Abenaki Valley: Kébec Series, Book 1

By David E. Plante and Lorraine M. Plante

Pursuing a strategy of colonial expansion in the early 1600s, France encourages its citizens to leave their motherland and venture to the New World. They focus on the St. Lawrence River area and sponsor settlements along its shores, calling this region New France.

One of these intrepid individuals is Henry Priest. The government employs Henry, an educated teacher and linguist, to travel to the New World and translate, interpret, and document the Indian languages spoken in and around Quebec City. On the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, Henry becomes friends with twelve-year-old Zoel Smith and Zoels parents and looks forward to sharing his faith in the Lord with those who need it most.

Then tragedy strikesZoels parents perish aboard ship. Henry takes Zoel under his wing, promising to care for him when they reach their destination. Life in New France is challenging, but for those who are resourceful and determined, the opportunities are unlimited. Once Henry completes his assignment for the government, how will he and Zoel survive and profit in the New World?

An inspiring story, Abenaki Valley shows how brave individuals came to the New World and discovered Gods plan to use their lives for good.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490897134

David E. Plante

David and Lorraine Plante are married and have been Christians for many years. They both have work experience in corporate America—David in finance and banking and Lorraine in the legal field. David received his BS degree in business management. They currently reside in Florida. This is their first novel.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 David E. Plante with Lorraine M Plante.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9712-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9714-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9713-4 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/28/2015

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Characters

Chapter 1 Ships Ahoy

Chapter 2 Quick Learner

Chapter 3 The Team

Chapter 4 Je Me Souviens (I remember)

Chapter 5 Notre Dame Mountains

Chapter 6 Not the First Time

Chapter 7 Never for Granted

Chapter 8 Slow and Steady

Chapter 9 Left to Die

Chapter 10 Mystery

Chapter 11 Splitting Up

Chapter 12 Buck Fever

Chapter 13 Life is Complex

Chapter 14 Home Again

Chapter 15 Joined Together

Chapter 16 Blue and Red

Chapter 17 A Friendly Place

Chapter 18 A Really Bad Smell

Chapter 19 In the Deep

Chapter 20 While We Were Gone

Chapter 21 Two Gifts

Chapter 22 Custom

Chapter 23 I Don’t Want to Know

Chapter 24 Letters from Home

Chapter 25 Out of My Hands

Chapter 26 Career Planning

Chapter 27 Looking Forward

Afterword

References and Notes

Lorraine and I dedicate this book to my dad,

Alphonse Z. Plante.

We clearly remember when President Kennedy died. We were living in a mobile home with our two children. Lorraine and I were seriously ill with hepatitis. Dad, you came to our rescue and delivered food, medicines, and whatever we needed until we recovered. It was neither the first nor the last time you were there for us. You always gave me good advice and specifically helped me find my first career job in the finance industry.

Dad, you will be ninety years old this November, God willing. You have lived an honorable life serving your country when needed, and you have always cared for your family. We have chosen your middle name, Zoel, for one of the main characters in this Kébec Series. You and Zoel share many common character traits. We hope you see yourself as courageous as we have tried to depict Zoel when God calls him to do the right thing.

We love and honor you, Dad!

Acknowledgments

Many deserved thanks to everyone at Westbow Press who shared their expertise and made the publishing of Abenaki Valley possible.

A special thanks to Jack Mann for the pictures he created and provided for this book. He and his wife, Evelyn, are the owners of Brant Apple Farm in Brant, New York. His pictures can be accessed at www.brantapplefarm.com.

Introduction

The year 1534 celebrated Jacques Cartier’s efforts on behalf of France to claim land in the New World. In 1535 he tried to establish a fort near present-day Quebec City in the Canadian province of Quebec. The French failed to maintain settlements for much longer than a year, primarily due to Indian hostilities, bad weather, and sickness. With the eventual military alliance between the Algonquin and the Heron Indian nations, in 1608 France was able to establish a fur-trading outpost in what was then called New France. French citizens were encouraged to move to New France and help establish it as a profitable expansion of French colonization. Not so many years after Quebec City was established, young Zoel Smith and his parents board a ship and head for the New World.

Traveling on the same ship is Henry Priest, an educated teacher and trained linguist. The French government has hired him to translate, interpret, and document the Indian languages spoken in and near Quebec City. As a lifelong Bible student and educator, he seizes every opportunity the Lord provides him to share his biblical and professional knowledge with others.

The opportunities offered by the New World were challenging and unlimited for the creative and the ambitious. Zoel and Henry become fur traders and partner up with two experienced fur trappers. They listen and learn how to survive in the New World and leverage their God-given talents to help others find their way.

This story is about the unique lives of some of the Europeans who come to the New World to discover how God plans to use their lives for good. The historic facts are quoted and noted in the References and Notes section of the book, but the biographical observations and characters are fictional. We hope you will find His truth as you read about the life-challenging experiences faced by Zoel and Henry and their friends in this New World.

Characters

In order of appearance:

Zoel Smith is French by birth. At the age of twelve, he and his parents board a ship to travel from France to New France.

