Head to Whiskey Spring

'Are you alone?'

I answered carefully:

'No there are two others. They aren't far behind me.'

'Oh, there they are' one of the hikers pointed.

I turned and saw two figures in the distance. it was my pursuers. They waved to me, happy that I was leaving in the direction they had told me to. I waved back and continued down into Peralta Canyon, past the so-called Geronimo's Cave towards the road head. I was thoroughly determined to move back into the Superstitions at the earliest opportunity. When I emerged at the Peralta road head my pursuers would have expected me to go out to highway 60 via the access road.

I borrowed some water and sat down to prepare a hot drink of tea. Not far from me was Don's Camp but I had no intention of going in that direction. I packed up and proceeded east along the Dutchman's Trail towards Miner's Needle and Coffee Flat. Just before dusk I sneaked well off the trail to make camp, at a point where the Dutchman's and Coffee Flat trails met. It was a well concealed spot but all around the desert floor were patches of hedgehog cactus. I emptied the barbs of other cacti from my boots and started to prepare something to eat. As usual a piece of fruit, usually an orange, and some beef jerky. I shooed away some Walapai Tiger kissing bugs and some millipedes and lay down with my only my thoughts.

Tomorrow I would start to return to Weaver's Needle via the Dutchman's Trail and whatever shortcuts I found. Water would not be a problem as I would pass Bluff Spring, Oak Spring, La Barge Spring, an unnamed spring in Music Canyon and Charlebois Spring on the way to Needle Canyon. I pondered the location of the watchers. If they watched over the Massacre Grounds then what other parts of the Superstition Wilderness did they watch over?

As I lay looking at the clear sky i heard a voice.

'Over here.'

I turned and looked. It was an old Native American. He had a black cowboy hat covering his long silver and black hair,and a toothless smile.

I got up and walked towards him.

'You have had a little trouble in there' he said as he pointed to the northwest.

'Yes I must confess.'

'But you are going back. Can I ask why?'

'I don't really know.'

'You after the treasure?'

'I am not sure. If I found it I would leave it where it was, satisfied that I had found it.'

'You raven totem?'

His question surprised me.

'I was given a raven once.'

'You look raven totem.'

He sat down near my small fire and for several minutes said nothing. Then he spoke.

'Don't head to Needle. Your answer is not there, is it?'

'I don't know.'

'Raven totem is not at the Needle. You must go northeast from Whiskey Spring beyond Picacho Butte and Coffee Flat Mountains. There is no trail. The spirit of the raven will guide you. It is dangerous there and few trails. But you will know where to go. There will be watchers who know what you are doing. Watchers like those at Shoofly.'

His comment surprised me initially. But then I thought that in this abnormal world of spirit there were always surprises. I was getting used to them.

'Were you at Shoofly?'

'No, but I know that you were there. I know you were at Tonto Bridge also. Some say you were at Casa Grande. You leave the stone, the stone of our forefathers, in the rivers. My people know you are searching. You find marker in Willow Canyon.'

'I have been watched all along I guess.'

'Yes, we wait for stone carriers to come. They sent by the ancestors. They know we are all related. From all four corners of the earth. They know of flood of long ago when the Tohono o'Odham gave us the secrets of water. We not want the gold, only peace.'

'And you sir. What is your tribe?'

'It is same as yours. Tohono. I live on second mesa with the Hopi, our relatives.'

'I am Tohono?'

'Yes. Your people were Tohono but from a different earth corner. There is no difference. We are one and same.'

'Would you like tea?'

'Yes.'

I poured him some tea and he sipped at it. I learnt in later conversation that he was a shaman of the Long Hair Kachinas, and that he was here to specifically tell me that I must search beyond the Lost Dutchman legend. The answer was not there. He sang:

'At the edge of a cornfield a bird will sing with them
in the oneness of their happiness.

So they will sing together in tune with the universal power,
in harmony with the one creator of all things.

And the bird song,
And the people's song,
And the song of life will become one.'

I listened as he sang it over and over and I fell into an almost trance-like state. We talked long into the night, stoking the fire regularly to keep us warm. He produced a pipe of Arizona pipestone and he stuffed it with Native tobacco.

