TREATY CONCLUDED FEBRUARY 27, 1819; PROCLAIMED MARCH 10, 1819.242

TREATY CONCLUDED FEBRUARY 27, 1819; PROCLAIMED MARCH 10, 1819.242

Held at Washington City, D. C., between John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, specially authorized therefor by the President of the United States, and the chiefs and headmen of the Cherokee Nation of Indians.

MATERIAL PROVISIONS.

1. The Cherokee Nation cedes to the United States all of their lands lying north and east of the following line, viz: Beginning on the Tennessee River at the point where the Cherokee boundary with Madison County, in the Alabama Territory, joins the same; thence along the main channel of said river to the mouth of the Highwassee; thence along its main channel to the first hill which closes in on said river, about two miles above Highwassee Old Town; thence along the ridge which divides the waters of the Highwassee and Little Tellico to the Tennessee River at Talassee; thence along the main channel to the junction of the Cowee and Nanteyalee; thence along the ridge in the fork of said river to the top of the Blue Ridge; thence along the Blue Ridge to the Unicoy Turnpike Road; thence by straight line to the nearest main source of the Chestatee; thence along its main channel to the Chattahouchee; and thence to the Creek boundary; it being understood that all the islands in the Chestatee, and the parts of the Tennessee and Highwassee (with the exception of Jolly's Island, in the Tennessee, near the mouth of the Highwassee) which constitute a portion of the present boundary, belong to the Cherokee Nation; and it is also understood that the reservations contained in the second article of the treaty of Tellico, signed the twenty-fifth October, eighteen hundred and five, and a tract equal to twelve miles square, to be located by commencing at the point formed by the intersection of the boundary line of Madison County already mentioned and the north bank of the Tennessee River, thence along the said line and up the said river twelve miles, are ceded to the United States, in trust for the Cherokee Nation, as a school fund, to be sold by the United States, and the proceeds vested as is hereafter provided in the fourth article of this treaty; and also that the rights vested in the Unicoy Turnpike Company by the Cherokee Nation * * * are not to be affected by this treaty.

The foregoing cessions are understood and declared to be in full satisfaction of all claims of the United States upon the Cherokees on account of the cession to a part of their nation who have emigrated or who may emigrate to the Arkansas and as a final adjustment of the treaty of July 8, 1817.

2. The United States agree to pay, according to the treaty of July 8, 1817, for all valuable improvements on land within the country ceded by the Cherokees, and to allow a reservation of 640 acres to each head of a family (not enrolled for removal to Arkansas) who elects to become a citizen of the United States.

3. Each person named in a list accompanying the treaty shall have a reserve of 640 acres in fee simple, to include his improvements, upon giving notice within six months to the agent of his intention to reside permanently thereon. Various other reservations in fee simple are made to persons therein named.

4. The reservations and 12-mile tract reserved for a school fund in the first article are to be sold by the United States and the proceeds invested in good stocks, the interest of which shall be expended in educational benefits for the Cherokees east of the Mississippi.

5. The boundary lines of the land ceded by the first article shall be established by commissioners appointed by the United States and the Cherokees. Leases made under the treaty of 1817 of land within the Cherokee country shall be void. All white people intruding upon the lands reserved by the Cherokees shall be removed by the United States, under the act of March 30, 1802.

6. Annuities shall be distributed in the proportion of two-thirds to those east to one-third to those west of the Mississippi. Should the latter object within one year to this proportion, a census shall be taken of both portions of the nation to adjust the matter.

7. The United States shall prevent intrusion on the ceded lands prior to January 1, 1820.

8. The treaty shall be binding upon its ratification.

HISTORICAL DATA.

CHEROKEES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI—THEIR WANTS AND CONDITION.

Early in 1818 a representative delegation from that portion of the Cherokees who had removed to the Arkansas visited Washington with the view of reaching a more satisfactory understanding concerning the location and extent of their newly acquired homes in that region. As early as January 14 of that year, they had addressed a memorial to the Secretary of War asking, among other things, that the United States should recognize them as a separate and distinct people, clothed with the power to frame and administer their own laws, after the manner of their brethren east of the Mississippi.

