Cherokee Rose An Oklahoma Legend treaty [?] (be/sign) . The white men [?]
(want) the Indian's removed, and so we were Removed. We
[?]
(lose) our homes, our sacred lands, our way of life. We were thrust out by greed , and our hearts
[?]
(break) on the long, long journey west. We only
[?]
(have) the few precious belongings we could carry, and many of us were not even given time to fetch that much from our homes before we
[?] (be/force) into camps and then marched west. [?] (turn) cold, and still we [?] (march) , without adequate shelter , without blankets. Our men [?] (be) grim with anger and pain. Our children were crying for comfort we could not give. Many were dying. And we Cherokee women, we [?] (weep) Our hearts [?] (be/break) Our spirits were drowning in pain. Our hope was gone. Such terrible grief [?] (make) us neglect our families, our appearance. We [?] (be) ready to die rather than go another step. [?] (gather) together and [?] (begin) praying that some sign [?] (will come) to ease the heart-numbing horror we [?] (feel) at our loss, so that we might once again care for our children, comfort their tears, and walk proudly beside our men during this terrible journey. And the Elders [?] (be/ answer) [?] (begin) our long hard journey once again, we began to see white roses growing along the trail. They [?] (seem) to have sprung up overnight, and they were very beautiful. The petals of each rose [?] (be) white like our tears. The center [?] (be) yellow like the gold the greedy white men [?] (take) from our hills. And we [?] (count) seven leaves on each stem -- just as there were seven clans in the Cherokee nation! The sight of the roses [?] (bring) a strange peace into the hearts of the Cherokee women who [?] (see) them. There [?] (be) a particularly large patch of them in the small glen where many of us had sat weeping the previous night. I [?] (pause) to pick one, and one of the Elders [?] (stop) beside me and told me there was a rose for each tear we had shed during the journey. His words [?] (stay) with me as I [?] (take) up my small parcel of belongings, [?] (hurry) my children into line, and [?] (set out) behind my husband. A rose for every tear. Could it be possible? In my heart, I already believed him. [?] (be/make) up of small miracles and tiny wonders. It [?] (give) us heart. Though we [?] (suffer) much in the rest of the journey to Oklahoma Territory -- a journey later called the Trail of Tears -- and though we lost many children along the way, somehow we had hope that a better day was coming for the Cherokee. And so it has.