The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 7, July 1903 - April, 1904 Page: 116
xvi, 340 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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116 Texas Historical Association Quarterly.
yet they were not secure in the possession of their lands. Once
more they saw the dreaded Anglo-American gaining a foothold at
their very doors and with each passing month growing more numer-
ous and more powerful. On the same day-April 15, 1825-the
State of Coahuila and Texas granted three contracts that together
provided for the settlement of -two thousand families; Leftwich was
to settle 800 west of the Cherokee claim, Frost Thorn 400 north of
their villages, and Edwards, whose acquaintance Fields had formed
while they were both on the same business in the City of Mexico,1
was authorized to settle 800 within a district including the land
claimed and occupied by these Indians. The Cherokees knew from
experience what the result of a contest with the American pioneer
for land would be. It is true the State colonization law provided
for granting lands to such Indians as the Cherokees,2 but before
they were aware that any such law had been passed the above con-
tracts had been made. Abstract justice, perhaps, demands that
they ought to have had first choice of the lands they occupied; but
the acquisition of land grants assumed the nature of a business
transaction, and in such it was inevitable that the Anglo-Saxon
should win. The experience Fields had had with the general gov-
ernment, the coming in of the Anglo-Americans, and the disregard
of his claims, most probably, through ignorance of their existence
by the State government, angered him, and he began planning to
defend his rights if not to avenge his injuries.
The first news of the discontent of the Cherokees was brought to
San Antonio by some residents of that place on their return from
Nacogdoches, August 31, 1825.8 A week later Colonel Austin
heard of Fields's plans and immediately reported his information
to the political chief.4 "Fields is secretly making great efforts to
1Samuel Norris to J. A. Saucedo, September 5, 1826. File 207, Nacog-
doches Archives.
'State Colonization Law, Article 19.
Informacion Sumaria sobre reunion de las Tribus Comanche, Tahua-
cana, Tahuayas, Hueoos y otros para hostilizar estos pueblos. Jusgado 1.
de Bejar. Bexar Archives.
4S. F. Austin to the political chief, September 8, 1825. Bexar Archives.
Translation.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 7, July 1903 - April, 1904, periodical, 1904; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101030/m1/120/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.