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Wilderness Home
In 1794, moving meant starting over.

"Mary, it's a beautiful land! There's a big meadow, waist-deep in grass. The woods are thick with game. A sweet brook gurgles a few feet from our clearing." Despite his exciting news, Robert Franklin could not stay awake.

Mary's husband was exhausted. He had just completed a three month trek into the wilderness. The weather turned bone cold yesterday. The threat of heavy snow forced him to travel through the night. He had trudged through mountain passes and across forested valleys, non-stop, for thirty hours.

Mary adjusted the quilt on Robert's lanky frame as he slept in his rocking chair by the fireplace.

Mary observed his peaceful slumber in a flickering light from the cherry-red embers. At dawn, Mary knew he would be pacing the floor, like a caged animal. It usually took a week for Robert to settle into the confinement of cabin living. He needed space, miles of wilderness space, to be content.

Mary thought back to a hazy, stifling hot day in August, three months ago. They sat on the porch and talked about moving into the wilderness. Game was scarce around their home in Fincastle, Virginia. Soon, they'd be forced to scratch their living from the rocky soil. Mary knew Robert's strong dislike for farming.

Robert talked of a fertile new land called Tennessee. He'd been there twice on long hunts. He fondly described its wild beauty. Robert had heard that a trickle of families was squatting on the Eastern edge of this raw new land. Before long, that trickle would be a torrent. It was time to act!

Mary knew Robert had made up his mind. She wholeheartedly agreed. Ma was tired of just getting by on their meager resources. Starting over in the wilderness meant they could build a better life. Mary knew they would face hardships and dangers. Their new home would be an isolated island in an ocean of trees. Whatever happened, they could only depend on each other. Their closest neighbor might be fifty miles away. A round trip for supplies could take weeks. If anyone became ill, they'd have to rely on Mary's knowledge of medicinal herbs. If they couldn't grow or shoot enough food to survive, they'd go hungry. Yes, there were risks, but they were worth the prize.