by Griff Hosker
He nodded and laid the pipe on the ground. “Your people are strange. They keep their homes in one place, but they are happy to sail across the sea.”
I laughed, “To me, the sea is not an enemy, but you are right, we are a strange people.”
“And you have been sent here to spread your seed in this land. Your son, Bear, is the first and he will have all that is good in your people and all that is good in ours. I think I would like to see the kind of person that comes from such a union.”
When we all retired, I felt that Wandering Moos was, somehow, happier.
It took me six days to fetch all that I wished from the island and, as Black Bird and I packed up the last barrel I felt sad. Already the halls had a deserted look to them, but I saw, as we headed west, Gytha and the women spinning, I heard the sound of squealing children, I saw Aed and Padraig taking the snekke to fish. I was silent and Black Bird said, “When we leave our winter home, we are not sad for we know that we will return but you know that you will never come back here.”
I nodded for it was hard to speak. The island had been part of the clan. The clan were gone but while I had lived on the island it had been as though they had not truly gone, and the spirits of the dead had been within the village. Would they follow me?
This time when we landed, I took the boat around the headland to a small river which lay to the north. I was loath to lose ‘Ada’ and when the Penobscot came I did not wish their vengeance wreaked upon her. Black Bird and I sailed her half a mile up the river to a sheltered bend where I moored her to a tree. I knew that the river’s source was close to the winter camp of the Mi’kmaq. When the tribe moved, I would sail her. Black Bird led me through the forest to the camp.
Despite my words and my advice, the tribe had still to prepare defences against the Penobscot. I knew that they were waiting for me to organize them. Laughing Deer told me so when Black Bird returned me to the camp. I was loath to take on the responsibility and my talks with Wandering Moos had made me hope that the Penobscot would not come and the Mi’kmaq could live in peace.
It was Laughing Deer who dashed those hopes for me. “Husband, you are a kind man, but you cannot conceive of the cruelty of the Penobscot. I know, for we lived amongst them, that they have a bad seed in them and wish to rule all of this land. You and I are an excuse for war, that is all. They would try to destroy us, that you can believe. My people need you, not as a war chief but a shaman of war for your people know how to fight. You were sent to us for a purpose and this is it. You need to save the Mi’kmaq.”
Chapter 17 Erik
And with that sobering thought in my head, I set about the defence of the camp. First, I took Black Bird and his brother, Runs Far, to the forest and showed them how to use the axe to hew the right sized trees to make shields and defences. Black Bird did not like the idea of using the axe for anything as mundane as tree felling for he thought it would destroy the blade. I took the axe and with just a few swings, for it was a good axe and I knew what I was doing, I had a good tree felled. I then took one of the stone axes they used and, reversing the axe hammered the stone axe head into the log to split it. I repeated it until there were four rough planks.
“There. That is what you do!”
He shook his head and looked at the axe, “But the magical blade is damaged. It is not sharp!”
I took out my whetstone and quickly sharpened it. I let him feel the edge and when blood dripped from the cut he grinned. “There, and now it is sharp again, but you do not need to sharpen it with each tree that you fell.”
He beamed, “You are truly a shaman.”
“When you have done that cut down bow staves from that.” I pointed to a tree which looked like a variety of yew. It was not exactly the same, but I had cut one suitably sized branch and knew that it had similar qualities to yew. I took the bow stave back to the camp with me.
As I left him, I realised that we needed some way to cut the planks into the right lengths. Then I remembered the shark we had taken. We could use the teeth to make a rough saw. It would not be as good as the ones Fótr had taken home with him, but it would do. When I returned to the camp, I sought out Long Sight and asked him for the teeth.
He looked confused as he fetched them from his dwelling, “You would do magic with them?”
“Sort of. We will embed them into a piece of wood and used them to cut planks in two.” We spent some time discussing how to do this, but the Mi’kmaq were an ingenious people who knew how to bend natural objects into tools.
Leaving him to do that I wandered the camp. I think the tribe thought I wished to socialise for I was accosted on my walk but what I was doing was assessing the potential for defence. It was while they spoke that my eyes wandered. I saw that they had chosen the site because it was on a slightly higher piece of ground which meant they could not be flooded. They had protection from the winds due to the trees and that was a weakness. The path which led from the sea was the main approach, but the trees had enough space between them for men to move easily. There was a stream which ran along the northeast side and that would give a little protection. By the time I returned to Laughing Deer I had seen the potential. I made the assumption that the Penobscot would expect to find a Mi’kmaq village which was like their own. When they attacked, they would try to use their superior numbers to overwhelm the warriors and then destroy them. I had to devise a plan to funnel them towards the path and then make their progress into the village hard.
While I was thinking I was shaping the bow stave with my seax. In a perfect world, I would have seasoned the wood. The bow I was making with unseasoned wood would not be as effective, but I had little choice. Long Sight was convinced that the Penobscot’s arrival was imminent and I had to work on that assumption. I enjoyed working with wood and it helped me think. By the time the bow was finished, I had my plan.
