by James Hadman
Sky Shaker gave me a close look and then, as if reading my mind, said, “Don’t worry. You have the power.”
Killer Whale Rider gathered up additional rattles, drums, and costume items and packed them in my shaman’s chest. He had just finished when Mother returned and reported that they were ready for us.
“Go and heal the child, Daughter. I’ll stay here and keep the fire burning, so Olga and Elena can fix some food when you return.”
Snow was falling as Sky Shaker led us down the beach. She began a chant and we joined in while Pearl Shell Woman kept time on a small drum.
I was nervous and full of doubt. If I failed, the child would die. Despite my bleak feelings, an unexpected calm crept over me as I chanted. During our passage down the deserted beach, snowflakes whirled from the sky, brushed my face, and detached my mind from my body. I visualized how we must look—our little procession wending our way through a stark white landscape—our costumes the only touch of colour to be seen. Images of me and my companions began to shimmer and blur. Even the houses and totems we passed were becoming strangely deformed. My sensation of detachment from the physical world grew stronger and my sculpin spirit spoke. She reassured me that we would find and cast out the evil spirit.
I wasn’t aware of entering Sea Beaver’s house, but sculpin somehow let me know that my time had come. I found myself kneeling by my tiny patient who lay close to the fire. I could see that the child was close to death. Her eyes were closed and she was fighting for breath. The ribs of her spindly little chest were standing out with effort. Sky Shaker, my assistants, and I sang my first sculpin song as I leaned down and touched her cheek. The girl was burning up. She was moving her head from side to side, and I spotted a large swelling on one side of her neck.
Sculpin’s message flowed into my mind and told me that the spirit afflicting my little patient was in that swelling. To cure her, I would have to force it from its hiding place. I stood up, grasped my moon rattle, and we sang my second sculpin song as I danced around the girl. Then I donned my new sculpin mask and we started the third sculpin song as I circled her another time. During that circuit, sculpin told me it was time to cure the girl. I stopped singing and dancing, reached into the fire, and pulled out a burning brand to use as a torch. When I handed it to Killer Whale Rider, he looked at me quizzically.
“Don’t worry. We’re not going to burn her.” I reassured both him and the parents. “Get on your knees and hold the torch close to her head. I need to see down her throat.”
Putting my hand behind the child’s neck, I lifted her head and opened her mouth. In the flickering light, I spotted where the evil spirit was hiding. It was inside a massive growth that was swelling out into her throat and keeping her from breathing.
Now that I had found it, all I had to do was chase that evil thing out of the poor child.
Chapter Eight
Apr. 5, 1778: I bent over the girl and told Killer Whale Rider to hold the torch closer. Sky Shaker and Pearl Shell Woman continued to drum and chant my sculpin power songs. The father was watching my every move and the mother was weeping quietly.
With torchlight illuminating my tiny patient’s face, I removed my freshly sharpened iron knife from the sheath hanging around my neck. When the bright blade caught the light, both parents flinched but didn’t interfere. I hesitated a moment, resisting my impulse to look to Sky Shaker for approval. I gritted my teeth. I knew what I must do and the time to act was now. If I didn’t, the girl would surely die.
I peered into her open mouth again. I now had a good view of the mass that was closing off her throat. I carefully inserted the point of my knife into her mouth and nicked the yellow head atop the mass. The girl moaned and Killer Whale Rider flinched as thick yellow fluid gushed from the evil spirit’s hiding place and filled the child’s mouth.
I dropped my knife, turned the girl on her side, and swept her mouth clean with my fingers. Some blood was in the smelly discharge now, but the swelling on her neck had already subsided dramatically. I placed a hand on the outer swelling and pressed against it gently. Additional drainage flowed from her mouth and pooled on the cedar plank floor. As I cleaned her mouth another time, I felt something sharp. I caught it between my fingers and glanced at what appeared to be a fragment of shell. I quickly tucked it in a fold of my dance tunic.
“All that stinking slime coming out of my daughter’s mouth, is that the evil spirit?” Sea Beaver asked.
