Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

In 1767 the legislature of North Carolina made an appropriation and the governor appointed three commissioners for running a dividing-line between the western settlements of that province and the Cherokee hunting grounds.[23]

_Treaty and purchase of 1768._--Mr. Stuart, the British superintendent of Indian affairs, on the 14th of October, 1768, concluded a treaty with the Cherokees at Hard Labor, South Carolina. Therein it was agreed that the southwest boundary of Virginia should be a line "extending from the point where the northern line of North Carolina intersects the Cherokee hunting grounds about 36 miles east of Long Island in the Holston River; and thence extending in a direct course north by east to Chiswell's mine on the east bank of the Kenhawa River, and thence down that stream to its junction with the Ohio."[24]

This treaty was made in pursuance of appeals from the Indians to stop further encroachments of settlers upon their lands and to have their boundaries definitely fixed, especially in the region of the north fork of Holston River and the headwaters of the Kanawha.

_Treaty and purchase of 1770._--The settlements having encroached beyond the line fixed by the treaty of 1768, a new treaty was concluded on the 18th October, 1770, at Lochabar, South Carolina. A new boundary line was established by this treaty commencing on the south bank of Holston River six miles east of Long Island, and running thence to the mouth of the Great Kanawha.[25]

_Treaty and purchase of 1772._--The Virginia authorities in the early part of 1772 concluded a treaty with the Cherokees whereby a boundary line was fixed between them, which was to run west from White Top Mountain in latitude 36° 30'.[26] This boundary left those settlers on the Watauga River within the Indian limits, whereupon, as a measure of temporary relief, they leased for a period of eight years from the Indians in consideration of goods to the value of five or six thousand dollars all the country on the waters of the Watauga. Subsequently in 1775 [March 19] they secured a deed in fee simple therefor upon the further consideration of £2,000.[27] This deed was executed to Charles Robertson as the representative or trustee of the Watauga Settlers' Association, and embraced the following tract of country, viz: All that tract on the waters of the Watauga, Holston, and Great Canaway or New River, beginning on the south or southwest of Holston River six miles above Long Island in that river; thence a direct line in nearly a south course to the ridge dividing the waters of Watauga from the waters of Nonachuckeh and along the ridge in a southeasterly direction to the Blue Ridge or line dividing North Carolina from the Cherokee lands; thence along the Blue Ridge to the Virginia line and west along such line to the Holston River; thence down the Holston River to the beginning, including all the waters of the Watauga, part of the waters of the Holston, and the head branches of New River or Great Canaway, agreeable to the aforesaid boundaries.

_Jacob Brown's purchase._--Jacob Brown, in 1772, for a horse load of goods leased from the Cherokees a tract on the Watauga and Nonachuchy Rivers.

Three years later (March 25, 1775) for a further consideration of ten shillings he secured from them a deed in fee for the leased tract as well as an additional tract of considerable extent.

The boundary of the first of these bodies of land ran from the mouth of Great Limestone Creek, thence up the same and its main fork to the ridge dividing the Wataugah and Nonachuchy Rivers; thence to the head of Indian Creek, where it joins the Great Iron Mountains, and along those mountains to the Nonachuchy River; across the Nonachuchy River, including its creeks, and down the side of Nonachuchy Mountain against the mouth of Great Limestone Creek and from thence to the place of beginning.

The second purchase comprised a tract lying on the Nonachuchy River below the mouth of Big Limestone on both sides of the river and adjoining the tract just described. Its boundaries were defined as beginning on the south side of the Nonachuchy River below the old fields that lie below the Limestone on the north side of Nonachuchy Mountain at a large rock; thence north 32° west to the mouth of Camp Creek on the south side of the river; thence across the river; thence pursuing a northwesterly course to the dividing ridge between Lick Creek and Watauga or Holston River, thence along the dividing ridge to the rest of Brown's lands; thence down the main fork of Big Limestone to its mouth; thence crossing the Nonachuchy River and pursuing a straight course to the Nonachuchy Mountains and along such mountains to the beginning.[28]

_Treaty and purchase of 1773._--On the 1st of June, 1773, a treaty was concluded jointly with the Creeks and Cherokees by the British superintendent whereby they ceded to Great Britain a tract beginning where the lower Creek path intersects the Ogeechee River, thence along the main channel of that river to the source of the southernmost branch thereof; thence along the ridge between the waters of Broad and Oconee Rivers up to the Buffalo Lick; thence in a straight line to the tree marked by the Cherokees near the head of the branch falling into the Oconee River [on the line between Clarke and Oglethorpe Counties, about 8 miles southeast of Athens]; thence along the said ridge 20 miles above the line already run by the Cherokees, and from thence across to the Savannah River by a line parallel to that formerly marked by them.

_Henderson's purchase by the treaty of 1775._--On the 17th of March, 1775, Richard Henderson and eight other private citizens concluded a treaty with the Cherokees at Sycamore Shoals, on Watauga River. By its terms they became the purchasers from the latter (in consideration of £10,000 worth of merchandise) of all the lands lying between Kentucky and Cumberland Rivers, under the name of the Colony of Transylvania in North America. This purchase was contained in two deeds, one of which was commonly known as the "Path Deed," and conveyed the following described tract: "Begin on the Holston River, where the course of Powell's Mountain strikes the same; thence up the river to the crossing of the Virginia line; thence westerly along the line run by Donelson * * * to a point six (6) English miles east of Long Island in Holston River; thence a direct course towards the mouth of the Great Kanawha until it reaches the top of the ridge of Powell's Mountain; thence westerly along said ridge to the beginning."

