cibola / zuni indians

[oroblanco]

Hola amigo Cubfan!

No you aren't the only one, it very well could be a man in a robe, or a woman in a dress, if it is a man in a robe like a priest.....! Makes a guy wonder what else is close by?
Roy

[RockyFrisco]

Roc2Rol, isn't it funny that your typo actually was correct for Koko's wife!

-Rock

[RockyFrisco]

The third man we met during that vacation many years ago was dressed for walking through the mountains. We were traveling up a steep mountain track that was barely wide enough to accommodate the 1949 Chevy Carryall. As we drove through a meadow high up on a mountainside, we saw a man walking up the trail ahead of us. He had a bag and a walking stick. His clothes were worn but well-maintained. As we passed him, he grinned at us. His smile had some teeth missing and he looked a little bit silly. As we drove on up the track, we had some pointless conversation about him and I started calling him, "The Idiot." This was unnecessarily uncharitable, but I had been reading Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, "The Idiot," and it just seemed natural. Eventually, we reached our destination, a ridge that overlooked two canyons. My father found a fairly level spot and parked the truck. He told us to stay in the truck and not get out except to pee; then he got his rifle and headed off down the canyon to the right. The rifle was a Winchester Model 70 in 300 H&H Magnum, a very powerful weapon, but he was hunting mule deer and they can be hard to stop. My sister was just a baby back then, so she mostly slept, while I, my mother and grandmother read books or magazines. I wanted to explore, but my father was absolute monarch of his brood, so I didn't even consider disobeying him. I also understood that he was a very good woodsman and he would know exactly where we were and not shoot in our direction. If I was off haring around, I might even be mistaken for game. I was reading my book and we were making jokes and scary stories about "The Idiot," wondering if he would murder us, when, just as I was making a rude comment about "The Idiot," there he was, standing right by my window. I must have jumped a foot in the air, and he laughed. He said "Agua" and pointed to his mouth. I was relieved that he had probably not understood what I was saying or that I was talking about him. I'm sure he had plenty of water, but understood that we had a lot more than we needed. Like sleep or a cigarette to a soldier, you get what you can whenever you can, so he wanted to conserve his water supply. My mother got him a paper cup full of water and then made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and handed them to him out the window. He said "Gracias" and nodded his head a number of times in gratitude. Then he pointed on down the ridge in the direction he was traveling and named a very small town in that direction and said "vaquero." From this, I understood that he was walking at least another 50 miles over the mountain to work as a cowboy. Even as young as I was, I knew that cowboys hate to walk, but he was wearing sturdy moccasins, so I reckoned that his boots were in the bag. My mother offered him another sandwich and he carefully put it in the bag. Then he sort-of bowed to us and headed on down the trail. Just before he passed out of sight behind some quakies, he waved goodbye to us, then he disappeared. I commented to my mother and grandmother, "Boy, am I going to have some great stories to tell back in school!"

My father got his deer that day, a really large buck. He came back with the guys from the ranch later that evening and they packed him out. We had venison for months back home. The meat was a little bit tough, but my mother was a great cook and she tenderized it in a pressure cooker and it was very good. We used that same pressure cooker on our trips, since you could boil beans for hours on a campfire or Coleman stove at the higher altitudes and they would still be hard as little rocks.

There, Jim, that's the last story about the three remarkable men we met that year in Colorado.

-Rock

[Jim Hatt]

Great stories Rocky,

Funny how those memories seem so vivid, and yet go back such a long ways isn't it? The way you remember every little detail is amazing!

But... Can you remember what you had for breakfast this morning?

Jim

[silent hunter]

Ok now look at this. Now what do you think? The first drawing was different than the indian writtings, I mean in that it wasn't as deep. None of the drawings left by the spanish were deep, They seemed to be a different type of writting all togather. What you can't see is that first drawing is and look close!!! The shape seems to me, to have a arm holding a object and striking another shape that is bowed down in front of the standing object.. All of these photos suffer in comparison to the acuall drawing.

[silent hunter]

Ok Mrs.oroblanco and Roy. What does this seem to say in spanish!!! I photographed it in blue light so you could see it. Someone had tryed to destroy it but it photographed the best in blue.. This will be the last of the spanish drawings i will include,but i have a couple more zuni that i will include later.

[Mrs.Oroblanco]

Silent Hunter,

I could probably translate it if I could see it. I really cannot tell what the lettering is.

Could you either just give me the letters, or a clearer picture? I know you probably cannot make a better picture, I tried different ways of blowing it up and sharpening it, but that didn't work. If I could just see (or you can give me) the individual letters, it could help.

Beth (Mrs. O)

[oroblanco]

Hola amigos,

Silent Hunter I am sorry I can't make out enough details to make a good guess, even with my glasses on. It is just tantalizing enough to drive a guy crazy, and you have to wonder WHY someone tried to erase it? There is also a detail to the left of the script writing (second line) which is a bit shocking - it looks to me to be an English Broad Arrow!

one-hilited-BA.jpg

Here is an example (from Bermuda, put in by the British War Dept, hence "WD") and it is NOT a direction marker, but a mark of ownership of England.


Now this may be completely wrong, but I would sure look that place over carefully! I know the Spanish have the most history in the southwest, but the English were their competitors, at least as far back as Drake's stay in California in 1579. You never know what you will find in the southwest, whether Spanish, French, English or even Russian!
Roy ~ Oroblanco

[roc2rol]

don't know if this is helpful
but if it is lettering
it appears to be in cursive
and the 1st letter look like a Z

[silent hunter]

I am stumped with this one!!!! I have had thoses letters in front of me and still cant figure out the message. I have a normal color photo of it i will post it this afternoon..