Sisimito II--Xibalba

by Henry W. Anderson

  “I sort of gathered that kumätz means snake, but thank you, Choc.”

  “Good. You do learn new things, Medic,” responded Choc, chuckling. “Not just recite the old ones.”

  I felt a momentary wave of nausea. “That kos has been following us.”

  “Following us, Sarge?” asked Robertson.

  “Following us,” I repeated. The men were all looking at me. “Okay, let’s get to the bankside. Taat. Anything?”

  “Mixba’al,” he answered. I nodded.

  There was no way we could just walk to the bank. We had to machete through. “Choc! Continue to the bankside then we’ll clean out a big enough area for us. Men! Once we have the area clean, put your equipment together in temporary mode and get yourselves ready for a well needed bath. We can’t let our skin turn bad. Rhys. Get out the soap, but we won’t wash our combats. We’ll only do that if we’re by a river when making evening camp. So, gentlemen, we won’t be smelling better, but our skin will be clean. Just spread the combats over the bushes as that will at least dry some of the sweat. We won’t be here long, so get to it and fill your water bottles.”

  “Yes, Sarge,” they answered, condescendingly. I ignored them, but smiled to myself. I was again mothering those tuff fokin soldiers, but then I was responsible for them. I felt sure they found it amusing. They probably even fokin liked it.

  Choc was soon at the stone-walled bankside which stood about three feet above the river. He quickly cleared a small strip and I came up to him to check out the area. The river was not very wide and had areas of sand between smooth tiered flat rocks. The water was from a foot to about three feet deep in places and, even though there were deep holes, there was very little possibility of hurting our bare feet as we bathed as long as we were careful. Fish abounded. We turned and walked back to the men.

  “Choco and Teul. Let’s clean an area big enough for a temporary camp.” said Choc.

  “I’ll take the first watch,” said Robertson.

  Very soon, clothes were spread out to dry, bergens, rifles, and machetes placed in the center of the cleaned area, and we were washing ourselves in the river. The soap felt good. The water was not deep where I sat on a rock, the water coming up to my chest. Rhys came over and sat beside me.

  “What’s up, Rhys?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Mixba’al.”

  I smiled. “Learning our language, Rhys?”

  He grinned. “You’re my friend, Chiac. It’s what I should do.

  Also, I don’t want to miss out on anything when you and the men drop into your tongue. You could be talking about me.” He laughed.

  “It’s difficult. Very different from English or Spanish.” He nodded. “Just ask us what a word means when we use it. Just don’t make it a distraction.”

  He looked at me and I realized that maybe, I shouldn’t have said that. “Just doing my job, Rhys. If there’s potential danger, of course, we will all speak in English,” I added.

  “And I am doing mine, Chiac,” he retorted quietly, smiling. He took his hands and beat the water in front of his chest. “How pure.” He looked around. “I see why you love this jungle, Chiac. I am beginning to love it too.” He laughed out loud. “Even with our awful smell. I don’t even bother with deodorant any more. It doesn’t help. Just extra weight. I buried it.”

  “We get used to the smell quickly.”

  “Yes. It’s hardly noticeable.” He pulled up his nose. “After this bath and soap though, those fokin combats are going to smell fokin bad. ¡Ai yai yai! ¡Hijueputa!”

  I snickered, smiling. “Well, this is great, Rhys, but I better relieve Robertson and get dressed. Let’s have a snack before we leave.”

  “Sarge,” he answered, standing up, leaving our friendship and becoming one of my men once again. “Let me take the watch. You relax a bit more.”

  I nodded. “Thanks, Rhys.” I watched my friend as he made his way to the bank. He hesitated a little.

  Illustration 9: The Tiered Flat Rocks.

  “Need some help, Rhys?” shouted Choco.

  “No thanks.” Rhys felt for a strong hand-hold on the bank.

  “You’re still looking good from the rear, Rhys,” continued Choco, Teul grinning beside him.

  “Fok you,” Rhys answered, amidst our laughter. As he raised himself up, his hand-hold gave way and he fell back into the water.

  “Still falling-in with the rear, Rhys,” yelled Teul, further increasing our laughter. Robertson, on hearing the amusement, came to the bank. Rhys was again standing and Robertson offered him a hand.

