Desert Hawk Books

 

 

Paperback
209 pages
7 1/4" x 9 1/8"

Quantity: $19.95 & S/H  

 

Partial excerpt from book.....

The Creosote Bush Is Our Drugstore

LONG ago, darkness just lay there. No earth, moon, or stars had yet been finished.

The old people of the desert-certain Papago and Pima elders-remember such darkness whenever wintertime comes. They recall hearing of when there wasn't anything.

As darkness washed up against itself, a spirit grew inside it: Earth Maker. Earth Maker took from his breast the soil stuck to it, and he began to flatten this soil like a tortilla in the palm of his hand. He shaped this mound of earth, and from it, the first thing grew: the greasewood. From its branches, the first animal came. It was a tiny, scaly insect that could use the resin of greasewood to produce its own covering of lac. Earth Maker gathered this gumlike lac. He began to sing. Pounding out various shapes while singing, he formed the mountains. They hardened like shellac, making a hard crust for the earth. The space which brushed against their edges became the sky

The plant called greasewood by the Papago is known in botany books as creosote bush, since scientists prefer not to confuse it with two other Southwestern "greasewoods," Sarcobatus and Atriplex. Whatever common name is preferred, Larrea tridentata goes back a long time. Paleoecologist Tom Van Devender discovered this down near the Camino del Diablo, in the Tinajas Altas Mountains of southwestern Arizona. Pulling out a chunk of crusty plant debris from an ancient packrat midden stuck back in the rocks, he encountered creosote fragments embedded within. When radiocarbon-dated, these greasewood pieces confirmed that such plants had established themselves near the Lower Colorado River more than seventeen thousand years ago.
Copyright © 1997

"A timely contribution. . . . Strongly recommend this book to all those interested in expanding their thoughts on desert culture and ecology."--Agriculture & Human Values

"This a highly original book . . . reads like a novel. . . . The book is very accessible."--Cultural Dynamics

"It should be noted that besides good reading, this book is as aesthetically pleasing as a basket made from Devil's Claw."--Mexico Journal