HISTORICAL DATA.

RETURN J. MEIGS AND THE CHEROKEES.

Return J. Meigs had for nearly twenty years[270] occupied the position of United States agent for the Cherokee Nation. As a soldier of the Revolutionary war he had marched with Arnold through the forests of Maine and Canada to the attack on Quebec in 1775.[271]

He had also, by his faithful, intelligent, and honest administration of the duties of his office as Indian agent, secured the perfect confidence of his official superiors through all the mutations of administration. He had acquired a knowledge of and familiarity with the habits, character, and wants of the Cherokees such as was perhaps possessed by few, if indeed by any other man.

Any suggestions, therefore, that he might make concerning the solution of the Cherokee problem were deserving of grave consideration. His views were submitted in detail upon the condition, prospects, and requirements of the Cherokee Nation in a communication to the Secretary of War.[272] To his mind the time had arrived when a radical change in the policy of managing their affairs had become essential. Ever since the treaty of 1791 the United States, in pursuance of a policy therein outlined for leading the Cherokees toward the attainment of a higher degree of civilization, in becoming herdsmen and cultivators instead of hunters, had been furnishing each year a supply of implements for husbandry and domestic use. In consequence a respectable proportion of that nation had become familiarized with the use of the plow, spade, and hoe. Many of their women had learned the art of spinning and weaving, and in individual instances considerable progress had been made in the accumulation of property. Agent Meigs now thought that the point had been reached where the Cherokee people should begin to fight their own battles of life, and that any further contributions to their support, either in the shape of provisions or tools, would have only a tendency to render them more dependent upon the Government and less competent to take care of themselves. Those who were already advanced in the arts of civilized life should be the tutors of the more ignorant. They possessed a territory of perhaps 10,000,000 acres of land, principally in the States of Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, for the occupation of which they could enumerate little more than 10,000 souls or 2,000 families. If they were to become an agricultural and pastoral people, an assignment of 640 acres of land to each family would be all and more than they could occupy with advantage to themselves. Such an allotment would consume but 1,280,000 acres, leaving more than 8,000,000 acres of surplus land which might and ought to be sold for their benefit, and the proceeds (which he estimated at $300,000, to be paid in fifty annual installments) applied to their needs in the erection of houses, fences, and the clearing and breaking up of their land for cultivation. The authority and laws of the several States within whose limits they resided should become operative upon them, and they should be vested with the rights, privileges, and immunities of citizens of those States. These views met with the concurrence of the administration, and would possibly have been carried into effect but for the intense hostility thereto of not only the unprogressive element among the Cherokees themselves but of the officials and people of the States most interested, who could not view with complacency the permanent occupation of a single acre of land within their limits by the aboriginal owners.

TENNESSEE DENIES THE VALIDITY OF CHEROKEE RESERVATIONS.

About this time trouble arose between the authorities of the State of Tennessee and the surveyor (Robert Houston) who had been intrusted with the duty of laying off such individual reservations as should be taken under the provisions of the treaties of 1817 and 1819. Mr. Houston reported to the Secretary of War that the legislature of Tennessee had refused to confirm all such reservations taken in virtue of the provisions of those treaties subsequent to the 1st of July, 1818, or, in other words, after the time provided for taking the Cherokee census had expired, and desired the opinion and instructions of the Department thereon. The question involved in this dispute was deemed of sufficient importance to secure an official opinion from the Attorney-General prior to directing any further action.[273] An opinion was rendered[274] by Attorney-General Wirt, the substance of which was that the right of taking these reservations having been in the first instance given by the treaty of 1817 until the census should be taken, and the time for taking the census having been, by the acquiescence of both parties to the treaty, kept open until the conclusion of the treaty of February 27, 1819, all the reservations taken prior to this latter date were legal, more especially as they had been ratified by the recognition of them contained in the treaty of 1819. Furthermore, the second article of that treaty, taken in connection with the seventh article, continued the period for taking reservations until the 1st of January, 1820. Mr. Houston was instructed[275] to proceed to lay off the reservations in consonance with this opinion, notwithstanding which the authorities of Tennessee took issue therewith and passed a law providing for the sale of the disputed reserves, whereupon the War Department instructed[276] Agent Meigs to cause one or two test cases to be prepared for trial in the courts.

While on the subject of these reservations it is pertinent to remark that by act of March 3, 1823, Congress appropriated $50,000 to be expended in extinguishing the Indian title to such individual fee simple reservations as were made within the limits of Georgia by the Cherokee treaties of 1817 and 1819 and by the Creek treaties of 1814 and 1821. James Merriwether and Duncan G. Campbell were appointed as commissioners to carry the same into effect. Twenty-two thousand dollars were also appropriated May 9, 1828, to reimburse the State of North Carolina for the amount expended by her authorities in extinguishing Cherokee reservation titles in that State under the treaties of 1817 and 1819.

