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Chapter 30

This webpage reproduces a chapter of
The Five Civilized Tribes

by
Grant Foreman

University of Oklahoma Press
Norman, Oklahoma, 1934

The text is in the public domain.

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Chapter 32

[ Cherokee ]

 p407  Chapter thirty-one
Approaching the Civil War

There was great rejoicing in the Cherokee Nation in the spring of 1852. Word had gone out for the citizens to assemble at Fort Gibson and receive the per capita payment of the moneys promised them by the Treaty of 1846 after nearly six years of procrastination characteristic of the Government's dealing with the Indians. John Drennan, superintendent of Indian affairs for the southern superintendency, had paid the Old Settlers in the preceding autumn and then went to New Orleans to secure funds for the eastern or emigrant Cherokee people. He was obliged to remain in the city several weeks waiting for the currency to be minted; a tedious journey, delayed by low water in the rivers, brought him to Van Buren in February and after the rolls1 were completed he secured a force of troops to guard the money to Fort Gibson where the payment began on April 5. There were many Indians present, beside many merchants, hucksters, and purveyors of all sorts of pastries, sweets, and trifles to lure the Indians' money away from them. It required a month to complete the payment to all who came to the post; under the protection of the troops it was possible to prevent the introduction of whisky among those camped on the reservation.2 There was a large amount of money now in circulation in the Cherokee Nation, but it was soon spent and only a small part of it did any permanent good. Abundant crops this year added to the opulence of the Cherokee people. Naturally the flow of whisky continued and the friends of temperance redoubled their efforts. The Sons of Temperance  p408 held a largely attended meeting at Tahlequah, where speeches were made by members in English and Cherokee.

The time had now come when it was proper and necessary to give the growing town of Tahlequah corporate capacity. It had been laid off into town lots by authority of an act of the Cherokee council of October 28, 1843; on October 30, 1852, a measure was enacted incorporating the inhabitants therein under the name of the "Alderman and Town Council of the Town of Tahlequah," with the ordinary powers and duties of a municipality. The construction of a jail at Tahlequah was being agitated against much opposition. Prisoners were held in the custody of guards who were paid fifty cents a day for their services; as there were many so employed to detain the numerous prisoners in the Nation, they and their friends who enjoyed the prosperity that accrued from this system had been able to defeat the construction of the jail for a long time. The enforcement of the criminal laws had nearly bankrupted the nation; one recent trial alone had cost more than $2,000.

The great ambition of the progressive Cherokee people after long delay was realized in the opening of their two advanced schools. These two large brick and stone buildings represented an investment of tribal funds of about $80,000. It was planned to open them in October, 1850, but as the buildings were unfinished at that time and the furniture had not been delivered, it was impossible to do so. Finally on May 6, 1851, the exercises attending the opening of the Male Seminary were held; they were of absorbing interest and were attended by a large concourse of proud Cherokee people. Twenty-seven students were admitted on the opening of the school for the regular four-year course, and in February next, twenty-five more. The studies taught there included geography, history, arithmetic, algebra, English grammar, composition, elocution, and French, Latin, and Greek languages.

To make the season full to overflowing with proud Indian achievement, the Female Seminary was opened the next day with similar pomp and ceremony. William P. Ross and David Vann, then members of the Cherokee delegation in Washington, had been authorized to proceed to New England and employ teachers for the schools. They went to Mount Holyoke College, whence came many teachers of the Indians; there they employed Miss Ellen R. Whitmore and Miss  p409 Sarah Worcester, graduates of the school who became principal and assistant respectively of the new Female Seminary. They engaged also Rev. Thomas B. Van Horne of the Theological Seminary at Newton near Boston, and from the senior class of Yale College employed Mr. O. L. Woodford of Connecticut. They then accompanied the two Mount Holyoke graduates on the long hazardous journey to the Indian country. Sarah Worcester was a daughter of Rev. S. A. Worcester of Park Hill. Rev. Dr. Elizur Butler was the first steward or manager of the Female Seminary. These two schools were governed by a board composed of Chief John Ross, ex-officio president, David Vann, William Shorey Coodey, James M. Payne, and William P. Ross. Later as vacancies occurred on the board, H. D. Reese, John Thorn, David Carter, and Riley Keys were appointed and confirmed by the National Committee, later called the Senate. Each school was planned to accommodate 50 pupils.

