“Yes, yours and Sunee’s.”
“Sunee’s?”
“Yes. Sunee prayed, too. She prayed, as you did, not for safety, but for you to receive wisdom to do the right thing. Because you said your prayers and said them properly, I am able to help you. When you get up in the morning, travel up the river away from the boats and men and their wagons. You will see three logs partly in the water and partly on the land. There will be small animals and birds living in them. It is at this place you will cross.”
“And we will be safe?”
“It is a safe place to begin. You must use your strength and wisdom to guide you once you enter the water.”
Cherokee closed his eyes for a moment to think. Then he opened them and said, “Thank you Grandfather, for talking with me.” But Grandfather had disappeared. Cherokee did not sleep anymore that night.
-9-
The Great Mississippi River
Cherokee heard the first faint sounds of the men as they began to stir in the camp below. He nuzzled Sunee awake. She stood, shook dead leaves and grass from her thick winter hair and side by side they walked to the river for a drink.
“Are we going to watch the boats today, Cherokee?” she asked.
“No,” he answered her. “We are going to swim across ourselves.”
Her heart beat a little faster and she asked, “Right here? Where the men are crossing?”
“No,” he said softly. “Follow me. I will show you.”
Silently they walked north, up the river for about two hours.
Finally, Sunee asked, “Cherokee, where are we going? How do you know where we should cross?”
“Trust me, Sunee,” he said. “I will tell you soon enough.”
As the horses continued to walk Cherokee kept a close watch on the river bank.
“How much farther?” asked Sunee.
“Here,” said Cherokee as he spotted the logs Grandfather had told him about. “Grandfather said to cross here where the three logs are.”
“Grandfather? But he went to the land of his ancestors,” answered Sunee.
“Grandfather came to me in a dream last night.” explained Cherokee. “He told me that you and I both prayed the right words to Asga ya galun Lati and Grandfather was used as the answer to our prayer. He told me first where to cross.”
“Then what do we do?” asked Sunee.
“I am not sure. I believe that the wisdom to do the right thing will come when we need it,” said Cherokee.
Cherokee lowered his head and sniffed the water. He took a tentative step into it and then another. It was cold. Sunee’s eyes widened with fear. She was usually the brave one, but the river was so wide, she could not see the other side. On this day she depended completely on Cherokee.
“Come on,” said Cherokee.
Sunee walked slowly into the river. Soon the water was up to her knees. Then it was touching her belly.
“Cherokee, wait for me.” she called.
“You are alright, Sunee,” answered Cherokee. “I believe that I should go ahead of you to be sure everything is safe. Just follow behind me and go where I go.”
The water was nearly up to Cherokee’s shoulders. Suddenly his feet no longer touched bottom. He began to swim with strong, sure strokes.
“Don’t be afraid, Sunee,” said Cherokee over his shoulder. “Just swim and follow me.”
Cherokee swam straight and sure, even though he could not see the distant banks, either. Sunee followed. She was still frightened. Her eyes showed white with fear. She was silent as she followed the young stallion.
They had been swimming about 45 minutes when Cherokee felt something press against him, gently shoving him to the right. For a moment he fought against it. Then he thought it might be Grandfather, and allowed the direction correction. Almost immediately he saw a sand bar sticking out of the river. Upon reaching it, he climbed out of the water and shook himself. Sunee followed his example.
“I was getting tired,” said Sunee.
“Did you see anyone swimming with us?” asked Cherokee.
“No,” she answered. “Was there someone there?”
“I thought I felt something or someone push me toward this sandbar,” he said. “Perhaps it was Grandfather.”
“Perhaps,” answered Sunee, “I didn’t see anyone, but I am glad to rest a while. Do you think it’s going to be much farther?”
They gazed on across the expanse of river they still had to swim. Then they looked back to the shore they had so recently left.
“I am not sure,” said Cherokee, “But I think if we try hard and use our strength we will make it soon.”
“Could we rest just a while longer?” asked Sunee.
“Yes, but not too long. There is no food to eat and we will need to find shelter on the other side before it gets too cold. Besides, this sand seems to be moving.”
The two horses rested for an hour and then Cherokee led the mare down into the cold water once again. The water became deep so quickly that they had to swim right away. But Sunee felt better and not so afraid. She followed Cherokee with a willing heart. She could feel her heart pumping as her legs moved rhythmically in the deep water. In order to take her mind off the great distance, she began to think of her mother, Unaca, and her sister, Yellow Bird. She wondered what they were doing and if they were alright. She thought about running through the meadows with Cherokee in the beautiful sunshine, mane and tail flying.
Cherokee turned to see how Sunee was doing. Her nose was just dropping below the water.
“Sunee!” shouted Cherokee.
Sunee came up out of the water all the way to her shoulders. Then she sank back down again. Coughing and sputtering she regained control of her swimming. Looking up she discovered that she had drifted far south of Cherokee as her mind wandered. With great effort she headed back toward him. Because the water was so strong, she could not get all the way back.
“Cherokee. What should I do?” she called.
