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Show Page A6 (Ilfrg &ixxiesk!3lribtptnbent Thursday, December 30, 2004 Idle Thoughts from Mr. Waas Many Trails by Ollie Harris by Adrien F. Taylor UP NORTH ence at all was made to last weekend's sighting, which Moab police had appropriately referred to There is a large cougar in our valley, and without causing undo worry, it seems prudent to tell the readers the animal is here. We were informed of a sighting on Williams Way about a month ago, during which the animal clawed a hole in the chain link fence there along the old orchard. We have heard of several sightings since, in- them. This reaction is not appropriate to what ho-hu- m appears to be an ongoing situation. So, for those who live in the west part of town, near the creeks and the slough's, it is prudent to be noisy about comings and goings and to be cluding one last weekend. ' If I remember my mountain lion information correctly, the animals can roam over a very large area. The territory between the La Sal Mountains and Colorado River, following the Mill Creek water highway, is not a large domain for such an animal. Of some concern is that at least two of the sightings have been during the daytime, which indicates the animal is not much afraid of its human neighbors. We all understand that the drought has pushed many predators down from the mountains. am inclined to believe that this cougar is the one who killed all of my sheep a couple of years ago. Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) came and investigated that matter, and determined that the cougar was followed by a bear. A trap on our prop-ert- y yielded no capture. A hunter reported finding a deer that appeared to have been taken down by a large cat in the sloughs. That's natural enough.The deer are here in the valley in abundance (and not at all concerned about people and vehicles), and they are the natural prey of cougars. The same can be said of the sheep. My thoughts now turn to small humans. We know that some sightings have been reported to local law enforcement. Chief Navarre said the most recent cougar report to his department had been referred to Division of Wildlife Resources. DWR in Price said they had not been able to investigate the sloughs incident. No refer extra alert. Hopefully we will have some official reaction from DWR for next week's paper, letting us know their assessment of the situation, and plan of action, if any. ' -a- ft- It's time again for our annual New Year's Baby Contest. Over the many years we have been sponsoring this celebration of a new life and a new year, the rules have had to change from time to time regarding who is eligible. guess it was about 15 years ago that we changed the rule that said the baby had to be born to parents who are married to each other. Since then we had one mother who told me hers was an immaculate birth. No further comment there. A La Sal mother gave birth, as planned, but she was a San Juan County resident. The rules changed to accommodate our general area. When Allen Memorial came into the contest, the wording changed to require the baby be born there wording which had not been there prior to that time. Last year we had a home birth on New Year's Day, and we waived the hospital requirement and awarded the prize. Then a baby was born at the hospital, which we interpreted as the second baby born in 2004. Both families eventually had a share of the honors, but it was an understandably awkward situation. The rules have again been rewritten (see pg. A8). Good luck to expectant families! I I - The way Sam Remembers by Sam Taylor couldnt have asked for a better Christmas morning at our house. During those morning special cave, located in the Navajo sandstone fins behind the "Big G. My friends and I had discovered the cave the summer before. It was large enough for three or four sleeping bags, had a narrow entrance, and best of all, a crevice in the back which made a perfect chimney over a small piriybn fire. We Had rocked up the front earlier in the year, and planted some desert shrubs in the entrance for concealment. It had snowed a few days before Christmas, and up in the fins a few inches of the white stuff remained, making for a picturesque Christmas campout. After starting a fire, and waiting for the chimney" to start drawing, it made for a very comfortable spot. We spent two or three nights in the cave, making daily hikes out into the fins on the frozen snow with our .22 rifles. Ill never forget that particular campout. have no memory of being cold, or sleeping cold. I was in a boys heaven. We returned home later in the week, famished after having run out of food in camp. Christmas dinner leftovers never tasted so good. have been back a number of times since was a boy, to visit the old cave in the red sandstone. It is always as remembered, and would still make a great place for a campout, even though the Slickrock Bike Trail now runs almost over the top of it. It remains concealed to the hordes of visitors who now ride their mountain bikes along those fins. As we approach a New Year, am pleased to see that progress is being made toward establishing a new teen center in Moab, with a probable opening set for September. Im afraid when was growing up in Moab, didnt have much time for such a facility. I was too busy enjoying the red hills, creek bottoms, the sloughs and the Colorado River to waste my time shooting pool or playing We hours, we were visited by our entire family, with the exception of granddaughter Allyssa, who was home in California working to earn money for college which begins for her in January. ' Only Adrien, granddaughter Abi and stayed all