Maj. William M. Davis had been appointed an agent by the Secretary of
War for the enrollment of Cherokees desirous of removal to the West and
for the appraisement of the value of their improvements. He had gone
among the Cherokees for this specific purpose. He held his appointment
by the grace and permission of the President. It was natural that
his desire should be strongly in the line of securing the Executive
approval of his labors.
Strong, however, as was that desire he was unable to bring himself to
the support of the methods that were being pursued in the negotiation
of the proposed treaty. On the 5th of March following the conclusion of
the treaty of 1835, he wrote the Secretary of War thus:
I conceive that my duty to the President, to yourself, and to
my country, reluctantly compels me to make a statement of facts in
relation to a meeting of a small number of Cherokees at New Echota
last December, who were met by Mr. Schermerhorn and articles of a
general treaty entered into between them for the whole Cherokee
Nation.
* * * I should not interpose in the matter at all but I
discover that you do not receive impartial information on the
subject; that you have to depend upon the _ex parte_, partial, and
interested reports of a person who will not give you the truth.
I will not be silent when I see that you are about to be imposed
on by a gross and base betrayal of the high trust reposed in Rev.
J. F. Schermerhorn by you. His conduct and course of policy was a
series of blunders from first to last. * * * It has been wholly of
a partisan character.
Sir, that paper * * * called a treaty is no treaty at all,
because not sanctioned by the great body of the Cherokees and
made without their participation or assent. I solemnly declare
to you that upon its reference to the Cherokee people it would
be instantly rejected by nine-tenths of them and I believe by
nineteen-twentieths of them. There were not present at the
conclusion of the treaty more than one hundred Cherokee voters,
and not more than three hundred, including women and children,
although the weather was everything that could be desired. The
Indians had long been notified of the meeting, and blankets were
promised to all who would come and vote for the treaty. The most
cunning and artful means were resorted to to conceal the paucity
of numbers present at the treaty. No enumeration of them was made
by Schermerhorn. The business of making the treaty was transacted
with a committee appointed by the Indians present, so as not
to expose their numbers. The power of attorney under which the
committee acted was signed only by the president and secretary
of the meeting, so as not to disclose their weakness. * * * Mr.
Schermerhorn's apparent design was to conceal the real number
present and to impose on the public and the Government upon this
point. The delegation taken to Washington by Mr. Schermerhorn had
no more authority to make a treaty than any other dozen Cherokees
accidentally picked up for that purpose. I now warn you and the
President that if this paper of Schermerhorn's called a treaty
is sent to the Senate and ratified you will bring trouble upon
the Government and eventually destroy this (the Cherokee) nation.
The Cherokees are a peaceable, harmless people, but you may drive
them to desperation, and this treaty cannot be carried into effect
except by the strong arm of force.[426]