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Couch Quest Challenge #5

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“The Way Home”

Mississippi, circa 1810

Twenty-four days down the Ohio and Mississippi — cold mornings, hard current, and salt pork when we had it.
We came ashore just below the bluffs, sold the goods and the boat for coin, lost more than we meant to drinking and gambling under the hill, and took to the trail with nothing but the sound of the river fading behind us.
The path runs narrow and worn, pressed down by hooves and the steps of the Natives who walked it long before us.
We move single file now — just another group of Kaintucks making the trek back north.
Passed a stand this morning. The woman there served ashcake from the hearth and kept a musket by the door.
Later, a mound rose out of the woods — no sign, no name, just still earth and old silence.
Two Chickasaw riders watched from the trees. Said nothing. Didn’t need to.
They say this path was cut by deer, then by men.
Now it carries us, mile by mile, toward home.

Name the route they used.

SOLUTION: The Natchez Trace

This passage describes the journey of early 1800s boatmen known as Kaintucks, who floated goods down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to Natchez, then walked back north via the Natchez Trace. The trail was originally formed by animals and Native American footpaths, later used by traders and settlers. Key details like "under the hill" (a famous part of Natchez), Native presence, mounds, and frontier stands all point to this historic route.