A Brave New World: A Post-Apocalyptic Adventure in the Canadian Forest

The Winter of Our Growth

A cold, overcast morning met us, as dreary as our thoughts. I sat with a cup of coffee, wondering what was going to become of our boys, all of us, in fact. The little boys, the twins and Steve and Oscar do not seem to understand what has happened but Jake was in my lap, crying a bit, Todd had Oscar, holding him tight while Henry had scooped up both Billy and Bobby. Jacob, bless his heart was cuddled on the couch with Calvin, Lester and Fred. They looked like they had lost their last friend. Chris, bless his soul, came up the stairs with an armload of video games and started passing them out. We stayed inside all that day, it just didn't seem to be the thing to do to go outside, but that was soon to change.

After a good breakfast, the boys got their lessons out and everyone worked for several hours. Their moods lifted a bit and slowly, smiles came back to their faces. It had started snowing again so the pile of video games vanished and the boys paired up against each other. It was a joy to hear their happy voices again and it wasn't long before Henry and I were smiling with them. Roger created a wonderful hot punch with cranberry juice and cinnamon. Henry told us that he thought there were some cranberries growing wild near the far end of the lake, we will sure have to check that out next summer!

As the afternoon started to turn winter dark, the twins suddenly sat up very straight, as if they were listening to something. All of a sudden, Rodrigo said, "He needs help." By this time we knew what to expect from those two, so we waited for more information. He and Ricardo got up and began walking towards the door just as something started scratching. Henry stopped Ricardo from opening the door, but Rodrigo repeated, "He needs help".

Henry carefully cracked the door with Chris holding his shoulder against it being shoved open and they both peeked out. There, huddled against the slightly warm door was a dog, it looked like some kind of terrier, shivering and shaking near death from the cold. Ricardo knelt down and scooped the dog up, tears were running down his face and again he repeated, "He needs help, please Daddy, help him!". The poor dog was covered in ice but he managed to wag his tail a bit and lick Ricardo's face, so it was no leap of imagination to realize that we now had a dog.

Roger heated up some milk and broke up some hard rolls to soak up the milk for the dog to eat, while Calvin brought some dry towels to wrap the dog and get him warmed. All the while, the dog was wagging his tail and licking Ricardo's face and hands. Pretty soon he tried to stand up, having gotten a little food in him. He walked up to each of us as if to say "thank you" before finishing the bowl of warm milk. Rodrigo held the dog's head for a moment and turned to us all saying, "His name is Raven."

As soon as the dog heard his name, he jumped up and started barking at the door and then running up to the twins, back and forth. Both boys got a blank look on their faces and they said together, "Daddy, the boy is out there and he is hurt!"

There was no question in our minds that we had a rescue situation and Todd brought mine and Henry's jackets as well as his own, Roger and Chris's. I told the two oldest, Freddy and Lester that Jacob was in charge and they were to help him with the little boys. By this time, Ricardo and Rodrigo were crying and saying, "Go faster, Daddy, the boy needs help! There is another with him!" As we opened the door to go out, the dog, Raven, slipped out ahead of us barking and urging us to go faster.

Without any question, we both followed the dog up over the ridge and down towards where the water turbine generator was located. There, we found a boy huddled against the generator shed with a bundle in his arms. Raven continued to bark frantically until Henry picked up the boy and I gently lifted the bundle out of his protective arms. He moaned to let us know he was still alive, so we set off back to the house as fast as we could run. Somehow, the twins knew we were at the door before we could knock because the door suddenly flew open and little hands were helping us inside. Calvin and Jacob already had dry towels and blankets stacked on the couch and Oscar was heating broth on the stove. The twins had alerted them of what we had in our arms! I think I am going to have to have a long talk with those two and learn just what it is that they can do!

Henry started taking the clothes off the boy and get him warm. He appeared, from his development, to be well into puberty, probably 14 or 15 years old and was obviously a Native. The natives in this area are all Crees, but this boy looked more like an Iroquois or perhaps a Mandan. As they worked on warming the boy, I unwrapped the bundle he was carrying only to discover that it was a baby! A baby boy that could not have been more than a few weeks old. The little child began to cry as soon as the warm air in the room hit is bare skin. At the first wail, Raven was standing beside me licking the baby's face and body. The dog looked up at me as if to say, "This baby is MINE!"

Oh, I need to have a long talk with those twins! Between the arrival of Raven and now the two boys, our excitement was running at fever pitch. Calvin and Oscar brought over a bowl of beef broth and a spoon to Henry, who was now sitting on the couch holding the boy wrapped in warm towels. The boy looked at the bowl and nodded his head "yes," so Henry started feeding him a little bit of broth at a time.

I had the baby now wrapped in warm towels and I remembered seeing some baby bottles and nipples in a package in the same room where the medicines were stored, so I asked Todd to see if he could find them. Roger was already warming some milk and the two boys filled the baby bottle with warm milk and slipped a nipple on the end. The baby was obviously hungry because he immediately clamped down on that nipple and tried to empty the bottle in a single gulp!

As soon as the boy had finished the bowl of broth, Ricardo came over and placed his hands on the boy's forehead while Rodrigo held his hands. In a few minutes, Ricardo told us the boy's name is Fox and the baby is his nephew, Sky Whistle. The boy tried to speak, but Ricardo held up his hand and again put his hands on the boy's forehead. After a few minutes Ricardo began to recite; "Fox brought his nephew because bad people raided their village and killed his parents and his sister. All that remained alive were him, Sky Whistle and the dog, Raven. After the raiders left, he gathered up Sky Whistle and the three of them started off hoping to find shelter. They traveled all night and saw the strange orange glow in the sky and knew immediately that something terrible had happened. He finally stumbled next to the wooden shed that he could hear something running in it, but his strength was gone. When Raven couldn't rouse him, the dog went off to find help. Fox speaks some English but he needs to sleep now, please take care of Whistle." At that, Fox's head slumped against Henry's chest and he was sound asleep.

Lester and Freddy came up to me and peered down at the baby, shyly they giggled and asked if they could hold the baby. I didn't see why not, so I got them settled on the couch and showed them how to support the baby's head. You could just see the pride and the love flow off the two of them, Whistle didn't know it yet, but he had just conquered two older brothers! Calvin came over to sit on my lap and then both Oscar and Steve joined in, I had a lapful of boys. We just sat there for a while and then I ran my fingers down Oscar's side making him shriek in laughter! That started the baby to cooing and soon we were all giggling with relief! We had just added two more boys to our community and a dog, I wondered how much more would we grow. I would have been astounded had I known just how prophetic my thoughts were!

Jacob had befriended Fox, who had awakened after about an hour, and they were becoming fast friends despite a language difference. They were sitting on the floor talking when I looked at Henry and asked him if Jacob spoke French. He looked startled and said not as far as he knew. Well, listen to the boys, they were speaking FRENCH! Henry asked his son what they were talking about and Jacob replied that he was asking Fox about his carrying Whistle all that way.

Henry said, "IN FRENCH?"

Jacob got a funny look on his face as said, "Yeah, but I don't know any French!"

The twins were giggling over in the corner! If I had not been so tired, I would have done some more asking, but as it was, everybody was beginning to yawn, so it looked like it was time to go to bed. Oscar and Steve asked if Whistle could sleep in their room. I was a little apprehensive, but the look on their faces was enough to let them try. They went and got a laundry basket and filled it with soft towels for blankets. They gently carried him to their room and placed the basket between their two beds. Raven laid down in front of the basket, almost daring anyone to hurt HIS BOY!

Everyone got ready to go to bed and Henry and I started to make the rounds with goodnight kisses along with a few tickles, just for fun. When we got to the twins, Ricardo whispered in my ear, "Don't worry Daddy, everyone knows what they need to do."

Later, as we laid in bed, I related that to Henry and he told me that if he didn't love those two boys as much as he did, he would be afraid of them! I asked how it was that Jacob could speak French and he replied that he wasn't sure he WANTED to know!

The house quieted down with the exception of Raven, who made a continuous round checking on Whistle and Fox. I could hear his toenails clacking on the wood floors as he went from bedroom to bedroom guarding his charges.

Just as I was dozing off, I am sure I heard a tiny voice say to me, "Fox's people will be here soon, Daddy, please help them."

We spent the night undisturbed, even baby Whistle slept the night through. The next morning the first problem was to find some clothing for Fox, his leather leggings and jacket were still water soaked. He was a bit taller than Jacob so Todd had some pants he could wear and Jacob's shirts fit him well enough. Shoes were another problem, but Chris finally found some new shoes in a clothing storage locker that were the right size. The march to breakfast was like a triumphant army marching to victory with Whistle in his basket and Raven marching directly under it!

After we had eaten, we all gathered in the big room and sat down to talk with Fox. With Jacob doing much of the translation, we learned that Fox and Whistle had lived in a family encampment about 10 miles north of our lake. He said that in the middle of the night some men stormed their homes, setting fire to everything and shooting wildly. They wore some kind of uniform, but he didn't think anyone was in charge. His Father killed a couple of them until he was shot down. His Mother told him to grab the baby and run, which he did. It took him all day to travel to where we found him, but he said that "the voices" told him where to go. He started crying heavily as he related all this and Henry gathered him up in his arms and held him. When he finally was able to stop sobbing, we told him that he and Whistle could live with us and that as soon as we could, we would go and bury his Family. A very upset boy held Henry's and my hand as he stumbled through his English telling us that he had only 12 summers and now he and Whistle were all alone. He turned to the two of us and asked us if we would be his Daddies and take care of him and Whistle. I don't know who was crying harder, him or Henry and myself! So now, Henry and I have 17 sons!

Henry and I decided that, with all our new Family additions, it would be a good idea to take an inventory of the clothing and other supplies that had been stored in the camp. We knew we were alright for food, at least through the rest of the winter, but we needed an idea about clothing, shoes, bedding and that sort of thing. We also needed to discuss plans for protection if the group that had raided Fox's home ever showed up. We knew that we had a couple more months of winter weather, but it was probably a good idea to begin planning now. We spent the rest of the day going through storerooms and lockers to make a list of our supplies. Whoever had laid in these supplies obviously intended them to last a long time. It seemed that a military man must have been the leader of the group and it did seem that the supplies were intended for military type people. Oscar and Steve helped by watching Whistle with Raven also standing guard over the baby. They fed him another bottle and even changed his diapers like they had been doing it forever, of course, Raven checked their job before he allowed Whistle to be put back down in his bed! While we were still busy checking the supplies, Oscar and Steve found some sheets of paper and some pencils and started to draw out plans for next year's garden. They checked on the seed supply and by lunch time they had completed plans all drawn up with lists of seeds and when they should be planted!

Our chefs, Calvin and Oscar, started lunch and everyone had hot soup and rolls. We decided to let the boys play in the afternoon as the night before everyone had been pretty restless. It was a good day and even Fox played some of the video games with the older boys. His English was improving by leaps and bounds.

After the evening meal, the twins sat down beside Henry and me, looking very solemn. Ricardo started by saying, "Fox is very important. He is shaman!"

Henry, being knowledgeable about the local Indian tribes, looked at Ricardo and asked him, "Does he know this?"

Rodrigo then said, "Yes Daddy and he needs your help, he must bury his people before he comes into his powers. He is very powerful and he will bring others to us! He will help us when the bad people come!"

We decided that Fox needed more rest before we started questioning him and it was getting late anyway, so we started everyone towards getting washed up for bed. It had been an exciting and tiring two days, sleep was what we all needed. Over the next several days we talked with Fox, but never questioned him. He grew comfortable with us and soon he was just another happy boy member of our "tribe". Whistle was a happy baby and had become very attached to Steve and Oscar, his face would light up whenever they came near him. We continued to monitor the area cameras, but other than some wildlife, nothing was moving in the snow and cold. We gradually relaxed our vigilance and settled back into our routine of lessons in the morning and playtime most afternoons. About once a week Henry and I would wade through the snow to check the water turbine generator, but nothing was ever needed, it ran perfectly, only a little oil had to be added about every other week. Finally, winter began to loosen its hold on us, water began to drip from the ice on the roof each afternoon and the snow was starting to turn slushy and wet.

ANOTHER YEAR IS UPON US

Spring in the Canadian woods is a wet and slushy affair, but our hillside drained rapidly and as soon as the soil could be worked, Oscar and Steve were out planting seeds. The two boys had grown considerably since last year, they were now hulking 8 year olds and were filling out handsome young men. They knew exactly what and where they wanted things planted and they kept us busy for a couple of weeks helping them. I was sure that the older boys were going to object, but that never happened, I guess they wanted fresh vegetables too!

The twins, Ricardo and Rodrigo were growing, too. Their pants were "high-water" and their shirts were suddenly too tight! They continued to amaze us with their talents and they had taken over completely working with Fox, who had now bloomed into a happy, confident youngster. Whistle had also gotten much bigger and loved all his brothers, but most of all Oscar and Steve. Raven guarded us all, but he kept Whistle in sight always! Jacob and Fox seemed to pair off with each other whenever the twins had not claimed Fox. Both boys walked the woods near the campground with Fox showing Jacob about edible plants and spices to be found. Our soups and other dishes were taking on a whole new set of flavors. Fox started bringing home mysterious plants and leaves to be dried. I suspect the Shaman instincts that the twins told us about were beginning to come forward. Chris and Roger spent most of their time together and they had moved into a small bedroom with a big bed in it. That was alright with Henry and myself, they DID ask us first. We all needed each other and also someone special. Billy, Bobby, Jake and Oliver had created a "bunkroom" for themselves, there was a whole lot of giggling coming from their room, but we all respected their privacy. Last, but definitely not least, Lester and Freddy announced that they were going to occupy the room near the platform on the roof and that they would man the telescope and binoculars on the lookout daily. Everyone decided on these rooms without any input from Henry or myself. We didn't think that there needed to be any changes, they were doing quite well governing themselves.

As summer began to arrive, Fox came to us in tears, "Daddies, it is time to bury my people." Henry and I knew this was coming, but Fox's tears brought us all into an embrace with him. We knew that he needed our help and we WERE going to support him. The next morning we told Chris, Roger and Todd that they were needed to run things while Henry and I went with Fox. Immediately Jacob and the twins said they would go also. We figured that would be enough people to do this hideous task so the next day we set out, carrying shovels, an axe and hand tools along with enough camping equipment for a couple of days. I was amazed at the distance Fox had struggled through the snow carrying Whistle during a storm. It took us all day to get to Fox's village.

All the houses had been destroyed, so we set up our camp near the spring that had supplied the village. We had to clean it out before it was usable, the raiders had thrown stones and building materials in, but nothing that would have contaminated it. We used a canvass to carry the bodies of Fox's people to a simple graveyard we had dug. Fox identified his Mother and Father, along with his Sister and her husband, so we buried them first. Ricardo surprised us, he stood at each grave and said a prayer, first in English and then in words that I believe were Fox's native language. Whatever it was, it brought sobbing and many tears to Fox by the time we had buried all his people, 15 graves in all by the time we finished. It was too late to start our return and Fox was certainly in no shape to travel, he collapsed into his bedroll without even eating supper. It was like he had gone into a coma, we couldn't rouse him. Henry and I took turns sitting beside him until Ricardo and Rodrigo told us that he would wake up in the morning as SHAMAN! We had learned long ago to trust the twins, so Henry and I slipped into our own bedrolls to sleep.

We awoke early the next morning to the sound of Fox chanting near the graves of his family. We decided to let him have his private grieving, he finally returned to us with a smile. Ricardo whispered in my ear, "He is complete now, he is a MAN! He IS SHAMAN!"

SHAMAN

I hardly understood what Ricardo had said to me when he continued, "Daddies, both of you stand, one on each side of me and DO NOT SAY A WORD!" From the tone of his voice, I knew something very important was happening, so Henry and I each held one of Ricardo's hands while Rodrigo brought Fox to stand directly in front of us.

Fox stood ramrod straight, looking both of us in the eyes as he began to speak in an eerie booming voice, "GREAT SPIRIT OF THE ATAWONKA, HEAR ME, I AM THE BLOOD OF MY GRANDFATHER, GUIDE ME IN WHAT I MUST DO. I STAND BEFORE MY FATHERS, NEW CHIEFS OF THE ATAWONKA." I swear, Fox's face went all foggy with a bluish haze and then it cleared with a great smile on his face. He continued, "I HEAR YOU GREAT SPIRIT OF THE ATAWONKA, AS YOU SAY, SO IT SHALL BE! I, FOX-ATA, AM SHAMAN! THE ATAWONKA SHALL RISE AGAIN WITH OUR NEW CHIEFS. I, FOX-ATA, SHAMAN, SAY THIS AND IT SHALL BE SO!"

At this, Fox started to crumple to the ground and both Henry and I started to move to pick him up, but Ricardo held us back telling us that it must happen this way. Rodrigo remained standing and held his hand out to Ricardo who stepped up beside him and they turned to face Henry and myself.

They began to speak as one person, "WE SPEAK FOR SHAMAN, WE SPEAK FOR CHIEFS HENRY AND PETER, WE SPEAK FOR THE ATAWONKA. SO IT HAS BEEN SPOKEN, SO SHALL IT BE. RISE FOX-ATA, SHAMAN, BRING THE ATWONKA TOGETHER."

At the last word, they also crumpled to the ground next to Fox. Despite what we had been told, Henry and I started towards the boys, but before we could move, all three of them staggered to their feet and wrapped their arms around each other and ourselves, they all were flooding our shirts with their tears, not of fright but of relief! Jacob rushed to help his brothers and we all started talking at once.

Fox raised his hand for quiet and began to speak to us, "Fathers, Brothers, I am not as I was but still I am Son and Brother to you. I must go from here for a while and I must take my Brothers Ricardo and Rodrigo with me. Please remain here, we will be gone only a short time. Do not be afraid for yourselves or my Brothers, all will be well." As he finished speaking, all three turned and walked off into the trees.

It was strange and eerie, the silence was complete. Not a bird sang, nor a sound came from the forest and, yet, we were at complete peace. We three who remained, Henry, myself and Jacob busied ourselves cleaning up our camp and arranging stones around each of the graves. By late afternoon we had accomplished all that we could and we sat to wait for the boy's return.

Just before dark, Fox stepped from behind a tree followed by Ricardo and Rodrigo. Fox strode up to us as we stood and he said, "Father Henry, Father Peter, Chiefs of the Atawonka, I bring you our people. At those words, a group of 15 boys, ranging from about 6 to 15 followed him out of the forest and they, also, gathered directly in front of us. He began to toll out their names and each boy in his turn stepped in front of us and grasped each of our hands, Bear, Trout, Lion, Panther, Raccoon, Feather, Hawk, Knife, Fish, Horse, Tree, Sparrow, Owl, Eagle, Elk all each in their turn professed their loyalty to Henry and myself. It was an emotional and draining experience but we knew that it represented the survival of Fox's Family and his People!

Again, it was now too late in the day to try to return to the Campground, but we had no provisions with which to make supper. Each of the new boys carried a bag, which they produced jerky and a bread roll with enough for the rest of us to eat also. The day had taken it's toll upon us and our bodies demanded sleep. As excited as we were, all of us were asleep almost before our heads hit our bedrolls! It was a weird night, I kept dreaming of Indians fighting with men in uniform, gunfire, and Indian Warriors standing before a campfire.

Both Henry and I woke about the same time and he asked me if I had any dreams. When I told him what mine were like, he said that his were exactly the same. When anyone in the future ever tells me that dreams never happen, I will tell them they are wrong! The next morning we picked up and headed home, that wonderful place where our boys are waiting for us. What a surprise we have for them, and I wonder where we are going to put them all?

SUMMER COMES TO THE ATAWONKA PEOPLE

For such a large group, we moved fairly fast through the forest and it was early afternoon as we came in sight of our home. We sent Ricardo and Rodrigo on ahead to warn everyone that we had strangers joining us, so the whole Family stood at the entrance to welcome us home. The new boys were a little overwhelmed by their welcome and there was a little language difficulty but that was all soon overcome by being just boys. We opened up the closed wing of the main house, that gave us 6 more bedrooms and a great room. Fox and Jacob led the new boys into the great room and introduced them to everyone. Between English, French and the native language, it was a great mixture!

