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tho prompt assurance, that these in
truder* ivoro ordered to be removed
by the Executive. I was gratified at
tue information, although it was then
no more (as i thought; thun a matter
of course., My next information on
the subject was derived from Govern
or Giioier's prolainalion, ct< wuing
for Georgia the absoiuto property ol
the gold mines, and warning the liuli-
aus tv desut from digging them.
Extraordinary as this is, I fear
something more extraordinary re
main to he toid. Uy the intercourse
daw, tha Executive is authorized to
employ the military loroe of the
United Stales to remove intruders
from lands belonging or sueurod to lip
giaiis by treaty, iuis power lias sev
eral limes been exercised. Bui the
Indians also possoss by treaty, ihu
rights of proceeding suiuniariiy to re
cess themselves. ftwy possess me
rights by tnc treaty o. lloision negou-
•ated m 1^91- k l, e Oeeretdi) oi tVar
•in alluding to the ng«u whi m i.io in-
'dians tiius possess, under tbe treaty of
lloUlou > s l )eaks ..f it uinpa a ,ingiy js a
'treaty forty years old. oui u will be
recollected, Inal wuh an the olner
treaties it was couliruied oy an ex
press article in ibat oi tbl7. V^nat
are the terrno la whicu lilts right is
secured io mo _ Indians oy me trcaiy
of llolston? .
‘1/ any citizen 01 the United States,
oi -liner person, not being an lUduu,
-ahull settle on any of me One, nee
Lands, sueb person snail loiieii me
protection Ql the Uni’.ed S >t *>, aud
the Cherokees uiay pnuisu huu or not
as they please.” Treaty ot Holstein,
Art. 8th. -
in pursuance ef this right, guaran
tied by treaty, bat flowing from that
law of Na u e, ivhicn is before all
treaty, the Indians nave exercised ihis
lower in protecting themselves from
intruders: nor was u, that 1 Know oi,
ever questioned oy any Administration
till this.
It has received the sanction of the
prusant Chief Magistrale in the amp
lest terms.
In a letter to l’atli Killer and other
Cno.-okee Chiefs dated Head (gar
ters, Nashville, 18th Jan 18 Jl, oau-
•il Jackson thus expressed Inui-
ceii‘.
Friends and brothers; I have nev
er told a red biotliar * tie nor deceiv
ed him. The mlrudcis ii mey ■m-
teulpt td return, mil lie scut oil. lint
four light horse S;ioti,d not lot mem
sultfa down on your iii.h it ou ougul
to drive the stock away iro.ii your
lands, and deliver the iutrudars to tuc
Agent; but if you cannot k«ep intru-
tlors from your land, report it -o lue
agent, and on his notice, 1 will drive
them from your land.
I am yoor Iricud and brotliur.
ANDRiivV JACK.iON.”
In pu> suftnee of the’nuliioriiy con
ferred on the tribe, by mo treaty oi
Jlolston, an authority to ihe exercise
of which liie-y had been exhorted a
afetv years ago, by Gen. Jackson, and
■of which the validity was l believe,ne
ver questioned before,the Cnerokces,
in the course of the last year, in con
sequence of the number and disorderly
conduct of the inirudurs upon tliotv
.lands, proceeded to remove a portion
of them. This step, which lhoy were
perfectly warranted tq t^ke, occa
sioned a hostile recursion from Geor-
S la ' ih.,!*'* result of which am) Indian
tins v*Ami .Alim Atti^ia wounded
Georgia.
.'.nod, and some others
^.’.tfll carried prisoners into
*l’his occurrence occasioned the de
tachment of a partr of United States 1
troops ih)o the Cherokee country,
who accordingly came, rather, as it
Hv >uld seem, to protect the intruders
from (he Cliarokeus, than the Charo-
Itees from the intruders. Being there,
Aiders wore given to the troops to
tvmove intruders from t^e gold region,
and thesa orders weru at first compli
ed with, but with partial success; for
•ns soon as a band of gold diggers were
xlrives from ouo spot they settled in
^bother, like hungry vultures frighl-
1i«d from their prey. They are said
to have been a colhiyw of all classes
pnd characters; a lawless and despor-
pto gang.
Aud here ensued a scene of a char
acter bordering on comedy, if any
.can be‘. considurod builesque in so
f ;rave a mutttr. ! give it as il is r«t-
alotl in the memorial of the- Cherokee
Indians, ou our tablet
“In . another case, in the name
rind authority of George it. Gilmur.
