Long-Ago Stories of the Eastern Cherokee by Lloyd Arneach Read Free Book Online

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