Ki'ti's Story, 75,000 BC

by Bonnye Matthews

  Gnomuth extended his hand for the staff and Tongip passed it.

  “Why don’t you and several of us take the trek down to the bridge on the north side of the river? You would soon learn what you want to know. If you take Gukmor, he can show you the caves I mentioned. He has been there. They are several days trek from the bridge.” Gukmor nodded. Tongip smiled. He loved Gukmor.

  “You can smell them two days before you get there!” Putan, a Mol hunter added, and the Mol hunters burst out laughing. To the Mol, the Gar stank. Manak-na had no idea why the hunters were laughing. He chose not to ask.

  Tongip looked at Manak-na silently asking about the trek. Manak-na nodded.

  Tongip held out his hand for the staff. “We would very much like to make such a trek, if Gukmor is willing.”

  Gukmor nodded his willingness.

  “When could we leave?” Tongip asked.

  Gukmor held out his hand for the staff.

  “First, can this man, Manak-na, keep up with us?” Gukmor asked and Tongip nodded affirmative. Then Gukmor said, “I can have some hunters ready to leave after high sun.”

  Tongip nodded. Manak-na found it hard to believe how quickly the Mol responded to the request.

  Gnomuth held out his hand. Gukmor passed the staff.

  “We shall enjoy meeting your family while you trek to the caves. We will treat them as special guests. If the Gar are still in the bamboo forest, do not disturb them but turn around and come home. If they are gone we would like to know.”

  Tongip held out his hand for the staff. Gnomuth passed it to him.

  “I thank the Mol for their hospitality and for helping us on our quest for knowledge. It is greatly appreciated. We show our gratitude with these gifts.” He laid out a bag of dried fish and a net for catching lake fish. He explained about the bamboo rafts and catching fish in the nets. “There is a place at the lake where one could stand to net fish. It would not be as efficient as if the Mol had bamboo rafts, but it would provide some fish for you.” He explained that the hunters could see how the handle and rim worked, and, if they wanted to make others, Domur knew how to knot the nets. They would share their knowledge.

  There were nods of approval all around and many glances one to another as the net was passed around.

  Gnomuth extended his hand for the staff.

  “You and your People are kind,” he said. He felt odd referring to Tongip as People, but continued on. “We would like to learn of this net and also of the bamboo rafts. Fish will be a good supplement to the food we enjoy now and in the future. We will ask Domur for her help to teach us while you are gone. When you return, we will ask to send two hunters to see these rafts.”

  Tongip nodded to each of the council members. The meeting broke up. Tongip smiled with Manak-na. It was good to have something special to share when visiting. The bamboo rafts and fishing had added much to their lives. It should do the same for the Mol.

  The men went off to gather their trekking gear. Along with Tongip, Manak-na, and Gukmor, Mungum and Ghoman of the Mol joined the trek.

  Meanwhile, Nanichak-na, Chamul-na, Lamul-na, and Kai-na had reached the bridge on the south side of the river. They stood there surveying the bridge and the opposite side of the chasm. The rope still hung securely from one side to the other. It was thick rope that made the two sides of the bridge when it was serviceable. From the thick rope they could see that thinner rope had made loops from one side of the thick rope to the other back and forth. The broken thick rope hung from the loops. The thinner ropes swayed lightly in the breeze. The thinner loops had been woven in such a way as to make a footpath. The weaving was not very thick, so the walking was something one would have had to do carefully. Nanichak-na wondered whether the dogs could have made it across. The two sides of thick rope were tied to huge boulders on both sides of the river. The rope appeared to be deteriorating. To rebuild the bridge would require starting over. They could use the season of cold days to make rope if they gathered needed supplies quickly. They listened very carefully but could hear nothing on the other side but birds and the occasional small animal scurrying in the understory. They decided to melt into the brush and wait for a good while to see what might appear on the other side. They waited until time for the evening meal. Nothing had passed the area on foot taller than a man’s half arm. Wisdom began to suck the color from the land.