night at our house following candlelight ser-vices at the Community Church, and was the only one who got up early on Christmas morn. The rest all drifted in later for the traditional Christmas breakfast, complete with homemade pork scrapple a gift from friend, Doris Ranch. As is usually the case, sat with my morning coffee looking at the beautiful pirion Christmas tree and its array of gifts. It gave me plenty of time for reflection and quiet before the business of the holiday got underway. tried to remember other Christmas mornings, and thought in particular about one very special one when was a youngster. It was when got my first sleeping bag. Im sure my parents had been watching me page through the Montgomery-War- d catalog, reading details about each particular model. Sure enough, it was under the tree when came down the stairs that particular morning. unrolled it, and snuggled down inside to see how it fit. was especially aware of the label attached which warned of dire consequences if removed it. am sure that years later, when purchased myself a bigger and better model, that tag was still attached. couldnt think of what might have happened if I had lost that warning tag, but didnt dare chance it. It was a great sleeping bag, even though could never get the rain flap to hang like it did in the catalog pictures. insisted on sleeping in it Christmas night, right under the Christmas tree. The next day couldnt stand it. announced that was going camping up on the red hill north of Moab. I managed to talk a friend into joining me, and we made the long climb and hike to my I I - I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I it . . . I I I k world had a great around me which took all of my spare time. ping-pon- g. I red-roc- Note to readers: We are asking readers to let us know about local connections to the great tsunami tragedy of this week. We know of two already and are sure there are many more. We will print a recap of them in next week's issue. t tmes-(3Jttbepm- httt ISSN 1538-183- 8 (UPS) 6309-200Entered as Second class Matter at the Post Office at Moab, Utah under the Act of March 3, 1897. Second class postage paid at Moab, Utah 84532. Official City and County Newspaper. Published each Thursday at: 35 East Center Street, Moab, Grand County, Utah 84532 0) email address: editorOmoabtimes.com P.O. Box 129, Moab, UT 84532 Postmaster: Send changes of address to: The or FAX Times-lndepende- 435-259-75- 25 Member v 435-259-77- NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION Samuel J. and Adrien F. Taylor, Publishers Adrien F. Taylor, Editor Sadie Warner, Assistant Editor - : J a week up north. Up north includes everything from Spanish Fork to Logan. Up north is one of my least favorite places. Sure, we have kids and grandkids in Orem, South Jordan, West Bounin all tiful, Kayesville, and Logan, twenty-fiv- e if my count is correct. Its just that there is an underlying sense of unease, what with the insane traffic and being so far out of my comfort zone and all. I consider myself a man of faith. Nowhere that I know of requires more faith than driving in thick, congested traffic. You have to have faith in so many other people, faith that they will stop, faith that they will go, faith that they will behave in an orderly, predictable manner. And, deep down you know that some of them are crazy, even homicidal. Certainly, some are maniacal. Driving in such conditions requires many of the finest virtues: faith, hope and charity, forgiveness, the best of Victorian manners, and a sense of humor. What you see are some of mans worst characteristics: anger, violence, aggression, and selfishness. The rare evidence of humor is greatly appreciated. I puffed up behind an outfit at a stoplight. The license plate frame read, Horn is broken. Watch for finger." It brought a smile to my face. My Logan kids just bought their first home. No more apartments or ratty rentals for them. I knew that they had a stove in the new home so I took a little jag of firewood up to them. It wasnt much wood but it will provide several cozy fires. We ran some wire cleaning brushes up and down the chimney before we built the first fire. I have to brag on one of my grandsons, Chad Christensen, of Kayesville. He had been pressured by some friends to go to one of their houses and get high. The pressure was insistent but he stayed true to his commitments and refused to go with them. It was a big deal and I wanted to reinforce his decision by congratulating him. The truth is that I just got home from spending he was high on pride and a renewed sense of His happiness athaving done the will last far longer than the degright thing radation of a chemical high. Way to go, Chad! Other than visiting with all but three of our up north grandkids, the best thing I did was go to the Barnes and Nobel store where I bought Michael Crightons most recent book, State of Fear. I read it in a It is probably the best secular book I have read in decades. I dont intend to give a book report here, but an outcome of reading it is that I have a new perspective on fear as a motivator of human behavior. For years I have been saying that the two cheapest motivators of human behavior are guilt and fear. I was more correct than I realized. I intend to live my life less fearfully, even to the extent of embracing traffic. The worst thing about going up north is that I wasnt inspired to take a single photograph. I took some solo walks in the fog. I stood in the frigid wind and watched the Jordan river flow. I watched a pocket gopher push dirt from its burrow and then tamp the plug from beneath until its snug burrow was completely sealed off. I watched mallards