1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:06,479 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, Here is an episode from our ten episode 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:10,119 Speaker 1: playlist that we're calling Offbeat History. Yeah, we're adding this 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: to our our regular publishing schedule as one kind of 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,279 Speaker 1: big drop, all at the same time on March nineteen. 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: And that is so that you have maybe have a 6 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: little bit of extra entertainment options available to you, particularly 7 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: if you are self quarantined or sheltering in place. Welcome 8 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: to Stuff you missed in History Class a production of 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:41,519 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 10 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 1: Holly Fry and I'm Tracy B. Wilson. And this is 11 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: the continuing story of the attempt to bring hippos to 12 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 1: the US as a livestock animal. And in the first 13 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: part of this two parter, we talked about the meat 14 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: shortage in the US in the early nineteen hundreds that 15 00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: initiated this desire to brainstorm new animals that might fill 16 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 1: in that meat gap. And we talked a lot about 17 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: one of the men in particular who worked to bring 18 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: hippos from Africa, who was Frederick Burnham. And today we're 19 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: going to pick up with another man who was brought 20 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: onto the project by Louisiana Representative Robert Broussard, and then 21 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: we will discuss how all these men work together and 22 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: what happened to this hippo plan. So there's a little 23 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: uncertainty about exactly when Frederick Duquesne was born. Allegedly it 24 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: was December twenty one, seventy seven in the Cape Colony 25 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: in South Africa. There's some confusion, in part because his 26 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: life was more like a series of concocted details and 27 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: varying identities. Almost all of his biography comes with question marks. 28 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: Even his physical description shifts depending on the source. His 29 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: hair color is pretty universally described as dark, although sometimes 30 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: dark means black and sometimes it means brown. Likewise, has 31 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: I cut Ler is sometimes brown and sometimes blue and 32 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:08,359 Speaker 1: sometimes hazel, depending on who's doing the telling. Yeah, he's 33 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 1: We've talked about Conman before and how it's often difficult 34 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: to pin down their biographical details, and he definitely falls 35 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: in line with that whole system. Um. His father was 36 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: a hunter and he was often away from the family, 37 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: and so his mother and his blind uncle John raised 38 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 1: him for the most part, and during his youth he 39 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: watched as hippo carcasses were butchered for meat. Uh, and 40 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 1: he and the other kids would collect the unused fat 41 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: to sell to soap makers from France. See how everything's 42 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: connected again. I didn't mean to connect to our bodies 43 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: turning to soap episode, but I kind of do on 44 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:46,519 Speaker 1: that one. By accident. Duquesne was in Belgium and military 45 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 1: school in his family is sent for him to come home. 46 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: He was needed to serve in the Boer military in 47 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: the Second Boor War. So at this point the Boars 48 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 1: were being run into prison camps by British forces and 49 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: the homes that they were forced out of or being destroyed. 50 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: It's estimated that at their fullest, these prison camps contained 51 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: a hundred and sixty thousand Boers, thousand of whom did 52 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: not survive the ordeal. To deal with being vastly outnumbered 53 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: by the British forces, the Boer military, which was pretty ragtag, 54 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:24,239 Speaker 1: took to a more guerrilla approach to warfare. Ducane really 55 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: excelled at this looser, more stealthy style, and he wound 56 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: up working as a military courier. This conflict could be 57 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 1: its own episode easily, but during this conflict, the British 58 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: warfare tactics against the Boers were brutal and horrifying, and 59 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: Ducane's family was not immune. His father had died not 60 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: long after Fritz had been called to war, and Ducane 61 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: eventually learned that British troops had brutalized and murdered his 62 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: