text:
Gewandhaus season hinges on a man of 88
Although Andris Nelsons takes on 15 concerts in the interim season before he becomes Kapellmeister, a larger part of the season rests upon the shoulders of Herbert Blomstedt, who conducts 20 concerts in the season.
Blomstedt, now 88, was Gewandhauskapellmeister from 1998 to 2005.
We hear that he does not use a chair at work. He is on his feet for four hours in rehearsal.
Jon H says:
Like HB's work very much – ever since that first Decca Hindemith CD.
Ganymede says:
What a wonderful conductor and musician, I hugely admire him! And a true gentleman!
Absolutely agree!!
Olassus says:
Wikipedia, fwiw:
"A devout Seventh-Day Adventist, Blomstedt does not rehearse on Friday nights or Saturdays … . He does, however, conduct concerts [on those days] since he considers actual performances to be an expression of his religious devotion rather than work."
Edgar Brenninkmeyer says:
This reminds me of Gustav Mahler, who, when asked whether he was a man of faith, replied: I am a musician.
Music: Divine Love made audible.
Baton Rouge says:
Incredible performance at his age. Very motivating for us lesser mortals. Solti, as another example, was superdynamic and commuted with conducting engagements between two continents until well over 80, but didn't quite make it to 85.
[We hear that he does not use a chair at work. He is on his feet for four hours in rehearsal.]
Having watched him rehearse the Vienna Symphony last summer, I can confirm that this is true. He also only used the scores to find rehearsals numbers. The performances were absolutely terrific.
Max Grimm says:
+1. I saw him conduct the Berliner Philharmoniker in an energetic and excellent performance of Franz Berwald's Symphony Nr. 3 and Antonín Dvořák's Symphony Nr. 7 last month.
https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/de/concert/22401
The trailer can be viewed for free and without logging in.
Uffe Sveistrup says:
He has an almost god-like status among the musicians of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra which he normally conducts once a year. This year will be special as he will recieve the Sonning Music Prize as well.
I shall never forget his perfomance of Beethovens Missa Solemnis
A wonderful musician who doesn't look his age at all. Hoping to hear him in Tokyo later this year.
Sixtus says:
In addition to his interpretations, I've been impressed with Blomstedt's insistance on using the older divided-violins/cellos-left seating plan for which the entire mid-19th-to early20th-century orchestral repertory was composed. The resulting clarity of inner lines is apparent even in audio streamed over the internet. Nelsons has unfortunately gone over to the dark side in Boston, clumping all the fiddles to the left, undoing the musical advantages Levine (and Chailly/Gewandhaus) enjoyed with the old arrangement. I hope when Nelsons takes full control Leipzig he doesn't repeat the mistake of Boston.
Mogens says:
Here Blomstedt explains why he use this seating plan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-6Y41tTwNM
An excellent piece, thanks. But there are a few historical errors. The great villain was not Stokowski, but Henry Wood, who reseated his orchestra in the "new" plan in 1911 and claimed it was an innovation in his writings. Stokowski 's influence was still pernicious in that, apparently, his recordings influenced Furtwangler to adopt the new plan during WW2, a change that can be followed in contemporary photographs of the Berlin Philharmonic. With Furtwangler in Europe and Stokowski in the USA, the old plan didn't stand a chance. Toscanini, despite what Blomstedt thinks, never adopted the new plan right up to his last concert with the NBC symphony. Toscanini considered the 1st and 2nd violins the "shoulders" of the orchestra. No extra points for guessing who was the head!
Dirk Fischer says:
That is very interesting, Sixtus, thank you! Would you be able to name sources for this information? I am asking because I am trying to document this transition in orchestral seating.
John Kelly says:
Stokowski's rational for "clumping" the violins together to his left was that the sound holes all faced the audience so there was a bigger tone. Seating the seconds to the conductor's right has their sound pointing toward the ceiling and backwards away from the audience. Similarly he liked the celli and basses to be at the back of the stage (occasionally on risers behind their colleagues) so their deep bass would project better. Winds to his right. In one interview he stated that there was much more antiphony between stings and winds than between first and second violins (obviously not thinking about the finale of Beethoven 7!).
I for one am a big fan of the "Klemperer layout" at least at Carnegie Hall where the basses are at the back to the left. This makes for a far better aural experience for most listeners in the Hall. Yannick please take note!!!!
Bernhard G says:
Other reports state, that Stokowski got the idea from the emerging recordings and broadcastings back then, where musicians were sitting around one single microphone, not playing into a hall with audience, and in this setup it made more sense to have the second violins sit half left. Mostly for reasons of balance in the quite primitive early microphones, where the Celli sitting on the side would be better balanced in that one mono microphone, which was usually hanging somewhere above the conductors head.
It's quite silly to have the Celli play sideward to an audience, their sonority suffers, their perceived strength is diminished. (Not though for the conductor, who still hears them frontally, which is the main reason why this maldevelopment is holding on for too long.)
The only layout that correlates with composer's intention – and also is best for "transmitting" complex polyphonic symphonic music in concert halls until the early 20th century – is the 2nd violins on the right, all things weighed and considered… For music written after that it depends. (e.g. see comment above, Ivan Fischer performing Bartok)
One classic showcase for the composer's certainty about the 2nd violins sitting on the right is Tchaikovsky 6th symphony, last movement. The opening theme is composed in a "torn" manner, the upper melody jumping from 1st to 2nd violins each note.
In the reprise [G, Andante non tanto] the aggravated and torn affection has been overcome by resignation, and the melody is now stationary. This effect never works in the American/Stokowski seating, clearly negating what the composer intended. There are numerous other examples.
http://hz.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/7/72/IMSLP00569-Tchaikovsky_-_Symphony_No_6_Op_74_-_Fourth_movement.pdf
Also the psychoacoustics for mentally processing polyphony as well as harmonic density are better, if voices with similar timbre and often in "Engführung" are perceived from different angles by the listener, which is not the case if the 2nd violins sit right next (and mostly behind from the listener's POV) to the 1st.
There is much more to be said…
The summary: The American/Stokowski seating is a maldevelopment, which never made sense in the concert hall, and only made sense for recordings in the MONO recording age, which ended roughly 50 years ago…
…and re your "better deep bass projection" concept for celli and basses: Risers help nothing for improving the fundamental low frequencies. Risers help to project higher overtones and bowing sounds in the higher frequency range, which can help to bring out the "contour" of celli and bass lines, but not the fundamental bass energy.
To have a strong bass sound, you need reflections from large surfaces close to the instruments. Bass reflections need large surfaces, since the ability of a surface to reflect sound is proportional to the wavelength of the frequency of the sound.
For example the fundamental C₅ ("großes C", open C string Celli) has a frequency of about 66 Hz. Wich equals a wavelength (in air @ room temperature) of about 5.2 meters.
Rule of thumb you need a surface which in any dimension is not smaller than about half the wavelength, to even start reflecting that frequency, preferably bigger. Anything smaller than 2.6 meters in any dimension will thus not "see" and not reflect that fundamental C frequency. Double bass notes reach even lower and need even bigger surfaces for meaningful reflections…
If you have a classic shoebox hall, you have usually several large surfaces in appropriate proximity, that help to create a good bass fundament.
All the amphitheatre/arena halls with audience all around, built for looking, not hearing, like Berlin Philharmonie, etc., suffer from a perceived weak bass energy, because they lack much of these stage enclosure walls.
(which to a certain degree can be compensated by an exceptionally strong and "forward" playing bass group…)
Placing the basses in the back, like it is done in Vienna Musikverein, makes only sense if they stay immediately in front of a large surface, which improves their fundamental strength. If there is no large enough reflecting back wall, then it would not yield the same effect.
There is more to it, but so far for the very basics…
Our orchestra uses the divided violins seating plan (1st violins, cellos, violas, 2nds – with the basses behind the 1st violins/cellos), and the 2nd violins hate it. They can't hear the firsts – in fact only the first couple of stands can even SEE them – yet they have to play in sync with them constantly and are always being told they're not together. A friend of mine in the 2nds was sick last week and missed a rehearsal, and I didn't even know 🙂 I don't know how it sounds from the audience.
Daniel Barenboim, when commenting on his use of the old plan many years ago at a press event I attended, said that the 2nds and violas in the old plan need to be very able players to be able to handle the exposure, which is, of course, one of the two main advantages of the old plan. I think the word he used was "brave." Still, there are even youth orchestras that use it successfully, along with such noted ensembles as the Gewandhaus, the MET orchestra, the Halle, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Kansas City Symphony (bless them!).
Add to that the variation of the old plan which the Berliner Philharmoniker & Simon Rattle and a few other orchestras/conductors use at times; 1st violins on the left, then the violas, cellos center-right and 2nd violins on the right.
– http://41.media.tumblr.com/134cfa3874347d5d878d8f634b9d369e/tumblr_nk2vexJmTA1qats4wo2_1280.jpg
– http://40.media.tumblr.com/76e7eb1eb18ac2b7bd34cc7ba1c60ab4/tumblr_nk2vexJmTA1qats4wo3_1280.jpg
Makes sense. The virtual flowchart for the decision making is somewhat like this:
-a priori: Violins split, spread over whole width of stage for "that" cinemascope wide violin sound.
-tbd now: all things considered, where is the best place for the basses.
-once that is settled the rest falls into place: Celli in the middle, instruments frontally projecting into the audience, but closer to the basses. Violas take the left vacant area. (not because they are less important, but because their acoustic requirements are less fickle than those of the outer ranges of the strings 😉
So depending on where the basses are placed, the celli follow.
There is some empiric evidence, that having the basses on the left has a few pros, compared to their position on the right: At the left hey usually are angled better to project frontally into the audience, resulting in a more "open" and full sound. Also they are there better audible for the 1st violins, which can help in better cohesion for precise intonation between the framing voices (or how do you translate "Randstimmen"?) as well as timing.
Vienna with the basses in the back is a special case and usually is advantageous only on a stage that is a) not too large and therefore the basses not too far away from the other string groups, and b) where there is a large reflecting wall immediately behind the basses.
But as with anything, the proof of the pudding is in the eating…
There is much talk among musicians who like a resonant floor to feel their instruments better, particularly bass players and cellists, whose instruments are directly physically coupled to the floor.
While it is true that these haptic resonances can be very advantageous for self perception for several reasons, they are not directly improving the strength and quality of sound out in the hall.
Actually to the contrary, the resonating floor might absorb more energy than a harder floor, the input energy by the player being equal…
BUT… if the player feels better and more confident about his/her playing, of course that psychological advantage can outweigh the physical limitation, and improve the musical sound bottom line. It's a delicate balance of parameters, that needs to be fine tuned with a lot of blind listening, expertise and patience (and constant fight against prevalent perceptional bias).
Another noteworthy exception: Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Usually the celli on the right. Why? Local experts might know better, but my impression is, that the hall is already a quite low frequency emphasizing environment, where the sideward orientation of the celli might have an advantage, since it emphasizes their "speech intelligibility" higher frequency formants and harmonics.
But… the old seating under Mengelberg there was with only violins and violas down next to the conductor, and the celli sitting behind, spread out, but frontally to the audience, on the steps, basses behind to the right. Possibly for "political" reasons since then the celli demanded their seat next to the conductor, despite an acoustic loss… Anybody knows better?
Does Concertgebouw still sometimes play in that seating under Mengelberg?
http://www.willemmengelberg.nl/sites/default/files/Willem%20Mengelberg/02a1910adam.jpg
Don Ciccio says:
Ivan Fischer generally prefers violins divided. The exception is in Bartok's music, when he has all the violins in the left side. His argument is that the massed together violins provide the kind of sound that is appropriate for the composer.
John Borstlap says:
The placing of the string group is one of those unsolvable problems in music performance which can never be entirely solved with complete satisfacion – it is an art, not science, and makeshift solutions may have to be found at any occasion. In terms of sound quality, the entire group forms a harmonic unity from top to bottom, as written in the score, and placing them geographically, so to speak, is for that reason problematic. It depends upon the music. Pieces which employ the string sound as a whole but differentiated tapestry (Debussy, Ravel, much of Bartok, Dutilleux and the like) are best played with the 2nds at the left, so that the entire range is smooth: violins I & II left, violas in the middle, celli on the right with the basses behind them. Poliphonic music like Mahler's and Strauss' do better with v-I left and v-II right and celli in the middle with basses at the back. And then, the acoustics of the hall are an important factor too. If the hall is relatively small – at least, where the podium is – and the sound is travelling very directly above the orchestra, the distance between v-I left and v-II right is much less of a problem (I think the Musikverein has that advantage). The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam has the trouble that the ceiling is very high and the sound spreads immediately above the players so that they have some trouble with hearing what other players are doing.
All these considerations make one realize how relative musical notation is and so much dependent upon the performers.
Daniel F. says:
Critic Lloyd Schwartz asked Nelsons about this during his first press conference as BSO music director and reported that Nelsons didn't even appear interested in the question!
GEWANDHAUS ORCHESTER, are you listening?! I mean you are only an orchestra with one of the greatest traditions, including a unique sound.
Maybe you should give Blomstedt another 20 year contract, SERIOUSLY!!!
Another Anon says:
A sound that Chailly practically erased. If you listen to the orchestra "blind", you would barely distinguish it from any other top notch band.
It is Nelsons' job to restore the Gewandhaus sound, the same way Jansons restored the Concertgebouw sound which was destroyed by, wait, Chailly!
Yeah, if I may generalize a bit, traditionally the Italians hear from the top down, the Germans hear from the bottom up. Italians imagine melody plus… Germans imagine bass fundament first, harmonic body/middle voices, then melodic line on top…
Is Nelsons the type of conductor who is particularly strong in shaping an orchestra's sound specifically and with expertise?
Chailly cultivates energy and clear sunshine, German orchestras plough under a darker sky. Italian musicians play like they talk over dinner: extravert, with emotions on the surface; German musicians plumb their emotional depth, introvert, spreading their slow intensity like all-pervading incense. It is quite a job to get German orchestras off the ground (Chailly succeeds in this obviously with his Brahms), as I suppose it is as hard to get Italian orchestras down from the roof.
Joel a stein says:
Nelsons split the BSO antiphonally at the recent Abrahamson/Prokofiev concert. Going tomorrow and will see if he does so again.
I have sung (as a chorister) two concerts with Blomstedt in the past two years. The man is ageless. It's really remarkable. He is always full of energy.
RW2013 says:
Long may he wave!
Peter Phillips says:
A lovely man and great musician whose gestures demonstrate the truth that less is more, and not just because he is 88. I saw him 20 years ago in Philadelphia (Dvorak cello concerto with Harrell & Nielsen 6) and his podium manner was much the same then. He is courteous to audience members who have the temerity to seek him out after the concert, as I did after a concert with the RCO in The Hague. I asked him why he did not conduct UK orchestras; he seemed to suggest that a lack of what he considered adequate rehearsal time was the reason. Vivat Blomstedt!
He is a very infrequent visitor to UK orchestras, but the Philharmonia seem to have persuaded him for Bruckner. He's here at the Festival Hall on April 24th. Sadly doesn't look at all well sold.
And the Gewandhaus season book indicates concerts this coming summer in Edinburgh and the Proms, as well as other European destinations.
Papageno says:
I've seen Maestro Blomstedt twice with the Los Angeles Philharmonic — the first time about a decade ago when he conducted the Bruckner 'Romantic,' which was extremely good, and then last year when he led the Phil in a performance of Bruckner's 9th that was the stuff of legend. The orchestra gave him a tusch at the end of the performance — one of the only times (according to one of the musicians I talked to) that they've awarded such an honor to a conductor since moving into Disney Hall.
What an admirable optimism the Gewandhaus shows. But it has to be admitted that religion and abstinence can be very healthy. Nuns and monks get very old and are never ill.
HB is one of the best around, and an impressive, entirely independent personality. In my dog years I worked for a short while at a big music agency in Amsterdam where he was once, during negotiations about contracts, invited for lunch. The staff had, instructed by a nervous director, bought a collection of the best boutique food accessible through some chique caterers of the neighbourhood – close to the Concertgebouw, an expensive quarter – but he hardly touched it, drinking mere mineral water, and silently spreading a friendly but utterly detached atmosphere around him which perplexed and intimidated the staff more than any demonstration of loud authority could have done.
Joel stein says:
Boston symphony and nelsons last night-no split violins-
The video is of a fantastic performance, with none of the stale pathos that has been inevitable with this work for so long: it sounds fresh as if written yesterday. Lively tempi, clear sound (influence of HIP?), but meanwhile expressive lyricism where the music asks for it. (To my taste, the tempi in the notorious last mvt generally a bit too fast, and the big double fugue with the chorus a bit too slow, but well, so what?) The choir admirable, the solo singers could have been better – but they had to cope with too fast tempi – the poor tenor threatened to explode.
Amazing that such an old man brings-off such an extremely young performance.
It's a quite unusual piece, which remains so, in spite of its fame as an iconic work of the repertoire. It has been criticized often, and not by the least. It may come as a surprise to know that none other than Debussy, who hated everything officially 'classical' and bourgeois-established, greatly admired the piece and defended it in an article when a critic, and especially refuted the accusation of vulgarity that was often heard from 'sophisticated' quarters (and is still heard occasionally). If performed in such fresh and 'innocent' way, one can hear the original inspiration of the musical ideas.
It is extremely painful to realize that the composer could never hear the result of his labours.