UNITED STATES AGREE TO EXTINGUISH INDIAN TITLE IN GEORGIA.

By an agreement between the United States and the State of Georgia bearing date April 24, 1802,[277] Georgia ceded to the United States all the lands lying south of Tennessee and west of Chattahoochee River and a line drawn from the mouth of Uchee Creek direct to Nickojack, on the Tennessee River. In consideration of this cession the United States agreed to pay Georgia $1,250,000, and to extinguish the Indian title whenever the same could be done on peaceable and reasonable terms; also to assume the burden of what were known as the Yazoo claims.

Georgia charges the United States with bad faith.—Ever since the date of this agreement the utmost impatience had been manifested by the Government and the people of the State of Georgia at the deliberate and careful course which had characterized the action of the General Government in securing relinquishment of their lands in that State from the Creeks and Cherokees. Charges of bad faith on the part of the United States, coupled with threats of taking the matter into their own hands, had been published in great profusion by the Georgians. These served only to enhance the difficulties of the situation and to excite a stubborn resistance in the minds of the Indians against any further cessions of territory.

Report of Congressional committee.—The subject was brought to the attention of Congress through the action of the governor and legislature of Georgia. A select committee was appointed by the House of Representatives, at the first session of the Seventeenth Congress, to take the matter into consideration and to report whether the said articles of agreement between that State and the United States had so far been executed according to the terms thereof, and what were the best means of completing the execution of the same. This committee submitted a report to the House,[278] wherein, after reciting the terms of the agreement, allusion is made to the Creek treaty of 1814, and the opinion expressed that the agreement might have been more satisfactorily complied with by demanding the cession at that treaty of the Creek lands within Georgia's limits, instead of accepting in large measure those within the Territory of Alabama. The Indians were by this action forced, in the opinion of the committee, within the limits of Georgia, instead of being withdrawn therefrom.

Respecting the Cherokee treaty of July 8, 1817, the committee say that some time previous to its conclusion the Cherokees had represented to the President that their upper and lower towns wished to separate; that the Upper Cherokees desired to be confined to a smaller section of country and to engage in the pursuits of agriculture and civilized life; that the Lower Cherokees preferred continuing the hunter's life, and, owing to the scarcity of game in their own country, proposed to exchange it for land on the west of the Mississippi River; that to carry into effect these wishes of the Indians the treaty of 1817 was held, and the United States then had it in their power to have so far complied with their contract with Georgia as to have extinguished the title of the Cherokees to most of their lands within the limits of that State; that this could readily have been done, for the reason that the Upper Cherokees resided beyond the boundaries of Georgia, and had expressed a desire to retain lands on the Hiwassee River, in Tennessee, whilst the Lower Cherokees, who were desirous of emigrating west, mostly resided in the former State. But, in spite of this opportunity, the United States had purchased an inconsiderable tract of country in Georgia and a very considerable one in Tennessee, apparently in opposition to the wishes of the Indians, the interests of Georgia, and of good faith in themselves. By this treaty the United States had also granted a reservation of 640 acres to each head of an Indian family who should elect to remain on the eastern side of the Mississippi. This the committee viewed as an attempt on the part of the United States to grant lands in fee simple within the limits of Georgia in direct violation of the rights of that State. The provision permitting Cherokees to become citizens of the United States was also characterized as an unwarrantable disregard of the rights of Congress. It was further asserted that by the treaty of 1819 the United States had shown a disposition and determination to permanently fix the Cherokee Indians upon the soil of Georgia, and thereby render it impossible to comply with their contract with that State. Yet another feature of this treaty too objectionable to be overlooked was the agreement of the United States that 12 miles square of land ceded by the Indians should be disposed of and the proceeds invested for the establishment of a school fund for those Indians. In conclusion the committee suggested that in order to a proper execution of the agreement with Georgia it would be necessary for the United States to relinquish the policy they had apparently adopted with regard to civilizing the Indians and keeping them permanently on their lands, at least in respect to the Creeks and Cherokees, and that appropriations should be made from time to time sufficiently large to enable the Government to hold treaties with those Indians for the extinguishment of their title.

Commissioners appointed to negotiate a new treaty.—Stimulated by the sentiments so strongly expressed in this report of a committee of the House of Representatives, the executive authorities determined to make another effort to secure a further cession of territory from the Cherokees.

