Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / Sept. 13, 1908, edition 1 / Page 5
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CHARLOTTE DAILY OBSERVER, SEPTEMBER 13, 1903. ? -" Clverk, Indian Nation - V" wla County. M. C ( ? August Kth, 10S. .- Um M s pilgrimage to "Th tAnd ' of eilen, nd n iHth th "Clill . dren of th .Wood, Thev land hi the "Boundary ' of th Eastern ,. Band, of th Cherakee Nation," and the chil a droit are the Chrkee.i Of all parti '-. of North Carolina and of th entire -i cvuin iais is un titwo ana un derstood, both as to country and peo ple. The Indiana art the only onei - east of tho Mississippi river under th car of tho United Stat government and In theaa. hlrh Korth Carolina mountain they have a little world of their own, a very beautiful world, set upon tho no bleat mountains east of v tho Rockies. .F It 1 Strang tlilt, to thia writer ehould have fallen tho task of being the flrat to go among the croatan In- : dlane, who are under State charge. In a way, and for tho first time to Illus trate by photography .their Ufa and customs, and to bo also the flrat to do , this so far as tho North . Carolina Cherokees are concerned, both these things having been done thia -year. .The story as to the CheroKeea must .be told simply, a beseems one -about a simple peapTe, for no others in this Bute live so near to nature's heart aa these, and for this reason they are particularly appealing. It U not needful to tell here the sad and ahameful story of the treat ment of the Cherokees, the original owners of this part of North Carolina by the whites. The Indian possessed the land; the white man came and coveted H. This is the story In a few words. The Cherokees were in the main always peaceable and' in 1S30 there were over thirty thousand of them. The United States Axed the policy of moving all tho Indians to tha Indian Territory. The real wishes of the Cherokees were neve Justly considered. Conditions became singu lar in the extreme. North Carolina owned all Tennessee. An agreement was made between It and tho United States, by which the latter was to ex tinguish the title of the Cherokees In North Carolina and to receive Ten nessee, which North Carolina ceded. In those days the Cherokees lived in tha valley and when in 1SS8 they were "rounded up" for their long Journey to the far West it was com nanttveiv v tn crt thm tnthr. volunteer militia from this State doing I this and holding them for the United States troops, part of the Indians agreed to so. part never consented but all who could poaslblv be found ware escorted under heavy guard acroas tne Smoky mountains. Several thousand of them, escaplng'from the guarda at nlrht. made their way back iu mcir uciuvtu rouuauuni, wnere they have lived ever since, unmolested by the government or the State. It an Impossible to recapture them, as they hid In the deepest gorges and -in these wildest of wild places made tneir living until times grew quiet. Untold suffer! njr and sorrow came from this largely enforced migration and nothing sadder has occurred in all history since the captivity of the jsraemea. The "Boundary," as this Indian country is known. Ilea almost under the shadow of tho great Smoky mountains on the one aide and that ct the Blue Ridge on the other. The weather had been most unpromising but in dettance. of it the writer and Mr. Brock,. the widely known Ashe vllle artist, braved, everything and took the chances of sunshine. Fate appreciated the daring of the deed end was so kind as to give sunshine, tne resuK being a magnificent series of photographs, illustrating Indian Ufa In every way. The Western North Carolina Hallway, a division of the Southern, leada near the borders of thia Indian country and we left It at Whlttier, four miles from that place i ntering the. Boundary, The - railway had followed for many miles the al ways discolored though awift Tucka scegeo river, the name of which in the Cherokee tongue means Turtle river. It -having always been remark able for the number of soft-shell tur tles. At the Indian, boundary wa came to Soco creek, clear and swift, along Its hank being a flume used in mov ing planks and blocks, the latter go ing to the great wood-pulp and acid works at Canton, this particular flume being It miles long, one of freat numbers in that region,' It was ut a short way to the river which la the Joy and pride Of . the. Cherokees, the Oconalfuty, this - ranking in .' clearness, swiftness and beauty , t with the NantahaU and i BY' having no superior aa A- tneuntain stream anywhere. - - Our objective point was the Chero kee Indian school. The-river being a trifle high wo thought ft prudent not to ford it tout to carry our camera, plates and other impedimenta our