Shark Mask, continued
Exhausted and without a canoe the men knew they faced a drowning death in the sea. Their only way out now was to wait for the weather to turn in the morning and swim to shore -- if they could escape the powerful rip tides and knife like reefs.
As darkness covered the castaways, Kalis, Wounti and Hayoquis huddled together that night, overwhelmed with grief, thirsty and afraid and covered by blasts of a cold, constantly weeping fog that smelled of all things living and dead at the bottom of the sea. They heard the tide go down and come up again before the first daylight could be distinguished.
When the sky began to turn deep deep blue instead of black, Hayoqwis felt a tug at his arm. Wounti stood to look up toward the top of the cliff and shouted, "Look!"
With the dawn's light in their eyes, the braves each saw two human figures looking down from what appeared to be the rim near the top of the cliff, gesturing for them to come up. Hayoquis was sure that he saw one of the figures had white hair, but unlike Spe-eth or Tiska, the distant figures wore some kind of long tunics.
Inspired that there was a way up to safety, the shipwrecked questers -- bitterly cold and sick with grief -- began to climb the giant boulders wet with rain and bird droppings that made up the face of Refuge Rock. Somehow as they carefully crawled between cracks to the top of outcrops, they found footings across the nearly vertical incline toward the place where they had seen the promising figures beckon. Cormorants cackled and sped from perches into the morning mist at the sight of the desperate men creeping near.
While pausing to rest, making sure of his hold even though his hands were becoming numb from cold, Hayoqwis looked down through the obscuring rain at the shattered remains of the canoe at the bottom of the cliff washed by bellowing waves breaking directly below. Among the wreckage, the bear crest decoration broken from the prow was wedged between rocks and stared mockingly back at him. For an instant in the circle of ocean visible in the heavy mist he spied the tip of the great shark's dorsal fin moving excitedly through white caps, apparently returning for another meal. The slightest slip would send him or his cousins instantly into the destroyer's jaws.
It was then that Hayoqwis heard the singing. Faintly -- almost drowned by the sound of the sea and wind hitting his ear -- he distinguished drumming and voices in celebration. Strangely, perhaps because of his hunger, he also seemed to smell the scent of strawberries.
"Do you hear that? The singing?", he called out to the cousins climbing above.
"It sounds like feast drums," replied Kalis. But, Wounti didn't hear anything.
"It must be the sound of a drift log trapped under the surf hitting the wall below," Kalis suggested.
That might explain the drumming. But, Hoyoqwis discerned voices singing.
Morning sun now filled the sky marked by patches of intense blue amid splitting clouds and the men felt slightly warmer as wind blew the mist away. The shark's fin had disappeared and in its place black and white seabirds gathered to dive into the choppy surface spread out far to the horizon.
It wasn't long until the men mounted a curve on the rock that enabled them to walk up past the rim and stand safely at the top. Their eyes were met by a patch of dry grass that bordered a thick forest of short, deformed spruce trees planted in a mat of salal shrubs. Hayoqwis noticed strawberry plants among the grass, but none with fruit. There was no sign of the two figures that had appeared earlier that morning.
Hayoqwis, Kalis and Wounti circled the forest that covered the top of the mountain like a scalp and found on the inland side a small stream flowing from a rock wall into an oval shaped pool -- large enough for a man to sit in. The depression forming the pool looked like a finger print left by the Changer when he formed the coastal islands and mountains from chaos. They fell down beside the rock pool to quench their thirst and noticed that the water tasted especially pure.
Had they ever tasted water so good?
While drinking the braves looked east, down into the mouth of the Shinning Heavens Inlet and saw smoke rising in the distance form a fire near a beached canoe that must be Swift in Battle. It was Whirlwind and the other guides, who had escaped the dangers of Refuge Rock and seemed to be waiting for the Kaw-Seth to arrive.
"Tiska is gone. We each saw him devoured by Nestuka," said Kalis.
"But, perhaps father found his way to a ledge like we did. We need to search for him. It may be that we can see a cleft by looking over the side," he said pointing to the rock's edge.
Hayoqwis also wished that his uncle lived, but never before in their travels had Spe-eth disappeared in time of crisis.
"We will search for uncle as best we can. But, I am afraid that he and our brother have set out on the last journey. The same Wonderful Doer who sent the shark to save us from the Sea Devil has the power to lift their spirits safely to the land of the true dawn."
