The War in the Northwest 287 



near Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain towers aloft 

 into the clouds; at its base the river bends round 

 Moccasin Point, and then rushes through a gap be- 

 tween Walden's Ridge and the Raccoon Hills. 

 Then for several miles it foams through the wind- 

 ing Narrows between jutting cliffs and sheer rock 

 walls, while in its bowlder-strewn bed the swift tor- 

 rent is churned into whirlpools, cataracts, and rap- 

 ids. Near the Great Crossing, where the war par- 

 ties and hunting parties were ferried over the river, 

 lies Nick-a-jack Cave, a vast cavern in the mountain 

 side. Out of it flows a stream, up which a canoe 

 can paddle two or three miles into the heart of the 

 mountain. In these high fastnesses, inaccessible 

 ravines, and gloomy caverns the Chickamaugas built 

 their towns, and to them they retired with their 

 prisoners and booty after every raid on the settle- 

 ments. 



No sooner had the preliminary treaty been agreed 

 to in the spring of '77 than the Indians again began 

 their ravages. In fact, there never was any real 

 peace. After each treaty the settlers would usually 

 press forward into the Indian lands, and if they 

 failed to do this the young braves were sure them- 

 selves to give offence by making forays against the 

 whites. On this occasion the first truce or treaty 

 was promptly broken by the red men. The young 

 warriors refused to be bound by the promises of 

 the chiefs and headmen, and they continued their 

 raids for scalps, horses, and plunder. Within a 

 week of the departure of the Indian delegates from 



