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The Adventures of Cherokee

Page 1

by Nancy Johnson




  Volume II

  THE ADVENTURES OF

  CHEROKEE

  by

  Gramma ‘Cilla

  © Copyright 2005 Nancy Johnson.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

  Note for Librarians: A cataloguing record for this book is available from Library and Archives Canada at www.collectionscanada.ca/amicus/index-e.html

  ISBN 1-4120-3460-4

  Offices in Canada, USA, Ireland and UK

  This book was published on-demand in cooperation with Trafford Publishing. On-demand publishing is a unique process and service of making a book available for retail sale to the public taking advantage of on-demand manufacturing and Internet marketing. On-demand publishing includes promotions, retail sales, manufacturing, order fulfilment, accounting and collecting royalties on behalf of the author.

  Book sales for North America and international:

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  phone 250 383 6864 (toll-free 1 888 232 4444)

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  10 9 8 7 6 5 4

  Contents

  -1- Captured

  -2- No Escape

  -3- Moving West

  -4- The Bar B Ranch

  -5- A Big Mistake

  -6- U Tso Nati

  -7- Indians

  -8- A Thanksgiving Feast

  -9- The Great Mississippi River

  -10- A New Land

  -11-

  -12- A New Experience

  -13- Shadow Words

  -14- Tso Tsi Da Na Wa, The Enemy

  -15- O Gi Na Li I, Old Friend

  Bibliography

  COVER BY:

  Andre’ K. Kalufanya

  Graphic Artist

  Jacksonville, Florida

  kalufanyak@yahoo.com

  THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO

  Zoo-chow-wanagi-mee-o-soo

  Snake Brother Spirit Guardian

  So named by his grandmother,

  the youngest daughter of Chief Joseph

  of the Nez Perce Indians

  This man has been invaluable

  with his assistance

  in Cherokee and Nez Perce Indian

  terminology and names

  He has guided me through Indian ways

  and

  proof read all the material

  Thank You Maynard Cox

  for allowing me to call you

  FRIEND

  THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN

  Roaring... soaring

  Rumbling free;

  Hoof beats thunder on the mountain side.

  Spirits set free

  On life’s great ride.

  Tiffany Irvine

  BOOK CHARACTERS

  Bobby Knight

  Owner of Bar B Ranch, Nashboro, TN

  Cherokee (CHAI R-o-KEY)

  The main character and pinto stalllon

  Dancing Eagle

  Chickasaw Indian Chief

  Dancing Shadow

  Cherokee’s mother and lead mare

  Flying Hawk

  Cherokee’s father and herd stalllon

  Grandfather

  Former patriarch of the herd, who is now with his ancestors in the stars

  J. D.

  Bar B Ranch foreman part Cherokee

  Little Sister

  Cherokee’s sister

  Marty and Johnnie

  Cowboys from the Bar B Ranch

  Natas (na-TAS)

  Large red roan stalllon that Cherokee and Sunee meet after crossing the Mississippi River

  Sunee (Sue-KNEE)

  Cherokee’s best friend

  Unaca (ooo-NA-kahh-white horse)

  Sunee’s mother

  Yellow Bird

  Sunee’s sister

  Kangi ta (Kangi-TA)

  Cherokee and Sunee’s son

  Too hool zoout (wo HOOL ZOO-t)

  Cherokee and Sunee’s second son-Name means Thunder on the Mountain’ in Nez Perce

  Tsa tsi

  Cherokee’s human Indian friend

  DEFINITION OF TERMS/NAMES

  A NI SI DI

  PLACE TO LIE DOWN

  AS GA YA GALUN LATI

  GOD

  A U NO LIGO SO

  PARTNERSHIP

  A WI NA

  YOUNG MAN

  DALAHA

  WOODPECKER

  DE WA

  FLYING SQUIRREL

  DI NI TLA WA

  TWINS

  ETSI

  MOTHER

  HA WA

  ALRIGHT

  NUNNE HI

  FRIENDLY SPIRIT

  O GI NAI I

  OLD FRIEND

  SASA

  GOOSE

  TA LI

  TWO

  TIV DA TSI

  PANTHER

  TS O TSI DA NA WA

  ENEMY

  U TSO NATI

  RATTLESNAKE

  WA DO

  THANK YOU

  WA LE LU

  HUMMINGBIRD

  -1-

  Captured

  Dancing Shadow raised her head, ears up, her body tense. She searched the meadow and surrounding area, looking for Cherokee, her son. She spotted young colts playing too far from the herd, and even though it was a peaceful day, she began to worry. The other mares, instincts not as fine tuned as Dancing Shadow’s, were grazing on the fall grasses or drinking from the river. Flying Hawk, the herd stallion, was not in sight.

