Chapter 442: Entering the Hopi Reservation
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Hans, who was holding up his mobile phone this whole time, walked out and gave a laugh, "You're right. It's just a misunderstanding. We'll leave when you move out of the way."
Li Du said, "Refund my ticket and tour guide fee!" His tone was firm—as always—together with his upright posture as well.
The old man was enraged. "Are you going to challenge our bottom line?"
Hans continued to be the mediator. He raised his hand and said, "How about this? You return us the money and we'll leave behind the arrows that are now under the rubble."
Another Native American man said, "The arrows have fallen in our territory, so they already belong to us!"
"F*cking robbers!" Hans cussed softly under his breath.
The old man did not want any conflict. He waved to stop his men from getting agitated. "I'm fine with the arrangement. Return the money to this young lad and let them go!"
The burly Native American took out some money from his pocket to Li Du. Li did not count the money. He just took it and walked toward the aggressive looking Native Americans as if they were nonexistent.
When one of them tried to block Li's way, Godzilla dashed right over to knock the man out of the way. That man was sent flying into the distance!
With that, no one else dared to pick a fight. They cleared a path for Li Du and his friends.
The moment after Li and the group of treasure hunters left, the old man made a gesture and the Native Americans sprinted to where the rubble was. "Find those arrows!"
Soon, someone found the short arrow amongst the dust and sandstones. He ran back and gave it to the old man in a huff. "Ahiga, please take a look."
The old man held the arrow and wondered, "What's so special about this arrow? What's the difference between this and our arrows?"
"I can't see a difference either," the burly Native American guy said. "What kind of alloy is this? It looks the same as steel and it's indeed very sharp."
The old man nodded and walked up to one side of the canyon wall. The group of tough-looking men gathered around him, looking on in anticipation at the arrow in his hand.
With a cough, the old man grabbed the arrow and shoved it into the canyon stone as hard as he could.
Whack! A loud sound was hard. The old man almost blacked out and saw stars for a moment. The short arrow had bounced back and the old man's palm went numb because of the impact.
The Native Americans looked at the red canyon rock. There was only a tiny white spot on the rock and it did not make any hole. This arrow was not even as sharp as the arrows they had.
"We're being fooled!"
"Drive faster, faster," urged Hans. "When those idiots realize that the arrows are normal, they're going to come after us."
Godzilla stepped on the accelerator to increase the speed again, cruising along the highway.
Li Du was feeling glum. "D*mn, we've gained nothing out of it even though we've wasted time and energy."
Hans grinned and said, "Who says so? We have huge gains!"
Li Du asked curiously, "What huge gains? I didn't notice any."
"Just wait and see," said Hans, who was full of confidence. "Definitely something good!"
They continued driving north. After leaving the Navajo's territory, they drove along Highway 264, to the Hopi's territory.
The highway passed through three boundaries, namely the first, second and third mesas, which form the core of the Hopi Reservation.
After Hans talked about the Hopi land dispute with the Navajo, Li Du could not help laughing. "Did the Hopis understand how to fight a war? They don't have strategic buffers? It is no wonder their tribe is surrounded by Navajos."
"You don't understand their conflict. They must live on the boundary—the moment they moved back in, the land they moved out from will be occupied by the other party."
Li Du had an expression of consternation upon hearing Hans's words. "The Navajo are so tyrannical?"
"When it comes to issues regarding land," explained Hans, "all the Native Americans are tyrannical, especially the Navajos, who are very sly. They like to use the trick of herding sheep."
"What's that trick about?"
"They just drive a herd of sheep into a piece of land, then that piece of land belongs to them."
Li Du nodded his head to show that he understood. That was truly the style of the Navajos. The arrows that he used to shoot the sandstone landed in their canyon and the Navajos already saw that as their property.
From the highway they turned onto a dirt road. The dirt road was fairly wide and after driving for about ten minutes, a large village of thatched huts appeared before them.
Hans patted the dashboard of their truck and cheered, "Welcome to the oldest settlement in North America, the Old Oraibi Village!"
About a mile away they stopped and walked toward the village.
"Remember," emphasized Hans, "no pictures, no drawing, and no recording allowed, okay?"
Everyone nodded. "Okay!"
It was Li Du's first time visiting a primitive Native American village. He looked around with curiosity as he approached the Hopi tribe. Everything was new to him.
Outside the tribe there were some small fortress-like structures that surrounded the village. These structures were formerly used to defend against attacks. The structures were very strong with only openings for observation and arrows.
In addition to these structures, there was also a small chapel at the entrance, with a crucifix on the roof.
Li Du exclaimed, "Hey, these people are also Christians?"
Hans said, "This is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is the Mormons. Probably during the 1850s, Mormons settled down in Utah, and they tried to preach and persuade the Native Americans to convert to Mormonism."
After listening to this, Li Du exclaimed, "Gosh, these Mormons are really crazy. They sure go to great lengths to preach their beliefs."
"Jacob Hamblin, that crazy fellow was called Jacob Hamblin," Olly chimed in. "In 1858, He entered the Hopi Reservation for the first time in 1858, and reached a missionary agreement with the locals. In late 1875, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established."
Hans glanced at him and commented, "You sure know a lot about the history."
"At one point in time I wanted to join the Mormons," admitted Olly. "So, I learned more about them, like their history and stuff. As you know, the Mormons allow polygamy." Olly had an embarrassed laugh at his last sentence.
"Oh, then why didn't you join them? Is it because God saw through your straying heart?"
Olly continued to laugh in embarrassment. "No, I realized that it's already hard enough to deal with one wife, let alone a second one!"
The Hopis allowed visitors, but visitors were not allowed to wander around. They had a tourist reception at the front of the reservation and also a small museum for the visitors to see.
Li Du went into the museum. The museum was filled with historical photographs and cultural exhibits on the Hopis' way of life. The little bug got hyped up inside the museum. It wanted to absorb the time energy of all kinds of exhibits, artifacts and handcrafted goods.
However, Li Du would not let the little bug do that. That was equivalent to theft and was not something that he would do.
In the museum, there were also postcards made by the Hopis. Li Du was beaming with joy when he saw that. He bought a set and sent it to Sophie.
Dickens felt puzzled by that and asked, "What type of courting tactic is this? Postcard courtship?"
Li Du shook his head. "It's not that. This is about my heart, my sincerity!"
"Errk!" The group of them made retching noises and the vomiting gesture.