The Legend of Tyoga Weathersby (27 page)

“My brother will come to get me this morning,” Sunlei replied. “He can help us move.”

“Yes, Sunlei. Tes Qua can help. But no one else must know that I am here. Seven Arrows must think that he has driven me from the mountains and that he will never see me again. I will leave this place when he takes you away.”

“Okay, Ty, if you say so,” Sunlei said with some question in her voice.

Tyoga sat up and said, “Sunlei. This is important. He must think that I am already gone.”

“I understand,” she replied. “But you must promise to stay close until he takes me away. Will you promise me?”

“Yes, Little One. I will stay close.”

The sun had not risen yet when the two stood on the outcropping folded in each other’s arms. Their nakedness was wrapped against the cold in a bright red blanket.

Holding both of her hands in his, he looked into her eyes. “Dohiyi, tsigeyui
(Peace, my love)
,” he whispered gently to her forehead.

Tyoga closed his eyes. The words he was about to speak would be as painful to hear as they were to say. “Sunlei, even though we have the next two days to be together, what I must say cannot wait.”

Pushing away from him, Sunlei asked, “What is it my love?”

“When Seven Arrows comes to take you away, I must remain out of sight. I will be watching, my love. But, whatever happens, I will not be able to make myself known. I want you to be strong, Little One. Always remember that even though distance and time may keep us apart, you are forever here.” He pointed to his heart. “And here.” He pointed to his head. “You take me with you wherever you go.”

Peering up into his eyes, she said, “You are my love and my life. I breathe with you all of your days. When you listen with the promise, you will hear my name in the whispering of the trees, in the song of the brook. My love is as the sun rising, warming you with each passing day. That I am forever yours is as true as time, and as unwavering as the mountains and the sky. You can never leave me.”

Tyoga pulled her to him and whispered in her ear, “Look.” He motioned with his head in the direction of a rocky ledge high above his campsite. Standing there was Wahaya-Wacon, neck extended, ears back, staring down at the Shawnee camp.

“I promise you, my little one, you will never be alone.”

Chapter 29

The Rebuke

T
hree days had passed since Seven Arrows and his band of braves had arrived to make camp near Tuckareegee. Their whiskey had run out, their food supplies were running low, and the men were tired and bored.

Finally, the day had arrived for which they had been waiting. The coup that they were about to deliver to Tyoga Weathersby put them in reasonably good spirits.

Although it was not to be his wedding day, it was to be the day when Seven Arrows would take Sunlei for the first time—and that was reason enough for celebration.

The men used the early morning hours to prepare themselves for their entrance into the village by donning their finest ceremonial attire. The braves who attended Seven Arrows dressed in their best buckskin vestments. The doeskin from which their fringed tunics and chaps were made was of a dark chestnut hue, which indicated that the skins had recently been cured and tanned. They painted their shaved heads a bright crimson red from the top of their foreheads to the nape of their necks. Their foreheads and the skin around and below their eyes was painted an ashen gray. The braves painted two vertical black stripes on their left cheeks. Necklaces made of glass beads, seed pods, shells, and bone adorned their necks, and bracelets of metal, leather and fur encircled their wrists. Each brave wore an anklet of bells on their left leg. Marching in step, the rhythmic cadence of the bells proved a reasonable musical accompaniment for the tiny band of men entering the village as conquerers collecting the spoils of war.

Seven Arrows was dressed in full Shawnee wedding attire. A beautiful full-length overcoat of beaver and fox fur covered a butter colored elk skin tunic with matching chaps. Long strips of leather fringe dyed brilliant gold, forest green, lavender, blue and peach lined the tunic’s sleeves. His leggings had no fringe, but were decorated with intricate beadwork from waist to mid-calf. His bearhide boots sported side welts trimmed with bobcat and coyote fur. Both of his ankles were collared with bells so that his lone belled foot striking the ground served as a solitary counterpoint to the downbeat of the groups marching procession:

CHING-ching-CHING-ching-CHING-ching.

Smiling and waving their arms while crying out in a joyous tone of voice, “Osiyo oginali, osiyo
(Hello, friends)
,” the band of Shawnee braves paraded grandly into the village. Expecting a ceremonial reception accompanied by a formal welcome from Chief Silver Cloud himself, they marched into the village.

