The Plague Of Doves

Evelina discusses the picture of Louis Riel, the self-appointed prophet and advocate for the Metis (a community in Canada of mixed Anglo and Native heritage), that hangs in their kitchen, and how the Milks hid Riel from authorities. She compares Mooshum to Mooshum’s younger brother, Shamengwa Milk, who often visits them. Both brothers sneak booze when Evelina’s mother isn’t looking. “But nothing made them happier than the chance to fling history into the face of a member of the hated cloth” (22). They try to harass the old priest who visits them, but he is too agreeable and frustrates their attempts. Another priest, Father Cassidy, is transferred to their parish.

During the summer, the television breaks, so Joseph and Evelina ride their aunt’s horses until it begins to rain. Father Cassidy visits the old men and they all drink. Everyone notices how much Father Cassidy enjoys drinking. Father Cassidy asks why the old men haven’t been at church, and Shamengwa and Seraph mess with him, pretending they’ve been too pure. They cajole an unwitting Cassidy into describing possible sins under the pretense of finding out if they’ve sinned. Shamengwa convinces Cassidy to describe impure thoughts as the children ostensibly play cards, laughing quietly at the mockery. Joseph makes a joke about having sex with foreigners, and the kids escape. Cassidy follows them and condescendingly speaks about their shabby ponies until one bites him. He leaves and Joseph mocks him. Clemence Harp, Evelina and Joseph’s mother, chastens the two old men for making a fool of the priest. Seraph and Shamengwa go to church and pretend to be pious, but they purposefully lapse to elicit another visit from Cassidy, which goes the same way as the first visit.

Joseph really likes science, although to prove his masculinity he also rides horses and routinely gets drunk. He especially likes studying fat black salamanders with his father, who is a science teacher, and Evelina. Joseph gets annoyed watching the salamanders because they rarely do anything, so he steals a dissection kit from his father. He and Evelina dissect a salamander under the cover of night, but their father interrupts them and forces them back to bed. They find the salamander dead the next morning, leaving a trail of blood to the funeral. Joseph buries the dissection kit with the salamander. “It was months before he dug up the dissection kit, and a year might have passed before he used it on something else” (30).

Father Cassidy returns to the Harp house, and narrative returns to the family and Father Cassidy discussing the photo of Riel. Mooshum and Shamengwa believe if Riel had lived, things could have been different for the Metis, although they disagree about various rules that would have been implemented. Mooshum argues that hell has imaginary fire. Evelina and Joseph’s father agrees only because nothing can burn forever, irritating Clemence. Cassidy also irritates Geraldine, Clemence’s sister and Evelina’s aunt, who can no longer have children because she would die in childbirth, when he argues that people should not interfere with God’s plan for procreation. When Evelina asks her mother about this, Clemence refuses to explain, so her brother suggests she seek out her aunt. Geraldine assures Evelina that impure thoughts are not sins.

Clemence eventually takes the booze away from the old men, dampening their spirits. Cassidy references Riel’s movement as a rebellion, infuriating the two brothers. Cassidy tries to turn their conversation towards respect for God, and Seraph replies that he’s respected God by masturbating. The brothers toast to land and women, and Seraph admits he’s in love with Neve Harp, Evelina’s paternal aunt and the local historian. Neve irritates the rest of the family, but Mooshum still writes her love letters, asking his son-in-law for information regarding his sister so Mooshum can woo her. The men call for more alcohol from Clemence, who evades Cassidy’s attempt to converse with her.

Evelina reflects on how comfortable they were on the reservation, given both their parents had secure jobs. During Cassidy’s final visit to their house, Joseph and Evelina catch salamanders when Cassidy informs the pair that the lizards are associated with the devil. Cassidy and the brothers get roaring drunk because Clemence is gone, and Cassidy asks Mooshum what happened to his ear. Mooshum tells the story of Liver-Eating Johnson, a crazy white man who hated Native Americans and would run them down and eat them. Mooshum explains he was out hunting for food when Johnson approached him. They fought, and Johnson bit Mooshum’s ear, so Mooshum started biting and eating parts of Johnson.

