CT – 209                                             CORNERSTONE TRAVELER                                     MAY 14   ‘13

 

Hi everyone and welcome to this issue of the exciting and thought provoking issue of this bi-weekly newsletter , The CORNERSTONE TRAVELER.  Also available at www.cornerstonetraveler.com.

mid-Hudson Valley

news:   The Hudson Valley fair season has begun with the Hudson Valley Faire at the Dutchess County Fair grounds in Rhinebeck NY. It was an okay fair, as county fairs go.  But it dealt with cars and used auto parts.  Not too exciting, if you ask me.  I did buy a cordless drill for $10 and a POW/ MIA medal-pin for $4.  But other than that there was not much more to see.

The New Paltz – Woodstock Arts and Craft fair will be at the Ulster county Fair grounds here in New Paltz on Libertyville Road at the end of this month.

And naturally there will be the three county fairs (Orange, Dutchess, Ulster) this summer. There is always the Rosendale street fair at about the same time as the Ulster County Fair. Then of course is the Huguenot Street Fair. This is always interesting year after year. I know I will always learn something new about the Huguenot when they settled New Paltz.

There are always the carnivals that come on a regular basis each year.   I always found these carnivals boring unless of course you are a child.  I know when I brought my son and daughter to the carnivals in Newburyport Mass. area they always like it.  Me?  I just liked to see the joy and happiness in their faces.

observations:

I have changes this section of this newsletter from my political commentary to observations because I realized that everything I write in this section is just my observations of what I see happening in the world today.

Such as Bernie Goldberg who essentially said the generally public in the United States are idiots because they don’t see the world and the happenings in the world as he does.  He made this statement on the O’Reilly Factor on May 10.  I personally think that he is and idiot for thinking that he can call the general population of the United States idiots.  But what can you expect from someone who appears regularly on the O’Reilly Factor?

People like O’Reilly and Goldberg are trying their best to trash Hillary Clinton with her handling of the Benghazi tragedy, hoping to trash her reputation enough that her maybe planned run to the presidency in 2016 is trashed.

I have to ask people like O’Reilly and Goldberg how much investigation did they do of the top administrators of the FBI when it was learned and FBI agent/ analyst warned his superior of his concerns about mid-East students in American flight schools.  Who only wanted to learn to fly and direct a jet airliner, but couldn’t be bothered with learning to take off and land such an airliner.  Hence 9/11.

Could 9/11 have been avoided if the FBI investigated these mid-East students?  I don’t know and neither does O’Reilly or Goldberg.

sports:

other:

As with all previous issues of this newsletter, everything printed here is either copyright protected or copyright pending.

The history of P&G’s follows this newsletter from 1900 when the building was first constructed to about the mid 1930’s

The short story I have included with this newsletter, The ICE AGE – The NEXUS.  I wrote what I thought people would experience in this area of New York, more precisely Tillson during the3 last ice age.  I hope you like it.

Thank-you  – Rik McGuire

The History of P&G’s from the Beginning

 

Travel back more than a century to the spring of 1900 as builder John H. Hasbrouck and his men construct a 50′ by 28′ building on the site of the current P&G’s Restaurant.  Look around and begin to imagine.

The first floor features a fountain with water softly falling into a cobblestone basin.  The exotic effect is enhanced with darting goldfish and blooming water lilies.  Palms set liberally throughout the room, provide an air of privacy for those seated at the groups of small tables.  Patrons, dressed in their finest, sit chatting, sometimes courting and enjoying the establishments fine refreshments.

The upper story is a promenade, opened to a full view of sunset over the Shawangunk Mountains.  Live music gently eases you from afternoon into evening.  Welcome to the ambiance and hospitality of the Casino.

The Casino’s owner, Mr Steen, had correctly envisioned the areas many tourists, summer boarders and trolley passengers stopping to enjoy the unique features of his establishment.  The terminal station for the trolley line from Highland is located just across Main Street.  It is said that Steen patterned the Casino after the famous Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.

