The Family at Serpiente

by Raymond Tolman

  It was hard work leading the mules over the mountain. Once at the base of the mountain they would exchange the cages left from the week before and see if there were crystals present and pocket them. Leaving many cages with a small rodent in each one, they then dragged the mules back to the ranch house. Sometimes several weeks could pass without finding anything of real value but sometimes they left the mountain several thousand dollars wealthier.

  Dragons

  Corey and I continued our research, but nowhere else in the world did anyone know of serpents such as those in Serpiente but we discovered that we were living in a world where its’ ancient inhabitants made snakes a central part of their cosmology and we were starting to come up with new theories as we learned even more. Throughout history there were many civilizations that had some form of serpent in their cosmology. In religion, mythology, and literature, serpents and snakes represented fertility. As snakes were observed shedding their skin they became symbols of rebirth, transformation, immortality, and healing.

  Serpents were guardians of temples and sacred places, probably because when threatened, snakes such as rattlesnakes and cobras hold and defend their ground making them natural guardians of treasures. Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing, carried a staff with one serpent wrapped around it, which has become the symbol of modern medicine.

  The venom of the serpent is thought to have a fiery quality similar to a fire spitting dragon.

  The word dragon derives from an ancient Greek word meaning ‘to see’ meaning the glowing eyes can see beyond the obvious. The Aztec and Toltec serpent god Quetzalcoatl had dragon-like wings, much like its equivalent in K’iche’ Maya mythology; they were feathered serpents. Even sea serpents were considered. Cryptozoological creatures were once thought to inhabit the oceans of the world. Even in smaller bodies of water they were thought to still live, such as the Loch Ness Monster.

  The vision serpent was a symbol of rebirth in Mayan mythology. Through its associated rituals they felt they could create a doorway to the spiritual world and assume its power. In Ancient Egypt, where some of the earliest written records exist, the serpent appears from the beginning to the end of their mythology. Their primal snake goddess Wadjet, the Egyptian cobra, was depicted on the crown of Egypt. The Rainbow Serpent is a major mythological being for Aboriginal people across Australia. It ruled the underworld and did things like make fruit trees bloom. The Minoans Snake Goddess brandished a serpent in either hand. Serpents figured prominently in ancient Greek myths. Medusa was a vicious female monster with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes. According to Nordic mythology, the serpent Jormungandr was thrown into the oceans where he grew so big that he was able to surround the earth and grasp his own tail. Jormungandr’s arch enemy was the god Thor. Even in Africa, the chief center of serpent worship was a serpent creature known as Dahomey.

  In what would become America, the Native American tribes gave reverence to the rattlesnake as grandfather and king of snakes who is able to give fair winds or cause tempests. Among the Hopi of Arizona the serpent figures largely in one of their dances. The rattlesnake was worshipped in the Natchez temple of the sun and the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl was a feathered serpent god. In Meso-American cultures, the serpent was regarded as a portal between two worlds.

  Due to my growing up in East Tennessee and going to Sunday school with my friends, I was aware of many references to serpents in the Christian Bible, such as in the Garden of Eden, but we were beginning to think that there was much more to all this than just myths. We couldn’t help but wonder why people like the Mound Builders would have built such a huge monument to serpents if all they were thinking about was a myth. Located near what is now the city of St. Louis, next to the Mississippi River, is the ancient settlement known as Cahokia which emerged about the same time as the Chaco Canyon phenomenon occurred in New Mexico. Serpent Mound was constructed there, an enigma to archeologists. We couldn’t help but to wonder about the intersection of time considering the vast distances between them. In time we learned of many cultures that were fascinated by serpents.

  The Canyon Pool

  It was early spring and Corey and I had decided to take a few days off and do some backcountry camping in the canyons behind Serpiente. This time however, it would be just for fun. Packing our horses for a short trip was, as always, a lot of work but we enjoyed the freedom of exploring the backcountry. What we really enjoyed on those trips was exploring the canyons for Indian ruins. Even after numerous expeditions exploring the many canyons surrounding the ranch house we still found unexpected treasures there, even occasionally finding an unexplored ruin.

