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In General Council New Town, Cherokee Nation, October 24th, 1823 Friends & Brothers, As has this day went through a painful & unpleasant ceremony; your chief, William McIntosh, arrived here soon after the commencement of the present council, accompanied by seven others of his countrymen, including his son & interpreter. They were received by the General Council as friends & brothers; and an appropriation of money was made to procure storage for their horses. After having showed them every friendship, we did not expect that William McIntosh had any ungenerous disposition towards the interest of this nation; but we were mistaken. We find that his visit here must have been entirely through speculative designs. He has used intriguing language with some of our Chiefs, to yield land to the United States’ commissioners, who are now here for that object; and made promises of procuring a large sum of money from the United States’ for them, in which he proposed to participate himself, for his trouble. His verbal suggestion, at first, was not taken notice of; but he still continued in the same course, and made a written communication to Mr. John Ross, the President of the National Committee, on the subject, promising the sum of nineteen thousand dollars paid over to such individuals as he may think proper, in case of a cession. He further stated, verbally, to some of our Chiefs, that he had offered his whole country to the United States’ commissioners for ten dollars per acre, and suggested the idea of the Cherokee creeks Choctaws and Chickesaws, all to surrender up their country, and emigrate west of the Mississippi river, and there to settle themselves under one Government. The letter aforesaid has been exposed & read in open Council to-day, by John Ross, in the presence of William McIntosh; and the General Council now decreed, that William McIntosh be, and is hereby, discharged from ever * Having any voice in our Councils, hereafter, as a Chief connected with this Nation. Brothers,
- An interchange of Chiefs has been established & continued from the time that there was but one agent (Col: Hawkins) for the four nations.