A couple of cowards
Crime was rare in the Cherokee country, violent crime even more so. Some say this is because of the eye-for-an-eye nature of Cherokee clan law. I prefer to think that it is because we as a culture were more evolved and civilized than most.
Regardless of the reason, crime was rare in the Cherokee country. For this reason, there was much excitement when an out of breath runner showed up at Rabbit’s place with the news that some people from our town had been killed on the pass over the mountain. To make it even worse, if that were possible, we were in the middle of a very contentious council election. We did not know at first how those two things would tie together.
In those days it was very hard to get elected to anything if you had not first proved yourself on the battlefield. But in this particular election we had a candidate who never served anywhere more difficult than his mama’s table. This fellow and his sidekick, a noisy little fellow so given to lying and gossip that the People called him “One Who Lies,” somehow got it into their heads that they might actually have a shot at a council seat. They soon found out that no one was going to take them seriously, so great was their reputation for laziness and cowardice.
During the time of the Shawnee wars, most if not all, Cherokees of military age had walked “The Red Path” with one or more of the famous war leaders of the time, many on multiple occasions, fighting any and all who disturbed the peace and tranquility of the Cherokee country. A notable and glaring exception of course, was this candidate and his little sidekick. They obviously had to do something if they were to have any hope of fulfilling their political ambitions.
The candidate and his little sidekick began making the rounds, from the Council House to Rabbit’s place they started accusing the Peace Chief of weakness and the War Chief of cowardice. Raven payed little attention to this as he was a man of remarkable courage and had proven himself on more missions then these two jokers could count, but the warriors who served with him were far less patient. Over time the atmosphere in our community became more and more strained. Indeed, as time went on the situation became volatile. Longtime friends stopped speaking to one another. A poisonous river of suspicion ran through the countryside, dividing the people.
We did not know it at the time, but things were about to get worse.
One night at Rabbit’s place, Little Sidekick was running his mouth at the bar when Wolf noted dryly that he was making mighty big talk for someone who had never been anywhere more dangerous than his mama’s lap. The whole place broke out laughing, Little Sidekick threw his glass at Wolf and ran out the door. The rest of us passed the evening making jokes at the expense of The Candidate and Little Sidekick.
The next day, The Candidate and Little Sidekick announced that they would take up the hatchet and go on the war path to fight the enemy. With much bragging and big talk, they packed their borrowed weapons and left town.
Later the same day, an associate of Old Man Otter left on a trading trip to the wampum country. And, because he was a man of impeccable reputation, a couple of ladies who were going to visit relatives in another town along his route asked to join him. The trader took his trade goods, a couple of helpers and his most prized possession, a fine rifle with a custom stock with unique markings custom made for him by a highly regarded gunsmith from Cowee Town.
A couple of days later, we got the news that the trader and his entire party, including the women, were murdered in the mountain pass. A couple of days after that, The Candidate and Little Sidekick returned from their “war expedition” with trophies they claimed to have taken in battle. One of these trophies was a rifle whose stock bore unique markings.
As was the custom in those days, a dance was held at the square ground to celebrate the “victory.” One of the visitors to the dance was a highly regarded gunsmith from Cowee Town.
Upon seeing the rifle, the gunsmith spoke privately to the families of those who were murdered (one of the women being from his own clan), the families then spoke with the Chief and council. After a time, the truth was established, The Candidate and Little Sidekick, hoping to achieve glory as warriors, but being too lazy and too cowardly to be such; had resorted to murder to fulfill their ambitions. They were turned over to the clans of those who were murdered for the fulfillment of the clan law, which requires a life for a life.
The incident taught us to always distrust politicians who have nothing to recommend of themselves except selfish vanity and bad talk.