Jackson County, Georgia - Chapter 6, 1914

On the morning following the memorable meeting of the Talasee council in which Banna unexpectedly learned much of her early history, her saddle was identified by Huanaco as the same on which queen Elancydyne rode over the battlefields of Numerado, Radoata and Arharra. He said he distinctly remembered it as a gift from Amercides to his queen, and that the first journey made upon it was her ride from Shaultamoozaw (Black Creek church) to Yamtramahoochee (Hurricane Shoals) just before the battle of Numerado. Thus the parentage of the bright girl long known as Umausauga's daughter was established to the satisfaction of herself and her friends ; and the declaration of Mrs. Moore that she did not have a drop of Indian blood in her was fully verified. Consequently her name was at once enrolled upon the records of Talasee council as Banna Mar de Vedo, the first name being retained because of its well-known significance.

By request Notha Neva accompanied Huanaco to Stonethrow, with secret instructions to learn all he could as to the intentions of the Cherokees and report accordingly. Though quite a number of new emigrants was constantly expected, the people did not want any further trouble, and therefore were anxious to know what effect Huanaco 's report would have upon the authorities who sent him to hunt their lost queen. In due time the messenger returned and to the great relief of all the colonists made, in substance, the following report :

"Brothers, a big company of Cherokee warriors was at Stonethrow. Huanaco made them a talk. Told them that he had found their lost queen. That she was just like her mother. That she was as bright as the stars. That her dress hurt his eyes like the sun. Could talk English. Had quit all Indian life. Was living in a big fort with a colony of pale-faces. That she is wholly devoted to them. That they are wholly devoted to her. That the only way to get her was by force. He thought the safest way was to let Eltrovadyne stay with tlie pale-faees. They call her Banna. That means princess. She is a princess among them as well as among us.

"Brothers, the Cherokees send you word that you may keep their lost queen in peace. That it is not their intention to engage in another war. That the old squaw Lapsidali told lies. That they intended to punish her for causing so much trouble.

"Brother, outside of council Notha Neva learned other things. The Cherokees are afraid of the men and guns inside your big fort. Huanaco told about them. They are afraid to have Eltrovadyne a queen, now. They think she would fight more for Creek than for Cherokee. Notha Neva is done."

The messenger received the hearty thanks of the colonists for services rendered, and with many presents which he valued very highly, he returned to his wigwam somewhere on the lower waters of Pocataligo (Sandy) creek. Since the rumors of a Cherokee invasion had reached the Creek Nation five bands or camps of their warriors under as many sub-chiefs had been stationed in various parts of the country, ready on short notice, to be massed under the famous Talitchlechee, who lived in the vicinity of the present town of Dacula in Gwinnett County. That old hero being informed by the colonists that the war cloud had passed away, at once ordered four of the camps to disband; but to hold themselves in readiness for action in case of necessity. The fifth camp, consisting of about thirty men, under the sullen sub-chief, Yrtyrmyrmyrmysco, was located at Bohuron, now known as Oconee Heights in Clarke County. The leader of the Bohurons, as his followers were called, asked and received permission to remain in camp until it was known by better evidence than any white man could give that all danger was over. This slur together with the fact that none of the camps had been established near Fort Strong, nor on any part of Umausauga's claim, and also the emphasis placed upon the last part of Talitchlechee 's order disbanding the four camps, gave the colonists the first hint that there was an element of hostility among some of the natives around them. Though they said nothing they "trusted in God and kept their powder dry."

Umausauga was a strong, brave man. He knew by instinct that "coming events cast their shadows before them," He seems to have had a bad opinion of the leader of the Bohurons from the beginning. He knew that the chief had been spurned as a viper by his darling Banna, and that it was natural for one of his race to seek revenge. Really he more than half believed that the negigole (renegade) remained in the country for that purpose.

For Umausauga to think was to do. As soon as the camp was established under the long-named chief, he induced Tata, his nephew at Snodon, to change his name to Nyxter, and join the Bohurons as a spy. Though not fully grown Tata was a strong, sharp young fellow, and little known outside of his secluded home circle. He was known to be fearless, faithful and true to his friends. His skill with the bow was unerring and his fleetness on foot was superior to that of the red deer.

A few days after the four camps disbanded it was reported that the Bohurons had gone south to join the Lower Creeks to which their leader really belonged. Heice Umausauga 's term of division, negigole. Had he known a stronger term he certainly would have used it. Though often asked to live at the fort, he continued to stay in his wigwam at night and to roam the woods by day. He knew nothing of the sensation of fear, though, to use his own expression, he "walked with his eyes looking and slept with his ears hearing."