"The school opened with twenty-five young ladies, the Flower of the Cherokee Nation as pupils," related the venerable Hannah Hitchcock many years later of the Female Seminary. "Ever after, the seventh of May was celebrated in commemoration of that happy day. One anniversary which I particularly remember — the large hall and the Parlor were beauti­fully decorated; and fragrant with perfume from great bunches of the lovely wild Pink Azalea or Bush Honeysuckle. The Military Band from Fort Gibson was on hand that day through the courtesy of General Belknap, post commander at that time. The exercises of the day included a most entertaining performance — the crowning a May Queen, Miss Josephine Dannenberg, who will be remembered by some as Mrs. Remus who died in Tahlequah not many years ago. It was a beauti­ful ceremony: distant music was heard, and as the sound came near a troop of young ladies appeared all in lovely light dresses, escorting their queen, singing as they marched and gathered round the throne — a bower of vines and flowers; and the maid of honor placed the crown of lovely roses on her head. In the afternoon when the exercises in the house were over, the band stationed themselves out in the shady BlackJack woods back of the building, and the company, ladies and gentlemen in pairs, promenaded round and round to the music of the Band to their hearts content."

Besides primary English branches, history, botany, algebra and Latin were taught in the girls' school. Vocal music received much attention also. There  p410 were fifty pupils in attendance the second year; thus both schools were filled to the capacity fixed by law.

The people were proud of their schools and school system, and the number of uneducated was rapidly diminishing. The Cherokee Nation had a better common school system than either Arkansas or Missouri. At this time there were 1,100 pupils attending twenty-one common schools,3 of whom 677 were boys and 423 girls. There were, in addition, 114 orphans who were cared for out of the orphan fund, but who attended the common schools. Later, a separate school was established for the orphans. Of those attending the common schools, 149 were "A‑B‑C‑darians," 435 studied reading and spelling exclusively, 149 geography, 163 geography and atlas, 272 oral arithmetic, 192 written arithmetic, 225 English grammar, and 345 writing.4

This was a happy and prosperous year for the Cherokee, though there was a good deal of sickness caused by a wet spring and summer; during the preceding winter the Nation had been ravaged by smallpox that carried off many people. There were numbers of deaths from pneumonia, and chills and fever took their toll of strength and energy.

"Many of the full-blood Cherokees yet have great aversion to the medicine of the regular faculty, and prefer the roots and herbs of their own native doctors. The more enlightened portion are fast losing that prejudice, and always call in a regular physician when one can be had; and it affords me much pleasure to be able to state that they have among them several physicians of high reputation in their profession, both whites and natives.

"The Cherokees have great reason to be thankful for the abundant yield with which the earth has repaid the labor of the husbandman. The common people are making slow but steady advances in the science of agriculture; the more enlightened and intelligent portion who have means live much in the same style of the southern gentleman of easy circumstances. Many of the dwellings of that class are large, comfortable, and handsome buildings; their fields, too, are well enclosed  p411 with good rail fences, and their yards and gardens are handsomely paled in, and the grounds tastefully laid off and ornamented with rare and beauti­ful shrubbery. The moral influence which is being brought to bear upon the young of the country, through the indefatigable efforts of the principal chief, and other intelligent and leading men of the nation, in the great cause of education, must tell power­fully upon the rising generation.

