Napachee

by Robert Feagan

  The cub wobbled to its feet and peered through the bars. Gaining some confidence, it growled and shrunk to the back of the cage.

  "Look at it! Once it gets its legs I'll have to teach it some discipline," Jarvis, James's assistant, muttered.

  For Jarvis, animals were just part of his job; they had to be captured, broken, trained and sold. He was a bull of a man with thick arms and legs and what he lacked in height he made up for in strength and a mean disposition. He seldom shaved and had an ample belly that was barely covered by a dirty shirt. The other men feared him, but paid him grudging respect.

  Jarvis slowly unlocked the cage and opened the door. The cub growled louder and braced itself against the bars.

  "So, you do have some fight in you!" Jarvis sneered, picking up a short, thick stick nearby. Before James had time to intervene, Jarvis moved closer and raised the club to strike.

  "Can I help look after it?" Napachee blurted, stepping out of the shadows where he'd been watching.

  "Keep your distance kid," Jarvis rasped. "It's time for me to teach it who's boss!"

  "Settle down Jarvis," James interrupted. "You will do no such thing!" Taking the club from Jarvis and walking towards Napachee he held out his hand by way of introduction, "My name is James and who might you be?"

  "I'm Napachee. I live here, and I can look after the bear for you. I can clean it or feed it or whatever you need! I won't be any trouble and I will make sure the bear is no trouble either. I can feed it in the morning, and at lunch and in the afternoon I can clean its—"

  "Slow down," James chuckled. "If it means that much to you, you can look after the bear. As long as your parents don't mind you spending the time here, I don't mind the help. Another hand or two can't hurt. I won't be able to pay you much though."

  "I don't need to be paid," Napachee said eagerly, his excitement barely contained in his nervous gestures.

  "Be here at 7:00 tomorrow morning. Like I said, as long as your parents agree to this it will be all right."

  Napachee turned and ran for home. As he spotted his father feeding the dogs his heart sank. He would never agree to this! After their argument yesterday, working for men from the South would be the last thing in the world he would allow.

  Napachee barely heard his father's greeting and could only muster a weak smile as he moved past him into the house. Napachee went into his room and flopped onto his bed. He knew two things: he couldn't ask his father if he could look after the bear and he couldn't stay away from the men from the South!

  James had told Jarvis he didn't approve of the use of clubs and other weapons to keep animals in line and had threatened to fire him if he ever saw him attempt to beat an animal again.

  Now Jarvis slowly walked towards the cage, removing the club from his pocket and stopping silently in front of the bars. The cub had curled up at the back of the cage and was sleeping peacefully. Jarvis slammed the club against the door and the cub jolted to its feet. Its eyes were slow to adjust, but it recognized the smell immediately. Baring its teeth, it growled and pressed hard against the back of the cage. Jarvis chuckled as he quietly opened the cage door and crouched in the doorway.

  Napachee bolted upright and wondered if he had slept too long. He lay back in his bed and began to rub the sleep from his eyes. He had spent a fitful night, tossing and turning in his sleep. Every time he had closed his eyes, he saw his father's angry face. Now he lay in the dark wondering if he really should go at all. If his father found out, he would be in big trouble. But if he didn't go he would always wonder what he had missed.

  He had learned that Jarvis and James were from Edmonton and though many of his friends had been there Napachee had never had an opportunity to visit. There were other whites who lived in Sachs Harbour as well, school teachers and government employees, but most of them had been living in the North for many years and didn't often talk about their earlier life. This was his chance to hear everything first hand.

  When Napachee arrived at the camp, the men were already up and working with equipment. They appeared to be packing up to leave. Napachee spotted James and headed towards him.

  "Good morning. You're just in time," James said.

  "Are you leaving for the South already?"

  "No. We are going out with the helicopter one last time to try and get a second cub. Our contract was to capture two cubs for the zoo. This is our last day here, so if we don't get one today we're out of luck."