On June 1, 1900 the Casino was officially opened.  That evening “a large number of people enjoyed the ice cream, music and the lovely mountains views.”  according to the New Paltz Independent newspaper.  Music was provided by a band which included a piano and several other instruments.  The Casino soon became famous for Saturday night dances held on the second floor of the open pavilion.  It was decorated with flowers and vines suspended from the rafters.  The crowds were so large that special late trolley cars were run to accommodate the guests and take the orchestra back to Poughkeepsie.

The electric power shut down at midnight. According to Independent writer Delia Shaw “…the time of closing and the departure of the last trolley (run by electricity) had to be reckoned with, but as was often the case, several folks ‘Missed the Last Trolley’… seems between intermissions the  fellows would walk their girls down the street where numerous straw thatched summer houses were located on the banks of the Wallkill River and they were so preoccupied with making love by the light of the silvery moon that they forgot everything.”  Shaw continued.  “Saturday Nights In New Paltz Became A Legend!  There was not a single hitching post available, nor an inch of space under any of the sheds of the five local hotels.  The Casino drew people from surrounding towns and they came via hay loads and 4 seated carriages, while some men even walked and carried their dancing shoes.  ‘Little Larry,’ the shoeshine fellow, did a landslide business on Sat. Nights!  As did all the merchants and the stores open ‘til 9 p.m.”

By 1921 the Casino had changed hands and names, becoming the Blue Crane Inn.  Ads of the era read.

The big Night at the Blue Crane In

Dancing Every Wednesday and Saturday Evening

In the Chinese Hall-Good Jazzy Music.

The cornerstone of nightlife in New Paltz continued to thrive.

In 1925, after 28 Years of service, the Highland to New Paltz trolley company folded.  The demise of the trolley business and the affordability of the automobile meant peoples outings were no longer confined to the trolley’s narrow corridor.  They could drive to any village hotel, restaurant, or scenic spot that caught their fancy.  Indeed, New Paltz and the Blue Crane Inn lost their captive audience.  The Inn, however, continued to accommodate people well into the 1930’s.  Other establishments came and went until 1947 when it became Pat and Georges and ultimately was nicknamed the P&G’s that welcomes everybody.

 

ICE AGE. . .  the NEXUS

 

20,000 B.C.E. – Now modern day New York.

The landscape was bleak with little or no grass or trees.  It was completely white with snow and ice.  The sun glared on the snow covered landscape with solar intensity that was so intense that the young man and woman walking on the ice glazed snow had to shield their eyes from the suns reflection off the ice encrusted snow.

Wolf Howler and his mate, Pretty Fox, were trudging in a south west direction from the last camp of their tribe that lay a seven days walk away.  They were tired and cold.  Even with the heavy mammoth skin cloaks, the wind seemed to pierce their cloaks and the only time they found any warmth was when they found a natural cave they could crawl into and maybe even start a fire with collected wood from their journey.  Wood was scarce on this barren and desolate landscape.  So they collected every bit they saw or found, even the smallest tree bark.  They had left their tribal village after their tribes people drank from a non-frozen pond and they all died mysteriously.  Wolf Howler refused to drink from the pond because he saw the carcasses of many animals that surrounded the pond and he figured correctly there was something in the pond that killed those animals.  Pretty Fox followed his lead and did not drink from the pond.  They watched as their tribes people died horribly, retching in the snow.  They took what frozen meat still laid stored in the ice and left, hoping to find Others who would welcome them.

They had just crossed over a large frozen river, that in another 20,000 years would be called the Hudson River climbed to the west side and continued their walk trudging over low lying hills to

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a mountain range that didn’t seem to be too high and still sported trees through the snow.  They knew in these trees they could find wild life that would replenish their meager food

supplies.

They climbed one hill a and saw still another river frozen over that lay between them and the low lying mountain range that later would be called the Wallkill River

They tried to scale down the western side of the hill when they fell and slid down to the  front of a rock cavern.

