“The claimed right,” John Carter answered, “is that they are white and we are Cherokee.”
Chapter fourteen
When the meal was over the three women, Catherine, her daughter Sally, and the slave Silvey began to clean up the kitchen and table. They made no comment, but the three women flashed an expectant glance at Alice. It wasn’t that she minded lending a hand with chores; it was more that she had not even begun to accept the reality of time travel, let alone considered what was going to be expected of her in this century. She jumped up and began helping with the cleanup, following directions from Sally, who was delighted to have someone to be in charge of. Sal, clearly amused by Alice’s role of domestic woman, winked at her, elevated his nose and said, “Woman, you may clear my place now.”
Alice walked over to Sal, leaned over to pick up the few bowls and plates in front of him, and whispered something inaudible in his ear. Sal turned bright red and made no further comments.
“Gentlemen,” said Benjamin, “if you would care to join me on the front porch, we can talk a bit and let the women get on with their chores.”
“A fine idea,” agreed John.
The room filled with the sound of chair legs scraping against the floor as they exited the kitchen and headed to the front porch. The house faced east, so the porch was already shaded from the afternoon sun, with enough chairs and rockers for everyone to get comfortable after the big meal. John and Benjamin extracted smoking pipes, and noticing Tom’s briarwood Benjamin offered him a bowl full of his homegrown tobacco. As they were lighting up, Silvey arrived with a tray of hot, steaming coffee for the five men. The coffee was very strong and full of grounds, but hot and good.
They sat quietly enjoying the coffee and tobacco, with full stomachs and a warm Georgia breeze adding to the euphoria, when Benjamin finally broke the silence. “You are planning to continue to New Echota today?” he asked John Carter.
John nodded. “I am. My horse has recovered enough to ride, but I will continue to walk since the others have no horses.”
“I wonder then,” Benjamin said, glancing at Adam, “if our guests would consider staying on here at my farm for a few days. You will be hard pressed to reach New Echota by this evening if you are walking. I could bring them with me in my wagon when I come to town for supplies and for our meeting. They are welcome to stay, and I can always use some extra hands here at planting time.”
“I don’t have a problem staying here for a day or so,” Adam replied.
“Hey, me neither,” said Sal, “I’ve had about all the walking I need for one day anyhow.”
“Hold on just a minute,” said Tom. After the meal his disposition had been mellowed by the coffee, tobacco, and a full stomach. Now it took on a concerned intensity. “I’m happy to stay and help, especially after the fine meal we just received, but what about our situation? Remember, I still find it incredible that everyone we met here today believes we are in 1838. I admit that something inconceivable has happened to us. I don’t know what exactly. Even if I agree to accept time-travel, shouldn’t we be working on finding our way home?”
“Yes, we should,” Adam replied. He didn’t want Tom becoming aggravated again. He decided to appeal to Tom’s practical side. “What environment would you find more appropriate to working on a solution? As I see it, we have three choices. We can go with John to an unknown town, take off by ourselves into the woods, or stay here at this quiet and friendly farm, where we can calmly assess our situation. I think staying here is our best choice. Do you disagree?”
“No, when you put it like that, I suppose it makes sense,” Tom admitted. “I hadn’t looked at it from that perspective. Staying here does have some advantages.”
Adam was glad the composure had returned to Tom’s voice. “Yep, there are definitely advantages,” he said, patting his belly. “And there are probably less distractions here than in town.” Tom and Sal nodded their agreement.
“Of course we need to get Alice’s opinion before we decide,” Adam added for John and Benjamin’s benefit. “We include Alice in all decision making. A lot of progress has been made on women’s rights since the 1800’s.”
“That doesn’t sound like progress for the women,” said John. “Now they just tell us what they want and we do it,” he said to everyone’s laughter.
“Yeah, we can get Alice’s input as soon as she’s done with her ‘women’s work,” said Sal.
“What was that, hon?” said Alice coming through the door behind him.
“Oh, uh, nothing. I mean, we really need your expert input on a decision, as a woman that is. Because we value you as an equal, you know,” he said to the snickers of the other men.
“Uh-huh,” she said, lancing Sal with all the fierceness her eyes could project. “Well, I heard the question,” she said, “and staying here sounds fine to me. Of course it will be less distracting here. And who knows? After a good night’s sleep we might find out this was all just a dream.”
“If that is your decision, then,” said John, “I will be getting on my way immediately. If I might suggest something, though, while you are considering your plans?”
“Of course, John,” said Adam. “What’s your suggestion?”
“You should consider the possibility that you have been brought here for a purpose. I know that many whites consider our traditional ways full of superstition, but even the Christian religions teach that most things happen for a reason. You may want to focus your considerations on what those reasons might be. If you can determine that, your path may become much clearer, perhaps guiding you back to your home.”
“What possible reason would there be for us to be here?” asked Tom.
“I cannot begin to guess the ways of the power that brought you here,” John replied. “But consider; you have come from a future time and have knowledge of what awaits us in the coming weeks; or at least one version of the things that will occur. It is possible that you were sent to provide guidance to us in this time of crisis. It may also be possible that you are to be shown something about your own past. Perhaps both are possible. One clue is the device you carry which brought you here.”
