Tender Winds... William and Matilda.. Their love story... Matilda ( Taleia)lived beside a running creek deep in the woods .. The loggers would cut trees near the reservation, and would often visit, along with the fur traders to trade beads and candy for animal skins. She was standing by her tent one day with her sister and her best friend, when the most beautiful white man she had ever seen walked up..and he was looking at her with eyes like she had never seen before..they were blue..and she had never seen blue eyes in anyone before..all her people had dark brown eyes, so he was “really something to look at”, she would tell my mother one day.. Taleia was a beauty, her skin wasn't quite as dark as the others, she was eldest daughter of the chief and she was pledged since birth to marry the first son of a member of the high council, Kaneahia ,but this didn't stop her from looking at this beautiful white man. Taleia, knew all this and respected her father and people's ways, but she longed for something else. From time to time the white traders would come and leave catalogs with beautiful clothes, bright shiny jewelry, and houses she dreamed about..a whole different world than hers..Her tribe was friendly enough with the white loggers, “Our peace with them was great” her mother used used to say, but Taleia wasn't allowed to venture far from the camp, their daughters were carefully guarded from the white men. Just beyond their camp, was a large creek call”Little Creek, and she knew beyond that creek was another land and she longed to see it. Her mother told her to get such notions out of her head, that she had heard what the white men did to the Indian girls and she must protect herself as she was pledged in marriage, so must always stay close by when the white men visited.. This day, when she saw William for the first time, she remembered her friend saying..he must be a white God. Those blue eyes and red hair had captured both the girls attention, having never seen anything like that before..She wanted to know this mans name, and finally found it out by accident. Her friends family traded with him and he had said his name was William Boutwell, and would be back in 3 weeks to trade for more pelts. When he came back, he brought sugar cookies and peppermint sticks and something for Taleia and her friends..hair ribbons.. Taleias was pink. While the men bargained with the other traders..this white man with the blue yes kept looking at Taleia, and then he winked at her! She was trembling inside she was so captivated by him.. William and his fellow traders came back several times, and every time he came she would find a reason to look at him..and would sometimes wink back at him..but nothing more as she was under the watchful eyes of her family and her intended man. One day she rode her horse to the Little Creek to sort out her thoughts,she had a little secret place carpeted with grass, violets and sweet williams, and there she would go to think and dream..but for some reason..this day. she kept riding to the great river and looked across to where she knew the man she longed for was logging. She decided to pick some dew berries and take them home to her mother as an excuse for her long absence, and it was there William and his friend found her alone..He was just about as surprised as she was. He had been sent out to hunt deer, provisions were running low for their logging camp and crossed the river on a sand bar to get to where he knew the hunting was good..It was on Indian land but they had always been friendly enough and he saw no danger, but there was danger there because there was the Indian girl he couldn't keep out of his mind. His friend John was with him and said” Look William, you better leave that girl alone, man you're gonna get scalped, leave and forget it..Even if you could get her, white people hate Indians and they would never let you bring her into the community”..Still William yearned for her...When she looked up and saw the two men standing there..she was scared at first, but then she saw it was William,the man with the blue eyes and she forgot everything and everyone, as she ran to him and said..”I go with you! William told John to go back to the camp and tell the boss he quit and was going to a larger logging camp. He knew they had to get away from there..far away..before they started searching for her..so they rode very fast and very far until they tired. They came upon a shack that fur traders used from time to time..and there they rested. It was almost part of the land and was covered with vines, unless you knew it was there you could miss seeing it, so he thought it was a good place to rest. The shack had a loft, that was partially caved in,not too sturdy but it was getting dark and looked like it might rain and she needed to rest. William took their horses farther in the woods and tied them in a thicket..and the crawled into the half rotten loft and huddled together trying to forget the rest of the world. She didn't speak much English and he spoke no Creek so their eyes had to to speak for them..they lay together listening to the pouring rain and wondering if they would be able to get away