Appalachian Preserve

By William Malic

A great country that spanned an entire continent has splintered. The United States of America was no more, but not forgotten, and a mere shell of a civilization that had once ruled the world had taken its place. East of the Mississippi the land became known as The Federals. Surrounded by this weak secularized society the mountain people of the Appalachians remained faithful and though outcasts they continue to be free.
Caleb is a young man, born in the mountains coming of age who sets off to find a wife. In the process he finds himself two women to love and is thrust into a war. Divine intervention or simply circumstances the young man finds himself in a role he never dreamed of. Through one adventure after another he travels the Appalachian Trail in search of his destiny.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 4, 2012
• ISBN: 9781300161738

Book preview

Appalachian Preserve

Appalachian Preserve

Chapter 1 -- A Forest Education

Sitting on a fallen log perched on the edge of an escarpment overlooking the only homestead he had ever known, Caleb dreamily gazed across the valley.  Rows of evergreens filled the slopes of the vast amphitheater with its blue arena of air above while white wisps of clouds hung lazily like silky threads woven into the azure.  Even from this vantage point the forest expanse hid the tiny encampment up-stage from the meadow snaking its way through the basin. Only a trained eye could discern the rustic cabins sheltered by giant old growth hardwoods. One of the smallest buildings on the-right was home to his father, mother, their two sons and a daughter plus three dogs and two goats.  Caleb was the oldest offspring and his sister the youngest.  The animals were even younger.  Caleb’s grandfather had remembered the time when a somewhat civilized world stretched far beyond these woods in all directions.  He had often listened to the stories of the great cities, an ocean so salty you couldn’t drink the water and great rivers flowing through the interior flat land.  Caleb’s grandfather had once worked as a long haul truck driver transporting goods to market from America’s heartland to the thriving metropolitan areas.  All was gone now, and so was their patriarch; he died when Caleb was barely a teen.  The elder gentleman had been instrumental in rescuing the clan when the world ended.

Actually the world was still here, but what had been was long gone.  His grandfather had not been much older than Caleb when he first sensed the end coming.  He found this mountain valley, first as a vacation retreat, but when things turned for the worst he and his son, Caleb’s father, build the first cabin here.  It burned to the ground the year Caleb was born.  By that time the refugees from civilization were entrenched and they rebuilt.  Over the years a few refugees joined the group so today there were nearly thirty people living in and around the mountain they called home.  The Federals had once managed the territory, but long abandoned it.  Caleb never seen a Federal, but he heard stories, and he swore if one ever set foot on his mountain it would be the last thing he ever did.  Caleb and the others didn’t take kindly to Federals.

Caleb heard of a place called Atlanta that his father said was the nearest city to their mountain.  Caleb had never been to Atlanta, but some of the older folks ventured a few times a year to trade for supplies.  For most things his people depended solely on the mountain, hunting and foraging for food, gathering wood to heat their hovels or building materials as well as fresh spring water.  What they couldn’t get from the land they bartered; or stole from the city folk. City people never came to the mountain and the Federals only chased marauders to the forest’s edge.  In the city there was a resemblance of some civil authority, but beyond no organized government existed.  Clans watched out for themselves, and each other.  Other cities were farther away, but many once thriving metropolitan areas were almost totally abandoned.

At one time the entire region had been inhabited.  Small and large towns dotted the landscape, with the rural byways connected them.  The entire continent had been interwoven with commercial highways, wide multi-lane thoroughfares filled with vehicles.  Today only a few were maintained by the Federals to facilitate commerce between the remaining cities.  Federals’ transports mostly traveled the ribbons of concrete with an occasional private vehicle tagging along with the convoys for safety.  As far as Caleb knew, people now either lived in cities, or were what the Federals categorized as Wanderers.  Wanderers lived outside of the city, some in permanent conclaves like on the mountain, while others were nomadic gypsies.  The approved designation was really meant to describe inhabitants who were not officially citizens.  Citizens chose to live in the city, never venturing far from its boundaries.  Citizens paid taxes and were protected by the law.  Wanderers never paid taxes and had no protection by law or from the law.  If a citizen wronged a Wanderer there was no recourse, but if a Wanderer was caught by the Federals for even minor offenses they could be severely punished, even put to death.

The Wanderers had their own connection, a trail, one of the longest continuously marked footpaths in the world, measuring roughly 2,180 miles in length; onced called the Appalachian Trial.  Loosely knit together the Wanders exchanged products, ideas and supported each other.  Mostly, however, Wanderers stayed to themselves.  They generally traveled on foot, or with horses and mules, but some utilized small wagons where possible.  Caleb had heard there were Wanderers that had motor vehicles, but he had never personally seen one, except for an occasional work truck.

