing lies before me except cornfields and a small pond on my left with a few trees around it. This trip was a complete waste of time. Today’s Father’s Day. I had come home to Marion for my summer break from college. It hadn’t been a long trip home from Ohio State University. Fact was, I could have visited home more often. Marion didn’t lie very far from Columbus. It wasn’t like it would have taken me weeks or days to go home but I had grown up in the small town and wanted as far, away from there as possible! When you’re related to over half the people in the county the last place you want to be is in the county.
                “I don’t see anything but rocks, trees, dirt and plants. Let’s go dad. I thought you wanted to go hiking somewhere special. All we’ve done is driven out of town, towards LaRue and asked a farmer if we could hike in his fields. I was expecting to go hiking at Mohican State Park not in some farmer’s back field!”
                “Johnny, this is a special place. This is where it happened.”
                “Where? What happened,” I asked totally annoyed at my father’s speculative answer. Why couldn’t he give me a straight answer?
                “This is where our family line almost died in the summer of 1912.”
                I looked at my dad with a curious face. Died? Alright I had to admit he had peaked up my curiosity. “1912, that would be my great, great grandparents,” I asked.
                “Yes.” My father stood silent for a long moment. I really hated when he did that.
                “Well, what happened,” I asked enthusiastically.
                My father smiled and pointed towards an old dirt road covered with grass. “It happened right there.” The events laid before me as I saw the story happen before my eyes.

An old dirt road in the back of an Ohio farm. Twelve year old Stella McGavish peered out the window her father’s two benched Ford Model T.  The large field full of people, cars, wagons and horses came into her view. The further her father drove the more the large white tent came into view.  Woman and children ran along the field yelling, “The preacher and his family are here. They’re here! They’re here!”  Deep in her heart she was grateful her parents had decided to leave her six brothers and two sisters at home. This was going to be a special day indeed! Just her and her parents bring the Lord’s message to the masses. “Ma,” Stella said leaning over the back of the front bench. 
                “Stella, sit back,” Mrs. McGavish said. 
                “Look at all the people! There’s so many you can’t see the grass!”
                “The good Lord has provided, Stella. There’ll be plenty of sinners to join our flock,” Preacher McGavish answered with an Appalachian accent. 
                “Isn’t it exciting though. You said God called us out of the mountains of West Virginia to lead his people who live in Ohio back to him. Just look,” Stella beamed. 
                “Yes, baby girl. I am excited too,” her father answered with a disciplined look. “But let us not forget we are not here to celebrate we are here to do God’s will. This is the beginning of the tent revivals. There’ll be plenty of time to celebrate when the week is through.”
                “Yes, sir,” Stella answered then leaned back in her chair.

 The day had gone by so quickly. Her father had preached for three hours then they ate lunch. Lunch had been wonderful. One of the members from her father’s congregation had secured meat from the local grocer in Marion while the women had made the sides and dessert. Stella couldn’t remember the last time she had ever eaten so much food! But now she was beginning to think having so much to eat hadn’t been such a great idea. Stella slowly backed out of the tent, hoping not to cause much of a scene as her father was preaching. She clutched her arms over her stomach, grimaced and ran out of the tent. She fell to her knees and vomited. Tears ran down her eyes from the excruciating pain.
“Stella,” her mother’s voice beckoned from behind her. 
“It hurts. I ate too much,” Stella cried. 
“You’re not the only one sick.” Her mother said placing the back of her hand on her daughter’s cheek. “You are burning with fever.” Her mother lifted her up in her arms and ran inside the tent. Men and woman ran around the tent aiding those who were ill. When had so many become ill? Her mother laid her on the ground next to the sick men, women and children.  Stella closed her eyes. 
Rain trickled upon the top of the tent. A soft breeze gently blew inside. Stella turned her head, slowly opening her eyes.  The grassy floor underneath the tent had been replaced by ailing bodies of men, women and children. Three adults moved from between the sick yet none of them was her father. Where was he?! She turned her right. Her mother lay beside her with her arm around Stella’s father.  “Ma,” Stella called pushing her mother. Her mother never replied.   


