Wysox (Towanda), PA. May 2020.

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the lightning storm tonight is crazy

 

www.sfmoe.com

This project takes a view on how seeking acknowledgment in a rapid stream of external demands and expectations influences this particular human being. It can increase a sense of existential loneliness - and the feeling of being numb.

 

See the full project: www.bendikjohan.com/the-depleted-self

So after much demand I decided to take some more Photos of my beloved Jane....

 

The other day it struck me, I have never explained why this girl means so much to me... and why we could never part.....So come on a magical journey as I tell our story :P (oh well that was so cheesy)............

 

So many of you want to know why she is called Jane.....Well she was named after her 1st owner as I made an amazing friend in her, she was the best to deal with and made sure she came home 100% safe....

 

She was also the very 1st thing I decided to buy from my 1st job and 1st pay cheque... so she kinda represents the start of my independence.......

 

Jane came from a very special place called Anglesey (specifically Beaumaris), this is where I spend most of my childhood with my Twin Em..

 

We used to holiday there super often and we both have some very special childhood memories together... so for me Jane embodies all the magical times growing up. We used to stay in this huge Castle. Often we would be the only guests there so we had the whole place to our self. it was amazing.....but as we started to grow up we stayed there less and less, I guess life just got in the way.... :(

 

Last year we where very lucky to be able to go back to Anglesey, and so of course I had to take Jane back to her home away from home.

 

We had such a special time as this would be our last family holiday together....:( so Jane is also my representation for hope and a positive future...

 

Ok I am going to sound 100% mad now but.... I look and Jane and I don't see a doll.. I kinda see myself but more than that all the good and bad times, I guess I almost regard her as a person. To me she has a personalty, a story, a history and most of all a future....(Ok so maybe just maybe I have gone mad)..... if ever I am having a bad day I will grab Jane, hug her and feel hundreds and hundreds of times better :) she is just so much more than a doll to me

 

when I sent her out for her current faceup, I had no idea what to do with myself... it was like I lost a part of me....... She does need a new faceup really badly but I cannot bare to part with her again......

  

so Ya that is our story....sorry for the long read but I think I had to explain....

 

Harry xxx

 

Thanks for the visit :)

you must view it on black...

The Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, southeastern Iran, the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, the Korean Peninsula, China, the Russian Far East, the islands of Honshū and Shikoku in Japan, and Taiwan. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and is threatened by deforestation and poaching for its body parts, which are used in traditional medicine.

 

Characteristics

 

The white V-shaped chest mark of an Asian black bear

The Asian black bear has black fur, a light brown muzzle, and a distinct whitish or creamy patch on the chest, which is sometimes V-shaped. Its ears are bell shaped, proportionately longer than those of other bears, and stick out sideways from the head. Its tail is short, around 11 cm (4.3 in) long. Adults measure 70–100 cm (28–39 in) at the shoulder, and 120–190 cm (47–75 in) in length. Adult males weigh 60–200 kg (130–440 lb) with an average weight of about 135 kg (298 lb). Adult females weigh 40–125 kg (88–276 lb), and large ones up to 140 kg (310 lb).

 

Asian black bears are similar in general build to brown bears (Ursus arctos), but are lighter and smaller. The lips and nose are larger and more mobile than those of brown bears. The skulls of Asian black bears are relatively small, but massive, particularly in the lower jaw. Adult males have skulls measuring 311.7 to 328 mm (12.27 to 12.91 in) in length and 199.5–228 mm (7.85–8.98 in) in width, while female skulls are 291.6–315 mm (11.48–12.40 in) long and 163–173 mm (6.4–6.8 in) wide. Compared to other bears of the genus Ursus, the projections of the skull are weakly developed; the sagittal crest is low and short, even in old specimens, and does not exceed more than 19–20% of the total length of the skull, unlike in brown bears, which have sagittal crests comprising up to 41% of the skull's length.

 

Although mostly herbivorous, the jaw structure of Asian black bears is not as specialized for plant eating as that of giant pandas: Asian black bears have much narrower zygomatic arches, and the weight ratio of the two pterygoid muscles is also much smaller in Asian black bears. The lateral slips of the temporal muscles are thicker and stronger in Asian black bears.

 

In contrast to polar bears, Asian black bears have powerful upper bodies for climbing trees, and relatively weak hind legs which are shorter than those in brown bears and American black bears. An Asian black bear with broken hind legs can still climb effectively. They are the most bipedal of all bears, and have been known to walk upright for over a quarter of a mile. The heel pads on the forefeet are larger than those of most other bear species. Their claws, which are primarily used for climbing and digging, are slightly longer on the fore foot (30–45 mm) than the back (18–36 mm), and are larger and more hooked than those of the American black bear.

 

On average, adult Asian black bears are slightly smaller than American black bears, though large males can exceed the size of several other bear species.

 

The famed British sportsman known as the "Old Shekarry" wrote of how an Asian black bear he shot in India probably weighed no less than 363 kg (800 lb) based on how many people it took to lift its body. The largest Asian black bear on record allegedly weighed 200 kg (440 lb). Zoo-kept specimens can weigh up to 225 kg (496 lb). Although their senses are more acute than those of brown bears, their eyesight is poor, and their hearing range is moderate, the upper limit being 30 kHz.

 

Taxonomy

Ancestral and sister taxa

Biologically and morphologically, Asian black bears represent the beginning of the arboreal specializations attained by sloth bears and sun bears. Asian black bears have karyotypes nearly identical to those of the five other ursine bears, and, as is typical in the genus, they have 74 chromosomes. From an evolutionary perspective, Asian black bears are the least changed of the Old World bears, with certain scientists arguing that it is likely that all other lineages of ursine bear stem from this species. Scientists have proposed that Asian black bears are either a surviving, albeit modified, form of Ursus etruscus, specifically the early, small variety of the Middle Villafranchian (Upper Pliocene to Lower Pleistocene) or a larger form of Ursus minimus, an extinct species that arose 4,000,000 years ago. With the exception of the age of the bones, it is often difficult to distinguish the remains of Ursus minimus with those of modern Asian black bears.

 

Asian black bears are close relatives to American black bears, with which they share a European common ancestor; the two species are thought to have diverged 3,000,000 years ago, though genetic evidence is inconclusive. Both the American and Asian black species are considered sister taxa and are more closely related to each other than to the other species of bear. The earliest known specimens of Asian black bears are known from the Early Pliocene of Moldova. The earliest American black bear fossils, which were located in Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania, greatly resemble the Asian black species. The first mtDNA study undertaken on Asian black bears suggested that the species arose after the American black bears, while a second study could not statistically resolve the branching order of sloth bears and the two black species, suggesting that these three species underwent a rapid radiation event. A third study suggested that American black bears and Asian black bears diverged as sister taxa after the sloth bear lineage and before the sun bear lineage. Further investigations on the entire mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence indicate that the divergence of continental Asian and Japanese black bear populations might have occurred when bears crossed the land bridge between the Korean peninsula and Japan 500,000 years ago, which is consistent with paleontological evidence.

 

Subspecies

Asian black bear subspecies

Subspecies nameCommon nameDistributionDescription

Ursus thibetanus formosanus R. Swinhoe, 1864

Formosan black bearTaiwanThis subspecies lacks the thick neck fur of other subspecies.

Ursus thibetanus gedrosianus Blanford, 1877

Balochistan black bearsouthern BalochistanA small subspecies with relatively short, coarse hair, often reddish-brown rather than black.

Ursus thibetanus japonicus Schlegel, 1857

Japanese black bearHonshū and Shikoku. Extinct on Kyushu.A small subspecies weighing 60–120 kg (130–260 lb) for the adult male and 40–100 kg (88–220 lb) for the adult female. The average body length is 1.1–1.4 m (3 ft 7 in – 4 ft 7 in). It lacks the thick neck fur of other subspecies, and has a darker snout.

Ursus thibetanus laniger Pocock, 1932

Himalayan black bearthe HimalayasDistinguished from U. t. thibetanus by its longer, thicker fur and smaller, whiter chest mark. During the summer, Himalayan black bears occur in warmer areas in Nepal, China, Siberia, and Tibet at elevations of 3,000–3,600 m (9,800–11,800 ft). For winter, they descend as low as 1,500 m (4,900 ft). On average, they measure 1.4–1.6 m (4 ft 7 in – 5 ft 3 in) from nose to tail and weigh from 90–120 kg (200–260 lb), though they may weigh as much as 181 kg (399 lb) in the fall when they are fattening up for hibernation.

Ursus thibetanus mupinensis Heude, 1901

  

indochinese black bearIndochinalight-colored, similar to U. t. laniger

Ursus thibetanus thibetanus Cuvier, 1823

Tibetan black bearAssam, Nepal, Myanmar, Mergui, Thailand and AnnamDistinguished from U. t. laniger by its short, thin coat with little to no underwool.

Ursus thibetanus ussuricus Heude, 1901

  

Ussuri black bearsouthern Siberia, northeastern China and the Korean peninsulathe largest subspecies

Until the Late Pleistocene, two further subspecies ranged across Europe and West Asia. These are U. t. mediterraneus from Western Europe and the Caucasus and U. t. permjak from Eastern Europe, particularly the Ural Mountains.

 

Hybrids

Asian black bears are reproductively compatible with several other bear species, and have on occasion produced hybrid offspring. According to Jack Hanna's Monkeys on the Interstate, a bear captured in Sanford, Florida, was thought to have been the offspring of an escaped female Asian black bear and a male American black bear, and Scherren's Some notes on hybrid bears published in 1907 mentioned a successful mating between an Asian black bear and a sloth bear. In 1975, within Venezuela's "Las Delicias" Zoo, a female Asian black bear shared its enclosure with a male spectacled bear, and produced several hybrid descendants. In 2005, a possible Asian black bear–sun bear hybrid cub was captured in the Mekong River watershed of eastern Cambodia. An Asian black bear/brown bear hybrid, taken from a bile farm, is housed at the Animals Asia Foundation's China Moon Bear Rescue as of 2010.

 

Distribution and habitat

Fossil record indicate that the Asian black bear once ranged as far west as Western Europe, though it now occurs very patchily throughout its former range, which is limited to Asia. Today, it occurs from southeastern Iran eastward through Afghanistan and Pakistan, across the foothills of the Himalayas in India and Myanmar to mainland Southeast Asia, except Malaysia. Its range in northeastern and southern China is patchy, and it is absent in much of east-central China. Other population clusters exist in the southern Russian Far East and in North Korea. A small remnant population survives in South Korea. It also occurs on the Japanese islands of Honshu and Shikoku, as well as on Taiwan and the Chinese island of Hainan.

 

It typically inhabits deciduous forests, mixed forests and thornbrush forests. In the summer, it usually inhabits altitudes of around 3,500 m (11,480 ft) in the Himalayas but rarely above 3,700 m (12,000 ft). In winter, it descends to altitudes below 1,500 m (4,920 ft). In Japan, it also occurs at sea level.

 

There is no definitive estimate as to the number of Asian black bears: Japan posed estimates of 8–14,000 bears living on Honshū, though the reliability of this is now doubted. Although their reliability is unclear, rangewide estimates of 5–6,000 bears have been presented by Russian biologists. In 2012, Japanese Ministry of the Environment estimated the population at 15–20,000. Rough density estimates without corroborating methodology or data have been made in India and Pakistan, resulting in the estimates of 7–9,000 in India and 1,000 in Pakistan. Unsubstantiated estimates from China give varying estimates between 15 and 46,000, with a government estimate of 28,000.

 

Bangladesh

The Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh conducted an on-field survey of bears in Bangladesh from 2008 to 2010 that included Asian black bears. The survey was done in 87 different places, mostly in the north-central, northeastern and southeastern areas of Bangladesh that had historical presence of bears. The survey result says that most of the areas still has some isolated small bear populations, mainly the Asian black bears. According to the survey, the most evidence found relating to bears were of Asian black bears that included nests, footprints, local sightings, etc. There are many reports on the presence of Asian black bears in the central, north-central, northeastern and southeastern parts of Bangladesh.

 

Although Asian black bears still occur in different parts of Bangladesh, mainly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the population is very small. Conservationists fear that the species will soon be extinct in the country if necessary steps to protect it are not taken in the near future.

 

China

Three subspecies of the Asian black bear occur in China: the Tibetan subspecies (U. thibetanus thibetanus), the Indochinese subspecies (U. thibetanus mupinensis), and the northeastern subspecies (U. thibetanus ussuricus), which is the only subspecies of bear in northeastern China. Asian black bears are mainly distributed in the conifer forests in the cold and temperate zones of northeast China, the main areas being Chang Bai, Zhang Guangcai, Lao Ye, and the Lesser Xingan Mountains. Within Liaoning province, there are about 100 Asian black bears, which only inhabit the five counties of Xin Bin, Huan Ren, Ben Xi, Kuan Dian, and Fen Cheng. Within Jilin province, Asian black bears occur mainly in the counties of Hunchun, Dun Hua, Wangqing, An Tu, Chang Bai, Fu Song, Jiao He, Hua Dian, Pan Shi, and Shu Lan. In Heilongjiang province, Asian black bears occur in the counties of Ning An, BaYan, Wu Chang, Tong He, Bao Qing, Fu Yuan, Yi Chun, Tao Shan, Lan Xi, Tie Li, Sun Wu, Ai Hui, De Du, Bei An, and Nen Jiang. This population has a northern boundary of about 50° N and the southern boundary in Feng Cheng is about 40°30" N.

 

Korea

In Korea, most of the Asian black bears live in the broad-leaved forest of the alpine region, more than 1,500 meters north of Jirisan. Korean National Park Service announced on April 15, 2018, that eight mother bears gave birth to 11 cubs. Six mother bears living in the wild gave birth to eight cubs. Two mothers that were being taken care by the nature adaptation training center in Gurye, South Jeolla Province gave birth to three cubs. Now, there are 56 Asian black bears living in the wild of Jirisan. If the Korea National Park Service releases three cubs born in natural adaptation training centers at September this year, the number of Asian black bears living in the wild will increase to 59. As a result, the restoration of the target of 50 Asian black bears, or the minimum remaining population, will be achieved two years earlier. It was a goal by 2020. Their next goal is to expand and improve the habitat and to increase the genetic diversity of the Asian black bears in Mt. Jiri.

 

Siberia

In Siberia, the Asian black bear's northern range runs from Innokenti Bay on the coast of the Sea of Japan southwest to the elevated areas of Sikhote Alin crossing it at the sources of the Samarga River. At this point, the boundary directs itself to the north, through the middle course of the Khor, Anyui and Khungari rivers, and comes to the shore of the Amur, crossing it at the level of the mouth of the Gorin River. Along the Amur river, the species' presence has been noted as far as 51° N. Lat. From there, the territorial boundary runs southwest of the river's left bank, passing through the northern part of Lake Bolon and the juncture point of the Kur and Tunguska. Asian black bears are encountered in the Urmi's lower course. Within the Ussuri krai, the species is restricted to broad-leaved Manchurian-type forests.

 

Taiwan

In Taiwan, the endemic subspecies of Asiatic Black Bear, the Formosan black bear (Ursus thibetanus formosanus), chiefly is confined to the mountain ranges in the central regions of the island. It can be found along the Central and Snow mountain ranges, with populations in the latter being more common. The largest population of bears seem to be Lala mountain in Chatienshan Reserve, the (Snow) Mountain area in Sheipa National Park, and Taroko National Park. These populations' individuals and numbers can be found south to Tawushan Reserve through Yushan National Park. Typically they are found in rugged areas at elevations of 1,000–3,500 metres (3,300–11,500 ft). The estimated number of individuals in these regions number some 200 to 600 bears.

 

Behavior and ecology

 

Asian black bears are diurnal, though they become nocturnal near human habitations. They will walk in a procession of largest to smallest. They are good climbers of rocks and trees, and will climb to feed, rest, sun, elude enemies and hibernate. Some older bears may become too heavy to climb. Half of their life is spent in trees and they are one of the largest arboreal mammals. In the Ussuri territory in the Russian Far East, Asian black bears can spend up to 15% of their time in trees. Asian black bears break branches and twigs to place under themselves when feeding on trees, thus causing many trees in their home ranges to have nest-like structures on their tops. Asian black bears will rest for short periods in nests on trees standing fifteen feet or higher.

 

Asian black bears do not hibernate over most of their range. They may hibernate in their colder, northern ranges, though some bears will simply move to lower elevations. Nearly all pregnant sows hibernate. Asian black bears prepare their dens for hibernation in mid-October, and will sleep from November until March. Their dens can either be dug-out hollow trees (60 feet above ground), caves or holes in the ground, hollow logs, or steep, mountainous and sunny slopes. They may also den in abandoned brown bear dens. Asian black bears tend to den at lower elevations and on less steep slopes than brown bears. Female Asian black bears emerge from dens later than do males, and female Asian black bears with cubs emerge later than barren females. Asian black bears tend to be less mobile than brown bears. With sufficient food, Asian black bears can remain in an area of roughly 1–2 km2 (0.39–0.77 sq mi), and sometimes even as little as 0.5–1 km2 (0.19–0.39 sq mi).

 

Asian black bears have a wide range of vocalizations, including grunts, whines, roars, slurping sounds (sometimes made when feeding) and "an appalling row" when wounded, alarmed or angry. They emit loud hisses when issuing warnings or threats, and scream when fighting. When approaching other bears, they produce "tut tut" sounds, thought to be produced by bears snapping their tongue against the roof of their mouth. When courting, they emit clucking sounds.

 

Reproduction and life cycle

 

Within Sikhote-Alin, the breeding season of Asian black bears occurs earlier than in brown bears, starting from mid-June to mid-August. Birth also occurs earlier, in mid-January. By October, the uterine horns of pregnant females grow to 15–22 mm (0.59–0.87 in). By late December, the embryos weigh 75 grams. Sows generally have their first litter at the age of three years. Pregnant females generally make up 14% of populations. Similar to brown bears, Asian black bears have delayed implantation. Sows usually give birth in caves or hollow trees in winter or early spring after a gestation period of 200–240 days. Cubs weigh 13 ounces at birth, and will begin walking at four days of age, and open their eyes three days later. The skulls of newborn Asian black bear cubs bear great resemblance to those of adult sun bears. Litters can consist of 1–4 cubs, with 2 being the average. Cubs have a slow growth rate, reaching only 2.5 kg by May. Asian black bear cubs will nurse for 104–130 weeks, and become independent at 24–36 months. There is usually a 2–3 year interval period before females produce subsequent litters. The average lifespan in the wild is 25 years, while the oldest Asian black bear in captivity died at the age of 44

 

Feeding

 

Asian black bears are omnivorous, and will feed on insects, beetle larvae, invertebrates, termites, grubs, carrion, bees, eggs, garbage, mushrooms, grasses, bark, roots, tubers, fruits, nuts, seeds, honey, herbs, acorns, cherries, dogwood, and grain. Although herbivorous to a greater degree than brown bears, and more carnivorous than American black bears, Asian black bears are not as specialized in their diet as giant pandas are: while giant pandas depend on a constant supply of low calorie, yet abundant foodstuffs, Asian black bears are more opportunistic and have opted for a nutritional boom-or-bust economy. They thus gorge themselves on a variety of seasonal high calorie foods, storing the excess calories as fat, and then hibernate during times of scarcity. Asian black bears will eat pine nuts and acorns of the previous year in the April–May period. In times of scarcity, they enter river valleys to gain access to hazelnuts and insect larvae in rotting logs. From mid-May through late June, they will supplement their diet with green vegetation and fruit. Through July to September, they will climb trees to eat bird cherries, pine cones, vines and grapes. On rare occasions they will eat dead fish during the spawning season, though this constitutes a much lesser portion of their diet than in brown bears. In the 1970s, Asian black bears were reported to kill and eat Hanuman langurs in Nepal. They appear to be more carnivorous than most other bears, including American black bears, and will kill ungulates with some regularity, including domestic livestock. Wild ungulate prey can include muntjacs, serow, takin, malayan tapir wild boar and adult water buffaloes, which they kill by breaking their necks.

 

Interspecific predatory relationships

 

The Asian black bear's range overlaps with that of the sloth bear in central and southern India, the sun bear in Southeast Asia and the brown bear in the southern part of the Russian Far East.

 

Asian black bears seem to intimidate Himalayan brown bears in direct encounters. They eat the fruit dropped by Asian black bears from trees, as they themselves are too large and cumbersome to climb.

 

Asian black bears are occasionally attacked by tigers and brown bears. Leopards are known to prey on bear cubs younger than two years old. Packs of wolves and Eurasian lynxes are potential predators of bear cubs as well. Asian black bears usually dominate Amur leopards in physical confrontations in heavily vegetated areas, while leopards are uppermost in open areas, though the outcome of such encounters is largely dependent on the size of the individual animals.

 

Ussuri brown bears may attack Asian black bears.

 

Tigers occasionally attack and consume Asian black bears. Russian hunters found their remains in tiger scats, and Asian black bear carcasses showing evidence of tiger predation. To escape tigers, Asian black bears rush up a tree and wait for the tiger to leave, though some tigers will pretend to leave, and wait for the bear to descend. Tigers prey foremost on young bears. Some are very tenacious when attacked: Jim Corbett observed a fight between a tiger and the largest Asian black bear he had ever seen. The bear managed to chase off the tiger, despite having half its nose and scalp torn off. He twice saw Asian black bears carry off tiger kills when the latter was absent. Asian black bears are usually safe from tiger attacks once they reach five years of age. One fatal attack of a tiger on a juvenile Asian black bear has been recorded in Jigme Dorji National Park. One Siberian tiger was reported to have lured an Asian black bear by imitating its mating call. However, Asian black bears are probably less vulnerable to tiger attacks than brown bears, due to their habit of living in hollows or in close set rocks.

 

Legal status

The Asian black bear is listed as a protected animal in China's National Protection Wildlife Law, which stipulates that anyone hunting or catching bears without permits will be subject to severe punishment.

 

Although the Asian black bear is protected in India, due to being listed as vulnerable in the Red Data Book in Appendix I of CITES in India and in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and its 1991 amendment, it has been difficult to prosecute those accused of poaching Asian black bears due to lack of witnesses and lack of Wildlife Forensic Labs to detect the originality of confiscated animal parts or products. Moreover, due to India's wide-stretching boundaries with other nations such as Pakistan, Tibet, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, it is difficult to police such borders, which are often in mountainous terrain.

 

Five Asian black bear populations, occurring in Kyushu, Shikoku, West-Chugoku, East-Chugoku and Kii areas, were listed as endangered by the Environmental Agency in the Japanese Red Data Book in 1991. Small isolated populations in the Tanzawa and Shimokita areas of mainland Honshū were listed as endangered in 1995. Beyond recognizing these populations as endangered, there is still a lack of efficient conservation methods for Japanese black bears.

 

Asian black bears occur as an infrequent species in the Red Data Book of Russia, thus falling under special protection and hunting is prohibited. There is currently a strong movement to legalize the hunting of Russian black bears, which is supported by most of the local scientific community.

 

As of January 30, 1989, Taiwan's Formosan black bears have been listed as an endangered species under the Natural and Cultural Heritage Act on, and was later listed as a Conserved Species Category I.

 

The Vietnamese government issued Decision 276/QD, 276/1989, which prohibits the hunting and exporting of Asian black bears. The Red Book of Vietnam lists Vietnamese black bears as endangered.

 

The Korean Government designated the Asian black bear as Natural Monument No. 329 and it is considered an extinction crisis. At the present time, the Endangered Species Restoration Center of Korea National Park Service is going through species restoration business.

 

Threats

 

The main habitat threat to Asian black bears is overcutting of forests, mainly due to human populations increasing to over 430,000 in regions where bears are distributed, in the Shaanxi, Ganshu, and Sichuan provinces. 27 forestry enterprises were built in these areas between 1950 and 1985 (excluding the lumbering units belonging to the county). By the early 1990s, the Asian black bear distribution area was reduced to only one-fifth of the area that existed before the 1940s. Isolated bear populations face environmental and genetic stress in these circumstances. However, one of the most important reasons for their decrease involves overhunting, as Asian black bear paws, gall bladders and cubs have great economic value. Asian black bear harvests are maintained at a high level due to the harm they cause to crops, orchards and bee farms. During the 1950s and 1960s, 1,000 Asian black bears were harvested annually in the Heilongjiang Province. However, purchased furs were reduced by 4/5, even by 9/10 yearly in the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Asian black bears have also been declining annually in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Nations Autonomous Prefecture and the Yunnan Province.

