Adventures of Radisson (11 page)

“See this scar?” Garagonké asked him one day, as he was regaling him with tales of heroic deeds. “It's round because a musket ball passed right through my arm, years ago, when I was fighting the French. And this one, this one, and this one? They are the marks of arrows that pierced my chest and thigh. I was young back then and they healed in no time. But this one on my shoulder, this long scar comes from a lance a Susquehannock warrior planted in my body. I was weak and in pain, but I still managed to kill him. I could have died right there and then. But, as you can see, I survived all these injuries, and others too that never left a mark. And each time, I would pick up my weapons again with even more courage and determination. Each time, the spirits continued to support me in combat and I vanquished my enemies. Look at the nineteen marks on my thigh. I cut them myself with my knife, one for each of the men I killed with my own hands. Your father is a courageous warrior, Orinha. You can be proud of me, just as one day I hope to be proud of you for your victories in battle. Just as I was proud of Orinha, the eldest son whose place you are taking in my heart.”

Teharongara looked sad and lonely whenever Radisson saw him. His father, on the other hand, was happy and influential. He preferred to follow in the footsteps of his father, a wise, powerful, and courageous man.

I
N THE HEART OF WINTER
, feasts abounded in the Bear clan longhouse, as in the other village longhouses. Most paid tribute to the warriors who were making preparations for new offensives as soon as spring arrived. At these feasts, shouts, cries, dancing, and the incredible sound of drums shook the great bark structures to their foundations. The men acted out the battles they would have, leaping fearlessly over the fires that burned in the centre of the longhouses. On such occasions, Garagonké would brandish his war tomahawk, encouraging all the young men present to sow terror to the ends of the earth.

“We'll attack the Algonquins who betrayed the Iroquois!” he roared. “We'll decimate them, like we annihilated the Hurons! Both deserve the same fate for turning against our prophet Deganawida. They must perish for refusing to become one people with us, together beneath the tree of peace!”

At one such feast, after repeating his usual eloquent speech, Garagonké turned to Ganaha and said, solemnly:

“My son, the time has come for you to go to war without your father. You will go south, and I will go north. Have courage, because your honour is my honour, the honour of our family, the honour of all our clan. The whole nation is counting on us. You will sow terror among the nations to the south while I sow terror among the nations to the north. I will go and destroy the Algonquins and the French. You will go and strike fear into the lands of the Erie and the Susquehannocks. You will shake the ground to its core and save our people! Because time is of the essence, my son! Take your tomahawk and go to war! Avenge the deaths of your brothers and sisters! And avenge my own if I do not return alive from the land of the French!”

Radisson listened with fascination to his father's impassioned speech. At once moved and troubled by the calls to destroy his former people and their allies, his heart nevertheless leaned in favour of the Iroquois. This was now his family, his people, his way. But he did not really know who Deganawida was or why time was short. These questions spun around and around in his head for days, until he summoned up the courage to ask Garagonké. As though struck by his son's ignorance, his father sat up, put down the pipe he had been smoking by the fire and, after a long pause, replied:

“My son, you who have chosen to be an Iroquois, are asking essential questions. Listen well. Deganawida is our prophet. It is he who guided us along the path to union. Before Deganawida, the five Iroquois nations were at war and threatening to destroy each other. Deganawida had a vision of a tree of peace under which all the nations must come together. He advocated reconciliation and managed to bring an end to our fratricidal wars. He united our five nations and made us stronger. He also gave us the rules that govern our confederacy, the Iroquois League, bringing together the Mohawks, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. Since he handed down these sacred rules, we settle our disputes through words and negotiation, according to his teachings, which make us more powerful every day. It is here that we Iroquois draw the strength that makes us superior to other nations.

“That's why our confederacy must now expand to take in all the nations of the earth, as Deganawida predicted. The Iroquois have opened their arms to many peoples, but some of them have pushed us away,” continued Garagonké. “Several nations have refused to come together and follow the path traced by our prophet. They have chosen to become our enemies rather than sit with us beneath the big tree of peace. Our duty is to fight these nations and overcome them.

“Orinha, my son, time is short: the invaders from across the salty sea are decimating our people with their strange illnesses. The misfortune they bring with them is sowing devastation among our people and among other nations that live far from here. We must carry out our mission as soon as we can, before the evil spirits destroy us all. The Iroquois alone can overcome this terrible threat, thanks to the rules that have had us live in peace and harmony for generations. It is up to us to struggle to the very end to impose these worthy rules while there is still time. You too, my son, you can help us with our mission. I am counting on you.”

