Thougts on Appalachians
The Appalachians are represented on calendars out of proportion to their modest height. Why is this? Here are some reasons-great fall color. The Appalachians constitute a greater barrier than other large American ranges, as testified by the long time it took the settlers to cross them. Remember that it took from 1607 to the 1790's before the trans-Appalachian states of Vermont and Kentucky were added to the United States. Much of this delay was because of the hard-fought battles with native peoples.
There are well known battles west of the Mississippi but neither so large nor as disastrous as St. Clair’s encounter with Little Turtle. None of these encounters is more ferocious than Lovell’s fight with Paugus in the White Mountains, or the resistance of the Cherokee.
Why is this? I have suggested that it is due to the sustained nature of the barrier but might it also be due to the aesthetics of the region? In the 1690’s, John Gyles, was informed by his Malecite captors that the White Hills of the “Teddon” (Katahdin) were higher that the White Hills of Agiockochook(Mt Washington) above the Saco. The Cherokee also fought hard to remain in the Smokies. Here are a few inadequate views of this now tranquil but historically disputed range.
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