Manataka American Indian Council
THE
LEGEND OF
Pathkiller
by Takatoka
During a war between the white man and American Indians
between 1790 and 1803, in what would become the state of Kentucky, a
band of Overhill Cherokee warriors of the Red Paint clan captured a group of white
soldiers and brought them to their Chief Pathkiller.
One of the captives was a young soldier by the name of
Moore. (His name may not have been Robert Alec Moore.)
Chief Pathkiller stood the white soldiers in front of the tribal
council who sentenced young Moore to be bound and burned at the
stake the following day. That evening the warriors celebrated
their victory by dancing and drinking the white man's whiskey until
at last every warrior was in a deep sleep.
Chief
Pathkillers' pretty
young daughter, who was attracted to the handsome Moore, put
together a plan to free Moore. Seeing the exhausted
warriors were not an immediate threat, she led a pony from the camp,
silently loading the pony's back with a few supplies. Then,
she quietly slipped up to the prisoners, cut the bonds of Moore,
gave him moccasins for his feet and together they slipped out of
camp.
Retrieving the pony, they began their perilous
journey. Traveling by night and hiding in daylight they
cautiously made their way deep into the wilderness. Chief
Pathkiller was furious. He and a large war party set off in
pursuit. The warriors were often seen riding over a
mountain ridge while Pathkiller's daughter and Moore were concealed
below another ridge. The angry Chief and his men often came
close to where his daughter and Moore were
hiding.
The two fugitives survived by eating berries and herbs and
whatever other raw food they found. Building a campfire was
not possible. Then bad weather came with a fury. Snow
blanketed the forest and for many days they were afraid to move out
of hiding for fear of leaving tracks in the snow. In desperation and
near starvation, they killed their pony for
food.
As the weather finally cleared after several days, the two
set out again. After several weeks, they finally reached the
safety of a white settlement.
Pathkiller's daughter gave up
her Indian identity and married Moore. Nancy Ann "Polly"
Pathkiller-Moore
and Robert A./Alec Moore had eight children. Polly Pathkiller Moore died
in Tennessee. Her husband preceded her in death.
Pathkiller died in 1827 in Hamilton County,
Tennessee. He is buried near the Tennessee and Georgia state
line. An historical monument of Chief Pathkiller stands
at the corner of the two states.
The children of
Nancy Ann "Polly" Pathkiller and Robert
Moore were:
Andrew Moore, 1804 - 1890,
Lawrenceburg, Missouri
Alec (Jack)
Moore
Lucinda Moore
Samuel A. Moore, 1805 - 1856, Knox County, Tennessee
Nancy Moore
Rachel Tabith Moore, March 4,1814 TN. (D) March 10,1887 Camden Co. Mo.
Cem./Decaturville
Cemetary.
Buried by
her husband John Calvin.
Polly Moore (Hollngsworth)
Martha Moore
The
daughter of Stand Watie, who signed the Treaty of New Echota,
married Charles Moore Woodall. Woodall was the son of Ellen
(Aisley) Moore Woodall who appears on the Old Settler's Payment
Roll. Ellen was the daughter of Charles (Shooter) Moore who
also signed the Treaty of New Echota with Stand Watie. Charles
Moore, whose Cherokee name meant Shooter, may have been related to
the English clan of Robert A.(?) Moore.
(One objection to
the assertion that Robert A. Moore was related to Charles Moore has
been received from a descendant. No proof of the objection was provided.)
About the time of the Removals, many
Cherokee and other indigenous people denied their Indian blood
quantum. A white trustee was often assigned to take charge of a
person and all his/her property if one was more than 1/4 Indian
blood. The Cherokee clan of Nancy Ann "Polly" Pathkiller were
fortunate they did not lose their lives to white greed because they
were connected to whites (Robert A./ Alec Moore) by marriage. They were unfortunate as
they were forced to leave their farms before finally resting in
Arkansas as Black Dutch.
The Chief Pathkiller and Colonel Pathkiller Connection
Documents supplied by Ace Murray, a
descendent of Pathkiller alleges that
Chief Pathkiller of the Cherokee Nation and Colonel Pathkiller of the Cherokee Nation
is the same person. Chief Pathkiller was married at least twice.
His first wife was Peggy and his second wife was named Sookie Martin.
Ace Murray submitted two documents to Harvey Moore of Missouri, that
purportedly shows that the Chief and Colonel were the same man. (Below
is a Power of Attorney dated October 5, 1816, that allegedly bears the "X"
of Chief Pathkiller.)
Here is what Wikipedia, the online
encyclopedia has to say about Chief Pathkiller:
"Pathkiller, (1749 to January 1827), was
the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, fought in the
Revolutionary War for Britain and in the wars against
American frontiersmen from 1783 through 1794. Pathkiller, a
"fullblood," unacculturated Cherokee, became principal chief
in 1811 and was the last individual from a conservative
background to hold that office. Although Pathkiller remained
principal chief through 1827, authority in the Cherokee
Nation, after 1813, shifted to Charles Hicks.... Pathkiller
was the mentor to John Ross, identifying the young Cherokee
of Scotch-Irish descent as the future leader of the Cherokee
people. Pathkiller is buried in New Echota Cemetery in New
Echota, Georgia."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathkiller
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The
burial site of Chief Pathkiller
New
Echota Cemetery |
The headstone at Echota gives the date of
"Col. Pathkiller". It is now supposed that Chief Pathkiller and Colonel Pathkiller
are one and the
same person. There remains some doubt about the exact date of death.