The conversation filled Radisson with inspiration. From then on, every night, he dreamed of accompanying his brother Ganaha to war. He saw himself fighting and conquering enemy nations. But when he awoke, doubt again undermined his confidence and conviction. He looked at Katari and wondered who was right. She or his father? Peace or war? He feared that his mother would stand in his way and force him to stay in the village. Perhaps his father would think him too young; perhaps he would ask him to wait until he had become battle-hardened. After all, he still wasn't even allowed to go trade with the Dutch alongside the other members of his clan. What's more, he realized he would never be able to fight the French. He simply could not do it. But, night after night, his dream came back to him so powerfully and consistently that all his doubts gradually faded away. The Iroquois put great stock in dreams and now he too was set on fulfilling his destiny, his dream, his obsession. He wanted to go off to fight the Erie alongside Ganaha. He devised a plan to convince his mother and father to let him go.

O
N A RADIANT
day in February, Garagonké returned happy as could be from the Dutch with a couple of tomahawks, a beautiful musket, and abundant ball and powder. Radisson took advantage of his good humour to put his plan into action.

“Father, you know I am an Iroquois. You know that I love my father, my mother, and all my family. So please let me go and avenge the people of my nation. Please let me go to war with Ganaha! I want to risk my life by his side out of love for the people who have adopted me. I will fight the nations of the south with Ganaha. The enemies I kill will make my father proud. The prisoners I bring back will make my mother happy. I will prove to you that I am the equal of the son Orinha that you lost. I will be as courageous, as brave, as valiant as he. You will see; I am worthy of the name you have given me. I am ready to die for my family and my nation! I beg you, father, let me go to war with Ganaha!”

Upon hearing these words, Garagonké jumped to his feet and cried out
with joy.

“Orinha, you have returned, my son! Take courage, for the man you are replacing in my heart died in battle and not at home like a woman. Orinha was brave and daring. He died in combat outnumbered ten to one. So, yes, since that is what you desire, you too may go off to war. Go with Ganaha! You will avenge my two sons who fell in combat, and make me happy! Rejoice, my son, because the time has come for you to prove what you are made of.”

L
ESS THAN ONE MOON
later, the Bear clan held a feast to mark the departure of the first war party of the year. Katari tried to keep her son at home, on the pretext that he was too young to undertake such a perilous journey, but in vain. Garagonké decided such matters and Radisson had convinced him he was ready.

Members of the Tortoise clan were invited to the feast as the leader of the war party, Kondaron, was from their clan. The previous summer, he had undertaken a victorious campaign against the Erie, making him the obvious choice to lead Ganaha, Radisson, and the six other warriors from the Bear clan that made up the troop. This time Radisson joined in the dancing and shouted out the war song he had chosen, delighted at the chance to show the Iroquois his strength and enthusiasm. He got to know Kondaron, his captain: a young warrior who was both bigger and stronger than he was, twenty-three years old, just like Ganaha. He made a powerful impression. Despite his youth, Kondaron's face, gestures, and words already showed the confidence and dignity of an older, more experienced man. Kondaron promised Garagonké he would do everything in his power to protect his two sons, kill as many enemies as possible, and bring back many prisoners.

After a copious meal prepared in huge copper cooking pots acquired from the Dutch, after the singing, the dancing, and the shows of strength from the nine young warriors, Radisson's father took the floor to bring the evening to a close.

“My heart is heavy at having to wait for another whole moon before I myself leave for war against the nations in the north, where winter still lingers on. But I am glad to see the first war party of the year go out, and gladder still to celebrate the determination shown by my two sons, to whom I wish courage and success. Kondaron will make a fine war chief: powerful spirits have guided and protected him since he was born. I implore the spirits of our ancestors to help you show once and for all the supremacy of the Iroquois over all other nations. Hail Kondaron, Ganaha, Orinha, Otasseté, Tahonsiwa, Shononses, Tahira, Deconissora, and Thadodaho, who will sow terror among the Erie!”

Katari did not shout with joy along with others. Sitting a bit toward the rear, with her friend Teharongara, the peace chief, she was disappointed to see Orinha become a warrior so quickly and so readily. She had hoped he would help her advocate for peace, which she believed to be more and more vital to the well-being of her clan and her family. But Orinha was lost to the war fever for that had taken hold of the entire Mohawk nation. She did not feel much like celebrating.

Conharassan, Orinha's favourite sister, also shed a tear as she expressed her lukewarm enthusiasm. She had distanced herself from her brother ever since he had returned to the village, ever since the three young men he had left with had been murdered, since he had run away, since he had been tortured and pardoned. The affair was still on everybody's lips, and some of the rumours divided her loyalties. Some said Radisson really had murdered the Iroquois. But in spite of everything, she still loved this man. He was not like anyone else she knew, and she was sad to see him go.