Pushing the Bear: A Novel of the Trail of Tears

Throughout this chapter, the soldiers continue to force the Cherokee people to walk through Tennessee. They are expected to walk “more than ten miles a day” to reach Oklahoma in four to five months (83). However, the harsh conditions sap their endurance, destroy their supplies, and cause many deaths as each day passes. During this time, Maritole loses her mother and her child, and her marriage begins to disintegrate. Maritole and Knobowtee are easily angered by each other, and Maritole feels abandoned by Knobowtee because he spends most of the journey with his mother, brother, and sister. Knobowtee worries that Maritole does not fulfill her role as a wife, and he hits her when she speaks to Sergeant Williams. As time goes on, Maritole and Sergeant Williams continue to learn each other’s languages and develop a friendship of sorts. Tanner, who will have to care for Maritole if Knobowtee abandons her, gets angry with Knobowtee and claims that he only married her to obtain her cabin and land. Tanner also worries that Knobowtee’s Creek ancestry creates a rift in his sister’s marriage because of Maritole and Knobowtee’s different cultural beliefs.