Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1905-07-12
VULTURES OF MEXICO
HOW THESE BIRDS HAUNT the ARID
ALkAli PLAINS.


which the circiinE Mass De.eena.
Upon iss carrion Prey.
AT night the moon looks down upon
desoiate. arid plain. stretching away
10 the great Sierra Madre mountain
chain. deep. shadowy blue. against the
western sky. The air is chill. and n
peak wind searches out every fold I'm
our biankets-we might almost be
spending a night on the tundras.
WIN scarce moment OF dawn th,.
sun Hoods everything. a most welcome
warmth for awhile. soon 10 make one
gasp In its breathless heat. Long be-
fore the rainy season actually begins
vegetation seems to feel a auickening
IN tho air; the plants scent the coming
moisture weeks beforehand: the rush
ing streams. swollen with the melting
SHOWS from the lower mountain tops.
bring life 10 the lands through which
they How; spring is awakening every
where-except on the alkan plain.
Where a thin rlnd OF red brown
grass roots partly covers the white
dust, parched mesquite bushes find
root ana strange. uncSuth organ cactI
rear their columns. likS mammoth can
delabra. Here wild eyed cattle roam
uneaSily. nibbling occasionally at the
bitter grass stems
Farther out In the desert. where even
the mesquite and cacti fail. we ride
slowly across the parchcd surface.
wondering IL a single living thing can
endure the bitterness OF the earth. In
the distance move the whirlwinds OF
dust. tall. thin columns with perfectly
distinct outlines. undulatug slowly
here-and there. both life and death in
their silent movement
Most remarkable II seems 10 W. when
stray great blue heron ROW ana then
HES silently up from the de tcrt Cvhat
can possibly attract these birds 10 such
place 90 death as this. distant even
from the bitter pools = and flaps slowly
out OF sight. Twice great ebony
raven sails through the dusty air over
our hcadS--thc same bird requesting.
No other life is visible save the bal
anced black specks high against the
blue, rs invariably 4 part OF Il Mexican
day as are stars Of the night Herons.
vultures. rayen-all move slowly. seem
Ing less alive than the distant dust
columns
But we feel the real spirit OF the
eternal desert when. as we turn TO re-
trace our steps. we spy a something
white. different from the surrounding
earth. and the spell OF past ages falls
upon us. The bitter water is ever dry.
ing up. the whirlwindS carry the dust
from place 10 place. the birds come
and 20 rs they please. hat this relic OF
an elephant OF the oldcn time brings
past and present into close touch.
What scenes has the desert looked
upon since this mammoth staggered
dying into the Quagmire which proved
Its Tomb our eyes smart from the
dust as we reluctantly turn our horses
heads on the back trail. FOR we should
like TO stay ami search ont these fos-
sils-morc fascinating I'm way than
the living beasts and birds which peo-
PIE the tropics beyond.
One or the most wonderful OF the
Of bird life vouchSafed to
us in Mexico comes as we leave the
alkali plain and ride away among the
mesquite scrub. \ confused mass OF
black appears in the air. which soon re-
solves itself into hundreds OF indlvld-
ual SpeckS The atmosphere is SO de
ceiving that what at first seems TO be n
vast cloud OF gnats close at hand IA
soon seen 10 hc 4 multitude OF birds
blackbirdS. perhaps. until we approach
and think them ravens and. finally.
when quarter OF a mile away. we
know that they are vultures. Three
burroS lie dead upon the plain. This
we knew yesterday. and here are the
scavengcrs Never have we seen vul-
lures So numerous or in such order.
4 careful scrutiny through the glass
es shows many score Of black and tur-
key buzzards walking about and feed
ing upon the carcaSes Of the animals
From this point there extends upward
into the air vast inverted cone OF
birds, all circling in the same direction
From where we sit upon our horses
there seems not 4 single one out OF
place, the outline OF the cone being as
smooth and distinct as though the birds
were limited I'm their flight 10 this par
ucular area. IL is rare sight. the sun
lighting up every bird on the farther
side and Shadowing black as nlght
those nearest us.
Through ones partly closed eyes
the whole mass appears as myriad
or slowly revolving wheels. interscct-
ing and crossing each others orbits.
but never breaking their circular out
line. The thousands Of soaring forms
hold Us spellbOund for minutes befor
We rode closer. Now change takes
place. rs gradual but rs sure rs the
shifting clouds OF sunset. Until this
moment there had been tendency 10
at the base of the cone.
that portion becoming hlacker and
blacker, until IL seemed a solid mass Of
rapidly revolving forms. But AT our
near approach, this concentration
ceases and there is perfect equilibrium
for time. Then, as we ride up gen
tie slope into clearer view. wonder
ful ascent begins. Slowly the creeping
spiral wings upward; the gigantic in
verted cone. still perfect in shape. lifts
clear Of the ground and drifts away;
the summit rises in a curve. which. lit
tie by little, trays out into ragged
lines, all drifting in the same direction,
and before our very eyes the thousands
Of birds merge into ShapeleSS. undu-
lating cloud, which rises and rises.
spreading ont more and more until the
eye can no longer distinguish the birds.
which from Vultures dwindle TO mere
notes floating and lost among the