from Colonel William H. Thomas, who says that Tâle'danigi'ski was a
chief formerly living near Valleytown, in Cherokee county. The name is
variously rendered "Hemp-carrier," "Nettle-carrier," or "Flax-toter,"
from tâle'ta, the richweed (Pilea pumila), a plant with a fibrous
stalk from which the Indians wove thread and cordage. The trail along
which the Seneca came ran from Valley river across the ridge to Cheowa
(Robbinsville) and thence northwest to connect with the "great war
path" in Tennessee (see historical note 19).
Cairns--Stone cairns were formerly very common along the trails
throughout the Cherokee country, but are now almost gone, having been
demolished by treasure hunters after the occupation of the country
by the whites. They were usually sepulchral monuments built of large
stones piled loosely together above the body to a height of sometimes
6 feet or more, with a corresponding circumference. This method
of interment was used only when there was a desire to commemorate
the death, and every passer-by was accustomed to add a stone to the
heap. The custom is ancient and world-wide, and is still kept up in
Mexico and in many parts of Europe and Asia. Early references to it
among the southern tribes occur in Lederer (1670), Travels, page 10,
ed. 1891, and Lawson (1700), History of Carolina, pages 43 and 78,
ed. 1860. The latter mentions meeting one day "seven heaps of stones,
being the monuments of seven Indians that were slain in that place by
the Sinnagers or Troquois [Iroquois]. Our Indian guide added a stone
to each heap." The common name is the Gaelic term, meaning literally
"a pile."
Seven wives--Polygamy was common among the Cherokee, as among nearly
all other tribes, although not often to such an exaggerated extent
as in this instance. The noted chief Yânûgûñski, who died in 1839,
had two wives. With the plains tribes, and perhaps with others, the
man who marries the eldest of several daughters has prior claim upon
her unmarried sisters.