&
nbsp; Suddenly she heard the thunder of hooves and the yells and whistles of Man! Dancing Shadow snorted an alarm! Tossing her head, she neighed a warning. But it was too late! There were many men. The wild horses were quickly circled on three sides and driven at a hard gallop away from the river, down the valley toward the west. There was no time for the mares to look for their colts or save themselves. The men continued to push the wild ones faster and faster, yelling, whooping and waving their hats and lariats, driving them in a frenzy. After many miles the men slowed their mounts and let all the horses stop for a breather. It was evening. The sun had slipped beneath the horizon and it was time to rest. Some of the cowboys dismounted, ground tied their horses and looked over the group of mares and colts.

  “Nice bunch of horses,” said one man.

  “Yep,” said another. “Didn’t we see a couple of two year olds yesterday?”

  “I thought there was. Let’s keep on the lookout for ‘em. They might just come lookin’ for their kin. There’s a big chocolate stallion that stays close, too.”

  The two year old horses in question were Cherokee, a chocolate and white pinto stallion, 16 hands (a hand being 4 inches) at the shoulder,

  and Sunee, a tall buckskin mountain filly who was his friend. The chocolate stallion was Cherokee’s father, Flying Hawk, the leader of the herd.

  “Marty, you and Johnnie take first watch, while the rest of us fix coffee, beans and biscuits and take care of our horses,” suggested J.D.

  “Right,” said Marty.

  As Marty and Johnnie remounted, the other men unsaddled their horses, hobbled them and set up camp for the night.

  Marty rode a tight circle around the frightened colts and their mothers, whistling a soft mournful tune; Johnnie rode in the opposite direction, causing them to meet once each time around. The colts had found their mothers. Some were nursing; some were standing quietly beneath their mother’s necks; some were stretched out full length on the ground, getting a well needed rest.

  In three hours, J.D. and another cowboy relieved Marty and Johnnie, so they could rest their horses and get some coffee and supper, too.

  The two tired young men looked first to the care of their horses, then put their saddles next to the fire, ready for sleep. As soon as supper was finished, they leaned back onto their saddles and closed their eyes.

  J.D. was head wrangler on this trip. He was part Cherokee Indian and grew up on his daddy’s farm in southwest Tennessee. The farm was small, their cash crop tobacco. But horses were his main love. J.D. had learned of the Bar B ranch north of Nashboro, early in life and wanted to work there. The owner was well known and the fact that he gentled animals instead of breaking them was a plus in J.D.’s book. He’d been working for the Bar B now for five years and was here in fact, after wild horses, hoping to add a few brood mares to the ranch, and perhaps a young stallion for new blood.

  J.D. had been awake for hours watching the herd and mentally selecting what he thought to be the best animals. Before the sun came up, just as the sky was beginning to get light, he woke the cowboys.

  “Saddle up, boys. Time to rise and shine. Got to get these horses back to the ranch as soon as we can.”

  Although it was just breaking daylight, the wild horses were awake and fearful. They had never been this far west and could not imagine what was happening to them. They could hear the men stirring and smell the smoke from the fires and the acrid odor of the coffee the men drank.

  Soon one man and horse rode in front of them, trotting slowly. The rest of the men circled them again, gently moving their lariats to and fro at the side of their horses, forcing the horses to move in the direction the men wanted them to go. One black colt made a dash for freedom, but was soon chased back by two men on fast horses.

  The sun was especially warm and bright on the day the herd was captured. Cherokee and Sunee had gone for a run up the Sequatchie Valley, near the Cumberland Plateau in middle Tennessee. The herd had chosen this place as their new home a year before when the terrible winter snows had come, causing hardship for them all and the loss of one of their own.

  They loved to run side by side, sometimes racing, sometimesjust enjoying the wind blowing their manes and tails and the exhilaration of a beautiful day. They stopped to catch their breath and take a drink in the river.

