“She was the light of my life, now my days are dark and filled with gloom.” The boy looked at his father and felt the tears welling, “Yes. Now everything has changed, hasn’t it? She will never know that we finally found the perfect home that she wanted for so long.” They had followed the mastodon for many days, tracking the huge bull through the heavy drifts as it wandered in search of food. The winter was becoming severe and the long grasses had been buried deep. The blowing white storm was upon them when they stumbled into the deep protected valley within the tree covered slopes of the high hills. The bull had come this way, and the clan pressed on, near starvation from the long trek from the north.

It was cold that first night for it had been too dark to erect shelter from the fallen limbs that abounded from the high winds of the storm and they huddled around the big fire that the leader, Wan-tan’ye, had started with his flints when they could no longer find the bull’s tracks in the snow. The storm had blown itself out by morning however and the early dawn sunlight came over the hills to the east and once again they went hunting; and a half mile down the valley they found their prey.

He stood knee deep in the creek where he had fallen through the ice, head hanging, the massive ivory tusks gleaming in the bright morning light. Wan-tan’ye raised a hand and said, “There is our salvation, if we can kill him.” The boy, shivering with the cold and near the point of total exhaustion, did not believe the men could take down the mighty creature, knowing that they were as weak as he and the other children and women, and a deep fear overtook him as he watched the men advance on the mastodon, shaking the shaggy head madly at their intrusion.

The bull broke free of the ice and charged up the slope to meet them, a wild anger taking control, hunger forgotten in sudden bloodlust. The holy man, Si’ Si’ Ne, threw his spear as the bull cleared the lip of the creek-bank, and screamed horribly as he was caught up in the long curved tusks and thrown aside. He-who-talks- with-the-gods was now truly among them. Wan-tan’ye was the next to die as he fell beneath a massive hoof and was crushed, then Sho’hi and Klurak rammed their long flint headed spears into the beast from either side as it hurled past them intent on stomping to death the rest of the clan.  Three of the warriors shot arrows into its eyes as it turned on the two men, slashing wildly with the tusks and bellowing with the powerful trunk in a desperate attempt to summon help of his kind. Then the entire clan was upon him, thrusting the long flint points deep into his flesh and majestic heart.

They butchered the beast on the spot, half of the clan dragging poles and tree limbs from the deep timber for the shelters they must erect before the night came upon them. A fire was kindled from the embers that still smoldered at their first rough camp and a large amount of meat was then cooked by the women to stave off the savage hunger that was killing the people. Nearly half of the small clan had perished on the long trail to the southlands.

The days drifted by with the snows that came over them as they huddled in the drafty shelters. Though they were covered with the hide of the mastodon and each had a large central fire burning the cold was intense as the temperature sank to forty below.

The boy would be nine when the summer came. He was curious and bright and wanted his father to tell him all he could of the home they had left behind when the ice sent them to this new land. “Why do you want to know of a place we can never return to, my son?” “So I can tell my own sons, and they theirs in their time.” Kesa nodded, and so told all the children at the fire through that long bitter winter of their past and where they had come from. The clan began to look to him for guidance in all things, and unanimously elected him their new leader as the snows began to melt away.

The meat was nearly gone. Sho’hi and Kesa, along with Klurak and Ho’Leh-Na-He went along the creek to a faint trail that led up over the steep hillside and here found the mark of a wolf and several deer prints in the soft earth. Klurak looked up from where he knelt over the path, “We follow the wolf and we’ll find the meat he hunts.” All agreed with him. Kesa said, “Yes, and we’ll find the rest of the pack also, when he makes the kill. I hope there are pups; maybe we can tame a few. It would make our lives a lot easier to have them help in the hunt.” The few wolves they had with them on the trek had succumbed to the cold and died on the journey. The clan had tamed wolves for as long as Kesa remembered when the opportunity arose for they were great guardians and hunters, though being ferocious and vicious killers that could be trusted narrowly. The children loved them.

The boy, Jasha’Nay, wanted to go along but had been told he was still too young and the irritation caused by this insult to his pride caused him and three of his companions to follow at a safe distance. How were they to learn if they couldn’t accompany the adult warriors? Tre’Lok-Ta, Cholla and Mnet’ke’s fathers would beat them but Jasha’Nay was relatively certain he would escape rash punishment; he and his father had become very close in the absence of the man’s wife, his mother.

That first week of warmth was welcomed by everyone in the clan, and the boys ran through the woods dressed in light skins and moccasins, carrying the small bows and arrows they had learned to make by watching the grown men at their tasks. Two of them carried short spears as well, and Jasha’Nay had remembered to bring a skin of water along.

“We can get up now; they have gone over the ridge.” The boys clambered silently from their hiding places and followed their young leader up the densely wooded slope in quiet pursuit of the adults.

 Cholla said, “This new home of ours is truly a wooded wonderland, is it not?” Mnet’ke replied, “That has a good sound. I like it. We should name this place Wooded Wonderland.” Tre’Lok-Ta said, “Quiet! Something is in the brush ahead of us!” The lion had been watching them approach for several minutes, the drool dripping from the long saber teeth in hungry anticipation.

Kesa and the others had climbed down into the long ravine after they bagged the small buck in pursuit of their quarry and there ahead of them saw the opening of a cave. He held up a hand and they gathered around him, “It looks like the wolf has led us to his lair. We may have to kill the big male and his female if there are pups, unless they are yearlings freshly weaned themselves. Ready?” They had gathered strong vines in the descent which they would use to capture and tie the animals; once they were in control and the creatures submissive they would drag them back to camp after securing the jaws. One slash of even a pup’s teeth and a man could quickly be bled dry.

Jasha’Nay wished suddenly he had listened to his father… Mnet’ke screamed horribly then stopped the wail abruptly as the saber-tooth cat dragged his friend away into the dense brush. The small arrows the three of them had shot into the brute had no adverse affect on the creature, barely piercing the thick hide, which it shook off as it ran in and grabbed Mnet’ke, taking his entire head in the massive jaws and darting off. Tre’Lok-Ta said, “His father is going to kill us!” Jasha’Nay said, “So is mine. What are we going to do?” “This was your idea! You tell me!”

They were beaten severely at the camp that night when the men returned with four wolf cubs and the carcass of the deer. His father looked at the boy sorrowfully once inside their small shelter, “I told you to stay in the camp! I hope you are not going to make me beat you again; it causes me even more pain than you receive!” The boy rolled over on his mangy fur bedding to relieve the agony of the large welts on his back, “I understand father. It will not happen again.” A few short months passed and then he was nine.

