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INTO THE WILDERNESS
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The Beginning of the Beginning
“Mother!
Mother! Guess what!” I excitedly exclaimed, coming into the kitchen and
tripping over my shoelaces.
“What?” My mother asked.
“I’m going to live in the wild when
I grow up! It`s going to be TOTALLY AWE-SOME!” Mother merely smiled. The years
flew by, until I had graduated from college.
I was standing, surrounded by lots
of people. In fact, they were more than people. They were going to be part of
my Indian tribe, including me and my partner Alpha, Gracey, and had trained for
months. Gracey was a few feet away, watching the crowd. More Indians-to-be
swarmed into Willheisten Square, carrying supplies. Finally, when all the
people arrived, we set off for New York. There would be practically millions of people there!
Until we got sorted out, four Indians would
follow one leader. The leaders were carefully picked ahead of time. I slipped
in and out of each group, speaking encouraging words. “You’ll be fine,” “We`re almost there,” and so on. My Beta, Sunsala, grabbed my arm and
said,
“Poppy, Peony, and Penelope are
doing well, but Sunflower and Sacagawea are a bit tense.” She was reporting on
as many groups as she could. I took the lead as we moved onward. We marched and
marched and marched for hours, but still the procession moved onward. Some on
horses, some on foot, some on sled-like things pulled by oxen. When night fell,
we erected tepees. I felt a tingle of excitement as I crawled in after Gracey.
We both curled up in our ‘nests’, as we called them.
“Good night,”
“Good night,”
I drowsily replied as I drifted off
into a dark, dreamless sleep. I awoke to the sound of birdsong and some sort of
trilling. Oh my gosh! It’s a raccoon!
I thought.
Gracey entered and shook me until
every bit of sleepiness was gone. “According to Blue Feather, a baby raccoon
walked in like he owned this place!” she exclaimed.
“Oh. Wow.”
“You don’t sound very excited about
that,” Gracey objected.
“Well, I regret saying ‘wow’ in the
first place, because soon it will get its mom, then we’ll have another
problem,” I said. I shook my head and sighed. “We’ve barely started!” I said
regretfully.
“Wwwweeelllllllllllll, you soon
might change your mind,” she pointed out. “It’s been a long time,”
“Uh-oh,” I said. “That means- “
“You’re right,” she interrupted. “You’ve
been sleeping for hours straight, and
I’ve been staring at you the whole time, willing you to wake up,”
“You actually did that?” I
exclaimed.
“Yep,” she replied.
As
soon as Gracey finished her sentence, the baby raccoon actually walked straight in, put its paws onto me, and trilled in
the cutest way imaginable! “Perfect
timing,” Gracey said, as I rolled my eyes. So we headed for the healer’s tepee.
As we headed in, Rapids, Mangrove, and Coyote emerged. When we entered, I threw
a questioning glance at Willow Leaf, who was currently assigning a handful of
apprentices and her assistant, Apple Blossom.
“Those elders had sore feet,” she
explained. “I’ve treated practically millions
of people with sore feet, sore arms, sore whatever this morning.”
“So what do you need?” she asked. She spotted the raccoon before I
could reply. “Oh, already I’ve heard
a rumor that there’s a baby raccoon loose in the camp,” she said innocently,
but I saw a glint of laughter in her eyes. “See Apple Blossom, she’s more of a
vet than I am,” she said. “She’s on the edge of the camp somewhere, gathering
herbs,” Thankfully, she was easy to find. Not that the camp was super gigantic,
it was just that the camp was swarming with Indians, even on the edges. We
headed back with Apple Blossom.
She led us into a cozy corner, with
a small-animal-sized nest. The raccoon bounded into it, and settled down,
squeaking contentedly. “The warmth probably reminds it of its mother,” she
said. She examined it closely, muttering to herself. “It’s a girl, probably
just weaned, plus it’s almost completely healthy,” she announced. “It just
needs some food, like insects,
worms, fruits and nuts, and acorns and walnuts. They can eat other animals,
like, birds and mammals, but, raccoons usually prefer prey that is easier to
catch such as fish, amphibians and bird eggs. So don’t give it too much
rabbit or vole,” she said.
So we went to the food and supplies
tepee. I picked out a few bird eggs, a couple acorns, and a tiny mouthful of a
vole. Back at the Healer’s tepee, she hungrily devoured them and dragged
herself to the nest, trilling sleepily. We quietly slipped out.
