Watching Mavis and Kindred having good times together, almost like children, Ethan considered his own personal habits and priorities with some embarrassment. He and Epsey had a mutually respectful relationship, each appreciating the good qualities of the other, willing to forgive or ignore habits that might be somewhat aggravating. In effect, they lived as partners, operating the farm and caring for household duties, each immersed in the hard work of frontier life. He spent almost all his time girdling more trees, clearing new ground, building fences, tending his beehives, and laboring almost without ceasing in the fields and among his hogs and cows. In the wintertime he worked in his shop, making and repairing the things he and Epsey used, and taking every opportunity to work his traplines and to hunt for deer, wild turkey, and an occasional black bear. She kept the house and small yard almost immaculate and took great pride in her large garden. In addition, she was always eager to hoe in the fields and to care for any sick animals that were confined to the lot, and was strong enough to do this while carrying little Henry. Although she offered, Ethan never permitted her to plow.

Ethan didn’t worry much but had a constant commitment to produce enough surplus corn, wheat, tobacco, honey, and some cows and hogs to be traded along with his hides in Wrightsborough or Augusta. They needed salt, some cloth, powder and shot, rough iron that could be made into tools, and occasionally more frivolous things like rum and tea when the upriver price was lowered by a recent shipment into Savannah. He had never before felt guilty where his hard work was concerned, when he was away from Epsey, but now he realized that he was being selfish when he left his duties and spent a number of hours each week with the Morrises.

After each of those visits he would come back to his own cabin still filled with the wonder of some natural discovery, a new species they had found, or perhaps just a startling fact about one of the birds, animals, or plants that had long been part of his life. He would find himself in an effervescent mood, the excitement of his newfound knowledge and personal companionship not yet fully faded. It was obvious that Epsey did not have much interest in learning more about botany or biology, and after a few attempts to share his feelings he learned that it aroused in her a totally uncharacteristic resentment, and drove something of a wedge between them.

Epsey did ask a few questions about their experiences, apparently to be polite, and inquired a couple of times if Mavis had gone along with them. It made Ethan uncomfortable to report that the three of them had been together, and after that, by emphasizing the hunting and trapping and by other means, he tried to limit his brief report of the trips to include only the two men.