Yé'iitsoh Omen

Five minutes! Rory yelled across a collection of temporary animal pens laid out on top of a dusty lightly forested plateau. The wild donkeys in the pens heard the noise and directed worried glances toward the roaring thing slowly rising above the ridge over the Colorado River.

A group of six people gathered near the edge of the helicopter-landing site. Huddling in two groups, they tried to make small talk while the noise level increased. Talking soon became impossible as the irritating man-made noise, the incredibly loud whirring and whining of the flying machine overwhelmed them.

The thing with helicopters is the way they rudely violate the air, making a thump, thump, thump, a sound loud enough to cause a headache. This is the drumbeat of progress, Katie thought. She hated the high-pitched whirring it made when the steering rotor came within earshot. Everything about them was audibly corrosive and unsettling.

He’s low Rory, get him higher!

Rory, Katie's cowboy-hatted boyfriend was a young sturdily built man with sand colored hair and a mustache he thought made him look older and more distinguished. He nodded his head and used hand signals to communicate with the pilot.

Everyone's eyes followed a fifty-foot line hanging tautly from the helicopter. Rory pushed his hands skyward to urge the craft higher until the bundle at the end of the line came into view. It was a net cradling a four-hundred-pound burro captured by cowboys at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The burro's front feet and head looked out at one end, and a butt with two legs and a tail poked out the other.

The fifty-foot rope allowed the helicopter to keep high, so the dirt didn't blow in the faces of the helpers, and the cowboys could work without worrying about their hats flying off.

Katie turned to make sure the others were paying attention. The wind rushed at her pulling at her long black hair. She readjusted it under her green baseball cap, pushing wayward strands out of the way. This place was her home. Katie lived in the Grand Canyon area until she went away to college. A tall, slender half Navajo woman with copper-colored skin and brown/green eyes, she was also the love of Rory's life.

You folks ready? She yelled and waved to the others.

Ready Dr. Reynolds, a young woman hollered back, and the others nodded. Having processed several donkeys already today, they knew what to do.

The ground crew jumped to action when the copter hovered above them. The quick stop it made set up a back and forth movement at the end of the line, and the burro began to swing somewhat wildly. The cowboys advanced in a group, watching the thing sway to their right. Then as the pendulum pulled the beast to the left, they rushed in to grab onto the lowered burro feet.

Rory motioned the pilot to drop down a few more feet. Once the burro was haltered, and the net unhooked the copter headed back to the airport taking its loud, abrasive noise with it.

It’s a jenny, Katie. Rory walked with her toward the group. Do you have the meds?

Yes, right here.

They fell into the routine working quickly and efficiently. After being checked for any bumps and bruises from the flight, the animal was wormed and vaccinated before being released into the holding pen. They also drew blood for infectious disease testing.

Don’t forget the microchip Katie, Rory said.

Oh yeah, here you are. Katie handed him a syringe with a large bore needle allowing him to place a glass-coated microchip into the burro's neck.

Well that’s it you guys, that's the last donkey for today. We have the afternoon free. How’s your leg, Katie? Rory bent down to rub his hand along her leg where she had been kicked earlier in the day.

She popped him on his cowboy hat. It’s fine; it's only a bruise. I can still go dancing, in case you’re thinking of weaseling out of your promise.

I wouldn’t do such a thing; it was hard enough just getting you out of Tuba City. You act like it’s a thousand miles away. I was going to tie you up in bed tonight. Come on let me see where your bruise is.

Stop it; you’re a tease and a baby. Tuba City’s only an hour and a half away. How are we going to have any long-distance relationship with you whining every week?

They looked up to see a young man approach with a Native girl.

Hey, René, I promised to take Katie out to the village this evening. Do you and Pelipa want to come?

Sure.

Good but you’re going to have to take your car. I booked a room at El Tovar for Katie and me tonight to celebrate our reunion.

That’s neat.

The room’s ready after one, so I’m outta here in two minutes dude. He smiled at his friend.

Katie curiously watched René with his new girl. She knew Pelipa previously but didn't know they were a couple.

Pelipa was a Ute Indian, a shade darker brown than Katie. The Utes and the Navajo, or Diné, as they call themselves were likely from common ancestors. The populations had rotated between war and peace many times throughout the last thousand years, so the differences between the two ladies were more individualistic than tribal. Pelipa had a softer, more oval face, brown eyes, and thin eyebrows. Her high cheekbones sunburned easily. She had a calm level smile. Her perfect lips turned coyly downward at the ends, her brown eyes danced, and her cheeks broadened when she smiled, showing lovely white teeth. It was easy to see why René was enamored. She carried herself with confidence and grace. Unlike Katie, she wore her shiny black hair in two thick braids that coiled down her breast.

