
wisdom
by
Aditya Srinath
This book is dedicated to
forward
T
his story is about a boy and his dog. But, unlike any story
you have read before, it takes place in the Ice Age. Yes, I said
the Ice Age—the ten-thousand year old era—the period of
glaciers.
Contrary to conventional thinking, prehistoric Yukon was not the
stereotypical ice-covered landscape shown in books. Yukon was
a vast, luscious grassland teeming with millions of animals of all
shapes and sizes. Humans were the newcomers of this land , upright
and robust, making tribes all across the country.
One such tribe was the Techee tribe, which the story surrounds.
Chapter 1:
Early Morning
T
he silence of the morning camp was disturbed by a
yawn. It came from the mouth of Shikari, the twelve
year old son of the chief. He winced and stared at his
weak, useless arm. When he was born, he had gotten this arm
and lost his mother. The Sky God had given these to him.
Shikari got up from the tent and was welcomed by the stern,
solemn face of his father, Techee Guewe.
“Why haven’t you gotten up earlier,” he yelled. “The boys your age have
brought down a Trunk Giant while you are sleeping in the tent!”
“I have told you many times, said Shikari, “I cannot go on the hunts,.”
Shikari was the smartest person in the tribe, so sometimes people spoke
irrationally to him. The Techee tribe did not judge by mind, but by
strength.
“Never mind that,—let us eat,” Shakira said. He left the tent and went
to join the rest of the tribe. While eating his large piece of Trunk Giant
meat, he felt ashamed at being very smart but weak. Shikari knew he had
to set things right with his father. He was going on the hunt tomorrow.
Chapter 2:
The Hunt
T
he next day Shikari woke up very early to catch a head start
before his father and the other warriors joined him. He sat on a
large rock near a forest close to the camp and waited.
Suddenly, he heard the frightened cry of a deer in the distance. There
was a moment of silence, then a series of loud, horrid howls . He knew
that sound; it was the sound of the Wolf.
Shikari shivered in fright thinking of the swift, bone-crushing hunters
ready to attack….just then he heard the yell of his father, meaning the
hunt had begun.
Today they were hunting the Horn Herds, which were in great number
near the village. Even though Shikari hadn’t gone hunting in a while, he
knew the drill: drop down, move on your knees, and then pounce with
a club or a knife. He thought, in a way that this was unsophisticated
and primitive, so he had a better idea. Inside his father’s tent, Shikari
had created what he had called a “spear” by hollowing a long stick and
inserting a sharp stone into it .
While the other warriors were sneaking toward the Horn Heads, Shikari
went into the bushes nearby and stalked them from the other side. Then
with a war whoop, Shikari jumped out of the grass and launched the
“spear” into the air toward the Horn Herds.
But his weak, crippled hand came in the way. It accidently hit the
“spear”, making him focus on the pain of his arm. The weapon bounced
harmlessly off the animal’s hide.
The creature turned , let out an ear-splitting moan and charged toward
the other hunters. They all fled back to the camp with no food to eat.
Shikari got a loud yelling from Techee Guewe. “Why did you even
come to the hunt, screamed his father, “I knew that you were a bad
hunter from the start.” “Technically, my father was the first person who
wanted me in the hunt”, thought Shikari. Still, he felt bad about himself.
The entire tribe was going to starve because of him and his pathetic
invention. Shikari then took a walk to think about his mistakes.
Chapter 3:
Makkapitew
S
hikari sat on the same stone that he had sat on in the morning
and thought about the troubles that his tribe faced daily. Life and
death struggles always happened when hunting, especially when
you had a crippled, child as your hunting partner.
Just then, as he was thinking of his troubles, Shikari heard a rustling
in the bushes nearby. He was ready for a hungry animal to pounce on
him and eat him. But a wolf pup jumped out, howling and growling at
Shikari to her heart’s content.
Shikari laughed, not believing he was scared by a wolf pup! The animal
was very small, about three-hundred and a half-moons old and was
covered head to tail with grey-white fur.
He tried to pet the creature, but as soon as he put his finger near her
teeth, they sunk around Shikari’s finger. Shikari yowled in pained and
said “I will name you Makkapitew, for your sharp teeth”. The wolf set
out a series of howls, seeming to mock him.
Despite the pup mocking him, Shikari liked the feeling of having a
friend in his life. It was dusk when the two friends finished playing .
The tribe people had a look of surprise at seeing Shikari lead a seemingly
monstrous animal behind him.
For the next 60 moons, Shikari’s life was normal with the help of
Makkapitew, who was teaching him what to do and not to do.
Along the way, Shakira made very ingenious and interesting
inventions. One of these many inventions would prove itself
worthy for survival in the story of the tribe.
Chapter 4:
Danger
Shikari was petting Makkapitew by the ears. She had grown
larger, and she was almost as large as him.
Suddenly, Makkapitew started growling and the hairs on her
back rose up. She ran outside and Shikari followed her, trying
to see what she wanted.
Suddenly, from a small crevice over head the village, an animal
jumped down and roared ferociously. The tribe panicked when
they saw it. When Shikari saw the creature he knew it was a
Spear Tooth.
Imagine a muscled, spotted feline, half the size of a Trunk Giant
with long ,sharp teeth. That was what the Spear Tooth was.
The warriors of the tribe had never seen a Spear Tooth before, so they
were very frightened. The large, spotted creature growled and scanned
the frightened humans. Then in it paid attention to Makkapitew ,who
was barking at it .
Everyone scattered ,leaving Shikari and Makkapitew with the Spear
Tooth.
Shikari saw the angry, orange eyes of the cat and its teeth and was
scared. Then he had an idea. While Makkapitew distracted the beast,
he took out two, dark rocks he called “Fire Stones”. With one flick of his
hands, Shikari set “fire” to a stick. With loud shouts, he shoved his new
invention into the creature’s face.
The sight of the flame along with the shouts from the boy and the dog
made the cat want to look for an easy meal. With a snort, the animal
turned around and left the camp.
Afterword
A
fter the incident, Shikari was treated like a hero. He was respected
for being a smart and strong boy.
At the end of his days, he was a good chief ruling over his tribe using power
and wisdom. He taught his inventions to other people in his tribe, and they
became popular. His inventions, such as the spear and fire increased the
knowledge of humans, making them advance in the New World.
Makkapitew became the first animal to be domesticated by the humans
colonizing North America. “Dogs” were excellent hunters of small game
and also helped the hunters in guarding possessions.
With the ice age at an end, the food and enemies of the people, such as the
Trunk Giants, the Horn Herds and the Spear Tooth all disappeared. Shikari,
however, along with his father, the tribe and Makkapitew all live on today
in the form of us and our friendship to dogs.