“Poppy, Peony, Penelope, you three
go on a hunting patrol. Sacagawea, Sunsala, Jay Feather, you go on a gathering
patrol in the opposite direction,” I ordered. The six nodded and scurried off
to the food and supplies tepee for spears, bows, arrows, and baskets. Gracey
walked to the other side of camp. I walked a bit farther. “Blue Feather,
Sunflower, Snowflake, go on a fishing patrol, and one last thing, Boulder is
taking the children to the lake to cool off. Can you keep an eye on them?”
“Sure.”
“Ok.”
So I escorted Boulder and the children to the
lake. I had told Gracey already that after I took them to the lake, I would go
straight to the other side of the lake for a hunting patrol. I slipped silently
through the trees, skirting the brim of the lake. I paused and sniffed the air.
Let’s see…
A deer, a few squirrels, a vole… I was frozen with indecision for a
moment, then took my spear from its permanent place on my back. I nearly glided
through the branches as I peered down, searching for fresh tracks on the ground
while also testing the air. Finally, my eyes latched onto deer tracks, fresh,
and surrounded by a strong scent of deer. I peeked into a little clearing. A
doe! My eyes must be glowing like twin
moons! I crouched low to the ground, then leaped quietly to the nearest
branch.
I clambered to right above the doe.
I dropped right onto it’s back, and right as I was going to do the thrust, I
saw two terrified eyes peering out from a bush. Of course! Her fawn! I had assumed that the doe was just extra fat,
but she had a fawn! If I killed the doe, the fawn would die, without any milk.
If I herded them back to camp, I could fatten the doe up and wean the fawn,
then we could ride the fawn when it was grown!
So I hustled them back to camp,
with Snowflake’s and Blue Feather’s help. Sunflower went ahead to tell the camp
to prepare a temporary holding pen for them. Finally, we covered the last
stretch of ground. They entered the pen fearfully. The doe reared and the fawn
rushed to the safety of the nearest bush. The doe hesitantly disappeared into
the foliage of the bush. I continued that hunting patrol. I slipped through the
trees after a squirrel, when a hand shot out of a branch, catching the
squirrel. “Hey! That was MY squirrel!” I shouted angrily. Then I realized I was
talking to empty space. The owner of the hand was gone! I followed the scent.
It was a man, and much better at living in the wild than any of us. It took
time, but I finally caught up to a muscled man. He turned around and, to my
surprise, tried to grab me. I raced back to camp, the man trying to grab me
again and again. Finally, I dashed, wild-eyed, into the camp. I saw him coming
down out of a tree, but then I called, “Intruder! Kidnapper!” and Indians came
rushing from all directions. He fought through them, but then turned back. I was
ushered out by Willow Leaf and Gracey.
“What on earth happened?” Gracey
asked anxiously.
“No, they’re the intruders,” I
mumbled. I wanted to identify her
correctly. And now she leads a whole tribe of destroyers into the forest! This
could be trouble. I’ll have to capture their leader and ORDER her to get out of
this forest RIGHT NOW. I waited for dusk to arrive.
“I was hunting a squirrel, when
this hand came out of a branch and snatched the squirrel from me,” Heron
Feather said. I listened to the whole story, concerned. By now it was night.
She finished with, “And here I am!” Heron Feather and I went into our tepee. I
curled up and drifted into sleep.
I snuck into the camp, alighting on
the ground. Good. No one had noticed me. I silently slipped into the tepee that
I had saw her go into. I saw another woman sleeping beside her. No matter. I
would take both of them. Ugh, I
thought. Two leaders? I climbed up into the tree.
I awoke to someone
carrying me across trees. Oh. No! It
was that man from earlier, and this time he had succeeded in capturing me. And Gracey, I realized. As Gracey and I
bit and clawed him, he gave us both a whack on the head. Everything sank into
darkness.
When I
awoke, I was in a tree, with the man staring angrily at me.
