HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ( fi 
 
 a * 
 
 BY 
 
 H B, CUSHMAN, 
 
 Copyright, 1899, by H. B. Cushman 
 
 (All rights reserved.) 
 
 GREENVILLK, TEXAS: 
 
 HEADLIGHT PRINTING HOUSE 
 
 1899. 
 
To the memory of my parents, Calvin and Laura Cush- 
 man, as Heralds of the Cross of Christ, they, with a few 
 other congenial spirits, left their homes in Massachusetts, 
 A. D. 1820, as missionaries, and went to the Choctaw Indian*, 
 then living- in their Ancient Domains east of the Missisipr.i 
 River. Devoted their lives to the moral and intellectual 
 improvement and spiritual interests of that peculiar and in 
 teresting race of mankind, living- and dying- the sincere and 
 abiding friends of. the Red Man of the North American Con 
 tinent. 
 
 .i 1 
 
 ALSO 
 
 To the Choctaw and Chickasaw people, each the novv- 
 feeble remnant of a once numerous, independent, contented 
 and happy people, whose long line of ancestry dates back to 
 the pre-historic ages of the remote past, it is ascribed in 
 loving remembrance of the writer s earliest and most faith 
 ful friends, whom he has a just cause to cherish for their 
 many long known and tested virtues. 
 
<? 
 Cs 
 
 Iii compliance with current copyright 
 
 law, U. C. Library Bindery produced 
 
 this replacement volume on paper 
 
 that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48- 
 
 1984 to replace the irreparably 
 
 deteriorated original. 
 
 1993 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 To bring one s material to a strictly historical and clas 
 sified order is almost an impossibility when dealing" with a 
 .subject so diversified as that of the Red Race of the North 
 American Continent. But I have sought, found and brought 
 together an amount of information concerning that pecu 
 liar people that has never before been published; having 
 been born of parents who were missionaries to the Choc- 
 taws in 1820, and having been reared among them and in 
 timately acquainted with them during the vicissitudes of a 
 life extending to nearly four score of years. I well know 
 ihat the Indian race has oft been the subject of the pen, and 
 still continues to be, but only in short details, thus leaying 
 vthe reader in bewilderment, though historical truths were to 
 be found in abundance among them wherever one turned 
 truths one can never forget; scenes and events which have an 
 imperishable memory. 
 
 Then come awhile with me, reader, from what you have 
 hitherto learned about the Red Man of this continent, to that 
 which may be entirely ;new to you no matter how old it may. 
 be to others; since you might learn something more of the 
 primitive influences which shaped the career of the North 
 American Indians in their dealings with the White Race from 
 their first acquaintance to the present day; as I have endeav 
 ored to present many based upon knowledge acquired by a 
 personal acquaintance with two tribes (closely allied) dur 
 ing a protracted life of many years, seeing and learning the 
 romance and poetry of their natures, a people of interest, 
 moral worth and individuality of character. I know that to 
 all my race, the Indian (comparatively speaking) lives only in 
 the vague memory of the legendary past that period made 
 vivid by the wrongs of the White Race perpetrated upon the 
 Red all a series of struggles terminating in sanguinary 
 executions when no services rendered by the tribe in their 
 vain struggle to be free, availed to save the defeated Chieftain 
 from a felon s grave; while the feeble remnant that still sur 
 vives stands as the best commentary of their wrongs, while 
 they despairingly cry kill us also, and thus complete your 
 cruelty by taking our lives as you began with our liberties." 
 
 Truly, w r hat a sad and melancholy record is their his 
 tory; undervalued by the civilized world, though in op 
 position to the declarations of all who knew them as justice 
 demanded they should be known. Alas, broken-hearted for 
 
INTRODUCTON. 
 
 two centuries, yet having their souls pierced and lacerated 
 by the poisonous shafts of unj.ust defamation and cruel false 
 hood, while they sadly ask in lamentations of woe: "Where 
 is to be the end! ? Only to hear echo s fearful response, 
 "Thegrave." Therefore they seem indifferentnowasto what 
 the world is doing- around them, since none extend the hand 
 of friendship to them but to defraud; none smile on their dejec 
 ted faces but to deride; none sympathize with them in their 
 poverty but to mock; and now when you meet them, they 
 neither look to the right nor left, but straight forward walking 
 with slow and measured steps that betoken the thoughts of 
 a helpless and hopeless people hopeless, at least, of all that 
 life may bring- them of freedom and prosperity. Few even 
 speak to them in tones of kindness, yet all momentarily stop 
 to gaze on them with wondering- stare as if they were cum- 
 berers of the ground, though there is still upon their faces 
 of despair a visible touch of lingering chivalry worthy of a 
 better fate . \ 
 
 With many of their illustrious men (long- deceased) 
 whom I have broug-ht into this history, I \vas personally ac 
 quainted throug-h the vicissitudes of many years; \vith others, 
 though not personally, yet I knew their minds and the 
 motives of their actions, and these truly constitute the man. 
 .And they were men whose hig-h endowments (nature s gift) 
 could not be misled into selfish ambition; nor prosperity in 
 flate; nor disappointment depress from holy trust and honor 
 able action known by the veritable touch-stone, "Ye shall 
 know a tree by its fruits." Nor have I sketched a virtue 
 that I have not seen, nor painted a folly from imagination; 
 but have endeavored to be faithful to reality, in all thing s as 
 touching- that peculiar yet noble race of the human family, 
 who sought resignation in all their misfortunes and woes, 
 and found it only in the decrees of the "Great Spirit" who 
 had given to their race so many centuries of uninterrupted 
 bliss, truly a noble people who taught misfortune dignity. 
 They had never left their secluded and quiet homes amid 
 nature s forest groves to expose themselves to the contami 
 nations of the vices (to them unknown) of the civilized (so- 
 called) world of traffic and trade. 
 
 Sequestered from its view, neither its pageants nor its 
 follies had ever reached them there. It was then and 
 there I studied their unsophisticated natures with an enthu 
 siasm which is the fragrance .of the flower that lives after 
 the bloom is withered. Nor am I ashamed to confess my 
 profound admiration of the North American Indian, to whom 
 there was nothing so dear as Kis freedom unrestrained, 
 which he proved beyond all dispute by fearlessly resisting 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 the hand of tyrannical oppressions from the Atlantic coast to 
 the Pacific, against odds in point of numbers, munitions of 
 war, skill and means, as one to ten thousand, and yielded 
 not until the last warrior had fallen, the last bow broken and 
 his race reduced to absolute poverty, want and woe. Still, 
 though poor and lowly as he seemed to his venal destroyers, 
 yet his whole heart and life were wrapt up in the remem 
 brance of his freedom. He worshipped the thought as his 
 most precious property, the dear treasure of his secret and 
 highest bliss. It was the constant companion of his thoughts 
 the monitor of his actions and the true key to his life. 
 
 But alas, when memory now turns to the past of his 
 early life and its unexpected blighting, and raises before his 
 mind every hope connected with it, and his seeming present 
 doom stares him in the face, what can rid him of those suc 
 cessive images that seem to glide around him like mournful 
 apparitions of the long lamented dead, since grief long since 
 has looked up the avenues of complaint, and he stands as one 
 petrified to stone. But how wonderful, amid all their adver 
 sities, has been their power to rally and to recover their 
 waning resolution and courage; verily, they oft seemed to 
 experience a kind gf determined pleasure in resolutely con 
 fronting the worst aspect of their innumerable reverses; 
 yea, in standing in the breech that has long since overthrown 
 their future, and hurling back in defiant despair, "Here we 
 stand, at least an honest and chivalrous people;" but alas, 
 only to seek solitude by retiring within themselves pleading 
 "Jailor, lock the door." Truly their lives, though not with 
 out their efforts of strong exertion, have been during the 
 last two centuries, and still are, a dream spent in chewing 
 the cud of sweet and bitter fancy, while they have worn the 
 garb of hope which has diverted their past and present woes 
 by a touch of the wand of imagination and gilded over the 
 future by prospects fairer than were ever realized. But it is 
 impossible to deny and yet not to admire and praise the 
 strong sense of solidity and fraternity which, through all 
 their lives, still unite the members of the same tribe, and the 
 feelings which have not been dimmed by modern changes but 
 still exist as warm and active as- ever; yet the White Race has 
 ever looked upon the Red from the Ishmaelitish standpoint, 
 and in all its intercourse, from first to last, began and so 
 continued by treating them as inferior beings, too low in the 
 scale of humanity to be reached by the hand of Christianity 
 and civilization; inveterate and uncompromising enemies to 
 be circumvented and overreached under an exhibition of 
 smiling and artful hypocrisy and base venality unknown to 
 the Red Man and unsurpassed in the annals of the White. 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 But long* since cut loose from their ancient moorings, they 
 have felt for more than a century that they were slowly but 
 surely drifting- toward an unknown destiny foreshadowing- 
 extermination. What other people that w r ould not have had 
 recourse to war or the suicide s rifle? yet, after despair had 
 usurped the place of hope in longer resistance, they had 
 principle to resist the one, and resolution to combat the 
 other. But they were to tread the lowest paths of sorrow, 
 poverty and humiliating- depressions; whose circumstances 
 were too humble to expect redress and whose sufferings 
 (mental and physical) were too great even for pity^ and 
 whose wrong s, at the hands of inside white intruders and 
 outside defamers, have long- since destroyed that streng-th of 
 mind with which mankind can meet distress; therefore they 
 prepare to suffer in silence rather than openly complain. 
 What else could they do? The world disclaims them. 
 Christianity even seems to have turned its back upon their 
 distress, given^ them up to spiritual nakedness and hunger, 
 and left them to plead to white wretches whose hearts are 
 stone, or to debauchees who may curse but will not give re 
 lief, while every devilish trick is played upon them, and their 
 every action made a fund for eternal ridioule. 
 
 Truly, instead of wondering that so little of their true 
 history has been preserved, it is a matter of much gre; ter 
 wonder that so much of truth has escaped the waste of < two- 
 centuries through which they have been dragged from p\ace 
 to place, while all narratives concerning them have leen 
 written, with few exceptions, in shameful derogation of their 
 true characters, all exaggerated and still continuing to be 
 exaggerated, evincing a strange love of defamation only to 
 gratify the morbid fondness of their readers for the marve 
 lous, and their own manifested inability to tell the truth; 
 therefore the most absurd and ridiculous falsehoods are fabri 
 cated and published about this people and joyfully read and 
 believed by all who are in harmony with their traducers, a 
 truth that remains, in essential points at least, from one end 
 of the scale to the other. 
 
 True, the ways of the Indians are not the ways of the 
 civilized world of which they knew. nothing; nor were they, 
 being without its ways, versed in its revolting vices, aiid 
 their so-called love of war and carnage existed but in the 
 imagination of the White Race, one of its beliefs which may 
 be traced hither and thither but never to the propitiation of 
 truth concerning anything about the Red; since, having its 
 origin alone in the impatience of its venality while drifting 
 amid zones of ignorance and prejudice; and when I contem 
 plate such, I am taught to look upon their errors more in sor- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 row than anger. True the Indians were cruel to their ene 
 mies in war, and so are we together with all the nations of 
 earth. 
 
 But when I take up dhe North American Indian who has 
 suffered and represent to myself the struggles he has passed 
 through for centuries past, to defend his just rights and 
 sustain the freedom of his country from exotic vandals, and 
 reflect upon his brief pulsations of joy; the tears of woe; the 
 feebleness of purpose; the scorn of the world that has, with 
 out just reason, no charity for him; the desolation of his 
 soul s sanctuary, his freedom buried in the memory of the 
 past; happiness gone; hope fled; I fain would leave his blight 
 ed soul with Him from whose hands it came, for how diffi 
 cult it is to roll away the black and huge stone of prejudice 
 from off the white man s heart, to whom ignorance is bliss 
 in regard to all Indians; thousands, therefore, hate the In 
 dian because they do not know him and desire not to know 
 him because they hate him. 
 
 Truly, the North American Indians constitute as grand 
 a record of human courage, patriotic endurance, and as har 
 rowing a history of human suffering as has ever been told; 
 while their oppressors and destroyers, who have figured in 
 their nefarious designs against them from the alpha to omega 
 as the beau-ideal of cruel injustice, are still laboring with a 
 zeal never manifested before to intensify the public feeling 
 against the helpless people, that they may the more effect 
 ually accomplish their infamous schemes to rob and plunder 
 them; and whose consciences seem so elastic that, at one 
 time it seems difficult for them to stretch them over a mole 
 hill; at another, with ease, they stretch them over a moun 
 tain. Yet the influence, power and grip these characters 
 exert and impress upon the public mind are truths both hu 
 miliating and disgraceful, and the strange liberties that are, 
 by our seemingly defective systems of jurisprudence, legal 
 ly permitted to such plunderers in high x places who have the 
 audacity and impertinence to appeal to law, and misuse its 
 machinery for selfish and covetous purposes, are everywhere 
 illustrated at the expense of the misguided and alike help 
 less and unfortunate Indians, upon whom they have descend 
 ed in countless thousands as blow-flies on a decomposing 
 body, to rob and plunder them of the last acre of their terri 
 tories. Truly our sensibilities in the light of humanity, and 
 our judgment in the light of truth and justice, are abso 
 lutely dead in regard to this people; therefore, thousands 
 have supinely yielded to the false assertions of thieves and 
 robbers, the reverence due to a Divine decree, without any 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 investigation whatever, which has been done in all cases of 
 dealing- with Indians from -first to last. 
 
 Truly it may be written as an epitaph for their history,, 
 "unutterably sad, because so disastrously true." Alas! mul 
 tiplied thousands to-day look with horror on the wrong s and 
 suffering s of the feeble and helpless Indians still hovering- in 
 our midst, yet are content to hide themselves from their 
 woes; yea, they openly acknowledge their shameful reality 
 yet do nothing to alleviate their condition. They well know 
 of the thousand wrong s continually being heaped upon them, 
 yet only shrug- their shoulders and fold their arms in callous 
 acquiescence in that which they falsely and. cowardly declare 
 to be inevitable; while they, at the same time, acknowledge a 
 sense of shame and personal guilt in permitting such infa 
 mous cruelty and oppression to be heaped upon that help 
 less race in their midst and under their own eyes, without 
 being actuated to noble efforts to stop it. No wonder the 
 Indian s countenance seems prematurely marked by deep 
 furrows, and his long hair waves over his brow on which is 
 fixed a deep gloom that no smile from the lips can chase 
 away! Alas, through what direful changes have they been 
 forced to pass! througli what cycles of hope and fear have 
 their generations been coerced while the world about them 
 seemed like a vision hurrying by as they stood still in 
 silence, helplessness and woe! Therefore, in their entire 
 history, how little there is to , contemplate but the most 
 agonizing struggles followed by the deepest and most osten 
 sible decay through their long and continued attempts at 
 redress and the recovery of their God-inherited rights 
 which expired with their liberty. 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Choctaw, Chickasaw and Natchez 
 
 INDIANS. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTH 
 AMERICAN INDIANS. 
 
 There has been, and is to-day, as great a proportion of 
 of those characteristics that elevate and adorn mankind 
 found among" the North American Indian race as ever were 
 found upon earth. Men and women in whose breasts were 
 seats of virtues as pure as ever found in man or woman. 
 This may seem as shadows to many, incontrovertible truths 
 to those who truly know them, not as enemies but as friends. 
 Through a long life of personal acquaintance with and ex 
 perience among- them, I can and do here testify to the 
 same when living- in their ancient domains, and still find 
 them in the present years as in those of the long- past, 
 though my opinions then may have been formed to some ex 
 tent as shadows in the back-ground of imagination, yet they 
 took substantial form and substance with time, in perfect 
 harmony with the positive assertions of all the early ex 
 plorers, as far back as anything is known of their history. 
 Truly, prolific fancies of the larger portion of modern 
 writers seem to have been governed by the many false des 
 criptions of the ancient; and poetic license has extended the 
 peculiarities of the ancestors with all their imaginary faults 
 and none of their virtues to their descendants, this too in the 
 absence of all authentic history; while our own traditions 
 have dealt no less unjustly with the remnant whom we are 
 following down to their seemingly inevitable destiny (exter 
 mination) so unjustly and cruelly decreed through the insti 
 gation of our insatiable venality, whose merciless sword is 
 still drawn and stretched athwart the gate of the Indian s 
 highest ambition, his freedom; allowing him no place in that 
 
10 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 higher civilization concerning which heaven and earth are 
 amazed at our continued vociferations, and stupified in our 
 inconsistency that denies to them their, natural and individ 
 ual rights, since it does but establish our inability to compre 
 hend the eternal principles of human development, as we 
 assume to fear to trust them with the choice of their own 
 destiny, and that of their souls, moved and actuated by the 
 divine principles therein implanted. It could not justly be 
 expected that they would at once adopt our principles and 
 institutions, to them a chaos of contradictions. Yet we 
 charge them with the utter want of those virtues that dis 
 tinguish man from the brute, though well knowing the 
 falsity of the accusation by the undeniable testimony mani 
 fest among them every where to the contrary. 
 
 We also charge them with every crime, but how greatly 
 inconsistent and unjust when being so deeply stained our 
 selves! Alas, when hope of longer freedom had given place 
 to hopeless despair, and they as a forlorn hope, threw them 
 selves upon our boasted humanity, they awoke but to find a 
 myth; for we then displayed our so-called Christian virtues 
 and high sounding hallelujahs of .freedom to all mankind by 
 cooping them up in isolated reservations, but more properly 
 vestibules of the cemetery, the ante-rooms where the re 
 cruiting agents of death (woe and despair) assemble their 
 conscripts to prepare them for the ranks whence there is 
 neither desertion or discharge; and having thus and there 
 caged them, now perform the honorable (?) and humane (?) 
 task of watching them at the doors of their prisons, while 
 our parasites keep a faithful record of the complaints of the 
 unfortunate, helpless, hapless and hopeless sufferers, 
 whose dire misfortunes few have the magnanimity to 
 respect, while thousands scoff and mock and which they 
 seem determined shall only cease in the silence of the last 
 Indian s grave. 
 
 Can the Indians of to-day but cherish the greatest ab 
 horrence toward those who forced them into those lazar- 
 prisons where curses reply to their just complaints and 
 blows and kicks to their dying groans, as each is tortured in 
 his separate hell where all can hear but none will heed? Can 
 they but shun, in their limited inch of freedom, as a blighting 
 pestilence, those who still seek to debase them in the estima 
 tion of the world by falsely branding them as creatures to 
 be feared and shunned, with no power to resent but only to 
 weep in silence and hopeless despair, while their blighted 
 spirits are being proved in this furnace like steel in temper 
 ing fire ? 
 
 Once they were quick in feeling and fearless in resent- 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 11 
 
 nent that is o er. They are now the sons of silence; their 
 Abounds of mind and body are now callous, or long- since 
 they would have dashed their brains against their pris 
 on bars, as the rays of the sun of their re 
 membered freedom and happiness flashed through them in 
 seeming mockery of their woes. Neither are their slumbers 
 sleep but only a continuance of enduring woes, a lingering 
 despair whose envenomed tooth preventing truth, justice and 
 humanity would still mangle the dead. Their hair is gray, 
 but not from years; tis the impatient thirst for freedom par 
 ching the heart, and abhorred slavery maddening the soul 
 with heaviness and woe as it battles v^ith its agony under the 
 knowledge that to them earth and air are banned and barred 
 a living grave of long years of oppression, abuse, calumny 
 and outrage; yet they live, endure and bear the likeness of 
 breathing men, while they bear the innate tortures of a living 
 despair, becoming ol(^ in their youth, and dying ere middle 
 age, some of weariness, some of disease, (the legacy of 
 their destroyers) but more of withered hopes and broken 
 hearts. Alas, that they should have found so few among the 
 White Race with whom they could safely wear the chain of 
 unassumed friendship and confidence; therefore have shunned 
 their companionship and sadly sought as long as they could 
 the solitude of the remote wilderness and there with its more 
 congenial spirit divided the homage of their hearts, but alas, 
 only to find even there no secure retreat from their restless 
 foes. This fatalism, the assured certainly that nothing good 
 can now be expected; the full conviction that even the United 
 States government seems indifferent to protect them from 
 the venality of its own unprincipled and seemingly law defy 
 ing white subjects, is now deeply rooted in the minds of the 
 aged Indians; while the younger receive their education in the 
 high (so-called) schools of the States in learning by heart 
 Herbert Spencer, John Stuart Mill,. Darwin, and noted exotic 
 philosophers, thus losing much of their respect for their 
 own religion as taught them by the true missionaries of the 
 gospel of the world s Redeemer, rendering their present a 
 gloomy back-ground, a black shadow of a once bright picture; 
 therefore the} have become decrepit and have fallen down 
 like a huge memorial of antiquity prostrate and broken to 
 pieces, while the fragments only remain as a treasure belong 
 ing alone to the modern archieologist. Yet, a noble people 
 whose memorials have long since been swept away by the hand 
 of usurpation, and whose relics of their former greatness 
 have alike crumbled to dust leaving no trace of their former 
 existence, save here and there names of a few rivers and 
 little streams, touching for their simplicity, but for whom 
 
12 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 justice has long- but vainly demanded an honorable plact 
 among 1 Christian people, and for whom the time has surely 
 (yea, years ago) arrived to be redeemed from the cruel and 
 unjust bondage of that long-, dark nig-ht of misrepresentation 
 to which they have been so mercilessly subjected for so many 
 long- and weary years a people g-ood without a pretense and 
 blest with plain reason and sober sense; whose traditional 
 history, connected as it is with the Eastern Continent, abound 
 ed with many of those striking- events which furnish modern 
 history with its richest materials; as every tribe had its 
 Thermopylae, and every village had produced its Leonidas. 
 But the veil of centuries past now hides those events* that 
 might have been bequeathed to the admiration of the present 
 age of the world. The opportunity was offered by the Red Man 
 to the White two centuries ago but was rejected, though 
 advancing years proved their merit. But too late was dis 
 covered the error . Our many unfortunate misunderstandings 
 and contests with the ancient and modern Native Americans of 
 this continent are as fertile as any of similar character that 
 have afflicted man-kind; while many characters and scenes 
 have been brought upon the theatre by the sanguine hand of war 
 which history has not recorded. Many of such have been 
 obtained and are recorded in this book; as it was my fate 
 (whether good or bad, fortunate or unfortunate yet without 
 cause for regret) to be born and reared among the Choc- 
 taws; and having spent the bright morn of life to man-hood 
 among that excellent people and sister-tribe, the Chickasaws, 
 as well as my long and well known friendship and admiration 
 entertained for them and their entire race, have influenced 
 them to give me a hearing (not boasting but unvarnished 
 truth) upon any and all subjects above that which generally 
 falls to the lot of the White Man to obtain. 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF THIS CONTINENT. IT S RE 
 SULTS TO THE NATIVES. 
 
 In the year 1470, there lived in Lisbon, a town in Portu 
 gal, a man by the name of Christopher Columbus, who there 
 married Dona Felipa, the daughter of Bartolome oMonis de 
 Palestrello, an Italian (then deceased), who had arisen to 
 great celebrity as a navigator. Dona Felipa was the idol of 
 her doting father, and often accompanied him in his many 
 voyages, in which she soon equally shared with him his love 
 of adventure, and thus became to him a treasure indeed not 
 only as a companion but as a helper; for she drew his maps 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 13 
 
 and geographical charts, and also wrote, at his dictation, his 
 journals concerning his vovages. Shortly after the marriage 
 of Columbus and Felipa at Lisbon, thev moved to the island 
 of Porto Santo which her father had colonized and was gov 
 ernor at the itime of his death, and settled on a large landed 
 estate which belonged to Palestrello, and which he had be 
 queathed to Felipa together with all his journals and papers. 
 In that home of retirement and peace the young husband and 
 wife lived in connubial bliss for manv years. How could it 
 be otherwise, since each had found in the other a congenial 
 spirit, full of adventurous explorations, but which all others 
 regarded as yisionary follies. They read together and talked 
 over the journals and papers of Bartolomeo, during which 
 Felipa also entertained Columbus with accounts of her own 
 voyages with her father, together with his opinions ajid those 
 of other navigators of that age his friends and companions 
 of a possible country that might be discovered in the dis 
 tant West, and the future fame of the fortunate discoverer. 
 Thus they read, studied, thought and talked together con 
 cerning that which they believed the future would proye? a 
 reality, but of which no other had a thought. .;This opinion, 
 had found a permanent lodgment in the mind of Columbus 
 and awakened an enthusiasm therein never experienced -be 
 fore in the breast of man upon alike subject, and which 
 aroused him to that energy of determination which .rebuked 
 all fear and recognized no thought of failure. But alas, the 
 noble Felipa, who alone had stood by him in their mutual 
 opinions and shared with him the storm of thoughtless ridi 
 cule, lived not to learn of the fulfillment of their hopes, and 
 the undying fame of her adored husband, even as he lived not 
 to learn* the extent of his discovery. But alas, for human 
 justice and consistency. Instead of naming the "New 
 World 11 in honor of his equally meritorious wife, the heroic 
 Dona Felipa, or in honor of both, it was wrested from them 
 by one Amerigo Vespucci, a pilot on a vessel of an obscure 
 navigator named Hojeda, and the world acquiesced in the 
 robbery. But such are its rewards! 
 
 But more than four-hundred years have been numbered 
 with the ages of the past, since a little fleet of three ships, 
 respectively named Santa Maria, Pinta and Nina, under the 
 command of Christopher Columbus, were nearing the coast of 
 that country that lay in its primitive grandeur and loveliness, 
 even as when pronounced "good 11 by its- -Divine Creator, 
 beyond the unknown waters that stretched away in the 
 illimitable distance-to the West where sky and sea, though 
 ever receding, seemed still to meet in loving embrace, but 
 whose existence was first in the contemplations of Columbus 
 
14 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 and Felipa,and its reality, first in the knowledge of Columbus. 
 At 10. o clock, p.m., as it-is recorded, Columbus discovered 
 the feeble glimmerings of a distant light, to which he at 
 once directed the attention of Pedro Gutierrez, who also saw 
 it. On the next day, at 2 a. m., the distant boom of a gun 
 was heard rolling along on the smooth surface of the tranquil 
 waters, the first that ever broke the solitude of the night 
 in those unknown regions of the deep. It came from 
 the Pinta, and bore the joyful intelligence that land 
 was found. But how little did these daring adventurers 
 iiriagine the magnitude of their discovery; or. that that mid 
 night signal also heralded the extermination of old notions 
 and the birth of new; the prelude to war and bloodshed with 
 a people whose types. were unknown to the civilized world!. 
 For man was there man in his primitive state. Fiercely- 
 energetic, yet never demonstrative or openly expressing his 
 emotions; uncultured, yet slow and deliberate in his speech; 
 congenial, vet ever exhibiting a reserve and diffidence among 
 strangers; hospitable, yet knowing his rights, knew no fear 
 in maintaining them; trusting, yet welcomed death rather 
 than endure wrong. Yet, in most of his characteristics and. 
 peculiarities seemingly to have a foreign origin from the ~ 
 known races of mankind; still indisputably of the human 
 ralce he, too, was man; though with no regular or consistent - 
 ideas of the Deity, religion or civil government, yet possessing 
 correct views of a distinction between right and wrong, on_ 
 wHich were founded very correct maxims or x codes of moral- /; 
 ity; but whose penal code was a definite and fixed rule ^oifii 
 personal retaliation "An eye ior an eye and a tooth for a- 
 tpbtn;" thus they were gliding smoothly along on the tide of. 
 tirrie, nor had a troubled wave ever risen to disturb the tran- 
 quility of their voyage, or shadows darkened their sky, and 
 to whom the past had been so bright that the future held 
 only fair promises for them. But, alas, how little did they . 
 realize how dark a future was in store for them! That mid 
 night gun, as it momentarily flashed upon the deck of the 
 Pinta and then sent its welcomed boom to the listening ears 
 and watching eyes upon the decks of the Santa Maria and 
 Nina proclaiming that their languishing hopes were realized 
 and their declining expectations verified, was also the death 
 signal, first to the distant Peruvians by the hand of Pizarro ; 
 next, to the Aztecs by the hand of Cortez; then last, but not 
 least, to the North American Indians by the hand of De 
 Soto as an introduction of what would be but the Old died 
 hard to make way for the New. 
 
 Once the dominant power of this continent; but alas, 
 through unequal wars: through altered circumstances, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 15 
 
 through usurpation and frauds; through oppressions and 
 trials; through misfortunes and hardships, sorrows and suf 
 ferings, of which none can know but themselves, they have 
 been coerced by arbitrary power exerted, through treaty and 
 cessions by open-handed tyranny and wrong, to surrender 
 their country, their all, to make way for white civilization and 
 that liberty that only seemed to prosper and rejoice in pro 
 portion to "the destruction of their own; while they long but 
 vainly looked for the expected day when the White Man s 
 avarice would be satiated, and then the red and white races 
 could walk together in harmony and peace each aiding the 
 other in the development of the resources of their respective 
 portions of the vast continent that lay between them, extend 
 ing from ocean to ocean, to the mutual advantages of each in 
 the noble and humane endeavors to attain the chief end of 
 man the glory of God and the enjoyment of Him in this world 
 and the one to come but the White Race would not. 
 
 But whence the origin of this peculiarly interesting and 
 wonderful people? From what nation of people descended? 
 Whence and at what date, how and by what route came they 
 to this continent? Language has contributed its mite and the 
 archaeologist handed in his little, concerning the infancy of 
 this peculiar people, yet the veil of mystery still hangs around 
 them shutting out all knowlege of the primitive past. Who 
 shall rend the veil and tell whence they came to possess this 
 continent in that distant long-ago before the dawn of history s 
 morn? Alas, even the feeble glimmerings of vague traditions 
 have not furnished a ray of light to penetrate the darkness of 
 the long night that enshrouds their origin. It is a sealed 
 book. 
 
 Such has been for two centuries past, and still is, the 
 long drawn and doleful wail concerning the North American 
 Indians primitive land; romantic in affording an unlimited 
 field over which the wild, dreamy speculations of the imagina 
 tive minds, of which the present age is so prolific in every 
 thing read or heard about the Red Race, may find abundant 
 space to indulge in their visionary delights unrestrained, un 
 disturbed, undismayed; the alpha and the omega of their 
 knowledge of the North American Indian race in toto; since 
 the causes that induced them to forsake and how they drifted 
 from the shores of the eastern to the western continent, are 
 today treasured in their ancient traditions still remembered 
 by the few remaining of their aged and also written upon a 
 few wampum the archives of their historic past that has 
 escaped the white vandals devilish delight in destroying all 
 that is Indian, now forever buried in that night of darkness 
 which precedes their known history. 
 
16 HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 
 
 But to those who knew them in their native freedom, when 
 uncontaminated by the demoralizing" influences of unprincip 
 led whites, they were truly a peculiar and interesting- people 
 whose external habits, strange opinions, peculiar dispositions 
 and customs, seemed to belong alone to themselves and to 
 distinguish .them from all known people of the human race; 
 yet, wholly susceptible to as high moral and intellectual im 
 provements as any other race of man-kind; while their distinct 
 identity with the human race is a fact which has never yet 
 been successfully disproved. Though severed by climate, 
 language and a thousand external conditions, there is still 
 one deep underlying identity, which makes all man-kind 
 brothers; an instructive and interesting subject worthy 
 the attention and consideration of all man-kind. It is 
 neither new nor novel but is as ancient as the creation of 
 Adam and Eve. 
 
 Though the Indians were without letters, chronology, or 
 any thing by which correctly to denote their dynasties but 
 that which may be inferred from their monumental remains, 
 yet there is much in their recitals of ancient epochs to give 
 great consistency to their legends and traditions, and fully 
 sufficient to reunite the assumed broken link in the chain of 
 their history, which, in the ages of the past, connected them 
 with the Old World; and their history, antiquities and mytho 
 logy are still preserved by many striking allegories, here 
 and there, or in wild yet consistent romance. And we can 
 but admit that there are many evident truths which we must 
 acknowledge; for when viewed by the light of facts, we see 
 in the North American Indians a peculiar variety of the 
 human race with traits of character plainly oriental, but 
 who long since have been lost to all ancient and modern 
 history. 
 
 But the time and manner of their migration to the 
 western continent, as before stated, are wrapt in impenetra 
 ble mystery. Those who have studied the physiology, lan 
 guage, antiquities, and traditions of this peculiar people, 
 have alike concluded that their migration to this continent, 
 judging from .the ancient ruins found, probably extends 
 back to within five hundred years of the building of Babylon. 
 Dating from the discoverv of Columbus, the western con 
 tinent has been known to the European world upwards of 
 four hundred years; yet it is now generally conceded (if not 
 universally admitted) that the Scandinavians (or Northmen) 
 discovered it long before Columbus, and had sailed along the 
 Atlantic coast from Greenland early in the 10th century. 
 Those ancient and daring sea-rovers of Norway, who ventured 
 upon the pathless ocean without chart or compass guided 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 17 
 
 alone by the planetary worlds above, discovered Iceland^ in the 
 year 850, upon which they established a settlement; and in 
 the following- century, stumbled upon the bleak and inhospi 
 table shores of Greenland upon which was also founded a 
 colony. But it has been awarded to Leif, the son of Eric the 
 Red, as the first discoverer of the North American continent 
 in the 10th century. He named the, new country (now 
 believed to be the coast of Massachusetts) Vinland, or Vine- 
 land, from the abundance of wild grapes that were there 
 found . It is said the records of this expedition state: "And 
 when spring came they sailed away, and Leif g-ave to the land 
 a name after its sort, and called it Vinland. They sailed 
 then until they reached Greenland; and ever afterward, Leif 
 was called Leif the Lucky." 
 
 The traditions of the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creek, 
 Cherokees, Seminoles, Delawares, Shawnese, as learned by 
 the early missionaries, and, in fact, of all the tribes who 
 formerly dwelt east of the Mississippi River, state that the 
 White Race come to this continent from the East, but that 
 their fore-fathers came from the North West. 
 
 It is also said, that a Mexican historian makes a new 
 attempt to show that America was discovered in the fifth 
 century, A. D., by a party of Buddhist monks from Afg-hanis- 
 tan, of whom one, Hwai Shan, returned to Asia after an 
 absence of forty one years. A short account of the land 
 which he visited, supposed to be Mexico, was included in the 
 official history of China. It is said, there is proof that Hwai 
 Shan actually visited some unknown eastern regions, and the 
 traditions of Mexico contain an acqount of the arrival of 
 monks. But whenever seen or found, whether in the fifth, 
 tenth, fifteenth, or eig-hteenth centuries, the North American 
 Indians have possessed nearly all the leading- traits that they 
 now possess. And all admit, that of all the races of man 
 kind upon earth that wandered from the native countries and 
 have been thrown back into intellectual darkness, the North 
 American Indians have undergone the least chang-e, preserv 
 ing 1 their physical and mental type nearly the same, seemingly 
 as if bound by the irresistible power of an unchanging- 
 decree; and who, in their unvarying individuality and univer 
 sal idiosyncracy, point back to no known race of the human 
 family except the Jews. When regarded as a whole, they 
 appear to have been composed of fragments of different 
 tribes of the races of man, yet having a general affinity to 
 each other, and, with here and there an exception, appearing 
 to be parts of a whole. The majority of their languages are 
 evidently derivative, and of a style of synthesis more ancient 
 
18 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 than those even of Greece and Rome, but exhibiting- no 
 analogies to those of northern and western Europe. N 
 
 Though Bancroft affirms "that their ancestors were, 
 like themselves, not yet disenthralled from nature," yet the 
 traditions of many of the tribes pointed back to an era in the 
 distant past in which they lived in a better and happier con 
 dition, but that was all, nor have ever the fragmentary 
 writings of the ancients thrown any light upon their history. 
 The Nilotic inscriptions, the oldest known, are alike silent 
 concerning them, but that they may be still more ancient, 
 their language, strange idiosyncracies, and all that render 
 them so peculiar and seemingly different from all the known 
 human race, evidently denote and sustain the probability, if 
 nothing nore. Be this as it may, all evidence, yet obtained 
 proves them to be of very ancient origin; and no known book 
 goes far enough back into the past to date the period of their 
 origin, unless it be the Sacred Scriptures. If we refer to 
 them a proto-type may possibly be traced in the Eberites, a 
 branch of the house of Almodad, the son of Joktan, of whom 
 it is said, during all periods of their history, that they were 
 reckless, heedless, impatient of restraint or reproof. Yet, 
 this but adds to the affirmation, that history will ever vainly 
 inquire, "whence their origin." 
 
 But that many of their traditions were based on facts is 
 unquestionably true. Many tribes possess traditions of the 
 first appearance of the White Race among them. The 
 Mohicans and Lenni Lenapes have a tradition of the voyage, 
 in 1609, of the great navigator and explorer, Hudson, up the 
 river now bearing his name. Cartier s visit to the St. Law 
 rence in 1534, is remembered by tradition among the 
 Algonquins, who still call the French, "People of the Wooden 
 vessel." The Chippewas declared (1824) according to their 
 traditions that seven generations of people had lived and died 
 since the French first sailed upon the Lakes. Taking 1608 
 as the year of the settlement of Canada by the French, and 
 allow thirty years to a generation, the accuracy of their 
 tradition is certainly praiseworthy, to say the least of it. 
 That their ancestors came from the Eastern continent there 
 are many traditional evidences that seem founded on truth. 
 In Sir Alexander Mackenzie s travels among the most 
 .northern tribes, he says the Chippewas had a tradition that 
 they originally came from another country, which was 
 inhabited by a very wicked people, that in their travels they 
 suffered greatly in passing over a great lake, which was 
 always frozen and covered with snow. McKe rizie, page 387, 
 says: "Their progress (the great Athapasca family) was 
 easterly, and acc orq jng to to their own tradition, they came 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 19 
 
 from Siberia ; agreeing- in dress and manners with the people 
 now found upon the coast of Asia." John Johnston, for 
 many years an agent among- the Shawnees, an Algonquin 
 tribe, states that these Indians had a tradition of a foreign 
 origin. In a letter of July 7th, 1819, (American Archaeolo 
 gist, p. 273) he says : "The people of this nation have a 
 tradition that their ancestors crossed the sea ; and that they 
 migrated from Florida to Ohio and Indiana;" where they 
 were located at the time of his agency among them. "They 
 were the only tribe," he writes, "with which I am acquainted, 
 who admit a foreign origin." The Cherokees also admit it. 
 Oconostata, or the Big warrior, chief of the ancient Chero 
 kees, claimed that his people s ancestors came from Asia, 
 landing far to the north-west of this continent; thence to 
 Mexico ; thence to this country. (Milfort, p. 269.) Johnston 
 further states respecting the Shawnees. "Until lately, they 
 kept yearly sacrifices for their safe arrival in this country. 
 Whence they came, or at what period they arrived in 
 America, they do not know. It is a prevailing opinion among 
 them, that Florida had been inhabited by white people, who 
 had the use of iron tools. Blackhoof, a celebrated Chief, 
 affirms that he has often heard it spoken of by old people, 
 that stumps of trees, covered with earth, were frequently 
 found, which had been cut down with edged tools." But 
 this, no doubt, was the work of De Soto and his army in 1541. 
 Many attribute to the Indians a Jewish origin, and not 
 without some seemingly plausible reason. James Adair, a 
 man, it is recorded, of fine erudition, and who lived more 
 than thirty years among the ancestors of the present 
 Chickasaws, and was often among the ancient Choctaws, 
 Cherokees and Muscogees, and thus became familiar with 
 the customs and habits of these Southern Indians. Tradition 
 states that Adair commenced living among the Chickasaws 
 in 1844. He wrote and published a work; "The American 
 Indians," in 1775. He was well versed in the Hebrew 
 language, and in his long residence with the Indians acquired 
 an accurate knowledge of their tongue, and he devoted the 
 larger portion of his work to prove that the Indians were 
 originally Hebrews, and were a portion of the lost tribes of 
 Israel. He asserts that at the "Boos-Ketous" (the ceremony 
 of initiating youth to manhood) "among the ancient Musco 
 gees and other tribes, the warriors danced around the holy- 
 fire, during which the elder priest invoked the Great Spirit, 
 while they responded Halelu! Halelu! then Haleluiah! 
 Haleluiah!" He based his belief that they were originally 
 Jews, upon their division into tribes, worship of Jehovah, 
 notions of theocracy, belief in the ministrations of angels, 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 language and .dialects, manner of computing time, their 
 Prophets and High Priests, festivals, fasts and religious 
 rites, daily sacrifices, ablutions and anointings, laws of 
 uncleanlinless, abstinence from unclean things, marriages,, 
 divorces, and punishments for adultery, other punishments, 
 their. towns of refuge, purification and ceremony preparatory 
 to war, their ornaments, manner of curing the sick, burial 
 of the dead, mourning for the dead, choice of names adapted 
 to their circumstances and times, their own traditions, and 
 the accounts of our English writers, and the testimony which 
 the Spanish and other authors have given concerning the 
 primitive inhabitants of Peru and Mexico. He insists that 
 in nothing do they differ from the Jews except in the rite of 
 circumcision. The difference In food, mode of living and 
 climate are relied on by Adair, to account for the difference 
 in the color, between the Jew and the Indian. Abram 
 Mordecai, an intelligent Jew, who dwelt fifty years in the 
 the ancient Creek nation, confidently believed that the 
 Indians were originally of his people, and he asserted that in 
 their Green Corn Dances he had heard them often utter in 
 graceful tones, the word Yavoyaha! Yavoyaha! He was 
 always informed by the Indians that this meant Jehovah, or 
 the Great Spirit, and that they were then returning thanks 
 for the abund ant harvest with which they were blest. 
 
 I often heard the Choctaws, when engaged in their 
 , ancient dances at their former homes east of the Mississippi 
 River, utter in concert and in solemn tone of voice Yar-vo-hah, 
 Yar-vo-yar-hah! and when asked its signification, replied : 
 "It is the name of the Great Spirit we worship." According 
 to an ancient tradition of the Choctaws, as before stated, the 
 ancient Choctaws, Chickasaws and Muscogees (ndw Creeks) 
 were once the same people, and today the Creeks have many 
 pure Choctaw words in their language. 
 
 Other writers, who have lived among the ancient Indians, 
 are of the same opinion with Adair and Abram Mordecai, 
 forming this conclusion solely on the fact that many of the 
 religious rites and ceremonies of the various tribes they 
 regarded as truly Jewish, to that extent as to induce them 
 to believe that the North American Indians are originally 
 from the Jews. 
 
 Even the renowned Quaker, Wm. Penn, in expressing 
 his views upon this subject, says: "For the original, I am 
 ready to believe them the Jewish race, I mean of the stock of 
 the ten tribes, and that for the following reasons: 
 
 "First. They were to go to a land not planted or known,, 
 which, to be sure, Asia and Africa were, if not Europe, and 
 He that intended that extraordinary judgment upon them, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 21 
 
 might make the passage not uneasy to them, and it is not im 
 possible in itself, from the easternmost part of Asia to the 
 westernmost part of America. In the next place, I find them 
 of like countenance, and their children of so lively resemb 
 lance that a man would think himself in Duke s place or 
 Berry street in London, when he seeth them. But this is not 
 all. They agree in rites; they reckon by moons; they offer 
 their first fruits; they have a kind of feast of tabernacles; they 
 are said to lay their altar upon twelve stones; their mourning 
 a year; customs of women; with many other things. " 
 
 There was a belief among many of the ancient tribes of 
 the North American Indians, that their earliest ancestors 
 were created within or at least. once lived within, the interior 
 of the earth. The Lenni Lenape, now known as the Delaware 
 Indians, "considered, says Heckewelder, in his "Manners 
 and Customs, of the Indians," page 249, "the earth as their 
 universal mother. They believed that they were created 
 within its bosom, where for a long time they had their abode 
 before they came to live on its surface. But as to the form 
 under which they lived in the interior of the earth, their 
 mythologists differ. Some assert that they lived there in 
 human shape, while others, with much more consistency, 
 declare that their existence was in the form of : certain* 
 terrestrial animals, such as the ground : hog, rabbit and the 
 tortoise." Similar views respecting their origin were held 
 by the Iroquois. The Rev. Christopher Pyrloeus, who 
 formerly lived among the Iroquois and spoke their language, 
 was told, (according to Heckewelder) by a respectable 
 Mohawk chief, "a tradition of the Iroquois which was as 
 follows: That they had dwelt in the earth when it was dark 
 and where no sun ever shone. That, though they engaged 
 in hunting for a living, they ate mice. That one of their 
 tribe called Ganawayahhah having accidentally found a hole 
 at which to g*et out of the earth, went out, and after look 
 ing around a while saw a deer, which he killed, and took back 
 with him to his home in the earthj and that, on account both 
 -of the flesh of the deer proving such excellent food, and the 
 favorable description 1 he gave of the appearances above, they 
 concluded it best to change their homes from the inside to 
 the. outside of the earth, and accordingly did so, and im 
 mediately engaged in raising corn, beans, etc." Hecke 
 welder does not state whether these traditions of the Lenni 
 Lenape and Iroquois were associated by them with any- 
 particular localities. However, the place of origin was 
 generally located in some suitable spot within the territory 
 of the tribes, and which was regarded with much veneration 
 by all. "We are told by Cussac, a later authority for the Iro- 
 
22 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 qois tradition," says Schoolcraft (in his Indian Tribes, part 
 5, pag-e 636) "that the place at which the first small band of 
 Indians was believe to have issued from the earth was a 
 certain eminence near the Oswego Falls. Also, -(part 5, p* 
 682) "that the Caddos, lonies, and Amaudakas believe that 
 their original ancestors came out of the Hot Springs of Ark 
 ansas." Mercy, in his Exploration of the Red River, p. 69, 
 states that the Wichitas, on the Red River, believed that 
 their fore-fathers came out of the mountains which bear 
 their name. Jones, in his Traditions of the Nosth American 
 Indians, v. 3. p.. 187,. says: The Minetories, on the Upper 
 Missouri, pointed out two hills as marking- the spot of of the 
 tribe s origin. Side by side with these of the "earth born" 
 ancestry is another group of origin traditions, which repre 
 sent the first of the human race as having their origin in 
 and coming out of some body of water, a river, spring or 
 lake, instead of the ground. Long, in his expedition to the 
 Rocky Mountains, v. 1. p. 336, said: One branch of the 
 Omahas asserted that their founder arose out of the water r 
 bearing in his hand an ear of red maize, for which reason 
 the red maize was never used by them for food." De Smet, 
 in his Oregon Missions, p. 178, states that, in the country of 
 the Blackfoot tribe there are two lakes; one of them is known 
 as the lake of men, and the other, as the lake of women. 
 Out of the former came the father of the tribe and of the 
 latter, the mother, 
 
 These two traditions of man sorigin, the one thathe came 
 out of the ground, the other, that he came out of the water, 
 have been regarded by some as distinct from one another 
 both in origin and meaning; while by others, as identical, and 
 both being the mutilated interpretations of a myth into 
 which a cave and a body of water enter as prominent and 
 essential features. 
 