Governor of Georgia, a bill was filed
in chancery, ,in t,ht> Superior Court of
Hall cobuty, in July Iasi, against cer
tain suttdi'y Chcrokees, praying Co
injunction to stop them from diggil _
and searching for gold .within (lie lim
its of (heir own nation; and the bill be
ing sworn to before the same A. S.
Clayton, he awarded an injunction a-
gaiust the parlies named in the bill
as defendants commanding thoui,
forthwith, to desist from working on
those mines, under the penalty of
20.00i) dollars, at a time and place
where there were unmolested several
thousand intruders fvom Georgia and
other States, engaged in robbing the
Nation of gold, for whiob the owners
were ordered not to work by the said
writ. Under the authority of this in
junction, the sheriff of Hall county,
with a \y armed force, invaded the No
tion, consisting of a Colonel, a Cap
tain, and thirty or forty militia of the
St a to of Georgia, who arrested 0
uiimbor of Chcrokees engaged in dig
ging for gold, who were at first res
cued by 1 lie troops of the United
Slates stationed near the place, and
conducted fifteen miles lo the military
camp, when a council of examination
was held, and tlie exhibition of their
respective authorities was made,
which resulted in the release of the
sheriff and Ills party, and a wriiien
order by the commanding officer of
the United Slates’ troops, directing
the.Cherokoes to submit fo (he au
thority of Georgia, and that no furth
er protection could be extended to
the Clierokces at the gold mines, as
he-could no longer interfere with the
laws of Georgia, but would afford aid
in carrying (hem into execution. On
the return of the sheriff and his parly,
they passed by the Chcrokees who
were still engaged in digging for gold,
and ordered them to desist, under the
penalty of being committed to jail and
proceeded to destroy their tools and
machinery for gleaning gold, and af
ter committing some further aggres
sion, they returned. Shortly after
wards, the sheriff, with a guard of
.four m n, and a process from the
State of G orgia, arrested three
Chcrokees for disobeying the injunc
tion, while peaceably engaged in their
labors, and conducted them to Wad-
kiusville, before the samo A. S. Clay
ton who then and there sentenced
them lo pay a fine of ninety three dol
lars, cost, and stand committed to
prison until paid, and also compelled
them to £rivo their bend in the sum ol
one thousand dollars, for their person
al appearance before his next Court,
io answer the charges of violating the
writ of injunction aforesaid. la cus
tody they were retained live days,
paid the cost, gave the required
bond, and did appear accordingly, as
bound by Judge Clayton who dis
missed thorn on the ground that the
Governor could not bo prosecutor in
the case. For the unwarrantable
outrage committed ou their liberty
and persons, no apology was made,
and (he cost they had paid was not
refunded.”
I confess when 1 first read the ac
count of mis incident in the papers
last sumnii-r, 1 supposed it was the
wild freak of some inconsiderate sub
altern. I did not imagine that it could
have taken place by order from the
Executive of the United States. The
affair is but partially explained in any
document 1 have seen; but thus much
is certain, that orders were sent by
tin) Secretary of War to the Chero
kee Agent and to the officer com- ^
tnauding the troops ol the Un'.tud
States, to forbid the Cherohe^s as
intruders from digging »ne gold
mines. On the 2u*h of June, 1830,
and order was issued from the War
Department, at Washington to
the officer commanding the United
Stales’ troops in the Cherokee coun
try, “directing him, until further or
ders to prevent all persons from work
ing the mines, or searching for or car
rying a way gold or silver, or either
metal from the Cherokee Na
tion.”
This order was communicated by
the Agent to Mr. Ross, the principal
Chief of the Chorokeos, in a letter,
dated 10th July, 1830, in which he
says:
“I have also enclosed you n copy
of o letter from the War Department,
oh tho subject of the Gold Mines, by
which you will see that all persons
ait) ordered to be kept from digeieg for
gold until further order; and liaVo to
request that you will, in such way as
you think best inako it known to the
Indians, and also that you will advise
them to desist for tho present, as T
am very desirous that no diffionl-
United States* troop# and ttiem on
the subject.”