  The hunters chose to eat dried meat that night, forgoing fire and a warm meal. They considered that the man-like apes might be nocturnal and they would take turns keeping watch through the night. When Wisdom returned color to the land, it was clear there did not appear to be anything large on the other side of the river, let alone anything hostile.

  Lamul-na stretched. He was ready for the reason he had come on this trek. “I will crawl across to the other side to see what I can find there.”

  The others wondered how safe that might be. Kai-na was concerned about his younger brother, but his relative youth and good athletic ability were needed. Kai-na nodded to his brother, approving and showing concern.

  Lamul-na went to the rope and followed it to the gap. He put his left arm and leg over the rope and head first began his crossing. His heart was pounding in his chest. The depth of the chasm wasn’t terribly bad, maybe four or more men tall, but the rocks that would meet anyone who fell would provide death or a wishing for it, most likely the former since the rocks were jagged and large. He took his time, concentrating on the place where he was, not the far side. Instead of dangling his legs, he used his feet to help propel him forward. Slowly, ever so slowly, he moved across the rope. The rope danced with the activity, which was somewhat unsettling to the young man. Finally, he reached the other side. He carefully, and even more slowly, pulled himself to land. He stood and began to survey his surroundings.

  “Wait!” Kai-na called to him. “I’m going to join you!” Kai-na wondered at his own outburst. He was terrified at the thought of crossing the river on a rope, but it was his younger brother on the other side. He could not leave him to explore alone.

  Nanichak-na and Chamul-na both nodded approval, and Kai-na used the same technique his brother had, arriving on the other side without incident. The two agreed they would take some time to scout out the area and would meet the others back in time for the evening meal. Nanichak-na threw them some dried meat in a pouch and Lamul-na had a water skin. Silently, they disappeared into the forest following the continuation of the hard packed path. It was more overgrown, but still quite clear.

  The two younger men were surprised at the lack of wildlife in the area. They followed the path over hills and eventually it led them to a stream that appeared to drain into the river. It was northeast of the bridge and opened out into a sheltered valley. There did not appear to be any caves that might provide habitation. The young men did agree that they might not be far enough north to avoid earthquake activity. They looked for other paths that might head west or east along the main path. There was nothing they could see. They kept their ears alert to the least sound, hearing nothing but birds and an occasional small deer. They encountered a barking deer and found the meeting so funny that the two laughed uproariously, releasing tension that had been kept held tightly in case of need for flight or fight. The idea of the man-like apes had not been far from their thoughts. They had not seen any game trails through the underbrush. It was as if the whole area were abandoned. What they did notice is the stands of bamboo that were supposed to support the man-like apes appeared to be dying off. The plants had brown leaves and looked unhealthy. Lamul-na and Kai-na could find no insects on the plants, and they did not appear to have fungal attachments. They assumed the problem was lack of sunlight. The bamboo grew here with other plants, many of which were tall hardwoods, which might be blocking sunlight from the bamboo.

  Lamul-na stopped to check the sunlight. “I think we should return now to report what we know. I think we may want to take several days, or whatever it would take, to follow this path as far as it goes. For now,
we need to return.”

  Kai-na had turned to listen to his brother. “I agree but I really want to keep going. Let’s suggest it this evening,” he said with a palm strike.

  “Yes, let’s,” Lamul-na seconded the palm strike. The two were grinning like boys. They made the trip back much quicker, sniffing the air for information and enjoying the day. They still had the wariness hunters needed in strange places, but they were enjoying what they had already seen from the back side now. They had gained some familiarity with the north side of the river and the forests.

  When they reached the bridge, they carefully crawled across the large rope and settled down to share the day’s exploration with Nanichak-na and Chamul-na, who both were wishing they could have traded places with the younger men. Nanichak-na had speared a small deer and had it roasting by the time Lamul-na and Kai-na returned. The delicious smell had met them long before they had arrived at the bridge. They sat around the campfire late in the darkness going over every detail of the day’s trek and their desire to continue on.

