Cooke's Cañon - Fryingpan Cañon - Pony Hills Tour
Several of the tour featured by Dennis Jennings, Steelhorse Adventure Tours, to Ft. Cummings, Cooke's Cañon, Fryingpan Cañon and Pony Hills Petroglyph sites, are under one of the scrub oaks in the "Narrows" of Cooke's Cañon for lunch break.The "Narrows" were one of the favorite places where Apaches ambushed Spanish, Mexicans and Americans. Probably no one even knows who the Spanish were, or when, since communications were non-existent in terms of reporting a single ambush in a timely way.
Supposedly, 400 peoople died traversing Cooke's over the decades of travel by Western men and women intruding into Apache space. Our tour gave some justice to the dimensions of Cooke's Cañon, albeit, a short one.
Fryingpan Cañon Petroglyph site is a powerful place for me. In all honesty, Pony Hills does not have the complexity and "energy" Fryingpan Cañon does. Perhaps because it's so linked with Cooke's Cañon, and the Apache dominance of that area, as well as the topography, and connections to the "Sunman Petroglyph" site several miles away, over the ridge tops, and down again ... Fryingpan is a deeply felt place to visit.
Some of the rock art symbols at Fryingpan Cañon appear to be images drawn from the Paquime Mogollon mind set. The possible parrot, or scarlet macaw; the "Plumed Serpent" Shaman; and the energy flowing into a sick person (who may have died), as well as the conjuring of the Toad spirit and perhaps others, is one of the tableux you can find in Fryingpan Cañon's site. This is one of the finest rock art locations in the general area of Silver City. East of Deming, and accessible from either end of Cooke's Cañon, these are petroglyphs worthy of seeing more than once. I could almost guarantee someone that if they visit this place more than once, they will find "new" petroglyphs each time they make the journey.
gilawolfman@hotmail.com is Dennis Jenning's email to inquire into tours.
posted by skyminder at
6:40 AM
4 Comments:
Lots of sad history there in Cooke's Canyon. Perhaps as much as the many deaths that happened in Skeleton Canyon.
Sad thing is, many, or most, were innocent non-combatents, but the Apache made no distinction.Many of these inocents were also tortured to death. One of the favored methods was the slow fire under the head. Most people don't know the truth of the situation...
This may be true. However, one has to remember: the waters @ Cooke's Springs, Agua de Pichacho del Mimbres, was a natural occurring springs for thousands of years. There are many petroglyphs there of the people who came before the Apaches, for certain. Those people weren't asked if they would allow Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans to drink and use their water.
The indigenous peoples were far more dependent on the "graces" of nature for water, for raising crops, but most certainly, for quenching their thirst. If the water holes were suddenly protected by Spanish, Mexicans or Americans, with superior fire power, the Apache were killed, if they tried to assert their rights to the water.
As people, then, these Native Americans had NO rights of possession. Imagine how you'd feel if you KNEW there was a water hole up ahead, and when you got there, it was surrounded by men with plenty of fire power.
How would YOU feel?
That's perfect place for trekking . Love that
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