I Am Algonquin Read online

  We were able to get away before the noon sun and calm water ensured the easiest travel since we had started the trip home.

  After we had been out on the river for quite awhile, Mitigomij doubled back with his canoe.

  “Mahingan, Makadewà Wàban has appeared along the shore twice. When he shows himself like that, it only means one thing. He sees something he does not like. Someone must be following us!”

  “Mitigomij, there is a big bend in the river up ahead. We can put ashore there, and then we will be able to look back onto the river for a great distance. If anyone is following us, they will come into our view at that spot.”

  As soon as we reached the bend, we told the rest of the people to continue. We did not have to wait long. Down the river, we could see boats appear.

  “Haudenosaunee, my brother?”

  “I would think so, Mitigomij. I see six canoes and probably eighteen to twenty warriors. They will not attack us on the river. They probably do not know how many warriors there are with us. They have seen all the canoes we have and are leery about an attack. My guess is that they will put a few scouts ashore and try to see what we have, and it is quite possible they will have already done that. When that happens, they will know that we do not have many warriors. Our women only carry knives and do not have the skills of a warrior. We will have to come up with a solid plan to rout this group. Our returning warriors are probably still at least a day away from meeting us. The rain, unlike us, wouldn’t have slowed them down at all, but they won’t be here to help with this problem.”

  We got into our canoes and started back to our group. When we arrived, we pulled along side Minowez-I and his son. Telling him what we had seen, we started to talk about a plan of defence.

  “Our warriors are outnumbered two to one, but we might be able to have an element of surprise,” I said.

  “We’ll have to split our meagre warrior group up. Minowez-I, I will leave two of my brothers, Kàg and Wàgosh, with you and your son. With me I will have Mitigomij, the two warrior women, Makòns, and Miskwì. We will take two canoes, but the meat will have to be divided amongst the remainder, enabling us to travel more quickly. The enemy is at least a part of an afternoon behind us. They are coming slowly. I am sure their plans will be to attack us in the next morning or so. Try to push the people to hasten their speed.”

  “Mahingan, we’ll be fine. Our warriors will soon be meeting us and we all will be safe. I will have Kàg lead the group and Nigig, Wàgosh, and I will guard the rear. Be careful, my friend. The Haudenosaunee are to be feared and not taken lightly.”

  “They have yet to meet us. It is the Algonquin that should be feared.”

  I hastily gathered my small force together. Because we did not have to go far from the river, I could take Mitigomij with us. He was by far the most fearsome warrior of our tribe and that big cat of his had proven his worth many times. The two young warriors still had a lot to learn, but their bravery was not in question. The women were to be feared. They fought as a team and were ruthless.

  We travelled back down the river and put to shore before the bend. Pulling our canoes onto the shoreline, we hid them in the underbrush and then continued along the riverbank. When we reached the small bay that was nestled into the bend, we all decided that this was as good a spot as any for the trap. Figuring that the enemy would stay on this side of the river, we kept the bend between our group and theirs. I told everyone that we would wait to spring the ambush just as the Haudenosaunee were gliding into the bay, by staying concealed, they would not know how many of us there were. If we could kill or injure enough of them with our first couple of volleys, they might retreat downriver. This element of surprise along with the fear of not knowing our numbers might be enough to turn this skirmish to our advantage.

  Silently, we waited in the cool afternoon shadows as their canoes glided silently into our range. Just as I was drawing my bow I heard a noise like a tree snapping in the cold. It was Mitigomij. He had fired his slingshot and caught a Haudenosaunee square in the face with a rock. The man screamed and fell back into the boat, sending the man behind him tumbling out into the bay. I heard one more crack of the slingshot before I could loosen my bow. I watched as the arrow struck a young warrior in the shoulder. Immediately, I restrung my bow and let loose another projectile. This one entered the eye of the man behind my first victim. By that time, as they were being showered with arrows from the shore, I could hear their screams of pain. Three of the canoes had retreated out of the bay as they had wounded and dying men in them. One of the remaining canoes was floating without any guidance, its occupants all dead.

  However, we had a problem. Two canoes had landed and their occupants were intent on facing the hidden menace that had ambushed them. There were four of them, and they had the two young warriors cornered a distance from me. As I ran to their aid, I could see Makòns spurting blood from a neck wound and his assailant hitting him on the head with a war club. The two women were aiding Miskwì. Kìnà Odenan had her knife buried in the back of a Haudenosaunee. The man then screamed as Agwanìwon Ikwe hit the dying man with her war club full in the face. The warrior who had killed Makòns now had realized his worst nightmare. Makadewà Wàban. As the man turned to the sound of the panther’s scream, the animal struck him full in the face. They rolled down the small embankment with the cat tearing chunks of flesh from his prey.

  “Mitigomij, call the cat off. Let this man live to tell of his ordeal. We have vanquished them; the others are leaving in their canoe.”

  As they left, they reached into the bloody water and pulled the man out. Makadewà Wàban, standing up to his withers in the red water, screamed a bone-chilling warning to the men escaping. You could see the fear in their eyes as they hurried from the bloody waters.