As if to prove this saying, he one night heard the preconcerted signal of Nyxter, the spy. They met at the appointed place where some startling revelations were made. The boy informed his uncle that the southward movement of the Bohurons was only a ruse ; that half of the company was still in camp and would remain there as a blind. That the other half which had gone south would return in a short time and watch the woods by day and the fort by night for an opportunity to capture both Banna and Ruth Lahgoon and carry them away to the Lower Creeks; that Wokolog was a leading Bohuron and wanted revenge for the way Ruth received his advances at Calamit ; that Yrtyrmyrmyrmysco was still determined to make Banna his wife, and that he

"I am on fire all over, and will see about that matter before the moon shines on my tracks," said the furious Indian as he hastened away to Fort Strong. Quickly reaching there he told the startling news, and Mr. Easley who was president of the council at that time, quietly asked: ''What is the best thing for us to do?" "I want two arrows unlike any ever used in this part of the country. Will you help me make them?" was the equally quiet reply. "I think you need not make any. I have a small bundle of those that were used in King Phillip's war," said Joe Starr, as he went to get them. "These," he continued upon his return, "were given to me by my father. They are called King Phillip arrows, and I value them very highly. Still you are welcome to two or three if they suit you."

Umausauga took the bundle eagerly and critically examined the arrows one by one. The shafts were unusually long and made of a tough, fine-grained wood unknown to the Creek or to any of the colonists. The tips or heads were made of a very dark flint, and tapered to a long, keen point. The Indian's eyes sparkled with delight as he selected two and returned the others.

"Now," he said as he arose to go, "hide the others where they can not be seen by prying eyes," and thanking Joe for the favor, he disappeared in the reigning darkness.

The following day and night were uneventful, but during the evening of the second day seven or eight Bohurons were seen to enter the dense woods to the south of Alotha, and were supposed to be heading for the deep ravine which still distinguishes that locality. This proximity to the fort was rather ominous ; but to be forewarned was to be forearmed, and everything was in order there. For the first time Umausaiiga and his brother, Etohautee of Snodon, remained at the fort all that night. About break of day the latter, who was patrolling the immediate vicinity with the stealthiness of a mousing cat, saw the enemy cross the river and go in the direction of the Okoloco Trail. A few hours later the white men, leaving the Indian brothers as a guard, left the fort on a tour of observation. When the little company reached the trail the fresh tracks of fast runners going east were soon discovered. Presently another runner was seen coming at full speed; but as soon as he saw the white men he dashed into the woods. It was the work of a few minutes only for Mr. Lahgoon, who was mounted on Alborak, to overtake him. When brought back he refused to speak, but soon found it was easier to talk than to die. He said his chief had been killed and his men were scattered in every direction ; that Wokolog, the next in command, was very sick and that he had been carried to the low country to be treated by a famous doctor down there.

The captive then led the way to his fallen chief who was found lying near Calamit with an arrow buried deep in his head. It was a King Phillip arrow, in all probability the first of its kind that ever cleared the air in that part of the country. And yet the white men knew that Umausauga had not sent it on its deathly mission. When they approached the dead leader three men were sitting near, apparently expecting the arrival of others. Not one of the natives spoke a word nor moved a muscle. When asked if they needed help one of the sullen warriors shook his head and pointed down the trail, as much as to say that help was expected from that direction.

A few days after the death of Yrtyrmyrmyrmysco, two old men visited Adabor. They carried with them the spearless shaft of the King Phillip arrow. Having entered the head a little in front of the right ear, it had been sped with such force that when pulled away the spear remained in the bones of the skull. The object of the visit was to know if Umausauga had ever seen such an arrow used by either Upper Creek or Cherokee. He had never seen one used, and promptly answered in the negative; but suggested that such deadly missiles might be used by Lower Creeks who live on the coast.

"That," said one of the old men, "may be true. Yrtyrmyrmyrmysco has enemies there. Some of them have followed him and sent this arrow almost through his head. What a true bowman the fellow is!" "Yes," said Umausauga to himself after the old men went away, "that fellow happened to be Tata Nyxter, as true a bowman as ever let an arrow fly ! It is a

Following the death of the leader of the Bohurons and the disappearance of his lieutenant, the Talasee colony slept soundly once more. Various improvements were inaugurated and rapidly carried to completion. Among these was a grist mill, the second of its kind built within the present limits of the county. It was known as the Richard Easley mill, and though the runners were of native granite, they ground good corn meal of which the only bread known to the country for several years was made in various ways, chiefly in "oven pones," johnny and ash cakes.

