Disclaimer: The following work has been written solely for the enjoyment of fans and not for monetary profit. The rights to the characters initially created for the Daniel Boone series belong to 20th Century Fox and Fess Parker. All other characters are of the author's own creation. No copyright violation is intended.
This is a story poem about Daniel and Mingo's mutual respect and caring for each other and their allegiance to the fight for freedom. In it I allude to some of my favorite quotes from the episodes, My Brother's Keeper, Not In Our Stars and A Rope For Mingo.
On the Banks of the River, Ken-tah-teh
Two men walk side by side, one wore buckskin, one wore feathers.
Blood brothers at first handshake, stood freedom's fight together.
A sunlit path before them, a weary trail behind.
Thoughts of home and family, eased their journey's time.
Both tired from the venture, the treaty still intact.
Not all share their desire for peace, not all will keep the pact.
A struggle between nations, colors, and beliefs.
These two who walk side by side, defy those who won't see.
Then smoke from a long rifle, a ball of lead bore deep.
The burning fire within his chest, brings down the Cherokee.
"Lie still and quiet, my brother." The big man took his pack.
Loaded his long rifle, "I'll scout and then be back."
'The ground is cold beneath me, who shot me, Red or White?'
A half breed in Kentucky, risks death from either side.
Gone only for a moment, "No one." the big man said.
Finds his friend in peril, his life hanging by a thread.
His shirt soaked in blood, a face filled with doubt.
The big man knows his mission, the bullet must come out.
"Why, Daniel, why? Do they hate me so?
Red or White, no matter, the same wherever we go."
"Why can't they be like you? Accept me as a man.
Not the color of my skin, or the savage they think I am."
He clutched his chest to ease the pain. Is this a sign of death?
Looked the big man in the eye, struggling for each breath.
"I am tired, Daniel." he whispered, "So tired of the fight.
I hear my mother calling; her arms are holding me tight.
She sings to me in the wind, from the happy hunting ground.
She has saved a place beside her. Talota, my soul is bound."
"On the banks of the river, Ken-tah-teh,
where its rolling waters run free.
In the promised land of my people,
please, Daniel, bury me."
"It was never a dark and bloody ground, in the hearts of the Cherokee,
but Ken-tah-teh, the promised land, where all men could live free.
Bury me next to my mother, my weapons tight in my grip.
The one she called CaraMingo, the man with the bull whip."
The big man's hands were shaking, one slip, his friend could die.
The shining knife blade glowing, he looked up to the sky.
"Lord and Great Spirit, with your ways divine.
I can't fight without him; please let your hands guide mine."
The ball of lead lay on the ground, the Cherokee lay still.
"Great Spirit, save your warrior, if it be your will.
So many paths we've traveled, walked in each other's shoes.
A man of honor and pride, a life too precious to lose."
"On the banks of the river, Ken-tah-teh,
where its rolling waters run free.
In the promised land of my people,
please, Daniel, bury me."
"It's not your time, my brother; I need you to come home.
Kentucky's hills are calling; I can't keep the peace alone."
The big man stoked the fire, to keep his brother warm.
"It's in your hands, Great Spirit, who will answer? is his song.
The Cherokee did his best, in the land of the Red and White.
Now the life spirit inside, began to fail him in the night.
In fevered dreams, he sees and hears, life's memories racing back.
Across the pages of his world, recalling such words past.
"You were my son." the Englishman said,
"I was your shame!" he cried.
A Cherokee boy, not yet a man,
her heritage you would hide."
"...a savage fit only for the back alleys of that jungle you called London."
"The title is still there, Mingo, a heritage of centuries, ..you've only to claim it."
"I have only one heritage, the one she left me.
No, your England is for Englishmen, not Cherokee."
"I sang her death song as a man,
and TaraMingo's, two times.
When my own ashes are cold,
Daniel, who will sing mine?"
"On the ground, here I lie, face to earth as I cry.
