VOA标准英语2009-Yosemite's Park History Includes Buffalo Sol

Jan Sluizer | Yosemite National Park 24 November 2009

Yosemite National Park, in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, was one of the nation's first wilderness¹ parks, created in 1890. It has granite² cliffs towering over deep valleys, spectacular waterfalls and ancient giant sequoia³ trees.  It also holds a special place in African-American history.

Shelton Johnson began working in national parks when he was still in college

As an interpretive specialist at Yosemite, Ranger⁴ Shelton Johnson tells visitors about the history of the park. While researching Yosemite's archives, he learned that for three years, around the turn of the twentieth century, black U.S. Army regiments⁵ patrolled the park.

The military presence wasn't unusual because until the National Park Service was created in 1916, all national parks were patrolled by Army cavalry⁶ troops. But, Johnson explains, these were the first African-Americans given that mission. "They're protecting the park from the people who were using the park and protecting the people who were using the park from the park. It was both."

A connection with Native Americans

African-American troops came to be known as Buffalo⁷ Soldiers.[http://www.nps.gov/yose/historyculture/buffalo-soldiers.htm] The name was given to them by the American Indians, who saw a resemblance between their dark curly hair and the coat of the buffalo.

Johnson incorporates the story of the Buffalo Soldiers and his own Native American heritage - both his parents are part Indian - into the tales he weaves for youth groups and tourists. He explains that many of the Buffalo Soldiers also had Indian blood. They fought their brothers because it was their job as soldiers, but, Johnson says, the irony⁸ was not lost on them. Both were indigenous⁹ people taken from their land.

"The two groups who have the most in common are killing¹⁰ each other," he points out. "People of African descent would escape from plantations¹¹ and they received refuge [from] Native Americans. They took them in. That's how there's Indian blood in my family. So the people who gave you refuge, you're now killing, you are now fighting," Johnson says.

In presentations, he adopts the voice and demeanor¹² of a Buffalo Soldier, as he explains the dilemma¹³ these soldiers faced.

"Some choices you make. Some choices are made for you," he said. "I didn't want to be a soldier but I didn't want to pick cotton. I'm a man. I want to have some respect. You put that uniform on and I tell you, you look pretty. You got that hat, you got that horse underneath¹⁴ you. You think you're somebody. It's important for you to feel in your life that you're someone, that you're a human being. But it don't feel right when you have to take someone else's life to make your life feel like it's better."

Changing the physical and social landscape of the West

In this 1899 photo, Buffalo Soldiers in the 24th Infantry¹⁵ carry out mounted patrol duties in Yosemite

Buffalo Soldiers were responsible for cutting the first usable wagon¹⁶ road through Yosemite's Giant Forest of Sequoia trees. They carved the first hiking trail to the top of Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental¹⁷ United States and they built the first museum in the National Park system. It was an outdoor arboretum¹⁸ with trails, benches and signs identifying native plants with their English and Latin names.

But, Johnson says, the physical work was the easy part. Telling white pioneers that they could no longer shoot game in the boundaries of Yosemite National Park to feed their families or cut down trees for firewood was much harder.

Changing his voice to his Buffalo Soldier persona, Johnson again slips into character to tell the story of an encounter with a local as he's about to leave camp with his fire still burning.

"They hear the tone in my voice which is the tone of a sergeant¹⁹. I say: 'Sir, I can see you got your horse all saddled, you need to put that fire out.' They hear that tone, and that kind of tone that I just said, that gets you killed in Mississippi. Talking to the white man like that. But that's my job. I'm a soldier. I'm a sergeant. The man's got to do what I ask him to do and he's got to do it now. That don't go over very well. It's like drinking whiskey for the first time. Burns your throat going down and that's how some people respond," he said.

Johnson says that the Buffalo Soldiers learned to keep their tempers under control, because if they didn't rise above a conflict, they'd be court-martialed and lose their jobs. And, Johnson points out, being a soldier was a great job for an African-American to have at that time in United States' history.

A modern message of pride and respect

Park ranger Shelton Johnson portrays²⁰ one of the U.S. Army's Buffalo Soldiers as part of his interpretation²¹ of Yosemite's history

He says telling the story of the Buffalo Soldiers has an impact on young blacks today. "It's not an easy thing to grow up in this country and to be proud of being African-American. Because there are many messages out there - some overt²², some covert²³, some obvious, some subliminal²⁴ - that suggest that you are not worthy²⁵; that you are not as good. So the message of the Buffalo Soldiers is that in that time when racism²⁶ was at its most virulent²⁷, that there were people, there were men who said, 'No, you're wrong, I am just as good as you are. As a matter of fact, I may even be better than you are.' That's very powerful," Johnson says.

This past September, Sierra Club books published Shelton Johnson's first novel, called Gloryland. It is a fictionalized account of an African-American man born on January 1st, 1863, the day President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation²⁸ Proclamation, who becomes a Buffalo Soldier in Yosemite National Park.

1 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

3 sequoia   

n.红杉

参考例句：

• The sequoia national forest is at the southern end of the sierra nevada range.红杉国家公园位于内华达山脉南端尽头处。
• The photo shows the enormous general Sherman tree in California's sequoia national park.照片显示的是加利福尼亚州红杉国家公园内巨大的谢尔曼将军树。

4 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

5 regiments   

（军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物

参考例句：

• The three regiments are all under the command of you. 这三个团全归你节制。
• The town was garrisoned with two regiments. 该镇有两团士兵驻守。

6 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

7 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

8 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

9 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

12 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

13 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

14 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

15 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

16 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

17 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

18 arboretum   

n.植物园

参考例句：

• We can go to the arboretum in the southern suburb.我们可以去南郊的植物园。
• The arboretum is full of exotic flowers and rare herbs.植物园里长满了各种奇花异草。

19 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

20 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

22 overt   

adj.公开的，明显的，公然的

参考例句：

• His opponent's intention is quite overt.他的对手的意图很明显。
• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。

23 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

24 subliminal   

adj.下意识的，潜意识的；太弱或太快以至于难以觉察的

参考例句：

• Maybe they're getting it on a subliminal level.也许他们会在潜意识里这么以为。
• The soft sell approach gets to consumers in a subliminal way.软广告通过潜意识的作用来影响消费者。

25 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

26 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

27 virulent   

adj.有毒的，有恶意的，充满敌意的

参考例句：

• She is very virulent about her former employer.她对她过去的老板恨之入骨。
• I stood up for her despite the virulent criticism.尽管她遭到恶毒的批评，我还是维护她。

28 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》