Granite cliffs and bald mountains stared down at me from either side as we drove through Hickory Nut Gorge, home of the village of Chimney Rock. Travelling north the east is guarded by a steep mountain adorned with sheer rocky cliffs and crowned with trees. The west is fortified by an equally steep mountain topped with smooth-faced granite and also crowned with trees. Jutting straight up, high beside the mountain to the west is the rather phallic Chimney Rock.
This gorge was carved out by the Rocky Broad River over eons of time. The width of this valley at the Village of Chimney Rock is no wider than a quarter of a mile. Deep within a foreboding gorge I wondered what our pagan ancestors, the Cherokee, thought of this place.
In my research I’ve yet to find anything on Chimney Rock itself. However, according to James Mooney, author of History, Myths and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee, this valley was considered mystical and austere – it was here that the mischievous Little People dwelt. According to Cherokee legend the Hickory Nut Gorge served as the gateway to the country where tobacco could be obtained. However, passing through the gorge was no easy feat as one would have to befriend, defeat or outwit the Little People in order to pass to the east and obtain for the tribe the sacred herb of tobacco.
First a young hero steps up to the task – but he never returns.
Next, a magician takes on the quest. He begins by turning himself into a mole – and while successful in passing through the valley the spirits pursued him and he returned empty-handed.
On his second attempt the magician turns himself into a hummingbird and experiences limited success. A small amount of tobacco was returned. When he returns to his homeland he discovers a number of his friends to the point of death in need of tobacco – so he decides to avenge the death of the young warrior whose went missing in the valley and take sole possession of the tobacco once and for all.
On this final trip through Hickory Nut Gorge he turns himself into a whirlwind, stripping the mountains of their vegetation and turning over boulders which he scattered throughout the narrow valley. This was enough to frighten the Little People who fled the valley. Passing through the valley today one sees the walls of the mountainsides bare of vegetation and rocks strewn throughout the valley as the Rocky Broad River winds its way through the land. I’m not too sure, however, that the Little People were fully dispersed.
My quest for more information about this valley continues…the book, In the Shadows of Chimney Rock may contain more.
Rob in a Rush 