Who were the mysterious moon-eyed people said to have roamed the Appalachian Mountains before the Cherokee? 🌐 #News #AshvilleNC #NorthCarolina #WeirdNews
ASHEVILLE, NC — In the rugged landscapes of the southern Appalachian Mountains, whispers of a lost race known as the moon-eyed people have intrigued historians, archaeologists, and folklore enthusiasts in North Carolina for centuries. According to Cherokee oral tradition, these short, bearded, white-skinned individuals inhabited the region long before the Cherokee arrived, only to be driven out or vanish into obscurity.
Described as struggling to see in daylight, their name, “moon-eyed,” evokes an air of mystery, hinting at a people adapted to the shadows of night or perhaps marked by a striking physical trait. Early European settlers in America, eager to unravel the secrets of the land’s ancient past, documented these stories, preserving a legend that continues to spark debate.
Early Accounts and Historical Mentions
The earliest written reference to the moon-eyed people appears in Benjamin Smith Barton’s 1797 book, New Views of the Origin of the Tribes and Nations of America. Barton, citing Colonel Leonard Marbury, a Revolutionary War officer and intermediary with the Cherokee, recounts that the Cherokee found the region occupied by these peculiar people who “could not see in the day-time” and subsequently expelled them. Marbury’s account, rooted in his conversations with the Cherokee, suggests a tangible historical presence, though details remain elusive…