With the enormous tumbling boulder of fur and antlers almost upon her, Kiera did the only thing she could do. She jumped. She had almost cleared the animal when a flailing hoof caught her ankle and sent her into an airborne somersault. She managed a full rotation before landing hard on her heels and bottom. A second of shock passed before she realized that she was still alive. She rose to her knees and looked back over her shoulder. Sooleawaa, now a good distance away, waved at her with her bow from behind the log. She had saved Kiera's life again.
There was no time to think of that right now. Kiera shot back up onto her feet. Shawnadit turned away from the river and saw Kiera. Her eyes lit up, and she squealed with delight. A nearby female caribou with a young fawn, just finishing the crossing, heard the strange squeal. She abruptly turned, identified the small creature as a potential danger to her offspring and charged at the young girl. Shawnadit, seeing the angry doe, screamed. There was only one way for the little girl to run. She spun around and jumped feet first into the river. Shawnadit's little legs were no match for the speed of the mother caribou. The mother caught up to her in a flash. With her head lowered, she caught Shawnadit in her stubby antlers and launched her high up into the air.
Kiera stared in disbelief. She watched helplessly as the little girl flew through the air, landing well away from shore in the deepest part of the river. Kiera ran through the remaining caribou and downstream to the water's edge. She searched desperately for the young girl. The frothing, angry water revealed nothing. Dozens of canoes zigzagged across the river, pairs of hunters slaying the slowest of caribou with long spears. Kiera cupped her hands around her mouth in desperation.
“Help! There's a girl in the river! Somebody help me!”
The hunters were completely absorbed in the hunt. Kiera's plea went unnoticed. Without giving up hope, she chased the water downstream towards the growing rapids. While doing so, she stumbled on a pile of brush. She glanced down to realize that the branches were hiding a spare canoe. A paddle lay inside on the ribbing. She threw the branches aside, pointed the canoe away from shore and pushed off into the current.
ELEVEN
Chocan was closing in on an old buck. The cries and smells of the hunt brought alive all of the instincts of his ancestors. His blood pulsed in excitement. He was one with nature. Predator and prey. Death or survival. Today, life had been simplified into its most basic components.
His friend and hunting companion Huritt sat in the stern. He dug his paddle into the water to keep pace with the swimming animal. The caribou's eyes bulged in fear. Chocan lifted his spear and aimed for the side of the neck. He would try to make this as quick and painless as possible for the animal.
Something thwacked into the side of the canoe. Surprised, Chocan almost lost his balance, nearly joining the tired animal in the river. When he looked down, he saw an arrow embedded in the bark below his knee. They were under attack? At the Meeting Place? That was impossible! Instinctively, he lifted his spear in defense while he scanned the shore for danger.
He saw Sooleawaa, bow in hand, on the shore. Around one of her shoulders was a long coil of leather twine for securing a mamateek frame. She waved at him, then pointed downstream. Chocan turned. A canoe with a young woman was chasing something that bobbed in the water ahead of the craft. They were heading straight for the waterfall.
Kiera was relieved when she saw Shawnadit's head finally pop up from the water. Her little eyes showed shock, and her lips were blue with cold, but at least she was alive.
“Hold on, Shawnadit! I'm coming!”
She did her best to paddle the canoe up to the little girl. The current was picking up speed, and the bow now bounced on the increasingly larger rapids. She reached out to Shawnadit with the paddle. After several attempts, Shawnadit's numb hands grabbed onto the blade, and Kiera carefully pulled her to the side of the craft. She hoisted her arms over the side of the canoe and pinned them, preventing her from slipping back into the water. Shawnadit coughed up water through her chattering teeth.
“You…you came for me.”
“Of course,” replied Kiera, “but we are still in danger. I have to get you out of the water.”
Kiera tried to lift her, and although she was not heavy, every time she tried to lift Shawnadit completely out of the water, the canoe leaned over and nearly tipped.
“Stay in the middle,” suggested Shawnadit. “Balance the canoe.”
