Intro
This is the 86th story in the Smallville Series and tells of a Native tribe, who like the wood elves of Westwood story 85, are hunters and gatherers and teach the old ways to their children. They packed up their original village in Which Way Woods and moved farther north to their summer hunting grounds when the heat and drought in the southwest became unbearable. Their hunting grounds is south of West Port (story 31) and Cedar Creek (story 20) by the river along the west side of the World Map. The story starts in autumn of year 33 SVT.
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Map seed # 465181012 Valley, Small, Mild, Disasters Off, E8 Bison, Deer, Grouse, Grass
Mods activated for this map and load order are:
Map Changing and Starting Mods: Banished UI Maps, Labor Window, RK Minimized Status, CC Light Rain, Cold Realism, Override Fewer Trees, Settler Deco, Jinxie Natural Decorations, Kid Deco Tree Fall, Kid Tree Replacer Light, Kid New Flora Edit, Wildlife Start
Tweak Mods: Fishing Dock +25%, Hunting Season, Increased CC, 1:1 Alternative (Voeille), override Native Clothes, Tiny Smoke
Major or Must Have Mods: An Empty Square, Nomads (Kids), override Uneducated, Storage Crates, Jinxie Festival Park, Kid Abandoned Places SE, Kid Native Village
Supporting Mods: EB Natural Irrigation Deco, I See Fire (RK), Kid Animal Breeder, Kid Deadwood, Kid Deco Farm Animals, Kid Deco People, Kid Farmyard, Kid Hedgerow, Kid Jam & Wine, Kid Market Foods, Kid Wayshrine, Kid Work Shop, Tiny Chopper
Mod note: No new mods are used in this story, just another seasonal story with fall color.
Story note: The tribe chief is not physically on the map.
No, weary traveler, we have not seen a lone woman with the strange name of Earthling of which you speak. We saw no ship that was a mother, only an occasional riverboat. A ship that flies? A mother? We think you have been drinking too much whiteman's fire water. We have only seen the big iron bird that flies with no wings, twice. Come sit by the fire and I will tell you.
Oh boy, another story.
:)
:)
:)
Chapter 1
It was many moons ago that we first saw the iron bird. Our village was farther south than here. It was nearing the end of summer, just before our hunting party would come here to our hunting grounds to hunt buffalo. It was a hot late-summer night and the moon was bright. Our fishing party had just gone out with the canoes when we heard a strange rumble that was not thunder and we saw 2 bright white lights in the sky that were not our ancestors the star people. When the lights got closer, we saw they were the eyes of a huge bird of iron that flew with no wings. When it passed by, it looked back at us with huge red eyes of fire and left an intense heat behind.
The heat did not leave when the flying iron bird left. The water was drying up, the trees and fish began dying off, and the wild game left our woods. We would leave too. We would pack up our teepees and all that we could, and we would move, here, to our Hunting Grounds. There were 27 of us, 16 adults and 11 children, including the hunters who ran ahead to hunt. They left the horses for us. The elders and the fisherman would follow with the canoes.
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The hunters found that only a small herd of buffalo had come through the north pass from the prairie. There were deer and grouse but they too seemed skittish and easily scared off by the least crackle of a fallen leaf. Many trees had already changed to fall colors and many leaves had already fallen and many trees had died. It was warmer than normal with pouring rain for the fall hunt, there was no snow for tracking. When we arrived with the horses and carts of supplies, the trees were already bare. It was still warm but much cooler than back at our original camp. The iron bird that flies with no wings must have come this way.
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Chapter 2
Shortly after we arrived, we had a light frost. We needed to get our camp set up as soon as possible. Our teepee was erected first because my husband, Killie, was our chief's only son. My name is Arabela and we had 2 sons at the time, a toddler and a newborn. We had 2 white horses. We chose a location in the center of camp near a small hunting grounds. There were nuts, berries, and wild honey to gather plus branches for firewood, and small game including rabbits and the wild grouse that roamed the area. We were basically hunters and gatherers but we cleared an area where I would plant the traditional Three Sisters , corn, squash, and beans, next year.
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We were deeply concerned for our food supply for the coming winter. We had some supplies we brought with us but not nearly enough since it was before the hunt. We managed to gather berries and mushrooms, and grass for the horses before the frost hit. Our hunters still had not gotten any deer or buffalo. We depended on the buffalo for our survival. The hunters should have better luck now that we brought their horses back to them and there would soon be snow for tracking.
