FICTION STORIES

By Jeannette Holland Austin

The following stories represent the pioneer days of early settlers. They are based on historical facts during colonial days in America. Follow these stories as written by the author.

I. Bermuda Hundred

With the plummeting of the fortunes of old English estates, many sons had reached the end of the hierarchy. Those persons sold everything they owned and established themselves in the wild virgin lands of Virginia, where the promise of acreage was based upon the number of servants brought with them. During the 1650s, the profitable production of tobacco drove new settlers into the region. John Laurence was such a man.

John Laurence awoke in a dark bedroom of the ancient English estate recently bequeathed to his eldest brother. The estate had been sorely neglected during his father's last illness. But now, his brother, as the Earl of Laurence, was enroute from London to take possession and make repairs. The vast space between the floor and high ceilings whistled with spigots of cold, airy spots inside an unfinished room. That morning, he dressed without the help of Dondi, an old family servant. One glance in a rusty mirror afforded him an ill view of his tangled, thinning hair.

His dreams had been unsettling, especially after selling all his possessions to pay for a voyage to the Virginia Colony. The brother, after marrying a granddaughter of the duchess of York, had gained title and wealth--yet, he neglected to offer family assistance. John Laurence and Dondi, his father's only servant, were alone and at his father's bedside when he died.

He glanced about the dusty rooms of the old mansion as his wife, Mary, joined them in the drawing room. "My brother and I grew up here," he said, "but that day is gone forever."

"Never mind, dear, I heard that there are thousands of acres, and that the land is fertile and rich in wealth."

But his worries dissipated when the vessel's captain first ported to Belfast, where many Scotch-Irish lads were boarded. Herein was the opportunity to acquire indentured servants to plant his crops for a term of seven years. The captain, anxious to collect his profit for selling off the peasants, agreed that the muster would invest 1250 acres in John Laurence, who would pay for fifteen Scottish lads. Laurence eyeballed a conspicuously muscular Scottish lad with strong arms and hands, a square jaw, and a full head of salty ginger-colored hair.

"Where is that lad from?" He asked the captain.

"Scottish Highlands."

The handsome young Scot asserted himself by stepping forward. He wore a long coat with plain sleeves made of green and red plaid cloth, which flowed to the knees and flapped open in the front, revealing a basket-hilt sword. Other clan members aboard the ship wore belted plaids with the upper part pulled over the shoulders, concealing an assortment of sheathed dirks.

"Who are you?" Laurence asked.

The lad spoke up. "I am Mohr Hauk of Kell."

"Are all of these lads from your clan?" Hauk answered. "Fifteen is all that's left of us, sir, after the sheep farmers took our farms."

to be continued ---