That night I sat with Wandering Moos, Black Bird and Long Sight. I showed them the bow stave and then explained my plan. “Tomorrow I will show the young warriors how to make a bow stave and how to make a shield. The shield does not need to be as polished as mine. We need as many of them so that we can present a wall of them when the Penobscot attack. My aim is to make them approach along the path. While the shields hold them your youngest warriors and women will attack them with rocks and arrows to thin their numbers.”
“How will you channel them?”
“We put the spiky bushes and climbers between the trees. They could cut their way through, but their weapons would be weakened, and it would slow them down. We have trees hewn and placed next to the trees along the trail as a barrier and to channel them so that when we know they are coming we make it hard for them to climb up the path.”
They nodded their agreement. Wandering Moos, however, looked me in the eyes, “And all of this will weaken them and thin their numbers, but they will still outnumber us, and the plan will not defeat them. Tell me, Erik, Shaman of the Bear, what is your plan to defeat them?”
“Me. I am the plan to defeat them. We put me in the centre of the line and I will draw them to me. They will see the bear; the ones who escaped my island will have told their chiefs that it was I who slew Angry Voice and they will wish vengeance on me. If they are attacking me then warriors like Long Sight and Black Bird will be able to slay great numbers of them. Long Sight has a seax and Black Bird an axe. If they wear the hide vests, then they will reduce the risk of wounding.”
Wandering Moos nodded but Long Sight said, “Is that honourable? We fight without protection to show our courage.”
I shook my head, “You are the only veteran warrior left Long Sight. When you fought my clan, your men died. Was there honour there? If you and the men of the tribe are killed and your women enslaved, like Laughing Deer and her sister, is that honourable? Fight in a hide vest or die and the tribe will cease to exist. I do not honey my words. I speak the truth.” I looked him in the eye, “And you know it.”
His shoulders slumped, “You are right. The tribe i
s more important than honour.”
That single moment decided our course of action for Long Sight told the other warriors what they must do. Over the next days, while boys kept watch for the Penobscot, the rest of the clan toiled as one. Hunting and gathering were forgotten as shields and hide vests were made. Bows were made as were arrows. Stones of all sizes were gathered. I showed them how to tie honeysuckle vines around larger stones so that they could be thrown. When night came, we crept exhausted to our beds and I had my few moments of the day with Laughing Deer and Bear. The work went on from dusk until dawn but each day saw us stronger and better prepared.
The arrival of the Penobscot, although anticipated took us all by surprise for when the boys raced into the camp to say that they had seen the birch bark boats, they told us they came not for the beach but Bear Island. Long Sight, Black Bird and I all went to the headland to spy them. I counted more than thirty boats. They struggled across the choppy waters, but they purposefully paddled to the island.
Long Sight looked at me, “They call me Long Sight, but it is you deserve the name. They will come for you. The Penobscot risk the sea just to get at you!” He pointed as a boat was swamped and just two warriors were saved. Despite what we could see I knew that not all of the warriors and boats had been committed. There would be others who would come but I also knew that they had put their greatest effort into getting at me.
I smiled, “They are in for a surprise. I managed to raise the bridge to the hall and fix it closed. They will gain entry, but they will blunt and break weapons while they do so. Warriors will fall into the ditch and, in addition, there is nothing of value left for them.”
We watched for a while and after some time saw a spiral of smoke rising, first on one part of the island and then another. They were destroying the houses. They could not harm the spirits of the dead and nature would reclaim the island. The only memory of the time of the clan on Bear Island would be in our heads and when we died it would be in our stories. We waited until the birch bark boats headed back and we saw more of them coming from the south.
I knew how long it would take them to reach us and that after paddling so far they would be in no condition to fight. I said, “They will not be here before dark. We can make life even more difficult for them. They will send scouts up to spy out the village in the dark. If we make traps and lay vines across the path they will be hurt.”
Long Sight nodded, “I will organise that. Black Bird, find ten good warriors to wait in the woods and to slay any who escape them. War has come and we will show them that we are ready!”
Already the young warriors were geared up for war. Long Sight addressed them all. “The enemy will not be here before dark and we have time to prepare. Black Bird!”
Black Bird quickly chose his warriors and they put on their war faces and, those who had them donned their hide jerkins.
Long Sight turned to me, “Go to your family for tomorrow you will be vital to our victory. Black Bird and I can see to the rest. Your decision about the traps was a good one and I should have thought of it. You were sent here to save us.”
I did not point out, as I headed to Laughing Deer that our arrival had also precipitated this disaster. It was the Norns. Stands Alone, my wife and son were seated outside our home and they had food ready for us to eat. They chatted as though this was a normal day, but I saw the nervous look Stands Alone gave to the trail.
“The tribe is prepared, Stands Alone.”
She nodded and patted the sheath of her seax, “As am I. I was a child when they took me. If they defeat our men, then they shall see what a woman can do.” She stood, “Give me Bear and I will wind him.”
Laughing Deer had told me that she feared Stands Alone would never have her own children and I saw that Bear was lucky. He had two mothers. When we were alone Laughing Deer said, “She is not the only one who is afraid. Can we win? There look to be too few men in the tribe.”
