New Yesterdays by Jim L Wright - HTML preview

Chapter 14

By early May the Chiefs and their entourages had begun to arrive and by the time the month drew to a close fifty-three Chiefs, including the great John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, were assembled and anxious to begin the Council. To avoid gossip and rumors, Tooantuh wisely decided not to discuss any part of his reason for gathering them together. Many of them weren't very happy about being kept in the dark, but they also saw the wisdom of Tooantuh's decision.

Chief John Ross alone was taken into Tooantuh's confidence. In Tooantuh's opinion, the Principal Chief should be the one to lead the council meeting and make plans for the upcoming events. Tooantuh and Ross spent many hours in his house talking about the history of the settlers, the devastating effect they'd had on the Cherokee and all the other native peoples. They made plans and prayed to the spirits for the success of their mission.

"Tooantuh, I wish to speak to this white boy who has come to your village", Ross said. "I want to know him and to hear everything he knows."

Tooantuh nodded his agreement and stood to go and find the boy. He met Hiawasee coming from the fields and told her to find the boy and send him to his house to speak to the Principal Chief.

Jim had been frightened and nervous when Adahy had taken him to talk to Tooantuh. That sense of nervousness paled into nothingness compared to how he felt right now. The Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation! What could he possibly want to talk to a boy like me about? He could scarcely catch his breath and the closer he got to Tooantuh's house the louder his heartbeat sounded in his ears.

The two old men looked up at him as he entered the door. Their ancient, deeply lined faces were immutable, showing no emotion at all. Jim was sure his knees were going to buckle, causing him to fall in his tracks. He stood silently, waiting to be invited to sit. At last, Ross gave him a wide, sunny smile and beckoned him to come sit next to him. The boy gratefully dropped to the floor in a sitting position next to the great Chief.

"Jim, the service you have done to our people will never be forgotten. You have given us a way to avoid being pushed off the lands our people have lived on for thousands of years. Your name will be known to every Indian from this day until the end of time. What I want now is for you to tell me everything you told to Chief Tooantuh. He has told me everything, of course, but I want to make sure you have remembered every detail and that nothing is left out. Any bit of information that can help us must be shared. What you have told to us, we will tell to the Council as we prepare to make war for our lands."

Sensing that he wasn't in trouble eased Jim's mind and he began to recite the history he had learned at Roy Webb School on the other side. His love of history allowed him to recall even the minutest details of the lessons, particularly as they applied to the Cherokee people. His grandparents and parents had taught him to respect the Indian, especially since Cherokee blood flowed in his veins, too.

When he was satisfied the boy had told them all he knew, Ross tousled his bright red hair and thanked him again. "Jim, you have my gratitude and that of the entire Cherokee nation. Adahy consulted the Ulum’suti and the signs show we can be victorious in battle against the European settlers. Go now, find Dustu and get yourself to Hiawasee's house in time for your supper."

Jim bolted from the house as though he'd been shot from a cannon.

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The mood in the Council House was expectant as the Chiefs gathered. Most were quiet, all were somber and every Chief was asking 'why are we here?’ Chief Tooantuh was well known as a wise man. The fact that Principal Chief John Ross was there only added to the general air of mystery and apprehension. Ross spoke for the entire Cherokee Nation. His presence meant only one thing; whatever he had to say would affect every Cherokee Indian in the land.

Ross stood and raised his hands for quiet. "It is well known that the white settlers fear us, the missionaries want to destroy our religion and move us away from their Christian followers and President John Quincy Adams wants us to leave our ancestral homes and move to the West.

"They have forgotten how we fought on their side when they went to war with the Creek. We fought bravely under Path Killer for General Andrew Jackson. We were victorious in Tallushatchee and Talladega and the Hillabee towns. It was the Cherokee who created a rear diversion that allowed Jackson to kill 800 Red Sticks and win the battle at Horseshoe Bend and end the war. When the East Tennessee troops came through here after the war, you will remember well how they destroyed our property and terrorized our families. They took more of our land, causing us to move again. Many hundreds of our people left our ancestral homes to join the Old Settler Cherokees across the Mississippi River. Now, they would repay that service by taking the small bit of land we have left and pushing us further west. As your Principal Chief I work hard day in and day out for our cause, but the government of the white settlers gives me no respect.

