03044cam a22003493u 4500 76105 UtSlPG 20260610134748.0 m cr n 260607r20251903utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 PS Craddock, Charles Egbert, 1850-1922 A spectre of power Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2025 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Release date is 2025-05-17 Peter Becker, Laura Natal and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) "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.) Originally published: Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1903 Adventure stories Frontier and pioneer life -- Fiction United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Fiction Indians of North America -- History -- Fiction https://archive.org/details/spectreofpower00cradiala https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76105 116830 116830