CHAPTER 24

Summary

Tainor and Lurai, the birds whose wings Karana had clipped, raised a family in the tree where they were born. Again, Karana clipped their wings and they also became tame.

Karana also had a gull that she rescued when she found that it had a broken leg. Tainor and Lurai and their offspring, along with the gull and Rontu were Karana's family.

Karana found Mon-a-nee again and discovered that Mon-a-nee was a female and that she had two babies. She renamed her Won-a-nee, the feminine version of Mon-a-nee. She spent time with Won-a-nee and her family and enjoyed watching Mon-anee teach her family to lay abalones on their chests and crack them open using rocks.

After this time Karana never killed another otter. She never killed another cormorant or seal or wild dog or sea elephant.

Notes

As Karana's relationships with animals grew, so did her aversion to killing. And this aversion extended even to those animals with whom she did not develop any close personal relationship, such as the sea elephants and seals.

CHAPTER 25

Summary

The Aleuts never returned. But, at the time, Karana did not know whether or not they would return, so she was prepared. For many years the otters were also prepared in their own way. Each summer the otters were led away to Tall Rock by the older otters who remembered the massacre.

Finally, one summer Rontu died. This was the same summer that Karana stopped keeping track of the moons. And, that same summer, the otters finally did not leave. Karana thought that this was because those who remembered the massacre were by that time all gone.

Late that summer, Rontu went to the cave where he had lived before joining Karana. She found him there and stayed with him that night. The next day he died. She buried him in a crevice which she enlarged for two days. She covered him with pebbles of many colors.

Notes

Rontu seems to have died of old age. Considering the life he lived, it seems that he was lucky to have lived so long.

CHAPTER 26

Summary

The following winter, an especially sad one for Karana, she made four snares. She hoped to snare a dog she had seen who appeared to be Rontu's son. She did snare some of the wild dogs, but not the one she wanted to snare. Then, Karana remembered a weed that her people put in water to incapacitate fish. She put some of this weed into the spring from which the wild dogs drank. It did not work. Again, Karana searched her memory. She remembered a drink that the men of her tribe made using ground up sea shells and wild tobacco. She put out a big bowl of the stuff mixed with water and waited. This time she was successful. The dog she wanted was among those who passed out after drinking the water. She carried him home and tied him up. She chose an obvious name for him, Rontu-Aru, which means Son of Rontu. They quickly became friends and Karana was again happy. But, she still thought about Tutok, and also about Ulape.

Notes

The members of Karana's tribe help her, even though they are no longer with her.