Crooked River

by Shelley Pearsall

  and clucks her tongue at me.

  it is late,

  old talking grandfather,

  come to bed.

  it is late. they are asleep.

  come to bed.

  but i do not listen.

  outside

  the sounds

  of the land that is not ours

  grow quiet.

  the sounds of the people who are not ours

  grow silent.

  i sit by the soft fire,

  circle my lips around

  my old tobacco pipe,

  and remember

  when we were not

  a poor people,

  when the trees did not

  weep for us.

  i remember Ten Claws and

  Small Hawk and my father Ajijaak,

  and the others

  who are gone

  on the road to the spirits.

  i remember the young girl

  who left gifts

  of acorns and bird nests

  at my feet.

  and i remember Red Hair, my old friend.

  when i close my eyes,

  i see the Crooked River and

  the rolling forestland

  where we hunted

  and fished

  and dove like arrows

  long

  ago.

  i am old now, i whisper,

  but i still remember.

  What is the truth—débwewin—and what is the fiction in the story of John Amik? Although Crooked River is a work of fiction, the idea for this novel began with an actual trial. In 1812, a Chippewa Indian named John O'mic was held captive for two months, tried by a white jury, and convicted of murder in Cleveland, Ohio.

  As I delved deeper into this story, I learned that the year 1812 was a time of particular unrest and growing fear in this region—among both whites and Native Americans. One historian wrote, “Nowhere on the American frontier was the clash of cultures more violent than on the Ohio frontier.”

  During this turbulent period, the legendary Shawnee leader Tecumseh was trying to create a confederacy of Indian nations from Alabama to the Northeast to negotiate for Indian lands and protect them from further loss to white settlement. War between Great Britain and the United States loomed on the horizon, and the British were supplying weapons to Indian nations. At the same time, white settlers continued to push westward—often breaking agreements made in earlier treaties with the Indians. So, as I researched this story, I began to see that the imprisonment and trial of John O'mic took place in an environment of growing conflict and violence.

  I was also surprised to learn that John O'mic was held captive in the cabin of a settler who had his family living inside the cabin at the same time. His family included a small child, a thirteen-year-old girl, and a young woman. What did they think about the Indian imprisoned in the loft above them? I wondered.

  When I write about history, I am often interested in the side of the story that has not been told. So, I began to consider writing about the events of 1812 from the perspective of one of the children in the cabin. At the same time, I found myself drawn to the voice of John O'mic. What was his story? What would he say about the events as they unfolded around him? That is how Crooked River became a “two voices” story.

  The language of the Carvers came from books, letters, and journals of this time period. Phrases such as “truth to speak,” “white as a wall,” “strange to say,” and “worn to shadows” came from these places. An important source for Rebecca Carver's voice was the unpublished diary of a young girl named Emily Nash, who lived in northern Ohio during this time. In fact, Peter Kelley's rattlesnake story was based on a dramatic account in her diary.

  Sadly the language of the past sometimes reflected the prejudices and hatreds of the past. Some of the characters in Crooked River use words such as “savages,” ”half-breeds,” and “beasts” to describe the Native American people. It was with a heavy heart that I put these words into the story. They were used on the frontier and found in the historical documents I read. Appallingly, even the governor of Ohio used this language in an 1812 address to the Ohio legislature in which he called the Indians “hordes of barbarians.” As a historical writer, I could not ignore the language of the past, but I hope that it causes readers to reflect upon the destructive nature of these words.

  Although the word “Indian” was used in the past, many Native Americans feel it is a word that does not accurately reflect the diversity and history of their cultures. “Native American,” “First Nations People,” and “indigenous people” are more frequently used today.

  While I have used the common name “Chippewa” for this novel, I should point out that the Chippewa nation is known by several different names. The ancient name for the Chippewa people is the Anishinabek, which translates as “original people” or “beings with bones, flesh, and spirit.”

  In the 1800s, “Chippewa” was the name that white people often used for this nation. During this time period, the people of this nation usually called themselves the Ojibways. The name can also be spelled “Ojibwe,” “Ojibwa,” and “Ojibbeway.”

