The late, great Steve Goodman sings and plays here. This guy had a "heart for the wild" you might say. It's from his Affordable Art CD that came out in '92 on the Geffen label. (3:38)
Here's the classic anthem to the mules, from Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite," who carry the tourists down and up again - a thankless task if ever there was one. It's pianist Roger Williams, from his '92 release on Geffen: The Greatest Popular Pianist/The Artist's Choice. (2:09)
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In 1901 the Santa Fe completed a spur line from Williams, Arizona to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Four years later the El Tovar Hotel was completed, and thousands upon thousands of people came to see the spectacle - the remote reaches of the Southwest, places that were all but inaccessible to the general public before this, were now thrown open for one and all - well, one and all who could afford a ticket.
"The first and possibly the most astonishing thing the traveler to Grand Canyon experiences is the fortunate nature of the approach to it. There is absolutely nothing to apprise you that the place is nearer than a million miles until you step out of the train right at its edge, almost right into it. A hole more than a mile deep at the side door of a railway station and hotel which you have entered from an absolutely level course across the desert . . . The train . . . comes to a sudden stop. And you are at the gate of Heaven."
David M. Steele, Going Abroad Overland: Studies of Places and People in the Far West, 1917
This song will, I'm sure, NOT be liked among some of the anthro-eggheads and southwestern gurus - no sense of humor. It's Jim Stricklan, from his Grand Canyon CD - 2006, Front Room Music. (1:41)
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Mesa Verde National Park a
Mesa Verde, Spanish for green table, offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300. Today, the park protects over 4,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States. From The Mesa Verde Natl. Park Website
This is flautist Paul Horn teamed up with Native American R. Carlos Nakai - a powerful combination. It's from their CD Inside Canyon de Chelley, released in '97 on Canyon Records. (3:26)
Here's the music that goes with the dance - an event the Santa Fe Railway promoted for years. Once again, it's Porter Timeche from the Folkways CD Hopi Katsina Songs and Six Songs by Hopi Chanters, re-released in 2004. (2:01)
This is from a CD released in '05 by Canyon, titled Hoat' Ve' La Traditional Songs From the Hopi, performed by Clark Tenakhongua and singers. (4:04)
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The Nine Signs of Hopi Prophecy From White Feather, Bear Clan, Hopi Tribe
"These are the Signs that great destruction is here: The world shall rock to and fro. The white man will battle people in other lands - those who possessed the first light of wisdom. There will be many columns of smoke and fire such as the white man has made in the deserts not far from here. Those who stay and live in the places of the Hopi shall be safe.
Then there will be much to rebuild. And soon, very soon afterward, Pahana will return. He shall bring with him the dawn of the Fifth World. He shall plant the seeds of his wisdom in our hearts. Even now the seeds are being planted. These shall smooth the way to the Emergence into the Fifth World."
The Fourth World shall end soon, and the Fifth World will begin. This the elders everywhere know.
The Signs over many years have been fulfilled, and so few are left.
First Sign: We were told of the coming of the white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana - men who took the land that was not theirs and who struck their enemies with thunder.(Guns)
Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices. (Covered wagons)
Third Sign: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns, will overrun the land in large numbers. (Longhorn cattle)
Fourth Sign: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron. (Railroad tracks)
Fifth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider's web. (Power and telephone lines)
Sixth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun. (Concrete roads and their mirage-producing effects.)
Seventh Sign: You will hear of the sea turning black, and many living things dying because of it. (Oil spills)
Eighth Sign: You will see many youth, who wear their hair long like our people, come and join the tribal nations, to learn our ways and wisdom. (Hippies)
Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling-place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. Very soon after this, the ceremonies of the Hopi people will cease.
"These are the Signs that great destruction is coming. The world shall rock to and fro. The white man will battle against other people in other lands - with those who possessed the first light of wisdom. There will be many columns of smoke and fire such as White Feather has seen the white man make in the deserts not far from here. Only those which come will cause disease and a great dying.
"Many of my people, understanding the prophecies, shall be safe. Those who stay and live in the places of my people also shall be safe. Then there will be much to rebuild. And soon - very soon afterward - Pahana will return. He shall bring with him the dawn of the Fifth World. He shall plant the seeds of his wisdom in their hearts. Even now the seeds are being planted. These shall smooth the way to the Emergence into the Fifth World.
"But White Feather shall not see it. I am old and dying. You - perhaps will see it. In time, in time..."
