Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE NAME TENNESSEE The first historical mention of Tennessee was the mention by Sir Alexander Cumming of “Tennessee,” or “Tenassee,” as the ancient capitol of the Cherokees. It was located a few miles above the mouth of the Tellico on the Little Tennessee River. In 1730 Sir Alexander Cumming had been sent by Great Britain to meet the chiefs of all the Cherokee towns at Nequassee, near the present town of Franklin in North Carolina. According to Ramsey, pages 46 and 47: Footnote Moytoy of Telliquo, probably the modern Tellico. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE NAME TENNESSEE “Sir Alexander * * * informed them by whose authority he was sent, and demanded of them to acknowledge themselves the subjects of his sovereign, King George, and to promise obedience to his authority. Upon which the chiefs, falling on their knees, solemnly promised obedience and fidelity calling upon all that was terrible to fall upon them if they violated their promise. Sir Alexander, then, by their unanimous consent, nominated Moytoy1 commander and chief of the Cherokee nation. The crown was brought from Tenassee, their chief town, which with five eagle tails and four scalps of their enemies, Moytoy presented to Sir Alexander, requesting him, on his arrival at Britain, to lay them at his majesty's feet.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 THE NAME TENNESSEE >From this source and not from any supposed resemblance to a “big spoon,” or a “big bend,” was derived the name Tennessee, afterwards applied to the Tennessee River and to the state. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CONDITION OF TENNESSEE FOUND BY EARLY EXPLORERS Six chiefs accompanied Sir Alexander to Great Britain, were admitted to the royal presence, were well treated, promised obedience to the government of that country and made a treaty with it of “friendship, alliance and commerce.” The object of Great Britain was twofold: to alienate the Indians from Spain and France, and to facilitate the intercourse of the traders with them. In consequence of this treaty and of the good mutual disposition engendered, a condition of peace and friendship was maintained for many years between the Colonists and the Cherokees. Indeed, these amicable relations were disturbed only when the hunters and explorers by ignoring the rights of the Indians aroused their suspicion and stimulated their resentment. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CONDITION OF TENNESSEE FOUND BY EARLY EXPLORERS On page 77 of his Annals, Ramsey says: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CONDITION OF TENNESSEE FOUND BY EARLY EXPLORERS page 52 “At the time of its first exploration, Tennessee was a vast and almost unoccupied wilderness—a solitude over which an Indian hunter seldom roamed, and to which no tribe put in a distinct and well defined claim. For this reason, and on account of the mildness of its climate, and the rich pasturage [p.52] furnished by its varied ranges of plain and mountain, Tennessee, in common with Kentucky, had become an extensive park, of which the beasts of the forest held undisturbed possession. Into these wild recesses, savage daring did not often venture to penetrate. Equidistant from the settled territories of the southern and northern Indian tribes, it remained, by common consent, uninhabited by either, and little explored. The approach of civilization, from several directions, began to abridge the territories of surrounding Indian nations; and the margin of this great terra incognita was occasionally visited by parties of savages in pursuit of game, and as places of retreat from the encroachments of a superior race. In these respects, the value of the country began to be appreciated as hunting grounds, and as affording immunity from the molestations of civilized man. Vague and uncertain claims to several portions of the territory were asserted by as many several tribes; but no part of the present Tennessee was held by the actual and permanent occupancy of the Indians, except that section embraced by the segment of a circle, of which Tennessee River is the periphery, from the point where it intersects the North Carolina line to that where this stream enters the State of Alabama. This was settled by the Cherokees. All of Tennessee, besides this, was uninhabited, though a portion of it was claimed or occupied as hunting grounds by the Shawnees, the Chickasaws, the Choctaws and the Cherokees.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CONDITION OF TENNESSEE FOUND BY EARLY EXPLORERS Tennessee was, indeed, a virgin land, clad in nature's richest verdure, preserved for countless ages as the chosen hunting ground of the red men. During these years in which the land was unoccupied by man, game of all kinds multiplied until this section teemed with buffalo, deer, bear, elk, wolves, panthers, and small game and birds of almost infinite variety. The differences in topography were matched by wide latitude in lavish vegetation—giant forests, impenetrable canebrakes and thickets, grape jungles and, here and there, wild-pea vines, so thickly matted and so over-running the undergrowth as to impede travel on foot or on horse-back. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CONDITION OF TENNESSEE FOUND BY EARLY EXPLORERS And not only was game abundant, but also fruits and berries in season in prodigal profusion, as Hon. Albert V. Goodpasture says in his “Indian Wars and Warriors of the Old Southwest,” in the Tennessee Historical Magazine for March, 1918: Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CONDITION OF TENNESSEE FOUND BY EARLY EXPLORERS “From the summit of almost any hill in the Tennessee mountains one might have beheld a vast expanse of green meadows and strawberry fields, the meandering river gliding through them, saluting in its turnings and swellings, green, turfy knolls, embellished with parterres of blooming flowers and ripening fruit. There the young warriors stalked the flocks of wild turkeys strolling through the meads, and chased the herds of deer prancing and bounding over the hills; and there the young maidens gathered the rich, fragrant strawberries, and in a gay and frolicsome humor, chased their companions and stained their lips and cheeks with the red, ripe fruit; or, reclining on the banks of the beautiful mountain stream, their fair forms half concealed in the shadow of the blooming and fragrant bowers of magnolia, azalea, perfumed calycanthus, and sweet yellow jessamin, listlessly toyed in its cool, fleeting waters.” Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CONDITION OF TENNESSEE FOUND BY EARLY EXPLORERS Of this land Richard Henderson said: Footnote The Conquest of the Old Southwest, p. 7. Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CONDITION OF TENNESSEE FOUND BY EARLY EXPLORERS page 53 “The country might invite a prince from his palace, merely for the pleasure of contemplating its beauty and excellence; but only add the rapturous ideas of property, and what allurements can the world offer for the loss of so glorious a prospect?”2 [p.53] Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769—1923: Volume 1 CONDITION OF TENNESSEE FOUND BY EARLY EXPLORERS A RIFLEMAN OF THE OLD DAYS ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com