 Very similar, says Schoolcraft, in his Indian Traditions, 
 4, pp. 89 and 90, is the tradition of the Navajoes, of New 
 Mexico. According to their tradition as recorded by Dr. 
 Ten Brock, all mankind and all the animals once lived in a 
 gloomy cavern in the heart of the Cerro Naztarny mountains, 
 on the river San Juan. A lucky accident led them to suspect 
 that the walls of their prison-house were quite thin, and the 
 raccoon was set to dig a way out. .As he did not succeed the 
 moth worm took his place and after much hard labor effected 
 an opening. But when he reached the outside of the moun 
 tain, he found all things submerged under the sea, so he 
 threw up a little mound of earth and sat down to ponder on 
 the situation. Presently the water receded in four great 
 rivers and left in their place a mass of soft mud. Four 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 23 
 
 winds arose and dried up the mud and then the men and ani 
 mals came up, occupying" in their passage several days. As 
 yet there was no sun, moon nor stars; so the old men held a 
 council and resolved to manufacture these luminaries. 
 There were among them two flute players, who, while they 
 had dwelt within the mountain, had been wont to enliven them 
 with music; and when the sun and moon were finished, they 
 were given into the charge of these musicians, who have been 
 carrying them ever since. These are the main points of the 
 Navajo legend as recorded by Dr. Ten Brock. It will be 
 observed that the sea, which is nothing else than the prime 
 val sea that forms so common a feature in cosmogonies, holds 
 quite as prominent a place in the story as does the cavern 
 itself, and the two might easily become separated in an incom 
 plete version. Either the cave or the water might be dropped. 
 In fact, there is another version of this legend, given by 
 Col. J. A. Eaton, in which there is no mention of a cave. The 
 Navajoes, according to Eaton s version of the story, came out 
 of the earth in the middle of a certain lake in the valley of 
 Montezuma, at some distance from their present location., 
 The question which occurs first, upon surveying this group 
 of legends so alike in their general tenor, is, are they histor 
 ically connected with one another in the sense that they are 
 the fragments of some primeval tale current among the In 
 dians at a time when they were less widely scattered over 
 the continent than at pr esent, or have thfey sprung up at sev 
 eral centers .independently of each other? This question is 
 of great interest to American ethnologists, but one to which, 
 in the present state of our knowledge respecting the mode of 
 growth and diffusion of popular tales, it would, perhaps, be 
 rash to attempt an answer. It may be said, however, in fa 
 vor of the former hypothesis that the account of man s ori 
 gin at least, however, the story is circumstantially related 
 is, so far as I have been able to discover, peculiar to Ameri 
 ca. It is true it has sometimes been classed with those old 
 World legends which represent man as of an earthly nature, 
 either as having been fashioned out of clay by the hand of 
 some Promethean potter, or as having sprung from a seed of 
 stones or of dragon s teeth scattered over the soil, but a 
 close inspection of any of its detailed versions will show that 
 the story teller has in mind a thought essentially different 
 from those embodied in these classic legends. The first 
 men, according to the Indians account, did not spring up as 
 vegetable life from the surface of the earth; they came out of 
 its interior in the human shape and afterward accompanied 
 by the animals of the chase. Indeed, when closely scanned, 
 the story is seen to be an account, not of man s origin, but 
 
24 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 simply of a change in the scene of his existence. Except in 
 a few cases in which we are told that the original men were 
 created by the gods before being- brought^ above ground, we 
 receive no hint as to how their life began. We are merely 
 told that the} r ; came a long- time ago out of a cave or 
 out of a lake, within which they have lived from the begin 
 ning-. This is a characteristic feature which I have not met 
 with distinctly portrayed in any legends outside of America. 
 But whether or not these tales have any true kinship with 
 one another , it hardly admits of doubt that they have a com 
 mon basis, either of facts or of logic, and that they may "bet 
 regarded as practically, if not actually, different versions of 
 a single original tale., What is this basis, and what is the 
 meaning of .the story? This question has often been asked, 
 and has been answered variously. From a number of pro 
 posed "interpretations," I t select two, which seem the 
 most worthy of. consideration , as. well from theirinherent 
 plausibility, as from the names by which they are endorsed. 
 Mr. Herbert Spencer, speaking, in a /recent work, with .ex 
 press reference to the Navajo tradition, of which an outline 
 has been given above; says: "Either the early progenitors 
 of a tribe were dwellers in caves or the mountains; or the 
 mountains making most conspicuously the elevated region 
 whence they came is identified with the object whence they 
 sprung." (Spencer Principles of Sociology, Vol. i,.p. 393.) 
 And again: \"W/here caves are used for interments, t.hey 
 became the supposed places of abode for the dead; and 
 hence develops the notion of a subterranean World." (Ibid, 
 p. 219.) Underlying the tradition of the Delawares and Iro- 
 quois, Heckewelder saw an admirable philosophical meaning 
 a curious analogy between the general and the individual 
 creation. This view has been adopted by Dr. D. G. Brinton 
 who presents it as follow: "Out of the earth rises life, to it 
 all returns. She it is who. guards all germs, nourishes all 
 beings. T] e Aztecs painted her a woman with countless 
 breasts; the Peruvians called her Mama Alpha, mother 
 earth; in the Algonquin tongue the word for earth, mother, 
 father, are from the same root Home, Adam, Chomaigenes, 
 what do all these words mean but earth born, the son of the 
 soil, repeated in the poetic language of Attica in anthropos, 
 he who springs up like a flower? As in Oriental legends 
 the origin of man from the earth was veiled under the story 
 that he was the progeny of some mountain fecundated by the 
 embrace of Mithras or Jupiter, so the Indians often pointed 
 to some height or some cavern, as the spot whence the first 
 men issued, adult and armed from womb of All mother 
 earth . This cavern, which thus dimly lingered in the mem- 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS 25 
 
 ory of nations, occasionally expanded to a mother- wo rid, 
 imagined to underlie this of ours, and still inhabited by be 
 ing s of our kind, who have never been lucky enough to dis 
 cover its exit. Such tales of an under-world are very fre 
 quent among the Indians, and are a very natural out-growth 
 of the literal belief that the race is earth-born." (The 
 Myths of the New World, 2nd. ed., pp. 238 to 245.) The fol 
 lowing is the version given by Lewis and Clark of the tradi 
 tion of the Mandans, on the upper Mississippi: 
 
 "The whole nation resided in one large village under 
 ground near a subterraneous lake. A grapevine extended 
 its roots down to their habitation and give them a view of the 
 light, ^ome of the most adventurous climbed up the vine, 
 and were delighted with the sight of the earth, which they 
 found covered with buffalo, and rich with every kind of fruit. 
 Returning with the grapes they had gathered, their country 
 men were so pleased with the taste of them, that the whole 
 nation resolved to leave their dull residence for the charms 
 of the upper region. Men, women and children ascended by 
 means of the vine; and when about half the nation had 
 reached the surface of the^ earth, a corpulent woman, who 
 was clambering up the vine, broke it with her weight and 
 closed upon herself and the rest of the nation the light of the 
 sun. 
 
 When the Mandans die, -they .expect to return to the 
 original seats of their forefathers, the good reaching the 
 ancient village by means of the lake, which the burden of 
 sins of the wicked will not enable them to pass. We might 
 conjecture upon 1 general grounds* that the idea of an under 
 world found among the Mandans, and many other American 
 tribes sprang from the same sort of reasoning as has .evi 
 dently given rise to it among other nations." 
 
 Prince Maximilian of New Wied, who visited the Man- 
 dans subsequently to Lewis and: Clark, and learned addit 
 ional particulars respecting their belief in an under-ground 
 origin tells us that the Mandans, like so many other nations, 
 supposed the world to be divided into stages and stories. 1 
 These were eight in number, four of them v/erzabove the 
 earth, and four below, the earth itself forming the fourth 
 stage from the bottom. (Maximilian, Travels in North 
 America, London ed. p. 336.) There seems, therefore, to 
 be very little room for doubt as to the original character of 
 the cave of the Mandan legend. Among the Navajoes we 
 obtain equally satisfactory evidence touching the original of 
 this legendary cave. Dr Ten Brock tells us that he often 
 conversed with the Navajoes on the subject of their beliefs, 
 and he gives us, among other particulars, this very impor- 
 
26 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 tant item: ."The old men say that the world (i. e. the earth) 
 is, as it were, suspended, and that when the sun disappears 
 in the evening", he passes under and lights up our former 
 place of abode, until he again reappears at morning in the 
 east. There can be no question as to the location and the 
 real character of the cave into which the sun descends at 
 evening, and from which at morning" he comes forth. Under 
 one disguise or another, this cavern occurs in legends the 
 world over. It is the cave which the Polynesian Mani 
 descends to visit his deserting mother, and into which 
 Orpheus descends in search of Eurydiee; it is the L/atinian 
 cave, in which Selene, the Moon, wooes Endymion, the 
 Setting Sun. Nor need we be disconcerted because the 
 Navajoes have located it within a particular mountain. " It 
 would seem that these Indian leg-ends have been handed 
 down by tradition through cycles of ages, founded upon the 
 declaration of the Bible, that man is a child of the soil that 
 he is earth born. Professor Campbell, of the Presbyterian 
 College, Montreal, believes that he has found the key to the 
 Hittite inscriptions, and has sent ,^ie result of his investiga- 
 jtions to the Society of Biblical Archaeology. The most 
 striking and important feature of this work is the identity 
 established by Professor Campbell, as he believes, between 
 the Aztecs and the Hittites. He concludes a statement of 
 his discovery in the "Montreal Witness" as follows: "It is 
 interesting to know that we have on this continent the re 
 mains of a people who played a great part in ancient history. 
 It is also gratifying to learn that by the .establishment of the 
 Hittite origin of the Aztecs, evolutionism in philology and 
 ethnology will receive its death blow." 
 
 There is a clan of Choctaws now living among the 
 Creeks in the Creek Nation,- who did not move in 1832 with 
 the Choctaws east of the Mississippi River until the exodus 
 of the Creeks and then came with them to the present Creek 
 nation where they have remained to this day. They were 
 known when living east of the Mississippi River "as. the 
 Hitchiti or Hichitichi clan, both words (as given above) are 
 corruptions of the two Choctaw words Hish-i (hair) It-ih 
 (mouth.) 
 
 Now if the Aztecs be of Hittite origin, and the Choctaws 
 of Aztec origin, of which there is great probability (if /their 
 ancient traditions may be relied on) may not the Choctaw 
 words Hishi Itih, the name of one of their ancient Iksas 
 (clans) be itself a corruption of the word Hittite, and point 
 ing back to their ancient origin in the eastern world? 
 
 A few of the Iksas of the Choctaws, at the advent of the 
 missionaries in 1818-20, claimed the earth to be their mother, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 27 
 
 and connected a tradition of their origin with a certain 
 artifical mound erected by their ancestors as a memorial of 
 their arrival in Mississippi from the West (Mexico) of which 
 I will more definitely speak elsewhere. 
 
 But though the remote history of this peculiar people is 
 forever hidden in the darkness of by-gone ages, yet they had 
 a true history, which, if only known, would have presented 
 as many interesting and romantic features, as that of any 
 of the races of mankind. Truly, would there not be found 
 much in that distant period of their existence that precedes 
 their introduction to the White Race, which, when placed in 
 contrast to their now seemingly inevitable destiny (extermi 
 nation) would loudly appeal to the hearts of the philanthro 
 pists and Christians of these United States. And even after 
 their introduction to the Whites, had they possessed the 
 same desire. to learn their history, and also to elevate them 
 in the scale of intelligence and morality, as they did in get 
 ting possession of their country and destroying them, in 
 what a different condition would that race of people be to 
 day, and what interesting and instructive narratives would 
 have been given to the world? What interesting narratives 
 could have been written even of the Natchez in the days of 
 their prosperity and power those worshippers of the sun 
 with Eastern rites! What too, of the Grecian fignres, the 
 letters and the hieroglyphics, which have been found repre 
 sented on the earthen pottery of so many tribes of this pe 
 culiar people s work a people which might have been better 
 understood and more comprehended, but for shameful mis 
 representation and calumnious falsehood ! What, also, of 
 the once powerful Choctaw; the invincible Chickasaw; the 
 intrepid Muscogee and the peerless Seminole, when in the 
 pride and strength of their respective nationalities! But it 
 is to be greatly regretted that, of that history nothing will 
 ever be learned not even its alphabet, as the mists of ages, 
 have drawn their impenetrable curtain over all; and though 
 the remote past has been questioned, still no response ever 
 comes, except through the vague and unsatisfactory evi 
 dence of an ancient people, long antedating all historical in 
 formation. But tribe after tribe have appeared upon the 
 theater of life, acted their part in its drama, and then passed 
 off into the silence of forgetfulness; and their ancient do 
 mains have passed from the hands of their, long line of 
 descendants into those of stranger of whom they never knew 
 or even heard; and who have left behind no memorials but 
 embankments of earth in the form of mounds and fortifica 
 tions, separate and in combination, scattered all over the land 
 Li numbers an<3 magnitude that "awaken and exctte the curi- 
 
28 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 osity of the beholder, but fail to satisfy; yet giving- numer 
 ous and satisfactory evidences of the foot-prints of a long- 
 vanished people and the prolonged occupancy of the North N 
 American continent by the Indian risce wliose few and feeble 
 descendants still ling-er upon the stageof life, as the wretched 
 and miserable words ol oppression and cruelty a. living-, 
 breathing- allegory of poverty and want; since, by the law of 
 force we extended our.possessions and made the irrestiveness 
 our excuse for conquering them, and then plundering them 
 of their lands and homes, and as each territory was added, a 
 new tribe was encountered; and its fears and res .iveness ,in 
 like manner taken advantage of as our avarice dictated that it 
 could be made profitable to pur pecuniary interests. And 
 th at we may alike bury the remainirig- few in the grave of ig 
 nominy, every thing that is"spok en, written, or publistied, 
 concerning that. nb\y conquered, oppressed, .impoverished, 
 hopeless and unhappy people. Is but a reiterated and pro 
 longed mass of exaggerations, misrepresentations and false 
 hoods, sent broadcast over the land by- government officials, 
 landed experts, and,. in fact, every other kind of unprincipled 
 white skins; from constable to congressmen, and from land- 
 sharks to governors, who ride across the Indians country 
 on railroads and gather their "wisdom" upon Indian matters 
 from the car windows, or a moments chat upon the platforms 
 with the white scums which infest every depot in their coun 
 trythus keeping the Indian between the devil and his imps 
 then return each to his retreat, there, to disgorge their 
 foul^souls of the putrid mass. 
 
 Yet, that this noble but wrongfully abused peo ple, to 
 whom Christopher Columbus gave the name Indian, from 
 their fancied resemblance to the people of India, but whose 
 habits, customs and characteristics differed so widely that 
 it may be truthfully affirmed, that no people could be more 
 dissimilar, are one of the primitive races of man-kind, cannot 
 be questioned; though it is admitted by all who are truly 
 acquainted with them, that among all the races of man-kind, 
 few have exhibited a greater diversity, or, if it may be so 
 expressed, greater antithesis of character, than the native 
 North American Indian warrior before humiliated by the 
 merciless hands of his white conquerors. The office of the 
 chief was not hereditary, but depended upon the confidence 
 entertained in him by his warriors. His power also de 
 pended upon his personal merit and the confidence reposed 
 in him as a skillful war-leader. His prerogative consisted in 
 conducting negotiations of peace and war; in leading his 
 warriors against the enemies of their country, in selecting 
 the place of encampment, and in receiving and entertaining; 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 29 
 
 strangers of note. Yet, even in those he was controlled to a 
 great extent by the views and inclinations of his warriors. 
 The Indian warrior was indeed well fitted for the destiny to 
 which nature seemingly had adapted him. He was light in 
 form, yet sinewy and active, and unsurpassed in the endur 
 ance of protracted fatigue and hardship; strictly temperate 
 even to abstemiousness requiring but little food when upon 
 the war-path, and that of the simplest kind. He was en 
 dowed with a penetrating sagacity, subtle wit, quick con 
 ception, and brilliant imagination, with quick and acute 
 sensibilities; a proud and fearless spirit was stamped upon 
 his face and flashed from his black and piercing eye; easily 
 aroused by the appeals of eloquence; his language, whose 
 words might well be compared to gems and flowers made him 
 truly nature s orator; and though a restless warrior, yet, he 
 was generous and hospitable, and the door of his cabin was 
 always open to the wayfarer; and his most inveterate enemy, 
 having- broken bread with him, could repose unharmed 
 beneath the inviolable sanctity of his home. In war he was 
 daring, cunning, reckless, self-denying, and self-devoted; in 
 peace, strictly just, generous, proverbially hospitable to 
 strangers as well as acquaintances, modest, revengeful, 
 superstitious, and truthful to the greatest degree ever faith 
 ful to the last to his promised word. Justly could the North 
 American Indian claim as having no lineal descendant of 
 Ananias and Sapphira among his race. 
 
 Such were some of the traits of this peculiar people. 
 And even to day many tribes are the same as they were 
 centuries ago, still clinging to their ancient habits and 
 customs and adhering to the belief of their ancient theories, 
 seeing and recognizing alone their Great Spirit both in 
 animate and inanimate nature, And why? Because, in so 
 few instsnces, have the renovating principles of the Bible 
 been presented to them as they should and could have been. 
 
 True the arts of civilization as possessed by ns were 
 unknown by the Indians prior to the discovery of the conti 
 nent by the White Race, still its seemingly illimitable forests 
 were alive with a free, independent and happy people, a war 
 like race, jealous of their rights; and its shades and glens 
 rang with the wild hoyopa-tussaha (Choctaw-warcry), and 
 the echoes of its hills and .mountains threw back the" defiant 
 shout of many a gallant warrior, as he huried along the war 
 path in the noon-tide of his joyous man-hood, but soon to 
 slumber in the long night of oblivion, as the fatal result of 
 his unrestrained zeal; while the more experienced veteran 
 made his movements with that calm deliberation that scorned 
 every appearance of haste. Though war-like, yet, they 
 
30 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 were a devotional people, to their beliefs, founded alone upon 
 the teaching s of nature their only light. They had 
 their good "Great Spirit" and their evil. "Great Spirit" 
 between which there was continual strife for the mas 
 tery and possession of the human mind. What less 
 or more have we? They acknowledged the mysterious 
 power of these two antagonistic spirits, and that in 
 numerable numbers of subordinate spirits waited upon 
 both. In what do they differ from us in this? They 
 believed a spirit governed the winds, guided the clouds, 
 and ruled in all things that inspired fear; thus they re- 
 garded the elements, and all nature, as spirits, whose images 
 were seen and whose voices were heard above, beneath, every 
 where. Little differing from the mythology of the ancients 
 Witchcraft swayed its sceptre . over the mind of the poor. 
 Indian, whose intellectual light emanated alone from nature; 
 yet he was not so much the object of just censure, as those 
 who had the Bible and yet advocated the doctrine. Remem 
 ber Cotton Mather, a licensed expounder of the Sacred 
 Scriptures, and his numerous adherents, who advocate^ and 
 taught the doctrine of Witchcraft, and persecuted their 
 opposers, even to the burning of them at the stake. But for 
 the delusive beliefs and fears, which seemed to the Indian 
 as truth, that encompassed him on every side rendering him 
 the ready victim of the wildest superstition and dread, he has 
 been called "The Wild Man of the Woods," and though his 
 religion involved the varying and confused belief in good and 
 evil spirits in every imaginary creation of air, earth, and sky 
 conceivable to the human mind, existing with not a ray of 
 intellectual light shedding its healing beams through his soul, 
 is it just that he should be reviled for his seeming apathy in 
 moral and intellectual advancement by those who have ever 
 lived within the circle of ever good and truthful influence, 
 but who closed nearly every avenue by which the hapless 
 Indian might return to the ,first principles of truth and 
 intellectual light? Were not their traditions concerning the 
 creation of the world, and those of their own origin; and 
 their views and opinions of man, more worthy of praise than 
 contempt? Was not their belief in the Great Good Spirit by 
 whom all things were made; also in a Great Evil Spirit, who 
 ever plans and labors to counteract all the good and benevolent 
 designs of the Great and Good Spirit, so universal among all 
 the North American Indians, and their great respect for, and 
 undeviating and unwearied devotion to, the Great and Good 
 Spirit, and hate, fear, and dread of the Great and Evil Spirit, 
 a silent but pungent rebuke to their white scoffers and 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 31 
 
 defamers, who profess so much concerning- the Deity, 
 yet exercise so little of a devotional spirit? 
 
 But whence their universal belief in a future state of ex 
 istence after death, though vague their ideas in regard to 
 future rewards and punishments? Whence also their uni 
 versal belief in a deluge at an ancient epoch, which destroyed 
 all mankind^ but a few? Whence their belief that the earth 
 was their mother, who sent them forth from caves, ravines, 
 mounds and mountains? Whence the belief in fatality that 
 the fate of man is irrevocably fixed? to which, perhaps, may 
 be attributed their stability and indifference to danger 
 and death? Whence their belief in transmigration and thus 
 claiming relationship with the beasts of the field and the 
 birds of the air -expressive of an idea, it seems, of a foreign 
 origin? Whence their belief that the race of animals was 
 first created, then followed the creation of man? From 
 what ancient fountain of knowledge obtained they these va 
 rious views? Was it intuitive? How manifest their pride 
 also, and great their delight in having their traditions and le 
 gends point back to local origin, even to that of mysterious 
 revelation with all the quadrupeds that burrow in the hidden 
 recesses of the earth, differing in this but little from the 
 mythology of the ancients. 
 
 Their opinions concerning the departure of the spirit at 
 death were various. Some believed that it lingered for a 
 time near those earthly precincts which it had just left, and 
 it continued still to be, in a certain manner, akin to the 
 earth. For this reason, provisions were placed at the feet 
 of the corpse during the time it lay on its elevated scaffold, 
 exposed to the influence of light or air. The deceased had 
 not as yet entered into the realm of spirits; but when the 
 flesh had withered away from the bones, these were buried 
 with songs and cries, terminating in feasts and dances pecu 
 liar to the ceremonies of disposing of the dead. Others be 
 lieve that when the spirit leaves the body, it lingers for some 
 time before it can be wholly separated from its former con 
 ditions; after which it wanders off traversing vast plains in 
 the -moonlight. At length, it arrives at a great chasm in the 
 earth, on the other side of which is the land of the blessed, 
 where there is eternal spring and hunting grounds supplied 
 with great varieties of game. But there is no other way of 
 crossing this fearful gulf l)ut by means of a barked pine log 
 that lay across the chasm, which is round, smooth and slip 
 pery. Over this the disembodied spirits must pass if they 
 would reach the land of a blissful immortality. Such as 
 have lived purely and honestly upon earth are enabled to pass 
 safely over the terrific abyss on the narrow bridge to the 
 
32 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 land of eternal happiness. But such as have lived wickedly. 
 in their attempt to pass over on the log-, are sure to lose then- 
 Acting and fall into the mighty abyss yawning- below. 
 Surely this is not a very objectionable, idea of retribution af 
 ter death. However, their estimate of good and evil, in 
 many respects, was imperfect and circumscribed; and their 
 ideas of future rewards and punishments after death seemed 
 merely the the reflex of their earthly joys and sorrows, the 
 natural consequence of minds not enlightened by the teach 
 ings of the Bible. Therefore, they beheld a transformed di 
 vinity in animate and inanimate nature, in every thing which 
 lives or evinces an in-dwelling power, whom they sought to 
 propitiate by gifts and sacrifices. Their ".Medicine Men" 
 were the mediators between themselves and their imagined 
 deity; these "Medicine Men" were believed, by means of 
 their knowledge of the mysteries of nature and the power of 
 magic, to be able to invoke spirits,, to avert evil, to heal sick 
 ness, and to obtain the fulfillment of human wishes. These 
 men were held in high esteem among all Indians every 
 where, and acted in the capacity of both priests and physi 
 cians. Their medical knowledge, even if classed -with su 
 perstitious usages, is not to be despised, as they have large 
 acquaintance with healing herbs and the power of nature. 
 The virtues of the Indian race are well known to those who 
 truly know them; and their fidelity in keeping a promise, 
 their true hospitality, and their strength of mind under sor 
 row and suffering, merits the highest praise. They had no 
 other government nor governors but through their chiefs 
 and medicine men. The former had but little power and re 
 spect, only in their own individual character, and they 
 dreaded the loss of their popularity in their tribe. Thus 
 the Indian warrior was truly his own man, free and inde 
 pendent loathing all restraints. 
 
 What but sad forebodings can fill the souls of the feeble 
 few, when contemplating the past and looking to the future 
 walled up before them to that extent, that all action and 
 energy of their lives seem at an end and their only hope of 
 refuge in the grave? 
 
 But the peagant has fled, and the majority of those who 
 gave it such depth of interest to their destroyers have long 
 since passed away into humble and nameless yet honorable 
 graves, into which the living few, in vacant desolation, are 
 fast falling, bewildered and counfounded amid the toils that 
 have been skillfully and successfully spread for them; and 
 into which when fallen and hopelessly entangled, they ap 
 pealed to our mercy but to find it amy,th. Alas, whatacruel 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 33 
 
 and inconsistent system has been practiced toward the Red 
 Race from the time we enticed them under our jurisdiction, 
 as wards, to the present day a system, calculated in its 
 very nature to uncivilize rather than to civilize them, de 
 stroying all confidence, all love and all respect; yea, stifling- 
 all the social affections of the heart and the generosity of 
 every noble sentiment; spreading devastation and desolation 
 among them then to be cursed and pronounced a blotch 
 upon the fair face of nature, while we, influenced alone by" 
 that degrading venality, that acknowledges no^criterion but 
 success, closed the heart and hand of our charity against 
 them and shut our eyes on their woes hearts, hands and 
 eyes never to be opened until the last of the race is extermi 
 nated, and there will be left no Indian possessions to excite 
 our avarice; and we be left to boast our achievements in ex 
 terminating a helpless people whom to conquer was coward 
 ice the checkered features of whose prehistoric history are 
 vStill dimly shadowed in the memorials scattered around. 
 
 Yet their history, shorn as it is of its antique and ro 
 mantic features by the march of civilization of the White 
 Race with its accompanying vices and follies, which were pre 
 sented before them in proportion to its virtues as ten to one, 
 and thus rendered sad and mournful, is still interesting ; 
 and, I might justly add, instructive. But passing as theyr 
 have through many changes of a long pre-historic age, as 
 well as that of an imperfectly known history, the events of 
 their fortunes seem like the incidents of a fairy tale ; and 
 while we regard with admiration the many known traits of 
 their character, yet we can but be astonished that to so 
 many of them natural refinement supplied the external defi 
 ciencies of accomplished instruction denied by their situa- 
 . tion, while a sense of the proper, under every variety of cir 
 1 cumstances, appeared intuitive ; and many of their names 
 and ^patriotic deeds are worthy of being transmitted to the 
 remotest posterity, accompanied by those honorable and 
 considerate epithets which flattery can never invest, and are 
 never deceitful ; and had they have had a written language,, 
 their native historians would have presented many things as 
 interesting and dramatic as x any of those of ancient or mod 
 ern renown. But as it is, they may be justly styled mar 
 tyrs uncrowned .and uncanonized ; since they are still 
 known to-day to millions of the people of these United States un 
 der stereotyped appellation of "savages, "and to an equal num 
 ber of others, as "Heathen Barbarians ;" though the Indians 
 belong not to either department of that scientific knowledge 
 in which they have been enrolled by those whose extreme ig 
 norance is thus made manifest ; and who feel it an impera- 
 
.34 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 tive duty to assume a countenance indicative of a holy horror 
 and puerile fear at the very mention of the word Indian ; and 
 should they chance to meet one upon the high-way serious 
 convulsions would inevitably be the result ; while. others, of 
 .somewhat greater intrepidity, have beenknown to venture even 
 .into the presence of an Indian, their so-called devil incar 
 nate ; and, to display their imagined heroic daring, they 
 ipoint the finger of scorn at him and question concerning 
 him and his race in the language of ridicule and contempt 
 v(to which I have oft been an eye witness when passing 
 .through the Irfdian Territory) with that apparent instinct 
 ^which makes one feel that humanity, at least that much of it 
 as professed by such ignorant and imbecile yet highly self- 
 conceited specimens of mortality, must be closly allied to 
 Darwin s progenitor of man ; and to whom the words of 
 Schiller are justly applicable "Heaven and Earth was in 
 vain against a dunce." 
 
 Liberty, equality, and fraterntiy have ever been found 
 to be cardinal principles among the North American Indians, 
 from their first acquaintance with the White Race even to 
 the present day. All stood, and still stand upon the 
 same social level. No one regarded himself better, i n any 
 manner whatever, than his neighbor; none turned up the lip 
 of scorn, or sneered at the misfortunes of one of his tribe. 
 The members of each tribe lived in perfect harmony to 
 gether, constituting, in every particular, one great, loving, 
 confiding brother-hood. The clan was the unit of political 
 and social life with all tribes. The individual was never con 
 sidered. Hence to insult, wrong or injure a member of a 
 tribe was actually to insult, wrong and injure the whole tribe; 
 thus each tribe held the other responsible for the actions of 
 its individual members according to the nature of the offence. 
 In like manner were also construed all favors. Hence when 
 a favor was bestowed upon any individual of a tribe, it was 
 accepted as bestowed upon each member of the tribe. (He 
 .who was a friend to one was regarded as equally a friend to 
 all, and as such was received into the confidence and friend 
 ship of the entire tribe. What feature in the characteristics 
 of any nation of people more commendable than this? Yet 
 they are charged as being in want of a single redeeming 
 trait of character. 
 
 Despotism, oppression, avarice, fraud, misrepresenta 
 tion in trade, were things absolutely unknown in all their 
 own tribal" relations, and in their dealings with neighboring 
 tribes. Therefore were they, at first, so easily swindled in 
 trade by unprincipled white men; since the white man hid the 
 defects of his article of trade tinder falsehoods, and the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 35 
 
 Indian openly exposed the defects of his in truth. Though it 
 was easy to cheat an Indian once, to accomplish it the second 
 time was a more difficult task. His confidence was gone 
 never again to be secured. I recollect a little incident of this 
 nature among the Choctaws when living east of the Mississip 
 pi river. A young Choctaw was cheated in a trade with a 
 white man, and when censured for making the trade, he 
 calmly replied: "Pale-face cheat me, me sorry; pale-face 
 cheat me twice, me big fool." After that as a matter of 
 course, he would never believe a word that a white man would 
 say. 
 
 Their tradition, always based on facts though abound 
 ing perhaps with many errors by misinterpretations and 
 corruptions, in the cycles of ages through which they have 
 passed, were no less dear to him, making a stainless history 
 such as few nations had, save in those pure days of yore 
 when men love truth, justice and honor more than gold; but 
 while all those ancient places are still thronged with tradi 
 tions, they are over grown with the weeds of popular fancy 
 like ruins of ancient castles covered with ivy; yet, the names 
 of some of them are still remembered by the aged Indians 
 and sometimes mentioned in their ancient traditions, but the 
 namesof theirpredecessors have completely disappeared from 
 their memories, and the time will never come in which these 
 secrets of the centuries will be remembered or ever known 
 again. 
 
 As aids to memory they used various devices, among 
 which belts of wampum were the chief. Wampum was truly 
 the archives of the tribe among all North American Indians. 
 It was made of dressed deer skin, soft and pliable as cloth, 
 and interwoven with various shells cut into uniform siz.e, 
 carefully polished, strung together and painted in different 
 colors, all of which were significant; white being the emblem 
 of peace and friendship; red, the symbol of hostility and war. 
 As the colors of the wampum were significant, so also were 
 the length and breadth of these belts, and also .the* peculiar 
 arrangements of the differently painted strings attached, 
 each and all fully understood by the Indians alone. A belt of 
 wampum was presented to one tribe by another as a remem 
 brance token of any important event that was communicated. 
 They had many and various kinds of wampum; some in the 
 form of belts of different breadth and length; some in strings 
 of various width and length, all reaching back in regular order 
 to centuries of the remote past, with an accuracy incredible 
 to the White Race. 
 
 The wampum was the Indians history the chronicles of 
 the past; and the readers of each clan of the tribe, from one 
 
36 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 \ 
 
 generation to another, were carefully and thoroughly instruc 
 ted by their predecessors for that particular business and 
 were held in the highest esteem by all Indians everywhere. 
 
 Bundles of small round sticks were also used to assist 
 them in accurately keeping- the number of days that would 
 intervene between the day agreed upon that anything should 
 be done, and the day upon which the bundle had been pre 
 sented, one stick being drawn from the bundle at the termi 
 nation of each day and thrown away; which duty was never 
 forgotten nor neglected to be done by him to whom it was en 
 trusted. A long string was also used, having as many knots 
 tied in it as the number of days that were desired to be re 
 membered; at the close of each day, as the withdrawing of a 
 stick from the bundle, so a knot was untied. This custom 
 of using a string was also^practiced, it is said, by. the ancient 
 Persians, which is confirmed by Herodotus in his statement, 
 that "Darius gave to his allies a string with sixty knots tied 
 in it, and told them to untie one knot at the close of each day; 
 and, if he had not returned by the time the last one was un 
 tied, they could go home." 
 
 Pictures, rudely carved on rocks and trees, were used to 
 convey information, each figure being a true symbol under 
 stood and fully comprehended by the Indians wherever 
 seen. 
 
 , The Indians regarded their majestic forest trees with 
 emotional pride ; and, as they reclined under their broad ex 
 panding shades, they listened to their solemn whispers as 
 possessing a mysterious connection with themselves, and as 
 sharing with them their hopes and fears, their joys and sor 
 rows, and they grieved to see them fall before the ax of civil 
 ization ; since, between the Native American and the White 
 Race, who only saw lumber in the forest tree and money in 
 the lumber, there is the same difference existing that there 
 is between the man who hears the most refined music only 
 as a senseless noise-and him who hears it in messages of di 
 vine import to his soul ; thus it is that Nature bestows on 
 man only that which he is able to receive from her ; to one 
 lumber and the jingle of money ; to the other beauty and 
 harmony. Oft have I been an eye witness to the sensibility of 
 this people to the charms of natural objects, though accused 
 of its utter want : and with emotions of pleasure listened to 
 their expressive words of delight in admiration of the grand 
 and beautiful in nature, as they pointed the finger of unas- 
 sumed pride to their magnificent forests, and the majestic 
 appearance of the old patriarchs of their woods seeming- to 
 be charmed with their grand forests, the beauty of their 
 flower bedecked prairies, the purity of their streams, the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 37 
 
 Brightness of their skies and the salubrity" of their climate. 
 To the peculiarly fascinating 1 eharms of which, as they ap 
 peared to my admiring gaze seventy years ago in the ancient 
 domains of the Choctaws and Chickasaws, east of the Mis- 
 .sissippi river, I can testify from personal observation, as it 
 .also was the home of my birth ; nor can time nor distance 
 -ever erase from memory their grandeur and beauty ; and, 
 to-day, their seeming power is exercised over me in calling 
 up the reveries and picturings of the past clothing reality 
 with the illusions of the memory and imagination. But to 
 many, nature, in her primitive grandeur, is but an indiffer 
 ent beauty, though she stops to smile, to caress and enter 
 tain with exhaustless diversion her admiring and loving 
 wooer. 
 
 So to the Indian also, the grandeur and beauty of his 
 ancient forests left a memory which abides as a constant 
 source of gratification, as he reflects upon their natural 
 beauty upon which his eyes so oft had rested, and from 
 which his soul had gathered a noble conception of the sym 
 phonies from which it drew its pure aspirations ; .and truly, 
 no one who has any conception of the grand and beautiful, 
 -could have gazed upon the outstretched panorama of their 
 forests as presented in their ancient domains, without being 
 lastingly impressed with the marvelous picture, in which 
 there stood forth most striking beauties in the form of ma 
 jestic trees and green swards, on whose bosoms rested, in 
 gentle touch, most inviting shades free of all under-growth 
 of bushes but covered with luxuriant grass interspersed 
 with innumerable flowers of great variety, rivaling the most 
 beautiful flower garden of art. Never have I witnessed 
 any thing more grand and impressive than the Mississippi 
 forests presented when left by the Choctaws and Chicka 
 saws as an inheritance .to the Whites. Then and there na 
 ture, in all % her diversified phases, from the finite to the in 
 finite, and from the infinitessimal to the grand aggregate of 
 knowledge, was full of instruction ; by which she would 
 teach man his duty to his God, to his fellow man and to him 
 self. But alas, how few ever heed the symbolic whispers of 
 her low, sweet voice ! 
 
 It was truly a vast wilderness of trees entirely free of 
 all undergrowth except grass with that peculiar stillness 
 that attested the absence of man, and possessing a vastness 
 and boundless extent, and uninterrupted contiguity of 
 shade, which prevented the attention from being distracted, 
 .and allowed the mind to the solitude of itself, and the imagi 
 nation to realize the actual presence and true character of 
 that which burst upon it like a vivid dream. Truly that is 
 
38 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 *. 
 
 happiness that breaks not the link between man and nature. 
 The Indians of this continent openly acknowledged and 
 sincerely believed in the One Great and Good Spirit, and also 
 in the One Great and Evil Spirit; to the former they gave 
 divine homage with a devotion that well might put to shame 
 many of those who have lived, a life time under the light of 
 the Gospel dispensation, with scarcely a devotional emotion. 
 Towards the latter they cherished the greatest fear and dread 
 and sought continually the aid of the Good Spirit in averting 
 the dreaded machinations of the Evil Spirit, therefore every 
 warrior had his totem; i. e. a little sack filled with various 
 ingredients, the peculiarities of which were a profound 
 secret to all but himself; nor did any Indian ever seek or de 
 sire to know the contents of another s totem, it was sacred to 
 its possessor alone. I have more than once asked some 
 particular warrior friend concerning the contents of his 
 totem but was promptly refused- with the reply: "You would 
 not be any the wiser thereby." Every warrior kept his 
 Totem or "Medicine" about his person, by which he sincere 
 ly believed he would be enabled to secure the aid of the Good 
 Spirit in warding off the evil designs of the Evil Spirit, in the 
 existence of which they as sincerely believed, and to whom 
 they attributed the cause of all their misfortunes, when fail 
 ing to secure the aid of the Good Spirit. Therefore, each 
 and every warrior of the tribe., with eager zeal, endeavored to 
 put himself in direct communication with the Great and 
 Good Spirit. There was but little difference between the 
 "Indian Magician" and the Indian "Medicine Man," but 
 when a. warrior had attained to that high and great!} desired 
 point of direct communication with the Great and Good 
 Spirit, and had impressed that belief upon his tribe as well as 
 himself, he at once became an object of great veneration, and 
 was henceforth regarded by all his tribe, regardless of 
 age or sex, as a great "Medicine Man," upon whom 
 had been conferred supernatural powers to foretell 
 coming events, to exorcise evil spirits, and to perform 
 all kinds of marvelous works. But few attained the 
 coveted eminence; yet he who was so fortunate, at once 
 reached the pinnacle of his earthly aspirations. But before 
 entering upon his high and responsible duties, and assuming 
 the authority of a diviner a graduated Medicine Man, in 
 other words, with a recognized and accepted diploma, he 
 must also have enlisted in his service one or more lesser 
 spirits, servants of the Great and Good Spirit, as his allies or 
 mediators, and to secure these important and indispensable 
 auxiliaries, he must subject himself to a severe and testing 
 ordeal. He now retires alone into the deep solitudes of his 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 39 
 
 native forest and there engages in meditation, self examina 
 tion, fasting- and prayer during the coming and going of 
 many long and weary days, and even weeks. And all that for 
 what end? That he might, by his supernatural power thus 
 attained, be enabled to gratify his ambition in playing the 
 tyrant over his people through fear of him? Or that he might 
 be enabled the better to gratify the spirit of avarice that 
 rankled in his heart? Neither, for both tyrant and avarice 
 were utterly unknown among, all Indians. 
 
 What then? First, that he might ever be enabled, by 
 his influence attained with the great and Good Spirit, toward 
 off the shafts of the Evil Spirit, and thus protect himself from 
 seen and unseen dangers, and also be successful in the ac 
 complishment of all his earthly hopes and wishes. * 
 
 Second. That he might be a benefactor to his tribe, by 
 being enabled to divine future events, and thus forewarn 
 them of approaching danger and the proper steps to take to. 
 successfully avoid it; also to heal the sick, , etc. True, the 
 fearful ordeal of hunger, thirst, fatigue wrought their part 
 in causing his imagination to usurp the place of reason, fill 
 ing his fevered mind with the wildest hallucinations and 
 rendering him a fit subject to believe anything and every 
 thing. Yet, no doubt, when he left his place of prayer and 
 self-examination and returned to his people, he sincerely be 
 lieved that he had been admitted to the special favor of the 
 great and Good Spirit and was fully prepared to exercise his- 
 newly acquired supernatural attainments for his own bene 
 fit and to the interest of his tribe. Smile not at this, per 
 haps, to you, seeming folly of one who thought, reasoned and 
 acted as taught by the feeble light of nature alone ; with 
 such a devotional spirit, what would he have been if enlight 
 ened by the renovating influences of the precepts of the Son 
 of God ? But I ask, if this doctrine of the spiritual world, the-, 
 disembodied spirits of our departed loved ones everywhere 
 about us, and the power of communication with them, has 
 not sprung into new life among us in this boasted enlightened 
 age illumined, by the glorious light of the Bible shining 
 around us for centuries past ? though the doctrine was dis 
 carded by the Indians at once and forever, so soon as the 
 light of the Bible shone into their untutored minds. But 
 alas, we still speak of them as savages and barbarians ; yet 
 should not emotions of shame fill our hearts, when the simi 
 larity of belief between the unlettered" Indians of seventy- 
 five years ago, and the boasted intelligence and Christian 
 civilization of the "Anglo Saxon" of the present day, is so 
 manifest? Need we try to deny that modern Spiritualism 
 
-40 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 its counterpart in the philosophy of the ^North Ani erican 
 Jndians of three-quarters of a century ^ag-p?;; .: ; . 
 
 May we justly scorn the Indian wtie& iiot free ourselves 
 of his , ancient superstitious follies, ; btit^tilf hzv$ : so large 
 4 portion, thoug-h long- discarded by the civilized tribes, se 
 cretly -hidden away in the strata of our boasted common 
 ,sense, besides being greatly tinctured with the fashionable 
 skepticism (unknown to all Indians) of the present civilized 
 but fearfully corrupt age ? 
 
 The Indians reasoned from the known to the unknown 
 -differing from us only in that they had no accumulated 
 knowledge to guide them but their traditions. And when 
 we take into consideration the great difficulties with which 
 Ihey had to contend and overcome in the struggle up the 
 nigged hill of civilization and Christianity, as presented to 
 vthem with all their manifested contradictions and enigmas 
 by the Pale-faces," it is. a matter of profound astonishment 
 that they have achieved as much as they have. 
 
 Alas, that our universal error, in all our dealings with 
 that people, should consist in the deplorable yet inexcusable 
 failure to perceive how greatly their ideas differed from our 
 own in regard to every thing appertaining to our civilization, 
 Christianity and love of gain ; and at the same time forget 
 ting that the idea of civil government was with us of long and 
 slow growth, takin g many ages to develop us from our own 
 ignorant and savage ancestry to our present enlightened 
 state ; and how greatly to be regretted is the fact, that our 
 feelings and actions are still so influenced and governed by 
 deplorable ignorance of the true nature and characteristics 
 of the Indian, and so swayed by a foolish prejudice against 
 him, and so led captive by self-conceit and imagined superi 
 ority over him by nature, that we do not and will not justly 
 and impartially weigh the evidence before us ; through fear, 
 it truly seems, that our preconceived opinions may be proved 
 to be formed in error, if tested by the knowledge of the truth 
 that would be gained by investigation. 
 
 The Indian is accused of stolidity. Wherefore? Is it 
 because he can and does control his tongue when the white 
 man would fly into a violent passion? Is it because the Indian 
 .never speaks evil of any one, not even of a personal enemy, 
 .but keeps his thoughts and opinions of others in the secret 
 recesses of his own breast, while the reverse is an innate 
 characteristic of the White Race? Is it because the Indian 
 has learned never to talk to the purpose of what is not the 
 purpose to talk of, but in which the white man has long since 
 proved himself an adept to the entire satisfaction of himself 
 and all man-kind? If all this, seemingly so mysterious to his 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 41 
 
 defamers who would search earth and heaven to find an 
 .accusation/against an Indian, merits- the title Stolidity, then 
 indeed is the Indian meritorious, and that is/the whole of it 
 in- a li u t "shell. 
 
 He has also been ridiculed as being" an idiot for carrying" 
 with him his mystic Medicine-pouch, and relying- on it for 
 safety both in seen and unseen dangers. Yet in this how 
 little did he^ differ from thousands of the White Race of even 
 today with all their professed culture, among whom there 
 can still be detected a foolish superstition, a lingering 1 sur 
 vival of Fetchism, for it can be nothing- else. See the still 
 lingering belief in Witchcraft and magic charms; behold the 
 horse shoe still nailed over the door as a guarantee to "good 
 luck" and the prevention of injury from the >jnidnight ca 
 rousals of witches; view the stig-ma placed upon the *good 
 names of one of the days of the week unfortunate Friday! 
 Contemplate the Charm-string- composed of various childish 
 g-ew-gaws dangling from the watch-chain of the empty and 
 unbalanced head of the "pale-face" dude, and also its counter 
 part around the neck of the empty-headed little Miss of 
 "sweet sixteen"! Think of the harmless little bug snugly 
 ensconced in a crack of the wall humming its lulla-by in token 
 of its happiness yet is stigmatized with the appellation of 
 "Death-watch," the fore-runner of the grim monster so 
 much feared and dreaded by frail humanity, and many more 
 that might be mentioned! What are all these but a lingering 
 spirit of superstition, legitimate offsprings Fetishism, and 
 differing in nothing from the Indian s totem. Yet. the 
 Indian is regarded as meriting condemnation in this world 
 .and damnation in the next because he still adheres, in. some 
 few instances where the truths of the Bible have never 
 reached him, to his ancient superstitious belief and so-called 
 .savage folly, but the white man,, cradled in the. lap of Chris 
 tianity and yet carrying secretly in his -breast his totems, 
 verily, might not the reproving language of Saul to Bar Jesus 
 be justly applied to us in all our dealing with the Red .Race 
 from the Alpha to the Omega? ,"O, full of .all subtlety, and 
 all mischief, thou child of the devil, tftou enemy of all 
 righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways 
 of the Lord?" / , ., *, 
 
 ^ Again: The Indians passion for war, so erroneously 
 proverbial among us, has ever been shamefully exaggerated. 
 True, their passion for war, when engaged in it for the re 
 dress of real or imaginary wrongs, was unequalled : and, in 
 defense of their country has few parallels in the history of 
 nations, of which we have the full attestation of experience ; 
 though we fought. them, taking all things into consideration, 
 
42 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 the advantages of fifty to one. But they seldom made war 
 upon each other actuated alone by the motives of ambitious 
 conquests for national or personal aggrandizement, as far as 
 has been ascertained from actual proof. They had no mo 
 tive for such a war, as it is well known to all who have at 
 tained any true knowledge of the North American Indians 
 worthy of notice, since avarice, in a national or personal point 
 of view with all its baneful consequences, was utterly un 
 known to the ancient Indians of this continent, as it is to this 
 day to their pnre blooded descendants. Their desperation 
 in resisting- our encroachments upon their rights gave birth 
 to the false charge that "they are a blood-thirsty race de 
 lighting in human gore ;" but there is no proof based v upon 
 truth that they are meritorious to a greater extent than any 
 other race of mankind to bear such reproach. Nor were 
 their tactics of war, so loudly condemned by us, any more 
 irreconcilable to justice and humanity, than our own. We 
 stigmatize them w r ith the name of "cowards" for limiting- 
 their fighting to ambuscade and surprise ; and which we, if 
 out-witted and defeated in a battle w T ith them, pronounced, 
 with assumed horror, a "cruel massacre ;" yet, truth posi 
 tively declares that we too have adopted equally with them 
 the ambuscacle, the surprise, and every art of war known to 
 us to out-general them in cunning, in treachery, and in de 
 ceit; but call it, if we succeed, "a glorious military strate 
 gy," as if that would^make it appear more honorable or 
 justifiable in the sight of truth, justice and humanity or that 
 of a just God. Absolute necessity compelled the Indians to 
 resort to ambuscade and surprise in their wars with us-, on 
 account of our vast superiority over them in numbers, skill, 
 and instruments of warfare. What hope of success could 
 they entertain by coming out in the open field with ^en 
 feeble bows and arrows and few worthless old guns,, and 
 stand up before our deadly rifles and destructive batteries 
 They would simply have acted the part of fools in so doing. 
 They fought as best they could, and just as we, or any other 
 people, would have fought under similar circumstances. 
 
