Ilatsiak - 64 - Agayuq’s Visit
During the late winter, both David and Agayuq’s family were once again camping in the Matty Island region to hunt seals. They’d spent the winter moving back and forth between King William Island and the Boothia Peninsula, moving with the seals, being carefuly not to hunt too often in the same area for fear of angering the goddess of the sea who sent them seals when it pleased her to do so.
One day when David arrived back in Agayuq’s camp from an multi-day hunting trip alone, he found no one was about. Entering his snowhouse he discovered Qayaq and Tulugak asleep as if it was the middle of the night. Slipping out of his clothes, he climbed into his customary spot against the snow wall and closed his eyes. After a few minutes he heard Agayuq’s voice talking to him in a low whisper from the snow house entrance.
“You have returned, but things are not well.”
David opened his eyes and looked down at the man squatting a few feet away from him. “The ship people have died... everywhere,” Agayuq said. They are all gone...”
“I have heard this too.” David stared at Agayuq with unaccustomed frankness. “People have told me this during the winter you disappeared,” Agayuq continued, “but I was shy to tell you. When I was in Boothia, people from King William Island visited and told me the ship people were not well, they were dying everywhere. They said that some had died even two summer’s ago.”
“I heard stories too. people talked about the ships on my way here last Fall. I wish you had told me these things long ago. Maybe we could have helped them.”
“Yes I should have told you, but how could we have helped the ship people? They are not like us. They don’t live our way or eat our food.”
“But I do... or I did.” David whispered back.
“Yes, you did, that is so. But you are us now. You were given to us. We are too few to have helped the ship people. There was little we could have done. They were so many. Their sickness and strange behaviour scared many people, so we stayed away from them. They weren’t like the white people who came here years ago.”
David closed his eyes. Agayuq started again. He obviously was finding it difficult to talk about this subject. He kept his voice to a whisper and stayed crouching in the entrance tunnel of the snow house. “I sent you away to live with Qayaq so you wouldn’t know. I didn’t want you to find out. I didn’t want you to get sick and die, like them. Maybe I should have told you...”
“No. I went to meet Qayaq’s family. It wasn’t your choice...” But, for the first time, David saw the cunning in Agayuq and realised how easily he had fallen into Agayuq’s plan. “I had to go. I wanted to be with Qayaq. It wasn’t your doing. There’s nothing to feel badly about.” he lied, yet knowing it was also the truth. “Whatever happened to the sailors, happened slowly, over several years, during the time they were frozen in the ice. Now it’s all over. There’s nothing that can be done anymore.”
Agayuq was right about a lot of things. About David’s wanting to be with Qayaq, the rightness of their union, and now about the sailors’ fate. The expedition members would not have accepted help. He still remembered the comments and jeers made about the people they had encountered in Greenland during the transfer of supplies. The remarks about superiority of the English, how filthy and foolish the Greenlanders were. There seemed to be so little common ground. Even if Agayuq and others went and offered help it would have been scoft at and they would have been rebuffed. It would have been pointless. Now it was too late. From what he had learned the previous summer and fall, most, if not all of the crew had died. Still David couldn’t help but think that so few bodies had been found. What had become of all the others? Had they been able to escape? Were they still alive somewhere? Agayuq just shook his head, as if knowing what David was thinking. He then turned around and left the family sleeping under their skins. David wondered at the sudden remarks his father has just made, but eventually, weary from the long hunt, he fell asleep.
One day when David arrived back in Agayuq’s camp from an multi-day hunting trip alone, he found no one was about. Entering his snowhouse he discovered Qayaq and Tulugak asleep as if it was the middle of the night. Slipping out of his clothes, he climbed into his customary spot against the snow wall and closed his eyes. After a few minutes he heard Agayuq’s voice talking to him in a low whisper from the snow house entrance.
“You have returned, but things are not well.”
David opened his eyes and looked down at the man squatting a few feet away from him. “The ship people have died... everywhere,” Agayuq said. They are all gone...”
“I have heard this too.” David stared at Agayuq with unaccustomed frankness. “People have told me this during the winter you disappeared,” Agayuq continued, “but I was shy to tell you. When I was in Boothia, people from King William Island visited and told me the ship people were not well, they were dying everywhere. They said that some had died even two summer’s ago.”
“I heard stories too. people talked about the ships on my way here last Fall. I wish you had told me these things long ago. Maybe we could have helped them.”
“Yes I should have told you, but how could we have helped the ship people? They are not like us. They don’t live our way or eat our food.”
“But I do... or I did.” David whispered back.
“Yes, you did, that is so. But you are us now. You were given to us. We are too few to have helped the ship people. There was little we could have done. They were so many. Their sickness and strange behaviour scared many people, so we stayed away from them. They weren’t like the white people who came here years ago.”
David closed his eyes. Agayuq started again. He obviously was finding it difficult to talk about this subject. He kept his voice to a whisper and stayed crouching in the entrance tunnel of the snow house. “I sent you away to live with Qayaq so you wouldn’t know. I didn’t want you to find out. I didn’t want you to get sick and die, like them. Maybe I should have told you...”
“No. I went to meet Qayaq’s family. It wasn’t your choice...” But, for the first time, David saw the cunning in Agayuq and realised how easily he had fallen into Agayuq’s plan. “I had to go. I wanted to be with Qayaq. It wasn’t your doing. There’s nothing to feel badly about.” he lied, yet knowing it was also the truth. “Whatever happened to the sailors, happened slowly, over several years, during the time they were frozen in the ice. Now it’s all over. There’s nothing that can be done anymore.”
Agayuq was right about a lot of things. About David’s wanting to be with Qayaq, the rightness of their union, and now about the sailors’ fate. The expedition members would not have accepted help. He still remembered the comments and jeers made about the people they had encountered in Greenland during the transfer of supplies. The remarks about superiority of the English, how filthy and foolish the Greenlanders were. There seemed to be so little common ground. Even if Agayuq and others went and offered help it would have been scoft at and they would have been rebuffed. It would have been pointless. Now it was too late. From what he had learned the previous summer and fall, most, if not all of the crew had died. Still David couldn’t help but think that so few bodies had been found. What had become of all the others? Had they been able to escape? Were they still alive somewhere? Agayuq just shook his head, as if knowing what David was thinking. He then turned around and left the family sleeping under their skins. David wondered at the sudden remarks his father has just made, but eventually, weary from the long hunt, he fell asleep.
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