The Family at Serpiente

by Raymond Tolman

  “I get it!” I said, “When the coyote population dropped, the rattlesnake population exploded, and that’s why the snakes have recently appeared around here! Before, the coyotes kept their numbers in check. I have wondered why I’ve only seen a couple of coyotes since I moved out here; they have all been killed off, and the ones that are left are very timid. They run from any human they encounter.”

  Corey said, “So what do we do, import coyotes? I’m sure the local ranchers will love that. After all, coyotes also eat baby cows and sheep.”

  They went to sleep that night mulling the problem over in their heads, trying to come to a practical solution. I kept thinking about the idea of blood sacrifices. Every ancient culture that I had read about in my history books had some kind of blood sacrifices. Even in the Bible there were verses that involved blood sacrifices.

  The Proposal

  Early the next morning, I started the conversation by proposing a solution. “I think the local Indians actually used the rattlesnakes to help them. It may have taken them a long time, but they figured out how to live in peace with the rattlesnakes. I believe those little wooden cages are the solution to our problem. A real scientist would conduct an experiment in order to get demonstrable, measurable, and repeatable results. I propose an experiment in which we actually leave food for the rattlesnakes and see what happens!”

  “Sounds awfully dangerous to me,” Hidalgo thoughtfully countered. “We would have to come out here during the summertime and leave the food where the snakes can get to it and see what happens. How are we going to keep the rattlesnakes from getting to us?”

  “Well,” I said, “The Indians lived up here in this cliff for a good reason; it’s the night time when these snakes come out.”

  Hidalgo turned and answered, “Yeah, but it takes two nights of camping to get to this ruin. Just getting here is going to be a problem. And have you thought of what your uncle and aunt are going to say when we tell them about this hair brained plan?”

  Corey said, “We have another problem. How do you build a cage that doesn’t let the rats or mice escape, and still lets the rattlesnake in?”

  Hidalgo answered his question with, “If you turn loose a dozen or so baby chicks, where are they going to go? We only need cages to transport them here.”

  I promptly answered the questions with, “I’ll bet we would be safe as long as we travel during the day and at night zip ourselves into tents. As long as we don’t go out in the dark or leave a zipper undone, we should be fine until we reach the cliff ruins.”

  Hidalgo added, “We have all the way until spring to figure everything out. Right now we have far more pressing things to worry about. What if Fernandez and Garcia decide to come back for revenge? The one good thing we have to show your folks is this,” he said, holding up the bag of emeralds. “There is a small fortune in this one bag, and we didn’t even look through all the other bags. Your uncle will be able to get his ranch back in order with the money these jewels are worth.”

  Corey looked up at them and quietly said, “You both know that the real problem is going to be to convince all the local ranchers around here not to shoot every coyote they see. I’ve certainly shot my fair share of them.”

  “Hidalgo casually whispered, “I have never killed a coyote. Many Navajos have beliefs about coyotes.”

  I said, “My bet is that once the coyotes start preying on the rattlesnakes again, sooner or later, a balance will occur, just like there used to be.”

  “It may take a few years to get a, what did you say, a ‘demonstrable, measurable, and repeatable’ result to that question?” said Hidalgo.

  We then started the long ride back to the ranch house, where we gathered all the local ranchers up and discussed the situation with them. Ranchers came from many miles away, most of them unaware of the problem the ranchers in Serpiente were dealing with. Most everyone disagreed about the coyotes. Old habits and ways are hard to change. Not only did most of the ranchers think it was a good idea to kill the coyotes but they wanted everything dead, except for their farm animals. As usual, money was the common denominator. They would kill anything that threatened their livelihood. The meeting was full of debate and bitter arguments. One fellow left the meeting shaking his head, saying that he had never heard of such a “dammed fool” plan. He didn’t believe that there was such a thing as rattlesnakes that could be invisible, and he dismissed everyone as having a case of mass hysteria.

  The one thing we didn’t mention or talk about was the treasure we had discovered. The last thing we wanted was an invasion in the back country of even more pot hunters. Everyone knew it was illegal to steal things from Indian ruins, but, like a lock that only keeps an honest man honest, the law would only work for a few. It was hard times, and a few would not be able to resist the temptation.

  The Experiment

  That spring everything picked up at the ranch at Serpiente; for the first time in several years Ken and June had plenty of money to keep the ranch going and Hidalgo had a new house built for his mother and father, who lived on the Navajo reservation. Suddenly they were the envy of the neighborhood, even if their nearest neighbor was now fourteen miles away.

  Corey and I put the money we made from the sale of the emeralds into a bank account in Los Lunas, where we could use it in the future to pay for our college education or to start a business. At this point in our lives neither one of us was sure of our future, but there was something else happening. Corey and I were spending more and more time alone together. Rumors started to fly as the little ones around the house occasionally caught the two of us doing more than just holding hands. Love was in the air, but we both knew we had major problems to solve before that love was going to go anywhere. Besides just because I was in love with some character in a dream, doesn’t mean it was going to happen in real life.

