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    The Mastodon Slayer and Other Stories
    The Mastodon Slayer and Other Stories
    The Mastodon Slayer and Other Stories
    Ebook248 pages2 hours

    The Mastodon Slayer and Other Stories

    By Burr Cook

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    About this ebook

    In book 1 a man in an alcoholic coma has a fantasy dream remembering adventures experienced by ancient ancestors caught up in the approaching ice age. He takes some of his modern knowledge with him into the past and becomes a slayer of mastodons. This is a fast moving adventure story with a little romance as well. Book 2 is a story of a computer enthusiast who gets involved with dangerous gangsters and accidently comes into a large sum of money. Book 3 is a spoof about a planned attach on the US by Iran using a high energy electro-magnetic pulse generated by a high level nuclear explosion. A high tech pot smoking nerd saves the President and many high ranking officials of the government. Book 4 is a short story about a small group of men and boys who sail from Plymouth England in the year of 1626 and land near Cape Cod. They are all fleeing from perceived danger and have no plan to return. They meet with adventure among the Pilgrims and the Native Americans of New England.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBurr Cook
    Release dateFeb 2, 2015
    ISBN9781310473364
    The Mastodon Slayer and Other Stories
    Author

    Burr Cook

    Burr lives in Syracuse, New York, has 4 children, several grandchildren and says that Great grandchildren are arriving at an alarming rate. Burr is a history buff and works hard on his family's genealogy and has a web site at www.burrcook.com which is partially biographical. He may be contacted through this site. He has traveled extensively throughout the US, Europe and Asia by air, rail and highway. Burr has enjoyed a 50 year career in information technology, has owned a worldwide seminar business and a company called “Cyburrsource” providing the public with internet connections. He is now semi retired and enjoys a life as a freelance writer of action/adventure/romance stories primarily in a historical western setting.

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      Book preview

      The Mastodon Slayer and Other Stories - Burr Cook

      Preface

      I got the idea for this story while browsing the World Wide Web late one evening. I have forgotten what I was looking for but it had no relation to what I found.

      So I ran across an article on global warming and how the melting glaciers in the arctic that have not melted for over 2 million years, are revealing some astounding facts. The first that struck me was that the last ice age, which occurred a little over ten thousand years ago happened not at all the way it was thought. The old theory was that it occurred over a period of thousands of years with the ice slowly moving south. What amazed me was that many scientists now believe that it happened all within about six months. Also they have found that the periods between ice ages are far shorter than the ice ages themselves.

      There is no way of knowing how people communicated prior to the last ice age. Obviously they communicated. They came up with some very well made tools although they had no metals, only rock and wood. They certainly could produce some weapons as they were able to kill large animals including not only bison but wooly mammoths and mastodons. This required language of some kind as cooperation would have been necessary.

      I recently read a book by Jack London about the ancestors of modern man. It dealt with people who lived in trees and had just recently learned to stand on two feet. I believe that they still had tails. I can’t remember the book’s title but it’s not important. The idea that I wanted to borrow from it was that it could be that memories of the lives of our ancestors still exist. I don’t know if that is a possibility or not but it could be that some of these memories exist along side of memories of current events.

      So utilizing these premises I have invented a story. It is almost completely unscientific. It is my conception of pre-ice age history. And of course I have used modern day language to describe things ancient.

      In my story a man in an alcoholic coma has a fantasy dream about living in the Ice Age.

      Prolog

      John Baff awoke briefly from his coma like condition and found that he was stretched out in the back of a van or SUV like vehicle. He did not recognize the driver. So he asked who’re you.

      My name’s Rob.

      Rob what?

      Just Rob is enough for now. I’m a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. Your wife called us. The fellow next to me is Bill.

      I used to go to those stupid meetings, Guys.

      Why did you stop, John? Bill asked.

      I got drunk.

      Yes, I can tell. Your wife is a little upset about that.

      John passed out again for a while and after several minutes he came around. My wife wants a divorce.

      What about you John do you want a divorce?