Accordingly the President appointed[279] General John Floyd, Maj. Freeman Walker, and Hon. J. A. Cuthbert, all of Georgia, commissioners to negotiate a treaty with that nation, and advised them of his earnest desire that a cession should be secured from the Indians such as would prove satisfactory to that State. Messrs. Walker and Cuthbert declined their appointments, and Duncan G. Campbell and General David Merriwether were appointed[280] in their places. General Merriwether dying shortly after, was succeeded by Maj. James Merriwether, whom it had been the original intention to appoint, but for whose name that of General Merriwether had been inserted in the primary appointment through mistake. Before any active steps had been taken toward the performance of the duties assigned the commission, General Floyd resigned,[281] and the President determined to allow the remaining two members to constitute the full commission. Their appointment was submitted to and approved[282] by the Senate, and in the transmission of their new commissions by the Secretary of War perseverance and judicious management were enjoined upon them as essential to success in their negotiations. It would seem that all their perseverance was needed, for the commissioners were unable to secure even an interview with the Cherokee authorities until a date and place had been designated for the fourth time.

Death of Agent Meigs.—About this time[283] Agent Meigs, who since 1801 had represented the Government with the Cherokees, died, and ex-Governor McMinn, of Tennessee, was appointed[284] to succeed him.

Failure to conclude proposed treaty.—The treaty commissioners finally met the council of the Cherokee Nation at Newtown, their capital, on the 4th of October, 1823.[285] They were also accompanied by Johnson Wellborn and James Blair, who had been appointed by the governor of Georgia as commissioners to advance the interests and protect the rights of that State. The negotiations were all conducted in writing, and form an interesting chapter in the history of the methods used throughout a long series of years to secure from the Cherokees, by "voluntary, peaceful, and reasonable means," the relinquishment of their ancestral territory. The commissioners set forth their desire to procure the cession of a tract of country comprising all to which the Cherokees laid claim lying north and east of a line to begin at a marked corner at the head of Chestatee River, thence along the ridge to the mouth of Long Swamp Creek, thence down the Etowah River to the line to be run between Alabama and Georgia, thence with that line to the dividing line between the Creeks and Cherokees, and thence with the latter line to the Chattahoochee. In consideration of this proposed cession, the commissioners agreed that the United States should pay the sum of $200,000 and also indemnify the nation against the Georgia depredation claims, as well as the further sum of $10,000 to be paid immediately upon the signing of the treaty.

To this proposition, in spite of the threatening language used by the commissioners, the Indians invariably and repeatedly returned the answer, "We beg leave to present this communication as a positive and unchangeable refusal to dispose of one foot more of land."[286]

The commissioners, seeing the futility of further negotiations, adjourned sine die,[287] and a report of their proceedings was made by Commissioner Campbell thirty days later, Major Merriwether having in the mean time resigned.

Cherokees ask protection against Georgia's demands.—Shortly following these attempted negotiations, which had produced in the minds of the Indians a feeling of grave uneasiness and uncertainty, a delegation of Cherokees repaired to Washington for a conference with the President touching the situation. Upon receiving their credentials, the Secretary of War sounded the key-note of the Government's purpose by asking if they had come authorized by their nation to treat for a further relinquishment of territory. To this pointed inquiry the delegation returned a respectful and earnest memorial,[288] urging that their nation labored under a peculiar inconvenience from the repeated appropriations made by Congress for the purpose of holding treaties with them having in view the further purchase of lands. Such action had resulted in much injury to the improvement of the nation in the arts of civilized life by unsettling the minds and prospects of its citizens. Their nation had reached the decisive and unalterable conclusion to cede no more lands, the limits preserved to them by the treaty of 1819 being not more than adequate to their comfort and convenience. It was represented as a gratifying truth that the Cherokees were rapidly increasing in number, rendering it a duty incumbent upon the nation to preserve, unimpaired to posterity, the lands of their ancestors. They therefore implored the interposition of the President with Congress in behalf of their nation, so that provision might be made by law to authorize an adjustment between the United States and the State of Georgia, releasing the former from its compact with the latter so far as it respected the extinguishment of the Cherokee title to land within the chartered limits of that State.

The response[289] of the Secretary of War to this memorial was a reiteration of the terms of the compact with Georgia and of the zealous desire of the President to carry out in full measure the obligations of that compact. The manifest benefits and many happy results that would inure to the Cherokee Nation from an exchange of their country for one beyond the limits of any State and far removed from the annoying encroachments of civilization were pictured in the most attractive colors, but all to no purpose, the Cherokees only maintaining with more marked emphasis their original determination to part with no more land. Seeing the futility of further negotiations, the Secretary of War addressed[290] a communication to the governor of Georgia advising him of the earnest efforts that had been made to secure further concessions from the Cherokees and of the discouraging results, and inviting an expression of opinion from him upon the subject.

