Ghosts Roam The Cherokee Indian Reservation In North Carolina
It’s a beautiful autumn day as we drive southward on Interstate 40 toward Maggie Valley, North Carolina, to go up and over the mountain and into the Cherokee Indian Territory. It’s as though we go into another world…the two lane highway snakes down the mountain between them. The scenery is unbelievable as the dew glistens on the multihued leaves exposing colors never seen before with a naked eye. A kaleidoscope of mental images for the judgment of people traveling over the route.
In the distance, houses dotted here and there snuggled in the mountains and caused me to wonder how they ever got a road up to the houses or how anyone would ever find a person in the wilderness of the mountains side. Would I want to be that isolated…I stop and ask myself as I have visions of the past of this vast area?
The ghosts of former times haunt every nook and cranny of the territory giving me visions of hard-working Indian families striving to make a living in those mountains for their families. Smoke signals across the mountain warning there’s danger in the village and they need help. A message warning…watch out for scalpers! Another village has an outbreak of the flu…warning, no one should enter their village.
A mighty clan of Indians riding bare back on horses being lead by a prominent Indian chief. In the background, hundred of acres of trails, flowing streams, waterfalls, a scenery of elk’s, wild turkeys, bear, and other wild life roaming the area…all being protected by the Indians. A territory of beauty, with sunsets and sunrises like no other on earth. Indians celebrating with a famous Indian dance…proudly displaying color and loveliness.
A generation of people willing to work and to die to preserve their land and protect their people. You’ll view the flight of hawks scouring the earth for prey and a gobbler and his hen with chicks hovering under a skirt of feathers. Elk’s, some with huge racks, roam the area in search of food…oh, the splendor of a world all its own.
The greenery of the moss, no other in the world looks so rich and pure, tiny colorful wildflowers blow in the breeze with ferns waving back and forth like large fans. Trails leading beside rivers, waterfalls, and paths leading up into the mountain to a home on the mountains top.
Indians setting around designing baskets, pottery, jewelry, wood carvings, sculptures, and many other hand-crafted items to sell to make a living. Every item crafted is different from any other they have on display.
Walk along the river…hear the sounds of the river, songbirds, sandpipers, kingfishers, water thrush, and other breeds of birds. The fresh water reflecting a vision of beauty, and if you look hard enough in the water, you’ll see rainbow, brook and brown trout’s swimming about waiting to be caught for a supper meal. Vision yourself catching a native trout from a fresh water stream and preparing it for a gourmet meal for your loved one.
Take time to sit back and feel the Indian spirit of their land…allow it to saturate into your body and soul, filling them with magnificence and solace. Soak up the peaceful atmosphere and let mental pictures of the past ricochet throughout your mind to re-visit a past of now and long ago.
Partake of the aroma of the flora and fauna emitting from roots, herbs and flowers…it’s a naturalist dream come true and take time to breathe in the fresh mountain air.
Better yet, take time to vacation and to experience all of these mentioned visualizations by taking a trip to one of the most beautiful places in the world…this Cherokee Territory, Cherokee, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains…you’ll love the experience and never forget its beauty.