Chapter 6 - Friends

Our friend, George Lemmer, was coming to visit... and Audry was far too pregnant to do much cooking, let alone entertaining. She loved being pregnant, but hated the "waddling stage", and not being able to care for a guest.

George had hinted that he'd really like a long ride up into the Cascades, and maybe a chance to try deer hunting with a rifle-only shotguns were allowed where he hunted in the east.

We already had three hunting parties on the ranch; one group out on the leased grazing land in the national forest, the other two camped by the spring up the draw from the ranch headquarters.

Well, we'd work it out. My frustration wasn't that I couldn't do anything. It was that I wanted to spend my time with Audry, pampering her. But I was just flat-out too busy.

First I had four horses to work and exercise regularly: Samarkand, my big stallion, and Shannon, Audry's primary mount. And I also had to work Clay, Audry's 3-day horse. Then there was my big colt. One of Sam's offspring out of a big part-Appaloosa mare, his Indian name translated to "Moon Wind"-so I called him 'Windy'. Windy retained the distinctive Appaloosa markings in spite of being less than an eighth 'Appy'. I hoped for great things from him.

Mom helped a lot, especially with Windy. She had a half-dozen other colts and foals to work, too. We enjoyed an exceptional year for horses.

Then I had to help dad with the other horses and make sure they got moved around to different pastures-mares brought in for breeding and so on.

And finally, I insisted on spending at least an hour-normally two-with the kids, Zach and Moira.

They were well looked-after. Grandma doted on them, spoiling them outrageously. And Aunt Elin had regular 'school' for them, from the time Zach was two. She taught them alphabet and numbers, and then simple reading and arithmetic. All the while making it play, not toil.

Mom taught them how to ride right. They were both in saddles before they could walk. She taught them how to sit and how to 'listen' to the horse. And how to 'tell' the horse what to do, by posture, knee and thigh, and hands. Before they started public school, they were both taking jumps fearlessly.

Dad, Uncle Rick and I taught them about the cattle, and the care and feeding of the horses and other ranch animals. We taught them about fences and keeping gates closed. We taught them how to move cattle, on foot and on horseback.

We made Zach responsible for Moira, to keep her from getting hurt when she was little. And Moira was responsible to do what Zach said, when he was acting in that role. She didn't have to be his little slave, though, and there was plenty of give and take.

When she wasn't in her third trimester, Audry was right beside me. But right now, she was in her third trimester and just couldn't.

George had been very successful in the last year. We knew he was well-to-do, but now we found he was wealthy in his own right. Evidence of this came when he called from the airport.

"Hey, George. I thought you'd call from Portland, so we could send a car to the airport in Redmond to pick you up."

"I am in Portland. I'll fly up in a helicopter. Can you clear a place for me to land-maybe set out a sheet or something, so I'll know where you want me?"

"Sure, George. Will your pilot go right back, or do we need to put him up?"

Laughing, he said, "Yeah. Feed him and all... I'll fly myself up, Rob."

"Oh. OK, George. We'll look forward to seeing you. When shall we expect you?"

"About three hours. I'll stop at Redmond to fill up the tanks."

He was polite enough to circle high, to not frighten the stock, before he came in from downwind and settled into a space I'd marked for him.

He shut it down and climbed out. Then got a line on a rotor and tied it down, to prevent unwanted rotation.

Finally coming over to where I was standing with the two kids and mom, he grinned and gave mom a big kiss on the cheek. Then a hand to me and to each kid, in turn.

After we'd slapped each other's back and allowed as how the other was only getting uglier, George noticed how the kids were looking at the helicopter. Squatting down to their level, he asked, "Do you like my airplane?" They nodded solemnly. "Would you like to ride in it tomorrow?" Big grins, squeals of glee, and they raced off to tell Audry and grandma.

"Didn't know you were a pilot, George," I commented.

"Yeah. The Marines taught me. But flying helicopters for them is like being a high-paid bus driver. Investment banking is a lot more fun... I do like to get in some stick time now and then, though."

