First think in the morning, we met on the porch of the Blue Bank Resort, to enjoy coffee and nature, with Karen & Wayne.
There is a beautiful Butterfly Garden at Blue Bank Resort, where Karen & Wayne are staying.
You can find a legend anywhere you look and Reelfoot Lake is
no exception. So, I thought I would share the legend. The legend says that at the beginning of the 19th century, a
tribe of the Chickasaw was ruled by a mighty Chief. His heart was heavy, for
his son had been born with a deformed foot. As the boy grew and developed
normally, his walk was different from all the other Indians. He walked and ran
with a rolling, so his people called him Kalopin, meaning Reelfoot.
When the old chief died, Reelfoot became Chief. He, too, was
sad and lonely, for none of the Indian maidens had stirred in him thoughts of
love. His father had often told him of the mighty tribes dwelling to the south,
and of the wondrous beauty of their maidens. So, restless in spirit, when the
robins arrived from the north, he wandered south in search of a princess.
After many days of travel, he reached the land of the great
Choctaw Chief, Copiah. Reelfoot then beheld his dream princess, more beautiful
than he had ever dared imagine, sitting close by the side of the Chief, her
father. After they had eaten and smoked the peace pipe, Reelfoot asked for the
old chief’s daughter in marriage. Old Copiah was filled with wrath because he
did not wish his daughter to marry a deformed chief and told Reelfoot that his
daughter could only be given in wedlock to a Choctaw chieftain.
The old chief called on the Great Spirit who spoke to
Reelfoot and said that an Indian must not steal his wife from any neighboring
tribe, for such was tribal law. If he disobeyed and carried off the princess
he, the Great Spirit, would cause the earth to rock and the waters to swallow
up his village and bury his people in a watery grave. Reelfoot was frightened
at this threat of dire punishment and sorrowfully returned home.
By the end of the next summer, he decided to ignore the
wrath of the great Spirit and to steal the forbidden maiden. He stole the
maiden, Laughing Eyes, and returned home to the great rejoicing of his people.
Laughing Eyes was greatly frightened for she had heard what the Great Spirit
had said to Reelfoot and begged that he send her back to her father. Reelfoot
was so much in love that he was willing to defy everything.
In the midst of the celebration and the marriage rites, the
earth began to roll in rhythm with kettledrums and tom-toms. The Indians tried
to flee to the hills, but the rocking earth made them reel and stagger. Chief
Reelfoot and his bride reeled also and the Great Spirit stomped his foot in
anger. The Father of Waters heard the stomp, and, backing on his course, rushed
over Reelfoot’s country.
Where the Great Spirit stomped the earth the Mississippi
formed a beautiful lake, at the bottom of which lay Chief Reelfoot, his bride,
and his people. Such is the Indian legend of Reelfoot Lake.
If you believe this legend ... you missed by blog from yesterday ... LOL
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