An Explanation of Common Colonial Terms Dealing With Land Acquisition & Estates

1. Entry - a man staked out land, and then went to the land office
and made an entry with the Clerk there.

2. A Warrant - was issued, giving him the right to have the land
surveyed, and a sketch or plat made and returned to the land office.

3. A Patent or grant - was issued, which gave the party who
entered the land the right to live on the land or have someone else
live on it who was assigned by the party. It did not necessarily
establish the date of the settlement of the land.

4. An Indenture or deed - Within a reasonable time, the patentee
made or had someone else make certain improvements on the
land and paid the price set by the land office The deed was drawn
up - witnessed and recorded - giving the person the absolute
ownership of the land. Otherwise, in a certain period of time, the
property could pass to another person.

"The Tassel's" Speech at The Long Island of the Holston - 1777

Part of a speech made by the famous Cherokee, "The Tassel" at the Long Island of the Holston stating the position of the Indians:

You say: Why do not the Indians till the ground and live as we do? May we not, with equal propriety, ask why the white people do not hunt and live as we do? You profess to think it no injustice to warn us not to kill our deer and other game from the mere love of waste; but it is very criminal in our young men if they chance to kill a cow or a hog for their sustenance when they happen to be in your lands. We wish, however, to be at peace with you, and to do as we would be done by. We do not quarrel with you for killing an occasional buffalo, bear or deer on our lands when you need one to eat; but you go much farther; your people hunt to gain a livelihood by it; they kill all our game; our young men resent the injury, and it is followed by bloodshed and war.
This is not a mere affected injury; it is a grievance which we equitably complain of, and it demands a permanent redress.

The Great God of Nature has placed us in different situations. It is true he had endowed you with many superior advantages; but he had not created us to be your slaves, We are a separate people! He had given each their lands, under distinct considerations and circumstances; he has stocked yours with cows, ours with buffalo; yours with hog, ours with bear; yours with sheep, ours with deer. He has indeed given you an advantage in this, that your cattle are tame and domestic while ours are wild, and demand not only a larger space for range but art to hunt and kill them; they are, neverthe- less, as much our property as other animals are yours, and ought not to be taken away without our consent, or for something equivalent.