Governor Troup's threatening demands.—Governor Troup lost no time in responding to this invitation by submitting[291] a declaration of views on behalf of the government and people of the State of Georgia, the vigorously aggressive tone of which in some measure perhaps compensated for its lack of logical force. After censuring the General Government for the tardiness and weakness that had characterized its action on this subject throughout a series of years and denying that the Indians were anything but mere tenants at will, he laid down the proposition that Georgia was determined at all hazards to become possessed of the Cherokee domain; that if the Indians persisted in their refusal to yield, the consequences would be that the United States must either assist the Georgians in occupying the country which is their own and which is unjustly withheld from them, or, in resisting the occupation, to make war upon and shed the blood of brothers and friends. He further declared that the proposition to permit the Cherokees to reserve a portion of their land within that State for their future home could not be legitimately entertained by the General Government except with the consent of Georgia; that such consent would never be given; and, further that the suggestion of the incorporation of the Indians into the body politic of that State as citizens was neither desirable nor practicable. The conclusion of this remarkable state paper is characterized by a broadly implied threat that Georgia's fealty to the Union would be proportioned to the vigor and alertness with which measures were adopted and carried into effect by the United States for the extinguishment of the Cherokee title.

Response of President Monroe.—These criticisms by the executive of Georgia, which were sanctioned and in large measure reiterated by the legislature and by the Congressional delegation of that State,[292] called forth[293] from President Monroe a message to Congress upon the subject in defense of the course that had been pursued by the executive authorities of the United States. Accompanying this message was a report[294] from John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, wherein it is alleged that at the date of the compact of 1802 between the United States and Georgia the two Indian nations living within the limits of that State (the Creeks and the Cherokees) were respectively in possession of 19,578,890 and 7,152,110 acres of territory. At the date of such compact, treaties existed between the United States and those tribes defining the limits of their territories. In fulfillment of the stipulation with Georgia, seven treaties had been held with them, five of which were with the Creeks and two with the Cherokees. The lands thus acquired from the former in Georgia amounted to 14,449,480 acres and from the latter to 995,310 acres. In acquiring these cessions for the State of Georgia the United States had expended $958,945.90, to which should be added the value of the 995,310 acres given by the Cherokees in exchange for lands west of the Mississippi, the estimated value of which, at the minimum price of public lands, would amount to $1,244,137.50. The United States had also (in addition to $1,250,000 paid to Georgia as a part of the original consideration) paid to the Yazoo claimants, under the same compact, $4,282,151.12, making in the aggregate $7,735,243.52, which sum did not include any portion of the expense of the Creek war, whereby upwards of 7,000,000 acres were acquired for the State of Georgia.[295]

The President expressed it as his opinion that the Indian title was not in the slightest degree affected by the compact with Georgia, and that there was no obligation resting on the United States to remove the Indians by force, in the face of the stipulation that it should be done peaceably and on reasonable conditions. The compact gave a claim to the State which ought to be executed in all its conditions with good faith. In doing this, however, it was the duty of the United States to regard its strict import, and to make no sacrifice of their interest not called for by the compact, nor to commit any breach of right or humanity toward the Indians repugnant to the judgment and revolting to the feelings of the whole American people. The Cherokee agent, Ex-Governor McMinn, was shortly afterward ordered,[296] "without delay and in the most effectual manner, forthwith to expel white intruders from Cherokee lands."

Alarm of the Cherokees and indignation of Georgia.—The views expressed by the governor and legislature of Georgia upon this subject were the cause of much alarm among the Cherokees, who, through their delegation, appealed[297] to the magnanimity of the American Congress for justice and for the protection of the rights, liberties, and lives of the Cherokee people. On the other hand, the doctrines enunciated in President Monroe's special message, quoted above, again aroused the indignation of the governor of Georgia, who, in a communication[298] to the President, commented with much severity upon the bad faith that for twenty years had characterized the conduct of the executive officers of the United States in their treatment of the matter in dispute.

Message of President John Quincy Adams.—Every day but added acrimonious intensity to the feelings of the officials and people of Georgia. Their determination to at once possess both the Creek and the Cherokee territory within her chartered limits would admit of no delay or compromise. Following the Creek treaty of 1826, her surveyors were promptly and forcibly introduced into the ceded country, in spite of an express provision of the treaty forbidding such action prior to the 1st of January, 1827. So critical was the state of affairs considered to be that President John Quincy Adams invited the attention of Congress to the subject in a special message.[299] Therein the President declared that it ought not to be disguised that the act of the legislature of Georgia, under the construction given to it by the governor of that State, and the surveys made or attempted by his authority beyond the boundary secured by the treaty of 1826 to the Creek Indians, were in direct violation of the supreme law of the land, set forth in a treaty which had received all the sanctions provided by the Constitution; that happily distributed as the sovereign powers of the people of this Union had been between their general and State governments, their history had already too often presented collisions between these divided authorities with regard to the extent of their respective powers. No other case had, however, happened in which the application of military force by the Government of the Union had been suggested for the enforcement of a law the violation of which had within any single State been prescribed by a legislative act of that State. In the present instance it was his duty to say that if the legislative and executive authorities of the State of Georgia should persevere in acts of encroachment upon the territories secured by a solemn treaty to the Indians and the laws of the Union remained unaltered, a superadded obligation, even higher than that of human authority, would compel the Executive of the United States to enforce the laws and fulfill the duties of the nation by all the force committed for that purpose to his charge.