Jacob moved out of his old room to be with Fox, it looks like that is going to be a permanent arrangement. I think it bothered Henry at first, but when he saw the two together, he had no more problems with it. They ARE a couple!

Ricardo and Rodrigo became quite friendly with Sparrow and Owl, who are the same age and, I suspect they are telepaths like Ricardo and Rodrigo because all of a sudden, the two Indian boys were speaking English! We took the two single beds out of Ricardo' and Rodrigo's room and replaced them with two Double Beds. It was a tight fit but all four boys were happy.

Eagle and Elk are the same age as Oscar and Steve, plus they are cousins to Whistle, so those two joined the "bunkroom" right away and there seems to be no communication problems there either! The next boy to be "assimilated" was Bear. He was the oldest at 15 and Ricardo walked him over to Chris and Todd and introduced them silently? Whatever Ricardo did, Bear was their long lost buddy and he headed to the bedroom between those two, locked arm in arm!

I sometimes think that Ricardo and Rodrigo are the news Chiefs, but the moment I thought that I got scowls from both boys, hoo boy, I gotta be careful even with what I think about! It was apparent early on that Fish, Horse and Tree were very close and Rodrigo told me that they were blood brothers and had seen their parents murdered by the raiders. That made them very special to me and I gathered them to me as we sat on the couch. They clung to me as I told them I would be their new Daddy. I am not sure they understood all my words but there was no question that they knew my meaning. I found out that all three were very ticklish and it was a wonderful way to break the tension - WITH GIGGLES! They jibber-jabbered to me and me back, pretty soon we began to understand each other, I am sure Ricardo and Rodrigo or maybe Owl and Eagle are part of that?

Next came Knife, even though he was 10, he was a small little boy. Knife wandered out to the kitchen where Calvin and Oscar were getting supper ready. He watched for a little while and then dug some leaves out of his bag and handed them to Oscar, pointing to the pot. Oscar sniffed them and then crumpled them up and added yet another taste to the stew they were making. Oscar tasted it and yelled, "WOW!" He grabbed Knife and kissed him!

Jacob, of course, took up guard next to Fox and was his constant companion. At one point, Fox turned to Jacob and said, "You are my JACOB-ATA, be with me always!" Jacob looked at Henry and when Henry nodded "OK", Jacob was Fox's!

Trout and Lion are both brothers, 10 and 11 years old. They were a little shy but they looked at Lester and Freddy and asked if they could join Panther and Raccoon on the observation deck. There was no problem with that as it was the largest bedroom in the campground. All six of the boys dashed off, giggling and laughing as they climbed the stairs to the top level.

Feather and Hawk started playing with the video games and Chris took them down to the computer room where the camera monitors were operating. They immediately understood what they were looking at and started operating the camera controls. We were never sure how they did that, but those two, Feather and Hawk, became the camera operators and were the first ones to see trouble when it finally came to us. They saved our "bacon" more than once! All this took place over several days and each Indian Boy was accompanied by Fox as he moved in with the boys already there.

After about two weeks, Fox asked if he could hold a campfire and a Pow-Wow near the lake. Of course we had no problem with that (we had already been warned by Ricardo and Rodrigo!) So, on a mid June night, Fox called all his brothers to Pow-Wow. They made a huge group and Henry and I were also invited. (We were warned by Ricardo and Rodrigo to stay silent while Fox led the ceremony!) At dusk we all trooped down to the lake shore, after turning out all the electric lights that surrounded the campground. We even brought Whistle in his basket bed. As it grew dark, Fox lit the fire logs that he had placed in the fire ring and, as the fire grew, he stood before all of us and started to chant, first in his language and then in English. "I am FOX-ATA, SHAMAN TO THE ATAWONKA. ALL PRESENT ARE ATAWONKA, CHIEF HENRY AND CHIEF PETER ARE HERE TO PRESIDE."

Ricardo and Rodrigo stood and took my and Henry's hand to pull us upright. Rodrigo said, "This is Chief Peter. Heed him well."

Ricardo said, "This is Chief Henry. Listen to him well," and they both sat down leaving Henry and I standing.

Henry looked around the fire circle and said, "Are all of you taken care of, does anyone need anything? Are you hungry or need clothing?"

A voice in the dark said, "We are well and loved here."

So I then asked, "Have you found friendship here? Do you feel safe here?"

And again the voice in the dark responded, "We are well and loved here."

It suddenly came to my mind. (Guess who I suspect?) I then said, "We, the Chiefs of the ATAWONKA welcome you in our midst, we claim you as our own! YOU AND WE ARE ATAWONKA, NOW AND FOREVER. NEVER CAN WE BE SEPARATED. SO IT HAS BEEN SAID, SO IT SHALL BE."

Immediately Fox stood, he looked around the fire circle and the turned to Henry and myself and bowed, saying, "I AM FOX-ATA, SHAMAM OF THE ATAWONKA PEOPLE. MY CHIEFS HAVE ACCLAIMED YOU ALL ATAWONKA, SO IT HAS BEEN SAID, SO IT SHALL BE, FOREVER MORE WE ARE JOINED, ONE PEOPLE, NEVER TO BE SEPARATED!" At that, the fire died, almost as if a switch had been turned. We all joined hands and returned to the house. As it was quite late, the time seemed to have flown by, everyone was ready for bed, without complaint. Especially Henry and myself, we were exhausted. There were no more sounds for the remainder of the night!

THE COLONY BEGINS

The next morning everyone was up and ready for breakfast, Calvin and Roger outdid themselves and they had sprinkled some of Fox's dried leaves on the powdered eggs and it made a world of difference! As we were all leaving the table, Fox stood and said, "CHIEF HENRY, CHIEF PETER WHAT ARE YOUR ORDERS?"

Both Henry and I stood and I whispered to him, "Make it good, partner."

He smiled, looked over the crowd of boys and said, "Fox, we must never forget those who were before us and we must never forget who we are, but we are starting a new life here, one where we are all equal. A life that begins Today. A life that demands new traditions, new ways and new ideas. Dad sounds much better to me and Dad Peter. Sons and Brothers and Dads we are now. Do not forget the Old Ones, but let us start our new lives with new traditions, new ways and new names. It is time for a new equality among Brothers in a New Place - THE COLONY! Let us be at peace with ourselves, a new people equal in all things, each for the other, forever brothers!"

All the boys looked stunned. Then Ricardo and Rodrigo jumped up on a chair and shouted, "THE COLONY FOREVER!" That was all it took, the boys started hugging each other, Indian boy and English speaking boy, it made no difference - THEY ARE BROTHERS!

It was a warm day and we decided that it would be a good idea to air all the bedding in the sunshine and wash the winter clothing before storing them away. Everyone was busy with their own needs, the sound of happy boys was like music in the air. The four oldest, Henry and I have come to think of them as The Four Musketeers, Chris, Roger, Todd and Bear had their heads together all morning, even including Fox a couple of times. It seemed that they had reached some kind of agreement and the four of them came to talk with Henry and myself. Surprisingly, Bear acted as spokesman, he had always seemed shy before this, he told us that there were chickens running loose where they had fled to after the raiders destroyed the village. They wanted to build a chicken coop and retrieve the remaining chickens, we could have fresh eggs and chicken to supplement the frozen food we are all eating.

Henry told them that there was cut lumber and fencing materials stored at the sawmill that they could use. We could take the truck down the old logging road behind our campground and bring enough supplies to build a suitable pen for the chickens. It would have to keep the chickens in as well as keep predators out! They proposed we go the next morning to the sawmill and start building a chicken pen. Henry and I both agreed that was a good plan. Several of the other boys volunteered to help. The remainder of the day was spent marking out where the pen should be built as well as the spring cleaning of the buildings. Even though everyone was busy, monitoring the camera screens was not neglected. We had impressed upon the boys that vigilance was necessary for our protection. They took this seriously and there was always someone watching the screens during the daylight hours.

The next morning Henry got the old truck started. The Four Musketeers hopped in, along with a few others to help load materials and they started out for the sawmill. It would be an all day trip, so Calvin and Oscar packed lunches for all those going. While they were gone, I got to thinking about the houses across the lake. The uniformed men had carried off everything they could, but we needed to see if anything else was salvageable. I gathered Fox, Calvin and Panther and told them to get the canoe ready to go across the lake. I left Trout and Lion in charge with a special warning to watch after Whistle. I took one of the radios and left one with the twins, who were going to stay up on the observation deck while we were gone.

There was little wind, so the trip across the lake was without problems. The houses were in terrible shape, but Calvin suggested that maybe there were hidden doors like there were in our buildings, so they all scampered off to search. Oscar was the first to discover a hidden door under a pile of trash in a garage. We found a treasure of canned food, weapons and ammunition and a quantity of assorted clothing and bedding. We closed it back up and piled trash over the door until we could get a working party over to reclaim what we found. In every house we found hidden doors and rooms full of treasures for our survival. None of the houses were completely destroyed, they all could be made livable again without a great deal of work, window glass was the only thing that we could not replace.

As we were walking towards the last house, I heard a voice in my head say, "Daddy, look in the garage quickly!" Fox must have heard the same thing because he took off running with me towards the garage of the last house. We pushed the broken door open and, at first we saw nothing. Then Fox heard a little noise like a whimper and pushed the door open even wider to get some light.

There in the corner was a young man holding a board like a club and standing in front of a woman laying on the floor holding a baby. The man was wild-eyed with fear when he saw us, I held the boys back and spoke calmly to the man, "We are friends, we will not hurt you." I had to repeat it several times before he seemed to register what I was saying.

Finally, he stammered, "Can you help us, my wife has fallen and broke her leg. We have no food for the baby, we have not eaten in days. PLEASE, will you help us?"

Fox dropped to his knees beside the woman and gently said, "I am SHAMAN, let me help you."

The man started to cry, "Help us, help my wife and my baby, I beg you!"

I used the radio to call back to the house to tell them to bring blankets and towels down to the pier, we had injured people to help! Fox fashioned a splint from two boards and some rags for the woman's leg and Calvin took the baby in his arms, singing to it to calm both the baby and the parents.

When we got them all back to the canoe, we saw a flotilla of canoes headed towards us, Lion and Feather had broken out the biggest canoe and brought it to carry the family across. Panther, like Bear, is a boy as big as a man, he is well named. He leapt from the canoe and in a single bound he was beside the young woman.

He said, "I am Lion, let me help you." He said it with such feeling and kindness in voice, despite his poor English, the young mother knew she could trust him.

As soon as she was seated in the canoe, Calvin brought her baby and put it in her arms. When all were loaded into the canoes, we set off straight for the house. When we got there, Henry and his crew were also waiting for us. I asked why they were back so soon, he tapped his forehead and said, "The Twins News Service!" Apparently, everyone heard their broadcast!

We carried the Family inside and laid the young woman on a bed, Fox approached her and said, "I must set your leg so it will heal properly." Fear showed in her face and he went on, "I will not hurt you, I will give you something to numb the pain."

At that, he pulled a small bag from his pack and poured a powder out of it into a glass of cool water. He had her drink it and they waited until she started to get drowsy. Fox told Bear to lay across her abdomen and then in a swift motion, he set her leg straight and immediately retied the splint to hold the bones in place. He turned to the young father and said, "She will sleep now, when she wakes we will feed her a light broth." The man looked at and was about to cry when Fox continued, "It is what I do, I AM SHAMAN."

Calvin and Oscar cleaned up and bathed the baby and after they fed her, they discovered she was a little girl, they wrapped her in warm towels and laid her beside Whistle in the clothes basket crib, she was asleep before her head hit the blankets. Raven lay down in front of the basket, daring anyone to disturb HIS babies! We let the man sit beside his wife until she was completely asleep and then offered him food and a place to clean himself.

It was later that afternoon when he told us their story; a convoy of buses were transporting people to one of the large cities when it was attacked by raiders. He and his wife and baby were able to sneak away under cover of darkness and started walking. They had no idea there was anything here, they were just following an overgrown dirt road when his wife, Maria, slipped and fell. He realized she had broken her leg and was fearful for her life. They had taken refuge in that garage when he was sure he heard someone tell him help was on the way. By this time, he was completely in tears and begged us to care for his wife and child, he would go away if we didn't want him around, but please spare Maria and the child. They had not even had time to name the baby!

At that point I felt I needed to make a decision and, as I stood, our two little mind sneaks sent to me, "Do it Daddy, it is the right thing to do!" Those two little gremlins had already known what I was going to say!

I said to everyone, "NOBODY is going to be sent away, we will make a place for you among us!" The young father, we learned his name was John Brayton and he was but 17 years old, thanked us through his tears and said that they would be good citizens of our community. He was hardly older than our boys and Maria was only 16 years old and they had not actually had a wedding.

Fox turned to them and said, "Before you stand two CHIEFS of our people, when you are ready, THEY WILL MARRY YOU!" He looked right at Henry and said further, "I AM SHAMAN, SO I HAVE SPOKEN SO IT SHALL BE!" Then he grinned a silly grin and ran off before we could say anything.

So it came to be that we had our first of many emigrants. We repaired a house across the lake for them so they could have some privacy as a family and later that summer all three came to Henry and myself and asked that we marry them and christen the baby, whom they named Rachel. It was a feel good time, but little did we realize that our isolation and our solitude were coming to an end.

As summer was beginning to turn into fall, Ricardo and Rodrigo again warned us that people were approaching and some of them were hurt. Knowing how John and Maria found refuge here, we sent a party out under the leadership of Bear, who was turning out to be a skilled leader of men, and men they are in both body and heart. The search party did not return that night and Henry and I worried all night long, such horrible things our imaginations can dream up. We both finally did drop off to sleep just a little before dawn. It seemed like only minutes, but it was actually a couple of hours later, a grinning Rodrigo and Ricardo were shaking us. When we finally got our eyes open Ricardo told us that we had visitors across the lake at John and Maria's house. We quickly dressed, grabbed a fresh bun that Calvin had created and started across the lake in the small canoe.

We had been supplying John and Maria with fresh eggs and meat. They had planted a small vegetable garden and that had begun to produce, so they had made a meal for the group of parents and children seated under a tree in their side yard. There were three families that included four boys and a girl. All the children appeared to be in the 10 to 14 year old range and everyone was skinny with their ribs showing and gaunt faces. They all had sores on their skin and several of the boys were severely bruised, something that alerted Henry and myself.

Fox had accompanied us across the lake and he and Bear were talking quietly. Both boys stood and joined Henry and I, they turned and faced the group. Bear started, "I am Bear, I and my Brothers are the ones who rescued you. This is Fox, our SHAMAN."

Fox then began in a rage, "I AM SHAMAN, TELL ME WHY YOUR CHILDREN ARE HURT! At that, the entire rescue party of our boys looked very grim.

An older man stepped out from the group, clearly showing he was frightened, and started speaking, "I am James Ammons, my older brother operated a sawmill near here, we were trying to reach safety at his mill.

At that, Henry literally screamed and ran to the man, hugging him and crying, "Brother, Brother, I thought you to be dead." Henry turned to us and said, "This IS my brother whom I thought lost to me!"

After much hugging and more tears, James began their story, "The government agents were transporting us on buses when the one we were on broke down. The other buses went on without us, just abandoning us in the middle of nowhere! We overpowered the driver and the guard and tied them up leaving them in the bus. I knew about where we were and convinced everyone that we had a better chance surviving with my brother than waiting for someone to rescue us. We have been wandering around these hills for three days now, before we stumbled on that old road that seemed kind of familiar to me. We have been locked up in pens, like cattle, for more than a year. They made slaves out of us, forced labor and little food. When our boys rebelled against the treatment, they beat them. More than one of our sons died from their beatings." He turn towards Henry and asked, "Do you think they will let us stay? Will they help us and not enslave us like the others did?"

Both Henry and I were having a hard time not breaking down, Fox stepped in front of us and held up his hand for silence, "I AM FOX-ATA, SHAMAN, BROTHER TO ALL THESE BOYS, SON TO CHIEF HENRY AND CHIEF PETER. THEY SPEAK TO ME NOW, YES WE WILL HAVE YOU AND YOU WILL BE SAFE HERE. THE CHIEFS HAVE SAID IT, SO IT SHALL BE!"

That said it all, nothing more was needed. As I looked up, already a flotilla of canoes were being paddled across to us, loaded with clean clothing, blankets, food and things like soap and bandages. Fox started examining the children first and tenderly applying his herbs and ointments to their hurts. The women were trying to recover from the stunning news that they were safe and that their children would suffer no more beatings. As for the fathers, it was like a ray of sunshine crossing their faces, now they had hope. As for me, I guess there is no sense in admonishing the Twin Broadcasting System, they know us as well as we know ourselves, Henry and I. We asked the parents if they wanted their children to stay across the lake with us or with them, we just didn't have room there for everyone. James Ammons said his two boys, Gary and Billy could stay with us, that way they could get to know their cousin, Jacob. The other parents wanted their children with them, we could certainly understand that.

Then the little girl spoke up, My name is Gail and I am nobody's child, my parents are gone and these kind people took me in. May I stay with you across the lake, I would work for you and do your cleaning if you will let me stay."

Before anyone could say a word, Calvin ran to the little girl and said, "Of course you can stay with us, Little Sister, and no slave labor will EVER happen in our house, NEVER SHALL IT TAKE PLACE."

At that, Fox again came forward, held up his hand for silence and said, "THERE ARE NO SLAVES IN THE COLONY, NOT NOW NOR EVER SHALL THERE BE. YOU ARE SAFE HERE LITTLE SISTER, A CHIEF'S SON HAS SAID IT, SO IT SHALL BE." He then turned to the new boys and said, "WE ARE ALL CHIEF'S SONS, BROTHERS TO EACH OTHER AND SISTERS, TOO. THE CHIEFS HAVE SAID IT, WE HAVE SAID IT, SO IT SHALL BE! Come with us and be welcome, there is another sister waiting for you across the lake, just as there yet another behind you, daughter to John and Maria, sister to all of us. WE are all sisters and brothers, that is the way of the ATAWONKA."

The new adults looked shell shocked, after all they had been through it was hard to believe that they would ever be welcomed again. Henry and I walked through the group introducing ourselves. We met James' wife Adell, who was mother to James, Jr, and Carl Ammons, Ronny and Nel Butcher along with their son David. George and Carie Noland had no living children, their son had died in the prison camp.

As we spoke with them, George said, "Chief, SIR," and I stopped him right there.

He looked frightened so I quickly explained, "We are merely Peter, myself and Henry. We are not rulers nor are we commanders, just parents like yourselves, no better nor any worse."

After a few moments he began again, "Peter, we have cared for Gail since we left the prison camp, Carie and I have come to love the little girl, she is only 6 years old and has been horribly abused. Could you see it in your heart to let us raise her? We can't have any more children and those monsters murdered our little boy, Bobby. That little girl is all that is holding my poor wife's sanity together. Will you help us?"

Suddenly, Rodrigo was at my side. He spoke up, saying, "Daddy, he speaks the truth and he is a good man. Invite them to stay at our house for a couple of days, they can have my and Ricardo's room, we will sleep in the bunk room for a while. Give them a chance to bond with our sister."

I turned to George and said, "You have been vouched for as no other could be, please be our guest until we can fix up some more houses. We will talk more later and also speak with little Gail. Be easy, you have great and wondrous champions for your cause!" We loaded up all those going back across the lake and those staying with John and Maria returned to that house as it was starting to become dark. We arrived back at the dock and assisted everyone in bringing their few belongings up to the house.

George was amazed, he said the prison camp even, did not have electric lights! When he discovered hot and cold running water, flush toilets and central heat, he just sat down dumbfounded! He said, "I am a maintenance mechanic, if you will let me, I will maintain all this in return for letting us stay." I told him that there was NO FEE to be allowed to stay, that we are a free people and will never make servants or slaves of anyone else. He was still sitting on the steps when Carie went looking for him so he could eat supper. All he could do is shake and cry as he told Carie what I had said.

