id="u8a8c08ae-dea7-5ae4-92b8-df5cb494bdec">
JAMES McGEE
The Blooding
This one is for my cousin, Mark. Flying free … O:nen Ontiaten:ro The Mohawk at the time the novel is set had no written language. Iroquois vocabulary was originally transcribed by Jesuit missionaries and therefore, even today, there are discrepancies in the origins, spelling and meaning of certain words. I’m indebted to Thomas Deer of the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language & Cultural Center in Kahnawá:ke, Montreal, for his guidance. Rotinonshón:ni: “People of the Longhouse” – the Six Nations – Iroquois Confederacy Kanien’kehá:ka: “People of the Place of the Flint” – the Mohawk Kaion’kehá:ka: “People of the Marsh” – the Cayuga Oneniote’á:ka: “People of the Standing Stone” – the Oneida Ononta’kehá:ka: “People of the Hills” – the Onondaga Shotinontowane’á:ka: “People of the Great Mountain” – the Seneca Tehatiskaró:ros: “People of the Shirt” – the Tuscarora Kaianere’kó:wa: “The Great Law of Peace” – the Constitution of the Six Nations Oyata’ge’ronóñ: “People of the Cave Country” – the Cherokee Wendat: “People of the Island” – the Huron Ahkwesáhsne: “Where the partridge drums” – Mohawk village near St Regis Kahnawá:ke: “On the rapids” – Mohawk village near Montreal Kanièn:keh: “Land of the Flint” – Traditional homeland of the Mohawk Kenhtè:ke: “Place of the Bay” – Mohawk village on the Bay of Quinte, Canada Anówarakowa Kawennote: “Great Turtle Island” – North America Atirú:taks: Adirondacks Kaniatarowanénhne: “Big Waterway” – the St Lawrence River Ne-ah-ga: Niagara Oiqué: Hudson River Senhahlone: Plattsburg Tanasi: Tennessee
If they are to fight, they are too few;
If they are to be killed, they are too many.
Theyanoguin Wolf Clan, Kanien’kehá:ka Warrior, sachem, diplomat, orator Table of Contents
Mohawk Valley, New York State, May 1780
Reaching the edge of the forest, Lieutenant Gil Wyatt halted and dropped to one knee. Cradling his rifle, he gazed down at the scene spread below him, his expression calm and watchful. From his elevated position the ground sloped away gently, gradually widening out into a swathe of rich green meadow-grass speckled with blue violets, through which ran a shallow stream bordered by stands of scarlet oak and white willow. Tree stumps dotted the incline, evidence of the labour that had gone into converting the land and raising
