web hosting short URLs photo sharing

Tsi'yu-gunsini was born about 1734 in the Overhill settlements which is now Monroe County TN. He was the son of Attakullakulla and was a fierce warrior pockmarked by smallpox as a young child. He was tall and stately in appearance and one of the principal leading forces in the Cherokee's resistance to white settlement on Cherokee lands in the Cumberland River and East Tennessee areas. He vehemently spoke against at the continued sale of Cherokee land and spoke vehemently against treaty negotiations selling Cherokee lands. In July 1776, Dragging Canoe headed a force of 700 Cherokee and attacked two US held forts in North Carolina; Eaton's Station and Ft. Watauga. He is also remembered for his courageous "Battle of the Bluffs" campaign to save his beloved homelands of the Cumberland Valley.
Dragging Canoe is said to have died march 17th, 1792 at Lookout Town (near Trenton, Georgia) after a scalp dance which would go on for several days and nights. It was normal to hold a scalp dance after each battle so that the Chief and his warriors dance could gave thanks to Yowa (God, Creator) for a great victory. The reason for his death was a very small cut from a rifle ball on his side that went unattended and became infected. However, other reports have him dying at the Battle of Buchanan's Station in September 1792 after being shot in the head. Other reports have him fighting have him fighting in 1814 in the Creek War and at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend during the War of 1812. Whatever the truth, he influenced Indian resistance for decades which included Tecumseh in the Ohio Territory and the resistance of the southern tribes up through the Creek War that Andrew Jackson put down in 1814.

"Whole Indian nations have melted away like snowballs in the sun before the white man's advance. They leave scarcely a name of our people except those wrongly recorded by their destroyers. Where are the Delawares? They have been reduced to a mere shadow of their former greatness. We had hoped that the white men would not be willing to travel beyond the mountains. Now that hope is gone. They have passed the mountains, and have settled upon Cherokee land. They wish to have that action sanctioned by treaty. When that is gained, the same encroaching spirit will lead them upon other land of the Cherokees. New cessions will be asked. Finally the whole country, which the Cherokees and their fathers have so long occupied, will be demanded, and the remnant of Ani-Yunwiya, THE REAL PEOPLE, once so great and formidable, will be compelled to seek refuge in some distant wilderness. There they will be permitted to stay only a short while, until they again behold the advancing banners of the same greedy host. Not being able to point out any further retreat for th miserable Cherokees, the extinction of the whole race will be proclaimed. Should we not therefore run all risks, and incur all consequences, rather than submit to further loss of our country? Such treaties may be alright for men who are too old to hunt or fight. As for me, I have my young warriors about me. We will have our lands. A-WANINSKI, I have spoken."