 We charge them with deception and being full of all man 
 ner of hypocrisy in all places and at all times, even in the 
 social and business relations of life. A more false charge 
 was never made against anyone; and it is but one among the 
 thousands that have been unjustly used in justification of 
 robbing them of their country and wiping them out as cum- 
 berers of the ground, w r holly unfit any longer to inhabit the 
 earth. 
 
 Who ever heard of the Indians adulterating their food 
 with poisonous ingredients to add a dime more-to their gains? 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 43- 
 
 Who ever heard of them adulterating- their medicines, thus 
 endangering- life to make a nickel more? Who ever heard of 
 them banding tog-ether to oppress the poor of their own race 
 by buying- up certain articles of food or medicine and hold 
 ing it to extort a higher price from the needy, and thus add 
 a few more cents to their own coffers? And yet we see fit 
 to falsely charge the Indians with deception and hypocrisy. 
 But to misrepresent in all that is said or written about the 
 Red Race is an axiom of long standing. As an illustration^ 
 Ridpath, in his History of the United States" page 45, 
 says: 
 
 "But the Red Man was, at his best estate, an unsocial, sol 
 itary and gloomy spirit. He was a man of the woods. He 
 sat apart. Tfre forest was better than the village." Let 
 others speak that it may be known how near the above de 
 lineation of the Red Man s characteristics, as exhibited by 
 the glare of imagined erudition, throws its light to the line 
 of truth according to the positive declarations of the -early 
 writers who visited the Indians; and the missionaries who- 
 first preached the Gospel of the world s Redeemer to them. 
 All, everywhere, and among all Indians back to the Pilgrims 
 oi 1620, affirm that the tribes everywhere lived in separate 
 districts, in which each had numerous large and permanent 
 towns and villages, and were the most social, contented and 
 happy people they ever knew. La Salle, the renowned 
 French explorer, states that he found numerous towns and 
 villages everywhere. He affirms that the Indians lived in 
 comfortable cabins of great proportions, in some cases, forty 
 feet square with dome-shaped roofs, in which several fami 
 lies lived. De Soto, in his memorable raid through the ter 
 ritories of the Southern Indians in 1541-42, found towns and 
 villages containing "from fifty to three hundred houses, 
 protected by palisades, walls and ditches filled with water;" 
 it is also stated, "every few miles he found flourishing towns 
 and villages." So also, the early explorers of the head 
 waters of the Mississippi river found the Indians every 
 where dwelling in towns and villages: "The houses being- 
 framed wfth poles and covered with bark." 
 
 Lewis and Clark, when exploring the waters of the Col 
 umbia River in 1805, under the auspices of the United Sates 
 Government, found the Indians in the valley of the Columbia 
 living in villages in which there were many large houses. 
 They mention some capable of "furnishing habitations for 
 five hundred people." The Iroquois, whose territories lay 
 along the southern border s of the Great Lakes, Erie and 
 Ontario, when visited by the Jesuit priests and French 
 traders in 1771, were found dwelling in large towns and 
 
44 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. . 
 
 , . .v.- . . . . .. , 
 
 /villages^ some of which- are described as having- "120 houses, 
 many of them from 50 to ^60 feet in length, and affording am 
 ple room and shelter for twelve or fifteen- families." , The 
 Indians of the Atlantic Stages were settled in permanent 
 towns and villages. The Pokanokets, Narragansets, Pe- 
 quods, and others, as stated by early writers, lived in towns- 
 and, villages. The missionaries, when they established 
 ,Ghirstain missions among the Cherokees in 1815, the Choc- 
 taws in 1818, and Chickasaws in 1821, found them living in 
 prosperous towns and villages scattered from two to six miles 
 apart all over their then vast territories, and to which I testify 
 from actual, personal knowledge; and. no people with whom I 
 was ever acquainted, or of whom I ever read, exhibited more 
 real social virtues, true contentment and genuine social 
 happiness than they; yet Ridpath s doleful and stereotyped 
 edition of misrepresentation and ignorance says: "But the 
 Red Man was, at his best estate, an unsocial, solitary, and 
 gloomy spirit. He communed only with himself and the 
 genius of solitude. He sat apart; the forest was better than 
 the village." # . 
 
 The six nations, to whom the French gave the name Iro- 
 quois(Longhouses) were composed of the Senecas, Cayugas, 
 Onandagas, Oneidas, Mohawks and Tuscaroras, inhabiting 
 the northern part of the continent, and the Choctaws; Chick- 
 saws, Cherokees, Muscogees, Semiiioles, Natchez and Ya- 
 masas, living in the southern part and known at an early day 
 as the Mobela Nations, presented, no doubt, the highest 
 type of the North American Indians, and were unsurpassed 
 in, point of native eloquence, unalloyed patriotism, and heroic 
 bravery, by any ancient or modern race of people, civilized 
 or uncivilized ; in friendship faithful and true, in war not 
 safe or comfortable to encounter ; and whose highest bliss 
 was found in national independence and absolute personal 
 freedom from all restraint whatever ; and of whose ancient 
 history, if only known, it might truthfully be said, would be 
 stranger and more interesting than the "most thrilling fic 
 tion ; abounding with hidden romances of which the civilized 
 \vorkl never conjectured or even dreamed, if we may judge 
 from the little that has escaped oblivion. The Iroquois, and 
 the six Nations of the North have long since disappeared be 
 fore the White Race as autumnal leaves before the wintry 
 winds, except with here and there a few lonely wanderers 
 who, like ghosts, still hover around the graves of their ances 
 tors, feeblesparksyetlingeringiiitheashesof an exterminated 
 race. The Natchez and Yamases of the Mobela Nations 
 have also long since passed through the same ordeal, and 
 Ichabod is written upon their urns with thousands of others 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 45 
 
 of. their unhappy race ; ; while a few still linger to justly re 
 buke our cruelty and avarice. 
 
 They know that they only can learn the ; present through 
 the memory of the blood-stained past; that temple from 
 which posterity draws its lessons of. human life; yet they are 
 not ashamed x of their past; or do they undervalue it, but 
 advocate, as they have many, long years before, the great 
 brotherhood of man; and still hope and expect, as in the years 
 of the long past, great things from Christianity and intellect 
 ual culture;. though oft have been doomed to that ^bitter dis 
 appointment which so loudly and justly rebukes and con 
 demns that prejudice still cherished so bitterly but unjustly 
 against them by the White Race, ,and so difficult to be 
 reconciled to its published professions of Christian attain 
 ments, too deep for them or any other people, to understand 
 or even : rightly conjecture. But the question naturally 
 arises, Why are they still distrusted by us? Is it because 
 they still honor their past which they can never renounce nor 
 forget as a brave and patriotic people? Must we forever hate 
 them and eternally make them the subjects of our ridicule 
 and contempt because, forsooth, they will not repudiate the 
 memory of their ancient line of ancestry to them as honor 
 able as to us is our own? And though self respect is all that 
 we have left to them, except a few acres of begrudged land, 
 do we now demand and expect them to so far forget them 
 selves and to stoop so low r in the scale of humanity as to 
 adopt voluntarily, the impious and degrading estimate put 
 upon them by the unprincipled of our own race, who through 
 ignorance and prejudice have misjudged them? Then know 
 we not the North American Indian; nor will our demand or 
 expectation ever be realized. 
 
 We may exterminate them as we have millions of their 
 race, for we have the power to do so ; but we never can co 
 erce them to voluntarily place a degrading estimate upon 
 themselves. Never. I have heard the charge over and over 
 again ^made against them, that they would stop the progress 
 of the white man s civilization and the religion of Jesus 
 Christ among them if they could. Without fear or favor, I x 
 here denounce the charge as a falsehood, begat by the devil, 
 born in the regions of eternal night, thence escaped to find 
 lodgement in the hearts of its miserably degraded author, 
 and his congenial spirits, the foul mouthed promulgators ; 
 and into their teeth I fearlessly hurl it back. But I freely 
 admit, if the "white man s civilization and the white man s 
 Christianity" is meant the grim visage of infidelity with its 
 abominable train of liberalism, socialism, secularism, nihi 
 lism, spiritualism, and whiskeyism with their legitimate 
 
46 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 children, saloonism and baudy-houseism, and all other devil 
 ish isms presented in the white man s Christian civilization 
 (so-called), they want none of it ; anp in proof of which they 
 have warred, and still war and will ever continue to war 
 ag-ainst the foul brood, be they ever so protective to the 
 white man s "Personal Liberty ;" or ever so dearly cher 
 ished by him, as among- the brig-htest lig-hts along- the horizon 
 of his modern and advanced civilization. But let Christ s 
 glorious Christianity and civilization, as it was presented to 
 them eighty years ago in their ancient domains east of the 
 Mississippi river by the pure minded, devoted, self-sacrific 
 ing 1 , God approved missionaries, whose God-like teaching s, 
 both by precept arid example, have been handed down by 
 that g-eneration to this, (of whom many old Choctaws of that 
 day have frequently spoken to me during my sojourn among- 
 them, during- the last five or six years, and as often drew the 
 contrast between the white mail s religion of those days and 
 the white man s religion of to-day, the g-enuine fruits of 
 which are so manifest) be rudely assailed or imperilled, and 
 every warrior, old and young-, would at once rise as one man 
 in its defense, and freely give their lives as sacrificial offer 
 ings upon the altar of its protection. They had long- walked 
 in darkness, but they have seen the light as it shone in the 
 daily life, conversation, and actions, of those old heralds of 
 the Cross, who came to them in their ancient domains, four 
 score years ag-o, as messeng-ers of the Son of God, proclaim 
 ing- Peace Good and Will to them. But they would see greater 
 lig-ht and know more of that lig-ht ; therefore, they who 
 charg-e them with a hankering to still return to the customs 
 of their ancestors, though in many respects more to be de 
 sired than the isms and degrading vices of the white man s 
 modern civilization as presented to them, can lay no just 
 claim to the right of judging or estimating the merits, or 
 demerits of any one, as they measure every thing by the 
 standard of their own imbecility so manifest to all. 
 
 There is today, and has ever been, as much talent found 
 among- the true Native Americans as among the Americans, 
 ,or ever was found in any race of uneducated people; and the 
 Indian is naturally as much of a religious being as the wh ite 
 man, yea, to a greater degree, which is fully sustained by his 
 more faithful adherence and unassumed" devotion to his 
 newly adapted religion, as taught him by the missionary of 
 the Gospel, than are we with all of our fine churches and 
 noisy professions. The Sabbath day is reg-arded with much 
 more reverence, and observed with greater emotions of un- 
 feig-ned devotion, yet we call him a savage. Long- before the 
 light of the Gospel illuminated the mind of the Indian, and 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 47 
 
 the knowledge of his own dignity and destiny had dawned 
 upon^his understanding, his reason taught him a belief in the 
 existence of a Superior Being whose wisdom and goodness he 
 saw, acknowledged and reverenced in every leaf and flower 
 that adorned the earth; in the rising and setting of the sun; 
 in the storm of night and the calm of day. But the mis 
 sionary came, and the Gospel of the Son of God then erected 
 his alter among them and shed the benign influences of her 
 oracles over them, leading their understanding from the 
 intellectual darkness of that long starless night that had 
 , brooded over them during ages untold. Great indeed must 
 be the reward in heaven for those men and women of God 
 who carried the Bread of Eternal Life to the southern Indians 
 of this continent, over three quarters of a century ago; when 
 civilization and Christianity had never before found lodge 
 ment, and Nature was presented in all her seemingly new 
 ness of life, unchanged by the handi-work of man. The 
 pride of ancestry may be just; to rehearse the deeds of illus 
 trious predecessors may by laudable; but they, who devote 
 life to the Glory of God and the benefit of the;r fellow men 
 are truly the ones that make life illustrious and the grave 
 glorious; for when time had silvered their heads with gray, 
 and the summons came that bade them go hence; then it was 
 their good deeds lighted up the gloom of the grave and 
 soothed and softened the pangs of dissolution; and when 
 they have long slumbered in the citv of the silent, yea, when 
 every trace of the unhappy Indian shall have been wiped out 
 and forgotten in the oblivion of the past, still will the mem 
 ory of their labors of love live, and their monuments be in 
 scribed with characters of imperishable fame. Years hence, 
 when the inquisitive shall ask what manner of people were 
 the fallen and exterminated race of North American conti 
 nent, and inquire concerning those who enlightened the 
 minds that only here and there have left a monument of their 
 independence, will some venerable patriarch point to the 
 catalogue of renowned names, who disseminated the Gospel 
 and the light of learning among the primitive inhabitants of 
 the North American continent. But the question naturally 
 arises here, will the mighty tide of humanity, now flowing 
 like a great river into and over our country, bear to future 
 posterity our virtues or our vices, our glory or our shame? 
 Will the moth of inmorality and the vampire of luxury trans 
 mit, as an inheritance, their natural results to our future 
 posterity, and ultimately prove the overthrow of our Govern 
 ment, or shall our knowledge and virtue, as pillars of rock, 
 support them against the whirlwind of ambition and corrup 
 tion now overspreading the land? The little insect intrud- 
 
48 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 ing" upon our path is despised and wantonly crushed; yet 
 united, they have destroyed nations and depopulated cities. 
 "Coming- events" cease not to "cast their shadows before. * 
 The North American Indians, in symmetry of form, 
 seemed perfect men and women ; all were straight and 
 erect ; the men, of a proud, independent and manly bearing-, 
 with sinewy form that denoted great strength, agility and 
 fleetness ; with dark complexion, resolute, yet quiet in ex 
 pression, except when ag-itated by emotion ; frank in de 
 meanor, and always courteous, never* meeting you without a 
 grave but polite and cheerful salutation ; and whose confi 
 dence was not a sudden spark that shone for a moment then 
 went out, but endured through life unless betrayed, then 
 was never more regained, nor was their hatred impulsive 
 but fixed in their judgment and their thoughts rather than 
 in their passing feelings. And what is said of the charac 
 teristics of the men, as men, so it may be said equally of the 
 women, as women. Their traditions, which form the con 
 necting link between truth and romance, throw but a glim 
 mering light, as before stated, upon the unwritten history 
 of their past, which has so long been forgotten, as well as 
 upon their ancient habits and customs, of which there can be 
 no reliable information, therefore all must be left to conject 
 ure. But I came in possession of many traditions seemingly 
 to founded more -in truth than in fiction, as I oft sat 
 among the Choctaws and Chickasaws in youth and early 
 manhood and listened with romantic emotions to the narra 
 tions of the aged, whose plurality of years had consigned 
 them to the retired list of warriors, as unable longer to en 
 dure the hardships and dangers that begirt the war-path 
 and the chase, and thus acquired much concerning their 
 past history, not to be found inbooks, of which I w r ill 
 more fully speak in their proper place. 
 
 But alas, that the writings of so many of their White 
 historians (so-called) seemingly throug-h ignorance or preju 
 dice, or both, should contain more fiction than truth, and dif 
 fuse more error than true information concerning this pecu 
 liar and so poorly comprehended race of people ; hence it 
 may be truly affirmed that there is no race of people that 
 now exists upon the earth, or has ever existed, of whom -so- 
 much has been said and written, yet of whom the world has 
 been taught less true knowledge and correct information 
 than of the North American Indians. But it should not be, 
 perhaps, a matter of very great surprise that the majority 
 of the writers of the present day, especially the sensational 
 newspaper correspondents, as many of their predecessors of 
 years ago, should give prejudiced accounts of this people ; 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 49 
 
 since it is plainly manifest, when taken into just considera 
 tion, that they are 1 utterly ig-norant of the subject offered for 
 their contemplation, yet fail to see their incapacity , since 
 the ingredients are pure and have given abundant and unmis 
 takable proof of their many-valuable qualities ; therefore, as a 
 natural result, are lost to the blind observers whose compo 
 sitions, regarding the unfortunate Indians, are made up of 
 equal parts (well mixed) of self-conceit, ignorance, duplicity 
 and falsehood ; which, in their very nature, so utterly dis 
 qualify them of judging- bevond the surface of anything ex 
 cept self ; but seem extravagantly delighted when they have 
 struck a new vein of precious metal in the mine of falsehood 
 against the unoffending Indians, and foolishly imagine it has 
 stamped them with a wisdom higher than man s, though dif 
 ficulties arise in the minds of a majority from a failure to so 
 comprehend it. Still it is diverting to see them strut about 
 after a safe delivery, as if they were at the head of a new 
 dispensation and waiting for unknown converts to kneel and 
 pay homage to their imagined greatness. 
 
 It is a universally admitted that the color of the Indians 
 is peculiar to themselves, and though some affirm that they 
 have discovered indications of a Tartar origin in their cheek 
 bones, others assert that their eyes do not justify the affir 
 mation. Their manner of life may have exerted", perhaps, 
 some influence in regard to color, but it would be a difficult 
 matter to satisfactorily -explain how it coult have produced 
 the great difference that is so plainly manifest in 
 that of the eyes. Still it is affirmed that " their imagery,, 
 bpth. poetry and oratory, is Oriental, though suffering by the 
 limited extend of th-ear practical knowledge." Their 
 metaphors were drawn from nature, the seasons, the clouds, 
 the storms, the mountains, birds and beast, and the vegetables 
 world. Yet in this, they only did what all other races of the 
 human family have done, whose bounds to fancy were 
 governed by experience. They also clothed their ideas in. 
 Oriental dress. They expressed a phrase in a word, and 
 qualified the signification of a whole sentence by a syllable;: 
 and also conveyed different significations by the simplest 
 inflections of the voice. Some philologists affirm that among 
 all the North American Indians who once inhabited this con- 
 tinent,^ there are, properly speaking, but two or three 
 languages," and the difficulty which different tribes ex 
 perience in understanding each other, is attributed to the 
 corruptions in dialects. This may seem more plausible 
 from the following incident. Shortly after the Choctaws 
 .were removed from their ancient domains east of the Mis- 
 sissippi River to their present places of abode, a small tribe 
 
50 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 of strange Indians was discovered occupying- a portion of 
 their western territory, now the Chickasaw Nation. A party 
 of Choctaws, under the command of Peter P. Pitchlynn, 
 was sent out to ascertain who they were . When the dele 
 gation arrived at one of the villages of the unknown tribe, 
 they were totally unable to communicate with them only 
 through the sign language, so well understood by all the 
 Indians, and them alone. However, it was soon observed 
 that the villagers, in conversation with each other, used a 
 few words that were decidedly of Choctaw origin, and now 
 and then one or more purely Chactaw words. This but in 
 creased the interest of the now deeply interested delegates. 
 Upon further investigation by means of the sign-language, 
 It-was ascertained that the name of the little tribe of stran 
 gers wasBaluhchi, a pure Choctaw word, signifying hickory- 
 bark (formerly used by the Choctaws in making ropes and 
 whips when peeled from the hickory bush in the spring). It 
 was also learned that they originally came from a country, to 
 their pleasant place of abode, that lay beyond the "Big 
 Waters," and this was all that could be learned concerning 
 them. Being anxious to ascertain something more definite, 
 the delegates, upon further inquiry, learned that there lived 
 in another village a few miles distant, an aged man who was 
 formerly their chief but owing to his advanced age he no 
 longer acted in that capacity, but was regarded by the tribe 
 as their national Seer or Prophet. To him the delegation 
 immediately went, and found to their agreeable surprise that 
 tlie venerable old patriarch, for such he truly was, could speak 
 the Choctaw language fluently. He corroborated the state 
 ment of the villagers in regard to the migration, and also 
 claimed that he and his tribe were Choctaws. When asked, 
 How long since he left his people east of the "Big Waters," 
 he replied: "Long ago, when a little boy," and further 
 stated that he was the only survivor of the little company 
 that had wandered away years ago from the parent stock. 
 JBut to fully test the matter, he was questioned as to the 
 name of the Choctaw Iksas (Clans) and their ruling chiefs at 
 the time of his boyhood and the departure of the company to 
 he far west. He readily gave the name of several clans and 
 ^heir then ruling chiefs, together with the names of the clan 
 (Baluhchi) to which his parents belonged; also many memor 
 able incidents connected with the Choctaws in his boyhood 
 together with the general features and outlines of their 
 territory. All of which was known to be true. The test 
 was satisfactory. The delegates returned; made their re 
 port, and the Choctaw Nation at once received its long wan 
 dering prodigals into its paternal embrace, and without 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 51 
 
 hesitation took them into full fellowship as children of one 
 and the same family. About fifty families of this once lost 
 clan, numbering- about two hundred souls still survive, with 
 a few of whom I am personally acquainted. The little band, 
 I was informed, still adheres to the ancient customs of their 
 Clan with that tenacity peculiar to the North American 
 Indians alone, but has returned to the use of the Choctaw 
 language proper. 
 
 Here then, in this little band of strayed Choctaws, who 
 had wandered from the parent stock scarcely a century be 
 fore, is found a case in which their language had become so 
 blended or mixed with that of the languages of other adjoin 
 ing tribes, and thereby so corrupted and changed as not to 
 be understood by their own people from whom they had 
 wandered but a generation or two before. The ancient 
 Baluhchi Clan of Choctaws was first made known to the 
 whites by La Salle, who visited them on his voyage of dis 
 covery down the Mississippi River in 1682, and to which I 
 will again refer. 
 
 Fenimore Cooper, in reference to the sign-language of 
 the North American Indians, says, he was present at an in 
 terview between two chiefs of the western plains, and when 
 an interpreter was present who spoke both languages of 
 the two different tribes to which the two chiefs respectively 
 belonged. The two warrior chiefs appeared to be on the 
 most friendly terms, and apparently conversed much togeth 
 er; yet, according to the affirmation of the interpreter, each 
 was absolutely ignorant of what the other said .in his native 
 tongue. Their tribes were hostile to each other, but these 
 two chiefs had accidentally been brought together by the in- 
 fluence of the Government ; and it is worthy of remark that 
 a common policy influenced them both to adopt the same 
 subject. They mutually exhorted each other to befriend 
 the one the other in the event that the chance of war should 
 throw either of them in the hands of his enemies. 
 
 But whatever may be the truth as respects the root and 
 the genius of the Indian tongue, it is quite evident they are 
 now so remote in their words as to possess most of the dis 
 advantages of strange languages ; hence, much of the em 
 barrassment that has arisen in learning their history, and 
 most of the uncertainty which exists in their traditions. 
 
 The North American Indians conform to rule as rigidly 
 as any nation of people that ever existed. They regulated 
 their whole conduct in conformity to some general maxims 
 implanted in their minds in their youthful days. The moral 
 laws by which they were governed were few, tis true. 
 Butthey conformed toall of them most rigidly ; while our moral 
 
52 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 laws are many by which we assume to be governed, yet we 
 frequently violate them with little compunction of conscience 
 when conflicting with our real or imaginary interests. We 
 accuse the Indians of stoicism and habitual taciturnity, with 
 out studying- their characteristics; but if we had 
 only informed ourselves, we would have learned that they 
 are more firmly linked to us by mutual sympathies and affec 
 tions than we have ever even imagined. But why do the In 
 dians appear taciturn and unsocial to us ? Because we 
 have, from first to last, manifested toward them an uncon 
 cealed coldness, indifference, distrustfulness bordering 
 largly on contempt ; and never with that confidence, frank 
 ness and sincerity which are so indispensable to g-enuine love 
 and true friendship. Let a little group of Indians be at a 
 railroad station on the arrival of a passenger train. See the 
 rush to the platform and the circle formed around them ; 
 hear the remarks of attempted wit made about them and the 
 laug-h of ridicule, as they stare at them as if they were a 
 group of wild beasts, yet assuming themselves to be a people 
 remarkable for their strict adherence to the rules and regu 
 lations of politeness ! What feelings must pervade the In 
 dians breasts but emotions .of manifold pity and mingled 
 contempt for such an ill-mannered set, who profess so much 
 yet display so little of common sense ! Who, with any de 
 gree of justice, can blame the Indians for manifesting their 
 wisdom and good sense by keeping themselves aloof from 
 the company of the self-conceited and scornful, whose moral 
 worth and . highest attainments begin and end seemingly 
 with the nronkey ? and, as a natural consequence, can exhibit 
 no other disposition when in the presence of one or more In 
 dians than that of gratifying an ignorant curiosity in behold 
 ing the so-called "red devils, red skin, Indian bucks," appel 
 lations having their origin in the depraved hearts of as cor 
 rupt and reckless specimens of humanity as ever cursed a 
 land or county, and are a foul blot upon the fair face of na 
 ture, and the language of whose hearts is "justice, truth, 
 honor, mercy, humanity depart from us, we desire not the 
 knowledge of thy ways." Thus, in all our intercourse with 
 this unfortunate race of people, we have exhibited, in the 
 majority of instances, every disposition toward them that 
 was calculated to drive them far from even the sight of us, 
 and to stamp indelibly upon their hearts the belief that our 
 only desire is, and ever has been, to dispossess them. of their 
 hereditary possessions ; and in which they are wholly con 
 firmed by reading our publications in which we portray them 
 as "red devils, red skins, blood-thirsty savages, Indian 
 bucks," thus seemingly to attempt to justify ourselves, by 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 53 
 
 our calumniating- epithets, in our cruelties and outrages upon 
 them without any respect to their claims upon truth, justice, 
 mercy and humanity whatever ; and also, that they have no 
 rights when conflicting 1 with ours, but must succumb any 
 where and everywhere to the nod of our interest be it at 
 their sacrifice what it may ; therefore we continue, as we 
 have done for centuries past, to execute our verdict pro 
 nounced against them from the beginning: "It is easier and 
 less expensive to exterminate the Indians, than to obey the 
 mandates of the Son of God in attempting to Christianize 
 them." Said an old chief: "We ve been driven back until 
 we can retreat no farther ; our tomahawks have none to wield 
 them ; our bows have none to shoot them ; our council fires 
 are nearly burned out ; soon the white man will cease tooppress 
 and persecute us, for we will have perished and gone from 
 the earth." Thus have their expectations ..darkened into 
 anxiety, their anxiety into dread, their dread into despair 
 and their despair into death. 
 
 Never in the history of man has the extermination of a 
 people been more complete than that of the North American 
 Indians within the last two and a half centuries. To the 
 query, "Where are they"? Echo but responds, "Where"? 
 Alas! all have disappeared from their ancient abodes, and 
 hundreds .of tribes have long since ceased to exist as 
 nations, the majority not even leaving a name behind them; 
 and even the former homes ^of the hapless remaining few 
 refuse to acknowledge the feeble exiles but as vile intruders, 
 while the names of mountains, hills and streams are all that 
 remain as testimonials of their former occupancy, even as 
 solitary heaps of drift-wood left far from the channel of the 
 river bear testimony to the extent of its inundation. And to 
 the query, Where are they? The best reply may be found 
 in a book bearing the title "Shank s Report On Indian 
 Frauds," made March 3d, 1873, -to the 420 Congress, 3d,- 
 Session,. in the management of Indian Affairs. It is as 
 follows: "In 250 years we have wasted their numbers from 
 2,500,000" (nearer the truth would be, 20,500,000) "down to 
 250,000 or a waste of. a number equals to all their children 
 born to them in the last 250 years, and 2, 250,000, or 9-10 of 
 their original number, residing in the limits of our Govern 
 ment, and have taken absolute ownership of 3,232,936,351 
 acres of their lands, prairies, forests, game and homes, 
 leaving, to all their tribes collectively, only 97,745,000 acres 
 of ground, generally not the best, and . even that is sought 
 after with a greed that is not worthy . a Christian people." 
 Nevertheless we boast of ourselves .being a true . Christian 
 nation of the "Anglo Saxon" blood. Who can but pity the 
 
54 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 unfortunate Cubans and the Filipinos! With what emotions 
 of horror must they shrink from their prospective future, 
 when contemplating- the extermination of the North Ameri 
 can Indians. 
 
 Even at an early day the Indians themselves, believed, felt 
 andacknowledg-ed it. In 1611, all the Indians, then known to 
 the whites, complained, according to the statements of the 
 early writers, that from the time the French came to trade 
 with them they began to decline and die off more rapidly 
 than ever before. It is stated by the early explorers, that 
 they would often fumig-ate their heads to avoid infection 
 from the magic charms they believed the French carried 
 about their persons, secret poison, harmless to themselves, 
 but fatal to all Indians ; at other times they would accuse 
 the whites of selling them poisonous provisions. "In 1634," 
 writes k the French journalist, "the orphans were sadly nu 
 merous, for after the Indians began to use whiskey they 
 died in great numbers." "Not so," said a chief in 1636, "It 
 is not your drink which kills us, but your writings ; fo,r 
 since you have described our country, our rivers, land and 
 forests, we are all dying-. This was not so before your com 
 ing." Unhappy chief! Thou wert honest in thy convic 
 tions, but erring; in your judgment. Whiskey was the se 
 cret power employed by the pale-face to silently but effectu 
 ally destroy thy race, as it has been from that day to this ; 
 and, as auxiliaries to that terrible destructive, the introduc 
 tion of small-pox, scarlet fever, measles, mumps, whooping- 
 cough, unknown before to the Indians, did their fatal work, 
 and hurried millions of that unfortunate people to premature 
 graves, often depopulating entire towns and villages, and 
 even tribes. These new and unaccountable diseases ap 
 pearing- among them with the coming of the whites, baffling" 
 their utmost powers in the healing art, and which it ap 
 peared no skill could obviate, nor remedy dispel the fearful 
 infection, they very naturally attributed the cause of them 
 to the writings of the Pale-face, so mysterious and incom 
 prehensible to them. While some tribes attributed their 
 mysterious dying- to the anger of the Great Spirit, who thus 
 punished them for permitting the Pale-faces to "describe 
 their country, lands, rivers and forests." 
 
 A Huron convert told the Jesuit priests in 1639, that it 
 was almost the universal opinion of his nation, that all the 
 professed friendship of the whites for the Indians was but 
 a blind to conceal their deep hidden hypocrisy and treachery; 
 and that they were really aiming to the total destruction of 
 the Indians, in order to secure their country for themselves. 
 How truly prophetic, and how much more of truth than 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 55 
 
 fiction were their rational conclusions, and was there not 
 manifested also, in their just reasonings, in regard to the 
 secret designs of the whites, as far-sighted statemanship as 
 was ever exhibited by any nation of people that ever existed, 
 ancient or modern? Were the phillippics hurled against the 
 ambitious Macedonian king and conqueror by the world 
 wide renowned statesman and orator of ancient Athens more 
 prophetic than were the predictions of those ancient Hurons 
 of North America? "You will see," said a relative of the 
 above mentioned Huron convert, to whom he spoke of the 
 kind words and friendly actions of the Jesuit priests towards 
 the Indians, your children die before your eyes; you your 
 self will soon follow, and if we listen to them, we all will go 
 the same way." "Whether it is the work of the devil or the 
 providence of God," adds the annalist, "we dare not say, but 
 of five children in the family, but one remains. Soon after 
 that speech, one was carried off by fever; another has been 
 ill for months and cannot live; the oldest, who was one of our 
 pupils, a lad of fourteen, died very suddenly; an adopted 
 daughter has a dangerous cough; the youngest boy is dying 
 too, while the Lord has seen fit to afflict the wife also, who, 
 after losing four children, herself died of small-pox. Truly 
 the poor Indian may say Probasti me et cognovisti me." In 
 1657, Father Menard himself, while laboring among the Iro- 
 quois, wrote as follows: "The hostility to our faith and to our 
 persons which the Hurons had transmitted to those abori 
 gines, persuading them that we carried with us disease and 
 misfortune to every country we approached, caused our re 
 ception to be cool and the presents to be spurned which we 
 offered as a help to the introduction of our religion." 
 
 Could the Indians be justly censured, with such potent 
 convictions resting upon their minds, that many, in wild de 
 spair and in blind revenge, if, peradventure, they might be 
 able to turn back the fearful and destructive tide of; disease 
 and death that was so effectually and rapidly destroying 
 them, by driving from their territories the pale-faces 
 seemingly the author of all their misfortunes and woes? and 
 did not their hopes of success, their devotion to and love of 
 country, and their irresistible idealism which stimulates the 
 mighty effort, constitute the essence of true patriot 
 ism? But alas, our prejudice denies it to them. 
 Wherefore ? Because we, as a people, were blinded 
 by our imagined superiority over them, and pre-con- 
 ceived determination to convert their country to our own use 
 every foot of it as is so manifest to-day ; therefore refused 
 to become properly acquainted with them lest we might see 
 and learn of their many characteristic virtues. Their coun- 
 
56 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 try was the philosopher s stone to us the true secret that 
 influenced our actions toward, and all our dealing s with 
 them, both of a peaceful and host le nature. It was the 
 sceptre that was to give us dominion over them, to their de 
 struction, but our aggrandizement ; the key that would un 
 lock to us a store-house of national power and personal 
 emolument, opening unto us the untold treasures of the 
 western continent. Therefore, whatever in them appeared 
 strange and forbidding to our disordered imagination ; what 
 ever did not agree in every punctilio to our self-conceited, 
 "high-born," civilized customs, we at once misjudged and 
 underrated, haughtily condemned and pushed aside as un 
 worthy our refined attention. Hence it is a lamentable 
 truth, that all the impressions ever made by the whites upon 
 the Indians, with few exceptions, from their earliest associa 
 tions to the present day, have been contrary to every thing that 
 had a tendency to secure their confidence, maintain their friend 
 ship, and induce them to forsake their primitive customs 
 and adopt those of ours ; and we have to-day the evidence 
 on every side that the evil influences placed before the In 
 dians, and the baneful impressions made upon their minds 
 by unprincipled and lawless white men, who have always in 
 fested their country, from the beginning, have been deeply 
 and lastingly made, and have long ago assumed the form of a 
 justly bitter but silent hatred enduring as time, and, it is to 
 be feared, forever to rankle in their breasts. This prejudice 
 against and hatred of all that appertains to the white race 
 has been widening and deepening from their first acquain 
 tance with the whites, from whom they have received noth 
 ing but sneers, cuffs and kicks from the alpha to the omega, 
 and now stands a yawning gulf between the confidence and 
 friendship of the red man and the white, so broad and deep 
 that all hope -of its being bridged seems nearly if not entirely 
 at an end. As the great and good /Washington exclaimed., 
 when informed of the treason of Benedict Arnold, "Whom 
 can we trust?" so the Indians, long ago, have been entirely 
 justifiable to exclaim of the white race "Whom can -we 
 trust.?" Memory is, and always has been-, the Indian s only 
 record-book, their history of past events; and upon its 
 pages, handed down through ages from generation to gener 
 ation, are truthfully, faithfully and lastingly recorded in the 
 archives of their respective nations, and the vicissitudes of 
 their individual lives. Its instructions they never forget, be 
 they of joy or sorrow, hope or fear, rights or wrongs, bene 
 fits or injuries ; and. to-day, could the heart of every Indian, 
 whose blood is not contaminated with that of the white, male 
 or female, old or young, now living within the jurisdiction of 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 57 
 
 these United States as their miserable and down-trodden 
 wards, be read as an open scroll-, I venture the assertion as 
 being* within the line of truth, though broad and inconsistent 
 as it may seem, there would be found written, and with just 
 cause approved and sustained by truth, against the white 
 race, with pen dipped in the stream of as bitter hatred as 
 ever flowed through the human soul, "Tekel." They would 
 be superhuman if otherwise. But upon whom justly rests 
 the cause of all this? At whose door lies the fearful wrong? 
 Who has been the first and last cause ? The voice of truth, 
 as potent as that which fell upon the ears of Israel s guilty 
 king, sustained CLOW as then by the God of justice and truth, 
 comes also to the white man, and declares in thunder tones, 
 "Thou art the man." 
 
 The era (1492) in which Columbus discovered the 
 western continent was unprecedented in the history of the 
 world, awakening the long slumbering ambition of man-kind 
 to an energy unknown before, and giving origin to number 
 less speculative enterprises, which resulted in a fierce strug 
 gle among the different nations of the Old World to secure a 
 permanent foot-hold in the New, which offered such bright 
 prospects for national power and glory and individual wealth, 
 and soon the representatives of the different maritime 
 powers were seen upon the wide and seemingly illimitable 
 field disputing, quarrelling and fighting for supremacy upon 
 the soil of the Native American, and adopting every art and 
 device that ingenuitv could suggest, right or wrong, so it did 
 prove but successful in preventing the opposite from attain 
 ing its desired end, or displacing the fortunate one who had 
 secured a coveted prize. Among the most conspicuous 
 contestants were the representatives of Spain, France, Eng 
 land and Holland; who sent out corporations for colonizing 
 purposes, establishing them at different points according to 
 the inclinations of each, extending from the Great v 
 Lakes of the North to the Gulf in the South; 
 each assuming the right based upon that of discovery 
 and occupancy to possess, hold, occupy and retain 
 any territory desired; but in reality, more by virtue of 
 professed intellectual superiority over the Native Americans 
 and the actual advantages in the munitions of war, than that 
 of .any right accrued by virtue of discovery; influencing the 
 inexperienced and unlettered natives by cajolery and decep 
 tion, and oft by compulsion, to dispose of their lands to them 
 at nominal prices, a mere pittance under the name of pur 
 chase," without any regard whatever to the claims of truth, 
 justice and honor, or to the validity of the Indians title by 
 previous occupancy for ages unknown. But after many 
 
58 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 \ 
 
 years of disputation, wrangling- and fighting-, the greatest 
 arena of contending disputants was cleared of all but two, 
 the French and English, to whom was left the task of closing 
 the bloody drama; but into which the two hostile and con 
 tending rivals continued to involve (as had been done from 
 the beginning of their feuds) the bewildered India ns in their 
 battles with each other, and also arraying them in deadly 
 strife and prolonged war-fare among themselves, tribe 
 against tribe, that they might thus weaken their numerical 
 strength, and thus the quicker and the more easily drive 
 them from their ancient possessions; a scheme artfully 
 adopted by us, after the dispossession of the higlish, in turn, 
 in 1776 and the handing over of the Indians to us, to complete 
 the destruction of that unfortunate race. 
 
 But truly has it been said, "The Father of Waters" has 
 two epochs, and each with a romance, the one as different 
 from the other as day and night. The first belongs to the 
 northern Mississippi, and the second to the southern ; the 
 former has its pastor, Father Marquette ; the latter its nov 
 elty, Hernahdo de Soto. France and England, long the am 
 bitious rivals and zealous competitors for territorial acquisi 
 tions throughout the inhabited globe, were the first and only 
 nations that disputed and contended for the entire posses 
 sion of the North American continent at that early day ; re 
 garding which it has also been said that religious enthusiasm 
 planted the Puritan colony on Plymouth Rock ; religious en 
 thusiasm planted the Cross on the shores of the St. Law 
 rence, among the Indians around Lake Superior, thence to 
 the Great Valley of the Mississippi. Thus France and her 
 Christianity stood in Canada and the Mississippi valley; En 
 gland and her Christianity stood on the hills of the Hudson 
 and in the Susquehanna valley, and invited the Indians each 
 to their respective civilization and Christianity, while bloody 
 conflicts and cruel scenes marked the footsteps of the intro 
 duction of the new order of things among the confused In- 
 diajns. 
 
 In 1608, Quebec was founded by the intrepid explorer, 
 Samuel Champlain, and whose name is perpetuated in that of 
 Lake Champlain. From Quebec the French Jesuits pene 
 trated and explored the vast solitudes of the Canadian 
 wilderness to the Great Lakes of the West, then a terra 
 incognita, to the civilized world. Following in their wake 
 came the English in their representatives, known as the 
 Pilgrims landing on the rock-bound coast of Massachusetts 
 in 1620/where the foot of the white man had never trod, 
 though the adventurous and indefatigable La Salle had ex 
 plored the Ohio River as far down as the present city of 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 59 
 
 Louisville, Ky., many years before, while other French 
 adventurers and also Jesuit missionaries had penetrated the 
 wild regions around the Great Lakes, thence southward 
 along- the various tributaries of the Mississippi which drained 
 the vast and wild region between them and the Gulf of 
 Mexico far to the south; there they planted the Cross in 
 those seemingly illimitable forests, whose solitudes never be 
 fore had been broken by the voice of anthems sang- in praise 
 to the one and only true God, and there left behind them 
 many monuments scattered here and there, as memorials of 
 their adventurous and perilous travels, which, in after years, 
 w r ould remind the passer-by of the names of La Salle, 
 Allouez, Marquette, Joliet, Meynard, and other kindred 
 spirits, whose energy and untiring- efforts to convert to 
 their religious creed the various tribes of the Native Ameri 
 cans, and to successfully and permanently secure all their 
 territories for the French, has no parallel in the annals of 
 the world s history. Quebec soon became the great and 
 frequented mart of trade between the French and the 
 Indians, to which the various tribes came from far and near 
 in their canoes laden with the skins and furs of the 
 various wild animals that roamed in countless numbers 
 over the vast forests of those primitive days, to 
 see the pale-face strangers, and to exchange their furs 
 and skins for the new and strange articles that seemed 
 so greatly to excel their own comforts of life, and especially 
 the white man s wonderful gun, which they had quickly 
 learned far surpassed their bows and Arrows in killing game 
 and in destroying their enemies. 
 
 In 1679, James Marquette, a French Jesuit, and Louis 
 Joliet, a French Canadian merchant, entered the Mississippi 
 river by way of the Wisconsin in two birch-bark canoes; 
 thence down the Mississippi to a point below the mouth of 
 the Arkansas. In 1682, Robert de Lasalle, a French Cana 
 dian officer, entered the Mississippi from the Illinois river, 
 thence up to its source, thence down to its mouth, and gave 
 the name Louisiana to that vast territory in honor of Louis 
 XIV, king of France. In 1683, Kaskaskia, in the no w state 
 of Illinois, was founded by the French ; in 1701, 
 Detroit, in Michigan ; in 1705, Vincennes, in Indi 
 ana. In 1699, the French, under the command of Le- 
 moyne de Iberville, also a French Canadian, founded Biloxi, 
 in Mississippi, which was named after a clan of the ancient 
 Choctaws called Bulohchi (Hickory Bar), of whom I have al 
 ready spoken. New Orleans was founded by the French 
 under Bienville, in 1718. Fort Rosalie among the Natchez 
 Indians, which was destroyed by them in 1729, who had be- 
 
60 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 come exasperated by the oppressions of the French, of whom 
 I will again more pa, >ularly speak. In 1722, Bienville also 
 founded Mobile, in Alabama. A chain of forts was then 
 built by the French between Montreal and New Orleans ; 
 the most important of which were, the one at Detroit, erect 
 ed in 1701 ; the one at Niagara, 1726 ; and one at Crown 
 Point, in 1730. However, De Monts, a French Huguenot, 
 established the first permanent French settlement upon the 
 continent, at Port Royal (now Annapolis) in Nova Scotia, call 
 ing the territory Acadia. 
 
 February 10th, 1763, witnessed the total subversion of 
 French power in North America by the English, at which 
 time peace was made between the belligerents, England, 
 France and Spain, by which the North American continent 
 <ind-its native inhabitants were handed over to England. 
 
 Reader contemplate the following, which is only one of 
 thousands. In the "California Illustrated," a book written 
 in 1849, the Author, on page 111, says: "In passing through 
 a slight gorge, I came upon the bodies of three Indians who 
 had been dead apparently about two days, each bearing the 
 mark of the unerring rifle; two of them were shot through 
 the head; the sight was a sad one, and gave rise to melan 
 choly reflections, for here these poor beings are hunted and 
 shot down like wild beasts, and they no doubt fell by the 
 hand of the assassin, not for lucre but to satiate a feeling of 
 hate." "In an adjoining territory the Red Man had a quiet 
 home; there he was always supplied with venison, their corn 
 fields ripened in autumn, their rude 1 trap furnished clothing 
 for the winter, and in the spring they danced in praise of 
 the Great Spirit for causing flowers to bloom upon the graves 
 of their fathers, but the white stranger came and took 
 possession of their hunting grounds and streams, and har- 
 vested their corn. They held a council and decided that the 
 Great Spirit had sent the white stranger, and it would be 
 wrong not to give him all he wished; they collected their 
 traps, bows and arrows, and prepared to fall back in search 
 of new streams and hunting grounds; they paid the last visit 
 to the graves of their fathers. What were their -feelings? 
 The moon threw a pale, dim light through the foliage, the 
 air breathed a mournful sigh as they reached the lonely 
 mound; the stout hearted warrior drew his blanket to hide 
 his tears as he bowed down to commune for the last time 
 with the spirits that had so often blessed him in the chase; 
 his heart was too full, and he fell upon his face and wept 
 bitterly. But a last adieu; they rise, cross the arrows over 
 the grave, walk mournfully away; the Great Spirit give them 
 a new hunting ground, and the corn ripens on the plain, but 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 61 
 
 soon the white stranger comes and tells them to fall back. 
 They are at the base of the mountain; there are no hunting- 
 grounds beyond; they hold a council and deci.de to defend 
 their homes against further encroachments of the white 
 stranger. The white was strong aiid drove the Red Man 
 into the mountains, and for the crime of having tried to de 
 fend their homes and families, they are placed under a ban, 
 and hunted down like beasts. No matter where they are 
 found the crime of being a Red Man is a forfeiture, not only 
 of all right to prosperty but to life itself. 
 
