WRITER - HISTORICAL FICTION
JAMES H. BIRD
Books in Review
In this section of Bird's Bl9og of Babel I discuss the book or books that I am currently reading. Since I read mostly historical fiction many of the books here will be reference in nature. If you are an author and would like me to review your book drop me a line and we can discuss it.
History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees
James Mooney
©1992 Bright Mountain Books
From Goodreads:
Originally published in 1891 and 1900, Myths of the Cherokees and The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees have been the definitive work on the customs and beliefs of the Cherokee people for decades. Now combined in a single volume, this comprehensive work details and records the history, material culture, oral tradition, language, arts, and religion of the Eastern Cherokee. Mr. Mooney lived with, ate with, even spoke with the Cherokee in their native tongue, and his work was relied upon by students of Native American culture, general readers, and many of the Cherokee people themselves. Combining various methods of research and utilizing sources from his subjects, Mooney added a new dimension to the recording of Native American history. This new edition of Mooney's two historic books features a biographical introduction by George Ellison that provides background information on Mooney's life. His insights into Mooney and the people he studied add a new dimension to our knowledge of the well-known and widely respected anthropologist and his career.
From Me:
I have done a lot of research on the Cherokee and by far this is the best source of information about the Eastern Band that I have seen. A little short on illustrations but packed full of information when it was still fresh at the time Mooney wrote these books. I plane to visit the Cherokee over the course of the spring and summer to conduct physical research for my book Tullahoma Mud. Mooney’s book will arm with enough knowledge to feel comfortable speaking with these people over potentially troubling subjects.
Mooney’s writes about Cherokee history, religion and mythology, legends, language including a glossary, vocabularies, and secret rituals and formulas to give a complete and compelling account of Cherokee life. This is their story before the Trail of Tears. Also fascinating but sad is some of the customs they lost after contact with European settlers.
The Wataugans, First “free and independent community on the continent…”
Max Dixon
© 1989 Overmountain Press
From Goodreads:
Originally published as part of a series for the Tennessee American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, this well-written volume gives necessary background information and details the early activities in that area in the 1760s. It thoroughly covers the settlement during its vanguard role in the 1770s and chronicles the various events that brought a change from that of a holding action to one of aggressive expansion in the 1780s.
From Me:
Theodore Roosevelt called the Wataugans the first “free and independent community on the continent…” established by Europeans of American birth. The Wataugans built a small settlement between the Clinch and Bay Mountains on the high ranges of the Cumberland Plateau in the Holston river valley were the that river forks southwestwardly from western Virginia into what was then North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Mountains flanked them on the other side. I will be visiting this beautiful area over the next year for research for Tullahoma Mud (working title) a novel I am writing. The Wataugans Association formed a working self-government between to great wars, the Seven Years Wars (erroneously named French and Indian War) concluded in 1763 and the War for American Independence, which began in 1775.
In the decade following the American Revolution, a bitter political battle developed over the land west of the Appalachian Mountains. Pressure from the federal government resulted in the 1784 cession of the western claims of North Carolina. Shortly afterward, the North Carolina legislature rescinded the cession, but the settlers had already taken action. A new and independent state was declared—the state of Franklin. For four years the Franklin government functioned under its own laws, courts, and elected officials. Simultaneously, North Carolina continued to claim sovereignty over the region, enforcing the claim with its own laws, courts, and officials. The area eventually became what is today Tennessee.