 

Poaching for gall bladders and skin are the main threats faced by Asian black bears in India.

 

Although the poaching of Asian black bears is well known throughout Japan, authorities have done little to remedy the situation. The killing of nuisance bears is practiced year-round, and harvest numbers have been on the increase. Box traps have been widely used since 1970 to capture nuisance bears. It is estimated that the number of shot bears will decrease in time, due to the decline of old traditional hunters and the increase of a younger generation less inclined to hunt. Logging is also considered a threat.

 

Although Asian black bears have been afforded protection in Russia since 1983, illegal poaching, fueled by a growing demand for bear parts in the Asian market, is still a major threat to the Russian population. Many workers of Chinese and Korean origin, supposedly employed in the timber industry, are actually involved in the illegal trade. Some Russian sailors reportedly purchase bear parts from local hunters to sell them to Japanese and Southeast Asian clients. Russia's rapidly growing timber industry has been a serious threat to the Asian black bear's home range for three decades. The cutting of trees containing cavities deprives Asian black bears of their main source of dens, and forces them to den on the ground or in rocks, thus making them more vulnerable to tigers, brown bears and hunters.

 

In Taiwan, Asian black bears are not actively pursued, though steel traps set out for wild boars have been responsible for unintentional bear trappings. Timber harvesting has largely stopped being a major threat to Taiwan's Asian black bear population, though a new policy concerning the transfer of ownership of hill land from the government to private interests has the potential to affect some lowland habitat, particularly in the eastern part of the nation. The building of new cross island highways through bear habitat is also potentially threatening.

 

Vietnamese black bear populations have declined rapidly due to the pressures of human population growth and unstable settlement. Vietnamese forests have been shrinking: of the 87,000 km2 (34,000 sq mi) of natural forests, about 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi) disappear every year. Hunting pressures have also increased with a coinciding decline of environmental awareness.

 

South Korea remains one of two countries to allow bear bile farming to continue legally. As reported in 2009, approximately 1,374 Asian black bears reside in an estimated 74 bear farms, where they are kept for slaughter to fuel the demands of traditional Asian medicine. In sharp contrast, fewer than 20 Asian black bears can be found at Jirisan Restoration Center, located in Korea's Jirisan National Park.

 

Relationships with humans

 

In Japanese culture, the Asian black bear is traditionally associated with the mountain spirit (yama no kami) and is characterized variously as "mountain man" (yamaotoko), "mountain uncle" (yama no ossan), "mountain father" (yama no oyaji), a loving mother, and a child. Being a largely solitary creature, the Asian black bear is also viewed as "lonely person" (sabishigariya). Asian black bears feature very little in lowland Japanese folklore, but are prominent in upland Japan, a fact thought to reflect the bear's greater economic value in upland areas. According to the local folklore in Kituarahara-gun in Niigata, the Asian black bear received its white mark after being given a silk-wrapped amulet by yama no kami, which left the mark after being removed. In Hindu mythology, the Asian black bear Jambavantha (also known as Jambavan or Jamvanta) is believed to have lived from Treta Yuga to Dvapara Yuga. In the epic Ramayana, Jambavantha assists Rama in finding his wife Sita and battle her abductor, Ravana.

 

Asian black bears are briefly mentioned in Yann Martel's novel The Life of Pi, in which they are described by the protagonist's father as being among the most dangerous animals in his zoo.

 

Although usually shy and cautious animals, Asian black bears are more aggressive towards humans than the brown bears of Eurasia and American black bears. David W. Macdonald theorizes that this greater aggression is an adaptation to being sympatric with tigers. According to Brigadier General R. G. Burton:

 

The Himalayan black bear is a savage animal, sometimes attacking without provocation, and inflicting horrible wounds, attacking generally the head and face with their claws, while using their teeth also on a prostrate victim. It is not uncommon to see men who have been terribly mutilated, some having the scalp torn from the head, and many sportsmen have been killed by these bears.

 

— A Book of Man Eaters, Chapter XVII Bears

In response to a chapter on Asian black bears written by Robert Armitage Sterndale in his Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon on how Asian black bears were no more dangerous than other animals in India, a reader responded with a letter to The Asian on May 11, 1880:

 

Mr Sterndale, in the course of his interesting papers on the Mammalia of British India, remarks of Ursus Tibetanus, commonly known as the Himalayan Black Bear, that 'a wounded one will sometimes show fight, but in general it tries to escape.' This description is not, I think, quite correct. As it would lead one to suppose that this bear is not more savage than any other wild animal—the nature of most of the feræ being to try to escape when wounded, unless they see the hunter who has fired at them, when many will charge at once, and desperately. The Himalayan Black Bear will not only do this almost invariably, but often attacks men without any provocation whatever, and is altogether about the most fierce, vicious, dangerous brute to be met with either in the hills or plains of India. [...] These brutes are totally different in their dispositions to the Brown Bear (Ursus Isabellinus), which, however desperately wounded, will never charge. I believe there is no case on record of a hunter being charged by a Brown Bear; or even of natives, under any circumstances, being attacked by one; whereas every one of your readers who has ever marched in the Himalayas must have come across many victims of the ferocity of Ursus Tibetanus.

 

At the turn of the 20th century, a hospital in Srinagar, Kashmir received dozens of Asian black bear victims annually. When Asian black bears attack humans, they rear up on their hind legs and knock victims over with their front paws. Then they bite them on an arm or leg and snap on the victim's head, this being the most dangerous part of the attack. Asian black bear attacks have been increasing in Kashmir since the Kashmir conflict. In November 2009, in the Kulgam district of Indian-administered Kashmir, an Asian black bear attacked four insurgents after discovering them in its den, and killed two of them.

 

In India, attacks on humans have been increasing yearly, and have occurred largely in the northwestern and western Himalayan region. In the Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh, the number of Asian black bear attacks on humans has gradually increased from 10 in 1988–89 to 21 in 1991–92. There are no records of predation on humans by Asian black bears in Russia, and no conflicts have been documented in Taiwan. Recent Asian black bear attacks on humans have been reported from Junbesi in Langtang National Park, Nepal, and occurred in villages as well as in the surrounding forest.

 

Nine people were killed by Asian black bears in Japan between 1979 and 1989. In September 2009, an Asian black bear attacked a group of tourists, mauling nine people and seriously injuring four more at a bus station in the built-up area of Takayama, Gifu. The majority of attacks tend to occur when Asian black bears are encountered suddenly, and in close quarters. Because of this, Asian black bears are generally considered more dangerous than brown bears, which live in more open spaces and are thus less likely to be surprised by approaching humans. They are also likely to attack when protecting food.

 

2016 saw several attacks by Asian black bears in Japan. In May and June four people were killed by Asian black bears in Akita prefecture while picking bamboo shoots, and in August a female safari park worker in Gunma prefecture was killed when an Asian black bear climbed into her car and attacked her.

 

Livestock predation and crop damage

In the past, the farmers of the Himalayan lowlands feared Asian black bears more than any other pest, and would erect platforms in the fields, where watchmen would be posted at night and would beat drums to frighten off any interlopers. However, some Asian black bears would grow accustomed to the sound and encroach anyway.

 

Of 1,375 livestock kills examined in Bhutan, Asian black bears accounted for 8% of attacks. Livestock predation, overall, was greatest in the summer and autumn periods, which corresponded with a peak in cropping agriculture; livestock are turned out to pasture and forest during the cropping season and, subsequently, are less well-guarded than at other times.

 

Livestock killed by Asian black bears in Himachal Pradesh, India increased from 29 in 1988–1989 to 45 in 1992–1993.

 

In the remoter areas of Japan, Asian black bears can be serious crop predators: the bears feed on cultivated bamboo shoots in spring, on plums, watermelons and corn in the summer, and on persimmons, sweet potatoes and rice in the autumn. Japanese black bears are estimated to damage 3,000 bee hives annually. When feeding on large crops such as watermelons or pumpkins, Asian black bears will ignore the flesh and eat the seeds, thus adversely affecting future harvests. Asian black bears can girdle and kill trees by stripping their bark for the sap. This can cause serious economic problems in Asia's valuable timber forests. In the late 1970s, 400–1,200 hectares of land had been affected by Asian black bears bark-stripping Japanese conifers. There is evidence that 70-year-old conifers (commanding the highest market values) may also have been bark-stripped.

 

Asian black bears will prey on livestock if their natural food is in poor supply. They have been known to attack bullocks, either killing them outright, or eating them alive.

 

Tameability and trainability

Along with sun bears, Asian black bears are the most typically used species in areas where bears are used either in performances or as pets. Asian black bears have an outstanding learning ability in captivity, and are among the most common species used in circus acts. According to Gary Brown:

 

The Asiatic black bears are the comedians of the performing bears. They appear to appreciate applause and will intentionally move into their prescribed position late to attain laughter and attention. — Brown, The Influence of Bears on Humans

 

Asian black bears are easily tamed, and can be fed with rice, maize, sweet potatoes, cassavas, pumpkins, ripe fruit, animal fat and sweet foods. Keeping captive Asian black bears is popular in China, especially due to the belief that milking the bear's gall bladder leads to quick prosperity. Asian black bears are also popular as pets in Vietnam.

 

Hunting

An Asian black bear hunt, as illustrated by Samuel Howitt

According to The Great and Small Game of India, Burma, and Tibet, regarding the hunting of Asian black bears in British India:

 

Black bear stalking in the forests bordering the valley of Kashmir requires much more care than is expended in approaching brown bear on the open hills above, the senses of sight and hearing being more strongly developed in the black than in the brown species. Many of these forests are very dense, so that it requires the eye of an experienced shikari [hunter] to detect the dark forms of the bears while searching for chestnuts on the ground without the advancing party being detected by the vigilant animals.

 

— The Great and Small Game of India, Burma, and Tibet p. 367

 

The book also describes a second method of black bear hunting involving the beating of small patches of forest, when the bears march out in single file. However, black bears were rarely hunted for sport, because of the poor quality of their fur and the ease by which they could be shot in trees, or stalked, as their hearing was poor.

 

Black bears here afford no sport; it is not shooting at all, it is merely potting a black thing in a tree... I can assure the reader that if he has a fondness for stalking, he will despise bear-killing, and will never shoot at them if there is a chance of anything else. If a man were to hunt for nothing else but bears, and kill a hundred in his six months' leave, he would not have enjoyed such real sport as he would, had he killed ten buck ibex or markhoor.

 

Although easy to track and shoot, Asian black bears were known by British sportsmen to be extremely dangerous when injured. Brigadier General R.G. Burton wrote of how many sportsmen had been killed by Asian black bears after failing to make direct hits.

 

Today, Asian black bears are only legally hunted for sport in Japan and Russia. In Russia, 75–100 Asian black bears are legally harvested annually, though 500 a year are reportedly harvested illegally.

 

After the introduction of Buddhism in Japan, which prohibited the killing of animals, the Japanese compromised by devising different strategies in hunting bears. Some, such as the inhabitants of the Kiso area in the Nagano Prefecture, prohibited the practice altogether, while others developed rituals in order to placate the spirits of killed bears. In some Japanese hunting communities, Asian black bears lacking the white chest mark are considered sacred. In the Akita Prefecture, bears lacking the mark were known by matagi huntsmen as minaguro (all-black) or munaguro (black-chested), and were also considered messengers of yama no kami. If such a bear was shot, the huntsman would offer it to yama no kami, and give up hunting from that time on. Similar beliefs were held in Nagano, where the completely black Asian black bears were termed nekoguma or cat-bear. Matagi communities believed that killing an Asian black bear in the mountains would result in a bad storm, which was linked to the belief that bear spirits could affect weather. The matagi would generally hunt Asian black bears in spring or from late autumn to early winter, before they hibernated. In mountain regions, Asian black bears were hunted by driving them upland to a waiting hunter, who would then shoot it. Bear hunting expeditions were preceded by rituals, and could last up to two weeks. After killing the bear, the matagi would pray for the bear's soul. Asian black bear hunts in Japan are often termed kuma taiji, meaning "bear conquest". The word taiji itself is often used in Japanese folklore to describe the slaying of monsters and demons.

 

Traditionally, the Atayal, Taroko, and Bunun people of Taiwan consider Asian black bears to be almost human in their behaviors, and thus unjust killing of bears is equated with murder and will cause misfortunes such as disease, death, or crop failure. The Bunun people call Asian black bears Aguman or Duman, which means devil. Traditionally, a Bunun hunter who has accidentally trapped an Asian black bear has to build a cottage in the mountains and cremate the bear within it. The hunter must stay in the cottage alone, away from the village until the end of the millet harvest, as it is believed that the killing of an Asian black bear will cause the millet crop to burn black. In the Tungpu area, Asian black bears are considered animals of the "third category": animals with the most remote relationship to humans and whose activity is restricted outside human settlements. Therefore, when Asian black bears encroach upon human settlements, they are considered ill omens. In this situation, the community can either destroy the trespassing bears or settle somewhere else. The Rukai and Paiwan people are permitted to hunt Asian black bears, though they believe that doing so will curse the hunters involved: Rukai people believe that hunting Asian black bears can result in disease. Children are forbidden from eating bear meat, which is itself not permitted to be taken within homes.

 

Products

Asian black bears have been hunted for their body parts in China since the Stone Age. In the 19th century, its fur was considered of low value. Grease was the only practical use for their carcasses in British India, and bears living near villages were considered ideal, as they were almost invariably fatter than forest-dwelling ones. In the former USSR, the Asian black bear yielded fur, meat and fat of greater quality than those of the brown bear. Today, bile is in demand, as it supposedly cures various diseases, treats the accumulation of blood below the skin, and counters toxic effects. Products also include bone 'glue' and fat, both used in traditional medicine and consumed as a tonic. Asian black bear meat is also edible.

Some local shopping after work and my wife had a small demand – a visit to a nearby road side fest

This sort of fair is routine fare in different parts of the city, on different ocassions

This one happens to the 'Rath Yatra'(Chariot festival), the original festival is in Puri in neighbouring Orissa state., en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratha-Yatra

Took along my 50mm along just in case

There is a small temple in this locality which has this temple & the 7 day festival is held on the city streets. A couple of jute totes & some junk jewelry were all my wife could buy. Had some eats and tea and plenty of peeping around the fair as in window shopping

 

Meet Abbhi, who was chatting with a friend and I patiently waited for more than 4 to 5 minutes. I then went upto him and broke into the conversation with an apology for the interruption. I explained to him about the 100 strangers project I was doing & he found it odd that I singled him out

Why me

Hey you're a handsome young man with an interesting look and aura about you

And you are going to post my photograph on some site, right. I agreed - yeah on flickr

And you are going to get paid for that, right

I had to explain that I was learning photography and there was no payment of any sort involved

I explained that that flickr was a part of the yahoo group and this particular 100 strangers group and what it's all about

Sort of all over again

The name 100 strangers struck his head and when he realized some bit about it he gave me a big broad grin

Ahh that's a great project - and how do you do it

I proceeded to introduce myself and then asked him his name and ... the chit chat part

 

Abbhi is a very warm person and once he got a hang of what it was all about opened up

He is 33 yrs old, done his graduation in commerce and management and loved music and films. He wrote for a leading newspaper & magazine, guess as a free lancer, did a couple of jobs too but was presently out of work., or so he told me

OK - he was not the type to be tied up with a routine 9 to 5 job sort is what I could gather

He was working on some films and music and similar projects is all I could gather, a singer, composer, writer, music player, script writer … a multi-faceted & talented young chap

We should meet again soon, he heartily repeatedly kept saying

OK - you are quite close by and we sure shall meet, but only after I had done his project

 

Now the challenge was getting to a decent light source at one of the street vendors & second was to keep the hoards of people walking in between the camera and Abbhi. For background I had little choice. And with keeping my wife waiting for awhile, I just had to fire away

Many thanks Abbhi for being my 22nd stranger friend

And I hope to keep my word to meet up again to know you better & hopefully inaugurate my ‘strangers no more’ album

 

This picture is #22 in my ‘100 Strangers’ project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page

 

And my 13th submission to The Human Family

 

Before highways and railways, before pioneers....the land we know as the United States was truly a vast wilderness. To protect these last remaining areas, in 1984 Congress created the Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. Coyote Buttes' outstanding scenery, desert wildlife, colorful history, and opportunities for primitive recreation will remain free from the influence of man and are protected in this condition for future generations. Its 112,500 acres beckon adventurers who yearn for solitude, scenic splendor, and the chance to explore one of the most beautiful geologic formations in the world.

 

A permit is required to visit Coyote Buttes. Due to overwhelming demand, Coyote Buttes North ("The Wave") permits are available through a lottery. For additional information visit www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/permits-and-passes/lotter....

 

Photo by Bob Wick, BLM.

Princess Polka demanded to get more hair so she got what she asked for. I was organizing my dolly stuff and found Nanami's ex wig which looked very cute on Polka :)) The wig is much longer than she is :D She also demanded that I put the pink & grey striped carpet in front of her dolly cabinet because those are her fav colors ^^

niepada.tumblr.com

The main environmental issues associated with the implementation of the 5G network come with the manufacturing of the many component parts of the 5G infrastructure. In addition, the proliferation of new devices that will use the 5G network that is tied to the acceleration of demand from consumers for new 5G-dependent devices will have serious environmental consequences. The 5G network will inevitably cause a large increase in energy usage among consumers, which is already one of the main contributors to climate change. Additionally, the manufacturing and maintenance of the new technologies associated with 5G creates waste and uses important resources that have detrimental consequences for the environment. 5G networks use technology that has harmful effects on birds, which in turn has cascading effects through entire ecosystems. And, while 5G developers are seeking to create a network that has fewer environmental impacts than past networks, there is still room for improvement and the consequences of 5G should be considered before it is widely rolled out. 5G stands for the fifth generation of wireless technology. It is the wave of wireless technology surpassing the 4G network that is used now. Previous generations brought the first cell phones (1G), text messaging (2G), online capabilities (3G), and faster speed (4G). The fifth generation aims to increase the speed of data movement, be more responsive, and allow for greater connectivity of devices simultaneously.[2] This means that 5G will allow for nearly instantaneous downloading of data that, with the current network, would take hours. For example, downloading a movie using 5G would take mere seconds. These new improvements will allow for self-driving cars, massive expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) device use, and acceleration of new technological advancements used in everyday activities by a much wider range of people. While 5G is not fully developed, it is expected to consist of at least five new technologies that allow it to perform much more complicated tasks at faster speeds. The new technologies 5G will use are hardware that works with much higher frequencies (millimeter wavelengths), small cells, massive MIMO (multiple input multiple output), beamforming, and full duplex.[3] Working together, these new technologies will expand the potential of many of the devices used today and devices being developed for the future. Millimeter waves are a higher frequency wavelength than the radio wavelength generally used in wireless transmission today.[4] The use of this portion of the spectrum corresponds to higher frequency and shorter wavelengths, in this case in the millimeter range (vs the lower radio frequencies where the wavelengths can be in the meters to hundreds of kilometers). Higher frequency waves allow for more devices to be connected to the same network at the same time, because there is more space available compared to the radio waves that are used today. The use of this portion of the spectrum has much longer wavelengths than of that anticipated for a portion of the 5G implementation. The waves in use now can measure up to tens of centimeters, while the new 5G waves would be no greater than ten millimeters.[5] The millimeter waves will create more transmission space for the ever-expanding number of people and devices crowding the current networks. The millimeter waves will create more space for devices to be used by consumers, which will increase energy usage, subsequently leading to increased global warming. Millimeter waves are very weak in their ability to connect two devices, which is why 5G needs something called “small cells” to give full, uninterrupted coverage. Small cells are essentially miniature cell towers that would be placed 250 meters apart throughout cities and other areas needing coverage.[6] The small cells are necessary as emissions [or signals] at this higher frequency/shorter wavelength have more difficulty passing through solid objects and are even easily intercepted by rain.[7] The small cells could be placed on anything from trees to street lights to the sides of businesses and homes to maximize connection and limit “dead zones” (areas where connections are lost). The next new piece of technology necessary for 5G is massive MIMO, which stands for multiple input multiple output. The MIMO describes the capacity of 5G’s base stations, because those base stations would be able to handle a much higher amount of data at any one moment of time. Currently, 4G base stations have around eight transmitters and four receivers which direct the flow of data between devices.[9] 5G will exceed this capacity with the use of massive MIMO that can handle 22 times more ports. Figure 1 shows how a massive MIMO tower would be able to direct a higher number of connections at once. However, massive MIMO causes signals to be crossed more easily. Crossed signals cause an interruption in the transmission of data from one device to the next due to a clashing of the wavelengths as they travel to their respective destinations. To overcome the cross signals problem, beamforming is needed. To maximize the efficiency of sending data another new technology called beamforming will be used in 5G. For data to be sent to the correct user, a way of directing the wavelengths without interference is necessary. This is done through a technique called beamforming. Beamforming directs where exactly data are being sent by using a variety of antennas to organize signals based on certain characteristics, such as the magnitude of the signal. By directly sending signals to where they need to go, beamforming decreases the chances that a signal is dropped due to the interference of a physical object.