      I’m too drunk to think about it right now. But when I’m sober I love my wife. She was my first teen age crush. Then there was silence again while John slept. The next time he awoke he asked; Where’re we going, Rob Whatever?

      We’re going to the hospital emergency room. You were experiencing the DTs, delirium tremens. Next to you back there you’ll find a bottle with a couple ounces of vodka in it. You can drink it if you feel the need. We’ll be driving for the next half hour.

      John uncorked the bottle drank it down and lay unresponsive but half aware of his surroundings. He heard the AA guys talking but could not say any more himself.

      Rob suddenly jammed on the brakes. What the hell was that? He asked.

      A pair of coyotes just ran across the road. Bill replied as Rob gained control of the vehicle.

      It must be mating season. Rob responded.

      No Rob, coyotes mate for life.

      It’s too bad more people don’t follow their lead. Most all of my group members are divorced.

      That includes me Rob. Coyotes are one of the few animals that choose lifelong mates. Animals with that particular trait make up a very short list. It includes gibbons, wolves and swans as well.

      Bill was a teacher and had recently been studying the ice ages so he added one more animal to the list and that was the extinct mastodon. Bill went on about his interest in the prehistoric beasts. Rob had little interest in the topic but let Bill go on expounding while he concentrated on driving.

      When they reached the hospital they noticed that John had slipped back into oblivion. They drove up to the emergency entrance and waited while two interns wheeled Mr. Baff inside on a gurney. John was a large man and not so easy to carry. He was not obese however. In fact he was far from it. He was very muscular and looked like he was in good health if not for the drinking. One of the interns asked What seems to be the problem with Mr. Baff?

      Bill replied he’s apparently in an alcoholic coma.

      As they were wheeling Mr. John Baff through the door Bill called out to him. We’ll be back to see you in a couple days. I don’t think you’re hearing me but we’ll see you later.

      Rob and Bill tried several times to get to see John but he remained in a coma for several more days.

      Chapter 1 Summer Snow

      It had been snowing now for several days without a let up. Baff stood in the doorway of his home looking out. It had also turned very cold suddenly a few days ago, but more days than he could count. He couldn’t count past ten. He used his fingers.

      He didn’t know his age but he was as big as his father now. He and his father were both very large and muscular. In fact at some of the village sporting events they would wrestle their way to the first and second prize positions most of the time. He and his father lived in a hut that they had built several summers ago. He could remember his mother vividly but she had died in the hut though he knew not why. A new child was trying to be born at the time and like several others never quite made it although some had survived for several summers before they passed on. His mother had taught him many things that were unknown to most of the men he was familiar with. The many skills he had learned from her included the gathering of plants for food. She was considered to be the wisest woman ever known to the village.

      Baff had always seemed different from the rest of the clan, including his father Lars, who was considered the village chief. Baff thought about things that none of the others ever had any knowledge of. For example he had made a sling with which he could kill rabbits using small stones. Rabbits were a delicacy among the villagers but they were very difficult to catch for all except for Baff.

      The hut, shared by Baff and Lars was a half circle of logs and brush stacked against a rock wall that outcropped several feet so that half of the roof was formed by the outcropping of rock. It was the most elaborate dwelling in the village and it was conceived of by Baff. He had filled the cracks in the wall with snow as soon as it started to fall.

      A very short number of days ago it was sunny and things were starting to grow. He had gathered greens and roots and several kinds of grains that were in good supply before the snow came, just the way his mother had taught him to do it. This was a few more days past than he could count but he knew it was not a long time ago. What was puzzling was the fact that this was not the season for snow though it was piling up rapidly outside and it had become very cold. He was dressed in his warmest furs.

      Every now and again Baff thought that he heard voices inside of his head that seemed to come from long ago. Voices he may have heard when he was too young to remember. He had decided that everybody must have the voices telling them things that were useful. But if they did, then why were they not a little wiser than they seem to be. It didn’t matter, the voices were usually correct, so Baff always listened.

