Tallahatchie River Bottom in Absalom, Absalom! (Location)

The pursuers chasing the runaway architect in Absalom! have traveled over "thirteen miles from Sutpen's camp" (197) when they finally overtake him at "a cave under the river bank" (177). Yoknapatawpha's two "rivers" are small by the usual measures, and elsewhere might be called streams or creeks. But Faulkner's use of the term "river" for them follows cultural practice. When this event is recalled in Requiem for a Nun, the river has been replaced by a "swamp" (33).