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CHEROKEE PHiEWIX, AND INDIANS’ PRINTED UNDER THE PATRONAGE* AND FOR tHE BENEFIT OF THE CHEROKEE NATION, AND DEVOTED TO THE CAUSE OF INDIANS. pJ.BOITDIJSOTT, Editor NEW ECIIOTA, WEDNESDAY APRIL ‘i9,182*. - - •; ^ , ■■■■!>- “husbandry; ao4 further .0 assist the ‘»iilU 041101) 111 lo Ueblitilie u .. Suit, and at the tame tine to esw. • ‘lish a certain mode of tomosunic ‘tion, the U. States wil semi su-.l ‘and so many persons to reside i ‘such natiou at they may judge pro; - ‘er* not exceeding fou» in numhei ‘‘who shall qualify themselves to act as *• inlerpreteri. liiose persons ,.li. “have land* assigned by the Chero- ‘ kees for sultivation for themselves “and the.r successors in office; but “thoy siall be precluded from exer cising any kind of traffick.” This is known os The Treaty of Holstein, having been signed on tin bank of that river, near the mouth 0*' lie French Broad. The next treaty made by the Unit ed States with the Cherokees was concluded at Philadelphia in 1794. It recognises that of Holstein, as docs likewise the succeeding one of October, 1798, signed, as it states, “in the Council-house near Tellico, “on Clurokee ground Thus stoours atiaus asregards trea ty obligations with the Cherokees. oil tnc 84th of April. 1802, when the U. ,S. and State of Georgia entered into that agreement with each other which I shall heie merely '• tm extra ordinary', which has been made the basis of so much complaint against :lie ueneral Government.* Before victory lr»d yet nlaccd her final wreath upon the brows of our revolutionary warrio-s, the attention of the wisest and most patriotic statesmen of the country, was attract ed by the position in which pence would find several of the states: and this ’position was well calculated to awaken the most anxious fears for its internal tranquility and future in dependent* e-»-nn independence now become inestimably dear from the sacrifices :tnd sufferings whi h i* had cost. On the south-west they saw Georgia likely to have control over a territory nearly equal to the combined extent of England. Italy, and the Ne therlands, that support a population of thirty-six millions. Upon the north west a territory was likely to be added to Virginia of still greater ex tent. which might give her sv.;-*v ore • more than 240,000 square miles. To a part of this latter country, Massa chusetts. Connecticut, and New York had claims, which were far from be ing settled or well defined. So that if the extent of territory had not of itself created alarm for future inde pendence, here was a circumstance which threatened to strangle in blood the hopes entertained of their newly# born country. Accordingly, to guard against this impending evil, Congress, in Septem- ter, 1780, addressed the several states having claims to land and sovereignty beyond their present limits recommending a transfer of them to the United States for the general ben efit. Cessions of all the rights which they claimed were in consequence of thiE recommendation made by New YoA. bb the 1st or Maich, 1781— Virginia, on the 1st of March, 1784— Massachusetts, on the 19th of April, 1786, and South Carolina on the 9th of August, 1787. In this all-impor tant course, New York 9eems to have been foremost; but in reality, Virgin ia, the Old Dominion, then well de serving such a title through the hon esty, the talents, the disinterested ness of her politicians—Virginia took •the lead in thif patriotic race; for we find that on the 2d of January, 1781, she passed an act offering a cession of her claiops to this country ; nor does she derng. mqre honor from the lead which she thus took in this patriotic course, than from the example which she set in ratifying the ordinance lor the govemme.nt of the teritory, passed by Congress on the 19th of July, 1787; ,the.sixth article of which stipulates that there shall be neither slavery rot •By \h* Georgia poHwida?. VOL. U.—i'tiS, 7 S7rr.ru , , ,^C PRINTED WEEKLY BY ntO. V. WHEELER, At #2 50 if paid in advance, 99 in six months, or 99 50 if paid at the end of the year. To Subscribers who can read only tlic Cherokee language the price will be #2,00 fat advihfce, of 92,50 to oe paid within the ye*n Every subscription will be considered as Continued unless subscribers give notice to the contrary before the commencement of a hew year, and all arrearages paid. , 1 Any person procuring six subscribers, becoming responsible for the payment, thall receive a seventh gratis. Advertisements will be inserted at seven ty-five cents per square for the first inser tion, and thirty-seven and a half cents for leach continuance; longer ones in propor tion* _ . letters addressed to the Editor, post paid, will receive due attention. fc W y AD Mi JEtSJ. t»SAt.Xt#.I TAAJ* W*V* JhtfBAa 1. BDAE vlh«5ha<»y KTA DJP 0*8JBa m4dS.I, T<rx TE-DO-f YGTZ K*LP T4S0-A TB DOJA^T-rfi-l, KT RV4 0»0JBJ K4A.L D»J*<»EZ TB yW dojash-aj, o-yjvr d#p vojb-i i»4<a-i. •wyz o’&.r ahWh-icay, wp*v* ds-q. meJBJi MeJ tctz tf.jjo-t’ do* • ktjiz djp e«*y*v« o»9.