The Strange Story of Jack Harelson

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Outside Magazine October 2004

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The Killing Bones (cont.)

The Theory of the Crescent Head
ONE OF THE MOST STUBBORN Native American mysteries confounding archaeologists involves an object called a crescent head. Often found in pieces, crescent heads are three-inch moon-slivers of stone. No one is sure how they were used, but Harelson believed that they were attached in twos or threes to a long stick and used for cutting plants like a scythe. If he could find one intact, he thought it would prove his theory and etch his name in the history books. And he was convinced he would find one in the Elephant Mountain cave.

In late August 2002, Harelson and Doland

"If you get caught here, take off," Doland recalls Harelson telling him. "Or if you can't, just drop 'em. Right here." To Doland, Harelson's message was clear: "Drop 'em" meant "Kill them."

drove into the Black Rock Desert and parked Harelson's truck by the side of an old access road a few miles north of Elephant Mountain. The duo then hopped on an ATV and rumbled across the hardpan. In Doland's backpack was a wildlife-tracking collar. Overhead, in a light airplane, were Oregon State Police agents tracking the signal.

When they reached the base of the cave, Harelson stopped.

"I ain't going into the cave," he said. "Somebody might be watching."

"Jack, look around," Doland said, sweeping his arm across the vast desert. "Does it look like there's a lot of people out here watching?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Harelson said.

They walked into the cave, both oblivious to the hidden surveillance camera that investigators had mounted near the entrance a few days earlier. Harelson jumped down into the pit he'd dug years earlier and scooped a piece of crumbly dirt out with his hand. He picked out some seeds and cordage, rope made by twisting plant fibers together. After all those years, the site was still rich with ancient detritus.

Harelson told Doland where to dig, how deep to go, and what to do with the stuff he found; he didn't plan to hang around himself. The two men agreed to split the proceeds from whatever Doland found, but Jack wanted that crescent head for himself. "There's never been one found complete," Harelson said, "and I know there's gonna be one in there. I want that stick."

"And another thing," Doland said Harelson told him. "If you see somebody pull up in a truck, it'll probably be only one or two BLM agents. If you get caught in here, just jump on the quad and take off. Or if you can't, just drop 'em right there, get on the quad, and never come back." Harelson may have just been talking tough, but to Doland the message was clear: "Drop 'em" meant "Kill them."

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