Ghosts of James Bay

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher-librarian in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.

In Across Frozen Seas, Wilson speculated about the fate of Sir John
Franklin’s expedition; in Ghosts of James Bay, he offers an
explanation of Henry Hudson’s mysterious and unsolved disappearance in
1611.

Al Lister, 14, spends his summer in a “bare bones” James Bay dig
with his father, an archeologist. On the final day before breaking camp,
Al canoes along the shore only to be enveloped in fog through which he
sees the Discovery, Henry Hudson’s ship during his final, fatal
voyage. Al watches in amazement as the captain and eight others,
banished by mutineers, board a low rowboat that almost capsizes Al’s
canoe.

Back in the light, Al paddles madly for land and suffers a “long,
jagged hole” in the fibreglass bottom of his canoe. He starts walking
back to camp, thinking of the ghost ship vision and of a school project
he once completed on Hudson. Engrossed in his reverie, Al finds himself
once again in the past—and almost tripping over Jack, Hudson’s young
son. The five surviving members of the Discovery crew are sick and
starving. Al joins them and endures a raid by Iroquois warriors, who
kill the adults and take the boys prisoner.

Juxtaposed with Al’s first-person narrative of his past-time
adventures is the story of a Cree warrior who initiates trade with
Hudson until the Elder of his band forbids contact. Ultimately, the Cree
plays a role in rescuing the boys. Al returns to the present with
valuable historical information about Hudson’s fate.

This engaging adventure offers a creative solution to the Hudson
mystery. The plot moves crisply, the characters are well drawn and
believable, and the narrative teems with historical, archeological, and
cultural detail. Recommended.