Prophectic Visions of Grandfather:

    It was then that the sky seemed to surge and
    huge holes began to appear. The holes tore
    with a resounding, thunderous sound, and the
    very Earth, rocks, and soil shook.

    The skin of the sky seemed to be torn open
    like a series of gaping wounds, and through
    these wounds seeped a liquid that seemed like
    the oozing of an infection, a great sea of
    floating garbage, oil, and dead fish.

    It was through one of these wounds that
    Grandfather saw the floating bodies of
    dolphins, accompanied by tremendous upheavals
    of the Earth and of violent storms.

    As he held fast to the trembling Earth his
    eyes fell from the sky, and all about him,
    all at once, was disaster. Piles of garbage
    reached to the skies, forests lay cut and
    dying, coastlines flooded, and storms grew
    more violent and thunderous. With each
    passing moment the Earth shook with greater
    intensity.

    Suddenly the Earth stopped shaking and the
    sky cleared. Out of the dusty air walked the
    warrior spirit, who stopped a short distance
    from Grandfather. As Grandfather looked into
    the face of the spirit he could see that
    there were great tears flowing from his eyes,
    and each tear fell to the Earth with a
    searing sound.

    The spirit looked at Grandfather for a long
    moment, then finally spoke, saying, "Holes in
    the sky." Grandfather thought for a moment,
    then in a questioning, disbelieving manner
    said, "Holes in the Sky?" 

    And the spirit answered, saying, 

    "They will become the sign of the destruction 
    of man.  The holes in the sky, and all that
    you have seen could become man's reality. 

    It is here, at the beginning of this second
    sign, that man can no longer heal the Earth
    with physical action. 

    It is here that man must heed the warning and
    work harder to change the future at hand. 

    But now man must not only work physically, he
    must also work spiritually, through prayer,
    for only through prayer can man hope to heal 
    the Earth and himself.'

    There was a long pause.

    Grandfather thought of the impossibility of
    holes in the sky.

    Surely Grandfather knew that there could be a
    spirit in the sky, but holes?

    That the societies of Earth would not
    notice them would hardly seem likely.

    The spirit drew closer and spoke again,
    almost in a whisper.

    "These holes are a direct result of man's
    life, his travel, and the sins of his
    grandfathers and grandmothers. These holes,
    will be the second sign, and they will mark
    the killing of his grandchildren.  They will
    become a legacy to man's life away from
    Nature."

    "It is during the time of these holes that
    mankind's thinking will have crossed a great
    transition point.  Men will then be faced 
    with a choice, a choice to continue on the 
    path of destruction, or to move back to the 
    philosophy of the Earth and a simple 
    existence."

    "It is here that the decision must be made,
    or all will be lost." 

    Without another word the spirit turned and
    walked back into the dust.

    Grandfather spent the next four days at the 
    cave entrance, and during that time nothing 
    spoke to him, not even the Earth.

    He said that it was a time of great sorrow,
    of aloneness, and a time to digest all that
    had taken place. He knew that these things 
    would not appear in his life time, but they
    had to be passed down to the people of the
    future, with the same urgency and power with
    which they had been delivered to him. 

    He did not know how he could explain
    these unlikely events to anyone. 

    Surely the elders and shamans of the tribes
    would understand but not the people, and
    certainly not anyone who was removed from the
    Earth and Spirit. 

    He sat for the four full days, unmoving, as
    if made of stone, and it was at the end of
    the fourth day that the third Vision came to
    him.

    As he gazed out onto the landscape toward the 
    setting sun, the sky suddenly turned back to 
    a liquid and turned blood red.

    As far as his eyes could see, the sky was
    solid red, with no variation in shadow,
    texture, or light.

    The whole of creation seemed to have grown
    still, as if awaiting some unseen command.

    Time, place, and destiny seemed to be in
    limbo, stilled by the bleeding sky.

    He gazed for a long time at the sky, in a
    state of awe and terror, for the red color of
    the sky was like nothing he had ever seen in
    any sunset or sunrise.

