SHARING A STORY

The following is an interesting story sent to me by a Face Book friend.... I hope that you enjoy it.

JOE BENOITS DEATH TOKEN ...

In the late 1880's the Anglo Newfoundland Telegraph Company operated a repeater telegraph station at a place called Garia in La.Poile Bay on the south coast of Newfoundland ...The telegraph line from Garia ran about fifty miles over the Long Range Mountains to the community of Sandy Point ,  St.Georges .

On Christmas Day in 1886 the staff at Garia included the telegraph operator , his wife and Dan and Joe Benoit ,two brothers who made up part of the telegraph repair crew for that area .

 The Benoits  were from Sandy Point , St.Georges..and were of French and Mi'cmaq ancestry ...Dan had worked with the telegraph company for a number of years and was the boss of the regular repair crew..His brother Joe had just joined the crew that fall.

Dan Benoit had recently married  , but as there had been a lot of bad weather and breaks in the telegraph line he hadn't had much time to spend with his new bride  . He was hoping that he would get a few days at the station to celebrate Christmas with his family and friends . 

Christmas was a very festive time at the station with lots of rum and fancy foods. , and it was customary for other Mi'cmaqs in the area to drop in to help celebrate the festive season.. However Dan's hopes were dashed , for on Christmas Day the operator got a call that the line was down somewhere between Garia and Sandy Point . This meant the repair crew would have to set out and find the break , even though it was Christmas Day .

Dan Benoit , although he was very disappointed at having to leave his new bride , only shrugged his shoulders and began to get ready to go ..It was then that young Joe begged to go along to find and repair the break ..

Dan wasn't too happy , for Joe was young and new to the job . However Joe was determined to go alone,  and after considering the matter for awhile Dan finally consented , but insisted on accompanying his brother on the first leg of the journey..

Also Dan's dog went with them .

The two brothers traveled together as far as the Blue Hills. Here they parted company..Dan gave Joe his gun and ordered his dog to go with Joe. The dog was very much attached to his master and hesitated.  When Joe started off , Dan ordered him again to go with Joe and this time the dog obeyed...

Dan arrived back at the telegraph station and as the weather was good he didn't worry too much about Joe ...

The following night Dan and his new bride retired early and around two AM they were awakened by the sound of foot steps on the frozen ground outside their bedroom.They both recognized Joe.s footsteps and Dan's wife said she would get up and make a hot lunch for Joe , who must be cold and starved...

They got up and while his wife was preparing a mug up Dan went outside to welcome Joe. He was surprised when he didn't see his brother and searched around for sign of him. He couldn't find him and then he knew it must be his brother's death token warning him of Joe.s death.

There was no more sleep for Dan or his wife that night ...

As soon as dawn broke Dan set off to find his brother. He followed the trail to the Blue Hills and then carried on .He traveled a long way and as it began to get dark. 

He found traces of his missing brother . First he came across the gun he had given him lying across the trail so that no one could pass that way without tripping over it in the dark . A little further on he came upon Joe.s snow shoes , one piled on the other and also blocking the trail . 

At that point a strange phenomenon happened , for Dan found that the trail through the woods was suddenly illuminated by a strange glow .This made it easy to follow the trail and convinced him that Joe.s spirit was leading him..

He came to a gulch between two wooded hills and again found evidence of his brother's trail , for there were impressions in the snow as if some one had knelt down to pray .He was sure his brother had knelt to pray, when a little further on he found Joe.s cap lying in the snow , for no guide or hunter ever removed their head gear unless it was to pray .

A little further on he came upon his dog lying by the body of his brother sitting upright against a tree . His rosary beads were clutched in his dead fingers . He still had plenty of grub and there were no signs of violence or any thing to indicate why Joe had acted so strangely and then died .

He had obviously  completed the repairs to the telegraph line and was returning home when death overtook him .There was only one thing more that Dan could do for his brother , and that was to take his body back to Sandy Point for requiem and burial .

First he took a handkerchief from his pocket and gently covered the face of his brother.  Then he hoisted the body to his shoulders and carried him along the trail to the nearest tilt..

He secured the tilt against marauding wolves or foxes and then quickly returned to the telegraph  station at Garia to report the sad news to his wife and the station operator.

At Dan's request the operator telegraphed Sandy Point with the news of Joe's death .A short time later he received a message back that fourteen men from Sandy Point were on their way to Garia to help Dan take the body of his brother home to Sandy Point .

The next day the men arrived bringing with them boards and nails and the tools necessary to make a coffin 

Dan took them to the tilt where he had placed Joe's body , and as soon as the coffin was ready Joe.s remains were placed in it . 

