Even though the Cherokee was one tribe, they
fought among themselves. They used some of their slaves and captives in battles.
Their technique was to hit and run. They engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
They
did not have any armies. Instead,
the Cherokee had war parties ranging anywhere from five warriors to one hundred
warriors.
When
the Indian tribes retreated, they spread out in many different groups to confuse
their enemy tribe. Then, later, they joined together and attacked again.
The Cherokee thought that killing murderers kept
the world in balance. They thought that after a person died, the spirit did not
rest until the murderer was killed. They also thought that torturing captives
helped send dead spirits to the Darkening Land. The Darkening Land was thought
to be where the spirits of dead people would go to rest. Most of the captives
the Cherokee took were burned at the stake. They even sold enemy captives as
slaves. The Cherokee considered it a tragedy if a person on their side died.