About this time the long expected company of emigrants arrived. They were led by William Clark, a man of great energy, and characterized by those who knew him as "brim full of common sense and running over with human kindness." The company consisted of one hundred and twenty-seven men, women and children. Thirty-nine remained at Talasee, twenty-seven went to Beadland, and the others to various points now in Walton and Gwinnett Counties.

Of the number that remained at Talasee there were twenty-one able bodied men as follows: William Clark, Herman Scupeen, James Tinsley, John McElroy, Robert Linton, John Clack, Ezra Lavender, Ezekiel Damron, Thomas Jett, James Varnum, Alton McElhannon, Alonzo Draper, Elkin Kinney, Ludwell Nichols, Homer Jackson, Alexander Bell, Oliver Betts, Thomas Mitchell, Joseph Cook, Russell Anglin and George Singleton. A majority of these were young men, all in the prime of life, and to use the words of one of their number, "increased the colony to twentyeight hard-working, hard-fighting, rough and tumble fellows." Every man and every woman as well as all of the oldest children, knew exactly how to use the deadly rifle.

Nine only of the late emigrants had families. All the children were small except two, Helen Draper, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Alonzo and Orpah Draper, and Ocean Scupeen, the halfgrown son of Herman and Annette Scupeen, and so named because he was born on the Atlantic ocean.

James Tinsley was a Methodist preacher of the John Wesley type, and a man of letters. "William Clark was a lawyer from Wolf Island, near New Iverness in Liberty County, now Darien in Mcintosh County. He was the man for whom Clarksboro the first county site of Jackson County was named, and not as some have said, for either Gen. Elijah Clarke, or his son. Governor John Clarke. George Singleton was a physician, and ancestor of Dr. A. L. Singleton of "the duello" memory. Thomas Jett was a carpenter and built the first jail at Jefferson. Thomas Mitchell was a teacher, and taught the first general school established by the colony in a small annex to Fort Strong. Ludwell Nichols was a blacksmith and some of his work remains in the country to this day.

The colony now felt sufficiently strong to separate into several different but contiguous communities. Clark, McElroy, Linton, Clack and Lavender settled less than a mile north of Fort Strong near the place which afterwards became Clarksboro; Damron, Varnum and Kinney went to Rodoata near Cold Spring ; Bell and Betts settled at Alotha, and, at the earnest request of the Indian brothers, Umausauga and Etohautee, Draper, Jackson and Scupeen followed their friends to Beadland and settled at Snodon, leaving all the professional men, except Clark, at Fort Strong. The going of Draper, Jackson and Scupeen to Snodon was opposed at the fort; but it was a division of power seen only by the sagacious Indian brothers, which proved to be of great value to the whites throughout the country.

Notwithstanding the occasional mutterings of the natives, an era of prosperity now began in the colony which showed them plainly that the pale-faces had come to stay.

While this state of affairs was pleasing to the whites it was aggravating to the reds, especially when they learned of some things which the late emigrants had brought with them; all of prime necessity to pioneer life. Among them were an ample supply of arms and ammunition, horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. Among the cattle was a yoke of oxen - great animals with widespreading horns that beat against each other with ominous knocks as they walked side by side. From these the natives fled in consternation; crying out as they ran, "Nodoroe! Nodoroc ! go back to Nodoroc ! ' ' Perhaps these oxen, the horses, and the shining array of rifle guns, greatly hastened native hostility; for although the colonists did not know it at the time, it was after- M'ards found that the teaching of the Indian leaders was, in substance, "We must crush the pale-face before he becomes still stronger."

Of the horses last brought to the colony, the names of three are mentioned here : Hector, a fine animal belonging to Josiah Strong; Dart, owned by the boy. Ocean Scupeen; and Scat, the high-strung steed that went and came at the bidding of the equally high-strung girl, Miss Helen Draper!

During the period of quietude that followed the bursting of the Cherokee bubble, much of Mr. Strong's time was devoted to teaching a school composed of two pupils. Though so small, it was the first school taught in the countrj% even antedating that at Yamacutah. The curriculum was limited, but the work exceedingly pleasant to the master. He was teaching English to Banna Mar de Vedo, and Creek to Ruth Lahgoon. They were ready learners, and with their previous knowledge of these languages advanced rapidly. By and by, becoming weary of close confinement, a visit to Beadland was planned for an early day. The girls wanted to visit Helen Draper who, much to their regret, had recently left them.