My father paused as he stared into nothing. “What happened? Stella had to live. She was my great great grandmother,” I said towards him anxiously awaiting his reply.
“She almost died too. The revival was an hour and a half away from town. When Stella had awakened one of the elders had already left to get the doctor in Marion. He never made it.”
“Why?”
“He got sick, had a car accident and died. But none of the congregation knew it. The people stayed in the tent for the night. Many of them grew worse but no one died. The following more the three remaining elders grew concerned so one of the men went to Marion. He found the accident on his way into town. When he saw the man was dead he continued on towards Marion. Later that morning, the doctor had arrived to the revival with plenty of help. When the town had heard of Pastor McGavish's ailment and the others who were suffering they immediatly wanted to help him. So they loaded up their cars and wagons then followed the doctor out to the encampment. There they found twenty-seven men, woman and children all suffering from extreme food poisoning.”
“Food poisoning? How?”
“The grocer had sold them bad meat but they weren’t the only ones who had been ill from the meat. Many families in Marion had suffered from the same thing. It was a terrible case and some of the townspeople had died from it.”
“Stella’s mom?”
“She survived.   It could have been much worse for everyone had the doctor never arrived when he did and with the help he had they were able to transport everyone to the hospital just in time. The event had affected everyone involved. The grocer felt bad about the meat. He never again contracted with the farmer who had sold it to him. He almost went out of business but after awhile the people forgave him. Pastor McGavish and his family had been outsiders in the community. They had faced many hardships because they were from another state. You see in Marion County its all about who you are related to and still is to this day. Don't get me wrong, son. Our family is big and very protective of all our family members but we are good people. Pastor McGavish learned that. He saw the same people who had appeared cold-hearted to him and his family had mercy, love and kindness in their hearts. He began to have a  greater appreciation for the people of his new hometown, Marion. And the people of Marion? Well, after the incident, little by little they began to open up to the new pastor. Pastor McGavish's congregation grew so large they had to move out of home and build a church. It still stands today and even though its been generations since he was alive people still flock to his Methodist Church."
An old church in Ohio that no longer stands."Seems to me it wasn't the people who learned a lesson that day but Grandfather McGavish."
"Indeed. He and the people learned to have a greater appreciation for the community they lived in, the neighbors around then and their own lives. It just goes to show you that when someone helps you they are showing mercy, compassion and love. We just have to open our own hearts to accept them for who they are. We can't change someone into something they are not.  We are all different and we should be grateful for that. What a boring place this world would be if we were all the same. With mercy, love and compassion for others we can change the world for the better. That is what everyone learned that day."

The Iroquois Confederation and the Beaver Wars

The Iroquois Confederation and the Beaver Wars

Last Thursday I introduced you to the Iroquois Confederation and the influence they not only upon their Native American neighbors but also on the the making of the United States Constitution. When talking about the Iroquois and their relationship with the Shawnee people its best to remember not all Iroquois speaking people were enemies with the Shawnee. The Mingo and Wyandots (aka: Huron) were allies with the Shawnee even though they spoke Iroquois. When I am referring to their enemies it is the Iroquois Confederation I am speaking about.

The conflict between the Iroquois and Wyandot nations I had discussed last week were only one of many conflicts between the Iroquois and their neighbors during the seventeenth century. The Iroquois' pursuits to expand their territory was largely fueled by the European fur trade market, especially in relation to the acquisition of beaver pelts.

IT ALL STARTED WITH THE BEAVERS

Native American groups had already been hunting beavers for their meat and furs by the time Europeans began to settle in North America.  The North American fur trade market began with the Iroquois and European traders. Within a few years of Dutch, English and French arrivals they began to negotiate trade relations within the Mohawk Valley. During the 1620's the Dutch established several trading stations within the Hudson Valley and began trade relations with the Iroquois, especially the Mohawk.