Long and patient hearings were accorded to this delegation by the authorities of the Government, and, predicated upon their requests, instructions were issued243 to Governor William Clark, superintendent of Indian affairs at Saint Louis, among other things, to secure a cessation of hostilities then raging between the Arkansas Cherokees and the Osages; furthermore, to induce, if possible, the Shawnees and Delawares then residing in the neighborhood of Cape Girardeau to relinquish their land and join the Western Cherokees, or, in the event of a favorable termination of the Quapaw treaty then pending, that they might be located on lands acquired from them.

During the year the Arkansas Cherokees had also learned that the Oneidas of New York were desirous of obtaining a home in the West, and had made overtures for their settlement among them.244 The main object of the Cherokees in desiring to secure these originally eastern Indians for close neighbors is to be found in the increased strength they would be able to muster in sustaining their quarrel with their native western neighbors.

It may be interesting in this connection to note the fact that in 1825 the Cherokees sent a delegation to Wapakoneta, Ohio, accompanied by certain Western Shawnees, whose mission was to induce the Shawnees at that point to join them in the West. Governor Lewis Cass, under instructions from the War Department, held a council at Wapakoneta, lasting nine days,245 having in view the accomplishment of this end, but it was unsuccessful.

Governor Clark was also advised by his instructions of the desire of the Cherokees to secure an indefinite outlet west, in order that they should not in the future, by the encroachments of the whites and the diminution of game, be deprived of uninterrupted access to the more remote haunts of the buffalo and other large game animals. He was instructed to do everything consistent with justice in the matter to favor the Cherokees by securing from the Osages the concession of such a privilege, it being the object of the President that every favorable inducement should be held out to the Cherokees east of the Mississippi to remove and join their western brethren. This extension of their territory to the west was promised them by the President in the near future, and in the summer of 1819246 the Secretary of War instructed Reuben Lewis, United States Indian agent, to assure the Cherokees that the President, through the recent accession of territory from the Osages, was ready and willing to fulfill his promise.

Survey of east boundary of Cherokees in Arkansas.—Provision having been made in the treaty of 1817247 for a definition of the east line of the tract assigned the Cherokees on the Arkansas, Mr. Reuben Lewis, the Indian agent in that section, was designated, in the fall of 1818,248 to run and mark the line, and upon its completion to cause to be removed, without delay, all white settlers living west thereof, with the single exception mentioned in the treaty.

These instructions to Mr. Lewis miscarried in the mails and did not reach him until the following summer. The line had in the mean time been run by General William Rector, under the authority of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, which survey Mr. Lewis was authorized to accept as the correct boundary provided the Cherokees were satisfied therewith.249 The field notes of this survey were certified by General Rector April 14, 1819, and show the length of the line from Point Remove to White River to have been 71 miles 55 chains and the course N. 53° E.250

Treaty between Cherokees and Osages.—During this interval251 Governor Clark had succeeded in securing the presence at Saint Louis of representative delegations of both the Osage and Western Cherokee tribes, between whom, after protracted negotiations, he succeeded in establishing the most peaceful and harmonious relations, which were evidenced by all the usual formalities of a treaty.

DISPUTES AMONG CHEROKEES CONCERNING EMIGRATION.

