Excerpt
“Ah, my dear friend. It takes many strong men and much skill to travel up stream,
where the waters run faster than a raging buffalo. Our boat would not last on the
running waters or over the deep falls. It is impossible to travel this way until the
summer has calmed the river spirits to make them safe for men. It would take us
many weeks to build a wood boat strong enough to resist the sharp rocks that wait
on the river’s belly and hidden turns. We must walk across the land to reach my
home. One day, our home river will carry you on his back to visit other peoples.
Then you will learn his ways.”
That night, Fire Maker spoke about the Great Floods. “In the ancient days, there
were two great floods. The first flood was long before men and women came to this
land. In that time, the animals spoke to one another as we do today. Bear spoke to
fish. Fish spoke to birds. They ate plants and berries and grew fat on the land. They
saw themselves reflected in the waters. The animals saw how beautiful they were and
became proud and boastful. Each one thought he was more beautiful than the other.
So the Creator decided to punish the animals for their conceit and wash the arrogance
from their faces.”
Ari stirred the embers and watched the end of his branch catch fire. He held it up
until the feeble flame died, sending curls of blue smoke toward the stars.
Fire Maker knew the young travellers enjoyed his stories as much as anyone,
though they grew restless as the evening progressed. He continued with a smile.
“The waters came pouring down so hard that some lost all their colour and became
very plain. Others, like the blue jay, found shelter in the high trees and kept their colour.
Because the animals had been so boastful, the Creator even washed away their
speech. Now many animals are unable to understand each other when they speak.
Wolf eats deer and bear eats fish. The Creator made us all to be brothers. But some
forget or do not know how they should be.”
Father Finten wanted to share his own story of the flood from the Book of Genesis.
But he knew his stories paled in the telling, compared to the storytelling skill
of their host. So the missionary priest continued to lose opportunities to make converts.
To him, it seemed as though the chief was already converted. The stories he
told made much sense for the people of this land and Finten found the Native creation
story very beautiful.
Father Finten struggled with what he judged to be a heresy forming in his mind:
Perhaps God shines through to all the different people of the world in many different
forms. If our Christian God is true, and all other gods are false, must I take their
god away to give them mine, when all the gods are one and the same True God?
He wished there were some theologian around, with whom he could confide. If he
lost the Faith and his missionary purpose, what was left? Finten tried to stop his
thoughts as Fire Maker’s words continued hypnotically.
“One day, the Creator made man. He gave his newest creature everything to be
happy. But man too became proud and wanted to be greater than the gods. So the
Creator of all things sent another flood. This time, the waters washed the colour
from many men. The most proud became almost white.”
At this, the six white men looked at one another and Bjorn burst into a hearty
laugh, and his companions joined in.
Finten remarked, “Yes, we have indeed been too proud. Much too proud.”