Trade Routes of the Hudson Valley
The Iroquois wanted European trade goods such as iron tomahawks, brandy, rum, knives, axes, fish hooks, various colored clothes, woolen blankets, linens shirts, brass kettles, silver jewelry, assorted glass beads, guns and powder.  The European traders desired beaver pelts to ship back to Europe. The land was plentiful with wildlife and the Iroquois didn't see a problem with paying for the items they desired with pelts. They not only hunted beavers but also mink, deer and fox. With each beaver pelt that had been sent back to Europe there was a greater demand for more. Slowly, the Iroquois began to depend upon the European trade goods. In order to assure trade between both parties, Iroquois elders would offer marriage between Iroquois woman and the traders. By the 1640's the Iroquois were fully armed with Dutch made firearms and were a force to be reckoned with. Due to the change of native technology and the demand for beaver furs, the beaver population which had once been prevalent in the Hudson valley had largely disappeared. Not only had the beavers declined but so had their own population through diseases such as smallpox. In order to save their livelihoods, the Iroquois turned their eyes upon New France.

THE FRENCH AND IROQUOIS WAR

Saint Kateri TekakwithaIn New France, the French had understood the necessity of establishing trade relations with the native populations. They not only spent much time with the native populations but learned their language as well. Jesuit missionaries brought the Catholic faith to the natives. Native American groups throughout New France converted to the Catholic faith, lived in French mission villages, attended mass and wore crucifixes. The natives of New France had a monopoly on the lucrative French fur trade. Unlike the other tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy who had resisted the French,  the Mohawk openly embraced the French way of life and Catholic religion. One Mohawk woman who converted to French Catholicism, Kateri Tekakwitha, is honored by the Catholic faith as the patroness of ecology, nature, and environment. Pope Benedict XVI has approved for the canonization of Kateri Tekakwitha into sainthood. You can read more about her life and conversion at http://conservation.catholic.org/kateri.htm 

While the Mohawk's had already established trade with the French, the Seneca and other members of the confederacy feared the Wyandot and other Great Lake tribal nations were becoming too powerful with their ties to the French. They weren't the only ones who were noticing this. Nicholas Perrot wrote in the seventeenth century of the Great Lakes tribes possessed an "arrogant notion that the French cannot get along without them, and that we could not maintain ourselves in the Colony without the assistance they they give us."  Backed by their English and Dutch allies, the Iroquois went to war against the French and their Native American allies. The Iroquois were relentless and ruthless. During the same time the Iroquois invaded French territory, a Smallpox epidemic had also spread among the villages. Too weak to fight back the Iroquois invaders many of the tribes and confederacies, such as the Erie, were decimated by the Iroquois.
The Expansion of the Iroquois Confederacy by year
INTO THE WEST: 
A FATEFUL ENCOUNTER WITH THE SHAWNEE

While the Iroquois were battling the French along the Great Lakes region they also tried to expand their hunting territory into the Ohio wilderness. They soon came into contact with the most powerful tribe of the area, the Shawnee. During the seventeenth century the Shawnee were living in the Ohio Valley. When the Iroquois had begun to invade their lands, smallpox and other European diseases had already crept into the Shawnee villages. The Iroquois demanded the Shawnee to leave the Ohio Valley so they could hunt the beavers that were plentiful there. Not much is know about the Shawnee before or during the Beaver Wars. Too weak from disease and with the threat of decimation by the Iroquois, the Shawnee refused to fight their invaders. In order to save themselves the Shawnee split into five groups, most likely their five divisions, and left the Ohio Valley. The five groups spread into all different directions. One group went west to La Salle's post at Stand Rock (Fort Saint Louis) in Illinois. They remained there from 1683-1689. In 1680, a group of Shawnee who had made it present day Augusta, Georgia, evicted the Westo tribe from their homelands and made themselves the dominant tribe of the area. In the Carolina's a Shawnee group established trade relations with Carolinians who would regular supply them with slaves and guns. No matter where they went, the Shawnee would forcibly remove the native inhabitants of the area they wanted to settle in and then became the dominant tribe in that area.

