Down in the Valley

I wish I was a slave to an age-old trade, Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways.

- The Head and the Heart, "Down in the Valley"

Prologue

On the side of the road is an old brick house. This house belonged to Mr. John Work. Mr. John Work was a miller by trade and made a stable living along Fourteen Mile Creek which is located near present day Charlestown, Indiana, which is two hours north of Louisville, Kentucky and is in the middle of a forest.

This house, which is red and Colonial in nature, has two stories, a once beautiful door, a kitchen to the back and a clearing behind it.

If one were to walk behind the John Work House and go into the clearing you'll see a trail. This trail is not very long, perhaps a half mile but no longer than a thirty minute trek, passing over a few small hills and rocky terrain before one would gaze at a silent waterfall that is in the middle of a large, breathtaking ravine.

When I say silent waterfall, I mean it literally. The waterfall is rather dry, with only a few droplets and streams of water submitting to gravity but nothing really spectacular. Mysteriously, there is a river that connects to it with moving water, but alas the water refuses to fall roughly fifty or sixty feet into a small rocky pool.

If you want to you could get closer to admire the beauty of the rock faces, the small cave below it and if you were brave enough, could climb the cliffs. All you have to do is simply hold on to a rope and gently walk down a rather steep slope (depending on if it rained recently or not). Once you reach the bottom of the rope there is a bench for you to rest and look at this silent waterfall.

This silent waterfall has the rather appropriate name of Silent Falls and there is a legend surrounding it that one could possibly believe if one is prone to ghosts and non-trustworthy chiefs.

The legend has it, that when Europeans first entered the area, they encountered the chief of the indigenous people living there. This chief's name was Chief Redeyes and he was on his horse. According to legend Chief Redeyes led these Europeans here to this place and with his horse, forced them to fall to their deaths. This is on why the falls are silent. Constant mourning.

It is said that the Chief rides with his horse to Silent Falls, to the John Work House and even to Old Camp to haunt visitors of his land, hoping to once again lead more gullible people to test the limits of gravity.

Which brings me to Old Camp.

Old Camp is a series of buildings nestled just beyond the John Work House at the base of a hill on a peninsula which is surrounded by Fourteen Mile Creek. These buildings are straight out of the pioneered west. Wood and concrete mixture, each with their own personality and charm that makes this place special (to me).

Upon entering there is a building called Adam's House. It is a small space with a porch and two windows, one in the front, and one in the back. If one were to stand inside it and put your arms out width ways, you would touching both the front and back walls. That is on how small this building is.

After ten yards or so is the Old Trading Post. This building has about eight windows, four in the front, four in the back and three doors, one on the front that is towards the right side of the building, one on the left side of the building, and one on the right side. A large porch with two wooden picnic tables and an overhead light that always reminded me of a saloon in a western film. Inside were about ten bunk beds with college dorm mattresses. In the middle of the back wall there is an old wood burning fireplace. This wood burning gem of the 1940's is the centerpiece of nostalgia, along with the cobwebs and holes in the ceiling which gave the place a sense of wisdom as it aged. This building knew the face of every single person that slept here and it was proud to be of service.

Across the way is a smaller building known as The Health Lodge. This Health Lodge had two large steps that lead to the porch which was smaller in compression to the Trading Post. The concrete that comprises this porch is cracked as if the foundation slipped. Two doors adorn the front of it. Inside are about nine bunks and a wood burning fireplace that is in an awkward central position. This fireplace gives a sense of unity though, looking like it belonged there, like the Column of Trajan or something.

Directly across from the Health Lodge is a clearing for a fire pit which is a perfect circle. Numerous logs circle this space and the fire pit itself is well used. Black soot covers every inch of it and half burned logs are still present from the previous fire. It is constantly like this.

Beyond this, is a building known simply as the Old Administration. The building is the most cabin like, it has several rooms, two or three, I can't really remember, a small kitchen I'd suspect and a bathroom. The porch is about the same length and has the same function as the Old Trading Post one but with less width and made of stone instead of concrete.

Behind the Old Administration is the dam and Fourteen Mile Creek. This dam makes the creek a conversationalist who likes to curve and weave with the trees that covers it's banks and the fish that swim with its rocks are rather content. In short, Fourteen Mile Creek is a peaceful entity and is just a part of this place as the buildings and people who make it what it is.

However, I am not done here for there is still one more structure in this Old Camp that has yet to be discussed.

It was once a Mess Hall, and for all intents and purposes it will be called the Old Mess Hall. The reason I say it once was, is because most of the building is no longer there. A fire some time ago destroyed most of the eating area, however the back portion of the cafeteria as well as the kitchen still remain sound. It is a haunting reminder of the dangers of the world, but strangely, like everything else, amidst the old refrigerator that was still there, the small hallway that was probably part of the kitchen (for the kitchen is sealed off), the old boards of tables and chairs and the parts of the roof, it seemed to fit.

A large opening exposing the whole thing to the elements (as well as the eroding back wall), gave the place a peaceful, picturesque type feel, as if ghosts no longer haunted it, and if there were still any left, they have come to terms with the living.

Twenty feet or so from the Old Mess Hall are two slabs of concrete, this is all that remains of the main eating area, the foundation, the meals that were eaten, the times and memories that were shared, all of it was represented by two slabs of concrete that were twenty feet away from the remaining structure and about twenty feet apart from themselves. One can now simply imagine the space, the front door, the nostalgic feel to the place as a wood burning fireplace with the door open, allowing the flames to be seen by the world, gave this place known as Old Camp a sense of completeness, a sense of unity.

But it already has that, it doesn't a Mess Hall to feel like a home. You can always cook on the fire pit, or if you brought a propane stove, use that. You don't need a Mess Hall with chairs and tables, you just need a fire, good company, and wooden chairs provided by nature.

The following are based on real events experienced by the author using Disney cartoon characters.

The place just described, Old Camp, is in fact a real place, the story of Chief Redeyes, along with other folklore and stories presented in this story are camping stories heard and passed down from the author's memory.

This piece is dedicated to the people who experienced these events with me, and without these people, I wouldn't be the person I am today and without having experienced this place known as Old Camp, I probably wouldn't have started writing anything in the first place.

Thanks John for starting a mill.

Now, let's begin the story...