A Love to Treasure

by Irene Brand

  A few weeks passed and Marie didn’t see Daniel, but one Saturday she was involved in her weekly ironing while Lena sat in a nearby rocking chair, peeling potatoes. At her insistence, Marie had finally agreed to let Lena wash her garments, but she absolutely refused to let her iron them, as well. It was hot in the kitchen, and Marie felt the sweat running down her back.

  “Do you know that you’ve probably lost ten pounds since you moved here?” Lena said. “You’re working yourself to death. Your mother will think I haven’t been feeding you enough.”

  Forcing a smile, Marie said, “I’m all right.”

  “I know as well as anyone that you want to do a good job, but why don’t you rest occasionally? For the most part, residents of Cades Cove don’t work themselves to death. We think that if we don’t get all the work completed today, it will still be here tomorrow.”

  “I don’t mind working, and I have to keep my mind occupied.”

  Lena didn’t ask any questions. Marie knew that her landlady understood why Daniel had stopped coming to her home when Marie was there.

  * * *

  Marie had resigned herself to the belief that Daniel would continue avoiding her until the end of the term, so she was surprised two weeks later when he was at Lena’s home when she returned home from school. He came out of the back door and walked down the steps to where she was dismounting.

  “I have to go home now to help my farrier shoe some horses,” he said, as if they’d parted on good terms at their last meeting, “but I’ll stable the horse for you before I leave.”

  “Thanks,” she said, lifting the saddlebags from the horse’s rump. “I was playing hide-and-seek with the little kids today and they hid in some difficult places, so I’m very tired.”

  “Since tomorrow is Saturday, and the weather seems promising, it might be a good day for us to go visit Smith Spencer.”

  “Oh, you mean the hermit, as some of my students call him. Although they call Earl a hermit, too.”

  “Yes. Mr. Spencer is a hermit. But he’s always willing to welcome visitors and you really haven’t gotten a good idea of the Cove until you’ve met Smith.”

  “I’d like to visit with him. What time do you want to go?”

  “I’ll come by right after noon and pick you up in the buggy, but we’ll have to do some climbing to get to his house, so you’ll want to wear sturdy walking shoes.”

  He mounted his horse, waved goodbye and headed toward his home, with his horse cantering along the road.

  While they were eating supper, Lena said, “Didn’t I hear you making plans to walk up the mountain with Daniel tomorrow afternoon?”

  Marie nodded, and smiled. “Yes—I’m really eager to meet Mr. Spencer.”

  “Well, although you’ll have some rough terrain to ride along and the last part is a steep climb on foot, I’ll admit it is worth the trip. He’s the oldest living resident of the early pioneers to the Cove. I’ve heard one of the early pioneers said that his ancestors survived their first winter here only because the Cherokee provided food for them. Smith will probably tell you all about that.”

  * * *

  The next afternoon, Marie sat and listened in awe as the aged man talked about his ancestors and how they survived their first winter in the mountains because the Native Americans had provided food for them. The man believed that the hand of God was responsible for the survival of the early settlers. The pioneering families built several church buildings, as well as dwellings.

  “Were the houses made of logs?” Marie questioned.

  “Many of them were, but were later modernized with frame construction. The community grew and prospered, but their mutual faith survived the first harsh winter. Very few children left the Cove—they lived to manhood and womanhood here. The community grew and prospered, and the children matured to establish later generations of Cades Cove’s families. Quite a few had the wanderlust and moved westward, but a large number remained and lived the rest of their lives right here in the Cove.”

  “Were you born here?”

  “No, but my parents were. I was only a child when we moved. I remember them talking about the first settlers, John and Lucretia Oliver, who traveled over a hundred miles to move to Cades Cove. The Olivers were poor when they moved to the Cove, and there wasn’t a settlement of any kind, but they brought seed and a few tools with them. There was also the danger that the Cherokee would be hostile, but all turned out well. The pioneers were busy clearing the land and building their cabin, and they didn’t have time to plant enough crops to keep them through the winter. If it hadn’t been for the Cherokee, who shared their food with them, the Oliver family would have starved.”

  “What else can you tell me about the early settlers in Cades Cove?” Marie asked. “Sometimes, I feel very unlearned when some of my students know more about the history of this country than I do.”

  Daniel sat in a chair that was obviously made by hand. She had already learned that Mr. Spencer gave a lot of thought to what he wanted to say before he opened his mouth, and when he leaned back in his rocking chair and closed his eyes, Marie wondered if he was thinking or if he’d gone to sleep. Judging from his dark features, she’d decided that Mr. Spencer had some Cherokee blood in him.

  Daniel winked at her, yawned and twiddled his thumbs, so instead of asking any questions, she remained silent, looking around the interesting cabin. Several deer heads and antlers decorated the wall. A cured black bearskin was spread across a davenport that had seen better days. A slight fire burned in the large fireplace that spread across almost one whole wall of the cabin. It was very warm in the cabin, and Marie had gotten drowsy when Mr. Spencer stirred and started talking, still with his eyes shut.

