Chapter 1
The sound of conversations washed over Mingo as he sat silently with his hands cradling his mug of ale. Before him Daniel was inventing a tale about the largest bear in the Yadkin Valley and how he trailed it and lost it when it climbed a tall tree and disappeared into the fog.
Chota had just come through a season of sickness that had claimed three children, two women and two men. They had died from typhoid. The two women had bought candy from a trader that passed on the edge of the town at the beginning of the Ripe Corn Moon. Their two husbands and three children died with them. Fortunately for the community their lodges were on the downstream side of Chota and not close to any others. The trader did not come in contact with their neighbors.
Mingo had returned home four days ago from a long hunt and found his village in mourning. As Mingo sat grieving for their loss his mind drifted to Emilie Steuben. His admiration for her increased as he pondered the horrible disease and its effects upon its victims.
The September thunderstorm rumbled and growled its way southeast. Daniel's voice was silenced by one last violent explosion. The large room shook with the reverberations. All conversation ceased as the men waited for the booming to end.
As he sat listening to the echoes fade away Mingo's mind remembered the days of sickness.