from her people that they knew would be looking for her.. They heard a noise and peeked through a tiny hole in the wall and saw several Indians looking around, but somehow they didn't find their little hut..At day light..they rode again until they came to a farmhouse, Taleia waited in the woods with her horse, while William fed and watered the horses.. he was thinking..I just have to get her home, Mother will know what to do,and everything will be fine. Finally they came in sight of home so William reached into his saddle bag and took out a bonnet and told her to put it on..It was one his mother had made and he had planned to give it to Taleia before all this had happened. He told her”Mother, this woman is going to be my wife. I have stolen her from the Indians.” She told him you must take her back..he said ,”No! They would kill me and her too..you wouldn't want that to happen..Besides ,come hell or high water, she is mine. When Williams father came home, and was told what happened, he made a decision, he told him that nobody must know she is an Indian..We will change her name to Matilda, I am kind of dark so we will say she came in on a boat at New Orleans and that she is the daughter of a cousin and her nationality is Black Irish and she was pledged to you long ago..But first you have to get married.. His father said.. If the Indians can pledge their children, so could they. But first his father told him they must get married..The next day they went to the Connech County seat, where his daddy knew a preacher that was known to take a nip of moonshine, he offered to go ahead and make sure the preacher had several swings under his belt and after that..it would make sure he didn't know who was dark or white... His father told her” Matilda, make sure you wear that bonnet and cover up as much as possible, get away from there afterwards and get home soon as possible.” The next day they became man and wife..Matilda didn't care what the man with the book said..all she knew is he was now her husband and she was so happy. While William went off with his father and younger brothers to work in the fields or at the logging camp, Matilda helped Williams mother, where she learned how to cook the white mans way and she taught his mother some of the Indian ways.. William decided it was time for them to have a home of their own, and there was a place down the road from his parents home. His good friend John had gotten married to a nice girl, Mary Louise Evens, and she and Matilda became good friends. The four of them decided to clean up the new ground and build their houses close together..and they went to work building their log cabin homes. The men decided they needed a good crib barn to keep their cows and horses, and a place in the top of the barn, the loft, would be used to store feed for the animals..They built William's barn first, he and John would both use it until they could build one for John and Mary. They didn't have the wooden shutters built for the windows yet, but they decided to move into their new homes. Matilda and Mary made quilts and tablecloths, and took cotton and cotton seed from the fields and made bed mattresses to sleep on..They took corn sacks and hung them over the windows. Some day soon the men would get time to make the shutters for the windows. Time went by, but he men were so busy trying to farm their land, they just decided to wait on the shutters.. Mary became pregnant and twin boys were born..Matilda was happy for Mary..she loved children and tried to help her all she could, but she kept hoping someday the”White God” would smile down on her and give her a son..just like her William..Every Sunday, she and Mary would take the children and go to church. She always knelt down at the alter and prayed for her loved ones..and also a child. One Sunday, the men had decided to go to the fields..their crops were late and they had to get them harvested before winter set in.. There had been talk from the scattered neighbors about a panther, that had been seen prowling about. The men had gathered together and had went many times trying to track him down, but couldn't find him. William and John told the women..”If you hear the panther scream or get scared, go to the barn. William built a ladder and put it outside, so it would be easy to get to the loft. Matilda and Mary made plans, they would head for the hay loft as fast as they could, if they saw or heard any sign of the panther. One Sunday, soon after this, Mary had gotten the children ready for church and was almost over to Matilda's house, when they both heard the panther scream..and they knew it was close by them.. Matilda ran to meet Mary, and she grabbed the twins, one under each arm and ran to the barn..Mary had the baby and was behind Matilda. Matilda's heart was pounding so fast..she thought”Any minute I'll fall down, and that will be the end of me..or all of us!” As she got to the ladder she stood one child down, and up she went and pushed one child into the loft..back down and got the other one..She took the baby from Mary and climbed up with her..Mary was almost in, when the panther came around the crib and made a leap..he pulled Mary and