To Spoil the Sun (A Brown Thrasher Book) - Softcover
Forewarned by omens, a sixteenth century Cherokee Indian village in the southern Appalachians is struck by an "invisible fire," a smallpox epidemic brought by European explorers.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Joyce Rockwood was born in the Midwest but has spent most of her life in Georgia. She studied anthropology at the University of Georgia, where her husband, Charles Hudson, is a professor of anthropology. Together they have immersed themselves in researching the culture and history of the Native Americans of the South. Other highly acclaimed books Ms. Rockwood has written about Native Americans include Long Man's Song and Groundhog's Horse, as well as Apalachee, an award-winning adult novel published under the name Joyce Rockwood Hudson.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:
To Spoil the Sun
ONEThere were four omens. I was young, only nine years old, when the first omen came. I heard it discussed around the fire, told and retold until it became a part of my own knowledge, until it became as if I had witnessed it myself.The first omen came to Mink alone. Only he saw the hawk dive into the cornfield. He saw it strike down in the midst of brown stalks and rise with a snake in its talons. A snake in winter in the cornfield. A rattlesnake in the cold of winter. Mink saw the hawk rise, beating its wings, the snake writhing beneath. He watched the hawk as it struggled with its prey, as it beat its wings toward the brown hills beyond the valley. He saw the snake whip suddenly, striking its fangs into the heart of the hawk. The hawk stiffened and fluttered down through the stillness of the air. Mink ran toward them as they fell and he saw them sprawl against the earth. He saw the snake crawl away through the dry weeds beneath the broken stalks. He went after it to see where it would go. But already it had disappeared. He went back to the hawk. As he looked at it, piteously dead upon the earth, he was seized with fear, and he hurried back to Quail Town.My father was the watchman that day. He stood atop thepalisade, on one of the bastions in the wall of closely set timbers. He saw Mink coming up through the valley. My father knew Mink was disturbed. He knew it by the way his bearskin robe was drawn too tightly about his shoulders. He saw Mink cross the log bridge over the ditch outside the palisade. He saw him wind through the wall's entrance and pass along the streets between the houses to the open plaza in the town's center. There, Mink went directly to Gray Hawk's house, a small dwelling beside the great townhouse.Inside he sat with Gray Hawk at the fire. After they had smoked together, Mink told him what he had seen. Gray Hawk sent for Shaker and then for several other beloved men. In their age and wisdom they smoked tobacco and talked. Late in the afternoon it was decided that Mink should speak to the Seven Clans in council.In the evening when the people had gathered in the townhouse, Shaker spoke to them for Gray Hawk, announcing that Mink wished to address the council. They divided then into seven clans, each person moving to his proper seat on the tiers of benches, all the clans in order, forming a circle around the great room. The fire was in the circle's center, Ancient Fire, flickering, throwing its dim light upon the Seven Clans.The pipes were passed to open the council, to bring the people together into one mind. Then Mink rose to speak."People of the Seven Clans! I stand before you as your nephew, and as your brother, and as your uncle. Whenever I speak to you within this circle, standing as I am before this Ancient Fire, it is a walk we take together along the straight path of truth. I see the path now stretched before us. Come and let us walk upon it. Let me speak to you about a certain matter."Mink told them of the disturbing things he had seen in the cornfield. A snake, traveler of the warm seasons, going about the earth in the cold of winter. And worse, a bird of the sun struck dead from the sky by a creature of the Lower World. Mink's words were like the fangs of the snake striking into the heart of the Seven Clans. Fear swept in a circle around the fire. As Mink took his seat, another of the beloved men rose to speak."People of the Seven Clans! You who are my brothers and my sisters; you who are my nieces and my nephews; you who are my grandchildren. The words of my younger brother are straight, but the truth does not always put our hearts at ease. We ask ourselves what it means that he has seen such a thing. Does it mean that our corn will fail? People of the Seven Clans, we must prepare against a famine. I think this is the meaning of what was seen."Mink rose again. "My older brother is very wise. He has often seen the true shape of strange events. I am not so wise, and perhaps that is why I fear that some misfortune even greater than this has been foretold. But what could it be? I myself do not know."The incident was discussed throughout the night, Mink repeating the story, adding to it every detail he could remember. Different ones thought they knew what it meant, but in the end there was no consensus. The council adjourned without deciding what to do.
