Part 5 - Chapter 2

Cherokee Dress in the Nineteenth Century Before Settlement in Indian Territory West of the Mississippi. 

The nineteenth century saw an increase in problems for the Cherokees. The Cherokee-White conflict that was to be handled by the Treaty of Hopewell (passed in 1785) escalated, and the United States Congress did little to ameliorate the problem.1

It is reported that the exodus to land west of the Mississippi started, on a very limited scale, after the Treaty of Hopewell.2 Previously, the Cherokee had divided themselves into two groups: The Upper Cherokee, who inhabited land in Tennessee; and the Lower, who lived in the state of Georgia.3 The Indians who migrated west were mainly from the Lower Towns of the Cherokee Nation. These Indians preferred to hunt and experienced a scarcity of game in their area. Meanwhile, those Indians who inhabited the Upper towns had become agriculturally centered and more sedentary.4

By 1808, tension had so increased between the two groups of Cherokees that the Upper Cherokees requested President Jefferson to establish a fixed barrier between the two groups and to reallocate the annuity between the Upper and Lower Towns because they felt they didn't receive a fair amount. They, also, desired to become citizens of the United States.5

Jefferson allowed, in speeches to the Cherokee in 1808 and 1809, that those Cherokees who wanted to continue to pursue hunting as their main economic support would be free to move to land West of the Mississippi. The Government of the United States would provide a store for them there and continue to be their "friend".6

However, the country west of the Mississippi suggested as a possible location for those desirous of moving was inhabited by the Osage Indians. These latter had been at war with the Cherokee for many years.7

The Upper Cherokees trusted President Jefferson's promise to them to help them become agriculturalists, become educated, and become citizens of the United States.

"They dispersed from their large towns,- built convenient houses,- cleared and fenced farms, and soon possessed numerous flocks and herds. At the same time the women made rapid improvement in the manufacture of cloth, and the arts of domestic life. The council also encouraged schools and granted to missionaries every advantage they could desire......They also improved their government, forming it, as far as possible, after the model of that of the United States, and established regular courts of justice."8

Cherokee women were not a silent force in the Cherokee Nation nor was their relationship to the men one of "slave like" subservience. A document from 1817 attested to the fact that they participated in the Councils. The following address to the council on May 2, 1817 was signed by Nancy Ward and twelve other Cherokee women.

"The Cherokee ladys now being present at the meeting of the Chiefs and warriors in council have thought it their duty as mothers to address9 their beloved chiefs and warriors now assembled.

"Our beloved children and head men of the Cherokee nation we address you warriors in council. We have raised all of you on the land which we now have, which God gave us to inhabit and raise provisions. We know that our country has once been extensive but by repeated sales become circumscribed in a small track and never have thought it our duty to interfere in the disposition of it until now. If a father or mother was to sell all their lands which they had to depend on, which their children had to raise their living on which would be indeed bad & to be removed to another country we do not wish to go to, an unknown country which we have understood some of our children wish to go over the Mississippi but this act of our children would be like distroying your mothers. Your mothers your sisters ask and beg of you not to part with any more of our lands. We say ours, you are our descendents, & take pity upon our request, but keep it for our growing children for it was the good will of our creator to place us here and you know our father the great president will not allow his white children to take our country away. Only keep your hands off of paper talks for it is our own country. For if it was not, they would not ask you to put your hands to paper for it would be eimpossible to remove us all for as soon as one child is raised we have others in our arms for such is our situation & will consider our circumstance.

"Therefore children dont part with any more of our lands but continue on it & enlarge your farms & cultivate and raise corn & cotton and we your mothers & sisters will make clothing for you which our father the president has recommended to us all. We dont charge anybody for selling any lands, but we have heard such intentions of our children, but your talks become true at last & it was our desire to forwarn you all not to part with our lands.

"Nancy Ward [ ? ] to her children Warriors to take pity and listen to the talks of your sisters. Although I am very old yet cannot but pity the situation in which you will here [hear] of their minds. I have great many grand children which I wish them to do well on our lands."10

The tenacity of many Cherokees to follow this program enraged some of the White men who coveted their land and wanted them to remove to the west along with the Cherokees from the Lower Towns.

Meanwhile, the Cherokees from the Lower Towns sent parties to explore the land west of the Mississippi. The first major migration of 300 took place in 1809 under Chief Tahlonteske.11 By 1813, the number of those who had emigrated to land west of the Mississippi had grown to such an extent that the Government appointed William L. Lovely as an agent to the Arkansas Cherokees;12 however, the Cherokees did not have title to this new land.13 This situation created a grave problem when the Missouri Territorial legislature created the county of Arkansas and stated that the Cherokees came under their jurisdiction and not that of the Federal government.14 Thus, the fate of the Cherokees was in the hands of a legislature who had not made any promises to them nor encouraged them to move into Arkansas.

Although many of the Cherokees in Arkansas, who numbered two thousand, were not basically farmers, they were not uncivilized. Their women spun and wove while the men went hunting.15

The precedent set by the willingness of the Cherokees to cede land to the Federal Government in exchange for "supposed" title to land west of the Mississippi was to harass them for the next quarter of a century. The next few decades saw many treaties with the Federal Government under the direction of President Jackson and his representatives signed by a non-representative Cherokee minority.

At this same time, internal conflict was ripe within the Cherokee Nation. The Western Cherokees wanted to be independent of the Eastern Cherokees as had the Eastern Cherokees ten years earlier.16 They, also, wanted more of the land occupied by the Osage Indians, specifically in eastern Oklahoma.17

By the treaty of September 25, 1818, the United States acquired the Osage territory that was desired by the Cherokees. Although allowed to use it, the Cherokees did not obtain it officially until 1828.18

A broad generalization, supported by both early nineteenth century written narrative and art work, can be made that the dress of the Cherokee Indians was determined by their political affiliations. Their choice of articles of attire depended on their degree of White blood, their integration into the White community, or their interactions with the White community. The more they associated or had direct dealings with the politics and politicians of the government, the more they dressed according to current White American standards. Thus, the gamut of dress in the early nineteenth century ranged from full Indian dress that reflected few European or American elements to dress that completely reflected White America. From this statement, it can be recognized that many Cherokee Indians combined both older Indian modes of dress with articles of the White Man's attire.

In 1825, missionaries estimated that one quarter of the Cherokees were mixed-bloods.19 This statement is significant because it leads to a greater understanding of the Cherokee people at that point in time.

From as early as 1763, education of the Cherokee children was a goal of some members of the tribe. When a delegation of Cherokees went to England in 1763, they requested the King to send people to teach their children. Although no Englishmen complied with their request, a German missionary, John Daniel Hammerer, accompanied them when they returned home.20

During the eighteenth century, the Cherokees only allowed missionaries to remain with them because they desired schooling for their children.21 As the nineteenth century progressed, this attitude toward missionaries would change. By 1819 there were four missions among the Eastern Cherokees: The Moravians established themselves at Springplace in 1801; the American Board of Commissions of Foreign Missions (ABCFM) were both at Brainard and Tallony; and the Baptists had also established a mission.22

By 1825, there were nineteen schools in the Cherokee Nation23 with the schools of the ABCFM being the most equipped and well staffed.24 Some of the schools were day schools while some were boarding schools. While the children and the parents, where feasible, were taught Christianity, they were also taught the skills of husbandry and domestic manufacture. However, according to McLoughlin, as the nineteenth century progressed, it was discovered that many of the students's parents already practiced those skills and arts so it was not necessary to emphasize them.25

A philosophy held by all the denominations was that education, both of the Bible and of various forms of manufacture and husbandry, would be transferred from the students to their siblings and parents.

The schools, also, emphasized "White" dress. Often the students would be clothed through the donations of religious societies in other parts of the country.26

The lifestyle of the Cherokees by the first and second decade of the nineteenth century can be attributed to a number of factors. Prominent among these was their desire for education for their children and their realization that hunting as a way of life had lost its viability due to the proximity of the Whites.

The acceptance of agriculture by the Cherokees was diametrically opposite to their culture since women were, historically, the tillers of the soil while the men were the hunters. The men had to be taught to use agricultural tools and the women to use the spinning wheel and loom. This was not just a technological change, but also, a spiritual and religious one because all aspects of life were ordained by the Great Spirit.27

Their acceptance of this new lifestyle can be described by a letter printed in the Niles' Register of 1830:

"Gettysburgh, Pa July 6, 1830

" We had a visit on Friday last from a gentleman (Col. Gold, of Connecticut) and his lady, who were on their return from the Cherokee nation, where they have spent the last eight months, on a visit to their daughter, who is married to E. Boudinot, editor of the "Cherokee Phoenix." A great deal of interesting information relative to those people was communicated to us - all tending to establish the fact, that civilization has made a most unexampled progress in the nation. The great body of the Cherokees live in comfort, and many of them in affluence and splendor. Since Colonel G. has been amongst them, he has witnessed the clearing of lands, erection of buildings, and improvements of various descriptions progressing with a steady space. The education of their youth is becoming an object of desire and attention; and religious instruction and general information is gradually finding its way through the community. A number of letters, written by Cherokee children, at one of the missionary schools, were shown us. They were well written, and the vein of piety running through them all, is evidence that the highest and most important interest of these young immortals, are not neglected by those in whose care they are entrusted.

"A large portion of the families manufacture woollen and cotton goods for domestic use, and also for exchange for other articles from abroad, and the wheel of the loom meet[s] your eye in almost every house. Col. G. had with him specimens of their manufactured woollens and cotton goods, which were really excellent, and will bear comparison with those manufactured here. Our informant states also, that their roads are in fine order - that he was able to travel in his carriage through every part of the nation. He also attended the meeting of their general council and was astounded at the order and regularity of their business, and the talent displayed by their members. As respects their present perilous situation, they are firm, relying with confidence upon the uprightness of decision of the supreme court of the U.S. before which tribunal they hope to have the question brought.

