texascavers Digest 27 Oct 2011 14:49:47 -0000 Issue 1425
Topics (messages 18979 through 18986):
Re: New species of cave insect - more :
18979 by: JerryAtkin.aol.com
Re: Study "confirms" Geomyces destructans responsible for WNS
18980 by: tbsamsel.verizon.net
18981 by: tbsamsel.verizon.net
18982 by: philipmoss.juno.com
18984 by: Gary Moss
Longhorn Project, Saturday, November 5th - Reminder
18983 by: Mark.Alman.L-3com.com
Toyota triumphant!
18985 by: BMorgan994.aol.com
18986 by: Mark.Alman.L-3com.com
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--- Begin Message ---
For those of you wondering what a psocid is, it's a member of the
Psocoptera order of insects and is commonly known as either booklice, barklice,
or
barkflies. They eat fungi, algae, lichen, and other organic detritus. Not
very large, usually only 0.1 to 0.5 inches long.
Jerry.
A new species of psocid from Texas caves has recently been described based
on specimens in the Texas Memorial Invertebrate Zoological Collection. It
is Psyllipsocus subterraneus Mockford. The holotype male was collected at
Up the Creek Cave (Bexar Co.) by K. McDermid on 10/22/2008; the allotype
female was collected at Strange Little Cave (Bexar Co.) by P. Sprouse and K.
McDermid on 10/13/2008.
Specimens of Psyllipsocus maculatus Garcia Aldrete from Niche Cave (Bexar
Co.) collected by G. Veni (7/31/1983) and from New Comanche Trail Cave
(Travis Co.) collected by James Reddell and M. Reyes (1/26/1989) extends the
range of this species north by about 700 km.
Reference: Mockford, Edward L., “New Species of Psyllipsocus
(Psocoptera: Psyllipsocidae) from North and Middle America with a Key to
Species of
the Region” , Transactions of the American Entomological Society
137(1-2):15-47, 2011.
For more information contact Diane Young: _youngdw@centurytel.net_
(mailto:youn...@centurytel.net)
.......... Sam
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
"Cuter" organisms than bats got cuts in line, I'd think. The lumpen-prole like baby belugas and other cuddlier critters more than they do bats.
"Save the Beany Babies!"
T
Oct 26, 2011 11:35:07 PM, jerryat...@aol.com wrote:
While it is good news to finally know the cause behind WNS, I have to wonder why it took 5 years and several million dollars for someone to finally conduct such a simple and obvious experiment to definitively prove G. destructans as the culprit.
Jerry.
In a message dated 10/26/2011 8:36:42 P.M. Central Daylight Time, jus...@oztotl.net writes:
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/111026/full/news.2011.613.html
Culprit behind bat scourge confirmed
A cold-loving fungus is behind an epidemic decimating bat populations
in North America.
By: Susan Young
Researchers have confirmed that a recently identified fungus is
responsible for white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease that is sweeping
through bat colonies in eastern North America.
The fungus, Geomyces destructans, infects the skin of hibernating
bats, causing lesions on the animals' wings and a fluffy white
outgrowth on the muzzle. When white-nose syndrome takes hold of a
hibernating colony, more than 90% of the bats can die (see Disease
epidemic killing only US bats). The disease was first documented in
February 2006 in a cave in New York, and has spread to at least 16
other US states and four Canadian provinces.
The culpability of G. destructans for this sudden outbreak was thrown
into question when the fungus was found on healthy bats in Europe,
where it is not associated with the grim mortality levels seen in
North America1. Some proposed that the fungus was not the primary
cause of the catastrophic die offs, and that another factor — such as
an undetected virus — must be to blame. But a study published today in
Nature2 reveals that G. destructans is indeed guilty.
"The fungus alone is sufficient to recreate all the pathology
diagnostic for the disease," says David Blehert, a microbiologist at
the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and senior
author on the report.
