Newspaper Page Text
GW
& INDIANS’ ADVOCATE.
B. boudimott, editor.
A< ' ' i ii i. ■ ■ mSSZVfT, ^
NEW EGHOTA, SATSJKDAY MARCH 12, 1831.
[VOL. III.—NO. 40.
rKl.lWB'VM'II.V BY
JOHN CANDY,
At 92 50 if paid in advance, 93 in six
months, or $S 50 if paid at the fend o the
year
To subscribers who can read only the
Cherokee language the price will be 92,00
In advance, or $2,50 to be paid within the
year. #
Every subscription will be considered as
continued unless subscribers give notice to
the contrary before the commencement of a
tiew year,and all arrearages paid.
Any person procuring s ; v subscribers
and becoming responsible for the payment,
■Shall receive a seventh gratis.
Advertisements will be inserted at seven
ty-live cents per square for five first inser
tion, and thirty-seven and a half cents for
each continuance; longer ones in propor
tion. , „
1HP-AU letters addressed to the Editor,
Post paid, will receive due attention.
©WyjtfAUO'j* ADI18IJEC.G-I.
poAlx^a jinfn.ya i-4ot'-i.
ES.1E -IhUbJ«ey KTa D*P O’OJB.l
T<rz TE.UO'f’ DajrSofl*#®-!
Tcrz tj*o-a tb doja^i-o©.i, kt
dta cpjjba Dt.iAieEz tb yw
DSJ-»o®I-<».J, O-yAT D^P (FOJB.I Iv4ofeJr.
»wyz 0*6.11 .lI»C5riA(»y, WPS"
0»0iua KjCJ t'SJBf’, T«-Z TE.wo-J*ue-
KT.1Z D^P OHYW* O-J-IB.
van
AGENT'S FOR THE CHEROKEE
PHtENlX.
The following persons are authorized to
■Tpccive subscription? and payments for the
Cherokee Plicenii.
Mtssrs. Piiacs: &. Williams, No. 20
Market St. Boston, Mass.
(jrEoaQK M. Thacv, Agent of the A. B.
C. F. M. New York.
Her. A. D. Eddy, Canandaigua, N. Y.
Thomas Hastings, Utica, N. Y.
Ucv. James Campbell, Beaufort, S. C.
William Moultrie Reid, Charleston,
K. C.
Col. George Smith, Statesville, W. T.
Jeremiah Austil, Mobile, Ala.
Uev. Cyrus Kingsbury, Mavhcw, Choc
taw Nation.
Capt. Willuji Rooertson, Augusta
Col. James Turk Bellefonte, Ala.
INDIANS.
to use all exertions to fulfil the
tract. And after they hod got pos
session of tho watches, it would b
bad philosophy which would teach
them that it would he just to allow
and invite the surrounding nations to
perplex and harrnss them, or to send
agents among thorn to misrepresent
facts, in order that we might make
better bargain with them to remove
to Siberia, and the Georgians might
the sooner bo put in possession ot
their territory.
As a nation, tho Chcrokees are as
independent as the Swiss. Their ti-
lle*to their possessions is more an
cient than the memory of man can
tell. Even tradition extends not
hack to the time when they first came
in possession of their lands. For cen
turies they have sat by the same coun
cil-fire, fished by the same streams,
roamed the same wilds in the same
chase, and defended the same soil
with their bravery and blood. They
havo no written title of ownership,
vet what nation can boast a more val
id claim? It was given them by the
Almighty—the “King of kings—tho
Giver of all good gifts to men.”—
They own no other conveyancer—
they need no other. Before the In
dian had heard of the white man, 01
the white man of the Indian, it was
theirs. Their domain was then ex
tensive, and as a people they were
powerful. But avarice appeared a-
mong them, and their possessions
vanished; vice picked their warriors,
till they are dwindled to, as it were,
a handful of men, inhabiting a small,
though fertile, patch of territory,
within the chartered limits of a
State. That nation, which could
once defy in arms the whole physical
force of the white man on this con
tinent have been brought, to tho ne
cessity of purchasing protection at
the hands of its once diminutive suit
or for mercy, and, again to see
that anforfeited protection wickedly
withdrawn. When tho U. Status
From the Vermont Statesman.
THE INDIANS.
