Cherokee phoenix. (New Echota [Ga.]) 1828-1829, June 18, 1828, Image 2
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neatness. We must ask you to suspend
any conclusion, until we have carried
the matter through a calm and delib
erate discussion; the whole of the au
thorities of the nation are now around
tlieir great council fire, with power
to do any act they may think proper.
The authority of the United States is
also present. Any contract, which
may be now concluded, will be bind
ing on both parties.
We propose to purchase of the
Cherokee nation, the whole or a part
of the territory, now occupied by them,
and lying within the chartered limits
of the state of Georgia. We do not
coniine ourselves to Georgia limits,
because we are Georgians, but, be
cause the President has appointed us,
at the instance of Georgia, and in
structed us accordingly. We will
give you the reasons why a purchase
is pressed, by the General Govern
ment, for the use of Georgia. Pre
vious to the 24th of April, 1802,
Georgia held the right of sovereignty
over an immense space of country,
extending even out to the Mississippi
river. The General Government
seeing that the territory was too large,
to be contained within the limits of
one state, made application to Geor
gia for the purchase of a part of it.
This was for the purpose of organi
zing new states, and having them set-,
tied, and populated, for the better de
fence of the country in case of war.—
Georgia listened to the application of
her father, the President, and sold all
the land which now lies in the state of
Mississippi, and Alabama; this happen
ed on the day above stated. At the
same tipie, in consideration of this
Sale, the United States bound herself,
*‘at her own expense, to extinguish,
for the use of Georgia, as early as the
same could be peaceably obtained on
reasonable terms, the Indian title to
all lands within the state of Georgia.”
The limits of Georgia are known to
you, and the amount of territory occu
pied by you, within those limits, is al
so known to you.
For greater certainty, however,
concerning those limits, and the obli
gations of the United States, to the
state of Georgia, we refer you to the
articles of agreement and cession, en
tered into on the day and year a-
foresaid, between James Jackson, A-
braham Baldwin, and John Milledge,
on the part of the state of Georgia,
and James Madison, Albert Gallatin,
and Levi Lincoln, on the part of the
United States. (See Laws of the
United States, vol. 1, page 488.)
By these articles you discover the
rights of Georgia, and the obligations
of the United States. That these
rights may be fulfilled, and these ob
ligations discharged, is the important
object of the present mission. The
sovereignty of the country which you
occupy, is in the United States alone;
no state, or foreign power, can enter
into a treaty or compact with you.—
These priviliges have passed away,
and your intercourse is restricted ex
clusively to the United States. In
matters of cession, or territory, you
are recognized as a contracting party.
The United States possessing the
sovereignty, and the Cherokee nation
being in possession, your consent is ask
ed for the extinction of your title to
the soil within Georgia lines. We
concede that the terms must be
^peaceable,” and “reasonable.”—
Our offer to purchase, establishes the
first, and the consideration which may
be agreed on, we trust, will be satis
factory as to the second.
Beyond the Mississippi, the United
States possesses large "domains of un
settled territory, embracing great va
riety of soil and climate. A portion
of this nation is already there. If
those with whom we are now treating
are disposed to emigrate, then we of
fer territory in exchange, of such ex
tent, and accompanied by such other
advantages, as may be agreed on.—
If this offer is not acceptable, then we
submit another, equally “peaceable,”
and equally “reasonable.” It is, that
you cede to the United States, for the
use of Georgia, such part of the ter
ritory within her limits as can be ea
sily spared. Many reasons might be
given, which have induced Georgia to
urge her claim for land upon the Gen.
Gov. The reasons have appeared satis
factory to the Legislature, and Gov
ernor of Georgia, and to the President
and Congress of the United States.—
Some of these reasons grow out of the
political connection of the states, and
others, out of the crowded settlements
of the .people.
It is not necessary to detail the
first, they are urgent, and must, at
some time, have their weight. The
last are plain to the view of every one
who travels through that part of the
President's dominions. His white
people are becoming so much crowd
ed, that they are driven from friends
and connexions to foreign lands. Oth
ers are confined to a scanty piece of
soil, without timber for fencing or fu
el. To prove these statements, we
need only refer to the amount of our
population, and the repidity of its in
crease. In the county in which one
of us resides, there are 1800 inhabi
tants The state of Geo. in 1810, con
tained 252,433 inhabitants. In 1820,
344,773, shewing an increase, in ten
years, of 92,340; and yet, the present
settlements of Georgia do not very
greatly exceed the Cherokee nation,
in extent, which contains about 12,000
inhabitants. This difference, is too
great evar to be intended py the Great
Father of the Universe, who must
have given the earth, equally, to be
the inheritance of his white and red
children.
Whether you dispose of all we ask
for by exchange, or of a part by sale,
still you have enough, and to spare.
