Hanging Maw | |
|---|---|
| Died | c. 1794[1] |
| Title | First Beloved Man |
| Predecessor | Old Tassel |
| Successor | Little Turkey |
Hanging Maw, orUskwa'li-gu'ta in Cherokee, was from 1788 to 1794 the leading chief of theOverhill Cherokee, whose historic settlements were on the western side of theAppalachian Mountains. They were located in present-day southeastern Tennessee. He became chief following the death ofOld Tassel, and the abandonment of the traditional capital atChota after raids by European Americans.
Uskwa'li-gu'ta was born into his mother's family andclan, as the Cherokee had amatrilineal system. Accordingly, his maternal uncle would have taught him men's ways and guided him into the men's societies. He was a descendant of Moytoy III.
His wife Betsy was the sister of the chiefAttakullakulla.
Representing his mother's clan, Hanging Maw was on the tribal council for some time. Although Hanging Maw claimed the title of First Beloved Man by right as the chief headman of the Overhill Towns, the rest of the nation had chosenLittle Turkey when they moved the seat of the council south toUstanali on theConasauga River following the murder of Old Tassel.Uskwa'li-gu'ta was a descendant ofMoytoy of Citico. They both exerted power for some time.
Hanging Maw took part in theCherokee–American wars (1776–1794), including various attacks against settlers in Tennessee and Kentucky, including the capture ofDaniel Boone's daughter, Jemima in 1776. In February 1786 in Middle Tennessee, approximately 20 miles southeast of Lafayette, he led a party of 60 men in a skirmish with a surveying party, made up of John and Ephraim Peyton, Squire Grant, and two other white men. Outnumbered, the white men escaped the area, but lost their horses, game, and surveying instruments to the band of Cherokee. The stream at the site of the skirmish became known as "Defeated Creek."
In 1793, a diplomatic party from the Lower Cherokee (as the Cherokee still at war with the United States were by then called) was attacked by colonial militia while traveling toKnoxville, Tennessee, then capital of theSouthwest Territory. The militia pursued the Cherokee to Chota on theLittle Tennessee River. The town was much reduced since the capital had been moved to Unstanali, near present-dayCalhoun, Georgia. When the militia could not capture the diplomatic party, they attacked the people of the town, wounding Hanging Maw and killing his wife Betsy.
The Cherokee retaliated with an invasion of theHolston River settlements. They gathered the largest force of Indians to that point, more than 1,000 warriors from both the Cherokee and theUpper Muskogee, led byJohn Watts, the chief of the Lower Cherokee. Some warriors killed a European-American family at a small fortified settlement known as Cavett's Station, although Watts had promised them safe passage. The Cherokee became divided over this incident.
| Preceded by | First Beloved Man 1788–1794 | Succeeded by |