__
|
__|__
|
_Amatoya Moytoy _____|
| (1640 - ....) |
| | __
| | |
| |__|__
|
_Old Hop ____________|
| (1690 - 1761) |
| | __
| | |
| | __|__
| | |
| |_Quatsy _____________|
| (1650 - ....) |
| | __
| | |
| |__|__
|
|
|--Cappy
| (1732 - ....)
| __
| |
| __|__
| |
| _____________________|
| | |
| | | __
| | | |
| | |__|__
| |
|_Su-Gi ______________|
(1700 - ....) |
| __
| |
| __|__
| |
|_____________________|
|
| __
| |
|__|__
[3410] Data from Hicks. Cappy was an adopted son or a slave. He was aFrench/Cherokee diplomat on behalf of Old Hop and his council.
[3535]
Data from Hicks.
1848 Mullay roll: # 1155 as Cata-te-hee
[2891]
Data from Witt as Chahwahyoocah with birth as abt 1737 and from Hicksas Chau-e-u-kaht with birth as used here.
[Testimony of Chau-e-u-kah, re: Estate of Doublehead, 6/12/1838]
".... Applicant states that a brother of Old Doublehead namedE-yah-chu-tlee was married to applicant, Chau-e-u-kah, and they hadCatherine & he went off to war and was killed in the war and leftCatherine his only child and left a considerable quantity of goodproperty..."
She is said to be the daughter of the grandmother of John Norton.
[3618] Data from Hicks.
_____________________
|
___________________________|_____________________
|
_Husband of Ah-Nee-Wa-Kee _|
| |
| | _____________________
| | |
| |___________________________|_____________________
|
_Sour Mush __________|
| (1728 - 1820) |
| | _Amatoya Moytoy _____
| | | (1640 - ....)
| | _Moytoy, I ________________|_Quatsy _____________
| | | (1687 - 1770) (1650 - ....)
| |_Ah-Nee-Wa-Kee ____________|
| (1710 - ....) |
| | _____________________
| | |
| |_Woman of Ani'-Ga'Tage'Wi _|_____________________
| (1686 - ....)
|
|--Charley
| (1760 - ....)
| _____________________
| |
| ___________________________|_____________________
| |
| ___________________________|
| | |
| | | _____________________
| | | |
| | |___________________________|_____________________
| |
|_a Cherokee Woman ___|
(1730 - 1797) |
| _____________________
| |
| ___________________________|_____________________
| |
|___________________________|
|
| _____________________
| |
|___________________________|_____________________
[3499] Data from Hicks.
__
|
__|__
|
__|
| |
| | __
| | |
| |__|__
|
__________________________|
| |
| | __
| | |
| | __|__
| | |
| |__|
| |
| | __
| | |
| |__|__
|
|
|--Che-kaw-nah-ler or Forget Me Not
|
| __
| |
| __|__
| |
| __|
| | |
| | | __
| | | |
| | |__|__
| |
|_Oo-lu-tsa or She's Come _|
|
| __
| |
| __|__
| |
|__|
|
| __
| |
|__|__
[1035] All data from Hoyt's Issue Fall 1991.
__
|
__|__
|
_Amatoya Moytoy _____|
| (1640 - ....) |
| | __
| | |
| |__|__
|
_Moytoy, I ________________|
| (1687 - 1770) |
| | __
| | |
| | __|__
| | |
| |_Quatsy _____________|
| (1650 - ....) |
| | __
| | |
| |__|__
|
|
|--Clogoittah
| (1706 - ....)
| __
| |
| __|__
| |
| _____________________|
| | |
| | | __
| | | |
| | |__|__
| |
|_Woman of Ani'-Ga'Tage'Wi _|
(1686 - ....) |
| __
| |
| __|__
| |
|_____________________|
|
| __
| |
|__|__
[1238]
Data from Hicks.
In 1730 he attended the Delegation to King George II.
___________________________
|
_White Owl Raven ____|___________________________
| (1680 - ....)
_Attakullakulla or Attacullaculla _|
| (1708 - 1777) |
| | _Amatoya Moytoy ___________
| | | (1640 - ....)
| |_Nancy ______________|_Quatsy ___________________
| (1683 - ....) (1650 - ....)