CHEROKEE PROGRESS IN CIVILIZATION.

Notwithstanding the many difficulties that had beset their paths and the condition of uncertainty and suspense which had surrounded their affairs for years, the Cherokees seem to have continued steadily in their progress toward civilization.

The Rev. David Brown, who in the fall of 1825 made an extended tour of observation through their nation, submitted, in December[300] of that year, for the information of the War Department, an extended and detailed report of his examination, from which it appeared that numberless herds of cattle grazed upon their extensive plains; horses were numerous; many and extensive flocks of sheep, goats, and swine covered the hills and valleys; the climate was delicious and healthy and the winters were mild; the soil of the valleys and plains was rich, and was utilized in the production of corn, tobacco, cotton, wheat, oats, indigo, and potatoes; considerable trade was carried on with the neighboring States, much cotton being exported in boats of their own to New Orleans; apple and peach orchards were quite common; much attention was paid to the cultivation of gardens; butter and cheese of their own manufacture were seen upon many of their tables; public roads were numerous in the nation and supplied at convenient distances with houses of entertainment kept by the natives; many and flourishing villages dotted the country; cotton and woolen cloths were manufactured by the women and home-made blankets were very common; almost every family grew sufficient cotton for its own consumption; industry and commercial enterprise were extending themselves throughout the nation; nearly all the merchants were native Cherokees; the population was rapidly increasing, a census just taken showing 13,563 native citizens, 147 white men and 73 white women who had intermarried with the Cherokees, and 1,277 slaves; schools were increasing every year, and indolence was strongly discountenanced; the nation had no debt, and the revenue was in a flourishing condition; a printing press was soon to be established, and a national library and museum were in contemplation.

FAILURE OF NEGOTIATIONS FOR FURTHER CESSION OF LANDS.

On the 2d of March, 1827,[301] Congress passed an act authorizing the President to open negotiations with the Cherokees for the extinguishment of their title to such lands as were claimed by them within the limits of the State of North Carolina, and also for such quantity of land as should be necessary in the building of a canal to connect the Hiwassee and Canasauga Rivers.

Ten thousand dollars were appropriated to defray the expenses of such negotiations, and Generals John Cocke, G. L. Davidson, and Alexander Grey were[302] appointed commissioners to conduct the same. Their negotiations were barren of results, as were also those of Maj. F. W. Armstrong, who in the following year[303] was dispatched on a similar mission.

THE CHEROKEE NATION ADOPTS A CONSTITUTION.

At a general convention, of delegates, "duly authorized for that purpose," held at New Echota, in the Cherokee Nation, July 26, 1827, a constitution, was adopted for the nation, predicated upon their assumed sovereignty and independence as one of the distinct nations of the earth. Such an instrument could not fail of exciting to the highest pitch the feelings and animosity of the authorities and people of Georgia.

Georgia's opinion of the Indian title.—Governor Forsyth inclosed[304] a copy of the "presumptuous" document to the President, at the same time desiring to know what the United States proposed to do about the "erection of a separate government within the limits of a sovereign State."

He also inclosed the report of a committee and the resolutions of the legislature of Georgia predicated thereon as exhibiting the sentiments of that body on the subject. This committee, in reporting to the legislature the results of their investigations, assert that anterior to the Revolutionary war the Cherokee lands in Georgia belonged to Great Britain, and that the right as to both domain and empire was complete and perfect in that nation. The possession by the Indians was permissive. They were under the protection of Great Britain. Their title was temporary, being mere tenants at will, and such tenancy might have been determined at any moment either by force or by negotiation, at the pleasure of that power. Upon the close of the Revolution, Georgia assumed all the rights and powers in relation to the lands and Indians in question previously belonging to Great Britain, and had not since divested herself of any right or power in relation to such lands, further than she had in respect of all the balance of her territory. She was now at full liberty and had the power and the right to possess herself, by any means she might choose, of the lands in dispute, and to extend over them her authority and laws. Although possessing this right, she was averse to exercising it until all other means of redress had failed. She now made one other and last appeal to the General Government to open negotiations with the Cherokees on this subject. If no such negotiation should be opened, or if, being opened, it should result unsuccessfully, it was recommended to the next legislature of Georgia to take immediate possession of the disputed territory and to extend her jurisdiction and laws over the same. In a spirit of liberality, however, it was suggested that, in any treaty the United States might make with the Cherokees, Georgia would agree to allow reserves to be made to individual Indians not exceeding in the aggregate one-sixth part of the entire territory in dispute. Should the Indians still refuse to negotiate, they were solemnly warned of the unfortunate consequences likely to follow, as the lands belonged to Georgia, and that she must and would have them.

