Indecision flooded supreme as Draino took another peek, carefully searching the wide river, for the canoes new location. To him, white man on this steamy God forsaken river meant possible civilization and freedom. He peeked through the rubber fronds at the three men in the large canoe, as the little motor struggled to fight the wide muddy current. When he turned to see the reactions of the natives, beside him, they had gone. They had simply vanished! It was apparent they had no use for the white man.
Tosh came forward silently, almost materializing from the humid jungle. They both watched, as the long canoe disappeared around a bend up river. A large white Egret few low across the wide river behind the boat, croaking out indignant grunts at the passers by. They were dressed as, loggers or miners, but he sensed a bad feel about them. He wasn’t in shape enough yet to run, or fend them off, if they turned out to be hostile. If he saw one white man, he’ see more, he reckoned.
After their passing, Tosh, using a heavy vine lowered himself into the water, and motioned to Draino to do likewise. ‘Fuck, I do stink, and if I can’t stand it, then I’m sure they can’t. He tested a nearby vine and felt it sufficient enough to take his weight. He removed his boots and socks. Left his pants on to wash and carefully lowered himself into the tepid muddy waters.
He tried to keep water from wetting his forest bandages but slipping a few times on the creepy river bottom began loosening and dissipating the strange hardened cast around his chest. Every touch below the surface of stick or branch, was a snake trying to bite his feet, or behind every bush was a leopard. He could never feel at ease, or relax, the exact opposite of these supposedly ignorant people. After only a few minutes, in the balmy waters, he still found the dip refreshing.
Freedom still prevailed in his mind, this negative experience had at the very least, had given him some hope. They must have come from somewhere down river, a small town perhaps. Maybe even his parents were there? His mind raced with questions and possibilities. There was no doubt however, of the reactions of his new native friends. They feared the white men, even hated them. Draino found them very hard to read, they didn’t wear their emotions on there non-existent sleeves.
Most of all he wondered where he was. He knew he was below the equator some where because he couldn’t recognize any of the constellations. That hung above him in brightly dense clusters at night. The stars were their major evening pastime, apart from story telling. He knew nothing of these terrestrial things, but he new the big dipper when he saw it, and it was nowhere to be found. What bothered him immensely was that he didn’t know the day or time? He hadn’t realized how much those insignificant little things mattered to him?
Without warning Tosh began quickly pulling himself back up to the landing and scrambled up the muddy bank. He disappeared, before he even realized what was happening. His first though was Parana, and he spun around madly searching the surface, then he heard the faint sound of a motor again. The two young naked men reappeared, and began pulling him in, motioning for him to move faster. Then yanked and pulled his bulk from the river. Sending him crashing into the steamy under-story.
The pain in his chest was horrendous but is interest in the white man trumped his pain. He could hear the boat approaching, and as it passed, he peeked up to see only the little native man, with the red feather Toto at the tiller. ‘Fuck, they must have landed less than a few miles up river. If that?’ He thought. With no weight on board, and flowing with the current, the canoe was gone down river in seconds. He shuttered realizing how much of a close call that was and wondered why Tosh hadn’t warned him.
The two men along with tosh, appeared with large leaves full of dripping river mud, looking at him with indifference, perhaps even disdain at his uselessness. Draino looked up at them wondering what they were doing, until Tosh pointed with his foot toward his bandages. He arose realizing that he was only a sick animal that they had to heal, and that there wasn’t anything else going on. He was living on borrowed time.
However, Draino felt real friendship with Tosh, but he could see now these men were only doing as they were told, and nothing more. He could see that they were guarding and watching out for him, reluctantly and from a distance. He chuckled when he thought perhaps is was because he stank. But was later to learn it was a lot more than just that.
Returning to the huts in the clearing, the old man directed them to leave the mud on a blanket of leaves he’d prepared beside the fire pit. They left and later returned with more. Natty motioned for him to sit beside the pile of mud. He then spread out the mud and sprinkled a good pound of grayish looking powder or ash over the mud. He then told Tosh to mix it with his feet. Something Tosh relished doing, almost like a kid getting to lick the icing bowl.