This tract was located in Northeast Tennessee and the extreme southwestern corner of Virginia.[29] The second deed covered a much larger area of territory and was generally known as the "Great Grant." It comprised the territory "beginning on the Ohio River at the mouth of the Kentucky, Cherokee, or what, by the English, is called Louisa River; thence up said river and the most northwardly fork of the same to the head-spring thereof; thence a southeast course to the ridge of Powell's Mountain; thence westwardly along the ridge of said mountain to a point from which a northwest course will strike the head-spring of the most southwardly branch of Cumberland River; thence down said river, including all its waters, to the Ohio River; thence up said river as it meanders to the beginning."[30] This tract comprises nearly the whole of Central and Western Kentucky as well as part of Northern Central Tennessee. Although a literal reading of these boundaries would include all the territory watered by the Cumberland River and its branches, the general understanding seems to have been (and it is so specifically stated in the report of the treaty commissioners of 1785) that Henderson's purchase did not extend south of Cumberland River proper.[31] The entire purchase included in both these deeds is shown as one tract on the accompanying map of cessions and numbered 7.

In this connection it is proper to remark that all of these grants to private individuals were regarded as legally inoperative, though in some instances the beneficiaries were permitted to enjoy the benefits of their purchases in a modified degree. All such purchases had been inhibited by royal proclamation of King George III, under date of October 7, 1763,[32] wherein all provincial governors were forbidden to grant lands or issue land warrants locatable upon any territory west of the mountains or of the sources of streams flowing into the Atlantic. All private persons were enjoined from purchasing lands from the Indians. All purchases made of such lands should be for the Crown by the governor or commander-in-chief of the colony at some general council or assembly of the Indians convened for that purpose.

In the particular purchase made by Henderson and his coadjutors, the benefits thereof were afterwards claimed by the authorities of Virginia and North Carolina for those States, as the successors of the royal prerogative within their respective limits. In consideration, however, of Henderson's valuable services on the frontier, and in compensation for his large expenditures of money in negotiating the purchase, the legislature of North Carolina in 1783 granted to him and those interested with him a tract of 200,000 acres,[33] constituting a strip 4 miles in width from old Indian town on Powell's River to the mouth, and thence a strip down the Clinch River for quantity 12 miles in width. The legislature of Virginia also granted them a tract of like extent upon the Ohio River, opposite Evansville, Indiana.[34]

_Treaties and purchases of 1777._--In consequence of continued hostilities between the Cherokees and the settlers, General Williamson in 1776 marched an army from South Carolina and destroyed the towns of the former on Keowee and Tugaloo Rivers. General Rutherford marched another force from North Carolina and Colonel Christian a third from Virginia, and destroyed most of their principal towns on the Tennessee.[35]

At the conclusion of hostilities with the Cherokees, following these expeditions, a treaty with them was concluded May 20, 1777, at De Witt's or Duett's Corners, South Carolina, by the States of South Carolina and Georgia. By the terms of this treaty the Indians ceded a considerable region of country upon the Savannah and Saluda Rivers,[36] comprising all their lands in South Carolina to the eastward of the Unacaye Mountains.

Two months later (July 20) Commissioners Preston, Christian, and Shelby, on the part of Virginia, and Avery, Sharpe, Winston, and Lanier, for North Carolina, also concluded a treaty with the Cherokees, by which, in the establishment of a boundary between the contracting parties, some parts of "Brown's line," previously mentioned, were agreed upon as a portion of the boundary, and the Indians relinquished their lands as low down on Holston River as the mouth of Cloud's Creek. To this treaty the Chicamauga band of Cherokees refused to give their assent.[37]

The boundaries defined by this treaty are alluded to and described in an act of the North Carolina legislature passed in the following year, wherein it is stipulated that "no person shall enter or survey any lands within the Indian hunting grounds, or without the limits heretofore ceded by them, which limits westward are declared to be as follows: Begin at a point on the dividing line which hath been agreed upon between the Cherokees and the colony of Virginia, where the line between that Commonwealth and this State (hereafter to be extended) shall intersect the same; running thence a right line to the mouth of Cloud's Creek, being the second creek below the Warrior's Ford, at the mouth of Carter's Valley; thence a right line to the highest point of Chimney Top Mountain or High Rock; thence a right line to the mouth of Camp or McNamee's Creek, on south bank of Nolichucky, about ten miles below the mouth of Big Limestone; from the mouth of Camp Creek a southeast course to the top of Great Iron Mountain, being the same which divides the hunting grounds of the Overhill Cherokees from the hunting grounds of the middle settlements; and from the top of Iron Mountain a south course to the dividing ridge between the waters of French Broad, and Nolichucky Rivers; thence a southwesterly course along the ridge to the great ridge of the Appalachian Mountains, which divide the eastern and western waters; thence with said dividing ridge to the line that divides the State of South Carolina from this State."[38]

_Emigration of Chicamauga band._--The Cherokees being very much curtailed in their hunting grounds by the loss of the territory wrested from them by the terms of these two treaties, began a movement further down the Tennessee River, and the most warlike and intractable portion of them, known as the Chicamaugas, settled and built towns on Chicamauga Creek, about one hundred miles below the mouth of the Holston River. Becoming persuaded, however, that this creek was infested with witches they abandoned it in 1782, and built lower down the Tennessee the towns usually called "The Five Lower Towns on the Tennessee." These towns were named respectively Running Water, Nickajack, Long Island Village, Crow Town, and Lookout Mountain Town. From thence marauding parties were wont to issue in their operations against the rapidly encroaching settlements.[39]