They were amazed at their luck to find a cavern that stood at least twenty feet high and could shelter them from the weather and would allow them to build a fire to warm their bodies in preparation for their trip to the low lying mountain range.  They were further amazed when they found a stack of wood lying toward the rear of the cavern.  They knew with this added treasure of wood they could keep themselves warm for many days along with their meager scraps of wood they had found on their walk.

Wolf Howler knew that the added warmth would help him when he hunted for food to feed themselves.  He knew there were animals out near the cavern because he had seen the tracks of several near the cavern.  It was obvious to him that the animals used the cavern to shelter themselves from the harsh ice cold world of the outside.

They entered the cavern cautiously, waiting for an animal to try and escape the human hunter.

They settled near the rear of the cavern under a hollow stack of stone that rose vertically through the earth above them.

He gathered some wood and Wolf Howler took his flint and stone then proceeded to strike

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them together to produce a spark that would ignite their wood.  An hour later, he bent over

and blew into the wood to get a fire going with the smoke bellowing up the hollow stack through

the earth above.

Wolf Howler was pleased enough with the flame that he fashioned a spit over the flame to cook the carcass of a small rabbit.

When the rabbit was cooked to their satisfaction, they both attacked the meat ravenously because they had eaten so little in the past seven days.  They sucked the bone marrow of the small brittle bones of the rabbit.  Finally they were content with feeding and just lay back to enjoy the warmth of their new home.  They both shrugged off their mammoth skin cloaks and let them warm by the fire.  They knew they could sleep contentedly again in the warmed skins later that night.

Wolf Howler squatted before the fire to sharpen the spear point of his spear with a specially selected stone.  As he did this Pretty Fox prepared the meat they had scavenged for the meals of the next few days.

Wolf Howler examined the sharpened spear point with practiced eyes and decided it was the best that could be done.  He grunted to Pretty Fox that he was going to explore the tunnel to the right side of the cavern.

“Be careful.”  Pretty Fox admonished in a guttural voice.

Wolf Howler only nodded as he bent over to explore the four foot high tunnel.  He had crept maybe fifty yards when he came to an opening that was beautiful with tall trees and flowing grasses.

“How can this be?”  He wondered to himself as he remembered the snow and ice behind

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him and the cold that engulfed the entire land.

He cautiously stepped into the new and jeweled garden.  He saw birds in the sky, chirping merrily and on the ground he saw deer, rabbits and small animals scamper playfully in the flowing grasses.  He was unsure on what to make of the sudden change in the climate.

Suddenly a voiced sounded from the heavens in a language he understood.  “You have found the gateway that can help you and your kind to survive.  But I warn you to take only what you need and no more or you will all die freezing in the cold and starving.”  The voice admonished.

Wolf Howler looked up to the sky with his arms spread acknowledging what was expected of him and his mate.

Wolf Howler knew that everything in the newly discovered Eden was to be respected and maybe even protected.  He started to wonder what Others would do if they found this paradise.  He knew Others would find the paradise because the cavern he and Pretty Fox had discovered was ideal shelter from the harsh snow and ice driven world they had escaped.

He went back through the tunnel and to Pretty Fox.  He was unsure as whether he should tell her of the treasure he had found and decided he would hunt for food in the cold.

He left the cavern with Pretty Fox warning he should be careful.  After he left the cavern, he was immediately met by a snow white wolf that loped to his side with its muzzle lifted waiting and wanting to be petted.  Wolf Howler knew he had to pet the wolf, his totem.

