Along the Trail

Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory Research
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Trail of Tears

"Nunna dual Tsuny"
(Trail Where They Cried)

"We are now about to take our leave and kind farewell to our native land, the country that the Great Spirit gave our Fathers, we are on the eve of leaving that country that gave us birth...it is with sorrow we are forced by the white man to quit the scenes of our childhood... we bid farewell to it and all we hold dear."
-- Charles Hicks, Tsalagi (Cherokee) Vice Chief on the Trail of Tears, August 4, 1838

ALONG THE TRAIL

By Joe Scraper, Jr.

Listen as the breeze rustles the leaves in the trees.
Do you hear their footsteps?
Can you hear the creaking of the wagon wheels?

Watch as the storm clouds move quickly across the sky.
Do you see that they have been driven from their homes?
Can you see the ancestral lands fading in the distance?

Think of the icy wind blowing through the valley.
Do you feel the sleet slamming against your face?
Can you feel the frozen ground against your bloody feet?

Listen as the driving rain pounds against the muddy trail.
Do you hear the old ones singing their last songs?
Can you hear the children crying?

Watch as the owl glides silently through the clearing.
Do you see that the people are hungry and sick?
Can you see that many will not survive the journey?

Think of the coyotes howling not far from camp.
Do you feel the cold cutting through your meager shelter?
Can you feel the despair as yet another child dies?

Listen to the river thunders past on it's way to the ocean.
Do you hear the resolve in their steady march?
Can you hear the determination in their song?

Watch as the squirrels scamper in anticipation of spring.
Do you see that some of these people will survive?
Can you see that they will rebuild in the promised land?

Think of the magnificent Eagles soaring high above.
Do you feel the strength and the beauty of these people?
Can you feel the hope that springs from within them?

Copyright 2000 by Joe Scraper, Jr.
Descendant of the Walkingstick Family
All rights reserved.