Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

[vamelungeon]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Thank you for your maps, they are great! I particularly like the last one showing the gaps (passes). I've never seen one like it before.

 

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[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

your very welcome vamelungeon, i found and saved these maps doing research...got a couple more i'll post soon.........


I think i have found a cave that has been covered, and a small opening has worn back out over the years. Alot of old Shawnee storys tell of one of Swifts mines in the great Shawnee cave. Could this be the same mine swift tells about that has a small opening and drops down in the ground 8-10ft then makes off level.....once inside this opening, it opens up to where you can stand, and it continues back a great distance. I should have some pics soon..

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Here is another map showing the Warrior's path, and the wilderness trail cut by Boone, also shows settlements and stations...

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Boone's route into Ky and Swifts route are some what simaliar, this is Boone's own words in his autobiograghy

It was on the first of May, in the year 1769, that I resigned my domestic happiness for a time, and left my family and peaceable habitation on the Yadkin River, in North Carolina, to wander through the wilderness of America, in quest of the country of Kentucky, in company with John Finley, John Stewart, Joseph Holden, James Monay, and William Cool.

We proceeded successfully, and after a long and fatiguing journey through a mountainous wilderness, in a westward direction, on the seventh day of June following we found ourselves on Red-River, where John Finley had formerly been trading with the Indians

here is the link....... http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/boone/

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

This is also a great read....descibes the many Indian trails......





PREHISTORIC TRAILS IN THE UPPER CUMBERLAND RIVER BASIN

By Charles Mayer Dupier, Jr.



Introduction

Prehistoric Native Americans were mobile peoples. They traveled widely for the purposes of warfare and trade. Originally, their thoroughfares were the trails made by herds of such migratory megafauna as wooly mammoth, mastodon, and bison.(1) Since these animals were seasonal migrators, their trails were almost necessarily north-south routes. One of the best known of these trails is the Athiamiowee, or "path of the armed ones," which is better known as the "Warriors' Path."(2)

Beginning in about the fourteenth century, an increase in warfare and the beginnings of new, larger tribal groupings (which resulted in greater social and political complexity) became more and more a part of life for Native Americans in eastern North America, especially among the Iroquois of central New York.(3) The trails may have begun to offer greater dangers than simply the threat of wild animals.

Trading in exotic goods and materials has existed since the Late Archaic period (2,000-1,000 years B.C.E.) in eastern North America.(4) By the beginning of the Mississippian Period (800 C.E.), other goods, such as ceremonial and prestige items, were common in trade inventories. As the complex chiefdom form of social organization moved toward its climax in the Late Mississippian Period, trade in prestige goods grew in importance to the point of necessity .(5) With this growth the trails over which these commodities were carried became busier and more interconnected.

During the eighteenth century explorers from the Atlantic colonies pressed beyond the Allegheny and Appalachian mountains into the new west. Men such as Dr. Thomas Walker and Christopher Gist, upon entering Kentucky in 1750, used these trails to their advantage and often noted in their journals that they were traveling "Indian roads."(6) Later, in 1775, Daniel Boone, on behalf of Colonel Richard Henderson, was employed to "...cut a path to Kentucky. "(7) This road, called the "Wilderness Road," often followed Native American trails. From the Cumberland Gap to Flat Lick, Kentucky, Boone's Trace followed a well-defined Indian road. From that point Boone followed what is believed to be, for the most part, a prehistoric trail which led northwest from Flat Lick, in Knox County, to the Bluegrass region. Boone departed from this trail in Rockcastle County and blazed a new trail northward toward the settlement of Boonesboro, in Madison County.(8)



Delimitation of the Upper Cumberland Basin

This paper will explore the prehistoric trail network in one comparatively small area--the valley of the upper Cumberland river in Southeastern Kentucky. The upper Cumberland is that portion of the river which extends from the Cumberland Falls, on the present boundary of Whitley and McCreary counties, eastward to the river's source in southwestern Letcher County, located only a few miles east of the Harlan County line. The upper Cumberland watershed is almost completely contained in the counties of Harlan, Bell, Knox, Whitley and McCreary.



Description of the Physical Environment

The upper Cumberland River basin is in the Cumberland Plateau section of the Cumberland/Allegheny Plateau Province.(9) The Cumberland River drains portions of two subregions of the Province: The Cumberland Mountains subregion and the Mountain and Creek Bottom subregion.(10) This area is a maturely dissected plateau, the rocks of which are sandstones and shales of the Pennsylvanian Period. The topography is dominated by low mountains. The creek and river valleys are classified as in the mature stage of erosional development.(11)



Relationship To Other Watersheds

The upper Cumberland River basin lies in the midst of other important river basins which were occupied by prehistoric Native Americans. To the south are the rivers which compose the upper Tennessee River basin: The Holston, Clinch, Powell, French Broad, and Tennessee Rivers. On the north is the watershed of the Kentucky River's three main tributaries: The North Fork, the Middle Fork and the South Fork. The Kentucky River drains the Bluegrass region of central Kentucky and empties into the Ohio River at Carrollton. To the West is the middle section of the Cumberland, which extends from Cumberland Falls to Nashville, Tennessee. East of the upper Cumberland basin is the watershed of the Big Sandy River, which drains far eastern Kentucky and empties into the Ohio River at Ashland.



Known Prehistoric Sites in the Upper Cumberland Basin

The occurrence of archaeological sites in the upper Cumberland basin are too numerous to detail. The Kentucky Archaeological Survey files show that there are more than 300 sites representing all archaeological periods in Whitley County alone. For the purpose of this paper, only the most prominent of the Mississippian Period sites will be noted, since the development of the trail system was completed during this time.