When the wolf was satisfied it sprinted to a small copse of trees and waited patiently for Wolf Howler to follow.  And naturally he did.  The wolf guided him to foraging rabbits, squirrels

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and other small game. Wolf Howler had a easy time of collecting and killing the food he needed,

but he was careful not to take more than what was needed to feed himself and Pretty Fox.  He remembered how the village shaman of his tribal village said when they were still a tribal village that the earth mother would not allow the people to kill and take without care or the earth mother would retaliate with village starvation or worse.  He started to wonder if that is what had happened to his village because he remembered that before the people of his village died so horribly they were careless with their killing of the beasts of the forest.  It had gotten so bad that he noticed how the bellies of many of the hunters had grown so large that they would have had a hard time tracking and killing game to feed the village.  He had become concerned enough with this that he questioned the village shaman.  And the shaman nodded with understanding.  It was then that Wolf Howler understood that the people should not be so wanton in the killing of animals.  They had to be more careful and kill only what they absolutely needed and nothing more.  He started to wonder if maybe that was the reason the people of his village died from the water of the pond.

As he trotted back to the cavern, the wolf loped by his side.  It seemed that the wolf knew his thoughts and approved.  When he entered the cavern, he saw Pretty Fox scrapping the hide of  a rabbit.  She looked up and gasped when she saw the wolf at his side.

He only smiled at her as he reached down to pet the head of the wolf.  “Relax.”  He said.  “This wolf has become our pet and is one of our family.”  He smiled at the nervous looking Pretty Fox.

“It will not attack us?”  She asked.

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Wolf Howler shook his head.  “No.  It helped me locate the game to feed us for a few

days and nights.”  He said as he pulled the dead small game from the sack on his shoulder.

She took the game and said.  “We will save this meat for when we need it.  We have enough for now.”

It was then he decided he would show Pretty Fox the paradise at the end of the tunnel.

“Come.” he said.  “I must show you something.”  And he led her through the tunnel to the paradise at the end.  Pretty Fox gasped when she straightened up and saw the beauty of what lay before her.  Even the wolf who had followed them, yelped with surprise at what it had seen.  It loped though the flowing grasses to a stand of trees where a herd of deer ate contentedly.  They didn’t scatter in fear at the approaching wolf, but only lifted their heads in curiosity and went back to munching the grass and the leaves of nearby trees.

Wolf Howler and Pretty Fox stood back confused by what they had just seen.  They knew the herd of deer should have scattered in fear of the approaching wolf.  Yet they didn’t and the wolf didn’t show any intention of attacking the foraging deer. This was unheard of, they thought until Wolf Howler remembered when the wolf showed him the small animals he could capture and kill, the wolf did nothing accept point them out.  He was confused, but was starting to understand.  He and Pretty Fox were supposed to find this salvation, this paradise, but why?  And he was certain the wolf was part of this whole mystery.  He only had to figure out the why.

Pretty Fox was exploring the trees, grasses and warmth of this paradise when she called to him.  He sprinted over to her and found her stranding before two inviting ponds.  “They’re beautiful and inviting.”  She said.

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Wolf Howler nodded and thought.  Finally he said.  “We will use one to bathe and the

other for drinking water.

She readily agreed because for months and years they bathed with heated water from snow and ice.  It would be nice to bathe their entire bodies in warm waters.  They stripped off their under garment tunics and stepped into one pond and joyously bathed each other.  Never before were they able to bathe so luxuriously and in warm water.  Finally they stepped out of the pond and let the glorious sun warm and dry their bodies as they lay on the grass.

Wolf Howler sat up and thought with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.  He knew they had to keep this paradise a secret from all who would use it wantonly for their own personal desires.  He led Pretty Fox back through the tunnel to their cold cavern home.

When they got to their new home, he built a fire and as they kept themselves warm by the fire, he explained to her how they must protect their new found treasure from those who would take advantage of it and plunder without thought.

He took his extra mammoth cloak and draped it over the tunnel opening to hide it.  He called the wolf to him and instructed with hand signs and verbally to not let anyone past the cloak and through the tunnel.  The wolf seemed to nod with understanding and lay down in front of Wolf Howlers cloak.

Several days later Wolf Howler decided he needed to hunt to replenish their food supplies.  He told Pretty Fox his plans then called to Fang, the name he had given their pet wolf.  Fang sprinted to his side seemingly aware of his plans and seemed to anticipate hunting in the mountain.

