In the deep woods, above the old Indian’s ancient cabin of handhewn logs, there was the persistent barking of a dog.
“He’s treed something,” Said Mose Owl. “Let’s see what it is.”
Then, with his two small grandsons at his heels, he moved off up the trail past the spring and slipped silently into the woods.
As the old Indian approached, the dog raised his head, paused a moment to look at Mose, then resumed his frantic barking.
Mose stepped past the dog, reached under a big rock, and pulled out a terrapin.
The dog leaped barking at Mose, and Mose brushed him off with a swipe of a hand, said “Git!”, and the dog got.
The two little boys, their eyes large and dark and shining like chinquapins, laughed and ran to their grandfather and shouted, “Let me see! Let me see!”
Mose walked over to a log and sat down, the terrapin clutched in his hand, the boys swarming around him.
“Be quiet and listen,” he told them. “I want to show you something about the terrapin that not many folks know.”
His grandsons crawled up on the log, one on each side of him.
“All terrapins have pictures on their backs,” he said. “Like they were carved out with a knife or pressed on with a paddle like your mother decorates her pottery.”
“See here,” he pointed, running his finger around the terrapin’s shell. “See the row of men. They are all wearing Eagle capes, just like the Chief Eagle Dancer’s cape in Unto These Hills up at Mountainside Theater.”
But, Mose went on to tell them, the pictures on the terrapins are not all the same. Some portray Indian braves with only eagle wands, such as the dancers carry in the great Eagle Dance. Others portray Indian women in feather skirts.
“That’s how you tell the male and the female terrapins apart,” he explained. “Only the males wear the eagle capes or carry the eagle wands.”
All of this is a mystery, Mose added. Nobody knows for sure how the terrapins came to have pictures on their backs. But there they are for all to see.
“When I was a boy, back 70 years ago, the old men of the tribe had one story of how it came about,” Mose recalled. “They said it came to pass when only animals lived on the earth.”
“In that time, the animals had parties like folks have today. They gathered and danced and sang and just had a good time. All the animals went to the parties.”
“Well, there was one young fellow who always showed up at the parties but he always kept his face hidden. And there was a pretty girl who set her cap for him. But try as she would she couldn’t find out what his face was like. When he danced with her it was always just on the edge of the dance ground where the light couldn’t reach them and show his face.”
“One day the terrapin told the girl, “If you want to see his face, I’ll fix it so you can.”
“I’d better explain that all the parties were held at night. And nobody ever saw the young fellow in the daytime.”
“Well, the next time there was a party, the terrapin went out and gathered up an armful of laurel boughs and brought them in and put them on the fire. The leaves began to pop, making a loud noise.”
“Now laurel makes a bright light when it burns. It beats electricity. So when the laurel leaves began to pop this young fellow turned around to see what was making the noise.”
“That’s when the owl showed his face. If you notice today the owl will always have his back to you until you make a noise.”
“Well, when the other animals saw the owl’s face, they whooped and hollered and gathered around him. They began pulling feathers out of the owl’s wings and tail. They gave them to the terrapin and he began to put on a dance. it was like the Eagle Dance in the drama.”
“And that, the old men used to say, is how the terrapin got his costume. He got a feather cape and his wife got a feather skirt.”
“Of course, the animals don’t hold parties any more. They stopped long, long ago after the first men came. The owl stays to himself and so does the terrapin.”
“Some of the old men used to say that the Great Spirit painted the feather capes and feather skirts on the backs of the terrapins to remind folks of the time when the terrapin got the owl to show his face.”
Mose studies the terrapin in his hand a moment, then got up and walked over to the big rock. He bent down, put the terrapin back in its hole.
“Let’s go home boys,” he said to his two grandsons. “We’ll leave the terrapin where he belongs. And you keep your dog away from him.”
The two little boys looked up at their grandfather and nodded.
Then the old Indian took them by the hand and, together, they moved off down the trail.
—Wonder of the Terrapin’s Shell written by John Parris
Matt found the little terrapin in the photo out back near a blueberry bush. It was hugged up to the steps and looked like it was making preparations to lay eggs.
I never see a terrapin that I don’t think of Granny.
She’d call me of a summer day when she’d see one crawling in her yard or in the garden and say “The prettiest terrapin’s out in the yard. You ought to come take a picture of it.”
I almost always put down what I was doing and went to make a picture of Granny’s terrapin. One time I found her standing at the edge of the backyard with her big walking stick.
