The Adventures of Cherokee
Read The Adventures of Cherokee Online
Authors: 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.
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ISBN 1-4120-3460-4
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Contents
-9-
The Great Mississippi River
-14-
Tso Tsi Da Na Wa, The Enemy
COVER BY:
Andre’ K. Kalufanya
Graphic Artist
Jacksonville, Florida
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 |
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.
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.