• ..in September, 1782, Colonel Sevier again invaded their country. Passing by the friendly towns on the Little Tennessee, he devastated the Indian settlements from the Hiawassee to the Coosa River, without meeting a foe in the field. This was the third time in three years that their country had been overrun.
• These annual incursions which laid waste their country, and destroyed the meager stores provided for their subsistence, became intolerable to the Chickamaugas. They could not have lived- they would have died of starvation, if such conditions had continued. The whites hoped it would result in a general peace, but the genius of the indomitable Dragging Canoe found another solution of their difficulties.
• The passage of the Tennessee River through the Cumberland Mountain range at Chattanooga is. one of the most unique achievements of nature. In its rapid descent it has cut deep through the solid stone, leaving towering cliffs and precipices on either shore, in scenic places scarcely leaving room for a path between them and the impetuous current of the river. The prospect from Lookout Mountain is almost incredible, reaching, it is said, the territory of seven states. The favorite view is called the point, a projecting angle of the cliff, almost directly above the river, which affords a commanding "lookout" from which the mountain received its name. Confined within its narrow banks, the rapidly descending stream rushes with fretful turbulence over immense boulders and masses of rock, creating a succession of cataracts and vortices, making it extremely difficult of navigation. Along its wild and romantic shores are coves and gorges running back into the mountains, forming inaccessible retreats. At a point about thirty-six miles below Chattanooga, Nickajack Cave, an immense cavern, some thirty yards wide, with a maximum height of fifteen feet, opens its main entrance on the river.
• Among these impregnable fastnesses Dragging Canoe found an asylum for his people; here he built the five Lower towns of the Chickamauga~Running Water, Nickajack, and Long Island towns, in Tennessee, and Crow and Lookout Mountain towns, in Alabama and Georgia, respectively. In addition to the security offered by their positions, it gave them the advantage of being near the Indian path, where the hunting and war parties of the Creeks of the south, and the Shawnees of the north, crossed the Tennessee River. Their strength was augmented from the Creeks, Shawnees, and white Tories, until they numbered a thousand warriors; and became the most formidable part of their nation. It has been said that they abandoned Chickamauga Creek on account of witches, but I agree with Colonel Arthur Campbell, that the real cause was the raids of the Watauga and Holston militia.
• At the treaty of Sycamore Shoals, Dragging Canoe, afterwards the founder and head chief of the Chickamauga towns) warned Colonel Henderson that the land he was getting was bloody ground, and would be dark and difficult to settle. This prophecy was mercilessly fulfilled, both in Kentucky and on the Cumberland; and the principal agent in working its fulfillment in the latter district was Dragging Canoe himself, though the settlement was surrounded by hostile Indians on every side. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• After the capture of Brown's boat, the massacre of its men and the captivity of its women and children, by the Chickamaugas, The Tassel, head chief of the nation, admitted his inability to restrain them, and advised General Martin, the Cherokee agent, to go against their country and burn their towns, so they would have to return to the nation and submit to control. With the consent of the governor of North Carolina, he determined to make the campaign. He raised a force of about five hundred men, in the four counties of North Carolina, and rendezvoused at White's Fort, in the summer of 1788. Thence they made a rapid march to the neighborhood of Lookout Mountain, which they reached late one afternoon, and camped on the site of an old Indian settlement. General Martin sent forward a detachment of fifty men under Colonel Doherty, to take charge of the pass between the mountain and the river, and hold it until morning; but the Indians; who were on the "lookout," discovered his movements, fired upon his party, and drove them back. Early next morning his spies were fired upon and one of them wounded. The whole force then moved to the foot of the mountain tied their horses, and prepared for a general attack. From the nature of the ground they could not march in regular order, but had to zigzag, mostly single file, among the obstructing stones. The Indians were concealed behind rocks and trees, and when they. came in range, poured down on them a sudden and destructive fire. Many were killed, including Captains Hardin Fuller and Gibson. Great confusion ensued; the men fled to the foot of the mountain, and some of them even ran off to the encampment. General Martin was unable to rally his men, who declared it would be another Blue Lick affair if they went beyond the pass. After burying their dead in an old Indian council house, they burned it over them to conceal their graves, and marched back to the settlements.
• This was the last expedition undertaken against the Chickamaugas during the life of Dragging Canoe. He lived nearly four years longer, but little is known of his personal movements during that time. He has left no talks for he had no intercourse with the Americans, and we get only glimpses of him, now and then, as he is incidentally mentioned in our public records.
• He continued his friendly relations with the English, and was well known at Detroit. His brother, White Owl's Son, boasted of the valuable presents he had received from the British at Detroit, in the winter of 1791-2, for himself and Dragging Canoe, namely: a pair of small and a pair of large arm bands for each ; three gorgets for his brother and four for himself a pair of scarlet boots and flaps, bound with ribbon, for each; four match coats a blanket, and two shirts, for each; and powder and lead as much as he wanted, for himself and the three Cherokees who were with him. He had considerable intercourse with the Shawnees, and sympathized with them in their struggle against the United States. His brother and some of his warriors fought with them at the bloody battle known as St. Clair's defeat. On the other hand, Piomingo, or the Mountain Leader, the famous Chickasaw chief, was the friend and ally of the United States, though he did not reach General St. Clair in time to participate in that fatal engagement.
• After St. Clair's defeat the Shawnees sent an urgent invitation to the Southern Indians to join them in war against the United States. General McGillivray, the great Creek chief, favored such a confederacy, and for the purpose of bringing the Mountain Leader and his party into the measure, he caused Dragging Canoe to be despatched to the Chickasaw nation. Immediately after his return from this mission, about the 1st of March, 1792, he departed this life, in his town of Running Water.
  Tennessee, the Volunteer State Moore and Foster, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1923

