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The A NewsletterTraveller of the Bartram Trail Conference Spring 2011 The Road to Whatoga By Jim Kautz “Although Watauga Creek enters the riv- ticulously organized in his computer. His er from the east, the Indian town of that monitor, commanded by quick moves of mong William Bartram’s descriptions name (“Whatoga”) is shown on the west his mouse, flashes from Hunter’s 1731 of Cherokee towns is the pleasant side by some authorities (Hunter’s maps map to Benjamin Hawkins’s journal anecdoteA of his visit to Whatoga. He rode of 1730 and 1751; Swanton, 1922: pl. 7), (1796) to recent photos of deeply worn three miles from Nucasse (now Nikwasi, probably about opposite the creek. On the paths that lie on routes detailed by Bar- in the town of Franklin, NC) and found other hand, Mooney (1900: pl. 3) places it tram and other early travelers. himself beside Whatoga’s council house, on the east side. Perhaps this settlement, He shows me Gen. James Grant’s 1761 which was “situated on the top of an an- like Cowee, occupied both sides of the map and tells me that what Grant and cient artificial mount… .” river.” (389) others called the “Iona-Canara” road was He wrote: The Bartram Heritage Report cites the primary link from the Lower Settle- I was now at a stand how to proceed Harper and goes one step farther: “Nu- ments in South Carolina to Tomotla (near farther, when observing an Indian man casse was on the west side of the river, and Andrews, NC). His finger traces the route at the door of his habitation, three or if it had been necessary for Bartram to on the old map. “See,” he says. “It runs four hundred yards distance from me, cross, it seems likely that he would have along the ridge south of Watauga.” Then beckoning to come to him, I ventured to so indicated.” (Note 96) he shifts to a modern topographical map ride through their lots, being careful to do Watauga Creek does enter the east where he has superimposed Grant’s map no injury to the young plants, the rising bank of the Little Tennessee, but the dis- (he calls it “georeferencing”). Grant’s road hopes of their labour and industry, crossed tance is much less than three miles down- lies virtually beneath the road I drive to go a little grassy vale watered by a silver stream from Nikwasi. If there, Whatoga to the lumber yard and grocery—State 28, stream, which gently undulated through, would have been infringing on Nikwasi. the Bryson City Road. then ascended a green hill to the house, Further, I could see no large area for plan- continued on page 2 where I was cheerfully welcomed at the tations; nor was there much of a hill—the door and led in by the chief, giving the location of the chief ’s house. care of my horse to two handsome youths, Lamar Marshall has a more precise idea his sons. of the location of Whatoga. With years of 2011 Bartram Trail experience in engineering and armed with Within a half-hour’s time, Bartram en- wilderness skills, Lamar has taken on the Conference joyed “sodden venison, hot corn cakes, &c. project of locating the trails and towns of lease mark your calendars for the with a pleasant cooling liquor made of the Cherokees. Employed by Wild South, weekend of October 21–23, 2011. hommony well boiled, mixed afterwards in partnership with Mountain Stewards OurP biannual meeting, generously hosted with milk,” ceremonial pipe smoking and and the Southeastern Anthropological by Macon State University and Mercer conversation about affairs in Charleston. Institute, Lamar works with funds pro- University, will feature the usual eclectic (Travels, 350f) vided by the Eastern Band of Cherokee blend of interesting presentations, fellow- In my own peregrinations, I tried to lo- Indians. ship and activity. Featured speakers will cate Whatoga. I felt a bit like Bartram: I A visit to Lamar’s second story office discuss the art of nature writing, the place was “at a stand how to proceed farther,” in his house in Cowee brings an inquir- of the Ocmulgee Mounds in southeastern hemmed in not by corn and beans but by er face to face with more than 700 old history, and the region’s role in garden his- the vague site locations in the literature. maps and journals from the colonial and tory. Check out our website soon, www. ❀ Harper speculates, with little evidence: Revolutionary period—digitized and me- bartramtrail.org, for more information. 