How Analiese and Uncle Ned Met
Created | Updated Aug 21, 2003
One time, when Analiese was maybe eight or nine years old, she had a dream about animals. It was a very vivid dream too and troubling. So she decided she needed to learn to cure things like that.
She asked her grandpa, "How do I learn how to cure things?"
And her grandpa answered, "You shouldn't ask. That's not something women do in our families."
"Why not, Grandpa?"
"It just isn't done."
"Why do the grandmothers say who is headman then?"
"Because that's how we've always done it. Now, you go help your mother."
But Analiese wasn't satisfied so she asked around, trying to find out who knew how to cure things. That's how she found out about Uncle Ned. How he was a very bad man, no account, drunken, derrelict. But she wasn't dissuaded.
One day, she walked up to Uncle Ned's shack on Cedar Ridge and stood outside the door.
"Who's there?" asked a voice from inside.
"It's me, Analiese, your niece."
"You don't say?"
An older man maybe in his fifties with long, graying hair appeared at the door.
"Yes, I do say," said Analiese.
"What do you want 'your niece'?" asked Uncle Ned.
"I want something to eat maybe," Analiese answered.
"Go home. Your mother will feed you."
"She's your sister, right?"
"Well, that would make sense if I'm your uncle wouldn't it?"
"Yep, I also want to learn to cure things."
"I see. Didn't nobody tell you girls don't do that?"
"Yep, but I also wanted to know about Ocean Woman's daughter. And why the grandmothers say who is headman?"
"Why do you want to know all those things, girl?"
"I think it's because I saw it in a dream."
"Did you now? Well, I don't think little girls should be dreaming such dreams."
"I think maybe in the old days, little girls might have dreamed a lot of things," said Analiese, a note of defiance in her voice. "Why don't you tell me about Ocean Woman's daughter?
"If I tell you the story, will you go back home then?"
"Yep."
So Uncle Ned sat down on an old tire in front of the shack and set Analiese on his lap, which wasn't really proper, but as the people said, he was a bad man.
And he told Analiese about how Coyote had made Ocean Woman's daughter pregnant and how, when many children were born, Ocean Woman had placed them in a bag or basket, he didn't remember which exactly, and told Coyote to take them east to some place where they could live. But Coyote, being Coyote, got curious when he heard noises from inside the bag, and before he got to the better watered lands to the east, he opened the bag, even though Ocean Woman had told him not to. And a bunch of sticks fell out, turned into people and ran away. So then Coyote went looking for the people and when he found them, he tried to teach them how to live in the arid land and some listened and prospered and others didn't.
About this time, Uncle Ned noticed that Analiese had fallen asleep in his arms so he carried her back to his sister's house, who he hadn't seen in awhile.
"What was she doing up at your place?" asked Analiese's mother.
"I don't know. She's just curious I guess. You keep watching her more better." And after saying that, Uncle Ned left.
Awhile later, Uncle Ned was out looking for a certain bird in the pinyons. Suddenly he was startled by a little voice behind him.
"She's over there," the voice advised.
"Who?"
"The bird you're looking for is over there in that tree to your left."
"No, I mean who's that talking to me?" Uncle Ned asked as he searched vainly to catch sight of the person. The voice sounded vaguely familiar.
"Don't you know who this is?"
"Uh, no, do I owe you money?"
"Nope, I don't think so but you should feed me I think."
"Why would I want to do that?"
"Because it would be a good thing, I think, don't you?"
"Who are you? Come out where I can see you." Uncle Ned was getting frustrated because the voice seemed to be moving all the time, yet he couldn't see nobody.
"Here I am, Uncle Ned."
Uncle Ned jumped and whirled around because the little voice seemed to be right next to him. Then he looked down and there was Analiese sitting at his feet.
"My gawd, child. How long you been following me?"
"Since you left your house this morning."
"You mean to say you waited for me to leave then and followed."
"Yep, I been up since before the sunrise waiting for you."
"Damit, if you ain't persistent. And spooky too."
"What's 'spooky' mean?"
"Like a ghost. You sure you ain't a ghost, child?"
"I don't think I am but I can't really say for sure."
Uncle Ned kind of chuckled to himself when he heard that. For a few moments he stared into the pair gray eyes looking innocently into his. He would say later he felt the hairs on his hackles standing up but he tried not to let on.
"This child has power," he thought. "I better be trying to point it
someplace good maybe."
So from that day forward, despite what the people said and in spite of what everybody knew about how girls weren't supposed to learn such things, Uncle Ned, because everybody knew he was a bad man, taught Analiese everything he knew about curing and animals and plants and the earth upon which they walked until he had nothing left to teach. And she just seemed to gobble it up, like a hungry coyote. And she seemed to remember everything, just like that.
He sometimes said he felt a compulsion or something. He said that a lot. He said he might have even dreamed about it but he couldn't recollect exactly.
And as Analiese grew up, she learned more and more and soon was finding things out for herself, even dreaming dreams about finding things. And when she dreamed such dreams, sure enough, she could find what she'd seen in those dreams. She found many things that way.
