# The Acorn-planter: A California Forest Play/Act I
## Act I

(Ten thousand years have passed, and it is  the time of the early voyaging from Europe  to the waters of the Pacific, when the  deserted hillside is again revealed as the  moon rises. The stream no longer flows  from the spring. Since the grove is used  only as a camp for the night when the  Nishinam are on their seasonal migration  there are no signs of previous camps.)
 (Enter from right, at end of day's march,  women, old men, and Shaman, the  women bending under their burdens of  camp gear and dunnage)
 (Enter from left youths carrying fish-spears  and large fish)
 (Appear, coming down the hillside, Red  Cloud and the hunters, many carrying  meat.)
 (The various repeated characters, despite  differences of skin garmenting and decoration,  resemble their prototypes of the prologue.)
 {Red Cloud}  Good hunting! Good hunting!
 {Hunters}  Good hunting! Good hunting!
 {Youths}  Good fishing! Good fishing!
 {Women}  Good berries! Good acorns!
 (The women and youths and hunters, as they  reach the campsite, begin throwing down  their burdens)
 {Dew-Woman}  (Discovering the dry spring.)  The water no longer flows!
 {Shaman}  (Stilling the excitement that is immediate  on the discovery.)  The word of old time that has come down to  us from all the Shamans who have gone before!  The Sun Man has come back from the Sun.
 {Dew-Woman}  (Looking to Red Cloud.)  Let Red Cloud speak. Since the morning of  the world has Red Cloud ever been reborn with  the ancient wisdom to guide us.
 {War Chief}  Save in war. In war I command.
 (He picks out hunters by name.)  Deer Foot... Elk Man... Antelope. Run  through the forest, climb the hill-tops, seek down  the valleys, for aught you may find of this Sun Man.
 (At a wave of the War Chief's hand the  three hunters depart in different directions.)
 {Dew-Woman}  Let Red Cloud speak his mind.
 {Red Cloud}  (Quietly)  Last night the earth shook and there was a  roaring in the air. Often have I seen, when the  earth shakes and there is a roaring, that springs  in some places dry up, and that in other places  where were no springs, springs burst forth.
 {Shaman}  There is a sign.  The Shamans told it of old.  The Sun Man will bear the thunder in his hand.
 {People}  There is a sign.  The Sun Man will bear the thunder in his hand.
 {Shaman}  The roaring in the air was the thunder of the  Sun Man's return. Now will he destroy the  Nishinam. Such is the word.
 {War Chief}  Hoh! Hoh!
 (From right Deer Foot runs in.)
 {Deer Foot}  (Breathless.)  They come! He comes!
 {War Chief}  Who comes?
 {Deer Foot}  The Sun Men. The Sun Man. He is their  chief. He marches before them. And he is  white.
 {People}  There is a sign.  The Sun Man is white.
 {Red Cloud}  Carries he the thunder in his hand?
 {Deer Foot}  (Puzzled)  He looks hungry.
 {War Chief}  Hoh! Hoh! The Sun Man is hungry. It  will be easy to kill a hungry Sun Man.
 {Red Cloud}  It would be easy to be kind to a hungry Sun  Man and give him food. We have much. The  hunting has been good.
 {War Chief}  Better to kill the Sun Man.
 (He turns upon People, indicating most  commands in gestures as he prepares the  ambush, making women and boys conceal  all the camp outfit and game, and  disposing the armed hunters among the  ferns and behind trees till all are hidden.)
 {Elk Man and Antelope}  (Running down hillside)  The Sun Man comes.
 (War Chief sends them to hiding places)
 {War Chief}  (Preparing himself to hide)  You have not hidden, O Red Cloud.
 {Red Cloud}  (Stepping into shadow of big tree where he  remains inconspicuous though dimly  visible)  I would see this Sun Man and talk with him.