'Spirit rises with the smoke. Spirit joins in our hearts as we take in the smoke. The smoke is mixed in you and I. Now all spirits watch over you. See you safe to the end of this journey. Start you on a new journey and watch you then. Tomorrow I take you to Picacho Butte and show you the direction of your journey. Stay on the path I show you and you will come to the place chosen for you. Journey will not end there. A new journey begins there. Journey of the stone carrier is neverending. It goes also into the spirit world, beyond what we see. You will find the circle of life and meaning beyond your years. very old secret will unfold for you.'

He was foretelling what he thought would happen to me, but his words became even more cryptic.

'Snake wind through valley. Earthquake thrown trees and rocks down. Many die. Snake he finds apple tree and offers it to people of the river. River people are undecided. There are fish in the river. Snake writhes at center of his body, twists and turns. Twists and turns. It steals into the darkness of the valley. The fish lurk at bottom of the stream. Dead meat on ground where hawk flies overhead. Hawk looking. Snake gets tired. Snake unwinding. Hawk waits for it to die. Silence. Snake not moving. Snake spirit on journey. Hawk strikes at snake not moving. Hawk is eating. But snake spirit gone long ago to far off place. In new body same snake. Snake on wall twists in many places. far off places. Same snake each time. Same snake each time. Four corners of the world, and underworld, same snake spirit.'

I opened my bag and took out a greenstone pendant. Rubec had told me it was a grandfather stone. I gave it to the old man. Toby was his English name, from Tobias. He thanked me and then gave me a small plastic bag with seven pieces of azurite.

'The medicine. For entry into life circle.'

We both fell asleep. When I woke Toby was preparing a herbal drink.

'For strength. You will need for your journey.'

I drank the cup he offered without question. I had no idea of its ingredients. He produced a small leather pouch.

'Inside is medicine. You have just drunk it. There is enough in bag for journey.'

He pinched a small amount between his thumb and forefinger and showed me how much to brew. I was starting to feel high, but not in a stoned sense. My feet felt light on the ground and I felt tall as if I could take giant strides. I imagined this is how I would feel if I was subject only to the moon's gravity.'

background: detail from 'Let Me Pass!, Kosovo' by inanga

courtesy of Google Earth, Panoramio, Picasa 3, SmugMug, Google and Mozilla Firefox 2009

Head to Whiskey Spring

'Are you alone?'

I answered carefully:

'No there are two others. They aren't far behind me.'

'Oh, there they are' one of the hikers pointed.

I turned and saw two figures in the distance. it was my pursuers. They waved to me, happy that I was leaving in the direction they had told me to. I waved back and continued down into Peralta Canyon, past the so-called Geronimo's Cave towards the road head. I was thoroughly determined to move back into the Superstitions at the earliest opportunity. When I emerged at the Peralta road head my pursuers would have expected me to go out to highway 60 via the access road.

I borrowed some water and sat down to prepare a hot drink of tea. Not far from me was Don's Camp but I had no intention of going in that direction. I packed up and proceeded east along the Dutchman's Trail towards Miner's Needle and Coffee Flat. Just before dusk I sneaked well off the trail to make camp, at a point where the Dutchman's and Coffee Flat trails met. It was a well concealed spot but all around the desert floor were patches of hedgehog cactus. I emptied the barbs of other cacti from my boots and started to prepare something to eat. As usual a piece of fruit, usually an orange, and some beef jerky. I shooed away some Walapai Tiger kissing bugs and some millipedes and lay down with my only my thoughts.

Tomorrow I would start to return to Weaver's Needle via the Dutchman's Trail and whatever shortcuts I found. Water would not be a problem as I would pass Bluff Spring, Oak Spring, La Barge Spring, an unnamed spring in Music Canyon and Charlebois Spring on the way to Needle Canyon. I pondered the location of the watchers. If they watched over the Massacre Grounds then what other parts of the Superstition Wilderness did they watch over?

As I lay looking at the clear sky i heard a voice.

'Over here.'

I turned and looked. It was an old Native American. He had a black cowboy hat covering his long silver and black hair,and a toothless smile.

I got up and walked towards him.

'You have had a little trouble in there' he said as he pointed to the northwest.

'Yes I must confess.'

'But you are going back. Can I ask why?'

'I don't really know.'

'You after the treasure?'

'I am not sure. If I found it I would leave it where it was, satisfied that I had found it.'

'You raven totem?'

His question surprised me.

'I was given a raven once.'

