Napachee

by Robert Feagan

  Napachee smiled and ran over to a cluster of trees. Before Jo or her father could speak, Napachee had his knife out and began chopping at some of the smaller branches of a dead tree for kindling to start a fire.

  "Don't touch that! You can't just cut trees down and gather wood wherever you want," James said.

  "Then how do you start a fire?" Napachee asked.

  "If you want to start a fire in the park you have to get a permit. If you need wood you either buy it and bring it with you or you have to buy it from one of the attendants that work here."

  Napachee was dismayed, but reluctantly agreed to play by their rules. They returned to the picnic table and finished their lunch.

  The subway and bus rides back to the apartment didn't seem as long on the way home. For supper that night James ordered Chinese food and they watched TV well into the evening.

  FIVE

  The next day Napachee and Jo went to the West Edmonton Mall. They passed dozens of restaurants, a skating rink, a huge marina with dolphins and a submarine that took people under the water for a tour. There was also a swimming pool with water slides and a wave machine! Napachee stood in wonder as the man-made waves rose up like those he had seen on the ocean. Napachee was sure that the mall was at least three times the size of Sachs Harbour itself!

  Napachee stared in disbelief, his neck constantly craned to one side or the other. He ran smack into a man rushing past, his kids in tow. The force of their collision knocked Napachee off his feet and he fell hard into the lap of an elderly lady sitting on a bench.

  "Watch where you're going!" the man shouted over his shoulder without slowing his pace.

  "I'm sorry," Napachee said weakly under his breath, looking first at the man and then the lady glaring at him as he removed himself from her lap. Napachee could feel himself starting to sweat. He suddenly realized how many people were packed into this indoor world.

  "The crowds starting to get to you?" Jo laughed.

  "The mall is so enormous yet somehow all of these people still make it feel very small!"

  "We need to pick up the pace or we're going to be late meeting my friends. We're late already!"

  Napachee followed Jo, staying right behind her as she broke a path through the crowd. When they finally reached the arcade, and Jo's friends, Jo introduced them to Napachee. No one seemed too impressed.

  "So, where are you from anyway?" Jill asked.

  "He comes from the Northwest Territories," Jo answered before Napachee could even open his mouth to speak. "From a place called Sachs Harbour, you know, the arctic."

  "The arctic! What is there to do up there besides hunt?" Tammy asked.

  Tim added, with an angry look on his face, "It should be illegal. Most of the animals they kill are near extinction!"

  "Many people who don't know the North believe what you've said. But it isn't true! None of the animals that the people in the Northwest Territories or Nunavut hunt are near extinction. My people and the other peoples of the arctic have lived in harmony with, and have respect for, the animals of the land. Hunting and trapping has been a way of life for many years and has been an important source of income and survival.

  "Our people do not kill more animals than they need and use traps that are very humane so that the animals do not suffer. And yet people who do not know better protest, criticizing those that wear the coats made from our furs. Do you know what that has done? It has caused great hardship for many families who relied on hunting and trapping to live and eat. Without a demand for furs many have been forced to rely on welfare to live. They have not only lost their pride but also their independence.

  "I know it isn't your fault but without thinking about how you affect the lives of my people, you and others like you protest against hunting, trapping and the fur trade in the North. You should learn the facts before you condemn us."

  "O.K. O.K. Take it easy. I guess there's more to it than I had thought," said Tim.

  "All that sounds pretty serious, but what about the fun stuff. Do you still live in igloos?" Jill laughed.

  "No," Napachee smiled. "The population of Sachs Harbour is only one hundred and ten and there are no other communities for hundreds of miles. But we do have television and several of the other things you would expect to see in a house here. Most differences are the result of our harsh climate. There are no trees in Sachs Harbour so the wind can get very strong. The roofs of our houses are covered in metal because shingles blow off. And there is permafrost very close to the surface of the ground in the arctic so we can't bury pipes to bring and take water away from our houses. We have two holding tanks attached to the house, filled by trucks that pump the water in and out. With this system we get running water just like you do; we just have to be careful how fast we use our water or we'll run out before the next truck comes to fill up the tank."

