Anasazi Autumn

About the Book

Anasazi Autumn is an epic tale of the last thirty years of the Anasazi people’s existence in the Southwestern part of this continent. Since we have no way of knowing what they called themselves, we look to other primitive peoples who use a word in their language meaning The People, to describe themselves. Living in an area that was already arid in nature, the advent of a terrible drought made every day a desperate struggle to live. The story begins in the cliff dwellings of The People who lived in the high country in what is now Colorado. For many years they had fought with other tribes who were trying to take all the food they had stored and any that were growing in their fields. These raids forced them to abandon their houses on the mesa and build houses in open faced caverns in the cliffs close to the mesa. In our time, we have called these structures cliff dwellings. Three Bears, a young son of Running Fox, chief of the tribe, was chosen to lead a band of young men and women on a long and dangerous trek to find a place in the world where they might survive. Tall Man, who had spent many years scouting the world for suitable places for The People, group by group, to settle coached Three Bears for many hours on the landmarks he would follow to reach the new place in the world. Tall man warned Three Bears of a terrible and savage tribe who lived in a village they called Center Of The World. “These terrible people have built trails that reach all the other tribes in the desert and the trails are very wide and each would take a man many days to reach the end. Beware if they see you for they will kill or capture all whom they see and they call all other people in the world Man Corn, for they eat them!” Chosen by The People as chief of the band of sixty people, thirty men and thirty women, Three Bears, following the landmarks taught him by Tall Man sets out on the perilous journey into the unknown. Two Fingers, a member of the group who wanted to be their leader, was destined to cause terrible problems for Three Bears and the rest of the band. After many days travel generally leading down through the mountains and toward the low lying desert country, the new tribe reached the first of the Center Of The World trails. Now, read and learn how Three Bears, after twenty five members of his tribe were captured by the savages from the Center Of The World tribe, sets out alone on a wild and stormy night to rescue his people. Walk with him as he threads his way through the labyrinth of passageways in the stone village to find where The People were kept. Flee with him and the freed people as they race to stay ahead of their pursuers. Learn how he and The People extricate themselves leaving many dead savages that sends a chilling message to the savages’ chief. After many days on their trail to their new place in the world, they are faced with death as they arrive at a waterhole found by Tall Man, only to find it a dry and empty basin. Marvel at the way in which Blue Moon, a Spirit Woman who has kept track of their travels by sending the Eagle Spirit to watch and report their progress, thus allowing her to use the magic of the Spirit World to lead them to life saving water. Wonder at the way Blue Moon uses a woman of the tribe and then tells her she will be made a Spirit Woman in their new place in the world. After a violent storm, The People find shelter in a small cavern in a cliff face. Go with Three Bears and the group’s warriors as they attack a band of the savages who were tracking them in order to capture them to use as food in the Center Of The World village. Learn what constituted the devastating message they sent to the savages’ chief and their people. And read with interest and amazement in the way in which the savages’ chief, Red Cloud, responds to that message. Become a spectator to the political workings of the savages’ tribal council and of the people themselves. Watch the beginnings of political, fam

About the Author

Born in 1926, I am a product of the Great Depression, my experiences in WWII and my life’s work as a forest ranger. The stories handed down generation to generation in my family, provided a basis for writing about the pioneers who by moving westward over the decades, built this great nation. How they lived, what they believed in and the manner in which they responded to threats by others to themselves, their loved ones and neighbors is the way in which my ancestors lived, loved, fought and died. My experiences as a forest ranger in the wild lands of California and camping and hiking in the primitive areas, provided an understanding of the unforgiving aspect of nature toward the mistakes made by men who dare to intrude upon her domain.