Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

CHEROKEfi PHOENIX AND TNDtANfe* ADVOCATE. three other persons, oiit* of whom was Charles i<k «\9, luati acting' as inter preter. 1 nave cailed it a compact not a treaty, because it was not sent to tile Senate for ratification. But though it he not technically a tVeaty, It <s morally binding upon the Unilc'j States, for it has been carried ir^o effect, and the United States, particu larly the People of Tennessee tjeor- J ia, have derived great benefit Viom it. oa\ e an accurate copy belr Ji e , ue < ‘ Articles of Agreement between the United States and V M Cherokee IS\\tion, for opening a r 0a d f rom the fi^te ol Tennessee l >0 t | ie state of Georgia, through U AC Cherokee Na tion. •1 ho Cherok ee Nation having ta ken into consid ,e ra tion the request of tiiei. h atiier t | le president of the Uni ted States, to grant that a road may be opene. 4 || lr0 4 g|j t| le Nation, from the Sta’ e 0 f Tennessee to the State ol ail( i ,)eing desirous to e- ►■piie- a j ( , Father, the President, 'y < t the good People of the United feUates, their good will and friendly /lisposUioi, do hereby agree, that a road may be opened from the State of Tennessee to the State of Georgia, tvith lho reservations and provisions as in the following articles are ex pressed; and further to evince to our Father, the President, that we are mt influenced by pecuniary motives, tv; make a present of the road to the United States.” Art. 1. A road granted, sixty feet V.) aiilth, passing through about 150 miles of Cherokee territory, and o- pe.ii ig a communication from Augus ts, Georgia, to Knoxville and Nash- vi'lo, Tennessee. [This has usual ly been called the Federal Road.— li ms been much travelled; and great quantities of merchandize, and other v doable property have been trans ported over it.j It was to be made s delv at (lie expense of the United Slaves. The article also provides; Unit when the road is opened, the di- Pe tin i of it shall not be changed; and t'l.it io branch or branches (except one which iiad been described) “shall ever lie permitted to be opened with- unl the consent of tht Cherokee Na tion,.'* Art. 2 The Cherokees reserve to themselves the income of the ferries; and specify where the ferries shall he kept. Art. 3. Various regulations re specting houses uf entertainment, Wiieh tlie Cherokees were to estab lish; keeping the road m repair, &•'. &.C. An. 4. No neat cattle from the Sontiiyrn States shall bo driven through tiie Cherokee Nation; and when horses are taken through, the mini ier of them shall be inserted in 111 v passport of the owner. The Ch frokees are not to be answerable for estrjys from among the animals of Ilia vliites. Art. 5 Officers, civil and military, nnil carriers, anil other classes, ex empted from toll and ferriage. Art 6. Commissioners to be ap pointed on each side to survey and /nark die road, Art. 1. 0 ie copy of this agree ment to be sent to the Secretary of W ar, a tot her to be left with the prin cipal Cherokee Chief, and a third vvi b tho Age it of the United States among the Cherokees. Tiie road was opened the following year, and has now been travelled for a q nrter of a century; and, during this whole time, has greatly facilitat ed iutereou so between different parts of the Southern States. No reader of the foregoing abstract can be so dull as not to perceive, that Iho privilege was granted to the Uni ted States, at the special instance of the President; that the Cherokees •were extremely cautious not to com- pro nit their territorial rights; and tint they made the grant from mo tives of friendship, and a vvill.ngness to afford the desired accommodation. They guard, in a suitable manner, a- gainst vexations and liabilities, to which this act of kindness might be thought to expose them; and they re serve the income of the ferries, some pf which are over considerable rivers $ml have been quite profitable. The word Father is repeatedly used in this, document, to indicate the jre'nt.ion which the President of the United States held to the Cherokees as their protector from aggression and as hound to see that (he treaties with th“m a?e carded Ho effect ♦‘with nil 'ond *Vtth ” We had oh- trudud the word upon them. had put it into their mouths, and it *vas ir,ade the standing pledge, not merely of our justice, but of our kind ness and generosity towards them.— Miiiall this sacred and venerable name be prostituted to purposes of injustice and oppression? For most assuredly it will be deemed oppression, rank op pression, if we disown our engage ments; forswear our most solemn cov enants, and then take possession of the lands of our poor neighbors, which had been secured to them by the highest guaranty which we could make. Nor will the oppression be less odious on account of its being ac companied by professions of great benevolence, and the promise of a new guaranty. SECOND TREATY OP TELLICO, OR SEV ENTH NATIONAL COMPACT AVITH THE CHEROKEES. This instrument was executed ‘‘in the garrison of Tellico, on Cherokee "round,” Oct. 24, 1804, by Daniel Smith and Return J. Meigs, for the United States, and ten Chiefs and Warriors for the Cherokees, in (he presence of five witnesses. The preamble says, that certain propositions were made by the Com missioners; that they w'dre considered bv the Chiefs; that the parties afore said have unanimously agreed and stip minted, as is definitely expressed in the following articles:” Art. 1. “For the considerations hereinafter expressed, -the Cherokee nation relinquish and cede to the U. 8. a tract, of land bounded &c. [This was a small tract, called Wafiord’s settle ment,containing perhaps not more than 100.000 acres It was a strip on the frontier between the Cherokees and Georgia.] Art. 2. “In consideration of the relinquishment and cession, the United States, upon signing the preseut trea ty,” shall pay the Cherokees $5,000, in goods or money, at the option of the Cherokees, and $1,000 annual ly. in addition to the previous annui ties The Treaty was ratified by Presi dent Jefferson and the Senate. ‘The relinquishment and cession” are of the sauje nature, and carry with them the same implications, as have been described in preceding comments. THIRD TREATY OF* TELLICO, OR EIGHTH COMPACT WITH THE CHER- bitrtis. This treaty was executed Oct, 25, 1805, by two Commissioners of the United States, and thirty-three Cher okee Chiefs and Warriors, in the pre sence of ten witnesses. “Art. 1. Former treaties reefiguiz- I ed and continued in force. | Art. 2. “The Cherokees quit claim j and cede to the United States all the i land which they [The Cherokees] have | heretofore claimed, lying to the North of the following boundary line: [The lands here ceded were of considerable value, and fell into the State of Ten nessee, extending East and West near the central of that State.] Art. 3. “In consideration of the a- bove cession and relinquishment, the U- nited States agree to pay immediate ly” $14,000, and $3,000 a year in addition to previous annuities. Art. 4. The citizens of the United States to have the free & unmolested use of two roads iti addition to those previously established, one leading from Tennessee to Georgia, and the other from Tennessee to the settle ments on the Tombigbee. These roads to be marked out by men ap pointed on each side for the pur pose . Art. 5. This treaty to take effect, “as soon ns it is ratified by the Pres ident of the United States, by and with.the advice and consent of the the Senate of the same.” The treaty was ratified by President Jefferson and the Senate. It will be observed, that the first article con tains an express recognition of previ ous treaties, and pledges the faith of the United Statps anew for the ful filment of those treaties. Several documents of this kind re main to be considered; but I pledge myself to you. Messrs. Editors, and to your readers, that I will be as brief as possible, consistently with fidelity to the cause. This is a seri ous matter to the Indians and to the People of the United States. It is a matter which must he decided by the great body of the People, through their Representatives in Congress — The people piust therefore have the means of understanding it. , WILLIAM PENN) From the New York Observer. The editor of the Charleston Ob server, after censuring us for the languago in which we have chosen to speak of tho authorities of Georgia on account of their treatment of the In dians, says: “What has the State of Georgia done which any other state similarly situated would not have done? The State of Georgia has no controversy at all with the Indians; nor are we apprized of a single act of theirs, to wards the shattered remnants of this unfortunate race, which indicates a disposition to treat them with injus tice, unless it may be their running a new line through the Cherokee coun try, in regard to which a difference of opinion exists; and their refusal to permit the Indians to give witness, or be a party in any court crea.ed by the laws or constitution of that state. Now, whatever may be the integrity and virtue of a number, both of the Creeks and Cherokees, no white man would like to have his life and proper ty jeopardized by tiie testimony of an Indian. Is it possible that the Editor of the Charleston Observer does not know that the Legislature of Georgia have voted to extend the laws of that state over the Creeks and Cherokees after June, 1830? Docs he not know that these Iridiaiis have always been free and independent nations, governed exclusively by theii 4 own laws and ac knowledging no authority but that of their own duels? Does lie not see that this vote of the Georgia legisla ture will deprive them at once of rheir liberties, and reduce them to a state of the most humiliating depen dence and vassalage? What is im plied in extending laws over a nation but the claim of absolute mastery and lordship? And what are the laws which Georgia pfoposes to extend over the Cherokees? The editor of (lie Ob server has given us a specimen of them in the very paragraph whicn we have quoted. No Indian is allowed to give evidence in a Georgia court of justice. He is placed on a level with the negro slave. He may be robbed, he may be shot, in open day. in the presence of his family, by any strag gling white man, and there is no law in Georgia that can touch the