Kiera shifted closer to the middle of the canoe. She heaved again. This time, Shawnadit's feet came clear of the water. She fell into Kiera's arms. Together, they managed a tired laugh.
“There,” Kiera said soothingly, stroking Shawnadit's hair. “You're safe.”
Shawnadit smiled and looked over Kiera's shoulder.
“Kiera, look!”
The river suddenly narrowed into a roaring chain of rapids and rocks. Without guidance, the canoe floated sideways in the water. Kiera reached desperately for the paddle. The canoe's pointed ends suddenly slammed hard into two large rocks, bringing the craft to a violent halt. A wall of white water crashed into the upstream side of the craft. Water shot skywards like a geyser. Kiera pushed against one of the rocks with the paddle, trying to free the stricken craft. A sickening snap echoed beneath them. A huge crack in the ribbing tore open, then, an instant later, the entire craft shattered in two. Kiera and Shawnadit tumbled backwards through the hole and into the raging torrent. Bits of canoe bobbed along beside them as they were sucked further down the rapids. They slammed into huge walls of white water, each time being pulled into the frothing throat of the wave. They managed to struggle back to the surface, coughing and spluttering, only to be sucked under again.
Kiera fought the growing sense of panic. She maintained a tight grip on the back of Shawnadit's leather garment, towing the child through the endless cascade of rapids. There was nothing she could do but hope that the rapids would end before they both drowned.
Chocan shuddered as he watched the canoe shatter in two. His canoe had been only a moment away from reaching them. As he watched the girls disappear into the rapids, he wasn't sure if there was anything he could now do to save them. The waterfall was rapidly approaching. He turned to Huritt.
“Paddle as hard as you can! We must catch up to them!”
Huritt nodded. If they went further, they might not be able to pull out of the rapids before plunging over the top of the waterfall.
Chocan said a prayer as their small craft shot down into the rapids.
The men expertly weaved their way around the protruding rocks and over the waves of water. Chocan used his position in the bow to guide the canoe towards the two bobbing girls. The growing roar ahead warned him that this was a suicide run rather than a rescue attempt. Kiera, however, was almost within range of his grasp.
Kiera felt Shawnadit go limp in her arms. It took all of her strength not to let go of the girl. She kicked and pulled with her final bursts of strength in order to keep Shawnadit's head above water, often sacrificing her own gasp of air in the process. She tried to kick again, but her legs didn't respond. She sank deeper into the darkness. This was the end. Poor Shawnadit. What the little girl had suffered in her short life simply wasn't fair. This was all her fault. She cradled Shawnadit in her arms. Death was again reaching up from its watery grave.
Chocan threw his upper body into the water where he had last seen them. He grabbed furiously for anything solid in the liquid maelstrom. There! His fingertips touched something soft. Lunging, he grabbed on to it and heaved. Kiera materialized from the froth. Miraculously, she was still holding on to Shawnadit!
“Kiera!”
No response. He slapped her face. With a violent shake, she gagged and spluttered.
“Kiera, hold onto the side of the canoe! I'll take Shawnadit! Kiera, you have to let go of her now, or else we'll all be killed!”
Kiera blinked up into the bright sun. She allowed her frozen arms to let go of Shawnadit, but she was too cold to hang on to the canoe. As Choc
an grabbed for the girl, Kiera began to slide back into the water. In one swift motion, Chocan hauled the unconscious girl into the canoe. He then grabbed Kiera before she slipped back under the surface. Huritt reached forward and pulled Shawnadit to the back of the canoe to make room for Kiera.
“Your turn now,” Chocan said and grunted as he took on the weight of the waterlogged young woman. He hauled her over the side and let her collapse into the bottom of the canoe. There wasn't time to do anything more for the new passengers. He jumped back into his seat and grabbed the paddle. In the distance, both he and Huritt saw the horizon of the river disappear into a mist of nothingness. The roar of the approaching waterfall was almost deafening. Together they dug their paddles into the water and pulled for their lives.
