Ataga 'hi means "the Gall Place". Ataga 'hi is a magical lake of healing waters fed by crystal clear springs from the high mountains. It is hidden in a secret place in the wildest depths of the Great Smoky Mountains. When an injured animal makes his way into the waters of Ataga 'hi and swims across to the other side his wounds are healed.

No man has ever known the location of Ataga 'hi because the way there is too difficult. Only the animals know of its location and they have the power to make the lake invisible to men. Unable to find the magical lake many assume that it does not exist or that it has gone dry. The animals know that this is not true.

A brave can see the lake in his spiritual vision if he will "sharpen his spiritual eye" through a night of fasting and prayer. At early morning, just as the day breaks, the lake will appear before him as a wide sheet of dark blue water shrouded in the morning mist.