Although comparative peace and quiet for a time followed the heroic treatment administered to the Indians by the expeditions of Williamson, Rutherford, Christian, and others, reciprocal outrages between the whites and Indians were of frequent occurrence. The situation was aggravated in 1783 by the action of the assembly of North Carolina in passing an act (without consulting the Indians or making any effort to secure their concurrence) extending the western boundary of that State to the Mississippi River, reserving, however, for the use of the Cherokees as a hunting ground a tract comprised between the point where the Tennessee River first crosses the southern boundary of the State and the head waters of Big Pigeon River.[40]

_Treaty and purchase of 1783._--On the 31st of May of this same year, by a treaty concluded at Augusta, Ga., the Cherokee delegates present (together with a few Creeks, who, on the 1st of November succeeding, agreed to the cession) assumed to cede to that State the respective claims of those two nations to the country lying on the west side of the Tugaloo River, extending to and including the Upper Oconee River region.[41] With the provisions of this treaty no large or representative portion of either nation was satisfied, and in connection with the remarkable territorial assertions of the State of North Carolina, together with the constant encroachments of white settlers beyond the Indian boundary line, a spirit of restless discontent and fear was nourished among the Indians that resulted in many acts of ferocious hostility.

_Treaties with the State of Franklin._--In 1784, in consequence of the cession by North Carolina to the United States of all her claims to lands west of the mountains (which cession was not, however, accepted by the United States within the two years prescribed by the act) the citizens within the limits of the present State of Tennessee elected delegates to a convention, which formed a State organization under the name of the State of Franklin and which maintained a somewhat precarious political existence for about four years. During this interval the authorities of the so-called State negotiated two treaties with the Cherokee Nation, the first one being entered into near the mouth of Dumplin Creek, on the north bank of French Broad River, May 31, 1785.[42] This treaty established the ridge dividing the waters of Little River from those of the Tennessee as the dividing line between the possessions of the whites and Indians, the latter ceding all claim to lands south of the French Broad and Holston, lying east of that ridge. The second treaty or conference was held at Chote Ford and Coytoy, July 31 to August 3, 1786. The Franklin Commissioners at this conference modestly remarked, "We only claim the island in Tennessee at the mouth of Holston and from the head of the island to the dividing ridge between the Holston River, Little River, and Tennessee to the Blue Ridge, and the lands North Carolina sold us on the north side of Tennessee." They urged this claim under threat of extirpating the Cherokees as the penalty of refusal.[43]

TREATY RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES.

This general history of the Cherokee Nation and the treaty relations that had existed with the colonial authorities from the period of their first official contact with each other is given as preliminary to the consideration of the history and provisions of the first treaty negotiated between commissioners on the part of the United States and the said Cherokee Nation, viz, the treaty concluded at Hopewell, on the Keowee River, November 28, 1785, an abstract of the provisions of which is hereinbefore given.[44]

The conclusion of this treaty marked the beginning of a new era in the relations between the whites and Cherokees. The boundaries then fixed were the most favorable it was possible to obtain from the latter without regard to previous purchases and pretended purchases made by private individuals and others. Although the Indians yielded an extensive territory to the United States,[45] yet, on the other hand, the latter conceded to the Cherokees a considerable extent of territory that had already been purchased from them by private individuals or associations, though by methods of more than doubtful legality.

The contentions between the border settlers of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, as well as of the authorities of those States, with the Cherokees and Creeks, concerning boundaries and the constantly recurring mutual depredations and assaults upon each other's lives and property, prompted Congress, though still deriving its powers from the Articles of Confederation, to the active exercise of its treaty-making functions. It was, therefore, determined[46] to appoint commissioners who should be empowered under their instructions, subject, of course, to ratification by Congress, to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokees, at which the boundaries of the lands claimed by them should be as accurately ascertained as might be, and the line of division carefully marked between them and the white settlements. This was deemed essential in order that authoritative proclamation might be made of the same, advising and warning settlers against further encroachments upon Indian territory.

PROCEEDINGS AT TREATY OF HOPEWELL.

The commissioners deputed for the performance of this duty were Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, Joseph Martin, and Lachlan McIntosh. They convened the Indians in council at Hopewell, S. C., on the 18th of November, 1785.[47] Hopewell is on the Keowee River, 15 miles above the junction of that river with the Tugaloo. The commissioners announced to the Indians the change of sovereignty from Great Britain to Congress that had taken place in the country as a consequence of the successful termination of the Revolution. They further set forth that Congress wanted none of the Indian lands, nor anything else belonging to them, but that if they had any grievances, to state them freely, and Congress would see justice done them. The Indian chiefs drafted a map showing the limits of country claimed by them, which included the greater portion of Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as portions of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Being reminded by the commissioners that this claim covered the country purchased by Colonel Henderson, who was now dead, and whose purchase must therefore not be disputed, they consented to relinquish that portion of it. They also consented that the line as finally agreed upon, from the mouth of Duck River to the dividing ridge between the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, should be continued up that ridge and from thence to the Cumberland in such a manner as to leave all the white settlers in the Cumberland country outside of the Indian limits.

