LESSER-KNOWN TEXAS TRIBES--THE KARANKAWA

Laurie Kingery here--I'd like to continue my series on the lesser-known tribes of Texas with the Karankawa tribe. They became extinct by 1860, but they certainly made an impression while they existed because of their reputation as cannibals.

                                                   

The Karankawas, known in their language as the Auia, inhabited the coastal area of Texas from Galveston Bay in the Houston area south to Corpus Christi Bay. The meaning of their name is not certain; it may mean "dog-lovers" or "dog helpers" because they had dogs that were fox- or coyote-like.

There is speculation that the Karankawas came from the Carib Indians because they were so tall—the males averaged six to seven feet. But this has never been proven. The men were striking in appearance, usually naked and heavily tattooed and with pierced nipples and lower lips. The women wore their hair long and painted their entire bodies if married; single women had only a stripe from forehead to chin. Women wore deerskin shirts and breechclouts. Both sexes used shark and alligator oil to repel mosquitoes. The tribe practiced head-flattening.

                                                                

                                                                      

They did not farm, being a nomadic people that migrated between the barrier islands and inland present-day Texas. They took advantage of the bays and lagoons as well as the Gulf, eating oysters, clams, crabs, redfish, spotted seatrout and black drum. In the summer months, the shellfish were not safe to eat, and the fish migrated out of pass between the mainland and the barrier islands, so the Karankawa migrated inland. They may also have done so to get away from hurricanes. The picture below is a plaque marking the site of a Karankawa settlement on the west end of Jamaica Beach, Galveston Island.

                                                         

The tribe had some interesting customs. For example, they had three gender roles: male, female and a third group made up of men called berdache because they took on female roles and activities and played a special role in their religion. They were also passive sexual partners for some of the other men. The women sold and traded or even offered themselves to get things. Divorce was easily obtained before children were born to a marriage, but rare afterwards. They made a distinctive pottery with an inside coating of asphaltum, a natural tar that washes onto Gulf beaches, and lived in circular 10-12 foot huts covered with hides and mats. They travelled in dugouts made by the women of twisted-together poles. Their bows were of cane and 5-6 feet long, with arrows three feet long—the better to retrieve fish they had shot.

                                                                

The first Europeans to come across this tribe were the Spanish, such as the explorer Cabeza de Vaca, who wrote favorably about them because they took care of him and his band when they ran aground in Galveston Bay in the 1530's. He then lived with the tribe for several years. Some of the tribe became Christians and lived in missions; others went to live with the Lipan Apache.

DeVaca denied the Karankawas were cannibals; in fact he admitted he and his own men had resorted to cannibalism when they shipwrecked. Others insisted that the tribe did indeed indulge in ritual cannibalism of their enemies, believing that eating their captives' flesh would transfer their power to the Karankawa. Some sources indicate the victims were not always dead when this flesh was taken, but sliced off while the victims were tied to a stake. The flesh was roasted in front of the victims and eaten.

                                                        

When the pirate Jean Lafitte was kicked out of Louisiana and came to live in Galveston in 1817, the Karankawas tried to retrieve one of their women who had been taken to his so-called "kingdom of Campeche" but had to retreat after the pirates inflicted heavy casualties. The Indians didn't get along with the Anglo settlers in Stephen Austin's Mexican colony either, and sided with the Mexicans in the Texas war for Independence. Their chief, Jose Maria, and most of his warriors were killed. An early Texas Ranger, Noah Smithwick, called them "The most savage-looking human beings I ever saw."

The last known remaining Karankawa was killed by Mexican general Juan Cortinas in 1858, though in 2009 an army veteran of Vietnam, Bosnia and Desert Storm claimed to be the last descendant.

                                                                  

I hope you've enjoyed this look at a very colorful, vanished Indian tribe.

                  Blessings, Laurie Kingery

                                             

All photos courtesy of Wikimedia and Wikipedia

Jean Lafitte and Pirate Treasure

by Kathleen Y'Barbo

Growing up on the Texas Gulf Coast, the shrimp came right off the boat to our dinner table, and the beach was just down the road. Many summer days were spent wading in the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico or looking up and down the sandy shore for sand dollars or sea shells to bring home. And then there were the tales of pirate treasure left behind by the mysterious pirate Jean Lafitte.

Depending on who is telling the story, Jean Lafitte was  born in one of several regions in France or in
the French colony of Sant-Domingue (present-day Haiti). Most biographers agree that his was a seafaring childhood as one of six children. Some would argue that much of his early years were spent in the marshland and bayous of South Louisiana, though it is thought that this was claimed due to Lafitte's almost encyclopedic knowledge of the area later in life. Details beyond these are sparse, but it is widely agreed based on records at the time that Jean Lafitte was living and working in New Orleans by 1806. Many say his arrival was much sooner. Few doubt that he was the captain of a network of men, called Barataians, who preyed on vessels and hid away their ill-gotten gains in the bayous.

Whenever the date, the purpose of his presence in New Orleans was much more obvious. Lafitte and his brothers captained vessels that brought goods into the city, and thanks to the Embargo Act of 1807, these were often goods sold on the flourishing black market rather than in reputable stores. Based in the Barataria region, Lafitte was able to navigate marshes and keep ahead of anyone who might be in pursuit. Later, during the War of 1812, the Lafitte brothers used their ability to procure items on the black market to aid the battle against the British by providing flint for muskets that would otherwise have been useless.

