The Kentucky Cycle

The Kentucky Cycle Summary | Play One, Masters of the Trade Summary

The play and the cycle open with a prologue: a narrator setting the scene in the wilds of Kentucky in 1775.

Earl Tod, a Scottish trader, appears, sits by his fire and starts to doze. He looks up suddenly when he hears a noise offstage. As he reaches carefully for his rifle, he calls out in Cherokee. When there's no response he tries English, threatening whoever is in the woods with death if he doesn't come out immediately.

Michael Rowen, an Irish trader, steps out of the forest with his hands in the air. He asks to sit by the fire and have a bite to eat, since he's been on the run "after all that terrible trouble at Zion." Rowen explains that a wild animal spooked his horse, and while he was getting away himself he sprained his anke. He says he's been wandering ever since. When Tod invites him to sit, Rowen limps over to warm himself. Tod cracks him with the butt of his gun, and when Rowen falls Tod searches his body. Tod finds only a small knife, and Tod tosses a canteen and a leather sack of food onto the ground. As Rowen recovers, Tod explains that he can't be too careful, especially not when there are renegade Indians around.

Tod says he saw a group of Indians heading northwest a week before, and Rowen replies that they are the band that attacked Zion, a small town that was wiped out a few days before. Rowen says that although he escaped because of an accident with his horse, he did witness the whole attack, including the murders of his wife and children. Tod sympathizes, and Rowen prays briefly that the murdered people rest in peace. Rowen then offers to repay Tod's hospitality with a little liquor, the only thing he has. When Rowen reaches into his pocket Tod points his gun at him. Rowen freezes and then carefully pulls out a flask of liquor. The two men toast each other's health.

Rowen talks about how strange it was to see Indians with guns, but he says it was bound to happen. "One man's profit is just another man's dead wife," he says. Tod offers him a few supplies and directions for getting to the nearest town. When Rowen asks if he's a trader, Tod tells him it's none of his business but then admits he is in trade but only enough to him in what he needs. Rowen asks what brought Tod to Kentucky. Tod says room and quiet, and Rowen responds with the comment that it's a new land where men, like himself, are arriving as servants but becoming their own men when their masters suddenly die.

As the men laugh at this, Rowen asks whether Tod worries about sharing his land with the Indians. Tod says he and the Indians leave each other alone. Rowen suggests that Tod and the Indians have an understanding, or a deal, and then asks in Cherokee where the rifles are. When Tod pretends to not understand, Rowen reminds him that he spoke Cherokee earlier and asks again where the rifles are. Tod nervously starts pacing, and Rowen asks whether the rifles used in the massacre at Zion came from Tod. When Tod readies his rifle, there's a noise in the woods. Tod fires, and Rowen screams out a warning. A shot is fired from the woods, and Tod falls dead.

A young man comes out of the forest and hits Tod's body repeatedly with his fist, calling Tod names and accusing him of killing his family. Rowen slaps the young man until he calms down, telling the man that his shot probably alerted Indians from miles around. When the young man goes into the woods to get his and Rowen's packs, Rowen searches Tod's body and the rest of the campsite, looking for something but getting frustrated when he doesn't find it. He does find a gold pocket watch, which he puts in his own pocket.

The young man returns with the packs and asks why Rowen is so angry. Rowen tells him that he can't find any weapons or supplies. He pulls out a blanket from one of the packs, thinks for a second and tells the young man to cover Tod's body with it. He asks the young man what he's got left for supplies, but before he can answer a group of Cherokee warriors appears.

Taskwan, one of the warriors, interprets for Dragging Canoe, the leader who always speaks in Cherokee, and asks where Tod is. When Rowen greets the warriors in Cherokee, Taskwan switches to English, which surprises Rowen. The Indians discover that Tod is dead, and Dragging Canoe tells the warriors to kill the white men.

Rowen quickly negotiates a deal. He gives the Indians the gunpowder and shot in the young man's pack, throws in the blankets, and promises that there will be much more of the same. They negotiate an agreement, but as they are about to shake hands, Taskwan states that Tod "was a brother to [his] people, and his blood debt is unpaid." After a moment, Rowen understands Taskwan's meaning, whips out his knife, and stabs the young man in the stomach.

Taskwan and Rowen shake hands. Before Rowen lets go of Taskwan's hand, though, he asks for land. At first Taskwan and the Indians say that the land can belong to no-one, but when Rowen says he'll take his chances, Taskwan tells him the land is cursed because the Indians will hunt there but will not live there. Taskwan and the warriors collect the supplies, including the blankets, and leave.

The young man moans, asks for water and then asks whether he's going to die. Rowen tells him he probably is, but Rowen reassures him that there will be revenge for Zion. Rowen says the blankets he gave the Indians have been infected with smallpox, which will decimate them. As the young man dies, Rowen tells him the sun's coming up, and he welcomes the new day.