Chapter Seven

  7.




     The crew camped at a nice bubbling spring on the river, the run was clear and cold all the way down to the Esteenhatchee, and the horses loved it.  They were happy to be out, breathing the fresh air, doing things.  It was easy to see.
     Johnny came up on Danny Smith as the cook was putting pots and pans together for supper. 
     "The Captain said I was going to learn about surveying," said Johnny, trying to strike up conversation.  "What do you think about that Danny?  Did you ever want to learn about surveying?"
     "Haha, like it or not, we'll all be surveyors soon my friend, you'll even be rustlin' up your own grub on some days when I am stuck outside pullin' chain and tape! Surveyin' is a verrrry involved situation," he said sitchy-ayshun, "But one thing I will tell you now, the quicker the better!  You'll hear all sorts of laws and rules about surveyin', this is Danny Smiths Number One and always will be: "The Quicker The Better!"
     Johnny came away from that conversation with new perceptions, and his perceptions continued to expand, one might even say exponentially.  If he thought the time went fast before, he was in for a big surprise, because the next six months went by like weeks, and the three months after that went even faster.  He kept a running account on paper which he then sent to Nancy as the chance presented itself.  She was able to get mail back to him by either addressing the place where he had sent his from, or by addressing him directly care of the survey unit, or, best, both of those together.
     Johnny remembered that first night out from Esteenhatchee, he would always remember it, like as not, the large campfire, the beginning of the real work.  The drinks leftover from town, the instruction.  It was March 31 1838. 
     The Captain began.
     "The only reason this survey is being attempted...again...is because theres been three dry years with a strong prevailing western wind, a drying wind, and this will be the fourth dry summer, I hope.  This survey could not happen otherwise.  The first time it was tried it was a failure, it was not possible because even the high ground was flooded by heavy rains.  Now I am going to ask some questions and Ben is going to give the answers, and lets hope he gets them right or we are all in a fix!
      There was laughter.  This was one of the ways the Captain taught the lessons necessary for surveyors to learn the art, and make no mistake, it was pure art, almost sorcery.
     Captain: What is the greatest barrier to good surveying?
     Ben: Human Error.
     Captain: Then what is the most important function of the surveyor, other than the mechanical work of using the compass and pulling the tape and sighting the levels and viewing devices?
     Ben: The most important job of the surveyor is to be able to calculate error, even after double measurements are taken, and to take all precautions possible to log all measurements with no error.
     This went on for about a quarter hour.  Sometimes the Captain asked a question from another man, a question he had already asked Ben.  This made it more interesting, kind of like a contest.  The men took it in, especially Johnny.  He was interested.
     Finally from the Captain:
     I want everyone to know something.  I have recently had the misfortune to learn that I truly HATE losing my men.  The reason for this pathetic realization is of course born of the fact that I have lost two men in the last week!  Before this trip I had never lost a man, ever, now two.  Yes, I find that I truly HATE LOSING MY MEN!!"
     He yelled the last at the top of his voice.  Everyone jumped.  The men were alarmed to see the Captain was shaking, and his eyes watered. 
     "So," the Captain began again, in a normal voice, "I will have no more of it, do you understand me?  No More Deaths!"  He shook his finger at all of them like he was scolding.   "For the rest of your lives I will be there for you if you need me, because the men I serve with are like my brothers, and when I lose my men its like I am losing brothers.  Do you understand?"
     Everyone was very surprised by this outburst, wide eyed, nodding their heads, yes yes we understand and we AGREE.
     Then Chuck Stevens, the cooks assistant, spoke up.  He was the very opposite of the Captain as far as the rank spectrum was concerned, but he was a part of the group like they all were.  Its the only way it can be and really work.
     "You dont have to worry about Holloway Captain, it weren't your fault, I saw the whole thing.  As soon as we got to the river I could tell he had fell in love with the place.  He never wanted to leave.  So he didn't.  The Fairys took him Captain, simple as that.  They gave him his wish.  Sometimes they do that, if the love is strong enough.  He'll never have to leave that place, not ever, he's one of them now.  I seen ever last bit of it happen with my very own eyes."
     He was nodding at all the men gathered around, and it was hard not to at least believe his conviction.  Johnny had a special sympathy for these sentiments.  He too had fallen in love there, and would be going back just as soon as he could.  Fire light danced on their faces.
    "Thank you Chuck, thanks," said the Captain, ever the gentleman. He was in tune with the spirit of the statement if not the actuality.  Brothers for real.
     It was way past bedtime, and mornings were going to come earlier and earlier for the foreseeable future.  Soon the men were all snoring except for the rotating guard whose duty lasted four hours.  Johnny was glad he was clear of it tonight, but every third night he pulled it, and that was just a fact of life.  He dreamed of Nancy, and their time to come.