_Turtle-at-Home _____|
| (1758 - 1809) |
| | _Moytoy, I ________________+
| | | (1687 - 1770)
| | _Oconostota _________|_Woman of Ani'-Ga'Tage'Wi _
| | | (1704 - 1783) m 1720 (1686 - ....)
| |_Ollie Ani'-Wa'Ya _________________|
| (1720 - ....) |
| | ___________________________
| | |
| |_Woman of Ani'Wa'ya _|___________________________
| (1704 - ....) m 1720
|
|--Daughter of Turtle-at-Home
| (1780 - ....)
| ___________________________
| |
| _____________________|___________________________
| |
| ___________________________________|
| | |
| | | ___________________________
| | | |
| | |_____________________|___________________________
| |
|_Ahyague ____________|
(1760 - ....) |
| ___________________________
| |
| _____________________|___________________________
| |
|___________________________________|
|
| ___________________________
| |
|_____________________|___________________________
[3466] Data from Hicks. Boggs names her Tsi-yah-neh-naw. See notes at JohnBoggs, Jr.
__
|
_Amatoya Moytoy _____|__
| (1640 - ....)
_Moytoy, I ________________|
| (1687 - 1770) |
| | __
| | |
| |_Quatsy _____________|__
| (1650 - ....)
_Willenawah or Great (or Grey) Eagle _|
| (1720 - ....) |
| | __
| | |
| | _____________________|__
| | |
| |_Woman of Ani'-Ga'Tage'Wi _|
| (1686 - ....) |
| | __
| | |
| |_____________________|__
|
|
|--DoubleHead
| (1744 - 1807)
| __
| |
| _____________________|__
| |
| ___________________________|
| | |
| | | __
| | | |
| | |_____________________|__
| |
|_Woman of Ani'-Wa'di _________________|
(1720 - ....) |
| __
| |
| _____________________|__
| |
|___________________________|
|
| __
| |
|_____________________|__
[1467]
Original data from Hicks.
Other children of Chief Doublehead are:
Two Heads Doublehead (Source: Miller, ap# 10725.), b. Abt. 1804.Note: could the mother be Jennie "Doublehead" Foster?
William Doublehead (Source: Miller, ap# 10725.), b. Abt. 1806.
__??__ DOUBLEHEAD, b. Abt. 1805.
From Don Chesnut's web page;www.users.mis.net/~chesnut/pages/cherokee.htm
Tal-tsu'ska' : "Two-heads," fro ta'li, two, and tsu'ska', plural ofuska', (his) head. A Cherokee chief about the year 1800, known to thewhites as Doublehead. Doublehead's Indian name has also been listed asDsu-gwe-la-de-gi and as Chuqualatague.
From: "Charles Austin" charleseaustin@earthlink.net
To: pumpkin@mail.pcis.net
Subject: Cornblossom
Date: Thursday, May 03, 2001 10:09 AM
Jill,
For a number of years, Jim Hicks and I have found no historicalevidence that Cornblossom was a descendant of Doublehead.
I am trying to make my cousins aware of this, but "Family Tradition"is something that few people want to change even when there is noproof.
On my website I have a statement that we have no proof ofCornblossom's existance to insure that I do not perpetuate a possible"legend" that may have been "created" by Thomas Harlan Troxel, adescendant of Little Jake.
We have found several errors in Harlan's writings, he even contradictshimself, therefore, we feel that all his work is suspect.
My point:
1. Let me know what historical reference you have for yourrelationship for Cornblossom to Doublehead? or
2. Would you consider detaching Cornblossom from Doublehead? or
3. Making a statement that Cornblossom is not a proven daughter ofDoublehead?
Witt adds the following -
Doublehead's "home" appears to have been in and around what is now thetown of Stearns, KY. He was associated with a place called "SandCliffs" which is "nearby to Stearns". Doublehead Cave is alsoreportedly near Stearns. Doublehead Gap is within an hours drive, orless, of Stearns. After 1800 Doublehead lived near the present site ofCenter Star, Lauderdale Co., AL, just across the Tennessee River fromhis land holdings in Colbert Co., AL.
His daughter Cornblossom's monument in Stearns, Kentucky indicatesthat the name of the local tribe of Cherokees was the As Quaw Tribe.
Doublehead: Brother of Old Tassel. The Cherokee term for Doubleheadwas Tultsuska or Taliwuaska-skule. He was sometimes called Autowee.Autowee may be the same term as Ahtowhee or "Walking". He wasmurdered by Alexander Sanders (?) at Hiwassee Ferry in the Summer of1807 (the person/persons responsible included Doublehead'sbrother-in-law, James Vann among others).
It is interesting to note that even though transportation was limitedin his day, Doublehead traversed central Tennessee, North Alabama, andNorthwest Georgia with seeming ease.
The children of Doublehead are listed by James Hicks as:
1) Tuskiahooto who married George Colbert. She died before 1837.
2) Salechie who married George Colbert. In 1837 they moved to OK.
3) _____ who married Joseph Hough.