Hear my cry, oh mother mine, hear my cry, oh mother mine.
"One rifle, one bullet. Who will claim it?"
CaraMingo, in loud voice.
"I knew you would come." TaraMingo cried.
It was to be his choice.
"I am my brother's keeper,"
went racing through his mind.
"I shot my brother, and I buried him."
No honor for his kind."
"And you still have your honor.
You pulled the trigger once. You will not pull it again.
Run, my brother. Hide in the wet mud of your grave.
Or face the death that is here...and now."
"Count no man happy 'til he be dead.
And tonight, my brother you shall have your happiness. "
"He was right; I pulled the trigger once,
I couldn't do it again.
Not even when they tied me to a tree.
Not even when all I could see and feel was his whip!
I just couldn't hate."
"You spared my life, then, Daniel."
rescued me from my grave.
Can you do it a second time?"
asked the dying Cherokee brave.
"It is done, Daniel...it's all over but the grave."
"I'm running out of lives,
Daniel, for you to save.
Maybe it is my time, this time
to slip into my grave."
"The whip upon my back,
so many times to scar my pride.
They only see the red skin,
and not the man inside."
"They whipped me until I hung from that tree like a dead animal."
"You think these scars are reason enough to kill a man, don't you? Well so
will the others...and I wanted to, oh how I wanted to. You've never been whipped like a dog."
"You talk about your law and how you want the Indian to respect it! Well let it respect him. Prove to us there is some justice in your law, that we're not at the mercy of a mob!"
"I don't want to hate, Daniel.
My respect is for all men.
But I think the fight inside me,
is coming to an end."
Two days and one Daniel rested, two days and one he slept.
Two days and one, fell on his knees, waited, prayed and wept.
"Fight!" the big man's tears cried. "It's not your time to leave.
My young'uns will not understand, and Becky's heart will grieve."
A smile in spite, upon Mingo's face, then he whispered a name.
"Israel is a good boy." the Cherokee spoke in pain.
"And your young lady, Daniel, Jemima is youth and beauty.
Protect her and guide her, it is a father's duty."
"You shared your family, Daniel, with me, when I had none.
Rebecca, your Emerald jewel, she shines more than the sun.
I will miss them when I am gone. I will miss you more, in truth.
My blood brother, closer than my own. I honor you, Daniel Boone."
"On the banks of the river, Ken-tah-teh,
where its rolling waters run free.
In the promised land of my people,
please, Daniel, bury me."
The big man's eyes grew angry, placed a hand upon his chest.
"You will not die, Mingo. I will not let you rest.
If you give up this fight, then your father has won.
Feel my strength, CaraMingo, you are Cherokee, not an Englishman."
"Oh Daniel, you are like a great granite boulder,
rolling down a mountain. Nothing can stop you...
not even the mountain itself."
An eagle's song overhead, a strengthening in his breath.
The mention of his father's name, sparked a victory over death.
A weakened smile upon his face, the Cherokee opened his eyes.
"I feel your strength, my brother; near death I heard your cries."
"The road to peace is long and hard, I will not leave you alone.
Red and White must flourish, Daniel, let us go home."
On the banks of the river, Ken-tah-teh, two men walk side by side.
Red and White, they are as one, Frontier honor and Cherokee pride.
In the promised land of Kentucky, at the time of our nation's birth.
One wore buckskin, one wore feathers, their spirits still walk the earth.
Peace meant more to them than wealth, loyalty more than gold.
Honor was a way of life, as their story was told.
On the banks of the river, Ken-tah-teh, where its rolling waters run free.
Daniel Boone and CaraMingo, stood for peace and liberty.
"Come Daniel, I am ready." His Cherokee spirit soared.
"To the banks of the river, Ken-tah-teh, we will walk together once more."
The quotes in bold letters are from the episodes:
"My Brother's Keeper"
"Not In Our Stars."
"A Rope For Mingo"