 "Will not some philanthropist rise above sectional -preju 
 dices and undertake the regeneration of this truly noble but 
 down-trodden people? Had I the wealth of an Astor I would 
 not wish a better or nobler field for immortality." Will not 
 the philanthropists of these United States "rise above sec 
 tional prejudices, and undertake the regeneration of these 
 truly" infamous, God-forsaken, white scoundrels, that so 
 curse our land? "I would not wish a better or nobler field 
 for immortality." 
 
 "The first man I met after my arrival in the interior 
 was an Oregonian on horseback, armed with a revolving rifle 
 in search of Indians. He had had a horse stolen, and pre 
 sumed it was taken by an Indian ;he swore he would shoot the 
 first red skin he met; and I had no reason .to doubt his 
 word ; still the chances were ninety-nine out of a hundred, 
 that the horse was stolen by a white man, and the charges of 
 the white man upon the Indians are like Nero s setting Rome 
 on fire and charging it upon Christians. I have no doubt the 
 three Indians above spoken of were wantonly shot while 
 walking peacefully along their trail." But alas ! who would 
 undertake the task of regenerating the harpies that are, at 
 the present day, pursuing the Indians, and howling at their 
 heels. 
 
 Eugene V. Smalley, in his travels, says: "Near the 
 town (Benton) we visited the camp of a dozen lodges of Pie- 
 gan Indians, who had come to stay all winter for the sake of 
 such subsistence as they could get from the garbage barrels 
 of the citizens. A race of valorous hunters and warriors has 
 fallen so low as to be forced to beg at back doors for kitchen 
 refuse. In one of the tepees in the Piegan camp there was 
 an affecting scene. A young squaw lay on a pile of robes 
 and blankets, hopelessly ill and given up to die. In the lines 
 of her face and the Expression of her great black eyes there 
 were traces of beauty and refinement not often seen in Indian 
 women. Crouched on the ground by her side sat her father, 
 an old blind man with long white hair and a strong, firm face 
 clouded with an expression of stolid grief. The Piegans 
 
62 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 and Blackfeet, who possess the great reservation north and 
 east of Fort Benton, have suffered grievously for want of 
 food, and hundreds have died from scrofula and otherdiseas- 
 es induced by insufficient nourishment. In fact the 
 government has kept them in a state of semi-starva 
 tion. Father Palladini told me that the speeches of 
 Indian chiefs at the council, where they told of their 
 suffering of their tribes and bared their emaciated arms 
 and breasts to show what a condition they had been brought 
 by hunger, were thrilling bursts of Indian oratory, even af 
 fecting listeners who could not, as he did, understand the 
 spoken words." What a picture is here represented of our 
 policy toward the Indians ! What an illustration of the de 
 signs of that arch dissembler, the author of the "Severalty 
 Bill," whose venal soul plunders a helpless people of the 
 homes and little all through wilful misrepresentation and 
 brazen-faced falsehood. What a true elucidation of the so- 
 called "Indian Problem" which our congress has so long 
 held up in imaginary suspension in mid air as a kind of Mo 
 hamet s coffin ! 
 
 The ancient traditional history of the Choctaws and Chick- 
 asaws, (the former signifying Separation and the latter Re 
 bellion separation and rebellion from the Muskogees, now 
 known as Creeks, who, according to tradition, were once of 
 one tribe before their migration from some distant country- 
 far to the west, totheir ancient domain east of the Mississippi 
 river, which is of more than dubious authority) claims for 
 them a Mexican origin, and a migration from that country at 
 some remote period in the past, under the leadership of two 
 brothers, respectively named Chahtah aud Chikasah, both 
 noted and influential chiefs, to their possessions east of the 
 Mississippi. Adair, in his "American Indians," says: 
 The Choctaws and Chickasaws descended from a people 
 called Chickemacaws, who were among the first inhabitants 
 of the Mexican empire ; and at an ancient period wandered 
 east, with a tribe of Indians called Choccomaws ; and finally 
 crossed the Mississippi river, with a force of ten thousand 
 warriors." It is reasonable to suppose that the name 
 Choctaw has its derivation from Choccomaw, and Chickasaw, 
 from Chickemacaw (both corrupted) ; as they claim, and no 
 doubt justly, the names Choctaw and Chickasaw to be their 
 ancient and true names. 
 
 Their tradition, in regard to their origin as related by 
 the aged Choctaws to the missionaries in 1820, was in sub 
 stance as follows: In a remote period of the past their an 
 cestors dwelt in a country far distant toward the setting 
 sun 1 ; and being conquered and greatly oppressed by a more 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. . 63 
 
 powerful people (the Spaniards under Cortez) resolved to 
 seek a country far removed from the possibility of their op 
 pression. 
 
 A great national council was called, to which the entire 
 nation in one vast concourse- quickly responded. After 
 many days spent in grave deliberations upon the question in 
 Avhich so much was involved, a day was finally agreed upon 
 and a place of rendezvous duly appointed whence they should 
 bid a final adieu to their old homes and country and take up 
 their4ine of march to seek others, they knew not where. 
 When the appointed day arrived it found them at the desig 
 nated place fully prepared and ready for the exodus under 
 the chosen leadership of two brothers, Chahtah and Chika- 
 sah, both equally renowned for /their bravery and skill in 
 war and their wisdom and prudence in council ; who, as 
 Moses and Aaron led the Jews in their exodus from Egypt, 
 were to lead them from a land of oppression to one of peace, 
 prosperity and happiness. The evening before their de 
 parture a "Fabussa" (pole, pro. as Fa-bus-sah) was firmly 
 set up in the ground at the centre point of their encamp 
 ment, by direction of their chief medicine man and prophet, 
 whose wisdom in matters pertaining to things supernatural 
 was unquestioned and to whom, after many days fasting and 
 supplication, the Great Spirit had revealed that the Fabussa 
 would indicate on the following morning, the direction they 
 should march by its leaning ; and, as the star led the Magi 
 to where the world s infant Redeemer and Savior sweetly re 
 posed, so the leaning of the pole, on each returning morn, 
 would indicate the direction they must travel day by day un 
 til they reached the sought and desired haven; when, on the 
 following morn, it would there and then remain as erect as 
 it had been placed the evening before. At the early dawn of 
 the following morn many solicitous eyes were turned to the 
 silent but prophetic Fabussa, Lo! It leaned to the east. 
 Enough. Without hesitation or delay the mighty host began 
 its line of march toward the rising sun, and followed each 
 day the morning directions given by the talismanic pole, 
 which was borne by day at the head of the moving multi 
 tude, and set up at each returning evening in the centre of 
 the encampment, alternately by the two renowned chiefs-aiid 
 brothers, Chahtah and Chikasah. For weeks and months 
 they journeyed toward the east as directed by the undeviat- 
 ing fabussa, passing over wide extended plains and through 
 forests vast and abounding with game of many varieties 
 seemingly undisturbed before by the presence of man, from 
 which their skillful hunters bountifully supplied their daily 
 wants. Gladly would they have accepted, as their future 
 
64 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 asylum, many parts of the country /through which they 
 traveled, but were forbidden, as each returning 1 morn the un 
 relenting- pole still gave its silent but comprehended com 
 mand: "Eastward and onward." After many months of 
 wearisome travel, suddenly a vast body of flowing 1 water 
 stretched its mighty arm athwart their path. With un 
 feigned astonishment they gathered in groups upon its banks 
 and gazed upon its turbid waters. Never before had they 
 even heard of, or in all their wanderings stumbled upon 
 aught like this. Whence its origin? Where its terminus? 
 This is surely the Great Father the true source of all waters, 
 whose age is wrapt in the silence of the unknown past, ages 
 beyond all calculation, and as they then and there named it 
 "Misha Sipokni" (Beyond Age, whose source and terminus 
 are unknown). 
 
 Surely a more appropriate, beautiful and romantic name, 
 than its usurper Mississippi, without any signification. But 
 who can tell when the waters of Misha Sipokni first 
 found their way from the little Itasca lake hidden in its 
 northern home, to the far away gulf amid the tropics of the 
 south? Who when those ancient Choctaws stood upon its 
 banks and listened to its murmurings which alone disturbed 
 the silence of the vast wilderness that stretched away on 
 every side, could tell of its origin and over what mighty dis 
 tances it rolled its muddy waters to their ultimate , destiny? 
 And who today would presume to know or even conjecture, 
 through what mysterious depths its surging currents strug 
 gle ere they plunge into the southern gulf? But what now 
 says their dumb talisman? Is Misha Sipokni to be the 
 terminus of their toils? Are the illimitable forests that so 
 lovingly embraced in their wide extended arms its restless 
 waters to be their future homes? Not so. Silent and motion 
 less, still as ever before, it bows to the east and its mandate 
 "Onward, beyond Misha Sipokni" is accepted without a 
 murmur; and at once they proceed to construct canoes and 
 rafts by which, in a few weeks, all were safely landed upon 
 its eastern banks, whence again was resumed their eastward 
 march, and so continued until they stood upon the western 
 banks of the Yazoo river and once more encamped for the 
 night; and, as had been done for* many months before, ere 
 evening began to unfold her curtains and twilight had 
 spread o er all her mystic light, the Fabussa (now truly 
 their Delphian oracle) was set up; but ere the morrow s sun 
 had plainly lit up the eastern horizon, many anxiously watch 
 ing eyes that early rested upon its straight, slender, silent 
 fo.rm, observed it stood erect as when set up the evening be 
 fore. And then was borne upon that morning breeze 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 65 
 
 throughout the vast sleeping- encampment, the joyful accla 
 mation, "Fohah hupishno Yak! Fohah hupishno Yak! (pro. 
 as Fo-hah, Rest, hup-ish-noh, we, all of us, Yak, here.) 
 
 Now their weary pilgrimage was ended, and flattering- 
 hope portrayed their future destiny in the bright colors of 
 peace, prosperity and happiness. Then, as commemorative 
 of this great event in their national history, they threw up a 
 large mound embracing three acres of land and rising 
 forty feet in a conical form, with a deep hole about ten feet 
 in diameter excavated on the top, and all enclosed by a ditch 
 encompassing nearly twenty acres. After its completion, it 
 was discovered not to be erect but a little leaning, and they 
 named it Nunih (mountain or mound, Waiyah, leaning, pro. as 
 Nunih Wai-yah). This relic of the remote past still stands half 
 buried in the accumulated rubbish of years unknown, dis 
 figured also by the desecrating touch of time which has 
 plainly left his* finger marks of decay .upon it blotting out 
 its history, with all others of its kind, those memorials of 
 ages past erected by the true Native American, about which 
 so much has been said in conjecture and so much written in 
 speculation, that all now naturally turn to anything from 
 their modern conjectures and speculations with much doubt 
 and great misgivings. 
 
 Several years afterward, according to the tradition of 
 the Choctaws as narrated to the missionaries, the two 
 brothers, still acting in the capacity of chiefs, disagreed 
 in regard to some national question, and, as Abraham sugr 
 gested to Lot the propriety of a separation, so did Chikasah 
 propose to Chahtah; but not with that unselfishness that 
 Abraham manifested to Lot; since Chikasah, instead of 
 giving to Chahtah the choice of directions, proposed that 
 they should leave it to a game of chance, to which Chahtah 
 readily acquiesced. Thus it was played: They stood fac-^ 
 ing each other, one to the east and the other to the west, 
 holding a straight pole, ten or fifteen feet in length, in an 
 erect position between them with one end resting on the 
 ground; and both were to let go of the pole at "the same 
 instant by a pre-arranged signal, and the direction in which 
 it fell was to decide the direction in which Chikasah was to 
 take. If it fell to the north, Chikasah and his adherents 
 were to occupy the northern portion of the country, and 
 Chahtah and his adherents, the southern; but if it felfto the 
 south, then Chikasah, with his followers, was to possess 
 the southern portion of the country, and Chahtah with his, 
 the northern. The game was played, and the pole decreed 
 that Chikasah should- take the northern part v of their then 
 vast and magnificent territory. Thus they were divided 
 
66 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 ( 
 
 and became two separate and distinct tribes, each of whom 
 assumed and ever afterwards retained the name of their 
 respective chiefs, Chahtah and Chikasah. The ancient 
 traditions of the Cherokees, as well as the ancient traditions 
 of the Muscogees (Creeks) and the Natchez also point back 
 to Mexico as the country from which they, in a period long- 
 past, moved to their ancient possessions east of the Missis 
 sippi river. But whether they preceded the Choctaws 
 and Chickasaws or came after, their traditions are silent. 
 
 Milfort, (p. 269) says : Big- Warrior, chief of the Chero 
 kees, as late as 1822, not only confirms their tradition that 
 Mexico was their native country, but goes back to a more 
 remote period for their origin and claims that his ancestors 
 came from Asia; crossing Behring Straits in their canoes; 
 thence down the Pacific coast to Mexico; thence to the coun 
 try east of the Mississippi river, where they were first 
 known to the Europeans. 
 
 Mr. Gaiues, United States agent to the Choctaws in 1810, 
 asked Apushamatahaubi (pro. Ar-push-ah-ma-tar-hah ub-ih), 
 the most renowned chief of the Choctaws since their acquain 
 tance with the white race, concerning- the origin of his peo 
 ple, who replied: "A hattaktikba bushi-aioktulla hosh hopaki 
 fi/una moma ka minti" (pro. as Arn (my) hut-tark-tik-ba 
 (forefather) hush-ih, -ai-o-kah-tullah (the west) mo-mah (all) 
 meen-tih (came) ho-par-kih (far) feh-nah (very)). And the 
 same response was always given by all the ancient Choctaws 
 living- east of the Mississippi river, when the inquiry was 
 made of them, whence their origin? By this they only re 
 ferred to the country in which their forefathers long dwelt 
 prior to their exodus to the east of the Mississippi river; as 
 they also had a tradition that their forefathers come from a 
 country beyond the "Big Waters" far to the northwest, 
 crossing a large body of water in their canoes of a day s 
 travel, thence doyvn the Pacific coast to Mexico, the same as 
 the Cherokees. In conversation with an aged Choctaw in 
 the year 1884, (Robert Nail, along known friend,) upon the 
 subject, he confirmed the tradition by stating that his peo 
 ple first came from Asia by way of the Behring Straits. He 
 was, a man well versed in geography, being taught in boy 
 hood by the missionaries prior to their removal from their 
 eastern homes to their present abode north of Texas. The 
 Muscogees, Shawnees, Delawares, Chippeways, and other 
 tribes also have the same traditions pointing beyond Behring 
 Straits to Asia as the land whence their forefathers came in 
 ages past. Some of their traditions state, that they crossed 
 the Strait on the ice^ the Chippeways for one ; but the most, 
 according to their traditions, crossed in their canoes. But 
 
HISTOKY OF THE INDIANS. 67 
 
 that the ancestors of the North American Indians came at 
 some unknown period in the remote past, from Asia to the 
 North American continent, there can be no doubt. Their 
 traditions, pointing" back to ancient historical events, and 
 many other things, though vague by the mists of ages past, 
 yet interestingly strange from proximity to known historical 
 truths. Noah, who lived 350 years after the flood, which oc 
 curred 1656 years from the creation of man, or 2348 B. C., 
 divided the earth, according to general opinion, among his 
 three sons. To Shem, he gave Asia; to Ham, Africa, and to 
 Japheth, Europe, whose posterity are described occupying 
 chiefly the western and northern regions (Gen. x, 2-5); this 
 well accords with the etymology of the name, which signifies 
 widely spreading ; and how wonderfully did Providence en 
 large the boundaries of Japheth! His posterity diverged 
 eastward and westward, from the original settlement in Ar 
 menia, through the whole extent of Asia north of the great 
 range of Taurus distinguished by the general namesof Tarta- 
 ry and Siberia as far as the Eastern Ocean: and, in process of 
 time, by an easy passage across Behring Straits, over the en 
 tire continent; and they spread in the opposite direction, 
 throughout the whole of Europe, to the Atlantic Ocean ; thus 
 literally encompassing the earth, within the precincts of 
 the northern temperate zone ; while the war-like genius of 
 this hardy hunter race frequently led them into the settle 
 ments, and to dwell in the "tents of Shem," whose pastoral 
 occupations rendered them more inactive, peaceable, and un- 
 war-like. 
 
 There is much proof in favor of the belief that the Choc- 
 taws, Chickasaws, Cherokees and Muscogees, were living in 
 Mexico when Cortez overthrew the Aztec dynasty. 
 
 But heavily has the hand of time, with its weight of 
 years, rested upon the descendants of the people over whom, 
 the two brothers, Chahtah and Chikasah swayed the 
 sceptre of authority as chiefs, counselors and warriors, in 
 the unknown ages of the past; and from the time of their 
 traditional migration to that of their first acquaintance with 
 the White Race, what their vicissitudes and mutations; w r hat 
 their joys and sorrows; what their hopes and fears; what 
 their lights and shadows, during the long night of historical 
 darkness, was known to them alone, and with them has long 
 been buried in the oblivion of the hidden past, together with 
 that of their entire race. Truly, their legends, their songs 
 and romances, celebrating their exploits, would form, if but 
 known, a literature of themselves; and though their ghosts 
 still ride through the forests and distant echoes o^ them are 
 still heard in vague tradition, yet they afford but a slender 
 
68 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 basis for a history for this broad fabric of romance, while 
 around them still cluster all those wonderful series of myths 
 which have spread over the land and assumed so many 
 shapes. But what a volume of surpassing- romance; of fon 
 dest hopes, of blighted aspirations; of glorious enthuiasms; 
 of dark despair, and of touching- pathos, would their full 
 history make? They owned this vast continent, and had 
 possessed it for ages exceeding- in time the ability of the 
 human mind to conceive; and they too speak of the long in 
 fancy of the human race; of its slow advance in culture; of 
 its triumphs over obstacles, and of the final appearance of 
 that better day, when ideas of truth, justice, and that ad 
 vanced stage of enlightenment had been reached wherein we 
 speak of man as civilized. They were of a cheerful and joy 
 ous disposition, and of a kindly nature, the croaking- and 
 .snarlings of ignorance and prejudice to the contrary not 
 withstanding. Their civilization has been grossly under 
 estimated. We have unjustly contemplated them to a ridicu 
 lous extent through our own selfish and narrow contracted 
 spectacles, and have so loudly talked of and expatiated upon 
 their forests, that we have forgotten their cornfields; and 
 repeatedly spoken of their skill as hunters, until we have 
 overlooked their labors as herdsmen; while, at the same time, 
 it has been customary every where to look down upon them 
 with emotions of contempt and to decry their habits and 
 customs. I do not deny the existence of blemishes in many 
 of their characteristics; nor deny that superstitions and 
 erroneous opinions were prevalent, at which we have assumed 
 to be greatly horrified; yet, do condemn the modern writers 
 for their want of judgment on this point, -?nd their unreason 
 able severity in their condemnation of the Indians, in whom 
 they profess to have discovered so many defects without a 
 redeeming- virtue; and their disregard of the truth, that, to 
 him alone who is without sin is given the right to cast the 
 first stone. Therefore, how could it be otherwise than that, 
 concerning- the dealings of the White Race with the Red, 
 there is a sad, fearful and revolting, story to be told; while 
 losing ourselves in the wild revelry of imagination, we dream 
 of the time when our civilization and Quixotic ideas of human 
 liberty shall embrace the entire world in its folds. 
 
 The Choctaws were first made known to the European 
 world by the journalists of that memorable adventurer. 
 Hernando De Soto, who invaded their territory October, 
 1540, and introduced the civilized (so-called) race of man 
 kind to the Choctaws in the following manner: A manly 
 young Indian of splendid, proportions, and with a face ex 
 tremely attractive and interesting, visited De Soto after he 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 69 
 
 had left Tallase. He was the son of Tuscaloosa (corruption 
 of the Choctaw words Tushka, warrior, Lusa, black), a re 
 nowned chief whose territories extended to the distant 
 Tombigbee in the west. (Tombigbee is a corruption of the 
 Choctaw words Itombi, box, ikbi, maker), a name given to a 
 white man, it is said, who, at an early day, settled on the 
 banks of the river and made boxes for the Choctaws, in 
 which were placed the bones of their dead, which will be par 
 ticularly noticed elsewhere. 
 
 The young warrior bore an invitation from his father 
 to De Soto to visit him at his capital. The next da.y De Soto, 
 advancing to. within six miles of where the great chief await 
 ed him, made a halt, and sent Louis de Mascosso with fifteen 
 horsemen to inform Tush ka Lusa of his near approach. 
 Mascosso and his troopers soon appeared before Tush ka 
 Lusa, who was seated upon an eminence commanding a 
 broad and delightful view. He was a man of powerful stat 
 ure, muscular limbs, yet of admirable proportions, with a 
 countenance grave and severe, yet handsome. When De 
 Soto arrived Tush ka Lusa arose and advanced to meet him 
 with a proud and haughty air, and said : Great Chief ; I re 
 ceive you as a brother, and welcome you to my country. I am 
 ready to comply with your requests." After a few prelimi 
 naries, in company with Tush ka Lusa and his followers, De 
 Soto took up his line of inarch for Mobila the capital of the 
 mighty chief. (Mobila is a corruption of the two Choctaw 
 words moma, all, binah, a lodge, literally a lodge or encamp 
 ment for all.) 
 
 .On the third day of their march from Piache, (a corrup 
 tion of the Choctaw word Pi-a-chih, to care for us), they 
 passed through many populous towns, well stored with corn, 
 beans and other provisions. On the fourth morning, De 
 Soto, with a, hundred cavalry and as many infantry, made a 
 forced march with Tush ka Lusa in the direction of Mobila, 
 leaving Mascosso to bring up the rear. At eight o clock the 
 same morning, October 18th, 1540, De Soto and Tush ka 
 Lusa reached the capital. It stood by the side of a large 
 river, upon a beautiful plain, and consisted of eighty hand 
 some houses, each large enough to contain a thousand men, 
 and all fronting a large public square. Dodge says in his 
 book styled "Our Wild Indians" that "The aboriginal in 
 habitants of the North American continent, have never at any 
 time exceeded half a million souls;" yet according to De 
 Soto s journalists who were with him in his memorable raid, 
 Mobila alone, "consisted of eighty handsome houses, each 
 large enough to contain a thousand men;" and if each house 
 contained Dodge s "several families consisting 6f men, with 
 
70 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 two or three wives, and children of all ages and sexes, occu 
 py for all purposes one single lodge of 12 or 15 feet in 
 diameter what must have been the number of iiidabitants 
 in Mobila with "80 handsome houses, each large enough to 
 contain a thousand men" with two, three, or more wives, 
 and children occupying "for all purposes," a space only "12 
 or 15 feet, in diameter"? The reader can make the calcula 
 tion at his own leisure ; though it seems Mobila alone con 
 tained over half the number of souls that Dodge allows for 
 the entire continent, "at one time." 
 
 A high w r all surrounded the town, made of immense 
 trunks of trees set close together and deep in the ground, 
 and made strong with heavy cross timbers interwoven"with 
 large vines. A thick mud plaster, resembling handsome 
 masonry, concealed the wood work, while port-holes were 
 abundant, together with towers, capable of holding eight 
 men each, at the distance of fifteen paces apart. There 
 were two gates leading into the town, one on the east, the 
 other on the west. De Soto and Tush ka Lusa were es 
 corted into the great public square with songs and chants, 
 and the dancing of beautiful Indian girls. They alighted 
 from their horses, and were given seats under a canopy of 
 state. Having remained seated for a short time, Tush ka 
 Lusa now requested that he should no longer be held as a 
 hostage ; to which De Soto giving no heed, the indignant 
 chief at once arose and walked off with an independent atti 
 tude to where a group of his warriors stood. De Soto had 
 scarcely recovered from his surprise at the independent con 
 duct of Tush ka Lusa, when Jean Ortez followed the chief 
 and stated that breakfast awaited him at De Soto s table ; 
 but he refused to return, and added, "If your chief knows 
 what is best for him, he will immediately take his troops out 
 of my territory." At this juncture De Soto secretly sent word 
 to his men to be prepared for an attack. Then, hoping to 
 prevent an attack until he could again get in possession of 
 the chief, De Soto advanced toward him with assumed smiles 
 and words of friendship, but Tush ka Lusa scornfully 
 turned his back upon him, and was soon hidden among the 
 multitude of now highly excited warriors. Justthen a warrior 
 rushed out of a house, denouncing the Spaniards as robbers 
 and murderers and declared that they should no longer impose 
 on their chief, by holding him as a prisoner. His words so en 
 raged Baltaserde Gallagas, that he cut the warrior in twain with 
 one sweep of his broad sword. At the sight of their slain 
 warrior, the Choctaws, with their defiant war-whoop, at once 
 rushed upon De Soto and his men. De Soto, placing himself 
 at the head of his men, fighting and retreating, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 71 
 
 slowly made his way out of the town into the 
 plain; and continued to retreat until he had 
 reached a considerable distance upon the plain. In the 
 mean time the troopers rushed to secure their horses, which 
 had been tied outside of the walls. The Choctaws at once 
 knocked the chains from the hands and feet of the Indian 
 prisoners whom De Soto had brought with him, giving 1 them 
 weapons bade them help destroy the perfidious strang ers. In 
 the first rush the Choctaws killed five of the Spaniards, who 
 had been left outside of the walls, and were loudly exulting 
 over their seeming good fortune in dense masses before the 
 gate. At that moment, De Soto with his cavalry, closely 
 followed by his infantry, made a fearful charge upon the 
 disordered mass of the Choctaws, who were still on the out 
 side of the enclosures, and with a terrible slaughter drove 
 them back into the town. Immediately the Choctaws 
 rushed to the port-holes and towers, and hurled clouds of ar 
 rows and spears upon the Spaniards, and again drove them 
 from the walls. Seeing the Spaniards again retreat, again 
 
 /the Choctaws rushed through the gate and fearlessly attacked 
 the Spaniards fighting them hand to hand and face to face. 
 Three long hours did the battle rage, the Spaniards now re 
 treating, then the Choctaws. Like a spectre De Soto seemed 
 every where hewing down on the right and left, as if his 
 arm could never tire. v That sword, which had been so often 
 stained with the blood of the South American, was now red 
 with that of the North American, a still braver race. Above 
 the mighty din was heard the voice of Tush ka Lusa en 
 couraging his warriors ; his tomahawk, wielded by his mus 
 cular arm, ascended and descended in rapid strokes, like a 
 meteor across a starry sky. But could the feeble bow and 
 
 1 arrow and the tomahawk avail against the huge lance and 
 broad-sword? What the unprotected body of the Choctaw 
 warrior against the steel clad body of the Spanish soldier? 
 At length the Choctaws were forced to make a permanent re 
 treat within the enclosure of their town, closing the gates 
 after them; and at the same time the Spaniards made a des 
 perate charge against the gates and walls, but were met 
 with showers of arrows and other missiles. But the infant 
 ry, protected by their bucklers, soon hewed the gates to 
 pieces with their battle-axes, and rushed into the town, while 
 the cavalry remained on the outside to cut to pieces all who 
 might attempt to escape. Then began a carnage too awful 
 to relate. The Choctaws fought in the streets, in the 
 square, from the house top, and walls ; and though the 
 ground was covered with their dead and dying relatives and 
 friends, still no living one entreated* for -quarter. Hotter 
 
72 HISTORY OF THR INDIANS. 
 
 and hotter, and more bloody waxed the desperate conflict. 
 Often the Choctaws drove the Spaniards out of the town, but 
 to see them return again with demoniac fury. To such a 
 crisis had the battle now arrived, that there could be no idle 
 spectators ; and now were seen women and girls contending 
 side by side with the husbands, fathers and ^brothers^ and 
 fearlessly sharing in the dangers and in the indiscriminate 
 slaughter. At length the houses were setson fire, . and the 
 wind blew the smoke and flames in all directions adding hor 
 ror to the scene. The flames ascended in mighty volumes. 
 The din of strife began to grow fainter. The sun weut 
 down, seemingly to rejoice in withdrawing from the sicken 
 ing scene. Then all was hushed. Mobila was in ruins, 
 and her people slain. For nine long hours had the battle 
 raged. Eighty-two Spaniards were killed^ and forty-five 
 horses. But alas, the poor Choctaws, who participated in 
 the fight were nearly all slain. 
 
 Garcellasso asserts that eleven thousand were slain; 
 while the "Portuguese Gentleman" sets the number at twenty 
 five hundred within the town alone. Assuming a point be 
 tween the two, it is reasonable to conclude that six thousand 
 were killed in and outside of the town. Tushka Lusa 
 perished with his people. After the destruction of Mobila, 
 De Soto remained a few days upon the plains around the 
 smoking town ; sending out foraging parties, who found the 
 neighboring villages well stocked with provisions. In all 
 these foraging- excursions, females of great beauty were 
 captured, and added to those taken at the close of the battle. 
 On Sunday the. 18th of November, 1540, this monster and 
 his fiendish crew took their departure from the smouldering 
 ruins of Mobila, and its brave but murdered inhabitants; and 
 with the poor Mobila girls, at whose misfortunes humanity 
 weeps, resumed their westward march. 
 
 Thus the Europeans introduced themselves to the Native 
 Americans nearly four centuries ago as a race of civilized and 
 Christian pe.ople, but proving themselves to be a race of 
 fiends utterly void of every principle of virtue known to man. 
 And thus the Native American s introduced themselves to the 
 Europeans as a race unknown to civilization and Christianity, 
 yet proving themselves possessed of many virtues that adorn 
 man, together with a spirit of as true and noble patriotism, 
 martyrs upon the. altar of liberty, that has never been sur 
 passed . 
 
 I challenge history to show a nation whose people ever 
 displayed a more heroic courage in defense of their country 
 and homes than did Tushka Lusa and his brave people in 
 defending their town Mama-binah. They exposed their 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 73 
 
 naked breasts to the keen lances and swords of those iron-clad 
 Spaniards with but stone and bone-tipped spears and the 
 feeble bow and arrow, which were but as toy pistols against 
 the deadly Winchester rifle of the present day; and heroic 
 ally stood face to face with their terrible foes with their frail 
 weapons and disputed every inch of ground, and yielded 
 only when none was left to fight. That they should have 
 killed eighty two of the Spaniards with their feeble weapons 
 is truly astonishing, proving conclusively that had they been 
 on equal footing with the Spaniards, not a Spaniard would 
 have survived to tell the tale of their complete destruction. 
 
 That the Mobiliaiis,as they have been called by the early 
 writers, were a clan of the ancient Choctaws there can be no 
 doubt whatever The early French colonists established in 
 the south under Bienville called the Choctaws, Mobilians 
 and Pafalaahs (corruption of the Choctaw words pin, our, 
 okla, people, falaiah, tall), and also called the Chickasaws 
 Mobilians; they also state that the Choctaws, Pifalaiahs or 
 more properly, Hottak falaiahs (long or tall men) and Mobi 
 lians spoke the same language. The present city of Mobile 
 in Alabama was named after the Mobila "Iksa," or clan of 
 Choctaws by Bienville at the time he laid its foundation. 
 Moma binah, or Mobinah (from which Mobile is derived) and 
 Pifalaiah are pure Choctaw words. According to the ancient 
 traditions of the Choctaws, and to which the ag*ed Choctaws 
 now living still affirm, their people were, in the days of the 
 long past, divided into two great Iksas ; one was Hattak i ho- 
 lihtah (Pro. har-tark, men, i, their holihta, ho-lik-tah, 
 fenced ; i, e. Their men fortify). The other, Kashapa okla 
 {as Ka-shar-pau-oke-lah): Part people, i. e. A divided people. 
 The two original clans, subsequently divided into six clans, 
 were named as follows : Haiyip tuk lo hosh, (The two 
 lakes.) Hattak falaiah (as, Har-tark fa-lai-yah hosh. The 
 long man or men. Okla huniiali hosh (as Oke-lah huri-nar- 
 lih hosh. People six the. Kusha (Koon-shah) Being broken. 
 Apela, (A help.) Chik a sah ha, (A Chckasaw.) 
 
 In 1721, a remnant of the Mobilians were living at the 
 junction of the, Alabama and Tombigbee rivers, but finally 
 united with other clans of the Choctaws, their own people, 
 and thus became extinct as an iksa. The laws of the great 
 Iksas or families, Hattak i holahta and kash ap a okla, for 
 bade the marriage of: any person, either male or female, 
 belonging to the same clan; which, as the laws of the Medes 
 and Persians, were unchangeable ; and to this day, the same 
 laws relating to marriage are strictly observed. 
 
 From the destruction of Mobila by De Soto, a long, star 
 less night of nearly two centuries throws its impenetrable 
 
74 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 veil over the Choctaws shrouding- their history in the oblivion 
 of the past. But that they, with other southern tribes, were 
 a numerous and also an agricultural people as far back as 
 the fifteenth century there is no doubt ; though agricultural 
 to a small extent in comparison with the whites; yet to a 
 sufficient degree to satisfy the demands of any people to 
 who avarice was an entire stranger, and who adhered to the 
 maxim "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." 
 
 When De Soto passed through Georgia, his route was 
 lined with towns, villages and hamlets, and many sown fields 
 which reached from one to the other. The numerous log- 
 pens were full of corn, while acres of that which was grow 
 ing bent to the warm rays of the sun and rustled in the 
 .breeze. "On the 18th of September, 1540, De Soto reached the 
 town of Tallase, a corruption of the Choctaw words Tuli, 
 rock, and aisha, abound, i. e. the place of rocks." 
 
 It stood upon a point of land almost surrounded by a 
 main river. Extensive fields of corn reached up and down 
 the banks. On the opposite side were other towns, skirted 
 with rich fields laden with heavy ears of corn. On the 
 third day the of march from Piache, they passed through 
 many populous towns, well stored with corn, beans, pump 
 kins, and other provisions." 
 
 But the six great southern tribes, Choctaws, Chickasaws, 
 Cherokees, Muscogees, Seminoles and Natchez possessed 
 too grand a country not to attract the eyes of the fortune 
 hunters of all Europe, and excite their cupidity to the high 
 est degree; therefore, the French in Lousiana, the Span 
 iards in Florida, and the English in Virginia and the Caro- 
 linas, early sought to establish a foothold in the territories 
 of those warlike and independent tribes by securing, each 
 for himself, their trade, with a view of ultimately conquering 
 them and thus getting possession of their territories and 
 country. As early as 1670 the English traders and emissa 
 ries had also found their way to the Choctaws, Chickasaws 
 and Muscogees; and but few years had passed before their 
 designs, together with those of the French and Spaniards, 
 were plainly manifested. 
 
 By each exciting the Indians and influencing them to 
 drive the others from their territories; each hoping thus to 
 ultimately secure these regions for their own country and 
 their personal interests. As the French had artfully gained 
 and held the friendship and confidence of the Choctaws, so 
 had the English secured and held that of the Chickasaws; 
 hence those two brave, and then powerful tribes, were in 
 duced to. make frequent wars upon each other, , and thus 
 each foolishly but ignorantly furthering the designs of their 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 75 
 
 mutual foes against themselves, the Choctaws weakening and 
 destroying the Chickasaws for the benefit of the French, 
 alone, and the Chickasaws for the benefit alone of the Eng 
 lish; neither caring a fig for either the Choctaw^ or Chicka 
 saws, only so far as prosecuting their designs the one against 
 the otheV; each with the hope of driving the other out 
 of the country, and then, being enabled easily to subjugate 
 the Indians by their weakened condition, they would soon 
 secure their country; therefore, the more Indians killed, no 
 matter by whom or by what means, the better. Thus were 
 the grasping hands of the two unscrupulous rivals mani 
 fested as long as they possessed any power or authority upon 
 the North American continent now forming the United 
 States. 
 
 In 1696, Bienville convened the chiefs of the Choctaws 
 and Chickasaws in council, that he might conciliate their good 
 will by presents; and, with a view of impressing them with 
 his power and greatness by an imposing display, he also 
 called together all the colonists within his reach; but his effort 
 to impress the Choctaws and Chickasaws with an idea of his 
 greatness proved more humiliating than flattering to the 
 pride of Bienville, as they manifested to him their utter con 
 tempt of such a farcical evidence of power and greatness, by 
 propounding- a question to him, through one of- their chiefs, 
 which was a humiliating proof of the low estimation in which 
 they held him as well as the entire French people; it was, "If 
 his people at home were as numerous as those who had set- 
 tied in their country"? In reply, Bienville, who had learned 
 to speak their language to some extent, attempted to describe 
 to them by various comparisons the great numbers and 
 power of the French. But still the chiefs proved not only to 
 be douhting Thomases, but wholy established in the belief 
 that all he had said was false, by finally propounding the 
 following questions: "If your countrymen are as thick, as you 
 say, on their native soil as the leaves on the trees of our 
 forests, why have they not sent more of their warriors here 
 to avenge the death of those whom we have slain in battle? 
 When they have the power to avenge their death and then fail 
 do so, is an evidence of great cowardice or a mean spirit. 
 And why is it that the places of the strong and brave soldiers 
 that first came with you, but now dead, are filled by so many 
 little, weak and bad looking men, and even boys? If your 
 nation is so great and your people so numerous, they would 
 not thus act, and we believe that our white brother talks with 
 a forked tongue." Thus was Bienville fully convinced that 
 the Choctaws and Chickasaws did not tremble through fear 
 of his boasted power; and that, they also well knew that he 
 
76 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 only had about, fifty soldiers at his command, and that his 
 attempted display of power had but convinced them of his 
 weakness. And had the ChOctaws and Chickasaws been so 
 disposed, they could, with a little handful of their warriors, 
 have wiped out the French colony, Bienville, soldiers and all. 
 
 In 1702, Bienville, then commander of the French at Mo 
 bile, secretly sent out a small party to the Choctaws and 
 Chickasaw T s to solicit their friendship, and thus secure their 
 trade. A few chiefs returned with the party to Mobile, 
 whom Bienville welcomed and entertained with affected 
 friendship and assumed hopitality, bestowing" presents and 
 soliciting" their friendship; yet, "In January, 1704," says 
 Barnard de la Harpe, pp. 35, 83, "Bienville induced several 
 war parties of the Choctaws to invade the country of the In 
 dian allies of the English, and having" taken several scalps, 
 they broug-ht them to Bienville, who rewarded them satisfac 
 torily;" thus involving" the Choctaws, whose interests he pro 
 fessed to have so much at heart, in destructive warfare so 
 greatly detrimental to their national interests; and proving 
 the shallowness of his professed friendship for the Indians 
 and the perfidy of his nature, in a letter to the French min 
 ister, October 12. 1708, in which he suggested the propriety 
 of the French colonists in North America, being" allow r ed the 
 privilege offending Indians to the West India Islands to be 
 exchanged as slaves for negroes, and asserting that "those 
 Islanders would give t\vo negroes for three Indians." 
 
 There was a tradition of the Choctaws related to the 
 missionaries over seventy-five years ago by the old warriors 
 of the Choctaws of that day, who for many years before had 
 retired from the hardships of the war-path, which stated 
 that a two years war broke out between their nation and 
 the Chickasaws, over a hundred years before (about 1705) 
 the advent of the missionaries among them, resulting in the 
 loss of many warriors on both sides and finally ending in the 
 defeat of the Chickasaws ; whereupon peace was restored to 
 the mutual gratification of both nations wearied with the 
 long fratricidal strife. This war had its origin as the tra 
 dition affirms, in an unfortunate affair that occurred in Mo 
 bile, (then a little French trading post) between a party of 
 Chickasaw warriors (about seventy) who had gone there 
 for the purpose of trade, and a small band of Choctaws who 
 had preceded them on the same business. While three to 
 gether, a quarrel arose between some of the different war 
 riors resulting in a general fight, in which, though several 
 Chickasaws were killed and wounded, the entire little band of 
 Choctaws was slain as was supposed; but unfortunately for 
 the Chickasaws a Choctaw happening to be in another part of 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 77 
 
 the town at the time of the difficulty, escaped ; and learning 
 at once of the killing 1 of his comrades, fled for home, where 
 arriving- safely he informed his people of the bloody tragedy 
 at Mobile. Without delay the Choctaws adopted measures 
 of revenge. Knowing that the company of Chickasaws 
 would have to return home through their country, they laid 
 their plans accordingly. The Chickasaws, not without fears, 
 however, lest the Choctaws might have heard of the unfor 
 tunate affair, secured an escort from Bienville of twenty-five 
 Canadians under the command of Boisbriant. As they ap 
 proached a village, the Choctaws sent a small company to 
 invite and escort them to a council pretenvedly to be in 
 session ; which the Chickasaws, feeling- safe under their 
 escort, accepted. They were escorted to the sham council, 
 and were given, as was customary on such occasions, the 
 inside circles, all seated on the ground; while the Choctaws 
 formed a circle completely hemming- them in. A Choctaw 
 chief then arose and advanced with g*reat solemnity and dig- 
 nity to the c speaker s place in the centre, with a tomahawk 
 concealed under his dress, w r hich, when he drew from its 
 place of concealment, was the signal for the work of death 
 to begin. The speaker went on for a few minutes in a 
 strain of wild eloquence, but saying nothing that would 
 awaken the least suspicion in the minds of his still unsus 
 pecting guests; when suddenly he snatched the fatal toma 
 hawk from its concealment and in an instant hundreds of 
 tomahawks, heretofore concealed, gleamed a moment in the 
 air and then descended upon the heads of the doomed Chicka 
 saws, and, ere they had time for a second thought, all were 
 slain. The Choctaws knowing that the Chickasaws would 
 hear of the destruction of their brethren and would retaliate 
 upon them, rushed at once jnto their country and destroyed 
 several villages ere the Chickasaws could recover from their 
 surprise. But the brave and dauntless Chickasaws, ever equal 
 to any and all emergencies, soon rallied from their discom 
 fiture, and presented a bold and defiant front. Then com- 
 menced a two years war of daring deeds and fatal results 
 between those two nations of fearless warriors, known and to 
 be known to them alone. The creek, dividing that portion 
 of their territories that lay contiguous t6 the place where 
 the band of Chickasaws were slain on their return from 
 Mobile, now in the northern part of Oktibbiha county, Mis 
 sissippi, and known as Line Creek, was named by the Choc 
 taws, after the two years war, Nusih (sleep or slept, Chiah, 
 yau-yau slept, that is, you were taken by surprise) in 
 memorial of those two tragical events, the surprise and 
 destruction of the Chickasaw warriors, and the disquiet and 
 
78 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 discomfiture of their nation at the unexpected attack upon 
 them by the Choctaws, Nusih Chia has been erroneously 
 interpreted by some as meaning- "Where acorns abound." 
 Nosi aiasha means where acorns abound; 
 
 The killing" of this little band of Chickasaws under the 
 circumstances, together with that of being- under the escort 
 and protection of the French, caused the Chickasaws to be 
 lieve it was done throug-h the connivance of the French, and 
 ever afterwards they were the most inveterate and uncom 
 promising- enemies of the French, among- all the Indian 
 tribes, north and south, except the Iroquois, and in which, 
 as a matter of course, they were encouraged by the Carolina 
 traders from the English settlements. 
 
 That the southern Indians were friendly to their foreig-n 
 intruders and disposed to live in peace with them, and were 
 not such a bloodthirsty people as they have been repre 
 sented, is clearly demonstrated by the fact that, in 1810 
 there was such a scarcity of provisions, that Bienville had to 
 scatter his men among- the Indians in order to obtain food 
 for them, and so informed his g-overnment; a plan to which 
 he had been driven before; and had not the Indians pre 
 ferred peace to war with the whites, they surely would have 
 embraced such favorable opportunities to destroy the un 
 welcome invader of their country. 
 
 In 1711, throug-h the machinations of the English, who 
 were ever ready to embrace every opportunity to enhance 
 their own interests, though at the destruction of the Indians , 
 the Choctaws "end Chickasaws, were ag-aiii involved in a 
 fratricidel war, at fye beginning of which, there was a little 
 company of thirty Chickasaw warriors instead of Choctaws, 
 in Mobile, and fearing- to return home throug-h the Choc taw 
 nation, they too earnestly requested Bienville to send a com 
 pany of his soldiers with them for protection. Bienville, 
 seeing- so favorable opportunity of winning- the friendship 
 of the Chickasaws, and hoping- thus to seduce them from 
 their alliance to the English to that of the French, cheerfully 
 complied to their request by sending- his brother, Cha- 
 teaug-ne, to escort them through the Choctaw nation, which 
 he safely did. But the cause and result of this war have 
 long- since paased with its participants into the silence Of the 
 unknown past. 
 
 Charles Gayarre (Vol. 1, p. 91) says: "In 1714 twelve 
 English men, with a large number of Muskog-ees, came 
 among- the Choctaws, and were kindly received by all the 
 towns except two, who fortified themselves and, while be- 
 seig-ed by the Muskogees, one night made their escape to 
 Mobile." From the above, it appears that the visit of the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. , 79 
 
 twelve Englishmen to the Choctaws was attributed to an in 
 vitation extended to them by a Choctaw chief; since in. the 
 following year, July 1715, Bienville sent messengers to the 
 Choctaws, demanding the head of Outoct-chito"(a corrup 
 tion of his true name, Oktak (oketark) (Prairie) Chitoh (Big 
 or Big Prairie)) "who had persuaded the English traders to 
 visit- their nation, and had thereby caused to be driven off 
 the inhabitants of two Choctaw towns, who were still in Mo 
 bile. The messengers returned to Mobile with the head of 
 the unfortunate Oktark Chitoh, which had been stricken off 
 by the Choctaw chiefs, who now were afraid of Bienville." 
 
 How different the Choctaws then from what they were 
 in 1696, when they closed their interrogatories to him with" 
 the bold assertion, "We believe our white brother talks with 
 a forked tongue." Alas! how rapidly had they fallen from a 
 state of perfect independence to that of servile dependence 
 within the period of three quarters of a century; the dupes 
 at first, only to become the abject slaves of a heartless tyrant. 
 Thus did the rivalry of France and England for the posses 
 sion of the North American continent, encouraged and em 
 boldened by their national jealousy and .innate hatred long 
 cherished each for the other, involve the deceived Indians in 
 continued war-fare with each other, as their respective 
 traders and emissaries throughout the length and breadth 
 of the Indian territories to contend for the patronage of the 
 Indians, and to drive each the other from thos positionse 
 where they had established themselves, ultimately to end in 
 ruin and destruction of the Indians. But the Choctaws, 
 though reduced to such servile extremities and seemingly 
 wholly under the arbitrary power of the French, were still 
 dreaded by many of the neighboring tribes, and even by the 
 English themselves.. As an illustration, in 1727, the English, 
 being at war with the Spaniards, used every means in their 
 power to influence the Indians to make war upon them, and 
 by their instigation a tribe, then known as Talapauches, had 
 laid seige to Pensacola (corrupted from the Chahtah words 
 Puska, bread, and Okla, people, Bread People, or people 
 having bread); but Pirier, who had succeeded Bienville in the 
 governorship at New Orleans, sent word to the Talapauches 
 (corrupted from the Choctaw words Tuli, rock or iron, and 
 Poo-shi, dust; and no doubt an ancient off-shoot of the Choc 
 taws) to return to their homes without delay, or he would 
 put the Choctaws after them; and they at once sought their 
 homes with much more alacrity than when they left them. 
 Such was the dread of the Choctaws and such the terror in 
 spired by their name alone. 
 