Several dozen giant bison wandered into the valley, along with their calves when the middle of summer was near, and the clan turned out in force to run them to ground in the bog near the end of the flats. They needed the meat, but the hides and tendons also must be salvaged for clothing and shelter covers. The bones were left in the bog.

 Deer hides were better for clothing, soft and supple when the women had finished chewing it, but the bison made better footwear and tents, being nearly three times the thickness. Jasha’Nay’s toes had come through the moccasins he wore and he hung around the women who were stitching the heavy leather with sinews begging for new ones. A young lady who was fond of Kesa took him under her wing and had him sit nearby. She would make the footwear to fit his feet like a second skin, the sole of bison and the foot and laced legging of the softer doeskin, which rose to just under the boy’s knees. Finished and fitting nicely, she had him remove them and commenced to apply a little fancy beadwork. They became great friends during this process, and the boy spoke often of his departed mother, missing her intensely. Che’Na said, “Your father misses her too, Jasha. He seems very sad.” “I wish you could be my mother, Che’Na. You are very nice to me.” She wished she could too, and having no man as of yet, she set out to win the chief’s heart through kindness to his son. She was tall and slim and her long wavy raven hair and sultry dark eyes complimented her lustrous golden skin; she had been told often that she was a pretty girl, but in truth she was a beauty. Kesa came to her father’s lodge to thank her for the boy’s new footwear one evening a few days after the boy showed them to him. He was ten years her senior but couldn’t help the attraction he felt for the young maiden. Her smile was radiant as he held her strong young hand over-long in the thanking…

Her father Chekne’Wa noticed this and strolled through the camp with Kesa when he left. “Your woman has been gone a long time now.” “Yes. The boy needs someone; a mother to care for him. I should find another wife.” Chekne’Wa spoke with diplomacy, “Perhaps my daughter would suit you; she is a very hard worker, and as you have seen can stitch and sew. She is also a fine cook, and excels at the tanning of leather. I have been told many times of her nice features; after all, she is not fat or of a spindly nature as well, and has good strong teeth.” “I am a poor man.” “You can owe me. She will be the wife of a chief; that is more than I had hoped for.” Kesa took his hand in a firm grip, “When can I have her?” The man said, “Take her with you now.”

Wan-tan’ye had been laid to rest in a log enclosure sitting up with his back to the four-foot wall facing south and this had then been covered with earth. Fifteen feet higher up the tall mound another small chamber was laid and Si’ Si’ Ne accompanied the chief to the spirit world. Ten feet atop this an altar was built in a log structure open to the four winds where friends could do honor to the departed. As more of the clan passed they were buried along the base of the mound and the mound grew in diameter but the height remained the same.

Kesa and the lovely maiden were united forever in marriage in the structure with the entire clan present; after he decided to keep the girl.

The following summer their daughter was born and was such a pretty little thing they named her Flowering Vine. Jasha’Nay had wished for a brother, but came to love the child eventually. Cholla and he and Tre’Lok-Te ran wild in the wooded slopes above the camp, which with the erection of the mound had become their permanent village. They were not permitted to go farther for a number of cave bear had been seen and there was that hungry saber-tooth to watch for. A herd of mastodon had taken up residence two miles down the valley and sometimes they would hike down to watch them while they grazed. A large group of bison mixed freely with them in the lush grasses.

There was always good fresh meat at the fire, but the wolves that fed off the herds were numerous as well and prone to attack a person if that one were off by him or herself. Sashi had been taken by some evil creature as she laundered her clothing in the creek the last part of springtime.

The boys paused above the seep coming out of the hillside. Cholla whispered, “There; you see him?” The bear was quenching his thirst in the runoff, a grizzled ugly brute weighing nearly a thousand pounds, the matted fur displaying evidence of mange from living in the dark damp underground caverns beneath the hills. Tre’Lok-Te said, “Let’s take him.” The others looked at him as if he had gone mad.

Then they thought of how the girls would smile at them if they were lucky enough to take the bear down and bring home the hide and head, and they checked their weapons. They each now possessed adult bows, sharp arrows and spears that flew true and good flint blades. They were also equipped with great courage, daring, and a sense of adventure. That they could die in the attempt was a matter that never crossed their minds; they were already warriors deep inside their twelve year old hearts. They crept through the timber…

The cave bear stood well over eleven feet when the brute caught scent of them and rose to put his nose in the wind, massive head swiveling finally directly to the boys; then it dropped onto all four and crashed through the underbrush, an insane roar issuing from the drooling jaws.

They bravely stood their ground as the earth shaking behemoth rapidly came within range of their arrows, then let them fly and ran like the night demons were after them, not waiting to see the result. Forty feet up the slope Jasha turned and crouched, setting the butt of his spear firmly into the loam and he held it tightly in great agitation as the monster closed the gap. Then it was upon him…

Cholla and Tre’Lok-Te turned and continued to loose arrows at the creature as the beast bore down on their friend and leaped through the air to close the distance, then stopped abruptly as the shaft splintered and the ten inch flint head of the spear deftly slid between the deadly paws and into the huge breast, piercing the heart and bringing death almost immediately. The bear’s great weight carried it on and it fell directly upon the young Jasha’Nay, the force nearly taking the boy along with the spirit of the beast as it flew to the skies. Cholla slapped Tre’Lok-Te, “Run! Get the men! We must get the bear off him before Jasha dies! It is much too heavy for us alone; hurry!” Tre’Lok-Te ran.

Cholla forced the brutish head and left paw from Jasha’Nay and propped it up several inches so his friend could take air and asked, “Are you going to die?” “If you don’t get this stinking bear off of me I may! I don’t feel my legs… it’s hard to breathe…” Then he became quiet as death and Cholla began to shake with fear; he was going to get beaten for this, he just knew it! This was his second friend killed by the monsters that roamed the valley and him with them! He would be known as Bad Luck Cholla! He began to cry and moan and beat upon the grass in despair… Jasha’Nay whispered, “What ails you Cholla? I’m the one stuck under the animal!”

