Native American Short Stories

The Chetco Tribe (Part 1)

The Chetco Tribe (Part 1)

He could hear them coming closer, felt their footsteps pounding on the ground as they searched for him. Their voices reverberated against the boat, amplifying the muffled tones.

And his grin widened; they would never find him hiding in here.

One open palm resting against the floor of the inverted canoe, Kuzih stood in the water, both feet squished down into the cold earth underfoot. One of his ankles had scraped against a boulder and although he knew it wasn't going to look pretty once he inspected it, he almost hoped it would leave a permanent mark – a trophy for his cleverness. He shivered uncontrollably, the river rocking against the bank and causing the canoe to bounce against his head.

"Where did he go?"

"I bet he went back home already, he never does play for long."

Others chimed in with their own thoughts of where their playmate could be waiting for them, but just as Kuzih suspected, none gave any thought to the fact that he was only feet away from them the whole time. And still grinning.

Still as a cattail.

Waiting.

And still grinning.

"I'm hungry," one of the children announced. "We should eat now, he's probably in the food trough right now, sucking in all the berries my sister foraged yesterday!"

The children turned and began the march back toward the village, hands slapping backs and feet jumping into the air as the sounds of play skipped from their mouths.

Kuzih knew his mother would worry when he wasn't found among his friends, so he gulped in a big breath of air and ducked his head under the water, swimming a couple of feet away and popping up on the other side of the canoe.

Sunlight pierced his eyes when he opened them, and he shut them again for a moment, rubbing them back to normal vision as he stepped gingerly up the bank. He squinted real quick just to be certain his friends hadn't spied him creeping out from his new hiding place.

They hadn't.

Waiting until the group of boys disappeared through a grove of white fir, Kuzih knew exactly at which point to dart away from the water and make his way back home. If he had this planned just the right way, he might even arrive before his friends.

The boy inhaled and made a mad dash for the village, running his fingertips along a row of kalmiopsis growing against a patch of other flowers. He felt the reddish-pink berries against his fingers but did not slow down to pluck any of them.

Not today.

Amused with his own wit, he maneuvered through branches jutting out from trees and bushes, wincing only a bit when he stepped on pine cones or banged a toe against rocks. Shaded every few moments from the trees or monstrous boulders, Kuzih planned how to keep his friends guessing as to his whereabouts; he would pretend a terrible dog chased after him, so he turned around and went home. Had never even gone to the water.

No, that wouldn't work ... he was wet.

He would tell them he slipped and had fallen into the jars of water his mother ... no, too many details.

Kuzih topped a low hill at full speed, not expecting to nearly run straight into one of his friends.

"We've been looking for you!"

"Where have you been? You're soaked!"

The short boy they called Winter shook his head, ticked his tongue against his teeth.

"Your mother will be angry. Do you not remember the last time you -"

"Yes, yes. I remember," he rolled his eyes. Out of breath, he added with quick words, "That doesn't matter now! Run, they're chasing me!"

Kuzih laughed under his breath, darting his eyes behind himself and continuing to bolt across the landscape as if he were running for his very life.

He knew his friends would follow and ask questions later.

He was correct.

Screams quickly motivated the group to follow, almost knocking one another down as they attempted being the first one to make their narrow escape from whatever monster seemed to be chasing their friend; Kuzih felt the wind against his teeth as he joined in the screaming, filling his lungs with cool, crisp air, young feet pounding the earth and not a care on his mind.

The group pressed their rear ends against the plankhouse siding, gulping in deep breaths as palms gripped their knees. Perspiration dripped from their foreheads and noses, their feet burning from the race for their very lives.

"Now tell us, Kuzih. What was chasing you?"

He hadn't had much time to put the story together; he pretended to still be out of breath and held up one finger to stall a bit longer.

Finally stretching both arms overhead and leaning first to one side and then the other, he decided to let the story make itself up along the way.

"Didn't you hear it? You didn't hear me calling for help?"

Yes. Accuse them, he forced himself not to giggle or crack even the slightest of smirks.

Exchanging puzzled expressions, knowing none of them heard any such calls of distress, the boys shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads.

"Of course not! Are you saying we would ignored your call for help?"

He held a hand out.

"No, but you didn't hear me, I suppose. Maybe I didn't yell as loud as it felt," he lied.

"What was chasing you?"

He knew the stalling was over; the group had caught their breath and faced him in a circle, ringing him against the house. He had nowhere to go.

Opening his mouth, his eyes darted upward and caught sight of his older brother. He stood with both hands on his hips, glaring at the boys.

"Mother will strip the flesh from your back side when she sees this," he warned. "Why are you wet? And why did you not tend to the chores she gave you? She made me start your duties," he jabbed a thumb toward his own chest. "You get home now," he insisted.

Kuzih nodded, feigning his displeasure at being forced to shut down his story before he even launched into it.

"Sorry, boys. I will have to tell you tomorrow," he apologized with a wave of his hands.

His brother poked a fingertip into his sibling's ribcage and made a face.

"I own you now, you know. I saved you from being beaten and you know it," he teased.

Kuzih knew. It wasn't the first time his brother had scooped him up from the clenches of disaster. Hopefully it would not be the last time, either.

"What trouble are you in now?"

He grinned.

"I am not in trouble. I was hiding and don't want them to know where, so I said something chased me."

"A large cat?"

Kuzih thought for a moment.

"Perfect!"

The pair nodded at one another as they prepared yet one more tale for unsuspecting minds.