After a visit with Daniel and Jaxon who were putting the discbine to bed for the winter…
I had to put in my steps for the day, so off I went with my companions.
One or more cats always accompany my traveling troop…
She looks rather majestic, doesn’t she?
****
Choctaw Trail of Tears Journey/199,658 steps/99.8 miles/21% complete
We have reached Vicksburg, Mississippi. Upon reaching Vicksburg, known by some Choctaw as Nvnih Chaha or High Hill, Choctaw peope began to gather into groups outside of town. It is here that group led by Joel Nail and Chief George Harkins went down the Mississippi River while Chief David Folsom and Chief Nitakachi’s would travel up the Mississippi River. Chief George Harkins was 20 years old and had just taken over for his uncle, who had been deposed as chief. In 1831 he wrote an eloquent letter published by the local newspaper asking for understanding for the Choctaw people who were forced to leave their homeland, abandoning the spirits of their ancestors. He wrote: “Here is the land of our progenitors, and here are their bones; they left them as a sacred deposit, and we have been compelled to venerate its trust; it is dear to us, yet we cannot stay, my people are dear to me, with them I must go. Could I stay and forget them and leave them to struggle alone, unaided, unfriended, and forgotten by our great father? I should then be unworthy the name of a Choctaw, and be a disgrace to my blood. I must go with them; my destiny is cast among the Choctaw people. If they suffer, so will I; if they prosper, then I will rejoice. Let me again ask you to regard us with feelings of kindness.”
Find me here!
