iHfi MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE [eth.ann. in 



beiiotits of the Now Ecliotsi treaty, iilthoiiyh not denied liy the gov- 

 ernment, had been held to be conditional upon their removal to the 

 West.' 



In the spring- of l.S-t<S the author, Laiinian. visited the East Chero- 

 kee and has left an interesting account of their condition at the time, 

 together with a description of their ballplays, dances, and customs 

 generally, having been the guest of Colonel Thomas, of whom he 

 speaks as the guide, counselor, and friend of the Indians, as well as 

 their business agent and ciiief, so that the connection was like that 

 existing between a father and his children. He puts the number of 

 Indians at about 800 Chei-okee and 100 Catawba on the '"Qualla town" 

 reservation — the name being in use thus early — with 200 more Indians 

 residing in the more westerly portion of the state. Of their general 

 condition he says: 



About three-fourthy of the entire population can read in tlieir own language, and, 

 though the majority of them understand English, a very few can speak the language. 

 They jjraetice, to a considerable extent, the science of agriculture, and have acquired 

 sucli a knowledge of the mechanic arts as answers them for all ordinai'v purposes, 

 for they manufacture their own clothing, their own ploughs, and other farming uten- 

 sils, their own axes, and even their own guns. Their women are no longer treated as 

 slaves, but as equals; the men labor in the fields and their wives are devoted entirely 

 to household employments. They keep the same domestic animals that are kept by 

 their white neighbors, and cultivate all the common grains of the country. They 

 are jirobalily as temperate as any other class of people on the face of the earth, honest 

 in their business intercourse, moral in their thoughts, words, and deeds, and distin- 

 guished for their faithfulness in jicrforming the duties of religion. They are chiefly 

 Methoilists and Baptists, and have ivgularly ordained ministers, who preach ti:)them 

 on every Sabbath, and they have also abandoned many of their mere senseless super- 

 stitions. They have their own court and try their criminals by a regular jury. 

 Their judges and lawyers are chosen from among themselves. They keep in order 

 the public roads leading through their .settlement. By a law of the state they have 

 a right to vote, l)ut seldom exercise that right, as they <lo not like the idea <.)f being 

 identified with any of the political parties. Excepting on festive days, they dress 

 after the manner of the white man, Init far more pictures(iuely. They live in small 

 log houses of their own construction, and have everything they need or desire in the 

 way of food. They are, in fact, the happiest comnnmity that I have yet met with 

 in this southern country. - 



Among the other notables Lamnan speak.s thus of Sala'li, "' Squirrel." 

 a born mechanic of the band, who died only a few years since: 



He is quite a young man and has a remarkably thoughtful face. He is the black- 

 smith of his nation, and with some assistance supplies the whole of Qualla town with 

 all their axes and plows; liut what is mcjre, he has manufactured a number of very 

 superior rifles and pistols, including stoek, barrel, and lock, and he is also the builder 

 of grist mills, which grind all the corn which his people eat. A specimen of his 

 workmanship in the way of a rifle may be seen at the Patent Office in Washington, 

 where it was deposited by Mr. Thomas; and I believe Salola is the first Indian who 



1 Synopsis of the treaty, etc., in Royce, Cherokee Nation, Fifth .\nn. Rep. Bureau of Ethnology, 

 pp. 300-313,1888; see al.so ante, p. US. 

 -Lanman, Letters from the .\lU'ghauy Moumitinv, pji. 94-9.^, 1849. 



