the field when already almost past the age
limit, soon after brought about a physical and mental eollapse, from
which lie never afterward rallied except at intervals, when for a short
time the old spirit would Hash out in all its brightness. He died in
1893 at the advanced age of nearly ninety, retaining to the last the
courteous manner of a gentleman by nature and training, with an
exact memory and the clear-cut statement of a lawyer and man of
affairs. To his work in the state senate the people of western North
Carolina owe more than to that of any other man, while among the
older Cherokee the name of Wil-Csdi' is still revered as that of a
father and a great chief. 1
Yonaguska. properly Ya'iui-giifi'ski, the adopted father of Thomas,
is the most prominent chief inthe history of the East Cherokee,
although, singularly enough, his name does not occur in connection
with any of the early wars or treaties. This is due partly to the fact
that he was a peace chief and counselor rather than a war leader, and
in part to the fact that the isolated position of the mountain Cherokee
kept them aloof in a gnat measure from the tribal councils of those
living to the west anil south. In person he was strikingly handsome,
being six feet three inches in height and strongly built, with a faint
tinge of red. due to a slight strain of white blood on his father's side.
relieving the brown of his cheek. In power of oratory he is said to
have surpassed any other chief of his day. When the Cherokee lands
on Tuckasegee