Ami now, Sir, t think I may safely
appeal to many gentlemen of the
House, who voted for the Indian bill
last winter, whether it fntmed into
their imaginations that under that biil
and with its proviso, 1 (he Indians
should be prohibited by the armed
force of the United States from dig
ging gold within theMiinlls secured to
them by numerous treaties. There
were gentlemen, I know, who voted
for the bill, deeming Jhe policy of
which it is a part, but declaring it
unnecessary to save the Indians. Oth
ers thought something ought lo bo
done in consequence of the compact
in 1S02. Others were influenced by
some refined notion of a jurisdiction
Co-extensile with tho charter. Did
any of them mean or intend, that
within less than n twelve month —
within less than three months—after
adopting n proviso that the treaties
should not ho violated, the Cherokeos
should ho driven, by the bavonct of
ourTJnitcd Stales’ troops from <rotd
mines within the boundaries secured
to them bv treaty and law?
[To be concluded in our n#xt.1
CHEROKEE PH<ENIX.~~
NHW ECHOT A: APRIL 2. 1831.
Our readers will recollect that on the i
15lli of February the Senate oftlie United
States passed a resolution, .requesting the
President-“to inform tho 1 Senile whether
the provisions of the act entitled ‘.an act to
regulate I rad.’ and intercourse with the
Indian tribes, and tr> preserve peace on Mie
frontiers.’ passed the 30th of March, 1802,
have been fullv complied with on the part
of tho United States’ Government, and, if
th’y have not, that he inform the Senate
of (ho reason* that have induced the Gov
ernment to dec! ins the enforcement of said
act.” To this resolution th? President re
plied in a message, dated February 22.1.
Wc cannot, on account of its length, copy
it entire into our columns, hut shall give a
specimen of it by inserting a few extracts.
It is a well written message, probably
penned by Me. Berrian. The reason for
withdruwingthe troops from the Cheiokee
Nation is given in the following paragraph.
By til a 19f!i section of this act, it
is provided that nothing in it” shall be
construed to prwv^nt,^iny .trade ar iii-
incn-ourso with th» Indians living on
lands surronded by settlements of cit
izens oftlie United States, and being
within ihe ordinary jurisdiction of any
of the ind vidnnl Stales ’’ ’1 his pro
vision I have interpreted as being pro
spective in its operation, and as appli
cable not on!v to Indian tribes which
at (lie dale of its passage were subject
to the jurisdiction of any Sirte, but
to such also as should liter* a tier Iw-
carne so.—To this construction of its
moaning I have endeavored to con
form, and have laken no step inconsis
tent with it. As soon, therefore, as
the sovereign power of tho State of
Georgia w as exercised, by an exten
sion of Imr lawa, throughout her lim
its, and I had reecived information of
tho same,orders were given to with
draw from the Slate, the
which had been detailed *o provent
intrusion upon the tands withift
it; and tlieso O'^ai't wort executed.
ihe Pxc**d<Uit dees not stale the case
fairly, av.j the rca-on he gives for vvith-
( mowing the troops is very unsatisfactory,
even admitting the doctrine upon which he
builds that reason to be correct. It is very
well known that tlie troops were not sent
to prevent intrusion upon tho ‘Indian
lands’ withiu the chartered limits of Geor
gia, only but they were sent to prevent in
trusion upon tfac Cherokee territory. It is
known also that hut a part of this territory
lies within the limits of Georgia. ’Ihe
President ought to have been a little more
explicit in meeting the inquiry of the Sen
ate. If the exercise of the sovereign power
of Georgia was the reason of withdrawing
the troops from that part of the Cherokee
nation, what was the reason for withdraw
ing them from other parts whyre the sover
eign power of Alabama, Tennessee and N.
Carolina has not been exercised? 1 liis
question the President has left unanswer
ed, and we presume is not disposed to an
swer.
Anaonat tltyi enumerated grant* of
t()e Comtiteti<M,ihat which relate# le
this subject il expressed in these
words: “Congress shall have povres
to regulate commerce tvilh (he Indian
tribes.” I.i the interpretation ef this
power, we ought certainly to be guid
ed by what had been the practice of
the Government, and the meaning
which had been generally attached to
the resolves of the old Congress, if
the words used te convey it do not
clearly import a different one,/as far
as it affects the qoestion of jurisdic
tion in the individual Stales. 'The
Stales ought not to be divested ol any
part of Ibeir antecedent jurisdiction,
by implication or doubtful construc
tion. Tested by (his rule, i( seems
to me (o be unquestionable that the
jurisdiction of the Stales is left un
touched by this clause of the Consti
tution, and that it designed io give to
the General Government complete
control over the trade and intcroourac
nf those Indians oily who wore not
w ithin the limits of any State.
