For three centuries the Comanches ruled as lords of the Southern Plains. With the coming of white settlers and the might of the US Army, the land was been rested from its Indian masters. The Comanches resented this appropriation of their ancestral home and say only one recourse, war.  In 1836, during a Comanche raid on Fort Parker, Texas, nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker was captured. She grew up among the Comanches, whom she learned to love dearly. Ultimately, she married famed Comanche chief Peta Nocona for whom she bore three children. Who was Quanah Parker? Quanah was born to the couple in 1845 and was the only one of the three children to survive. Sharp of mind and an intrepid warrior, Quanah emerged as a vigorous and enlightened protector of Comanche interest. Quanah led Cheyennes, Arapahos, Comanches, Kiowas, and Apaches in their last great surge against white encroachment known as Battle of Adobe Walls. A military strategist of the first order, he became one of the most f...

Traveling through Wyoming now. Not stopping too many places but I wanted to stop here and show you this. This is a very interesting historical place. Where during the mid-1800s an estimated 500,000 people crossed this area on the famous Oregon Trail . They went through this sandstone, this rock. Those thousands of covered wagons crossed this area. They crossed over and eventually in through this sandstone rock, they created huge ruts. Some of the ruts are as deep as four feet. Oregon Trail Ruts - Guernsey, Wyoming   I mean this is so interesting to me. This sandstone is a lot softer than other types of rock so those wagon wheels, slowly over the course of decades, cut into this.  The Oregon Trail was about two thousand miles long and it took anywhere from four to six months for these pioneers, people in search of a better life out West, to cross and lots of danger lots of hardship. Lots of accidents and deaths. They were full on committed to making it out West. So during the m...

Zimmerman's Covered Bridge in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, is a historic wooden structure built around  1875 , making it one of the oldest pieces of engineering in the area. It serves as an excellent  covered bridge   example of the  Burr Arch Truss  design, a design and style patented by Theodore Burr in the early 1800s and noted for its combination of posts and arches that add both support and ingenuity to the bridge's architecture.  Location Zimmerman's Covered Bridge is located on Covered Bridge Road, near Route 895 and close to the unincorporated town of Rock, Pennsylvania. Traveling west on Route 895 will take visitors toward Pine Grove. Schuylkill County has only two covered bridges; this bridge is one of them, highlighting its local rarity, as some nearby counties like Lebanon have none, while Lancaster County is known for its abundance of such bridges. Architectural and Historical Details The bridge utilizes the Burr Arch Truss. A ...

Lakota cultural resource manager Albert Lebeau is our guide to this exploration of Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa. Effigy Mounds National Monument I feel, when you come to Effigy Mounds , you feel it. A lot of people don't understand it but there is something you feel. There is a sacredness here. Effigy Mounds National Monument is a cemetery. We figured about 90% of the mounds are probably burial mounds or contain human remains of some sort. My name is Albert Lebeau. I am the Cultural Resource Manager for Effigy Mounds National Monument. There's different mounds being built throughout the country. We have Hopewellian Mounds , which are further east. We have Mississippian mounds, which are east and south of here. And then, we have our mounds, the Effigy Mounds. The Effigy Mounds in southern Wisconsin is unique in whereas we have a lot of effigies. What's right behind me is a mound that's known as "Little Bear." And the reason he's called Little Bea...