"Well, you cheated yourself out of a pretty drive-but I imagine the Cascades are pretty from the air, too."

Enthusiastically, "You bet! They're lots prettier than the Alleghenies or Smokies. Real nice country."

"Well, come on in the house. Audry has a little trouble moving around, so she's waiting to welcome you there."

"I can't wait to see her. She's a good one, Rob."

"Don't I know it! It bothers her when she gets to the 'waddling' stage. But she has her heart set on at least two more and this is just a small price to pay... she says, anyway."

"That's something I missed," George said. "My wife couldn't have any. And I never met a woman to replace her."

Rounding a barn, George gasped. "Who is THAT on your porch?"

I laughed. "George, you were here before. That's my grandma."

"That's Hazel?... She was away when I visited you. I can't believe it. She's one attractive female, Rob."

"Well sure she is. But that's grandma, anyway. She's close to sixty-maybe more, we don't ask."

"Hard to believe..." he muttered.

Dinner was a family affair; our parents joined us. They all liked George and were happy to welcome him to the ranch. Grandma flirted outrageously with him and George seemed to be lapping it up like a puppy.

We made an early night of it, putting the kids to bed; then Audry and I turned in. George was tired, still being on 'east coast' time, so he soon crashed too.

In the morning, George suggested a helicopter ride for the kids right after breakfast. Then he and I could take a flight around the ranch-maybe spot someplace he'd really like to ride to.

Grandma wanted to go with the kids. She'd never flown in a helicopter. Grinning, George said maybe he'd make a special trip for her later-but she could go with the kids, too. There was room.

He gave them their money's worth. An hour after lift-off, they returned, chattering gaily about all they'd seen and the 'cool' airplane that could stop in the sky.

As soon as I was strapped into the left-hand seat and had the headphones on, we were off. George wanted me to point out the boundaries of the ranch, which I happily did. Then I showed him a couple of places I enjoyed riding to.

And he showed me a spot I'd never seen.

It was a small box canyon, with a zig-zag entrance. Inside, it was very sheltered, but had a lot of grass and a stream running through it.

"I could land in there, but let's check it out on horseback," he suggested.

"Suits me. I'll be interested to see if I can even find it from the ground." Though I knew I could. I'd ridden all around it-I guess I'd just assumed it was a solid mesa. All those years, and I never suspected the place existed...

When we got home, I made a point of riding out to where the deer hunters were camped. I wanted them to know where we'd be going, so they wouldn't see our movement and mistake it for deer. Besides, we made a point of taking good care of those folks. They were good guests, good to the land and careful about our stock, while thinning the deer population.

I thought George and I could head out in the morning and stay out two or three nights. We'd check out the little canyon, then on up to a clearing in the pine forest that I'd always enjoyed. We could each take two horses. I'd take Sam and Windy. George could ride Shannon and Clay.

As we were packing that night, grandma asked if she could ride along.

"Sure, gran. If you're sure you want to... ?"

"I haven't been on that kind of ride with you in a year, Rob. I think it would be fun. Besides, that way, I can work on George here, without Audry and Elin distracting him all the time..."

We all grinned about that. Grandma was a randy old gal, but Audry and Elin had their men, and didn't bother flirting with others. Grandma, on the other hand, never stopped.

Grandma took two horses, too. One was her 'everyday' horse, a mare she rode regularly. The other was one of the colts we were working with. By eight, we were on the trail.

As usual, we cantered the first couple of miles. The horses were on a holiday, and enjoying themselves as much as we were. We clattered across some rangeland three abreast, so we could chat as we went. When the trail narrowed to single-file, I led.

We stopped for lunch by a little brook. Stripping the saddles so the horses could roll, we saddled our other mounts. They weren't tired, but we wanted to give all the animals a fair share of the work. Besides, the horses that weren't ridden carried our bedrolls and food.

Grandma had taught Audry about camp cooking. But she hadn't taught Audry all she knew about it! George and I elected her cook for the trip, by acclimation. Grandma just smiled and allowed that it was 'women's work'... And we could take care of her horses for her in exchange.

