Native Spirits & Spirit Pennies of Skamania Coves

“You don’t know this…” I gathered my breath to help my words form, “a few years ago, after we tore down the Bluff House and the Condos, the crew started prepping to lay the foundations.”

She turned to focus on me. My tone was serious, so she would listen.

“They found something,” I continued. “As they were digging up the land by the Beacon Rock Condo, they dug up a duffle bag. It had been buried right where you say you saw the platform and the chief.”

“What was in it?” she asked.

“When the work crew found it, they called my husband. He had them stop what they were doing and told them he’d be right over. It took an hour for Scott to get here and as he drove, he prayed that there wouldn’t be human remains inside.”

I took a needed breath, so did she. “When he arrived, the workmen gathered around as he cautiously opened the duffel bag. Inside, he found a black garbage bag. He untied the knot, pulled the sack open. Inside, he found the rotting remains of a large bird, perhaps an eagle, and a long fish, most likely a salmon.”

“Oh God, I thought you were going to say they found a body!” She let out a chuckle to relieve stress. “The eagle and the salmon are viewed as sacred to the Pacific Northwest tribes. I wonder if they were an offering. Perhaps an offering to the chief?”

“Well, there’s more,” I said.

“Of course there is,” she laughed. “Tell me.”

“Often, Scott and I will come and stay in one of the houses, so he doesn’t need to commute between home and here while he’s working on a project. He does not like staying in the Beacon Rock Condo.”

She tilted her head in curiosity.

“He doesn’t mind staying in the Sternwheeler, though. This is strange because both condos are mirror layouts of the other. We wondered if maybe it was because the Sternwheeler has more natural light, where the Beacon Rock’s side windows face a hill. Or maybe the red furniture in the Sternwheeler Condo offered a more inviting ambiance.”

“But no,” I continued. “He says that when he is in the Beacon Rock Condo, he smells a bad odor—like something had died. And he always gets an eerie feeling. Like he’s not welcome. He has searched for the cause of that smell and can’t find its source. No one else can smell it though.”

Pause….

My friend didn’t respond right away, and her breath shuddered as she inhaled and then exhaled slowly.

“Let me ask the chief…” she finally said. “He is answering…. He says it was him. He was testing this new person, the new steward of his home. But now that he is convinced of Scott’s respect and desire to honor the land, he will leave it in peace.”

It was my turn to shudder. Fascinated to know she could still converse with him….

“I’m impressed by Scott’s sensitivity,” she said. “I feel he should consider finding a way to honor the chief and his people. This will show respect for the land and the Native people that once lived here. If he can find something that can look over this site, it will matter to them.”

I agreed with her and promised that we would figure out a way to do just that.

“I’d like to do a final blessing of protection at the entrance to the property while you spread the cornmeal.” she said, reminding us that we still had work to do.

I grabbed the bowl of cornmeal from the back of her car and started toward the property edge behind the Bluff House. As I did this, I set an even stronger intention of protection than before. We were standing on hallowed ground. It had to be protected at all costs.

When I sprinkled the yellow powder along the Condo’s fence line, I honored the powerful day I just experienced at the leadership of my friend. My heart was full and pounding like the beat of her drum.

I finished and watched her. She stood facing the highway with her arms open. She chanted and banged her drum and then held her hands to the sky.

When she returned, she shared the final blessing with me. I repeat it to this day:

We declare this property cleansed and restored.

The sacredness of this land brought back to its original essence.

Only those whose energy is in alignment with this essence will be welcome.

They will feel the land’s blessing and receive its healing.

Those whose energy is not in alignment, will not be allowed in.

They will feel the need to leave or not make the visit.

As stewards and visitors of this land:

we vow to honor the heart of this space,

to protect the essence of her energy,

to remember those who have lived here before,

and to continue with the vision to maintain its sacredness.

And so, it is.

As it still is….

STORY CONTINUES >>>>> CHAPTER NINE: THE HONORING