A resolution of the House of Representatives of the United States, in the month of March following, calling upon the President for information upon the subject, brought forth[305] copies of all the correspondence relative to the matter, and the distinct avowal that the records of the United States failed to show any act of executive recognition of the new form of Cherokee government, but that, on the contrary, their status toward the United States was regarded as not in the slightest degree changed.

CHEROKEE AFFAIRS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

Whilst all these events having a bearing upon the condition and prospective welfare of that portion of the Cherokee people who had remained in their old homes east of the Mississippi River were happening, those who had taken up their abode in the Arkansas country were likewise having their troubles.

Difficulties with the Osages.—Their disagreements with the Osages, which had, with slight intermission, existed for years, broke out afresh when in February, 1820, a party of Osages robbed and killed three Cherokees. The latter determined upon the prosecution of a general war against the aggressors, and were only persuaded to pause at the earnest solicitation[306] of Governor Miller, of Arkansas Territory, until he could visit the villages of the Osages and demand the surrender of the murderers. In company with four of the Cherokee chiefs, he proceeded to the principal Osage village, where they were kindly received by the Osages, who repudiated the action of the murderers and agreed conditionally to surrender them. They, however, produced the treaty concluded in 1818, under the superintendence of Governor Clark, between themselves and the Cherokees, Shawnees, and Delawares, wherein it was agreed that a permanent peace should thenceforth exist between them, and that the Cherokees were to meet them at Fort Smith the following spring and surrender all Osage prisoners, which the former had neglected to do and still retained a number of Osage captives. The Cherokee chiefs admitted that this was true, whereupon Governor Miller advised them that before the Osage murderers could be surrendered, the Cherokees must comply with their agreement by surrendering all prisoners in their hands. An arrangement was made to meet at Fort Smith in October following and effect the exchange,[307] which was done. Notwithstanding this adjustment, the feeling of hostility between the two tribes remained. Active warfare broke out again in the summer of 1821,[308] and was not suppressed by the most strenuous efforts of the United States authorities until the fall of the following year.[309]

Boundaries and area.—Governor Miller reported, in connection with this subject, that the Arkansas Cherokees were very restless and dissatisfied. They complained much in that, as they said, no part of the treaty of 1819 had been complied with by the United States and in that they had received no annuity money since their removal to the west of the Mississippi River. Furthermore, their boundaries had not been established, and they still awaited the fulfillment of the promise made them for an extension of their line to the west as far as the Osage line. To this latter scheme the Osages were much opposed, preferring rather to have the country occupied by whites. The adjustment of this boundary question would seem to have been very desirable, inasmuch as nearly one-half of the Cherokees had taken up their abode south of the Arkansas River,[310] which was clearly outside of their proper limits. It formed the subject of much correspondence and complaint throughout several years, and was the occasion of a number of visits of representative delegations from the Arkansas Cherokees to Washington. The eastern boundary had, as already stated, been run by General Rector in 1818—'19, but the difficulty in fixing the western line arose from the fact that the quantity of land to which the Cherokees were entitled was to be measured by the area already ceded by them to the United States by the treaties of 1817 and 1819. The ascertainment of this latter quantity with exactness could not be made in advance of the completion of the surveys thereof by the States of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. From such reports and estimates as the United States were able to secure from the several State authorities, it was estimated, early in 1823,[311] that the quantity to which the Cherokees were entitled was about 3,285,710 acres, and they were informed that measures would at once be taken to have the western boundary established. This was performed under direction of Governor Miller, in compliance with instructions given him for that purpose on the 4th of March, 1823. A year later[312] a delegation of the Indians visited Washington to complain that the boundary had been run without notice to them and in such a manner as to be highly prejudicial to their interests. It was also urged that the quantity of land included was largely less than the quantity ceded by the Cherokees east of the Mississippi.

It would seem that in the survey of this western boundary Governor Miller, through a misconception of his instructions, had caused the line to be run due north, and south, instead of in a direction parallel with that of the east line, as was the evident intention of the treaty of 1817.[313] The effect of this action was to largely curtail the Cherokee frontage on Arkansas River, where the lands were rich and capable of remunerative cultivation, and to extend their frontier on the Upper White River, toward the rough and comparatively valueless region of the Ozark Mountains. It was also admitted by the Secretary of War that the quantity of land within these boundaries was probably less than that to which the Cherokees were entitled.[314] Inquiries were accordingly again made of the several State authorities as to the area of territory acquired by them through the treaties of 1817 and 1819, the replies to which, though partially estimated, aggregated 4,282,216 acres.[315] Directions were therefore given to Agent Duval[316] to propose to the Indians the running of a provisional line, subject to such future alterations as the official returns of the quantity ceded in the States should render necessary and proper. It seems, however, from a report of Agent Duval, that the Cherokees in council had expressed to him a preference to adopt for their western boundary what was known as the "upper" or Governor Miller line, and to run thence down and between the Arkansas and White Rivers for quantity, ignoring the line run under the treaty of 1817 by General Rector, the effect of which would be to give them an extension of territory to the east instead of toward the west. This proposition called forth directions from the Secretary of War to Governor Izard, in the spring of 1825, to open negotiations with the Cherokees upon the subject of an exchange of territory with them for an equal quantity of land lying to the west of Arkansas and Missouri, and for their removal thereto, but that the matter must not be pressed to the point of irritation. If, through the aversion of the Indians to entertain such a proposition, it should be dropped, then, if ±he same should be satisfactory to the citizens of Arkansas, the proposal contained in the report of Agent Duval would meet the views of the Government.[317]

