Chief Lightning Bolt Page 3

  Early Blossom, who could barely contain her own anticipation, tried to maintain an air of tranquility for the sake of her husband’s mental well-being. With an expertly feigned air of blissful calm she responded, “Patience, my dear husband. Patience, the Sunrise for it will come.”

  Finally, during a raging thunder and lightning storm, three Sunrises before the first full Moon of Spring, with Little Bear bordering on the verge of mental collapse, their first son was born. He was named Lightning Bolt. He was given the name, which followed the Nation’s time-honoured tradition of naming children after Mother Earth’s creations, because a great bolt of lightning was seen by the community, flashing across the sky, at the very time of his birth. After the resounding thunder had echoed across the land, the next sound to be heard was the wailing cry of the new baby. He would be the couple’s first of several children.

  The joyful news of the much anticipated arrival of their son spread like wildfire throughout the community. The women, responding with enthusiasm, began to organize a feast of birth celebration. The birth was a special event for the entire community because the birth of a child for the Mi’kmaq was a time to be especially thankful to the Great Spirit, Who, by making the People fertile, assured the Nation’s survival.

  On the Sunrise of the celebration the festivities began with the community’s women giving presents to Little Bear and Early Blossom. They consisted of practical things, especially blankets and cloths that were needed by parents when starting the joyful task of raising a child. And then, with happy hearts, they shared a delectable meal and enjoyed fascinating entertainment arranged by the community’s musicians and storytellers.

  With uncanny accuracy, the truth of Early Blossom’s prediction of great things in store for their son soon became apparent. During his early childhood, Lightning Bolt began to display an outstanding intelligence and a curiosity about the world around him that seemed insatiable. At nine Moons he spoke his first words and he soon had a vocabulary that was exceptional for his age. In just a little more than eleven Moons he began to walk and, with his new mobility, he was soon investigating everything that came in sight. His curiosity soon had him asking any adult he met those hard-to-answer questions that only small children can ask.

  When he passed five Springs, Little Bear began teaching Lightning Bolt the skills Mi’kmaq males needed to become warriors. As he did when he learned to walk and talk, the little man displayed an exceptional ability to pick up knowledge and to improve upon it. All this gave his parents pause for thought.

  In fact, although it was Early Blossom who had predicted great things for her son, she was much awed by his outstanding progress. One Sunrise, after hearing her son’s comments when engaged in a deep conversation with a passing Elder, Early Blossom commented on it to Little Bear. “My love, never in my wildest dreams did I believe the Great Spirit would bless us with a son who is so intelligent. It makes me wonder how two humble and average people such as us are ever going to cope with it. I pray with all my being that the Creator will give us the wherewithal and wisdom to raise him in a manner that will see him devoting his life to protecting and improving the ways of our Nation.”

  In a show of bravado he didn’t actually feel, Little Bear tried to assure her by saying, “Don’t worry my little flower, we can, with love, teach him to love and be humble before the Great Spirit. All else, with the passing of the Moons, shall fall into place.”

  Lightning Bolt, by both word and deed, soon proved to all his compatriots that he was a natural born leader, who had the charisma to inspire others to follow him. By the time he reached his sixth Spring his playmates were already enthusiastically following his lead. They did it with little hesitation, especially when he was trying to satisfy his and their curiosity about the mysteries of Mother Earth.

  His quest for knowledge extended beyond geography, flora and fauna to include history and legends. In fact, his intense quest for knowledge in this area was sometimes almost too much for his Elders to bear. He peppered his parents, grandparents and others with questions that seemed at times without end. But they praised him lavishly for his initiative. In spite of this, he maintained an air of humility that was commendable.

  Lightning Bolt, like most children, had a best friend. He was a boy named Crazy Moose, who was born the Summer following Lightning Bolt’s Spring birth to special friends of his parents, Swift Otter and Morning Star. The special friendship their parents enjoyed brought the two boys close together as babies. Thus, in early childhood they created a friendship bond that was destined to withstand the passage of time.

