He’d been expecting Agan to cut people back on how much they ate, after all she was supposed to be wise. He’d certainly expected the wolf to be chased out of the cave rather than fed whenever it seemed hungry! They’d been eating the “spirit meat” jerky, at first a little to supplement what they’d caught, then, eventually it became the main meat in their diet. When the hunting hadn’t picked back up, Yadin had looked thoughtfully at the amount of spirit meat they had stored up. He’d decided he was pretty sure it wouldn’t last through the rest of the winter at the rate they’d been eating it.
However, by this point in the winter the tribes he’d been in before would already have been hungry for quite a while. People would be losing weight and worrying about whether someone would get sick and be too weak to fight it off. He thought the Cold Springs tribe was going to get through the winter much better than his tribes had in the past but… if he’d been leading the tribe they would have been cutting back their eating already in order to make sure they had some food to last until spring.
As hands of days had slowly passed, Yadin had begun to worry more and more. He didn’t want to eat well up to a certain point, then suddenly find himself completely starving for the remainder of the winter. He’d never heard of a tribe doing that, but he had a sick feeling that it would be much better to be a little bit hungry for a long time than to have to go completely without food for a moon or two.
He’d watched the stores of food in the cave dwindling day by day with more and more concern until he wanted to shout, “We’re going to run out!” Finally, deciding that he couldn’t trust the supposedly wise Agan to figure out what was going to happen, he’d taken Tando aside. He’d glanced meaningfully over to where the food was stored, then said, “I’m sure you realize that we’re running low on food?”
Tando had looked that way as well, then with an odd expression which looked as if it might even conceal amusement, he’d only said, “There doesn’t seem to be much left, does there?”
Trying not to sound exasperated, Yadin had said, “We should be rationing our food so it’ll last the rest of the winter, otherwise we’ll have absolutely nothing to eat toward the end of winter.” When Tando simply gave him a bland look, he’d continued, “I’d rather be somewhat hungry for two moons, than completely without food for one.”
Tando’d nodded calmly, “So would I.”
Yadin had waited a beat for Tando to say that he’d do something about it, but when that didn’t happen, he said, “Can you talk to Agan?”
Tando had tilted his head curiously, “You’re a member of this tribe, don’t you feel like you can talk to Agan yourself?”
Yadin’d shrugged, “I’m new. I don’t want to be overstepping my bounds or suggesting I know more about running a tribe than she does.”
Tando winked, “I don’t want to suggest that either.” He patted Yadin on the shoulder, “But try not to worry. I think Agan probably has a plan.”
A plan?! Yadin had thought angrily. In the names of all the spirits, what kind of plan can stop the stores of food from running out?!
His thoughts stumbled. Maybe we’re going to eat the wolf?
Being told not to worry hadn’t worked. Now, as he sat there he saw Ontru watching anxiously as Donte picked up the last bundle of spirit meat and took it over to put it in the stew. So, no more meat, he thought. By Yadin’s estimation they had enough roots and beans to last another hand of days. They’d already run out of grain. They had part of a basket of dried grapes and some dried apple slices. So, in five to ten more days they’d have nothing to eat. They’d be down to drinking lots of water and chewing on bits of leather and old furs. He’d been in that situation toward the end of an occasional winter in the past, but it had only been for a few days until a hunt had finally been successful. Yadin had no way to be sure, but he thought it might be more than a moon before they started seeing animals again.
He didn’t know what it would be like to have no food for multiple hands of days. He wondered if perhaps the trapping would pick up before winter was really over. Perhaps Woday and Pell would have some lucky days with the fish traps if the weather was good enough to walk down there to check on them. But, all that’s wishful thinking. It’s going to be horrible! Even if Tando wouldn’t talk to Agan, I should have. He shook his head. How could I have been such a fool!
In the midst of his self-recriminations, Yadin saw Pont struggling to his feet over on the other side of the cave. Pont was pushing up with the forked sticks that Pell had made for him. They seemed simple, just forked sticks that were long enough to reach the ground from Pont’s armpits. The forked end at the armpit was wrapped in furs. Simple or not, their effect was amazing. With a stick in each armpit Pont could use them to hold his weight instead of his broken leg. Using them, the bandy-legged little medicine man could travel almost as fast as a man with two good legs! Of course, when he arrived, he had to sit down to free up his hands before he could do anything, but the freedom he had using the sticks was amazing. No one had to carry out a pot when he moved his bowels or passed his water. In fact, no one even had to help him go outside to do it himself!
Yadin shook his head. Pretty much everyone in the cave had despised Pont at first. No one had really had more reason to hate the little medicine man than Pell, yet Pell had been the one to bring him in, repair his leg, and teach him how to contribute despite his broken leg. After a few intense conversations with Pell, Pont had started doing anything he could to contribute to the tribe, though they had to be things he could do while sitting. At first, he’d assumed that he’d work as a medicine man, but he’d seemed to quickly realize that Agan and Gia were much better with herbs than he was. Instead, he’d learned to stitch together the many small furs in the cave to make blankets, clothing and decorations. He’d become—sometimes exceedingly—polite, asking “please” and thanking people profusely when they helped him or brought him food. He spoke respectfully to everyone and had actually taken time to apologize to each member of the Cold Springs cave for his role in bringing the Oppos’ war-band to attack them.
