in their turn,
asserted that the parties were Indians. Governor Yell, of the Arkansas,
complained to Ross, the highly talented chief of the Cherokees, who
answered that the robbers were Arkansas men and Texians, and, as a proof
of his assertion, he ordered a band to scour the country, until they had
fallen in with and captured the depredators. For the last two days,
they had been following some tracks, till their dogs, having crossed the
trail left by the lawyers and their prisoners, guided the warriors to
our encampments.

We gave them all our prisoners, whom we were very glad to get rid of;
and the Indian leader generously ordered one of his men to give up his
horse and saddle to the parson. To this, however, we would not consent,
unless we paid for the animal; and each of us subscribing ten dollars,
we presented the money to the man, who certainly did not lose by the
bargain.

The next morning, the leader of the Cherokee party advised me to take a
southern direction, till we should arrive at the head waters of the
river Sabine, from whence, proceeding either northward or eastward, we
should, in a few days, reach the Red River, through the cane-brakes and
the clearings of the new settlers. Before parting, the Indians made us
presents of pipes and tobacco, of which we were much in want; and after
a hearty breakfast, we resumed our journey.

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.

The Cherokee Indians, a portion of whom we had just met on such friendly
terms, are probably destined to act no inconsiderable part in the future
history of Texas. Within the last few years, they have given a severe
lesson to the governments of both Texas and the United States. The
reader is already aware that, through a mistaken policy, the government
of Washington have removed from several southern states those tribes of
half-civilised Indians which indubitably were the most honourable and
industrious portion of the population of these very states. The
Cherokees, the Creeks, and the Choctaws, among others, were established
on the northern banks of the Red River, in the territory west of the
Arkansas.

The Cherokees, with a population of twenty-four thousand individuals;
the Creeks, with twenty thousand, and the Choctaws, with fifteen, as
soon as they reached their new country, applied themselves to
agriculture, and as they possessed wealth, slaves, and cattle, their
cotton plantations soon became the finest west from the Mississippi, and
latt