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John Sevier

John Sevier image
Parent Issue
Day
14
Month
March
Year
1888
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The generni who in tne course or twenty years lihts thirty-tlve ballles, all irtiiist desperate odds, and is always vic(uii)iis, nuist be a mililary genius. Sucli t genrr.nl was John Sevler, who bri)ke he power ol the Britten over the Thireen Colonies ut King's Mountain, aid ¦iubsequently, tor ritteen years, was the Iret Governor of Tennessee. Hia field wa narrow and liis torces were suiall ; but what he ilid was esseiitial to the seciiring f American Independence. He was a nosi renmrkable uian and had he actcd n a wider sphere his tame woulil iiave riilt-d the worlil. It ma y bequeftioned if my om; of the generáis of our late war will compare with him in military ability. Tliey accomplUhed great results, butthey iandled taímense recources. He knew iow to secure Lieat endl by slender means. Before Napoleon was boni he llscovered that principie of dynamica by wliich a smiill body diïven by immense [orce, deals a heavier blow than a uiucli longer one, liaviog only the ordinary inomentiiin. In Sevier's time the people bevond the Alleghenies ere too muub engrosaed in Diaking histoiy to give any thouglit to tl writingof lt, and henee, the country know's very little of hls great service; but now that a caieful investigator is explortag liis ciueer and making it known to the public, we have another beroadded to our roll of honor, and not merely au nero, but also one nftliose pivotal cliaracters on wlioin turn the liiiigts of bistory. Kor, we think it pot too mud) to say that had not John Sevier been victorlousat Kilo's Mountain, and so heroically held the rear all tUrou{li the revolutionary war, this country coulil not have ach le ved ts Independonoe. From Edutund Kirke'8 recently published "Kear Quard o) tiic Revolaflon we extr.ict au account ol oneot Scviei'sexploits soon aftertbe battle ot King's Moiiutain. The western country was infe-ted wlth the Cherokee, one of the bravest and Strongett of the Indlan tribes that sided with the Brltlsh during the rcvolutlon. "They did uot appear in any Ia.r;e body, but simill parties hung about the more remote settlements, descendliiK upon some un;uaided dwellinji, and whelminji men, wooien and children In indiscriuiinate matvacre. Inntantlr garrlsons werestationed In the most exposed positions, and a oriliin ut liht troops was placed all along ihe trontier.'1 "The wide extent of territory to be guarded involved the employment of so many of Scvicr's men, that it would seein to have been Impoialblt tot him to tniisler ¦ lorce rtrooganoagb for any Important olt'ensive opperation. And yct, at ihis veiy time, h undertook am) elecütedoneoftha most biilliant exploits in hls bistory - one whlch, I think, has no parallel In the achievements of (eor;e Kogcr Clark or any other border soldier. He had been convinced that sonic of tht recent raids had been perpetrated by Eruti Oherokees, who had tlicir homes ap i" the gorges of the Smoky Mountains, tht glgantic range which is now the soutliwesterD bODDdary between Tennessee ant Nofth CoroUna. These Indtan were bolö, haidy nioiintaineers, 1,900 Strong, and their country was entrenched amic rocky fMtneasei ihat were reponed to be imprecnable. Few white mea lmü ever vi-itrd tht'ir stronghold, and thoM who had, reported it iiniissailable by any civil tcd aoldiery. By any route that could be taken it was L'OO miles from Wataujía and the way to it tlirciujth traokless forests HOrOH furlOUi torrente and dangerou! rivers, and over mountains steep am ruggeil, and loftier than any east of the MÍssissippi. Only one white man a Watuuga- Isaac Thomas- had ever en tered tlils stronghold, and he had gone to it throagb the Indiiin couutrv, n its southwestern side, from wliicli t was alwavs approaclied by its inhabiants. No ludían, no white trader, was cnown to have ever entered ii from tlie eastern side, and of this región civilized nan was as ignorant as of the interior of África. It is lo-day as wild a country is is anywhere to be found on this conti leut. But from this side Sevier delermined to apprnauli it, and with but one iundred and thirty men to storm this iniccessible position, defended as it was by welve hundred brave mountaineers. He took but 130, became not anotlier man could be spared from the dótense of the settlement. With Isaac Tilomas as fiuiüe, he set out early in Mareb, wlien he streams are at their hlgheat, and the now stil I lies upon tlie upper llopet ot be mouutains. I fay with Isaac Thouias is fjniile, but Thomas knew nothing of he route; he could only direct Sevier vhe'ii they should have arrived in tlie enemies country. "So, with only one compás? to direct hls way, Sevier set out on his arduous expcdition. Crossing the Nolichucky nuar iis liome, he followed up the western bank of the French Board, fording the river near what is now known as :he '.linted Rocks, and thence passing on to Warm Spriugs, which liad been dlscovereil by two hunters in 1778, but had not as yet a single inhabitant. Here he climbed the banks of the Laurel Hun, mil then striking southward, asceinl 'd he Walnut mountains - a trackless waste )froL-k mul tauyled forest, with not a ath, nor a trail, nor even a trace blazed y a passing liunter. Thenceforward his vay for more than a hundred mile lay hrough a wildernes, where human foot lad searcely trod, and man was so ftrantre a sight that even the timid deer and wild rabbit carne out of their coverts to gaze on the cavalcade as it passed. "Over