Finally, they could eat no more. Some had overindulged on their traditional corn-based dish, called “migan” – corn either mashed and boiled with fish or grilled and ground, then mixed in with a meat and fish soup. Foaming Bear had stuffed himself on all kinds of game and had nearly finished off a quarter caribou by himself. Revved up by the rum vapours, he hovered around the missionary, just waiting for a pretext to warm the man’s behind on the embers. But the shaman thought it better to temper Foaming Bear’s enthusiasm. Fiery Elouèzes, proudly wearing around his neck a black and red medicinal stone carved into an oval shape, called on the Great Creator to ensure the missionary felt the evil effects of the talisman that had been found in evil Gougou’s hideout.
Membertou was hiding behind some fat, still-steaming pumpkins that had been cooked in the embers. Armed with a slingshot, he shot small stones into the migan dishes. As for Ignace de la Transfiguration, he had not been able to resist the lure of the beaver tail dough dipped in maple syrup and cooked in a lilypad leaf. Slow, wild music enveloped the bay. The concert began with flutes made of elderwood and tamtams. There were water drums3 too, whose faint beat still managed to travel great distances. Other bigger drums on stands mimicked the beating of the heart and the vibrations of the earth in the four directions. Angélique began to dance, the stark sensuality of her slender body heightened by the crescendo of sounds rising to meet the rays of the setting sun. Father Ignace began to feel a prickling at the base of his spine. He had no idea the beaver tails he’d been eating were considered to be an aphrodisiac. Fiery Elouèzes could feel the Black Robes growing consternation, which he attributed to the powers of his magic stone. Then the rhythm switched to a devilish cadence, and the dancers turned into shadow figures projected by the flames. The frenzied dancing gave off such sensuality that the missionary was obliged to walk alone farther down the shore to regain some semblance of composure.
Smoke from the fires and from the many tobacco pipes perfumed the heavens with their earthly aromas. The smoke wafting its way skyward mingled with the cries of those who, after their sauna in the sweat lodge, plunged into the creek. The missionary began dreaming about the French and Catholic empire of America, in which he would be Gods right hand and the Kings representative to this refractory people. But it was a disappointing time for him since many baptized natives refused in extremis a burial in the Catholic cemetery. It was not uncommon to see the families come for their dying family member to bury him or her in their ancestors’ sacred sites.
Kings and popes fear us, he consoled himself, but here we are faced with resistance not easily shaken by questions of right and wrong
His thoughts were interrupted by Joseph, who had come to join him. “What’s the news of Quebec?” Joseph asked.
“The Canadiens are worried. The survival of the colony is not assured, and there’s always the fear of an English victory. The colonies of Virginia and Boston are already twenty times more heavily populated.”
With Angélique’s scent still on his skin, Joseph felt far removed from such concerns. The mention of Quebec did not even stir up memories of Emilie for him… He was sufficiently alert, however, to notice that Black Robe did not mention the corruption of certain leaders, who were more interested in lining their own pockets than in fortifying New France.
1. Ferns.
2. A mixture of white alcohol and port wine.
3. So called because they were filled with water.
Chapter 4
As of 1653, Nicolas Denys, nicknamed Grande Barbe, received from the Compagnie de Nouvelle France (established by Richelieu) a vast concession stretching from Canseau to the Baye des Chaleurs in Acadia. He organized the triple trade of lumber, fur, and fishing there with establishments in, among others, Miscou, Nipisiguit, and Miramichi. He was appointed governor of the territory and given the mission of settling eighty families there.
– The author
Five months had passed since Joseph’s arrival in Ruisseau. The hot season was not yet over, and it was already time to begin preparations for winter. But the most urgent task was finding shelter since the newlyweds did not want to spend the winter in a tent. Joseph and Saint-Jean put the tribe to work digging a cellar, a lesson learned early in the colony’s life when the first arrivals froze royally. Cedar trees grew abundantly in the wetlands upstream of Ruisseau, and Saint-Jean had cut several cords of cedar the preceding winter. The Mi’kmaq began squaring the wood with an axe from New England that was thicker and heavier than the trading axes manufactured in France. Notches were cut into the logs so they fit one on top of the other to form the walls. Pegs made of maple or larchwood helped reinforce the construction. The rest – the crossbeams and joists – was made of eastern white pine. White birchbark between the walls served to keep out the wind. In no time at all, the tribe had erected a one-room cabin measuring approximately fifteen feet by twenty-five. Little Membertou used his hatchet to chop off any knots that jutted out. Since the cabin was no Château de Versailles, the boy was allowed a few mistakes. Angélique and the women prepared the moss and clay to caulk the frame, while the rest of the tribe assembled embankments of dried seaweed to a height of approximately one foot to insulate the foundation properly. Finally, the sloping roof was covered with moss. With a stonecarver’s enthusiasm, Joseph tackled building the hearth, a fireplace to be used for cooking, lighting, and heating purposes, although it mostly heated the great outdoors! He was euphoric as he worked, already imagining how, on nights when snow gently fell to the ground outside, he would be able to warm himself sitting on his bed of fur in front of the fire – the crackling wood knots, the scent of maple logs, the dancing sparks, and Angéliques gentle presence.
That fall the camp was invaded by mosquitoes. Joseph had to keep feeding the grass fire he’d lit in a metal barrel in his cabin; compared to mosquito bites, smoke was the lesser of two evils. Joseph was impressed by the Mi’kmaq spirit of ingenuity; for every problem there was a solution, for every season there was a form of entertainment. During the hot season, they built a sweat lodge. In a tent lying low to the ground, the Mi’kmaq arranged heated rocks in a circle in the centre, which were then covered with spruce leaves and sprinkled with a bit of cold water. Afterwards, the Mi’kmaq sat naked, shoulders touching, in a tight circle around the rocks. Sometimes, to feel the heat even more, they sang and tapped their heels. Then they ran outside and threw themselves into the creek. It was a ritual with therapeutic virtues since it facilitated the cleansing of the body.
But this was no time to dwell on fond memories of the good times in the hot season because there was still much that had to be done before winter set in: wood to cut, hay to gather, crops to store away, fish and meat to be smoked and cured. Nothing could be neglected when everything had to be produced. Angélique prepared the flax with which she would make clothes, a lengthy operation that involved drying, crushing, carding, and spinning the flax. She also prepared the furs; she liked the beaver hides that she sewed together to make clothes or blankets. She still had to make soap; pick blueberries, wild strawberries, and raspberries; and bake apples. The work was exhausting, but she wouldn’t have traded places with anyone. She soon forgot the long days once she was curled up in Joseph’s arms, and the two of them drifted off to sleep in the warmth of their cabin.
The Mi’kmaq were more a trapping than a farming people, and therefore more nomadic than sedentary. But Angélique had insisted that next to