THE QUAKER AND THE CHEROKEE
Chapter 1
Mingo was leaned back in his willow-twig chair reading his copy of "Common Sense" when he heard the commotion outside of Menewa's lodge. Rising quickly he ducked under the door covering and saw a small hunting party clustered by his uncle's door, talking excitedly. Before them on the ground lay the still body of a young man, clad in unusual black clothing. Tekawitha and her mother were bending over the man trying to discover the cause for his unconsciousness.
He walked to stand beside his uncle. Menewa explained that the hunting party had discovered the youth lying near a spring less than a mile from the village. Since the village was much closer than Boonesborough the men had brought him here. Mingo nodded his understanding and agreement. He glanced down at the man's still face. Young, probably not twenty, slender, dark brown hair. Mingo recognized the clothing from his brief visits to Philadelphia. The man was a Quaker.
The two women decided to take the unconscious man into Menewa's lodge and tend him there. Understanding the probable discomfort that the youth would feel inside a family lodge, Mingo suggested that they take him into his own lodge. Menewa narrowed his eyes briefly as he gazed at his nephew and saw the younger man's slight blush. A small smile touched the older man's lips and he nodded his approval. Mingo walked back to his lodge and readied his narrow bed to accept the limp body. Then he took his gun and left his lodge to the two women and their charge.
Returning after dark with a young buck for his aunt Mingo inquired about the young man's progress. Atsila reported that the youth had not yet awakened. Tekawitha remained with him. Mingo sat and ate with his uncle's family, spending several hours with them telling stories and laughing at family memories. When he rose to enter his own lodge the bright summer moon had risen over the tall Kentucky trees.
Ducking inside his own home, Mingo saw Tekawitha asleep in his chair. He lightly touched her shoulder and she woke instantly. She reported no change to the young man's condition, then left Mingo to care for the youth through the night.
Mingo leaned over the young man. His clothing had been removed except for his long white shirt, which was now serving as a nightshirt. Mingo smiled to himself. Tekawitha had remembered the white culture's abhorrence for nakedness and contrived to ease the youth's chagrin if he should waken and find a young woman tending his naked body.
As he straightened Mingo felt a sneeze coming on and turned his head. The quick explosion of breath caused the youth to stir and open his eyes. He blinked twice, then turned his head and saw the tall Cherokee standing beside his bed. His eyes filled with surprise, but not fear. Mingo saw the expression and was also surprised. A white man awakening beside an Indian and not being afraid?
Leaning over the bed once again Mingo spoke softly, using short sentences and easy words. "You are safe here with us. We are Cherokee. A hunting party found you near a spring and brought you here. You were unconscious a long time. Can you tell me who you are and what you are doing deep in the Kentucky woods alone?"
The youth attempted to sit up. Mingo grasped his upper arm and pulled steadily. Once seated, the young man put both hands to his head as though he feared it would detach from his body. Mingo watched carefully, ready to catch him and lay him back down if necessary. But the spine stiffened and the hands came down as the youth turned his head to look into the Cherokee's handsome face.
"I am William Sawyer, of Philadelphia. I was on my way to meet my family in Boonesborough. I was traveling with a party consisting of two wagons and two pack mules. The men said that they were surveyors hired to plot a road through to the Mississippi River. This morning I was walking ahead of the group when something or someone must have struck me from behind. That's all I know." He paused and placed his hands against his head once again. "Except that my head feels like it is split in two." He grimaced and smiled crookedly at Mingo.
Mingo nodded. "Lie back down and I will soon return with something to help your headache." He strode to Tekawitha's lodge and returned with a brew of willow bark. He held the horn cup while the youth drank the entire potion.
"Are you able to eat something? I think you'd feel better if you could." Mingo continued to watch for signs of dizziness in William, but the young man seemed to be on the mend. He slightly nodded his head in response to Mingo's question and the tall Indian left the lodge once again. He was back in less than five minutes with a bowl of hot venison stew.
William ate slowly, waiting between bites to make sure the food would stay on his churning stomach. He managed to eat half of the portion before handing it back to Mingo. He lay back in Mingo's bed with a groan and fell asleep almost instantly. Mingo made sure that he was breathing easily, then turned to go back to Menewa's lodge with the information that he had received.
The youth had sustained a severe blow to the back of his head. There was a large knot behind his right ear and the scalp was abraded, the hair sticky with dried blood. Tekawitha gently washed the affected area the next morning and decided that it did not need to be bandaged. She reassured him in her unsteady English and left him alone in Mingo's lodge. He very slowly pulled his trousers onto his lower body. When he felt steadier, he attempted to stand. Severe dizziness forced him to sit back down on the narrow bed. Mingo came through the door and immediately understood what the youth was trying to do. He firmly grasped William by the upper arms and pulled. Slowly the young man was able to stand with Mingo's supporting arm around his shoulders. He staggered to the open doorway. Very carefully Mingo helped him to the nearby woods to attend to the call of nature.
When they returned Tekawitha was there with a steaming bowl of venison stew and two corn cakes. William managed to eat most of the stew and both corn cakes. Then Mingo helped him lie back on the bed where he fell into a much-needed sleep.
Awakening after a two hour nap, William sat up in Mingo's bed and swung his feet to the floor. Behind him Mingo rose from his chair with a copy of the Iliad still in his hand. The Quaker's eyes fell on the volume and his eyebrows rose. Mingo saw the gesture and surmised the reason. He chuckled softly and smiled down into the young man's blue eyes.
"I am a graduate of Oxford. I enjoy exercising my mind as much as my body. I believe both are necessary for complete health. Speaking of which, you seem to be on the mend. If that is true, I can take you to Boonesborough tomorrow. We are only a short distance away, less than a day's travel."
William raised his eyes to Mingo's face. "Yes, I will be ready tomorrow. My family must be worried. I was to meet them the first of June, but I got a late start because of the slow spring in the mountains. I will try to rest today so that I will be strong enough tomorrow. And thank you, and your family, for my care." The smile was warm and genuine. Mingo smiled back and nodded. William lay back on Mingo's bed and slipped into a light sleep. Mingo left the lodge, met a group of friends and spent the day in good-natured competitions with his fellow Cherokee.