Timecachers (26 page)

Jimmy nodded his agreement, which got him a scowl from Benjamin.

“As fascinating as a discussion of farm machinery may be,” said John Carter, “we should probably move our group into the barn. The Georgians would like nothing better than to catch us in an illegal gathering. We have much more pressing issues to discuss, and I for one am anxious to enjoy the wonderful food Catherine has provided,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “One other, Gvnigeyona, will be joining us soon, so we can eat while we are awaiting his arrival.”

“Then you will have to eat very fast,” said a man standing not more than a dozen feet from the group, “because he is already here.”

The old man’s sudden appearance startled everyone; he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. They quickly turned to face him. His features were as astonishing as his abrupt arrival. The dark brown skin of his deeply wrinkled, leathery face gave him the appearance of being well advanced in years, though his dark, flashing eyes, like shards of polished obsidian, revealed the vigor and liveliness of a much younger man. He was medium height and barrel-chested, with the thick arms, stocky legs, and powerful hands of someone who had been, and still was, a very physically powerful man. He wore buckskin leggings and tunic instead of the cotton clothing, and on his feet were moccasins instead of leather boots. Strands of his long, silver-white hair flowed down his back, hanging below a turban of red and white cloth meticulously swathing the top of his head. Over his shoulder was a longbow and quiver with several arrows.

To the team, his attire was an unexpected combination. His clothing was a blend of traditional Native American garb and a middle-eastern touch added by the turban on his head.

“
’Siyo
, Gvnigeyona!” said John. “I see you are as stealthy as ever.”

“
Osiyo
, John Carter,” the old man replied. “Were I not stealthy, I would most likely be in the
yonega’s
stockade by now. Besides, you were all making enough noise to easily cover the sound of a noisy approaching bear. I have explored the surrounding area and there are no others nearby, but I do not recommend remaining out here in the open.” His look was serious and stern.

“You are right, Yonah,” John agreed. “We will go into the barn now. We were just planning to do so.”

He introduced Gvnigeyona to each of the team as they filed into the barn. Gvnigeyona nodded to each, very briefly making eye contact as Cherokee politeness requires. He kept a serious look upon his face, although a slight flutter of the wrinkles around his eyes indicated some amusement when he heard Sal’s name. John Carter explained that
Gvnigeyona
meant “black bear” in Cherokee, and he slowly repeated it phonetically as
Ga-na-gay-yoh-nah
to help them with the pronunciation.

“You may call me Yonah if you wish,” Gvnigeyona said. “Easier to remember and white people can say it better. Most of the black has abandoned this old bear anyway.” His eyes gleamed as he held up a handful of his silver hair to illustrate his point.

They pulled Benjamin’s wagon and horses into the barn, which was empty except for John’s horse and one other belonging to Jimmy Deerinwater. Dragging together several bales of straw to use as seats and a table, they laid out the food from the baskets. As they ate, they conversed socially about trivial matters—farming and hunting mostly, and more than a little friendly gossip about family and neighbors. Benjamin told them how their new friends had helped with chores around the farm, and lauded them for their storytelling abilities, which impressed the others most of all. There was a casual mention of the team being from a future time, which they had apparently all been made aware of beforehand. The team had learned that the Cherokee culture saw nothing unusual about time travel, but it still astonished them that it was accepted so easily.

Once an appropriate period of polite conversation—and their appetites—had been attended to, a pause in the chatter indicated it was time to begin a serious discussion.

John Carter began his solemn discourse, keeping his expression neutral and not looking at anyone in particular. He spoke in a clear, resonant voice that commanded attention. He told them that he had delivered his messages from Red Clay to the nearby families, and they will spread the information to the rest. He said that many are disheartened by the news, as could be expected. Many remain committed to John Ross’s direction to stand firm against removal and will not voluntarily cooperate. A few had decided to report to the forts as they had been ordered, out of fear of retaliation. Nearly all agreed that they should not take up arms against the soldiers. Their resistance will be passive.

He told them that the military were building additional forts in preparation for carrying out their orders to forcefully remove the Cherokee, and that Major General Winfield Scott had been ordered to supervise the construction. “While I am still hopeful that John Ross can negotiate further to avoid removal, I am not expecting that he will be able to do much more than get better terms for our land. I have seen no indication, other than from the few whites who have argued for justice, that there will be any hesitation to remove us by force.” John Carter paused as he let them mull his grim statement.

After a moment he continued. “There has been bickering and accusations from both the Treaty Party and Ross’s supporters. Major Ridge has been advocating that we must accept the inevitable, and relocate before we are moved by force. Ross believes we must stand on principle and peacefully resist. Both sides know that we are helpless against a forced removal. We have been forced into treaties before by a militia that is so powerful that we stand no chance against them.

“The United States government remains committed to enforcing removal. Most of you know that General Scott arrived in New Echota with many troops to complete the construction of the forts. He delivered an address to the Cherokee, in the form of a letter, urging all full-blood Cherokees to voluntarily report to these forts before May 23rd or face forced removal by his troops. I see you have a copy,” he said, seeing Benjamin pull the crumpled paper from his pocket and pass it to the others.

“That deadline is close at hand. I have attempted to convey information between the various parties about what is occurring here, in Red Clay, and in Washington City, so that all factions know the minds of the others. Each individual is, of course, entitled to determine what he believes to be his best course of action. You are among my closest friends, and I would welcome any thoughts you may wish to share.” He stopped speaking, and glanced at the others indicating the floor was open if they wished to make a statement.