  We had won this small battle, but it had come at a terrible price. A young warrior. It was a great loss.

  I knelt on the shore with Makòns in my arms and his blood on my soul. The lives of the Omàmiwinini people were always in the hands of Kitchi Manitou. Our lives seemed to be always a battle against starvation, grief, and the constant fear of our enemies. Nevertheless, we had to believe in our love of family to survive, or else all was in vain.

  We put the body of Makòns into the canoe and caught up with our people. After learning of the young warrior’s demise, the women started to sing a death song in his honour.

  By the end of the day, we met with twenty of our warriors. The women and boys were elated to see them, and for me and the other warriors it was a great relief to know that we would have safety in numbers and added help when we had to portage. We were now able to lighten our loads, and with the extra labour we could arrive at our summer encampment in three days.

  Makòns’ family took his death hard. He was the eldest son and a good provider. Their cries of anguish were heard throughout the village. He had died a warrior and his story would be told around our fires for years to come.

  The next few weeks were busy ones as our women prepared the pijakì meat for the winter and worked on the hides. Furthermore, in the next while, we would have many visitors.

  21

  The Pact and the

  Warrior Journey

  AS THE WARM SUMMER days started to shorten, we decided that the twins Esiban and Agwingos would make the Wysoccan Journey to manhood together with the other boys in the village who were of age. Our people had used this rite as an entrance into manhood since time began. It was necessary if the young men wished to become warriors or leaders in our society. We selected only the strongest and healthiest boys to take the journey.

  It was up to the Shaman of the village to administer the intoxicating medicine, wysoccan. The Shaman would dig up the root of the jimsonweed and make the wysoccan. He would then give the boys small doses until they became mad. The drug induced mental derangement and memory loss so they could enter manhood with no recollection of their childhood. This would continue for twenty days and then the dosage lessened. Before the dosage
wore off completely, the Shaman brought them back to the village. Then they were observed to see if they had any memories of their former lives. If the boys showed signs of remembering, they were taken back and the rite continued.

  The young boys that we selected for this, we took into the woods and put in wooden enclosures. This was to ensure that when they were in the deranged state of the medicine they would not wander off and cause themselves harm.

  With their childhood memories now erased, instruction in the ways of becoming a warrior began. It was the duty of the elders to select the young boys for this journey. After the selection, the village hosted a night of feasting, drumming, and dancing in honour of those chosen.

  That night our family unit gathered to celebrate the twins’ selection for this honour. The women prepared a huge meal for the entire celebratory group. From sundown to daybreak, we danced, drummed, and told stories. This would be the last night that these young men would recognize their families. When they finished their Wysoccan Journey, they would have to be reintroduced to the people who were their family.

  Esiban and Agwingos danced and ate the whole night without ever stopping to take a rest. Their mother stood and watched with tears in her eyes knowing that she was about to lose her beloved boys to warriorhood and that they would re-emerge from their journey without any remembrance of her.

  The next morning we took all the boys to the woods. There we had prepared the wooden enclosures where they would spend the next twenty days. Inside each of the pens there was a robe to lie on. The Shaman gave them their first dosage of the medicine and the exhausted boys then went to sleep.

  Only two men observed them while they were there: the Shaman and their guardian. They watched over the boys and supplied them with water. Mitigomij, who was the appointed guardian for the next twenty days, would never leave the area. The families took food and water and left it in a predetermined spot where Mitigomij went and picked it up every day. The food was for him and the Shaman, the water for the boys. All this time the Shaman increased the dosage of the medicine, causing the boys to hallucinate.

  While all this went on, Mìgàdinàn-àndeg and his Nippissing warriors revisited us. They brought with them many of their elders, women, and children.

  “Mìgàdinàn-àndeg,” I said, “what has brought you and your people to our lands?”

  “Mahingan, I have come to trade, feast, and talk of peace.”

  “Then, my friend, you are welcome. We will open our lodges for you to stay in while you visit. I’ll send our young hunters out to bring back game for the grand feast that we will have.”

  For the next few days, we hunted and fished to prepare for the celebration. During this time, we also traded for the one thing that the Nippissing were known for, ozàwàbik (copper). The Nippissing lived in an area where it was easily found. Their Shamans made amulets out of the brown-coloured mineral that were highly valued by my people. Their people also made earrings, bracelets, and arrowheads from this precious gift from Kitchi Manitou.

  However, for once we also had something that the Nippissing wanted, buffalo robes. They had never seen a robe this large and were willing to give us large amounts of copper for this animal’s skin. The trading continued for three days and, in the end, everyone was happy with what had been obtained in the process.

  After the trading was completed, it was decided that we would have games of skill, archery, running, slingshot, and spear competitions. The Nippissing knew that our most talented warrior in the weapons skills, Mitigomij, was busy with his duties as a guardian, so they felt quite confident in their chances. These warrior games were a test of abilities and prestige between tribes. Each Nation selected warriors to go head to head in these competitions and the betting was heavy on all the individual participants.

