Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1893-06-08
INDIANS SOF WESTERN N. C.
COL. a. T. DAVIDsON's R1:NxK-
NISCENCH1S.
Traits of the People whom Col.
Davidson Has known for IHI6y
Years Esast-The Love story OF
John WEIGH and Betty Blythe


Years E'ast-The Love story of
John WEIGH and Betty blythe.
In his entertaining address before the |
Lyceum society Tuesday evening Col A.
T. Davidson said:
1.-The question of the evening is, Re.
collections of the Indians of Western
North Carolina filled with plea SAINT |
memories and full of melancholy reflec- |
tiuns; sad in its references and bca utiful
in its consequences. have seen the In
dian in his native haunts, at his lovvly
home, and among his beautiful noun
tains. 1 have been acquainted Will him
for more than fifty years, and among my
earliest rccollections is that of his sub
dued home, and his simplicity of life.
| The history of the red man is not the
purpose of this discussions; that has been
| written, and is part of the history of
America. What l am to say is my re-
| collections Of the Chcrokces of Western
| North Carolina.
"It is melancholy to reflect on the fate
| of this departing race, once the posses
sors of this vast continent. Like the au-
tumnal leaves OF the majestic forest,
| which once sheltered them, they have
| dropped and withered from the face OF
| the earth they once proudly trod. t hey
have been driven from place to place till
the small remnant that is now lett has
been banshed beyond the MississiPp to
find shelter and support for the few
short years that may be allotted them to
exist.
ALIAS! for them, their day is DER.
res or the hefa ,d deer t9
The plow is on their hunting grounds
The pale mans axe rings through their
The pale MAJ sails skim DER their hoods.
rI,rir r.iaa
| Peyond the mountains of the west
Their children go to die"
"It is not strange that the Indian loves
his native land, so swcetly and intiln ately
Iconnected with his nature. The language
OF the Indian is made up of the voices OF
nature. He gathers his ideas of sound
from the falling leaf and the Whispering
of the winds, and the rusting OF the
leaves and the fall of the waters; hence
it is that his voice is soft. sweet and
melancholy, initiating intimately and
closely those sounds produced by nature.
And it is peculiar characteristic of his
that the circumstances and sounds OF
nature, the resemblance OF children to
the surrounding circumstances. gives
them their names. AS for instance
tie Deer 'Grasshopper,' Waiting for the
Wind Standing in the Wind and such,
20 to show that the Indian names his
children for natures law and in nature 8
voice. A few instances of this kind Will
serve to show the effect of the obscrva-
tions l have made: An old woman
named Mamma Ca-ta- hce' sister OF
|'Yonah- Guska,' was the mother oi
'Wacheser,' which being interPreted
means 'Grasshopper.' l knew him well
: he was good man and much respected
by the Indians as we'll as by the w hites.
had many transactions of business
nature with him and found him perfect
in his integrity and in his ideas of man
hood and honor. Being at her house on
one occasion. and being her guest, asked
the old woman why she called him by the
name of 'Grasshopper.' She said it was
in the days of the grasshopper that he
was horn; that he was little scra wny
boy with sharp elbows and sharp knees
and that he kept a-kickinG, and hence
she called him 'GrasshoppcI;' and this is
the general rule for naming children
growing out of some peculiar circum
stance connected with their birth or some
peculiar situation in which the parent:
were situated at the time of their birth
You take the one of 'Nantahala' as al
illustr alton of this idea. 1t is literally
the valley between the balls, and stu
atcd on the one side is the 'Nant a hala
ball and the other is the 'Tusq ui t tee
ball, and this beautiful mountain stream
flows between, rushing from 'Pickens
Nose on the Blue Ridge and descending
through this beautiful gorge, full OF lite
hope and beauty. This is the mos
beautiful stream flowing in the Allcg han,
range with an ascent of about 3, ,OO'
feet bordcred on either side with ever
green from one end to the other. and wa
the home in the earlier days of this rae
to which l devote this hour.
"Therc are many stories and hist orica
events which would like here to relate
The interesting story of Tecumseh visit
ing the South to influence the Cher okcc:
Choctaws, the Greeks, and other Soutl
crn Indians, with a view to induce ther
to join his forces on the lakes, is a chaI
ter that 10 worthy of consideration, BIT
time will not permit me to deal i'll tho:
things. This is history and not with
the range of the idea of the present di
course.
Another story equally important an
interesting and within my recollection
= that of John Welch and 'Yonah- @ uSka
Il John Welch had killed the Leech on tt
head of Valley river, at what is know
as Valleytown, now Mrs. Walker
At that time the law of the Indians w;
that the next of kin was the avenRer
blood. 'YonahGuska' was the next k
of the Leech, or slain man; hence it d
volved on him to aveuge the blood of h
deceased kinsman. John Welch well kne
this and knew his enemy, SO he cscap'
from the country, and having ranged /;
the mountain tops closely pursued by
avenger, finally passed the Blue Rid
to the east and found resting place,
he supposed, in the old Pickens distriC
South Carolina. Here he formed the 8
ncs quaintance of one Betty Blythe, a bea
tiful girl of perfect health and convivi
spirits, and of decidedly strong and vi
orous character. He being half FrenC
man and half Indian was susceptible
Dol all those charms and was not slow
making love to the beautiful count
girl. They had thus plighted their fai
to each other; and about this til
y it was discovered that an
dian was lurking in and about t
neighborhood. AS soon as this w
known-to John Wclch, he understood
perfectly; that it was 'Yonah-Guska'
his trail. He was not slow to comm
nicate this to his beloved Betty, a
she in turn was not slow to sympath