"Every thing detailed to us, relative to the Cherokees, affords strong evidence that the wandering Indian has been converted into the industrious husbandman; and the tomahawk and rifle are exchanging for the plough, the hoe, the wheel, and the loom, and that they are rapidly acquiring domestic habits, and attaining a degree of civilization that was entirely unexpected from the natural disposition of these children of the forest. [Sentinel]"28

The following letters from school children shed light on missionary education and some of the resultant attitudes:29 The first letter is about the necessity for Christian education, re: the evils of ball play. It is from a Cherokee girl, Elizabeth Taylor at the missionary school in Brainerd, 1828.

"The unenlightened parts of this nation assemble for dances around a fire. The one that goes before sings; a woman follows after having herself adorned with shells which make a rattling noise when she dances the others follow after dancing around a fire in a ring, and keep up their amusements all night. In like manner the men dance the night before the ball play. The next day when the two paries are collected at the ball ground; the side that excels receives horses, kegs, guns, clothing &c. from the other party.

"Many about the station are more civilized. Some come to meetings and appear as well as white people. Others dress in the Indian manner with maucassins for shoes, and handkerchiefs round their heads for turbans."

The next letter is from a young Cherokee, Nancy Reece, to Rev'd Fayette Shepherd from Brainerd, 12/25/1828.

"When school hours are over the girls attend to domestic concern and learn to make their own clothes and the clothes of the boys so they can do such work when they go home, to assist their parents. They can then take care of their houses and their brothers and sisters and perhaps can learn their parents something that they do not understand."

The following is another letter from Nancy Reece to Rev'd David Green. It was written either in late 1828 or early 1829.

"I think you would like to hear what the girls do in hours out of school. Some of them remain in their own part of the house to do the work what belongs to it, and make and mend their own clothes. Others, besides attending to domestic affairs, are employed in making and mending the boys clothes and in doing the common sewing for the family. It is between four and five months since the scholars are returned from their homes, after vacation. Since that time, we have made nearly forty frocks besides other garments. The parents of the children brought the cloth for the greatest part of them. Some of them are calico to wear on the Sabbath days and the others to wear on other days of the week are Cherokee cotton cloth which they spun and wove themselves. We had some calico and American gingham sent to us as presents from the friends of the missionaries to whom we have written. They are to wear Sabbath days."

The letter letter written by Sally M Reece to Rev. Daniel Campbell from Brainerd July, 25, 1828 reads as follows:

"First I will tell you about the Cherokees. I think they improve. They have a printing press, and print a paper which is called the Cherokee Phoenix. They come to meeting in Sabbath days. They wear clothes which they made themselves.

"Some though r[f]ew have shoes and stockings. They keep horses cows sheep and swine. Some have oxen. They cultivate fields. They have yet a great many bad customs but I hope all these things will soon be done away.

"I am now under the care of Mr and Mrs Fernal. They live down the creek where Mr. dean used to live. Catharine my sister stays there too. My parents come here to meeting on Sabbaths. My father thinks it is a great privilege to learn to read. He can read but Mother cannot. I should like to tell you how my Father's house is situated. It is surrounded with hills. there are trees in the door yard. I take pleasure in sitting under them to attend to my work. And an orchard back of the house. A road between the house and field where the travellers pass. They often call to stay all night. I help Mother to take care of my Brothers and sisters. my father works in the field Mother spins and weaves."

The following letter is typical and was written by the female students at Brainerd. This letter is from Lucy Campbell to Miss Jane Speaker.

      "Dear Jane

"I have requested Miss Ames to let me write a few lines to you though I have never met you. I should be very glad to receive letters from you. and would answer them We should rejoice that we have an opportunity to go to school. the Missionaries schools do a great deal of good they teach us how to behave as Christian people do and how to study as white children do, and how to take care of families that when we go home we can take care of our mothers house, and teach poor children who can not come to the Missionaries school. We can teach our brother and sisters to Miss Ames has got a little bell to wake her up, so she could have an opportunity to read mornings before the girls rise. I was very glad to see Miss Nash when she visited Brainerd. I sometimes think she and the other missionaries felt bad to leave their dear friends to come out to teach the Cherokees, but I think it was their duty to come. We ought to be thankful to the Missionaries and especially to God who sent them to us.

"Give my best love to Sarah and tell her I should be very happy to see her.

I must now close from your Friend

Miss Jane Speaker Lucy. A. Campbell"

The last quotation to be included describes how Cherokees lived. It is an excerp from a letter from Lucy McPherson to Rev'd Moses Thatcher, Brainerd, 1829.

"I will tell you how the Cherokees live they generally live in log houses and Cabbins, though some have framed ones. Some of our neighbors go to the seat of government and to neighboring states and see how civilized people build houses and they begin to live a little as they do. They have gardens and cultivated fields some of them have oxen sheep horses and a great many swine. They have all kinds of fruits such as are peaches apples pears and the veggatables are sweet potatoes beans peas corn ground nuts and turnips &c., which they raise for their family to live on. But a great many of the Cherokees are poor and ignorant and live so poorly that they have scarcely any houses or clothes then they often go to those families that can take care of themselves and if such families do not maintain them they think they are stingy."

Intermarriage was, also, a factor that helped promote education. Children of a mixed marriage, where the father was White, were educated in a similar manner to their White counterparts. As has been stated elsewhere, the male mixed-bloods, due to their education and training, often became leaders in their tribe. Unfortunately, while this situation hastened the process for acculturation (the negatives and positives of which will not be addressed), it also led to factionalism in the tribe - pitting full bloods who did not desire to learn "the White man's ways" against the mixed-bloods. By 1820:

"The Cherokees, indeed, had made greater advances in civilization than any other Indian nation; the English language was adopted as the official one, in which their records were kept, and many individuals of the greatest influence had altogether discarded the Indian language and customs, their way of life differing but little from the substantial [White] farmer."30

George Guess, also known as Sequoyah, had been working on a Cherokee alphabet or syllabary. By 1821 it was in use, and it greatly increased the level of literacy among the Cherokees.31

A population census from 1826 demonstrated the lifestyle that the Cherokees, as a nation, had adopted. This census was given to the New York Observer by Elias Boudinot. According to the census, the population of the Cherokees numbered 15,160 and of Negro slaves 1,377. The Cherokees also possessed:

Cherokee Possessions 1826

"Black cattle 22,531    Saw mills       10
 Horses    7,683    Grist mills       31
 Swine* 46,732     Powder mills         1
 Sheep* 46,732    Blacksmith shops       62
 Goats      330    Cotton gins         8
 Looms      627    Schools       18
 Spinning wheels   2,566    Turnpikes         2
 Wagons      172    Ferries       18
 Ploughs   2,943    Public roads       20"32
[* Author's note:These figures are probably not accurate]

As stated earlier in this chapter, the Cherokees living in the Upper Towns accepted a more agricultural lifestyle than those Cherokees living in the Lower Towns who wanted to remain hunters; thus, the early migration west of the Mississippi were made by those from the Lower Towns. For clarity in reporting, a differentiation, wherever, possible, will be made between those Cherokees residing west and east of the Mississippi. This differentiation does not infer that their dress, manners, and customs differed as an aggregate group even though their philosophical orientation had to influence their choices.

Michaux, who travelled in Tennessee, in 1802, described the dress of the Cherokees.

"The usual dress of the men consists of a shirt, à l'Européene, which hangs loose, and a slip of blue cloth about a yard in length, which serves them as breeches; they put it between their thighs, and fasten the two ends, before and behind, to a sort of girdle. They wear long gaiters, and shoes of stag skins prepared. When full dressed they wear a coat, waistcoat, and hat, but never any breeches. The natives of North America have never been able to adopt that part of our dress. They have only on the top of their heads a tuft of hair, of which they make several tresses, that hang down the sides of the face, and very frequently they attach quills33 and little silver tubes to the extremities. A great number of them pierce their noses34, in order to put rings through, and cut holes in their ears, that hang down two or three inches, by the means of pieces of lead that they fasten to them when they are quite young. They paint their faces red, blue, and black.

"A man's shirt and a short petticoat 35 form the dress of the women, who wear also gaiters like the men; they let their hair grow, which is always of a jet black, to its natural length, but they never pierce their noses, nor disfigure their ears. In winter, the men and women, in order to guard against the cold, wrap themselves in a blue rug, which they always carry with them, and which forms an essential part of their luggage."36

This translation can be found in Volume lll of Reuben Gold Thwaites' series: Early Western Travels.

Another translation of this French work was done in 1805 by B. Lambert. Even though the gist of both is the same, there are definite discrepancies which are important for a correct understanding of the clothes at that time. The most important difference in the two version revolves around whether quills or feathers decorated the hair. The French word was "plume". It can be translated as either feather or quill (according to Cassell's French/English dictionary). But a porcupine quill in French is "piquant de porc-epic ". Thus, a translation that would be more in keeping with the dress of the southeast Indians would be that of "feather". Other differences between the translations exist, but they are not significant in the areas of dress and adornment.

