Two
hundred years ago, early explorers of the Southern Appalachians
pondered the piles of stone they encountered at “all the gaps in
the mountains.”
While
most of those cairns have disappeared, they remain a mystery. One
such rock pile has survived, though, at the middle of a highway
intersection in Lumpkin County, Georgia. Where U.S. 19 and GA 60
cross, 10 miles north of Dahlonega, a state historic marker
designates the grave of a Cherokee princess, Trahlyta.
As
it was with other Cherokee princess legends, a thwarted romance led
to a tragic ending. The Trahlyta tale has one added twist: A fountain
of youth conferring ageless beauty upon those who drink its waters.
Trahlyta and her people lived on nearby Cedar Mountain. The resident
sorcerer, now known as the Witch of Cedar Mountain, guided Trahlyta
down a winding forest path to a freshwater spring. The Witch of Cedar
Mountain instructed Trahlyta to drink the water and make a wish to
never grow old. “You will become more beautiful with each sip,”
the witch promised Trahlyta.
Sure
enough, the magical waters had the intended effect. As news of
Trahlyta’s radiant beauty passed from village to village, eager
suitors made their way to Cedar Mountain. Trahlyta refused them all,
but the Cherokee warrior Wahsega would not take “no” for an
answer. He kidnapped the princess and took her back to his home far
away.
Trahlyta
longed for her family and friends on Cedar Mountain and begged for
her freedom, but Wahsega showed no mercy. Day by day, Trahlyta’s
strength ebbed, her beauty faded and her despair deepened. Crying
tears of gold, knowing the end was near, she made one final
request—to be buried near her idyllic mountain home, and that
passersby drop a stone on her grave for good fortune.
“The
Song of Trahlyta” commemorates the princess and her dying wish:
Pass not by, Stranger! Stop! Silently bare your head, drop a stone
upon her grave, and make a wish straight from her heart. The Spirit
of Eternal Youth and Happiness hovers near to grant the wishes of all
who love the hills and valleys of her native home.
Seekers
of good fortune, dropping one rock at a time, have turned Trahlyta’s
grave into a prominent landmark at Stonepile Gap. It endures thanks
to another legend, that anyone taking a stone from the pile will
incur the wrath of the Witch of Cedar Mountain.
The
curse packs a mighty wallop, depending on who you talk to. Some say
the Georgia Department of Highways set out to relocate the grave,
twice, to make road construction more convenient. On both occasions,
fatal accidents occurred during attempts to move the pile of rocks.
So today the roads barely skirt the memorial and the stone cairn
still stands. Even without leaving their cars, travelers can chunk
another stone on the pile. Each year, hundreds do. Or they
leave other tokens and trinkets to appeal to the “Spirit of Eternal
Youth and Happiness.”
But
what about that fountain of youth which proved to be a mixed
blessing, at best, for poor Trahlyta? The springs, now known as
Porter Springs, are located about three-quarters of a mile northeast
of Trahlyta’s grave. Some folks contend that Hernando de Soto heard
about the fountain’s powers in 1540 and sent his conquistadors to
investigate. Reports of a Spanish helmet found close by the spring
have been offered as evidence of this early search for the magical
waters.
Joseph
H. McKee, a Methodist preacher who also dabbled in real estate, took
note of the springs in the 1860s. Upon testing the water, he found
that it contained abundant quantities of therapeutic minerals. McKee
publicized his findings and people seeking cures for rheumatism,
dyspepsia, dropsy and other ailments flocked to Porter Springs. They
would camp nearby, bathe in the waters and take home gallons of the
liquid, convinced (or at least hopeful) of its healing powers.
Before
long, a hotel was constructed to accommodate the many visitors to
Porter Springs, and it became a thriving resort. Around this same
time the tale of Trahlyta circulated widely, adding to the allure of
the mountain spa. Though the hotel burned to the ground in the early
1900s, the spring waters continue to flow. Modern explorers, inspired
by a visit to the stone pile at Trahlyta’s grave, sometimes set off
to find the spring and to see for themselves if its mysterious waters
still provide the gift of ageless youth and beauty.
Maybe
the Witch of Cedar Mountain was right. Thanks to that legendary sip
from the fountain of youth, Trahlyta will always be young and
beautiful in the minds of those who hear her story or add a rock to
her monument at Stonepile Gap.