René’s skin was surprisingly light given his Basque heritage midway between Rory’s paleness and Pelipa’s chocolate brown. René’s eyes were light, a soft greenish-gray, and his hair was chestnut brown, hidden under a Resistol hat similar to Rory’s.

Katie and Pelipa also had their college education in common. Katie just finished eight years of study, having attained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree a month earlier. Rory received his doctorate diploma a year ago. Pelipa was at the end of her third year of animal science at the University of Utah.

Katie worked at Tuba City Veterinary Clinic to be close to Rory while he extricated burros from the bottom of the Grand Canyon. He came out to be near her this first year out fulfilling an earlier promise they made to each other.

She was working through a rotating externship, visiting a different vet clinic on the reservation each month for four months. Her ideal plan was to entice Rory to start a practice in the town of Gallup, New Mexico, where she worked previously with Dr. Roger Colgrave. He was plotting with Katie and his wife Ellen to lure Rory to the area. He was interested in expanding his practice to allow Rory a place to work with Katie near the Indian reservation.

Pelipa needs to return to work, René said. But I’m here pretty much as needed to help Rory until Mr. Amory runs out of money.

Or until the Forest Service says enough and shoots the rest of the burros down there, Pelipa said. Being a seasonal part-time ranger herself, she was skeptical of arbitrary guidelines. I don’t know why they need to be removed. We have feral horses in Tsegi Canyon, and they don’t cause problems.

I didn’t know you had a job; I thought you were in school. Where do you work Pelipa? Rory asked.

I’m a tour ranger, she announced proudly. I’m on a rotating team. I’m scheduled to stay in Keet Seel next week. We stay there for seven days per shift.

Oh yeah, René chimed in It’s the ultimate outdoor experience living in the canyon miles from civilization. Pelipa has the job most of the rangers want. There’s a three room hogan they stay in adjacent to the ruins.

The only contact to the outside, I have, is via walkie-talkie, Pelipa said. There is no phone, electricity, TV or radio, but we do have a propane stove and refrigerator. We help tourists during the day, and I’m entirely alone during the nights.

How long does it take to hike out if you have a problem? Rory asked.

Four, sometimes five hours. It's an eight-mile hike into the canyon.

That would freak me out, Katie said. You’re too close to all the spirits. Keet Seel is one of the worst places for that. Aren’t you bothered by the ghosts?

I thought you were used to ghosts Katie, Rory said.

Tsegi Canyon scares the daylights out of us, Rory. We refer to it as Dogoshzi Biko, which means the canyon of ancient death. Very few Diné ever go there, it's too full of ghosts. The Navajo closed these canyons off. But Pelipa is Ute, and her beliefs help her live among the Tsegi spirits.

That, plus the amulet my father, Crowbear, gave me to wear, Pelipa added.

Why is someone stationed there twenty-four hours a day? Rory asked.

These are ancient homes built into the cliffs, and there are lots of interesting artifacts. People will take anything that's not tacked down, Pelipa explained. There are many pieces of broken clay pots and other tools. The logs are held together by yucca fibers, and they are still there after eight hundred years.

Wow, I had no idea, Rory said. Do you go out and stay with her René?

Not yet, we’re planning on it next month.

Rory looked around. Okay, Katie I’m ready to take my girl to town. I'll get my stuff from the tent, and we can go. He was ready to leave.

Thirty minutes later Katie followed him into the grand entrance of the El Tovar Hotel.

Good afternoon may I help you?

Room for two for Dr. Rory Evans.

He looked around at the beautiful rustic hotel built from massive logs of ponderosa pine and giant slabs of limestone. The hotel was three stories high designed in a Swiss Alps chalet motif, exquisitely beautiful in an old European style. The support timbers were dark, dark brown almost black with age giving the open space a feeling of massiveness and strength.

Were you able to get me a room overlooking the canyon?

Yes, we were, Dr. Evans.

Good! He grabbed Katie sharing his excitement. Can you send a bottle of chardonnay up, please? And make a reservation for two for dinner at six.

No make that four Rory. Remember, René and Pelipa are coming.

Oh yeah, four. But what happens if they come early and we haven't finished? That only gives us a few hours.

Oh, I don't know. There will be more than enough time. Katie smiled at the thought of three hours alone with him.

