11. John Ross to Jeremiah Evarts, 6 May 1829
Dear Sir
After remaining in Washington much longer than desired or anticipated we took leave without having definitely or sattisfactorily adjusted with the Genl. Government the objects of the mission. The President [Andrew Jackson] thro' the Secretary of War [John Eaton] assured us that protection in regard to our lands, will not be withheld from our nation - but, as to the right of the adjoining states to exercise sovereign jurisdiction over the country, is a subject, that the Executive is not disposed to question. What will be the result of the unnatural course which Georgia has taken, or the ultimate fate of the Cherokee nation, I dare not attempt to predict - but candour compels me to remark that I sincerely believe the nation is prepared passively, to meet the worse of consequences; than to surrender their homes, their all and to emigrate . . .
John Ross
11. John Ross to Jeremiah Evarts, 6 May 1829, in Gary E. Moulton, ed., The Papers of Chief John Ross vol. 1 (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985), 164-65.