He regards the outings as a hunt, his reality gets twisted to the point where he asks Xavier to, how we say, midin-saawaa or to burn the shoulder blade to divine where your hunt is. Then more and more Elijah relishes being out there. I could just picture Elijah as the talkative one the one who gets all the credit for their exploits out in “no mans land” because he’s the one who tells the stories to all the other soldiers. The morphine habit that takes his friend Elijah turns him into someone he doesn’t recognize. Xavier recounts to us their steps into darkness. Then their painful downward spiral starts. I was proud of what our people gave to the war effort. Right then a feeling pride came through me. One of them was when they met some other soldiers to which the talkative Elijah announces, “We are James Bay Cree.” There were a few proud moments for me throughout the book. They summon their hunting instincts and adapt it to the situation at hand.
Even their comrades cast a weary eye on them. Able to slip in to no mans land at night “to hunt for Fritz,” they get a reputation throughout the army. As partners, the talkative Elijah and the quiet Xavier made a name for themselves on the battlefield as expert marksmen. Unfortunately, one of the ways was to get high on the morphine that was used as a battlefield medicine. It tells of the very real horrors of war and the ways people coped. The story tells of a part of our history that hasn’t been told too much. In turn Xavier tells of his experiences on the battlefield with the friend he left behind. In those three days Niska tells Xavier the story of how their family came to be windigo killers. Three day road also refers to the journey one makes after they die. On their return to home they have to paddle three days back. In the story she picks him up at the train station. He comes home to his auntie Niska in Moosonee / Moose Factory. Years later, in 1919, Xavier returns with only one leg and his innocence taken away and just enough morphine to last him a couple of days.
Some of our boys take up the call and enlist.
The year is 1914 and the First World War rages. Once a person is known for that, traditionally the person must be killed for the sake of the community. What if the qualities of a good hunter were twisted so much that it made the man turn windigo? That is what happens in Joseph Boyden’s novel Three Day Road.Ī Windigo, or in our case, Ajaan, is someone who has a taste for human flesh.
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