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     A week out from Esteenhatchee found them all looking for a cairn left behind by Matthews survey crew the last time this was tried, 7 years ago.  The land was flat and dry for as far as the eye could see.  That was good, very good. There was a road of sorts, just dirt, that ran through the prairie and its tall grasses, and that too ran off to the horizon, heading east.
     The monument was not hidden but then it was not glaring in its presence either, surveyors tried to make them inobtrusive, though fairly easy to locate for those with a need.   Eventually it was found, and everything began.  The work moved fast here, most times measurements could be taken with very little preparation needed.  The Captains lantern burned late in the cooks tent, as, night after night, he went over the notes of the day, annotating, calculating, diagramming.  This was the real surveying, and though Ben Grierson was picking some of it up, the math, it was strictly unofficial support to help the Captain better accomplish what he did.
     As spring wound into summer the sun stayed in the sky longer every day, and every day there was still a lot more work to be done at the end.  Johnny learned all he could, starting with brush work, which was clearing a path for the tape or sighting level, and leveling ground for monuments.  His machete and his shovel became part of himself as he worked, they were extensions of his body.  He wielded them with authority by time it was over, and from there ever after. 
     Everyone had taken to wearing light under shirts or no shirts at all, and some even cut off pants into shorts, just wearing socks and boots and shorts.  Everyone got much darker in their skin and Johnny wondered to himself what made him so different from the rest of the brown people.  He knew about that though, Grandpa had explained it to him at length. 
     "Why do European people conquer and pillage?  Because they can," he would say with a wry grin.  "They don't know any better, and they don't feel the need to learn.  Its all about an invention, an advantage called the gun, which was really pirated from the Chinese, who do not have the innate urge to conquer and pillage.   European peoples rationale has alway been this:  if we don't do it to them they'll do it to us.  Fear and paranoia as religion."  Johnny felt there was more to it, but couldn't figure it, hoping that enlightenment would come with age.
     All of surveying was hard labor, but he enjoyed it. Their Cadastral survey was dictated by a new government agency and there was massive strictness to it.  They were doing a long boundary swath west to southeast from Esteenhatchee to Devils Garden, 25 miles, then south to Thonotosassa, another 90 miles.  Thonotosassa was a big lake north of Tampa, the Indian word meant Lake of Stone, or Stone Lake.  Johnny thought that sounded very interesting.  He was right again, but it would take awhile before he would find out.   .  
     These boundary swaths being surveyed were 6 miles wide, and they were cut into pieces 6 miles long, thereby delineating a legal boundary for township grids which would later extend all ways, east and west, north and south, until the water, or the states boundaries.  Each township would be 6 miles square.  Later these would be further divided into sections.  This was being done for many reasons, one main reason being the sale of land.   When it was time for Johnny to learn the chains and tapes he did so with a will, too.  He had to learn a whole new language then, with different pronunciations than he was used to, because it was very easy for the note taker, usually the Captain or Ben, to misinterpret what was said.  The note taker always repeated a reading, and as often as possible in another manner than the manner it was given, in an effort to overcome this repetitive error that was common among all surveyors.  There are many very common errors in surveying.
     The days sped by.  They started visiting Devils Garden about a month or five weeks out of Esteenhatchee.  They were too far away to camp around it yet, but on the weekly single day off anyone who wanted to ride in the wagon with the Captain could visit the store, and Johnny was always up for it.  Just as he knew many people of Esteenhatchee, the Captain also knew the store owner at Devils Garden.  The store owners name was Billy Sawgrass, and he was 1/2 Seminole and one half United States Senator.  His parents never married, but were on good terms still, even though his father the Senator was away most of the time.  The old man loved his son and arranged for him to be well off, propertied.  Billy Sawgrass had been good friends with Matthew Gilmour since their school days.  At one of the colleges they had roomed together.  They were involved in activities that had to do with the fair treatment of the indians and the slaves, but Johnny didn't get too much of that.  They kept to themselves about it, and if thats what they wanted it was ok by John Prestwick.   He was not exactly forthcoming about most of his future plans either.  He figured the time would come where talk would be good, but not yet. 
     On his first trip to the store with the Captain, Johnny asked Billy Sawgrass if there was a post office nearby, and Billy said he was going to see the postmaster tomorrow, does anyone else have mail?  This began Johnnys letter sending and receiving, and it was fairly regular during the survey groups stay at Devils Garden.  It took 2 or 3 weeks for a letter to get to Nancy, and another 2 or 3 weeks for a letter to get back.  Seeing as the full time spent around Devils Garden was something between 11 and 12 weeks, Johnny was able to send 3 and receive 2 letters.  The address he sent her mail to was one of her former schoolmates, a friend since childhood.
     After Devils Garden the mail would not be as reliable, he was sure, but only for a short time.  After Devils Garden it happened anywhere it was possible, and in some places where it wasn't.  Once Johnny gave one of his letters to a military detachment on its way to a Fort over by Saint Augustine.  That letter moved faster than any of the rest for some reason.
     Some of the insects Johnny saw around Devils Garden gave him a pretty good idea where the name came from. Big hardshelled things, beetles, and giant locust the size of his boot toe.  It wasn't until later that he discovered a lot of these were eaten by the indians, and considered delicacies.  Johnny did not think he would ever partake, but to each his own.   There were a lot of snakes, too, big ones.  Eagles and hawks killed the snakes on a regular basis, and many a night at sunset he watched a big bird of prey carry off its twisting dinner.   What a really odd place this is, he thought.


