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Light a Distant Fire is a 1988 historical novel by Lucia St. Clair Robson. It is the story of the Second Seminole War, Andrew Jackson, and the charismatic leader Osceola. The Seminoles were an Indian people who never surrendered.

Excerpt from Light a Distant Fire

“I awoke facedown in the dirt.” Osceola pinched tobacco from a leather pouch worn soft as satin by his touch. He stuffed the pungent brown powder into the bowl of his pipe. Little Warrior held a sliver of pitch-pine in the flames until it ignited, then lit her father’s pipe with it.

“Then what happened?” When Little Warrior leaned forward, twin reflections of the fire’s light danced in her huge dark eyes.

“My grandson slept through the battle at the Fort, that’s what happened.” Fightin a Line shifted her bony haunches on the palm log radiating from the star-shaped fire. She squinted at the ruffle she was sewing onto a long calico skirt.

“A cold wind blew.” Osceola ignored his grandmother’s teasing. “But the smoke of the guns still hovered over the field. I heard the screams of Old Mad Jackson’s wounded blue-jackets.” He gazed into the flames and smiled sadly. “White men do not die well.

“I felt a sharp stone jabbing into my cheek.” Strange how one remembers the details, he thought. Even after memories of the great causes fade. “I tasted blood mixed with the dirt in my mouth. My head felt as though the stock of the blue-jacket’s musket had crushed it like a melon. My ankle was broken. It swelled until it throbbed against the lacing of my winter moccasins. My face, my hands, my chest, were crusted with blood.”

“Was the blood yours, Papa?” A frisson of dread passed through Little Warrior. …

External link

For Book Club Discussion Points, background information, and an excerpt, see author's website: Light a Distant Fire

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-'''''Light a Distant Fire''''' is a 1988 [[historical novel]] by [[Lucia St. Clair Robson]]. It is the story of the [[Second Seminole War]] and the charismatic leader [[Osceola]].  The Seminoles were an Indian people who never surrendered.
+'''''Light a Distant Fire''''' is a 1988 [[historical novel]] by [[Lucia St. Clair Robson]]. It is the story of the [[Second Seminole War]], [[Andrew Jackson]], and the charismatic leader [[Osceola]].  The [[Seminoles]] were an Indian people who never surrendered.
+===Excerpt from ''Light a Distant Fire''===
+:'' “I awoke facedown in the dirt.” Osceola pinched tobacco from a leather pouch worn soft as satin by his touch.  He stuffed the pungent brown powder into the bowl of his pipe.  Little Warrior held a sliver of pitch-pine in the flames until it ignited, then lit her father’s pipe with it. ''
+:'' “Then what happened?”  When Little Warrior leaned forward, twin reflections of the fire’s light danced in her huge dark eyes. ''
+:'' “My grandson slept through the battle at the Fort, that’s what happened.”  Fightin a Line shifted her bony haunches on the palm log radiating from the star-shaped fire.  She squinted at the ruffle she was sewing onto a long calico skirt. ''
+:'' “A cold wind blew.” Osceola ignored his grandmother’s teasing.  “But the smoke of the guns still hovered over the field.  I heard the screams of Old Mad Jackson’s wounded blue-jackets.”  He gazed into the flames and smiled sadly.  “White men do not die well. ''
+:'' “I felt a sharp stone jabbing into my cheek.”  Strange how one remembers the details, he thought.  Even after memories of the great causes fade.  “I tasted blood mixed with the dirt in my mouth.  My head felt as though the stock of the blue-jacket’s musket had crushed it like a melon.  My ankle was broken.  It swelled until it throbbed against the lacing of my winter moccasins.  My face, my hands, my chest, were crusted with blood.” ''
+:'' “Was the blood yours, Papa?” A frisson of dread passed through Little Warrior.  … ''