Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 29 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

Jamie and Willie notice smoke coming from the village as they get there. Immediately, they realize that something is wrong. Jamie certainly does. This isn’t the type of smoke he’s seen before.

He tells Willie to stay there until he returns. If he doesn’t get back by nightfall, Willie needs to ride to a cave behind a waterfall and then ride back to Fraser’s Ridge in the morning if he’s still not back. It’s clear that Jamie has no idea what to expect, but he makes sure that Willie is going to be safe—and gives him clear directions to get back to the Ridge.

When Jamie does get into the village, he realizes that this isn’t a group of people hastily leaving. There isn’t an attack. People are gathering their belongings and getting ready to leave.

That’s when Jamie gets a chance to speak to Nacognaweto. Nacognaweto asks Jamie if he’s seen Nayawenne and Gabrielle, although doesn’t use their names. Unless used in ceremonies, the use of their names is disrespectful and Jamie can work out who Nacognaweto means. I love that we get to hear Jamie’s thoughts about this, showing that he is respectful of this culture that he was initially so cautious about.

Jamie also notices that Nacognaweto is disappointed to hear that Jamie hasn’t seen the people he’s looking for. There’s sorrow in Nacognaweto’s face, and Nacognaweto explains that there’s been an outbreak of measles. Nacognaweto says that they’ve been cursed.

It’s the comment about the curse that stands out for me. Mueller had believed the Tuscarora people had put a hex on him. However, Nacognaweto’s comment about a curse won’t be from the white people. Nayawenne told Claire that sickness came from the gods. To Nacognaweto, the curse has come from the gods, and now he must lead his people away from the curse.

I love seeing the two cultures up against each other like this. The two men are saying the same thing, but they mean two completely different things.