_Treaty and purchase of 1755._--November 24, 1755, a further treaty was
concluded between the Cherokees and Governor Glenn, of South Carolina.
By its terms the former ceded to Great Britain a territory which
included the limits of the modern districts of Abbeville, Edgefield,
Laurens, Union, Spartanburg, Newberry, Chester, Fairfield, Richland,
and York, and deeds of conveyance were drawn up and formally executed
therefor.[16] This cession included a tract of country between the
Broad and Catawba Rivers which was also claimed and generally conceded
to belong to the Catawba Nation, the boundary line between the latter
and the Cherokees being usually fixed as the Broad River.[17] One of
the main objects of this treaty was to prevent an alliance between the
Cherokees and the French.
_Treaty of 1756._--In the year 1756 Hugh Waddell was commissioned by
the authorities of North Carolina to treat with the Cherokees and
Catawbas. In pursuance of this authority he concluded a treaty of
alliance with both nations.[18] Governor Glenn, also, in the same
year erected a chain of military posts on the frontiers of his recent
purchase. These consisted of Fort Prince George, on the Savannah,
within gunshot of the Indian town of Keowee; Fort Moore, 170 miles
farther down the river; and Fort London, on the south bank of Tennessee
River, at the highest point of navigation, at the mouth of Tellico
River.[19]
_Captain Jack's purchase._--A grant signed by Arthur Dobbs, governor
of North Carolina, et al., and by The Little Carpenter, half king of
the Over-Hill Cherokees, made to Capt. Patrick Jack, of Pennsylvania,
is recorded in the register's office of Knox County, Tennessee. It
purports to have been made at a council held at Tennessee River, March
1, 1757, consideration $400, and conveys to Captain Jack 15 miles
square south of Tennessee River. The grant itself confirmatory of the
purchase by Captain Jack is dated at a general council held at Catawba
River, May 7, 1762.[20]
_Treaty of 1760._--The French finally succeeded in enlisting the active
sympathy of the Cherokees in their war with Great Britain. Governor
Littleton, of South Carolina, marched against the Indians and defeated
them, after which, in 1760, he concluded a treaty of peace with them.
By its terms they agreed to kill or imprison every Frenchman who should
come into their country during the continuance of the war between
France and Great Britain.[21]
_Treaty of 1761._--The hostile course of the Cherokees being still
continued, the authorities of South Carolina in 1761 dispatched Colonel
Grant with a force sufficient to overcome them. After destroying
their crops and fifteen towns he compelled a truce, following which
Lieutenant Governor Bull concluded a treaty with them at Ashley Ferry,
or Charleston.[22] By this instrument the boundaries between the
Indians and the settlements were declared to be the sources of the
great rivers flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1767 the legislature of North Carolina made an appropriation and
the governor appointed three commissioners for running a dividing-line
between the western settlements of that province and the Cherokee
hunting grounds.[23]
_Treaty and purchase of 1768._--Mr. Stuart, the British superintendent
of Indian affairs, on the 14th of October, 1768, concluded a treaty
with the Cherokees at Hard Labor, South Carolina. Therein it was agreed
that the southwest boundary of Virginia should be a line "extending
from the point where the northern line of North Carolina intersects
the Cherokee hunting grounds about 36 miles east of Long Island in the
Holston River; and thence extending in a direct course north by east to
Chiswell's mine on the east bank of the Kenhawa River, and thence down
that stream to its junction with the Ohio."[24]
This treaty was made in pursuance of appeals from the Indians to stop
further encroachments of settlers upon their lands and to have their
boundaries definitely fixed, especially in the region of the north fork
of Holston River and the headwaters of the Kanawha.
