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What Happened at Jamestown?
What was behind the starvation and violence that devasted the colony?
Select text to jump ahead in the clip:
Haven't we all sometimes
dreamed
of how great it would be
to transport ourselves
back into the past
and see what life was
really like back then?
About as close
as we can get to that
are living history exhibits--
like this reconstruction
of the Jamestown fort
as it appeared around 1610.
It was struggling
to survive then
and become the first
permanent
English settlement in
America.
But how do we know what
to put in the
reconstructions?
Of course, where they exist@H
documents and records
can tell us a lot
but sometimes they're
misleading or incomplete.
Often the most telling
information is literally dug
up.
That's what scientists have
been
doing on Jamestown Island
in the five years since
the site of the original fort
was discovered
about a mile from here.
The results have been
spectacularly revealing--
particularly what they've
found
through forensic analysis
of the human remains--
so that now we have an
intimate
and in some ways
unexpected picture
of those early,
terrible days at Jamestown.
Then we'll be off
around the world
in search of other
dead men's tales.
=In western China
the dead men are wonderfully
preserved, mummified bodies
of people who traveled
between China and Europe
2,000 years ago.
The discovery of those
mummies
is shedding surprising new
light
on the first contacts between
Chinese and European
cultures.
In southern Africa
we'll witness the
unprecedented
discovery of a rich royal
grave.
It's inside a palace complex
in the center of a powerful
and ancient trading network.
In Egypt, we'll be there
as archaeologists discover
for the first time
the tombs of the people
who built the pyramids--
literally built the pyramids;
not the pharaohs
who gave the orders
but the laborers
and foremen and engineers
who actually did the work.
And we'll make our way
to the American Wild West
to see how forensic
archaeology
x has shown
that the legend of Wild Bill
Longley is just a tall tale.
But first, think back
400 years.
Europeans have begun settling
in North America
and the continent is
about to change forever.
I'm traveling
with an archaeologist
and a climate expert
and we're about to cross
the James River in Virginia.
We're heading
for one of the last untouched
bald cypress swamps in
America
with trees that
hcan be 1,000 years old.
Th?e swamp may contain the
key
to understanding
the terrible death rate
suffered in the English
colony
set up on Jamestown Island
in 1607.
From our ferry
we could see the island
which for the colonists was
apparently very badly
situated.
One of the English writes
of...
"We took most of our drink
from the river
which was very brackish
and makes us sick."
ALDA:
There could be
a simple explanation
for the bad river water.
MAN:
In drought years
with very poor flow
the brackish and salty waters
intrude well upstream
of Jamestown.
When the Indians visited them
that one time
and said, "You better start
praying to your gods for
rain"
did they start to put
two and two together then?
Did they say,
"Why should we pray for rain?
Is something wrong?"
I think they were
flattered by that comment
more than anything.
Because, in fact,
what this Indian chief said--
and he lived just
upstream from here-- was
"In the same way that
your guns and your ships
"are better than our bows
and arrows and our dugouts
"your god may be
more powerful than ours.
"So please pray to him for
rain
because our god
is not sending any."
ALDA:
Jamestown Island
is just 1,600 acres,
jutting out into the river.
It's about 40 miles
from the southern end
of Chesapeake Bay.
The ancient cypress swamp
is here
and we'll get back to that
later in the story.
But first we'll head
to the island.
In 1994 there was
a major breakthrough
when the colony's
original fort was unearthed.
MAN:
My interest
in this particular
piece of land here
was the church site.
And what you see there is
a reconstructed church.
But in front of it
is a church tower
from the 17th century.
Did you think
the fort would be
near the church?
Yeah-- the first
description was
that the church is in the
fort
then it's at
the center of the fort.
These are from
historical documents.
ACTOR:
"A low level of ground
about half an acre
"is cast almost into
the form of a triangle
"and so palisadoed.
"The south side next the
river
contains 140 yards;
"the west and east sides,
100 only.
"In the middest is
a marketplace, a storehouse
and acorps de garde,
as likewise a pretty chapel."
ALDA:
It had always been thought
that the fort had eroded
into the river
but Bill Kelso reasoned
that if the existing church--
right behind him here--
is on the site
of the original chapel
then the fort
should still exist.
Okay, this way
a little more.
Am I excited?
You better believe it!
ALDA:
A private group--
the Associationp
for the Preservation
of Virginia Antiquities--
acquired the site in the 19th
century to preserve the
church.
