Have you ever heard any one say that cheese or meat had "changed to
maggots?"
Can you tell what really happened in each of these cases?
Can you see how stories of animals that turned into men could be
started? Is there anything that we can learn from these stories?
_How Flaker Became a Priest and a Medicine Man_
The winter was long and stormy. Wild animals found little food. Herds
of horses and reindeer went to the lowland forests. Game was scarce on
the wooded hills. Few horses or reindeer were seen near the caves. The
trails were filled with snow and everything seemed to tell of the
coming of a famine.
The people ate the frozen meat that was left near the caves, and when
they found they could get no more they began to pray to their gods.
"O, Big Bear," they prayed, "send us thine aid. Help us now or we die.
Drive the horses and reindeer out of thy caverns. Send them back to
our hunting grounds."
When the first rumor of famine came, Fleetfoot took down his drum. And
he set out over the hills to call a meeting of the brotherhood.
At the first sound of the drumbeat, the people knew what it meant.
Everybody felt a gleam of hope. The young men passed the signal along
and fresh courage came to the hearts of the people in the neighboring
clans.
Buckling their hunger-straps around them, the young men started at
Fleetfoot's call. They met near the Bison clan's cave. There they told
of the heavy snowstorms and the disappearance of the herds. They told
of the beginnings of famine and considered ways of finding food.
Some said, "Let us leave the old hunting grounds for our elders. Let
us take wives and go to far away lands."
Others said, "No, let us dwell together and let each clan keep its own
hunting ground."
"But how can we dwell together," said one, "when there is not food
enough for all?"
[Illustration: _A Cave-man's engraving of two herds of wild horses._]
The silence which followed the young man's question showed that no one
could reply. It was then that Fleetfoot turned to Flaker and asked him
to speak what was in his mind. And Flaker arose, and turning his eyes
toward the heavens, he raised his baton, whereupon all the young men
were silent. Then he turned to the young men and said, "The gods will
surely provide food for the hungry Cave-men."
"But the people need food and game is scarce," said one of the brave
young men. "How can we prevent the famine? How can we make the gods
understand?"
"Remember the Big Bear," said Flaker. "He heard our prayer when we
made his likeness on stone. Let us make likenesses of the animals. The
gods will then understand our prayers and send many herds to our
hunting grounds."
Saying this, Flaker picked up a flint point and a flat piece of stone
and quickly engraved two herds of wild horses. The young men believed
in the power of magic. And when they saw Flaker engraving the herds,
they believed the wild horses would come. And so they all tried to
make the likeness of an animal they wished to hunt.
[Illustration: _A Cave-man's carving of horses' heads._]
When they had made offerings to the gods, the young men were ready to
go out to hunt. Flaker stayed at the cave, but it was he who directed
them in the right way. He remembered all that the Cave-men had said
about the reindeer and the wild horses. And so when they started
Flaker said, "Follow the trail to the dense forests."
It so happened that just as the young men were starting to hunt, the
herds were coming back from the forests. And so the young men had
great success, and soon all the Cave-men had plenty of food.
[Illustration: _A Cave-man's engraving of a reindeer._]
When the young men returned to their homes, they had strange stories
to tell. They said that Flaker had brought back the herds by his
wonderful magic. They showed the engravings they had made and told of
their magical power.
And so wherever stories of Fleetfoot's bravery went, stories of
Flaker's magic were told. And just as Fleetfoot worked to learn all
the arts of the hunter, so Flaker worked to learn the arts which made
him both a priest and a medicine man.
Flaker listened to all the stories that were told by the best hunters.
He questioned them eagerly and learned many things which the hunters
themselves soon forgot. He learned the haunts of the wild animals in
the various seasons. He knew where to look for the best feeding
grounds and the places of shelter from storms.
And so when the fame of Flaker was noised about among all the clans,
people came from near and from far to make gifts and to get his
advice.
#THINGS TO DO#
_Find soft wood or stone and see if you can engrave some animal on
it._
_Find a stick with branches and carve the head of some animal upon
the end of the short branches._
_Dramatize this story._
_Draw one of these pictures:_--
_Fleetfoot starting out with his drum._
_Flaker speaking to the young men of the brotherhood._
_Flaker inquiring of returning hunters about the game and the
feeding grounds._
_Strangers coming with gifts to get Flaker's advice._