When in the same winter the second omen came, it was for everyone to see. I myself remember it clearly. It began with a thunderstorm that awakened me in the night, a violent storm with beating rain and crashing thunder. I lay frightened inthe darkness and heard my mother say to my father, "Thunder in winter. It is not good."I called out to my mother."Go to sleep, my little daughter," she said. "It is nothing. Listen to the rain on the roof and let it take you to sleep again."I pulled the blanket over my head and listened to the rain striking against the bark roof and to my mother and father whispering together in their bed. Then outside the house there was noise and confusion, there were people running in the streets between the houses. "Seven Clans, come running! The warriors' tree is burning!"My father leaped from his bed, and my brothers too, and they ran out into the rain, my mother following behind. No one told me to stay or to come. I jumped up and went with them, although I did not understand the reason for the excitement. Women were wailing. People were running through the town and out through the palisade entrance and over the ditch to stand and look across the valley at the warriors' tree. I followed my brothers to a bastion in the palisade and they began scrambling up to the top."Let me!" I cried, and Two Crows stopped and helped me up until I was standing beside him at the top, looking out over the valley, staring at the small orange glow in the distance. The rain had turned to a fine drizzle. Beneath us were the people watching the light of the burning tree. A few men were running out across the valley, while others were returning, crying as they ran, "It is the warriors' tree!" Women were wailing; they loosened their hair and let it fall disheveled, as if someone had died. I began to tremble, not because I understood what was happening, but because the women were wailing and because the men were running and shouting.It was not until later that I knew the reason for their distress. The tree that burned was the honey locust tree. That was where the warriors stopped when they returned victorious from the war trail. They would hang their scalps and other trophies on the long thorns of the tree and paint themselves for celebration while a herald ran to the town to announce their return and their victory. The people would come to the tree to meet the warriors and lead them back to the town in a joyous procession. The honey locust is Thunder's tree, and Thunder is the force that guides men safely along the trail of war. In the Ancient Days he promised never to allow lightning to strike a honey locust tree. His promise to the Seven Clans had never before been broken. But that night it seemed that Thunder had abandoned our warriors, and that was why the women wailed.On the day after, word spread among the children of the town that the tree had burned completely away, that there were no charred pieces, only a scattering of white ashes. Who had ever heard of such a thing? It must have certainly been an omen. Some of the older girls among us, their fears revived, began to wail anew. But I was too young. I went off with girls my own age and we played that we were married and that our husbands had been killed on the war trail. We wailed and mourned, but for us it was only play. Nothing more.
The third omen did not come until the following summer. On the day it happened, almost everyone was away at the ball ground watching the warriors play stickball. It was Mink who left the game and went back alone to the empty town. When he entered the palisade he noticed that there was no smoke rising from the townhouse. No smoke where there had always been smoke before. He hurried into the townhouse andfound Shaker crying and beating his head against a post. In the hearth the Ancient Fire had died; there was nothing but charred wood, cold and black, no smoke, no heat, no breath of fire."My beloved older brother!" gasped Mink. "The fire is out!"Shaker nodded, moaning, beating his head still harder until Mink ran to him and pulled him away from the post."How did it happen, my older brother?""I was not asleep," groaned Shaker. "I was sitting with the fire just as I should have been. Look at the wood! Look at it there. I didn't starve the fire. You can see the wood. You can see it for yourself. You can see that it was burning. I was not sleeping! I did not let it burn out!""I can see the wood. I can see that it was burning.""It was burning, but then I realized it was starting to die. And yet it was nothing alarming. I went over and stirred it a bit. I didn't want it burning too much, just enough. But the coals kept fading, losing their heat as if they were being slowly smothered. I asked myself, What is this? and I added dry moss to bring up a flame. I put dry moss on hot coals and no flame came up. I blew and there was no flame. The coals still lost their heat. There was smoke and smoulder, but no flame. The moss was smothering it! I knocked it off and blew the coals. They glowed a little, but they were fading, dying. I put on some splinters, but they wouldn't light. I tried, but they would not light. I was the keeper of Ancient Fire. I was the keeper ... ." Shaker moaned and rocked."It didn't die because of you," Mink said to him gently. "It was something else, something beyond you. There was nothing you could have done.""I was the keeper!" Shaker began to bite at his own arm, drawi...