As the result of an intensive search of the files of the Kentucky Archaeological Survey, Richard W. Jefferies notes five Mississippian rockshelter sites in Whitley County, two in Bell County and one in Harlan County. Jefferies places four habitation sites without mounds in Whitley, fourteen in Knox, three in Bell and two in Harlan. He notes six mortuary sites in Knox and one in Bell. He places two mound sites in Whitley, two in Knox, one in Bell, and one in Harlan. He also notes three "other," unspecified sites: one in Whitley and two in Harlan.(12) Constantine S. Rafinesque, a professor of natural history at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, toured the state in 1823 describing what he called ancient sites and monuments.(13) Rafinesque wrote of many prehistoric sites in the counties of the upper Cumberland basin. In Harlan County, along the Cumberland River near its source (probably indicating the area where the Poor Fork and Clover Fork rivers join to form the Cumberland), were two sites with a total of five monuments (probably indicating mounds).(14) In his History of Kentucky,(15) Lewis Collins elaborates on Rafinesque's notation. Collins states that the town of Mount Pleasant (present day Harlan) was built on a "...high mound or Indian graveyard..." from which "...have been taken a large quantity of human bones, pots curiously made of blue earth and muscle shell, and dried in the sun."(16) This is probably the site of a Mississippian platform mound, which is evidenced by the occurrence of shell-tempered pottery. Sources in Harlan have informed this writer that the county courthouse now sets atop the site of the mound, which had been excavated for the courthouse basement.

Rafinesque records that there are three sites and seven monuments in Knox County.(17) It is possible that one of these sites and monuments is the one located in Pineville, but neither Rafinesque nor Collins mentions that there was a town with a mound at the site of Pineville.(18) The files of the Kentucky Archaeological Survey contain information, however, that testifies to there being one (Site 15B15). The location of this mound is in the built-up area of the city, and there is currently no evidence of it. Thomas Walker does not mention this site either, though he did describe the mound and houses on the Croley-Evans site (discussed below).(19)

Collins records that "Three miles from Barboursville [sic] on the north bank of the Cumberland, there are the remains of an ancient fortress, around which a circular ditch is discernible, enclosing about four acres of ground."(20) The location of this Knox County site is not presently known.

Downstream about fourteen miles from Barbourville, on the west bank of the Cumberland River, is a small mound that appears to be from one to three meters in height (15Kx26). As far as is known to this writer, the site has never been excavated either by professional or amateur archaeologists--the Cobb family, who own the farm on which the site is located, fiercely defends it against intrusion.

South of the Cobb site about three miles, on the west bank of the river, is the Croley-Evans site (15Kx24) mentioned above. This site was excavated during the summers of 1993 and 1994 by Richard W. Jefferies. This is a Mississippian town with a platform mound. The habitation area covers about five hectares.(21)

While visiting Whitley County, Rafinesque has written that there was "A town on the Cumberland, above Williamsburg, with 20 houses, and a teocalli [a truncated pyramidal mound] 360 feet long, 150 wide, 12 high. --Remains of towns with houses on the waters of Laurel river and Watts creek." The site at Williamsburg (15Wh64) is located about one-half mile upstream from the center of town on the C. B. Upton property. The mound has been extensively cultivated during the past 170 years and is now only about one and one-half meters high. This writer has taken several soil probes to a depth of ninety centimeters and found no evidence of stratification or habitation. Mrs. C. B. Upton has said that her children used to pick up large amounts of chert pieces and projectile points between the mound and the river when the land was plowed.

There is a large, two-stage platform mound with a habitation area of about four hectares in southern Whitley County a few hundred meters from the Tennessee line on the Bowman property. Jim Railey, of the Kentucky Heritage Council, surveyed this site (15Wh61) in 1985 and recorded his findings with the Office of State Archaeology. The shell tempered ceramics and triangular projectile points on the surface indicate that it is a Mississippian site.



Prehistoric Trails

Two main prehistoric trails passed through the upper Cumberland basin area. Both ran north and south. The Warriors' Path, the best known, passed approximately through the middle of the area. The other, called by William E. Myer, the Tennessee, Ohio and Great Lakes Trail,(22) passed just to the west of the upper Cumberland basin. It was from these two principal routes that east-west branch trails connected the towns of the upper Cumberland.



The Warriors' Path

The Warriors' Path in Kentucky extended north from the Cumberland Gap through the eastern edge of the Middlesboro Basin, down Yellow Creek to the point where that creek turns east. It then follows an overland route to the Pine Mountain water gap at Pineville. At Pineville, the path crossed the Cumberland River and followed along the east bank to Flat Lick, about six miles north of Pineville.(23) At Flat Lick, which is at the confluence of Stinking Creek and the Cumberland River, the trail turns northeast, up Stinking Creek, then follows a tributary called Trace Branch northward to its head, then crosses Kentucky Ridge at Paint Gap into the headwaters of Goose Creek which is in the watershed of the South Fork of the Kentucky River.(24) Thomas Walker, on May 1, 1750, approached the future site of Barbourville from the west and went northeastward up Little Richland Creek, across the ridge and down the Collins Fork of Goose Creek.(25) Walker notes in his journal on that day, "We got to Powell's River [Goose Creek] in the afternoon and went down it along an Indian Road, much frequented.. .and I think it is that Which goes through Cave Gap [Cumberland Gap]. "(26)



























The Tennessee. Ohio and Great Lakes Trail

The Tennessee, Ohio and Great Lakes Trail began at the site of Chattanooga, Tennessee, went up the west side of the Tennessee River, past Hiawassee Island and followed the east flank of Wallen's Ridge to Rockwood, Tennessee. From there, it passed through the present site of Wartburg, Tennessee, on the Cumberland Plateau, northward through Oneida, Tennessee, and into Kentucky. In Kentucky, it followed the level land of the undissected plateau through the present locations of Pine Knot and Whitley City, in McCreary County, on to Burnside on the Cumberland River well below the Cumberland Falls.(27)