  "It's funny people still think of igloos when they think of the arctic," Jo said.

  Napachee nodded. "I can understand that," he said. "It really wasn't that long ago that people still lived on the land. My parents were both born in tents out on the tundra. It wasn't until the 1960s that aboriginal people in the arctic started to live in communities. Before that we were very nomadic and moved when we had to for food and shelter."

  "Are there cars in Sachs Harbour?" asked Tim.

  "The roads are all gravel there so we have trucks and four-wheelers," replied Napachee. "There really isn't anywhere to drive because the road ends just outside the community. We use four-wheelers, snow-mobiles and boats to get out on the land and we have a gravel airstrip where planes can land.

  "In summer, barges come in from the ocean and bring us supplies for the winter. Our vegetables and other fresh foods are brought in by plane every week. Because the fresh food is flown in it is very expensive. Sometimes we pay as much as six dollars for two litres of milk."

  "We only pay two dollars here!" Tim gasped.

  "Does it really stay dark night and day in the winter?" Tammy asked.

  "In the dead of winter it stays dark all day. Then in summer we get twenty-four hours of daylight. Our summers are very short so we make the most of them and get out on the land as much as possible. The tundra is beautiful in the summer: every type of wild flower, fox, hare, ptarmigan, weasels, lemmings!"

  "Don't you get depressed and sleepy in all that darkness?" Jo asked.

  "Actually it's not too bad," Napachee replied. "We still go hunting in the winter and we camp in tents with heaters, or in my father's case, igloos."

  "That's so cool!" Tim exclaimed.

  "We cut blocks out of the hard, wind-packed snow to make the igloos. Not many people still do it, but my father is one of them. It's actually kind of fun."

  Napachee paused, surprised by his enthusiasm for a place he was so desperate to leave.

  The rest of the afternoon was spent going on rides, playing pool and eating junk food. As they rode the bus home that evening, Napachee sat quietly looking out the window. He had eaten at McDonald's three times, but the thrill was over; he longed for food from the land. Nothing was turning out the way he had planned. The city was so different than what he had imagined. Everything was far away and everyone was in such a rush to get there. How could he be surrounded by so many people and still feel so lonely?

  After supper that night, Napachee felt the need to get away by himself. He told Jo and James that he was just going around the block, and promised to be back in half and hour. Once out on the street, he walked along in silence.

  Napachee was quiet, but his surroundings were not. There were not as many people this time of night, but the cars and traffic continued. Even here he couldn't get away and really be alone. Napachee jumped as a man stepped forward from the shadows and asked him for change. Napachee had never seen someone beg before, and though a little taken aback he did offer him what he had and continued on.

  In Sachs Harbour if Napachee needed to be by himself, he jumped on his snowmobile and could be out in the middle of tundra, miles
away from anyone, within minutes. Here there was no escape!

  When he returned to the apartment, James passed on news from his father. "It looks like you may have to stay here longer than we thought. On top of the bad weather there is a problem with the tickets."

  A few hours ago those words would have made Napachee's heart sing, but now it made it ache!

  Napachee opened his eyes and waited for them to slowly adjust to the dim light of the living room. He strained to see the clock on the back of the stove in the kitchen from where he lay. Three thirty a.m.

  He slipped from beneath the blankets on the couch and quickly padded across the floor to the linen closet in the hall. He had remained fully clothed when he went to bed last night so he wouldn't have to fumble around to dress in the dark.

  He opened the closet for his knapsack: matches, candles, string, a hunting knife and other items he'd need on the trek. He reached further into the closet and removed his warmer northern clothing. Without turning on the light, he used two strands of his rope to tie some blankets to the knapsack.

