"Eric Flint - TOG 02 - 1824, The Arkansas War" - читать интересную книгу автора (Flint Eric)

тАЬI imagine that most of the whites there, however, are simply settlers. No different, really, from any
western settlers. Scots-Irish in the main, of course.тАЭ

тАЬIтАЩd think theyтАЩd bridle at being ruled by blacks,тАЭ Monroe said.

The president was a very perceptive man, so the moment those words were spoken, his gaze moved to
Scott. тАЬAnd nowyouтАЩre smiling, General. Why?тАЭ

Scott coughed into his fist as a way of suppressing his amusement. тАЬYou have to be there to understand
the thing, Mr. President. Yes, itтАЩs true that most of the chiefsтАФtheyтАЩve adopted Cherokee
terminologyтАФare negroes. Still, theyтАЩre electedтАФand whites can vote also. They can run for office, as
well, and a disproportionate number of them get elected. Even the negroes in Arkansas are more likely to
vote for a white man, all other things being equal.

тАЬWhatтАЩs most important, however, is that theprincipal chiefтАФthatтАЩs their equivalent of what weтАЩd call
the governor of the stateтАФis Patrick Driscol. You canтАЩt even say he gets elected in a landslide, since
nobody ever runs against him.тАЭ

He coughed again, into a large fist. тАЬThey donтАЩt call him that, though, except the Cherokees and Creeks
who live in the province. Of whom, by the way, there are perhaps another five thousand. тАШPrincipal
chief,тАЩ I mean. I was quite entertained during the weeks I was there, I assure you, to discover that every
white or black man I encountered refers to Patrick Driscol as the Laird of Arkansas.тАЭ

The fist couldnтАЩt possibly suppress the grin that came then. тАЬNot to his face, of course.тАЭ

Adams smiled. Monroe, who knew Driscol personally, laughed aloud. тАЬI can imagine not!тАЭ

After the momentтАЩs humor was gone, Scott said: тАЬPerhaps you remember DriscolтАЩs young soldier, who
accompanied him everywhere he went during the war. McParland? The young deserter whose faked
execution I had Driscol stage, shortly before the Battle of the Chippewa?тАЭ

Monroe frowned slightly, dredging his memory. тАЬOh, yes. I remember him now. A country boy.тАЭ

Scott nodded. тАЬYes. From a poor family in upstate New York. Except none of them live in New York,
any longer. The entire familyтАФuncles, aunts, cousins, and allтАФpulled up stakes and moved to Arkansas
several years ago. And theyтАЩre no longer poor, either. TheyтАЩre rather prosperous; in fact, since they own
one of the furniture factories that Houston fostered in Fort of 98. Which, incidentally, has become
surrounded by quite a large town. More in the way of a small city, by now. There are a number of
advantages to moving to Arkansas, for a poor white settler, now that Driscol has established his rule
there. For one thing, thereтАЩs far less danger from Indian attacks, for obvious reasons.тАЭ

At MonroeтАЩs gesture, the general resumed his own seat. тАЬA large townтАФsoon, if not already, a small
cityтАФprotected by a powerful fortress, which holds the only gate to the rest of the Confederacy and the
Cherokee and Creek lands beyond. Driscol has nothing like the population of Lisbon that Wellington
had. But heтАЩs still got tens of thousands of men, and he designed those lines so troops could be moved
rapidly from one point to another along the high ground. Any invading army will get battered back and
forth as they march up the river valley, until they come to Fort of 98. He named it after the Irish rebellion,
you understand? The one that brought death to his father and brother, and exile to him. IтАЩve seen it at
close handтАФspent two days studying it, rather, inside and out. Please trust me when I say itтАЩs as