Bat-to-bat spread
Blehert and his colleagues collected healthy little brown bats (Myotis
lucifugus) from Wisconsin, which is well beyond the known range of
white-nose syndrome. They infected the bats by direct administration
of G. destructans spores to the skin or by contact with infected bats
from New York. By the end of the 102-day experiment, the tell-tale
white fungus was growing on the muzzles and wings of all of the
directly infected Wisconsin bats and 16 of the 18 exposed to sick
bats.
This is the first experimental evidence that white-nose syndrome can
be passed from bat to bat, and is very worrying from a conservation
point of view because bats huddle together in large numbers in caves
and mate in large swarms, says Emma Teeling, a bat biologist at
University College Dublin in Ireland. "If a bat has this fungus on
them, it's going to spread quickly throughout the population," says
Teeling, who was not involved with the study. "It's like a perfect
storm."
The infected Wisconsin bats did not die during the experiment, which
may be due to the limited timeline of infection, the authors suggest.
Although the study does not directly show that a healthy bat will die
from infection with G. destructans, the results did show that the
fungus alone was sufficient to cause lesions diagnostic of white-nose
syndrome to form on previously healthy bats, indicating that the
fungus is the cause of the deaths so often associated with white-nose
syndrome in the wild.
To stop a scourge
Since it first appeared, white-nose syndrome has behaved like a novel
pathogen spreading from a single origin through a naive population,
says Jonathan Sleeman, director of the National Wildlife Health
Center, who was not involved in the study. Proof that G. destructans
is the primary cause of white-nose syndrome will "help us focus our
actions or management efforts into the future", he says.
Although little can be done to control the spread of the disease
through bat-to-bat transmission, the US Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) has asked people to stay out of caves in and near affected
areas, and has closed some caves on agency-managed land.
On 21 October, the FWS announced that up to $1 million in funding will
be made available for research on white-nose syndrome. Projects
covering topics such as how the fungus proliferates within caves and
mines, and the potential for biological means or environmental
manipulations to improve bat survival, are among the service's top
priorities.
*
References
1. Puechmaille, S. J. et al. Trends Ecol. Evol. 26, 570-576 (2011).
2. Lorch, J. M. et al. Nature doi:10.1038/nature10590 (2011).
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--- Begin Message ---
And peer-review can take time.
T
Oct 27, 2011 06:12:36 AM, tbsam...@verizon.net wrote:
"Cuter" organisms than bats got cuts in line, I'd think. The lumpen-prole like baby belugas and other cuddlier critters more than they do bats.
"Save the Beany Babies!"
T
Oct 26, 2011 11:35:07 PM, jerryat...@aol.com wrote:
While it is good news to finally know the cause behind WNS, I have to wonder why it took 5 years and several million dollars for someone to finally conduct such a simple and obvious experiment to definitively prove G. destructans as the culprit.
Jerry.
In a message dated 10/26/2011 8:36:42 P.M. Central Daylight Time, jus...@oztotl.net writes:
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/111026/full/news.2011.613.html
Culprit behind bat scourge confirmed
A cold-loving fungus is behind an epidemic decimating bat populations
in North America.
By: Susan Young
Researchers have confirmed that a recently identified fungus is
responsible for white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease that is sweeping
through bat colonies in eastern North America.
The fungus, Geomyces destructans, infects the skin of hibernating
bats, causing lesions on the animals' wings and a fluffy white
outgrowth on the muzzle. When white-nose syndrome takes hold of a
hibernating colony, more than 90% of the bats can die (see Disease
epidemic killing only US bats). The disease was first documented in
February 2006 in a cave in New York, and has spread to at least 16
other US states and four Canadian provinces.
The culpability of G. destructans for this sudden outbreak was thrown
into question when the fungus was found on healthy bats in Europe,
where it is not associated with the grim mortality levels seen in
North America1. Some proposed that the fungus was not the primary
cause of the catastrophic die offs, and that another factor — such as
an undetected virus — must be to blame. But a study published today in
Nature2 reveals that G. destructans is indeed guilty.
"The fungus alone is sufficient to recreate all the pathology
diagnostic for the disease," says David Blehert, a microbiologist at
the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and senior
author on the report.
