"Wabbish country"?

[asterroc]

I've been reading the Alvin Maker series by Orson Scott Card, and he keeps referring to a region of the US as "Wabbish country". Any clue where he means? I mean, New England's a real place in our reality, and it's not too hard to figure out where he means by "Appalacia", but "Wabbish"? I'm guessing the upper-Midwest, but if anyone knows better, let me know.

Comments

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

He mentions the "Hio River" (which made me think Ohio, but other things point towards Ohio being part of or near to the region of "Appalachie"), and there's also the "Hatrack River" (which I believe is made up). The "Missipi River" is described as being a long ways away, but Philadelphia isn't impossibly far. Taking a look at a map now, the Ohio River does run into the Mississippi River, so it could be that "Wabbish" is KY, TN, OH, IL that sort of area and west-ish, and "Appalachie" is between Wabbish and the coast (which is referred to as the "Crown Colonies").

The alternate history of the series is an interesting one. For example, George Washington at first fought the war of independence on the side of the Brits, then was convinced (I think by Ben Franklin, I've lost track a bit) to turn sides. So Washington released all his soldiers from their oaths so they could go over to the Americans, but Washington voluntarily submitted himself to the gallows as a traitor. Nearly everyone in America has little bits of magic such as hexes, and many people have more talent in what's known as a "knack." But only some have large amounts of talent and are called Makers, like Ben Franklin and the main character of the series, Alvin, who's supposed to be modeled after Joseph Smith (founder of Mormonism, and Card's a Mormon).