text:
Beloved Milwaukee County Zoo polar bear, the oldest living in human care in North America, dies at 36
Steven Martinez
North America's oldest polar bear living in human care at the Milwaukee County Zoo has died, the zoo announced Saturday.
The zoo on Friday euthanized 36-year-old Snow Lilly due to her declining health and subsequent quality of life concerns, according to a news release. According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the median life expectancy for polar bears in human care is 23.4 years
A recent wellness exam found Snow Lilly had heart disease and was undergoing other age-related changes, the release said. Snow Lilly came to the Milwaukee County Zoo in 2005 from the Bronx Zoo.
"Snow Lilly was a visitor favorite at the Zoo and considered one of the iconic animals in the population," said Zoo Director Amos Morris in a statement. "She will be sorely missed by both staff and visitors."
RELATED:Snow Lilly the polar bear was a Milwaukee County Zoo icon. Here are some other famous zoo animals.
In recent years, the zoo called on Snow Lilly to stand in for a groundhog and usher in spring at a Groundhog's Day celebration in 2018. She also shared a birthday with Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich.
A necropsy will be performed, as important information can continue to be collected from it and help other polar bears living in human care. Final necropsy results will be forthcoming in the upcoming months.
Contact Steve Martinez at (262) 650-3182 or steve.martinez@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stjmartinez.