Mooshum shows the priest and the kids Johnson’s nose, which he kept as a love charm. Cassidy sputters about pagan ideology, which Mooshum equates to keeping relics of saints; incredibly drunk, Cassidy discounts this as sacrilege. Mooshum then equates transubstantiation to cannibalism, which Cassidy decries as heresy. Cassidy demands Mooshum come to church to confess this sin, and Mooshum asks why priests want to hear dirty secrets, anyway. Shamengwa reminds the priest that they don’t believe in everlasting hell, and Cassidy leaves, staggering outside.

They hear a noise, and find Cassidy has slipped on a salamander. Joseph takes the squished salamander and glares at Cassidy, but Evelina waits with Cassidy until he wakes up and drives drunkenly home. “Things would be harder now, for Father Cassidy […] I knew that word would spread — the priest drunk, tripped up by the devil in the form of a mud puppy, cursing an old man to hell, all of these things would be recounted by Mooshum and Shamengwa when talking to their cronies” (41). Mooshum refuses to go to church anymore and instead attends traditional ceremonies that his son-in-law secretly drives him to. When Evelina later asks him why he changed faith in his old age, Mooshum argues he did it for women.

Corwin tells the other boys about the kiss, and so Evelina decides to torment him by shooting him with a BB gun. Evelina goes through puberty and enters sixth grade to find a new nun, Sister Mary Anita, whom Evelina nicknames Sister Godzilla because of her prognathic jaw and crooked teeth. The new nun, however, has beautiful hands and is excellent at softball. Mary Anita embarrasses Evelina by striking her out, so Evelina draws a picture of Mary Anita as Godzilla in a nun’s habit. Mary Anita sees it and tells her to stay after school; when Evelina sees how sad her eyes are, she apologizes, surprising herself. Mary Anita explains how she used to be teased about her genetic deformity and makes Evelina promise she will never hurt her again. Evelina flees the classroom and realizes she is in love with Mary Anita.

“Corwin tried everything to win me back. He almost spoiled his reputation by eating tree bark” (47). He calls Mary Anita Godzilla and Evelina tells him to kill himself. Corwin gets all the other students to call Mary Anita the derogatory name, and Evelina feels terrible, so she gives Mary Anita a cookie her mom packed her for lunch.

The name waxes and wanes in popularity, but Corwin keeps reminding the other students of it. One day, they are learning about reptiles, and Corwin offers Godzilla as another reptile. Mary Anita stares at him and then laughs. Evelina punches Corwin in the stomach. Evelina daydreams while she watches Mary Anita’s graceful softball playing, thinking about joining the convent and spending her life with Mary Anita. She writes and tears up love letters. She doesn’t want to become a nun but thinks it is the only way to stay with Mary Anita. Mary Anita notices something is wrong, and believing trouble at home, asks, to which Evelina suggests they run away together. Mary Anita believes Evelina to be ill.

Corwin shows off the new toy he’s sent away for: a tiny mechanical Godzilla. Mary Anita instructs with her back to the class, who wait to see what Corwin will do. He winds up the toy, which he has dressed in a nun’s garb, and places it on the ground directly towards Mary Anita. Evelina darts out to grab it but Mary Anita sees it first and kicks it up into the ceiling, shattering it. Mary Anita walks to the window and begins laughing terribly, and Evelina cannot wrench her eyes from her beloved’s pain.

Mary Anita disregards Evelina after the incident, which Evelina finds unbearable. Evelina goes through Mary Anita’s trash to learn more about her and writes her unsent letters. Her parents grow suspicious of how much Evelina talks about Mary Anita, and when Evelina confesses that the nun’s last name is Buckendorf, her mother becomes oddly silent. Her father ignores the name, focusing on the stamp collection he inherited from his father, Uncle Octave. Evelina asks Mooshum about the name; and Mooshum responds vaguely about injustice. Evelina waits anxiously, hoping for more knowledge of Mary Anita, and Mooshum goes outside to the porch. The children follow him. “Mooshum’s strange reluctance to tell this story was compelling. The less he wanted to tell, the more we wanted to hear” (56). He looks at his daughter, who hangs up washing, and begins talking in a low voice.

