The Battle for Wineland: The Lost Viking Colonies of North America (The Wineland Sagas Book 2) by Franson Milton Norman

Author:Franson, Milton Norman [Franson, Milton Norman]
Language: eng
Format: azw
Publisher: Sagamore Studios LPL
Published: 2015-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

He stared at the bishop and waited for a response.

"If both aggrieved parties agree, I would set the time and place on an island in your river, with delegates from both sides looking on. To ensure the agreement holds, I would ask for an exchange of chiefs from the Mohawk and the Algonquin villages. Each would live in the other's village for a period of say, five years. If at any time, the peace were broken, then the single combat test should be repeated. Repeated as often as necessary until the feud dies with the last family member if necessary. But in my experience, it soon ends as both sides come to see the justice of the test. Especially if it is sanctioned by the head of each village."

The old Mohawk stared at Gnupsson with hooded eyes. He held his steady gaze for a long time. Finally he spoke, slow and deliberate. "I will give your test a try. If it fails, we will take the matter into our hands. For all, I hope it succeeds as you say. Go ahead and make your arrangements. My chiefs will do as you ask. You are welcome to join us in our humble meal. My daughters will prepare food and drink for you and your companions. And you can tell your warriors at the boat to relax and enjoy the meal. When you showed the sacred wampum, you should have been assured we would honor the safe passage of both you and them."

The combat trial was witnessed by members of the opposing families, delegations of chiefs and sub-chiefs from the two tribes and Bishop Gnupsson and his chain-mailed guard. The chosen instruments of trial were stone-tipped war clubs. One combatant was knocked senseless in the first clash. He was then sent to the pastures of the Great Spirit with a second and third crash of the war club upon his fragile skull. The victor was the jilted Algonquin and his family members cheered and hurled taunts and insults at the dead man's stunned family, before the Algonquin delegation could quiet them down.

Technically, the game had been played by the rules, but the shouts and jeers of the loudmouthed Algonquin family cut new wounds into the pride of the Mohawks who had witnessed the event. Bishop Gnupsson and the older men on both sides knew there would be extra work to prevent this smoldering spark from growing into another raging fire. So the bishop agreed with Ta-quan-da-mun-qua that it would be best for him to remain among the Mohawks to help watch over the peace process. Five Algonquin chiefs were exchanged with five Mohawk chiefs as peace hostages in each other's villages. Gnupsson decided to send his armed guard home, but they refused. They chose to remain in the valley of the Mohawks during the five year cooling-off period.

There was a calm-minded sachem among the Mohawks. He traveled from village to village as far as the land of the Senecas three days distance west.

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