uncle that had helped raised him and his sister as well, 63 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: and that they had brutalized and kidnapped his mother. Disguised 64 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: as a British soldier, Ducane found his mother in a 65 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: concentration camp. She was at this point barely clinging to life. 66 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: She had an infant with her that was conceived with 67 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: one of her captors who had raped her. Both of 68 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: them were suffering from syphilis to a point that they 69 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: were too far gone to be saved, so they were 70 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:18,279 Speaker 1: basically dying the most horrible way imaginable, and this, not surprisingly, 71 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:22,159 Speaker 1: is believed to have significantly hardened Duquesne. This event really 72 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 1: is always pointed out as like the moment where he 73 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,600 Speaker 1: shut down a little bit. He became a much colder 74 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,719 Speaker 1: human being at this point. Despite being captured on several occasions, 75 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: they were too documented and then more were suspected, he 76 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: always managed to escape, although one of his escape attempts 77 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,040 Speaker 1: involved using a spoon to dig a tunnel in a wall, 78 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 1: only to have the wall collapse and pin him there 79 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,719 Speaker 1: when he tried to go out the tunnel he had dug. 80 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: There's also a tale that during one of his stints 81 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 1: as a captive, he managed to seduce the jailor's daughter. Yeah, 82 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: basically everything you might read and like a penny novel 83 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 1: all of the time happened to him. So again, we 84 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: don't These are largely his accounts, so we don't know 85 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:06,919 Speaker 1: how much of it's true and how much of it isn't. 86 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: But both of those are fun to think about. Uh. 87 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: Ducane's biggest escape, though, which is said to have happened 88 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 1: after he was captured while plotting a particularly massive explosion, 89 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: was actually orchestrated through Morse code. He collaborated using the 90 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: code with prisoners that were in other cells. These men, 91 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: there were three of them all together, jumped into the sea. 92 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 1: They were still bound at this point, and they managed 93 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 1: to live on the run for several weeks before they 94 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:35,159 Speaker 1: reached a port town where Ducane actually became a pimp 95 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: for a brief while. Again his story is so wacky. Uh, 96 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,839 Speaker 1: he only had that job for about a week, just 97 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: long enough so that he could steal the identity of 98 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: one of the John's involved in this prostitution plan and 99 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,280 Speaker 1: set sail for the US under that assumed name. Decane's 100 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 1: charm was so effective that he ended up after a time, 101 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 1: becoming an advisor to President Theodore Roosevelt on a plan 102 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: to travel to afri Cut and hunt wild game. Once 103 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: he had rubbed elbows at the White House, he used 104 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: that credential to bolster his image in his career. At 105 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: first he wrote newspaper columns about the President's trip, and 106 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: then he turned his position and started writing smear pieces 107 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 1: about how Roosevelt was actually a pampered tourist. He even 108 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:20,239 Speaker 1: went so far as to try to have the President 109 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,840 Speaker 1: prevented from returning to the United States by suggesting that 110 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:28,160 Speaker 1: he was going to bring back a deadly contagious disease. Yeah, 111 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: it seems like Ducaine was not so much about loyalty 112 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 1: as he was about maximizing his own benefit in any 113 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 1: given situation. And this is just one example. Uh. And 114 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: around this same time, con Man Fritz had also started 115 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: up a one man touring stage show, and this was 116 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,359 Speaker 1: called East Africa The Wonderland of Roosevelt's Hunt. So he 117 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: was still trying to capitalize on kind of the fervor 118 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: and excitement around this trip Roosevelt was taking. And it's 119 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 1: actually because of this one man showed that Louisiana Representative 120 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:01,040 Speaker 1: Broussard found him so at this point, as you may 121 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: recall from our first episode in this two parter, at 122 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 1: this point, the US was dealing with what they called 123 