Back in the ’70s (and even today) there were persistent rumors that the CIA was secretly running drugs to finance its operations. I think cavers may have played into that perception, at least in the eyes of a couple of American tourists. Here’s how. In 1978 Tennessee caver Chris Kerr broke his leg in Cueva del Brinco, part of Sistema Purificación in the mountains northwest of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. The relatively small crew on site was not sufficient to mount a rescue, so cavers were called in from the US. Austin got the call, and within twenty-four hours Terry Sayther’s truck and eight cavers were ready to go. The team consisted of Jerry Atkinson, Gill Ediger, Tracy Johnson, Mark Minton, Terry Sayther, Bill Steele, Bill Stone, and Terri Treacy. As anyone around in those times could attest, we were a pretty hairy and wild-looking bunch. Air transport had been arranged through the National Cave Rescue Commission and US Air Force, so we set out for Bergstrom Air Force Base, now the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. At the gate they wanted to know who was in charge, and they seemed both amused and concerned when we looked at each other blankly and then said nobody. We all felt equally competent and didn’t need a leader. After some unavoidable delays, Sayther’s truck was loaded into a C-130 military transport plane, along with all of us and our supplies. We flew to Brownsville and, after a brief delay spent in a holding pattern, received clearance from Mexico to enter their airspace. There was apparently an agreement concerning how many US military aircraft could be in Mexican airspace at one time, and that number were already there, so we had to wait while one cleared out. We then flew to the Victoria airport, which at the time did not have commercial flights. The runway was somewhat short and potholed. We made a pass or two so that the pilot could assess the situation, after which he said he thought we could make it. Gulp! After a successful landing, the plane rolled to a stop and the back hatch went down. Terry drove his truck down the ramp and the rest of us got in. We pulled up to the small airport office, where a Mexican government representative handed us a sheaf of papers and assured us that all of the immigration paperwork had been taken care of and that we were good to go. We signed nothing, but thanked him and headed off on our quest. The C-130 took off and returned to Texas; we would have to drive back. Observing all of this was a couple of Americans who had apparently recently arrived in a private plane. They watched agape as a civilian Chevy Suburban full of hippies that had just come off of a U. S. military plane exchanged pleasantries with a Mexican official and roared off into the sunset. No doubt they were sure they had just witnessed first-hand that the US was involved in some highly suspicious activities in Mexico. —Mark Minton, Texas Caver, fourth quarter 2009.
Reprinted AMCS Activities Newsletter 38, 2015, page 88. ---------------------------------------- A chicken is the egg's way of making another egg. ---------------------------------------- You may "reply" to the address this message (unless it's a TexasCavers list post) came from, but for long-term use, save: Personal: [email protected] AMCS: [email protected] or [email protected] _______________________________________________ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com [email protected] | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