By agreement with Georgia, the
Uuited States are bou-J to purchaso
of the Cherokee Indians all their
lands lying within (he 6&id State, at
which time said lands become sole
properly of Georgia. This contract
was entered iute on the part of the U-
nited States in consideration of fnll
‘‘value received,” aud ou the part of
Goorgia, of value conveyed. There
can, in fairness, be no dispute about
tho justness Riid validity of Georgia’s
claim on the government. It is as
binding as a note of lined from one in
dividual to another, or from one firm
of copartnership to another. Every
citizen of the United States is bound
iy it, both individually end collective-
y, as much, and in the same manner,
a ho would be by n paper which
cads as|foliows! —“For value receiv-
d of the Sovereign People of the
tale of Georgia, we, tbe Sovereign
eoplooflhc United States, jointly
,’and severally, promise to convey to
hem tho country of Switzerland, as
oon at ii can hi purchased on reason
blc terms.” [Signed by their n-
;ent, the President of the United
tates, according to order.] This
<Vould bo an uncommon contract, but
it would bo a true one, au enferca-
ble one, and one not without 0 prece
dent. The Government would be
bound to take all honorablo measures
to ensure its fulfilment, aud when ful
filled, every houest citizen would con
sider, that lie had only paid his part
of an houest debt, but it would by
no means be incumbent ou the Gov
ernment to violate other contracts in
order to hasten the fulfilment of this.
If this country had agreed, in consid
eration of—no matter what—say a
ship’s cargo Of watches—to protect
‘he Swiss Government from foreign
ntrUsion, they would he obligated
agreed to protect the Indians, it was
as complete an act of bargain nnd
sale as any act could bo. So much
land was given for so much pro
tection. When Gen. Jackson per
mitted that protection to be with
drawn, he violated tho faith of this,
nation, against tho will of this natio*!,
and for this very act he has justly and
fairly forfeited the confident of this
nation. Whether they will judge the
man by his measures, and reward him
according to his deeds, remains to be
scenl
con- From the (Hudson, Ohio,) Observer and
Telegraph.
REASONS FOR ESPOUSING THE
CAUSE OF THE INDIANS.
1. k is Ike cause of justice.—Tbe
Indians contend fur nothing, to which
they have not, according to the show
ing of all parties, an absolute right.
Their Governments are older than
ours. Their right (• the soil they
■'coupy, extend far back irto the a-
ges 01 the past; and that right has
been acknowledged, and confirmed,
in repeated instances, by our Govern
ment, which is comparatively in infan
cy. The Indians liavo iudeed, a bet
ter right, to extend her laws over us f
and require us to submit, or else re
move back to the other side of (he
Ocean, whence we came, lhau we
(0 lord over them.
2. It is the cause of humanity.—
These oppressed children of tbo for
est, constitute a part of (he human
family, and as such, come in for a
share of our benevolent regard.—
They arc distressed in iheir present
condition, and know not what to do.
They are comparatively few and fee
ble, while their enemies are many and
strong One iva'e of nftliciion af
ter another breaks over thorn, unlil
lliey are well nigh overwhelmed with
despair. Unless some arm of mercy
interpose for their deliverance, they
regard (homaelves ns lost. Rather
than submit to the cruel and oppres
sive laws of Georgia, they will seek
rofugc in the gravo. Nor can they
bear the thought of leaving I he land of
their birth, where they lasted the
first sweets of civilization, and bora
ihc first fruits of a Heaven-born re
ligion, to remove, with all their help
less and decrepid ones, a thousand
miles into a barren wilderness, where
they would he exposed to the depre
dations of savage enemies on every
side, besides being harassed with ap
prehensions of actual starvation.—
They oenoot hear the thought. Un
der these circumstances, they appeal
to the humane feelings of \his great,
and hitherto magnanimous People
And Oil who, to/io, t^al docs not carry
a heart of stone ’n his bosom, can re
main unmov'd by the solemn tdhe of
remonstrance, mingled with notes of
distress, which they are constantly
youring into the ears of tho Na
tion?
tivc, at such a crisis as this,—will
they not be accessary to tbe ruin of
their country, and by their lukewarm
ness, awaken the indignation of Hea
ven? And when through their guilty
remissness the Nation is ripe for the
judgments of Hoaven, what mark will
they exhibit, as a sign, for the de
stroying angel to pass them by?