  Illustration 10: A Sudden Deep-hole.

  As soon as Rhys was on the bank, he turned to Teul, started opening his mouth then just shook his head, looking quite blithe. He made his way over to the stack of weapons and sat on one of the bergens, rifle in his hand, allowing the sun to dry him. Robertson was soon in the river.

  “Make yourself useful, Rhys. Get us some cho-otz. It’s in Choc’s pack,” shouted Teul.”

  Rhys looked towards us then looked around him, as if studying the jungle. He opened Choc’s bergen and found the bag of cho-otz, wrappers, and matches. He rolled seven cigarettes sticking the wrapper edges with his lips. He walked to the bank and there lit them one by one as the men stood in a line getting them. Robertson brought mine and sat beside me. Rhys returned to sitting on his bergen as he smoked, totally aware of the jungle around him.

  “Okay, men. After this smoke and a snack, we’re on our way.”

  “Sarge!”

  Robertson took a long draw and blew out the smoke. “I could get used to this cigarette.” He smiled. “I mainly smoked a pipe.” He looked around him. “I have never felt so free in my life, Chiac … Sarge. Who would have thought that one day I would be sitting on a rock, absolutely naked, absolutely stink, bathing in a river, smoking the leaves of a Trumpet Tree, deep in the virgin jungles of a place called British Honduras, probably facing death, and be absolutely happy?”

  I looked at Robertson. He was the highest official in Toledo, a representative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I knew that name from my experience with Magistrate Longsworth in the courtroom in Punta Gorda. That was a long time ago. Yes. Robertson was the highest official in Toledo and I had him calling me Sarge. It was necessary, however, for I was patrol commander of the operation. I sighed, stretching out my arms, watching the well-marked muscles on them. “You can call me Chiac when we’re away from the men.”

  “Thanks,” he answered. He took another draw and exhaled. “If we’re going straight north to the Vaca Plateau and Holec Camp, why did we remain on the western bank of this river?”

  “We won’t be going straight north. We’ll keep on the western side of the river and go northwest. If you recall, the map shows another tributary of the Chiquibul Branch northwest of us. We should find it less than two miles from here. We’ll walk down that river.” I hesitated a little. Whenever I spoke about walking in a river I remembered Anderson’s concern about our feet. But that was another time. I shook my head. I had been saying the phrase that was another time to myself too much lately.

  “Chiac,” said Robertson, looking perplexed.

  “Sorry. My mind just went back.” I smiled. He did not reply.

  “We’ll walk down that tributary. It runs northwesterly for about four miles then it turns northerly for about two miles where it reaches another tributary of the Chiquibul Branch which flows down from the southeast. That will provide a good marker. From there we go north, over the mountains again, for another three miles until we reach the main Chiquibul Branch River going east. The map shows that its course is partly underground, but it has its valley which we will go through to Holec Camp, about four to five miles away.”

  “Our feet! We’ve always been avoiding getting our feet wet.”

  I smiled, once again remembering Anderson. “Yes. It is a problem, but we won’t be in w
ater for any prolonged period and we’ll dry the boots and socks at night near the fire. We should have had at least three pairs of socks, but then we didn’t plan to be in the jungle … just to attend a wedding.” I hit my forehead, hurling away the thoughts. “Our feet would have to be immersed for over eight hours a day for several days before we develop problems. What’s important is not to develop blisters and to have the garters very secure so that sand doesn’t get in the boots when walking in a creek or river. Sometimes, it’s unavoidable.” I shrugged my shoulders. “My men are all trained about care of the feet. They know what to do and what not to do. They know the signs of trouble to look for. But back to your question. We’ll move faster by walking up the river than by cutting our way through jungle and climbing over mountains.”

  “Will you brief the men about the details? I also need to ask, are we still following their trail?”

  “Always ask anything you want, Robertson.” He nodded. “As 2IC I want you to give the briefing. And, yes, we are following the enemy. I say pursue, I think it’s better, but in truth we’re following. It may not be their exact tract, but close enough.”

  We were quiet and my mind drifted. “The kos and the kumätz,” I murmured.

