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|Sarasota’s Namesake
The Legend of Sara DeSoto...
Sara, daughter of Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto, is credited with being the inspiration for the name Sarasota. DeSoto explored this part of Florida in 1539, and according to legend, his daughter traveled with him. A tale picked up from the Seminole Indian legends and spun by George Fleming Chapline in 1906 in his book, “A Bunch of Grass: Some Verses and Some Otherâ€?, relates a story URPDQWLFDOO\ Ă€OOHG ZLWK WUHHV and forest,bays and early days. According to Chapline, a strong Indian brave name Chichi-Okobee offered himself to DeSoto’s guardsmen with the words, “Peace, I surrender to the warrior of the great white chiefâ€?. To secure their safe passage, DeSoto held ChichiOkobee hostage, then soon realized his prisoner willingly endured the throngs of captivity in order to be near his daughter, Sara. Due to the unfamiliar living conditions Okobee fell gravely ill and the physicians of the Spanish camp were unable to cure him. In his dying hour, Sara begged to be permitted to minister Chichi. Love’s potion, more powerful than the medicament of
medicine men, brought back the steady gaze to his eye, his health and strength. But when Sara fell ill, all the tender care given by the physicians were in vain. It was Chichi’s turn to beg DeSoto to allow him to return to his father’s camp and bring back the great medicine man, Ahti. Ahti kept long vigils by Sara’s side but was unable to revive her. Ahti’s powers had been matched with one greater than his; the Great Spirit had called her home. The distraught Chichi-Okobee requested that he might select the place of her burial and take part in the ceremony. One hundred Seminole braves led by Chichi-Okobee performed the burial of Sara. A silent canoe trip to “the most beautiful and most peaceful body of water that the Spaniards had ever beheldâ€? ended when Sara, ZLWK WKH ZKLWH ED\ Ă RZHUV LQ KHU blue-black hair, and the feather from the wing of the black heron in her hand, was tenderly lowered into the deep waters. At a signal from the young chief, every warrior sprang to their feet, tomahawk in hand and began a war chant. Once the echos died, they used their tomahawks to destroy their canoes sending them all to the bottom of the waters. Chichi-Okobee along with his hundred warriors had gone to guard the resting place of their young chieftain’s love. It is said that the sullen roar of the Gulf of Mexico, as it breaks upon the beaches, is but the QRLVH RI FRQĂ LFW 7KDW WKH JUHDW whitecaps which chase each
2nd Annual Siesta Key Crystal Classic Master Sandsculpting &RPSHWLWLRQ ‡ 7KXUVGD\ 0RQGD\ 1RYHPEHU For More Information read our events section on page 11 other and break and tumble across the pass are but the wrath of the warriors of Okobee and the children of the sea tossing their spirit arms and meeting in never-ending contest for possession of the bay. Chapline’s legend is based on bits of IDFW DQG VWRULHV JDWKHUHG LQ WKH ÀUVW GD\V RI Sarasota. A trip to the Everglades to speak to the Seminoles resulted in his learning the name of Ahti and the name Chichi-Okobee. Mrs. Neal Chapline Swain, the author’s niece, has researched the authenticity of the OHJHQG DQG KDV SXEOLVKHG KHU ÀQGLQJV LQ The Legend of Sara DeSoto. Here are some RI KHU ÀQGLQJV As DeSoto’s ships frequently plied
between Cuba and Florida, it is not unlikely that the Governor was visited by one of his admirers, whom being quite youthful, might easily have been mistaken for his daughters by the Indians. It is also known that a number of women died while accompanying the expedition and to avoid the desecration or mutilation of bodies by revengeful Indians, they were consigned to the deepest waters in many instances. Who the lovely Sara was and where she came from is still a mystery. That she lived and was buried in Sarasota Bay is generally accepted as legendary fact.