  “The Cherokee have been in this part of Tennessee for almost two hundred years. They had established a village here, which was known as Otter Place. The village was nothing more than a hunting camp along the flat land of Cove Creek. An early explorer by the name of Timberlake reported that the creeks and rivers in this area were full of otters, but they were gone by the time the first Europeans settled here.”

  “When I was a kid,” Daniel said, “I often wished that I could have been living here during that time, but I understand that living conditions weren’t comfortable in the early days. Didn’t you tell me once that the Cherokee left when the Europeans settled in Cades Cove?”

  Spencer nodded his head. “The explorers and early settlers didn’t treat the Cherokee right. By the 1820s the Cherokee lost all claim to this part of Tennessee, then when Andrew Jackson was the president, he made the natives move westward, some to the Southern states, others into Oklahoma. The ancestors of the present Cherokee in this area hid in the mountains from Jackson’s soldiers, and became the ancestors of the natives here today.”

  Spencer looked toward Marie, saying, “Is that all you need to know, missy, or do you have other questions?”

  “Just about the effect the War Between the States had on the Cherokee. My dad fought in the Confederate army and, although he doesn’t talk much about his experiences, he did mention that the Confederates raided Cades Cove several times during the latter part of the Civil War. Do you know anything about that?”

  Spencer nodded. “There weren’t any big battles, but lots of skirmishes between the Federals and Confederates around this area. Matter of fact, Cades Cove dwellers suffered from the effects of the war as well as the Confederate states along the Atlantic.” Shaking his head, Spencer said, “War’s a terrible thing, missy.”

  Up to this point Marie had assumed that Mr. Spencer was a sober man without a humorous side to his personality, so she was surprised when he erupted into a loud guffaw. Apparently some memory amused him.

  “I’ve told you about the bad times in the Cove, but the early settlers had a good time and enjoyed life. Of course, people didn’t live as long then. There
wasn’t much medicine, so the average life span of the settlers was forty-five years.”

  “I’ve heard Granny say that most people married as teenagers,” Daniel commented.

  “That’s a fact,” Spencer said. “Youngsters started courtin’ as early as thirteen or fourteen years old.”

  “Yes, Granny tells me often,” Daniel said, “that girls who didn’t get married by the time they turned eighteen or twenty were considered ‘old maids.’ She brings that subject up often to me for she thinks I should have married years ago, though maybe men aren’t expected to marry so early.”

  Spencer nodded his head, and cast an amused glance in Marie’s direction, and she felt herself blushing, thankful that the room was so dark that no one could see her red face.

  “Your Granny is right about that, son. It’s high time you married and started a family. But let me finish about the early settlers. The people used most any kind of work to have a good time. They had lots of church meetings and picnics where they celebrated, and they even made work sound like fun.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard about their chestnut harvests, corn husking and molasses making. They even made a competition of stringing beans.”

  “The early settlers did lots of hard work, but we enjoyed ourselves, too,” Spencer commented.

  Marie didn’t want to wear her welcome out, so she said, “I really appreciate hearing your comments about a period of history that has influenced the lives of so many people, both for bad and good. Although my father fought for the Confederacy without any serious physical injuries, he still bears inward scars that he’ll carry to his grave.”

  When she stood, Daniel got up from his chair and shook hands with their host.

  “Come again, both of you,” Spencer said. “I’m alone most of the time with only my memories to keep me company.”

  The visit with this aged man had been not only informational, but also such a pleasure, and at his insistence, Marie promised him that she would visit again.

  It was more difficult to descend the mountainside than it had been to climb it, so Daniel held Marie’s hand most of the way.

  “Thanks very much,” she said to Daniel, “for going with me to see Mr. Spencer. As soon as I get home, I intend to record everything he told us. I took some notes, but I’d get so interested in what he was saying that I’d forget to make any record.”

  “Granny and I can probably fill in some of the information if you missed anything.”

  As they walked companionably down the mountainside toward where the buggy was parked, Daniel said, “Sometimes I do wish I could have lived in an earlier period. I believe I would have enjoyed being a pioneer, rather than to have inherited a farm that doesn’t require a lot of work. Everything I have was given to me, so I don’t suppose I’ll ever know if I would have liked being an early settler.”

  Marie didn’t comment, although she believed that no matter what Daniel tried, he would succeed at the task. They walked a large part of the trail in silence, and Marie again sensed the comradeship between them. Her mother had always said that there was a difference between being in love and companionship, and she’d urged her children to be sure that they enjoyed both attributes with the person they married. What did she feel toward Daniel? It wasn’t a question she could answer, although she feared her future was bound to this man.

