Up On The Mountain

By Melody Martin

This is a fictitious story about a family that runs away from the Salem Massachusets during the time of the witch trials.

Its 1745 Elizabeth lives in the Shawangunk Mountains.
She was only a little girl when her parents ran away from Salem Massachusetts because there were rumors her mother would be prosecuted as a witch during the 1692-1693 trials. Now she sits on her favorite rock on the side of the mountain. She watches the sunset admiring the way it lights up the sky. A cool breeze blows her now grey hair across her face.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melody Martin
• Release date: Apr 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386095354

Melody Martin

I spent 3 years in the Navy. Today I spend My time writing or Painting. I am a very Independent woman Living in Kansas. This is just another stop in my journey through life. I was born in New York in 1941. So, I was alive when they bombed Pearl Harb I grew up on a small farm In Ulster County. The war years were tough but I never went hungry

Book preview

Chapter One

Background

Its 1745 Elizabeth lives in the Shawangunk Mountains.

She was only a little girl when her parents ran away from Salem Massachusetts because there were rumors her mother would be prosecuted as a witch during the 1692-1693 trials. Now she sits on her favorite rock on the side of the mountain. She watches the sunset admiring the way it lights up the sky. A cool breeze blows her now grey hair across her face.

This is her story from the time they left Salem until this day. They journeyed by horse and carriage to New York. After crossing the Hudson River in December 1693, they traveled southwest hoping for warmer weather. Elizabeth was only three years old at the time. After crossing a little stream that was still very low, they came upon a mountain range. Crossing the mountain was long and arduous. Once they got to the other side they went southwest and found a larger river. They did not have the means to ford the river and it was only partially frozen. They followed the river southwards. They found a place in this river that was frozen all the way across. Their journey took them to a smaller river and another mountain range. They started up the mountain most of the way crisscrossing from side to side walking their horse. In their attempt to cross the Shawangunk range where their carriage broke down. They had little hope of repairing it and found shelter under some fallen trees. There came one of the Hudson valleys heavy snowstorms. They managed to start a fire and they scrounged around trying to find wood that was not buried under the snow. They began tearing up the carriage for wood to keep warm. The horse they used to pull the carriage was old and exhausted from the journey. It fell into the snow and died. Ezra had thought of riding this animal to find help.

At a point of nearly freezing to death and starving because there was no food to eat. They began throwing branches of the fallen pine tree they were under into the fire. It was late in the afternoon bitter cold her father told them he would strike out and try to find help of some sort. From the ridge they were on he could see smoke rising from the valley below. It seemed to be a long way off and hopes of traveling that far with nothing in his stomach he knew it was probably a lost cause. But never the less, he started out after collecting the last wood he could find. He left it for his wife and daughter and struck out towards the smoke he saw. He had traveled nearly a mile when a Native saw him. He had no fear because the Natives he had encountered before were friendly. He raised his arms to get the man to see him. When the Native approached, he tried to explain the quandary he was in by making hand gestures to explain he was hungry. Then he drew pictures in the snow about his wife and daughter who were also in terrible shape. After a little while, the Lenape Native seemed to understand. They turned back the way he came and soon were back where his family was sheltered. In the sack, the Native carried on his back he had two rabbits. He prepared them and cooked them over the fire near the shelter. After they ate the rabbits they were hopeful that they stood a chance of surviving. Still, they were having difficulty telling the Native their names but understood that the Lenape Natives name meant Bird In Water. After they had gained strength, he motioned that they should follow him to his camp. After trudging through the deep snow, they arrived at the camp where the natives were living. Some of the tribe had gone north to the winter lodges. Some had stayed behind at the camp in the south because three members of their tribe were ill and unable to travel.

He offered them a wigwam that was empty because its owner had died that summer by falling off a cliff. It was small for the three of them but it was out of the cold. At first, they were given food by the natives in the encampment. The Native, Bird in Water who found them seemed to be responsible for their care. Eventually, he taught Elizabeth’s’ father Ezra, to use a bow and arrow. Some of the women in the camp taught Elizabeth’s mother Hannah how to treat the hides of animals and make clothing from them.

By the time, spring came both Ezra and Hannah had gained the ability to care for themselves. The tribe was moving back south to the village of wigwams on the mountains. In the summer there were places where fishing and hunting is easier. It was quite common for Native Americans to move about as the season's change. By now Ezra had learned some of the native languages and could communicate with the tribesmen. Hannah had also learned a lot of the language. Elizabeth learned how to speak both languages even though it was confusing to her.  It was getting warmer every day and it soon would be planting season. Seeds from the squash were saved from the previous year’s harvest. The seeds of maize (corn) were also saved and they were planted. Pumpkins and beans were planted at the side of the gardens long branches were put in the ground so the bean plants could wrap around them. Every day the women would weed the gardens to keep them free of damaging weeds. When the men of the tribe would bring in a deer or other animals the women would scrape the skins with sharpened stones to remove the fat and any flesh left behind from the skinning of the deer. Hot water was poured over the hair of the deer hide and sharp rocks scraped the hair from the hide. The brains of the deer were put in water and heated. After it became a spongy liquid it was applied to the hide in a thin layer. The mixture would help tan the hide. It was stretched between two trees and left to cure. Hides of smaller animals were just treated on one side the fur was left as it would keep the wearer warm in the cold months. As the days got longer the crops were getting mature and were harvested each in its time. Elizabeth was never very far from her mother and quickly picked up the knowledge that all must learn as they get older. Some of the harvests were eaten straight from the fields. The women of the tribe showed Hannah how to prepare these foods in a native way. This included beans, corn, squash and pumpkin seeds put in the sun to dry so there would be seeds to plant the following year. As the days got shorter, it was getting time to pack up what they needed to travel to the other camp to the north. After getting things all ready, they were put on sleds made of willow branches they were pulled by dogs. Bird In Water assured them that they will not be trapped by an early show and could travel to the village to the north. The journey went well and they arrived in the camp of many trees in two days.

