William Bartram - Exploration of The Cherokee Nation

Exploration of The Cherokee Nation

On April 22, 1776 Bartram left Charleston, South Carolina on horseback to explore the Cherokee Nation. After passing through Augusta May 10, Dartmouth on May 15 (35°19′41″N 82°52′28″W / 35.328003°N 82.874571°W / 35.328003; -82.874571), a few days later he left Fort Prince George and Keowee (34°51′49″N 82°54′06″W / 34.863616°N 82.901575°W / 34.863616; -82.901575) after not being able to procure a guide .

In addition to his botanizing, Bartram aptly described the journey:

"…all alone in a wild Indian country, a thousand miles from my native land, and a vast distance from any settlements of white people."

"It was now after noon; I approached a charming vale, amidst sublimely high forests, awful shades! Darkness gathers around, far distant thunder rolls over the trembling hills; the black clouds with august majesty and power, moves slowly forwards, shading regions of towering hills, and threatening all the destructions of a thunderstorm; all around is now still as death, not a whisper is heard, but a total inactivity and silence seems to pervade the earth; the birds afraid to utter a chirrup, and in low tremulous voices take leave of each other, seeking covert and safety; every insect is silenced, and nothing heard but the roaring of the approaching hurricane; the mighty cloud now expands its sable wings, extending from North to South, and is driven irresistibly on by the tumultuous winds, spreading his livid wings around the gloomy concave, armed with terrors of thunder and fiery shafts of lightning; now the lofty forests bend low beneath its fury, their limbs and wavy boughs are tossed about and catch hold of each other; the mountains tremble and seem to reel about, and the ancient hills to be shaken to their foundations: the furious storm sweeps along, smoaking through the vale and over the resounding hills; the face of the earth is obscured by the deluge descending from the firmament, and I am deafened by the din of thunder; the tempestuous scene damps my spirits, and my horse sinks under me at the tremendous peals, as I hasten for the plain."

"I began to ascend the Jore Mountains, which I at length accomplished, and rested on the most elevated peak; from whence I beheld with rapture and astonishment, a sublimely awful scene of power and magnificence, a world of mountains piled upon mountains. Having contemplated this amazing prospect of grandeur, I descended the pinnacles…"(probably Wayah Bald 35°10′49″N 83°33′38″W / 35.1803705°N 83.5604395°W / 35.1803705; -83.5604395)