Existing comment:
Earliest Travelers: Hunters and Warriors:
This Cherokee depended on the abundance of game he found on the west side of Cumberland Gap. Using a bow and arrows with chert points, he hunted bison, deer, and elk. These animals provided him good, furs for clothing, and a source for weapons, tools, and jewelry.
Occasionally, opposing tribes fought for control of the land. The Iroquois claimed the Cumberland area by right of conquest, while the Shawnee and Cherokee believed it to be a common hunting ground. They traveled through Kentucky on a trail Algonquin-speaking tribes called Athawominee, which meant "path of the armed ones." The pioneers later called it the Warrior's Path. Fighting between the American Indian tribes only increased after Euro-American hunters arrived seeking valuable pelts, which increased the competition for the game animals. |