“Finally, they’re awake,” he
muttered. “Get out of the forest, NOW!” he thundered. I kept silent and refused
to give him an answer, Heron Feather doing the same. We suddenly sprang out of
the tree, and scampered back to camp, fear powering me. He raced after me. I
bolted into the camp and darted into the warrior’s tepee. All the warriors
jumped up, and the sentry, who had seen the man chasing me when I came into camp,
sounded the alarm. I looked around frantically for something to use as a
weapon. I saw Heron Feather getting clods of sand and throwing it in his eyes,
copied her, and he backed off and disappeared into the night.
“Gracey, Heron Feather, we all see
that you now need guards to protect you from that man,” he said. My eyes
widened as I had a stunning idea.
“I-I think he could be Tarzan!”
“Uh-oh…. If he is, this could mean
trouble,” Heron Feather said.
Onwards!
We moved to
New York for more Indians. No way Tarzan
will follow us into New York, I thought triumphantly. Finally, we arrived,
and made more five-Indian groups. We moved on, and my eyes nervously darted
from tree to tree, I sniffed the air. No Tarzan. I looked above me. No Tarzan. Caw! I nearly jumped into space.
“What’s got you all jittery today, Heron Feather?” Apple
Blossom asked.
“It’s just that Tarzan….” I said.
“Oh, right! I should’ve known,” she exclaimed. I realized we
were at the end of the line by then. I hurried up to my place at the front of
the line with Gracey. The procession went so slowly, I became almost
mechanical. Step, step, step, step. Finally, we spotted a good place to settle
for the night. First, I decided to tell the Tribe of the idea I had.
“All Indians old enough to climb, gather around the
Highrock!” I shouted. Soon, the clearing was crammed with Indians, jostling for
space on the ground and in trees. “Me and Gracey had an idea that I think some
of you are thinking about, too. Perhaps we should split into little groups
along the mountains?” Soon, lots of Indians were cheering their approval or
objection. Soon, the sounds blurred together.
“Silence!” Gracey shouted. The sound in the clearing abruptly
stopped.
“Sunflower and Blue Feather, you two are the leaders of the
new Cliff Tribe. Rockhopper, Wind Rider, Poppy, Peony, Penelope, Star Flower,
Wolf’s Howl and Snowstorm, you all are assigned to this tribe. You take the
horses Swift Wind, Galloping Hooves, Snow Pelt, Moon Gazer, Fire’s Flame, Earth
Shaker, and Swift Wind’s filly, Nimble Hooves. You shall live where you desire,
because you are a free Tribe now,” I ordered. It went on and on and on, until
all that was left of the High Winds Tribe was me and my daughter Moon Watcher,
who I had with Waterfall, Clearwater, Apple Blossom, Gracey and her son Sun
Watcher who she had with Clearwater, Sunsala, Willow Leaf, Branch Leaper,
Waterfall, and the horses Wind Weaver and her filly Shining Moon, Silver Shine,
Moon’s Shadow, Snowy Winds, Sun Shimmer, Moon Shimmer, Winged Hooves, Stone
Shaker, Flowing Stream, Earthquake’s Roots, and High Hooves, even the little
raccoon. We all split up, and separately headed towards the mountains. It felt
weird to not have very many people following me and Gracey. We were able to go
a good deal faster. We gave our tepees to the other Tribes, they would only
slow us down more. Our horses rode like the wind, faster and faster, up the
slopes, weaving through trunks of young firs. Wind Weaver, who I was riding,
was perfect for that. We suddenly burst into sunlight, down the hill, running
over flowered meadows, sprinkled with ever-growing bushes, and running in
valleys with rocky sides. Once or twice we stopped to hunt, rest, graze, drink
and forage, not storing leftovers. These horses were half-tamed, but gentle and
friendly by nature. We should live here, I
thought. Gracey seemed to read my mind.
“We should live here!” she yelled happily.
“Yes, we should!” I agreed. Gracey and I were as swift and
enduring as our wild-bred horses. We jumped off our horses and ran beside them,
up and down the rolling hills. “We should spend our whole life like this!” I
shouted.
“Yes!” All of the Indians agreed. I hadn’t noticed them for a
few minutes. My spirit was where it was supposed to be, roaming free across the
wild hills. Soon I was overflowing with joy. I shouted in exhilaration.
I was a
boiling teapot of happiness, bubbling over the edges. My soul was finally
roaming the wild hills. We flew over grass and dove into cool rivers with a
splash. I swam like an otter after a fish, and I caught it! Heron Feather had
caught one, too. We slid out of the water, the warm-but not too hot- sun drying
us.