As I come into the yard I saw her and said “What are you doing?” She said “I’m a watching the terrapin to make sure it don’t get away.” I laughed and asked her how long she would have stood there waiting for me to come 🙂
I can’t remember if I ever told Granny about the legend of the terrapins and the Cherokee. I know she would have enjoyed it.
Tipper
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Tipper that is a magnificent story! I sure hope you told your mother.. Y’all please pray for my friend Shane he is 55 and is waiting to get on the heart transplant list. I put it in the chat last night but I thought it would not hurt to come over here as well..
I’ll pray for him!
Having two ponds on our property we see quite a few turtles. The babies are the cutest! We have seen some really big snappers also. We just leave them alone and let them go on their merry way. One time I opened our kitchen door and there was a giant snapper in my kitchen garden, just a few feet from the door. At first, it tricked my mind and I thought it was a huge rock, but then I realized that there was no rock there and saw it was a snapper. We mostly see painted turtles. I have been very sad to see several turtles run over on the road lately. It is a devastating sight to see. Touches my heart to hear how much Granny loved them! My daughter is that way also. The Lord has given us such treasures to behold in nature!
Many of your commenters don’t understand that the terrapin you have pictured there is a dry land creature. It don’t live in a pond or a creek. It lives high and dry on the mountainside. It might go to the creek to drink but that is not its home. Picking one up and putting it in a creek or pond might do more harm that good. Although they can swim they lack the proper webbing between their toes to swim like water dwelling turtles, tortoises and terrapins do. That’s why the old Indian put the terrapin back in its nest under the rock and not in the creek.
It seems tales of nature and life told by people’s of the Indian population are always well told and quite beautiful. Thank you for this about the terrapins. What an intriguing story. I loved it. Prayers for all that are in need in the name of Jesus, our savior.
So enjoyed this story! Growing up in NW NC, it was a such a fun day when we came upon a terrapin with the beautiful shell. We still see them and yes, stop to get them out of the roads. Of note, around here, most everyone, especially the older folks pronounce terrapin as “tar-pon”- more like the fish found in Florida. I wonder if others have heard or that pronunciation?
That’s close to what I call them. I pronounce it like Tar-pun.
A beautiful picture book is Mossy, by Jan Brett, about a turtle and a nature museum. Any Acorns would enjoy it, and reading it with grandkids.
I think we say it the same, Ammons. I don’t know why the University of Maryland sports teams don’t go by the Maryland Tarpuns! 🙂 I would tickle me to hear a sportscaster call them that just once!
Thank you everyone for praying for me , my Daddy Ricky Tuggle,and my sister Angel. God is so good and faithful. I try to be those things and I fail, but keep trying. My maternal grandfather was nicknamed Terrapin. I too love turtles, but seldom see them with the heavy building around here anymore.
I am praying for all the prayer requests, I know God hears them.
I had 2 small pet terrapins while at Shaw AFB in the early 80s; aquarium with water, a large rock and heat lamp. Bonnie snd Clyde. I caught them at the base pond. They were fascinating. I fed them little pieces of ham lunch meat. They’d see me get near and get on that rock and stretch those little necks to snap it out my fingers. After a year or so, I felt sorry that they were confined to such a small space and released them back where I’d found them. What a story they had to tell the others, huh?
What a great story, I’m going to read this to my grandboys.
Praying for Papaw Tony & Nana Janet.
We call them Box Turtles. They are part of the Terrapin family, Eastern Box Turtle ( Terrapene carolina carolina). Box turtles are distinguished from other Terrapins by their ability to completely close their shells. No head, no legs, just a shell. I guess that’s why the “box” in their common name. They pull themselves in and close the box.
Hi Tipper. I enjoyed the stories of the Terrapins. The last Terrapin I saw was going across the highway on my wat home from town. It was a Snapping “turtle” Terrapin. Terrapins have webbed feet with longer claws and spend time in water as well as land. A tortoise is a land animal and has flat feet with small claws. A Turtle is almost always in the water, except to lay eggs, and has flippers. That Snapper was as long as my behind is wide. It had traffic stopped in both lanes. It was going from the creek side of the road to the boggy side.
Barbara, a friend I grew up with would set hooks and baskets out to catch those
mud/snapping turtles. He loved turtle stew. His name was Sonny, we went to work at Michelin on the same day, one of the last things I remember him saying to me was “I am getting out of here when I turn 55,” he died from a heart attack while turkey hunting just a few weeks before his 55th birthday. They didn’t come any better than Sonny. He did have a younger brother that is just as good.
A snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is not a terrapin. Snapping turtles are in the Chelydridae family while Terrapins are in the Emydidae family. The picture is of an Eastern Box Turtle which is in the Emydidae family, therefore a Terrapin.
When we first moved into our home 30 years ago we made a small vegetable garden in the back corner of our yard which also has a little creek that runs behind it. After our children were born we still had a garden for a few years before we stopped but at one point we found what I guess was a terrapin, we called it a turtle, burrowed in the garden in the mud. We named it Franklin, after the children’s book series character. If he could reach one he helped himself to some (usually just the)tomatoes. It was always fun to find it there; at that time we had enough tomatoes to share. We used see them (or the same one, idk) moving through the yard on occasion heading back to the little creek but it has been many years since we saw the last one, after we stopped planting a garden in that little corner of the yard.
Great story Tipper – thank you for sharing it and the photo – I have heard similar stories when growing up.
Tipper, off the subject today but …. ladybugs feed on aphids and there are – I think – suppliers of native insects that do bio-control. When I am squishing the eggs of squash bug, I find ladybug eggs also but leave them. Anyway, just an idea.
My 1st cousin 1x removed Helen DeHart married Raymond Owle. He was ¼ Cherokee. Not just wishfully, he was enrolled. They lived on the 3200 Acre Tract, a noncontiguous part of the Qualla Boundary .
In past times the name was spelled Owl but somewhere someone thought to elevate themselves above the rest of the family by adding that e as often happens with names. Maybe Raymond was related to Mose Owl. Or maybe Mose was only poetic license. Who knows.
Mose Owl was a real person. I knew of him through my parents. My dad and mom worked at Unto These Hills summers 1960 and 1961. My Dad possibly worked the summer of 1959( I just can’t remember). He was an eagle Dancer and mom was a costumer. They got to know many of the local Cherokee, Mose being one of them.
Over the years I’ve noticed that while most terrapins (aka box turtles) go on lock-down when disturbed, some don’t. As kids, we loved to find onethat liked to walk. I marked many with a spot of paint or finger nail polish, to see if they stayed around the yard or garden. Several did. We’d see them months later.
Somehow the only place I’ve ever managed to see any sort of turtle/tortoise was in the middle of the road, and thank goodness I’ve been able to swerve around it.
Nice story. There’s a unique lesson for all of us to learn in its telling. A back story to reinforce a message we wish to convey to those younger than us always carries a more lasting impact than, “because I said so”.
I love terrapins & we have many in our area. All my married life if we saw a terrapin in the road we would stop & take it away to a safe ditch. Many times, my husband would stop traffic just to get one safely to the other side of the road. People around here still do that & it warms my heart to see the kindness in people when they come across them on the roads. Thanks for the lovely story.
I’ve always loved turtles of all kinds and everyone knew it. In high school, my friends often brought me box turtles that they had picked up out of the roadways. I lived (still live now) on a very heavily wooded piece of property and I would turn the terrapins loose where my backyard met the trees. My mother and stepfather had a good sized garden on a cleared area and I remember one day John said no more turtles were to be relocated here, from now on. He was tired of waiting for a tomato or a cantaloupe to ripen perfectly, only to find part of it eaten away! Once, he found a box turtle still eating a juicy cantaloupe- it’s neck stretched out and its head fully inside the melon! I’m 65 now and every time I come across a turtle here at home, I wonder if it’s one that got moved against its will, almost 50 years ago. If I had taken pictures of them back then like Granny wanted you to, maybe I could tell. I’m sure I have changed far more over the decades than the box turtles have.
I personally like terrapins and turtles of ALL TYPES. I’ve rescued them out of the road by the hundreds I suppose over my lifetime and none are “thankful” for they’ll bite if given half a chance. Lol. I guess I’d bite humans too if I was a terrapin. Lol I’ve seen bowls made of turtle and terrapin shells and they’re quite interesting. Murr had a little brother who KISSED a terrapin and he came running, crying to his mommy with his arms flailing and a tiny terrapin hanging off his lip. I tried not to laugh but to a hillbilly and turtle lover, you have to be a bit touched in the head to put your body parts near a turtle or terrapin. I would never laugh at a kid to their face if they’re hurting though. I think they got a stick and pryed him off Dan’s lip. And lo and behold he never done another trick like that since. I liked the story of terrapins with stories on their backs and I love thinking of granny and her loving devotion to little terrapins. Granny was such a beautiful, intelligent and kind lady. She is certainly missed with great fondness by all of us who got to see and love her on your blog, Tipper. She was one of a kind and that’s for certain. It rained all night and filled up my rain barrels. I heard coyotes at some point nearby where they’re cutting a bunch of trees that look awful puny to me and they ain’t let up since last winter. Somebody’s making money, but what’s the real cost? Birds, animals and all of lose in the big picture. Bears have no place to go. Oh well if it’s your stuff you have to rock it and I have to mind my own beeswax… you know what is said about opinions-they’re like behinds and we all got one-some bigger and more spread out than others. Lol.