  Napachee felt a rough hand on the back of his neck. Jarvis had walked up while they were talking and held a pail out to Napachee with his other hand.

  "First, clean the cage. You can use this pail to wash it out and there is some clean straw over there you can spread on the bottom. Once that is done you can give it some of the food over by the tent."

  "I don't think that's a good idea, Jarvis. It's not safe. We will be gone all day so you'd better feed the cub through the bars of its cage for now, and then after we get back to help you, you can clean the cage. Don't try to open the cage door while we are away. We'll see you later," James said.

  With that the two men walked off leaving Napachee to the task at hand. He picked up the pail and walked over to the cage. Seeing Napachee, the cub snarled and backed up into its familiar position against the bars at the rear of the cage.

  "Qanuripit," Napachee said, surprising himself by speaking to the cub in Inuktitut. "I won't harm you. You must be hungry. I'll get some of your food." Napachee walked to the tent and spotted the frozen fish among the provisions the men brought with them.

  The young cub no longer snarled. The men had said not to open the bear cub's cage, but Napachee reached for the handle anyway. Surely it was no threat.

  "There, there little one. Do not be frightened, I won't harm you." The cub did not snarl or move to the back of its cage this time. It just sat there as Napachee opened the door. It watched as Napachee filled its bowls with food and water. Napachee looked at the small cub and slowly reached out to touch its fur. He placed his hand gently upon the cub's head. The bear started to growl.

  "What is this?" Napachee could feel a large bump on the side of the cub's head. He tried to inspect the wound more closely but the cub whimpered and pulled back. After a few seconds, he slowly returned his hand to the bear's head and began to feel the rest of its body. He found a series of bumps and dried blood along its left ear.

  Just then his sister, Pannik, called to him. She wore an amoute their mother had sewn and it held Napachee's little brother in the hood on her back.

  "Come on. Father is looking for you and you don't want to be late!"

  "How did you find me?"

  "Mother thought this might be where you had gone and she asked me to get you right away."

  Napachee hurriedly closed the cage door and set the pail down before leaving with his sister.

  "I will be back later little one," Napachee shouted over his shoulder. The cub cocked its head in curiosity as they disappeared. Alone, it slumped to the floor of its cage and tenderly began to lick its wounds.

  The morning was a very slow one for Napachee. He worked with his father, but heard nothing that was said. Napachee was certain that Jarvis had something to do with the lumps that covered the young cub's body. Something had struck it and it had not been by accident.

  "The spool! Napachee pass me the spool!" Napachee surfaced from his thoughts and passed his father the spool of string they were using to mend their fishing nets. They used the nets to catch Arctic Char. Napachee loved Char, especially when his mother took the fresh fish, froze it in layers before cutting it into small pieces and served it raw. This was called quaq. Caribou could be served the same way, but Napachee preferred Char quaq.

  "Joseph has a new dog he wants me to meet. Can I go before it gets too late?" Napachee asked, feeling guilty for the lie.

  His father nodded. "Don't be late for lunch!"

  Enuk heard the porch door open as Talik brought him a cup of coffee. He took the cup, gently.

 
; "Who can figure these young ones out? It seems the more they learn the more they want what they don't have. They want to move to Inuvik, Yellowknife or the South. Will they leave their elders behind?" Talik gave him a comforting look and then Enuk returned to the the task of mending the net.

  Once beyond his father's gaze, Napachee took off his fur hat and replaced it with a baseball cap. As he wandered along the road he stared out across the frozen expanse of ice. The road didn't go beyond the community itself. The only way to travel to another community was to fly, or go over the ocean and land without aid of a road. He imagined what lay on the ocean's other shore. He had been to Inuvik of course, but he had never been to Yellowknife or Edmonton. Napachee watched his feet as they crunched on the hard packed snow.

  "Napachee! Come on in!"

  Snapping out of his thoughts, he turned to wave to Joseph calling him from the steps of the game hall.

  "If I hadn't shouted at you, you would have walked right past," Joseph said.