I slipped
through the quiet, misty mountains, just as I had always longed to. I pounced
on a rabbit, and shared it with my Tribemates.
Night was
draped across the land, and we slept on the bare ground, the stars twinkling at
us from above. Moon Watcher slept with me, and Sun Watcher slept with Gracey.
In the morning, I stretched and yawned. The raccoon, who had been on my
shoulder the other day, trilled and made a swipe for something in the water,
and succeeded in grabbing a wriggling red thingy from the water. Of course! A crayfish! I thought. It was
time to be off again! I let Wind Weaver off her line and let her guide us. We
were off like the wind. We shot through the forests and meadows like an arrow
just released from its string. My feet barely touched the ground. My rich, dark
brown hair streamed out behind me. No hostile branches battered at me, no
thorns tore at my bare feet. I was free, free to roam wherever I pleased. I
laughed at the wind, it couldn’t catch me. The eerie music of a wolf’s howl
echoed along the hills. A breeze made leaves dance around me. They twirled
around and around, merrily playing tag with me. Gracey leaped over a small
bush, hurling herself into the air, landing lightly. Moon Watcher, even though
she was only nine, somehow caught up to me. Then I saw that Waterfall was
helping her. I ran all the faster, Moon Watcher’s happy screams of joy whisked
away by the wind. We went faster and faster, pushing ourselves to the very
limit of our speed. Right then, no sin or guilt was weighing me down, I was
simply free, all ties to civilization broken. We all weaved expertly through
the trees, swinging over ponds and bushes. Right then, I was a wild animal, roaming
free in the wilds of the foothills of the Ozarks. Instinct was guiding us
towards proper summering grounds. We came across a herd of deer. They did not
flee, knowing that our stomachs were full. We kept speeding across the hills. There are many miles between here and the
summering grounds, I thought. Moon Watcher swung herself up onto the back
on her horse in the middle of running. Sunset arrived, and we slept in the
comfortable branches of pine trees, near what looked like mini acacia trees. In
the morning, I woke everyone up and we went for a swim in the nearest river.
“Brrrr! It’s freezing!” Sun Watcher commented. We dove to the
depths of the river, catching fish for breakfast. We’re nearly to the summering grounds, I thought. I can feel it in my bones. And I was
right. We came to sun-filled hills and valleys abounding with fruit and clear,
cold streams. Lots of prey was there. I stalked a vole and pounced. All the
Indians had reverted from spears and archery to hunt like panthers. After the
vole was eaten, we galloped to a stream and drank. It was Sun Watcher’s and
Moon Watcher’s birthday, so we prepared lots of meat, fruit, fish, nuts, wood
sorrel, and all sorts of things for their birthday. Finally, we showed the two
it.
“Wow! It’s great!” they exclaimed.
“Mother, I’m so glad we’re living in the wild now!” Moon
Watcher said happily. After everyone had their fill, we went into the river for
a plunge. Afterwards, we played games in a sun-filled meadow and gazed up at
the clouds lazily floating along in the sky. Soon we were off again, rocketing
through forests and meadows. The next day, Sunsala and Branch Leaper had twin
girls! They had no sicknesses or anything, thankfully, and we were busy thinking
up a name for them.
“What about Sunlight and Moonlight?” Clearwater suggested.
“Yes! That’s perfect!” everyone cheered. Sunsala hopefully won’t be slowed down with a baby on her back, I
thought. Moon Watcher and Sun Watcher assigned themselves as babysitters.
We had started in late summer, and fall was bearing down on
us quickly. We decided to migrate to South America and back. That very day we
set out, guiding our horses this time. We ran through plains, along winding
valleys between giant mountains, and one day, our horses suddenly reared and
bolted into a nearby cave. Not long afterwards, we sensed it too.
A snowstorm was coming! We gathered up all the food we could,
and thankfully, there was a stream trickling through the cave. We waited in
there for a day, and finally we could emerge into a sparkling, icy world. Once
I heard an ominous cracking, and a branch thudded down in front of me! There must have been too much snow weighing
down that branch, I thought. From then on, we mostly stayed in open ground.