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      It was the second letter from Nancy that got Johnny counting the days more closely.  It was almost June and in that letter she confided that she knew she was pregnant.  She said she was too happy for words, and Johnny was too.  In fact Johnny felt like doing back flips, like he used to see some of the performers at the state fair do, but ever the practical one he also knew he would probably hurt himself and that would do no one any good.  It felt very strange, the idea of being a father.  He never really knew his real father, so how would he act?  Would he do all right?  He thought it best to copy his Grandfathers examples whenever possible, and that was sound reasoning. The more he thought about it the more he warmed to it.  A part of him had expected it all along.  No one knew yet except them, and thats how Nancy wanted it to remain for as long as possible.  It obviously would not remain that way forever, but until it was absolutely necessary it would be best for all involved if things went on as they were.  Johnny agreed, and he was thankful she was with family or he would be worried to distraction.  It was bad enough as it was, but he could handle the stress knowing she was home, with her people.  
     As he wrote these letters he found within himself an expressiveness he had not known.  It seemed very important that he be able to describe things correctly, and in interesting ways.  Sometimes though the pen seemed to have a life of its own, the flow was uncontrollable, especially when he was describing things that impressed him.   He told the Captain about that, an interesting phenomenon, like a loss of time, a lapse.  Matthew said that was a higher self writing, he said we are made of many parts all alive on different levels, different planes, and maybe some levels cease to exist sometimes, but new ones are always created.  There are many other places where these parts of us live, and they are always alive somewhere, the whole self never dies.
     For her part Nancy had taken to writing about what it felt like to be pregnant.   Her body was changing radically.  Being part of her body her mind underwent changes too.  This was therapy, she said, the writing.  A purging of thoughts, making them real, tools to think better with. Truthfully, this time of communication with the pen was one of the things that strengthened them most.  They became fans of each other.  In spite of distance, their love expanded and grew deeper, they knew each other far better than if they had not experienced it.  Both would always consider the time a blessing.  Some things would not even require spoken words in the future they were building.


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     The surveyors had finally cleared the long corner of Devils Garden, and were heading south.  They were too far away even to ride back to it on the day off, having already gone 40 of the 90 miles to the lake called Thonotosassa.   The longest day of the year had passed again.  Now the nights were getting longer, and the nights were getting cool too, changes welcomed by all.  The western breeze remained constant.  The end was not in sight yet, but there was light from the end of the tunnel. Things were rolling along, and the Captain was pleased.  The men worked well together.
     Shane Paruche and Johnny worked together a lot, mostly by virtue of their experience in surveying, which was nil, or had started out that way.  They had been assigned like tasks because they had like knowledge.  Together they got a lot of work done.  Johnny got along fine with Shane, and the feeling was mutual.  They found they had some common experiences in other places, and while together they joked and laughed a lot.  Shane loved a good joke, and it seemed if someone else told one, it would remind him of another, and these things could go on for quite some time, especially around camp fires. 
     One day while they were working Shane asked Johnny did he know why there was always an empty chair by the casket at a funeral.
     Johnny said that was for Rigor Mortis to set in.
     "Oh you heard that one."
     "Uh-huh."