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: the meat question, which was how were they going to 124 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: feed all of these people that had immigrated into the 125 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: US and the bolstering population as they were running out 126 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: of meat. And this meat question, as it was called 127 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 1: in the press, really threatened to chip away at the 128 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 1: idea that the US could sustain its own people and 129 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:27,560 Speaker 1: continue to grow. You know, it was kind of a 130 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: point of pride as well as being an issue just 131 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: a survival for a lot of people, and so Representative Broussard, 132 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: like many other politicians, really wanted to solve this food 133 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:43,000 Speaker 1: gap problem. Once the idea of introducing hippos to the 134 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: South came up, Grosard sent a field agent to survey 135 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 1: the Louisiana swamp land and give an assessment about how 136 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:53,239 Speaker 1: viable it was going to be to introduce hippos into 137 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 1: that environment. The report was titled Why and How to 138 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: Place Hippopotamus in the Louisiana low Lands, and it indicated 139 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: that the swamps would provide a great environment for hippos. 140 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: It was actually estimated by an official at the Agricultural 141 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 1: Department that a herd of hippos eating through the swamps 142 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: free range would produce an estimated million tons of meat 143 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,680 Speaker 1: each year. Word also circulated that hippo meat was delicious 144 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: as well as potentially plentiful, particularly the brisket area. So, 145 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: just in case anyone doesn't know cuts of meat, the 146 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: brisket is normally a cut of meat from the lower 147 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,320 Speaker 1: chest of an animal, and the New York Times dubbed 148 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: these proposed cuts of hippo meat from this brisket area 149 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: as Lake cow Bacon. So Representative Brossard was winning people 150 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:46,559 Speaker 1: over with this idea. His supporters really thought it was 151 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: an ingenious solution to the whole multiple problems it was 152 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: set out to address. A lot of them volunteered took 153 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: help with capture and transport of these beasts. He had 154 00:08:58,200 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: not only come up with a plan that seemed like 155 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: it its alved the meat shortage and the water hyacinth problem, 156 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:06,199 Speaker 1: but It also appealed to the sense of American pride 157 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: and problem solving. The whole candy attitude of this hippo plan. 158 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: Lippincott's Monthly magazine wrote, quote, this animal, homely as a 159 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: steam roller, is the embodiment of salvation. Peace, plenty, and 160 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:32,560 Speaker 1: contentment lie before us, and a new life with new experiences, 161 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:37,320 Speaker 1: new opportunities, new vigor, new romance folded in that golden 162 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 1: future when the meadows and the bayous of our southern 163 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 1: lands shall swarm with herds of hippopotami. Like have you 164 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 1: seen a hippopotami? It sounds so idyllic, but it does. 165 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: It's homely as a steam roller that is going to 166 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:56,319 Speaker 1: charge your face and trample you to do. Yeah, they 167 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 1: were under the mistaken impression that they were very docile, 168 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: because they're big and lumbering. In most depictions. If you've 169 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 1: ever seen a hippo run, it's terrifying. But in most 170 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: depictions you see them kind of floating in the water, 171 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: looking very chill. I think that led people to believe, Yeah, 172 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: if there was some false testimony along the way, that 173 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 1: they were going to be completely easy to handle, if 174 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:24,840 Speaker 1: there were an award for like the most angry, dangerous herbivores. 