The Georgians arc not much to
blame in this matter as the General
Government. No doubt, the Indians
tire troublesome neighbors to the
Georgians—troublesome in peace,
and in war, vastly so. From the na
ture of things, no great friendship can
exist between them. There must
bn a continued conflict kept up be
tween two of the most incorrigible
passion—avarice on th9 one band, and
revenge on the other. Nothing but
the strong avin of National power can
keep them from clashing. This has'
been withdrawn, and Georgia has
done as she has. Sho has done that,
which, if permitted to remain undone,
—let no after history record, or if
recorded, let it be read with shame.
The arm of the Executive, which
was sworn to sustain tho Indian, has
beckoned his enemy on. It has play
ed the traitor, and let it share the
traitor’s reward. Again wc tiay, let
every contract with Georgia be ful
fil lod to tho very letter; let not the
people be mistaken by tho notion,
that it is wrong to purchase the In
dians’ lands, for it cannot be wrong to
do so; it is fulfilling a fair contract,
and violating no rule of justice. But,
at the same time, let the Indian havo
his duo- Let no faith be broken.—
Let it bo remembered, that a tawuy
skin is a far more honorable badge
than a tarnished honor.
3. The cause of the Indians, is the
cause of our common country, and
therefore we would espouse it. As a
Nation, wo shall exist, only iu the'
present state. Of course, for our
National sins, as such, we must bo
punished while we exist in a National
capacity, unless tlie lioirible doctrins
bo maintained, that Nations, as such,
are not responsible for their misdeeds;
a doctrine, which is at variance with
the positive declarations of God's
word, and contradicts the whole te’nor
of the divine administration, from tho
days of Nimrod* to tbe present hour.
Where now is Babylon the Great; &
whoro is Tyre, and Sydon, and the
Cities of tho plain? Where is the
Glory of ancient Egypt, of Greece,
and of Rome? With these awlul
visitations of Heaven for National
crimes, before our eyes, ean we, dare
we, venture upou the commission of
a deed, which has no parallel, in the
dark cataluguo of National sins? It
is not to be expected, that those who
break loose from tbe individual re
sponsibilities, by which they are held,
and tiample under foot their most sa
cred obligations, will feel touch com
punction in the commission of Nation
al sins, or much dread of those terri
ble judgments, which sweep away the
guilty Nations of the earth. That
this class of citizens are numerous
among us, we aro uot at liberty to
doubt; but, that they constitute the
mass of our population, who can be-
liovo? Yet If those, yvho are not in
cluded in this class, do uot wake
up, and put forth a united effort to
save tb>e Nation; if ikoy roulairi iuac-
Fromthe New York Observer-
LETTERS FROM WASHING
TON.—NO. XI.
Washington Citv, )
Jau. 29, 1831. $
Messrs. Editors.
Among tho visitors at Washington
this winter, having interests pending
in the brcr.sl of Congress, or of the
Executive, and some of both—are to
be seen representatives of different
tribes of Indians, from the extreme
South, from the far West, and from
the upper and cold regior-s of the
North West Territory. And they
are Ju many respects au interesting
spectacle—interesting especially, ns
making a powerful demand upon the
sympathies of the nation. But alas!
come (0 Washingtou for sympathy?
Hud be obliged to depend upon men,
with whom, in the giddy whirl nnd
furious dashing onward of mad poli
cies, the kinder elements of our na
ture are smothered and strauglcd the
moment they make a demonstration
of influence? It is sad, indeed, to
see these simple, once confiding, now
doubting children of the forest—the
original tenants of this wido domain,
holding their t.tle from God, and in
voking God their advocate—waiting
hero and waiting ou tho nation for nn
adjudication of their rights—?nd ail
with little prospect, or hope of re
lief. Their spoilers are their
judges.