Shawnee men The Shawnee Diaspora had an everlasting effect on the Shawnee. With their villages spread across vast amount of territory, the Shawnee adapted their lifestyle in order to stay in communication with other members of their tribe. They were known for their widespread migrations and settlements. The Shawnee would walk many miles in order to communicate with another tribes. Because of their vast territory many tribes learned the Shawnee language. This helped when the Shawnee were trying to gather forces against the Europeans. During the time of Iroquois occupation of the Ohio Valley, the Shawnee were able to still hunt upon the lands just not settle down in them. The Shawnee continued to hunt in their homelands thus never fully handing over control of the valley to the Iroquois. Despite this fact the Iroquois were quick to claim Ohio as their own by military conquest. They regarded any Delaware or Shawnee tribe still living in the area as dependents of the Iroquois Confederacy. In the mid eighteenth century the Iroquois had all but abandoned the Ohio Valley. The Shawnee began to return to their homelands after being away for nearly a century. Although they dwelt peacefully in the lands, the Iroqouis still affect their lives. In 1768, the Iroquis sold the Ohio Valley to the British in Treaty of Stanwick, which allowed settlers to cross over into Ohio for colonization. The Shawnee and other Ohio Valley tribes never recognized the Treaty of Stanwick since they were not consulted in the matter. Any European who decided to hunt, explore or settle in the Ohio Valley were considered a threat by the Shawnee.

The Course of the Corset. Part 1: Ancient of Days

The Origins of the the Over The Shoulder, Boulder Holder. 

Shh, today we're talking about something very secret to a woman. Something that she privately holds close to her chest. I see those eyes widening with every word on this page. Wait! Allison is talking about what?
The corset, silly! What else did you think I was talking about?

Corsets have been around for over 2,000 years. The first known culture to have worn the corset were the Minoans. The Minoans inhabited the island of Crete between 3000 and 1600 B.C. A complex society, their culture wasn't known to have existed until the discovery of one of their cities in the 1800's. Much of what we know about them come from the artwork they had left behind and other forms of archaeological evidence. Minoan society was not a male dominated culture but matrilineal, meaning heritage and identity was passed from mother to daughter. Women held important roles in their society as priestess, administrators, and often played sports such as bull fighting. The Minoan garments consisted of different complex pieces that were sewn much in the same way as modern clothing. A Minoan woman's attire predated the Victorian fashions but were unmistakably similar, with the exception of the how she wore her corset. Her corset was worn on the outside of her body and pushed up to heighten her exposed breasts. Sometimes she would wear a blouse over the corset but her breasts always remained exposed. A woman's skirt was bell shaped and tight fitting. The bell shape was achieved by wearing hoops underneath the skirt. The desired shape for women were large breasts and a tiny waist, the same fashionable shape the Victorians had desired. Both Minoan men and women wanted a small waist. As children, both genders wore a girdle around their waists that was tightened as they grew in order to stop growth in the waist area.

Not all women of ancient civilization wore a corset but they did have ways to support their breasts. In ancient Greece, females were prohibited from wearing a corset. Grecian women wore nothing underneath their robes. Men and women both wore a belt around their waist called a zona. Sex in their culture was considered only for procreating. Men viewed women as a necessary evil in order to bear their children. Whereas they only tolerated sex with women, men were more willing to have relations with boys. Grecian society valued the perfection of the human body above all else, especially in males. A woman held no property rights, could not read or write, participate in outside activities and had no say in whom she would marry. It was her obligation to give her husband a son. If she did not she was considered a disgrace. Women who bore daughters would be shamed. Fathers did not claim their own daughters. Women were expected to conceal and minimize their breasts as much as possible with the use of the strophion and the apodesmos. Underneath her tunic, she wore narrow bands of cloth on top of her breasts known as apodesmos. These were made of wool or leather and were pinned along her back. After placing her tunic on, the Grecian woman would twist a narrow band of cloth (strophion) then wrap it around and underneath her breasts. The intention not only minimize her breasts but was also meant to bind her breasts so they would not move.

While the classical Grecian woman strove to conceal her femininity, her Spartan counterparts were different. Spartan girls and boys were trained in the nude for battle. A Spartan woman had more rights than the classical Grecian female. She was educated to read and write, trained in athletics and was able to hold property rights.  Although trained in the nude, the Spartan women did wear support when they were in battle.