Life was simple in the forest.  The group he lived with had located an abandoned windmill in some place called Ohio, and the mechanisms to generate and store electricity.  Caleb’s father had gone with other men from their clan to procure the massive apparatus.  Caleb was too young then, but he remembered his mother worrying and fretting over her husband’s absence.  When the group returned finally she was beside herself with joy and happiness.  His mother loved his father very much, and Caleb dreamed of the day when he might find someone like his mother to love too.  The windmill was on top of the mountain and provided enough energy for each cabin to have a few lights, but not much more.  The sound from the power equipment used to install the giant whirling fan and run transmission lines shattered the generally quiet forest for weeks.  Caleb remembered he had been afraid and he hadn’t ventured out of doors while the men were working.

Caleb, seated on his favorite throne where he surveyed his world, smiled to himself at the thought of how timid he had been.  Sitting on his perch and listening to the natural chorus of forests sounds relaxed him.  He was eighteen today according to the registry in the family Bible.  A grown man, he was no longer a shy little boy afraid of his shadow.  He’d had the privilege of doing a man’s chores now for four years and it had made him strong.  His mother said he was handsome, but all mothers think that of their sons.  His little sister said he was a skinny rail with too big of a nose, yet little sisters aren’t exactly authorities on such things.  His kid brother, Joshua, said he was a hero, and the bravest boy around, who knew how to hunt and fish better than anyone his age.  Little brothers do have an insight into such things.  As for his father’s opinion, Caleb was proud when he told Caleb he had become a man.

Caleb’s mother had taught him to read, which he agreed to only to please her, not really seeing the need for such nonsense.  He had to admit he enjoyed reading the Bible, and a few books the clan had managed to preserve, but most of his education came from the forest itself.  He learned to read the signs of the seasons and predict when to best hunt the different game animals, and harvest the berries and roots.  The family maintained a small garden for vegetables and the group managed a small orchard and vineyard.  Caleb particularly enjoyed the homemade wine. Since Jesus had turned water into wine it was permitted to partake in nature’s fermentation products.  Old Clem was said to have a still for making whiskey, but Caleb’s family saw the liquor as the fruit of the Devil and would not allow it in their house.  Sometimes Old Clem would get so drunk he acted like he had gone insane.  Caleb had thought Old Clem was funny when he was younger, but now he just saw him as a poor lonely old drunk.

The forest had taught him other lessons:  The male wild turkey, with his conspicuously bright coloring of plumage and fan-like fancy tail, has a cocky strut they he uses to attract females.  Occupying a comfortable position on trees and gobbling for hens, the males advance to a courtship ritual in an exquisite dance.  Caleb had loved to entertain the family with his imitation and taught Joshua.  After mating, hatching begins in May and the young are tended by females; with the brood staying together until winter.  Females first breed as yearlings.

Two of the most obvious mating habits of the male (buck) white-tailed deer (termed the rut) are the rub and the scrape. Bucks have antlers and they use them to scrape trees to tear the bark and expose raw wood. They rub scent glands (on the head and the legs) across the exposed areas to notify other males and the females (does) that a breeding buck is in the area.  Sometimes the buck will paw and strike the ground to rough up a circular patch of dirt or forest duff. The glands between the two parts of the hooves leave a scent.  The buck will straddle the scrape and lean to each side in such a way as to urinate down one hind leg, then the other, to mix scent and urine which dribbles onto the roughed up material.  Once a scrape has been scented, other bucks will try to cover it and does will leave their own scent marks to indicate that they are in estrous and ready to mate.  If and when a buck notices another male covering his scrape or marking over a rub on a tree, the first buck will make specific grunting noises and rattle his antlers on trees, shrubs and brush or even the ground as a challenge to the other male.  Usually the challenge will be accepted and the buck that covered or over-marked will show up for a test of antler size and overall strength.  Smaller males will normally make a few gestures and leave, quickly, rather than getting into a surefire lost battle.  Two matched bucks, however, will butt their heads together and use twisting, thrusting, pushing motions until one establishes clear dominance.  These matches seldom cause actual injuries to either buck.  The losing buck will then move on to another territory and try to set up his own or work other rubs and scrapes, to cover or over-mark and attract females or find a smaller buck that he can dominate.  The females are active participants in the mating process. Does will seek out rubs and scrapes then loiter in the area to be found by the dominant buck. The females will leave their own urine and glandular scents to signal the buck that they are sexually in season.  A dominant buck will set up several rubs and a few scrapes then move around among them to increase access to does that are also checking out active sites. Both are opportunistic in these behaviors, because the females are in heat for only about 24 hours, so the buck must be on the ready throughout the rutting season. Even so, lesser bucks may be able to intervene and mount females in estrous if the larger or more dominant buck is too busy for the number of does available. Similarly, if a buck is in a mating ritual with one doe, other does may move to another area seeking a different male.