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Wolf Howler explained to Pretty Fox that the travel to the mountain would be close to a

half day and by the time he had gotten any game, he wouldn’t be back until the evening of the following day.

She nodded then waved goodbye as he and Fang trotted easily on the ice encrusted snow.

By the time he had gotten to the crest of the mountain, he was panting heavily with Fang yelping at his side.  He looked up and saw several deer foraging on the scarce trees on the mountain.  He crept down wind of them with Fang by his side.  He crept silently to within twenty feet of the foraging deer and waited for his breathing and heart to become almost normal.  Then leaped with his spear and charged the closest deer.

His aim was true with his thrown spear.  The spear hit the deer buck between the ribs, near the heart.  He followed the wounded deer for only a few hours before the buck dropped to its side, dead.

He neatly cut a large flank of the buck that would be light enough to carry back.  He found a rock face in the mountain where he could sleep the night with Fang nestled to his side for warmth.

The following morning he cut into the ice and snow and stored the rest of the buck in the ice vault he created.  He then peed on where he had stored the carcass of the buck and Fang did the same.  The smell of their waste would be enough to keep other predators away from his store of meat.

With the flank of the buck on his back he trudged carefully down the ice covered slope of

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the mountain.  He only stopped twice when he thought Fang needed to feed.  He stopped and cut a good portion of the flank and gave it to Fang who ate it hungrily.

He was about to cross the one small frozen river before he got to the cavern when Fang stopped, looked around and growled.  Fang’s muzzle was pointed to the southern sky and Wolf Howler began to wonder.  “What could be there that bothers Fang so?”  He asked himself.  But he could only shrug and continue his trek to the cavern.

What Wolf Howler didn’t realize was that there were a band of Others. Seven men and three women who were following him.  They had seen that he had been successful in his hunt for game and they were hungry.

Screech Owl, their leader, held up his hand for quiet.  He knew that the man they were following could maybe lead them to more food and they were willing to kill anyone who had the food they needed.  They had been together for almost a year.  It had all started when Screech Owl thought he should be the leader of their tribe.  The minor rebellion led to his small band of followers who followed his lead without question.  The only reason for the three women was for them to prepare and cook their meals and provide comfort for the men at night.

They did not see Fang because its snow white fur blended with the frozen landscape.  Screech Owl was tired and hungry.  If what meat the hunter they were following was not enough then the meat on his bones could help satisfy their hunger.  He was concerned when the hunter would stop frequently and turn to their direction, as if he knew they were there, following him.

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Wolf Howler did stop on a regular basis when Fang would stop, turn around and growl at

something behind them.  He stopped and turned, but saw nothing.  But he knew there was something or someone behind them that bothered Fang.

He was exhausted when he finally entered the cavern and was met by Pretty Fox.  He laid down the flank of meat in front of her and she was happy he was so able to provide.

After Wolf Howler shrugged off his mammoth cloak a group of men entered their cavern with spears pointed at him and Pretty Fox.  He immediately dropped his spear when he saw in the corner of his eye, Fang, ready to spring on the unwanted intruders.

Screech Owl grinned.  “You are wise to surrender to my people.”  He growled.

Wolf Howler could only grim.  “I think you might be surprised.”  As he saw Fang creep closer and closer to the intruders.  He knew that as soon as Fang leaped upon them, he would dive to his spear and attack.

As it turned out he didn’t need to do that.  The intruders were terrified by the sudden appearance of Fang that growled with ferocity at their intrusion.

Screech Owl held up his hand and said.  “We will surrender to your wolf, if we could, but share in your food.”

Wolf Howler grinned.  “All you had to do was ask.”

They all sat down as Pretty Fox and Screech Owls three women prepared the feast.

After they all had ate contentedly, Screech Owl asked.  “Who are you and from what tribe are you from?”

Wolf Howler only smiled.  “We started our own tribe.  Are you willing to join?”

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Screech Owl nodded apprehensively.  “Only if I am the leader of this tribe.”  He said.