  Napachee crept back to the kitchen and put the note he had written to James on the kitchen table. He walked to the door, placed his hand on the knob and slowly started to turn it.

  "Where do you think you're going?"

  Napachee jumped back and bumped into Jo.

  "What are you doing sneaking up on me like that?"

  "What are you doing trying to sneak out of the apartment at this hour?"

  Napachee turned away from Jo and stared at the door in the darkness.

  "I know where you are going and I want to go with you. You didn't think I noticed, but I saw you hiding things away after supper last night. You're planning on going home."

  "I heard your father talking to Jarvis last night. The rains have stopped so Jarvis is driving to the spot where the bear cub ran away to try and track it down. They are leaving this morning and I want to go with them. They are taking your father's van."

  "And just how were you going to get into the van without being noticed?" Jo asked with a smile.

  "Well, I hadn't really figured that out," Napachee answered timidly.

  Still smiling, Jo held out her hand and dangled a key in Napachee's face. "You see you do need me. I just happen to have the spare key! I also thought these sleeping bags might come in handy and they would be warmer than a couple of old blankets."

  Jo couldn't be dissuaded so she grabbed her knapsack and the two of them went to the underground parking and hid themselves behind a huge tool box in the back of the van. They settled in to wait but, given the hour, they soon dozed off.

  A few hours later Napachee heard voices beside the van. He recognized Jarvis right away. He elbowed Jo hard in the stomach and she bolted upright. He quickly pushed her head back down and out of sight and held his breath.

  The back door of the van opened and Jarvis and another man tossed some things in, closed the door, jumped into the driver's and passenger's seats and started the engine. The van started to move. After some time the men began to speak loudly enough that Napachee and Jo could overhear most of what they were saying.

  "If we can pick up any trail of that cub, Timmons, then we can start a full scale hunt tomorrow. That land isn't meant for a polar bear though, so it won't surprise me if it is dead already," Jarvis wheezed.

  Napachee remembered Timmons from Sachs Harbour. With pallid skin and sunken cheeks, Timmons stood about six feet tall and looked like he only weighed a hundred pounds. He nodded and didn't say much for the rest of the ride.

  The ride was rough and the conditions were cramped. Jarvis made good time but the drive still took a very full day. The trip was punctuated by broken sleep, stale air, heat and the growing need to use the washroom. By the time they finally arrived both Napachee and Jo were desperate! They soon heard welcome words from Jarvis.

  "Here it is, Timmons. Pull over to the side. We should be able to track it from here easily."

  The two men jumped out of the van and came around to the back to retrieve their guns and backpacks before heading off into the woods. Napachee and Jo had gone unseen.

  Once they were sure Jarvis was out of range, Napachee opened the door and burst out of the van. They took a few moments to get the feeling back into their legs and regain their bearings. Motioning for Jo to follow, Napachee crept to the edge of the woods and watched the men move through the growth.

  After some time, the men stopped and knelt to examine the ground. They had done this several times, but this time they seemed more interested. Finally the men stood up and moved along the bottom of the ridge they had been following.

  Napachee and Jo moved ahead and looked down at the spot where the men had lingered. There were the bear cub's tracks, clearly outlined in the mud! But beside them were much larger tracks.

  "Those are moose tracks," Jo whispered. She recognized the tracks from various camping trips with her father, but Napachee had never seen anything bigger than caribou tracks.

  Napachee and Jo continued to follow the men through the woods, being careful to stay well back and out of sight. The forest floor felt cool and fresh and after some time, the men came to a small river. They crossed to the other side and seemed to falter, looking for fresh tracks, but turning in circles.

  They could hear Jarvis swearing loudly across the river. Finally they headed off into the bushes on the other side, but they seemed less sure of where they were going.

  Napachee and Jo crossed the river and looked at the ground. Something was wrong.

  The large tracks were here, but seemed several days old. The tracks leading to the spot, however, had been fresh. Napachee retraced their steps to the edge of the river and began to cross back over.

