River People

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On the morning of the fourth day at the village in the forest, the old women came to Manueline accompanied by the river man and several strange people, dressed in a way Manueline had never seen before. Both men and women wore nothing other than a cloth that covered their groin. They tied the cloth in front to a string round the waist, it was then tied back under between the legs, tied to the string at the back. The cloth seemed to be made of some kind of bark and there was no evidence of any metal work or manufactured materials that Manueline could see. The river man explained that they only used dug out canoes made from trees they felled in the forest with stone axes.

One of them spoke the language common up and down the river that was close to the language Manueline grew up with. She talked to him, asking him where he came from and why he had come. He looked surprised asking how it was that she did not know. Manueline laughed and explained to him that she was just an ordinary woman. She told him the whole story of how she met Wals, how Wals was taken into the death hut, how she rescued him and they fled across the river; how he killed the first four men to come after them and then killed the group of ten that came after the first four. She told him in detail about their journey down the river. This particularly fascinated him as he asked her to describe the rapids, the speed at which the water flowed and especially the waterfall, which for a long time he did not fully understand. He thanked her profoundly for telling him all these things, then he bowed to her, bowed to Wals and offered to guide them through the swamp.

The people from the swamp were always respectful of Manueline and Wals and careful not to touch either of them, but Manueline felt there was a real difference between them and the people in the following. She felt their beliefs about Wals were the same but their attitude towards death was different and that was where the difference lay.

They were also different in the way they regarded the wolf. He had been out for the night and only returned towards the end of the discussion in which Manueline described what had happened to her and Wals. He came in his usual silent way, coming to stand beside Manueline, looking at the strangers from the forest with some evident interest. Manueline looked down at him, putting a hand on his head, welcoming him back. She had of course mentioned the wolf in the story and the people from the forest listened and nodded their heads, evidently having no idea what Manueline meant by a large wolf. There were no wolves in the forest, just some species of wild dog. Manueline turned back to the forest people and was surprised to see a look, not of fear, but of open-mouthed wonder at the wolf.

As one the whole party turned to him and bowed down, kneeling on the ground and bowing their heads, something they had not done for Manueline or even Wals. Then they spoke to him, a long address in their own language. Manueline took the man aside that spoke the common language and had him translate. The speech turned out to be a long list of praises all beginning "Great Dog, welcome among us, we thank you for coming," and continued with praises of his size, his fur, his teeth, his ears and every other part of his anatomy. Eventually the wolf got bored and yawned, snapping his teeth together. They took the hint and retired.

The following morning they returned and sat a little way off. Manueline saw them as she came out of her tent. She called them over. They said they needed to speak further about the journey through the swamp. The one who spoke the common language asked, pointing up and down the beach, if all the people were going to go as well. Manueline saw that it was a rhetorical question; she just sat and looked at him, waiting to see what he would say. He told her that normally the people of the forest would take one or two people through for some minor consideration. It was unheard of for such a large group to pass through the forest. He was not sure how it could be done. He was sure that they could not pass through as a single group. The people would have to go through a few at a time. Again, Manueline waited to see what else he would say. He grunted and carried, on saying that if she and Wals left now, many would simply follow, whether there was anyone to lead them or not and they would die.

"So you are suggesting that the people be sent in groups and that Wals and I come with the last group?"

He nodded his head, saying he thought that the best plan. He also thought it would be possible for them to come through the swamp once most of the people had gone through, it was not necessary for them to wait for all of the people. Manueline could see him studying her, trying to see from her reactions and what she said what her motivation was and how she placed herself. She was curious, wanting to see what he saw, as she did not understand any of it herself. Was he wondering if they would just abandon the following or perhaps did not care whether people in the following died in the swamp or not? Was he wondering what ultimately they would do? What would happen beyond the forest? Manueline watched him watching her, waiting to see what he would see.

They spoke for a while and decided that the people would be taken through in groups of a hundred or so. They could take perhaps one or two groups per day. Much depended on how many suitable boats they could find, as most of the boats used by the following would never make it through the swamp, as the water, in places, would be too shallow. They would have to bring boats back each time, making the round trip that much longer; at least two days to get through the swamp going down stream, at least three days to get back. He warned that beyond the swamp it was still at least a two-day journey to the edge of the forest, though he admitted there were paths for much of the way. Manueline built a picture in her mind of what would happen. People would be taken through; no doubt, they would wander off, seeking the fringes of the forest and looking for food. Very likely, by the time she and Wals came through, most of the following would have dispersed.

To follow this thread in the story go to: Going Through

The next section to read is: Trail of People

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