Benjamin coughed politely indicating his intention to speak. He retrieved his pipe and tobacco pouch and prepared to smoke, providing a dramatic pause before he began talking. “As are all of you, I am torn apart by our desperate situation,” he began through a blue cloud of tobacco smoke. “I have watched the mounting greed of the settlers, and have felt the malevolence toward us; stealing livestock and supplies, confiscating land, even acts of violence, intending to make our lives miserable to induce us to abandon our homeland. I have felt the hopelessness of remaining on my own land, working my own farm, knowing in my heart that I will soon be dispossessed of all I have worked for. I know that I am powerless to fight against the overpowering aggression. Any resistance I offer will be futile, but I am also overwhelmed by the injustice and yearn to stand against the threat to what is honestly my right, no matter how insignificant my protest would be. John, my friend of many years, are you now advocating that we go the way of the treaty party and comply with removal?”

Jimmy Deerinwater and Yonah both shook their heads and mumbled disapproval.

“I am not,” said John. “I simply speak the facts, so that you may consider everything and determine your own course of action. I believe that here in this barn we have men and women possessing great faculty of mind. It is far too late to develop a plan to prevent what is happening. Between us, however, I believe it may be possible to reach an agreement about what we should do to help ourselves and our neighbors. I freely admit that I am as overwhelmed as you, Benjamin.”

The air in the barn was filling with tobacco smoke, as Tom and Jimmy had also joined with Benjamin in lighting up their pipes. Yonah produced a hand-carved pipe of his own and filled it with strong smelling tobacco from a small pouch. He did not speak, but made a show of filling and lighting his pipe, then exhaling the smoke toward Sal. It seemed that Yonah had selected Sal as an outlet for his resentment of the
yonegas’
misdeeds.

“Phew, dude, what’re you smokin’ in that pipe? Old socks?” said Sal, waving the cloud of smoke from his face. “Are you sending smoke signals, or what? I thought you guys used a blanket and a campfire for that.”

“Quit your chattering, squirrel-man,” said Yonah. “We have serious business to discuss which will benefit from this good smoke.”

“The surgeon general might disagree with you,” mumbled Sal, “and whadaya mean by…”

“If we can get back to business,” Jimmy interrupted. “You all know my feelings. I’ve spent much money and plenty of effort to build one of the most modern farms in the Nation. It’s far from the largest, but Rebecca and I have put everything into it, and I’m not at all happy at the thought of walking away and turning it over to some Georgian
yonega
. I know I’ve been ignoring the warnings and putting up with the abuse for years, but I’ve had faith in the leadership of John Ross and believed that the lawmakers in Washington City would eventually be reasonable and just. Now I can’t fight and I can’t just walk away from everything; same situation as you are in Benjamin. The only option I have is to wait and hope that Chief Ross will come through for us.”

“I have some thoughts to contribute—if I may be permitted to speak?” asked Adam.

“You may. It is customary that everyone may contribute to the discussion,” said John Carter. “We would be appreciative to hear your thoughts.”

“And as long as they are relevant,” said Yonah. He gave Adam an austere look, and then turned his menacing glance toward Sal, who returned the stare.

“Of course, I believe they are pertinent. John and Benjamin have explained to us that the Cherokee people believe our version of the future, the one we came from, could be different than the one you will experience. But there are certain things that will remain basically the same, and I think it is important to keep this in mind.”

“John has told us about your version,” Yonah said, “and it is not very encouraging. Are the things you want us to keep in mind that we should despair because there is no hope?”

“Certainly not,” Adam replied evenly. “What I think you should keep in mind is that human nature remains the same, whether you believe my version of the future or not. The greed for your land by those who want to take it from you does not depend on the specific path that the future takes. It will be there regardless, and will have to be dealt with. There is also the human nature of your own leaders to consider. In my version of the future, the case could be made for either party, Chief Ross or Ridge, as they both probably had the best of intentions for their people. On the other hand, neither one is immune to temptation, as they are human. Both have something to gain—power, money, whatever, so their guidance may be influenced by those things. The leaders of both factions are successful and powerful, and did not become this way through compromise.”

“What you say is logical,” said John Carter. Jimmy and Benjamin nodded in agreement. “But how does knowing those things help our situation? Are we to distrust all of our leaders because they may put their own interests before ours?”

“No, I’m actually saying just the opposite. I think that each person must pick the path of the leader they believe in. All leaders are influenced by their own self-interest to some extent, even those who have dedicated their lives to those they lead. You know these men personally. I only know them historically. The knowledge you have of their personal motivations can help you determine what the outcome of their leadership may be, understand what they will settle for, and what their true goals may be. You must also remember that those being led also have their own self-interest in mind, and will be prone to make their decisions based on those interests.” Adam crossed his arms over his chest and continued.

“I don’t see how any version of the future will be less than disastrous for the Cherokee people. If you stay, you risk the violence of the soldiers. Even if Chief Ross is successful in delaying their action, you will still face their anger and greed. If you leave, you give up a homeland you love, and face an unknown future in an unknown territory.”

When Adam paused, Yonah said, “You are speaking of doom and despair as I predicted. And you also left out an option, the option to fight. We could act like the valiant warriors our ancestors were.” Yonah had had enough dealings with the whites to know better than to trust them easily. He was not about to take advice from these
yonegas
from the future incontrovertibly, not without knowing more of what was in their minds and hearts. He suspected the only counsel these soft-looking hatchlings would offer would be squawks of cowardice.

Adam held his ground. “I believe at this point that option has even more dire consequences. There is the obvious problem of being massively outnumbered. The young, unattached men may be able to successfully wage a guerrilla-style rebellion against the military for a while if they were willing to give up their present lifestyle and live in hiding. But if I recall my history correctly, this part of the country has had so much of the game depleted that living off the land for any length of time is hardly practical, especially if they must remain in hiding. They could stage raids for resupply, but what of those with families and small children to care for? Even Chief Ross is not advocating violence.”