In The Beginning

by Richard Webber

  Chapter Nineteen

  When I entered the village I saw everyone, both old and young, standing around the central fire talking animatedly. Their attention immediately shifted to me when I walked into the area, and I knew that I had been the topic of conversation.

  Catto was surrounded by a group of men, deep in discussion. As I walked towards him, I noticed that a few of the woman were tending something at the edge of the fire. Curious, I saw that they were roasting potatoes in the coals; they must eat them for breakfast. I was glad to see they didn’t go hungry all day until someone brought them meat.

  I reached Catto and said, “Hello. How did you sleep?” slowly and clearly, using a hand gesture to indicate sleep.

  He understood and replied, “Hello. Sleep good.”

  Hello and good were two words we had learned the day before, and I was pleased to hear him use them together with a new word, sleep. Catto showed an excellent capacity for learning.

  I gave him a sincere smile and said, “Good. Eat potatoes?” while pointing at the potatoes.

  He replied, “Yes, eat sa'dac”, calling the potato by the tribe’s name.

  I shook my head and stated, “Eat potatoes.”

  I said this firmly, to show that I wanted to use only my name for the food.

  He looked at me for a brief moment, and then nodded and said, “Yes, eat potatoes.”

  The people surrounding us had followed our small conversation with rapt attention, and I smiled at all of them saying, “Hello. Eat potatoes.” Many laughed, but several actually repeated my words.

  So it began. We found Garon, and through Catto I asked if he and Kalou could remain with me in the village that day. Garon said yes, and I knew he understood my reasoning, indicating that I should look around the village.

  It turned out to be an informative day. Several small hunting parties of men went out, with those that were too young or old to hunt remaining in the village with a few men that were left behind, apparently for protection. Most of the women remained in the village taking care of the children and doing other chores, while two parties of women went into the forest to gather food. Kalou told me they would be gathering potatoes and blueberries; apparently that was all they knew to eat.

  By the time the sun began to drop in the sky and a group of hunters brought two wild pigs back for dinner, I had gathered all the information I needed for the immediate future. Over time I would come to understand the more complicated parts of their culture, but I had learned much this day.

  I could now speak with them in their own language with few problems; they seemed shocked by how quickly I had learned. By using their language, I was able to teach them words in my language for things in the village, and some were able to learn at a rapid pace.

  Many people followed me around that day, and several in addition to Catto and Kalou were learning more quickly than I ever could have dreamed. I was very pleased to see that the leader of the tribe, Garon, was another of my best students. We made great progress, much better than I had thought possible with these people. It would not take as long as I thought to teach them my language; though getting all of them to use it on a daily basis might be more difficult. I knew I would need to target the children in order to have the change to my language become permanent.

  It had been a very successful day, and I decided tomorrow I would go into the forest with Catto and Kalou. Garon agreed to this, and when I told them they were very excited. I let Kalou know that we would be looking for sources of food that we could grow at the village, and while she was surprised, I could see she immediately understood what I meant.

  Why did I not think of that? It is a very good idea. We can grow potatoes here, so we don’t need to go into the forest to find them every day. But how did he learn our language so fast? He speaks like he has known it all his life.

  As darkness fell, I ate a few potatoes as the tribe feasted on the pigs and a deer another hunting party brought in. After eating their fill, the tribe members drifted away from the fire towards their huts, the parents and children leaving first, followed later by the older members.

  I had no need of sleep, having slept deeply the previous night. So when Catto made to leave for our hut, I told him I would not go with him; that I did not sleep every night. He only shook his head and smiled, understanding that here was another way in which we differed. I remained by the fire for a short time after everyone else had retired, but I could not sit there all night and think; my planning was done and I was too excited to sit still. I felt the need to act, so I decided to spend the night exploring on my own. Finding a guard, I told him in his own language that I was going out of the village for a time, but would return by morning.

  He was one of the guards I had met the first night. Shocked, he said, “It is not safe to leave the village at night, you must stay here!”

  Touching my knife, I told him with a smile, “Don’t worry about me, worry about anything that finds me. But don’t throw your spear at me when I return.”

  He laughed at this and said, “I’ll keep watch for you, but no promises about the spear.”