We were also concerned for our fisherman and elders. The canoes should have arrived by now. Killie send a young brave on the fastest horse back to our original village hoping all was well.
Chapter 3
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The hunting lodge was set up in its usual place to the east of where we began setting up our main camp. Only Arman and Aliah were hunting at the time, Rowlandolph and Calison were helping to erect the other teepees, they had a 1-year-old toddler. Arman and Aliah had a 4-year-old son and a pair of 7-year-old twins, a girl Artha and a boy Owen. The boy was the young brave who was riding back to our original camp to learn the cause of the fisherman and elders' delay. The horse he was riding and 3 others would be kept in the hunting camp. Hopefully enough grass had been gathered to last the winter.
The buffalo pass from the prairie to the north is just across the stream from the hunting camp. There are usually several large herds of deer grazing in the area. These animals not only provide meat for us but hides for our teepees, bedding and rugs, clothing, moccasins, bags and pouches, and many other items.
No part of the buffalo is wasted. Many parts are meat, the fat is used as tallow and for soap making, tanning, and even hair grease. The bones make tools and arrowheads, and other useful items. The horns make cups, fire carriers, spoons, and ladles. The muscles make bows and thread. The hair makes pillow stuffing and ropes. Even the tail and the buffalo chips have their uses. The buffalo gives us more than I can even tell. We thank the animals for dying for us and we thank the Great Spirit for sending the animals to us. At the end of the hunt we have a feast of Thanksgiving for all that we have been given.
Chapter 4
Knowing the seriousness of our low food supply, Pearly and Mirah had their teepee set up by the river. There was a fallen deadwood tree that would serve as a fishing pier until the fisherman arrived with the canoes. Nearby the river widened to form a small lake. Drying racks were set up by the cookfire and fish were being dried for storage and winter use.
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Three more teepees were built near the center of the camp. The 3 families had 4 young children and 2 newborns. The 8th family built a longhouse back by the stockpile. They also had a newborn and wanted a big family. They fenced an area next to their house to care for the remaining horses. Owen had just returned on horseback from the old camp.
Word from the elders and fisherman was that the river was running too high and fast for ladened canoes to be paddled upriver. Our fisherwoman fishing from the fishing tree confirmed that the river was indeed running fast, probably caused by heavy downpours up north like our hunters experienced when they arrived. The elders hoped that once the cold weather arrived up north and the snow would fall instead of rain that the river would slow its flow and make it easier to navigate. By then the fishermen's catch should be dry. The catch was good and lasting longer because the iron bird that flew with no wings warmed the waters. Nothing was allowed to go to waste.
:) I like that - Iron Bird with no wings.
;D ya, I think these Natives have been drinking too much firewater too. ;D
Chapter 5
It was not long before the first snowflakes began to fall. We had 3 white frosts so we knew the snow would come soon. There were no wild foods left to gather but the hunting was done, we now had venison and buffalo meat. It was time to make tools and clothes. A tool maker hut and a needleworks was set up between the stockpile and the hunting camp. The young brave, Owen, built a longhouse there by the stockpile and would be the smith. The horse he rode to the old camp was now with the other 3 horses in the hunting camp. His twin sister, Artha, moved from her parent's teepee into her own by the needleworks. She would soon learn from the needlewoman how to tan the hides and make the clothes and other needed items.
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By then the large storage unit that was begun earlier on the other side of the stockpile was finished. We would feel more secure once we had more food and supplies on hand. Our food supply was still low.
Chapter 6
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The winter was mild, what little snow we had melted soon. We began building a Chief's Hut and gathering place for the wise elders. The elders would teach the children the old ways with their stories and legends. There was still no sign of the chief, the elders, or the fisherman.
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When the leaves began to open on the trees we notice 2 things. First, there seemed to be many more dead trees, and second, the leaves on some of the trees changed to their autumn colors almost as soon as they opened. We hoped that did not mean those trees would soon be dead also. There were many dead branches which we gathered and added to the stockpile. We gathered more grass for the horses.
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The mild weather and warm sunshine had the corn, squash, and beans coming up and producing much earlier than expected. There were also some wild foods to be collected. The hunters were having no luck, no buffalo or deer had been sighted since the autumn hunt. Mirah, who had been fishing from the deadwood tree, spotted a herd of buffalo and 2 herds of deer across the river. She was the first to see the canoes enter the lake from the south. The chief, the elders, and the fisherman had arrived.
