58, Team

Fifty-Eight

Team

5 July 1824 (part three)

I had given John a description of the native man I had seen with Susie, but I am terrible with details.  I told him that I think the man was taller than Susie, had black hair that was about shoulder length, and maybe was quite a bit older, but strong looking.  I had never been close enough to him to give much more detail except that I did remember that he had a calico shirt on that was bright red, and that he wore that shirt on the two or three occasions that I had seen him.

John and I arrived at the Council House at about three in the afternoon.  There were not a lot of people there at that time, but we did find someone who could speak with us.  John has been to the Council House on occasion while assisting Reverend Terry in evangelizing. They have been there once a month for the last several months.  Many of the people there thus know John and hopefully someone would trust him. 

A couple of people approached us, thinking that we were there to trade, and they brought out colorful beads, and deerskin pouches. John told them that we were not there to trade that day, but were just looking for some people 

John  soon found Jimmy Smith, a half-breed whom John knew.  John asked Jimmy if he or anyone had seen a mulatto woman around 32 years of age, who might have been with one of the natives. 

Jimmy said that he had not. 

John said that no harm would come to the woman if the answer is yes, and he gave his word on that.   John said that we wanted no trouble, but that we wanted to talk with the woman, Susie, for she might be in danger.

These people have come to know John a little, and I think his word meant something, for then Jimmy said that he truly had not seen anyone by that description, but that he knew that one of the natives had left early in the morning and has not been seen since, and that he had seen  such a native was present with a woman of that description on at least one occasion. 

But then Jimmy seemed to have regretted what he said, and said that he thought that nothing should be made of the native being gone, he is probably out hunting.  He would not tell us the name of the native, and he had nothing further to say.  Of the few people there, no one seemed to know anything further, or at least they were not going to tell us.

We decided to leave without pressing anyone further, and when we were a little distance away, John said, I think this is out of our hands, now, Louisa.  We may as well go back.  I believe we should pray for a good and peaceful outcome, and keep that prayer in our minds until it is resolved, one way or another. 

John then took both of my hands, and he prayed a fervent and heartfelt prayer that a solution to all of this present itself in a peaceful and loving way.  But then he ended it with "May it be your will, Lord, and not ours."

I'm not sure that I am completely comfortable with that last part.  It is always difficult for me to understand just exactly what God's will is.  But coming out of John's mouth so earnestly, with pleading in his voice, I know that John believes that God's will is always just and merciful in the end.

We arrived back at my parents' place, which is as good of a description as I can call it now, it no longer being my home.  Father was doing better, and was sitting in a chair at the table.  His demeanor was glum.

Mother had returned from looking about the property without success.  She was not in the best of moods.

Joseph was still absent, and Nan was worried that he was going to venture into Creek Territory alone.  I told her that so far as we knew, Joseph had not gone to the Council House which we thought might be the first place anyone would go if they were going onto Creek lands.  I told her that I therefore doubted he had gone on from there, for heading north would be the most obvious way to go.  We were situated just across the river and near the southern tip of what Creek Territory there remained that had not been ceded to the United States Government.

There had been trouble in years past, including murders and massacres that required the intervention of the military.  Those years, however, were long past, and since at least 1818, there was peace in our area. 

The Creek people were dwindling, either by assimilation with whites and becoming planters and such, or by moving on.  Those who remained that were not in either of those two categories were mostly traders who mostly depended upon the white settlers coming through on the Federal Road which was nearby.  My guess was that the native that I saw was a hunter who provided for the remaining people, and may also have interacted with settlers, for I was having a hard time imagining how he could have met Susie.

One thing that no one present discussed was whether Mother knew that Susie was a mulatto child of Father's.  I, for one, did not want to stir the hornet's nest either way, for I do not think Mother was in a mood to be kind.  I believe that it was the value of Susie, and how hard it will be to replace her, that was on her mind.  Although Susie had little interaction with Mother for many years due to Father's (and thus Susie's) absence, I suspect that Mother was thinking of Nan and her promised wedding present.  Losing Susie could have serious and expensive ramifications.

Suppertime came.  Nan, Mother, and I were able to fix some soup and some bread for the five of us, and we ate the meal in silence.  Afterward, I remembered that I had not been home to tell Warner what was transpiring, and that they might be concerned.  I took my leave.  John offered to bring me home by horse, riding double, and that we did.

We arrived at home, which is what I call Warner's place now, and they had indeed been worried, but not too much, for they knew I was together with John; they were seeing us now as a couple.

Although we have had only the brief kiss between us, we have so much more to bind us together.   I realized then that John and I have become a team.