We arrived at the little canyon about 2. Then I had to find the entrance. Once I'd done that, I had to figure out how to get in. It involved chopping some brush, but in a half-hour, I'd opened a trail the horses could use.

Inside, I was amazed. We later explored thoroughly, but never found any signs that the place had been visited in years. But people had been there!

There was a shallow bowl of dirt and grass with a few junipers, and a tiny stream running out of the rock, disappearing into the ground. A bit above the floor of the bowl was a layer of rim-rock, about 20 feet thick. Seamed and fractured, as most of that volcanic material is, it contained numerous shallow caves or overhangs, as well as large flat areas. The soil above the rock sloped gently to the top and down the other side until it met the rock again. (I knew all about the outside of the formation, having been there often, working cows.)

Under the overhangs, we found remains of ancient fires, and crude drawings on the rock. Grandma discovered a half-dozen arrow and spearheads in a half-hour, without working very hard at it.

You would not be exaggerating to say that all three of us were excited by the finds. George had never seen anything like it. Grandma and I had, but never outside a museum, or the homes of friends from the Warm Springs Reservation.

George, his businessman's mind always working, wanted to know, "Rob? Is this place on your ranch? Or is it on the leased acreage?"

"This is ours," grandma and I said together.

"That simplifies things a bit. Do you know what the Oregon law is regarding archeological sites?"

"I haven't a clue, George," I said. "But I think I'll find out... No. I won't either. I'll call Gary. Let the Indians worry about it."

"Why would you get them involved?"

"Why not? I think this is marvelous. But I don't want the ranch to become a tourist attraction-we have enough trouble with trespassers and poachers now. If we give the tribe an easement to this place, we remain in control, with them. And they can hire lawyers to protect us. After all, we can give them the right to the artifacts here, and they can control any archeological 'digs'. They're happy. We're happy." I was winging it, thinking out loud. But it felt right. Grandma just smiled and nodded.

George looked unhappy.

"What's the matter, George?" grandma asked.

"This place could be a gold mine. There's money to be made here."

"Not without letting any and everybody and his brother come here. And we don't want to do that," grandma stated, in a no-nonsense tone.

George walked over to a spot where the rock had a natural staircase in it and climbed up to the grassy slope. There he sat, and just looked out over the little cul-de-sac. After about an hour, he climbed to the top and looked around at the ranch.

When he came back down, grandma and I had made a camp for the night. Squatting by the fire, George accepted the cup of coffee grandma gave him.

"You're right, of course. It would ruin this part of the ranch, if this became a tourist spot. It seems a shame to waste it, though."

"We won't waste it, George. The tribe will be thrilled to see this place."

"Too bad you can't make anything from it, though."

"George," grandma said. "We're doing OK. Really, we're doing quite well. We're not rich, like you. But we are setting money aside to educate the kids. We own the ranch outright and only carry small bank loans for equipment where it gives us a tax advantage. Our money is in the ranch. If we were to sell, we'd all be millionaires. But that won't happen... there's another generation of Steeles growing up on the ranch. Still, we're not concerned about ways to make more money."

I grinned, "Hell, we could sell a few of the horses mom puts into the 'stock horse' pool as jumpers. They're better than a lot of jumpers you see in your part of the country. That would make us more money right there."

"True."

That evening, I amused myself watching grandma flirting with George-and George responding to the attention. I have to admit, grandma is a very foxy lady and looks like a woman years younger.

In the morning, she managed to give us a bit of a skin show-very innocently, of course. (And if you believe THAT, I have some ocean-front property I'd like to show you!)

Riding out in the morning, grandma dropped back to ride beside George whenever the trail was wide enough. I finally suggested that they give me all the pack horses to lead, and the two of them could take the lead on the trail. Grandma knew the way to the next night's camp as well as I.

"Why Robbie," she smiled at me. "I didn't know you cared."

She pushed the pace just a bit, so we arrived at our destination in the early afternoon. When we'd taken care of the horses, she grabbed George's hand and pulled him towards the woods. "Come on, there's something I want to show you."

