Podcast
The MeatEater Podcast
It was described as one of the early definitive histories of the French and Indian War. A dinner with an Oglala Sioux family, which included eating a puppy, highlighted a clash of cultures and attitudes towards dogs.
So he went out in, I think it was in 1834, Francis Parkman went out onto the Great Plains and then later wrote a book called The Oregon Trail.
— Episode: Ep. 466: Direwolves and Ancient Hunting...
Episode: Ep. 466: Direwolves and Ancient Hunting Dogs
It was described as one of the early definitive histories of the French and Indian War. A dinner with an Oglala Sioux family, which included eating a puppy, highlighted a clash of cultures and attitudes towards dogs.
So he went out in, I think it was in 1834, Francis Parkman went out onto the Great Plains and then later wrote a book called The Oregon Trail.
He one day goes into, I think he goes into a trading post in Laramie, what's now Laramie, Wyoming. I think he was in Laramie. And he's invited to dinner in a Sioux family's, so an Oglala Sioux family's teepee.
All of their puppies are in the teepee. Okay, so you've hit a level of familiarity and care where the female dog is nursing her puppies inside.
A woman goes over, sorts through that little collection of puppies that is inside the teepee, thumps one in the head and cooks it for him.
Episode: Ep. 430: Game On, Suckers! MeatEater Trivia LV
It was described as a good, but not great read, with an experiential approach and focus on mules, which detracted from the historical perspective the speaker was hoping for.
If we ever do a book club, there's a super fun Oregon Trail book.
One by Rinker Buck.
It's a good pop approach to it. I liked it, I didn't love it.
I actually recommended it to Clay at one point because there's so much darn mule talk in there.
Half the book is about mules. The guy actually got mules and rode with a mule and cart across as close as he could follow the trail while examining the history of the whole thing. It was interesting. Again, I liked it. I do regret afterwards that I didn't pick a different Oregon Trail book because I think there are maybe better ones out there and I was looking for more of the historical perspective rather than someone just going down Highway 81 or whatever road. Yeah, this is an experiential one.