Helen 's features were not really beautiful like theirs ; but in form and movement she was the peer of the most elegant, and her hair and her eyes were very pretty indeed, the former long and golden in color, the latter deep blue and laughing. Her manners were so free and easy and her voice so sweetly musical that without any effort on her part all loved and courted her society. Like them she was very bright; but unlike them she was somewhat given to fun and frolic. Like them she was brave to a fault ; but unlike them she was not sufficiently cautious. Like them she was an accomplished horseback rider; but unlike them she was yet deficient in the ready use of the rifle while in the saddle.

For either man or woman to be "a dead shot at the bat of an eye" was regarded as the greatest accomplishment of the times. Such proficiency was by no means uncommon in those days, and under the training of her friends Helen Draper soon became equal to the best.

When all were ready Josiah Strong and Banna Mar de Vedo, Leon Shore and Ruth Lahgoon, armed capapie, left Talasee bound for Snodon the Dreary, as Helen had characterized the place in one of her letters. They went directly to Calamit where they remained several hours. Mr. Strong's first visit there, the mysteries which still hung over Beadland, Ruth's first discovery of Banna and Iro and their subsequent visit to the place, and the fate of Yrtyrmyrmyrmysco in the immediate vicinity, were some of the subjects discussed.

From thence they went to the old town of Snodon where in a whirling sea of thought Josiah and Banna stood and gazed upon the spot where they first saw each other, and where at that moment was born a love that never wavered during the trying vicissitudes of their eventful lives.

It was near Nere Nara, the great rock pillar already described, and at the mention of which Umausauga had been seen to shed tears. Seated upon the steps within its arch they dwelt silently upon the past, "sadness, hope and gladness" passing, like a weaver's shuttle, back and forth, in and through their minds. None of the few natives who lived near were to be seen. Leon and Ruth had wandered away to the great flat rocks which lie to the south and were gathering flowers of the wild honeysuckles which grew in their crevices. They walked and talked until unexpectedly they reached a swamp hard by. There they discovered other flowers and jack-in-the-pulpit was among them. The solitary finger of one of these droll plants seemed to beckon to Leon and say, "Come and get me." As it grew upon the margin of the bog he obeyed the silent monitor, and being weary, as they supposed, the twain seated themselves upon a great boulder conveniently near.

In the meantime Mr. Strong and his companion became weary of silence and began to talk again, though in a tone quite different from their previous conversation.

"Do you know, dear one, for such I now venture to call you, how dear this place is to me?" asked Josiah of the blushing girl at his side. "And why, Mr. Strong, is such a place so dear to you?" she asked in trembling tones. "Because here I first saw you, the only woman whom I can always truly love." "And she a poor, unknown savage who had never heard the name of God! 0 Mr. Strong, can you be in earnest?" "Yes, my own 'Twinkling Star, ' in earnest, absolutely ! Though you may have been comparatively unknown, you never were a savage. The best blood of Spain, pure Aryan blood, beats gladly in your heart: the rich red blood of the Cid Campaedor. Blood as proud, as noble and as brave as ever beat in human heart was his. And so is yours. Then too, the blood of your mother, the peerless Elancydyne, the 'Shooting Star' that blazed upon the red-stained plains of Numerado, Radoata and Arharra, with such dazzling splendor, also beats in your heart and runs through your veins. As we now know your mother was the daughter of an English nobleman, the same race to which I belong, and of which we are both surely proud. Then say not my Eltrovadyne, my Glittering Star, and dearer than all, my Banna the Beautiful, for my this name I first knew you, that you ever were a savage. And still more, as the daughter of undisputed royalty, your rights would place you on a throne to-day. So darling, you are not only of noble blood, but that of royalty as well. As such I salute you, and bid you all hail my beautiful, my only queen !"

In an honest endeavor to repeat a long history in a few words, and overcome with intense earnestness, the speaker paused for want of breath to proceed. He looked at the trembling girl who was crying as if broken-hearted. For the first time he took her hand in his, and placing the other on her shoulder continued :

"0, Banna, for a long time you must have known that I love you dearly. Because of the unsettled condition of the country and my earnest wish to tell you so at the very place where I first met you, I have not mentioned the subject until now. The time has come at last. I can not afford to let it pass unheeded. Then with the full assurance of all my heart, will you here and now consent to become my wife?" Still trembling the girl remained silent and thoughtful for a little while. Then she deliberately took the polished mussel shell from her bosom and quietly showing him its contents said: "Here is my answer. Since I took this lock of your hair from here on the same day that a mean boy snatched it from your head and threw it away, I have carried it near my heart almost constantly. I would not exchange it for the brightest diadem that ever crowned a queen. If I think so much of a single lock I have no words to tell how much I should value all that clustered around it. So, as you are the only man I ever loved, I am free to say that I am willing to become your wife. ' '

Mr. Strong eagerly grasped her hand with both of his, and gently, tenderly leaned his head upon her shoulder. She returned the pressure and softly placing her head upon his manly breast, they both audibly thanked God for the happy consummation of their fondest earthly hopes. Ah ! ah ! - the irony of fate ! Two lovers, both of whose hearts were always readily responsive to all the fine feelings of human nature, whose acts were often close akin to the acts of an angel, and who never caused each other to feel either pain or sorrow, had plighted their troth over the sleeping dust of a victim of unrequited love !