I was eavesdropping, yes I know I shouldn't, but there was no way I could leave without being seen. Ricardo came by me and put his fingers to his lips for me to be quiet, he walked up to George and Carie and sat down beside them. He looked at them for a few minutes and then started talking to them, "All those preacher men are wrong, Dad Peter and Dad Henry are good men and they have cared for us, healed our hurts and protected us. They have never asked anything for themselves, they give and give and give even when they are hurting themselves. That is just the way they are, they are building a new life here for all of us, you included. Come now, supper is ready and you are welcome. WE ARE FAMILY."

They didn't see me as they went to supper, I just sat there and cried, Henry came and got me, he said that Ricardo told him where I was and that I needed him. I surely did! I hung on him and wetted his shirt with my tears. In all my life I had never been called a good person, yet a 7 year old boy just explained me to another adult in those terms!

Fall was not far away and we needed to get ready for winter. Henry shut down the water turbine generator and we ran the engine generators for a while. George volunteered to service the water turbine generators, repack all the bearings and make sure there were no water leaks that could freeze and damage the system. Oscar and Steve gathered together a group of boys and also Gail volunteered to help harvest the vegetables and dry things like onions and garlic before hanging them in the store room. We had a bumper crop of corn and also potatoes, it had been a very good growing year. We were going to have to be careful to keep seed from year to year, our store bought seeds were beginning to run a little low. Potatoes, of course, we needed only to save the "eyes" and plant those the next spring.

Bear and a group of boys took some of the canoes out and brought back enough fish from the lake to fill two of the freezers. With more people to feed over the winter, food was becoming critical. Fox took Rodrigo and Ricardo with him and they went camping for three days, when they came back, all three were heavily laden with bags of leaves, plant parts, flowers and special herbs that Fox would make into his medicines and use for spices. He had already shown us his abilities in that direction and we knew how important his skills were to us.

Calvin and Oscar experimented with adding ground dried corn meal to the wheat flour we had in storage. It made an interesting bread, but certainly better than no bread. Our supply of canned butter is gone, but things like honey and ground nuts make an acceptable substitute. I don't see us getting a cow any time soon!

Henry and James took a group of boys up to the sawmill for a week, and they cut most of the logs he had stored there. If we need much more lumber, we will need to fell trees to cut up. They brought down all the cut lumber in several truck loads and stored it in the garages across the lake. Nobody has a car anyway, so they make good storage rooms. Bear led a crew of 10 boys out for a week after the lumber cutting week and gathered fire wood for the woodstoves. They are an important source of heat and the only heat in the houses. We did hook up the old electric power lines so we could feed electricity to the houses, but there is only a limited supply, not enough to heat houses.

We cancelled school lessons in order to get all the fall work done in time, everyone pitched in and there were no complaints at night when it was time to go to bed! By mid-September all was ready for winter and Fox mentioned maybe we could have a Fall Pow-Wow. Henry and I thought it was a good idea, so all the boys and one girl got into planning the festivities. Nobody leaked any information to the adults, we were in complete dark about what was planned. The evening it was to start, a deep booming tom-tom started sounding. That was new? Fox, Bear and Chris marched thru the houses and then around the building on our side of the lake chanting. Some of it in English and some of it in Atawonka, but in any case, the intent was clear, it was a CALL TO MEETING!

All gathered, we were around 50 people! Fox was standing on an upended log to one side of the fire. After everyone was there, even Whistle and the new baby, they named Rachel. Fox raised his hand in the manner for silence and he began to speak, "GREAT SPIRIT OF THE ATAWOKA, WE THANK YOU FOR OUR PROSPERITY, WE THANK YOU FOR OUR NEW PEOPLE AND WE THANK YOU FOR GIVING US SAFETY IN THESE TERRIBLE TIMES. I, FOX-ATA, SHAMAN TO YOUR PEOPLE ASK YOU FOR YOUR BLESSING UPON THE ADOPTION OF OUR SISTER, GAIL TO HER NEW MOTHER AND FATHER, CARIE AND GEORGE." He waited for a few moments and then continued, "WE ASK YOU TO BLESS THE MARRIAGE OF JOHN AND MARIA BRAYTON AND REJOICE IN THEIR NEW BABY TO BE!"

At that there was a gasp from Maria and she whispered to John, "How does he know?"

Fox continued, "WE KNOW THERE ARE STILL TROUBLES AHEAD FOR US BUT WITH YOUR GUIDANCE, WITH YOUR HELP YOUR COLONY WILL GROW AND PROSPER, THESE THINGS WE ASK, THESE THINGS ARE FOR THE GOOD OF THE ATAWONKA PEOPLE." At that, he sat down and the drum began to beat again. Suddenly, 35 boys and one girl circled the fire, hand in hand, and started a slow dance in a chain around the fire. They twirled and skipped, jumped and clapped without saying a word, except for the beat of the drum and sound of their clapping, all was silent. A climatic crash of the drum and then all the dancers turned towards the spectators.

Fox again stood and said, "Our Fathers have laid the basis for our laws, laws which must govern our community. They told us we must never forget those who were before us and we must never forget who we are, but we are starting a new life here, one where we are all equal. A life that begins Today. A new life that demands new traditions, new ways and new ideas. Do not forget the Old Ones, but let us start our news lives with new traditions, new ways and new names. It is time for a new equality among Brothers and Sisters in a New Place - THE COLONY! I, FOX-ATA, SHAMAN TO THE ATAWONKA PEOPLE REPEAT TO YOU, GREAT SPIRIT, THAT WE ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS, ALL. WE ALL PROSPER OR WE ALL FAIL. WE ARE ONE AND ONE FOR ALL. STAND NOW MY PEOPLE AND EXTEND THE HAND OF FRIENDSHIP AROUND THIS FIRE...........GREAT SPIRIT, WE ARE UNITED AS ONE PEOPLE NOW AND FOREVER." Fox sat down to utter silence, broken only by the crackle of the burning logs. There simply was nothing any of us could say, nor were we willing to break the solemn silence. We sat quietly as the fire burned down and then everyone proceeded to their residence, again in utter silence. Gail went home with George and Carie for the first time, they too were silent except for wide grins on all three of their faces. In our house, the boys all went about their need for bed without saying a single word. Each boy came and gave Henry and me a kiss, even little Whistle was brought to us. We each in our turn, went to bed and there was silence throughout the night.

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

Morning arrived all too soon, as I looked out the window I saw a light dusting of the season's first snow. I hoped we would not have a hard winter. I wandered down to the kitchen to see if I could get a cup of coffee to get my day started and Oscar had beat me to it, he handed me a cup and said, "This is a special tea brewed from leaves that Fox brought to us."

I took a sip and, WOW, it packed a punch, I was immediately all awake and ready to fight wars! My eyes must have flashed neon because he asked me if it was ok. I told him that it was wonderful, but be careful it is powerful! He just giggled and said that breakfast would be in a few minutes, so I made the rounds of all the bedrooms and bunkroom rousing the bodies of our brood.

Henry met me in the hallway and grabbed my cup with a, "GIMMEE!" He swallowed that last of my tea and gulped, "GOOD GRIEF, what is that firewater?"

I told him it was some special tea courtesy of Fox! Without another word he headed to the kitchen with the cup held out for more! It was a lazy morning after the emotions of last night and everyone was hanging around the kitchen.

Roger spoke up and said, "We are beginning to run low of supplies, with all the additional people, we are getting low on meat, the milk is gone as is the butter and cheese." Henry looked at me and then said that maybe we needed another Family meeting.

Fox spoke up, "Fathers, there are several things we need to discuss as a Family," so I turned to him and told him to gather the Family and also include all those living across the lake. This he did and he told everyone to meet right after lunch Today. He must have thought it urgent to schedule it that soon and, as it turned out, it was.

Directly after lunch, everyone started showing up, we moved chairs into the great room so we could meet indoors, it was getting too cold for outdoor gathering. When all were seated, Fox stood and motioned for silence, "WE MEET TODAY AS A PEOPLE TO DISCUSS OUR NEEDS FOR THE FUTURE. ALL MAY SPEAK, ALL ARE EQUAL. THIS IS THE WAY OF THE ATAWONKA, MAY THE GREAT SPIRIT GUIDE US TO FIND OUR PATH."

I stood first and told about our diminished supplies and asked if anyone had any suggestions. James stood and, after a moment, said, "I remember, as a boy, there was a man living out beyond the borders of our Father's timber land who raised goats and a few sheep as well as cows. Has anyone seen or heard from him lately?"

Nobody had an answer so then Bear stood, "Fathers, my Brothers AND Sister, we need to organize a system of protection should the bad people come back".

Next, Nel stood and spoke, "I was a school teacher and we need to teach our young folks. I would like to start a school." As she sat back down, there were groans and sighs from the boys.

Then John stood and said, "I know I am the youngest father here, but I took ROTC in high school, we need to train some of us in the proper handling of the guns, especially if there is any danger the raiders might come back."

Before John could sit back down, Ronnie stood and said, "I agree and I will help, I was a sergeant in the army in my younger days."

Everyone started talking at once, so Fox stood and raised his hand for silence, he turned to Henry and myself saying, "FATHER CHIEFS, WHAT SAY YOU?"

Henry stood, silent for a while as he was thinking, and slowly smiled as he said, "All the suggestions are exactly what we need. James, will you go with me to see if we can find Oscar Tremaine, maybe he will trade us for some of his livestock. Nel, it is absolutely important that our children receive schooling, will you arrange for classes? They can be held here in this room. Ask anyone else if they can help also, there are books and paper in the storeroom. Bear, I appoint you as Leader, choose who you wish to be part of our protection force and John and Ronnie will teach you about the guns. However, I want you also to become proficient with bows and arrows, spears and hatchets. We will not always have firearms, they are only good as long as we have ammunition."

As soon as he had returned to his seat, Fox again stood, "THE FATHER CHIEFS HAVE SPOKEN, SO IT SHALL BE!" From somewhere behind us, the drum was stroked and as I turned, I saw the twins with it and a big grin on their faces. Fox continued, "THIS CONGRESS IS COMPLETED, THIS IS HOW THE ATAWONKA DECIDE AND WE WILL MEET AGAIN. GO NOW IN THE PEACE OF THE GREAT SPIRIT."

Henry and James remained, talking quietly on how they would approach Mr. Tremaine, even if they could find him. Bear walked up to them and suggested that he, along with Chris, Roger, Jacob and Todd go with them in case they needed to bring animals back. They both thought that was a good idea and they began to make plans to leave the next morning, before winter weather made the trip impossible. Bear was truly becoming a leader among us, he was over 6' tall now and his broad shoulders made him impressive! Nel was quite excited about starting a school for the children, it was going to be a challenge as the Indian boys had very little schooling before now and the rest of the boys had not had any formal schooling in more than a year. She assigned classes by age and estimated education level.

As we were still standing in a group, Fox came running up to us dragging Adelle with him. She was still trying to catch her breath! As soon as he caught his breath, Fox said, "Dads I have just discovered that Adelle was a Physician's Assistant, may I study with her so I can be a better healer to our people?" This news almost floored me because I had been worried about what we would do if we were hit by sickness or someone was seriously injured. Fox has taken care of our minor ailments and had even set Maria's broken leg but I knew that it was only a matter of time before something happened that he would be unable to help with. This was a minor miracle as far as I was concerned and I eagerly told them both to start right now! Truly, things were looking up for our small colony.

Early the next day, the search party departed to look for Oscar Tremaine. Bear was proud to lead in the front, Chris and Todd brought up the rear with Roger, Jacob, Gary, Billy Trout and Panther also part of the group. At the last minute Raven ran out barking and joined them. They worked their way cross country by angling north and eastward from the lake and crossed the Ammons' Timber Company property as dark began to close on them, so camp was made and everyone turned in early.

Meanwhile, at home, Nels started classes for the boys and Gail. She was surprised by the educational level of the Indian boys, they were at grade level along with the rest of the group. She told me later that Rodrigo and Ricardo were scary, they would answer questions BEFORE they were even asked! I told her about what I suspected of their mind speaking abilities and she was not surprised. She told me that it was becoming known in the educational system that many children were showing that ability and more, several of the boys, INCLUDING two Indian boys - Eagle and Elk, who were quite proficient at it! She also suspected that Fish, Horse and Tree were communicating as well as Lester and Freddy! Goodness, are not the twins ENOUGH, already!

As evening approached, my thoughts were with Henry and the search party, I was not worried about them but I sure hoped they were OK! As I was getting ready for bed, Ricardo and Rodrigo knocked on my door and entered.

Ricardo started by saying, "Daddy Henry is fine, he is sleeping now."

Rodrigo said, "Bear is standing watch, they are all safe, Chris and Todd will relieve him later." If this is what our mind speakers can do, maybe it is not as scary as I thought!

The next morning, just before they went to class, Eagle and Elk came over to me and said, "Bear says to tell you everybody is ok and that they should be to the Tremaine Farm before lunchtime" I thought to myself, does everyone know I am worried about them and Elk said, "Yes" and then giggled and ran off!

Oh, my, maybe I need to get a lead cap to block my thoughts and a voice I knew was Ricardo's said in my head, "It won't help!" Yes, definitely scary!

The search team finally reached the Tremaine house and found it deserted. It looked like it had been ransacked and it was obvious nobody had lived there in a couple of years. As they exited the house, they spotted two cows and a couple of goats feeding in the meadow. The paddock looked to be in fair shape, so the boys, along with Raven went around, behind the animals and worked them into the fenced area. The goats were nearly wild, but the cows remained calm. There were still supplies of grain in the barn that had not spoiled, so they fed and watered the animals and went looking to see if they could find some more. It took what remained of the day to round up 4 more goats and a dozen sheep. They tried to bed down in the house, but it was just too eerie, so they spread their bed rolls out next to the paddock and had a peaceful night.

Just before they drifted off to sleep, Bear spoke up and said, "Rodrigo and Ricardo report that everything is fine at home."

Henry later told me, "Yep, definitely scary!"

The next morning, when they woke up, there were two more cows munching grass outside the paddock fence. Since the weather was still holding, they decided to try and get the animals moving toward home. Raven proved himself an expert cattle and sheep dog, without him they would have never been able to control the animals. As it was, it took them three days to drive the "herd" home. The "mind bouncers" kept us all informed of the progress and when they finally arrived, it was like a holiday celebration! We now had 4 cows and a bull, 5 nannie goats and a billy goat, and a flock of sheep that included a ram! When we first got the news of what they were bringing, we built a corral for the animals next to one of the larger garages that could be used as a barn. The boys had carried sacks of grain they had salvaged from the Tremaine's farm and the boys here at home had been cutting hay from the fields for three days. It was going to be tight to get that many animals through the winter, but it will be well worth the effort. Grain now was going to be a problem. James Ammons spoke up and told us that there were grain field that had gone wild all along the road they walked to escape from the broken down bus. We will have to think hard about that, we don't want to advertise our presence here.

RUSH TO HARVEST

We all agreed that we should try to keep the livestock alive, so that meant we had to harvest some of that grain. It was going to be back breaking labor as we had no machinery to harvest grains. We had two large flat bed trailers and some 4-wheel drive vehicles to pull them so the next day everyone except the babies and Maria, whose leg was still healing, rode to the grain fields. We cut the grain stalks and piled them on the trailers, from there we hauled them to a flat area near the houses and piled them up. We worked for 5 days of back breaking labor to harvest as much grain as we could. During that time, we saw no vehicles on the old highway, it was just dead silence, but we were very nervous anyway. As soon as we thought we had sufficient grain, everyone returned and the next day we tried our luck at threshing. We ended up doing it like from a history book, we laid the stalks on the hard ground and ran the light trucks over it back and forth. Then we pitched it up in the air and the grain fell to the ground while the chaff blew away! It wasn't very efficient, but it did get the job done. We had to clear out another garage to store the grain, we couldn't tell how much grain we had, we just hoped it would be enough to get the livestock through the winter. We had plenty of area for pasture during the summer, so that would help.

The boys finished harvesting the vegetable gardens and carefully washed and dried the root vegetable before storing them away. One of the cows was "fresh", we never found the calf, but now we had milk again, especially for the babies and young children. Whistle was growing like a weed and was trying to walk. Fox was his special favorite and his eyes would light up every time he spotted Fox. He would clap his hands and make a noise that sounded very much like OX! This just delighted Fox and he would pick up the baby and carry him all around.

Rachel was another favorite, but she was still very tiny. Maria and John were so proud of her, but poor Maria would get all red in the face whenever the Twins would ask how the new baby was doing! One day, Ricardo stood next to John and in a stage whisper said, "It's a BOY."

John let out a wild WHOOP and went screaming, "It's a BOY!, It's a BOY!" all over the colony! I sure hope Ricardo is right, but then, when has either of those two ever been wrong?

Bear and his crew have been taking firearms lessons and they also have been making bows and arrows, a skill taught to them by their fathers back before the raid. They now felt skilled enough to go hunting for game to supplement our fast disappearing supply of meat. Bear, Chris, Roger, Trout and Lion all started out heading towards the north in search of game. Nel had excused them from classes for the hunt and Fox gave them a private blessing for their success. They were gone 5 days when Rodrigo and Ricardo announced that the hunters need help bringing home the meat. They were at the sawmill and wanted us to come help to carry the meat home.

Henry started up the flatbed truck and he and I drove up the old logging road to the sawmill. What we saw just amazed us! All dressed out and hanging from tree branches over the creek were 6 elk, 8 deer and what looked like a moose! The hunters were guarding their prizes to keep marauding animals away! There must have been at least 2 tons of prime meat hanging there! Every freezer in the Colony was going to be needed! Fortunately, the big walk-in freezer was empty, so everything could be saved. It was a jubilant group of proud young hunters who came marching into the Colony that afternoon, and rightfully so. This was our winter supply of meat to carry us through! Those 5 hunters brought enough to feed us all! Our lives here were no longer so precarious, we WERE going to survive!

Oscar tried experimenting with some of the grain to make flour for bread, but he had little luck until Sparrow showed him how to use a flat rock and a round one to grind the grain. The flour turned out a little course and gritty, but he was able to make loaves of bread with it. He was going to have to share the grain with the livestock and the chickens, but still, it WAS progress!

Winter was now closing in on us and the snow was sufficiently deep to prevent any intrusion from the outside world until spring., This meant that school classes would be full time now, but nobody complained. In fact, poor Nel needed help, the students were pushing her for more, not less classes! James, Henry and I each took over a class to lighten her load, we sure didn't want her to go "ON STRIKE"!

Just before Christmas a mental shriek went out that we ALL heard, calling for Fox and Adelle to come quick. Ricardo translated for us, John and Maria's baby is coming! The lake was not yet completely frozen over, so Fox had to run around the end of the lake. Henry and I were not far behind, but that boy's legs are sure growing! By the time Henry and I got there Fox and Adelle were with Maria in the bedroom and poor John was wearing the floor out pacing the living room. Rachel was standing in her crib looking google-eyed at all the commotion. Adelle stuck her head out the bedroom door to call John in and the next shriek we heard was, "IT'S A BOY".

By that time others, including Ricardo and Rodrigo had arrived, Ricardo just giggled and said, "I already TOLD HIM it was a boy!" So our small community has now grown by another boy! John insisted he be named John, jr and it was a proud Daddy who brought out his son to meet everyone. After congratulating the new parents, we all headed back home and left them their privacy to get acquainted with their new boy.

On the walk back, Ricardo and Rodrigo became very agitated and they, along with Fish, Horse and Tree went running back to the house as fast as they could. Henry and I looked at each other and said the same thing, "OH, OH, trouble!"

MORE MOUTHS TO FEED

We found the boys up on the observation deck with binoculars and the telescope all pointed to the south. Nothing could be seen, but the boys were all crying and saying, "They are hurt, they are hurt, get help!"

I asked Ricardo and Rodrigo if they could tell us what has happened and Ricardo gulped his tears back and said, "The Children, The Children, fire and blood everywhere, GET THE CHILDREN!"

Fox had already heard the call and was beating on the big drum for all he was worth, it boomed out over the snow covered land with great rolling booms calling everyone to muster. Men and women, boys and girl crowded the steps of the house, ready to help. Fox stood on the steps and said in a yell, "WE ARE CALLED, THE GREAT SPIRIT NEEDS OUR HELP, CHILDREN ARE HURT."

