Excerpt from We Present Herewith Various Papers, Show Ing" The Claims of the Texas Cherokees and Their an/I'iliatecl Bands, Against the State of Texas; We Feel That We Cannot Aclcl Any Thing to the Historical Statements Here Made: And Trast That the Legislatare of Texas Will Recognize the Justice and Merit of the Claim, Anal Be Willing to Act Promptly in Rendering" That Relief That Is Properly Due the Indians On the 2oth December, 1826, hunter and fields, Cherokee delegates concluded a treaty of amity and friendship with the whites as against the Mexicans, with the understanding that they were to receive title to their lands from the whites then in revolt against Mexico. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

In 1819 to 1820 several hundred Cherokees-led by Duwali, a chief from Tennessee-settled along the Sabine, Neches, and Angelina rivers in east Texas. Welcomed by Mexico as a buffer to U.S. settlement, Duwali’s people had separated from other Western Cherokees in an effort to retain the tribe’s traditional lifeways. As Dianne Everett details in The Texas Cherokees, they found themselves "caught between two fires" in many respects: between the Cherokee ideal of harmony and the reality of factionalism, between white settlers pushing westward and western Indians resisting incursions, and between traditional ways and the practical necessity of accommodating to whites.

On July 16, 1839, more than 700 Texas Cherokees and allies from a dozen other Indian tribes made their final stand against a force of more than 900 Texas Rangers, Texas Army soldiers and Texas Militia volunteers. The Battle of the Neches was the largest conflict ever fought between Native Americans and Texans. The Cherokees were led by 83-year-old Chief Bowles, who had tried in vain to secure clear land title rights for his people in East Texas from both the Mexican and Texas governments. Author Stephen L. Moore traces the history of the Cherokees' migration across the United States, their entry into Mexican Texas and the subsequent difficulties they encountered with the Republic of Texas. Drawing on archival documents and participant accounts, The Last Stand of the Texas Cherokees relates the inevitable showdown between Chief Bowles and the Texas frontiersmen he challenged during the so-called Cherokee War of 1839. Armed with sophisticated Garrett metal detectors, search teams return to the Neches battlegrounds 170 years later and successfully recover dozens of artifacts which helped pinpoint the key areas of combat. These relics have since been put on display with the American Indian Cultural Society and with the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum so that future generations can appreciate the significance of the largest battle involving Indians and Rangers ever fought in the Lone Star State

Even though the Trail of Tears was approximately seventeen years away, the Eastern Cherokee were feeling the pressure of white settlers and an American government wanting them out of their way in the east. A large following of Cherokee led by Chief Richard Fields and Chief Bowles migrated to Texas in 1819 after a short stopover in Arkansas. The Cherokee eventually established a settlement near present-day Nacogdoches, Texas. The Cherokee first petitioned the Spanish government for permanent residence and then following their war for independence the newly minted Mexican government. Similarly, they'd eventually make the same request with the independent Republic of Texas and then again with the State of Texas. Following the same agreement in good faith with each separate entity not one of them followed through with their promises. This also included the Treaty of February 23, 1836, negotiated with then Texas president Sam Houston and still the Cherokee were driven off their Texas land in 1839. The complete contents of Fields' account of the Texas Cherokee history from 1820-1839 was brought to light and transcribed for publication, complete with affidavits and illustrations. In addition to quoting sources, documenting the agreements or understandings between the Texas Cherokee and succeeding governments in question, this compilation includes a number of newspaper articles published in connection with the suit. Containing illustrations of Chief Bowles and other personalities involved in this history. In addition, you can also find the Fields' Cherokee genealogy through actual documentation connecting the Lawyer and the Chief who loved his people. There is also a full name index with all the persons mentioned both white and Cherokee which reads like a forgotten saga of a people just looking for a place to call home.