The only reason for even stressing the differences is that these seemingly unimportant differences are actually critical in an analysis of dress. The 1805 translation is more accurate than the translation found in Thwaites' Early Western Travel Series. However, the former translation is not readily available, whereas Thwaites' series is. The following is from the 1805 translation:

"The common dress of the men consists of an European shirt, which they leave loose, and a piece of blue cloth, half an ell in length, which serves them for breeches; they pass it between their thighs, and fasten the two ends to their girdle, before and behind. They wear long gaiters and shoes, or socks of prepared deer's skin. On particular occasions some of them appear in a coat, waistcoat, and hat, but not breeches: the natives of North American have never been able to adopt this part of dress. They leave only one tuft of hair on the top of their heads, formed into several tresses, which hang down the sides of their faces, and very frequently the ends are decorated with feathers or small pipes of silver. A great number of them perforate the gristle of the nose to put rings into it, and cut their ears, which are lengthened to two or three inches, by means of pieces of lead hung to them, when they are very young. They paint their faces red, blue, or black."

"A man's shirt, and a short petticoat, form the dress of the women, who also wear gaiters and socks of deer's skin: They permit all their hair to grow, which, like that of the men, is a jet black; but they do not pierce the nose or cut the ears. In winter both men and women wrap themselves in a woolen blanket, to protect them from the cold."37

During a similar time frame, in 1801, Return Jonathan Meigs described a Green Corn dance among the Eastern Cherokees and the dress of the participants and attendees.

"..they were well dressed in the Common dress of our Country. The women particularly were neat in appearance, having Short Gowns [a short sleeved and fitted bodice worn over the petticoat] & Skirts [also known as outer petticoats] of Chintz or Calico, their hair ornamented with a profusion of ribbones of various colours."38

The women's dress described by Meigs represents a form of dress common to both Cherokee Indians and White women. Christian Schultz described the Cherokee women in a similar fashion circa 1807.

"The [Cherokee] women and girls are all habited in short gowns and petticoats, after the fashion of the white people, from homespun cottons of their own manufacture but instead of the hat and stockings, they use a cloak and mockasons."39

These descriptions by Michaux, Meigs and Schultz are very critical because they demonstrate that at that period of time there was a great divergence in dress. Most of the reports tend to describe the Cherokees as wearing clothes similar to the White man's which is born out by the description of the apparel worn at the Green Corn dance. However, it is imperative that Michaux's description not be overlooked for it illustrates that there was still an element in Cherokee Society that followed some of the older, less anglicized forms of dress and personal adornment.

Meigs, also, reported on the production of homespun. In 1801, he reported that, in Double-Head's Town, 32 pieces of cloth were woven in a fourteen month period; 600 yards were woven on one loom in Hiwassee; and Bold Hunter's family made 90 yards of cotton cloth during 1801. Other families raised sheep and grew flax.40

Two people who travelled through the Indian Country west of the Mississippi, in 1818 and 1819, remarked briefly on the dress of the Indians. Timothy Flint made note that the full-blood Chief, Richard Justice, continued to wear large pendants in his ears and a great number of "the common Indian insignia."41 However, Flint did not enumerate on what these insignia were.

Thomas Nuttall, another traveler, commented that the western Cherokees' "dress was a mixture of indigenous and European taste" in comparison to their homes which appeared to achieve a "happy approach toward civilization." He, also, noted that the families were large and their members were "well fed and clothed."42

Throughout the literature of the early nineteenth century, the common denominator concerning wearing apparel can be summed up by the last of the following quotation:

"one or two of them [Cherokee hunters] had on round hats; all had calico shirts, or some other article of foreign dress."43

While Flint and Nuttal described Cherokees who had already arrived or established themselves in the Arkansas Territory, Anne Newport Royall, an early nineteenth century female newspaper reporter, reported on a camp of Cherokees who were in the process of emigrating to land west of the Mississippi. She encountered them at Melton's Bluff, Tennessee on January 20, 1818.

She described the women as being of a dark mulatto colour, short and lumpy in stature, whose only claim to beauty were small hands and feet.44

"They were all well dressed; at least as well as most white women are, when engaged in their ordinary employment. Some were engaged in sewing, some in cooking, and some in nursing their babies."45

"Their dresses were made like our ladies, and were put on. They had fine cotton shawls on their shoulders, and many of them had men's hats on their heads; but no bonnets amongst them. They all had good shoes or mockasins on their feet, and some hundreds of beads round their necks;....46 Their hair is jet black, and very coarse. It parts from the crown of the head to its termination on the forehead, as the Dutch women wear theirs, and clubbed up behind with a red or blue ferret."47 [A ferret is a narrow tape or ribbon of cotton or silk.]

From the treaty of 1817 which the United States government negotiated only with some members of the Lower Cherokees until the declaration of Removal was finally made in 1830, the state of Georgia pursued a policy of Cherokee harassment. This policy stripped the Cherokees of all rights as well as invalidating their government. The Cherokee leaders made constant trips to Washington to plead their cause; they even attained a supreme court decision whereby it was declared unconstitutional for Georgia to extend her jurisdiction over the Cherokee's land. However, President Jackson would not adhere to the supreme court's decision nor enforce it. During this period of time, The United States Government was encouraging the Cherokees to emigrate to land west of the Mississippi. They were promising to pay them in relation to the valuation of their property and pay them for transportation and subsistence. However, before an Indian family emigrated, they had to settle all "debts" with their creditors.48

Upon enrollment, each head of household was to be given "a good rifle, a blanket, and a kettle, and five pounds of tobacco, and to each member of his family, one blanket."49 Not all the blankets were the same size as can be seen from an disbursement list of 1835 which indicated 5 children's blankets.50

Subsistence was to be furnished to them along the way and was to continue once they reached their new homes for a set period of time. Unfortunately, often the provisions never reached the emigrants, and, frequently, when they did, they were not edible.

While the emigrations were taking place, the Cherokee leaders continued to go to Washington to plead their causeand try to curtail their displacement. Most of the representatives were mixed bloods and wore strictly White man's formal attire or a combination.

Many of the leaders sat and had their portraits painted by Charles Bird King. In the McKenney-Hall Collection51 can be found portraits of Cherokees: John Ross, Major Ridge and John Ridge, David Vann, Sequoia, Spring Frog, and Dutch.

  McKenney-Hall  #1Cherokees 1sm.jpg (4874 bytes)
Some of the men, Ross and the Ridges, are portrayed wearing strictly White man's attire of the period. All have on high collared white shirts with either a wide cravat wound around their neck or a narrow black one. They all have on some form of a morning coat and either matching or contrasting waistcoats. The portraits do not give any indication whether they are wearing trousers or pantaloons.

David Vann, Tahchee or Dutch, and Tooan Tuh or Spring Frog are portrayed wearing a combination of dress. David Vann has on the standard white shirt with ruffles, a high collar, and a neckcloth; however, over it he has what has become known as a Cherokee Hunting shirt. How exactly or from what model this garment evolved can only be surmised. It consisted of an open garment whose length fell somewhere between the hip and the knee. It had long sleeves which were attached to a drop shoulder. Around the neck was a shawl collar, sometimes it was bordered with fringe. The garment lapped over in front and was held closed by a belt. Usually it was made from a striped material. David Vann, also wore over his right shoulder a woven sash which crossed at his waist to his left side. All of these men wore their hair short.

McKenney-Hall #2Cherokees 2 sm.jpg (5844 bytes)


Spring Frog, also, wore a Cherokee hunting shirt but of a solid color and not as well tailored. He wears an opened neck shirt with a layed back collar. The neckline of the shirt is bordered by ruffles. Around his waist is what appears to be a finger woven beaded belt. On his head, he wears a turban.The details of Dutch's costume are not distinct enough to describe in detail. However, he wears a distinct turban on his head which has a large feather protruding from the back.

Charles Bird King painted a portrait of Sequoya or George Guess (Gist) in 1828. Seven years later, John Howard Payne, during his visit to John Ross, described Gist. It is unclear whether King portrayed Gist in the same manner as Payne described him or whether Gist, as he grew older, adopted a different mode of dress.

Charles Bird King portrayed him as wearing a Cherokee Hunting coat with a waistcoat underneath. Beneath that, he wore a white shirt with the points of the collar turned down and a red neckloth around his neck. In addition, he wore a brightly colored turban on his head.

When Payne first saw Gist, the latter was sixty years old. He described him as wearing clothes that adhered "to the old costume of the nation, but without ornament; he wore the tunic and robe, leggings sometimes of buckskin, sometimes of blue cloth, - moccasins instead of shoes, - and a turban."52

In 1937 or 1938 Susan Fields Toney, the great grandaughter of Gist (by his son Teasy Guess) stated that her great grandfather:

"...clung to the customs of his people, wearing a turban, hunting shirt, leggings and moccasins. The turban was a strip of cloth or a small shawl twisted about his head. The hunting shirt or loose sack coat made of buck skin or home spun woolen cloth was made by Cherokee women. The moccasins were made from tanned buckskin."53

It is hard to determine whether Payne used the word robe to refer to a hunting coat or whether he used it to describe a completely different garment. Similarly, a tunic most often referred to a long, usually belted, White man's shirt. It is possible that as Gist grew older, he minimized his use of the traditional White man's apparel.

Toney referred to the hunting shirt as belonging to the "custom's of his people." However, it must be remembered that this garment was not indigenous to the Southeast Indians but developed slowly during the eighteenth century. Thus, as early as 1937, many people took the dress of the late eighteenth century-early nineteenth to be representative of the dress of a people's that has been described since the seventeenth century. It has also been shown, at first encounter and later, that the men did not wear hunting shirts or turbans. It will be shown later in this chapter that even writers from the first half of the nineteenth century referred to the hunting shirt/turban style of dress as historic dress.

Payne described the general character of Cherokee dress circa the first third of the nineteenth century.

"The dress of the females both young & old, is copied from the whites.