The winter was cold and there was a lot of snow. Days were spent making warm clothing, cooking the harvest that there brought with them. They were always saving part of the beans and other seeds for the following planting. There was plenty to eat the men hunted during the daylight hours. Nights were spent telling stories of their ancestors and times of bad weather and plentiful harvests. Ezra would tell of his trip from Salem to New York. The tribesmen could not understand the trials because it was not in their language thus making it hard to explain. Soon the sun was staying up longer and longer. It was time to pack up the hides from the wigwams, and longhouses, and food storage places and other goods and strike out for the summer camp. When they arrived they set up camp cutting small trees for supports on the wigwams. Some were in need of repair and some new ones would need to be built.

Spring was in full swing and Elizabeth was getting around quite well. She was now four years old. Hannah had fashioned her some shoes made of the hides of deerskin that Ezra had killed. Her clothing was also made of the skins of animals. Hannah was getting very efficient in making clothing and cooking wildlife in the Native way.

They heard of a settlement that was about fifteen miles away but Hannah was afraid of the people there. Afraid that she might be labeled a witch again. Ezra decided that they would live the Lenape way. He studied how the wigwams were built and when he was not hunting he worked on a larger one for them. It was strenuous work and Hannah helped as she could. Elizabeth was too young to be of much help. She watched and learned all the way of the Lenape. She had long blond hair and Hannah would braid it so it would not be tangled. She began looking more and more like a native as the summer came and her skin tanned.

It was starting to get cool and fall was coming. The cold nights were tolerable because the new wigwam had beds of skins and the skins on the outside were pulled together very tightly. The bark of trees was placed on the outside of the wigwams. Hannah hung a deerskin on the entrance to the wigwam and that kept the cool breeze out. In the center, they made a circle of rocks in just the right place where the smoke would go out the top in a small opening Ezra tested the flow of the smoke using dampened grass.

Winter was just around the corner and it was time to think about returning to the other camp to the north. Bird in Water was the first to come to the new wigwam that they built. He admired the work that they put into it. Still, he advised them not to cover the entrance too tightly or the smoke would not go out the top. It would not take long before they were driven out choking on the smoke. It was time to break camp here and go to the winter camp. They all had learned the Native language and ways. They traveled north to the place of many trees. This they now understood was the place of the winter camp. The many trees blocked a lot of the howling winter winds. After repairing their longhouses they settled in for another harsh winter. Ezra would go with the men hunting while Hannah stayed in camp with the other women. There was no lack of work, hides to be prepared, wood needed to be gathered to keep fires burning. There were meals to cook, the clothing of the men to be repaired. They also made warm clothing from rabbit pelts. Bird In Water watched as Elizabeth was copying what her mother was doing and said to her your name is to be Little Bird. There were several other children near Elizabeth’s age and she would join them in the games they played. She was picking up the language rapidly. She fit right in with the other children and at night she would share what she learned.

Chapter Two

Ezra the Hunter

Ezra was always out with the natives on hunting parties. The winter that year was not as bad as the previous one. Hunting was good and the winter passed quickly. Soon it will be time to break camp again and head south to the other encampment. On the way back, Ezra retrieved the four steel rims from the old carriage they first arrived on. From some of the other steel hardware, he fashioned a chisel. He remembered some of the things that the blacksmith and his brother had shown him about working with steel and iron. His first attempts at making arrow points did not work out that well. He continued perfecting his skills and when he found the method to temper the steel without making it so brittle it would break. He discovered plunging the hot steel in animal fat drippings made the steel very well suited for arrow points. He took some of the ones he had just made to Bird In Water. He attached a steel arrow point to an arrow, and then he shot it at a willow tree. The arrow point went into the tree almost two fingers deep. Bird In Water was very much impressed. He also knew of places in the north by their winter camp where there were more broken wagon wheels. He could bring them back in the next year. Ezra also fashioned a knife from one of the rims. He used a deer antler for a handle. Sharpening the knife on a flat piece of granite he made it very sharp. For the first time since their arrival, he shaved the beard from his face.

Hannah was getting good at processing furs and smoking meat and fish so they would keep for longer periods of time. She is accepted well by the other women. She learned how to plant the crops they ate. There were beans, squash, pumpkin, maize (corn) and to grow. Women did most of the planting of crops while the men hunted and repaired the wigwams and made bows and arrows. They also hunted all the meat. It was not an easy life for her but she felt safe and accepted.

Little Bird was still too young to do much but she was at her mother’s side continuing to learning the ways they did things. Right now,