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text:
Q: Reusing business logic for React components I've just started learning React and I'm struggling to understand a good way to reuse a business logic between components.
For example, a have many forms submitting data. The workflow is always the same:

*

*Fill in the data;

*Clicks submit;

*A snackbar is displayed with a loading message;

*A network request is sent;

*If the request is successful, then it displays a new snackbar with a success message and, in some cases, it redirects to a different route;

*If the request returns an error, then it displays a snackbar with the error message.

I've created a HOC:
function withSubmit(WrappedComponent, request, navigateTo) {
  return class extends Component {
    constructor() {
      super();
      this.state = {
        snackbar: null,
        navigate: null,
      };
    }

    updateSnackbar = snackbar => this.setState({ snackbar });

    handleSubmit = (...params) => {
      this.updateSnackbar('Loading...');

      // API request passed from the parent component to be called only after submitting a form.
      request(...params)
        .then(() => {
          this.updateSnackbar(navigateTo.msg);

          if (navigateTo.url) {
            this.setState({ navigate: navigateTo.url });
          }
        })
        .catch(err => this.updateSnackbar(err.message));
    };

    render() {
      const { navigate, snackbar } = this.state;

      return (
        <div>
          <WrappedComponent onSubmit={this.handleSubmit} />
          <Snackbar
            open={!!snackbar}
            message={snackbar}
          />
          { navigate ? <Redirect to={navigate} /> : null }
        </div>
      );
    }
  };
}

It works. However, it seems a bit complicated. Is there a simpler way to reuse that logic/flow?