  ---

  In the journal of Cherokee Studies, published in Cherokee, NC, Vol.II, No.1, Winter 1977 is "Notable Persons in Cherokee History: Dragging Canoe" by E. Raymond Evans
  

• "During the first half of the eighteenth century the Cherokees were constantly at war. Unrest created by the Colonial aspirations of European powers combined with centuries old tribal differences, set every Indian group against their neighbor. During this period of Cherokee history, it is only natural that the most notable persons were war leaders. Even the less militant Cherokees, such as the great diplomat Attakullakulla, were occasionally forced to fight. Sometime around the middle of the eighteenth century, Attakullakulla prepared to lead a war band from Chota against the Shawnee towns. His young son longed to go with his father, but was flatly refused permission. The boy slipped away, however, ahead of the warriors to a portage which he knew they would use, and hid in a dugout canoe. The warriors found him there, and his father told him he could come along--- if he was able to carry the canoe over the portage, The boy was unable to lift the heavy vessel, but, determined to go, he took it by one end and began dragging it. Much impressed, the Cherokee warriors began shouting encouragement. "Tsi.yu Gansi.ni" cried one, "Tsi.yu. Gansi" which means "He is dragging the Canoe." Others took up the cry, and from that time the boy was known as "Tsi.yu Gansi.ni", or "Dragging Canoe." From other accounts I (Cuma Schofield) have a description of him. Dragging Canoe, chief of Amo-yell-egwa, the great island. was six feet tall, broad and muscular, his face pitted with the scars of small pox. This would have been the smallpox epidemic of 1738 which took a heavy toll on Cherokee children, decimating the other Indian nations as well, as they had no immunization from white man's diseases.
• Dragging Canoe died March 1, 1792 at Lookout Town, believed from too vigorous celebration of a recent Chickamauga success near Nashville. It is believed he was about sixty, or born about 1732, making him around eight at the time the smallpox epidemic swept over their nation. In all, one half of the entire Cherokee people perished from smallpox in less than a year. Historians have called him "Savage Napoleon", his enemies called him the "Dragon".

When Colonel Richard Henderson stole Cherokee lands in March 1775, Dragging Canoe protested with rage and declared war on all whites who imposed upon Cherokee lands. Afterwards Dragging Canoe led a confederacy of warriors, made up of Cherokees (Chickamauga Cherokees), Shawnee, Creeks, and others. Allied to the British during the Revolutionary War, Dragging Canoe resisted American imperialism. England surrendered to the Americans in 1783, yet the Chickamauga Confederacy continued to fight the Americans through 1792. For 17 years, Dragging Canoe maintained a line of resistance. While most historians label him as a savage murderer, one must consider the truth. One is not a murderer who defends his home and people from murder and theft.

At the great Cherokee council, held at their beloved town of Estanaula, June 26-30, 1792, the Black Fox pronounced the following eulogium on Dragging Canoe:

"The Dragging Canoe has left the world. He was a man of consequence in his country. He was a friend both to his own and the white people. But his brother is still in place, and I mention now in public, that I intend presenting him with his deceased brother's medal; for he promises fair to possess sentiments similar to those of his brother, both with regard to the red and white. It is mentioned here publicly, that both whites and reds may know it, and pay attention to him."

He died suddenly on March 1, 1792 after a frenzied, all night war dance. In traditional Cherokee style he was buried in a sitting position, his possessions heaped around him. Chickamauga Chief Glass and Dragging Canoe's brother, Turtle At Home, waylaid the trespassing John Collingsworth family near Nashville, killing the father, mother, and a daughter, and capturing an eight-year-old girl. Returning to Lookout Town (near Trenton, Georgia), they held a scalp dance, grinding one of the scalps in his teeth as he performed. Dragging Canoe, recently returned from Mississippi after meeting with Choctaws, celebrated the occasion so strenuously that he died the following morning, age ±54. John Watts of Will's Town (near Fort Payne, Alabama), became the new Chickamauaga leader of the united war effort.

The Snake Doctor

Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. ©