  As I studied the language of the Ojibwe people, I was fascinated by the beauty of the words and their sounds. Ojibwe is sometimes called a verb-based language because of its emphasis on words that describe action and movement. I chose to use story-poems for John Amik's voice because I felt that poetry best reflected the powerful, descriptive language found in the speeches, songs, and stories of the Ojibwe. A wonderful resource for exploring the poetry within Native American songs is I, the Song: Classical Poetry of Native North America, edited by A. L. Soens.

  Whenever possible, I used Ojibwe words and phrases in John Amik's passages. Phrases such as “many strings of lives ago,” “when the trees did not weep for us,” and “his words roll like logs in white water” all come from Ojibwe sources. Since dreams hold great spiritual power for the Ojibwe people, I wove together dream descriptions from several Ojibwe songs and stories to create Amik's spirit dream.

  During the research and writing of Crooked River, the most memorable moment for me occurred when I read about Animiki—the Thunder Beings, or thun-derbirds—who are a powerful element of the spirit world for the Ojibwe people. I was fascinated to discover that there are a number of stories and songs within the Ojibwe oral tradition that tell of captives or others being saved by the powerful Thunder Beings. The chant recited by John Amik, “circle above me a cloud,” comes from one of those songs. The image at the top of Amik's chapters is a thunderbird.

  In the Cleveland trial of John O'mic, a storm did suddenly appear at the moment of his execution. White observers called it a “terrific storm which came up with great rapidity” and described how the crowd scattered in its wake. So, Crooked River gave me the opportunity to weave together written history and oral history in a unique way.

  Although most of the details of John Amik's trial have been imagined, I used accounts from several Indian trials in Ohio and elsewhere to create the fictional trial scenes. A trial in 1821 involving the testimony of a well-known Seneca leader named Red Jacket provided the scene where the use of the Bible is questioned, for instance. The place names found in the novel are also fictionalized for the most part; however, the name “Crooked River” has sometimes been used to describe the winding Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio.

  Although the homeland of the Ojibwe nation once stretched throughout the Great Lakes region, only small areas of land still remain. For decades treaties were made and broken by the United States and the government agents who negotiated them. Today, reservation lands exist in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the Dakotas as well as Canada. However, there are currently no lands in Ohio that are held by the Ojibwe people or any other Native American nation.

  While working on this novel, I often drove on a road called Chippewa Road, past a housing complex called Chippewa Place, over a river called Chippewa Creek. The story of John O'mic caused me
to stop and wonder, What do these names mean? Who were— and are—the Chippewa people? When were they here? Why did they leave?

  Crooked River gave me a glimpse into the lives of the frontier people and the “original people,” the Chippewa. Although I am not of Chippewa heritage, I believe that all of us, of any background or culture, can begin to understand one another and the places of our present and past. There is still much more to be learned, but I am honored to have been given the chance to try.

  —Shelley Pearsall

  Baraga, Frederic. A Dictionary of the Ojibway Language. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1992.

  Bial, Raymond. The Ojibwe. New York: Benchmark Books, 2000.

  Bourgeois, Arthur P., ed. Ojibwa Narratives of Charles and Charlotte Kawbawgam and Jacques LePique, 1893-1895. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1994.

  Densmore, Frances. Chippewa Customs. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1979.

  Hurt, R. Douglas. The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996.

  Jefferson, Thomas. “Letter to Benjamin Hawkins, August 13, 1786, Paris.” Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Papers Series 1, General Correspondence, 1651-1827.

  Johnston, Basil. Ojibway Heritage. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990.

  Kirkland, Caroline M. A New Home, Who'll Follow? Edited by Sandra A. Zagarell. Piscataway, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1990.

  Nelson, Larry L., ed. A History of Jonathan Alder: His Captivity and Life with the Indians. Akron, Ohio: University of Akron Press, 2002.

  Nichols, John D., and Earl Nyholm. A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1995.

  Soens, A. L., ed. I, the Song: Classical Poetry of Native North America. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1999.

