[snowmonkey]

An interesting Smithsonian article and thread. A timely piece to revisit given contemporary conversations.

[Chief Joseph]

[Schroder]

[Anne Elk]

Thanks, Snowmonkey, for reviving this thread which pre-dates my awareness of NWH. Maybe I ought to spend an evening or several reviewing old post topics to see what other gems of interest are buried back there. The religious fanaticism angle seems the least interesting part of the story. Also their squalid existence. I'm impressed by the fact that they were able to endure as long as they did with so few resources. Imagine: no medical care for injuries and illness; no dentistry. Having babies in the wilderness unaided. Living through Russian winters without heat and adequate clothing. It's really an amazing survival story. It reminds me somehow of Canadian "Cougar Annie" who chose to live in an isolated bay on Vancouver Island's west coast. By the standards of those Russians Annie was living large, and kept limited contact with civilization. She birthed all her children there and outlived 4 husbands. A real pistol, figuratively and literally. I have an illustrated book about her that I picked up the last time I was in Nanaimo that's fascinating.