175 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:30,160 Speaker 1: I think it might go to two hippo's. So in March, 176 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 1: a bill was introduced in the U s. House of 177 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: Representatives called H one by Broussard. This bill proposed that 178 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:43,320 Speaker 1: two dollars be appropriated to import animals into United States 179 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,200 Speaker 1: for useful purposes. That came to be known as the 180 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 1: Hippo Bill. With Burnham's influence, the bill was endorsed by 181 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:54,679 Speaker 1: former President Teddy Roosevelt and prominent news outlets, which included 182 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: The New York Times. We're praising the hippo concept, plans 183 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: for hippo ranching. We're starting to gain serious support. Mutual 184 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 1: friends connected Brussard, who was called cousin Bob by his 185 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: constituents with Burnham, and the men first met the morning 186 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,959 Speaker 1: that the bill was introduced for discussion, and Burnham had 187 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: previously attempted to secure funding for an animal import project 188 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: of his own, like completely separate from this, but it 189 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: actually got bogged down by politicking in Washington. But now 190 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 1: Burnham felt like with Brussard he had a political ally 191 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:32,280 Speaker 1: and they might actually get some traction. When Burnham spoke 192 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:35,600 Speaker 1: to the Congressional Committee, he urged them to consider the 193 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:38,720 Speaker 1: fact that most of the animals Americans eat were imported 194 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: from Europe, with the exception of the turkey, So why 195 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:45,199 Speaker 1: should hippo's be seen any differently. He felt like after 196 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 1: the initial adjustment, hippo meat would come to seem just 197 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: as natural a part of the North American diet as 198 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 1: beef or chicken. I have to admit when I read 199 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:56,880 Speaker 1: that during my research, it gave me such a giggle, 200 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: like just the thought of, of course, hippos are a natural, 201 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,840 Speaker 1: real part of our lives, because they're so not. Additionally, 202 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 1: Burnham pointed out that other seemingly exotic animals had been 203 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 1: imported in more recent times, such as ostriches. He actually 204 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: brought up the camels that we talked about in our 205 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: US Camel Corps episode, and to bolster the argument that 206 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 1: imported animals, no matter how alien they may initially seem 207 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,719 Speaker 1: to the US, often fared well once they were imported. 208 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: Uh he mentioned that he himself had seen camels. These 209 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:29,680 Speaker 1: were the offspring of those that had been part of 210 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 1: the abandoned military plan to use them, thriving on their 211 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,319 Speaker 1: own in the American Southwest. So to Burnham, this absolutely 212 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: sealed the case. It provided clear evidence that adaptation of 213 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 1: imported animals was absolutely possible and even highly likely beyond 214 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 1: what we expected. I guess they were not really aware 215 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:53,280 Speaker 1: of what was happening with rabbits in Australia. Yeah, so 216 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:57,199 Speaker 1: Ducane's testimony before the committee was more theatrical. Here's how 217 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: it opened. I am as much one of the African 218 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 1: animals as the hippopotamus end quote. He told the hearing 219 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 1: that hippo's were easy to raise and domesticate, and that 220 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: they were perfect animals for livestock, and that the meat 221 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 1: was delicious. So obviously we know that this is a 222 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:20,439 Speaker 1: lot of it is false. Hippos are widely regarded as 223 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:24,400 Speaker 1: one of the most dangerous species in Africa. He also 224 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:28,320 Speaker 1: suggested numerous other animals they could consider importing from Africa, 225 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:34,199 Speaker 1: and including giraffes and elephants. So, between Burnham's confident, logical 226 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 1: approach to the issue at hand and Ducane's enthusiastic flare 227 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: and alleged expertise in handling wild animals, the hearing really 228 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: convinced a lot of people that hippo ranching had a 229 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: very real future in the United States. So the two 230 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,880 Speaker 1: men traveled to Louisiana with Brussar to discuss next steps 231 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: so that they could set up the new Food Society. 232 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: Despite having been enemies literally assigned with killing one another 233 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 1: during wartime, the pair of them seemed to have a 234 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,600 Speaker 1: lot of respect for one another and they were really 235 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:11,200 Speaker 1: united by this one common hippo goal. Yeah, a lot 236 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: of a councils say that um Burnham really felt like 237 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 1: Ducane had gotten kind of a raw deal out of life, 238 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 1: and that if he could kind of help him along 239 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 1: this path of kind of like legitimate enterprise, that he 240 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 1: would help make a better man out of him, and 241 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 