Yadin couldn’t help but wonder if such an immense transformation was real, or a false front put on for Pont’s own gains. Nonetheless, even Yadin’d come around to feeling as if he kind of liked the little man. With a snort, he thought, I wonder if Pell could talk to Nosset and straighten that bastard out? The rest of the Oppos had headed back home a couple of days after the attack when it’d briefly warmed up again. They’d left Haida and Pont at Cold Springs, another thing that made Yadin uncomfortable.
He’d certainly expected the Cold Springs tribe to object to taking on two invalids right before winter. Two more mouths to feed during the hungry months! Yadin couldn’t help but think about the fact that they’d still have some food if Haida and Pont hadn’t been here eating their share.
Well, and the wolf too.
He tried not to think about the fact that they’d have even more food if Yadin hadn’t been there eating some of it himself.
Pell and his apprentice Woday had spent a great deal of time adjusting the splints on Haida’s arm and Pont’s leg. They’d carved new ones for Haida a couple of times, trying to make something that would fit an arm better. They’d been the ones to nurse Pont at first, bringing him the bowl to void into and taking it out to empty it. Yadin shook his head, still finding it hard to believe how much effort Pell had put into taking care of a man who’d treated him badly as a child, contributed to his being cast out of his tribe as an adolescent, and brought people to kill him as an adult. With an enemy like Pell, who needed friends?
Yadin’d gone with the Cold Springs tribe’s hunters over to help the Aldans do a big-freeze hunt which, to everyone’s delight, had brought down an aurochs. Unfortunately, it’d warmed for a couple of days shortly after the hunt, so Yadin wondered whether the Aldans had succeeded in keeping the aurochs packed in snow until the real cold came. When they’d returned from that hunt, the Cold Springs hunters had gone up on the plateau to do their own big
-freeze hunt, but the animals had mostly moved on by then. The team of hunters had chased a horse for a little while, but it’d gotten away. Yadin had been distraught, but Tando and Pell hadn’t seemed worried.
Yadin sighed, his brain was going in circles. He got up and put on the rabbit fur poncho Pont had made for him. He picked up his spear. Maybe if I go out for a while, it’ll clear my head. Even to himself he didn’t admit the ridiculous hope floating in his subconscious… that he might find something to hunt out in the snowy landscape.
On his way out, he encountered Woday and Gurix snuggled together against the cold, kissing. Yadin still saw Gurix look yearningly at Pell on occasion, but she seemed to have decided on Woday and to be happy with it.
Looking at Woday, Yadin didn’t think the man knew what’d hit him.
Yadin didn’t get back to the cave until the sun had set and the sky was beginning to dim. He’d seen a snow hare in the distance and scared up a grouse wearing its white winter plumage, neither of which he’d had a chance at. However, it was more than he’d seen the last few times he’d been out. Though it was cold, the wind was still, so tramping around hadn’t been too oppressive. He tried to hope that winter might be fading, but knew in his heart it wasn’t.
When he’d given up and started back for the Cold Springs cave, he’d started thinking about whether they could send Haida and Pont back to the Oppos. They both seemed to be healing and their limbs were well aligned. Both of them were capable of traveling on a day like the one Yadin had just been out in, though Pont’s crutches didn’t do well in snow.
Unfortunately, it was too late. If they were going to send the two men away, it should have been long ago, before almost all the food was gone. In addition, the Oppos had little reason to feel responsible for Pont, though Yadin felt sure they would take Haida back. Haida looked like he’d be a good hunter again by summertime. Nonetheless, the Oppos had to have been on short rations and getting thin for quite a while now. Yadin had to believe they wouldn’t take kindly to having a well fed man show up and expect to share their meager rations with them.
Even though Yadin liked Haida, he’d still have argued to throw the man out and force him to hike to the Oppos if he’d thought it would keep the Cold Springs tribe from going hungry long enough to make a difference. If we live through the rest of this winter, I swear I’ll take a more active role in rationing the food next winter! He wondered if he should make a push to become the leader.
Yadin pulled the flap back over the cave mouth and stepped inside to wait for his eyes to adjust to the dim light.
He heard Boro’s voice excitedly say, “Yadin’s back!”
An eager murmur rose from the tribe. Yadin began to see in the dim light. The tribe seemed to be gathered near the sleeping campfire, but all the bedding straw which had covered the floor in that area had been swept up and piled to one side. Several people were sitting on the big cushiony pile.
Yadin tilted his head curiously. The tribe had taken all the bedding straw out and replaced it shortly before everything got really snowy. Apparently Agan had them change their bedding straw fairly frequently to get rid of the vermin that lived in it. But at this time of year, they wouldn’t be able to find straw to replace it so, as he walked over; he wondered why they’d swept it up.
Agan spoke from atop the big pile of straw, “Finally! Everyone’s here so we can have our little surprise.”