The Boots

Mooshum says Holy Track several times, then explains when he and Junesse came back to the reservation, they were accused of stealing the horses Maude gave them. Mooshum talks about how he raced those horses and started drinking whiskey. At that time, Junesse’s sick cousin lived on Mooshum’s land with her son, who lacked despite his Catholicism. Before she dies, Junesse’s cousin has Mooshum nail two crosses to the bottom of her son’s boots to ward off sickness and evil. Mooshum takes the boy to his great-uncle, Asiginak, and the boy begins to be called Holy Track because of his boots.

The Clothesline

Clemence tells Seraph that they don’t need to hear that story, but Mooshum continues after she leaves because she doesn’t put up her usual fight.

The Basket Makers

Asiginak teaches Holy Track to make willow baskets to sell. One day, they meet Mooshum and Cuthbert Peace, who drunkenly decides to follow them down the road, much to Asiginak’s chagrin because he fears they will lead the spiritual Holy Track astray. Asiginak tells them not to step in the boy’s footprints because they are unworthy.

The Lochren Farm

The group arrives at the Lochren farm and notice that something seems off: “The cows in the barn set up a sudden groaning to be milked” (61). Asiginak argues they should leave, but a baby cries and Cuthbert enters a door covered in blood. They find a man and two young boys dead in the yard, and Cuthbert emerges with a baby. They milk the cows and give some to the baby. Cuthbert wants to take the baby, but they convince him to write the sheriff an anonymous note instead, arguing that as Native Americans, the authorities will hang them as murderers. They erase Holy Track’s tracks and leave the baby.

A Little Medicine

Mooshum stops the story, leaving the children puzzled. Their mother tests the clothes to see if they’re dry, too concerned with some other problem to stop Mooshum from continuing the story. Mooshum secretly continues drinking. Their mother complains about her sister Geraldine, and Evelina almost follows her inside, but Mooshum resumes his story, explaining that the Buckendorfs and Wildstrand, a bunch of white townspeople, came for Asiginak.

Confessional

Mooshum and Holy Track walk through the woods to seek sanctuary at the church, praying and talking about boredom at mass. They hear men and dogs capture Asiginak, and they wonder if they will be next. They get to the church and Holy Track admits he hasn’t eaten since Asiginak told him that drunken townspeople knew that they had been at the Lochren house. He eats all of the communion wafers and then drinks rancid candle fat. His stomach cramps but he refuses to throw up the holy wafers, believing they will give him strength. Holy Track hides in the confessional while Mooshum drinks holy water and falls asleep in a pew. Father Severine finds Holy Track the next morning, and Holy Track lies that he’s alone. The priest feeds Holy Track, who tries to explain that he had nothing to do with the murders. They hear the townspeople outside, and the priest says he will hide Holy Track.

The Sisters

Clemence and Geraldine interrupt the story by walking out of the house, arguing. Evelina reflects on how similarly put-together both sisters are. They walk to the end of the yard, and Mooshum continues the story.

The Party

Mooshum eats the food Holy Track gives him, unable to make out the words of the men outside. It goes quiet and both hide. The white men push past the priest but see no one in the church, and they decide to hang only Asiginak. Asiginak cries out in Ojibwe that he doesn’t want to die alone, so Holy Track shows himself. Mooshum tries to pull Holy Track back down, but the men apprehend both boys. “When he saw horror and shame on Asiginak’s face, Mooshum knew that Holy Track regretted showing himself” (69). The priest tries to defend Holy Track, but they are all thrown into a wagon, joined shortly thereafter by Cuthbert, who is dragged behind a horse by two men.

