This page is Dedicated to :

             My
Son and Daughter
          and
my son who has gone to be with
the Great Spirit.

You are of Cherokee Blood !!
    Be Proud of it!
I have gotten Permission from :

Abe " Del " Jones - on 6-2-2000
 to use this on my site.
  The Neverending Trail
                 by
      Abe "Del" Jones

We whites honor the "hermitage"
And the man who once lived there-
But, that leader of our Nation
Was cruel, unjust, unfair-

He ordered the removal
Of the Cherokee from their land
And forced them on a trek
That the Devil must have planned-

One thousand miles of misery-
Of pain and suffering-
Because greed of the white man
Could not even wait till spring-

We should bow our heads in shame
Even unto this day
About "The Trail Of Tears" And those   
who
died along the way.

It was October,eighteen thirty-eight
When seven thousand troups in blue
Began the story of the "Trail"
Which, so sadly, is so true-

Jackson ordered General Scott
To rout the Indians from their home-
Teh "Center Of The World" they    
loved-
The only one they'd known-

The Braves working in the fields
Arrested, Placed in a stockade-
Women and children dragged from
home
In the bluecoats shameful raid-

Some were prodded with bayonets
When, they were deemed to move too
slow
To where the Sky was their blanket
And the cold Earth, their pillow-

In one home Babe had died
sometime in the night before-
And women mourning, planning burial
Were cruelly herded out the door-

In another, a frail Mother-
Papoose on back and two in tow
Was told she must leave her home
Was told that she must go-

She uttered a quiet prayer-
Told the old family dog good-bye-
Then, her broken heart gave out
And she sank slowly down to die-

Chief Junaluska witnessed this-
Tear streaming down his face-
Said if he could have known this
It would have never taken place-

For, at the battle of Horse Shoe
With five hundred Warriors, his best-
Helped Andrew Jackson win that battle
And lay thirty-three Braves to rest-        
 

And the Chief drove his tomahawk
Through a Creek Warrior's head
Who was about to kill Jackson-
But whose life was saved, instead-

Chief John Ross knew this story
And once sent Junaluska to plead-
Thinking Jackson would listen to
This Chief who did that deed-

But, Jackson was cold, indifferent
To the one he owed his life to
Said " The Cherokee's fate is sealed-
There's nothing, I can do".

Washington, D.C. had decreed
They must be moved Westward-
And all their pleas and protests
To this day still go unheard.

On November, the seventheenth
Old Man Winter reared his head-
And freezing cold, sleet and snow
Littered that trail with the dead

On one night, at least twenty-two
Were released from their torment
To join that Great Spirit in the Sky
Where all good souls are sent-

Many humane, heroic stories
Were written 'long the way-
A monument, for one of them-
Still stands until this day-

It seems one noble woman
It was Chief Ross' wife-
Gave her blanket to a sick child
And in so doing, gave her life-

She is buried in an unmarked grave-
Dug shallow near the "Trail'-
Just one more tragic ending
In this tragic,shameful tale-

Mother Nature showed no mercy
Till they reached the end of the line
When that fateful journy ended
On March twenty-sixth, eighteen
thirty-nine.

Each mile of this infamous "Trail"
Marks the graves of four who died-
Four thousand poor souls in all
Marks the shame we try to hide-


You still can hear them crying
Along "The Trail Of Tears"
If you listen with your heart
And not with just your ears.

 
I want to
" Thank You "Abe"  for
letting  me use this, Its part of my
children heritage,and proud of it!!!!!!

Abe you are quite a poet - you have
touched my heart and i know you have
touch millions also. I am Very proud to
know you !!!!!
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