4) Doublehead, Taliwuaska-skule.
The following articles were written by "White Men". To give someperspective, there was a Cherokee, as well as Native American, side tothe events that are related below. The Natives were treated no betterthan animals, and dealt with as such. It is pointless to say that theNatives were cheated, lied to, killed in ambush just as the Nativesalso killed in ambush. Please consider that Doublehead and hisbrother, Pumpkin Boy, were attacked under a flag of truce when theywere in route to a conference with the representatives of thegovernment by government troops. Pumpkin Boy was killed atDoublehead's side. More can be said, but our history now relates, tosome extent, both sides of the story.
Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769-1923: Volume 1
[p.232] DOUBLEHEAD
The operations of Doublehead, though simultaneous with the Chickamaugaincursions of 1792-3, had no organic connection with them. Self-willedand obstinate, he could not bear the restraint even of a concert ofaction with the head men of his tribe. Strong and athletic in person,he was famous for his feats of personal prowess. He was a stranger toall the softer and more gentle passions. If he had ever heard a lovesong in his nation he was unable to repeat it. But by his proud andhaughty bearing, his bold, fearless and masterful spirit, and hisready and terrible vengeance, he forced himself to the front rankamong the councilors of his nation, though he lived in an outlyingtown, and in a country to which the Cherokees had no just claim.
We first meet with him in Jul 1791, at the treaty of Holston, which,it will be remembered, the Chickamaugas refused to attend. After hehad signed the treaty, he begged and obtained the written permissionof Gov. Blount to hunt on the waters of Cumberland. He seems, however,to have had little use for this permit, as we find him making his fallhunt low down on the Tennessee. He had settled with a party of someforty Cherokees, Northwards, and Creeks, on the south side of theTennessee River, at the Muscle Shoals about the year 1790. ColonelMeigs thought this settlement was projected by the Cherokees in orderto try their title to that portion of the Chickasaw hunting ground,but Doublehead's son-in-law, Col. George Colbert, the Chickasaw chief,assured General Robertson that he settled at the Muscle Shoals by hispermission. At the Chickasaw conference in Jun, 1792, Governor Blountdrew their attention to Doublehead's settlement on their land, andasked them to drive him off, or to authorize the United States todestroy his town. But immediately after the Chickasaw conference,Watts formally declared war against the United States, invadedCumberland with a formidable force, and made his unsuccessful attackon Buchanan's Station, and for the time, Doublehead was entirelyforgotten.
A delegation of Cherokee chiefs headed by Bloody Fellow, concluded atreaty with Secretary Knox, at Philadelphia, by which their annuityunder the treaty of Holston was increased from $1,000 to $1,500. InMay the first annual distribution of goods under these treaties wasmade at Coyatee.
The principal chiefs of the Chickamauga town were present, and for thefirst time in their history, unanimously declared for peace.Doublehead was absent, and his town was not mentioned; but in thefollowing Aug Gov. Blount expressed the belief that he was the onlychief of his nation that still held out for war. How much mischief hedid during this period is not known, for it is rarely possible toidentify the leader of a scalping party on the frontiers.
Doublehead was ambitious, he attended the conference at Henry'sStation, February 6, 1793; and when informed by Gov. Blount that thePresident desired a representative delegation of the real chiefs ofthe Cherokees to visit him at Philadelphia, he repaired with others tothe Hanging Maw's, and was present when Captain Beard made hisdastardly assault upon the Hanging Maw's Town. This event gaveDoublehead an opportunity to assert his leadership. He had beenreported killed, but he wrote Sec. Smith that he was still among hispeople, "living in gores of blood." Nine of his people, some of themfirst and principal head men, had been killed. He demanded immediatesatisfaction for them, without waiting to hear from the President."This," he said, "is the third time we have been served so when wewere talking peace, that they fell on us and killed us."
DOUBLEHEAD [p.234] In the war that followed he disputed the leadershipwith Col. John Watts. When Cavett's Station capitulated, it was he andhis party who, in violation of the terms of surrender, massacred theprisoners, men, women, and children. Only one escaped; Col. Watts madeAlexander Cavett, Jr., his prisoner, and to save him from the fury ofDoublehead's young fellows, gave him to the Creeks, only to betomahawked and killed by one of their chiefs three days after hisarrival in the nation.
