CANTON – Lovers of history hiked or drove cars across the fields of landowner Mabel Ferris on Friday afternoon to the banks of the Androscoggin River in Canton Point. The aroma of venison and moose stew filled the air.
Historian Dennis Stires of Livermore served cups of the steaming mixture to a dozen or so people who had come to get a little taste of the way life was 300 years ago amid the backdrop of the river, which provided cultural identity and spiritual strength to the tribe of the Wabenaki Indians.
Dr. Edward Martin of Rumford finished “Thunder from the Mountains” in 2001 just before he died. His widow, Terry Martin, edited and recently published his 25 years of work.
As she read selections from the novel, listeners were given background for the story. It is a novel featuring Natanis, a Wabenaki who lived in Canton Point 300 years ago. It is an accurate history of Maine which examines in detail the culture and history of the Maine Wabenakis. Though the characters are fictional, the story is accurate.
Terry Martin described the story’s opening, which takes place in a field similar to the one where people were listening. It had rich, fertile soil, cleared off each year by flooding and planted with fields of corn. Indian teepees stood as far as the eye could see. With no sights but the river, smoke from the campfire lifting into the clear sky, tinted trees, sounds of birds and the scent of the stews, Terry had the audience attuned to the times as she read excerpts from the book.
Dennis Stires was the creator of the idea to create a campfire to help people envision the story of Natanis.
The 432-page book is available at several local gift stores and bookstores, or online at www.dallashillantiques.com.
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