Okie LaDue
Scuffer is the humorous and emotional tale of a teenage boy { Josh} who grows up in the post Civil War era by following his Uncle Roger and his friend an aging mountain man{ Iko} into the mountains, Josh's talents is remembering and telling stories which he has heard or experienced he feels the mountains experience will help him fulfill his dream to become a writer.
During their time in the wilderness they experience finding and saving the life of a wolf puppy {Scuffer} who has extraordinary powers and is later preferred by the Indians as a ''Spirit Wolf '' Scuffers powers help them overcome difficult situations and assist all of them to develop a greater appreciation of what nature has to offer all that is willing to learn. Uncle Roger is truly an individual with a unique personality and Josh's emotional growth from boyhood to near manhood is perralleled by the readers pleasure in experienceing the adventures of the characters as the seasons and years progress. '
My name is Nancy Smith, I have taken Okie LaDue as my writers name.I was born in a small town called Claremore Oklahoma November 1 1948 into the clan of the Elwains. Many being firefighter's still to this day.
My gift is of telling short stories from the time I could remember with having dreams of becoming a writer of book's. It was difficult for me with only a seventh grade education, however I did not let that stop me.
Being a wife and a mother was full time and full feeling, finding myself content with my short stories until my children left home and my husband was lost to me from cancer.
The time left to me incurraged me to proceed with this novel after meeting someone that with his ways gave me the thoughts I needed to spin my imagination. A woodsman living in the present, yet having the wisdom and knowledge of the old ways and wishing he could be there.
Even though this is fictional many of the stories are true, some I saw as a child, some I heard and learned from him and by listening to wonderful stories told by others that were handed down from their forfathers.
I have begin writing another novel as a follow up to scuffer about Josh's son he named after old man Iko. At eight years of age little Iko gets lost during a bad storm and gets thrown into the land that was,
A mystical character that can turn himself into anything he wishes tells Iko he was sent from the mother of all, to help teach him how to survive as they work their way back into the land that is. The adventures one after the other are awesome, The name of that novel is IKO.
Scuffer felt this was a good time to start some havoc amongst them. As one of the braves that tended the fires would reach for a stick, Scuffer went to the wood pile, taking a stick in his jaws, he then took it over to the brave so as when he reached over, he had a stick placed in his hand before he touched one. The brave, looking back at the fire, saw nothing. He knew he was tired, but he also knew he didn't get to that stick before it came up and met his hand. Just as he knelt down thinking about what had just happened, Scuffer took another stick off the pile; and as the brave looked on, that stick seemed to have life of its own by going over to the fire and throwing itself into the flames.
"Ieeeeeeee!!" The braved screamed while he ran, yelling out that the fire sticks had life of their own. Everyone woke up wanting to know what was going on. The brave told them what he had just seen. They all looked over at the pile of sticks, then back at the fire.
"The sticks are not moving; they lay still. See." Everyone of the Indians stood around staring at that pile of sticks waiting to see one move.
Finally, Big Nose told the brave "You are tired. You're seeing things. Go to bed., Let another tend to the fires." The brave did as he was told, leaving another brave to take over.
Scuffer waited until he thought everyone was back to sleep, and when the second brave went to put more sticks on the fire, Scuffer did the same thing to him.
"Ieeeeeeeeeee!! Ieeeeeeee!!" The braved screamed as loud as he could. "Fire stick go to fire alone." Everyone came running again. After hearing the second brave say the same as the first, no one knew what to do; they looked around at each other. Now they were all spooked.
That's when scuffer picked up a tomahawk that was laying near the wood. Then, by holding it firmly in his jaw, he proceeded to jump up and down and sideways with it,making that tomhawk look like it was filled with a wicked life of its own. Scuffer had their attention now; indeed he did, as they still stood there in shock. He went over to the ponies that were already raising cane and proceeded to untie them one by one with his teeth, all the time making a slow hissing, growling sound that only they could hear. &n