the ladder down. Mary was screaming..the children were crying and in shock..all Matilda could do was gather Mary's children in her arms and hide their little faces..as the panther drug their mother behind the crib..and killed her.. When William and John got home, they gathered up what was left of Mary and all the men put the women and children in a good strong house..with shutters..while they tracked the panther down and killed it..After they buried Mary, it was decided the children would stay with Matilda as the men had to go back to work..at night John would keep the children with him, she knew he was in a lot of grief, but as time went by, she hoped he would somehow get over the horror of his wife's death..Mother Nature has a way of healing all wounds, it would just take time.. One morning, all the men had left for their jobs at the saw mill and the fields, and as Matilda opened the the back door and started to to feed the chickens and other animals, she looked down and saw a big bunch of violet and sweet williams laying on the ground, close to the back door..For a minute, she couldn't believe it, she knew that somehow Kaneahia had found her, for only he knew how much she loved violets and sweet williams..he used to bring them to her all the time before she left her father and mother's home, and there were signs before that he was sometimes around where she was..Firt the flowers..and many times she would have the feeling someone was watching her, she would look through the woods.., and it looked like a shadowy figure, only to look again and nothing was there. She also knew he meant her no harm, because he could have gotten to her if her wanted. As the months went by, John began staying away from home more and more, and many times when he came over to get his children, Matilda could smell the white lightning fire-water on him. She thought”I must get William to have a talk with him,his children needed him and besides she liked John and was afraid Mary's horrible death was really getting to him. But one morning she heard a knock on her door and she couldn't believer her eyes when she opened it..there stood John and and with him, Kaneahia's sister and her best friend, since childhood.. Alneania. For a minute she just stood and looked she was so happy to see her! They hugged each other, but a look of fright came over Matilda face, but Alneania assured her Kaneahia had forgiven her, and he was happy(she said) that Matilda was alive.. For a long time he believed she was dead. She told Matilda, that her mother and father were both dead, it had been four years and that Kaneahis was now married to Matilda other sister Honnieh and they had two sons. He was a good chief of their tribe. John said tat he kept going back to the Indian camp to trade with the Indians, and he made arrangements with Kaneahia and his family to marry her, the tribe needed food and horses badly., so John gave them all he could spare and they gladly gave him Alneania. Matilda was glad now Mary's children would have a mother to look after them and they could all be a family again. About a month later, Matilda and Alneania were in the house piecing scraps pf cloth to make quilts. Winter was coming and they needed more bed covers. Matilda looked out the door and as always she looked through the woods, when she saw someone darting behind the tree's at a distance from her..She saw a black man, with an iron chain hanging on one arm and she knew at once they were in danger, for the men were all in the fields. Quick as lightning she ran to the woodpile where William kept his ax. She got the axe and ran into the house. She called to Aneania to help her, and quickly they closed the shutters. William kept, in the corner of the house, some very long fat splinter wood, and he had told Matilda to always keep the wood there, and if any wild animals tried to come in, to light the splinters and if somehow the animal tried to in..to light the splinters and stick the fire in its face and the pain would scare it away., Aleania lit the splinters, just as they heard a noise at the window and the black man told them to open up, “I know you are in there, I know you are in there!”:..But they said No! He snatched the window open and Matilda took the lighted splinters and would jab at his face every time he tried to get in..as the splinters burned low..she would light some more. They kept him out until all the splinters were burned up. All of a sudden he leaped through the window, knocking Alneania out cold..he began choking Matilda. The last thing she remembered think was..he is killing me. All of a sudden, she felt air rush into her lungs, she opened her eyes and found herself lying on the floor, with the winter sun streaming through the open shutter on her face..She saw Alneania trying to get up. She looked out the window and saw her childhood sweetheart, Kaneahia on his horse, riding through the woods with the black man draped across, the chain still dangling from his arm. Kaneahia reined in his horse high in the air and with a wave from him, he was gone.. She made Alneania promise not to tell William or John, she knew they would worry. She later learned, the black