Bat-to-bat spread
Blehert and his colleagues collected healthy little brown bats (Myotis
lucifugus) from Wisconsin, which is well beyond the known range of
white-nose syndrome. They infected the bats by direct administration
of G. destructans spores to the skin or by contact with infected bats
from New York. By the end of the 102-day experiment, the tell-tale
white fungus was growing on the muzzles and wings of all of the
directly infected Wisconsin bats and 16 of the 18 exposed to sick
bats.
This is the first experimental evidence that white-nose syndrome can
be passed from bat to bat, and is very worrying from a conservation
point of view because bats huddle together in large numbers in caves
and mate in large swarms, says Emma Teeling, a bat biologist at
University College Dublin in Ireland. "If a bat has this fungus on
them, it's going to spread quickly throughout the population," says
Teeling, who was not involved with the study. "It's like a perfect
storm."
The infected Wisconsin bats did not die during the experiment, which
may be due to the limited timeline of infection, the authors suggest.
Although the study does not directly show that a healthy bat will die
from infection with G. destructans, the results did show that the
fungus alone was sufficient to cause lesions diagnostic of white-nose
syndrome to form on previously healthy bats, indicating that the
fungus is the cause of the deaths so often associated with white-nose
syndrome in the wild.
To stop a scourge
Since it first appeared, white-nose syndrome has behaved like a novel
pathogen spreading from a single origin through a naive population,
says Jonathan Sleeman, director of the National Wildlife Health
Center, who was not involved in the study. Proof that G. destructans
is the primary cause of white-nose syndrome will "help us focus our
actions or management efforts into the future", he says.
Although little can be done to control the spread of the disease
through bat-to-bat transmission, the US Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) has asked people to stay out of caves in and near affected
areas, and has closed some caves on agency-managed land.
On 21 October, the FWS announced that up to $1 million in funding will
be made available for research on white-nose syndrome. Projects
covering topics such as how the fungus proliferates within caves and
mines, and the potential for biological means or environmental
manipulations to improve bat survival, are among the service's top
priorities.
*
References
1. Puechmaille, S. J. et al. Trends Ecol. Evol. 26, 570-576 (2011).
2. Lorch, J. M. et al. Nature doi:10.1038/nature10590 (2011).
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--- Begin Message ---
>From what I read below, I don't see that the study confirmed G.
destructans as entirely responsible for WNS. First two caveats: I am
not a bat biologist and I did not read the article in Nature2.
That being said, WNS has at least two symptoms, the white fungal growth
on and the death of bats. Syndromes typically are thought to have
multiple causes. It was my understanding that the white fungal growth
had already been identified as G. destructans. This study does confirm
bat to bat transmission of the fungus. There have been a number of bats
found by mist netting with lesions from the fungus that did not die.
However, it is my understanding that in North America, there is a
difference between the dead bats and the bats that survive infection from
the fungus and that is that the dead bats have no chitinase producing
bacteria in their guts and that bats that survive the fungus do. If that
is the case, then there may well be multiple causes of WNS, the fungus as
an irritant that wakes the bats from torpor, and whatever is killing off
the chitinase producing bacteria. If there were not the low body weight
from insufficient protein digestion, is that enough to cause death?
According to this study, in 102 days it resulted in no mortality. That
seems like a long time without any mortality. I think it is unfortunate
that the study was not run as long as the northeastern hibernation
season. It seems to me that saying that the culprit has been found
without being able to attribute all of the symptoms is overconfident,
premature, and smacks of assuming one's conclusions. This study only
accounted for one of the symptoms of WNS and not the one I think most of
us think is the most important.
Philip Moss
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/111026/full/news.2011.613.html
Culprit behind bat scourge confirmed
A cold-loving fungus is behind an epidemic decimating bat populations
in North America.
By: Susan Young
Researchers have confirmed that a recently identified fungus is
responsible for white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease that is sweeping
through bat colonies in eastern North America.
The fungus, Geomyces destructans, infects the skin of hibernating
bats, causing lesions on the animals' wings and a fluffy white
outgrowth on the muzzle. When white-nose syndrome takes hold of a
hibernating colony, more than 90% of the bats can die (see Disease
epidemic killing only US bats). The disease was first documented in
February 2006 in a cave in New York, and has spread to at least 16
other US states and four Canadian provinces.