As he spoke the three men realized that the death of a clan chief meant that a season of mourning had begun. Now they faced the task of returning to Island Home to announce a funeral instead of a wedding as planned. Without a canoe, they were at the mercy of the Selawik to get home. Perhaps they could convince Elder Chief Whirlwind to give them a canoe?
The men tried to circle the rim of the mountain and peered carefully over the edge of the nearly vertical cliff facing the ocean, looking for foothold that might have provided a haven for Spe-eth. Their view was either blocked by boulders or revealed only a shear drop to the water. They neared the place above where the sea lions lay, but rocks hid the sight and they could only hear the barking and smell the pungent odor of the beasts. There was no sign of a possible ledge near where they crashed. It was becoming clear that the old man had drowned.
Finally Wounti spoke. "If he is gone, I am proud that he died here, in the wilderness, confronting the ocean storm and the sea monsters like the heroes of legends. It is better to die defying that demon Nestuka than to fall into the last sleep in the bed of his wives."
Before looking for a way down the mountain, the braves followed a trail into the center of the forest. There was no reason for them to explore, except each remembered the strange sound of music and the vision of the figures. Hayoqwis sensed that on this rock the dark green spruce trees of the forest had the power to make music themselves. They passed down a path lined by a row of tall salal shrubs to what seemed the center of the thicket and discovered a small lodge with a large mortuary pole behind.
The excellence of the sea lion carving on the pole indicated that this place was used as a resting place for Selawik chiefs. It also meant that there must be an easier path down to the mainland. Drawing nearer they also noticed up in tree branches five or six wrapped bodies and three rotting funerary boxes and knew that this was a sacred place that could be spiritually dangerous to tread.
Hayoqwis was not afraid. He remembered the words of Spe-eth who always reassured the men that Wonderful Doer had painted their faces red and promised to protect the Kay-Seth from the tricks of Raven. Instead of backing away from what could be a haunted spot, the men began singing the protection song as they tentatively approached the small lodge and looked through gaps between wall boards to see in dim light what appeared to be the body of a shaman, arrayed with a bark tunic and head-dress with many shell decorations, sitting in the center holding what looked like a rattle and a speaking stick in his lap. Dried skin stretched over the skull and two disks of abalone covered the eye sockets. They noticed a cache of spears and arrows tied together on top of several carved boxes.
Next Chapter
As darkness covered the castaways, Kalis, Wounti and Hayoquis huddled together that night, overwhelmed with grief, thirsty and afraid and covered by blasts of a cold, constantly weeping fog that smelled of all things living and dead at the bottom of the sea. They heard the tide go down and come up again before the first daylight could be distinguished.
When the sky began to turn deep deep blue instead of black, Hayoqwis felt a tug at his arm. Wounti stood to look up toward the top of the cliff and shouted, "Look!"
With the dawn's light in their eyes, the braves each saw two human figures looking down from what appeared to be the rim near the top of the cliff, gesturing for them to come up. Hayoquis was sure that he saw one of the figures had white hair, but unlike Spe-eth or Tiska, the distant figures wore some kind of long tunics.
Inspired that there was a way up to safety, the shipwrecked questers -- bitterly cold and sick with grief -- began to climb the giant boulders wet with rain and bird droppings that made up the face of Refuge Rock. Somehow as they carefully crawled between cracks to the top of outcrops, they found footings across the nearly vertical incline toward the place where they had seen the promising figures beckon. Cormorants cackled and sped from perches into the morning mist at the sight of the desperate men creeping near.
While pausing to rest, making sure of his hold even though his hands were becoming numb from cold, Hayoqwis looked down through the obscuring rain at the shattered remains of the canoe at the bottom of the cliff washed by bellowing waves breaking directly below. Among the wreckage, the bear crest decoration broken from the prow was wedged between rocks and stared mockingly back at him. For an instant in the circle of ocean visible in the heavy mist he spied the tip of the great shark's dorsal fin moving excitedly through white caps, apparently returning for another meal. The slightest slip would send him or his cousins instantly into the destroyer's jaws.
It was then that Hayoqwis heard the singing. Faintly -- almost drowned by the sound of the sea and wind hitting his ear -- he distinguished drumming and voices in celebration. Strangely, perhaps because of his hunger, he also seemed to smell the scent of strawberries.
"Do you hear that? The singing?", he called out to the cousins climbing above.
"It sounds like feast drums," replied Kalis. But, Wounti didn't hear anything.