They agreed to let Kelso dig.
Here's a musket ball...
and a piece of pottery.
ALDA:
Kelso's first shovelfuls
contained colonial artifacts
and over the next three years
the shadowy outlines
of post holes and walls
were revealed.
The fort, abandoned
and forgotten by about 1625
had been found.
We found holes that
were dug in the ground
where there were supports
but they were
very small supports
and we think it was
this crude at first.
What would
this have been?
Probably a barracks...
because here you have
a military outpost.
ALDA:
Kelso's teamtried
reconstructing
the fort's palisade.
The colonists built their
fort
over just a few weeks
without the modern
conveniences
when they were attacked by
Indians soon after arriving.
ALDA:
You don't have
any other supports?
You just have
this stuff
going straight in
18 inches?
That's it-- when
you put these posts
side by side
they support each other.
And we also found
that we had dirt left over
which would have been
a shot platform.
This would have acted
to support one of those
huge muskets.
Oh, I see,
so you have
a little backing here
with the dirt.
You could be standing here.
And also,
this obviously is
a little problem
if you're worried
about arrows...
What about that?
You could get arrows
and shot through there.
Well, we figure
that they probably
put saplings in there--
just pounded them in
at this point.
But up here they'd
leave it open because...
They can
shoot out.
ALDA:
As I was looking around the
site
I thought there was something
about Bill Kelso's story
that didn't quite fit.
This fence doesn't seem
to encompass the church.
It seems to go at an angle
that won't include the
church.
Aha-- right.
We were wrong.
(laughing)
The church--
this church, at least--
was not in the center
of the fort.
But it's...
you know, so what?
ALDA:
It was pure luck
that the present church
had been close enough
to lead Kelso to the fort.
Even with just an eighth of
the fort area excavated so
far
they've been able
to build a picture
of Jamestown's early days.
WOMAN:
We have evidence of what was
known as "the starving time."
That was the winter
of 1609-1610.
And most of the men
literally starved to death.
ALDA:
These deliberate cut marks
in horse bones
are just the beginning
of an appalling story.
They had six mares
and two horses
before that starving time.
They must have
been pretty hungry
to eat their horses.
I mean, you're eating
an important part
of your life.
Exactly-- they're
transportation.
It's like eating your
Oldsmobile or something.
ALDA:
Even though they ate
everythingin sight
only 50 people out of 500
survived the winter.
It's why the Jamestown
colonists
have often been dismissed
as lazy and incompetent.
They were clearly desperate.
ACTOR:
"Nothing was sparedto maintain
life
"and to do those things
which seem incredible
"as to dig up corpse out
of graves and eat them
"and some have
licked up the blood
which hath fallen
from their weak fellows."
ALDA:
But far from being lazy
or incompetent
it now seems the colonists
were
well prepared and
industrious.
STRAUBE:
It's really unfair
to portray the gentlemen
who came here
as a bunch of lazy,
good-for-nothing guys
who didn't want to get their
hands dirty or blistered.
Because we found a lot
of evidence
of things that
they were busy doing
such as making window glass
to send back to London.
They thought they'd
make a profit.
ALDA:
The colony was a
straightforward
commercial venture.
The main objective was gold.
This is a metal refining
still.
They made their own pipes
and raising tobacco
was another objective.
Their plan for subsistence
was simple and realistic:
trade for corn, using jewelry
made from sheet copper
that they brought with them.
They knew the local Powhatan
Indians prized copper highly.
Initially this strategy
worked,
but something went wrong.
Indians stopped trading.
Some attacked the fort.
There were constant
skirmishes.
The fort site is filled
with the leftovers of
fighting.
A couple of items showed up
just
in the short time we were
there.
This is a piece of chipped
stone
that's been flaked.
But it's very distinctive
in that these are
really straight cuts.
If this was natural,
this would be more rounded.
Probably American Indians
did it--
probably to get a piece of
stone
for a projectile point.
GAMBLE:
This is probably...
Well, thisis.
This is a piece of flint
that the... or English flint
that the colonists would
chip off bits and pieces
to use for their weapons.
This is not natural to the
area,
but this is a good find.
This is a good find.
ALDA:
The excavations also
uncovered
a mysterious casualty
whose remains are being
analyzed
at the Smithsonian's Museum
of Natural History
by Doug Owsley
and Ashley McCowan
forensic anthropologists.
