Born in Tellico Plains near Coker Creek, Wail Dalton learned how to thrive in the mountains of Appalachia. He learned how to track animals and hunt, derive medicines from herbs and plants, make his own huts, whips, whistles and slingshots. He learned how to play baseball using bats he fashioned from young ash trees. When Wail went to fight in Europe in WWII, he was recruited to work in reconnaissance, because of his keen perception and skill as a tracker.