One way that 5G will follow through on its promise of faster data transmission is through sending and receiving data simultaneously. The method that allows for simultaneous input and output of data is called full duplexing. While full duplex capabilities allow for faster transmission of data, there is an issue of signal interference, because of echoes. Full duplexing will cut transmission times in half, because it allows for a response to occur as soon as an input is delivered, eliminating the turnaround time that is seen in transmission today. Because these technologies are new and untested, it is hard to say how they will impact our environment. This raises another issue: there are impacts that can be anticipated and predicted, but there are also unanticipated impacts because much of the new technologies are untested. Nevertheless, it is possible to anticipate some of detrimental environmental consequences of the new technologies and the 5G network, because we know these technologies will increase exposure to harmful radiation, increase mining of rare minerals, increase waste, and increase energy usage. The main 5G environmental concerns have to do with two of the five new components: the millimeter waves and the small cells. The whole aim of the new 5G network is to allow for more devices to be used by the consumer at faster rates than ever before, because of this goal there will certainly be an increase in energy usage globally. Energy usage is one of the main contributors to climate change today and an increase in energy usage would cause climate change to increase drastically as well. 5G will operate on a higher frequency portion of the spectrum to open new space for more devices. The smaller size of the millimeter waves compared to radio frequency waves allows for more data to be shared more quickly and creates a wide bandwidth that can support much larger tasks.[15] While the idea of more space for devices to be used is great for consumers, this will lead to a spike in energy usage for two reasons – the technology itself is energy demanding and will increase demand for more electronic devices. The ability for more devices to be used on the same network creates more incentive for consumers to buy electronics and use them more often. This will have a harmful impact on the environment through increased energy use. Climate change has several underlying contributors; however, energy usage is gaining attention in its severity with regards to perpetuating climate change. Before 5G has even been released, about 2% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to the ICT industry.[16] While 2% may not seem like a very large portion, it translates to around 860 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.[17] Greenhouse gas emissions are the main contributors to natural disasters, such as flooding and drought, which are increasing severity and occurrence every year. Currently, roughly 85% of the energy used in the United States can be attributed to fossil fuel consumption.[18] The dwindling availability of fossil fuels and the environmental burden of releasing these fossil fuels into our atmosphere signal an immediate need to shift to other energy sources. Without a shift to other forms of energy production and the addition of technology allowed by the implementation of 5G, the strain on our environment will rise and the damage may never be repaired. With an increase in energy usage through technology and the implementation of 5G, it can be expected that the climate change issues faced today will only increase. The overall contribution of carbon dioxide emissions from the ICT industry has a huge impact on climate change and will continue to have even larger impacts without proper actions. In a European Union report, researchers estimated that in order to keep the increase in global temperature below 2° Celsius a decrease in carbon emissions of around 15-30% is necessary by 2020. Engineers claim that the small cells used to provide the 5G connection will be energy efficient and powered in a sustainable way; however the maintenance and production of these cells is more of an issue. Supporters of the 5G network advocate that the small cells will use solar or wind energy to stay sustainable and green.[20] These devices, labeled “fuel-cell energy servers” will work as clean energy-based generators for the small cells.[21] While implementing base stations that use sustainable energy to function would be a step in the right direction in environmental conservation, it is not the solution to the main issue caused by 5G, which is the impact that the massive amount of new devices in the hands of consumers will have on the amount of energy required to power these devices. The wasteful nature of manufacturing and maintenance of both individual devices and the devices used to deliver 5G connection could become a major contributor of climate change. The promise of 5G technology is to expand the number of devices functioning might be the most troubling aspect of the new technology. Cell phones, computers, and other everyday devices are manufactured in a way that puts stress on the environment. A report by the EPA estimated that in 2010, 25% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions comes from electricity and heat production making it the largest single source of emissions.[22] The main gas emitted by this sector is carbon dioxide, due to the burning of natural gas, such as coal, to fuel electricity sources.[23] Carbon dioxide is one of the most common greenhouse gases seen in our atmosphere, it traps heat in earth’s atmosphere trying to escape into space, which causes the atmosphere to warm generating climate change. Increased consumption of devices is taking a toll on the environment. As consumers gain access to more technologies the cycle of consumption only expands. As new devices are developed, the older devices are thrown out even if they are still functional. Often, big companies will purposefully change their products in ways that make certain partner devices (such as chargers or earphones) unusable–creating demand for new products. Economic incentives mean that companies will continue these practices in spite of the environmental impacts. One of the main issues with the 5G network and the resulting increase in consumption of technological devices is that the production required for these devices is not sustainable. In the case of making new devices, whether they be new smart-phones or the small cells needed for 5G, the use of nonrenewable metals is required. It is extremely difficult to use metals for manufacturing sustainably, because metals are not a renewable resource. Metals used in the manufacturing of the smart devices frequently used today often cannot be recycled in the same way many household items can be recycled. Because these technologies cannot be recycled, they create tons of waste when they are created and tons of waste when they are thrown away. There are around six billion mobile devices in use today, with this number expected to increase drastically as the global population increases and new devices enter the market. One estimate of the life-time carbon emissions of a single device–not including related accessories and network connection–is that a device produces a total of 45kg of carbon dioxide at a medium level of usage over three years. This amount of emission is comparable to that of driving the average European car for 300km. But, the most environmentally taxing stage of a mobile device life cycle is during the production stage, where around 68% of total carbon emissions is produced, equating to 30kg of carbon dioxide. To put this into perspective, an iPhone X weighs approximately 0.174kg, so in order to produce the actual device, 172 iPhone X’s worth of carbon dioxide is also created. These emissions vary from person to person and between different devices, but it’s possible to estimate the impact one device has on the environment. 5G grants the capacity for more devices to be used, significantly increase the existing carbon footprint of smart devices today. Energy usage for the ever-growing number of devices on the market and in homes is another environmental threat that would be greatly increased by the new capabilities brought by the 5G network. Often, energy forecasts overlook the amount of energy that will be consumed by new technologies, which leads to a skewed understanding of the actual amount of energy expected to be used.[30] One example of this is with IoT devices.[31] IoT is one of the main aspects of 5G people in the technology field are most excited about. 5G will allow for a larger expansion of IoT into the everyday household.[32] While some IoT devices promise lower energy usage abilities, the 50 billion new IoT devices expected to be produced and used by consumers will surpass the energy used by today’s electronics.

The small cells required for the 5G network to properly function causes another issue of waste with the new network. Because of the weak nature of the millimeter waves used in the 5G technology, small cells will need to be placed around 250 meters apart to insure continuous connection. The main issue with these small cells is that the manufacturing and maintenance of these cells will create a lot of waste. The manufacturing of technology takes a large toll on the environment, due to the consumption of non-renewable resources to produce devices, and technology ending up in landfills. Implementing these small cells into large cities where they must be placed at such a high density will have a drastic impact on technology waste. Technology is constantly changing and improving, which is one of the huge reasons it has such high economic value. But, when a technological advancement in small cells happens, the current small cells would have to be replaced. The short lifespan of devices created today makes waste predictable and inevitable. In New York City, where there would have to be at least 3,135,200 small cells, the waste created in just one city when a new advancement in small cells is implemented would have overwhelming consequences on the environment. 5G is just one of many examples of how important it is to look at the consequences of new advancements before their implementation. While it is exciting to see new technology that promises to improve everyday life, the consequences of additional waste and energy usage must be considered to preserve a sustainable environment in the future. There is some evidence that the new devices and technologies associated with 5G will be harmful to delicate ecosystems. The main component of the 5G network that will affect the earth’s ecosystems is the millimeter waves. The millimeter waves that are being used in developing the 5G network have never been used at such scale before. This makes it especially difficult to know how they will impact the environment and certain ecosystems. However, studies have found that there are some harms caused by these new technologies. The millimeter waves, specifically, have been linked to many disturbances in the ecosystems of birds. In a study by the Centre for Environment and Vocational Studies of Punjab University, researchers observed that after exposure to radiation from a cell tower for just 5-30 minutes, the eggs of sparrows were disfigured.[34] The disfiguration of birds exposed for such a short amount of time to these frequencies is significant considering that the new 5G network will have a much higher density of base stations (small cells) throughout areas needing connection. The potential dangers of having so many small cells all over areas where birds live could cause whole populations of birds to have mutations that threaten their population’s survival. Additionally, a study done in Spain showed breeding, nesting, and roosting was negatively affected by microwave radiation emitted by a cell tower. Again, the issue of the increase in the amount of connection conductors in the form of small cells to provide connection with the 5G network is seen to be harmful to species that live around humans. Additionally, Warnke found that cellular devices had a detrimental impact on bees.[36] In this study, beehives exposed for just ten minutes to 900MHz waves fell victim to colony collapse disorder.Colony collapse disorder is when many of the bees living in the hive abandon the hive leaving the queen, the eggs, and a few worker bees. The worker bees exposed to this radiation also had worsened navigational skills, causing them to stop returning to their original hive after about ten days. Bees are an incredibly important part of the earth’s ecosystem. Around one-third of the food produced today is dependent on bees for pollination, making bees are a vital part of the agricultural system. Bees not only provide pollination for the plant-based food we eat, but they are also important to maintaining the food livestock eats. Without bees, a vast majority of the food eaten today would be lost or at the very least highly limited. Climate change has already caused a large decline in the world’s bee population. The impact that the cell towers have on birds and bees is important to understand, because all ecosystems of the earth are interconnected. If one component of an ecosystem is disrupted the whole system will be affected. The disturbances of birds with the cell towers of today would only increase, because with 5G a larger number of small cell radio-tower-like devices would be necessary to ensure high quality connection for users. Having a larger number of high concentrations of these millimeter waves in the form of small cells would cause a wider exposure to bees and birds, and possibly other species that are equally important to our environment.As innovation continues, it is important that big mobile companies around the world consider the impact 5G will have on the environment before pushing to have it widely implemented. The companies pushing for the expansion of 5G may stand to make short term economic gains. While the new network will undoubtedly benefit consumers greatly, looking at 5G’s long-term environmental impacts is also very important so that the risks are clearly understood and articulated. The technology needed to power the new 5G network will inevitably change how mobile devices are used as well as their capabilities. This technological advancement will also change the way technology and the environment interact. The change from using radio waves to using millimeter waves and the new use of small cells in 5G will allow more devices to be used and manufactured, more energy to be used, and have detrimental consequences for important ecosystems. While it is unrealistic to call for 5G to not become the new network norm, companies, governments, and consumers should be proactive and understand the impact that this new technology will have on the environment. 5G developers should carry out Environmental Impact Assessments that fully estimate the impact that the new technology will have on the environment before rushing to widely implement it. Environmental Impact Assessments are intended to assess the impact new technologies have on the environment, while also maximizing potential benefits to the environment. This process mitigates, prevents, and identifies environmental harm, which is imperative to ensuring that the environment is sustainable and sound in the future. Additionally, the method of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of devices would also be extremely beneficial for understanding the impact that 5G will inevitably have on the environment. An LCA can be used to assess the impact that devices have on carbon emissions throughout their life span, from the manufacturing of the device to the energy required to power the device and ultimately the waste created when the device is discarded into a landfill or other disposal system. By having full awareness of the impact new technology will have on the environment ways to combat the negative impacts can be developed and implemented effectively.

 

jsis.washington.edu/news/what-will-5g-mean-for-the-enviro...

  

數著心跳的日常

 

www.qphotolife.com

 

#壞掉

#stilllifephotography#stilllife#stilllifephoto

#靜物#生活

#bnw #bnw_captures

#bnw_creatives#bnw_addicted

#bnw_demand

#bnw_drama

#bnw_just

#bnw_of_our_world

#photography#人體

#nude#nudephotography

 

S, Mansur by Mansoor Saleem

Some notes ABOUT MY WORK (a brief sample of local or regional anthropology at micro level):

The word "Gravity" is a symbol of reality that exists. Similarly E=mc2 is a combination of symbols trying to express some reality. In similar fashion my depiction of flashes (kashf) should be conceived that they are equations not in math but in language that nature uses. Perhaps fate had dropped flashes in my lap and I am depicting these flashes for world to know how to derive knowledge out of these flashes. May be from Archetypal plane I am receiving flashes and transforming these into phenomenal plane, but for more perfect transformation, sponsorship is required, like flashes roughly depicted demands super realistic treatment or animations at some points, or arrangements in 3- Dimension or performing activities or etc. at some other points, because each of my work either illustrated or arranged for photo is a part of animation and is just a one shot from one angle of bigger reality, therefore I am not a sur-realist. For deriving knowledge from my flashes their access to wider researchers in form of website, book, Museum, CD, video, etc. are required. And due to unavailability of resources, most of the paintings were sold before I could photographed these works which basically are like the fossils of the time and region and are done with hope that in future in order to get some data out of these works, the dimensions of anthropology, psychology, historiography, neurology, neuro-physics and other aspects will also be taken into account and the result may benefit in understanding some aspect of the complex Nature. The importance of flashes can be realized from the ripple effect observable in art and multi-media community that somehow came in contact with the work and hijacked ideology out of these flashes, such benefits, scientific community has not taken yet. From art point of view the art community produced high quality variations out of flashes but their work lack archetypal dimension which is one of the aspect, useful for scientific community to explore.

For cataloguing purpose somewhere title or art terminology like: "oil on canvas", "collage", "performance", "installations", "construction", etc. are used has nothing to do with meaning of the work, flashes are independent of these terminologies borrowed from art for cataloguing purpose only, flashes are beyond art. Flashes can include any ism, any element, bizarre thing, anything or things we don't know, that's why thousands of my flashes goes waste due to lack of energy and resources. Besides colorful images, performance and animation, Flashes also comes in form of sound as well, for instance I heard the sound: "Quranic archaeology is a mighty subject," this flash took me into the archaeology.

Researchers are invited to reply on enigma of colorful flashes. From where they come? they come to all or to few,? Few interesting pieces of writing below could be the starting point for debate: One is by David V. Tansley in his book: 'Subtle body' , author writes,..."the pineal gland has been found to contain vestigial traces of optic tissue. Experiments have shown that nerve impulses arise in the pineal in response to stimulation by light. Galen claimed that the pineal was a regulator of thought, and the Greeks said that the soul was anchored there. According to esoteric tradition this gland is the focal point for the masculine positive energy of spirit which is represented by the first hexagram of l-Ching, its six yang lines symbolizing the primal power of heaven and the creative action of the holy man".

But spirituality or metaphysical dimension is relevant in my case or not is a question unsolved or perhaps I should confine myself to physical dimension of Flashes (or call it images) which stay in my eyes just for less than a half second, perhaps for 0.01 second and I simply illustrate these Flashes and what it holds for future Fine Art, Sciences, Meta-science or Spirituality, I do not know yet, so I isolate myself from dada and sur-realism because I avoid title and avoid mixing my imagination or experimentation in recording of Flashes which is very rare or unrecorded. In dada and sur-realism we do read about dreams and drug infused random thoughts, but not flashes, so far no word about flashes I find even in Freud or Jungian psychology, they talk about dream importance. And in Christian art history so far I have only observed mixing of dream and inspiration from Bible. No body so far I have read in Dada and sur-realism that somebody is claiming that he is depicting Flashes or depicting flashes without mixing his imagination or experimentation. After seeing the difference between two (1) Pure Flashes and (2) some of my work based on mixing of imagination or experimentation with Flashes, now I can pin point the Flash, mixed or unmixed. My major work which is unmixed are pure Flashes (1) and my mixed work (2) can be termed as sur-realistic which I did for commercial reason on client's demand who was mad of sur-realism, I wish I could destroy these sur-realistic works. Since I can now perceive the difference between Flashes and work based on mixing of imagination or experimentation, now I can pin point the Flash, mixed or unmixed, so my major work should not be equate with William Blake, Dali, De Chirico, Carra, Marcel Duchamp, Magrette, etc., because I am not competing in art aesthetic, or in painterly compositions, I have no experience of spirituality, so my work should not also be confuse with any oriental mystics or artists who refer to the metaphysical in some form or another.

My work from (1974-81) of installations, performances based on flashes is still unpublished, so new generation do not know about it, in South Asian art also so far, no artist has ever claimed flashes mixed or un-mixed. For future science world, un-mixed flashes will be more important. Please inform on email mansursalim@hotmail.com, if reader come up with something related to science of flashes, or near to it, for instance few near relevant things I found are:

Physicist Mitchell Feigenbaum (reported in the New York Times, 1984), that when inspiration came to Feigenbaum, it was in the form of a picture, a mental image of two small wavy forms and one big one. This gave him an idea about scaling, the way the small features of a thing relate to the large features, it gave him the path he needed. For period doubling, scaling showed not only when one value-a total population or a fluid speed-would break into two, but also just where the new values would be found, Scaling was an intimate feature of the peculiar world Feigenbaum was beginning to explore.

Arthur I. Miller in a discussion of "redefining visualizability" makes it clear...the experimental evidence prevents us from forming a mental image bridging the wave-particle duality, such an image is available by 'Anschaulichheit' (German term for intuition, plus more) of another kind. It is the kind of image the physicist Werner Heisenberg had in mind when he asserted that, although the causality of classical mechanics has no access to quantum theory, quantum mechanics should not be considered unanschaulich, that is, excluded from imagery (Miller, Imagery in Scientific Thought). One example of such image is Albert Einstein's famous thought experiment in which he demonstrated the equivalence of inertia and gravitation by imagining an observer pulled through empty space in a closed container. Such images, however, lead by degrees of abstraction to others limited to spatial diagrams of a theoretical situation. Sigmund Freud, for example, writes, "We assume that the psychic life has the function of an apparatus, to which we attribute spatial extension and which we imagine as being composed of several pieces, similar to a telescope or microscope" Although such an image provides complementarity with a concrete percept of its models, it would not seem to provide it with a representable reality. But some physicists disagree that Niels Bohr never apply his notion of complementarity to subject other than physics. But for some physicists the contrary is true. (From Rudolf Arnheim's essay: “Complementarity from the outside” in book: Rescue of art).

May be or may not be these above references are relevant here for flashes I do not know, but for scientific analysis it is important to state briefly here the background of how I realized the importance of these flashes, but for scientific cause I have to write what I should not. I hope my friends will forgive me for this cause, because for good Gestalt one should have all the possible details in mind, it is beyond humans to perceive Perfect Gestalt, only Allah knows everything. A year before Metric and much before Diploma in fine art, my art works (flashes, mixed and unmixed) since 1974 were on display at Atelier BM and at Indus gallery, and since then I am observing the ripple effect of those works. After solo show of my works at Pakistan American Cultural Center, January 1979, I went to CIAC, Karachi Arts Council, to check effects of my Flash-works among artists. Before flashes since 1973 I was only doing super realistic sort of paintings of surrounding and of interior Sindh culture and capturing the local environment to come up with something: Pakistani avant-garde which I displayed at PACC solo show in Jan. 1979. But was ignored by media, only small press coverage came with a suggestion: "Mansoor has to stick to his remarkably sound realistic style instead of delving into many styles". (Art show, Daily News, Jan. 9, 1979). But anyhow I was realizing the importance of my flashes which were inspiring the most intelligent and talented of artist community for example: Ghalib Baqar changed his Dali sort of Sur realism into experimental water color, other water colorists like Abdul Hayee, Ather Jamal, Zahin Ahmad, Hanif Shezad, etc. added Karachi and interior Sindh imagery into their work. But at the same time I was learning the techniques of art from them. From Hayee and Baqar I learned the techniques of water color, from Farhan Ehsan I learned the techniques of drawing and calligraphy, from Amir Khan Tareen I learned the techniques of Rembrandt, from Abul Fateh I learned the techniques of ceramics, from Dr. Sajid Khan and Naseem Khan I learned the techniques of photography, from A.G. Khalid I learned the techniques of using computer and so on.

One of world's best super realist artist Shakil Siddiquei changed his Rembrandt sort of style into super realistic abstraction, for instance his paintings of Book shelf, Notice board, door, windows, composition with Dawn news paper, Sindhi dari, fruit packing wooden peyti, Chilmun and etc., in subject matter, were directly inspired by my flashes in form of photos or artworks I shared with him. Art critic Dr. S. Amjad Ali in his article: "Growing trend towards realism", wrote;..."Saleem Mansoor was the first to begin this kind of realism in Karachi but he was well advised to give up after creating a few interesting pieces. It is a good way of gaining command over technique and then putting it to other use in which more thought and feeling comes into play." (Dawn, April 20, 1984).

Ejazul Hassan wrote in Page 17, 123 in the catalogue of 5th National Exhibition, 1985, Published by Idara Saqafat Pakistan, written by Ejazul Husan.

"Young Mansoor Saleem has his own unusual way with objects and space. He sometimes likes to call his work as "installation" in the environment around him. He always wants to place things where he thinks these should be placed. The coiled wire, with a crescent on top, placed on a gray composition is evidence of his restless imagination. The title "Pakistani Avant Garde" also shows his wit." (—page 123, Ejazul Husan)

"The young painter Saleem Mansoor....investigates new methods and techniques not only meant to widen the scope and definition of realism but also to discover fresh methods to stimulate the viewers' response. His 'painting' titled The Pakistani Avant-garde' is wittily fabricated with tan-gue-in-cheek humor making an apt comment on elitist attitudes and trends in modern art."—(page: 17, from the introduction of 5th National Exhibition by Ejazul Hasan)

Most helping and highly creative artist and multi media man Imran Mir in 1975 appreciated my work in high remarks when he was discussing with Bashir Mirza at Atelier BM. BM was telling him that before going to Canada what Imran observed in art scene was still the same when he returned after many years, that Ahmed Pervaiz is repeating Allen Davy, and Shakir Ali, Mansur Rahi and their students were repeating Picasso and Braque's cubism in Indian or Bengali styles and Jamil Naqsh, Lubna Agha, Mansur Aye, Mashkoor, and others are repeating the same compositions, Rabia Zuberi and Shahid Sajjad repeating Henry Moor and so on. Imran pointing towards my work replied: "he is the change"! and BM acknowledged it. Imran like Zahoor ul Akhlaque, also absorbed elements from my flashes (like geometry, etc) but both only absorbed post modern art-elements from my flashes (but they absorbed postmodern element from other sources like we see in work of Herbert Bayer, Jennifer Bartlett, Ross Blacker, Sean Scully and etc) which not much is my concerned.

During my slide show at NCA in 1981, Zahoor and his wife asked me about my future plan, they were surprised to hear that I will soon be joining Archaeology Department in some university because from inside I am an anthropologist also. All my work is not only a statement in anthropology, but is also a statement in neurology, physics, and other sciences. Imran sincerely wanted to bring post modern trends in the region, perhaps for variety he introduced me to many artists, for instance, one day Imran came to me and carried my work's photos in his car and took me to David Alesworth's house and showed my work to him and his wife Durriya and Imran told them to do something like that and after one month of that, Imran's wife Nighat, told me; "Mansoor! You know Durriya is taking your sort of Truck art from Karachi to Peshawar". Nighat was saying that because she much before this event has written an article in press on my 1977 Truck art collection and Sara Irshad has written on my 1981 work: "Taking art show on donkey cart to the folk". Durriya and David not only took the advantage of my flashes but others also followed similar ideology, for instance Ruby Chisti, Masooma Syed, Naiza Khan, Adeela Khan, Rashid Rana, Noorjehn Bilgramy, Huma Mulji, Farida Batool, Ali Raza, Sophie Ernst, Faiza But, M. Ali Talpur, Imran Qureshi, Ameen Gulgee, Jamal Shah, Nazish Ataullah, Aaisha Khalid, Risham Syed and many others who spread the ideology to Melbourne, Dubai, London, New York, Berlin, etc.

Before their first thesis, IVSAA'S principal invited me for slide show of my work, but to my surprise only the faculty staff was invited and not the students. After a month or so one of the faculty member Kamran Hamid told me, "Mansoor go and see student's thesis at IVSAA where teachers has influenced students to do work which is similar to your ideology"." Now it is a tradition there. Even their very architecture is based on the ideology of some of my old flashes and on article published in press. Against me, I even find wrong propaganda by hijackers of my work. And rather through lobby in media they even sensor or edit my interviews according to their need of representing me with those works which they have not preferred to hijack from my flashes. In Shisha, Shanakht, Carce, IVSAA, Fomma and VASL works I have observed direct influence of ideologies, imageries derived out of my flashes. For assessment of the influence, historiographical approach is required. For commercial reason, they can ignore me too but future history will not. Local art magazine and art book writers were chased to ignore me.

I also held slide show of the work at NCA in 1981, where Zahoor-ul-Akhlaque, his wife and his students saw the show. Salima Hashmi wrote an article on my exhibition at Alhambra gallery Lahore, in March, 1984. The effort bore its fruit, through historiography one can trace after 1981, the change in NCA and change in Zahoor, Ejazul Hasan, Salima Hashmi, Shahid Sajjad, Mehar Afroze, etc., and change in their younger generation of students. They and other agents and technology (since 1974 perhaps) spread the influence of my flashes abroad as well, for instance on Beverly Pepper, Nicole Eisenman, Anish Kapoor, Mohsin Zaidi, Susanne Kessler and etc.

All the names mentioned above have the right to disagree with me, these are just friendly assumptions for researchers to look at such debate too to guess what the Flashes are? I too was inspired by many but after receiving Flashes from nature, I painted these with realization that they are more important than Mona Lisa, E=mc2 or Taj Mahal. I have no solo shows in prestigious gallery abroad I have no big post, scholarship or any sponsorship or awards, etc. But what Nature has given me in form of Flashes is more important that they are prototype for all time to come, back to the future or forward into the past. All artists are free to make anything they wish or according to market forces but I have to make (for science) what I receive in form of Flashes. Historiographicaly speaking Flashes' influence is more than what the work of Shakir Ali, Sadequein, Gulgee, M.F. Hussain and etc. had. But no comment I see in the catalogue of 2007- National exhibition, even the Karachiets have ignored me too. Sindh Governor is not using his Legend Fund; I now in time of Parkinson disease need sponsorship to continue the mission, if possible Inshallah. ...MS

 

Mansoor Saleem's solo show, May, 2008

Shakil Ismail Art Gallery

Ground Floor, Marine Point, Block 9, Clifton Karachi. Tel: 0321-2409949, E-mail: shakilismailartgallery@yahoo.com

Gallery is not responsible what artists express freely

 

Assam on Mom's rocking chair after we moved it to our house, demanding that I pet her. Taken in California in December of 2013.

Edinburgh Royal Mile 2011

Kyoto Color version of Tibouchine Urvilleana. Limited depth of field here. I'll need a little more experience before I can keep all those various stamen parts in focus from a few cm away.

giclee prints signed and numbered available on demand. For more check my site: www.francobrambilla.com

The cats demanded, and got, an early dinner today (about 3:30PM instead of 4:00PM). Now, at 5:10 or so, they're hungry again. See what happens when you eat too early? However, Bonkers being rather delicate, got an after dinner dinner anyway. (The other cats finished what he didn't.)

 

I think Yuba was either upstairs or sleeping in his nest next to the window and couldn't be bothered to show up for the group photo.

