Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival (8 page)

“Let’s turn back now,” one of the young men suggested, and the others agreed quickly.

The guide’s eyes lit up in amusement. How impatient they were! Yet Daagoo did not criticize the others for he, too, had been impatient as a young man. Instead, he said, “Take a closer look around you.” The young hunters looked at him impatiently.

“Look closely at those birch trees,” Daagoo insisted, and the men stared blankly at the trees. They saw nothing unusual. Daagoo sighed, and this caught the attention of one of the younger men, who tried again to see what the old man saw. Finally, his eyes widened. “Look!” he said, pointing to an empty patch on a birch tree. Then they saw that other trees spaced widely throughout the area had been stripped carefully, almost as if done intentionally so that no one would notice.

“Maybe it was another band,” one of the men said.

“Why would they try to hide those empty spots on the trees?” Daagoo asked. The young man shrugged, unable to find an answer.

Then Daagoo gave them instructions. “Before we return,” he said, “I want to search this area.” Before they could protest, the guide pointed them off in different directions. “If you see anything unusual, come right back here and we will go together to see what it is.” Tired as they were, the men began their search, although they were sulky and did not believe that the two women still lived.

Meanwhile, Daagoo set out in the direction he believed the two old women might have taken. “If I were afraid to be found by The People who left me to die, I would go this way,” he muttered to himself. “It is a senseless direction
because it is far from water. But in winter they would not have to rely on the river, so I think they might be this way.”

Daagoo walked a long distance into the willows and beneath the tall spruce trees. As he trudged farther and farther over the snow, he felt weary and wondered if he was doing the right thing. How was it possible to believe that two old women could survive when they, The People, barely made it through that winter? Especially those two women. All they did was complain. Even when little children were hungry, the women complained and criticized. Many times, Daagoo expected someone to silence them, but that had not happened until the day things had gotten out of control. Daagoo began to feel they were on a useless hunt. The two women must have gotten lost and died along the way. Perhaps they had tried to cross the river and drowned.

As Daagoo thought about all of this, he became more doubtful with each negative thought. Then, suddenly, he smelled something. In the
crystal-clear winter air, a light scent of smoke drifted past his nose and was gone. Daagoo stood very still as he tried to catch the scent once more, but there was nothing. For a moment, he wondered if it had been his imagination. Perhaps a summer fire nearby had left its lingering smell in the air. Not wanting to believe that, the old man backtracked slowly until once again he caught the scent. It was a light smell, but this time Daagoo knew that it was no remnant of a summer fire. No, this smoke had a freshness about it. Excited, he tried walking first in one direction, then another until the smoke grew stronger. Convinced that it came from a campfire nearby, his face crinkled into a broad grin as a certainty filled him—the two women had survived.

Daagoo hurried back to get the young men who were waiting as impatiently as before. They did not want to follow when he beckoned, but reluctantly, they followed Daagoo into the night for what seemed a long time. Finally, the guide held out his hand signaling them to stop. Lifting his nose, he told them to smell the air. The hunters sniffed but did not smell anything. “What is it you want us to smell?” one of them asked.

“Just keep smelling,” Daagoo answered, so the men sniffed the air again until one exclaimed, “I smell smoke!” The others walked around sniffing the air with more interest now until they, too, smelled it. Still skeptical, one of the younger men asked Daagoo what he expected to find. “We will see,” he said simply as he led them farther toward the smoke.

The guide’s eyes strained into the darkness looking for the light of a campfire. He saw nothing but outlines of spruce trees and willows. Aided by the small lights of the many stars above, Daagoo saw that the snow was untrampled. Everything was still and quiet. Yet, the evidence of smoke told him that somewhere near someone was camping. As sure as the blood raced through his veins, the old tracker was now confident that the two old women were alive and at that moment, close. He could not contain his excitement, turning to the younger men and saying, “The two old women are near.” Chills ran down the spines of the younger men. They still did not believe that the old ones had survived.

Cupping his hands to his mouth, Daagoo called the women’s names into the velvet night and identified himself. Then he waited, hearing only the sound of his own words swallowed by the silence.

C
h’idzigyaak and Sa’ had settled down for the night. As usual, after doing their daily chores and eating their supper, the two women sat and talked over their fire. They spoke more of The People these days. Loneliness and time had healed their most bitter memories, and the hate and fear born from last year’s unexpected betrayal seemed to have been numbed by the many nights they spent sitting and listening to their own thoughts. It all seemed like a distant dream. Now, with their bellies full, the women found themselves in the comfort of their shelter speaking of how much they missed The People. When they ran out of conversation, the women sat silently, each wrapped in her own thoughts.

Suddenly, out of the stillness, the women heard their names called. From across the campfire, their eyes met, and they knew what they heard was not their imagination. The man’s voice became loud, and he identified himself. The women knew the old guide. Perhaps they could trust him. But what of the others? It was Ch’idzigyaak who spoke first. “Even if we do not answer, they will find us.”

Sa’ agreed. “Yes, they will find us,” she said as her mind raced with many thoughts.

“What will we do?” Ch’idzigyaak whined in panic.

Sa’ took a while to think. Then she said, “We must let them know we are here.” Seeing the look of hysteria enter her friend’s eyes, Sa’ hastened to say in smooth, confident tones, “We must be brave and face them. But my friend, be prepared for anything.” She waited a moment before she added, “Even death.” This did not
comfort Ch’idzigyaak, who looked as frightened as her friend ever had seen her.

