Chapter 1
The light of the fire flickered in the dimming light of a summer sunset. The early evening sounds of marsh crickets and tree frogs echoed through the river valley. A lone Indian brave danced by the light of the fire, dressed in a ceremonial headdress. He chanted low and slowly and stepped lightly on his bare feet. He shuffled through the sand to the sound of a solo drumbeat. He danced to the coming twilight and for the beckoning moon. His chant would rise and fall with the embers that crackled from the fire as he lifted his eyes to the heavens as the smoke rose to bless the air of the coming night.
In a small, mud thatched hut, the glow of a fire could be seen. A new mother’s cry sang out into the night, blending with the chant of the spirit guide. Inside the hut, a young squaw gritted her teeth and wailed in pain. Her eyes glistened in the light of the fire, as tears filled her eyes. Aiyana breathed short and quick and she grasped the hand of her caretaker, Onacona, or White Owl. Aiyana threw her head from side to side, crying out in pain. But she kept her eyes fixed on the old woman, knowing that she was in good hands.
As the sun set its last light over the horizon, Aiyana cried out once more. Her breathing became a series of long sighs of relief. Then another faint cry was heard from within the tiny hut. It was the cry of her newborn son. He cried out as he felt the cool night air for the first time. The little one was wrapped in warm, soft fox pelts and was placed in his mothers exhausted arms. Aiyana smiled at her baby, with tears of joy running down her cheeks. The little baby rested in her arms, with his tiny blue eyes opened just slightly. He had a small, damp mat of light colored hair. His eyes closed in the comfort of his mother’s arms.
The old woman pulled the door flap aside to reveal an anxious father waiting outside. Chief Caddo stepped into the hut slowly, looking at his young wife and their newborn son.
“Your eyes are shining brightly this night, my wife,” he said softly to her.
“Here is our son,” Aiyana said in a weak voice.
He placed his hand on the side of her face. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his broad hand. Suddenly, her eyes flew open wide and she wailed in tremendous pain. White Owl came rushing back and took the newborn baby from her arms and placed him in a small bed of fresh grasses and pelts. She quickly looked Aiyana over and instinctively knew what was wrong.
“You must leave now,” she said firmly to Caddo.
“Why, what has happened?” he asked frantically.
“There is still another! I must attend to her now!” White Owl exclaimed, pushing him out of the hut. Aiyana’s pain was even more severe. She could barely breathe as the pain shot through her body. She gasped for air and held the old woman’s hand tightly. White Owl wiped the sweat from Aiyana’s face and tried to calm her.
“Easy, my child, easy,” she said calmly. “I will stay with you. I will not leave your side.”
The ordeal for Aiyana continued into the night and her labor pains intensified with each passing hour. Caddo remained outside in the damp light rain the entire night. White Owl waited patiently at her side, trying to comfort Aiyana and attend to her needs. She kept the fire alit and fresh water at her bedside.
At first light, a light fog covered the Sabine River valley. The rain clouds had dissipated as the faintest of light could be seen over the eastern horizon. The cries of Aiyana could be heard throughout the tribal village. Caddo stared at the ground helplessly. He worried greatly about his wife and wanted her pain to cease.
He gazed into the distance as the morning sun warmed his face. Then, he noticed that he no longer heard the cries of his laboring wife. Suddenly, he heard a low, faint cry coming from the hut. He closed his eyes in relief. She had finally delivered her second baby.
White Owl emerged from the hut, carrying an empty water skin and wearily walked towards the river to refill it.
Caddo grabbed her arm and she looked at him with tired eyes. “She is alright?” he asked her. She nodded and motioned for him to go inside.
Caddo ducked inside the hut slowly to see his thoroughly exhausted wife asleep on the bed. In her arms was another tiny baby, with dark brown eyes, who appeared to be wide awake. He cooed softly, with light, faint cries. His head was covered with thick dark hair that matched the color of his father’s. Caddo knelt beside her. He brushed her hair away from her forehead.
“My lovely Aiyana. How brave you are,” he said in a whisper. She opened her eyes slowly to see him and then closed them again. “Rest now, my wife. I will not leave your side.”
On the third day, the entire Caddo tribe came together on the banks of the river to welcome the newborn babies into their midst. It was tradition to name the newborn on this day and welcome them into the tribe with ceremonial dancing. A great feast was prepared and a large sacred fire was burning in the center of the village.
Aiyana sat with her husband, holding her two newborn sons. Caddo stood before the crowd and all became quiet.
