by goin’ along with their scheme. They had me scairt to death that I was going to be arrested and sent off to jail or maybe even hanged. They had me scairt crazy.”
“Jake, the way I heard it was that yore mamma wanted you out of Savannah. She felt like you was going to get yoreself killed if you stayed there, and I agreed with her and so did Lott,” answered Mister Mac. “I knew about their plan.”
“Okay, you answer me this. I got hoodwinked out of Savannah to save my life, but here I am in this damned wilderness where I’m goin’ to either freeze to death, be eaten by one of them wild bears, or one of them Choctaws is going to stick me full of holes!” explained Jake, now moving closer to Lott to get his brother’s attention.
“Jake, just shut up yore complainin’. We’ve been over this time and time again. You ain’t going to freeze. We ain’t seen a bear in several days and them Choctaws ain’t warlike,” Lott said firmly, trying to ignore Jake’s agitation.
“We went through that village a couple of miles south of here this afternoon and there was hund’rds of Indians there. There was some mean-lookin’ ones too. I don’t think they liked us and they kept lookin’ at me, kind of strangely,” Jake exclaimed.
“They probably don’t like the idea of losin’ their land, Jake, and we ain’t helpin’ them too much either,” added Frank who had been wakened by the loud talking.
“Jake, settle down. Them Indians ain’t going to hurt us, and if they do, this is as good a place to die as any. And by the way, if they did stare at ya, they was probably thinkin’ this is the biggest and ugliest white man they’ve ever seen,” joked Lott, as Mister Mac and Frank broke out in laughter.
“See, Mister Mac, what did I tell ya? My brother is nothin’ but a smart ass and an educated fool,” resounded Jake.
“Jake, why do you resent my education? You had the same chance I did,” answered Lott. “You have as much sense as I do, when you want to use it,” continued Lott.
“I know that, but common sense is better’n book sense any day. Besides, I just couldn’t keep my mind on the subject. There was always more important things to think about, like what I wanted to do when school was out. Weren’t no way I could sit still and listen,” Jake said, pulling his blanket around his shoulders and settling himself next to a giant oak tree located twenty feet from the fire.
Everyone became quiet, even if they were not asleep, and Lott wondered if they might be able to stave off any more complaints from his brother.
“You asleep?” hissed Jake, trying to revive the argument. “Lott, you remember Mrs. Barton, our fifth grade teacher? She gave me problems, too. She had the biggest set of tits I ever seen. Frank! Frank! You awake? Each one of them was this big.” Jake’s voice rose and he held his hands in such a way as to create an image of something large and round.
“Jake, just shut that damned mouth up and leave us be. Mrs. Barton’s titties weren’t that big either,” corrected Lott. “Every woman’s tits are watermelon size in yore mind.”
Laughter once again shattered the quietness of the woodlands.
“Well it’s good one of us was distracted by women; you’re going to miss out on the best of life. Books ain’t better than women!” answered Jake.
“All of ya just be quiet and let me get some sleep,” insisted Mister Mac. “You won’t see no watermelons or women out here in these woods. And Jake, them Choctaws ain’t going to bother us.”
“Well, I ain’t sleepin’ tonight. If them Choctaws get me, they is going to get me wide awake,” Jake answered, as he rose from the ground.
“Lott, Jake’s got a right to be afraid in these woods. It pays to be cautious out here. Things could happen to ya,” Frank said, as he got up and walked toward the horses to relieve himself.
“Them Indians ain’t no thin’ but filthy savages. I’ll be glad when they is all gone west or better still, I think we ought to just round ‘em up and shoot ‘em,” continued Frank, as he returned to the campsite. “It would save the trouble of movin’ ‘em. I ought to know not to drink so much coffee. I’ll be gettin’ up all through the night.”
“Frank, I’m not sure I agree with you about them Indians,” countered Mister Mac. “Them Choctaws ain’t done a thing to anyone I’ve talked with, and this here is their land that’s bein’ taken.”
“Just my opinion, Mister Mac, my opinion,” answered Frank.
Later in the night, the winds subsided and cloudy skies gave way to a dark heaven filled with millions of twinkling stars. Everything was finally quiet around the campfire.
Jake was the first one up and stirring the following morning and wrapped snugly in his blanket, he stood and admired the unusual rays of pink, blue, and purple bands of clouds gathering on the eastern horizon. After gazing at the skies for several minutes, he turned his attention to the forest and suddenly realized this was the most magnificent country they had traveled.
Behind him was a deep forest of long leaf pines stretching as far as he could see. Their massive trunks seemed to reach to heaven. Through the years, fires and bolts of lightning had scarred the sides of these ancient trees, but even these markings made them that much more majestic. As he looked southward, the pine forest gave way to stands of oak, hickory, poplar, beech, and other hardwood trees. Looking closer, Jake noticed a small area of open meadow freckled with deer gracefully gathering around the hardwood trees where an abundance of tasty acorns had fallen.
Jake had the impulse to walk into the forest to see this miracle of beauty, but the fear of the wilderness seized control of him.
He mumbled to himself, “Why am I afraid of them woods? It ain’t as rough as some of the places I’ve found myself in. I’ve faced guns and knives and some of the roughest men in Savannah. Hell, I ain’t going to let them trees make a coward out of me. fm goin’ in.”
Grasping his rifle in one hand and his hunting knife in the other, he quietly and cautiously crept over the dampened, newly fallen leaves and noted dozens of squirrels scurrying around the bases of the trees trying to unearth their morning meal.
Creeping closer and closer to the meadow, he saw a large herd of deer. Suddenly, a large flock of turkeys wandered out into the opening and began feeding on the plants and insects in the field. Occasionally, sun rays would strike the backs of these enormous birds and Jake could see shades of gold, bronze, and orange glittering from their long feathers as they fed from plant to plant.
Jake laid his rifle and knife down so he could crawl a little closer to observe these creatures. Turning his attention once more to the deer herd that had now moved within one hundred feet of him, he began counting.
“Fifty-two, fifty-three, and fifty-four,” whispered Jake. “Lott and them just won’t believe this,” Jake murmured to himself. “Well, I’d better get back to camp before they think something has got me.”
Jake started to get up, but suddenly a forceful hand pushed him down. A muscular Indian was standing behind him with an arrow notched in the bowstring and fully drawn.
The Indian looked down at him with dark, piercing eyes, and it was obvious to Jake, that he must be a fierce warrior. A long scar ran across his nose and down his cheek. Jake was terrified when he quickly realized his rifle and knife were lying on the ground thirty feet behind him. Feeling he could not get up in time to stop the arrow, he decided to try to jump the Indian anyway, hoping he would not be hit in the process.
Looking at the arrow once again, Jake reconsidered his plan. To his surprise, the Indian raised his bow toward the nearest deer and sent an arrow racing through the air striking the deer in the lower section of the neck. The animal ran but came crashing to the ground underneath one of the large oak trees across the meadow.
As it struggled to stand again, the hunter sprinted toward the downed animal, screaming and chanting. His long, black hair, shining in the early morning sunlight, bounced