selves, the distance to the school bo ins; but short. At the flume we saw the flrat Indian,, a full-blooded with feather In Jiat; and as we made our way along the picturesque path bor dering the Oconalufty there was a strangely - contrasting - ecene. - Three full-blood boya were tnet, and at that moment a tree yielded to the blowa of an axo and toppled into tho mar gin of the river. The boys wore from tho school and the tree was cut by a man who was clearing the right of way for the new railroad which is to pierce the very heart of thia Indian country and which will connect Be vierville, Tenn., with a- point on- the Western North Carolina Railway, two miles from Whlttier.. This road will be 69 mile in length and will cross the lofty Smoky mountains at Port er'o Gap. It will open this wonderful Indian country to tha traveler. The Indian bora looked at us rather shyly and never epoke until questioned. A looi-Dnage, duhi or large wires irom ; which planks were suspended, gave .. -V ' " S ' fAn Indian Family Group At the Home passage across the roaring and rather deep river, the bridge forming a graceful loop from Bhore to shore and very high above the stream; In fact a suspension bridge of a type very common In all this high moun tain region and plctureaque to the last degree. Near the onage were inaian canoes, each dug from a tree, very narrow and very long, and on the shore of the stream was a smithy on which was painted "Joe Owl, Biacav smith." Joe was inside, hard at work He responded pleasantly to our greet- lng. He was a representative of the Owl family, the most numerous among these Cherokees, the Wolf family ranklna; next as to numbers. Attractive buildlnga, all white and yellow, showed through the trees, a well ordered lawn rose In graceful swells from the level of the rough road and a bevy of little boya was seen playing, Indians all. At the school there was a warm greeting by the superintendent, Mr. Dewitt Har ris, and by the industrial teacher, Joseph C. Bradley. The latter is a most Interesting man, who after graduating at this achool went to Car lisle, and there stood blgn in studies football, being a member or one ' ncAed rteamsich toured the country. Thia tour brought him good fortune in generous fashion, for In Wisconsin he met a Chippewa girl, a beauty in face and figure, who. like her husband. Is well educated. A pledge of this union of the West and South and of two noted, though far apart tribes, is a year-old boy. . Suddenly there was a visible blaie of color moving through the grove and up the hill, and with swift steps and aerect carriage came an Indian woman, bright red from her bare feet to her head. At her back was a pack in which was a bushel of blood-red peach e known aa the Indian paach and she bore this heavy load with out effort Her hair. Inky black, was knotted in (Psyche fashion. With her was her little son. She spoke no woru or Kngusn but Bradley inter preted. Her name was Iyanna or An nie, Re Id, and her son's name was Kordaak; . in English Spade. Her home was two miles further up the mountain and after she had been photographed she and the boy moved swiftly away, the long climb being mere play for her. while Mr. Brock and I agreed H wouid have been a heart-breaker, for either of us with her load. Next cam ; av- big ox team, two Cherokees attending it, one carrying the extremely long whips these people use. They were hauling chit nut firewood to the school woodpile, preparing for the winter weather, for the temperature) here goes as low aa t degrees below aero. A party of Indian , girls was observed playing In the grounds near the . neat . and spacious buildings, and pictures were made of these and the boys, all being full-bloods, with the exception of a half-breed girl, . whose Jair was' ex quisite In texture, brown-black and gracefully curled. At this moment David Owl, chief of the Indian notice and official interpreter, came up. He naa neia cms position nine years and filled It admirably. He Is about 73 years of age. a- full-blood, born in Cherokee county, and . has traveled considerably. He told a most Inter estlng story about his boyhood. His mother brought - him back to thaae mountains , after escap- COL,- FRED . A; O Ing . by night from the camp In which thousands of her people were being guarded during the rreat exo dus of 1831. His mother and others orepfinto a deep gorge at tha camp ana went up it. traveling. all mgnw ana tvnen in Korth Carolina, at point near a road, had warning from scouts in advance that soldiers were coming. David rand his mother hid on tne mountain slope, overlooking th road and saw the soldiers, -with them being David a father, on their way to Tennessee, many Indians being in charge. Thus the father