The Thinking Rocks (19 page)

Dola was the first to
speak, "I have a question, is this a good time to ask it?"

Cano asked, "Is it
an important question, one that needs to be answered now?"

Dola said, "I think
it’s very important and I wish you would let me ask it."

"All right, ask
your question," said Cano as he studied the raft.

"Do you think there
are more snakes in the river or on the raft?"

After a few moments to
reflect on the question, they all returned to the raft cautiously.  It was
debatable as to who was more apprehensive, the dripping hunters or the snake,
which had beaten a hasty retreat to the shore.  Whiteface seemed to be the
only one who wasn't concerned.

The next morning they
were underway as the day birds awakened and the sun rose.

The fishing was good,
but the trio was getting tired of the same food day after day. About midday
Cano suggested that it would be a good idea to make camp early so that he could
go hunting.  Everyone was agreeable. Dola wanted to go with Cano, but he
liked being around Gennos too. If Cano wanted him to come along he would have
said so.

Cano left camp as Gennos
and Dola finished cleaning the fish.  After they had the fire started Dola
noticed that the ants had started getting on the fish they had just
cleaned.  Gennos suggested that he put the fish on sticks and put them
near the fire to keep the ants away.  Dola soon had the days catch staked
out near the fire.

Cano hiked up through a
small valley with a stream toward a stand of large trees.  He saw deer
tracks and the droppings of a large animal that he couldn't identify.  The
day had turned hot and the valley cut off any chance of a breeze.  The
forest was still and no birds were singing. As he climbed higher he found a
grassy meadow and a slight breeze.  At the far end he saw movement but
couldn't determine what it was.  The wind was blowing toward him so he
decided to try to get closer.  Finally he was close enough to get a good
look at the strange creatures.  They were large animals, much taller at
the shoulder than he was tall. They had short dusty brown hair and had a long
neck and four legs; their feet were like large pads. Another strange feature was
their heads, which were prominent with hairy ears and fat lips. They had a
large hump in the center of their backs, and long tails with a wad of hair at
the end.  A small group of them started to run around the herd, they were
quite fast.  The way they ran was strange, and then Cano saw why.
 They ran with the legs on one side both moving forward while the legs on
the other side moved to the rear.  This was odd; most animals ran by
moving their back legs together and then their front legs together.  He would
have to talk this over with Gennos when he returned to camp.

There was a sizable herd
of them eating grass and leaves.  Even at this distance from the herd he
could smell them, and it wasn't a pleasant odor. There were many of them and
they were too big for him to try to bring one down.  Besides it would be
difficult getting the meat back to camp.  He would have to find more
suitable game.  Quietly he faded back into the brush.

 As he
climbed higher he noticed a cave in the side of the hill.  Slowly, he
approached it with one of his spears ready until he was near the
entrance.  Stopping he listened carefully for any sound that would signal
danger.  He could hear nothing.  If anything was in there, it was
very quiet.  He looked in and was surprised by its size.  After the
narrow entrance it quickly changed to a large cave.  He was surprised to
find that it was big enough to hold all of the Clan of the Spear.  The
cave had a musty smell and there were bones scattered about the floor.  The
bones were not those of something that had died here, but were the bones of
things eaten here.  Some of the bones were large, which meant that what
had eaten them was larger. He knelt and examined them.  Some still had
fragments of meat attached.  Something was still living here.  He
heard a sound, and sprang to his feet and drew back his spear.  He was
facing the direction the sounds had come from, but nothing was there. He thrust
his spare spear forward as a guard, and then stood there ready for an attack. 
It was then that he saw the horrid bloodthirsty creature that he thought was
threatening his life.  It was a small rodent that was working its way
through some leaves looking for food.  Cano lowered his spear and drew a
deep breath.  There would be no need to relate this experience when he got
back to camp.

As he was
leaving the cave he noticed long deep scratches on the walls and in the
dirt.  There were also some coarse dark brown hairs on the cave wall at
the narrow entrance.  Something big had made the scratches and the hair
was probably from a cave bear.  He thought it would be wise to leave
before it returned.  The mouse fled at his approach, but returned to
forage when he was gone.  It doubtlessly didn't know that bears eat mice.

He continued to climb
higher and finally reached the highest point on the hill.  As he surveyed
the country around him he noticed a sign of death.  Vultures were circling
below him and to one side of the trail he had taken on his way up the
hill.  He would investigate that area and see if there was anything he
could use there.  The day was coming to an end and he still didn't have
any food to return to camp with.

He headed down the hill
toward the area where the vultures circled.  Climbing down was faster than
his assent, but the ground was covered with loose leaves and occasional
vines.  He slipped and slid frequently and had to slow down to keep from
falling from the numerous small cliffs. He found that by grabbing saplings on
the way down he could make better time.  This was still a tricky maneuver
because of the spears he carried.  He made more noise than he liked, but
he had no other options.

Finally, he
came to the area where the vultures had flocked.  He found a scene he was
not expecting. There was a clearing that contained a bloodbath.  It
appeared as though a cave bear and a giant sloth had fought.  The sloth
was huge, almost the size of a mammoth.  The bear was very large.  If
it was standing, Cano's head would only reach the bears stomach, it looked as
though the bears front feet when spread apart had the same span as its height.
Its claws were longer than Cano's fingers. 

It was not
apparent why they had fought.  The sides of the sloth were raked with claw
marks similar to those Cano had seen at the cave.  Chunks of meat had been
ripped from the neck and shoulders of the sloth.  Its broken body lay a
short distance from that of the bear.  A long string of intestines from
the bear's stomach were scattered across the ground toward the sloth. 
Blood soaked the ground and the sickly sweet smell of it hung in the air. 
Neither animal showed any signs of life and the vultures were squawking and
fighting over the open wounds of the sloth.

