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Red Clay, Cherokee Nation, July 12th 1835. Gentlemen, Your communication of the 10th is received. I am astonished to hear that you have been informed on your arrival at the agency that the OFFICERS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, APPOINTED TO TAKE THE CENSUS OF THE CHEROKEE NATION EAST, have been unable to proceed in their duties in consequence of my interference to prevent it, and that the GENTLEMEN APPOINTED TO TAKE THE CENSUS state, that communications have been sent by me to different parts of the nation; COMMANDING my people NOT to give up THEIR NAMES & NUMBERS to the persons who may call on them for that purpose etc. I have never been notified of the intention of the Government to take the census of the Cherokee Nation East, for any purpose whatever; nor have I been informed of the appointment of officers to execute that duty, until I received a communication from Col Nath. Smith of McMinn County, dated at the valley Towns, stating that he had been appointed to take the census of the Cherokee within the charter limits of North Carolina, and those residing within the limits of Tenessee, East to the Road leading from Columbus by McNairs to the Georgia line etc. - My reply to Col. Smith will show for itself. No intimation was made by Col. Smith, or any public functionary, that? other gentlemen had been, or would be, appointed to enumerate the Cherokees within the other parts of the nation. Being entirely ignorant of the intention of the government on this subject, I had no information to give to the Cherokees, who called upon me to know what were the objects of certain gentlemen, who, they stated, were travelling about and inquiring after their names & the number of their families & stated also that those men were accompanied by certain Cherokee interpreters who had previously been in the service of enrolling & emigrating agents, - than to declare to them that I was uninformed myself on the subject & also what reply I had given to Col. Smith; and that, if it was desireable to the President to ascertain the precise population of the Cherokee Nation East, and the authorities of the nation should be notified of this fact, that faithful & good men on the part of the nation would be appointed to accompany the