They were greeted by no one at all.

The People of Tuckareegee went about the business of their daily lives without acknowledging, or even looking at, Seven Arrows and his wedding party.

The deliberate shun wiped the smiles from the painted faces of the Shawnee braves, and their voices fell silent with a growing rage. The flagrant contempt being shown to Seven Arrows and his men was more than the Chief’s son could endure. Abandoning the cadence of their in-step knell, the bells dissolved into a discordant mockery of their ridiculous procession.

“Eh ya ho
(Come)
,” he demanded of his men.

Advancing now at a much more determined pace, Seven Arrows quick-stepped his men to Chief Silver Cloud’s lodge. Pausing at the threshold, Seven Arrows made a motion as if to advance into the inner sanctum of the chief’s home. Wrestling with the urge to enter, Seven Arrows stopped short at the entranceway. To enter the Chief’s lodge unannounced was a breach of protocol of which even Seven Arrows was not prepared to stand accused.

He bellowed in a gruff, menacing voice, “Osiyo, Wiyuhi
(Hello, Chief)
.”

When there was no response, he called out again. This time he abandoned the title of respect. “Silver Cloud. It is Seven Arrows. I have come for the daughter of Nine Moons, Sunlei-Awi.”

Many minutes of silence passed before Chief Silver Cloud’s wife, Wind Song, appeared at the door to the lodge.

The Shawnee braves looked at each other with wide-eyed disbelief. Seven Arrows took a step back at her sudden appearance at the doorway. To send a woman to conduct business with the son of a chief, even if casual in nature, was an insult of epic proportion.

Wind Song did not look up at Seven Arrows when she said, “You are too early. Sunlei is not here. You will have to wait.”

Seven Arrows did not reply. Unwilling to accept the slight, he remained standing at the door, and refused to budge until Chief Silver Cloud acknowledged his presence.

The mid-morning hours passed. The scent of venison, pork, and porridge filled the air when families enjoyed the breakfast meal. The sounds and smells teased the senses of Seven Arrows and his party of braves, while they remained standing stoically on the stoop of Silver Cloud’s lodge.

The midday hours filled the village square with the warming rays of the autumn sun.

People with business to conduct with Chief Silver Cloud entered his lodge while passing right through the Shawnee party without acknowledging their presence or even looking their way.

Still, Seven Arrows and his braves remained standing like sentinels to the court, posted at the entrance of the lodge. The passage of time did little to mitigate the horrific treatment they were being subjected to at the hands of the entire Ani-Unwiya tribe.

Seven Arrows was seething with anger.

Sunlei had not been seen in Tuchareegee for the past two days. Tes Qua had not even told his mother and father that she was with Tyoga. It was well after noon when Sunlei and Tes Qua came walking into the village square. His arm around his sister’s waist, Tes Qua appeared to be supporting her while they slowly walked toward their parent’s lodge.

Certain that she would never see him again, Sunlei had just parted from Tyoga for the last time. As they staggered past the Shawnee braves standing outside of Silver Cloud’s lodge, Seven Arrows bellowed, “Haliwista!
(Stop!)
”

Practically carrying Sunlei, Tes Qua stopped, but did not turn around to face him.

Seven Arrows ran up to Sunlei and grabbed her gruffly by the wrist, “You have kept me waiting too long, woman.” He pulled her toward his band of men. “You will learn respect when you are a Shawnee squaw.”

Like a coiled rattlesnake, Tes Qua’s muscled arm struck out at Seven Arrows’ neck. His large hand enveloped his throat in a vice-like grip. He had only to squeeze to shatter his voice box and windpipe.

The Shawnee, though unarmed, moved menacingly toward Tes Qua to protect their leader.

At the threatening move, a dozen Ani braves appeared from the surrounding lodges with their bows drawn ready to riddle Seven Arrows and his party with a deadly barrage.

While Tes Qua’s grip was closing and Seven Arrows’ eyes were bulging with panic at the finality of his impending demise, Chief Silver Cloud stormed out of his lodge and screamed, “Nahya Ditili! Put your bows down. Tes ‘A, release Seven Arrows. There will be no blood spilled this day.”

