This evening I cannot stop stewing over it. Is this such a matter of urgency that a soldier must be sent to my door? Again and again, I rehearse in my mind what I will say to the general and his wife tomorrow, and the words I will dish up to Mrs Connor next I see her. For heaven’s sake, the cabin is to be destroyed next summer! What does it matter what I do to it? If necessary, I will pay for any damages, and reinstall the door and shelves myself if need be, even if it is just in time for them to knock it down. Beyond that, what I do with my time is my business and mine alone.
Evelyn informed me with great amusement just the other day that I am the talk of the ladies’ teas, that Mrs Connor has made it clear that she finds my activities unwholesome, even wicked, and she didn’t think the General would approve of the “injury” I had done to the house. Mrs Whithers apparently defends me as much as she is able and says she would like to see my photographs, but she wonders how interesting they could be considering I point my lens only at trees and shrubs.
It is all an incredible annoyance! Why do any of them care how I spend my hours? I certainly have absolutely no interest in their daily comings and goings.
I say this, however: I will not be bullied, General or no General.
Vancouver Barracks, Washington, Circa 1880
Lieut. Col. Allen Forrester
June 16, 1885
Kulgadzi Lake
We have survived the lake & the fiend it holds, although Tillman’s leg is badly injured.
The dog was skittish from the start, reluctant to even board the canoe.
We left shore around 6 this morning in a cool mist. The lake was dead calm. For some distance out, the water remained shallow so that our paddles scraped the bottom. At about 100 yards from shore, the depth abruptly fell out from beneath us so that even when Tillman thrust the paddle & his arm directly down, he could not strike bottom.
In the stillness of the morning, we heard only the dripping of water from our paddles, one of us occasionally clearing our throats. As we hit our rhythm, the canoes gained speed. Our vessels were well matched in weight & strength?—?Pruitt rode with me, while Tillman & Nat’aaggi carried the dog in their canoe. It seemed feasible that we would make it across the lake within an hour or two.
Tillman noticed the dog’s sudden alertness. At first it only lifted its head, pricked up its ears. Then came its low growl.
?—?Christ! Will you look at that? Tillman said.
The fur along Boyo’s back stood on end. The dog growled again, then began to bark sharply towards some distant place in the middle of the lake.
Pruitt whispered a curse.
That’s when I saw it?—?a large V sliced through the waves, as if an invisible canoe was propelled towards us.
I suggested it was perhaps a beaver or muskrat.
?—?That’s one hell of a rodent, Tillman said without humor. He took out his rifle, began to load it.
The form seemed to quicken its advance, but as it neared within a few hundred yards of our canoes, it abruptly changed direction, began to circle us at that distance.
In the gray depths, I could not determine anything of its shape. When it surfaced, we could see that its length was greater than our two canoes end to end. Nat’aaggi shouted with alarm. She & Tillman began to paddle quickly back towards shore.
?—?Don’t, I said. —?It may only rouse its interest. Let’s just sit.
I did not yet realize how near the beast was. Just then, it struck our canoe with such force as to nearly capsize us.
It must have dove, for it disappeared, then resurfaced on the far side of the other canoe. Again its long back was barely visible, but we could see that its skin was smooth, mottled green and black. No apparent ridges, fins, or limbs.
?—?Paddle! I commanded.
Nat’aaggi & Tillman were making quick progress towards shore. Our own canoe, however, faced the wrong direction. For a few strokes, Pruitt & I worked at odds to each other, until we were at last able to turn about.
We were still several boat lengths behind the others when the creature struck our vessel again. We were overturned, both of us thrown into the cold water.
I descended several feet below the surface. My ears filled with the rush of water. I could see nothing beyond dull gray on all sides. The glacial coldness seized my muscles, so that I could not even let the air from my lungs.
Though muffled by the water, I heard what I took for a cry from Pruitt. I gained my senses, swam upward, surfaced with a gasp. That was when I first felt contact. Cold skin, smooth as if without scales. Large enough to shove me aside with its weight.
Pruitt tried to hold to the canoe as it filled with water. When the creature rose to attack him, for a brief moment I saw its head. A prehistoric beast, with a wide, flat skull & a bill-like mouth.
We gained a brief advantage when the creature instead went for the canoe. For what seemed like several minutes, it thrashed with the canoe in its mouth as it tried to drag it under.
Tillman & Nat’aaggi paddled their canoe to our aid. The two reached Pruitt first, just as the creature again came near the surface. Nat’aaggi beat at it with her paddle. Pruitt grabbed on to the side of their canoe but lacked the strength to pull himself aboard. His weight upon the side threatened to overturn it.