“I believe it is,” I said. “To make sure the spirit doesn’t return, I need to know when she first fell ill.”
“It was right after we had a big feast with plenty of beach food,” her mother said. “We ate clams, crabs and mussels, and next morning she complained about a sore throat.”
I closed my eyes and was silent for a few moments. “That is when the spirit entered your daughter,” I said, showing them the little object I had retrieved. “Sculpin, who lives with all those beach-food beings, helped me find this thing the spirit used to enter your daughter’s body. I will lock this evidence in my medicine bundle where no evil spirit can use it to harm anyone again. Now, I must dance to praise sculpin and seek her promise to keep your little girl safe.”
Already, my patient looked better. She was breathing normally and colour was returning to her cheeks. I donned my new sculpin mask then picked up my moon rattle and baton. When Sky Shaker began to sing, Pearl Shell Woman and Killer Whale Rider joined in, and the four of us sang all four of my sculpin power songs while I danced around the fire and my patient. I danced until I was exhausted and slumped to the floor. Pressing my cheek to the cool cedar planks, I gave silent praise to sculpin, who had guided me through my first shamanic healing.
“Sculpin has answered my plea, Sea Beaver. She promises me the evil spirit is gone and your daughter will live.”
“Your skill amazes me,” he said. “You have healed our daughter after two other shamans failed.”
I sat up and spoke to the mother. “You must feed her good rich broth. That will give her strength and speed her recovery. I’ll return in the morning to check on her.”
“Your powers have triumphed over evil, Shaman,” Sea Beaver said, taking my hands as I got up and prepared to leave. “Our families have been bound together for many moons. Now you, daughter of the great Copper Hair, have saved the life of our daughter. I owe you a life and will do whatever I can to repay you.”
“I will need your help, Sea Beaver. When the weather breaks, I’ll have need for paddlers to take me to Kasaan.”
“I will personally select my strongest warriors to take you anywhere you wish to go, Abraham’s Copper Spirit.”
On our return to Sky Shaker’s house, we waded through knee-deep snow with plenty more swirling down. The footprints we made on the trip out to treat the child were now barely visible. Sound was so muffled I wondered if my hearing was failing.
Killer Whale Rider and Pearl Shell Woman were assisting Sky Shaker so I lagged behind them. I paused to admire how peaceful the village looked, wrapped in its white blanket like a child in a robe. Like the village, I felt at peace as I gave silent praise to sculpin for making my first healing a success. I picked up my pace and caught up with the others in time to help Sky Shaker through the door.
As we all brushed the snow from ourselves. Mother came to greet us and I could see she was boiling with curiosity. She wrapped a dry cloak around Sky Shaker and seated her close to the fire. “Sit and warm yourselves right there,” she said, indicating space she’d cleared for us. “Plenty of halibut for everyone. Eat.”
Sky Shaker held her feet toward the fire, let out a sigh, and said, “Your daughter is now a full-fledged shaman. She was magnificent! Not only did she cure the child by calling on her sculpin spirit, she also gave an exciting performance and earned the gratitude and support of our yitsati. I heard him promise his strongest paddlers for her mission.”
“That’s wo
nderful,” Mother said. “She cured the child you say?”
“That she did. Sculpin showed her how to drive the evil spirit from the girl. It was a marvelous cure—much more effective than the failed attempts by Bear Claw and myself.”
I fancy Mother looked on me with new respect. She’d always held Sky Shaker in high esteem and to hear her generous praise was strong endorsement. “Sky Shaker says Sea Beaver has promised you paddlers. Is this true?”
“Yes,that’s correct,” I said, helping myself to a generous piece of halibut. “I was concerned about how I could travel to warn the people after the nephews returned to Klawak. Sea Beaver has solved that problem for me.”
I wanted another piece of halibut, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Sky Shaker had warned me that spirit cures were exhausting and now I understood. That ceremony on top of my fast and spirit quest had worn me out. No question–I had to go to bed. I bid everyone good night and picked up a last piece of fish, which I shared with Arrow and the youngsters. They were nearly weaned now. The only time she let them nurse was at night. As the pups attacked their snack with gusto, I threw off my cloak, wrapped up in my sleeping robe, and was asleep in moments.