At the time, it was supposed this could be accomplished by running a northeast line from the ridge so as to strike the Cumberland _forty miles above Nashville_. This portion of the boundary, not having been affected by the treaty of 1791 (as was supposed by the Cherokees), was reiterated in that treaty in a reverse direction. But the language used--whether intentional or accidental--rendered it susceptible of a construction more favorable to the whites. This language read, "Thence down the Cumberland River to a point from which a southwest line will strike the ridge which divides the waters of Cumberland from those of Duck River, 40 miles above Nashville." As this line was not actually surveyed and marked until the fall of 1797,[48] and as the settlements in that locality had in the meantime materially advanced, it became necessary, in order to exclude the bulk of the settlers from the Indian country, to take advantage of this technicality. The line was consequently so run (from a point on said dividing ridge 40 miles above Nashville) that it struck the Cumberland River about 1 mile above the mouth of Rock Castle River, a distance of perhaps 175 to 200 miles above Nashville. This line was surveyed by General James Winchester, who, under date of November 9, 1797, in a letter to General Robertson, describes a portion of it as running as follows:

From Walton's road to the Fort Blount road, which it crosses
near the two springs at the 32-mile tree; crosses Obey's River
about 6 or 7 miles from the mouth; Achmugh about 2 miles above
the Salt Lick; the South Fork of Cumberland, or Flute River, 5 or
6 miles from the mouth, and struck Cumberland River about a mile
above the mouth of Rock Castle.

He also adds that the total length of the line (from the dividing ridge to Cumberland River above Rock Castle) is 138-11/16 miles.

The Fort Blount here mentioned was on the south side of Cumberland River, about 6 miles in a direct line, southwest of Gainesboro', and the road led from there to Walton's road, which it joined at or near the present site of Cooksville.[49] Walton's or Caney Fork road led from Carthage in an easterly direction, and before the organization of Putnam County formed the boundary line between Overton and White counties, from whence it continued easterly through Anderson's Cross Roads and Montgomery to Wilson's, in Knox County. The "Two Springs," are about 2 or 3 miles northwest of Cooksville.[49]

There is much difficulty in determining the absolute course of the "Winchester line," from the meager description contained in his letter above quoted. Arrowsmith and Lewis, in their Atlas, published in 1805, lay down the line as pursuing a perfectly straight course from its point of departure on the dividing ridge to its termination on the Cumberland above the mouth of Rock Castle River. Their authority for such a definition of the boundary is not given. If such was the true course of the line, the description given in General Winchester's letter would need some explanation. He must have considered Obey's River as emptying into Wolf River in order to bring his crossing of the former stream reasonably near the distance from its mouth specified by him. He must also have been mistaken in his estimate of the distance at which the line crossed above the mouth of the South Fork of the Cumberland. The line of Arrowsmith and Lewis would cross that stream at least 12 miles in a direct line above its mouth, instead of five or six. It is ascertained from correspondence with the officers of the Historical Society of Tennessee, that the line, after crossing the Fort Blount road at the "Two Springs," continued in a northeasterly direction, crossing Roaring Fork near the mouth of a small creek, and, pursuing the same course, passed to the east of the town of Livingston. "Nettle Carrier," a Cherokee Indian of some local note, lived on the headwaters of Nettle Carrier's Creek, about four or five miles east of Livingston, and the line passed about half-way between his cabin and the present site of that village.[50] Thence it continued to the crossing of Obey's River, and thence to the point of intersection with the Kentucky boundary line, which is ascertained to have been at the northeast corner of Overton County, Tennessee, as originally organized in 1806. From this point the line continued to the crossing of Big South Fork, at the place indicated by General Winchester, and thence on to the Cumberland at the terminal point one mile above the mouth of Rock Castle River. In the interest of clearness a literal following of the line indicated in General Winchester's letter, and also that given by Arrowsmith and Lewis, are shown upon the accompanying map. At the conference preliminary to the signing of the treaty of 1785, the Indians also asserted that within the fork of the French Broad and Holston Rivers were 3,000 white settlers who were there in defiance of their protests. They maintained that they had never ceded that country, and it being a favorite spot with them the settlers must be removed. The commissioners vainly endeavored to secure a cession of the French Broad tract, remarking that the settlers were too numerous to make their removal possible, but could only succeed in securing the insertion of an article in the treaty, providing for the submission of the subject to Congress, the settlers, in the mean time, to remain unmolested.[51]

_Protest of North Carolina and Georgia._--During the pendency of negotiations, William Blount, of North Carolina, and John King and Thomas Glasscock, of Georgia, presented their commissions as the agents representing the interests of their respective States. They entered formal protests in the names of those States against the validity of the treaty, as containing several stipulations which infringed and violated the legislative rights thereof. The principal of these was the right, as assumed by the commissioners, of assigning to the Indians, territory which had already been appropriated, by act of the legislature in the case of North Carolina, to the discharge of bounty-land claims of the officers and soldiers of that State who had served in the Continental line during the Revolution.[52]

There were present at this treaty, according to the report of the commissioners, 918 Cherokees, to whom, after the signature and execution thereof, were distributed as presents goods to the value of $1,311-10/90. The meagerness of the supply was occasioned, as the commissioners explained, by their expectancy of only meeting the chiefs and headmen.[53]

_Location of boundaries._--In the location of the boundary points between the Cherokees and whites, recited in the fourth article of the treaty, it is proper to remark that--

1. The route of the line along the ridge between Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, and from thence to the Cumberland, at a point 40 miles above Nashville, has already been recited.

2. "The ford where the Kentucky road crosses the river" (Cumberland) is at a point opposite the mouth of Left-Hand Fork, about 12 or 13 miles slightly west of north of Cumberland Gap. From the point "40 miles above Nashville" to this ford, the commissioners adopted, as they declare, the line of Henderson's Purchase; while from the "Kentucky Ford" to the mountain, 6 miles south of the mouth of Camp Creek on Nolichucky, they followed the boundary prescribed by the treaty of July 20, 1777, with Virginia and North Carolina.[54]

3. "Campbell's line" was surveyed in 1777-'78 by General William Campbell, as a commissioner for marking the boundary between Virginia and the Cherokees. It extended from the mouth of Big Creek to the high knob on Poor Valley Ridge, 332 poles S. 70° E. of the summit of the main ridge of Cumberland Mountain, a short distance west of Cumberland Gap.[55] The point at which the treaty line of 1785 struck Campbell's line was at the Kentucky road crossing, about 1-1/2 miles southeast of Cumberland Gap.

