Fiction story

One cold winter morning, way before the light hits the surface of the earth. In the middle of January, the year of 1927. Here in the village of Kalskag a young group of men preparing there long journey to a village up river, which is known to be Aniak. Kenny gotten all ready, got his bag and bags of fur and his supplies. Harnessed his dogs to his sleigh. “Lets go! Hya! Hya!” As he got on his sleigh to start going on the trail. Going so smooth and peaceful, just the sounds of the dogs running and the drag of the sled runners, slicing threw the fresh powdery snow. “Whoa, yield, steady boys, slow it down.” Commanding the dogs in a calmly voice to a sudden stop by one of his brothers house. Behind his house was his brother already to hit the trail. “ I thought I would of have to give you a hand my young brother.” Said to him in a teasing way. “ Look who got him in a mess already so early in the morning.” Matthew pointing at his brothers dog team. While one of his dogs got tangled fighting a stray loose dog. That ain't tamed by no master. Nukalpaiq, which was called by his family, ran like the wind blowing in a misty Weatherly day. To go break them up and to punish his leader and that un-looking healthy dog. Everything turns bad to good like a crazy man falls in love. But his lead dog is pretty banged up. “ My dogs are already to break some wind and start heading out. Will you be following behind me my brother?” Confused and lost, waiting till his brother answered. He slowly check over his lead dog and said. “ We will be right behind you, while you break the wind for us on the trail.” Had a worried grin on his face when he applied back. Kenny untangled his dogs and got them all lined up. “ Hya boys! Hya, umpii umpii, lets go!” hollered at his team like a snowstorm is about to hit. Slowly caught up to his partner. The sun finally popped up like an orange ready to cultivate, a warm blowing breeze hits his face. Both smelled the money and all the supplies in the air that they are about to trade in for fur. There was another sent in the air, while we passed through some white people off the trail. It seemed like they heard of us going to Aniak for the money making journey. Going around the second bend toward tuqpak, a small shortcut that we knew before. Someone else was heading our direction, but as slow as an old beaver running on the land.
“Waqaa dere e-luq, what’s going on? Are you lost?” Asking him like he never saw him on the trail in a long time.
“Ya, I was resetting my trap line in a different spot. How about you guys? What you guys doing so early in the day?” George asked his e-luqs while taking off his big parka. Matthew rushed over with his small bag of gear.
“Hey man, did you see these two white men on the trail back there this morning? It looks like there up to something foolish or gonna do something childish.”
While he pulled out a long piece of a homemade smoking device. He look up to his close friend of his and said. “ Let’s go somewhere that have wind block.”
They all look around to different places where there was standing. Matthew quickly pointed towards that big snowdrift by the tree line.
“ Right there, over there follow me, tialutten.”
They all pack their stuff in their sled and quickly raced over there. While they settled at the spot, two dog teams slowly going on the trail, like a wood drifting down the river with the current on a summer day. They look at each other with a question mark on their face. George squinted his eyes and kneeled low. Just watching the two snowmen drifting slowly. Like they were scoping around for the young natives that pass them. Suddenly they came to a stop and look around. Can hardly see anything because of the wind blowing, low clouds all around them. Slightly snowing down on them. The natives were used of this kind of weather, can see clearly at them. Looking through his snow goggles, George thought one of the men looked at him for a long time. He probably thought he saw a stump and didn’t think it was a group of men. Then they slowly moved up the trail searching and looking around for something they might have lost or looking for the natives.
“ Hey, didn’t we see two strange men visiting my uncles house yesterday? You think they might be the two attungguks that was asking questions about the people and the village?”
Slowly passing a small material around to his eluqs. George looks at Kenny and looks down the river and saw a big white mist of a snowstorm lower than the tree line.
“ I think I’ll just follow you guys into Aniak, just in case something happen to you guys, I’ll be there. Plus there’s a big mist slowly increasing toward us, so we must make our journey right now!”
All three of them pack their stuff into their sled carefully and took off up the river like a dog chasing after a small rabbit. Cruising up the river, two dog teams came out of the creek, heading right toward the three. All three of them saw the two men right behind them and started to pick up their speed. They heard gunshots popping like fire works on the fourth of July. They really got scared. Kenny, the one behind the others, threw something behind on the trail. All of a sudden the white mens’ dogs stop and started sniffing the trail, and then total white out. They couldn’t see the two after the storm came over them. Finally, the rush in their veins stops and went to their normal pace. By the time they knew any thing; butt-hill was already covered in the storm behind them. The storm finally settled down and cleared up. The sun went down and that cold breeze breath across the frozen land of the Kuskokwim area. The three Alaskan natives went through their own short cut to set camp before the night takes over the land like a blanket covering the surface with darkness. It took them a little while to get settled in their small camp.
