Rebel Chief

Charles Frazier, author of the bestseller Cold Mountain, uses Colonel Thomas as a model for the protagonist of his next novel, so there may soon be a demand for knowledge about the man, knowledge which this book adequately supplies. Thomas was born in frontier North Carolina in 1805, lost his father at an early age and became a prominent trader to both whites and Cherokee Indians. By the time Andrew Jackson set out to expel the Cherokees from the East, Thomas had also been admitted to the bar. He fought a successful legal battle to allow the secessionist Eastern Band Cherokees to retain their land, was adopted by their chief and in due course succeeded his adoptive father as chief of the Eastern Band. Thomas continued to trade, plead cases and try to raise a family until the Civil War broke out, which put him and the Cherokees in an awkward position, as he himself owned slaves but was opposed to secession. During the war, Thomas commanded the motley regiment raised from the Eastern Cherokees, while trying to keep his business interests afloat. After the war, he again succeeded in helping the Cherokees retain their land before retiring to the asylum where he eventually died of syphilis. Frequently convoluted prose makes this book a tough read, and the author makes many assumptions about Thomas's motives, but Frazier fans eager to get a peek at his next subject will find the extra work worth it.