Uncommon Thief
Page 21
Chapter 21
Devil’s Canyon
Fred stared out at the open road ahead as he thought back to the summer of 1961. “I was thirteen years old and had gone to bed early one Friday night since we were leaving the first thing in the morning for the Mojave Desert. My dad had an old college friend who was working in an iron ore mine in the desert, and we were going to visit him and then do some exploring. During the night there was an earthquake that rattled the house pretty bad and woke everybody up.
“Fortunately, there wasn’t any damage to the house so Dad didn’t cancel the trip. We traveled in our sky blue Nash Rambler station wagon, which was a roomy car but prone to having mechanical problems, especially overheating.
“Ventura is about sixty miles north of LA, so by ten, we were passing through Palm Springs and heading east into the desert. My dad had an excellent sense of direction and he could travel anyplace on the Earth as long as he had a map. In fact, our glove compartment was the depository of every map you would ever need in North America.
“After a couple more hours, we arrived at Whispering Ridge Construction Camp where Walt was living. We visited with he and his wife for a while, had lunch and then Walt showed us around the camp. They invited us to stay for the afternoon, but Dad wanted to find a place to camp for the night and thought we should get going.
“Walt suggested we camp at an old abandoned mining camp about forty-five miles away in the Hackberry Mountains called Devil's Canyon. He said it was a beautiful spot that very few people knew about. That intrigued my father so we got directions on how to get there and were on our way. It wasn’t easy to find the place but four hours later we pulled into this cool little ghost town.
“As we drove through the town we saw a couple of hotels, some shops, a saloon, a café, and a telegraph office. Most of the buildings were made of adobe since there was no wood in the desert. There were a few frame buildings apparently made from wood hauled in many miles from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the north. Just past the downtown area, someone had built some picnic tables, so Dad pulled in next to them.
“While my Mom and Dad were setting up camp Mary, my dog Sheila and I went into town and explored the hotel and all the other buildings there. The town must have been abandoned in a hurry because most of the furnishings were still in place. We were really quite amazed by what we had found and after lunch we all went exploring again. It was then that I discovered the assayer’s office.
“It was a frame building on the outskirts of town that housed a sweet little laboratory. There were three large tables with test tubes, Bunsen burners, flasks, and bottles of chemicals. Five or six big barrels were set up against the wall. I tried the window to see if it would open, but it wouldn't. I tried the front door, but it was securely latched so, in frustration, I kicked the door and, much to my surprise, it swung open.
“My dad was angry with me for breaking in until we discovered a calendar and realized nobody had been in the lab since August 23, 1921. That made him realize nobody would care that we broke in. So, we all took a few souvenirs, locked up the laboratory as best we could and went back to the camp.
“My parents slept that night in the car and Mary, Sheila and I slept under the stars. Sheila and I got up early the next morning and hiked up the toward Crystal Springs. It was the mining camp’s only water supply that had dried up in 1921 and was the main reason the camp had been closed. Surprisingly, the earthquake the day before had reopened the springs and water was flowing again. As I got to the base of the dam I noticed trickling water coming out from beneath a large manmade pile of boulders that acted as a dam. So, I climbed to the top of the dam and, sat on a huge boulder and looked out over Crystal Springs.
“As I sat quietly enjoying the silence of the desert, I wondered what life in a mining camp must have been like forty years earlier. Unexpectedly, my meditation was interrupted by a terrifying hissing sound. Sheila began to bark and growl incessantly.
“My pulse quickened as I observed in my peripheral vision a rattlesnake to my right. I knew from my Boy Scout training not to move or make any noise, but my instincts told me to run. I suddenly darted toward the water. Unfortunately, I tripped on a rock and fell down. The snake attacked swiftly with one vicious bite to my calf and then slithered off into the brush. Sheila took off after the snake. I yelled at her to come back, but she was too preoccupied with her hunt and her quest for vengeance on my serpentine assailant to pay any attention to me. She chased the snake as it escaped toward the mountains. Suddenly, the snake stopped, coiled, and struck Sheila in the abdomen. Sheila reacted by pouncing on the snake, sinking her teeth into its head, and violently shaking it back and forth until it was dead. After killing the snake, Sheila came over to me and began licking my face.
“Panic overcame me as I realized my worst nightmare had suddenly become reality. Snakes had always terrified me. Quickly, I began to feel an intense pain around the area of the bite. I began to cry and moan as the pain intensified and began to spread. I knew then exactly what I had to do. Snakebite procedures had been covered many times in Scout meetings. Two small incisions across the bite would be required, and then I would have to suck out the venom. This had always seemed like a kind of obscure and theoretical task. Never in a million years would I have thought I might actually have to do it.
“I could feel the venom spreading and knew time was of the essence. Reaching into my jeans, I pulled out my knife and opened the longest blade. I swallowed hard, staring at the bite, which was quickly swelling. I knew I had to make the cuts, but I couldn't force myself to do it. The knife quivered in my hand as I slowly forced myself to make the incisions. As it turned out, I hardly felt the sharp steel blade because the pain from the snake venom was so excruciating. I leaned down to suck out the blood, but I wasn’t flexible enough to reach my calf. Again and again I tried, but I couldn't do it. I decided the best thing I could do would be to squeeze as much blood out of my leg as I could. After a few minutes, I grew weak and passed out from blood loss and pain—and probably a little bit of terror and shock.
“While I was unconscious, I had a dream. In my dream, I was sitting on a rock, just as I had been right before the snake attack. Before me was Crystal Springs, except it had swollen from a pool to a pond that now encompassed the entire basin. There were cottonwood trees and thick bunch-grass around it, and birds could be heard chirping. My attention was then attracted to the sound of splashing water. I looked toward the noise and saw a naked woman walking slowly through the water toward me. She had long, blond, silky hair and lustful breasts. When she reached me, we began kissing and embracing one another.
“I passed out again and didn't wake up until the next day. When I opened my eyes, Mom was asleep in a chair beside me and Dad was at the window, just staring outside. When they told me Sheila had died saving my life I was crushed.”