Chapter 7
The river was still running fast but their canoes were lighter, they'd used most of their supplies over the winter. The weather had remained hot, and game and wild foods had been scarce. There was the chief and 17 of our tribe members who finally joined us, 13 adults with 4 children. The 2 elder couples had 3 young adult children and the 3 fishermen and their mates had 1 adult and 4 young children.
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A longhouse was built next to the chief's hut for one of the elder families, and a teepee for the other elder family near the storage tent by the elderberry hedgerow that was just discovered. Three teepees were built for the fisherman half-way between the main camp and the lake where they landed. A small fishing dock was built where the canoe fisherman could unload their catch of fish. Another fish drying rack was set up with the others by the teepee belonging to the family who fished from the fishing tree. That family had also been gathering cranberries from the small bog there by the lake. Further over they now discovered a duck pond. Duck meat, eggs, and down would be most welcome.
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Chapter 8
Our supplies took another drop but with more helpers we took to the woods to gather wild foods and herbs. We found little. The warmth and rain caused the grass to grow in abundance choking out the other plants. Another plot of corn, squash, and beans was planted behind the 3 fisherman teepees. In autumn we gathered grass for the horses and all the branches we could find for firewood. Finally, a herd of buffalo was spotted. Up until that time that year the hunters had only gotten grouse, no buffalo or venison. We finally had a little leather and down to make needed warm coats, and strips of buffalo meat were soon drying on the racks in the hunting camp for the coming winter.
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Our signs of nature did not warn of us of the early winter that year. We had no light frost or freeze, only the first snowfall. The last fisherman was still out on the lake in his canoe. We could only think it was the fault of the iron bird that flies with no wings.
'The Iron Bird That Flys With No Wings', is interesting.
:)
Chapter 9
We were convinced the heat from the iron bird had changed our weather. It warmed up just a bit, enough to change the snow to rain and then to ice and then back again. Deer and buffalo were spotted across the stream but they did not cross within range of our hunters and they quickly moved on. The ice made it unsafe to pursue them.
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Buffalo and deer were again spotted across the river from the fishing tree. A second hunting lodge was built near the fishermen's camp. A hunter would be ready if any of the animals crossed over to our side. Our food supply had improved but would not stay that way for long without a successful hunt.
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Our chief spent much of his time that winter recording our supplies. We had only a little corn, no wild oats. We had only fish and a little rabbit and duck meat, no buffalo or venison. We had no leather and our supply of hide coats was dropping. We had no warm coats. We had only enough firewood to see us through the winter. We had only a few herbs but no rose hips. The chief was concerned that our overall health would drop, he worried about death and disease.
Chapter 10
The weather warmed quickly and the snow and ice soon melted. We immediately took to the woods to gather as many dead branches as we could find. We found a few mushrooms. A hut was built for our Medicine Man and one for a gatherer east of the chief's hut. We gathered a lot of grass from that area hoping that more wild foods would sprout. The warm rain had the grass growing thick and tall. The hunters reported seeing only a few deer that had crossed the stream. The grass was taller than the fawns. The does would not be hunted. We would cut some of that grass when the deer and fawns moved on.
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A lot of grass was cut over by the river too. An area was cleared and bordered with fallen logs to form a burial ground. The chief and medicine man were both worried that our lack of food variety would cause sickness and deaths.
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A third patch of corn, squash, and beans was planted. The Three Sisters had never failed to provide for us. The 3rd patch was far from the other two so that the smith, weaver, and hunters were sure to get their share.
The needlewoman was now making some warm coats from the fur obtained from the small game in the hunting grounds. When the hunter's next got hides, the needlewoman would make warm coats from the hides and the duck down.
Chapter 11
That summer of our 3rd year seemed a bit cooler and more comfortable than the last 2 had been. The rain was not as heavy. In autumn the hunters said the weather was more like hunting season used to be. They also had a bit more luck with the hunt. The hunters in the main camp got a buffalo and the new hunter by the fishing camp got deer and game birds. There was now leather and more down for the needlewoman.
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A large spit was set up by the storage tent. There would be dried buffalo and roast venison for everyone in camp. Our Hunting Grounds had a population of 54, 31 adults and 23 young children. There were no students, the wise elders said time to learn later, now there was work to be done, the young must learn that too.
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We learned that keeping the grass cut did make a difference to the gatherer and Medicine Man. We had a few more herbs and plenty of rose hips. There were roots, wild honey, berries, and wild oats in storage at the end of the season. The health and happiness of the tribe was 100%.
