Uncus and the Great Fish

It was the morning of the third day since the flock of snow geese had lifted into the air from the frosted ground near the arctic circle in the far northern lands. They would not stop flying for five more days because the warmth of the southern winters called to them. They had been flying over water since the light of the false dawn and now, as the sun kissed their left wing tips, they could see the blue-green waters below them. They began calling to each other, honking as if to say; "Do you see? Do you see the waters of the great lake? The Indians said that the Great Spirit had formed this lake to hold his tears, a lake that no man could see across.

The geese flew low, just above the white-capped waves blown into formation by the westerly winds. As they drew closer to the shore, the geese climbed higher into the sky to fly above the silent forests and the Indian village which lie near the great rocks on the southern shores of the lake. A small boy sitting atop the rocks watched the snow geese as they soared high overhead. His brown eyes sparkled in the sun and he smiled as he felt the freedom of the geese in their flight and heard the joy of their honking song. His gaze followed the birds until they disappeared into the soft southern sky.

Uncus was the boy's name, and on this bright autumn morning he was fishing. He sat cross-legged upon the granite rock and prepared a fishing line. First he untangled the line, making sure that there were no knots or twists along its' length. He then wrapped the end of the line around his wrist three times and gathered up the rest of the line by looping it across the palm of his hand. To the free end of the line Uncus tied a bone hook which was fashioned from the rib of a squirrel. Above that he added a small pebble which would weigh down the line in the water. From the leather pouch at his waist, Uncus took one of the crickets which he had caught in the meadow and snagged it onto the hook. He stood up and, after swinging the weighted line above his head, he cast the line out as far as it would go. Uncus felt the loops slip swiftly from his hand as he watched the line snake its' way into the blue-green waters below.

Uncus held part of the line between his thumb and forefinger so he would be able to feel the tug of a fish when it struck. He returned to his sitting position and glanced toward his village which lie to the east, under the new day's sun. He could see the smoke rising from the cooking fires of all the hogans in the village. Uncus could see the hogan where he lived with his mother and father and his sister, Narda. Their hogan was made in the same fashion as all the hogans of the village. The walls of the one-room house were formed by pine poles set in the ground. A lattice-work of maple saplings were lashed to the pine poles to frame the ceiling. A thatching of hickory strips lay atop the ceiling frame and also formed the inner wall against the pine poles. The roof was shingled with birch bark sewn into place with sinew from beavers. The roof slanted upward to the back of the hogan where there was a hole left to allow the smoke of the cooking fire to rise into the sky. The doorway of the hogan was covered by a deerskin awning. Upon the awning were painted the symbols which announced who was master of the hogan. There were many hogans in the village were Uncus lived and the village was called Ishpeming.

In the Indian language, Ishpeming means "paradise", and for Uncus and his family and tribe, it was a paradise. The village was built upon a long clover meadow which ran between the Great Rocks to the west and the rolling hills to the east. To the south stood a tall and quiet forest of cedar and pine and just beyond that, the birch and maple grew. To the north of Ishpeming was the pebbled shoreline which made a great crescent shape between the rolling hills and the Great Rocks. Beyond the shoreline, the blue-green waters of Gitchegumee stretched to the horizon. It was natural for such a place to be called a paradise.

It was in the village by the great lake that Uncus had been born ten winters past. He could remember little of his early life. Then, in the spring of his fourth year, his sister was born. Uncus had been sleeping dreamily when he was awaken by excited voices. He lay there under his blanket and watched the shadows cast by the fire light flicker upon the ceiling of the hogan. The women talked so fast that Uncus could not understand what was happening. Suddenly, he heard a sharp slapping sound followed by the piercing cry of a baby. Uncus stood up and one of the women noticed him and came over to his bedroll. She picked up his blanket and put it around his shoulders. She told him that the was now a brother.

Uncus walked over to the crowd of women an peeked inside their circle. His mother lay next to the fire and she smiled when she saw him and called him near. "Uncus", she said, "come see your sister." Uncus sat down on his knees by his mother's side and, in the light of the warm fire, saw a tiny human being crying as it lay in his mother's arms. He sat with his mouth open and gazed at the both of them for a long while. Finally, Uncus smiled and looked into his mother's eyes. "Mother!", he exclaimed, "she is beautiful! What is her name?" His mother proudly replied, "She is Narda." Uncus returned to his bed and fell asleep thinking of that name. He had a sister named Narda.

After that spring, Uncus remembered most of the things that happened to him. He remembered, when he was five summers old, the first time he played ball with the other boys of the village. There were two teams in the game, each played against the other. Each member of the team carried a paddle. The paddle was made from an oak branch with a beaver tail lashed to one end. Rawhide was wrapped around the other end to form a handle with a loop in it. The paddle was gripped by putting a hand through the loop and holding tightly onto the handle. This was necessary so that the ball could be hit solidly. The ball was big enough to hold easily in one hand and it was very light in weight. It was constructed from pieces of beaver hide sewn together. The inside of the ball was stuffed with eider down from the duck. The object of the game was to swat the ball through a hoop. There was a hoop at each end of the playing field.

The game was fast and Uncus had to run hard to keep up with the bigger boys. There were eight players to a team and the ball was passed from one player to the next as the team ran down field toward the hoop. When the beaver-tailed paddle struck the ball there was a loud smacking sound and the ball flew off the ground. At first, Uncus was a little afraid to play because the older boys would yell "WHOOP-WHOOP" as they ran and sometimes the game got rough. But, it was very exciting and Uncus soon learned to yell and run after the ball. He got knocked down a few times by the bigger boys and one of them even hit him with a beaver paddle. But Uncus had too much fun to be hurt. Soon, he learned how to play and now he remembered how good he felt when he scored his first point. He had been very tired when he got home and went right off to sleep after his mother had fed him.

In the middle of his seventh summer, a magical thing happened to Uncus. Late in the afternoon of a long day, his father came to him and gave him some new clothing. Uncus hurried to put the clothing on and then returned to his father and thanked him. Uncus wore a new pair of moccasins and a pair of long deerskin breeches. He was excited because never before had he worn a pair of long breeches.

His father stood before him and began speaking, "Uncus, these new clothes are a symbol of your growing up. Long breeches are a mark of manhood and tonight you will face your first test. Listen well and do exactly as I tell you."

Uncus listened eagerly. "After I leave you", continued his father, "sit quietly in the hogan and do not eat any food. This evening, when the sun passes behind the Great Rocks, come out of the hogan and stand by the door and wait. From that time on, you will not talk to anyone until the test is over. If you recognize me in the night, do not call out nor come to me, you must be strong and stand alone. Do not fear what will happen, it is a part of growing up and it will help you in the seasons to come."

"Now, my son", his father ended, "I must leave you." Uncus' father hugged him and then walked up the path in the direction of the Great Rocks. Just before he was out of sight, he turned and waved to Uncus and Uncus waved back. Uncus did feel afraid, but he knew that his father would not allow anything to hurt him. Narda and his mother were in the hogan when Uncus entered.

His mother took him in her arms, saying, "Do not worry Uncus, tomorrow you will understand and you will be happy."