Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1888-01-04

In this Olden time, the legend goes, a
tribe of CherOkees wendell their way
hither and pitched their tents on the
banks of the laughing water. The war
riOr braves hunted the mild eyed deer in
the forests, and the twang of the bow
string married the sOftness of the turtle
| doves love song. The squaws tended
their patches of corn and maize, and the
Indian village thrived and prospered. The
moons waned and fulled, and waned again,
many and many time, but the smoke of
the camp fire still curled upward and the
| pipe of peace was smoked again and again
within the wigwam of the Cherokee
braves. In their unfettered happiness the
dusl1y warriors and the Ctlsky maidens
passed away the hours of the day, and the
pleasures Of the hunt were enhanced by
the pleasures Of the corn dance. The sun
smiled down in peace upon the happy vii
lage, and the west wind mildly kissed the
dusky cheeks of the men, the wives and
the maidens
Among the bravest of the braves whose
tents made up the Indian village was To-
hobo. He was as 1.-THE US hickory, as
straight as an arrow, strong as the oak
and fearless as the lion. In the peaceful
chase, or when the war cry rang out, he
was foremost Of all the braves Stern.
| impossible, natures hero in natures
| home.
The wigwam Of Tohoho was made
bright by the laughing eyes and the
] lovely form of his daughter maiden
! who was the one idol of the stern warriors
heart and the pride and pet of the Indian
village. AIinnehaha he had named her.
| and laughing water'' suited her every
movement. She was slender as the elder.
! willOwy in form and with a wealth of the
! blacklist hair. Her eyes shone like the
| stars in the sky, and her teeth glistened
as polished ivory. She was the gayest
and most modest Of all the maidens in the
Cherokee village, and moved in the wig
wan of the stern TOhOho as queen.
Many were the Indian braves whose
hearts had been made captive by the
bright eyes ard brighter ways of the
lovely Minnehaha, but to none of her suit
Ors had she given the slightest sign of en-
cOuragement. Returning from the chase.
they brought her the rarest trophies of
their skill, but she smiled and put them
aside. Necklaces of richest hues and all
the love tokens Of the Indian DAYS were
laid at her feet, but she spurned them all
with gentleness but decision.
Her Indifference to these OVerturss of
love from the young braves was gratifv-
ing to TohOhO, for he loved his beautiful
daughter so deeply that he did not care to
give her up. He thought of how lonely
would be the wigwam if, when returning
IRON the hunt the bright eyes of Mime
hama did not greet him at the threshold
and her voice did not welcome him back
The legend goes that thus matters stood
for many, many moons. Despite all the
efforts made to win her affections. the
maiden remained as free as the winds of
heaven.
But one day the braves went out to
hunt in the forests many miles away from
their tents on the streams and from The
WlSWam of TOhOhO. While on this hunt
they came upon a small party of white men
who were prospecting Through the forest.
An encounter occurred between the Indian
braves and their natural enemies, which
resulted in the death Of all the pale faces.
save one, who was desperately wounded.
lie would have likewise been disposed of
by the young braves had not TOhOho. who
was with the party, plead for his life-for
what reason the legend does not say. But
the young pale face was carried to the
camp of the Indians and placed in the
wRywam of TohOho himself.
Here he remained a long time. bOverino
between life and death But Minpebaba-
touched by his sufferings and attracted by
his handsome, manly form, consented to
nurse him, and daily spent many hours
beside the pale face stranger, bathing
his wounds with healing herbs, and
moistening his lips with the sparkling
water OF the spring near by.
AS the days went by, and the beautiful
maiden lowered at his side and ministered
tOhis sufferings, the young man improved
in strength. He was charmed bv her
beauty and natural grace; and Ninnebaba
in turn became deeply interested in the
blue eyed pale face. So deep was the i'm
preston made upon him that the pale face
determined to relinquish all intentions he
may have had Of effecting his escape, and
to become member of the tribe.
When he became stronger he made
known his wishes to TohOho, and after
deep consideration he was accepted into
the brotherhood Cherokee He soon
proved himself equal to any Of the young
braves r the chase and other sports Of the
field, and rapidly won the admiration of
the braves and the squaws. He was
strong and athletic, tender but daring
and he soon found favor in the eyes OF
TohOho.
He did not forget the lovely young
maiden, and paid her court in his own yvav.
AS he learned the language of the
Cherokees, he spoke to her Of love and its
sweetness in such charming way that he
soon won what the other young braves
had sued for in vain. When he sued
before TOhOho, the unbending warrior
was loath to yield, but when Minnehaba
joined her prayers to the entreaties, of the
pale face, and their words were epcour-
aged by the Indians themselves, he pave
his consent, and the two were formally
betrothed, and it was decided that when
the moon shone again the bright eyed
Ainnehaha should wed the pale faced
stranger with all the pomp Of the Indian
custom.
This decision met with almost general
approval, for the tribe had come 10 look
with high respect upon this bravo and
handsome white brother But in the tribe
there was one who beheld the betrothal
with hatred and bitterness. A young
brave who had paid court to Minnehaha,
whose refusal still ranked in his heart,
looked upon the pale face with envy and
revenge. In his heart he swOre that they
should never wed.
The trysting place of the lovers was
upon the top Of the bOwlder which SUD-
ports the great, shaking rock On this
ledge, just beneath the massive rock. tbev
used to often sit, the maiden listening to
the love song Of her pale face betrothed.
and hanging upon his pictures Of their
future life Of love and happiness.
The tradition goes that the huge bowlder
went straight downward for fully fifty
feet or more and lost itself in the rocky
stream below The little thread Of silvery
water which now winds in and out with
scarce murmur, was q goodly creek in
those days, and beat itself AGAINST the
massive rock with something Of impetuous-
ness. The slope Of earth, with IT'S burden
OF dogwood and oak, has filed into the
chasm since that time, and the rugged
lace Of nature here, like the wild forests
around, have been tempered BY tic hand
Of civilization.
scarce week was away 20 the mar
rage Of Minnehaha, when enc dav. lust
before the sun grew red in the west. She.
with her lover, wandered toward their
love seat TO COO to each other. The grass
bowed before them as If in their honor,
the squirrel leaped from branch to branch
OF the tall trees as if to make heir hearts
more lightsome, while the trees Bonded
their heads to the gentle south wind in q
SOFT melody Of joy to the young lovers.
But they did not notice that creeping
from bush TO bush, with cat like tread,
was the young brave who had suffered
rejection at The hands Of Minnehaha
His tomahaWx was grnspcd firmly In his
hand, and upon bis face was dark flush
Of anger, jealousy and revenge