Tes Qua released Seven Arrows and threw him backwards, while saying, “Leave our village and go back to your camp. You will wait for my sister some more. We will bring her to you when she is ready to leave. Go. Now.”

He put his arm around Sunlei and guided her to their father’s lodge.

Chapter 30

The Parting

I
t was late afternoon when Sunlei, Tes Qua, Nine Moons, and True Moon, along with a number of relatives and friends, began the half-mile trek to the Shawnee campsite. Sunlei’s belongings had been packed into a number of small parcels. They had no trouble transporting her truck to the campsite at the bottom of the path, downhill from the village.

Wedding gifts that relatives and friends had been saving for when she and Tyoga were married had been given instead for Sunlie to begin her new life as a Shawnee squaw. Beautiful bowls and cups carved from hickory and cedar had been packed with love. Ceramic and clay cooking vessels of every description had been fired and painted with Cherokee signs and symbols to remind Sunlei of her roots while she prepared food for her new Shawnee family. Two china plates etched with gold filigree given to her by Tyoga’s mother, Emma, were the only items from the white world that she had packed to take along. Clothes to last nearly a lifetime, crafted from the finest deer, elk, bear, fox, mink, and beaver pelts were neatly folded and layered with tunics and frocks, shirts and leggings, hats and scarves, moccasins and boots ornately appointed with the finest bead, bone, and shell work.

It took about half an hour for the procession to reach the Shawnee camp. As each member of the party arrived to place their bundle down next to the fire, they were taken aback at the condition of the area from only five days occupation. Half-butchered haunches of deer lay rotting in the bushes. Animal bones were thrown about and charred remains of food left on the fire to burn were strewn throughout the grounds. Whiskey bottles littered the campsite and the entire area smelled of urine where the men had relieved themselves only steps away from the fire pit. Many covered their noses with their hands to shield themselves from the disgusting odor while they waited in silence for Seven Arrows to appear.

This time it was the Cherokees who were made to wait.

A half an hour passed before Seven Arrows came marching out of the woods with several of his braves at his side. Still livid from his treatment by the Ani-Unwiya, his steps landed hard on the ground—determined, defiant, and angry.

He was no longer dressed in the ceremonial finery he sported when he marched triumphantly into the village, but was dressed in the shabby utilitarian clothes of a hunting party. The celebratory paint had been removed from their heads and faces to reveal smudged soot and ash from days of sitting around a smoky campfire. Their breech clothes were dirty and stained with the putrid stench of whiskey and vomit.

Seven Arrows did not try to hide his anger, and his men were equally on edge.

“A hey o.” He and his Shawnee braves joined the procession to where Chief Silver Cloud was standing next to Sunlei. Tes Qua was standing on her other side.

When she turned to receive final hugs and kisses from her relatives and friends, she felt the harsh, cold hand of Seven Arrows clutching her tiny shoulder.

“En heysey
(Come here)
,” Seven Arrows demanded while pointing to the ground next to him.

Sunlei looked up into her brother’s face to see if he was going to react to the harsh command and rough treatment. She saw his jaw clench and the muscles of his upper arms tense, but he did not look down at her.

He slowly closed his eyes to indicate that she was to obey her soon-to-be husband’s command.

The color drained from her face as she slowly backed away from her brother to take her place by Seven Arrows’ side. The sparkle bled from her soft, dark eyes as the reality of abandonment emptied her soul.

Her family and friends had relinquished their familial responsibility to protect and defend. Her knees grew weak at the finality of her discharge, and with the primal understanding that from that moment on, she would be completely alone. She could rely upon no one but herself to maintain her physical well being, sustain her spiritual strength, and nourish her need for love.

Her eyes filled with tears for only a moment.

Pity was—and would forever more be—a luxury on which she could not waste a single minute.

One by one her relatives and friends made their way to her to say their final goodbyes. Lone Dove, Morning Sky, and Walking Bird hugged each other in a group embrace that quaked with the trauma of parting. Nearly inconsolable, Morning Sky and Walking Bird had to pry Lone Dove’s embrace from Sunlie, and support her as they slowly went back along the trail to the village.