Their lovemaking was surprisingly quick, however. The sweethearts had been apart for two weeks now.

More wine, honey? Do you want a massage or a soak? Rory wanted to please his beautiful woman.

The bathtub’s too small to share Tarzan. I suggest we go out and look at the scenery.

Oh no. I like looking out over the Grand Canyon from our room here. We’re not going to get a better and more comfortable view. Come here and take my picture.

No, I’m not going to take a picture of your bright white butt while you look out the window.

You can put it in your wallet you know. Here let me see your bruise where you were kicked. Does it hurt? Are you sure you don't want a massage? There's still more wine.

No, I want to go outside. Now get dressed, Dr. Evans. She was up and gathering her clothes. She meant business, and he would be left alone if he didn't start moving. He pulled on his pants and shirt, took another sip of wine, and walked back to the window while she laced her shoes.

Last time I was here I camped in the bottom a mile below, Rory said. The top of Bright Angel Trail is somewhere up here, but that was ten years ago. Let’s go out and find the trail head alright?

Umm-hmm. Here’s your hat cowboy.

Outside the hotel, they stopped on the well-paved Rim Trail.

Oh, I love this place. Rory looked directly across the wide-open space divided by a river out of sight at the bottom of the chasm. This view is just breathtaking Katie. There’s a timeline in front of us here, millions of years of exposed rock untouched by the hand of progress, too rugged to subdue.

Sort of like the Diné, Rory. But the bilagáana have managed to conquer the place.

Is this a social commentary? Are you registering a complaint perhaps?

No, it’s a realization. When white people came, there was no turning back for us. If not Europeans, it would have been the Russians who moved to Northern California or the Spaniards who came from the south. America’s native peoples were too unsophisticated and unguarded to compete with the aggressive men who came from the other side of the globe. As the world grew smaller indigenous tribes fell like dominoes.

Because we were superior. He knew she wouldn't let this go.

No not superior, you’re just an asshole.

He smiled. He loved to piss her off. He changed the subject.

We're looking for the Bright Angel Trailhead.

Bright Angel Trail is this way, Rory. She pointed to the sign right in front of them.

Okay let’s go and see if I can find any good memories.

Why do you say that?

I was with the Boy Scouts when we went down there. I attribute the bad memories to teenage idiocy. But I feel a difference standing here as an adult. There's a wildness here I didn't notice before.

You are feeling the tug of the ancients Rory. Their voices fly along the wind. All the tribes have a long history of explanations for what you are feeling.

That’s why you guys were so vulnerable. You couldn’t get past your belief in the supernatural.

I suppose that could have been a part of it. Katie changed the subject to one she was more interested in. Have you talked to Dr. Colgrave yet? Ellen says he can always find a place for you.

You know I’ve been making a place for us in California while you finished your last year of school Katie, he replied irritated. I signed up for this Grand Canyon thing to be closer to you on your externship. But I can’t follow you around forever. I’m ready to say yes to some excellent horse accounts that could help the new practice. And I've been working on small animals to save a place for you. Now you want me to see what’s on the other side of your gigantic reservation?

But that’s our plan remember?

That was the plan before you became pregnant and dropped out of school for a year. Now things are coming together for us in Paso Robles. I don’t know when I can find time to get back once we're done here.

"I still have externships to fulfill. I’m scheduled for a stint in Towaoc the last part of August, then Window Rock in September. You know that. You agreed to do this. We’ll get to California too, but you’ve got to let me finish what I've started here." Why do I have to remind him of this? She thought. He promised me we would do this.

He nodded, but he wasn’t smiling.

Rory sweetie I understand you love California. I do too. But I love Window Rock as well, and this is my home. Stay with me on this, please. It's not just for me; it's for both of us.

I am, he replied. But I know we can be happy in California.

Hey, René! Hello, Pelipa. The fun thing about wearing cowboy hats is you can see them easily. Katie waved when she recognized René underneath the white Resistol floating up the path toward them.

We’re walking to Bright Angel Trail, René.

This reminds me of Havasupai Canyon. René was referring to a trip he and Rory and Katie had taken two years ago. It ended badly when Katie miscarried her and Rory’s baby. It took her months to recover from the trauma of the incident.

René hadn't intended to bring that up, it just fell out of his mouth. Rory heard what he said which meant Katie did too. Both men stopped talking, holding their collective breath to see her reaction.

Rory smiled and put his arm around Katie, but she only paused for a second. It’s okay René. Rory and I have come to terms with this. She smiled comfortably at René and gave Rory a relaxed kiss on his cheek.