Wolf Howler knew that Screech Owl couldn’t be bothered with feeding the tribe and only wanted people to feed him.  So he said.  “You can be leader if you will contribute to the

feeding of the people.”

Screech Owl smiled.  “I am a leader and not a hunter.”

Wolf Howler smiled back.  “Then you are worthless as a leader of this new tribe of people.”

Screech Owl smiled.  “My men here believe me to be their leader.”  He said smugly.

Wolf Howler looked to him and his band and smiled.  “But I , my woman and our pet wolf believe me to be the leader of this new tribe.”  After he said this, Fang rose from lying in front of the mammoth cloak and growled in agreement.  Wolf Howler smiled when he saw Screech Owl and his band take a step back.

Pretty Fox spoke for the first time.  “You can see that though Wolf Howler is out numbered by your band of followers, he is well protected and respected.”

“Women are not allowed to speak before men!”  Screech Owl protested.

Wolf Howler shook his head.  “She is allowed to speak in my tribe.”

Screech Owl saw his band nod and inch away from him.  He knew he was losing needed support.  “You will allow me and my band to shelter ourselves here if I allow you to be tribal leader?”  He asked.

Wolf Howler nodded.  “Of course.  But you and your band will have to sleep nearer the face opening.  You should be able to keep yourselves warm if you stoke the fire constantly

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throughout the night.  If so, it is settled.”

Screech Owl knew he had no choice with the arrangements and accepted the conditions of their stay in the rock cavern.  But he knew when he got the chance, he would seize control of the new tribe.

The chance to do this came sooner than expected because Screech Owl noticed that the pet wolf would rise on a regular basis from in front of the mammoth cloak to relieve itself or feed.  The mammoth cloak the wolf seemed to be guarding shielded something important to the wolf,  Wolf Howler and his woman.  He only had to be patient and wait until night when everyone was asleep and the wolf went to relieve itself and he could discover what lay behind the mammoth cloak.

Finally, a few nights later, Screech Owl stayed awake while everyone else had fallen asleep and he waited.

The wolf rose and left the rock cavern to relieve itself.  Screech Owl rose quietly and peeked behind the mammoth cloak to find the tunnel, he naturally had to explore.  When he got to the end and found the night darkened paradise, he was amazed.

He cautiously crept through the tall following grasses.  He came to a herd of sleeping deer that woke immediately to his presence and they all sprinted away into the surrounding forest.

The deer somehow knew that Screech Owl was an animal that should be feared.

Screech Owl smiled as he walked back to the tunnel and re-enter the ice world he had left behind.

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, the wolf came back to lay in front of the mammoth cloak and smelled and saw that it had been disturbed.  It immediately went to the sleeping form of Wolf Howler, who rose groggily and followed the wolf to the cloak guarded tunnel.

He was upset that one of the Others had found the tunnel and he worried that whoever had trespassed into the tunnel would anger the spirit who guarded the hidden paradise and it would be lost for all time.

It wasn’t long before he saw Screech Owl pass through the cloak.  He smiled at Wolf Howler and Fang when he saw them sitting against an opposite wall.

“You and your woman were intent on keeping this hidden from me an my band of hunters.”  He smiled.

Wolf Howler shook his head.  “No.  That is a very spiritual place and I thought that people like you would disturb the spirituality and close it  from us for all time.”

Screech Owl shook his head.  “I saw a herd of sleeping deer and I know that my band of hunters could feed ourselves very well on that land you hid from us.”

Wolf Howler was angry both at Screech Owl and himself.  He knew he should have done more to protect the tunnel from the likes of Screech Owl .  But more importantly he was unsure how he could protect that magical land from the likes of Screech Owl and his band.

Screech Owl called to his men and explained what he had found in the tunnel.  They were all anxious to find this treasure, hidden by Wolf Howler.   They all looked at him with suspicion.

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Wolf Howler and Pretty Fox tried to explain that though  the paradise at the other end of the tunnel looked promising it was guarded by a spirit that would not look kindly on raping the

fruit of it’s paradise.

