Myths of the Cherokee · 211 of 220
Myth 125d
Said Wafford, “She must have been one of the Nûñnĕ′hĭ.” Track Rock gap : A gap about 5 miles east of Blairsville, in Union county, on the ridge separating Brasstown creek from the waters of Nottely river.
The micaceous soapstone rocks on both sides of the trail are covered with petroglyphs, from which the gap takes its name.
The Cherokee call the place Datsu′nalâsgûñ′yĭ, “Where there are tracks,” or Degayelûñ′hă, “Printed (Branded) place.” The carvings are of many and various patterns, some of them resembling human or animal footprints, while others are squares, crosses, circles, “bird tracks,” etc., disposed without any apparent order.
On the authority of a Doctor Stevenson, writing in 1834, White (Historical Collections of Georgia, p.
658, 1855), and after him Jones (Antiquities of the Southern Indians, 1873), give a misleading and greatly exaggerated account of these carvings, without having taken the trouble to investigate for themselves, although the spot is easily accessible.
No effort, either state or local, is made to preserve the pictographs from destruction, and many of the finest have been cut out from the rock and carried off by vandals, Stevenson himself being among the number, by his own confession.
The illustration (plate XX ) is from a rough sketch made by the author in 1
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