'You look raven totem.'

He sat down near my small fire and for several minutes said nothing. Then he spoke.

'Don't head to Needle. Your answer is not there, is it?'

'I don't know.'

'Raven totem is not at the Needle. You must go northeast from Whiskey Spring beyond Picacho Butte and Coffee Flat Mountains. There is no trail. The spirit of the raven will guide you. It is dangerous there and few trails. But you will know where to go. There will be watchers who know what you are doing. Watchers like those at Shoofly.'

His comment surprised me initially. But then I thought that in this abnormal world of spirit there were always surprises. I was getting used to them.

'Were you at Shoofly?'

'No, but I know that you were there. I know you were at Tonto Bridge also. Some say you were at Casa Grande. You leave the stone, the stone of our forefathers, in the rivers. My people know you are searching. You find marker in Willow Canyon.'

'I have been watched all along I guess.'

'Yes, we wait for stone carriers to come. They sent by the ancestors. They know we are all related. From all four corners of the earth. They know of flood of long ago when the Tohono o'Odham gave us the secrets of water. We not want the gold, only peace.'

'And you sir. What is your tribe?'

'It is same as yours. Tohono. I live on second mesa with the Hopi, our relatives.'

'I am Tohono?'

'Yes. Your people were Tohono but from a different earth corner. There is no difference. We are one and same.'

'Would you like tea?'

'Yes.'

I poured him some tea and he sipped at it. I learnt in later conversation that he was a shaman of the Long Hair Kachinas, and that he was here to specifically tell me that I must search beyond the Lost Dutchman legend. The answer was not there. He sang:

'At the edge of a cornfield a bird will sing with them
in the oneness of their happiness.

So they will sing together in tune with the universal power,
in harmony with the one creator of all things.

And the bird song,
And the people's song,
And the song of life will become one.'

I listened as he sang it over and over and I fell into an almost trance-like state. We talked long into the night, stoking the fire regularly to keep us warm. He produced a pipe of Arizona pipestone and he stuffed it with Native tobacco.

'Spirit rises with the smoke. Spirit joins in our hearts as we take in the smoke. The smoke is mixed in you and I. Now all spirits watch over you. See you safe to the end of this journey. Start you on a new journey and watch you then. Tomorrow I take you to Picacho Butte and show you the direction of your journey. Stay on the path I show you and you will come to the place chosen for you. Journey will not end there. A new journey begins there. Journey of the stone carrier is neverending. It goes also into the spirit world, beyond what we see. You will find the circle of life and meaning beyond your years. very old secret will unfold for you.'

He was foretelling what he thought would happen to me, but his words became even more cryptic.

'Snake wind through valley. Earthquake thrown trees and rocks down. Many die. Snake he finds apple tree and offers it to people of the river. River people are undecided. There are fish in the river. Snake writhes at center of his body, twists and turns. Twists and turns. It steals into the darkness of the valley. The fish lurk at bottom of the stream. Dead meat on ground where hawk flies overhead. Hawk looking. Snake gets tired. Snake unwinding. Hawk waits for it to die. Silence. Snake not moving. Snake spirit on journey. Hawk strikes at snake not moving. Hawk is eating. But snake spirit gone long ago to far off place. In new body same snake. Snake on wall twists in many places. far off places. Same snake each time. Same snake each time. Four corners of the world, and underworld, same snake spirit.'

I opened my bag and took out a greenstone pendant. Rubec had told me it was a grandfather stone. I gave it to the old man. Toby was his English name, from Tobias. He thanked me and then gave me a small plastic bag with seven pieces of azurite.

'The medicine. For entry into life circle.'

We both fell asleep. When I woke Toby was preparing a herbal drink.

'For strength. You will need for your journey.'

I drank the cup he offered without question. I had no idea of its ingredients. He produced a small leather pouch.

'Inside is medicine. You have just drunk it. There is enough in bag for journey.'

He pinched a small amount between his thumb and forefinger and showed me how much to brew. I was starting to feel high, but not in a stoned sense. My feet felt light on the ground and I felt tall as if I could take giant strides. I imagined this is how I would feel if I was subject only to the moon's gravity.'

background: detail from 'Let Me Pass!, Kosovo' by inanga

courtesy of Google Earth, Panoramio, Picasa 3, SmugMug, Google and Mozilla Firefox 2009