We ar# not skilled in the rules of inter
pretation, but we would Suppose that we
ought also to ba guided by what has been
thd practice of the Government since the.
adoption M th c constitution, and how the
framers of that constitution understood the
clause, “Congress h'ive power to
regulate commerce with the Indian tribes.’)
That the expression, Indian Irie*S was un
derstood to mean all Indians who livfd in-
bodiesor communities, is evident from the
uniform practice of the Government*
The views which the President enter
tains in regard to the treaties arc express
ed in the iollowiig extract:
As early as 1784 the settlements
within the limits of North Carolina
were advanced further lo the west
than Ihe authority oflhe Slutc lo en
force an obedience of its laws; others
were in a similar condition. The nu-
our frontier settlement* • This is
thing like putting his veto (• one of thair
•krtoekdo^tt’argument's. Let'us hear r#
more of the right of conquest.
W« hope our readers will attentively
peruse that part of Mr. Everett’s Speech
on the Indian question which we this day
publish. We shall inset t the remaining
part m our next,
cessilies, therefore, and not Iho ac
knowledged principles ol the Govern
ment must have suggested the policy
of treating with tho Indians in that
quarter, ns the only practicable mode
of conciliating their good will. The
United Stales at that period had just
emerged from a protracted war tor
the achievement of their independ
ence. At the moment of its conclu
sion, man) ol these tribes, as powei-
1 uI .is uioy were tcrocious in then
mode ot warlare remained in .arms,
-desolating our lronlier settlements.
Uudcr these oircumstancus, (*>c lust
treaties, m 1755 and 1790, with the
Uiiei >kcos ,jvem concluded by me
Go o nme.nl of the United States, and
%viuently sanctioned as measures ol
necessity, adapted to the character
of the Indians, and indisponsable to
the peace and security oi' the ivest-
eru frontier, ltiii they cannot be un
derstood as changing the political re
I . 1**1... I ..11 A A , I 1% A Cl #
licit should take j>lacc between the
A -question similar bo the above, we un
derstand, was proposed by (he Cherokee
Delegation to the Secretary of War, who
made evasive answers is long as he could,
hut upon beihg urged', replied that the
Cherokoes had appealed to the Supreme
Court, and they need not expect protection
from every qaarter.—Wc copy another
paragraph from the message.
1 at ions of the Indians to'the States,
or to the Fedoral Government.
effect this would have ^re^uu-ed the
operation of quite a •V.iiorenl princi
ple, and the iut*»Yvration of a tribu
nal higher '.ja;, that of tbe treaty ma
king 7,07,ct\
<1 indeed necessities suggested the policy
of treating with Ifie Indians when they
were hostile, what suggested the policy o'
treating with the Choctaws just the other
dav, when no such necessity existed? Let
President Jackson answer that. Let him
tell the world w.liat reasons actuated him
to send commissioners to treat with those
Indians, and when the treaty was made to
submit it to tbe Senate for its ratilication
If the constitution gives him no such pow
er,whv does he assume it? NY hat becomes
of his professed adherence to that consti
tution when he violates it with his eyes
open? If his predecessors were wrong in
treating with th.e Indians, they were con-
scienccious—they considered them as capa
ble of entering into treaties. But Presi
dent Jackson says they arc citir-cus of tho
States, and yet treats with them is inde
pendent communities! Who manifests
less consistency i
In the foregaing extract there is one sen
tence which is worthy of particular no
tice. We will repeat if. “At the mo
ment of its conclusion, (revolutionary war]
many of these tribes, as powerful as they
were ferocious in their mode of warfare,
remained ifl arms, desolating our frontier
settlements?’’ Now if will he remembered
by the attentive reader, that the right of
jurisdiction and of soil has been urged by
Goorgiaar.d her partizens on the ground
of conquest. But what says President
Jackson: ‘At the close of the Revolutiona
ry warj (the only tipio wh^n they ma}'
have been conquered) the Uherokecs and
other tribes remained in arms, desolating
In our account of the late visit of the
Georgia Guard to this place we neglected
to notis- one circumstance which ought
to be known to the public. It appears that
about 8 or 9 o’elock in the evening two
young men were pasting on tbe public,
road which ea;ls by the house of JVI r . Tar-
vin, where these tioo^-s were encamped,
when they were iired upon by the Sentin
el. It is said, and soothe (Georgia l^udge
decided, that this Guard is not an auny;
bat this thing of shooting at a peaceable
man whe: travelling on a public road
seems to intimate otherwise.
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