40. A War Story

40. A WAR STORY ¹

It is said that there was once a woman belonging to the Tcikote clan who dwelt at some distance from her town. At that time the Hitchiti were at war with the Yamasee, they say. The woman had two children living with her.

One night the Yamasee came to her house, surrounded it, and at daybreak made an attack upon it. That woman had a gun with her which she seized, and she shot at them. They would run away, and, when they came on again, she would shoot again. She put the older boy outdoors and made him run away, saying to him, "Run and tell the people, at the town." While she continued to shoot, she took the second boy, who was very small, on her arm and ran off with him. As they continued to pursue her, she laid the boy beside a log when she jumped over it. But they came up, discovered the child, killed him and returned with his scalp.

Upon this the woman reached the town and told what had happened. While she was running away she shot one of the Yamasee and killed him, dragged him back and laid him close to the door, after which she ran off. Now the Hitchiti started out, took off the man's scalp, and returned with it. When they reached their square ground, since the woman had killed a man and they could not make her a tåsikaya (first grade warrior), they made her son a tåsikaya. She thought, "While I was fighting I was whooping," but she was only crying.

This is how the story goes.

Footnotes

115:1 Recorded by Dr. A. S. Gatschet from Judge George W. Stidham.