"The dress of the men, consists of a short gown, generally called a hunting shirt; in the construction of which considerable taste is sometimes displayed. A beaded belt, (especially in winter), is worn around the waist. Coarse homespun pantaloons are the most common; but some old men disdain their use and wear deer-skin leggings. Mocassins are yet extensively used by both men and women; but shoes are coming into use. The blanket, like the highland plaid of Scotland, serves as a cloak by day and a bed at night."54

A third rendition of Guess' dress depicted him at an even later date in 1840 when Guess was living in the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi. Payne saw Guess, after an absence of five years. He described his apparel thusly:

"Guess had a turban of roses and poses upon a white ground, girding his venerable grey hairs; - a long dark blue robe, bordered around the lower edge and the cuffs with black; - a blue & white minutely checked calico tunic under it, confined with an Indian beaded belt, which contained a large wooden handled knife, in a rough leathern sheath; - the tunic open on the breast and its collar apart, with a twisted handkerchief flung around his neck & gathered within the bodice of the tunic. He wore plain buckskin leggings; and one of a deeper chocolate hue than the other. One of his legs are lame & shrunken. His moccasins were unornamented buckskin. He had a long dusky white bag of sumac with him, and a long Indian pipe and smoked incessantly, replenishing his pipe from his bag."55

        Catlin #1Catlin Cherokees sm.jpg (11799 bytes)
While Catlin painted portraits in situ of many of the Indian tribes, he portrayed few Cherokees for he felt it was more imperative to paint and study those tribes who still lived in a primitive state.56

Obviously, not all Cherokees wore clothes similar to what the Ridges and John Ross wore when representing the Cherokee nation.

John Ridge wrote a Short Account Of the Cherokee Nation in 1826.

"There is a scanty instances of African mixture with the Cherokee blood, but that of the white may be as 1 to 4 occasioned by intermarriage which has been increasing in proportion to the march of civilization. The above population is dispersed over the face of the Country on separate farm[s .] villages, or a community, having a common enclosure to protect their hatches, have disappeared long since, & to my knowledge, there is but one of this character at Coosawattee, the inhabitants of which are gradually diminishing by emigration to the woods, where they prefer to clear the forest & govern their individual plantations. In this view of their location, it really appears that they are farmers and herdsmen, which is their real character. It is true that there are distinctions now existing & increasingly so - in the value of property possessed by individuals, but this only answers a good purpose, as a stimulus to those in the rear to equal their neighbors who have taken the lead. Their principal dependence for subsistence is on the production of their own farms. Indian corn is a staple production and is the most essential article of food in use. Wheat - rye & oats grow very well & some families have commenced to introduce them on their farms. Cotton is generally raised for domestic consumption and a few have grown it for market & have realized very good profits. I take pleasure to state, tho' cautiously, that there is not to my knowledge a solitary Cherokee to be found that depends upon the chase for subsistence and every head of a family has his house & farm. The hardest portion of manual labor is performed by the men & the women occasionally lend a hand to the men in the field, more by choice, and necessity than anything else. This is applicable to the poorer class, and I cant do them the justice to say, they very contentedly perform the duties of the kitchen and that they are the most valuable portion of our Citizens - They - sew -they weave - they spin, they cook our meals and act well the duties assigned them by Nature as mothers as far as they are able & improved. The African slaves are generally mostly held by Half breeds and full Indians of distinguished talents. In this class the principal value of property is retained and their farms and conducted in the same style with the southern white farmers of equal ability in point of property. Their houses are usually of hewed logs, with brick chimnies & shingled roofs, there are also a few excellent Brick houses & frames. Their furniture is better than the exterior appearance of their houses would incline a stranger to suppose - they have their regular meals as the whites - Servants to attend them in their repasts and the tables are usually covered with a clean cloth - & furnished with the usual plates - knives & forks &c. Every family more or less possess hogs, Cattle & horses - and a number have commenced to pay attention to the introduction of sheep, which are increasing very fast. The horse, is in general use for purposes of riding, drawing the plough or waggon.

"Domestic manufacture is still confined to women who were first prevailed to undertake it. These consist of white or striped homespun, coarse woolen Blankets & in many instances very valuable & comfortable, twilled & figured coverlets. Woolen & cotton Stockings are mostly manufactured for domestic use within the nation. I can only say that these domestic cloths are preferred by those brought from the New England domestic plaids and our people are most generally clothes with them, but calicoes - silks - cambricks - &c. - K[h]ankerchiefs & shawls &c. are introduced by native merchants, who generally trade to Augusta in Georgia. The only trade carried on by the Cherokees with the adjoining States, is in hogs & horned Cattle. Skins formerly were sold in respectable quantities but that kind of trade is fast declining & getting less reputable. Cherokees on the Tennessee river have already commenced to trade in cotton & grow the article in large plantations and they have realized very handsome profit. All those who have it in their power, are making preparations to grow it for market & it will soon be the staple commodity of traffic for the Nation."57

John Stuart who was a U.S. Army Captain stationed in the Choctaw Nation in Indian territory during the 1830's, was able to study the various residing tribes in the vicinity. He, also, wrote about some of the tribes - namely, the Choctaw and Cherokee Indians with the intention of informing the residents of the United States of their manner of living and various customs. Although he was stationed in the Choctaw Nation, his descriptions resulted from a culmination of exposure to the Southeastern Indians. He depicted those who resided both east and west of the Mississippi.58

"The Cherokees at present wear but very little of the ancient dress. Some of the old men continue to wear leggins and moccasins made of dressed buck-skin, and a flap made of cloth, which is worn under a white shirt of the usual fashion of the whites, which is worn loose. They also wear a hunting shirt or toga, [synonymous with the tunic described previously] made of domestic cotton or calico."59

The hunting shirt or toga has been called, by various people of the period, tunic, robe, hunting shirt, or toga. Although they are not, necessarily, identical garments, the labeling of them is not consistent.

"They wear a turban, which is construed by rolling or winding a large handkerchief or shawl into a circular form, so as to fit and rest upon the upper side of the head, in such a manner as to leave bare the top and lower back of the head. It is put on and taken off the head with as much ease as a hat would be, and retains its shape without trouble to the owner. The younger men dress after the fashion of the whites, except that some of them seem to prefer the turban and toga to the hat and coat, and generally wear them; while others of them dress exactly as the whites do. Some of the number wear as fine cloth and materials, as the most fashionable whites. The women all dress more or less after the manner of the white women. The older women usually wear a plain domestic or calico gown, and tie up their hair with a string instead of using a comb for the purpose of keeping it up, as is usual with the younger ones. The younger females dress precisely as the women of the United states do; and according to their wealth and ability follow them closely through all the European fashions in forms and materials, except that they seldom wear a bonnet, but in lieu thereof, after placing their hair up in a most fanciful manner with fine large and side combs, they place over their heads a fine silk handkerchief, in a very tasteful manner, so as to appear quite ornamental. The handkerchief is sometimes so fine, and of so light a texture, as to show their hair and combs through it."60

The portrait of the Cherokees by Stuart was considered accurate, according to the editor, Thomas J. Pew, of the newspaper, The Gazette, published in Little Rock, Arkansas. The February 7th, 1838 edition reviewed Stuart's work:

"We are sometimes glad of an opportunity to be relieved from trouble of noting the circumstantial details of the day, and of stealing a leisure hour, in perusal of works of fancy or fact. The recent emigration of Indians to our western frontier, may be a subject of solicitude to some, and anxiety to others; but it would tend considerably to relieve all false impressions of fear from the mind, were the true history, and character, and habits of the Indian sufficiently known. For this purpose, we recommend to the observation of all interested in the subject, a perusal of a small pamphlet, entitled "A Sketch of the Cherokee and Choctaw Indians; By John Stuart, Capt. U. S. Army, Choctaw nation," and printed in this city some weeks ago. For our part, we were much gratified with the Sketch, which though making no pretensions to "learned refinement" or careful polish, is nevertheless delineated in a style at once correct and graphic. As a mere record of fact, it is highly useful, and is the first historical step that has been taken in Arkansas, or its territory, for the preservation of the customs and manners of a people, who are fast losing their distinctive national character, in their intercourse and amalgamation with the whites."61

Reverand Samuel A. Worcester concurred with Stuart's portrayal of the Cherokees. In an answer to The Reverand E.S. Ely, editor of The Philadelphian, Worcester wrote:

"The mass of the Cherokee people are at this moment decently covered with such clothing as white people wear, except in the majority of instances, the want of a bonnet, and the substitution of a handkerchief for a hat. Among the elderly men, a considerable portion adhere partially, but only partially, to the ancient costume, but the women and the younger men have almost all abandoned it, and the number of elderly men who assume the costume of whites increases as constantly as the earth revolves."62

Sarah Tuttle authored a book entitled Letters and Conversations on the Cherokee Mission whose purpose was to to arrest the attention of children.63 She commented frequently on the evolution of the dress of the Cherokess since the mission was first established. Her narrative, also, expressed the values held to be important by the missionaries. The narrative is in the a form of a mythical dialogue between Mr. and Mrs. Claiborne and Cornelia, their missionary niece.

"Cornelia. `Why, Uncle, did you not know that in the first years of the mission to the Indians, female associations were formed in all parts of the United states, which prepared boxes of clothing for the missionaries and all their scholars, and I can truly say, that some of my happiest days have been spent in these little missionay circles, where one of our number read aloud the journals of the missions, while the rest were making gowns, shirts, vests, stockings, and linen for the beds and tables.; for it was thought by many that the sooner civilized habits were formed, in domestic arrrangements, the better. Several handsome dresses were sent to a few of the school girls by ladies in New England.'64

"Mrs. Claiborne. `Were any changes effected in their domestic arrangements?'

