“Very impressive, Lucifer. Too bad you’re not permitted to actually strike me with it. Show yourself and we’ll talk. I’m sure that’s why you’ve come down here from the top. It’s just like you to make your little speech, while your subordinates are up there waiting on me, and are left alone to face me when you decide to go elsewhere?”
There was an uproarious and immediate blast of strong wind against the face of the wolf, blowing his hair rearward and in tight against his body. It howled fiercely upon him for a time—an earsplitting wail all around him. Thunder exploded about him as well. Lightning continued to strike very near to him—relentlessly; one bolt immediately after another and still another. The face of the mountain appeared to be ablaze with this constantly erratic and authoritative hail of light. The wolf however stood erect, unmoved by these sudden bursts of humanly unfathomable power against him and about him.
The onlookers in the valley far below could see the horrendous and unnerving display of lightning high above them. Violent explosions of thunder and the wailing of wind had also reached their ears. Some cried out in terror. Many in the Indian village fell to their knees. There was both praying and weeping among them, but Bear Claw and his family stood fast, the elder still clutching the blue stone in his hand.
The great herd of cattle in the camp south of town became increasingly restless. The drovers rode back and forth among them, attempting to avoid a stampede. The three fishermen to their west were huddled together in their tent, but refused to close themselves in, continuing their utterly captive watch on the mountain. The barn doors in the orange grove remained opened as well, those inside the structure most attentive, while the onlookers at the Lone Pine Hotel and Restaurant, now gathered outside on the front porch, held tightly onto one another’s hands.
Then, suddenly, all was quiet—in the twinkling of an eye. The wind stood still. The clouds above and along the crest remained dark and threatening, but their movement had ceased. The innumerable lightnings and resounding blasts of thunder had come to an abrupt halt as well. The wolf then sniffed the air, his eyes scanning the rocky terrain just ahead of him. There was a familiar movement within the Force.
From out of nowhere a most imposing, diamondback rattlesnake suddenly appeared amongst the rocks and slithered its way toward him, but the impressive viper’s rattle was silent. The great serpent ceased its approach just forward of the wolf and quickly raised its head, while its tail whisked slowly back and forth between the rocks. The serpent of old then spoke to him.
“We meet again, Michael. When was the last time? I believe I’ve forgotten.”
“I don’t think so,” Michael responded. “Our mental powers are indeed great, and we don’t forget. Or, perhaps I need to say that we shouldn’t forget. It seems that you’ve forgotten that you were once a morning star—a son of the dawn. But as it is written—‘you were cast down to the earth, for you had said in your heart that you would ascend to heaven and raise your throne above the stars of God, and make yourself like the Most High.’
“So now you shake the earth and make kingdoms tremble. You’ve made the world a desert and have overthrown its cities and don’t let any of your captives go home. You are however covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, for you’ve destroyed your land and killed your people. But a time will come when your yoke will be taken from the people, and your burden removed from their shoulders.”
The serpent hissed, rejecting Michael’s words. “Your powers are not equal to mine! If the Most High were not standing right beside you, I could destroy you in an instant. My servants could overcome yours, and my domain would increase into the heavens and I would take my stand against the Most High himself!”
The wolf smiled. “Your servants tremble at the very thought of the Most High. They know their time is short. Why don’t you? And furthermore, I was always stronger than you as a boy because my powers were used for good. When we became young men you were cast out, which separated you from the Most High and made you weak. And in your weakness you’ve even stooped to terrorizing old men and children—like Bear Claw and his granddaughter down below. Leave them alone.
“If you recall, when you and I disputed over the body of Moses, you lost. And in the days of Daniel I was there to thwart your excessive rule over the Persian kingdom. You have always tried to go beyond the limits set for you, Lucifer, yet at no time have I ever brought railing accusation against you, for only the Most High is your judge in these matters. I serve him now as I did then. Your time on this mountain is over as well. Take your servants and go.”
“You are stubborn,” the serpent hissed. “Join me and become my brother. We will rule the entire universe as one!” A harsh and evil laughter immediately followed the words of the creature, then ceased abruptly as it glared into the eyes of the wolf. “You don’t know the power of the dark side!”
The wolf clenched its teeth together. Only its lips moved when it spoke. “Get behind me, Satan. I go up the mountain to send your servants away. The Most High will be merciful, but if they continue to resist, they will be sent to Sheol and chained in the darkness of Tartarus until the appointed time. I’m sure that you don’t want...”
An unexpected rush of wind against his face at that instant immediately interrupted Michael’s words, as the serpent vanished completely from his sight. A rage filled, menacing scream could be heard echoing among the rocks all around him. The sound of it gradually faded away into the night. The wolf was wary and continued to scan the terrain about him with much care, but there was no sign of the prince of darkness.
The wolf then stepped out under the full moon and traversed the plateau, just minutes later reaching the lower escarpments of a harrowing ascent toward the summit block. A snow-covered chute made its way up along the northern face of the great mountain—from that very point on the northwestern edge of the plateau where the wolf now stood. His eyes narrowed, his senses quite alert as he surveyed the terrain ahead of him.