  Hidalgo, Corey, and I made plans for our return to the canyon that summer, collecting special cages that would allow something like the head of a rattlesnake to enter but the spring loaded door would not allow a mouse to escape. We found ourselves in the business of actually buying and raising mice and baby chicks. The occasional neighbor who dropped by thought we were a little crazy, but that didn’t matter, our plan was in play. Then the day came when we were ready to put our plan to the test.

  Loading up our horses with their odd looking leather boots on and bringing several mules loaded with cages full of mice and camping gear along with us, we plunged into the canyons of Serpiente once more. Camping at our usual spots, we noticed that no one had been in the canyon before us; not a track of a human could be found. What we did find was a few coyote tracks, and at one point Hidalgo saw just a glimpse of one before it disappeared into the labyrinth of brush and rocks.

  We traveled during the day, setting up camp early in the afternoon. Carefully each night we zipped up our tents so that not even the tiniest creature could get into them, and we stayed there until well after sunrise the next day. By late in the third day, we reached the Indian ruins where we hoisted everything up to the rock shelf.

  Hidalgo observed, “Well, at least we don’t have to find a tree to hang the cages from. You would think this canyon was full of bears rather than rattlesnakes.” Everyone finally had a blissful sleep out in the breeze using our sleeping bags and pads to lie on.

  The next morning the experiment was on. We hiked to the base of the black hill where we set out several cages with terrified mice and baby chickens in them. We also turned a multitude of baby chicks loose for bait then we returned to the ruin.

  It was a long night filled with anticipation as well as some dread. We had no idea what we would find the next day. Everyone did, however agree that we would probably discover all the bait gone and that would be that.

  The Results

  Early the next day, we hiked back to the volcanic hill just as the last of the rattlesnakes slithered into the cone. We immediately went over to the cages. The mice and baby chicks were all gone, but to our amazeme
nt there was something inside of each cage. In several of the cages were small quartz crystals about the size of a small finger nail. In two of the cages we found hematite or fool’s gold crystals, but in the last two there was something special. In one was a small gold nugget, and in the other was a large green emerald about the size of a thumbnail.

  So this is what the rattlesnakes wanted, a sacrifice of food for what was, to them, trinkets. They wanted food that was easy to get to, without cowboys or coyotes to threaten them. The snakes would not have to travel long distances to make war on the humans or risk war with the coyotes. That first night they seemed famished, consuming all the bait that was left out for them.

  The next night we put out the rest of the cages and collected a few more trinkets, including another, slightly smaller, green emerald in exchange; but not all the terrified mice had been eaten. We soon discovered that in time, we would need to bring fewer and fewer mice and baby chicks as the summer progressed. Like all snakes, these snakes digested their food very slowly.

  One evening Hidalgo, Cory and I went back to the rattlesnake pictograph.

  “Now I understand it,” said Hidalgo, “The people who lived here had a working relationship with the rattlesnakes. “The snakes actually offered them protection from more warlike human clans and provided jewels and some gold that they used to fashion ornaments and religious objects. The circle of the snake also represents the balance between the two clans.”

  “And the coyote clan was the thing that kept them all in check,” said Corey, “sort of a balance of nature.”

  I said, “Sure, just like in nature, too few rattlesnakes and the mouse population explodes exponentially. Mice carry fleas and then when they invade the human population and problems begin, such as the black plague that decimated much of Europe during the dark ages. Serpents would eat enough of the mice to restore the balance of nature.

  Too few coyotes and the rattlesnake and mouse populations explode, yet too many coyotes and some of the coyotes will starve. Until, of course, people come along and killed most of the coyotes, which caused a population explosion of the rattlesnakes.”

  During the next summer, every other weekend we brought a caravan of mouse cages to the volcanic mountain known by the old ones as “El Montano del Serpientes de Cascabels,” the mountain of the rattlesnakes.

  We collected and inspected the cages that had been left there before to see what the rattlesnakes had left for us. On occasion we found something of great value, a nugget of gold or a gemstone of some value.

  The ranches around Serpiente became safe again. People were no longer afraid of the night and could allow the smaller farm animals to graze around the community of buildings that make up the ranches without fear of them disappearing.

  Yet a common fear among the ranchers kept them out of the canyons, and shortly coyotes began to reappear in the canyon lands that made up Serpiente. They seemed to relish the freedom of the canyons without fear of being shot at. The rattlesnakes stayed in a smaller and smaller area until they finally never left sight of their nest.

  Don Fernando and Jose Garcia were not seen there again, at least for that year. They managed to hide away in a small adobe and rock house that was invisible to all except those that knew its exact location. But the damage that they had caused to the archeological history of the area was immeasurable and was evident everywhere that ruins could easily be found and access was easy. Great debates would occur as to what they had done with the loot they had plundered. Where and to whom were they selling the plunder?

