Geographical Collections: 37] 
Notes on the Cherokees. 
A beautiful spectacle, seldom seen by civilized people, of a nation changing a 
savage for an agricultural life, realized at the present moment by the Cherokees, 
a people of the interior of North America,—the discovery of a new alphabet, and 
the establishment of a constitution in the centre of a race, a short time ago de- 
prived of all rudiments of knowledge, have excited a very general attention, and 
we have therefore thought proper, to gratify our readers’ curiosity, to give them 
some information of the Cherokees and the country they inhabit. This district is 
situated at about 35° north latitude, and is bordered on the north and west by 
the state of Tenessee ; on the south by that of Alabama ; and on the east by those 
of Georgia and North Carolina. The absolute quantity of land over which the 
Cherokees claim sovereignty, is not yet well determined. Springs cf the purest 
Water are met with every where. A chain of mountains, of considerable eleva- 
tion, traverses this country in the north. This portion is in consequence partly con- 
stituted of hills and partly of mountain chains. The northern and western parts 
offer vast and fertile plains, covered with trees of gigantic growth, and watered by 
clear brooks. The plains furnish extensive pasture lands, which are themselves 
covered with numerous flocks of sheep. Horses are also abundant, and are used 
for domestic purposes. Sheep, goats, and pigs, abound in the vallies and on the 
hills. The commerce of Cherokee is enriched by the rivers, Tenepec, Ustamala, 
and Ganasagi.* The climate is healthy, and the winters mild, and spring 
clothes the ground with numerous flowering plants. The soil is generally fertile, 
producing maize, cotton, barley, oats, indigo, potatoes, &c. The natives carry 
on a considerable commerce with the surrounding states, exporting cotton by de- 
scending the Tenepec as far as the Mississippi, ‘and from that river to New Or- 
leans. Orchards of apple and peach trees are said to be met with every where, 
and the gardens are kept with great care. 
Great roads are numerous, and the natives keep inns. Rich villages are met 
with. Stuffs of cotton and wool are manufactured, as well as a great quantity of 
blankets. Mechanical arts make a rapid progress, and population increases sen- 
sibly. In 1819, an evaluation was made of all the inhabitants: there were in 
the west 5,000, and in the east 10,000. A new computation was made in 1825. 
The results were, natives 13,563, married whites 147, white women 73, African 
slaves 1,277. 
National pride, a spirit of patriotism and of independence, are said to cha- 
racterize the inhabitants of Cherokee. The religion of the country is the 
Christian. The sects which have most followers are the Presbyterians, Me- 
thodists, Anabaptists, and that of the Moravian brothers. Schools multiply 
every year. Knowledge is encouraged and rewarded. They live on terms of 
friendship with all, civilized or savage: No debts burden the country, and its 
finances are in a prosperous condition. The natives respect that system of go- 
vernment, which is founded on republican principles, which demands that justice 
should be equal for all. The legislative power resides in a,national assembly 
and a council, and the people elect the members for a limited period. A printing 
establishment, a national library, and a museum have been established at New- 
ton. There may be, in such an acconnt of the state of the Cherokees, and of the 
nature of the country, a little of that enthusiasm which novelty often tends to ge- 
nerate ; but in drawing up these facts, we have effaced some even still more 
smiling pictures of happiness and prosperity, which have been painted by the 
Americans. 
* The country of the Cherokees, in the map attached to “ Murray’s North 
America,” is placed beyond the western border of the Mississippi, bounded by 
the White river and the Illinois, between the Missouri territory and Arkansa. 
