The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-10-27
The Qualla indians Of ~ orth Caroli-
ma
:" NEW York .Tribune.l

The Qualla Indians Of IN orsh Carola-
:" New York Tribune.l
/, AsfoTgotten people haze been hidden for
Two " o. three generations among the high9r
ranges of the North Carolina nounte4.1s.
EIheif. history is. dramatic and pathetic
Isnouia; ifsNeseuld rob ourselves of the
(o s., psnes TINT they are Indians, we
should Ind ~ strangesas that ofs4the
tight Of Tartar tribsto1d by De Quin.
cey. They area tribe Of Gherokees who;
were not inc luded insthe treat les of 1919
End 1880, by which the United States
bought the land belonging .to the Indians
in the South, and gave them i, Lieu tracts
west OF the Mississippi. Thesgreat body
Of. red men removed, leaving this frag-
ment OF q people. numbering about $500
souls, still occupying their original
territory' "a mountainous region
called Qullla. watered by
the Tuckaseegc and Ocon.
alu1ta Rivers. This tribe fell for whole
generation under the absolute contSol of
single white man. who, we are told,
''exercised,a dictatorship as unlicensed
over them as did DR.. Francia over the
half-breeds Of Paraguay This man
was their ruler, judge, business agent,
religious leader, and in word master Of
their souls and bodies. They married,
workeds and managed their households
| wholly according to his orders. The man
appaFent}y~had omesila.deRned Sideas~of
morality, for, although he permitted po-
)ygamy among them, he compelled the
whole tribe to sign the pledge, ard what
is more, to keep His conscience, how
ever, did not prevent him from following
the usual course Of the white man with
the red. In the thirty years in which
he ruled them he managed
to possess himself of every
foot Of the large territory owned by
them. and also Of additional tracts pur.
chased by the money paid them by gov.
eminent in lieu Of that which would have
been given them had they gone West.
This whole region was held in his name
consequently when his outside specula-
tions failed. it was seized by his creditors
and sold Under the hammer. 1t was the
ground On which these Indians had lived
since the memory Of man, and for every
foot Of which their money had paid.
These Cherokecs, too, differ from their
| Western brethren in that they have
never made public appeals for aid, have
received no help from any religious body,
have no missionaries or teachers, and yet
have lived peaceable, inofensive lives,
working willingly and hard to better
their condition; have bailt with their own
means two churches in which men Of their
nation preach and have brought by hard
abor ten thousand acres OF land under
cultivation.
The case Of swindling was so fragrant
that when it was broue hit into the courts
Of North Carolina judgment was prompt.
]y awarded on behalf of the Indians, and
they are now restored to the possession
of their homes and land. Justice, it ap-
pears, does not wear so thick a bandage
in Buncombe county as in Washington.
But the probability is, now that they are
| restored to their rights, that the honest
men who aided them to gain them will
betake themselves to their own concerns,
and the poor Indians will become the
prey of dozen spectators, instead, as
heretofore, of one. They number about
1000; they are shut in by mountain
ranges and almost impracticable hill-roads
from the rest of mankind; they are I'M
taught but eager for knowledge and for
place in the unknown world outside.
Since the decision in their favor lin May
last) government agents, traders and deal.
ers in whisky have become oognizant of
| their whereabouts, and have penetrated
the hitherto untraveled gorges Of the
5000 and Oconalufta. Unless something
is done by better men in their behalf,
there is every probability that this peo-
pie will be driven down the short road to
ruin, which the Indians always tread
A writer in Lippincotts Magazine,
who explored their country thoroughly
last summer, states the facts for the pur-
pose of inducing some church or individ.
uals to take up the work Of. educating
them. We all know how vast is the
scheme Of missionary work attempted by
Christian churches in America, the
sums required for it's support,
and the zeal and fervor
with which scores Of teachers 60 out to
foreign lands in search of converts to
Christ. Every religious body has sent
out teachers to the Western Indians and
to the tribes upon the Pacific coast, while
this poor remnant of Cherokees, locked
up in the hills of one of our oldest
States, is perishing in our very midst for
lack of knowledge The only attempt
heretofore made to educate them was by
the State OF North Caralina. The In
dams carried their children six and seven
miles to the'schoel; the failure was not
on their part but on that of the white
teacher, who found the loneliness insup-
portable Missionary work among this
forgotten people would be as hard and
call for self:sacrifice as much as in China
or Africa, and would be followed by no
APPLAUSE. Bnt are thev RI ho loft hoo.