Chapter 4:
The Smoking Hummingbird
Denman sat on the outside of the circle. The men were gathered to
discuss troubles the Cherokee now faced in this new land. The Cherokee
were having trouble finding the best place to settle, and where the
land would bear food best. Yes, they had finally reached the end of the
long
trail, only to meet by more obstacles. Denman was just glad he had been
allowed to sit with the men. He sat quietly and listened.
“We
should settle on the south side of the creek bed, where the water is
plentiful and we can be protected from enemies!” said one man to the
crowd.
“No! The ground is too soft there and it does not
receive enough sunlight in the day! We will have plenty of water to
wash down nothing!” said another man, who sat opposing the first man.
They
had been arguing for hours, and the Chief did not look amused.
Denman’s grandfather sat quietly listening to everything that was said.
A young boy
had snuck into the large tent without permission and was hiding among
the men. He yelled out, “I know where we can live! My friends and I
found a wonderful place!”
Someone
swatted the young boy. His father crossed the room and began
scolding him, while he dragged him from the tent. Everyone dismissed
the young boy. Some of the men made comments about how foolish the
child must be to think he found a place the men had not seen. And
others laughed at the boy’s expense. Denman felt a bit of anger at
seeing their smug attitudes. He felt the sudden urge to speak out and
tell them that they should not dismiss this brave boy. And then he
found that the urge had won.
“Chief,
would you like some tobacco?” Denman cried out above the crowd.
Everyone
grew quiet and stared at Denman in disbelief. Denman felt a lump in
this throat growing. He gathered his courage and spoke up.
“I thought
perhaps you would like some tobacco for your pipe. I have a little left
over.”
The Chief
nodded his head and Denman approached him with what little tobacco he
had left. He had been hoping to smoke it later that night. “Oh well…”
he thought.
As he
handed the tobacco to the chief he addressed the crowd, “Do you all
remember how tobacco was grown again in the old land?”
“This is
not the time for stories, I'näge-utäsûñ'hï,
“ said one man.
But the
Chief’s eyes glistened with intrigue. He knew Denman’s grandfather was
a wise man. And he was curious to see what this new man meant by this
rude outburst.
“Why don’t
you tell us, I'näge-utäsûñ'hï?” said the
Chief.
Denman
suddenly felt nervous. He turned and saw his grandfather smiling at
him.
Denman began,
“You will remember that it was the Dagûl`kû geese that
stole the tobacco from our people. And the Dagûl`kû guarded
it well. And the elders that needed smoke to live began to die. So many
animals volunteered to go and retrieve the tobacco plant. But each one
that went was killed by the fierce Dagûl`kû. Finally, the
hummingbird volunteered to go and retrieve the tobacco plant. But the
men mocked the hummingbird, and said that he was too small. But the
hummingbird begged to be allowed a chance. The men asked him how he
would do it So the hummingbird showed them his speed by plucking
another plant and returning it to them before they could even finish
mocking him. So the men decided to let him try. The hummingbird went
off to retrieve the tobacco, and the Dagûl`kû was watchful
and waiting. But the bird was so small and quick that the
Dagûl`kû could not see him. And he stole the tobacco plant
back for our people! When he returned, an old woman was already dying,
and needed the tobacco to live. So the hummingbird blew smoke into her
so that she could live!”
Denman
found that he was facing the whole meeting now. He waited for their
response.
“What is
your point I'näge-utäsûñ'hï?” the first man
said with anger in his voice.
Denman
stared back at him. “We have lost something before. And it was not
returned to us through the might of large animals, or the discussion of
men. We found tobacco again through the speed of a small hummingbird.
Our chance at this new land will come to us in many ways, but it will
return as it did for our ancestors. Perhaps we should not be so quick
to dismiss hummingbirds…”
Denman
turned and looked at the tent exit where the little boy’s father now
stood. The Chief turned and looked at Denman’s grandfather, who
was grinning.
“Your
grandson seems to have a voice. Perhaps our people will listen…”
Image Informatin: This is a picture of the Ruby Throted Hummingbird. It
is a beatiful bird. I took it from a bird watching site.
Author’s Note: I chose to do
this story because when I read it I pictured it fitting into the frame
tale well and I thought it was a good story. It is about the origin of
tobacco, or at least how the plant was regained. There are
multiple origin stories where the plant or animal is being returned to
the people. I think this has something with the concept of things being
eternal, and circular. I cannot back up that theory, but it is a
fascinating one. I told the story quickly, because I wanted it to seem
like Denman was nervous and just telling this quick story. There are
two versions of the story, but I used the first one to write off
mainly. In the original text, there was one old woman who was dying the
entire time, instead of multiple elders. I thought this would be a
detail that Denman would exaggerate since he was telling the story to
all the men gathered. The purpose of this final story was first, to
retell an origin story in a candid manner, the way you might hear it in
real life. The second was to provide a small amount of closure to
Denman’s story. We do not need to know the details about how his people
survived, because we all know that they did. But this story brings us
to the point where Denman finally finds his voice, and when the people
recognize his voice. Denman’s people may be looking for a new home, but
Denman has finally found his first home.
Original Text:
Story: How
They Brought Back Tobacco
Author: Mooney, James
Site: Myths
of the Cherokee (1897-98)
Adaleniha
Owasa Iyusdi