"The common schools of the nation were never in a more prosperous condition, and the exercises of the past year in the male and female seminaries have given entire satisfaction to the parents of the students and to the friends of education throughout the nation. Many of the Cherokee women are neat and industrious housewives, and have acquired many of the finer accomplishments of the whites. Some of them are accomplished needle women; their taste and skill in embroidery may be seen at the Crystal Palace in New York, where has been sent for exhibition a full Indian suit of dressed buckskin, beauti­fully embroidered with silk. This beauti­ful piece of work was designed and executed by the ladies in the family of Mr. J. M. Payne. The art of manufacturing cloth, both wool and cotton, is carried on to a considerable extent in some families. Some specimens which I have seen from the looms of Mrs. W. A. Adair would hold strong competition for prizes at any of the agricultural fairs of the States."5

The responsible men of the Cherokee Nation were becoming greatly concerned about the public debt. Many of them, including the editor of the Advocate, favored laying a tax on the people and a bill for that purpose was introduced in the National council, but defeated. The average citizen was opposed to it and advocated the sale of their "neutral lands" of 800,000 acres in Kansas Territory, which they believed would raise sufficient funds to pay all the debts and would finance their public enterprises that up to now were paid for out of the annuities due from the Government. The people were worried also by agitation in Congress to establish the "Territory of Nebraska," which would incorporate some of their lands.6 The cause of temperance was now promoted by three organizations, The Sons of Temperance with five divisions, numbering 302 members, the Cherokee Cold Water  p412 Army with 150 members, and the Cherokee Temperance Society with more than 2,000.

In addition to the schools belonging to the Cherokee Nation there were many under the supervision of the missions of the various church organizations. The Moravians, Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians each conducted a number of schools. The latter at Park Hill continued to operate a printing press where every year was produced a large output of material for the education and elevation of the Cherokee people. In 1854 Dr. S. A. Worcester reported that during the year his press had printed 756,000 pages; consisting of part of the Book of Exodus, the Cherokee Almanac for 1854, and a new edition of the Cherokee Primer, Cherokee Hymn-Book, and a part of the Gospel of John, all in the Cherokee language, but half of the Almanac was in English. He reported also the completion of a church at Park Hill, constructed of brick, fifty by fifty feet with a portico of ten feet, and a seating capacity of 400. The Presbyterians had five branches, at Dwight, Fairfield, Park Hill, Honey Creek, and Lees Creek. The Methodists had six missions with a member­ship of 1,379. The Baptists maintained at their mission near the Arkansas line a press on which in 1854 were printed a large number of extracts from the Scriptures, translated from the English into Cherokee by John Butrick Jones. The Baptists had six churches and four branches with 1,200 members, mostly full-bloods; there were five hewn log meeting-houses erected by the Indians, varying from thirty feet square to seventy by thirty feet, and five smaller ones for neighborhood meetings.7 Some of the missionaries, however, were exasperating the slave-holding Indians by their discussions of the subject of emancipation.

The year 1854 was marked by a drought that resulted in an almost total crop failure throughout the immigrant tribes, which brought much suffering but spurred the people to renewed industry the next year. Their agent reported that despite the embarrassment caused by their national debt and other difficulties they had to contend with, the Cherokee people continued to improve in many respects. There had been little crime in the past twelve months, their laws were rigidly enforced, and there was more harmony among them than there had been for many years. Agent Butler particularly urged the abandonment  p413 of Fort Gibson; the Cherokee people resented the presence of an army post on their land; but more than that they desired to be put in possession of the garrison site where they could use the only good boat landing in the country. Here they looked forward to securing the commercial advantages such a river port would provide, around which they hoped an important town would grow.