    

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Letter entry
September 10 1838

     My Dearest Johnny,
     I am happy to read that you have received my letters, it gives me confidence to see the post office so efficient. 
     It is as I thought and as I want, I am carrying our child, and you have made me happy beyond words.  There came a time, recently, where hiding the change in myself was not possible, so I confided in my Aunt Emily, who seemed disconcerted at first, but then became quite happy about the whole state of affairs.  She told me not to worry, she would intercede and explain everything to my father, her brother.
     Well, what a row that turned into!  Like a coward I hid nearby while Aunt Emily went to have a talk with Dad.  It got quiet then I heard a bang and a bellow, and though I was scared I was more concerned for Aunt Emily.  I made to go out and confront things myself.  I found out later the bang was his hand coming down on the table.  He yelled:
     "I KNEW it would happen one day, damn the government and its fort."
      Things got quiet again. I could hear Aunt Em entreating.  Next he cried:
     "Under my roof! Then:  "Another mouth to feed". 
      I could stand no more and stormed in and confronted him.  I told him you were returning and we were to be wed, to which he gave a snarling sneer.  Then he laughed openly, at ME, as if I was the dumbest little critter on the world.  I'd had enough.  This was the time I'd saved the gold bars for, clearly.  I went and got 4 of them.
     Laying them in front of him on the kitchen table, I told him that not only would this care for the baby but also take care of a large part of the debt incurred during mothers illness, and my betrothed has asked that it be used for just that! 
     Father became quiet all of a sudden.   After a few minutes introspection, then inspection of the gold bars, he said gruffly, "I suppose I will meet this man soon enough then." 
    Looking directly at me for the first time since the fracas commenced, he said:  "I hope its a boy."
     The Nerve of that man.
     I told him in no uncertain terms that even if it wasn't a boy, there would be more, many more, so eventually he was bound to get his wish. 




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Letter entry
October 4 1838

     Beloved,
     I have receipt of your letter dated September 10 1838.   I have never been happier than I am right now.  It is wonderful news.  I wish every day I was with you, but I know that every day brings us closer.  The time is moving fast here, as I am sure it is moving fast for you.  Please take good care of yourself.  The closer you come to delivery time, the more you must relax and take things as they come.  There is no good in struggling, nothing to be gained by fighting your body.  Know that I am with you always.  I love you.  Johnny.



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      When Johnny told the Captain, the Captain said:
     "Well you don't waste any time do you?"
     "Not Ever," came Johnnys reply.
     They were alone in the cooks tent and the Captain had his papers and tools of mathematics spread all over the table.  Everyone knew you could catch the Captain at this time, but everybody also knew it was best to let the Captain do his work, unless something of high importance needed addressing. 
      Matthew Gilmour reached into his satchel and withdrew a sealed bottle of whiskey, the last bottle of whiskey he'd saved from Esteenhatchee, and he made a toast:
     "To John and Nancy Prestwick of Esteenhatchee Florida, may they and theirs live long and prosper forever."
     Johnny said hear here, and they drank.
     "So you'll be leaving the service when your enlistments up?" asked the Captain.
     Johnny said that was the plan.
     The Captain said he would not argue against that plan, it sounded like the best possible plan, "And once you get settled in Esteenhatchee, I would like you to do me a favor or two."
      Johnny said he would be honored.
     "First, go to the boatyard, and find an old fellow there with long white hair and a long white beard, his name is..."
     "Martin." Johnny interjected.
     "You know Martin?" 
     Johnny explained about his two hour visit with Martin on his second day of leave.  "Martin gave me the full run down at the boatyard, I think I might pursue work there eventually."
     "Yes, John, that you might.   I have a place out on the water, not too awful far from the island we visited that night.  I want you to look in on my house every once in awhile, write to me and let me know what you see.  I am still 4 years from leaving the military, according to my personal plan, and it will be a great relief to know the place is being checked ever so often.  I will draw you a map, you will find it easily enough with a map.  I was going to say you will have to get with Martin about using the skiff, and I will write him a letter that you can take with you and give him.  Once you are settled there, and we begin writing, I may ask another thing or two, along these same lines.  As well, I know some things about the area, how it will grow, and I'll let you in on that.  Mayhaps we can partner in business, after all the smoke clears, and I return."
      John Prestwick thought that would be very good.
      Its great when plans come together.
      

