 The
French Broad River
Headwaters
Outfitters proudly acknowledges the birth of the French
Broad River right at our property, dubbed by the locals
as "The Forks of the River." This is where its
North and West Forks merge just outside of Rosman, North
Carolina, beginning its long and northeasterly journey
to the Gulf of Mexico. The French Broad is the third oldest
river in the world, older than the mountains from which
it flows. Only the Nile and the New River, which is also
located in North Carolina, predate it. Flowing 210 miles
round about and through the mountains of Western North
Carolina makes it the longest river in North Carolina.
After dropping out of the mountains into Tennessee, it
soon joins up with the Holston River to create the Tennessee
River.
The portion of this great waterway
on which we operate contains wide shorelines and slow-moving
currents, ideal for families or the first time canoeist.
The banks are lined with mossy sycamores, flowering dogwood,
elderberry, blackberries, tulip poplars, dozens of songbirds,
and an endless array of wildflowers, along with abundant
wildlife to view.
This river inspired Wilma Dykeman to write in her book :
The French Broad:
"Which is the time to
know the river? April along the French Broad is a swirl
of sudden water beneath the bending buds of spicewood
bushes, a burst of spring and a breath of sweetness between
the snows of winter and the summer sun. August is a film
of dust on purple asters along the country roads of the
lower river, and green stillness of heavy shade splattered
with sunlight beside the upper river. October is to flame,
A Renaissance richness of red and amber, Septembers end
and Novembers beginning."
 The
Walton War
The State of Georgia ceded disputed
land in the Yazoo Land Fraud along with the associated
problems to the United States on 26 April 1802 for $1,250,000
and removal of the Cherokees from Georgia at Federal expense.
Article II of the 1802 Act of Cession contained a thorn.
When stripped of the legalese, Article II required Georgia
to take responsibility for an outlaw and desperado infested
patch of land known as the Orphan Strip. North Carolina,
South Carolina, and Georgia had all previously refused
this honor. Article II led to war between Georgia and
North Carolina in 1811. The Walton War, as it's known,
was a little one-sided but a war it was nevertheless.
The Orphan Strip included the upper French Broad River
valley of what is now Transylvania County North Carolina.
Georgia established the first Walton County in the Orphan
Strip in 1803 and appointed Sheriffs, Judges and the usual
lot of Bureaucratic Parasites. Elections were held and
John Nicholson and John Aiken served as representatives
of Walton County in the Georgia Legislature at Milledgeville.
Walton County was a Georgia county
until some time in 1811. As Georgia cleaned up the Orphan
Strip it began to look more attractive to North Carolina
who began advancing a claim to the Strip. Georgia protested
North Carolina's actions to the United States without
success. Some time in late December 1810 a North Carolina
Militia Unit was posted to the upper French Broad River
with orders to remove the Walton County Government. Georgia's
first Walton County died in a hail of North Carolina musket
fire in January of 1811. The major engagement was fought
at McGaha Branch about one mile south of present day Brevard
near the Wilson Bridge on U.S. Highway 276. The North
Carolina Militia killed an unknown number of the Georgians
and took about twenty-five prisoners. A second stand was
made by the survivors of McGaha Branch at Selica Hill
some three miles southwest of Brevard. The Georgians were
either shot or taken prisoner. The fate of the prisoners
is still uncertain. Sporadic snipping continued for some
weeks but the main engagements were over. The Georgia
Legislature was still prioritizing its options in the
matter in 1971.
Excerpt from a letter to the
Athens, Ga. Banner Herald written by Richard E. Irby,
Jr. Used with permission of the author.
 Dragging
Canoe
"Dragging Canoe" (Tsi'yu-gunsini),
the son of Attakullakulla (The Little Carpenter, so named
for his skill at crafting treaty language acceptable to
all) and cousin of Nancy Ward occupies much of my current
research time. He was a fierce warrior, pockmarked by
smallpox when a young child, tall and stately in appearance,
and the primary leading force in the Cherokee's resistance
to white settlement on Cherokee lands. He strongly resisted
the sale of Cherokee lands to whites and spoke at treaty
negotiations vehemently objecting to the continued sale
of Cherokee land.
At the conclusion of the Treaty of Sycamore
Shoals of 1775, Dragging Canoe spoke against the sale
of Cherokee land. He rose and said "Whole Indian
nations have melted away like snowballs in the sun before
the white man's advance. They leave scarcely a name of
our people except those wrongly recorded by their destroyers.
Where are the Delawares? They have been reduced to a mere
shadow of their former greatness. We had hoped that the
white men would not be willing to travel beyond the mountains.
Now that hope is gone. They have passed the mountains,
and have settled upon Cherokee land. They wish to have
that action sanctioned by treaty. When that is gained,
the same encroaching spirit will lead them upon other
land of the Cherokees. New cessions will be asked. Finally
the whole country, which the Cherokees and their fathers
have so long occupied, will be demanded, and the remnant
of Ani-Yunwiya, THE REAL PEOPLE, once so great and formidable,
will be compelled to seek refuge in some distant wilderness.
There they will be permitted to stay only a short while,
until they again behold the advancing banners of the same
greedy host. Not being able to point out any further retreat
for the miserable Cherokees, the extinction of the whole
race will be proclaimed. Should we not therefore run all
risks, and incur all consequences, rather than submit
to further loss of our country? Such treaties may be alright
for men who are too old to hunt or fight. As for me, I
have my young warriors about me. We will have our lands.
A-WANINSKI, I have spoken."
...READ
MORE ABOUT DRAGGING CANOE HERE
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