From radiocarbon dating,
it's believed that this could
be
one of the first colonists.
They called it JR102C.
You have no idea
what his name was?
No, I wish we did.
You would think
he would jump out
in terms of the historic
record
but the record
for this time period
is such a black hole.
ALDA:
Here's what they can tell
from "J.R.'s" bones.
The pelvis says he's male.
The skull dimensions and
the straight tooth edges say
he's European.
The growth line in the leg
bone
says he's young
and the healthy teeth say he
had
good nutrition when growing
up
so he was probably a
gentleman.
Then there's one more thing.
OWSLEY:
His right leg, his shinbone
is completely fragmented.
And in place
was this round ball.
This is a lead ball
right here.
So he got shot, huh?
He got shot.
And it was essentially
like a combat shotgun
type of load.
Because when you look
at the X rays of it
not only was there
this large round ball
but there are a number
of small, buckshot-type
pellets,
and also lead fragments.
It practically blew
his lower leg off.
ALDA:
The Indians didn't have guns
in the early days at
Jamestown.
So what happened?
The project set up
ballistics tests
using a reproduction of the
type
of musket the colonists used.
The big ball
@landed there, right?
Over here.
SCHOLPP:
Yeah, there isyour main shot.
I was aiming
right about here.
ALDA:
They're using a shot load
matched to the X ray
of the young man's leg bone.
There's one large ball
with about 25 fragments.
Here's a shot from 20 yards.
SCHOLPP:
So we've got...
really a massive spread here.
If this is typical of
the kind of spread you get
at that distance
then J.R. had to have
been shot much closer.
At closer range,
absolutely.
ALDA:
Next: a point-black shot.
Aim... fire.
ALDA:
That looked
an awful lot
like you were too close to
be...
to come up with the pattern
that J.R. had, right?
wñOLet's see what we got
here.
We got unpleasantry.
Wasn't his
spread out more?
Yeah.
ALDA:
Next shot:
at a range of five yards.
(fires)
And that's just about right.
So J.R. couldn't have shot
himself by accident
but maybe someone else shot
him
by accident.
Fred Scholpp,
the firearms expert
thinks he knows
how it could have happened.
It was standard
fighting procedure
for soldiers to fire
from the front rank
and then retire to reload.
Someone in the rear rank
could have made a mistake
while reloading.
Present your piece, give
fire...
and retire.
Don't point
that thing!
(Alda laughing)
This is sort of
from the front.
ALDA:
But J.R. was shot from the
side.
The angles just don't work
out
with Fred's theory.
I don't know.
ALDA:
Well, now what?
Now, where are you
with the theory now?
What do you think?
That's his theory.
Oh-ho, that's not
your theory.
My theory is
that it was on purpose.
Ah.
And that, you know,
what you say--
one less mouth to feed.
Right.
And, in times of stress--
people are starving to
death--
we resort to some pretty
animalistic behavior.
ALDA:
We made it to the swamp
20 miles from Jamestown.
Okay, I'm going
to watch.
If you disappear,
I'm not taking your path.
ALDA:
These magnificent
bald cypress trees
contain the simplest
explanation
for all the colony's
problems.
It just takes a little work
for David Stahle to find it.
ALDA:
You know, I'm sure glad
that you're here today.
Otherwise, they'd
have me doing this.
(hollow thumping)
We're not going to get much,
fellas.
Not out of this one.
ALDA:
We're looking for an old tree
but one that still has
a solid center.
David Stahle is part
of a network of scientists
@
who study cores drilled
from ancient trees
in order to reconstruct
the history of climate.
The Jamestown colonists said
their water was bad.
The Indians said
there was no corn to trade.
Maybe the colonists
were incompetent
or the Indians were
playing politics.
But, no, says David Stahle,
there really was a drought.
The annual growth rings
in these cypresses
record what the climate
was doing in this region
for the last thousand years.
It's in
two pieces, but...
xxxxThere you go.
You can see...
you got about ten,
12 inches there
of ancient cypress.
But it looks like you got
about 20 to here.
I would say that outer inch
has probably got
more like a hundred.
Really?
Yeah, I'd really be
surprised if it didn't.
Yeah, I may need a new
prescription, too.
ALDA:
Actually, you need a
microscope.
Each pair of dark
and light bands
represents one year of
growth.
In 1607,
as the colonists arrived
the region began its driest
seven-year period in 700
years.
