In the days of old, many summers before the white man came, this was the home of the People. They lived on a hill by a large river. They fished in the River and gathered plants and herbs near it and used it for travel. They cut large Cypress trees and used fire to burn out the centers and hacked them with stone axes to make them hollow. They used these large boats to travel long distances to hunt and trade. This was the world of the People.

This was also Little Brown Eyes world. This morning he had just woke up. He pulled his leather shirt over his head as he rushed to the hut opening and pushed back the large bear skin.

Something smelled very good and he knew his mother was cooking his breakfast. The grass was wet on his bare feet and the early morning air was cool. His mother scolded him for not putting his shoes on, she was grinning. She knew it was a big day for Little Brown Eyes. A runner had came into camp the evening before and gave the glad news that the hunters were returning. His mother had been worried about Little Brown Eyes father. He had been gone more than a moon. She knew the north country was a long way up the river and the hunters had to paddle and pull the large boats for many days to reach the forest where the bear lived. Little Brown Eyes was eager for his fathers return. He knew the hunters would bring lots of food and furs but most important was the stories. When the hunters returned there would be many nights of story telling.

The cool of the morning slowly warmed as the sun rose over the river. Little Brown Eyes joined the boys his age to keep an eager eye out for the returning hunters. They had few chores and had done most of them the day before. As they watched,, the large boats slowly came into view as they rounded a bend in the river. The boys alerted the village with their yelps and screams. The big boats slowly made their way to the village landing among the happy villagers.

Little Brown Eyes was running through the crowd of people looking for his father. Suddenly he felt himself being pitched high in the air. He felt like he could touch the clouds. He was in his Fathers arms and happy. They had so many stories to tell each other. The winter may not be long enough to tell them all. They laughed and danced through the crowd of people. At the edge of the large group of people his mother stood eagerly waiting and Little Brown Eyes world was complete.

Little Brown Eyes wanted to stay with his father but he knew there was much work to do. The boats must be unloaded and the meat and furs cooked,dried or cured. He also knew the feast was about to begin. The people would work, play, feast and be happy for many days. The wood from the Hickory trees had been gathered days before and dried to fuel the fires for the cooking pots and the smoke huts. The people had used this wood for many years. It cured the meat and furs for the long winter and gave the meat a good flavor. The nuts from the big trees were also gathered and used in the cooking.

The day grew old and the Sun neared its sleeping place in the great forest behind the village. Little Brown Eyes watched as the People dragged the large logs to the center of the village and built a fire. He knew the time for story telling was near. The village people formed a large circle around the warm fire and Little Brown Eyes father in the oral tradition of the People began to chant the history of the hunts. He told of the days long ago when the People lived in a different place, about their long journey down the river of rivers and of the many families and hunts before. The hunters began to tell of their adventure into the north woods, the home of the bear. Little Brown Eyes listened intently as each hunter told of pursing the elusive bear and of the many brave and skillful acts of the hunters. Little Brown Eyes was eager to hear the story of his big brother. This was his first hunt and he would become a hunter if he had shown himself to be skilled and brave. When he went to the north woods with the hunters he was called by his boy name Deer Boy because he was a fast runner. Tonight the men told how he had tracked the largest black bear of the hunt. The bear was big and fast and knew many hiding places. He stayed on the trail for days and carried only a pouch to hold some dried meat, some nuts he had gathered and his spear he had worked so hard making. He knew he had to get close to the bear and thrust the shaft into him. If he threw the spear it might break the point or worse just injure the bear and make him even more dangerous. His hunt was successful and from this day forward he would be called Black Bear by the People and wear the bear claws around his neck.Tonight’s stories would become part of the oral tradition of the people and be told by their children and grandchildren.

The golden moon arched slowly through the sky as Little Brown Eyes, snuggled tightly in the warm embrace of his mother’s arms, dreamed of the day the stories would be about him.