Ashley Enright and the Arrowhead Adventure (5)

At dinner that evening, Ashley told her father and little sister, Kelly, about the arrowheads that she and Josh found.

“That’s neat,” said Ashley’s father.

She told them how they went to the library and found out that the tribe was probably the Penobscot Tribe. She told them how they forgot that it was Kathleen’s day off and they had to ask Mrs. Daniels for help. “I don’t think she really likes kids.”

“Or adults!” said Ashley’s father. “I’ve never liked having to ask her any questions.”

“I know,” said Ashley’s mother. “Kathleen is just so much nicer to deal with!”

“Why do you think Mrs. Daniels is always so mean?” asked Ashley.

“I think the bun on the top of her head is too tight,” said Ashley’s father with a laugh.

“That’s not very nice, dear,” said Ashley’s mother who gave her husband a stern look. But, then she started laughing and said, “You may be right!”

Ashley told her family what they found out about the Penobscot Tribe.

Kelly asked, “Are there still Indians here?”

“Sure,” answered her father. “We call them Native Americans now, because they really were the first people in our country. There are a few reservations in Maine where members of different tribes live.”

“Could we go to one?” asked Kelly.

“Sure,” answered her father. “I think that’d make a neat trip!”

“The Penobscot Tribe has a reservation on Indian Island,” said Ashley.

“Why isn’t it called Native American Island?” asked Kelly with a puzzled look on her face.

“Good question,” answered her mother. “I guess they named the island a long time ago and never changed the name.”

Josh called Ashley on the phone after dinner. He said that his father would like to bring some of his students over in the morning to conduct a dig in Turnabout Woods. Mr. Stewart was an archeology professor at the University. Ashley thought that it was cool that Mr. Stewart was like Donnybrook’s very own Indiana Jones.

The next morning, Ashley and her father watched the activity going on in Turnabout Woods from their front porch.

“I hope they won’t be disrupting our quiet block,” said her father.

“I know,” said Ashley. “But it is important to find out if there’s anything else there from the Penobscot tribe.”

“Why don’t we walk over and see what they’ve turned up?” asked her father.

“Great idea, Dad,” said Ashley. “I’ve been dying to see what they’ve found!”

The two walked over to the site and were greeted by Mr. Stewart.

“Welcome,” said Mr. Stewart as he stood up and brushed some dirt from his hands. He shook hands with Ashley’s father.

“So, what have you found?” asked her father. He could see that an area of the ground had been cleared away and the perimeter was marked with string. There were several people carefully digging in the area including Josh who jumped up when he saw Ashley.

“Ashes,” he said loudly. “Guess what we’ve found!”

“Josh,” Ashley laughed. “Don’t scream-come over here!”

Josh came over to where Ashley and her father were standing.

“Good morning, Mr. Enright,” Josh said.

“Good morning, Josh,” said Ashley’s father. “You’d better tell us what you’ve found, before you explode!”

“Well,” said Josh. “We’ve found quite a few bowls and, of course, more arrowheads.”

“It looks like this may have been a camp for the tribe,” said Mr. Stewart. “We’ve found what we think is the outline of a birchbark canoe.

“Wow,” said Ashley. “This certainly would have been a great spot for a camp!” She pointed to the view of the Atlantic Ocean and the beach.

“What’s going to happen next?” asked Ashley’s father.

“Well,” said Mr. Stewart. “When we finish the dig, we’ll donate the things that we’ve found to the museum.”

“That’s great,” said Ashley. “People will be able to learn more about the Indians who lived here so long ago!”

“Yes,” said Mr. Stewart brightly. “Thanks to you and Josh, we can now say with certainty that Indians lived in Donnybrook!” He ruffled Josh’s hair.

“Aw, Dad,” said Josh who looked embarrassed.

“All we really did was play on that old tire swing!” said Ashley.

“I know,” said her father with a wink. “But, as usual, you guys always manage to turn up something!”

    

Ashley Enright and the Arrowhead Adventure (3)

Ashley and Josh started looking in the row of books that Mrs. Daniels had reluctantly pointed them toward.

After looking at the reference numbers on the books, Ashley said, “I think I’ve found it, Josh.” She pulled a book about Native Americans down from the shelf and brought it over to a table. She looked up the Penobscot Indians in the Table of Contents and turned to the section.

“Josh,” she said excitedly. “This could be it! Penobscot means ‘the place where the rocks open out.’ That could mean part of Donnybrook. It says that the tribe are the original residents of Maine.”

“That’s cool,” said Josh. “Are there any members of the tribe left today?”

“Yes,” said Ashley as she continued to read. “It says tribe members still live on a reservation on Indian Island. It says that they were known for making birchbark canoes and lived in birchbark wigwams.”

“What’s birchbark?” asked Josh.

“Duh,” answered Ashley. “I’m thinking that it’s the bark of birch trees?”

“Oh,” said Josh as his face reddened. “I guess that makes sense!”

Ashley continued reading and then said, “Wow. They even have a baseball connection!”

“Baseball?” questioned Josh.

“Yes,” answered Ashley. “The first American Indian baseball player was Louis Sockalexis who was a Penobscot. He played for the Cleveland Spiders in 1897.”

“That’s cool,” said Josh. “Is that the team that became the Cleveland Indians?”

“You bet,” said Ashley. “It says here that even though he was a strong player, he was not treated fairly by his teammates and other teams. He only played for a short while.”

