by Jack L Knapp
Lee intended to set a fast pace. There was much that needed doing before the tribe arrived.
Other than Lee being mounted, an observer would have found it difficult to separate the old hands who’d been with the tribe a long time from the new arrivals who’d joined the group only a month before.
All now wore the same kind of buckskin clothing and all carried ready bows. Every man had a spear slung across his back and a quiver filled with arrows. If there was a difference, it was in the ease with which the long-time members moved; they were confident in their skills and it showed. The others would soon develop the same loose, nearly-silent gait the veterans used.
#
The group made camp just before dark and Lee built a small fire. Gingerly he placed a pottery bowl nearby and men began gnawing on dried buffalo jerky. Sal poured water from a container they’d hauled on the cart and added a mix of herbs that Margrette had provided.
Soon the savory smell of rose hips, mint, and sage rose from the hot water. Each man took a little and added honey to suit his taste. The last man added more water so that everyone could have as much more of the tea as they desired.
Tired men bedded down as soon as Lee extinguished the fire. Breakfast would be cold jerky on slabs of bread, washed down with water. The bread consisted of a mix of ground grains and nuts, a combination Sandra had developed. It was enough.
#
Lee kept watch until shortly before midnight, then woke Sal.
Piotr had attached himself to the party at the last minute. Sal woke him to take the final shift before dawn. The rest were roused before the sun peeked above the horizon, and half an hour later the march continued.
Lee bent the course westward at noon that day.
“I’m going to hit the canyon a little north of the track those animals made. That way we can head south and be sure of finding it instead of having to search back and forth. We’ll finish eating and get started. I plan to spend tonight on top of the canyon rim and be at the undercut cliff by noon tomorrow. I don’t want to spend our first night down in the canyon. We’d have to double up or triple-up on guards as soon as it got dark. Not just predators to worry about, but if any of the big animals move around after dark they could run right through our camp. We’d have to build a brush fence and keep a fire going all night. We’ve done that once, rebuilt after a stampede. Next time we might not be lucky.”
“I’m on your side, Lee. Better safe than sorry.”
“That’s my idea, Sal. Anyway, when we get there we can set up camp someplace where we can live until the rest of the tribe arrives. I don’t want to move into the cave until Matt’s looked at it. But we might build a rock fence to protect our campground, put it up next to the cliff. One or two people could defend that, even from saber-tooths and giant bears. We’re going to be working hard so people will need sleep.
“I plan to do all the hunting and I’m sure it won’t be a problem keeping us in meat. You pick somebody to do the cooking and tend the fire, probably rotate the duty every day. I’ll sleep in the afternoon after I get back from hunting, and that way I’ll be ready to keep watch during the night. The rest of the tribe will catch up in three or four days.”
#
Matt held the Futurist’s gift in his hand and speculated.
“What was in that packet, Matt?”
“I don’t know, Colin. I haven’t opened it yet.”
“Aren’t you curious, Matt?”
“I am, and I’m not. It’s strange, but I’m wondering if I want to open it.”
Colin looked at him in surprise. “Why wouldn’t you want to, Matt?”
“I’ve been thinking, Colin. We’re in North America, right?”
“I guess so, Matt. It doesn’t look like Europe.”
“Well, OK. Say it’s North America for the sake of argument. What do you know about American history?”
“Not a whole lot. There were natives, and when our people got ashore from Europe they pushed the locals out of the way. Somebody was always fighting somebody. If they weren’t fighting natives or Europeans, they fought each other. Your Civil War was a lot bloodier than ours and the one in Spain. Robert’s people had one too.”
“That’s part of it. European attitudes came in and took over. They brought other things too, things like sheep and cattle and donkeys. Those came to Europe from the Middle East. Europe had a kind of wild cow, but it was wiped out when the new breeds took over. Instead of developing their own way of doing things, Europe and the Americas just adopted the same things that people had been using elsewhere. I’m not explaining this very well, but I’m thinking that if we start from scratch and build our own civilization, we might be able to avoid the mistakes that were made on Earth Prime.