Protesters hold up a banner above Nathan Phillips Square.

Demand was requested for some lace up boot pictures, so I am happy to supply!

Making the case for only children

 

I couldn't believe they were almost knocking (Mom? Dad?) off the fence...

 

Here's another shot of poor mom/dad.

"liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time" 光復香港 時代革命

**************************

Two plain-clothes policemen were surrounded and twice beaten up by protesters in Hong Kong on Sunday as officers tried to call an early end to a rally in the business district, resulting in several rounds of tear gas being fired and the arrest of the organiser of the demonstration.

 

Thousands took part in the police-approved protest in Chater Garden, Central, at 3pm, to demand electoral reforms for September’s legislative elections and urge the international community to impose sanctions on the Hong Kong government if their calls were snubbed.

 

But the day descended into mayhem when police declared the rally over after skirmishes between protesters and officers nearby.

 

The first scuffles broke out when police held a man to the ground in Des Voeux Road Central, drawing an angry response from protesters who then surrounded the officers.

 

Eight people were arrested in the area for possession of extendable batons, hammers and spanners. The force said it believed those detained had plans to create chaos.

 

A group of radical black-clad protesters first set upon a police liaison officer about an hour after the rally started after he spoke to the organiser, Ventus Lau Wing-hong. He fell to the ground as heavy blows rained down on him, including from a protester’s metal baton. A colleague who came to his aid was also beaten. The pair managed to flee across the road but were again attacked as they tried to get into a nearby office tower.

 

“At around 4pm today, while two officers of the police community liaison office were liaising with the organiser of a public event in Chater Garden, Central, they were suddenly surrounded and beaten up brutally by a large group of rioters with wooden sticks and other weapons,” police said in a statement.

 

“They were left with bloody injuries to the head. Such appalling acts are not to be condoned. The police will endeavour to bring the assailants to justice.”

 

In another statement, the force said protesters threw water bottles at them when they were intercepting people in the area.

 

Hard-core protesters set up barricades on roads and dug up paving bricks, police said in explanation of their decision to shut down the rally.

 

Officers used pepper spray on protesters and several rounds of tear gas were fired. A police water cannon and armoured vehicle were moved into Central amid the chaos. But they were not used.

 

Lau, a spokesman for Hong Kong Civil Assembly Team, which organised the rally, was arrested immediately after speaking to reporters in the evening. Police accused him of inciting the crowd and violating one of the rules in the force’s letter of no objection for the rally, that protesters could not overcrowd Chater Garden, Lau’s group said.

 

Zion Lam, another spokesman from the group, denied the accusations and said there was still space in Chater Garden. The organiser had even asked those at the rally to leave to make room for other protesters to get in, Lam added.

 

Before his arrest, Lau said police should bear full responsibility for the day’s chaos.

 

He said a man in plain clothes who identified himself as an officer asked him to cut short the rally because there were clashes nearby. Lau demanded he show his warrant card.

 

“The officer refused to display his warrant card until the crowd became too emotional. By then, the situation had become too hard to control,” Lau said. “I told him that as long as he showed me his warrant card, I would end the rally.”

 

A large crowd of protesters surrounded the officer, who then showed his warrant card. He and another plain-clothes officer were then beaten up by radicals.

 

Lau claimed that at least 150,000 people took part in the rally, while police put the turnout at 11,680 at its peak. After the rally was brought to an end, police ordered those in the area to leave immediately or be arrested. Some were rounded up.

 

In a police briefing on Sunday night, Senior Superintendent Ng Lok-chun said the two assaulted officers were left with “serious and bloody injuries”.

 

“This happened in broad daylight, right in front of the event organiser himself. We once again strongly condemn rioters for launching such violent attacks on our officers,” he said.

 

He added that the rally organiser was acquainted with the officers, and so it was “ridiculous” that Lau claimed he did not know them. Lau was arrested for contravening the conditions on the police’s letter of no objection and for repeatedly obstructing the officers in carrying out their duties.

 

A total of four officers were injured on Sunday, Ng said. He did not elaborate on the other two officers.

 

Asked why officers held up the identity card of a Stand News reporter in front of his camera while he was doing a live broadcast on Sunday afternoon, Ng said he did not have information on the incident.

 

But Privacy Commissioner Stephen Wong Kai-yi said his office was looking into the incident in a fair manner along with a similar case in Tai Po earlier.

 

In a late-night statement, a government spokesman said it strongly condemned protesters’ “outrageous” attacks on officers with no anti-riot equipment.

 

Separately, the force said four petrol bombs were hurled at the reporting room and car park of Tai Po Police Station at about 8pm. No one was hurt but services at the reporting room were suspended.

 

Later on Sunday night, riot police were back on the streets, this time in Mong Kok, a popular shopping and entertainment area in Kowloon. In a game of cat and mouse, protesters tried to block traffic, throwing bags of rubbish and other items close at hand onto roads, as police raced through the streets after them.

 

Police raised a blue flag, warning protesters they were taking part in an illegal assembly, a number of times. Officers also used pepper spray, at one point firing on a group of people, including reporters, gathered on the pavement.

 

Sunday afternoon’s demonstration, the second in a row pushing for more democracy, was held as protests, sparked in June by the now-withdrawn extradition bill, entered their eighth month.

 

The movement has morphed into a wider anti-government campaign, with protesters issuing five demands, including the establishment of a judge-led independent inquiry into the police’s use of force.

 

Lau said the government must scrap the functional constituencies of the Legislative Council, which return 35 lawmakers to the 70-seat legislature and have long been criticised. Voting for the functional constituencies, except for five “super seats”, is restricted to those from certain trades and professional sectors.

 

“The first time I heard about the calls for universal suffrage, that was in 2007 and 2008. People have then been calling for it in 2012, 2017, and we’re now already in 2020,” Lau, 26, told the crowd.

 

“We have had a lot of peaceful demonstrations … but has the government ever listened?” The protesters responded with a resounding “no”.

 

Lau added: “We’re not just here to protest today. We’re here to revolt, to exact revenge [for government inaction].”

 

Some rally-goers waved US national flags and banners calling for Hong Kong independence.

 

In November, US President Donald Trump signed into law legislation that could bring diplomatic action and economic sanctions against Hong Kong, waving off multiple warnings by China against such a move.

 

Protester Serah Kwong, a retired secondary school teacher in her late 50s, said she knew of teachers who were worried about retribution from their schools for supporting the protest movement.

 

“This oppression may happen to all professions. That’s why we hope there will be more interventions from foreign countries,” Kwong said, referring to sanctions from foreign governments.

 

“This is the only way to keep up with the pressure.”

 

Earlier this month, Hong Kong’s education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung warned that teachers’ personal remarks on social media were regulated by the law and a professional code of conduct and those who behaved inappropriately should face consequences.

 

Another protester, office worker Andy Chan, joined the rally because he was angry at police’s use of force at previous protests.

 

“We have to make sure the five demands are fulfilled, in particular the demand to investigate police brutality,” the 25-year-old said, adding that international sanctions were the only solution left when the Hong Kong government had failed to respond.

 

Meanwhile, the Transport Department said repairs and testing of the e-payment facilities for all nine manual toll lanes of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel had been completed and would resume operation from 7am on Monday. The facilities were damaged two months ago amid violent protests.

 

www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3046726/hong...

 

【明報專訊】民間集會團隊昨發起中環集會，呼籲各國實施制裁法案，其間警方稱有示威者在中環一帶堵路和縱火，約下午4時派出便衣警員向主辦方要求終止集會，其間被示威者襲擊，負傷走至長江中心暫避，再被多名黑衣人圍毆，被人用棍及磚頭擊打，頭部流血，警方施放催淚彈驅散。警方昨午清場時，有市民亦被防暴警打穿頭，同樣血流披面。警方重案組昨晚拘捕活動發起人劉頴匡，指他違反集會不反對通知書條款，若有足夠證據會檢控。

 

主辦方稱15萬人 警：最高峰1.1萬

主辦單位稱有15萬人參加集會，警方稱最高峰時約有1.1萬人。政府昨發聲明回應對有集會者要求外國政府干涉香港事務及實施「制裁」表示極度遺憾，對於普選訴求，聲明又以1100多字重申政府明白市民爭取普選的訴求的立場。

 

警歸咎示威者堵路縱火 稱劉故意刁難

近期多次集會及遊行被腰斬，昨亦不例外，港島總區高級警司（行動）吳樂俊昨晚歸咎示威者剝奪市民集會權利，對此表示遺憾。他稱昨午集會場外有示威者堵路和縱火，警方安排多名便衣警員向劉頴匡要求終止集會，在場便衣警員一直與主辦方保持溝通，與劉頴匡互相認識，惟仍被劉質疑警員身分，認為遭故意刁難，後來更有警員被示威者襲擊至頭破血流，對此表示非常憤怒。他說，事件中最少有4名警員受傷，當中一人昨晚需留院治理。

 

警重兵截「流水」 集會前檢伸縮棍槌仔拘8人

 

吳樂俊又稱，警方未有使用催淚彈多時，惟昨防暴警員護送受襲便衣警員離去時，在長江中心外仍遭多名示威者追打，迫於無奈施放催淚彈驅散。他又稱集會前截查市民，結果拘捕8人，在他們身上搜出伸縮棍、士巴拿及槌仔，若不採取行動，可能會危害公眾安全，後果不堪設想。

 

警方對上一次施放催淚彈是今年1月5日，當日上水廣場舉行反水貨遊行。

 

民間集會團隊原定昨舉辦「天下制裁」遊行，由中環遊行至銅鑼灣，惟遭警方反對，警方只向遮打花園集會發出不反對通知書。昨午1時許，警方已於港島多處重兵佈防，並安排水炮車戒備，阻止集會者「流水式」離開中環遊行（見圖）。

 

昨午3時許遮打花園已站滿人，部分市民在場外站立。集會期間，警方在場外截查一名男子，指有人向警員掟水樽及疑似漆彈，一批防暴警衝前制服一名男子，其間向圍觀者施放胡椒噴霧。有示威者在中國建設銀行大廈外噴漆，以及在德輔道中及雪廠街交界設傘陣堵路及縱火焚燒雜物。

 

一名自稱警民關係科、無戴委任證的便衣警員，4時許在集會現場向劉頴匡公開要求劉終止集會，該警員在劉多次要求下才出示委任證，擾攘及理論一番後，警民關係科便衣警員及旁邊無表明身分、一直保護便衣警員的人遭示威者襲擊，其後這批人被揭發也是便衣警。現場場面混亂，他們跑至附近長江中心外，再遭一批黑衣人以棍及手持磚頭擊打身體，及後防暴警趕至。警方後來施放催淚彈驅散在場者。

 

劉：便衣遲遲不展證 應負責

民間集會團隊發言人劉頴匡之後見記者，宣布集會有15萬人參加，他稱若非警方無故腰斬集會，相信集會人數會更多。他又說，昨日警民衝突主要源於有便衣警遲遲不出示委任證，便要求他腰斬集會，激發群眾不滿，認為警方需為衝突負責。警方在劉見傳媒後，即以主辦單位違反「不反對通知書」的協定，沒有協助維持秩序，拘捕劉頴匡。

 

明報記者

 

news.mingpao.com/pns/%e6%b8%af%e8%81%9e/article/20200120/...

Seen and photographed on a New Year's Eve photowalk with Chun and Andrea. Alleyway off of Homer and Hasting Streets, Gastown, Vancouver. December 31, 2012.

 

(Title inspiration by Flipper.)

mobile phones great things but also a pain always being accecibe.

well B was feeling unwell and was fed up with me under her feet so she said I should go out so I did. Not a bad look for a rush job

Demand is clearly high at Porthgwidden Beach in St Ives and the beach huts are stacked.

European Eagle Owl

The Federal Motor Truck Company built trucks from 1910-59.

Demand for the plain looking Federal truck bottomed out in 1932 while their main competitor Diamond T was doing brisk business selling smart looking trucks, despite the Great Depression.

Styling changed in 1933 to try and save them from bankruptcy, more streamlined styling was introduced.,They offered two cabs throughout the rest of the 1930s, the standard and the deluxe, two separate cabs were used, one with more curves and a higher standard of finish to distinguish it from the standard job.

Federal enjoyed a long and a continuing association with the U.S. Army for the supply of military and civilian type vehicles.

Engine; 90hp 318 cu in 20R 'Big Six'

Gasoline Alley, Calgary

Western South Dakota is home to incredible sights like the Badlands and the Needles of the Black Hills, but nothing “sticks out” quite like Mount Rushmore National Memorial. This giant monument celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2016. In honor of this milestone, here are 75 facts about the sculpture that has captured the imaginations of so many.

 

1. The idea of creating a sculpture in the Black Hills was dreamed up in 1923 by South Dakota historian Doane Robinson. He wanted to find a way to attract tourists to the state.

 

2. It worked. Mount Rushmore is now visited by nearly 3 million people annually.

 

3. Robinson initially wanted to sculpt the likenesses of Western heroes like Oglala Lakota leader Red Cloud, explorers Lewis and Clark, and Buffalo Bill Cody into the nearby stone pinnacles known as the Needles.

 

4. Danish-American sculptor Gutzon Borglum was enlisted to help with the project. At the time, he was working on the massive carving at Stone Mountain in Georgia, but by his own account said the model was flawed and the monument wouldn’t stand the test of time. He was looking for a way out when South Dakota called.

 

5. Borglum, a good friend of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, dreamed of something bigger than the Needles. He wanted something that would draw people from around the world. He wanted to carve a mountain.

 

6. Besides, the Needles site was deemed too narrow for sculpting, and the mountain had better exposure to the sun.

 

7. Borglum and his son, Lincoln, thought the monument should have a national focus and decided that four presidents should be carved.

 

8. The presidents were chosen for their significant contribution to the founding, expansion, preservation and unification of the country.

 

9. George Washington (1789-1797) was chosen because he was our nation’s founding father.

 

10. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was chosen to represent expansion, because he was the president who signed the Louisiana Purchase and authored the Declaration of Independence.

 

11. Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was chosen because he represented conservation and the industrial blossoming of the nation.

 

12. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was chosen because he led the country through the Civil War and believed in preserving the nation at any cost.

 

13. The mountain that Borglum chose to carve was known to the Lakota as the “Six Grandfathers.”

 

14. It had also been known as Cougar Mountain, Sugarloaf Mountain, Slaughterhouse Mountain and Keystone Cliffs, depending who you asked.

 

15. The mountain’s official name came from a New York lawyer who was surveying gold claims in the area in 1885.

 

16. Charles E. Rushmore asked his guide, William Challis, “What’s the name of that mountain?” Challis is said to have replied, “It’s never had one…till now…we’ll call the damn thing Rushmore.”

 

17. In 1930, the United States Board on Geographic Names officially recognized it as Mount Rushmore.

 

18. The carving of Mount Rushmore began in 1927 and finished in 1941.

 

19. The actual carving was done by a team of over 400 men.

 

20. Remarkably, no one died during construction.

 

21. The men who worked on the mountain were miners who had come to the Black Hills looking for gold.

 

22. Although they weren’t artists, they did know how to use dynamite and jackhammers.

 

23. The Borglums did hire one artist, Korczak Ziolkowski, to work as an assistant on the mountain. But after 19 days and a heated argument with Lincoln Borglum, Ziolkowski left the project. He would later begin another mountain carving nearby, Crazy Horse Memorial, which today is the world’s largest mountain sculpture in progress.

 

24. Mount Rushmore once had an amateur baseball team.

 

25. Because Gutzon and Lincoln Borglum were so competitive, they would often hire young men for their baseball skills rather than their carving and drilling skills.

 

26. In 1939, the Rushmore Memorial team took second place at the South Dakota amateur baseball tournament.

 

27. The image of the sculpture was mapped onto the mountain using an intricate “pointing machine” designed by Borglum.

 

28. It was based on a 1:12 scale model of the final sculpture.

 

29. 90% of the mountain was carved with dynamite, and more than 450,000 tons of rock was removed.

 

30. Afterwards, fine carving was done to create a surface about as smooth as a concrete sidewalk.

 

31. The drillers and finishers were lowered down the 500-foot face of the mountain in bosun chairs held by 3/8-inch-thick steel cables.

 

32. Workers at the top of the mountain would hand crank a winch to raise and lower the drillers.

 

33. If they went too fast, the person in the bosun chair would be dragged up the mountain on their face.

 

34. Young boys (known as call boys) were hired to sit on the side of the mountain to shout messages back and forth to the operators to speed up or slow down.

 

35. Each president’s face is 60 feet high.

 

36. The faces appear in the order: Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln.

 

37. Jefferson was originally intended to be on Washington’s right.

 

38. After nearly two years of work on Jefferson, the rock was found to be unsuitable and the partially completed face was “erased” from the mountainside using dynamite.

 

39. Washington’s face was completed in 1934.

 

40. Jefferson’s in 1936.

 

41. Lincoln was finished in 1937.

 

42. In 1937, a bill was introduced to Congress to add the image of women’s rights leader Susan B. Anthony to the mountain.

 

43. Congress then passed a bill requiring only the heads that had already been started be completed.

 

44. In 1938, Gutzon Borglum secretly began blasting a Hall of Records in the mountain behind the heads.

 

45. The Hall of Records was meant to be a vault containing the history of the nation and vital documents like the Constitution.

 

46. Congress found out about the project and demanded Borglum use the federal funding for the faces, not the Hall of Records.

 

47. Gutzon reluctantly stopped working on the hall in 1939, but vowed to complete it.

 

48. That same year, the last face — of Theodore Roosevelt — was completed.

 

49. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum died in March of 1941, leaving the completion of the monument to his son Lincoln.

 

50. The carving was originally meant to include the bodies of the presidents down to their waists.

 

51. A massive panel with 8-foot-tall gilded letters commemorating famous territorial acquisitions of the U.S. was also originally intended.

 

52. Funding ran out and the monument was declared complete on October 31, 1941.

 

53. Overall, the project cost $989,992.32 and took 14 years to finish.

 

54. It’s estimated only 6 years included actual carving, while 8.5 years were consumed with delays due to weather and lack of funds.

 

55. Charles E. Rushmore donated $5,000 toward the sculpting of the mountain that bore his name.

 

56. In 1998, Borglum’s vision for the Hall of Records was realized when porcelain tablets containing images and text from the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and biographies of the presidents and Borglum himself were sealed in a vault inside the unfinished hall.

 

57. The Hall of Records played a role in the plot of the 2007 movie National Treasure: Book of Secrets, starring Nicolas Cage.

 

58. Visitor facilities have been added over the years, including a visitor center, the Lincoln Borglum Museum and the Presidential Trail.

 

59. The Lincoln Borglum Museum features multimedia exhibits that let you use an old-style explosives plunger to recreate dynamite blasting the face of the mountain.

 

60. You can also visit the Sculptor’s Studio, where Gutzon Borglum worked on scale models of Mount Rushmore.

 

61. The Grand View Terrace — one of the best places from which to see Mount Rushmore — is located just above the museum.

 

62. The Grand View Terrace is at the end of the Avenue of Flags; it has flags from all 50 states, one district, three territories and two commonwealths of the United States of America.

 

63. The Presidential Trail is a 0.5-mile walking trail that offers up-close and different views of each face.

 

64. If you start the trail from the Sculptor’s Studio, you’ll have to climb 422 stairs. Enter the trail from the Grand View Terrace and you’ll have an easier time of it.

 

63. Rushmore’s resident mountain goats are descendants of a herd that was gifted to Custer State Park by Canada in 1924.

 

64. They evidently escaped (naughty goats!).

 

67. From the late 1950s to the early 1970s, Ben Black Elk, a famous Lakota holy man, personally greeted visitors to Mount Rushmore.

 

68. Every night, Mount Rushmore gets illuminated for two hours.

 

69. Since illumination can impact the natural environment (think lost moths, among other things), a new high-tech LED lighting system was installed in 2015 to minimize the negative effects of lighting Mount Rushmore.

 

70. Some believe you can see an elephant, or at least the stone face of an elephant, if you look to the right of Lincoln. Others believe if you look at a picture of the mountain rotated 90 degrees, you can see another face.

 

71. Mount Rushmore is granite, which erodes roughly 1 inch every 10,000 years.

 

72. Since each of the noses is about 240 inches long, they might last up to 2.4 million years before they completely wear away.

 

73. After about 500,000 years, the faces will likely have lost some of their definition. But at this rate the basic shape of the presidents’ heads might last up to 7 million years.

 

74. Numerous things are being done to preserve Mount Rushmore. This has included installing 8,000 feet of camouflaged copper wire in 1998 to help monitor 144 hairline cracks. The copper wire was replaced with fiber optic cable in 2009.

 

75. So far preservation efforts have been successful, with Mount Rushmore celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2016 — all four noses, chins and foreheads (as well as all 8 eyes, nostrils, lips and ears) intact!

 

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture's design and oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum. The sculpture features the 60-foot-tall (18 m) heads of four United States Presidents recommended by Borglum: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The four presidents were chosen to represent the nation's birth, growth, development and preservation, respectively. The memorial park covers 1,278 acres (2.00 sq mi; 5.17 km2) and the actual mountain has an elevation of 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.

 

The sculptor and tribal representatives settled on Mount Rushmore, which also has the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Doane Robinson wanted it to feature American West heroes, such as Lewis and Clark, their expedition guide Sacagawea, Oglala Lakota chief Red Cloud,[9] Buffalo Bill Cody, and Oglala Lakota chief Crazy Horse. Borglum believed that the sculpture should have broader appeal and chose the four presidents.

 

Peter Norbeck, U.S. senator from South Dakota, sponsored the project and secured federal funding. Construction began in 1927; the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. After Gutzon Borglum died in March 1941, his son Lincoln took over as leader of the construction project. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on October 31, 1941.

 

Sometimes referred to as the "Shrine of Democracy", Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually.

 

Mount Rushmore was conceived with the intention of creating a site to lure tourists, representing "not only the wild grandeur of its local geography but also the triumph of western civilization over that geography through its anthropomorphic representation." Though for the latest occupants of the land at the time, the Lakota Sioux, as well as other tribes, the monument in their view "came to epitomize the loss of their sacred lands and the injustices they've suffered under the U.S. government." Under the Treaty of 1868, the U.S. government promised the territory, including the entirety of the Black Hills, to the Sioux "so long as the buffalo may range thereon in such numbers as to justify the chase." After the discovery of gold on the land, American settlers migrated to the area in the 1870s. The federal government then forced the Sioux to relinquish the Black Hills portion of their reservation.

 

The four presidential faces were said to be carved into the granite with the intention of symbolizing "an accomplishment born, planned, and created in the minds and by the hands of Americans for Americans".

 

Mount Rushmore is known to the Lakota Sioux as "The Six Grandfathers" (Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe) or "Cougar Mountain" (Igmútȟaŋka Pahá); but American settlers knew it variously as Cougar Mountain, Sugarloaf Mountain, Slaughterhouse Mountain and Keystone Cliffs. As Six Grandfathers, the mountain was on the route that Lakota leader Black Elk took in a spiritual journey that culminated at Black Elk Peak. Following a series of military campaigns from 1876 to 1878, the United States asserted control over the area, a claim that is still disputed on the basis of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

 

Beginning with a prospecting expedition in 1885 with David Swanzey (husband of Carrie Ingalls), and Bill Challis, wealthy investor Charles E. Rushmore began visiting the area regularly on prospecting and hunting trips. He repeatedly joked with colleagues about naming the mountain after himself. The United States Board of Geographic Names officially recognized the name "Mount Rushmore" in June 1930.

 

Historian Doane Robinson conceived the idea for Mount Rushmore in 1923 to promote tourism in South Dakota. In 1924, Robinson persuaded sculptor Gutzon Borglum to travel to the Black Hills region to ensure the carving could be accomplished. The original plan was to make the carvings in granite pillars known as the Needles. However, Borglum realized that the eroded Needles were too thin to support sculpting. He chose Mount Rushmore, a grander location, partly because it faced southeast and enjoyed maximum exposure to the sun.

 

Borglum said upon seeing Mount Rushmore, "America will march along that skyline."

