By: Cave Spelunking
American Indians used caves in many ways and for many purposes . Some caves were considered sacred. Some were simply used for shelter. Some caves were used to store food. Others provided necessary materials like flint.
American Indians are great storytellers. As you might imagine, many of the legends and stories that are part of the various Indian cultures center around caves because caves played an important role in everyday existence.
One of my favorite Indian cave legends is about three boys who went out hunting and never returned. The legend says that a war party was formed and the boys were tracked to the entrance of a cave. Each member of the war party descended into the cave and immediately disappeared without a trace. The last member of the war party heard a death song that he'd never heard before coming from the cave.
Rescue was attempted several times, but each time a man got to a certain point of the descent, he disappeared and the eerie song was heard.
One day a boy appeared at the Indian campsite. He was leading a blind man who was completely white. The tribe thought that the boy was one of those who had been lost to the cave, but he said that he came from another tribe to the Northwest.
The all-white man became a great healer. The chief asked the all-white man to try to find out what happened to the three boys and the war party at the cave. He and the boy went to the cave and descended down into it. Just as they disappeared, the song of death became louder.
Much time went by, but finally the all-white man came out of the cave alone. He climbed into a canoe and paddled away across the lake. Later, some adventuresome braves descended into the cave and found a chamber where there was a giant empty throne, and laying about it face down around it, the bones of all the boys and men who had descended into the cave.
Rock On & Keep Spelunking...
Cave Spelunking.
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