ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

CHAPTER 5 ~ THE EARLY AMERICANS

Laura felt more than a little nervous as she watched the fur-covered group of men climb down the rocky cliff a few hundred yards away. They were making their way towards the carcass of the enormous mammoth they had brought down with their simple wooden spears, tipped with stone points. Laura marveled at the courage of these people. They had taken on the ferocious beast which attacked her and Jon-Max, armed only with their crude weapons. These were brave people!

And they were also dangerous people! That was obvious from the dead body of the mammoth which lay in the snow a few yards from Laura! If they could bring down a wooly mammoth in a few seconds, they wouldn't have any trouble with two little 5th graders if they decided Jon-Max and Laura were from some enemy tribe!

"Just let me do the talking," said Jon-Max. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"I wish I was as sure as you are," said Laura. The group of hunters were plodding through the deep snow towards them, their fur-covered feet sinking deeply into the white covering on the ground. When they reached the mammoth, they ignored Laura and Jon-Max. They carefully looked over the body of the slain mammoth, then they began talking excitedly as they walked 'round and 'round the dead animal.

"Boy, are these guys are in a good mood," said Jon-Max, the smile on his face barely visible through the furry hood that covered his head. Laura just stared at him for a moment, amazed at the fact that Jon-Max was not really wearing all the furry winter clothing he seemed to be -- it was just a holographic image of a parka, mittens, pants and animal-skin boots he wore. Even more amazing was the fact that Laura was dressed in the same holographic fur clothes that Jon-Max seemed to be wearing!!

Gidget and Gazmo, the incredible little devices on their hips, were creating the images of these clothes around them, making it seem as if they were dressed just like the Ice Age people who were standing around the dead mammoth.

Wow, thought Laura. This is really cool! I look just like one of the Ice Age people! And I can understand what they're saying, because I'm wearing a device from the future that translates everything they say into English!

Some of the Ice Age people were carrying stone axes, and they started using them to chop away at the hairy hide of the dead mammoth. Laura had to look away as the Early Americans began to peal the hide off the mammoth and expose the red meat underneath. It was a bloody job, but that didn't seem to bother these Ice Age people. They were working to get the food their families needed, and to them this was just like a trip to the grocery store!!

"They don't just eat the meat," said Jon-Max, watching the skinning of the mammoth closely. Even though he was bothered by the sight of all the blood on the snow around the dead mammoth, he was too fascinated by what was happening to look away. "They'll use the skin to make clothing and tents to keep them warm in the winter – which is practically all year round."

Laura looked around at the snow-covered landscape and said, "What season is it now?"

Jon-Max spoke to the device on his belt. "Gidget, what time of year is it, please?" The device answered in its polite female voice.

"It's Spring, Jon-Max. Summer is about two months away."

Jon-Max smiled at Laura, his face barely visible inside the furry hood of the holographic coat he seemed to be wearing. "How about that? Spring time, eh? I'll bet in the summer it gets all the way up to 40 degrees on a hot day!"

Laura and Jon-Max chuckled as they watched the Ice Age Early Americans cut large pieces of meat from the mammoth to take back to their hungry families. Laura was beginning to appreciate the hard life these people lived, and she respected them for being brave enough to hunt dangerous animals like the mammoth.

"Are the mammoths the only animals these poor people have to eat?" Laura asked Jon-Max.

"No, there are a plenty of others. They also hunt reindeer, wild boar, elk, and giant bison. They do a lot of fishing, too," said Jon-Max, remembering what his teacher had told him in class while showing him 3-D videos of the Ice Age people. The videos had been taken by other people from the future who had come back in time to visit this period in history – just like Jon-Max and Laura were doing now.

Laura remembered from her own class that the Ice Age people had migrated from Siberia across a land bridge called Beringia until they reached the extreme northern edge of North America. Then they had moved southward year after year. Finally, after many centuries of migration, there were hundreds of different tribes in both North America and South America.

"How long will it take these people to move slowly from Alaska down to South America," said Laura.

"About 1,500 years," said Jon-Max.

Laura was looking at the spears which the Ice Age Indians were pulling out the mammoth and piling up on the ground nearby. "Wow, it was amazing how fast these guys killed that big animal with those spears. The spears went into it so deeply! They must have really strong arms.”

"They do," said Jon-Max. "And they also have a neat little invention called a Clovis point on those spears."

"Clovis point?" asked Laura curiously. "What's that?"

"A special type of stone spear point that sinks into the animal deeper than other types of points. We just saw an example of how good the Clovis points worked when the early Americans wanted to kill a large animal."