  * * *

  Constantly concerned that she was responsible for the education of her students, and knowing that she was a novice in that position, Marie dreaded hearing the evaluation the school trustees would give her, and the morning they made their surprise annual visit was a burden to her. When they entered the building, she greeted them, praying that the students would be able to answer questions they asked. The three men spent most of the morning listening to the lessons Marie had prepared, and she was gratified when they gave her a good report. She had no doubt that she would be asked to teach again the following year, but she was relieved that she didn’t have to make a decision right away.

  Although Earl was busy with trapping throughout the winter, he still stopped by the schoolhouse to see Marie periodically. On one of his visits he told Marie that he and Awinta had finally set the date for their wedding: the first week in June. The last day of school was May 20. Rather than return to Canaan and come back again, Marie told her parents that she’d wait until after the wedding and then go back to Canaan with them, rather than have her father make an extra trip.

  As it turned out, Marie was glad that she had planned to stay on because after the last day of school, she needed several extra days to store all of the equipment and books. She was also expected, Lena informed her, to give the building a thorough cleaning. Remembering the cleaning they’d given the schoolhouse prior to starting the school session in the autumn, Marie didn’t see any reason to do a thorough cleaning, and she expressed her opinion to Lena.

  “I’ll work alongside of you, of course, and some of the other women will also help,” Lena explained. “Still, it takes a couple of days to have the place in good enough shape to suit the trustees. They’re rather fussy at times but, of course,” she added with a laugh, “that’s why we elect them.”

  Although she loved her family and enjoyed being with them, Marie wasn’t looking forward to the summer vacation as much as she should be, and she knew why. Daniel had been gone on a business trip to Charleston, South Carolina, through part of the winter, and she had missed seeing him during the visits he made to Lena’s home. Although she was pretty sure there wasn’t any future for her and Daniel, she kept thinking about what might have been. She’d grown accustomed to seeing Daniel now and then, and it was upsetting that she wouldn’t be seeing him during the summer months.

  She’d already been approached by the school trustees to return the next fall, which was gratifying, but she’d asked for another few days to make her decision.

  The invitation indicated that her record was good enough or she wouldn’t have been offered a second term. She wanted to return to Cades Cove, but was it a good idea to keep punishing herself by seeing Daniel when she knew they could never have a life together?

  * * *

  One evening near the close of school, when she left the building, Daniel was sitting on the steps. He scooted over and made room for her to sit beside him.

  “I’m going to miss you this summer,” he said. She set the basket she carried on the ground and sat beside him.

  “It’s good to be missed, but I am tired. I suppose it’s been a good year, but I can think of lots of things I should have done better.”

  “I’ve not heard any complaints about your teaching. The children all seem to like you and several parents have told me they’re glad you’re returning. So am I.”

  Marie didn’t know where this conversation was heading, but she told him she hadn’t decided yet whether to return.

  “Will your parents object if I come to see you this summer?”

  “I doubt it. They’ve pretty much allowed Earl and me to make our own decisions.”

  “Then would you welcome me if I came to see you?”

  “I don’t know,” she said honestly. “It might help if you answer some questions.”

  Frowning, he said, “Such as?”

  “Do you operate a still? Do you sell moonshine?”

  His face turned red, and Marie could tell that he was angry. “No, I don’t!”

  “Then why do you let the local citizens believe that you do?”

  “It’s nobody’s business what I do.”

  “It would be mine if we ever become more than friends.”

  “We’re already more than friends, and you know it! What’s the next question?”

  “I’ve heard talk around town that Viola Butler spent the night at your house several weeks ago. Did she?”

  “Yes, she did! But you shouldn’t lis
ten to gossip because you don’t know what really happened.”

  Standing and picking up her basket, she said, “You’ve told me all I need to know. You’ve answered the question as to why you aren’t welcome to court me. In addition to those two things, my parents have always taught me that believers should not marry nonbelievers. I believe that, and as far as I’m concerned, that means not to keep company with them, either. I’ll be honest with you and say that I’d like very much for us to be more than friends but, Daniel, there are too many differences in our lifestyles. When two people marry, they have to realize that they can’t go their separate ways anymore. In the wedding service, there’s a phrase that says, ‘the two shall become one.’ I believe that’s the only way to have a happy marriage.”

  “I didn’t expect to get another sermon,” he said. “Besides, I haven’t asked you to marry me.”

  It wasn’t the words he said, but the anger in his voice that hurt Marie’s feelings. His eyes glittered angrily, too. Tears filled her eyes as she started toward the shed where her horse waited. Although it was too late for her to not fall in love with Daniel, at least she’d seen the worst side of him in time to prevent her from marrying him; that is, if he even had marriage in mind.

  * * *

  Marie didn’t think it was possible for her to feel any worse, but when she arrived at the Turner home and saw Viola sitting on the porch swing with Lena, she felt like screaming. And Viola’s greeting didn’t help lighten her mood.

  “Well, here’s the weary schoolmarm, home after a hard day’s work. Honey, I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, but why don’t you admit that you’ve had enough, go home and forget about Cades Cove?”