*b* «.IR will proceed from no want of reape c for your honourable body, and to over look any such irregularity for the sake of the important objects for which he /comes before you. When first the restlessness and cu pidity of the European race brought them to these shores, they found the red man lord and sole possessor of the soil; they found him just and kind, con fining and generous— “He fancied the pale-faced men were gods, “Nor dreamt th -ir secret aim was theft and cruelty.” >, Columbus relates in his first voy age, when his vessel was a wreck, aiul he was deserted by a part of his own crew, that an Indian chief, upon hearing the information, “shed tears, “& despatched all the people of the “town with large canoes to unload the “ship; with their assistance the docks “were cleared in a very short time. “From time to time he sent his rela tions to the admiral, consoling him, “and entreating him not to be afflicted “at his loss, for he would give him all “he had:’' and Columbus further adds, “they are a very loving race, “and without covetousness.” Such was the character of the American Indian in 1492, and the gen erous aud confiding portion of it was found in full vigour by the first Geor- CHEKOKEE gians in 1733, when they landed on the bank of the placid aud beautiful Savannah. It is generally known that the first settlement of this colony was the re sult of a benevolent and charitable disposition entertained by some Eng lishmen of humane feelings and easy fortunes; one of whom, James Ogle thorpe, undertook its early superin tendence. Me came to its shores with the king’s charter of 1732, which is now termed “the chaiter of the state;” but as it only authorized him to oc cupy the uninhabited lands, and as he | found the country pre-occupied by | the Indians to the very threshold, he i lost no time, as the historian relates, in treating with the natives for a share of their possessions. To induce them the more readily to grant his request, he represented to them, among other things, “the “many advantages that would accrue “to the Indians in general, from a con nexion and friendship with them, “(the English, )& as they had plenty of j “lands, he hpped they would freely Georgia.—^ \ “resign a share of theih to his people, The measbrial of Robert Campbell, '■'■who were come (0 settle among them, for AGENTS FOR 1 HE PHCEN1X. The following persons are authorized to Veceive subscriptions and payments for the Cherokee Phoenix. A Messrs. Peirce St Williams, No. 20 Market St. Boston, Mass. . George M. Ta act, Agent of the A. B. C.P.M. New York. * Rev. A. D. Eddy, Canandaigua, N. Y. Thomas Hastings, Utica, N. Y. PhLLARD St Converse, Richmond, Va. Rev. James Cambbell, Beaufort, S. C "William Moultrie Reid,Charleston, 1C. Col. George Smith, Statesville, W. T. William M. Combs, Nashville Ten. Rev. BennEt RoBBBTS-Apowal Me. "Mr. Thos. R. Gold, fan itinerant Gen tleman.) , . Jeremiah Austil, Mobile Ala. Rev. Cyrus Kinosbubt, Maybcw, Choc taw Nation. Capt. William Robertbom, Augusta, Georgia, INDIANS. V memorial. To the Honourable the President and Members oj the Senate of the Stale of! a resident of Savannah, and a citizen of the state aforesaid, respectfully pepresebt*— That your memorialist has read and (reflected with deep solicitude and | concern upon the' report made to the ; honourable the Senate,of this State, December last, claiming the abso lute jurisdiction over, and right of the Mate to the lands at present in poS- lessiota of-tbe Cherokee Indians, with in the boundaries of tbis state; boun daries which were established, or thtW-tUfaMsd by ourselves, without their consent or' Concurrence. Ypur memorialist feels it to be his [uty, and he kndwe it to be his privi- ge to approach your honourable body 1 the language of respectful remon- itradfce against a measure fraught with Id Much impolicy, injustice, and dis grace, SOd violative of our solemn en- iagemtafts with that brave but unfor tunate pedplfi—-especially, and