An Historical Account of the Rise and Progress of the Colonies of South Carolina and Georgia, vol 2 | Page 5

woods from their English masters, the
Cherokees shall endeavour to apprehend them, and bring them to the
plantation from whence they run away, or to the Governor, and for
every slave so apprehended and brought back, the Indian that brings
him shall receive a gun and a watch-coat: and if by any accident it shall
happen, that an Englishman shall kill a Cherokee, the King or chief of
the nation shall first complain to the English Governor, and the man
who did the harm shall be punished by the English laws as if he had
killed an Englishman; and in like manner, if any Indian happens to kill
an Englishman, the Indian shall be delivered up to the Governor, to be
punished by the same English laws as if he were an Englishman."
This was the substance of the first treaty between the King and the
Cherokees, every article of which was accompanied with presents of
different kinds, such as cloth, guns, shot, vermilion, flints, hatchets,
knives. The Indians were given to understand, "That these were the
words of the great King, whom they had seen, and as a token that his
heart was open and true to his children the Cherokees, and to all their
people, a belt was given the warriors, which they were told the King
desired them to keep, and shew to all their people, to their children, and
children's children, to confirm what was now spoken, and to bind this
agreement of peace and friendship between the English and Cherokees,
as long as the rivers shall run, the mountains shall last, or the sun shall
shine."
[Sidenote] Speech of a Cherokee warrior.

This treaty, that it might be the easier understood, was drawn up in
language as similar as possible to that of the Indians, which at this time
was very little known in England, and given to them, certified and
approved by Sir Alexander Cumming. In answer to which, Skijagustah,
in name of the rest, made a speech to the following effect:--"We are
come hither from a mountainous place, where nothing but darkness is
to be found--but we are now in a place where there is light.--There was
a person in our country--he gave us a yellow token of warlike honour,
which is left with Moytoy of Telliquo,--and as warriors we received
it.--He came to us like a warrior from you.--A man he is;--his talk is
upright--and the token he left preserves his memory among us.--We
look upon you as if the great King were present;--we love you as
representing the great King;--we shall die in the same way of
thinking.--The crown of our nation is different from that which the
great King George wears, and from that we saw in the tower.--But to us
it is all one.--The chain of friendship shall be carried to our
people.--We look upon the great King George as the Sun, and as our
father, and upon ourselves as his children.--For though we are red, and
you are white, yet our hands and hearts are joined together.--When we
shall have acquainted our people with what we have seen, our children
from generation to generation will always remember it.--In war we
shall always be one with you. The enemies of the great King shall be
our enemies;--his people and ours shall be one, and shall die
together.--We came hither naked and poor as the worms of the earth,
but you have every thing,--and we that have nothing must love you, and
will never break the chain of friendship which is between us.--Here
stands the Governor of Carolina, whom we know.--This small rope we
show you is all that we have to bind our slaves with, and it may be
broken.--But you have iron chains for yours.--However, if we catch
your slaves, we will bind them as well as we can, and deliver them to
our friends, and take no pay for it.--We have looked round for the
person that was in our country--he is not here;--however, we must say
he talked uprightly to us, and we shall never forget him.--Your white
people may very safely build houses near us;--we shall hurt nothing
that belongs to them, for we are children of one father, the great King,
and shall live and die together." Then laying down his feathers upon the
table he added: "This is our way of talking, which is the same thing to

us as your letters in the book are to you, and to you beloved men we
deliver these feathers in confirmation of all we have said."
The Cherokees, however barbarous, were a free and independent
people; and this method of obtaining a share of their lands by the
general consent, was fair and honourable in itself, and most agreeable
to the general principles of equity, and the