For the first time, the naked old woman appeared, dressed only in a skimpy swede looking loin cloth. Her tits were long a shrived. She said something to the old man, then presented Draino with his daily bowl of mush, and some sort of fruit he’d never seen before. She gave him a brilliant white smile, with the teeth of a twenty-year-old girl. To witch he bowed and thanked her for. She walked away unresponsive, cackling under her breath joyfully, like someone who had just given him poison?
Natty, began chanting over his weird concoction, as Tosh looking like a Greek grape crusher, danced about macerating the mushy pile. Then abruptly stopped. Shortly before three middle aged men appeared from know where, at the far end of the clearing. One being the potbellied giant, still carrying the iron tipped spear. The other two carried Blow guns and a large dead monkey between them. They also wore the red feathered Totos, similar to the one the pygmy in the boat wore. Tosh immediately stopped what he was doing, and ran with muddy feet to greet them as they crossed the clearing.
Draino realized that this area must be the old mans, because this place couldn’t support all the people he’d been seeing. They must have a village somewhere hidden he thought? Natty joined them, and they all had a pow-wow, over by his hut. He knew it was about him, because of their periodically glancing over at him? Tosh started screaming at them at one point, banging at one with his little fists like a little girl. And was swatted at, which embarrassed him more than hurt. Shutting him up fast.
‘I guess I’ve over stayed my welcome,’ he thought? With another mouth to feed, especially one that can’t help the community. They must be pissed? The old man, and Tosh, waked back over and Natty knelt beside him, continuing his chanting where he’d left off. Draino thought about trying to locate the white men, until he was motioned to lay back. Tosh continued to stomp the mud pile, but now with much less energy. Natty would grab little handfuls of mud and test them from time to time. It was then Draino noticed bits of tinfoil in the dusty cool embers of the fire-pit. “White men had been here before?
Natty instructed Tosh to start adding little rolled strips of mud, length-ways around his chest and back. He’d rolled each one carefully and paid much attention to this. Until they reach all around him like a girls tube top. Within a short time, he could feel the drying mud contract, and tighten around his chest, in the intense sun. Greatly supporting his painful lung. What he found odd was that the jungle cast didn’t restrict his movements but moved and gave like a tensor bandage. Theses ignorant forest people were far beyond anything civilized medicine could dream up.
Draino figured Natty was some sort of witch-doctor, available to many tribes, because he could see the difference in their dress, culture and language. This clearing must be some sort of no-mans land, A hands off sacred area available to anyone in need? A kind of embassy, and that everyone was in scripted into helping a hurt or sick person, no matter what their personal beliefs dictated. What was going to happen to him after he was well again, was anybody’s guess?
Draino pointed to the red feathered get-up the two men were wearing and motioned with his arms around his waste that he was interested in their Totos. Then pointed towards the river. Tosh looked at him bewildered. He though he might start monitoring the river, and since his body guards had no choice but to follow, he decided now was a good time as any to start. He also decided to learn their language, even if it was just rudimentary.
He hobbled to his feet and bowed a thank you. The old man must have understood and nodded your welcome. Draino started heading in the direction of the river, trying to get used to his new cast. Tosh followed him with his eyes. But as soon as he began entering the jungle, Tosh ran to him and started pulling on his arm. Draino ignored him, but suddenly his two body guards stepped out blocking his path. The message was, dummies and babies shouldn’t go into the jungle.
He turned around and decided for now to do it their way. On the way back, Draino pointed to a heavy bamboo looking pole, they were using to prop up a drying stand. He touched the pole, and looking at Tosh, said “Pole! pole.” Tosh stood wondering for a second, then replied “Dorgee.”
“Dorgee,” repeated Draino? Tosh nodded his head, and repeated, “Pole. Pole.” Draino, thinking he might as well teach the boy English while they’re at it?
“Pole.” replied Tosh smiling. In his strange dialect. Draino wondered what he sounded like to them. This carried on for the rest of the day, until neither one was retaining anything. With in a month he could understand basic commands of their language. Draino realized early that Tosh was learning far better, and much faster then him. Draino could go to the river to sit a bathe, and he always took this opportunity to stall. Hoping to see more activity and more white man. Besides it was one-degree cooler there, and one degree made a big difference there. Tosh and his body guards became more and more annoyed at this tactic because one never stayed in one place long in the jungle. Draino took some weird delight in seeing them stressed.
Dan Ger