Cano tried to understand
what had happened.  The sloth was much bigger than the bear, but they are
slow in their movements.  The bear usually moves slowly, but that is
deceptive.  They are capable of lightning like speed when it is needed; a
man would have no chance of out running a bear.  Somehow, the sloth and
bear had fought; the bear was quicker and ended by killing the sloth. 
But, and it was a big but, the sloth had gotten in one good slash with its
enormous front claw.  The claw was bigger than my head Cano thought. It
was more than adequate for removing the bear's intestines.

Cano stood looking over
the carnage in the small clearing.  As yet the vultures paid no attention
to him or the bear.  Walking up behind the bear cautiously, he prodded the
bear with his spear to assure that it was dead.  The bear exploded with a
spinning roar and a tremendous swipe with its left paw, which knocked the spear
from his hand and threw him off balance.  It followed with a slashing blow
from its right paw that would have disemboweled him had he been a breath
closer.  As it was, the claws cut four shallow channels diagonally across
his chest as he fell away from the attack.  The bear rose to its full
height, cocked its head to one side, and with a bloody froth spraying from its
mouth, it roared. The roar came from the depths of the bear's being and carried
the echoes of past triumphs.  Cano could feel the ground he laid upon
quake.  It seemed as though the only things in the world were the bear and
the naked power it projected.

Cano scrambled to the
side searching for his spear, as he found it, the bear loomed over him.  He
had no room or time to throw the spear with the bear towering over him. 
He braced the butt of the spear on the ground and attempted to pivot toward the
bear.  Before he could get the spear into position, the bear fell upon
him.  The last thing he saw was the bear's bloody mouth, wide open and
roaring, coming down to destroy his head.

Back at the river Gennos
and Dola were looking at the fish that had been placed by the fire on the
sticks.  The meat was dry but not burned.  Gennos was quite excited
about it.  Dola couldn't see the reason for the excitement.

Gennos seemed elated by
the fish.  "Dola, don't you understand what has happened?  Can't
you see how important this is?"

Dola was embarrassed by
his lack of perception concerning the fish.  The fish were dry.  Why
was this so important?

Gennos hurried on
without waiting for Dola to answer his questions.  "This meat can
last for days before we have to get rid of it.  Think about it, we won't
have to fish as much.  The fish that we do catch will last us longer. 
Fresh fish don't last for longer than the day you catch them. Now we can dry
the fish so that we can eat even if we don't catch fish everyday.  We will
have extra food we can take with us.  We should thank the Great Spirit for
this gift of knowledge."

Dola had listened
carefully and then said, "I saw the dried fish as you did, but I didn't
understand what I was seeing.  You seem to see things that I miss."

Gennos answered,
"You and I see the same things, but I have more years of looking at things. 
You have to train yourself not only to see things; you must also train your
self to look at things.  There is as much difference in looking and
seeing, as there is in hearing and listening. Don't worry if you don't
understand it all now. You will understand more as you grow older.  Things
seem to change as you grow older.  You will seem to see things in
different way."

Changing the subject he
continued, "Let’s put the fish some place where we can show them to Cano
when he returns."

Gennos turned and looked
up and then down the river, everything seemed natural. Next he looked inland,
all he could see were trees and in the distance, high on the hillside it looked
as though vultures were circling, his hate for the vultures triggered a
thought, he hoped Cano was all right and would return soon.

Cano was sure he was
dead, and he found it hurt to be dead.  His head hurt and it was hard to
breath.  He tried to move and couldn't.  I'm dead, he thought, this
time I'm really dead.  It was then he remembered the bear's mouth trying
to swallow his head; he felt a spasm, which caused him to jerk and twist to one
side.  He was able to move, twisting and shoving enabled him to see some
light.  He fought harder and was able to get his head out from under the
bears shoulder.  Gulping in some fresh air, he felt a stabbing pain in his
chest and with pounding heart he grouped for freedom. Pulling at the coarse
hair on the bears shoulder, he was able to squirm free.  He sat up and
tried to get his breath back.  He would have died if he hadn’t gotten out
from under the bear; his chest still hurt when he took in a deep breath.

He sat looking at the
bear, trying to determine what happened.  He felt warm blood on his chest,
it must be the bear's blood, but when he tried to wipe it away he found that it
was his own blood.  The bear had gotten in a strong slash; he was
fortunate that he had been falling away from the bear when it struck. The bear
had been near death when he poked it with his spear. It must have used the last
of its strength to attack. When it had lunged at him it was probably almost
dead.

He remembered trying to
get his spear up but he couldn't do it.  The bear's head came down on him
too quickly.  It had its mouth open and he jerked back as he thought about
it.  The bear had tried to bite his face, but his spear had been in the
way.  It was across his face and as the bear tried to bite, it was blocked
by the spear shaft.  The bear's bite had knocked the shaft into Cano's
head and drove it away from its jaws.  The bear was dead by the time it
fell on him.

Cano sat quietly
thinking about how fortunate he was.  He gently fingered the wounds on his
chest and found that they had almost stopped bleeding.  He winced and then
smiled as he thought of the scars he would have from this day. Ah-- the stories
he would tell around the campfire.

He slowly rose
to his feet and stretched. He picked up his spear and walked toward the dead
sloth. The vultures rose in a squawking cloud as he approached. He would get
some meat to take to camp. As he was cutting away a couple of sizable chunks,
he thought, I will take the bear's claws also.  They will make my stories
more believable.

By the Campfire

That night Cano related
his adventures of the day, as they sat near the fire eating roasted sloth. His
brother had arranged thinly sliced strips of sloth on sticks, and was
attempting to dry them as he had done with the fish.