"Yeah!” exclaimed Laura. "That was amazing!"

"I agree," said Jon-Max in a quiet voice. One of the fur-covered men was wadding through the deep snow towards the two 5th graders, and Jon-Max quickly put one finger to his lips to signal Laura to be silent. When the Ice Age Indian came up to the two young people, he spoke to them in his strange language, but the 5th graders heard the words in English, thanks to Gidget and Gazmo.

"Why are you not helping with the skinning of the mammoth? Did you get hurt when you fell?" The man's face was barely visible through the small, fur-lined hole in the hood of his parka. He had dark eyes, a wide face, dark skin, and a broad nose. He looked like the pictures Laura had seen of Native American.

Jon-Max quickly grabbed his left arm and rubbed it as if it had been injured. "Yes, I hurt my arm when we fell. And my friend says that she leg doesn't feel too good."

Laura started playing along with Jon-Max. She reached down to rub her leg as if it were hurt.

The Ice Age Indian watched the two 5th graders rubbing their arms and legs for a moment, then he said, "Too bad you were hurt. You won't be able to help us get the meat from the mammoth. And that means you won't eat." He turned and started wadding through the deep snow back towards the working group.

"What did he mean by that?" said Laura.

"I don't know," Jon-Max said in a puzzled voice. "Let's find out."

“How?” said Laura.

“Simple,” said Jon-Max. “We ask Gidget and Gazmo.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.”

Jon-Max spoke to the electronic device on his belt. "Gidget, explain what that Ice Age guy just said."

The device answered in special way that which only the two young people could hear.

"The Ice Age guy, as you called him, meant that anybody who does not help do the work of bringing the food back to the tribe . . . does not get to eat any of it."

Both of the 5th graders spoke at the same time.

"But that's not fair!"

"You are mistaken," said Gidget. "It is very fair. Why should you get the food if you did not work for it? The idea of no work, no food was used by some of the leaders of the earliest American colonies, during the 1700s. Too many of the colonists just wanted to look for gold in the New World, instead of planting crops for the winter. For example – "

“Okay, that’s enough. Thanks,” Jon-Max said quickly. He spoke to Laura. “I should have asked Gazmo, instead. I’d have gotten a shorter answer.”

Jon-Max and Laura didn't look entirely convinced that the no work, no food rule was all that fair, but silently both of the young people agreed that it was great way to stop lazy people from avoiding their share of the work!

Laura thought about the situation for a moment and then said, "Jon-Max, I really would like to help these people. But I don't think I could bring myself to do something as gross as pulling the hide off a big animal.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. But we came here to learn about the earliest Americans, so let’s find a job we can do. That way we can stick around for a few hours and gather some cool information for our Social Studies reports.”

"Well . . . okay," Laura said, sighing wearily. "We'll stay here for awhile. I must admit, I would like to know more about how these people lived.”

Jon-Max's grin was so broad it was easily visible from inside his furry, holographic parka hood. "That’s the spirit! Come on, we can help these guys pile up the spears they've pulled out of that mammoth. Just piling up spears won't be too gross, will it?"

Laura nodded, and the two 5th graders started wadding slowly through the deep snow towards the hard-working Ice Age Indians. The hunters were quickly turning a dead mammoth into a big meal for a tribe of nomadic natives who had to find food in this endless winter landscape. As the two 5th graders made their way towards the busy group of men, Laura wondered how these people could survive in such a cold and barren land. It seemed impossible for anyone to live in such a hostile environment.

But she knew that these people had survived, because their ancestors later become the tribes of Indians who lived in America thousand of years before Columbus landed on the beach in the Bahamas. As Laura watched the fur-covered people working on the dead body of the mammoth, She was proud of the fact that these brave and determined people had found ways to live in the frozen world of the Ice Age.

The Ice Age Indians didn't even seem to notice Lauraand Jon-Max when they joined the group and started putting the bloody spears into neat piles while the other men pulled them out of the dead mammoth.

The men were still working with stone knives and stone axes, cutting the furry skin off the mammoth. Jon-Max and Laura kept their eyes off the grizzly sight. After a six-foot-by-six-foot section of hide had been removed, they went to work cutting big slabs of meat from the raw sides of the skinned mammoth.

By this time, another group of fur-covered people had arrived, pulling crude wooden sleds. It took the two 5th graders a while to realize the new-comers were actually women. The men began to load up the sleds with the big pieces of meat they had cut from the mammoth's sides.