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text:
ios for dummies
Most new iPhones are capable of regular taps, as well as 3D Touch. The oldest iPhone that can make the upgrade is the iPhone 5, although these owners might want to hold off for a bit. For all intents and purposes, everything on your iPhone or iPad is an app — from the Phone app you use to make calls, to the Settings app, to third-party apps like Facebook. Then you'll be able to enable: Next you'll be invited to either set your device up as a new iPhone or iPad, or restore from previous backups. Wondering how to update your iPhone? For Dummies; 10th edition (December 15, 2020). There's also a row of customizable shortcuts for enabling the flashlight, setting a timer, or quickly launching the camera app. $0.99). To 3D Touch, simply squeeze a little harder till you feel a click. On an iPad, double-tap the home button to access this feature. In addition to this, iOS receives periodic smaller updates that squash bugs, patch up security holes, and sometimes add new features. 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Apple has a robust yet inexpensive developer program. iCloud is the name of Apple's online storage and device management tools. You will lose all data on your device, but if you create a backup first, you can restore it once you're done. Note: There's no need to routinely kill apps, since iOS automatically suspends processes in the background. Apple now uses two-factor authentication (2FA) by default. Even if you've done everything correctly, in a large iOS app, you may simply run out of memory. It's not monitored by the company, nor do they provide support, but you'll likely find other users with similar issues and possibly solutions. It is easy it is to add a button to the too... A Jump bar appears at the top of each Edit... To develop an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad app, you have to work within the context of an Xcode project. On an iPhone, you'll find the power button on the right side of the device, on an iPad you'll find the power button on the top edge. It doesn't matter if you have a brand new iPhone 12 or are sticking with the iPhone you've had for a few years. We'll start right at the beginning, from the moment you unpack your iPhone, and teach you the basics of securing your device, messaging friends, using Siri, and much more. You can manage an app's permissions in the Settings app — simply scroll down to the app in question and tap it to revoke or enable priveleges. Upgrading your current Apple iOS device to iOS 10 brings a few new features and options to you. Can your device handle iOS 10? You can also access media controls, enable or disable orientation lock (to maintain screen orientation), and engage Do Not Disturb mode to mute incoming notifications. Third-party app developers can opt to use the service to store documents and data. Before you update your device, it's always a good idea to have a full complete backup (see above) since things occasionally go wrong during the upgrade and a full restore is required. iOS is the name of the operating system that powers the iPhone and iPad, like macOS on the Mac, and Windows on the PC. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. iCloud also has a web portal, at iCloud.com. If something goes badly wrong with your iPhone, and you need to start afresh, iTunes allows you to restore the original operating system. You can follow him on Twitter. However, AppleCare also covers accidental damage, with an excess payable for repairs or an outright replacement for your device should something happen to it. Tapping on an icon will launch the corresponding app. You can see what apps have stored using the Files app in iOS 11, or from the iCloud Drive shortcut on a Mac. While the iPhone and iPad have their differences, the vast majority of the operating system is identical on both — with hardware-specific features making up most differences. Icons are organised on a grid across a variety of home screens. This guide is available to download as a free PDF. Your note-taking habits can be the heart of your productivity. Click on the File Sharing option in the sidebar and then choose the app. You should probably only choose this option if you lost your last device and creating a fresh local backup in iTunes is not possible. Deleting an app will remove all of its app data, including any locally-stored documents. iOS receives one major upgrade per year, with several smaller updates throughout the year to patch bugs, security issues, and add the occasional new feature. The question is — should you make the upgrade? While iCloud backup isn't the only way to take a secure backup of your device, it is the easiest. There are sliders for device volume (separate to ringer volume, controlled by the rockers on the side of your iPhone) and display brightness. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Your iCloud Drive contents also show up on a Mac through Finder, and on the web at iCloud.com. Many third-party options will use aftermarket parts, which can be of inferior quality. In spite of this, first time iOS users can often feel perplexed. Keep track of your health and wellness with iPhone To explore the iPhone User Guide, click Table of Contents at the top of the page, or enter a word or phrase in the search field. By Dwight Spivey Apple's iPhone gets its features from a combination of hardware and its software operating system (called iOS, which is short for iPhone operating system). You can then choose Restore from iTunes Backup on your new device, connect it to your computer, and choose the relevant backup. This allows you to decide how many pop-ups you see on your device on a daily basis. Apple has taken a "walled garden" approach to iOS, which means you can't install apps from just anywhere, or make serious changes to the operating system. You can then say "Hey Siri!" Please try again. While it may seem a little daunting to have to setup 2FA and input codes, the feature is there purely to protect your account and ensure only you have access to your Apple ID. iOS has these three other advantages that are important to you as a developer: You can distribute your app through the App Store. Can your device handle iOS 10? You should keep your device software up to date by running the updater under Settings > General > Software Update. To backup your device, plug it in to your computer and look for the device icon to appear underneath the status bar (pictured above). If you have an older iOS device, you can follow the on-screen instructions, otherwise hit Set Up Manually and pick a Wi-Fi network to connect to. If you have an iCloud backup, you can choose to Restore from iCloud Backup, though since this uses the internet, it will take significantly longer. So when you login in future, you'll need to first input your password, and then input a code to verify that it is indeed you who is trying to login. You'll need to confirm that you want to delete an app before it's removed from your device. iOS is an intuitive operating system. On the Summary page, hit Back Up Now and iTunes will get to work saving a copy of your device to your hard drive. So you've just bought your first iPhone or iPad, and you're a little unsure where to begin. Treat Yourself to Hulu for $2 This Black Friday, What Is Parler? Occasionally things will go wrong with your iPhone, and most of the time there's a solution beyond taking it to a service center or buying a new one. The main reason you'll probably find yourself here is to use Find iPhone to find your Apple devices on a map.
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Rio Negro—Estancias attacked by the Indians—Salt Lakes—Flamingoes—R. Negro to R. Colorado—Sacred Tree—Patagonian Hare—Indian Families—General Rosas—Proceed to Bahia Blanca—Sand Dunes—Negro Lieutenant—Bahia Blanca—Saline Incrustations—Punta Alta—Zorillo.
RIO NEGRO TO BAHIA BLANCA.
July 24th, 1833.—The Beagle sailed from Maldonado, and on August the 3rd she arrived off the mouth of the Rio Negro. This is the principal river on the whole line of coast between the Strait of Magellan and the Plata. It enters the sea about three hundred miles south of the estuary of the Plata. About fifty years ago, under the old Spanish government, a small colony was established here; and it is still the most southern position (lat. 41°) on this eastern coast of America inhabited by civilised man.
The country near the mouth of the river is wretched in the extreme: on the south side a long line of perpendicular cliffs commences, which exposes a section of the geological nature of the country. The strata are of sandstone, and one layer was remarkable from being composed of a firmly-cemented conglomerate of pumice pebbles, which must have travelled more than four hundred miles, from the Andes. The surface is everywhere covered up by a thick bed of gravel, which extends far and wide over the open plain. Water is extremely scarce, and, where found, is almost invariably brackish. The vegetation is scanty; and although there are bushes of many kinds, all are armed with formidable thorns, which seem to warn the stranger not to enter on these inhospitable regions.
The settlement is situated eighteen miles up the river. The road follows the foot of the sloping cliff, which forms the northern boundary of the great valley in which the Rio Negro flows. On the way we passed the ruins of some fine estancias, which a few years since had been destroyed by the Indians. They withstood several attacks. A man present at one gave me a very lively description of what took place. The inhabitants had sufficient notice to drive all the cattle and horses into the "corral"1 which surrounded the house, and likewise to mount some small cannon.
The Indians were Araucanians from the south of Chile; several hundreds in number, and highly disciplined. They first appeared in two bodies on a neighbouring hill; having there dismounted, and taken off their fur mantles, they advanced naked to the charge. The only weapon of an Indian is a very long bamboo or chuzo, ornamented with ostrich feathers, and pointed by a sharp spear-head. My informer seemed to remember with the greatest horror the quivering of these chuzos as they approached near. When close, the cacique Pincheira hailed the besieged to give up their arms, or he would cut all their throats. As this would probably have been the result of their entrance under any circumstances, the answer was given by a volley of musketry. The Indians, with great steadiness, came to the very fence of the corral: but to their surprise they found the posts fastened
1. The corral is an enclosure made of tall and strong stakes. Every estancia, or farming estate, has one attached to it.
together by iron nails instead of leather thongs, and, of course, in vain attempted to cut them with their knives. This saved the lives of the Christians: many of the wounded Indians were carried away by their companions, and at last, one of the under caciques being wounded, the bugle sounded a retreat. They retired to their horses, and seemed to hold a council of war. This was an awful pause for the Spaniards, as all their ammunition, with the exception of a few cartridges, was expended. In an instant the Indians mounted their horses, and galloped out of sight. Another attack was still more quickly repulsed. A cool Frenchman managed the gun; he stopped till the Indians approached close, and then raked their line with grape-shot: he thus laid thirty-nine of them on the ground; and, of course, such a blow immediately routed the whole party.
The town is indifferently called El Carmen or Patagones. It is built on the face of a cliff which fronts the river, and many of the houses are excavated even in the sandstone. The river is about two or three hundred yards wide, and is deep and rapid. The many islands, with their willow-trees, and the flat headlands, seen one behind the other on the northern boundary of the broad green valley, form, by the aid of a bright sun, a view almost picturesque. The number of inhabitants does not exceed a few hundreds. These Spanish colonies do not, like our British ones, carry within themselves the elements of growth. Many Indians of pure blood reside here: the tribe of the Cacique Lucanee constantly have their Toldos1 on the outskirts of the town. The local government partly supplies them with provisions, by giving them all the old worn-out horses, and they earn a little by making horse-rugs and other articles of riding-gear. These Indians are considered civilised; but what their character may have gained by a lesser degree of ferocity, is almost counterbalanced by their entire immorality. Some of the younger men are, however, improving; they are willing to labour, and a short time since a party went on a sealing-voyage, and behaved very well. They were now enjoying the fruits of their labour, by being dressed in very gay, clean clothes, and by being very idle. The taste they showed in their dress was admirable; if you could have turned one of these young
1. The hovels of the Indians are thus called.
Indians into a statue of bronze, his drapery would have been perfectly graceful.
One day I rode to a large salt-lake, or Salina, which is distant fifteen miles from the town. During the winter it consists of a shallow lake of brine, which in summer is converted into a field of snow-white salt. The layer near the margin is from four to five inches thick, but towards the centre its thickness increases. This lake was two and a half miles long, and one broad. Others occur in the neighbourhood many times larger, and with a floor of salt, two and three feet in thickness, even when under water during the winter. One of these brilliantly white and level expanses, in the midst of the brown and desolate plain, offers an extraordinary spectacle. A large quantity of salt is annually drawn from the salina: and great piles, some hundred tons in weight, were lying ready for exportation.
The season for working the salinas forms the harvest of Patagones; for on it the prosperity of the place depends. Nearly the whole population encamps on the bank of the river, and the people are employed in drawing out the salt in bullock-waggons. This salt is crystallised in great cubes, and is remarkably pure: Mr. Trenham Reeks has kindly analysed some for me, and he finds in it only 0.26 of gypsum and 0.22 of earthy matter. It is a singular fact that it does not serve so well for preserving meat as sea-salt from the Cape de Verd islands; and a merchant at Buenos Ayres told me that he considered it as fifty per cent less valuable. Hence the Cape de Verd salt is constantly imported, and is mixed with that from these salinas. The purity of the Patagonian salt, or absence from it of those other saline bodies found in all sea-water, is the only assignable cause for this inferiority: a conclusion which no one, I think, would have suspected, but which is supported by the fact lately ascertained,1 that those salts answer best for preserving cheese which contain most of the deliquescent chlorides.
The border of the lake is formed of mud: and in this numerous large crystals of gypsum, some of which are three inches long, lie embedded; whilst on the surface others of sulphate of soda lie scattered about. The Gauchos call the former
1. Report of the Agricultural Chemistry Association in the Agricultural Gazette, 1845, p. 93.
the "Padre del sal," and the latter the "Madre;" they state that these progenitive salts always occur on the borders of the salinas, when the water begins to evaporate. The mud is black, and has a fetid odour. I could not at first imagine the cause of this, but I afterwards perceived that the froth which the wind drifted on shore was coloured green, as if by confervæ; I attempted to carry home some of this green matter, but from an accident failed. Parts of the lake seen from a short distance appeared of a reddish colour, and this perhaps was owing to some infusorial animalcula. The mud in many places was thrown up by numbers of some kind of worm, or annelidous animal. How surprising it is that any creatures should be able to exist in brine, and that they should be crawling among crystals of sulphate of soda and lime! And what becomes of these worms when, during the long summer, the surface is hardened into a solid layer of salt?
Flamingoes in considerable numbers inhabit this lake, and breed here, throughout Patagonia, in Northern Chile, and at the Galapagos Islands, I met with these birds wherever there were lakes of brine. I saw them here wading about in search of food—probably for the worms which burrow in the mud; and these latter probably feed on infusoria or confervae. Thus we have a little living world within itself, adapted to these inland lakes of brine. A minute crustaceous animal (Cancer salinus) is said1 to live in countless numbers in the brine-pans at Lymington: but only in those in which the fluid has attained, from evaporation, considerable strength—namely, about a quarter of a pound of salt to a pint of water. Well may we affirm that every part of the world is habitable! Whether lakes of brine, or those subterranean ones hidden beneath volcanic mountains—warm mineral springs—the wide expanse and depths of the ocean—
1. Linnaean Transactions, vol. xi, p. 205. It is remarkable how all the circumstances connected with the salt-lakes in Siberia and Patagonia are similar. Siberia, like Patagonia, appears to have been recently elevated above the waters of the sea. In both countries the salt-lakes occupy shallow depressions in the plains; in both the mud on the borders is black and fetid; beneath the crust of common salt, sulphate of soda or of magnesia occurs, imperfectly crystallised; and in both, the muddy sand is mixed with lentils of gypsum. The Siberian salt-lakes are inhabited by small crustaceous animals; and flamingoes (Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal", Jan. 1830) likewise frequent them. As these circumstances, apparently so trifling, occur in two distant continents, we may feel sure that they are the necessary results of common causes.—See Pallas's Travels, 1793 to 1794, pp. 129 to 134.
the upper regions of the atmosphere, and even the surface of perpetual snow—all support organic beings.
To the northward of the Rio Negro, between it and the inhabited country near Buenos Ayres, the Spaniards have only one small settlement, recently established at Bahia Blanca. The distance in a straight line to Buenos Ayres is very nearly five hundred British miles. The wandering tribes of horse Indians, which have always occupied the greater part of this country, having of late much harassed the outlying estancias, the government at Buenos Ayres equipped some time since an army under the command of General Rosas for the purpose of exterminating them. The troops were now encamped on the banks of the Colorado; a river lying about eighty miles northward of the Rio Negro. When General Rosas left Buenos Ayres he struck in a direct line across the unexplored plains: and as the country was thus pretty well cleared of Indians, he left behind him, at wide intervals, a small party of soldiers with a troop of horses (a posta), so as to be enabled to keep up a communication with the capital. As the Beagle intended to call at Bahia Blanca, I determined to proceed there by land; and ultimately I extended my plan to travel the whole way by the postas to Buenos Ayres.
August 11th, 1833.—Mr. Harris, an Englishman residing at Patagones, a guide, and five Gauchos who were proceeding to the army on business, were my companions on the journey. The Colorado, as I have already said, is nearly eighty miles distant: and as we travelled slowly, we were two days and a half on the road. The whole line of country deserves scarcely a better name than that of a desert. Water is found only in two small wells; it is called fresh; but even at this time of the year, during the rainy season, it was quite brackish. In the summer this must be a distressing passage; for now it was sufficiently desolate.
The valley of the Rio Negro, broad as it is, has merely been excavated out of the sandstone plain; for immediately above the bank on which the town stands, a level country commences, which is interrupted only by a few trifling valleys and depressions. Everywhere the landscape wears the same sterile aspect; a dry gravelly soil supports tufts of
brown withered grass, and low scattered bushes, armed with thorns.
Shortly after passing the first spring we came in sight of a famous tree, which the Indians reverence as the altar of Walleechu. It is situated on a high part of the plain; and hence is a landmark visible at a great distance. As soon as a tribe of Indians come in sight of it, they offer their adorations by loud shouts. The tree itself is low, much branched, and thorny: just above the root it has a diameter of about three feet. It stands by itself without any neighbour, and was indeed the first tree we saw; afterwards we met with a few others of the same kind, but they were far from common. Being winter the tree had no leaves, but in their place numberless threads, by which the various offerings, such as cigars, bread, meat, pieces of cloth, etc., had been suspended. Poor Indians, not having anything better, only pull a thread out of their ponchos, and fasten it to the tree. Richer Indians are accustomed to pour spirits and maté into a certain hole, and likewise to smoke upwards, thinking thus to afford all possible gratification to Walleechu. To complete the scene, the tree was surrounded by the bleached bones of horses which had been slaughtered as sacrifices. All Indians of every age and sex make their offerings; they then think that their horses will not tire, and that they themselves shall be prosperous. The Gaucho who told me this, said that in the time of peace he had witnessed this scene, and that he and others used to wait till the Indians had passed by, for the sake of stealing from Walleechu the offerings.
The Gauchos think that the Indians consider the tree as the god itself; but it seems far more probable that they regard it as the altar. The only cause which I can imagine for this choice, is its being a landmark in a dangerous passage. The Sierra de la Ventana is visible at an immense distance; and a Gaucho told me that he was once riding with an Indian a few miles to the north of the Rio Colorado, when the Indian commenced making the same loud noise, which is usual at the first sight of the distant tree, putting his hand to his head, and then pointing in the direction of the Sierra. Upon being asked the reason of this, the Indian said in broken Spanish, "First see the Sierra."
About two leagues beyond this curious tree we halted for the night: at this instant an unfortunate cow was spied by the lynx-eyed Gauchos, who set off in full chase, and in a few minutes dragged her in with their lazos, and slaughtered her. We here had the four necessaries of life "en el campo,"—pasture for the horses, water (only a muddy puddle), meat and firewood. The Gauchos were in high spirits at finding all these luxuries; and we soon set to work at the poor cow. This was the first night which I passed under the open sky, with the gear of the recado for my bed. There is high enjoyment in the independence of the Gaucho life—to be able at any moment to pull up your horse, and say, "Here we will pass the night." The deathlike stillness of the plain, the dogs keeping watch, the gipsy-group of Gauchos making their beds round the fire, have left in my mind a strongly-marked picture of this first night, which will never be forgotten.
The next day the country continued similar to that above described. It is inhabited by few birds or animals of any kind. Occasionally a deer, or a Guanaco (wild Llama) may be seen; but the Agouti (Cavia Patagonica) is the commonest quadruped. This animal here represents our hares. It differs, however, from that genus in many essential respects; for instance, it has only three toes behind. It is also nearly twice the size, weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds. The Agouti is a true friend of the desert; it is a common feature of the landscape to see two or three hopping quickly one after the other in a straight line across these wild plains. They are found as far north as the Sierra Tapalguen (lat. 37° 30'), where the plain rather suddenly becomes greener and more humid; and their southern limit is between Port Desire and St. Julian, where there is no change in the nature of the country.