The two women sat a long time trying to gather what courage they had left. They knew they could run no longer. Finally, Sa’ got up slowly and went outside into the cold night air, hollering rather hoarsely, “We are here!”

Daagoo had been standing patiently, alertly, while the young hunters eyed him in doubt. What if it were someone else? An enemy perhaps? Just as one of the men was about to voice doubts, out of the darkness they heard Sa’ answer. The old guide’s face broke into a wide smile. He knew it! They were alive. Immediately, they headed in the direction of the sound. The cold air made the woman’s voice seem close, but it took the men some time to reach the camp.

Finally, the men approached the light of the campfire that had been built outside the shelter. Standing by it were the two old women armed with long, sharp, dangerous-looking spears. Daagoo had to smile in admiration of the old
women who stood like two warriors ready to defend themselves. “We mean you no harm,” he assured them.

The women stared at him defiantly a moment before Sa’ said, “I believe you come in peace. But why are you here?”

The guide stood a moment, unsure how to explain himself. “The chief sent me here to find you. He believed you were alive and told us to find you.”

“Why?” Ch’idzigyaak asked suspiciously.

“I do not know,” Daagoo said simply. Indeed, he was surprised to find that he did not know what he or the chief thought would happen once they found the two women, for it was obvious that the women did not trust him or the other men. “I will have to return to the chief to report that we have found you,” he said. The two women knew this.

“What then?” Sa’ asked.

The guide shrugged. “I do not know. But the chief will protect you no matter what happens.”

“Like he did the last time?” Ch’idzigyaak asked sharply.

Daagoo knew that if he wanted to, he and the three hunters easily could overtake these two women and their weapons. Yet, he felt his admiration grow stronger because the two women were ready to fight whatever they had to face. These were not the same women he had known before.

”You have my word,” he said quietly, and the women could feel the magnitude of what he said as they stood still a long time.

Sa’ noticed how worn and weary the men looked. Even the guide who stood proudly had a destitute look about him. “You look tired,” she said in a grudging tone. “Come inside,” and she led them into their spacious and warm shelter.

The four men entered the tent cautiously, knowing that they were not welcome guests. The women motioned them to sit down, and after the men were seated around the warm fire, Sa’ dug around in the back of her bedding along the tent wall and pulled out a fishbag, handing a portion of dried fish to each of the men. As the men ate the fish, they looked around. They could see that the women’s bedding was made of newly woven rabbit fur. The two women looked to be in better shape than The People. How could that be? After the men ate their dried fish, Sa’ served them boiled rabbit broth, which they drank gratefully.

Meanwhile, Ch’idzigyaak sat to the side, staring rather balefully at the hunters, making them feel uncomfortable. With astonishment, the men realized these two women not only had survived but also sat before them in good health while they, the strongest men of the band, were half-starved.

Sa’ also stared at the men as they ate their food. She noticed that they tried to eat slowly, but now that they were in the light, she could tell from their lean faces that they had not been eating well. Ch’idzigyaak noticed this, too, but her heart was filled with resentment at this unwanted intrusion, and she did not feel pity. When the men finished their food, Daagoo looked at the women expectantly as he waited for them to say something.

For a while no one broke the silence. Finally, Daagoo said, “The chief believed that you survived, so he sent us to find you.”

Ch’idzigyaak let out an angry grunt, and when the men turned to her, she gave them a mean look and turned her face away. She could
not believe that these people had the nerve to search for them. Surely Sa’ could see that they were up to no good. Sa’ reached out and patted her friend’s hand consolingly, then turned to the men and said simply, “Yes, we have survived.”

Daagoo’s mouth twitched in amusement at Ch’idzigyaak’s wrath. Yet Sa’ seemed not to hold too much of a grudge, so he avoided the glaring eyes of Ch’idzigyaak and spoke to Sa’ instead. “We are starving, and the cold gets worse. Again we have little food, and we are in the same shape as when we left you. But when the chief hears you are well, he will ask you to come back to our group. The chief and most of The People feel as I do. We are sorry for what was done to you.”

The women sat silently a long time. Finally Sa’ said, “So you may leave us alone once more just when we need you the most?” Daagoo took a few minutes to respond, wishing the chief was there to answer, for the chief was more experienced in answering such questions.

”I cannot say that it will not happen again. In hard times, some grow meaner than wolves, and others grow scared and weak, like I did when you were left behind.” Daagoo’s voice filled with sudden emotion at those last words, but he steadied his voice and continued. “I can tell you one thing right now. If it ever does happen again, I will protect you with my own life as long as I live.” As he spoke, Daagoo realized that in these two women, whom he once thought of as helpless and weak, he had rediscovered the inner strength that had deserted him the winter before. Now, somehow, he knew that he never would believe himself to be old and weak again. Never!

The younger men had sat quietly and listened to the exchange between their elders. Now, one of them spoke out in a youthfully passionate voice, “I, too, will protect you if anyone ever tries to do you harm again.” Everyone looked at him in surprise. Then his peers also vowed to protect the two women, for they had been witness to a miraculous survival and had regained
a stronger sense of respect for the old ones. The women could feel their hearts soften at these words. Still, there was distrust, for, though they believed these men, the women were unsure about the others.

The two women huddled together for a private conference. “Can we trust them?” Ch’idzigyaak asked.

Sa’ paused a moment, then nodded her head and said softly, “Yes.”

“What of the other people? What if they knew of our caches? Do you think they will hold back when they see all our food? Look how hungry these men are. Last year they did not respect us. Here you are willing to let them come to us! My friend, I fear that they will take our food from us whether we like it or not,” Ch’idzigyaak said.