In the spring of 1842 an event occurred which again threw the whole nation into a state of the wildest excitement. The friends of the murdered Ridges and Boudinot had never forgiven the act, nor had time served to soften the measure of their resentment against the perpetrators and their supposed abettors. Stand Watie had long been a leader among the Ridge party and had been marked for assassination at the time of the murders just alluded to. He was a brother of John Ridge, one of the murdered men, and he now, in virtue of his mission as an avenger, killed James Foreman, a member of the Ross party and one of the culprits in the murder of the Ridges. Although Stand Watie excused his conduct on the score of having come to a knowledge of certain threats against his life made by Foreman, no event could at that time have been more demoralizing and destructive of the earnestly desired era of peace and good feeling among the Cherokee people. From that time forward all hope of a sincere unification of the several tribal factions was at an end. ADJUDICATION COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED. In the autumn of 1842[473] the President appointed John H. Eaton and James Iredell as commissioners to adjudicate and settle claims under the treaty of 1835. Mr. Iredell declined, and Edward B. Hubley was appointed[474] to fill his place. This tribunal was created to continue the uncompleted work of the board appointed in 1836 under the provisions of the same article, the labors of which had terminated in March, 1839, having been in session more than two years. [Footnote 346: United States Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 488.] [Footnote 347: May 27, 1828.] [Footnote 348: Letter of War Department to Hugh Montgomery, Cherokee agent, May 27, 1828, and to General William Carroll, May 30, 1829.] [Footnote 349: December 18, 1828.] [Footnote 350: Letter of T. L. McKenney to Secretary of War, November, 17, 1829.] [Footnote 351: Letter of T. L. McKenney to Hugh Montgomery, Cherokee agent, August 6, 1830.] [Footnote 352: Letter of Cherokee delegation (East) to Secretary of War, January 21, 1829.] [Footnote 353: Letter of Secretary of War to Cherokee delegation, April 18, 1829.] [Footnote 354: December 20, 1828.] [Footnote 355: Agent Montgomery to the Secretary of War, July 11, 1829.] [Footnote 356: Secretary of War to General William Carroll, May 27, 1829.] [Footnote 357: June 25, 1829.] [Footnote 358: November 19, 1829.] [Footnote 359: June 23, 1829.] [Footnote 360: December 19, 1829.] [Footnote 361: Among other legislation on this subject enacted by Georgia may be enumerated the following, viz: 1. A penalty of forfeiture of all right to his land and improvements was denounced against any Cherokee who should employ any white man, or the slave of any white man, as a tenant-cropper, or assistant in agriculture, or as a miller or millwright.