The Storyteller Trilogy
Page 151
CARIBOU LEAVES (wormwood, silverleaf), Artemisia tilessii: This perennial plant attains a height of two to three feet on a single stem. The hairy, lobed leaves are silver underneath and a darker green on top. A spike of small clustered flowers grows at the top of the stem in late summer. Fresh leaves are used to make a tea that is said to purify the blood and stop internal bleeding, and to wash cuts and sore eyes. The leaves are heated and layered over arthritic joints to ease pain. Caution: Caribou leaves may be toxic in large doses.
CIXUDANGIX (seagull flower, narcissus-flowered anemone), Anemone narcissi-flora: A hairy-stemmed plant that grows up to two feet in height. The flower clusters have five rounded white petals. The hairy, palmate leaves are deeply serrated and grow just below the flower clusters and also at the base of the stem. The Aleut people boiled the roots to extract the juices and used the resulting serum to stop hemorrhage. Caution: Anemone are considered poisonous.
CLOUDBERRY (salmonberry), Rubus chamaemorus: Not to be confused with the larger shrub-like salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis, this small plants grows to about six inches in height and bears a single white flower. The salmon-colored berry looks like a raspberry and is edible, but not as flavorful as a raspberry. Berries are high in vitamin C. The green leaves are serrated and have five main lobes. The juice from the berries is said to be a remedy for hives.
DULCE (water leaf), Palmaria mollis: A rubbery, reddish-brown algae with “leaf” blades up to a foot in length. It can be harvested on the beach and eaten raw (with a rinsing to get rid of stray seashells). High in calcium and vitamins A and B, dulce is said to be healthful for menstruating women. May be dried and used as a seasoning.
FIREWEED (wild asparagus), Epilobium angustifolium: Fireweed grows throughout Alaska and northern North America. Plants grow upright to a height of three to five feet and end in a spikelike flower cluster. Each flower has four petals which bloom from the bottom of the stalk up during mid to late summer. Colors vary from a deep and brilliant red-pink to nearly white. Leaves are willowlike: long and narrow, and medium green in color. Early spring shoots (high in vitamins A and C) may be harvested prior to development of the leaves without harm to the plant. (Harvesting the white stem below the soil level actually promotes plant growth.) The tip of the stem should be discarded due to the disagreeable taste; the remainder can be steamed and eaten like asparagus. Leaves should be harvested before flowers bloom to add to soups as seasoning. Flowers are often used in salads and also make good jelly. Fireweed leaves steeped for tea are said to settle stomachaches. Salves made from roots are said to draw out infection.
HIGHBUSH CRANBERRY (crampbark, mooseberry), Viburnum edule: This erect but scraggly bush grows throughout Alaska from the Alaska Peninsula to the Brooks Range. Its lobed leaves are shaped somewhat like maple leaves, grow opposite one another on the branches and are coarsely toothed. The average height of the highbush cranberry is four to six feet, though they sometimes reach ten feet. Five-petaled white flowers grow in flat clusters and mature into flavorful but bitter red berries in August and September. (A frost sweetens the berries considerably.) Berries are high in Vitamin C and make tasty jelly. The inner bark, boiled into tea, is used as a gargle for sore throats and colds. Highbush cranberry bark contains glucoside viburnine, a muscle relaxant. Bark made into tea decoctions is used to relieve menstrual and stomach cramps, and is said to be effective on infected skin abrasions.
IITIKAALUX (cow parsnip, wild celery), Hercleum lanatum: A thick-stemmed hearty plant that grows to nine feet in height. The coarse, dark leaves have three main lobes with serrated edges. It is also known by the Russian name poochki or putchki. Stems and leaf stalks taste like a spicy celery but must be peeled before eating because the outer layer is a skin irritant. White flowers grow in inverted bowl-shaped clusters at the tops of the plants. Roots are also edible, and leaves are dried to flavor soups and stews. The root was chewed raw to ease sore throats and was heated and a section pushed into a painful tooth to deaden root pain. Caution: Gloves should be worn when harvesting. Iitikaalux is similar in appearance to poisonous water hemlock.
KELP (bull kelp), Nereocystis luetkeana: These long brown algae can grow to a length of 200 feet. Blades can be dried and used as seasoning. Stipes should be peeled as soon as harvested and can be eaten raw or pickled. The air bladders or floats that lie at the top of the water and keep the plant extended from sea bottom to surface can be stuffed with meat and vegetables and baked. Kelp is said to help heal bone fractures.