I just smiled and watched them go, then turned to set up our camp.

A couple of hours later, they emerged from the trees. Grandma had that satisfied look on her face and George looked bemused. Grandma started to prepare supper. She looked at me and sweetly suggested I put my bedroll over on the other side of the horses. So I could be there if something spooked them in the night, you understand?

I understood that she wanted to fuck George's brains out-whatever was left from this afternoon. That was OK. George was a big boy-and closer to grandma's age than mine, really.

In the morning, it was no surprise when grandma announced that she and George would like to stay there a couple more days. Did I mind?

"Well, I need to get back to Audry. Would you two be OK if I just head on back to the ranch?"

Grandma's broad grin was echoed by George's. I left them all the food, except for a bit of coffee and jerky, saddled Sam, and was on my way.

We cantered most of the way until noon, when I stopped and threw the saddle on Windy. After a short rest for all of us, I was on my way again. An easy run brought us home before dark. Mom and dad were in the training ring, with one of the colts. "Where's Hazel and George?" I just grinned. "Oh." She waved me on my way.

Audry wanted to know why I was back a day early. I answered after being greeted by the kids, who swarmed over me as soon as I was off Windy's back.

"I was kind of a third wheel," I said. Audry's eyes widened for a moment, then she got my meaning. "Grandma will be home in two or three days. I hope she'll bring George along."

Audry just grinned at that.

"We're all going over to mom's for dinner. You're in time."

"Can I change and shower, first?"

"You'd better!"

I enjoyed meals at Aunt Elin's. The cooking was simple, but very good and always plenty of it. Elin believed in cooking 'healthy'. So there was usually a salad and not much flour, bread or fat in her food. Lots of vegetables and enough meat for flavor and protein.

Over dinner, I told them about the little box canyon and the Indian artifacts that littered it. I gave each kid an arrowhead and passed around a few more.

"Tomorrow, I think I'll take a little ride up to Warm Springs. I want to talk to Gary, and the tribal elders about this." I explained my idea about turning the site over to the tribes.

Rick nodded. "Good thinking. Did you talk to your dad?"

"Not yet. No chance to. Can you?"

"Sure. You're right and he'll agree."

That night, Audry cuddled up to me. "I see you're horny. Being around grandma when she's in heat will do that to anybody. Think you can get in the back door, darling?"

I could. I did.

Audry got off, too.

I made sure of it!

What a wonderful, loving evening!

Audry called Gary Butler, my friend from school who ran the resort operation at KaNeeTah, on the Warm Springs Reservation, to tell him I was on my way to see him.

"You know Mary won't let him go until she's fed him."

"Yeah. And tell her he's too fat now. She shouldn't push food at him. He'll eat it all just to keep her happy."

"It's OK. It will give me a chance to lose a pound or two."

"Sure, it will. You two will eat as long as she's shoving it in front of you. Why don't you all come down here? I'll get mom to feed you some healthy food."

Gary laughed and promised that they'd all come down to admire the new baby as soon as she had it-and Gary's kids could terrorize the horses and all the deer in the area.

"What's he need me for, Audry?" Gary asked.

"I'll let him go into it, Gary. But I can tell you he needs to see the tribal elders, too."

"You mean the old folks, or the council?"

"I suppose the council. But you might end up with the old folks, too."

"Sounds important."

"I think maybe. We'd rather be safe than sorry... and all that."

"OK, Audry. Take care of that little one. And remember that you and the kids are welcome here any time. We'll give you a cabin." The 'cabins' at the resort were pretty plush.

"When I'm in shape again, we'll take you up on it, Gary. Thanks."

"Any time, Audry... And Audry... Be sure someone calls us when you have this one. Mary will want to drive down."

"Thanks, Gary. Tell her, 'soon'."

When I arrived, Gary brought me up to date on his family. They were all getting bigger. And he was too-around. Then he called in the head of the tribal council, who had been alerted to the meeting.

I explained what we'd found. Gary and Sam (Sam Two Horse was head of the council that year.) were excited by my description.