 In 1733, the Choctaws, as allies to the French, engaged 
 
80 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 in a war with the Natchez, of which I will more particularly 
 notice in the history of that tribe. 
 
 On January 13th, 1733, the truly Christian philanthro 
 pist, Oglethorpe, with a hundred and twenty emigrants 
 landed at Charleston, South Carolina. , Afterwards sailing 
 down the coast, he anchored his vessel, "Anne," for a few 
 days at Beaufort, while he, with a small company ascended 
 the Savannah river to a high bluff on which the present city 
 of Savannah. Georgia, now stands, which he selected as the 
 place for the establishment of his little colony. And there, 
 February 1st, 1733, he laid the foundation of the oldest En 
 glish town south of the Savannah river. In a few days the 
 great chief of the Yemacaws, Tam-o-chi-chi, called upon the 
 strangers who had thus unceremoniously taken posession of 
 that portion of of his people s territories; and then and there 
 two congenial spirits, the one of European, the other of an 
 American, first met and- formed a friendship each for the 
 other that w r as never broken; and at the departure of the 
 venerable old man, he presented to Oglethorpe a magnificent 
 buffalo robe upon the inside of which was painted with elabo 
 rate Indian skill, the head and feathers of an eagle, and said: 
 "Accept this little token of the good will of myself and peo 
 ple. See, the eagle is bold and fearless, yet his feathers are 
 soft; as the eagle, so are my people bold and fearless in war; 
 yet as his feathers, so are they soft and beautiful in friend 
 ship. The buffalo is strong, and his hair is warm; as the 
 buffalo, so are my people strong in war; yet, as his robe, 
 the} 7 are warm in love. I and my people would be your 
 friends, beautiful in our friendship and warm in our love. 
 Let this robe be the emblem of friendship and love between 
 me and you, and mine and thine." Oglethorpe accepted the 
 present with its tokens; nor was the purity of those em 
 blems ever tarnished by a dishonorable act of Tomochichi 
 and his tribe or Oglethorpe and his colony, the one toward 
 the other. 
 
 It is evident that the Yamacaws were an ancient off 
 shoot of the Choctaws from the similarity of their language, 
 habits and customs. The very name of the tribe is plainly a 
 corruption of the Choctaw r words yummakma (that one also) 
 Ka-sha-pah, (to be a part). 
 
 Also the name of their chief, Tamochichi, is also a cor 
 ruption by the whites of the Choctaw words, Tum-o-a-chi 
 (wandering away, from the Choctaws in the pre-historic oj 
 the past). 
 
 How well did the North American Indians read and 
 comprehend the symbolic language of Nature in all its dif 
 ferent phases ! What white man, whether illiterate or 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 81 
 
 boasting- the comprehensive genius of a United States Colonel 
 (Dodge) who was enabled to discover one race of God s 
 created intelligences (the North American Indians) to be 
 "absolutely without conscience," could have drawn such 
 grand sentiments from a buffalo robe and a bunch of eagle 
 feathers, since "the money that was in them" would have 
 absorbed every other consideration of his soul! Alas! that 
 "The love of money" should so engross every noble faculty 
 of our souls, that we could not, or would not, comprehend 
 those beautiful symbols found in nature, on earth and in 
 heaven, everywhere, and would not, or did not, heed them, as 
 they call with their ten thousand voices to jthe discharge of 
 our duty to the Indians and plead for the perfection of the 
 character of both the red and white race, as illustrated in 
 those grand sentiments of the no less grand old chief of the 
 Yummak ma kashapas. "I and my people would be your 
 friends, beautiful in our friendship and warm in our love!" 
 How sad ! how humiliating* the reflection that, during* four 
 centuries, the North American Indians have found no re 
 sponsive sentiment in the White Race, except in Penn and 
 his followers, Oglethorpe and his colony, the self-sacrificing* 
 missionaries and a few noble philanthropists, thoug-h the 
 same earnest and sincere plea was heard from the mouths 
 of every tribe, when first visited by the whites, echoing- from 
 the Atlantic s stormy shores in the east to the Pacific s rock- 
 bound coast in the distant west, "I and my people would be 
 your friends, beautiful in our friendship "and warm in our 
 love;" but only to fall upon the ear of our avarice as a tink 
 ling cymbal, since deaf to all else but the gratification of our 
 love of greedy gain, (that stranger to truth and justice, and 
 untouched by any emotion of humanity) which demanded 
 the extermination of the Indians, as the onlv guarantee to 
 sure possession of their country and homes ; and then called 
 for obloquy to cover their memory as an honorable justifica 
 tion for that extermination. And though Nature, every 
 where in all its phases from the finite to the infinite, and the 
 infinitesimal to the grand aggregate of knowledge, is full of 
 instruction, by which she would teach us our duty to God, 
 our fellow-men, and to ourselves, yet we heeded not the 
 symbolic whispers of her low, sweet plaintive voice pleading 
 in behalf of the Red Race; and in so doing, forfeited a privf- 
 lege that heaven s angels would have embraced with eager 
 ness and joy, for the gratification of our frenzied avarice. 
 On the 29th of May following, Oglethorre held a council 
 with the Muscogees at Savannah; for whom and all their 
 allies, Long Chief of the Ocona clan of Muscogees spoke 
 .and welcomed Oglethorpe and his tittle colony to their coun- 
 
82 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 , try in the name of peace and friendship by presenting- to 
 him large bundles of the skins and furs of wild animals in 
 which their territories then abounded. And soon so great 
 and wide extended became the fame of Oglethorpe and his 
 followers as true and sincere friends to the Indian race, that 
 the chiefs of the Cherokees, from their distant mountain 
 homes, came to see and confer with Oglethorpe and his 
 colony, to them a prodigy, a white man and great chief and 
 yet a true man to his word pledged to an Indian. Naught like 
 this had been known since the days of Penn and his Quakers. 
 Was the bright morn of a glorious future about to dawn upon 
 their race dispelling the long night of darkness that had for 
 ages obscured their moral and intellectual vision? Was the 
 White Race truly to prove their benefactor, once so brightly 
 shadowed forth in the precepts and practice of the noble 
 Penn and his colony? Indeed it appeared as^the second 
 dawn of hope; but alas, only to nicker a moment as the feeble 
 and expiring taper, and then to go out to be seen no more, an 
 illusive dream even as the first had proven to be. 
 
 In August, 1739, a great council was convened at Coweta 
 in the Muscogee Nation by Oglethorpe, the Indians undevi- 
 ating friend, in which the Muscogees, Choctaws, Chicka- 
 saws, Cherokees, Yummakmakashapahs and many others 
 were represented, and in peace and harmony equally par 
 ticipated. The faithful and honest old Tumoachi stood 
 among the most conspicuous of the various and distinguished 
 chiefs. Coweta was, at that time, one of the larg-e st towns 
 of the Muscogee Nation, and many days travel froin Savan 
 nah through the deep solitudes of a vast wilderness, un 
 trodden by the foot of a white man since the days of De Soto s 
 march, two hundred years before; but through which Ogle 
 thorpe and his little band of followers fearlessly and safely 
 traveled, to fulfill his engagement with the unknown Indians 
 there in council to assemble. When it was learned that he 
 had arrived near Coweta, a deputation of chiefs, representa 
 tives of the respective tribes assembled, met and escorted 
 him to the town with unfeigned manifestations of pride and 
 joy. The next day the council convened, and remained in 
 session several days, during which stipulations of peace 
 and friendship were ratified, and free trade and friendly 
 intercourse to all established, to the mutual satisfaction 
 and delight of both red and white; after which the Grand 
 Finale was performed, the solemn ceremonv of drinking the 
 "Black drink, . and smoking the Pipe of* Peace; in all of 
 vyhich the noble Oglethorpe participated, to the great de 
 light and satisfaction of the admiring Indians; then, after the 
 closing ceremony of bidding adieu, all to their respective 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 83 
 
 "homes returned delighted with the happy results of the coun 
 cil. Oglethorpe was ever afterwards held in grateful remem 
 brance, and loved and honored by all the southern Indians; 
 and was known everywhere as the Indians friend, and 
 everywhere regarded and received as such with implicit 
 confidence. How so? Because he was never known to 
 wrong them in a single instance; therefore their admiration 
 .and confidence for and in him had no limits. 
 
 The morn of the southern Indians Christian era, as 
 professed by the Protestant world, dawned, according to an 
 cient Choctaw tradition, at the advent of Oglethorpe to this, 
 continent and the establishment of his colony on the banks 
 of the Savannah; and was heralded by the two brothers who 
 so justly rank among earth s illustrious modern great as 
 preachers of the Gospel of the Son of God; viz: John and 
 Charles Wesley, who came with Og lethorpe in 1733, and ac 
 companied him to his councils with the Indians, and there 
 preached the glad tidings of "Peace and Good will toward 
 men." Shortly after, John Wesley influenced the renowned 
 preacher, George Whitfield, to also come to America. In a 
 letter to Whitfield, John Wesley thus wrote: "Do you ask 
 what you shall have? Food to eat, raiment to wear, a house 
 in which to lay your head such as your Lord had not, and a 
 crown of glory that fadeth not away." Upon the reception 
 of which, Whitiield said his heart echoed to the call, and to 
 which he at once responded; and upon the return of the 
 Wesleys to England, he says in his journal. "I must labor 
 most heartily since I came after such worthy predecessors." 
 
 In 1734, Tumoahchi, with his wife and son and seven 
 Muscogee warriors accompanied Oglethorpe to George II. 
 and before whom Tumoahchi made a speech in that shrewd 
 and captivating manner so characteristic of the North Ameri 
 can Indians; which so pleased the king that he caused the 
 American chief and warriors to be loaded with presents and 
 even sent him and his wife and son in one of the royal carria 
 ges to Grovesend when he embarked to.Yeturn to his native 
 forest home. Shortly after his return home, the noble old 
 chief was taken sick, ancl was at once visited by W^hitfield, 
 who says: "He now lay on a Blanket, thin and meager, little 
 else but skin and bones. Senanki, his wife, sat by fanning 
 him with Indian feathers. There was no one who could talk 
 English, so I could only shake hands with him and leave 
 him." In a few days after, Whitfield returned to -the couch 
 of the dying chief and was rejoiced to find Tooanoowe, a 
 nephew of Tumoahchi present, who could speak English. 
 "I requested him," says Whitfield, "to ask his uncle whether 
 he thought he should die? He answered I cannot tell. I 
 
84 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 then asked where he thought he would go after death? He 
 replied, to heaven. But, alas, how can drunkards enter- 
 there? I then exhorted Tooanoowe, who is a tall, proper 
 youth, not to get drunk, telling- him that he understood^Eng- 
 lish, and therefore would be punished the more if he did not 
 live better. I then asked him whether he believed in a 
 heaven, yes, said he. I then asked whether he believed in a 
 hell, and described it by pointing to the fire He replied, No. 
 From whence we may easily gather how natural it is to all 
 man-kind to believe there is a place of happiness, because 
 they wish it to be so; and on the contrary, how averse they 
 are to believe in a place of torment because they wish it not to 
 be so." But if the poor, unlettered, yet, generous and noble 
 hearted Tumoahchi, who knew nothing of the sin of drunk- 
 eness, was unfit for heaven because "how can a drunkard 
 enter there"? How unfit must be he who made him such, by 
 making the whiskey, then taking it thousands of miles to the 
 before temperate Indian and teaching him to drink it! and 
 how inconsistent with reason and common sense, and how 
 insulting to the God of -justice it must be, for us to call our 
 selves Christians and the Indians savages! And if Tooanoo 
 we "would be, punished the more if he did not live better," 
 since "he understood English" a little, what will be the fate 
 of us whose native tongue in English, and who, with all our 
 boasted attainments, led, influenced and taught them to 
 adopt and practice, by precept and example, our "civilized" 
 vices, but seldom instructed them in the virtues of the reli 
 gion of the Bible! Does not the just and merciful Redeemer 
 of the world of man-kind regard with much less approbation 
 all external professions and appearances, than do thousands 
 of his professedjollowers found among our own White Race? 
 Did he not prefer the despised but charitable Samaritan to 
 the uncharitable but professed orthodox priest? And does 
 He not declare that^hose who gave food to the hungry, enter 
 tainment to the stranger, relief to the sick, and had charity 
 (all of which are to-day, and ever have been, from their 
 earliest known history, the noted characteristics of the 
 North American Indians, though they never heard of the 
 name of Jesus) shall in the last day be accepted? When 
 those who boisterously shout Lord! Lord, valuing themselves 
 upon, their profess-ed faith, though sufficient to perform 
 miracles, but have neglected good works shall be rejected. 
 And though we have scarcely permitted the Indians, though 
 starving and pleading for moral, intellectual and spiritual 
 food, to pick up the crumbs that fell from our tables loaded 
 with professed virtues, yet we have displayed a wonderful 
 talent in traducing them and manifest a strange desire that. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 85 
 
 they should be falsely handed down to posterity as 
 not" embraced in the Hat of Him who said "Let 
 
 creatures 
 us make 
 
 Never did a North American Indian acknowledge that 
 he recognized in the white man a master; nor was ever an 
 emotion of inferiority to the white man experienced- by an 
 Indian. Nearly four centuries of unceasing effort by the 
 White Race have utterly failed to make the Indian even feel, 
 much less acknowledge, the white man as master. 
 
 In 1741, Bienville was superseded by Marquis de Van- 
 dreuil, to whom the Chickasaws sent a delegation to New 
 Orleans to treat for peace. But Vandreuil refused to treat 
 unless the Choctaws, allies of the French, were made parties 
 to the treaty. The Chickasaws then made an effort to in 
 duce the Chocta ws to form an alliance with them, supported 
 by the English, against the French. But their design was 
 discovered and thwarted by the secret intriguing of Van- 
 .dreuil with Shulush Hum ma, (Red Shoe), then a noted Choc- 
 taw chief and shrewd diplomatist, and belonging to the clan 
 called Okla Hunnali, (Six People and living in the present 
 Jasper county, Mississippi, who had been favorably disposed 
 toward the English for several years; and finally, in 1745, 
 through personal interest alone it was thought, he went over 
 to the English; and, at the same time, innuencing a .chief of 
 the Mobelans (properly, Moma Binah, or Mobinah, a clan of 
 the ancient Choctaws) to do the same with his warriors, and 
 also some of the Muscogees, all of whom were, at that time, 
 allies of the French. Shortly after, Vandreuil went from 
 New Orleans to Mobile, and there met twelve hundred Choc- 
 taw warriors in council assembled, with whom he made re 
 newed pledges of friendship bestowing upon them many 
 presents of various kinds. But Shulush Humma stood "aloof 
 and refused to participate in anv of the proceedings; and to 
 place beyond all doubt the position he occupied, he, a few 
 weeks after, slew a French officer and two French traders, 
 who unfortunate ventured into his village. 
 
 Thus the Choctaws were divided into two factions; at 
 first peaceable, but which finally culminated into actual civil 
 war through the instigations and machinations of both the 
 French and English. And thus the Chickasaws and the 
 Choctaws, blinded to their own national interests, were led 
 to destroy each other, the one in behalf of the English and 
 the other of the French; while both the English and French 
 under an assumed friendship, used them as instruments 
 -alone to forward their own selfish designs and self-in 
 terests, though to the destruction of both the misguided 
 Choctaws and Chickasaws. Truly misfortune seems to 
 
86 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 have set her fatal seal upon the North American Indians, and 
 doomed them to eternal misery while upon earth, in contend 
 ing- with the White Race for the right to live and enjoy life 
 with the rest of mankind. Unhappy race! What heart so- 
 lost to every emotion of sympathy but weeps at the re 
 hearsal of your woes! 
 
 In 1750, still infatuated with the belief that the White 
 Race sought their interests, the Choctaws still remained in 
 two hostile factions, thirty of their villages adhering- to the 
 French, and only two to the English, who, in a terrible bat 
 tle which ensued, had one hundred and thirty of their war 
 riors slain, and soon after, were ag-ain defeated by the 
 French, with a party of Choctaws, and compelled to sue for 
 peace, while the English stood aloof and left them to fight 
 alone ag-ainst fearful odds, thoug-h their accepted friends. 
 
 Three years after (1753), De Vandreuil was succeeded 
 by Kerleree, who, in one of his dispatches, thus spoke of the 
 Choctaws: "I am satisfied with them. They are true to 
 their plighted faith. But we must be the same in our trans 
 actions with them. They are men who reflect, and who 
 have more logic and precision in their reasoning than is. sup 
 posed." 
 
 How true it is, that the above assertion of Kerleree, in 
 regard to the Choctaws, may be as truthfully affirmed of the 
 entire North American Indian race. And~ had that truth 
 been admitted and acted upon by the-White Race in all their 
 dealings with the Red Race from first to last, the bloody 
 charges that to-day stand recorded against us in the volume 
 of truth would not have been written. 
 
 November 3rd, 1762, the -King of France ceded to the 
 King of Spain his entire possessions in North America 
 known under the name of Louisiana; and at which time, a 
 treaty of peace was signed between the Kings of Spain and 
 France of the one party, and the King of England of the 
 other, by which France was stripped of all her vast landed 
 possessions to which she had so long and tenaciously laid 
 claim at the useless and cruel destruction of thousands of 
 helpless Indians who alone held the only true and just claim. 
 When the Indians learned of this treaty of cession, and were 
 told that they had been transferred from the jurisdiction of 
 the French to that of the English, whom they feared and 
 dreaded ten fold more than they did the French, they were 
 greatly excited at the outrage, as they rightly termed it; and 
 justly affirmed that the French possessed no authority over 
 them by which to transfer them over to the English, as if 
 they were but so many horses and cattle. Truly, as human 
 beings, as a free and independent people and as reasoning 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 87 
 
 men, how could they but feel the degradation of being- thus 
 bartered away as .common chattels, and feel the deep humi 
 liation that followed the loss of their national character and 
 national rights. Yet, how little did they imagine the still 
 deeper humiliation, degradation and woe that were in store 
 for their race! How little did they believe that they were 
 soon to be driven away by merciless intruders, from their 
 ancient and justly owned possessions and the cherished 
 graves of their Ancestors, to wander, they knew not where, 
 in the vain search of a pity and commiseration, never to be 
 found among their heartless oppressors and conquerors! 
 Alas! how else but broken-hearted can the surviving little 
 remnant be, when no words of consolation and hope ever 
 greet their ears ! How can they be industrious when that 
 industry but brings them in contact with the authors of all 
 their misfortunes and woes ! How can they forget their 
 wrongs and sow, unless it be to sow dragon s teeth with 
 the hope that warriors might spring up to avenge their blood., 
 that vengeance justly claimed ! Did they not in all sincerity 
 believe themselves wrongfully oppressed? which they truly 
 were; and in resisting that oppression, did they do more 
 than any other Nation, under similar circumstances, has 
 done and will ever do, that claims the right to exist as a 
 Nation? They contended for that which they honestly be 
 lieved to be their birthright, and it was, both by the laws of 
 God and man. Could they have done otherwise, when they 
 desired and sought our civilization and Christianity ; but we 
 would grant it to them only upon the terms of yielding up to 
 us their country, their nationality, their freedom, their 
 honor, their all that makes life worth living? Have we not 
 treated them from first to last as inferior beings, and in our 
 bigoted egotism scorned them and pushed them from us as 
 creatures below our notice? Can we establish a just plea 
 upon the broad foundation of truth to sustain the right to 
 treat them as we have treated them, take their country from 
 them by the strength of arbitrary power, and call it honor 
 able purchase, and then annoy them by reiterated extortions 
 and oppress them to extermination? 
 
 In November, 1763, the Choctaws, Chickasa\YS, Chero- 
 kees, and Muscogees were, through their representative- 
 chiefs, assembled in council at Augusta, Georgia, with the 
 representative Governors of Virginia, North and South Car 
 olina, and Georgia. But two years later, August, 1765, the 
 Choctaws and Muscogees inveterate enemies commenced 
 a fearful and devastating war, which, acordingto their tradi 
 tions, continued six years with unabated hostility; and dur 
 ing which many battles were fought and heavy losses sus- 
 
88 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 tained on both sides, yet each displaying- the most undaunted 
 and heroic bravery. But as they had no native historians, 
 the cause, the progress, the successes, the defeats, as Dame 
 Fortune alternately bestowed her favors upon the one and 
 the other, will never be known; for the long- period of those 
 six years of bloody strife is wrapt in the silence of the un 
 known past, and all that now may be written is contained in 
 "They lived; they foug-ht." Nor has much more been re 
 corded concerning the vicissitudes of the North American 
 Indian race, by their white historians; thoug-h "they killed, 
 they robbed" is but a counterpart of the mutations of the 
 White Race also. 
 
 k . Be it as it may, we find the Choctaw people, amid all their 
 vicissitudes and misfortunes, occupying-, all along- the line of 
 their kno\yn history, a prominent place as one of the five great 
 southern tribes, who have been justly regarded as being- the 
 most to be dreaded in war of all the North American Indians, 
 for their skill and invincible bravery; and the most to be ad 
 mired in peace for the purity of their friendship and fidelity 
 to truth. And to compare the present enfeebled, oppressed", 
 broken-hearted, down trodden, the still surviving- little rem 
 nant, to their heroic, free, independent, and justly proud 
 ancestors of two centuries ag-o, or even less than one cen 
 tury ago, is to compare the feeble light of the crescent moon 
 lingering upon the western horizon to the blaze of the sun in 
 the zenith of its power and glory. But what has wrought 
 the fearful change? Who hurled them from their once high 
 and happy state down to this low and wretched state of 
 humiliation and slavery? Truth points its unerring finger to 
 these LJnited States, and says as he to Israel s ancient king, 
 "Thou art the man." What the difference? None in princi 
 ple. The one, Israel s king, a murderer, to gratify a beastly 
 lust; the other, America s people, tyrant, to gratify a beastly 
 avarice. And yet we claim to advocate the right of freedom 
 and self government to all nations of people; and boldly hurl 
 our anathemas against the iron heel of England s oppression 
 of Ireland, and curse the greedy avarice of a heartless and 
 grasping landlordism that for years has sapped the vitals of 
 that unfortunate country and broken the spirit of its noble 
 people; while we are guilty of the same greedy avarice that 
 has broken the spirit of as noble a people as. ever lived;- and 
 against whom we have exercised the aggressive tyranny, and 
 made it a point to preserve towards them an attitude the 
 most commanding and supercilious, and against whom we have 
 long cherished and still cherish the basest and most unjust 
 prejudice. Alas, how inconsistent are we. 
 
 Many other tribes living in the same regions are men- 
 
v HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 89 
 
 tioned by the earh r writers, but who, in comparison to num 
 bers and prominence as a people, fell far below the Choctaws, 
 Chickasaws, Cherokees, Muscogees, Seminoles and Natchez; 
 though it is reasonable to conclude that many of them were 
 offshoots of the above mentioned. But the cruel and bloody 
 scenes that marked the conflicts of the whites with the brave 
 warriors of these five nations of the North American Indians, 
 before they overpowered them by superiority in numbers, 
 skill and weapons of warfare and drove them from their 
 ancient homes under the false plea of "fair and honorable 
 purchase," scattering along the whole line of their known 
 history, fraud, dissimulation, oppression, destruction and 
 death, clothe the character of this wonderful people in the 
 wildest romance and truly render them worthy heroes "of 
 fable and song; of whom it may truly be said that, in point of 
 numbers; in the magnitude and grandeur of their territories 
 abounding in every variety of game that could render them 
 truly the paradise of the Indian hunter; in their far sighted 
 sagacity; in their peculiar native eloquence; in their legends 
 and traditions handed down from generation to generation 
 through cycles of ages unknown; in their strange and mys 
 terious religious rites and ceremonies; in all that strange 
 and peculiar phenomena, that stamp the true Native Ameri 
 cans as the independent aud fearless sons of the forest, un 
 surpassed in daring and heroic deeds in defense of their 
 country, the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Cherokees, Muscogees, 
 Seminoles and Natchez stand unsurpassed by any other of 
 the North American Indians, or any other unlettered race of 
 people on earth. 
 
 Pickett, in his History of Alabama states: "In 1771, the 
 eastern district of the Choctaw Nation was known as Oy-pat- 
 oo-coo-la, signifying the Small Nation; and the western dis 
 trict was called Oo-coo-la Falaya, Oo-coo-la Hanete and 
 Chickasaha," The four names are fair samples of the mis 
 erable corruption of the languages- of the North American 
 Indians every where, by the whites. 
 
 And in the above, Pickett is greatly in error in the word 
 Oy-pat-oo-coo-la signifying "Small Nation," if he uses it as 
 a Choctaw or Chickasaw word. In the first place there is 110 
 such word in either of their languages, and even admitting 
 there is, it cannot signify "small nation." The words of 
 both for small nation are Iskitini Pehlichika, small nation or 
 kingdom. "And the western district was called Oo-coo-la 
 Falaya, and Oo-coo-la Hanete and Chickasaha." It is evident 
 also that these three names are corruptions from Choctaw 
 words. The first being a corruption of the words Okla 
 
90 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Falaiah, Tall People; the second, "Oo-coo-la Hanete," from 
 Okla Hunnali, People Six, or Six People. 
 
 The third, Chickasaha, from Chikasah, Rebellion, all of 
 which were names of different clans of the ancient Choctaws. 
 There was also an ancient clan named Okla Jsskitmi, People 
 Small, or Small People, which, no doubt, was corrupted to 
 Oy-pat-oo-coo-la; if not, some linguist, other than a Choctaw, 
 or Chickasaw, will have to give its signification. 
 
 Alas; If the errors of our race were confined alone to 
 the orthography, orthoepy and signification of various In 
 dian languages, though as inconsistent and absurd as .they 
 are in that of the Choctaw, we might be excusable; but 
 when they enter into every department of our dealings with 
 that people, there can be no excuse whatever offered in justi 
 fication of them. 
 
 See the gross errors set forth in the publications re 
 garding the Indians from first to last, clothed in scarcely a 
 word of truth to hide their hideous deformity, so humiliat 
 ing to justice, and all in direct opposition to known truth 
 and common sense. The newspapers and periodicals of the 
 present day are full of the same old stereotyped edition of 
 vile calumniations and base falsehoods against that helpless 
 people, the latter of which stand in close and worthy prox 
 imity to that of the devil s to the mother Eve. Even that 
 class of literature devoted to the instruction af the young, 
 books and papers bearing the title of "School History of 
 the United States," "Youth s Companion," etc., are contami 
 nated with falsehoods and defamatory articles against the 
 Indians; the writers of: which seem determined that the 
 memory of the North American Indians MUST and SHALL de 
 scend from generation to generation to the one which shall 
 be the fortunate one to hear the tones of Gabriel s mighty 
 trumpet sounding a truce to longer defamation of the Red 
 Race; and thus escape the nauseating dose which its prede 
 cessors bave been forced to swallow; and though justice 
 calls upon these white slanderers of the Red Race to turn 
 their attention from the arduous labor attending the suc 
 cessful finding of a few defects in the Indians, to the correc 
 tion of the hideous sins of their own race, yet they heed not 
 her voice. 
 
 Before me lies a book bearing the title, "School History 
 of the United States," under the signature of "W. H. Ven- 
 able." by which its author would stuff the minds of the 
 present generation, and those to follow, with the false asser 
 tions and self-imagined erudition, in which he has displayed 
 as much knowledge of the North American Indians as might 
 reasonably be expected to be found in a Brazilian monkey if 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 91 
 
 writing- its views upon the characteristics of the Laplanders 
 in their icy homes. On page 17 of this so-called "Illumina 
 tion of the Youthful Mind," in the matter of Indian charac 
 teristics, is found the following 1 absurdities: "The Ameri 
 can Indians were fit inhabitants of the wilderness. Children 
 of nature, they were akin to all that is rude, savage, and 
 irredeemable. Their number within the limits of what is 
 now the United States was at 110 time, since the discovery of 
 America, above four hundred thousand individuals, for the 
 Indian, hopelessly unchanging in respect to individual and 
 social development, was as regarded tribal relations and 
 local haunts, mutable as the wind." 
 
 "Where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise," there 
 fore his "Ipse dixit." 
 
 Again, (page 19) he affirms: "Stratagem, surprise, and 
 the basest treacherv were approved and practiced even by 
 the bravest." But what of the White Race? Did not Wash 
 ington and his generals "approve and practice deception, 
 surprise and stratagem" upon the British in fighting for the. 
 independence of these United States? Did not Oglethorpe 
 "approve and practice stratagem and deception" upon the 
 Spanish fleet, when he gave a Spanish prisoner his liberty if 
 he would deliver a letter to one of his own men who .had 
 deserted and fled to the Spanish ships, the particulars of 
 which are too well known to be repeated here? Did not Lee 
 and Grant, yea, every officer from general down to captain, 
 "approve and practice stratagem, deception and surprise," 
 during our Civil war? and when an advantage, by these 
 means, was gained, was it not acknowledged as a grand dis 
 play of superior generalship and dubbed "Military Skill?" 
 When "practiced and approved" by the whites, they are 
 virtues; but when by the Indians, in their wars of resistance 
 against our oppression and avarice, they at once become 
 odious characteristics. But when and upon whom, did the 
 Indians approve and practice stratagem, surprise and the 
 basest treachery? alone upon their enemies in war; never 
 elsewhere. But we have alike "approved and practiced 
 stratagem and surprise" in our wars with them always, and 
 everywhere; and have, in numerous instances, approved 
 and practiced the basest treachery," upon them by false 
 promises, misrepresentations and absolute falsehoods of 
 such hideous proportions as to cause the devil to blush at 
 his^own impotency in the art, when trying to influence them 
 to enter into treaties with us by which we would secure for 
 ourselves their landed possessions, and all under the dis 
 guise of declared disinterested friendship, and deep-felt 
 interest in their prosperity and happiness; and I challenge 
 
92 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 anyone to successfully refute the charge. Yet this man 
 would contribute his mite of misrepresentation and false 
 hood to assist others of his own congeniality, to hand down 
 the Indians to the remotest posterity as a race of people the 
 most infamous; but would have it remembered that he and 
 hjs fall below their merits the white "children of the 
 Uord." \ 
 
 Therefore, he thus continues his lecture to the children, 
 as set forth in his ephemeral history: "Language cannot 
 exaggerate the ferocity of an Indian Battle, or the revolting 
 cruelty practiced upon their captives of war." Surely this 
 sensitive educator of the young, never perused that truthful 
 little volume, bearing the name of "Our Indian Wards" as 
 written by a Christian philanthropist, W. Manypermy! But 
 thus he continues; "The very words tomahawk, scalping 
 knife, and torture scaffold fill the fancy with dire images; 
 and to say as savage as an Iroquois warrior is to exhaust the 
 power of simile." But in impressing the youthful "fancy 
 with dire images while studying his "School History of 
 tomahawks, scalping knives and torture scaffolds" and in 
 delibly stamping upon their memories his emphatic "to say 
 as savage as ait Iroquois warrior is to exhaust the powers 
 of simile," he is scrupulously careful not to mention, or even 
 drop a hint, in regard to the foul massacre of the friendly 
 Cheyenne chief, Black Kettle and his band by Gen. Custer 
 and his soldiers,; X,ov. 27th, 1868; of which Superintendent 
 Murphy, after the diabolical massacre, wrote the commis 
 sioner of Indian affairs; "It was Black Kettle s band of 
 Cheyennes. Black Kettle, one of the best and truest friends 
 the whites ever had among the Indians of the plains;" and of 
 the "horrible" butchery of the Piegan Indians, on the 23rd 
 of January, 1870, who were helplessly afflicted with the 
 small pox, and guilty of no offense except being Indians, but 
 in which assassination, one hundred and seventy -three In 
 dians were slaughtered in cold blood by the whites, without 
 the "loss of a man: ninety of whom were women, and fifty- 
 five of them children, none older than twelve years, and 
 many of them in their mothers arms;" and though the 
 butchery <j| these unoffending and helpless human beings 
 merits the execration of all men, yet the actors in the bloody 
 scene lived to boast among their fellows "I too have killed an 
 Indian," though that Indian was an infant in its mother s 
 arms; while their head was honored as the "Great" General 
 Sheridan, backed by General Sherman, at whose feet syco 
 phants bow and humbly solicit a smile from his august per 
 sonage, then die happy, if obtained, but in despair, if 
 refused. Merciful God! If the very words "tomahawlv, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 93 
 
 x 
 
 scalping knife and torture fill the fancy with dire images; 
 and to say as savage as an Iroquois warrior is to exhaust the 
 powers of simile," does not the butcher of helpless and un 
 offending Indian women and children by civilized whites 
 equally "fill the fancy with dire images"? and to say as sav 
 age as a Sheridan and Sherman in the blood-thirsty wars of 
 exterminating the Indians of the western plains, to protect 
 the white desperadoes in their depredations upon that help 
 less people, and thereby stick another feather in their cap of 
 war fame to conciliate shouts of the, .rabble, music more 
 sweet to their bloody senses than that of heavenly angels, 
 "is to exhaust every power of simile." In the name of truth, 
 justice and humanity, if what Mr. Many penny has revealed 
 in his " Our Indian Wards," a copy of which every lover of 
 truth, justice and humanity should purchase and read, as 
 jdue to the interests of truth, justice, religion and humanity, 
 is not enough to cause an indignant God to visit these United 
 States with his avenging hand, then indeed they have noth 
 ing to fear in regard to w r hat they must do. Be it as it may, 
 there is abundant reason to tremble, if we would reflect that 
 God is just. 
 
 On the 16th of February, 1763, the whole of Louisiana, 
 for which they had so long struggled, passed entirely from 
 under the" dominion of the French to that of the Engiish ; 
 and all evidences of their occupancy of the sea coast of Mis 
 sissippi, since Iberville first landed there on the 16th of Feb 
 ruary, 1693, are now only remembered as matters of history 
 and traditions of the long past. 
 
 In 1765, through the solisitation of Johnstone, then act 
 ing as governor, the Choctaws and Chickasaws convened in 
 feneral council with him at Mobile, at w r hich time were con- 
 rmed the former treaties of peace and friendship, and also 
 regulations of trade were established between them and the 
 English; and in 1777, the Choctaw r s, the first time ever be 
 fore sold a small portion of their country then known as the 
 Natchez District, to the English Superintendent of Indian 
 Affairs, which lay on the Mississippi river and extended 
 north from the bluff then known as Loftus Cliffs to the 
 mouth of the Yazoo river, 110 miles above. 
 
 In June, 1784, the Choctaws, Chickasaws and Muscogees 
 convened in council at Pensacola, (corrupted from the Choc- 
 taw words Puska Okla, People with abundant bread) and 
 there made a treaty of peace with Spain. 
 
 Soon after, Alexander McGillervey, the famous chief of 
 the Muscogees, as representative of the Coweta claim of the 
 Muscogees, ^together with the Seminole.s, Mobelans (prop 
 erly^, Mobinahs)andTalapoosas (corrupted from the Choctaw 
 
94 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Words Tuli Pushi, Iron Dust) concluded a treaty v of peace 
 and friendship with the same nation. 
 
 At this time, the United States set up her claim over the 
 entire territories of the southern Indians by virtue of the 
 English title, though the Cherokees, Choctaws Chickasaws 
 and Muscogees, whose landed possessions were more exten 
 sive than all the southern tribes combined; but out of which 
 she finally ousted them, though they had replenished the 
 feeble ranks of her army with their warriors, and helped her 
 out from under the yoke of British oppression fighting- un 
 der Gen. Wayne and Gen Sullivan, only to have her yoke of 
 oppression placed upon their necks in turn as a recompense 
 of reward for their services and as a memento of our "dis 
 tinguished" gratitude to them; while Spain claimed, at the 
 same time, the lion s part of their territories by virtue of her 
 treaties, not with the Indians, the legal owners, but with 
 England and France; while the Indians In whom rested the 
 only true and valid title, gazed upon the scene of controversy 
 over their ancient domains, as silent but helpless specta 
 tors. 
 
 That the Choctaws were once a numerous people, even 
 years after the destruction of Mobinah, the chief town of 
 Tushkalusas Iksa or clan, by De Soto, there can be but little 
 room for doubt. Their ancient traditions affirm they were 
 at one time one hundred and fifty thousand strong, but some 
 allowance perhaps should be made upon that statement, 
 however, their territory, as late as 1771, extended from Mid 
 dle Mississippi south to the Gulf of Mexico; and from the 
 Alabama river west to the Mississippi river, embracing as 
 fine a country as the eye could possibly desire to behold; 
 and De Soto states he passed through towns and villages all 
 along- his route through their territory, as well as through 
 the territorities of other southern tribes. Roman states, in 
 his travels through the Choctaw Territory in 1771, he pass 
 ed through seventy of their towns. Rev. Cyrus Byington, 
 who was a missionary among the Choctaws for many 
 years previous to their exodus to the west, and had traveled 
 all over their country in his labors of love and mercy, com 
 puted their number," all told, at the time of their removal, at 
 forty thousand, but at which time six thousand died en route 
 many with cholera, and others with various other diseases 
 contracted on the road, as is well authenticated. I was in 
 formed, when traveling over their country in 1884, by an old 
 Choctaw with whom I was personally acquainted when living 
 east of the Mississippi, that many, when they first moved to 
 their present homes, settled contiguous to the pestilential 
 Red river, and in a few years four hundred of the colony 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 95 
 
 had died, and the rest moved away from that stream of death 
 . to other parts of their territory. 
 
 Picket, in his History of Alahama, says: "In 1771 
 there were two thousand three hundred warriors registered 
 upon the superintendent s books at Mobile, while two thous 
 ands were scattered over the country, engaged in hunting." 
 But that did not weigh the value of a poor scruple in sustain 
 ing the seemingly advanced position, that the Choctaws at 
 that time only numbered about forty-three hundred war 
 riors; as it is safe to say, the French did. not register a fifth 
 of the warriors, for several reasons: First, from their great 
 aversion to their numbers being known to the whites; sec 
 ond, their dread and superstitious fear of having their names 
 written in the "white man s books;" third, the great dis 
 tance that the homes of thousands lay from Mobile, but 
 few of whom ever saw the place; fourth, the missionaries 
 who traveled all over their country found their villages and 
 towns everywhere.; And if the French had twenty-three 
 hundred Choctaw warriors names registered upon the pages 
 of their books, I feel confident, from my own knowledge of 
 the Choctaws over seventy years ago, in saying very few; if 
 any, of the owners of those registered names knew they 
 were recorded there. And if all be taken into consideration, 
 the six thousand, the lowest estimate, slain in the destruc 
 tion of Mobinah, then the great number that must have per 
 ished in their wars with the English and French, as allies 
 first to the one and then to the other; and their wars with 
 various other tribes; and the many that were killed and died 
 from disease when engaged in our Revolutionary war; and 
 the six thousand that died on their removal to the west in 
 1832-33; and the multiplied hundreds that died soon after 
 their arrival to their present place of abode, from diseases 
 contracted en route and from not being acclamated to their 
 new country; and in addition to all this , the many depress 
 ing influences they have labored under since they have had 
 to do with the White Race, and the terrible dispensation un 
 der which they have lived, they must, at an early period 
 have"" been a numerous people, or long since they would have 
 become totally eAtinct. 
 
 "The Severally Bill!" I was in the Indian Territory 
 and read a letter from an Indian delegate in Washington 
 City, to a friend in the Territory and was forcibly struck 
 with the shameful truth of one sentence "Congress can and 
 will pass any bill to destroy the Indians." Yet nothing 
 strange" in this, since rascality and debauchery characterize 
 that once pure and noble body, if even half be true that is 
 said about it, by those who have seen behind the curtains. I 
 
96 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 also read another letter written by an Indian in the Territory 
 to a delegate of his people, then (Feb. 15, 1887,) in Wash 
 ington from which, by request and permission, I copied the 
 following- without alteration : 
 "Dear old friend:" 
 
 "Wounded and grieved over the action* of Congress and 
 the President, who gave the Indians his word (which should 
 be as his bond) to stand by us, when our rights were trepass- 
 ed upon. Behold now, his actions in the severally bill. Are 
 there no honest men, citizens of^ the United States? Alas, 
 even the highest in power .has no regard for his word 1 
 There must be very little honesty among them, and if God 
 forsakes us, we will soon be remembered only in story. God 
 knows, if we had only th& power that the United States have 
 I would be willing to resent the wrong and insult, if it should 
 be at the sacrifice of every drop of Indian blood that is 1 cir 
 cling in our race." (All praise to that noble and patriotic 
 spirit), "Cleveland thinking" he might lose the next nomina 
 tion for President, is willing to sacrifice his word or honor 
 (whatever you may choose to call it) to be on the popular 
 side. Away with such hypocrisy! He should be a man of 
 some principle and stamina, but he lacks all of it. 
 
 "Dawes, when here, said he would do everything to ad 
 vance our cause; that he was surprised to see the intelligence 
 and evidences of progress existing among us. See too, what 
 he has done! God will surely damn such hypocrites. Poor 
 Mr. Brown, I feel sorry for him, standing alone, as it were, 
 in the cause of humanity and justice; but I hope he will not 
 feel disheartened in the good cause, .but will gather strength 
 from the ruins of broken treaties^ and shattered pledges, 
 made and violated by his so-called great and magnanimous 
 government. All honor and peace be his. 
 
 "We will ever feel grateful to him for the active part he 
 took in our behalf. Had there been a few more honest and 
 fearless men like him in Congress, we might have fared bet 
 ter. ^ Inch by inch, does Congress trespass upon and violate 
 the solemn vows rt bas made. Surely such an outrage is 
 almost enough to drive us to raise the tomahawk, and- die, 
 every one of us, in fighting for justice against such high 
 handed tyranny and insupportable oppression of our help 
 less and hopeless race. " 
 
 What patriotic heart but leaps with emotions of pride 
 at the heroic sentiments expressed in the above. Truth, 
 justice, humanity, Christianity, our honor and integrity as a 
 professed Christian people, backed by a just and righteous 
 God above, demand of us to proclain our fiat to the scoun- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. , 9/ 
 
 drels that to-day so curse our country and disgrace us as a 
 people, in a tone of voice that shall be heard and, obe} r ed, in 
 the imperative command, Halt! 
 
 On June 22nd, 1784, the Spaniards convened a council 
 at Mobile, Ala., in which the Choctaws and Chickasaws were 
 largely represented, also a few other smaller tribes came 
 with their families. As usual on all such occasions, the 
 Spaniards, unexcelled only by the Americans afterwards, 
 lavished upon the Indians their flattery and presents, each 
 of equal value, with unwearied tong-ues and unsparing- hands, 
 thus to induce them to form a treaty of alliance and trade, 
 which w r as successfully consummated. The last article of 
 this treaty then entered -into, confirmed, in the name of the 
 xSpanish King, the Indians in the peaceable possession of all 
 their territories within the King s dominions; and further 
 more, it was stipulated, should any of them be deprived of 
 their lands by any of the King s enemies, he would re 
 possess them with other lands within his territories equal 
 in extent and value to those lost. But as stipulations and 
 promises, never intended to be fulfilled, and cajolery 
 and flattery to deceive them into a trusting belief of true 
 friendship, were the means adopted and practiced by the 
 foreign nations that contended with each other for a portion 
 of the North American Continent, so they, as the vicissitudes 
 of war dictated, withdrew their interest in and protection 
 from the confiding Indians to whom, they had made so many 
 fair promis es of protection, and manifested such high 
 tentions of sincere and disinterested friendship, and 
 hesitatingly assumed the right of transferring them to any 
 nation which their interest demanded without a care, or even 
 a thought, of the interests and welfare of the Indians; thus 
 conclusively proving that they, each haunted with the fear of 
 the other, using every effort to secure and maintain the good 
 will of the Indians only for the purpose of interposing them 
 between themselves and their encroaching rivals, when it 
 was to their interests so to do. 
 
 The Spaniards again induced thirty-six of the most 
 prominent and influential chiefs of the Choctaws and Chick 
 asaws to visit them at New Orleans in 1787, where they were 
 received and entertained with the greatest manifestations of 
 sincere respect and friendship, by escorting tliem to public 
 balls and military parades, and the usual bestowal of pres 
 ents and flattery; nor did it ever occur to the Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws that all this was but for the purpose of rendering 
 them, their more easy prey, and their assumed friendship de 
 signed but to throw them off their guard, and thus conceal 
 their real intentions; thus they were induced to renew their 
 
98 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 pledges of peace and friendship. to the Spaniards, by smok 
 ing- the pipe of peace in confirmation of their former treaty, 
 by judging- the actions of the Spaniards from the standpoint 
 of the integrity and honesty of their own hearts. 
 
 The first treaty made with the Choctaws by the United 
 States was at Hopewell, on January 3rd, 1786; and between 
 this and January 20th, 1825, seven additional treaties were 
 made with them; the second being December 17th, 1801, in 
 which it was mutually agreed between the Choctaw Nation 
 and the United States Government, "that the old line of de 
 marcation heretofore established by and between the officers 
 of his Brittanic Majesty and the Choctaw Nation, shall be 
 retraced, and. plainly marked in such a way aiidnnanner as 
 the President may direct, in the presence of two persons to 
 be appointed by the said nation; and that the said line shall 
 be the boundary between the settlements of the. Mississippi 
 Territory and the Choctaw nation." 
 
 James Wilkerson, as commissioner of the United States; 
 and Push-kush Miko, (Baby Chief), and Ahlatah Humma, 
 (Mixed Red, i. e. Mixed with Red), as commissioners of the 
 Choctaw nation, did run and make distinctly this division 
 line, and made a report of the same, August 31st, 1803, as 
 follows: "And we, the said commissioners plenipotentiary, 
 do ratify and confirm, the said line of demarcation, and do 
 recognize and acknowledge the same to be the boundary 
 which shall separate arid distinguish the land ceded to the 
 United States, between the Tom big-bee, Mobile, and Pascu- 
 gola rivers* from that which had not -been ceded by the said 
 Choctaw nation." 1 
 
 The names of the ancient Choctaws, as well as their 
 entire race, as far as I have been enabled to learn, were 
 nearly always connative referring 1 generally to some animal, 
 and often predicating some attribute of that animal. Such 
 names were easily expressed in sign language; as the ob- 
 jectiveness of the Indian proper names with the result, is 
 that they could all be signified by gesture, whereas the best 
 sign talker among deaf mutes, it is said, is unable to translate 
 the proper names in his speech, therefore resorts to the 
 dactylic alphabet. The Indians were generally named, or 
 rather acquired a name, and sometimes several in succession, 
 from some noted exploit or hazardous adventure. Names 
 of rivers, creeks, mountains, hills, etc.. were given with 
 reference to some natural peculiarity; for the Indian had "a 
 literature of his own, which grew every year in proportions 
 and value; it was the love of Nature, which may be developed 
 in every heart and which seldom fails to purify and exalt. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 99 
 
 Ignorance and prejudice call the Indians savages. I call 
 them heroes. You and I, reader, may not know where or 
 how they live. God does. 
 