swim on the ponds. I conversed briefly with a stranger. It wasnt until we were into the desert south of Price that I began to perk up. It was late evening when we drove through Moab. The waning light on the La Sals was exquisite. One of the finest gifts I ever gave myself was to walk alone along that magnificent skyline, climbing every peak. Now that I have become an old guy I treasure looking at the La Sals and saying to my self, Yes, I made camp and slept in those saddle and climbed those peaks. I cant think of a greater contrast to driving up north where the swirl of traffic almost induces motion sickness, than to be sitting alone high in the mountains or on some majestic canyon rim. I prefer stillness to motion, quiet to confusion. self-estee- lf. up-nor- th High Country News Writers on the Range , . ; , .i Why Native Americans look with different eyes. . . by Paul VanDevelder A few years ago, while filming a documentary on the Crow reservation in south-central Montana, I saw a New Yorker cartoon thumb-tacke- d to a door in the tribal offices. It showed two Indians sitting beside a fire, watching a rocket blast off into space. One says to the other: Somebody told them we still have land on the Moon. I forgot about that cartoon until a few months ago, when local newspapers began tracking the adventures of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commemoration. The stories reported great excitement over the celmidebration in our nation's section, stories that were sometimes coupled with caveats written by native people, who tried to challenge perceptions about the Corps of Discovery. As I read these pieces, I reflected on words spoken several years ago by Gerard native who was Baker, the Mandan-Hidats- a named director of the National Park Service's Lewis and Clark celebration. This will be a celebration of native people who made this expedition possible, a national celebration of their ancestors, thinly-populat- ed their stories, their .cultures, said Baker. It's long overdue. So why is it, I am often asked by non-native- s, that many Native Americans still feel such anger about this celebration? Why, while on a visit to Washington, D.C.,last week, was there a news commentary written by Mary Annette Pember, former president of the Native American Journalists Association, that began: rtie Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commemoration celebrates discovery by conquest, and as an American Indian, it sticks in my craw. Pember. explained that it sticks in her craw because the Corps of Discovery signaled the beginning of a century of trauma and genocide that ended on the frozen banks of a creek called Wounded Knee in December 1890. In effect, Pember asked, What's to celebrate? That's a good question. When I was asked to speak at the Lewis and Clark Commemoration last month, I invited several judges and attorneys to join me in a panel discussion on Compacts and Covenants: Two Hundred Years Downstream with the Doctrine of Discovery. My idea was to throw a bridge across the cultural gulf that continues to divide America. Most of us are familiar with the Lewis and men set out from Clark adventure: Fifty-tw- o Missouri in 1804, traveling West into the unknown; only one of them died. The official pur V at Lewisand(?lark, pose of the mission was scientific. Fewer of us know that this was the 26th expedition of outsiders to reach the Mandan Villages on the upper Missouri River. Judging from the full auditorium in Bismarck, N.D., last month, fewer Americans know that the philosophy underlying the trip came from a medieval European pope justifying colonial expansion. thinker in Spain, Inl532, Franciscus de Vitoria, delivered a lecture On the Indians Lately Discovered in the Americas. Basing his arguments on the humanism of the Greeks, Vitoria argued that the native people living across the ocean possessed what he called natural law rights, much like any free and rational people. As such, he said, ' they held title to their lands. Vitorias lecture drew a stormy response from Pope Alexander, who declared that natives in the new lands were all savages and infidels. Under the pope's Doctrine of Discov-- . ery, native people had a choice: They copld be conquered, colonized and civilized by the agents of the church, or they could suffer the consequences. Fast forward to Philadelphia, in 1787. There, our founding fathers enthusiastically embraced the Doctrine of Disnotes covery. Furthermore, legal scholar Robert Williams, . . .by denying to tribal peoples, the new republic found the Doctrine of Discovery to be the perfect instrument of empire. Once ashore, the Doctrine of Discovery had many children. It spawned the odious Dawes Act of 1887, which abrogated dozens of treaties and opened tens of millions of acres of the American West to outright theft by Congress. It gave birth to the Religious Crimes Code which outlawed religious freedom to native people, and in our time, it spawned the Termination Era of the 1950s, a scandalous campaign that sought to disband Indian tribes altogether. Thankfully, this last effort failed. But to and to journalist America's first citizens these episodes serve Mary Annette Pember as a reminder that the Doctrine of Discovery is still very much with us. A rocket blasting) off to a new frontier carries different symbolic meaning to people still fighting to recover , 250-year-o- ld - their inalienable rights. Paul VanDevelder is a contributor to Writers oh the Range, a service of High Country-New(hcn.org). He is the author of the recently published, Coyote Warrior: One Man, Three Tribes, and the Trial that Forged a Nation . He lives in Corvallis, Oregon. s |