Our story this week is called "The God of His Fathers." It was writtenby Jack London in the year nineteen-oh-one. Here is Shep O'Neal withthe story. (MUSIC).
Storyteller: Silently the wolves circled the herd of caribou deer.
Gray bellies close to the ground, the wolves in the pack surrounded apregnant deer. They pulled her down and tore out her throat. The restof the caribou herd raced off in a hundred directions. The wolvesbegan to feed. Once again the Alaska territory was the scene of silentdeath. Here, in its ancient forests, the strong had killed the weakfor thousands and thousands of years. Small groups of Indians alsolived in this land at the rainbow's end. But their Stone Age life wasending. Strange men with blond hair and blue eyes had discovered thelands of the North. The Indian chiefs ordered their warriors to fightthem. Stone arrow met steel bullet. The Indians could not stop thestrangers. The White men conquered the icy rivers in light canoes.
They broke through the dark forests and climbed the rocky mountains.
One of these men sat in front of a tent, near a river. His name wasHay Stockard. Over the smoke and flames of his fire, he watched anIndian village not far from his own camp. From inside his tent camethe cry of a sick child, and the gentle answering song of its mother.
But the man was not concerned now with them. He was thinking ofBaptiste the Red, the chief of the Indian village, who had just lefthim. "We do not want you here," Baptiste had told him. "If we permityou to sit by our fires, after you will come your church, your priestsand your God." Baptiste the Red hated the White man's God. His fatherhad been an Englishman; his mother, the daughter of an Indian chief.
Baptiste had been raised among White men. When Baptiste was a youngman he fell in love with a Frenchman's daughter, but her fatheropposed the marriage. A Christian priest refused to marry them. SoBaptiste took the girl into the forests. They went to live among hismother's people. A year later, the girl died while giving birth to herfirst child. Baptiste took the baby back to live among the Whitepeople. For many years he lived in peace with them, as his daughtergrew up -- tall and beautiful. One night, while Baptiste was away, aWhite man broke into their home and killed the girl. When Baptisteasked for justice, he was told the White man's God forgives all sins.
So Baptiste killed his daughter's murderer with his own hands, andreturned forever to his mother's people. "I have sworn to make anyWhite man who comes to my village deny his God if he wants to live,"he told Hay Stockard. "But since you are the first, I will not do thisif you go and go quickly." "And if I stay?" Hay Stockard had askedquietly as he filled his pipe. "Then soon you will meet your God, yourbad God, the God of the White man!" The Indian chief rose to his feetand left Hay Stockard's camp to return to his village. The nextmorning Hay Stockard watched with angry eyes as three men in a longcanoe came to the river bank. Two of the men were Indian. The third, aWhite man, wore a bright red cloth around his head. Hay Stockardreached for his gun, and then changed his mind. As soon as the canoelanded, the White man jumped out and ran up to Stockard. "So we meetagain, Hay Stockard! Peace be with you. I know you are a sinner, butI, Sturges Owen, am God's own servant. I will bring you back to ourchurch. "Listen to me," Stockard warned, "if you stay here you'llbring trouble to yourself and your men. You'll all be killed and sowill my wife, my child, and myself!" Owen looked up to the sky. "Theman who carries God in his heart and the Bible in his hand isprotected." Later that morning, the Indian chief Baptiste came back toStockard's camp. "Give me the priest," Baptiste demanded, "and I willlet you go in peace. If you do not, you die." Sturges Owen grabbed hisBible. "I am not afraid," he said. "God will protect me and hold me inhis right hand. I am ready to go with Baptiste to his village. I willsave his soul for God." Hay Stockard shook his head. "Listen to me,Baptiste. I did not bring this priest here, but now that he is here, Ican't let you kill him. Many of your people will die if we fight eachother." Baptiste looked into Stockard's eyes. "But those who live," hesaid, "will not have the words of a strange God in their ears." Aftera moment of silence, Baptiste the Red turned and went back to his owncamp. Sturges Owen called his two men to him and the three of themkneeled to pray. Stockard and his wife began to prepare the camp forbattle. As they worked they heard the sound of war-drums in thevillage. As Sturges Owen waited and prayed, he began to feel hisreligious fever cooling. Fear replaced hope in his heart. The love oflife took the place of the love of God in his mind. The love of life!
He could not stop himself from feeling it. Owen knew that Stockardalso loved his life. But Stockard would choose death rather thanshame. The war-drums boomed loudly. Suddenly they stopped. A flood ofdark feet raced toward Stockard's camp. Arrows whistled through theair. A spear went through the body of Stockard's wife. Stockard'sbullets answered back. Wave after wave of Indians warriors broke overthe barrier. Sturges Owen ran into his tent. His two men died quickly.
Hay Stockard alone remained on his feet, knocking the attackingIndians aside. Stockard held an ax in one hand and his gun in theother. Behind him, a hand grabbed Stockard's baby by its tiny leg andpulled it from under his mother's body. The Indian whipped the childthrough the air, smashing its head against a log. Stockard turned, andcut off the Indian's head with his ax. The circle of angry facesclosed on Stockard. Two times they pushed up to him, but each time hebeat them back. They fell under his feet as the ground became wet withblood. Finally, Baptiste called his men to him. "Stockard," heshouted. "You are a brave man. Deny your God and I will let you live!"Two Indians dragged Sturges Owen out of the tent. He was not hurt, buthis eyes were wild with fear. He felt anger at God for making him soweak. Why had God given him faith without strength? Owen stood shakingbefore Baptiste the Red. "Where is your God now? " demanded the Indianchief. "I do not know," Owen whispered. "Do you have a God?" "I had.""And now?" "No." "Very good," Baptiste said. "See that this man goesfree. ... "Do you have a God?" Baptiste shouted. Stockard took a deepbreath. "Yes, he said, "the God of my fathers." The spear flew throughthe air and went deep into Stockard's chest. Sturges Owen saw Stockardfall slowly to the ground. Then the Indians put Owen in a canoe.
Sturges Owen went down the river to carry the message of Baptiste theRed, in whose country there was no God. (MUSIC).
Announcer: You have just heard the story, "The God of His Fathers." Itwas written by Jack London and adapted for Special English by Dona deSanctis. Your narrator was Shep O'Neal. I'm Susan Clark. Listen againnext week for another AMERICAN STORY in Special English on the Voiceof America. (MUSIC). |