THE SKINWALKER'S SON
PWAU'S MOTHER SUPPOSEDLY DIED THE DAY HE WAS BORN so the only parent he knew was his father Mesachie, who possessed the status of village chieftain by marriage, and because the people were afraid. Mesachie was a powerful shaman and many members of the tribe suspected he was even a skinwalker.
That is to say, everything they thought of him was true. Chief Mesachie was was a skinwalker. He was dark and terrible, like smoke from a lightning fire, like a cloud of hot ash. He sucked the life-breath from people's bodies just by being near them. People were also afraid of his familiars, a crow with clipped wings, a beaver with no teeth, and a bear without claws, who reported to him all their conversations and doings.
While the chief was evil, his son Pwau was the opposite.
Pwau was soft and kind-hearted, warm like the summer, with eyes like the stars and hair like the night. But because they feared the chieftain so much no one dared to speak with him let alone spend any time with the boy. Pwau spent most of his days doing chores, stoking the fire, and caring for his father's animal familiars.
Instead of learning the ways of his father, Pwau learned his own ways. He mended the crow's wings with found feathers. He ground fresh twigs, bark, and water lilies into paste for the beaver. He carved new claws and wove them into mittens for the bear.
The time came when Chief Mesachie felt the pangs of old age in his back and knees. While he gathered plants and mushrooms in the field, he found that he could not walk as far or as fast. He bent by the pond for water and saw his wrinkled visage, his ashen hair, and cloudy eyes. Chief Mesachie had always envied the youth and vigor of his son Pwau and so, devised a plan to kill him and wear his skin like a hide.
The animals overheard Chief Mesachie's dark thoughts and alerted Pwau at once who took to the woods and ran.
Chief Mesachie son returned, and when he did not see Pwau, kicked cinders from the dying fire at the crow. “Why did you not stop my son?”
The crow lay there choking, “You would have me crippled, and then Pwau took care of me.”
In a rage, Chief Mesachie wrung the crow's neck.
He came to the river, and when he did not see any signs of Pwau, kicked sand at the beaver. “Why did you not stop my son?”
The beaver lay there gasping,“You would have me crippled, and then Pwau took care of me.”
In a rage, Chief Mesachie smashed the beaver's head against a stone.
He arrived at the edge of the forest, and when he could not find Pwau's trail, hurled a log at the bear. “Why did you not stop my son?”
The bear lay there, groaning, “You would have me crippled, and then Pwau took care of me.”
In a rage, Chief Mesachie kicked the bear until it died.
The old skinwalker was relentless in his search and chased Pwau all the way to the edge of the world where the boy was stopped by rocky cliffs.
There, Pwau jumped into the ocean and joined a pod of seven whales.
In a rage, Chief Mesachie jumped too, having forgotten that he had killed all of his familiars. He did not have the crow's lightness, he did not have the beaver's buoyancy, or the bear's strength. He fell, tumbled across the rocks, and died.