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the Soque River -
History
The following two stories
were written by Clarkesville resident, John Kollock. John may be
best known for his artwork depicting scenes and sites from northeast
Georgia. Part of the creation of each image, whether it is a sketch
or a full-fledged painting, involves research. John often writes
narratives that result from his research to accompany each image. He and his wife Nancy Kollock are strong
supporters of the work of the Soquee River Watershed Association (That
additional ‘e’ is intentional!). Information about John’s work may be
obtained through the Saturday Shop,
saturdayshop@yahoo.com.
Fur Traders at Soquee
Village – 1750
Following is the story,
written by John Kollock, to accompany the watercolor “Fur Traders at Soquee
Village – 1750” which was released in 2004.
In
the early eighteenth century the entire Northeast corner of Georgia was
part of the
Cherokee Nation. Scattered throughout the forests and rich bottom
land were principal towns, which were permanent settlements with a council
house, and temporary villages where there was good hunting. Principal
towns were always located near rivers or bold streams. Some times, as in
the case of the town in
Nacoochee Valley, the council house was located on a raised mound
built by a previous tribe known as the
Mound Builders.
Between the towns were narrow footpaths which were used as
trading routes and, where there was conflict, as War Paths. Indians
engaged in trade spoke a language called
Mobilian which was understood by many tribes across the continent.
When the Europeans settled along the coastline, they looked
about for ways to make a profit from the land around them. Trading
companies were established and pack trains ventured into the Cherokee
Nation to barter for goods that could be marketed in
Europe. The forests abounded with wildlife – deer, wolf, bear,
wildcat, buffalo and elk. The pelts could be sold for a good profit. The
fur traders, who were known as the Mountain Men, might spend the winter
traveling among the Indian villages with a train of horses loaded with
colored cloth, pots, pans, axes, knives, kettles, and firearms. These
they offered in exchange for the furs which the Cherokee, until this time,
had trapped only for their own use.
In the spring of the year the fur traders traveled down to
Augusta where the trading companies were located. The pack horses
were loaded with pelts. At this season, at what were called “The
Gatherings”, there might be as many as two thousand horses and six hundred
men celebrating the end of the year’s isolation in the forests.
The locations of Cherokee towns were shown on some of the
early maps. One map shows a settlement called Sookee, located on the
Sookee River above
Deep Creek. The exact location has never been established, but there
is much evidence in the form of pottery and arrowheads in the area. The
Unicoi Turnpike, which was built in 1817-18, followed much of the
trail established by the Cherokee from
Toccoa to Unicoi Gap. It passed near the general location on the map.
It should be noted that the spelling of the river has been
variously Sookee, Sakwiyi, Suki, Sakwi, and in Mooney’s “Myths of the
Cherokee” – Soquee.
The Cherokee spoken word would have been written in English to
approximate a double EE sound, as in Nacoochee, Chattahoochee, and
Cherokee. It was not until the 1970’s that the last E was incorrectly
dropped.
Myths
of the Cherokee, James Mooney. New York:
Dover Publications, 1900.
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Soquee River Days
Following is the story, written by John, to accompany the watercolor
“Soquee River Days” which was released in 1999.
Sukym, Skwiyi, Sakwi, Suki, Sukee, Soque, Soquee…it has been
spelled many ways since the time of the
Cherokee. In James Mooney’s Myths of the Cherokee it is
spelled Soquee and also refers to Sakwiyi as “being a former settlement
on the
Soquee River, a head-stream of the
Chattahoochee, near Clarkesville,
Habersham County,
Georgia. Also written Saukee and Sookee. The name has lost its meaning.”
George White in The Statistics of the State of Georgia written in
1849 refers to the Soquee River; as does Health Resorts of the South
in 1892; and more recently Soquee appears on a survey map of property done
in 1948 and the General Highway Map of Habersham County done by the
Federal Highway Administration in 1987.
How then did our little river lose its final E. Perhaps it is
part of the new fashion of cutting our language down into letters like
UPS, AMA, PDQ and so forth. I suppose in the coming years of Y2K we will
find names like Naccooche, Chattahooche, and Cheroke in common use.
Already we find that majestic river below us being called the “hooch”.
The actual village site mentioned is open to speculation. A
large flat-topped hill above the
Hardman
Bridge
and the fields surrounding where a quantity of artifacts have been found,
suggests a possible location. At least we liked to think so when we were
young.
The Soquee River is unique in that it begins and ends within
Habersham County. The headwaters rise in the
Chattahoochee Forest around Goshen Mountain and gather force from the
many little streams and branches that flow down into it as it passes –
Oakey Creek, Roper Creek, Goshen Creek, Baker Branch, Long Branch, Shoal
Branch, Ben Tatum Branch, Porter Mill Branch, Glade Creek, Deep Creek, and
Hazel Creek – to mention a few.
By the time the Soquee reaches
Clarkesville there is enough water to supply the town. Further
downstream at a series of rapids it once powered an Iron mill and later
the
Habersham Mills. Eventually at the county line the Soquee gives up
her name to the
Chattahoochee, and together they flow to help fill
Lake Lanier and eventually supply, in a much filtered and recycled
form, the drinking water for
Atlanta.
In the early years of the century the Soquee was a different
color. I grew up thinking that all moving water was red. In those days
corn was the main farm crop. The much plowed red clay fields drained away
in wet weather and tinted the water. When we wore bathing suits in
swimming, which was not often, the heavy wood garments would become
clogged with grit. Even after skinny dipping it was usually necessary to
take an ice cold shower under the cistern to get the clay out of your
hair.
When
Kentucky 31 Fescue was introduced to the area the fields turned to
pasture land and the river began to clear up. Today there is much more
concern for the well-being of the waterways. Chemicals, subdivisions, and
industry make it necessary to monitor the watershed. The work of those
concerned is greatly to be applauded. It is hopeful that in the years of
the next century the river may regain its original pre-pioneer quality.
And perhaps it will even regain its missing E.
Myths of the Cherokee.
James Mooney.
New York:
Dover Publications, 1900.
The Statistics of the State of Georgia,
George White. Savannah: W. Thorne Williams, 1849.
Health Resorts of the South.
Boston: G.H. Chapin, 1892. |