  "It's my father again," Napachee said with a sigh. "He never understands what I want. I don't think he wants to understand."

  "He's kind of old-fashioned, but what can you do? My father doesn't understand me either. I've given up."

  "Joseph, I don't even understand you most of the time, so how can you expect your father to?"

  The two friends looked at each other and started to laugh as they entered the game hall.

  "I saw your father yesterday with the dogs and sled. Are you going out for the hunt again? I told my father I had better things to do with my time."

  "Like foozeball." Napachee agreed and the two friends went to the foozeball table and started a game. Every day was the same: school, the game hall, the community centre, video games and hunting. Nothing ever changed! He liked his friends and the hockey and volleyball games they had at the centre but there had to be more.

  "Yah!" Joseph said as he scored to end the game.

  "I'm not concentrating very well. I can't stop thinking about the fight I had with my father."

  Looking over Napachee's shoulder, Joseph put his finger to his lips to signal him to be quiet. Napachee turned and saw his father approaching.

  "Let's go, Napachee," Enuk said sternly.

  "But we just started to—"

  "Napachee I don't have time to argue with you. The ice is perfect for sealing and I want you to come along."

  Napachee opened his mouth to argue but gave up before he uttered a word. He went to the door with his father, but he turned back in time to see Joseph shake his head as he walked towards the others.

  Napachee followed his father to the sled and they headed out across the harbour and away from town. The day was beautiful and despite his dark mood Napachee turned towards the sun and enjoyed the warmth on his face. It reflected brightly off of the snow and Napachee put on his sunglasses to guard against snow blindness. At least he didn't have to wear the old wooden snow glasses his grandfather had once left laying around! He could imagine the reaction he'd get from Joseph and his other friends if they saw him in those!

  As they neared a patch of open water Enuk called the dogs to a halt. Jumping off, he walked to the water's edge and knelt to examine the snow. A trace of fur and markings near the water indicated that several seal had been sunbathing there not too long ago. Smiling, Enuk returned to the sled. He carefully unfastened a tarp and gently removed the harpoon Napachee's grandfather had used many years ago.

  "Would you like to try today?"

  Napachee shook his head and looked away. He didn't want to see his father's hurt expression.

  Enuk got comfortable by the water's edge. Almost all hunters used a rifle to hunt seal, but Enuk liked to use a harpoon as his own father had. It took extreme patience to sit for hours by the water's edge waiting for a seal to emerge for air or sunshine. Napachee lay back on the sled and closed his eyes.

  A half-hour passed and then a commotion roused Napachee and he sat up. His father had harpooned a seal and had, expertly and quickly, laid it on the ice.

  As he knelt beside the animal, Enuk picked up a handful of snow and placed it in his mouth. Once it had melted, he opened the seal's mouth and spit the liquid snow inside. This was a tradition in the Eastern Arctic and showed respect. Enuk gave thanks to the animal for giving its life to sustain the lives of the hunter and his family.

  Walking to the sled Enuk spoke quietly to his son, "You used to love to go hunting. You used to love to hear the stories of the spirits of the dead who have come back as animals. Remember what the elders have said about communicating with animals."

  Napachee turned to speak, but decided to remain quiet. His father had captured the seal and Napachee was anxious to get back and finish his chores with the bear cub before the white men returned.

  Even though Napachee said nothing, Enuk could see his son's look of disinterest. With a heavy heart he lashed his catch to the sled and turned for home.

  When they reached their house, Napachee quickly changed his clothes and left for the white man's camp, a circle of tents near the airstrip only ten minutes away.

  The men had not returned from their day of hunting yet. All was quiet and deserted.

  Napachee slowly approached the bear's cage and stared through the bars. The cub had been napping and it jumped with fright. Napachee chuckled. The cub cocked its head to one side and listened.

  Napachee heard a noise behind him and turned to see Jarvis scowling at him in disgust.

  "Taking care of that cub is a man's job and if you can't be trusted to get it done like one, and fast, then you'll have to leave!"

