10/24 email from Elmwood Jr. High: "We will definitely be back. That was an absolutely marvelous trip. The kids are still talking about it. Thanks!! Serena Goines The beauty of the woods tell the story of the Ozarks. As I walked the trails, I could imagine the Indians hunting these same woods so long ago. We had a great time! The Thompsons	Legend of War Eagle War Eagle was the son of a Cherokee chief. He lived with his tribe along the banks of the La Grande River in Indian Territory, now Eastern Oklahoma. Se-quah-dee, a beautiful young maiden from a nearby village, had been promised to become his wife. Friends and lovers since early childhood, their families had planned for their wedding as soon as the corn was green. Shortly before the wedding date, a French trapper befriended Se-Quah-Dee's family. One night the trapper lured Seq-quah-dee to his fireside, grabbed her and bound her. Fighting her abductor with all her might, her strength could not overcome that of the big woodsman. The trapper tied Se-quah-dee to a horse and left with her during the night, heading east into the mountains of Arkansas. Although War Eagle realized it was against the white man's law to leave Indian Territory and that the consequences were severe, his every thought was on retrieving Se-quah-dee. The young brave mustered a small band of his friends together and managed to follow the trapper's trail into Arkansas for three days. Coming into a small settlement, the band entered the village in hopes of finding the trapper. It was a common emotion for white men to become excited and fearful at the sight of a Redskin, and soon a possee from the settlement was armed and in pursuit of War Eagle's party. In their frantic efforts to evade the white-man, the Indians lost the trapper's trail. Finally eluding the possee, War Eagle's band set up camp deep in the Boston Mountains. Many of his Indian companions tried to persuade the heart-broken young brave that the trail was lost and it would be impossible to ever find the trapper or Se-quah-dee in the dense and mountainous Ozark forests. Soon War Eagle was left with only a very small group of his closest friends. The thick Ozark woods were strange and unfamiliar to him. Weeks went by but he continued, determined to find the one he loved. One day while resting near a stream, the band was ambushed by a possee of whites. During the fight, three of War Eagle's men were killed. This outrageous act greatly infuriated the young brave - he was doing no harm to the white man and they had no cause to kill some of his best friends. Seeking revenge, War Eagle killed and scalped the next white man he came across. When the man's body was found, fear spread rapidly throughout the Ozarks. All of the Ozark settlements were put on alert and many possees were formed to search for and kill the wild renegade Indians that were roaming the hills. With many white men on their trail, the band had many skirmishes. During the battles all were either killed or wounded. Somehow War Eagle escaped the many battles without injury, but soon found himself alone without a horse. Hunted like a wild animal in the strange Ozark wilderness, his survival was undergoing the supreme test. When whites got too close, the brave bolted like a frightened deer, leaping over the dead trees and gullies, frantically escaping the wrath of his pursuers. To survive, he fished the many Ozark streams, stalked rabbits and other small game with his knife. He ate his meat raw as he could not afford to give away his location by building a fire. He also ate the many wild berries that flourished in the forest around him. At night, War Eagle would search for camp fires and quietly move in close enough to see the campers. One night, several months after leaving his home, he finally saw Se-quah-dee preparing a meal for her abductor, who sat on a log guzzling hard liquor. The camp was near a stream where it made a large bend. This stream is believed to be the War Eagle River of today. In his desperate anxiety to kill the trapper and retrieve his long-lost lover, he failed to notice the trapper's friends sleeping nearby. War Eagle lunged into camp and drove his razor-sharp knife into the trapper's chest. The trapper's scream awakened his sleeping friends, who grabbed their rifles and quickly killed War Eagle. In such grief over the death of her lover, Se-quah-dee was successful in her pleas to the men to let her stay with War Eagle's body. She gave War Eagle an Indian ritual burial and mourned his death with such intent emotion that she finally died alongside the remains of her cherished warrior. Little or no historical fact has been recorded about his legend, but it was apparently told to the earliest white settlers who chose to call the beautiful stream War Eagle, in honor of the brave Indian who died along its banks. Home | Passages Below | Attractions Above | War Eagle Area | Directions ©2004 War Eagle Cavern, 21494 Cavern Rd., Rogers AR 72756, 479-789-2909