2500 BC
Quenop must first win the cooperation of all the families. Pascopan,
“Greedy Gut,” a primitive gourmand, considers the plan a waste of time. “I’ve
two wives and three daughters,” declares Greedy Gut. “They bring all the fish
and lobsters I can eat.”
Quenop’s arguments prevail, for one good reason alone. Every year, the
numbers gathering on the peninsula increase, so that bountiful as the bay is,
it’s becoming difficult to provide food for all.
To fell and strip hundreds of trees, the weir builders need a supply of
stone tools. Quenop takes a band of men and boys across the narrow neck of the
peninsula south to a bluish range of hills. Clambering up between granite and
quartz outcroppings, they’re surprised to hear the noise of stone hammers pounding
rocks.
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| Blue Hills Stone chips Photo: BenFranzDake/Wikipedia |
The meeting with Mahikan and his band at Blue Hills is momentous,
ultimately providing the seeds of a union from which will come a branch of the
Algonquin nation.
The work on the great weir begins and so, too, the trouble between
Quenop and his restless son, Pimokha-suwi.
Mahikan’s daughter, Wennikinnewa, “Bright Hummingbird,” is a small,
graceful girl with beautiful eyes. Quenop is enchanted. He pictures this
flawless jewel as a second wife, sitting in the light of the fire at his winter
house.
The stonecutter’s daughter also sweeps Pimokha-suwi off his feet. When
tools have to be fetched from the quarry, he is first to dash to Blue Hills,
and is thrilled when Bright Hummingbird hovers close to him. Father and son
both sing songs of love to the girl but not long and the sweetest sound
Wennikinnewa hears comes from Stirring-About.
Quenop’s great design keeps him too busy to notice the catch most
prized by him slipping away. Trees are felled two to three miles from the
lightly wooded peninsula. Thousands of trimmed branches are carried across
boggy lands to the tidal flats to be anchored in the clay bed. Finally, the
intricate crosshatched wattling is done by women, standing up to their waists
in the waters of the Back Bay.
Mid-summer, the weir stands ready, a vast fish trap extending over two
acres. Quenop is proud of his achievement and eagerly awaits the late spawning
run. Even Greedy Gut rubs his fat belly in anticipation.
Imagining Boston - 2
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