Mittman, Stephanie (44 page)

Author's Note

Oak
Creek Canyon,
not far from Sedona, is still there today, for the most
part untouched by civilization. Books report on its mystical properties;
Indians from the area still revere it. To go there is to feel its power and
understand the hold it can have over those who let it touch their spirits.

The
Havasupai Indians still live at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. While the
Bridge to Somewhere Else and the River of Time are my creations, as is the
saying about love ruling your heart, reason ruling your head, and hope guiding
your feet, most of the facts about them are accurate. There was a shaman named
A'mal and a chief named Navaho. Many of the Havasupai, including the chief's
own son, were very upset by Navaho's actions, which included taking a
discredited medicine man up to a cliff and cutting out his heart before tossing
his body over the rocks. Others were similarly killed, and while it is my
invention that the remaining shamans made a contest of keeping Sloan alive in
order to save themselves, it is true that they became so afraid of Navaho
that they
refused to treat his son for fear that they would be killed if they failed to
save him. The Havasupai also did barter food for the favors of women when other
tribes visited and had different notions of privacy than Sloan might have
expected.

As
for Jerome, it too still stands, a town brought back from near oblivion in the
1960s. Its old hotels, businesses, and brothels now house upscale gift shops
and restaurants, but the town has managed to retain its Old West flavor, and a
stroll of its narrow streets can make a visitor feel a bit like a time traveler
even in the 1990s. The sheriff in
Bridge to Yesterday,
James Franklin
Roberts, lived and worked in Jerome from 1891 until his death in 1934 and was
known as the Last of the Old Time Shootin' Sheriffs. He brought in many a
desperado, often single-handedly, and therefore had good reason to distrust
Mary Grace. Doc Woods, too, was a credit to Jerome, and I was glad he was there
to help my heroine in her time of need.

Jennie
Banter was indeed a madam in the "wickedest city in America." Some
say she was also the richest woman in northern Arizona in the 1890s. Her
establishments were burned down in three separate fires and were always the
first to be rebuilt. The last time, her building was rebuilt in brick.

The
Connor Hotel, too, was rebuilt in brick after the fire of 1898 and still stands
on Main Street, having been renovated. A lovely restaurant known as Murphy's was
originally the mercantile store.

The
town jail, built over the fault area, has slid approximately 225 feet from
where it was built as a result of the blasting of the United Verde Copper
Company. It is in the process of being renovated. Unfortunately, I don't expect
that any beribboned prisoners will be on view!

Stephanie Mittman
lives in
Syosset, New York, with her husband and two children. This is her first novel.