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trail were steep, extending over 800 feet. Close to camp there were a few pools
offering a chance to bathe. We wallowed in glory. The night was warm and a
gentle breeze rustled through the canyon. Once we were in our sleeping bags,
only daddy longlegs spiders disturbed our sleep. They crawled over everything,
including our faces. Fortunately they didn't bite. The next morning was bright and clear. The mules and donkeys were left to forage. We would not use them this day. After a quick break. fast, Juan led us on foot to our first cave site over a rough, almost perpendicular, climb of about 800 feet. Suddenly, above us, on a great overhanging ledge, the Fletches Cave was there. I was awestruck. The paintings were huge, monumental. I had not expected such clarity and color. The sun was to our backs, so most of the paintings were clearly visible. Shadows covered a few of the upper ones. The first painting I noticed was the figure of a human, twice normal size. The body was transfixed with arrows. The figure stood upright, the arms extended in a crucifixion position, the fingers outstretched and the feet at the right angle to the ankles. The whole body was painted in an |
orange-red, the head (at least the upper part) in black. The arrows were
painted black and stuck out from all parts of the body. In this area of cave
paintings, it is common to see animal figures pierced by arrows, but only
infrequently are human figures shown this way. Another distinctive figure painted on the cave wall and close to the human figure was that of a deer-like creature on the run. Its mouth was agape and one can imagine it being hunted. It appeared to overlay or underlay a human figure of similar proportions to the one just described. The distinctive feature to this human body was that the right half was painted in black, the left in orange red. A feather-like headdress adorned the head. While my wife was on her back sketching, the rest of us photographed, studied and discussed. There were several authorities among our group. Fletches Cave was in good condition and the colors were remarkably well preserved. It displayed a variety of exciting pictographs. The painters had a sense of motion. A couple of figures were painted in succession. Two rabbits seemed to be chasing each other, but they were in outline. |
The
artist had never completed his work. Elsewhere on this site was the painting of a very fine looking mountain sheep. The top was painted black, including one of the horns, the rest of the body orange. The front legs were unusual; they appeared to have been painted twice, one pair extended. Was this intended to simulate action? Very probably. Other figures in Fletches Cave included a large black deer, a red deer painted over a large black bird and many other subjects of humans and animals. Quite exhausted with what we had seen, we lay on our backs underneath the cave and enjoyed the murals while snacking on biscuits and goat cheese. How did the painters execute their fine murals? Again, I refer to Crosby's book. He believes the painters must have worked in the fall of the year when there was ample food and water and the weather was moderate. Since some of the paintings were over 30 feet above the cave floor, ladders or scaffolding must have been used. Most of the paintings were started by sketching the figures in a powdered rock cemented with some sort of |
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