And 20 years earlier,
the worst drought in 800
years
simply wiped out
an English colony
set up at Roanoke Island
in North Carolina.
You mean to say that
they came over twice
and hit the worst droughts
in hundreds of years
two times in a row?
STAHLE:
Monumental bad luck.
I mean,
phenomenal bad luck.
Yeah, both the two first
English
adventures in the New World
were both beset by drought.
ALDA:
But the second adventure,
Jamestown, succeeded.
By 1612, the drought was over
and the colony began to
thrive.
America's first
representative assembly
met at Jamestown in 1619.
Around that time,
the first slaves were brought
in
to work in the tobacco
plantations.
Jamestown settlers had
laid the foundations
for the best and the worst
of a new nation.
Time Travelers
Spectacular mummies found preserved in Northwest China’s deserts suggest that Europeans came to China over 3 thousand years ago.
Select text to jump ahead in the clip:
IN SEARCH OF A LITTLE HISTORY.
THIS IS LIN XUAN QIN, AN
ARTIST WHO MAKES CHOPS. THESE
ARE STONES WITH YOUR NAME
CARVED IN THEM THAT ARE USED
FOR STAMPING YOUR SIGNATURE
ON DOCUMENTS.
CHOPS ARE GIVING WAY TO
WESTERN-STYLE SIGNATURES NOW
BUT THEY HAVE A VERY LONG
HISTORY IN CHINA. THEY'RE THE
FORERUNNER OF PRINTING USING
MOVABLE TYPE WHICH WAS
INVENTED IN CHINA NEARLY
1,000 YEARS AGO--
500 YEARS BEFORE GUTENBERG
INVENTED MOVABLE TYPE IN
EUROPE. Alda: LIN XUAN QIN
WAS CARVING MY OWN PERSONAL
MOVABLE TYPE. OKAY. HEY...
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.
THAT'S TOWARD ME. LIKE THIS,
OKAY. Alda: THE LIST OF
FIRSTS IN CHINESE INVENTIONS
IS STAGGERING. THEY INVENTED
GUNPOWDER, THE MAGNETIC
COMPASS, PAPER THE
WHEELBARROW, THE DECIMAL
SYSTEM, PORCELAIN, RELIEF
MAPS
AND ON AND ON AND ON. SO YOU
PROBABLY THINK I'M GOING TO
SAY THESE STAMPS WERE
INVENTED IN CHINA, TOO.
ACTUALLY THEY WEREN'T, THEY
CAME TO CHINA FROM THE MIDDLE
EAST 3,000 OR SO YEARS AGO.
SO WERE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS
INVENTED IN CHINA OR IN THE
WEST? WELL, HISTORY IS NEVER
THAT SIMPLE. WE'RE IN THE FAR
WEST OF CHINA. THIS ARID LAND
HAS BEEN YIELDING UP SOME
EXTRAORDINARY FINDS.
THEY'RE THE MUMMIES OF
XINJIANG. XINJIANG PROVINCE
IS THE OVERLAND BRIDGE
BETWEEN CHINA AND EUROPE. IN
THE EARLY PART OF THIS
CENTURY EUROPEANS EXPLORING
XINJIANG
BEGAN UNCOVERING MUMMIES IN
SHALLOW DESERT GRAVES. MORE
RECENTLY CHINESE
ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE MADE
DISCOVERIES. THE MUMMIES WERE
BROUGHT TO URUMQI, THE
PROVINCIAL CAPITAL.
XINJIANG IS LARGELY MOSLEM
ITS PEOPLE DRAWN FROM MANY
PARTS OF CENTRAL ASIA. AN
ARCHAEOLOGY INSTITUTE HAS
SOME OF THE MUMMIES AND THE
REST ARE AT THE LOCAL MUSEUM.
OURS WERE THE FIRST TV
CAMERAS ALLOWED TO FILM THE
MUMMIES.
THIS IS THE OLDEST, DATING
FROM ABOUT 4,000 YEARS AGO.
ONCE A YEAR, THE MUMMIES ARE
CLEANED AND EXAMINED FOR
INSECT DAMAGE. BLOCKS OF
INSECTICIDE ARE REPLACED. THE
HAT WITH THE EAGLE FEATHER IS
FELT
AND THE WOVEN ROBE IS WOOL.