The pass was rugged and steep, but the only route open to the far western slope of the summit. The western slope itself gradually ascended over 500 feet to the very top of the mountain—a broad plateau where the entire valley and several mountain ranges beyond could be seen below and to the east. Views to the north, south and west encompassed literally hundreds of majestic peaks and several yawning divides that were relatively unknown to men and awaited exploration.
The summit plateau itself was nearly as wide as it was long, and was providentially decorated with broken slabs of pure white granite and small boulders of various sizes. The temperatures were usually well below freezing at night, but this highest point in the continental United States remained unattainable by men, and was presently the abode of nearly four thousand restless spirits of darkness, who from this most lofty point wreaked havoc upon a vast expanse of land that had been formed between two great oceans.
The unsuspecting inhabitants of this great land were under the domain of these dark forces, and lived their human lives for the most part totally unaware of any spiritual disorder within themselves. Many believed that the human heart was basically good, heedless of its wicked and deceitful nature. The evil spirits took advantage of this ignorance, leading the people into lust, greed, envy, bitterness, anger, hatred, strife, and many other crimes of the heart. The gathering of so many evil spirits on the mountain was their strength over the whole of the land.
But the outcries from a few human hearts across the nation had reached the ears of the Most High, and He remembered as well the outcries from Egypt long centuries before, when cruel, unrelenting taskmasters sorely oppressed His chosen people into slavery and many other forms of ill treatment. A great gathering of wicked spirits in said land, that at one point had entered into a whole army of Egyptians; who themselves were just afterward drowned beneath the mighty waters of the Red Sea, were eventually scattered to the four winds.
Those evil ones scattered over the face of the earth took on countless forms throughout
the succeeding three millenniums, but it wasn’t until the fifteenth century A.D. that many of them joined what was at that time just a small cadre of evil atop the mountain, which force had been there since the Great Flood. A host of others had gradually made their way into this country in later years, and were in random places as the nation was being populated and formed—but on one, dark day, Lucifer called them all together atop the great mountain, that they might be exceedingly powerful in their unity; and so they have remained.
But now, on August 17, 1873, some 400 years after the evil spirit population had exploded on the mountain, the Most High would give answer to the cries from within the hearts of his chosen people; according to His plan, at His chosen time, and in accordance with His perfect will. His most trusted and honored representative in thwarting gatherings such as this was Michael, the archangel, who had many times before carried out the will of the Most High. On this night of the full moon, in the year of the bear, things would be no different.
The wolf made his way upward from the lower plateau atop a thin layer of frozen snow, its crystals glistening all about him in the moonlight. Sometime later, his trek still leading him up and across the northern face of the mountain, he finally reached the 14,000-foot level, where the western slope approached the summit plateau—an unobstructed gateway to the very top.
He climbed the slope, his breath visible in the chilling night air, and soon reached the broad, summit plateau above. In the center of that plateau and perhaps just one hundred yards from the very highest point on the mountain, which overlooked the entire valley below, stood the form of a man. Michael soon recognized what had been the in-life form of Abe Cutler—the crazy-eyed outlaw whom he had faced in the restaurant on the previous morning.
The wolf pranced across the rocks toward him, soon coming to a halt in his immediate presence. This form of a man wore the same disheveled clothing he had worn in life the very day before. The tone of the specter’s fleshly appearance was a pale white about the face and hands—like that of a dead man. His eyes were wide open and red in color, and when he spoke there came forward from his mouth the sound of many voices.
“What have we to do with you, warrior of the Most High? Have you come to torment us before the time? Your form is fierce and threatening—but you know that you are not permitted to do this,” the voices echoed.
The wolf displayed its fangs, but spoke in a moderate tone. “And who might you be?”
The demonic form smirked grotesquely, its bone-like teeth yellowed and decayed. “I am Legion—for we are many!” That chorus of many voices coming out of the specter echoed about the wolf, and was like a sudden gust of wind that momentarily ruffled his fur.
Michael stood still, the claws on each of his four paws erect. “No—I’m not here to torment you, but you do know that if you don’t leave this high mountain of your own freewill, and if you choose to strongly resist, the Most High will send you into the depths of Sheol—to Tartarus, the place of chains and utter darkness. You will roam no more upon the earth.”
The demons hissed from the mouth of the specter, but then spoke in only one voice—that of Abe Cutler. “I’m the worst of this lot. I am now their strongest voice. You did me a favor when you killed me in that town down below. I say we’re gonna’ fight and take our chances. This will be my first victory among the spirits, and I’m lookin’ forward to it! The Force is strong within me.”
“You’re a poor leader,” the wolf responded. “Those dwelling inside of you know who I am. I have faced many of them before. And it won’t be any different for you than it was when you were alive—down there in Lone Pine. I put you in the grave. Your body’s still layin’ there, where the good folk’s down yonder buried it, and if it comes to it, I can see that your spirit is put in living darkness—and chained; unable to find your way past your own nose.”