The Thunderstruck Shoals Trail

This trail is mentioned, but not named, by Myer as being a connector between the prehistoric settlements near Williamsburg, Kentucky, and the settlements to the west on the middle section of the Cumberland River in Wayne County, Kentucky. It crossed the Tennessee, Ohio and Great Lakes Trail in McCreary County at the community of Wiborg, about six miles north of Whitley City.(28) This writer has named it the "Thunderstruck Shoals Trail" because it crosses the Cumberland River at Thunderstruck Shoals.(29) On April 24, 1750, Thomas Walker and two companions were exploring the area west of their campsite on the Cumberland River south of Barbourville. Walker records in his journal, "This day we Came on the fresh Track of 7 or 8 Indians, but could not overtake them."(30) This writer has traced Walker's steps on April 23-25, 1750, using the journal, maps and on-site reconnaissance, both forward and in reverse (which is often the only way his exact location can be detennined). Walker's position here is about six or eight miles east of Young's Creek (Walker called it Rocky Creek), which he turned down to reach the Cumberland River.(31)

The Thunderstruck Shoals trail is probably the one shown on the 1894 topographic map of the area as being the only uninterrupted road leading from the area north of Whitley City, across the Cumberland River, to State Highway 26 northeast of Williamsburg,(32) where it intercepted a north-south trail (discussed below). It leads east from Wiborg along Beulah Heights Ridge (The old locals called it Bullet Mold Ridge, but that name has passed from usage) to Indian Creek. It generally follows Indian Creek to the Cumberland River at Thunderstruck Shoals about a mile above the mouth of the Creek. One and one-half miles from the mouth the trail turns north about a mile, to avoid extremely rugged terrain, before descending to the river. Once across the shoals the trail leads eastward along a crooked ridge to "The Steps," an erosional feature involving a number of strata of sandstone which are arranged like stair steps descending to a lower elevation. From "The Steps," the trail makes a "U-shaped" swing to the south to avoid the breaks of Calf Pen Fork Creek, then resumes its eastward direction crossing Young's Creek and Blake's Fork Creek and on to State Road 26.



The Capuchin Trail

Myer writes, "There is a prominent trail crossing the railroad at Silerville [Kentucky]. It connected the Jellico Creek and Elk Creek Indian towns with the Wayne County [Kentucky] towns.(33) Elk Creek is a tributary which enters the Clear Fork River near Jellico, Tennessee-Kentucky. The name "Capuchin" is selected for this trail because it follows this creek for a longer distance than any other. It is proposed that this is the true path of the Capuchin Trail because it follows the path of least topographic resistance, is the shortest distance between Silerville, Kentucky, and Elk Creek, in Tennessee, and is shown as an uninterrupted route on the 1894 U.S.G.S. Reconnaissance Map cited above.

The trail follows Kentucky State Road 1470 east and south to Murphy Creek, and down that creek to Marsh Creek where it leaves the state road. The trail continues south, up Marsh Creek for about one and one-half miles until the road crosses Marsh Creek. Then it goes upward on an unnamed ridge and follows the ridge southeastward. It crosses into Tennessee, then downward into the headwaters of Childers Creek. The trail continues southeastward down the creek to the Gum Fork of Jellico Creek and follows that creek eastward, past the community of Ketchen, where Gum Fork joins Jellico Creek, then it follows down Jellico Creek about two miles to a point opposite Thomas Hollow. The trail then turns south through Angel Gap and down to Capuchin Creek. It follows Capuchin Creek, generally eastward, to where Capuchin turns north, then crosses the creek and goes up Trammel Branch, southeastward, to the top of Jellico Mountain. Then the trail descends to the headwaters of Burnt Pone Creek, eastward down that creek to the community of Newcomb on Elk Creek. It then crosses Elk Creek, turns northeastward and follows the east side of Elk Creek for approximately four miles, crossing the Kentucky line, to the Bowman site in southern Whitley County.



The Clear Fork Trail

The Clear Fork Trail is a continuation of that part of the Capuchin Trail which descends Elk Creek. It runs from the Bowman site (about a quarter of a mile north of the Tennessee line) to the present site of Williamsburg, Kentucky. Thomas Walker and Captain Daniel Smith traveled this route on November 22-25, 1779.(34) On Saturday, November 20, 1779, they arrived at the point they believed to be 36 degrees, 30 minutes North Latitude along the Clear Fork River (They were actually at 36 degrees, 35 minutes, 30 seconds North). On Sunday, November 21, Smith made the following entry in his journal: "This morning a party of Cherokee Indians and a White Man of the name of Springstone came to us..."(35) Upon leaving their camp and heading northward, they stopped by the Indian camp (It is possible that Springstone and the Cherokees were camped at the Bowman site, which is about one-fourth mile north from Smith's camp) and recruited three of the Cherokees to guide them to the Wilderness Road. The Indians led them down the east side of the Clear Fork, keeping to the edge of the flood plain. They crossed the river at the present site of the community of Pleasant View. From there they kept down the west side of the river until they came to the Cumberland River, about one-half mile below the confluence of the Clear Fork and the Cumberland. On November 25, they "travelled across from the river to Indian Cr. [Watts Creek]. "(36) This last short leg of the trail, from the Cumberland to Watts Creek, about three miles, follows the river downstream for about one-half mile, then it forks. The left fork continues to follow the river to a shoal that is easily forded. Upon crossing the shoal, one would be at the Upton site in Williamsburg (This was the path of the earliest road into Williamsburg when it became the seat of Whitley County in 1818). The right fork led up what is now known as King's Mountain to an erosional terrace about 100 feet above the river (the Highland Park district of Williamsburg), along that level terrace northward for about two and one-half miles, and down a small branch to Watts Creek, about one-fourth mile above its confluence with the Cumberland River.(37) The route of this trail is also depicted on the Reconnaissance Map of 1894.(38)



