Rock Creek Vision Stories

Rock Creek Vision Stories

While participating

in the 1995 Gathering at Rock Creek, Nevada,

I spent time walking

and talking to the Rock People in the canyon through which Rock Creek flows. On one of my walks I lay down next to the basalt Cliff of Faces and looking up saw three Eagles circling overhead.

They invited me into the Sacred Silence and I quickly entered.

Once I had deeply immersed myself in the Sacred Silence I was visited by Coyote who told me that he was going to take me on a journey and would tell me two stories along the way. Coyote admonished me not to forget these stories. Fearing a trick, I have kept these stories close until recently, when I realized that they were meant to be shared with others. As Coyote told the stories I journeyed into each and became an active participant in both. Here are my Vision Stories: Coyote first took me back in time and to a place, now lost to the memory of the Elders, where all living things were happy and the Circle of Life was unbroken. The People enjoyed the vast storehouse of riches that Mother Earth provided for them.

They lived in harmony with

everything and obeyed the Laws of the Creator taking only what they needed and neither wasting nor destroying that which had been entrusted to them. The Creator was happy, Mother Earth was happy, and the People were happy. I felt happy and content as Coyote and I looked down upon the World. Next Coyote took me to a time when White People began to invade the land. We traveled to a place known as Newe Sogobia, the ancestral homelands of the Western Shoshone, now the state of Nevada. We were in a time of great sadness and evil prevailed throughout this once beautiful land. The Circle of Life lay twisted and broken on the parched desert earth. The Creator was angry. Mother Earth was sad and dying. The People were unhappy and bewildered by the destructive ways of the White People. These strangers wanted to possess everything, a concept quite contrary to the way the Elders had taught them to live...they had always shared everything

with one another.

The Whites, in their greed, share with no one. The Whites did not obey the

Laws of the Creator, instead they spoiled and destroyed everything. Nothing was left to chance and nothing left untouched by their wanton ways. They knew nothing of Balance and paid but lip service to Stewardship.

They counted wealth only in the accumulation of objects.

I felt very sad

as I watched the slow death of allthat had once been Good,True, and Pure. I wanted to run away, but Coyote fixed my gaze to the horriblesights that were unfoldingbeneath us. Tears began to drip down my face, falling onto the heat cracked Earth below. Soon most of the mighty Newe People disappeared and were replaced by hoards of Whites who inhabited a now wasted landscape. The smell of Death filled the air.

Coyote next took me to a MountainTop and there we rested. It was during this resting time that Coyote took me into my first Vision Story... Looking about the mountain top I saw a brush house nearby. As I studied the Sage construction of this simple shelter, a very old man emerged from within and stood in the doorway for a moment, adjusting his eyes to the glare of a bright sun. Moving a short distance from his house he stopped and looked around. He was wrinkled and weathered by time but walked straight, albeit, slowly. His posture told me quickly that he was one of the few remaining Elders of the Newe People. Satisfied with what he saw, he reentered his house. I immediately realized that he was a Wise Old Man. I became distracted from watching the Old Man by sounds that seemed to be coming from

the base of the mountain upon whichwe were resting. Lookingdown, and some distance away, I saw that there was a small settlement positioned near the mountain. The settlement was filled with White People. Coyote indicated that we were to travel down into the settlement,

and this we

did with some difficulty as we were no longer flying as before, but were walking down a very dangerous mountain path. Exhausted, we entered the small settlement and paused to look back upon the mountain from whence we had descended.

To my horror, the mountain was scarred by the telltale mounds

of earth exhumed by greedy Whites seeking their fortunes in gold and silver. I glanced upon the face of Coyote and saw great pain. The Trickster had a heart, after all.

Coyote and I walked among the Whites, and were not recognized. They appeared to be too consumed with their daily routines to be bothered with two strangers walking into their town. We walked and we watched.

We were a part of, yet distant from the busy lives being played out

before us. Such as it was, I was chilled by the spectacle. Off in the distance, near the edge of the settlement, we heard the clatter of voices raised in anger. We looked. Three boys, who appeared to be between the ages of ten and fourteen, were being lectured to by the sheriff.