The people of the village arrived and quickly rescued the young brave and, finding him none the worse for his foolish act of courage other than a ragged claw slash across his breast, put him on the shoulders of two warriors and carried him back to the camp, the rest of the folk skinning the hide from and boning out the bear. A great feast was held that night in the valley; the boy had become the man. Cholla and Tre’Lok-Te were elevated also; nine arrows in the thick hide showed clearly that they too had stood with their friend. Che’Na cleansed the four slashes and bound the boy with strips of doeskin after packing the wound with clean moss and tiny ferns that were loaded with natural antiseptic qualities. “What made you turn and face the bear instead of running with your friends?” “Girls… see how they look at me now?” “You little devil! So you think of the girls already huh?” “I like when they smile at me…” “I would wager that you would! Are you ready? We must go to the fire; you will be given your new name tonight, and Kesa has already chosen it for you. Come along…”

The entire village was dancing around the fire when they arrived from the shelter. A great cheer went up when they saw the boy, and Cholla and Tre’Lok-Te ran to stand beside the young hero, displaying most of their teeth in the wide grins they wore. Cholla asked, “Can you feel your legs yet?” “Yes; they are fine. The weight of the bear must have slowed the blood to them and caused them to sleep. I’m all right now. Let’s join the dance!” Hey-nah-hey-hey he…hey–nah–hey-hey-he… Kesa stopped the dance with upheld arms, “My friends! Today my son has shown us he is a man. From this day on he shall be known as Bear Heart!” He handed the bloody object to Jasha’Nay, “Eat!”

Jasha took the gore-covered heart and bit off a large portion and began to chew, and handed it to Cholla. Kesa again held up his arms to quiet the people, “Cholla has shown he is a faithful and true friend; he shall be known as Sek-sek Wanto!” The cheer went up as Sek-sek Wanto passed the slippery chunk of meat to Tre’Lok-Te who ripped it in half with his large teeth and grinned at the assemblage through the blood. “Wind Runner! You are now a man!” The dance resumed, and the young girls ran through and around the young men, tempting and teasing and laughing in the great fun of it all… Bear smiled at Sek-sek and Wind, “Now we hunt with the warriors!”

Two years rapidly passed in the lush gardens of Wooded Wonderland. The entire tribe had come to call the place this name, in the memory of Mnet’ke lest he be forgotten.

 Bear, Wind, and Sek-sek had never ceased the hunt for the saber-tooth that had taken him, and saw the half-bear half-lion’s tracks nearly every day but no actual sighting of the creature was to be had. The massive paw prints led them one fateful day to a rocky ledge far down the streambed where Sek-sek spotted an opening in the wall of rock. “Say, that animal may have a lair in that cave; shall we go in and see if the monster is home?” Bear said, “From the looks of that tree near the entrance we have found him. What do you say Wind Runner?” Wind had been studying the claw marks high up the trunk of the tree, “He must be nearly a dozen feet standing. His paw is as wide as my two hands. We’d better go in and kill him.” Bear Heart slid an arrow from the quiver and nodded, “I get the teeth…” Wind would take the hide; Sek-sek wanted the deadly claws for a necklace so that his friend Mnet’ke would always be near to his heart.  They made torches, filled their water bags, and entered the darkness.

Immediately upon crawling into the cave the stench of rotting meat assailed them, and the weak light of the torches showed them a floor that was strewn with bones; among them the skull, ribcage and thigh bones of the missing girl, Sashi, and what could only be the ripped apart skeleton of Mnet’ke as well as the remains of many other creatures of varying size. “Bear; we don’t leave until it’s dead, right?” He glanced from the skull of their friend, the marks of the huge teeth plain on the dome, to Sek-sek, “Yes. Him or us.” Wind said quietly, “Him or us,” and they entered a side shaft and began the hunt in earnest.

“Listen!” There it was again; the angry growl somewhere far ahead down another narrow tunnel that water ran through the center of, creating a treacherous pathway through the stygian gloom. Wind’s torch burned nearly to a stub and they stopped while he got another dead branch burning and had a small sip of water and a handful of the dried meat and berries. When they resumed the cat could be heard ahead of them, sharpening his claws on the rocks.

The sound echoed slightly and Bear said, “I think we’re coming to a chamber; be very cautious my friends, or we may end up scattered down here like the rest of the bones!”

They had carried more than a dozen of the long pieces of deadwood in with them, and as they entered the large cavern Wind kindled a small fire. Here they would use the rocks for cover as one of them stayed near the light to entice the cat out of the darkness, and with much luck the other two would slay him. The beast was near, the scent of them driving it mad, and the growling was intense and very loud in the confined area of the cave. Bear grinned; he had wanted that cat for a long time! He whispered, “Find your positions; I will tend the fire.” Sek-sek and Wind Runner hid amongst the boulders and waited, as Bear crouched near the flames with his back to the light to keep his eyes tuned to the dark and the advent of the beast… yes… here he comes… the claws dragged over the rocks not ten feet away! With a ferocious roar it leaped… and was hit from both sides with the arrows launched from the hidden pair. Bear, jumping sideways, slashed wildly with his blade, burying it deep in the throat of the monster. Then all three of them were upon it, thrusting the sharp blades time after time into the body of their enemy. After an interminable amount of time           the struggle was over and the beast lay dead. Bear threw several more small chunks of wood on the fire, which had been scattered in the melee and when the light was bright enough saw Sek-sek lying under the great weight of the cat, his eyes searching for and finding his friend. “Bear Heart… the cat is very heavy… I can’t breathe…” He and Wind Runner grabbed the blood soaked fur of the animal and dragged it off as fast as they could and then saw the big ragged hole the rear claws of the killer had ripped in their faithful companion’s belly and the torn intestines littering the blood-soaked floor. He would never make it out of the cave. As he died he whispered, “Don’t forget; I get the claws…” Wind Runner moaned and kicked the dead animal savagely, then fell upon it and began hacking the huge paws from it; they would be buried with his friend and the hide too. He wanted no part of it any longer! Bear nodded; it was righteous… but he would have those fangs! One of them had gone through the fleshy part of his thigh but the bleeding stopped by the time they had peeled the cat and rolled Sek-sek into the wet fur and began to carry him back to the light of day. They gathered the other human remains when they got to the front of the cave too and carried them all outside and piled them with Sek-sek on the fur. It was now much too bulky to carry back to the village. Wind Runner said, “Let’s burn them.”

They dragged all of their friend’s remains down out of the rocks to a pile of trees blown down several years before and Bear said, “Here. That wood is tinder-dry,” and they placed them carefully and piled more of the wood on and around them and Wind struck his flints together.

Bear Heart and Wind Runner watched it burn down then walked through the char looking for anything that had not burned away and found nothing but the swirling ashes stirred by their moccasins. Wind had suffered several cuts from the claws of the cat but they were not life-threatening, and the pair of them sadly limped off through the timber after asking the Great Spirit to gather the souls of their friends and watch over them.