The Watts Creek Trail

The Watts Creek Trail is a continuation of the Clear Fork Trail. The Smith party followed this trail to the present site of the community of Woodbine in northern Whitley County.(39)

The trail follows Watts Creek northward for about six miles, where it intersects with the Thunderstruck Shoals Trail at the present site of the community of Rockholds. From that intersection, it continues northward about four miles to the community of Faber. From here, the trail follows northeastward up Eaton Branch of Watts Creek, about four miles, to the east side of Woodbine where it crosses Lynn Camp Creek. The Watts Creek Trail continued northward and intersected the Wilderness Road in the Laurel River valley. This must have been the true path because the descriptions and distances logged in Smith's journal are easy to follow on current U.S.G.S. topographic maps (Wofford, Rockholds, Vox and Corbin quadrangles) and the fact that three Native Americans were guiding them supports the existence of the trail.



The Meadow Creek Trail

This trail leads from the Watts Creek Trail to the mouth of Meadow Creek in eastern Whitley County. Thomas Walker followed this trail during his exploration of Kentucky in 1750.(40) There are two possible routes for this trail. One route would make it an eastward extension of the Thunderstruck Shoals Trail. The other, about four miles to the south, would take it up Brown's Creek. The former route would follow up Tye's Fork Creek from Rockholds, across a low divide and down a small branch to Meadow Creek (a distance of about five miles). The trail would then have followed the east side of Meadow Creek to its confluence with the Cumberland River.(41)

The other possible route would have been up Brown's Creek, down Whetstone Creek to a point about a mile from the confluence of that stream with the Cumberland River, then it turned overland to Meadow Creek, and down that stream to its mouth.

Walker's description of the route he followed leaves much to be desired: "We crossed Indian Creek [Watts Creek] and Went down Meadow Creek to the River. "(42) The brief narrative does not mention going up Watts Creek to the intersection of the trails and then heading eastward to Meadow Creek. But it would be logical to assume that as he came down the Watts Creek Trail several days before and headed westward on the Thunderstruck Shoals Trail he would have noted that the east-west trail continued eastward, the direction he would later want to go to return to his camp on the Cumberland River. Or, it could have been his opinion that the Brown's Creek route would be a short-cut to his destination.

It should be noted that both these routes appear on the Reconnaissance maps cited above. They are, in fact, the only two roads which lead from Watts Creek to Meadow Creek. The Tye's Fork route would be a logical extension of the Thunderstruck Trail, and the shortest distance between the McCreary County settlements and the Croley-Evans site. The Brown's Creek route would have been the shortest distance between the Upton site at Williamsburg and the Croley-Evans site.

It is not known if the trail leading from the Meadow Creek Trail to the Croley-Evans site followed the river upstream or cut across the low divide to the east of the Meadow Creek Trail. Reason would suggest that a site as significant as Croley-Evans, containing a platform mound and a rather large village, would not be isolated from communication routes or lie on a dead-end trail. When Thomas Walker reached the mouth of Meadow Creek on April 27, 1750, he probably followed a trail northward along the river to his campsite. He notes in his journal, "Below the mouth of the Creek, and above the mouth are the remains of Several Indian Cabbins [sic] and amongst them a round Hill made by Art about 20 feet high and 60 over the Top. We went up the River and Camped on the Bank. "(43) This is a description of the Croley-Evans site. Whether Walker was following an existing trail or blazing his way through the wilderness is not known; but to have seen the site so clearly he had to have passed very nearby, perhaps on a trail that led through it to points upriver, ultimately Barbourville.



The Black Mountain Trail

The fact that there was such a large mound and village at the present site of Harlan, Kentucky, suggests that the place was connected to other settlements in the region. There is a dearth of information concerning prehistoric trails in the area of Harlan County, however, it is only logical that such trails existed.

There is only one feasible route which would connect the Harlan site with the Warriors' Path and the townsite at Pineville. That route had to follow the Cumberland River. The topography outside the river valley is so difficult to traverse that no other logical conclusion can be drawn.

As was stated earlier, it is difficult to believe that a town was located on a dead-end trail--especially one that is thirty-five miles long (the distance from Pineville to Harlan). In order to determine the route that this trail might have followed, it is necessary to find a gap across Cumberland Mountain to the south and the basin of the Powell River. The only gap in Cumberland Mountain south of central Harlan County is Cranks Gap. The trail to Cranks Gap, which would have followed a line of least resistance would be the present route of U.S. Highway 421. This road leads southeast from Harlan, through Cawood, to a point about one and one-half miles west of Mill Creek Church (on the creek of the same name). Here an old trail, which can still be seen on the topographic map for Evarts, Kentucky,(44) leads south about two miles, through Cranks Gap (into Virginia) to Trading Creek, a tributary, to the Powell River. There are other ways out of central Harlan County, but none are so short and direct with so few obstacles.

Richard Jefferies' map(45) indicates that there was a Mississippian habitation site, without a mound, located near the present site of the city of Cumberland, about fifteen miles east of Harlan, and near the headwaters of the Cumberland River. There may have been a trail which led from Harlan to this site, and perhaps beyond. That trail would have, out of topographic necessity, followed up the Poor Fork of the Cumberland River. If such a trail existed it would have had to exit the area in a southerly direction by going over Little Black Mountain (the highest point in Kentucky) and through Stone Gap into the basin of the Powell River. A state highway currently follows this route, but it is not known if that highway follows an ancient trail.



