484 RABUN COUNTY. 



lieutenant in your king's service, was taken in nay camp as a 

 spy. He was tried as a spy, he was condemned as a spy, and 

 he shall be hanged as a spy. P. S. Afternoon. He is hanged." 

 Upon the loss of Fort Montgomery, Washington directed 

 Putnam to fix upon a spot on which to build another fortifica- 

 tion ; and to him belongs the credit of selecting West Point. 

 In December, 1779, while on his way from Connecticut to 

 Head Quarters, General Putnam was attacked by a paralytic 

 affection, under which he languished until his life was brought 

 to a close, 29th of May, 1790, aged 72 years. " Born a hero 

 whom nature taught and cherished in the lap of innumerable 

 toils and dangers, he was terrible in battle. But from the ami- 

 ableness of his heart, when carnage ceased, his humanity 

 spread over the field like the refreshing zephyrs of a summer's 

 evening. The prisoner, the sick, the forlorn, experienced the 

 delicate sympathies of this soldier's pillar."* 



RABUN. 



Boundaries, Extent. — Rabun forms the N. E. corner of 

 the State, and is bounded N. by Macon county. North Caro- 

 lina, E. by Chattooga river, which separates it from South 

 Carolina, S. by Habersham, and W. by Union. Laid out 

 in 1819. It is 20 miles long, and 20 wide, containing 400 

 square miles. 



Rivers, Creeks. — The Tennessee, Chattooga, Tallulah, and 

 Ulufta rivers, are the principal streams. The creeks are 

 Gumekeloke, War Woman's, Stekoa, Tiger Tail, Wild Cat, 

 Persimmon, and Mud creeks. The Tennessee river rises in 

 this county, within four miles of Clayton, and soon swells to a 

 considerable stream. The gap of the Blue Ridge, near its 

 source, is perhaps the lowest in the United States. The wa- 

 ters of the Savannah rise near the same point. General Millar, 

 who once resided in this county, commenced a canal to unite 

 the waters of the Tennessee with those of the Savannah. 



* Thatcher's Journal. American Biographical Dictionary. National Por- 

 trait Gallery. 



