Cowee′, properly Kawi′yĭ, abbreviated Kawi′, was the name of two Cherokee
settlements, one of which existed in 1755 on a branch of Keowee river, in upper
South Carolina, while the other and more important was on Little Tennessee
river, at the mouth of Cowee creek, about 10 miles below the present Franklin,
in North Carolina. It was destroyed the Americans in 1876, when it contained
about a hundred houses, but was rebuilt and continued to be occupied until the
cession of 1819. The name can not be translated, but may possibly mean “the
place of the Deer clan” (Ani′-Kawĭ′). It was one of the oldest and largest of the
Cherokee towns, and when Wafford visited it as a boy he found the trail leading
to it worn so deep in places that, although on horseback, he could touch the
ground with his feet on each side.
There is a story, told Wafford as a fact, of a Shawano who had been a
prisoner there, but had escaped to his people in the north, and after the peace
between the two tribes wandered back into the neighborhood on a hunting trip.
While standing on a hill overlooking the valley he saw several Cherokee on an
opposite hill, and called out to them, “Do you still own Cowee?” They shouted opposite hill, and called out to them, “Do you still own Cowee?” They shouted
in reply, “Yes; we own it yet.” Back came the answer from the Shawano, who
wanted to encourage them not to sell any more of their lands, “Well, it’s the best
town of the Cherokee. It’s a good country; hold on to it.”