The culpability of G. destructans for this sudden outbreak was thrown
into question when the fungus was found on healthy bats in Europe,
where it is not associated with the grim mortality levels seen in
North America1. Some proposed that the fungus was not the primary
cause of the catastrophic die offs, and that another factor � such as
an undetected virus � must be to blame. But a study published today in
Nature2 reveals that G. destructans is indeed guilty.
"The fungus alone is sufficient to recreate all the pathology
diagnostic for the disease," says David Blehert, a microbiologist at
the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and senior
author on the report.
Bat-to-bat spread
Blehert and his colleagues collected healthy little brown bats (Myotis
lucifugus) from Wisconsin, which is well beyond the known range of
white-nose syndrome. They infected the bats by direct administration
of G. destructans spores to the skin or by contact with infected bats
from New York. By the end of the 102-day experiment, the tell-tale
white fungus was growing on the muzzles and wings of all of the
directly infected Wisconsin bats and 16 of the 18 exposed to sick
bats.
This is the first experimental evidence that white-nose syndrome can
be passed from bat to bat, and is very worrying from a conservation
point of view because bats huddle together in large numbers in caves
and mate in large swarms, says Emma Teeling, a bat biologist at
University College Dublin in Ireland. "If a bat has this fungus on
them, it's going to spread quickly throughout the population," says
Teeling, who was not involved with the study. "It's like a perfect
storm."
The infected Wisconsin bats did not die during the experiment, which
may be due to the limited timeline of infection, the authors suggest.
Although the study does not directly show that a healthy bat will die
from infection with G. destructans, the results did show that the
fungus alone was sufficient to cause lesions diagnostic of white-nose
syndrome to form on previously healthy bats, indicating that the
fungus is the cause of the deaths so often associated with white-nose
syndrome in the wild.
To stop a scourge
Since it first appeared, white-nose syndrome has behaved like a novel
pathogen spreading from a single origin through a naive population,
says Jonathan Sleeman, director of the National Wildlife Health
Center, who was not involved in the study. Proof that G. destructans
is the primary cause of white-nose syndrome will "help us focus our
actions or management efforts into the future", he says.
Although little can be done to control the spread of the disease
through bat-to-bat transmission, the US Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) has asked people to stay out of caves in and near affected
areas, and has closed some caves on agency-managed land.
On 21 October, the FWS announced that up to $1 million in funding will
be made available for research on white-nose syndrome. Projects
covering topics such as how the fungus proliferates within caves and
mines, and the potential for biological means or environmental
manipulations to improve bat survival, are among the service's top
priorities.
*
References
1. Puechmaille, S. J. et al. Trends Ecol. Evol. 26, 570-576
(2011).
2. Lorch, J. M. et al. Nature doi:10.1038/nature10590 (2011).
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Hi all
One of our grotto members got invited to the
press conference when this was announced. Below
is his E-Mail and a site where he reported his
comments on the press conference. I really like
the "magic bat" affect for warmer areas.
Gary Moss
===
Yo,
The press conference is over and I have posted my
report on my website, http://behindtheblack.com.
The big news today is not so much that the fungus
causes white nose, but that bats completely
recover from the syndrome given the right
circumstances. And those circumstances suggest
that the syndrome will have great difficulty doing harm in warmer climates.
Bob
====
At 09:36 PM 10/26/2011, Justin Leigh Shaw wrote:
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/111026/full/news.2011.613.html
Culprit behind bat scourge confirmed
A cold-loving fungus is behind an epidemic decimating bat populations
in North America.
By: Susan Young
Researchers have confirmed that a recently identified fungus is
responsible for white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease that is sweeping
through bat colonies in eastern North America.
The fungus, Geomyces destructans, infects the skin of hibernating
bats, causing lesions on the animals' wings and a fluffy white
outgrowth on the muzzle. When white-nose syndrome takes hold of a
hibernating colony, more than 90% of the bats can die (see Disease
epidemic killing only US bats). The disease was first documented in
February 2006 in a cave in New York, and has spread to at least 16
other US states and four Canadian provinces.