“When they come then the women will aid the men. The stones we will use to throw at them can be thrown by women and children. When the morrow comes it will be the tribe which fights and not just the men and the Penobscot will not expect that.”
After I had eaten, I lay down to rest. I knew that I would not be able to sleep but I would rest while I could. When I rose, I would don my mail. I had decided to use some of the ash from the fire. I did not want them to see the metal of my byrnie beneath the bear cloak and I would blacken it with soot. My weapons were sharpened, and I had given one of the Penobscot spears to Long Sight. When we had been to Benni’s farm on the island I had found, half-buried, a broken ploughshare. It had split, somehow, and Benni must have discarded it or, perhaps he had always intended to repair it but been killed before he could do so. On the other hand, it could have been the Norns. Whatever the reason I had two pieces of metal and I used the flat side of the axe head to beat them into shape before I sharpened them. Now the two spears were a pair of formidable weapons. The spearhead was narrow and pointed. Thrust hard it could hurt an enemy.
As darkness fell, I rose and donned my mail. I used the soot and ash to darken not only my mail but also my face and hands. That would be my war face. When I put the bear’s head over my helmet, I appeared even taller than before. Long Sight nodded approvingly, “Black Bird and his killers are in the forest. When the scouts find the trail is full of traps, they will head into the trees and there they will die.”
“And if the Penobscot come in numbers?”
“They will race back and tell us. Our warriors rest with weapons and their hide vests. They will be ready to fight and if I were to have to face you, Erik, Shaman of the Bear I would fear you and expect to die.”
“Then let us hope that they do too!”
We waited at the head of the path and we listened. The night passed and we heard nothing, not even the animals of the night and that was because our men were there, and they would remain silent. Then, as the moon peered out from behind a cloud a scream pierced the night. I have no doubt that some of those in our camp were afraid, but none made a sound. Then I heard other noises, but I could not identify them. The night passed and we all listened. It was not long before dawn when Black Bird and his men reappeared. One or two had bloody scars to show that they had battled but, in their hands, they carried ten heads.
“We have made the logs into deadly traps and they will suffer injuries as they come.” Black Bird grinned, “I will need to use the whetstone, but this axe hews heads as easily as a tree.”
Long Sight looked pleased, “Put the heads on spears here across the path. It will enrage them, and we all know that a warrior who does not fight with his head has lost the battle already. I will rouse the warriors for soon they will be here. They will come with the rising sun.
I was left alone, and I hefted my shield on to my arm. I wondered what Fótr was doing. Had he had to fight to claim his land? That, it seemed, was our lot in life. Neither Fótr nor I wished to fight, Arne had, but we had not and yet, it seemed, if something was worthwhile then we had to fight for it.
The Penobscot warrior who ghosted from the woods almost caught me by surprise, but I had not moved, and I was completely encased in black. He did not see me but I saw him for the white bone beads on his vest reflected light. I had my arm pulled back the moment I spied him. He was running towards our camp and did not see the spear which rammed into his middle, scraped off his spine and ended his life. I had just pushed his body from my spear when Long Sight and the warriors appeared.
Long Sight nodded approvingly, “Once again you impress me. You have finished that which Black Bird began. Come, we will form the wall.”
We went back to the warriors who were shuffling into place. We had practised this once or twice, but I knew that it was not enough. However, imperfect though we might be, it was better than fighting the old Mi’kmaq way. All that I was attempting was to protect our warriors from the initial attack. Their best warriors would come first and if we could ride that storm and weaken them t
hen we had a chance. The Mi’kmaq were uncomfortable with their crudely made shields. We had not smoothed and finished them and that was no bad thing. A splinter could hurt our enemies while the shields protected the warriors. Behind us, the women with the stones and the boys with the bows and stones lined up. As with the shields we had practised but it would not be enough. However, if one arrow or stone in four hurt the enemy then we would be better off.
Chief Wandering Moos appeared, and he wore feathers hanging in his hair. He had a bare chest and he carried a bone tomahawk and a stone club. Long Sight nodded to him. For this day it was Long Sight who would command, and he said, “Chief, stand behind the Shaman of the Bear. He wishes to draw the enemy to him, and your presence will encourage that.” He did not mention that this was the best chance Wandering Moos had to survive the battle for the Penobscot would have to kill me to get at him.
When the sun began to appear, we heard the Penobscot war cry from the beach and then we heard them as they hurtled up the path. When we heard the war cries replaced by shouts and screams of pain we knew that they had found our traps. We saw faces appear at the edge of the trees, but our barriers stopped them simply striding through them.
Long Sight shouted, “Await my command!”
I had never witnessed a battle like this before. When we had fought the Penobscot it had been almost by accident. When Arne had pursued them into their trap he had not known how they would fight. Long Sight and Wandering Moos had told me that the Penobscot liked to charge and win by sheer weight of numbers. It was what had made me adopt this plan. Our traps had disrupted their attack but as soon as they reached the path and saw the skulls and the dead scout, they just hurtled towards us in a mad frenzy! That was their weakness for they had not formed up first and they ran at us, not in tens and twenties but in ones and twos.