Follow the River

Content Warning: This section includes discussions of anti-Indigenous racism, potential sexual assault, wartime atrocities, and physical and psychological suffering. The source material’s use of outdated, racist language for Indigenous Americans is replicated only in direct quotations.

“Aye, Mary felt, surely all’s well here. And so, swinging the bundle of clothes over her shoulder as easily as a man might, Mary went out the door of the cabin, preceded by her swollen belly into the sunny fresh air. The moment her gaze fell over the settlement, she realized that what she had been dreading was about to happen: Indians were running crouched and swift toward every cabin in the settlement.”

This quote captures just how quickly things change for Mary Draper Ingles and the other white settlers in Draper’s Meadows. In one moment, she is enjoying a sunny Sunday morning, and in the next, she finds herself under attack by Shawnee warriors. This early passage also introduces the truth behind Mary’s premonitions, a motif throughout the novel.

“‘Tommy, I must ask’ee to clean up Georgie a bit. He’s messed himself, poor tad…and, Tommy,’ she added, ‘thankee for not letting your auntie die on us. That was a good lad…’ ‘I won’t die on y’ now,’ Bettie murmured. ‘Forgive me such talk. I just…’ ‘Ssshhh, now. Nought to forgive.’”

The dialogue in Follow the River is written in dialect. This passage demonstrates the 18th-century Anglo-Irish dialect spoken by Mary and her family. It also shows how Mary is able to act sensibly and swiftly care for others even in extremely difficult circumstances when others, such as Bettie, give in.

“She looked at the star and hated men for all their meanness and hurtfulness and cruelty. Why is this happening to me? She demanded as the hideous squeezing pain returned, what have I ever done? The star went away and then came back, and she was euphoric, and her heart grew soft and big at the thought of William.”

In the most difficult moments of her journey, Mary relies on Faith and Love as a Source of Strength, particularly her love for her husband, Will. Here, Mary is in pain while giving birth in the woods, and the Shawnee men do not assist her. To keep herself motivated in this difficult time, she thinks about Will.