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[RC] Hidalgo Update - Linda B. MerimsHi, Kathryn; I have not yet gone down to Rhode Island to check out the National Police Gazette. However, as we discussed earlier, just coverage in the Gazette would not consitutute sufficient proof of truth; it was just too tabloid. I don't think all bets are in, but it sure doesn't look good for Mr. Hopkins! Sometimes one must understand that, after so many years, people usually do not remember things precisely, they only remember them approximately. It could be possible that Buffalo Bill paid for Hopkins personally, or it could be that he used the $$ he got for his Paris trip to pay his way to Aden. (Yes, I understand that there is no proof he ever went with the Wild West Show to Paris.) The thing is, you have to see the records yourself to get a good idea of what their "coverage" is. This gives you a basis for deciding how complete they are, and whether or not things are routinely missing. Also, people almost always do embellish to "fill out the story." Because they are--to put it politely--fibbing about one part of the story, does not mean other parts of the story are not true. The race was not called the "Ocean of Fire" Hopkins said the translation in English amounts to something like "The Thanksgiving Race" which probably is in connection with an Islamic Holiday. And even though Disney advertises the race as being famous, I have spoken with historians from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Yemen, and The United Arab Emirates, and none of them have ever heard of such a race.certainly not an annual one. Aha, now this is fascinating! Can I ask: Which historians did you talk with, What were their specialties, and Which universities were they affiliated with? And, most specifically, what *research* did they conduct upon which to base their answer? One wouldn't expect any randon US historian to be aware of, say, the Tevis Cup if one just called them up and asked them cold on the phone. (The Kentucky Derby, yes, the Tevis, no.) Their answer has to be "footnoted," else it is *not* history! For example, there is a huge collection of 19th century British diplomatic correspondence between Aden and Bombay that is still in Bombay. Parts of this, up to 1836 or so, have been transferred to an Islamic studies institute at the University of Essex in England, and were the basis of that "Crimson Flag" book about the history of the Trucial States. But, as near as I have been able to determine, the rest is still just sitting in boxes in Bombay. I have no sense at all of the state of Arabic language primary documentation of that region in the 19th century. No sense at all. Did the dozens and dozens of shayks through whose land the race would have had to pass, with permission, keep written records? I applaud you for your research. I'd just like to nudge you a tiny bit further. When you ask somebody a question, and they give you an answer, you always have to *also* ask, "And how do you know?" It makes one very irritating, but it is absolutely necessary. Well, well, well, Frank Hopkins! You old rascal, you! Linda B. Merims lbm@xxxxxxxxx Massachusetts, USA =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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