re: #267 Sir John Barron

Native Americans 1607-1620: We may have to get our hands dirty dealing with these boats full of invaders.

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In 1620, a group of Comanche (on foot, wearing nothing but loincloths) defeated a group of Spanish soldiers (on horseback, with armor and helmets) — a recent PBS doc showed us the carvings on rock walls depicting that battle.

The spoils included enough stallions and mares to start a breeding program. Within one human generation, the Comanche had become the finest horsemen the world has ever seen; that’s how they for more than 200 years dominated a pretty damn big piece of territory.

It wasn’t just better guns that enabled the US Army to ultimately prevail; an unlimited supply of reinforcements had a lot to do with it. Still, under the circumstances, 200 years is a pretty good run.