and by authority of the Nation John B. Jones
began the preparation of a series of schoolbooks in the Cherokee
language and alphabet for the benefit of those children who knew no
English. 3
In the spring of L881 a delegation from the Cherokee Nation visited
tin East Cherokee still remaining in the mountains of North Carolina
and extended to them a cordial and urgent imitation to remove and
incorporate upon equal terms with the Cherokee Nation in the Indian
territory, [n consequence several parties of East Cherokee, number-
ing in all 161 persons, removed during the year to the western Nation.
the expense being paid by the Federal government. < >thers afterwards
applied for assistance to remove, but as no further appropriation was
made for the purpose nothing more was done.* iii 1883 the East
Cherokee brought suit for asome years before at a cost of $90,000. The Cherokee
Nation was now appropriating annually over $80,000 for school pur-
poses, including the support of the two seminaries, an orphan asylum,
and over one hundred primary schools, besides which there were a
number of mission schools. 2
For a number of years the pressure for the opening of Indian terri-
tory to white settlement had been growing in strength. Thousands
of intruders had settled themselves upon the lands of each of the
five civilized tribes, where they remained upon various pretexts in
spite of urgent and repeated appeals to the government by the
Indians for their removal. Under treaties with the five civilized
tribe-, the right to decide citizenship or residence claims belonged to
the tribes concerned, but the intruders had at last become so numerous
and strong that they had