Screech Owl could only scoff at their warning and ordered his men to pick up their spears and follow him through the tunnel to get much needed food.  He thought that if he could lead his hunters to plentiful food, they would make him the tribal leader over Wolf Howler.

They all crept, hunched over through the tunnel, while Wolf Howler. Pretty Fox and Fang watched them disappear into the tunnel.

Within an hour several of the hunters came back through the tunnel, trembling in fear.  Wolf Howler asked what had happened.

They explained how Horned Toad, the most skillful hunter of their band had crept up to a sleeping herd of deer with spear raised to kill one or more when a giant Grizzly bear appeared magically and with one mighty swipe of it’s paw took Horned Toads head off.  They explained that they all had seen this and remembered Wolf Howlers warning how the spirit of the paradise protected it and they ran back through the tunnel to what they hoped was safety.

Screech Owl was the last to emerge from the tunnel and he was visibly shaken enough to relinquish control of his band of hunters or his leadership of the new tribe.  He knew he had to say something that would keep his faux leadership.  So he said.  “We cannot allow what had happened to Horned Toad stop us from hunting for needed food that is there for our taking.”

His entire band shrank away from him and looked to Wolf Howler.

Wolf Howler could only smile.  “You have seen what the earth mother will do to protect

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her paradise.  It is our duty to respect the spirit of the earth mother.”

Screech Owl scowled.  “Why should my men listen to you?”  He demanded.

Pretty Fox stepped forward. “Because you have all seen what the spirit of the earth mother will do if you are intent on raping and pillaging her land.  A land that could help in our survival.”

All of Screech Owl’s men and women nodded in agreement.  And this caused him to growl in protest.  “I am your leader and I alone can show you how to survive.”

One of his band, Leaping Frog, stepped forward and said.  “Why don’t you go back through that tunnel and bring back more game for all of us to feed upon.?”

Screech Owl knew that he had no choice, but to show his band that he was the leader and hunter they needed.  He went back through the tunnel to hunt for his people.

While he crept through the tunnel to the paradise that awaited him, Fang followed silently.  Wolf Howler saw this and knew the wolf would keep Screech Owl from any wanton killing of game.  And as it turned out he was correct.

Screech Owl left the tunnel into the newly discovered paradise and saw foraging deer in the flowing grasses near a copse of trees, feeding contentedly.  He crept up to them, spear in hand with the intent of killing as many as he could before they fled in fear.  He was ready to pounce on the unsuspecting deer as he stood up with spear raised.

Fang saw and knew intuitively his intentions and leaped from his hidden crouch and slammed his body against Screech Owl.

Screech Owl landed face first into the earth with his spear still clutched in his hand.  He rolled over onto his back, prepared to attack whoever had stopped him in his hunt.  He turned

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over and saw the muzzle of Fang, growling in his face.  He quickly dropped his spear and held his hands up.

He knew that the wolf was protecting the idyllic land and was keeping him from any further killing.  He acquiesced to the command of the wolf and slowly rose from the ground with spear held upright.  He bowed to the wisdom of the wolf and followed it back through the tunnel.

Screech Owl slipped past the mammoth cloak sheepishly behind the wolf.  When he entered the cold cavern he bowed his head to Wolf Howler “Your pet wolf has shown me a better way.”  He exclaimed.

Wolf Howler could only nod when he saw Fang crouch at his feet.  There came from the body of Fang, a spirit essence that floated above all, including Wolf Howler and Pretty Fox, Screech Owl and his band.

“Do not take what you absolutely don’t need.  Respect the earth mother and the earth will respect you.”  The spirit from the lying the wolf disappeared into a mist in the cavern.  Fang looked up and smiled at them all.

“We have learned.”  Wolf Howler said to everyone before him.  “That the earth mother is very protective of her resources and she showed us the true path through the wolf, Fang.”  He finished as he petted the head of the now found leader of their new tribe.