The First Jumper (first draft version)

The First Jumper 38: The Chief

It took two entire days to get everyone down the slope to the plain below.  It was very steep, and almost entirely covered with ice and snow, all the way to the bottom.  There was only one incident in the descent, but it was tragic.

They spent that first night huddled on a wide ledge, with no fire. No one died, but it was a miserable night. In the morning, everyone was stiff and cold, but they got moving as soon as it was light enough to see.

Early that day, they were following the trail down the steepest portion of the slope when it happened. They had taken that trail taken many times, over the years.  It was narrow, but they had managed it every year without difficulty, even in snow.

Cave Bear was last, helped by Violet and Chestnut.  As they were going down a very steep section of the path, one of the three slipped.  They went down in a group, slid along the steep path, and flew over the edge.

As he heard their screams drawn out in the fall, Little Bear was filled with horror and shock at the sight.  Yet there was a part of him that was relieved, which instantly made him ashamed.

After his father and the two women who had helped raise him vanished, Tiger stood very still, looking down to the bottom, for what seemed to Little Bear like a long time.  When others started to stir on the path above him, he looked up and said, “Be careful!  Stay on the path, and away from the edge.  If you start to fall, roll and dig in with your fingers.”

Then he turned back to Little Bear, and his face was a blank mask encasing eyes as cold as death.  “Move out,” was all he said.

Little Bear almost went over the edge himself a couple of times, he was so shaken by the loss of Cave Bear.  

Although there were several more scary moments, they were down to the plains before evening.  They managed to find enough wood for a fire, although they would have to manage it carefully and make the fire smaller.  Fortunately, it was quite a bit warmer.

They found Cave Bear, Violet, and Chestnut.  No scavengers had gotten to them, which was surprising.  They had apparently bounced off of rock, and then slid down a slope of gravel.  With appropriate ceremony, they were buried at the bottom of the gravel slide.

On the way back to the fire, they found the body of a young horse, which apparently had fallen off the same area.  It had been embedded in snow, and the meat was still good.  They hacked it out of the snow, and carried it back to their camp.

Around the fire, there was shocked silence, instead of the usual chatter.  Cave Bear had been a vital part of all their lives.  Even crippled, he still was a force that made them believe they would survive and all would be well.  

Raccoon started it.  As Medicine Man, it was his place.  He stood, and threw some leaves into the fire.  Their pungent fumes spread out to the members of the tribe.

Into the silence, Raccoon said, “He slew the mammoth alone.  I never heard of one man who did that.”

“I remember Cave Bear,” came the murmured chorus.

Dire Wolf said, “He kept us alive in a three year winter, twice.”

"I remember Cave Bear."

As the litany continued, each adult shared something of what they remembered of Cave Bear.

Little Bear said, “He did not let me die, when he could have.”

“Yes, and you should have let him die when it was his time!” hissed Tiger.

Aghast at Tiger’s breaking of the tradition, the chorus did not repeat their line, until Ash said, “I remember Cave Bear.  He was a generous husband.”