The Family at Serpiente

by Raymond Tolman

  The Answer in the Food

  After spending the morning in the library we decided to find a good restaurant where we could enjoy a good meal without the chores of cleaning up afterwards. I opened the conversation with a simple question.

  “Hidalgo, you don’t really believe that outsiders discovered America before Columbus, do you?”

  His answer surprised both Corey and me. “First of all, I believe that Native Americans discovered America well before the last ice age. Their achievements stand for themselves. We conquered and adapted to this entire continent eventually dividing ourselves into many tribes, speaking over five hundred languages. At that time the world’s oceans were hundreds of feet lower than they are now, the water being locked up in the ice sheets that covered all of Canada and much of what is now America. It is highly unlikely that these early settlers came all at once; in fact there is mounting evidence that some may have arrived here some forty thousand years ago. Certainly they were here some eleven to fifteen thousand years ago. The real question is; how they got here. Some people are now saying that they didn’t just walk over, many of them may have followed the coast all the way down to South America in kayaks. Food is much easier to obtain along a coast line than in the interior of the continent.”

  “I thought they were killing large animals like mammoths and bison which were in abundance,” Corey says.

  They did, but have you ever looked at migration rock carvings found all over the southwest? They look like swastikas. Unlike my people, the Navajo who migrated south from what is now Canada, the Anasazi appear to have entered America from the south, not the north.

  “But what about people other than Indians,” I asked.

  “The coast line of America is littered with thousands of ships which are just now being explored due to the development of modern diving equipment. There is much mystery as to when all those ships got here. Besides there are Native American legends, especially in South America, that speak of other peoples from across the oceans that have visited them. For example, who discovered America? One legend which persists in the legends of nearly all Indian cultures is the stories of Viracocha and Quetzalcoatl. They were bearded white people and flying serpents who supposedly taught the native peoples great things and then returned to where they came from, promising to return some day. But there are other tantalizing mysteries to solve. There is research currently going on about a European people known as the Solutreans. The Solutreans culture may have come from present day France and Spain from roughly 21,000 to 17,000 years ago. They were known for their distinctive tool making which was characterized by bifacial, pressure-flaked spear heads. There is evidence that they may have influenced the development of the Clovis tool making culture in the Americas.

  I thought about this for a while and agreed that the mystery certainly would not be solved that day without evidence other than rock carvings that could be easily faked.

  Hidalgo then grinned and reaching over stabbed the sweet potato I was eating with his fork and said. “There is your concrete proof; you are eating it.”

  Laughing, I stabbed back at my sweet potato and said; I don’t know what you’re talking about but you can’t have my sweet tater.”

  Hidalgo pulled his fork back and set back into his chair. “Let me explain. Everyone knows that corn or maize was domesticated here, probably somewhere here in the eastern states but what many people don’t think about is that sweet potato that you are eating. They have been found all over the Pacific Ocean on islands as diverse as Easter Island and Hawaii. The sweet potato was domesticated along with all potatoes in what is now Peru. How did they wind up all over the Pacific? Obviously ancient Polynesians came to this continent way before Columbus discovered America.”

  Hidalgo continued. “Actually, almost everything on your plate is a mystery. Do you know where chickens first came from?”

  “From here in Kentucky where the first Kentucky Fried Chicken comes from,” I answered playfully and with a grin on my face.

  “Well, countered Hidalgo, great tasting chicken certainly does but the first chickens were domesticated in Southeast Asia, yet they are finding chicken bones at archeological sites in South America. How did they get here? There are many mysteries such as how copper that came from the Great Lakes region has been discovered on ancient boats in the Mediterranean. Or why Jomon pottery that was developed in Japan is found in Ecuador. Not only that, but archeologist have discovered diseases in mummies that they know came from Japan. To this day there are Asian features in the local Valdura Indians that live in Ecuador.” The real question seems to be not who discovered America before Columbus, but rather who didn’t.”

  “I don’t know,” countered Corey, “but we promised that before we went to Cahokia we are supposed to check in with the ranch. I’ll call my relatives in Albuquerque and see if they have heard anything from June and Ken.”

  A few minutes later he returned with a worried look on his face.

  “What’s up, asked Hidalgo.

  “We have a problem, answered Corey.

  A Return to El Montano del Serpientes de Casabel

  Corey and I traveled in our pickup truck while Hidalgo drove his truck all the way back to Serpiente but on the way we made some decisions about what we were going to do with our lives. We had money as a result of the emeralds so we didn’t need regular jobs. We wanted to do something special. Hour after hour we talked it over and finally it dawned on us that what we enjoyed more than anything else was solving mysteries; usually within a historical setting, having grand adventures, and detective work. While we were finishing our college we would be historical detectives and of course we had Hidalgo to help us. What could possibly go wrong?

