A Natural History of the Pineywoods (Part 2): Settlers, Steamboats and Market Hunting (Ep. 25)

In the last episode we traveled back to a time when the Pineywoods featured mammoths and saber toothed tigers. Then we worked our way forward through the arrival of the first humans and their indigenous successors.

Today we’ll pick up the story at the arrival of first Europeans. Conservationist Jim Neal will tell us what the European presence meant – not only for the region’s native inhabitants but also for the flora and fauna of the Pineywoods.

Resources on the Pineywoods and its history:

• Jim Neal:
  • See Jim Neal featured in the Texas Legacy Project.
• Jim Neal’s reading recommendations:
  • The Caddo:
    • Texas Beyond History: Caddo Fundamentals.
    • A timeline on the history of the Caddo.
    • An example of present-day Caddo pottery.
  • Highways and railroads in historical Texas:
    • Texas Almanac: Origins of the Camino Real in Texas (article written by Al McGraw). 
    • Handbook of Texas Online: Railroads (article written by George Werner)
  • The Alabama-Coushatta Indians who now live in the Pineywoods:
    • Handbook of Texas Online: The Alabama-Coushatta Indians (article written by Howard Martin).
  • Yaupon as a source of tea:
    • Texas Highway Magazine: Texas’ Only Caffeinated Plant Makes a Buzzworthy Tea (article written by Susan L. Ebert). 

The Pineywoods – Episode Transcript

To view the episode transcript, click here to open the pdf file.