The unhappy differences of mind among the Cherokees east of the Mississippi on the subject of removal, which had been fast approaching a climax as a consequence of the treaty of 1817, had been rather stimulated than otherwise by the frequent departure of parties for their new western home, and the constant importunities of the United States and State officials (frequently bearing the semblance of threats) having in view the removal of the entire tribe. The many and open acts of violence practiced by the "home" as against the "emigration" party at length called forth252 a vigorous letter of denunciation from the Secretary of War to Governor McMinn, the emigration superintendent. After detailing at much length the many advantages that would accrue to the Cherokee Nation by a removal beyond the contaminating influences always attendant upon the contact of a rude and barbarous people with a higher type of civilization, the unselfish and fatherly interest the Government of the United States had always manifested and still felt in the comfort and progress of the Cherokee people, and the great degree of liberality that had characterized its action in securing for the Cherokees in their new homes an indefinite outlet to the bountiful hunting grounds of the West, the Secretary concluded by an expression of the determination on the part of the United States to protect at all hazards from insult and injury to person or property every Cherokee who should express an opinion or take action favorable to the scheme of emigration. He also instructed Governor McMinn to lose no opportunity of impressing upon the minds of the Cherokees that the practical effect of a complete execution of the treaty of 1817 would be, as had been the intention of the Government when it was negotiated, to compel them either to remove to the Arkansas or to accept individual reservations and become citizens of the States within whose limits they respectively resided.

PUBLIC SENTIMENT IN TENNESSEE AND GEORGIA CONCERNING CHEROKEE REMOVAL.

Governor McMinn, being the executive of the State of Tennessee, could hardly be supposed to present the views of the Secretary of War to the Cherokees on the subject of their removal in milder terms or manner than they had been communicated to him. The public officer in that State who should have neglected such an opportunity of compelling the Cherokees to appreciate the benefits of a wholesale emigration to the West would have fared but ill at the polls in a contest for re-election. The people of both Tennessee and Georgia were unalterably determined that the Indians should be removed from their States, and no compromise or temporary expedient of delay would satisfy their demands.

Millions of acres of valuable lands, rich in all the elements that combine to satisfy the necessities and the desires of the husbandman—mountain, valley, and plain—comprising every variety of soil, fertilized by innumerable running streams and clothed with heavy forests of the finest timber, were yet in the possession of the native tribes of this region. Other lands in great quantities, available for white settlement and occupation, both in Kentucky and the adjoining States, were, it is true, lying idle. In point of soil, water, and timber they were doubtless equal if not superior to the Indian possessions. But the idea was all-prevalent then as it is now in border communities, that, however attractive may be the surrounding districts of public lands open to the inclination of anybody who desires to settle thereon, the prohibited domain of a neighboring Indian reservation must of necessity surpass it, and no application of the principles of reason, philosophy, or justice will serve to lessen the desire for its possession. Governor McMinn convened253 a council of the Cherokees, at which he presented to them in the strongest light the benefits that would accrue to their nation in the increasing happiness, prosperity, and population such as would attend their removal to the Arkansas, while, on the other hand, nothing but evil could follow their continued residence east of the Mississippi. Their lands would be constantly encroached upon by white settlers; border desperadoes would steal their stock, corrupt their women, and besot their warriors. However anxious the Government might be to protect them in the uninterrupted enjoyment of their present possessions, it would, from the circumstances of the case, be utterly unable to do so. He therefore proposed to them that they should, as a unit, agree to remove west of the Mississippi, and that the United States should pay them for their lands the sum of $100,000, in addition to all expenses of removal; which amount, upon their prompt and indignant refusal, he at once offered to double, but with as small measure of success.

The treaty of 1817 had made provision for the taking of a census of the whole Cherokee people during the month of June of the following year. The census was to form the basis for an equitable distribution of the annuities and other benefits of which the Cherokee Nation was in receipt, between the portion who continued to abide in their eastern homes and those who had removed to the Arkansas country, in proportion to their respective numbers. Pending this enumeration no annuities had been paid them, which produced much annoyance and dissatisfaction among both parties.