"It must be the sound of a drift log trapped under the surf hitting the wall below," Kalis suggested.
That might explain the drumming. But, Hoyoqwis discerned voices singing.
Morning sun now filled the sky marked by patches of intense blue amid splitting clouds and the men felt slightly warmer as wind blew the mist away. The shark's fin had disappeared and in its place black and white seabirds gathered to dive into the choppy surface spread out far to the horizon.
It wasn't long until the men mounted a curve on the rock that enabled them to walk up past the rim and stand safely at the top. Their eyes were met by a patch of dry grass that bordered a thick forest of short, deformed spruce trees planted in a mat of salal shrubs. Hayoqwis noticed strawberry plants among the grass, but none with fruit. There was no sign of the two figures that had appeared earlier that morning.
Hayoqwis, Kalis and Wounti circled the forest that covered the top of the mountain like a scalp and found on the inland side a small stream flowing from a rock wall into an oval shaped pool -- large enough for a man to sit in. The depression forming the pool looked like a finger print left by the Changer when he formed the coastal islands and mountains from chaos. They fell down beside the rock pool to quench their thirst and noticed that the water tasted especially pure.
Had they ever tasted water so good?
While drinking the braves looked east, down into the mouth of the Shinning Heavens Inlet and saw smoke rising in the distance form a fire near a beached canoe that must be Swift in Battle. It was Whirlwind and the other guides, who had escaped the dangers of Refuge Rock and seemed to be waiting for the Kaw-Seth to arrive.
"Tiska is gone. We each saw him devoured by Nestuka," said Kalis.
"But, perhaps father found his way to a ledge like we did. We need to search for him. It may be that we can see a cleft by looking over the side," he said pointing to the rock's edge.
Hayoqwis also wished that his uncle lived, but never before in their travels had Spe-eth disappeared in time of crisis.
"We will search for uncle as best we can. But, I am afraid that he and our brother have set out on the last journey. The same Wonderful Doer who sent the shark to save us from the Sea Devil has the power to lift their spirits safely to the land of the true dawn."
As he spoke the three men realized that the death of a clan chief meant that a season of mourning had begun. Now they faced the task of returning to Island Home to announce a funeral instead of a wedding as planned. Without a canoe, they were at the mercy of the Selawik to get home. Perhaps they could convince Elder Chief Whirlwind to give them a canoe?
The men tried to circle the rim of the mountain and peered carefully over the edge of the nearly vertical cliff facing the ocean, looking for foothold that might have provided a haven for Spe-eth. Their view was either blocked by boulders or revealed only a shear drop to the water. They neared the place above where the sea lions lay, but rocks hid the sight and they could only hear the barking and smell the pungent odor of the beasts. There was no sign of a possible ledge near where they crashed. It was becoming clear that the old man had drowned.
Finally Wounti spoke. "If he is gone, I am proud that he died here, in the wilderness, confronting the ocean storm and the sea monsters like the heroes of legends. It is better to die defying that demon Nestuka than to fall into the last sleep in the bed of his wives."
Before looking for a way down the mountain, the braves followed a trail into the center of the forest. There was no reason for them to explore, except each remembered the strange sound of music and the vision of the figures. Hayoqwis sensed that on this rock the dark green spruce trees of the forest had the power to make music themselves. They passed down a path lined by a row of tall salal shrubs to what seemed the center of the thicket and discovered a small lodge with a large mortuary pole behind.
The excellence of the sea lion carving on the pole indicated that this place was used as a resting place for Selawik chiefs. It also meant that there must be an easier path down to the mainland. Drawing nearer they also noticed up in tree branches five or six wrapped bodies and three rotting funerary boxes and knew that this was a sacred place that could be spiritually dangerous to tread.
Hayoqwis was not afraid. He remembered the words of Spe-eth who always reassured the men that Wonderful Doer had painted their faces red and promised to protect the Kay-Seth from the tricks of Raven. Instead of backing away from what could be a haunted spot, the men began singing the protection song as they tentatively approached the small lodge and looked through gaps between wall boards to see in dim light what appeared to be the body of a shaman, arrayed with a bark tunic and head-dress with many shell decorations, sitting in the center holding what looked like a rattle and a speaking stick in his lap. Dried skin stretched over the skull and two disks of abalone covered the eye sockets. They noticed a cache of spears and arrows tied together on top of several carved boxes.
Next Chapter