_Treaty and purchase of 1770._--The settlements having encroached
beyond the line fixed by the treaty of 1768, a new treaty was concluded
on the 18th October, 1770, at Lochabar, South Carolina. A new boundary
line was established by this treaty commencing on the south bank of
Holston River six miles east of Long Island, and running thence to the
mouth of the Great Kanawha.[25]
_Treaty and purchase of 1772._--The Virginia authorities in the early
part of 1772 concluded a treaty with the Cherokees whereby a boundary
line was fixed between them, which was to run west from White Top
Mountain in latitude 36° 30'.[26] This boundary left those settlers on
the Watauga River within the Indian limits, whereupon, as a measure
of temporary relief, they leased for a period of eight years from the
Indians in consideration of goods to the value of five or six thousand
dollars all the country on the waters of the Watauga. Subsequently in
1775 [March 19] they secured a deed in fee simple therefor upon the
further consideration of £2,000.[27] This deed was executed to Charles
Robertson as the representative or trustee of the Watauga Settlers'
Association, and embraced the following tract of country, viz: All
that tract on the waters of the Watauga, Holston, and Great Canaway or
New River, beginning on the south or southwest of Holston River six
miles above Long Island in that river; thence a direct line in nearly
a south course to the ridge dividing the waters of Watauga from the
waters of Nonachuckeh and along the ridge in a southeasterly direction
to the Blue Ridge or line dividing North Carolina from the Cherokee
lands; thence along the Blue Ridge to the Virginia line and west along
such line to the Holston River; thence down the Holston River to the
beginning, including all the waters of the Watauga, part of the waters
of the Holston, and the head branches of New River or Great Canaway,
agreeable to the aforesaid boundaries.
_Jacob Brown's purchase._--Jacob Brown, in 1772, for a horse load of
goods leased from the Cherokees a tract on the Watauga and Nonachuchy
Rivers.
Three years later (March 25, 1775) for a further consideration of ten
shillings he secured from them a deed in fee for the leased tract as
well as an additional tract of considerable extent.
The boundary of the first of these bodies of land ran from the mouth
of Great Limestone Creek, thence up the same and its main fork to the
ridge dividing the Wataugah and Nonachuchy Rivers; thence to the head
of Indian Creek, where it joins the Great Iron Mountains, and along
those mountains to the Nonachuchy River; across the Nonachuchy River,
including its creeks, and down the side of Nonachuchy Mountain against
the mouth of Great Limestone Creek and from thence to the place of
beginning.
The second purchase comprised a tract lying on the Nonachuchy River
below the mouth of Big Limestone on both sides of the river and
adjoining the tract just described. Its boundaries were defined as
beginning on the south side of the Nonachuchy River below the old
fields that lie below the Limestone on the north side of Nonachuchy
Mountain at a large rock; thence north 32° west to the mouth of Camp
Creek on the south side of the river; thence across the river; thence
pursuing a northwesterly course to the dividing ridge between Lick
Creek and Watauga or Holston River, thence along the dividing ridge to
the rest of Brown's lands; thence down the main fork of Big Limestone
to its mouth; thence crossing the Nonachuchy River and pursuing a
straight course to the Nonachuchy Mountains and along such mountains to
the beginning.[28]
_Treaty and purchase of 1773._--On the 1st of June, 1773, a treaty
was concluded jointly with the Creeks and Cherokees by the British
superintendent whereby they ceded to Great Britain a tract beginning
where the lower Creek path intersects the Ogeechee River, thence along
the main channel of that river to the source of the southernmost branch
thereof; thence along the ridge between the waters of Broad and Oconee
Rivers up to the Buffalo Lick; thence in a straight line to the tree
marked by the Cherokees near the head of the branch falling into the
Oconee River [on the line between Clarke and Oglethorpe Counties, about
8 miles southeast of Athens]; thence along the said ridge 20 miles
above the line already run by the Cherokees, and from thence across to
the Savannah River by a line parallel to that formerly marked by them.
_Henderson's purchase by the treaty of 1775._--On the 17th of March,
1775, Richard Henderson and eight other private citizens concluded a
treaty with the Cherokees at Sycamore Shoals, on Watauga River. By its
terms they became the purchasers from the latter (in consideration of
£10,000 worth of merchandise) of all the lands lying between Kentucky
and Cumberland Rivers, under the name of the Colony of Transylvania in
North America. This purchase was contained in two deeds, one of which
was commonly known as the "Path Deed," and conveyed the following
described tract: "Begin on the Holston River, where the course of
Powell's Mountain strikes the same; thence up the river to the crossing
of the Virginia line; thence westerly along the line run by Donelson
* * * to a point six (6) English miles east of Long Island in Holston
River; thence a direct course towards the mouth of the Great Kanawha
until it reaches the top of the ridge of Powell's Mountain; thence
westerly along said ridge to the beginning."