  “You cannot make the kind of trip you want now. The season of cold days is arriving quickly. You could be stranded in a heavy white rain without shelter. It’s too much to risk. The season of new leaves is the time for such a trip,” Chamul-na asserted.

  “But what if the earthquakes continue through the cold? Isn’t there a chance we could be killed in the cave during the season of cold days?”

  “There is always that possibility,” Nanichak-na contributed, “but the danger is losing two of our prized young men. We cannot travel in the seasons of cold days. We have to wait until the season of new leaves. So it is wiser for us to wait.”

  “We could make a shelter outside the cave, just in case?” Lamul-na mused.

  “Now, that would be a great use of time,” Nanichak-na said. “Do you know how to make large shelters?”

  “I don’t,” Lamul-na replied. “I’m thinking that there are some among us who have made shelters of some size. Do you know?” He looked at the older men.

  “We made shelters when we lived by the river,” Chamul-na said. “Then the Mol may have ways of making shelters, or those who became People from the Others.”

  Nobody mentioned that the Mol among them were People, not Mol.

  Nanichak-na said, “At the men’s council meeting, we can discuss this on our return. As for now, we need to sleep and then return home when Wisdom fades the darkness.”

  “I’ll take the first watch,” Kai-na volunteered. He had been so impressed with his younger brother that day. It was the first time that Kai-na had seen the thinking side of his brother. On hunts, most of the time Lamul-na took directions from the older hunters. He had been seen as a quiet member of the People until this day.

  The hunters settled down and soon slept.

  On the north side of the river, Tongip, Manak-na, Gukmor, Mungum, and Ghoman had just roasted a young boar for their meal. They sat around a small hearth eating the meat which was hot and savory. They were hungry, and between their hunger and the temperature of the meat, they were laughing and enjoying themselves. Stars began twinkling in the sky and the sliver of moon cast little light. The fire seemed all the brighter.

  “We made very good time today,” Mungum observed.

  “And it seems we’ll have no clouds for tomorrow,” Gukmor contributed.

  “How can you tell?” Manak-na asked.

  “See the clear sky to the west?” Mungum asked.

  “Yes,” Manak-na replied.

  “Most of our clouds come from the west. If it is clear, we can expect a good day. That doesn’t always hold true, but mostly it does,” Gukmor said.

  “We need to stop at our storage place tomorrow to pick up some grains,” Tongip said.

  Ghoman shoved him in the shoulder, “Tongip, once you say you’re People and now you’re Mol again?”

  “Forgive me,” the young man said, laughing, “I need to remember that I am a visitor here.”

  “You’ll always be Mol to me, but I can also accept that you are now People,” Gukmor said.

  “Thanks!”

  Manak-na had finished eating and was lying on his back on the ground. He stared up into the starry sky and looked at the patterns he’d known for a lifetime. It was very bright and the moon was out. Part of his mind web was always alert to sounds when on the trail. There had been nothing new to observe. He wondered where the wildlife was. There had been birds certainly, but it was very quiet compared to forests he’d trekked through in his hunting experience. Even now, despite the noise from Tongip and the Mol, it was eerily quiet to the young man. The nocturnal animals should be making noise now. It was way too quiet.

  Ghoman asked, “Who’ll take the first watch?”

  Before anyone could speak, Manak-na asked about the manner in which the watch changed. The Mol explained their practice and then Manak-na volunteered to take first watch. That surprised the Mol, but they were happy to be able to sleep. Tongip would take second watch.

  Manak-na’s watch began. It was still extremely quiet for a forest that was healthy. He added a bit more fuel to the fire as it died down. A rodent scurried through the bushes nearby. One owl hooted at a distance. Otherwise it was all silent, even for insects.

