Along The Creek, to the north, the towering bluff reflects the sunbeams streaking through the trees…On the shoals, and in the shallow water, along the bank, the group gathers stones, shells, and other needed materials….The baskets become quite heavy, as they are filled…No need to overload them, since their village lies only a short distance from here…
The Beings come here often, as the Creek constantly offers up its treasures for their sacred Story-Telling Stone-Cakes…
Blue clay lies nearby, as well as lime, limestone, and coal…The red clay deposits, rich in iron oxide, are abundant…And , of course, there is plenty of wood…
They gather according to their prescribed traditions, which date back to the Great Catastrophes…when the Big Winter Demons moved down, enveloping the Beings world…As it melted, widespread, dreadful flooding occurred…And, then the ground moved so often the Beings cannot give a count, when they tell The Stories …Some think the cause to have been angry Spirits of the Sky, raining havoc upon the Beings, and all in their world…
All of life clung then to cliffs, or sought refuge in caves…The Wolves, Hyenas, Lions, and Bears, while also facing dire circumstances, became crazed, and seemed to have attacked their ancestors as Demons— warfare, worse than any Being can recall…Others talk of the arrival of The Great Lanced Ones…taller, more powerful than the Beings, who upset their world, spreading terror, causing all to drastically change…making the Earth quake, shift…Earth trying to swallow-up these new comers, who would not agree to live in harmony with the Creatures, and the Beings…
Most of the Beings believe they have always been here…The last of their kind…
One sub-clan speaks of their arrival from a distant place…another space…
Those along the Creek work silently at their gathering…One young Being spies a giant Bear on the opposite bank…Startled, he cries out…The group retreats…Their Warriors, with The Keen Distant Vision, heard the cries, and meet the group where the Creek bank begins…
The Stone Gatherers wait there…Soon, they hear the growling, and yelling…An all- clear is cried…and the gathering group returns to the Creek’s shore…There close-up, they watch the skinning of the Bear…It will be quartered, and brought back to the village to be boiled…Their families will have bear meet tonight…and the oily fat will find many uses…But, the Beings do not often hunt The Spirit Creatures just for meat…
The Stone Makers—Gatherers pick up their baskets and slowly make their way back to their camp…with a handle on each side, two carry each…
The oldest Shaman, and Village Head Man, Saga, honors Homina, the young one who spied the Bear”…
“ Your story will be set in a stone, my son…Your vision is also keen at far distance…You will join the Hunter-Warriors…”…