es and themselves, snack on some granola and
party finds some shade under a desert willow.
chocolate bars and cut out across the open
They water the horses and settle into a big
desert. They've been lucky to get a ram the first
lunch, packed by the rancher's wife, and a nap.
day. They still have two days of hunting left to
This time of day even the lizards siesta.
find the second sheep. The guide might go back
Now it’s getting to be mid-afternoon; the
to the same area tomorrow or head out in an
guide suggests they head out across the desert to
entirely different direction. Unlike mule deer,
another arroyo. Following slowly along the cliff
the aoudad has a large range and may not
side, riding into the wind, they watch for signs of
return to the same spot for a
aoudads.
The
year or more. They are swift
shadows
grow
and nimble and can easily
longer. The guide
move 40 miles in a day.
scans the cliffs
It's a long ride back to the
with binoculars.
ranch house. Time is spent
Then he points to
thinking about a big dinner and
the cliff side. At
margaritas waiting and a good
first it looks like
night’s sleep in the bunkhouse.
swaying grasses,
Night is settling on the desert
then the horns and
and as the hunters come to the
faces
become
end of the day's trail they watch the stars come
clear. It's a herd of eight or ten aoudad coming
out like a net of fireflies, feeling the kind of tired
down to a grassy patch for a little dinner before
of a difficult job well done.
bed. The party puts the horses behind some
A wide variety of game and hunting styles is
rocks and drops the reins. The guide leads the
available in the Big Bend. Big game, little game,
two men in a circling path around the aoudad
birds; parties of one or two or up to 20; bow
and partially up the cliff side, still downwind but
hunting, black powder, rifle, hand gun and even
a bit higher than the rams. Quietly they close in.
longbow with stone tipped arrows. There is an
Aoudad have excellent hearing as well as
outfitter, ranch or guide for your trip. For more
their sense of smell. They will be gone in a flash
information about hunting in the Big Bend con-
at the first hint of danger. At just over 200 yards
tact the chamber of commerce of a local town
the guide signals to stop. A coin toss settles who
or google Hunting West Texas.
will get the shot. There will be only one. The
winner takes his position and picks out a large
grandpa ram. He sets his arrow and draws the
bow. Then he lines up his shot and waits until
the moment is right. There is a muffled thud
and in a disappearing act like no other every
aoudad is gone except for the one who was hit.
He tries to leap away but falls to the ground.
The heads of the herd pop up almost to the top
of the nearby cliff, looking down at grandpa, as
if to say, "We want you to join us." They wait
hopefully a few minutes, then disappear over
the top of the rocks to the other side.
One of the beauties of hunting on horseback
is the quiet and the closeness
to the land. The other is you
can load the sheep on your
horse right where he has
fallen rather than lug it to a
jeep parked a mile away.
The ram is a big one, about
Private Bath/Cable TV
300 pounds, close to three
Full Hookups/30 & 50 amp Pull-thrus
feet at the shoulders, and the
horns measure 31 inches.
Some very large males can
reach 320 pounds with 36-
inch horns. The females are
smaller, lack the furry bib
and mane, usually weigh
under 200 pounds and are
two-and-a-half feet at the
shoulder. Their horns are
432.386.4241
smaller as well.
HWY 90 W • Marathon • www.marathonmotel.com
The men water the hors-
Awareness Coaching
Facilitation
Personal • Professional
WAJIDA QUINTERO
210 271 9144
ocotillocom@aol.com
Se habla Españ ol
Artisan bread • Cookies
Cakes • Pastries • Pies
(432) 386-5457
emily@nice-bread.com
With God all things are possible
(Matthew 10:26)
Church of Christ
432.371.2292
Highway 118 – P.O. Box 142, Terlingua
Worship: Sundays 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Wednesdays 5:30 p.m.
Marathon Motel
& RV Park
2013 Chamber Events
October - Marathon to Marathon & Quilt Show
November - Cowboy Social at Ritchey Brothers Building
December - Fiesta de Noche Buena
– go to marathontexas.com for details –
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2013
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