Once they were settled in, fire flaming, heat waves flowing towards the natives. The dogs sheltered themselves into the powdery snow to keep warm after eating their food. There they were, the three natives telling stories about the past. What it been like in the late 1890’s. The funny moments that happen to them. In the middle of Matthew’s story, Kenny herd sticks snapping in the deep woods. The dogs didn’t hear anything, too relaxed from the long run. It slowly got louder and closer. Kenny got up like sitting on a hot pan, looking in the direction it was coming from. Soon enough it was right beyond the bluff up above them. Snapped one more time so loud that even the dogs got up and started barking. Matthew paused and look in the same direction that Kenny and George was looking at. Willows moving side to side, grass hissing like snakes in a dry desert. Somehow they saw a dark shaded back hump moving left to right. All of a sudden snarling behind their tent sounds so deadly that one snap can rip you apart or a midnight snack for the wolves. The three young natives felt so remorseful they went to bed right away. The hungry creatures surrounding the camp, waiting for a chance to attack.
Before the sun rose, like a woman baking assllak for dinner, Matthew was already checking around the camp seeing if anything was missing from the camp. He lights his cigar, walks back and forth from the tent to the dogs. The cold north breeze breaths through the valleys, big snow drifts from the storm caused fresh compact snow. They were ready to make their way up the river towards Aniak. One of Georges dogs missing, probably the wolf pack tricked the dog by bringing a female to do the job. They had no other choice; they had to keep on moving up river. All George said was, “ I’m glad I got young cubs right behind my house.” Smiling after he said that.
Back then, hardly any travelers came through this trail to or from Aniak. What these men were taking was highly dangerous and not safe to travel this time of the winter. Hollow ice in some places, animals not scared, especially big creatures that are hunting for food. That’s why act and control over this part of the land. Some natives had been attacked by wolves that set them up into a trap. They’re smart animals that make there home near the Kuskokwim River. Kenny and his crew got all ready to cruise slowly up the river. Lazy to move on, every thing going smooth, the day went by so fast and the way they wanted to go. But then, they saw the two strange men again taking the wrong trail and heading the wrong way. They must have given up on looking for the natives and start heading back to the land of concrete. Matthew became happy because he’s the type of person that doesn’t like dealing with white folks, unless he have to. Going through this creek George, who was in front, stopped both of them for a break.
“ Two and a half miles left and were going to get our moneys worth”.
Walking toward the others for a little celebration. Matthew complaining with impatient feeling toward his eluqs. They didn’t care what he just said, but came together and started passing around a small object in a rotation and talking about what their going to get with all their cash.
All of a sudden Kenny’s dog started foaming from the mouth and barking at something in the woods. Kenny came over with confusion on his face. Set his hand on his dogs back, the dog quickly snaps towards his master. Never in his life had his dogs snapped like that. Kenny got disappointed and shot his best dog in the head and brought the body in the woods with sadness and a remorseful feeling on his mind. The three natives took off after that with a rush. Two hours of riding, they reach the trading post and came out with pockets so swollen, bags and boxes full with supplies that they needed.
After they got what they wanted they started their way back home with the dogs leading the way with sled loads of supplies. Coming around the first bend, there were three men standing with clubs. The natives came to a stop, the men walked towards the natives and Kenny’s dogs snarled and snappaed at the men. The men kept there distance, Kenny’s dogs didn’t like the men as theY got closer. The dogs attacked the men and they ran like a bunch of bullies that gotten beaten hard. So they continued their way back down the river to their village, nothing but the breeze blowing in their face. So calm and peacefully Kenny sat in his sled while his dogs kept on the trail. His dogs weren’t amateurs on the trail. There are fully trained, top of the line mushing dogs, the best of the best. They can run without a musher guiding them the way. Finally they reached Kalskag, it went by so fast that the sun was ready to set. The dogs had a scent that they were going home so they traveled home non-stop all the way to the village. Reaching Kalskag, the village so quiet that you can hear the music that the northern lights were dancing to. Dogs howling with hurt and sadness as they pass by each house along the roads. That’s one of the journeys told running a round trip to Aniak that was responsible for surviving. It wasn’t easy back in the day. A lot of hard work had to be done.

Traveling to differnt villages in bad weather conditions can be bad

Author: Kenny Morgan Jr.