For each man, woman, and child, of
the nation, a large allowance will be
left, even enough for thousands yet un
born. Surely under this view of the
subject, when so much good is to re
sult on our side, and so little, in fact
no evil, to the other, you will yield to
our application.
Brothers: Wc have thus made
known to you the subject of our mis
sion, and some of the reasons in sup
port of it. In a matter of so much
consequence to the United States, it
certainly becomes you to deliberate,
to look well to this matter in all its
bearings; to do unto us as you would
have us do to you, under like circum
stances. In such time as will best
suit your convenience, we shall ex
pect an answer. We believe that we
shall receive one which shall comport
with the calmness and friendly dispo
sition of the Council. It is not to be
supposed that an affair which involves
so much weight and importance is ea
sily to be disposed of. We shall
therefore beg leave to reserve to our
selves the privilege of reply as often
as we may consider it necessary.
DUNCAN G. CAMPBELL,
JAMES MERIWETHER,
United States Commissioners.
The following is an answer from the
Cherokee Council.
Newtown, 20tft October, 1823.
IN GENERAL COUNCIL.
Friends and Brothers: The ve
ry friendly manner in which you have
expressed yourselves towards the
members of Council, and those of
them with whom you have contracted
individual friendships, and the liberal
view which you have taken of the
progress of improvement in the arts of
civilized life, and the regular and be
coming manner in which the affairs of
the nation are conducted, are respect
fully flattering; and we return you our
grateful acknowledgements for the
compliment. The many favors which
have been bestowed on us by the fos
tering hands of our father the Presi
dent, are always fresh in our recol
lection, and we are ever ready to ac
knowledge our gratitude. The co-op
eration of the red man and the white
man, in subduing the common enemy,
during the late war, and the blood
which have been lost on that occasion
at Tallasehatchie, Talledega, Hilla-
becs, Enotichopea, Emucsaws, and
Tehophah, (Horse Shoe) we conceive
to be no more than what might have
been expected from our hands as chil
dren and true friends to our father the
President. Those acts we performed
are a demonstrative proof of the sin
cerity of our affections and fidelity,
and shew the firm hold by which
the hand of our father is grasped,
more forcibly than volumes of prom
ises.
Brothers: We have fully delibera
ted your communication. The appli
cation which you have made, under
the authority of your mission from the
President of the United States, for the
extinguishment of the Cherokee title
to the whole or a part of the lands now
occupied by them; and lying within
the chartered limits of Georgia, ei
ther by exchange for lands west of
the Mississippi river, or by purchase
—we have to state, that the unfortu
nate part of our nation, who have em
igrated to the west, have suffered se
verely since the separation from this
nation and settlement in their new
country. Sickness, wars, and other
fatality, have visited them, and lessen
ed their numbers, end many of them
no dout
land of
ticab|e
dergoin
Would willingly return to the
heir nativity, if it was prac-
or them to do so, without un
various difficulties, which
would a most be insurmountable in so
fatiguing and so long a journey, by
men, w men, and children, without
friends and without money to per
form. Vhen we call to recollection
the perud which separated our coun
trymen acquaintances, friends, and
relative, from us, and look to the cir-
cumsta^ses ,and means which caused
our separation, we are grieved; the
tears flo\Y in our eyes, and we weep.;
Had it been the desire of the remain
ing part of tbi i nation to have left this
country, thej would have embraced
the opportuniy, and emigrated with
their fellow c untrymen; but this was
not their desii:. They loved the soil
which gave th m birth, and they have
continued ther on. The limits of this
nation are sm;ll, and embrace moun
tains, hills, an poor lands, which can
never be settled. The Cherokees
once possess el an extensive country,
and have maoe cession after cession
to our father
scribed; and
gcr desire of
he President, to gratify
the wishes ofkur neighboring brethren,
until our limts have become circum-
t appears, from the ea-
our brethren to obtain
our land, that it would be unreasona
ble for us to presume that a small ces
sion, at any time, would ever satisfy
them.
. Brothers: ^Tlie, improving situation
of this natifn is visible, and has been
acknowledjed, and it would be re
proachful tad degrading to our char
acter did ve not look to its interest,
prosperity, and future happiness.—
You give us one reason why a ces
sion is urgejl: that is, “from crowded
settlement! of the people of Geor
gia.” W<j presume that, if Georgia
were in possesion of the whole extent
of her chartered limits, it would
not remedy the inconvenience com
plained of.
Brothers: From the comparative
view which you have taken of the
population of Georgia, & the Cherokee
nation, you say “that the difference
is too great 1 ever to have been intended
by the Great Father of the Universe,
who must have given the Earth equal
ly as the inheritance of his white and
red children” We do not know the
intention of the Supreme Father in this
particular, but it is evident that this
principle has never been observed or
respected by nations or by individuals.
