Yahula and His Horses
A long time ago, there was a Cherokee man named Yahula, who was a horse trader in the
East. The people knew when he was coming because of his singing and the tinkle of
bells he had braided in his ponies manes. One day Yahula became lost during
the early spring hunt when a snowstorm covered the mountains. Cherokee searchers
were unable to find him and gave him up for lost. Two seasons later Yahula appeared
at his friends door and told how the Immortals had found him and taken him in.
Since he had eaten the Immortals food, he was unable to rejoin the Cherokee but
would come and visit periodically. Eventually the visits ended.
There were rumors of the removal and the Cherokee said, perhaps when we get to Indian Territory,
we will see Yahula again, but they never did. Some of the old people say they hear someone singing
and the tinkle of bells on soft summer nights in Northeastern Oklahoma.