 (The sound of singing is heard, and War  Chief conceals himself)
 (Sun Man, with handful of followers, singing  to ease the tedium of the march, enter  from right. They are patently survivors  of a wrecked exploring skip, making their  way inland)
 {Sun Men}  We sailed three hundred strong  For the far Barbaree;  Our voyage has been most long  For the far Barbaree;  So--it's a long pull,  Give a strong pull,  For the far Barbaree.
 We sailed the oceans wide  For the coast of Barbaree;  And left our ship a sinking  On the coast of Barbaree;  So--it's a long pull,  Give a strong pull,  For the far Barbaree.
 Our ship went fast a-lee  On the rocks of Barbaree;  That's why we quit the sea  On the rocks of Barbaree.  So--it's a long pull,  Give a strong pull,  For the far Barbaree.
 We quit the bitter seas  On the coast of Barbaree;  To seek the savag-ees  Of the far Barbaree.  So--it's a long pull,  Give a strong pull,  For the far Barbaree.
 Our feet are lame and sore  In the far Barbaree;  From treading of the shore  Of the far Barbaree.  So--it's a long pull,  Give a strong pull,  For the far Barbaree.
 A weary brood are we  In the far Barbaree;  Sea cunies of the sea  In the far Barbaree.  So--it's a long pull,  Give a strong pull,  For the far Barbaree.
 {Sun Man}  (Who alone carries a musket, and who is  evidently captain of the wrecked company)  No farther can we go this night. Mayhap  to-morrow we may find the savages and food.
 (He glances about.)  This far world grows noble trees. We shall sleep  as in a temple.
 {First Sea Cuny}  (Espying Red Cloud, and pointing.)  Look, Captain!
 {Sun Man}  (Making the universal peace-sign, arm  raised and out, palm-outward.)  Who are you? Speak. We come in peace.  We kindness seek.
 {Red Cloud}  (Advancing out of the shadow.)  Whence do you come?
 {Sun Man}  From the great sea.
 {Red Cloud}  I do not understand. No one journeys  on the great sea.
 {Sun Man}  We have journeyed many moons.
 {Red Cloud}  Have you come from the sun?
 {Sun Man}  God wot! We have journeyed across the  sun, high and low in the sky, and over the sun  and under the sun the round world 'round.
 {Red Cloud}  (With conviction.)  You come from the Sun. Your hair is like  the summer sunburnt grasses. Your eyes are  blue. Your skin is white.
 (With absolute conviction.)  You are the Sun Man.
 {Sun Man}  (With a shrug of shoulders.)  Have it so. I come from the Sun. I am the  Sun Man.
 {Red Cloud}  Do you carry the thunder in your hand?
 {Sun Man}  (Nonplussed for the moment, glances at  his musket, then smiles.)  Yes, I carry the thunder in my hand.
 (War Chief and the Hunters leap  suddenly from ambush. Sun Man  warns Sea Cunies not to resist. War  Chief captures and holds Sun Man,  and Sea Cunies are similarly captured  and held. Women and boys appear, and  examine prisoners curiously.)
 {War Chief}  Hoh! Hoh! Hoh! I have captured the  Sun Man! Like the foxes, I have captured  the Sun Man!--Deer Foot! Elk Man! The  foxes held the Sun Man. I now hold the Sun  Man. Then can you hold the Sun Man.
 (Deer Foot and Elk Man seize the Sun  Man.)
 {Red Cloud}  (To Shaman.)  He said he came in kindness.
 {War Chief}  (Sneering.)  In kindness, with the thunder in his hand.
 {Shaman}  (Deflected to partisanship of War Chief  by War Chief's success.)  By his own lips has he said it, with the thunder  in his hand.
 {War Chief}  You are the Sun Man.
 {Sun Man}  (Shrugging shoulders.)  My names are many as the stars. Call me  White Man.
 {Red Cloud}  I am Red Cloud, the first man.
 {Sun Man}  Then am I Adam, the first man and your  brother.
 (Glancing about.)  And this is Eden, to look upon it.
