Friends of Ajawah

And the old man arose, staggered away, and was gone.

And now Ajawampus was truly all alone.  He sat by the fire and did not move.  Ajawampus sat, and one by one the stars came out and turned slowly in the sky.  But Ajawampus sat and did not move.  The mosquitoes buzzed about his ears, but still he sat and did not move.  The moon rose, climbed across the heavens and sank slowly in the West, but still he sat and did not move.  Day came and a hot sun leapt into the sky.  The sweat stood out on his brow and dripped onto his shoulders, but still he sat and did not move.  And Ajawampus sat for many days and nights and never moved.

One day a heron flew by overhead.  And the spirit of Ajawampus went out of him and entered the heron, and he became a heron, wheeled with herons above lakes and rivers, talked heron talk, thought heron thoughts, knew heron hunger and heron thirst, ate fishes, died a heron’s death, returned to Ajawampus where he sat and did not move.

Fifty feet from where Ajawampus sat there lay a dead jackal.  And the spirit of Ajawampus went out of him and entered the dead jackal and he became a dead jackal, swelled, stank, decayed, became dust, returned to the atmosphere, returned to Ajawampus where he sat and did not move.

And the spirit of Ajawampus went out of him and returned many times, but always he sat and did not move.

Finally one day Ajawampus arose and went into the forest.  He traveled far and far, farther than any in his tribe had ever been.  And somewhere in the frozen Northland he found the Grunduff, surprised it in its lair.  And they fought.

And Ajawampus returned at last to the loon-haunted lake.  Red Arrow, returning in the fall, found him and gave him burial – here, where we make our fire.

But the Grunduff never returned to the loon-haunted lake.