The Baby

Aunt Geraldine and Clemence continue arguing, with Mooshum drinking when they’re not looking at him. The sisters suspect they’re being listened to, so they move away. Mooshum explains that Tobek Hoag ran off the day of the murders, and Tobek’s older sister, Electa Hoag, was given the Lochren baby to take care of by her husband.

Vogeli

Frederic Vogeli, a white man in the lynching party, talks to the Buckendorfs. He smokes a cigarette rolled from the paper of his late wife’s diary, the sight of which infuriates their son, Johann. Johann hides his dead mother’s diary. Frederic forces Johann to saddle up the horse so they can join in the lynching. Mooshum explains that he and Johann later became friends, and Johann told him that the sheriff and colonel tried to stop the lynch mob.

Death Song

The sheriff and colonel try to commandeer the suspects and take them to jail, but the lynching party refuses. They all point guns at each other until Wildstrand, another member of the lynching party, shoots the sheriff’s horse; the sheriff breaks several bones as he falls, and the colonel helps the pinned sheriff instead of saving the prisoners. The white men move on, debating where they should hang the four men. Cuthbert tries to argue that the Lochrens were dead when they found them and that as Metis, they are like the white men, not like other Native Americans. One of the white men slams a rifle butt in Cuthbert’s face. Cuthbert decides to sing his death song, and Asiginak helps. The white men find a tree, and Mooshum hears Johann cry. He turns to see Frederic hit his son in the face. Johann tackles Frederic off his horse and the two fight in the dust while the wagon moves on.

Joseph asks if the others in the wagon lived, and Mooshum says no.

The Clatter of Wings

The white men find a tree at the edge of the Wolde family’s land, and the four men in the wagon realize that the white lynchers don’t know what they’re doing. “Holy Track was sick and wild […] Mooshum was staring into space and pretending to be already dead” (77). Asiginak tells Holy Track that they will walk in the spirit world as father and son. Cuthbert asks Holy Track his Ojibwe name, which is Everlasting Sky, and they discuss how the spirits of their relatives will meet them. The white men debate over whether they should hang Holy Track, but Wildstrand convinces them they should. Cuthbert and Asiginak begin singing. Holy Track tries to join but can only hum his mother’s lullaby. Instead of having their necks broken, the men slowly choke, and Holy Track hears when Cuthbert stops singing and dies. Holy Track dies staring up at the sky.

As Mooshum finishes the story, a storm comes in and Evelina races to bring in the laundry. Evelina watches Mooshum and Clemence speak to each other about Geraldine’s boyfriend. Clemence asks Evelina to help her peel potatoes, and Evelina asks if they can do their hair like Geraldine, purposefully infuriating her mother.

Uncle Whitey teaches Evelina to box, but she is too caught up in her own thoughts to be good. She asks about Geraldine, but Joseph and Whitey want no part of gossip. Evelina asks, “What happened to the men who had lynched our people?” (82). Shamengwa scolds his brother for telling her the story. The old men argue. Neve Harp, Evelina’s paternal aunt, visits, making Evelina reflect on how Neve unfairly inherited everything when her paternal grandfather died, although her father only cares about the stamp collection. Aunt Harp asks stupid and racist questions, too, while Seraph flirts with her shamelessly, although he becomes less crude once Clemence glares at him.

Neve asks unwittingly about the land, and Evelina realizes how much the loss of land has affected Seraph, Shamengwa, and Clemence as Seraph argues that Neve stole it. Evelina makes Neve tea, and Clemence argues Neve’s ignorance isn’t her fault. Evelina refutes this by saying she married a Wildstrand. Clemence reminds her daughter that the Buckendorfs also were at the lynching, explaining that Junesse’s father was a Wildstrand. Evelina believes that this relationship is why Mooshum wasn’t lynched to death. Clemence explains to Evelina that while Geraldine can’t have children, she and Judge Coutts are having an affair.

Lines

Evelina tries to work out the complex genealogical lineage surrounding the murders. Mooshum is reticent to give her answers, and Evelina realizes this story has disturbed her idea of him. She wonders where he gets the whiskey.