"Brothers Issued from One Womb"

"Brothers Issued from One Womb". . (left panel) , "I look upon the English and ourselves as many good things put into one pocket, as brothers that have issued from one womb." These were the words of King Hagler, the visionary leader of the Catawba (People of the River) from 1749-1763. He became friends with the Scots-Irish Thomas Spratt when settlers first moved into the Mecklenburg area. The Spratt family settled on lands purchased along Twelve Mile Creek near the Catawba Nation in 1750. Thomas Spratt assisted the tribe with leasing their land to white settlers and fought beside them against their longtime enemy, the Shawnee. As a result, he was given the Catawba name Kanawha (Friendly Brother). The relationship between these two men may have been one reason why the Catawba supported the Patriots during the American War of Independence., (caption) 1775 Map, Catawba Lands. Map: Courtesy of UNC Chapel Hill, (right panel) , Artist Chas Fagan putting the finishing touches on the clay sculpture of Thomas Spratt and King Hagler prior to casting it in bronze. This statue is part of the Trail of History, commemorating people who made significant contributions to the region's history and is located along the Urban Section of Little Sugar Creek Greenway., Spratt has lost his hat. Can you find it?, The long rifle held by Thomas Spratt is based on the Mecklenburg School of flintlock musket design, which was developed in this region., King Hagler's attire is based on George Washington's 1756 hand-written inventory of the gifts the Virginia Colony presented to the chief., One of the petroglyphs on the boulder where the statues of Spratt and Hagler stand depicts the location of the original Catawba settlements by the Catawba River and Sugar Creek., Photos: Charles Johnson