tallen tress and through mtfted underhrush tlie over-mountain meii held their way, now scaling some huge slipery rock, now fluundering along some itee stouy ravine, where one false step of his horse inight plunge the rider down n'idlouir; and ut the end of 20 miles from Warm Springs they ome to the Ivy - a ii'iiinl.iin torrent tlien 200 feet wide and ushing to the Freuch Board with the peed of a frlghtened animal. "lts waters were too deep to ford, and he furious current would have appalli-d even the boldest swinimer; but these skill'ul horsemen plunged fearlessly luto the orrent, and, though swept nearly a housand feet down the stream, gamed tlie opposite bank ín safety. "Then their way lay through a lesa roken country, over gently rolling bilis, jittduully descending aud sloping snuthwurd - the home now of the frasiruut golden leaf' of fatne among tobicco smokers. Till then the French Broad lad been luied with inaccessiblc oltffs, ut soon they caiue to slopiux banks, alonsf which they wound for auother twenty miles till they arrived at the Swanannoa - 'the river of the dancing waters' - not far from the present townot Aslieville. They were in tlie lutitude of he Kratl, but sixty miles away asa bird lius, and, by tlie route tiiey must pursue all of a hundred. Turuing therefore their faces (iue west, thy forded the Suanannoa, aud then the French Board, aud struck agaiu into a never-trodden wilderuess. For here, so far as is known, man had never been, nor any living thina save the beasts of the forest. And here again the wild creatures cauie out to meet them - the startled deer the growling lantlicr, and the surly bear; the meat of .vhich last, seasoued with the salt they earried in their knapsacks, waR their favoiite ration, varied only with parched corn meal, sweetened with inaple sugar of which a month's sup)ly was slung across their snddles. 'By good fortune they soon struck au open gorge, tending westward - the Ballam gap, through which now runs the road into this wild región. When not upon the Walnut mountains they had till then traversed a country two thousand feet and more above the sea; but now they were constautly ascending, till even he vaileys were at au altitude of more han half a nule. The air here is clear and pure, and laden with all the odors of the forest, and the uiountaln streams are limpid and cool, and sparkling in their liurity. If men had only to minister to iis physioal needs, and to admire the beauties of his earthly hnbitation, this región would be the spot whereiu to doze away exutence. But Sevier had woik in hand; couscioiifly or unconsciously he was acllnz au important part in the great drama Ot human ulstory, and though this was but a minor act, he was intent upon the buisness bef re him. "So, in the clear, unciouded sky of spring, he climbed those rocky ways- twenty miles In a dny- till, at noon of the tenth day from his leavini; home, he caine to Clingmau's Dome, where it roae, a giant earthquuke iiiouml, right acros-s his pathway. He had meusured the distance by the speed of his horse, and now he feit su re that he was in the región of the Erati. In this view Thointg coincided, but the old woodsman was at a loss tor the bearing of the Indian tnwns. 'l'he question could be answered only by ascending the mountain, a'id from sume opening along its slope, on the bald spot upon lts suminit, obtaining a view of the surrounding country. A peculiar feature of all the-ie Sinoky Mountfilns In these bald spots on their tops, where scarcely a tree or bush giows, but the soil Is deep, and the grass luxuriant. According to Indian tradition they are the footprlnts of the Great Spirit of Evil, left there when he has come to the earth, and strode trom mountain top to mountain top in the datkness, the lightning and the tirander. One may not sec why his sutanic lordshlp needs to go up so high to get a view of the world's wlckedness; but this hedoes, IfCherokee legend is tobe trusted. The foot of man had never scaled Clinginan's Dome, but Sevier determiued to cümb its woodeu slopes to its very summit, wliere it soars aloft, gigatitic, cloud piercing, higher than nny peak but one among the Appalachians, and froin its lotty lielght looks down on all things not bounded by the rotundity of this planet. His horse and the bulk of bis men he left at the base of the slope, and then, with Isaac, Thomas, and a liiüf dozen others, öevier slowly climbed the steep and lofty monntain. lts lower slopes are to this day clothed with majeslic foresta of cherrv, walnut and popl.ir; but, as one goes up, these giant trees give way to th slender plne, the scrub oafc aud the gnarled beech, and still blRherup the somber balsam, tapering a hundred and tifty feet toward the clouds. As it is now so it was then, for the woodinan had not then, nor bas he yet lnvaded these forest solitudes. These different growtlis denote different degrees of temperature, and when one is at the summit he is iu the climate of Canada. "The Httle party set out abont noon, but It was after nightfall wheu tbey had clinilied to the top of the mountain. Midway u they carne into a cloud which ilieiiclieil tlicm like line rain ; but when they arrived at the guinmit tlie sky was clear, and the moon and the stars were shhiing. They had ascended above the clonds, which now overhung earth and forest with a wide pull of inky blackness, sluiuiiiir all below trom tlieir vUion. The gmninit was carpcted with a deep Kraan sward thinly sprinkled with heather and rhododeudron. I do not know that i idea occurred to them, but once In a similar position it poemed to m that I wiis cut off trom the earth, and floaling almost alone on a green island tlirough the iiiiiniic spaces of creation. It wig not lom; bofore au occasional gleam lit up the cloud, followed by low, ruinbliiiii thunder. 