Most ever mountain man what cum about started whenst they was yung an wandered from the city places what they lived in afor.  Once to the mountains they wud do sumpin or other an sudden would end up bein called by a name what wasn’t the one theys kin called em.  Understand all that?  Well this hear story is bout Ol Tracker, as we is callin him, but his ma called him “Ora”, cuz that was what was his midle name whenst he was bornd.

Ol Tracker was at the rondeevoo an we wuz talkin about old times and tellin stories on each other an stuff.  The night was calm, and the cracklin o that council fire was nice.  We wuz all snuggled up in our capotes and ever one had a cool drink in they’s hands.   It was nice.  Tracker decided we needed ta hear bout a fire he had started sum time back up in the North country.  We don’t have that kind o wood here so, he perceded ta tell us sum bout it.

It be called Alder wood he said.  I ain’t never heared of it, but sum had, and nun of us nowed anything bout it, cept Tracker.  Seems this hear wood needs copper an other mineral ta grow good in.  An up ta the north where Tracker had been was loaded with copper nuff ta make a new pot fer coffee ever morning.

The Alder bushes growed like trees, with big branches and tall like ta climb and look out over a million miles of ground.  It must be real perty up there.  Sum day even I is gonna git there ta see that.  Anywho, he goes on ta tell, that when the Alder grows it sucks the copper up inta the wood sort o like the water soaks up our birchwood boats.  The copper then does stays in the wood and when you make a fire frum the dry stuff, it makes a perty fire like no other.

Right then, when he told us bout it, he jumped up and went ta his camp an brung out a piece that was stuck into a dragged moose he had dragged outa there one time awhile back.  He throwed that stick onto the council fire, and low and behold, sure as I’m standing right here right now an No Grimace is standin over there, an Wapiti Dung is where he is at, that ol fire started sizzlin an poppin an cumin ta life like no budy dun ever seed befor.  It put off a spark o flame what beat anythin we had seed to this day.  The color of the fire flames turned frum yeller, ta orange mixed with purple an blue and red an green an sweetlake an the bear river all mixed up like a concoction what do you think bout that?

WOW!  An that’s not all, it burned like that while we sat with our mouths agap fer pertnear two solid hours!  My mouth was powerful dry time it died down nuff fer my sences ta cum back, an I drank my whole cup right then.

Ol Tracker went on ta say, that whenst he was draggin that big ol moose down frum the north, that he had ta build a purty big fire usin nutin but Alder branches an that he figgered by the color of the fire that maybe the God’s had dun called his number an was showin him the light.  He was complet surrounded by Gizz Bars an Woofs an Woffmarines an figured they wud have him perty soon.  He was skeert sum an kept puttin on more wood an keepin that fire growin bigger an bigger.

Whilst his hors pulled the moose closer to rondeevoo for him, he just kept puttin on more and more wood until the entire sky waz lighted up an the clouds was taken on the color of the flames.  It was a very skeery time fur Tracker, but he made it down to rondeevoo in due time an figured that he had beet the Gods, cuz he wuz still with us.

Well, we sat ther and enjoyed sum more of that council fire and then someone noticed the color of the sky ta the north.  It was the same as the colors of our council fire!  Sure nuff!  Orange, blu, green, yellow, purple, sweetwater an bear all mixed up !!!!  It danced from cloud to cloud and made us all a bit skittish, but at the same time it was perty and we soon started ta enjoy the pertyness of it all.

Now I dun seed this several times since then, an frum my recollect, Trackers huge fire sum time back must have permanent done sumpin ta the clouds an sky particulars that keep cummin back year after year.  When I see them, I recall Trackers story over an over and we dun call the sky like that “Ora’s Borealous”.

Bears Butt

04/05/2006