 

Borglum had been involved in sculpting the Stone Mountain Memorial to Confederate leaders in Georgia, but was in disagreement with the officials there.

 

U.S. Senator Peter Norbeck and Congressman William Williamson of South Dakota introduced bills in early 1925 for permission to use federal land, which passed easily. South Dakota legislation had less support, only passing narrowly on its third attempt, which Governor Carl Gunderson signed into law on March 5, 1925. Private funding came slowly and Borglum invited President Calvin Coolidge to an August 1927 dedication ceremony, at which he promised federal funding. Congress passed the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Act, signed by Coolidge, which authorized up to $250,000 in matching funds. The 1929 presidential transition to Herbert Hoover delayed funding until an initial federal match of $54,670.56 was acquired.

 

Carving started in 1927 and ended in 1941 with no fatalities.

 

Historian Doane Robinson conceived the idea for Mount Rushmore in 1923 to promote tourism in South Dakota. In 1924, Robinson persuaded sculptor Gutzon Borglum to travel to the Black Hills region to ensure the carving could be accomplished. The original plan was to make the carvings in granite pillars known as the Needles. However, Borglum realized that the eroded Needles were too thin to support sculpting. He chose Mount Rushmore, a grander location, partly because it faced southeast and enjoyed maximum exposure to the sun.

 

Borglum said upon seeing Mount Rushmore, "America will march along that skyline."

 

Borglum had been involved in sculpting the Stone Mountain Memorial to Confederate leaders in Georgia, but was in disagreement with the officials there.

 

U.S. Senator Peter Norbeck and Congressman William Williamson of South Dakota introduced bills in early 1925 for permission to use federal land, which passed easily. South Dakota legislation had less support, only passing narrowly on its third attempt, which Governor Carl Gunderson signed into law on March 5, 1925. Private funding came slowly and Borglum invited President Calvin Coolidge to an August 1927 dedication ceremony, at which he promised federal funding. Congress passed the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Act, signed by Coolidge, which authorized up to $250,000 in matching funds. The 1929 presidential transition to Herbert Hoover delayed funding until an initial federal match of $54,670.56 was acquired.

 

The chief carver of the mountain was Luigi Del Bianco, an artisan and stonemason in Port Chester, New York. Del Bianco emigrated to the U.S. from Friuli in Italy and was chosen to work on this project because of his understanding of sculptural language and ability to imbue emotion in the carved portraits.

 

In 1933, the National Park Service took Mount Rushmore under its jurisdiction. Julian Spotts helped with the project by improving its infrastructure. For example, he had the tram upgraded so it could reach the top of Mount Rushmore for the ease of workers. By July 4, 1934, Washington's face had been completed and was dedicated. The face of Thomas Jefferson was dedicated in 1936, and the face of Abraham Lincoln was dedicated on September 17, 1937. In 1937, a bill was introduced in Congress to add the head of civil-rights leader Susan B. Anthony, but a rider was passed on an appropriations bill requiring federal funds be used to finish only those heads that had already been started at that time. In 1939, the face of Theodore Roosevelt was dedicated.

 

The Sculptor's Studio – a display of unique plaster models and tools related to the sculpting – was built in 1939 under the direction of Borglum. Borglum died from an embolism in March 1941. His son, Lincoln Borglum, continued the project. Originally, it was planned that the figures would be carved from head to waist, but insufficient funding forced the carving to end. Borglum had also planned a massive panel in the shape of the Louisiana Purchase commemorating in eight-foot-tall gilded letters the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Louisiana Purchase, and seven other territorial acquisitions from the Alaska purchase to the Panama Canal Zone. In total, the entire project cost US$989,992.32 (equivalent to $18.2 million in 2021).

 

Nick Clifford, the last remaining carver, died in November 2019 at age 98.

 

South Dakota is a landlocked U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota Sioux tribe, which comprises a large portion of the population with nine reservations currently in the state and has historically dominated the territory. South Dakota is the 17th largest by area, but the 5th least populous, and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Pierre is the state capital, and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 213,900, is South Dakota's most populous city. The state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as "East River" and "West River". South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota (to the north), Minnesota (to the east), Iowa (to the southeast), Nebraska (to the south), Wyoming (to the west), and Montana (to the northwest).

 

Humans have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a gold rush in the Black Hills and the construction of railroads from the east. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of Indian wars, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. As the southern part of the former Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889, simultaneously with North Dakota. They are the 39th and 40th states admitted to the union; President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the statehood papers before signing them so that no one could tell which became a state first.

 

Key events in the 20th century included the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, increased federal spending during the 1940s and 1950s for agriculture and defense, and an industrialization of agriculture that has reduced family farming. Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the state's population, and the area's fertile soil is used to grow a variety of crops. West of the Missouri River, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. Most of the Native American reservations are in West River. The Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, is in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is there. South Dakota has a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west. The state's ecology features species typical of a North American grassland biome.

 

While several Democrats have represented South Dakota for multiple terms in both chambers of Congress, the state government is largely controlled by the Republican Party, whose nominees have carried South Dakota in each of the last 14 presidential elections. Historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy in other areas to both attract and retain residents. South Dakota's history and rural character still strongly influence the state's culture.

 

The history of South Dakota describes the history of the U.S. state of South Dakota over the course of several millennia, from its first inhabitants to the recent issues facing the state.

 

Human beings have lived in what is today South Dakota for at least several thousand years. Early hunters are believed to have first entered North America at least 17,000 years ago via the Bering land bridge, which existed during the last ice age and connected Siberia with Alaska. Early settlers in what would become South Dakota were nomadic hunter-gatherers, using primitive Stone Age technology to hunt large prehistoric mammals in the area such as mammoths, sloths, and camels. The Paleolithic culture of these people disappeared around 5000 BC, after the extinction of most of their prey species.

 

Between AD 500 and 800, much of eastern South Dakota was inhabited by a people known as the 'Mound Builders'. The Mound Builders were hunters who lived in temporary villages and were named for the low earthen burial mounds they constructed, many of which still exist. Their settlement seems to have been concentrated around the watershed of the Big Sioux River and Big Stone Lake, although other sites have been excavated throughout eastern South Dakota. Either assimilation or warfare led to the demise of the Mound Builders by the year 800. Between 1250 and 1400 an agricultural people, likely the ancestors of the modern Mandan of North Dakota, arrived from the east and settled in the central part of the state. In 1325, what has become known as the Crow Creek Massacre occurred near Chamberlain. An archeological excavation of the site has discovered 486 bodies buried in a mass grave within a type of fortification; many of the skeletal remains show evidence of scalping and decapitation.

 

The Arikara, also known as the Ree, began arriving from the south in the 16th century. They spoke a Caddoan language similar to that of the Pawnee, and probably originated in what is now Kansas and Nebraska. Although they would at times travel to hunt or trade, the Arikara were far less nomadic than many of their neighbors, and lived for the most part in permanent villages. These villages usually consisted of a stockade enclosing a number of circular earthen lodges built on bluffs looking over the rivers. Each village had a semi-autonomous political structure, with the Arikara's various subtribes being connected in a loose alliance. In addition to hunting and growing crops such as corn, beans, pumpkin and other squash, the Arikara were also skilled traders, and would often serve as intermediaries between tribes to the north and south It was probably through their trading connections that Spanish horses first reached the region around 1760. The Arikara reached the height of their power in the 17th century, and may have included as many as 32 villages. Due both to disease as well as pressure from other tribes, the number of Arikara villages would decline to only two by the late 18th century, and the Arikara eventually merged entirely with the Mandan to the north.

 

The sister tribe of the Arikaras, the Pawnee, may have also had a small amount of land in the state. Both were Caddoan and were among the only known tribes in the continental U.S. to have committed human sacrifice, via a religious ritual that occurred once a year. It is said that the U.S. government worked hard to halt this practice before their homelands came to be heavily settled, for fear that the general public might react harshly or refuse to move there.

 

The Lakota Oral histories tell of them driving the Algonquian ancestors of the Cheyenne from the Black Hills regions, south of the Platte River, in the 18th century. Before that, the Cheyenne say that they were, in fact, two tribes, which they call the Tsitsistas & Sutaio After their defeat, much of their territory was contained to southeast Wyoming & western Nebraska. While they had been able to hold off the Sioux for quite some time, they were heavily damaged by a smallpox outbreak. They are also responsible for introducing the horse to the Lakota.

 

The Ioway, or Iowa people, also inhabited the region where the modern states of South Dakota, Minnesota & Iowa meet, north of the Missouri River. They also had a sister nation, known as the Otoe who lived south of them. They were Chiwere speaking, a very old variation of Siouan language said to have originated amongst the ancestors of the Ho-Chunk of Wisconsin. They also would have had a fairly similar culture to that of the Dhegihan Sioux tribes of Nebraska & Kansas.

 

By the 17th century, the Sioux, who would later come to dominate much of the state, had settled in what is today central and northern Minnesota. The Sioux spoke a language of the Siouan language family, and were divided into two culture groups – the Dakota & Nakota. By the early 18th century the Sioux would begin to move south and then west into the plains. This migration was due to several factors, including greater food availability to the west, as well as the fact that the rival Ojibwe & other related Algonquians had obtained rifles from the French at a time when the Sioux were still using the bow and arrow. Other tribes were also displaced during some sort of poorly understood conflict that occurred between Siouan & Algonquian peoples in the early 18th century.

 

In moving west into the prairies, the lifestyle of the Sioux would be greatly altered, coming to resemble that of a nomadic northern plains tribe much more so than a largely settled eastern woodlands one. Characteristics of this transformation include a greater dependence on the bison for food, a heavier reliance on the horse for transportation, and the adoption of the tipi for habitation, a dwelling more suited to the frequent movements of a nomadic people than their earlier semi-permanent lodges.

 

Once on the plains, a schism caused the two subgroups of the Sioux to divide into three separate nations—the Lakota, who migrated south, the Asiniboine who migrated back east to Minnesota & the remaining Sioux. It appears to be around this time that the Dakota people became more prominent over the Nakota & the entirety of the people came to call themselves as such.

 

The Lakota, who crossed the Missouri around 1760 and reached the Black Hills by 1776, would come to settle largely in western South Dakota, northwestern Nebraska, and southwestern North Dakota. The Yankton primarily settled in southeastern South Dakota, the Yanktonnais settled in northeastern South Dakota and southeastern North Dakota, and the Santee settled primarily in central and southern Minnesota. Due in large part to the Sioux migrations, a number of tribes would be driven from the area. The tribes in and around the Black Hills, most notably the Cheyenne, would be pushed to the west, the Arikara would move further north along the Missouri, and the Omaha would be driven out of southeastern South Dakota and into northeastern Nebraska.

 

Later, the Lakota & Assiniboine returned to the fold, forming a single confederacy known as the Oceti Sakowin, or Seven council fire. This was divided into four cultural groups—the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota & Nagoda-- & seven distinct tribes, each with their own chief—the Nakota Mdewakan (Note—Older attempts at Lakota language show a mistake in writing the sound 'bl' as 'md', such as summer, Bloketu, misprinted as mdoketu. Therefore, this word should be Blewakan.) & Wahpeton, the Dakota Santee & Sisseton, the Nagoda Yankton & Yanktonai & the Lakota Teton. In this form, they were able to secure from the U.S. government a homeland, commonly referred to as Mni-Sota Makoce, or the Lakotah Republic. However, conflicts increased between Sioux & American citizens in the decades leading up the Civil War & a poorly funded & organized Bureau of Indian Affairs had difficulty keeping peace between groups. This eventually resulted in the United States blaming the Sioux for the atrocities & rendering the treaty which recognized the nation of Lakotah null and void. The U.S., however, later recognized their fault in a Supreme Court case in the 1980s after several decades of failed lawsuits by the Sioux, yet little has been done to smooth the issue over to the best interests of both sides.

 

France was the first European nation to hold any real claim over what would become South Dakota. Its claims covered most of the modern state. However, at most a few French scouting parties may have entered eastern South Dakota. In 1679 Daniel G. Duluth sent explorers west from Lake Mille Lacs, and they may have reached Big Stone Lake and the Coteau des Prairies. Pierre Le Sueur's traders entered the Big Sioux River Valley on multiple occasions. Evidence for these journeys is from a 1701 map by William De L'Isle that shows a trail to below the falls of the Big Sioux River from the Mississippi River.

 

After 1713, France looked west to sustain its fur trade. The first Europeans to enter South Dakota from the north, the Verendrye brothers, began their expedition in 1743. The expedition started at Fort La Reine on Lake Manitoba, and was attempting to locate an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean. They buried a lead plate inscribed near Ft. Pierre; it was rediscovered by schoolchildren in 1913.

 

In 1762, France granted Spain all French territory west of the Mississippi River in the Treaty of Fontainebleau. The agreement, which was signed in secret, was motivated by a French desire to convince Spain to come to terms with Britain and accept defeat in the Seven Years' War. In an attempt to secure Spanish claims in the region against possible encroachment from other European powers, Spain adopted a policy for the upper Missouri which emphasized the development of closer trade relations with local tribes as well as greater exploration of the region, a primary focus of which would be a search for a water route to the Pacific Ocean. Although traders such as Jacques D'Eglise and Juan Munier had been active in the region for several years, these men had been operating independently, and a determined effort to reach the Pacific and solidify Spanish control of the region had never been undertaken. In 1793, a group commonly known as the Missouri Company was formed in St. Louis, with the twin goals of trading and exploring on the upper Missouri. The company sponsored several attempts to reach the Pacific Ocean, none of which made it further than the mouth of the Yellowstone. In 1794, Jean Truteau (also spelled Trudeau) built a cabin near the present-day location of Fort Randall, and in 1795 the Mackay-Evans Expedition traveled up the Missouri as far as present-day North Dakota, where they expelled several British traders who had been active in the area. In 1801, a post known as Fort aux Cedres was constructed by Registre Loisel of St. Louis, on Cedar Island on the Missouri about 35 miles (56 km) southeast of the present location of Pierre. This trading post was the major regional post until its destruction by fire in 1810.[30] In 1800, Spain gave Louisiana back to France in the Treaty of San Ildefonso.

 

In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon for $11,000,000. The territory included most of the western half of the Mississippi watershed and covered nearly all of present-day South Dakota, except for a small portion in the northeast corner of the state. The region was still largely unexplored and unsettled, and President Thomas Jefferson organized a group commonly referred to as the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the newly acquired region over a period of more than two years. The expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, was tasked with following the route of the Missouri to its source, continuing on to the Pacific Ocean, establishing diplomatic relations with the various tribes in the area, and taking cartographic, geologic, and botanical surveys of the area. The expedition left St. Louis on May 14, 1804, with 45 men and 15 tons of supplies in three boats (one keelboat and two pirogues). The party progressed slowly against the Missouri's current, reaching what is today South Dakota on August 22. Near present-day Vermillion, the party hiked to the Spirit Mound after hearing local legends of the place being inhabited by "little spirits" (or "devils"). Shortly after this, a peaceful meeting took place with the Yankton Sioux, while an encounter with the Lakota Sioux further north was not as uneventful. The Lakota mistook the party as traders, at one point stealing a horse. Weapons were brandished on both sides after it appeared as though the Lakota were going to further delay or even halt the expedition, but they eventually stood down and allowed the party to continue up the river and out of their territory. In north central South Dakota, the expedition acted as mediators between the warring Arikara and Mandan. After leaving the state on October 14, the party wintered with the Mandan in North Dakota before successfully reaching the Pacific Ocean and returning by the same route, safely reaching St. Louis in 1806. On the return trip, the expedition spent only 15 days in South Dakota, traveling more swiftly with the Missouri's current.

 

Pittsburgh lawyer Henry Marie Brackenridge was South Dakota's first recorded tourist. In 1811 he was hosted by fur trader Manuel Lisa.

 

In 1817, an American fur trading post was set up at present-day Fort Pierre, beginning continuous American settlement of the area. During the 1830s, fur trading was the dominant economic activity for the few white people who lived in the area. More than one hundred fur-trading posts were in present-day South Dakota in the first half of the 19th century, and Fort Pierre was the center of activity.[citation needed] General William Henry Ashley, Andrew Henry, and Jedediah Smith of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, and Manuel Lisa and Joshua Pilcher of the St. Louis Fur Company, trapped in that region. Pierre Chouteau Jr. brought the steamship Yellowstone to Fort Tecumseh on the Missouri River in 1831. In 1832 the fort was replaced by Fort Pierre Chouteau Jr.: today's town of Fort Pierre. Pierre bought the Western Department of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company and renamed it Pratte, Chouteau and Company, and then Pierre Chouteau and Company. It operated in present-day South Dakota from 1834 to 1858. Most trappers and traders left the area after European demand for furs dwindled around 1840.

 

Main articles: Kansas–Nebraska Act, Nebraska Territory, Organic act § List of organic acts, and Dakota Territory

In 1855, the U.S. Army bought Fort Pierre but abandoned it the following year in favor of Fort Randall to the south. Settlement by Americans and Europeans was by this time increasing rapidly, and in 1858 the Yankton Sioux signed the 1858 "Treaty of Washington", ceding most of present-day eastern South Dakota to the United States.

 

Land speculators founded two of eastern South Dakota's largest present-day cities: Sioux Falls in 1856 and Yankton in 1859. The Big Sioux River falls was the spot of an 1856 settlement established by a Dubuque, Iowa, company; that town was quickly removed by native residents. But in the following year, May 1857, the town was resettled and named Sioux Falls. That June, St. Paul, Minnesota's Dakota Land Company came to an adjacent 320 acres (130 ha), calling it Sioux Falls City. In June 1857, Flandreau and Medary, South Dakota, were established by the Dakota Land Company. Along with Yankton in 1859, Bon Homme, Elk Point, and Vermillion were among the new communities along the Missouri River or border with Minnesota. Settlers therein numbered about 5,000 in 1860. In 1861, Dakota Territory was established by the United States government (this initially included North Dakota, South Dakota, and parts of Montana and Wyoming). Settlers from Scandinavia, Germany, Ireland, Czechoslovakia[citation needed] and Russia,[citation needed] as well as elsewhere in Europe and from the eastern U.S. states increased from a trickle to a flood, especially after the completion of an eastern railway link to the territorial capital of Yankton in 1872, and the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 during a military expedition led by George A. Custer.

 

The Dakota Territory had significant regional tensions between the northern part and the southern part from the beginning, the southern part always being more populated – in the 1880 United States census, the population of the southern part (98,268) was more than two and a half times of the northern part (36,909), and southern Dakotans saw the northern part as bit of disreputable, "controlled by the wild folks, cattle ranchers, fur traders” and too frequently the site of conflict with the indigenous population. Also, the new railroads built connected the northern and southern parts to different hubs – northern part was closer tied to Minneapolis–Saint Paul area; and southern part to Sioux City and from there to Omaha. The last straw was territorial governor Nehemiah G. Ordway moving the territorial capital from Yankton to Bismarck in modern-day North Dakota. As the Southern part had the necessary population for statehood (60,000), they held a separate convention in September 1883 and drafted a constitution. Various bills to divide the Dakota Territory in half ended up stalling, until in 1887, when the Territorial Legislature submitted the question of division to a popular vote at the November general elections, where it was approved by 37,784 votes over 32,913. A bill for statehood for North Dakota and South Dakota (as well as Montana and Washington) titled the Enabling Act of 1889 was passed on February 22, 1889, during the Administration of Grover Cleveland, dividing Dakota along the seventh standard parallel. It was left to his successor, Benjamin Harrison, to sign proclamations formally admitting North and South Dakota to the Union on November 2, 1889. Harrison directed his Secretary of State James G. Blaine to shuffle the papers and obscure from him which he was signing first and the actual order went unrecorded.

 

With statehood South Dakota was now in a position to make decisions on the major issues it confronted: prohibition, women's suffrage, the location of the state capital, the opening of the Sioux lands for settlement, and the cyclical issues of drought (severe in 1889) and low wheat prices (1893–1896). In early 1889 a prohibition bill passed the new state legislature, only to be vetoed by Governor Louis Church. Fierce opposition came from the wet German community, with financing from beer and liquor interests. The Yankee women organized to demand suffrage, as well as prohibition. Neither party supported their cause, and the wet element counter-organized to block women's suffrage. Popular interest reached a peak in the debates over locating the state capital. Prestige, real estate values and government jobs were at stake, as well as the question of access in such a large geographical region with limited railroads. Huron was the temporary site, centrally located Pierre was the best organized contender, and three other towns were in the running. Real estate speculators had money to toss around. Pierre, population 3200, made the most generous case to the voters—its promoters truly believed it would be the next Denver and be the railway hub of the Dakotas. The North Western railroad came through but not the others it expected. In 1938 Pierre counted 4000 people and three small hotels.

 

The national government continued to handle Indian affairs. The Army's 1874 Custer expedition took place despite the fact that the western half of present-day South Dakota had been granted to the Sioux by the Treaty of Fort Laramie as part of the Great Sioux Reservation. The Sioux declined to grant mining rights or land in the Black Hills, and the Great Sioux War of 1876 broke out after the U.S. failed to stop white miners and settlers from entering the region. The Sioux were eventually defeated and settled on reservations within South Dakota and North Dakota.

 

In 1889 Harrison sent general George Crook with a commission to persuade the Sioux to sell half their reservation land to the government. It was believed that the state would not be viable unless more land was made available to settlers. Crook used a number of dubious methods to secure agreement and obtain the land.

 

On December 29, 1890, the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It was the last major armed conflict between the United States and the Sioux Nation, the massacre resulted in the deaths of 300 Sioux, many of them women and children. In addition 25 U.S. soldiers were also killed in the episode.

 

Railroads played a central role in South Dakota transportation from the late 19th century until the 1930s, when they were surpassed by highways. The Milwaukee Road and the Chicago & North Western were the state's largest railroads, and the Milwaukee's east–west transcontinental line traversed the northern tier of the state. About 4,420 miles (7,110 km) of railroad track were built in South Dakota during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, though only 1,839 miles (2,960 km) were active in 2007.

 

The railroads sold land to prospective farmers at very low rates, expecting to make a profit by shipping farm products out and home goods in. They also set up small towns that would serve as shipping points and commercial centers, and attract businessmen and more farmers. The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (M&StL) in 1905, under the leadership of vice president and general manager L. F. Day, added lines from Watertown to LeBeau and from Conde through Aberdeen to Leola. It developed town sites along the new lines and by 1910, the new lines served 35 small communities.

 

Not all of the new towns survived. The M&StL situated LeBeau along the Missouri River on the eastern edge of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. The new town was a hub for the cattle and grain industries. Livestock valued at one million dollars were shipped out in 1908, and the rail company planned a bridge across the Missouri River. Allotment of the Cheyenne River Reservation in 1909 promised further growth. By the early 1920s, however, troubles multiplied, with the murder of a local rancher, a fire that destroyed the business district, and drought that ruined ranchers and farmers alike. LeBeau became a ghost town.

 

Most of the traffic was freight, but the main lines also offered passenger service. After the European immigrants settled, there never were many people moving about inside the state. Profits were slim. Automobiles and busses were much more popular, but there was an increase during World War II when gasoline was scarce. All passenger service was ended in the state by 1969.

 

In the rural areas farmers and ranchers depended on local general stores that had a limited stock and slow turnover; they made enough profit to stay in operation by selling at high prices. Prices were not marked on each item; instead the customer negotiated a price. Men did most of the shopping, since the main criterion was credit rather than quality of goods. Indeed, most customers shopped on credit, paying off the bill when crops or cattle were later sold; the owner's ability to judge credit worthiness was vital to his success.

 

In the cities consumers had much more choice, and bought their dry goods and supplies at locally owned department stores. They had a much wider selection of goods than in the country general stores and price tags that gave the actual selling price. The department stores provided a very limited credit, and set up attractive displays and, after 1900, window displays as well. Their clerks—usually men before the 1940s—were experienced salesmen whose knowledge of the products appealed to the better educated middle-class housewives who did most of the shopping. The keys to success were a large variety of high-quality brand-name merchandise, high turnover, reasonable prices, and frequent special sales. The larger stores sent their buyers to Denver, Minneapolis, and Chicago once or twice a year to evaluate the newest trends in merchandising and stock up on the latest fashions. By the 1920s and 1930s, large mail-order houses such as Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Montgomery Ward provided serious competition, making the department stores rely even more on salesmanship and close integration with the community.