The women were dressed in animal skins and fur, just like the men, but Jon-Max and Laura could tell the men from the women by their size and shape. Most of he women were shorter and wider than the men, and they stood differently – as if they were hunched forward, not standing up straight.

"Why do the women bend over like that?" Laura whispered to her friend from the future.

Jon-Max studied the women for a moment as they worked. Then he whispered back. "I think maybe it's a social thing. My teacher told our class that in some cultures the women are treated as if they aren't as important as the men. So the women kind of stoop forward, to show the men that they know their place."

"Hey, that isn't fair!" Laura said in a louder voice than she intended to use.

Jon-Max shushed her and then said, "A lot of things in the past aren't fair. Some of the unfair things have changed by our time in history. It's up to young people like you and me to change the rest."

Laura nodded and went back to work helping the women load the spears onto one of the sleds.

Meanwhile the meat had be loaded onto other sleds, and when it was all loaded, the men and women worked together, pulling on long ropes made out of braided animal hide that were attached to the sleds. Jon Max and Laura pitched in to help, tugging the heavily loaded sleds across the deep snow, slowly making their way towards the Ice Age Indians' village, several miles away.

It was brutal work pulling the weighty sleds across the snow, and before long the two young people were so tired they kept falling down and causing the other people to become angry when the sled came to a halt. Finally the leader of the group, the man who had spoken to Jon-Max and Laura, ordered them to get out of the way so the rest of the group could keep the sled moving.

The time-traveling 5th graders plodded wearily along next to the group as they tugged the sleds the last half-mile to the village.

Laura was amazed at the sight of the village when it first came into view. There, on the snowy white plain, stood a large group of animal-skin tents. Among the cluster of tents there were three widely separated rocky areas which had been swept clear of snow, and on each of these three areas a large fire burned brightly, providing light and warmth in this world of white snow and dim gray sky. Wolf-like dogs ran among the tents, but Laura saw that these dogs were not wild, because they obeyed the Ice Age people whenever they were spoken too. The dogs ran and played among the tents.

Laura wondered where these people had found enough wood in this barren landscape to feed those blazing fires. She learned later that the Ice Age people didn't just use wood for their fires, they also burned dung – the droppings which the mammoth's left behind in the places where they grazed for food.





The Ice Age village was located next to a large frozen lake. Laura saw several Indians out on the ice, standing next to a hole that had been chopped through the frozen surface of the water. One of the Indians was holding a thin rope, made out of woven animal hide, which went down into the hole in the ice.

As the group from the mammoth hunt entered the outskirts of the village, Laura saw one of the Indians on the frozen lake pull a large fish out of whole in the ice! The other Indians standing nearby shouted with excitement. They grabbed the fish as it flopped around on the ice. Within seconds it had been removed from the fishing line and cut open by the fishermen. They pulled the bones out, and threw them down into the hole in the ice. The fish was ready to be cooked in less than two minutes.

Tonight’s dinner will be mammoth meat and fish, Laura thought to herself.

As they came to the edge of the village, Jon-Max spoke quietly, but Laura could tell he was excited.

"Just think about it. This is the beginning of America! These people are moving across the region we know as Alaska, headed towards Canada. At this point in history, Canada is an uninhabited land, a region where nobody has ever lived!"

Jon-Max's voice had gotten louder than he meant for it to, and some of the Indians were looking at him strangely. He made himself lower his voice as he said, "I want to know how they stayed alive in this frigid, lifeless place. We might have to stay a little longer than we planned." Jon Max gave Laura a hopeful look from inside the holographic hood of his parka.

"Wait a minute," said Laura feeling worried about what Jon-Max seemed to be asking. "How long do you want to stay here?"

"Well . . . uh . . ." Jon-Max answered hesitantly. "I was thinking about staying here a few days."

"What!" Laura said in amazement. "A few days? Jon-Max, we'll freeze to death!" She had to lower her voice when the Indians started staring at them again.

"Don't be silly," Jon-Max whispered quickly. "We will not freeze to death. We won't even get cold. Gidget and Gazmo will keep a bubble of warm air around us all the time."

Laura had to admit that she actually did feel warm and comfortable, thanks to the amazing device from the future which Jon-Mad had given her But then another worry came into her mind. "But what about food?" She leaned close to Jon-Max and whispered, "I don't think I want to eat what these people eat."

"Hey, you should try it before you decide you don't like."

"You sound just like my mother."

"Well, sometimes Mom is right, you know."

"And another thing," Laura said. "If these people get a good look at our faces, they're going to realize we're not really one of them. I mean, even if Gidget and Gazmo make our faces look just like Ice Age Indians, we’ll still look like strangers to the tribe."