  We found out what could possibly go wrong almost as soon as we entered the old ranch house. Both Ken and June were subdued with mixed emotions. On the one hand they were thrilled that we were home. On the other hand, they were obviously worried.

  “Our thieves are at it again,” announced Ken. Ken explained that the last two times that they had tried to go to El Montano de Serpientes they had been shot at and were unable to complete their normal rounds at the mountain. The authorities had been called but as usual, they were too far out in the country for them to really do anything. One policeman simply suggested that they shoot back, something that was very unlike June and Ken. Sure, they had a right to defend themselves but the thought of actually killing someone was something they didn’t relish at all, besides they might be the ones who would get shot. In the canyons and mountains of Serpiente if someone got shot the body might not be found for months if at all.

  Corey and Hidalgo spent the next few days putting a backcountry trip together, making sure this time that they were well armed with rifles, pistols, and determination. They took their time getting underway, making every attempt at secrecy that they could manage. They wanted to be stealthy.

  Camping at a different spot than usual the first night, they took turns watching the ridges until well after dark before they all retired to their sleeping bags.

  “What a honeymoon, said Corey sarcastically the next morning.”

  I answered him with “I know what you mean.” I had almost forgotten what it was like sleeping out on the hard ground.” It was a sarcastic answer, during the last couple of years I had spent almost as much time sleeping on the ground under the stars as in a bed. Corey was slow getting into the spirit of things. I teased him by saying, “What’s the matter? Have you forgotten how to dig a hip hole so you can sleep comfortably?”

  We laughed but we also knew we had some serious strategies to plan. We walked over to where Hidalgo should have been sleeping only to discover that he was gone. We fixed breakfast thinking that he would return in a few minutes but it was a full two hours before he finally showed up.

  “I need coffee,” announced Hidalgo as he sat down.

  “Where have you been,” I queried? “We have been worried sick about you.”

  “Well, said Hida
lgo after a long sip of coffee that was well sugared and creamed, “I have been scouting the trail ahead. I can’t find a trace of anyone. Let’s travel on to the next camp and I’ll scout from there. By the way, sorry about slipping out on you two but I wanted to give you some privacy and I really think it would be a good idea to scout ahead before we run into someone.”

  We all then had breakfast, packed up the horses, and slowly retraced Hidalgo’s path always looking for the slightest movement or sign of trouble. By the second night we were feeling more confident but the going was agonizingly slow. It took us four days to reach my rattlesnake ruins that I had accidentally discovered over a year before.

  We wondered if there was evidence of further activity by artifact thieves there. It seemed unlikely however the thieves had picked the place clean. It made a great camping spot for them as it did for us. As we did the first time we discovered the ruins, we carefully climbed the sheer cliff, using the small footsteps dug out by the ancient inhabitants. These were the most impenetrable ruins in the area yet the trash from the pottery thieves was still there, littering the floor of the ruins. We camped after carefully hiding the horses in a grove of cedar trees well below the ruins.

  The next day we walked to El Montano del Serpientes de Casabel, the volcanic cone that had been the home of the mirrored and mysterious rattlesnakes. The first thing we noticed was that a large section had been cut out of the side of the cone with a Bobcat. Bobcats are very small and portable bulldozers that can be dropped into the backcountry by using a helicopter. The cut exposed thousands of small tunnels that were the homes of the rattlesnake clan.

  Hidalgo said, “Look at this,” picking up one of many canisters that littered the ground.

  “What are they” I asked.

  “Gas canisters, says Hidalgo. Someone has forced poison gas into the rattlesnake dens, and this stuff” he said, holding one up, “is deadly poison.”

  “Our pottery thieves must have thought that by killing the rattlesnakes they could find treasure inside of the mountain.”

  Corey said, “It looks like all they found were tunnels going through the pumice. Either the rattlesnakes hid the treasure far underground and only brought out a small amount at a time or they only brought out what they themselves had found.”

  Overwhelmed by sadness I said with resignation, “They killed the goose that laid the golden eggs.”

  “That’s probably true,” said Hidalgo; “I seriously doubt that any of the rattlesnakes survived the gas.”

  Returning to the cliff ruins where we had left our camping gear we settled in to camp one last night before we returned to the ranch. That evening we built a nice campfire, since we now had no fear of the thieves. The thieves would have left as soon as they figured out that there was no longer any treasure to be found.

  We three friends slept well that night. The next morning we sat around the campfire enjoying coffee and a great meal of bacon, eggs and potatoes. Corey and I were pretty sad but in only a short while we noticed that Hidalgo seemed in good spirits. “I don’t understand. I realize that we have accumulated a lot of wealth over the last year, but what about the rattlesnake clan?”

  Hidalgo grinned and replied, “Last night was a full moon.”