“That’s too bad,” said Josh.

“I agree,” said Ashley. “This was way before Jackie Robinson broke down racial barriers in baseball. I guess Louis had a rough time.”

“Do you think they became the Cleveland Indians because of him?” Josh asked.

“I don’t know,” said Ashley. “It says here that some people think that the Indian’s cartoon mascot is a tribute to Louis Sockalexis. His family and the Penobscot nation disagree with that thought. They believe that the mascot is racist and insulting and does not represent Louis.”

“Hmm,” said Josh thoughtfully. “Who knew we had Indians in Donnybrook?”

“I know!” said Ashley. “That’s so cool to think about a tribe that lived in Donnybrook before anyone else was here. It says here that the tribe members were great storytellers.”

“You like telling stories, Ashes,” said Josh. “Maybe you have a little Penobscot in you?”

Ashley laughed and said, “I doubt that. My ancestors came from Ireland. The Irish are also known for storytelling!”

Josh said, “Hey, Ashes. We’d better get going. My mom said I had to straighten up my room or she’d kick me out of the house!”

Ashley laughed again and said, “That sounds serious! Why does your room get messy?”

“Not messy,” Josh huffed. “Just untidy.”

“What’s the difference?” asked Ashley.

“Messy is dirty,” Josh explained. “Untidy just means that things aren’t put away.”

“So,” said Ashley. “Why aren’t things put away?”

“Well,” said Josh. “I just get so involved working on my comic books that I just don’t have the time to put everything away.”

“What are you working on now?” asked Ashley. Josh was a talented artist who drew comic books featuring superheroes.

“It’s the adventures of Joe Starbuster,” said Josh. “He’s an astronomer who travels to other galaxies and meets alien races.”

“Sounds cool,” said Ashley. She hid her smile as she realized that, once again, Josh’s superhero had the same initials as he did: J.S. “Come on, let’s go.” Ashley returned the book to the proper shelf.
She and Josh said goodbye to Mrs. Daniels as they walked past her desk. Mrs. Daniels didn’t even look up from the book in front of her and just gave a little wave.

“I hate it when Kathleen’s not here,” whispered Josh.

“I know,” Ashley whispered. “Me, too. But, Kathleen does deserve a day off!” They went outside, put on their bicycle helmets and got on their bicycles for the ride home.

Ashley Enright and the Arrowhead Adventure (2)

Ashley went out to the garage and got her bicycle down from the hook on the wall. She put her helmet on, put her favorite NY Mets hat into her backpack and put her backpack on her back. She rode up Foggy Bottom Road to Josh’s house.

Josh was waiting for her at the end of his driveway.

“Hey, Josh,” said Ashley as she stopped her bicycle. “Are you ready?”

“Am I ever!” said Josh with excitement. They rode along Maple Drive to the Donnybrook Public Library. They didn’t talk much on the ride, they just enjoyed the beautiful spring day.

At the library, they parked their bicycles outside, took off their helmets and walked inside to the Reference Section.

 “Oh no!” Josh whispered. “It’s her!” He pointed to a woman sitting at the Reference Desk. It was Mrs. Daniels and not their friend, Kathleen. Mrs. Daniels was an older woman who had jet black hair pulled into a tight bun at the top of her head. She always had a pencil stuck in the bun. She wore very heavy makeup and bright red lipstick. Mrs. Daniels didn’t really like kids and, in fact, was always annoyed when any children came to her desk to ask questions.

“We forgot that Kathleen doesn’t work on Saturdays,” whispered Ashley. “Oh well, we’ll try our best!” The kids in town loved the fact that the other Reference Librarian, Kathleen Gorman, let them call her by her first name instead of “Mrs. Gorman.” She frequently helped Ashley and Josh with their investigations.

They walked over to the Reference Desk and said, in unison, “Hello, Mrs. Daniels!”

Mrs. Daniels looked up from the book she was reading and said, “Oh, good morning. What do you want?”

 “Well,” Ashley said brightly “We’d like to know about any Indian tribes that lived in Donnybrook.”

 “Why would you want to know that?” said Mrs. Daniels. “I’ll bet you have a report due for school on Monday and are trying to write it at the last minute. Typical children.” She huffed.

 “No report,” said Josh. “We’re just curious, I guess.”

 “Curious?” said Mrs. Daniels. “Curiosity killed the cat, you know!”

 “Yes,” said Ashley. “But we’re not cats and, besides, doesn’t the saying go: ‘curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought him back’? Can you help us?”

Mrs. Daniels gave a long sigh and said, “Oh, alright.” She reluctantly closed her book and turned to the computer. She typed for a few minutes and then said, “It says here that there were several Indian tribes in Maine. It looks like the Penabscot Tribe lived in what became Donnybrook.”

 “What can you tell us about the tribe?” asked Ashley.

 Mrs. Daniels gave another long sigh and said, “We have several books in the reference section about Indian tribes. You might want to check over there.” She gave them the Dewey Decimal number to look up the book and pointed to a row of books.

 “Thank you, Mrs. Daniels,” said Ashley as she and Josh walked over to the aisle of books that the Reference Librarian had pointed out to them.

“Why did you say thank you?” whispered Josh. “She wasn’t very helpful.”

“I think she was as helpful as she can be,” laughed Ashley. “Let’s see what we can find out about this tribe.