4. The treaty line followed Campbell's line until it reached a point due north of the mouth of Cloud's Creek. From this point it ran south to the mouth of that creek, which enters the Holston from the north, 3 miles west of Rogersville.

5. The line from Cloud's Creek pursued a northeasterly direction to Chimney Top Mountain, which it struck at a point about 2 miles to the southward of the Long Island of Holston River.

6. "Camp Creek, near the mouth of Big Limestone, on the Nolichucky" (which is the next point in the boundary line), is a south branch of Nolichucky River in Greene County, Tennessee, between Horse and Cove Creeks, and empties about 6 miles southeast of Greeneville. It was sometimes called McNamee's Creek.

7. The mountain "six miles to the southward of Camp Creek" was in the Great Smoky or Iron Range, not far from the head of that creek.

8. "Thence south to the North Carolina line, thence to the South Carolina Indian boundary." This line was partially surveyed in the winter of 1791, by Joseph Hardin, under the direction of Governor Blount.[56] It ran southeasterly from the mouth of McNamee's or Camp Creek, a distance, as stated by Governor Blount, of 60 miles to Rutherford's War Trace, although the point at which it struck this "Trace," which is given in Governor Blount's correspondence as being 10 or 12 miles west of the Swannanoa settlement, is only a trifle over 50 miles in a direct line from the mouth of Camp Creek.

The "Rutherford's War Trace" here spoken of was the route pursued by General Griffith Rutherford, who, in the summer of 1776, marched an army of 2,400 men against the Cherokees. He was re-enforced by Colonels Martin and Armstrong at Cathey's Fort; crossed the Blue Ridge at Swannanæ Gap; passed down and over the French Broad at a place yet known as the "War Ford;" continued up the valley of Hominy Creek, leaving Pisgah Mountain to the left and crossing Pigeon River a little below the mouth of East Fork; thence through the mountains to Richland Creek, above the present town of Waynesville; ascended that creek and crossed Tuckaseigee River at an Indian village; continued across Cowee Mountain, and thence to the Middle Cherokee Towns on Tennessee River, to meet General Williamson, from South Carolina, with an army bent on a like mission.[57] The boundary between western North Carolina and South Carolina was not definitely established at the date of the survey of Hardin's line and, as shown by an old map on file in the Office of Indian Affairs, the point at which a prolongation of Hardin's line would have struck the South Carolina Indian boundary was supposed to be on or near the 35th degree of north latitude,[58] whereas it was actually more than 20 miles to the north of that parallel and about 10 miles to the north of the present boundary of South Carolina. The definite establishment of this treaty line of 1785 in this quarter, however, became unnecessary by reason of the ratification in February, 1792, of the Cherokee treaty concluded July 2, 1791,[59] wherein the Indian boundary line was withdrawn a considerable distance to the west.

9. The line along the "South Carolina Indian boundary" ran in a southwesterly direction from the point of contact with the prolongation of Hardin's line, passing over "Ocunna" Mountain a short distance to the northwestwardly of Oconee Station and striking the Tugaloo River at a point about 1 mile above the mouth of Panther Creek.[58]

10. The line from Tugaloo River pursued a west of south course to Currahee Mountain, which is the southern terminus of a spur of the Alleghany Mountains, and is situated 4 miles southwest of "Toccoa Falls" and 16 miles northwest of Carnesville, Georgia.

11. From "Currahee Mountain to the head of the south fork of Oconee River," the line pursued a course south 38° west[58] to the source of that stream, now commonly known as the Appallachee River, and was the terminal point of the boundary as defined in this treaty. This line was surveyed in 1798[60] under the direction of Col. Benj. Hawkins.

It is also a pertinent fact in connection with the boundaries defined by this treaty (as already stated in connection with Henderson's treaty), that although a literal reading of the description contained in Henderson's "Great Grant" of 1775 would include all the country watered by the tributaries of the Cumberland, the commissioners who negotiated this treaty of Hopewell in 1785 did not consider Henderson's Purchase as extending south of the Cumberland River proper, except in its course from Powell's Mountain to the head of the most southwardly branch of that river. This branch was considered by these commissioners of 1785 as being the Yellow River, whose source was at best but imperfectly known. They specifically state that they accept the boundaries of Henderson's Purchase in this direction,[61] and as the boundary defined by them between Powell's Mountain and Yellow River was "Campbell's line," they must have considered that line as being the southern limit of Henderson's Great Grant.

[Footnote 1: In pocket at the end of volume.]

[Footnote 2: United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 18.]

[Footnote 3: I am informed by Colonel Bushyhead, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, that Bartram is mistaken in his latter assumption. The letter "r" was never used except among the Overhill Cherokees, and occurred very infrequently with them.]

[Footnote 4: The full title of this work is "Descriptionis Ptolemaicæ Augmentum; sive Occidentis Notitia, brevi commentario illustrata, studio et opera, Cornely Wytfliet, Louaniensis. Lovanii, Typis Iohannis Bogardi, anno Domini MDXCVII."]

[Footnote 5: Campbell's Virginia, p. 268.]

[Footnote 6: Logan's South Carolina, Vol. I, p. 168.]

[Footnote 7: Martin's North Carolina, Vol. I, p. 194.]