ONEThere were four omens. I was young, only nine years old, when the first omen came. I heard it discussed around the fire, told and retold until it became a part of my own knowledge, until it became as if I had witnessed it myself.The first omen came to Mink alone. Only he saw the hawk dive into the cornfield. He saw it strike down in the midst of brown stalks and rise with a snake in its talons. A snake in winter in the cornfield. A rattlesnake in the cold of winter. Mink saw the hawk rise, beating its wings, the snake writhing beneath. He watched the hawk as it struggled with its prey, as it beat its wings toward the brown hills beyond the valley. He saw the snake whip suddenly, striking its fangs into the heart of the hawk. The hawk stiffened and fluttered down through the stillness of the air. Mink ran toward them as they fell and he saw them sprawl against the earth. He saw the snake crawl away through the dry weeds beneath the broken stalks. He went after it to see where it would go. But already it had disappeared. He went back to the hawk. As he looked at it, piteously dead upon the earth, he was seized with fear, and he hurried back to Quail Town.My father was the watchman that day. He stood atop thepalisade, on one of the bastions in the wall of closely set timbers. He saw Mink coming up through the valley. My father knew Mink was disturbed. He knew it by the way his bearskin robe was drawn too tightly about his shoulders. He saw Mink cross the log bridge over the ditch outside the palisade. He saw him wind through the wall's entrance and pass along the streets between the houses to the open plaza in the town's center. There, Mink went directly to Gray Hawk's house, a small dwelling beside the great townhouse.Inside he sat with Gray Hawk at the fire. After they had smoked together, Mink told him what he had seen. Gray Hawk sent for Shaker and then for several other beloved men. In their age and wisdom they smoked tobacco and talked. Late in the afternoon it was decided that Mink should speak to the Seven Clans in council.In the evening when the people had gathered in the townhouse, Shaker spoke to them for Gray Hawk, announcing that Mink wished to address the council. They divided then into seven clans, each person moving to his proper seat on the tiers of benches, all the clans in order, forming a circle around the great room. The fire was in the circle's center, Ancient Fire, flickering, throwing its dim light upon the Seven Clans.The pipes were passed to open the council, to bring the people together into one mind. Then Mink rose to speak."People of the Seven Clans! I stand before you as your nephew, and as your brother, and as your uncle. Whenever I speak to you within this circle, standing as I am before this Ancient Fire, it is a walk we take together along the straight path of truth. I see the path now stretched before us. Come and let us walk upon it. Let me speak to you about a certain matter."Mink told them of the disturbing things he had seen in the cornfield. A snake, traveler of the warm seasons, going about the earth in the cold of winter. And worse, a bird of the sun struck dead from the sky by a creature of the Lower World. Mink's words were like the fangs of the snake striking into the heart of the Seven Clans. Fear swept in a circle around the fire. As Mink took his seat, another of the beloved men rose to speak."People of the Seven Clans! You who are my brothers and my sisters; you who are my nieces and my nephews; you who are my grandchildren. The words of my younger brother are straight, but the truth does not always put our hearts at ease. We ask ourselves what it means that he has seen such a thing. Does it mean that our corn will fail? People of the Seven Clans, we must prepare against a famine. I think this is the meaning of what was seen."Mink rose again. "My older brother is very wise. He has often seen the true shape of strange events. I am not so wise, and perhaps that is why I fear that some misfortune even greater than this has been foretold. But what could it be? I myself do not know."The incident was discussed throughout the night, Mink repeating the story, adding to it every detail he could remember. Different ones thought they knew what it meant, but in the end there was no consensus. The council adjourned without deciding what to do.
