Swamp by Tallahatchie River in "Red Leaves" (Location)

While all the land along the river is swampy, this is the place which the narrative refers to as "the swamp" (333). It is where "the Negro" takes refuge, and probably where he is bitten by a "cottonmouth moccasin" (338). It is small enough for the Indians to "form a circle" around it, and that is how they finally capture him (337). It's interesting to think about how close in Faulkner's imagination this location is to the "cave under the river back" in Absalom! that is "thirteen miles from Sutpen's camp" where the pursuers finally overtake that other antebellum fugitive, the French architect (197). We can only speculate, but if the architect runs west, the two places are probably close.