Henry and Chris ran to the garage and started the trucks and we all climbed aboard. With Bear and his troop breaking the snow and ice, we slowly moved out in the direction Ricardo pointed. He was riding on the front bumper of the flatbed truck. It was slow going as the snow had gotten fairly deep by now. It took us over an hour, but we finally reached the old main road and just over a hill, we could see flames glowing, so that is where we headed. Bear changed his crew as they were getting tired, but he remained out front, leading the way through the snow. At last, we reached the scene, it was a crashed air cargo plane! We could hear children screaming inside the fuselage, there was blazing fuel everywhere.

Without even slowing down, Bear leapt through the flames, waving his crew on with him. Soon they started returning with children in their arms, the rest of us followed him back into the plane, there were children everywhere, some obviously dead, but most were screaming in hurt and fear. I don't know how long we spent bringing children out of that plane, hours later we counted 43 children we had saved. Finally we got all the living children out just as the entire plane exploded in a ball of fire, driving us all back many feet.

We covered the children as best we could, even taking off our own clothing to keep them warm as we hurried as fast as we could go, keeping to our already broken trail to get home. We finally returned to the Colony well after midnight and Fox and Adell had set up a hospital in the great room. It was daylight before the last child had been tended. We were all tired, but Fox and Adelle were staggering in fatigue and emotion. Truly, there IS a Great Spirit, of the children we saved, not one died. Some will bear scars of their ordeal, but none died and none will be disfigured.

What amazed us was all the children we saved were girls. We later learned that all the passengers on that plane were girls and when we found out what they were destined for, the rage that erupted in the Colony was fearsome! These children were being sent to brothels! There was no girl over the age of 12 and some as young as 4 years old! As tired as Fox was, his rage was nearly uncontrollable, Bear had to leave the room he was so angry! For myself, I have no recollection of what I did or said other than pure anger and rage. Those that stayed behind organized care for the injured children and the rest of us collapsed in a stupor, but sleep would not come. Henry cried for hours and I am sure I did also, although I have no memory of it.

By early afternoon we had struggled to return to some semblance of civilized behavior and got some food prepared for our patients. The little girls were wide eyed in fear and they cringed whenever a boy or man came near them. Finally, Fox had enough and he dressed in his full tribal regalia, something we had not seen before. With Ricardo and Rodrigo bringing the drum, he slowly marched into the great room with the twins beating a slow call on the drum. He stopped in front of the injured girls and held up his hand to silence the drum.

Nobody made a sound as he started, "I AM FOX-ATA, I AM SHAMAN! WE ARE THE ATAWONKA AND WE DO NOT HURT CHILDREN. WE DO NOT PROSTITUTE CHILDREN. WE DO NOT ALLOW THOSE WHO DO THESE THINGS TO LIVE AMONG US. ALL CHILDREN ARE PRECIOUS TO US AND WILL BE MADE SAFE AMONG US. YOU WILL RECEIVE NO HURT, NO FEAR FROM US. OUR FATHER CHIEFS HAVE SAID THIS, SO IT SHALL BE. IT IS ORDAINED BY THE GREAT SPIRIT. WE ASK YOU TO LIVE AMONG US AT PEACE. OUR ANGER, OUR RAGE IS NOT DIRECTED AT YOU, BUT RATHER AT THE EVIL ONES WHO DID THIS TO YOU! I, FOX-ATA, SHAMAN TO THE ATAWONKA, PLEDGE MY SPIRIT FOR YOUR SAFETY." He sat down, sobbing uncontrollably, as we all were. No greater pledge could a man give but his very soul, his spirit!

All the men left the room and the women, including Gail fed the girls and made them comfortable. As Gail was feeding one of the older girls, she was asked, "How long have you lived here?"

She replied, "We escaped a year and a half ago, I was alone and now I have two loving parents."

Another girl asked, "Those boys, what things do they do to you?"

Gail replied, "They care for me, they see I have food and clothing, they love me as a sister, they would kill anyone who would hurt me."

Another girl spoke up, "They don't do nasty things with you?"

Gail laughed and said, "Sure, they chase me when we play tag, they tease me because I cannot run as fast as they can and they made a rag dolly for me to play with. Is that what you mean?"

The first girl replied, "I don't think so, you mean that you are perfectly safe here?"

Gail laughed again and said, "I sure am, did you not listen to Fox and what he said? He meant every word and he pledged his very soul for your safety. Nothing will happen to you here except good things, you will even get to go to school and learn!" At that, nothing could be heard in the room except sobbing tears.

We left the girls alone for a while and then Henry and I walked in. Henry started, "I am Chief Henry, although most just call me Dad. When we have gotten you all healed, we want you to join us and be part of our Family. We are building a new life here and we want you girls to be part of our life. My son, Fox, has guaranteed your safety with his own soul!"

A girl asked, "Your Son, but he is an Indian boy!"

Henry replied, "Yes, my son. I have many sons, they are ALL my sons and if you will join with us, I will have many daughters also."

I then stood and said, "I am Chief Peter, already I think of you as my daughters, just as my sons think of you as sisters!"

The oldest girl, who had spoken out, struggled to sit up as she spoke, "It will take us a while to understand all this, we have been through hell, but if you will be patient, I think we see our road home. Thank you for saving us."

Calvin and Oscar enlisted Chris and Todd to help in the kitchen. They put together a stew made of chunks of seasoned venison, potatoes, carrots, onions and some of Fox's special spice leaves. Calvin made some bread and used some of the newly made butter to put on it, then he mixed fresh milk with honey and made it frothy in glasses. The boys wheeled a large cart, loaded with the food and served each girl. The first girl exclaimed, "Is this REAL milk?"

He answered, "Yes, would you like some more?" as he refilled her glass.

When they got to the oldest girl, who seemed to be their leader, she looked in her bowl and shouted, "Real Meat and vegetables, oh God, can I have more?" Calvin just refilled her bowl without saying a word.

As they were leaving the room, someone asked if they could have more bread and butter, he turned and said, "Sure" as he gave each girl a second piece. As he was leaving the room, he turned and said, "Just holler, if there is anything more we can bring you." He was answered by a room full of crying sisters.

COLONY COUNCIL

I was sitting at the table with a cup of tea that Calvin had made for me, just thinking about how to manage the population increase we suddenly acquired. Henry soon joined me and asked what I was thinking so deeply about. I said, "We suddenly have over 80 people living here, I think we need to start something like a town council to help govern the Colony".

He replied, "Why not something like a tribal council or a Council of Elders?"

I thought for a moment and said, "I don't think a Council of Elders is the right way to go. Most of our population are children, maybe the best way is to hold another congress to decide."

He agreed, so I asked Bear to send messengers across the lake to ask the folks there to come tomorrow at noon. I walked into the great room and told the girls the same thing. Ricardo walked by and before I could say anything, he giggled and said, "I all ready told everybody, Dad!" The Twins News Service is still working!

The rest of the day was spent helping the girls get settled, we were going to have to make some permanent room arrangements for them soon, as they were recovering from their ordeal rapidly and were going to need sleeping areas, clothing and schooling.

I spotted Fox walking down the hall, so I told him about our plans for congress tomorrow, he didn't look surprised as he told me he had already been told about it! I thought again about those lead helmets and heard giggling coming from downstairs!

Supper that night was very different, the boys had decided to ask the girls to join us, so we had moved all the tables around and put boards across some sawhorses to make a trestle tables. There were enough spaces for everyone and the meal took on a holiday atmosphere. The girls were becoming more relaxed around the boys and the boys, for their part, were being very careful not to upset or startle the girls. Calvin and Oscar, with help from most of the other boys, put on a really nice dinner. I was a little worried when Calvin asked for a bottle of liquor, but he assured me it was not to drink. It showed up as part of a pudding they had created. It was so good, there was not a crumb left over!

The girls were excited at being invited to the congress, but Fox reminded them that they were part of us now and would never be excluded from any Family activity. Some of the girls got a little weepy over that, but all in all, we had a pleasant evening. Bedtime seemed to creep up on us and yawns were common. Everyone said "GOOD NIGHT" and we headed to our beds.

It seemed like I had hardly put my head down when Fox was shaking me, saying, "Dad, we need to talk." I looked up bleary eyed, but the window showed that it was already daylight!

I left Henry asleep, he had been working so hard, I was sure he needed it. When Fox and I got down to the kitchen, our chefs were already hard at work creating a breakfast masterpiece - sticky-buns! Only one cow was fresh right now, but her milk seemed to be producing enough butter for everyone to have some! The milk was reserved for the children and right now, the boys were giving up their share so the girls might have extra to help their recovery. That was something they had decided on among themselves and Henry and I were very proud of them for that! Fox and I sat at a table and cups of tea were set before us immediately.

Fox started, "Daddy, I think that we should make Bear our "constable" and his hunters become our protection force. We have a lot of people here now and many of them are very young, we need to be able to protect everybody!"

I told him that was a very good idea and he should bring it up at the meeting. "You, Fox, are our SHAMAN, now and forever. That is an important part of our Family and you should be prepared to take your place in that post." He visibly swelled in pride and said he would.

Henry came staggering down to the kitchen, it was apparent he was NOT a morning person, at least not before he got his first cup of tea. We had pretty much changed over to tea, as Fox supplied us with his special brewing leaves. That way we could save the remaining coffee for special needs. I related to him what had transpired and his comment was, "All our boys are fast becoming men. They all show maturity far beyond their years!"

Shortly before lunch time, Nell excused all the school students and Ricardo began tolling the drum in rolling booms that clearly said NOT EMERGENCY! It took those from the houses a little time to arrive as they had to walk around the end of the lake. It was warm enough that we could meet outside as long as we did not spend a lot of time out there. Everyone had been told, I suspect by "mind message" about the meeting, so when Fox stood and raised his hand for silence, it was immediate.

He began, "I, FOX-ATA, SHAMAN ASK THE BLESSING OF THE GREAT SPIRIT UPON THIS MEETING, MAY HE GUIDE OUR DELIBERATIONS AND MAKE US A BETTER PEOPLE." As he said that, all the girls were wide eyed in amazement that the boys were leading the meeting, not the adults!

Bear stood and looked all around, then started to speak, "I AM BEAR, I AM YOUR HUNTER, I SPEAK FOR THE HUNTERS. WE PROPOSE THAT WE BECOME YOUR PROTECTION FORCE, WE WILL MAINTAIN THE SAFETY OF OUR PEOPLE." All the boys jumped up, clapping and expressing their approval.

Fox again stood saying, "I, FOX-ATA STAND AS YOUR MODERATOR, WHAT SAY YOU TO BEAR'S PROPOSAL?"

Almost as one voice, the air was filled with "Yes and Yeas". Nobody expressed disapproval.

Fox continued, "WHAT SAY YOU THAT I BE MODERATOR?" Again, all yeas were responded. Fox then spoke a third time, "FATHER CHIEF PETER, HAVE YOU SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FORMATION OF A COUNCIL?"

Oh boy, those mind leeches are at work again! Immediately I heard, "It wasn't us, Daddy!"

I stood beside Fox and began to tell of my suggestions, "Since you have already approved of the Protection Force, also I suggest that each of our distinct groups, THE BOYS, THE GIRLS and THE ADULTS all contribute each two delegates to sit on the Colony Council to act as it's governing body. Chief Henry and myself will also sit as non-voting members and OUR SHAMAN will act as moderator."

Fox stood and said, "Make a show of hands, all those who agree." The vote was unanimous. Fox continued, "OUR PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN, SO IT SHALL BE. EACH GROUP SHALL MEET THIS AFTERNOON AND CHOOSE THEIR DELEGATES. THE COUNCIL WILL MEET TOMORROW AFTER LUNCH. THIS CONGRESS IS CLOSED, THE GREAT SPIRIT HAS GUIDED OUR PEOPLE." At that, Fox jumped into the air yelling, "Lunch Time!" and ran to the dining room, laughing and giggling like the little boy he should be.

Since the weather had turned fairly mild, Bear took two of his hunters and headed for the grain field, I wasn't sure what they had in mind but we were greatly surprised when they came back after only a short time, loaded with pheasants! Calvin and Oscar were quick to take charge of the birds and told everyone that supper would be a little late tonight. From the smells that were soon drifting out of the kitchen, nobody was willing to argue! Supper that night was not really all that late, maybe a half hour and we sat down, the entire Colony was invited to our meal, to roasted pheasant, dressing, REAL cranberry sauce (the twins and crew had harvested them from the far end of the lake), braised vegetables with honey glaze, and a wild plum pudding for dessert! The girls were so stunned, after all they had been through, they were crying, most of the rest of us were not dry-eyed, either!

When everyone had eaten their fill, Fox stood and said, "THIS SUPPER SIGNIFIES TO US THAT WE ARE ONE PEOPLE, OF ONE FAMILY. THERE ARE NO OUTSIDERS HERE, WE ARE ONE!"

There was not a sound for several minutes, then John and Maria stood up, each holding a child. John started by saying, "I know Maria and I are the youngest parents here, we are hardly older than most of you boys and girls. We have two babies, but we want to offer a place for two girls to come live with us, you decide who they shall be, we will love them as our own two little ones!" Immediately the 4 other married couples stood and offered a home to as many girls as they could make beds for.

Fox was still standing, so he continued, "THIS IS A MATTER FOR THE COUNCIL, THOSE WHO WISH TO PROVIDE HOMES, COME BEFORE US TOMORROW. WHAT CAN BE DONE, SHALL BE DONE."

Today, like so many of our days lately, has been supercharged with emotion so after that tremendous meal everyone was yawning and showing the need for sleep. It took only a short time to clean up the kitchen, everyone pitched in and helped the kitchen crew. Within an hour all the lights in the entire Colony were off and not a sound was to be heard until the next morning.

MEET IN COUNCIL

The next morning, excitement was running rampant. The girls has selected their elder spokesgirl, Sally and another, June, to be their delegates, The adults selected James Ammon and John Brayton to be their spokesmen. The boys selected Jacob and Fish to be their representatives. I was a little concerned about the selection of Jacob, because it was well known that he and Fox were a couple, but I suppose that was considered when the boys chose him. The two were not flashy about their relationship, but all one had to do was see them together.

At the appointed time, Ricardo and Rodrigo started the drum rolls calling To Council. As people gathered, Ricardo called out, "ONLY MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL MAY SPEAK, UNLESS COUNCIL ASKS OF YOU, YOU MAY NOT PARTCIPATE, HOWEVER ALL ARE INVITED TO LISTEN."

As soon as the selected delegates were seated, Fox rose and held his hand for silence, "I, FOX-ATA CALL UPON THE GREAT SPIRIT TO GUIDE OUR DELIBERATIONS. I, FOX-ATA WILL ACT AS MODERATOR BUT, LIKE OUR CHIEFS, I CANNOT VOTE. LET US BEGIN, WHO WILL SPEAK FOR THE GIRLS?"

"I speak for the Girls, I am Sally, with me is June, we both shall vote."

Fox replied, "WELCOME, SALLY AND JUNE, WHO WILL SPEAK FOR THE BOYS?"

"I speak for the Boys, I am Jacob, Fish is with me, we both will vote."

Again, Fox replied, "WELCOME JACOB AND FISH, WHO WILL SPEAK FOR THE ADULTS?"

"I speak for the Adults, I am James, John is with me, we both shall vote."

Fox continued, "WELCOME JAMES AND JOHN." He continued, "JOHN AND MARIA BRAYTON HAVE ASKED TO ADOPT TWO GIRLS INTO THEIR FAMILY. JOHN, YOU MAY NOT VOTE ON THIS MATTER. ARE THERE ANY WHO WOULD OPPOSE THIS ADOPTION, RAISE YOUR HAND." There were no hands raised. He continued, "WHO THEN SHALL CHOOSE?"

Sally spoke, "We propose a lottery among the girls that four girls be selected and John and Maria select from those four girls."

Fox asked, "JOHN, MARIA IS HERE, IS THAT ACCEPTIBLE WITH YOU?"

John looked at Maria and she nodded, yes so John relied in the affirmative.

Fox continued, "IS THIS ACCEPTABLE TO THE COUNCIL, ALL SHOW A HAND OF THOSE WHO MAY VOTE?" All hands were raised in the affirmative, that motion was carried. Fox again spoke, "ARE THERE ANY FURTHER MATTERS TO COME BEFORE THE COUNCIL?"

Jacob stood and said, "BEAR WISHES TO BE CONFIRMED AS THE HEAD OF SECURITY AND HE WISHES TO SELECT HIS CREW."

Fox replied with, "ALL THOSE WHO OPPOSE THIS, RAISE YOUR HAND." There were none in opposition, so Fox stated, "THIS MOTION HAS BEEN APPROVED. IS THERE ANOTHER MATTER FOR THE COUNCIL?"

Sally spoke with, "There are two matters the girls wish presented, the first is several other adults wished to adopt girls, we would like to handle this among ourselves. The second matter is the girls would like to mingle with the boys and participate in schooling and play."

Before Fox could reply, I stood and said, "I AM CHIEF PETER, THIS IS A MATTER OF COMMON SENSE AND NEED NOT BE VOTED BY COUNCIL."

Before Fox could respond, all council members shouted, "WE AGREE."

Fox looked a little sheepish and said, "I GUESS THAT IS A YES? WHAT FURTHER BUSINESS IS BEFORE THIS COUNCIL?" Nobody spoke up so he closed the meeting.

Henry and I felt that for a first effort, everything went very well. We were coming together as a people, the future boded well.

WINTER CLOSES IN

The day after the Council meeting, a fierce winter storm blew in, bringing bitter cold and snow. As we had plentiful food and firewood, we were not immediately concerned, but as the weeks passed and there was no let up in the storm, Henry and I were becoming worried about snow loads on the buildings and ventilation. The observation deck was particularly concerning, so we had the boys get shovels and clear it off. As they were working up there, one boy spotted a column of smoke rising into the air just south of us, towards the old main highway. This was troubling, who could be there? I called for Bear and showed him the smoke, he said that he would take a couple of his warriors and go down to observe what was going on. Henry and I waited in the great room, watching out the window. It seemed to be a long time and we were getting a little concerned when what appeared to be a wagon pulled by two horses, with another horse tied behind the wagon slowly made it's way through the deep snow towards the house. Bear and his warriors were walking beside the wagon. They didn't seem confrontational, so we hoped all was friendly.

When the wagon finally pulled up in the yard, Bear escorted a man and a woman to our door. Bear was very formal, he stood at attention as spoke, "Father Chief Peter, Father Chief Henry, I present to you Mr. Carter Rollins and his wife Sarah Rollins. They have three sons in the wagon, Jeffery, Soloman and Carter, jr. I, BEAR-ATA VOUCH FOR THEM, THEY ARE GOOD PEOPLE! Fathers, let us bring them in the house where they may warm themselves, the boys are very young."

Ricardo and Rodrigo wiggled out between us and headed to the wagon. While we were all standing there, the twins brought three boys out of the wagon, one was not even walking yet and the other two were, indeed, very young. The twins brought them up the steps to the door and said, "Daddies, they are hungry, there is no food in the wagon."

That broke the situation; we were NOT going to let children go hungry! We brought them all into the warm house and the chef crew started heating some milk and sticky-buns for the children. While the children were eating their treats, the parents explained, "We are school teachers and we were hired to start a school at the internment camp. When we got there the conditions were so horrible we just couldn't stay there. They told us to go on then, and they refused us food or help. We continued on until we finally found this open field where we could camp without those terrible people being able to sneak up on us. We travelled three days before we felt it safe to stop, there is where your warriors found us. They look very fierce, but they were so kind to us and promised that we could come here, we felt we should at least meet you."

Fox jumped up at that and held Mr. Rollin's hands between his and looked deeply into his face. While holding the man's hands, he spoke, "I AM FOX-ATA, SHAMAN TO THE COLONY. OUR PEOPLE ARE ATAWOKA. WILL YOU ABIDE OUR LAWS IF YOU JOIN US?"

Mr. Rollins looked at Fox and then at me, he returned his gaze to Fox and said, "Will you allow us to join you? Will I be able to feed and care for my Family here?"