We listened.

If would seem that the sheriff had had many encounters with the trio as he was reciting off a litany of prior trouble that they had initiated or been involved in. He told him that he was finished trying to help them deal with the harsh realities of life and that the next time he encountered them breaking the law, he would be forced to put them in jail. Coyote and I could tell by their smirk-smiles that they were paying no mind to the sheriff and were ready to take flight at any moment.

We realized that we were watching the birth of future outlaws.

Once the sheriff had dismissed the lads they scurried around the corner of the pool hall and disappeared in a cloud of street-dust.

The sheriff returned to his office. The town became

quiet. Looking back up Main Street, from whence we had come, we observed, off in the distance, the approach of a hunched, withered old man. His walk, though slow, was firm and direct. He was a man who knew where he was going and what he was doing. He had a purpose. Pausing before the open front door of the General Store, the old man shook the dust of the walk from his patched but clean clothes and entered. We followed, somehow captivated by this unusual creature, not knowing what to make of him. Although the store was already brimming with customers, the old man entered and spoke not a word, nor indicated in any manner, that he acknowledge the others. They, on the other hand, appeared to see but not see, the old man. A hushed silence fell over the group. People stopped in mid-sentence and stared at the old man as he moved about the shelves of supplies, selecting those that he wanted, often looking at a crumpled list that he had taken from his pocket. Although he appeared not to notice the stares and back-handed whisperings as he went about his

business, somehow we knew that he was fully aware of the others. Once the old man had gathered the goods together that he wanted to purchase he approached the counter behind which stood the owner and newly elected major of the settlement. An altogether stern man, the storekeeper frowned as the old man approached.

Still the old man

had said nothing to anyone in the store, not even to the clerk as he laid out his things to be tallied. The storekeeper showed signs of already being upset over something and the presence of this sullen old man was all he could take. He exploded! "Old man...you worthless old fool! You come in here week after week, month after month, year after year and buy your rations, take them back up to your mountain and have never had a kind word, or any word for that matter, for anyone you encounter along the way. What in the name of God is wrong with you?" You see being the mayor of this settlement was a task of great responsibility and one that the storekeeper was not prepared to handle. As time passed he became more and more frustrated with his position of authority because he was no better equipped to handle the daily problems of a fledgling settlement than anyone else. Most recently he was besides himself in trying to cope with three very evil boys that continued to vex just about everyone.

He had tried talking with the parents. No help. He tried talking with the

boys. No results. Everything that he tried, seemed to fall short of an intended outcome.

The lads

just got worse. "I'll tell you what, old man... Why don't you do something for someone other than doing just for yourself?".

The old man never once looked up or showed any sign that he was listening

to the mayor. He simply stood at the counter waiting to be tallied so he could return to his cabin on the mountain top. "Didn't you hear me, old man?", shouted the storekeeper, his face nearly touching the old man's. What, are you deaf, are you dumb? Look at me when I am talking to you." The old man slowly raised his head and gazed with probing eyes into the red-faced mayor. He said nothing. They stared at one another for what seemed an inordinate moment of time.

Neither

spoke. With a somewhat calmer voice, and eyes piercing and probing the depths of the old man

through his eyes, the storekeeper said, "LookL.Youare just as much a part of this settlement as anyone else, right? Haven't you been here long before the coming of the first settler? We have a problem here that no one seems capable of solving and it is about to drive all us stark raving mad." The mayor thought that he had detected a tiny glimmer of recognition from within the old

man's eyes, and so he continued in a much more calm and civilizedmanner. "Old man...there are three lads livingamong us who refuse to obey our laws, go to school, or do what is expected of lads their ages. They run around the settlement likewild animals apparently bent on making life for everyone else a living nightmare.

Everyone has

tried to straighten them out, and everyone has failed. We need help! Willyou help us?".

