Keepers of the WildernessTexas A&M University Press, 2000 - 115 pages "When I first visited Mexico's transition zones . . . I discovered that the journey itself became a metaphor for humankind's quest to discover and develop and, in the process, destroy. . . . I realized, too, that the quality of life cannot be measured simply as the quantity of our possessions." Arturo Longoria grew up in South Texas, roaming the Brushlands and learning the names of the plants, animals, and even insects that thrived in that harsh environment. He spent much time in northern Mexico, too, where his father owned ranch land. One of the places he found in southern Tamaulipas captured his imagination and his heart in a special way. Now, as an adult on a quest to help people (including himself) reconnect with the land, he has returned to the river in Tamaulipas and the mountain that dominates it--La Viuda, the Widow. In this beautifully woven story of a pilgrimage to the heart of the wilds on that mountain, Longoria introduces readers to the lush, near-tropical vegetation of one of the remaining unspoiled areas of North America. There, too, among the few people who dwell in this rugged land, he discovers a sensibility toward nature in many ways more profound than ours. Although Longoria's journey to the mountain was a personal one, it also became involved with his life work of environmental advocacy. Upon his return to Texas, Longoria began efforts to have the land made part of a small nature refuge in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Environmental advocates, naturalists, and those pursuing a greater understanding of human behavior toward the land will appreciate Longoria's coverage of controversial issues and ethics in this tribute to a rare, unspoiled place of beauty. |
Contents
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 11 | |
The Third Day | 17 |
The Fourth Day | 22 |
The Fifth Day | 26 |
The Sixth Day | 32 |
The Seventh Day | 39 |
The Ninth Day | 55 |
The Tenth Day | 70 |
The Eleventh Day | 86 |
The Twelfth Day | 95 |
The Months That Followed | 102 |
Works Cited | 111 |
Index | 113 |
The Eighth Day | 48 |
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Common terms and phrases
added animals asked base basin become began birds blue boat brothers brown called camp canoe Carlos cerros climbed clouds dark don Miguel Don Salvador doña earth edge eyes face father feeling feet fire fish followed forest formed four green ground growing hand heard held hour human hundred idea Jorge Juan knew land later least leaves less light limbs live logging looked Mexico minutes morning mountain moved nature never night nodded opened perhaps plants pointed quickly reached remained Ricardo river rocks Samuel sand seemed seen shrubs side sitting sleeping smell smiled sound stepped sticks stood talked tell tent Texas things thought told trail trees trying turned twenty Viuda walked wash watched wondered woods yards
Popular passages
Page 45 - A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.
Page 45 - An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation...
Page 44 - I mean it will then be reduced to one man. You are not a fool, are you, my young friend? All that talk about the power of Man over Nature — Man in the abstract — is only for the canaglia. You know as well as I do that Man's power over Nature means the power of some men over other men with Nature as the instrument.
Page 96 - ... interior China and the uplands of the Ganges, Euphrates, and Mississippi rivers has been swept into their deltas, while the world population of man and his energy demands have doubled several times over. The number of animal species we have exterminated is now in the hundreds. An uncanny something seems to block the corrective will, not simply private cupidity or political inertia. Could it be an inadequate philosophy or value system? The idea that the destruction of whales is the logical outcome...
Page 96 - ... hundreds. An uncanny something seems to block the corrective will, not simply private cupidity or political inertia. Could it be an inadequate philosophy or value system? The idea that the destruction of whales is the logical outcome of Francis Bacon's dictum that nature should serve man or Rene Descartes' insistence that animals feel no pain since they have no souls seems too easy and too academic. The meticulous analysis of these philosophies and the discovery that they articulate an ethos...
Page 50 - Pretty Woman, walking down the street, Pretty Woman, the kind I like to meet. Pretty Woman, I don't believe you, you're not the truth, No one could look as good as you Mercy Pretty Woman, won't you pardon me. Pretty Woman, I couldn't help but see. Pretty Woman, that you look lovely as can be Are you lonely just like me? Pretty Woman, stop a while, Pretty Woman, talk a while, Pretty Woman give your smile to me Pretty woman, yeah, yeah, yeah Pretty Woman, look my way. Pretty Woman, say you'll stay...
Page 96 - ... has been by the science of ecology in our own society. At mid-twentieth century there was a widely shared feeling that we only needed to bring businessmen, cab drivers, housewives, and politicians together with the right mix of oceanographers, soils experts, or foresters in order to set things right. In time, even with the attention of the media and a windfall of synthesizers, popularizers, gurus of ecophilosophy, and other champions of ecology, in spite of some new laws and indications that...
Page 54 - The solution — or at least part of the solution Leopold thought most important — was a new attitude toward the land within each person who controlled a portion of the Earth's resources.