In the fall of 1793, Spencer made a journey to Virginia to settle anestate, and receive a legacy that had fallen to him. Having completedhis business, in the following spring, he started back to the West,having in his saddle bags $1,000 in gold, besides other valuables. Hisroute carried him by way of Knoxville and Southwest Point. He left thelatter place in company with four other travelers and started acrossthe wilderness, April 1, 1794. Spencer and James Walker were ridingtogether in advance, and when they reached the point at whichDoublehead had formed his ambuscade, they received a volley whichbrought Spencer dead from his horse and wounded Walker. When Spencerfell his horse fled, and made his escape with the travelers in therear, but his saddlebags coming off, his money and other valuablesfell into the hands of the enemy.
This was the last act of open hostility committed by Doublehead. Hethen hastened to Philadelphia, whither he went with a delegation ofCherokee chiefs, who concluded a treaty with Sec. Knox, Jun 26, 1794,by which their annuity was still further increased from $1,500 to $5,000. He was treated with the utmost attention during his stay, andloaded with presents on his departure. He returned by way ofCharleston, and did not reach home until the latter part of Oct.Before his return Wayne had won his great victory over thenorthwestern Indians, Aug 20, and Maj. Ore had penetrated to theChickamauga towns and destroyed Nickajack and Running Water, Sep 13,which practically ended the Cherokee wars in the Old Southwest.
The treaty of Tellico was held in Oct 1805. Previously to that timeDoublehead had declared himself as unalterably opposed to selling onefoot of ground. But when the conference met two treaties wereconcluded, with his consent, one on the 25th and the other on the 27thof Oct 1805. By the terms of the treaty of Oct 25, there were reservedthree square miles of land, ostensibly for the purpose of removingthereto the garrison at Southwest Point, and the United States factoryat Tellico, but really for the benefit of Doublehead, his friend andadviser, John D. Chisholm, and John Riley, as the price of theirinfluence in securing from the Cherokees the extensive cession of landgranted by that treaty. This was accomplished by means of a secretarticle attached to the treaty, but not submitted to the Senate. Thissecret article also applied to a small tract at and below the mouth ofClinch River, likewise intended for the benefit of Doublehead; to onemile square at the foot of Cumberland Mountain; and to one mile squareon the north bank of the Tennessee River, where Talotiskee lived.
In the summer of 1807, 34 the Cherokees had a great ball play on theHiwassee River. This was their national sport, and attracted immensecrowds. On this occasion there were more than a thousand Indianspresent, besides the officers from Hiwassee Fort, and numerous tradersattracted by the prospect of selling their merchandise. The centralfigure among the Cherokees was the famous Chief Doublehead. Gen. SamDale, of Mississippi, then a Georgian Indian trader, who is authorityfor the following account of his death, knew Doublehead and calledupon him. "Sam, you are a mighty liar," was his greeting. When Daledemanded why he thus insulted him in public, a smile illuminated hisgrim face as he replied, "You have never kept your promise to come andsee me. You know you have lied." He then produced a bottle of whiskey,and invited Dale and the officers present to drink with him. Whenthey had emptied the bottle, he rejected Dale's offer to replenish it,saying, "When I am in the white man's country, I will drink yourliquor, but here you must drink with Doublehead."
[p.238] After the game was over a chief named Bone-polisher approachedDoublehead and denounced him as a traitor for selling the land of hispeople. The stolid chief remaining tranquil and silent, Bone-polisherbecame still more angry, accompanying his abuse with menacinggestures. Then Doublehead spoke, quietly and without agitation: "Goaway. You have said enough. Leave me, or I shall kill you."Bone-polisher rushed at him with his tomahawk, which Doubleheadreceived on his left arm, and drawing his pistol, shot him through theheart.
Some time after night, Doublehead came in to Hiwassee Ferry, andentered McIntosh's tavern. Among those whom he encountered there was achief named Ridge, afterwards Major Ridge, a half-breed called Alex.Saunders, and John Rodgers, an old white man who had long resided inthe nation. Rodgers began to revile him, much after the manner ofBone-polisher. Doublehead proudly rebuked him: "You live by sufferanceamong us. I have never seen you in council nor on the war-path. Youhave no place among the chiefs. Be silent and interfere no more withme." The old man still persisted, and Doublehead attempted to shoothim, but his pistol, not having been charged, missed fire. The lightwas then extinguished, and at the same instant a pistol shot wasfired. When the light was rekindled, Ridge, Saunders, and Rodgers hadall disappeared, and Doublehead lay motionless on his face. The ballhad shattered his lower jaw and lodged in the nape of his neck.
His friends now set out with him for the garrison, but fearing theywould be overtaken, turned aside, and concealed him in the loft ofSchoolmaster Black's house. Two warriors of the Bone-polisher clantraced Doublehead by his blood to his hiding place. At the same timeRidge and Saunders came galloping up, shouting the war whoop. Sam Daleand Col. James Brown, of Georgia, followed them. The wounded chief waslying on the floor, his jaw and arm terribly lacerated. Ridge andSaunders each leveled his pistol, but both missed fire. Doubleheadsprang upon Ridge and would have overpowered him had not Saundersdischarged his pistol and shot him through the hips.
