Cherokee Sister Read online

  On the other side of the store, men grabbed shirts off the shelves and stuffed them into burlap bags. “Stop that!” Elisi ordered and pulled a sack away. “I am Mrs. Sweetwater and this is my store.”

  “You’ve got fine manners for a savage,” one of the men yelled, and grabbed Elisi by the arm. “I’m John Myers. Pleased to make your acquaintance. But this is not your store anymore. Now, move!” He jerked Elisi’s arm and pulled her out the door. Elisi fought with the man but he held her tight.

  Conners snickered. “You show her, Myers.”

  “Stay here,” Leaf ordered, pushing my hand away. I saw Leaf’s small knife in her hand. She used it for cutting plants. What was she going to do with it? In a split second, Leaf lunged like a wildcat at Myers, who was holding Elisi, and sent him reeling across the front porch.

  My heart pounded as I watched. If only I had a knife, maybe I could help Leaf and Elisi. I looked desperately around for something, anything, I could use as a weapon. But everything happened so quickly, there was no time. The other men poured out of the store, trying to grab Leaf. She cut Conners and Myers with her small knife before they pinned her to the ground.

  Conners wrapped a dirty kerchief around his bleeding hand. “I’ll teach you a little respect for white people,” he yelled, raising his pistol above his head.

  “No!” Elisi screamed, and threw herself in front of Leaf. The falling gun hit Elisi instead of Leaf, and she fell into the dust with a thud. She didn’t move.

  I think my heart stopped. Really. For a moment everything went dark and there was only Elisi slumped on the ground. Somehow I started to breathe again.

  I left my hiding place and rushed to Elisi. I had to find out if she was all right. She lay still, but her eyes were open. Together Leaf and I cradled her in our arms.

  “Go away!” I screamed to the men. “Why are you doing this?”

  “It’s the law, you wild thing,” Myers spat the words at me as if I were nothing but dirt.

  Captain Reynolds shot a bullet into the air. Everyone froze. He spoke harshly from atop his horse. “If you fools are finished beating up women, we can go.”

  Conners cussed and jumped onto his black horse. The other men mounted their horses and then Conners pointed his rifle at us. “Get moving,” he growled.

  “Where are you taking them?” I asked.

  “You too, girlie. We’re moving all you red demons out west where you won’t bother decent folk again,” Conners said. I couldn’t believe it. They were going to move the Cherokees and they thought I was one of them.

  “But she isn’t a Cherokee,” Leaf said.

  “Shut up,” Conners threatened, waving his rifle, “or this time I won’t miss.”

  I wanted to talk, but the rifle scared me. Conners wasn’t very old. He was probably younger than Cobb, but Conners was different. Conners hated and it made him seem older than anyone. When he looked at me, I could tell he hated me just because he thought I was Cherokee. His dirty blond hair and stubbly beard were normal enough. But his green eyes were different and made me feel dirty, even ashamed, even though he was the one doing bad things. I wondered if his mama had stitched his homemade shirt. Did his mama know how much he hated me, Leaf, and Elisi without even knowing us? Did she hate too?

  “I can’t leave my grandson,” Elisi said.

  “Don’t worry, old lady. We’ll get your grandson and bring him along soon enough. Won’t be none of you people left on our land.”

  I shuddered at the soldier’s horrible threat. But Leaf didn’t seem to hear. She whispered to me as we helped Elisi off the ground. “They are taking us to the Dark Land.”

  I nodded and felt a chill creep over my body. The Dark Land. The place Leaf feared. I had worried about the army taking Leaf there. Now these men were taking me, too. With Conners’s rifle behind us, Myers in front, and the other men on either side we didn’t have any choice but to walk.

  Leaf and I took turns letting Elisi lean on us. My legs wobbled under her weight, but I wasn’t about to let her fall. Dust from the horse’s hooves filled the air, coating our faces and bodies. Grit filled my nose and mouth until I gagged. The midmorning sun beat down and sweat poured beneath my buckskin dress.

  Dark Land. Dark Land. Dark Land. The words pounded in my head with each step I took. How could these men just take us from our home? Had the whole world gone crazy? I thought the government and the army were supposed to help people, not take them away from their families. How would Cobb find Elisi and Leaf? How would Mama and Papa know where to find me?