The Gray Squirrel is a hardy squirrel that breeds twice a year. They go through an odd little mating ritual, which includes a sprint through the forest after a fierce battle to determine who is top dog among males. Once this has been decided, the female and the top male mate, and babies are born about a month and a half later. The baby squirrels are born in a nest built by the mother, and three months later, are ready to leave the nest and strike out on their own.

Raccoons are usually solitary creatures that don't travel with other raccoons. One of the few times male and female raccoons get together is for courtship and mating, afterward, the male leaves and the female raises the young. Males venture from their dens in the winter for food and to find a receptive female ready to mate.  Females are receptive for a week at most, so male raccoons have a short window of opportunity.  While raccoons are typically very territorial, males will sometimes wander outside their territory while looking for a mate.  If a female raccoon is not looking for a mate, she'll chase the male away aggressively.  Male raccoons are commonly more promiscuous than female raccoons.  It's not uncommon for males to court and mate with multiple females during one breeding season.  Mating is often loud and intense. The raccoon growl and bark at each other chase each other and rough-house. To some, it may appear that the raccoons are fighting when, in fact, they're about to mate.

Black bears abandon their usually solitary behavior and socialize in order to procreate. The height of black bear mating season occurs in late May or June. Once they give birth for the first time, females mate every other year and rear cubs during the off years. Male bears copulate with as many females as they can during mating season and may father a number of litters.  Female bears that don't have cubs leave scent trails by marking trees, small plants, stones and other environmental elements. Male bears follow scents in search of sexually mature females. Sometimes, two males pick up the scent trail of the same female, which can lead to a violent showdown. Once a male has located a female by following her scent trail, the pair spends a few days locked in courtship rituals. Female bears may be wary of males at first, leading the male bear to edge slowly closer over the course of a few days. Once the female grows accustomed to the presence of the male, the two nuzzle and communicate at close range before copulating. Several copulations take place over the course of two to three days. Initial copulations last only a few minutes, though later copulations may last as long as an hour.

Caleb knew far less about human mating habits, having no experience himself, and his elders never spoke about it.  His mother had given birth to Joshua and Ruth his sister of course, and other families had kids.  He had never had much interest, until lately, he had strange feelings he didn’t quite know how to deal with.  When those feelings took hold of him je chose to go to his refuge on the mountain, to think. Today was one of those days.

Chapter 2 -- Religion

Caleb and his siblings all had Biblical names.  When the ancient Hebrews came to the outskirts of Canaan, the land that had been promised to them by God, after having fled slavery in Egypt, Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan to report on what was there; one spy representing each of the Twelve Tribes. Ten of the spies returned to say that the land would be impossible to claim and those giants lived there who would crush the Hebrew army. Only two, Joshua (from the tribe of Ephraim) and Caleb (representing Judah), returned and said that God would be able to deliver Canaan into the hands of the Hebrew nation.

The Bible records that, because of the testimony of ten of the spies, the Hebrews chose not to enter Canaan. For this disobedience, God caused them to wander in the desert for forty years before being allowed to enter Canaan and conquer it as their home. The only adult Israelites allowed to survive these forty years and enter Canaan were Joshua and Caleb (son of Jephunneh), as a reward for their faith in God. This is recorded in the Book of Numbers and Caleb is called my servant by God in Numbers 14:24, a position of the highest honor heretofore used only for Moses.

Ruth is a common female given name. It comes from Ruth the Moabite in the Book of Ruth, from the Hebrew for companion. Ruth pledged her loyalty to her mother-in-law, Naomi. They returned to Bethlehem, Naomi's original home, and there Ruth met Boaz, a rich land-owner who was immediately smitten. Naomi advised the young woman how to catch her man; the plan succeeded. Ruth became the mother of Obed and the great-grandmother of Israel’s greatest king, David.  Her story illustrates the triumph of courage and ingenuity over adverse circumstances.

Caleb’s parents offered Bible studies to their offspring and any of the neighbors who wished to attend.  They did not have formal church services, and there were no religious leaders in the area.  Still they read the Bible daily, observed the Sabbath and kept the sacrament of marriage.  They buried the dead according to Christian tradition and baptized those who professed themselves as believers.  Living the Golden Rule, they tried to keep the Ten Commandments.

Religion was banned in the cities, Caleb was told, where the Federals were the only authority.  Caleb had learned that this was the world, referenced by Jesus.  He said They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.  They was the believers, and the world was non-believers.  Most Wanderers were believers and the city folk were non-believers.  Some Wanders were not believers, but