Fox replied, "I AM FOX-ATA, SHAMAM AND MODERATOR OF THE COUNCIL. THESE ARE OUR CHIEFS AND THEY SAY TO ME THAT YOU ARE WELCOME. YOU MAY STAY A WHILE OR YOU MAY STAY FOREVER, THE CHIEF HAVE SPOKEN, SO IT SHALL BE."

Ricardo whispered to me, "It's OK Daddy, I told him what you were thinking!" Oh, where do I get lead helmets? More Ricardo giggles!

Mr. Rollins formally took Fox's hand and said, "Sir, on behalf of my wife and children, may we stay here and be part of your community?"

Fox looked proud to be called sir, but he told them that they were welcome to stay and, "LET'S EAT!" Fox darted into the kitchen, grabbed a sticky-bun and was seated beside the boys before any of us could get in the room. He grinned and us and asked if we wanted a sticky-bun. He was still a little boy under the skin!

After talking with the Rollins' we discovered they were professional school teachers and had teaching experience up through high school level! What a boon they could be for our children! While we were all talking, their oldest son, Carter Jr. walked up to his Father and asked, "Ricardo and Rodrigo say this is a good place, can we stay here, Daddy? We are tired of travelling, we want to live here. PLEASE?"

Mr. Rollins, he asked us to call him Carter, said, "Would this be possible? we have nothing to contribute.?" Henry then asked him if they could help school our children and Carter asked, "How many children are here?"

I laughed and told him, "About 100!"

His immediate reply was, "Well, let's get started."

So that is how we came by a School Principal, Teacher and yet another Teacher! Over the next several days we got the Rollins' settled in the basement apartment until we could build some more houses. Henry was going to have to take a crew up to the timber land and sawmill next summer and do some serious lumber making! Within two days, school classes were started and Nel was asked to continue as a teacher, also. We were becoming a real community. It was troubling that the internment center was so close, but Carter told us that they had more trouble than fleas, there would be no visits from them any time soon.

We continued to have electricity, George had serviced the water-turbine generator last fall and had found some frayed wiring, so he replaced it all and lubricated all the working parts. The generator was not overloaded, so it should last a very long time with proper maintenance.

The winter weather again closed in on us, some of the snow drifts were almost as high as the house. There would be no more travel until spring. Bear made sure the observation deck was kept clear and that someone check as lookout several times each day. It is true, we were isolated by the snow now, but it is always best to be alert. I shared with Carter my suspicions about the mind-talkers. He told me that it was becoming known in education circles that this ability was growing among Today's children. Besides Ricardo and Rodrigo, I told him that I thought Sparrow and Owl had the ability, as well as the trio, Fish, Horse and Tree and probably Fox and Bear. And more, that some of us were receiving thoughts from several of these boys, myself included. He theorized that some of the boys were more powerful transmitters than others and that those boys might well be able to send to people who had the latent ability. Those with the latent ability might develop further with practice. It didn't matter how close or far they were, distance does not seem to affect the ability to send or receive. I thought that was very interesting and it did seem to coincide with what we have been experiencing. This might develop into a very useful ability! He also told me that it did not seem necessary to be in families but just in specific individuals. We shall have to see what develops!

I knew Ricardo and Rodrigo were in the kitchen helping prepare supper, so I walked up stairs and looked out the window for few moments and then tried to think of them. Finally I thought, "Ricardo, can you hear me?"

I immediately heard, "Are you testing us, Daddy?" and the next thing I knew was an armful of giggling twins. Well, it's NOT a theory, that's for sure. Now all I had to do is find out if I could transmit over long distances, Ricardo giggles and said, "You can, Daddy, we always know where you are and what you are thinking!" I thought, hoo boy, there goes any privacy I ever had and I heard back, "Daddy, we don't listen unless you call us. We can hear Daddy Henry, too!"

So I thought back to him, "Who else can you mind-speak with?"

He got a thoughtful look on his face and then I heard back, "We can talk with Fox, Bear, Fish, Horse, Tree, Calvin, Jacob, Oscar and Mr. Rollins. Most everyone else, if they are close by we can hear them but they don't hear us - Oh, we can talk with Whistle and Raven."

I thought, "Yee Gods, Raven is a DOG!"

Ricardo thought back, "Yah but he thinks real good!" He then jumped down and yelled, "Bye, Bye." giggling all the way down the stairs!

That was a startling revelation to me, but it had some interesting possibilities. We need to make sure that every group that goes out has a mind-speaker and we need to explore how many of the girls can mind-speak. I thought to Ricardo, "Can you speak to any of the new girls?"

He came back, "We haven't tried, we didn't want to frighten them."

I sent back, "Meet me in the great room where the girls are staying," and I headed there myself. Ricardo was already there when I entered the room.

I waited until I had their attention and said, "Girls, we have discovered something and we wish to see if you might be part of it, also. Sally spoke and asked what it was. I told her we would tell everyone after we tried an experiment. They were a little uneasy, but agreed. So, I tried first to broadcast to them as a group and only Sally looked up at me, so I sent just to her to stay quiet for a few minutes. She nodded her head, ok. I then told Ricardo to do the same thing and at that about a dozen girls perked up their heads and stared at Ricardo. I sent to him to ask those girls to step to the other side of the room, which they did willingly. Then I tried again to reach just the girls that Ricardo had contacted and was successful with all of them. We told the girls we were experimenting with mind-speaking.

One of the girls said, "Telepathy?"

I told her that I was not sure but that probably was another word for what we were doing and that we would experiment more later. I was very pleased at this first attempt and also that I could send mind-speak. As I walked back to the kitchen, I, somewhat absentmindedly, thought that I wished Henry could be part of this. I suddenly got a strong mental blast, "Part of WHAT?" Henry was in the kitchen, standing at the table scratching his head, with a puzzled look on his face. When I walked into the room, he asked, "Was that you?"

I replied mentally, "Sure was, love."

Certain boys in the room started giggling and Rodrigo sent back at the two of us, "About time, Dads!" and ran off giggling, looking for Ricardo. This was going to need some solid thinking and we will have to lay down some rules about eves dropping. The thought came to me from several sources, "We already have those, Daddy."

About that time, our chef crew announce that supper was ready and for everyone to get washed up. A smart aleck mind-speaker sent, "no washy - no eaty".

My reply was ..., then I thought better of it and sent nothing. Tonight's supper was like a banquet, chunks of elk venison, we have taken to calling it elkison, had been soaked in wild plum juice, sprinkled with Fox's special herbs and then grilled over homemade charcoal. With that, there were baked potatoes, a medley of carrots, wild peas and tiny onions. A salad was already at each place consisting of hunter's lettuce, sliced fresh pear sprinkled with grated cheese. "CHEESE, where did we get cheese?"

I heard a mind-giggle and then Calvin sent, "It's an experiment, Dad, let me know how it is!"

Hoo boy, now the mind leeches are experimenting too! The meal was incredible and the girls ate every bit as much as their boy counterparts. Just in the few days they have been with us, they have started to lose that gaunt haunted look and are become pretty girl children again. Sticky-buns were served for dessert. The crew had gathered wild black walnuts and cracked them to get the meats, then drizzled honey on the buns to stick the sprinkled nut meats to the top. Most of the buns disappeared in a single gulp! Everyone picked up their own plates and utensils and returned them to the kitchen for washing.

I grabbed a cup of tea and stood looking out the window. The moon had broken through the clouds and the new fallen snow looked like a Christmas card! As I stood there enjoying the scene, a set of arms went around me and Henry pulled me into a hug. He said, "I need to talk to you." I raised my eyebrows in question and he continued, "Peter, will you marry me?" I was so stunned, I dropped my tea, cup and all just fell out of my fingers. Peter again said, "Well, will you marry me?"

I started to cry and managed to mumble, "Yes!"

At that, pandemonium broke out throughout the house, mind-speak was screaming, "HE SAID YES!"

I looked up through my tears and saw the entire Colony crowded into the great room, everyone was cheering. Jacob, Henry's son, ran up to me and threw his arms around me saying, "Now you REALLY will be my Dad!"

Fox stood in front of the two of us and said, "Only SHAMAN may join two chiefs in marriage!" Then he grinned and continued, "I, FOX-ATA AM SHAMAN!" He hugged us both and said quietly, "We have been waiting for this moment and now it is here!"

How can two men possibly have a better Family than we have? Henry and I were sitting on the couch near the wood stove and the Twins and Fox carried each an armload of firewood and dumped it in the wood box. The three of them came and sat with us, Fox started to speak, "Daddies, we meant no disrespect downstairs, but we have known for some time how you each felt about the other. We want you both to be happy, you have given us all so much of yourselves, every day you remind us of your love and care for us, it is only right that you find happiness also."

With that, the three of them stood, kissed us and headed out the door. As he walked through the door, Ricardo giggled and said, "No lead helmets are allowed," and ran off.

Henry looked at me in question and I told him about my earlier thought on blanking out mind-speak. He said, "Would that work?" and we both heard, "NOPE"

Christmas was nearly upon us again and Henry and I were at our wit's ends trying to come up with idea to celebrate the season. It is true, a lot of our kids were approaching adult stage, but we had a large number of both boys and girls who were quite young still. While we were struggling with the problem, the solution came walking up to us. BEAR!

"Fathers", he started, "We have a number of deer and elk hides that my Warriors have tanned. They are stored in a secret place, where we have made leggings and vests for all the little boys. We are left with enough hides to make ceremonial aprons for all the girls." He concluded, "Would that be an appropriate thing to do?"

We both were taken aback, not only the generosity of these young men, but also their foresight! I told him, "Bear, you, yourself are a gift of remarkable magnitude. Henry and I were struggling with what to give the younger children for this season and you just solved it for us."

Bear grinned and chuckled to himself saying, "I was kinda eavesdropping."

Henry replied, "Whatever, but both of us are so pleased with your offer, do you think your Warriors can have that many aprons completed by Christmas?"

His reply was a jaunty, "Done and DONE" as he headed down the stairs.

I looked and Henry and thought to him, "We are truly blessed!"

The weather closed in again and became very cold. The boys brought all the livestock into the garage-barns and the Rollins' brought over their three horses so they could keep warm with the cattle.

Christmas In Colony

As Christmas approached, the little boys' excitement rose to fever pitch, but the girls were becoming sad and withdrawn. We tried to be festive with dinners and games after school but with only limited success. Finally, on the eve of Christmas, the girls were so sad, some of them did not even come down for supper. Henry and I were pretty sure what the problem was, but we were NOT going to ruin the Warrior's Surprise.

It was a long night, after most everyone had gone to bed, Bear and his Warriors brought in a beautiful fir tree and we set it up in the downstairs play room. We had saved bright pieces of paper, tin cans and packaging, those things became our decorations. Then they started bringing the gifts they had made. Both of us were stunned at the workmanship and beauty of the leather pieces. The boy's leggings were finely crafted with needlework and beads. The aprons, also, were works of art! Each piece was neatly folded and tied with a colored string. Each gift had a neatly lettered tag on it with the child's name, this, indeed, was going to be an event to be long remembered!

The next morning, Ricardo and Rodrigo marched throughout the house beating the drum slowly in a "CALL TO MEETING." Bear and his Warriors stood in the doorway of the playroom, blocking the view as we waited for all the children to assemble. In addition to those that lived in the house, Jeff and Carter Rollins had spent the night here as well as Rachel Brayton, it was a big assembly of unhappy faces. Suddenly, the Twins started beating the drum with a crashing, thunderous beat and the Warriors stepped aside from the door.

The gasps and wide eyes of the children made our morning! Bear was standing before the tree and, as the children rushed in, he began calling out names, starting with the girls. The girls were shell-shocked, some sat and cried, while others tied their aprons around their waists and danced around the room. The boys put on their leggings and danced with them, we had gone from a somber and sad Christmas to one of joy and laughter.

Then, the drum began to thunder again, in "CALL TO MEETING". All the children gathered before the tree and the adults from across the lake filed in. Between them, they were carrying a large object, they stood along one wall, in a row, and turned the object they were carrying around so we all could see it. It was a large sign painted green with white letters, "COLONY"! It was a town sign!

Jon stepped forward and said, "We, the adults of the Houses felt that our community should be recognized and named as we have called ourselves - COLONY." He continued, "The day will come when we can shout to the world that WE SURVIVED - WE ARE COLONY!"

The day continued with joy and festivity. I took Bear aside to thank him for what he and his Warriors has accomplished, I noticed that he was crying, tears were streaking down his face. I hugged him and he said, "Daddy, it was only scrap leather."

I had to reply to that, I said, "Bear, it was NOT scrap leather, it was thoughtfulness, kindness and generosity. It was a gift from your hearts to children who had no hope, no future, no life until YOU and YOUR WARRIORS gave all that to them!" I continued, "Bear, you and your WARRIORS are heroes, not only to those boys in there, but those girls have you all on a pedestal for love and worship. Your gifts have helped make this a HOME rather than merely a house. Be proud, son, you are like a light shining in a sea of darkness and we love you and your Warriors beyond measure."

Later that afternoon, again the Twins sounded, "CALL TO MEETING" and, as we all gathered, Calvin and his chef crew opened the door to the dining room. There, on the table amid all the greenery and decorations were two huge roasted turkeys!

Hoo boy, where in the world did THOSE come from, a couple of gigglers sent back, "The Grain Field!" I need those lead helmets! "more giggles"!

The entire Colony sat at the trestle tables as Bear started to carve the turkeys. There was also roasted "Elkison", potatoes, mixed vegetables, hard rolls and, of course stuffing and gravy! When everyone thought they could hold no more, out rolled a cart loaded wild plum pudding and REAL WHIPPED CREAM! Those boys are not cooks, they are WIZARDS!

After that meal, those living in the houses departed, before it got dark, however Rachel, Carter, jr and Jeff stayed the night with us. We sat in the great room enjoying the warmth from the wood stove, trying to digest that extraordinary meal. Jacob came over and sat beside me. After a few moments, he started telling us about a project he had in mind, "Dads, we are nearly out of space for people to sleep and all the houses are occupied. If we get any more people, there is no place for them to live. I propose that we build an addition to this house and some more houses across the lake." At that, he pulled out several pages on which he had carefully drawn a two story addition to the house and three cottages to be built across the lake. The drawings were works of art and I began to wonder if maybe it was possible to build something like that. After all, we had stacks of seasoned lumber stored in one of the garages and we could man the sawmill for more.

So, I told him, "Why not make a proposal to the Council?" He agreed, with a happy grin on his face and ran off to play video games with his buddies. I turned to Henry and told him that our boys were growing up!

He grinned and said, "YUP!"

Later that night, a winter storm moved in and icy blasts of wind and snow shook the house. The storm lasted for over a week and we were buried in snow drifts. It was fortunate that all the buildings in this side of the lake were connected by tunnels, as were the houses connected by tunnels. The poor livestock would not have survived if we couldn't have gotten through the tunnels to feed and care for them. We had given one of the handheld radios to Ronnie and we were able to keep in touch with the folks in the houses until we could get through the piled up snow.

It was a long winter, cold and hard. By March we were all suffering from "cabin fever", so Bear and his Warriors beat a trail through the snow to the houses and we could again be together. Rachel and two of the Rollins' boys had been trapped with us since Christmas, it was a joyous reunion between parents and children!

Colony Gets Bigger

Jacob and Henry spent many hours drawing and redrawing plans for a "standard" house as well as the addition to the big house or, as we have come to call it, "Colony House". Henry says that he will need to re-sharpen and align the veneer lathe up at the sawmill so that he can make the siding needed for both the houses and Colony House. He thinks he can nearly match the siding that is already in place at both locations. It won't be metal, in the case of Colony house, but it will look nearly the same.

Henry gathered most of the older boys, Ronnie, John and George and headed to the Sawmill as soon as enough snow had melted that they could get the trucks up the old road. Henry drove my F-150 and John wrestled the flat bed truck. They left on a Monday and planned to spend at least a week working before they would be ready to fell timber.

Bear left three of his Warriors with us in case we had trouble and he and the rest of the Warriors went with the timber crew. Bear has become an adept mind-speaker and Henry is pretty good at it also. There was no problem in letting us know what was going on there and that everyone was OK. They found that the veneer lathe needed only minor adjustment and as soon as the knife was sharpened, they started making the siding from logs already in storage.

In less than a week, they started felling trees and, as soon as they could be dragged to the feed chain, lumber began dropping out on the green chain. There was enough wood scrap around to fuel the dry kiln so, instead of air drying the lumber, they fed it directly to the kiln. This would make it possible to start construction almost immediately.

In less than 10 days after the first trees were felled, the flatbed truck arrived, loaded to the axels with construction lumber and veneer siding. George and Ronnie came back with the flat bed and Bear had already warned those Warriors that remained at Colony to be ready with hammers and saws to begin house construction.

The first house went up fast, it was a two bedroom bungalow and almost as soon as lumber was delivered, it got nailed in place. In less than two weeks the first house was completed and they started on the second. Lumber production had to slow down a bit when they started cutting heavier timbers for the framing of the addition to Colony House, but still, in a month's time all three bungalows were completed and framing had begun on the addition to Colony House. By the end of the second month, enough lumber had been cut to finish Colony House and put some in storage for future need, so, it was a jubilant reunion when Henry and the sawmill crew showed up late one afternoon.

They had been careful not to let any of us know they were coming, Fred and Lester were on observation duty when the first truck showed up on the camera screen. Lester punched the alarm button and then ran upstairs to tell the Twins to sound "CALL TO GATHER." The Twins put a little extra roll on the drum and the entire population of Colony turned out to welcome our sons home.

I gave Henry an extra special welcome home hug and he whispered in my ear, "It's Time!"

I turned and looked at Fox and he nodded his head, meaning, "Yes."

We declared a "HOLIDAY" and the Chef Crew threw together an impromptu picnic supper for everyone. After everyone had eaten, Fox nodded at the Twins and they beat out "CALL TO MEETING" on the drum. Everyone was curious as to why a MEETING was called, so in very short order, all of Colony had gathered at MEETING PLACE. That is what we had named the bonfire area in from of Colony House. The Twins rolled the drum thunder as Fox slowly marched into the Meeting Circle. He stood on his upended log and motion for silence.

He began, "I, FOX-ATA, SHAMAN TO THE ATAWONKA, AM COMMANDED BY THE GREAT SPIRIT TO ANNOUNCE THAT TOMORROW, AT EXACTLY NOON, CHIEF HENRY AND CHIEF PETER SHALL BE JOINED BY THE LAWS OF THE GREAT SPIRIT. IT IS COMMANDED THAT CHIEF HENRY SHALL SPEND THIS NIGHT IN COLONY HOUSE AND CHIEF PETER SHALL SPEND THIS NIGHT IN THE HOME OF JOHN BRAYTON. SO THE GREAT SPIRIT HAS COMMANDED, SO IT SHALL BE."

I looked in desperation at Henry and he smiled before turning toward Colony House. I had no choice but to follow John to his home. Hoo boy, not what I had planned for tonight! "STOP THAT GIGGLING!" It was a long and sleepless night, finally at dawn I could lay in the bed that was not my own no longer.

I stumbled into the kitchen to find Fox sitting there with two cups of tea steaming on the table. He was silently crying and, when I put my arms around him, he said, "Daddy, I need help." The Fox was not my strong, confident SHAMAN, he was a struggling teen boy who felt threatened. I held him securely as I told him to let his troubles out. He started, "The Great Spirit requires that we have heirs before we may proceed to the next level of our lives. Your heir is Chris and Daddy Henry's is Jacob. I have an heir in Whistle but Jacob and I love each other, how can Jacob obey the Great Spirit without an heir? I will have to let go him so that he may find a women to produce his heir."

I thought for moment and then started talking with him, "Fox, in the eyes of the Great Spirit, are you my son?"

He replied, "Of course, you adopted me."

I continued, "Is Bear the son of Chief Henry?"

He started to get impatient and replied, "Yes, just like....OOOOOOOOOOH! Daddy, you make so simple that which we feared would end our love!" Next I heard a mind screech, "JACOB....." and I shut off listening as it would be intruding on their emotions. Our so mature SHAMAN was, after all, still a 16 year old boy struggling to gain his maturity! Fox jumped up and hugged, yelling as he went out the door, "NOON TIME, don't be late!"

