[wp-hackers] Protecting a static dir

[Hacker Scot]

Sorry to ask this here but I've gotten no response on the forums or  
on  IRC.

No problem putting a static dir in the WP  docroot. But if you  
protect  that static dir with .htaccess, suddenly WP tries  to handle  
it and  gives a 404.

I tried adding "Rewrite Off" to the static dir's .htaccess, and also   
tried this trick:

http://i.ndustrio.us/2006/12/01/wordpress-creating-a-static-directory/

... but no joy. Is is possible to have a static  dir with .htaccess   
auth protection?

Thanks,
Scot