If your assertion be a correct idea of
His intention, why do the laws of civil
ized & enlightened nations allow a man
to monopolize more land than he can
cultivate, to the exclusion of others?
Brothers: We cannot accede to
your application for a cession. It is
the fixed and' unalterable determina
tion of this nation, never again to cede
one foot of land.
We will make known to you,
as coming from our father the Pres
ident, that the boundary line
from the Unicoy Turnpike, on the
Blue Ridge, to the source of the Ches-
tateo, has not been run by the United
States’ Surveyor, agreeably to the
stipulation or intention of the treaty of
1819; but it has been run so as to in
clude a larger tract of land than ad
mitted by said treaty, to the great in
convenience and injury of this nation,
particularly to those of our citizens
who lived in that quarter, and have
been compelled to, remove. As this
fact has been reported to the Presid
ent vve trust that he has given you
some instructions relative to the in
vestigation of the subject.
With the brightness of the sun, we
renew our assurances of respect and
brotherly friendship,
his
PATH* KILLER, Principal Chief,
mark,
his
MAJOR X RIDGE, Sp’kr. ofCoun.
mark.
JNO. ROSS, Pres’t. N. Com.
A. M'COY, Clerk N. Com.
ELIJAH HICKS, Clerk N. Council.
NEW ECHOTA:
WEDNESDAY, JUNE IS. 1828.
We discover that the statistical table of
Coosewaytee district, inserted in our first
page, is incorrect, but we have not the
means of correcting it.
TO correspondents.
We have been somewhat mortified to no
tice, that we have already brought upon
ourselves the displeasure of some of our
correspondents; whether deservedly or not,
we do not undertake to say. The editor of
this paper has acknowledged to the public
his ignorance of many things, particularly
of the rules which regulate other .editors,
and their correspondents, and it cannot oth
erwise be expected of him, as he undertook
the management of this paper with no kind
of experience, nor has he had an opportu
nity of consulting those who have. If
therefore he has erred in commenting upon
the communications of some of his corres
pondents, which appears to be the osten
sible ground of the complaints, sufficient
allowance is not made for him. But has
he erred? We have noticed other editors
adding remarks to the communications of
their correspondents—we considered it
lawful so to do, and accordingly followed
the example whenever the interest of our
paper and the people in whose cause we
have embarked, required. It is our sin
cere desire to do what is right, yet we will
by no means guaranty ouifcorrectness, and
we hope our correspondents will exe-cise
the same feelings.
These remarks are occasioned by a letter
which now lies before us, sent to us by
mail, [postage not paid] of which the fol- 4
lowing is an extract. “I wish you to in
form me if, by your opposition to some sen
timents in my communication, and false
and strange apprehensions of other parts*
you mean to avail yourself of advantages
as Editor, ungenerous; or do you design to
grant me equal privileges with yourself, as
an opponent.” It may be proper to inform
this Gentleman, that we do not court con
troversy with any man, and that he might
have saved himself from sending such que
ries. One word more. According to the
terms of our paper, we expect all commu
nications post paid, excepting letters on
business where the interest of the paper is
concerned, and we hope all those who
think best to send us a line, will be “gene
rous” enough to comply with this very rea
sonable demand.
TO READERS.
Some of our subscribers have complained
that they do not receive their papers regu
larly. The cause of this irregularity; we
gave in one of our former numbers. Since
then the mails have been so arranged by
the politeness of the Po9t Master General,
that our papers, we hope, will teach our
subscribers without any delay.
Another complaint has also reached us,
and that is, our papers are r.ot done up in
a substantial manner. There we acknow
ledge the complaint is reasonable, but the
fault is not designed, but altogether from
necessity. Our readers probably know
that we live in a wilderness; and of course
cannot obtain paper without considerable
expense. As soon as may be, we intend to
supply ourselves with good wrapping pa
per.
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INTEMPERANCE.
We are gratified to notice that the per
nicious effects of intemperance are begin
ning toopen the eyes of some of onr citi
zens, as will be seen in the following letter,'
which we translate from the original in-'
serted above. We cannot but entertain
the hope that the example of these men; in
expressing, so decidedly, their disapproba
tion of the prevailing vice of the country^
will be universally followed, by the aged,
the influential, and the patriotic of this Na
tion, until the progress of this great evil-
shall be arrested.
Etowa, [Hightower,3
June 4, 1828.
To the newly appointed chiefs, William
•Hicks and John Ross.
A few days since we held court at
Etowa. The penalty of the law wad
executed upon some of our young men,
who had transgressed it. But you
..have not been deaf respecting it, for
you have heard of it. We know what
the laws require. But they are not
obeyed here: For whenever our
young men are assembled together,
whiskey it not wanting. The princi*