And that's how Analiese and Uncle Ned met. It might have been a long time ago or it might have been just last week or even yesterday it might seem but who would know that? Just thinking about it might make you feel little spooky.
She asked her grandpa, "How do I learn how to cure things?"
And her grandpa answered, "You shouldn't ask. That's not something women do in our families."
"Why not, Grandpa?"
"It just isn't done."
"Why do the grandmothers say who is headman then?"
"Because that's how we've always done it. Now, you go help your mother."
But Analiese wasn't satisfied so she asked around, trying to find out who knew how to cure things. That's how she found out about Uncle Ned. How he was a very bad man, no account, drunken, derrelict. But she wasn't dissuaded.
One day, she walked up to Uncle Ned's shack on Cedar Ridge and stood outside the door.
"Who's there?" asked a voice from inside.
"It's me, Analiese, your niece."
"You don't say?"
An older man maybe in his fifties with long, graying hair appeared at the door.
"Yes, I do say," said Analiese.
"What do you want 'your niece'?" asked Uncle Ned.
"I want something to eat maybe," Analiese answered.
"Go home. Your mother will feed you."
"She's your sister, right?"
"Well, that would make sense if I'm your uncle wouldn't it?"
"Yep, I also want to learn to cure things."
"I see. Didn't nobody tell you girls don't do that?"
"Yep, but I also wanted to know about Ocean Woman's daughter. And why the grandmothers say who is headman?"
"Why do you want to know all those things, girl?"
"I think it's because I saw it in a dream."
"Did you now? Well, I don't think little girls should be dreaming such dreams."
"I think maybe in the old days, little girls might have dreamed a lot of things," said Analiese, a note of defiance in her voice. "Why don't you tell me about Ocean Woman's daughter?
"If I tell you the story, will you go back home then?"
"Yep."
So Uncle Ned sat down on an old tire in front of the shack and set Analiese on his lap, which wasn't really proper, but as the people said, he was a bad man.
And he told Analiese about how Coyote had made Ocean Woman's daughter pregnant and how, when many children were born, Ocean Woman had placed them in a bag or basket, he didn't remember which exactly, and told Coyote to take them east to some place where they could live. But Coyote, being Coyote, got curious when he heard noises from inside the bag, and before he got to the better watered lands to the east, he opened the bag, even though Ocean Woman had told him not to. And a bunch of sticks fell out, turned into people and ran away. So then Coyote went looking for the people and when he found them, he tried to teach them how to live in the arid land and some listened and prospered and others didn't.
About this time, Uncle Ned noticed that Analiese had fallen asleep in his arms so he carried her back to his sister's house, who he hadn't seen in awhile.
"What was she doing up at your place?" asked Analiese's mother.
"I don't know. She's just curious I guess. You keep watching her more better." And after saying that, Uncle Ned left.
Awhile later, Uncle Ned was out looking for a certain bird in the pinyons. Suddenly he was startled by a little voice behind him.
"She's over there," the voice advised.
"Who?"
"The bird you're looking for is over there in that tree to your left."
"No, I mean who's that talking to me?" Uncle Ned asked as he searched vainly to catch sight of the person. The voice sounded vaguely familiar.
"Don't you know who this is?"
"Uh, no, do I owe you money?"
"Nope, I don't think so but you should feed me I think."
"Why would I want to do that?"
"Because it would be a good thing, I think, don't you?"
"Who are you? Come out where I can see you." Uncle Ned was getting frustrated because the voice seemed to be moving all the time, yet he couldn't see nobody.
"Here I am, Uncle Ned."
Uncle Ned jumped and whirled around because the little voice seemed to be right next to him. Then he looked down and there was Analiese sitting at his feet.
"My gawd, child. How long you been following me?"
"Since you left your house this morning."
"You mean to say you waited for me to leave then and followed."
"Yep, I been up since before the sunrise waiting for you."
"Damit, if you ain't persistent. And spooky too."
"What's 'spooky' mean?"
"Like a ghost. You sure you ain't a ghost, child?"
"I don't think I am but I can't really say for sure."
Uncle Ned kind of chuckled to himself when he heard that. For a few moments he stared into the pair gray eyes looking innocently into his. He would say later he felt the hairs on his hackles standing up but he tried not to let on.
"This child has power," he thought. "I better be trying to point it
someplace good maybe."
So from that day forward, despite what the people said and in spite of what everybody knew about how girls weren't supposed to learn such things, Uncle Ned, because everybody knew he was a bad man, taught Analiese everything he knew about curing and animals and plants and the earth upon which they walked until he had nothing left to teach. And she just seemed to gobble it up, like a hungry coyote. And she seemed to remember everything, just like that.
He sometimes said he felt a compulsion or something. He said that a lot. He said he might have even dreamed about it but he couldn't recollect exactly.
And as Analiese grew up, she learned more and more and soon was finding things out for herself, even dreaming dreams about finding things. And when she dreamed such dreams, sure enough, she could find what she'd seen in those dreams. She found many things that way.
And that's how Analiese and Uncle Ned met. It might have been a long time ago or it might have been just last week or even yesterday it might seem but who would know that? Just thinking about it might make you feel little spooky.