Conclusions

The existence of prehistoric Native American trails in the upper Cumberland River basin can be documented historically through such sources as the journals of early explorers who entered the area west of the Allegheny/Appalachian Mountains in the eighteenth century. Men like Thomas Walker and Christopher Gist noted in their journals that they followed "Indian trails" through much of the wilderness. The most noted of these trails in the upper Cumberland area were the "Warriors' Path" and the "Tennessee, Ohio and Great Lakes Trail." Lesser known, but of regional extent, was the trail which this writer has described in three parts: The trail leading down Elk Creek, in Tennessee, which continued northward as the Clear Fork Trail, and still further northward as the Watts Creek Trail. These were north/south thoroughfares which connected the Native Americans of the Great Lakes region with those of the southeast.

In the upper Cumberland basin there were east/west trails which were feeders to these main north/south routes. There were at least two trails which crossed the Tennessee, Ohio and Great Lakes Trail and connected to the Clear Fork/Watts Creek Trail. These were the Thunderstruck Shoals Trail and the Capuchin Trail. Another east/west route, the Meadow Creek Trail, was a continuation of the Thunderstruck Shoals Trail and led from the present site of Rockholds, Kentucky, to the Croley-Evans site on the Cumberland River south of Barbourville. Another possible prehistoric route led from the present site of Williamsburg, Kentucky, up Brown's Creek to Meadow Creek and the Croley-Evans site.

It is unclear where the trail led from the Croley-Evans site to connect with the Warriors' Path. It may have followed the west bank of the Cumberland to Barbourville, or it may have crossed the river and followed it on the east. Another trail led from the Warriors' Path to the site at Harlan, Kentucky, and beyond, to the settlements in the Powell Valley of Virginia. This writer has suggested that the location of such a trail would follow the Cumberland River from Pineville to Harlan, southeastward to Cranks Gap and into the Powell basin. An alternate route could have connected the settlement at Harlan with the settlement at Cumberland, and thence southward through Stone Gap into the Powell basin.

If the description of these trails is accurate, future searches for regionally significant Native American settlement sites may be enhanced by their use as guides to the movement of prehistoric peoples in the upper Cumberland basin. If heretofore unknown sites are confirmed along these routes, other connecting trails may be discovered, thus expanding our knowledge of prehistoric communications routes and the patterns of Native American settlements.

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

here is another good site....... http://www.uky.edu/AS/Geography/Research/Bookshelf/Titles/frontertrails/index.php

 

[frogling]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

This famous Shawnee man was known as Tecumseh's brother. His name was Tenskwatawa.

http://hotcakencyclopedia.com/People/image.ShawneeProphet.kin.jpeg

This man was famous, but even the average Shawnee warrior wore a good deal of sliver. Most of y'all are probably already aware of that.

Trade for the American Indians was not just a financial venture, but also an expression of our connection to the earth and the spirit that arises between people with the giving and recieving of gifts. It is easy to understand why the Shawnee would have guarded their resources, which represented their spiritual connection to the land, and can't be measured in monetary equivalents.

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Great point you bring up frogling........

also Indians returned looking for the skull of a princess....which they would be referring the skull of an Indian princess to the Shawnee cavern....

I remember a Tnet member saying there was no Indian princesses, actually there were many...

 

[Curtis]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Hi all,

I hope it wasn't me you meant Ki, I posted once that the Shawnee didn't have princesses, so Cornstalk's daughter or grandaughter wasn't a princess. In fact its widely disputed she even existed. I am sorry if by this it was inferred there were none (Indian princesses)....i think Pocahontas was one (Palatine?). The Shawnee women elected the shaman, but form all my reading they did not have a princess. We can say they(Shawnee) had them figuratively.

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Curtis,
Sorry for the misunderstanding, i wasn't meaning you. How i can best understand the old Indian tails, and them describing to the early settlers of this area in what they returned here looking for. They would tell these settlers of a place where they can find or dig up a skull of a Indian princess, meaning a place of burial. After study my research i believe the Indians was referring to the Great Shawnee cavern.
Skull of Indian Princess = Shawnee Cavern
Now comes the question of who was placed in the cavern, Village Chiefs, War Chief's, sons, and daughters. I believe only the high ranking peoples of the Shawnee tribe where placed in the Shawnee Cavern.
Alot of researchers as well as myself bump up against the fact that not only was this cavern a store house for Swifts silver but was also a location of one of Swifts mines.
What i was meaning by the above post was that any chief can have many sons or daughters, although they might not have been called price or princess, they would of had the same high social rank in the villages. and these people being placed in the cavern could of been there right of passage after death.

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

I think the discussion of the Indian princess was in a post by L37 "Swifts upper mines found".

 

[swiftfan]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

You know Ki, alot of the roads where I live used to be trails at one time. some of them have been changed over time, but you can still see how the original road went. One in particular, comes out of the Breaks of the Sandy, turns left Towards a place called Ashcamp, supposedly named from the place where Swift dumped his ashes. It continues Southwest along a great ridge(Pine Mt.) all the way to Cumberland gap. That's on the North side of the mountain. Now back to Ashcamp. It leaves the creek bottom which is a small valley and goes north. Thats as far as I have been. I guess I need to check this area out some more, and don't know why I haven't. Anyway, my point is on some of your maps of the trails, it doesn't show this old trail. This one I imagine is a hunting trail, as it has many branches, and usually there has been rock shelters found along the way. The only reason I don't have pictures of this is people are reluctant to give permission. They simply don't want people poking around on their property. Even just to take pictures. Anyway, it was just something I noticed....

swiftfan

 

[Curtis]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

There was a lot of Shawnee activity in the area where the Scioto River enters the Ohio river now called Portsmouth Ohio and South Shore KY. The had a large settlent there for a long time...and it wasn't too far from where the Buffaloe crossed at Limestone now Maysville which was the big Indian trace. If we kind of triangulate those two areas with the old Shawnee town of Eskippakithiki (now Indian Old Fields) we may find the Great cave somewhat central to those areas. I don't mean right in the center of them, but some sort of general area they would travel to from the important settlements.

