Nine Lies of B.G. Davies

The Line in the Sand (Part 4)

The Indians now living there are members of the " Cree " tribe, but are by no means that noble red-man described by Fenimore Cooper. They are an idle, careless and indifferent people, earning a hard and scanty living by hunting in the winter months and fishing in the summer. They live in tents the most of the year, a few of them build teepee or wigwams in the winter, but most of them live in tents even in the winter.

The half breeds and there are many of them among these Indians, usually have huts or log-houses and show more thrift than the Indians, for they usually have a little garden of potatoes, onions, etc. They as well as the Indians get a livelihood by hunting furs during the winter months for the Hudson Bay Company. They leave the post each September with their winter's provisions, etc., and go to their several hunting grounds, living there in tents and huts till June, when they return to the posts, give their furs for the provisions of the previous fall, then lie around the posts all summer doing nothing.

MR. T. B. SPEIGHT, O.L.S., Surveyor in Charge Exploration Survey Party, No. 1, Toronto. GEOLOGIST'S REPORT OF EXPLORATION SURVEY PARTY, No. 1. Kingston, Ontario, December 24th, 1900

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Jimmy Noland stared at the track in the sand. Gray had, by now, lost his patience and when the other scientists could not determine the source of the strange track, he returned to Jimmy for an answer.

"Listen Jimmy, no one here has more experience in the wilds than you. You must know what it is, maybe you can tell us something about the creature that made this mark. Surely your people have stories about an animal like this."

One of the men retrieved the carbine from the pack and passed it to Gray. He slid the bolt to open the magazine, inspecting the chamber. Jimmy seemed to not react to the presence of the firearm. He approached the track again and lowered one knee to the sand.

"No stories, only truth," the Indian mumbled.

"Never mind the mumbo-jumbo. Does that mean you know what this is, or what? Tell me Jimmy. Tell me what you know!"

Jimmy slowly traced his hand along the caked depression and shook his head. "I don't know. Misi-kinepikw, maybe."

"What does that mean?"

"Great big snake."

Gray moved to stand above Jimmy. "Tell me more about this snake Jimmy, have you ever seen it?"

Jimmy mumbled something to the ground. Gray turned to the men and translated the Indian's grunts. "Jimmy says that only the dead have seen this Great Snake. It's a spirit. It guards the spirit world. What do you make of that, lads?"

"I think he is tricking us again, just like he did on the portage that got us lost." That was DeMorest. The instant he said those words I felt a chill run through me, like I knew he was very wrong to say that. I sensed the others felt the same. No one said anything, either in support of DeMorest or in defence of Jimmy.

The old Indian worked himself to stand up, using Gray's shoulder for support. He put his hand on the stock of Gray's rifle. "If it is Misi-kinepikw, this gun won't do you any good."

We waited in anticipation to see Gray's response. Gray was not a man to give weight to superstition or legend, yet he was a man who could read the spirit of his men. Standing on the shore of an unknown lake, well off course from the planned route, and with no clear notion of the best path to take, Jimmy Noland was our best source of direction. Ever since we unintentionally crossed the watershed divide, the height of land separating the waters of the Atlantic Ocean from those of the Arctic Sea, we had been treading in Jimmy's realm. The men could sense his familiarity with the land; he moved with greater confidence now, spoke clearly and with more authority, much of which was likely a result of Jimmy becoming more comfortable and trusting of the men in the party. When prompted with questions, he would talk more, about his long life in the wilds, recounting stories of when beaver were plentiful, and describing life before his people depended on the trading posts. Most of the men—Gray to a lesser extent and DeMorest not at all—seemed to gradually develop a respect and admiration for the elder native.