The Natchez Trace

Old Trace @ Mile Marker 398

Day 41: Saturday, September 22, 2001

The Old Trace

Notice the branching trail heading off to the right. This is a common feature of the Trace. There were no nearby highways or parking lots to guide people, and farms were few-and-far between.
The ground was relatively soft, so the wear and tear of the many human and animal feet that used the trace over many, many years wore it down so that it was below the surrounding ground — several feet below the surroundings in some places. This caused water to collect there and mire the path in mud. Traveling the trace was a miserable experience.

Chickawaw Land

The sign says:
Before 1805 the Chickasaw Indians owned all the land in this vicinity. Only the Natchez Trace — part of which remains here — had made inroads into tribal territory.
     When the Indians ceded land to the United States in the early 1800s, the Natchez Trace became a boundary. In 1816 the tribe ceded a much larger tract. Eventually the Chickasaws left their homeland. In 1837 the government removed them to Indian Territory in Oklahoma over the tragic "Trail of Tears."

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