Saunders then made a rush on Doublehead with his tomahawk, but thedying chief wrenched it from him, and again leaped upon Ridge.Saunders seized another tomahawk and drove it into his brain. When hefell another Indian crushed his head with a spade.
(edited by the compiler to delete assumptions and biased opinions)
Another account to show the disparity of history:
Indians at Muscle Sholes by C. Wilder Watts - Historical Journal v.1-4
In the summer of 1807, a large congregation of Cherokee Indiansgathered at the Hiwassee Garrison in what is now East Tennessee. Thepurpose of this gathering was to receive an annuity owed them bytreaty with the United States government. A number of chiefs werepresent; and among them was. Doublehead, a grim fellow who had foughtfiercely and tenaciously against the white people during the recentIndian wars, but who had since become very much their friend --perhapstoo much so for his own good, as we shall see. On this occasionDoublehead was in a particularly jovial mood. Spying his. old friendSam Dale he called out to him, "Sam, you are a mighty liar!" And whenDale asked why he had thus insulted him in public the chief repliedsmiling, "You have never kept your promise to come to see me. You knowyou have lied." After this friendly exchange, Doublehead produced abottle of whiskey and invited Dale to drink with him. When they hadfinished the bottle, Dale offered to get another, but the chiefobjected saying, "When in white man's country, drink white man'swhiskey; but here, you must drink with me." He produced anotherbottle, and the two of them set off for the ball play usually held onsuch occasions. While they were watching the game, they wereapproached by an Indian named Bone Polisher who began to reproach anddenounce Doublehead for his part in a recent sale to a group ofspeculators of a large and valuable tract on the Tennessee River atthe Muscle Shoals. When the chief showed no anger under attack, BonePolisher became threatening. Finally, the chief said, "Go away. Youhave said enough. leave me or I will kill you." At this, Bone Polisherrushed at him with his tomahawk, but the chief was too quick for himand, taking out his pistol, shot him through the heart.
Later on that day, after dark, the chief entered McIntoch's Tavern,where he encountered an Indian named Ridge, later to become MajorRidge; a half-breed named Alex Saunders; and a white trader named JohnRogers, an ancestor of Will Rogers. Rogers, like Polisher, began torevile the chief; and the chief, looking him calmly in the eye, and,"You live by sufferance among us. I have never seen you in council,nor on the war path. You have no place among the chiefs. Be silent andinterfere no more with me." When Rogers persisted in his attack, thechief tried to shoot him, but this time his gun was not charged. Atthis time, Ridge put out the light, and a gun was fired; and when thelight was lit again, the chief lay on the floor with his lower jawshattered and a bullet lodged in the nape of his neck. Ridge, Rogers,and Saunders had disappeared.
The chief's friends, fearing more trouble, attempted to remove him toa place of safety, but, suspecting they were being followed, depositedhim in the attic of the local schoolmaster Gidwon Blackburn where,later on, he was found by two of Bone Polisher's friends designated toavenge his death. Ridge and Saunders also appeared on the scene again.The chief was lying on the floor, his jaw and arm terribly lacerated.When Ridge and Saunders attempted to shoot him and their guns missedfire, the chief sprang up and landed on Ridge. Saunders reloaded andfired, this time hitting the chief in the hip; but when he raised histomahawk to finish the job, the chief wenched it from his hand andagain attacked Ridge. Saunders regained his weapon and succeeded inbringing it down on the chief's head, piercing his skull. As the chieffell to the floor, another Indian crushed his head with a spade, andthe chief died.
Thus died an Indian chief of whom it was said by a contemporary thathe was "equal to the bravest of the Indian race, one of the last toagree to bury the hatchet, but when once buried, he became the truefriend of the whites, so much so that his own people murdered him."He was murdered in the manner in which we have stated on Aug 9, 1807,near Walker's Ferry. In a sense, he forfeited his life when he killedBone Polisher because under the Indian maxim of blood for blood he wasbound to die. But there is strong evidence that this was only theprecipitating factor. Many believe he was marked for death when hesold Indian lands at the Muscle Shoals to speculators, and that he wasreally the victim of a conspiracy. Doublehead was a prominent chief ofthe Cherokee Indians but his interest for us lies in the fact that,with the possible exception of the Colberts, he was the most importantIndian to have lived at 'the' Muscle Shoals and, without exception,the most important Indian to have lived in Lauderdale County.