8on the gleams becurae llashirig sheets of lire, zig-ztgging lliroiiüli the dense mass, and awakening echoes as loud as the explosión of a tliousand park of artillery. The lirst was the skirmish tire, tliis last the discharge of warring battalions. Quicker and louder they grew, till the whole world below was in a tiery commotion - llash followiiig fUsh, and each flash revealing a cloudy sea, in which the black mountain-peaks around seemed like islands in soine fearfully disturbed ocean. At the height of the storm the cloud below was a rolling flame, casting a light like that of day opon the bare mountain topa, and the tall balsami that grew near tlieir ttttntntte. These men had seen King's niouiitain, lts volleys of lire, and ilic sulphurous il ini; that girdled the hill in the crisis of the conllict; bilt what was that, orany struggle of puny man to this fearful battling of the elements? Ifone would learn "man's place in nature" he should witness some such storm from the suminit of a high mountain, the world below wrapped in flame, and he standing, as it were, In the very presence of the InÜnite. After a time the storm broke, the eïoud fl'd away, and tlien these men, looking down, beheld the camp fire.8 of tlieir eomrtdea at the foot of the mountain. The men below were drenched with the storm, while the blankets of those above were as dry as f rain had never fallen. Wrapping these about them, they soon sank into such sleep as is apt to f' il luw hard rlding. The morning sun disclosed to Sevier a scène of unparalled magnificence. He was in a wilderness of mountains. Dlrectly around him rose thirt.y-three penks, all six thousand feet and more above the sea, and some of them several hnndred feet higher than Monnt Washington, while farther away were the the Black and Btld mountains, the Blue Ridge, the Balsam, Cowcc, and Nantihala ranges, and the tall Unakas, interspersed with lower rldges, and braken by deep valleys. and all bathed in a sea ot green that alione in the gun like buniished copper. For two liundred miles in every direction the country was open to his visión. It lay at his feet in one vast forest-fringed panorama - a rolling ocean of verduie. Far away at the north-east, where the deep grruii of the woods inelteá into a misty purple, he could truce the courses of the Holston, the Watauga and btÉ own Nolichucky, and, nearer by, the silvery windiugs of the Tennesaee, as it rushed past the stionghold of the Chichamauga!-. But the view at tlie South was the one one which riveted Sevier's attention. There the Little Tennessee breaks through the mountain in a broader flood and amid deeper gorges than those which have won for the región of the French Broad tlie name of beiug the most picturesque in the country. This regio is iuterlaced by romantic streams - the Oconalufta, the Tuckasege and the Nantlliala - and threaded by deep, secluded valleys, which are walled in by gigautic clitfs and precipices. Sevier knew these valleys to be the homes of the Erati; but bis eye ranged in vain for any slgn of life in all tlie wide forest-covered reglón. At last he thougbt he detected a sl;lit haze - a thin mist, rlsing from the very base of the mountain on which he was standing. It seemed directly below him, but hls experienced eye knew it to be miles away, and the smoke of an Indian village. Between it and him was the Weloh Bald, a mountain a mile in height, but that crossed on its lower slopes he would be in the country of the enemy. Hapidly now Sevier descended the lofly Dome, and put his force ia motion to pass the Welch Bald before uightfall. lts sides were so stcep that the mep were obliüed to dismnunt and leadtheir horses, and in many placee to drag thcui up the acclivlties; but this obstacle surmounted, their way was less arduous. They went into camp for the night among the trees, but with the first atreak of day were again in motion, and not long after noon stood upou the heights above the principal Indian village of Tuckasege. Here noiselessly they tethered their horses, ate a liearty meal, and then, still more imiselesaly, descended upon the Erati. The rest is soon told. Taken by surprise the Indians made scarcely any resistance. Fifty of their warriors were slain on the spot, and a large nuinber of women and cliildren taken prisoners. The other warriors fled into the forest and, scattering amoiig the remaining villaires, spread everywhere the tlding that "Nolichucky" Jack'" was amoiig them. A general panic ensued, and men, women and cliildren bid themselves in inaccesible hauiits anioug the mountains, where they could not be followed. Then the torch was applled to the Indian villages. Nearly twenty were burned, all the grain and cattle were destroyed, and the whole country was laid waste, and so left a smoking desolation. Tlnis were these savages made to drink from the clialice they had luid to the üp of the white sefilers. This work done, Sevier rcturned rty the way he carne wiih his prlsoners. They would be of use to exchange for the whites who were held ciptive among the Indians. The expedition lasted twenty-nine days, and not a man upou it waseither killed or wounded." This ruthless destruction broke the spirit of the Erati, and soon afterward the whole Cherokee nation sued for pence with the "Ureat Eagleof the Palé Faces."

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Ann Arbor Courier
Old News