1: he could really help him turn his life around. But 242 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 1: of course he was a flim flam even during this 243 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 1: um as evidenced by the fact that he was talking 244 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: about how incredibly easy it is to domesticate hippo's UH. 245 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,880 Speaker 1: At some point while they were forming this new society UH, 246 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: an inventor named Elliott Lord joined the group. It's unclear 247 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,720 Speaker 1: how this exactly happened, how he became part of it, 248 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,600 Speaker 1: and there's some speculation that he kind of just managed 249 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 1: to insert himself into what had been a trio with 250 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 1: no invite at all. He does seem to have rubbed 251 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 1: Burnham the wrong way, in part because he wanted to 252 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,880 Speaker 1: go immediately to potential financial backers asking for money, whereas 253 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: Burnham wanted to take a little time before doing that 254 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:14,120 Speaker 1: and put together a full detailed plan for what they 255 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 1: were then calling the New Food Supply Society before they 256 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 1: started asking people to donate. He did not want his 257 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: friends and associates, because it was a lot of people 258 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:24,760 Speaker 1: that Burnham knew that they were going to be approaching 259 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 1: to feel pressured to buy into something that wasn't thought 260 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:31,200 Speaker 1: through and could potentially cave in its infancy and basically 261 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: be throwing their money away. During a lecture at the 262 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: Humane Association of California, Burnham's desire for a clear plan 263 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 1: was really apparent. He said, quote, let us not make 264 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 1: the same mistakes again. This nation has reached a stage 265 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: in its development where we should take stock of our 266 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: assets and make full use of them in an intelligent manner. 267 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,720 Speaker 1: The country had really overused its resources, that is, as 268 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: it established and then overthrottled the beef industry. So with 269 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: the Hippo Plan, Burnham was insistent that a more careful 270 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: strategy should be established from the very outset. Now, if 271 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: you have ever been part of a startup or a 272 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,640 Speaker 1: fledgling project that had difficulty getting off the ground, the 273 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,120 Speaker 1: way things start to play out at this point may 274 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 1: sound very familiar. These four men all had very different 275 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: approaches to this new venture, and it caused a lot 276 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: of problems. Elliott Lord seemed to want to do a 277 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 1: lot of glad handing and hustling for backers, without much 278 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:36,000 Speaker 1: in the way of actual money materializing from these efforts. 279 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: Duquesne was writing article after article about African animals and 280 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:43,120 Speaker 1: their adaptability, and he felt like he was the only 281 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: one doing any real work, and he was doing it 282 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:48,480 Speaker 1: at his own expense, So he started to feel put 283 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 1: upon about it, which is very funny to me, because 284 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,440 Speaker 1: he was making things up. Yeah, it wasn't like he 285 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 1: was spending a lot of time on research. No. He 286 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: also grew frustrated that some papers were crediting other men 287 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:04,400 Speaker 1: for this idea, and he wanted to get the attribution, 288 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:07,480 Speaker 1: especially because he felt like it was his personality that 289 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: had given the Hippo plan real credibility. He yeah, he 290 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 1: wanted pretty much all of the credit, even though really 291 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:17,439 Speaker 1: he was just kind of a jazz hander in that 292 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 1: whole group. H Burnham meanwhile was speaking with colleagues. He 293 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:26,400 Speaker 1: was giving occasional talks about organizing the new Food Supply Society, 294 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:29,040 Speaker 1: and he kept trying to stay positive, but he was 295 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,159 Speaker 1: really getting frustrated at the lack of real progress as well, 296 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 1: and he even kind of sympathized with Duquesne. It was like, 297 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:37,040 Speaker 1: I know, this is not going the way we thought. 298 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 1: Um Broussard, who you know, had initially put this whole 299 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:46,080 Speaker 1: thing together, seemed to be really busy with politics, so 300 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 1: he would answer queries from Burnham, but he would simply 301 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: tell him that nothing was really happening. Yet he was 302 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:57,240 Speaker 1: still laying groundwork. He was no real progress had materialized. 