Blad made a friction fire starter and the fire he made encouraged him. He took off his clothing and hung the things on poles he tore from the trees and drilled into the sandy soil. Blad set his mind to food. He looked around the place and saw little that would do for food. There were buds on some of the bushes that grew in the area, so he began to eat the buds. He ate some greens unfamiliar to him, hoping he was safe from poisonous plants. Finally his hunger was satiated. He drank some water.
While looking at the plants, Blad decided to make a boat like a basket. The flexible trees should work well that way, he thought. How to make the boat float was a problem. There were no animal skins for covering the basket boat. A couple of dead trees gave him an idea. He’d use the bark on the trees to line the boat, tying them to the frame he’d make with fibers from just under the bark of the flexible limbs of the trees. Then he’d use grass and clay from the river bank to seal the tree bark to the boat. It was the best Blad could think with the lack of resources available. He felt he needed to work fast in case the Alu were looking for him.
The Alu were uncertain when Endured Pain failed to return. It was too dark to look for him, so they waited until morning to search for him. They followed his trail to the falls. Then they looked everywhere they could. His tracks ended at the falls.
Pi said, “It looks like he was so interested in the falls that he fell into it. Let’s walk a little way down the wall here. His body may lie there somewhere.”
“How awful,” Ja said.
They walked a long way along the upper edge of the river and found nothing.
“His body may be stuck under the falls,” Di suggested.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Pi said.
The men returned to the campsite. They took their spears and headed south to the area they planned to hunt.
Blad finished the frame for the boat, weaving it just as he’d weave a basket. He went to the logs where he hoped to gather bark to line the boat. The bark still retained some flexibility. Blad harvested the bark and brought it to the basket boat he’d constructed. He then took limbs from the tree and began to peel the bark off to reach the fibers just under the green bark. He pulled them out, gathering as many of the fibers as possible. Blad put the fibers in a hollowed out part of the river bank which quickly filled with water. He didn’t want the fibers to dry out.
That night he made some drillers to make tiny holes in the bark so they could be tied to the frame. Normally, he’d have made cordage from the fibers, but he wanted to start moving down the river so he chose to use the fibers for ties without turning it first into cordage. It took three days for Blad to complete the basket boat.
“My father would have said, ‘Pretty pathetic girl’s work,’ or something equally as deprecating,” he said out loud. Looking at his boat, he said, “Now I’m going to put you over the embers of the fire to dry out. All I need you to do is take me down the river and out of this land safely.”
Blad placed the basket boat over the fire embers and lay down. He was hungry and tired. He went black. When he awakened, Blad turned the basket boat over and felt the clay where he’d coated the inside of the boat. It was dry. He turned the boat back over, thinking to keep the clear night’s dew from moistening what he’d carefully dried. He’d wait until morning to use the boat.
When morning came, Blad ate as many buds of the plants he’d already eaten as possible. Then, he put the boat in the water and it seemed to hold off water’s entry. He didn’t fool himself; a hit against a rock could easily break his bark and clay liner—probably the boat itself.
Blad began his float down the river. He went faster, he thought, than he had on the log. He also turned in circles because the boat was, after all, a basket. He had a pole to push the boat along or away from rocks.
He thought he had made much progress the first day. As night approached, he poled his boat to the side of the river and stepped out. Blad noticed a few small cracks in the clay and some water in the bottom of the boat. He took his fire starter and then turned the boat upside down to dry out.
Blad noticed he was obviously losing weight. He needed real food. The walls of the river were still high but they had reduced in size. Blad studied the walls near him. He looked for a way to reach the top. He couldn’t see anything that appeared promising. Blad hoped another day on the river would bring the walls lower down or at least give him a way to climb out. He looked carefully for anything to eat. There was nothing available. Finally, he ran his hands through the river wondering whether there were fish in the water, though he’d certainly seen no evidence of fish and found nothing. Blad took a deep drink of water and curled up under the boat to go black.
He continued down the river. The river walls, he noticed, were decreasing rapidly in height. Blad was delighted. He gained hope once the sun reached the water for more than a very brief time. The boat too was taking on water. By high sun, the walls were low enough that Blad poled the boat over to the shore and pulled it out of the water. He felt terribly tired.
Blad walked to the wall and examined it well. By chance he looked to his left and noticed just beyond him was a great tree. He ran to the tree, jumped to catch a branch, and swung himself into the limbs of the tree. After a bit of a climb, Blad had a view of the land surrounding the river. It was flat with hills in the distance. Using the tree, he could climb to the land above.
Best of all, there were grazing animals just above the river. Blad climbed back down the tree. He knew what he needed to do. First, he needed to make a few snares to catch some small animals to eat. Then, he needed to create a very basic tool kit. Blad felt that he’d made a successful escape and would ultimately find people—people he hoped were normal people, if such a thing existed.
Blad made some cordage, not his best ever, but serviceable. He climbed the wall using the tree as a brace along one part of the climb. He looked carefully for anything that resembled an animal trail. Finding one, he looked for a likely place to tie the snare. He found several. Blad went a different direction and found a few more places to set his shares. In all he set six snares.