Deep in the dark night I was jolted awake. My heart was pounding and I was sweating. The horrible dream was back. Just as before, my eagle spirit soared over the strange canoe. Again, the yellow-haired whiteface in the black hat pointed his fire-stick at me. A sharp noise, a puff of smoke, and I was falling as before. This time I tumbled from the sky and landed on the bow of the canoe. Such an odd sensation! I knew I was wounded but able to clutch the bow in my talons. The whiteface standing in the stern shouted commands that kept his men working their awkward long paddles in unison. Their clumsy canoe crawled over the water like one of the long-legged bugs that walks on water in stagnant ponds.
The wood of the bow was smooth and hard and I had to cling tight and fight to keep my balance with each powerful stroke of the paddles. I could see one of my wings trailing at an impossible angle, broken like my spirit eagle in the lagoon. I couldn’t fly. Just as my spirit eagle had perished, I was prepared to die trying to escape.
Then the most peculiar thing happened. That hideous yellow-haired creature with a hairy face and prominent cheekbones extended a pale hand toward me as if to touch my head. What could that gesture mean?
It was then I awoke, gasping for breath, and continued struggling to make sense of what I had experienced. I replayed the dream in my head. That was easy–it was terrifyingly vivid. I wasn’t sure I would recognize that odd-looking whiteface if I saw him again. Much of his face had been hidden in the shade cast by his wide-brimmed hat. Perhaps several yellow-haired whitefaces were on that big canoe. I would have to be certain before I killed him as Sky Shaker told me I must. I clasped the handle of my knife and was reassured. The dream puzzled and terrified me, but, with the aid of my spirits, I would face whatever might happen next.
My breathing had calmed down and I was drifting back to sleep when I became aware of voices. Who could that be at such a late, dark hour? I had to find out. Quietly, I got up, wrapped my cloak around myself and left my enclosure.
Pearl Shell Woman and Killer Whale Rider were sitting side by side near the fire and deep in conversation. He got up and threw some wood on the fire. In the freshened light, I saw they were working on my shaman’s regalia. She was attaching the fringes of my dance apron more securely and he was putting the finishing touches on my sculpin mask. I started toward them, but what I heard made me pause.
“That apron you’ve created certainly suits our shaman,” he said.
“Wasn’t she wonderful? I loved watching her. Even when doing the simplest dance step, she looks like she’s ready to take flight.” I felt my cheeks flush, half with embarrassment and half with pleasure. “What truly made her look splendid was the excellent sculpin mask you carved for her.”
He picked it up and examined it, turning it in the firelight. He smiled and said, “These past weeks have been the best of my life. I never thought I’d become a shaman’s assistant, but becoming her helper has changed me.”
“I’ve always been interested in shamans and the work they do so when Sky Shaker asked me, I was ready,” she said. “I had no idea it would be like this. Helping her capture her spirits was exciting, but watching her cure that poor child was pure magic. How did she know sculpin was the correct spirit to ask for help?”
“Abraham’s Copper Spirit has greatness in her. I’m looking forward to the trips she has planned to warn other villages.”
“The way she healed that little girl! Two important shamans had tried to cure her and failed. She chose her sculpin spirit and made it look easy.”
“She says our first stop will be Kasaan. She wants to enlist the help of their war chief.”
“I’m looking forward to that, but we’ll have to hurry to complete her costumes.” She stood and held the sculpin apron up to her hips. “What do you think?” He looked at the apron and then his eyes traveled up her slim body over her full breasts to look deep into her eyes.
I could feel the tension between them. Was it the same strange sensation that starts low in my abdomen and moves even lower? Should I interrupt? Before I could make up my mind, Killer Whale Rider stood.
“Absolutely beautiful,” he said, and he wasn’t describing the dance apron. Pearl Shell Woman flushed and cast her eyes down. He pulled her toward him and the dance apron fell at their feet as they kissed.