    The color was that of man, not of Nature, and
    it had a vile stench and texture.

    It seemed to burn the Earth wherever it
    touched.  As sunset drifted to night, the
    stars shone bright red, the color never
    leaving the sky, and everywhere was heard the
    cries of fear and pain.

    Again the warrior spirit appeared to
    Grandfather, but this time as a voice from
    the sky.  Like thunder, the voice shook the
    landscape, saying,

    "This, then, is the third sign, the night of
    the bleeding stars. It will become known
    throughout the world, for the sky in all
    lands will be red with the blood of the sky,
    day and night. It is then, with this sign of
    the third probable future, that there is no
    longer hope. Life on Earth as man has lived
    it will come to an end, and there can be no
    turning back, physically or spiritually.  It
    is then that the children of the Earth must
    run to the wild places and hide.  For when
    the sky bleeds fire, there will be no safety
    in the world of man."

    Grandfather sat in shocked horror as the
    voice continued.

    "From this time, when the stars bleed, to the
    fourth and final sign will be four seasons of
    peace. It is in these four seasons they must
    live deep within the wild places and find a
    new home, close to the Earth and the Creator."

    "It is only the children of the Earth that
    will survive, and they must live the 
    philosophy of the Earth, never returning to 
    the thinking of man.  Survival will not be 
    enough, for the children of the Earth must 
    also live close to the spirit.   Tell them
    not to hesitate if and when this third sign
    becomes manifest in the stars, for there are
    but only four seasons to escape."

    Grandfather said that the voice and the red
    sky lingered for a week and then were gone as
    quickly as they were made manifest.

    Grandfather did not remember how many days
    he'd spent at the mouth of the cave, nor did
    it make a difference, for he had received the
    Vision he had come for.

    It was in the final night at the Eternal Cave
    that the fourth vision came to Grandfather,
    this time carried by the voice of a young
    child.

    The child spoke, saying, "The fourth and
    final sign will appear through the next ten
    winters following the night that the stars
    will bleed. During this time the Earth will
    heal itself and man will die. For those ten
    years the children of the Earth must remain
    hidden in the wild places, make no permanent
    camps, and wander to avoid contact with the
    last remaining forces of man. THEY MUST
    REMAIN HIDDEN, like the ancient scouts and
    fight the urge to go back to the destruction
    of man.  Curiosity could kill many."

    There was a long silence, until Grandfather
    spoke to the child spirit, asking, "And what
    will happen to the worlds of man?"

    There was another period of silence until
    finally the child spoke again. "There will be
    a great famine throughout the world, like man
    cannot imagine. Waters will run vile, the
    poisons of man's sins running strong in the
    waters of the soils, lakes, and rivers. Crops
    will fail, the animals of man will die, and 
    disease will kill the masses. The 
    grandchildren will feed upon the remains of 
    the dead, and all about will be cries of pain 
    and anguish. Roving bands of men will hunt 
    and kill other men for food, and water will 
    always be scarce, getting scarcer with each 
    passing year. The land, the water, the sky 
    will all be poisoned, and man will live in 
    the wrath of the Creator. Man will hide at 
    first in the cities, but there he will die. A 
    few will run to the wilderness, but the 
    wilderness will destroy them, for Man will be 
    destroyed, his cities in ruin, and it is then 
    that the grandchildren will pay for the sins 
    of their grandfathers and grandmothers."

    "Is there then no hope?" Grandfather asked.

    The child spoke again, "There is only hope
    during the time of the first and second
    signs. Upon the third sign, the night of the
    bleeding, there is no longer hope, for only
    the children of the Earth will survive. Man
    will be given these warnings: if unheeded,
    there can be no hope, for only the children
    of the Earth will purge themselves of 
    mankind's destructive thinking. The children
    of the Earth will bring a new hope to the
    the socity, living closer to the Earth and
    Spirit."

    Then all was silent, the landscape cleared
    and returned to normal and Grandfather
    stepped from the vision.

    Shaken, he said he had wandered for the next
    season, trying to understand why he had been
    chosen.