  Stone, William L. The Life and Times of Red Jacket. New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1841.

  Tanner, John. The Falcon: A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner. New York: Penguin, 1994.

  Van Tassel, David D., and John J. Grabowski, eds. The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. 2nd ed. Blooming-ton: Indiana University Press, 1996.

  Vennum, Thomas, Jr. Ojibway Music from Minnesota: A Century of Song for Voice and Drum. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1989.

  Warren, William W History of the Ojibway People. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1984.

  MUSEUM RESOURCES

  Van Andel Museum Center

  Public Museum of Grand Rapids

  Anishinabek: The People of This Place (permanent exhibit)

  272 Pearl Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504

  Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan 6650 East Broadway, Mount Pleasant, MI 48858

  I would like to gratefully acknowledge my editor, Joan Slattery, assistant editor Jamie Weiss, and my agent, Steven Malk, for their guidance and encouragement. My gratitude to Marcy Lindberg for her continuing support. I am also indebted to Dr. Philip Weeks, Professor of History at Kent State University, Matt Lautzenheiser and Karen Lohman of Hale Farm and Village, and Jackie Fink, who reviewed early drafts of Crooked River.

  Finally, a special thank-you to the following young readers, who took the time to read and share their thoughts about the manuscript: Virginia An-gelo, Samantha Ballash, Alex Bruck, Karilynn Cotone, Alex Coundourides, Mandy Czaplicki, Ashley Erlanson, Dominick Ferlito, Lauren Fiffick, Leanna Gruhn, Rebecca Hannan, Crystal Hill, Tim Hogan, Jack Holzheimer, Matthew Marecki, Mariana Medakovic, Shauna Nighswander, Jackie Piatak, Van Pollard, Sarah Popovitz, Vicky Reynolds, Josh Rikard, Emily Rosko, Lauren Saintz, Zach Scicchitano, Christine Smienski, Dan Sweet, Matt Unger, Bridget VanDen-Haute, and Molly Vogel.

  Miigwech.

  Thank you.

  Reader's Theater

  Growing up, I spent many hours acting out scenes from my favorite books, and later, participating in school and community theater productions. Reader's theater is a special type of dramatic presentation in which specific scenes in books are adapted into short scripts. Readers take on the roles listed in the script and read their parts aloud, usually without any special costumes, props, or scenery. They use only their voices and simple movements or actions to play their roles.

  I've found that reading a scene out loud sometimes gives an entirely new perspective on characters and their actions. On the following pages, I've adapted several scenes from Crooked River into short reader's theater scripts, so that you can play the part of one of the characters in the 1812 trial.

  —Shelley Pearsall

  “Tomahawk Testimony”

  Adapted from chapters 22 and 23

  Characters

  REBECCA CARVER (settler)

  MR. AUGUSTUS ROOT (prosecuting lawyer)

  MR. NICHOLS (blacksmith)

  JUDGE NOBLE

  REBECCA: (to audience) When the court resumed again in the late afternoon, a large bear of a man filled the entire witness chair. It was Blacksmith Nichols! In the settlement, the sight of him always frightened me near to death. His soot-black hands were the size of bear paws and his fierce eyes seemed to burn holes straight through your skin. But the lawyer, Augustus Root, didn't seem to feel any fear at all. After the blacksmith was sworn in, he strolled easily toward him.

  MR. ROOT: (to blacksmith) Tell us, Mr. Nichols, how you came to make the acquaintance of the Indian who is here today, the one who—

  MR. NICHOLS: (interrupting) I made him a tomahawk.

  MR. ROOT: A tomahawk.

  MR. NICHOLS: Yes, sir.

  MR. ROOT: And why did you make a tomahawk for this particular Indian?

  MR. NICHOLS: (mockingly) You seen many blacksmiths among the savages, Mr. Root?

  MR. ROOT: No, of course not, you're right. (shuffling through papers in his hands) But could you perhaps describe the tomahawk you made for Indian John? Tell the jury well, exactly how it was made.

  MR. NICHOLS: (mockingly) What a tomahawk is made of?