The men set off to carry the body over the rough terrain to Sandy Point for burial.

Again the mysterious light lit their way and the men reported that the coffin seemed so light that it was as if they carried no weight at all.

They covered the fifty miles in record time and Joe was given a proper wake..Two days later Father Michael  , and later , Arch Bishop Howley officiated with  requiem  sung for the repose of Joe.s soul..

His body was then buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery  ,where many of his relatives were also buried . However , the cause of his death and the strange light that guided his brother and the other pallbearers could never be explained .

THIS STORY  WAS BY  ALICE  LANNON  AND  MIKE   MEATHY

TEACHING / SPEAKING

I am at the Mi'kmaw Centre in Degrau.....

MAKING HISTORY IN BAY ST.GEORGE

AGM :September, 17th, 2017

PEOPLE OF THE DAWN INDIGENOUS FRIENDSHIP CENTER

The Friendship Center offers supports and services to all Indigenous people of status or nation .

Call 1-709-643-3092. 

A  new day has begun. 

MAN OF MANY TALENTS

 Elder Victor J. Muise  is the Aboriginal Advisor to TRIPLE  NINE  RESOURCES .

Victor J. Muise

Box 282, 7 Mission Cross Road,

St. George's ,NL. A0N-1Z0

Telephone: 1-709-649-5568

Author of Book : Through the Eyes of the White Wolf.

Aboriginal Adviser : Four Corner Mining Corporation,

Aboriginal Adviser: Triple Nine Rec.

Knowledge Keeper of Mi'kma'ki  

To view  his   VJM's involvement as Advisor  please click on the link below :

TRIPLE NINE RESOURCES

THE SITES OF SA'KE'J

Some people have sight, but no vision.

Some people have vision , but no sight.

Others are blessed with both vision and sight.

SA'KE'J  has vision , sight, and  sites......

The sites are his four websites, called  blogs, which are his virtual homes on the world wide web.

Let us consider them.

The "WORDS OF WHITE WOLF" was the first , having been designed in the Spring of 2013.  It served as a platform for  local Mi'kmaq history and culture. On it are posted 229 articles , and the stats show that it has had  thousands of visitors, with more than  20,628 page views.

Many articles from the  that site will be featured in his book.

The Autumn of 2013 saw  "TRAIL'S END " bursting  unto the virtual scene. It is the personal  blog of SA'KE'J ,  with  110 posts and  nearly 8595  page views.

Next came  "THE VOICE" ,  designed in 2015 as a platform for the Mi'kmaq language. To date it has 102  posts ,  and has  3549 page views to validate its popularity.

Finally , " RAVEN'S WING " flew on the scene. It is a  gallery for the art forms and creations of SA'KE'J. It also showcases his poetry and prose. To date,  "RAVEN'S WING "   has had 32 posts ( articles ) and   663 page views.

So , these four blogs have had nearly 500 articles written and posted to them , and can boast over    30,000 page views.  Stats show that visitors to the sites are from all over the world.

Today I  would like to draw your attention specifically to "TRAIL'S END"   . This site has seen a radical renovation, and many of the articles are now  located in units , instead of simply appearing in chronological  order, as most blog posts do.

I would also like to point out that  "Congratulations" are due to "THE WORDS  OF  WHITE  WOLF" , as it recently celebrated a 4th year Anniversary !

Please visit and enjoy. Do not forget to click on "Older posts " at page bottom to see more articles.

_________________________________________________

NOTE: Posted by the web   designer for the owner / author of these blogs.

The Way

This is one of my virtual spaces.

It portrays my personal struggles, but also my personal  victories.

It portrays the personal struggles and  victories of my People.

It speaks of my Healing Path  , and  the   Journey into Healing walked by my People.

Know this...

A feather can fall.

But, in a blink it can once again be swept skyward !

And that is the Way. of survival.

FLAT BAY MEDICINE WALK

This was the collection from the Flat Bay Medicine  Walk last Sunday.

I learned quite a lot,,,,

Wela'lin   to the Flat Bay Band..

The women picked the medicine  and brought it to us.

The women are the carriers of sacred  medicine .

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations: Parents Odell & George Pike , and Kari Ann Pike ,(Mi'kmaq).

 So , so proud of you .

From your  Uncle  Muise Sakej Victor....

Congratulations to The Honourable Kari Ann Pike of Stephenville who took the Oath of Office today and became a Judge.In the photo above  she is joined by her parents and Chief Mittchell.