Becoming Americans Read online

  Chapter Two

  For two days, all activity halted in the settlement. Guilt dominated the grief: Francis Harper's, that he had let his wife go without him, that he had brought her to this land; Edward's, that he had not insisted on accompanying his mother—though he soon accepted that he would have been no help since he couldn't swim, either; and Richard's, for being helpless when, had he been able to swim, he might have saved the gentle woman. The captain had said, "Take precautions."

  Evelyn was consumed by guilt. Only she knew that she'd lost the shell with a hole in it, a sure amulet to protect against drowning. For the rest of that day she was hysterical until, finally, Opeechcot brought a dark brew he had concocted that calmed her and let her sleep. When she awoke, her mind centered on the snake and she would periodically scream at her memory of the surprise coiled up in the sewing basket. Any touch upon her skin would bring another scream, and when not recoiling from the horror, now, of serpents, she would remember her mother and sob, "I killed her. I killed my mother!"

  Brinson Barnes returned to his plantation, as planned, with his kinsman and came again the next day with his wife. They brought with them a white hen and her six chicks, which Mistress Barnes hoped would distract the girl. Mistress Barnes tried to soothe Evelyn and to be of comfort to Francis and Edward. But Francis showed a stoic face and, after two days, he told Forrest and the boys to resume the work that must be done. Edward worked in silence, though he confessed to Richard that he thought he'd cried the last tears he would ever shed. He said nothing of the mixed feeling he held towards his sister. It was the moment of her unreasoning hysteria that had killed his mother. Now the girl seemed locked in that moment, and a part of Edward wondered if that weren't justice.

  But life for the rest of them had to go on and, indeed, Harper told his children, if their mother's death was to have a meaning it must be the force for them to push ahead and prosper.

  He was unrelenting to his crew during the next weeks. Evelyn was a constant distraction for him at first, for she seldom relented from her self-torture. Mary Bishop, his only female servant, proved to be of little use. She'd been saved from a life of crime and degradation by authorities that'd picked her up a final time and ordered her to Virginia, but she knew nothing of housekeeping, and had no exposure to the kindness that might have helped poor Evelyn. Brinson agreed to exchange her for a seasoned female servant of his own who was well trained, but who had only two years remaining of her service. Mary still had her full five years ahead and she was strong and healthy, if not too bright.

  Drusilla, the new woman, was both capable and demanding. The boys and the men soon found that any moments spared for rest were not spent within sight of Drusilla. She always had tasks that needed doing.

  Unhappily, though, she was of little help to Evelyn, except to keep the child sedated by the dark brew she, too, knew how to make.

  Opeechcot, alone, could distract the girl. Saving the child's life had given him a sense of protective proprietorship. With the permission of Barnes and Harper he built a hogan near the settlement, and when not busy with the men or boys, he'd be seen smoking tobacco with Evelyn. She would sit by his fire smoking from his long clay pipe, then pass it back. They never spoke, though he would end their sessions by fingering her blonde hair then, placing his hand upon her head, would mumble some strange words. These times would calm her for some hours, and then Drusilla would have to give the child her drink.

  Their daily menu changed when Drusilla came. She made it clear to Francis that, if he expected to maintain the pace of work he was demanding of his crew—if he expected, even, to survive the winter—he'd best worry more about their food supplies and housing, and less about clearing more land than he could handle with a limit of strong arms. She spared no words, since she knew that he needed her right now more than he needed the men.

  The pine thicket that was cleared, he could consider a gift from God, she said. That, and the two acres of oaks the boys had girdled, would grow more tobacco than they could tend. Killing trees should be done in the dark of the moon, anyway. He'd best be concentrating on getting the house built before winter.

  Harper knew, immediately, that she was right, and he redirected energies and priorities. He instructed Billy Forrest to see that a short, temporary pier was built into Pine Haven. A pier waist-high would be enough, just past the small, breaking waves where a low shallop could tie up and unload the building supplies he'd bring back. Then he set off with Opeechcot, knowing that his son and daughter and Richard and Billy would be provided for by Drusilla.

  Billy and the boys worked diligently—their pace had been established. A series of locust poles was pounded into the soft sand to extend thirty feet into the water at high tide. These were connected and braced with a floor on top that they constructed of split oak boards. The work was completed in four days, then Drusilla let them rest.

  That night they feasted better than they'd ever eaten in their lives. Even Evelyn had come out of her stupor to participate. All afternoon Drusilla had made the child sit by the open fire and turn the iron spit that speared the chunk of venison left from Opeechcot's last kill, four days ago. When that was done, Drusilla skewered several birds that she'd trapped and cleaned and Evelyn turned the spit, watching the birds roast and drip juices. Sitting over hot coals by the fire, a large pot on legs held a boiling broth of dried corn and herbs, while in a covered saucepan a simmering secret awaited the end of their meal. Drusilla had the boys bring her baskets of the oysters they had stepped around in the water, and when the time came to eat their meal, she brushed away a dying pile of coals that lay beside the fire and uncovered a shallow hole she'd dug and lined with seaweed, covered with the oysters, then covered again with seaweed, finally covering all of that with hot coals.

