Review Detail

Little Hawk is sent by his father out into the woods to survive with the few possessions he carries with him, for three months in the winter. Such a journey will make him a man, but is fraught with peril. There are heavy snows, and he must fast until he sees his Manitou, or spirit guardian. Little Hawk manages to survive, even fending off a wolf who has eaten much of his food stores, but when he gets back to his village, everyone but his grandmother has died of a disease brought by the English. Little Hawk's friend, Leaping Turtle, also comes back to the village, and the three survivors regroup and eventually combine forces with another village. Things are not going well, however, and the English are not treating thePokanokets fairly. At one point, Little Hawk and Leaping Turtle are on an errand in the woods and come across a young boy whose father has been trapped under a tree. John knows Little Hawk, but by calling to him and asking for help, he is instrumental in Little Hawk being shot. Little Hawk's spirit becomes trapped in the area, tied to the ancestral tomahawk he carried. John is devastated by the death, and spends the next several years as an apprentice trying, in small ways, to make things better for the indigenous people he meets. He also sees Hawk's spirit, and learns his dialect from him, so that he can communicate with Hawk's people and hopefully avoid other deaths. When his servitude is over, John marries Huldah and goes to join Roger Willams, who is trying to get people to deal fairly with the various tribes. Throughout his travels, Hawk is nearby, seeing how the English are treating the New World.