Appalachian History

STORY OF A CHEROKEE INDIAN FAMILY CHARACTERS Hogbite [‘hogbite’] His wife Zetella [‘crane’]. Their daughter, Unatsi [‘snow’]. Their baby boy, name unknown. In 1835 the blacksmith Hogbite and his wife, Zetella, with their daughter Unatsi, fourteen, and their baby boy, six months old, crossed the Nantahala mountains to Franklin. On their return in the evening, [...]

In days long agone, when the world was new, the Terrapin had a very fine whistle, of which he was quite proud; but the Partridge had none. The Terrapin was constantly going about, whistling and showing his whistle to the other animals, until the Partridge became jealous; so one day when they met the Partridge [...]

The Rabbit and the ‘Possum each wanted a wife; but no one would marry either one of them.  They talked the matter over, and the Rabbit said: “We can’t get wives here. Let’s go to the next settlement.  I’m the messenger for the council, and I’ll tell the people that I bring an order that [...]

Early one day long ago from time out of memory the people of a Cherokee town awoke and faced east to say their morning prayers to the Creator in heaven (Ca-lun-la-ti). In the distance could be heard the cry of an owl, a sign of death and bad luck. The eastern sky began turning many [...]

Please welcome guest blogger David Biddix.  Biddix co-authored, along with Chris Hollifield, ‘Spruce Pine,’ (Arcadia Publishing 2009), a photographic survey of that North Carolina town’s colorful history. A true ghost story is found in the hills of Burke County, NC, where the eerie Brown Mountain Lights dance along the ridgeline of a low-slung mountain in [...]