Last Monday a fire swept through the Teepee Village strip mall on the Cherokee Indian Reservation, Cherokee, NC, destroying twenty businesses. Snakes Alive, a popular snake attraction, was gutted, killing all the reptiles. No people were injured.

Cherokee has been mysteriously put to the torch several times in the last few years, with a frequency rarely seen even at aging Wild West Towns. Half of Teepee Village burned down in 1996 -- the devastation stopped just feet from Snakes Alive. In 1994, the adjacent Saunook Village went up in smoke.

About 50 feet from Teepee Village, Chief Henry (World's Most Photographed Indian) and his roadside Teepee remain unharmed.

[04/18/1999]