  The incident that gave Crazy Moose his name had caused a great deal of merriment among the People. It happened the Sunrise he was born. A monstrous bull moose, seemingly driven to distraction by black-flies and other pests, decided the best way to alleviate his torment was to take a swim in the Bay of Bear River. As it was a matter of great urgency for him, he decided that the quickest way to get to the water was a route straight through the middle of the village. Unfortunately, two wigwams happened to be sitting astraddle the straight line he had decided upon. They caused him no delay. They were sent flying like they were made of feathers. One was empty but the other was occupied by Moon Light, a very aged and beloved Elder.

  At the time the tormented moose struck Moon Light’s wigwam, she had just finished pouring herself a herbal tea and was moving the drinking vessel towards her mouth. As several villagers watched in amazement, the scene changed like it was caused by magic. In the blink of an eye the scene of a wigwam was replaced with a scene of a very elderly woman calmly taking a drink of tea, seemingly unfazed by the disappearance of the shelter that a moment before had shielded her. The incident became a timeless tale retold in front of countless campfires.

  Due to their different personalities, one outgoing, the other retiring, Lightning Bolt became the loyal leader and Crazy Moose the loyal follower. Their friendship was never adversarial. Although they grew up as equals, Crazy Moose was willing to follow his friend anywhere. He loved and trusted him completely. It was a most productive relationship that would amass many moments to recall and savour of danger, adventure, and mirth.

  Their taste for adventure began to develop early. During the passage of their first ten Summers they had been on many enjoyable overnight and longer camping trips with their fathers. However, by age ten, they felt a need to branch out on their own. Taking the bull moose by the horns, so to speak, they initiated their first step toward independence by summoning up the courage to ask their fathers for permission to make a solo overnight excursion. After Swift Otter and Little Bear had spent some time assuring their wives that the boys would be safe on their own for overnight stays, they permitted them to go alone to pre-approved areas.

  They, when travelling and camping on their own, like most boys their age, “accidentally” ran into many adventures. And they created many for themselves by trying to satisfy their insatiable curiosity or tastes. Some of their escapades were so dangerous and foolhardy that if their poor mothers had known what was going on they would have had nervous breakdowns.

  One such hair-raising escapade occurred during their second solo camping trip. After selecting a suitable site and setting up camp they started to explore the area. Before long, Crazy Moose spotted a beehive. A few seemingly innocent words from him started the events which resulted in a heart-stopping and near fatal adventure for them. “Hey, Lightning Bolt, look over there, in that old tree stump, a beehive!”

  This elicited a response from his friend that could be expected from a person with an insatiable taste for honey: “I see it; I see it! Oh, my brother, the sight of it sets my mouth to watering! Already I can savour the taste. I don’t know about you my friend, but I must have some.”

  With some caution, Crazy Moose responded: “So must I, my friend, but the big question is, when one has to take it from bees, how does he get it?”

  Not in the least daunt
ed by the task ahead Lightning Bolt shot back: “Don’t worry, my friend. Getting it will be as easy as crawling through that old hollow log over there. We’ll wrap ourselves in our fur bedding from head to foot and then knock open the old stump with boulders. Once we crack it open, we can grab the honeycomb and escape untouched.”

  With the mode of acquisition settled, the boys prepared to implement Lightning Bolt’s plan. As a precaution, knowing that the bees would be driven mad when disturbed, they investigated the area around the beehive to map out an escape route if needed. As the hive was located in an ancient burn on a hillside that went downwards about twenty-five paces to the river, they wisely determined that if things went wrong they could make it to the river and the safety of the water before suffering more than a few stings. With an escape route laid out, they put their acquisition plan into action.

  Lightning Bolt directed the assault, “Get ready, Crazy Moose! When I say, let fly with your boulder. As soon as yours hits, I’ll run in with my large one and try to split the stump open. Go!”