 As before stated, the first treaty was made by the United 
 States with the Choctaw Nation on Jan. 3d, 1786. The follow 
 ing" Articles of this treaty were concluded at Hopewell, on the 
 Keowee River, near a place known as Seneca Old Town be 
 tween Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, and Joseph 
 Martin, commissioners plenipotentiary of the United States 
 of America, of the one part, Yockenahoma, (I give the names 
 of the Choctaws as recorded in the treaty, and also give their 
 corrections and significations), corruption, Yoknahoma; 
 Orig., Yoknihumma Land, Hoommar , Red, great medal chief 
 of Soanacoha, corruption of Sanukoah, pro. as Sar-nook-o-ah * 
 (I am mad); Yackehoopie, corruption of Yakni Hopaii pro. as 
 Yark-nih, (Land) Ho-py-ye (Land of the war chief, leading 
 chief of Bugtoogoloo, corruption of Bok Tuklo, pro. as Boke 
 (Creek) Took-lo (Two); Mingohoopari, corruption of Miko 
 Hopaii, pro. as Mik-o (Chief) Ho-py-ye (Leader as War Chief), 
 leading chief of Hashooqua, corruption of Hashokeah, pro. 
 as Harsh-oh-ke-ah (Even the aforesaid); Tobocoh, corruption 
 ofTobihEoh, pro. as Tone-bih Eoh (All Sunshine) great 
 medal chief of Congetoo, utterly foreign to the Choctaw 
 language; Pooshemastuby, corruption of Pasholih-ubih, pro. 
 as Par-sha-lih (To handle) ub-ih (and kill) gorget captain of 
 Senayazo; cor. of Siah (I am) Yo-shu-ba (as ah) Lost; and 
 thirteen small medal chiefs of the first-class, -twelve medal 
 and gorget captains, commissioners plenipotentiary of all the 
 Choctaw nation, of the other part. 
 
 The commissioners plenipotentiary of the United States 
 of America give peace to all ,the Ghoctaw Nation, and.re- 
 ceive them into favor and protection of the United States of 
 America, on the following conditions: 
 
 Article 1st. The commissioners plenipotentiary of all 
 the Choctaw Nation, shall restore all the prisoners, citizens 
 of the United States (useless demand, as the Choctaws were 
 never at war with the United States, and never held any 
 citizen of the United States as a prisoner, but always were 
 their faithful allies) or subjects of their allies, to their entire 
 liberty, if any there be in the Choctaw Nation. . Thev shall 
 also restore all the negroes, and all other property," taken 
 during the late war, from the o^tizens, to such person, ancTat 
 such time and place, as the commissioners of the United 
 States of America shall appoint, if any there be in the Choc 
 taw Nation. 
 
 Article 2nd. The commissioners plenipotentiary of all 
 .the Choctaw Nation, do hereby acknowledge the tribes and 
 
\ 100 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 towns of the said Nation, and the lands with the boundary 
 allotted to the said Indians to live and hunt on, as mentioned 
 in the Third Article, to be under the protection of the. 
 United States of America, and of no other sovereign what 
 soever. 
 
 Article 3rd. The boundary of the lands hereby allotted 
 to the Choctaw Nation to live and hunt on, within the limits 
 of the United States of America, is and shall be the follow 
 ing 1 , viz.: Beginning at a point on the thirty-first degree of 
 north latitude, where the eastern boundary of the Natchez 
 district shall touch the same ; thence east along- the thirty- 
 first degree of north latitude, being* the southern boundary 
 * of the United States of America, until it shall strike the 
 eastern boundary of the lands on which the Indians of the 
 said nation did live and hunt on the twenty-ninth of Novem 
 ber, 1782, while they were under the protection of the King* 
 of Great Britain: thence northerly along the said eastern 
 boundary, until it shall meet the northern boundary of the 
 said lands; thence westerly along the said northern boun 
 dary, until it shall meet the western boundary thereof: 
 thence southerly along the same, to the beginning; saving 
 and reserving for the establishment of trading posts, three 
 tracts or parcels of land, of six miles square each, at such 
 places as the United States, in Congress assembled, shall think 
 proper; which posts, and the lands annexed to them, shall 
 be to the use and under the government of the United States 
 of America. 
 
 Article 4th. If any citizen of the United States, or other 
 person, not being an Indian, shall attempt to settle on any of 
 s the lands hereby allotted to the Indians to live and hunt on, 
 such persons shall forfeit the protection of the United States 
 of America, and the Indians may punish him or not as they 
 please. 
 
 Article 5th. If any Indian or Indians, or persons resid 
 ing among them, or who shall take refuge in their nation, 
 shall commit a robbery or murder, or other capital crime, on 
 any citizen of the United States of America, or person under 
 their protection, the tribe to which such offender may be 
 long, or the nation, shall be bound to deliver him or them up 
 to be punished according to the ordinances of the United 
 States in Congress assembled: provided, that the punish 
 ment shall not be greater than if the robbery or murder, or 
 other capital crime, had been committed by a citizen on a 
 citizen. 
 
 Article 6th. If any citizen of the United States of 
 America, or person under their protection, shall commit a 
 robbery or murder, or other capital crime, on any Indian, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 101 
 
 -such offender or offenders shall be punished in the same 
 manner as if the robbery or murder, or other capital crime, 
 had been committed on a citizen of the United States of 
 America; and the punishment shall be in the presence of 
 some of the Choctaws, if any will attend at. the time and 
 place; and that they may have an opportunity so to do, due 
 notice, if practicable, of the time of such intended punish 
 ment shall be sent to some one of the tribe. 
 
 Article 7th. It is understood that the punishment of 
 the innocent, under the idea of retaliation, is unjust, and 
 .shall not be practiced on either side, except where there is a 
 manifest violation of this treaty; and then it shall be pre 
 ceded, first by a demand of justice; and if refused, then by a 
 declaration of hostilities . (But wherein is this to benefit the 
 Choctaws, if, to the best of their judgment, "this treaty" 
 was violated by us, and their demand of justice was refused? 
 Could they hope to obtain justice "by a declaration of hostili 
 ties"? What a farce is such a futile attempt to display our 
 wonderful generosity to the Choctaws, when we have openly 
 violated every treaty made with them, whenever it was to 
 -our interest so to do, a truth we cannot deny, knowing the 
 folly they would be guilty of in declaring war against us 
 when \ve were as a thousand to one of them in every particu 
 lar as to advantage. Nor have we neglected to use those ad 
 vantages from 1786 down the passing years to^the present, 
 to the utter impoverishment and final extermination of the 
 too confiding Indians). 
 
 For the benefit and comfort of the Indians, and for the 
 prevention of injuries or oppressions on the part of the citi 
 zens or Indians, the United States in Congress assembled 
 shall have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the trade 
 with the Indians, and managing all their affairs in such man- 
 jier as they think proper. 
 
 Then w r as inaugurated a system of fraud by which the 
 Choctaws were completely given into the hands .of a few 
 soulless white traders who fleeced their victims at will. 
 
 Article 9th. Until the pleasure of Congress be known, 
 respecting the 8th article, all traders, .citizens of the United 
 States of America, shall have liberty to go to any of the tribes 
 or towns of the Choctaws, to trade with them, and they shall 
 be protected in their persons and property and kindly 
 treated. 
 
 Article 10. The said Indians shall give notice to the citi 
 zens of the United States of America, of any designs which 
 they may know or suspect to be formed in any neighboring 
 tribe, or bv any person whomsoever, against the peace, 
 trade, or interest, of th^ United States, of America. 
 
102 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 / \ 
 
 Article 11. The hatchet shall be forever buried, and the 
 peace given by the United^States of America, and friendship 
 re-established between the said States on the one part, and 
 all the Choctaw nation on the other part, shall be universal, 
 and the contracting parties shall use their utmost endeavors 
 to maintain the peace given as aforesaid, and friendship 
 established. 
 
 In witness of all and every thing herein determined, be 
 tween the United States of America and all the Choctaws, we, 
 the underwritten commissioners, by virtue of our full powers\ 
 have signed this definitive treaty, and have caused our seals- 
 to be hereunto affixed. 
 
 Done at Hopewell, on the Keowee, third dav of Jan 
 uary, 1786 L. S. (Locus Sigilli) Place of the Seal. 
 
 BENJAMIN HAWKINS, 
 ANDREW PICKENS, , 
 JOSEPH MARTIN. 
 
 Corruption: Yockenahoma, his x mark. Original: Yok- 
 ni Humma, pro. Yak-nih Hoom-mah Land Red. 
 
 Corruption: Yokehoopoie, his x mark. Original: Yak- 
 ni hopaii (as, hopy ye). Land of the Oar-chief. 
 
 Corruption: Mingo hoopaie, his x mark. Original: Mi- 
 kohopaii. Leader, as War-chief. 
 
 SECOND TREATY. 
 
 CONCLUDED DECEMBER I?TH, 1801, BETWEEN THE CHOCTAW 
 NATION AND THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 S" 
 
 Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States of 
 America, by James Wilkerson, of the State of Maryland,, 
 brigadier general in the army of the United States, Benjamin 
 Hawkins, of North Carolina, and Andrew Pickens, of Softth 
 Carolina, commissioners plenipotentiary of the United States, 
 on the one part,, and the Mingoes, principal men and ;war- 
 riors of the Choctaw Nation, representing the said Nation in 
 council assembled, on the other part, have entered into the 
 following articles and conditions, viz.: 
 
 Article 1st. Whereas, the United States in Congress, 
 assembled, did, by their commissioners plenipotentiary, 
 Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, and Joseph Martin, at 
 a treaty held with the chiefs and head men of the Choctaw 
 Nation at Hopewell, on the Keowee, Julie 30th, 1786, give 
 peace to the said Nation, and receive it into, the favor and 
 protection of the United States of America; it is agreed by 
 the parties to these presents respectively, that the Choctaw 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 103 
 
 Nation, or such part of it as may reside within the limits of 
 the United States, shall be and continue under the care and 
 protection of the said United States; and that the mutual 
 confidence and friendship which are hereby acknowledged 
 to subsist between the contracting" parties, shall be main 
 tained and perpetuated. 
 
 Article 2nd. The Mingoes, principal men, and warriors 
 of the Choctaw Nation of Indians, do hereby give their free 
 consent that a convenient and desirable wagon-way may be 
 explored, marked, opened, and made, under the orders and 
 instructions of the President of the United States, through, 
 their lands; to commence at the northern extremity of the 
 settlements of the Mississippi Territory, and to extend from 
 thence, by such .route as may be selected and surveyed un 
 der the authority of the President of the United States, until 
 it shall strike the lands claimed by the Chickasaw Nation; 
 and the same shall be and continue forever, a high-way for 
 the citizens of the United States and the Choctaws; and the 
 said Choctaws shall nominate two discreet men from their 
 Nation, who may be employed as assistants, guides, or 
 pilots, during the time of laying- out and opening the said 
 high-way, or so long* as may be deemed expedient, under the 
 direction of the officer charged with this duty, who shall re 
 ceive a reasonable compensation for their services. 
 
 Article 3rd. The tw r o contracting parties covenant and 
 agree, that the old line of demarkation heretofore established 
 by and between the officers of his Britanic Majesty and the 
 Choctaw Nation, which runs in a parallel direction with the 
 Mississippi river, and eastward thereof, shall be retraced 
 and plainly marked, in such a way and manner as the Presi 
 dent may direct, in the presence of two persons to be ap 
 pointed by the said Nation; and that the said line shall be 
 the boundary between the settlements of the Mississippi 
 Territory and the Choctaw Nation. And the said Nation 
 does, by these presents, relinquish to the United States and 
 quit claim forever, all their right, title, and pretension, to 
 the land lying between the said line and the Mississippi 
 river, bounded south by the thirty-first degree of north lati 
 tude, and north by .the Yazoo river, where the said line shall 
 strike same; and on the part of the commissioners it is 
 agreed, that all persons who may be settled beyond this line 
 shall be removed within it, on the side toward the Missis 
 sippi, together with their slaves, household furniture, tools, 
 materials, and stock, and the cabins or houses erected by 
 such persons shall be demolished. 
 
 Article 4th. The President of the United States may, 
 at his discretion, proceed to execute the Second Article of 
 
104 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 this treaty; and the Third Article shall be carried into effect 
 as soon as may be convenient to the Government of the 
 United States, and without unnecessary delay on the one 
 part or the other, of which the President shall be judge; the 
 Choctaws to be reasonably advised, by order of the Presi 
 dent of the United States, of the time when, and the place 
 where, the re-survey and re-marking- of the old line referred 
 to in the preceding Article will be commenced. 
 
 Article 5th. The commissioners of the United States 
 for and in consideration of the foregoing concessions on the 
 part of the Choctaw Nation, and in full satisfaction, do give 
 and deliver to the Mingoes, chiefs, and warriors, of the said 
 Nation, at the signing of these presents, the value of $2,000 
 in goods and merchandise, net cost at Philadelphia, the re 
 ceipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, and they further en 
 gage to give three sets of blacksmith tools to the said Na 
 tion. 
 
 Article 6th. This treaty shall take effect and be obliga 
 tory on the contracting parties, as soon as the same shall be 
 ratified by the President of the United States of America, 
 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof. 
 
 In testimony whereof, the commissioners plenipoten 
 tiary of the United States, and the Mingoes, principal men, 
 and warriors of the Choctaw nation, have hereto subscribed 
 their names and affixed their seals, at Fort Adams, on. the 
 Mississippi, this the 17th day of December, 1801, and of the 
 independence of the United States the 26. 
 
 JAMES WILKERSON, 
 BENJAMIN HAWKINS, 
 ANDREW Pic KENS. 
 
 Corruption: Tuskana Hopia, his x mark. Original: 
 Tushka -hopnii, Warrior of the War Chief. 
 
 Corruption: Toota Homo, his x mark. Original: Tobu 
 hum ma, made red. 
 
 Corruption: Ming*o Horn Massatubby, his x mark. 
 Original: Miko humma ubi (i, as ih) Red chief killer. 
 
 This treaty was also signed by twenty-two other Choc- 
 taws, whose names are omitted. 
 
 AGREEMENT. 
 
 CONCLUDED OCTOBER 17 rir, 1802, BETWEEN THE CHOCTAW 
 NATION AND THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 A provisional convention, entered into and made by 
 Brigadier General James Wilkerson, of the State of Mary- 
 
HISTORY OI^ THE INDIANS 105 
 
 land, commissioner for holding- conferences with the In 
 dians south of the Ohio river, in behalf of the United States, 
 on the one part, and the whole Choctaw Nation, by their 
 chiefs, -head men, and principal warriors, on the other 
 part . 
 
 Preamble: For the mutual accommodation of the par 
 ties, and to perpetuate that concord and friendship, which so 
 happily subsists between them, they do hereby freely, vol 
 untarily, and without constraint, covenant and agree: 
 
 Article 1st. That the President of the United States 
 may, at his discretion, by a commissioner or commissioners, 
 to be appointed by him, by and with the advice and con 
 sent of the Senate of the United States, retrace, connect, 
 and plainly re-rnark the old line of limits, established by and 
 between his Britannic majesty and the said Choctaw nation, 
 which begins on the left bank of the Chickasaw-hay river, 
 and runs thence in an easterly direction to the right bank 
 of the Tombigbee river, terminating- on the same, at a bluff, 
 well-known by the name of Hacha Tiggeby (corruption of 
 Hacha toh bichi. You are very white,) but it is to be clear 
 ly understood, that two commissioners, to be appointed, by 
 the said nation, from their own body, are to attend the com 
 missioners of the United States, who may be . appointed to 
 perform this service, for which purpose the said Choctaw r 
 Nation shall be reasonably advised by the President of the 
 United States, of the particular period at which the opera 
 tion may be commenced, and the said Choctaw commission 
 ers shall be subsisted by the United States, so long as they 
 may be engaged on this business, and paid for their services, 
 during the said term, at the rate of one dollar per day. 
 
 Article 2nd. The chiefs, head men, and warriors, of the 
 said Choctaw nation, do hereby constitute, authorize, and 
 appoint, the chiefs and head men of the upper towns of the 
 said nation, to make such alteration in the old boundary 
 line near the mouth of the Yazoo river, as may be conven 
 ient, and may be done without injury to the said Nation. 
 
 Article 4. This convention shall take effect, and becorhe 
 obligatory on the contracting parties, as soon as the Presi 
 dent of the United States, by and with the advice and consent 
 of the Senate, shall have ratified the same. 
 
 In testimony whereof, the parties have hereunto set 
 their hands and affixed their seals, at Fort Confederation, on 
 the Tombigbee, in the Choctaw country, the 17th, of Octo 
 ber 1802, and of the independence of the United States the 
 twenty-seventh. 
 
 JAMES WILKEKSON. 
 
 In behalf of the lower towns and Chickasaw-hay. 
 \ 
 
106 ,. HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. ^ 
 
 Corrupted: Tuskona Hoopoio, his x mark. Original:" 
 Tushkahopaii. Warrior of the Prophet. 
 
 Corruption: Mingo Hoopoio, his x mark. Original: 
 Mikohopaii. King- of the War-chief. 
 
 The names of twelve Choc taws are omitted who signed 
 this treaty. 
 
 AGREEMENT. 
 
 > CONCLUDED AUGUST 31st, 1803, BETWEEN THE CHOCTAW 
 NATION AND THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 i / 
 To whom these presents shall come: , 
 
 Know ye, that the undersigned commissioners plenipo 
 tentiary of the United States of America, of the one part, and 
 the whole Choctaw Nation of the other part, being- dulf au 
 thorized by the President of the United States, and by the 
 chiefs and head men of said Nation, do hereby establish, in 
 conformity to the convention of Fort Confederation, for the 
 line of demarkation recognized in said convention, the follow 
 ing metes and bounds, viz: Beginning at the channel of the 
 Hatche at the point where the line of limits between the 
 United States and Spain crosseth the same, thence up the 
 channel of said river to the confluence of the Chickasaw-hay 
 (corruption of Chikasahha) and Buckhatannee (corruption of 
 Buchchah, a range of hills) and Haiitah (to be. .bright) rivers, 
 thence up the channel of the Buchhatannee to Boque Hooma 
 (corruption of Bokhumma, Red Creek, thence up said creek 
 to a pine tree standing on the left bank of the same, and 
 blazed on two of its sides, about twelve links southwest of an 
 old trading path, leading from the town of Mobile to the 
 Hewanee towns, much worn, but not in use at the present 
 time. From this tree we find the following bearings and 
 distances, viz: south 54 degrees 30 minutes west, one chain, 
 one link, a blackgum, north 39 degrees east, one chain, 75 
 links, water oak; thence with the old British line of partition 
 in its various inflections to a mulberry post, planted on the 
 right bank of the main branch of Sintee Bogue, (cor. of Sinti 
 Bok and pro. as Seen-tih Boke, Snake Creek) where it makes 
 a sharp turn to the south east, a large broken top cypress 
 tree standing near the opposite bank of the creek, which is 
 about three poles wide, theaice down the said creek to the 
 Tombigbee and Mobile rivers to the above mentioned line of 
 limits between the tTnited States and Spain, and with the 
 same to the point of beginning; and we, the said commission 
 ers plenipotentiary, do ratify and confirm the said line of 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 107 
 
 demarkation, and do recog nize and acknowledge the same to 
 be the boundary which shall separate and distinguish the 
 land ceded to the United States, between the Tombigbee, 
 Mobile and Pascagola rivers, from that which has hot been 
 ceded by the said Choctaw Nation. (Tombigbee, corruption 
 of Itombiikbi, Boxmaker; Mobile, corruption of Momabinah, 
 A lodge for all; Pascag ola, corruption of Puskaokla, Bread 
 people). In testimony whereof, w r e hereunto affix our 
 hands and seals, this 31st, day of August, 1803, to triplicates 
 of this tenor and date. Done at Hoe-Buck-intoopa, (corrup 
 tion of Hoburk, coward intakobi lazy) the day and year above 
 written, and in the 27th year of the independence of the 
 United States. 
 
 JAMES WILKEKSON. 
 
 ""Corrupted: Mingo Pooscoos, his x mark; Original: 
 Mikopuscus (pro. Mik-o Poos-koosh) Infant King. , 
 
 Corrupted: Alatala Hooma, his x mark. Original: 
 Alatalihhumma, (pro. Ar-lah-tah-lih hoom.mah.) 
 Witnesses present: Joseph Chambers, U. S. Factor. 
 Young Gaines, Interpreter, 
 John Bowyer, Capt. 2nd U. S. Regt. 
 
 We the commissioners of the Choctaw nation, duly 
 appointed, and the chiefs of the said nation who reside on the 
 Tombigbee river, next to Sintee Bogue, do acknowledge to 
 have received from the United States of America, by the 
 hand of Brigadier General, James Wilkerson, as a considera 
 tion in full for the confirmation of the above concession, the 
 following articles, viz.; fifteen pieces of strands, three rifles, 
 one hundred and fifty blankets, two hundred and fifty pounds 
 of powder, two hundred and fifty pounds of lead, one bridle, 
 and man s saddle, and one black silk handkerchief. (Thus 
 we have an exhibition of the wonderful generosity expressed 
 in the Government s reiterated "To give peace to all the 
 Choctaw nation," and the meaning of "and receive them into 
 favor and protection of the United States of America," 
 Wonderful protection! to take advantage of their ignorance 
 in the value of their lands, and disposses them of hundreds 
 of thousands of acres for a few pounds of powder and lead, 
 a few blankets, a saddle and bridle, and lastly though not 
 least, "one black silk handkerchief." 
 
 Mingo Pooscoos, his x mark. 
 Alatala Hooma, his x mark. 
 Commissioners of the Choctaw nation. 
 Corrupted: Pio Mingo, his x mark Original: 
 Pin Miko. Our chief. 
 
 Corrupted: Pasa Mastubby Mingo, his x mark. Origi- 
 
108 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 nal: Pisahmiahubih Miko, (pro. Pe-sah-me-ah-ub-ih Miko. 
 To see, go ahead and kill the chief.) 
 
 In November, 1805, another portion of their country was 
 ceded to the United States; and in October, 1816, still another 
 portion; and October 18, 1820, another portion was ceded for 
 and in consideration of a tract of country west of the Missis 
 sippi river, being between the Arkansas and Red rivers, the 
 lines of which were to be ascertained and distinctly marked, 
 by commissioners for that purpose, to be accompanied by 
 such persons as the Choctaws might select. Again, January 
 20th, 1825, they ceded another portion of their lands, east of 
 the Mississippi river, to the United States. Then in Sep 
 tember, 1830, the climax of the white man s greediness as 
 far as the Choctaws w.ere involved, was reached, by forcing 
 that people to cede the last acre of land they possessed east 
 of the Mississippi river. And thus by hypocrisy, deception, 
 fraud, misrepresentation and unblushing falsehood, has the 
 octopus arm of white avarice seized in its insatiable 
 embrace the Indians country from Maine to California, un 
 til scarcely enough is left them upon which to eke out a mis 
 erable existence; and yet, year by year, generation by 
 generation, the grasp widens and tightens, and creeps fur 
 ther and futrher upon them until with its stiff-necked, in 
 corrigible brutishness, its hissing is heard, throughout the 
 length and breadth of the land, vibrating upon that harp of a 
 thousand strings that still remains in tune to the same old 
 howl "Open to white settlement, open up to white settle 
 ment." 
 
 A TREATY OF LIMITS. 
 
 CONCLUDED NOVEMBER IbTH, 1805, BKTWKICN THK CHOCTAW 
 NATION AND THK UNITED STATES. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States of 
 America, by James Robertson, of Tennessee, Silas Dins- 
 more, of New Hampshire, agent of the United States to the 
 Choctaws, commissioners plenipotentiary of the United 
 States, on the one part, and [the Mingoes, chiefs, and war 
 riors of the Choctaw Nation of Indians, in council assembled 
 on the other part, have entered into the following agree 
 ment, viz. : 
 
 Article 1st. The Mingoes, chiefs, and warriors, of the 
 Choctaw Nation of Indians, in behalf of themselves and the 
 said Nation, do, by these presents, cede to the United States 
 of America, all the lands to which they now have or ever had 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 109 
 
 claim, lying- to the right of the following lines; to say, Be 
 ginning at a branch of theHumecheeto (Cor. of.Humma chitoh, 
 being greatly red), where the same is intersected by the 
 path leading- from Natches to the county of Washington, 
 usually called McClary s path, thence eastwardly along 
 McClar^y s path, to the east or left bank of Pearl river, 
 thence on such a direct line as would touch the lower end of 
 a bluff on the left bank of Chickasaw hay river, the first 
 above the JJiyoo wunnee (corruption of Hiohlib, Standing, 
 uni, berries) towns, called Broken Bluff, thence in a direct 
 line nearly parallel with the river, to a point whence an east 
 line of four miles in length will intersect the river below the 
 low r est settlement at present occupied and improved in the 
 Hiyoo wunnee town, thence still east four miles, thence in a 
 direct line nearly parallel with the river to a point to be run 
 from the lower end of the Broken Bluff to Falukta bunnee 
 (corruption of Falakna, a fox squirrel, and bunna, one who 
 wants) on the Tom big-bee riyer, four miles from the Broken 
 Bluff, thence along the said line to Falukta bunnee, thence 
 east to the boundary between the Creeks and Choctaw r s on 
 the ridge dividing the waters running into the Alabama from 
 those running- into the Tombig bee, thence southwardly along 
 the said ridge and boundary to the southern point of the 
 Choctaw claim. Reserving- a tract of two miles square, run 
 on meridians an4 parallels, so as to include the houses and 
 improvements in the town of Fuket chee poonta, (corrup 
 tion of Fakit chipinta, and pr6. as Fah-kit che-pin-tah, Tur 
 key very small), and reserving also a tract of 5120 acres, be 
 ginning at a post on the left bank of Tombigbee river op 
 posite the lower end of Hatch a tigbee (corruption of Ha- 
 chotukni pro. Har-cho-tuk-nih, Loggerhead turtle) Bluff, 
 thence ascending the river four miles front and two back ; 
 one half for the use of Alzira, the other half for the use of 
 Sophia, daughters of Samuel Mitchell, by Molly, a Choctaw 
 woman. The latter reserve to be subject to the same laws 
 and regulations as may be established in the circumjacent 
 country; and the said Mingoes of the Choctaw, request the 
 government of the United States to confirm the title of this 
 reserve in the said Alzira an,d Sophia. 
 
 Article 2nd. For and in consideration of the foregoing 
 cession on the part of the Choctaw Nation, and in full satis 
 faction for the same, the commissioners of the United States 
 do hereby covenant and agree with the said Nation, in behalf 
 of the United States, that the said States shall pay to the said 
 Nation fifty thousand and five hundred dollars for the follow 
 ing purposes, to wit, forty-eight thousand dollars to enable 
 the Mingoes to discharge the debt due to their merchants and 
 
110 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 traders (thus went the poor Choctaws land and money, to a 
 set of white sharpers;) and also pay for the depredations 
 committed on stock and other property, by evil disposed 
 persons of the said Choctaw Nation; (but who were the "evil 
 disposed persons of the said Choctaw Nation"? No other 
 than the white refugees from the violated laws of the States, 
 who had fled to the Choctaw Nation, and of whose character 
 the Choctaws were wholly ignorant; they stole horses and 
 kille.d cattle, not belonging to the Choctaws for they feared 
 them, but belonging to the white traders, who charged 
 up their losses, duly exaggerated, to the Choctaws, thus 
 they were swindled and robbed by the shrewd, but not too 
 honest, white traders through a credulous government the 
 truth in a nut shell.) 5 twenty-five hundred dollars to be paid 
 to John Pitchlynn, to compensate him for certain losses sus 
 tained in the Choctaw Country, and as a grateful testimonial 
 of the Nation s esteem. And the said States shall also pay 
 annually to the said Choctaws, for the use of the Nation, 
 three thousand dollars, in such goods (at net cost in Phila 
 delphia) as the Mingoes may choose, they giving at least one 
 year s notice of such choice. 
 
 Article 3d. The commissioners of the United States, 
 on the part of the said States, engage to give to each of the 
 three great medal Mingoes Puckshuiinubbee (corruption of 
 Apucksheubih) Mingo Hoomastubbee (corruption of Humma- 
 ubi, Red Killer) and Poosshamattaha (corruption of Anuma- 
 ishtayaubih, a messenger of death), five .hundred dollars, in 
 consideration of past services in their Nation, and also to pay 
 to each of them an annuity of one hundred and fifty dollars 
 during their continuance in office. It is perfectly under 
 stood, that neither of those medal Mingoes is to share any 
 part of the general annuity of the Nation. 
 
 Article 4th. The Mingoes, chiefs, and warriors of the 
 Choctaws, certify that a tract of land, not exceeding fifteen 
 hundred acres, situated between the Tombigbee river and 
 Jackson s creek, the front or river line extending down the 
 river from a blazed white oak, standing on the left bank of 
 the Tombigbee, near the head of the shoal, next above Ho- 
 bukenloopa (corruption of Hobachit Yukpa, a laughing 
 echo), and claimed by John McGrew, was, in fact, granted to 
 the said McGrew by Opiomingo Hesmitta, (corruption of the 
 words Hopoamikohimmittah, The hungry young chief) and 
 others, many years ago, and they respectfully request the 
 government of the United States to establish" the claim of 
 the said McGrew to the said fifteen hundred acres. 
 
 Article 5th. The two contracting parties covenant and 
 agree, that the boundary, as described in the second article, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. Ill 
 
 shall be ascertained and plainly marked, in such way and 
 manner as the President of the United States may direct, in 
 the presence of three persons to be appointed by the said 
 Nation; one from each of the great medal districts, each of 
 whom shall receive for their service two dollars per day for 
 his actual attendance; and the Choctaws shall have due and 
 reasonable notice of the place where, and time when the 
 operation shall commence. 
 
 The first article is presumed to be meant. The second 
 does not designate a boundary : 
 
 Article 6th. The lease granted for establishments on 
 the roads leading- through the Choctaw country, is hereby 
 confirmed in all its conditions; and, except in the alteration 
 of boundary, nothing- in the instrument shall affect or change 
 any of the pre-existing- obligation of the cortracting parties. 
 
 Article 7th. This treaty shall take effect and become 
 reciprocally obligatory so soon as the same shall have been 
 ratified by the, President of the United States of America, by 
 and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United 
 States. 
 
 Done on Mount Dexter, in Pooshapukanuk (corruption 
 of Pashiakona, Unto the dust) in the Choctaw country, this 
 the 6th of November, 1805, and of the independence of the 
 United States of America the thirtieth. 
 
 JAMKS ROBE TSON, 
 SILAS DINSML Ni, 
 
 Commissioners. 
 Puchunmibbee, his x mark 
 Mingo Hoomastubbe, his x mark, 
 Pooshamattah, his x mark, 
 
 Great Medal Mingoes. 
 Chiefs and Warriors: 
 
 Corruption Ookchummee, his x mark; original, Okchulih, 
 Tiller of the land, 
 
 Corruption Tushamiuboee, his x mark; Tusuhahmutu- 
 bih, to whoop and also kill, and thirty-one others. 
 
 A TREATY OF CESSION 
 
 CONCLUDED, OCTOBER 24TH, 1816, BETWEEN THE CHOCTAW 
 NATION AND THE UNITED STATICS. 
 
 A treaty of cession between the United States of America 
 
 and the Choctaw Nation of Indians. 
 
 James Madison, President of the United States of Amer 
 ica, by General Coffee, John Rhea, and John McKee, 
 
112 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Esquires, commissioners on the part of the United States, 
 duly authorized for that purpose, on the one part, and the 
 Mingoes, leaders, Captains, and warriors, of the Choctaw 
 Nation, in general council assembled, in behalf of themselves 
 and the whole Nation, on the other part, have entered into 
 the following- articles, which, when ratified by the President 
 of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Sen 
 ate, shall be obligatory on both parties: 
 
 Article Isti The Choctaw Nation, for the consideration 
 hereafter mentioned, cede to the United States all their title 
 and claim to land lying 1 east of the following 1 boundary, 
 beginning- at the mouth of Oaktibuha (corruption of O-ka, 
 water, it-tib-ih, having fought) river, the Chickasaw boun 
 dary, and running thence down the Tombigbee river, until it 
 intersects the northern boundary of a cession made to the 
 United States by the Choctaws at Mount Dexter, on the 16th 
 of November, 1805. 
 
 Article 2nd. In consideration of the foregoing cession, 
 the United States engage to pay to the Choctaw Nation the 
 sum of six thousand dollars annually, for twenty years; they 
 also agree to pay them in merchandize, to be delivered imme 
 diately on signing the present treaty, the sum of ten thou 
 sand dollars. 
 
 Thus we again see the Choctaws swindled out of their 
 lands, by getting only as many thousands of dollars for their 
 lands as they were worth in as many millions. But we had 
 taken them under our fatherly protection, and, as a matter 
 of course, they must pay for so great a favor and so great a 
 blessing. 
 
 Done and executed in full and open council, (but by 
 much misrepresentation and dissimulation, as will be here 
 after shown) at the Choctaw trading house, October 24th, 
 1816, and of the independence of the United States the forty- 
 first. JOHN COFFEE, 
 
 JOHN RHEA, 
 JOHN McKEE, 
 Mushoolatubbe, his x mark, 
 Pooshamallaha, his x mark, 
 Pukshunnubbee, his x mark, 
 
 TREATY. 
 
 CONCLUDED, OCTOBER 18, 1820, BETWEEN THE CHOCTAW 
 NATION AND THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 A treaty of friendship, limits and accommodation, be 
 tween the United States of America and the Choctaw Nation 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 113 
 
 of Indians, began and concluded at the treaty ground, in 
 said nation, near Doak s Stand, on the Natchez road. 
 
 Preamble: Whereas, it is an important object with the 
 President of the United States, to promote the civilization of 
 the Choctaw Indians, by the establishment of schools 
 amongst them; and to perpetuate them as a nation, by ex 
 changing, for a small part of their land here, a country be 
 yond the Mississippi river, where all, who live by hunting, 
 and will not work, may be collected and settled together: 
 And whereas, it is desirable to the State of Mississippi, to 
 obtain a small part of the land belonging to said nation; for 
 the mutual accommodation of the parties, and for securing 
 the happiness and protection of the whole Choctaw nation, 
 as well as preserving that harmony and friendship which so 
 happily subsists between them and the United States, James 
 Monroe, President of the United States of America, by 
 Andrew Jackson, of the State of Tennessee, Major General 
 in the army of the United States, and General Thomas 
 Hinds, of the State of Mississippi, commissioners plenipo 
 tentiary of the United States, on the one part, and the Min- 
 goes, head men, and warriors, of the Choctaw Nation, in full 
 council assembled, on the other part, hav& freely and volun 
 tarily entered into the following articles, viz.: to promote the 
 civilization of the Choctaw Indians, by the establishment of 
 schools among them, and to perpetuate them as a Nation, 
 and securing the happiness of the whole Choctaw Nation: 
 
 Article 1st. To enable the President of the United 
 States to carry into effect the above grand and humane ob 
 ject, the Mingoes, head men, and warriors, of the Choctaw 
 Nation in full council, assembled, in behalf of themselves and 
 said Nation, do, by these presents, 1 cede to the United 
 States of America, all the land lying and being within the 
 boundaries following, to-wit: Beginning on. the Choctaw 
 boundary, eastpfPearl river, at a point due south of the White 
 Oak spring, on the old Indian path; thence north to said 
 spring; thence northwardly to a black oak, standing on the. 
 Natchez road, about forty poles eastwardly from Doak s 
 fence, marked A. J. and blazed; thence, a straight line to the 
 head of Black Creek, or Bogue Loosa (original Bok Lusa), 
 thence, down Black Creek, or Bogue Loosa, to a small lake; 
 thence, a direct course, so as to strike the Mississippi o rre- 
 mile below the mouih of the Arkansas river; thence, down 
 the Mississippi to our boundary; thence, around and along 
 the same to the beginning. 
 
 Article 3rd. , To prevent any dispute upon the sub 
 ject of the boundary mentioned in the First and Second 
 Articles, it is hereby stipulated between the parties, that 
 
114 HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 
 
 the same shall be ascertained and distinctly marked by a 
 commissioner, or commissioners, to be appointed by -the 
 United States, accompanied by such person as the Choctaw 
 Nation may select ; said Nation having- thirty days previous 
 notice of the time. and place at which the operation will com 
 mence. The person so chosen by the Choctaws, shall act as 
 a pilot or guide, for which the United States will pay him 
 two dollars per day, whilst actually engaged in the performa- 
 tion of that duty. 
 
 Article 4th. The boundaries hereby established be 
 tween the Choctaw Indians and the United States, 011 this 
 side of the Mississippi river, shall remain without alteration 
 until the period at which said Nation shall become so civiliz 
 ed and enlightened as to be made citizens of the United States, 
 and Congress shall lay off a limited parcel of land for the 
 benefit of each family included in the Nation. 
 
 Yet, that "period at which said nation shall become so 
 civilized and enlightened as to be made citizens of the United 
 States," never was realized, since "the boundaries" did 
 not "remain without alteration" by the open violation of said 
 4th, article on the part of the United States, as will be fully 
 shown and established; proving that our professed desire 
 and vociferous declarations, concerning the civilization, the 
 moral and intellectual interest of the Choctaws, were myths, 
 palpable falsehoods, assumed and practised to deceive the 
 Choctaws and thereby take advantage of their credulity, as it 
 is manifested even unto the present day with unblushing 
 boldness in our dealing with the entire Indian race, feeling 
 the reproof of conscience in our injustice and inhumanity to 
 that unfortunate and helpless people, and our determination 
 to rob them of their last acre of land, as a wave separated for 
 a moment by the course of a ship that passes through it. 
 
 Article 5th. For the purpose of aiding and assisting the 
 poor Indians, who wish to remove to the country hereby 
 ceded on the part of the United States, and to enable them to 
 do well and support their families, the commissioners of the 
 United States engage, in behalf of said States, to give to each 
 warrior a blanket, kettle, rifle gun, bullet mould and nip 
 pers, and ammunition for hunting and defence, for one year. 
 Said warrior shall also be supplied with corn to support him 
 and his family, for the same period, and whilst travelling to 
 the country above ceded to the Choctaw Nation." (Mirabile 
 dictu! When before, in all the annals of time, was there 
 such a display of munificence in the simple manifestation of 
 an expressed desire "to promote the civilization of the Chot- 
 taw Indians, and for securing their happiness and protec 
 tion." The bestowal of "a blanket, kettle, rifle gun, bullet 
 
HISTORY OF TITE INDIANS. 115 
 
 mould and nippers." Wonderful! Indeed, did not the 
 angels of heaven look with profound astonishment at such a 
 display of human magnanimity in its effort "to promote the 
 civilization of the Choctaw Indians," and bring- them into the 
 folds of Christianity? Surely the devil may give up his chase 
 after the souls of the Choctaws, since they have such a lov 
 ing and powerful protector in the United States of America. 
 Magnanimous United States ! Well may we make the welkin 
 ring with our huzzas of Liberty, freedom and equal rights to 
 all people of earth s remotest bound, when in the magnani 
 mity of our Christian zeal "to promote the civilization of the 
 Choctaws," we made that munificent bequest of "a blanket, 
 flap, kettle, rifle gun, bullet moulds and nippers." and then 
 drove them to that distant wilderness, as far from the means 
 of being benefitted by the influences of Christianity as we 
 could drive them, there to be civilized and Christianized by 
 our remarkable munificent gifts.) 
 
 Article 6th. The commissioners of the United States 
 further covenant and agree, on the part of said States, that 
 an agent shall be appointed, in due time, for the benefit of the 
 Choctaw Indians who may be permanently settled in the 
 country ceded to them beyond the Mississippi river, and, at 
 a convenient period, a factor shall be sent there with goods, 
 to supply their wants. A blacksmith shall also be settled 
 amongst them, at a point most convenient to the population; 
 and a faithful person appointed, whose duty it shall be to 
 use every reasonable exertion to collect all the wandering 
 Indians belonging to the Choctaw Nation, upon the land 
 hereby provided for their permanent settlement. 
 
 Article 7th. Out of the lands ceded by the Choctaw 
 Nation to the United States, the commissioners aforesaid, in 
 behalf of said States, further covenant and agree that fifty- 
 four sections of one mile square shall be laid out in good 
 land, by the President >f the United States, and sold, for the 
 purpose of raising a fund, to be applied to the support of the 
 Choctaw schools, on both sides of the Mississippi river. 
 Three-fourths of said fund shall be appropriated for the 
 benefit of the schools here; and the remaining fourth for the 
 establishment of one or more beyond the Mississippi; the 
 whole to be placed in the hands of the President 
 of the United States, and to be applied by him, 
 expressly and exclusively, to this valuable object. 
 (But what was the result of this appropriation "fifty- 
 four sections" of their land to the establishing and 
 supporting "of the Choctaw schools, on both sides of the 
 Mississippi river." In ten years after, when hundreds of 
 dollars, proceeds of the sale of the fifty-four sections of their 
 
116 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 own lands, ; had been used in establishing schools, and these 
 schools were nourishing- all over their country, I speak of 
 that east of the Mississippi river, and though, in spite of 
 embarrassments, adversities and misfortunes, they \vere 
 making- the most rapid progress in civilization and Chris 
 tianity, a quietus was placed upon everything- by the United 
 States forcing them to sell their entire land possessions to 
 them, and driving- them, by the unmerciful hand of arbitrary 
 power, to the distant wilderness in the west where they had 
 driven the former, there to civilize themselves by means of 
 a "blanket, flap, kettle, rifle g"un, moulds and nippers, v 
 while their schools and the "fifty-four sections of land" be 
 came thing s of the past to the Choctaw, to be heard of no 
 more by them ; and thus we sacrificed this trusting- people, 
 our faithful allies, to our avarice, more odious in all its feat 
 ures than even the nefarious proposal which Themistocles 
 sug-g-ested to Aristides, of burning" the ships of the allies at 
 the very time in which they were engaged in fighting 
 for the common liberties of Greece; since he was blinded 
 by the glare of military glory, but we by a sordid, debas 
 ing and degrading avarice. 
 
 Article 8th. To remove any discontent which may have 
 arisen in the Choctaw Nation, in consequence of six thousand 
 dollars of their annuity having been appropriated annually 
 for sixteen years^by some of their chiefs, for the support of 
 their schools, the commissioners of the United States oblige 
 themselves, on the part of said States, to set apart an addi 
 tional tract of land, for raising* a fund equal to that given by 
 said chiefs, so that the whole of the annuity may remain in 
 the Nation, and be divided amongst them. And in order 
 that exact justice may be done to the poor and distressed of 
 said Nation, it shall be the duty of the agent to see that, the 
 wants of every deaf, dumb, blind, ,and distressed Indian, 
 shall be first supplied out of said annuity, and the balance 
 equally distributed amongst every individual of said Nation. 
 
 Article 9th. All those who have separate settlements, 
 and fall within the limits of the land added by the Choctaw 
 Nation to the United States, and who desire to remain where 
 they now reside, shall be secured in a. tract or parcel of land 
 one mile square, to include their improvements. Any one 
 who prefers removing, if he does so within one year from 
 the date of this treaty, shall be paid their full value, to be 
 ascertained by two persons to be appointed by the President 
 of the United States. 
 
 Article 1.0th. As there are some who have valuable 
 buildings on the roads and elsewhere, should they remove, it 
 is further agreed by the aforesaid commissioners, in behalf 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 117 
 
 of the United States, that the inconvenience of doing so shall 
 be considered, and such allowance made as will amount to an 
 equivalent. For this purpose, there shall be paid to the 
 Mingo Puckshenubbe (original, A-pak-foh-li-chih-ubih), five 
 hundred dollars; to Harrison, two hundred dollars; to Cap 
 tain Cobb, two hundred dollars; to William Hays, two hun 
 dred dollars; to O Gleno, two hundred dollars; and to all oth 
 ers who have comfortable houses, a compensation in the 
 .same proportion. 
 
 Article llth. It is also provided by the commissioners 
 of the United States, and they agree in behalf of said States, 
 that those Choctaw chief sand warriors, who have not received 
 compensation for their services during the campaign to Pen- 
 sacola, in the late war, shall be paid whatever is due them 
 over and above the value of the blanket, shirt, flap, and leg- 
 gins, which have been delivered to them. 
 
 Article 12th. In order to promote industry and sobriety 
 .-amongst all classes of the Red People in this Nation, but 
 particularly the poor, it is further provided by the parties 
 that the agent appointed to reside here, shall be, and he is, 
 hereby, vested with the full power to seize and confiscate all 
 the whiskey which may be introduced into said Nation, ex 
 cept that used at public stands, or brought in by the per 
 mit of the agent, or the principal chiefs of the three dis 
 tricts. 
 
 Thus was the law of the Choc taws forbidding the intro 
 duction of anv kind and all kinds of spirituous liquors into 
 their country virtually abrogated, and their strenuous efforts 
 to keep the hideous hydra in its proper place, among its 
 makers and worshippers (the white man) proved unavailing 
 as the door was thus opened for the white smugglers of 
 whom the agents were leaders. 
 
 Article 13th. To enable the Mingoes, chiefs, and head 
 men/ of the Choctaw Nation, to raise and organize a corps of 
 light horse, consisting of ten in each district, so that good 
 order may be maintained, and that all men, both White and 
 Red, may be compelled to pay their debts, it is stipulated 
 and agreed, that the sum of two hundred dollars shall be ap 
 propriated by the United States, for each district, annually, 
 and placed in the hands of the agent, to pay the expenses in 
 curred in raising and establishing said corps; which is to 
 act as executive officers, in maintaing good order, and com 
 pelling bad men to remove from the Nation, who are not 
 authorized to live in it by a. regular permit from the agent. 
 
 Article 14th. Whereas the father of the beloved chief 
 Mushulatubbee (original Mosholatubil, with whom I was 
 personally acquainted), of the lower towns, for and during his 
 
118 HISTORY OF .THE INDIANS. . 
 
 life, did receive from the United States the sum of one hun 
 dred arid fifty dollars, annually; it is hereby stipulated, that 
 his son and successor Mushulatubbee, shall annually be paid 
 the same amount during his natural life, to commence from 
 the ratification of this treaty. * 
 
 Article 15th. The peace and harmony subsisting- be- 
 tw.een the Choctaw Nation of Incfians and the United States, 
 are hereby renewed, continued, and declared to be perpet 
 ual. 
 
 Article 16th. These articles shall take effect, and be 
 come obligatory on the contracting parties, so soon as the 
 same shall be ratified by the President, by and with the ad 
 vice and consent of the Senate of the United States. 
 