“Swim toward the bank,” he replied. “I will meet you.”
Sunee did not let her mind wander again.
The horses were very tired. Just when Cherokee thought he could not swim another stroke, his hooves touched bottom. Mud sucked at his feet, causing him to take slow steps and pull out each hoof one at a time. As soon as he lifted one hoof, the other three sank into the mud. Sunee was having the same trouble. Bodies trembling with fatigue, they reached the west bank of the Mississippi River. It was with great difficulty that they waded through the thick, sticky mud, attempting to reach land.
“Stay away!” said a voice.
Startled, the two tired horses looked up to see a large, red stallion facing them.
“We have just crossed the river and we are cold and wet and tired,” said Cherokee. “Why can’t we come on land?”
“Because I say so,” said the horse in a very loud voice.
“But we mean you no harm,” said Sunee wearily. “Please let us come out of the water.”
“No!” thundered the big red horse.
Cherokee closed his eyes and prayed quickly, “Grandfather, we cannot stay much longer in this cold water. Sunee needs rest and food. Can you help us?”
Suddenly the earth began to quake. The trees on the hill shuddered and began to fall. Even the rocks trembled and began to roll down hill. The big red horse rolled his eyes and tossed his head as great cracks opened up in the earth. The Mississippi River seemed to froth and boil. Then it began to run backward.
The red stallion turned and ran away. Never had he seen such a thing. Cherokee and Sunee were lifted up and out of the muddy water and gently put on a dry grassy knoll. The danger was over. Forever after this time would be remembered as, “The season of trembling earth.”
Cherokee and Sunee dropped t
o their knees, rolled to their sides, lay down their heads and slept.
Morning came. The horses woke early and decided they should thank Asga ya galun Lati for their safety.
“Oh, Great Spirit,” prayed Cherokee. “Thank you for letting Grandfather show us the way across the great river and protecting my friend, Sunee, when she nearly drowned.”
“And,” added Sunee, “Thank you for sending the trembling earth to chase away the red horse who would not let us come out of the cold water.” Turning to Cherokee, Sunee said, “I wonder how our friends are who were crossing the river, too.”
“They had much help. I am sure they will be alright.”
“Do you think we will see them again?”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not,” he answered. “I think we will make many friends on our journey. They will all become a part of us and we will carry that part wherever we go, but we will not be able to stay with them.”
“I think that’s sad,” said Sunee.
“Does that mean you would like to be with people?” asked Cherokee gently.
“I don’t know,” she said thoughtfully. “I enjoyed being with people and playing with the children.”
“I believe that I am being led on a special journey. We will learn what our destiny is in time.”
“Do you think that horse who wouldn’t let us come out of the water is gone?” asked Sunee.
“I hope so,” answered Cherokee. “He was very unfriendly. I wonder why he didn’t like us.”
“He was afraid of the trembling earth and the backward water, wasn’t he, Cherokee?” said Sunee.
“I was, too, just a little,” admitted Cherokee.
“What do you suppose caused it?” questioned Sunee.
“It might have been an answer to prayer,” said Cherokee. “That horse was so mean and we were so tired, that I asked Grandfather to help us.”
“I am glad we are safe, but I don’t want to see the earth move like that anymore,” said Sunee. “I was afraid, too. What should we do now, Cherokee?”
“Let’s follow the sun. We don’t have to hurry. Just keep moving and stop when we get tired.”
So they started out, leaving the great river behind them.
Although they were not aware of where they were, they had come ashore in a place called Arkansas. A land fairly flat, at least by the river.
There were some hills, but not like their home in Tennessee, where the hills were so high and the valleys deep and long. But this was a new adventure and they were on their way to new experiences and friends. As Cherokee thought about these things his steps became quicker and longer. Sunee had to hurry to keep up with him.
-10-
A New Land
They were in a new place. The sun was shining and they were safe from the great Mississippi River. It was December and the air was brisk and cold. The horses could see their breath as they trotted along. There were no people and no animals visible and they were content in each other’s company.
The path Cherokee chose was a winding one. There were trees with no leaves on both sides of them, but he wove his way through them expertly, picking his way over the rocky ground. He recognized the bent over bushes that would have bountiful huckleberries in the spring. He somehow knew which jutting rocks would hold the dangerous mountain lion and led Sunee away from them. The scent of water tickled his nose and knew it was time to let Sunee rest. He turned slightly north, trotting through many large evergreen trees and into the light on the far side.
And there, drinking from a large blue lake, was the big red horse they had seen at the edge of the river. He turned as he heard Cherokee and Sunee walk into the clearing. “You, again!” he said with contempt. “You can’t drink from my lake.”
“But this can’t be your lake,” answered Cherokee. It must be for every wild thing.”
“Not for you,” he answered in a threatening voice.
Sunee tried to be polite and asked, “What is your name?”
“What do you care?” he answered.
“Well, maybe we could be friends,” she replied.
“I don’t need any friends.” he told her.
“Everyone needs friends,” said Cherokee.
“Not me.”
“Yes, even you. We would like to be your friends,” replied Cherokee softly.