"Cornelia. `Yes, Aunt, very great changes in their style of building, furniture, and dress. Wigwams gave place to wooden frame houses, with floors, windows, and chimneys; gardens bloomed around these habitations of peace, and in some instances of prayer; habits of comparative industry had been formed, and cloth was manufactured in many families-- farms under good cultivation might be found, where cattle, horses, sheep, and poultry were raised in abundance. Beds, with handsome coverings, had been substituted for skins and blankets, and tables, knives, forks, and spoons had been introduced into the dwellings of a large proportion of the respectable inhabitants. Of late, it is not unusual to see coffee and sugar upon the table of a Cherokee, and they have made rapid advances in dress, as in anything connected with civilization. Almost all the men have laid aside the Indian leggins, and put on pantaloons; hats are generally worn instead of kerchiefs; both men and women have discarded the moccasin and wear stockings and shoes. The dress of many women is neat, and rather tasteful; bonnets and turbans are seldom worn, but they generally appear with their heads uncovered, except a few who wear men's hats.'"65

In her second volume she continued to describe the types of material used as clothing by Cherokee school children. Calico was used for Sabbath attire while homespun cotton cloth was used during the week.66

The mythical Cornelia wrote in 1830 a letter addressed soley to Cherokee dress and adornment:

"If they ask how do the Indians dress? tell them there has been an astonishing change in public sentiment of late. The first chief in the nation says that when he was a little boy, his father procured him a full dress after the English mode.,-that his companions ridiculed him, calling him a `white boy', till he was ashamed to be seen in his new dress, and threw it aside. The man I think cannot be much over forty. Mr. Boudinot, the editor of the Cherokee newspaper, cannot be more than twenty-seven or eight; and the shame and awkwardness he experienced from his singularity in a civilized suit, is still fresh in his memory. Now it is a very uncommon thing to see a person dressed in the ancient habit; and those who are seen in it, experience similar sensations of shame, that the chief and editor did in their American dress.

"If the women dress at home in the former indian style, at the approach of a stranger they choose to retire and not be seen. What I have now related is true; and it is equally true that many of the aged men retain their former habit in whole, or in part. But almost without exception, the younger part of the community dress like the citizens of the neighboring states, with the exception of a handkerchief, made into a kind of turban, worn instead of a hat; a few wear a blanket in preference to a cloak, but cloaks are the prevailing fashion.

"You may tell your neighbors and Sabbath school scholars, that Cherokee women on the east as well as the west side of the Mississippi manufacture a considerable quantity of cloth in their own families; that the noise of wheels and looms is often heard as you approach their dwellings, where many of your peope still think the war hoop and savage yell is resounding. The cotton is gathered from their own fields. You need not fear to tell the members of your little missionary association, that calico, gingham, and silk dresses are not uncommon in but few places in the nation." 67

In 1837, George Featherstonehaugh was traveling throughout the southeastern states. He happened to be present for a Cherokee Council meeting near Spring Place, Georgia and commented on the plight of the Cherokees in terms of their appearance:

"An observer could not but sympathize deeply with them; they were not to be confounded with the wild savages of the West, being decently dressed after the manner of white people, with shirts, trousers, shoes and stockings, whilst the half-breeds and their descendants conformed in every thing to the custom of the whites.....The pure bloods had red and blue cotton handkerchiefs folded on their heads in the manner of turbans, and some of these, who were mountaineers from the elevated districts of North Carolina wore also deer-skin leggings and embroidered hunting shirts."68

This is one of the few early references to embroidered hunting shirts. Unfortunately, he does not mention the matrial used nor the design.

What can be seen here is the change from:

1) breechclout and no shirt to

2) hunting shirt and some form of attire to cover the legs to

3) Caucasion dress with a turban or a hat.

Karl Bodmer was a painter who traveled in North America with Prince Maximillian of Wied from 1832-1834. While in Natchez, he encountered a Cherokee "old man" and desired to paint his portrait.

This Cherokee man, Tsholocha, according to Bodmer, was dressed all in blue cloth trimmed in white except for his leggings. His turban was wound so that a piece of fabric extended down the back. Since Bodmer painted him from the side, it cannot be determined whether he was wearing a shirt under his tunic-like garment. This garment is probably similar to the hunting shirt or toga described by John Stuart. The labeling, once again, seemed to be used interchangeably. This garment was almost knee length and open in the front. It was held closed by means of a belt. The collar of it was arranged as a small cape. Under this cape and down the back of the garment projected another piece of material probably two feet by two feet, edged in white. The sleeves were double, containing a long inner sleeve and a short outer sleeve as previously described.

The man is wearing brown leggings wrapped tightly around his legs and extending to the ankle. His feet are bare.69

While some yard goods and clothes were bought from traders, many were produced at home. Even though this next quotation refers to life among the Eastern Cherokees, it refers to a lifestyle that can be attributed to both groups of Cherokees. Although the first section is a repeat of a quotation presented earlier, for continuity it will be repeated.

"Domestic manufacture is still confined to women who were first prevailed to undertake it. These consist of white or striped homespun, coarse woolen Blankets & in many instances very valuable & comfortable, twilled & figured coverlets. Woolen & cotton Stockings are mostly manufactured for domestic use within the nation I can only say that these domestic cloths are preferred.........and our people are most generally clothes[d] with them, but calicoes - silks - cambricks - &c. -K[h]ankerchiefs & shawls &c. are introduced by native merchants, who generally trade to Augusta in Georgia....... Skins formerly were sold in respectable quantities but that kind of trade is fast declining & getting less reputable. Cherokees on the Tennessee river have already commenced to trade in cotton & grow the article in large plantations and they have realized very handsome profit. All those who have it in their power, are making preparations to grow it for market & it will soon be the staple commodity of traffic for the Nation."70

However, some of the Cherokees could not even dress as well as those described by Stuart. Many accounts and letters refer to a large body of Cherokees that "have [had] scarcely any houses or clothes" and were dependent on others for their sustenance.71

According to Statute ll, chapter XCVll, section 3, by an act of Congress on June 12, 1838, the U. S. Government had established a "poor fund" composed mainly of appropriation money to be used to purchase clothing for indigent Indians.

"Section 3, And be it further enacted, That, for satisfying all claims for arrearages of annuities, for supplying blankets and other articles of clothing for the Cherokees who are not able to supply themselves, and which may be deemed necessary for their comfortable removal, and for medicines and medical assistance, and for such other purposes as the President shall deem proper to facilitate the removal of the Cherokees, one hundred thousand dollars be appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated."72

However, between the red tape involved in securing the funds, the corruption on the part of suppliers, and the fact that, at least initially, the Indians refused the clothing when it was distributed, the amount of clothing purchased from the fund that was actually used by the Indians cannot be even estimated.

"Although reduced by want to the extremity of hunger and nakedness, they scornfully refuse to receive the rations & clothing proffered to them by the subagents of the Indian department [thru?] distributions of the Cherokee poor fund.."73

According to General Scott's requisition, the fund was turned over to John Ross "to be laid out for clothing the emigrants that were about to start"74 on the forced march to Indian Territory in the present state of Oklahoma in the summer of 1838.

From an "Estimate of Funds required in the Removal and Subsistence of the Cherokee Indians for the Quarter ending 30th September 1838"75

"Amount of the Cherokee poor fund to Supply the poor and destitute Cherokees with clothing. $11,000
Amount of the funds appropriated in the 3rd section of the Act of June 12th, 1838 to supply  the Cherokees with clothing.           $20,000
TOTAL
31,000" 

According to the Treaty of New Echota signed by a party of Cherokees headed by Ridge in March of 1835, the treaty ceded land east of the Mississippi for land in Indian Territory. Ridge and his followers, in opposition to the leadership of John Ross, signed this treaty which was supposed to be ratified by the tribe in full council. However, even though this was not done, the treaty was eventually put into effect by the U. S. Government. Although some Cherokees did remove between the signing of the treaty and the deadline of May 23, 1838 for vacating the land, almost 15,000 Cherokees remained in their homeland.76

The different perspectives and attitudes on the part of non-Indians can be best expressed by two quotation. The first is found in the "Army and Navy Chronicle" and the second in "A Brief Review of the History of the Cherokee Nation for a Few Years Past" by the Reverend Daniel Sabin Butrick.

In the July 26th, 1838 issue of the Army and Navy Chronicles can be found an article that had originally been in The Southern Recorder of June 26th.

"CHEROKEES

From the following dispatches it will be seen with unmingled gratification, by every Georgian, that our Indian difficulties have been brought to a happy conclusion, and that most of the Georgia troops are about to be honorably discharged from service, having performed the duty for which they were organized-giving possession of the country to our citizens. We have only space to renew our hearty congratulations to the citizens of the State, that our Indian troubles are at last closed, may we hope, forever."77 

The writings of Daniel Sabin Butrick show what was forced on the Indians to accomplish their removal for the benefit of the citizens of Georgia. The following content was written in a letter by Butrick.

"And while the delegation78 were indulging hopes of saving [t]he people, the order was given to General Scott to proceed without delay to take the poor Indians prisoners and have them hurried away according to the treaty.

"July 20th, [1838] We went to the camps. On the side of the hill, in sight of the encampment, lay a very old man. Apparently at the point of death. He had long been sick with the dysentery. He had only a small piece of an old blanket under him, and nothing over his body, except a handkerchief drawn about his middle, and no shelter but a few bushes, and a piece of bark about three feet long. I enquired if he had any medicine, or any one to take care of him. He replied that a certain person came to him sometimes, but not often, and that he could get no medicine.......it was a fact that one of the doctors [said] that he was merely a dentis[t], and did not understand medicine.