Now would be a good time for someone who worked on some of "the Eyes in Skies" to come froward on how to check terrain for mapping caves from orbit. Some of us could go together and purchase the services? I am sure they have allkinds of remote imaging that could reveal caves of any size! Anyone know of anyone that works with these guys?

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Curtis, Swiftfan, everyone.....
You are very correct, one of the oldest Indian settlements called "lower Shawnee town" other than the village at Indian old fields "Eskippakithiki" was located at the mouth of the Scioto, it was located on both sides of the Ohio R. These old roads that criss cross the state can tell many story's about some routes the Indians would have used, although some roads don't follow the trails completely, they can still mark the routes almost accurately...These Indian trails is what i have been working on lately, and i agree with Curtis the key to finding the area in which the Shawnee cave is located would be using the trails the Indians did, this would at least put you in the area, from the main trail there would be a secret trail the Indian would of had marked with signs and symbols leading to these important places. Researching i have made a crude sort of map indicating a few main Indian trails, Curtis one branch goes right through your area......

This is a picture of the former site of "Eskippakithiki" its all farm land now...

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Great Warrior's Path

shawnees/cherokees - through Kentucky/Ohio

Flat Lick -US25E c7 miles NW of Pineville --Path goes north
Manchester -KY11 -Goose Creek -below Mudlick Station/Flat Creek
Proctor -KY11 (near Beattyville) on South Fork, Kentucky River
West Liberty -US460/KY7 -Morgan Co --Licking River headwaters
Grayson -KY7 -Carter Co -Little Sandy River
Greenup -KY1/2 -Little Sandy River/Ohio River -above Portsmouth
path seems to go north up the Scioto River/Little Scioto
to Sandusky River north of Columbus --to Lake Erie

One branch coming in from Virgina
Big Stone Gap VA -US23
Hazard KY -Kentucky River -Perry Co -KY15
Proctor -KY52

One branch north
Proctor -KY11 north -Lee Co
Mt Sterling -KY11 -Montgomery Co
Sherburne -KY11 -Fleming Co -Licking River//Upper Blue Lick
Maysville -KY11 -Ohio River//Limestone Landing
path continues to Chillicothe OH -Scioto River -north
seems to follow Zane Trace -OH

heres a link for more trails
http://www.cob-net.org/docs/brethrenlife_migrations.htm#greatpath

 

[swiftfan]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Really great work. I can tell you have really spent some time on this. And also, if nit what you have put together, I'd say these trails would be lost to history before too long. You just don't see many people these days interested in this. Or at least I don't...great job, keep it up

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Thanks Swiftfan,
The Indians that was around this area has always seemed to fascinate my imagination since i was young, also i have a bit of Shawnee heritage in the family tree down the line. I think that might fuel that passion of mine..lol Tell ya what I'll see what info i can dig up that's around your area, you know trails and what not. I've been to pikeville some, my brother attended college there couple years back, beautiful country out your way.

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

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Indian Old Fields, Home Of The Shawnee
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By Patsy Woodring - 2001

Indian Old Fields is the site of an Indian village and trading post in Clark County, Kentucky, called Eskippakithiki. The name is Shawnee for "Place of Blue Licks," referring to the salt deposits on Lulbegrud Creek. Mrs. Lucille Goff Clark, great-great-granddaughter of Thomas Goff, early settler in Clark County, says the settlement existed in the days between 1670 and 1754. The "thiki" part in the name meant "place," thus "blue-like place." The word "Shawnee" in the Indian language meant "Southerner."

Another writer, Bessie Taul Conkwright, explained that in 1724 a band of Shawnee Indians, who lived on the Savannah and Suanee [Suwannee?] rivers, had a quarrel with their neighbors and emigrated to Kentucky, settling near Howard's Creek.

Mrs. Goff Clark wrote that the Shawnees were a branch of the Algonquin Indians of Wisconsin. This group had broken away from its tribe and settled permanently at Eskippakithiki. Within memory of the Indians themselves, not one tribe (except the fighting Shawnees) had dared to settle permanently in Kentucky, since these hunting grounds were considered to be the property of all tribes. However, according to archeological research, there have been many Indian settlements within the borders of Kentucky.

John Goff reported that Indian Old Fields and Big Bone Lick were the only two Indian settlements in Kentucky. In 1922 Bessie Taul Conkwright stated that, in 1750, Indians dwelt in three places in the state. The Chickasaws were in the extreme west, on cliffs of the Mississippi River. A flood destroyed the Shawnee town of Shannoah on the Ohio side of the river at the mouth of the Scioto. It was rebuilt on the Kentucky side, across from the mouth of the Scioto. The other settlement was at Eskippakithiki.

Present-day writer and editor, Bob Smith, has found the remains of many Indian settlements in the Eastern Kentucky mountains. There is evidence of long-term living conditions. He feels strongly that it is clear that Kentucky was home to many Indian peoples, not just a hunting ground, although hunting was excellent in Kentucky for deer, bear, buffalo, elk, and smaller game.

Records kept by the French Jesuit priests indicate that some of the French were driven out of Illinois by "The Five Nations." The Jesuit Relations of 1670 states that some of the French were driven out of Illinois and fled southeast, taking refuge with the Shawnee Indians at Eskippakithiki. The French-Canadian Census of 1736 stated that the Shawnee village of Eskippakithiki numbered between 800 - 1,000 people. This would be about 200 heads of families.

The French claimed what is now Kentucky, at this time, because Central Kentucky rivers drained into the Ohio River. The French said La Salle discovered the Ohio River, so all of its watershed belonged to them.

The English declared that La Salle never touched the Ohio River, only the Wabash in Indiana, and thought it was the Ohio draining into the Mississippi River. But the Shawnees felt that they were under the jurisdiction of the French. They welcomed both French and English traders, however, trading furs for guns, gunpowder, and trinkets.