  We left the familiar trail I knew and walked on a narrow path going west, one I’d never been on before. Trees and vines crowded the sides of the trail so we couldn’t walk together. I walked in front of Elisi while Leaf came behind. Both of us were ready to help if Elisi fell. But she didn’t. She walked very slowly, but she never faltered.

  I fell once. I stubbed my bare toe on a sharp rock. Blood oozed from the cut, leaving little red dots on the trail behind me. It hurt. I wanted to cry, but if Elisi knew I was hurt she wouldn’t let me help her, so I kept quiet in case she needed me.

  It was cooler beneath the trees, but the mosquitoes found us quickly and large welts covered my arms.

  “We’ll never get anywhere going this slow,” Conners complained.

  “Keep moving,” Captain Reynolds barked.

  It seemed as if we walked forever on that first march. We each kept quiet, nursing our separate hurts as we trudged along.

  Finally we stopped at a bend in the river. I sat on a rock and looked at my feet, scraped and crusted with dirt and dried blood. I longed for the shoes I’d left behind in Leaf’s room. Mama had told me and told me to wear those shoes. I’d never again disobey her, ever. I just hoped I’d get the chance to see her again. The lovely white dress Leaf had let me wear was stained from my sweat and some of the beads had fallen off. Perhaps Elisi would be able to make it beautiful again.

  Looking at the beads gave me an idea. Although I hated hurting something that Elisi had worked so hard on, I pulled a bead off and let it roll from my hand onto the ground. Maybe, just maybe, it would be a way for Papa to find me. After all, there was a bead with my old dress. If Papa found it, maybe he’d guess I was leaving him a clue. I only hoped that no one else had been in the store first and gotten rid of my dress. No, I wouldn’t let myself think like that. I had to have faith that everything would be all right. After he found my old dress, maybe he would find my bead trail. Maybe. Maybe. It wasn’t much of a chance, but it was all I had.

  How I wished I had never put Leaf’s dress on. None of this would have happened if I had still been in my faded blue dress. The soldiers would have known I was white, and they would have listened when I told them to leave Elisi alone. They would have gone to Papa and he’d have made everything all right. More than anything I wanted Papa right then. He could stop these men. He could stop this trouble. Even though he’d warned me to stay away, he would help Leaf and Elisi.

  I watched while the men splashed water on their faces, taking long drinks. Then they watered their horses. The sun made the water sparkle and my mouth ached from dryness. Surely they’d let us get a drink. We couldn’t walk if we died of thirst.

  “Do not worry,” Leaf whispered to me. “As soon as Elisi feels better, we will run off the path and find Cobb. Those soldiers could never find us in the undergrowth on horseback, and they are too lazy to walk.”

  Elisi had her head on her knees. Her long hands covered her face completely. She didn’t look up, but we heard her whisper. “No, you must not make them angry. They will hurt you. I will continue to delay them by walking slowly.”

  Leaf didn’t answer, but I was relieved to hear that Elisi was okay. She was walking slowly on purpose. If she delayed us enough maybe Papa or Cobb could catch up and help us. Elisi was so wise. I vowed to walk as slowly as possible too.

  The captain interrupted our planning. He told us we could drink from the river. We had to go one at a time so
we couldn’t try to get away, he said. I went last and listened to the men talking as I gulped the cold, muddy water from my hands.

  “Stupid Indian figured he could stop us. Just ’cause he owned that store, he thought he could tell a white man what to do,” Conners said.

  Myers laughed. “That boy won’t be telling anyone what to do now. That bullet stopped his mouth for good.”

  I choked and looked up at Myers. He spat tobacco juice into the water and laughed.

  “Shut up,” Captain Reynolds told the men. Something about the captain was different from the others. He didn’t hate Indians. I could tell by the way he looked at me. He didn’t smile, but he looked sad.

  “Let’s go,” Captain Reynolds ordered, and we started walking west again. I hadn’t even had time to wash my bleeding toe. Elisi stumbled along. She was such a good actress that I feared she wasn’t just pretending to be hurt. She seemed to really be in pain. Was it just a few days before that I hadn’t been able to keep up with her? How would she feel after I told her that her grandson was dead? Killed by these men?