LIGIGE’ (soapberry or dog berry), Shepherdia canadensis: A shrub that grows to six feet in height with smooth, round-tipped, dark green leaves. The orange-colored berries ripen in July and are edible but bitter. They foam like soap when beaten.
LOVAGE (beach lovage, petrushki), Ligusticum scoticum: The stems of this plant separate into three branches, each of which bears a lobed, serrated leaf. Though its growth is ground-hugging, stems may attain a length of two feet. Tiny coral-colored flowers grow in umbels. The leaves, dried or fresh, make good flavoring for stews and are best harvested prior to the plant’s flowering. Lovage relieves stomach upset and is high in vitamins C and A. Caution: Use care in identification. Lovage is related to poison hemlock.
LUPINE (Nootka lupine), Lupinus nootkatensis: Tall, spikelike plants bear flowers in a spear-shaped cluster at the tip of the stem. Each flower has up to seven petals. Colors vary from white to pink or blue. The leaves grow in an alternate pattern up the stalk, each borne on a short stem and dividing into a whorl of blunted, fingerlike leaflets. Caution: Although the Aleut people used a concoction made from the taproot for drying scabs or cuts and as a gargle, lupine is considered poisonous and should be appreciated for its beauty rather than medicinal qualities.
MOUSE EARS (chickweed, winter weed), Stellaria: This widespread, brittle-stemmed plant grows low along the ground. The leaves are ovate and small, growing opposite each other in pairs on the stem. The five white petals of each flower are split giving a delicate appearance to the blossoms. It is said to be useful as an eyewash, expectorant, and a poultice for inflammations.
NORI (laver), Porphyra rhodophyta: This sea plant attaches itself to rocks with a very small holdfast. It has a reddish cast, and when floating in water looks like transparent pliable plastic. At low tide, it appears dark and may resemble an oily slick on the rocks. Gather during low tide, but leave the holdfast. Nori is high in iron and protein and a good source of vitamins A, B, and C. It may be eaten raw. Users claim that it helps heal goiters. It is also valuable for treating scurvy. Caution: Ingesting large amounts of nori may cause bloating and stomach distress.
PURPLE-FLOWERED POISON See Aconite.
RIBBON KELP (wing kelp), Alaria marginata: The main blades of this sea plant grow up to nine feet in length and are brownish green in color. The wavy outer edge of the main blade gives a ribbonlike appearance. The blade’s midrib is flat. Between the main blade and the holdfast, small winglike sporophylls grow in an alternate pattern along the midrib. Ribbon kelp is high in mineral content. It is good eaten raw, but the blades may be dried and stored for use throughout the year.
RYE GRASS (basket grass, beach grass), Elymus arenarius mollis: The inner blades of this tall, coarse grass are dried and split, then used by Aleut weavers to fashion exquisite baskets and mats.
WILLOW Salix: This narrow-leafed shrub or small tree has smooth, gray, or brownish-yellow bark. There are presently more than thirty species of willow in Alaska. The leaves are a very good source of vitamin C, though in some varieties they taste quite bitter. The leaves and inner bark contain salicin, which acts like aspirin to deaden pain. Bark can be chipped and boiled to render a pain-relieving tea. Leaves can also be boiled for tea. Leaves are chewed and placed over insect bites to relieve itching. Traditionally, roots and branches have been used to make baskets and woven fish weirs.
YARROW (milfoil), Achillea borealis: This hardy plant grows with feathery alternate leaves along one- to three-foot upright stems. The white or light
purple flowerets grow on a flat, multistemmed head at the top of the plant. Yarrow has been used as a laxative, a cold remedy, and to combat asthma. It is said to help stop lung hemorrhaging, and also is used as a hair rinse to prevent baldness.
YELLOW CINQUEFOIL (five-leaves grass), Potentilla tormentilla: This plant has five-fingered palmate leaves, and it roots at the joints. Cinquefoil branches out from the root with yellow flowers at the end of eighteen- to twenty-inch stems. The root is boiled and used as a poultice for skin eruptions and shingles. It is said to be useful as a tonic for the lungs, for fevers, and as a gargle for gum and mouth sores.
YELLOW ROOT (gold thread), Coptis trifolia: The leaves of this creeping, fibrous perennial root grow in threes on foot-high stalks separate from the flower stalks. Tea made from boiling the root is said to be an invigorating tonic and also a gargle for sore throats and mouth lesions.