They veered hard to the left. Paddling at an angle to the current, they aimed the bow at a flattopped outcrop of rock that jutted out into the raging river. The boat leapt towards the safety of the relatively calm whirlpool that had formed upstream of the natural breakwater. The rock seemed to take on a life of its own, reaching out towards them, encouraging them to reach the swirling waters within its protective harbour.
Seconds later, Chocan cursed. Even with their muscular shoulders burning from the effort, both men were now realizing that the angry river would win this race against time. The current was simply too fast and too strong. It seemed inevitable that they would be carried past the rock and towards the waterfall's foaming edge of death.
Suddenly a person burst forth from the forest. It was Sooleawaa! She raced along the shoreline and leaped up onto the flat surface of the protruding rock. Chocan plunged his paddle into the water once again. There was hope after all!
Chocan and Huritt heaved on the paddles with an even greater effort. They came within a canoe's length of the rock tip as the current ripped them past its salvation. Sooleawaa was standing as far out as she dared on the rock's slippery surface. She threw the coil of leather twine at the passing craft. The twine landed on top of Kiera, whose face was still ashen with shock. Chocan reached back and grabbed the twine. He quickly wrapped it around the wooden supports of his seat. Huritt dug in at the stern and spun the canoe around until it faced upstream.
As soon as Sooleawaa had thrown the rope, she quickly backed away from the water's edge. She had only a second to make a life-saving decision. She would not be strong enough to hold on to the canoe alone. Three steps away, a jagged spire of rock jutted out from the table-like surface of the outcrop. Sensing that she was staring at her only hope, she dove onto her chest and wrapped the twine around the protruding stone. The rope snapped viciously taut. She grunted as the twine rammed her knuckles into the rough surface of the rock. Wrapping the twine around one hand then the other, she hung on.
There was a tremendous jolt. Chocan fell backwards onto Kiera, knocking the wind out of the already battered, shivering girl.
“Sorry, Kiera,” said Chocan, apologizing. “Huritt! Get up here! Now! Sooleawaa's not going to be able to pull us in all by herself!”
Chocan grabbed on just ahead of the knot and heaved. He grimaced as he pulled again, moving the canoe only slightly upstream. Huritt reached over Chocan's shoulder and grabbed on to the twine as well. Together, the two men pulled again. Hand over hand, ignoring the blinding spray of water, they slowly fought their way towards the rock.
The twine held. The canoe finally made its way to the edge of the outcrop. Chocan leaped out first, rolling onto the flat surface. He lay down on his stomach and held onto the gunnel of the canoe so Huritt could disembark. Huritt carefully lifted the passengers out of the canoe and into Sooleawaa's waiting arms. Finally, Huritt himself climbed out, allowing Sooleawaa to knot the twine around the rock, ensuring that the canoe would not float away. Chocan crawled to Shawnadit and checked her breathing. She was all right. The four rescuers joined the child and thankfully collapsed onto the wet, cold surface of the rock.
After catching his breath, Chocan leaned over and eyed Sooleawaa.
“Where did you come from?”
Sooleawaa was wrapping a piece of leather around her injured hands.
“I promised the elders that Kiera wouldn't get into any trouble. The fact that I saved my brother and his foolish friend in the process, well, the elders will just have to forgive me. It simply couldn't be helped.”
Chocan laughed. “Sister, you never stop amazing me. Thank you.”
She stood up and lifted Shawnadit into her arms, then paused to give her brother a flash of a smile.
“You can thank me later. I think we had better get these girls to a fire and warm them up.”
TWELVE
The next day, after a good night's sleep and several bowls of caribou stew, Kiera felt as if she had returned to the land of the living. Then, over the objection of Chocan, who wanted her to rest, she helped the band to process their assigned quota of the caribou kill. In total, her band was allotted thirty-two animals.