"The Choctaws signed a treaty with the Americans six years ago and were removed. One year ago, the Creeks were also removed after signing their treaty. Now they want our lands. They want us to leave our farms and villages to live in the West on lands they have taken from other tribes for that purpose.

"Five years ago, at the Great Council our Nation enacted a law that says we will not give up even one more foot of our land to the white settlers.

So much has been taken from us that now we only just have enough for our own people. We have said that we want to always keep bright the chain of peace and friendship that links our Cherokee Nation with the government of the United States and we will do all in our power to do that. But that chain cannot be kept bright unless both sides agree to abide by the laws. It is against our laws to give up our lands to their government and it is against our laws to sell any portion of our lands to any citizen of the United States.

"We have done everything possible to make sure our homes, the homes of our mothers and their mothers are held by the Cherokee Nation. We are about to suffer another attack from the government of the United States as they renew their efforts to displace us."

A soft murmur went through the crowd. Angry, concerned faces turned to each other. How does John Ross know about an attack and we haven't heard anything about it? Does he have spies in the army posts?

Ross raised his hands again and waited for the murmuring to stop.

"A few weeks ago, a young boy came to us through the portal and was trapped here when it closed. He will be with us until it opens again in the autumn. He comes from this same land more than one hundred years in the future! That boy has taught me some of the history of the United States, especially the history that affects our Nation."

The Chiefs sat in stunned silence. Could it be that we have the chance to know what the white men will do even before they do it? Is this possible? Tooantuh watched and listened as the Chiefs whispered among themselves. He was gratified to see that many of them were reaching the same conclusions about the potential held by foreknowledge of events. After giving them a bit of time to digest what he had told them Ross signaled again for quiet.

“We know that in the future I, John Ross will sue in the white Supreme Court and win my case. But we also know that General Jackson, who will become the President, will refuse to enforce their decision and force us to move from our land. Thousands of our people will die of disease and starvation on the march west. With the information we now have, we can prevent all this from happening!

"With the knowledge of what the whites will do we can take measures to make sure it doesn't happen. We actually have the opportunity to change the history, not only of our Nation, but of the United States as well!

"We will dispatch raiding parties to their forts. This will catch them unaware and reduce their numbers. I am told that their army consists of about 7,000 men. With our warriors, both men and women, we number more than 10,000. With planning we can make sure they never think again of taking our lands."

"We will go to the Seminoles who are also suffering from the white man's attempts to take their lands and enlist their help. With their numbers added to ours we will be more than 25,000 warriors. By working together, we can stop the never-ending land grabbing by the whites. Together we can take control of what is ours and keep them from pushing us any further west!"

When Ross was finished talking, Chief Cheasequah stood to speak. "Let us arrange ourselves together in this Council House according to the location of our villages. In this way we can make plans for attacking the forts nearest our villages by combining our forces for the greatest impact. When a fort is massacred, our warriors will move to the next one to join with the fighters there. We can continue this kind of action until all the forts have been overwhelmed. I believe that with our superior numbers, fighting ability and the fact that we all have many of the white man's weapons will allow us to overcome them. When a fort has fallen to us, we will gather more weapons and ammunition to put us on a more even footing with the settlers. If their numbers are truly no more than seven thousand, we can complete our war before summer is finished. We will then sue the American government to recognize us once and finally as an independent nation whose borders must be respected."

The excitement level of the Council House grew minute by minute as Cheasequah outlined his plan.

Chief Wohali stood with another suggestion. "When we have completed this war, we must form our warriors into a standing army in the way of the white man. It will be their job to patrol our borders and protect our way of life from the settlers. Winning the battles we are about to face will not end their attempts to take us away from our lands. No, it will make them raise more soldiers for their army and make more attempts. We must be prepared for this. Only if we can defend our borders will we keep our lands."

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