Kindred soon knew almost everyone in the village, and some of them reciprocated by asking questions about the habits and motivations of the white settlers. He talked to men of all ages, but most often to one older woman called Soyarna, who was the chief’s sister. The villagers turned to her for medical advice, and Kindred asked her a stream of questions about the plants in the forests and how different ones might be used for medicinal purposes. In return, he shared with her some of the knowledge he had derived from his own books and personal observations. Kindred was eager to please his new friends and sought every opportunity to bring them small gifts, to help solve some of their problems, to provide improved seeds, and he even did some simple blacksmith work for them, using Ethan’s forge.

Kindred and Mavis kept a careful journal of this information, which at first he shared eagerly with Ethan and Epsey, but he soon saw that only Epsey showed any interest in what he was learning from the Indians. Although Ethan never spoke about the natives harshly and dealt fairly with those few he knew, his natural attitude was to let them mind their own business so long as they didn’t bother him. He seemed to consider these activities of his neighbor to be a waste of time, taking Kindred away from his farm chores—and from Ethan, on days when it was too wet to work in the fields and the two could have been hunting, fishing, or exploring together. Kindred felt this disapproval from Ethan, but there was some consolation in being used as an intermediary when Ethan needed to trade with the Indians or communicate with them about something of common interest.