Chapter 12
The chief also decided that the spiritual needs of the tribe were not being met. They must connect more with the Great Spirit in order to continue to walk the Good Red Road and to walk in balance with Mother Earth as our ancestors did. The people needed healing and purification that could only be obtained in sacred sweat lodge ceremonies. He ordered a sweat lodge to be built. A location was chosen along the stream where 2 natural rock formations formed wayshrines. One would be on either side of the sweat lodge.
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The poles of the sweat lodge had just been placed according to sacred tradition when a herd of buffalo gathered across the stream. They were sent by the Great Spirit and remained there until the sweat lodge was complete. At that time, a herd of deer returned to their grazing grounds near the hunting camp. We had been gathering wild foods in that area and cleared much of the grass away so more would sprout. We did not need food at the time, we would not take more than we needed, but we thanked the Great Spirit for sending the animals back to us.
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Chapter 13
When the snow melted, we again went in search of all the dead branches we could find. We also found fresh mushrooms. No more trees had died. We saw that a herd of buffalo was now on this side of the stream near the hunting lodge. We also saw that wild turkeys had again returned to the small hunting grounds near our teepee. Our boys, now 4 and 5 years old, had never seen these big game birds before. Out beyond the hunting grounds we found a large herds of deer, another herd was closer to the hunting lodge by the fisherman's camp. Near the river bank a small herd of buffalo had gathered. We trusted that the Great Spirit would not let us go hungry again.
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That 5th year, the weather had returned almost to normal according to our hunters. It was cooler and quite pleasant. The Great Spirit had broken the influence of the big iron bird that flies with no wings. In gratitude, we erected a totem to one of the Great Spirit's mighty hunting birds, the hawk. The elders were now back in their tent teaching the old ways to the children.
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Chapter 14
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During our 6th year, we again saw something strange in the sky. There was a beautiful autumn sunset, the trees in the west across the river were all aglow. Shortly after, a bright light appeared in the sky to the north. It looked like the North Star but it was not yet dark and then we realized it was moving towards us. It could not be the North Star because the North Star does not move. We know this because the wise elders teach us how the North Star came to be and why it does not move. They would teach this to our 7 students soon.
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I will tell this to you now, weary traveler. (Based on Paiute Legend found in Voices of the Winds by Edmonds & Clark 1989)
Long ago there was a boy who loved to climb. He found a very high mountain with smooth steep sides that he wanted to climb to make his father proud, but he could find no way. After going round and round he found a crack he could enter and climb up inside the mountain. As he climbed, rocks fell and closed the passage behind him. Finally, he came out on top of the mountain but there was no room for him to move and he could not get down. His father found him and saw his son could not get down. So his son would not die up there, he turned the boy into a star to be a guiding light for all to see. The North Star is the only star that is always in the same place, it does not move.
The object we saw moved rapidly, coming closer to us before the light went out. There was a strong gust of wind and then it was gone and all was still. You say that about that same time a star fell to earth near your village and it sent rocks flying that hit some of your people and the young woman Earthling who you seek? We saw no star, only a bright light. It was the following year, weary traveler, that we again saw the big iron bird that flies with no wings.
Chapter 15
All went well this year, our 7th year. We have everything we need and more. Our storage tent has a variety of foods and textiles, clothes and tools. We have enough firewood to keep our 15 teepees and longhouses warm and our cookfires going. What was once our autumn hunting grounds was now our home. Our tribe of 56 has 31 adults, 9 students, and 16 young children. We are all happy and healthy and give thanks to the Great Spirit. We had a feast in autumn to celebrate the good hunt and harvest.
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We feasted on buffalo, venison, fish, turkey, grouse, duck, and rabbit. There was corn, squash, beans, roots, mushrooms, onions, elderberries and cranberries. We had much to be thankful for.
The feast lasted 3 days and had just ended when at sunset we again saw the iron bird that flies with no wings. If flew slowly and silently high overhead casting a large shadow. It made no sound and gave off no heat. Its eyes were dim and had no fire. This time it did not look back but flew off to the north. We hope to never see it again. And now it is late autumn and you must be going, weary traveler. We hope you find the one you seek.
The End
Wonderful story. What is next?
:) Thanks :) New story intro will be posted Nov. 30th. :-X ;D
@Abandoned ;D :D :)Thank you for the beautiful story. Your story presentation is great, beautiful landscapes, fine Natural Decorations, real life among Indians on the prairie. Regards