The Shawnees welcomed traders, but were inhospitable to white settlers. Two early traders, Mr. Hart and Peter Cartier, came in 1747. The Indians had burned out the trees on the open plain at Eskippakithiki so grass could grow to attract game. They grew corn, tobacco, potatoes, beans, pumpkins, and sunflowers.

The Warriors' Trace was an old Indian trail that ran from the north, crossed the Ohio River at the mouth of the Scioto, and proceeded along the Licking River through what is now Fleming County, Kentucky. The trail ran through Eskippakithiki, with one branch leading down through the Cumberland Gap. The French took this trail to trade in the Carolinas and Georgia.

John Goff, in an old newspaper account, states that the buffalo trail, known as the "Warriors Path," ran from Blue Licks to Indian Old Fields. There it divided, one branch going toward the valley lands of Red River, the other to the Kentucky River and Cumberland Gap.

In 1907 this old path was still plainly discernible in places and could be followed with great accuracy its entire distance. This was the first road in Kentucky.

Eskippakithiki covered approximately 3,500 acres of level, prairie-like land between Lulbegrud and Howard's creeks. All that remains today (at the time the newspaper article was written) is a huge Indian mound. Not far from its base stood a log stockade built in a circle. This was the main trading place.

Wigwams and cabins were scattered from the trading center to two miles north, where the village of Kiddville stands today. The cabins had rounded roofs and reached from Howard's Creek to Lulbegrud Creek. They didn't build too close to the springs, where game came to drink. The animals liked the salty, sulphur water.

John Goff states that the fort at Indian Old Fields was surrounded by a high fence or palisade. In the center was a huge locust post, scarred by fire, where death penalty victims were executed. Goff said that the post was still standing when his father was a boy.

John's great-grandfather was Thomas Goff. His grandfather, Elisha, settled on the meadow land at Eskippakithiki.

In 1907 there was a burial mound of Shawnees at Indian Old Fields, located at the falls of Combs Creek, on what was known as the Donnahue place, owned by A. H. Anderson. Indians were buried by laying them on the ground and covering their bodies with stones and dirt. Upright stones were placed around the body. This gradually became a great heap or mound. Two Indian graves were also located on top of the hill, which stood near the road leading from Kiddville Pike to Hollywood Springs.

Bessie Conkwright wrote in 1922 that on a high bluff overlooking Howard's Creek, near Ironworks Pike, you could see the remains of the old fort in the Goff Mound and circle. The circle is the remains of the old palisades surrounding the town. This enclosed an oblong space measuring 200 yards by 180 yards. Charred, sharp palisades were dug up repeatedly showing that Eskippakithiki was burned down.

Conkwright says the mound is within the circle on the western edge, overlooking the creek. She presumes it was at the entrance to the fort. Years ago (this was written in 1922) the mound was opened by Lucian Beckner. He found a succession of hearths, layers of charcoal, ashes, and bones, one after another. In the center was the charred end of a post. Conkwright says the mound may have accumulated around the stake where victims were burned.

John Finley was another trader who came to Kentucky. In 1752 he set out with four white servants from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. His trade goods were packed in canoes. They paddled down the Ohio River to the falls, where Louisville is located today, to trade with the Indians, but no Indians showed up to trade.

Near what is now Boone County, as they returned, they met some Shawnees coming from Illinois, who invited Finley to trade at Eskippakithiki. They said there was a branch of the Ohio River called the "Kaintuckee," which would lead to their village.

The Iroquois Indian traders called this level land, where Eskippakithiki stood, "Ken-ta-ki;" "kenta" meaning "level" and "tuckee" meaning "meadowland." The Iroquois called the Kentucky River by the same name, because it led to this "Kentucky" place, or level plain, where they traded with the Shawnees.

White settlers made their settlements, although they weren't exactly welcome, nearly all along the Kentucky River; except Harrodsburg, which was only five miles from the river. The settlements were spoken of as the Kentucky settlements. Later the state was called Kentucky.

Finley and his men followed the Shawnees up the Kentucky River to Howard's Creek. They carried their goods in from there. He carelessly tossed aside some of the dried English hay in which his goods were packed. Today we call this dried hay "blue grass." Early settlers in Pennsylvania had brought the seed over from England. This was probably the first bluegrass to grow in Kentucky.

Finley built a stockade for his furs and stayed at Eskippakithiki until January 1753. He was building up a good trade when a band of Ottawa Indians descended on a scalping expedition. Three of Finley's servants were taken captive, his furs stolen, and all goods were taken. He and one servant, John Faulkner, were away that day and escaped.

They then headed back to Pennsylvania. When a record was made of the incident, it was stated that Finley had been in "Kentucky," the first time this territory was spoken of as such.

Finley enlisted on the English side in the French and Indian War of 1755. Here he met a young wagoner from the Carolinas named Daniel Boone. Finley's stories intrigued Boone, and Finley promised to take him to Eskippakithiki. It was no longer safe to go by way of the Ohio River, at that time, so in May 1769 Finley led Boone and some other men through Pound Gap (not Cumberland Gap) into "Kentucky." Finley became ill, so Boone built him a shelter and laid food beside him, then pushed on through Powell's Valley, until he found the Red River Trail.

From there, on June 7, 1769, Daniel Boone looked down at the stretch of level bluegrass fields beyond and felt sure he had found Eskippakithiki. He hurried back to tell Finley, who was so cheered that he went with Boone. They and the other hunters all went to Eskippakithiki together. However, they divided up into groups of two, so as not to attract the attention of the Indians or scare the game. Upon arrival, they found the village had been burned to the ground.

While camped along Lulbegrud Creek, one of the men read to the others from a book he had brought along called Gulliver's Travels. Gulliver escaped from his enemies at Lulbegrud Creek. So far, they had escaped from the Indians and thought it a good name for the creek, where they were camped. They camped there all winter, until the Indians drove them back to their settlements.