 {Red Cloud}  My father was the Coyote.
 {Sun Man}  My father was Jehovah.
 {Red Cloud}  I am the Fire-Bringer. I stole the fire from  the ground squirrel and hid it in the heart of  the wood.
 {Sun Man}  Then am I Prometheus, your brother. I  stole the fire from heaven and hid it in the heart  of the wood.
 {Red Cloud}  I am the Acorn-Planter. I am the Food-  Bringer, the Life-Maker. I make food for  more life, ever more life.
 {Sun Man}  Then am I truly your brother. Life-Maker  am I, tilling the soil in the sweat of my brow  from the beginning of time, planting all manner  of good seeds for the harvest.
 (Looking sharply at Red Cloud's skin  garments.)  Also am I the Weaver and Cloth-Maker.
 (Holding out arm so that Red Cloud may  examine the cloth of the coat)  From the hair of the goat and the wool of  the sheep, and from beaten and spun grasses,  do I make the cloth to keep man warm.
 {Shaman}  (Breaking in boastfully.)  I am the Shaman. I know all secret things.
 {Sun Man}  I know my pathway under the sun over all  the seas, and I know the secrets of the stars  that show me my path where no path is. I  know when the Wolf of Darkness shall eat the  moon.
 (Pointing toward moon.)  On this night shall the Wolf of Darkness eat  the moon.
 (He turns suddenly to Red Cloud,  drawing sheath-knife and passing it  to him.)
 More, O First Man and Acorn-Planter. I am  the Iron-Maker. Behold!
 (Red Cloud examines knife, understands  immediately its virtue, cuts easily a strip  of skin from his skin garment, and is  overcome with the wonder of the knife.)
 {War Chief}  (Exhibiting a long bow.)  I am the War Chief. No man, save me, has  strength to bend this bow. I can slay farther  than any man.
 (A huge bear has come out among the  bushes far up the hillside)
 {Sun Man}  I, too, am War Chief over men, and I can  slay farther than you.
 {War Chief}  Hoh! Hoh!
 {Sun Man}  (Pointing to bear)  Can you slay that with your strong bow?
 {War Chief}  (Dubiously)  It is a far shot. Too far. No man can slay  a great bear so far.
 (Sun Man, shaking off from his arms the  hands of Deer Foot and Elk Man,  aims musket and fires. The bear falls,  and the Nishinam betray astonishment  and awe)
 (At a quick signal from War Chief,  Sun Man is again seized. War Chief  takes away musket and examines it.)
 {Shaman}  There is a sign.
 {People}  There is a sign.  He carries the thunder in his hand.  He slays with the thunder in his hand.  He is the enemy of the Nishinam.  He will destroy the Nishinam.
 {Shaman}  There is a sign.
 {People}  There is a sign.  In the day the Sun Man comes,  The waters from the spring will no longer flow,  And in that day will he destroy the Nishinam.
 {War Chief}  (Exhibiting musket.)  Hoh! Hoh! I have taken the Sun Man's  thunder.
 {Shaman}  Now shall the Sun Man die that the Nishinam  may live.
 {Red Cloud}  He is our brother. He, too, is an acorn-  planter. He has spoken.
 {Shaman}  He is the Sun Man, and he is our eternal  enemy. He shall die.
 {War Chief}  In war I command.
 (To Hunters.)  Tie their feet with stout thongs that they  may not run. And then make ready with bow  and arrow to do the deed.
 (Hunters obey, urging and thrusting the  Sea Cunies into a compact group behind  the Sun Man.)
 {Red Cloud}  Shaman I am not.  I know not the secret things.  I say the things I know.  When you plant kindness you harvest kindness.  When you plant blood you harvest blood.  He who plants one acorn makes way for life.  He who slays one man slays the planter of a  thousand acorns.
 {Shaman}  Shaman I am.  I see the dark future.  I see the Sun Man's death,  The journey he must take  Through thick and endless forest  Where lost souls wander howling  A thousand moons of moons.
