Long-Ago Stories of the Eastern Cherokee (7 page)

BOOK: Long-Ago Stories of the Eastern Cherokee
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Many times the soldiers would use their bayonets to move the people down the trail. One small family had been rounded up and was moving down the trail. The family's leader was an old man named Tsali. His wife, Wiloni, was old and couldn't move very fast. The soldiers used their bayonets to keep her moving faster. The family spoke to each other in Cherokee, which the soldiers didn't understand. They decided that farther on down the trail, they would give a signal and then would jump the soldiers and take their weapons. Farther down the trail the signal was given and the family turned on the soldiers. In the struggle, one of the soldiers was shot and killed. Tsali and his family grabbed the soldier's weapons and fled into the mountains.

General Winfield Scott was responsible for moving the Cherokee out West. When he heard that a soldier had been killed by the Cherokee, he sent word to our tribal council, telling them that if Tsali and his family did not come in and give themselves up to be executed, all of the Cherokee who were hiding in the mountains would be shot on sight as “outlaws.” The tribal council sent word to Tsali to come in.

Tsali brought his family in. His youngest son was taken aside because of his age. The rest of his family was lined up and the soldiers lined up Cherokee warriors opposite them. Soldiers put weapons in the hands of the warriors and they were forced to shoot Tsali and his family. This was to show the Cherokee that they could not stand against the might of the U.S. government. The removal of the Cherokee had begun.

Our elders realized they would never see their beloved homelands again, and some of them just lay down and died. The family would move off to the side and dig a shallow grave as best they could with their hands and sharpened sticks. They would then pile stones high on top of the grave. This would protect it from animals and make it easier to find. They hoped one day to come back, find the grave and put a proper marker on it.

In the heat of that summer, and the snow and ice of that winter, four thousand of my people—nearly a quarter of the entire Cherokee Nation—died and were buried in nameless graves. We call it the “Trail Where They Cried.”

You know it as the “Trail of Tears.”

W
HY
THE
T
URKEY
G
OBBLES

Now, the Turkey had heard the Grouse give his good yell in the ballgame, and the Turkey wanted to have a good yell like the Grouse. So he went to the Grouse and asked the Grouse to teach him how to yell.

The Grouse agreed, but he said, “You have to give me something if you want me to teach you.”

Turkey said, “Well, what do you want?”

And the Grouse said, “Give me some of your feathers.”

Turkey gave him some feathers, and the Grouse put them around his neck, and then he started teaching the Turkey his yell.

Every morning they would get together and practice the Turkey's yell. Finally, the Turkey felt that he was ready. So, the Grouse went through the valley telling all the animals to listen the next morning. Early the next morning, the Turkey and the Grouse went up on a ridge. The Grouse jumped up on a hollow log and beat his wings against it to get everybody's attention. Then, Turkey jumped up on the log, cleared his throat and took a deep breath. He was so excited because he knew that everybody was listening.

But he couldn't yell, and all that came out was, “Gobble, gobble, gobble.”

That's why the Turkey gobbles. The Grouse kept the Turkey's feathers and they form a ring around his neck to this day.

W
HY
THE
T
ERRAPIN
's S
HELL
IS
C
RACKED

The Possum and the Terrapin met to hunt for food. They went through the forest searching for food. They found a persimmon tree that was heavy with fruit. The Possum climbed the tree to reach the fruit. Then the Possum selected a fruit for himself and tossed another down to the waiting Terrapin. After a while the Possum would not even look down when he dropped the fruit. He knew the Terrapin would take his time getting to the fruit on the ground. The Terrapin would always thank him for dropping the fruit down to him.

Then Possum realized he hadn't heard Terrapin thank him for a while. He looked down and there was a big Wolf standing over the Terrapin. When Possum pulled off another fruit and dropped it, the Wolf quickly grabbed it before it hit the ground. He would then stand over Terrapin and wait for another. Terrapin was not saying anything because the big Wolf could crush his shell with his jaws.

Possum moved to another branch as he thought how he could help Terrapin. He grabbed another fruit and dropped it. The Wolf dashed over and snatched it out of the air. Possum now knew what he would do. He kept dropping fruit as he searched the tree. Finally, he saw a large green persimmon. He pulled it loose and dropped it. The Wolf dashed over and snatched this out of the air also, but this green one was too large and lodged in his throat. The Wolf tried to dislodge the persimmon but he had been too greedy and tried to swallow before he realized how large it was. The persimmon choked the Wolf to death.

The Terrapin waited until he was sure the Wolf was dead. Then he took out his knife and cut off the Wolf's ears. He dried and shaped them so he could use them as spoons. He put a hole in them, ran a thong through the hole and put the thong around his neck. That was how he carried the wolf's ears around with him.

It was the custom among the people in those days to put gruel out beside the door for anyone to eat if they were hungry. The Terrapin came to a home and decided to eat. He used the Wolf's ear as a spoon. People saw this and started talking. The Terrapin had killed a Wolf! The Terrapin continued on and soon he came to another home. Word had spread faster then the Terrapin could walk.

These people had heard the story and wanted to see for themselves if it was true, so they invited the Terrapin to eat. He took the ears from around his neck and used them once more as a spoon. The people watched in amazement. It was true! Word was spreading before the Terrapin had finished eating. In a little while, Terrapin was full. He thanked the people and started on his way.

By this time, word had reached the Wolves. They called the pack together with their howls. When all of the pack had gathered, they were told what had happened. They all set out through the forest to seek revenge on the Terrapin for killing a member of their pack.

