MooM-v] LOCAL LEGENDS OF NORTH CAROLINA 411 



tradition, ovory uniinal on arrivinir at this spot was accustomed to 

 scratcli tiic gi-tmiid like a turkey. 



Vengeanck ckkek: A south triltutaiy of Valley rivei', in Cherokee 

 county. Socallefl l)y tiie tirst setthM-s from an old Indian woman who 

 lived there and whom they nicknamed "■ Vengeance," on account of 

 her cross looks. The Cherokee call the district Gansa'ti'yl, "Robbing 

 place." from their having rol)bed a trader there in tlie R(>volution. 



Waya cjap: a gaj) in tlie Nantahala mountains, iiii Macon county, 

 where the trail crosses from Laurel creek of Nantahala river to Car- 

 toogaja creek of the Little Tennessee. The Cherokee call it A'tahi'ta, 

 "Shouting plave." For the tradition see number 13. It was the 

 scene of a stubborn encounter in the Revolution (see page 49). The 

 name Waya appears to be from the Cherokee wd!' yn, "wolf." 



Webstek: Tiie county seat of Jackson county, on Tuckasegee river. 

 Known to the Cherokee as Unadanti'yi. '"Where they conjured." 

 The name properly belongs to a gap H miles east of Webster, on the 

 trail going up Scotts creek. According to tradition, a war party of 

 Shawano, coming from the direction of Pigeon river, halted here to 

 "make medicine" against the Cherokee, but while thus engaged were 

 surprised by tiie latter, who came up from liehind and killed .several, 

 including the conjurer. 



YA'NU-DiNEHf'N'yi: "Where the bears live," on Oconaluftee river, 

 about a mile al)()ve its junction with Tuckasegee, in Swain county. 

 A family of "water bears" is said to live at the bottom of the river 

 in a deep hole at this point. 



YA'Nr-u'NATAWASTi'Yi: "Where the bears wash." a small pond of 

 very cold, purple water, which has no outlet and is now nearly dried 

 up, in a gap of the Great Smoky mountains, at the extreme head of 

 Raven fork of Oconaluftee. in Swain county. It was said to be a 

 favorite })ear wallow, and according to some accounts its waters had 

 the same virtues ascrilied to those of Ataga'iii (see numl)er 69). 



Yaw.^'i: " Yawa place," a spot on the soutii side of Yellow creek of 

 Cheowa river, in Graham county, about a mile above the trail cross- 

 ing neai' tiie nioutli of the creek. The legend is that a mysterious 

 per.sonage, apjiarently a liuman being, formerly haunted a round knol> 

 near there, and M'as scmietimes seen walking about the toj) of tiie 

 knol) and crying. V'l/rd'.' YdV'tV ! while tlie sound of invisible guns 

 c^ime from tiie hill, so that the people were afraid to go near it. 



123. LOCAL LEGENDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA ' 



As the Cherokee withdrew from ail of Soutli Carolina except a small 

 strip in th(^ extriMiie west as early as 1777, the memory of the old 

 legends localized within the state lias completely fadi'd fiom the tril)e. 

 There remain, howevi-r. some local names upon wliidi the whites who 