Father feels Yéiitsoh has entered Havasupai lands, Pelipa said. Her father, Crowbear of Towaoc, was the Hatałii, the medicine man who helped Katie get through her trauma over the loss of her baby. At least to the level of Beaver Falls. That’s where you were covered in leeches right Katie? Pelipa was not there that fateful day.

What is Yéiitsoh? Rory asked, frustrated because he couldn’t keep track of these Indian entities.

It’s the resident evil in our land, sort of a mix between the devil and the boogeyman. Yéiitsoh encompasses all that is evil. But he is also a more persistent or active driver of people than your devil. That’s why I call it a mix. Yéiitsoh can exert mind control over animals and individuals cleverly controlling weak or confused thoughts. Many times, its victims do not even know they've been manipulated. Yéiitsoh uses them to do its bidding.

Oh, I see, Rory said. So, you’ve got skinwalkers and water babies and also Yéiitsoh?

No, only Yéiitsoh. He is the one who controls them as water babies and skinwalkers have feeble minds. They are manifestations of Yéiitsoh, Pelipa said.

Your father feels Yéiitsoh has invaded Havasu? Maybe it was a water baby with us in the cave that day. Do you remember it, Katie? Rory was still trying to make sense out of the frightening thing he had seen in the cave where Katie fell and miscarried. Katie was happy to see him opening up about this. It was a big step for Rory.

It could be water babies. They gravitate towards children, luring them with their cries, Pelipa explained. And they giggle like children too. Did you hear any giggles or cries?

Not that I recall. But whatever it was, there was terrible evil inside that cave. Rory looked at Katie hoping he hadn’t shared something he shouldn't have. They hadn’t talked much of the strange things that happened there.

She reached for his hand and grabbed it.

I don't know what that was, but I can tell you about waterbabies, Pelipa began. The Utes hold a sun dance every year in Towaoc. It is our capital in the farthest southwestern corner of Colorado. It is so hot in the summertime many families get too warm in the temporary shade houses, that's when we head to the river for a swim.

What’s a shade house?

It’s a tipi Rory. Anyway, we hike down the canyon to a natural pool to swim and cool off. It’s a beautiful big pool, and all the kids go there to play. But it has a hill you have to slide down to get to, so it’s isolated. There are rock slabs like a shelf around the swimming hole.

Here it is the trail head into the canyon. Rory said.

It’s a lot nicer than the Hualapai Hilltop parking lot we slept in before we hiked Havasupai Falls, René said.

This is the U.S. National Park Service, and that was tribal lands. That's the difference René, Katie explained.

Pelipa what about the water babies? Rory asked.

When we tired of swimming went back up for food and the sun dance festivities. After the dance, everybody goes back to the shade houses for the evening. But one time I was still hanging around outside with my cousins when we heard babies crying down by the river.

You left kids behind?

No! It had been a few hours, and we would have noticed missing children at dinner, or the dance, one would think. But it was still light, so my cousins and I went down there to see what was going on.

They stopped walking to listen to Pelipa's story.

When we arrived, we saw these three-and-a-half-foot people sort of like babies dressed in moss. They were all green with no faces, and they were jumping in and out of the pond.

No way! Are you kidding me? Rory looked at her open-mouthed. Are you guys on peyote during those festivals? Little green men three-feet tall? And the moss, is this moss a part of them? Are they wearing the moss?

I believe so; yes, it is a part of them.

Rory looked at Katie to see if she was buying this. She didn’t meet his eyes. She was engrossed in Pelipa’s story.

Did you see any arms or legs? Rory asked. Or were they just big mossy looking somethings that seemed to be moving?

"Nothing but three and a half feet of moving moss.

And they made noises, right?

Yeah at night we could hear them crying like babies. They go waa waa waa…waa. It’s pretty frightening when you hear ‘em. That's what made us go down there. We saw them for maybe five minutes. They were jumping off those ledges, jumping into the water, in and out.

And you mean they were climbing and jumping into the water off those slabs?

Yeah. There are these big blocks right before the river hits the pond. They went on the slabs, and they jumped down below.

How many did you see when you were down there?

We saw maybe two or three of them.

And you were watching them diving in the water, and they were coming up and making those noises?

Umm hmm. She nodded her head calmly, as if she were telling him it was Thursday or time to eat. They were diving in the water then coming up and making those noises, she said patiently.

Creepy. René grimaced.

