Andrei and the Snow Walker by Larry Warwaruk

Author:Larry Warwaruk
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Metis, Immigration, New World, Ukraine, Prairies, Old Magic, New Magic, Mythical figures, Pioneers, settlement fiction
ISBN: 9781550508536
Publisher: Coteau Books

Gabriel drives the buggy along the trail following the river to the Village of Batoche, half a mile northwest of the church. To their right are the fairgrounds, a wide open stretch of prairie rising to a broad hillside in the east.

“La Belle Prairie,” Gabriel says. “La Jolie Prairie.”

The grounds soon cover with crowds. Women stand chatting in groups, some in white dresses and bonnets, others in black done up snugly with long rows of tiny buttons. Some carry parasols blotting out the sun. Men in groups wear black suits and felt hats. Several in a line hold bulls on leads. One man with a tall top hat balances on a bicycle with a tiny back wheel and a front wheel five feet high. Gypsies cart goods out of three red-and-gold circus wagons. They’ve set up booths and a fortune teller’s tent.

Gabriel stops in front of a bluff at the top of the steep-sloped riverbank. He unhitches Raven and ties the horse to a tree. Gabriel’s going to race him. He wants Andrei to brush him down, then let him rest in the shade. They won’t be racing until later in the afternoon.

“Let’s spread a blanket here,” Gabriel says. “It’s in the shade and out of the way. I’ll be busy with the races, and it’s getting hotter and hotter. Some of the time in the afternoon, you might want to get away from the crowds. It’s just perfect for that right here.”

They’ve parked the buggy between the bluff and a magnificent house. A rail fence surrounds it, some of it collapsed, some still standing. The house has board siding painted white with blue trim. The many windows have louvred shutters, some sagging, some of them gone.

“This was Mr. Letendre’s house,” Gabriel says. “He still owns the store, but he doesn’t live here anymore. He rents the store to an Englishman from Duck Lake. Mr. Letendre sold the house to the police for a barracks, and he bought a ranch maybe ten miles south of your homestead.”

A veranda surrounds two sides of the house, supported every six feet with latticed posts. A round window looks out from the face of a third-storey centre-gabled roof. A cupola rises from the very top of the house.

“What’s it for?” Andrei asks.

“A ventilator,” Gabriel says. “That’s some house, eh? I wanted to show it to the both of you. I want you to know something more about my people. Something more than what you might hear.”

At the fairgrounds, people stare, but more at Marie than Andrei, and their dark eyes are friendly. The colour of Marie’s attire stands out, as the women’s dresses are either white or black. But some of their blouses are bright with beadwork, and some with embroidered flowers. A girl Andrei’s age wears a black dress with matching stockings. Her hair is done in a braid tied with a white ribbon jutting below the rim of her broad-brimmed hat.

In the entry to a tent, a Gypsy woman waves to Andrei.

“Go ahead,” Gabriel says.

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