The Indians were brought to no definite agreement to either of these propositions. In the meantime their provisional western boundary was established and run, in January and February, 1825.[318] The line began at the upper end of Table Rock Bluff, on the Arkansas River, and ran north 1 mile and 70 chains, crossing Skin Bayou at a distance of 66 chains from the beginning; thence it ran north 53° east 132 miles and 31 chains, to White River, which it struck at a point opposite the mouth of Little North Fork.

As a matter of fact, so strong was the prejudice of the Cherokees against any concession of territory that their council passed[319] what they denominated a "perpetual law" denouncing the death penalty against any of their nation who should propose the sale or exchange of their lands.

Lovely's purchase.—In the mean time the legislature of Arkansas, through Acting Governor Crittenden, had forwarded to the President in the summer of 1824, a memorial urging that the tract of country known as "Lovely's purchase" be thrown open to white settlement by a revocation of the prohibitory order of December 15, 1818. This the President declined to do until a final adjustment should be made of the west boundary of the Cherokees and the east boundary of the Choctaws. A history of "Lovely's purchase" is to be found in a letter dated January 30, 1818, from Major Long, of the Topographical Engineers, to General Thomas A. Smith. From this it seems that by a treaty then recently made (but without any authority) with the Osages, "by Mr. Lovely, late Indian agent,"[320] that tribe had ceded to the United States the country between the Arkansas and Red Rivers, and also a tract on the north of the Arkansas situated between the Verdigris River and the boundary established by the Osage treaty of 1808. It appears, however, that it was not the intention of the Osages to cede to the United States so large a tract on the north of the Arkansas, but, as afterwards alleged by their chiefs, they only desired to surrender the country lying south of a line commencing at the Falls of the Verdigris and running due east to the treaty line of 1808, and east of another line beginning at the same place and running due south as far as their possessions should extend, and thence east again to the 1808 boundary, excepting and reserving therefrom the point of land between the Verdigris and Six Bulls or Grand River. The Osages, never having been informed that the treaty was not duly authorized and had not been confirmed, still considered the country described therein as belonging to the United States, and had repeatedly solicited whites to settle on it, alleging that the main object of the cession on their part was to secure the convenient approach of civilized neighbors, who should instruct the men how to cultivate the ground and the women to spin and weave, that they might be able to live when the forests should afford no further supplies of game. They were therefore much irritated when they found civilized settlements prohibited, in order to protect the introduction and establishment adjoining or upon this territory of their inveterate enemies, the Cherokees.

Western outlet.—The indefinite outlet to the west which had been promised the Cherokees by the President in 1818 formed the subject of much complaint by them from time to time. In the spring of 1823[321] they were advised that until their western boundary was established it would be improper to make any decision upon the "outlet" question. Two years earlier[322] it had been declared to them that in removing settlers from "Lovely's Purchase," for the purpose of giving them their western outlet, it must always be understood that they thereby acquired no right to the soil, and that the Government reserved to itself the right of making such disposition as it might think proper of all salt springs therein. But this troublous question was definitively disposed of when the treaty of 1828 came to be negotiated.

By the provisions of an act of Congress approved April 5, 1826,[323] the land districts of the Territory of Arkansas were extended so as to include all the country within the limits of that Territory as then existing (the limits having been extended 40 miles to the west by act of Congress of May 26, 1824),[324] with the proviso, however, that nothing in the act should be so construed as to authorize any survey or interference whatever upon any lands the right whereof resided in any Indian tribes. Notwithstanding this proviso, reports became current that surveys had been begun of "Lovely's Purchase," causing much irritation and ill feeling among the Cherokees and eliciting an order[325] from the Secretary of War forbidding any further surveys until it should be finally ascertained how much land the Cherokees were entitled to receive from the United States in pursuance of the treaties of 1817 and 1819.