  With the problems associated with artifact thieves behind us we did our explorations at a leisurely rate, savoring our freedom to explore. Camping had become a ritual for us. Becoming creatures of habit and using the same skills that we would later use while exploring rivers, we had become professionals. Nothing was ever lost, or forgotten, or left at the ranch where it did no one any good.

  After spending a week or so in the backcountry we would return to the ranch house and rediscover the joys of civilization. Little things, like home cooked meals, or air conditioners, real beds, or even the company of others had become a treat all over again. We learned one of the most valuable lessons that outdoor people learn; that most people do not appreciate the modern conveniences in life until they have to do without them. But as would happen on many backcountry trips that we enjoyed, destiny would take a hand in what we were doing and change our lives all over again. This was one of those trips.

  The deep canyons that cut into the countryside behind the ranch house formed serpentine, undulating patterns which is why the area was called Serpiente. It became our playground. On the last trip into the back country we had discovered a large pool of water in the bottom of one of the side canyons. But it was not just a typical pool of water often found in backcountry canyon country. This particular one was huge, with a tiny waterfall of crystal clear water cascading into it. It was somewhat of a geological mystery and beautiful.

  Pools like that are usually only found on large desert rivers such as one we enjoyed in northern New Mexico on the Canadian River. There, Mr. Wooten, a friend of Uncle Ken, had invited all of us to his ranch for a couple of days last summer. That first day there we had spent an enjoyable day buying and selling livestock, then after dinner Mr. Wooten drove us from the Wooten ranch house over to the Canadian Canyon where, after a short climb down the escarpment of sandstone bluffs we dropped down into the floor of the canyon.

  As we were following the meandering channel that had cut into the solid sandstone, it suddenly dropped off the edge and plunged into a large pool dozens of feet deep providing a perfect diving platform for the young at heart that would enjoy the pool. It was a popular place for everyone in the area to enjoy; even Boy Scout groups would camp there and enjoy the pool as all young people love to go to the swimming hole.

  This pool at Serpiente was similar but the waterfall was tiny in comparison. However after heavy rains it would become an impressive waterfall gouging out an impressive bowl in the rocks below, larger than an Olympic swimming pool. The water then over flowed past a hundred yard sandy beach that was in the shade of the overhead rocks during the afternoon. It was a perfect place for a large group of people to meet and it was obvious that we were not the first to discover the pool. Many Native Indians from different times had enjoyed the pool, probably for the same reasons as Corey and I.

  A perfect place to play, the pool had everything a young couple who were in love could want as long as you were willing to spend a couple of days hiking and backpacking to get there as well as dealing with the sand that seemed to get into everything. Little did we know what great discoveries were to be found. It had become my personal discovery that the world is a mysterious and interesting place. One never knows when they might discover a mystery and have a new game to play.

  We set up camp and enjoyed the day just loafing around. We would
swim for a few minutes, and then get out of the cool water. Warming in the sun for a moment we would then escape the blazing sun by retreating into the shade of a rock shelter and read for a while.

  Corey got impatient, which was a trait he often demonstrated, and decided we should explore the bluffs and small smattering of Indian ruins that were around us. We put on our hiking shoes, packed small possible packs, packs that contained everything that we might need in case of an emergency, and took off exploring the canyon around us.

  We noticed that the walls of the ruins were in the classic Chacoan masonry with T shaped doors. Evidently this pool was a very important meeting place to the native Anasazis who lived here. The ruins were much better constructed than a typical ruin but were completely empty. We were not sure whether pottery hunters had beat us there or the Anasazi only used the place as a meeting place, leaving nothing behind. We were casually walking upstream and climbing over the rocks and boulders following trails laid down by the ancients when we found ourselves standing in the shade under a sheer rock bluff. Located above the pool and waterfall we discovered a huge flat area. The flat rock floor there, about the size of a basketball court, appeared to have been scoured smooth, probably by flooding water. Off to one side was a huge rock overhang forming a perfect amphitheater.

