Hiawatha and the Peacemaker. Words by Robbie Robertson. Pictures by David Shannon and read with permission from Abrams Books for Young Readers, New York.
A fierce scream echoed through the woodlands. Was it a dream? An eerie steam crept up from the ground and the smell of burning pine filled the air. My blurred vision came into sharp focus.
Everything I had ever known had been burned to the ground. My wife and three beautiful daughters had been killed in battle. Everything was gone.
Only one man was capable of such horror, the evil chief Tadodaho. I took shelter up the river. I had only a small fire and a place to sleep.
I dressed my wounds with leaves I gathered from the bush. Days, then weeks went by, consumed by anger and hunger and sleeplessness. I could think only of revenge.
The sun rose early one morning and burned the mist off the river. It was as if a path had been cleared for what happened next. A blinding reflection of the sun. came off the water and from it a man paddled gently toward me.
As he reached the shore, I realized the reflection was caused by the sun hitting his hand-carved white stone canoe. Who are you? you? Why have you come here?
I asked. He answered only with a smile and handed me a string of wampum shells as an offering. We stood quietly observing each other, and then he spoke softly, stumbling over his words. I know of your pain.
I know of your loss. I carry a message of healing. I have come to tell you of the great law. Fighting among our people must stop.
We must come together as one body. one mind and one heart. Peace, power, and righteousness shall be the new way.
I considered his words but didn't believe him. Our people governed only through fear. I had never thought peace among our tribes was a possibility. The man spoke again.
Travel with me to the land of the Mohawk and let us spread the good word. As you can hear, my voice is quiet and my words difficult to understand. I know that you speak with power.
and confidence and that your voice carries straight to the heart. I need your help my friend. I need you to help me carry this message."I agreed to travel with him and help carry his message and so I, Hiawatha, came to tell the story of the great peacemaker. I stared at his stone canoe, bewildered by its ability to float. But we paddled off, and with every impossible moment that the canoe glided across the water, I became more of a believer. When we arrived at the land of my people, the Mohawk, We were greeted warmly. The chief and the elders were summoned, and we gathered in a circle. A few clan mothers looked on with curiosity and concern. The peacemaker closed his eyes and placed his hand on my back. Somehow he had the power to move his message through me. I began to speak his words. Peace, power, and righteousness shall be the new way, I said. We must join together. All nations will become one family. Our people shall have one body, one mind, and one heart. This is the message of the Great Law. The clan mothers nodded in agreement, and a sense of relief spread over me. But then the warchief spoke. We respect your message, but we cannot join you, he said. How can we know if your words are true? Tadodaho is too strong, too violent. Our people must be prepared to fight. The peacemaker quietly stuttered. The Great Law is more powerful than any one man. We will return with proof that our nations can join together. As the peacemaker and I traveled toward the land of the Cayuga, he spoke to me of healing through forgiveness. My mind, still filled with hatred, and my heart, still filled with the pain of my loss, could not comprehend this. When we arrived, we learned that the Cayuga tribe had been devastated in an attack by Tadodaho and his warriors. My mind was flooded with images of the battle that had taken my family. Rage filled my body. I turned to the peacemaker. and yelled, we will never be free. In an attempt to soothe me, the peacemaker asked me to sit with him in the Cayuga Council. He looked deep into my eyes as he spoke to the people. I do not see defeat, he said. What I see is a passage, a passage to a new way of life. and together we can spread peace rather than war, love rather than hate, unity rather than fear. The peacemaker placed his fist over his heart. A feeling of strength and trust ran down my spine. With new hope, we headed toward the great hill to see the Seneca people. The Cayuga chief followed us in his canoe. Together, we paddled as one nation. We were met by 15 armed Braves. For the first time the peacemakers showed signs of worry. We were surrounded by warriors and led to the center of the Seneca village. The Seneca chief approached the circle and the guards closed in on us. With a wave of the army, the soldiers were able to move forward. of his hand. The warriors lifted their spears, but then he nodded and the guards drove their spears deep into the dirt. The Seneca chief sat down and told us that the wind had carried our message from the land of the Cayuga. The Seneca people wanted to learn about the peacemaker and the great law. We will all perish if we continue this violence. A change must come, and the time is now. Alone we will be broken, I said. But together we are more powerful than the greatest warrior. The Seneca chief trailed us in his canoe, and together we rode as two nations. Guided by the moon, we trekked through the forest to the land of the Oneida people. We were halfway to the camp when the snap of a stick was heard through the trees. Suddenly the earth beneath our feet gave way. We hit the ground and we... We were then engulfed by a giant net. The Oneida chief stood towering over us. I've spared your life, he declared. Why would two chiefs and two strangers be so foolish as to enter our territory in the darkness? His men dragged him away. us through the dirt and bound our hands. The peacemaker explained that we had joined the Cayuga and the Seneca nations in the name of peace, but his words had no power with the Oneida. Then the peacemaker turned to me and said, tell your story, Hiawatha. Tell us of your great loss. I spoke of my pain and of my hatred for Tadodaho. I told the Oneida that my wife and three daughters had been killed by the violent world we had created, but as I spoke, I felt something come over me. Forgiveness. I had not been able to save my family, but on this journey I had been able to forgive myself. I began to understand the meaning of the great law, and I turned to the peacemaker and placed my fist over my heart. With a knowing nod, he smiled. A warrior approached, and he untied all of us one by one. Rather than feel the anger that had consumed me, I now remembered the joy of being a peacemaker. of my family. I was joined by the Cayuga chief, the Seneca chief, the peacemaker, and lastly the Oneida chief. Together we traveled as three nations. The time had come to return to the Mohawk people with proof of our message. When we arrived, they were impressed to see the three chiefs with us. The clan mothers had a glowing look of approval. But the Mohawk chief told us that the word of our mission had traveled to Tadurajo. His evil is too great, he said. Your message will only bring harm to our people. Angered by his lack of faith, the Oneida chief pressed the sharpened tip of his staff under the chin of the Mohawk chief. We know longer use violence,"said the peacemaker as he reached out and lowered the staff from under the chief's chin. The peacemaker led us to the tallest oak that towered over the Mohawk River. I will climb this tree, he said, and your men shall cut it down.
