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The Path of Buffalo and WarriorsDuring the 17th century, the American bison, after a 1,100 year hiatus, resumed a migratory pattern into the southeast portions of North America. Besides foraging for grazing areas, these large path- |
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dotted present Kentucky and Virginia, and in doing so beat out a well-defined
trace. During the next two centuries travelers could follow such traces
on roads extending from near Roanoke, Virginia to central Illinois. Just
as this network of traces served as a corridor for native peoples, so
it served the European frontiersmen and settlers who followed. Foremost
among Indian routes in the eastern United States was the Warrior's Path,
which looped southward through the Cumberland Gap, connecting the Ohio
valley and that of the Shenandoah and the Potomac. Branches of the road
also continued southeast to the Cherokee and Creek settlements. In short,
the path laid down by animals and native peoples was ready to be adapted
by opportunists from the colonies on the Atlantic seaboard.
Early travelers included Gabriel Arthur and Dr. Thomas Walker in the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively. Walker's account in 1750 gives the first Anglo eyewitness description of Cumberland Gap, the entrance of the present Cudjo Caverns, the spring emanating from it, and the Indian road Walker followed. During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), exploration and travel temporarily halted. But in 1763 a group of "long hunters" led by Elisha Walden (Wallen) crossed into Kentucky through Cumberland Gap. Success of the hunt brought others to Kentucky, including Daniel Boone, the individual most identified with the Gap, who traversed it in 1769. |
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