It is a singular fact, that although the Agouti is not now found as far south as Port St. Julian, yet that Captain Wood, in his voyage in 1670, talks of them as being numerous there. What cause can have altered, in a wide, uninhabited, and rarely-visited country, the range of an animal like this? It appears also, from the number shot by Captain Wood in one day at Port Desire, that they must have been considerably more abundant there formerly than at present. Where the Bizcacha lives and makes its burrows, the Agouti uses them;
but where, as at Bahia Blanca, the Bizcacha is not found, the Agouti burrows for itself. The same thing occurs with the little owl of the Pampas (Athene cunicularia), which has so often been described as standing like a sentinel at the mouth of the burrows; for in Banda Oriental, owing to the absence of the Bizcacha, it is obliged to hollow out its own habitation.
The next morning, as we approached the Rio Colorado, the appearance of the country changed; we soon came on a plain covered with turf, which, from its flowers, tall clover, and little owls, resembled the Pampas. We passed also a muddy swamp of considerable extent, which in summer dries, and becomes incrusted with various salts; and hence is called a salitral. It was covered by low succulent plants, of the same kind with those growing on the sea-shore. The Colorado, at the pass where we crossed it, is only about sixty yards wide; generally it must be nearly double that width. Its course is very tortuous, being marked by willow-trees and beds of reeds: in a direct line the distance to the mouth of the river is said to be nine leagues, but by water twenty-five. We were delayed crossing in the canoe by some immense troops of mares, which were swimming the river in order to follow a division of troops into the interior. A more ludicrous spectacle I never beheld than the hundreds and hundreds of heads, all directed one way, with pointed ears and distended snorting nostrils, appearing just above the water like a great shoal of some amphibious animal. Mare's flesh is the only food which the soldiers have when on an expedition. This gives them a great facility of movement; for the distance to which horses can be driven over these plains is quite surprising: I have been assured that an unloaded horse can travel a hundred miles a day for many days successively.
The encampment of General Rosas was close to the river. It consisted of a square formed by waggons, artillery, straw huts, etc. The soldiers were nearly all cavalry; and I should think such a villainous, banditti-like army was never before collected together. The greater number of men were of a mixed breed, between Negro, Indian, and Spaniard. I know not the reason, but men of such origin seldom have a good expression of countenance. I called on the Secretary
to show my passport. He began to cross-question me in the most dignified and mysterious manner. By good luck I had a letter of recommendation from the government of Buenos Ayres1 to the commandant of Patagones. This was taken to General Rosas, who sent me a very obliging message; and the Secretary returned all smiles and graciousness. We took up our residence in the rancho, or hovel, of a curious old Spaniard, who had served with Napoleon in the expedition against Russia.
We stayed two days at the Colorado; I had little to do, for the surrounding country was a swamp, which in summer (December), when the snow melts on the Cordillera, is overflowed by the river. My chief amusement was watching the Indian families as they came to buy little articles at the rancho where we stayed. It was supposed that General Rosas had about six hundred Indian allies. The men were a tall, fine race, yet it was afterwards easy to see in the Fuegian savage the same countenance rendered hideous by cold, want of food, and less civilisation.
Some authors, in defining the primary races of mankind, have separated these Indians into two classes; but this is certainly incorrect. Among the young women or chinas, some deserve to be called even beautiful. Their hair was coarse, but bright and black; and they wore it in two plaits hanging down to the waist. They had a high colour, and eyes that glistened with brilliancy; their legs, feet, and arms were small and elegantly formed; their ankles, and sometimes their waists, were ornamented by broad bracelets of blue beads. Nothing could be more interesting than some of the family groups. A mother with one or two daughters would often come to our rancho, mounted on the same horse. They ride like men, but with their knees tucked up much higher. This habit, perhaps, arises from their being accustomed, when travelling, to ride the loaded horses. The duty of the women is to load and unload the horses; to make the tents for the night; in short to be, like the wives of all savages, useful slaves. The men fight, hunt, take care of the horses, and
1. I am bound to express, in the strongest terms, my obligation to the government of Buenos Ayres for the obliging manner in which passports to all parts of the country were given me, as naturalist of the Beagle.
make the riding gear. One of their chief indoor occupations is to knock two stones together till they become round, in order to make the bolas. With this important weapon the Indian catches his game, and also his horse, which roams free over the plain. In fighting, his first attempt is to throw down the horse of his adversary with the bolas, and when entangled by the fall to kill him with the chuzo. If the balls only catch the neck or body of an animal, they are often carried away and lost. As the making the stones round is the labour of two days, the manufacture of the balls is a very common employment. Several of the men and women had their faces painted red, but I never saw the horizontal bands which are so common among the Fuegians. Their chief pride consists in having everything made of silver; I have seen a cacique with his spurs, stirrups, handle of his knife, and bridle made of this metal: the head-stall and reins being of wire, were not thicker than whipcord; and to see a fiery steed wheeling about under the command of so light a chain, gave to the horsemanship a remarkable character of elegance.
General Rosas intimated a wish to see me; a circumstance which I was afterwards very glad of. He is a man of an extraordinary character, and has a most predominant influence in the country, which it seems probable he will use
to its prosperity and advancement.1 He is said to be the owner of seventy-four square leagues of land, and to have about three hundred thousand head of cattle. His estates are admirably managed, and are far more productive of corn than those of others. He first gained his celebrity by his laws for his own estancias, and by disciplining several hundred men, so as to resist with success the attacks of the Indians. There are many stories current about the rigid manner in which his laws were enforced. One of these was, that no man, on penalty of being put into the stocks, should carry his knife on a Sunday: this being the principal day for gambling and drinking, many quarrels arose, which from the general manner of fighting with the knife often proved fatal.
One Sunday the Governor came in great form to pay the estancia a visit, and General Rosas, in his hurry, walked out to receive him with his knife, as usual, stuck in his belt. The steward touched his arm, and reminded him of the law; upon which turning to the Governor, he said he was extremely sorry, but that he must go into the stocks, and that till let out, he possessed no power even in his own house. After a little time the steward was persuaded to open the stocks, and to let him out, but no sooner was this done, than he turned to the steward and said, "You now have broken the laws, so you must take my place in the stocks." Such actions as these delighted the Gauchos, who all possess high notions of their own equality and dignity.
General Rosas is also a perfect horseman—an accomplishment of no small consequence in a country where an assembled army elected its general by the following trial: A troop of unbroken horses being driven into a corral, were let out through a gateway, above which was a cross-bar: it was agreed whoever should drop from the bar on one of these wild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able, without saddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to bring it back to the door of the corral, should be their general. The person who succeeded was accordingly elected; and doubtless made a fit general for such an army. This extraordinary feat has also been performed by Rosas.
By these means, and by conforming to the dress and habits
1. This prophecy has turned out entirely and miserably wrong. 1845.
of the Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country, and in consequence a despotic power. I was assured by an English merchant, that a man who had murdered another, when arrested and questioned concerning his motive, answered, "He spoke disrespectfully of General Rosas, so I killed him." At the end of a week the murderer was at liberty. This doubtless was the act of the general's party, and not of the general himself.
In conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave. His gravity is carried to a high pitch: I heard one of his mad buffoons (for he keeps two, like the barons of old) relate the following anecdote. "I wanted very much to hear a certain piece of music, so I went to the general two or three times to ask him; he said to me, 'Go about your business, for I am engaged.' I went a second time; he said, 'If you come again I will punish you.' A third time I asked, and he laughed. I rushed out of the tent, but it was too late—he ordered two soldiers to catch and stake me. I begged by all the saints in heaven he would let me off; but it would not do,—when the general laughs he spares neither mad man nor sound." The poor flighty gentleman looked quite dolorous, at the very recollection of the staking. This is a very severe punishment; four posts are driven into the ground, and the man is extended by his arms and legs horizontally, and there left to stretch for several hours. The idea is evidently taken from the usual method of drying hides. My interview passed away without a smile, and I obtained a passport and order for the government post-horses, and this he gave me in the most obliging and ready manner.
In the morning we started for Bahia Blanca, which we reached in two days. Leaving the regular encampment, we passed by the toldos of the Indians. These are round like ovens, and covered with hides; by the mouth of each, a tapering chuzo was stuck in the ground. The toldos were divided into separate groups, which belonged to the different caciques' tribes, and the groups were again divided into smaller ones, according to the relationship of the owners. For several miles we travelled along the valley of the Colorado. The alluvial plains on the side appeared fertile, and it is supposed that they are well adapted to the growth of corn.
Turning northward from the river, we soon entered on a country, differing from the plains south of the river. The land still continued dry and sterile: but it supported many different kinds of plants, and the grass, though brown and withered, was more abundant, as the thorny bushes were less so. These latter in a short space entirely disappeared, and the plains were left without a thicket to cover their nakedness. This change in the vegetation marks the commencement of the grand calcareo-argillaceous deposit, which forms the wide extent of the Pampas, and covers the granitic rocks of Banda Oriental. From the Strait of Magellan to the Colorado, a distance of about eight hundred miles, the face of the country is everywhere composed of shingle: the pebbles are chiefly of porphyry, and probably owe their origin to the rocks of the Cordillera. North of the Colorado this bed thins out, and the pebbles become exceedingly small, and here the characteristic vegetation of Patagonia ceases.
Having ridden about twenty-five miles, we came to a broad belt of sand-dunes, which stretches, as far as the eye can reach, to the east and west. The sand-hillocks resting on the clay, allow small pools of water to collect, and thus afford in this dry country an invaluable supply of fresh water. The great advantage arising from depressions and elevations of the soil, is not often brought home to the mind. The two miserable springs in the long passage between the Rio Negro and Colorado were caused by trifling inequalities in the plain, without them not a drop of water would have been found. The belt of sand-dunes is about eight miles wide; at some former period, it probably formed the margin of a grand estuary, where the Colorado now flows. In this district, where absolute proofs of the recent elevation of the land occur, such speculations can hardly be neglected by any one, although merely considering the physical geography of the country. Having crossed the sandy tract, we arrived in the evening at one of the post-houses; and, as the fresh horses were grazing at a distance we determined to pass the night there.
The house was situated at the base of a ridge between one and two hundred feet high—a most remarkable feature in this country. This posta was commanded by a negro lieutenant,
born in Africa: to his credit be it said, there was not a ranche between the Colorado and Buenos Ayres in nearly such neat order as his. He had a little room for strangers, and a small corral for the horses, all made of sticks and reeds; he had also dug a ditch round his house as a defence in case of being attacked. This would, however, have been of little avail, if the Indians had come; but his chief comfort seemed to rest in the thought of selling his life dearly. A short time before, a body of Indians had travelled past in the night; if they had been aware of the posta, our black friend and his four soldiers would assuredly have been slaughtered. I did not anywhere meet a more civil and obliging man than this negro; it was therefore the more painful to see that he would not sit down and eat with us.
In the morning we sent for the horses very early, and started for another exhilarating gallop. We passed the Cabeza del Buey, an old name given to the head of a large marsh, which extends from Bahia Blanca. Here we changed horses, and passed through some leagues of swamps and saline marshes. Changing horses for the last time, we again began wading through the mud. My animal fell, and I was well soused in black mire—a very disagreeable accident, when one does not possess a change of clothes. Some miles from the fort we met a man, who told us that a great gun had been fired, which is a signal that Indians are near. We immediately left the road, and followed the edge of a marsh, which when chased offers the best mode of escape. We were glad to arrive within the walls, when we found all the alarm was about nothing, for the Indians turned out to be friendly ones, who wished to join General Rosas.
Bahia Blanca scarcely deserves the name of a village. A few houses and the barracks for the troops are enclosed by a deep ditch and fortified wall. The settlement is only of recent standing (since 1828); and its growth has been one of trouble. The government of Buenos Ayres unjustly occupied it by force, instead of following the wise example of the Spanish Viceroys, who purchased the land near the older settlement of the Rio Negro, from the Indians. Hence the need of the fortifications; hence the few houses and little cultivated land without the limits of the walls; even the cattle are not safe from the
attacks of the Indians beyond the boundaries of the plain on which the fortress stands.
The part of the harbour where the Beagle intended to anchor being distant twenty-five miles, I obtained from the Commandant a guide and horses, to take me to see whether she had arrived. Leaving the plain of green turf, which extended along the course of a little brook, we soon entered on a wide level waste consisting either of sand, saline marshes, or bare mud. Some parts were clothed by low thickets, and others with those succulent plants which luxuriate only where salt abounds. Bad as the country was, ostriches, deers, agoutis, and armadilloes, were abundant. My guide told me, that two months before he had a most narrow escape of his life: he was out hunting with two other men, at no great distance from this part of the country, when they were suddenly met by a party of Indians, who giving chase, soon overtook and killed his two friends. His own horse's legs were also caught by the bolas, but he jumped off, and with his knife cut them free: while doing this he was obliged to dodge round his horse, and received two severe wounds from their chuzos. Springing on the saddle, he managed, by a most wonderful exertion, just to keep ahead of the long spears of his pursuers, who followed him to within sight of the fort. From that time there was an order that no one should stray far from the settlement. I did not know of this when I started, and was surprised to observe how earnestly my guide watched a deer, which appeared to have been frightened from a distant quarter.
We found the Beagle had not arrived, and consequently set out on our return, but the horses soon tiring, we were obliged to bivouac on the plain. In the morning we had caught an armadillo, which, although a most excellent dish when roasted in its shell, did not make a very substantial breakfast and dinner for two hungry men. The ground at the place where we stopped for the night was incrusted with a layer of sulphate of soda, and hence, of course, was without water. Yet many of the smaller rodents managed to exist even here, and the tucutuco was making its odd little grunt beneath my head, during half the night. Our horses were very poor ones, and in
the morning they were soon exhausted from not having had anything to drink, so that we were obliged to walk. About noon the dogs killed a kid, which we roasted. I ate some of it, but it made me intolerably thirsty. This was the more distressing as the road, from some recent rain, was full of little puddles of clear water, yet not a drop was drinkable. I had scarcely been twenty hours without water, and only part of the time under a hot sun, yet the thirst rendered me very weak. How people survive two or three days under such circumstances, I cannot imagine: at the same time, I must confess that my guide did not suffer at all, and was astonished that one day's deprivation should be so troublesome to me.
I have several times alluded to the surface of the ground being incrusted with salt. This phenomenon is quite different from that of the salinas, and more extraordinary. In many parts of South America, wherever the climate is moderately dry, these incrustations occur; but I have nowhere seen them so abundant as near Bahia Blanca. The salt here, and in other parts of Patagonia, consists chiefly of sulphate of soda with some common salt. As long as the ground remains moist in the salitrales (as the Spaniards improperly call them, mistaking this substance for saltpetre), nothing is to be seen but an extensive plain composed of a black, muddy soil, supporting scattered tufts of succulent plants. On returning through one of these tracts, after a week's hot weather, one is surprised to see square miles of the plain white, as if from a slight fall of snow, here and there heaped up by the wind into little drifts. This latter appearance is chiefly caused by the salts being drawn up, during the slow evaporation of the moisture, round blades of dead grass, stumps of wood, and pieces of broken earth, instead of being crystallised at the bottoms of the puddles of water.
The salitrales occur either on level tracts elevated only a few feet above the level of the sea, or on alluvial land bordering rivers. M. Parchappe found that the saline incrustation on the plain, at the distance of some miles from the sea, consisted chiefly of sulphate of soda, with only seven per cent of common salt; whilst nearer to the coast, the
1. Voyage dans l'Amérique Mérid. par M. A. d'Orbigny. Part. Hist., tome i, p. 664.
common salt increased to 37 parts in a hundred. This circumstance would tempt one to believe that the sulphate of soda is generated in the soil, from the muriate left on the surface during the slow and recent elevation of this dry country. The whole phenomenon is well worthy the attention of naturalists. Have the succulent, salt-loving plants, which are well known to contain much soda, the power of decomposing the muriate? Does the black fetid mud, abounding with organic matter, yield the sulphur and ultimately the sulphuric acid?
Two days afterwards I again rode to the harbour: when not far from our destination, my companion, the same man as before, spied three people hunting on horseback. He immediately dismounted, and watching them intently, said, "They don't ride like Christians, and nobody can leave the fort." The three hunters joined company, and likewise dismounted from their horses. At last one mounted again and rode over the hill out of sight. My companion said, "We must now get on our horses: load your pistol;" and he looked to his own sword. I asked, "Are they Indians?"—"Quien sabe? (who knows?) if there are no more than three, it does not signify." It then struck me, that the one man had gone over the hill to fetch the rest of his tribe. I suggested this; but all the answer I could extort was, "Quien sabe?" His head and eye never for a minute ceased scanning slowly the distant horizon. I thought his uncommon coolness too good a joke, and asked him why he did not return home. I was startled when he answered, "We are returning, but in a line so as to pass near a swamp, into which we can gallop the horses as far as they can go, and then trust to our own legs; so that there is no danger." I did not feel quite so confident of this, and wanted to increase our pace. He said, "No, not until they do." When any little inequality concealed us, we galloped; but when in sight, continued walking. At last we reached a valley, and turning to the left, galloped quickly to the foot of a hill; he gave me his horse to hold, made the dogs lie down, and then crawled on his hands and knees to reconnoitre. He remained in this position for some time, and at last, bursting out in laughter, exclaimed, "Mugeres!" (women!) He knew
them to be the wife and sister-in-law of the major's son, hunting for ostrich's eggs.
I have described this man's conduct, because he acted under the full impression that they were Indians. As soon, however, as the absurd mistake was found out, he gave me a hundred reasons why they could not have been Indians; but all these were forgotten at the time. We then rode on in peace and quietness to a low point called Punta Alta, whence we could see nearly the whole of the great harbour of Bahia Blanca.
The wide expanse of water is choked up by numerous great mudbanks, which the inhabitants call Cangrejales, or crabberies, from the number of small crabs. The mud is so soft that it is impossible to walk over them, even for the shortest distance. Many of the banks have their surfaces covered with long rushes, the tops of which alone are visible at high water. On one occasion, when in a boat, we were so entangled by these shallows that we could hardly find our way. Nothing was visible but the flat beds of mud; the day was not very clear, and there was much refraction, or, as the sailors expressed it, "things loomed high." The only object within our view which was not level was the horizon; rushes looked like bushes unsupported in the air, and water like mudbanks, and mudbanks like water.
We passed the night in Punta Alta, and I employed myself in searching for fossil bones; this point being a perfect catacomb for monsters of extinct races. The evening was perfectly calm and clear; the extreme monotony of the view gave it an interest even in the midst of mudbanks and gulls, sand-hillocks and solitary vultures. In riding back in the morning we came across a very fresh track of a Puma, but did not succeed in finding it. We saw also a couple of Zorillos, or skunks,—odious animals, which are far from uncommon. In general appearance the Zorillo resembles a polecat, but it is rather larger, and much thicker in proportion. Conscious of its power, it roams by day about the open plain, and fears neither dog nor man. If a dog is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and running at the nose. Whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever useless. Azara
says the smell can be perceived at a league distant; more than once, when entering the harbour of Monte Video, the wind being off shore, we have perceived the odour on board the Beagle. Certain it is, that every animal most willingly makes room for the Zorillo.
Next: Chapter V