  “I still don’t understand, I said.

  “Well,” Hidalgo answered with hope in his voice, “You know how those rattlesnakes are almost impossible to see, but they will sparkle when there is light on them. Last night I saw two rattlesnakes crawling along the base of the cliff. If they are male and female rattlesnakes I suspect that our story is not over.”

  “Wonderful,” I said. “I was hoping that as crafty as the members of the rattlesnake clan have proved themselves to be, that they would not all be in the same place at the same time. Besides, they seem to be far smarter and more mysterious than I could even imagine.”

  A golden era had vanished between the human clan and the rattlesnake clan. What the future would bring I could only guess but it didn’t foretell good things for the human clan. These were not really rattlesnakes that we were dealing with, they were an alien life form. They could be highly revengeful creatures.

  My relationship with Corey, as well as Hidalgo also changed dramatically. We were now a team and from now on it would not just be my story but rather our story.

  The Mystery of Mr. Owl

  June looked down at me as she looked through the stacks of papers on the shelf. She was multitasking as usual looking for documents concerning correlational studies involving dendrochronology, climatology and sedimentational studies of the Chaco Canyon site while answering Penny’s questions. She truly wanted to know what the area was like thousands of years ago. Was it a free running stream in the bottom of a canyon that was situated in a vast pine forest? Was the area an inviting place to build the oldest structures there by the Anasazi Indians? She was concerned. According to some reports of those who study field mice nest the area was much like it is today; a vast desert with no water except an occasional rainstorm to provide water for the usually bone dry arroyo that makes up Chaco Creek. It has been a desert since the last Ice Age. For a moment she thought of the sign erected by the National Park Service; No Fishing! It is unlikely that there has ever been a fish in that particular creek.

  I looked up from my notebook and again asked June for her thoughts on marriage. June focused on my question and answered. “What is marriage? Well, it is different things to different people. Did you look up the word in the dictionary?

  “Sure but it was a little disappointing, kind of like talking to a lawyer.”

  June asked, “What did it say?”

  “It is a legally and socially sanctioned union, usually between a man and women that is regulated by laws, rules, customs, beliefs and attitudes that prescribe the rights and duties of the partners and accords status to their offspring.”

  June thought about the definition for a moment and says, “I always thought of it as a commitment of support to another person both emotionally and financially for the rest of your life.”

  “That sounds a lot like what we have here in Serpiente, “I replied. “None of us are biologically related yet we all have a commitment of support to each other.”

  “That’s true, answered June the only thing is, Ken and I have not had children of our own. We wanted children in the beginning, it just never happened. But then, we have children here all the time, not to mention you, Corey and Hidalgo. Marriage is far more than just a legal contract between two people in order to determine taxes, property ownership; it definitely has its advantages. But then I suppose from the earliest cave man, men have been promiscuous if given the opportunity. It seems to be human nature for them to want to have sex with as many women as they can. But women want the security that marriage provides; someone to help her take care of the children that usually result. Actually there are many advantages that marriage offers, especially from the women’s point of view. Married people live a lot longer than unmarried people. They also have fewer physical and emotional problems. And of course being married is certainly better if one considers taxes. Single people always pay more.”

  “I guess Hidalgo could be a problem to explain if you counted him.”

  Laughing, June responds with, “Not really, we have always thought of Hidalgo as family. Let me simplify all this for you, marriage is having a soul mate, someone that you truly can share your life with. If you want to know the truth, it takes time to learn to be married. Having a big wedding ceremony is just something to show off with. I realize that in some families it is very important but that is not what makes up a marriage. A marriage is finding a soul mate; the rest is just legal and religious customs. By the way, it looks like Corey and Hidalgo are returning.”

  A few minutes later Corey and Hidalgo piled out of a truck looking worried.

  “What is the matter?” I asked them as they entered the ranch house.

  Corey sat down at the kitchen table, his usual place when serious talking was
to take place. “I sent a letter to Cherokee, North Carolina, addressed to Mr. Owl. I wanted to thank him for all the help he had been to me. I don’t understand it. According to the postmaster in Cherokee there is no such person living there. I then called the motel where I spent those days after my fall and asked if they could give me an address for his granddaughter who worked there and they assured me that no such person ever worked there. I don’t get it. I was under the delusion that he had lived there for years and yet there is not a trace of him there. The postmaster, who should know about such things, says that the closest family with the last name Owl is several miles away in an entirely different town but there are no records that there was ever a Mr. Owl in Cherokee.

  “Did you contact the local Indian agency or Cherokee Tribal Council in Cherokee?” asked June.

  “Well, they did give me the number of a member of the Tribal Council, a Mr. Amadahy but when I called there he knew of no Mr. Owl, I think he thought I was a prank caller.”