also says : “The land is more ancient
than that of the Euphrates, the №le,
or the Jordan, so long associated in
our minds with the Garden of Eden,
the Ptolemys and the Old Testament
stories.”
The territory through which the new
parkway will pass is not only of ancient
origin but it was also, in the south¬
western part, the home of the ancient
race of Mound Builders. This pre¬
historic culture reached a development
not far removed from the civilization
of the white man hut it had passed into
a decline long before America was dis¬
covered by Columbus.
It is the belief of many who have
made a close study of the subject that
Be Soto’s quest for gold led him into
the Smoky Mountains, and recent re¬
search has done much to verify this
opinion. Certain it is that De Soto
was the first to apply the name Ap¬
palachian to the great range of moun¬
tains in which the Smokies are located,
and also the name Chalaque to the In¬
dians he found there nearly four hun¬
dred years ago. Some years later, the
French wrote of these natives as the
Cheraqui, hut it was not until 1708
that the name cherokee' was adopted.
The Cherokees themselves gave the
name Unegas to the great range of
mountains which include the Smokies.
This word has, during the years, be¬
come corrupted into TJnakas. But it
was the early settlers, who, living with¬
in sight of these ancient mountains
yet rarely ever having a glimpse of
them because of the perpetual fog or
smoke which covers them, named them
the Smoky Mountains.
A halo of interest still lingers about
many of the Cherokee towns which
once flourished in the Smoky Moun¬
tain section of North Carolina and
Tennessee. Some of these have now
grown into beautiful cities while others
have entirely vanished. It was about
these ancient sites that much of the
early history of these two states was
enacted.
Some of the cities of Cherokee origin
have retained their Indian names while
others have exchanged them for short¬
er, less euphonious, Anglo-Saxon ones.
Among those towns which still bear
their Indian names are Soco, Topoco,
Aquone, Tucheegee, Cullasaja, Nan-
tahala and Santeetlah.
Ellijay, one of the ancient Cherokee
towns which has retained its Indian
name, was visited in 1725 by Col.
George Chicken in an attempt to win
the loyalty of the Cherokees to the
English. The Indians received him
with great ceremony and runners were
immediately sent out to the surround¬
ing towns to summons the head men.
On their arrival, but before listening
to his “talk,” Col. Chicken records
that, “They sing’d before me and
fanned me with their Eagles tales.”
Eagles were the sacred bird of the
Cherokees and their feathers were
highly prized by them and often used
in their ceremonies. Golden eagles
are still to he seen in the Smoky Moun¬
tains and are known to be unusually
fierce.
Guasili, a town now long vanished,
has been frequently mentioned of late
because of the recent excavation of the
great mound which stood in the center
of the town. Located about seven
miles from Murphy this interesting
Page Three
IT IS through country like this that
the new Parkway will pass. A con¬
tinuous panorama of beautiful scenery.
city had a large population and was
the center of a flourishing community.
Another town, also long vanished
but which played an important part
in the affairs of the Cherokee nation,
was old Chota. Located west of the
new park just above the mouth of Tel-
lico Creek, it was the Beloved town
and the City of Refuge for this ancient
race.
When the Duke of Orleans came to
America in 1797 he visited this Indian
stronghold. After dinner, at which
wild turkey was served much to the
Duke’s delight, a game of ball was
played in his honor. Six hundred In¬
dians from the surrounding tribes at¬
tended the game and afterward con-
( Continued on -page twenty-five)
( January 5, 1935
THE STATE
New Parkway Opens
Up Ancient Territory
COMPARATIVELY few people in
Xortli Carolina know anything
about the historic Indian towns
that are located in the western
part of the state. Mrs. Derieux
tells you about some of them,
and also about many other in¬
teresting things in the moun¬
tainous area.
THE new
Mountain
which has,
been definitely
through western
Carolina will
Smoky
parkway
at last,
routed
North
open up,
when completed, some of
the oldest and most inter¬
esting territory in America.
Geologists tell us that the
Smoky Mountains were the
first to emerge on the Amer¬
ican continent. J. P.
Arthur, in his History of
Western North Carolina,
By Elizabeth Tipton Derieux