rz-e.\~~dv\ ~l~ f.s "A Mountain Legend"

Transcription

1 / Ss 6D :1 z-e.\dv\ l f.s \\ l l C!) Q 3 " "A Mountain Legend" by Jodan Wheele The school bus dove into a small summe camp at the base of a toweing moultain. Boys and gils between the ages of eight and twelve, who had signed up fo the tl1iee-day camping tip, poued out of the bus. Following instuctions fom counsellos, they began huiedly pepaing thei camp as the sunset dipped ove the ock walls toweing above them. Fo many, it was thei fist time away fom the city, which they could still see fa off in the distai1ce. Tents wee put up and sleeping bags unolled befoe the last of the twilight ays gave way to the dakness of night. Roasting masllffiallows aound a lage cai't!pfie, the young campes listened intently to stoies told by the counsellos. Behind the eage campes, the caetake of the camp sat on the gound, himself listening to the stoies. As the night gew old, the younge childen weaily found thei way to thei tents, so that by midnight only the twelve-yea-olds emained aound the fie with one counsello and the caetake. Thei supply ofstoies seemingly exhausted, they sat in silence watching the glowing embes of the once fiey blaze sl1iink into ed-hot ash.

2 Lesson 5 NBE3C 3 "The moon is ising," announced the caetake in a low, even voice. All eyes looked up to the glow suounding the jagged peaks of the mountain. The blackness of the ock fomed an eeie silhouette against the gently lit sky. The caetake's name was McNabb. He had lived close to the mountain all his life and knew many of the stoies the mountain had seen. He thew his long, black baided hai ove his shouldes, dew the colla of his faded jean j acket up against the cisp mountain ai, and spoke. "Thee is a legend about this mountain once told by the mountain itself," he said, paused fo a moment, then continued. "People claim that long ago it told ofa )'oung boy who tied to climb up to an eagle's nest which ested somewhee among the many cliffs. He was fom a small camp about a day's jouney fom hee and when he was twelve yeas old, he thought he was eady to become a waio. His fathe disageed, saying he was too young and too small. But the boy was stubbon and one moning befoe dawn he sneaked out ofhis family's teepee and set off on foot towad the mountain. Thee wee no hoses in Noth Ameican in his time. They wee bought late by the Euopeans. "It took most of the day fo him to each the mountain. The next moning, he set out to find an eagle and seek a vision fom the mighty bid, as that was the fist step in becoming a waio. But as he was climbing up the ock cliffs to a nest, he fell to his death, eleasing a teible cy that echoed fom the mountain fa out acoss the land. The legend says the boy's spiit still wandes the mountain today." A coyote howled in the distance and the campes jumped. "Is it tue?" asked one of the boys, with woy and fea in his voice. "Some people say so, and they also say you can still hea his sceam eyey once in a while." 1""""- All aound the dying fie, eyes wee staining up at the menacing ock peaks. The caetake McNabb, howeve, v.'asn't looking at the mountain, he was watching one of the young campes. He was an Indian boy, smalle than the othes, with shot baided hai that fell down his back. The boy was gazing up at the mountain, his cuiosity obviously blended with fea. Tuning his head, his eyes met those of McNabb. Fo a fleeting moment, they locked staes, then McNabb elaxed, a knowing expession speading ove his face, while the boy continued to stae at him, wide-eyed and nevous. Thee wee small discussions aound the fie, debating the stoy's tuth befoe the counselo told them it was time fo sleep. Both tied and excited, they eteated to thei tent and cawled into thei sleeping bags. The boy Jason lay in a tent he shaed with two othe boys, who lay talking in the dak. As Jason waited fo the heat ofhisbody to wam his sleeping bag, he though\ of that long ago boy. He felt a closeness to him and imagined himself in his place. "Hey Jason, why don't you climb up that mountain tomoo"" moning and ty to catch an eagle?" It was Ralph, who was against the fa wall of the tent on the othe side of Bay. "Why?" asked J ason. "You'e Indian aen't you? Don't you want to become a wan.io?" Tue, Jason was Indian, but he knew nothing of becoming a waio. He had spent all his life in the city. All he knew ofhis heitage was what his gandmothe told him fom time to time, which wasn't much. He had been to thee po",' wows in his life, all at a lage hall not fa fom his house, but he neve leaned vey much. His time was )

