The Van Buren press., 1870-05-10
Apropos.

the Revenue Department Of the United
States, we give place to leader from the
Cherokee Adrocate ofthe goth ult,, news
paper published at Tahlequah, Cherokee
Nation, and edited by one of the race of
people, who are in a State OF pnpiiage
The good sense contained in this article
would do credit to any OF the boasted
Guardians Of this aboriginal people
The Adsoeate will, Of course, be the of
fetal journal for the publication of cir
culars from DELANo, as it is the only pa
per published in the Nation, and il the
Indians are to be citizens of the United
States for Revenue purposes only, they
ought to be kept posted:
The CHERoKEE WAR-From the Wash
ington Chronicle We learn that some one
has been writing to New York paper
that should the oill pass Congress, which
fixes the price of our lands west of go
at 32,O00,00O etc, etc, the Cherokees
would go TO war.
There are too incredible events sup
posed possible in this statement which
make it unworthy of serious notice. One
is, that the United States will or can, pur-
posely and deliberately, the three branch
es of the Government concurring in the.
act, violate . Treaty, even though it has
been made with an Indian Tribe. The
other is, that the Cherokee Nation ever
will 60 TO war with the United States for
any cause short Of threatened destruction
itself
The United States has made a great
many Indian Treaties, and these treaties
were for the most part promises to pay
or do something in return for an equiva.
lent already obtained. Some, perhaps
most, parts of these promises have been
fulfilled; but no one who pretends TO
know anything about the business, would
have the hardihood to deny that some,
perhaps most parts Of other of such
promises were not kept at all. Whether
such remssness was violation of Treaty
we will not say. We are not just now
complaing or making accusations. 1t is
necessary to our purpose to state fact
and, with all due apologies for the way
il sounds-which we can't hclp--we state
it. .r.f ..
1t is one way to get goods, to get them
upon false pretenses; it is another way to
get them by downright robbery. We are
not prepared to believe the United States
proposes to violate a treaty with us by
that other way and yet, an act of Con-
gress which violates q Treaty by taking
something from Indians which the Treaty
gives and confirms to them is--that other
way If the Bill becomes law, the whole
power Of the great government, at the
disposal Executive will be used to help
him carry it out if necessary, and should
the Indians ignoranty or imprudontly
show q disposition to resist the element
of force will determine the class to which
the crime belongs and the robbery will
be complete. The Federal Government
never treated, or rather, mistreatcd In
dams in 50 cody cruel way, and, we
repeat, the event is incredible, 4
Should the Guardian Of the Aborignos
deprive these helpless Wards of their re-
naming substance, or any part of it, any
occasion to get rid Of the Wards alto
SSehNi Viit w Due wv NCiSoiHC. h'y StS-
matte force on part of the latter, feeble
and insignificant as it would be, would
be deemed an all sufficient excuse. The
Cherokces know this. Geography teaches
them that the United States comprise an
immense country filled with 10000, 900
inhabitants. 1t teaches them that the
Cherokee country is small domain con-
tanning less than 10000 souls in all.
Arithmatic proves to them that, in the
event of war, the Cherokees would have
at the very least 2000 white men each to
fight in n territory too small to bury half
the slain in decent style, if they succeed
ed in killing only 1lO0 apiece. ..
The idea Of the Chcrokees going to
war against such an array of odds is pre-
posterous and they know it. They never
have even considered the possibility of
being SO outrageously wronged that re-
sistancc would suggest itself Their
opinion Of the Government treatment of
the Indians is not higher than the facts
warrant We beg not to be blamed for
that. But it is not 50 low, that they think
the United States could SO abuse and OPP
press them that war would be justiiiable
if it were practicable. ...