But I will not perish. The river will catch my body and carry it to safety. Then you will know that my words are true. The men chopped down the massive tree.
It crashed into the icy waters and the peacemaker vanished. I stood silent, stunned by this foolish stunt. I feared the peacemaker had sacrificed himself at a critical point in our journey. An elder clan mother approached the circle of chiefs with four younger women by her side. This man has come with a message of peace and unity, but you greet him with closed ears and closed minds, she said.
You reject Tadodaho, but you behave just like him. She looked at me, and I could feel her sympathy for the death of my daughters. A tear ran down her cheek. Let us hope the peacemaker is alive, she said. While you sharpen your weapons, I will pray for a miracle.
The Mohawk chief was transformed by her words and nodded. The other women stepped in to console her, and we all quietly walked back to the camp. When we arose in the morning, smoke from the river's edge caught our attention. We hurried down to find the peacemaker sitting by a fire, patiently waiting for us. The elder clan mother draped a blanket across his shoulders, and relief sprang among us.
Filled with emotion, the Mohawk chief agreed to follow us in his canoe to the land of the Onondaga to confront Chief Tadodaho. Together, we paddled as four nations. The wicked Tadodaho lived separately from his people. Bands of warriors stood guard day and night. When we arrived, they yelled and pushed us away.
The peacemaker kept his hands by his side to discourage violence, but the chiefs and I pushed back. A figure appeared in the doorway of the dwelling. Hunched over, withered, and twisted, Tadodaho was a horrifying sight.
Sickness from the evil within had taken over his body. Scales covered much of his skin, and snakes slithered through his hair and onto his shoulders. No words came from his mouth.
Instead, a forked tongue produced a thick hissing sound. My anger returned and I wanted to destroy Tadodaho. The chiefs continued to push against the warriors.
The fighting grew until something unexpected happened. A soft, haunting melody of purity and truth came floating. through the air, spellbombed, all lowered their weapons. The hymn was coming from the lips of the peacemaker. His melody had stopped the fighting.
As the song drifted through the air, the moon crossed in front of the sun, darkening the blue sky. This miracle stunned the warriors and they pulled back in fear, but the rest of us were enchanted by the glory of the hymn and we joined in singing. Tadodaho cursed the sky, waving his scepter and showing no sign of fear.
As the peacemaker finished his singing, the moon passed, revealing the sun again, more beautiful than before. The peacemaker asked me to make medicine for Tadodaho's sickness. He said that where there is darkness, we must bring light, and that it is... by forgiving that we are set free. I gathered roots and herbs for the medicine, but how could I help heal a man who had brought me such misery?
How could I forgive him? Yet I put my heart and soul into the potion, and with this action, my anger disappeared. I entered the house of the Lord, and I was saved. hut with the medicine paste and fresh water. I explained that every day some of the paste must be mixed with the water and drunk.
Tadodaho grabbed the medicine from my hands and drank. His strained breathing eased. The evil look in his eyes softened. He appeared to wonder why a man to whom he'd brought so much pain would help heal him.
The peacemaker told Tadodaho that we would return in three days and to continue taking the medicine. We traveled back to the people of the Cayuga, Mohawk, Seneca, and Oneida and told them of our encounter. day, a mass of people followed us to the land of the Onondaga to see Chief Tadodaho once again.
Tadodaho's voice had returned, but he was still hunched over and sickly. The peacemaker approached him, and with all the tribes watching, placed his hands above his head and chanted. Tadodaho let out a scream, and the snake slithered from his hair to the grass where they belonged. Everyone followed the peacemaker to a tall white pine. He placed his hand on my back, and once again I spoke for him.
People of all nations must now come together as one. Beneath this tree we shall bury all our weapons of war. This will symbolize the end of our fighting. The men uprooted the white pine and threw their weapons into the hole. Now we will replant this tree, and it shall be called the Tree of Peace.
As I looked at Tadodaho, the scales on his skin began to disappear. The peacemaker placed his fist over his heart, and again I spoke. As five nations, we will bring forth peace, power, and righteousness.
The women of our tribe will be the ones to take it. tribes shall appoint the chiefs, and as one people we shall live under the protection of the great law. All voices will be heard as we now vote before action is taken."I looked at Tadodaho, and the once crooked man now stood upright. Atop this great white pine shall live an eagle that will look over all five nations, and that eagle shall be you, Tadodaho. You will be the great keeper of peace and the protector of all the people, the men and women of the world. the Mohawk nation began to stomp their feet in unison. Clapping came from the Cayuga, a chant formed between the Onondaga and the Oneida, and the Seneca pounded drums. The rhythm grew louder in perfect time and the melody soared through the pines. I looked over to Tatu Daho, but he was gone. A beautiful scream echoed through the woodlands and as five nations we looked up to see an eagle perched atop the Tree of Peace.