  They ate till they could eat no more, laughing and talking, occasionally one or all would fall silent, remembering Mistress Harper, then resume the eating and laughing. When they were finished, Drusilla placed two pieces of bread on the trenchers each two of them shared, and lifted the top off of the saucepan. The aroma was like nothing they'd known. The new hen had contributed the egg, but Drusilla had collected the hickory nuts and she'd found the honey in the tulip tree. Evelyn started crying, then stopped, smiling with anticipation. Drusilla ladled her sweet sauce over the bread, and there was silence.

  The next noon, as Billy, Edward, and Richard sat on their new pier chewing on the remnants of the venison and talking over and over the last night's meal, Brinson Barnes's boat rounded the spit of land and sailed into Pine Haven towing the canoe with Opeechcot riding proudly. The boat sat very low in the water, and the three of them knew there was work ahead.

  The sail was lowered and the boat drifted to the pier. Billy caught the line and secured the boat. Francis stepped onto the pier and vigorously shifted his weight, checking the pier's strength. He smiled, pleased with their work, and told them so. James Barnes had returned with the mass of weatherboards he'd split, and greeted his friends as if it had been much longer than the six weeks since they'd seen each other last. They were surprised at how healthy he looked— though he'd gotten dark—and he admitted to the same surprise at their appearances. After a few tankards of beer, they returned to unload the boat.

  Brinson Barnes had remained at his plantation, allowing Francis Harper the use of his boat in gathering supplies. Harper wanted to be swift in returning the boat, so he and his crew worked hard and quickly to unload the timber and to stack it in a convenient location. His first instruction was for them to cover the seasoned wood and prevent it from getting wet.

  Harper and Opeechcot retired early that evening and, by the time the others were awake, Francis and the Indian were gone. Opeechcot was directing him to a plantation on the Piankatank River where there was a source of brick.

  Late the next night, Francis and Opeechcot sailed back into Pine Haven, guided by the light of Drusilla's constant fire. A full moon lit the little pier and the two men secured the boat thems
elves, as Harper shouted to awaken everybody. Drusilla joined the line of men who passed the bricks one to the other into a neat pile on the high shore. Evelyn cracked nuts for them to eat while they worked, and filled and refilled their tankards with beer.

  As the sun rose from the Bay, making the water glisten and waking shore birds to rustle in the marsh, the boat was emptied and Harper announced to Edward and Richard that they would go with him back up the Piankatank for the second load. The old Indian could rest. He promised the boys that if they reached the plantation on the Piankatank, and could load the boat this afternoon, they'd have the entire next day, Saturday, for play and sleep. On Sunday, they would go to church. Harper was concerned that there'd been no funeral service for his wife, and he was beginning to worry that the authorities might become troublesome over the fact that none of them had attended church to date.

  The late October breeze invigorated them, and they followed the instructions of Harper in handling the small craft. Edward was experienced with sailing since his childhood, so Harper allowed himself an occasional nap until they approached the plantation of Cade Ware.

  The land was not so flat here, and the boys could see gentle hills rising in the distance. Huge oaks and walnuts and hickories edged the river. Pigs crunched on the nuts, and cattle grazed on grassy slopes. This was even richer land than where Harper had settled and they were no longer surprised that this land, though further away from the civilization at James Town, had been claimed earlier.

  There was activity and prosperity along the river. Edward and Richard could see men harvesting Indian corn in nearby fields. All the fields were dotted with burned-out stumps. More cattle grazed by the river. From the woods they heard the sound of more rooting hogs. A black man was cutting flax, and there came—faint at first, then stronger—the smell of cured tobacco. Then they saw the chimneys of the planter's manor and out-buildings.

  Cade Ware was a prosperous planter and it was evident. The main house was almost thirty feet in width and sat on a brick foundation. Brick chimneys stood at either end. The cooking chimney covered almost the entire width of the house, then was recessed from the building by nearly a foot when it reached the ceiling level. The other chimney was not so wide, but was enclosed, for heat, within the house. Windows made of leaded, diamond panes of glass were on either side of the heavy door, and tiny, shuttered windows in the rear and by the chimneys were made of scraped sections of horn, allowing some light into the house. Both boys knew the house they were to build wouldn't be so grand, but it was a goal to be aimed at for one day. Smaller houses for the many servants sat away from Ware's house. Those were particularly interesting to Harper.

  Francis Harper's needs had changed since the death of his wife. He wanted better than a hut for his daughter, but he didn't need so fine a home as he'd hoped to build for his wife. Not yet. A sturdy framed house of about twenty feet would be more than adequate for him, his son and daughter, and his female servant. James Barnes, Billy Forrest, and Richard could then share the hut alone. With some repairs, and the addition of a lathe and plaster chimney to the hut, they'd be sufficiently prepared for winter.