Sek’s family and the rest of the village were not going to be happy with the news of his passing, but many would rejoice the ending of the saber-toothed beast that took Mnet’ke and young Sashi away from them.

Flowering Vine was now seven years old and a very pretty young girl. Bear was not amused by her antics; “Vine, come down from that tree before you fall and hurt yourself!” “But, Bear; there are vines in all the trees!” “Do you want me to beat you?” “You better not; I’ll tell mama!” “Come down then!” “No! I can see the whole valley…Bear, there is a big monster coming!” “Sure there is… come on; jump; I’ll catch you.” “But there is a big monster coming! Look!” A bull mammoth had found his way into the village from the north. Bear Heart grabbed up his weapons and yelled for Kesa and Ho’Leh-Na-He and Klurak heard the call and joined them at the edge of the clearing. Kesa said, “We’ll try to herd the beast down the valley away from the village and the children. Bear; can you entice the bull in that direction? We’ll get behind and push him with our spears.” Bear nodded and ran out to face the huge mammoth and began to jump and yell and wave his spear. The bull had no liking for these small creatures that had been so bothersome of late and lowered his head and charged. The young warrior laughed and turned and ran down the creek; there was a level area several hundred feet away that he knew would be a good place to face the behemoth and slaughter him.

He ran, but the mighty bull moved very fast for his bulk and soon caught up to him and slashed out with the long nose and knocked the lad from his feet, throwing him far to the side where he landed in the boughs of a spruce and fell to the ground. Several other braves had joined Kesa and the others as the bull thundered through the village and they quickly surrounded the creature to prevent it from trampling Bear Heart as he lay there stunned. The boy recovered quickly however, and jumped to his feet and ran in and threw his spear. A lucky throw, it pierced the flesh of the bull’s shoulder, then the others closed with the massive hair-covered animal and began to lance it anywhere they found an opportunity. Soon nearly everyone in the village had arrived and even the smallest child was throwing sticks and stones. Chekne’Wa and Ho’Leh-Na-He went in under the flailing trunk and slammed their spears into the breast of the beast and it reared in pain, trying desperately to dislodge its tormentors, dragging them up off the ground as it rose as they had not released their grip on the shafts of the long spears. Too late they realized their peril and let go but the crazed animal dropped down and caught both of them under the wide flat feet and all of the great animal’s weight landed on the men and crushed the life from them. Bear Heart grabbed hold of the bull’s hide and climbed swiftly to the high back and inched his way forward; then, near the great floppy ears, he rammed his spear through the eye and into the brain and the bull sank slowly to the ground. He rode it down. Kesa and the other men had dragged the mashed bodies from under the slain brute, and Bear Heart joined them in the circle surrounding their fallen comrades and stood looking at the pooling blood beneath them. “There has to be an easier way, father.”

A young maiden came near to them carrying Flowering Vine, who was very curious about the monster; after all, she was the one who saw it and warned the village! “Did you see, Fawn? My brother killed the monster! Isn’t he wonderful?” Fawn had thought so for a considerable amount of time. That was why she watched over the child for her cousin… to be near the brave handsome young warrior. She was much too shy to even look him in the eye though, and had never exchanged words with him. At fifteen she was nearly grown, almost a woman, and becoming a little more beautiful with each day that passed. Many of the younger men had noticed, but not the one the maiden’s young heart yearned for. So sad, that the two men had been killed… “Take me to see Bear Heart, Fawn!” “Oh, he’s much too busy just now, Vine! Again he is a hero to the people; look how they admire him!” The child saw; she admired him too! “How come you don’t like him Fawn? You never talk to him at the fire! You never dance with him!” The girl wondered herself, for she knew that no other boy could capture her imagination such as Bear had done, “I don’t think he has ever taken notice of me, Vine. I’m just someone who watches over his little sister for Che’Na; of no importance. He is famous for his exploits, and all the pretty girls are always around him.” “Not all of them; you are much prettier than any of them and you know it!” The girl blushed and said, “Now Vine, I am not! I’m plain, not pretty at all. Mother has told me often enough…” “She just says that so you won’t look for a man!” Fawn focused her sparkling gray eyes on the child, wondering if the babe was correct in her viewpoint. She knew that Flowering Vine was very smart for her age, and that the child missed very little of what went on in the village. “It doesn’t matter; he doesn’t like me or he would have said something.” She felt very sad… “I am going to take you back to the village. Che’Na will be worried.”

Bear saw them as he slid from the beast’s back, and had taken several inconspicuous looks at the girl holding Vine as he spoke with the men, and when she turned and headed back to the village he felt like running after her… she was so beautiful! He thought; she won’t even look at me though… I wonder why. Does she think I am ugly or something?

Later that evening as the sun sank over the wooded paradise he sat with Kesa and Che’Na and Vine and the precocious child began to torment him as was her habit, “I know something you don’t know, Bear!” “You do, huh? And what is that, little thorn in my side?” “Somebody likes you!” “Oh. And who is this person; somebody I know?” “I won’t tell you!” He got up and left the fire to get away from the irritation and strolled through the dark village, stopping now and then at a fire to talk a little, but never staying long. That child! Why she liked to tease him like she always did he would never understand…

He walked down by the creek to watch the light of the full moon on the rippling water and sat on a fallen log. Seconds later he thought he heard a girl crying somewhere nearby and got up to see if someone was hurt or something… “Hey girl, what are you doing down here by yourself? There are wolves and other dangers here in the forest!” “I don’t care if they kill me!” Bear climbed through the brush and stooped down and took her by the arms and lifted her to her feet, “That’s no way to talk! What’s wrong? Is it those who lost their lives today?” She couldn’t speak; it was him! “Why, it’s Fawn! Come on girl; let me take you back to the village…” He took her hand and led her through the dense undergrowth and helped her cross the creek and climb the bank, and kept her warm little hand in his as they walked the path from the gardens. She was still crying… he stopped and turned her to face him and studied her in the bright light of the moon. “I’ve never seen a girl so beautiful. Fawn, why don’t you ever speak to me or stay at my parent’s lodge when I’m around? You always rush off, and I have wanted you to be my friend for a very long time. Don’t you like me?” She ducked her head down and felt a flush of giddiness; “But I do! I just thought…” He put a finger under her dainty chin and lifted her head; he wanted to kiss her very bad, “Thought what?” “All the other girls…” “They mean nothing to me. You’re the one that walks though my dreams every time I sleep, and every day I watch for you, and every day when I see you I feel a huge yearning for you to be like we are right now; together, hand in hand under a full moon.” She was looking deep into his eyes and the full moon was reflected in her gray orbs and shone in the tears on her downy cheeks. “You are in all of my dreams too, Bear Heart! But I felt that you never saw me; that I was like a ghost in your presence!” “Will the beautiful ghost please kiss me?” She threw her slender arms around his neck and leaped into his embrace.

