Westward from the headwaters of Oconaluftee river, in the wildest
depths of the Great Smoky mountains, which form the line between
North Carolina and Tennessee, is the enchanted lake of Atagâ'hi, "Gall
place." Although all the Cherokee know that it is there, no one has
ever seen it, for the way is so difficult that only the animals know
how to reach it. Should a stray hunter come near the place he would
know of it by the whirring sound of the thousands of wild ducks flying
about the lake, but on reaching the spot he would find only a dry flat,
without bird or animal or blade of grass, unless he had first sharpened
his spiritual vision by prayer and fasting and an all-night vigil.
Because it is not seen, some people think the lake has dried up
long ago, but this is not true. To one who had kept watch and fast
through the night it would appear at daybreak as a wide-extending
but shallow sheet of purple water, fed by springs spouting from the
high cliffs around. In the water are all kinds of fish and reptiles,
and swimming upon the surface or flying overhead are great flocks
of ducks and pigeons, while all about the shores are bear tracks
crossing in every direction. It is the medicine lake of the birds
and animals, and whenever a bear is wounded by the hunters he makes
his way through the woods to this lake and plunges into the water,
and when he comes out upon the other side his wounds are healed. For
this reason the animals keep the lake invisible to the hunter.