3 Jesson 5 NBE3C 4 spent eating hot dogs, dinking pop, and watching the olde boys play pool in the adjoining ooms. Little as he knew though, he wanted Ralph and Bay to think he k11ew a lot. "No. It's not time fo me to be a waio yet," he told them. "Why not?" Bay asked. "It just isn't, that's all," Jason said, not knowing a bette answe. "You 'e chicken, you couldn't climb that mountain if you tied," Ralph chaged "I'm not chicken! I could climb that mountain, no poblem. It just isn't time yet." "You 'e chicken," Ralph said again. "Go to sleep!" boomed a voice acoss the campgound. Ralph gave out thee chicken clucks and olled o\'e to sleep. J ason lay thee in mild ange. He hated being called a chicken and if the counselo hadn't shouted at that moment, he would have given Ralph a swift punch. But Ralph was ight, the mountain did scae him. With his ange subsiding, he difted into a haunting sleep, filled with deams. Deams the wind swept though the camp, gently speading the mountain spiit's stoies thoughout. A coyote's piecing howl echoed down the ocky cliffs, making Jason flinch in his sleep. The following moning, Ralph, Bay, and Jason wee the fist ones up. As they emeged fom the tent into the chilled moning ai, thei attention was immediately gasped by the huge ock peaks looming high above. Ralph's seaching eyes spanned the mountain. A light blanket of mist enveloped its lowe eaches. Pointing up he said, "See that ledge up thee?" Jason and BalTY followed Ralph's anl to a cliff along one of the ock walls just above the tee line. "I bet you can't get to it," he daed Jason. "I could so," Jason esponded. "Pove it," Ralph said.. Jason was tapped and he knew it. Ifhe said no, he would be admitting he was scaed. And thee was anothe challenge in Ralph's voice, unsaid, but Jason head it. Ralph was daing him to pove himself an Indian. J ason had lived his whole life in a city on cement gound and among concete mountains whee climbing was as easy as walking up stais o pessing an elevato button. To pove to Ralph and himself that he was Indian, Jason had to climb to that ledge. He knew that mountain climbing could end a life. A11d thee wee wild animals he might have to deal with. How was he supposed to eact? How would he eact? He was afaid. He didn't want to go. But ifhe didn't? "What's the matte?" Ralph taunted. "Indian scaed?" At that point, J ason decided he would face the mountain and he would each that ledge. "Okay," he conceded. At fist, the climbing was easy, but his pogess became slow and clumsy as he got highe up. Stuggling o\'e uneven gound and though tees, he came acoss a lage flat ock. In need of a est, he sat down and looked down at the campgound he had left ight afte beakfast an hou ago. He could see bodies scuitying about. If they hadn't noticed by now that he was missing, he thought, no doubt they would soon. Looking up, he could just see the ledge above the tee line. It wasn't much futhe, he thought. He could get to it, wave down at the camp to show he had made it,

4 Lesson 5 TBE3C '\ and be back in time fo lunch. Raising himself up, he stated to climb again, maching though the tees and up the steep slope, oye the ough teain. A few moments late he head a loud howl that seemed to come fom somewhee above. At fist, he thought it was a coyote, but it sounded moe like human. Nevously, he kept going. In the camp, Ralph and Bay wee getting eady to help pepae lunch. McNabb was stating a fie not fa away. They, too, head the howl. "I neve knew coyotes did that duing the day," Ralph said to Bay. Oveheaing them, McNabb esponded, "That was no coyote." Half an hou late, J ason stood just above the tee line. The ledge, his goal, was thity feet above, but what lay ahead was teacheous climbing, nealy staight up the ock wall. He scutinized the ock face, planned his oute and began to pick his \\.ay up the last stetch. The mountain saw the boy encoaching and whispeed a waning to the wind sweeping stongly down its face as it emembeed a simila event long ago. Jason felt the wind gow stonge, diving high-pitched sound into his eas. Gipping the ock hade, he pulled himself up a bit at a time. The wind seemed to be pushing him back. But he felt something else, too, something uging him on. When he was about twenty feet up the ock face, with his feet fimly on a small ledge, he chanced a look down between his legs. He could see that ifhe slipped, he would plummet staight down fo that twenty feet and afte hitting the ocks below, he would tumble a geat distance futhe. He knew it would spell death and fo a split second, he consideed going back down. But once again he felt an outside foce pushing him to go on. It gave him comfot and couage. His face eddened, his heat pounded, and beads of sweat poued fom him as he inched his way highe. Staight above, an eagle flew in geat cicles, slowly moving close to Jason and the ledge. Fa down the mountain the seach fo Jason was well undeway, but the counsellos had not way of knowing \),Thee he \),as, as Ralph and Bay hadn't told. McNabb also knew whee Jason was, but he, too, emained silent. An eight-yea-old gil in the camp lay quietly in he tent, staing up though the sceen \),indow at the sky. The seach fo J ason had been tiing and she had come back fo a est. She was watching a cloud slowly change shape \),Then a lage black bid flew by high above. Out of cuiosity, she unzipped the tent doo and went outside to get a bette look. She watched the bid fly in smalle and smalle cicles, getting close and close to the mountain. She took he eyes off the bid fo a moment to look at the huge ock wall, and thee, high above the tees and only a few feet below a ledge, she saw the boy climbing. Right away she knew the boy was in dange. Afte hesitating fo a moment, she an to te.ll a counsello. J ason paused fom climbing, j ust a few feet below the ledge. He \),Tas exhausted and the insides of his hands wee aw, the skin haying been scaped off by the ough ock. The ledge was so close. He pulled himself up to it, placing his feet inside a cack in the ock fo suppot. Reaching ove the edge, he swept one ann along the ledge, found anothe spot fo his feet, hoisted his body up, olled onto the ledge and got to his feet. Thee, an am's length away on the ledge, wee two young eagles in a lage nest. Fo seveal minutes hejust emained thee looking at the baby eagles. He had ne\te seen an eagle's nest befoe. He was so inteested in the two young eagles he didn't notice the

