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blogbrainsmall.jpgSeacoast History Blog #24
December 29, 2008

If you’re following the evolving story of St. Aspinquid of Agamenticus, here’s where we stand. Don Awalt of Nova Scotia has convinced me that he was real, not imaginary, and that he was not Passaconnaway, as local white historians have long claimed. He may very well be a holy man named Abinquid. The two legends and names are a close match. Don’s most recent letter – enclosed here – helps explain why. (Continued below)

 

Tarrantine, Micmac or Penobscot?

I would deeply love to see this legend sorted out in my lifetime. It has been twisting in the wind for too long. I don’t for a minute believe that the body of Abinquid (Aspinquid) is buried under the disputed pile of rocks atop Mt. Agamenticus. But it makes sense, if you follow Don’s logic, that Abinquid, who we know was murdered at the fort at Pemaquid by Basco Chub, might well have been carried for burial to York, Maine, the place of his vision. And even if his body was delivered elsewhere, the legend that evolved still resonates with Native Americans in Maine and Canada, and with white historians of New England. If nothing else, it is a powerful story that offers us a wellspring of information about Indian history and customs. And it is an opportunity to put together a complex puzzle that stretches from the Candlemas Massacre here in the seacoast to the Feast of St. Aspinquid in Halifax. It is rich, complex, dramatic and I hope a few Native American scholars will throw themselves into exploring the theory that Don Awalt has raised.

One nagging concern is the historical confusion over whether Abinquid was a Micmac or Penobscot. In order to make this legend plausible, we need to align it as close as possible to historical fact. But sometimes just talking about Native American history is like trying to use a dictionary with most of the pages missing. We lack even the words to have the discussion.

Native peoples during the "Contact Era" with Europeans do not fit into neat scholarly boxes. Groups move geographically. Languages differ. There is little, if any "documented" history. This is especially frustrating for modern researchers who like to categorize and label things down to the tiniest detail. Indian history is often sprawling, organic, intuitive, overlapping. The same people or geographical locations can have different names.

So, for the record, I want to offer Don Awalt’s commentary on my recent article in full. Perhaps there are breadcrumbs here, for those who might pick up this story and carry it on. Much of it is too complex for my brain.

But first let me remind seacoast locals about John Paul Jones. He took a ship built here and used it to attack the United Kingdom in 1779. They have their version of that story, and we have ours. In recent years, while sharing those versions of the same story, Portsmouth, NH and Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland have become "sister cities".

And don’t forget the Treaty of Portsmouth. In 1905 an agreement negotiated here ended the bloody Russo-Japanese War. By retelling that story in the 20th century, Portsmouth became a sister city with Nichinan In Japan. That connection and the study of the Treaty continues to this day.

This region has deep ties to Nova Scotia, especially to Halifax. After being ejected from Portsmouth in 1775, Royal Governor John wentworth, a Portsmouth native, became governor of Halifax. There may be a chance here, not just to revive the legend of Abinquid and to create a sacred Indian place atop Mount Agamenticus. Maybe we have a chance to create a deeper link between York, Maine and the Micmac of Nova Scotia and with other First Nation groups in Maine and Canada? Maybe we can ask them to tell their stories of this region, before the arrival of white settlers, during the great pandemic, the forced migration, the Indian reprisals.

It’s just a thought.

Now here is Don Awalt’s letter in full:

CONTINUED NEXT PAGE

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