ROYCE. ] TREATY OF MAY 6, 1828. 231 
HISTORICAL DATA, 
RETURN J. MEIGS AND THE CHEROKEES, 
Return J. Meigs had for nearly twenty years! occupied the position of 
United States agent for the Cherokee Nation. As asoldier of the Revo- 
lutionary war he had marched with Arnold through the forests of 
Maine and Canada to the attack on Quebee in 1775.” 
He had also, by his faithful. intelligent, and honest administration of 
the duties of his office as Indian agent, secured the perfect confidence of 
his official superiors through all the mutations of administration. He 
had acquired a knowledge of and familiarity with the habits, character, 
and wants of the Cherokees such as was perhaps possessed by few, if 
indeed by any other man. 
Any suggestions, therefore, that he might make concerning the solu- 
tion of the Cherokee problem were deserving of grave consideration. 
His views were submitted in detail upon the condition, prospects, and 
requirements of the Cherokee Nation in a communication to the Secre- 
tary of War.’ To his mind the time had arrived when a radical change 
in the policy of managing their affairs had become essential. Ever 
since the treaty of 1791 the United States, in pursuance of a policy 
therein outlined for leading the Cherokees toward the attainment of a 
higher degree of civilization, in becoming herdsmen and cultivators in- 
stead of hunters, had been furnishing each year a supply of implements 
for husbandry and domestic use. In consequence a respectable propor- 
tion of that nation had become familiarized with the use of the plow, 
spade, and hoe. Many of their women had learned the art of spinning 

‘Meigs was appointed, May 15, 1801, superintendent of Indian affairs for the Cher- 
okee Nation and agent for the War Department in the State of Tennessee. 
? Letter of Meigs to General Wilkinson, dated Marietta, Ohio, February 10, 1801. 
This letter isin reply to one received from General Wilkinson, in which the latter, 
among other things, inquires if he can in any way serve the former. Meigs replies: 
“J will answer these kind inquiries truly. In the first place, I enjoy excellent health; 
in the next place, I am doing what I can at farming business, endeavoring to main- 
tain a credible existence by industry. I have been for more than two years one of the 
Territorial legislators; this, though credible, is not profitable. My principal depend- 
ence for living is on the labor of my own hands. I am confident, sir, you can serve me, 
as you are conversant with every department of the Government and may know 
what places can be had and whether I am capable of being usefully employed. I don’t 
care what it is, whether civil or military or where situated, provided it be an object 
which you shall think proper for me. I don’t know Mr. Jefferson; have always 
revered his character as a great and good man. I am personally acquainted with 
Colonel Burr. He ascended the river Kennebeck as a volunteer in the year 1775 and 
was with me in the Mess a great part of that march to Canada. I think I have his 
friendship, but he is not yet, perhaps, in a situation to assist me.” Colonel Meigs was 
also a member of the court-martial convened for the trial of General Arthur St. Clair 
for the evacuation of Ticonderoga. He died at his post of duty in February, 1823, as 
shown by a letter to the Secretary of War from ex-Governor McMinn, dated the 22d 
of that month, 
> May 30, 1820. 