They walked and talked for hours down the long valley and spoke of their dreams and laughed at how childish each had been about the other, and stopped often to taste the sweet kisses they now shared. It was late when he took her home, and her father was standing before the lodge with several other men, “We were just about to go hunting for you, Fawn! Where have you been?” Bear, always brave, spoke up, “She has been with me, Broken Arm. No harm has come to her. I would like your permission to see her again. Often. If you don’t mind…” Broken Arm looked from one to the other. Saw how their hands were linked… the boy was the strongest and most courageous of the tribe, and the son of the chief… “I believe that can be arranged. Speak to her mother about it tomorrow.” Fawn ran to her father and hugged him, tremendously happy, and kissed him quickly and went back to her man and hugged him right there in front of all of them; she had made her choice, and, so it appeared, had the warrior Bear Heart. Her father nodded and smiled at them; she had done well.

When the early dawn crept down the valley Vine was sitting out in front of the lodge with her straw doll. She was waiting for her brother to rise so she could find out why he had stayed out so late the night before. She hoped he hadn’t taken a liking for one of the village girls; she wanted to get him and Fawn together, loving them both like she did. Why couldn’t they see each other?! She was just a small child, yet she knew they belonged together… the finest girl and the finest boy in the tribe! She was determined.

Her brother came from the lodge to get water for the stewpot and she grabbed his arm, “Where were you last night that you came in so late? Were you hunting the raccoon?” He shook her off, “Well, it’s none of your affair, but I met a girl and we walked the valley in the moonlight.” “Do you love her?” He laughed. “Love? Why, I think I do! I have for a long time.” Vine almost started crying she felt so bad, “But Bear! What about the one I told you about?” “You mean the one you wouldn’t tell me about?” “Yes! What about her?” “You never told me who she was, little one.” “It’s Fawn! I think she really likes you, but she’s so shy!” He picked her up and hugged her, and started walking toward Broken Arm’s residence. “Where are we going, Bear?” “You’ll see pretty soon. Isn’t it a nice day today?” She nodded but frowned thoughtfully; this was where Fawn lived!

Fawn and her mother came out of the lodge at Bear’s polite cough and the girl instantly went to Vine and took her from her brother’s arms, “Hello Vine! Who is the handsome boy you have with you?” Vine narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the girl, and then began to smile at what she saw on the girl’s face that was mirrored on her brother’s. She said impishly, “Were you walking in the moonlight last night Fawn?” “Yes. With the boy I love. Mother, Bear Heart has something to ask of you…”

Flowering Vine was so happy she couldn’t contain herself and bubbled over with questions. She wanted all the details; this was her idea!

The wolves were four years old and several others had been caught as pups and raised along with them. They had mated and there were now sixteen of them, nearly tame. With its own wolf pack the tribe began to range farther and marked the boundaries of their land. Other tribes had moved into the area and peace, desirable by all, would only be kept if the boundaries were respected. The giant ground sloth, forest bison, mastodon and mammoth, deer, raccoon and fish on the lands fed them well, the cave bear, saber-tooth, and dire wolf their only nemesis other than the twelve foot rattlesnake that was everywhere one trod.

Snake That Walks got up from where he had been hiding after the couple was out of vision and sighed; that girl was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. He began to make plans for stealing her as he strode off through the timber. Later that day, well prepared for an extended stay in the deep woods, he crouched in the rocks above the blue clay deposit where the people had dug out the material to fashion their cooking pots and water jars. Once fired, the clay became nearly indestructible and could withstand water and heat and take pigments for decorations. He had found evidence of their handiwork, in the broken shards that lay near where the people made their pottery and knew it was the task of the young women, and here he waited…

 Two days passed uneventfully and then he saw two girls coming toward the clay deposit and grinned; she was one of them. They were knee-deep in the creek pulling the slippery wet material from the bank where the water had exposed it when he made his presence known by leaping down from above them, swinging his war club. The hapless girl he did not want took a blow to the head and fell and then he had the pretty one held tight in his grasp; she would not escape! Quickly binding the thoroughly frightened maiden, Snake threw her over his shoulder and made off through the timber…

The stunned young lady, nearly drowned from lying in the water, made her way to the bank and weakly climbed to her feet and ran to the village where she spotted Kesa and started screaming; “Fawn has been taken!”

The warriors gathered around Fawn’s friend Lisha to hear what information she had and Bear became very angry when the girl described what she had seen of her attacker; “He wore his hair in the fashion of the woodlands to the east and was dressed much like we are, in deer skins. His ugly face was painted black around the eyes. That is all I know.” He ran to his father’s lodge and gathered his weapons. “Wait son! Ten of us will go after them.” Bear said, “No; she is mine. I go alone,” and ran off down the valley. Once at the clay deposit he began to look for the enemy’s tracks.

He found the sign after climbing the bank across the creek and began the chore; the tedious reading of the almost nonexistent trail the man had left. The crushed grass behind the rocks told of where he had lain in wait and the bent stalks and broken twigs showed where the man had jumped down the bank. Still damp, the moccasin tracks were deeper as the thief carried the weight of the girl up the bank twenty feet downstream. Bear nodded in satisfaction; he had him! He ran, carefully watching the ground, and followed the trail up into the huge boulders that cropped out of the landscape among the trees and wound through them for several hours, losing the faint trail more than once in his speed for fear of the girl’s safety.

Crossing the ridge late in the day   Bear started down the slope at a jog, finding nothing more than kicked-over stones and scraped patches of moss to guide him, and when darkness fell found himself near a rock shelf that jutted out of the steep hillside. He stopped to rest.

Farther down the slope he thought he saw a spark of light, and got up and ran through the blackness of the night, his heart racing as he imagined what was happening far below.

