Northwind

The raucous noise of bird calls awakens Leif, and he worries the birds are signaling that a predator is nearby. Leif is starving and knows he must leave the island in search of food. Taking one last look at Little Carl’s Cairn, Leif paddles away northward. He searches for a place to land where the water is shallow enough for fishing, but the craggy coastline makes his search difficult. He spots a low-hanging branch filled with blackberries, and after paddling over, he begins eating them by the fistful. Leif eats until he worries that he will be sick, and as that thought arises, he hears the familiar sound of a black bear. The sight of the bear turns his stomach, as he remembers all the terrifying things he has learned about the aggressive nature of bears. Old Carl taught Leif about the different species of bears, always insisting that “nothing was worse than an angry bear” (64). Some people even claim that bears are just like humans. Fortunately, the bear walks away, and Leif paddles on despite working against the current.

Soon Leif sees a shallow inlet, an ideal place to camp.