The Beginning

"Where?" The boy persisted. The only answer he got was a pointing finger indicating the east side of the stream. All the boy had ever seen east of the stream were the cliffs which seemed to go up for ever. The cliffs on that side came right down to the edge of the small stream, not leaving room enough for more than a small traitorous foot path.

How could she have found him there. Surely she didn’t mean in the stream. He puzzled over this as he and the girl returned to their relentless search for food.

The weather grew warmer and the children foraged further down stream where the pools held larger fish, and berries grew along the bank in protected places. The fish were easy for him to catch. While the others ran and splashed, he lie patiently on the bank waiting for one of the large brown trout like creatures to come within reach. He would reach out and hook a finger in its gills and lift it from the water. He made the operation look effortless. No matter how hard they tried, the others couldn’t duplicate his feat. They would become angry and lash out at the water, scaring the fish away. He couldn’t understand why they were so slow and clumsy. The fish didn’t move all that fast. At least not for him. They sometimes succeeded more by accident than plan, spearing a large fish with a sharp stick. It didn’t take them long to learn they had to hold the fish down with the stick until they got a good grip on it. If they tried to lift the fish out with the stick most of the time it would slip off and swim away, leaving them empty handed. They hadn’t learned to make cuts in the stick to form barbs that would grip the flesh and allow them to use the stick to retrieve their kill.

By mid summer the light skinned boy had become very proficient at finding things to eat. He shared with the girl first, and once she had satisfied her appetite, and he had filled his bag for the old woman, he would give the rest of his find to the other children. A startled hare didn’t have a chance. His long skinny arms hurled sticks and stones with amazing accuracy. Not many small rodents were lucky enough to escape his deadly aim.

Summer was good and food plentiful. He and the girl grew fat on what the land provided. Birds, Rabbits, Fish, and the occasional burrower who didn’t get back to its den in time provided them with more than enough. Since there were no means of storing food for later consumption, what their bellies would hold was the limit of their food storage. Every morning the hunt for food had to start all over. Most of their time was spent hunting for something to eat or quarreling over their latest find. Sometimes they got lucky and brought down a larger animal, A deer or an old crippled cow. This would provide meat for their cook fires for several days.

By the time the first snow came the children had grown fat and learned how to kill larger game. The adults didn’t seem to much care if the children ate. It was more or less, everyone for him, or herself. That winter was short but cruel. The boy dragged frozen animals back to his spot in the cave. The old woman, who seldom left the cook fire, guarded his place for him from any who would try to take what he brought back. After sharing with the woman and girl, he would give what was left to the others.