Trays Oyos

– from an explorer’s diary:

...and come down from the ridge red as a coxcomb by ways winding and narrow on stones slippery in rayn To where there was small prairy above a lake well-sooted to make camp and spend a cold nite in violent wind Next day Captan Armstrong is taen with grate payn in his side and not abel to walk at all and the Lanero Raynosa cownsels best to stay in camp on account of the lower hillslopes being much wet and steep and droping down to baysin encrusted with sault and difficult to traverse with a sick man in travoy -- Hunting party out at dawn and to kill and butcher a gang of elk and sevral deer also but the deer very poor and Armstrong still hurting with violent payn –

Dark shewing flair like false dawn lite on the playn below Reynosa tells us to go a diffrent way along the slope where the trayl is leen as a gote’s path in this steep wilderness He will not guyde us onto the baysin becaws Trays Oyos is there and a sign that men should stay out of that desert playce We see the poynt of lite below on the sault playne shining far away in the night with a fog around that firey ray shewing red green and amber Laneros (his people)  keep away says Reynosa give wide berth to the baysin because many devils are there and sprites and demons at leest so the Indians mayntayn --

Armstrong much improved after another night of resting easy He can walk now altho somewhat unstedily on his feet So we stryk camp and march down hill threw broken cuntry among mity stones and dark raveens where we see more deer and elk (stags and dose) The appearance of the terrayn chaynges now to flatter slopes and the baysin’s edj is a crayter rim all cracked and crook’d Reynosa stops where the playa (as he naymes it) stretches out ahed and tells us he will follow our dust trayl which will rise white as a pillar and thus rejoyn the march under the blew mountains on the other side because he has much fryt for the Trays Oyos which his people avoyd at all costs

It is a strait way over the sault with the gryme rising to our nostrills and like lyme crusting our lips and theres many an hour spent trudjing threw-out this wayst The flat land shews the Trays Oyos from far away as a sentree posted in this barren playce to overlook and rule it all and so we see and gayze with amayzment long before we come close to stand under where the thing casts a shadow like a sun dyalls noman out along the stile of the day from wich we have taen our approach –

It appeers as tall as an oke tree but without branches or bows and made from a kind of gun mettle or cast eyron but argent in hue At its top a gibbet arm extends a short reech from wich depends a casket also of eyron wherein are seen the three eyes with lids that are open and unclosing Then the top lites as if with sharp flaym and is one color as if flowing blood and dims so that the second below the top lites for a moment lasting about the span of 8 or 10 breths and then the third in tern glares out its rays and thus in sucksession over and over agen blood-red to amber to grene as leaf or moss when the dessart is all dust around --

This is wondrus to behold but also fearsome and aweful the work of giants or spirits of the ded and so we hurry away the lite beckoning to us from behind and hard march until Captan Armstrong falls and can walk no more We make camp in a waterless playce and at the skysill in the landskip the lites of Trays Ojos makes a beat clapping such as on a drum from blood red to amber to grene as any leaf or moss Not sound but sensayshun and we pass the dark hours without so much as wink of sleep from many fears and then are on our way agen -- 

Reynosa is on the other side with some Lanero boys and he aks me if Trays Ojos is still standing like unto a mitey man in the ryme of sault I say yes he is there garding all the wayst lands 

Captan Armstrong is much worse feebrish and babbling In the night he dies and we bury him under the sand on the edj of the playa as it is called –

There are many straynge things in places unfreekwented by men --