The Thinking Rocks (6 page)

He
came forward self-consciously, paused, nodded to Koonai and then spoke. "I
had been in the forest all day.  I had traveled in the same direction the
sun travels since morning."  As he spoke he moved about the fire
leaning down to clear an imagined branch, stepping over fallen logs and other
obstacles.  He moved with the smooth movements of a skilled hunter. 
When he stepped, his heel would come down first, and then the rest of his foot
rolled down.  "It was hot, and I had not seen any animals that I
could get.  The wind was still, and I could not smell or see any sign that
game had passed this way recently.  When there is no wind it is easier to
find game, they can't smell us."  He paused and looked around slowly,
searching for something. "I was hungry and wanted water.  The brush
on the hillside was thick, but I could smell water, so I moved down the
hill.  There was a clearing part way down in a stand of cedar trees. 
There were large rocks sticking out of the ground and an open area, the sun was
shining on the rocks."  He moved forward and then stopped
suddenly.  "I saw movement and stood as still as I could.  It
was a lizard."  Cano moved his hands to show the size of the lizard.
"There was more!  I could smell the flat, musky smell of snake. 
I didn't move at all.  Animals can see quick movements but most can't see
very slow movements. When there is danger or death near, don't move at all,
stay as still as a rock. Wait.  The snake came out of the rocks and struck
the lizard.  There is magic in the snake’s bite.  The lizard died
quickly."  He reached behind his back and held the tail of the rolled
up snake skin tightly, spun in a circle, and rolled the snake out on the ground
toward the center of the clan.  There was an involuntary gasp and those
near the snake jerked back and away.  "The snake started to eat the
lizard headfirst.  I waited until it was about half swallowed and then I
struck down with my spear.  It went in behind the head and deep into the
lizard.  The snake was hurt badly; it was mean and angry.  It tried
to get at me by spitting out the lizard."  As he spoke, he
demonstrated his movement and the peril of the snake's attempt at escape.
"The tail came around and hit me in the leg, it knocked the spear loose
and I had to jump back to get away.  The snake was broken.  It could
not move the way it did before.  I picked up a large rock and crushed its
head.  Then I used my spear to cut its head off.  The snake was dead.
I went to the stream to drink and wash the blood from the spear.  When I
had finished, I left my spear at the stream and climbed back to the kill. 
I grabbed the snake by the tail.”  Cano demonstrated by reaching down and
grasping the tail of the snakeskin with his right hand.  He made a quick
snapping motion and the opposite end spun around and struck him in the chest
area.  He let out a surprised cry of pain and fear as he rolled away. 
The movement of the snake and Cano's rolling and tumbling across the ground
sent a ripple of fear and a collective gasp through the clan. His cry was
echoed by most who were near the snake. "There was blood at my throat and
I was hurt from my fall back to the streambed.  A short time ago, I was a
brave hunter, now I was a hunter who was dying.  I sat down and waited for
Death to come. I thought, How foolish I am. I was killed by a dead snake."

Cano
slowly rose to his feet and continued. "The snake had not moved.  I sat
there for some time, and then I started to feel hungry.  Why would I feel
hungry if I was dying?  I touched my throat and found the blood was
drying.  I couldn't feel any holes from the snake's teeth.  Then I
realized that the snake had no head, it could not have killed me. The Great
Spirit was watching and I had been given a lesson to learn.  I sat
thinking about this and thanked the Great Spirit for sparing my life.  It
was then that I started to understand the lesson. As I had the power to kill
the snake, so did the snake have the power to kill the lizard.  I had
forgotten to honor the spirit of the snake.  The most valuable thing the
snake had was its life, and I had taken it away. And I scorned it.  Why
not?  It was dead and I had killed it, I was mighty.  The Great
Spirit showed me that I could die as quickly as the snake had died.  I
thought about it and realized this is the way it should be.  We are all
creatures of the Great Spirit.

"The
Great Spirit showed me the mistakes I had made.  I thought the dead are
dead and can't kill.  Then I was taught that we must honor those we kill,
for their life is a gift from the Great Spirit.  Our life can be taken as
easily as the one we take."  Cano paused a moment and then nodded to
Koonai.