303 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: Burnham went to Washington and early ring of nineteen eleven 304 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:03,920 Speaker 1: to talk to be Sorry about reintroducing the Hippo Bill. 305 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:06,920 Speaker 1: As part of the plan, Burnham would go to Africa 306 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: once again to look for suitable animals and gain additional 307 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,440 Speaker 1: information to help build out the plan, but he never 308 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,200 Speaker 1: made the trip because the revolution in Mexico meant he 309 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,360 Speaker 1: had to drop everything and look after some other business 310 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:25,120 Speaker 1: dealings there. Yeah, just as Burnham's other work called him 311 00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:27,880 Speaker 1: away from the hippo plan. The other men that were 312 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,680 Speaker 1: involved in this project eventually got absorbed in their other 313 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: activities as well. The hippo bill was never like the 314 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,760 Speaker 1: entire focus of any of their work or lives. You know, 315 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 1: they all still had other things going on the side. 316 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,399 Speaker 1: So in short, the whole thing just kind of fizzled out. 317 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,919 Speaker 1: I would like to say thank goodness, just because based 318 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,120 Speaker 1: on like I don't actually know whether hippos would wind 319 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: up flourishing in the Southeastern United States, but based on 320 00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: other efforts to do things by introducing non natives species, 321 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:06,440 Speaker 1: I just imagine a giant barrier wall walling off all 322 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:10,439 Speaker 1: of what used to be Louisiana and possibly adjacent states, 323 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:14,680 Speaker 1: also with like a big sign saying Louisiana is overrun 324 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:20,879 Speaker 1: with hippos. That will kill you. I feel like you're 325 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:23,639 Speaker 1: going to have hippo nightmares after this. I might, But 326 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:25,880 Speaker 1: first we're going to have a break for a word 327 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:37,400 Speaker 1: from a sponsor. Whild things kind of fizzled out, that's 328 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:39,919 Speaker 1: not really the end of the story. Um as his 329 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,879 Speaker 1: focus on setting up the New Food Supply Society, waned 330 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:46,679 Speaker 1: Frederick Burnham worked in Mexico. He was setting up copper 331 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:50,120 Speaker 1: mines and other projects before he moved to Tilayer County, California, 332 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 1: for a quieter life than Pasadena offered. Pasadena had been 333 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 1: quiet when he and his wife first moved there, but 334 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,439 Speaker 1: eventually it grew into a bigger town and he didn't 335 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:00,880 Speaker 1: like that. He neted to live out in the middle 336 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,000 Speaker 1: of nowhere, so he also became heavily involved in the 337 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:08,320 Speaker 1: preparedness movement. Duquesne had been a very busy man both 338 00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:11,639 Speaker 1: before and after the Hippo Bill initiative grounds to will halt. 339 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 1: So as we mentioned earlier, he was a con man 340 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:18,959 Speaker 1: and that kept him busy for a while. Yeah, in 341 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,879 Speaker 1: addition to using his connection to the Hippo Bill to 342 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:25,480 Speaker 1: get funding for a variety of ventures, from things like 343 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: banquet events where he would speak about his knowledge of 344 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:31,760 Speaker 1: African animals, to trying to stage a trip to South 345 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: America where he would film uh and then return to 346 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:37,359 Speaker 1: the US to make it into a multi media event 347 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 1: detailing his trip. He basically was just trying to parlay 348 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:44,160 Speaker 1: his connection to all of these people into more activities 349 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 1: and money for himself. The start of World War One 350 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,199 Speaker 1: really shifted Duquesne's alias work into high gear. He was 351 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,800 Speaker 1: in South America when the war broke out with his 352 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,879 Speaker 1: wife and he sent her home to the States. He 353 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 1: still held a firm hatred for Britain left over from 354 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,440 Speaker 1: the Second Borer War and the destruction of his family, 355 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: so he thought the U. S should join forces with 356 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,639 Speaker 1: Germany to crush Britain, and if the US wouldn't, he 357 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: would do his part to bring his sworn enemy down. 358 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,280 Speaker 1: It's a whole other story that could easily be its 359 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,439 Speaker 1: own episode, but he basically assumed more than a dozen 360 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: other identities as he attempted to sabotage Britain using his 361 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:31,080 Speaker 1: explosives knowledge. Yeah, he was busy, he was had some 362 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:34,639 Speaker 1: connections with the Germans. Um was basically on kind of 363 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: a uh revenge trip, still based on that previous Um 364 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:42,360 Speaker 1: war that he was part of, and his work led 365 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,240 Speaker 1: him eventually to being wanted for murder by Great Britain. 