murder er. And yet the edit or of the Charles ton Observer c,.n see no injustice in nil this, and wonders that there should he. any excitement on the subject! And the editor of the Columbian Stai echoes him and wonders that there should be any excitement on the sub ject! Twenty thousand men, who have governed themselves from a time to which no record and no tradition ex tends back, and who have as good a right to govern themselves os the people of anv state in this Union, are In a mothent deprived of this clearest of all earthly rights! and still there ai-e men, Christian men, Christian editors, stationed on the watch-towers of the land, and overlooking the scene of this iniquity, who. instead of sound ing the alarm, strive only to drow n the voices of their companions by the cry or “All’s wfell.” Shtttne on silch w atch* men, we say We call upon the editor of the Charleston Observer to show us wlmt right Georgia has to extend her laws over th» Cherokees. After having for so many centuries maintained the character of .an independent nation, -—after having, in this character, made treaties upon treaties with the government of the United States, what have they done to forfeit their rights? Have they suddenly become so savage and degraded that they‘are no longer competent to the business of self government, and must Geor gia, therefore, interpose as gnapdian? No; their very crime is that they have ceased to be savages, that they no longer desire to subsist by hunting, that they have made rapid advances in civilization and arts, and above all, that they have adopted a written constitution! and arc becoming in all respects like white men. On what ground then will the editor of the Charleston .Observer justify Georgia in assuming the right to bring them under her. laws? We confess that we ate Wholly at a loss to conceive and until we have some new light, we must be permitted to pronounce it a bold and cruel usurpation. GENUCOlIJ^CjtL. dfealto MESSAGE Of the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, submitted before the Nation al Committee and Council, in joint Committee of the whole, Wednesday, October 14/A, 1829. To the Committee and Council, in General Council convened. Friends and Fellow Citizens,—As Representatives of the Cherokee peo ple, you have again convened under the Constitutional authority of the Na tion. This sacred privilege, of as sembling in General Council of the Nation, to promote the interest and happiness of our citizens, is one, a- mong the greatest blessings which we have derived from the Great Ruler of the Universe. It is a right which we. as a distinct people, have ever ex ercised, and our prerogative so to ac- has been recognized by the Govern ment of the United States, under whose fostering care we have merged from the darkness of ignorance and superstition, to our present degree of advancement in civilized improve ment. It has therefore become your duty to guard and protect the rights and hnppintss of your constituents, by adopting such laws for their common welfare, as will avert any abuse of the legitimate privileges guarantied under the Constitution. During the last session of the Gen eral Council, you determined on the expediency of sending n Delegation to represent the grievances of tiie Na tion to the General Government, and at the same time earnestly requested that I s/miiId accompany them. I now subiriit. for your information, docu ments containing the correspondence between the Delegation and the offi cers of the Government, on the vari ous subjects appertaining to the mis sion: You will perceive from these documents that the late administration did not act upon any of the subjects submitted by the Delegation, but re ferred them all to the consideration of the preseut administration. At an early day, a protest was laid before the late President, through the Secre tary of War, against the proceedings, of Georgia, relative to the extension of her laws over the territory within our jurisdiction, believing at the same time that be would ljave deemed the matter of sufficient importance to have submitted a Special message to Congress, respecting so unjust an as sumption of power on the part of Georgia; but finding that our antici pation would not be realized, and be in* desirous that the true sentiments of the Nation on this subject should be made known to that honorable body, the Delegation, at a late hour, presented a memorial ar.d protest. When on the eve of leaving Wash ington, and only awaiting the decision of the President on Reids’ claim for ardent spirits, illegally introduced in to the Nation, and confiscated under our laws, the Delegation, very unex pectedly, received from the Secreta ry of War, the much talked of letter of the 18th April last. The subject having been laid before Congress, and the sentiments of the Nation fully ex pressed, and the opinion of the Dele gation not being in the slightest degree effected by the arguments advanced by the Hon. Secretary in favor of Georgia’s extending her sovereign ju risdiction over n portion of our terri tory, and withal, being in readiness to depart, and anxious to return home, they did not deem it necessary to make