Chapter 1333: Chapter 1333
In early October, the fleet of the Kingdom set sail again from North Port on the southern bank of the Columbia River. By now, the entire fleet had been reduced to two longships with a crew of one hundred. Stationed at North Port, however, were two longships, a dozen canoes, one hundred Samurai sailors, and over one hundred tribespeople.
Before officially departing, Exploration Captain Zuwaro found an opportunity to carefully instruct the two Preaching Priests, Tu Shan and Tu He. These two priests came from a background of commoners, or more precisely, they were orphaned commoners raised by the Kingdom. In the Kingdom of the Lake, there were many orphaned commoners being brought up in this way. Their sole allegiance lay with the Kingdom Priesthood and the exploration fleet that adhered to Divine Revelation. In Zuwaro’s heart, he trusted these two more than some of the other noble descendants.
"Chief Divine bless, remember what I say! The situation around this rivermouth is very complex, but also holds many opportunities... you need to grasp with both hands, one hard, one soft. Sometimes hard, sometimes soft. Some places hard, some places soft... do you understand?"
"Ha! What do you understand?"
"Hard means weapons, soft means leather armor."
The sturdy priest Tu Shan scratched his head and seriously replied.
"Chief Divine witnesses! We use strong weapons to face the challenges from hostile tribes, and soft leather armor to protect those tribes willing to submit!"
Exploration Captain Zuwaro pondered for a moment and nodded. It seemed Tu Shan was more suited to manage the military affairs of the settlement. He then looked at the other priest.
"Tu He, what do you say?"
"Uh... soft is the tongue, telling the tribespeople in the camp. They are our brothers, they are protected by us, and they should believe in the Chief Divine... As for the hard..."
The tall and thin Tu He chuckled and replied in a low voice.
"Marrying women of the tribes... and if there are troublemakers among the hunters, deal with them!... Boss, you taught us all this..."
Exploration Captain Zuwaro rubbed his temples, his expression slightly unnatural. He quickly glanced at Miki and softly spoke.
"Watch your limits! In this wilderness of the Northern Land, every follower of the Chief Divine is precious... After I leave, you manage civil affairs, Tu Shan manages military affairs, work well together! Chief Divine bless!"
"Understood, boss! Chief Divine bless!..."
The two longships sailed into the waves of the Northern Land, watched by the crowd onshore. The autumn of October remained bright, but traces of winter’s cold had already appeared. Trees by the shore shed their leaves, turning yellow and withered, while the mountains turned a solemn tawny color. The fleet traveled three hundred miles and arrived at a prominent bay. Settled on the inner side of the bay were the Chehalis people.
The language of the Chehalis people belonged to the not widely distributed Salishan language family. Unfortunately, no one in the fleet spoke or understood it. Therefore, when the Chehalis fishing boats approached for mutual greeting and exchange, both sides were puzzled. However, Scholar Mikki, through repeated gestures and introductions by the other party, discerned the name of their tribe.
"Chálali? Xialali? Uh, pointing at the river’s surface, then at themselves... This river is also called Xialali River, Xia He?... Then you are the Xia He tribe?..."
Scholar Mikki, through guesses and deductions, roughly figured out the name of this tribe. Next came the practiced gift-giving sessions. First, he offered a Copper Dagger, letting the fishermen guide the fleet to the tribe. Then, he gifted Tribe Chief Xia He a Bronze Axe, who in return, offered a white reindeer hide. Indeed, by this point, traces of North American reindeer could occasionally be found here, indicating that the white Far North land was getting closer!
"Hi-yo-hey! Ah-yee-ah-ah-hey!... The Great River flows from the distant Great Lake, the Great Lake was dug by the massive Ancestral Whale... The body of the Ancestral Whale transformed into the rushing Xia He; the bones of the Ancestral Whale became the wide river channel; the tears of the Ancestral Whale are the waters of the Great Lake... And our ancestors came from the Great Lake... Where is the Great Lake? It’s to the east and to the north, there are countless lakes, and countless fish..."
Summer is the season of harvest and also the time for celebration. The fleet stayed with the Xia He tribe for two days, replenishing some smoked fish, venison, and berries and just in time for the Chehalis people’s Fish Festival ceremony. This was an important tribal ceremony as well as a vital celebration, with nearly all of the seven to eight hundred tribe members participating. The fleet was also invited to join the ceremony.
"Xia He rushes, the Ancestor Spirit’s soul blesses the tribe, right in this flowing water! The salmon swim, the great spirit brings food, also bringing the tribe’s vitality!..." The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel-fire.ɴet
Tribe Chief Xia He, wearing only a cloth wrap and bare-chested, jumped and sang powerfully by the riverbank, his voice loud like a Thunderbolt. The strongest hunters and fishermen of the tribe lined up by the riverside. Then, to Scholar Mikki’s amazement, Tribe Chief Xia He shouted something, and over a hundred young strong men plunged into the river all at once!
"Come now! More fish, arriving in this fat season of autumn, await to be captured by warriors!... Go! Strong young lads, whoever catches the first fish of the festival will be the tribe’s fisherman!..."
Tribe Chief Xia He watched the churning river with a smile. Around a hundred young tribesmen thrashed about vigorously in the Great River, catching fish with bare hands. Meanwhile, the women and the old and young of the tribe stared wide-eyed at the bare-chested men in the water.