Island Mountain
Humboldt-Toiyabe NF, Nevada, 2001 by Robin Nuñez, FS Archaeologist
For the third year running, the Island Mountain PIT project went off without a hitch. With the aid of numerous volunteers, we continued excavation of a 19th-century Chinese settlement known as Island Mountain. The community grew up around placer mining in about 1873 and was occupied until about 1919. To our delight, many volunteers from both the first and second seasons came back this year, along with several experts in Chinese history. Although excavation is tough work, we still found time to joke around, make new friends, visit with old acquaintances, and learn about Chinese culture. In fact, a returning volunteer from 2000, Albert Vetere Lannon, wrote a song commemorating his experience. This is the second song he’s written to the same tune. The first was for the Inyo NF.
The Official Island Mountain PIT Project Song
(sung to the Beatles’ tune “Come Together”)
Here come us PIT folks,
We got sharpened trowels,
We got rusty dust pans,
We got Harris Matrix,
We got Pu-laskis and wish we all had dynamite,
But we're archaeologists and we have to do right;
Island Mountain, real hard dirt, in our screens.
We got four seasons crock'ry
We got medicine bottles,
We got rusty can parts,
We got old rubber booties,
We got opium tins, glass, screws and nails,
Once in a while we find a knife or a pail;
Island Mountain, real hard dirt, in our screens.
We got Fred's famous road tours,
We got Lisa's lab rats,
We got Donn's parents' food stash,
We got Charlotte's good cooking,
We got She-who-must-not-be disobeyed,
We even got teenagers and they sure make the grade;
Island Mountain, real hard dirt, in our screens.
We got real hard dirt, and
We got real hard dirt, and [start to fade]
We got real hard dirt, and [softly]
We got real hard dirt, and
We got [loudly]
REAL!
HARD!
DIRT!