1 The Road to Whatoga, continued from page 1 William Bartram’s When I asked Lamar whether Whato- ga was on the west or east side of the river, he replied that the records of Gen. Grif- Georgia: Art and Sci- fith Rutherford’s campaign of 1776 in show that his army came down Watauga Creek from Cowee Mountain and lay on ence on the Southern a high hill overlooking “Watauga Town.” The Cherokees abandoned their town be- fore the army. In the morning, the army Frontier crossed the Little Tennessee River before entering and sacking the town. “The town proper was definitely on the West side of the river when Bartram came through only a few months earlier,” he concludes. We drive down the highway and turn on to Riverbend Road. Bartram’s pan- orama spreads before us. The mound (now reduced by two centuries of plows) where Bartram saw the council house rises near a barn, on a high hill. In the valley is Rocky Branch, a worthy candi- date for “a little grassy vale watered by a silver stream, which gently undulated….” Beyond the creek rises a steep hill where modern house looks out on the fields and the Little Tennessee—a likely spot for the home of Chief Will. Lamar Marshall’s work continues far beyond the “Vale of Cowe.” Already, he has walked about 100 miles of trail seg- Philip Juras discussed his landscape paintings in- ments, including the Indian Gap Trail spired by Bartram’s Travels. across the Smokies, driven along anoth- er 150 to 200 miles of trails that follow ifty Bartram enthusiasts from across in the post-Revolutionary period and Dr. primary or secondary modern roads, and the Southeast assembled in Savannah Drew Lanham bringing that discussion mapped about 150 miles of trails that atF the Telfair Museum on March 4 for the forward into the 21st century. Landscape cross the Chattahoochee, Cherokee, and daylong conference “William Bartram’s painter Philip Juras, whose exhibition Pisgah Nantahala National Forests. The Georgia: Art and Science on the South- “The Southern Frontier: Landscapes In- project will eventually cover much of ern Frontier.” The conference was spon- spired by Bartram’s Travels” is currently western North Carolina as well as parts of sored by the Bartram Trail Conference, featured at the Telfair Museum, led the Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. la- the Georgia Sea Grant College Program, audience through his process of finding Lamar Marshall may be reached at and re-imaging the landscapes Bartram [email protected] for further infor- Mercer University Press, and College of ❀ Environment and Design at the Univer- wrote about. The afternoon closed with a mation on the Cherokee trails project. sity of Georgia, and organized by BTC reading by southern nature writers Doug board member Dorinda G. Dallmeyer. Davis, John Lane, Janisse Ray, and Thomas Philip Juras exhibition schedule: Speakers included Brad Sanders dis- Rain Crow. Following a reception, confer- Telfair Academy, Savannah, GA cussing William Bartram’s Savannah ex- ence participants enjoyed an after-hours January 28–May 8, 2011 periences, Joel Fry describing Bartram’s tour of the exhibit led by Philip Juras. April 14th, Artist Presentation at the botanical discoveries during his Georgia Telfair’s Jepson Center sojourn, and Dr. Marc Jolley examining The Juras exhibition will remain at the Bartram’s Travels and his other philo- Telfair Museum until May 8 and then Morris Museum, Augusta, GA sophical writing as truly revolutionary open on May 28 at the Morris Museum of May 28–August 14, 2011 Art in Augusta. For a list of other events, documents. The afternoon featured Dr. T. ❀ June 2nd, Opening Reception and Peter Bennett describing Bartram’s impact please see www.bartramproject.com. Artist Presentation on the development of American science 2 Ancient footpaths of a lost era By Lamar Marshall contoured down the mountain towards we negotiated more of the same on other Beech Flats. trails. One trail over the Snowbird Moun- t was a hot day even at 5,000 feet el- I am sure that the original and oldest tains crisscrossed a creek 18 times within evation when we parked the car at In- sections of the trail followed the drainage a couple of miles. I left Kevin at lunch dianI Gap on the crest of the Great Smoky up where it crosses modern U.S. 441. More one day to GPS a trail and was jogging Mountains and began mapping the route than one early record notes that Chero- back thinking how tough and in shape I of the ancient Indian Gap trail that con- kees rode and walked straight up and over was for an aging redneck. At that instant nected the Cherokee claims and hunting the mountains. The English complained I tripped on a branch, dove headlong and grounds of Kentucky with the Middle that they couldn’t follow the steep Chero- hit the rocky trail face first, GPS, pen, and Out Town Cherokee settlements. kee trails on horseback, so they switch- and trail book scattering in every direc- Armed with 10 years of research, 50 backed up the mountains to lessen the tion.