210 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 118 



such a "coup" was possible. That is, they too, by attitude, seem to 

 indicate that there was but one door to the Keowee town house. 



On this point Williams quotes from the journal of Sir Alexander 

 Cuming as follows : 



March 22 : From Boggy Gully they went to Keowee, where they dined, being 

 20 miles distance : Here Sir Alexander had an Account of the troublesome Dis- 

 position of the Cherrokee Indians, particularly the lower Settlements, to whom 

 the Indian Traders pretended they durst not speak, and said that the lower 

 Creeks had endeavored to seduce the Cherrokees to the French Interest, and had 

 gone thence but the Month before to receive Presents from the French ; and 

 that upon their Return, An Insurrection of the Cherrokees was expected. At 

 Night Sir Alexander went into the Town-House, where above 300 Indians were 

 assembled; and here engaged the head Warriors to acknowledge his Majesty 

 King George's Sovereignty over them on their Knee, and that they would obey 

 him in every Thing; and that if they violated his Promise, they would become 

 no People. He made their head Men promise to answer for the conduct of the 

 rest. This was a Submission they never made before, either to God or 

 Man. * * * The Indian Traders here, who were Eye-Witnesses, and Joseph 

 Cooper the Interpreter, having declared that what they heard and say done 

 that Night was a thing itself so incredible, that they would not have believed 

 it possible, if they had not seen it themselves, and Nobody in Carolina would 

 believe their Report to be true, for that he himself (viz. the Interpreter Cooper) 

 declared that if he had known beforehand what Sir Alexander would have 

 ordered him to have said, he would not have ventured in the Town-House to 

 have been Interpreter nor would the Indian Traders have ventured to have 

 been Spectators, believing that none of them could have gone out of the Town- 

 House without being murdered, considering how jealous that People had always 

 been of their Liberties : But being engaged by Surprise in the Interpretation of 

 Sir Alexander's Speech, who stood in the midst of them well armed with three 

 Cases of Pistols, a Gun and a Sword under his Coat, he was resolved to go on, 

 whatever should be the Consequence of it. He now believed that what had 

 then passed would so overawe them, as to secure them for some Time to his 

 Majesty's Interest. Sir Alexander, lest he should never see England to make 

 a Report of what had happened made the witnesses sign a Declaration of what 

 they saw and heard, as a Testimony of his Majesty's Sovereignty, whatever be- 

 came of himself. The witnesses were Sir Alexander Cuming, Joseph Cooper, In- 

 terpreter; Ludovick Grant, Joseph Batker, Gregory Haines, Daniel Jenkinson, 

 Thomas Goodale, William Cooper, Guide; Wm. Hatton, John Biles, March 23, 

 1729-30, at Keowee. 22 



Prior to the mission of Sir Alexander Cuming, Col. George Chicken, 

 in July 1725 was sent by Governor Middleton, of South Carolina, on 

 a mission to the Cherokee. Colonel Chicken visited the Lower Chero- 

 kee towns and then went to the Upper or Middle Cherokee settle- 

 ments. Having accomplished his mission with them, he visited the 

 Over Hill settlements on the Little Tennessee Eiver, accompanied by 

 his son. 



In his journal, describing his travels and the events of each day, 

 published by Williams, he lists the towns from which representatives 



^ Williams, 1928, pp. 132-133. 