  I looked at Elisi, praying that the men had been lying. Praying that all this craziness would stop. How could God let this happen? A purple bruise the size of an apple had formed on Elisi’s forehead where Conners had hit her. Leaf shadowed her grandmother, grabbing her elbow several times to keep her from falling.

  The men made no effort to help. Captain Reynolds led the way and never glanced back toward us. Brownie plodded along in front of us on his bay horse. I didn’t feel sorry for his horse anymore. I just felt sorry for myself, Leaf, and Elisi. Conners rode behind us on his big black horse and Myers brought up the rear on his black mule. Conners and Myers had their rifles at the ready, watching every step we took.

  “This squaw is too damned slow,” Conners complained again.

  “You’re the one that hit her,” Captain Reynolds said. “Keep moving.”

  We walked along the river until we came to a cabin. “This is the Eastmans’ place,” Leaf whispered. “Don’t worry, they’ll help us.” I was so grateful. All I wanted at that moment was a place to rest.

  Leaf threw back her long hair and glared at Myers. She looked so certain that our troubles were at an end, I felt a glimmer of hope.

  Myers snickered and readied his rifle. “Let’s go get us some more Indians.”

  “Watch them,” Captain Reynolds ordered Conners. The captain and his men rushed into the cabin. I wanted to call out and warn the Eastman family inside, but Conners had his rifle pointing at me. I knew one peep out of me and he’d hit me. Besides, it was too late—the men were already inside.

  Leaf and I huddled on the ground close to Elisi. “I’m sorry you were dragged into our troubles, Allie,” Elisi whispered to me. “Your papa will come soon to take you home.”

  I bowed my head so I didn’t have to look at the ugly swelling on her forehead. “He won’t worry until evening,” I whispered. Mama would be angry that I missed dinner, but they wouldn’t be concerned until it was time to go home. By then, there was no telling how far we might have walked. Silently I pulled another bead off my dress and let it fall to the ground.

  “Do not worry,” Leaf said softly. “Cobb will find our trail. They have not even tried to cover our tracks.”

  I didn’t say anything, but I knew Cobb wouldn’t be following us. I had an awful feeling that the men had told the truth and Cobb Sweetwater lay dead somewhere in the woods behind us. I couldn’t bring myself to tell my friend that.

  10

  Half-Breed

  “Shut up,” Conners hollered. “Stop all that whispering.” He sat chewing a long piece of straw and pointing his rifle at Elisi.

  Elisi sat up straight, putting her hand on my shoulder. “I must tell you this child is not a Cherokee.”

  Conners looked at me and spat out a piece of straw. “Looks like a half-breed to me,” he grunted before turning to look at the cabin. The screams from inside the small log house made me shiver.

  Elisi squeezed my shoulder and tried again. “She is a white friend of my granddaughter.”

  Conners didn’t even bother looking at me this time. “White girls don’t wear outfits like that,” he said. “They aren’t that brown, neither. And they don’t make friends with your kind.”

  I looked down at my buckskin dress and remembered Mama’s words: “You’re getting as brown as your dog.” I wished I had worn my bonnet more, the way Mama always wanted me to. And hadn’t Leaf said, “In that dress you could be my sister”? Why hadn’t I changed? My blue dress still lay crumpled behind the pickle barrel.

  I swallowed hard and spoke up. “You can’t do this to us. My papa will never stand for it.”

  “You’ll see your papa soon enough,” Conners said, repositioning his rifle toward my face. “We’re rounding up all the breeds. Georgia’s sick of your kind.”

  “But he isn’t—” I started.

  “I’m not arguing with a little snit of a squaw,” Conners snapped. “If you ain’t Indian yourself you’re friends with them and that’s good enough for me. Shut your mouth or you’ll be sorry.”