A delegation that had been sent to Washington during the session of Congress failed to secure the sale of the "neutral lands" to relieve them of their oppressive national debts. Abolitionist missionaries continued to cause complaint of their meddling with local affairs. The Cherokee were complaining bitterly of the grievous oppression exercised by the court sitting at Van Buren, Arkansas. The Nation having set up its own machinery for the detection and punishment of crime within its limits, was incensed that authorities connected with the United States court insisted on invading the Cherokee country, arresting members of the tribe and taking them to Van Buren to be tried for the offenses alleged to have been committed in the Nation. Members of the Cherokee tribe were seized, carried to Van Buren and thrown into prison where, for lack of information of procedure in the white man's court, they often lay for months without remedy or redress. This conflict of authority led to much unhappiness and unrest. It was only as late as 1847 that Indians were made competent witnesses in the white man's court.8

This year produced an astonishing report from Dr. Worcester's press: "The printing at Park Hill since my last report, has amounted to 1,025,000 pages, consisting of a further portion of Exodus, and four editions of the Gospel of John in Cherokee, an Almanac for 1855, in Cherokee and English, and a portion of the Gospel of Matthew in the Muskogee or Creek language."9 In this year the member­ship in the Methodist mission had increased to 1,450 members, whites and Indians, besides 150 Negroes. There were employed in these missions six white and eight Indian missionaries. Besides these there was one Moravian Mission.10 The difficulties with which schools were obliged  p414 to contend is indicated by the fact that they had been embarrassed by the delay of books on the way, which had been held up by low water on the Arkansas River for ten months.


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Rectory of the Moravian Mission at Oaks, Cherokee Nation,
constructed about 1844

The Male Seminary in this year saw its first graduating class of five members who entered with its opening in 1851. They were graduated in February and twenty-three new students were admitted in March. The attendance during the spring session was 46. Daily exercises had been had in declamation and frequent exercises in English composition. The five members of the first class studied geometry, Latin, intellectual philosophy, and rhetoric; the six of the second class, Latin, geometry, and natural philosophy; eleven in the third, elements of history, algebra, physiography, book-keeping and Latin; and 21 in the fourth class, Green's analysis of the English language, arithmetic, geography, reading, elocution, and penman­ship. In the Female Seminary there had been at times as many as sixty students in attendance. The first graduating class, numbering twelve, left the school in the spring of 1855. Pupils were permitted to enter at the age of fourteen if they had the necessary qualifications, usually acquired in the Cherokee common schools. At this time the third and fourth classes studied arithmetic, mental and written, geography, botany, and Latin; the second class, algebra, physiology, Watts on Improvement of the Mind, and Latin; the first class, geometry, history of Greece, Natural Theology, and intellectual philosophy. Pauline Avery was principal, assisted by Charlotte E. Raymond, and E. Jane Ross. For years many of the teachers in this and other tribal schools were graduates of Mt. Holyoke College, mbt the Cherokee authorities sought to qualify members of the tribe as teachers to take charge of all the schools; in time there were very few teachers from outside the Nation.

Peace at length seemed to have settled over the Cherokee country; Agent George Butler, in his report for 1856, found little cause of anxiety except that the educational facilities of the nation seemed to be in jeopardy; the large surplus of school funds on which the tribe had been drawing was exhausted. The Male and Female seminaries closed in the autumn of that year not to reopen for ten years after the devastation caused by the Civil War had been in a measure repaired.

The health of the country, Butler said, was good; it was fairly well supplied with physicians, and a number of young Cherokee were preparing themselves for the medical profession by pla­cing themselves  p415 under the instruction of established physicians in their country and completing their studies at an eastern medical college. Everywhere was a demand for more schools, but A. W. Duncan, the new superintendent, having no funds for the purpose, took the novel stand that the twenty-one schools would be better off if more of the youth devoted themselves to farming and mechanical pursuits instead of aspiring to qualifications that would relieve them from manual labor. "Our lands are uncultivated," he said; "shops are vacant, or never have started; we must buy machinery, furniture, produce, stock and goods, all at foreign markets, or else hire them made at home by white men. The nation cant live without money or its equivalent. There is everything to take it out. There is nothing made — all is bought. When we take into the account that all these purchases are to be made too, out of the meager currency put into circulation as the proceeds of our invested funds, which does not amount to more than scarcely half a share of some minor New York firm, the picture is still more alarming."11