man was a runaway slave and had murdered one of his own people and the sheriff was taking him to jail when he overpowered him and ran. Later, they found the man's body near a stream of water, and so no one knew how he died except Matilda and Alneania, and soon after,on the ground near the door, she found a bunch of sweet williams and violets. She knew as long as he lived, Kaneahia would always be looking out and watching over her.. Soon after Alneania, came to live with John, William began to hear some ugly talk. He and John knew it was coming from Mary's relatives(Johns first wife). They wanted to take the children after she died, but John said no, he wanted Matilda to keep them so they would be close to him. The talk was”Why wasn't it Matilda the panther got, instead of Mary? And maybe she pushed the ladder down before Mary could finish climbing into the loft.” Of course Matilda knew this wasn't true, and she was trying to get the children to safety and was on the ladder ahead of Mary. There was nothing else she could do.. She tried to explain, but the rumors kept coming up. Oh how she loved to go to church, but she stopped going anywhere, because the last time she went, the women wouldn't speak to her and the men gathered in little circles and whispered. One of Johns cousins, Ellen,was jealous of William and Matilda. William used to sit with her in church and she was hoping he would get serious with her, instead he married Matilda. She was the cause of a lot of the gossip in the church. The last Sunday Matilda was there, and the reason she stopped going to church or anywhere, was Ellen. As Matilda walked into the church yard, Ellen drawled out..”Oh Hello Matilda, I do hope you didn't run into any old panthers on your way over here, but if you did..you wouldn't have a barn loft to run to..Now would you?” Then Ellen turned to the other women and they all giggled, Matilda felt so sick to her stomach, as soon as the service was over, she rushed home and went straight to bed. For several days after that, she felt ill, but she thought it was her nerves and what had happened at the church..She felt their hatred and suspicion and it made her ill..or so she thought. William decided with all the ugly talk and Matilda being so sick, he'd better take her to his parents house for a few days, so his mother could look after her. Alneania had her hands full looking after John's children and besides Matilda needed looking after for awhile after all she had been through. But Matilda kept getting sick to her stomach and she had gained weight since her mother in law had last seen her.. and it was William's mother who told her she was going to have a baby. Matilda was so happy! At last she would have a child..her William's child.. She and Williams mother made clothes for the baby and his father and William made a cradle . Matilda thought of her own mother and wished she could be there, but she knew that could never be. She was so happy during this time and so was William..he kept slipping up behind her hugging her..whirling her around and then planting kisses all over her face..She loved him so much and he loved her..and she never tired of their love.. One day while William, his father and brothers were gone to work,some men came to take Matilda away..William's mother tried to stop them, but they pushed her aside. Matilda didn't want her mother-in-law hurt, or harm to come to her unborn baby, so she went with them. The men said to William's mother”We know she is an Indian, and we are taking her back to her people.” When William came home, his mother was in tears and told him what had happened. He reached up and took down his gun from over the fireplace and along with his father and John, and several oter men, went to find Matilda. They went to the nearest community, a bare dusty place, with only a grocery and supply store, a place to shoe horses and a gambling house. There was along row of houses along the dirt road. As they road up close..they saw a crowd gathering around a crude cage on wheels. It was hooked up to a horse and being paraded up and down the dusty street. William thought they must have a wild animal in there,but he saw some men he recognized and was going to ask them if they had seen his wife. He got a closer look at the cage..and there was Matilda in the cage! He calmly asked the men..”What you got there?” The men replied, “We're taking this here Indian back to her people, before we get all the Indians down on us!” William pulled out his gun and shot him dead..the others ran for cover. He and his friend took Matilda home, but not for long. He knew they would have to be on the move again, so he decided to go to a town by the name of “Flomaton” many miles from where they lived now. William and Matilda gathered their few belongings together and again..she on her horse and William on his, they rode hard and fast. His mother had a sister living in Flomaton, and they would stay there until the baby was born, a little son she named William Henry. After the baby was born William moved them over to a small place deep in the woods where they lived until their son was about 7 years old. Little Henry got sick one day