A hard battle had been fought and won hard, not because one had ever seriously doubted the other, but because of the turbulent times in which they lived, and the many difficulties incident to pioneer life - a life vastly more trying than this or any succeeding generation can ever know.

At last the lovers remembered that there were other beings in the world to claim their attention ; a lesson seldom forgot and never neglected. And now that the hitherto dreary old town of Snodon seemed to have taken on new life, they thought all the world akin. The curious rock pillar, the quaint old wigwams and the unfrequented paths around them, all decorated with festoons of spider webs spun with geometrical accuracy, and spread in rich profusion upon myriads of wild flowers that swayed back and forth in the golden sunshine, instead of seeming desolate as heretofore, were now arrayed in gorgeous robes of blue, violet and gold. This transformation made them long to tell their truant companions how happy they were.

Lost in their own thoughts, Leon and Ruth were loth to leave the vine-clad boulder upon which they sat. They had ceased to notice the festoons of sweet-scented honeysuckles that, moved by the evening breeze, were playing hide and seek all around them. Leon Shore was twirling a long, slender jack-in-the-pulpit between his fingers, and calling Ruth's attention to it said:

"Sentimentalists say that jack-in-the-pulpit is an emblem of Hymen's Altar. And now, my dear Ruth, you know that a long time ago you promised to be my wife sometime. The matter has, for good reasons I confess, been delayed. I think the anxious 'sometime' has come at last. I now offer you this flower, this Hymen 's-Altar-leader, and if you are willing for me to lead you to such an altar at an early day, take it and make me supremely happy, and in turn I will do all that mortal man can do to make you happy also."

The blushing girl took the flower and kissed it. There amidst the deep silence of the wilderness where the feathery honeysuckles reached out their tendrils towards the stable rocks, and jack-in-the-pulpit nodded his approval from the swamp, they sealed their vows.

When the parties met the situation was at once comprehended by all. Congratulations went from one to the other in quick succession, and together all rejoiced in very gladness.

Alonzo Draper's "little house in the woods" was soon reached. It stood near what is now known as "the black gum hollow" in the northern suburbs of Winder. Herman Scupeen, Homer Jackson and a few other families lived near, Scupeen being the first settler of what is sometimes called the Morris old place, and Jackson built the "Wright cabin" which disappeared many years ago.

To use the words of one present, "the girls were in a blaze of glory that night and did not go to sleep at all, and the men stopped talking only long enough to sometimes sally forth and shoot some wild animals." However the howl of the wolf, the scream of the panther, and the sniff of the prowling black bear were noticed only when unpleasantly near.

Among those who came to offer their compliments to the visitors from Talasee was Ocean Scupeen. He was a bold, mischievous boy, but never mean. He was as true a hero as ever trod the soil of any country. He was handsome withal and had a good elementary education. His devotion to Helen Draper was equaled only by his heroism. Except that bright, vivacious girl, he acknowledged no leader willingly. They were nearly of the same age, and had hunted wild game and played together from early childhood. Both were at home on horseback, and the wilder the horse the better they were pleased. When on foot both were unerring shots, but had never practiced loading and firing when in the saddle and on the run. To see Ruth and Banna perform these feats with such consummate skill, "set them," to use Ocean's own words, "all on fire to do so, too."

The visitors began their homeward journey on the evening of the following day. They were accompanied by their friend Helen, who rode her high-spirited but well-trained horse already known by the name of Scat. Tata also was with them on foot, and it was amazing to witness the ease with which he kept in advance of the horses, even when at a full trot. Wanting to reward the boy for ridding the country of their arch enemy in such a masterly way, and at the same time secure the services of a highly valuable friend, the colonists had arranged for him to become one of their number. No better trade was ever made.

In due time that party arrived at Talasee, and no one received them with a more hearty welcome than Pyth and Damon, though it required several days for Tata to gain their confidence. To Banna Mar de Vedo the world in which she grew to womanhood seemed to have changed into a new one. And in many respects it had.