At the opening of the 1857 session of the Cherokee council Chief John Ross, on October 5, delivered his customary message which is worthy of note for its patriotic and statesman-like utterances:

". . . I visited in person during the past summer, the different districts to inform myself of the general condition of the country. The evidence of progress by which the Cherokee people furnished by this tour was of the most cheering kind, and contrasts favorably with their condition fifty years ago. Well cultivated farms, which have yielded abundant crops of grain, and thus affording a full supply for the wants of the people; well filled public schools, large and orderly assemblies, and quiet neighborhoods, which were seen in all the districts, showed marked improvement, and furnish a sure indication of the susceptibility of all classes among the Cherokee people for a thorough civilization. To accomplish this work, upon which depends such great interests, it becomes the duty of the national council to sustain and strengthen our institutions within our own limits, and to guard against every untoward encroachment.

"The surest safeguard for the government of the nation must be found in the respect and confidence of the people; and these can be  p416 secured only by its affording that protection to life and property for which it was instituted. Its form is eminently adapted to produce these ends, and if it fails of such results it must be because the laws are not wisely and impartially administered. It is, therefore, the clearest dictate of duty that, so far as depends upon your action in selecting those who are to dispense justice by the enforcement and expedition of the constitution and laws, you should discard every other consideration, and seek only for the largest measure of ability, integrity, and patriotism. If our rights of soil and self-government, of free homes and self-chosen institutions, are worth the toils and struggles of the past, they are worth present defense and continuation upon the most permanent footing. Years of trial and of anxiety, of danger and struggle, have alone maintained the existence of the Cherokee people as a distinct community; and such must continue to be the case, if we would live as men ourselves, and discharge the debt we owe to posterity."12

The ruthless intention of the surrounding white population to seize the lands of the Indians and trample under foot the rights guaranteed by treaty was called to their attention by the astute Chief:

"As intimately concerned with this subject, you cannot fail to be seriously impressed with the change of policy shown by the United States government in her dealing with the Indian tribes in the Territory of Kansas and Nebraska. And, as an evidence of the dangers with which we ourselves are threatened, I need but refer to the language and sentiments expressed in this regard by the present governor of Kansas (Robert J. Walker, former United States senator from Mississippi) in his inaugural address. Coming from the distinguished source they do, they cannot but admonish us that the renewal may be at hand of those measures of agitation which but so recently forced us from the homes of our fathers. That you may fully understand the sentiments of the governor, who, if I mistake not, was in the Senate of the United States when the removal of all the Indians from the east to the west side of the Mississippi river was the policy of the government, and when the treaty was made which declares that the country we now occupy shall be a home for ourselves and our descendants forever, and never be embraced within the limits of any State or Territory without our consent, I make the following extract from that address:

 p417  " 'Upon the south Kansas is bounded by the great south western Indian Territory. This is one of the most salubrious and fertile portions of this continent. It is a great cotton growing region, admirably adapted, by soil and climate, for the products of the south; embracing the valley of the Arkansas and Red rivers; adjoining Texas on the south and west, and Arkansas on the east; and it ought speedily to become a State of the American Union. The Indian treaties will constitute no obstacle, any more than precisely similar treaties did in Kansas; for their lands, valueless to them, not now for sale, but which sold with their consent and for their benefit, like the Indian lands of Kansas, would make them a most wealthy and prosperous people, and their consent on these terms would be most cheerfully given. This territory contains double the area of the State of Indiana, and, if necessary, an adequate portion of the western and more elevated part could be set apart exclusively for these tribes, and the eastern and larger portion be formed into a State, and its land sold for the benefit of these tribes like the Indian lands of Kansas, thus greatly promoting all their interest.' "13

Education and temperance continued to be of paramount importance in the public mind. The growth of sorghum cane and the making of molasses were first noted among the immigrant tribes in the report of 1858, where George Butler, Cherokee agent, says that two of his neighbors, M. M. Schrimsher and D. M. Hunter, presented him with a sample of the molasses which he pronounced very fine. The Cherokee who produced it had extemporized a mill, and were planning to make enough the next year to sell quantities of it. Much sickness and mortality was caused that year by malarial fever and many prominent citizens had died; but the nation was well supplied with physicians, many of whom were Cherokee graduates of the best medical schools of the country.

