Sleeping Bear, continued
“I was cut by the claws of a grizzly bear as he struck me for trying to take some of his salmon while fishing on the banks of the upper reaches of a mainland stream when I was a boy. The monster came upon me suddenly without a sound as if appearing from the sky world. He knocked me almost a canoe’s length face first into the sand as if I was one of my sister’s dolls and then he bit me on the back until Hawoquis used his powers and spear to wound the bear and drive him off into the brush.
“Unable to see because my face was painted with blood, my brother led me to sit in the canoe. I felt the wetness of the blood but not any pain. Soon I grew very cold as if submerged in a ritual bath. My aunt later said that the cold I felt the day of the attack was the beating wings of Eagle Ghost coming to lead me on the last journey. The braves drove Eagle Ghost away by wrapping me in a blanket and applying crushed bracken fern and bunches of moss to my face and back held in place by whale gut fishing line.
“Covered in much blood, I shivered like in a winter-storm while the hunters tracked down the wounded bear, casting three spears under the neck to bring it down and then cutting it’s throat with a obsidian knife. The braves butchered it and placed the massive carcass at my feet in the canoe where I sat beginning to feel much pain.
"Fearing more bears in the area, we pushed off down stream to make our way to the ocean and soon found a small island not far off shore, the whole way I sat covered in the blanket with the bloody bear carcass before me so that when I touched my face its blood mixed with my own. I looked down at the bear’s head between my feet while the canoe swayed with the waves as the braves paddled in unison. His open black eyes stared into my soul. I spoke to him. ‘You should have let me take that salmon, old one. Now you will never see your wife and children again.’
“That night the braves cut a steak out of the bear’s heart and roasted it for me over a fire on the beach and gave it to me for dinner. It was the most nourishing meal that I ever consumed even as my face burned with pain chewing each bite. I ate most of the bear’s heart, making it a part of my own flesh. We all ate choice steaks until we could eat no more and sang bear-songs again and again. The next morning we set out for Island Home. I did not have to do any paddling and was at ease, laughing as a man in a dream. We were proud of killing such a large bear and in spite of my wounds, I was never happier when we arrived at the village. Later Hayoqwis carved a house pole to tell the story. That is how I was given my name.”
He reached for the necklace around his neck, “I wear these claws to signal, along with my scar, that I Tokwish Grizzly Blood of the Kaw-Seth have obtained power from the bear to help me in all that I do to this day. That is why I am here to help my brother bring honor to my clan by winning the respect of your tribe. He saved me and from now on I bring him good in return.”
“Your bear powers should be an asset when you hunt for the wedding guest as well,” said Se'akwal. “But, I see that you are still unmarried. Somehow the spirit of the grizzly has not brought you fortune in winning a wife, has it?” Everyone laughed.
“A wife would take me away from helping my brother. Besides, I would rather have the freedom to escape on hunting and fishing trips when ever I please than to have my ear filled with the nagging of a woman in my lodge always telling me what to do -- like what brother here will soon endure. ‘Hayoqwis, get me some firewood. Hayoqwis, I need more water. Hayoqwis, our children are crying. Whaa, whaa.’”
“For me marriage is like a long hibernation. ‘Day and night and day and night.’ I am still in the summer of my life -- wild like the animals of the forest. Until I am tamed by a wife some day, I am free to hunt the world over and paddle my canoe afar to lost and lonely places. If my head is broken by an enemy axe or if my body is drawn down to the ocean floor by a sea monster, I leave no wife or children to mourn.”
Next chapter
“Unable to see because my face was painted with blood, my brother led me to sit in the canoe. I felt the wetness of the blood but not any pain. Soon I grew very cold as if submerged in a ritual bath. My aunt later said that the cold I felt the day of the attack was the beating wings of Eagle Ghost coming to lead me on the last journey. The braves drove Eagle Ghost away by wrapping me in a blanket and applying crushed bracken fern and bunches of moss to my face and back held in place by whale gut fishing line.
“Covered in much blood, I shivered like in a winter-storm while the hunters tracked down the wounded bear, casting three spears under the neck to bring it down and then cutting it’s throat with a obsidian knife. The braves butchered it and placed the massive carcass at my feet in the canoe where I sat beginning to feel much pain.
"Fearing more bears in the area, we pushed off down stream to make our way to the ocean and soon found a small island not far off shore, the whole way I sat covered in the blanket with the bloody bear carcass before me so that when I touched my face its blood mixed with my own. I looked down at the bear’s head between my feet while the canoe swayed with the waves as the braves paddled in unison. His open black eyes stared into my soul. I spoke to him. ‘You should have let me take that salmon, old one. Now you will never see your wife and children again.’
“That night the braves cut a steak out of the bear’s heart and roasted it for me over a fire on the beach and gave it to me for dinner. It was the most nourishing meal that I ever consumed even as my face burned with pain chewing each bite. I ate most of the bear’s heart, making it a part of my own flesh. We all ate choice steaks until we could eat no more and sang bear-songs again and again. The next morning we set out for Island Home. I did not have to do any paddling and was at ease, laughing as a man in a dream. We were proud of killing such a large bear and in spite of my wounds, I was never happier when we arrived at the village. Later Hayoqwis carved a house pole to tell the story. That is how I was given my name.”
He reached for the necklace around his neck, “I wear these claws to signal, along with my scar, that I Tokwish Grizzly Blood of the Kaw-Seth have obtained power from the bear to help me in all that I do to this day. That is why I am here to help my brother bring honor to my clan by winning the respect of your tribe. He saved me and from now on I bring him good in return.”
“Your bear powers should be an asset when you hunt for the wedding guest as well,” said Se'akwal. “But, I see that you are still unmarried. Somehow the spirit of the grizzly has not brought you fortune in winning a wife, has it?” Everyone laughed.
“A wife would take me away from helping my brother. Besides, I would rather have the freedom to escape on hunting and fishing trips when ever I please than to have my ear filled with the nagging of a woman in my lodge always telling me what to do -- like what brother here will soon endure. ‘Hayoqwis, get me some firewood. Hayoqwis, I need more water. Hayoqwis, our children are crying. Whaa, whaa.’”
“For me marriage is like a long hibernation. ‘Day and night and day and night.’ I am still in the summer of my life -- wild like the animals of the forest. Until I am tamed by a wife some day, I am free to hunt the world over and paddle my canoe afar to lost and lonely places. If my head is broken by an enemy axe or if my body is drawn down to the ocean floor by a sea monster, I leave no wife or children to mourn.”
Next chapter
0 Comments:
Post a Comment