JAMES McGEE

The Blooding

Dedication

This one is for my cousin, Mark.
Flying free …
O:nen Ontiaten:ro

Map

MOHAWK NAMES

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

Epigraph

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

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Map

Mohawk Names

Epigraph

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Epilogue

Historical Note

About the Author

Also by James McGee

Copyright

About the Publisher

PROLOGUE

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 the single-storey, timber-built cabin that nestled in the centre of the clearing.