Acknowledgments
AS WITH EACH OF my novels, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the many people who helped me with the research and editing of Call Down the Stars.
First, many thanks to my husband, Neil, gifted with wisdom, always an encourager and willing to listen. I am also much indebted to my parents for fostering my love of books and stories, for reading the various versions of this novel, and for their support, which means the world to me. My gratitude to my daughter, Krystal, and son and daughter-in-law, Neil and Tonya, all experts at adding joy to my life, all astute readers who have come into wisdom young.
My heartfelt gratitude to Rhoda Weyr, the best agent anyone could hope for, and a miracle in my life. She always warms my heart with her positive attitude and joie de vivre. She also keeps me from a multitude of errors and saves me from my own poor judgment with her astute and gentle wisdom. My thanks also to Rhoda’s assistant Alexa, an island of sanity and efficiency, always kind to a sometimes very inefficient author. To my editor at Avon Books/HarperCollins Publishers, Lucia Macro, and to her staff, also my sincerest gratitude. Their expertise makes me look like a much better author than I am!
To my readers, my former writing students, and those book critics who comment on my work, you have all taught me much about honing my craft, and I thank you. I could not have written Call Down the Stars without your input.
I have had the privilege of receiving much information from many people. In this short acknowledgment, I can mention only a few, but my gratitude goes to all who have sent articles, made comments or corrections, discussed ideas, and shared their knowledge and expertise. I owe an immeasurable debt to Dr. William Laughlin and his daughter Sarah for their continued support, to Mike and Rayna Livingston and Dr. Ragan and Dorthea Callaway for too many kindnesses to mention. My thanks to Jim Waybrant for his caribou journal and video, and to Paul Peck (recently deceased) for his expert outdoor writing and commentary and for books and materials he sent me. My gratitude, also, to Sally Rye, R.N., who is always available to answer my medical questions.
To Hashida Yoshinori, many thanks for his introduction to the ancient Jomon Culture of Japan. This book would never have been written without his generosity in sharing his knowledge and research materials.
To others who lent or gave me research materials used in this novel, my gratitude: Glenn and Edith Anderson; Bill Boerigter; Patricia Okalena Lekanoff-Gregory; Bonnie, Chris, and Samantha Mierzejek, Caroline Whittle; Dr. Mark McDonald; Forbes McDonald; Ray Hudson; Chris Lokanin; Keith Krahnke; Don Alan Hall, editor of Mammoth Trumpet; Mike, Sally, Crystal, and Mary Swetzof; Ethan Petticrew; Kaydee, Candee, Hollie, and Joe Caraway; and Mary Attu.
Much appreciation to my husband, Neil, and to Daniel Morrison for their work on my website. I love to hear from my readers. Please visit me at www.sueharrison.com and send your email to sue@sueharrison.com.
Last, but certainly far from least, my thanks to those who read my manuscript and offered thoughtful, wise advise: my parents; my friend and fellow writer Linda Hudson; my sister Tish and her husband, Tom Walker; and my friend Joe Claxton.
Any errors in presentation or interpretation are my own and not the fault of those so generous in giving time, sharing expertise, and lending research materials.
About the Author
Sue Harrison grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and graduated summa cum laude from Lake Superior State University with a bachelor of arts degree in English languages and literature. At age twenty-seven, inspired by the cold Upper Michigan forest that surrounded her home, and the outdoor survival skills she had learned from her father and her husband, Harrison began researching the people who understood best how to live in a harsh environment: the North American native peoples. She studied six Native American languages and completed extensive research on culture, geography, archaeology, and anthropology during the nine years she spent writing her first novel, Mother Earth Father Sky, the extraordinary story of a woman’s struggle for survival in the last Ice Age. A national and international bestseller, and selected by the American Library Association as one of the Best Books for Young Adults in 1991, Mother Earth Father Sky is the first novel in Harrison’s critically acclaimed Ivory Carver trilogy, which includes My Sister the Moon and Brother Wind. She is also the author of Song of the River, Cry of the Wind, and Call Down the Stars, which comprise the Storyteller trilogy, also set in prehistoric North America. Her novels have been translated into thirteen languages and published in more than twenty countries. Harrison lives with her family in Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Song of the River Copyright © 1997 by Sue Harrison
Cry of the Wind Copyright © 1998 by Sue Harrison
Call Down the Stars Copyright © 2001 by Sue Harrison
Cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa
978-1-4804-6582-4
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