>>Have you ever read any of Mark Twain’s writings about the French? His book “Letters to the Earth” comes to mind. There is a great description of his viewpoints on this subject.
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>No, can't say as I have. Care to enlighten a little? <s>
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>THanks Tom. Interesting as always...

Doug;

There are many references and statements from Mark Twain where he compares the Comanche Indians to the French. First he describes the various means of torture the Comanche used and compares this to the deads of the French. His descriptions are extremely visual and he makes a good point. By the way in case you are not aware the Comanche drove the Apache out of the southern plains. The Comanche were the first to obtain horses from the Spaniards and became expert riders.

One means of torture was to bury a man standing up with his head and neck above ground. They would cut off a mans eyelids and point him towards the sun. Coating the head with honey would attract ants that would help finish the job.

However, in defense of the French, I must say that historically, the British “take the cake” in my book. I will mention just one person named Amherst who was a British General in America. They named a town a college after him. Shame on us.

While the French occupied the area taken over by the British, the French treated the Indians as equals. Indians were invited to sit down and eat at homes owned by the French. The French and Indians traded with each other and got along well.

When the British took over, Amherst put Scots and Irish officers in charge. This may have been done as he hated Catholics and after all he was a “gentleman” and why not put those celtic’s in the frontier with the Indians? The Scots and Irish got along well with the Indians and treated them as had the French. After some time Amherst heard of this and decided to do things differently. He sent British officers to take over command and immediately changed the relationship between the Indians and British. No Indians were allowed inside any British dwelling – all contact had to be done in the forest. That was an order that had to be obeyed and it was.

When the relationship between the Indians and British resulted in war, the thing I remember most is how Amherst knowingly gave the Indians blankets infected with Small Pox. Many Indians died a cruel death. Yes, I think the British take the cake.

Tom