Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2008)
20 May-June 2008 Applegater APPLEGATE OUTBACK: MY OPINION The extermination of the horsefl y BY BOB FISCHER I believe in the concept of biodiversity, that each species of plant and animal has a place and a purpose on this earth, whether or not we humans understand or appreciate it. Having assumed mastery of our planet, I believe that mankind also has assumed responsibility to maintain it in as natural a state as we possibly can. Not when it is convenient and not just when it is economical. Now that I have established my position of record on the moral and philosophic high ground, I have a confession to make. I can see no reason for the continued existence of horsefl ies! I hate horsefl ies, or deer fl ies as they also are known. Hate Them! This is not a phobia. I like snakes, I fi nd horny toads interesting, and I am on speaking terms with many lizards. But horsefl ies are different. Horsefl ies are evil. Horsefl ies do not bite for food or to protect themselves; they bite to infl ict pain. Mosquitoes are bad enough with their clever, soft whining approach and their guerrilla-like stabs for blood. You don’t even feel the pain until they have gone. Like true guerillas, mosquitoes receive little respect, which means they are consistently underestimated. My old hunting partner actually could ignore mosquitoes when they landed on him. While I slapped and complained, he sat unperturbed by the whirring insects that covered us. He had hide the color and consistency of plywood, and the patience of a mountainside. Those characteristics helped him overcome mosquitoes. But I once watched that same man drop his rifl e, backpack and hat into a stream as he reacted to a horsefl y bite while trying to cross a fallen log. Show me a man who can ignore the wretched stinging bite of a horsefl y and I will show you a cadaver. Horseflies don’t care anything about guerrilla tactics; they are the strike force of the insect world. Horsefl ies make no attempt at stealth, but depend on their sense of timing for protection. Their timing is incredible. Rarely do horsefl ies appear unless you have both hands committed to some activity that will keep you from retaliating. A favorite horsefl y technique is to attack fi shermen wading in a noisy stream. Not only can the angler not hear a fl y approaching over the river noise, but it is diffi cult to react even after he has been bitten. An off-balanced retaliatory blow or a misplaced step and you can end up like I once did—soaked to the skin and 30 yards downstream without my fi shing gear. One time I watched my friend, Rex Fletcher, under horsefly attack during a barbecue get-together at his place. He was carrying a large bowl full of home brew to a table. Just short of the table he cocked his head as though to listen closely. His body suddenly stiffened, his head snapped back, and he began slapping the back of his head and neck hard enough to chip vertebrae. The bowl was forgotten with his pain and rage—it dropped to the ground where it behaved exactly as you would expect a ten-gallon bowl to behave. The despairing groans from everyone at the bowl’s explosive destruction were almost overpowering, but they were overcome by the roar that burst from Rex’s mouth. In what I recognized as a classic response to a horsefly bite, Rex’s cr y of “YAAAAHHHH!” announced both his pain and his resolute decision to battle this ancient enemy. Having scraped the attacker from his neck, Rex circled warily waiting for the next attack that was certain to come. Horseflies are very stubborn. They are not like the psychopathic yellow jackets that attack anyone at anytime. Once a horsefl y establishes a target, they return again and again to bite that same person. So, if you are not the unlucky victim, it is often safe to stand nearby and watch the whole thing take place. And that is exactly what occurred. While we watched, the horsefl y landed twice on Rex’s bare arms and neck. Both times the fl y managed to get into the air before Rex’s blows fell. Finally, Rex steeled himself for the time-honored “let-him-bite-you-so- you-can-kill-him horsefly-elimination technique.” Rex stood still as the fl y came buzzing in. He stayed calm and still as the horsefl y landed on him. Then he erupted into a frenzy as the horsefl y bit. The horsefly was unable to disengage quickly enough to escape. It was caught by the flurry of blows, stunned and then knocked to the dirt. Had it been a mosquito, Rex would have been satisfi ed with a