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Show 102 (L^> Toho started the fire. When it was burning well, he shoved a stick with a broken-off branch in the ground at each end of the fire pit. Then he skewered the meat on another stick and placed it over the fire. The skewer rested on the broken-off branches of the sticks at either end of the fire pit. Toho turned the spit slowly until the meat was cooked. The skin was scraped clean and left to dry. Chua would roll it up to put in his pouch to take home to his mother. The next morning they began to climb the hills to the Great Painted Canyons. Part way up they found the pinion pines that Pavati told them about. The pinecones had fallen from the trees. The boys sat down and began popping the cones open with a rock. Inside were the pine nuts. "These are my favorite," Toho said, as he shelled each nut before he ate it. Chua ate until his belly was full. They filled their pouches with nuts to last until they returned. "There'll be no pinion pines further up," Toho said. They gathered a few juniper berries and the seeds of other plants along the way. "Juniper berries are bitter," Chua said, "but they're good for a change." 7 "I like them in tea," Toho said. Chua had never tried to live off the land. He had captured snakes and desert rats to eat when food supplies for the clan wweerree llooww iinn tthnee sspprrnin g. But he never thought he le fc was gone. He knew how to hunt and gather seeds now. could take care of himself like this. He could provide food for his mother when the corn A |