By nightfall, Blad found he had two successful rabbit snares. He carried them back downhill and eventually had them cooking over a good sized fire. He could smell the delightful savor and his stomach grumbled in anticipation. When they were ready, Blad ate slowly. At one point he said aloud, “Mother Earth, Father Sky, Pale-Faced Moon, Water, Hearth Fire—thank you from the farthest reaches of my spirit. You saved my life.”
He sank down on the sand and looked up at the sky. It was a clear night with countless stars. Blad had a sense of expectation that all would be well. He sat up, pulled the boat to him, and lifted it over his head. He did not wish to awaken damp with the morning’s dew.
Blad awakened as someone lifted his boat over him and laid it to the side.
“Who are you?” the man with long braids asked.
Blad placed his hand on his chest and said, “Blad.” Then he pointed at the other man.
“Moc,” the man said, placing his hand on his chest.
Neither understood any words from the other. Blad knew he had the need to learn the language of the other man. By hand signs and endless questions, Blad finally after some days could communicate in the most basic language of the Luphac. He felt a sense of relief.
Moc was greatly concerned for Blad when he first found him. The man was starving. He learned that Blad was from somewhere called across-the-eastern-sea. He didn’t understand that. He learned that Blad had been captured by the Alu. Moc knew the Alu were fierce people who didn’t want anyone on their territory. He was surprised that Blad escaped, until he heard how Blad had done it.
Surely the Alu would have known that likelihood of survival in that canyon would have been impossible. That Blad survived at all impressed Moc.
Moc wanted to take Blad to his village, but he knew the man needed some food before he could travel. Moc spent time supplying food and comfort to the man. He also taught him h
ow to do basic communication in his language.
Within a moon of Moc’s intended return home, Initu and Ampers had tracked down Moc, happy to know he was well. They were astounded that Blad had escaped the Alu, gone over the falls, and made a boat to carry himself down the river. They were appalled that the man had no fat on his bones. Considering the situation, however, the fact that the man was alive was awe inspiring.
Sitting around the fire that night, Ampers asked Blad, “How long were you with the Alu?”
Blad replied, “Two sets of full seasons.”
Ampers didn’t understand, so Moc translated.
“What are the Alu like?” Initu asked.
“They are unstable in all their thoughts,” Blad replied, signing the word unstable. “They find people and eat them. Alu don’t know right or wrong. They are a people waiting to die. They are empty people, incapable of thinking, incapable of reason. They are utterly without caring for others.”
“How did you survive?”
“They tie captives to trees—arms up, legs down. They strip off all clothing. When their chief saw my scars, he asked how I received them. I told him my father. My father was tied next to me. The chief told them to cut me down. He made me part of them. He gave me a horrible name, Endured Pain. I had to live with that name for eight seasons. But, I was permitted to live. If at any point I had done anything they disapproved, they’d have killed me. They are utterly unmoved by the piteous cries of captives. When people die, they make food called tough bird stew. It is human flesh. Everyone eats it. It’s despicable! I survived. I waited to reach a river to take me away from them. When I saw the waterfall upriver, I leaped over the falls.”
“You are lucky,” Initu said with stress on the last word.
“Mother Earth and Father Sky protected me, I think,” Blad said, “But I’d rather have died than continue a prisoner of the Alu.”
Moc said, “Tonight we must rest. Tomorrow we leave for home.”
The four men stretched out to sleep. Ampers had a spare sleeping skin which he gave to Blad. Blad thanked him. Moc had given him an extra skin to use, but it didn’t fully cover him. He scooped up some sand and made an elevated shape that he could cover with the sleeping skin and lay his head upon. Blad pulled the skin over his shoulder and went black.
The next morning they began their trek to the home of the Luphac people. On the trek, Blad felt at home for the first time in his life. He felt relaxed among these people, not having a felt need to guard every word, every facial expression. His facility with the language grew rapidly. At night they’d share stories, Blad about the SealEaters and their trip across the sea and learning the new land, the Luphac people about their customs and events.
When they reached the Luphac main village, there was a huge welcome. People came from all over to greet them. Blad had never felt so welcome, so accepted. There were the usual welcomes, the feast, the sharing of stories. This time, however, Moc asked if he could tell the story for Blad, since he’d had to tell it so often already. He told Blad if he said something wrong to let him know and he’d fix it.
Blad was delighted, since he was new to the language. Moc told the story, every once in a while looking into his sister, Ammatoshi’s, eyes as if speaking without words. He wanted her to know that he spoke of a man of whom he approved with great esteem.
Ammatoshi understood the message from her brother. He had urged her to find a husband, and she had declined every possibility he put forth. This new man did capture her interest.
When he finished, Moc told Ammatoshi to prepare a place for Blad in their home. She raised an eyebrow, stood, turned, and went to carry out his request.
Blad was exhausted from the trek. He asked to lie down. He needed to go black badly. Moc led him to his place, and by the time they arrived, his place inside was set. The girl had put out a bottom sleeping skin of soft fur and a soft hide for a top sleeping skin.