The old man, still without uttering so much as a grunt, continued to stare at the mayor. the mayor became increasingly uncomfortable and wished that he hadn't started this one-way

dialogue with the old man...it was getting nowhere. Sensing that the storekeeper was uneasy, the old man nodded ever so slightly in recognition of what had just been spoken to him and taking his tallied and paid-for supplies slowly and with great dignity, which comes only with age and" wisdom, walked out of the store. No one moved! The only sound that could be heard inside the store came from a wee lad unscrewing the lid a candy jar on the front counter.

As if on cue, everyone rushed, ever so quietly, to the front windowsto watch the old man. What would he do? The old man appeared to begin his homewardjourney, but just before he would have disappeared around a corner he was seen to walkin the direction of the pool hall. The wicked lads were crouched behind a wooden crate at the back of the pool hallsharing a smoke and a beer that they had managed to steal from right under the nose of the bartender. The old man disappeared from sight. Everyone in the store were amazed and the air was filledwith bussing expectations. What was the old man doing? Was he reallygoing to try to do something about the lads? How could such an old fool expect to do what no one else had been able to do? Wagers began to surface and before the last dime was placed the odds were 100: 1 against the old man. Many secretly hoped that the old man would be able to end their anger and frustrations directed at the lads, but few held out much hope.

What seemed like hours, to the spectators and punters, passed as but moments to us. Soon the old man emerged from behind the pool hall and continued his journey up the mountain to his cabin. The citizenry held its collective breath, expecting the lads to explode from around the corner of the pool hall at any moment and go on a rampage through town. Nothing happened! Everyone went about their business unhappy that nothing seemed to have come out of the meeting between the old man and the trio of devil-children.

The lads were not seen about town for the

remainder of the day. Everyone went to bed puzzled and perplexed. For weeks, following the confrontation between the lads and old man, an unexpected calm fell over the settlement.

The lads returned to school and were, for the most part, better

students than they had ever been. They no longer spent their time hanging around the pool hall, but were seen doing chores and sharing in the responsibilities of their families.

They no longer

could be heard swearing and cursing at anyone who should happen by, instead they seemed to have come by an altogether uncommon respect for others. Everyone said that is was a miracle and believed that the old man had somehow managed to straighten out the jumbled lived of the lads. Now mind you, the lads still managed to get into mischief on occasion, but it amounted to nothing more than boyish pranks, and that was normal for lads their age. What had to old man said to the lads? No one could ever find out. The lads, when questioned, would say nothing. The mystery surrounding the old man began to deepen. A month to the day, so predictable that one could set a watch to it, the old man appeared at the general store for his supplies. The store was filled with more people than usual, everyone wanted to get a look at the old man and see what, if any, dialogue took place between the storekeeper and the old man. He went about gathering his goods, seemingly oblivious to the crowd that had gathered or the silence that fell across the room. The old man brought his supplies to be tallied, just as he had done for so many years. The mayor dismissed the clerk and waited on the old man himself, something he did only for the most important of the settlement. "Thank you, old man," the mayor said. "You were able to set those lads on the straight and narrow when everyone else had failed to do so. We are deeply indebted to you." The old man

looked up at the mayor and smiled, something that no one had ever seen him do. "Yes," was all

he said.

"Do you have a name, old man? I should like to know your name," inquired the mayor. The old man just smiled. There would be no more words from him this day. He paid for his goods, nodded a departure to the storekeeper and began to walkout of the door. From the back of the crowd came a woman's voice, "Wait, sir! I should like to speak with you." Pushing her way through the gathering she followed the old man out of the door. There was a rush for the windows and everyone watched as the woman was seen talking to the old man, just out of earshot. What was she saying to the old man? No one could hear a word. The old

man departed, or seemed to depart for the mountain. The woman walkedto her house and disappeared inside. Noweveryone knew who this woman was and about her problem. She had arrived in the settlement

five years previous with her husband and three children. Together, the family began

to carve a small farm out of the wilderness that surrounded the settlement.