Boone helped settle Boonesborough in 1775. Later, when he was living at Limestone (Maysville), he went hunting in what is now West Virginia. There he met Thomas Goff from Hardy County, Virginia. Goff asked Boone to help him locate his land grant from the Revolutionary War.

They stayed at Boonesborough for a while. One day Boone invited Goff to hunt in that paradise for hunters, the former region of Eskippakithiki. When they got to a spring, on what later became Goff land, Goff raised his rifle to aim at a deer that had just come to the spring. Goff was surprised to hear the crack of a rifle from another direction and saw the deer fall.

An Indian rushed from behind some bushes and proceeded down to the spring to bleed his trophy. Fortunately the Indian had not noticed Goff, who felt this was not an opportune time for a hunt. Before you could say Eskippakithiki, Goff and Boone hastily made their way back to Boonesborough.

They returned another time, bringing several other men and Goff's cook (a Negro slave) along. A band of Indians descended upon them. Fortunately they were all on horses. The Indians had never seen a Negro before and were so bewildered they let Goff and Boone escape unnoticed back to Boonesborough.

The Indians pursued the Negro, but he escaped, although lost in the woods for a long time. He eventually made his way back to Virginia, sent word to Goff where he was, and stated that he did not want to live in Kentucky again. Goff gave him his freedom.

Goff wanted to settle in Eskippakithiki. The level land and nearby Pilot Knob charmed him. It was not safe, at this time, because Shawnees were always lurking around, so he bought land and settled on what is now Van Meter Road. Later he bought land and settled in Eskippakithiki. His son, Elisha, inherited the land afterwards.

Early white settlers called the part of the plain cultivated by the Indians "The Indian Old Corn Fields." The region's name was shortened to Indian Old Fields after 1800. The name Indian Old Fields was changed to Indian Fields when the first post office was established at what was then called Goff's Tollgate. John Goff's father suggested the change, because it was shorter.

Today you can drive down the Kiddville Road and find a sign pointing out Indian Fields. The area is divided into small farms now.

The first house built by white men at Indian Old Fields was a block house erected at Jennings Spring on the Jennings place, owned in 1907 by Colonel A. B. Hampton. The two men who built the house were afterwards captured and beheaded.

Elisha Goff and Leonard Beall joined the ranks of Captain Asa Lewis from Clark County in the War of 1812. In the Battle of Raisin River near Detroit, Beall was captured and sentenced to run the gauntlet. The old Shawnee Chief, Cathecassa (Black Hoof, predecessor of Tecumseh), let him go when he found that Beall was born in Eskippakithiki. He took Beall to his cabin and claimed him as his son. Black Hoof wanted to hear all about the place where he, himself, had been born and lived until middle age.

Beall invited him to visit his home in Kentucky. In the summer of 1816 the aged Cathecassa came walking in barefooted from an Indian reservation in Ohio. He pointed out to the white settlers many places of interest in the former village. He told the settlers that while he was fighting in the French and Indian War he had shot repeatedly at George Washington, but was never able to hit him. He decided that Washington bore a charmed life.

Black Hoof was born in the early 1700s and died in 1831. He fought at Oriskany, was present at Braddock's defeat, and fought "Mad" Anthony Wayne. Notes on his life, taken by an Indian land agent, have been preserved (I don't know where the notes are, but if anyone finds out, please let me know). Conkwright wrote that you could find out more on the Indian Old Fields from the Draper Collection at the University of Wisconsin, but I was not successful in my endeavor.

Among the many very early settlers at Indian Old Fields were Captain Benjamin Combs and his brothers, Cuthbert and Joseph; General Marquis Calmes and son, William; and Ben Berry. They were from Berkeley County, Virginia. They had started out to find the Licking Trail and got lost. After arguing over which route to take, they climbed Pilot Knob to get their bearings. When they looked down on the beautiful level country below, they decided to settle on the Indian Old Fields plain. They took pre-emptions on the land in 1775, and when the first court was held at Boonesborough, they were given deeds to their land.

The amazing Combs brothers were fearless hunters. Captain Ben Combs once took a bear cub up on his horse with him. He held on, even though the mother bear was running right after him.

In 1778 Captain Ben and son, William, were hunting when the Indians, on their way to attack Strode's Station, shot William's horse from under him. Both escaped.

When more white people began to settle in Indian Old Fields country, Captain Ben did not want to live there anymore and moved two miles below Boonesborough, where he established Combs' Ferry.

The World Book Encyclopedia has this to say about the Shawnees:

"The Shawnee Indians lived in the eastern forests of the U. S. and spoke the Algonkian language. They split into many groups with villages in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

"In the middle of the 1700s, they fought for 40 years against the white settlers in these states and were the most hostile in the area. In 1774 the Shawnees were defeated at the Battle of Point Pleasant, thus ending Lord Dunmore's War.

"After this, many Shawnees moved west of the Mississippi. Those who stayed included Tecumseh and his brother, called the "Shawnee Prophet." The brothers tried to unite all Indians against the whites, but were defeated by William Henry Harrison at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. Then the tribe disbanded."

Another place in World Book states the Shawnees were driven out of Pennsylvania by the Iroquois, after which they split up and wandered for 200 years. They finally reunited in Ohio, under Tecumseh.

Compton's Encyclopedia says the earliest known locality of the Shawnee Indians was Kentucky. Some moved to Georgia before 1681; others to Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Missouri in the 18th century.

Christopher Gist listed Eskippakithiki on his map in 1751.

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Here's a few pictures of the place described above........

 

[-Ki-]

Re: Indians of the Swift era... (Trails & Great Shawnee Cave)

Also i must mention, the Indians marked their trails in the forest by bending trees. I think Swift even mentions a bent tree he buried crowns beside.... Just a thought