The Tale of Ol’ Split Toe
Science & Nature/Environment Science Fiction/Time Travel Literature &
Fiction/Action & Adventure
Date Published: 03-31-2026
Publisher: Mission Point Press
while fire, disease, logging, human displacement, and war repeatedly destroy
forests of centuries-old trees. Split Toe, a deer chosen at birth for a unique
education, travels through time to understand the interconnected workings of a
Michigan forest. He meets humans along the way: Ice Age hunters who trap and
kill a mastodon; Mukwoh, a young Ojibwe hunter who stalks Split Toe through
swamp and forest; loggers clearcutting Michigan’s white pines; Edra, a
woman advocating for the trees; Angus and Grace, pioneers who become a first
generation of family farmers; scientists from the future studying the impact
of nuclear radiation.
Split Toe witnesses two hundred years of conflict building between modern
humans — who fight to control the natural world — and Mother Nature, who
repeatedly reaches for balance. He wonders whether human ways will ultimately
overpower Mother Nature, until he meets a boy who changes everything.
Copyright @ 2026 by Daniel S. Ellens
And here, within the ancient circle, the barrier between the physical world
and the spirit pool was thin. He could hear them now, whispering to each other
in the wind.
Waawaashkeshi breathed deeply, looked up into the tree foliage, and asked the
spirits the question that was weighing on him.
“Was that really necessary? The hungry cougar? The human stalking me?
This flea? The problem at the river? I nearly broke my neck. It is still
sore.”
Waawaashkeshi stretched his neck upward and to the side in a circular motion,
lifting his chin. He was speaking to himself. Listening for an answer that
would come from within.
“Am I not a chosen deer? Why do you not protect me from such
things?”
The spirit’s answer seemed to whisper through his mind like wind through
the leaves.
“Waawaashkeshi, you know that physically, you are an ordinary deer. You
learn from experience as any other living thing learns from experience. You
are as big and strong as your kind can be. Your chances of survival are better
than other deer because of your strength and the wisdom you’ve gained
from your experiences. Your adversaries are mighty, which will only make you
stronger … if you survive. Your judgment grows, like a river fed by
many streams. You would never be able to understand what you must learn if you
were not an ordinary deer who faces real suffering. You are not protected from
the natural trials of life because trials are a part of life. Do you think you
could understand the strength of the river without such a crossing? Do you
think you would have found out about the living soil if you had not crossed
the river? Knowing such things is important. Your experiences will guide you
in the future. They will help you understand the natural world, the forest,
and its inhabitants. They will help you survive. These are your
lessons.”
Dan Ellens is an outdoor enthusiast who is passionate about connecting people
with nature. He spends nearly half of each year in an isolated,
electricity-free treehouse on Winterfield Pines Nature Sanctuary with
woodstove heat, handpump water, and oil lamp lighting.
Dan has written four nonfiction books intended to inspire adventure, promote
self-sufficient lifestyles, and connect people with nature.
While not in the wilds, Dan and his wife live in the small community of Salem,
Michigan.
LinkedIn: Daniel S. Ellens