 In testimony whereof, the commissioners plenipoten 
 tiary of the United States and the Mingoes, headmen and 
 warriors of the Choctaw Nation, have hereunto subscribed 
 their names and affixed their seals, at the place above writ 
 ten, this the 18th, of October, 1820, and of the independence 
 of the United States the forty fifth. 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON, 
 THOMAS HINDS, 
 
 Commissioners.. 
 Medal Mingoes: 
 
 Corrupted: Puckshenubbee, his x mark. Original: 
 A-pak-foh-li-chihub-ih. 
 
 Corrupted: Poohawattaha, his x mark. Original: Ar- 
 noom-pah-ish-tam-yah-ub-ih . 
 
 One hundred and twenty-eight names of Choctaws, who 
 signed this treaty are omitted. 
 
 COUNTY DISPUTE. 
 
 THE DISPUTE IN THE RIGHT OF OWNERSHIP OF GREEK COUNTY 
 BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND TEXAS. 
 
 The petition of the Attorney-General of the United 
 States affirms that according to the treaty of Feb. 22, 1819 
 made by the United States and the King of Spain, which was 
 ratified two years later, and so proclaimed by both the Uni 
 ted States and Spain, and that by the third article of the 
 treaty it was provided and agreed that "the boundary line 
 between the two countries west of the Mississippi River 
 shall begin on the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Sabine 
 River, in the sea, continuing north along the, western bank 
 of that river to the thirty-second degree of latitude; thence by 
 a line due north to the *degree of latitude where it strikes the- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 119 
 
 Rio Roxo of Natchitoches or Red River; then following" the 
 course of the Rio Roxo westward to the degree of longitude 
 100 west from London and 23 from Washington; then cross 
 ing the said Red River and running thence by a line due 
 north to the river Arkansas: thence following the course of 
 the southern bank of the Arkansas to its source in latitude 42 
 north, and thence by that parallel of latitude to the South 
 Sea.-- The whole being as laid down in Melish s map of the 
 United States, published at Philadelphia, improved to Jan 
 uary, 1, 1818. 
 
 "The two high contracting parties agreeing to cede and 
 renounce all their rights, claims and pretensions to the ter 
 ritories described by the said line. That is to say, the 
 United States hereby cede to his Catholic majesty and re 
 nounce forever all their claims, rights, and pretensions to 
 the territories lying west and south of the above described 
 line, and in like manner his Catholic majesty cedes to the 
 United States all his rights, claims and pretensions to any 
 territories east and north of the said line, and for himself, 
 his heirs and successors- renounces all claim to the said ter 
 ritory forever." 
 
 "The petition states that at the date of the conclusion of 
 the treaty aforesaid Mexico constituted a part of the Spanish 
 monarchy, but that Mexico, subsequently, in the year 
 1824, became and was established as a separate and indepen 
 dent power and government, and the boundary line defined 
 and designated in the treaty of 1819, aforesaid, thereby be 
 came in part the boundary line between the United States 
 and Mexico, all the territory of the state of Texas being* then 
 a part of the Mexican territory. 
 
 "The Attorney General s petition to the court then goes 
 on to review the different movements of the United States 
 and Texas commissioners to establish the line between the 
 disputed territory, and which all resulted in a failure -to 
 agree. 
 
 "The Attorney General further states that the said 
 state of Texas has, without any right or title thereto, claimed, 
 taken possession of, and endeavored to extend its laws and 
 jurisdiction over the said parcel or tract of land herein be 
 fore described, and does still claim, hold possession of, and 
 exercise certain jurisdiction over the same, and has excluded 
 the United States from possession of and jurisdiction over 
 the same in violation of the treaty rights of your oratrix as 
 aforesaid; all of which your oratrix charges is a manifest in 
 vasion of her sovereign rights and tends to the disturbance 
 of that amity and peace which ought to exist between the 
 authorities of the United States and the state of Texas. 
 f 
 
120 __ .HISTORY. OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 \ "The area of the disputed territory is one million, five 
 hundred and eleven thousand, five hundred and seventy six 
 and seventeen one hundreds acres, of land. 
 
 "The petition futher states that the south fork of Red 
 river as now named and delineated on the maps, is the Rio 
 Roxo or Red river delineated on Melish s maps, described in 
 the treaty of February, 22, 1819, and as the boundary line of 
 said treaty to the point where the 100th degree of west longi 
 tude crosses the same. 
 
 And your oratrix futher states that under and by virtue 
 of the terms of the treaty of 1819, between the United States 
 and Spain, she became entitled to possession of and jurisdic 
 tion over all that parcel or tract of land which lies between 
 what has been herein designated as the Prairie Dog" town 
 fork or Main Red river, and the north fork or Red river, 
 and is more accurately described as the extreme portion of 
 the Indian territory lying west of the north fork of Red 
 river, and east of the one hundreth meridian of west 
 longitude from Greenwich; that she has never voluntarily 
 abandoned or relinquished such claim to title and jurisdic 
 tion, but has continually asserted the same at all times since 
 the ratification of said treaty of 1819 up to the present time, 
 and does still assert the the same; that said tract of land was 
 never subject to the jurisdiction or claim of Spain subsequent 
 to the treaty of 1819 aforesaid, nor was it subject to any claim 
 or jurisdiction on the part of Mexico after her independence 
 from Spain was secured and asserted." 
 
 The following clause in the petition of the Attorney-Gen 
 eral states that "in consideration whereof, and for as much 
 as your oratrix can only have adequate relief in the premises 
 in a court of equity; where matters of this nature are prop 
 erly cognizable, and in this court by original bill, to the 
 end for the purpose of determining and settling the true 
 boundary line between the United -States and the state of 
 Texas, and to determine and put at rest questions whi^h 
 now exist as to whether the Prairie Dog Town fork or the 
 North fork of Red river, as aforesaid, constitutes the true 
 boundary line of the treaty of 1819, aforesaid, and whether 
 the tract or parcel of land lying and being between two said 
 streams and called by the authorities of the state of Texas 
 Greer county, is within the boundary and jurisdiction of the 
 United States or of the state of Texas." 
 
 Dr. Gideon, Lincicum who lived in Columbus, Miss, several 
 years prior to the exodus of the Choctaws, was present at 
 the treaty held by General Jackson and General Hinds at a 
 place known as Doak s Stand, in the Choctaw nation, in the 
 fall of 1820.. The object of the United States in holding this 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 121 
 
 Ireaty was to exchange all that country where the five civil 
 ized tribes now reside south of the Canadian River for a strip 
 of territory from the lower and western part of the then 
 Choctaw nation, known as the Huchchalusachitoh pro. as 
 asHuch-chah (River) loo-sah (black) che-toh (big-.) i. e. Big 
 Black River country. A great many Choctaw s were in at 
 tendance, and after General Jackson had read the commis 
 sion and the President s letter to them, in a lengthy speech 
 he explained the object and purpose for which they had been 
 called together. He declared to them, that^ "to promote 
 their civilization by the establishing of schools among them, 
 and to perpetuate them as a nation, was a constant solicitude 
 with the president of the United States." : (But the sequel 
 soon proved that solicitude" to be false.) 
 
 "To enable the President to effect this great national 
 .and very desirable object to accommodate the growing state 
 of Mississippi ^and thereby secure greater safet} r and protec 
 tion to the Choctaws and their seminaries of learning at 
 home, it was proposed bv him to exchange for a small part of 
 their lands here, a large country beyond the Mississippi 
 river, where all who live by hunting and will not work, and 
 who by the nature of their mode of life are widely scattered, 
 may be collected and settled together in a country of tall 
 trees, many water courses, rich lands and high grass, 
 .abounding in game of all kinds buffalo, bear and deer, ante 
 lope, beaver, turkeys, honey, and fruits of many kinds, in 
 this great hunting ground they may be settled near together 
 for protection and to be able to pursue their peculiar vocation 
 without dang-er. 
 
 Another great benefit to be derived from this arrange 
 ment would be the removal from among the people at home 
 who are alreadv inclined to progress and civilization of the 
 bad -example of those who, in their wild wandering propensi 
 ties do not care for improvement. The project recom 
 mends itself to the thinking portion of the industrious com 
 munity, while it will provide ample means for the protec 
 tion of the careless stragglers of the Nation. 
 
 The tract of territory which the President proposes to 
 exchange for the Big Black river country here, lies between 
 the Arkansas and Red rivers. It is a large and extended 
 country. Beginning where the lower boundary line of the 
 Cherokees strikes the Arkansas river, thence up the Arkan 
 sas to the Canadian river fork; thence up the Canadian to its 
 source, thence due south to Red river, thence down Red riv- 
 r to a point three miles below % the mouth of Little river 
 which enters into Red river from the north, thence on a di 
 rect line to place of beginning. 
 
1-22 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 This extensive rich territory is offered in exchange by 
 the President for the little strip of land in the lower part of the 
 present Choctaw Nation. It is a much larger territory than 
 the whole of your possessions this side of the Mississippi 
 river, and is certainly a very liberal proposition. What say 
 the chiefs and Choctaw people to this great offer? 
 
 "After the pipe lighters had finished handing the pipes- 
 around and order was again restored, Apushamatahah arose, 
 and, addressing himself to his own people first, told them 
 the man who had just finished his big talk was the great 
 warrior, General Jackson, of whom they had all so of ten heard. 
 Many of them had, no doubt, seen him and, like himself, had 
 served under him in many successful battles. His great 
 character as a man and warrior, in addition to the commis 
 sion he bore from the President of the United States, de 
 manded from the Choctaw people respectful replies from his. 
 propositions, and for that purpose he moved that .the council 
 adjourn until the middle of the day, to-morrow, which mo 
 tion was carried and the council adjourned. 
 
 "The chiefs and head men went into secret council that 
 night, where they very deliberately discussed the merits of 
 the propositions that "had been made by the United States 
 commissioners. They considered it a wise and benevolent 
 proposition, and, notwithstanding that the land they offered 
 to exchange the large tract of western territory for was- 
 worth more to them at this time than two such countries as 
 the one they were offering, with the Choctaws, the thing 
 stood very differently, particularly in relation to the fixing 
 of a home for our wandering hunters in the midst of a game- 
 country. However, good as the proposition is, we. must in 
 this case adopt the white man s rules in the transaction and 
 get all we can from them. General Jackson is a great man, 
 but in his talk in making* the proposition to exchange coun 
 tries he has been guilty of misrepresentations which he 
 knows are such, and others which, perhaps, he is not ap 
 prised of their being false. Our plan is to meet him in the 
 treaty with his own policy and let the hardiest reap the 
 profits. If we can do no better we will take them at the offer 
 already made." "This much and the appointment of Apush 
 amatahah to do the talking, next day was the result of the 
 secret council. 
 
 "When at 12 o clock the next day the council had assem 
 bled, the commissioners inquired of the chiefs if they liad 
 come to an y conclusion on the subject of the propositions 
 made to them yesterday in relation to the exchange of coun 
 tries? Apushamatahah arose and said that the chiefs and 
 leaders of his people had appointed him to reply to the com- 
 
/ HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 123 
 
 missioners on the subject. He remarked that he fully ap 
 preciated the magnitude of the proposition and his incom- 
 peteiicy ito do it justice, especially while in contact with two 
 such master minds as he would have to deal with. He fur 
 ther remarked that when any business was intended to be 
 fairly and honestly transacted it made no difference as to the 
 capacity of the contracting- parties. One party might be a 
 great man as General Jackson, the other a fool, but the re 
 sult would be the same. The wise man in such cases would 
 protest the rights of the fool, holding him firm on safe gound. 
 From what he had already heard he had discovered that the 
 great transaction now about to take plnce between friendly 
 nations, was not to be conducted on those equitable princi 
 ples, and that it would not be safe for him, fool as he was, to 
 rely upon any such expectations. He was to come to the 
 contest with such powers as he possessed, do the best he 
 ould , and his people must be satisfied and abide the results 
 nd consequences. 
 
 The object and benefits to be derived by the United 
 States were very great and desirable, or they would not 
 have sent two of their greatest warrior generals to conduct 
 the treaty in their behalf. He was friendly toward the 
 United States, and particularly to their two distinguished 
 agents, for he had served under them and side by side in the 
 hour of peril and deadly strife, had aided them in the acqui 
 sition of Florida and a considerable portion of the Muscogee 
 country with his manhood, and as many of his countrymen 
 as he could persuade to take part in the dangers of the en 
 terprise. Under all these considerations he intended to 
 strike the bargain in the exchange of countries with them if 
 he could. He thought it was one of those kind of swaps, if 
 it could be fairly made, that would accommodate both par 
 ties. He should do his best, and he hoped to succeed in 
 presenting the thing in such a form as to convince the com 
 missioners that further misrepresentation would be entire 
 ly unnecessary. D He then sat down. 
 
 "General Jackson arose and gravely remarked: Broth 
 er Push, you have uttered some hard words. You have ac 
 cused me of misrepresentation, and indirectly, of the desire 
 to defraud the red people in behalf of my government. 
 These are heavy charges, charges of a very serious charac 
 ter. You must explain yourself in a manner that will, clear 
 them up or I shall quit you. "Apushamatahah then arose 
 and made a long explanatory speech, but its length precludes 
 its production here. 
 
 "The closing portion was, I shall take much pleasure 
 in. my explanation to render a plain and irrefutable inter- 
 
124 . HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 pretation of what I have said, and which will present in a 
 very clear light the misrepresentations in relation to the 
 quality of the country west of the Mississippi and the size of 
 the country on this side of the great river. 
 
 In the first place, he speaks of the country you wish to 
 obtain in the swap as a little slip of land at the lower part of 
 ihe present Choctaw Nation, whereas it is a very consider 
 able tract of country. He has designated the boundaries of 
 it, and I am very familiar with the entire tract of land it will 
 cut off from us. * 
 
 "In the second place, he represents the country he wishes 
 to exchange for the little slip as being- a very extensive 
 country of tall trees, many water -courses, rich lands and 
 liigh grass, abounding in -game of all kinds, buffalo, bear, 
 elk, deer, antelope, beavers, turkey, honey and fruits of 
 many kinds. I am also well acquainted with that country. 
 I have hunted there often, have chased the Comanche and 
 Wichita over those endless plains, and they too have some 
 times chased me there. I know the country well. It is in 
 deed a very extensive land, but a vast amount of it is poor 
 and sterile, trackless and sandy deserts, nude of vegetation 
 -of any kind. As to tall trees, there is no timber anywhere, 
 ^except on the bottom lands, and it is low and brushy even 
 there. The grass is everywhere short; as for the game, it 
 is not plenty, except buffalo and deer. The buffalo, in the 
 western portion of the .tract described, and on the great 
 plains into which it reaches, are very numerous and easily 
 taken. Antelopes, too, are there, and deer almost every 
 where, except in the dry grassless; sandy desert There 
 are but few elk, and the bear are plenty only on the Red riv 
 er bottom lands. Turkey are plentiful on all the water 
 courses. There are, however, but few beaver, and fruit and 
 honey are a rare thing. The bottoms on the river are gen- 
 erally good soil, but liable to inundation during the spring 
 /season, and in summer the rivers and creeks drv up or be 
 come so salty that the water is unfit for use. It is not at these 
 times always salty, but often bitter and will purge a man 
 like medicine. 
 
 This account differs widely from the description given 
 by my friend yesterday, and constitutes what, in my reply 
 to him, I styled a misrepresentation. He has proven to me 
 by that misrepresentation and one great error that he is en 
 tirely ignorant of the geography of the country he is offering 
 to swap, and therefore I shall acquit him of an intentional 
 fraud. The testimony that he bears against himself, in re 
 gard to his deficiency of a knowledge of that far-off country 
 manifests itself in the fact that he has offered to swap to me 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. \ 125 
 
 an undefined portion of Mexican territory. He offers to run 
 the line up the Canadian river to its source, and thence due 
 south to the Red river. Now, I know that a line running" 
 due south from the source of the Canadian would never touch 
 any portion of Red river, but would go into the Mexican pos 
 sessions beyond the limits even of my geographical knowl 
 edge. 
 
 "General Jackson interrupting him, said: See here,. 
 Brother Push, you must be mistaken. Look at this map. 
 It will prove to you at once that .you are laboring under a 
 great geographical error yourself, and he spread out the 
 map. 
 
 "Apushamataha examined it very minutely, while 
 General Jackson traced out and read the names of the rivers" 
 for him. Apushamatahah said: T#e paper is not true. 
 "He then proceeded to mark out on the ground with the 
 handle of the pipe hatchet, which he held in his hand while 
 speaking, the Canadian and the upper branches of Red 
 river, and said, holding the end of the hatchet handle on the 
 ground, there is the north, then rapidly tracing a deep line 
 on the ground, here is the south, and, you see, the line be 
 tween the two points do not touch any portion of Red river, 
 and I declare to you that it is the natural position of the 
 country and its water courses. 
 
 "You must be mistaken, said General Jackson; at 
 any rate, I am willing 1 to make good the proposition I have 
 named. 
 
 "Very well, replied Apushamataha, and you must 
 not be surprised nor think hard of me if I call your attention 
 to another subject within the limits of the country you 
 designate west of the Mississippi, which you dp not seem to 
 be apprised of. The lower portion of the land you propose 
 to swap to us is a prett} T good country. It is true that as high 
 up the Arkansas river as Fort Smith the lands are good and 
 timber and water plenty, but there is an objectionable diffi 
 culty in the way. It was never known before, in any treaty, 
 made by the United States with the Red people, that their 
 commissioners were permitted to offer to swap off or sell 
 any portion of their citizens. What I ask to know in the 
 stipulations of the present treaty is, whether the American 
 settlers you propose to turn over to us in this exchange of 
 countries are, when we get them in possession", to be con 
 sidered Indians or white people? 
 
 "General Jackson replied and told the speaking chief 
 that, As for the white people on the land, it was a mere 
 matter of moon-shine. There were perhaps a few hunters- 
 
126 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 / 
 
 scattered over the country, and I will have them ordered 
 off. 
 
 "I beg- your pardon, said Apushamataha, there are a 
 great many of them, many of them substantial, well-to-do 
 settlers, with good houses and productive farms, and they 
 will not be ordered off. 
 
 " But, said General Jackson, I will send my warriors, 
 and by the eternal, I ll drive them into the Mississippi or 
 make them leave. 
 
 " Very well, replied the chief, and now the matter is 
 settled as far as the land west of the Mississippi river is 
 concerned. We will now consider the boundary and coun 
 try the Choctaws are to give to you for it, and if w r e can 
 agree upon that the trade will be completed. You have de 
 nned its boundaries and they include a very valuable tract of 
 country of considerable extent, capable of producing corn, 
 cotton, wheat and all the crops the white man cultivates. 
 Now, if we do agree on terms and run this line, it must, as a 
 part of this contract, be very clearly understood, and put on 
 paper in a form that will not die or wear out, that no altera 
 tion shall be made in the boundaries of that portion of our 
 territory that will remain, until the Choctaw people are suf 
 ficiently progressed in the arts of civilization to become citi 
 zens of the States, owning land and homes of their own, on 
 an equal footing with the white people. Then it may be 
 surveyed and the surplus sold for the benefit of the Choctaw 
 people. 
 
 / " That, said General Jackson, is a magnificent ar 
 rangement and we consent to it readily. 
 
 An adjournment of the council was then made until 10 
 o clock next day to allow the chiefs and warriors time to dis 
 cuss the treaty ^ and the secretary of the commissioners for 
 preparing his big paper, the treaty, ready for the seal. 
 
 "Next day at the appointed time the council met and 
 General Hinds, one of the commissioners of the United 
 States, made a long talk to the chiefs and warriors. 
 
 "Apushamatahah was the speaking chief, and demanded 
 the following additional remuneration: 
 
 1st. That the United States furnish each of those who 
 chose to go to the new country a good rifle, bullet mould, 
 camp-kettle, one blanket and powder and lead to last one year. 
 Also corn for one year. 
 
 2nd. "Out of the land about to be swapped, fifty-four 
 sections of, a mile square shall be surveyed and sold to the 
 best bidder by the United States for the purpose of raising 
 a fund to support Choctaw schools, all to be placed in the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 127 
 
 hands of the President of the United States to be dealt out 
 by him for school purposes only in the Choctaw Nation. 
 
 3rd. "The United States to pay for military services of 
 all the Choctaw warriors during- the campaign to Pensacola. 
 
 4th. Payment to all having good houses and residing 
 on the ceded territory. 
 
 ; A11 the propositions were agreed to by the United 
 States commissioners. The commissioners first signed the 
 treaty, them Mushulatube, Apukshinubi and Apushimataha, 
 the head chiefs of the upper, middle and lower districts of 
 the Choctaw Nation. Then 100 leaders and warriors signed 
 with their names or x mark. All were pleased and satisfied. 
 
 "Apushimataha was then requested to speak. His effort, 
 now on record, would equal Daniel Webster in any of his fam 
 ous orations. 
 
 "He concluded as follows": I most solemnly declare 
 that on my part the sacred words perpetual friendship, 
 included in the last article of the treaty, shall never be vio 
 lated or suffer the slightest infringement. We have made 
 many treaties with the United States, all conducted in peace 
 and amacably carried out, but this last one, the greatest of 
 all. has been peculiar in its stipulations, giving another and a 
 stronger proof of the fostering care and proctecting inten- 
 titons of the United States toward their Choctaw friends. 
 In all our treaties we have been encouraged by them to in- 
 situte schools, urging us to prepare ourselves as fast as 
 possible to become citizens and members of that great 
 Nation. In the treaty which has been concluded to-day the 
 subject of schools has been more particularly urged, and 
 appropriations more extensively provided than any 
 other former treaty. The applauding murmurs on that 
 subject have passed through the camps of the Red people. It 
 meets their approbation. They will most certainly succeed. 
 It is a peculiar trait in the Choctaw character, that all the 
 national movements turn out to be successes. - I am pleased 
 to hear so many speaking favorably of school institutions. 
 It tells me that they will have them. It is a national senti 
 ment, and I here venture the prediction, for I am considered 
 a sort of a prophet any way, that the time will come, and 
 there are many children and some grown men here to-day, 
 who will live to see it, when the highly improved Choctaw 
 shall hold office in the councils of that great Nation of white 
 people, and in their wars with the Nations of the earth, 
 mixed up in the armies of the white man, the fierce war 
 wlioops of the Choctaw warrior shall strike terror and melt 
 the hearts of an invading foe. Mind that; Apushimataha has 
 this day declared it and his words of prophecy are not ut- 
 
128 HISTORY. OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 tered foolishly. To the chiefs, leaders and warriors of my 
 countrymen I may say: Return to your homes and forget, 
 not the words of this great treaty to which so many of you 
 subscribed your names with your white brothers to the same 
 big paper, this bright day. Nuktaniabilia, perpetual friend 
 ship, is placed on that paper. You have all agreed to stand 
 to it and manifested vour consent by having your names 
 placed on the big paper, where they will remain long after 
 you have all paseed away to the good hunting ground. 
 
 Nuktaniabilia are corruptions of the whites and are not 
 the Choctaw words for "perpetual friendship." The 
 
 Original: Biliahittibaiachuffah. Pro. Be-le-ah (for 
 ever) it-tib-ai-ar-chuf-fah (to be one mind) i. e. Perpetual 
 friendship. 
 
 How easily could the sentiments and desires expressed 
 by the Choctaw people through their noble chief, have been, 
 realized but for that base venality which demanded their 
 country alone and their banishment to the then most inhos 
 pitable region then known upon the western continent, in 
 open violation of a thousand as sacred pledges as it is possi 
 ble for man to make to man. Surely we are not a govern 
 ment of law but of brute force impelled alone by that venality 
 that knows 110 principle of virtue whatever. 
 
 See the low duplicity and misrepresentation adopted by 
 Jackson to mislead Apushamataha, in regard to the coun 
 try west of the Mississippi River that he was endeavoring to 
 exchange with the Choctaws for a portion of their west; and 
 to-day, after three quarters of a century has past, it stands 
 as a living testimony of the honesty and truthfulness of the 
 noble Choctaw chief. And when lie pointed to the white set 
 tlers occupying a part of the offered land mark the threat 
 of Jackson, "I will send my warriors, and, by the eternal, I ll 
 drive them into the Mississippi or make them leave;" which, 
 whatever name Truth and Justice deem it merits, was never 
 executed; and after remaining five years, the quiet of the 
 Choctaws was again disturbed on October 20th, 1825, by the 
 voice of the white man howling in Sinai thunder tones: 
 "More land!" "More land!" Again were they summoned 
 from their peaceful homes by the arbitrary voice of their 
 "Great Father at Washington" great in the unsurpassed 
 ability of defrauding helpless Indians to cede to the United 
 States that portion of their land still occupied by the afore 
 said settlers that the "truthful" Jackson had sworn "by the 
 eternal" to put into the Mississippi river or make them 
 leave." The United States got the land, as no doubt, it was 
 a pre-arranged plan to keep the whites upon it until the proper 
 time arrived, then take it; therefore, Jackson s "into the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Mississippi" was but a toot of his own horn, understood 
 alone by himself, though deceiving" the too confiding Apusha- 
 mataha. And in ten years after A-push-a-ma-ta-ha had 
 made the treaty of 1820 (the last he ever made) the United 
 States Government had defrauded (the word might be used 
 as can be proven) the Choctaws out of every acre of their 
 country east of the Mississippi . Theold hero.had died in Wash 
 ington City six years before, and with him also died: "The time 
 will come when the highly improved Choctaw shall hold office 
 in the councils of that great Nation of white people, and in their- 
 wars with the Nations of the earth, mixed up in the armies 
 of the white man, the fierce war whoop of the Choctaw war 
 rior shall strike terror and melt the hearts of an invading 
 foe," and buried so deep down under the dirt and rubbish of 
 the white man s avarice, that left no hope of a resurrection 
 morn. 
 
 When stretched in his tent upon his bed of death he said 
 to Jackson standing near: 
 
 "Original, "Illi siah makinli su paknaka ta; pro. Il-lih se- 
 ah mar-kin-lih soo park-da kah,ta; signifying, dead I am as 
 soon as me above. 
 
 "Original, napoh- chitoh tokahiechih; pro. narn-poh che- 
 toh to-kah-le-chih; sig. guns big shoot off." Which was done 
 according to his request. 
 
 Verily "Let Hamlet" also "be his eulogist:" 
 How noble in reason! How infinite in faculties! 
 In form and moving how express and admirable: 
 "Let Mark Antony" also "write his epitaph:" 
 
 His life was gentle; and the elements 
 So mixed in him, that nature might stand up 
 And say to all the world: This was a man ." 1 
 
 His Motto, 
 
 Onward career of duty; 
 His Canopy, 
 
 A conscious rectitude of purpose; 
 His lamp, truth; 
 
 His Motto, 
 Nil, nil, desperandum. Never, never, despair! 
 
 THE CHOCTAW CLAIM. 
 
 Ever since the dispute between Texas and the United 
 States commenced concerning the title to Greer county, the 
 Choctaw Nation -had two of its ablest men in Washington 
 over-hauling the old treaties and watching the movements of 
 both disputants. The United States by the Doak s Stand 
 
130 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 treaty in the autumn of 1820 ceded all its territory ^ to the 
 Chocta-ws south of the Canadian river to Red river along- the 
 western line of the Indian Territory. The Cherokees had 
 been ceded all north of the Canadian. Texas claimed that 
 the Red river mentioned in the treaty of 1819 between the 
 United States and the King- of Spain is the north fork of Red 
 , The United States claimed that the south fork of 
 river is the true Red river. This is where the dispute 
 rarose . 
 
 "Should a future survey be made to determine the ques 
 tions of boundary lines, and the south fork of Red river be 
 -declared the true line, the Choctaw Indians would certainly 
 be the legal owners. 
 
 The map used by General Jackson in the tre aty at 
 Doak s Stand was doubtless Melish s of 1818. That map is 
 doubtless on file in the Department of the Interior in Wash 
 ington settle the controversy. General Jackson promised 
 to make g-ood the lines shown up the map when the speaking- 
 -chief at the treaty questioned its accuracy. 
 
 ~ u Thc survey, as to how far west the 10th meridian runs 
 lias never been made and forty years have passed without 
 Jtbe boundary line being* known. This is why the Choctaws 
 Ihave never presented their claims to Greer County. 
 
 The United States conveyed to the "Choctaws, on the 
 38th of October, 1820, all of their lands west of Arkansas 
 between the Canadian and Red rivers, that was within the 
 limits of the United States at that time ; and on the 19th of 
 February, 1821, the United States conveyed a strip off of the 
 west end, of the same lands conveyed to the Choctaws by the 
 King- of Spain, in an exchange for the then Province of Flori 
 da. Hence this claim of the Choctaw Nation on what is now 
 loiown as Greer County. In 1855, the Choctaw Nation ceded 
 to the United States all their lands, then in their possession 
 lying- west of the 100, for the consideration of $800,000. Now 
 the Choctaws claim, and justly too, it seems, that they did 
 not make a cession, in 1855, of that portion of the land which 
 the United States sold to the King- of Spain, without their 
 consent and for which they have never received a dollar, as 
 it was not in their possession to make a conveyance it then 
 heing- in the possession of Spain and thus beyond their juris 
 diction. 
 
 Thus the United States deal with her Indian Wards, 
 whom she had beguiled into her power. 
 
 ARTICLE OF A CONVENTION, 
 Made and concluded January 20th, 1825, between John C. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 131 
 
 Calhoun, Secretary of War, being- specially authorized 
 therefor by the President of the United States, and the 
 undersigned chiefs and head men of the Choctaw Nation 
 of Indians, duly authorized and empowered by said 
 Nation, at the City of Washing-ton, on the 20th day of 
 January, 1825, 
 
 Whereas, a treaty of friendship, and limits, and accom 
 modation, having- been entered into at Doak s Stand, on the 
 18th of October, 1820, between Andrew Jackson and Thomas 
 Hinds, commissioners on the part of the United States, and 
 the chiefs and warriors of the Choctaw Nation ; and, 
 
 Whereas, the second article of the treaty aforesaid pro 
 vides for a cession of lands, west of the Mississippi, to the 
 Choctaw Nation, in part satisfaction for lands ceded by said 
 Nation to the United States, according- to the first article of 
 said treaty; and 
 
 Whereas, it being- ascertained that the cession aforesaid 
 embraces a large number of settlers, citizens of the United 
 States; and it being" the desire of the President of the United 
 States to obviate all difficulties resulting therefrom, and 
 also, to adjust other matters in which both the United States 
 and the Choctaw Nation are interested. The following- 
 articles have been agreed upon, and concluded, between 
 John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, especially authorized 
 therefor by the President of the United States, on the one 
 part, and the undersigned delegates of the Choctaw Nation; 
 on the other part: 
 
 Article 1st. The Choctaw Nafion does hereby cede to 
 the United States all that portion of land ceded to them by 
 the Second Article of the treaty of Doak s Stand, as afore 
 said, lying- east of a line beginning- on the Arkansas, one 
 hundred paces east of Fort Smith, and running thence, due 
 south to Red river; it being- understood that the line shall 
 constitute, and remain, the permanent boundary between 
 the United States and the Choctaws; and the United States 
 agreeing to remove such citizens as may be settled on the 
 west side, to the east side of said line, and prevent further 
 settlements from being- made on the west thereof. 
 
 Article 2nd. In consideration of the cession aforesaid, 
 the United States do hereby agree to pay the said Choctaw 
 Nation the sum of six thousand dollars annually, forever; 
 it being- agreed that the said sum of six thousand dollars 
 shall be applied, for the term of twenty years A under the 
 direction of the President of the United States, to the sup 
 port of schools in said Nation, and extending- to it the bene 
 fits of instruction in the mechanic and ordinary arts of life; 
 
132 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 when, at the expiration of twenty years, it is agreed that the 
 said annuity may be vested in stocks, or otherwise disposed 
 of, or continued, at the option of the Choctaw Nation. 
 
 Article 3rd. The eighth article of the treaty aforesaid 
 having- provided that an appropriation of lands should be 
 made for the purpose of raising six thousand dollars a year 
 for sixteen years, for the use of the Choctaw Nation; and it 
 being- desirable to avoid- the delay and expense attending- the 
 survey and sale of said lands, the United States do hereby 
 agree to pay to the Choctaw Nation, in lieu thereof, the sum 
 of six thousand dollars, annually, for sixteen years, to com 
 mence with the present year. And the United States fur 
 ther stipulate and agree to take immediate measures to sur 
 vey and bring- into market, and sell, the fifty-four sections of 
 land set apart by the Seventh Article of the treaty aforesaid,, 
 and apply the proceeds in the manner provided by the said 
 Article. 
 
 Article 4th. It is provided by the Ninth Section of the 
 treaty aforesaid, that all those of the Choctaw Nation who 
 have separate settlements, and fall within the limits of the 
 land ceded by the said Nation to the United States, and de 
 sire to remain where they now reside, shall be secured in a 
 tract or parcel of land, one mile square, to include their im 
 provements. It is, therefore, hereby agreed, that all who 
 have reservations, in conformity to said stipulation, shall have 
 power, with the consent of the President of the United 
 States, to sell and convey the same in fee simple. It is fur 
 ther agreed, on the part of the United States, that those 
 Choctaws, not exceeding- four in number, who applied for 
 reservations, and received the recommendation of the com 
 missioners, as per annexed copy of said recommendation 
 shall have .the privilege, and the right is herebv given to 
 them, to select, each of -them, a portion of land, not exceed 
 ing a mile square, anywhere within the limits of the cession 
 of 1820, where the land is not occupied or disposed .of by the 
 United States; and the right to sell and convey the same, 
 with the consent of the President, in fee simple, is hereby 
 granted. 
 
 Article 5th. There being a debt due by individuals of 
 the Choctaw Nation to the late United States trading- house 
 on the Tombigbee, the United States hereby agree to relin 
 quish the same; the delegation, on the part of their Nation, 
 agreeing to relinquish their claim upon the United States, to 
 send a factor with goods to supply the wants of the Choctaws 
 west of the Mississippi, as provided for by the Sixth Article 
 of the treaty aforesaid. 
 
 Article 6th. The Choctaw Ration having- a claim < upon 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 133 
 
 -the United States for services rendered in the Pensacola 
 campaign, and for which it is stipulated in the Eleventh Ar 
 ticle of the treaty aforesaid, that payment shall be made, but 
 which has been delayed for the want of proper vouchers, 
 which it has been found, as yet, impossible to obtain; the 
 United States, to obviate the inconvenience of further delay, 
 and to render justice to the Choctaw warriors for their serv 
 ices in that cam paign, do . hereby agree upon an equitable 
 settlement of the same and the sum of fourteen thousand 
 nine hundred and seventy-two dollars and fifty cents; 
 which, from the muster rolls, and other evidence in the pos 
 session of the third auditor, appears to be about the probable 
 amount due, for the services aforesaid, and which sum shall 
 be immediately paid to the delegation, to be distributed by 
 them to the chiefs and warriors of their Nation, who served 
 in the campaign aforesaid, as may appear to them to be 
 just. 
 
 Article 7th. It is further agreed, that the Fourth Ar 
 ticle of the treaty aforesaid, shall be so modified, as that the 
 Congress of the United States shall not exercise the power 
 of apportioning the lands, for the benefit of each family, or 
 individual, of the Choctaw Nation, and of bringing them un 
 der the laws of the United States, but with the consent of 
 the Choctaw Nation. ; 
 
 Article 8th. Itappearing that theChoctaws have various 
 claims against the citizens of the United States, for spolia 
 tions of various kinds, but which they have not been able to 
 support by testimony of white men, as they were led to be 
 lieve was necessary, the United States, in order to a final 
 settlement of all such claims, do hereby agree to pay to the 
 Choctaw delegation, the sum of two thousand dollars, to be 
 distributed by them in such way, among the claimants, as 
 they may deem equitable. It being understood that this 
 provision is not to affect such claims as may be properly 
 -authenticated, according to the provisions of the act of 1802. 
 
 Article 9th. It is further agreed that, immediately upon 
 the notification of this treaty, or as soon thereafter as may 
 be practicable, an agent shall be appointed for the Choctaws 
 west of the Mississippi, and a blacksmith be settled among 
 them in conformity with the stipulation contained in the 
 Sixth Article of the treaty of 1820. 
 
 Article 10th. The chief Puckshenubbee, (original, Apuk- 
 -shiubih) one of the members of the delegation, having died 
 on his journey to see the Pres. and Robert Cole recommended 
 by the delegation as his successor, it is here agreed, that 
 the said Robert Cole shall receive the medal which apper- 
 lains to the office of chief, and, also, an annuity from the 
 
134 EI.TORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 United States of one hundred and fifty dollars a year, dur 
 ing his natural life, as was received by his predecessor. 
 
 Article Ijth. The friendship heretofore existing- be 
 tween the United States and the Choctaw Nation, is hereby 
 renewed and perpetuated. 
 
 Article 12th. Tb- e articles shall; take effect, and be 
 come obligbory on t* contracting parties so soon as the 
 same shall be ratified by the President, by and with the ad 
 vice and consent of the Senate of the Unite States. 
 
 In testiseiiy whereof, the said John C. Calhoun, and the 
 said delegates of the Choctaw Nation, havo hereunto set 
 their hands, at the city of Washington, the 20th day of June, 
 1825. JOHN C. CALHOUN. 
 
 Corrupted: Mooshulatubbee, his x mark. Original:, 
 Mosholihubih. 
 
 ROBERT COLE, his x mark. 
 DANIEL McCuRTAiN, his x mark. 
 TUSHKA ANUMPULI SHALI his x mark, 
 . Pro. Tush-kah (w r arrior) Shah-lih (messenger.) 
 RED FORT, his x mark. 
 
 Corrupted: Nittuckachie, his x mark. Original: Ni~ 
 J:ak (a, as ah) a chih To suggest the day. 
 
 DAVID FOLSOAI. 
 J. C. MCDONALD, Talkative warrior. 
 
 According to traditional authority, the morning star of 
 the Choctaws religious era, (if such it may be termed) first 
 lit up their eastern horizon, upon the advent of the two great 
 Wesleys into the now State of Georgia in the year 1733, as 
 the worthy and congenial companions of the noble Oglethorpe; 
 but also, it flashed but a moment before their eyes as a beau 
 tiful meteor, then as quickly went out upon the return to 
 England of those champions of the Cross, leaving them only 
 to fruitless conjecture as to its import; nor was seen again 
 during the revolutions of eighty-five long and weary .years. 
 Though tradition affirms, there were several missionaries 
 (Roman Catholic) among the Choctaws in 1735; and that tha- 
 Reverend Father Baudouin, the actual superior general of 
 the mission resided eighteen years among the Choctaws. 
 With these two above named exceptions, I have seen no rec- 
 ord of the White Race ever manifesting any interest in the 
 southern Indians welfare either of a temporal or spiritual 
 nature, from the earliest trading posts established among 
 them in 1670 by the Virginia and Carolina traders, down 
 through slowly revolving years to that of 1815; at which 
 time may be dated the establishment of the first Protestant 
 mission among the southern Indians. This mission, which 
 was named Brainard, was established among the Cherokees* 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 135 
 
 "by Rev. Cyrus Kingsbury, under the jurisdiction of the Old 
 School Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, in Boston r 
 Massachusetts, who arrived in that Nation, in company with; 
 his assistant laborers, Mr. and Mrs. Williams, January 13th r - 
 1815. 
 
 In 1818, Mr. Kingsbury, in company with Mr. and Mrs- 
 Williams, left Brainard in the charge of Rev. Daniel S. But- 
 trick (who arrived there January 4th, 1818, and remained as 
 a missionary among- the Cherokees until 1847, when hi & 
 health failing-, he went to Dwig-ht Mission also in the Chero 
 kee Nation, where he died June 8th, 1851) andarrived in the~ 
 Choctaw Nation near the last of June, 1818, and established 
 a mission in a vast forest of lofty trees, three miles south of 
 Yello Busha, a river (corruption from the Choctaw words. 
 Yaloba aiasha; Tadpoles abounding-) and about thirty miles- 
 above its junction with the Yazoo, (corruption of the Choc 
 taw word Yoshuba pro. as Yoh-shu-bah, and sig, Lost),, 
 and 400 miles distant from Barnard, which he named Elliot,, 
 in honor of the Rev. John Elliot, that distinguished missionr- 
 ary among the Indians of the New England States. 
 
 They went from Brainard to the Tennessee river,, seven, 
 miles distant, by private conveyance, and there w r ent by way." 
 of a boat, which had beenengaged to carry them to the 1 
 Muscle Shoals. A w r agon was also placed upon the boat,, by 
 which they went from Muscle Shoals to the Chickasaw: 
 agency, two hundred miles away, where they abandoned the: 
 wagon, andcrossed the country on horseback, directed alone- 
 .by little paths that led through thickets and canebrakes, and 
 safely arrived at the Yalobaaiasha settlement, where they 
 were hospitably received by Capt. Perry, (a half breed) and 
 many native families. On the following Sabbath Mr. Kings- 
 bury held a religious meeting and proclaimed salvation 
 through the Son of God, for the first time ever proclaimed in 
 the Choctaw Nation by the Pro testant minister. Capt. Perry 
 also supplied them with a house until they were able to build 
 for themselves. 
 
 In June, 1818, Moses Jewell and wife, John Kanouse and 
 wife, and Peter Kanouse left New York for New Orleans, 
 and reached the Choctaw Nation, in the following August.. 
 The first tree for the establishment of the Mission was 
 felled on August the 15th, 1818. 
 
 The Choctaws seemed to comprehend the benevolent, 
 designs of the missionaries and received them with every 
 manifestation of friendship and good will; though some mis 
 apprehension was indicated owing to the debased lives of the 
 white men (without a single white woman), with whom the 
 
. . .,.. . 
 
 13S HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 . 
 
 had long- associated, as true representatives of -the r 
 White Race in toto. " -y ^ ^4$T-- - 
 
 Soon after came A. V. Williams (brother of IJ. S. :>Wil- 
 Tiams, who came with Cyrus Kingsbury) and Miss Varnum -. 
 and Miss Chase, whom Mr. Kingsbury met in New Orleans, 
 and there married Miss Varnum, with whom he had been 
 under matrimonial engagement before he entered the mis 
 sion. They all returned to Elliot in February, 1819; then a 
 mission church was organized on the last Sabbath of the fol 
 lowing- March, and the Lord s supper administered the 
 first ever witnessed in the Choctaw Nation. Ten persons -. 
 composed the number of that church (all connected with the 
 mission), and the ten partook of that supper a strange and 
 incomprehensible scene to the Choctaws, who gazed at the 
 novel sight with unassumed wonder. 
 
 Within ten months from the time Mr. King-bury and , 
 Mr. Williams and Mrs . Williams arrived at the Ya-lo-ba-ai- 
 a-sha settlement, seven log houses had been erected, and 
 completed, the largest 20x22, and the smallest, 12x16; and 
 also, had nearly completed a mill, stable and store-house, 
 and had nearly prepared timber enough for a school house, 
 kitchen, and dining-room, and had sawed by hand 9,000 feet 
 of cypress and poplar plank with which to make furniture, 
 floors, doors. &c., the principal labor of all which was done 
 by employed Choctaws directed by the missionaries so 
 -eager were they to assist their white friends who had come 
 to live among them and bless them by their benevolent teach 
 ings; and before the school house was completed, eight 
 children, through a false rumor that the school was opened, 
 were brought over 160 miles to be entered. And thus the 
 mission, without a school house, and also pressed by a great 
 .scarcity of provisions, was greatly perplexed; since, if the 
 children were rejected, an unfavorable impression would be 
 the inevitable result, and if they were received, those in the 
 neighborhood would claim their equal rights to the same fa 
 vor. However, it was resolved, upon due -reflection, to 
 receive them as the less of the two evils, and a little cabin 
 was appropriated for a school house, and the school opened 
 on the 19th of April, 1819, with ten pupils 
 
 On the first of August, 1819, the mission was strengthened 
 by the arrival of Dr Pride and Isaac Fish, who was a farmer 
 and blacksmith. Shortly after, the Choctaws convened in 
 national council, and which, Mr. Kingsbury, through earnest 
 solicitation of the Choctaws, attended. The subject of 
 schools was discussed during the session of the couricil, in 
 which Mr. Kingsbury took part, and among the other things 
 suggested,. also proposed that all who desired to have a schoo 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 137 
 
 ^established among- them should signify that desire by sub 
 scribing money, or live stock, as they preferred. At once a 
 ^subscription was opened in the council, and a considerable 
 amount of mony was subscribed; Apakfohlichihubi (sig. One 
 who encircles to kill), the ruling- chief, giving $200 of the 
 same, while others gave 90 cows and calves, with the promise 
 -of as many more yearly, which was faithfully fulfilled; and 
 thus the mission was, at once, amply stocked with cattle. A 
 farm was soon opened and every effort made to prepare for 
 "the reception and accommodation of as many pupils as might 
 seek to enter the school. 
 
 The Chickasaws, learning of the school, made appli 
 cation for their children to attend the school, also, to which 
 the Choctaw chiefs, though knowing that the children of the 
 applicants of their own nation could not all be accommodated, 
 finally give their consent, fearing if they refused they would 
 wound the feelings of their Chickasaw friends, but with the 
 following proviso: That all Chickasaw children whose father 
 or mother were Chickasaws, would be received into the 
 school, and no others. Such was the zeal manifested for 
 schools and churches among the Choctaws, from the opening 
 -of the first to the closing of the last, when despoiled of their 
 ancient homes and driven to seek others in the distant west. 
 
 Soon afterthe opening of the schooladeep gloom threw its 
 dark mantle over the mission in the sudden and unexpected 
 killing of aged Chickasaw woman, named Illichih (pro. as II- 
 lich-ih, and sig. to cause to die,)and who lived about two miles 
 from Elliot with a son (20 years of age) two daughters and 
 two little grand-daughters, and had endeared herself to 
 the missionaries by her many acts of kindness and much val 
 uable assistance. The tragic affair happened thus: 
 
 A Choctaw girl, who lived about thirty miles distant, 
 came, a short time before Mr. Kingsbury arrived, to visit 
 some friends living near where Elliot w r as located. The girl 
 was taken sick, and an old Choctaw woman a conjuring 
 doctress proposed to cure her. She was at once employed 
 in the case. After giving her patient a variety of root and 
 lierb decoctions, internally and also externally applied for 
 several days, at the same time chanting her incantations and 
 going through her wild ceremonies over and around her pa 
 tient, she pronounced the girl convalescent and would re 
 cover; the father was duly informed of the happy change, 
 and came to take his daughter home; he remunerated the 
 apparently successful physician by giving her a pony, and 
 retired for the night intending to start for home with his 
 daughter the next day; but during the night, the daughter 
 suddenly became worse and expired in 24 hours. It was at 
 
1 V 38 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 once decided that her sudden demise was the result of a 
 isht-ul-bih (witch ball) shot from an invisible rifle in the 
 hands of a witch. Without delay her physician was con 
 sulted, who pronounced Illichih to be the witch who had shot 
 the fatal bullet. Immediately the father with several other 
 men, all armed, went to the home of Illichih and entered her 
 cabin. She displayed her hospitality, so universal among- all 
 Indians, by setting- before them the best she had ; and after 
 they had partaken of her scanty refreshments, the father 
 suddenly sprang- to his feet and, seizing- her by the hair, 
 cried out. "Huch-ish-no fiopa uno chumpa; aholh-kun-na 
 . chish-o yokut, cha ish ai illih, (your life I boug-ht; a witch you. 
 are, and must die.") To which Illichih, realizing- her inevit 
 able doom, calmly replied: "Chomi holubih, cha ish moma 
 yimmih" (others lie, and you all believe.") In a moment she 
 was stretched upon, the floor a bleeding- corpse. 
 