"Our people knew of the place, Rob," Sam said. "I recall a legend about it. It was a home of the 'old ones'-the people who were here before us. We don't know much about them. It's kind of like the Anasazi. No one knows where they came from, why they left, or where they went. Maybe our people drove them out. But the legends don't tell of any battles with them."

"So this place predates your people?"

"If it is what I think it is, yes. We didn't consider it a 'sacred place' or anything like that. It was just... 'theirs' I guess. So we left it alone... I thought it was a lot farther south."

"Come on, Sam," Gary said. "Distances in the legendary accounts are anything but precise."

Sam smiled and agreed with that.

"So," he asked me. "What about it?"

"Well, it seems to me that the little canyon is probably a pretty important archeological site. We're not interested in making it a tourist stop... We don't want tourists on the ranch at all. But we thought there might be some value in the place. Would the tribe want to supervise its excavation? Maybe with some arrangement about sharing of artifacts, if things of value are discovered?"

Gary and Sam exchanged a glance.

"I think we need to meet with the elders after all. They will need to approve anything involving disturbing the things of the old ones."

"Yeah. And the council will have to approve any arrangement with Rob and his family."

I grinned and emptied a pocket. "Here. Show them these. That should get their attention." I displayed a dozen arrow and spearheads of exquisite workmanship and a design entirely different from any I'd seen attributed to the Warm Springs tribes.

Gary's eyes got big. He knew, even better than I, that these were pretty rare items. (It seems the northwest is covered with stone arrowheads, but the common patterns are pretty well documented. Artifacts can be identified, generally, as to tribe and age, by the pattern of the flaking. From the dawn of time, a lively trade in obsidian-volcanic glass-had flourished. The best obsidian was found near Paulina Lake-where many discarded or fractured arrowheads and hand axes can also be found. The pattern of the arrowheads I'd shown them was very rare. And had never been associated with a tribe.)

Gary took me home for Mary to entertain while he and Sam got busy. I had a nice afternoon chatting with Gary's kids and eating Mary's snacks. Gary called to say a full-blown meeting would be held at 7 at the tribal headquarters.

Mary was disappointed, since she didn't get to go 'hog wild' with dinner. After her snacks all afternoon, I was happier it worked out that way.

At seven, I found myself the only white man in the council room. My artifacts were being passed from hand to hand.

Sam called the meeting to order. After an invocation, I was asked to describe what I'd found.

"Just south of the center of our ranch is a low butte, standing alone, surrounded by pine and juniper. It has water and is good country for horses, but will not support many cows."

The Indians all nodded. They knew the country and many of them had been to our ranch.

"We discovered that the butte is not a solid mass, but rather is hollow. There is an entrance on the southwest side. It is a narrow passage with a couple of very sharp bends. One can be right next to the butte and not see this entrance, merely thinking it another fracture in the rock."

Again, nods around the table.

"We discovered the little canyon from the air. When I went to see it on the ground, I had to cut my way through the juniper, to make a path a horse could take.

"Once inside, we found a lot of drawings on the rock and many artifacts like those you hold."

The presence of drawings was news and started a hum of conversation in the room.

"We knew the place was too important to just keep for ourselves. And we know it contains Indian things. We do not want the government to try to take it away from us-or some arrogant university professor use it for his own reputation, at the expense of our privacy and our ability to raise our animals in peace."

Even the oldest heads around the table nodded at this. They were all too familiar with arrogance, both from government and academia.

"So, since we are friends, my family asks that you take over supervision and control of the site. If money is made from it, we want a share. And we want to be able to limit the amount of traffic in and out of it. We use the land for our horses and cattle-and have too many deer hunters who can't tell a cow from a deer as it is."

That feeble humor prompted some smiles. More genuine smiles resulted from the idea that they would control the site.

One old man started speaking in native tongue. Sam interrupted, politely.

"Forgive me, grandfather. We have a guest who doesn't know our language. Could you give us your thoughts in his tongue?"

The old man didn't want to, but had to accede to the politely phrased request of his chief.