After the formal abandonment of Fort Gibson in September, 1857, and the removal therefrom of ammunition and supplies, the reservation was placed in the hands of Daniel R. Coodey for the tribe, and the Cherokee Council passed an act on November 5, 1857, creating within what had been the reservation, the town of Kee-too-whah,14 and providing for laying it off into town lots; from the sale of these lots exclusively to citizens of the Cherokee Nation about $20,000 was realized. Subsequently  p418 the council passed an act removing the capitol from Tahlequah to Kee‑too‑whah, but it was vetoed by the chief. While the Cherokee at the time were satisfied with the removal of the garrison from Fort Gibson the Creeks and Indian officials regretted that this abandonment of the post and "the growing up of a vicious little town there, have given unusual activity to the whisky trade in that region of the Cherokee country and in the Creek country adjoining."15

The superintendent of public schools for the Cherokee Nation visited all parts of the nation twice in 1858 and found "quite a change for the better since 1855. More acres are in cultivation; there is an improvement in buildings; much more attention is being given to the rearing of stock of all kinds; there are fewer cases on the criminal calendar; the schools are well attended, and are in a prosperous condition; and every thing wears a cheering aspect to every lover of his people."16

Cherokee Agent Butler in 1859 reported a marked improvement in agricultural pursuits. "This is evidenced by enlarged farms, more thorough tillage, the largest yield of wheat ever harvested in this nation, the application of machinery in farming, such as reapers, mowers, threshers, &c., more comfortable houses erected and improvement of those already built. And in almost every instance, is to be found a good vegetable garden, and, wherever it is practicable, spring houses for the preservation of milk, butter and cheese, are to be found." Imitating the example of their neighbors in Arkansas, they had been accustomed to allow their cows and calves to run together instead of saving the milk for butter and cheese, and used "con‑na-ha‑ney" or hominy as a substitute for milk. A large number of cattle had been sold at remunerative prices by residents of the nation; the raising of cattle had become a leading industry in the tribe. But lack of adequate transportation had prevented the Cherokee people from marketing corn, bacon, butter, cheese, hogs, and sheep sufficiently to give them proper encouragement to produce them in greater quantities. In August the Cherokee elected their principal and second chiefs, members of the council and sheriffs.17

There were reported 21,000 Cherokee, 4,000 voters, 1,000 whites  p419 and 4,000 Negroes; 102,500 acres in cultivation, 240,000 head of cattle, 20,000 horses and mules, 16,000 hogs and 5,000 sheep; an average of thirty-five bushels of corn produced to the acre, thirty of oats and twelve of wheat.18 There were thirty schools attended by 1,500 pupils; and of the teachers all but two were Cherokee.19

As the country was noticeably drifting into the Civil War the officials in the Indian service looked about them to take their bearings and adjust their fortunes and loyalties to the impending event. Elias Rector, who was to side with the South, had more than once declared that the Indians must yield their lands to the irresistible pressure of white settlement.

"I have already spoke, in a previous report," he said, "of the certainty that this fine country must ultimately, and at no distant day, be formed into States. Not only the remorseless flow of our population, but stern political necessities, make this decree as fixed as fate.

"Heretofore, from the time when Washington and the Senate solemnly guaranteed to the Creeks forever the possession of all their lands that had not then been ceded by them, down to the time when a like solemn pledge was given by our commissioners to the Choctaws, and thence on to this day, our policy has been to meet present necessity by pushing back the Indian tribes from part of the lands guaranteed to them; effecting this by cajolery or force, and violating our faith, previously pledged, to pledge it again, that we may, when necessity presses, violate it anew; giving a new guarantee, to be in like manner broken in its turn.

