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Mission
is one of four new novels by Margaret Wyman, an author destined
for greatness. Known as Peggy to her friends, she has a degree
in mathematics, but also has a lifelong affinity for history and
historical fiction. After taking a basketry class from a
Kumeyaay craftswoman, she became fascinated by the background of
these proud people and the true story that never sees ink in the
“history” books. Peggy decided it was time to expose how the
Kumeyaay were “pushed into the rocks,” a phrase first used
by Dr. Florence Shipek, noted anthropologist and Kumeyaay Indian
rights advocate.*
*Fortunately,
the Kumeyaay have rebounded, with their highly successful
casinos at Viejas, Barona, and Sycuan in San Diego County, CA,
where they are noted for their philanthropic work that benefits
many diverse cultural groups.
In
a recent interview, Peggy said: "A little-known fact is
that California's missions are its number 1 tourist attraction.
I visited every one of them to research Mission, and as I did
so, I grew more and more passionate about the plight of the
Indians who were forced to build these linchpins of Spanish
control.
In a recent interview about
Shining
Mountains, Western Sea
with
Donna Syvertson of The Missoulian (Missoula, MT),Peggy
answered the following questions:
Q.
What
is the main theme of Shining
Mountains, Western Sea?
A.
"In Shining
Mountains, Western Sea, I tell the story of two members
of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. John Colter is an experienced
trapper and woodsman, assigned by Captain Meriwether Lewis to
mentor George Shannon, the youngest, least-seasoned member of
the crew. Neither man likes the arrangement, but they put up
with each other to face raging rivers, hostile sergeants,
unpredictable natives, starvation, thirst, extremes of weather,
and injury. Eventually enmity turns to friendship as they
discover a new country, new loves and themselves."
Q.
Why fictionalize such an important story? Aren’t the journals
of the Expedition enough?
A.
“With
few exceptions, all the books and articles about the Expedition
focus on the two captains,” Wyman explained. “But what about
the crew? Their experience as privates would have been much
different from that of the two leaders. What caused these men to
join up? What did they figure to gain? How did the experiences
of the Expedition affect them? What were their thoughts and
feelings while starving, or freezing, or stuck on the damp,
drizzly Pacific Coast? Who
were their pals, their enemies among the rest of the
crew? Those are the questions I wanted to explore.
“In
President Jefferson’s instructions, the captains were charged
with recording everything they saw: flora, fauna, weather,
geology, the ways of the Indians, etc. Not exactly riveting
reading. There’s little
mention of the crewmen or the tensions that build up among
members of such a diverse group. To write the story I wanted to
tell I had to imagine what the crew went through using the
historical record as my basis. That’s what I pray I
accomplished in Shining
Mountains, Western Sea.”
Q.
Why is this book important? Why should I buy it?
A.
"The Bicentennial of the Expedition runs from 2004 through
2006, to be marked with celebrations across the country, making Shining Mountains, Western Sea
both topical and timely. Such
an undertaking for a nation less than 30 years old in
1804 was audacious. What the 33 members of the crew accomplished
was a feat more dramatic than landing a man on the moon,
considering that they were in unexplored territory, completely
on their own devices for survival, with no mission support to
guide them. That only one of the crew died is amazing. How they
pulled off this incredible feat is a story that never wears out.
"Also,
no book before Shining
Mountains, Western Sea has attempted to bring the
Expedition to life through the eyes of the crew, the ones who
did all the hard physical labor and were later forgotten while
the bulk of society’s praise and adulation were heaped upon
the two captains.
Another
reason the book is important is its emphasis on the huge
coincidence that saved the Expedition: the chance meeting of
Sacajawea with her brother Cameahwait, the leader of the
Shoshone band who supplied the Expedition with the horses they
needed to cross the Bitterroots. If Cameahwait’s band had
already left to hunt buffalo, if the captains and Sacajawea had
never met, if Meriwether Lewis had not gone ahead of the main
party to seek out Indians, if that Shoshone hunting party had
not been in that particular place at that particular time . . .
the Expedition would never have made it to the Pacific.
Coincidence or 'Manifest Destiny'?"
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