We started skinning animals that we’d eaten to make warm, soft clothes. Soon we
arrived in the tropics. Showy flowers sprang up everywhere, and the birds were
also so showy that I couldn’t tell the birds and flowers apart. We didn’t need
the clothes anymore. The forest was filled with prey, water, sounds and dangers
day and night. Thankfully, we managed to elude the predators and dangers. We
were forced to eat antelopes and zebras. During the winter, which we spent
swinging through the jungle, and during that time, I had another baby with
Waterfall again, except this time it was a boy. I named him Starbeam. He was
born normally. Soon we thankfully headed back to spring grounds. In a week or
two, we left the jungle behind for the forest. The baby raccoon had been doing
surprisingly well during this time, and he was no longer a baby. We traveled
back with the newborn Starbeam. We went back to shooting through the forests
and hills. We mostly went across plains this time.
I was
heading back from the winter migration to the jungle. Three more births had
happened, resulting in triplets from me and Blue Feather. They were quite a
handful. We were nearly to proper spring grounds, and the triplets were getting
older. Yesterday, they nearly wandered off! Thankfully, Wolf’s Howl found them.
I yawned and
stretched in the dawn light. Soon I shook off the sleepiness, and we were running,
flowing towards our destination: the spring grounds. Flowers had sprung up and threw
a beautiful carpet of flowers across the ground. I breathed in their scent.
To the Spring Grounds!
We were
crossing a forest of rustling leaves and crashing waterfalls. We galloped
through the forest, on horses and on foot and in the trees. I brought down a
deer, and that night we had a feast. We galloped always onwards, onwards, to
the spring grounds. Finally, one night, we arrived, tired out. It was an ideal
spring grounds- blooming flowers everywhere, and the promise of apples to come.
Also, there was a leafy forest and streams crisscrossing everywhere. There was
even a high cliff, where we could see everything for miles around. I saw our
future summering grounds way off in the distance. It wasn’t the same one from
last time, and it might even be better than that one. I had a female baby the
next day. I named her Whispering Willow. Moon Watcher and Sun Watcher were
older now, and they were nearly 11 and very helpful. Once, they discovered a
giant, hidden patch of clover. That night, we had a feast, even the horses!
Sunlight and Moonlight liked to toddle around and pick flowers and fruits.
Once, they threw their flowers into the air and burst into laughter as they
came spiraling down. One time, they tried to copy us and pounce on leaves.
Whispering Willow cried a lot, and she had me busy a lot of the time. She would
always calm down when we were running or riding horseback. Soon we were off
again towards the summering grounds. We crossed forests and mountains. I
started wondering how the other Tribes were doing.
We were
journeying to the summering grounds. Last time, the summering grounds had been
rolling, grassy plains by a stream, with fruit trees. Silver-Lined Clouds was
the other leader. This time, it would probably be forest for the Rustling
Leaves Tribe. I squinted into the distance. Could it be? It was Heron Feather,
Gracey, and their Tribe! I galloped to meet them. “Hello, Floating Flower!”
Heron Feather shouted in greeting. I shouted back. “Hello, Heron Feather and
Gracey!” We swerved over to them and shared the latest news. I giggled when
Heron Feather told me about Moonlight’s and Sunlight’s silly antics. Suddenly Moon Watcher said, “Now I remember
you!” “Yes, I’m Floating Flower,” I said. Sun Watcher said, “I remember you,
too!” The next day, it was their birthday. Grassland Fern, I, and our tribe
helped, so this time it was even better.
We repeated last year’s birthday.
The next day, we celebrated Sunlight’s and Moonlight’s birthday. They toddled
around, squealing with delight. Soon they insisted on making mud angels, and afterwards
we said,
“Why don’t we take a swim?” They
agreed, and the whole day was spent splashing, and then we dried off with furs
and went to sleep. The next morning, Floating Flower said,
“Well, we’d better be off! But
we’ll come visit you sometimes!” Then they disappeared into the distance. We zipped
off. Moon Watcher said,
“Mother, come on! Let’s go vine
swinging!” Vine swinging was the newest game the two had invented. It reminded
me of the swings I had gone on when I was little and still lived in
civilization.
“Okay, okay,” I said as she dragged
me towards the vines. Sun Watcher was bringing Gracey. We exchanged laughing
glances. Soon we were swinging along with them.
“Look at me!” Sun Watcher yelled.
