dav Afternoon, August 31, 1930
TITE WAYNESVILLE MOUNTAINEER
PACE FIVE (Fourth Section)
hco Gap Has Played Important Role In Indian History
s Scene Of
U Battles
Indian Wars
IH,:0 The following
; ,',s iv II. C Wilburn, an
v "on Indian history in ,this
; .kotdi has been printed
jl," toMher with other il
,i articles. ' ' .-
0 GAP- SOCO CREEK
name. Sco, as applied to
i rvilr rfprivps
;.iP a'"
,y Cherokee woro aa-Ka
.',), hkh is- the Cherokee
', ,.". In the fprm, Sa
" oh-uah-he. it is locative,
,anv place. The whites
Yj tiio designation, Sa-gwa
., u, -Si)-cah", and later "So
! a '"number o early deeds
ru, j, given as So-cah. By--,yfkec
the name Sa-gwa-.limited
only the stream. By
,i" im-y ttie name as cor
, h the whites, became fixed
Saii, m ar which the stream
alltf'flow'ng westward joins
UrttKiUilwe one mile below
ee.
iteretintt side light on Soco
; u iviii;iined in a deed from
Walker hearing date. Janu
1818. el one, Julia Madame
ro el Philadelphia, Pa. The
xiaiton that Walker received
Jionae lor his tract of land
Three small likenesses, one
nisell, olio for Felix Walker
and one for Miss Plancey
x. made by the said Julia
:ie l'laiitore; and also one
pain! in-.' uf small size, the re
lation el the peace of Ghent",
.four hundred and twenty
Iraq ol land conveyed in this
,.1'tion is desciibed as: "A par
i maintain land, whereon is
limber, excellent good water,
mu! range in summer, lying
king in the county of Hay
beciniiing near the fork of
i Creek, where the Great
crones it at the foot of the
k.iii. Iing on both sides of
:k and on both sides of the
This drawing by Douglas Giant, local artist, shows the Cherokees ambush a Shawano war party at
Soco Gap. This is one of many illustrations by Grant in the new publication just completed by H.
C. Wilburn, local authority on the life of the Cherokees.
Big Road."
The location of this tract of land
is thought to be a the mouth of
Lost Cove Branch, one and three
fourths miles down from Soco Gap.
It would include three small
streams, as well as nearly a mile of
Soco Creek, and would also fulfill
the specifications, "Good timber,
excellent good water, and summer
range." Part of it would lie on both
sides of the creek and on both
sides of the "Great Road".. The
Great Road referred to being the
ancient Indian trail, then taken it the name, they ambushed here,
over by white people, that passed just below the gao, on the Haywood
this way. side, a large party of invading
The correct designation for what Shawanos. and killed all but one,
is now known as Soco Gap is, A- whose ears they cut olT, after
ha-lu-na (Ah-hah-law-nah), mean- which, according to common cos
ing, ambushed; or U-ni-ha-lu-na, torn, they released him to carry
meaning where they watched. The the news to his peoole. The aecom
trail from the Pigeon River area panying illustration is a re-enact -crosses
at this gap, and in the old ment of the ambush slaying of the
times the Cherokees were accus- invading Shawano party. The
turned to keep a lookout here for mountain peak in the background
the annroarh nf enemies from the is Sheebach Knob, which is the
North. On the occasion which gave treminus of a ridge projecting 1 dense population in the recent
It is also to be noted that, accord
ing to tradition, both Indian and
white, and recorded many years
aso. the Cherokees were called in
council at Soco (A-ha-lu-nai Gap
to meet the great Tecuriiseh when
h. nnm QiMith irt h. var 1 JH
in tfforts to recruit all .Southern
t tribes he could to help repel white
encroachments on Indian lands
I north of the Ohio River. It was
here at this council that, after the
j eloquent appeals of the ''Crest
Shooting Star" as the Cherokees
called Tecumseh, and a number of
them had given the war-whoop,
signifying their willingness to ro
to war, Junaluska, the great peace
j chiefs calmly and wisely advised
ins people against going to war
against the white people.
