Politics shows up in the strangest places. Like carved into tree trunks across the American West, for example:
Political statements are abundant and indicate that the herders followed major world events, albeit in delayed form. Most references are pro-Basque and anti-Spanish, particularly against the dictator Franco. Numerous comments and diatribes on the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War in the Central California mountains appear to be made by one or two individuals. Northern Basques carved many “Biba Frantzia” (“Vive La France”) slogans with various spellings, especially during World War II.Posted by Ben Brumfield at July 14, 2006 08:56 AMThe messages that refer to the United States are overwhelmingly favorable, but some Mexican herders made some harsh statements about the “Gringos.” One Basque didn’t agree with President Nixon’s policy of overture toward China, and several times he carved that Mao had fooled him (the actual word used is more graphic). There are hails to Fidel Castro, hurrahs to the Russian sputniks, and pedestrian details recorded, such as the reaction of one herder who watched television for the first time.