  "I'm trying to follow you so I hope you know what you're doing," Jo said with determination.

  Napachee nodded and continued to cross until he was back on the other bank of the river. He headed downstream with Jo tagging behind him, and kept his eyes to the ground.

  There! Coming out of the water were the tracks of the moose and the polar bear cub. They were fresh! They followed them for several hours, crossing areas where the tracks were faint, or where there were odd broken branches or crushed undergrowth. Napachee looked at the sun as it dipped low over the horizon.

  "Let's stop here for the night. We're in a sheltered spot and we can get an early start in the morning."

  Jo nodded as she slipped her pack off and placed it on the ground.

  "Napachee I can't figure this out," Jo said. "The tracks of the moose and the polar bear cut so close to each other. Are they travelling together?"

  "I don't think so. It looks to me like the cub has been following the moose. If it spotted a moose it wouldn't know what else to do but to follow it."

  Napachee walked to the river's edge and as he drank the cool water his body began to feel refreshed. They had only eaten a few crackers, some cheese and an apple they brought with them since they left the apartment and the hunger pangs were getting stronger. They had wanted to keep their packs light and Jo's father hadn't had many portable dry goods on hand the night they left.

  Napachee selected a young tree and broke it free. He took out the hunting knife and began to slice at the bark until the end was fashioned into a point. Dinner wouldn't be hard to find.

  SIX

  Napachee rose early the next morning and went to work. The water of the river was cold and clear. They had to eat soon to keep their energy up and he had seen trout last night before he went to sleep. Napachee chose a turn in the river where the water was forced into a shallow pool. He took rocks from along the edge and built a funnel shaped channel leading from the faster water into the slower current of the pool. Inuit had trapped fish in this manner many years ago and his father had shown him how to do it when he was very young in Cambridge Bay. The fish would swim into the funnel and get trapped in the pool of water. They could then be speared by a patient hunter.

  He watched intently as the first fish swam i
nto his man-made channel and stopped to rest in the pool. In a few minutes there were four big fish resting in the shallows. Napachee held his spear high and threw.

  When Jo awoke she could smell something good cooking on a fire. She peered out from the lean-to she had built the night before, propped herself on one elbow in her sleeping bag to see Napachee carefully tending a fire. Napachee slept in his sleeping bag without cover. He had not brought a tent with him, preferring the crisp outdoor air.

  Seeing her movement out of the corner of his eye, Napachee turned and smiled. "Breakfast is served."

  The following days were hot and the two friends stopped frequently for water and rest. The nearly twenty-four hours of daylight had begun to shorten, but the weather was still extremely warm and dry. Napachee and Jo took advantage of the many lakes and streams that dotted the landscape to keep cool and to supply them with a continual source of fresh water. They kept a good supply of fish as well and were not hungry during their hours of walking.

  It was late in the season so the mosquitoes had started to die off, but black flies were out in full force.

  "Aaaaaaaah!" Jo shouted in frustration. "I'm going to go insane if they don't stop biting me!" she cried in exasperation as she swatted behind her ears.

  "We should be better off tomorrow. The mosquitoes and black flies are attracted to shampoo, deodorant and perfumes. Once we wash a few more times most of it will wear off and they won't be as attracted to us. We could cover ourselves in mud as well, if you think it will help."

  "Don't you know if it works?"

  "Not really. In Sachs Harbour there are no trees and bushes. We don't really get many mosquitoes and black flies. Just try to keep your mind off of them for now. We are catching up to Hagiyok. The tracks are much fresher here."

  As the day passed, the land began to get rougher and more hilly. Dusk approached and the cub stopped for a drink of water at a small stream. It had followed the moose until it had the confidence to travel on its own. This land was still unfamiliar, but the fear that had first gripped the cub had now subsided. It lifted its head and sniffed the air. The cub had an uneasy feeling. It crossed the stream and began to walk faster up a hill. It looked back and began to run, sure it could see shadows moving behind it.