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Man claims he was racially profiled by RBC Royal Bank in Pincourt after trying to pay bills with funds from a joint bank account.
William McMillan who is black went to the RBC Royal Bank at Le Fauboug de L'ile in Pincourt, a town just west of Montreal to help his mother pay some bills through their joint bank account on December 9th, 2021, where he says he experienced unjustified treatment by the branch manager Mila Desrosiers; all of which he states was based on the color of his skin.
On December 7th, 2021, William assisted his mother in the sale of her house at a notary where the necessary paperwork was completed properly, including a Power of Attorney and Deed of Sale. The notary sometime during the same day, completed a wire transfer to the joint bank account held by William and his mother at RBC.
Mr. McMillan proceeded to the bank on the 9th, to pay some of his mother's bills which ranged from multiple smaller bills, such as Videotron and natural gas company Energir and a much larger car loan payment of $34,000.00. It was at this time that the teller told Mr. McMillan that she needed her branch manager to come over and validate the larger transaction. Let's keep in mind that there were no problems with paying the other bills.
The branch manager began explaining to William that she was unable to approve or complete the transaction and that the legal department had taken over. Mr. McMillan went on to explain that he had Power of Attorney and that it was a joint bank account and that he was primary and his mother secondary. While he was at the bank, he went on the phone with his wife Svetlana Chernienko who is also black and a mental health advocate and the recipient of a Community Service Excellence Award presented to her by Liberal MP, Peter Schiefke of Vaudreuil-Soulanges in October of this year. He began to recount to her his frustration, still unaware of why the bank was refusing to process the transaction. He thought it was best for his mother to be present to perhaps clarify things for the branch manager. His mother arrived at the bank a few minutes later.
At no time during the interaction did the branch manager pull the two aside for privacy, nor did she suggest they continue the conversation behind closed doors but continued to talk loudly so everyone in the bank could hear. They were told that at even branch manager level, she no longer had control and that it was in the hands of their legal department and so they left the branch. William and his wife came back the following day December 10th, 2021, to see if things had changed where he could access the funds to continue his initial transactions. All the funds in the joint account were still held pending the outcome from the legal department. Ms. Chernienko began filming as the couple felt the situation was racially motivated and she wanted to have proof of what was happening. The branch manager came over and told her that there was a bank policy which did not allow for filming inside the bank, so she stopped. They were again told the same thing by the branch manager; that there was nothing she could do. The couple then mentioned that they will probably get their attorney involved with the situation because it made absolutely no sense why Mr. McMillan was not allowed to perform the larger transaction and that all funds had now been frozen. The situation escalated when the branch manager said that "you guys" always want to call your lawyers when you're not happy. Ms. Chernienko began to tell the branch manager that she was racially profiling the couple and discriminating against them because of their race.
They left and the next day Ms. Chernienko started to receive social media notifications from an unknown account detailing the entire confrontation at the bank describing the situation that had occurred the previous day. Ms. Chernienko is a social media influencer with over 135,000 followers.
The couple reached out to David Mckay, President & CEO without response.
Joel DeBellefeuille For media inquiries please contact:
Founder, Red Coalition Inc. Sybill Haven
514-434-2640 E. Sybill@havencommunication.com
E. joel@redcoalition.ca