“We are strong as one,” the voice of Abe Cutler insisted. “I’ve persuaded all those inside me to trust in my judgment. We will overcome you! We are many!”
“You’re judgment isn’t worth much—and I’m right here,” Michael said. “What are you gonna’ do?”
At that moment there was a great outpouring of wind from the mouth of the specter. All the demons within him suddenly flew out from his mouth—one at a time, yet it happened very quickly—within just moments of time. A host of nearly 4000 demons soon flew free in all directions above the top of the mountain and in the light of the full moon.
They then dove at Michael in large groups, brushing against the fur on his back. They screamed and laughed horridly into his ears as they flew around him as trails of smoke—only their long, flowing hair and grotesque facial lineaments were visible. They soon broke into smaller more numerous groups that continued to dive close into and about the wolf, gnashing their teeth at him.
They blocked the moon’s light in their efforts, and railed on Michael with profane words and the babblings and threats of utter madness and folly. This they continued to do without relenting, as Michael stood both erect and motionless before them.
Chapter Fourteen
The corpse-like form of Abe Cutler soon opened his mouth once again. The redness in his eyes then glowed brightly, and the demons flying about suddenly reentered his body in a great rush of wind—as quickly as they had left it. Once they were all inside of him he coughed deeply, phlegm emitting from the corners of his mouth. There was convulsion as he spat several times upon the rocks, his eyes rolled back into his head and he screamed aloud—but he soon regained his composure and faced the wolf, many voices again speaking from the mouth of the demon.
“Now you have seen Satanic power beyond your own comprehension. We have not yet even begun to fight! We are Legion! We will remain on this high mountain—we will also ascend above the stars and be like the Most High! What can you do—a mere angel—what can you do all alone?” A hideous laughter of many voices then bellowed forth out of the demon. There was smoke and fire from its eyes.
In the next moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the wolf pounced upon the chest of the specter with all four’s, knocking the demon flat onto the granite slab it had stood upon. The wolf stood erect atop the bodily form and opened his mouth, displaying its white fangs and growling ferociously with a harsh and powerful noise that transcended that of a great bear.
At that moment an exceedingly bright light from within the heart of the wolf bolted outward from its mouth like lightning, and radiated straightway into the mouth of the specter. There was the reverberating sound of a great wind. The wolf moved its head in close and opened its mouth even wider, the light from within him now unfathomably brilliant.
The demons within the specter shuddered violently beneath the outstretched paws of the great wolf. The illumination was overwhelming—its unrivaled brilliance could be seen ’round about them, lighting up the entire summit of the mountain. Within their dark souls in just a moment of time the evil spirits felt the infinite and ever-present, reigning sovereignty of the Most High; the purest spirit in all the Force.
“Do not send us to the abyss!” many voices cried out suddenly from within the demon. “We beg of you—there is a large herd of cattle in the plain down below. Permit us to enter into them! Be merciful!”
The wolf raised his eyes to the heavens, the blazing light from his mouth gone in an instant. He then heard the powerful yet gentle voice of the Most High.
“Let it be so, Michael.”
He quickly looked back into the eyes of the specter. “You have permission!”
He stepped off the body and down from the slab of rock, then turned about to see the demons suddenly fleeing from inside the specter, rising up into the darkened expanse above in a great rush of wind that again ruffled his fur. The form of Abe Cutler thrashed about against the rock and then rose as well, its eyes wide in terror as it flew up into the night sky to join the others.
They flew in mass through the moonlit sky to the east, appearing as a long, dark yet shapeless cloud that rushed over th
e land as a mighty wind, and with the piercing sound thereof, suddenly descended upon the great herd of cattle far to the south of town. There was mooing and snorting and great confusion among the animals, who ran impulsively toward the southeast and soon formed a wide, unrelenting stampede as they headed down the sloped plain toward the great lake.
The riders among them were caught by surprise, the animals having been somewhat calm just moments before. The rush of the sudden stampede knocked some of the men from their horses and they fled for their lives, running toward either side of the large heard. The thundering of hooves was deafening and thick clouds of dust filled the air, making it difficult for the men to breathe or find their way to safety.
Slim Woodson, along with Bruce Smith and Donnie Crawford were able to stay mounted, but those men lost the chase against the cattle when the animals on the point suddenly approached and ran violently over the edge of the high cliff that bordered the lake, with the remainder of that large herd following directly behind them amidst clouds of dust.
The cattle in great numbers mooed and squirmed about as they hurtled through the air and splashed headlong into the waters of the great lake. Ed Winter rode up behind Woodson and the others who were riding hard toward the cliff as the last of the herd made its leap. Moments later the cowboys all reined in just short of the cliff’s edge; thick dust and sand all about them, the frightened mooing of hundreds of drowning cattle far below them.
The dust settled after a time, and in the moonlight the drovers at the edge of the cliff could see several cows attempting to stay afloat in the somewhat turbulent waters. Some had made it to a shallow part of the lake, a few hundred feet south of the high cliff. But there were many carcasses afloat on the water, and even a greater number that remained submerged.
Three Days In LONE PINE, An Untold Tale of The High Sierra Page 18