THE TOWNS

"At the beginning of the historic era the Cherokee were living in about eighty towns distributed among four large groups: the Lower settlements, along the Tugaloo and Keowee rivers in South Carolina: the Middle settlements, the real heart of the nation, along the headwaters of the Tuskaseegee and Little Tennessee rivers in North Carolina; the Valley towns, also in North Carolina along the Valley, Notteley, and upper Hiwassee rivers; and the Upper or Overhill towns, across the mountains from the English settlements in South Carolina, and lying mainly along the Little Tennessee River but including some towns on the Tellico and the Hiawssee. Early English traders arbitrarily divided the Cherokee towns into three groups instead of four, lumping the Middle and Valley towns together as one group and calling them the Middle Cherokee."

This was a general outline of the Cherokee Nation at the time. The Chickamaugans were primarily located from North Gerogia to Burnside Kentucky and to Nashville Tennessee until pressure from the settlers forced them to abandon Chota and the rich Kentucky lands and relocate in the Five Lower Towns: Running Water, Lookout Mountain, Nick-A-Jack, Crow, and Long Island. Eventually, they were even forced from these towns into Arkansas and Texas, while some say a few disapppeared into South Dakota. Their towns, and sites, along the Tennessee River have been mostly archaeologically removed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and most others looted. A TVA Ranger recently is quoted as stating "all sites along the Tennessee River are either currently being or have already been looted". TVA has thousands of sets of remains but will not disclose how many nor where they are. Many of these sets of remains could be of the Great Leaders of the Chickamaugans. Citico mound, on the Tennessee river west of Mocassin Bend, was pillaged in the 1930's and the remains of about 10,000 people were bulldozed into the river for the construction of a sewage plant.

• "Although the Cherokee nation as a whole had a principal chief, the political, military, and religious life was centered in the towns, which varied in size from a dozen to around two hundred families. On the west side of the public square in the center of each town was built the council house or temple. Grouped around the temple and square were the dwelling houses, which like those of other Late Mississippian Indians were built of upright logs. In the center of the dirt floor was a scooped-out fireplace, flanked by a hearth stone for use in baking corn bread. At one end were the beds, made of saplings and woven splints. In cold weather the families slept in the adjacent "hot house," a small, dirt-covered, cone shaped structure, also supplied with beds and a fireplace in which a fire was kept burning all day and banked at night. Similar hot houses were used by the medicine men for giving "sweat baths" as a means of treating certain diseases and also as a purification ritual.
• The council house was used mainly as a temple for religious rites but also as a public hall for civil and military councils. Usually large enough to seat 500 persons, it was seven-sided to correspond to the seven clans of the Cherokee Nation, with each clan being given seats in a particular section. Seven large pillars outlined the outer walls, and within were two concentric series of seven posts each as well as a large central pillar. Three tiers of benches lined the walls, with one area, near the sacred seventh pillar of the outer wall, being reserved for the main officials, three of whom had special seats with high backs. Near the central pillar and in front of the officials' seats was the altar, at which a fire was kept perpetually burning except for periodic and ceremonial extinguishing and rekindling. Lieutenant Henry Timberlake, who visited the Cherokee in 1761-62, described the town house at Chote as having "the appearance of a small mountain at a little distance." He commented on its gloomy interior, "extremely dark, having, besides the door, which is so narrow that but one at a time can pass, and that after much winding and turning, but one small aperture to let the smoke out, which is so ill-contrived, that most of it settles in the roof of the house."
• The towns were the most important units of government and among them the seven "Mother Towns" of the seven clans for special significance. Each town had a "king", elected by the town council, and also usually a "Great War Chief," elected by the principal warriors. The national government paralleled the local. There was a paramount chief for the nation, who with the aid of seven counselors conducted civil and religious affairs. Two of these counselors were called the right hand man and the speaker, and sat next to the paramount chief at council meetings.
• The capital of the Cherokee Nation shifted according to the residence of the paramount chief. In 1715 it was Tugaloo, one of the Lower towns in northeastern Georgia. By 1730 it had been moved to the Overhill country, first to Tanasi and then to Chote, both on the Little Tennessee River. Chote (or Chota was a "Peace Town" or "Mother Town" remained the capital until the town was abandoned and the system of national government was changed. The system of centralized control described above was not as effective as would appear at first glance. There was very little compulsive authority for enforcement. Each town was inclined to believe it was a law unto itself in disregard of national policy; and much the same may be said of the individual Indian, except where tradition and superstition were involved. After trade relations with the English colony of South Carolina had begun, about the beginning of the eighteen century, the colonial government was so concerned about the lack of an effective national organization on the part of the Cherokee that they induced them to elect an "Emperor" to rule over the whole nation and to represent it in relations with the whites.">

• In the summer of 1781 a treaty of peace was concluded with the Overhill towns, but the Chickamaugans were still inflexible, and instead of suing for peace, were winning over to the war party new allies in the Cherokee towns on the Coosa, and among the neighboring Creeks. They were a constant menace to the peace and safety of the frontiers, and in September, 1782, Colonel Sevier again invaded their country. Passing by the friendly towns on the Little Tennessee, he devastated the Indian settlements from the Hiawassee to the Coosa River, without meeting a foe in the field. This was the third time in three years that their country had been overrun.
• These annual incursions which laid waste their country, and destroyed the meager stores provided for their subsistence, became intolerable to the Chickamaugas. They could not have lived-they would have died of starvation, if such conditions had continued. The whites hoped it would result in a general peace, but the genius of the indomitable Dragging Canoe found another solution of their difficulties.
• The passage of the Tennessee River through the Cumberland Mountain range at Chattanooga is one of the most unique achievements of nature. In its rapid descent it has cut deep through the solid stone, leaving towering cliffs and precipices on either shore, in scenic places scarcely leaving room for a path between them and the impetuous current of the river. The prospect from Lookout Mountain is almost incredible, reaching, it is said, the territory of seven states.The favorite view is called the point, a projecting angle of the cliff, almost directly above the river, which affords a commanding "lookout" from which the mountain received its name. Confined within its narrow banks, the rapidly descending stream rushes with fretful turbulence over immense boulders and masses of rock, creating a succession of cataracts and vortices, making it extremely difficult of navigation. Along its wild and romantic shores are coves and gorges running back into the mountains, forming inaccessible retreats. At a point about thirty-six miles below Chattanooga, Nickajack Cave, an immense cavern, some thirty yards wide, with a maximum height of fifteen feet, opens its main entrance on the river.
• Among these impregnable fastnesses Dragging Canoe found an asylum for his people; here he built the five Lower towns of the Chickamauga - Running Water, Nickajack, and Long Island towns, in Tennessee, and Crow and Lookout Mountain towns, in Alabama and Georgia, respectively. In addition to the security offered by their positions, it gave them the advantage of being near the Indian path, where the hunting and war parties of the Creeks of the south, and the Shawnees of the north, crossed the Tennessee River. Their strength was augmented from the Creeks, Shawnees, and white Tories, until they numbered a thousand warriors; and became the most formidable part of their nation. It has been said that they abandoned Chickamauga Creek on account of witches, but I agree with Colonel Arthur Campbell, that the real cause was the raids of the Watauga and Holston militia.

Tennessee, the Volunteer State Moore and Foster, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1923

PREHISTORIC TRAILS IN THE UPPER CUMBERLAND RIVER BASIN

               

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The Snake Doctor

Last Update 1/07
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