They spoke of where she came, who she was in the beginning, and the story of her youth was held as testament to the hardships the vast Universe will put forth before one is allowed to achieve renown. She survived a deadly massacre against her family and lived cut off from the land, compelled to find her way back to the Source. Her sister Molly conquered death and lived among the imposing Comanche, returning as if a ghost to her own people many years later, giving credence to the trials her family was forced to endure.
As for Emma, she knew little of the legacy she left behind in the Arizona Territory in the year 1877. With the unwavering support of her husband, she raised her sons while daily conversing with the world beside this world. She honed her gifts of sight and knowing, and gained knowledge of the healing arts through Sparrow and other spirit masters. She helped those who asked, and prayed for those who didn’t. And at the end of her life she passed with joy and peace to the other side, reuniting with Nathan, he of her visions and heart. Soon, they'll begin again.
Author’s Note
The first women to successfully ride the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon didn’t do so until 1938. Lois Jotter and Elzada Clover, with backgrounds in botany, were discouraged by many from attempting such an arduous trek. Their trip was also overshadowed with the disappearance of Bessie Hyde, who in 1929 attempted to navigate the river with her husband. Mysteriously, they disappeared just short of their goal, never to be seen again. But Jotter and Clover prevailed, collecting plant samples along the water’s edge as was their intention, and in so doing proved many wrong that the “river is no place for a woman.” –Buzz Holstrom.
I admit it’s a bold idea to place Emma Hart on the Colorado River in 1877, only six years after John Wesley Powell’s second expedition began. But she shared many characteristics with those early explorers—a love of adventure, a desire to do what other’s thought impossible, and a complete ignorance about what she was about to face. Emma and Nathan weren’t any different from those brave (or crazy, as some would say) achievers firmly etched in history.
For those diehards of the Grand Canyon, I’d like to beg your indulgence on a few points. In the story I assumed a low to medium flow of the Colorado River (5000 cfs or less), at least until the flooding near the end of the story, thus allowing Diamond and the Baxter brothers the ability to traverse the river by foot at Bright Angel Canyon. This enabled Diamond’s first encounter with Emma. Today, there’s a footbridge which provides easy access for hikers travelling from the south rim to Phantom Ranch (on the north side). But at low river flow more debris would be exposed at many of the rapids, most notably at Hance Rapid, the whitewater Emma navigated alone while Nathan watched from the shoreline. The more realistic option for this scene would have been for them to line and/or portage this stretch of water, but I must confess not nearly so interesting to write about. Hence, her daring solo feat in a rapid sometimes described as a pinball run. I also took creative leeway at the confluence of the Colorado River and Havasu Creek, where Nathan and Emma leave their boat to travel into Havasu Canyon. Because there are sheer walls at this location, it’s an unlikely place to secure a boat let alone hope it would remain for several days. This location, however, represented a turning point in the story, so the dory needed to stay. Today, boat anchors are embedded in the rock for those wishing to stop. And finally, for those familiar with the wooden dories used during Powell’s expeditions, one feature missing from Emma’s boat Paradise was a stern rowlock in which a scull oar was placed to aid in directional control. My reason for this was simple—Emma didn’t have a thorough knowledge of all things nautical.
While I made every effort to study and accurately portray major rapids and milestones along the course of the waterway (the granaries at Nankoweap, Redwall Cavern, Anasazi ruins, Vulcan’s Anvil, etc.), it was just as important to capture the spiritual landscape. The story isn’t so much a travelogue as a survey of a deeper, more complex layer of the Canyon as seen through Emma and Nathan’s experiences. The terrain, as I interpreted it, provided a template for the interior pilgrimage undertaken by Emma. This journey into the bowels of the earth—much like a voyage into the hidden resources of the Self—represents a catalyst for growth. Only at the edge of change and chaos does evolution occur. Thank you for coming along for the ride.
Acknowledgments
It’s impossible to thank every source, since the course of a book is a malleable and every-changing interplay of imagination and research, but there are several I would like to highlight.
For an understanding of the landscape of the Grand Canyon and the rapids in the late 1800’s, an excellent resource is Grand Canyon, a Century of Change: Rephotography of the 1889-1890 Stanton Expedition by Robert H. Webb. For the stories and traditions of the Hopi Indians, I referenced The Fourth World of the Hopis by Harold Courlander, a very thorough explanation of Hopi oral literature. For the Havasupai Indians, I recommend I Am The Grand Canyon: The Story of the Havasupai People by Stephen Hirst and Havasupai Legends: Religion and Mythology of the Havasupai Indians of the Grand Canyon by Carma Lee Smithson and Robert C. Fuller.
The controversial idea of cannibalism during the attack on Awatovi (late 1600’s) was proposed by anthropologist Christy Turner, and his complete analysis can be found in Man Corn: Cannibalism and Violence in the Prehistoric American Southwest by Christy G. Turner II and Jacqueline A. Turner. It should be noted that there are many critics against Turner’s work, as well as objections by the Hopi that their people would massacre, mutilate, and eat women and children of their own tribe. However, Turner presents detailed and compelling evidence to support his theory. His further research into the collapse of the Anasazi Indians (ancestors of the Hopi) in 1150 A.D. also reveals a possible cannibalistic trigger. In 1992, an excavation of a kiva at the base of Sleeping Ute Mountain in Colorado revealed a central hearth composed of desiccated human feces. Later analysis proved that the sample contained digested human meat. Along with evidence of chopped-up, boiled, and burned human bones at the site, it’s clear that a violent act had occurred, and with so many bodies was likely not due to starvation cannibalism. Coinciding with the vast collapse of the Anasazi culture in the Four Corners region of the United States, Turner hypothesizes that the Anasazi abandoned the central hub of their civilization—Chaco Canyon in New Mexico—due to infiltration, and subsequent terroristic control tactics (most notably cannibalism), by Mesoamerican culture. There is a strong correlation between the Mesoamerican deity Xipe Totec, a god of life-death-rebirth in Aztec mythology, and the Hopi deity Masau’u. Both were associated with, among other aspects, human sacrifice.
While there are many fine books written about shamanism, my favorite was Dreamgates: Exploring the Worlds of Soul, Imagination, and Life Beyond Death by Robert Moss. Emma’s evolution was a fairly compressed journey that can often take years for an individual to master. On the other hand, while in the imaginal realms, large quantities of teaching can take place in what would be considered instantaneous in our time frame.
Finally, I would like to thank my sister, Michelle Kearney, a seasonal Park Ranger at the Grand Canyon, for her insights and opinions on questions posed throughout the writing of this book. Mostly, she told me to come to the canyon and experience it for myself. In the words of the late Joseph Campbell, author and teacher of comparative mythology, “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” The Grand Canyon is just such a place, filled with the dark and the light.
About The Author
As a child, Kristy McCaffrey frequently narrated to herself. It soon became apparent that she had an affinity for this writing thing. Raised on a steady diet of sci-fi/fantasy and tales of King Arthur, she transferred this love of mythic storytelling to penning western romances once she decided, at long last, to pay attention to her natural inclinations. Educated as an engineer, she swiftly gave that up to be a stay-at-home mom and aspiring author. She and her husband live in the Arizona desert, where their four children are in v
arying stages of flying the nest. A great love of travel frequently ends up on her blog, along with attempts at humor. This is often at the expense of her kids, which has led them to proclaim, "We will no longer read your blog, Mom." They also refuse to follow her on Twitter. Kristy believes life should be lived with curiosity, compassion, and gratitude, and one should never be far from the enthusiasm of a dog. She also likes sleeping-in, eating Mexican food, and doing yoga at home in her pajamas.
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The Sparrow Page 29