VOA常速英语:倾听历史的声音：美国男子跨越千里游历古迹

Travelling through western Texas, national parks traveler Mikah Meyer got a chance to immerse himself in American history.

“I’m in Fort Davis National Historic Site which is a military outpost that was used in the 1800s to help to defend American interests in the West Texas Chihuahuan Desert.”

The Chihuahuan Desert, which spans more than half of the border between Mexico and the U.S.,covers much of West Texas – arguably, a perfect place for a fort.

On one side you see the high wall of rocks that can either protect or make more precarious the fort location,and on the other side you see the vast, open desert for which the military would be able to see their enemies coming behind us."

That could be why Fort Davis established in 1854 is considered one of the best surviving examples of a military post in the American Southwest.

“From my vantage point of the Fort Davis’ overlook, you can see the entirely of the Fort Davis National Historic Site.”

The site also honors the Buffalo Soldiers, freed African American slaves who joined the U.S. Army following the Civil War.They were called Buffalo Soldiers because Plains Indians thought the soldiers’ hair resembled that of buffalo,an animal the Indians greatly revered.

The Buffalo Soldiers stationed at Fort Davis served from 1867 to 1885,where they played a major role in the settlement and development of the American West.Their mission was to protect travelers and the mail on the San Antonio-El Paso Road,and to support military operations to control hostile American Indians.

Fort Davis symbolizes a bastion of U.S. military presence in West Texas.

“Visitors will notice that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA superstar, is the host of the Visitor Center video because of his keen interest in these Buffalo Soldiers and their mark on history and what the United States has become today for people of all races.“

“The old fort can also be viewed as a symbol of the tragic conflict that engaged North America’s original inhabitants against the unrelenting wave of other Americans.”

Today, the National Park Service is sensitive to the plight of the native Americans and around that area at the time of the Fort existence,but is proud, nevertheless, to preserve this historic site “as a lasting memorial to all U.S. soldiers who faithfully served their country for almost half a century.”

Julie Taboh, VOA news, Washington.