Atalanta by EualonThe most famous Spartan female warrior, Atalanta, was painted by Eualon around 450BC wearing undergarments that were commonly used by Spartan women in battle. The stethodesmos and diazoma were similar to what the classical Grecian women wore for support with one exception, they were worn in the nude. The stethodesmos,  a more elaborate form of the apodesmos, consisted of straps that held the cloth instead of tying or pinning together along the woman's back. The piece of clothing more closely resembled a modern day exercise bra. Instead of wearing a tunic, a Spartan woman wore the diazoma. A diazoma was basically a loin cloth. The purpose of both garments were to allow the female warrior more freedom to move in battle. By binding her breasts she had a greater range of motion.

Next Tuesday we will explore how two women changed the form of the corset and a woman's body during the Renaissance.

TTVBT - A Mixed Bag of Reading Material

A MIXED BAG OF READING MATERIAL
I’m one of those readers who usually has at least three books going at the same time. There’s always at least one by my bedside, one in the lounge, another in the conservatory and most likely one in the loo as well.
The only exception to that is when I pick up a book which really grabs my attention. When that happens I tote it round with me everywhere I go until it’s finished. I’ll read it until the wee hours, or, if I awake early, I’ll squeeze in a chapter or two before rising.
Last time that happened was about a month ago with Jeffrey Archer’s latest book The Sins of the Father. It’s a sequel to Only Time Will Tell. The third of the trilogy is due out next year and I’ll be sure to have my advance order in with Amazon in good time. 
The sage follows the fortunes of Harry Clifton, who grew up in the back streets of Bristol, England, won a scholarship to Oxford and quit a promising academic career to serve with distinction in World War II. He was branded a deserter and a murderer and fought to clear his name in the boardrooms of Manhattan and the law courts of London.
Lord Archer, to give him his due title, may not be everybody’s cup of tea – indeed his career reads like one of his own thrillers – but he has an easy, relaxed style and his stories have enough twists and turns to keep his readers on their toes. He’s produced a score of books and I’ve read them all.
My second current book is The Mafia – a compilation by Nigel and Colin Cawthorne, subtitled A First-hand Account of Life inside the Mob. I bought this by way of research for a series of short stories I’m writing. It’s by no means my usual type of reading material, but I’m finding the nineteen fact-based tales quite absorbing.
I’m just getting into Michael Wolff’s The Man who Owns the News, an absorbing and penetrating look at what he calls “the secret world of Rupert Murdoch, “If Murdoch isn’t making headlines,” Wolff writes, “he’s busy buying the media outlets that generate the headlines.”
Although published four years ago, the book is amazingly topical, with the Leveson Inquiry, set up to investigate the role of the press and police in a phone-hacking scandal, still sitting in London. The adverse publicity directed against the Murdoch group led to his decision to cease publication of his flagship Sunday paper The News of the World and to abandon his attempt to obtain a controlling interest in SKY Television.
Now questions are starting to be asked about his News Corporation holdings, including The New York Post, Fox News and the influential Wall Street Journal. The British Prime Minister and Chancellor have been dragged into the mix and the revelations keep on coming.

About the Author
 Brad Fleming has been in journalism, broadcasting and public relations all his working life. Born in the small fishing village of Kilkeel, Northern Ireland, in the shadow of where the famous Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea, he served his time in local newspapers before moving on to a National daily paper in Belfast and later covered news and sport for the BBC. Later he made a career switch to join the British Government Information Service in London, working principally with the Ministry of Defence, a job which took him to many corners of the world. He lives in the pretty County Down village of Hillsborough with his American-born wife Nip and their border collie Sparky.
-- 

Shawnee enemies: The Iroquois

Last week I introduced you to two Native American groups that shared a deep brotherly bond with the Shawnee, the Delaware and the Kickapoo. This week we will begin to explore the enemies of the Shawnee and how the relationships with these people influenced the lives the entire Shawnee people. The Shawnee people had many enemies yet one group of Native American people had the greatest devastating impact on the Shawnee. The Iroquois.