“The ‘great spirit’ has come upon our village and blessed us with the arrival of not one, but two sons,” he said, standing with a firm expression. “We welcome them to our family with dancing amid the sacred smoke that will lift their names to the realm of the ‘great spirit’. Let the names of my sons now be spoken!”
Caddo reached down and Aiyana handed him the first of their two sons. He held him in his arms and spoke, “My son, since you came into this world as the sun set over our lands, I shallcall you Nakahodot.”
He gave Nakahodot back to Aiyana and then she handed him their second son. He held him close in his arms and spoke, “My son, since you came into this world as the sun rose over our lands, I shall call you Natchitos.”
Caddo sat next to his wife and the dancing and singing began. He smiled at his wife and their twin sons. The little ones watched the celebration with wide and fascinated eyes.
As the years passed, Nakahodot and Natchitos grew to be excellent young braves. Their father took pride in teaching them the ways of the Caddo. He taught them to hunt and to fish. Both became very skilled with the spear and the bow and arrow. They learned to work in the fields and plant corn, beans and tobacco. They learned how to use the native trees to construct their homes and build canoes. They learned to fashion mud to the walls of their homes. Caddo took pride in teaching both of his sons the true ways of a young warrior.
Natchitos grew very fond of the river valley where they lived. He loved to explore in the forests by the river. He found a small hill that overlooked their village that provided a view of the river. As he grew older, he would hike up the hill early each morning to watch the sunrise. Aiyana would see him sitting on the hillside staring out over the horizon each morning. She would shake her head and smile and think that her second son was indeed aptly named.
In the fifteenth year of their lives, both young braves were given their father’s permission to seek wives to marry. The tribe was close-knit, with a small collection of families that lived amongst one another. So, they both already knew the young squaws with whom they held favor.
Nakahodot came to the hut of Atohi, father of Calanele. He sat with him at the fire and asked him for his daughter’s hand in marriage. If Atohi should grant his permission, on the third morning Nakahodot would find blessings outside his door.
Natchitos did the same as his brother. He went to the hut of Nashoba, or Running Wolf, father of Taima. He asked Running Wolf for his daughter’s hand in marriage. If Running Wolf should grant his permission, on the third morning Natchitos would find blessings outside his door.
On the third morning, Nakahodot and Natchitos rushed outside their home. Blessings from both families had been placed outside their door, signifying their acceptance from both families.
On the day that both sons were to marry their betrothed, a great gathering was held in front of the sacred fire as the sun rose to the top of the sky. The two bro
thers stood together in front of their father, and chief of the tribe, Caddo. Nakahodot stood with long, flowing, dusty-brown hair. Natchitos stood with his long flowing black hair. The women of the tribe chanted and danced as they escorted the two young squaws to their wedding. Both of them were dressed in light gray skins that fell to their feet. They wore decorative moccasins that were only worn on such special occasions. They wore colorful beads, woven onto their clothes, and in their hair that was braided long and black. Nakahodot and Natchitos watched curiously as the women proceeded through the village, singing and chanting. A slow, ceremonial drumbeat was heard throughout the village as they walked.
The families of the women stood behind each of them. Each woman stood before her betrothed. The two beautiful young women smiled faintly as they stared at the ground in front of them. As Caddo spoke, Taima raised her head and gave a quick smile to Natchitos, then looked down again when her mother quietly snitched at her.
“The wedding of a father’s son is always a joyous day,” Caddo began. “For a father to see his two sons at their wedding is beyond words. It pleases me to see this day has come.” He looked at his first son. “Nakahodot, Atohi has granted his blessing for you to take his daughter, Calanele, into your home. You will make her your wife and you will honor and protect her all of your days.” His son nodded as he stared downward.
Then Caddo looked at Natchitos, “Natchitos, Running Wolf has granted his blessing for you to take his daughter, Taima, into your home. You will make her your wife and you will honor and protect her all of your days.” Natchitos looked at his father and nodded.
“This is a special day for me and your mother,” Caddo continued. “May this day be remembered by all the Caddo.”
A great celebration began that lasted the rest of the afternoon and throughout the night. The wedding of the chief’s two sons was a joyous occasion that all of the tribe’s people would remember.
