Tallahatchie River Bottom in "Red Leaves" (Location)

During his flight from the Choctaws the enslaved protagonist of the story moves back and forth along the "creek bottom" - the terrain on the south bank of the river beside the Indians' plantation (331). The landscape is defined by its swampiness, including "sloughs" that are deep enough to swim in (334), and dense "undergrowth" that includes "pawpaw thickets" (331).