The culpability of G. destructans for this sudden outbreak was thrown
into question when the fungus was found on healthy bats in Europe,
where it is not associated with the grim mortality levels seen in
North America1. Some proposed that the fungus was not the primary
cause of the catastrophic die offs, and that another factor such as
an undetected virus must be to blame. But a study published today in
Nature2 reveals that G. destructans is indeed guilty.
"The fungus alone is sufficient to recreate all the pathology
diagnostic for the disease," says David Blehert, a microbiologist at
the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and senior
author on the report.
Bat-to-bat spread
Blehert and his colleagues collected healthy little brown bats (Myotis
lucifugus) from Wisconsin, which is well beyond the known range of
white-nose syndrome. They infected the bats by direct administration
of G. destructans spores to the skin or by contact with infected bats
from New York. By the end of the 102-day experiment, the tell-tale
white fungus was growing on the muzzles and wings of all of the
directly infected Wisconsin bats and 16 of the 18 exposed to sick
bats.
This is the first experimental evidence that white-nose syndrome can
be passed from bat to bat, and is very worrying from a conservation
point of view because bats huddle together in large numbers in caves
and mate in large swarms, says Emma Teeling, a bat biologist at
University College Dublin in Ireland. "If a bat has this fungus on
them, it's going to spread quickly throughout the population," says
Teeling, who was not involved with the study. "It's like a perfect
storm."
The infected Wisconsin bats did not die during the experiment, which
may be due to the limited timeline of infection, the authors suggest.
Although the study does not directly show that a healthy bat will die
from infection with G. destructans, the results did show that the
fungus alone was sufficient to cause lesions diagnostic of white-nose
syndrome to form on previously healthy bats, indicating that the
fungus is the cause of the deaths so often associated with white-nose
syndrome in the wild.
To stop a scourge
Since it first appeared, white-nose syndrome has behaved like a novel
pathogen spreading from a single origin through a naive population,
says Jonathan Sleeman, director of the National Wildlife Health
Center, who was not involved in the study. Proof that G. destructans
is the primary cause of white-nose syndrome will "help us focus our
actions or management efforts into the future", he says.
Although little can be done to control the spread of the disease
through bat-to-bat transmission, the US Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) has asked people to stay out of caves in and near affected
areas, and has closed some caves on agency-managed land.
On 21 October, the FWS announced that up to $1 million in funding will
be made available for research on white-nose syndrome. Projects
covering topics such as how the fungus proliferates within caves and
mines, and the potential for biological means or environmental
manipulations to improve bat survival, are among the service's top
priorities.
*
References
1. Puechmaille, S. J. et al. Trends Ecol. Evol. 26, 570-576 (2011).
2. Lorch, J. M. et al. Nature doi:10.1038/nature10590 (2011).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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--- Begin Message ---
Please mark your calendars!
The Longhorn Caverns SP Project will finally get kicked off next
Saturday, November 5th, and will continue to be on the first of the
month, as needed.
We will have surveying projects, trail rebuilding, trail maintenance,
and some ridgewalking and mapping other features at the Park.
Overnight camping will be available.
Please check the TSA calendar for more info or give me a shout if you're
interested or have any questions.
If you plan on helping out on the 5th, please let me when you plan on
coming and what your interest and area of expertise is, so we can
schedule accordingly.
Thanks and hope to see you there!
Mark
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
"I'm also looking for short tales of adventure. Tales of heroism,
plundering, rescue, successes, etc. that your Toyota was involved in."
Well, there was the time that I decided I had to hunt rare rattlesnakes in
the Sierra del Nido of Chihuahua. I got some antiquated maps from the
University of Arizona then headed south in my trusty Toyota 4x4.