and mother passed each ether. David told this story in excellent English and in pathetic fashion. Most of his people are now In the Indian Territory, Oc casionally there hi some visiting be twsen the two places and soma letter writing. David la a .thoroughly de pendable man and Superintendent Harris said he knew more about the boundary of this Indian nation, of ficially known as the "Eastern Band," than any other man alive and -besides this he knows every other Indian per sonally. Governor Olenn haa often met David and lias a very good opin ion of him. Superintendent Harria led ua to a lofty hill facing the school, by way of another suspension bridge, and we of Wiltse. cllmbed, with our heavy loads, cut P-way some timber, at a height of many hundred feet above the river, and took a picture of the school and Its splendid background of moun tains, and fertile valley alongside, making a noble panorama. We descended and entered a two horse team which "Uncle" David drove. At the river ford a team of four big oxen was coming across, drawing a heavy wagon, and Artist Brock made a ring snapshot after David had by a free use of Cherokee told the driver what was wanted. The road, rough in the extreme, led 'part way along the river, which la called commonly the 'Lufty. The stream re flected everything and was like a moving mirror. It was found that tha mountains were a wonderful blue, even near at hand, and Mr. Brock declared if we told the outside world how blue they were we would be con sidered nature-fakers. At the river side was a practical exhibition of the truth of the statement that many white men thought the Indiana had no rights as against them, for: the rains of a machine for washing gold Were seen, which white men had In stalled there anrl were operating until the United States drove them away. : .till i Hit 1 1 s .Mill Ml It I 'Him V A Group of Cherokee Chudrcn on Uie Steps at the O A visit was paid to the home of ex, principal, chief. Bird Sololonseta, "Lit. tie-Squirrel In English. His cabin waa simplicity. Itself, beside a branch which was a succession of water-falls, and In a tiny space set about with chestnut, black - walnut, poplar' and apple trees. and a little garden; the house having bees built by the owner, o hewn '. chestnut logs, carefully chinked with clay; very small and very clean, the. chimney being' of tone well set In clay, the place being wild in awry way with a cliff, sharp with Jagged rocks On one side. Sololo neeta Is H years old. Is a Baptist preacher and served In tha Confeder ate army In the Cherokee battalion which was raised by Major W. H. Thomas, who ' before the civil war was the Indian agent. These Chero kees fought well, most of the time in East Tennessee, and the people there were terribly afraid of them, aa most of them believed the Indians would take their scalps, though thia waa never done, David' Owl said Sololo neeta could walk as far In a day as any man in the Nation. Most of the Cherokees are Baptists, the remainder being Methodists. Tel low Hill Baptist church was passed, a most primitive little affair, its chim ney being down, but it was said It would be put up by the time cold weather arrived. In this Chrokee boundary there is frost , aa lata as May 10th and as'early aa October 1st and sometimes It comes every month in the year. Along the river, above the very tine farm of the school Ih an other equally aa good, this being cul tivated by Sampson Owl, John Owl and several othera. AH the land la held absolutely In common nd each of the 1897 Cherokees who have Just been placsd on the United States of loal roll as members of the Kastern Band la entitled to his or her part of the whole 70,000 acres and aluo of any fund on hand or to bo re reived. There Is now J5.noo In bank at Ashevllle. These simple children of the woode, by a vote of their coun cil, sold 16 years ago a tract of IS. 000 acres of magnificent timber land at the head of Soco creek for H. 000, after they had refused an offer by other persons of I2S.O0O. The buy er Immediately sold It for $25,000 and the second buyer sold tho tanbark alone for $16,000. -The land is really worth 135(1,000. It has now all been cut over by the lumbermen. Next year It reverts to the Nation, but has been so deforested that It will require a good many years for the timber, which was mainly popWr, to grow again. Another sale of timber wi.i made which was far more profitable, this b?ing for $2411,000 and on the 4th of October the Cherokees will re ceive $30,000, this being one of ten payments for this timber, and the land will revert again to them, as none of it can be sold. The road led by the largest chest nut In tho boundary and some deep lv Interesting scenes developed. This was at the