  Kàg, Wàgosh, and I decided that we would participate in the running competition. They knew that I was the fastest runner in our family unit. With this in mind, they would run with me and cause interference with the other runners, enabling me to get in the lead without being tripped or jostled. We would still have to find one or two more warriors to run with our team. Whenever we had running competitions, unless it was over short distances, it was a no-holds-barred event as far as interfering with the runners. This helped in our training of being a warrior because in times of battle when you were running among the enemy, they would not let you pass them without trying to strike or knock you down. Survival of the fittest at all times.

  The running competition was always the final event to be contested when we had games. As the games proceeded, it was evident that the two Nations were evenly matched, with neither group gaining an edge over the other. People who were betting on the outcomes were losing on one match and then winning on the next. All the participants and onlookers were having a good time with a great deal of laughter and many friendships being made.

  After four days, the running contest was set to start. Elders from both camps had gone out together on the previous days and blazed a trail through the woods that the contestants had to follow. That day the elders took people from all the Nippissing and Algonquin camps and situated them as spectators and guides so no one would run off course. The runners were allowed no weapons, except for one small stick. You could strike a runner with this stick below the shoulders as a way of letting them know that you were approaching him and wanted to pass, or to keep him from passing. If struck with this switch, it would sting and bring a welt up on your skin, but it taught you to be vigilant, because if you were in battle and did not know where your enemy was it could cost you your life.

  “Mahingan, we have found two more runners to be with us,” said Kàg.

  “Who are they?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry, brother. You will know in good time and be pleased with their inclusion,” answered Wàgosh.

  That next morning the race was to begin. Consequently, that night there was a lot of bragging and betting going on. The competitor who won the race would be showered with gifts from the people that had placed bets on them. Everyone was in a celebratory mood, feasting, dancing, and telling stories throughout the night.

  After awhile I began to feel tired and decided that it would be a wise decision to obtain a good night’s sleep. With Ishkodewan at my side, I went and found Wàbananang and the three of us retired in our lodge for the night. As I lay beside my wife, I placed my ear upon her stomach to see if there was any sound from our child. Singing a song to him, it was not long before I was dreaming of my ancestors.

  My brothers and the two people they had recruited to run with us woke me in the morning.

  “Agwanìwon Ikwe and Kìnà Odenan, I am honoured to have both of you run with me.”

  “Mahingan, we want to be on the winning side so we had no choice but to side with you,” said a laughing Kìnà Odenan.

  “We also knew that you would share any of your winning gifts with us,” said Agwanìwon Ikwe with a smile on her face.

  “Kìnà Odenan and Agwanìwon Ikwe, maybe no one will bet on me, and then if I did win there would not be any spoils to share.”

  With that, we all laughed and proceeded to have something to eat with all of the other participants. There had been heavy dew that night and this would make the footing slippery in spots, but it all added to the excitement and challenge.

  The course would take the morning to run. The elders would make sure it was a difficult challenge. I looked around and counted over a hundred runners. With this many competitors it would be important to keep the leaders in view at all times. For that reason it was very essential that our team keep together for as long as possible and run good interference for me.

  After the meal the contestants started to drift to the starting place. It was not long before the elders started to call everyone to the line with the drums. Once we approached the starting line, we were told that the drummers would stop drumming. Upon the instruction of the elders, they would commence again, and that was our signal to start. They would not
quit drumming until a winner crossed the finish line.

  While all the trading and athletic contests were happening, our young boys were continuing on their journey to manhood under the watchful eyes of the Shaman and Mitigomij.

  Mitigomij had always been very protective of the young men who were taking the journey here in the woods. He had taught these boys the skills needed to hunt and fish and now they were being administered the wysoccan medicine so that they would forget all of their childhood. It then would be up to him and the other warriors to introduce them into warriorhood and help renew their skills. They would also have to help them reacquaint with their families, but to never tell them about their childhood. These young boys had to be trained in the art of being a warrior. It was important to the survival of the Algonquin Nation that it always had strong and skilled young men to replace the men lost in battle and other misfortunes.

  During the several days that Mitigomij had been with the Shaman and the boys, he had watched them become increasingly delirious. He also observed as they cried out in pain and then turned violent, grabbing the wooden enclosure they were in, shaking it and trying to escape. When the warriors made these wysoccan enclosures, they took great pains in ensuring that they would withstand all attempts of escape by the young men. It would be a handful if one of them ever got out and Mitigomij would have to capture him and put the deranged boy back again. No one had ever escaped an appointed guardian yet, and he was making sure that it would not happen to him. Whenever a boy was sleeping, Mitigomij would always check the enclosure to make sure there was no broken rope or weakening wooden supports. He would also put water into the cage while the boys slept. The less human contact they had the better.

  The Shaman administered the medicine in increased dosages until they were very mad. He then started to decrease the medicine until they were still in a delirium state. When they reached this level, they were then taken back to the village.