Spirit of the Proud Land

About the Book

Spirit of The Proud Land reflects the story of two young boys. One, being a Cherokee living on the Hiwassee River in Tennessee, while the other lad lived on the river by the same name, a few miles across the border in North Carolina. The two youths met while hunting in the mountains, and soon became blood brothers. Before coming of age, some Cherokees took a white man’s name. Since the white youth was named John Ridge, the young warrior chose his white brother’s name and would be forever called The Ridge.

After his days on the warpath were finished, The Ridge took Susanna Wickett as his bride. He settled in a beautiful valley along the Oothcaloga Creek and became a town chief. During visits with his white friend he could see that the Unaka culture was much better than the Cherokee way of life. From that moment on he was determined to educate his children and see that his people became accustomed to the white man’s way of life. This book reveals the true story of The Ridge and his trials and tribulations to become a successful planter and important chief of the Cherokee Nation.

We will look at the grave adversities that so greatly affected the mighty warrior’s life. His friendship with Andrew Jackson in the horrifying Creek war of 1812 where the chief was given the rank of Major by the fiery general. This book examines the conflict that President Jackson bestowed upon the red man that covered his army’s rear in battle.

Spirit of the Proud Land reflects John Ridge, son of the chieftain, who obtained an education in the east, allowing him to become a Cherokee lawyer. His marriage to a white woman in Connecticut and the hatred of the bias patriots of New England. Sarah Northrup Ridge would become the wife of the Indian barrister and raise her large family in the Cherokee Nation.

During the same period, The Ridge’s blood brother grew to manhood in a fertile valley on the Hiwassee River in North Carolina. After the invention of the cotton gin, the small communities exhibited rapid growth and the entire south exploded with success. Due primarily to cotton, the sleepy hamlet of Hardin, North Carolina swelled with population overnight. Because of this rapid growth, saloons, with their crooked gamblers, sprang up quickly. Bordellos, with their ladies of the evening, emerged in this now thriving town. With no law and order about, John Ridge was appointed to the office of town marshal.

Meanwhile, his brother-in-law, Joseph Westmoreland of Georgia began the first of many years of strife while raising a large family in this frontier wilderness. Land grabbers, drought and famine, caused Westmoreland to move his family three times,  eventually settling in Montgomery County, Alabama. This novel reflects on three generations of Westmorelands from the American Revolution to the Creek wars and beyond.

Godfrey Ridge was the son of John and Sybilla Ridge of Hardin, North Carolina. His life reveals the hardship of losing your father and striking out on your own. He was forced to grow to manhood at an early age. While working on freight wagons out of Charlotte, North Carolina, he experienced road bandits, saloon trollops and the repulsive slave market in Savannah, Georgia. With the aid of his friend, Patrick O’Callahan, young Ridge would discover a world he never dreamed of.

However, within a few years, he would turn to the Chieftain Ridge, who would replace the void in his life left by the death of his father. But, when eventualities became unbearable, young Ridge turned to his father’s silver badge that he kept next to his heart. With that shiny symbol of courage, he could talk to his father and discover a fragment of peace and serenity.

About the Author

George Self grew up in the pineywoods of rural East Texas. Ironically, his background lies not in writing, but, instead, in Country Music and politics. However, the love of history and tracing his roots has always been a huge part of his life. He and his wife, Glenda, live in Nacogdoches, the oldest town in Texas. They have two daughters and four grandchildren.