  JUDGE NOBLE: (pounding gavel) Let me remind everyone that this is a court of law, and all questions are to be answered to the best of one's ability. MR. ROOT: So, once again, Mr. Nichols—could you explain exactly how the tomahawk was made? For the jury please.

  MR. NICHOLS: It was a pipe tomahawk. Iron blade with a steel edge. For sharpness.

  MR. ROOT: And you made only the blade, correct?

  MR. NICHOLS: Yes.

  MR. ROOT: What about the haft—the handle? What did it look like?

  MR. NICHOLS: It was made out of wood.

  MR. ROOT: Any decoration that you recall?

  MR. NICHOLS: Yes.

  MR. ROOT: (rubs eyes wearily) Could you perhaps describe the decoration?

  MR. NICHOLS: There was marks scorched all along the wood of the haft. Dark and light stripes.

  MR. ROOT: Made by this Indian?

  MR. NICHOLS: (shrugs) Made by some Indian, I don't know who.

  MR. ROOT: Anything else? Any other decorations?

  MR. NICHOLS: One piece of trade silver in the shape of a diamond, set into the wood.

  MR. ROOT: Mr. Nichols, do you think you would recognize the tomahawk you worked on, if it was shown to you again?

  MR. NICHOLS: Yes, I would. (crosses his arms)

  REBECCA: (narrating to audience) I watched as Augustus Root walked quickly to his chair to fetch something. Everyone around us stood up to see it, too. I knew by the whispering of the crowd that the tomahawk was the same one the blacksmith had described—the same one that had been found in the trapper's head. Some people in the crowd wanted to see Indian John hanged right then, and I was sick with fear about what would happen next. But even though the blacksmith claimed to remember Indian John's tomahawk, it turned out he didn't recognize several other tomahawks and hatchets he had made. After the other lawyer, Peter Kelley finished questioning him, Blacksmith Nichols stormed out of the trial, calling it a “court of fools.” The trial c
ontinued with the next witness, a settler named Ezra Phelps.

  “Footprints and Snowshoes”

  Adapted from chapter 25

  Characters

  REBECCA CARVER (settler)

  JOHN AMIK (Chippewa Indian)

  JUDGE NOBLE

  MR. AUGUSTUS ROOT (prosecuting lawyer)

  MR. EZRA PHELPS (witness)

  MR. PETER KELLEY (defense lawyer)

  REBECCA: (to audience) Up in the front, the next witness sunk down in the chair. He looked to be about my pa's age, but he was scrawnier. One of his thin shoulders stuck up higher than the other, which gave him a peculiar, crooked appearance.

  JOHN AMIK: (to audience) I stare at the man who sits in the talking chair. He is well known to me. Five summers ago, he came from a distant place to fish in our rivers and hunt in our woodlands and feed his children on that which was not given to him. When he talks, the crooked gichi-mookomaan speaks from three sides of his mouth at once. Friend, he calls us. Friend. But his words roll like logs in white water—didibin, didibin, didibin, roll, roll, roll. His words roll with lies.

  JUDGE NOBLE: (bangs gavel) We will now hear the testimony of Mr. Ezra Phelps. Mr. Root, you may begin your questions.

  MR. ROOT: Mr. Phelps, you and your family live on the other side of the Crooked River, am I right?

  MR. PHELPS: (nods)

  MR. ROOT: And you have lived there for about five years?

  MR. PHELPS: (nods) Got ten acres in corn.

  MR. ROOT: And you found the dead trapper? Correct?

  MR. PHELPS: Yessir. Me and my son Asa done found that dead trapper one morning at the edge of one of our cornfields.

  MR. ROOT: What morning was it?

  MR. PHELPS: (thinking) Well now, let's see if I can recollect, it was sometime about the end of March. A Tuesday morning, I believe, because my wife was

  washing clothes outside and she mostly does the washing on Tuesdays.

  MR. ROOT: Could you describe what you and your son saw?

  MR. PHELPS: Well now, Judge … (looks at judge) I don't want to frighten all them women and children setting out there. It weren't a pretty sight that I saw.