The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-09-21

| payment or eoatract maAs by certain Chiekasaw
Indians With Dr. VIM. ~. Gwin. most res
pectfulIy ask the suspension OF your action in the
matter until can have time to file protest on
behalf Of the Chiekasaw nation, and state the
reasons Why the claim should not be paid without
| being transmitted to tue Chickasaw Council for
! their approval.
7 With great respect,
your obedIent servant,
4 JOSEPH BRYAN.
/ iloN i. EWING, Secretary, &c.
/ IL will be remembered that Mr.. Bryan the
attorney of the Indians, regularly employed TO re-
| sist the payment Of this claim.
On the 2d of July, 1919, MIR. Bryan filed the
protest alluded TO the letter just read, and from
that protest read the following extract:
81 deem il altogether needless at this time to go
into history of the transaction, as the protest
of the agent, Colonel Upshaw, was fled by me
in the Indian Office which purported to explain
the whole matter, and which had the effect OF
stopping the action Of the War Department in
the matter, and prevented the payment Of the
claim under the DECISION or THE LATE SECRETARY
or WAR, GENERAL Nancy. Since that time no
effort that am aware Of has been made to pro-
cure It's payment until now"
| Nothing daunted, the claimants pressed their
suit with increased energy, and by way Of show
of the obstacles thrown in their way, beg leave
! 10 read two three short papers found among the
files now before me. II is impossible that these
papers should have been overlooked by the most
careless searcher after truth in this case. On the
! l4,h Of July, 1913, Colonel Pitman Colbert, a
distinguished man among the Chickasaws, wrote
TO Commissioner Medill the letter from which
read an extract:
| 81 present myself and respectfully request to
be informed of the amount of money received by
DIR. w. Nj. Gwin, by virtue Of power of attor-
ney from the Chickasaw commissioners; also a
copy of that power Of attorney, as it is import
| ant for my object to know the names Of the per-
sons who made and constituted DIR. Gwin the f.
nancial agent Of the Chickasaws; and whether or
not said Gwin has not attempted to draw other
sums Of money by virtue Of said power, since it
became notorious that his power was revoked by
the universal condemnation of the Chickasaw
people; together with any other information rela-
ting to this matter that may be in possession Of
your department"
On the 2Sth of February, l849, delegation
from the Chickasaw nation thus wrote to Secre-
,ary Marcy. After speaking at some length of
their Claim for $ll2, 042 80, they say:
"But We found in connection, however, with
this claim, that an agreement has been filed be-
tween William M. Gwinn the one part, and
the chiefs, headmen, and warriors on the other
party, by which it appears that half of said
claim to be paid TO said William M. Gwin,
for his services in obtaining adjustment of the
claim by the Government, and on this agreement
the Second Audio has allowed William NJ.
Gwin S56,O2l 40, being the one-half Of $1l2, 042-
SO as stated This account is now suspended in
your Office, as we are Informed, and we are bound
to thank you for delaying the matter thus far, al
though 1t is important to our people that they
should be in annual receipt Of the interest upon
this sum which is justly due the Chckasaw
nation"
Such is the character Of all the papers in this
great mass, numbering more than five hundred
pages. The Indians from the beginning to the
ending, sterny and steadily resisted the payment
of this demand. 1t is among the most remarkable
circumstances connected with the case, that there
is not one particle of Indian testimony to sustain
it-not single Indian Of the whole tribe has
been found to indorse its justice, or to say it
ought to be paid. Their testimony is uniformly
and untedly against it. Their sense of its inius-
tice may be gathered from the paper which now
read
A PROTEST.
BE II enacted by the General Council Of The Chief
and Captains of the Chickasac tribe of Indians, That
the following protest be adopted, and copies of IT
be transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury
and to the Secretary Of the Home Department at
Washington city
The Chiefs, Captains, Headmen, and Warriors
Of the Chckasaw tribe of Indians in full council
assembled, have learned that DIR. William Gwin
has filed III the Treasury Department of the United
States, at Washington city, account against the
Chckasaw fund.- for S56,021 40, which account
we understand is based upon agreement which
it is pretended made between the said Gwin
and the Chickasaw tribe of Indians. This agree
ment, if any such exist, was made by some of our
commissioners chiefs in private manner, with
out the knowledge or consent of nation in
council, and has never been recognized, ratified,
or confirmed 10y general council OF our tribe,
and without this it cannot nor ought or not to be
binding upon people. Our tribe cannot be
bound by the acts of any individuals of the same,
unless special power for this purpose has been
delegated to them by general council.
The tribe Of Chickasaws, in full council assem-
bled after deberatien, repudiate the action of the
individuals who entered into that agreement, if
any was made and deny that they had any au-
thority to bind our people.
We therefore soemly protest against the pay
ment of that account out of the Chickasaw funds,
as, in justice to our people we are bound to do.
Done in open council of our tribe, and attested
by our signatures, at Boiling Springs, Chickasaw
District, July l3, l649.
JOEL KEMP,
Captain SrRoss, pro wag, his X mark,
Captain PARKER, his mark,
Captain NED, his X mark,
HoTcmE, his X mark,
LOUIS, his x mark,
JERRY, his X mark,
ELBUH Nu TURKEY, his X mark,
WILLIAM JAMES, his X mark,
ENAH NO TT cHU, his mark,
JACK UTTURBY, his x mark,
Jon TU CHUCK ATTIAE, his mark,
VBBrT uN oYuH, his X mark,
Ee.oss Andy, his x mark,
BILLY, his mark
PITMAN COLBERT,
LEMUEL COLBERT,
JACKSON FRAZIER,
ISAAC ATBERTEAUR, his X mark,
President of the Council.
Approved July 10, 1S49.
EDMUND PEcKERs, his X mark
Chief, Chickasaw district, G. N.
Attest: Cyrus HARRIS,
Clerk Chckasaw District.
Now, sir, | humbly submit, that all this mass
Of testimony, together with u great deal more
which l have neither time nor patience to read
should, at least, have put the Secretary on his
guard II should have been sufficient to elicit the
most searching investigation into all the facts
We shaIl presently see whether it had that effect
| said sometime since, that the contract was