  A meeting place, I thought. That is when, after taking a long drink from our canteen, I looked up and saw pictographs covering the rocks far above us, hundreds of them. The problem was, the glyphs were up high, imposing the obvious question, how in the world did they get up there to carve the rock? We knew that in other places, we had seen similar inaccessible rock carvings. The ancients probably made ladders by carving notches into logs and then leaned them on to the bluff to gain access.

  As we wandered up the canyon floor we discovered rock drawings covering the sheer bluff for about a quarter of a mile up the canyon. Occasionally the carvings were so ancient that the floor of the canyon had actually eroded away leaving the pictures high on the rocks. In other places the canyon had filled in to cover older drawings so that only the tops of them were visible to the observer. It all seemed natural enough; a lot of water had come through this canyon at one time or another.

  Most of the drawings were chiseled deep into the sandstone rock forming petroglyphs. Many had paint covering them made from pigments found in nature. Unlike modern paints, these colors seemed not to fade in the sunlight. Most of the rock art was typical of this area, I immediately found several that I could easily identify such as the classic clasped hands demonstrating friendship, swastikas which had no relation to the ones made infamous by the Germans in World War II but rather the much older migration symbols. The glyphs were classic Anasazi symbols however many of them were odd, as if done by artists from many different areas. We easily recognized the double crosses that signified dragonflies, frogs, bighorn sheep, geometric designs and an amazing array of anthropomorphs; designs of people who appeared to represent many different tribes.

  One entire section of the bluff contained connecting spiral circles not unlike the ones I had seen in a picture of ancient Celtic ruins found in Great Briton. The ruin called New Grange, was constructed over 5,000 years ago and is older than Stonehenge and a thousand years older than the Pyramid of Giza located in ancient Egypt. As usual, I wondered if there could have been a connection but realistically I knew that there was a three thousand year difference between these ruins and the ones in Great Briton.

  The most famous glyph in the Southwest, known as Kokopelli was present in many places. Sometimes bent over, with a hump on his back and sometimes with a phallus as large as the flute he was playing. There, of course were rattlesnake symbols along with ghostly people who were usually triangular in shape, big at the top and tapering to tiny feet. Some of the anthropomorphs or human like characters had peculiar antenna like structures that have always mystified the observer as to what they are or mean. Some were more intricate than any Corey or I had ever seen whether in real life or in books. But in the dead center of them was one set of carvings that were different. There were letters from an ancient alphabet. There was an M with an elongated last mark, a four, a T, a nine, an L, a backward K, and another M with the peculiar elongated last mark and a backward E. This assortment of letters was Greek looking, similar to some English letters, but made absolutely no sense at all. It appeared like writing they had seen in textbooks at the University. Was it Greek, Hebrew, or some other language? We could only guess, but one thing was for sure, it didn’t belong there. Deeply stained with desert varnish it was obvious that they were ancient carvings. It was something that should have been found on another continent and in another time. We had another mystery to solve.

  Discovering America

  Dinner was ready, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, sausage gravy, green beans, and dinner rolls; all my East Tennessee favorites. The familiar food made me a little homesick. I was beginning to miss the time I had spent in East Tennessee with my mother and grandparents. Time seemed to have healed my experience with Turner; I felt that in a fair fight I could easily beat him particularly since I had been practicing martial arts with both Corey and Hidalgo and could almost hold my own against them, besides Turner was still in jail.

  Everyone was anticipating our story of the adventure and what secrets we had discovered. The ranch house was buzzing with excitement as the children that belonged to the ranch workers ran everywhere instead of walking. Hidalgo as usual was stirring his classic cup of coffee that he drank with every meal and stoically watched the whole circus. Meanwhile Aunt June and I hurried ourselves to set the table. Shortly, we all finished off the last bite of chicken to be brought out.