In consequence of the hostile and vindictive attitude manifested toward the emigrant party by the remainder of the nation and the many obstacles sought to be thrown in the path of removal, the authorities of the United States had hitherto refused to comply with the census provision of the treaty of 1817. Governor McMinn, after the rejection of both his purchase and his removal propositions, then proposed (in answer to the demand of the Cherokee council that he should cause the census to be taken in the manner provided) that if they would pass a formal vote of censure upon such of their officers as he should name as having violated the treaty by the use of intimidating measures against the Arkansas emigrants, he would cause the work of taking the census to be at once begun. The council also declined to do this, admitting that if such conduct had characterized any of their officers it was deserving of censure but denying that any proof of the charges had been submitted. They at last, however, as an evidence of their good disposition toward the United States, consented to the removal of one of the offensive officers named from his position as a member of the council, and the Secretary of War authorized254 the taking of the census to be proceeded with. Governor McMinn, in summing up the results of this council,255 assumes that about one-half of the nation had already committed themselves to the policy outlined in the treaty of 1817, by the fact that since December 28 of that year 718 families had enrolled themselves for removal (aggregating, with those already removed, 5,291 individuals), besides 146 families who had elected to take reservations in severalty. The lack of tangible results following this council was promptly reported to the Secretary of War by both Governor McMinn and Agent Meigs. The latter advised the authorities256 that a fully authorized and representative delegation of the Cherokee Nation would shortly proceed to Washington, and that, in his judgment, the nation was rapidly becoming satisfied of their inability to long postpone what to every impartial observer must appear as inevitable—an exchange of their country for a location west of the Mississippi River.

This delegation in due time257 arrived at the capital, and a series of councils or interviews was at once entered upon between themselves and the Secretary of War, as representing the President. Many and just were the causes of complaint presented to the Secretary by the delegation. The recital of their wrongs, the deep affection manifested for their native hills and streams, and the superstitious dread with which they looked upon removal to a new country as being the decisive step in their dispersion and destruction as a people were calculated to excite the sympathy of an unprejudiced mind. It had long been evident, however, that the simple minded barbarian was unable to cope with the intelligent and persistent demands of civilization, and that, with or without his consent, the advancing host of white settlers would ere many years be in full enjoyment of his present possessions.

TREATY CONCLUDED FOR FURTHER CESSION OF LAND.

After several preliminary discussions concerning the best method of adjusting their difficulties, the Secretary of War submitted to them,258 in writing, a statement of the basis upon which the United States would enter into a treaty with them, urging prompt action thereon, in order that the Senate might have time to exercise its constitutional functions upon the same prior to its approaching adjournment.

The salient points of this proposition were that the Cherokees should make a cession of land in proportion to the estimated number of their nation who had already removed or enrolled themselves for removal to the Arkansas; that the United States preferred the cession to be made in Tennessee and Georgia, and that in the latter State it should be as near and convenient to the existing white settlements as was possible; that the reservation which the Cherokees had expressed a desire to make for the benefit of a proposed school fund should be located within the limits of Alabama Territory, inasmuch as the cession to be made in Georgia would, under the provisions of the act of Congress of 1802, belong to that State, and the lands covering the proposed cession in Tennessee would be subject to location by North Carolina military land warrants. Neither was such school reservation to constitute any portion of the land which the Cherokees were to cede in conformity to the principle of exchange embodied in the first paragraph. The United States would continue to extend its protection to both branches of the Cherokee people, but those remaining east of the Mississippi, having expressed a desire that the lands retained by them should be absolutely guaranteed from any danger of future cession, were informed that in order to secure such guarantee it was indispensable that the cessions they were about to make should be ample, and that the portion of territory reserved by them should not be larger than was essential to their wants and convenience. The Secretary reminded them that should a larger quantity be retained it would not be possible, by any stipulation in the treaty, to prevent future cessions; that so long as they retained more land than was necessary or convenient for themselves they would feel inclined to sell and the United States to purchase. He commented on the fact that they were rapidly becoming like the white people, and could not longer live by hunting, but must work for their subsistence. In their new condition of life far less land would be essential to their happiness. Their great object should be to hold their land by severalty titles and to gradually adopt the manners and laws of life which prevailed among their white neighbors. It was only thus that they could be prosperous and happy, and neglect to accept and profit by the situation would inevitably result in their removal or extinction.