home of John Owl, car penter, blacksmith, farmer, all- round worker. These Indiana make practically everything used in their houses. John's blacksmith shop was a study; very small and under the vast shadow of the chestnut. His house was as neat as a pin and he and his wife Mandy were peeling .peaches for preserves. The house nn every thing else in a domestic way had been built by -John, and going Inside It waa found that neat pictures were on tne walla and the Indian newapaper, "The Red Men g Helper," waa on a table. Great strings of exceedingly large bean hung from the sides of the building, drying for winter -use. The chestnut tree was found to be 33 feet In circumference, one foot above the ground, and while it was being meas ured the Jolllest of all Jolly Chero kees came up, Jim Tall, a noted fish erman. This true disciple of Isaac Walton carried a long reed for a rod; a basket for tish made of river cane and shaped like a large-mouthed Jug waa on one side and on the other were four wasps nests, strung on a cord. In these nests was his bait, the young grubs of the wasp lying snug In their cells. David Owl said the Cherokees prise these grubs very highly as bait and when they find the nests they make a little torch, singe the Insects and then take the nests. When he told Jim Tail this, the latter laughed and said In Chero kee that he had taken th wasps' nests with his hands, using no fire. David said that this was fre quently done but could not ex plain how these Indians could so handle the fiery waspa. Jim laugha at everything and enjoyed be ing photographed. David said ho was happy because he had a good home; lived alone and had never married. John Owl was very proud in his shy Indian way of his farm in the valley, where corn, pumpkins, millet, tobacco, gigantic beans, buckwheat and sorghum cane were growing. The strangest of all the crops there was a field of beggarweed, ordinarily In North Carolina known an the beggar lice plant. This the Indians highly value for forage and they mow It. At some distance it looked like a field of alfalfa. A 'f : ' : I ' ,:VV- (A vfw' .7 , , , 'if .-f . , Supvlntendent Harris, while we were iiKsearch of new scenes and im pressions, spoke about the school; saying it had 175 -pupila and was originally established by the Quakers or Friends, under government au spices, but had fpr a number of years been entirely under government con trol, like the schools beyond the Mis sissippi. All the children speak Cher okee, but do not use It nearly so much as they do English. They are in turn educating their parents, many of whom speak English, and the par ents frequently visit the school. It is twenty miles to the headwaters of the Oconalufty river, up In the Smoky , 5iV . ' " - a diW feW 4 n eA i,! ; ' d J - r, 1 . sm&ms -3:V n ..' a . , if v xrv nr . . -. - - a-. , -ww . m far c 7 f -- v v ar .. - . ' -wsv bk Vj . t jb , " . --a- i- . m vr mountains, and they are full of good trout. These fish are also here at Cherokee, but the fish In the river are mainly black baas, rainbow trout and piae. aii tne inaians agreed in say ing that there waa no longer any game In their boundary save a few bear high up on the mountain-side at the headwaters of the river. Where ever we went we found that, barring the never ceasing roar of the river. It was a world of silence and that tne people do not ahout or sing or whistle, very rarely speak unleas first addressed, then use the fewest words possible, speaking through Hps which seem to be closed. It waa found also that game both In fur and feather Is so scarce as to literally count for nothing and that noises of birds and insects are practically unheard. It la said that the blrda never sing except In the spring, and only a few were seen, among these snow birds, blue birds, crows and sparrows. ' Nature seems In this boundary to be taking a rest. Chief of Police Owl said th In dians are well behaved and that In nine yeara there has been only one homicide which occurred nearly two years ago on a public highway and was the result of whiskey and a quar rel. He said further that some of these Indiana like the white man's fire-water all too well, but that the abolition of barrooms and dlatlllerlea at Ashevllle haa cut off tha supply and besides the United States takes now special protective precautions. The Cherokees "always get left In a trade." as David expressed It. They know the value of a cent but not that of a. dollar. They will aometlmes dis trust a real friend and go to a man who cheats them. Thia Is an Indian characterlatlc extremely hard for a white Intellect to crasp. Another pe culiar thing la that a number of these people who really know Kngiisn win ... ... . . .. f-v .??;;- -' ,,, ; I ' . ... ' r