THEY'RE ALL VULNERABLE TO
INSECTS AS ARE THE COWHIDE
BOOTS. THE CHILD IS FROM THE
SAME PERIOD AS THE FIRST
MUMMY. IT WAS CAREFULLY
WRAPPED IN A LARGE WOVEN
WOOLEN CLOTH HELD TOGETHER
WITH WOODEN PEGS.
THIS CHILD, FROM ABOUT 3,000
YEARS AGO WAS WRAPPED IN A
FINE WOOL BLANKET TIED WITH A
BRAIDED CORD. THE REASONS FOR
THE STONES AND WOOL NOSE
PLUGS ARE UNKNOWN. IT LIES ON
A BED OF FELT, WITH A COW
HORN DRINKING CUP.
THIS MAN IS ONE OF THE
MUSEUM'S FINEST EXAMPLES. HE
HAS A SUNBURST DECORATION,
AGAIN OF UNKNOWN
SIGNIFICANCE. THE STATE OF
PRESERVATION IS EXTRAORDINARY
A RESULT OF THE DRY, SALTY
DESERT SOIL...
AND ALSO, IT SEEMS, SOME KIND
OF GLUELIKE COATING THAT THE
BODIES WERE TREATED WITH. ONE
STRIKING FACT ABOUT THE
MUMMIES STANDS OUT-- THEY
DON'T SEEM TO BE CHINESE.
THEIR FULL BEARDS AND
PROMINENT NOSES
ARE CLEAR CAUCASIAN FEATURES.
SO WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
CLOSE ANALYSIS OF THE SKULL
TYPES SUGGESTS THAT THEY CAME
FROM WHAT'S NOW KAZAKHSTAN,
IN THE NORTHWEST AND FROM
PAKISTAN, IN THE SOUTHWEST.
IN THAT PERIOD CHINESE SKULL
TYPES FROM THE EAST ARE ONLY
FOUND AT THE EDGE OF
XINJIANG. XINJIANG'S
SPECTACULAR MOUNTAIN RANGES
ONCE FED STREAMS AND RIVERS
WHICH RUSHED DOWN INTO THE
DESERT.
THE ANCIENT SETTLERS CLUSTERED
AROUND THOSE DESERT OASES.
IT'S DRIER HERE NOW, BUT THE
LOCAL KAZAKH PEOPLE STILL
FOLLOW THE HERDING LIFESTYLE
ALONG THE RIVERBANKS CLOSER
TO THE MOUNTAINS.
THE WONDERFULLY PRESERVED
OBJECTS FOUND WITH THE
MUMMIES SHOW HOW THEY LIVED.
THESE ARE 3,000-YEAR-OLD LAMB
RIBS COMPLETE WITH BARBECUE
SPIT. THE KAZAKHS LIVE IN
HOUSES CALLED YURTS
COVERED ENTIRELY WITH FELT
THEY'D MADE FROM MATTED WOOL
FIBERS JUST LIKE THE CHILD'S
FELT BED IN THE MUSEUM.
INSIDE, THE YURTS ARE
DECORATED WITH WOVEN STRIPS
FINISHED WITH BRAIDED CORDS.
THE MEN RIDE HORSES, AS THEY
DID IN ANCIENT XINJIANG. THIS
SADDLE WAS ALSO FOUND WITH
THE MUMMIES. IF IT WEREN'T
FOR THIS MAN THE MUMMIES
WOULD PROBABLY HAVE REMAINED
AN OBSCURE CURIOSITY.
VICTOR MAIR, A CHINA SCHOLAR
FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF
PENNSYLVANIA VISITED THE
MUSEUM SOON AFTER WE'D
FILMED. FOR SEVERAL YEARS,
HE'S BROUGHT VARIOUS WESTERN
SPECIALISTS TO EXAMINE THE
MUMMIES.
THIS TIME HE WANTED TWO
TEXTILE EXPERTS TO BE GIVEN
ACCESS. NOW WE'RE GOING UP TO
SEE THE MUMMY ROOM. Alda: BUT
VICTOR MAIR IS A TERRIBLE
THORN IN THE SIDE OF OFFICIAL
CHINA.
HE'S WORKING ON A THEORY THAT
THE MUMMIES REPRESENT PEOPLE
WHO ORIGINATED FAR TO THE
WEST, IN EUROPE BRINGING WITH
THEM NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT
THE CHINESE DID NOT HAVE.
