No™5]^' ^^^' CHRONICLES OF WOLFTOWN — KILPATRICK 31 



Di:gahl(u)ghwade:gi. He just borrowed money, 



June 2, 1857. With the interest it was this___ $1. 30 

 [illegible]. He just borrowed money, June 

 [illegible], 1857 



Tsv:datsi (still not finished paying) 



I had this left over, June 21st $[?]. 21 



Now! Wi:l(i)sini has just borrowed money 



from township funds $[?]. 15 



On October 6th Wi:l{i)sini just paid in full. 

 Wi:l(i)sini has just paid in fuU the $0.05 he 

 still owed, August 29th. 



Gha:tsi iusi borrowed money November 10, 1858- $2. 00 



Now! Sa:ladi just borrowed money November 



20th $0.96 



I, Ino:li, just wrote this. 



Now! U:l{a)sdu:hi just borrowed this money 

 December 16, 1858 $2. 50 



He is to repay it March 20, 1859. 



I, Ino:li, just wrote this. 



COMMENTARY 



The present document, much crossed out and blotted and therefore 

 quite difficult to read, is in the handwriting of Ino : li and deals with 

 debts of two categories: those to the State of North Carolina (land 

 taxes), and those to what would appear to be the Wolf town Council 

 (personal loans chiefly incurred, one surmises, for the purpose of 

 paying State taxes). 



Inasmuch as no Indian could legally own land within the State of North 

 Carolina until 1866 (Mooney, 1900, p. 159), all of the lands of the Chero- 

 kees there were recorded in the name of their benefactor and unofficial 

 head, WUl Thomas {see Russell, MS., 1956, passim) . Although the legal 

 fiction of Thomas' ownership had to be maintained, with their own 

 money some of the Cherokees had bought their holdings, Ino:li 

 acted as the agent of Thomas in collecting taxes from the Indians that 

 resided in Jackson County. 



The hodgepodge of memoranda here, with entries spanning the 

 years from 1855 to 1859, is typical not only of Inodi's bookkeeping 

 but that of Cherokees in general. It is not without systematic 

 organization, as might appear. Olbrechts (Mooney and Olbrechts, 

 1932, p. 157) marvels at the abiUty of the medicine man to find a 

 needed formula in a book that was a jungle of ". . . notes of historical 

 interest, not to speak of tribal records, such as births, deaths, acci- 

 dents, etc." as well as a depository for curing charms. 