Yadin looked around seeing excited anticipation on the oldest members of the Cold Springs tribe and complete mystification on the faces of Woday, Ontru, Gurix, Boro, Haida and Pont—those who were relative newcomers like himself. Essentially the newcomers seemed to have no idea what was going on. Perhaps this was some kind of celebration the Cold Springs tribe had only rarely so that only the old-timers had been around long enough to know about it?
Gia stood and walked to the fire, holding her little lamp high in the air. Silence fell over the crowd as it became obvious that a ceremony was in progress. Gia knelt before the fire and dipped a long splinter in the flames. She used that splinter to light her lamp, then waited calmly until it was burning well.
Gia stood, turned slowly, and gracefully walked back into the depths of darkness on the far side of the cave. There, Yadin could tell from the flickering glow outlining her in the light of her lamp that she’d knelt again. She stood, holding something in her left hand, and walked slowly back out into the main cave stopping at the edge of the sleeping area. She stood, straight as an arrow, lit by the glow of her lamp while silence continued to reign in the cave.
Just when Yadin thought his curiosity would burst, Agan intoned a brief chant. Then she said, “We ask that the new members of the Cold Springs tribe move over to stand with Gia.” After a moment’s pause when nobody moved, Agan began calling out names. She’d started with Ontru who stood and moved over to stand by Gia. Eventually she’d called out, one by one, all of the people who’d appeared mystified when Yadin had been looking around earlier. Yadin took his place, standing a couple of people down from Gia. He glanced to see what it was that Gia had in her hand and realized she held a couple of aurochs shoulder blades, like one might use for digging. Next he looked around to see if anyone appeared to have any better idea than he did about what was going on. They all appeared completely bewildered. I can’t believe they’re wasting time on this crap when we’re all about to starve!
Agan said, “Gia?”
Gia stepped out in front of them and took the two scapula shovels to the person on each end of the line. “We’d like you to dig down about a hand’s depth along this line,” she scraped a line in the dirt with her toe.
There were some spluttered, “Whats,” and “Whys?”
“A little ceremony, welcoming you into one of the secrets of the tribe. Trust me, you’ll be happy you did when you’re finished.”
There was a moment when they all stood stock still, but then they all knelt and began digging. Most worked with their hands while waiting their turn with the scapulas. Haida couldn’t do a lot with just one hand, but he did what he could.
To his astonishment, when Yadin got his turn, the scapula quickly hit something hard. When he scraped at it, it proved to be a log. Looking to the right and the left he saw that everybody was uncovering the ends of logs, a long row of them. Glancing up, he saw excited looks on the faces of those who’d been Cold Springs members for a long time.
It didn’t take terribly long to clear the dirt off of what appeared to be a buried raft, though Yadin couldn’t fathom why anyone would have buried a raft, nor why they would think it an important ceremony to dig up a raft in the middle of winter when no one could ride it on the river anyway. Then they heaved one end of the raft up out of the ground and Pell propped it there with another log.
Gia moved in with her lamp, shining light so that they could see down into a large hole beneath the raft. At first, Yadin had no idea what he was looking at, but then he recognized stacks of baskets. The same kinds of baskets that the Cold Springs tribe kept their grain, beans, and roots in! Yadin couldn’t know that they’d buried it against the possibility of a raid by another tribe, nor that they had other hidden stores.
Pell stepped down into the pit and handed a large leather bundle up to Yadin. At first he wondered what it could be, but then he saw a stick of spirit meat poking out of the corner.
Pell handed him another bundle.
Realization dawned then as Yadin wonderingly surveyed the wealth of food that the Cold Springs people had buried in the pit. It was a wrenching moment when he realized he wasn’t going to go hungry this winter after all.
Donte stepped around the pit to hug him—hard. She leaned up to give him a kiss.
A glance at the others who’d helped him dig up the raft showed glazed looks all around.
Several were wiping at tears of ecstatic relief.
The End
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Author’s
Afterword
This is a comment on the “science” in this science fiction novel (many would consider this “prehistoric fiction,” but as an important part of this story is the discovery of new—to them—technology, I think it also fits into science fiction). I’ve always been partial to science fiction that posed a “what if” question. Instead Bonesetter 2 -winter- poses “maybe” and “how” kinds of questions in regards to how things might have been worked out in ancient times.
Surely geniuses like Einstein, Newton, Galileo, Da Vinci and Pythagoras have not merely graced the human race since the onset of recorded history. What innovations might such a brilliant mind have been responsible for back in prehistoric times?
When most of us think of fishing, we think of lines and hooks, but many primitive peoples use various fish traps. Even now, most shellfish are caught in traps.
In the Stone Age, hand axes were plentiful. Adding a simple thing like a handle allows you to strike harder. Much harder. It must’ve been an innovation that would have brought expressions of “eureka!”
Preserving food had to have been a huge advancement for primitive people. How did they learn to do it?
And of course, humans have always looked for ways to help the sick and injured. Unfortunately, all too often they’ve been unsuccessful or fastened on things that didn’t actually help (bloodletting etc.).
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the editing and advice of Nora Dahners, Elene Trull, Gail Gilman, Mike Alsobrook, Hamilton Elliott Kat Lind, Jan Mattei and Abiola Streete, each of whom significantly improved this story.
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