In 1807, the year he was murdered, a reservation had been made forDoublehead and some of his friends in what is now Lauderdale Co. Thistract lay northward from the Tennessee River ten miles to a linebetween the Elk River and Cypress Creek. The most reliable evidenceindicates Doublehead lived on Bluewater Creek in East Lauderdale andmay be buried near the mouth of that creek. There is a grave in thevicinity which old-timers say is his. A cave and a spring in theneighborhood still bear his name and were so called as early as 1817.Furthermore, a number of settlements along the Tennessee River borehis name. One of these was on the south bank of the river at Moontownranch a few miles above Colbert's Ferry. There is a legend that helived at the Forks of Cypress for a while. According to Owen's historyof Alabama, experts agree that the cabin at the rear of the mansionhouse site is of Indian construction and thus may have been built byDoublehead. If so, it cost him about two hundred and fifty dollars, agoodly sum in those days. Since the line of his reservation was run upthe left fork of Cypress, the site would have been included. Mrs. DoraHolland of Florence has told the writer she once had a deed to TheForks of Cypress from Doublehead to James Jackson. There is anotherlegend that a two-story frame dwelling, now gone, on the north side ofthe Highway 72 just beyond Bluewater Creek was his home. One thingappears certain: in the latter part of the eighteenth century andearly nineteenth, Doublehead was closely identified with the MuscleShoals area.
Witt also supplied the aka used here.
_____________________
|
___________________________|_____________________
|
_White Owl Raven ____|
| (1680 - ....) |
| | _____________________
| | |
| |___________________________|_____________________
|
_Attakullakulla or Attacullaculla _|
| (1708 - 1777) |
| | _____________________
| | |
| | _Amatoya Moytoy ___________|_____________________
| | | (1640 - ....)
| |_Nancy ______________|
| (1683 - ....) |
| | _____________________
| | |
| |_Quatsy ___________________|_____________________
| (1650 - ....)
|
|--Dragging Canoe
| (1734 - 1792)
| _Amatoya Moytoy _____
| | (1640 - ....)
| _Moytoy, I ________________|_Quatsy _____________
| | (1687 - 1770) (1650 - ....)
| _Oconostota _________|
| | (1704 - 1783) m 1720|
| | | _____________________
| | | |
| | |_Woman of Ani'-Ga'Tage'Wi _|_____________________
| | (1686 - ....)
|_Ollie Ani'-Wa'Ya _________________|
(1720 - ....) |
| _____________________
| |
| ___________________________|_____________________
| |
|_Woman of Ani'Wa'ya _|
(1704 - ....) m 1720|
| _____________________
| |
|___________________________|_____________________
[2184]
Data from Ellingsworth and Cuma Schofield's book, "My Mother's BrownFamily".
Hicks supplied birth data.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica in July 1776, ChiefDragging-Canoe headed a force of 700 Cherokee and attacked two US heldforts in North Carolina; Eaton's Station and Ft. Watauga. Bothassaults failed and the tribe retreated in disgrace.
From "My Mother's Brown Family" - In the journal of Cherokee Studies,published in Cherokee, NC, Vol.II, No.1, Winter 1977 is "NotablePersons in Cherokee History: Dragging Canoe" by E. Raymond Evans,that gives an account of Dragging Canoe's life. It starts with howDragging Canoe got his name. I (Cuma Schofield) will quote,
"During the first half of the eighteenth century the Cherokees wereconstantly at war. Unrest created by the Colonial aspirations ofEuropean powers combined with centuries old tribal differences, setevery Indian group against their neighbor. During this period ofCherokee history, it is only natural that the most notable personswere war leaders. Even the less militant Cherokees, such as the greatdiplomat Attakullakulla, were occasionally forced to fight. Sometimearound the middle of the eighteenth century, Attakullakulla preparedto lead a war band from Chota against the Shawnee towns. His young sonlonged to go with his father, but was flatly refused permission. Theboy slipped away, however, ahead of the warriors to a portage which heknew they would use, and hid in a dugout canoe. The warriors found himthere, and his father told him he could come along--- if he was ableto carry the canoe over the portage, The boy was unable to lift theheavy vessel, but, determined to go, he took it by one end and begandragging it. Much impressed, the Cherokee warriors began shoutingencouragement. "Tsi.yu Gansi.ni" cried one, "Tsi.yu. Gansi" whichmeans "He is dragging the Canoe." Others took up the cry, and fromthat time the boy was known as "Tsi.yu Gansi.ni", or "Dragging Canoe."
