Ice Pack Crossing

The ice pack held tight the vessels of the tall ones, and work on their oyster grounds was now impossible.  Yet, for the Nubbins this was a chance to use the frozen pack as a quick way to reach the large raft of white-winged scoters or Melanits, as they call them, which fed on mussels in the waters just beyond the point.  The Melanits were prey of many hunters this year, for it was a very hard winter.  Thus, the little men set out to warn them of the tall ones who laid in wait in their blinds.  

Travel across such ice would surely be unsafe for humans, but Nubbins are very light, and have the ability to leap great distances from a standing position, thus they can jump from ice flow to ice flow, using them as stepping stones.  One also needs to remember that most of these little people have been gifted with the ability to run at a very high speeds, thus they can actually dash across the top of open water if need be, but this ability is rarely called upon, and it is not known how many of them can do this.

Hantar led the group in the pre-dawn, dim light quickly moving from ice block to ice block, and soon all had crossed the upper harbor and were on the beach just below the great island.  As they walked along they found that the ice had scrapped up oyster clusters and deposited them along the rack line during the last tide. Younger members of the clan were instructed to search amongst the ice piles and gather up these oysters, so they could be stored and used later in the winter.  Discovering this unforeseen bounty was considered a gift of the great one; thus these oysters would be eaten at a future celebration meal. 

When they reached the point, they found the Melanits close to shore.  Hantar waved to them, and a large group of these sea ducks swam in to greet him.  Hantar spoke to them in a wavering whistle, and brought news of the tall ones, who hunted nearby, and warned them to stay here south of the bay.  The ducks flapped their wings, signaling they understood, and swam off to continue feeding.

The little men then headed back along the western beach, the upper reaches of which were scoured for useful debris and “special finds.”  A large number of brightly colored Pecten (Bay scallop) shells were found, and this delighted the party, for these shells were highly prized, especially the orange-red ones.  Satchels were filled with the shells and the group then picked up their pace as the sun was just about to rise.  They crossed the dune field where the headlands met the marsh and wound their way along the deer trail up into the woods and back to the valley.