  Sunee’s mane and tail flowed long and black. All four of her legs from the knees down were sooty black. There was a wide white blaze on her face spaced evenly between two beautiful brown eyes. Only weeks older than Cherokee, she felt responsible for guiding him in the way of Asga ya galun Latí. They had many disagreements while growing up, but Sunee was able to maintain a friendship with him that would last a lifetime.

  Although very beautiful, Cherokee had a scar on his right shoulder the image of three raven feathers. Two of the feathers represented a danger or problem overcome; times that represented the beginning of growing up for the colt. The first was earned when he fell into a fast moving stream, trying to get a drink of water and was struck in the shoulder by a big log. This experience led him to Tsa tsi, a 5 year old Cherokee Indian boy, his first human contact. He received the second while with his father, Flying Hawk. They were in a cave trying to get back to the wild horse herd when Cherokee slipped on ice and fell onto a ledge. The third appeared miraculously without incident or cause, actually splitting from the second. Why a raven feather?

  Everyone knows that before Grandmother Moon and Stars, the raven represented a decree of change.

  The raven has patience in his heart

  It will not always stay but sometimes depart.

  When sharing his feathers with one in need

  That one will grow as the Spirit leads.

  Cherokee and Sunee had been foaled two summers ago, making this fall and winter their third. They had played games together, listened to Grandfather’s stories together and were best friends; although when younger, Cherokee seemed to be in trouble all the time, while Sunee had wisdom beyond her years. Even so, they gained a u no ligo so, a partnership, early in life.

  Grandfather was the patriarch of the herd to which these horses belonged. He loved being a storyteller to the young colts for these many, many years, but recently traveled to the land of his ancestors, the stars in the night sky. In one of his stories, Grandfather taught them that when the Earth began, Asga ya galun Latí made all of the animals and then he made Man. He asked that the horse make a promise to Man to carry him where he needed to go and be kind to him. So the horse did. Asga ya galun Latí meant well, but He forgot to ask Man to make a promise to be kind to the horse. He meant for Man to be the supporter of the horse, and horse, the transporter of Man. So, as you know, some men are kind and some men are not so kind to animals.

  The Great Spirit gave Horse direction

  To help all humans in need,

  To be strong, brave and friendly,

  And always remain a devoted steed.

  Cherokee and Sunee were adults now, free and wild, but responsibilities came with growing up. Sunee enjoyed staying with the herd, helping to care for the younger colts; Cherokee guarded and protected the herd from a distance and explored the world of the Great Spirit. Cherokee had been taken by his father at an early age so he could learn the things he would need to know to become the leader of the herd. His father told him he would soon be ready for that responsibility.

  “Sunee? I have something to ask you,” said Cherokee.

  “Yes, Cherokee, what is it?”

  “I need to follow the sun as far as I can go and... “

  “But we do not know how far that is, or what danger is there!” interrupted Sunee.

  “I cannot let that stop me. I am strong and fast. I have learned well from Father and Grandfather.”

  “Flying Hawk trained you to be our next leader, Cherokee. What about your responsibilities here?”


  “Flying Hawk will be here for many years. My experiences could help to improve my ability to lead the herd.”

  “You would be alone, away from the protection of the herd.”

  “Stallions live alone, protecting their herds from danger, never seen except for brief times when they come to visit their families.”

  “Then you have made up your mind?” Sunee asked sadly.

  “Yes, Sunee, I have.”

  “I will miss you,” she sighed.

  “There is something else, Sunee,” said Cherokee.

  “What is that?” she asked.

  “I want you to go with me. We have a u no ligo so, a partnership. Will you be my partner and go with me?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered. “I need to think about it and talk with e tsi, my mother, Unaca. Will you wait for me to decide?”

  “For a while,” answered Cherokee. “But we must be leaving soon before the snows come. We will follow unfamiliar trails and cannot be sure of grazing and water.”

  “Alright,” said Sunee. “I will think about it, and with my mother’s help I will decide what is best for me to do.”

  Together they galloped back toward the herd, comfortable in each other’s company, but more thoughtful than when they had started out.

  They were still a mile from the horses when they heard shouts and yells of Man and many horses running. The two young horses looked at each other and galloped up the last rise. Looking down they saw many men racing toward their herd, running on three sides, driving the horses and colts at a dead run down the valley.

 

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