Joint pain is a normal problem which is connected with numerous feasible factors. There are several feasible factors for pain in the joints. The issue of joint pain can be divided right into various categories. As a result of autoimmune troubles, in this condition a body of a person versus its really own cells produces antibodies. These problems contain the concern of rheumatoid joint inflammation as well as systemic lupus erythematosus. Problems which impact metabolic process like gout discomfort as well as also pseudogout. In this trouble products are being deposited right into the joints. Sometimes as an outcome of some infection of the joint, pain occurs which is called septic joint swelling. Sometimes pain may occur due to damage, like injury, from overuse or osteoarthritis. Osteo arthritis is connected with the most regular type of joint swelling or joint arthritis.
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Home » Blog Articles » Alistair Articles » Iraq: UN Security Counsel Demoted To Status Of Media Outlet
Iraq: UN Security Counsel Demoted To Status Of Media Outlet
By Alistair Reign, January 20, 2016. Alistair Reign News Blog.
The Islamic State are trying to create 'a state that does not recognise the previous borders of Iraq or Syria,' said Dr. Anne Aly, a Research Fellow at Curtin University. (Photo/source: Daily Mail Australia).
United Nations released a report this week detailing the gravity of inhumane treatment and dire impact on civilians trapped in the war-torn country of Iraq. According to the UN report – between May 1st and October 31st of last year (2015) an estimated:
3,855 civilian men, women, youth, children and babies were killed.
7,056 civilians have been critically wounded, disfigured or disabled for life.
The UN acknowledges that the actual figures could be much higher than those documented, and about half of these deaths took place in Baghdad.
"The violence suffered by civilians in Iraq remains staggering," the report states.
"The so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) continues to commit systematic and widespread violence and abuses of international human rights law and humanitarian law.
These acts may, in some instances, amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide."
The report, compiled by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), is based largely on testimony obtained directly from the victims, survivors or witnesses of violations of international human rights or international humanitarian law, including interviews with internally displaced people.
"During the reporting period, ISIL killed and abducted scores of civilians, often in a targeted manner," the report notes.
"Victims include those perceived to be opposed to ISIL ideology and rule;
persons affiliated with the Government, such as former Iraqi security forces (ISF), police officers, former public officials and electoral workers;
professionals, such as doctors and lawyers; journalists; and tribal and religious leaders."
others have been abducted or killed on the pretext of aiding or providing information to Government security forces.
Many have been subjected to adjudication by ISIL self-appointed courts which,
in addition to ordering the murder of countless people,
have imposed grim punishments such as stoning and amputations."
In addition, it details numerous examples of killings by ISIL in gruesome public spectacles,
including by shooting,
beheading,
bulldozing,
burning alive and
throwing people off the top of buildings.
There are also reports of the murder of child soldiers who fled fighting on the frontlines in Anbar.
Information received and verified suggests that between 800 and 900 children in Mosul had been abducted by ISIL for religious education and military training.
"ISIL continued to subject women and children to sexual violence, particularly in the form of sexual slavery," the report states.
It also documents
violations and abuses of international human rights and
international humanitarian law by the Iraqi Security Forces and associated forces,
including militia and tribal forces, popular mobilization units, and Peshmerga.
The UN indicated that concerning reports have also been received of
unlawful killings and abductions perpetrated by some elements associated with pro-Government forces.
"Some of these incidents may have been reprisals against persons perceived to support or be associated with ISIL," the report explains. "Moreover, as civilians move around the country, fleeing violence, they have continued to face Government restrictions on their ability to access safe areas.
"Once they reach such areas
some have experienced arbitrary arrest in raids by security forces and
others have been forcibly expelled.
"The conduct of pro-Government forces' operations raises concern
that they are carried out without taking all feasible precautions to protect the civilian population and civilian objects."
Furthermore, the discovery of a number of mass graves is documented in the report, including in areas regained by the Government from ISIL control, as well as mass graves from the time of Saddam Hussein.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS or Daesh, an Islamic extremist group in western Iraq, Libya, northeast Nigeria, and Syria. He has been proclaimed by his followers to be a caliph. (Photo: Daily Mail}.
One of them uncovered reportedly contains 377 corpses, including women and children apparently killed during the 1991 Shi'a uprisings against Saddam Hussein in the east of Basra.
The murderous group, which now has around 50,000 fighters in Syria and 30,000 in Iraq according to August 2014 figures from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, until recently used the full Arabic name Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham – the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.
In June 2014, the terror group declared a caliphate – an Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader – and began using the simplified name 'Islamic State'.
'ISIS is very smartly branding itself as THE Islamic State, that's how it's been able to attract so many followers,' Dr Anne Aly, a Research Fellow at Curtin University, told Daily Mail Australia. [01]
In a press release, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, Ján Kubiš, said
"the scourge of ISIL continues to kill,
maim and
displace Iraqi civilians in the thousands and
to cause untold suffering."
Mr. Kubiš strongly reiterated his call to all parties to the conflict to
"ensure the protection of civilians from the effects of violence,
the international community to enhance its support to the Government of Iraq's
humanitarian,
stabilization and
reconstruction efforts in areas liberated from ISIL,
"so that all Iraqis displaced by violence can return to their homes in safety and in dignity and that affected communities can be re-established in their places of origin.
"I urge the government to use all means to ensure law and order, necessary for the voluntary return of [internally displaced persons] to their place of origin – a task of primary importance given the recent wave of violence and killings, often of sectarian nature, notably in Diyala and Baghdad," the top UN official added.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein warned that the civilian death toll may be considerably higher, and called for urgent action to rein in the impunity enjoyed by the vast majority of the perpetrators of violence.
"Even the obscene casualty figures fail to accurately reflect exactly how terribly civilians are suffering in Iraq.
"The figures capture those who were killed or maimed by overt violence,
but countless others have died from the lack of
access to basic food,
water or
medical care.
"This report lays bare the enduring suffering of civilians in Iraq and starkly illustrates what Iraqi refugees are attempting to escape when they flee to Europe and other regions. This is the horror they face in their homelands," the High Commissioner said.
Mr. Zeid also appealed to the Government to undertake legislative amendments to grant Iraqi courts jurisdiction over international crimes and to become party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Reference: United Nations News Centre.
Government of Iraq
International Criminal Court.
Islamic State ISIL
Syria Muslim