“Take my own time, the early 21st Century. My people were fat and they had horrible diseases. There were few real dangers, so people made up dangers to substitute. They pretended. And instead of people living much longer because they’d eliminated danger, they died of disease. We even had arguments about death. Should people be kept alive, or should doctors help them die when there was no reason left to stay alive? Our pets got better treatment most of the time. What I’m wondering is, do we want to build that world over again? Do we want to develop the same kind of civilization and build the same kinds of roads and machines and science, or should we develop our own?”
Colin nodded. “I never thought of it that way, but you’ve got a point. People are afraid of dying on Prime, at least they were in our time. Here, it’s just a matter of time. One day, we’ll be too slow or too unlucky. If a dire wolf or short-faced bear doesn’t kill us, somebody with a spear will. I think if someone had told me downtime what this world was like, I’d have been afraid of it. Here, it just is. If you let down your guard you’re going to die.”
“That’s it. I don’t know if I want to open that package. That Chief fellow was trying to help, but do we want his help? Or should we just muddle along and make our own mistakes? Maybe our science won’t kill off most of humanity. Maybe we won’t have a world that threatens to kill all of us because the climate is getting too hot.”
The two sat for a long time, that evening. Neither felt like speaking as they thought about what Matt had said.
Chapter 38
“I suppose I should open the package. It might be something everyone needs. I don’t think I can decide on my own that we shouldn’t have it.”
“I think you’re right, Matt. Anyway, I’m curious.”
Matt carefully untied the tape that held the package. Inside the canvas he found a smaller package and a plastic box. The box had an embossed red cross inside a white circle.
“This is a first aid kit. It looks like something for aircrews to use if they were forced down. And this other packet,” he unwrapped the canvas roll, “is extra stuff. Maybe they also carried an emergency surgery kit too. I guess they figured the crew might need more stuff; there’s certainly no way they could get help immediately. I got the impression from Chief that the aircraft we saw is the only one on-planet. He said fuel was expensive too, so I think there’s not a lot of it available.
“That’s a small bone saw and a packet of blades for a scalpel. The injectors contain morphine according to the label. I wonder if they have an expiration date?”
“Does morphine lose effectiveness, Matt?”
“No idea, Colin. But I don’t see an expiration date. What’s in the box?”
“Bandages, surgical tape, what looks like first-aid dressings. This one is a tube for the airway. I wish we’d had this when Robert was wounded!”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Those sealed packages there, what are they?”
“Both are labeled ‘Powder, Antiseptic’. Whatever that means.”
“Maybe they’re like the sulfa powders of the mid-20th century, just sprinkle them on a wound. Anyway, this whole package goes to Elizabeth.”
“No second thoughts, Matt? About using downtime technology?”
“No
. We need this. I’d take a hundred of these if they were offered.”
“I agree. Well, I’m off to bed. See you tomorrow morning. We’ve still got a long trip ahead. I am glad it’s coming to an end though, at least for this year.”
“If Lee’s description was right, maybe we’re done period. I won’t mind settling down in one place. Keeping the tribe protected has been wearing. I want a few months of just settling down and relaxing. Nothing to do but keep from starving!”
Colin chuckled. “I sympathize, Matt. Somebody else can do the butchering and cooking too!”
The two men walked off to their beds. Behind them, Margrette and her helpers cleaned the pots they’d used. Packing them on the carts, they soon sought their own beds. The abandoned coals glowed for a time but then faded. Soon the only sounds came from the sentries who kept watch through the night.
#
Lee paused on a small promontory and looked over the canyon to the south.
The advance party had crossed the river after descending into the canyon by the animal trail Lee and Laz had found. Continuing south about ten miles, they could see the undercut canyon wall just ahead. The two engineers and Sal joined Lee to look over the site.
“You two know what Matt wants. Is he set on building up that cliff?”
