24. John Ross to Major Ridge and John Ridge, 30 July 1835
Gentlemen
Impelled by every feeling of patriotism for the common welfare of the Cherokee people, I have been induced to address you these hasty lines; and I need not assure you that I am actuated solely by the most disinterested motives, and I trust that you will not misconstrue them. And were you to lay aside all another feelings of a private or personal character, and duly appreciate any motives, great and lasting good may result in restoring brotherly confidence and harmony among ourselves. It has just occurred to me to suggest, for the consideration of the most influential and prominent men, that a special meeting might be held by us to confer on points in relation to the affairs of our much afflicted nation, and on which it has been so strenuously insisted by the officers of the General Government that we differ, and from which they state that distinct parties have grown up amongst ourselves. If you will signify to me your willingness advise with Mr. Lowery and others, and then fix on the time and place of conference, and apprize you of the same.
The conference should be purely Cherokee, and composed of a chosen few, selected for their wisdom and moral worth, and whose devotion to the best interests and welfare of the nation alone will influence their deliberation. I am Gentlemen, yr. friend & fellow-citizen
John Ross
24. John Ross to Major Ridge and John Ridge, 30 July 1835, in Gary E. Moulton, ed., The Papers of Chief John Ross vol. 1 (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985), 349.