“What do you mean? “What do you know about this device?” Adam asked, holding up the LANav.
“I know nothing of it, Adam, except that on it is written ‘TSO LANav’.”
“Yes, the company that makes it is TSO, Inc. and they call the device a LANav.”
“In Cherokee, tso-la-nv is a phonetic pronunciation for a word meaning ‘window’. Perhaps it provides a window we can see through from our respective sides, giving us a glimpse into the future or past that would normally be blocked by the wall of time. The way dreams can sometimes do. If that is the case, it will be up to you to determine how to use the vision that the device is providing.”
Chapter fifteen
The four team members and Benjamin’s family, including the two dogs, came to the barn to see John off. Benjamin gave John’s horse an expert check-up and declared him sound. Everyone said their goodbyes to John with a handshake, and hugs from Catherine and Sally. John calculated that on horseback he would easily reach town before sundown, so he could track down the council and deliver his news as soon as he arrived. Benjamin wished him luck with that chore. He repeated his promise to meet him in New Echota, and to bring the team along. “I will try not to work them too hard with farm chores in the meantime.”
Once John was on his way, Benjamin said he and Billy would head to the field where Isaac was working to let him get some supper. He told the visitors to feel free to explore the farm, and he would meet them back at the barn in two hours. He and Billy needed to care for the horses before dark, and they would explain the work that they needed help with tomorrow.
Benjamin and Billy headed off to the fields, while Catherine and Sally returned to the farmhouse, telling the visitors that they would see to their accommodations, giving the four a chance to talk over the events of the day in private.
“I
wish I had something enlightening to say.” Adam began. “Unfortunately our situation is outrageously bizarre. I’m just as baffled as you guys. Telling you that we need to make the best of the situation seems lame, but I think that’s about all we can do for now. I take full responsibility, and I’m really sorry that I got you all into this mess, but I had no idea…”
“Of course not,” said Alice, “how could you?” The others nodded their agreement.
“I understand how you’re feeling, Adam,” said Tom. “I did not intend to imply that you were responsible for this situation. Perhaps for now making the best of it is about all we can do. I remain skeptical, but with all the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, I’d be a fool not to at least entertain the hypothesis that we are in a different time period. The only other reasonable explanations I have come up with so far are that I am dreaming or this is some sort of mass hypnosis, and both are very unlikely. As you suggested, if I accept that we have time-traveled, I can make a more serious effort to use logic rather than emotions to make decisions. From a purely intellectual standpoint, while I would have liked to have known in advance what I was getting into, as I’m sure you all would, I can’t help but experience the excitement of discovery, a new adventure, and exploration of a breakthrough in science.”
“That’s fine for you, Mr. Spock,” said Sal. “Hey, I don’t hold you responsible either, Adam, but unless we can find our way home, a fat lot of good any new scientific breakthrough is going to be. Being the first person to walk on Mars would be awesome, as long as you can get back to tell someone about it!”
“Yes, for once I agree with Sal,” said Alice. “I think our first priority should be finding a way to get home. Visiting another time is cool, and I realize you had no way to foresee this happening, Adam, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life here.”
“I don’t disagree that that should be our top priority,” said Tom. “All I’m saying is that since we are here, we should at least make the most of the opportunity we’ve been given. It seems to me that the only possibility of return is with the LANav. If it brought us here for a reason, let’s find out what it is, complete the task, and hope it leads us back home. I may have to accept that we have time-traveled, but I’m not going to accept that we are here permanently.”
“So what then, dude? Do we just follow the bouncing beacons and hope it takes us home? Is that our big plan?” asked Sal.
“Do you have another suggestion?” asked Adam. “Did you happen to get a copy of a manual that shows how to work the LANav time machine that the rest of us didn’t? Look, Tom has a good point. We are at the mercy of a device that is using some kind of technology none of us can understand. Probably no one back home understands it either. If we get home, or rather when we get home, we’re certainly going to have an interesting test report to give to Dr. Odan.”
“The good news is,” said Tom, “the LANav is still functioning. I expect the communication functions don’t work because there were no communication satellites in 1838. It can still navigate using the stars and planets, and it seems to be indicating progressive beacons. It could be that it is showing us the path we need to take. It is a navigation device after all. Adam, you said the beacon was at our current location right now. We’re planning to stay here for a day or two anyway. Maybe it will show another beacon by then.”
“Yeah, okay, I guess you’re right,” said Sal. “There’s no choice other than for us to play along with this Native American time-window whatever gizmo. But I’ll tell ya what; when we get back, IF we get back, I’m going to go see this Dr. Odan dude and break a couple of HIS windows.”
“Sure, Sal. Just try not to break anything else before we get back,” said Alice, “especially the LANav, or I’ll be breaking more than your windows. Adam, keep that thing away from him!”
Adam was relieved to hear Alice and Sal sniping at each other; at least they were keeping their sense of humor through this ordeal. There was another concern beside their own dilemma weighing on his mind, and he decided now was as good a time as any to bring it up.
