The Shadows of Nature: A Property Rights Analysis of Cherokee Sovereignty at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
by Misty Peñuelas
In reality, Ned Christie (December 14, 1852-November 3, 1892), allegedly the “most notorious outlaw that ever roamed the wilds of the Cherokee Nation,” actually only shot three people. Although, the son of a respected member of the Cherokee National Council, and himself elected a member in 1885, US authorities sought him for questioning in the murder of Deputy US Marshal, Dan Maples, on May 4, 1887. When Christie wisely refused numerous summons to the US Court of the even more notorious, “Hangin’ Judge,” Isaac Parker in Fort Smith, Arkansas, US authorities presumed his guilt, while his silence left ample space for rumor and innuendo in the American press. By 1892, Christie’s successful evasion of US authorities, embellished and exaggerated in the press, was an irritating reminder of the Cherokees’ territorial sovereignty in general and an embarrassment to Parker in particular, who, for over four years, had failed to mete out justice to “one of the territory’s most savage outlaws,” and bring an end to this alleged “terror of Indian Territory.” So it was that on the morning of November 3, 1892, a posse of US Marshals, financed once again by Fort Smith authorities, surrounded the homestead of Ned Christie, and, having set his home on fire, gunned him down as he fled the burning structure.