The wolves had caught his scent and were pacing him off among the trees, but he knew they were there and ignored the threat as he ran. Then he heard the horrible scream of the cat and stopped in his tracks… that was a saber-tooth! Extreme care took the place of his headlong dash; it would not do Fawn much good if he were to mix it up with the saber-tooth at this time! He soon found he had no choice in the matter however; the great meat-eating cat had got into a scrap with the wolves and ran them off, and was even now growling ferociously as it crept closer to the young warrior through the impenetrable darkness of the night forest.

He heard his darling scream a quarter mile away and chills of fear ran over him and he yelled at the cat, “I have no time for you! Kill me some other day!” Loosing an arrow in the direction of the growling he ran down the mountain.

The saber-tooth ran with him, crashing through the brush, and was nearly upon him when the small campfire’s glow caught its attention and it abandoned its pursuit in hopes of an even larger feast. Bear crept silently within range and when he got close enough to see within the circle of light… she was there, tied hand and foot and stripped naked next to the fire. The evil man with the painted face stood above her rubbing his hands together, his snaggle-toothed mouth stretched wide in a grin of happy anticipation. Bear stood and walked into the camp, knife in hand.

Snake heard his footsteps and looked up in surprise, “Ho! Where did you come from?” He grabbed his own blade from his belt and crouched as Bear advanced on him…

The saber-tooth chose that moment to attack, landing on Snake’s back out of the black night, and again the frightened Fawn screamed as Bear leaped out of the way of the slashing fangs and the beast took his opponent to the ground barely inches from him. The cat bit the painted face and tore it from the screeching warrior, then secured another jaw-full of the man’s head and ripped it free of the body, silencing the gurgling screams that had raised the creatures of the forest from their slumber. The great lion-bear, intent on the kill, was not aware of Bear landing on his back until the blade sunk home, entering his lung and causing blood to spatter from the jaws and nose of the beast as it coughed; again the blade fell! The cat rolled swiftly over on its back, latching onto his assailant with all four deadly paws, the claws sinking deep as they tore flesh from the boy, the great fangs reaching desperately for a grip on Bear’s throat, where the trophy fangs of another saber-tooth hung.

Bear managed to thrust a forearm into the tremendous jaws, blocking them from closing, and stabbed the blade time after time into the side of the beast’s throat, eventually cutting the carotid and ending the threat to both his and his dear one’s life. He crawled from under the dead creature and sped to Fawn’s side and released her from her bonds and she jumped into his arms, holding onto him fiercely as he carried her away from the carnage. They made camp a hundred feet from the destroyed site where the bodies lay, and she tended his wounds carefully; the claws of the cat carried deadly disease it was said, and she would allow nothing to take him away from her!

When the light of day came upon them they went back to the place where the cat had taken Snake and in return died at the hands of Bear Heart. He took the fangs from the creature and, seeing that the hide was in decent condition other than the area around the throat, skinned it for Fawn; it would make a beautiful robe for her to wear when the cold came once more into the deep valley and hills of Wooded Wonderland.

After days of strenuous travel they were seen by the villagers as they crossed the stream nearly at the same point where the girl had been abducted a long week before. Flowering Vine ran to them.

Vine was nearing ten years of age when Bear Heart and the beautiful Fawn pledged themselves to one another for eternity on top of the village burial mound at the end of the valley. Vine asked Fawn right after the ceremony took place, while everyone was still standing near congratulating the happy couple, “Are you going to have a baby, Fawn?” The stricken girl said, “What? Vine! Of course not!” She looked around nervously; “Maybe in another year we may have a child…” “I want you to have a little girl so I can watch over her like you did for me!” “That’s so sweet of you! Wasn’t it, dear Bear Heart?” He grinned sheepishly, “It sure was!”

Vine got her wish for a baby girl as the spring thaw began to take place. They named her Thistle Flower, for the color was one they both liked.

Bear and Fawn were twenty years of age when Rock was born, named after the exceedingly hard delivery the woman endured. Bear and Wind decided to go off into the wilderness to celebrate the birth of his first son by tracking a huge mastodon bull; Bear wanted a set of tusks to mount over his lodge, but Wind talked him into utilizing the entire skeleton for a new lodge frame. “Think of it, Bear; the rib cage is perfect! If you spread the bones it could be fourteen feet wide, stronger than saplings, and is already framed! Stand the whole thing back up on the leg bones and it’s twelve feet at the roof! Lash a dozen poles under the ribs for walls! I want one for myself!” Bear Heart laughed, “How do we carry all those huge bones to the village?”  “We let the beast carry its own bones!” Bear thought about the comforts such a lodge might have…“Let’s round up a dozen men and chase a few of them up the valley.”

Five of the mastodons were herded down the valley and then were slaughtered. The meat would keep for months dried and smoked and stored in cool clay pots with tight fitting lids, and the entire tribe pitched in to help harvest the bones for the proposed dwellings that Bear, Wind, and the other three would build. Carefully removing all traces of meat, they were then dried on racks over the fires, the massive rib cages and skulls hard to handle even with the whole clan assisting. A week later construction began, and the five skeletons were reassembled utilizing the tendons that were salvaged from the beasts to reunite the bones. The huge skulls had to be blocked up on stout tree stumps

but looked incredible once the tusks were put back in place. “Wow! They almost look like they are alive again! Other than being nothing more than skeletons…” Bear smiled at his daughter Thistle; she acted almost exactly like Vine had at her tender age, precocious and feisty and always underfoot, bursting with questions and comments. He said, “Wait until we get the hides back on them!”

A month after the successful harvesting of the five mastodons the warriors and their families moved into their new homes. The five looked at a quick glance to be a peaceful herd of grazing creatures casually making their way through the village, and people from other tribes, hearing of the incredible lodges, came from many miles away to witness the feat. Inside the floors were carpeted with mammoth and bison hides, as well as the walls, and when the cold came the lodges were the gathering places for the entire village, cozy and warm and strong against the winter gale. A fine and surprising touch was the chimney that allowed the smoke from the fire to escape; a frame of stout saplings was erected, covered with the blue clay, and then, once dry, the leathery snout of the late beast whose bones had seemingly come back to life. The trunk was elevated to a height well above the spine and the draft was excellent; smoke drifted from the upraised mastodon’s nose into the winter skies as well as it did from the other lodges of the valley, amusing to one and all who chanced upon the odd sight.