  Manak-na knew the sky contained two sets of stars that looked like snares for small mammals. One was larger than the other. He knew that the tip of the string where the small snare would be tied was the star that never moves. Wisdom put it there for many reasons. It showed travelers where they were, and it helped hunters time their night watches. Two stars on the big snare aligned with the star that never moves. Those stars and the star that never moves, if connected, made a straight line. That straight line revolves around the star that never moves like a rope revolves around a stick in the ground to draw a circle. The tail of the big snare then would point either to the right or left or up or down. Location depended on the time of year. Manak-na knew that when the tail on the big snare pointed down this night, his watch would be finished. He’d then touch Tongip’s shoulder to waken him. Tongip would take over and Manak-na would sleep.

  When Wisdom restored color to the land, they resumed moving north of the river, east to the location of their storage area. Inside the rock structure, Mungum pulled out a hard skin, shaped like a tube, filled with grains. He took half the grains and left the other half. He put the cap back on the tube. It was a very tight fit. He put the grains into a soft leather pouch, pulling the sides up and tying it with a strip of leather. Meanwhile, Gukmor had descended to the river to get water. The men started a small fire in the hearth and made a cooked cereal out of the grains and a tea from some leaves. While the cereal cooked, they added dried fruits. They ate using the small wooden bowls they carried. Then they extinguished the fire and continued on the path.

  Manak-na was having a strange experience. He had been viewed as tall by the People and the Others, but as the only one of the People by birth among the Mol, he was extremely short. The stride of the Mol was significantly longer than his. He had to step more times than they to cover the same distance. It made him wonder how women felt when they trekked. Did they tire faster because they had to take more steps than a man? He’d never entertained such thoughts. He wasn’t really tiring but he had to concentrate to keep up.

  The Mol were as fascinated as Manak-na at the lack of animal life. As they neared the bridge, they began to notice the bamboo leaves were turning yellow and brown. They wondered why, and when they examined the plants they could find no sign of disease, just the poor color. They had not used the area for many, many, many passings of seasons, so they had not been there frequently except to scout for possible threats. In that time, the hardwoods had grown tall and were blocking sunshine from the bamboo.

  When they reached the bridge, they could tell that the area had just been occupied by the smell and the deer remains on the other side of the river. They turned up the same path that Lamul-na and Kai-na had traveled the day before. Instead of travelin
g a half day as the People had, they traveled for many days. The path followed the river after going over a hill. From there, they trekked until they arrived at another river which came from the north. The path followed alongside the river to the north. When they reached the source of that river, they descended to a valley. The path followed the edge of the valley northeast until it met another river that flowed from the north. At that point, the path continued on the east side of the river across another rope bridge that was in disrepair but had both sides holding.

  While they ate dinner at the end of the trail, Manak-na said, “I cannot help but wonder who made this path and who built these bridges.”

  Ghoman said, “Our ancients built them. We don’t have stories like you do, but our history, little as it is, tells of giants in ancient times. Those giants were our ancients. They moved from the north to the south and back, claiming all this land: far north to the huge lake, south to the salt sea, east to the salt sea, and west into these mountains. They built the bridges so they could trade with people in all regions. They were not like us. They didn’t live in caves but spent most of their time traveling from place to place wherever the wildlife went or wherever the climate was most favorable. But they always had the north-south travel on the pathway. Some were fairly sedentary and some were just traders or travelers all the time.”

  “Giants?” Manak-na asked. He was already feeling that the Mol were giants.

  “Well, all we know is that we think we are a lot shorter than they were. When we say giant, it probably means something to one of us and another to someone else. We never really analyzed it,” Ghoman continued, “But they were a lot bigger than we are now. In our language, giant implies great height. We think of the Gar as giants.”

  “What else do you know about them?”

  Ghoman frowned. “They were giants, traveled and traded, and, oh, they let their hair grow long. I’m not sure whether they wore clothing. It was warmer then. There were many of them. Some had flocks of animals, something we stopped doing because it was too hard to tend them when we can just hunt.”