A few days ago I heard the characteristic honking of geese on their way to the nesting grounds in the mountains. Their calls immediately transported me back in time almost 20 years to a early morning in May in Sachs Harbour on Banks Island.
My boss had sent me there to perform some of the audit work on the books for the municipality. This was all boring pouring over ledgers, files and various records – not to mention the fact it also took a lot of time! Sachs was (and still is?) accessible only twice a week by plane – weather permitting – so I had a double-edged time constraint on me. The job had to be done in a timely fashion at the same as I tried to fit it all in between two flights – or at the most three. Consequently, I worked til all hours of the night – or until my eyes could take it no longer.
It must’ve been going on 4 AM when I came stumbling out from the hamlet office. I had just finished going over various payroll records for the past fiscal year and my mind was clogged with numbers regarding payroll taxes and other deductions. This was my fifth day in the hamlet and I had been doing 10-17 hour shifts every day in an effort to get the job done before the next flight out. The only sound I could hear came from all the little rivers of muddy water running down the hill. I picked my way down towards the bay between snowmobiles and komatiks parked here and there. As I came closer to the shore, I admired the dogs staked out all the way along the shoreline. Some of them looked to be really handsome, big and powerful working animals and I would have liked to take a closer look at them.
Suddenly, the closest team all began moving and one by one they lifted their heads towards the sky and started howling. They were soon joined by the dogs from the next team and then the next, until their eery voices blanketed the bay. In my overworked state, I at first thought they were howling at me as if to greet me… I even considered going closer to pet a few of them – despite being aware of the dangers of going near strange dogs.
At about the same time, I began hearing a weird, rushing sound somewhere behind me. Having never heard the likes of it I blamed it on being overtired, until the sound began to almost drown out the howling dogs.
That’s when I finally saw the thousands of geese. They were flying low over the bay, below the mountains on the opposite shore and no longer in distinct V-formations. The sound I had heard came from their powerful wings propelling them forward. I don’t recall a lot of honking but I remember thinking they all seemed so determined.
When the geese had passed the dogs and me, Sachs Harbour became quiet again and I continued on my way to the private house at the far end of town where I was staying while there. I snuck into the house and made my way to the room I called mine.
Not even 2 hours later I was awakened because there was a lot of activity inside and out. I could hear people talking and moving about, someone walked outside and there was the sound of a snowmobile starting up. Pretty soon I heard the unmistakable whirring of more machines – all of them going past the house and out onto the land. In my exhausted state, I fell asleep again and didn’t surface until well into the morning.
When I returned to the hamlet office some time before lunch, I got the explanation to all the early morning activity. Just about the entire population had gone out goose hunting – there were only a handful of us left in town. The spring hunt was laden with traditions as this used to be the very first fresh meat people in the region got in the spring – and everyone wanted to be in on it!
I finished my job in time for the next flight and never had the opportunity to return to Sachs – but I will always remember the sound of those geese!