with typhoid fever and died..and William buried him under a beautiful tree where Matilda could look out her window and see his grave, but she was so sad, William decided to get her into new surroundings, and maybe in time, she would lose some of the sadness.. They moved over to Century Florida, on a beautiful piece of land..where William built them a log cabin and here they would homestead. Later, his mother and father came to live with them.. Matilda had four more sons..William, Hartley, Bobby and James..and three daughters, Sally, Molly and Laura.. One day..her beloved William took sick..Matilda tried all the Indian medicine tricks she knew, plus the medicine of the white doctor, but nothing could save him,William died..his laughing blue eyes were gone forever..Never again would he would he hold her in his arms..never again would he sing and play his guitar and fiddle for her..Never again would his love sustain her..He was gone..She took William back and buried him by the little son they had loved so much and lost. Matilda's children were all grown up by now with family's of their own and so Matilda just drifted from one house to another of her children..Soon she knew the day would come when the white man's God she had learned to know and serve, would call her..just as he called William, and little Henry, and once again they would be together.. After William died, Matilda tried to go to her beloved church, as often as she could, but without her man, nothing was the same to her. Her children loved her dearly and tried to do all they could for her, but she wasn't happy. She began to lose weight and took a fever one night..and in her sleep..just slipped away..Her children buried her beside her William and little Henry, in a place that was to become the family cemetery..Little Travelers Rest.. A few days after they buried her,her son Bobby went to visit his mothers grave..and as he walked closer to the graves...he saw an old Indian standing beside her grave with one hand over his heart and his eyes towards the heavens...his horse grazing beside him..Before Bobby could approach him and ask him what he was doing there..he rode off..rearing his horse high and proud it seemed to him..when Bobby got to his mother's grave, he looked down and laying on the new mound of dirt was a bouquet of sweet william's and sweet violets..her childhood sweetheart's..last tribute to her.. Doris Inez Boutwell Viita Copyright 2009 This story is written and dedicated in honor of my grandmother, Taleia Colvin Boutwell and to my lovely niece Dorothy Jean Sales, for her sincere effort and encouragement, who stood by me and made this book possible. February 7, 1984 ****************************************************** ~NOTE~~ I never read mom's story till after she died..for her own reasons..some I can only guess at, she only allowed Dot to read it...since she was the one who originally typed it for mother..and was always very dear to her heart..more like a friend than a niece..we share things with our friends sometime..easier than with our close family..and I think Dot of all people..knew the “Net” of Doris.. Mom wrote as she spoke... and the spellings of the names are how she thought they were spelled..I cleaned up the grammar and put several things in context, but basically..these are her words..her story.. Back then..there was no television..no radio..there was only the story..the spoken word..the songs..the visiting with family and friends....that was how things were passed down to the children..and mother.. as a little child.. would sit at Matilda's knee and she would find a ready listener in my mom..And one day..mom would tell her daughter of the beautiful Indian girl..named Tahlia..who went against all common held beliefs..against the wishes of her people..and the Indian brave who loved her till the day she died..the white man's belief..that Indian's were less than human and not someone,for sure, a white man could marry..to follow her William.. ”I go with you”..she told him..and she did..They are together now as they were on this earth..their love surely was eternal.. Mom only had a third grade education..but as you can see from her writing..she was by no means illiterate..she constantly read and taught herself by reading..and the stories she told..were always the best..you could see what was happening as she told them..that is the Indian way..the stories that carry the history of our people.. Our Aunt Marilyn told me that Matilda lived with Uncle Jim and Aunt Bertha the last years of her life..and on the day she died..after being so sick..she got up..bathed herself..dressed herself in her best dress.. and laid back down and died..she didn't want anyone to prepare her for burial..to see her nakedness..she was a private person..an Indian..and she belonged to herself..at long last..asking no quarter from anyone..and giving none..she was someone I am proud to say..was my great grandmother.. I thank her and my mother..for handing this story down to me..and now I am handing it down to each of my family members..remember..it is your story as well as mine.. "Rhee".. Maria Lindberg Great Grandaughter of William and Matilda Boutwell HOME