The Legend of Zinnia

The Trail of Tears cost many Indian lives in 1834 leaving a shameful stain upon many of the political figures of that time. A few Indians fled into the Appalachians.

Legend has it that one such Indian called 'Many Faces' spent his life in the hills of Virginia never to be seen by the white man. West Virginia became a state in 1863 and it was in these hills where the Shawnee brave existed with only the animals as his friends until one certain day that changed his life as he knew it.

'Many Face' heard the woman's scream echo loudly through the hills. He climbed up into a tree and watched as the woman ran beneath him and then dropped to the ground before the two union soldiers who were chasing her. He slew them on the spot with no remorse. The woman was defenseless and the soldiers in the eyes of the Shawnee brave were cowards.

The Shawnee brave known as 'Many Faces' became friends with the woman and over a period of years they grew to love each other and she learned the ways of the Shawnee brave as well as his language and he learned her language as well. They grew old together and it is said that on the day he died that he passed powerful magic into the woman he loved, the woman know as Zinnia.

The Harless family would soon learn of Miss Zinnia the legend of the hill country and she would come to play a big part in the family's life. Joey, the oldest boy in the Harless family though only twelve years old would be given something magical that would drastically change his life as well as others he would come in contact with.