Donald A. Windsor
McElligott, Corey C. ; McElligott, Darren, C. ; McElligott, Patrick R.
Water Man. A Native People's History of the Northeast.
Guilford, NY: Waterfalls Press. 2011. Unpaginated [354 pages]
This is truly a wonderful book and I thank the authors for publishing it. Now this information resides in the public domain and is available to all who seek it.
Actually, I envy Pat -- and you will too, when you read it. Why? Because Pat had the privilege of carrying on all these fascinating conversations with Onondaga Chief Paul Water Man (=Waterman). However, you can rejoice, because Pat's sons, Corey and Darren, described them for you.
Whereas this book provides interesting (hard to put down!) reading, it does have several pesky drawbacks which, unfortunately, will hinder its use as a reference. It lacks the standard book features: verso, contents, cited references, and index. The most distressing omission was the absence of page numbers. Consequently, I recommend that readers do what I did, write in their own page numbers and construct their own index. Admittedly, these are not tasks that someone paying $30.00 for a book should have to do. But, for me, it was worth the trouble.
Over the years, I learned many concepts from Pat. Now, I have a document to back them up. For example, the use of burial mounds is based on the idea that a person springs from the womb and should return to the womb when life is over. Burial mounds resemble the bellies of pregnant women in the supine position. Up to now, I have not been able to document that concept. Now I can, on page 106. I still remember when Pat first told me that, because it made me look at landscapes differently from then on. Chenango County is richly endowed with possible burial mounds.
This book is full of remarkable information and I strongly urge you to read it.
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