Thread by @bradkelly

The Legend of the Moon-Eyed people.

According to formulations of Cherokee legend as told by historians, the Cherokee in Appalachia--before the arrival of colonists--expelled a race of small, bearded people who could only see by night.

Some historians claim that the legend states that the Moon Eyed people were white. This is likely an embellishment. But it's used to explain the existence of a few anomalous sites. Such as the vaguely European-style Fort Mountain Stone Wall

There are also claims (including on a Fort Mountain State Park Plaque and, supposedly, by the 18th C. Cherokee chief Oconostota) that the Moon Eyed people are descendants of the Welsh prince Madoc--who, according to Welsh legend, sailed to America in 1170.

There are several stories from the 1600s about explorers & colonists in North America encountering Welsh-speaking "Indians"--descendants of Madoc.
As president, Thomas Jefferson requested that the Lewis & Clark expedition find the descendants of Madoc.

Some legend attributes a variety of Appalachian oddities to the Moon Eyed people. Like Judaculla Rock--a petroglyph boulder with over 1,500 markings. Some motifs that are not observed elsewhere.

Stories vary about what happened to the Moon-Eyed people. They were extirpated by the Cherokee, goes one story, or driven West. My favorite is that the Moon-Eyed people moved into the cave complexes of Appalachia. There, their peculiar sensitivity to daylight was not a hindrance.

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