“He’s going to want a place we can retreat to if we are attacked. Why do you ask?
“It’s going to be tough, building up there. We can hoist all that fallen limestone back up and build walls, but it would be easier to build fortified houses down here. If we did it right, we’d be above the flash floods and we could defend the place too. Let’s say we build the houses around a courtyard, use adobe for cement between limestone blocks. For that matter, we could build the houses totally of adobe. We passed deposits of clay along the river. People mixed in a little sand with natural fiber and used that to mold huge bricks. They made the bricks for the bottom of the walls thick and used thinner bricks higher up.
“We could keep the courtyard for the horses and any other animals we catch. Maybe design the houses so that people lived on the second floor and the lower floor was storage. Adobe walls are warm in the winter, cool in the summer. We could easily build in defenses while the houses were going up. What do you think, Will?”
“Maybe build the lower structures first and people could live in those while we build the upper section later? We’ll need timbers for framing and some kind of hoist.”
“Maybe a tripod hoist...”
Lee and Sal left the two to discuss what they had in mind. Matt could accept their ideas or reject them in favor of his own. Meantime, there was a campsite to be laid out.
#
That night the advance party relaxed around a large campfire and enjoyed fresh buffalo meat on slabs of bread, the whole washed down with tea made from the dried herbs furnished by Margrette. A tall brush fence surrounded the campsite. The area inside the fence might be a little smaller than Matt had in mind, but it wouldn’t be much of a chore to enlarge the fenced-in area. In any case, they’d made a good start.
There had been a pride of saber-toothed cats that looked prone to argue after Lee killed the buffalo, but finally they’d left, grumbled growls showing their displeasure. Well, they’d get over it. Even so, the half-dozen cats had given Lee a few moments of uneasiness. It might be necessary to thin out the predators after everyone else arrived.
#
Matt led the remainder of the tribe into camp late on the third day. Lee was sleeping, but he’d left instructions to wake him when Matt reached camp. Yawning, he joined Matt and Colin. Sal joined the small party too, as did Bert and Will, the two engineers.
“Glad you’re here. We wanted to talk to you first, but if you like what we’ve got in mind we can start building tomorrow.”
Matt was clearly tired but sat down near the campfire and accepted a mug of the honeyed tea. The engineers launched into the explanation of their concept.
“Got a question. Suppose you used large blocks of limestone to build the houses, using adobe for mortar. Would that work?”
The two looked at each other.
“We’d have to try it first. It might be tough to chip those limestone blocks to size, and that’s why I thought using adobe would be easier. If we used mortar, we wouldn’t need to smooth the blocks much. Too bad we don’t have coal.”
“Why coal?”
“We could make cement, use that instead of adobe. It’s permanent. Adobe mortar might wash out and have to be replaced every year or two. We could use charcoal for making cement, but coal would be better. You make the raw material by heating limestone to between nine hundred and a thousand degrees.”
“Wouldn’t it work better if you heated it even more? Coal can melt iron and that takes place around eighteen-hundred or nineteen-hundred degrees.”
“That won’t work. You’ll burn the lime. Temperature control is important.”
“Well, we’ve got no shortage of the stuff for you to practice on. I don’t know if it’s coal, but I spotted a thin layer of black material back near the crossing. Could you tell if it was coal by looking?”
“Probably. Maybe a day to go back there and look?”
“I’d have to send a couple of guys with you, but maybe I can do it in a couple of days, after we get started on building shelters. I want at least basic shelters underway as soon as possible.”
“Makes sense. It’s either late summer or early fall. We don’t know how much time we have before winter gets here. What do you think about building houses with storage on the ground level and living quarters above that?”
“How much time to build these palaces you’ve got in mind?”
“Not palaces, Matt. I figure we build basic walls, set up the buildings around a courtyard. Do you know how many buildings you have in mind?”