The entire family

worked very hard to build a life for themselves and they appeared to be making a go of it, until... Late one night the settlement was awakened to the sound of shouts coming from the general vicinity of a farm. Peering from behind calico curtains through frosted windows the

settlers could see a flamingsky. Someone's housewas on fire. Bythe time that help could arrive at the farm the entire house and barn were fully engulfed in fire. Two frantic parents were running around the house screaming that their children were still inside...Alas, there was nothing that could be done. The children were dead. The town

went into mourning.

After the funeral of the wee ones the still distraught father disappeared altogether from

the settlement. A grieving mother now had to deal with the loss of her husband. Everyone believed him to be dead by his own hand for he so loved his children and blamed the fire and their deaths on himself. For five years the mother began to gradually piece her life back together.

She took a job

as a cook for the one and only restaurant in the settlement and seemed to be adjusting to the

tragedy.

There was one thing which her friends could not pry from her mind, and most felt it an

unhealthy and unholy thought. This woman believed that her husband was not dead and that one day he would return to her and they would be able to pick up the pieces and begin to build again. Try as they might, no one could change her thinking. Her mind and heart were solid on the matter...her husband would come back. One fine summer day, while discussing the latest gossip, the widow quite suddenly announced to those around her that she was going to ask the Old Man to help her find her husband. This news took everyone by surprise and many sought to dissuade her from bothering the Old Man with something that everyone felt was a lost cause. The widow persisted, and further

announced that instead of waiting for the Old Manto come into town for his monthly provisions, she would climbthe mountain to his cabin and seek his help. Try as they might, no one could make her understand the futility of her mission. Early the next morning, as equally fine a summer day as the previous day, the widow was seen walking out of town towards the mountain upon which the Old Man lived. The morning gossip centered around the fact that no one had ever gone up the mountain to the Old Man's cabin. What would the widow encounter once she got there? The talk ranged between sublime speculation to ridiculous ramblings and covered everything between the two. The truth of the matter was that no one could predict the outcome of the event. Everyone could agree on but one point...the widow was possibly the most brave and daring individual alive. Time seemed to stand still, that bright and sunny day, and no one seemed interested in doing anything but watching for the return of the widow. As the day grew warmer and time passed, speculations turned from guarded optimism to raging pessimism. When late afternoon shadows were replaced by the darkness of early evening and the widow hadn't returned there

was talk about gathering up a group of men to go out and search for her. Manytruly believed that she had met with some horrible accident. Uneasiness blanketed the community. No one was willing to initiate the search, so everyone adopted a 'wait-and-see'

attitude.

Long about midnight, a dog began barking near the outskirts of the village. All eyes, not closed in slumber, immediately looked towards the sound. The dog continued to bark as the

shadow of a human emerged from behind a tree which everyone knew marked the trail to the

mountain. As the figure slowly made its way towards the center of the village a cry of relief and surprise rose from the collective watchers...it unharmed, from the top of the mountain.

was the widow.

She had returned, apparently

Before anyone could approach her and ask of her

encounter with the Old Man, the widow entered her tiny cabin and retired for the evening.

The Widow, the Boys, and The Old Man For weeks the Widow stayed out of sight, only to be seen quickly going about town to do messages. The three boys remained well behaved, even helpful. Everyone was surprised, even shocked at what the Old Man had done to change them...but no one knew what had happened up on the Mountain. Time passed. The Old Man was seen on a regular basis quietly coming into town to buy supplies, talking to no one. Since he would not strike up a conversation with anyone, the Troubled would stop him before he started back up the mountain to ask for his helpmno one was disappointed. People soon started calling him "The Wise Old Man of the Mountain." There were times when troubled people couldn't wait for him too come down the Mountain, they hiked up the steep trail to his tiny log cab, a trip of 6 hours, to get his wise advise. No one ever went away dissatisfied. People quit thinking or talking on how he "did it." They were only concerned with results, and results they got.