  I didn’t say anything else. I just watched while the other men pulled an Indian man and woman and two boys out of the Eastmans’ cabin. The man was barechested, with strong muscles. He looked furious, ready to fight. The woman talked to him in Cherokee and pulled on his arm. She was Mama’s age and with child. It looked as if she was begging him not to fight. After the man answered her in Cherokee, he turned from the soldiers and called to the boys. They were a little older than me and bare-chested too.

  The boys stepped to their father’s side and waited. It was hard to watch what Conners and Myers did. They punched the father in the stomach and ordered him into line with us. Then they ordered the boys and their mother to follow.

  When the Eastman family walked by me, I could see into their eyes. The mother and younger son had tears in their eyes. The father and older son had a look like Conners had. It was a look of hate. But none of them made a sound. Captain Reynolds yelled, “Let’s move,” and we all started walking.

  We followed a trail covered with pine needles that constantly pricked my bare feet. The Eastman family didn’t speak to us and we didn’t have a chance to talk to them because the soldiers made us walk in silence. We walked for hours until I thought I couldn’t go one more step. Then we stopped at another cabin. I dropped another bead off my dress. Thankfully, I still had plenty left for my trail.

  “This is the Wellses’ place,” Leaf confided to me. “They are so old, I don’t think they could walk very far.”

  I stared at the little cabin. It had a red rosebush blooming beside the porch. What would Conners and Myers do to people who couldn’t walk?

  Captain Reynolds took the men inside just as he had before and left Conners to guard us. But this time the captain and his men came out quickly.

  “They’re gone,” Captain Reynolds called. “Let’s move.”

  “They left supper on the table,” the tall man named Myers said. “They knew we were coming.” As we walked away, I saw Myers set fire to the cabin. I could smell the smoke as we moved deeper into the woods. The smoke wasn’t so bad, but Myers’s laughter brought a lump to my throat. Somewhere nearby, I was sure, the owners of the house were hiding and watching. They had no choice but to look on helplessly while everything they owned burned. If they were too old to walk, how could they live without their house? I truly hoped they couldn’t hear Myers’s laughter.

  I was sorry then that I had gulped down so much water. I tried to ignore it, but the pressure got worse and worse. I wanted to run behind a tree to relieve myself. How I wished for the Eldridges’ outhouse. It would seem like a palace. I would sit patiently through days of preaching if I could just go back to that barn again.

  I looked back at Brownie. He was chewing tobacco and slouching on his bay horse, his rifle propped across the saddle horn. Maybe he wouldn’t mind if I ran off a ways behind a tree to relieve myself
. I waved my hand and asked, “Can I go behind the tree for a minute?”

  Brownie laughed and I could see the tobacco juice in his mouth. “Not on your life,” he said with a laugh, and raised his rifle in my direction. I started to argue, but I could tell it was hopeless. I concentrated on holding my bladder until I felt sick to my stomach. Finally I could hold it no more. Warm water rolled down, stinging my dusty legs and leaving streaks on them. Before long I noticed that Leaf and the others had done the same. I was embarrassed for all of us. Leaf, who bathed every morning, was now filthy.

  But she didn’t complain and neither did I. It wouldn’t have done any good. Besides, Brownie, Conners, and Myers would have enjoyed our misery.

  Our group walked through the daylight and into the setting sun. Had it been only that morning that I was safe with my parents at the prayer service? So much had happened, I felt like a different person. Shadows from the woods made me think wild animals were watching us. I was scared. Every once in a while an owl would hoot or a wolf would howl. Even Conners acted frightened by the sounds.

  It always cooled off in our part of Georgia on fall evenings, and the breeze felt light and comforting on my cheek. But the setting sun didn’t help my feet any. The bottoms of my feet burned as if hot coals lined the path instead of dirt and dried pine needles. The dried blood had formed a crust on my toe, and it still throbbed. I was glad to stop at the next cabin, although I knew it meant more prisoners. I needed rest, even with Conners’s rifle pointing at me. I knew Elisi needed the break as much as I did. I had given up on the idea that she was pretending. She walked slowly because she had to, although a part of me still hoped she was fine. Leaf didn’t tell me who lived in the cabin. Maybe she didn’t know. Maybe it didn’t matter anymore. She just sat and stared at the ground, her long hair covering her face. She didn’t look up when we heard fighting and screaming.