The question as to the area of territory that should be ceded as the equitable proportion of the Arkansas Cherokees formed the subject of much dispute. The Eastern Cherokees denied the accuracy of the emigration roll of Governor McMinn, and asserted that, instead of 5,291 emigrants, as stated by him, there had actually been not exceeding 3,500, while the non-emigrant portion of the nation they gave as numbering 12,514, or more than three-fourths of the entire community.259

It being impossible to reconcile these radical differences of estimate and the Indians becoming wearied and discouraged with the persistent importunities of the United States officials, they consented to the cession of those tracts of country naively described in the treaty of February 27, 1819,260 as "at least as extensive" as that to which the United States was entitled under the principles and provisions of the treaty of 1817. These cessions were made, as recited in the preamble to the treaty, as the commencement of those measures necessary to the civilization and preservation of their nation, and in order that the treaty of July 8, 1817, might, without further delay or the trouble or expense of taking the census therein provided for, be finally adjusted. It was also agreed that the distribution of annuities should be made in the proportion of two to one in favor of the Eastern Cherokees (it being assumed that about one-third of the nation had gone west), with the proviso that if the Arkansas Cherokees should offer formal objection to this ratio within one year after the ratification of the treaty, then a census, solely for the purpose of making a fair distribution of the annuity, should be taken at such time and in such manner as the President of the United States should designate. All leases of any portion of the territory reserved to the Cherokees were declared void, and the removal of all intruders upon their lands was promised, to which latter end an order was issued requiring such removal to take place on or before July 1, 1819.

Thus was concluded the treaty of February 27, 1819, which was promptly and favorably acted upon by the Senate and ratified and proclaimed by the President on the 10th of March following. The gist of such provisions of importance as are not detailed in these historical notes will be found by reference to the abstract preceding them.

Immediately upon the approval of the treaty by the Senate, the Secretary of War notified Governor McMinn261 of the fact, directing him to give no further encouragement to emigration to the Arkansas, but to proceed at once to wind up the business under the treaty of 1817.

Survey of boundaries.—Preparations were at once made for surveying and marking the lines of the cessions. Hon. Wilson Lumpkin, who was engaged in running the line between East Florida and the State of Georgia, was directed262 to suspend that work, and designated to survey the line of cession, commencing at the point where the Unicoi Turnpike crossed the Blue Ridge, and thence to the nearest main source of the Chestatee, and also to lay off the individual reservations that should be selected within the State of Georgia.

The following day263 Robert Houston was appointed to run the line of the cession within the State of Tennessee, commencing on the Highwassee River about 2 miles above Highwassee Old Town, as well as to survey the individual reservations within that State, and also the tracts reserved in North Carolina and Alabama Territory.

Mr. Houston performed his services as a surveyor to the satisfaction of all parties;264 but in running the line from the Unicoi Turnpike crossing of the Blue Ridge to the nearest main source of the Chestatee, a dispute arose between Mr. Lumpkin and the Cherokees as to which was the nearest main source of that river, the Frogtown or the Tessentee Fork. The surveyor ran the line to the source of the first named fork, while the Indians insisted that the latter was the proper stream, and demanded a re-examination of the survey. Agent Meigs having, however, reported265 in favor of the correctness of the survey, it was allowed to stand.266

STATUS OF CERTAIN CHEROKEES.

Early in the year 1820267 complaints began to arise as to the status of those Cherokees who had made their election to remove to the Arkansas country but had subsequently concluded to remain east. These, it was stated, numbered 817, and they found themselves placed in rather an anomalous situation. Their proportion of the Cherokee national domain had been ceded to the United States by the treaties of 1817 and 1819. Their share of annuities was being paid, under the treaty of 1819, to the Cherokees of the Arkansas. Their right to individual reservations under either treaty was denied, and they were not even allowed to vote, hold office, or participate in any of the affairs of the nation.

In this condition they soon became an element of much irritation in the body politic of the tribe. The Cherokee authorities urged that they should be furnished with rations and transportation to their brethren in the West, whither they were now willing to remove, but the Secretary of War instructed Agent Meigs268 that emigration to the Arkansas under the patronage of the Government had ceased, and that those Cherokees who had enrolled themselves for removal but had not yet gone, as well as all others thereafter determining to go, must do so at their own expense.