<Announcer> A production of South Carolina ETV This marker indicates the path of the Great Wagon Road, the route followed by the earliest settlers of Upstate South Carolina.

Many of these were of Scots-Irish descent.

This is a story of these pioneers who pushed back the wilderness, especially Thomas "Kanawha" Spratt, one of the first white settlers of the area and a loyal friend of Native Americans of the Catawba Nation.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ The Upcountry of South Carolina was an untamed wilderness until the mid-18th century when Scots-Irish pioneers began settling in this region.

They were a hearty race of people who carved communities out of an unknown land.

Through sheer determination and an unyielding spirit, they brought civilization to an untamed wilderness.

Thomas Spratt is said to have been one of the first white settlers in York County.

He is buried here in the Spratt family cemetery in Fort Mill.

Spratt was befriended by the Catawba Indians who gave him the nickname Kanawha, which means "great spirit."

It's not known exactly why they nicknamed him so, but in learning about his life, it becomes easy to understand why they befriended him.

Spratt arranged a 99-year lease for several thousand acres of virgin land near the Catawba River.

It's not known precisely how large this lease was, but some of it is still in the possession of his descendants.

In order to understand Thomas Spratt, we first must understand his Scots-Irish heritage.

The word Scots-Irish might be thought to be an American term indicating a blending of nationalities, a melting pot, developed during the colonial times, but this is not the case.

The term Scots-Irish grew in the mid-17th century.

In 1640, Oliver Cromwell led an army of Puritans against the monarchy.

Charles I was defeated, and for 20 years England was governed by a Puritan government, until the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II in 1660.

During this time, the Act of Conformity was imposed upon everyone, meaning that those who did not conform to the tenets of Puritanism would be strongly persecuted.

At this time, many Scots of the Presbyterian faith simply could not conform and moved to northeastern Ireland.

Other Scots people were made indentured servants, shipped to Ireland on an infraction of some law, either real or imagined, and were forced to become the servants of wealthy English landlords.

Also, a narrow band of land at the northern part of England was cleared of all people in order to serve as a military zone to stop the border wars.

Now, this invasion of the English had begun many centuries before in Ireland, and that is the root of the tensions there today.

[vehicular noise] Since they were despised by the English, one would think that the Scots-Irish would be welcome brethren among the native population.

However, this was not the case.

The Scots despised the Irish natives and looked upon them as an inferior race.

No matter how poor a Scots-Irish family was, they still identified themselves with the English, with the conquerors of Ireland, and always maintained a thought that they were in status with the conquering race.

This divergence of opinion, as well as differences in temperament and in social, political, and religious feeling, made the fusion of the races impossible.

However, after living there for several generations, the Scots-Irish developed a new culture and ethnic pattern which was distinctly their own.

They adopted some of the witty, more pleasant characteristics of the Irish people, while retaining the thrift, industry, and strong adherence to principles of right and wrong for which the Scots people have always been highly commended.

[vehicular noise] Many Scots-Irish immigrated to America during the mid-18th century.

A majority of these settled in southern Pennsylvania in the Gettysburg area.

They still retained much of their English heritage.

Communities such as Lancaster and York, Pennsylvania, were named after cities in their native England.

So even though they were in the New World, the Scots-Irish retained much of the influence of their ancestral homeland.

[vehicular noise] The Scots-Irish were rovers.

That is to say, when an area became too heavily populated, they simply moved elsewhere.

Many moved south to the Pi edmont and Appalachian areas, and those who stayed in upper South Carolina formed small communities.

Again, the maps held names of English cities, such as York, Chester, and Lancaster, South Carolina.

Most of the Scots-Irish immigration occurred 30 years before the American Revolution.

Although the Lowcountry was heavily populated, the Upcountry was virtually a wilderness.

But the Scots-Irish families didn't mind the dangers of the wilderness or the great distance from civilization because, after all, they simply wanted to be left alone.

[vehicular noise] This brings us to Thomas "Kanawha" Spratt, one of the first settlers of the York District.

He was born on ship as his parents immigrated from Ireland to the colonies.

His father, Thomas I, followed the Great Wagon Road into what is now Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and it is said that Thomas I was the first white settler south of the Yadkin River.

Thomas II lived on his father's plantation in what is now Charlotte, North Carolina, When his father died, he sold the land and decided to move to the Long Cane settlement in Abbeville District.

So with his few personal possessions loaded on a covered wagon, he and his wife Elizabeth set out on the long journey to Abbeville District.

[birds chirping] The route used in those days was called the Catawba Path and later the Great Wagon Road.

It began in Virginia, ran through the Carolinas, and ended in Georgia.

In the 17th century, it was used mainly by Indians and traders who led caravans of packhorses through wilderness.

By the 18th century, the wagons had dug deep ruts in the old Indian path.

[bird twittering] Thomas and Elizabeth traveled 16 or 17 miles the first day of their journey.