[Footnote 8: Logan's South Carolina, Vol. I, p. 141.]

[Footnote 9: Logan's South Carolina, Vol. I, p. 182.]

[Footnote 10: Adair's American Indians.]

[Footnote 11: Report Commissioner Indian Affairs for 1883, p. 272.]

[Footnote 12: Bartram's Travels in North America from 1773 to 1778, p. 371.]

[Footnote 13: From a distribution roll of Cherokee annuities paid in the year 1799 it appears that there were then 51 Cherokee towns, designated as follows: Oostinawley, Creek Path, Aumoia, Nicojack, Running Water, Ellijay, Cabben, High Tower, Pine Log, High Tower Forks, Tocoah, Coosawaytee, Crowtown, Shoemeck, Aumuchee, Tulloolah, Willstown, Acohee, Cuclon, Duck-town, Ailigulsha, Highwassee, Tennessee, Lookout Mountain, Noyohee, Tusquittee, Coosa, Nantiyallee, Saukee, Keyukee, Red Bank, Nukeza, Cowpens, Telassee, Buffalo Town, Little Tellico, Rabbit Trap, Notley, Turnip Mountain, Sallicoah, Kautika, Tausitu, Watoga, Cowee, Chillhoway, Chestuee, Turkey Town, Toquah, Chota, Big Tellico, and Tusskegee.]

[Footnote 14: Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, p. 46.]

[Footnote 15: Martin's North Carolina, Vol. II, pp. 3, 9, and 11.]

[Footnote 16: Hewat's History of South Carolina and Georgia, Vol. II, pp. 203, 204.]

[Footnote 17: Broad River was formerly known as Eswaw-Huppedaw or Line River. See Mills' Statistics of South Carolina, p. 555.]

[Footnote 18: Williamson's North Carolina, Vol. II, p. 87.]

[Footnote 19: Martin's North Carolina. Vol. II, p. 87.]

[Footnote 20: Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, p. 68.]

[Footnote 21: Martin's North Carolina, Vol. II, p. 106.]

[Footnote 22: Ib., Vol. II, p. 152.]

[Footnote 23: Ib., Vol. II, p. 226.]

[Footnote 24: Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, p. 76.]

[Footnote 25: Ib., p. 102.]

[Footnote 26: Ib., p. 109.]

[Footnote 27: Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, p. 119.]

[Footnote 28: Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, pp. 110, 121.]

[Footnote 29: There seems to be a confused idea in this description as to the identity of Powell's Mountain. This was doubtless occasioned by a lack of definite knowledge concerning the topography of the country. This ridge, as it is commonly known, does not touch the Holston River, but lies between Powell's and Clinch Rivers. The mountains supposed to be alluded to in that portion of the description are a spur of the Clinch Mountains, which close in on the Holston River, near the mouth of Cloud's Creek.]

[Footnote 30: Mann Butler's Appeal, pp. 26, 27.]

[Footnote 31: American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 38.]

[Footnote 32: Martin's North Carolina, Vol. II, p. 339.]

[Footnote 33: Haywood's Tennessee, pp. 16, 17.]

[Footnote 34: Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, p. 204.]

[Footnote 35: Letter of Governor Blount to Secretary of War, January 14, 1793. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 431.]

[Footnote 36: American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 431, and Ramsey's Tenn., p. 172.]

[Footnote 37: Haywood's Tennessee, p. 451.]

[Footnote 38: Scott's Laws of Tennessee and North Carolina, Vol. I, p. 225.]

[Footnote 39: Letter of Governor Blount to Secretary of War, January 14, 1793. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 431, also page 263.]

[Footnote 40: Report of Senate Committee March 1, 1797. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 623. Also Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, p. 276.] .]

[Footnote 41: Carpenter and Arthur's History of Georgia, p. 253.]

[Footnote 42: Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, p. 299.]

[Footnote 43: Ib., p. 345.]

[Footnote 44: United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 18.]

[Footnote 45: See Nos. 10_a_ and 10_b_ on accompanying map of Cherokee cessions.]

[Footnote 46: By resolution of Congress, March 15, 1785.]

[Footnote 47: Report of Treaty Commissioners, dated Hopewell, December 2, 1785. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 40.]

[Footnote 48: American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 628, and letter of General Winchester to General Robertson, November 9, 1797.]

[Footnote 49: Letter of Hon. John M. Lea, of Nashville, Tenn., to the author.]

[Footnote 50: Letter of Geo. H. Morgan, of Gainesborough, Tennessee.]

[Footnote 51: Report of Treaty Commissioners. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 38.]

[Footnote 52: American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 44.]

[Footnote 53: Journal of Treaty Commissioners. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 43.]

[Footnote 54: Report of Treaty Commissioners in American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 38.]

[Footnote 55: Letter of Return J. Meigs to Secretary of War, May 5, 1803; also, letter of Hon. John M. Lea, Nashville, Tennessee.]

[Footnote 56: Letter of Governor Blount to Secretary of War, December 16, 1792, in American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 631.]

[Footnote 57: Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee.]

[Footnote 58: Old manuscript map on file in Indian Office, Washington, D. C.]

[Footnote 59: United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 39.]

TREATY CONCLUDED JULY 2, 1791; PROCLAIMED FEBRUARY 7, 1792.[62]

_Held on bank of Holston River, near the mouth of French
Broad, between William Blount, governor of the Territory south of
Ohio River and superintendent of Indian affairs, representing the
President of the United States, on the part and behalf of said
States, and the chiefs and warriors of the Cherokee Nation on the
part and behalf of said nation._

MATERIAL PROVISIONS.