simple brush-off. Even a tick, fl ea or yellow jacket would have been forgotten once it was no longer a threat. But horsefl ies, which give no quarter in their battles, rarely receive it either. With another blood-curdling “YAAAAHHHH!” Rex stomped the horsefly into the ground, repeatedly jumping on it with both feet. Time and time again he pounded it, screaming each time he did so. Finally, with his shirttail hanging loose and a trickle of blood draining down his neck from the fi rst bite, Rex stood with his head hanging, exhausted but triumphant. A few of the guys over at the picnic tables applauded. Scattered conversations indicated that many of the guys deplored the death of the fl y. I wanted to stand and discuss this with them, but the line at the broken bowl was getting long. For it took quite a while for everyone to jump up and down on the dead horsefl y while raising their arms and screaming “YAAAAHHHH!” Good old home brew. Bob Fischer 541-846-6218 BACK IN TIME Ruffl ed feathers BY EVELYN BYRNE WILLIAMS WITH JANEEN SATHRE Turkeys! Not my favorite farm animal. Actually, I can’t remember seeing very many turkeys on Applegate farms, but my McKee grandmother had half a dozen or so. She always fi xed a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving and Christmas and I did not mind their demise for a good reason. To a young child they seemed so big and frightening and, since they were not fenced in, they roamed wherever I might be. I did not mind crossing the scary foot bridge over the river and the quarter mile walk to grandmother’s, but having to escape those turkeys before getting to her front gate was quite a challenge. Those turkeys would chase me, probably thinking I had some food. On one of my visits I had stayed until Grandmother said it was beginning to get dark and I better get home. I took off in a hurry and on the way I walked under some big fi r and pine trees. Then I felt some splats on my head. I looked up and saw those darn turkeys roosting on the limbs above. Ohhhhhhhhh, I was so mad!!! Years later my brother raised the same kind of turkeys on his ranch here in the Upper Applegate. He started with a small fl ock and found it quite profi table. He kept the hens, selling the eggs to a hatchery. I helped with some of the egg gathering and there was one old hen who did not like my taking her eggs. When I made the gathering, about every hour, she would bristle up and give me a good peck on my hand. My brother said to throw her over the fence into another area since she wanted to set on her eggs and become a momma. So I then tried to get a hold of her tail feathers before she could peck me, but she would spring from her nest and outrun me. I became exhausted after each chase around that big nesting area. Finally I managed to grab a part of her tail, which left her with fewer feathers. Eventually, she lost all of them and I still was unable to catch her. That’s when my brother couldn’t stop laughing at my problem and came to help. He soon took care of it by outrunning her. She would still ruffl e her feathers and bristle whenever she saw me coming near. Poor thing—she did look funny with no tail feathers. In the spring my brother’s large brooder house would be full of young ones that were later turned out in his fi elds to fi nish growing on a special mix Morris Byrne and his large fl ock of turkeys on Upper Applegate Road circa 1942 (from Evelyn Byrne Williams collection). of grains put in feed boxes. In following years, the boxes were replaced with large metal self-feeding containers, which saved time and energy in keeping the turkeys fed. My brother soon found the turkeys were more profi table than his cattle and began raising large fl ocks of the white, broad-breasted ones, both for eggs and meat. A truck would come to take the turkeys for processing before Thanksgiving and Christmas. For many years the turkey ranch on Upper Applegate Road, and even a second ranch on Highway 238 in Ruch, were landmarks well known by locals. Eventually progress put my brother out of business as it became cheaper to have large operations all in one big building. Years went by without seeing a turkey in the Applegate, but now I see the same old kind of turkeys that my grandmother and brother first had. I don’t know if there really were wild turkeys here in those days; I don’t remember ever seeing any. All I can say is that I don’t dislike them now, but when they come in my yard I sure get tired of chasing them. Again!! Evelyn Byrne Williams with Janeen Sathre 541-899-1443