  The well-planned assault played out like a charm. The boulder Lightning Bolt hit the stump with successfully split it wide open as anticipated and sent the honeycomb out to fall on the ground. The delicious smell of honey quickly filled the air while the bees began buzzing about in frenzy. Observing all this from a short distance was a cranky old gentleman, who in his own right was born with an insatiable taste for delectable honey, Brother Black Bear.

  Brother Bear, with taste buds salivating, made his presence known to the boys with a deafening roar, which instilled a suitable amount of terror in them. As a result the leader, in a near panic, issued some astutely thought-out orders, “Run, Crazy Moose; run for your life! Head for the hollow log; we can’t make the river!”

  With no undo delay, into the log they swept at what seemed to be the speed of light. In the process, although in a near panic, Lightning Bolt, without conscious thought, had picked up the honeycomb as he ran past and brought it into the hollow log with them. This had an infuriating effect upon the ordinarily good-natured bear who, it must be said, in the best of times had a way about him that said, “Leave me alone!”

  Thus Brother Bear, without any preliminaries, began an assault on the log that could be heard several thousand paces away. Experiencing near terror, Lightning Bolt made a firm resolution to himself. “Oh, Great Spirit! Great Father, please spare us from this horror and I swear by the graves of my ancestors that I shall never try to deprive bees of their honey in this place again.” Remarkably, even at this time of great anxiety, in order to protect his obsession to gather honey in the future from other sites, he had the foresight not to make his promise to the Great Spirit all-inclusive.

  Being the natural-born leader that he was, Lightning Bolt soon calmed down, began to take the measure of the problem and devise a solution. After deducing that their safety was not in any immediate peril, he calmed himself more and sought to reassure his friend. “Calm down, my brother, we’re safe! Our hollow log is a safe haven because it’s a dead old oak tree; consequently it’s as tough as stone. But, although safe for the present, we can’t stay here forever; we must find a way to escape because our friend out there isn’t very happy and in such an ugly mood he isn’t going to leave us alone until he gets satisfaction.”

  After a few moments and a jolt, Lightning Bolt said, “Hey, Crazy Moose, my brother, wasn’t that a mighty swat he just gave our log, it must have moved it at least two paces. Here, have a piece of honey.”

  “Lightning Bolt, my brother, my friend. How in the name of our beloved ancestors can you eat honey at a time like this?”

  “Easy, my friend, I love the stuff. Take it easy, have a piece and accept the fact that we’re safe. There now, don’t you feel better? Now let’s make some plans for getting out of here. I think we can manage to do so if we break the honeycomb into four pieces and share it with Brother Bear.”

  Another larger jolt, and Lightning Bolt said, “Wow, when he walloped our log that time it must have moved at least three paces. All right Crazy Moose, I have the honeycomb broken; when I say go, throw a piece towards the bear.”

  But at the same moment Lightning Bolt issued the order to throw, Brother Bear gave the log an extra mighty swat and sent it rolling bumpily downhill towards the river. In a panic, Crazy Moose threw the piece of honeycomb anyway. Fearing that his treat was escaping him, Brother Bear failed to see it and took off in hot pursuit of the log. He, without hesitation, and with a single-minded determination to share in the honey spoils, followed the log into the river and climbed aboard it as it began to float downstream. Lightning Bolt, after surfacing from several anxious moments underwater inside the log, began to view the situation with some alarm. In near desperation he made a plan to dislodge the bear.

  “Crazy Moose, I want you to hold onto my feet tightly as I go partly out of the log. While out there I’m going to try to put a piece of honeycomb in front of Brother Bear and pray that he goes for it. If he does, he may head for shore and leave us alone. If not, may the Great Spirit help us!”

  Then, with desperation motivating him, and with Crazy Moose clutching onto his trembling legs, Lightning Bolt inched his way up to the end of the log. But with the shift in weight the end Lightning Bolt was heading towards began to submerge. This forced him to move faster. With a resolution born of a desire to survive, he quickly pulled his torso halfway out of the log and thrust the piece of honeycomb almost directly into the bear’s mouth. Then, just as quickly, he scurried back into the log. For what seemed like eternity, Brother Bear’s weight remained on the log, then was gone.