Then they decided to stop and spend the night near the Catawba River at a spring surrounded by beautiful oak trees.

The following story, told by generations of descendants of the Spratts, may be counted as oral history.

After Thomas tended the horses and Elizabeth prepared supper, they settled around the campfire for their first meal on the trail.

Suddenly, coming from the darkness of the woods, they were completely surrounded by Indians!

They worried a great deal, but the Indians came not in the spirit of fighting.

They were interested to know why the campfire and possibly intrigued by the odors from Elizabeth's good cooking pot.

Soon the leader of the Catawbas and Spratt settled down for a lengthy and interesting conversation.

Spratt and the leader of the Catawba Nation, King Haigler, had a lengthy fireside chat.

The king wanted to know where Thomas was going and why.

When he learned Spratt wanted to go to the Long Cane settlement, he said there was plenty of land there that the Spratts could use that was owned by the Catawbas.

Thomas thought, Well, it was 80 miles to Long Cane.

Finally, he decided to stay.

Later he determined that the place where they spent their first night would be the site for their new home.

[fire crackling] [bird chirping] Thomas Spratt was the first white man to lease land from the Catawbas.

After that, they developed a permanent relationship based on mutual respect.

According to family history, Kanawha acted as an advisor to the Catawbas, and it's said that he exerted much influence in keeping to a minimum any hostilities between the Catawba Nation and white settlers.

A good example of the friendship between Thomas Spratt and the Catawbas occurred on May 20, 1775.

Spratt and a contingent of Catawbas rode up Nation Ford Road to Charlotte to take part in a very important event.

Many had come from miles around to witness this historic moment of the signing of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, a historic event which separated that section from the rule of King George III and the British.

But instead of dipping into an inkwell, Kanawha dipped into a jug of liquor.

Caught in the spirit of the day, he threw his hat into the air!

He became extremely boisterous... in fact, so boisterous that he was arrested and thrown in the local jail to cool off.

A few blocks away were the Catawbas, also enjoying a jug of spirits.

When they heard about the incarceration of their friend, they held an impromptu council of war, because the laws of King George and his officials meant little to them.

After they finished the jug, they decided to go liberate their tipsy friend.

The Catawbas mounted their ponies and rode to the jail.

The jail was a small building, very crude, made of wide oak planks nailed to the sills and uprights.

Dismounting, the Catawbas simply took the planks off the jail, brought out their old friend Kanawha, put him on a horse, and made their escape.

Of course, the other prisoners escaped too.

That escape was not very subtle.

What a sight that must have been, to see all of these inebriated tribesmen and one drunken Scots-Irishman whooping and hollering as they rode around the courthouse, not once but three times.

Finally they went back to their homes on the Catawba River.

♪ Later an event occurred which shows Spratt's prestige with the Indians.

He had to be a bit of a diplomat, too, in this lawless frontier where sometimes incidents occurred.

An itinerant French dancing master, who played violin as well, was walking along the road through Indian land when he came upon five Indians at a spring.

He decided to join them for a drink of water and began to play the fiddle.

Now, the Indians gathered around the musician because they had never heard such melodies as those which came from that strangely shaped box.

After a few tunes, the Frenchman said good-bye and went on his way.

However, one of the Indians, who coveted it, slipped ahead, set an ambush, and shot and killed the Frenchman so that he could possess this beautiful instrument.

It didn't take long for everyone in the area to know a white man had been killed by an Indian.

It didn't take detectives to find out who did it.

The only clue needed was who was in possession of the violin.

There was no magistrate or court of justice.

However, there was a kind of justice... Catawba justice.

[footfalls tapping] Thomas Spratt considered it his duty to help keep the peace between the Indians and the settlers.

He knew the potential danger of any overreaction from the white people.

So with four other white men, he set out to find King Haigler, the monarch of the Catawba Nation, who was on a hunting expedition.

They found him near Steele Creek.

King Haigler greeted them in his usual cordial manner.

Then Spratt asked, "Are we not all friends and brothers?"

King Haigler replied that, yes, they were.

Spratt then went on to tell him of the murder of the Frenchman by an Indian.

King Haigler frowned and said, "Justice shall be done and done immediately."

He asked the white men to sit down.

He strode up to the top of a small hill.

He cradled a silver-mounted rifle, then raised a hunting horn to his mouth, and blew a long, shrill cry, which echoed through the forest.

His eyes scanned the area, like an eagle searching for prey.

Not a word was spoken because the white men were seated below the king and did not know what King Haigler had in mind.

♪ In a few moments, an Indian appeared in the distance.

Upon recognizing him, King Haigler dropped to one knee, took aim, and fired.

The bullet was true to its path, and the Indian fell dead, a victim of the royal monarch's justice.

King Haigler then went to each of the men, shook hands with them as a token of continued friendship.

What Spratt and his friends saw that day was severe, but it was an example of justice.

