Nature Power. Harry Robinson

PART ONE YOU GOT TO HAVE POWER

YOU THINK IT’S A STUMP, BUT THAT’S MY GRANDFATHER

       Left alone by his father, his uncles and the other hunters, a boy finds himself singing with another young boy and his grandfather beside a smooth stump.

      Sash-AP-kin.

      That’s his Indian name.

      White people call is Shash-ap-KANE.

      That means “Smooth Stump.”

      Supposing if—now here’s this—

      that’s the stump right there.

      And underneath the stump was washed out

      and washed out,

      and then there’s kind of hole underneath.

      The roots look like that.

      And it’s kind of—the chipmunk or anything can get under that.

      And this stump was a standing in the place

      where this snow slide at every year.

      But, they must’ve grow there a long, long time.

      But maybe not sliding place at that time.

      But somehow, when the earthquake and the rocks was sliding,

      and they open up like—

      and when the snow comes

      and after that slide every year.

      But this tree was growing there right where the slide goes.

      But hit by a big stone and broke.

      But only stump—so high.

      The stump is still there.

      It turn into a hard wood, more like a pitch.

      Then everytime when they had a snowslide,

      it was always mixed with rocks and things, you know.

      Then the rocks, the small rocks, they hit them

      and—just like they resting or something.

      And they smooth.

      Just smooth, but stump.

      And underneath, they kind of washed.

      And there was kind of hole underneath.

      But right in the steep hill

      and the place was like that.

      That’s where the snow slide every year.

      And Sash-AP-kin, he was just a young,

      about ten years old, eleven years old,

      something like that.

      And he was left there by the hunter.

      His dad, and the other hunters, they tell ’em,

      “You stay here.

      You wait here.

      It’s too far for you to walk.

      You stay ’round here.

      We can hunt that way, make a turn

      and a circle,

      and then we come back.

      Towards evening we come by

      and then you can go back with us to the camp.”

      You know, they tell ’em lies to leave ’em there.

      Just like George Jim.

      Yeah.

      So the older people, his dad and his uncle and the others,

      they thought they going to leave him there by himself.

      Maybe some animal, maybe bird or something,

      they might met them.

      And talk to ’em.

      So he can be power man.

      They think—but they didn’t tell ’em.

      They just tell ’em,

      “You, you might get tired if you go along.

      You too young.

      You going to get tired.

      You stay here and we hunt.

      We come back and then you can go back with us to the camp.”

      So he thinks,

      “Well, that’s good enough,

      because that’s too far.

      I get tired if I go along.”

      So he satisfied to be there alone.

      So these other people went.

      But he’s left there all by himself.

      So finally, he looked around and he go down that way

      where he could see that the nice and smooth.

      Quite a ways.

      Where the snow slide.

      But this was in the summer—no snow.

      So he looked that place

      and then he could see that stump,

      quite a ways down.

      So he thought,

      “Maybe I go and see that.

      Looks like a rock or looks like a stump or something.

      Maybe I go down there and take a look.”

      So he went down and he come to this stump.

      Before he get too close,

      and he looked.

      By God, that stump was just as smooth,

      just like somebody rub it nice and smooth.

      And they go little ways.

      Looked around.

      Then they see the chipmunk.

      Running from little ways.

      And they run to get under that stump.

      Because it’s high from the ground

      and they get under that.

      He pick up a stick,

      and he thought he go over there

      and is going to make a fun with that chipmunk.

      He put the stick underneath, you know.

      He going to scare ’em out of there

      and then he’s going to make ’em run away.

      Or else, he’s going to make fun.

      When he get there,

      and he get the stick,

      and they puts the stick under the stump, you know,

      to try to get the chipmunk out of that.

      But, the first thing they do,

      the chipmunk, it get out of that stump on the other side.

      But he get up.

      And there was another boy, like him.

      Just a boy, just like him.

      Get out of the stump and he stand up.

      Was another boy.

      And