my- 4) ;.r. 3 i irla Building at Cherokee. enough te understand and speak it pretend they do not know a word. The only land , within the entlra boundary which la not owned by the Indian Nation Is a tract or 344 acres adjoining tha school, on this being m store occupied by wbltea All other farms and houses occupied by the white are merely rented from the Nation. Whites and Indiana seem en tirely . friendly. : Tho - counters and shelves of the stare are .piled with things the Indiana like, including the gayest of prints and of handker chiefs, mainly very bright reds. Much barter trade Is carried on. Indians bringing In things they raise. They have a way of shelling Just enough corn to pay for what they want and of Uktng thia to the store. They grow a very- peculiar corn, snowy white, with exceedingly large grains, which they term ""'flour corn and which makes admirable bread or hominy. The Indiana beat It Into flour In a mortar of chestnut or grind it at their wa term ills, to whlch-the water is led through flumes, the wheels ba- Beating the Flour Corn. Insr verv narrow and of treat height The trails to the achool, the mills, the store and ud tha mountain-aids are frequently marked by the brilliant red of tha woman's clothes and they carry their babies and their burdens on their backs, wrapping ins papoos es In sheets, the ends of which are crossed, and they claim this Is really tha only way to properly carry baby or burden. ' A trip to Bird Town waa made, to ae whether a game known aa Indian ball could be arrange.!, this being a sort of lacrosse, a compro mlse between football and lawn tennis. The grown man and the boys play It. A atop was made at the home of Wllsta, who In American is Willis Davis, a full-blood. Neither he nor hla family could speak a word of English and his house waa the only untidy Cherokee one seen. A man named Wolf came up who spoke Eng lish and he and David Owl Interpret ed. A young mother and her baby were In the porch. In a Jiffy she slung her baby at her back and posed be fore the camera, then gave the youngster Into th arms of her moth er and went to work beating flour corn In a mortar, using a heavy and long wooden beetar. Her mother wore a comb In the back of her hair, made of carved chestnut wood and Wllste, her husband, was smoking a pipe made.of black pipe-stone, on It being th figure of a frog, th ayes In some way mad remarkably bright Wllst had mad both comb and pip himself. His wife made admirable baskets, of beautiful ahaps, pattern and eolor, of river can or of spilt wood, and one of the which was bought had been mad by her mother almost hair a century ago, The young woman wno was neating in eorn wa a plump as a partridge, all curves, and this wa th case with all the young Indian women. Bom of in races grew upon us. They emd Intensely Asiatic. Japanese if you please, for this young woman, dress ed in Japanese fashion, would have passed for one of th latter rac. It Is no trouble for the Indiana to posa. They csn stand like statues. Th wo man's baby was named Weschlll, which In English Is Wesley. David Owl, commenting on the way th Cherokee lived, remarked that one when he was In Raleigh some la dles had asked htm how his people lived and when sh replied, "like white people." they said they thought th Indiana lived in cavea and hollow log. Bird Town Is a town only In nam; not even a settlement; there being half a dosn widely scattered houses. it a little stor. an Indian church, used un . wrra-uays as a wnua acnool house, and a field where Indian ball is played. We waited particularly to find "Standing Turkey." whose Cherokee nam I Conatfatagah, and who la the leading ball player and wrestler... He wan found engaged in the very prosaic occupation of work ing a most abominable highway, a losses. - This cases ar rar In which mere mockery of a road. II wa a perfect type of a big and burly Jap anese. He knew, or vermed to know. English, but there was masks In the flash of a Pleo of sliver money and whan David told him It waa de sired that he should strip, off went his rougn snirt, Th foremen of th roaJ gang spoke good Engllsh.; Turkey never spoke a word, except perhaps half a . do sen to David Owl Some yery queer- things wer discovered regarding th Indian ball game, about which th su perstitions of- sgs hang. No matter how much theaa Indiana have travel d or how much they ar ducated, a trifle of hi superstition linger . in their tntnde. There ar seven town ship In th Nation and on township will send tta messenger . to another, with a challeear to play a match gam of ball. This la don at no par ticular season, and ao such thing as a dat can b arranged without tat prelimlnarlea. Sometlmea eounty , county. Swain against Jackson, for , -ample, this of course being the ft game of the season. Bird Town i . Swain; Soco, another town. Is In J -son. The challenge being sent. It M of course taken up. Each Vde ha a captain and the' players on each s ! - dance all night before the day of l he game and eat hardly anything -for twenty-four hours. During the night the conjurer or medicine man of each side takes th players, one -by one, to the bank of some running stream an I there the player crouches down; tho conjurer goes behind him and out of his sight th player having his back, to the stream, and then the conjurer pushes a small black bead into the wet. soil, at the same time holding some other beads In hi hand. Then tha con jurer casta a apelV says certain words, and If the bead rise to the top of tho ground the player I all right: If it does not, he is not permiuso o py. The failures of th bead to come up, of Jtself, from out of th ground 1 a 1 sign of bad luck and that the player Is sure to be hurt or something hap pen. The- Indiana never "Crosa their. ; luck." even If their best players are- ; thua thrown out. The night la spent in thia aort of conjuration amd dancing, etc, and when the sides are mad up th flrat work of the day la to make th -bets. Each man beta agalnat a, . particular opponent on the other side, being careful to see. that articles taus put up are of equal value. Then th mass of artlclea wagered la piled to gether and put under a guard, some times there being enough to fill a blT4. wagon. Then the Indiana retire, each ' aide to itself, Into ths thick woods,, each on Its own side of the play ground, and the men undresa-aad putv -on t.ie one attlclee of apparel worn In the game, this being a breech-clout. Each man carries a pair of long ball sticks, very small requeues, with long handles. At a signal they rush oat, giving the war-whoop and long yell, the rule being to give four war-whoop before they meet In the centre, wnere the ball, a amall one of rubber and' yarn. Is put In play. The Indians catch at It with their play-atlcka and their ' hlgheat aklll la In holding it In the and trying to dodge their opponent. Their aklll in picking up. catching and c a trying th -ball, whlch-la-uever ' touched with the hand, I remarkable. There I Interference, as tn football. that Is the seising of player by player, and there are aiso mass plays, whllo . tha wrestlers get In tnelr work and - there ar many splendid contest of - strength. A party of the hlgheat Cherokees came over to pay their respects, this Including chief John Goings, Assist ant Chief Joseph Saunook. and ex Chief Bird gololoneeta. These sat on . the lawn. In company with Superin tendent Harria Gardener Sampson Owl and Industrial Teacher Joseph C. Bradley, and while the writer talked with them about the possibilities 'of th Nation and th great work tha United States waa doing for it. th ' group waa photographed. Chief Go -ings had walked several mile and ; was in his shirt sleeves. They wer " very Intent listeners, but th only peaker was Bradley, who asked on or two question. - One of the oldest women in tha Nation la Lydla Sande. a full-blood, and her home waa visited. Some yard . away the place waa seen, looking wonderfully picturesque, and a small dog rushed out in th surliest fashion, ; and with frantic barking. - A young woman hurried after htm and thrash ed him soundly. Th doa'a nam la -Rurlegoogee and It means Lktl uiun in , j,juib . in ii 1 tig - uB.rifl, '. and her nelce, Sallie Sawnook. with her baby, waa with her. The name of , Sally's baby Is Cane Saunook. RaUto 1 decldeJly good looking and her' baby laugned and kicked Ua dangling legs. She chirped to him. David clap ped hla hand and baby crowed la . glee. Salty wa educated at th school . bat LyJIa speaks not a word of Eng , llslu This primitive house, very small and -clean, faced a wonderful stretch . of blue mountains, with the river In the foreground, and th sun. which , wa sinking, shone bright upon the crests of th peaks. On returning to th school th Inaian girls were found In th almost twilight, playing a game One stood at a post, all th other be- -lac at another post, in a row. Th on cried, out "What are you going to da when th blackman cornea T" to which th-others responded in chorus, 'Run Ilk a turkey and try to get home." Then they all ran. attempting to ret to he poet without belng caught, whll ah attempted to catch them. Thoee ah caught helped her n- x: tim and o en... y, ': . The chief and ex -chiefs -pr- !-i conference with Superintendent rla. whs Is a aort of Indian . well, and they came at an c; . Una, (or a Ltd before Uu.r fc
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Sept. 13, 1908, edition 1
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