Chapter 9 #2
“But…I don’t understand, why do we have to travel to find this wood?
There are Juneberry and chokecherry trees here.
I have been picking berries from them. Did you not know?
I am glad I asked, for now we are saved a needless trip.
Perhaps we could spend the extra time here in our camp.
Hmm, although probably not, since time is of the essence. ”
He didn’t respond. She went on to say, “You see? Your requirements are right here.”
“And so it might seem to you,” uttered Grey Coyote at last. “But in making an arrow, one must consider other important acts.”
“Other acts? Like what?”
“Look around you, outside our small dwelling, and tell me what you see.”
Although Marietta saw little point in the exercise, she pushed back the entrance flap and glanced here and there. “Well, there’s lots of space, much brown grass, a few scrub trees…but mostly there are Juneberry trees,” she emphasized.
“Exactly.”
“Exactly what? If they’re Juneberry trees…” She shook her head.
“Look again.”
She sighed.
“You must glance around you and discover what you do not see.”
“Look at what I don’t see?”
“Hau.”
“But I don’t see anything else.”
“This is my point.”
Marietta frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“There is nothing else here, and it is this which you must observe closely.”
She groaned.
He paid her little mind. “Do you notice that there are but few trees here, and even they are having a hard time in this soil?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me. From what you see here, would you say this land needs these trees?”
“Well…”
“Why take what these saplings offer when they are required to remain here for the overall good and survival of the land?”
“Because they’re convenient?”
“Ahhhh,” he said. “You say they are convenient. But think again. If you do this, if you take the lives of these young trees, what will you leave for your children, and their children?”
Unconsciously, Marietta wrinkled her brow. “Does it matter?”
Grey Coyote jerked his chin to the left. “Of course it matters. Others will come after you. If you leave nothing but waste for those who follow, you are ignoring your greatest duty.”
“But—”
“Is it good and right to steal from your grandchildren to satisfy yourself today?”
“I… But look at all the wood which is here. The land is for use. Other trees will grow here eventually. I don’t see—”
“Will other trees grow?”
She hesitated, and he pressed forward. “The forest I seek is near here, and it is overcrowded. There are bushes and trees there that are in competition, and some will not live. Some are already dead. It is there I will find what I need to make the arrows. If I take from here, I will hurt the land.”
“But…I thought you needed to arrive at the trading post in a timely manner.”
“I do.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Well?”
“And because I hurry, this would justify stealing from my grandchildren?”
Marietta didn’t answer. This was the first time this argument had ever been proposed to her.
“Hiya,” he said, when she remained subdued. “I cannot take what I need from these young trees and bushes. We will go to the forest I mentioned. The way is not far.”
Marietta frowned. “But, Grey Coyote, I protest this. It’s senseless. You have a duty. I have a duty. Between us, we have so little time. Please consider fashioning your arrows here, while I continue to make food. Besides, we’re only talking about a tree.”
“Ahhhh.” He elongated the sound. “And is the spirit of the tree less than that of a man?”
“Of course it is.”
“Is it?” he asked. “Who says it is? You? Man? Did you ask the tree if it thinks its spirit is less than yours?”
She pulled a face. “Ask the tree?”
“Is it not life? Does it not obey all the laws of life? Because it does not speak as we do does not mean it is not alive, or is less a spirit, or that it doesn’t in some way communicate.”
“But—”
“Look around you again.”
She did so, though with some impatience.
He asked, “Do you see how parched is this land?”
“Yes.”
“Yet despite these conditions, these bushes and saplings which you observe here are young and healthy. While they might make good arrows for me, why take their lives when there are others who will die anyway in another forest?”
But Marietta hadn’t given up, and she opened her mouth to speak.
Grey Coyote cut her off. “I must also answer another question before I act. If I use these saplings and bushes now, what will I leave this land? Have I helped the Creator make this earth a better place for others, or am I destroying His creation?”
“But—”
“If I must destroy a life, and I must, then let it be a life which is already dead or dying.”
Marietta squinted up at Grey Coyote. Though only in company with this man for a few days, she was amazed to discover how different was their attitude toward this subject, which bordered, actually, on the mundane. She was also amazed to discover how much she was learning.
“Mr. Coyote—”
He frowned at her, though the look was cushioned with a slight chuckle. “Who is Mr. Coyote?”
She smiled. “Husband.”
“Yes?”
“Husband, if you do this, aren’t you then playing God?”
“Perhaps I am, but there is no justification which can make this right. As the wise men of my tribe have said, none survives alone. While it is necessary to kill for food or shelter, remember that all life has the right of survival. And all life is interdependent.”
Marietta shot the man a twisted smile. No harsh words had been spoken, it was true. Indeed, his voice had been, as usual, soft, calm. Yet he had won his argument all the same.
Apparently, they were to travel to this forest.
She said, “All right. I will go. You mentioned we will need even more preparation for this journey?”
“Hau, hau. Though we have food enough, we should sew another pair of moccasins for you, and extra clothes—clothes that will not tear as yours do, for the manner in which we will be traveling will be rather harsh. Perhaps we should also have an extra robe for you, since the nights are cool. The deerskins we have already will do for this purpose. Tonight, when the moon rises, we will leave.”
She nodded. “Tonight, then. But do you think we have time to make all of these clothes and moccasins today?”
“I will help.”
“Even with your help, I think the making of the clothes you mentioned will require much work.”
“They will not be fancy.”
“Still…”
“Come, let us set to doing this.” He pulled one of the deer hides toward him. “But remember,” he cautioned, “if we are ever in camp with others…”
“I know. I know. Women have their chores, men have theirs. I have not forgotten.”
“You learn quickly.” Smiling at her, he bent and lightly touched his lips to hers.
Somewhere on the Western Plains
Was it man, or bear? It growled like a bear when it spoke.
It moved like a bear when it walked. It smelled of something rank and offensive.
Its body, even its face, was covered in hair.
But there were two distinguishing features which gave a clue to its origin: it wore clothes, boots, and hat, though its hair was long, lice-infected and unkempt.
At present, it slunk toward a hunter, who, caught up in disengaging a wolf trap, didn’t see or hear the creature. However, after a moment the stench of the beast gave warning.
The hunter stopped still. He sniffed the air. He listened.
“Who goes there?” he called.
There was no answer. Then, like a thunderbolt, the brute struck, the surprise, as well as the beast’s strength, overpowering the slimmer constitution of the hunter.
A gnarly hand jerked up a knife, then down it plunged, into the hunter’s heart, stabbing the man once, then again and again.
It was over in a matter of minutes.
Letting go of the body, the creature kicked the hunter aside and grabbed up the hunter’s wolf pelts. The beast then slung the furs—which were tied onto a ropelike string—over its shoulder.
“Blazing wolfer,” the creature muttered, its speech more growl than human. “Deserved what’cha got. This’n here’s my woods, wolfer. No one hunts here but me. Reckon these is mine. A fine penny they’ll fetch fer me too.”
The beast spit, first on the hunter, then on the ground. The brute snarled as well, and with no concern given to the hunter’s body, to the spirit of the man or to a decent burial, the beast crashed away through the undergrowth, heading toward the closest known trading post.