I was inspired to write this novel after reading James Alexander Thom's wonderful book called "Panther in the Sky." In it, I became attracted by the wisdom of Tecumseh’s sister, Tecumapese, meaning Star Watcher. Married to a Shawnee, Thom taught me about the basically gentle women and the fiercely protective Shawnee men. The well-known Indian interpreter for the British, Simon Girty, married Catharine Malott after rescuing her from the Shawnee where she had lived for four years.
Out of the facts, I learned in this book and others about Simon Girty, I saw the possibility of looking at how the two women, Tecumapese and Catharine, could have met. I read about how the fearful circumstances, brought about by the fighting over land, affected these two women at the crossroads of Canadian and American history. This novel shows how both women from different cultures coped, as they ran from the American Long Knives and lost loved ones in one of the many skirmishes, all while providing a home, food and healing for their families. Because native women usually moved with the warriors at special times, I imagined Catharine meeting Tecumapese in 1812 on the banks of the Detroit River. They were able to keep in touch through Simon Girty’s frequent trips south to take messages to the Shawnee and other helpful native tribes. I came to respect these women for their faith, wisdom and inner strength.
Out of the facts, I learned in this book and others about Simon Girty, I saw the possibility of looking at how the two women, Tecumapese and Catharine, could have met. I read about how the fearful circumstances, brought about by the fighting over land, affected these two women at the crossroads of Canadian and American history. This novel shows how both women from different cultures coped, as they ran from the American Long Knives and lost loved ones in one of the many skirmishes, all while providing a home, food and healing for their families. Because native women usually moved with the warriors at special times, I imagined Catharine meeting Tecumapese in 1812 on the banks of the Detroit River. They were able to keep in touch through Simon Girty’s frequent trips south to take messages to the Shawnee and other helpful native tribes. I came to respect these women for their faith, wisdom and inner strength.