The map showed a horse trail heading NW off the main highway. When I got
there I discovered that it had become the world's worst superhighway/toll
road. The cost to drive it was an outrageous $15, but when I explained that I
was just looking for snakes they let me on for free. The map showed an old
hacienda in the desert at the foot of the mountains, then a trail leading
up to an old mine. When I got to the turnoff I just ignored the incredibly
funky looking old hacienda and instead just opened up a barbed wire gate and
headed for the hills.
When I got to the abandoned mine there were two Indians who looked at me
like I was from another planet. When they discovered that I didn't have
permission from the Padron they got very worried and insisted that we return to
the hacienda to talk to the ranch foreman.
The hacienda was a fortified compound worthy of a spaghetti western. It was
huge and ancient, built of mud and logs, and full of horses and very
scruffy looking cowboys. The foreman was a friendly enough fellow, but he was
aghast at the thought that I had simply driven to the mine. Didn't I know
that the Padron was a murderous lunatic who hated Gringos? He was a deeply
conservative religious queer who sodomized his lovers with gun barrels then
carved them up with knives. Everyone, including all of his numerous
employees, was terrified of him. Luckily for me he was away buying more
horses,
otherwise I would have been shot on sight.
Under such circumstances I always take the precaution of carrying two
coolers. One full of ice cold Mexican beer for me, and the other full of
Budweiser with which to bribe Federales and/or ranch foremen.
After the third beer the foreman got downright friendly and suggested that
since the Padron was away perhaps we could take a little trip past the mine
up into the mountains, but we would have to take his big Chevy since there
was no way my silly little Toyota could possibly make it.
The foreman explained that there was a “road” that went from the mine all
the way to the top of the mountain where an antenna had been installed.
Bulldozers can turn on their axis and can climb incredibly steep grades, so
the “road” was not passable by any vehicle, even a 4x4. Nevertheless we
would try to go as far as we could, and yes, there were plenty of
rattlesnakes.
So he loaded his truck full of cowboys and Indians and I followed him.
(Good thing I had lots of beer!)
Not far past the mine it started to rain and the Chevy’s tires started to
spin on the steep grade so he announced that was as far as we could go. I
looked and laughed. The Yo could easily handle it so I invited them all to
get in the back provided that they had the cojones for the ride.
I put it in first gear low range and headed up the mountain with the engine
redlined. It was so steep that I couldn’t see the road in front of me and
had to have the fellows standing in the back shout warnings. The real
problem was the switchbacks which were too tight for the turning radius, so
there were some tense moments as we flirted with disaster. The men were
terrified but wouldn’t admit it. (I could see them crossing themselves and
muttering Hail Marys in the rearview mirror.) Turning around was out of the
question so I just raged on up the mountain with the engine screaming.
By some miracle I made it to the top and the men damn near beatified the
Toyota. They thanked God for their deliverance, then stroked the Yo as if it
was their favorite horse and praised it to the skies.
Despite it being a summer day it was cold as hell up there. There seemed to
be no chance of finding any snakes, but when I complained an ancient
cowboy looked around and pointed at a pine tree. There to my amazement was a
little twin spotted rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei) climbing straight up the
tree caterpillar style. There were also a few cold numbed alligator lizards.
Clouds closed in and we were nearly out of beer so it was time to depart.
Back at the bottom I proposed to spend the night hidden behind a small hill
near the mine. The foreman thought that was a very bad idea, what if the
Padron returned early? Nevertheless I had proved myself, as had my steed, so
he reluctantly agreed.
In the morning I broke camp and was headed out across the desert back
toward the gate. As I did I beheld a posse in full pursuit headed by a big bad
heavily armed man on a tall horse. They violently gestured for me to stop,
but once again the Toyota saved the day as I screamed across the desert out
of bullet range and back to the highway.
Sleaze
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
A great story, yet again, Sleaze!
Have you ever thought of writing a book or, at least, sending me a piece for
“The Carbide Corner” in The TEXAS CAVER?
Always enjoyable!
Mark
From: bmorgan...@aol.com [mailto:bmorgan...@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 9:24 AM
To: texascavers@texascavers.com
Subject: [Texascavers] Toyota triumphant!
"I'm also looking for short tales of adventure. Tales of heroism, plundering,
rescue, successes, etc. that your Toyota was involved in."