      Just as Baff was thinking of fixing a meal he saw his father coming towards the hut and he silently observed him as he approached the opening that served as a doorway. There was a flap to lower over the opening at night but during the day it served as the only source of light other than a wood fire in the middle of the room on a dirt floor. The smoke curled through a hole in the roof when the wind didn’t blow it back into the room. Baff and his father, Lars, had a rather primitive language with which to communicate with one another. They lived among members of the small village and were well liked by all. Although primitive their speech was adequate to maintain good relationships with their neighbors. Their language was actually a combination of speech and signs. They usually made signs with their hands but sometimes used their entire body.

      Baff’s father said that he had killed a bison not far away and in the morning they could skin it and use the hide to make some warmer clothes and they would feast on the meat. For now they must get some help dragging it to the cabin in order to keep the wolves and other predators away from it. Of course they did not call these animals by the names of bison and wolves but the story teller here must substitute some modern words, not knowing the language spoken by those people in that particular period. Actually no one living today knows what their language was like.

      So they worked together with some friends dragging the heavy bison to a safe place protected by fire. The fire was never allowed to go out. They had specially treated bone containers to carry some hot coals when traveling overnight. They had to be replaced often. They generally were bones of mastodon or wooly mammoths. Baff had learned from his inner wisdom to make fire by rubbing certain kinds of sticks. He kept it to himself for now as he had been accused by some elders of possessing demons.

      After fixing a dinner of grains and greens mixed with game they stuffed themselves and retired to their very comfortable beds of furs spread on the dirt floor. They had plenty of furs to enable them to withstand sub zero temperatures which were rare with the exception of the past four hands of days of continual early fading of summer which had hardly begun. At least the food was not spoiling and Baff had collected a good supply.

      Chapter 2 Wooly Mammoths

      In the morning they set to work on the bison with axes made of very sharp stones with hard wood handles. While they worked together Baff’s father spoke of seeing a large herd of wooly mammoths up the ravine not far. They were not too worried about being trampled since they slept under the outcrop of stone carved out of the hillside. The mammoths could not pass under it. They were too large. Lars related that he had never seen so many mammoths in one herd and they should Get a party of men together and slay some of them. The slaying of mammoths generally resulted in many injuries and even some men would be killed during the process.

      Baff could see the usefulness of the mammoths for making clothes and shelters and it was looking like there was a growing need for both.

      Baff listened for insight from out of the past. His thoughts told him of the possible use of a nearby swamp that might be used for disabling the wooly mammoths. They could drive the huge beasts into the bog where they would get stuck in the deep mud and could be killed with many spears and stones and axes. The swamp for some reason seldom froze – there were warm springs underneath -- but it was now freezing over for the first time in years so they must act fast.

      Baff told his father about his idea and Lars was amazed and very excited about the possibility. If they made loud noises behind them the mammoths would run and they could be driven into the swamp which had swallowed many a villager in its muddy bottom. Lars once again marveled at Baff’s wisdom. No one had ever thought of such a way to trap mammoths. So he said "My son, I don’t know where it comes from but you are a very unusual young man possessing knowledge previously unknown in our village.

      So they walked around the village gathering up hunters to help drive the mammoths and kill them. There would be an ample supply of meat and skins to get them through any period of cold weather.

      The drive went well and worked as planned. There turned out to be many more animals than they had planned on. While they were slaughtering the trapped animals they were surprised by a thunderous sound from up the valley. It turned out to be a continuation of the herd. It was much larger even than Lars had thought. The mammoths seemed to be very agitated by something unknown to the clan.

      That night the frightened beasts came crashing through the village and this time they bypassed the swamp and passed directly through the village destroying many homes and killing nearly half of the inhabitants. Their good fortune was soon turned to bad. Many of the hunters found their families wiped out. A few found them still intact. Much of the village lay in ruin. It probably should never have been constructed in such a narrow valley.

      So it turned out that there were more than enough animals killed to go around. Baff and Lars skinned two and cut up as much meat as they could haul home. The skins made for good temporary shelters when venturing out on long hunting trips. The meat could be kept indefinitely as long as the freezing weather kept up.

      Chapter 3 Ice Wall

      Two or three days went by when the snow finally let up a little. It was already deep enough to make travel difficult. Baff had taught the people of the region

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