The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-09-28
Full-Bloods Now in Large Minority
in the Tribe and Steadily
Losing Ground.
BRIGHT MEN ARE AMONG THEM
Families of Boudinot, Ross, Adair,
Payne and Foreman Famous
in the Annals of the
Once-Powerful People.
PFPrRIrr sprn.r-

R%EPUBILC SPECIAL.
Virita, !. T. Sept. E.-As a tribe OF In
dams the cherokees are becoming extinct.
Their constant amalgamaticn with whites
for more than a century has had the result
OF obliterating the full-bloods. who are now
in the great minority. and very many OF
the half-breeds. black-haired. black-eyed
and dark in color, are mistaken for full
bloods.
The Cherokees OF the Indian Territory
have many bright and intelligent men
among them. who have figured as stotes-
men. lawyers and students. such as the
Boudinots. William Shorey Coody. William
Penn Adair. James Madison Payne. stephen
Foreman and William p. Ross
According TO the traditions OF the old
Cherokees who could not speak English. the
Cherokees came from the East. or. as they
expressed It. from towards the rising sun
CAME FROM EAST.
In the year 1873 there lived near New
Echota. the then capital Of the Cherokee
cester. a missionary. and Elias Boudinot.
father OF the Cherokee Boudinots. made a
visit TO the old man 10 learn some OF the
traditions OF the Cherokees.
The old man told them that from his earli-
est recollection the Cherokees had been
coming from the rising sun: that they We're
q large and warhke people The first white
people they ever saw were IN Virginia.
Inc names of the streams in Tennessee,
North and South Carolina Georgia and a
part OF Alabama were originally Cherokee.
but the pronunciation at this day Is so
corrupted II is hard to reconcile them with
The Cherokee.
Huwassee. a tributary Of the Tennessee. IN
Cherokee is called Aguwssi. Teilico. a
town there. should be called T~ahieouah-
should be called Tnake Mountains. Unake
Is 2 cherokee word meaning White. The
Iact That most Of the streams in the noun
talns IN the aboye-named States have
Cherokee names proves that they owned a
very large territory.
They were a wariike people and carried
The Mohawk. seneca.. Deiawsres and
would travel hundreds OF miles on foot. and
silently. SO as 10 fall upon their enemies
pnawares. and Stay all who fen into their
They would then fee and. perhaps be
pursued to their homes. or the Northern
Indians would visit them. who at that time
all who fell into their hands.
Among the Mohawks. fire. stone and pipe
are Identical with the names OF these things
The Mohawks. oneidas and onandagos
ranged in New York State: the Delawares
in Pennsylvania and were all nomaGs. Tie
FIST white men they knew were Virginians.
IL is not an improbable conjecture that the
erned by Powhattan in Virginia.
During the Revolutionary War the
Cherokees were the allies OF Great Britain.
~ ~ Z - ~ NLFA
okees under George III was by name Nc
Donald He was a Scotchman and the
who was the chief OF the Ch-rokees for
over thirty years.
During Washington's administration #
was deemed expedient 70 secur- the friend
ship OF the Cherokees. and e delegation Of
the chiefs were invited TO visit Philadel-
pnia; me seat Of EovsTnment z; The Iitae;
which Washington presided and as a max
Of distinction the Cherokee delegates were
seated next to the President. on his right
An old Cherokee named George Miller.
who was then a boy. was vita the deiegs-
ton. It would animate the old man when
| he spoke OF being present az the Interview
FIRST PEACE TREATY
4, A treaty of peace and friendship was
4 made with the delegates. and since then
the ICherokees have been frieuis TO The
In the early part Of 100 q Cherokee went
to England on a visit His name was Ogan-
British % eoionS, under Se Generasl ~ oxIe .hen a
organastota was sent there by Ogiethorpe
as a curiosity. and at his own desire to see
pire. about which he had heard 50 much.
he brought back a Document written in
1 archives Of the Cherokees.
DIVISION INTO CLANS.
| The Cherokees were divided into seven
lowing names: Wolf. Panther. BIRD. Deer.
/ Blind savannah. Fish and Club. Each clan
was q family OF itself, and II was death for
| a man or woman of the same clan to marry.
and when any Cherokee violated this Gus.
tom they would kill him with as little re-
morse as Staying a murderer.
The clan always followed the mothers
| side and all the women belonging TO the
mothers clan were called mothers. and ali
the men IN the fathers clan were called
fathers and 50 esteemed by the old Chero-
KEGS To violate any of the laws in regard
TO clans was the highest crime and certain
CITIES OF REFUGE.
1 Among the old Cherokees there were three
towns known or called in English cities of
in East Tennessee These towns existed
| before civilization was known. II a man
killed any one and succeeded by flight in
be killed by the relatives of the person
slain.
It was customary when a man killed an
other for the relatives OF the slain TO hunt
the murderer and kill him. which in most
cases was done with the same kind OF
weapon the other was killed with. In some
instances where the murderer fed from the
country the avengers would slay the BROTH
er of the murderer
Very many Of the culpri.s never tried TO
escape, but met their fate with stoieal m
difference They would go 10 The place ap-
pointed. and the nearest relative of the
lin with the same weapon. Inelcting 4
wound in the same part of the body.
Superstition hsunts the full-bloods to this
day. They punished supposed witches by
burning at the take. In orded to evade the
disgust of the good missionaries and the
sneers OF the whites. they would burn them
secretly.
/ Only a few months since an influential and
wealthy Choctaw. whose sick child died
and who believed she was bewitchad. got
on his horse. armed. and with two reign
innocent women to death and wounded their
husbands.