Early winter a welcome surprise came upon the tribe; three mastodons that were grazing the long dry grasses saw the five lodges and wandered into the confines of the camp, believing the five to be of a peaceful nature and the three wanted to bunch up with them to thwart the coming cold. They saw the people among the five, but, since the five seemed to accept them sociably the three did also, and meandered past the awestruck villagers with no fear or animosity. They stayed, even after the five showed no interest in their companionship, for the small people they were now among accepted them as neighbors and would often feed them clumps of the dried grass and pet them, talking softly so as not to cause alarm. Thistle and Vine and many of the other children soon had them tame enough that they could climb upon their backs and scoot under their huge hairy bellies with no concern for their safety; the mastodon were all female and loved the young, even though they were of another species. The wolf pack had accepted the three as well, since the folk had no interest in the meat the creatures carried.

They wintered well, the villagers and the creatures that lived with them, and when spring arrived, still the three mastodons stayed close to the village. Wind had a thoughtful look on his face when Bear and Ske’Na-He came upon him at the edge of the village encampment, “Bear, these beasts are acting like they have always been in our presence. They have no care that the children run among them. They appear to be placid and happy here with the people.” Bear nodded, “Yes. It feels good to have them with us. It will be rutting season with them soon though, and then they’ll be off looking for a bull.” Ske’Na-He said, “Or the bull will come looking for them! That could be a real problem…” Wind suggested, “Perhaps we could lure the females down valley and fence them into an enclosure, allow the bull to enter, and close the thing until he has done the deed.” Bear said, “I think you’ve got it! Can we get the females to follow us though?”

They discussed the dilemma that night around the communal fire and the children supplied the solution; Vine said, “We children can ride them down the valley!”

Several days later, after the enclosure was ready to accept the females, the experiment took place. Vine and Thistle climbed to the back of the biggest of them, young Shonni and Leesta went upon the second, and Turtle Face and Dovey got to the back of the last. Vine yelled, “Someone must get out in front of them with handfuls of new grass!” All of the children got into the game and after a few moments the three began to follow, reaching out with their long trunks to get the succulent herbs from the small hands, and the three began to enjoy the game as well and a short half hour later were secured in the pen. The people stayed near so the three would not feel betrayed and continued to feed and speak softly to them and they soon became pacified with their new surroundings. Now the wait began…

Two more days passed slowly and them the trumpeting of a bull was heard on the wind and before long the massive beast trotted into view. The warriors dropped the long poles that closed the pen as he came into the vicinity, but before the huge creature had the opportunity to enter another large bull entered the arena, issuing a loud challenge for the harem. The people had quickly climbed the steep grass-covered slope of the burial mound when they caught sight of the combatants charging one another, and the clash of the huge hairy beasts of the spruce woodlands began.

Thistle had never imagined such a thing! The biggest monsters she had ever seen were trying to kill each other! “Dovey! Look! That bull with the twisted horn is so vicious! Why do they do such things?” “I don’t know! Maybe Vine will tell us…” They ran to where the girl was sitting on top of the spirit house and Thistle asked her what the crazed bulls were doing. “They fight for the right to mate with the females! The victor will be the father of the young mastodons the females will have.” “You mean they are going to have baby mastodons for us to play with? How wonderful! Can we get up there with you so we can see the battle better?” Vine helped the little ones up onto the roof and they laughed and clapped their hands as the two brutish beasts slammed into one another and the twisted horn shattered and broke in half. The bull roared in sudden anguish, backed off several yards, and once again tried to impale his opponent with the remaining tusk. He was lucky, and the long swooping ivory pierced the cheek of his valiant foe, ripping the flesh from bone and splattering the long grass with the crimson tide of hot blood. The wounded bull reared to his hind feet and then crashed down full force with all his thousands of pounds on the head of the broken tusked one, at once knocking him down into the prairie grass and snorting loudly as he threw his head back, his body following, to once again stomp the fallen bull with all his tremendous weight. The vanquished scurried out of the way but wasn’t quick enough to totally escape the pounding hoofs, and, bruised badly, the pain from the broken tusk driving him half mad, he thundered off down the valley and disappeared. The crowd cheered; what a fine battle! The victor raised his snout and trumpeted a long loud blast into the wind and then the trunk shifted, again having caught the females’ scent, and he trotted off toward them… Bear and six other men quickly closed the gate and ran to get out of the way and find a good place to watch the event… why had they never though to do this before?! It was the most exciting thing they had ever witnessed! The warriors were amazed and the women thrilled and the children wild with the fun of it as the long afternoon finally crept toward dusk and the weary bull, having had enough, crashed through the poles and wandered slowly away.

Next morning the cows were back in the village, munching happily on the long green grass, waiting patiently for nature to run its course.

The summer months passed by rapidly. One late fall afternoon the women of the tribe were washing clothing in the fresh cold water of the spring when one of them saw a giant ground sloth coming toward them and the bunch of them hurried back to the village to tell the warriors; the ground sloth was a slow moving creature that ate nothing but grasses and plants, and the meat was tender as a young bison calf for the creature never ran or did strenuous things to make it tough, not having the need, with the vicious long claws it had for protection on the front paws. Several of the teenage boys took up the challenge, as the men were off in the forest, and shot the beast full of arrows as it drank from the pool. Damaged and thoroughly enraged, it turned on them and managed to rip the throat from two of them before being mortally wounded by a spear thrust deep into its heart by a mother of one of the fallen. She stabbed it repeatedly as the pain of her tremendous loss washed over her, the tears blinding her to the fact that it was already dead and she could harm it no more.

The next day, after washing the bodies, they placed them at the foot of the mound and buried them deep, with all the prized possessions the boys had collected during their short lives. The sloth, skinned and butchered by the older women, was laid over the fire and consumed by the villagers in three days, the one who had killed the beast claiming the hide to lay on her floor. When the men returned and sadly discovered what had taken place in their absence Kesa decreed; “From this day forward three warriors will remain in the village at all times to guard against such a thing as this ever happening again; we can not afford to lose our women and children, the tribe is too small to recover quickly from a tragedy. I think we need to go over the mountains and raid the tribe near the big river. Women and children. Furs. All we can carry back with us. What do you say?” All the warriors heartily agreed and several of them began to chant a war song, and Bear came back to the group with a small drum he had made by stretching the hide of a doe over a short hollow section of wood. As he began to tap out a loud steady beat all the men jumped to their feet and started stomping their feet to the rhythm, chanting in unison, anxious for the carnage and spoils of war that were soon to be coming. They were of a peaceful nature but had trained their whole lives as warriors; the thought of a raid was intoxicating to them… Always at the fire they talked of the last one they had been on, or the best one, and the treasures and women they had taken and the friends they lost… Charged up to a man they left on their quest as the mastodons began to deliver their young into the hands of the excited youngsters of the village.