Public opinion of the Lafitte brothers waxed and waned in the ensuing years, and finally under pressure from authorities he once aided, Jean Lafitte sailed off to make his new home in on Galveston Island in a colony he called Campeche. As if to taunt anyone who dared to come against him, he built a home that stood above the others on the island and then had it tinted a brilliant crimson color. Though almost 200 years old, the remains of that red house, called Maison Rouge, still stands at 1417 Harborside Drive in contrast to the modern city and port that grew up around it.

Rumors circulated that Lafitte was up to his old tricks of pirating vessels and hiding the spoils just as he had done while based in Barataria. In 1821, the United States Navy ousted him from the island and sent his men off to sail other waters. Some say he was wounded at sea several years later. Others disagree and claim that Lafitte lived to a ripe old age in some undisclosed foreign country. Just as his early years are shrouded in mystery, so are his later years.

Perhaps because of the air of mystery surrounding the enigmatic pirate, stories circulated of treasures buried by Lafitte and his Baratarians, treasures that were lost or forgotten over the years. With hurricanes pounding the coast every few years, it isn't hard to understand why a marker might be moved or the signs that were so obvious when something was hidden are obscured or obliterated. Certainly many generations of treasure hunters have searched, and it is likely that many more will continue to do just that. All it takes is for a few pieces of eight or gold doubloons to be detected under a few layers of Texas sand or Louisiana bayou mud and the hunt is on again.

So, what do you think? Is there buried treasure along the Gulf Coast?

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Want to read more about treasure hunting? Like stories of Southern romance with a dash of steampunk? Perhaps you have a preference for handsome Pinkertons who dabble in the latest inventions? Millie's Treasure, the second book in The Secret Lives of Will Tucker series, releases August 1. See the trailer for this Romantic Times Top Pick here: Millie's Treasure.

Bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee of forty-five novels with almost two million copies of her books in print in the US and abroad. A Romantic Times Top Pick recipient of her novels, Kathleen is a proud military wife and an expatriate Texan cheering on her beloved Texas Aggies from north of the Red River. To find out more about Kathleen or connect with her through social media, check out her website at www.kathleenybarbo.com.

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Inventors and Their Inventions

By Kathleen Y'Barbo

We all know that the Wright brothers were responsible for securing patents on a number of inventions that, as a whole, ushered us into the age of flying. But do you know who to thank for cotton candy or the ball point pen? What about bubble gum or Liquid Paper?

While the list of inventors and their inventions is lengthy, here are a few of note:

The accidental inventions:

• In 1943, engineer James Wright was looking to patent a synthetic rubber to aid in the war effort. Though he could see no use for the bouncy substance he created, Peter Hodgson, his coworker in marketing recognized the product as a potential bestseller. What was it? Silly Putty!

• Another byproduct of the war effort was a device created by Richard Wright to support sensitive equipment aboard ships. What was it? Slinky!

Who's your daddy--or mama?

• Ever play with Lincoln Logs as a child? They were invented by John Lloyd Wright in 1916 and patented by him in 1920. If the name sounds familiar, it should. John's father was the architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

• Remember Liquid Paper? In the days of typewriters, this substance was a typist's best friend. The  white liquid was based on tempra paint and patented by Bessie Nesmith, a Texas artist and secretary. Perhaps you've heard of her son Michael? You would know him as Mike Nesmith of the Monkees.

My personal favorite...

• Frances Gabe of Newport, Oregon, lives in a house where each room has a special device secured to the ceiling. One push of a button and the room is sprayed with soapy water then doused with clean water to send the suds sliding down the sloped floor into the drain as the room is blown dry. Anything of value is safely hidden away under glass where the cleaning and drying process cannot harm it. Dishes are cleaned in the cabinets and clothes are washed in the wardrobe. Sinks, tubs, and toilets feature self-cleaning devices as well. In all, Ms. Gabe holds almost one hundred patents, most of which are incorporated into her home. And she lives in a self-cleaning house!

And finally...

• Cotton candy was invented by William Morrison and John C. Wharton of Nashville, Tennessee in 1897.

• The first ballpoint pen was created in 1935 by the Biro brothers, a chemist and a scientist. A ballpoint marker was created in 1888 and used for marking leather, but that device leaked and found no practical use outside of its original purpose in the leather industry. 

• Bubble Gum was invented by Frank Henry Fleer in 1907. He called the gum "Blibber Blabber" but it was not commercially successful owing to the fact that it was deemed too sticky to enjoy. Walter E. Diemer perfected the gum in 1928 with a creation he called "Double Bubble". And the rest is history!

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Bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a Carol Award and RITA nominee of forty-five novels with almost two million copies of her books in print in the US and abroad and nominations including a Career Achievement Award, Reader’s Choice Awards, Romantic Times Book of the Year, and several Romantic Times Top Picks. A proud military wife and tenth-generation Texan, she now cheers on her beloved Aggies from north of the Red River. 

Her latest novel, Millie's Treasure, a tale of Pinkerton inventors, Jean Lafitte's pirate treasure, and one determined Memphis belle is available now. To find out more about Kathleen or purchase any of her books:  www.kathleenybarbo.com.