1. Perpetual peace declared between the United States and the Cherokee Nation.

2. Cherokees to be under sole protection of the United States and to hold no treaty with any State or individuals.

3. Cherokees and the United States to mutually release prisoners captured one from the other.

4. Boundary between the United States and the Cherokees defined as follows: Beginning at the top of Currahee Mountain, where the Creek line passes it; thence a direct line to Tugelo River; thence northeast to Ocunna Mountain and over same along South Carolina Indian boundary to the North Carolina boundary; thence north to a point from which a line is to be extended to the River Clinch that shall pass the Holston at the ridge dividing waters of Little River from those of Tennessee River; thence up Clinch River to Campbell's line and along the same to the top of Cumberland Mountain; thence a direct line to Cumberland River where the Kentucky road crosses it; thence down Cumberland River to a point from which a southwest line will strike the ridge dividing waters of Cumberland from those of Duck River 40 miles above Nashville; thence down said ridge to a point from which a southwest line will strike the mouth of Duck River.

To prevent future disputes, said boundary to be ascertained and marked by three persons appointed by the United States and three persons appointed by the Cherokees.

To extinguish all claim of Cherokees to lands lying to the right of said line, the United States agree to immediately deliver certain valuable goods to the Cherokees and to pay them $1,000 annually.

5. Citizens of United States to have free use of road from Washington District to Mero District and of navigation of Tennessee River.

6. The United States to have exclusive right of regulating trade with the Cherokees.

7. The United States solemnly guarantee to the Cherokees all their lands not herein ceded.

8. Citizens of the United States or others not Indians settling on Cherokee lands to forfeit protection of the United States and be punished as the Indians see fit.

9. Inhabitants of the United States forbidden to hunt on Cherokee lands, or to pass over the same without a passport from the governor of a State or Territory or other person authorized by the President of the United States to grant the same.

10. Cherokees committing crimes against citizens of the United States to be delivered up and punished by United States laws.

11. Inhabitants of the United States committing crimes or trespass against Cherokees to be tried and punished under United States laws.

12. Retaliation or reprisal forbidden until satisfaction has been refused by the aggressor.

13. Cherokees to give notice of any designs against the peace and interests of the United States.

14. Cherokees to be furnished with useful implements of husbandry. United States to send four persons to reside in Cherokee country to act as interpreters.

15. All animosities to cease and treaty to be faithfully carried out.

16. Treaty to take effect when ratified by the President of the United States by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

[Footnote 60: See resolution of Georgia legislature, June 16, 1802. It is however stated by Return J. Meigs, in a letter to the Secretary of War dated December 20, 1811, that this line was run by Colonel Hawkins in 1797.]

[Footnote 61: American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 38.]

[Footnote 62: United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 39.]

HISTORICAL DATA.

CAUSES OF DISSATISFACTION WITH THE BOUNDARY OF 1785.

The boundary line prescribed by the treaty of November 28, 1785, had been unsatisfactory to both the Cherokees and the whites. On the part of the former the chief cause of complaint was the non-removal of the settlers in the fork of the French Broad and Holston Rivers and their evident disposition to encroach still farther into the Indian country at every opportunity. The whites, on the other hand, were discontented because further curtailment of the Cherokee territory had not been compelled by the commissioners who negotiated the treaty, and the State authorities of North Carolina and Georgia had protested because of the alleged interference by the General Government with the reserved rights of the States.[63] In retaliation for the intrusions of the whites the Indians were continually engaged in pilfering their stock and other property.

The state of affairs resulting from this continual friction rendered some decisive action by Congress necessary. A large portion of the land in Greene and Hawkins Counties, Tennessee, had been entered by the settlers under the laws of North Carolina, whereby she had assumed jurisdiction to the Mississippi River.[64] These lands were south and west of the treaty line of 1785, as were also the lands on the west side of the Clinch upon which settlements had been made. Settlers to the number of several thousand, south of the French Broad and Holston, were also within the Cherokee limits.[65]

It is true that the authorities of the so-called State of Franklin had in the years 1785 and 1786 negotiated two treaties with the Cherokees, obtaining cessions from the latter covering most, if not all, of these lands,[66] but neither the State of North Carolina nor the United States recognized these treaties as of any force or validity.

These trespasses called forth under date of September 1, 1788, a proclamation from Congress forbidding all such unwarrantable intrusions, and enjoining all those who had settled upon the hunting ground of the Cherokees to depart with their families and effects without loss of time.

General Knox, Secretary of War, under date of July 7, 1789, in a communication to the President, remarked that "the disgraceful violation of the treaty of Hopewell with the Cherokees requires the serious consideration of Congress. If so direct and manifest contempt of the authority of the United States be suffered with impunity, it will be in vain to attempt to extend the arm of government to the frontiers. The Indian tribes can have no faith in such imbecile promises, and the lawless whites will ridicule a government which shall, on paper only, make Indian treaties and regulate Indian boundaries."[67]

He recommended the appointment of three commissioners on the part of the United States, who should be invested with full powers to examine into the case of the Cherokees and to renew with them the treaty made at Hopewell in 1785; also to report to the President such measures as should be necessary to protect the Indians in the boundaries secured to them by that treaty, which he suggested would involve the establishment of military posts within the Indian country and the services of at least five hundred troops. President Washington, on the same day, transmitted the report of the Secretary of War, with the accompanying papers, to Congress. He approved of the recommendations of General Knox, and urged upon that body prompt action in the matter.