  With the permission of Mister Ware, he studied the construction of the houses he would copy. It was a simple plan, but one that could be completed with the men and materials he now had assembled, guided by the carpenter Mr. Ware had found for him. There was a moment of confusion and near-violence when the carpenter insisted on readjusting the price he'd charge, but Harper was in a bind, and he knew how fortunate he was to find a carpenter at all. The man this carpenter was contracted to had died, suddenly, of the flux, now making him available for Harper.

  As Harper finalized his agreement with Coke, the carpenter, the boys were fed by Mistress Ware. They ate by the great fireplace where a young girl was turning a pig on a spit. They ate molasses over corn pone, and large slices of pie made from dried peaches, and drank mug after mug of fresh cow's milk. As the boys ate and looked about the room of cooking utensils and chests and tables and chairs, and tapped their feet on the first wooden floor they'd seen in months, the girl was eyeing them, particularly Richard. She was only nine or ten years old, but had a penetrating stare that he found unsettling.

  "You're not from here, are you?" she asked them.

  "No, we're from Gloucester County," Edward said.

  "That's not what I mean," she said. "You weren't born here, were you?"

  "No, of course not, " Richard said. "We were born in England."

  "Well, I was born here. In this house. Before it was Lancaster County, even," the little girl said grandly. "But I'm not from here right now, either. I live in Lower Norfolk County."

  "Where's that?" Richard asked.

  She looked at him as if he'd asked her where the moon was, then she laughed and jumped up, wiping her sweating hands on her apron.

  "Grandmother! Grandmother! They don't even know where Lower Norfolk is!" She ran from the room to tell Mistress Ware the news of their ignorance.

  "Children!" Richard said with disgust, and took another gulp of milk. He was glad that Evelyn wasn't such a foolish child. Even though this girl was a pretty little thing, she'd be a nuisance to be around.

  The child soon returned with reddened, downcast eyes that showed she'd been rebuked.

  "My grandmother says that I must apologize to you for being inhospitable. So there. I have." She sat again by the fire and turned the spit, refusing to look at them.

  "Let me assure you, little girl, that we paid absolutely no attention to your prattling," Richard said as they rose from the table.

  "So true," Edward said. "But, please thank your grandmother for her hospitality."

  "Boys!" Edward's father stepped into the room. "It's time for work," he said, and they followed him out into the late October sun. A chilling wind blew from the river, and the realization struck them again that winter was approaching.

  "This is what our new home will look like, Son," Harper said, and indicated the nearest of the servants' houses. It was a sturdy frame building covered with weatherboards. There was a roof of weatherboards and the windows were of oiled paper.

  "We'll have a real wood floor, though," he said, and pointing to this one of bricks set into sand.

  Harper was kneeling to show the boys how these sills were built on cedar pillars instead of on a brick foundation, when he fell over, unconscious.

  "Poppa!" Edward cried, then, "Richard, go get help."

  Richard ran to the house for Mistress Ware, but she was gone. The little girl ran back with him and found Harper on the ground by the corner of the servant's house.

  "Stretch him out and raise his feet," she said to Edward.

  He stared at her.

  "Stretch him out and raise his feet, I said!" She was commanding. "And you go to the dairy and get my grandmother." She pointed to a building far off from the house, and Richard obeyed at once.

  Mistress Ware came running back and instructed two servants and the boys to carry Harper to the house. They laid him on her bed. She held her hand to his forehead and reached to lift his eyelids when Harper opened them and looked up, startled when he realized where he was. He began to apologize, but Mistress Ware paid no attention.

  "You've no fever of any kind, I think," she said. She looked at him severely.

  "When did you last eat?" she demanded.

  Harper looked puzzled, then embarrassed.

  "I really don't remember," he said. "There's been so much work to do, and when I'm not…. Since Mistress Harper died…may she rest in peace…my Evelyn…" his voice trailed off.

  "Anne, bring me a bowl of that stew," she said to her granddaughter.

  "Mistress Ware…" Francis began to protest.

  "Harper," she interrupted. "You have work to do and tremendous responsibilities. The lives of children and other adults are in your hands. You cannot bring people to this unforgiving land and abandon your responsibilities."

  "But, Mistress Ware…" he began, shocked at her attitud
e.

  "If you do not attend to the most basic care of yourself, you neglect the rudder of the ship. Your enterprise will perish and God will hold you responsible." She was merciless with the silence that she let fall.

  Anne handed her grandmother a bowl of the steaming stew that always simmered by the fire, added to and taken from each day. Harper sipped from the large wooden spoon held to his mouth, then took the spoon himself and ate.

  "Boys, you can find plenty to occupy yourselves with today. Edward, there's no need to worry about your father. He will lie abed today and eat," Mistress Ware said. "Anne, do your duty to our guests. Show them the horses. Show them our crops. Pick a melon."

  The three young people went outside. The girl led the way.

  "Well, since you are new and don't know anything, I guess it doesn't matter where we start," she said.

  "Then we don't need your help, little girl," Richard said. "We'll find it all ourselves."

  "Good idea," Edward said. "Let's go this way."