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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Talk by Raven of Chota to Henry Stuart
Raven of Chota
May 02, 1776
Volume 22, Page 995

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At a meeting of the principal chiefs of the Upper, Middle and Lower Settlements of Cherokees, at Chocto, on the second day of May, 1776, the Raven of that town being the chief speaker and addressing himself to Mr. Henry Stuart, spoke as follows:

You have been told that we disposed of our land contrary to the advise and desire of our father and our repeated promises to him. ’Tis true, we suffered the people who first settled themselves on our land on Watauga to remain there some years, they paying us annually in guns, blankets and rum, etc. But we are informed lately that they gave out publicly that we sold the land to them forever and gave them a paper for it. If they have any paper of this kind, it is of their own making, for we have never given them any, as it was contrary to our thoughts. Now, we look upon you as our father, and rejoice that you are here, and desire that you will write to the white people of Watauga, Nanachucket and all others that settled this side of the great boundary line, which was marked at the desire of the Great King, to move to some other land within the white people’s bounds. We hope and wish they may hear and prevent any mischief that may happen between them and our people, many of whom we find uneasy already for the recovery of their hunting ground.