Hola Bill, I printed a copy and am reading it. Wow, in the middle of page 14 Ab tells about meeting and being befriended by Bertha Semple. I knew her. In the fall of 1971 she and her husband, John, who lived across the road from Edward James’ Los Pozos, took me in and I stayed about a month with them. She sort of mothered me. I have some stories.
Bill Steele P.S. I went to the NSS Convention in South Dakota last month. I visited every vendor and saw no evidence of AMCS pubs for sale. Maybe I missed them. > On Jun 30, 2022, at 12:12 AM, William R. Elliott <speodes...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > New book, Caving with Mitch > > Announcing the publication of a new book, Caving with Mitch, by Francis E. > Abernethy. The 80-page book with color covers is available as a free pdf to > download at https://cavelife.info/cuevashistoricas/ > > Caving with Mitch is the true and humorous adventure story of three great > friends, Francis E. Abernethy (“Ab”), Robert W. Mitchell (“Mitch” or “Bob”), > and William L. Rhodes (“Dusty”). They were active at the beginning of > American caving in Mexico. Only Dusty survives today. > > You will read about their famous trip to Sótano de Huitzmolotitla in 1960, > where they descended the 344 ft. (105 m) pit on a cable winch that they > engineered. This was before single rope technique was adopted by most cavers. > Their methods improved as they made more research trips. From 1959 until 1977 > they periodically explored caves, canyons, natural history, biology, Mexican > culture, and made many friends. They developed a deep love for Mexico and > Belize. > > They discovered the first species of blind scorpion in Mexico, and many other > species new to science. They collected blind cavefishes (Astyanax), which led > to important scientific publications. > > They had some hairy experiences. They rode a freight train to Copper Canyon, > their jeeps chained to a flatbed car, sitting on boxcars and taking > photos—until they saw a low railroad tunnel coming! Then there was the > driverless jeep that tried to pass them on the highway! > > I am the editor and publisher of the book, which is the first number of > Cuevas Históricas (Historic Caves) on my website https://cavelife.info/. It > will be followed by other works about caves, especially lost or forgotten > cave maps and descriptions that have been rescued from oblivion. > > The pdf is free and copyrighted. A run of 50 to 100 printed books will be for > sale from now until July 15, 2022, followed by the printing and mailout. The > books will be perfect bound with glossy covers and a spine. I am > collaborating in this publishing project with Linda Mitchell, Bob’s widow, > Sharon Mitchell, Bob’s daughter, and Dusty Rhodes. > > To order one or more printed books, please contact Linda Mitchell at > lindaglassmitch...@gmail.com and copy me at speodes...@gmail.com. Payment > will be by Venmo or PayPal to Linda’s email, no checks or cash. Include your > full name, street address, email, and phone with your email order. You will > send the payment at $20 per book, and we will acknowledge your order. Your > purchase includes media mail postage to the 48 contiguous US states. You must > pay to reserve a book. Please contact Linda about the additional mailing cost > for addresses outside the lower 48 states. > > Sincerely, > William R. (Bill) Elliott > > 30105 Briarcrest Court > > Georgetown, Texas 78628 > > speodes...@gmail.com > > 573-291-5093 cell > > _______________________________________________ > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: > http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
_______________________________________________ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