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Letter Entry
November 20 1838

     Dearest Nancy,
     Lately I find myself thinking of you at the strangest times, which is not to say they are strange thoughts, they just happen willy nilly, with no rhyme or reason.  I'll be doing something, even concentrating, then there you are.  I wonder if these are the times you are thinking of me, and in some odd way we are communicating.  Captain Gilmour, who you will meet someday, believes that not only are things like that possible, but a real basis of the the way we are.   He says somewhere along the line we lost our true vitality, and its up to us to get it back.  Matthew is exceptional, and will be our close friend and ally in the years to come.  He is preparing a recommendation for me to the boatyard there at Esteenhatchee, and it looks like employment may begin as soon as I can process out of the military.  Once that is done and I am free of government rules, I will come with all possible speed to your side and never leave again. The survey is nearly complete, and we will be on our way to Fort Brooke Tampa within a week or ten days.



Letter Entry
December 1 1838

     Johnny,
     You are in my thoughts more and more, almost always.  I try to imagine where you are, what it looks like, to see it through your eyes.  I miss you so.  It will not be long before the baby comes, and it is a lively baby, kicking and moving around all the time.  Aunt Em says thats a good sign.  I eat like a horse.  I will ask Em to mail this letter on the day the baby is born, so that you may know as quickly as possible the things we are all wondering about. 


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     The land changed, slowly at first, then more quickly.  There were a lot of hills now, making measurements more difficult, and there were many trees.  Big fat large trees in all the wrong places.  The going was slow, but the men were always busy.  Time raced.  The schedule was beginning to wear on them, and at night they trudged back to their camp like the walking dead, to eat quickly, and then sleep.   The Captain worked late into the night, every night.  Everyone knew that this would not be over until there was no more work to do, so they doubled and tripled their duties and got things done.
     Finally, on Thanksgiving day, they made Thonotosassa, and the surveying itself was over.     
     "Well, that ones done, anyways," said Danny Smith to Johnny, who were on their way in from taking final measurements, "All except the cryin' that is...Oh boo-hoo, the surveyin' is only over for a few months, then we gotta do it again.  It weren't as quick as I like it, but quick enough.  For a first timer you did a heck of a job, and I'm proud a'ya."
     Once camp was made it became vacation time for the men, because the Captain needed at least a week, he said, to work on his papers, to make his survey presentable.  Ben helped him, but most of the work was the Captains. 
    The men were quite happy to let the Captain do what he needed to do.  They tramped about through the lushness that surrounded the lake even in winter time, getting to know the few small buildings that were Thonotosassa.  The biggest building by far was the town bar, and the men frequented the place off and on.  The food was nowhere near as good as Cooeys, so Barbarian BBQ stayed the order of the day.  Everybody was now good at BBQ, and knew their way around the cooks tent just fine, because Danny Smiths prophesy had come true. There really were many nights when he was out late, "Pullin' chain and tape", because, believe it or not, other than Ben Grierson, and the Captain, he was the most experienced surveyor on the crew, and by a long shot.  He did a lot of training, and had a way about him that Shane Paruche, and Johnny, and Chuck Stevens knew well and liked.
     "We should make sure 'n go loaded into that little slough we come through on the way here,"  Danny Smith said to Johnny and Shane as they drank beer at the bar. He meant loaded guns.  "Theys turkeys in there or my name ant Danny Smith."
      They had left Chuck Stevens sleeping peacefully in his bunk, figuring he needed his beauty rest, a lot.  
      Everyone had a drink of beer.  Soon it would be time to get back to camp.  The bartender came along and struck up conversation, for what it was worth. 
     "You fellas stayin' around long? he asked, fishing.  He was a tall old bald man with large ears and drooping eyes.  His apron was reasonably clean, and he habitually wiped the bar with a clean white rag.  He already knew they were at the end of a land survey, but none of the details.
     Johnny thought it was pretty bad when the bartender was lonely.
     "Not any longer than we have to sir," said Shane Paruche.  "Should be out of town by this time next week, at the latest. 
     "Oh." said the bartender.  You could almost see the wheels running behind his eyes as he did the math.  "So where to next?" he asked.  This guy was practically starving for conversation.
     Johnny said: "Fort Brooke, and then I will be a short timer.  There won't be any more surveying for me."
     "You didn't say!" said Danny Smith, "You are a rascal Johnny Prestwick!"
     "Well, you haven't even heard the best of it yet," replied Johnny.  He had their attention now, and the bar tender was listening so closely he hardly breathed.
     "I'm going to be a father in a matter of weeks from now.  The baby will be born out of wedlock, but he or she can attend their own parents wedding, not everyone can say that."
     There was bedlam, Danny was slapping him on the back, Shane was shaking his hand so hard it hurt, and the bartender beamed, as if he just knew there was a gold nugget of gossip here somewhere, and like a treasure hunter he had sought it out and FOUND the gold nugget!