The Chcrokees are hero—whese
cr.use has long bee.o conspicuous.—
The Creeks are hare on a like er
rand, though 1 do rot Uuow precisely
its form. A Delegation from the Choc
taws is expected. The Qunpnws
are a nation, whom Ihc Government
lately bought in the Arkansas Terri
tory, and them a title on the flats of
the Rod River, which prove r.ntcnn-
ble by reason of the floods, besides
being disputed by the older and wild
er tenants, who have threatened ex
termination to these intruders. Hav*
mg been driven from the flats in two
successive seasons, and lost their
crops, and have been' roduced to beg
gary and starvation, and their exist
ence being menaced by the savages,
they have couio to pray their Great
Father to restore them their former
possessions;—and havo received for
answer, I am crodibly informed, that
they may sit down in their former
place, until it shall be wanted by
their white brethren! Their repre
sentatives here are good looking men,
and well dressed—but do not speak
English. The representatives of
the Southern Indians are most of them
educated men, speak pure English,
are wall accomplished in manners,
and I may add, in affairs of State—
having been schooled in policies of
Government by experience. They
know their lights, and aro prepared
and resolved to assert them—I do not
mean by the sword—but before the
tribunals of uational legislation nnd
national justice. Thor© are few
men, who understand belter titan
they do the temper of this notion, of
Congress, and of the Executive, in
relation to their claims wand few,
that can preditet politictrC^sults on
these questions, with uie,*< infallible
cortaiuly. They understand the tem
per find views of every member of
Congress, and of the respective dis
tricts, which they represent. They
aro men of good character, polite,
dignified. They respect themselves
and show all proper respect to oth
ors.
The New York tribes, nearly or
qiutu ©1/ of them ore represented
.V»
here—those restdem in the Stmt, as-d
those removed to Greon Bay. They
have sundry petitions pending. But
the most important are lor the con
firmation of their purchases nl Green
Bay—originally made (in 1821 end
1822) unde th scpervUioa aud with
the sanction of Govcrnment-but since
disturbed by other nets of Govern
ment.
Ysu moy, perhaps, have noticed
the last paragraph of ih,< Me Report
of the Secretary of War on Indian af
fairs—which reads thus: “The Com
missioners appointed to further the
execution of the Treaty of Bntte des
Morts, have discharged the trust con
fided to them, and have made thej$
report. The misunderstanding be
tween the New Yoik and Green
Bay Indians has been examined and
adjusted. 1 he report, to bo confirmed,
only requires yonr approval, agreea
bly to the second article of that Trea
ty.”
I should bo very sorry, if the gen
eral character of our public official
documents for correctness, were to be
determined by this specimen. IIow
should it happen, that all the parties
interested in the questions submitted
to that Commission in August and
September last, at Green Bay,
should come flocking to Washington
this winter, praying for a hearing <-nd
adjustment of the same questions
here, if they had been adjusted there?
None at oil. Did the Ccmmusionerg.
in their report, misrepresent tho re
sult of then doings? On the contra
ry—they expressly recorded the un
qualified dissent of all the parties to
the resolves and award of the Com
mission. Mow then co ild it be, that
the •‘misunderstanding was adjusted?”
1'he fact is—it n as only and not a
little aggravated—and that solely in
consequence of the unfortunnlo char
acter cf the instructions, by which
the Commissioners were bound—they
being ordered to make an allotment
of lands to the Now York ludians, not
on the basis of the acts ami pledges
of Government, which had removed
and planted them there— ner of their
Deeds of purchase, duly solemnized
by the original parties, and ratified
by the President of the United States;
but the Commissioners were ordered
to go up to Green Bay, and count tho
heads of the New York Indians locat
ed on the premises, ard of the two
great nations the Menoniinies and the
Winncnagoes—then to take into con
sideration, that as agriculturists tho
New York Indians would want only a
little patch of land a picoo, and that
the Menomenies and Winuehagoes,
as wild hunters, would require a
wide and vast lange—and by this im
aginary and Undefined rule to make
the distribution. In other words:
the more inq roved a man’s condition
is, in these days, the more certain is
lie to be robbed of his rights. If tbe
New York Indian had been a wiki
savage, bis chance, in (he present in
stance, had been apparently much
better. Bot the secret lies deeper;
Tbe wild Indian can easily be over
reached, dispossessed, and thrown be
yond the Mississippi; and the more
limited the territorial patch of the
domesticated Indian, the less will he be
in tbe way of the white uisn.
But notwithstanding “tbe misun
derstanding had been adjusted,” the
New York Indians of Green Bay and
the Menominies ore here—pray
ing for a hearing and adjustment of
the same questions, said te have
been adjusted lost August and Sep
tember The New York Indiaus
come—self-moved—and aggrieved
the Menomenies, passively—moved by
others—to anstyer certain purposes.
And after watting here all winter foe
the decision of their great Father,
the New York Indiana will net un
likely be obliged, besides the evils
and pains of uncertainty, to come all
the way from Greeii Bay another
year to ask redress'S?** 0 ***^
\, s .
... ■ -
/
■r.