The Three Young Lads One day, when the boys had nothing to do, one of them wanted to show the town that the "Wise Old Man" wasn't so wise. He said to the other two," I've got an idea." "On the way up the mountain to see the old man I will catch a live bird. I will hold it behind my back, knock on the door, and when the old man answers, I will say; "old man of the mount, what do I have behind my back?" Being wise, he will immediately say. "Son you have a bird." I will then ask him, yes, old man, but is it alive or is it dead?" If he says it is dead, I will hold it out in front of me and let it flyaway."" If he says it is alive, I will crush its neck and hold out the dead bird for him to see." "Look, old man, you aren't as wise as everyone thinks." They walked up the mountain, caught the bird, knocked, and when the Old Man opened the door the boy asked, "old man, what do I have behind my back?" The old man immediately replied, "You have a bird." "But is it alive or is it dead," asked the boy. The Wise Old Man thought for a moment and answered... "Son, it is as you will it." The boys went back down the mountain in silence and thereafter bothered no one.

The Lonely Stone Cutter Coyote came to me in a dream several weeks later and said, "Climb on my back, I want you to meet someone." "Can't I just walk," I asked. "No it is dark and some distance from here, replied Coyote. The night air was cold and the distance was forever, and I was glad for the ride. We soon arrived in front of a broken down Wickiup and I got down from Coyote's back. As dawn broke a hunchback old man emerged from within and slowly sat down in a worn rocking chair. "What can I do for the two of you," the hunchback asked in a feeble voice, "this fine morning?" Coyote replied, "Tell my friend here the story of your life, if you please. He needs a lesson only you can bestow on him." "Glad to," replied the hunchback. I was a Master Stone Cutter all of my life. I loved to make small figures to give to s child. Everyone seemed to want one. Soon it came time for me to retire, and I did so with much regret, what was I going to do now? I had always been an active person with much to keep me busy. Now I spent my days on the front of my home in my rocking chair thinking about all that I had done to serve the people. I was now poor, without work, and felt very bored and sad. Children would come by each morning on their way to school and their joyful greetings became the highlight of my days. When I saw a child that looked sad I would cut a small animal out of stone for him in the morning and give it to him on his way home in the afternoon. The look of joy that came from the child made me very happy, but I was still feeling worthless. One warm Spring Day I fell asleep in my chair and had a dream. In the dream I asked Apu, Father (God), to help me with my problem. I do nothing, I have never been of any worth to anyone. Canyou help me? Apu answered, "I will grant you three wishes in the hope that one of them will make you feel worthwhile. What do you wish for? The hunchback looked about him and saw that the most powerful thing on Earth must be the Sun. It makes everything grow and become beautiful. Nothing could take its power away from it. "Apu, make me the Sun." Apu make the hunchback the Sun and he shone about and was very happy. He made everything grow and make the Earth warm and beautiful. Unti lone day a cloud came between the sun and the earth and blocked the warming rays of light. Nothing grew. Try as he might the hunchback could do nothing about the cloud. He became depressed, again for he discovered that alas the sun was not the most powerful thing on Earth.

In a panic the hunchback looked about. He saw that the clouds brought much needed shade and water to the earth, a very powerful element. A Cloud must be the most powerful thing on earth. "Apu, make me a cloud'" asked the hunchback. "Granted," replied Apu. The hunchback was once more elated because he could go hither and yon and bring his precious gifts to earth. He was truly worthwhile, until he discovered that he had no power over where he needed to go. Being a Cloud was not the most powerful thing on earth. .

It didn't take muchthought to realize that the clouds were movedby the

winds, the Wind had to be the most powerful thing on earth. With his last wish he aside Apu, "Father, make me a cloud and I will be the most powerful and worthwhile thing on earth. Apu made him a Cloud. The hunchback became worthwhile and happy...until he blew up against a mountain. Try as he might he could not move it. He found himself worthless and powerless, once again. He cried out in despair. Then he heard a tiny knocking at the base of the mountain and soon understood that given enough time he could bring that mountain down to a pile of rubble. Upon a closer look he saw that the knocking was the sound of a Stone Cutter chipping away at the mountain...He realized that being a lowlyStone Cutter was the greatest thing on earth, and he was forever happy. Coyote said to me, "Youare now ready for your own Vision Quest."