The spokesman of those who stood in front of him in the pathway was an old man called Lone Tree, who spoke politely and with dignity, offering to exchange deer hides for corn. Elijah had never been friendly with the redskins and realized that they must be desperate to come to his homestead on such a peremptory visit. Although he had made a good crop, he knew he could drive a hard bargain, so he replied that he didn’t have any corn to trade. Lone Tree continued to face Elijah respectfully, but the three younger men were looking closely at the large woven baskets heaped with well-filled ears. Their village was long overdue to be moved to a new site, as was evident to any knowledgeable visitor who observed the depleted soil in their garden plots. Winter would soon be coming on, and the visitors did not attempt to conceal their need for food. Even their original offer was far more than the normal value of a basketful of grain. Elijah could see a great advantage in waiting for colder weather, and rejected every offer. Lone Tree had even offered a good hunting knife in a beautifully decorated sheath, which Elijah had seen worn proudly by the village chief on his previous visit.

But he resented the savages coming to his homestead and was determined not to let them have any corn. He repeatedly told them that he had no grain to spare, claiming that he had come through the past season with a poor crop and needed all the harvest for his own family. He knew, as perhaps did some of the Indians, that there was one field of his corn, adjacent to the swamp, which had received plenty of rain and produced a bumper crop. He had enough to feed his own family and more, but a reserve supply was always a good idea, and if there was going to be a shortage this winter, he wanted to take advantage of it.

Then one of the young braves, his face disfigured by a deep scar that ran from his left eye and down across his mouth, so he seemed to have four lips, pushed forward and demanded that the white man accept their offer. His voice was harsh, and he ignored the seniority of the older man. Elijah refused to look at him or to respond, stating again to Lone Tree that, like the Indians, he lacked enough corn for his own family. The four men left the yard, moving westward toward their home village, except the young man turned and stared at Elijah for a full minute before following the others into the forest.