As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter........
I realize a great deal what people will do when hungry, but there is a most interesting reality in a difference between Americans, French and English, and that is a starving American would starve in almost every case on the western fronteir rather than eat a horse, mule or dog.
WHile on the contrary, the French, English and Indians would kill their own animals and eat them without a qualm.
We were therefore compelled to kill one of the horses for food.
Gabriel Franchere. Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America in the years 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814 or the First American Settlement on the Pacific
When the British seized the fort of Astoria founded by John Jacob Astor in Washington country in the War of 1812, the Americans were aghast to see the Union Jack flying over their property. The French though in Mssr Franchere removed themselves with the English and while having firearms, made a constant trade with the Shoshoe for dozens of dogs and horses which is what they ate in quantity.
At one point this group had 40 dogs and ate them all in a few days as there was no rationing nor apparent soup to make the dog last.
The Modoc Indians of the same Washington region in their Lava Beds uprising, also ate mules and horses which they captured.
It was a rare thing thogh for Americans ever to resort to such things. In the Creek War of the same period the entire Jackson army was starving, and one of the officers led forth his horse and killed it to be eaten, but that was a completely rare event, as in the George Custer era, the starving Troopers would rather vomit in most cases rather than eat a horse, and certainly not a mule.
As stated I realize that people get hungry. These Canadian English literally boiled and ate their beaver pelts, in what would be the leather, having barely any food value. In like manner, they disdained the Indians who ate boiled moss which became a sort of black paste and some thought not too bad tasting, but the French writer thought it tasted like soap.
It is fascinating what people will do when hungry. Two American trappers starving, divided their last flour, and the one who had a dog refused to eat it, and a great fight took place in which the trappers almost killed each other.
The one with the dog left, and soon found the other tracking them in the snow, as the intent was to kill the dog and probably the trapper.
The trapper with the dog waited in ambuscade and killed the would be dog killler.
There was Mountain Phil, a rather psychotic person who killed and ate his squaw and Liver Eatin' Johnson who apparently got the name for eating Indian livers, but that seems what is an American thing. They would not eat dogs or horses if they could help it, but would resort to eating Indians if they were unbalanced.
The French, Indians and English though dined upon man's best friend and best transportation at the first hint of no venison in camp.
These things are fascinating to me, as these were all Israelitish peoples, and it was the Americans who with apparent Christian morals refused to take the steps as a whole when starving in eating their property. They adhered to the Old Testament Laws of what was clean and unclean.
Human psychology is a diverse thing. Some in the Donner Party ate their corpses and horses to survive, so exceptions to the rules do apply, but in toto, the Americans did so as last resort and the others seemed to jump feet first when the last salt pork was in the bag.
nuff said
agtG
