Kushtakas? Maybe.

We have often wondered about our two offspring - strange little alien creatures that they are. Maybe in fact they are shape changers that seem perfectly normal one minute, crazy and wild the next. It has taken some time, but now we have the beginning of a theory. Time will tell.

As we flew over the LeConte Glacier and stared down at the ancient blue ice, all of us were a little excited. The place below us was not a normal place. The clouds around us hid some ancient secrets about adventure, riches, fear, and even death. Scott, our pilot, banked the Havelin Beaver left and right in circles above the glacier and the bay it has been creating over many thousands of years. We are not sure what kind of creatures could live down there. We did see seals with their pups on the ice field. A pod of orcas in Fredrick Sound was headed toward the seals for some easy pickings. Knock a few pups off the ice and you've got a fine lunch. The Stikine River is nearby and we safely saw big, big bears from the beaver (interesting name for an airplane). Grizzlies eating berries while they patiently wait for the salmon runs to arrive. 

Then Scott told us about another creature, the Kushtaka. He said "you may already be one." When we got back to Petersburg, a quick AI search gave me this....

The Kushtaka (also spelled Kooshdakhaa, Koosh-taka, or Kushtahkah) is a legendary shapeshifting being from the Tlingit and Tsimshian traditions of Alaska’s Pacific coast. Literally meaning “land otter man” in Tlingit, it is a creature that can transform between human and otter forms, often appearing in coastal and inland waters.

The Kushtaka: Mysterious Land Otter Spirits & Shamanic Warnings in Alaskan Folklore

There are many stories about the Kushtaka. Sometimes they use the cries of human infants or loved ones to lure eager adventurers into wild dangerous places. They seem especially interested in those who wander a bit too far from home. I think we qualify.

Anyway.... on Tuesday we loaded up Iolair and first spent the day exploring the LeConte Glacier by water. Later that evening we anchored in Thomas Bay, just one bay north of the glacier. Thomas Bay is also known as the Bay of Death. An entire Tlingit village was wiped out by a landslide right here in the late 1800's. You never know when your last moment may come. Today, visitors to the bay tell of strange ghostly sounds and eerie events. A journal from the early 1900's, "The Strangest Story Ever Told," tells of several adventurous gold prospectors that ran into some trouble in Thomas Bay. Over several different trips to the bay, men returned consumed with fear. Some described creatures near a cresent-shaped lake just up the Patterson River. A couple of these fellows did not even want to talk about it when they returned to the small nearby town of Wrangell. They simply left behind all their belongings and fled Alaska for good. And so it goes when the Kushtaka show themselves.

We built a fire in the wood stove and it rained all night in the "Bay of Death." The next morning, I took Jay to shore for a "do your duty" walk. Zac did some fishing. Nan and Kelly enjoyed the warm fire. And at some point, Chris went for an adventure in the dinghy. During our moments of isolation, who knows what was waiting in the mist. 

Chris motored up the Patterson River by himself, watching eagles and looking for bears. Suddenly he was surrounded by little creatures ... seals? otters? Kushtaka? He was alone, and says he turned the boat around quickly and came back to Iolair. But maybe he was lured to a Kushtaka?

Now we are left wondering, is it really Chris? Is he a shape changer? His brother has been acting equally strange for the past few days. Catching a fish so large we never saw it. Jay is always acting strange, but today he and Nan have been so cuddly. Kelly and I crawled out onto an iceberg like a couple of seals. Maybe we shouldn't roam in the woods alone. Are we all Kushtakas? Too late now.