"General Scott gave orders that no indecent language was to be used toward the Indians; and that in case any of them attempted to escape by flight, no gun should be discharged at them. But these orders, I believe, were obeyed or not according to the disposition of the under officers and soldiers. In the limits of Georgia there were supposed to be about eight thousand Cherokees. These were taken first, and in general I believe they were taken as they were found by the soldiers, without permission to stop, either for friends or property. As the soldiers advanced towards a certain house, two little children, it was said, in fright, fled to the woods. The mother requested permission to seek them, or wait till they came in, giving positive assurance that she would then follow, on and join the company. But all entreaties were in vain. She was driven away, and it was not till some time after, she obtained permission for one of her friends to go back after the lost children.

"A certain Cherokee, deaf and dumb, was some distance from the house, when he observed a company of soldiers advancing. He was doubtless alarmed, and attempted to make his escape. The soldiers ordered him to stop, and because he did not obey their commands shot him dead on the spot. One man, it is said, had killed a deer, and was taking it home to meet the joyful salutations of his family, when, at once, he was surprised, and taken prisoner to a fort. Women absent from their families on visits, or for other causes; and men far from their wives and children, were not allowed to return; and also children being found from home were dragged off among strangers. Cattle, horses, hogs, and household furniture, as well as clothing, bedding, &c. were, I believe generally lost to the owner. Though men were appointed to take care of property left by the prisoners, yet, in general, this business was so conducted as to afford the Indians but little benefit. The white inhabitants, it is said, stood with open arms to seize whatever property they could put their hands on. Some few Cherokees who had friends to speak for them, were assisted in getting afterwards some part of their lost goods & property. But in general, the Cherokee citizens in the limits of Georgia, about eight thousand in number, many of whom were in good circumstances, and some rich, were, in three or four days, rendered homeless, houseless, and almost penyless, and exposed to all ills of captivity.

"In driving them, a platoon of men with loaded muskets, walked before and behind, and a file of soldiers on each side arrived with the same appalling instruments of death. The soldiers, it is said, would often use the same language as if driving swine, and goad the people forward with the points of their bayonets. One man, on being pricked thus, and seeing his children thus abused, picked up a stone and struck a soldier. For this offense, however, he was hand cuffed, and punished on his arrival at the fort; and on leaving the fort, was again whipped a hundred lashes. Those taken to the fort at New Echota, it is said, were confined day and night in the open air, with scarcely clothes to cover them when lying on the naked ground.

"Thursday May 31. Just before night a young lieutenant called, and requested accommodations for two three officers, and permission for a company of Cherokees to camp near. Though we are not in the habit of entertaining any white men, yet for the sake of the poor Cherokees, we resolved to accomodate the above officers.

"Just before sunset the above company, of about two hundred Cherokees, were driven into our lane. The day had been rainy, and of course, all, men, women and children were dripping wet, with no change of clothing, and scarcely a blanket fit to cover them. As some of the women, when taken from their houses, had on their poorest dress, this of course was the amount of their clothing for a journey of eight hundred miles.

"As soon as permission was obtained from the officers, we opened every door to these poor sufferers. Mothers brought their little babes to our fire, and stripped off their only covering to dry. Heart rending indeed, was the sight of those little captives. Their lips, blue and trembling with cold, seemed yet to force a smile of gratitude for this kind reception.........A little before dark, the captain took our interpreter, br. Johnson Reese, and went to those who were lodged in the meeting house, and told them he had power to destroy them, and was ordered to do so if they did not behave well.

"It is said that some of the Cherokees told the commissioners that they did not wish any of their clothing, since they had clothing of their own which they had not been permitted to take.

"Monday - The weather being extremely warm and dry, many of the Cherokees are sick, especially at Calhoun, where, we understand, from four to ten daily. [page 73]

"Sabbath, June 10. The Cherokees had been kept on a small spot, surrounded by a strong guard, under such circumstances that it would seem impossible for male or female to secrete themselves from the gaze of the multitude for any purpose whatever.

"Thus our dear Cherokees were stripped of all their little store, which they have so happily been laying up for a few years past. And at the same time the coffers of the rich have been filled to overflowing. The master of the steam boat which took our dear friends to Muscle Shoals, had, it is said, four thousand Dollars a trip, making eight thousand Dollars in sixteen days.

"June 22. The news is confirmed that general Scott has agreed to defer the removing of the remainder of the Indians till the first of September.....The chiefs having assumed the responsibility of keeping the people in prescribed limits and in good order, the guards were withdrawn, and the people were allowed to pitch their tents where they pleased in the neighborhood of the general encampment.

"July 24. We were informed to day that when the Cherokees in Georgia were taken, women would sometimes spread a blanket on the floor to put a bed or bedding in, when the soldiers would snatch it away, saying, there were others appointed to take care of property. Thus the poor people were robbed by the very means said to be appointed for the benefit. Because agents were appointed to look up property after the Indians were gone, therefore they must not take even their necessary clothing. And it is evident that a mere trifle was ever given to the owners.

"May 23, [1839] was informed by Maj. Lowrey that, according to the most accurate estimation they could make, about five thousand Cherokees had died since they were taken prisoners last June. Of the three detachments sent from Ross' landing last summer, it is estimated that two thousand are now in eternity. Of those left till fall, it is said about two thousand died while in captivity, previous to their departure; and about one thousand on their way to this country. The above estimate may be a little more or less than the fact, yet we cannot suppose it far out of the way."

The way Butrick ended his manuscript was extremely telling for he wrote:

"Please, let none of this manuscript go from your hands; and if you think it will, on the whole conduce to evil more than good, you will oblige me by burning the whole instead of publishing it. Let none of it be published in any newspaper, or periodical of any kind, but destroy it unless you wish it for your own work. I have read it to Maj. Lowrey. He wished me to send it to you, and says it is correct, as far as comes within his knowledge."79

One of the most poignant descriptions from the period can be found in a letter written by William Shorey Coodey, a nephew of John Ross to John Howard Payne. Whether one wants to believe that thunder emerged from the sky on a cloudless day is irrelevant; the tone and tenure of the letter are descriptive in themselves.

"The entire Cherokee population were captured by the U.S. troops under general Scott in 1838, and marched, principally, upon the border of Tennessee where they were encamped in large bodies until the time for their final remove west. At one of these encampments twelve miles south of the Agency, and Headquarters of Genl. Scott, was organized the first detachment for marching, under arrangement committing the whole management of the migration into the hands of the Cherokees themselves - The first of Sept[emb]er was fixed as the time for a part to be in motion on the route. Much anxiety was felt, and great ecertions [exertions] made by the Cherokees to comply with everything, reasonably, to be expected of them, and it was determined that the first detachment should move in the last days of August. I left the Agency on the 27th, after night, and reached the encampment, above alluded to, early the following morning, for the purpose of aiding in arrangements necessary to get a portion in motion on that day, the remainder to follow the next day and come up while the first were crossing the Tennessee River, about twenty five miles distant. At noon all was in readiness for moving, the trains were stretched out in a line along the road through a heavy forest, groups of persons formed about each waggon, others shaking the hand of some sick friend or relative who would be left behind - The temporary camps covered with boards and some bark that for three summer months had been their only shelter and home were crackling and falling under a blazing flame - The day was bright and beautiful, but a gloomy thoughtfulness was strongly depicted in the lineaments of every face. In all the bustle of preparations there was a silence and stillness of the voice that betrayed the sadness of the heart. At length the word was given to move. I glanced along the line and the forms of Going Snake an aged and respected Chief whose head eighty winters had whitened mounted on his favorite poney passed before me and lead the way in advance, followed by a number of young men on horseback. At this very moment a low sound of distant thunder fell on my ear - In almost an exact western direction a dark spiral cloud was rising above the horizon and sent forth a murmur. I almost fancied a voice of divine indignation for the wrongs of my poor and unhappy countrymen, driven by brutal power from all they loved and cherished in the land of their fathers, to gratify the cravings of avarice. The sun unclouded - no rain fell - the thunder rolled away and seemed hushed in the distance. The scene around and before me, and in the elements above were peculiarly impressive & singular. It was at once spoken of by several persons near me, and looked upon as ominous of some Future event in the West. In several letters to my friends on the same evening I alluded to the circumstances, so strong was the effect on my mind, at the time."80

One month after General Scott agreed to allow the Cherokees to defer the actual journey to lands west of the Mississippi, he wrote a letter to the Adjutant General of the Army, a portion of which was published in the Army and Navy Chronicle of August 9, 1838.81

"It is I learn, reported throughout this country, that the Indians collected in camps for emigration are sickly, and dying in great number. I mention this report to contradict it. The Indians are very generally in excellent health, and so are the troops. Please cause this to be officially announced."

Even one of the physicians supplied by the government contradicted the article.

"I might further remark that as a very actual result of collecting and marching to distant points of rendezvous, men women and children of all ages and condition, changing suddenly and very materially all their habits of life, especially in regard to Regimen, Exercise, with exposure to the intense heat that has prevailed in this Country, during the past and present months, we should feel little astonishment at finding a high degree of Diarrhea, hazardous Dysentery, and urgent Remitant Fever, prevailing to a great, and deplorably fatal extent. In addition to this, Measles and Whooping Cough appears epidemically among the Cherokees about the first of June which Diseases were generally much aggravated by the circumstances connected with the assemblage: all these Diseases are now rife among them:"82

He went on to write that the mortality rate had dropped as the Indians had become more accustomed to taking medicine.83

The untold hardships can only be imagined by multiplying the suffering of the early emigrants, who migrated "voluntarily" and were often led by caring conductors.