Henry Priest is French by birth. He is a self-educated teacher and historian by trade and was hired by the French government to travel to New France to learn, document, and teach the Indian languages to the French trappers and traders.

Josh Ink is French by birth. He is one of the earliest trappers in New France. He traps and sells his furs to investors’ agents.

Yancy is an Algonquin Indian brave. Josh Ink saved his life when he found Yancy being attacked by two renegade warriors during their attempted theft of a village canoe.

Father Neel and Father Donne are priests in charge of a growing church in Quebec City.

Huritt (handsome), Abooksigun (wildcat), Abukcheech (mouse), and Ahanu (he laughs) are married Algonquin Indian braves selected by Yancy to help Zoel and Henry move to their new home. Ahanu recognizes the renegade Indians during the early part of their trip.

Achak (spirit) and Keme (secret thunder) are single Algonquin Indian braves selected by Yancy to help Zoel and Henry move to their new home.

Sooleawa (silver) is a young Algonquin girl found by Yancy on their first trip south. She had been brutalized and left for dead.

Anna (mother) is an Algonquin woman found by Yancy on their first trip south. She had been brutalized and left for dead with her young friend Sooleawa.

Etu (sun) and Ezhno (solitary) are single braves selected by the chief of the Abenaki tribe near the Connecticut River Valley to travel with Zoel to Quebec City.

CHAPTER 1

Ships Ahoy

T he sea intimidated each one of us. It was not predictable, and we were very uncomfortable until we learned to always lean against something solid. Most of the time, the sea air was somewhere between cool and cold. The captain said the North Atlantic could be that way in spring.

Fellow passengers said the other ships in the fleet were always in sight, but I was too short to see anything but the inside of our ship. Once in a while, when we rode on top of a big wave, I could see one of the other ships, but only for a moment. My mom and dad were not feeling well, and it appeared their sickness was more than sea sickness. Within a week out of port, everyone had recovered from their sea sickness—that is, except for my mom and dad.

Henry Priest’s cabin was next to the captain’s quarters. He kindly offered it to my folks so they could be kept isolated. This seemed to work because no one else came down with whatever illness they had; however, their condition continued to worsen. Henry and a lady passenger attended to my folks daily, making sure they were fed and their living quarters and clothes were cleaned.

Henry moved his luggage into the general living area and suggested to me that he and I stay close. That suited me just fine, but I, being only twelve years old, missed being with my folks.

Henry was a little man but he was so smart and always very busy. When he wasn’t helping my folks, he was reading and sharing with me and a few other children on board some stories from the Bible and other books he had brought with him. Just for a change, he sometimes read in Latin and then interpreted it into French so we could enjoy the stories without trying to remember the little Latin we had learned in our church schools.

Every evening, I spent some time alone with my parents, but I didn’t eat with them. At the end as their condition worsened, they were too sick to even eat or drink. They died within hours of each other. How could such young and beautiful parents die even before we had begun our new lives in New France? I had no answers.

The ship’s crew wrapped my parents in blankets and, before tossing them over the side, Henry read from the Bible and prayed that no one on the ship would come down with whatever disease they had contracted. I’ll never forget how sick they were at the end, and neither will I forget the sight of them going over the side of the ship.

I cried for days; Henry was always there to comfort me. Although I didn’t understand, I wasn’t mad. I was just upset and I missed my folks.

Henry continued to read to me from his assortment of books, but his readings from the Bible were the ones that comforted me the most. Henry talked a lot about Jesus and showed me where the Bible said He promised to never leave my folks or me. He also told me that we will be with Him on the day we become absent from this earth, just like He promised the thief on the cross next to Him who believed in Him. Henry knew so much about Jesus and history, so I asked him one day where he had learned it all.

"Like you, Zoel, my parents died when I was young. I was blessed to be brought up by a very nice couple with no children. They believed, however, that I should study most of the time and stay out of the way. We loved each other very much—but from a distance. I had school and studies, and they had their social lives.

"I spent much of my youth studying, and I discovered my talent for learning languages. The church provided access to most of their books, which, not surprisingly, were mostly about God, Jesus, His family, His followers, and His life, as well as Jewish history.

I decided to become a teacher and for years taught in a very nice school. After I came to know and love Jesus, I tried to teach others about Him, especially those who were young and open to listening. For some reason, I didn’t feel that God wanted me to become a priest though.

How did you end up on this ship? I asked inquisitively.

I became proficient in multiple languages, including Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Spanish. The French government needed someone to learn, document, and teach Indian languages, so I volunteered. The pay was good, and my passage to the New World was free.

Henry, you gave my folks their last rites, but you’re not a priest, right?

"That’s correct. When I first boarded the ship, I told the captain my name was Priest but explained I wasn’t one. However, the captain pushed hard for me to perform as one if and when one was needed. I said I preferred not to, but he convinced me to do it but only in an emergency. I told him I would do my best."

*   *   *

Later in the voyage, Henry sat me down and asked, Zoel, will you become my adopted son in the New World?

I