The Blessing Way

On a plateau near the Kam Bimghi Valley, Luis Horseman sets a deadfall trap for kangaroo rats. He fumbles over the wording for a Navajo song to attract game, since he can’t remember what his uncle taught him. Horseman walks back to his camp, and he sees a billow of dust from the valley floor. He wonders if the Wind Children—Navajo deities—caused the disturbance, but he realizes it must be a truck. He watches the truck’s movements across the valley floor, worrying that if it comes too close, he’ll have to leave his traps behind. The truck turns away toward Tall Poles and, Horseman assumes, toward the Army radar station.

Horseman sets up camp underneath an eroded granite cap to conceal the light of his fire. He cooks and eats a small porcupine, and he plans to build a sweat house in the morning for a sweat bath. He feels calm and safe, but soon a creeping dread that the police will find him surfaces. He worries that he won’t be able to get water, since that’s where police will look first. He wishes he had something bigger than the porcupine stomach to carry water in, and he curses his uncomfortable city shoes.