Bartram was not easily intimidated by dicey situations, but this encounter with Attakullakulla clearly rattled him a bit. And it is easy to imagine that had he continued to the Overhill Towns his fate might not have been a good one - and neither this guide nor the trail it follows would have been a possibility. Bartram returns to Cowee and because of this we have one of the only descriptions of the town’s Council house that sat strikingly on top of the mound. Bartram describes the council house as a well-constructed rotunda made of log pillars, a well thatched roof, and seating that would hold several hundred people. He witnesses a Cherokee ritual dance performance, which is a vivid account of how Cowee Cherokees were preparing for a ball game against another Cherokee town the following day. Bartram states that such performances and dances took place almost every night of the year in the council house, and that a fire burned there year-round.
His descriptions of Cowee and its inhabitants are made all the more poignant given that the following year General Griffith Rutherford, in one of the early campaigns of the American Revolution, would burn and destroy Cowee and the surrounding towns beyond recovery. During this scorched earth campaign in September 1776 Rutherford looted and destroyed crops, took Cherokees as slaves, and drove them into the forests to forage and starve during the upcoming winter. The campaign was based on the fear that since Cherokees were already skirmishing with settlers in Tennessee and Virginia that they would ally with the British during the Revolutionary War effort, though this fear could have perhaps been unfounded had the Cherokees been treated with respect, fairness, and justice in their colonial relationships.
As mentioned earlier, the Cherokee historical landscape today is being restored, as the Eastern Bank of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), the Nikwasi Initiative, and Mainspring Conservation Trust continue to acquire historically significant properties, most recently with the acquisition of the Watauga mound and village site. The EBCI purchased 70 acres of the Cowee mound and village site in 2007, and another 100 in 2010. An observation platform, parking area, and informational kiosk was installed in 2020, which is accessed by driving seven miles north of Franklin on state highway 28. There is another information kiosk for the Cowee National Historic District six miles north on 28, on Wests Mill Road.
The wild Nantahala gorge and river of Bartram’s travels is now still wild, though somewhat artificial due to the regulated flows of the river by Duke Energy’s power generation, along with the visual impacts of Nantahala Talc and Limestone Mine. The high level of road and boat traffic must also be added to the impacts. Despite the visual impact of the mine, the gorge would be much more developed had not the owner of the mine, Percy Ferebee, donated over 5,000 acres of land in the gorge to the US Forest Service in 1970. The Appalachian and Bartram Trails cross through the gorge, and the once remote little outfitter store called Nantahala Outdoor Center that sat at the intersection of the Appalachian Trail and Highway 19 when I hiked through the area as a teenager in 1977 is now a sprawling outdoor complex and the biggest employer in Swain County, NC. It is now an internationally known destination, having served as the location for world canoeing and kayaking competitions.
Cheoah Bald, the Bartram Trail’s terminus, is named for the Cherokee town of that name, that once lay a few miles east of Robbinsville before Cherokee removal. Cheoah means “otter place” in Cherokee, and the nearby Cheoah River is another river tamed by Duke Energy and Lake Santeetlah, though restoration of the river to normal flows and releases over the last decade have resulted in some of the river’s biodiversity being restored, as well as its recreational boater potential.