"It will not be worthy a great, generous, or Christian people, thus to deal with its solemn treaties, promises, and engagements, in regard to the country in question; nor will it be wise to continue any policy, or adopt any measure, to answer only a temporary purpose, leaving the stern exigencies to press upon us anew, at some not very remote day."

And Rector strongly urged that the Indians be encouraged to sell part of their lands to white people so that the country could be settled by the whites. His shrewd argument was obviously directed to strengthening the South in the Indian country.20

The next year Rector advanced grounds for immediate military  p420 occupation of the Indian Territory. Overnight, it seemed from his account, the Cherokee people had become an unruly and lawless people:

"There has been much disturbance among them during the past year, and great strife and contention; hostile parties have been organized, and, it is said, an extensive secret association formed among the full-bloods." This reference was to a society of Indians who were endeavoring to hold their tribe loyal to the Union. "Murders are continually committed, and other outrages perpetrated. Great excitement now exists, and violence — is believed to be the intermeddling by the missionaries among them, headed by Evan and John Jones, with the institution of slavery.

"The crops have almost wholly failed the present year in a large portion of the nation, and the Indians must suffer much for want of bread. The Cherokee are not improving in morals, nor is the cultivation of the soil increasing among them. There are many lawless and vicious men among them, and much gambling and dissipation prevails; there will be no improvement until peace and order are restored, and that will not be until a military post is established in or on the edge of their country, with a sufficient force stationed there to keep down violence, suppress outrages, and make the agent something more than a man of straw. I have already, over and over again, urged the establishment of such a post at Frozen Rock, on the Arkansas River. It is useless for me to repeat what I have already said on the subject, and I can add nothing to it." Further along in his report the superintendent, exasperated that his recommendation had been ignored by a harassed government, added: "If it is considered at all important that the authority of the United States should be maintained, and peace and order inforced in the Cherokee country, a military post should at once be established at Frozen Rock. If that is not done, the agent should be withdrawn, and disorder left to take its course. "21


The Author's Notes:

1 The rolls showed a total of 17,530 Cherokee living in the west.

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2 Report of commissioner of Indian affairs for 1852.

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3 The schools were held in substantial hewn log houses, with glass windows, fireplaces or stoves. They were neat and comfortable, provided with desks, benches, and black-boards. The teachers, many of whom were natives, were paid $33.33 a month.

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4 Report of commissioner of Indian affairs for 1852, Report of commissioner of schools.

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5 George Butler, Cherokee agent, to Thomas S. Drew, September 13, 1853: Report of commissioner of Indian affairs for 1853.

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6 Ibid.

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7 Report of commissioner of Indian affairs for 1854.

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8 Butler to Dean, August 11, 1855: Report of commissioner of Indian affairs for 1855.

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9 Worcester to Butler July 27, 1855: Report of commissioner of Indian affairs for 1855.

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10 Report of commissioner of Indian affairs for 1855.

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11 Ibid., for 1856.

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12 Ibid., for 1857.

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13 Ibid.

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14 Grant Foreman, Advancing the Frontier, 74.

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15 Rector to Greenwood: Report of commissioner of Indian affairs, 1859.

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16 Ibid., for 1858.

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17 Ibid., 1859.

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18 Butler to Rector, September 10, 1859, ibid., 1859.

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19 Ibid.

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20 Rector to Greenwood, September 20, 1859, ibid.

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21 Rector to Greenwood, September 24, 1860, ibid., for 1860. Two years before, Albert Pike at Fort Smith had strongly endorsed Rector's urgent appeal for the establishment of a fort at Frozen Rock. He added that it was "of great importance to the South that the tribes west of Arkansas should be induced as soon as possible to open up their country to settlement, and fitted as speedily as possible to become citizens of the United States" (Pike to secretary of war, September 28, 1858, AGO, OFD, 243 P 58).


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