most Unfortunate heretofore, In the high faut false opinion which they entertain* fid for ofi» race, and in their reliance fan, ahd faith in Bur representations find promises. .Id the performance of this duty, your memorialist will trespass as lit tle as possible upon ybur time, but the Subject inquires to be viewed in 96. idanr akpects, alt illustrating each HihniV that at thd outset h6 desires to bespeak your indulgence for a patient hearing. Should he pass those bar riers usually prescribed to memo- •ialists, which he will endeavour not V> do, he begs you to bslieve that it “their benefit and instruction. After “delivering some presents which “were then considered as a necessary “preliminary to a treaty of peace and “friendship, an agreement was enter- “ed into,” by which Oglethorpe ob tained a title to the ground that the city of Savannah now stands upoo, with some of the adjacent country. The fourth article of the treaty made under these artful bul delusive representations, has the following words:— “We, the head men of the Coweta “and Cuseta towns, in behalf of all “the lower Creek nation, being firmly “persuaded that he who lives in ( “heaven, and is the occasion of all “good things, has moved the hearts “of the trustees to send their beloved “men among us, for the good of our “wives and children, and to instruct '‘us and them in what is straight, do “therefore declare that we are glad “that their people are come here; “and though this land belongs to Us, (the “lower Creeks,) yet we, that wo imay “be instructed by them, do cohtent and “agree, that they shall make use of, “and possess those lands wliich our “nation hath not occasion to use.** At a congress of all the chiefs and Wa triors of* the lower Creek nation, held at Coweta in I7S9, the treaty of Hdfl Wnl declared in full force; and cfiHttin metes ornl bounds of a considerable country described, as defining the* teritory in and over which these Indians were sole propri etors Tbeir right add title to this territory is declared in terms, of which, for strength and energy, we have few examples. They assert that this country “doth “by ancient right belong to the Creek “nation, who have maintained posses sion of the said right against all op- "posers by war, aad can show the ‘-heaps' of bones of their enemies “slain by them iu defence of the said "lands.” In 1773, at a congress held at Au- B sta, Sir James Wright, and (he on. John Stewart, acting as com missioners on behalf of the King, the Cherokee Indians ceded a valuable district of country for the purpose of paying their debts', a measure which may possibly be considered by some as one of the strongest instances that can be produced of their being at that period much below the standard of civilization. In 1783 a treaty and covenant was made at Augusta, by Governor Ly man Hall, General John Tweggs, Colonel Elijah Clark, Colonel Will iam Few, the Hon. Edward Telfair, and General Samuel Elbert, on the port of the state of Georgia, (then stated by this instrument te be in the seventh year of its independence,) and the “head men, warriors, and chiefs .“of the hordes or tribes of Cherokee “Indians, in behalf of the said nation.” By this treaty and covenant, peace be tween the state of Georgia and that nation was estalished; and a consider able district of country ceded. In 1785 a treaty was conc luded at Hope- well, between the United States of America, and the Cherokee Indians, by which peace was made, and boun- dries between them defined. From this, I extract the third and twelfth arti cles. “Art. S. The said Indians for “themselves and their respective “tribes and towns, do acknowledge “all the Cherokees to be under the “protection of the United States of “America, and of no other sovereign “whosoever.” “Art. 12. That the Indians may “have full confidence in the justice of “the United States, respecting their “interests, they shall have the right “to send a deputy of their choice, “whenever they think fit, to Con- “gress.”' In 1787, the United States formed their present admirable constitution; which Georgia “assented, ratified, “and adopted, fully and entirely,” on the 2d of January, 1788. This constitution declares that Con gress shall have power “to regulate “commerc e with the Indian tribes.” That “the President shall have povv- “er by and with the advic e and consent “of the Senate, to make treaties, pro vided two-thirds of the Senators pre vent cone ur;” and that “all treaties “made or which shall be made, under “the authority of the United States, “shall be the supreme law of the land, “and the judges in every state shall “be bound thereby; any thing in the “constitution or laws of AnV state to “the contrary notwithstanding.” Under this constitution," on the 2d day of July, 1791, a treAty of peace and friendship was made and conclud ed between “the President of the United States of America, on the “part and behalf of the said states, “and the uiidfersigned Chiefs, and “Wgrriors of the Cnerokee Nation of “Indians, on thb part and behalf of “the said nation.’