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Honestly I can't not find the origin of this story. All I can say it is one that my mother and grandmother shared with my brother and I as kids. I do know that my mother said that her grandmother used to tell this story to her when she was a child. My mother passed in 1984 at age 39, my grandmother passed in 2000 at age 92, my great grandmother passed in the early 70's at age 94 so it has been around for quiet sometime. If anyone has any information on this story or has a similar one please feel free to share. The story of Basackie......
Long long ago back in the hills of Arkansas there lived a beautiful young Cherokee girl named Basackie. She had long dark hair that hang to her mid-back and big brown eyes. She lived way back in the woods with her mother and father. Her father was a farmer he raised selu and utsalesdi. In the fall she would go into town with her father to the gris mill to have the selu ground into cornmeal and utsalesdi ground into flour. It just happened one fall Basackie and her father went into town with the harvest to have it ground, on the way back her father stopped by a place that was very good for picking muscadines they grew very big in the deep part of the woods. Basackie's grandmother always put up muscadine jellies and jams while her father made a couple of gallons of muscadine wine for the winter time to keep the colds and flu away. Her father left Basackie to pick the muscadineswhile he took the flour and corn meal to the barn to store for the winter. Basackie grew up in these woods and knew her way around so her father did not worry about her getting lost.
Basackie took her basket and set off into the deep woods. Now Basackie came across lots and lots of muscadines and her basket was almost full when she notice a huge vine of muscadines that grew up a large oak tree. She thought to herself If I get these big clusters I will be able to fill my basket much sooner. so she ran to the oak tree that was in the middle of the deep woods. Oh she was so happy when she got there. The muscadines were even bigger and sweeter than she had thought. Grandmother and my father will surely like these she said as she picked them and placed them into her basket. Then Basackie looked up and just out of her reach on the muscadine vine was one of the biggest, prettiest clusters of muscadine grapes she had ever seen. Ah she thought I will climb up on this stump so I can reach them.
Basackie climbed up on the stump and almost had the muscadines in her hand when the stump moved. Basackie looked down and found that the stump wasn't a stump at all, but Yona the bear. Yona roared loudly and basackie let out a scream and took off running as fast as her feet would carry her. Yona was right behind her nipping at her heels. Basackie ran out of the woods to the main road, passed the creek and into a freshly harvest field where there were two young boys from a neighboring villiage hunting quail. The two boys knew Basackie and saw Yona behind her, the one little boy who's name was Tsiya yelled to her "Basackie, Basackie fall down and play dead."
Basackie did as Tsiya told her to do, she lay very still and didn't breathe. Ole Yona came up and sniffed around basackie and the remaining muscadines that hadn't been spilled out of the basket from the chase. He sniffed, took his paw and patted Basackie's leg. The Yona turned and started to walk away, Basackie opened one eye and saw Yona leaving so she jumped to her feet and took off running. Yona turned and saw Basackie and this even made him more mad because she had tricked him. Yona lets out another growl and starts to chase her. The other young boy that was was with Tsiya who was called Wahuhu yelled to Basackie "Basackie catch my galuyastiusdi". Then he tossed her his tomahawk and yelled "Basackie now turn around and chop off yona's head.
Basackie stopped dead in her tracks, turned around holding Wahuhu's galuyastiusdi firmly and with one swift swing lopped of Yona's head and the big bear fell dead at her feet. Tsiya and Wahuhu ran over to make sure Basackie was alright, then skinned Yona and gave Basackie the pelt to make her a winter coat. Basackie in returned helped the two boys cut up the meat so that Basackie's family and the people in the neighboring village would have fresh bear meat for winter.
The end
This story as told by
Virdie Holley 1880-1974
Nona Presley Holley April 29 1908-November 30 2000
Irene Holley Knowlton December 6 1945- December 29 1984
Long long ago back in the hills of Arkansas there lived a beautiful young Cherokee girl named Basackie. She had long dark hair that hang to her mid-back and big brown eyes. She lived way back in the woods with her mother and father. Her father was a farmer he raised selu and utsalesdi. In the fall she would go into town with her father to the gris mill to have the selu ground into cornmeal and utsalesdi ground into flour. It just happened one fall Basackie and her father went into town with the harvest to have it ground, on the way back her father stopped by a place that was very good for picking muscadines they grew very big in the deep part of the woods. Basackie's grandmother always put up muscadine jellies and jams while her father made a couple of gallons of muscadine wine for the winter time to keep the colds and flu away. Her father left Basackie to pick the muscadineswhile he took the flour and corn meal to the barn to store for the winter. Basackie grew up in these woods and knew her way around so her father did not worry about her getting lost.
Basackie took her basket and set off into the deep woods. Now Basackie came across lots and lots of muscadines and her basket was almost full when she notice a huge vine of muscadines that grew up a large oak tree. She thought to herself If I get these big clusters I will be able to fill my basket much sooner. so she ran to the oak tree that was in the middle of the deep woods. Oh she was so happy when she got there. The muscadines were even bigger and sweeter than she had thought. Grandmother and my father will surely like these she said as she picked them and placed them into her basket. Then Basackie looked up and just out of her reach on the muscadine vine was one of the biggest, prettiest clusters of muscadine grapes she had ever seen. Ah she thought I will climb up on this stump so I can reach them.
Basackie climbed up on the stump and almost had the muscadines in her hand when the stump moved. Basackie looked down and found that the stump wasn't a stump at all, but Yona the bear. Yona roared loudly and basackie let out a scream and took off running as fast as her feet would carry her. Yona was right behind her nipping at her heels. Basackie ran out of the woods to the main road, passed the creek and into a freshly harvest field where there were two young boys from a neighboring villiage hunting quail. The two boys knew Basackie and saw Yona behind her, the one little boy who's name was Tsiya yelled to her "Basackie, Basackie fall down and play dead."
Basackie did as Tsiya told her to do, she lay very still and didn't breathe. Ole Yona came up and sniffed around basackie and the remaining muscadines that hadn't been spilled out of the basket from the chase. He sniffed, took his paw and patted Basackie's leg. The Yona turned and started to walk away, Basackie opened one eye and saw Yona leaving so she jumped to her feet and took off running. Yona turned and saw Basackie and this even made him more mad because she had tricked him. Yona lets out another growl and starts to chase her. The other young boy that was was with Tsiya who was called Wahuhu yelled to Basackie "Basackie catch my galuyastiusdi". Then he tossed her his tomahawk and yelled "Basackie now turn around and chop off yona's head.
Basackie stopped dead in her tracks, turned around holding Wahuhu's galuyastiusdi firmly and with one swift swing lopped of Yona's head and the big bear fell dead at her feet. Tsiya and Wahuhu ran over to make sure Basackie was alright, then skinned Yona and gave Basackie the pelt to make her a winter coat. Basackie in returned helped the two boys cut up the meat so that Basackie's family and the people in the neighboring village would have fresh bear meat for winter.
The end
This story as told by
Virdie Holley 1880-1974
Nona Presley Holley April 29 1908-November 30 2000
Irene Holley Knowlton December 6 1945- December 29 1984
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