Not only was I stunned, I was furious. I had trusted these two. How could they do this to me? Confused thoughts chased conflicting emotions through my mind as I watched him caress her and saw her respond to his gentle touch.
Why couldn’t that be me? But I reminded myself, Sky Shaker had warned me not to sleep with him and I had rejected him. She had also told me how lonely my life would be, but I hadn’t realized the price for becoming a shaman would be this high. Killer Whale Rider was the first man I’d ever found attractive in “that way” and now he was making love to another girl.
I should be angry with them, but how could I be? I’d heard them speaking about me in glowing terms and I needed them. The lovers were becoming ever so serious now. I didn’t want to know what would happen next. I retreated further back into the shadows as Killer Whale Rider scooped Pearl Shell Woman up in his arms and carried her toward his sleeping enclosure.
They disappeared from my view but not from my fevered imagination. Caught between jealousy and a raging desire of my own, I slipped back into my sleeping area. My wicked mink! I had to have my mink! I released him from his hiding place and caressed his rigid smoothness. I listened to the “night noises” of the lovers and used my magic mink to quiet the fire in my womanhood.
Apr. 6, 1778: I slept long past my regular time for rising. Light was already filtering down the smoke hole when the usual household noises awoke me. Blinking my eyes, I became aware of a disturbance at the foot of my bed. The puppies and Kushdaka were tumbling and playing. They were growing so fast.
A feeling of lassitude gripped me as I remembered last night. I closed my eyes and drifted, not awake but not asleep. I was reluctant to face the new reality that awaited me. I decided to focus on beginning the journeys to warn the people that Father had planned for me. At this point, I didn’t know how many villages I would have to visit and, of course, I had no idea when or if the whitefaces might appear.
My decision to begin my quest in Kasaan seemed sound to me. I remembered Father describing Skull Breaker, their war chief, as a bloodthirsty man who enjoyed war and killing. I needed to convince him of the danger from whitefaces. With Skull Breaker on my side, people would see I was serious and listen when I told them how to oppose the whitefaces.
When I found myself fretting about how far it was to Kasaan, and how long it might take to get there, I gave up and got up. The only way to get to the end of my journey was to get started on it.
Mother was waiting for me by the fire and after I had a bowl of tea, she insisted we go check on my little patient. I was a bit hesitant. What if the child had relapsed, perhaps even died. Could I deal with that?
We threw on our cloaks and forged our way to Sea Beaver’s house through wet snow. Cold rain was driving hard across the beach and judging by the thick layer of clouds racing overhead it would continue to fall. The scene fit my mood.
When we entered the house, we were greeted with smiles. The little girl was awake and her mother was feeding her spoonfuls of broth. I felt her forehead and she was cool. The evil spirit was definitely gone.
“She is much stronger this morning,” Sea Beaver said. “You have saved our daughter’s life.”
“You have performed a miracle, Shaman,” his wife said, ladling another generous spoonful of halibut broth into her daughter. “Please, help yourself to food–there’s plenty.”
Seeing the little girl thriving lifted my mood. After an outcome like this, becoming a shaman seemed much more attractive. I was suddenly hungry, so Mother and I shared a bowl of halibut.
May 4, 1778: I struggled to deal with the keen disappointment of knowing that my assistants were being intimate, so I kept my relationship with them strictly professional. I devoted my time to my shaman training, practicing my songs and dances.
Spring was flirting with Howkan. We had rain and sun and an occasional snow flurry, but the days were getting warmer. After Hummingbirds Returning Moon had come and gone, I had made up my mind to travel during the upcoming Halibut Moon. I was told a dangerous cape lay between here and Kasaan and we would need a fair wind to round that headland. That wind was slow in coming. While I waited impatiently for the weather to break, I took to walking the beach with Arrow, Kushdaka and the pups. The villagers became accustomed to seeing us but regarded Kushdaka with fearful respect. I saw mothers shoo children from our path when we approached. I was secretly amused when I spotted Bear Claw making gestures of propitiation when Kushdaka and I passed by.