  During explorations of the canyons Corey and I, using climbing gear, found two other small ruins that had not been ransacked. Even they had some small piles of crystals hidden in tiny nooks in the walls of the small rooms. But the vast majority of the ruins had been destroyed. With the money the thieves had already made from stealing the artifacts, and the nature of human greed and vindictiveness, we knew deep in our hearts that someday there would be another confrontation. We knew that, in time, we would have to deal with Don Fernando and Jose Garcia again, but we could at least hope that the thieves had learned their lesson. Meanwhile, I found myself a full-fledged member of a new family.

  Part 2

  Discovering America

  Look like the innocent flower. But be the serpent under it.

  —William Shakespeare

  In reality, all fights come down to two basic issues that have little to do with the content of the arguments: One person feels that he or she is being unfairly controlled or feels neglected.

  —Advice from Penny’s Grandmother, Nora Campbell

  A Balance of Nature

  During the weeks and months following the conquest of the rattlesnake clan, the coyote clan also prospered. Coyotes naturally took advantage of not being killed on sight. The area ranchers stopped shooting coyotes on sight, unless, of course they were up to mischief. Without human intervention a balance of nature returned to the area known as Serpiente. Regular rattlesnakes soon returned to the canyons living off the small rodents, lizards and other small animals that all rattlesnakes relish. They also made the humans much more careful when they were outdoors. Humans all had to learn to look before they sat on old logs or entered a dark shed, but regular rattlesnakes never appeared close to the mountain. It was not known whether they instinctually stayed away from El Montano del Serpientes de Cascabels. Had serpents who lived there manipulated their minds, or maybe nature was just taking its course.

  Larger snakes do eat smaller snakes, even of their own species. Death to them occurred as they discovered themselves being suddenly swallowed and then slowly being digested. The mysterious mystic serpents stayed within the bounds of their personal territory. Perhaps they considered the mice and baby chicks brought to them as some kind of ritualized sacrifice. They quickly learned to never leave the mountain because it welcomed an attack by the coyote clan. Nor did they feel a need to war upon the human clan. Within the time of a summer, they had learned to stay within the confines of the mountain.

  No one had any more dreams with glowing snakes in them. They were much more than just a new species of rattlesnake. These were not normal snakes; the speculation was that they were not from this world, that they were alien. In fact after experiencing the simultaneous dreams where the serpents entered their dreams at night, everyone was in awe and intimidated by their power.

  We referred to them as serpents because they were not regular snakes. The human clan obligingly brought them food twice a month, which the snakes seemed to relish. They digested their food very slowly; soon it only took two mules with loaded cages full of mice and baby chicks per visit to feed them.

  They rewarded the humans with symbolic objects from the mountain. Finding something left by the snakes was always a delight for the humans who lived at the ranch house known as Serpiente. It was a symbiotic relationship. The vast majority of crystals and minerals they received from the serpent clan were pretty, but useless, usually white quartz crystals and iron pyrite crystals known as fool’s gold which made up the majority of the volume of their accumulating treasure, but sometimes the snakes delivered pretty green crystals known as emeralds as well as the occasional gold nugget. As long as this relationship could be maintained, the Anderson family, a family made of members closer to each other than most blood families, grew wealthy both monetarily and emotionally.

  The Secret

  We all took great satisfaction in solving the mystery and it was immediately agreed upon to keep our discoveries a secret. Only our immediate family would know about the secrets of the mountain and the serpents. The emeralds and gold were cashed in Albuquerque where June and Ken had a banker friend who agreed not to ask questions about where the gemstones and nuggets came from. To allow others to know would invite disaster as greedy humans always seem to find a way to destroy another’s livelihood. My Uncle Ken, along with Aunt June, was now able to think about reconstructing the ranch. It had become truly neglected and tumbled down and several structures
desperately needed repairs. New calves were now appearing and eventually they would actually show a profit on the cattle they were raising. Eventually they wouldn’t even need the treasure that was being accumulated from trips into the backcountry. Even without the money that the cattle produced, they were making a good living wage on just the interest the precious stones had created.

  After many long and hard days, spent clearing a road up the main canyon, Hidalgo and Corey were able to drive a wagon load of small animals to within a half mile of the nest. That last half mile actually consisted of climbing up one very steep canyon wall and then descending down another. A trail had to be constructed that allowed everything to be hauled on the backs of mules. Building even a decent mule trail took many days of hard work. Being that close to the nest, camping out at night was seldom done, they were still spooked. As soon as the sun set, they got into sealed tents not coming out until well after sunrise.

  Hidalgo and Corey took over the job of driving the team of horses that carried the cages of rodents that provided sustenance for the strange mystical serpents. Eventually, Ken and June developed the confidence to travel to the mountain. Upon arrival, at base camp they would load everything onto mules but one of the boys had to lead the mules up the precarious walls of the canyon. It was dangerous work. Often they decided to simply load the cages on mules to begin with, saving them from having to repack the mules.