Indian Agency in Requiem for a Nun (Location)

Before Jefferson had a name, before it was even a village, it was a "Chickasaw agency trading post" - the place where the indigenous population of the region interacted with an agent appointed to represent the federal government in its dealings with them (3). It sells "calico and gunpowder, whiskey and salt and snuff and denim pants and osseous candy" to the Chickasaw Indians and their "Negro slaves," for which the U.S. government is billed (17). As the settlement grows, the agency becomes "Ratliffe's and Compson's general store," where the Indians buy "eastern factory-made jeans and shoes sold them on credit" (173). This "post-office-trading-post-store" contains at least two rooms, including the "back room" where the agency records were stored (3). It's likely that the agent also lived there.