Time of the Rabies

by Robert Laxalt

During the 1920s, a rabies epidemic swept across northern Nevada, decimating wildlife and livestock herds. This historic event is the background for acclaimed writer Robert Laxalt’s brilliant new novella. Set on a sheep ranch in the desert foothills near Carson City,  Time of the Rabies  follows owner Pete Lorda and his family and ranch hands as the epidemic swirls around them, pulling humans and animals into a battle against an invisible but deadly foe. Beginning when a roving coyote is bitten by a rabid bat, the epidemic spreads like wildfire through the local coyote population, and soon whole bands of rabid coyotes are attacking Lorda’s sheep flocks. As he and his hands struggle to protect the sheep, the disease appears on the home ranch itself, infecting first valued animals and then some of the hands. Once again, Robert Laxalt has produced a lively, unforgettable story of the West and its hardy people. No other writer has captured so vividly the character of the Basque sheepmen and their harsh, solitary lives, or the precarious community of a ranch besieged by an insidious, lethal enemy. Laxalt’s genius seems to grow with each new work, and  Time of the Rabies  is the creation of a major writer at the peak of his powers. This is a tale of the true West, full of authentic heroes and the memorable sense of place that only a writer as skilled and experienced as Laxalt can create.

104 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Laxalt was a Basque-American writer whose work was especially well received in the ranching areas of Nevada and adjacent states, and led to creation of several "Basque Festivals" in those areas. Laxalt also served as a consultant to the Library of Congress on Basque culture, and helped start the Basque Studies program at the University of Nevada.

Laxalt founded the University of Nevada Press, which published almost all of his books written after 1964. Laxalt was chosen along with Walter Van Tilburg Clark to be the first writer inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a novella, so it wasn't extremely long. Despite the shortness of it, the story was interesting in that it was showed the stresses that a sheepherder and his hands have to deal with when they're trying to protect themselves and their flocks from being attacked from animals infected with rabies during a rabies outbreak.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, real story, real Nevada.