Not wishing to pursue this subject further, Epsey responded, “Well, I’ve never seen any husband and wife who got along better than you two. Y’all seem interested in the same things, and I don’t remember ever noticing any anger between you.”

“That’s true, and I’m thankful for it. We have a lot of arguments, like how best to frame in a window or about identifying a bird or a flower, and I have as much of a voice in making decisions as he does.”

While their thoughts and discussion turned to safer things, Epsey could understand exactly how Kindred must feel about the things that happened in bed. She had always felt that there was something wrong with “knowing” each other, as the Bible said, and had a feeling of guilt after she and Ethan acted in that way. God had blessed them with their baby, but now that another was unlikely, she could find no justification for further intimacy of this kind. She also felt that Ethan’s dominant role in making family decisions was compatible with the teachings of the Holy Scriptures.

CHAPTER 12

The Neighboring Indians

The Morrises considered themselves to have a good life. They did not object to the hard work in the fields, relished the isolation of their homeplace, and neither they nor any of the other Wrightsborough settlers were abused by the colonial authorities in Augusta or Savannah. The white families also had the apparent goodwill of the neighboring Indians, most of whom lived peacefully across the Ogeechee River. There was one native village on the riverbank that was only five miles from the Morrises’ farm, located on land that had been ceded previously. The Creek families had simply stayed where they were, since there had been no demand for this particular place from white settlers.

Kindred was fascinated with the natives, and as soon as their cabin was completed, he had begun to visit the Indian village as often as possible. He almost memorized the two books he owned about their culture, and tried in every way to be sensitive and respectful in his dealings with them. He was naturally kind and gentle, and made his Indian friends feel like superior instructors as they answered inquiries about their way of life and taught him their language. He quickly learned to converse with relative ease, using a combination of signs and, with every visit, more of their words.