Sadie, you do know according to legend if a snapping turtle bites you it will not turn loose until it thunders. Personally, I grab them by the tail and keep my fingers away from their mouth. I do know from experience the larger ones can bite larger sticks into.
I’ve been told that I don’t have a butt and I can’t sit on a hard bottomed chair. Bone to wood contact can be very uncomfortable!
I love this legend. I am going to read this to my grandchildren. I think they will all be fascinated. My oldest granddaughter had a terrapin for a pet for a while. Her mama coaxed her into setting it free after a while. It had orange markings on its shell like the one in your photo. It’s so sweet that your mama used to ask you to come and take pictures when she saw one. This past Sunday, we drove to our son’s house to check on things while they were away. There in the road, right near his house, was a terrapin trying to cross. Hubby got out and moved it on across the road to save it from being run over. He sat it in the woods next to their house…with the hopes that the kids will see it one day. It had orange markings also. It’s fun to imagine all of the animals dancing and having a party! .
I think I may have posted this before sometime back. I was sitting in the woods at the bottom of the hill eating lunch one day when I hear a scratching noise uphill behind me. So I just wait and watch and bye and bye here comes a turtle (terrapin). It doesn’t mind me and just on crawling downhill. Suddenly it tips over and begins to roll and goes about 6-8 feet. When it stops it is in its shell. In a few minutes, it slowly comes out again and we each go out separate ways.
God bless Matt’s father Tony, deliverance from sickness and disease, healing and good health in Jesus name, thank you for the story, the difference in male and female terrapins, God bless you all and have a great day thank you for praying for me very much
We had male and female terrapin that lived here on our property for years. They both died a few weeks apart, I had found them in different areas of our property. The female would lay eggs up around our garden and occasionally I would find a baby walking around. Just a few days ago there was a young one crossing the road, so we still have at least one here, which made me so glad. We also have a huge female snapping turtle that we see sometimes when she’s laying eggs in our yard.
Thank you for your prayers, Tipper, they are much appreciated during this time.
love the story. Thank you Gail
I love that story. My momma loved terrapins. She loved all animals and she didn’t believe in killing it if you weren’t eaten it.
When she got dementia pretty bad she would feed the wild animals and it didn’t matter what it was. My brother’s friend had to trap the skunks cause Momma was feeding them too right off the back porch.
When she was a small child she found a baby skunk. She said it never offered to spray so she took it home not realizing it could spray. She took it in their old cabin/house and the other kids were excited and she said about that time it ‘stinked’. She got scolded, but Mamaw wasn’t mad. I laugh thinking about it.
I spoke to my cousin and B has her tests on the 26th and is asking everyone for prayer that day. I told them I’d let our army know. God is good! Thank you for praying.
I will keep praying for Little B 🙂
God bless B on testing day with good results in Jesus name
praying!
I have never heard this story. I have heard it said seeing a terrapin is a good sign of rain. I have seen bird dogs point terrapins when out hunting. My Grandmother story, we lived beside of my Maternal Grandparents and I would often be with them. I like to pick up and play with a terrapin when I saw one. It would go in its shell and not move. Grandmother would tell me, I will make it move, she would set the terrapin on a sheet of newspaper and then set the paper on fire, when the terrapin began to feel the heat it would take off. A terrapin can move pretty fast if it has the right motivation. Before any of you get mad, the terrapins were never hurt or harmed. It seems like nowadays with terrapins and other wildlife I don’t see as many as I use too. I guess all of their habitat is being destroyed to build another housing development, at least that is true for my area.
Or maybe you’re like me and don’t see the wildlife because you can’t see like you used to.
Could be, but after cataract surgery on both eyes , I have 2020 distant vision, before the surgery I had near perfect close up but couldn’t see at a distance. Now it is opposite. I couldn’t see paying about $5000 dollars for special implants Medicare wouldn’t pay. I just keep some cheap reading glasses laying around. By the way I do see plenty of deer but not as many turkeys as I once did.