Three years had passed when Aiyana fell ill in the coldest days of winter. Caddo stayed by her side night and day as she fought a fever that gripped her entire body. And, on the fourth day of her struggle, Aiyana passed away. Sadness spread among the tribe. Caddo was inconsolable with grief and despair. He could not even gather the strength to carry his wife’s body on the solemn procession to lay her to rest, far into the forest. He asked his two sons to carry their mother for him, to take her body to the place where the ‘great spirit’ would come to take her away. A period of mourning lasted for three days among the entire tribe.
Chief Caddo was never the same after the passing of his beloved wife. His sons would try to comfort him, but their attempts were futile. As time went on, both brothers started families of their own along the Sabine River. Taima had given birth to her first born, a son, she and Natchitos named Anoki. Natchitos began to teach their son as his father had taught him.
One night, in the middle of summer, word spread throughout the tribe that their chief had grown ill in his old age. Nakahodot and Natchitos rushed to their father’s home to be at his side. Caddo gasped for air as he lay on his bed. Natchitos tried to keep a fire lit to help his father stay warm. The two sons sat at his side the rest of the evening and into the night.
As the two men sat in silence with their father, Caddo spoke to them in a weak voice, “My sons, my time has come and soon I will reunite with your mother. My soul has ached for her and now it is time to meet her once again.” His two sons listened to him with sadness in their eyes. “The ‘great spirit’ has provided a fruitful land by the river. But, now it is time for the tribe to find a new land.” Nakahodot and Natchitos looked at each other in surprise.
Caddo continued, “Soon, you will both be leaders of the Caddo. My sons, I ask of you this final wish. On the day of my passing, I ask that both of you gather your family and their families and go and settle in new lands. Do not mourn me for three days. Instead, I ask for you to remember me in another way.” Both sons listened intently to their father. “Nakahodot, I ask that you travel for three days towards the setting sun. On the third day, you will stop and settle in the new land and rear a tribe.”
Then, Caddo looked at Natchitos. “Natchitos, I ask that you travel for three days towards the rising sun. On the third day, you will stop and settle in the new land and rear a tribe. The ‘great spirit’ willing, you will both find your way to one another once again, thus continuing the sacred bond of the Caddo. What I ask of you, was done by me, and my father before me. Now, I am asking this of you. This is the only way to ensure the lasting of the Caddo.” Both sons sat and thought about what their father had said. They both looked at each other and silently nodded to their father and to one another.
Natchitos looked at his father and said, “We shall honor your request, Father. It will be done.” Later that night, Chief Caddo breathed his last.
Both sons did as their father had asked them. With the efficiency of a military garrison, the entire tribe had gathered everything and prepared for the long journey.
Nakahodot gathered his and Calanele’s family and other tribal families. They numbered about forty-five in all. Natchitos, in turn, gathered his wife and son, Taima’s extended family, and the remaining members of the tribe. In all, they numbered about thirty-five.
The two brothers stood facing one another. They clasped their arms together in the tribe’s traditional way.
“Are you certain this is the right thing for us to do? Together, we form a more formidable tribe, do we not?” Nakahodot asked his brother.
“We must honor our father in life and in death,” Natchitos responded. “The ‘great spirit’ will guide us and give us strength. He will guide us to the proper place for mourning. We will know when we have found it. Then, mourning will turn to joy.”
Natchitos looked at his brother and said, “I will always think of you, brother. Whenever the sun sets, my thoughts will be with you.”
“Go in peace, my brother,” Nakahodot said.
With that, both men gathered their tribes and began their journey. Nakahodot traveled west and Natchitos traveled east.
Natchitos traveled through the forests and over the rolling hills on the eastern side of the Sabine River. The trees were tall and many in number. Occasionally, they would find open fields with ample grain. They stopped only to rest and retrieve water from small ponds and streams.
The sun grew hot as they walked on. On the third day, they continued to walk through a thick forest of trees. Soon, they came upon the crest of a hillside. Natchitos stopped to look out over the view. Below the hill was a narrow river that winded calmly towards the south. The river stretched as far as he could see in both directions. They slowly walked down the hill to the banks of the river. Tall, thick stalks of cane grew along the banks.
Natchitos looked at Taima and then at the rest of the tribe. He nodded to himself. “We have made it, Father. This is the proper place for our tribe,” he said to himself.
Taima put her arm into his. “We should not walk any longer,” she said to him. “This is the place where we should stay and make our home.”
“Yes, this is where the ‘great spirit’ has been leading us,” Natchitos agreed.
He turned to the tribe and spoke, “We will wander no further. We will settle our tribe here.” From that day forth, the river became known as the ‘waters of the cane’.
Legend Upon the Cane Page 2