OF COURSE, WE WERE INTERESTED
IN RECORDING THE VISITORS'
FIRST REACTIONS. BUT EVEN
THOUGH WE'D FILMED THE
MUMMIES EARLIER AND PAID THE
REQUIRED FEE THE MUSEUM
AUTHORITIES WOULDN'T ALLOW
IT.
WE WERE ASKED TO LEAVE. THE
EXPERTS WERE FASCINATED BY
WHAT THEY SAW PARTICULARLY
THIS PIECE, WHICH THEY
IDENTIFIED AS PROBABLY A
PRACTICE WEAVING SAMPLER.
Woman: IN A WAY THAT...
THAT ALMOST TOUCHED ME THE
MOST. YEAH, BECAUSE IT REALLY
BRINGS... I HAVE ONE, TOO,
THAT LOOKS JUST ABOUT AS BAD.
ONES THAT YOU'VE TRIED TO
MAKE?
THE FIRST PIECE YOU WEAVE
LOOKS CRUMMY. Alda: MOST
INTERESTING WAS THE FACT THAT
IT'S TOO BIG TO HAVE BEEN
MADE ON THE TYPE OF LOOM THAT
THE CHINESE HAD AT THE TIME.
I'M VERY INTERESTED IN THAT
SAMPLER BECAUSE I'M STARTING
TO WONDER IF SOME OF MY IDEAS
ABOUT THE LOOM MAY BE
CONFIRMED BY THAT PARTICULAR
PIECE... THE WIDTH OF IT, FOR
EXAMPLE.
THE WIDTH, AND ALSO THERE WERE
SOME OTHER GARMENTS THAT HAD
A VERY WIDE SWATH TO THEM.
IT'S NOT BEING DONE ON THE
NARROW, BODY-TENSION LOOM.
Alda: TODAY, XINJIANG'S
DESERT HIGHWAYS ARE BUSY WITH
TRUCKS.
700 YEARS AGO, IT WAS MARCO
POLO'S CAMELS. THIS IS THE
ANCIENT SILK ROAD BETWEEN
EUROPE AND ASIA. IF THE
MUMMIES WERE THE TRAILBLAZERS
ALONG THIS GREAT WORLD TRADE
ROUTE, 4,000 YEARS AGO
IT COULD MEAN THAT CHINA
ACQUIRED IMPORTANT NEW IDEAS
FROM THE WEST AND THAT'S WHAT
IRRITATES THE GOVERNMENT.
IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE WHEEL
ENTERED CHINA THIS WAY.
THEY'VE BEEN UNEARTHED IN THE
DESERT ALTHOUGH THE DATES
AREN'T YET CLEAR. IT DOES NOW
SEEM THAT BRONZE CAME TO
CHINA FROM THE WEST A FACT
WHICH VICTOR MAIR'S CHINESE
COLLEAGUES
ARE BEGINNING TO ACCEPT.
Mair: WHEN I FIRST STARTED
THIS PROJECT I WAS GETTING IN
HOT WATER FOR SAYING THAT,
"HEY, WHY DO WE HAVE BRONZE
OUT HERE NOW
AND YOU GET IT EARLIER, AND
IT ENDS UP IN CHINA LATER?
" AND I GOT IN TROUBLE FOR
THAT. BUT I'M VERY RELIEVED
NOW BECAUSE EMPIRICAL
EVIDENCE EVENTUALLY WINS. AND
CHINESE ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE
NO PROBLEM WITH EMPIRICAL
EVIDENCE. Alda:
BUT A PROBLEM FOR THE
GOVERNMENT CONCERNS THESE
UYGUR PEOPLE. THEY'RE THE
DOMINANT GROUP IN THE
PROVINCE AND THEY HAVE A
GROWING UYGUR NATIONALIST
MOVEMENT. VICTOR MAIR'S IDEAS
COULD ENCOURAGE THEM.
WE KNOW THAT THE UYGURS
THEMSELVES DIDN'T GET HERE
UNTIL THE EIGHTH CENTURY OF
OUR ERA, SO... AND WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT THE SECOND
MILLENNIUM, B.
C. SO THAT'S REALLY A SPECIOUS
ARGUMENT AND SO THE CHINESE
SHOULDN'T WORRY. IT HAS
NOTHING TO DO WITH UYGUR
NATIONALISM SO WE CAN OMIT
THAT ONE, AND I DON'T REALLY
THINK
I SHOULD GET IN TROUBLE WITH
THAT EVER. Alda: BUT VICTOR
MAIR CONTINUES TO GET IN
TROUBLE. SOON AFTER HIS VISIT
THE GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHED
A LONG ATTACK ON HIS IDEAS.