"The Cherokee Minute Docket of the 4th
Commission, Pages 72, 168, 246, 269 and 445" lists information and names of
the lawyers who represented "PathKiller's heirs to Reservation #165". On
page 445, decree 715 it list the heir as "Sarah Pathkiller, the daughter of
Pathkiller, who is now married to James T. Gardenhire".
"Pathkiller was head
of the tribe in name only. Men like the aging Charles Hicks and John Ross
were the real power-brokers, and they were united in their stand to create a
Cherokee Nation."
http://ngeorgia.com/history/cherokeehistory4.html
There remains some confusion about
two different burial locations. Chief Pathkiller had
a daughter by the name of Nancy Ann "Polly" Pathkiller who is rumored to have
run-off with a white solider by the name of Robert A. / Alec Moore.
Both Colonel Pathkiller and Chief Pathkiller
lived at St Clair, AL.
A book entitled, "History of
Hamilton Co. TN, Vol. 1, page 44" by Zella Armstrong"
says that Chief Pathkiller was Principal Chief of the
Cherokee Nation on January 8, 1827 when he died. Assistant Chief Broom, born
1796, was secretary of the Council in 1818 and treasurer succeeded
Pathkiller on January 8, 1827. In
the History of St. Clair, Alabama, page 30" states, "Chief
Pathkiller died
January 8, 1827". It
says that Chief Pathkiller was Principal Chief of the
Cherokee Nation on January 8, 1827 when he died. Assistant Chief Broom, born
1796, was secretary of the Council in 1818 and treasurer succeeded
Pathkiller on January 8, 1827.
Chief Pathkiller is presumed to have been
married to a full-blood Cherokee woman named Peggy. In the "Records of St.
Clair County, Alabama, page 18", it says, "Peggy Pathkiller's settlement
of estate, Oct. 31, 1833 was paid to her heirs: $455 to daughter Nancy, $375
to Nelly, $450 to Crying Snake. To Quata and George Cammell, $1,200; to
Eustace $300, to Jenny $1188.60; to Qualocoo and Beaver Tail $100 and to
Charqahyooca and Richard Rarliff $300."
Colonel Pathkiller is buried
at the New Echota Cemetery in New Echota, Georgia.
A monument of Chief Pathkiller stands today at the intersection of the
Georgia and Tennesee state lines at
Calhune, Georgia.
Harvey L. Moore of Missouri is related to Ailsey
Pathkiller and her marriages to William Gardenhire and Taylor Eldridge.
U'ga'lo'gv "Leaf" also known as Nellie Pathkiller married Dragging Canoe.
She thought to be the daughter of either Chief Pathkiller or Colonel
Pathkiller.
Acccording to Moore, "...I visited the
Pathkiller burial site at New Echota in Calhoun, GA and then went on to view the library files. I found it odd that burial site of
"Col. Pathkiller" was once quoted in a local 1930 Chattanooga, TN newspaper
as being the tomb of an "unknown Indian". However, to make it more
confusing, the records at New Echota says in the 1920s the Calhoun Womens
League erected the headstone monument for "Col. Pathkiller" at the [present
day] tomb site, so why in 1930 is he suddenly "unknown?"
"The headstone of the monument broke at
one point and noted an order form from the 1980's form for a new headstone.
The original, broken stone is now in storage at New Echota, said Moore.
"The Treaties with the Cherokee, dated
1816-1819, is signed by Pathkiller a Pathkiller, Jr. [See Ratified Treaty of
1819.] There is no other mention of him after that date. Could this have
been Col. Pathkiller and later Chief Pathkiller or is it the latter with
Archilla who would have been very young at that time?," asked Moore.
Moore asks, were Chief Pathkiller and
Colonel Pathkiller the same person?
Some records indicate the birth dates for
Chief Pathkiller and Colonel Pathkiller are twenty plus years apart, but the
death dates are but a single year apart.
"I have done a good bit of document
gathering on Chief Pathkiller and found nothing so far that might disprove
my current theory that Colonel Pathkiller (1742-1827) may have been the
father of Chief Pathkiller (1764-1828, aka Pathfinder.
If my theory is correct, Chief Pathkiller
and Peggy had at least 7 children (Chief Nunnaâ hi-Dihiâ, Nancy Ann
"Polly", U'ga'lo'gv "Leaf"
"Nellie", Quatee [Eliza?], Charwahyooca "Peggy", Jennie/Jenny, and
You'choo'howee'yuh "Bear Meat"). Together, Colonel Pathkiller
and Sookey had at least three
children: Ailsey, son Archilla, and Sarah. I believe all were Red
Paint Clan of the Overhill Cherokee.
"Again, this is only my theory and
nothing etched in stone. I gladly welcome any comments with factual
evidence to disprove the theory," said Harvey Moore.
It is generally believed the father of Chief (Colonel) Pathkiller was Chief
Kanagagota, Standing Turkey.
