"A spectre of power" by Charles Egbert Craddock is a novel written in the early 20th century. Set in the Cherokee town of Great Tellico during the colonial struggle for influence, it follows a French officer and a Choctaw chief as they court Cherokee alliance—and collide with local custom and personal jealousy. The key figures are the French lieutenant Laroche, the Choctaw ambassador Mingo Push-koosh, the Cherokee leader Moy Toy, and his
sister Akaluka (Eve), whose inadvertent acceptance of a gift sparks peril. Expect frontier statecraft, tense ceremonies, and a fragile balance between diplomacy and violence. The beginning of the story introduces a Choctaw embassy—accompanied by Laroche—to Tellico, where elaborate Cherokee rites, dances, and a bear-hunt pantomime mark their reception. Laroche’s true task is to solve a supply problem: the impassable shoals on the Cherokee River; when he cannot, he proposes “barrier towns” and an overland portage to make French trade and munitions flow. A public sensation erupts when Akaluka dives into the river to save a drifting scarf from the embassy cargo, which Push-koosh treats as acceptance of his suit under Cherokee custom. Laroche urges delaying any marriage for political prudence; Push-koosh, consumed by jealousy, coldly declares he would kill a Cherokee wife if the tribes become enemies. Warned by Laroche, Moy Toy and the chiefs return the scarf, but Push-koosh, affronted, destroys the French powder, raises the war-brand, and his party massacres unsuspecting Tellico youths before fleeing. The opening closes with Laroche abandoned and under guard in Tellico, facing the wrath of a grieving, enraged town. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Peter Becker, Laura Natal and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Reading Level
Reading ease score: 61.8 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.