Jon-Max chuckled and said, "Yeah, you may be right. But I got a feeling we're going to fit right in."

"Oh, come on, Jon-Max!" Laura said angrily. "Surely these guys know everybody in their own tribe."

“You’re right – but look around for a second. “Jon-Max waved his hand towards the dozens of animal-skin tents that made up the village. "I think this is actually several different tribes that join up in the spring each year so they can hunt together. See how the tents are arranged into three separate groups? And the tents in each group are made a little different from the ones in the other groups."

Laura saw what Jon-Max meant. The tents did seem to be arranged into three groups of about fifty tents each. There was a central fire for each of the three groups, and each fire was burning on an exposed piece of the gray granite that had been cleared of snow.

Jon-Max leaned close to Laura so that she could see his face as he spoke in an urgent whisper. "These people have survived for thousands of years in this cold environment, just by using their brains and their crude tools. Surely a couple of smart 5th graders can figure out how to stay alive for few days – especially with the help of Gidget and Gazmo."

Laura thought is over for a few seconds, then she realized that Jon-Max was right. They would probably be safe for a few days if the Ice Age Indians thought they were from one of the three tribes. And that meant that the 5th graders would have the help and protection of a whole village of people who were experts at staying alive in this land of the hairy elephants and frozen lakes!

"Okay," Laura finally said slowly. "I guess your right. I want to know more about these guys, too. They must be really tough."

"They are!" said Jon-Max. Laura could hear a note of pride in the young boy's voice. "Lucky for us, we're tough, too."

Just as Laura was about to agree with Jon-Max, a shout from someone near the edge of the village surprised both of the 5th graders. When they turned toward the person who had shouted, they were both shocked by what the saw!

Less than 10 yards away, the two young people saw a huge saber toothed tiger attacking one of dogs that ran among the tents.





The beast was over 7 feet long from head to tail, and four feet tall. The huge cat had fastened its long teeth into one of the poor dogs, and it was shaking it savagely. The dog squealed pitifully for a few seconds, then it was silent. Its body hung from the mouth of the saber toothed tiger, limp and dead.

The ice aged warriors were dashing back and forth through the village, grabbing their spears and axes, rushing to arm themselves for a battle with this savage invader. The dogs came running from all directions, barking wildly at the saber toothed tiger. But they stayed well back from the savage beast, obviously too frightened to attack. Laura and Jon-Max stood motionless amidst the turmoil, frightened and confused by the primitive battle that had suddenly erupted around them.

"What can we do to help?" Laura shouted above the noise of the people around her.

"Nothing!" Jon-Max shouted back. "Just stay out of the way! These guys know how to handle this!" Then he said quickly, "I hope!"

In the next fifteen seconds Jon-Max and Laura found out just exactly how the ice aged people handled an attack by a savage saber toothed tiger. The fur-clad warriors converged on the fierce creature from all sides, their weapons ready. The saber toothed tiger suddenly dropped the dead dog and faced the attacking warriors, crouching low, ready to pounce on the nearest warrior.

The warrior in front of the saber toothed tiger raised his spear, ready to hurl it into the beast that was attacking his village. The saber toothed tiger swung its furry head from side to side, surveying the ring of warriors which surrounded it. The beast obviously realized that it was trapped, completely surrounded by its enemies. The only way for it to escape was to fight its way out!

"They're going to have to kill it!" Jon-Max said excitedly. "And soon, too! If they don't kill it, the beast will attack!"

Laura couldn't take her eyes off the tense scene. She knew that at any second the situation was going to explode into action. Either the saber tooth tiger would attack one of the warriors, or the warriors would hurl their stone-tipped spears into the desperate animal.

Laura noticed that the nearest warrior in the ring appeared to be a young boy, not much taller than herself. The saber toothed tiger had turned to face the young boy, probably because he was the smallest one in the ring of warriors, and therefore the easiest one to attack.

Suddenly Laura had an idea. She dashed forward and grabbed the shoulder of the young warrior. Clutching the fur of the boy’s parka, Laura yanked the boy backwards, causing him to stumble and fall on his back into the snow. This created a gap in the ring of warriors that surrounded the savage animal. Laura threw herself to the ground near the fallen warrior and covered her head with her arms.

Seconds after the gap opened up in the ring of menacing warriors, the saber toothed tiger snatched up the dead dog in its massive jaws and leaped through the gap, sailing over Laura and the young warrior who lay prone in the deep snow.