Vine and the other children soon had the tiny two hundred pound babies and their mothers spoiled beyond ever returning to the wild. They rode the babies within two weeks of their birth, and trained them to do tricks, and the mothers all watched with interest; their offspring appeared to enjoy what they were doing, and before the men returned were also trained to carry riders, responding to the lightest touch of the heel or the spoken word.

The twenty seven warriors looked down off the high bluff at the village beneath them. “They are not aware of us. Even though they may outnumber us greatly we shall be victorious.” Bear looked at his father, “Do we massacre the whole village?” Kesa said, “Just the men and old women.” Bear nodded, slightly aghast, and the others somberly did the same as they quietly tried their weapons… Bear did not feel well about what his father had said, and after several minutes of soul searching he said, “Father, I don’t think I can do that.” “What?” Bear Heart replied; “Kill helpless old women like they are nothing but animals! They are people, like us!” Kesa said, “Well, yes, but so are the warriors down there! Will you balk at killing them also?” Bear denied this vehemently, “I will do what is required of me, Father. I just don’t think killing old women is a good thing.” “Those people down there are our enemies, son. They too come from the north, and for many generations they have raided and stolen from us. That is why I have chosen them. If they had found us first we would all be dead, and our women and children enslaved and mistreated. All of our older women would have been burned.” “You can’t be serious!” “When we have their women and young secured you will know I speak the truth. I will make one of the men speak before loosing his spirit.” Still a young man, Bear felt a deep confusion as to the righteousness of what they were about to embark on until he began to remember the stories his father had told to the children that first winter around the fire… yes; he had told of war, and pillage, and murder.

 If these were the ones he had spoken of… then they deserved what was about to befall them! He lifted his head and told his father, “I am ready.” Several of the men slapped him on the back as they passed on the trail down to the unsuspecting village, having had the same misgivings but not the courage to speak of it. They stopped in the heavy brush and dense trees two hundred yards away from the lodges. Kesa said, “Which of you will kill the old women?” None of the warriors would meet his stern gaze, and after a few moments he grinned at them and said, “So; all of my warriors are old women! Maybe we should just turn around and go back home!” Wolf stepped forward, “Do I have to cut their throats or can I just club them?” “Whatever makes you feel good.” Wolf nodded and said, “I’ll use a club; I don’t want their blood on my knife.” The other men looked at him but none spoke what they were thinking… Kesa said softly, “Let’s go…”

They crept into the campsite and started taking out every warrior they came across swiftly and silently with knives and arrows and war clubs but too soon the alarm was raised and a full scale battle erupted in the center of the village. Bear and Wind and three other men ran into a swarm of the enemy as they came around the lodge that housed the chief and his family and the bloody business of hand to hand combat to the death began in earnest; kill or be killed! Thoughts of right or wrong swiftly departed as a crazed man with an axe nearly decapitated the warrior next to Bear, and he reciprocated with a stab to the heart of the man with his spear, breaking the shaft. He then grabbed an arrow from the quiver and nocked it just in time to have the bow torn from his grasp by an assailant with a war club swung with all the man’s might. Grabbing his own stone-headed club from his belt, he backhanded the aggressor and tore the side of the man’s head off, then smashed another one in the face and leaped over the body and ducked into the chief’s lodge… and saw the old man cringing in the corner, holding two young girls about Thistle’s age tightly to his chest. The old chief’s voice quavered, “Will you harm my grand-daughters?” “No. I have a girl their age. They will be safe.” The chief nodded, accepting his fate; Bear swung the club. Hard.

Kesa had been struck a terrible blow from behind to the side of the head as he attempted to strangle one man and bury his knife in another and was lying near death as Bear ducked out of the lodge with the young girls tucked under his arm. All but two of the enemy had been killed. Four of the men from home would enter the mound. Wolf, nervous as it was his first time, had to strike the old woman five times before she would die. Bear yelled, “Stop! Kesa is dying! I am taking his place; there will be no further death here! The old women will live.” Wolf wiped his sweating face, “Ah; I was just getting started!” A loud ‘thwack!’ was heard and a bubble of blood emerged from his mouth, accompanied by a look of dismay in his eyes. Ske’Na-He pried his axe from the back of Wolf’s head and told Bear, “I should have done that before the old woman had to die.” Bear said, “You have done the right thing. Bring one of the two that still live to me.” Ske’Na-He ran to one of them and dragged him to his new leader and forced the man to his knees with a strong grip in his greasy lank hair. Bear Heart said, “My father, who lies there dying, told that your people came from far to the north.” The captive said, “That is true; we came to escape the ice ten winters back. There was no game and the people were starving.” “He also said that your people and mine were enemies for many years and that your tribe had raided and stolen from us for many generations.” “Only when we were in great need!” Bear nodded and went to be with Kesa in his final moments. Ske’Na-He asked, “What of these two?” “Send them with Wolf.” ‘thwack!’ ‘thwack!’

“Father; can you hear me? It is Bear, your son. We have beaten them and captured the women and children. As you journey to the spirit world know that I, Bear heart, will carry on as chief in your stead, and will take you and the four who were slain home to rest in the great mound with Wan-tan’ye.” Kesa opened his eyes for a final time and gave his son a weak smile… then his eyes glazed and he was gone.

Seventeen women and twenty four children had joined the tribe; it was not their desire but they had no choice in the matter. This was the way it was in their world. Three women had been taken from yet another tribe, just months before, as well as one small boy who was much happier now that Ske’Na-He was his new father, and allowed him to ride on the backs of the baby mastodons with the other children of the clan. Bear and Fawn took the twin grand-daughters of the old chief into their own home; he had said they would be safe, and he had meant it.

Bear and Wind and Ske’Na-He rode the three grown mastodons on the trails of the bison and stag and became as one with them, striking fear and wonder into the hearts of strangers as they passed by carrying the long lance and half a dozen more in reserve in the leather containers strapped to the beast close at hand, beside the huge fur pads they sat on. They were as gods to the people of the woodlands, riding there up near the sky.

One day a great light was also seen in the sky; then the asteroid fell from the heavens and the world the mastodon and saber tooth walked on died. The cataclysm that followed the massive strike shook all the lands and dust and smoke from the endless fires filled the air to choke and rain down on the creatures of the Earth until one ragged last painful breath was taken…

The Stone Age clan and the creatures were gone, their bones broken and buried beneath the earth of Wooded Wonderland…