Short Fiction Catherwood, Mary Hartwell: The Chase Of Saint-Castin. V1. 10 Aug 2009

[crutledge]

Mary Hartwell was born in Luray, Ohio, and at the age of nine her family moved to Milford, Illinois. Within a year of this move her father died of pneumonia. Her mother passed away just a few months later, orphaning Mary and her two younger siblings, Roxana and Marcus. The children’s maternal grandfather was appointed their guardian. They moved to Hebron, Ohio, to live with him, and attended the local public school. When Mary was thirteen, she received her teaching certificate, and she started teaching the following year.
Hoosier Connection: Mary Catherwood moved to Oakford, Indiana, in 1877 with her new husband, James Steele Catherwood. A few months later they moved to Indianapolis, where they lived until 1882. She wrote several novels and short stories about life in Indiana.

Excerpt
The waiting April woods, sensitive in every leafless twig to spring, stood in silence and dim nightfall around a lodge. Wherever a human dwelling is set in the wilderness, it becomes, by the very humility of its proportions, a prominent and aggressive point. But this lodge of bark and poles was the color of the woods, and nearly escaped intruding as man’s work. A glow lighted the top, revealing the faint azure of smoke which rose straight upward in the cool, clear air.
Such a habitation usually resounded at nightfall with Indian noises, especially if the day’s hunting had been good. The mossy rocks lying around, were not more silent than the inmates of this lodge. You could hear the Penobscot River foaming along its uneasy bed half a mile eastward. The poles showed freshly cut disks of yellow at the top; and though the bark coverings were such movables as any Indian household carried, they were newly fastened to their present support. This was plainly the night encampment of a traveling party, and two French hunters and their attendant Abenaquis recognized that, as it barred their trail to the river. An odor of roasted meat was wafted out like an invitation to them.

This work is assumed to be in the Life+70 public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. Copyright laws differ throughout the world, and it may still be under copyright in some countries. Before downloading, please check your country's copyright laws. If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.

To report a copyright violation you can contact us here.