Short Story: An American Indian dies, but lives again

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The American Indian chief, Chief Little Big Nose, had a near-death experience, that he told his tribe, and because of this, they had elected him to be chief, over them. He had been walking through a forest, on his own, when a rattlesnake had bitten him on the foot, as he had rather carelessly stepped right on it with his bare feet. He had laid down to rest, with his back resting against a large tree. He, being young, and still flexible, had then raised his foot up to his mouth, where he sucked out as much of the venom, as he could. He then took some plantain leaves, that his father had given to him, and which all Indian braves carried with them, in a pouch, tied around their waist. He chewed them up in his mouth, and then he applied the chewed leaf, as a poultice to the bite. Then, he laid back, and rested. Suddenly, he was having a vision, of himself, walking across a tree that had fallen across a deep chasm, where far below a river run quickly, violently, along its course. On the other side, of the tree, where it reached to the other side, he saw there an old man, seated on a branch of the large tree, and he saw that it was his long-dead grandfather. He walked across, and he sat down next to his grandfather. The old man said to him: "You are not meant to come to this place as yet, and I was sent here to make sure that you do not go past me any further into this place." The would-be chief said to his grandfather. "Well, I am here now, at least let me talk to you a bit, while I am here now." The grandfather was ok with this. He said to his grandson. "Life is given to you to live it as a gift from God, and if something unplanned in its way happens leading you here too early, we will always send you back to finish your life there, as it was meant to be done. And so, I send you back now." The Indian brave, got up from his seat, next to his grandfather, and walked across to the other side again. As soon, as he reached safety on the other side, he found himself back in his body again. He felt much better, and he got up, and walked home again, where he told of his adventures to the other Indians there. The tribe then elected him as the new chief, as they were in need of a new one, the old one having been killed in a battle with the Cherokee tribe, in the week before. He had lived to live another day, to sing the song of life, a bit longer, until it was time for him to really go, and then to sing his song of death, instead. Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com "Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home." The Mohican Chief Aupumut, said this.