The next day, Ammatoshi asked Blad, “Will you go with me to gather some greens. I know that’s not what you would think manly, but I would like to hear more of your story from you, not my brother.”
“Of course,” Blad agreed. “I have no spear. I need to make some.”
“What kind of points do you prefer?” she asked.
“I love beautiful flint.”
“I will take you to our best flint source, then,” she said, “We can do both. We will take two baskets. And here are my two spears.”
Blad enjoyed her gentle sense of arranging the day. He was shocked that her spear was the same as a man’s spear. He wasn’t impressed with the spear point.
They left and he felt the freedom again of not having to check for permission with the Alu to go where he wanted and with whom. He breathed deeply and enjoyed the sense of liberty.
“We do have to go through this narrow opening to reach the flint source, Blad. Give me your hand, it’s slippery.” Blad started to assure her he was just fine, but he gave her his hand instead, because he wanted to touch hers. It was good that he did, for he slipped, and she helped him avoid falling into the water. The algae on the rocks in the spring that exited from the opening they had to pass through was indeed slippery.
“It’s beautiful,” Blad observed as they entered the area where the flint was. There was a natural wall through which they passed and a lovely grassy area beyond the supply of flint. Ammatoshi went to sit on the grass to enjoy the sun while Blad gathered flint. His enjoyment of beauty was a significant thing to her. So many of the people she knew never saw beauty.
Blad gathered numbers of rock nodules. He sought fairly large ones. The bag would be heavy and he had no idea how far he would have to transport it. For the moment, however, he was overjoyed to be able to find materials to make his spear points. He gathered as much as he thought the bag could safely hold.
Ammatoshi watched him. He was so strong, so intent on what he did. He had great appeal to her. His scent sent thrills through her, something she’d never experienced. She enjoyed being close to him. She liked watching him select the right rocks.
After Blad finished filling the basket, he joined her in the sun. They locked eyes for a moment, neither wishing to break the hold.
“What was that?” Ammatoshi asked before thinking whether she should ask.
“Beauty,” Blad replied and kissed her. She was utterly compelling in his thinking place.
They lay together on the grass, locked in embrace. Neither taking it farther, but neither wanting to end the simple embrace.
“I think I’m falling in love with you, Ammatoshi, and I don’t even know you,” Blad said, shocked at his own behavior.
“I’m having exactly the same feeling, Blad. I’ve been seeking you ever since I became a woman, not knowing you were so far away.”
“Your words pierce my spirit, for I too have dared to dream of you.”
Ammatoshi held him tight to her chest. He had had a terrible life. “I am so sorry to have asked you such a thoughtless question, Blad.”
“When you speak words to me from your mouth, dear Ammatoshi, I am blessed. Your words are not thoughtless. I receive each as a genuine gift.”
“Your special way of speaking draws me, Blad. It draws me as a moth to a flame at night.”
“I hope, dear Ammatoshi, that if you carry out that image, it won’t happen.”
They both laughed. So many moths were found in the morning dead by the oil lamp.
“I certainly didn’t think that one through.” They laughed more.
“Come now, you wanted to gather some greens. I’ll help.”
They stood up and walked through the opening in the rock by the spring. They held hands and no one slipped. They went to a lower level on the hill where there were many greens of various types. They filled the basket quickly.
“When we return, since we have accomplished the task so quickly, I’ll take you the long way home. Look down here and you can see the way we wound through the forest to reach this place.”
; “I see it.”
“Now, Blad, look to our right. You can see the path through the separation in the tops of trees if you look carefully. We’ll pass a lovely lake and there are views of the hills that are beautiful.” Ammatoshi grinned at her use of the word beautiful.
“I do see it. It’s quite a bit longer, and I suspect quite a bit different on the ground than trying to imagine it through the tree tops.”
Ammatoshi smiled. They walked toward the longer path.
When they reached the lake, both knew they’d swim. Neither said a word, but both removed their skin clothing and entered the water. The water was warm and refreshing. They swam about and then towards each other. For a brief time the two were lost in each other. Time and place were irrelevant. Then the spell was broken and they left the water to put their clothes back on and return to the village. Neither had said a word, but they both knew in their own ways that destiny had brought them together forever.
Moc came to meet them when they arrived back at the village. One look at Ammatoshi’s face, and he knew. Ammatoshi glanced at him, and she knew he knew. Both smiled a slow happy smile.
“What are you planning to make with the stones?” Moc asked Blad.
“Spear points. Then, I’ll have to make shafts. I left all my tools with the Alu so as to escape.”
“Of course. I have about six shafts already made, Blad. Help yourself to them.”
“Where are they?” Blad asked, delighted, for he didn’t care for shaft making.
“Follow me. I’ll show you and you can take two of them now.”
Blad followed and Moc let him choose the two shafts he wanted. One at a time Blad lifted them, weighed them, stood as if to use them, and carefully positioned his hand around them. He chose two. Moc found his choice interesting, for he did not choose the ones Moc preferred. He seemed to be communicating with something in the feel of the shaft Moc didn’t understand. He didn’t ask.
The SealEaters, 20,000 BC Page 29