"That place has lain there for generations. It belongs to the old ones. Our people have never disturbed their place. We should leave it as it is. The old ones will bless us, if they are left in peace."

Another old man rejoined. "We do not know that! For all we know, it was only a place they stopped for the night as they traveled from south to north. Our people left it alone, because we had plenty of other places to rest for a night. But we do not know that the place has any sacred things, or that there are any spirits there who care one way or the other."

The oldest ended the argument, before it started. "I will go there. I will make peace with the spirits of the place. We cannot pretend that the place does not exist. We can only decide if we will preserve it and control how its secrets are uncovered, or if we will let others do it."

That narrowed things right down. The consensus rapidly built that the tribes would supervise the site and arrange its excavation, under their supervision.

They would try to maintain one of the elders on the site while work was going on. And they agreed to keep the number of people there to a minimum.

"No one wants a couple hundred people milling around, Rob," Sam assured me. "I suspect we will have to bulldoze a jeep trail into the area, though."

"Yeah. I see that. If we can keep it looking like just another ranch road and make it unattractive to the curious, that should be OK... You know, you're not going to be able to get any equipment into the canyon that you can't carry on horseback?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah. The entrance is in rock and has a couple of really sharp corners. It's not that easy getting a horse in there. Forget about a truck or jeep."

(What we eventually worked out was that we fenced off a five-acre area just outside the entrance to the canyon. There was a little water there. This would be the 'base camp' site. All the activity of the site would stay within the canyon or that fenced area. None of the students there for the summer, for example, would be allowed to pitch a tent outside the fence. Vehicles were parked inside and water was hauled in, to supplement the small stream.)

The council and elders, after wrangling over every conceivable detail for hours, finally woke up to the fact that they had decided they had to take on this project... and that I didn't need to be there to hear them argue about petty issues. They thanked me profusely and asked me to convey to the family that they would accept our offer with gratitude. They'd give us a detailed proposal in a day or two.

Gary took me home, for Mary to feed me-again!-and put me to bed. He returned to the council session, to argue for our rights in the matter.

In the end, everybody was happy. And over the years, the family all felt we'd done the right thing.

It's good to have friends.

The evening after I returned from Warm Springs, grandma and George rode in. They were smiling and holding hands, even on horseback.

After the horses were put up-properly; grandma isn't a shirker-she and George disappeared into her bedroom.

When they appeared late in the morning, grandma made a point of inviting everyone over for dinner.

That night, when we were all assembled and had made a first good effort at demolishing the pile of food she'd prepared, she made her big announcement.

"I want you all to know that George asked me to marry him. I said I'd be delighted."

Holding up a hand to interrupt the barrage of questions, from little Moira to dad, she added, "I see I'd better just do a short run-down on what we plan. THEN you can all ask your questions.

"We will live in George's home on Long Island. George has his work and doesn't want to retire. It is my place to be with him. So, Robby, Audry: this is your house, from now on."

Audry, though it was hard for her to move, got up and walked around to hug grandma. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. She knew how much grandma missed grandpa-and what a lusty old bag she was. She wanted her to be happy and was happy for her.

"Thanks, dear. Go sit... We want to build a 'retreat' cabin, on the ridge by Bluejay Spring. Is that OK with everybody?"

No problem with me. Dad and Rick agreed, too.

"Before you get too worried about what you can and can't say about me, where George might hear, I've told him everything I can think of..." A little sly smile. "It's been a busy life and maybe I didn't remember quite everything... Anyway, there are no secrets from George. OK?"

We all nodded.

"We discovered that we're really pretty close in age to each other. George is older than he looks, too.

"Just one more thing we have in common. We both lost mates we loved greatly. Neither wanted to settle for second best. Well, now we won't have to."

"ALL RIGHT, GRANDMA!" I shouted, in unison with Audry.

It was a night for celebration. And we all did. George and grandma were toasted with a bottle of good wine I'd been saving. We all offered George all kinds of bad advice on how to 'handle' grandma when she got difficult... to the point grandma threatened to have a long chat with the social editor for the Bend newspaper and tell all our secrets to the whole world.