 

Many entrepreneurs built stores, shops, and offices along Main Street. The most handsome ones used pre-formed, sheet iron facades, especially those manufactured by the Mesker Brothers of St. Louis. These neoclassical, stylized facades added sophistication to brick or wood-frame buildings throughout the state.

 

During the 1930s, several economic and climatic conditions combined with disastrous results for South Dakota. A lack of rainfall, extremely high temperatures and over-cultivation of farmland produced what was known as the Dust Bowl in South Dakota and several other plains states. Fertile topsoil was blown away in massive dust storms, and several harvests were completely ruined. The experiences of the Dust Bowl, coupled with local bank foreclosures and the general economic effects of the Great Depression resulted in many South Dakotans leaving the state. The population of South Dakota declined by more than seven percent between 1930 and 1940.

 

Prosperity returned with the U.S. entry into World War II in 1941, when demand for the state's agricultural and industrial products grew as the nation mobilized for war. Over 68,000 South Dakotans served in the armed forces during the war, of which over 2,200 were killed.

 

In 1944, the Pick-Sloan Plan was passed as part of the Flood Control Act of 1944 by the U.S. Congress, resulting in the construction of six large dams on the Missouri River, four of which are at least partially located in South Dakota.[83] Flood control, hydroelectricity and recreational opportunities such as boating and fishing are provided by the dams and their reservoirs.

 

On the night of June 9–10, 1972, heavy rainfall in the eastern Black Hills caused the Canyon Lake Dam on Rapid Creek to fail. The failure of the dam, combined with heavy runoff from the storm, turned the usually small creek into a massive torrent that washed through central Rapid City. The flood resulted in 238 deaths and destroyed 1,335 homes and around 5,000 automobiles.[84] Damage from the flood totaled $160 million (the equivalent of $664 million today).

 

On April 19, 1993, Governor George S. Mickelson was killed in a plane crash in Iowa while returning from a business meeting in Cincinnati. Several other state officials were also killed in the crash. Mickelson, who was in the middle of his second term as governor, was succeeded by Walter Dale Miller.

 

In recent decades, South Dakota has transformed from a state dominated by agriculture to one with a more diversified economy. The tourism industry has grown considerably since the completion of the interstate system in the 1960s, with the Black Hills being especially impacted. The financial service industry began to grow in the state as well, with Citibank moving its credit card operations from New York to Sioux Falls in 1981, a move that has since been followed by several other financial companies. In 2007, the site of the recently closed Homestake gold mine near Lead was chosen as the location of a new underground research facility. Despite a growing state population and recent economic development, many rural areas have been struggling over the past 50 years with locally declining populations and the emigration of educated young adults to larger South Dakota cities, such as Rapid City or Sioux Falls, or to other states. The Cattleman's Blizzard of October 2013 killed tens of thousands of livestock in western South Dakota, and was one of the worst blizzards in the state's history.

"Que demande-t-on d'une fleur

Sinon qu'elle soit belle et odorante une minute, pauvre fleur, et après ce sera fini.

La fleur est courte, mais la joie qu'elle a donnée une minute

N'est pas de ces choses qui ont commencement ou fin." ( Paul Claudel )

    

Downing Street protesters demand "End the Tampon Tax" - London 02.04.2015

 

Protesters outside Downing Street adorned with fake tampons and bloodied underwear called for an end to what they say is a "skewed" VAT system which sees 5% paid on tampons which are classed as 'luxury items', yet gambling, houseboat mooring and military aircraft sales are exempted. This week the Salvation Army has reported that in many deprived areas up and down the UK increasing numbers of women can no longer afford to buy sanitary towels, and are having to resort to shockingly primitive and dangerous solutions such as newpaper, old socks or hankies, which makes the women prone to urinary tract infections. In response to this public health issue the Salvation Army has started providing tampons to women unable to afford them, including, of course, homeless women living on the streets.

  

All photos © Pete Riches

Do not reproduce, alter, re-transmit or blog my images without my written permission. I remain at all times the copyright owner of this image.

 

These images are now available from International Photo Media picture agency.

 

Hi-Res, un-watermarked versions of these files are available on application solely at my discretion

Media buyers wanting to use any image found in my Flickr Photostream can also Email me directly.

Standard industry image licensing rates apply.

 

about.me/peteriches

Downing Street protesters demand "End the Tampon Tax" - London 02.04.2015

 

Protesters outside Downing Street adorned with fake tampons and bloodied underwear called for an end to what they say is a "skewed" VAT system which sees 5% paid on tampons which are classed as 'luxury items', yet gambling, houseboat mooring and military aircraft sales are exempted. This week the Salvation Army has reported that in many deprived areas up and down the UK increasing numbers of women can no longer afford to buy sanitary towels, and are having to resort to shockingly primitive and dangerous solutions such as newpaper, old socks or hankies, which makes the women prone to urinary tract infections. In response to this public health issue the Salvation Army has started providing tampons to women unable to afford them, including, of course, homeless women living on the streets.

  

All photos © Pete Riches

Do not reproduce, alter, re-transmit or blog my images without my written permission. I remain at all times the copyright owner of this image.

 

These images are now available from International Photo Media picture agency.

 

Hi-Res, un-watermarked versions of these files are available on application solely at my discretion

Media buyers wanting to use any image found in my Flickr Photostream can also Email me directly.

Standard industry image licensing rates apply.

 

about.me/peteriches

Funciones Destacadas

 

Innovación para inspiración.

¿Qué determina cuándo Nikon debe lanzar una cámara emblemática de cuadro completo? Cuando la innovación tecnológica lo demanda. Presentamos la D5, una Cámara Réflex Digital con formato FX que hace posible lo imposible. Enormes avances en el diseño del sensor, enfoque automático, medición y procesamiento de imágenes dan como resultado nuevas capacidades emocionantes—disparo con poca luz hasta llegar a un ISO 102,400 (expansible a un inaudito ISO 3,280,000), detección y seguimiento precisos a través de todo el alcance del ISO, independientemente de los cambios de velocidad o dirección del sujeto, velocidad asombrosa de disparo continuo de 12 cps, video 4K UHD y por supuesto, calidad de imagen que capta el corazón y la mente de los espectadores. Esto no es iteración, amigos. Es innovación... una innovación espectacular. ¿Cómo cambiará la forma en que dispara?

  

Capacidades con poca luz que rompen los esquemas

 

El alcance de ISO nativo más amplio de Nikon

El rendimiento con poca luz de la D5 puede convertirla en leyenda. Se ha abierto un mundo de oportunidades de disparo gracias al alcance de ISO nativo más amplio de Nikon (100 a 102,400) y el mayor alcance de expansión (hasta Hi-5 ISO 3,280,000), avances en la reducción de ruido y fidelidad de color, además de un sistema AF de última generación que funciona en la oscuridad casi absoluta (EV -4). Capte imágenes claras y nítidas que no podría haber captado antes; en la noche, en salones de recepción oscuros, en estadios, etc. Para aplicaciones de vigilancia y seguridad, este alcance de ISO expandido significa obtener una imagen que otros no pueden ver sin un flash.

  

EXPEED 5, El procesador mas poderoso de la historia de Nikon

 

Calidad de imagen magistral

La potencia de imagen pura de la D5 es estimulante. Con un sensor FX CMOS de 20.8MP desarrollado por Nikon, la D5 es la cámara emblemática de sensor FX con la resolución más alta de la historia de Nikon y está lista para tu próximo desafío. El procesador de imágenes superior de Nikon se actualizó a EXPEED 5 para aprovechar la energía de este excepcional sensor nuevo y se agregó un segundo procesador para el enfoque automático. Todos los detalles exquisitos y texturas, los colores vibrantes y la rica tonalidad proporcionada por los lentes NIKKOR se capturan con una precisión perfecta, aun con muy poca luz. Cree imágenes que motiven a las personas.

  

Permanezca a la vanguardia

 

La velocidad para captar los momentos decisivos

 

Cuando escuche el disparo de la D5 a máxima velocidad, 12 cps con AF y AE de tiempo completo, 14 cps con enfoque fijo, AE y con el espejo bloqueado (mirror locked up) sabrá que las reglas del juego han cambiado. Por primera vez, una DSLR de Nikon cuenta con un segundo procesador dedicado únicamente para el funcionamiento y el cálculo del enfoque automático. Un nuevo mecanismo de obturador y secuenciación del espejo elimina casi por completo el tiempo de oscurecimiento y el golpe del espejo para vistas brillantes y consistentes durante la captura de alta velocidad. EXPEED 5 y un búfer de alto rendimiento pueden manejar hasta 200 NEF (RAW) y/o grandes imágenes en JPG durante una ráfaga de alta velocidad, lo suficiente para cubrir una carrera de 100 m completa sin quitar el dedo del disparador del obturador. El nuevo sistema avanzado de reconocimiento de escena de RGB de 180K combina todo y garantiza que cada disparo tenga una exposición óptima.

   

Capture imágenes que desafíen las posibilidades

 

El sistema AF más rápido y preciso de Nikon

 

La D5 marca el comienzo de una nueva era de enfoque automático con el módulo sensor de enfoque automático (AF) Multi-CAM 20K. Utiliza 153 puntos de enfoque con 99 (sí, 99) sensores de tipo cruz y un procesador AF especialmente dedicado y funciona en una oscuridad casi absoluta (EV -4). Es posible seguir con notable precisión a los objetos pequeños que se mueven a gran velocidad, incluso con poca luz. El sistema se puede configurar en una cobertura de 153, 72 y 25 puntos cuando se usa con AF continuo. Todos los 153 puntos son compatibles con los lentes AF NIKKOR f/5.6 o más rápidos, y hay 15 puntos centrales que funcionan con una apertura efectiva de f/8. Ya sea que esté fotografiando una carrera de alta velocidad o a celebridades en la alfombra roja, la D5 lo tiene cubierto.

 

Flexibilidad para la grabación de películas

 

Video 4K UHD en condiciones de luz con las que los demás no se atreverían

 

Por primera vez en una DSLR de Nikon de cuadro completo, grabe video en 4K Ultra Alta Definición (UHD) con una lectura punto por punto para la máxima calidad de imagen. Capte 3840 x 2160 a 30/25/24 p con un ángulo de visión de distancia focal del lente de aprox. 1.5x , o grabe videos Full HD 1080 a 60/30/24p. Fotografíe intervalos sensacionales a 4K/UHD, justo en la cámara. La ISO automática maneja las suaves transiciones de iluminación, desde la ISO 200 hasta la sensibilidad de su elección (hasta Hi-5). Disfrute de todas las capacidades de video profesionales de grabación interna y externa simultánea de la D4S y la D810: Control de Imagen Plana, Patron Cebra, un micrófono estéreo con ajustes de incremento de 20 pasos y mucho más. Combine las capacidades de poca luz de la D5 y la versatilidad de los lentes NIKKOR, y su próximo proyecto de video estará destinado a ser aclamado.

  

Un operador suave

 

Con la incorporación de la retroalimentación del campo, la D5 está diseñada para reducir los factores de estrés del disparo durante todo el día. La mejora en la ergonomía y un diseño más grande del botón iluminado pone los controles clave a su alcance. La pantalla táctil LCD XGA de alta resolución hace que sea fácil seleccionar los puntos AF o la función Balance de Blancos (WB) en Modo de Vista en Vivo (Live View), deslizarse a través de las imágenes, pinchar para hacer zoom, editar nombres de archivos y más. Las nuevas ranuras dobles para tarjetas XQD* manejan fácilmente la increíble capacidad de disparo de ráfaga de la cámara y mantienen el búfer despejado. Todo esto en un cuerpo de aleación de magnesio liviano y duradero con extenso tratamiento impermeable.

 

* Un nuevo diseño modular para la memoria le permite seleccionar un modelo, ya sea con ranuras XQD dobles o ranuras CF dobles de alta velocidad.

  

Cambie su perspectiva

 

La D5 utiliza la versátil montura del lente que ganó la confianza de los fotógrafos profesionales y avanzados. Utilice el preciado objetivo de vidrio NIKKOR para obtener lo mejor de lo mejor en sus fotos y videos. Combine la alta velocidad de la D5 con un lente NIKKOR equipado con modo SPORT VR, como el AF-S NIKKOR de 500 mm o 600 mm f/4E, y experimente una suavidad y la precisión sin precedentes. El modo VR SPORT proporciona una imagen estable en el visor durante el seguimiento de movimiento de alta velocidad; incluso se puede capturar sujetos en movimiento rápido e impredecible con sorprendente detalle.

  

Prepárese para el futuro de la iluminación creativa

 

La D5 es la primera DSLR Nikon de cuadro completo que incorpora un nuevo sistema avanzado de iluminación inalámbrica avanzada controlado por radio. Con el WR-A10 (Adaptador Remoto Inalámbrico) opcional y el Control Remoto Inalámbrico WR-R10 (transceptor), la D5 puede controlar y disparar hasta seis grupos de flashes SB-5000 alrededor de obstáculos, esquinas, en la luz del sol brillante e incluso en otra habitación, hasta 30 m (98 pies) de distancia. Acceda al control directamente desde el menú de la D5 e ilumine aún más oportunidades de disparo. Por supuesto, la D5 también es totalmente compatible con los flashes de las series SB-910, SB-800 y SB-700.

  

Flujo de trabajo simplificado

 

Dispare más y espere menos con el sistema de comunicación ultra rápido de la D5, que trabaja más de 1.5 veces más rápido que la D4S. Transfiera archivos a través de LAN a velocidades impresionantes: aprox. 400 Mb/s y 130 Mb/s de forma inalámbrica con el nuevo WT-6A opcional, que admite el estándar IEEE802.11ac y extiende la distancia de conectividad a 200 m (656 pies). Para obtener un rendimiento aun más rápido, dispare en dos tamaños RAW más pequeños: El tamaño RAW S (12 bits, sin comprimir) y el tamaño RAW M mantienen una nitidez y un detalle excepcional.

  

¿XQD o memoria de Flash Compacta (CF)? Usted elige.

 

La D5 le permite seleccionar a su preferencia: ranuras de tarjeta XQD dobles o ranuras CF dobles. El formato XQD está diseñado para aprovechar la velocidad que la D5 puede ofrecer a los fotógrafos. Por ejemplo, la D5 de Nikon puede disparar a 12 fotogramas por segundo y puede grabar hasta 200 NEF (RAW) o grandes imágenes JPEG durante una ráfaga de alta velocidad. Para los fotógrafos de deportes, acción y otros eventos de ritmo rápido o video 4K UHD es fundamental contar con un formato de tarjeta de memoria que pueda mantener el ritmo de la cámara. XQD es la solución.

The 2023 Commercial Midyear brought together some of the nation’s top commercial real estate experts to analyze how investors are capitalizing on changing market dynamics to make the numbers work

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I wasn't the only one who went out to see Colas' 37099 'Merl Evans' on 03/01/19...I met a couple of local photographers at Stenson too. One of them is seen 'fotting the loco as it works the 0Z38/1045 Barrow Hill Colas Rail to Derby R.T.C.(Network Rail) light engine route learner. It was returning from Burton where it had run to from Barrow Hill, and would head towards Chesterfield before approaching Derby from Belper and Duffield.

 

She did sound well! www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsmWJ9uHKVk

Manifestation pour dénoncer les mesures abusives sanitaires visant à lutter contre la COVID-19.

 

Ville de Québec / Quebec City

 

Merci pour vos commentaires ☺

Thank you for your comments ☺

“Nuestro destino de viaje nunca es un lugar, sino una nueva forma de ver las cosas.”

(Henry Miller)

'' The beauty of a sunrise and sunset demands nothing of us. Taking the time to view one requires little though ''

  

I wanted to do a short series of photographs that represent in different ways my most important and successful images from my time here on FLICKR and also with GETTY IMAGES, who are my worldwide agents. These photographs might be in the selections for a number of reasons, but each has played a significant part in my photographic journey and represent personal memories, some not having been seen for a while.

  

(14) DUSK OVER THE S SAANICH PENINSULA IN BC, CANADA

  

My first loves in photography have always been Landscapes, wildlife and the beauty of Mother Nature, and in the landscapes category, photographing in the magic of the Golden hour has always been a passion of mine. With the light constantly changing the discipline of quickly adapting your settings and fighting both time and the elements makes you work differently with a steep learning curve in which 'mess ups' are commonplace. But I truly believe not frame is a wasted frame and that we learn from our mistakes and constantly strive to push ourselves to be better.

  

On this occasion I was out in my Brother in law's Truck, on a sunrise shoot along the shoreline. It was so dark with just the merest hint of light coming in on the horizon and revealing the Southern Gulf Islands. I pulled in at a viewing point and set up my camera and tripod. I had my trusty Nikon D700, a fabulous camera that could resolve great low light detail in this case teamed up with one of Nikon's Holy trinity of lenses, the marvellous Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED IF (pre-VR first model) which again could capture incredible low light details.

  

The scene was set as I tried to focus on the patch of light barely visible and wide open at f/2.8 I could manage a shutter speed of one fifth of a second. The image that came back on my screen was amazing, the Nikons had managed to 'see' a whole bunch of details that my eyes just could not. The light was changing quickly and just then a roaring thunderous Harley Davidson motorcycle pull in next to me with a rider who closely resembled Billy Gibbons of the band ZZ Top. As I fired off my last few shots, the two hundred and fifty pound, heavily tattooed and bearded rider grabbed a metal coffee mug from his panniers and came over and stood next to me. There was silence for a while and the smell of the coffee danced across the air, and he sighed and said quite simply in a satisfactorily deep, rumbling voice 'Beautiful isn't it'.

  

I agreed. More seconds passed and he remounted his iron horse, fired the beast into life and headed slowly down the road as the daylight broke.

  

Memories of moments a decade past that still live with me. I stood and watched the light come before packing up and driving home, buzzing with excitement, a love affair with my D700 blooming. Priceless. This is a personal favourite of mine and was published by Shutterstock and sold and also selected for Flickr Explore in February 2019, becoming my 117th photograph explored. A version of it was published by Getty Images in 2021 and has sold, it has also appeared online in various magazines.

  

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©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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Photograph taken in the magic of twilight, heading towards the Golden Hour of sunrise at 06:04am on September 13th 2011 off Lochside drive in beautiful Sidney by the sea, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

  

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Nikon D700 Focal length 66mm Shutter speed 1/5s Aperture f/2.8 iso2000 RAW (14 bit) Size L uncompressed. Manual exposure. Manual focus. Matrix metering. Auto white balance. Adobe RGB.

  

Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED IF.Jessops 77mm UV filter. Manfrotto 055XPro carbon fibre tripod & Manfrotto 327 magnesium pistol grip ball head. Nikon MC-DC2 remote shutter release.

  

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RAW (TIFF) FILE: 34.60MB

PROCESSED FILE: 8.53MB Presented here as a TIFF FILE: 34.5MB

  

PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D700

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB DATA storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit (Version 1.2.4 24/11/2016). Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

   

Shot with My Olympus Pen EE

Ships unloading their cargo into carts on the beach at St Aubin were vulnerable to attack by pirates coming into the bay. This was a particular problem in the 16th century when pirate vessels from Brittany and Belgium roamed the Channel and sailed into island waters looking for easy prey. A bulwark (earth work) with two guns was constructed on shore, giving the area the name, Bulwarks, it still has today, and then a tower was constructed on the offshore rocky islet to house four more gunners.

 

A century later in the Civil War the Parliamentarians turned it into a stronger fortress, by building a bulwark on it, and when the Royalists regained possession they replaced this with granite ramparts and added a storey to the tower. In the 18th century, and again in the 19th, the fort was rebuilt twice, but in peaceful Victorian times it was let as a summer residence. In the Second World War the Germans strengthened the fort with turret guns and concrete casemates.

 

Jetty built

As trade grew at St Aubin the demand grew for better harbour facilities and King Charles II ordered a pier to be built, paid for by import dues. The States wanted it to run out from the shore to the south of where today's southern pier lies, but time slipped by without work starting and the Governor, Sir Thomas Morgan, decided to take charge and ordered a pier to be built out from the fort in 1675.

 

Who was St Aubin?

When the Société Jersiaise visited Saint Aubin's Fort on 14 August 1934, and were generously entertained there by the tenant, Mr Lionel Cox, I had to confess when addressing our members that I knew nothing of the Saint whose name was attached to the Fort, to the bay in which the fort stands and to the haven and village which the fort protects.

 

I could find no mention of Saint Aubin in the Cartulaire des Iles Anglo-Normandes; nor, as far as I knew, did our society possess any records showing that an ecclesiastical building or establishment, bearing Saint Aubin's name, had ever existed in Jersey before the year 1737, when Mr Peter Meade made his survey.

 

Our Honorary Librarian, the Rev G R Balleine, however, has recently found a reasonable solution of the mystery.

 

Writing in The Pilot for November 1946, he dealt with the question "Who was Saint Aubin?" and came to the conclusion that our Saint Aubin must have been the Saint Aubin, Bishop of Angers, who had died in the year 550.

 

This holy man acquired such merit during his lifetime, as well as during his miraculous reappearance at a critical moment some four centuries later, that his patronage is still claimed by no fewer than 60 villages in France - six of which lie within the diocese of Coutances.

 

In the face of this, we may rule out Saint Alban of England as a rival claimant to the patronage of our fort, bay, port and village.

 

Islet

The islet of Saint Aubin is a flattish reef composed of very ancient indurated shale or mudstone which, though easily smashed, is useless for building purposes. At low tide this reef lies high-and-dry on the sands when it resembles in plan an indented oblong measuring about three hundred yards from east to west and about two hundred yards from north to south.

 

A thin sandy soil supporting a sparse and hardy vegetation probably covered much of the upper parts of the reef when its only inhabitants were gulls, terns, oyster-catchers and pipits.

 

Its importance to man, however, lies in the fact that it forms a natural breakwater to a strand, and it is from this fact, which must have been early appreciated, that Saint Aubin's village gradually developed from a mere huddle of poor fishermen's huts into a small but thriving town of solid buildings.

  

From a 1545 map of Jersey in the British Museum

1542-1643

To enquire fully into the causes which led to the reformation of the defences of Jersey and the setting up of our small tower would necessitate the making of a survey of the military situation in western Europe covering the period in which the development of the firearm was revolutionising the art of war.

 

In the never-ending contest of projectile versus protection, the projectile, for the time being, was obtaining the mastery. Mediaeval castles were crumbling under the shock of its blows, and the knight who, trusting in the impenetrability of his armour, had heretofore waded cheerfully into the thick of the fray, was now beginning to loiter without intent on its outskirts.

 

Though Henry VIII relied on the bow, the bill and the lance to win his land battles, he early realised that ordnance had its uses in certain circumstances; and seeing that the coasts of his southern counties so frequently suffered from French descents, he decided to protect their most vulnerable ports by erecting a number of small round forts armed with cannon.

 

These forts were not devised to withstand sieges. They were intended merely to delay or hold up an enemy while the local forces were concentrating. Here then was the raison d'être of Saint Aubin's Tower.

 

Like its English brethren, our tower was one storey high and provided with embrasures for ordnance. Its roof parapet, however, may not have been crenellated for the use of arquebusiers.

 

Unlike them, moreover, only its southern side was rounded for the deflection of projectiles, possibly in the belief that it was only from that direction that cannon-shot would strike it. It differed also in its masonry.

 

Here in Jersey was no limestone that could be sawn into neat and convenient blocks. Local produce in the shape of sea-stones, or rough angular fragments of red granite, had to be carted out from the shore along the sandbank formed by the tide-meet, or floated out in boats and barges at high water and delivered to the masons at work on the reef.

 

The ancient masonry, mellowed by age, still forms the lower half of the present tower. That of the upper half, which was added in later centuries, is colder in tone and composed mostly of grey Mont Mado granite, cut and fitted with mathematical accuracy.

 

Edward Seymour

It was during the governorship (1537-50) of Sir Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, later Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector of the Realm, that a determined effort was made to render Jersey immune from invasion by strengthening the defences and organising its manpower for war.

