Guess where the early Spaniards threw their dead horses?

I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that Canadian rivers are in trouble.

Of the 10 largest river systems in Canada only 2 are in near natural states. Six are in fair or poor condition. Five are in declining states.

North Americans have a long history of trying to control natural surroundings for their own good to the detriment of the environment and their own well-being.

From Land of the Eagles - a natural history of North America: A Narragansett chief named Miantonomo summarized the impact of early New England colonists on the land from a native point of view when he spoke to a tribal gathering in 1642:

“You know our fathers had plenty of deer and skins. Our plains were full of deer, as also our woods, and of turkies, and our coves full of fish and fowl.

“But these English having gotten our land, they with scythes cut down the grass, and with axes fell the tree; their cows and horses eat the grass, and their hogs spoil our clam banks, and we shall all be starved.”

The English had kind of a ‘let’s just do what we want’ kind of attitude. It still persists to this day.

Earlier still, when Spaniards tried every conceivable effort to gain control of what is now Mexico, they brought certain peculiar habits along with them.


When horses died they dumped them in the rivers, believing perhaps they had carefully washed their hands of the matter.

We may not be doing any better today.

The worst of the ten river systems is the S. Saskatchewan, and a recent report said about it the following:

"Canada’s most threatened river with 70% of its water drained for farming use."

70% more conservation of natural resources may be needed soon - from all of us.

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