Congress, however, failed to take any decisive action at that session, and on the 11th of August, 1790, President Washington again brought the subject to the attention of that body. After reciting the substance of his previous communication, he added that, notwithstanding the treaty of Hopewell and the proclamation of Congress, upwards of five hundred families had settled upon the Cherokee lands, exclusive of those between the fork of the French Broad and Holston Rivers.[68] He further added that, as the obstructions to a proper conduct of the matter had been removed since his previous communication, by the accession of North Carolina to the Union and the cession to the United States by her of the lands in question,[69] he should conceive himself bound to exert the powers intrusted to him by the Constitution in order to carry into faithful execution the treaty of Hopewell, unless it should be thought proper to attempt to arrange a new boundary with the Cherokees, embracing the settlements and compensating the Cherokees for the cessions they should make.

_United States Senate authorizes a new treaty._--Upon the reception of this message the Senate adopted a resolution advising and consenting that the President should, at his discretion, cause the treaty of Hopewell to be carried into execution or enter into arrangements for such further cession of territory from the Cherokees as the tranquillity and interests of the United States should require. A proviso to this resolution limited the compensation to be paid to the Cherokees for such further cession to $1,000 per annum and stipulated that no person who had taken possession of any lands within the limits of the proposed cession should be confirmed therein until he had complied with such terms as Congress should thereafter prescribe.

Accordingly, instructions were issued to William Blount, governor of the Territory south of the Ohio River and _ex-officio_ superintendent of Indian affairs, to conclude a treaty of cession with the Cherokees.[70]

TENNESSEE COMPANY'S PURCHASE.

In the mean time the troubles between the Indians and the settlers had become aggravated from divers causes. Prominent among these was the fact that Georgia had by act of her legislature disposed of 3,500,000 acres of vacant land lying south of Tennessee River to the Tennessee Company. This association undertook to effect a settlement in the year 1791 at or near the Muscle Shoals.[71] The matter coming to the notice of the Secretary of War was made the subject of a strong protest by him to the President.[72]

The latter issued his proclamation forbidding such settlement. The company persisted in the attempt, and as the President had declared such act would place them without the protection of the United States, the Indians were left free to break up and destroy the settlement, which they did.[73]

DIFFICULTIES IN NEGOTIATING NEW TREATY.

In pursuance of Governor Blount's instructions, he convened the Indians at White's Fort, on the present site of Knoxville, Tenn.; and after a conference lasting seven days, succeeded, with much difficulty and with great reluctance on the part of the Cherokees, in concluding the treaty of July 2, 1791.[74]

In his letter to the Secretary of War,[75] transmitting the treaty, he asserts the greatest difficulty to have been in agreeing on a boundary, and that the one fixed upon might seem singular. The reason for this peculiarity of description was owing to the fact that the Indians insisted on beginning on the part where they were most tenacious of the land, in preference to the mouth of Duck River, where the Hopewell treaty line began. The land to the right of the line was declared to belong to the United States, because no given point of the compass would describe it. In accordance with his instructions, Governor Blount proposed to the Indians that the ridge dividing the waters of Little River from those of the Tennessee should form a part of the boundary. To this the Indians would not agree, but insisted on the straight line which should cross the Holston where that ridge should strike it. Governor Blount explains that this line is not so limited by the treaty as to the point at which it shall leave the north line or at which it shall strike the Clinch, but that it might be so run as either to include or leave out the settlers south of the ridge; the only stipulations respecting it being that it should cross the Holston at the ridge, and should be run by commissioners appointed by the respective parties.

He urged that the line should be run immediately after the ratification of the treaty, as settlers were already located in the immediate vicinity of it, and more were preparing to follow.

The President transmitted the treaty to the Senate with his message of October 26, 1791,[76] and Senator Hawkins, from the committee to whom it was referred, reported it back to the Senate on the 9th of November following, recommending that the Senate advise and consent to its ratification.[77]

On the 19th of the same month the Secretary of War advised Governor Blount that the treaty had been ratified by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and inclosed him 50 printed copies for distribution, although the United States Statutes at Large [Vol. VII, p. 39] give the date of the proclamation of the treaty as February 7, 1792.[78]

[Footnote 63: American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 44.]

[Footnote 64: Protest of Col. William Blount to Treaty Commissioners of 1785. American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 44, and Ramsey's Annals of Tenn., p. 549. Also Scott's Laws of Tennessee and North Carolina, Vol. I.]

[Footnote 65: American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 38.]

[Footnote 66: Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, p. 345.]

[Footnote 67: American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 53.]

[Footnote 68: Ib., p. 83.]

[Footnote 69: The assembly of North Carolina proceeded in 1789 to mature a plan for the severance of Tennessee, and passed an act for the purpose of ceding to the United States of America certain western lands therein described. In conformity with one of the provisions of the act, Samuel Johnson and Benjamin Hawkins, Senators in Congress from North Carolina, executed a deed to the United States on the 25th of February, 1790. Congress accepted the cession by act of April 2, 1790, and Tennessee ceased to be a part of North Carolina.]

[Footnote 70: These instructions were issued in pursuance of the advice and consent of the Senate, under date of August 11, 1790. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 135.]

[Footnote 71: This act of the Georgia legislature bore date of December 21, 1789. A prior act, bearing date February 7, 1785, had been passed, entitled "An act for laying out a district of land situated on the river Mississippi, within the limits of this State, into a county, to be called Bourbon." See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 114.]

[Footnote 72: January 22, 1791. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 112.]

[Footnote 73: Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, pp. 549-556.]

[Footnote 74: United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 39.]

[Footnote 75: July 15, 1791. See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 628.]

[Footnote 76: American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 123.]

[Footnote 77: Ib., p. 135.]

[Footnote 78: Ib., p. 629.]

SURVEY OF NEW BOUNDARIES.