Maiden of the Big Lake

According to Native American legend, there once was a young Indian maiden who lived with her tribe in the heart of the Great Dismal Swamp, near Lake Drummond. She was a maiden of unnatural beauty and very popular throughout her tribe. There was also a brave young man, who was known as the swiftest and strongest of all of his tribe.  This young man fell in love with the beautiful maiden and the two of them were set to marry.

On the eve of the wedding, the young maiden became violently ill and no medicine was strong enough to save her life.  She passed in the night to the light of the Great Spirit of the swamp.  The young man was devastated after hearing the news, but kept his grief contained as all brave warriors are expected to do.  She was buried in the soft and damp peat soil of the swamp, a place that seemed all too cold for such a warm and generous soul.

Time passed but the hurt in the young man’s heart only grew stronger.  He dreamed of her release from her earthly bonds and returning to visit him at an old cypress tree, located across the big lake.  The young warrior awoke, jumping to his feet and ran through the forest searching for his lost love.  He passed through tangles of juniper and dense foliage, even coming across massive black bears hunting in the brambles of the swamp.  The grief stricken brave found himself located in the deepest part of the swamp, where no man had ever ventured before.

He lost track of time searching for his love, but never found her.  Finally exhausted, cold and cut badly from the briars, he sat down to rest on the damp swamp floor.  He slept a deep sleep, where even the creatures of the night could not disturb him as they passed him on their nightly rounds of the forest.

The maiden came to him again in the night, as an apparition standing on the opposite shore of the lake.  As he watched her, a bright light shone high in the sky, as if pointing the way to her.  When he awoke, he knew the path he must take and constructed a canoe from the branches of the young plentiful vines of the swamp.  He formed a lamp and filled it with fireflies to help him during the dark nights.  The young warrior launched his canoe into the lake and paddled toward the shore where he had seen his love calling to him.

He never returned or reached the opposite shore.  High winds and dark clouds covered the moonlight sending the swamp into total darkness, not even the makeshift lamp could help.  It is said that on a dark night, when clouds cover all sources of light, a faint fire-fly lamp can be seen moving slowly across Lake Drummond.  The young maiden and her love, having been joined in the spirit world, paddle for eternity across the lake seeking to return to their home on the western shore.  Their journey is one that is destined to never be completed.

Source:

Indian Legends of the Great Dismal Swamp by Waverly Taylor