  “What?”

  I looked at him. He seemed confused. “You have to get to know those names, Robertson. You’ll need them later, I assure you.” He nodded. “The falcon and the snake. That kos, falcon, was following us, Robertson, making sure we’re going where they want us to go. If we deviate much, they’ll make us know. I assure you of that too.”

  He picked a piece of grass. “I knew that kumätz is snake.” He looked at the peaceful edges of the bank, covered with colorful wild flowers and varying shades of green. “So, at this time, we’re not in danger.”

  “We are always in danger, Robertson. I just don’t think they will attack until they have us where they want us.”

  “How will we know where … when,” he asked, looking at me.

  I glanced back at him and smiled. “We will know.” I inhaled deeply and blew some smoke rings. “Give the men the briefing when we are ready to leave. Use the map. Show them the route so far and the projected route. They all need to know.”

  He looked away once more, took a last draw of the a’kl and threw the butt into the water.” I did the same.

  “Okay men. Time to get dressed. We’ll have a snack before we leave. Drink enough water.”

  “Yes, Sarge.” I could hear the humorous condescending tone again.

  “Get the fok up!”

  “Sarge!” they shouted, laughing and racing to the bank.

  Rhys, already dressed, had taken out a snack from our rations. “Chocolate, fruit biscuits, and lemon powder for a drink,” he announced.

  We dried and dressed with much banter about how stink our combats were. The men were in good spirits, and I was glad for that. Robertson gave the briefing, showing the men our route on the map and making sure that they memorized it.

  We left just after midday, keeping in the jungle away from the river edges to avoid the dense bushes and any dangers lurking there. The mountains were about 2400 feet in that area with many ravines, but we proceeded at a good pace. Of course, we were once again soaked with sweat and Robertson handed out a salt pill to each of us. After about an hour, we lost the river which had turned towards the northeast.

  We continued, macheting our way through the relatively light underbrush and, after descending one of the highest mountains we had climbed so far, we came to a river in a narrow gorge. It was flowing to the northwest, rocky with small rapids, but interspersed with areas of small rocks and sand. The canopy from each bank grew into each other making the light subdued.

  “Take a break, men,” I said.

  “Fokmi,” cussed Choc, throwing himself to the ground. “Hach ka’na’aneen.”227

  “Not you alone,” said Teul, joining him, Choco soon following, Taat standing to one side watching them.

  Teul stared up at him. “No madafok ideas, Taat. No more purge.” Taat smiled, looking mischievously at Teul.

  I had a briefing first with Taat, then with Rhys and Robertson who concurred that the river we were walking down was the correct one. “Men! Briefing!” I waited as Teul, Choco, and Choc got up. “Go ahead, Medic.”

  “We are pretty certain that this is the Chiquibul Branch tributary that will meet up with the main river. From here, it’s a total of about six miles of mountainous jungle we’re talking about. We will be walking downriver until we reach the Chiquibul Branch River. Check your garters, make sure they are secure as we want no sand in your boots. The river is young so there’re rocks and small rapids, and it is swift. Many of the rocks are slippery as they’re covered with moss. We don’t want any injuries. You have to take care of your feet. Any problems, tell me immediately.”

  “Medic!” they shouted.

  “From the main river, it’s jungle and mountains until we meet the tributary going east to Holec Camp. We’ll walk up river again for four to five miles. Any questions?” No one answered. “We have about three hours of good daylight left, but there will be poor light at times if the river streams into deep gorges.” He looked to me.

  Katy-Katy-yu-baby-di-cry.

  “Katy-Katy,” sang Cho. “I always wanted a Katy.”

  Katy-Katy-yu-baby-di-cry.

  “Men,” I began, interrupting Cho’s singing. “Taat and Choc are always monitoring the jungle around us and they consult with each other and with me, from time to time. Taat has assured me that the Kechelaj Komon and Kechelaj Jupuq are still moving just ahead of us. That does not mean that they may not suddenly turn around or wait for us to approach them. Although it seems that we are safe for now, we must remain vigilant at all times as we have been doing. At this point, we will continue pursuing them. Any questions?” There was no reply. “Hack beyo’!228 Ko’one’ex.” Robertson and Rhys looked at me, but asked nothing.