 

As a preliminary move towards the attainment of this object, the Earl, who had ever in mind the prosperity and safety of his island, wrote a letter on 23 December 1541 to the Jurats and inhabitants of Jersey and directed his Lieutenant, Henry Cornish, to deliver it to the States.

 

As the King's Majesty had been pleased to summon his High Court of Parliament to assemble at Westminster on 10 January 1542, the Earl willed and required the inhabitants of Jersey to elect and send over two of their most discreet and experienced persons to represent the island as burgesses in this Parliament.

 

The letter, however, was not delivered to the States until 16 January, the very day on which Parliament was due to assemble.

 

Though the action, if any, taken by the States on this occasion is not recorded, it is evident from the records of their three ensuing meetings that defence measures, including the purchase by each parish of 20 francs worth of gunpowder, occupied the attention of the members.

 

Parish committees

At their last meeting during the year 1542, they directed each parish to appoint a committee of three or four delegates to advise them as to what should be done for the common weal and safety of the island.

 

The Lieutenant of the Castle, the Bailiff, the Jurats and the States of Jersey then issued orders, with the advice and approval of the members of the parish committees; firstly, that the completion of the building of St Aubin's Tower should be accomplished with all diligence; secondly that each parish should raise voluntary subscriptions to cover all expenses; and thirdly that an account of the moneys so raised, or promised, should be rendered to the Royal Court within the next few days.

 

Governor's letter

Thus we gather that by the end of 1542, not only was St Aubin's Tower said to be approaching completion; but also that the people of Jersey were beginning to realise that the English government expected them to pay the whole or most of the cost arising from the reorganisation of the defences of their island. Some of them in fact, were already refusing or withholding payment, with a result that the exasperated governor eventually saw fit to despatch the following extraordinary letter:

 

"To my loving friends the Bailiff, Jurats and Curates of the Isle of Jersey and to every of them. After my hearty commendations. Whereas I am informed that divers of the inhabitants of the Isle there, neither regarding their duties of allegiance nor yet their own wealth, commodities, nor safeguard, do show themselves rather like brute beasts than men in refusing to be contributors, according to their rates and abilities, to such sums of money and other charges as from time to time have been thought requisite by the grave and discreet persons of the same, to be levied and employed for the defence of the whole country.

”I, not a little marvelling at the same, their folly and obstinacy for reformation: and due punishment from henceforth to be had on like offenders: have thought good to will and require you and nevertheless to charge and command you that ye, condescending together, not only devise what is to be done for the safeguard thereof and for the encounter and repulse of the enemies, if they should attempt to annoy the same; but also according to your former orders do establish, at the charge of the whole country, four sufficient and able men to be and remain continually at St Aubin's Tower, being appointed with ordnance and munition for the preservation thereof and the better defence of the said country.

”And you, together with my Lieutenant, are to tax and rate what and how much every parish shall bear from time to time, according to their abilities, as well for the payment of wages to the said four men as all other necessary charges. Willing and charging you also that after such taxation and order taken by you (in case any person do obstinately refuse and withstand the accomplishment thereof) that upon probation and conviction of the same misdemeanour by sufficient testimony before you, the Bailiff and Jurats, then to convict him or them, so offending, to straight ward; there to remain till he shall have contented and paid the same taxation and also received such further punishment as may be a terror to others that perchance might show themselves like offenders.

”Also that you forthwith consult together, and dividing the Isle into sundry quarters for the better preservation thereof, Appointing to every quarter one special man to be Captain of the same: and all the inhabitants within the precinct thereof to resort to such place as ye shall, by beacons or other tokens, perceive the enemy approach. And so joining together under his and their leadings, to set forth in their best array as the said Captain and Captains shall appoint them to withstand the malice of the enemies from time to time as occasion shall require; for I have given my said Lieutenant in commandment, as to his duty doth appertain, not upon any such occasion to depart from his charge, but continually to remain in and upon the same that he may render a good accompt thereof."

The Earl then continues in the same circumlocutionary manner to state his instructions for the purchase and distribution of powder and munitions.

 

"And thus; not doubting your conformities in all the premises, and the rather for that the same doth and shall redound chiefly to your own wealth, benefits and surety, I bid you heartily farewell.

Your loving friend

Edward Hertford

At London, the xxxth of January 1546.

 

Other fortifications

Lest it should appear from statements already made that St Aubin's Tower was the only or most important fortification which had engaged the attention of the Tudor military reformers, I must make it clear that such was not the case. The great stronghold in the east of the island, Gorey Castle, was still "the King's Castle in the island of Jersey" and still retained the prestige and glamour it had acquired during the preceeding three and a half centuries.

 

Its towers and battlements, however, had not been designed to accommodate cannons and moreover, and as usual, were badly in need of repair. Further, and what was now more serious, they were dominated by Le Mont Saint Nicolas opposite.

 

The conversion of Mont Orgueil Castle into an uptodate fortress proved to be a very slow and very expensive business. Being also of doubtful tactical advantage, it was very nearly abandoned before it was completed. In fact it was only through the good offices of Sir Walter Ralegh, Governor of Jersey from 1600 to 1603, that it was saved from demolition.

 

Meanwhile engineer Paul Ivy, on the Islet of Saint Helier, had perfected the work which became known to the people of Jersey as Le Chateau de l'Islet or Le Neuf Chateau. Ralegh for his part "ventured to christen it Fort Isabella bellissima", Elizabeth being then in her 71st year.

 

Growth in trade

The expansion of sea-borne trade brought ships in increasing numbers to St Aubin's Bay, either for commercial purposes or for temporary refuge in foul weather. Vessels which came to trade floated into the havens of St Helier or St Aubin on the flood and lay aground on the sands when the tide ebbed. Their cargoes were then discharged into carts,

 

Weather-bound ships, or those awaiting cargoes, anchored in the roads midway between Elizabeth Castle and Noirmont promontory.

 

Of the two ports in St Aubin's Bay, that of St Aubin, during the 16th and 17th centuries, was undoubtedly the busier and consequently the maintenance of the garrison and armament of the Tower should not have been neglected.

 

Three of the "four sufficient and able men" who, in conformity with the Govcrnor's letter of 30 January 1546, had evidently been chosen to garrison St Aubin’s Tower, were withdrawn by an order of the Lieut-Governor and the States, dated 30 June of the same year. The fourth man, William Howell, was to be left in charge of the place and receive the same pay as he had formerly been given.

 

The artillery, powder and other gear appertaining to the tower, were to be listed and removed to Edouard Dumaresq's house, now known as La Haule Manor. No reasons were given for this move; but it is possible that the tower was unfit for human habitation and that exposure to the sea air was detrimental alike to the guns and their ammunition.

 

Financial worries

The raising of money for the maintenance of guns and gunners was a source of continual trouble to the parish Constables who, though backed by the authority of the States, often found it exceedingly difficult to prise from the pockets of their parishioners the sums due from them for this purpose. The behaviour of these tax-dodgers was described by the Constables as "pernicious contumacy”.

 

If the Constables entirely failed to effect an extraction, things went hard with them, as the following record shows:-

 

"March the 8th, 1550. With regard to matters connected with St Aubin's Tower and the payment of its gunners, the States authorise Jurats Edward Dumaresq and Laurens Hamptonne to supervise the business and imprison in the Castle any Constable who fails to produce the sums that are due."

In 1553 the States ordered the parishes to subscribe £12, (English), to put the artillery of the island in a serviceable condition and to build a house in Saint Aubin where the guns of that district could be stored.

 

Nine years later it was recorded that a house of this nature had been built on the property of one Francois Becquet at the village wharf or ‘’Docque’’. Becquet had orders to hand over the key of the house to "the gunners of the Castle and island if in wartime they were sent to St Aubin's haven for the defence of the country".

 

Parish commitment

In 1573 the States required each parish to maintain at its own charges two men daily at St Aubin’s haven to look after the guns, their pay being fixed at six 'sterlings' a day. At the outbreak of war, or on an emergency, two extra men were to be entertained at the same rate; but it had to be understood that in times of profound peace these men would not be required. It must not be supposed that military activities were confined solely to the gunners during this period; for the recently formed parish companies were also being stung into action from time time to time by the States. The men of these companies, who were known as companions, were ordered, weather permitting to discharge their hackbuts, bows and arbalists every Sunday. The careless companion who failed to participate in this martial exercise, however, was liable to be fined five sous by his constable.

 

In spite of threats and penalties it is evident that the officials who were responsible for carrying out the numerous orders issued by the States from 1540 onwards, preferred evasion to obedience. They too, without a doubt, believed in the old army adage : "It is better to incur a slight reprimand than to perform an arduous duty".

 

As the century grew older, war clouds began to gather, and by 1587 it was an open secret that Spain had determined on the conquest of England and was mobilising "the richest spoils of Mexico and the stoutest hearts in Spain" to attain that object. The spirited action of Sir Francis Drake along the Spanish coasts delayed the departure of the Armada but did not prevent it; and the States of Jersey, assembling on 22 January 1588, announced that "on account of the rumours of preparations for war which are taking place on all sides, it is found expedient and necessary to repair all the fortifications round the coast and to establish others at threatened spots. On each of the islets of Saint Helier and Saint Aubin a platform or battery was to be sited to bear upon the anchorages."

 

Special arrangements were made to raise money for the wages of the workers and the cost of the work and if this did not suffice, the States were to raise more.

 

In addition, the States were of opinion that muskets, demi-culverins or sakers should be provided and the work was to be accomplished at top speed.

 

Invasion fears

Though the Armada, hounded along by the English fleet, had passed up-Channel to its doom towards the end of July 1588; the States still felt that it was beyond their powers to cope with the dangers of the situation and at their meeting of 24 March 1590, passed the following resolution :-

 

"On account of the wars, commotions and rebellions which exist in the towns and provinces of neighbouring nations and give rise to infinite dangers, plunderings and pillages, the States of this Island have found it expedient and necessary to represent to Her Majesty, our Sovereign Lady the Queen, and to her noble and discreet Council, our lack of armament and defences, and to implore her aid, so that a suitable remedy may be found alike for the benefit of Her Majesty's service, and the safety, welfare and advantage of this Island."

Sir Philippe de Carteret, Seigneur of St Ouen, and Hugh Lempriere were deputed to deliver this petition to the Council.

 

Probably aware that years would pass - actually seven years passed - before their petition was answered, the States determined that their order of 22 January 1588 should be carried out, at any rate in so far as St Aubin's Tower was concerned.

 

"As to the reparations on St Aubin's islet", they said, "six parishes in the first instance will assist. One day's labour under the direction and command of the Seigneur de Saint Ouen will be required of every person in the parishes of St Ouen, St Brelade, St Lawrence, St Peter, St Mary and St John. And because the delivery of stone to that place is difficult, the States order that each of the boats belonging to St Aubin's haven shall carry one load of stone thereto. Every foreign vessel which arrives will also have to transport one boat-load to the Islet, or in default shall suffer either the loss of their goods and apparel, or such other punishment as the Seigneur de Saint Ouen shall inflict. Carters who absent themselves will be fined three groats, and labourers one groat."

Though the nature of the work performed at the tower under these trying conditions is not known, planks formed part of it, "as per" Adrian Valpy's bill, paid by the States on 12 May 1591.

 

Attack warnings

Between 1597 and 1603 no less than eight official warnings of possible attacks by roving fleets of Spanish, Dunkirk, or Italian galleys reached our harassed States from London, and on each of these alarming occasions the grave and discreet persons who composed that busy body issued new orders for the defence of their never-ready island.

 

When Sir Walter Raleigh, the Governor, announced that he was about to visit Jersey and enquire into the manpower and armament of the island, the States on the eve of his arrival, decided that as St Aubin's Tower was a place of importance in wartime and an outpost fronting the enemy, it should not be without a good guard. They therefore appointed four men of the parish of Saint Peter and four of Saint Brelade to keep watch and ward there, under the gunner, until further orders. Two of the men from each parish were to be arquebusiers.

 

Panic at the approach of a General's Inspection is evidently no new thing and sometimes resembles a panic produced by the threat of invasion. For example, the invasion scare of 30 August 1600 resulted in the sudden despatch to our tower of six men each from St Brelade and St Peter and two from St Ouen.

 

Captain Rainsford

Rumours of invasion, especially during the unsuccessful wars with France and Spain between the years 1625 and 1628, continued to alarm the island, worry the States and supply the tower with temporary garrisons. Nevertheless, obstruction on the part of the Constables, reminiscent of that vilified by Hertford in January 1546, continucd - as is shown by the following abstract taken from "The Calendar of State Papers. Domestic. Charles 1. Addenda.":

 

"8 July 1630, Jersey. Captain Francis Rainsford to the Privy Council. Losses experienced by the inhabitants of Jersey from the Biscay men-of-war infesting the coast. Measures adopted for their protection. The difficulties which have arisen to prevent their execution. Regulations for the setting of the watches. Upon this disobedience of the inhabitants to my instructions, and their neglect of His Majesty's service and their own security, I sent a warrant for the constables and called the constable of St Lawrence to give an account why he neglected the service and slighted my commands, but I could receive no other satisfaction from him but that he was bound to maintain the privileges of his parish, and contested with me that they were not bound to do any duty at the tower, neither would they now begin.

Upon this stubborn and mutinous reply I committed him to the Castle as an example to deter others. But ... upon his confinement, most of his parish, with all the constables and some of the justices, came to visit him as a martyr and one who had unjustly suffered for the maintenance of their privileges and liberty."

 

Rainsford was Lieut-Governor of Jersey until 1633.

 

Summary of defences

Before passing on to the next chapter, it will be as well to offer a summary of the reformation of the island’s defences carried out during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth, and under the successive governorships of Edward Seymour (1537-1550), Sir Anthony Paulet (1550-1571), Sir Hugh Paulet (1571-1588), Sir Amyas Paulet (1590-1600), Sir Walter Ralegh (1600-1603), and Sir John Peyton (1603-1630):

 

Gorey Castle: Transformed unsatisfactorily from an ancient bow-and-arrow stronghold into a fire-arm fortress. Insufficiently garrisoned.

Elizabeth Castle. An entirely new fort. Insufficiently garrisoned.

Saint Aubin's Tower. Inadequately armed and garrisoned and deficient in magazines, stores and water supply.

Coast defence Bulwarks or redoubts. One at Bouley Bay. One at Saint Ouen's Bay. One at Saint Aubin and one at Bel Royal. Each, except the last, armed with one saker which generally lay on the ground owing to the decay of its carriage.

Regular Garrison from England. About 50 men distributed between the two castles and of no great military value.

Local Troops consisting of 12 Parish Companies of about one hundred men each. Indifferently armed and trained. Later organised into groups of four parishes. Each parish possessed two light field guns, the last survivor of which stands neglected on German cart wheels at the foot of Beaumont Hill.

Alarm precautions : Beacons and tocsin, and the firing of cannon.

1643-1651

During the first eight months of the Civil War in Jersey the Parliamentary party had the upper hand and were blockading their opponents in Elizabeth and Gorey Castles.

 

Saint Aubin's Tower, now 100 years old, made its first acquaintance with war when two Parliamentary frigates chased a Royalist privateer into St Aubin's Bay. The crew of the privateer, after seizing the tower, overset its three small guns and having smashed their carriages, sailed across to Elizabeth Castle, where they lay safely at anchor under the protection of the castle ordnance.

 

A few days later, Sir Philip de Carteret, the Royalist commander, having satisfied himself that the Parliamentary frigates had gone for good, caused the broken carriages and one of the guns to be brought over to his Castle lest they should be removed by his enemies ashore.

 

For the next four months the tower, being of no tactical use to either side, remained unoccupied and unarmed. In the meanwhile the local Parliamentary party, finding themselves unequal to the task of capturing the castles, sought aid from London.

 

Military commander wanted

Their delegate to Westminster, Jean Herault, had instructions to tell Parliament that though they required no English troops to help them, their own being of excellent quality, they did need a military Lieut-Governor to direct operations. If, moreover, he brought with him some cannon, small arms and ammunition, they would raise no objections.

 

The answer to this request arrived at St Aubin on 26 August 1643, in the persons of Major Leonard Lydcott, his bride, his mother-in-law, his father, his brother, three captains, three lieutenants, half-a-dozen soldiers and some male and female servants.

 

"And there", writes Jean Chevalier, "you have the train which came with Lydcott to conquer the Castles of Jersey". "If he had brought three hundred men with him", he adds, "they would have had the island under their thumbs and would have kept possession of it - as Lydcott was shortly to discover for himself."

 

The new Lieut-Governor was in command of the island for nearly three months and many events of importance in the history of Jersey took place during that period. As far, however, as our tower is directly concerned, we can only claim one of them which was thus and tersely recorded by Jean Chevalier:-

 

"About now, (9 October 1643), St Aubin's Tower was repaired and surrounded with bulwarks. The watch-house also was repaired and the two cannons remounted. A lieutenant named Brand was placed in command by the Lieut-Governor and a garrison of local soldiers was installed to defend it for the Parliament in case it should be attacked. It was intended also to use it as a prison for "refractories" , otherwise, Royalists.

 

Conversion to fort

By the building of this outer line of defence, the place became a fort, and a fort it has remained ever since. The watch-house was presumably the small building on the roof of the Tower shown in the drawing.

 

"Barely a month after St Aubin's Tower had been promoted to the status of fort, the Parliamentary front in Jersey began to crack. Lydcott, now fully aware of the unreliability of the local troops and of the mischievous influence exercised by their bigoted spiritual leaders, had despatched his brother to seek reinforcements from England, and none had arrived.

 

It was the desertion of four of his English officers and the arrival at the castles of men and supplies sent from Saint Malo by Captain George Carteret, that finally convinced Lydcott and his civilian colleagues that the game was up. And so, when the news of the capture of St Aubin's Fort reached them they emulated the action of the Boojum and "softly and suddenly vanished away ".

 

The capture of the fort was accomplished by a number of Saint Breladais royalists who, on the afternoon of 21 November, drifted in to the tower by ones and twos to gossip with the garrison while Brand was dining ashore. At a given signal tbese men pounced upon and mastered their unwary hosts and then mounting to the roof of the tower, discharged their matchlocks into the air to let Elizabeth Castle and their friends on land know that their ruse had succeeded.

 

Brand, at his dinner, had barely time to draw his sword, when an inrush of men overwhelmed and disarmed him. He was then led back, a prisoner, to the post from which he had so improperly absented himself; after which, he and his captured garrison were transferred to Elizabeth Castle, where they were detained for a time and then set free.

 

Royalist rule

The short-lived ascendancy of the Parliamentary party was succeeded by eight years of Royalist rule under the vigorous Sir George Carteret, Bailiff and Lieut-Governor, who, aware that one day he would have to face the might of Republican England, did all he could while time permitted, to make the island impregnable.

 

By parochial musters and inspections; by watch and ward duties round the coastline; and by occasional sham fights and grand reviews, he tried to instill into his unwilling fellow-countrymen some elementary knowledge of a subject which Chevalier politely calls "the Military Art".

 

The backbone of Sir George's little army, however, was composed of regular troops, horse and foot, of many nationalIties. These men remained faithful to him after the disaster in St Ouen's Bay and formed the garrison of Elizabeth Castle which eventually was forced to surrender on 15 December 1651. Meanwhile, to balance his budget and pay for his regulars, Sir George resorted to many irregular expedients, among the most lucrative of which figured his fleet of piratical frigates, based on the haven of Saint Aubin.

 

To ensure the safety of the ships as well as that of their prizes and the loot stored inthe village cellars, the strengthening and rearming of Saint Aubin's Fort should have become a matter of prime importance. As early as February 1645 the States had made an official visit to the place and decided that something ought to be done.

 

Thirteen months later, as nothing had been done, Sir George reintroduced the subject and stated that the tower must be repaired and new batteries built round about it. In agreeing to this demand, the States decreed that the island should bear the cost of the work and that each parish "tresor" should contribute ten ecus thereto, the ecu being half-a-crown.

 

Charles II

On the evening of 16 April 1646, the Proud Black Eagle and two other ships from the Scilly Isles sailed quietly into Saint Aubin’s Bay, bearing the 16-year-old Prince Charles and some 300 of his nobles, gentry and followers. If ever it were necessary for Sir George to complete the long neglected defences of Jersey, this was the moment; for in addition to being responsible for the safety of His Sacred Majesty’s island he was now also responsible for the safety of His Sacred Majesty's Sacred Son.

 

Once again therefore, it was decided to do something at Saint Aubin's Fort; and with the encouragement of the Prince, who subscribed fifty pistoles and promised more, work recommenced.

 

Moreover the Prince and his Council, unwilling that the island should bear the cost, ordered that the money raised from the parishes should be refunded, if it had been received.

 

Chevalier's journal

On 12 May 1646 the Prince with his lords and captains paid a visit to the place and after that, says Chevalier,

 

"Many men, at ten sous a day, were set to work there. The tower was repaired and the rock on its eastern side was scarped for the insertion of a new door. The old door, which was on its western side and, in wartime would have been exposed to cannon fire from the shore, was blocked up. Other work was done inside. The bulwarks round about were repaired and cannons were mounted in them. The tower was heightened and its lower embrasures closed, so that a storeroom and magazine might be constructed within. Other embrasures for guns were made higher up. A mass of earth was carted to the works and stones were collected on the spot. Lime also was provided for the building of the tower. The Prince's fifty pistoles were expended ere the work was scarce commenced, nevertheless much material had been carried there."

In 1647, Chevalier refers back to this work and to the Act of 15 March 1645, which had authorized it:

 

"In virtue of the Act" he writes, "labourers, carts and wagons were sent to Saint Aubin's Tower to make bulwarks there. The carts fetched earth from Saint Lawrence's marsh, and stone was quarried on the spot. In this manner the making of a strong structure was intended. All the old buildings which had been set up there in Mr Lydcott's time were dismantled."

In and after May, however, those parishes which were subject to the ‘’Douvres du Chateau’’ were ordered to work there, seeing that they had not performed this obligation in 1643, when Sir Philip de Carteret was blockaded in Elizabeth Castle by the islanders.

 

In spite of the building operations recorded off and on since 1643, it would be rash to assume that Saint Aubin's Fort was really completed in 1647.

 

Workers criticised

To believe that, indeed, would be to believe that the islanders' will to work had changed for the better since 1636, when Sir Philip de Carteret, directing the work in Elizabeth Castle, wrote the following memorable words: "The slothfulness of the workmen and the backwardness of the labourers doth impose upon me an intolerable pains and trouble."

 

Continuing with Chevalier s account of the works in progress during 1647. we note

 

The height of the Tower was increased by two brace and that a stone pillar was built within it to support the roof

John Dean was appointed Captain of the Fort and went to live in the tower in a room specially prepared for him

Another room in the tower was specially fitted to serve as a magazine

The garrison was increased and more cannons mounted, planks having been supplied for their platforms.

Sir George also had procured from Granville an alarm bell, weighing 47 pounds, to hang in the watch-house on the top of the tower.

 

Chevalier then remarks that though the tower was strongly situated, it would not be able to withstand a long siege. "Sea water in plenty was there, it is true", he says, "but for those who preferred fresh drinking water, there was none, other than that stored in barrels. And if an enemy held the land, the tower would have to be succoured by sea from Elizabeth Castle, under cover of darkness, an operation fraught with danger because boats, launched by the enemy, would most surely interfere with it."

 

In view of all this it seems hard to accept Chevalier's statement, under date of 24 July 1650, that "in this year also Sir George commenced to enclose within walls of masonry the area in which Saint Aubin's Tower stands. The work was supervised by Captain Sausmarez of Guernsey, who was in command of the said Tower".

 

English and Irish garrison

The garrison of the tower during that summer, and while the masons were still at work, was composed of English and Irish troops. When news came of Cromwell's victory at Dunbar, however, the strength of the garrison was increased by a dozen local soldiers - one being furnished by each parish and paid at the rate of fifty sous a week.

 

As time went on the news from England worsened and on 25 July 1651 Sir George informed the States that he had received a despatch from the Duke of York and Lord Jermyn, in Paris, that an expeditionary force was being assembled in England for the invasion of Jersey. The Duke offered to raise a body of 300 French and Swiss troops and send them over to reinforce the garrison of the island. The States, scenting more taxation, rejected this offer. They had enough young men of their own. All they now needed was a number of regular officers to train them.