He dangled upside down from a vine. Gracey and I rolled our eyes. Sun Watcher
and Moon Watcher were like day and night. Sun Watcher preferred to gallop after
prey in sun-filled hills, and Moon Watcher preferred to silently stalk prey
under a full moon. They were good playmates, though. Moon Watcher preferred to
babysit, and Sun Watcher plopped himself down outside wherever we were at the
moment and guarded for long periods of time. Of course, both loved it most when
we sped through the rolling hills. Wind Weaver’s filly, Shining Moon, was old
enough for Starbeam to ride, with special equipment, but only because Starbeam
was light enough. Starbeam wasn’t fast enough, and talk about running! He could
barely go one step without help.
“Come on, Mom,” Moon Watcher said crossly. I realized I had been lost in
a moment of thought. We swung across the vines, Sun Watcher and Moon Watcher
both showing off, doing acrobatics. After a few minutes of vine swinging, we
shot off again. Soon the warm, long days of summer came to an end, and fall was
bearing down upon us once more.
We were in the process of migrating
again to South America. Across rivers and plains we raced, speeding through
forest and hill.
Finally, we arrived at the tropics.
Starbeam’s birthday was coming up. He could walk unusually fast, because his
whole life, at least so far, had been being held by running people. We weaved
in and out of valleys, lined with rock. On our way, there was a ruummmbbbllleeee. A gigantic rock fell
behind us! It was a dead end, and it took us a bit to pile up lots of little
rocks to make stairs. That costed us some
time, but we should still be able to make it fine. Our horses whinnied
nervously as we went by a roaring waterfall. We kept forever going onwards,
onwards, onwards towards the winter grounds. Finally, we arrived. We celebrated
Starbeam’s birthday. He joined in Moonlight’s and Sunlight’s games, and the
twins were very generous. They each gave Starbeam half of their flowers! Once,
I caught him with a petal hanging from his mouth. “No-no, Starbeam. Don’t eat
the flowers,” I corrected sternly. He stomped on white flowers and was amazed
that they became see-through. He even liked to splash around in the middle of
the day, that little otter. He loved to forage.
“Mommy! Runny, now!” Starbeam
ordered. ‘Runny’ was his way of saying, ‘I want to practice running!’ I rolled
my eyes and consented. I demonstrated running quickly.
“See, you put one foot in front of
the other,” I directed. “Then you do it super-fast!” Step, step, step, TRIP.
Step, step, step, TRIP. That was his running style. Soon he gave up and cried.
Then, only to get him to stop crying, I said, “Let’s pick flowers!” He
brightened up and ran around, plucking flowers of their stems. Then, night
came, and he wanted to stargaze, so Moon Watcher kept one eye on him and the
other eye on her prey while everyone else slept. The days dragged on like this.
Finally, I felt a spring breeze
ruffle my hair. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. But next time, there
was no denying it. Spring was here! We sped through the forest, and my feet had
to dance in order to not trip. I saw the first tree ahead that was not a
tropical tree. It was a maple tree, with a bee hive on it, and that gave me an
idea. I collected honey and spread it over some meat, roasted it, and sprinkled
it with wood sorrel and clover. I also made a bowlful of syrup, and dipped
Miner’s Lettuce in it. The next day, it was Whispering Willow’s birthday, and I
served that meal. Whispering Willow dipped her finger in the syrup, tasted it,
and squealed for more. “Okay, okay,” I said. I handed her the bowl and she
stuck her tongue in it. Everyone giggled.
“Yummy!” she squeaked. That aroused
another round of giggles. After the meal, I pondered about more recipes. Fruit juice! Oh, and lemonade! Well, we
don’t have the sugar… Just fruit juice, I guess. As I was collecting the
fruit, I saw sugarcane standing straight and tall. An idea sparked in my mind.
Soon, I had a satisfying amount of sugar. I ventured far from where everyone
was resting to find the lemons. I squeezed the peeled lemons so hard, it made
my knuckles turn white. They were nearly overripe, but not quite, so it was
easy. I sprinkled it with sugar and mixed it up, and tasted it. It was good! I
gave it as a surprise to them. Starbeam’s, Moonlight’s and Sunlight’s eyes grew
round.
“This? For us?” they asked
in chorus. I laughed.
“Yes this, for us,” I replied.
They showed the same amazement for the fruit juice.
“It’s yellow!”
“No, it’s blue!”