The
Medicine Man waited until Cano was seated with the clan and then said in a
booming voice, “The Great Spirit watches and teaches, we must learn the lessons
that he gives us.  We are less than nothing if we don't follow the Great
Spirit."  He turned, and faced the fire.  He cast something into
the fire, which caused a burst of green flames. He turned and faced the clan.
"The Great Spirit has sent us another message today.  Gennos come
forward with the message. "Gennos shuffled from behind the fire where he
had been waiting.  The pain in his legs was forgotten tonight for he had a
treasure to present.  He carried something wrapped in a gray
deerskin.  When he reached Koonai, he started to hand it to him, but was
stopped by a shake of Koonai’s head.  "You show them the gift."

He
unwrapped one of the Great Spirit's greatest gifts, a new tool.  He stood
in front of the fire and held it in both hands above his head.  It was not
a hand ax; it was a true ax with a wooden handle.

It had taken man
about three million years to reach this point in time.  This was more than
a tool; it was a tool to make other tools.  Each of its parts was of
little value, but combined they far exceeded their parts.  It had no
innate intelligence; it could be used for good or evil.  It could kill or
defend. Build or destroy.  The world would never be the same again.

Gennos explained
how he came to have it, as he had to Cano.  Most of the clan could see no
use for it.  The old way worked, and it was simple and easy to use. 
They couldn't understand why Koonai and Gennos were making such a big thing of
it.  Gennos then demonstrated the power by chopping through a thick
branch.  A murmur went through the assemble hunters as they realized what
they were seeing.

Koonai moved
forward and surveyed the clan; he smiled to himself.  It had been a good
day and the Great Spirit was pleased.  "It is time to eat. 
After you have eaten, those of you who want one of the new things can speak
with Gennos and he will show you how to make it."

The gathering broke
into small groups as they began to eat.  Each group had its own needs and
wants.  When there is a full stomach the next need surfaces.

Bana was not
happy.  They were all eating his food and he hadn't gotten the recognition
that he deserved as a great hunter.  Cano kills a lousy snake and they
make a big thing out of it.  His brother the cripple ties a piece of rock
to a stick and everyone gets excited.  Let them try to eat the stick and
rock next time they get hungry. Then we will see who is more important around
here.

Sorou was happy with her
place in life.  She was the chief's daughter, young, beautiful, and she
wanted Cano.  She was sure that she could get him if she could get him
alone.  She didn't like his brother; he made her feel uncomfortable. 
She wasn't sure if it was because he couldn't walk well or if it was something
else. She disliked him as much as she wanted Cano.  She smiled as she
combed her hair with a pad of shorthaired mammoth hide. She let out a short
sigh.  I will have my way, she thought.

Loki was happy even
though Koonai had made a big thing about his falling down.  Anyone could
fall down; anyone could trip.  But I got up and still made a kill. 
Loki smiled to himself; he had the clan laughing and gotten big smiles from
both Ceola and Sorou.  As he thought about Ceola, his smile faded. 
She was ready now. It was time he moved.  Cano was not going to get her
without a fight.  He had competition coming at him out of the
shadows.  But first things first, time to put a plan in action, and then
start to make a necklace to put before her fire.

Ceola was excited, she
was happy with her place in life.  She was going to meet Cano at the big
rock by the river.  She had completed her rites of passage and was now a
woman.  Well, almost a woman.  After tonight, she would have Cano and
be a woman.  The Great Spirit was kind to her and life was good.  She
would have a mate that cared for her as much as she cared for
him.    Dola wasn't happy; his bottom was still stinging because
of Ceola’s "Talk" with him.  Was it really his fault that his
sister was frightened when he rushed over to say hello?  If Ceola was
Cano's mate she wouldn't do things like that, Cano wouldn't let her. When I am
a great hunter, things like this won't happen, he thought.

