Idaho's Ant Hills

Sacagawea started her childhood as a Shoshone native in Idaho where busy ants make hills out of pine needles:

Look at the size of that ant hill! You know little ants had to stay pretty busy and work very hard to build that! They didn't do it alone. They worked together. Like a family. Like a team.

Whenever I'm tired and not feeling like sticking to a project, I think of the ants. I learned to do that because of what it says in the Bible, God's Word:

 "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:  Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest" --Proverbs 6:6-8.

Grizzly Bears and Sacagawea

Grizzlies foraging; Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Shoshone Indians tell a story about a fight between a grey grizzly bear and a black bear. Some people think that there used to be polar bears in Idaho because Lewis and Clark reported seeing them.

In April 1805, Captain Lewis wrote in his journal:

"We...found many tracks of the white bear of enormous size, along the river shore and about the carcasses of the buffalo, on which I presume they feed. We have not as yet seen one of these animals, though their tracks are so abundant and recent...The Indians give a very formidable account of the strength and ferocity of this animal, which they never dare to attack but in parties of six, eight, or ten persons, and are even then requently defeated with the loss of one or more of their party" (Animals on the trail with Lewis and Clark by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent.)

Did grizzlies interbreed with polar bears as far south as Idaho?

Not necessarily. As you can see by this picture, the way the light shines on the bears' coats makes it look like a shade of grey.

Another example of a "grey grizzly" here:

Source: Wikimedia Commons

This fellow's coat reminds me of a "silver back" gorilla's. 

What do you think Lewis and Clark really saw?

What did Pompy wear?

What sort of ihoisi  (clothing) did Pompy, the son of Sacagawea, wear? 

Boys usually wore breech cloths (also called breech clouts, flaps or loin cloths ) with or without leather leggings and buckskin shirts. 

Source: http://www.eiu.edu/

 Styles differed from tribe to tribe. In the Hidatsa tribe the breechcloth was a long rectangular piece of tanned deerskin or cloth worn between the legs and tucked over a belt so that the flaps fell down in front and behind. The cloth winds over the belt, under it, and over it again.Some people think that the Native Americans were naked under the flap, but if they lifted the flap, they would see the breechcloth.

Women and girls also wore breechcloths under their skirts. Sometimes girls wore only breechcloths just like boys until they were old enough for skirts and dresses.

Here is a picture of a buckskin shirt decorated with porcupine quills. Can you imagine the skill it took to make such a beautiful garment?

Source: http://www.artsmia.org/beauty-honor-tradition/shirt-quillwork-1.htm

In warm weather Pompy would have gone barefoot. But in cold weather he would have worn moccasins. The Hidatsa/Mandan tribes are known for their excellent craftsmanship in using porcupine quills to decorate their clothing. Because Pompy was the only child of Sacagawea for several years, I like to imagine that she had the time to lovingly make beautiful clothes for her little son.

Source: Minneapolis Institute of Art

 

Pompy probably wore his hair in two long braids. The Hidatsa only cut their hair when in mourning.  For special occasions and ceremonies they sometimes wore it loose. They painted their faces for these occasions as well.

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What's in your backyard?

http://www.livescience.com/23249-gallery-magnificent-roman-mosaic.html

I envy people who turn up antiquities in their yards.

Take for example the farmer in Turkey who found a massive mosaic from the Roman Empire while plowing a field! (See above picture and click for more.)

Remember the stonemason who found a Viking hoard in his backyard?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2074039/Incredible-Viking-hoard-blanks-murky-period-British-history.html

Or the retired man who found a dinosaur bone in his garden?

I'm convinced there's treasure in my backyard. I just know it. 

Okay, there probably isn't. But wouldn't it be fun to dig up the backyard and find out? 

I mean, look what this guy found!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/25/world/europe/25treasure.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=birmingham%20gold&st=cse

 What about you? Do you wonder what might be in your backyard?

My new book, Jacques Cartier went #1 in its category on Amazon!

Thanks so much for your readership! 

My current works in progress:

1. A new book in the "Explorer Series:" Sacagawea!

Source: Wikimedia Commons

2. My adult novel, River Moon Don't Cry set in the 1830s. 

Check out my research pics for this book on my Pinterest Board! 

How I picture my heroine, Flora Jean, in River Moon Don't Cry

Longboat

Source: Wikimedia Commons

This is a longboat similar to what Jacques Cartier used to explore the Saint Lawrence River and the rapids beyond.