During the next few days, Wynn called for a meeting of all the people. They gathered together in front of the pile of rubble that had so recently been the source for the lifeblood of the settlement, anxious eyes surveying the pile of debris. Even the litter, as it had been poked and raked following the fire, had brought forth very little of use in the settlement.
Wynn stood before the people and spoke to them in their language. Nimmie, standing beside me with her head held high, whispered the translation.
“We meet together because we are one. We must care for one another. We have lost the trading post and the food it supplied. Now we must find our own way. It is not a new way. It has been done for many moons by our fathers. But it is a hard way. It will take us all working together.
“You have some flour and salt for bannock. You should watch your supply closely and use only a little every day. It can last for many days if you use it sparingly.
“We have the forests and the streams. They will not forsake us. They have meat for the taking. We will hunt together and share what we find.
“We have plants that can be gathered from under the snow. You know them well. We will send out groups to gather them. Those who stay behind will care for the fires.
“We have traps and snares if we run out of ammunition for our guns, so we will not starve.
“We have medicines if we become sick, so do not be afraid.
“And, most importantly, we have a God who sees us and knows that we are in need. He has promised to care for His children.
“We will live, and we will make it to the time of the flowing of the rivers, and the stirring of the new leaf upon the tree and the gathering of the wild greens.”
I felt like we all should have cheered such a speech; but when Wynn had finished speaking, the people of the village filed away—silently. Yet their shoulders had lifted a little and the look of despair upon their faces had been replaced with silent acceptance and even a glimmer of hope.
———
Now, Wynn was hardly ever home. He organized hunting parties, carefully distributing counted shells to the sharpest marksmen. He sent out fishing parties to cut holes in the ice and spend silent, long, cold hours at the task of bringing home fish. He sent older women, bundled against the cold, into the forests with baskets to dig for edibles among the roots of trees, while the younger women were assigned neighbor’s fires to tend besides their own. Children took on new responsibilities as baby tenders and firewood gatherers. All the village was called upon to work together. Even the ones who were too old and feeble to be actively engaged had a part. They stirred the pots and kept the home fires fed while others were busy with their tasks.
A previously empty cabin was repaired sufficiently for the family who had lost their home in the fire, and life in the village went on.
Some of the outlying trappers, who had seen the terrifying red glow in the sky on the night of the fire, came home to check on family. They stood with heads lowered as they realized what the disaster meant to the entire population of the village. I think they too must have been praying, in their own way, for an early spring.
———
Nimmie and I were alone a few days later. I knew she must be very sorrowful about losing her lovely home with all the beautiful handwork from her past. She admitted that it “made her heart sore,” but she was able to smile in spite of it all.
“I still have Ian,” she said with great feeling. “If I had lost him, then all would have been lost.”
I thought of Wynn, and I understood what Nimmie was saying.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” said Nimmie slowly. “Maybe this was God’s punishment for my sin.”
I wanted to protest, but I wasn’t sure what to say.
Nimmie went on. “And then I thought, ‘No, I think not.’ You see, I was a sinner long before I brought the knife to Crazy Mary. I understand something now that I didn’t understand before. I did not become sinful because I took in the knife, but rather I consented to take the knife because I was sinful. Do you understand me, Elizabeth?”
I nodded slowly. I did understand and I agreed.
“I have been a sinner for a long time. I just did not know about it. Oh, I knew that I had an unhappiness, a pain in my heart that twisted at times and brought me grief and shame, but I didn’t know why or what it was.
“The pain is gone now. Even after the fire, I have peace. If God had been punishing me, then I wouldn’t feel Him with me as I do now, as I did as I watched the fire burn away everything that had ever been mine. No, He was not punishing; but perhaps He is putting me through the testing ritual to see if I am going to be strong.”
I nodded again. It seemed that Nimmie had it all sorted out. Tears filled my eyes. She was strong, our Nimmie.
“Ian and I talked long last night,” Nimmie paused. “We are going to go away.”
My mouth opened to protest and I reached a hand for her arm.
“We will be back,” Nimmie informed me quickly. “We will be back as soon as the crows are back. We will build the trading post again as soon as wood can be hauled from the forest. And we will bring supplies back to the people.”
Relieved to hear that they would be back, I still didn’t understand why they felt they should go.
“Ian has much to do, to make plans for the new building,” Nimmie explained. “He has to arrange for supplies to be shipped in as soon as the rivers are free of ice. We will be very busy. The time will go quickly. Ian is even going to show me the big cities that I have read about.” Nimmie’s face took on a glow. For a moment, I wished I could go with her; and then I quickly thought of Wynn, and any desire to leave Beaver River left me.
“Besides,” said Nimmie matter-of-factly, “the supplies are low—even the supplies in your home. If we go soon, that will mean less people to feed and more life for the village.”
“What about Katherine?”
“Ian is going to ask her what she wishes. We are sure that she will go with us.”
There just seemed to be one question left to ask. “When will you go?”
“Tomorrow. Tomorrow as soon as the sun is in the sky.”
Katherine did choose to go with them. They had very little to take. Mr. McLain still had his good team of sled dogs and his sled. They had no clothing to pack and no provisions except what they were given. Wynn made sure they had a good rifle and some shells. Villagers came shyly forward as the McLains prepared for travel and offered love gifts of food or clothing or traps. I knew that the people desperately needed the things they were giving away, yet so did the McLains. The gifts were not refused because it would have caused offense to the givers. They were given in love, and they were accepted in love.
At last the sled was loaded, the team harnessed, and the travelers were ready for the trail.
At the last minute, Nimmie drew me aside. I wasn’t sure I would be able to talk to her without weeping.
“I have a wonderful secret,” she said, her eyes shining, “and I wanted to share it with you before leaving.
“I am going to have a baby. Just think—after ten years of marriage, I am going to have a baby!”
“Oh, Nimmie,” was all I could say, and I took her in my arms and cried all over her fur parka.
I was the only one in tears, for the Indian people expressed themselves in other ways. I knew their hearts were heavy, too. It was hard to see our friends go. It was hard to turn them over to the elements and the winter. I prayed that they would arrive safely. If anyone knew how to handle the rigors of the trail, it was the McLains. Nimmie had come from the forest, and Mr. McLain himself had spent many years working a trapline before becoming manager of the store. They would know what to do in all circumstances.
It would be hard for Katherine. She had not trained herself for the ways of the North. The trip would be long and difficult and very taxing. I prayed that God would help her.
And Nimmie. The little mother-to-be. The excited little mother. I prayed with all of my heart that things would go well for her and God would protect her unborn child.
I stood and watched them disappear over the whiteness of the hill outside our settlement, a final wave to us, our last glimpse of them. And then I placed a hand on Kip’s furry head and started back to the cabin, the tears blurring my vision. I knew Wynn was watching me, making sure I would be all right.