5 Lesson 5 NBE3C 6, mothe eagle cicling high ovehead, no did he hea he swoop down towads him and he nest. She landed in font ofhim, spead he wings, and let out a loud sceech. Jason was so temfied, he instinctively jumped and in doing so, lost his balance. Both feet stepped out into ai as he gabbed the ock. His hands clung despeately to the ledge as the shap ock dug into his skin. He looked down and saw his feet dangling in the ai. The wind swung him, making it impossible to get his feet back on he ock whee they had been moments ealie. A coyote howled and Jason's teo gew. Again he looked down at the ocks below. Teas began steaming down his face. He didn't want to die. He wished he had neve accepted Ralph's dae. He could pictue them coming up the mountain, finding his dead body among the ocks, and cying ove him. He began cying O1,lt loud and head it echoing off the ock. O he thought it was an echo. He stopped and listened. Thee was moe cying, but not fom him. Again he felt the pesence of something o someone else. The wind swiled in and whispeed to Jason the mountain's legend. Though miming swiftly, the boy Muskawashee had paced himself expetly fo the day's jouney. He would aive at the base of the mountain fa ealie than he had e.xpected and would have plenty of daylight left to catch his suppe and find a spot fo a good night's sleep. Though small and having seen only twelve summes, his young body was stong. He would be able to each the mountain in only two uns, pausing in between to catch a abbit fo lunch. As his poweful legs moved him gacefully acoss the paiie, he thought back to the convesation with his fathe the day befoe. He had explained how most ofhis fiends wee aleady in pepaation fo man11ood ai1d he felt he was eady also. He did not want to wait fo the next summe. W11en some ofhis fiends came back late that day fom a successful buffalo hunt, he decided he would go to the mountain alone and seek a vision fom the eagle. He knew he would have to ise befoe the sun to get out 0[ cainp without being seen When he eached the base of the mountain, the sun was still well above the hoizon. He sat down in a shelteed aea fo a est. He decided this was whee he would sleep fo the night. Afte a few minutes, he got up and made himself a tap fo a abbit and planted it. Afte laying the tap, he wandeed off to look fo some benies to eat while pepaing his mind fo the following day when he would climb the mountain. Afte some time, he etuned to his tap and found a abbit in it. He skinned it with a well-shapened stone knife he had bought with him, and built a fie to cook his meal. He would keep the fie bumming all night to keep away the wild animals while he slept. Finishing his meal, he thanked the ceato fo his food and safe jouney and payed fo good fotune in his quest fo a vision. Then he lay down in the soft moss and fell asleep to the music of the coyote's howls and the whispeing wind. The next moning, he awoke to the sun's waming shine. The still-smouldeing fie added an aoma of bunt wood to the fesh ai. He again payed to the ceato fo good fotune in his quest fo a vision and fo a safe jouney up the mountain. When he finished, he looked up, high above, and saw eagles flying to and fom a ock ledge. This \A,'ould be his goal.