Inspiring Rare Birds has made history today with the launch of the world's first, full-service, women's only talent agency, Rare Birds Speak. The agency is set to be a disruptor in the industry representing Australia's most remarkable, accomplished and inspiring female speakers, game changers, media commentators, story-tellers and subject matter experts.
Appetite from industry and enthusiasm from talent has been overwhelming. "We can't move fast enough to sign talent and book speakers, that's how much demand there is specifically for women at the top of their game. Excuses like 'there weren't any women in this field' just don't cut it anymore.
We're unearthing emerging talent from sport, scientific, business and the startup scene as well as signing up award-winning international speakers. Their stories are gobsmacking, fascinating, steeped with wisdom and hidden within women who aren't being placed centre stage," said Perry.
Rare Birds has confirmed that a number of  high calibre speakers will be joining the agency. These include media rockstar Sandra Sully, confidence expert Kemi Nekvapil, Muslim ex-soldier and hostage survivor Rabia Siddique, disability champion Carly Findlay and climate change pioneer Parrys Raine, some of which have signed on exclusively.
Perry says there are three things that people can do to change gender disparity on stages and pages in Australia.  Call out male-dominated events using #speakequal, book and suggest female talent for events at rarebirdsspeak.com and use your voices to amplify remarkable women.


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After just an hour flight from Roma Fiumicino, we landed in Cagliari, picked up our rental car and started our drive to the new KiteWorldWide Cottages in Is Solinas. We decided to take the way which seemed to be a bit faster. That road turned out to be a curvy mountain road through amazing landscape and we could enjoy a beautiful sunset, it was not fast, but instead a great welcome to a beautiful island.
We reached the accommodation when it was dark already and after a quick check in, Alessandro our guide at the destination took the both of us to a local restaurant, where we had our first amazing Sardinian dinner. I was so hungry and excited that I forgot to take pictures, but you can trust me..it was really amazing!
On sunday we woke up with a bit of rain, we were both quite sad that we could not go kitesurfing. But fortunately Sardinia has so much to offer that we couldn't sit on our hands. First, we went to the "Is Zuddas Cave", which is probably the most ancient cave of europe in which time seems to have stopped. I have never seen something like that. Then we just followed our instinct and decided to check out the "Tombs of Giants". After an uphill path of 1.5 km, we were really impressed: the nature, this awesome landscape from the mountain, and the big rocks.
After our excursion the sun was shining, the wind started blowing and the first guest arrived! So we ran to the spot for our first kite session in the new destination, as I mentioned before, with the empty spot only for the four of us. Also the next day was windy and we spent our afternoon at the spot, not alone this time but only with a couple of other kiters or three. That's why we love the pre and after season: empty spot, a lot of space for everyone, but still great conditions!
For our last dinner, we went all together to an agriturismo in the nearby and enjoyed a nice Sardinian food tasting with regional and home-grown ingredients. We really had a lot of food, too much even for me that I love eating, especially good food! Then we went resting again, in order to be ready for the next early morning flight: Sicily was waiting for us!
After we landed in Trapani airport, it only took 10 minutes to reach the accommodation, including a quick stop at "Saro" for a coffee and a special sicilian cannolo! Both Santa Maria Residence and Hotel, which are located directly on the spot, were of course fully booked, but we had the chance to stay in our lovely KiteWorldWide Villa, located in the Baia dei Fenici, still on the lagoon but 1 km away from the kite spot.
After 15 minutes walking at the lagoon we reached the kite center and we got ready for another kite session! Sun was shining, wind was blowing..we could not ask more :) In the huge lagoon I could improve my water starts and my riding without worrying about anything: water is flat and not deep, enough space for everyone and even if the lagoon is really big you don't risk to drift away or getting lost who knows where.
The wind dropped just in time to enjoy a nice after session aperitif at sunset time. It was really a nice welcome! And after that of course, it comes to food again. We had dinner all together at Incanto, the great restaurant below the kite center. I think there's no need to explain how good the food was, once again!
In the next days we also had to work but I still found some time to explore Sicily as well. With the staff and the group we went to see the remains of Segesta, an ancient city from 408 B.C., located only half an hour from our spot. Of course our main focus is kitesurfing when we go on holiday, but a visit is really worth, so in the end I was almost happy that we didn't had wind that day.
After the tour we went eating in Alcamo for lunch, another nice city in the nearby, and then straight to the therms for some pure relaxation! After a short drive and a path between a river and some rocks, here we are in a really nice natural pool with water at 43 degrees!
It's a bit sad that I'm writing this from my home, 4 days each are definitely not enough to discover these two destinations that we're so lucky to have so close. I know that I just came back, but I'm already looking forward to go back there!