TWO sisters were gathering wood not far from home. The elder
sister had a baby with her, a little boy. A party of Cherokees
captured them. When the husband and friends found that the women
had been carried away, they called a council, and it was decided
not to pursue the Cherokees lest they might kill the women. When
the sisters found that they were near the Cherokee country, the
elder sister, who had a flint knife hidden under her blanket,
planned an escape. In the night, when the men were asleep, she
found that the ends of the ropes binding herself and her sister
were on the ground under one of the men, and she knew that if
she could cut the ropes she could free herself and sister. She
cut them very cautiously. They were going to leave the baby, but
it was about to cry and the mother said, "Let us die together,"
and she took it. They were not far away when some one called
out, "The women are gone!" Then they saw firebrands. Each man
had taken one and started in pursuit. The sisters went South,
the men went