When in the same winter the second omen came, it was for everyone to see. I myself remember it clearly. It began with a thunderstorm that awakened me in the night, a violent storm with beating rain and crashing thunder. I lay frightened inthe darkness and heard my mother say to my father, "Thunder in winter. It is not good."I called out to my mother."Go to sleep, my little daughter," she said. "It is nothing. Listen to the rain on the roof and let it take you to sleep again."I pulled the blanket over my head and listened to the rain striking against the bark roof and to my mother and father whispering together in their bed. Then outside the house there was noise and confusion, there were people running in the streets between the houses. "Seven Clans, come running! The warriors' tree is burning!"My father leaped from his bed, and my brothers too, and they ran out into the rain, my mother following behind. No one told me to stay or to come. I jumped up and went with them, although I did not understand the reason for the excitement. Women were wailing. People were running through the town and out through the palisade entrance and over the ditch to stand and look across the valley at the warriors' tree. I followed my brothers to a bastion in the palisade and they began scrambling up to the top."Let me!" I cried, and Two Crows stopped and helped me up until I was standing beside him at the top, looking out over the valley, staring at the small orange glow in the distance. The rain had turned to a fine drizzle. Beneath us were the people watching the light of the burning tree. A few men were running out across the valley, while others were returning, crying as they ran, "It is the warriors' tree!" Women were wailing; they loosened their hair and let it fall disheveled, as if someone had died. I began to tremble, not because I understood what was happening, but because the women were wailing and because the men were running and shouting.It was not until later that I knew the reason for their distress. The tree that burned was the honey locust tree. That was where the warriors stopped when they returned victorious from the war trail. They would hang their scalps and other trophies on the long thorns of the tree and paint themselves for celebration while a herald ran to the town to announce their return and their victory. The people would come to the tree to meet the warriors and lead them back to the town in a joyous procession. The honey locust is Thunder's tree, and Thunder is the force that guides men safely along the trail of war. In the Ancient Days he promised never to allow lightning to strike a honey locust tree. His promise to the Seven Clans had never before been broken. But that night it seemed that Thunder had abandoned our warriors, and that was why the women wailed.On the day after, word spread among the children of the town that the tree had burned completely away, that there were no charred pieces, only a scattering of white ashes. Who had ever heard of such a thing? It must have certainly been an omen. Some of the older girls among us, their fears revived, began to wail anew. But I was too young. I went off with girls my own age and we played that we were married and that our husbands had been killed on the war trail. We wailed and mourned, but for us it was only play. Nothing more.
The third omen did not come until the following summer. On the day it happened, almost everyone was away at the ball ground watching the warriors play stickball. It was Mink who left the game and went back alone to the empty town. When he entered the palisade he noticed that there was no smoke rising from the townhouse. No smoke where there had always been smoke before. He hurried into the townhouse andfound Shaker crying and beating his head against a post. In the hearth the Ancient Fire had died; there was nothing but charred wood, cold and black, no smoke, no heat, no breath of fire."My beloved older brother!" gasped Mink. "The fire is out!"Shaker nodded, moaning, beating his head still harder until Mink ran to him and pulled him away from the post."How did it happen, my older brother?""I was not asleep," groaned Shaker. "I was sitting with the fire just as I should have been. Look at the wood! Look at it there. I didn't starve the fire. You can see the wood. You can see it for yourself. You can see that it was burning. I was not sleeping! I did not let it burn out!""I can see the wood. I can see that it was burning.""It was burning, but then I realized it was starting to die. And yet it was nothing alarming. I went over and stirred it a bit. I didn't want it burning too much, just enough. But the coals kept fading, losing their heat as if they were being slowly smothered. I asked myself, What is this? and I added dry moss to bring up a flame. I put dry moss on hot coals and no flame came up. I blew and there was no flame. The coals still lost their heat. There was smoke and smoulder, but no flame. The moss was smothering it! I knocked it off and blew the coals. They glowed a little, but they were fading, dying. I put on some splinters, but they wouldn't light. I tried, but they would not light. I was the keeper of Ancient Fire. I was the keeper ... ." Shaker moaned and rocked."It didn't die because of you," Mink said to him gently. "It was something else, something beyond you. There was nothing you could have done.""I was the keeper!" Shaker began to bite at his own arm, drawi...
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- PublisherUniv of Georgia Pr
- Publication date1987
- ISBN 10 0820309109
- ISBN 13 9780820309101
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages180
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To Spoil the Sun
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ISBN 13: 9780820309101
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To Spoil the Sun (A Brown Thrasher Book)
Published by
The University of Georgia Press
(1987)
ISBN 10: 0820309109
ISBN 13: 9780820309101
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To Spoil the Sun
Published by
University of Georgia Press
(1987)
ISBN 10: 0820309109
ISBN 13: 9780820309101
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Quantity: 1
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