River of Lost Souls. Jonathan P. Thompson
Читать онлайн.| Название | River of Lost Souls |
|---|---|
| Автор произведения | Jonathan P. Thompson |
| Жанр | Биология |
| Серия | |
| Издательство | Биология |
| Год выпуска | 0 |
| isbn | 9781937226848 |
First Torrey House Press Edition, March 2018
Copyright © 2018 by Jonathan P. Thompson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or retransmitted in any form or by any means without the written consent of the publisher.
Published by Torrey House Press
Portions of this book originally appeared in the Silverton Standard & the Miner, Silverton Mountain Journal, and High Country News.
Ebook International Standard Book Number: 978-1-937226-84-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017930158
Cover design by Alisha Anderson and Kathleen Metcalf
For
Wendy, Lydia, and Elena,
who give me a reason to write all the words.
In memory of
Ian M. Thompson, Allen Nossaman, and Stanton Englehart,
who taught me that art, inspiration, beauty, and ideas are
abundant right here in our home.
Contempt for the natural world is contempt for life.
The domination of nature leads to the domination of human nature.
—Edward Abbey
Acknowledgments
The reporting for this book took place over 20 years, much of it for stories that originally appeared in the Silverton Standard & the Miner, the Silverton Mountain Journal, or High Country News, and I had a great deal of help and support along the way, from Wendy, Elena, and Lydia, who put up with living with a small-town newspaperman, to the people who actually paid money to read the Mountain Journal and my friends who contributed art, photos, knowledge, and text to the Mountain Journal, usually for free; from the folks who shared their stories with me, to my colleagues at High Country News, who have selflessly dedicated themselves to chronicling the important issues of the American West, and who continue daily to push me to be a better journalist, writer, and pursuer of the truth. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Paul and Mary Beaber, who were by far our biggest supporters in our various Silverton ventures and beyond, as well as to Dick Jones, without whose generosity the Mountain Journal would have collapsed after a few months. Thanks to Peter Schertz of the fabulous Maria’s Bookshop in Durango for reading the text and giving feedback, and to Torrey House Press and Kirsten Johanna Allen. Of course I couldn’t have done any of this without my parents: Ian Thompson, Jan Thompson, and my stepfather Gary Matlock, all of whom supported me through my various zany pursuits. And last but not least, the Yeti of Hematite Basin, for keeping me the word factory fueled with Zia tacos and Wine Merchant goods.
A Note on Terms
River of Lost Souls, or Rio de las Animas Perdidas: As you read the text, you’ll discover that this is not the name given to the Animas River by Juan Maria Rivera in 1765. He called it Rio de las Animas (River of Souls). However, in the late 1800s, someone appended “perdidas” to the name and it stuck. As far as I’m concerned, River of Lost Souls is as good a name as River of Souls. After all, Rio de las Animas was not the first name of the river—the Ute and Navajo people had their own names for it as well.
Animas Valley and Animas River valley: I use Animas Valley to refer to the U-shaped valley just north of Durango. I use Animas River valley to refer to the entire length of the drainage.
Contents
“This can’t be the United States”
PART III: We’re All Downstreamers