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Book Review of Hannah Fowler

Hannah Fowler
Hannah Fowler
Author: Janice Holt Giles
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Hardcover
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She was big womanâ"browned by the sun and sturdy. And she was alone. When the man spoke she was startled, more surprised than scared, for she had not heard his approach to the spring in this Kentucky wilderness.

So begins the story of Hannah Moore and Tice Fowler. It is a story of man meets woman, man marries woman, then they fall in love and live happily ever after. Of course, along the way their path is marked by triumphs and hard times.

Tice discovered that Hannah was not truly alone; her father lay injured in a camp nearby. Both of them used all the remedies they knew, slippery elm and fat meat, but could not save Samuel. After burying him in an unmarked grave, Tice took Hannah to Ben Logan's fort, near his own land, where she was welcomed. Single men around the fort were especially glad to meet this new woman. In a short time Hannah, desperate to escape the clutter and clatter of the fort and the attentions of her suitors, asked Tice to marry her and take her to his own place. He did.

Proving a claim, building a house, growing enough to feed themselves and their stock required unending work. But in many ways that came easier to Hannah than adjusting to her new life as Tice's wife. Within the next two years she birthed a lively daughter, Jane, and the family thrived despite hardships like the harsh winter of 1779.

One day while Tice and Jane visited neighbors some miles away Hannah worked contently at her loom. Suddenly something made her turn her head, only to find two Indians standing within the door. She remembered Tice's telling her that the natives respected bravery so she tried not to show her fear; the tactic worked. With the homestead burning behind her Hannah set off with her captors. Thoughts of the child she was carrying strengthened her as they traveled northward to the Ohio River. On the fourth day the younger man left to hunt buffalo, leaving behind the tired Shawnee and Hannah in a rock shelter. She seized her opportunity while the old one slept, killed him and escaped.

Hannah's re-union with Tice and Jane was a joyous one. Although they faced rebuilding their home Hannah's captivity and the strong possibility that she might be killed made both Hannah and Tice realize how much each meant to the other. Together they could face the future and work on providing a good life on their Kentucky farm.