MooxEY] CONDITION IN 1S95 155 



The svnenil ])i'()sp('rity and afhaiu'cuicnt of tlio Clicrokcc Nation at 

 this time iiia\' he judf^cd from tlic report of th(> secretary of the Cher- 

 okee national board of education to Ayent Wisdom, lie reports -i.SI 10 

 children att(Midine- two seminaries, male and fenude, two hiyh schools, 

 and one hundred primary sciiools, teachei's h(>in<i' paid from iji:!.") to 

 $100 per month for nine montiis in tiie year. Fourteen ]>rimary 

 schools were for the use of the neero citi/iMis of the Nation, liesides 

 which the}^ had a line high school, kept up, like ail the others, at the 

 expense of the Cherokee goverment. Besides tiie national schools 

 there were twelve mi.ssion schools helping to do splendid work for 

 children of both citizens and noncitizens. Children of noneitizens 

 were not allowed to attend the Cherokee national schools, l)ut had 

 their own sul)scription schools. The oiphan asylum I'anked as a high 

 school, in which 150 orphans were boarded and educated, with gi-adu- 

 ates every year. It was a large brick building of three stories. 80 by 

 240 feet. The male seminary, acconmiodating 200 pupils, and the 

 female seminary, accommodating '2'25 pupils, were also large brick 

 structures, three stories in height and 150 by 240 feet on the ground. 

 Three members, all Cherokee l)y blood, constituted a board of educa- 

 tion. The secretary adds that tiie Cherokee are proud of their schools 

 and educational institutions, and that no other country under the sun 

 is so blessed with educational advantages at lai'ge.' 



At this time the Cherokee Nation nunil)ered something ovt>r 2r).n()() 

 Indian, white, and negro citizens; the total citizen population of the 

 three races in the five civilized tribes luunbei-ed about 70,000, while 

 the noncitizens had increased to 250,000 and their number was being 

 rapidly augmented.' Realizing that the swift, inevitable end nmst l)e 

 the destruction of their national governments, the Cherokee began 

 once more to consider the question of removal from the United States. 

 The scheme is outlined in a letter written by a brother of the principal 

 chief of the Cherokee Nation under date of May 31, 1895, from whi<li 

 we quote. 



After prefacing that th(> government of tlie United Stali-s seems 

 determined to })reak up the tribal autonomy of the five cixiiized 

 tribes and to divide their lands, thus bringing about conditions 

 under which the Cherokee could not exist, he continues: 



Then for a remedy that will lead us out uf it, ;nviiy froiu it, and one that proinisos 

 our preservation as a di.stinct race of people in the enjoyment of customs, social and 

 political, that have been handed down tn us fnini remote generations of the past. 

 My plan is for the Cherokees to sell their entire landed possessions to the fiiited 

 States, divide the proceeds tl^ereof per i-apita, tlu^n such as desire tcj do su unite in 

 the formation of an Indian colony, and with their iunds jointly purchase in Mexico 



1 Letter of A. E. Ivy, Secretary of tlie Board of Edue-alion. in Report (>f Indian Commissioner for 

 isai, p. 161, 1890. The author can add personal testimony as to the completeness of the seminary 

 establishment. 



'- Report of Agent Wisdom, ibid., p. 162. 



