Follow the River

Gretel, whom Mary calls Ghetel because of a misunderstanding due to her accent, is an elderly woman who acts as a foil for Mary in Follow the River. Her escalating loss of self-control during the return journey provides a contrast to Mary’s leadership and humanity throughout. Ghetel is of German origin and was living in Fort Duquesne, modern-day Pittsburgh, when she was captured by the Shawnee. She speaks limited English. Despite her age, she is strong, tough, and determined. When Mary first meets her, she “peer[s] with pale hazel eyes out through a lank, tangled mob of white and iron-gray hair” (87). She is missing most of her teeth, and Mary compares her appearance to that of “a braying ass” but concedes that “there [is] something formidable and even noble about her” (87). From the moment they meet, Ghetel is kind to Mary.

Maru and Ghetel are brought together when the French traders take them both to the Lick of the Giant Bones to gather salt. While there, they work together to forage for food and make baked goods to add variety to their meat-heavy diet. Mary learns that Ghetel is a talented cook. At the salt lick camp, Ghetel raises Mary’s spirits by talking about the food “she had made for her big family in the old country” (143).

Ghetel demonstrates that she trusts Mary, and she becomes just as determined to escape. However, while on their trek, she is far less stoic than Mary. She is very focused on food and grumbles when there is none available. She will go to great, sometimes absurd, lengths to get food, including playing dead to attempt to capture a buzzard. Initially, Ghetel and Mary take turns comforting each other, but as the journey goes on, Ghetel increasingly complains, and Mary takes the lead in providing comfort and encouragement. Eventually, Ghetel’s desire for food leads her to do the unthinkable: attempt to kill Mary in order to eat her. After this episode, however, Ghetel feels terrible and begs for Mary’s forgiveness. Her actions were not the mark of poor moral character but rather an indication of their desperate circumstances. When she is finally rescued, she is so emaciated that Adam Harmon thinks she has “the oldest, ugliest, most cadaverous face [he] ha[s] ever seen on a living body” (379).

Captain Wildcat is an antagonist in Follow the River. His characterization draws on stereotypes of Indigenous Americans. He is a tall, proud, and handsome Shawnee chieftain with a “powerful deep voice” from Kispokothas (16). He “carries himself with that same erect confidence Mary ha[s] noticed in Colonel Washington” (35). Wildcat speaks some limited English in addition to Shawnee. He leads the raid on Draper’s Meadow, and from this early episode, he is shown to be ruthless. For instance, during the raid, he decapitates a defenseless old man, Philip Barger, and leaves the man’s head with a nearby family as a warning to the other white settlers.

Over the course of his journey with the captive settlers back to the Shawnee town, he is also shown to be caring, as when he provides medicine to treat Bettie Draper’s broken arm. Wildcat admires Mary for her strength and dignity in the difficult circumstances, and he treats her with respect as a result. During their journey, Wildcat develops feelings for Mary, as shown when he looks at her in “some kind of thoughtful study” (76). When he asks Mary if she will come live with him in Kispokothas and she refuses, his pride is hurt. Although he raises her sons, he vows that he will “never again be so foolish as to want a white woman” (385). Wildcat remains determined to fight the British settlers throughout and is last seen in Follow the River lying in wait for Colonel Washington and his men.

Bettie is Mary’s young sister-in-law who is married to Johnny Draper. Bettie and Mary are close, especially because Mary midwifed Bettie’s firstborn child. She lives in Draper’s Meadow near Mary until the raid and is captured along with her. During the raid, Bettie’s newborn baby is horrifically killed, and she is shot in the arm. These events traumatize Bettie. Just as Ghetel is Mary’s foil during her return journey to Draper’s Meadow, Bettie is Mary’s foil during the outbound journey. Bettie’s complaints and lack of stoicism provide a contrast to show Mary’s leadership and dignity. When they are first captured, Bettie tells Mary that she believes she is “going to die” (34), and it falls to Mary to keep her spirits up and treat her wounds. While Bettie does her best, she complains at some points, as when the mosquitos in the woods “‘drive [her] mad” (48). However, like Ghetel, Bettie does help Mary, particularly when Mary is giving birth. She also has the presence of mind to help keep the baby calm when Mary and Bettie are tied up in the Shawnee village.

Bettie is eventually sold to a middle-aged Shawnee man, and she and Mary are separated. In 1761, after several years in captivity, her husband, Johnny, finally locates her and pays her ransom. Being taken from her family, witnessing the death of her infant child, and living with the Shawnee have changed her. Upon her return, Bettie “[looks] permanently hard and sad, but she [is] very sentimental and [weeps] easily, often for no apparent reason” (396).