It, also, must be cited that the few journals of the marches, known to exist, were official documents of the journey written by doctors or conductors employed by the government to lead the marches.

Before the large emigration in the fall of 1838, the earlier emigrations took place either primarily by water or by land. The march that utilized boats could take as little as 2 weeks. The march of June 6th, 1838 terminated at Fort Coffee on June 23rd. However, a month was more common, for example from April 6th to May 1st 1838. Or it could take as long as two months. One march started on March 12th and terminated at Fort Gibson on May 15th, 1834.

Two of the determining factors seemed to be the amount of sickness and subsequent delay and the level of the river that had to be transversed.

From a detailed perusal of the few known journals all written about marches prior to the fall of 1838,84 the following generalizations can be made: Some trips were accomplished with as few as two deaths while some trips saw as many as 10% of the emigrants perish. The determining factor seemed to be the prevalence of one case of measles or cholera at the start of the journey. Where no highly infectious diseases were present, the health of the party seemed to remain constant throughout the journey. Two examples concern two parties that started straight out of the camps in June of 1838. LT. Edward Deas's party started out healthy and remained so; while Lt. R. H. K. Whitely's party lost a large number of members, even when a child with measles was removed from the party to protect the others.

Many of the conductors, according to their own journals, tried to insure the safety and health of their charges. Captain Harris exposed himself to cholera while nursing his charges and expressed frustration at not being able to do more for their health. B. B. Cannon spent time and effort locating shelters for the sick while Deas requisitioned tents to shelter his party when they arrived at their destination.

An article from the New York Gazette, reprinted in the Army and Navy Chronicle of May 16th, 1839, referred to a testimonial presented to Lt. Deas by the Cherokee Indians:

"CHEROKEE INDIANS - We understand that a sword has lately been presented to Lieutenant Edward Deaz, of the U.S. Army, by some of the Cherokee Indians, as a testimony of their gratitude for his kind attention to their comfort, while he was superintendent in their removal to the West of the Mississippi last winter. The circumstance is alike honorable to that officer, and to the race who have too often met with far different treatment. May they be happy and prosperous in their new homes. - New York Gazette."85

A problem all parties had to contend with in case of illness was not enough or incompetent medical personnel and the unwillingness on the part of many of the Indians to take medicine. Extremely cramped and ultimately dirty conditions aboard the boats led to the spread of disease as did lack of clothing and shelter in inclement weather. However, many of the Cherokees refused to receive clothes. Whitely noted on June 14 and 15, 1838 that clothing was brought to his party at Brown's Ferry, but they would not accept it.

General Winfield Scott in his letter of July 20, 1838 to J.R. Poinsett, Secretary of War, believed that one reason they would not accept the clothes and (in the case he is citing) the blankets was that their acceptance would lead to an acknowledgement of the treaty of New Echota.

"The party, like the two which preceded it, very generally & obstinately refused to receive clothing & blankets, both of which were much needed --fearing to do any thing which might be construed into an acknowledgement of the Treaty, & not doubting, even to the last, that Mr. Ross would bring them back to their old homes under a new arrangement."86

There is, however, no indication that they did not accept the clothes acquired by John Ross from Major General Winifield Scott when the former had the title of Supply Agent of the Cherokee Nation for Emigration. In a correspondence with Scott, on October 15, 1838, he requested that moneys from the fund be turned over to the Cherokees for administration.

"Sir

In your communication of the 28th of July you inform us that fifty thousand dollars of the above appropriation had been made subject to your order and that you were willing to place the same for the purpose intended, at our disposition. The sum of ten thousand dollars then in the hands of Capt. Page of this fund was drawn for and paid on my requisition of the 4th August. This amount together with an unexpected balance for "clothing etc" was turned over at the same time, have been expended for blankets, shoes etc and distributed among the poorer class of Emigrants in the several detachments; understanding that there is nineteen thousand dollars now in the hands of Capt Page I deem it expedient to submit this my requisition for the same trusting that you will order that sum to be paid over to me --I beg leave further, to suggest that you will direct the remaining balance to be paid over without delay, in order that the indigent portion of the Emigrants may be supplied with clothing on the route before cold weather sets in. Indeed from the destitute condition of a large portion of the Cherokees, I am fully persuaded that the object of Congress in making this appropriation would be more fully met by disbursing the whole amount at once for Blankets etc. to supply the wants of the poor on the route than reserving the application of the fund until their arrival in the West.

I have the honor to be sir your obt hble servt John Ross
        Supply Agent of the Cherokee nation for Emigration
         Cherokee Agency East
         October 15, 1838"87 

 

"Head Quarters of E. Division
Cherokee AGENCY Oct 15, 1838
"The foregoing requisition is approved. Capt. Page, principal disbursing agent will turn over the amount specified nineteen thousand dollars, & take the proper receipt therefore.
Winfield Scott"88

This below request, was in answer to the following correspondence, and possibly others, from Emigration conductors. The letter was written by John Benge and George Lowry on September 29, 1838.89

"Sir
We find on examination of the condition of the detachment of Cherokees Collected at this place for Emigration that many of them, say at least two thirds are in a destitute condition and in want of Shoes, Clothing and Blankets..............we would suggest the propriety and urge the necessity of your forwarding Shoes, Blankets and such other Clothing as is provided for other parties of Emigrating Cherokees........We have only 83 tents you will see the necesity of providing an additional Supply as many families are compelled to start without a tent."  This was not the first expenditure from the "Poor Fund" as authorized by Congress by the Act of June 12th, 1838, Section 3. Some examples of articles purchased at various times during the Emigration were:

"(1201) One thousand two hundred one Mackinaw blankets including wrappers

(1206) One thousand two hundred & six pairs of shoes"90

Tents to house the sick.91 

 

"Saint Louis Jan 16, 1839

Bot of Jason Holbrook

No. 1,2,3, 4 is 20 Doz Mens Kipp Brogans 14.50       $290.00

No. 5,6 " 10 " " Coars "                               13.00         130.00

7 5 Doz Boys Kipp                                     10.00           50.00

7 Box 50 per Box                                         3.50

                                                                     ----------

                                                                473.50

3 pr at off                                                     14.20

                                                     _______________

                                                                 459.30

Different kinds of blankets were also purchased - Green Mackinaws, Army blankets, etc."92  

 

On February 16th, 1839, John Ross ordered from The Danforth Brothers in St. Louis, Missouri: 

"96 1/2 yds striped cotton @ .250       $ 24.12

30 pr yarn socks @                .40          12.00

                               ____________________

                                                             36.12

 

25 pr of Nine Five Brogs $   1.75       $ 43.750

12 pr yarn socks @                 .25           3.000

1 Box to contain                                      0.371/2

                                     _______________

                                                             47.121/2"93 

Even though these expenditures were made, the suffering of the Cherokees was extensive. John G. Burnett, who had grown up among the Cherokees and was a private in the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, Mounted Infantry, accompanied a detachment of emigrants during the mass removal of 1838. When he was eighty years old, he recollected some of the scenes.

"I saw the helpless Cherokees arrested and dragged from their homes, and driven at the bayonet point into the stockades. And in the chill of a drizzling rain on an October morning I saw them loaded like cattle or sheep into six hundred and fort-five wagons and started toward the west.......many of these people did not have blankets and many of them had been driven from their homes barefooted."94

A number of the problems that the Cherokee experienced prior to, during, and following removal resulted from the government's lack of follow through on their promises to pay for the property of the Cherokees east of the Mississippi and to provide the Cherokees with subsistence upon arrival at the land west of the Mississippi.

"....we have made in a start to move we know that it is a laborius undertaking, but with firm resolve we think that we will be able to accomplish it, if the white citizens will permit us, but since we have been on our march many of us have been stoped and our horses taken from our Teams for the payment of unjust and just Demands, yet the government says we must go, and the citizens says you must pay me, and if the Debtor has not the means, the property of his next friend is levied on and yet the Government has not given us our spoliations as promised. our property has been stolen and Robed from us by white men and no means given us to pay our Debts, when application is made to, as we think the proper authority...."95

The situation had not really improved, as can be seen from a letter written by John Ross to the Cherokee Agent, Stokes, on April 5, 1839.

"The whole of the Cherokee nation having completed their removal to this section of country under the late arrangement under Major Genrl Scott of the U. S. army ....It was confidently expected by them that ample arrangements for their sustenance would have been made in time to meet their wants on their arrival west- but we find a contract existing between the Government and individuals and depots established on the line at inconvenient points for the Emigrants who have, and are about settling themselves at places too remote from the depots to be able to get their rations without great inconvenience........ The detachments that came by water received shortly after their arrival fifteen days ration of Beef, forty five of corn......but I am sorry to say that fifteen days have expired. The Emigrants [are] out of provisions and no arrangements are made to supply them...."96

The question of who would get subsistence by the act of June 12, 1838, section 2, seemed to depend on the judgement of the President of the United States. Section 2 of Statute ll, Chapter XCVll stated:

"That the further sum of one million forty-seven thousand and sixty-seven dollars be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, in full, for all objects specified in the third article of the supplementary articles of the treaty of eighteen hundred and thirty-five, between the United States and the Cherokee Indians, and for the further object of aiding in the subsistence of said Indian for one year after their removal west: Provided, That no part of the said sum of money shall be deducted from the five million stipulated to be paid to said tribe of Indians by said treaty: And provided further, That the said Indians shall receive no benefit from the said appropriation, unless they shall complete their emigration within such times as the President shall deem reasonable, and without coercion on the part of the Government."97

This last statement could have, basically, denied all subsistence allocations to most of the Cherokees who were "forced" to emigrate in the fall of 1838.