Negotiation and conclusion of treaty of 1828.—Matters remained thus in statu quo until the spring of 1828, when a delegation of the Western Cherokees arrived in Washington, clothed with authority to present to the attention of the President their numerous grievances and to adjust all matters in dispute for their people. The burden of their complaints had relation to the delays that had occurred in fixing their boundaries; to the failure to secure to them the promised "western outlet;" to the adjustment of the hostilities that continued to exist between themselves and the Osages; and to the irregularity in the receipt of their annuities, as well as to the encroachments of white settlers.[326]

The delegation were not clothed with authority to negotiate for any cession or exchange of territory, the "perpetual law" against entertaining such a proposition being still in force among them. Notwithstanding this fact, a communication was addressed to them from the War Department[327] desiring to be advised if they had any objection to opening negotiations upon a basis of an exchange of land for territory west of the west boundary of Arkansas, provided that boundary should be removed a distance of 40 miles to the east, so as to run from Fort Smith to the southwest corner of the State of Missouri, and also that the Creeks should be removed from their location above the Falls of Verdigris River to territory within the forks of the Canadian and Arkansas Rivers. To this proposal the delegation returned a polite but determined refusal, and demanded that the actual number of acres to which they were entitled in Arkansas be ascertained and laid off with exact definiteness. The whole subject of an exchange of lands was thereupon submitted by the Secretary of War to the President for his direction, and it was announced[328] to the visiting delegation that the President had concluded to order a permanent western line to be run, within which should be embraced the full quantity of land to which they were entitled, and which was found to be, as nearly as possible, as follows:[329]

Acres
In lieu of quantity ceded in Georgia(actual survey)824,384
In lieu of quantity ceded in Alabama(actual survey)738,560
In lieu of quantity ceded in Tennessee (actual survey)1,024,000
In lieu of quantity ceded in North Carolina (survey 70,000, estimate 630,000)700,000
________
3,286,944
Less 12 miles square, school reservation in Alabama92,160
________
3,194,784

As to their promised "western outlet," the President was unprepared to say anything definite, inasmuch as that matter was then in the hands of Congress.

From this showing it was made evident to the delegation, and no opportunity was lost to impress the fact strongly upon them, that if they insisted upon refusing to arrange for an exchange of lands, instead of being entitled to a large additional tract beyond their provisional western boundary, they would, in fact, be entitled to several hundred thousand acres less than had already been placed in their possession. In addition to this it was more than doubtful, from the temper of the President and Congress, whether their long anticipated "western outlet" would ever crystallize into anything more tangible than a promise. With these facts staring them in the face, with the alluring offers held out to them of double the quantity of land possessed by them in Arkansas in exchange, with liberal promises of assistance in their proposed new homes, and with the persistent importunities of their agent and other United States officials, they yielded, and the treaty of May 6, 1828,[330] an abstract of which has been already given, was the result. It was promptly ratified and proclaimed on the 28th of the same month.

So nervous were the members of the delegation, after the treaty had been concluded and signed, as to the reception that would greet them on their return home, that the Secretary of War felt the necessity of giving them a letter of explanation to their people. In this letter the Cherokees were advised of the integrity, good conduct, and earnest zeal for the welfare of their nation that had invariably characterized the actions of their delegation at Washington. The nation was assured that their representatives had done the best thing possible for them to do in the late treaty.[331]

Notwithstanding this testimonial, the delegation met with an angry reception on their return home. Their lives and property were unsafe; the national council pronounced them guilty of fraud and deception, declared the treaty to be null and void, as having been made without any authority, and expressed an earnest desire to send a delegation to Washington clothed with power to arrange all differences.[332]

In the mean time Agent Duval had been advised[333] of the ratification of the treaty, and Messrs. R. Ellis and A. Finney had been appointed, in conjunction with him, as commissioners to value all improvements and property abandoned by the Cherokees, and to sell the agency property as a means of raising funds for the erection of mills in their new country.

Survey of new boundaries.—The eastern line of this new Cherokee country, dividing it from Arkansas, was surveyed in 1829,[334] but it was not until April 13, 1831, that instructions were given to Isaac McCoy to survey the remaining boundaries.

The fourth article of the treaty of 1828 contained a provision requiring the United States to sell the property and improvements connected with the agency for the erection of a grist and saw mill for the use of the Indians in their new home. In lieu of this grist and saw mill the United States furnished them with patent corn-mills to the amount of the appraised value of the improvements. A tract in townships 7 and 8 of range 21, including these agency improvements, was surveyed separately in 1829, and was commonly known as the "Cherokee Agency Reservation." In after years the Cherokees claimed that they had never been compensated for this so-called reserve and asserted that it still belonged to them. After a dispute continuing through many years, it was finally decided by the Secretary of the Interior, on the 28th of June, 1878, that the reserve did not belong to the Cherokees, but that, through the operation of the treaty with them, it became a part of the public domain.

TREATY CONCLUDED FEBRUARY 14, 1833.—PROCLAIMED APRIL 12, 1834.[335]

Held at Fort Gibson, on the Arkansas River, between Montfort Stokes, Henry L. Ellsworth, and John F. Schermerhorn, commissioners on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and headmen of the Cherokee Nation of Indians west of the Mississippi.