The life of the Indians - the indigenous peoples of North America, is the subject of study of many researchers: ethnographers, historians, culturologists and many others. This is not surprising, since the culture, customs, traditions, beliefs of Indian tribes are shrouded in an aura of secrets, mysteries, and, at times, are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. It is all the more curious to learn the life story of John Tenner - a man kidnapped by the Indians at an early age and who knew all the hardships of primitive communal relations in the wild.
John Tenner after returning to the civilized world. Written by Edwin James.
A man named Falcon
The harsh living conditions have had a profound impact on the way of life of the indigenous peoples of North America. To survive, they had to adapt to the environment in which they lived. Often, in order to provide the family with everything necessary, the Indians had to overcome both pain and fear and go to a wide variety of tricks. Attacks on the settlements of the colonists were also characteristic of the Indian tribes. They killed the "whites", took them prisoner, took away their livestock, and sometimes simply shot at cows and horses in order to weaken the enemies, deprive them of the opportunity to live normally on the lands being developed. During one of these raids, John Tenner was kidnapped, who was later to live 30 years in the Ojibwe tribe under the name Show-show-wa-ne-ba-se (Falcon).
Canoe race with the Ojibwe Indians near Sault Ste. Marie. 1836 g.
Someone else's child is his own child
In those days, it was common for Native American families to foster foster children. The fact is that the mortality rate among the indigenous population of North America was quite high, and not everyone could endure such harsh living conditions dictated by the wild. Therefore, often, a mother who could not survive the loss of her child raised the adopted child as her own. He replaced her own child. The same happened with John Tenner.
Finding himself in the midst of a primitive society at a fairly early age, Tenner easily adapted to the way of life that was characteristic of the Indians of North America. He gradually adopted their customs, acquired the skills necessary for survival in the forest and hunting wild animals, the rules of communication and interaction with other Indian tribes. Having had practically no contact with the English-speaking population of the mainland for a long time, John Tenner forgot his native language and spoke exclusively in "Ojibwe" - the language of the Ojibwe Indians, the third most common Indian language in North America. The "white man" became a part of the Indian family and could no longer imagine his life outside the harsh reality of hunting trappers.
Kol-li - the chief of the Cherokee.
"White Indian" tells …
Talking about his fate, John Tenner paid special attention to the most mysterious aspects of the life of indigenous peoples. He described in detail the unique customs and rituals in which he himself was directly involved. So, the central place in the life of the Indian tribes was occupied by hunting, which provided them with everything they needed for life: food, clothing, furs. They delivered the skins of the killed animals to the buyers, and in return received the necessary goods: weapons, gunpowder and bullets, traps, clothes, as well as alcohol, which was the main tool for manipulating Indian hunters.because for the sake of one cask of rum, many literally for a song changed their hard-won furs. It happened that after a successful deal with traders, the trappers got drunk to unconsciousness, were deprived of all the things necessary for survival, which sometimes led to death.
Bison hunting.
I killed a bear - I became an adult!
John Tenner described in detail the Native American hunting customs. For example, an event in which sooner or later every novice hunter becomes a participant and which happened to the hero himself, namely, the killing of a bear. From his story (and the story of Tenner's life among the Indians was written down, and it was brought to the Russian reader by none other than A. S. Pushkin!), The first killed bear is an important event in the life of an Indian youth. It was after this that the hunter began to be treated with respect and considered an adult. On the occasion of such a successful hunt, a solemn meal is arranged, to which all families of the tribe are invited. The meat of the killed bear is divided equally.
War dance
"Indian collectivism"
Among the Indians, the principle of collectivism, mutual assistance was one of the most important, and non-observance was considered unacceptable, since it was this rule that helped the indigenous peoples to survive. John Tenner described not only cases of collective distribution of prey, but also collective hunting. The law of hospitality was also considered mandatory. If one group of Indians was starving, and the other had food supplies, then the first joined the second and these supplies were divided equally among all. They tried to strictly observe this principle, but as in any society among the indigenous peoples of North America there were also apostates. As Tenner himself described them, they "lived near the whites, were so strongly infected with the spirit of huckstering that they did not want to feed their starving tribesmen for nothing." But there weren't many such cases.
Military leader.
Along with the principle of collectivism and mutual assistance, there was also the principle of blood feud. He obliged the relative of the murdered to avenge him to any man from the line of the murderer. Moreover, the victim often became a person who was not at all involved in the crime, moreover, he did not even know anything about it. This is a pretty harsh law. But the Indians were obliged to observe it, since a person who did not avenge a murdered relative until the end of his life became the object of ridicule and suffered from bullying from his fellow tribesmen.
Indian warrior.
About faith in the Great Spirit …
During his stay in the wild, John Tenner was on the verge of death several times: from hunger, meeting with predatory animals, squabbles with other Indians, and only by a miracle he managed to stay alive. Among the Indians, the belief in the "Great Spirit" was widespread, which allegedly has been the patron saint of all the peoples of North America since ancient times. He created all life on earth, gives the Indians strength and endurance when they are on the verge between life and death. Tenner was more skeptical about the belief in the Great Spirit than his fellow tribesmen, but still his ideas about the supernatural largely coincided with those of the Indian. Although he less trusted the prophets, who often appeared among the Indians and, acting on behalf of the Great Spirit, prescribed certain rules of conduct to them, which they had to strictly follow. He also did not always trust his instincts and dared to resist predictions. However, John Tenner often saw prophetic dreams in which certain signs appeared to him, or, for example, he visited in a dream those places that were most profitable for hunting. Such prophecies often saved the Tenner family from starvation. Therefore, the belief in miracles and the supernatural, which was an integral part of the life of Indian tribes, did not bypass Tenner himself.
Equestrian fight.
Indian Wars
In addition to hunting, farming, fur trade, the life of the Indians was also accompanied by military campaigns. The fact is that not all tribes lived in peace and harmony. Many were bound by deep-rooted and unceasing enmity, established from time immemorial. Every man who participated in a military campaign had to undergo a ceremony of initiation into warriors. Of course, John Tenner had to participate in such rituals. The young man had to observe a number of rules in the first three campaigns. The future warrior had to always cover his face with black paint and wear a headdress. He was supposed to not overtake the elders when walking. If any part of the body itches, then scratching it was allowed only with a knot. It was also forbidden for anyone other than the warrior himself to touch his knife and dishes. It was forbidden to eat and rest until dark.
It is curious how the Indians raised the morale of the participants in the military campaign. The scouts walking in front of the detachment through the territory of the enemy did not miss an opportunity to ransack abandoned tents or parking places to find a children's toy there. Such a toy was shown to a warrior who had lost a child with the words: “Your little son is there, we saw how he plays with the children of our enemies. Would you like to see him? After these words, the grief-stricken father was ready to tear the enemy to shreds.
Horse hunting for bison.
"Tarzan" returns to the people …
John Tenner has lived in the wild for 30 years. His life among the Ojibways did not end until 1820, despite the fact that the thought of returning to whites often haunted him. But only when the existence among the Indians became completely unbearable due to the oncoming wave of capitalist colonization, Tenner decided to return to his native places, as they increasingly began to indicate to him that he belonged to a different race. He became an enemy to those he had always considered loyal friends and allies. But the US has also become a foreign country for the white Indian. There he felt even more lonely than in the forest, since Tenner did not manage to come to terms with the norms of capitalist society. John was superfluous on both sides of the barricades, and his fate was tragic. He died all alone 20 years after returning to whites.
Watercolors by American artist J. Kathleen were used as illustrations