From other accounts I (Cuma Schofield) have a description of him.Dragging Canoe, chief of Amo-yell-egwa, the great island. was six feettall, broad and muscular, his face pitted with the scars of small pox.This would have been the smallpox epidemic of 1738 which took a heavytoll on Cherokee children, decimating the other Indian nations aswell, as they had no immunization from white man's diseases.
Dragging Canoe died March 1, 1792 at Lookout Town, believed from toovigorous celebration of a recent Chickamauga success near Nashville.It is believed he was about sixty, or born about 1732, making himaround eight at the time the smallpox epidemic swept over theirnation. In all, one half of the entire Cherokee people perished fromsmallpox in less than a year.
Historians have called him "Savage Napoleon", his enemies called himthe "Dragon".
Hicks gives birth as about 1730.
From: J. Cochran
To: MELVINA
Cc: Jill E. McLeester
Subject: Re: [cutbirth] Re: Dragging Canoe
Date: Tuesday, January 05, 1999 11:24 PM
In the same "Kentucky Explorer" magazine as the Transylvania article,I found an interesting article that mentioned your Dragging Canoe. Anexcerpt is as follows:
"There have been varied ideas as to why the popular title "dark andbloody ground" had been applied to Kentucky, but one of theconceptions that is best documented is probably the least rememberedof all. If the true origin of the phrase can be ascertained, it isprobably the misconstrued statement made by a Cherokee Indian namedDragging Canoe. The young man was present at the negotiation andsigning of a transfer of land that would become a large portion of thefuture "Kentucke." The deal was secured by Richard Henderson on behalfof the Transylvania Land Company from the Cherokee Indians. On March14, 1771, while Mr. Henderson was tidying his papers and preparing toclose the deal, Dragging Canoe, the son of a Cherokee chief,poetically quipped that "this bloody ground is under a dark cloud."Soon afterwards, the statement was interpreted to mean that theIndians no longer had claims to the land and all it held within. Suchan interpretation eased the conscience of any settlers who might wishto assume the land, since they weren't taking someone's property.
Presently, we can gaze backward through the window of time and realizethe words of Dragging Canoe to have been an insightful prophecy offuture events. We now know that the land the Cherokee sold toHenderson was not theirs to sell, but was the ancestral homelands ofthe Shawnee. (Rather amusing, huh? _ _Melvina) The Cherokee were oneof several tribes to be associated with Kentucky that never actuallylived in it.
The Cherokee native homeland ranged from northern Georgia to easternTennessee, to western North Carolina. The tribe frequently huntedhere, but were never able to call Kentucky their home. If the landcould be said to have "belonged" to anyone it was the Shawnee.Further, it was desired by the Iroquois, which made for an explosivesituation already. At last, we see the wisdom of Dragging Canoe'sstatement.
The Cherokee land deal would only aggravate the tensions and wouldcertainly aid the darkening of Kentucky skies.
Who was responsible for the spread of this faulty information, anyway?Well, the idea that Kentucky was not really Indian land was first putinto print by John Filson in 1784 with his publication of "TheDiscovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke." It isconjectured that Filson referred to Kentucky as the "Dark and BloodyGround" to strengthen the idea
that no Indians were living there, in a parlay to draw settlers andland purchasers to Kentucky. Whatever his intentions were, once Filsonhad recycled the words of Dragging Canoe and put them into print, theybecame a part of Kentucky's history and legend."
End of excerpt
I thought that was rather interesting, and that you would too.
Melvina
This is an excerpt from the book, "Footsteps of the Cherokees", byVicki Rozema 1995 John F. Blair, publisher sent via e-mail by EdwardBoggs (Excalibur46@webtv.net) on Mar 3 2000.
RUNNINGWATER TOWN
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Haletown
Runningwater Town was the headquarters of the legendary Chickamauganwar chief, Dragging Canoe. Because this village was protected bysteep banks on either side of the river, Dragging Canoe and hissuccessor, Chief John Watts, were able to use this location as a basefor their forays against white settlers. Dragging Canoe died atRunningwater Town in 1792. Ironically, he died the morning after aneagle tail dance was held in his honor to celebrate one of hisvictories
over the white soldiers.
During the summer of 1793, a mixed-blood Cherokee trader from Chotanamed John Boggs visited the area and met the daughter of ChiefTurtle-at-Home. Boggs married the daughter, whose name wasTsi-yah-neh-naw, and settled in Runningwater Town. He quicklyestablished a ferry at the mouth of Runningwater Creek, where theGreat Indian War Trail passed through the area. In 1794, Boggsassisted Major James Ore when Ore came to Runningwater Town in searchof a Creek who
had killed a white man near Knoxville. Despite Boggs's cooperation intracking down the murderer, Ore and his troops did not spareRunningwater Town or the nearby village of Nickajack when theyattacked the Chickamaugans in September of that year.