 

In August, two precautionary measures were taken against the corning storm. Five ships were ordered to bring supplies and munitions from Saint Malo and a day of fast, prayer and intercession was appointed for Sunday the tenth. Everyone was to be present in church that day from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon singing psalms, praying and listening to sermons.

 

As if distrustful of the efficacy of this latter performance, Sir George also ordered his sea-scouts to patrol the coasts of Sark and Guernsey to watch for the approach of the enemy. Out again on 3 October, they again reported "no enemy in sight". Meanwhile the works at Saint Aubin's Fort had been completed and armed with twelve guns. Its garrison remained at full strength.

 

States declaration

On 10 October Sir George took yet another precaution. He ordered every member of the States to sign a declaration that they would defend the island on the King's behalf to the last drop of their blood. He also requested every well-to-do person in Jersey to bake biscuits, so that when the invasion carne, rich and poor would share and share alike.

 

In the night of 20/21 October 1651 the Parliamentary forces landed in Saint Ouen's Bay. The Militia, who had long been tired of the whole business, disbanded themselves, while Sir George and his regulars, after fighting a short rearguard action, withdrew to Elizabeth Castle.

 

A few hours later Saint Aubin's Fort was abandoned to the enemy, for its local men had mutinied saying that the place was untenable through lack of food and water. Its regulars then took to their boats and made for Elizabeth Castle.

 

Sir George’s privateers

As the chief object of the Fort was to protect the vessels which lay in the haven, some reference to the ships and their crews which made Saint Aubin their base, must be made.

 

It was during the years 1643 to 1651 that the port rose from poverty to affluence mainly through the nefarious operations of Sir George Carteret's privateers, which were known to some as ships of the Royal Navy and to others as "The Jersey Pyrates ".

 

The doings of this flotilla provided Sir George and other adventurers with much wealth, and Jean Chevalier with a great deal of copy for his Journal. They also inspired our godly journalist frequently to quote the Jewish scriptures and moralise on the iniquities committed by his fellow men and the calamitous nature of the times.

 

The fortunes of the flotilla fluctuated, of course, from time to time; but by following a policy of attacking the weak and avoiding the strong, the pirates succeeded in bringing many a valuable prize in to Saint Aubin, where Sir George's Court of Admiralty adjudged them to be lawful prizes, or otherwise.

 

It is from the existence of this Court that a house in Saint Aubin still bears the name of The Old Court House - - which has given rise to the belief that the village was once the seat of the Royal Court and therefore the capital of the island.

 

When a ship and her cargo bad been judged a lawful prize, an auction sale - after being advertised with tap of drum in Saint Helier - would be held in Saint Aubin, and thither would congregate on the appointed day many a local merchant and foreign speculator.

 

One of the most valuable prizes ever taken appears to have been a Parliamentary supply ship on her way from Loudon to Londonderry in February, 1647.

 

Though only of 90 tons burden, she was reckoned to be worth £15,000. Here is a list of her cargo:

 

30 barrels of gunpowder: 500 muskets, 500 pistols, 500 carbines, 500 swords and shoulder belts: 500 ready-made suits of clothes, 36 bales of cloth, saddles, boots, bridles and spurs, two small bronze cannons, 450 pairs of shoes, 500 linen shirts, socks, a quantity of red coats, five cases of surgical instruments, musket cases, wheat, a good quantity of peas, sacks of rice, barrels of butter, cheese, sun-dried raisins, chestnuts and other commodities.

As a rule, only one or two privateers at a time sallied forth in search of prey, but on 18 July 1650, no less than six, convoying two supply boats, set off to provision Castle Cornet. As these six small vessels bore names which were famous or infamous in those days, I give them herewith:

 

The Raceboat of 14 guns: The Francois of 18: the Patrice of 14 : the Pierre of 19: the Marie of 10 and the Lady of four. It is interesting to note that the Lady was adventured or financed by Sir George's lady and her friends.

 

Jersey pirates?

Turning now to the officers and crews of the privateers, I take the opportunity of pointing out that the phrase "Jersey pirates" is misleading, seeing that there were very few Jerseymen amongst them. It would, in fact, be more accurate to call them Royalist pirates operating from Jersey.

 

Of the score of captains mentioned by Chevalier, about a dozen were Englishmen who bore typical English names. The rest were Flemings, Ostenders, Dunkirkers and the like.

 

The crews were a rough lot of rascals of many nationalities, who were merciless and cruel in their treatment of prisoners, and never failed to squander in riotous living the shares they received when their prizes were sold. The excessive intake of strong liquor by men such as these led to many a breach of the public peace in the taverns of Saint Aubin and the occasional shedding of blood in its streets.

 

Manual Clement

The Royalist Lieutenant who succeeded the unwary Brand in the command of Saint Aubin’s Fort was a genltleman most inappropriately named Manuel Clement. This officer had distinguished himself in Sir Philip de Carteret's first sortie from Elizabeth Castle and had also been a member of the party which had captured Saint Aubin's Tower in November 1643.

 

On the afternoon of 7 December 1646, this Manuel Clement and one Michael Jenkinson, the master mriner of Sir George's galley, sat carousing in a tavern, and being well primed with strong drink, very naturally fell into a dispute over the bill.

 

Jenkinson, in his anger, flung his money on the table and made for the door saying he would pay no more. Clement, drawing his sword, rushed after him and shouted "Come back. Come back !” But dusk was falling and Jenkinson, having far to go, took no notice of this invitation, whereon Clement ran him through without more ado and left him dead in the gutter.

 

As there were no witnesses of this brutal deed, Clement would have been wise to hold his tongue; but he needs must return to the tavern and blab.

 

And so, on his own confession, the Constable and his centeniers seized him for murder and led him away to the prison criminal in Gorey Castle, there to await his trial. Chevalier states that Clement, in spite of his good record, would certainly have paid the penalty; but the ways of the law in those days were somewhat slow and by 6 March of the following year, Clement still awaited trial. The night of 6 March 1647 was a very dark one, and into it Clement the murderer privily withdrew. Nor, though all the ports were watched, was he ever seen again.

 

Janson Garet

The Clement-Jenkinson affair, however, was not the first of its kind; for one of an even more gruesome nature had already taken place some six weeks earlier. This was a stabbing affray between a big powerful Fleming named Janson Garet and a half-breed Portuguese named Andre Laurens.

 

I shall spare the reader the horrible details of this business and merely state that the Fleming was killed by the half-breed who, however, received such terrible injuries that three months elapsed before he could be brought to trial. The jury of 24 then found that he had acted in self-defence and he was acquitted. Later he was expelled from the island.

 

1680 military report

This sumptuously-bound and attractive report, which is preserved in the Department of Manuscripts, British Museum, is entitled :

 

"The present state of Guernsey with a short accompt of Jersey, and the forts belonging to the said islands. By Colonell George Legge, Lieutennant Generall of His Majesty's Ordnance. Anno Domini MDCLXXX.

Although Legge, as senior officer, takes the credit for this achievement, Master Gunner Thomas Phillips supplied the plans and illustrations, and Captain Richard Leake was responsible for details of armaments and criticisms of their state and efficacy.

 

Of Phillips' illustrations it may be said that their artistic merit is more to be admired than their military accuracy, especially in regard to his plans, from which he omits the references so carefully prepared by Leake.

 

Phillips' largest drawing in the Jersey series is a panorama of Saint Aubin's bay which measures 54 by 20 inches. His illustration of Saint Aubin's Fort, measures 11½ by 19 inches.

 

The English of the report also has its attractions, as the following three examples show:

 

”Some short observations upon the Island of Jersey for ye better intelligence of the Mapp of the said Island and more particulerly about the landing places. For the landing of an enemy there is a shoare about the middle of the said bay called St Laurence Bulworks where there might be something done towards the preventing It is in that Bay of St Aubins that Sir Thomas Morgan did undertake to build a Peere adjoining to the Tower of St Aubins which is almost finished, where vessells that drawes about 8 foot comes in a little more than halfe flood ".

The second deals with Saint Aubin's Fort itself, introducing the subject thus:

 

”An Accompt of the Ordnance and Carriages of St Alban's Fort in His Majesty's Island of Jersey taken by "Captain Richard Leake Master Gunner of England, by Order of the Honoble Colonell George Legge with ye Opinion of ye said Capt Leake what Alteration or Addition may be at the same".

The Accompt ends with these words:

 

"St Albans Fort is in indifferent repaire the walls being built with Stone and Loome and Pointed with Lime and Sand Mortar is of no great Strength but is only for defending ye vessells in the New Peere under the said Forts Command. Without the Fort upon the Rocks there is required a Battery to be made for the Command of the Bay between Elizabeth Castle and the said St Alban's Fort."

(This Battery was later known as the Eastward Battery).

 

In Leake's description of the Fort's armament, the type, length, weight, and position of each piece is given together with the nature and condition of its carriage (stand carriage or ship's carriage).

 

In a separate column, Leake recommends certain alterations in the armament of each platform or battery, but as Phillips omitted to note on his plan the positions of these platforms, I must leave the reader to place them for himself.

 

Here is a list of them:

 

Facing the Towne. Flanking the Peere. Flanking the Road comeing in to the Peere. Faceing the Gate. Flanking the Gate coming in. Faceing the Road. Flanking the Peere and the Towne. Flanking the Point coming into the Road."

The Towne is Saint Aubin's village, and the Road the anchorage.

 

The Fort's ordnance was all of iron, and consisted of the following pieces:

 

Four demi-culverins averaging 9 feet in length and rather over a ton in weight. Seven sakers 7 feet long and 15 cwt in weight. One falcon of 14 cwt and of 4 feet in length, and one three-pounder, 7 feet long and 11 cwt in weight. Total 13 guns.

Leake states that two of the demi-culverins and nine carriages were unserviceable. An account of Phillips' services and death will be found in ‘’The Dictionary of National Biography’’.

 

Fort pier

The construction of a pier at Saint Aubin's Fort had been under consideration for quite half a century before any active work was begun.

 

By 1680 its core or foundation had been made, thanks to the energy and initiative of Sir Thomas Morgan, Governor of Jersey from 1665 to 1679. Morgan had arranged for the financing and planning of the undertaking in 1673 and for the prosecution of the work in case of his death.

 

Though small jetties may have existed previously elsewhere along the coasts, no building on such a huge scale had ever before been attempted in Jersey.

 

I quote Lieut-Bailiff Jean Poingdcstre on the subject:

 

"I should here alsoe mention ye Peere which is making at ye Fort of St Albins, a peece for Eternity; if you consider ye breadth materialls and workemanshipp. It will be time enough to give an accompt of it, when by God's favour it shall be finished."

As Poingdestre died in 1691, nine years before the pier was finished, his accompt was never written.

 

Dumaresq survey

Jurat Philip Dumaresq in his A Survey of the Island of Jersey 1685, writes:

 

"There is a Peere almost finished adjoining to the North-East point of this small Island; which will be about thirty feet high at the head, some three hundred feet long and above thirty broad: Here all the shipping of the Island resort, it being the principal Harbour: the conveniency whereof has occasioned a small Town, called St Aubin to be built (consisting of about four-score houses) that daily increases, and would much more, but that the same high hill that commands the said fort, hinders it."

The line of wharfs or quays along the north edge of the islet had been partly built by 1742 and was completed by the end of the century.

 

It is interesting to compare the rough masonry of the pier with the well-cut blocks of later date at the head of the slipway.

 

The east screen wall had been built, therefore, before 1680. The west screen wall was erected early in the eighteenth century.

 

These walls served to protect the shipping in the fort harbour from the weather, as well as to screen it from an enemy in the roads.

 

Georgian fort

During the Georgian period, England and France were embroiled in no less than five major wars, each of which had some indirect effect on the efficiency of the Militia, the growth of the fortifications and the strength of the regular garrison of the island.

 

First there was the War of the Austrian Succession, 1741 to 1748. Then the Seven Years War, 1756 to 1763. Then the War of 1778 to 1783, in which France helped the revolting American Colonies to gain their independence; and lastly the great French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars which raged, with occasional breathers, from 1793 to 1815.

 

As if aware that trouble was brewing, the Board of Ordnance decided in 1730 to repair, and if necessary rebuild, the fortifications of Jersey. The record of the reception given by the States to the board's engineer on 25 August 1730, runs as follows:

 

”John Henry Bastide, Gentleman officer and engineer engaged for the reparation of this Island’ s fortresses by the Lords Commissioner of the ordnance of our Sovereign Lord the King of Great Britain, etc., has this day read to the States certain directions given him by the Lords Commissioner concerning the repairing of the Bulwarks and Guard Houses round this Island and the mounting in them of the Cannons and their carriages, etc, which the Lords Commissioner intend to send over when Mr Bastide certifies that the reparations have been completed.

” The States having considered the matter, resolved to issue the necessary orders immediately. At the same time, they desired Mr Bastide to convey to Milords their gratitude and thanks. They also desired Mr Bastide to inform Milords that they were about to give effect to their resolution."

Bastide must have been on duty in the archipelago for a dozen years or more. The chief memorial of his skill and industry is his work in Elizabeth Castle which, though altered in parts by the reformers of 1838, and savaged here and there by the Germans, still survives in some of the bastions and curtain walls of the Lower Ward.

 

The western sally port with its fine brick arch (1734) is his, as is also the east sally port of 173I, which leads downward from the north-cast corner of the Barrack Square.

 

The work carried out by him in Saint Aubin's Fort is, with the exception of King George II's Gateway, not so conspicuous owing to the reconstructions and alterations made between 1837 and 1840. It may, however, be detected in the southern defences, notably in the truncated sentry turret at the tip of the central bastion. Three of these turrets have survived intact in Elizabeth Castle.

 

1742 plan

The 1742 plan represents the fort as it was when Bastide had finished his work there. If compared with Phillips 1680 plan, it will be seen that the enclosure marked "Gardens" is now (1742) occupied by a Suttling House or Canteen.

 

The building west of the guard house, meanwhile, has disappeared. The 13 gun embrasures along the walls probably occupy the same positions that they occupied in 1680. The Barracks in the 1742 plan is another name for the ancient Tower.

 

Between 1737 and 1739 Bastide made plans of Castle Cornet and Alderney. He also made a series of panoramic sketches which eventually, as copper engravings, was published by J Tinney at the Golden Lion in Fleet Street, under the title of ‘’A General and Particular Prospectus of the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Arm and Jethou, drawn on the spot by J Bastide and finished by C Lempriere’’.

 

At the moment the most interesting of these to us is the engraving described as the"Prospect of the Fort. Harbour and Town of St Aubins in Jersey". As in the case of all the others, it is signed “J Bastide, Delin: C Lernpriere, Perfecit and W H Toms, Sculp".

 

The engraving bears the following note:

 

"St Aubin's Fort and Peer where a 6th Rate just floats at a dead neep and 200 Tun Ships at all times."

While acknowledging the skill of the perfecter and engraver, I cannot but wonder if all the details of the original sketch were faithfully reproduced by them. The question is raised in connection with the fort's tower, the top of which appears in the engraving to project as if resting on corbels. I can fmd no proof that an architectural feature of this kind ever existed there.

 

Saint Aubin's Fort, in spite of the warlike nature of the times, now drops out of the news. Its garrisons no doubt grumbled from time to time at the inadequate water supply and want of accommodation but, on the other hand, they must have found consolation and relaxation in observing the movements of the ships which crowded the harbour, or in sharing with the matelots some of the simple pleasures in which 'Jack ashore' has ever delighted.

 

The armament of the Fort in 1801 was stated to be six 24-pounders; seven 6-pounders and one 8-inch howitzer.

 

1838 to 1940

Extract from the Inspector General of Fortifications' observations upon Lt-Colonel Oldfield’s plans and Sections for the Repair and Reform of St Aubyn's Fort, Jersey :-

 

"The position of St Aubyn's Fort is a favorable point in the defence of the Bay of St Heliers, both on account of its bearing on the most sheltered part of the anchorage and the collateral aid it affords for the defence of the shore where landing might be attempted. It moreover effectually covers the little Harbor of St Aubyns from desultory attack. The existing work is, however, of a very imperfect construction, small capacity and low Profile, which defects could not be wholly remedied but at a considerable expense. - 1 January 1838.”

The application of steam power to shipping had a profound effect on the tactical situation of Jersey; for whereas formerly the fate of an invasion hung on the state of the wind and tides, an invader could now act, within reason, independently of the forces of nature. To meet these changed conditions, the coastal defence of the island was strengthened in the third decade of the 19th century by modifying or perfecting the already existing fortifications, and by creating entirely new ones.

 

Among those in the first category were Elizabeth Castle, Saint Aubin's Fort, and the old Martello towers; whilst in the second was the chain of small forts which extends along the north coast from Rozel in the east to Plemont in the west.

 

The chief features of the new constructions, with the exception of those inserted in the Martellos, was the mounting of guns on traversing platforms, designed to command sea approaches and anchorages; and the provision of loopholed curtain walls, designed to dominate by musketry fire the immediate land and shore approaches to the forts themselves.

 

The changes carried out in Saint Aubin's Fort may therefore be summed up under those two heads: the mounting of guns on traversing platforms mainly to command the anchorage or roads in Saint Aubin's Bay; and the provision of loopholes from which a concentrated flanking musketry fire could be directed agamst all attempted coup-de-main and escalade.

 

The new system, as applied to our fort, demanded a stronger garrison; and a stronger garrison, in turn, demanded more barrack accommodation and extra water tanks and magazines.

 

Structural changes

Many of these structural changes may easily be detected by anyone who visits the fort today; for the newer masonry, which consists largely of neatly fitted blocks of grey Mont Mado granite, contrasts sharply with the ancient rubble of the Tudors, the irregular stonework of the Stuarts and the red granite courses of George II's engineers.

 

In spite of German alterations, the 1838-1840 work is still specially noticeable in the three gun positions which form the southern front of the fort and in the two gun positions in the north-west and north-east angles, the last named being directly above the fort's gateway.

 

It will also be seen in the upper part of the tower and in the four surviving machicoulis galleries, which project from its parapet. Originally there were seven of them, but later, when it was decided to place a heavy traversing gun on the roof of the tower, three of them were destroyed. The stumps of their corbels are still visible in the surface of the wall.

 

Another very important reform was the reconstruction of all the interior arrangements in the Tower. A massive central pillar of Mont Mado granite was made to support the new floors and roof. In the basement, which was excavated to hold a tank for 14 hogsheads of water and a magazine for 90 barrels of powder, it is four and a half feet thick.

 

In the room above it is four feet thick, and in the top room three feet six inches. Ladders and trap-doors provide means of communication from basement to roof. From base to top the pillar measures about 23 feet. The tower walls were cased with brick nine inches thick - an addition which gave to the eastern wall of the tower an average thickness of six feet three inches, and to the western wall a thickness of five feet.

 

The south wall or apse of the tower now became six feet thick, while the north wall became seven. Each loophole in these walls was provided with a glazed oaken frame. Other improvements in the tower were the provision of a reconstructed entrance door and the installation of a fireplace.

 

It was estimated that under war conditions the tower would be able to accommodate 30 men, a number which might suffice "to work the six guns proposed to be mounted in the lower emplacements, but would form a very inadequate garrison for a post having such a large contour to defend."

 

Extra accommodation

Extra accommodation for a garrison on a war footing had therefore to be provided within the area of the lower work, as distinct from the tower. As, however, the fort was abandoned as obsolete long before any war occurred, this accommodation was never required.

 

One of the chief disabilities from which the old contour, or enceinte, suffered was its want of elevation and this, of course, exposed it to the danger of escalade. To remedy this, the height of the parapets had to be raised where possible and the rock at the foot of the walls subjected to further escarpment.

 

The officers responsible for the repair and partial reform of Saint Aubin's Fort during the years 1838-1840 were:

 

F W Mulcaster, Inspector General of Fortifications.

J. Oldfield. Lt-Col CRE Jersey, and his successor

H G Jones, Major CRE Jersey.

A record of their work will be found on the keystone of the interior arch of the fort gateway. The stone bears the words: "The defences of this Fort reformed in the year 1839."

 

840 report

I close this part with a copy of the report by Lt-Col F English, RE, dated 9 November, 1840.

 

Present state

In good repair. The reform of its defence was completed m March 1840. The Keep and Lower Platform are in a state to receive the Armament. The former is loopholed and has Machicoulis.

 

Situation

About 500 yards from the beach at the Town of St Aubin and 1450 yards from Tower No 3 (Beaumont). The Fort is constructed on a rock 22 feet above high water mark, isolated at half tide. It is exposed to the high ground westward above St Aubin, and towards Le Boue at the distance of 700 to 1,000 yards.

 

Object of the work

One of the fortified posts for the protection of the shipping taking shelter in the Great Roads, or St Aubin's Bay. It commands the entrance, pier, harbour and the west shore from St Aubin's Town to Point Le Boue, and to within 7 or 800 yards of Noirmont Tower.

 

Armament

Five 24 Prs, and three 8-inch Mortars have been proposed as the Armament. They are not on the spot.

 

Bomb-proof cover

In the keep for one officer and 30 men, and in the old magazine of the lower works for ten men if not required for Ammunition.

 

Magazine

Dry: one in the keep for 90 Barrels and that in the lower work will contain 160 Barrels.

 

Water

The tank in the tower will contain 4476 gallons.

 

Proposed additions

The parapets require to be strengthened at some points. The breastwork for two guns to the eastward to be converted into a battery for two heavy guns, on traversing platforms, well scarped and flanked, and enclosed in the rear by a loopholed wall. The wall in the rear of the battery (proposed to be loopholed), belongs to the States.

 

The main entrance is somewhat exposed to the sea side. It is proposed to enclose it in front by a strong loopholed wall in the form of a demi-bastion, which will contribute to the defence of the gateway, give a flank to the shore, where the landing from boats is perfectly easy and protect the communication with the eastern battery.

 

Barracks

Bombproof, for three officers and 100 men. The expense of this addition will be £368 and £840 for the new Barrack.

 

1840-1940

The story of our fort during this period is easily told, for within 40 years of its great reform its armament had been withdrawn and its garrison had dwindled to a caretaker. When the caretaker in turn was relieved of his duties, a succession of private individuals leased the place from the War Office and finally it was acquired by the States of Jersey.

 

Its last tenant before the outbreak of the Second World War was Mr Lionel Cox who, during the course of many years, converted it into a summer 'plaisance' of real charm.

 

1940-1948

In their five years tenure, the Herrenvolk transformed Jersey into a fortress of enormous strength. They not only constructed their defence works in positions never before occupied by exponents of "The Military Art", but they also made use of all the tactical sites which in times past had played their part in the war story of the island.

 

Saint Aubin's Fort, of course, was one of these, and here the Germans moved in with their concrete, guns, ammunition, barbed wire, mines, telephones, electrical plant and the thousand and one other appliances which soldiers now consider necessary for the proper conduct and prosecution of their profession.

 

Being unable to describe in suitable terms the work executed by the Germans in our fort, I applied to Major J C M Manley, RA for help, and the very next day received the welcome and valuable information which now follow :

 

Fig 1 on the 1948 plan - Ferro-concrete strong point containing air-conditioned barracks for a mortar detachment. The position of the mortar is a concrete emplacement at the western end of the building and is reached by a short flight of steps which gives access from the men's quarters. Passages also lead out onto the quay area as well as through the wall of the north-west bastion into the interior of the fort. Exits and quarters are protected by steel blast-pr

BC Hydro has completed a major $47 million expansion of the George Tripp substation to help meet the growing needs of the Greater Victoria area for a reliable supply of power. The demand for electricity in Victoria will increase by about two per cent per year over the next 10 years and this important investment will help meet that demand.

 

BC Hydro will spend about $2 billion over the next decade on Vancouver Island to upgrade existing assets and build new infrastructure to support the growing population and economy. These capital projects will create 9,300 person-years of employment.

 

Learn more at: www.bchydro.com/news/press_centre/news_releases/2016/geor...

Buck Winesmith demands a gorgeous drink of lychee martini "I want a peeled and pitted lychee on a knotted bamboo skewer served in a pretty glass of dry vermouth, gin, and Angostura bitters. Make it classy and zen."

 

He never got an answer.

 

Location: Liberty City SL

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