This tract was located in Northeast Tennessee and the extreme
southwestern corner of Virginia.[29] The second deed covered a much
larger area of territory and was generally known as the "Great Grant."
It comprised the territory "beginning on the Ohio River at the mouth
of the Kentucky, Cherokee, or what, by the English, is called Louisa
River; thence up said river and the most northwardly fork of the same
to the head-spring thereof; thence a southeast course to the ridge of
Powell's Mountain; thence westwardly along the ridge of said mountain
to a point from which a northwest course will strike the head-spring
of the most southwardly branch of Cumberland River; thence down said
river, including all its waters, to the Ohio River; thence up said
river as it meanders to the beginning."[30] This tract comprises nearly
the whole of Central and Western Kentucky as well as part of Northern
Central Tennessee. Although a literal reading of these boundaries would
include all the territory watered by the Cumberland River and its
branches, the general understanding seems to have been (and it is so
specifically stated in the report of the treaty commissioners of 1785)
that Henderson's purchase did not extend south of Cumberland River
proper.[31] The entire purchase included in both these deeds is shown
as one tract on the accompanying map of cessions and numbered 7.
In this connection it is proper to remark that all of these grants to
private individuals were regarded as legally inoperative, though in
some instances the beneficiaries were permitted to enjoy the benefits
of their purchases in a modified degree. All such purchases had been
inhibited by royal proclamation of King George III, under date of
October 7, 1763,[32] wherein all provincial governors were forbidden
to grant lands or issue land warrants locatable upon any territory
west of the mountains or of the sources of streams flowing into the
Atlantic. All private persons were enjoined from purchasing lands from
the Indians. All purchases made of such lands should be for the Crown
by the governor or commander-in-chief of the colony at some general
council or assembly of the Indians convened for that purpose.
In the particular purchase made by Henderson and his coadjutors, the
benefits thereof were afterwards claimed by the authorities of Virginia
and North Carolina for those States, as the successors of the royal
prerogative within their respective limits. In consideration, however,
of Henderson's valuable services on the frontier, and in compensation
for his large expenditures of money in negotiating the purchase,
the legislature of North Carolina in 1783 granted to him and those
interested with him a tract of 200,000 acres,[33] constituting a strip
4 miles in width from old Indian town on Powell's River to the mouth,
and thence a strip down the Clinch River for quantity 12 miles in
width. The legislature of Virginia also granted them a tract of like
extent upon the Ohio River, opposite Evansville, Indiana.[34]
_Treaties and purchases of 1777._--In consequence of continued
hostilities between the Cherokees and the settlers, General Williamson
in 1776 marched an army from South Carolina and destroyed the towns of
the former on Keowee and Tugaloo Rivers. General Rutherford marched
another force from North Carolina and Colonel Christian a third
from Virginia, and destroyed most of their principal towns on the
Tennessee.[35]
At the conclusion of hostilities with the Cherokees, following these
expeditions, a treaty with them was concluded May 20, 1777, at De
Witt's or Duett's Corners, South Carolina, by the States of South
Carolina and Georgia. By the terms of this treaty the Indians ceded a
considerable region of country upon the Savannah and Saluda Rivers,[36]
comprising all their lands in South Carolina to the eastward of the
Unacaye Mountains.
Two months later (July 20) Commissioners Preston, Christian, and
Shelby, on the part of Virginia, and Avery, Sharpe, Winston, and
Lanier, for North Carolina, also concluded a treaty with the Cherokees,
by which, in the establishment of a boundary between the contracting
parties, some parts of "Brown's line," previously mentioned, were
agreed upon as a portion of the boundary, and the Indians relinquished
their lands as low down on Holston River as the mouth of Cloud's Creek.