  Napachee had been so intent on his duties he had not heard the helicopter land some distance away. Despite being out all day the men had not found another bear cub. Everyone was in a bad mood, but Jarvis was especially ready to vent his anger.

  Jarvis turned and walked over to the others. Napachee couldn't hear what was being said, but he could tell a decision was being made. Napachee went towards them and James stood to give instructions.

  "Our cargo plane leaves early tomorrow morning, so this is the last job we have for you. I will have one of the men come over and help you clean the cage."

  "That's O.K. The cub seems fine around me, was this morning too. Watch."

  To prove his confidence Napachee picked up some clean straw and returned to the bear cub's cage and opened the door.

  The cub was not frightened and sniffed the straw curiously. The touch of its wet nose on Napachee's cheek caused him to start and the cub jumped. Napachee rubbed the cub behind its ear with one hand and fingered the straw with the other. He had an idea.

  "I will name you Hagiyok, ‘strong one' in Inuktitut. Perhaps it will be a good omen and you will be strong enough to free us both from our cages. Now, I need more straw, some cooperation and a little luck," he whispered.

  THREE

  Hagiyok's eyes opened and the cub tentatively sniffed the air. Something had disturbed its sleep. Slowly it closed its eyes and turned again to its bed of straw.

  A dark figure stood beside the storage shed. It crouched and then ran behind the cage and waited. The voices of the white men and the smell of cigarette smoke drifted on the cold night air.

  Hagiyok awoke and stiffened as it heard the cage door open. The cub peered through the darkness and bared its teeth to growl. A hand clasped firmly over its muzzle so all it could do was squeak.

  Jarvis stood at the edge of the camp and took one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it into the darkness. He and the other men loaded the cage that held the bear cub onto the sled behind the snowmobile, and secured it with ropes. The cub lay quietly on the floor of its cage, nestled in the deep bed of straw that Napachee had placed there. Only the top of its head and its eyes poked out in the early morning air.

  "That straw will make it more comfortable. The boy did a good job. I wonder where he got to? He said he would come and see us before we left, to say goodbye," James said, worry in his voice.

  The
snowmobile jerked into motion and headed off towards the airstrip. A few minutes later it pulled up to the freight plane's cargo door and the men lifted the cage into the hold and secured it tightly with the freight straps that hung from the cargo bay wall.

  Jarvis tugged on the straps to make sure they were secure and slapped his club loudly on the top of the cage.

  The cub shivered as the freight door closed with a hollow bang. The plane throbbed to life and the cargo hold began to shake. The straw at the cub's feet rustled, and Napachee stuck his head out from a patch of straw near the paws of the young bear.

  "We are flying Hagiyok! We are on our way!"

  Napachee had only flown once before when his family had moved from Cambridge Bay to Sachs Harbour and the flight had not been anything like this! The cargo hold was dark and very cold. He had not eaten since the previous day and his stomach ached with hunger. But when they hit turbulence the hunger no longer mattered. He was too sick to even think about eating anything!

  The whole trip terrified Hagiyok so that the bear huddled in a corner with its nose tucked under its paw. The cub watched as Napachee sat curled up in a ball, moaning and holding his stomach. Napachee kept his eyes closed and tried to think of good things to keep his mind off of his stomach and his future.

  After some time Napachee sensed a change in the sound of the airplane. He could feel the pressure changing in his ears and knew they had started their decent. This new excitement made him forget his discomfort and he nestled back into the straw and waited for the plane to land.

  They soon touched down and taxied to a stop. Napachee could hear voices outside and the cargo door opened, bringing a welcome gust of fresh air into the hold. People moved around the hold but after a few minutes they left again and all became quiet as the door to the hold was closed. In a few moments the plane began to move again, gaining speed as it raced along the runway for takeoff.

  They must have touched down in Inuvik for gas before continuing further south. To Napachee's relief the trip was now much smoother and he settled into a restful sleep. The cub was drowsy from the altitude and dozed off and on for the remainder of the trip.