 {People}  Through thick and endless forest  Where lost souls wander howling  A thousand moons of moons.
 (War Chief arranges Hunters with their  bows and arrows for the killing.)
 {Sun Man}  (To Red Cloud.)  You will slay us?
 {Red Cloud}  (Indicating War Chief.)  In war he commands.
 {Sun Man}  (Addressing the Nishinam)  Nor am I a Shaman. But I will tell you true  things to be. Our brothers are acorn-planters,  cloth-weavers, iron-workers. Our brothers are  life-makers and masters of life. Many are our  brothers and strong. They will come after us.  Your First Man has spoken true words. When  you plant blood you harvest blood. Our brothers  will come to the harvest with the thunder  in their hands. There is a sign. This night,  and soon, will the Wolf of Darkness eat the  moon. And by that sign will our brothers come  on the trail we have broken.
 (As final preparation for the killing is  completed, and as Hunters are arranged  with their bows and arrows,  Sun Man sings.)
 {Sun Man}  Our brothers will come after,  On our trail to farthest lands;  Our brothers will come after  With the thunder in their hands.
 {Sun Men}  Loud will be the weeping,  Red will be the reaping,  High will be the heaping  Of the slain their law commands.
 {Sun Man}  Givers of law, our brothers,  This is the law they say:  Who takes the life of a brother  Ten of the slayers shall pay.
 {Sun Men}  Our brothers will come after,  On our trail to farthest lands;  Our brothers will come after  With the thunder in their hands.  Loud will be the weeping,  Red will be the reaping,  High will be the heaping  Of the slain their law commands.
 {Sun Man}  Our brothers will come after  By the courses that we lay;  Many and strong our brothers,  Masters of life are they.
 {Sun Men}  Our brothers will come after  On our trail to farthest lands;  Our brothers will come after  With the thunder in their hands.  Loud will be the weeping,  Red will be the reaping,  High will be the heaping  Of the slain their law commands.
 {Sun Man}  Plowers of land, our brothers,  Of the hills and pleasant leas;  Under the sun our brothers  With their keels will plow the seas.
 {Sun Men}  Our brothers will come after,  On our trail to farthest lands;  Our brothers will come after  With the thunder in their hands.  Loud will be the weeping,  Red will be the reaping,  High will be the heaping  Of the slain their law commands.
 {Sun Man}  Mighty men are our brothers,  Quick to forgive and to wrath,  Sailing the seas, our brothers  Will follow us on our path.
 {Sun Men}  Our brothers will come after,  On our trail to farthest lands;  Our brothers will come after  With the thunder in their hands.  Loud will be the weeping,  Red will be the reaping,  High will be the heaping  Of the slain their law commands.
 (At signal from War Chief the arrows  are discharged, and repeatedly  discharged. The Sun Men fall. The War  Chief himself kills the Sun Man.)
 (In what follows, Red Cloud and Dew-  Woman stand aside, taking no part.  Red Cloud is depressed, and at the  same time is overcome with the wonder  of the knife which he still holds.)
 {War Chief}  (Brandishing musket and drifting stiff-  legged, as he sings, into the beginning  of a war dance of victory.)  Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!  I have slain the Sun Man!  Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!  I hold his thunder in my hand!  Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!  Greatest of War Chiefs am I!  Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!  I have slain the Sun Man!
 (The dance grows wilder.)
 (After a time the hillside begins to darken)
 {Dew-Woman}  (Pointing to the moon entering eclipse)  Lo! The Wolf of Darkness eats the Moon!
 (In consternation the dance is broken off  for the moment)
 {Shaman}  (Reassuringly)  It is a sign.  The Sun Man is dead.
 {War Chief}  (Recovering courage and resuming dance.)  Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!  The Sun Man is dead!
 {People}  (Resuming dance.)  Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!  The Sun Man is dead!
 (As darkness increases the dance grows  into a saturnalia, until complete darkness  settles down and hides the hillside.)