INVASION

 

Those of you that have spent very much time in the deep South know we have a plethora of insects.  Flying, crawling, biting; we have them all. During the past few days we have enjoyed the company of a species that shows up only once every 13 years.  The 13 year Cicada has appeared like a plague from the Bible.

These ugly bugs spend 13 years underground, living on the nutrients they take from the roots of trees and other plants.  In the Spring of their thirteenth year, when the soil temperature reaches a certain point, they emerge by the thousands.  They emerge from the soil and immediately make for any elevated place.  These are crawling up a Sweet Gum tree in our yard.

Once off the ground, the exoskeleton dries out, splits, and the adult emerges.  This takes place overnight.

This is what the adult looks like.

Don’t you love those red eyes?

Once the adults have shed their shell, they crawl into the tops of the trees and wait for the sun to warm the day.  That’s when the singing begins.  Once the temperature reaches a certain point, It will go from dead silence to a crescendo within minutes, and they will sing all day, hoping to attract a mate.  Imagine millions of them singing this song.  Being surrounded by woods, that’s the sound we hear all day.  It ebbs and flows with the wind, but never stops.

This goes on for a couple of weeks before the males begin to die.  The females deposit their eggs into slits on twigs of living trees, then die themselves.  A short time later the eggs hatch, the nymphs drop to the ground, and burrow in to begin the cycle again.  Hope I’m here to welcome them back in 2028.

Ugly bugs, for sure, but other wildlife loves them.  I think they look at them as the 5 PM buffet..jc

Horseshoe Bend

 

How about a history lesson?  Do you remember the Battle of Horseshoe Bend?  Site of the bloodiest one day Indian battle to ever take place in our Country.

The Creek Indians once controlled much of what is now Georgia and Alabama.  Part of a civilization going back for centuries.  They maintained a loose confederacy between villages, and managed to get along with the European Nations that lay claim to the area during the 1700’s.  Spain, France, and Britain all became trading partners with the Creek Nation.  The fledgling United States signed a treaty defining the Creek boundaries and guaranteeing friendship.  For over twenty years things remained stable in the region. 

It was during this time that a faction of the Creeks became disenchanted.  They thought their leaders were becoming too much like the Americans and Europeans.  Many were becoming farmers and tradesmen.  They were allowing squatters to settle on Creek land.

Much the same as today, a radical group came into power in a part of the Nation.  Known as the “Red Sticks”, they began to attack the squatters, and the situation escalated over a short period of time. A massacre at Fort Mims, near present day Mobile, ignited the Creek War.  After the death of over 250 settlers, the militias of Tennessee, Georgia, and the Mississippi Territory declared war on the entire Creek Nation in the Fall of 1813.

The leader of the Tennessee Militia was a man named Andrew Jackson.  He engaged in two bloody battles with the Red Sticks early in 1814, and managed to drive them into a defensive position inside a horseshoe bend of the Tallapoosa river.  An area of less than one hundred acres. The Red Sticks built a long defensive wall across the width of the peninsula.  They thought the river would offer them protection from the other three sides.

Not so.  Troops swam the river, and torched the village site as the warriors guarded the wall.  With Jackson’s army attacking from all sides, the battle was over in less than four hours.  Over 800 Red Sticks were killed.  The most Native Americans ever killed in a single battle in United States history. 

The area is now a small National Park.

The village site.

And, the battle site.  The poles define the barricade.

Lots of informative plaques.

A commemorative marker  set in 1914.  It hasn’t fared too well the last hundred years.

And one from Congress, complete with incorrect date.  The battle actually took place on March 27th.

Horseshoe Bend brought an end to the Creek War.  A treaty was signed which gave the United states claim to over 23 million acres.  Most of this became the state of Alabama.

Lots of American hero’s were with Jackson during the Creek war.  Sam Houston and Davey Crockett are familiar names.  Jackson used the war as a springboard to the Presidency.  Two years after being elected he signed legislation to force the movement of the Southeastern tribes to lands West of the Mississippi River.  Thus began “The Trail of Tears”.

It’s quiet now on the Tallapoosa River.  No battles, no railroads.

Only the turtles, enjoying a sunny day.

The Creeks did leave a legacy behind.  The area of East Central Alabama is filled with names such as Loachapoka, Notasulga, Talassee, Cusseta, Wetumpka, and many more.

If you haven’t noticed, I love history?…..jc

A Little More of Warm Springs

 

One of the things I found interesting on our visit to Warm Springs was its size.  I had an impression that it would be a large resort town such as Hot Springs, AR.  Though it had been a destination for folks from Savannah and Atlanta for decades, it wasn’t much more than a village.  Just imagine what the arrival of someone like Roosevelt would have been like.  Undoubtedly, having him around boosted the economy.  At present, with the risks of malaria and yellow fever gone, the crowds don’t arrive for the Summers as they once did.  We now know there are no magical healing powers in the water. Without the Little White House to draw visitors, it possibly wouldn’t  be a dot on a map, anymore.

The pools that Roosevelt bathed and played in are empty now.

The water still flows in, but immediately goes down the drain.

The remaining building is more a museum to the fight against Polio.  Some may remember these monsters from your childhood?

More therapy devices.

Though we enjoyed touring the Little White House and the two museums, I left the area thinking about how blessed we are.  Our parents lived through this period of history.  They dreaded the thought of Polio hitting their children.  I remember standing in line at our community grocery store to receive the vaccine.  Our children never faced the risk.  Just seventy years ago, all that was a dream.

On the bright side, it is a beautiful area of the Country.

This is Dowdell’s Knob.  One of Roosevelt’s most favorite spots to sit and think.  It’s said that this is where he first came up with the idea of the United Nations, as well as the CCC and other things.  The CCC actually built the road which is used to access the point today.  A life size statue still enjoys the view.

               

jc…..