“I don’t want to be your friend.”
“You didn’t tell us your name,” Sunee reminded him.
“If you must know, my name is Natas. Not that you should care.”
“It’s always nice to know someone’s name,” she replied. “Where are you from?”
“I don’t want to talk to you any more,” he said and trotted off into the forest, away from the lake.
Cherokee and Sunee watched him disappear. They walked to the water’s edge and took a long drink of cold water. It was good. They felt much better. As they began to forage on the dry grass near the lake, the light began to fade. They returned to the protection of the evergreen trees as evening settled in.
Not long after falling into a light sleep, Cherokee heard something stirring in the trees. He lifted his head to see what was making the soft whisper sounds, but it was too dark to see anything at all. He twitched his ears back and forth trying to pick up more sound and soon he heard soft footsteps coming their way. He chuffed at Sunee to get her attention, but she was so tired from the long swim he could not wake her. He stood up as quietly as he could, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Ghostly forms were moving through the trees toward the water. Cherokee didn’t move. Watching carefully, he saw forms move out of the shadows and closer to the lake.
Wolves! He counted four of them. He knew once they reached the lakeshore they would catch his and Sunee’s scent. They had to run. But still he waited. The wolves reached the lake and began to sniff the ground. One emitted a soft growl and walked up and down the shore. His growl called attention to the other three and soon they were all sniffing at the ground trying to identify the scent. They took a quick drink from the lake and their leader trotted off into the forest. The other three started toward the evergreens where Cherokee and Sunee were. But the leader barked twice and the wolves turned and followed him. They were following the scent of the big red horse. For now, Cherokee and Sunee were safe. Cherokee stayed on guard the rest of the night, watching out for Sunee, his best friend.
When the darkness began to fade, Cherokee woke Sunee. “Sunee, we must leave this place,” he told her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“While you slept, wolves came. They followed the scent of the other horse.”
“Then we must go and help him,” she answered promptly.
“Why?” asked Cherokee. “He does not want our company, or to be friends.”
“That doesn’t matter. He might be in danger and we can help him.”
“There were four wolves, Sunee,” said Cherokee, shaking his head.
“But then there would be three of us. We could help him chase them away. Maybe then he would like us,” she answered.
“Alright, if that’s what you want to do. We will follow and see if we can help Natas. But there is something I don’t like about him,” added Cherokee.
“You lead, Cherokee. You are good at following the signs,” suggested Sunee.
So Cherokee walked to the lake to pick up the tracks of the older horse and the four wolves. Off they trotted, around the lake and through the dry grass and low prickly bushes. On the other side of the lake they found a trail. Cherokee could tell that the big horse had gone that way and that there were wolf tracks over the top of some of them.
“We may be too late, Sunee,” said Cherokee.
“I don’t think so,” she disagreed. “I believe he will be able to hold his own against the wolves for a while. But he wil
l need us to help.”
They continued on their way. Soon they came to a place of very tall trees and many dark grey rocks and boulders. The hoof prints disappeared in the rocks.
“It will be difficult to get over these large rocks, but I think they went this way,” said Cherokee.
“We can do it, Cherokee,” Sunee said.
Up the two horses climbed, muscles straining, hearts pumping hard and fast. Small stones rolled backward down the hill, creating a noisy rockslide and startling some ravens in the trees. They cawed loudly and Sunee almost lost her balance, but she struggled and climbed up and over the top of the hill just behind Cherokee.
As they caught their breath, they looked down into a beautiful valley. There was a hundred foot waterfall pouring down from the right side of the valley, into a wide river flowing to the south. They could see snow high on the hills on the west side, both in the great tall trees and on the ground, where there wasn’t much sun. Wild geese were flying overhead making loud calling noises to each other. Then they heard the wolves bark.
The red stallion was trapped. The wolves had backed him into a rough rocky area that almost surrounded him. He had no place to go except through them. He had made a good showing and killed a black wolf. It was lying twisted and broken at his feet, its tongue lolling out of its mouth. But now the other three were going at him from three directions and he couldn’t keep them all in sight at the same time. He turned first one way and then the other, stamping his hooves, ears laid back, head down and teeth bared.
The wolf on the left jumped toward his hind leg aiming to bite the tendon and cripple him. Natas turned to meet him and the wolf on the right slipped in and bit him just above the hoof. When Natas whirled to face this attacker, the wolf on the left tried again for his hind leg, and the one near his face jumped at his throat.
Cherokee and Sunee immediately moved into action and raced to the defense of Natas. Natas was squealing in anger and fear. As he shook his head trying to get one wolf off his neck, he saw the two horses coming to his aid. Cherokee attacked the grey wolf on one side of the horse while Sunee began kicking and stomping the other one. Natas was encouraged and used his front hoof to dislodge the wolf trying to bite his neck. Cherokee snapped his teeth at the grey wolf, then whirled and kicked him in the side. The wolf went down, barely rolling out of the way in time to miss Cherokee’s pounding hooves.
The Adventures of Cherokee Page 7