To this treaty the Chicamauga band of Cherokees refused to give their
assent.[37]
The boundaries defined by this treaty are alluded to and described
in an act of the North Carolina legislature passed in the following
year, wherein it is stipulated that "no person shall enter or survey
any lands within the Indian hunting grounds, or without the limits
heretofore ceded by them, which limits westward are declared to be as
follows: Begin at a point on the dividing line which hath been agreed
upon between the Cherokees and the colony of Virginia, where the line
between that Commonwealth and this State (hereafter to be extended)
shall intersect the same; running thence a right line to the mouth of
Cloud's Creek, being the second creek below the Warrior's Ford, at the
mouth of Carter's Valley; thence a right line to the highest point of
Chimney Top Mountain or High Rock; thence a right line to the mouth
of Camp or McNamee's Creek, on south bank of Nolichucky, about ten
miles below the mouth of Big Limestone; from the mouth of Camp Creek
a southeast course to the top of Great Iron Mountain, being the same
which divides the hunting grounds of the Overhill Cherokees from the
hunting grounds of the middle settlements; and from the top of Iron
Mountain a south course to the dividing ridge between the waters of
French Broad, and Nolichucky Rivers; thence a southwesterly course
along the ridge to the great ridge of the Appalachian Mountains, which
divide the eastern and western waters; thence with said dividing
ridge to the line that divides the State of South Carolina from this
State."[38]
_Emigration of Chicamauga band._--The Cherokees being very much
curtailed in their hunting grounds by the loss of the territory
wrested from them by the terms of these two treaties, began a
movement further down the Tennessee River, and the most warlike and
intractable portion of them, known as the Chicamaugas, settled and
built towns on Chicamauga Creek, about one hundred miles below the
mouth of the Holston River. Becoming persuaded, however, that this
creek was infested with witches they abandoned it in 1782, and built
lower down the Tennessee the towns usually called "The Five Lower Towns
on the Tennessee." These towns were named respectively Running Water,
Nickajack, Long Island Village, Crow Town, and Lookout Mountain Town.
From thence marauding parties were wont to issue in their operations
against the rapidly encroaching settlements.[39]
Although comparative peace and quiet for a time followed the heroic
treatment administered to the Indians by the expeditions of Williamson,
Rutherford, Christian, and others, reciprocal outrages between the
whites and Indians were of frequent occurrence. The situation was
aggravated in 1783 by the action of the assembly of North Carolina in
passing an act (without consulting the Indians or making any effort
to secure their concurrence) extending the western boundary of that
State to the Mississippi River, reserving, however, for the use of the
Cherokees as a hunting ground a tract comprised between the point where
the Tennessee River first crosses the southern boundary of the State
and the head waters of Big Pigeon River.[40]
_Treaty and purchase of 1783._--On the 31st of May of this same
year, by a treaty concluded at Augusta, Ga., the Cherokee delegates
present (together with a few Creeks, who, on the 1st of November
succeeding, agreed to the cession) assumed to cede to that State
the respective claims of those two nations to the country lying on
the west side of the Tugaloo River, extending to and including the
Upper Oconee River region.[41] With the provisions of this treaty
no large or representative portion of either nation was satisfied,
and in connection with the remarkable territorial assertions of the
State of North Carolina, together with the constant encroachments of
white settlers beyond the Indian boundary line, a spirit of restless
discontent and fear was nourished among the Indians that resulted in
many acts of ferocious hostility.
_Treaties with the State of Franklin._--In 1784, in consequence of the
cession by North Carolina to the United States of all her claims to
lands west of the mountains (which cession was not, however, accepted
by the United States within the two years prescribed by the act) the
citizens within the limits of the present State of Tennessee elected
delegates to a convention, which formed a State organization under
the name of the State of Franklin and which maintained a somewhat
precarious political existence for about four years. During this
interval the authorities of the so-called State negotiated two treaties
with the Cherokee Nation, the first one being entered into near the
mouth of Dumplin Creek, on the north bank of French Broad River, May
31, 1785.[42] This treaty established the ridge dividing the waters of
Little River from those of the Tennessee as the dividing line between
the possessions of the whites and Indians, the latter ceding all claim
to lands south of the French Broad and Holston, lying east of that
ridge. The second treaty or conference was held at Chote Ford and
Coytoy, July 31 to August 3, 1786. The Franklin Commissioners at this
conference modestly remarked, "We only claim the island in Tennessee at
the mouth of Holston and from the head of the island to the dividing
ridge between the Holston River, Little River, and Tennessee to the
Blue Ridge, and the lands North Carolina sold us on the north side
of Tennessee." They urged this claim under threat of extirpating the
Cherokees as the penalty of refusal.[43]