It is known, throughout the nineteenth century that representative of the Cherokee Nation spent much of their time after Removal in Washington petitioning the Government to change and/or amend different acts previously passed concerning the welfare of the Cherokee Nation. 


1. Grace Steele Woodward, The Cherokees, p. 106.

2. Thomas Valentine Parker, The Cherokee Indians, p. 12.

3. Annie Abel, The Annual report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1906, "The History of Events Resulting in Indian Consolidation West of the Mississippi", p. 258.

4. Thomas Valentine Parker, The Cherokee Indians, p. 12.

5. Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, edited by H.A. Washington, volume 3, pp. 213-214.

6. Ibid., p. 215.

7. Grant Foreman, Indians and Pioneers, pp. 31-32.

8. Daniel Sabin Butrick,  The John Howard Payne Papers,Courtesy of The Edward E. Ayer Collection, volume 9, pp. 53-54. The Newberry Library.

9. Some slight spelling changes have been made - the spelling of the word addrefs was changed to address. Since this was a verbal address, the syntx as noted in the copy is often confusing. Sometimes punctuation has been added to try to clarify the information even though some of the sentences have been left as is even if they are not grammatically complete. To punctuate these, would have required rewriting them.

10. From Grant Foreman Collection. Box 24, folder 40, pp. 410-411. Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Tulsa, OK. The notation on the document was that it was from :"Book 29. No. 17. Jackson Papers. Volume 44. #6452, 6453." "A True Copy."

11. Grant Foreman, Indians and Pioneers, p.34.

12. Ibid., p. 34.

13. Ibid., p. 37.

14. Ibid., p. 37.

15. Ibid., p. 39.

16. Ibid., p. 67.

17. Ibid., p. 69.

18. Ibid., p 71.

19. William McLoughlin, Cherokees and Missionaries, p. 125.

20. Abraham E. Knepler," Eighteenth Century Cherokee Education," The Chronicles of Oklahoma, volume 20, no. 1, March 1943, pp.55-56.

21. Ibid., p.58.

22. Rev. Edmund Schwartze, History of Moravian Missions Among the Southern Indian Tribes of the United States, volume 1, p. 136.

23. William G. McLoughlin, Missionaries and Cherokees, p. 125.

24. Ibid., p. 129.

25. Ibid., p. 129.

26. Letter to Rev. Thomas Savage from Ann Orr Worcester, February 2, 1833. Worcester Papers, folder #6. Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Tulsa, OK.

27. William G. McLoughlin, Missionaries and Cherokees, pp. 16-17.

28. Niles' Register, volume XXXVlll, pp. 394-395.

29. These letters are from the John Howard Payne Papers, Courtesy of the Edward Ayer Collection. Newberry Library. From Microfilm reel # 2, volume 5.

30. George Henry Loskiel, The History of the Moravian Missions Among the Indians in North America, pp. 306-307.

31. Grace Steele Woodward, The Cherokees, p. 143.

32. Foreman Collection, Box 37, vol.78, p. 236. Originally from Mercantile Library, St. Louis, Sept. 6, 1929. Contained in the Edwardsville Spectator, volume vii, number 31. Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Tulsa, OK.

33. Translated for an 1805 publication as "feathers".

34. Translated in the same 1905 source as "perforate the gristle of the nose to put rings into it."

35. At this period of time, short probably meant to mid-calf. However, this length is not diffinitive.

36. François André Michaux's, "Travels to the West of the Alleghany Mountains" contained in Reuben Thwaites' Early Western Travels volume lll, p. 264.

37. Michaux's Travels to the Westward of the Alleghany Mountains, in the States of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee in the Year 1802. Translated from the French. Printed for R. Phillips, 1805, p. 88.

38. Return Jonathan Meigs. "Journal of Occurrences" p. 6A. From The Papers of Return J. Meigs - Family Collection 1772-1862, Mss Division of the Library of Congress.

39. Christian Schultz, Travels on an Inland Voyage......in the Years 1807 and 1808, p.8.

40. .Foreman Collection, Box 36, vol. 76 pt 1. Originally from "Indians, Return Jonathan Meigs". Memorandum Book of Occurences 1796-1807. Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Tulsa, OK.

41. Timothy Flint, Recollections of the Past Ten Years..in the Valley of the Mississippi in a Series of Letters, pp. 147-148.

42. Thomas Nuttall, A Journal of Travels into the Arkansa Territory, p. 123. All the following text is from the 1966 Readex edition.

43. Reuben Thwaites, Early Western Travels, Volume XVl, p. 184.

44. Anne Newport Royall, Letters from Alabama, p. 155.

45. Ibid., p. 155.

46. Ibid., p. 157.

47. Ibid., p. 155.

48. Letter from Ben Currey, Superintendent of Indian Removal to Elbert Herring, Bureau of Indian Affairs. National Archive's Microciopy 234, roll 113.

49. The Indian Removals, volume 2, Document 512 of US Senate, 23rd Congress, 1st Session, p. 329.

50. National Archives, RG 75, E210, "Journal of Money Disbursed to Account of Choctaw, Seminole, Quapaw, Pottawatome, & Creek Removal" April 1835-Sept. 1836.

51. James D. Horan, The McKenney-Hall Portrait Gallery of American Indians, pp. 264-276.

52. Courtesy of the John Howard Payne Papers, The Edward Ayer Collection, volume 2, p. 78. Newberry Library.

53. Indian-Pioneer Papers collected in 1837 and 1838 - Oklahoma Historical Society, Grant Foreman Collection, volume 47, p. 235.

54. Courtesy of The John Howard Payne Papers, The Edward Ayer Collection, microfilm reel #3, volume 6, page 206. According to Gilbert, this section was written by Payne. BAE Bulletin 133, Anthro paper 23-Appendix D Page 388. 

55. John Howard Payne Papers, folder 20, p. 3. Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Tulsa, OK.

56. George Catlin, North American Indians, volume 2, p. 120 (Dover edition).

57. John Ridge, "Short Account of the Cherokee Nation" John Howard Payne Papers, microfilm roll #2, volume 8, p. 103.

58. John Stuart, A Sketch of the Cherokee and Choctaw Indians, introduction to book.

59. Ibid., p.13.

60. Ibid., p. 13.

61. The Gazette, Sequoyah, folder 4. Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Tulsa, OK.

62. Kilpatrick, New Echota Letters, pp. 74-75. The quotation is from a letter of March 10, 1830 written by Reverand Samuel Worcester at New Echota C.N.

63. Tuttle, Letters and Conversations on the Cherokee Mission, volume 1, preface.

64. Ibid., pp. 54-55.

65. Ibid., pp. 111-112.

66. Ibid., volume 2, p. 64.

67. Ibid., pp. 107-108.

68. Featherstonhaugh, A Canoe Voyage Up the Minnay Sotor, vol. 2, p. 232.

69. Karl Bodmer, Karl Bodmer's America, p. 118.

70. John Ridge, Short Account of the Cherokee Nation.....Courtesy of the John Howard Payne Papers, The Edward Ayer Collection, Volume 8, p. 105. The Newberry Library.

71. Part of a letter from Lucy McPherson to Rev'd Moses Thatcher, Brainard, 1829. Courtesy of The John Howard Payne Papers, The Edward E. Ayer Collection. The Newberry Library. Volume 8, p. 58.

72. Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, Volume V, p. 242.

73. From Col. Lindsay to J.R. Pointsett Cherokee Agency July 20th 1837. National Archives M234, roll 114.

74. From a letter dated 21 August 1835 written from Calhoun, Georgia by Capt John Page to C. A. Harris in Washington City. National Archives, M234, roll115.

75. Estimate of Funds is dated August 21, 1838. National Archives, M234, roll 115.

76. Grant Foreman, Indian Removal, pp. 266-286.

77. "Army and Navy Chronicle", volume 7, #4, July 26, 1838, p. 57.

78. Ross and a delegation were sent to Washington, in May, after the U.S. government recognized the "fraudulent" treaty of 1835 to try to plead the Cherokee cause, once again.

79. Daniel Sabin Butrick, Volume 9, "A Brief review of the History of the Cherokee Nation for a Few Years" pp. 65-97. Courtesy of The John Howard Payne Papers, The Edward Ayer Collection. The Newberry Library.

80. Courtesy of The John Howard Payne Papers, The Edward E. Ayer Collection. The Newberry Library. Volume 6, p. 179 [Typescript]

81. "Army and Navy Chronicle", volume 7, #6, p. 91.

82. Dr. J. W. Lide's Report of August 20th, 1838. National Archives. M234, roll 115.

83. Ibid.

84. See manuscript bibliography for a complete list of journals consulted.

85. "Army and Navy Chronicle," volume 8, number 20, May 16, 1839, p. 316.

86. Winfield Scott to J. R. Poinsett of July 20th, 1838. National Archives M234, roll 15.

87. John Ross Collection, Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Letter of October 15, 1838.

88. Ibid.

89. Ross Collection, Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Letter of September 29. 1838.

90. John Ross Collection, Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Invoice of August 20, 1838.

91. John Ross Collection, Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Correspondence from J. D. Wofford listing items requisitioned for 300-400 persons in Toquah Camps, Moose Creek, September, 1838.

92. John Ross Collection, Thomas Gilcrease Museum. January 16, 1839.

93. Ibid.

94. Jon G. Burnett, "The Cherokee Removal Through the Eyes of a Private Soldier" from The Removal of the Cherokees, p. 51.

95. John Ross Collection, Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Letter of George Hicks, conductor of a detachment of Cherokees, Nov. 4, 1838.

96. John Ross Collection, Letter from John Ross to Stokes , April 5, 1839.

97. Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, volume V, p. 242.