In the 1790's the Tennessee River was only 270 yards wide at the mouthof Runningwater Creek. Today, it is miles wide due to theconstruction of Nickajack Dam in 1967. Runningwater Town, DraggingCanoe's grave, and the site of Boggs's ferry now lie under the watersof Nickajack Lake.
From Hicks' website -
Notes for DRAGGING CANOE:
Dragging Canoe
Tsi'yi-gunsi'ni
Tsu-gun-sini
Chuconsene
Cheucunsene
Kunnesee
the Savage Napoleon
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from Don Chesnut's web page;www.users.mis.net/~chesnut/pages/cherokee.htm
Tsi'yi-gunsi'ni : "He is dragging a canoe," from tsi'yu, canoe (cf.Tsi'yu) otter, and gunsi'ni,
"he is dragging it." "Dragging Canoe," a prominent leader of thehostile Cherokee in the Revolution. The name appears in documents asCheucunsene and Kunnesee. (Starr also lists him as Chuconsene)
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As a 12-14 year old boy he was told he couldn't go with the war partyunless he could drag the fully loaded war log canoe on land into thewater. His enthusiasm and endeavors earned him the nameTsi'ui-Gunsin'ni "Dragging Canoe". This was circa 1750 when his fatherAtakullakulla led war parties against the French & their Nativeallies, including Shawnee, in the Ohio Valley.
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- Chief Dragging Canoe, Chickamauga Tsalagi (Cherokee) 1775
"Whole Indian Nations have melted away like snowballs in the sunbefore the white man's advance. They leave scarcely a name of ourpeople except those wrongly recorded by their destroyers. Where arethe Delawares? They have been reduced to a mere shadow of their formergreatness. We had hoped that the white men would not be willing totravel beyond the mountains. Now that hope is gone. They have passedthe mountains, and have settled upon Tsalagi (Cherokee) land.
They wish to have that usurpation sanctioned by treaty. When that isgained, the same encroaching spirit will lead them upon other land ofthe Tsalagi (Cherokees). New cessions will be asked. Finally the wholecountry, which the Tsalagi (Cherokees) and their fathers have so longoccupied, will be demanded, and the remnant of the Ani Yvwiya, TheReal People, once so great and formidable, will be compelled to seekrefuge in some distant wilderness. There they will be permitted tostay only a short while, until they again behold the advancing bannersof the same greedy host. Not being able to point out any furtherretreat for the miserable Tsalagi (Cherokees), the extinction of the
whole race will be proclaimed. Should we not therefore run all risks,and incur all consequences, rather than to submit to further loss ofour country? Such treaties may be alright for men who are too old tohunt or fight. As for me, I have my young warriors about me. We willhold our land."
[The Indigenous Peoples: "Indians" in North America before theEuropean Invasion through the 19th century.] Subsequently theHenderson Purchase was repudiated and negated by both British andAmerican governments. individuals were not allowed to make landpurchases. that right was withheld by centralized European governmentsdealing with tribes as nation-to-nation.
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1792 February 17; Chickamauga Chief Glass and Dragging Canoe'sbrother, Turtle At Home, waylaid the John Collingsworth family nearNashville, killing the father, mother, and a daughter, and capturingan eight-year-old girl. Returning to Lookout Town (near Trenton,Georgia), they held a scalp dance, grinding one of the scalps in histeeth as he performed. Dragging Canoe, recently returned fromMississippi after meeting with Choctaws, celebrated the occasion sostrenuously that he died the following morning, age ±54.
John Watts of Will's Town (near Fort Payne, Alabama), became the newChickamauaga leader of the united war effort. Cherokee resistancecontinued - led a big campaign against settlements in Nashville(Buchanan Station 1793) and in upper east Tennessee led the combinedCherokee-Creek attack at Cavett's Station in 1793 in which there wereno white survivors.
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Old Frontiers, pg 5
"Tsu-gun-sini, Dragging Canoe, son of Attakullakulla, was chief ofAmo-yeli-egwa, Great Island, one of the smaller Cherokee towns." March1775]
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Old Frontiers, pg 161
[1776, Dragging Canoe] "With his followers, he seceded from theCherokee Nation and withdrew a hundred miles down the Tennessee Riverwhere he organized a new tribe. Those Cherokees who met in treaty withthe Americans, he denounced as "rogues," or worse, as "Virginians."His own followers called themselves, proudly, "Ani-Yunwiya," the RealPeople.
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