Well, there was the time that I decided I had to hunt rare rattlesnakes in the
Sierra del Nido of Chihuahua. I got some antiquated maps from the University of
Arizona then headed south in my trusty Toyota 4x4.
The map showed a horse trail heading NW off the main highway. When I got there
I discovered that it had become the world's worst superhighway/toll road. The
cost to drive it was an outrageous $15, but when I explained that I was just
looking for snakes they let me on for free. The map showed an old hacienda in
the desert at the foot of the mountains, then a trail leading up to an old
mine. When I got to the turnoff I just ignored the incredibly funky looking old
hacienda and instead just opened up a barbed wire gate and headed for the
hills.
When I got to the abandoned mine there were two Indians who looked at me like I
was from another planet. When they discovered that I didn't have permission
from the Padron they got very worried and insisted that we return to the
hacienda to talk to the ranch foreman.
The hacienda was a fortified compound worthy of a spaghetti western. It was
huge and ancient, built of mud and logs, and full of horses and very scruffy
looking cowboys. The foreman was a friendly enough fellow, but he was aghast at
the thought that I had simply driven to the mine. Didn't I know that the Padron
was a murderous lunatic who hated Gringos? He was a deeply conservative
religious queer who sodomized his lovers with gun barrels then carved them up
with knives. Everyone, including all of his numerous employees, was terrified
of him. Luckily for me he was away buying more horses, otherwise I would have
been shot on sight.
Under such circumstances I always take the precaution of carrying two coolers.
One full of ice cold Mexican beer for me, and the other full of Budweiser with
which to bribe Federales and/or ranch foremen.
After the third beer the foreman got downright friendly and suggested that
since the Padron was away perhaps we could take a little trip past the mine up
into the mountains, but we would have to take his big Chevy since there was no
way my silly little Toyota could possibly make it.
The foreman explained that there was a “road” that went from the mine all the
way to the top of the mountain where an antenna had been installed. Bulldozers
can turn on their axis and can climb incredibly steep grades, so the “road” was
not passable by any vehicle, even a 4x4. Nevertheless we would try to go as far
as we could, and yes, there were plenty of rattlesnakes. So he loaded his truck
full of cowboys and Indians and I followed him. (Good thing I had lots of beer!)
Not far past the mine it started to rain and the Chevy’s tires started to spin
on the steep grade so he announced that was as far as we could go. I looked and
laughed. The Yo could easily handle it so I invited them all to get in the back
provided that they had the cojones for the ride.
I put it in first gear low range and headed up the mountain with the engine
redlined. It was so steep that I couldn’t see the road in front of me and had
to have the fellows standing in the back shout warnings. The real problem was
the switchbacks which were too tight for the turning radius, so there were some
tense moments as we flirted with disaster. The men were terrified but wouldn’t
admit it. (I could see them crossing themselves and muttering Hail Marys in the
rearview mirror.) Turning around was out of the question so I just raged on up
the mountain with the engine screaming.
By some miracle I made it to the top and the men damn near beatified the
Toyota. They thanked God for their deliverance, then stroked the Yo as if it
was their favorite horse and praised it to the skies.
Despite it being a summer day it was cold as hell up there. There seemed to be
no chance of finding any snakes, but when I complained an ancient cowboy looked
around and pointed at a pine tree. There to my amazement was a little twin
spotted rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei) climbing straight up the tree caterpillar
style. There were also a few cold numbed alligator lizards. Clouds closed in
and we were nearly out of beer so it was time to depart.
Back at the bottom I proposed to spend the night hidden behind a small hill
near the mine. The foreman thought that was a very bad idea, what if the Padron
returned early? Nevertheless I had proved myself, as had my steed, so he
reluctantly agreed.
In the morning I broke camp and was headed out across the desert back toward
the gate. As I did I beheld a posse in full pursuit headed by a big bad heavily
armed man on a tall horse. They violently gestured for me to stop, but once
again the Toyota saved the day as I screamed across the desert out of bullet
range and back to the highway.
Sleaze
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