The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1921-10-25
BY.WAYs OF STATE HISTORY
BY J. w. Daniel, D. D.
Old Roads (Consinued)

Southern Christian Advocate.
That which men realize they need
will always create a road to 1t. l
have already intimated that the larger
part of the territory covered by the
old Ninety-Six district was designated
under the title Kush-ah-kush-ah,
which crudely translated, had made
Lang Canes historic. The Indians did
not, however, localize the name as we
do, it referred to a large tract Of
country where canes grew in great
abundance. Therefore, from an In
dian point of view, we have the Kush-
ah-Kush7ah signifying The Big Cane
Brake below Greenville as we'll as The
Long Cane section of Abbeville coun-
ty and Kush-ah, Reedy river. This
Indian name of these several points
was bestowed by them because the
soil of the old Ninety-Six district pro-
duced canes so .abundantly, even on
it's uplands as well as on the rich al
luvial bottoms bordering the streams
which were high and not swampy and
rarely overhowed even down to the
memory of living men. This feature
of that section made it q rich pasture
for great herds of elk, buffalo and
deer for both winter and summer.
The collection of these herds in these
broad pasture lands attracted the pan
ther, packs of wolves and prowllng
bears. These animals feasted on the
helpless gramniverous herds that pas
tured here. Therefore, the Indians
who made the largest use Of these an
inials referred to these foot hills and
dales as Kush-ah-Kush-ah, abundance
of canes, and made many paths into
it on their hunting excursions, and
through it in their tramps to the
ocean for commercial purposes with
the Creeks. They traded arrow heads
and flint spearheads for salt, shells
and such things as their mountain
country did not produce. These paths
were made long before white settlers
came to the territory of South Car
DINA. Therefore the Indians allud-
ed to a certain point within this tract
as Heena-heena which meant num-
ber of paths and roads, most probably
their conjunction. It is an interest,
ing fact that both of these indian
names survive, one crudely translated
Long Canes and the other half trans
lated Honea Path.
It is also a. fact full of interest
that, while the state created bys sta
tutes many roads through upper Car
oiina we look in vain for any statute
creating a road where there was a
long end we'll defined Indian trail.
The old Keeowee Trail in Abbeville
county, through Anderson and Oconee
to the mountains and across them into
North Carolina and Tennessee, the
old trail leading across Saluda Gap
down through Greenville and Laurens
between Reedy and Saluda rivers and
the old trail leading out from Ninety
SIX to Musgrove's mill, on to Cedar
Springs in Spartanburg county, Dy
Cowpens and on to Kings Mountain
and across the mountains are illustra
tions of this fact. These trails were
as accurately laid out as any civil en-
gineer could have located them, ano
this is proven by the fact that when
the needs of great civilization de-
manded the building of railroads the
civil engineer followed these trails
almost exclusively, even the long
Chicasaw trail leading out from
Charleston to the Greek and Chicasaw
nation located IN Georgia and Alaba-
ma. This trail passed out of Charles
ton to Augusta along what is now the
Southern railway then on for five
hundred miles into the then unknown
and unexplored West. Every foot OF
the old trail is now tracked by the
Iron Horse. These important trails
were inherited by the earliest settlers
as assets of their new country and
widened and developed into roads
without state legislation.
Ninety-Six was, therefore, an I'M
portant point perhaps centuries be-
fore Scotch-Irishmen settled the coun-
try. The Old Keeowee trail, the Salu-
; da Gap trail and the well defined
trail from Kings Mountain by Cedar
Springs and Musgrove's mill all hac
their conjunction at Ninety-Six.
One of the oldest chartered roads
in Laurers county was road running
to this point, Rayburn, for Rayburn
was an important settlement prior to