History students help Cherokee follow Trail of Tears

Monday, December 2nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Jerry Raymer had wanted to retrace the Trail of Tears, the route of forced exile of Cherokees in 1838 and 1839, since he was a teenager. That's when he learned from his grandmother of his family's Cherokee ancestry.

The 41-year-old machinist from Pennsylvania left East Tennessee a month ago.

But Raymer's journey became more of a challenge than he expected.

Less than 200 miles into his personal epic journey, Raymer's horse, Dusty, was spooked by a storm and ran off. The horse's rope became tangled in brush, and he broke a leg.

``I tracked him for a day and found him on the ground,'' Raymer said. ``I didn't have any choice but to put him down.''

That left him with only Chief, a midnight-black pack horse, and two dogs, Chiva and Sioux _ and more than 1,000 miles left to travel on foot.

But Raymer's fortune changed when a group of Lincoln County High School history students, who happened to be studying the Trail of Tears, heard about his plight. They presented him with a loaner, a 3-year-old sorrel gelding named Sticks and Stones, to carry him the rest of the way to Tahlequah, Okla.

``My husband has Cherokee blood in his family,'' said Lucy Cowley, who joined her daughter, Susan, in handing over the reins. ``When he heard about this gentleman's problem, he came up with the idea to loan him a horse for the rest of the trip.''

The act of generosity took Raymer by surprise.

``This has already become a Trail of Tears of my own so the use of this horse means a lot,'' he said. ``I have truly been shown some Southern hospitality.''

Thousands of Cherokees, particularly the elderly and the very young, did not survive the arduous trip to Oklahoma.

For Lincoln County student Adam Denton, seeing what Raymer has experienced on his 21st century trip only adds to his imagination of how brutal the actual Trail of Tears was.

``It's important to know our history and heritage and what happened here,'' Denton said. ``We've got a lot to find out. What he has done has made it a little more interesting.''