Gennos
wasn't sure if he was happy or not.  This new thing was important; he had
no doubt.  His problem was that he wasn't sure if the thing was good or
bad.  It may have been better to just do things as they had always done
them.  The old ways were good ways; they had been tested by time and had
proved their value.  The new was frightening, like walking into the forest
at night.  Gennos had a thought that brought a smile to his face; it would
probably be better to walk into the forest at night with one of the new things
than without it.

Cano was a
man in love.  He had wanted her for a long time and now the time was
here.  He would see her tonight at the big Rock. Tonight she would please
him and he would have her.  He would have someone that was his.  His
mate; his woman.  Someone to travel through life with.  The world was
good.

The Cat

This land had seen many creatures
come, live, and then vanish. Years before another ritual had taken place in
this same area.  The participants were not human but they had many of the
same needs and wants, strengths and weaknesses.  Then as today, it was a
question of whether survival or procreation spurred the drive of life.

She moved silently through the brush
until she reached a huge flat-topped rock on the rim of the valley. The valley
stretched out below the rock in a panorama of green and brown.  Floating
through the shadows cast by the trees around the rock, she stopped and scanned
the land before her.  This was near the place.  His call had come from
this valley. Ordinarily she would not have been interested in another of her
kind, but the stirring deep within her was not to be ignored.  A gentle
breeze was blowing past her and down into the valley.  Her scent and her
special musk would drift down and he would pick it up.  It would bring
him.  Other animals in the valley would also know by her scent that she
was near, but they would move away to safety.  As if by a self-fulfilling
prophecy, she watched, as there was a flicker of movement and then three deer
moved out of a thicket and swiftly away from danger. A growl started deep
within her and rumbled its way to her throat where it slowly died.  In the
distance, his cough came to her sensitive ears. The rock in front of her was
about eight feet high, and seemingly without effort, she leapt to its
top.  She was fully exposed now.  She was frightfully
beautiful.  Her coat was a tawny brown, which faded to white on her
stomach.  Drawing in a deep breath, she released a roar that had been
echoing across continents and through forests for 40 million years. It
proclaimed, 'I am here, and this is my land.  Any creature that ventures
this way is traveling in my land, and it had better beware.'

All creatures that heard the roar
knew what made the sound.  As the roar echoed across the valley, a similar
roar answered it.  He was coming.

She stood on the rock like a statue
on a pedestal.  A statue of naked power.  Seven feet long and 600
pounds of force, a cat that all others would be measured against. She was heavy
limbed and had a short tail.  Her brawny shoulders were five feet above
the ground and appeared to be too big for the rest of her body.  Her head
had a streamlined look and she was almost without eyebrows.  The yellow
eyes were set well back in her head above a massive mouth.  Her most
striking features were her immense canine teeth; they were eight inches long
and curved downward from her upper jaw.  They were highly evolved tools
designed for stabbing and slashing.  Her other teeth were shearing blades
with no evidence of a flat grinding surface.  The lower jaw was formed in
such a way as to allow her mouth to be opened almost 180 degrees. 
Imposing neck muscles supported her head.  The power in her shoulders
tended to make her sleek flanks and hindquarters seem undersized.  Here
was a carnivore that was to be feared and respected. She was built for the
lightning-like smashing attack.  Her six-inch retractable claws were the
primary tools of her survival, they were used to seize her prey and then she
used her canine sabers to finish the task at hand. She was a master of the
ambush.  She and her kind were the personification of stealth and latent
domination.

The male saber toothed cat was still
about four miles away when he received the strong scent of the female. 
She was in heat and ready.  He moved noiselessly through the forest with
amazing speed for a creature as large as he was.  His movements were like
a flicker of shadows.  He was there and then gone, traveling as swiftly as
a half-remembered thought.  Whatever might have been there ceased to
exist.  A small herd of deer scattered at his silent approach like leaves
in a gust of wind.  Under different circumstances he would have gone after
one, but not today.  He had something more important to attend to then
than the need for food.  Her scent was stronger now; it drove all thought
of food or anything else from his mind.  There was only one thing that
mattered now.  He heard and answered her call.  She must be alone he
thought, there were no other calls from males to answer her calls.  He
would rather not be disturbed when he got to her; he had better things to do
than fight.