On the 2d of March, 1827,[301] Congress passed an act authorizing
the President to open negotiations with the Cherokees for the
extinguishment of their title to such lands as were claimed by them
within the limits of the State of North Carolina, and also for such
quantity of land as should be necessary in the building of a canal to
connect the Hiwassee and Canasauga Rivers.
Ten thousand dollars were appropriated to defray the expenses of such
negotiations, and Generals John Cocke, G. L. Davidson, and Alexander
Grey were[302] appointed commissioners to conduct the same. Their
negotiations were barren of results, as were also those of Maj. F. W.
Armstrong, who in the following year[303] was dispatched on a similar
mission.