any reply. The extraordinary lati tude of construction given by the Secretary, on the sovereignty of Geor gia, exhibits a glaring attempt of inno vation in our political rights, and is calculated to effect seriously our re lationship with the General Govern ment. Georgia, to add to our grievances in the many outrages committed by her intrusive and lawless citizens, has lately set forth an unheard of claim, before, to a large portion of our lands, under the very absurd pre tension that they were purchased from the Creeks by the United States, un der the Treaty concluded with McIn tosh and his party at the Indian Springs; and a survey has been made by the authority of Georgia, which is called a iipw line: Beginning at Su- wanna old Town on the Chnttahoo- chie river, tfience to the Six's on the Etowah river, thence, imagining said river as a part of the boundary line, <its confluence with the Oostanalee, they resumed tho tftirVty from the north bank‘of my ferry limiting at tfie mouth of the Oostenalec, through ny jane and along the Wagggh road leal- *hg to Alabama to a point 16 or 17 miles west of my residence, which road, in the surveyors report, thef have been pleased to style the Ol\ Creek path. It is well, known that many ot the citizens of Geoigia huj previously intruded upon these lands| and after committing many flagrant aggressions, upon the persons anil property of our frontier citizens, ana anticipating a removal by order of tli0 United States Government, this fraud-, ulent and unfounded elaim was set forth by some of* t l| e Georgia politi- eians, with a v«*(v of causing a delay in the removal of the intruders; and' that by a system of fraud, violence, and oppression practised upon the frontier Cherokees, they would abaa- don their improvements and remove farther into the interior of the Nation/ and the National authority might thereby, eventually; be compelled to cede these lands totflie United State# for their benefit. You will discover from Col. Montgomery’s letter directs ed to me, and inclosing a copy of a letter from the Secretary of War, that the order for removing the intru ders has been suspended until he shall have been put in possession of the facts relative to the lands thus intrude ed upon, and unjustly attempted to be wrested from us. In the archieves of the U. State* are to be lound public documents that afford abundant eviuen^e to convince the world mat this land is the s ii of the Cherokees,—that the boundary line between this and the Creek Na tion has been definitively and satis-* iactorily established, and this agree ment recognized and sanctioned by the treaties with the United States, and also acquiesced in and observed on the part of Georgia. The course taken by the Secretary of War in this matter seems strange, as you w ill see, from the documents submitted, that this unfounded elaim to a portion of oar lands, was brought to his view by the Delegation, and the .only attention then given Jo it by the Depart ment, was, the positive assurance given by the President that the in truders should be removed. This unexpected delay in their removal ie calculated to encourage them to mul tiply, and the consequences cannot fail to produce serious evils to our bordering citizens. The portion of country embraced by the claim has ever been in the peaceable and undis puted possession of the Cherokees.— The Creek treaty of the Indian Springs, under which the State claims, only ceded to the United Slat 6 the lands claimed and occupied by tho Creeks within the chartered limits of Georgia. They neither claimed nor occupied any land north of the boundary line previously es tablished and marked out between tho two nations from the Buzzard Roost; on the Chalahoochie to the Corsa river opposite the mouth of Will’a Creek, thence down to the lower end of the Ten Islands The expos!-, ticn of the United States’ Commis sioners who negotiated the treaty of the Indian Springs shewetb plainly that they understood the boundary line between the two nations to have- been run and established as above stated, and that the Creeks occupied^ and claimed and disposed of land# only on the south side of said line.— The new treaty entered .into at Washington City, declares the treaty of the Indian Springs to be null and void, because it had been conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity.— The boundary established by thi* treaty recognized the Cherokee, boundary, and the surveys made un der the authority of the United States and Georgia respected it ac* cordingly. The efiurse of proceeding adopted by the Agents of the Government is conducting the enrolment of emigrant* for Arkansas, through the medium of secret Agents, by permitting the emigrants to claim improvements they never possessed or even before claimed, ,ond have them assessed, is calculated to distuib the pear/ ans tranquility of our citizens. It had been confidently asserted that the em igrants are encouritged by those em ployed in the service of the Govern ment and entrusted in this business, o make extra disposition of their im provements to citizens of the Uiited States thereby adding another class of intruder® to annoy our peaceable 4