An Iroquois man in traditional clothes
next to a reconstructed longhouse by Nathan Benn/CorbisThe People of the Longhouse  


The Iroquois are often referred to today as being one tribe yet they are not. Known as the Hodensaunee, or People of the Longhouse, the group is a confederation of six different Iroquoian speaking nations. These being the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onodagas, Cayugas, Senecas and Tuscaroras. Originally the confederacy had not included the Tuscaroras since they joined the confederacy as non-voting members in 1722 AD. The confederation of tribes originally inhabited the present day central and upper New York state areas. By the seventeenth century they were already trying to expand the lands they controlled.  Although there were other Iroquois speaking tribes outside the New York area they were not members of the confederacy.

No one knows the exact date of when the confederacy was formed. Oral Iroquois tradition and archaeological evidence supports that the league could not have been formed prior to 1490 AD but was probably completed by sometime around 1525 AD. Iroquois tradition states before the league of nations was founded, "Everywhere there was peril and everywhere mounting....Feuds with other nations, feuds with brother nations, feuds with sister towns and feuds of families and of clans made every warrior a stealthy man who liked to kill....A man's life was valued as nothing." There was an endless cycle of killing and retribution.

By the time the French, British and Dutch reached the Iroquois homelands for the first time in the beginning of the seventeenth century, the explorers were amazed to find a complex political system already in place within the Iroquois confederacy. Over a hundred years later, when the founding fathers were developing our constitution and laws, it would be the Iroquois Confederation they would call upon to aide them. The United States political system is one of the oldest systems in North America and is based completely on a Native American political system. Iroquois politics shaped the way our country handles  local, state, federal and international matters.

Watch this video to learn more about the formation of the confederacy and how our nation was founded by the Iroquois confederacy




Expansion and War!

While the French, Dutch and English has set their sights on establishing colonies the Iroquois had their eyes on expanding their territory. War was no stranger to the Iroquois. Iroquois warriors were fierce. Much like the Shawnee, boys were trained when young with knives, war clubs, bows and arrows. When they were teenagers they were ready for their first raids against the confederacy's enemies. As a man, they could gain respect in their society through their military exploits. Also like the Shawnee, Women and children who were captured during raids were often times adopted by tribes. If a man was adopted he would have to walk the gauntlet. If the man did not make it to the end of the gauntlet he would be turned over to the widows where the women would avenge their husbands deaths by torturing him. Sometimes the man might be cooked alive then eaten by the warriors to absorb their enemies strength.

During the seventeenth century the Iroquois Confederacy faced many wars in their expansion efforts. Their alliance with the Dutch had provided Iroquois warriors with plenty of firearms. During the first half of the seventeenth century, the Iroquois found themselves in a war for control of the Saint Lawrence Valley with the Huron. The Huron's population was comparative to the Iroquois Confederacy. An Iroquoian speaking group, the Huron had established trade relations with the French in the Saint Lawrence Valley. The Iroquois controlled the Lake Ontario and the valley leading up to Quebec, which had been founded by the French in 1608. Quebec was strategically important for both the Iroquois Confederacy and the Huron in that it was a trade hub for French-Native trade. From 1616 to 1649, the Huron had a large trade empire with the French. Their trading empire allowed villages to north, who were too far north to farm, to trade furs with the villages to the south for corn and beans. The Huron trade only grew larger after the French came to their area.
Fifty years before the French had arrived to the arrive the Iroquois and Huron had begun to dispute claims on the Saint Lawrence Valley, west of Ontario. By the time the French had established Quebec the area was already a war zone. In 1610, combined forces of French, Algonkin and Huron forced the Mohawk to leave the Saint Lawrence Valley. Afterwards, the Mohawk established trade with the Dutch. The confederacy returned with a vengeance for control of the valley in the 1640's. Well armed and organized the Iroquois launched military units across Huron lands annihilating every village and their inhabitants. The Hurons burned their own villages then scattered across the countryside in fear for their lives. The Iroquois burned any French missionary they had captured at the stake. Hurons who survived had survived the invasion fled in all directions. One of these groups made their way into Ohio and settled along Lake Erie. They are known as the Wyandot.


A Wyandot woman



Join me Tuesday as we take a look into the corsets of the Progressive Era America.
Then join me again on Thursday as we learn about the Beaver Wars; the fight between the Iroquois and Shawnee.


What is your favorite season and why?