The Texas Cherokees stayed in various different motels in Eagle Pass, Texas, and then went by buses and vans across to the old and historical city of Zaragoza.

We were guests of the Mexican Cherokees, and entertainment was at the most appreciable level that imagination can explain.

Epi and Gloria Rodriquez are owners of a 5,000 acre ranch at Zaragoza, and they entertained us with barbecue, beans, and plenty of food and beverages (the Cherokees do not allow alcoholic beverages in their Texas or Mexican tribes).

At their ranch, we visited the cave tomb of Sequoyah. It was located down and around some winding trails. The ranch has been in the Rodriquez Cherokee family for one hundred and sixty years. The family living on the ranch today are of the sixth generation. They have kept the burial site of Sequoyah secret according to the wishes of the descendants of Sequoyah.

Two of Sequoyah’s sons were with him at the time of his death in the 1840's, which was caused by complications from Malaria. Some time after his death, they left the village that was on the ranch of the Rodriquez family. The village had warehouses (built in the 1840's); and the ruins of the warehouses are still in existence today.

One of the highlights in touring the ruins was an 8 inch stream of water that is considered to be healing water; it comes out of the ground at 98.6 degrees.

The guide and ranch hands giving the tour spoke in Spanish and English describing how it was thought that Sequoyah came to this village for the healing water. He also sought protection from the U.S. Army.

I have mentioned previously that the Cherokee Chief left Oklahoma and traveled through Texas where he joined up forces with escaping Kickapoo Indians and made his settlement around the area of Zaragoza.

The two sons who were with Sequoyah were named Tess and Worm. When they returned to Tallequah to report the news about their Father, they found that very few of the Cherokees believed and couldn’t believe that Chief Sequoyah was dead. He had only recently invented the Cherokee alphabet and syllables for writing and speaking. Chief Sequoyah has been given credit for giving the Cherokee people a system of communication, and some believe that he gave them an overnight education system for educating Cherokee families.

After our tour, we gathered around a camp fire and listened to different people tell of their experiences of growing up in their Cherokee families, and the awarding of tribe names to various Cherokee tribe members. There were about a hundred people sitting around the fire in an area of about sixty square feet. We were sitting on buffalo hides; the one Jackie and I were sitting on was fluffed up about two inches and felt like a foam rubber mattress. It was cold out (about 42 degrees) and the buffalo hide immediately warmed up like an electric blanket when we sat on it.

The Cherokee of Waco tribe taught and performed a dance for us as we sat around the fire. There was no electricity, but the light from the fire made it easy to see to get back to the buses. One of the history professors from Tallequah jokingly commented that Epi Rodriquez was instructing the ranch hands to bring more wood posts from his fence to keep the fire going.

Most of you have read my comments previously about how our town of Onega was named back during the time of the Trail of Tears. And when the railroad came through to get its water from the large Cherokee well, the name was changed at the request of the newly arriving pioneers.

The name Onega means white in the Cherokee language. While we were sitting and listening to the awards of the Cherokee names we heard the Onega mentioned about fifteen times, Onega (white) Bear, Onega (white) Fox, Onega, (white) Bird, Onega Rabbit, Onega Feather, and about ten more Onega names were issued to other Cherokees, mostly to young people. However, my name, Bouncer, is till my official Cherokee name, and is hard to shake loose.

There were fourteen members of our Northern Tribe Cherokee District that meet with us every second Saturday, here at Jackie’s Hardware, that made the exciting adventure into Mexico.

Our attendance at our monthly meetings is picking up and we are enjoying good corn cakes as we plan for more trips and forth coming activities.

Corn cakes were served on the bus as well as at the ranch. The Mexcian Chief’s wife served sorghum syrup along with the corn cakes, which I discovered was a delicious combination.

The photo this week was made by a street photography vendor. The man on the left is the Mexican Cherokee Chief Rogers, in the center is our Texas Cherokee Chief D.L. Hicks, and the other man is the Mayor of Zaragoza.

The Mayor of Zaragoza has extended and invitation for a return visit and has declared February 1, as Cherokee Day.

It has been estimated that there are a million descendants of Cherokees in Cohhuila.