IN CHINA, EVEN TECHNICAL
ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARGUMENTS
CAN'T BE CONDUCTED FREELY.
WILL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EVENTUALLY COME TO CHINA?
WELL, TIMES ARE CHANGING.
I THINK THE MOST STRIKING
THING ABOUT THIS TRIP TO
CHINA FOR ME HAS BEEN THE
TREMENDOUS SENSE OF CHANGE
I'VE SEEN HERE. I MADE MY
FIRST TRIP TO CHINA ABOUT 15
YEARS AGO AND IT WAS NOTHING
LIKE THIS.
THERE ARE RICH PEOPLE HERE
NOW. THERE'S NEON. PEOPLE
DRESS DIFFERENTLY. IN THOSE
DAYS, IT WAS HARD TO FIND
SOMEBODY WHO DIDN'T WEAR A
MAO SUIT. NOW IT'S ALMOST
IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND SOMEBODY
WHO DOES.
AND THEY DRESS STYLISHLY, TOO,
AND THEY MOVE STYLISHLY. IN
THOSE DAYS, GETTING ACROSS
THE STREET INVOLVED A KIND OF
A UTILITARIAN WALK. NOW THEY
STRIDE ACROSS THE STREET.
THERE'S A SENSE OF
SELF-PRESENTATION. AND
THERE'S KARAOKE NOW. YOU
ALMOST CAN'T GO INTO A
CHINESE RESTAURANT WITHOUT
HEARING KARAOKE. A FEW YEARS
AGO, I TRIED TO GET THEM TO
SING FOR ME.
THEY WOULDN'T DO IT. I SAID,
"TEACH ME A CHINESE SONG.
" THEY SAID, "NO. THERE'S A
SAYING: "THE BIRD THAT STICKS
ITS NECK UP ABOVE THE FLOCK
GETS ITS HEAD CUT OFF.
" WELL, AS SURPRISING AS THESE
CHANGES HAVE BEEN THERE SEEM
TO BE EVEN MORE PROFOUND
CHANGES UNDER THE SURFACE. I
HOPE I'LL BE BACK BEFORE TOO
LONG TO SEE THOSE CHANGES.
THIS HAS BEEN OUR SPECIAL
CHINA EDITION
OF SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
FRONTIERS. UNTIL NEXT TIME.
ZAIJIAN. PRESENTATION OF
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS
IS MADE POSSIBLE BY A GRANT
FROM GTE CORPORATION.
A Texan Tall Tale
Did legendary gunfighter Wild Bill Longley escape the hangman's noose?
Select text to jump ahead in the clip:
They're burying
Wild Bill Longley today.
MINISTER:
Our Lord said repent
and believe the gospel.
Your relative, your cousin,
your kinsman in the flesh.
It was said, before he died,
he repented.
ALDA:
Wild Bill goes to his grave
a repented sinner--
for the second time--
and this time, it really is
him.
For the day when you look
into that eastern sky,
right over there...
ALDA:
Last time he was buried,
120 years ago
many people believed
he wasn't in the coffin--
it was just a bunch of rocks.
Wild Bill had gotten away
with it once again, it was
said.
William Preston Longley was
an outlaw and a killer.
In 1878, at the age of 27,
he was hanged for murder.
But the rumor was
that the rope was attached to
a secret harness to hold him
up
and that he was spirited away
still alive.
Now, this wouldn't be
Wild Bill Longley inhere,
would it?
It is.
It took 15 years
to prove that
but it is him.
I can't wait to see this guy.
ALDA:
Doug Owsley, who's also
working
on the Jamestown project
identified Wild Bill.
What were you able to find
out
when you examined these
bones?
Well, this is
a long story
in the sense I started
looking for this skeletonin
1986.
I was asked
to help a man
who believed
that his grandfather
was William
Preston Longley.
We want to thank the
scientists
here at the Smithsonian
for their perseverance.
ALDA:
Although the man who
firsapproached Doug Owsley
turned out eventually not to
be
related to Wild Bill
the 15-year search turned
into something of an
obsession
for Owsley and dozens
of Wild Bill's relatives.