Chiefs Joined Forever

John's kitchen began to get busy, Maria started breakfast for all of us while John dressed Rachel. As soon as breakfast was on the stove, John took over cooking and Maria woke the Baby and proceeded to dress him. Rachel came out into the kitchen, looking at me with big round eyes. I held out my arms to her and she snuggled happily into my lap. It was a good feeling and I was content, the Twins sent an intruding thought. "Daddy, we are bringing you WEDDING CLOTHES, you need to get dressed!"

Wedding Clothes? All I heard was giggles! There was a knock on the door, John opened the door, I learned later that he was part of this exercise, there stood Bear and two of his Warriors. In their arms were ceremonial leggings, shirt and vest. I was amazed, the clothing was beautiful, even a headdress was included!

"Chief Peter, it is time for you to get ready, Panther is attending Chief Henry"

I had barely gotten into my new finery when the drum began to toll, "CALL TO MEETING". Bear stood to attention and in a formal voice, said, "CHIEF PETER, YOU ARE CALLED!" He took my arm, while Lion and Hawke flanked us and we walked, in steps measured by the beating drum, to the canoe. Bear stood in the front of the canoe while the other two took up paddles and we slowly made our way across the lake to the opposite shore. I could see Henry standing in the Meeting Place and I started to go to him when Bear stopped me. He said simply, "Wait."

Fox was standing on his upended log and he raised his hand for silence. The drum stopped beating and he called out, "WHO APPROACHED THE MEETING CIRCLE?"

Bear replied, "I, BEAR-ATA, WARRIOR, COME WITH CHIEF PETER TO BE JOINED WITH CHIEF HENRY." The drum began to pound louder and louder until it could be heard vibrating against the surrounding forest, then it suddenly stopped.

Fox again called out, "BRING CHIEF PETER TO THE CIRCLE THAT HE MAY BE JOINED WITH CHIEF HENRY. THE GREAT SPIRIT COMMANDS THIS, SO IT SHALL BE."

The drum again took up a slow, measured beat and we proceeded to the MEETING CIRCLE, stepping in time with the drum beat. Bear guided me into the Circle beside Henry, putting my hand in Henry's. Fox again signaled for silence and began to speak, "THE GREAT SPIRIT COMMANDS THAT NO ONE SHOULD LIVE ALONE, THAT THEY SHOULD BE JOINED WITH ANOTHER OF THEIR CHOICE, IN HONOR AND LOVE FOR SO LONG AS THEY SHALL LIVE. WHEN A CHIEF CHOOSES A PARTNER, IT IS A TIME OF REJOICING FOR THE ATAWONKA. WHEN TWO CHIEFS CHOOSE EACH OTHER, IT IS A TIME OF REJOICING FOR THE GREAT SPIRIT. TODAY, WE REJOICE AT THE CHOOSING OF CHIEF HENRY AND CHIEF PETER."

At that, Bear left me standing next to Henry and stood at the head of all 20 of his WARRIORS. They were all dressed in ceremonial clothing, each has two eagle feathers in their hair and all carried spears upright! He brought them around until they were all directly behind Henry and myself, they stood at attention, with their spear grounded, butt down.

Fox continued, "CHIEF HENRY, CHIEF PETER, THE GREAT SPIRIT REJOICES WITH YOUR COMMITMENT, THE ATAWONKA REJOICE AT YOUR COMMITMENT, COLONY REJOICES AT YOUR COMMITMENT. WHAT YOU BEGIN HERE CANNOT BE BROKEN AS LONG AS YOU EACH SHALL LIVE. THE GREAT SPIRIT HAS BLESSED THIS COMMITMENT, SO IT SHALL BE, FOREVER."

The instant he stopped speaking, the drum began to roll a wild beat, I looked over and saw the Twins working up a sweat hammering the drum with huge grins on their faces. Henry grabbed my shoulders and spun me around so I was nose to nose with him. He said simply, "PARTNER"! It was done, we would be together forever. He grabbed my hand and we ran towards the main house, everyone was cheering and waving at us. We got as far as the stairs and we were met with a big sign reading "CHIEFS ONLY" pointing up the stairs! Hoo boy, those Twins. Giggle-giggle. We didn't see anybody until the next morning.

The next morning, as I came down for my ritual tea, giggles were heard in every room! I tried to ignore them, but I guess a red face is a dead giveaway!

The weather was slowly turning into summer. The "little boys", who are not so little anymore - Steve, Oscar, Bill and Bobby had gotten together and planted an enormous vegetable garden this year. The first of the crop was beginning to "come in", so breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs with fresh green onions, milk, and corn meal mush.

As usual. Henry staggered in, grabbed my tea cup and downed it in one gulp before he could even say, "Good Morning"! It was to be the last calm and peaceful morning for a while!

An Amazing Summer

We decided that Henry would lead a group up to the sawmill to cut some timber and store it under the shed so that lumber could be cut in a hurry if we needed it. He left the next morning, taking Chris, Todd, Roger Feather and Hawk to cut trees and Panther in charge of security with Trout, Jerry, Terry and Knife as Warriors. We never expect trouble but it is best to be prepared.

While they were away, the rest of us repaired the houses that had sustained some damage during the winter. Our supply of nails and hardware was holding up fairly well, but any further construction projects would deplete our supply seriously. We noticed that Raven was not in camp, so we all thought that he had tagged along with the timber crew and we didn't worry about him.

A few days later, we heard barking at the door as we were eating breakfast. We thought it unusual that Raven would have come back alone, so Rodrigo opened the door. Next we heard a mind-screech, "DADDY, come quick!" We all jumped up from the table and ran to the door, there was Raven, along with another dog we had never seen before and three little puppies wiggling around their feet! I guess we were not the ONLY ONES who acquired a mate! The twins immediately scooped up the puppies and brought them into the kitchen, with two anxious puppy parents trotting behind them.

Ricardo looked at the new dog for a moment and said, "Her name is Swallow and she is worried about her babies, so be very gentle." It wasn't very long that she accepted all of us as part of HER FAMLY. We got a wooden box for the puppies and put them in a warm corner of the kitchen with some old rags for padding. Nobody could walk by them without stooping and scratching their little heads. They soon became accustomed to being petted and were a great joy to us.

At last, the Timber Crew came back home, I was happy to have my mate back where he belonged. Everything was going smoothly, the first planting of corn was nearing harvest time and we had a bumper crop of early root vegetables to gather. We were all out in the garden, hoeing, weeding and picking off bugs when Bobby, who was watching the camera screens, sounded the alarm. INTRUDERS!

Henry and I rushed down to the basement, where the screens were located, and looked for ourselves as Bear and the twins sounded "ASSEMBLY" on the drum. What we saw puzzled us, it was an elderly man driving an open wagon with an even older horse. The back was covered with a tarp and two young boys walked alongside the wagon. They were definitely headed up our road! Bear strode out with both Warrior Squads, one he left at the entrance to COLONY under the command of Panther, the remainder he led down the road to intercept the wagon and people.

We watched on the screen until they were out of range of the camera, then we had to wait until we would get a mind-message. It wasn't long before Rodrigo cocked his head, then he reported, "Bear says the man is a trader and wished to trade with our people. What are your orders, Chiefs?"

I looked at Henry and he shrugged, so I told Rodrigo to have Bear bring the traders to the Meeting Circle and have all his Warriors attend. I told the Twins to sound "CALL TO MEETING" and we all headed to the Meeting Circle. By the time Bear and his Warriors escorted the wagon and its people to the Meeting Circle, all our people were gathered. Henry and I stood and Bear escorted and elderly, seeming fragile man to us.

Bear bowed and said, "Father Chiefs, I present Mr. Howard Jenkins and his grandsons, Allen and Robert. They are traders and wish to trade with us."

He then backed off and Trader Jenkins began speaking, "Chiefs, I had originally intended on traveling to an old sawmill that I knew of further up this road, I did not know this village existed."

Henry replied, I am Chief Henry Ammons and my Father owned the sawmill, which is not running at this time."

Trader Jenkins replied, "Are any of your people interested in trading, I have many items which they might be interested."

We gave him permission to trade and he uncovered his wagon. The first thing that Maria spotted was a treadle operated Singer Sewing Machine. She turned to John, "WE must have that sewing machine, let us talk with the other Families and try to trade for it."

After several hours of negotiation, the several Families jointly purchased the sewing machine and separately they traded for pots and pans, eating utensils, a lantern and several canisters of kerosene. He also had a supply of baking powder that we traded a blanket for. Calvin and Oscar grabbed the baking powder and marched it off to the kitchen before anyone could change their minds!

After all the trading was completed, Trader Jenkins asked to speak with us, "I worry that my Grandsons, Allen and Robert, need an education that I cannot give them. I would trade with you regular service if you would agree to keep my Grandsons and give them an education." There was no question that we would agree to this and it was obvious that he loved his Grandsons very much. So we reached an agreement that he would come around at least twice a year to trade and in return we would board his Grandsons and educate them. It was an agreement that brought much to our community over the next several years and, eventually, Allen and Robert became citizens of COLONY.

Trader Jenkins left us, leaving his Grandsons and life at COLONY returned to normal. Our garden produced much in the way of extra food and Bear's Warriors again filled our meat freezers with elk, moose and deer meat. Towards the end of summer, we again harvested a bumper crop of grains from the field near the old main highway. The area where the plane had crashed and burned the grasses yielded a large crop of grain also. We had to make several trips to bring it all home and when we had finished threshing the grain, we found that we almost had insufficient space to store it! After the harvest was completed, all the vegetables were dried and stored, someone suggested we hold a Fall Picnic and Celebration. It sounded like a good idea to Henry and myself, so we agreed that we would also include a dance!

Suddenly, all the women at the houses had boy visitors all wanting to learn to dance! Finally, the day of the Festival arrived and excitement was running at a fever pitch! From somewhere, George had found a violin and John had traded for a flute. The twins had made two new small drums to go along with the big drum. All together, they practiced that morning, Henry remarked that he hoped there were no wildcats living nearby!

At noon, the Twins rolled out "CALL TO MEETING" and we all started for the Meeting Circle, carrying containers of food, loaves of bread, salads and even deserts! The Chef Crew had experimented with honey, cream and flour to concoct a kind of taffy! The music started up, John playing his flute, George on the fiddle and the twins beating the bongos and big drum. Everyone just stood and then Bear walked over and shyly asked Sally if she would dance with him. I was sure they were going to fall, but pretty soon they developed a kind of rhythm and they were soon enjoying themselves. Others joined them until most of Colony was dancing. When the band was finally winded and stopped, everyone was laughing and having a wonderful time. I noticed that Bear and Sally continued to hold hands and talk with each other. By the time it became dark, everyone was worn out, so we gathered up all the left over food and the containers and everyone returned to their home for the night.

As Fall came upon us, it was time to check all the furnaces and stove, the roofs and doors for weather tightness. George serviced the water turbine generator and we put all the trucks in the garages for protection. We spent two days moving the hay into the barn and making sure it would stay dry. We now had 4 cows and a bull, a full dozen goats and 15 sheep plus about 40 chickens that had to be cared for over the winter, along with the several horses belonging to the Rollins'.

Winter was about to descend upon us when Jake, who was monitoring the camera screens pushed the "panic button" sounding the alarms. Henry and I rushed to the basement to see what he had alarmed about. There, on the screen for the end of our road were a group of 3 boys being led by an older boy. They looked pretty worn and ragged and one boy was limping badly. I mind-sent to the Twins to send Bear and his Warriors out fast, that there were hurt boys down on the old main highway!

Bear led his Warriors out at a dead run, it was about 10 miles to the old main road, but it seemed that they nearly flew, it was only a short time when Bear and the Warriors came onto our screen and met the group of boys. Bear mind-sent back that all the boys were suffering and one was hurt badly. We could see the 3 small boys being picked up and the older boy had two Warriors supporting him, one on each side as they quick marched for home.

We grabbed blankets and ran to meet them. When we got to them and wrapped the small boys in the blankets, all 3 of them were bleeding, they had no shoes and their feet were shredded! The older boy was in no better condition and was passing in and out of consciousness between Lion and Jerry. We rushed them as fast as we could back to the Big House while Fox and Adelle made bandages and salves for their feet. They were brought into the Great Room and Adelle started cleaning the little boys wounded feet while Fox attended the older boy's feet.

The older boy gained consciousness and said, "Take care of the others first, please take care of them. I am not important."

Fox took his hand and said, so all could hear, "I AM FOX-ATA SHAMON. WE ARE THE ATAWONKA AND WE BELIEVE ALL CHILDREN ARE IMPORTANT. YOUR FRIENDS ARE BEING CARED FOR JUST AS YOU ARE, DO NOT BE CONCERNED."

The boy started to cry and said, "We are brothers, We are brothers, I must care for my brothers." At that he passed out again.

Fox himself was now crying as he held the boys hand. He said, gently, "We are all brothers." It was a humbling sight and we were all greatly troubled, what had happened to these boys? Henry and I sat with Fox all night as he cared for and soothed the 4 boys. It was nearly morning when the older boy awoke. He started to scream in fear as Fox held his and spoke soothingly to him, "You are safe here and we have treated both you and your brothers. We will care for you and you are welcome to live among us if you wish."

The boy sat up a bit straighter and said, "Who, who are you and where are we?"

Fox replied, "I am Fox and we are the ATAWONKA, you are safe in our village. These are our Chiefs, Chief Peter and Chief Henry, we pledge ourselves to your safety for so long as you wish to stay with us. I will get you food and drink." At that, Fox left to go to the kitchen where the Chef Crew was preparing hot food and glasses of milk for the boys.

Henry and I sat beside the boy and just held him in our arms. He looked at us and said, "Oh my God, we made it, we made it. Kyle, Gab, Lonnie, we made it, the stories are true, we made it!" He then turned back to us and started speaking, "My name is Wilson Bennett, these are my brothers Kyle, Gabriel and Lonnie Bennett. We just couldn't take any more at the Internment Center, it would have been better to die than to remain in that place! There is a legend among the children that there is a sanctuary that will take us in if we escape. We went over the fence three nights ago and they chased us until we lost them by hiding in the tall grass. Is this really SANCTUARY, the place the stories tell about?" He was shaking, he was very frightened.

I told him, "We call this place COLONY, but for you, yes it is a SANCTUARY. We will care for you and make you well, if you wish to stay with us, all you have to do is ask."

Without hesitation, he replied, "May we stay?"

What else could I say except, "YES"! The more I thought about Wilson's story, the more concerned I became, not because I was afraid of the children but because I was afraid FOR the children. What if they escaped and could not find us? What if they were hurt and we didn't know they were there? I guess my thoughts showed on my face because Henry steered me to the couch and he sat beside me.

He looked at me and said, "We will do all we can but we cannot do more than that." At that, he turned and called for Bear, who must have been close by because he was there almost immediately. "Bear", he began, "We must set up a patrol on a regular basis to look for escaped children from the Internment Center. We must not allow escapees like Wilson and his brothers to be lost."

Bear thought for a while and then replied, "Father Chiefs, I will set up a two Warrior patrol, they will sweep the area every other day. Tomorrow I will lead half my Warriors to show them and the next day Panther shall lead the other half."

Henry told him that was the best we could do, so let's do it, for a while and see how it goes.

Wilson listened as we made those plans and, despite his damaged feet, struggled up and stood before Bear, "Sir, may I serve on your patrols, may I help escaped children?"

Bear smiled and replied, "First, I am not SIR, just Bear. When you are healed and can walk without pain, yes you may become a COLONY WARRIOR."

Wilson gathered his brothers and came over to us, "Do I address you as Chiefs?" I nodded and he continued, "Sir Chiefs, I and my brothers wish to stay here, we left many friends behind at the Internment Center and I believe we were found in order that we might bring help to those we left behind."

Fox was standing behind us and he put his arms over Wilson's shoulders and said, "FATHER CHIEFS, THE GREAT SPIRIT MOVES US ALL AND THIS WARRIOR HAS SHOWN US THE WAY!"

From that moment on, the camera screen was observed during daylight hours. On the second day, Panther led his Warrior Patrol to sweep the fields between the old main highway and as near as was safe to the Internment Center. We were watching the camera screen when we heard Panther's mind-call, "We have injured boys, send help."

Before I could say anything, the drums started rolling out "EMERGENCY" in thunderous rolls, Warriors came running from all directions. The next we heard from Panther was his mind-call, "WE NEED FOX"!

Fox ran out the front door with the rest of us at his heels. It was like an Olympiad, Fox in the lead and the rest of us trailing him through the snow. We finally found Panther and his Warriors, they had fashioned a litter upon which was a boy covered in blood, two other boys were being carried by Warriors. We covered the boys in blankets and when we got to the trees, Fox had us all stop so he could examine the injured boy.

He uncovered him and peeled his shirt back, anger flashed in his eyes and he stood with his fists clenched, "GREAT SPIRIT, THIS BOY HAS BEEN BEATEN, I, FOX-ATA, SHAMAN, DO NOT HAVE THE SKILLS TO SAVE HIM. YOU, ALONE, GREAT SPIRIT, HAVE THE POWER, NOT I."

At that, Fox fell to the ground in his own agony, the boy was dead! Fox's agony was such, all those remaining at COLONY knew immediately what had happened and the drum began a slow funeral beat that was to sound for the remainder of the night. It was a somber and sorrowful group of us who returned. Between tears and flashes of anger the Warriors formed two columns and escorted our group back home. We placed the dead boy in a PLACE OF HONOR within the MEETING CIRCLE and the Warriors stood guard over his body throughout the night. The other two boys were cared for by Fox and Adelle, we converted one of the bedrooms to a hospital and placed them there with Wilson and his brothers. The drum continued its beat all through the night. The next morning, nobody was much interested in eating, the Twins looked at us and Henry and I nodded, the drum began beating, "CALL TO MEETING".

When all had gathered, I stood before the boy's litter and said, "PEOPLE OF COLONY, we have a great sadness upon us, a boy has died. A boy has died of wounds inflicted at the Internment Center. A boy has died because we could not get to him fast enough. A boy has died." I continued, "We must honor this boy and bury him, then we must plan to prevent such a thing from happening again."

Fox immediately stood, staring at the litter then he let out the most awful cry and started speaking, "THE GREAT SPIRIT HAS CALLED US. THOSE THAT DID THIS TERRIBLE THING MUST BE PUNISHED. THAT TERRIBLE PLACE WHERE THIS HAPPENED MUST BE DESTROYED. THAT IS OUR PURPOSE, THIS IS OUR DUTY. THIS IS OUR LAND, NOT THEIR LAND. THESE ARE OUR PEOPLE!"

Bear was supporting Panther, who was in emotional agony, tears were streaming down both men's faces and if either had let go of the other, they both would have fallen to the ground, such was their grief. I told the Warriors to place the litter across two logs in the front of The Meeting Place. They then stood guard over the fallen boy for the remainder of the night, refusing to leave him. It was a somber group that returned to our homes, there would be no sleep, no rest that night.

Henry and I sat in our room, just staring at the walls. Henry said, "We need information, we must contact Trader Jenkins and have him spy on the Internment Center."

As it began to get light near morning, I mind-called Bear to come speak with us. He came immediately, his face drawn and tear streaked. I said to him, "Send out your Warriors that they might find Trader Jenkins and ask him to come to Colony as soon as possible."

Bear was still for a moment and then replied, "They are leaving now." He then reached out and hugged the two of us as if he were a drowning man.

I then mind-sent to the Twins, "PREPARE FOR CEREMONEY!"

Immediately, the drum changed beat, alerting all Colony we were about to bury the murdered boy. By the end of that day we were all emotionally and physically exhausted. We buried the boy, his name was Walter Prentiss and the two other boys were his cousins James and Edward Prentiss. In later years, an impressive monument would be built at Walter's grave, but this day, it was marked by boulders, carefully stacked by each Warrior. Bear's Warriors fanned out in all directions looking for Trader Jenkins, in less than a week, he was found and was headed up the road to Colony.