“Probably one for each family unit. Colin would get one, I’d want one, probably Piotr and Lee and Laz too. Maybe one for bachelor men and one for bachelor women, at least to start? Or build a house for everybody and let the people sort out who lives where? Even with people sharing quarters, we’ve had additions to the tribe. I figure maybe thirty apartments.”
“Having enough for everyone would be best in the long run. Are you looking at winter quarters here or a permanent town?”
“For now, winter quarters that we can develop into permanent houses. Can you do that?”
“Sure. Even if we use adobe for mortar we can do that. We could coat the joints with lime mortar later after we begin producing it.”
“If you can make Roman-style cement and concrete, we can build anything we want. Aqueducts to bring water into the town, sewers to take waste away, concrete septic tanks and pipes to carry off the wastewater...don’t smile. Sanitation is important. We’re going to be exposed to diseases sooner or later. I’d rather plan now than have to bury people later.”
“We don’t have time to lay out sewers or septic systems if we’re going to get all those houses built before winter, Matt. That’s a project for next year.”
“OK, but leave room to put them in later. Think about where you’d pick up water for an aqueduct too. Maybe one of the springs halfway up the canyon wall?”
“We could do that. It would keep some enemy from damming up a stream if we used that for our water source. Sure, springs could be done. But for now, we’ll put in outhouses. They work, not too appealing especially on hot summer days or cold winter evenings, but we could do it fast.”
“Go to it. We’ve got to begin gathering food, not too many needed for that because the game’s so close. Lilia and Margrette will be drying meat for winter too, so they’ll be busy. But you have Sal’s crew for building, and there will be others who can help. Just don’t take too many people off the job of building to start experimenting; get us a place ready that’s sheltered from the weather and that we can defend.”
“Got it. Priorities understood. C’mon, Bert, we’ve got our marching orders.”
The two headed fo
r the cliff side to look at the location where they intended to build.
#
“Lee, I can take security tonight if you want a break. You’ve been working pretty hard.”
“Not that bad, Matt. I’ve been using Brownie to haul the cart. All I had to do was go out, find a good stand and take the shot. Most of the time I only needed one. I’ve broken a couple of arrows but I’ve got most of a quiver in reserve. I brought it on the cart when we went ahead of you and the others.”
“In that case, I’ll take a break. I can take over tomorrow. I’ll need you and Brownie to scout downstream, see what’s down there. Look for human tracks. If someone from across the seaway has been here, we’ll need to make sure we have defenses ready.”
“I’ll get an early start, Matt. OK if I take Laz with me?”
“Sure, I prefer pairs to do the scouting anyway. I’ve got Piotr to help me when I go out. Colin wants to take a little time away from the kitchen, so I’ll see if Lilia can take over for him. Elizabeth’s pleased with the new surgical tools and the medical supplies. They’re not much, but they’re better than anything else we have, and she’s already taught Bella a lot about using them. We’ll set them up a clinic building somewhere near the town center.
“I’d still like to get more information written down. Elizabeth started listing things she believes have medicinal properties using some of the light-colored deerskins as soon as we had extras.”
“Matt, we’ve been collecting buffalo skins. I had them staked out on the hillside just north of the town site. We’ll have all the hides we need by the time snow flies.”
Matt nodded. “Good start, Lee. As soon as they’re scraped and dry, we can stack them inside the buildings. I don’t want to be caught short when the weather turns cold. Whatever we don’t use immediately can be stored. Eventually we can turn it into leather or trade it if we can find people who have something we need.”
“You’re still thinking of the river for trade?”
“I am. Look at the river downstream for rapids or falls. Shallow areas too; if there’s not much water, we’ll have to offload cargo and portage the canoes around the low spot. Same thing with a waterfall or rapids that’s too dangerous to run. Low water is usually more dangerous than high water. Anyway, you scout downstream and when you get back, I’ll take a ride upstream. Or maybe I’ll just take Lilia and we can hike up the canyon. It’s been a while since we had the chance to do some exploring. We could use some time off too.”