I had a chance to chat
with family members
when they came to Washington
for the press conference.
"...though I will
come there just
when I please."
Arrogant,
wasn't he?
He was,
wasn't he?
"I rode by
your house..."
ALDA:
Two relatives had descendefrom
Wild Bill's grandparents
and one, Helen Chapman, is
descended from his sister.
That'll be important
later in the story.
Had you always wondered if
he,
in fact, died at that
hanging?
For 50 years.
Really?
Was this the topic
of a lot of family
conversation?
HANNES:
It was. It was.
I remember, as a kid, hearing
the adults talk about this
and debate about this.
And I got the impression
that they thought...
they really thought
he had escaped this hanging.
ALDA:
Wild Bill was a truly bad man
widely feared,
but a little admired, too.
He possessed
a lethal combination:
great skill as a gun fighter,
a quick temper
and a fondness for whiskey.
In jail after his final
arrest
he bragged that he'd killed
32 men and one woman.
He wasn't even sure which one
they'd come to get him for.
REESE:
He thought he was
going to be accused
of killing a preacher named
Lee
and he was worried about that
because that was
an outright killing.
The man was unarmed; he was
milking a cow, and he was...
There's something
about that
that Bill just
didn't like, right?
REESE:
Well...
(all laughing)
He didn't like the man
to start with.
The man had spread some
rumors.
But, I mean,
milking a cow...
it's kind of going too far,
don't you think?
I think so.
Right.
You just got to kill
a man for that.
Well, some people
just have a short
temper, you know?
CHAPMAN:
It might have been Bill's
cow.
ALDA:
Oh, you know, I
never thought of that.
ALDA:
Wild Bill was convicted for
oneof his many other
murders.
He was hanged and supposedly
buried somewhere here.
There's a Bill Longley
grave marker, put up in 1976.
Doug Owsley had to find out
if it was actually Wild
Bill's
grave or just a marker.
This photograph-- taken 50
years
after the burial, around
1930--
is the only visual record
of Wild Bill's grave
if the caption is accurate.
Let me show you,
let's go over here...
ALDA:
Owsley and Brooks Ellwood,a
geologist
first tried to match
the 1930 photograph
to what's visible today.
ELLWOOD:
What you have is these two
treesright here.
That's those two trees
right there.
Then you have this tree
here--
that's that tree there.
The configuration is just
right.
ALDA:
Things seemed to match when
they
stood beside the 1976 marker.
There's another one
closer in.
ALDA:
Brooks Ellwood sat
in place of the headstone
which had been visible in
1930.
Well, I agree
with the three trees.
The three trees look
really nice.
ALDA:
Recently we asked Ellwood and
Owsley to return to the
cemetery
to go over what happened
next.
They had probed all around
the 1976 marker
looking for the telltale
mottling
which is a sign of soil
disturbed when a grave is
dug.
The upper soil core here is
what
they hoped to find, but no
luck.
We probed in this area
right here
looking in front of the
marker.
We probed down the back
of the marker
just to make sure
that there was nothing here.
ALDA:
So what was the 1930
headstone
marking?
Maybe nothing, it turned out.
Notes kept by the president
of
the Cemetery Association
showed
that over the course of 50
years
he'd moved the headstone
several times.
MAN:
We figured out that
he probably moved it
down into
the Hispanic part
of the cemetery
then moved it back up
here just beyond us
to the road.
And then when they
put in the road--
at that time there
wasn't any road--
they moved it here.
Then as a result of that
we felt that we'd lost
the location of the grave.
ALDA:
So now they were looking
for one unmarked grave
in a five-acre cemetery.
Okay, move it.
ALDA:
Brooks Ellwood and his wife,
Suzanne-- also a geologist--
tried magnetic measurements
to detect disturbed soil
in the most likely sections--
like here
along the old fence line.
Wild Bill was supposedly
buried
outside the original
cemetery boundary.
Just in one
1,500-square-foot area
they found 14 possible
unmarked graves.
Before too long, we had
60 unmapped, unmarked graves.
So now we're faced
with a problem:
Well, okay,
is it this one?
Or is it this one?
We had a real needle
in a haystack.
ALDA:
There was no choicebut to
start digging
concentrating on the areas
suggested
by the magnetic surveys.
Right away they began to find
burials
all without any kind of
marker
on the surface.
That's common in cemeteries
of this age.
It was quite a show for the
town
with the added attraction
of