“The Heart of Courage” by Lynne Basham Tagawa

 

 

The Story Behind the Story: The Heart of Courage

Lynne Tagawa

 

I lay awake one night thinking of Jacob Fisher.

Jacob was only ten when he lost his life in a Shawnee raid. But that’s not all. He died in a horrible way. It bothered me for days.

I had just started the research phase for the second book in my 18^th century colonial series, the Russells. It roughly spans the period of the French and Indian War, and so I knew, naturally, that I’d have both the war and Indian raids to deal with.

There are certain things that are hard to write about as a Christian. You don’t want to ignore the truth, and yet, the purpose of Christian fiction is to be uplifting. Writing “clean” fiction isn’t just about avoiding sensual content. I knew this period would challenge me in that way.

But there was more. When you read these accounts, the Shawnee looked like brute beasts or savages, and the settlers did refer to the “injuns” as savages. When you look at the stories you understand why.

But we all know Native Americans were people, not beasts, and they had human motivations. What were their motivations, beyond the obvious one of pushing back against white expansion? I wanted to delve into the Shawnee mind.

And create a Shawnee character. I wanted to see this time period, this conflict, through his eyes. That was both a joy and a challenge, reconstructing the worldview of a people with no written history. Lifestyle, customs, stories—much of this can be pieced together from various sources. I made use of captive accounts, especially those who had lived with them for a significant period of time.

As I wrote, I found Red Hawk and his grandmother to be my favorite characters. In the excerpt below, Red Hawk stumbles across white surveyors.

 

Excerpt…

 Red Hawk stepped around the thicket and made his way cautiously downslope. The smell of fire stopped him. Peering out from behind a chestnut tree, he saw the thin wisps of smoke above the foliage. There were men in the valley. But who? Shawnee or white men? He didn’t know of any from his own village who had come this way today, but you never knew. Could be a trader.

Or not. Stomach prickling, he circled the tree and looked for a place where he might observe in secret. The elders would want to know about white men.

The thick green foliage to his right suggested a stream. He wriggled into the lush wet stillness, stepping on ferns and slick beds of moss until he found the soft narrow trickle at its heart. Hidden from view, he descended until he heard voices and the clank of a metal object. He left the tiny channel and took refuge behind a large beech. Were there dogs? He slid around the tree.

A mule and three horses drank from the stream below. A kettle perched above a campfire. A large silver-bearded man entered Red Hawk’s field of view and attended the fire. Red Hawk sidestepped to a place behind a hawthorn patch and found a better view.

There didn’t seem to be any dogs. He heard voices again, and now he could see the speakers. Nearest him stood a young man with hair the color of the sun; he held an object with one hand, and with the other he grasped a tiny stick. A vague sense of familiarity brushed Red Hawk’s mind as he watched the man turn a leaf-like part of the object. A trader might have the sticks and leaves; perhaps that’s where he’d seen them before. Then Hair-Like-The-Sun put the leaves in his bag and motioned to the other men. Silver Beard, a massive man, stood watching as the others busied themselves.

One of the horses, a fine chestnut with a wide blaze, raised its head. Red Hawk shrank within himself. Horses could smell. Then it turned slightly and dipped its head again. He exhaled.

A rope clanked as two men struggled to draw it out.

Chains. So these were the chains he’d heard his father mention. He settled himself to watch and listen.

To purchase from Amazon, print, kindle, or audiobook:

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To pre-order The Heart of Courage:

https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Courage-French-Indian-Russells-ebook/dp/B08CBLQC3G/

 

About Lynne…

Lynne Tagawa is an author, editor, educator, and best of all, grandma to four. She loves to write quality fiction with solid gospel content. Her debut novel, A Twisted Strand, is contemporary romantic suspense, but she thinks she’s found a true home in historical fiction. The sequel to The Shenandoah Road is available in August, 2020.

 

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