* The two follow ing articles arie quoted from this ti'eaty. “Abt. t; The Uhited States Sol- “eraly guarantee to the Cherokee “Nation, ail theii * 1 lands not hereby “ceded.'* “Art. 14. That the Cherokee “Nation may be led to a greater de cree of civlizat ion, and to become “herdsmen and cultivators instead of “remaining in a state of hunters, the “United States will, from time to “time, furnish gratuitously the said ‘“rctioo with uaefol implement# of 1 '•■*!xnitio'y Uit itiiu ry, othcncisc than in th> punishment (J crimes. Thereby giving a signal ant, practical pioO> o* iici ucxuimi to •hose piiciples, die declaration of w'veh on tbe 4th of July, 1776, |iad called forth the cdmiuiitration of •tcry generous and manly heart in Europe, and given stab eclat and ponularity to the cause of the United States, t. O toher. 1787. Congress passed another resolution, pddreised to North Carolina and Gtorgia, again rtn m« mending, a cession; mid on the ibi of February, 1788, the latter passed aw act offering one upon ceitain condi* turns, one of which was the payment of 1871,428, but Congress refused to accede tc them. Ten years after this, viz. May 798, the present constitution of Georgia was adopted, the 23d seefioq of the first article of which make! special prevision for such a cession, and in accordance with it the cele brated agreement of the 24th of Ali it, J802, was entered into, by which Georgia ivas to receive $ji,250,0U0. The fourth condition of the firs| article of that agreement, w hich ha# '• / n xo often refered to, i| as fol lows:— * l ne United Slates shall at their “own expense, extinguish for the usa of Georgia, as early as the same caA. “he peaceably obtained:on reasonable “term* the Indian title to the coun* “try of Toiiassee, to th* lands left “out by the line drawn by tbe Creel.# “in the year 1798, which had been “previously granted by the State of “Georgia; both which tracts had for* “»»erly been yielded by the Ind ian and “to tbe lands within the forks cf thf “Oconee and Orkjnulgee rivers; fof “which several objects the president “of thel nited States has directed that “a treaty should be immediately held “with the Creeks: and that the l ..iU “cd States shall in the same manner, “also extinguish the Indian title tq “all (he other lands w ithin the St i te “of Georgia.” 1 have already show n how Gec; i ia as a State, as well as forming a coin stituent par* of the United Stav», stood in relation to her treaty obliga tions with tbe Cherokees, I w ill now shbtv by extracts from,* and referenco to, the laws cl |he United States, passed before tbe date of the agreement oj 1802, ard its operation at that very time, that the policy nr civilizing these people. a T trainst which the Joint Committee of Georgia protests, in their report of December, 4887, was fixed, notor ious. declared by repealed pul-lie acts from 1793 downwards—a settled policy, which must have been in con templation of tbe parties Ricking that agreement, when it W as entered in* to. The act of first March, 1794. m “its 9th lection states, “that in order “to promote civilization among ihe “friendly Indian tribes, and to secure “the continuance of their friendship* “it shall and may he lawful for the “president of-the United States to “cause them to be furnished with “useful domestic animals and implo* “ments ofhusbandry Tbe act of May I9lb, 1796. section “1st, enacts, “That the following “boundary lint, established by treaty ii between the Ihiited State* and varioua “Indian tribes, shall be clearly ascer tained and distinctly marked.- ki.” conforming.as regards the Cherokeca, to the treaty w itb them of 3d July, 1791. The 13th section provides or tq# promotionof their civilization. The aot of March 8d, 1799, pro* vides for ascertaining and distinctly marking the boundary line htweei1 thfi United States and varioua fndia^ tribes, accoidyig to treaties, enru forming, as reekrdsthe Che’-ol-pc*. to the treaty w ith them of 2d October. I7M. tUm**wM*S*$