Soco Gab is one of the four not
able depressions or gaps in the
great Balsam range as it winds its
thirty-six miles from Trieorner
Knob of the Great Smokies to
! Tennessee Bald at the junction of
the Pisgah Ridge. The other three
are: Balsam Gap, Black Camp Gap,
and Pin Oak Gau. .All four of these
gaps have served as gateways
across the Balsam Range at differ
ent periods of settlement and econ
omic development. Before the com
ing of the while man Soco Gap
seemed to be, by far, the most im
portant passage way lor aboriginal
travel.
About the year 1700, when the
Long Hunters, the mineral pros
pectors, and other adventures, be
gan to break through the passes of
the Blue Ridge and to penetrate
the intra-mouulain region, now
known as Western North Carolina,
the Cherokees in the French Broad
and Pigeon River valleys, look
flight, and also took refuge behind
the great Balsam range. It is
thought that this explains why, in
recorded historic time, no Indians
are reported to have been living
in these areas. Numerous Indian
mounds, village sites, burial places,
and the countryside strewn with
arrowheads, pottery, and other
evidences, attest a comparatively
past. This applies especially to the
Pigeon River valley.
In view of this situation it is not
strange that the Cherokees, en
sconced, as they were behind the
great Balsam range, should main
tain a "lookout," or a 'watch'' at
A -ha-lu-na, the main portal to
their security from both the whites
and their hereditary enemies, the
Iroquois of New York, the Shaw
anos of the Ohio valley, and the
Catawbas of the Piedmont region
of North Carolina and South Caro
lina. A large beech tree with the date,
1706, rudely carved in its bark,
once stood beside the ancient In
dian trail three-fourths of a mile
east of Davis Gap, now sometimes
erroneously called Pigeon Gap, and
two and one-half miles southeast
of Waynesville. It was observed
there by a "young private" in Gen
eral Rutherford's army as he
marched with his twenty four hun
dred soldiers against the Cherokee
Indians in September, 1775, Many
years later Judge Samuel Lowrey
who was the "young private" in
Rutherford's army, held court in
Waynesville. He again visited the
site of the "marked" beech tree,
and verified the date, 1700, as In-
LAFF-A-DAY
iPi
ftp
"Don't look at me I only
brought home the big one."
dicated above.
This marked tree is evidence of
the visitation of hunters or ad
venturers in the Pigeon valley at
that surprisingly early time. Such
visitations were inimical to In
dian peace and tranquility,' and
lends support to the statement
above, to the effect that they aban
doned the area around the year
1700.
Barberville s
Church To Open
Revival Sunday
The Barberville Baptist Church
will begin a series of Revival Ser
vices Sunday Morning during he
Worship Service.
Jarvis Brock, recently called, as
the full time Pastor of the Church
will conduct these meetings. The
services will begin with a gojpel
song service each evening at t.30
and preaching services will atari at ;
8. The pastor feels that the Unit is
ripe for a Revival in the Church.
There will be bus that will nuke
an organized circuit to pickup
those that are interested in attend
ing these meetings. An invitatioi is
extended to all the other churches
and denominations of the commun
ity to come together in this revival
. . m .
..;,-...' -, :
It's best to chill oranges and then
squeeze them for juice, rather than
to keep oranges at room temper
ature and then chill the juice. The
reason for this is that the lodger
orange juice stands the more flav
I or and vitamin C it looses.
LABOR
DAY-
1 r
' t I
2-Jf
fir . '.-. . ltt
American
rporaton
Greetings From
Eika Co
Manufacturers of
Fine Rayon Yarns For Weaving, Knitting and Hosiery Mills and Heavy Duty Tire Yarns.
ENKA, NORTH CAROLINA '
AEOIR
DAY
i
19SO
jbUw. trv
Out of America's factories via the hands of
labor, there issues a steady stream of countless
aids to better living in whose production this
country excels. As we observe this Labor Day
both labor and management are pledged to turn
out more and better goods at lower costs, that
the high standard of living so many people now
enjoy may be increasingly available to more of
the people, all the time.
UNAGUST&
Maiiiifactiirkg
GoroomtioE
Hazelwood, N. C.