That was King Haigler's way and the Indian way... a life for a life.

It would have done no good to argue with King Haigler's law because that might have destroyed the good relations.

Spratt and his party could only observe and accept it.

♪ King Haigler then invited Spratt and his companions to have dinner with him.

They were glad to accept.

Dinner was venison cooked without salt and roast sweet potatoes served on pine bark platters.

The men had barely begun their dinner when the king had everything removed and a fresh serving given to each one.

This was repeated several times during the meal.

Spratt finally realized what the king was doing.

He was imitating the English way of serving formal dinners, because at one time King Haigler had the honor of having dinner in Charleston with Lieutenant Governor Bull and had observed that plates were changed after each course.

He thought this was grand, so he had it done in honor of his white visitors.

With stomachs full, satisfied with the events of the day, the men left King Haigler and returned home.

From that day onward, never again was a white man slain by a Catawba.

Spratt and King Haigler had one thing in common.

They were very quick to administer punishment for any offense.

In the early days of our country, there were many nesters or squatters, pioneers who would make a home on unoccupied lands and stay there until the settlers came.

When they felt too close to civilization, they would just pull up stakes and head into the wilderness again.

They depended upon the settlers for hospitality, such as food and drink and sometimes a place to stay.

Once a squatter came to Thomas Spratt's house and asked for breakfast.

Thomas wasn't home, but Elizabeth served him.

Instead of being polite and cordial, he was abusive and rude.

Then he went on down the road.

When Thomas heard this, he became very angry.

He mounted his horse and took off after the squatter.

He found him and beat him with a rawhide whip!

He pulled down the man's britches, built a fire, heated a branding iron, and branded "TS" on his hip!

In great anger, he rode back home and took the horse through the Catawba River.

The poor horse went into shock and died the next day.

Such was the punishment and the anger of Thomas "Kanawha" Spratt.

♪ Another example of Spratt's anger is the incident in which he loaned a horse to a Catawba friend named New River.

To go to a trading event, he asked to borrow a horse and saddle.

During the event, New River imbibed too much.

When he was ready to go home, he was too drunk to notice one of the stirrups had gotten caught up under the saddle.

He rode home Indian fashion, legs hanging down on each side of the horse, because most Indians didn't use a saddle.

He was not aware of the wound the saddle was making.

When Spratt found the injury to the horse, he became so angry at his friend New River, he hit him with a pole!

Spratt was not to be taken lightly.

♪ Thomas Spratt had a gentle side, which he revealed from time to time.

New River married the sister of King Haigler.

They had one child, whom they named Sally.

At this time the population was decimated by epidemics of smallpox and yellow fever... the fate of New River and his wife.

They died when Sally was five years old.

Undoubtedly a Catawba family would have raised Sally, but Spratt did something unprecedented at the time.

He brought the little orphan Catawba princess into his home.

After all, she was the niece of his old friend, King Haigler.

A few years before, King Haigler had been ambushed and killed by a marauding party of Shawnee warriors.

Spratt was absolutely devastated by this death of his friend.

After all, Haigler persuaded him to make his home on Catawba land.

So Spratt reared Sally with his own daughters, educated her, and gave her all the advantages.

She stayed with his family until her 18th birthday.

♪ Sally returned to her people expecting to receive her rights of monarchy.

The Catawbas received her enthusiastically but wouldn't make her queen.

When America received independence from Britain and rejected all forms of monarchy, so did the Catawba Nation.

After the death of King Haigler, each new leader was given a military title, such as general.

Sally was received with love by the Catawbas.

They built her a beautiful home so she could live among them.

She did, but she frequently paid long visits to the home of her childhood, that of her foster father, Thomas "Kanawha" Spratt.

She was given a beautiful silver medal by George Washington when he came through this area in the early 1800s, a gift to the Catawba Nation from the American people in appreciation for the continued loyalty of Catawbas.

Sally never married, and she lived to be a very old lady.

With her death, the lineage of the royal family of the Catawba Nation ended.

♪ Thomas Spratt's life was adventurous and colorful.

He lived among the Catawbas as one of the first white settlers in this area.

He fought gallantly against the British for independence.

A doctor who knew him said he had an iron constitution and could have lived to be well over 100 if he had taken better care of himself.

He died at the age of 76 on July 21, 1807, one of the great frontiersmen of his age.

♪ In our age of superhighways and fast means of travel, the Great Wagon Road is almost forgotten.

Yet this was the route followed by the earliest pioneers of this area, many of whom were of Scots-Irish descent.

They brought with them courage and knowledge gained through hard experience, as exemplified in the life of Thomas "Kanawha" Spratt.

Perhaps they're thought of in our national anthem... "Then conquer we must, for our cause, it is just.

And this be our motto, 'In God do we trust.'"

Today our frontiers are no longer physical.

Yet as we face the problems of our modern world, are we, in our spirit as Americans, really so very different?

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