The serpent is roughly 5-6 yards long. It has a pair of orange-yellow eyes, same color as the mineral deposit on the wall, and a red tail which is barely visible. The serpent, horses, and horse
and rider are most-likely painted by the Mescalero Apache between 1500-1800 AD.

Since the mid-1800s, Hueco Tanks has been right on an old trail heading west to California. The trail was also briefly used by the Butterfield stage couch line; a stage station was built just a short distance north of “Sooty” cave where the pictographs are inscribed. The cave wall has recorded both the ancient and more modern inscriptions; it is a reflection of contrasting culture expressions: environmental, social and spiritual experiences versus simple modernistic ego.