Weekly Clarksville chronicle. [volume] (Clarksville, Tenn.) 185?-1857, 1857-09-18
The ClarkEiile Publishing Company
Chartered by the Legislature of Tennessee.
MISCELLANY.
THE oHIEFTAIN's CURSE.
BY CLARA AUGUSTA.


He fed from the white mans face away,
To the hills of the forst, lofty ana gray,
'Milthe rven rocks, where the beast made his lair
And the smoke of his wigwam rose slowly there,
For the blood of his race stained the vale below,
Where they swept-unknowing his weight Of woe
.t.,r sat.,..s.., .1, BLANCHARD,
Upon the extreme Southern boundary
of the lofty range of hills in New Hamp-
shire, known as the White Mountains,
there rises up to the height of six hun
dred feet, a singularly shaped mountain
which, for many years, has borne the name
of Chocorna. It's top is like vast tower,
and massive turrets of granite crown its
angles. The Southern ascent is perpen-
dicular, rising up the naked rock several
hundred feet
There is an old legend Of this mountain,
and with the kind permission Of our read
ers, we will briefly relate it. --Fzss
Many, many years ago, when first the
white man came to destroy the happiness
of the simple-minded Indian, who, until
then, had dwelt among the rock garland
ed hills, free as the wild eagle, in bark
rooted wigwam, on the banks of the, beau
tiful stream, now known as Swift river,
there resided a young brave, and the aged
chief, his father aats
Chocorna, the young warrior; was as
brave as the kingly lion, and dreadful,
when outraged, as the Bengal tigress; but
in his breast there slept a nobility, an in
nate hatred of that which was low and
base; and deep, strong reverence for the
Great Spirit, who had placed him in SO
sublime a hunt;ng-ground.
He looked forth at sunrise upon the
stern mountains, bathed in the gold of the
skies, rising up in giant pillars to the
radiant dome above; and there crept over
him great and mighty awe-and his soul
reioiced in it. He felt that there was q
nobler, more perfect pleasure than sitting
idly by the campfire, or dancing the wal
dance around the blazing faggot stack
the pleasure of doing good unto all men
And with the instructive penetration pecu
liar to the North American savage, his rec
brethren perceived this strata of greatness
underlying his whole character, and wher
his father, the chief Arragoch, died, they
made Chocorna their leader
Shortly after this event, there came tt
the valley, inhabited by the then powerful
Chocorna, party of whites, some twenty
in number, with their families; and al
they appeared peaceable, ChocOrna gav'
orders to his tribe not to molest them,
THE Great Spirit" he said, 'has sen
them to our hunting grounds, and his an
ger will send US a famine, and man.
tempests, if we kill his white deer"
SO the adventurous whites were allowe,
to remain unharmod, and in the course o
few years they grew to a strong and in
huential colony, A sort of friendly inter
course subsisted betpeen them aud tn
Indians, and Chocorna often visited at tn,
huts of the settlers, where he was receivot
kindly-for well it was known that to hi
unselfsh generosity they were alone in
debted for life and prosperity,
In the rough log house Of Marcus Smith
the leader in tho settlement, Chocorna dis
covered an object of more interest to ther
than many bands of JVdmpam. She thre'
around his heart more potent charm tha
the Golden Carbuncle, or the White Foot
ed Fawn, which tradition said were hidde
among the mountains, guarded by an ey
spirit, and to him who succeeded in bearin
away the one, and rcscuing the other
should be given immortal youth, and tn
power to heal all sickness, and assuage
pain.
Lucy Smith was the only child Of he
father, but not as a parent should, di
Marcus Smith love his beautiful Lucy
The wife who had given her to his arm
, had proved inoonstant to her bridal vow
and for seventeen dreary years Smith hO
been worse than widowed-4nd for this /
Thated the daughter of the false woman, an