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  If one were to take a canoe from the confluence of the Tennessee, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers, near present day Cape Girardo, the worlds largest inland cape @ one time, and travel directly into a setting sun during spring thaws, southwest generally, across the cape and swamps of southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas, it was all water at the time, cypress forest and open waterway, except for Crowley's Ridge, headquarters of these first western Cherokee, or old settlers, all the way to Black Rock Arkansas directly southwest. Get it? Traveling as the water spider would, into the sun in April, the Water Spider Clan of the Old Cherokee, with influences of Ohio tribes, where in past cultures the symbol inspired whole complexes built in it's image.  into the Ozark foothills here at Highland Arkansas. See the dark green shading? That was water. Even a century later Mark Twain would write that the Mississippi was seventy miles wide here. Ever watch a canoe or Kayak paddler far away? As they switch sides a tiny cross shape is traced.  This symbol is similar a Swastika, with important differences in the angle of the cross arms.

Look at this vertical stone up a dry creek off Spring River. See the Water Spider etching? And look just below it at the propping stone. There is  a perfectly horizontal stone and other, tilted, arranged stones around. The area  would have been facing  a waterfall in ancient times. There is a Cherokee story concerning the Water Spider. I will paraphrase:

Cherokee needed fire, Animal spirits met and decided they must go to the sun and catch fire. Possum tried, but turned away at the last moment and burned all the hair off his tail. Buzzard tried but burned the feathers from his head. Grandmother water spider decided that she would do this thing. She used shrouds, webs, and water, went into the sun to bring back some fire. The Cherokees have had fire ever since.

    This stone marks a secret trail I believe the Cherokee used to evade Osage war parties.

Also the water spider is a symbol often on burial moccasins. So, the question is, have I found Grandmother Water Spider?

Here is the view from the stone

See the tilted stones? These and others are in an arcing shape in arrangement with the standing stone. And this, look at the absolutely horizontal stones arranged in steps to the waterfall. There is powerful mojo here. I envision this as a place where travelers wet and cranky from a dark night of travel from say the Paragould area north of Jonesboro all the way into Spring River to behold the awesome white water cascade. Relieved Cherokee would have gushed in joy @ dawn. Spent with effort in this secret trespass on the Great Osage Nation, these souls, seeking solutions to Slavery and abuse by forked tongued whites, many working for tribal unity, these great souls gave themselves to the water fall that suredly graced this standing stone, how they must have laughed, aching in sweetest of joy. This was the Laughing Place.

Here is a kokopelli I found near what I call the Parapets on Strawberry River. No kidding, the cliffs are hewn by ancient masons. The cliffs today tower eighty or ninety feet above the water, but Water levels may have been forty or fifty feet higher then. There is a water line in Memphis Tennessee fifty feet above the Mississippi river that marked the level in early days. Swamps of the delta, White and other river valleys would be comparatively high. Big ships might have swooned up into these rocky valleys quite easy. Certainly there is proof in Arkansas that Iberian Kelts, possibly before Christ's time, came here. These cliffs hint of Scottish castle type defenses, with archer slots positioned perfectly spaced. There is a roadside park there, but decades of trash dumping there makes it near dangerous.

The Parapets. Were these cliffs above Strawberry River hewn by ancient Kelts?

 

I named this rock the Delaware Stone. It was found by my girl friend Rhonda journal veterans will recognize as Willow Ford, off Eleven Point River, an area given to remnants of the Delaware tribe by the Osage Nation. This pictograph is a famous Delaware etching called the Walum Olum. Notice the wavy line across the bottom of both pieces.

rebel@rebelriver.com

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