Circle

At the bottom of the cliff, which looked exactly like I remembered it as a kid; bronzed multicolored jagged rock, sheared nearly straight up to the summit. I saw what could have been considered a path to up to the left. Mud was running down it from the extreme rain, but I thought if I could make the top, I would be able to see if anything was up there, and maybe even see for a few miles around in the general area—it was that highly elevated. I dropped my bag of clay, the bow and arrows, so that I could use both hands to make the arduous climb. I was going to need to pull myself up with both hands to keep from slipping back down the muddy rain-soaked path. This trail zigged up the mountain side, so I was thankful it had some level areas to catch my breath. I never realized just how tall that cliff was, but it was at least three or four hundred feet to reach the top, going nearly straight up. As I entered the flat area at the summit, at first glance there was nothing to note; tall brown grass and gracefully organized trees leading down slowly to the other side of the cliff. I bent down to not be seen and to blend into the tall grass as I made my way to the clearing near the top, which slopped down again, maybe fifty to one hundred feet near the edge of the field. And there it was—the native camp. Nestled in a well-worn area at the bottom of the ridge were some twenty tepees all neatly grouped together. Thanks to the thunder, lightning and pounding rain, I didn’t see any signs of life, but at least at that point I knew where exactly I should avoid. The village was simply amazing, like it was a picture from an old black and white cowboy movie. But I wasn’t there for sight-seeing, so I began to back out slowly crawling away from the camp to make my way back down to where I left my things and get away from that region before the storm moved off. Just as I made my way from the tall grass into a more open and visible area, something drew my attention from a small path to the north of where I crouched. I felt my heart skip a beat as I looked up to see a young native girl, maybe five or six years old, drenched and holding a basket, mouth slightly open and staring right at me. I marveled at her attire, a clothlike dress with ornate designs. As incredible as this was, this event was like a double punch to my chest. First, I was startled by the girl as I never thought I would be seen during a thunderstorm such as that one. Second, was the fact that I had been discovered. Fortunately for me, she just stood there in the pathway and stared as I stared back at her. Since I was crawling, I was on all fours and facing directly at her. I must have looked like a wild animal that just crawled out of the woods especially being on my hands and knees and sopping wet. I dared not move, because I was afraid that if I did, she would scream and well that would be that. I have no idea how long we were frozen like that—it may have been a few seconds or a few minutes. Time just stood still. But in a flash, the young girl was joined by what appeared to be her mother, a rather short, round native woman who was also carrying a basket. To try to make the situation a bit more plateable, I joked with myself that they must have been out grocery shopping. I don’t know, it’s just what popped into my head. But I totally understood the gravity of this showdown on the path. I just had no idea how to handle it. I figured no matter what, I had to get out of there and quickly. I decided that I should slowly stand up. Both the girl and the woman dropped their baskets, lowered their heads and fell to their knees. I supposed it was a combination of my skin color, my blue wind breaker and my height that disabled them. They may have started chanting or saying something, but I didn’t wait to find out and I was gone down the path before they could even look up. They probably didn’t even know where I went, and I was hoping they believed I was some type of rain god and that I went back up into the storm. My modern clothing must have really looked strange enough to them to make this believable along with being totally drenched. Not matter how I wanted to spin this; it wasn’t good. What were the chances that the woman would not tell the camp what she had seen, especially if I scared the daylights out of them when I stood up? So much for not being seen! Fortunately, I was able to retrieve my bow, arrows and clay at the bottom of the cliff.