THE
CHEM AW A
AM ERICAN
7
and at last succeeded in tak in g a picture. A fter this was accom plished
we drove upon the south side of the rock and stopped at th e b u ttress for
lunch. W hile we were eating M r. Sm ith began shooting at an eagle up
in th e concave of the rock, All th at we heard after each shot was th e
echo; it sounded like some one sh o u tin g “ h ello ;” the follow ing shot
seem ing to say “ who are you?” T h e eagle still continued to fly in the
sam e circle and a third shot was fired w hich seemed to say “ r u n .”
A t th is instance a sw ift, cold w ind came upon us; the atm osphere
grew black w ith the storm ; our d in n er pail, and th e hay for th e horses
w ere blown away; the horses appeared in distress, and of course we
were; Ship Rock, itself, seemed in distress and looked as th o u g h it
m ight tum ble dow n. W e felt th a t we were in a position to know th at
we were not welcome to visit S hip R ock. H aving no excuse left for r e
m aining longer, w hile the storm continued in most violent activity, we
hooked up our horses as sw iftly as possible and started for hom e. W e
had proceeded hom eward b u t a few rods w hen th e storm suddenly
ceased and Ship Rock had assum ed an aspect sim ilar to th a t of other
like m onum ents in the country.
If only n atu re would perm it th a t it be touched up. It seems as
though some great power is connected w ith Ship Rock, probably more
fully understood by the N avajo In d ian s of New Mexico than by any
other race or people, and they most likely could give th e best ex p lan a
tion if given an o p p o rtu n ity . As we were passing on the east side of
S hip Rock we met a coyote. H e says, “ W here have you been?” We
to ld him th a t we had ju s t come to learn some th in g s about S hip Rock.
T h e coyote said, “ Yum! I knew there was som ething w rong. You
should have come to see me first. I am placed here to watch Ship Rock;
I am the one to direct strangers. It is rem arkable th at you escaped u n
h u rt. I oppose and p rotest against any act th a t would endanger p er
sonal life. T h e n ex t tim e you happen to visit here, come and see me
firs t.”
Ju st as the coyote got th ro u g h talk in g a m osquito came along w ith
his joyful song and at once got busy at the job of p lan tin g his drill in
th e coyote. T he coyote says, “ W h at are you doing?” T h e m osquito re
plied, “ I am boring for o il.” T h e coyote com m anded, “ Move your
drill as soon as possible or I will break it; furtherm ore, I will have to
levy an indem nity against y o u .” It was certainly difficult to arrange a
settlem ent. T o create fu rth er agitation the m osquito called his friends.
In a few m inutes they began to arrive. As soon as th e m osquito had
w hat he considered sufficient force to hold the situation, he ordered that
possession of Ship Rock be taken, and at once set to work devising
w ays and m eans to enlarge and stren g th en his force sufficiently to cope
w ith his enem ies. T hey im m ediately lined up on the top of Ship Rock