The End of The Internment Center

Trader Jenkins arrived and was escorted directly to the great room, where Henry and I were waiting for him. After he had rested and had a meal, he said to us, "I know what it is you need and I am prepared to gather all the information on that awful place as I can. It is nothing but a slave center run by gangsters. I advise you to train your Warriors, train them hard because that terrible place will not go down easy!" He rose, without another word and walked out.

Bear said, "I shall send our Warriors to all the other tribes, we shall call CONCLAVE."

Within a few minutes, all of Colony's Warriors were headed for the countryside where resided all those tribes related to the ATAWONKA. Conclave had been called! Slowly, mind-messages returned to us from the Warriors searching for our relations, the Twins faithfully recorded everything, they took turns as messages came in day and night.

Fox was slowly recovering from his despair, it was being replaced by anger! He and Bear took the information that was being collected by the Twins and created a map showing the size, location and number of Warriors that each related tribe had. There was the ATAWILLS, the ATACALIS, the ATAGONS, the ATAFALS, the ATABASIS, the ATABRIS, and the ATALIS. Along with our own ATAWONKA the combined tribes pledged over 400 WARIORS!

Two weeks later, a tired and haggard Trader Jenkins returned to COLONY. After a short rest, he laid before us drawings and layout plans of the Internment Center, generating station, water supply and fortifications. He told us that the center has lost almost half of its guard force and that they have not received a food delivery in over a month! Fox, Bear Henry and I sat down with Trader Jenkins and questioned him about what he observed. He told us that the guard morale was low, they had not been paid in months, food was running low and fuel for generating station was nearly gone. Fuel for most of the vehicles had run out, most vehicles were no longer operational and ammunition for their firearms was severely limited. Over the next few days, we gradually developed a plan to disable the Internment Center guard force and release the prisoners being held there. Trader Jenkins told us that almost all the prisoners now were young boys with a few older teens. We decided to act!

Bear's Warriors were dispatched to each tribe asking that they send all the Warriors they could spare to destroy this terrible shame on humanity. The seven tribes dispatched nearly 400 Warriors, all arriving in less than a week. Bear had been training our own people day and night, we contributed another 75 Warriors! The ATAWONKA, once the greatest of the tribes was now the smallest!

At Henry's signal, the CALL TO CONCLAVE was sounded, the drum beat for two days as Warriors began to arrive, each group headed by a Warrior Chieftain. When all had assembled, Bear was elected to overall Command. It was a position he would retain for the remainder of his life, although now retired, he remains General Commanding, Canadian National Guard! On the third day, at Bear's signal, the Twins took over the drums and beat, WAR CALL! Nearly 500 Warriors assembled at COLONY, with Bear at their head! He laid out his plans to the assembled Warrior Chieftains, starting with the destruction of the Internment Center Power Station, cutting the water supply and destroying the fence and gate. He told them there would be no negotiation and no guards would be spared! There would be no surrender!

The Warriors moved off in small groups to reassemble out of sight near the Internment Center. Events moved rapidly after that, the next night they captured the power station and switched the breakers off, plunging the Internment Center into darkness. Next, the water supply was shut off. Not wanting those who were interned there to suffer, at daylight the front gates were forced open and the Warriors poured to the center. By midday, no guards remained and the Warriors proceeded to smash open all the cells releasing those who were being held there. Many were sick, more were injured and a few were already dead, left in their cells by the guards. When we received the mind-call that the center was taken, we started all the vehicles and hitched all the wagons to either horses or trucks, loaded them with every blanket, bandage and medicine we had, filled barrels with drinking water and loaded boxes of food. We then headed to the Internment Center, Fox urging us to go faster, GO FASTER!

It took us nearly until dark to reach the Internment Center, Bear had ordered the power station and water supply returned to service, so there was lights and water available. His Warriors had treated as many of the most severely injured boys as they could, but many more needed help desperately! The people of Colony worked through the night treating injured boys, we had rescued 165 boys. The youngest was 5 years old and the oldest was 16! After we had treated the most severely injured boys and fed them, we proceeded to bury another 20 boys who had been left dead in their cells! Anger was running high among the Warriors as well as ourselves, never again would we allow such a thing to happen!

Colony Emerges From Hiding

The long procession of Warriors and injured boys finally arrived back in Colony. Every home, in fact every building was turned over to care for the boys.

We returned to the house to find a group of obviously Chiefs waiting for us. One Chief in particular stood out, besides being very old, he was surrounded in regal dignity. He leaned heavily on his staff and Fox listening to him intently. When we approached, Fox turned to us and said, "Father Chief Henry, Father Chief Peter I present to you Chief Great Bear-ATA, Chief of the Atawali. Chief Great Bear is the Senior Chief of our people, he wishes to speak, I will speak his words.

The Chief spoke in his native language and then Fox spoke, "It is time we, the ATA PEOPLE take our place among the peoples of this land. I propose we form the ATA NATION and that we elect Chief Henry and Chief Peter to lead the ATA COUNCIL." He then again spoke to Fox, his eyes growing wider at every word the old Chief said. Fox again continued, "I propose that we establish a force of Warriors and that BEAR-ATA of the ATAWONKA be named CHIEF WARRIOR." He yet again spoke to Fox, who shook his head "NO" and the old Chief slammed his walking stick into the ground and shouted something at Fox, who bowed his head in submission. Fox began to speak, "Chief Great Bear commands me to say - I propose that we establish FOX-ATA of the ATAWONKA as SHAMAN of the ATA PEOPLE"!

At that, the old chief turned to the crowd and shouted in their own language with Fox translating, "HOW SAY YOU PEOPLE OF THE ATA, SHALL WE UNITE? SHALL WE BE A FORCE IN THIS LAND? SHALL WE STOP THE EVIL PEOPLE WHO HARM OUR YOUNG, HARM OUR LAND - HOW SAY YOU, MY PEOPLE?" I looked around and every Warrior, Every Chief, every member of the ATA PEOPLE raised their clenched fist in agreement!

Henry and I had to sit down, we were both overwhelmed, could we do this? Could we lead these people and make us a nation? Poor Bear could only sit and stare, Fox hung onto Jacob for dear life and Henry wound his arms around me and said, "I guess, in for a penny, in for a pound." So it came about, in that one night we became a force in our land, our names became known and COLONY was put on the map!

Bear, visibly upset, ran into the crowd. Shortly, he returned, with a young woman holding his hand. It was Sally, one of the girls rescued from the downed airplane. The two of them, hand in hand, stood before us and Bear said, "Father Chiefs, I cannot do this task alone. Might I have Sally Bascome as my wife and helpmate?"

I turned to Sally and asked her, "Sally, is this your wish also?"

She replied, "With all my heart and soul, it is!"

I then said, very formally, "BEAR-ATA, SALLY BASCOME, YOU WISH TO BE JOINED AS HUSBAND AND WIFE, WE WILL MAKE IT SO!"

Bear jumped with joy shouting, "SHE IS MINE, SHE IS MINE!"

The assembled chiefs smiled and raised their clenched fist in salute to the young couple. Fox, still clinging to Jacob, was approached by Chief Great Bear. They spoke for a few moments and then Fox, with Jacob in tow, came to us and said, "Chief Great Bear would speak with you, let us go sit on the Council Log."

Chief Great Bear, smiling, motioned us all to follow him. We walked around the Council Fire and the five of us sat on the log. Fox said nothing, except to produce a wide grin on his face. Chief Great Bear turned to Henry and myself and said, "Exciting times, is it not?"

I nearly fell off the log in surprise, saying, "uuuuuuuuughaaa, you do not speak English!"

He replied, "Why not, I have a degree in History from the University of Ottawa! More to the point, I am honored that you have supported and cared for Fox and accepted his union with Jacob. Fox's Grandfather, Elk, was my brother, Fox is my Grand Nephew and I love him dearly."

Henry asked, "Why did you have Fox translate your speech during the meeting?"

He replied, "Two voices mind-spoke with me suggesting that I make my proposals in our Native Language."

Hmmm, I'm gonna get those Twins! I heard mind-speak giggles!

The six visiting tribes had established camps around the lake and, as it was getting late, our guests retired to their own camps to spend the night. We returned to the big house and, as we were walking, I saw Trader Jenkins standing there. I sent everyone into the house and I spoke privately with him. He nodded his head and said that he would leave in the morning. I joined Henry in our room, he was shaking his head and asked, "Can we do this? Can you and I direct a nation? Where do we start?"

I smiled at him and said, "We have a plan."

He responded, "We do?"

I then told him that first we had a wedding to plan, just hang on and all will unfold. He shook his head in doubt, but hugged me and we both collapsed in sleep for the night.

The next morning, after we had all stumbled down to the kitchen for our morning tea fix, I saw the Twins standing in the doorway. I nodded to them and they beat feet to the outside. Shortly, the drum began to beat, CALL TO MEETING.

Bear came running into the room, wild-eyed, expecting trouble. I grabbed him and whispered into his ear, he shouted, with his fist in the air, "YES!" and ran off.

It took a while for that many people to arrive, and there was hardly standing room in the Meeting Place for all the tribes. Fox had no idea what I had in mind, but he knew that, as SHAMAN, he was the Speaker. I whispered to Henry and his smile nearly split his face!

When all had arrived, Fox stepped to his upturned log, "This is a meeting of the ATA PEOPLE, it will be presided by Chief Henry and Chief Peter."

I announced, "COME FORTH BEAR-ATA AND SALLY BASCOME!" At that, Bear came to stand before Henry and myself, with a shaking Sally. I began, "BEAR-ATA, SALLY BASCOME, we meet this morning to see you wedded." Poor Sally was near fainting at that. I continued, "WHO SPEAKS FOR BEAR-ATA?"

Fox stood and said, "I SPEAK FOR BEAR-ATA."

Again, I continued, "WHO SPEAKS FOR SALLY BASCOME?"

Henry moved to Sally's side and said, "I SPEAK FOR SALLY BASCOME."

I began, "IS BEAR-ATA FULLY PREPARED TO BE WED TO THIS WOMAN?"

Fox replied, "BEAR-ATA IS READY TO WED IN ALL RESPECTS!"

Again, I asked, "IS SALLY BASCOME READY TO WED THIS MAN?"

Henry replied, "SALLY BASCOME IS READY TO WED IN ALL RESPECTS!"

I began, "BEAR-ATA AND SALLY BASCOME, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE BONDS OF MARRIAGE THAT WILL BIND THE TWO OF YOU TOGETHER FOR ALL TIME?"

They replied together, "WE DO!"

Continuing, I said, "IS THERE ANYONE HERE PRESENT WHO WOULD DENY THESE TWO THE BONDS OF MARRIAGE?" There was no response, I continued, "AS CO-CHIEF OF THE ATAWONKA, I PROCLAIM YOU BEAR-ATA AND YOU SALLY-ATA TO BE HUSBAND AND WIFE. LET NO ONE COME BETWEEN THESE TWO PEOPLE OF THE ATAWONKA. I HAVE SAID IT, IT SHALL BE SO!"

Bear and Sally hugged both Henry and myself, then they ran off amid the good wishes of all present. We did not see them again for two days! That is enough mind-giggling, you two! Before the Meeting could break up, Henry announced, "THE ATA NATION COUNCIL WILL MEET AFTER LUNCH. ALL MAY WITNESS BUT ONLY CHIEFS MAY VOTE."

Chief Great Bear walked up to us and said, "You guys sure know how to put on a great show!" Laughing, he walked off.

Henry and I returned home to rest and get some lunch. It looked like it was going to be a LONG afternoon. As we were eating, Fox and Jacob came up to us, "Father Peter, Father Henry, we would like to build a house for the two of us and then adopt two of the boys we rescued from the prison, Joel and Bastian." At that, two small boys came to stand beside them. I looked closely at the two little boys, they were battered and had old scars on them. They looked to be no more than 7 years old!

Henry asked them, "Do you boys have a last name?"

They replied, "Not that we remember, but we think we are brothers!"

Good Grief! They both looked like they COULD be brothers, so I told them, "Yes, you shall be brothers!"

Henry looked at Fox and Jacob, "Keep them with you, love them and make them happy. Yes, to both questions, you may build a house for you all and, yes, adoption will be announced at the next Meeting of the ATAWONKA!" There was a lot of happy crying and hugging. Those two little boys would have a happy home!

Henry and I sat at the table for lunch and some more tea while we talked. I told him that I had asked Trader Jenkins to see if he could find us a doctor as I wanted to build a hospital. His face lit up and said, "Wonderful and, while we are at it, let us also build a school for all the ATA people!" He continued, "I know it will mean that we are no longer hidden, but the needs of our people must be met. While it is still summer, I will lead a work party to the lumber mill and start cutting the lumber for both. We have enough lumber already here to build a house for Bear and Sally, as well as for Fox and Jacob!" Thinking to himself, "Trader Jenkins will need to find a supply of hardware, nails, plumbing, all the things needed for a good house. A bigger generator will also be needed soon!"

Before long, it was time for COUNCIL, so I mind-sent t the Twins, "Sound the Drum". They must have been waiting for my call as the drum immediately started sounding CALL TO COUNCIL!

It took quite some time for all the Tribal Chiefs to assemble as some encampments were a long ways away around the lake. A large number of tribe members also gathered to witness this historic event, a first ever Grand Council of the ATA NATION!

Henry and I stood as Henry began to speak, "I CALL UPON THE ATA SHAMAN, FOX, TO MODERATE THIS COUNCIL."

Fox stood and entered the Council Circle saying, "I, FOX-ATA, SHAMAN TO THE ATA NATION SHALL MODERATE THIS SESSION OF THE ATA COUNCIL. ONLY TRIBAL CHIEFS MAY SPEAK OR VOTE, I CANNOT VOTE. HOW SAY YOU, CHIEFS OF THE ATA NATION?"

All the members voted yes by raising their closed fist.

He continued, "COUNCIL CO-CHIEF PETER WISHES TO SPEAK FIRST."

I rose and stood before the Council, "CHIEFS OF THE ATA, WE FORM A NATION HERE, NOW WE MUST PROVIDE FOR IT. I PROPOSE WE BUILD A CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND ALSO A SCHOOL WHERE OUR CHILDREN MAY LEARN. SOME MAY BOARD AT THE SCHOOL BUT ALL SHALL BE ALLOWED TO ATTEND AT NO COST TO THEM OR THEIR FAMILIES. HOW SAY YOU?"

Chief Great Bear stood, we were learning that he was our closest ally in building our dream. He began, "WHERE WILL THE DOCTORS COME FROM AND WHAT ABOUT TEACHERS FOR OUR CHILDREN?"

Henry stood and waited to be recognized by the Moderator. When Fox recognized him, he began, "SO SURE WERE WE THAT THIS COUNCIL WOULD REALIZE THE GREAT NEED, WE COMMISSIONED TRADER JENKINS TO RECRUIT MEDICAL STAFF AND TEACHERS TO MEET OUR NEEDS. I HAVE STARTED PRODUCING THE NECESSARY LUMBER FOR THE BUILDINGS AS WELL AS FOR ADDITIONAL HOMES NEAR HERE."

Fox looked around and then said, "HOW SAY YOU, CHIEFS OF THE ATA NATION. SHALL WE BUILD A HOSPITAL AND A SCHOOL?" There was not a single dissenting vote.

Chief Great Bear again stood, "MY PEOPLE WILL SUPPLY LABOR TO BUILD THESE THINGS."

Three other chiefs also contributed labor, the others would supply food, tools and help with the hauling of the lumber from the mill to Colony. Thus began a program that led to restoration of the nation as well as establishing the ATA NATION as the forward leaders for generations to come.

A Nation Reborn

As soon as the visiting Chiefs departed, I told the Twins to Call Meeting. The drum began immediately and the ATAWONKA soon arrived at the Meeting Place. Henry and I were standing there and I announced, "We have ATAWONKA business to attend, all may participate."

Henry then said, "FOX-ATA, JACOB-ATA, COME FORTH." They soon stood before us, hand in hand but not having a clue about what was to happen.

I continued, "WHO WILL SPEAK FOR FOX-ATA?"

Bear stood and said, "I, BEAR-ATA CHIEF WARRIOR OF THE ATA NATION, WILL SPEAK FOR FOX-ATA."

I then said, "WHO WILL SPEAK FOR JACOB-ATA?"

Henry moved beside Jacob and said, "I, CHIEF HENRY, FATHER TO JACOB-ATA WILL SPEAK FOR HIM." Both knew then what was to happen and they could hardly contain their grins.

I began, "IS FOX-ATA PREPARED IN ALL RESPECTS TO BECOME PARTNER TO JACOB-ATA?"

Bear replied, "FOX-ATA IS PREPARED TO PARTNER TO JACOB-ATA IN ALL RESPECTS."

I then continued, "IS JACOB-ATA PREPARED IN ALL RESPECTS TO PARTNER TO FOX-ATA?"

Henry replied, "JACOB-ATA IS PREPARED TO PARTNER TO FOX-ATA IN ALL RESPECTS."

I announced, "DO YOU, FOX-ATA AND YOU, JACOB-ATA ACCEPT THE GREAT SPIRIT'S BOND UPON YOU AND TO ALLOW NONE TO COME BETWEEN YOU BOTH FOR ALL TIME?"

They answered, "WE DO."

Continuing, "JOEL AND BASTION, COME FORTH." When they did, I began, "ARE YOU FOX-ATA AND YOU, JACOB-ATA PREPARED IN ALL RESPECTS TO BECOME THE PARENTS OF JOEL AND BASTION?"

They replied, "WE ARE PREPARED IN ALL RESPECTS."

I then asked, "JOEL AND BASTION DO YOU ACCEPT FOX-ATA AND JACOB-ATA AS YOUR PARENTS FOR ALL TIME?"

Their answer was, "WE DO."

I Turned to Bear and Henry, "DO YOU, WARRIOR CHIEF AND YOU, CO-CHIEF ACCEPT THIS ADOPTION?"

They answered, "WE DO."

I announced to the tribe, "PEOPLE OF THE ATAWONKA, I PRESENT TO YOU FOX-ATA, HIS PARTNER JACOB-ATA AND THEIR CHILDREN JOEL-ATA AND BASTIAN-ATA. I, CHIEF PETER HAVE SAID THIS, SO IT SHALL BE." At that, the entire tribe rushed forward to congratulate the new family.

The remainder of the summer was consumed by work at the lumber mill, hauling lumber and readying the building sites for the hospital and the school. Bear and Sally were first in their new house and a week later, Fox and Jacob led Joel and Bastion in the front door of their new house! Joel and Bastion brought a humbling moment to us when they exclaimed, "A real house and it has doors in it that close! A bedroom just for us alone! Running water and a shower, just for us and we don't have to share it with anybody else!"

We wondered what had happened to them before they came to live with Fox and Jacob! Trader Jenkins had procured materials we needed for further construction, the foundation was poured for the hospital. Our own boys supplied the talent to create drawing and specifications for both the hospital and the school. Work was progressing to get as much done as possible before winter set in. Four additional houses were started in hopes that Trader Jenkins' efforts to send us teachers and medical help were successful.

On an early fall afternoon, Jake was watching the camera monitors when we all heard a mind-shriek! It was Jake, "Trader Jenkins' wagon with 6 people on horses and another 2 riding in the wagon are headed up our road to Colony!" I gotta teach Jake to tone it down a bit. More Twin giggles.

We all dropped what we were doing and assembled at the Meeting Circle to meet our guests. Trader Jenkins jumped down from his wagon and motioned for the people who had come with him to meet us. He started with an older couple, when suddenly the Rollins Family ran up to them hugging and laughing. "Uncle Garth, Aunt Sophi, however did you find us?"

Garth Rollins laughed and said, "Our Friend, Athol Jenkins found us and here we are. Are you ready for some help teaching school?"

The next group was 2 parents and two small boys, obviously twins. Oh, no, not MORE twins! Giggle-giggle was heard. Trader Jenkins introduced them as Roger and Martha Barrett and their two sons Aiden and Edan. Roger told us that he was a Pediatrician and his wife was a Registered Pharmacist.

The next to be introduced was Trask Findley and his son Arthur. Trask was a Surgeon and his son Arthur was a Male Registered Nurse! I asked Trader Jenkins, "Wherever did you find these treasures?"