“No, it’s PURPLE!”
Gracey and I rolled our eyes. The
next day, Gracey had another male baby, but she refused to let them know who
the father was. She named him Lion Prowler. It
can’t be Clearwater, Branch Leaper, or Waterfall, so who could it be? I
asked myself, mystified. The next night, I felt someone waking me up.
“Heron Feather! Get up!” Gracey
whispered. “I need to tell you something!” Gracey whispered again, warily looking
around. Once we were in an elm two trees away, she said, “The father of my
child is not in this Tribe,” she cautiously glanced around. “He is a person who
lives in these hills, alone, and-“ “It better not be Tarzan,” I interrupted.
“No, it’s not Tarzan. I can’t ask the whole Tribe for him to join, and I needed
to talk to you-in private. Here’s my whole entire point: Can he join the
Tribe?” she asked.
“Of course!” I whispered-yelled.
“Ssshh!” she shushed me. “I’ll go
tell him, then,” she said, and she swung off into the darkness of the night.
She returned.
Who was this
woman staring at me? Oh, right. A friend and partner of Gracey’s, and her name
was Heron Feather. “Heron Feather, this is Leopard Prowler,” she announced.
I saw him
disappear into the night after the brief, much less formal, introductions. The
Tribe didn’t even stir when I leapt into the tree and went to sleep.
A New Tribemate
All that
while they were drifting farther from the Ozark foothills and closer to the
Catskills. For Heron Feather and Gracey, running through the foothills didn’t
hold all the pleasure it used to have, and they’d been thinking about a ‘change
of scenery’. Sunflower was starting to not like the mist. Anyways, her name was
Sunflower. She was thinking about a
change of scenery too. The same with Floating Flower. She was named Floating Flower, right?
In the
morning, I got up, and remembered what had happened last night. I crept off to
talk to Gracey, who was right below the tree, foraging. “Gracey, could you go
get Leopard Prowler?” “Sure!” she agreed and dashed off. A few minutes later,
she was leading Leopard Prowler. I awoke the Tribe and said, “This is Leopard
Prowler. Can he join our Tribe?” A chorus of agreements rose up from the tribe.
“Congratulations!” I said. “They love having more Indians in the Tribe!”
“What’s the name of this Tribe?” he asked. “The High Winds Tribe,” I replied. At
that moment, something hit me. High
winds… High mountains! That’s where we need to go! I thought.
The sun! We need to go to the foothills! I
thought.
The river! We need to go to a river
in a forest! I thought.
High winds! The mountains! We need
to go to the mountains! I thought.
And so the
First Great Migrations began. Did I say first?
Yes, I said first. They will find themselves not in the mountains of the
Ozarks, but in the mountains of the Catskills when they arrive.
We
dragged ourselves on and on, our eyes dull and our feet tripping. We were
battered by snowstorms and soaked by rain, until we felt we could take it no
longer. Still we labored onwards, gasping for breath. Willow Leaf was in the
‘sore everything’ stage now, and soon her supplies were exhausted. She
constantly worried someone would get sick and she wouldn’t have enough herbs to
treat it. The next day, we saw a sheer, towering wall of rock. Many people
groaned. “We should go around it!” “We should hammer through it!” shouts arose.
None of those will work: we’ll have to
climb it. I thought determinedly. I set my jaw and took the VERY strong
vines I’d been weaving together and whiplashed it to a narrow ledge halfway. I
pulled myself up. Don’t look down, I
thought. There’s no going back now. Gracey
took her vines, too, and lassoed it onto the same ledge that I was climbing
towards. We both cautiously put one foot in front of the other. Dread stirred
deep inside me. When the ledge trembled, I froze. I relaxed. It didn’t crumble.
I made it to the ledge, followed closely by Gracey. We looked down for a moment
and saw people anxiously staring back up at us. I took a deep breath and threw
the vine around a thick tree, and started hauling myself up. I finally got to
the top. I gasped. The clouds cleared upon a bountiful forest, and birds
twittered everywhere. I let my vine down and hauled my Tribe up, one by one,
Gracey doing the same. I mounted a high cliff and gazed at the beautiful array
of white and gray mountains. We had done it. We had survived.
Heron
Feather and Gracey venture deep into the heart of the wilderness… But will they
survive?
Join them on their adventure and find out!
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