“No question that getting back home is our primary concern,” Adam said, “but I’ve been thinking about what John said, and I wonder if he doesn’t have a valid point.”
“Yo, man, what are you saying?” asked Sal. “That we’re part of some sort of mythical Indian wet-dream?”
“No,” Adam answered, “and I don’t think that’s really what he meant either. Think about it, though. To us, all of this is history. We know what is going to happen to the Cherokee in the next few weeks. Or we know as much as our history books have told us and what we can remember about the incident.”
“My heavens, do you think there is something we can do to change the outcome?” asked Alice. “Is that something we should even consider? Tom, you’ve studied more physics than the rest of us. Wouldn’t that cause a time paradox or something?”
“Who knows,” Tom shrugged. “Like I said, we’re on new ground here. But it is an interesting subject, and it’s something that’s been discussed in detail before. I’m sure you’ve had a college professor who presented you with a question like, ‘If you could go back in time and kill Hitler…’ To prevent a war and save lives, would you do it? Should you do it? What other problem would it cause?”
“I believe the question is,” said Adam, “since we know what is going to happen, can we NOT do anything? Just our being here could theoretically cause a time paradox. I think we have to let our consciences guide us, and let the universe take care of itself. It isn’t as if we TRIED to come here and meddle with history; we were brought here, and apparently can’t leave unless we follow the path of beacons the LANav is guiding us along. I believe our safest course of action is to react as we would normally—and give help when help is required. Maybe we need to think of this as a crazy time-traveling puzzle multi-cache, where we have to complete some objective at each point along the way.”
“No way, dude. You think this is like geocaching? Timecaching, I suppose?” Sal snorted.
They were all familiar with the variations of geocaches, some requiring several stops, and others containing puzzles to be solved, so Adam hoped it would be an example they could relate to.
“Chill out, Sal,” said Alice, “I understand your comparison, Adam. But how much do we really know about what happened here in 1838? It’s been a while since my last American history class, and I don’t really remember that this event was discussed in great detail.”
“Yeah,” Sal agreed, “I remember the Trail of Tears mentioned, and that it involved a long march by the Indians and that a lot of them died, but not much more. What the heck are we supposed to do about it?”
“Try being a little less cold-hearted for one thing,” said Alice.
“Hey, I’m not trying to sound cold-hearted, Alice,” he replied sincerely. “But get real. There are only the four of us and thousands of Cherokees. It sounds like they’ve already gone to extreme lengths to try and prevent this from happening. Even though we know it’s going to happen, there ain’t gonna be much we can do to prevent it.”
“You may be right,” said Adam. “It could be helpful for us to go over what we can remember about this period of time. Maybe in going over the details something we can do to help will present itself. My memory of the history is sketchy, but here’s what I remember: Back in the 1600’s, the Cherokee ruled most of what is now the southeastern United States. Initial contact with Europeans was with the Spanish explorers and later with colonial settlers as they began to inhabit the country. In the beginning, the Cherokee were friendly with the whites, but as they began to encroach upon their lands, it obviously led to wars. The Cherokee outnumbered whites for a while, but their numbers were greatly diminished by disease, specifically smallpox brought by the whites, and the number of settlers continued to increase. Seeking to put an end to the turmoil and encroachment on their lands, the Cherokee, as well as other tribes, agreed to a series of treaties that successively reduced
their lands, but promised to stop the encroachment. One treaty in 1785 called the Treaty of Hopewell, between the Cherokee and the U.S. promised to end any further invasions, but the treaty was pretty much ignored by the U.S., and white settlers continued to move into Cherokee lands. In 1791, another treaty, the Treaty of Holston, contained a guarantee from George Washington himself that the Cherokee lands would never again be invaded by settlers. It even required non-Cherokee to obtain a passport before they could enter Cherokee lands. Tom, do you remember why that treaty was broken?”
“I know that by that time,” Tom said, “many of the Cherokee were pretty darn skeptical of any promises made by the whites. They called treaties Talking Leaves, which implied that the leaves withered and died when they were of no further use to the whites. I think there was hope that that wouldn’t be the case with the Treaty of Holston, since it was signed by George Washington.
“I remember that one of the problems came about because of a promise from Thomas Jefferson to the state of Georgia that all Cherokee in that state would be given land and assisted in moving west to Indian Territory. I guess they didn’t count on the Cherokees being a little reluctant to do that since they would have to give up lands they lived on for centuries. Who would of thought?” he said sarcastically.
“I believe the problem was exacerbated,” Adam continued, “by the discovery of gold in Georgia. I guess that explains John’s asking us if we were gold prospectors when we first met. After the gold discovery, Georgia was even more anxious to get rid of the Cherokee, and began passing laws to prevent them from looking for gold, even on their own land, and to keep them from organizing to contest the removal. The pressure on the Cherokee to cede even more land was immense and there were many incidences of violence. Another setback for the Cherokee was the election of the Democrat, Andrew Jackson, an expansionist president who demanded they give up more of their land to settlers. Over two million acres I believe.”
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