The legend of Tsali, immortalized in Cherokee oral history, is to this day a deeply emotional reminder of the tragedies that befell the tribe in the 1830s. When General Winfield Scott’s troops were arresting Cherokee families to send to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears, Tsali, a farmer from Wesser, was taken. He and his family were forced to leave their farm and orchards on November 18, 1838. Along the way, it is said, Tsali and his family managed to escape, after a struggle that left the soldiers dead – leaving Tsali, his sons Lowney and Ridge, and son-in-law Nantalayee, wanted men.
Approximately four hundred people had already taken to the forests during the Cherokee removal, somehow evading capture. When Tsali and his family fled into the mountains, the US Army’s attention returned to the fugitive population with fiercer scrutiny. Tradition says that the Army proposed a bargain with the Cherokee, if Tsali and the other men in his family would submit to arrest and execution, the Army would allow the rest of the refugees in that part of the mountains to remain on their land. Tsali and the others were arrested and executed by firing squad. Oral history tells that Tsali insisted that fellow Cherokees rather than white soldiers make up the firing squad. Tsali, Lowney, Ridge, and Nantayalee’s graves are now under Lake Fontana.
Today, a recreation area bears the name of the one who gave his life for the lives of many. Tsali Recreation Area has long been a top destination for mountain biking in Western North Carolina, and even the entire eastern US. Containing nearly 40 miles of trails in the system with four excellent loops, it has been rated as one of the top 10 places to ride in the USA. The area is located about fifteen miles from Robbinsville, at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains. The four long main trails at Tsali wind along the lake shore and onto the wooded, steep interior ridges. There are several connector trails, gravel roads and extension trails that give a few more options for rides besides the main loops. Three designated overlooks along the trails provide sweeping views of Fontana Lake with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the other side.
Please see our website, www.BlueWatersMtnL.com for more details.