  The boys crawled out of their haven to survey the situation and saw their friend swimming easily to shore with his prize. “Ah, free and safe at last!” they chimed.

  Giving strength to the belief that disaster follows disaster, from behind they heard a deafening roar. Quickly turning toward the sound, they discovered that they were heading directly into white rapids.

  Lightning Bolt saw Crazy Moose display panic and make ready to jump off the log. He managed to grab him and reassure him, “Stay on the log, my brother, we’re safe here! Just hold on. We should be able to ride out the rapids without a problem.” By acting so quickly he saved his friend’s life.

  After a short and exciting ride over the rapids, which stretched no more than a thousand paces, the boys once again found themselves in calm waters. They swam to shore, dried their clothes and recouped the strength they had lost from the rigours of their adventure.

  That night, sitting by a warm campfire, eating honey from the two pieces of honeycomb saved, Crazy Moose asked his friend: “Tell me, my brother, I know you love honey, it seems beyond all reason. If Brother Bear had missed the piece of honeycomb you gave him, then afterwards missed the piece I had, as last resort would you have given him the last piece, yours?”

  “I don’t know, my brother, I honestly don’t know.”

  Later on in life they used their youthful adventures to entertain many of their countrymen around uncountable campfires. The howls of laughter evoked by their tales of misadventure always warmed the hearts of these two friends. Neither of them was ever offended by someone having a laugh at their expense.

  ***

  During the formative Seasons of a person’s life, one is constantly relishing the wonders of new experiences. Thus, Lightning Bolt, before the second Moon of his twelfth Autumn, and during a Hunt with his father, had the exciting and daunting accomplishment of killing his first big game animal.

  As they were travelling across a woodland meadow, the hunting party had come upon a magnificent and well-antlered elk that had, as evidenced by his appearance, seen a great many Autumns come and go. Even with the edgy nerves of the novice, Lightning Bolt had aimed well and placed an arrow in a vital spot that brought the animal down almost immediately. The moment of the kill evoked two conflicting emotions in him. At once he felt exhilaration
for a feat so well accomplished and a profound sense of regret for having taken a life so esteemed.

  Beside a roaring campfire that night he discussed his feelings with Little Bear. “Father, this worries me; I’ve had problems with killing animals ever since I made my first kill of small game as a young boy. After killing them, I always felt some remorse for my actions. The same thing happened this Sunrise, when I killed the great elk; I felt regret for killing even more intensely.”

  Little Bear, with a touch of pride in his voice, replied: “My son, my brave son, it warms my heart to no end to hear you say that taking the life of an animal causes you pain. It’s an emotion I’ve also experienced ever since I brought down my first kill. In fact, it’s something experienced by all good hunters. It probably will never go away. But, if you always remember that the Great Spirit created these creatures to serve the needs of the People it will ease it somewhat. Killing them for food and clothing can be done with a clear conscience. However, if you ever kill for fun, you should hang your head in shame, for your action offends the laws of the Great Spirit.”

  “Thank you, my father, your wisdom as always lifts the mist from problems troubling me.”

  That Lightning Bolt took heart from his father’s words was evident by his accomplishments afterward. By the age of fourteen, he had several kills of large game under his belt and was considered by his peers and adults in the community to be a very promising young warrior. To this point in life, except for some self-doubts, his experiences had been mostly pleasant.

  However, with the passage of the Seasons, along with the fun of growing up, harsh realities must at some point be faced. It was during one such time that his father, with not a little heaviness of heart, asked Lightning Bolt to sit down with him. This was during the second Sunrise of Spring, during the sunrises when Little Bear saw his son was ready to learn another aspect of life among the Mi’kmaq People. Deciding it was time, Little Bear invited his son with a gesture of the hand to attend to his words while sitting around a comfortable campfire.