The Terrapin knew when he heard the howling that the pack was gathering to seek revenge on him. He started out as fast as he could go to find safety. It wasn't long before the Wolves picked up his trail. Their howls were not far away. The Terrapin came to the edge of a high cliff with a river far below. He could hear the Wolves rushing through the forest. As the Wolves burst out of the forest they saw the Terrapin and their snarls made his blood run cold. They would tear him to pieces! He had to choose: wait for the Wolves to tear him apart or take his chances with the cliff.

Terrapin jumped off the edge of the cliff. The Wolves dashed to the edge of the cliff and watched silently as the Terrapin fell into the river. The impact was so great that the Terrapin's shell was broken into many pieces. As the Terrapin sank under the waters, he sang a medicine song that pulled his shell back together and mended it. He sank to the bottom of the river and started walking. He slowly walked out of the river on the other side. His shell showed where it had been pulled back together and healed. You can still see where it was healed to this day.

U
KTENA

The Cherokee fought many battles with the Shawano. In one battle, they caught a great Shawano medicine man. His name was “the Groundhog's mother.” The Cherokee tied him up and were getting ready to torture him. The Shawano begged for his life and told the Cherokee that if they would spare his life, he would get the great crystal of the Uktena.

The crystal was in the forehead of the great Uktena serpent. If a medicine man could get the crystal, it would make him the greatest medicine man ever known. But to meet the Uktena meant that the person would die. The Cherokee told the Shawano about this. He laughed and said that he was not afraid. His medicine was strong! They told him they would spare his life if he would bring back the crystal. The Shawano quickly agreed.

The Uktena was a great serpent and would wait in ambush in remote and hidden places. Uktena had learned that the Cherokee would use the mountain gaps to travel from valley to valley. He would select the darkest gaps with many places to hide and he would wait for them there. The Cherokee told the Shawano about the Uktena's ambushes.

The Shawano went to the northern border of Cherokee country. There, he found a great Blacksnake that was larger than any that had ever been seen before. He said, “Hah! You are too small!” And he continued searching.

He went to another gap, and there he found a great Moccasin Snake—the largest anyone had seen. But when people asked him about it later, he said it had been too small to notice.

At another gap he found a Green Snake, and he called the people to come see the pretty Green Snake. When they got to the gap, they saw a huge Green Snake with coils that overflowed the gap. They ran away in terror.

At another gap he found a great Lizard, but it was not what he wanted so he paid it no attention.

He traveled south, and at the Frog Place he found a great Frog sitting in the gap. When the people came to see it, again they ran away in terror. He laughed at them for running away from a Frog and continued on.

At other places he found great monsters of all kinds, but they were not what he was looking for and he continued searching. He went to the Leech Place on the Hiwassee and thought that the Uktena might be hiding in the deep pool. He dived into the waters and great Fish would rush at him and turn away. He saw many other monsters under the water, but they were not what he was looking for so he came out of the water and continued to the south. Finally, he found the Uktena asleep on a mountain.

Quietly, he took a deep breath and silently ran down the side of the mountain as far as he could go on the one breath. When he stopped, he made a big circle of pine cones. Inside of this circle, he dug a trench. He set fire to the pine cones and went back up the mountain.

The Uktena was still asleep when he returned. He drew back his arrow and sent it flying into the seventh spot back from the Uktena's giant head. This is where the Uktena's heart is located. The Uktena looked around and saw the Shawano running down the mountain. Uktena started after him, the crystal in his forehead flashing. The Shawano ran down the mountainside, jumped over the burning pine cones and cleared the trench. He quickly lay down inside the circle of fire. The Uktena didn't get far; the arrow had pierced his heart and he was dying. He threw his coils around, spitting his poison all over the mountain.

The poison couldn't get past the circle of fire—it would hiss and sputter as it hit the fire. But one small drop got inside the circle and hit the Shawano in the forehead. He didn't know it had landed on him. The Uktena's blood was pouring from its wound. The blood was also poisonous and flowed down the mountain. The trench stopped the blood before it got to the Shawano and he was safe. In its dying struggles, the Uktena knocked down trees and flattened bushes all around him. Slowly, it rolled down the mountain until it came to rest at the bottom. The Shawano called in all of the Birds to feast on the Uktena, and then he left. The Birds ate everything.

Seven days passed before the Shawano returned to the place where the Uktena had died. He came at night. The Birds had cleaned everything up. As he looked around, he saw something sparkling in the bushes. He went over to it. It was the great crystal of the Uktena. He knew the crystal would make him the greatest medicine man the tribes had ever known. He wrapped it up and took it with him.

As he traveled back to the village, he met many people. They all had heard of his travels and were anxious to hear of his adventures. When they saw him, they all were astonished. Where the small drop of the Uktena's poison had landed on his forehead a small snake was now hanging. The people never told him about it. As long as he lived, he never knew the snake was there.

W
OUNDED
K
NEE

In the late 1800s, Indian tribes across the United States had been gathered together on reservations. For a people who were used to traveling where they wanted, when they wanted, for as long as they wanted this caused a lot of anger. They were told, “You will live on this piece of land and when you want something to eat, you will go see the Indian agent and he will give you something to eat.” Many times they had never eaten the type of food they got from the Indian agent. There was a lot of anger and resentment among the tribes.

Then, one day, a Paiute holy man named Wovoka had a vision. When he awoke, he called his people together. He told them he had been shown that if they did a special dance, the Buffalo would come back, the white man would disappear and all those who had died from the bullets and disease of the white man would come back again.

BOOK: Long-Ago Stories of the Eastern Cherokee
8.4Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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