Read Online Adventures of Radisson by Martin Fournier - Free Book Online
Authors: Martin Fournier
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the Iroquois will save our people. May he be right. May the spirits that have always supported him stay favourable to him and bring us victory. But doubt has started to flicker in my mind. I am afraid for him and I am afraid for my people because we are dying in greater numbers than the French and the Dutch. Their Great Spirit is more powerful than the spirits of our ancestors.â
Katari fell silent. Radisson too kept silent, more touched than if he had understood everything. His mother was calling him to her rescue, he thought, but he did not know how to answer her call. Would he ever be able to? He had his doubts. She had saved his life and yet he felt as though there was nothing he could do for her. It was a sad situation, but one day he hoped he could turn around and pay back the debt he owed her.
Also lost in her thoughts, Katari poked distractedly at the fire with the end of a long stick. Radisson asked her why she didnât try to save the prisoners as she had done for him. She threw back her head and gave him a piercing look.
âBecause the prisoners were brought back by the Tortoise clan and I am from the Bear clan. There is nothing I can do for them. Listen to themâ¦â Radisson could hear them screaming in the distance. âThey have already started to torture them. Tomorrow, they will kill them. But it will be a long, drawn-out affairâ they know how to make them suffer. Until then, you will stay here with me. Itâs not a good idea for them to see a Frenchman. Who knows what might happen to you? The warriors do not know you and might turn on you. Stay here. With me, you have nothing to fear.â
O NCE CALM HAD RETURNED to the village, Radisson took his fatherâs advice and organized a short hunting expedition. Serontatié, the only boy he liked spending time with, would accompany him. Despite his youth, he was kind, smart, and quick-witted. And, above all else, he never treated Radisson with contempt, always as an equal. Still, as a token of his friendship toward Serontatié, Radisson had to agree that two of his friends from the Wolf clan would join them. Even though he had no affinity toward the other two, he was in no position to complain. His dog Bo would accompany the party.
While Serontatié and Radisson both opted for a musket, their companions felt more comfortable with bow and arrow. Each one brought with him a knife, a tomahawk, and a fire starter. As a precaution they carried a small reserve of cornmeal.
At the start of their journey, the four young men wandered through the forest without encountering any sign of big game. They amused themselves killing hares and squirrels along the way. Through his innate sense of pride and because he felt he had to prove his worth to Serontatiéâs two friends who were enjoying making fun of him, Radisson tried his best to impress them with his shooting prowess. Ever since he saw the prisoners tortured then put to death, he had felt an even greater need to show off his strength and skills. But to show their superiority the two fools accompanying them fell back on their bows and arrows, weapons they mastered much better than Radisson. Radisson suffered their jibes in silence, but he could hardly wait to shut them up the first chance he could get. Wisely, he managed to keep everyone focused on hunting, the passion they all shared.
As the four companions were looking for a good spot to set up camp, they met an old man out hunting alone in the woods. He introduced himself as an Algonquin by birth, adopted by the Iroquois in a neighbouring village four years ago. He enjoyed his new life. His only regret was not becoming an Iroquois earlier, he said. And he was not shy about his talents as a hunter and warrior. Impressed, the four young men held a quick confab to decide if they should press on with this experienced hunter. Later that evening, they would share a stew with him, made from two of the hares he had killed along
Katari fell silent. Radisson too kept silent, more touched than if he had understood everything. His mother was calling him to her rescue, he thought, but he did not know how to answer her call. Would he ever be able to? He had his doubts. She had saved his life and yet he felt as though there was nothing he could do for her. It was a sad situation, but one day he hoped he could turn around and pay back the debt he owed her.
Also lost in her thoughts, Katari poked distractedly at the fire with the end of a long stick. Radisson asked her why she didnât try to save the prisoners as she had done for him. She threw back her head and gave him a piercing look.
âBecause the prisoners were brought back by the Tortoise clan and I am from the Bear clan. There is nothing I can do for them. Listen to themâ¦â Radisson could hear them screaming in the distance. âThey have already started to torture them. Tomorrow, they will kill them. But it will be a long, drawn-out affairâ they know how to make them suffer. Until then, you will stay here with me. Itâs not a good idea for them to see a Frenchman. Who knows what might happen to you? The warriors do not know you and might turn on you. Stay here. With me, you have nothing to fear.â
O NCE CALM HAD RETURNED to the village, Radisson took his fatherâs advice and organized a short hunting expedition. Serontatié, the only boy he liked spending time with, would accompany him. Despite his youth, he was kind, smart, and quick-witted. And, above all else, he never treated Radisson with contempt, always as an equal. Still, as a token of his friendship toward Serontatié, Radisson had to agree that two of his friends from the Wolf clan would join them. Even though he had no affinity toward the other two, he was in no position to complain. His dog Bo would accompany the party.
While Serontatié and Radisson both opted for a musket, their companions felt more comfortable with bow and arrow. Each one brought with him a knife, a tomahawk, and a fire starter. As a precaution they carried a small reserve of cornmeal.
At the start of their journey, the four young men wandered through the forest without encountering any sign of big game. They amused themselves killing hares and squirrels along the way. Through his innate sense of pride and because he felt he had to prove his worth to Serontatiéâs two friends who were enjoying making fun of him, Radisson tried his best to impress them with his shooting prowess. Ever since he saw the prisoners tortured then put to death, he had felt an even greater need to show off his strength and skills. But to show their superiority the two fools accompanying them fell back on their bows and arrows, weapons they mastered much better than Radisson. Radisson suffered their jibes in silence, but he could hardly wait to shut them up the first chance he could get. Wisely, he managed to keep everyone focused on hunting, the passion they all shared.
As the four companions were looking for a good spot to set up camp, they met an old man out hunting alone in the woods. He introduced himself as an Algonquin by birth, adopted by the Iroquois in a neighbouring village four years ago. He enjoyed his new life. His only regret was not becoming an Iroquois earlier, he said. And he was not shy about his talents as a hunter and warrior. Impressed, the four young men held a quick confab to decide if they should press on with this experienced hunter. Later that evening, they would share a stew with him, made from two of the hares he had killed along
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