Oh yeah, Pelipa agreed wholeheartedly. Yeah, my cousins got scared, so we went back up and stayed in the shade houses. It's pretty scary; it gets to you when you start hearing them. It’s like hearing a baby cry down by the river in the middle of the night.

Wow.

We told my uncle, and he said, 'Yeah there are water babies down there.' That's all he said; he was all right with it.

"So, you guys know of this, it’s normal, it happens all the time?

"The water babies were here before us. They are all over. They live all the way down the river towards El Boca and down to Colorado.

No one said anything for a moment. There were too many unexplainable things that happened in this land of mesas and canyons

It was more than Rory's scientific mind could fathom. Anyway, he was hungry, and that was something he understood.

Hey, René Pelipa I’m starving. Let’s eat! Katie and I are treating. We have reservations for four at the El Tovar.

With that, they all headed back toward the hotel.

Chapter 2

Skinwalkers

Katie, Rory, and their friends read the menus to decide what they wanted to eat.

Let's get a bottle of Chardonnay, and I’ll start with the shrimp cocktail. Order whatever you want you guys. We're celebrating! Rory was happy tonight. Wanting to send a message to Katie that he understood her desires, he sat for licensing exams in both Arizona and New Mexico. He passed both Boards and was in the Grand Canyon on a donkey saving mission with Katie, the person he loved most in the world.

I want smoked salmon and trout crostini too. Katie looked at Pelipa. Would you like to share it with me?

Pelipa smiled and nodded. Sure, it sounds good. It has goat cheese and capers; I like those.

Very good. I'll bring your drinks and appetizers, and you can decide on your entrees.

Can you bring the wine out now with four glasses I want to propose a toast, René said.

Certainly, the waitress left for the kitchen.

I can’t wait to hear what’s the news, René? Rory asked.

Yeah, anything good like marriage maybe? Katie wondered.

Everyone looked at Pelipa, whose shrugged shoulders and shaking head told them she was clueless as well.

Pelipa is encouraging Marquita her sister to stand up and file charges against Natay’s Uncle Felix.

Pelipa took a sharp breath. René, I’m not sure I want to talk about this, she said. 

Pelipa, Katie and Rory are my best friends, and I would like them to know. I'm proud of you, and I’m proud to help you too. Go on, let the story out, René pushed gently smiling.

Why what happened? Katie asked.

Marquita, my sister, was raped by Felix, her husband’s uncle when she went to buy beer, Pelipa said.

When did this happen?

Two weeks ago. Natay, Marquita’s husband sent her out. Natay couldn’t drive because he was too drunk. Marquita ran into Felix. He offered her a ride then took her to his house and raped her.

What did Natay say?

He just yelled at her; he said it was all her fault. And he slapped her and punched her and called her a slut and a whore. He hit her until she lost consciousness, then he left.

Her husband beat her up?

Yes. Someone found her and took her to the hospital. That’s when I was called, so I drove to see her. I said, ‘Marquita what happened?’ She said 'Pelipa is that you? Turn the lights on; I can't see.' But the lights in the room were on; her eyes were swollen shut, all black and blue. She said 'Pelipa I was raped.' She was shaking and crying and squeezing my hand.

That’s horrible. How can something like this happen? Rory asked.

It happens all the time in some places, Katie answered. I don't see any cause for celebration René.

We are celebrating because Pelipa convinced Marquita to file a report with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. I'm helping too. It’s time for Native women to stand up against this shit. That’s why I want to celebrate Pelipa's decision publicly.

Here, here, Rory said.

They all clinked their glasses, but Katie and Pelipa were not smiling.

Don't you think this is a good thing, Katie? Rory asked.

We do, but it is also dangerous for Marquita and for Pelipa too. It's an unwritten rule that we don't ever turn each other in no matter what. I agree with René. Someone has to stand up and put a stop to us brutalizing each other. But this could start a whole lot of trouble for Pelipa. I'm just worried, that's all.

Pelipa nodded. Me too, she said. I'm scared.

Don't worry; we'll protect you right Rory? René and Rory naively clinked their glasses again in fraternal solidarity. But the girls remained silent.

Here are your appetizers. The waitress appeared with four plates and two serving platters.

Thank you, Katie said.

Things became quiet as they started to eat.

So, what were we talking about before? René asked.

The Utes and their fables, Rory said. I didn’t realize they had so many. Do you believe they are real René?

Yeah, Rory, why wouldn’t I?

Yeah, why wouldn't he Rory? Pelipa was offended.

They're not proven, and they're not scientific. Katie, what do you think?

"I believe you are having a hard time dealing with things you