178 MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE [f.th.ann.19 



created and constituted a bodv politic and corporate under tiie name, 

 style, and title of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, with all the 

 rights, franchises, privileges and powers incident and belonging to 

 corporations under the laws of the state of North Carolina.' 



On August 2, 1893, ex-Chief Smith died at Ch(>rokee, in the tift}'- 

 seventh year of his life, more than twenty ot which had been given 

 to the service of his ])eople. Nimrod flarrett Smith, known to the 

 Cherokee as Tsa'ladihi', was the son of a halfbreed father by an Indian 

 mother, and was l)orn near the present Murphy, Cherokee county. 

 North Carolina, on January 3, 1S3T. His earliest recollections were 

 thus of the miseries that attended the flight of the refugees to the 

 mountains during the Removal period. His mother spoke very little 

 English, but his father was a man of consideral)le intelligence, having 

 acted as interpreter and translator for Reverend Evan Jones at the old 

 Valleytown mission. As the ])oy grew to manhood he acquired a fair 

 education, which, aided by a conunanding presence, made him a per- 

 son of influence among his fellows. At twenty-flve years of age he 

 enlisted in the Thomas Legion as first sergeant of Company B, Sixt_y- 

 ninth North Carolina (Confederate) Infantry, and served in that capacity 

 till the close of the war. He was clerk of the council that drafted the 

 first East Cherokee constitution in 1SB8, and on the death of Principal 

 Chief Lloyd Welch in 1880 was elected to fill the unexpired term, 

 continuing in ottice b}^ successive reelections until the close of IS'Jl, a 

 period of about twelve years, the longest term yet filled by an incum- 

 bent. As principal chief he signed the contract under which the school 

 work was inaugurated in 1881. For several years thereafter his 

 duties, particularly in connection with the suit against the western 

 Cherokee, recjuired his presence much of the time at A Washington, 

 while at home his time was almost as constantlj' occupied in attending 

 to the wants of a dependent people. Although he was entitled under 

 the constitution of the band to a salar\' of five hundred dollars per year, 

 no part of this salary- was ever paid, because of the limited resources of 

 his people, and only partial reimbursement was made to him, shortly 

 before his death, for expenses incurred in official visits to Washington. 

 With frequent opportunities to enrich himself at the expense of his 

 people, he maintained his honor and died a poor man. 



In person Chief Smith was a splendid specimen of physical man- 

 hood, being six feet four inches in height and l)uilt in proportion, 

 erect in figure, with flowing black hair curling down over his shoulders, 

 a deep musical voice, and a kindly spirit and natural dignity that 

 never failed to impress the stranger. His widow — a white woman — 

 and several children survive him.' 



^See act in fviU, Report of Indian Commissioner, vol. i, pp. 080-681, 1891. 



-From author's personal acquaintance; see also Zeigler and Grosscup, Heart of tlie Alleghanies, 

 pp. 38-39, 1883; Agent J. L. Holmes, in Report of Indian Commissioner, i>. lliO, 188.5; Commissioner 

 T. J. Morgan. Report ot Indian Commissioner, p. 142, 1892; Moore, Roster of the North Carolina 

 Troops, IV, 1882. 



