PROMETHEUS IN THE WATERSHED
by
CHRISTA S. FRANGIAMORE
(Under Direction of Laurie Fowler)
ABSTRACT
Two historical eras and two fire-based technologies influenced the landscape of the Southern Appalachians. The long-term impact of humans on the forest composition of the Southern Appalachian forests is examined through anthropological studies and colonial literature. The impact on the Southern Appalachian forests by the introduction of the railroads at the turn of the twentieth century is examined through government publications and private documents. The theme of Prometheus runs through this paper to symbolize the inclination of humans to use technology to over exploit natural resources. The Greek myths associated with Prometheus are compared to similar Cherokee myths.
INDEX WORDS: Cherokee Mythology, Conservation Ethics, Fire, Natural Resource Exploitation, Forest Resources, Historical Change, Man and Technology, Prometheus, Southern Appalachian.
PROMETHEUS IN THE WATERSHED
by
CHRISTA S. FRANGIAMORE
B.A., Georgia State University, 1976
A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF SCIENCE
ATHENS, GEORGIA
2002
© 2002
Christa S. Frangiamore
All Rights Reserved
PROMETHEUS IN THE WATERSHED
by
CHRISTA S. FRANGIAMORE
Approved:
Major Professor: Laurie Fowler
Committee: C. Ronald Carroll Mary Freeman
Electronic Version Approved:
Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2002
DEDICATION
To my daughter, Florentina Maria Frangiamore, my inspiration to grow and my greatest teacher.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to gratefully acknowledge Laurie Fowler, Ron Carroll, Mary
Freeman, Frank Golley and Robert Zahner for their patience with my limitations and faith in my abilities. Mary Ellen Brooks at the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia, the Science Library at the University of Georgia, Frank Walsh at Yesteryear Books and Antonio Raimo of Antonio Raimo Galleries provided invaluable access to and information about maps and images from the works of early explorers and naturalists in the Southeast. Most of all, I wish to extend many thanks to my family and friends for every type of support imaginable.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... v
CHAPTER
1 PROMETHEUS IN THE WATERSHED ...... 1
Human Influence upon the Landscape of the Southern Appalachians...... 1
Description of the Savannah River Basin...... 6
Description of the Upper Chattooga Watershed……………………………7
2 FIRE IN THE WATERSHED ...... 10
North American Prometheus...... 10
Indian Resource Management ...... 12
Indian Use of Fire…………………………………………………………19
Early Use of Fire in the Chattooga River Headwaters…………………....26
3 PROMETHEUS PROPER IN THE WATERSHED………………………...31
Railroads and Deforestation ...... 31
Floods and Forests...... 34
Last of the Hardwood Forests ...... 38
Fire on the Mountain……………………………………………………...41
4 LEGACY OF DEFORESTATION ON THE SOUTHERN
APPALACHIANS...... 43
Species Lost and Lingering ...... 43
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Prometheus in Check...... 53
REFERENCES ...... 59
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CHAPTER I
PROMETHEUS IN THE WATERSHED
Human Influence upon the Landscape of the Southern Appalachians
This thesis reviews how humans have influenced the forests of the Southern
Appalachians through the use of technology, with an emphasis on fire. Fire is only one tool humans have used to alter the face of the earth but it has been an influential one throughout history, and it is a technology that has been used in various forms by humans to impact the landscape of the Southeastern United States from the Paleo-Indian era into the present. Fire is also a powerful symbol of mankind’s inclination to utilize technologies to push the limits of natural resource sustainability.
Understanding the historical impact of humans on the landscape can give us valuable perspectives as we make research, land-use and related policy decisions in our own time. Today, humans have a rapidly growing population and an economic and social structure that allow for flexible lifestyle patterns never before experienced by so broad a sector of the population. As a result, mountainous areas that were once sparsely populated are now feeling environmental pressures typical of urban areas.
Accompanying these trends is the use of technologies that can dramatically and permanently alter natural conditions. The arena is set for the perilous over-utilization and loss of natural resources. Whereas this tendency, as the early accounts in this study will demonstrate, is not new to mankind, the permanence, rapidity, and breadth of human
1 actions since the middle of the nineteenth century have no precedence. In addition, the
legacy of nineteenth century policies may now come into conflict with the needs of the twenty-first century. For example, in the early 1900’s the designers of the National
Forest for the Southern Appalachians purposefully excluded riparian areas from their proposed plan, areas that today are target tracts for conservation and green-spaces. It may serve us well to review the legacy of the past as we plan for the future.
The history of land-use in the Southern Appalachians portrays the best and worst tendencies of our technologically oriented species. A look at the history of the area shows two historical eras that greatly influenced the landscape of the southern mountains, one long and nurturing, the other brief and destructive.