Ridge, John Rollin, 1827-1867.

California Indian poet.

John Rollin Ridge, also known as Cheesquatalawny (Yellow Bird), was born into the Cherokee Nation near New Echota, Georgia, on March 19, 1827. His grandfather, Major Ridge, and father, John Ridge, were active Cherokee leaders who in 1835 signed the New Ecota treaty, a land treaty which some Cherokees later blamed for the Trail of Tears. In 1839 both Major and John Ridge were murdered by members of the John Ross party, an event witnessed by 12-year-old Ridge. After his father's death, he moved with his mother to Arkansas, where he studied the law and wrote essays against Ross. After finishing his education in Massachusetts, Ridge returned to Arkansas, where he married Elizabeth Wilson in 1847. In 1849 he killed Ross-sympathizer David Kell in a horse dispute and fled to Missouri before joining the California gold rush in 1850. Although his attempts at gold-mining were unsuccessful, Ridge was an active contributor to several newspapers, including the Sacramento Bee and the San Francisco Herald. He wrote "The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit," which is considered to be the first Native American novel and first novel written in California, in 1854. Ridge wrote for several anti-abolitionist papers during the Civil War and published a number of poems, including "Poem," "The Atlantic Cable," and "California." Ridge died in Grass Valley, California, on October 5, 1867.

John Rollin Ridge (Cherokee name: Cheesquatalawny, or Yellow Bird), March 19, 1827-October 5, 1867, was a member of the Cherokee Nation and is considered the first Native American novelist. In 1854, Ridge published The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit, which is considered the first novel written in California and the first novel published by a Native American. He also worked as a newspaper editor and writer for the Sacramento Bee and the San Francisco Herald, among other publications.