CHEROKEES, Cherokese, or, in the form employed by themselves, Tsaraglιee, or Chelake, a tribe of North American Indians, now settled in the Indian Territory, where they occupy an area of 5960 square miles in the north-east and a strip along the north of about 8500. Before their removal thither they possessed a large tract of country now distributed among the States of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and the western part of Florida. They were then distinguished into two great divisions, the Ottare or Otari, who dwelt in the moun tainous districts, and the Airate or Erati, who inhabited the lower grounds; and they were further divided into seven clans, each of which prohibited intermarriage between its own members. They attached themselves to the English in the disputes and contests which arose between the European colonizers, formally recognized the English king in 1730, and in 1755 ceded a part of their territory and permitted the erection of English forts. Unfortunately this amity was interrupted not long after; but peace was again restored in 1761. The tribe was gradually advancing in civilization when the Revolutionary War broke out, and they sided with the Royalist party. This, of course, led to their subjugation by the new republic, and they were forced to surrender that part of their lands which lay to the south of the Savannah and east of the Chattahoochee. Peace was made in 1781, and in 1785 they recognized the supremacy of the United States, and were established in their possessions. The gradual advance of immigration soon led to disputes with the settlers, and the Cherokees were treated with the most high-handed injustice by the States, and more especially by Georgia. Exodus after exodus took place; a small part of the tribe desired a complete ...