He coughed and said, "In prison."

I responded, 'IN PRISON?"

He replied, "Oh yes, the military locked up almost everyone who could read or write!"

Henry and I approached the group of new people and I said, "Welcome to Colony. Have you any questions?"

Trask said, "Speaking for myself and my son, we are relieved to be free and to be here. We lost Arthur's Mother, my wife, in that horrible prison. To be free and clean again is like a dream! There is NOTHING you could ask us to do that would make us not want to stay here!"

Garth spoke up and said, "We are home here already with relatives. No way are we going to not want to stay!"

Martha Barrett agreed with him, saying, "This is heaven on Earth compared to where we have been!"

Henry said, "Well, since you all agree to stay, we are still under construction, but we should have your homes ready soon. Until then, you all may stay in the big house over by the lake with us."

Martha replied, "I'd sleep under a tree rather than go back where we came from!" The rest agreed, so the school was not yet built nor was the hospital, but we had the beginnings of staff for both!

Colony Builds

The next several weeks flew by, a total of five new houses were constructed. The help contributed by the other tribes of the ATA People made the work go very quickly. Poor Henry was running the sawmill 24 hours a day, non-stop to supply sufficient lumber. Trader Jenkins made a trip for building supplies twice a week and everyone was becoming exhausted. At last, the foundations for the school and the hospital were completed and I decided that a break was necessary for our people. I sent the Twins, Ricardo and Rodrigo scampering through the community announcing that the next day was a holiday and that there would be a Bar-B-Q supper that evening at the lake shore.

I mind-sent to Henry to bring all the lumber crews down for the day so they could also celebrate. Besides, I missed him and wanted him, too! The next day dawned clear and warm, the Twins marched through the community beating a small drum and announcing there would be swimming and relay races for the young people, starting after lunch. They soon had a swarm of boys and girls following them like the "Pied Piper"!

Bear assigned some of his Warriors to act as lifeguards for the swimming and also as judges for the Relay Races. A holiday atmosphere prevailed throughout Colony! The lumber crews arrived shortly before lunch and I ran to hug my partner, he was a sight for my sore eyes! The trucks and trailers were loaded with cut lumber, everyone lent a hand and they were soon unloaded and the lumber stacked at the construction site. The Twins had already organized the Relay Races and we could hear the shouts of encouragement to the runners!

Bear announced that swimming was open for all at the lake and, before he could say more, the shore was mobbed with boys and girls. Most had no swim suits, so they just went without! Nobody cared or even commented upon the fact that there were boys AND girls swimming nude together!

The Chef Crew made pots of both hot tea and iced tea as well as heaping platters of sandwiches. They carried it all out to the lake shore and everyone just helped themselves. The adults mostly sat in the shade of the trees and the construction crews relaxed in the sun on the sandy shore. By mid-afternoon, the Warriors started the fire pits burning and, when they had burned down to coals, the Chef Crew brought out Bar-B-Q grates and started meat and vegetable to roasting. The delightful smell brought the few people not already out, on the run. Within an hour, hunger brought all the swimmers and racers to the cooking area with drooling mouths and plates in hand!

Fox raised his hand for silence and spoke, "PEOPLE OF THE ATA NATION, LET US GIVE THANKS TO THE GREAT SPIRIT." He continued, "GREAT SPIRIT, WE THANK YOU FOR OUR BLESSINGS, THE BLESSING OF NEW PEOPLE WHO HAVE JOINED OUR NATION, THE BLESSING OF THE CHILDREN WE HAVE SAVED, THE BLESSING OF OUR NEW HOMES, OUR NEW SCHOOL AND OUR NEW HOSPITAL. LET THESE BLESSINGS BE A BEACON OF LIGHT IN THESE TROUBLED TIMES. THE ATA PEOPLE ARE LEADING THE WAY OUT OF DARKNESS INTO A NEW LIGHT, A NEW LAND, A NEW PEOPLE! FOR THESE BLESSINGS, GREAT SPIRIT, WE ARE YOUR PEOPLE TO LEAD NOW AND FOREVER!"

As soon as Fox finished, the Chef Crew started carving meat from moose and deer roasts, dishing up vegetables and baked potatoes onto plates. There was tea for everyone and fresh milk for the children. As soon as everyone had finished, they carried out THE SURPRISE - ICE CREAM! The Crew had been saving the cream from the daily milk and made an ice cream treat for everyone! Needless to say, there were NO leftovers! Several of the adults had violins, there was one flute and a clarinet, an impromptu concert began and they played old favorites until dark. When it became too dark to see properly we all hugged each other and said, "GOOD NIGHT". Henry was with me and I slept the complete night in peace. Our life was hard, still, but it was getting better and much safer.

Morning brought a return to our labors, with sufficient lumber on hand, the floor and walls were soon erected for the school and the hospital. It was decided to also build a small clinic near the hospital and it was completed first. We had to invent methods to keep the doors shut, we did not have much in the way of building hardware. There certainly was no need for locks, but we solved the problem of keeping them shut with a simple wooden lever and a string. As soon as the last nail was driven in the clinic building, the Barrett Family and the Findley's collected enough paint to paint the treatment room and the waiting room. We had asked Trader Athol Jenkins to locate paint for us, but so far none was available. In less than a week COLONY CLINIC was open for patients.

We sent runners and mind-messages to all the tribes of the ATA that we now had health care available. Within days, the clinic had a steady stream of patients. Martha Barrett and Fox worked daily to find substitute medicines for those that were no longer available to us. We ran electric wiring to the clinic so that the hours could be extended beyond daylight. It would soon be winter and lighting would be required.

Work continued on the hospital and school buildings, but the winter snows caught us before a roof could be put on either building. Trader Athol Jenkins did locate us a small wood-burning stove that could be used to heat the Clinic. He also said he had found us a larger water turbine generator, but would not be able to move it until spring.

We had one last emergency before the hard winter snows, the Twins received a weak mind-call asking for help. It was so weak, they were barely able to understand it. They finally determined it was someone out on the old main highway, so Bear and his Warriors hitched up the horses to a wagon, just in case, and headed to the highway looking for those in need.

About a hour later, we received a mind-scream from Bear, "WE NEED THE DOCTORS, NOW!"

Trask and Roger jumped on the two remaining horses, Bear had already saddled them before he left, and the two rode off as fast as they could in the snow. They were gone for a very long time, we did not attempt mind-send as it could have interfered with something they were doing. It was almost dark when one of Bear's Warriors struggled through the snow to the house, "We have a young family and a newborn baby, they need a place to rest and warm food!"

Henry and I were out the door in a flash, carrying blankets and a jug of hot tea. We finally got them all to the house safely and warmed up. Jeff and Rina Kellet, and their new baby, Keith. They told us there was no food in the city and they had met Trader Athol Jenkins earlier and he had told them about Colony. Fearing that their baby would not survive in the city, they started out to find sanctuary at Colony.

Jeff stood before us and said, "I am an electrician, I will work for you in return for a place for my wife and baby."

Before Henry or I could say a word, Fox stood with his eyes blazing, "I AM FOX-ATA, SHAMAN TO THE ATA NATION. YOU AND YOUR WIFE AND YOUR CHILD ARE WELCOME HERE. WE DO NOT CHARGE FOR SANCTUARY, WE DO NOT TURN CHILDREN AWAY AND WE DO NOT TURN THOSE WHO WOULD JOIN US AWAY! BE AT EASE, YOU ARE WELCOME AMONG US!"

At that, we had to grab the young man before he collapsed to the floor. He turned to his wife, who was holding their newborn baby, "Rina, we are home, we are among the friends Uncle Athol told us about!" At that, he collapsed into sobs, not of fear but those of relief.

In a few days, winter closed in upon us, cutting off all but the most urgent travel. We placed the Kellet Family in one of the new houses, after we had supplied them with blankets, cooking items, filled the wood box with firewood and the cold box with food. Jeff Kellet kept insisting that he do some labor to pay for their keep, we finally allowed him to wire the new clinic for lights. He told us that we were nearly at full load on the water turbine generator, but his Uncle Athol had a brand new bigger unit that he would bring as soon as spring allowed travel again.

Another Christmas at Colony

Christmas was almost upon us and all our gifts for the children were safely wrapped and hidden in the basement storeroom. We had some special gifts however that were presenting a problem, how to get them upstairs without the recipients noticing? Henry solved that problem by organizing a Christmas Carol Singing, complete with a horse drawn sleigh, in front of every residence in Colony.

So, on Christmas Eve, while the carolers were busy singing and the Warriors walking on either side of the sleigh, Henry and I hauled up the special gifts to be given that night. Since NOTHING could be hidden from the Twins, we employed them as "Elves" to distribute the special gifts after supper. We closed the doors to the great room and hung a sign, "KEEP OUT".

When everyone had trooped back from caroling, they noticed the sign, but said not a word! After supper, the Twins began drumming, "CALL TO MEETING". As everyone from the surrounding homes arrived, we handed them a warm drink and let them work the chill out of their bones. With a flourish, the Twins rolled out an approximation of "Silent Night" on the drum and ended it in total silence. Dressed in stocking caps, like the elves they were playing at, they bowed to the crown and slowly opened the door to the Great Room. When all had entered and found places to sit, the Twins began distributing the Special Gifts first. To Bear, they brought an Officer's Sword and rank insignia of a Brigadier General. Poor Bear was totally flummoxed! To Fox, they brought a complete set of Pharmacopeia Books. The Doctors received each a complete boxed set of Army Field Surgery instruments. Each School Teacher received 10 dictionaries, a world atlas and a white board complete with felt markers. The Pharmacist received the same books Fox did plus a manual on native plants and their properties.

Just as we were to start the general gift distribution, we heard a faint knock on the door. In fact, we weren't sure that it really was a knock! I went to the door and opened it, two bundles of rags rolled in the house. I mind-screamed for Fox, he appeared almost instantly. We each picked up a bundle and, after closing the door, began to open the bundles, two little faces appeared, with blue lips and no movement.

Fox screamed, "NOT AGAIN," and the Twins had both Doctors in tow as they raced into the entry hall. The Doctors and Fox began to resuscitate the two children, who we now recognized as little Indian Boys. Bear sent his Warriors out to search for any others, but they came back empty-handed. The little boys were near death and Fox began his plea, "GREAT SPIRIT, WE ASK YOUR HELP THAT THESE BOYS DO NOT PASS FROM US. YOU SENT THEM TO US FOR A REASON, LET THEM STAY WITH US. WE ASK THIS GREAT SPIRIT THAT WE MAY DO YOUR WORK." Tears were pouring from his eyes as he remembered another small boy whom he was unable to save.

The Chef Crew warmed towels on the stove for the Doctors and we moved a bed into the kitchen, the warmest room in the house. After working on the boys for more than an hour, they both began to moan and toss their heads. Fox and Jacob sat on the bed, each holding a small boy close to their chest. As they warmed up, they began to cough and shiver, Roger told us that was a good sign. Fox asked me to bring his herb bag to him, as soon as he had it, he reached and pulled out some dried leaves, telling Martha Barrett, our new Pharmacist to crush the leaves in a little butter and bring the paste to him. When she returned, he placed a little of the paste under the upper lip of each boy, explaining that the leaves were foxglove that contained natural digitalis to strengthen their hearts. As the paste melted and was absorbed, each boy showed immediate improvement.

Soon they were trying to talk, one said, "Help us, please, we are looking for a place called Sanctuary Colony."

Fox rubbed the boy's brow and said, "You are in Colony now, you are safe. I will hold you until you feel better."

At that, the boy in Jacob's arms called, "Wolf, Wolf are we there yet?"

Jacob soothed him and told him, "Yes my son, you are here safe. Sleep now, I will hold you."

The boy mumbled, "Daddy, Daddy," and fell into a peaceful sleep.

Fox stood, holding the boy and said, "GREAT SPIRIT, YOU HAVE GIVEN THESE CHILDREN TO JACOB AND MYSELF ON THIS CHRISTMAS DAY. WE CLAIM THEM AS OUR OWN, THIS IS MY SON, AND THAT IS JACOB'S SON. UNTO NO OTHER MAY THEY BE GIVEN. I, FOX-ATA SHAMAN OF THE ATA NATION SAY THIS, IT SHALL BE SO." At that, Fox and Jacob stood and walked to the guest room with their new sons.

Joel and Bastion stood, Bastion said, "THESE ARE OUR BROTHERS, THEY SHALL LIVE WITH NONE OTHER. OUR FATHERS HAVE SAID THIS, SO IT SHALL BE." At that, they followed their Family into the guest room and they all lay on the bed holding the shivering boys.

After all that excitement, we decided to postpone further gift-giving until Christmas Morning and everyone returned to their own homes and much-needed sleep.

The next morning, Jacob was in the kitchen attempting to fix some hot breakfast for the two new boys when the Chef Crew chased him out, waving frying pans and cooking pots at him, saying, "WE WILL FIX HOT FOOD FOR OUR NEW BROTHERS, WE WILL CALL YOU WHEN IT IS READY!"

Soon, Jacob was seen peeking around the door saying, "I'm sorry, I was just trying to help. Our sons are crying that they are hungry."

Calvin laughed and said, "OK, take this warm milk and toast to them. The rest will be ready in a few minutes."

The two boys ate like they were starved, perhaps they were! After they has eaten their fill and had gotten a warm bath with clean clothes, Fox and Jacob brought them out to the Great Room so that they could tell their story. Fox introduced them, the older boy was Wolf and the younger was Fox, I guess we will call him Junior? Fox had a head splitting grin on his face!

Wolf began his story, "We were living in an orphanage and one day the adults left. We ate what food there was in the house but then there was nothing and we tried to find someone, but nobody was around, they were all gone. Some older boys had told us this story about a wonderful sanctuary called Colony. We were so hungry Fox, my baby brother, and I started out to find this Colony. We became lost in the snow and something kept telling me, just a little further, just a little further. I had lost all hope when we stumbled on your stairs. That is all I remember until this morning when I woke up in Daddy Fox's arms."

Bear knelt down and gently asked Wolf, "Are there any more boy in that orphanage?"

The boy replied, "Yes, but they may no longer be alive, there is no food or heat."

Bear stood immediately and told the Twins to sound Emergency! The drums started their roll, booming out across the snow. Henry and I ran to start the trucks and two squads of Warriors and Trask jumped on board as we started out. After what seemed like hours, we began to see landmarks that Wolf had told us to look for.

We, at last, rolled up to a dilapidated building that the sign said "CHILDREN'S ORPHANAGE - KEEP OUT". We pulled up in the front and Bear was out of the truck before it was fully stopped. He ran headlong for the door and hardly slowed as he kick it in, his Warriors and Trask were at his heels. Shortly we heard a mind-call, "COME QUICK, WE NEED ASSISTANCE."

Henry and I gathered all the blankets from the truck and ran for the door, immediately inside were children, piled up like cordwood. Bear was breaking up furniture and doors, feeding a woodstove as fast as it would accept the wood. As soon as the room began to warm, Trask began examining each boy, Henry and I returned to the truck and began carrying the containers of soup, milk and sugared water into the building. The soup we put on the woodstove, along with the container of milk and sugared water.

Trask and Bear screamed together, "We got here in time! They are all alive!!!"

The Twins, who were still back home, must have been "tuned in" on us, because we heard them mind-call everyone at Colony, "THEY ARE ALIVE."

We spent the night at that old orphanage. Nobody ever showed up to ask what we were doing there or to inquire if the children were safe! The next morning, as we were loading up the 17 boys and 3 girls, two teenage boys, dressed in rags tied to their arms and legs came up to us and asked, "Are you Sanctuary?"

Henry replied, "We are from Colony and, yes, we are Sanctuary."

At that, both boys hugged us, crying and weeping. They said, through their tears, "Can you save us, too and the guys hiding in that shed over there?" They were pointing to what looked like a woodshed behind the orphanage building.

Henry told them, "We will NEVER turn a child away needing sanctuary!"

The first boy yelled, "It's THEM, It's THEM," and six more boys streamed out of the shed saying, "Please Mister, Please take us too. We're sorry, there just was no more food to give the little guys. We tried everything, but we just couldn't do it." Henry and I hugged the boys and told them that it was ok and that they ALL were safe now. There was a place for everyone at Colony.

Bear was our most powerful mind-speaker, he sent to Colony, "We have 20 children and 8 young MEN, make ready for them!"

One of the older boys looked at Bear with a startled look, "Will not the Elders beat you for mind-speaking?"

Bear looked at the boy and said, "I AM BEAR-ATA, CHIEF WARRIOR OF THE ATA NATION. MIND-SPEAKING IS A GIFT OF THE GREAT SPIRIT, WOULD YOU THROW AWAY SUCH A GIFT? YOU 8 ARE MEN IN OUR EYES, LOOK ABOUT YOU, MY WARRIORS ARE THE SAME AS YOU! WE WELCOME YOU AMONG US, WE ARE THE ATA NATION. I HAVE SAID IT, IT SHALL BE SO." He turned to Henry and myself and continued, "THESE ARE OUR FATHER CHIEFS, CHIEF HENRY AND CHIEF PETER. HOW SAY YOU FATHER CHIEFS?"

Henry replied, "WARRIORS, WELCOME THESE MEN AND BOYS, THEY ARE AMONG US TO STAY FOR HOWEVER LONG THEY WISH. WE HAVE SAID IT, SO IT SHALL BE!"

At that, all 8 of the young men hugged us and soaked our shirts with their tears. Their spokesman, John Alford, told us that they had prayed nightly for rescue and we appeared. Willingly, they will come with us and do whatever needs to be done to be allowed to stay among us. I figured I would let Fox handle that one! We finished loading all the boys and young men. There was nothing in the buildings worth retrieving, so we started for Colony with 28 new residents.

The Twins mind-sent to me, "Daddy, food is being prepared, new clothing has been laid out and there are enough beds for all the new people. We wait for you at Colony!"

The older boy, who had recognized mind-speak, looked at me and said, "Sir, Father Chief, may I speak?"

I hugged him and said, "Son, you may speak at any time and I am not sir, you may call me Chief or Chief Peter or Daddy or just Peter!"

He held my hand like it was a lifeline, then he said, "I am Basil Jones, I am the oldest and I tried to care for all these boys, I TRIED, I really did, but I just couldn't do it, I failed!"

I held him and said, "No, son, you did NOT fail. You saved every child! That alone proves you are a LEADER OF MEN! Come with us, we will give you shelter, food, clothing and an education. We want you with us."

He replied, "But I hear other minds, the Elders told us that was evil and that I was of the devil."

I looked him straight in the eyes, "You are NOT evil! We all mind-speak to one degree or the other. That you can hear the Twins speaking all the way from Colony proves you have talent beyond ordinary men. You are a TREASURE to us!"

He collapsed in my arms in a flood of tears and I carried him to the truck as we departed for Colony. It was a long and slow trip home, it was getting dark as we arrived, but the Twins had organized a celebration for our new people. They walked up to Basil and each one took one of his hands and told him, "WELCOME HOME BROTHER," and they led him off to get cleaned up, warmed up and filled up!

The Chef Crew had put together a feast of roasted meats, vegetables, and warm bread and butter. They had concocted a custard pudding for dessert and milk for everyone. The children and young men were astounded at the plentiful food and asked, "Is it permitted to have seconds?"

Fox laughed and replied, "And thirds, if you want!"

Basil stood and said, "Brothers and Sisters, I have tried my best to protect you and keep you safe. I tried my best to feed you and keep you warm. My best had run out, there was nothing more I could do for you. These SAVIOURS, THESE ANGELS FROM SANCTUARY have saved us all."

At that, Wolf and Junior ran up to Basil and hugged him. "Welcome home, BROTHER!"

The remainder of that winter passed, thankfully, with no further excitement. Basil remained close to Fox and Jacob but he approached Bear and requested training to be a Warrior. Two other of his companions, Joseph and Gary also requested to be Warriors. Bear later told me that those three were destined to be Warrior Chiefs! As spring began to burst through the snow and ice, our land and people also burst with new life. Sally went to the Clinic and was told she was pregnant with TWINS! It took several days for Bear to come back down to earth!