Writing: Chapter 4

From 800 AD to 1400 AD, a Global Warming period struck the Northern Hemisphere. During this time, the Vikings discovered and settled "Greenland", naming it Green because it was warm enough then to be green and to grow agricultural crops. Today, of course, Greenland is mostly ice-covered and its name a contemporary misnomer.

In my third book, the Native Americans present around the year 1000 are living through this warming cycle and are, in fact, having to deal with the results Mr. Gore alludes to as "man-made." (No, I am not making a political statement.)

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This is the reportage on a scene from Chapter 4 which is setting up a later physical conflict over food -- one tribe against thieves who want their food reserves.

The heat and the lack of rain, has been very hard on the Tribe because the food has not been as plentiful. The plantings have produced pitiful results, even with planting fish skins and water from the springs.

The dry and the heat have increased the amount of insects and have made them more vicious towards humans and more ravenous towards vegetables. New insects seemed to have emerged from the cracked soil while the hoppers prosper and multiply, bringing large white birds who take our fish before we can.

From the cave, I could see the winds whip around in circles, causing dust to rise and be blown away from our fields. Even I as one person, could notice that the coyote were becoming more plentiful and were beginning to hunt young deer in packs, causing the deer to be less plentiful and those who were there were more cautious.

I could also see from the cave the shallow depths of the two rivers. Their banks were never full and many times in the Great Heat, their waters would be reduced to small flows in their main channels. The fish would be jammed together in the small space and the otters, fox and hawks would take more than they should, causing the fish to be fewer and fewer.

All of this was worrisome and there seemed to be nothing that we could do. Some of our villagers had left us, to wander the river banks in search of a better place. Most of us who remained behind, thought it best to stay together as a group, but taking up the wandering life did have its appeal, as our ancients had practiced it many years earlier.

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

~~ Dr. Seuss