  “Must be something pretty interesting that you found, you’ve been walking around with grins on your faces all afternoon.” said Ken.

  Kidding him, Aunt June said, “Maybe they found true love out there, or maybe they have an announcement to make. Who knows, maybe Penny is expecting a child or something.”

  Ken laughed out loud at the thought and said, “I don’t think so, I think they want to finish their college before they get married and tied down with children, besides Corey has his own ideas about marriage and I haven’t any reason to think he is in any hurry to get tied down.”

  “Like you,” countered June who had a chuckle in her voice.

  So with great anticipation we sat around the table slurping down delicious fried chicken with an occasional tease. Everyone laughed after every bit of ribbing except for Hidalgo who simply sat with a grin on his face. Somehow he knew another adventure was on the horizon. Everyone ate until we couldn’t eat anymore and finally the time came.

  “We found some interesting pictographs,” I announced. June smiled and said “You’ve got to be kidding; this entire state is covered with Indian graffiti. Those Indians were just like kids, they had to leave their marks on every flat rock that they could find.”

  “Yes, I said, but these are different.”

  “How so,” said Hidalgo who hadn’t said a word up until now and was the only one who was really taking them seriously.

  “Well,” said Corey,” First of all let me tell you about our secret place.” With that he went into great detail about the large pool that was formed in the bottom of the canyon, about the ruins and finally, about the Indian pictographs that were there. He particularly made a point to describe the large flat area above the waterfall and the Chacoan styled ruins.

  “Well it’s true that style of building is entirely out of place there. That is a mystery in itself.” Ken finally stopped him in mid-sentence with, “Look, you led us to believe that there was something really amazing up there. Cut to the chase.”

  After a long pause I explained. “Some of the markings are not Indian. They look like Greek letters. It looks like someone wrote a message there at the same time the pictographs were made but it is completely different than Indian markings.”

  Corey went on to describe some of the letters. “There were backward letter
E’s and a leaning number four and funny constructed M’s. I have never seen anything like it.

  “Well I have.” said Uncle Ken. “A few years ago I was hanging out with a fellow by the name of Bill Holliday. Looking at Corey he said, “He is a distant relative of yours, a cousin or something like that to your late father. He took us out to a black volcanic mesa just west of Los Lunas, part of the Huning property. There is a large rock there that is covered in funny writing.

  Hidalgo said, “You mean Cerro Los Moqujino, or in English the hill of the strange writings?”

  Ken replied, “Oh, you have seen it too? Hidalgo nodded, “yes” and Ken continued. “Many people around here have seen it.” Looking at Corey and me, he explained. It was located on a volcanic mesa along the very road that you have turned on to get to Serpiente many times.

  Corey said, “I never heard of it and you mean we have been driving past it all this time and I didn’t even know it?

  Uncle Ken says, “That’s true.”

  Hidalgo then followed with, “You realize, I hope, that people have paid very little attention to that rock because it has been thought to be a fake. Very few people, especially anthropologist or archeologist believe that Europeans came to America until Columbus stumbled onto our shores. But many Indian tribes have oral traditions of Europeans coming to America well before Columbus. Penny, you should know this, the Cherokee Indians have always had a tradition that white people preceded them in the occupation of East Tennessee.”

  I didn’t know that fact but decided not to advertise my ignorance. “Well I was aware that settlements in the extreme northeast of America are proving to be Vikings. They appear to have been built hundreds of years before Columbus stumbled into the new world.”

  “That’s very true,” countered June, “Even Columbus is said to have been inspired by stories he heard about earlier explorations by Vikings and even by the Irish. According to Eastern Tribes, whites lived along the Little Tennessee River and they had fortifications down the Tennessee to the mouth of Chicamauga Creek. Oconostota, the great Cherokee chief states that his grandparents and father said that the whites were called Welsh; that they had crossed the great water and landed first at the mouth of the Alabama River and made their way to the mountain country.