from Swimmer. Nikwasi' or Nikw'si', one of the most ancient settlements
of the Cherokee, was on the west bank of Little Tennessee river, where
is now the town of Franklin, in Macon county, North Carolina. The
mound upon which the townhouse stood, in a field adjoining the river,
is probably the largest in western Carolina and has never been
explored. The Cherokee believe that it is the abode of the Nûñne'hi
or Immortals (see number 78) and that a perpetual fire burns within
it. The name, which can not be translated, appears as Nucassee in old
documents. The British agent held a council here with the Cherokee
as early as 1730. Although twice destroyed, the town was rebuilt and
continued to be occupied probably until the land was sold in 1819.
Bring the news home--It was a frequent custom in Indian warfare
to spare a captive taken in battle in order that he might carry
back to his people the news of the defeat. After the disastrous
defeat of the French under D'Artaguette by the Chickasaw in upper
Mississippi in 1736, D'Artaguette, Lieutenant Vincennes, Father
Senac, and fifteen others were burned at the stake by the victors,
but "one of the soldiers was spared to carry the news of the triumph
of the Chickasaws and the death of these unhappy men to the mortified
Bienville" (Pickett, History of Alabama, p. 298, ed. 1896).