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Photo 3: Rattlesnake Springs.

Rattlesnake Springs was one of the stockade camps where Cherokees were initially collected after being forced off of their land. It is located in the far southeastern corner of Tennessee, near the North Carolina border. The farm buildings shown in this recent view would not have been there in 1838.

Questions for Photo 3

1. There were 600 Cherokees camped at Rattlesnake Springs in July 1838, waiting to leave for the west. Why do you think the U.S. Army might have located a camp here?

2. There were more than 4,800 Cherokees waiting at camps in this general area before relocation. How difficult do you think it would have been to provide food and supplies for such a large group in a sparsely populated rural area?

3. The final Council of the eastern Cherokees was held at Rattlesnake Springs. Lamentations were pronounced and the Council determined to continue their old constitution and laws in the new land. Why do you think it was important to the Cherokees to do these things before leaving for the west?

* The image on this screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a larger version of Photo 3, but be aware that the file will take as much as 45 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.