The first step in preparing the caribou was to remove the skin. She was shown by the women of the band the technique of removing the caribou hide. After the chest was sliced open, Kiera used a sharp-edged stone to detach the skin from the underlying muscle. She worked her way down to the back legs, over the rump and then back up along the spine. Her goal was to remove as large a single piece as possible. Given the lack of sewing skill among the Beothuck, the bigger the piece of skin, the less work it would be to make a winter garment. After the removal of the skin, she passed it on to other band members, who then scraped it to remove any remaining flesh or fat from the inner surface.
The next step was tanning. Tanning was achieved by rubbing the inside of the skin with the caribou's own brain. The brain mixture would ensure that the skin would toughen and not rot, thereby creating a garment that would last many seasons. When the tanning process was complete, the skin would then be tied and stretched on a drying frame.
After skinning her fifth caribou, Kiera stood up and stretched her aching arms. Absently looking over the busy crowd, she was surprised by the appearance of a strange man who had wandered into the gathering of her band. It was hard for Kiera to guess how old he was, for his skin was not only covered with ochre, but he was also blotched with a random pattern of cinders and ash. His long, dirty hair was braided and hardened into thin, crooked pieces that resembled the flailing roots of an upside down tree. The man approached a dead caribou. The workers stopped and reverently retreated from the animal. He knelt beside the animal and began a mournful chant. Kiera was able to determine that he was offering a prayer of thanks to the departed animal spirit. The man then removed some fur from the remaining skin. He tucked the tuft of hair into a small leather pouch and moved on to the next nearest animal. He didn't acknowledge the members of the band. It was as if they didn't even exist. His eyes saw only the slain animals lying around him.
Kiera was so engaged in watching the man with roots for hair that she jumped when a hand came to rest on her shoulder. She looked up at Chocan. He held a small piece of birch bark in his hand.
“This is a piece of birch bark from your canoe. I found it below the falls. I thought you might like it to help you remember your adventures yesterday.”
She took it and turned it over, staring absently at its rectangular shape.
“I'm not sure that it's an event I will want to remember. Was your canoe still in one piece?”
He nodded. “Huritt and I portaged the canoe back to the Meeting Place.”
Kiera shivered as she remembered, then turned and looked at the man chanting to her band's last caribou.
“Who is he, Chocan?”
“He is the shaman. According to ancient customs, he has the ability to talk to the spirits of the animals. He is required to release the spirits from the dead caribou killed by humans. The spirits will then go out in search of the birth of another caribou. Once found, the spirit will dwell in the new body for the rest of its life.”
Kiera looked puzzled and returned her stare to the shaman. He was no
w moving his hands in slow circles over the heart of the animal.
“I don't remember that story in church.”
Chocan moved closer and lowered his voice. “It is not something that is approved of by myself, my sister or the other Teachers. It is difficult for the people to let go of the ancient ways.”
“So your teachings are relatively new to the Beothuck?”
“Yes. The true message of the Great Spirit is quite new for these people. Although they welcome my teachings, they are also reluctant to give up the old ways. For instance, I know that after they bring their young child to me for blessing with the Water of Life, they quietly seek out the shaman and ask for his acceptance of their child by the spirits of the forest. The shaman is a very powerful and spiritual man among our people.”
Kiera gazed at the shaman, now wandering on to examine the animals of the adjoining band. “Is he upset with your teachings?”
Chocan looked over to the shaman with a hint of sadness. “No. But he refuses to have a conversation with me, not that he is a talkative one to begin with. My guess is that he is simply being patient. I think he believes that in the long run, his teachings will outlast ours, that the Beothuck will eventually return to their traditional ways.” Chocan paused and sighed. “And he may be right.”
“You said that the teachings of the Great Spirit are relatively new. How long have the Teachers been with the Beothuck nation?”
“Atchak was the first.”
“Atchak? The leader of the whole nation?”
He nodded. “He started teaching here when he was a young man. When my sister and I arrived five years ago, I was amazed at the work he had been able to accomplish among these people. I had hoped to follow in his footsteps and perhaps someday be a leader myself.”
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