Where do you think Fleetfoot will go while he is away from home?
Find a picture of a glacier, and see if you can tell how a glacier
is made. In what places does the snow stay all the year round? If a
great deal of snow falls each year, what do you think will become
of it?
Find out whether there have ever been glaciers near where you live.
If there have, see if you can find any traces of them.
_Fleetfoot Fasts and Prays_
None of the Cave-men knew where Fleetfoot would go to fast and pray.
He scarcely knew himself, but all the time he kept thinking of the
Big Bear of the Mountains. And so he turned his steps toward the high
mountain peaks.
He followed the bison trail, for that was a sure guide. It led up the
river a long way, and then skirted a dark forest. He crossed the river
and went to the forest. There he sought out a lonely spot where he
stayed several days.
As soon as he had made a fire, Fleetfoot made offerings to the gods.
His offerings were fish he caught in the river and birds he caught in
snares.
Although Fleetfoot offered meat to the gods, he did not taste it
himself. When he was ready to sleep, he rubbed a pinch of wood-ashes
upon his breast and prayed thus to the fire god: "O fire god, hover
near me while I sleep. Hear my prayer. Grant good dreams to me this
night. Grant me a sign that thou wilt aid me. Lead my feet in the
right way."
The first night Fleetfoot had no dreams. The second night he dreamed
he was a child again and that he lived in his old home. The third
night he dreamed of the Big Bear of the Mountains. He thought that he
climbed the mountain crags and went to the Big Bear's cave. He dreamed
that the Big Bear spoke to him and asked him whence he came. Then
strange people seemed to come out of the cave and wave their weapons
in a threatening way. After that Fleetfoot remembered nothing except
that the Big Bear seemed like a friend.
At daybreak Fleetfoot awoke, and at once he thought of his dream. He
took the pebble from a little bag. Then he made an offering to the
bear as he spoke these words: "O Big Bear! O mighty hunter! Show me
the way to thy caverns. Show me where thou keepest the game. Give me
strength to meet all dangers. Fill my enemies with fear."
Then, remembering what Greybeard had said, Fleetfoot gave offerings to
all the animals he hoped to kill. In this way he thought the gods
would help him when he went out to hunt.
As soon as the offerings were made, Fleetfoot looked for a sign from
the gods. The winds began to blow. Dark clouds began to climb the sky.
Then the thunders pealed through the heavens.
[Illustration: _A stone borer, used in making a necklace._]
Fleetfoot, faint from his long fast, took courage from these signs.
The winds seemed to be messengers bearing his prayer to the gods. The
dark clouds seemed to be the enemies he would meet on the way. The
peals of thunder sounded to him like promises of strength. The bright
lightning in the sky flashed a message of hope. A flock of swallows
circling near seemed to point the way. And so Fleetfoot refreshed
himself and started toward the mountains.
It would take too long to tell all the things that happened to
Fleetfoot before he returned. One of the first things he did was to
kill a cave-bear and take the trophies.
When Fleetfoot started out again, he wore a necklace of bear's teeth.
He wore them partly because they were trophies and partly because
they were charms.
Fleetfoot followed the trail along the edge of the forest until he
reached a ridge of hills. Behind him lay the River of Stones and all
the places he had known. Before him lay a pretty valley about a day's
journey across. To his left the snow-covered mountain peaks shone with
a dazzling light.
He stopped only to sleep and to make offerings to the gods. Fleetfoot
was full of courage, and yet he was weak from his fast. He longed to
be strong against all foes. He longed to be a great hunter. He longed
to strengthen his people and to meet the dangers which threatened his
clan.
At midday he reached the river, where he sat down to rest. Then he
went up the little river, which flowed over a rocky bed.
Fleetfoot followed the river until he came to a spot where it seemed
to end. Great masses of snow and ice covered the river bed. Farther up
they reached the top of the cliffs and stretched out into the valley.
It was the melting of this glacier which fed the little stream.
Fleetfoot stood and gazed at the glacier with its rough billows of
snow and ice. He looked at the green forests which stretched to its
very edge. He looked at the great ice sheets which covered the
mountain peaks. He looked at the bare crags which jutted out from the
rocks. And he wondered if the Big Bear's cave was in one of these
rocks.
[Illustration: "_It was the melting of this glacier which fed the
little stream._"]
Then he crossed the stream and approached the cliff on the opposite
side. There he found a cave, and he looked about, but he found no one
at home.
As Fleetfoot was looking about, he began to think of Chew-chew.
Everything upon which his eyes rested seemed to speak of her. And yet
he could not remember seeing the place before.
Night came again and Fleetfoot slept. Again he saw the Big Bear in his
dreams. Again he saw the enemies of his clan, and again he dreamed of
his old home.
For several days Fleetfoot explored the country near the mountains. He
found several good hunting grounds, but he did not find the Big Bear.
As the days passed it seemed to Fleetfoot that he was no longer alone.
He heard no steps, and he saw no tracks; yet he felt sure that some
one was near.
One morning, when he awoke, there was some one watching him through
the thick leaves. He grasped his spear and was ready to throw, when he
heard a merry laugh.
Then a lovely maiden appeared with dark and glossy hair. Her eyes
shone with the morning light and her breath was as fresh as the dew.
Fleetfoot dropped his spear and stepped forward to greet the girl. A
moment they gazed in each other's eyes, and then they knew no fear.
They sat on a mossy bank where they talked for a long, long time. And
Fleetfoot learned that she was called Willow-grouse and that her
people were away.
Before he could ask her more, she inquired from whence he came. And
then she asked him what had brought him so far away from his home.
While Fleetfoot was telling his story, Willow-grouse listened with
sparkling eyes. When he had finished, her eyes fell, and she seemed to
be buried in thought. Willow-grouse knew that her own people were
plotting against the Bison clan. She wanted Fleetfoot to stay with
her; and she feared that if she told him what her people were doing,
he would go away.
For a few minutes Willow-grouse kept silent; but, at length, she
decided to speak. She told Fleetfoot of the famine of the springtime
and of the scarcity of game. She told how the people separated and
traveled far and wide. Many of her own people had been to the grounds
of the Bison clan. Now the clans were at the rapids. But as soon as
the salmon season was over, they were going to attack the Bison clan.
When Fleetfoot heard what Willow-grouse said, he gave up his search
for the Big Bear. He decided to go to the salmon feast and learn what
the clans were doing. He hoped he could do this and still have time to
warn the Bison clan.
#THINGS TO DO#
_See if you can find a way of making a glacier in your sand-box._
_Model a river valley whose upper part is filled with a glacier.
Show where the bed and banks are covered with snow and ice. Show
where the cliffs are covered. Show where the ice-sheets are. Show
on the sand-map Fleetfoot's journey to the place where he fasted.
Show the remainder of his journey._
_Draw pictures of the following:_--
_Fleetfoot prays to the fire-god._
_Fleetfoot receives signs from the gods._
_Fleetfoot standing on the ridge of hills._
_Fleetfoot's meeting with Willow-grouse._