River Guide: Pawprints on the Riverbank

Wolf Heart

Adam was born in a wagon and never knew of a life of living in one place for very long. His parents chose to move into the new world and away from the life of strife and subsistence in this developing country on the eastern seaboard. Their parents were nomadic immigrants, so this chosen path of moving forward was nothing new to the family. The government was helping financially and also helping with supplies for some of the wagon trains moving people out west, providing motivation and opportunity for settlers to move west and settle lands for this new nation. There was gold and land to be claimed. There was also the chance to lay down good roots for future generations. The powerful lure of that draw called far too many to their deaths. Such was always the cost of expansion and settling new lands. Adam's family knew it well and had enough knowledge and caution to do things right the first time.

Because of their long immigrant history, Adam's family had unparalleled survival skills and the ability to adapt to seasons and climates. He was taught outside of formal school what he would need to make a homestead for himself somewhere in the wild and to make a strong family of his own. Because of his rough family history coming from war-torn cultures and survivalist backgrounds, Adam was taught more skills than he might ever need to survive in the wilds of the snow-laden mountains to boiling desert climates. As his family made their way westward, he would have these experiences along the way. They would also see the all-too-common remains and ruins of many travelers and settlers that came before them and failed to survive the trials of nomadic life in moving westward. It was a sad but obvious trail of failure across the wilderness. Failure to make a good plan was simply a basic plan by which to die quickly.

These common emigrant remnants taught Adam several lessons critical to his survival. They also posed occasional salvage opportunities. Adam was given a personal set of knives, a new fire-starting kit, and more treasures as such finds in the remains of failed travelers' salvage were all too common and precious. To miss such an opportunity to gain necessities was treated as a sin by Adam's family and driven into his mental survival tool chest. Any enemy you might have, such as aggressive natives, locals, or other travelers you might pass by, wouldn't hesitate to salvage such things and use them to kill you for what more you now had. Being stupid or wasteful could easily mean being dead. Adam wasn't taught fear, though. He learned to be smart about things and to be aware, never letting his guard down and never turning his back on a possible threat no matter what. His family practiced these skills every day on their journey. It kept them alert and made the days pass quickly while they journeyed into new unknown parts of this world. Adam learned to thrive in any environment and proved his worth as his gathering and tracking skills improved as he became a young man.

Adam's family was in no hurry to cross the country. They kept a good account of the seasons. They traded honestly with others, including locals or natives. They often exchanged goods generously for simple information about the terrain and seasons they would face ahead of them. This gave them invaluable knowledge of whether they should hurry forward, wait a while and resupply, or dig in and wait longer for an upcoming favorable season. They made friends along the way with many people, even among the native tribes, and they made a point to learn their languages where possible. This helped make trade and peaceful travel easier along the way. Adam was a unique young man. He had learned the local languages well enough to readily speak with nearly anyone they might cross paths with on their journey. He was forged by a history of immigration and profound survival skills into a rugged young man that even many natives recognized as unique. They often said there was something different about Adam, something that was important. He was spoken of as being a true man on his journey. He didn't understand what they meant, but he took it as a compliment.

After years of travel and seasonal homes that never lasted long, Adam's family found a remote valley where they finally chose to make their permanent homestead. It was good high mountain pastureland. They would farm only a portion of it to meet their meager needs. The natives in the area were friendly and open to trading. They were happy to trade any claims on the land for the promise of help in harsher seasons. And for peace and fair trading between them. Everyone was pleased with the homestead situation except for Adam. He was honestly happy for his family. There was no question of that. Still, his heart pulled at him to wander on and make his path in life. He was a young, strong man now, no longer the boy born on a wagon trail far away. He helped his family to settle the land and build new cabins. This would be some of his final homesteading education before he made his way onward from there. He needed to learn these last skills as he would want to make a homestead of his own once he found his place in the world. From the cutting of timbers to the making of durable fences, he learned the skills he needed. They cleared their small fields of rocks. They used many of the stones in making their cabin fireplaces. A nearby permanent stream provided water and some food as well. Fish were in the stream, and crops could be grown with irrigation water in the fertile soils throughout the area. All they needed to thrive, and more, was there. The family would continue for generations in this mountain pasture haven.