  We started walking upriver, picking up the pace and, even with the small rapids, boulders, and moss-covered flat rocks, it was definitely much easier than chopping our way through the jungle. Although it was more rugged and uneven than the Cockscomb Branch I had walked up the year before, it was just as beautiful and, again, I was enraptured by the beauty of my jungle. The tall broadleaf trees came down to the water’s edge and large branches, a hundred feet above us, arched and intertwined above the river forming a canopy of varied greens. The massive trunks of giant amates,229 home to a world of jungle creatures within its thousands of shiny, dark green, oval and pointed leaves, whitish flowers and pale green fruits, fenced the banks at times. Lianas were everywhere. Some carried wild flowers and others multi-shaped leaves as vines wrapped themselves around the hanging lianas. More wild flowers covered the shrubs along the banks and colorful bromeliads decorated the barks of the tall trees while cauliflorous trees blossomed from their own branches and trunks. I was in my Eden. And there were birds, many birds. An occasional cot, or White Hawk as it was also called, perched quietly along the jungle edge awaiting its prey of kumätz and other reptiles, small mammals, insects, and even small birds. Jut juts sat in the trees, occasionally making their soft hoot-hoot, or good-cook, or jut-jut calls, often switching their long tails back and forth like a pendulum as Robertson had said. I regarded the jut-jut as one of the most beautiful of birds. Its blue crown, orange-brown throat and breast, its green and blue wings, made the bird easily identifiable. It was its blue tail, however, that confirmed it as a jut-jut. I also saw a male slaty-tailed trogon230 with its orange eye ring and bill. There were many kingfishers and small flocks of piitors. The k’ambul was abundant. Many elegant males, with their glossy black feathers and bright yellow unfeathered knob beneath their curling crest, looked down at us from perches high in the canopy before flying down to the jungle floor in search of fruits, seeds, and insects. I lamented that we did not have the time to shoot and clean a couple of the k’ambuls. Even though they were beautiful when alive
in the wild, they made a delicious stew when dead. I hoped that at the end of the day, at least a couple k’ambuls would be found wherever we were.

  At 1730 hours, I called a halt. We had reached a large sanibay231 on the left side of the river and I estimated that we had covered three miles as the crow flies. Kinich was already behind the mountains, but the thick canopy had given way as the gorge and river had widened, so we still had some daylight. There were less boulders and rapids and the riverside brush did not grow all the way down to the river. Further on were occasional sanibays and thick growths of bamboo were scattered along the banks.

  “Let’s get the camp ready, men. We’ll use this sanibay.”

  As we walked on the sanibay, I looked for k’ambuls. There were none. Taat bent forward looking down. “Baläm,” he said, pointing at prints in the sand. “I’ll build a big fire tonight.”

  “He’ll have to drink water somewhere else tonight,” I chuckled.

  “He’ll whistle,” said Taat. “He’ll tell us he’s here.” I smiled, shrugging my shoulders.

  Cha-cha-lac! Cha-cha-lac!

  “Tin bin tz’oon,232 ” said Choco, looking into the trees. “There’s still a little light. Grab the shotgun and let’s go Choc. Medic. Give me a headlight.” In less than a minute they had disappeared into the jungle.

  Cha-cha-lac! Cha-cha-lac!

  “Teul,” grunted Taat, “Xotik si’.”233 Teul nodded, picked up his machete and started chopping at a dead tree that had rested at the edge of the sanibay, deposited there by an earlier flood. Taat then began getting rocks from the creek to make the outline of the area for the fire.

  Rhys was placing the bergens in a circle, along with the rifles and machetes. Robertson was writing in the log book, trying to enter the day’s information before the light disappeared completely. I picked up my machete, shouted “I’m going fishing” and walked to the nearest bamboo patch. I cut a narrow stalk about five feet in length and sharpened one of the ends to make a spear. I tried to fight away the sadness that threatened to come, replacing it with the fun Bas and I had when we went fishing. In less than five minutes I had speared seven fishes, three moleets,234 two robaals,235 two chachi’s,236 and was sitting on a rock scaling and gutting them.