Within seconds the beast was racing through the village, dodging between the tents while the warriors sent their spears flying after the retreating beast. But the saber toothed tiger was so fast that none of the spears reached it, and its huge paws sent clouds of white, fluffy snow flying into the air behind it as it fled. Within seconds the beast faded into the dark night.

Jon-Max helped Laura get up from the snow-covered ground while the warriors talked excitedly amongst themselves. The young warrior that Laura had pulled to the ground was rising slowly to his feet, and he brushed the snow from his fur while the other warriors rushed over to see if he was alright. Laura wondered what the warriors would do to her for interfering in their battle with the saber tooth tiger.

Neither of the 5th graders saw one of the chief's of the three tribes come up behind them, and they were startled when the chief spoke.

"What is your name, child?" the chief said to Laura. He was a tall man, taller than any of the other people in the village. His face was surrounded by the thick fur of his parka, but the two 5th graders could see that it was an old and wrinkled face, a face that seemed to be chiseled from stone.

Laura was too nervous and shaken to answer for a moment, but finally she said, "Uh . . . my name is Laura.

The chief looked puzzled for a moment, then he said, "That's a strange name. I've never heard it before. What does it mean?"

Laura didn't understand the question, but Jon-Max quickly whispered to Laura. "Everybody's name is supposed to mean something. Tell him your name means Crazy Young One."

"What?" Laura said in confusion.

"Just tell him!" Jon-Max whispered desperately.

Hesitantly Laura spoke to the chief. "My name means . . . Crazy Young One."

The chief nodded slowly. "Yes, that name suits you well." He looked at the other warriors, standing silently nearby as they listened respectfully to the conversation between their chief and the two young people. "What you did was very wise. You made it possible for the snow cat to leave without harming anyone. My young warriors were too eager to rush into battle. If they had been quicker to use heads and slower to use their weapons, they would not have trapped the snow cat the way they did, forcing it to kill someone."

"Thank you, sir," Laura said quietly.

The old chief bent forward to peer closely at their faces for a moment. He looked puzzled. "You are new to me. Which tribe are you from?"

Jon Max spoke quickly. "We're from a tribe that lives far away. We joined your hunters when they brought down the mammoth."

"I see," said the chief. "But why are you traveling alone?"

"We're on a journey. We wish to meet new people and learn their ways."

"That's very interesting. What will you do with this knowledge?" the chief asked.

"Share it," Laura answered. "Share it with our . . . tribe."

The chief nodded as if he liked the answer. Then he placed his gloved hand on Laura's shoulder. "You're very young to be making such a journey." He looked troubled by the idea of two young people wandering this cold and hostile land, alone. After a moment he shrugged his shoulders. "But you seem to be able to take care of yourselves." He paused for a moment, they he said, "You will be my guests tonight. You two will have your evening meal with me and my wives, in my tent."

He turned and walked away through the thick snow, leaving Laura and Jon-Max standing their feeling very relieved that Laura would not be punished for what she had done. The other warriors began to walk away in different directions, joining their families in various parts of the village.

After a few seconds Jon-Max spoke excitedly, "Wow, I can't believe it! We get to have dinner with the chief. That's just too cool!"

"Why is that such a big deal?" Laurasaid.

"Are you kidding!" Jon-Max said in amazement. "To these people, having dinner with the chief is like having the President ask you to visit the White House. It mean's we're heroes!"

"Really?" Laura said. She felt a rush of pride when she realized what an honor she was being given by the chief. "Hey, that's great!"

"It is definitely great," Jon-Max said proudly.

Laura suddenly realized that she was extremely hungry. She rubbed her stomach for a moment, then she said, "What do you think the chief will be having for dinner?"

Jon-Max chuckled and pointed to a group of women who surrounded one of the large fires that blazed in the village. The women had set up a framework of thick, fire-blackened poles around the fire. The framework was being used to hold one pole above the fire. On this pole was skewered a sizeable piece of the red meat that had been taken from the mammoth. The orange tongues of flame licked up at the slab of meat while one of the women turned the pole slowly. The air was filled with the smell of cooking meat, and villagers of all ages were gathering around, laughing and talking as they watched the evening meal being prepared.

The wolf-like dogs were circling the area outside the crowd of people, licking their chops at the smell of the sizzling meat.

"Know what I think, old pal?" Jon-Max said, grinning broadly. "I think we're about to be the guests of honor at an Ice Age cook out!"

NEXT: CHAPTER 6 ~ LIFE ON THE FROZEN PLAINS
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)