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This historical novel is based on the life of young Clarinda Allington, taken captive by Indians in 1793. She was kept twelve years in the Cherokee nation by a handsome and powerful war chief named Chulio Shoe Boots, who she thought to be her savior. Her heart’s desire was to someday return back to her Kentucky home. Essentially fiction, the novel contains many documented facts that reveal the fascinating relationship between the chief and his white slave girl. The conflicts surrounding the Indian nations and the frontier settlers from 1790-1806 provide a background for their story. Clarinda was an ordinary girl forced to live an extraordinary life. The fact that she survived, and her devotion to her children, is testimony to her indomitable spirit. Unknown to Clarinda, all attempts by her family to find her were secretly thwarted by the chief. After learning that her capture was an intentional act engineered by him, Clarinda devised a risky and ingenious plan to gain her freedom. She returned to not only a life of poverty, but prejudice and bigotry directed at her three Indian children. Because the Cherokee held Clarinda in such high regard, she has many namesakes down through Cherokee history. She is an American legend whose story has never been told. About the Author: Ilene Shepard Smiddy is a Missouri native whose veins flow with some Cherokee blood, and whose heart beats with the Cherokee spirit. She has had a lifelong interest in Native American history, and the early settlers of Missouri. This, her first novel, is based on the true story of one of these pioneer women. After a long career of travel and customer service with Trans World Airlines, she retired in rural Missouri to fulfill her dream of writing, and to spend time with her three grandchildren: Casey, Cheston, and Claira Jaine. |
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