Chapter 15

That done, I turned to the building of an oh-ee-hay-yea-dee-pee, or what James called a necessary. He would expect one, and in truth, I had become accustomed to the white man’s way of eliminating the body’s wastes. I was not yet absolutely convinced defecating in a smelly, enclosed place was healthy, but it was certainly convenient, especially during the long winter months.

I studied the trees and bushes beside Turtle Crick and determined from the bend of the blackberry bushes and scrub oak that gusts tended to blow in from the west, whereas the taller pines tended to lean to the south. Fortuitous, because that dictated downwind was also downstream. Satisfied with my choice of locations I began the arduous process of excavating a pit armed with only a long-handled shovel for digging and a tomahawk for chopping. This proved to be a difficult and time-consuming task that ate away the morning.