366 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:47,919 Speaker 1: So he did the only sensible thing for a convan 367 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,200 Speaker 1: and he faked his own death. He basically planted the 368 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,239 Speaker 1: story in the media using one of his aliases as 369 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,159 Speaker 1: a byline, and he like sent this in as a 370 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,480 Speaker 1: freelance writer, so it got picked up and reported. But 371 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: then he decided pretty quickly after that that he actually 372 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,960 Speaker 1: didn't want to be dead, so he instead made up 373 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: a crazy story that kind of painted him as this 374 00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 1: hero and that he survived this attack and no, no, 375 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: we thought he was dead, but really he barely survived. 376 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 1: Duquesne was finally arrested in New York for insurance fraud 377 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,920 Speaker 1: in late nineteen seventeen. Burnham had been consulted by police 378 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:25,600 Speaker 1: when they realized that the man they were hunting had 379 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: worked with him and Broussard on the hippo bill. There 380 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:32,640 Speaker 1: is so much more to both Burnham and Duquesne stories. 381 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 1: Each of these men, as I've said a couple of times, 382 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 1: could easily be an episode on their own, and they 383 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:40,400 Speaker 1: very well maybe at some point because like seriously, Duchene 384 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:43,040 Speaker 1: even ran a spy ring in World War Two. There 385 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 1: is a lot to talk about with both of these gents. 386 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 1: But back to hippos. Now, we have plenty of meat 387 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,760 Speaker 1: in the United States and we don't have hippo's, So 388 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:57,359 Speaker 1: how did that happen? So eventually, the idea that people 389 00:22:57,359 --> 00:22:59,479 Speaker 1: have been focusing on for such a long time of 390 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,719 Speaker 1: bringing in non native species into a space that couldn't 391 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: be farmed through traditional means i e. These swamplands was 392 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,919 Speaker 1: replaced by the idea of landscape engineering. So instead of 393 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 1: finding uses for seemingly unfarmable land, agricultural industry found ways 394 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 1: to turn that land into usable pastures and feed lots. 395 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:23,080 Speaker 1: As for the water highacinth that the hippos were supposed 396 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:27,040 Speaker 1: to be eating, that is still a problem. Cool temperatures 397 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,720 Speaker 1: outside of the South keep it from spreading quite as far, 398 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:33,119 Speaker 1: but in the country's more warm, moist areas in the 399 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:37,800 Speaker 1: south it has to be really carefully managed. Frederick Russell 400 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,960 Speaker 1: Burnham eventually died of a heart attack in seven He 401 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: was eighty six at the time, and Duquesne died in 402 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty six at the age of seventy eight. Yeah, 403 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 1: after he had done a stint in prison. Like I said, 404 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:53,320 Speaker 1: there's there's a lot of interesting tales that go along 405 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:56,440 Speaker 1: with those two men, and I actually hope to tell 406 00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:04,359 Speaker 1: them at some point in time. Thank you so much 407 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,040 Speaker 1: for joining us today for this classic. If you have 408 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,640 Speaker 1: heard any kind of email address or maybe a Facebook 409 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 1: you are l during the course of the episode, that 410 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 1: might be obsolete. It might be doubly obsolete because we 411 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 1: have changed our email address again. You can now reach 412 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,080 Speaker 1: us at history podcast at i heart radio dot com 413 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:23,880 Speaker 1: and we're all over social media at missed in History 414 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 1: and you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, 415 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,280 Speaker 1: Google podcasts, the I heart Radio app, and wherever else 416 00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:35,960 Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts. 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