 When her son, who was absent from home at the time of 
 the trag-edy, returned, his feeling s may be imagined, but not 
 described. He at once hastened to the missionaries, for 
 whom he had often \vorked, and told them his tale of woe. 
 Mr. Kingsbury immediately went to the tragic scene of death: 
 He found the mangled corpse of his old friend lying- upon 
 the floor, partially covered with a blanket, with the two- 
 daughters and grand-daughters sitting around it in the 
 deepest grief, and their wailing-s but feebly expressed the 
 anguish of their hearts. Mr. King-sbury had a coffin made,, 
 and the missionaries, with the five children, laid poor Illichih 
 in he r humble grave, there to await the resurrectipn morn.. 
 The missionaries performed religious ceremonies at the 
 grave and after they had placed the coffin in its last resting" 
 place, the relatives and friends of. the deceased placed all her 
 cloth ing and the little money she possessed, and her bedding-, 
 upon the coffin and filled up the grave an ancient custom of 
 the Choctaws, as well as of all North American Indians, who 
 believed their deceased friends will have need of those thing s 
 in the the world beyond the grave. 
 
 Does the reader exclaim in iiidig-nant horror at x the slay 
 ing of Illichih, "What inhuman wretches!" But be not too 
 hasty in your judgment and condemnation of the acts of the 
 then unenlig htened Choctaws; but remember our professed, 
 civilized and Christian ancestors the "Pilgrim Fathers"- 
 stand to-day guilty of the same charge, but sixty fold more 
 culpable (professing what they did) than the Choctaws; for, 
 as soon as the Choctaws had been instructed in the impro 
 priety and sinfulness of killing- any one for witchcraft, no- 
 life was ever afterwards sacrificed to avenge the death of a 
 bewitched relative or friend. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 1 39 
 
 On the following- Sabbath after the tragic death of Il-lich- 
 ih, Mr. King-sbury preached from the appropriate text, 
 "The dark places of the earth are full of the habitation of 
 cruelty." He spoke fearlessly but calmly to his Choctaw 
 audience of the errors and wickedness of their superstitions, 
 and the abhorrence of the Great Spirit in the slaying- of their 
 own people through the belief that they are witches, who 
 listened in profound silence- and with the deepest 
 attention; and though a few old women in the Yalobaaiasha 
 district fell as sacrifices before the superstition of witch 
 craft, after the establishment of the Elliot mission, yet by 
 the influence and exertions of the missionaries the horrible 
 practice was soon forever stopped. Thoug-h they believed 
 that there were white witches also, yet they never attempted 
 to kill a white witch, upon the grounds that the whites eat so 
 much salt, that a witch ball fell harmless when shot against 
 an Indian by a white witch. 
 
 But the" kindness and interest displayed by the mission 
 aries to and for Il-lich-ih quickly spread over the country, 
 and so won the respect and confidence of the Choctaws that 
 all who were in affliction sent for one or more of them; and 
 also manifested great interest in their teachings and anxiety 
 for the success of all improvements both in churches and 
 schools, as suggested by those men and women of God. 
 
 But alas, it is a melancholy and lamentable truth that the 
 most that the North American Indians (everywhere over this 
 continent) have learned from the whites, the missionaries 
 alone excepted, has been, and still continues to be, that of 
 their follies and vices. One of the follies so incomprehensi 
 ble to the ancient Choctaws was, and still is, that one day, near 
 the close of eaeh year, should be devoted by the "pale-faces" 
 to eating and drinking, dancing and frolicking, carousing 
 and fighting, called Christmas; incomprehensible," since so 
 inconsistent with what the missionaries taught them what 
 the Bible reasons for rejoicing were, and in what way they 
 should be expressed to please God, as the advent of his Son 
 to earth to redeem man and bring him back from the paths 
 of hi i and folly to those of virtue and righteousness. 
 
 In 1820, Mr. Kino-sou ry started from -Elliot for the pur 
 pose of establishing a mission near the It-oom bih river, and 
 arrived at the home of David Folsom, sixty miles distant, 
 and then known by the name of "Puch-i A-nu-si," (pro. as 
 Push-ih (Pigeon) Ar-noos-ih (Sleep) or Pigeon Roost) from 
 the vast numbers of that beautiful bird that formerly roosted 
 there. There Mr. Kingsbury secured the voluntary assist 
 ance of Colonel Folsom to assist him in the selection of a 
 proper situation for the contemplated mission; after the sec- 
 
140 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 ond day s travel they reached Major John Pitchlynn s -a 
 white man who, by marrying- a Choctaw woman, had been 
 adopted by the Choctaws according- to their custom, and 
 -who, at that time, was acting- as interpreter for the United 
 States Government, and, in conjunction with Colonel Folsom 
 and others, was a zealous advocate of the civil and religious 
 improvement of his people; while both expressed the utmost 
 gratitude to Mr. Kingsbury for his interest manifested 
 toward their people, and the bright prospect of the Choc- 
 iaws future as presented by the missionaries in schools and 
 their preaching among and in behalf of their long neglected 
 people. 
 
 Alas, how great the contrast between John Pitchlynn, 
 Nathaniel Folsom, Henry Nail, Lewis LeFlore, John Col 
 bert, and others, who over a century ago, voluntarily united 
 themselves to the fortunes of the Choctaws in toto, 
 standing firmly and fearlessly to the interest of that ap 
 preciative people through their hopes and fears, joys and 
 sorrows. 
 
 After many days riding over the country, Mr. Kings- 
 bury, Col. Folsom, and Major Pitchlynn selected a place for 
 the mission station on a high point overlooking a grand prai 
 rie towards the south and west, and on the south 
 banks of a stream flowing into a stream now known as Tibi 
 (corruption of the Choctaw word It-tib-ih to fight or having 
 fought), where they at once erected a camp, preparatory to 
 the establishment of the missionary station to which Mr. 
 Kingsbury gave the name Mayhew. A log cabin or two 
 were soon erected by the aid of the neighboring Choctaws, 
 also a garden and cornfield opened and planted, when Mr. 
 Kingsbury retraced his steps to Elliot and safely arrived 
 there March 29th. 
 
 Soon the news of the. establishment of another station, 
 and the opening of another school, echoed and re-echoed 
 throughout the Nation with astonishing rapidity; and appli 
 cations were immediately made from various parts of the 
 Nation for stations and schools also. And to prove the sin 
 cerity of their applications, councils were held, and appro 
 priations were made in various parts of the Nation, for 
 churches, schools, blacksmith shops, etc., and in 1820, an 
 nuities were appropriated to these objects to the amount of 
 six thousand dollars annually to run for sixteen years. 
 These annuities were for large tracts of land sold by the 
 Choctaws to the United States. Their country was at that 
 time divided into three districts, know as the western, north 
 -eastern, and southern; called Upper Towns, Lower Towns, 
 .and Six Towns. Each district had a ruling chief, and each 
 
\ 
 
 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 141 
 
 town a subordinate chief, captain, and warriors, who man 
 aged the local affairs of the people. Elliot was located in 
 the western district, over which, at that time, Pushamataha 
 fOri. A-num-pah-ish-tarn-yah-ub-ih, a messenger of death) was 
 the ruling) chief; Mayhew, in the north eastern, over which 
 Puckshenubbee(Orig A-piurk-fo-lich-ihub-ihTo encircle and 
 kill) was the chief and A-mb-sho-lihub-ih of the southern. 
 
 About this time (1820) the mumps followed by the 
 measles desolated many families and even towns and villages 
 in different parts of the nation, owing to the ig iiorance of the 
 Choctaws concerning the nature of the new diseases and 
 their proper treatment. 
 
 In the same year Apakfohlichihubih and Amosholihubih, 
 with seven other chiefs, visited Elliot and were highly elated 
 at the progress of the pupils, and exhorted the children in 
 strains of native eloquence to learn the teachings of the 
 Holisso Holitopa (pro. as Ho-lis-soh Ho-le-to-pah, and sig. 
 Book Holy (Bible), which told them how to be good. In a 
 social conversation with Amosholihubih while at Elliot, Mr, 
 Kingsbury referred to the evils resulting to his people by 
 the use of whiskey; after listening attentively for some time, 
 he replied: U I never can talk with you good missionaries 
 without hearing something about the drunkenness and lazi 
 ness of the Choctaws. I wish I had traveled over the white 
 man s country; then I would know whether my people are 
 worse than every other people.- But I am determined it shall 
 no longer be thus said. I will summon a council, have a big 
 talk and stop the whiskey; for I am tired ofhearing my people 
 called every where lazy and drunkards." He was as" good as 
 his word.^ The council was convened; the "big talk" had, 
 a nd the whiskey banished from the Choctaw Nation, and 
 kept away, until the Mississippi Legislature in 1830 abro 
 gated their laws, and turned, by the hand of arbitrary power, 
 the corrupting and devastating channel of Whiskey river 
 into their country, as the quickest means, of securing their 
 remaining lands, knowing their horror of the white man s 
 laws with his whiskey as the protector and sustainer of 
 human "Personal Liberty." 
 
 Early in the year 1820, an English traveller from Liver 
 pool, name\l Adam Hodgson, who had heard of the Elliot 
 mission when at home, visited the mission, though he had to 
 turn from his main route of travel the distance of sixty miles. 
 He, at one time on his sixty miles route, employed a Choc- 
 taw to conduct him ten or twelve miles on his new way, 
 which he did, then received his pay and left him to finish his 
 journey alone. Of this Choctaw guide Mr. Hodgson, as an 
 example of noble benevolence and faithful trust, states:. 
 
142 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 "After going- about a mile, where we became confused in re 
 gard to the correct direction and were halting upon two 
 opinions, my guide suddenly and unexpectedly appeared at 
 my side, and pointed in the direction I should go, as he could 
 not talk English. I thanked him and again we parted; but 
 again becoming confused by a diverging path, half a mile 
 distant, as suddenly and unexpectedly, appeared again my 
 guide who had still been, silently and unobserved, watching 
 my steps. Again he set me right, and made signs that my 
 course lay directly toward the sun, and then disappeared;" 
 and by carefully keeping the course as directed by the 
 Choctaw, Mr. Hodgson safely reached the mission, where he 
 was warmly received by the missionaries. Yet the Indian is 
 still called a savage, who "cannot be educated out of his sav 
 agery." God pity such ignorance, and forgive their duplici 
 ty in assuming to be enlightened Christians, and yet seek to 
 hand down to the latest posterity a part of God s created In 
 telligences the Red Race as beings incapable of being 
 "educated out of their savagery." 
 
 Mr. Hodgson was duly introduced to the members of the 
 mission, and then to the school of native American pupils. 
 and expressed his surprise as well as heartfelt gratifica 
 tion with the account the teachers gave of the uncommon fa 
 cility with which they acquired knowledge. After remain 
 ing a few days, Mr. Hodgson left, and was accompanied sev 
 eral miles on his way to Brainard by Mr. Kingsbury, the 
 missionary station established five years previous, among 
 the Cherokees by Mr. Kingsbury and Mr. and Mrs. Wil 
 liams, as before stated. 
 
 Mr. Hodgson, in a letter written shortly after he left 
 Elliot, thus spoke of his interview with Mr. Kingsbury in 
 his own room at Elliot: "A log cabin, detached from 
 the other wooden buildings, in the middle of a boundless 
 forest, in an Indian country, consecrated, if I may de allow 
 ed the expression, by standing on missionary ground, and 
 by forming at once the dormitory and the sanctuary of a 
 man of God; it seemed to be indeed the prophet s chamber, 
 with the bed and the table, the stool and the candlestick. 
 
 "It contained, also, a little book-case, with a valuable 
 selection of valuable books, periodicals, biographical, and 
 devotional; among- which I found many an old acquaintance 
 in this foreign land, and which enabled Mr. Kingsbury, in 
 his few moments of leisure, to converse with many, "who 
 have long since joined the spirits of just men made perfect, 
 or to sympathize with his fellow-laborers in Staheite, Africa, 
 or Hindoostan. About midnight we became thirsty with 
 talking so much; and Mr. Kingsbury proposed that we 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 143 
 
 walk to the spring-, at a little distance. The night was 
 beautifully serene after the heavy showers of the preceding 
 nig-ht; and the coolness of the air, the fresh fragrance of the 
 trees, the deep stillness of the midnight hour, and the soft 
 light which an unclouded moon shed on the log- cabins of the 
 missionaries, contrasted with the dark shadows of the sur 
 rounding- forest, impressed me with feeling s which I can 
 never forget." In regard to the mission family, he said: 
 * k l was particularly struck with their humility, with their 
 kindness of manner towards one another, and the little at 
 tentions which they seemed solicitous to reciprocate. They 
 spoke very lightly of their privations, and of the trials which 
 the world supposes to be their greatest; sensible, as they 
 said, that these are often experienced in at least as great 
 degree, by the soldier, the sailor, or even the merchant. 
 
 Yet, in this country these trials are by no means tri 
 fling. Lying out for two or three months, in the woods, 
 with their little babes in tents which cannot resist the rain 
 here, falling in torrents such as I never- saw in England, 
 within sound of the nightly howling wolves, and occasionally 
 visited by panthers, which have approached almost to the 
 door, the ladies must be allowed to acquire some courage; 
 while, during many season of the year, the gentlemen can 
 not go 20 miles from home (and they are often obliged to go 
 30 or 40 for provisions) without swimming their horses over 
 four of five creeks. Yet, as all their inconveniences are suf 
 fered by others with cheerfulness, from worldly motives, 
 they would wish them suppressed in the missionary reports, 
 if they were not calculated to deter many from engaging as 
 missionaries, under the idea that it is an easy, retired li^e. 
 Their real trials they stated to consist in their own imper 
 fections, and in those mental maladies, which the retirement 
 of a desert cannot cure. I was gratified by my visit to 
 Elloit, this garden in a moral wilderness; and was pleased 
 with the opportunity of seeing a missionary settlement in its 
 infant state, before "the wounds from decent separation from 
 kindred and friends had ceased to bleed, and habit had ren 
 dered the missionaries familiar with the peculiarities of their 
 novel situation. The sight of the children also, many of 
 them still in Indian costumes, was most interesting. I could 
 not help imagining, that, before me, might be some Alfred of 
 this western world, the future founder of institutions which 
 are to enlighten and civilize his country, some Choctaw 
 Swartz or Elliot, destined to r disseminate the blessings of 
 Christianity from the Mississippi to the Pacific from the 
 Gulf of Mexico to the Frozen sea. I contrasted them in their 
 .social, their moral, and their religious conditions, with the 
 
144 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 straggling white hunters and their painted faces, who 
 occasionally stare through the windows, or, with the half- 
 naked natives, whom we had seeri a few nights before,dancing- 
 around their midnight fires, with their tomahawks and 
 scalping knives, rending the - air with their fierce war- 
 whoops, or making the woods thrill with their wild yells. 
 
 "But they form a still stronger contrast with the poor In 
 dians, whom we had seen on the frontier, corrupted, de 
 graded, debased by their intercourse with English, Irish, or 
 American traders. It was not without emotions, that I 
 parted, in all human probability forever in this world, from 
 my kind and interesting friends, and prepared to return to 
 the tumultuous scenes of a busy world from which, if life be 
 spared, my thoughts will qften stray to the sacred solitudes, 
 of Yallow Busha, as a source of the most grateful and re 
 freshing recollections." 
 
 Soon afterMr. Hodgson left Elliot, a re-enforcement of 
 missionaries arrived at Elliot and Mayhew from Massachu 
 setts, viz: Messrs. Smith, Cushman, Bardwell, with their 
 families, Byington, Hooper. Misses Frisselle and Thacher 
 f rom Pennsylvania. They travelled together as far as Pitts- 
 burg, Pennsylvania, where (November 4th, 1820) they took 
 passage on a large flat boat called, at that day, an Ark, and 
 reached the Walnut Hills (now Memphis, Tennessee) about 
 the last of Decem ber, There Mr. Cushman and his family, 
 and Mr. Hooper, took a wagon, and safely arrived at May- 
 hew after being about three weeks upon the road; while Mr- 
 Smith and family and Mr. Byington and Miss Thacher re- 
 v mained on the boat until they reached the mouth of the Yoh- 
 shu-bah (Yazoo); and Mr. Bardwell and his family and Miss 
 Frisselle remained at the Walnut Hills to look after the in 
 terests of the property of the mission, which had been there 
 deposited to await the arrival of the Choctaw packet to carry 
 it to Elliot and Mayhew. But the river rising to such a 
 height as to render it impracticable to travel by water, Mr. 
 Bardwell, after waiting many days for the falling of the river, 
 procured horses upon which he and his family and Miss 
 Frisselle rode to Elliot through the wilderness by the way 
 of little paths alone. 
 
 A short time before the arrival of the above mentioned 
 missionaries at Elliot and Mayhew, Mr. Loring S. Williams, 
 who came with Mr. Kingsbury to the Choctaw Nation, trav 
 elled over .that Nation to learn the views of the Choctaw peo 
 ple in regard to the establishment of churches and schools 
 among them, and whom he found everywhere delighted with 
 the idea. In his travels he visited, among many others, a 
 point on the Old Natchez Trace; (to which I will again refer) 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 145 
 
 called French Camp, about half way between Elliott and 
 Mayhew where he eventually settled with his family, opened 
 a school and both preached to and taught the Choctaws, and 
 God greatly blessed him in his glorious work. 
 i_IZ In tne meantime, Mr. Kingsbury met all their chiefs in a 
 great council near and explained to them the nature and de 
 sign of the missions being established in the Nation; and to 
 which a chief thus responded: "I be not used to make a 
 talk before white man, but when my heart feel glad, me can 
 say it. Me and my people have heard your talk before, but 
 never understand this business so well as now, that the 
 missionaries WORK FOR CHOCTAWS WITHOUT PAY; that they 
 leave their homes, and all for good of Choctaws. We are 
 ignorant. We know when day come, and when night come. 
 That be all they know." 
 
 Thus was manifested the eagerness of those ancient 
 Choctaws, as well as all their race from the days of Elliot, 
 the early Apostle to the Red man of North America, down 
 to Cyrus Kingsbury, the Apostle of the Choctaws; 
 and thus it would have been down to the pres 
 ent day, but for the interference with and pulling 
 down the labors of those men of God, by the hands of those 
 white men of the devil, whose howls are heard from the cen 
 tre to circumference of the land, even this day, "Open up to 
 white settlement ! Open up to white settlement !" 
 
 But now missions beg-an to be established in various 
 parts of the Choc taw Nation; and now was also seen the long 
 closed gates of an age of moral and intellectual darkness, 
 through w r hich even the wing of .conjecture is unable to ex 
 plore in its flight, swinging open to the first echo of the ap 
 proaching footsteps of those pioneers of the Cross bearing 
 and bringing the glad tidings of peace and good will to the 
 Choctaws, and commending the religion of Jesus Christ to 
 them, not more by their learning than by their life; and of 
 each of whom, both men and women, it truly might be said, 
 Israelites "in whom there is no guile." But the ever watch 
 ful and closely observing Choctaws at once learned to justly 
 appreciate the simple beauty of such lives as theirs, never 
 before seen nor even heard of, in all their knowledge of and 
 intercourse with the White Race. Consequently, they held 
 them in great respect and reverence; and even to this day, 
 though all have passed from their toils below to their rewards 
 above, Mr. Cyrus Kingsbury, the last of that noble little 
 band of Christian heroes and heroines, dying June 27th, 1871, 
 aged 83 years,. 7 months and 4 days, while their names live 
 in the memory of the present generation of the Choctaws; 
 since, in all the years of their long lives of labor and love 
 
 \ 
 
146 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 among them, they did them no wrong-, but only good, and 
 thus proving themselves to be their real friends and bene 
 factors, who came to them, not with soldiers and guns as 
 their emblems of peace, friendship and good will, but with 
 the Bible alone by whose doctrines universal friendship, 
 peace and brotherhood may be successfully and permanently 
 established among all man-kind, of all nations and of every 
 tongue; and WAS successfully and permanently established 
 between the missionaries and-the Indians every where upon 
 the North American continent, from the first sermon 
 preached to them by John Elliot down the flight of years to 
 the last sermon preached to them by Cyrus Kingsbury. A 
 truth incontrovertible, too, clear too certain to admit of dis 
 pute. And had the love of God and one veneration of his pre 
 cepts, as set forth in the Bible, governed the American peo 
 ple in all their dealings with the Indians, as did those early 
 missionaries to that noble race of God s created intelligences, 
 they would, long since, have been a part and parcel of our 
 nationality filling their nook and corner of our confederacy 
 with gloriously redeemed manhood and womanhood that 
 would to-day triumphantly stand the scrutiny and verdict of 
 the civilized and Christian world. But alas, we tried to force 
 upon them the falsehood that they were inferior beings, and 
 justly failed; and will ever fail so long as a North American 
 Indian lives to hurl the idiotic notion back into our teeth, 
 though the howls of the modern idiots, who still strive to 
 diabolify the noble but unfortunate Red Race, disturb the 
 quiet of earth with "No good Indian but a dead Indian," 
 "Once an Indian, always an Indian" exterminate the red 
 skins; shoot down the "bucks as rabid wolves," followed by 
 the doxology upon that "Harp aof thousands .strings." "Open 
 up their few remainidg acres of land to settlement for the 
 children of the Lord." 
 
 Many parents and friends attended the closing exercises 
 of the first session of the Mayhew school, and were delighted 
 at the improvement of tire children, and the day was a happy 
 one both to parents and pupils. Amasholih ubih, accompa 
 nied by many of his chieftains and warriors, also attended 
 the examination, and made the following remarks to the 
 school: "Such a thing was not known here when I was a 
 boy. I had heard of it, but did not expect to see it. I re 
 joice that I have lived to see it. You must mind your teach 
 ers, and learn all you can. I hope I shall live to see our 
 councils filled with the boys who are now in this school, and 
 that you will then know much more thah we know and do 
 much better than we do." And he did live to see it. All re 
 turned to their homes highly pleased. At the opening of the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 147 
 
 next session of the school, Amosholih ubih brought two of 
 his sons and a nephew to enter the school: also an aged Choc- 
 taw man brought his grandson and .daughter to enter the 
 school, and said to Mr. Kingsbury: "I now give them to 
 you, to fake them by the hand and heart, and hold them fast. 
 I will now only hold them by the end of their fingers." 
 
 To the examination at Mayhew in 1822, many Choctaws 
 came from a long distance, and the whole Nation, from cen 
 tre to circumference, seemed awake upon the subject of im 
 provement, morally, intellectually, and religiously. But 
 alas, the devil was not asleep, but secretly busy in trying to 
 thwart the good efforts of both the Choctaws and mission 
 aries, by influencing his abandoned white subjects, who had 
 fled from the religious restraints of their homes in the 
 States, to misrepresent the designs of the missionaries, and, 
 in a few instances, succeeded in inducing parents to take 
 their children from under the care and instruction of the 
 schools. But many Choctaws came the distance of 70 miles 
 to learn the truth of the reports; and, as might be expected, 
 returned satisfied of their falsity, and better pleased with the 
 missionaries, their churches and schools, than ever before; 
 and thus was the devil and his white subjects gloriously de 
 feated in their nefarious designs. 
 
 Soon after, a brother of Captain Cole (who died ten or 
 twelve miles east of Atoka in the present Choctaw Nation, 
 Indian Territory, in the year 1884, at the advanced age of 
 nearly four score and ten years) sent five children to school, 
 and a few months later sent another, but the school was so 
 crowded that the sixth could not be admitted, and for causes 
 not known, the father sent and took aw r ay the five who mani 
 fested the greatest sorrow 7 in having to leave the school. 
 But Captain Cole, after more room had been provided, sent 
 a petition with the signature of himself an d eight chiefs 
 urging- the propriety of returning all the six children to the 
 school; and not only the six were returned, but also six 
 others, besides application for two others, one of whom was 
 his son, whom he gave to the missionaries, with the words: 
 "I want him to remain with you until he obtains a good edu 
 cation, if it takes TEN years." 
 
 Mrs. Kingsbury died at Mayhew, on the 15th day of 
 September, 1822, and w r as buried in the Mayhew cemetery 
 a true and self-sacrificing Christian woman, who gave up all 
 for the sake of assisting to lead the Red man of North Am 
 erica into the fold of her Divine Master. Her noble husband s 
 body rests from its earthly labors, in a Choctaw cemetery 
 near Old Boggy Depot, Indian Territory, among the people 
 he loved so well, and for whose good he labored so faithfully 
 
148 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 for 53 long- and eventful years. She left two little boys, 
 Cyrus and John, the last mentioned also lies in the same- 
 cemetery near thegrave of his noble father; the former, if alive, 
 I know not where he is. The last I heard of him, (years ago) 
 he was living- in Iowa.. Both were the playmates of my child 
 hood s years, never to be forgotten. 
 
 Ah"! How those names stir the memories that still clus 
 ter around my early youth! We were five missionary boys, 
 Cyrus and John, my two brothers and myself, all playmates 
 at that ag-e when we felt that we were "monarchs of all we 
 survey" and truly we reigned rig-ht royally. But with added 
 years came the "truth that the world Avas not so eag-erly 
 moulded to our wishes, for life soon taught its realities to us 
 as to all poor humanity whose days are full of sorrow, and 
 lives but a span. But.it rests me, to pause, here and there, 
 in the midst of hurry and care, to sit in this my ang-le-nook, 
 among- the present Choctaws Indian Territory, and ponder 
 o er the joys of by-gone clays, when I was a lifth part of the 
 happy, boyhood group that each day gathered together in the 
 long ago. How well I remember it, and how warm my heart 
 grows at the thought. The cold adamantine wall that has 
 enclosed me in my contact with a busy and seemingly heart 
 less world crumbles to dust -and falls away, leaving me ag ain 
 a tender, confiding, loving boy. Ah! That beautiful long 
 ago! when I received earth as full of sunshine without alloy, 
 and sweet song without a discordant note. 
 
 Those were days wherein the world seemed to have 
 reached its perfection; days, when all things seemed in uni 
 son with harmony, as if Nature would indulge her offspring; 
 when all things, animate and inanimate, seemed to give 
 signs of satisfaction and contentment; and even the horses 
 and cattle, scattered here and there in little groups, some 
 reposing on the green sward and others grazing around, 
 seemed to be indulging in tranquil thoughts. Ah ! the mem 
 ory of those days makes me long- once more to throw myself 
 into the arms of loving Nature, as in the days of yore; but 
 not as she smiles in well-trimmed woody groves or in culti-, 
 vated fields of grain; but Nature, as she was in that age when 
 creation was complete and unadorned by human hand. Yes, 
 I would go again, even in this my life s far decline back to 
 the land whereof none then the history knew ; back even to . 
 the Red man, whom I am not ashamed to own I love; to 
 whom civilized vice was then unknown; where on every side 
 stretched away on illimitable forest scarcely to be distin 
 guished in the shadows of night from the hills beyond; 
 while the flowing streamlet, here and there, clearly gleamed 
 through the open glades as the ripple of night breeze gently 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. \149 
 
 #> 
 
 stirred the forest leaves. But if you, whose eyes may some 
 -day fall upon these, my written thoughts, I pray you perse 
 vere, since what I may have to tell you may not be without 
 interest, as I have not told it before nor will I again. 
 
 Though the death of Mrs. Kingsbury was a great 
 bereavement and trial to Mr. Kingsbury, yet he faltered not 
 in the cause of his Divine Master among* his loved Choctaws. 
 But two weeks after he started upon a long- journey in the 
 southern part of the nation to find suitable points for estab 
 lishing- churches and schools among- the Choctaws, that their 
 children mig-ht receive an education near home, and also 
 relieve the missions from all expenses except that of the sup 
 port of teachers. After several days travel, he arrived at the 
 home of the celebrated chiefs of the Choctaws, Apushamata- 
 hahubih, where he met Mr. Jewell; thence, they journeyed 
 together to a point one hundred miles distant, called by the 
 Choctaws Oktak Falaiah (Ok-tark, (Prairie), Far-lai-ah 
 {Long.) ) There they laid the foundations for the establish 
 ment of a school, which was afterwards named Emmaus, and 
 was near the line between Mississippi and Alabama. At Ok 
 tak Falaiah they made the acquaintance of Henry Nail, an 
 aged white man, who had been adopted by the Choctaws by 
 his marriage, many years before, to a Choctaw woman. He 
 told Mr. Kingsbury and Jewell that he had twelve children 
 living and one dead. He was a chief among the Choctaws for 
 many years, and is the progenitor of the Nail family among 
 the Choctaws. But I will speak of him again more definitely. 
 Thence the two missionaries, in company with Joel Nail, a 
 -son of Henry Nail, who lived near his father with a wife and 
 several small children, went to Okla Hunnali pro. Ok-lah 
 (people) Hun-nar-lih, (Six). While en route, they unexpect 
 edly came upon a large company of Choctaws assembled for 
 .a ball play. As soon as they ascertained that one of the 
 white men was "Na-sho-ba-An-o-wa, (Nar-sho-bah, (Wolf), 
 Arn-o-wah (Walking) (a name given to Mr. Kingsbury by 
 the Choctaws, though one foot was badly deformed by the 
 cut of a scythe when a boy) of whom they had heard, they 
 postponed their ball play, and both chiefs and warriors 
 gathered at once around him, and urgently solicited him to 
 give them "a talk" about schools. He willingly complied, 
 -while they listened with the deepest interest and in profound 
 silence to his propositions, and manifested unassumed joy at 
 the prospect of a school. Mr. Kingsbury then bade them a 
 friendly adieu, and the three continued their journey thence 
 to Okla Hunnali, which comprised six clans, and contained 
 2164 inhabitants. 
 
 Aboha Kullo Humma, (pro. Ar-bo-hah ) (House; Kullo 
 
150 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. ^ 
 
 (strong) Humma (red) or,. in our phraseology (Strong- red 
 house but in the Choctaw, Red Fort) was the chief of Okla 
 Hunnali. The clans of the Choctaws .were all perpetuated 
 in the female line. When a man married, he was adopted 
 into the family of his wife, and her brothers had more au 
 thority over her children than her husband; therefore, when 
 a lover wished to marry a girl, he consulted her uncles, and 
 if they consent to the marriage, the .father and mother ap 
 proved. Those of the same clan were never allow r ed to inter- 
 marrv. A Choctaw regarded marrying a girl of his own clan 
 with the same horror as the white man did to marry his own 
 sister; and equally so did the Choctaw girl. 
 
 Aboha Kullo Humma was hig-hly elated at the proposition 
 of Mr. Kingsbuiw to establish a school among his clans, or peo 
 ple; and earnestly importuned Mr. Kingsbury to establish two- 
 inhis district; ajid such were his pleadings that Mr. Kingsbury 
 finally agreed to write a letter to the; Prudential Committee, 
 to solicit more teachers, and Aboha Kullo Humma also wrote 
 a letter, and sent it with Mr. Kingsbury s, a true copy of 
 which I here insert: 
 
 Six TOWNS, Choctaw Nation, October 18th, 1822/ 
 BROTHERS: 
 
 "The first law I have made is, that when my warriors 
 go over the line among the white people, and buy whiskey, 
 and bring it into the Nation to buy up the blankets, and 
 guns, and horses of the Red people, and get them drunk; 
 the whiskey is to be destroyed. The whiskey drinking is 
 wholly stopped among my warriors. The Choctaw women 
 sometimes killed their infants, when they did not want to 
 provide for them. I have made a law to have them pun 
 ished, that no more children be killed." ^ 
 
 This law had actually been passed and was then in full 
 force, as had been exemplified in the case of a woman who 
 had been tried and convicted for killing her infant, a short 
 time prior to Mr. Kingsbury s visit to Okla Hunnali. She 
 was tied to a tree and whipped by the officers of justice until 
 she fainted; and not only the woman was whipped, but her 
 husband also received the same punishment for not restrain 
 ing his wife in the destruction of the child. But thus con 
 tinues Aboha Kullo Humma. 
 
 "The Choctaws formerly stole hog s and cattle, and kill 
 ed and ate them. I have organized a company of faithful 
 warriors to take every man w^ho steals, and tie him to a tree, 
 and give him thirty-nine lashes.". 
 
 ^ This law of punishing theft by whipping has never been 
 repealed; but has been amended to this extent, and so stands. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 151 
 
 to-day being* fifty lashes on the bare back for the first theft; 
 a hundred for the second, and death by the rifle for the third. 
 
 "The Choctaws have, sometimes, run off with each oth 
 er s wives. We have now made a law, that those who do so, 
 shall be whipped thirty-nine lashes; and if a woman runs 
 away from her husband with another man, she is also to be 
 whipped in the same manner. The number of men, women, 
 and children in the Six Towns, is 2164. I want the good 
 white people to send men and women to get up a school in 
 my district; I want them to do it quick, for I am growing old 
 and want to see the good work before I die. We have al 
 ways been passed by. Other parts of the Nation have 
 schools; we have not; we have made the above laws because we 
 wish to follow the ways of the white people. We hope they 
 will assist us in getting our children educated. This is the 
 first time I write a letter. Last fall the first time we make 
 lawsi} I say no more. I have told my wants: I hope you 
 will not forget me." "ABOHA KULLO HUMMA." 
 
 It is a truth, though unknown to thousands, yet contra 
 dicted by thousands who do know it that, from an unwilling 
 ness to admit anything which the truth of a desire in the 
 Indians to become a civilized and Christian people, Aboha 
 Kullo Humma s letter expressed the true sentiments of 
 every tribe of North American Indians, to whom the mis 
 sionaries have gone, from the days of the missionary Elliot 
 down the flight of years to the present. Instead of the bread 
 of eternal life for which they so earnestly pleaded, except the 
 few crumbs the devoted and self-sacrificing missionaries 
 gave them, we have given them leaden bullets; while the 
 iron wheel of our merciless venality rolled over them, ancl 
 still rolls on like a juggernaut crushing them by turns, some 
 quickly, and some later on, to us it mattered not, so in the 
 end all were crushed, and we go in to take their long coveted 
 land; though they fled hither and thither, and plead for mercy, 
 yet the appeal was vain, for the blind fury of our avarice 
 (deaf as the adder) still thunders on only to stop, it seems, 
 when the last of the Red Race shall be numbered with the 
 past and our cup of iniquity be full, that the God of justice 
 may write against us Tekel, that our ship of State may also 
 go down in the vorte caused by the sinking of theirs. 
 
 From 1822, to the time they were dispossessed of every 
 foot of their^ ancient domains, and driven away to a then 
 wilderness, the schools increased in numbers, and the ordi 
 nances of religion were augmented, and a deeper interest 
 manifested every where over their country never witnessed 
 before; as they, previous to that time, had had intercourse 
 with the debased of the White Race, by whom they had been 
 
152 HISTORY OF THE^ INDIANS. 
 
 taught in the school of vice, and nothing- but vice: therefore 
 the North American Indians have been accused, from first 
 to last, of having- no conception of an over-ruling providence 
 the Creator of all things, and an effort has been made to 
 sustain the charge in that they believed in the supernatural 
 power of their rain-makers, their fair-weather-makers, and 
 the incantations of their doctors. But the charge is utterly 
 false. Tis true, they relied on their rain-makers, fair- 
 weather-makers and the conjuring of their doctors, through 
 the belief that, by prayer and supplication, those person 
 ages had been endowed with supernatural powers by the 
 Great Spirit, (their God and ours), in whom all Indians be 
 lieved, and with greater veneration than the whites, and I de 
 fy successful contradiction. They sought the aid of the 
 rainmakers, doctors, &c, just as we do the prayers of our 
 preahers in behalf of our sick, and for our rain, etc. Now, 
 whatmore did or do the Red Race than the White? Noth 
 ing. Yet the Indians must be called infidels; though there 
 are today, and always have been, ten thousand white ifidels 
 to one Indian, and always will be. The Indians have also 
 been called savage, and are still so called, because he suf 
 fered himself to be tortured with fear and anxiety in the 
 belief of the existence of witches and ghosts, and that many 
 were slain because they were believed to deal in witchcraft. 
 But say you, "Remember Illichih!" I do; but also point you 
 back to Cotton Mather. The slayers of poor Illichih knew noth 
 ing of the injunctions of the Bible, and were called savages; 
 but Cotton Mather was an expounder of the Bible, and his 
 adherents the professed believers of its teachings, but he 
 and they are called Christians. Now judge ye, (if ye can do 
 so impartially) if "savage" is recorded in heaven against the 
 slayers of Illichih, is "Christian" also recorded there against 
 the slayers of those charged with witchcraft in Massachu 
 setts? Is it just that the North American Indians alone 
 must still be held up to view by the stigmatizing name Sav 
 age, though years ago, they freed themselves, as a people, of 
 all such nonsense; while thousands of the White Race among 
 the civilized nations, our own included, are to-day the slaves 
 of that most foolish of all foolish superstitions, yet demand 
 to be called civilized and a Christian people? 
 
 Mayhew, the second mission established among the 
 Choctaws, as before stated, was located on the eastern bor 
 der of a magnificent prairie that stretched away to the west 
 and south in billowy undulations presenting a scene of 
 fascinating loveliness unsurpassed, when arrayed in its 
 dress of summer s green, dotted with innumerable flowers 
 of various colors; and the country in all directions for 
 
^J HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 153 
 
 miles away, was rich in all the boundless extravagance of 
 picturesque beauty, where Nature s most fascinating" feat 
 ures everywhere presented themselves carelessly disposed 
 in wild munificence, unimproved, and indeed unimprovable 
 by the hand of art. Truly the lovely situation of that mis 
 sion is still fresh in memory, though more than a half cen 
 tury has passed away; and to-day, as of that long ago, the 
 eye of memory sees the far extending prairie on the south 
 and west, and the boundless forests on the north and east, 
 with their hills and vales of romantic loveliness, and creeks 
 and rivulets combining to give a moral interest to the pleas 
 ure derived from the contemplation of Nature in her bright 
 est, happiest and most varied aspect. Ah! the imagination 
 ^could but fold its pinions, and stand in wondering admira 
 tion amid the sublime solitudes of the grand forests of that 
 day, while hill and dale seemed as entrancing to the eye with 
 their beautifully draped garments of green as the weird 
 music of the winds amid their branches was to the ears of 
 fairies played on mystic Memnon s harp tuned to audible 
 minstrelsy under the glancing rays of the morning and even 
 ing sun. 
 
 Their horses, cattle and hogs, which they possessed in 
 great numbers, were fed alone from Nature s ample store 
 house filled at all times with the richest varieties of proven 
 der-grass, cane, acorns and nuts; while game of many vari 
 eties roamed over their forests undisturbed only as necessity 
 demanded their destruction. Birds of many kinds, and of 
 various plumage, added their enchantment to the scene. 
 
 The missionaries found the Cherokees, Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws in their native state that of mortality unadorned; 
 yet struggling into the dawn of civilization as those who had 
 heard afar the roar of the world s civilization and roved im 
 patiently to the shore; and they soon learned that even the 
 despised, defamed and down-trodden Indian rejected not 
 God s law improvement; nor was wanting in ability, while 
 their sentiments found .an expositor, and every feeling and 
 oracle in his untutored breast. Therefore, they sought to 
 make them religious through their best feelings rather than 
 their worst; through their gratitude and affections, rather 
 than their fears and calculations of risk and future punish 
 ment; and they found by giving them the least advantage of 
 instruction they glided into refinement; and also found that 
 there was that sentiment in the Indian that gives delicacy to 
 thought, and tact to manner; for they listened and caught 
 knowledge in the natural way of beneficence and power of 
 God; of the mystic and spiritual history of man; and philan 
 thropic missionaries were charmed by their attention. How 
 
154 HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. > 
 
 true that, in the nature of man the humblest to the hardest 
 there is something- that lives in all of the beautiful or the 
 fortunate which hope or desire have appropriated, even in the 
 vanities of a childish dream! At the time of the advent of the 
 missionaries, the Cherokees, occupied the now State of Ten 
 nessee," the Chickasaws the north part of the now State of 
 Mississippi, and the Choctaws the south part including- 
 also the western part of the now State of Alabama and the 
 eastern part of the now State of Louisiana. Those early 
 missionaries (both men and women), who offered their lives 
 to the cause and thoug ht no more of themselves, were of 
 strong- character, firm resolution and of fine tastes and 
 ideals; and of those missionary women it may be truthfully 
 added, the} T were intelligent and elegant as they were heroic; 
 and the lovers of missionary lore oft read with delight the 
 ideal romance of their lives. 
 
 They first studied and made themselves acquainted with 
 the various dialects of the Indians complicated languages - 
 difficult because of the combination of signs and w r ords that 
 cannot be reduced to any known rule; they administered to- 
 the wants of the sick and dressed the wounded; they braved 
 sickness and death and p-reached the tiding-s of peace oil 
 earth and g-ood will to men; and to-day, thoug-h, long- since,. 
 all have g-one to receive their reward a blissful immortality 
 amid eternity s scenes yet their names and deeds of right 
 eousness stand triumphant and revered, while over them and 
 those whom they -taught and led, the Choctaw, the Chicka- 
 saw, the Creek, the Cherokee, the Seminole waves the 
 white banner whose only symbol is the Cross of the World s- 
 Redeemer. 
 
 But in their early labors of love among the above named 
 people what did those selfsacrificing men and women find? 
 They found the Indians confidence was easily gained, and as. 
 easily retained by just and humane treatment, they found 
 that he was not vicious nor bloodthirsty, an untamable 
 savage, as he was and ever has been so unjustly represented 
 to be; they found that, unlike his white defamer, he never 
 was profane. He took not in vain the name of his God, the 
 Great Spirit, nor the names of the subordinate deities, to 
 whom his religion taught him the supreme Great Spirit dele 
 gated supernatural powers among men. Whatever he loved, 
 he called it good; whatever he hated, he called it bad. Of 
 whiskey he said: u O-ka-ki-a-chuk-ma, Water" not good, that 
 was all. 
 
 They found the men to be, to a great extent, even as the 
 whites, good husbands, loving fathers, and the most faithful 
 of friends; the women, devoted wives, adoring mothers, and 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 155 
 
 equally true as friends, and both men and women, truthful 
 to the letter, all scorning 1 a lie and a liar. 
 
 They found among- all the men the attributes of the 
 heroes, in truth, honesty, fidelity and patriotism, unsur 
 passed in the annals of the human race, all sustained by in 
 controvertible testimony for two centuries past; yet, with 
 mair^ foibles common to the fallen race of man, but with few 
 of the prominent and debasing" vices of the White Pace. 
 
 They found them to be a race that defied the tortures of 
 an enemy to produce a groan, to shed a tear or manifest 
 .pain. Stake man or woman to the ground and burn them to 
 death by degrees, and they would expire without a moan 
 chanting his or her death-song defiantly to the last gasp. t "; 
 They found them, in the literal sense of the word, to b : e 
 communists. Whatever they had was cheerfully bestowed 
 to any needy of their tribe. "Will I let my brother suf 
 fer when I have plenty?" replied an Indian to a white man. who 
 advised economy by saving- his superfluous meat against the 
 scarcity of winter instead of dividing* it among 1 his fellows. 
 His generosity and his hospitality were extended even to an 
 enemy whose life was safe if he entered his cabin and par 
 took even a drink of water; for the Indian s laws of hospital 
 ity were inviolate. , 
 The religion of Jesus Christ fell upon the ear of the Red 
 man as a bright and beautiful elucidation of his own vague 
 but often sublime conceptions, and, under the mild teaching s 
 of the devoted missionaries, he adapted himself to the spirit 
 of the age and accepted his ne\v surroundings because the 
 power which led him on to civilization was that of the Soldier 
 of the Cross instead of the sword. 
 
 The missionaries also found them with the knowledge of 
 good and evil; they too were embued with the eternal princi 
 ples of love and hate; feeling that they were by Nature in 
 tended to be free, yet feeling that they were slaves to circum 
 stances alike with the human race seeking the good yet 
 too oft finding the bad; but not being able to attribute both 
 the good and the evil to the same All-Wise Being, they im 
 agined that these gods were alike anxious to do them service 
 the one to give them pain and sorrow, and the other pros 
 perity and pleasure; the one ever thwarting them in their 
 undertaking, the other encouraging and assisting them; 
 they, therefore, desired, and very naturally, too, to appease 
 the one and please the other, and this desire, as a natural 
 consequence, influenced them to the worship of both the god 
 of evil and the god of good; yet those holy men of God also 
 found, that the Indians thoughts (the wild ivy of the human 
 mind) could be trained upward until they too were hung 
 
156 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 around by the tenderest associations and the recollections of 
 all that is" sweet and solemn in man s nature, as it points up 
 wards to a blissful immortality in the skies; and that their 
 spirits and hopes at once began to mount up from earth in 
 ihe pathway thus indicated by the light of truth; to reach 
 the blissful home so timely suggested by those men and 
 women of God. 
 
 But, alas, for the Choctaws ! 
 
 The white man soon disturbed the long and deep rest of 
 their happy lives, not for their moral and intellectual im 
 provement and advancement in Christian civilization, but 
 .alone for their banishment from their ancient domains of con 
 tentment and bliss to impoverishment and humiliation in a 
 distant wilderness in the west, with the injunction "Root 
 pig or die," where there was actually nothing for which to 
 root. 
 
 There were many things which served to awaken in the 
 minds of the early missionaries to the present five civilized 
 tribes, when living in their ancient domains east of the Missis 
 sippi river, sad and melancholy reflections. They beheld all 
 around them indubitable evidence of the former existence of 
 a large population who lived long prior to the people among 
 whom they labored, and had in the years of the long ago per 
 formed their part upon the stage of life, and unremembered, 
 passed into the secret chambers of oblivion. They felt 
 that they walked over the graves of a long succession of gen 
 erations ages before mouldered into dust; the surrounding 
 forests were once animated by their labors, (as their rude 
 and mouldering fortifications testified), their huntings and 
 wars, their songs and their dances; but silence had drawn 
 its impentrable vail over their entire history; no lettered page, 
 no sculptured monument told who they were, whence they 
 came, or the period of their existence. 
 
 But how strange the scene presented to the Cherokees at 
 Brainard, to the Choctaws at Elliot, and the Qhickasaws at 
 Monroe, (the names given to the missionary stations, the first 
 established among the peculiar but appreciative people I) How 
 incomprehensible to them was the conduct of the pale faces 
 then and there. How different from all others they had ever 
 seen or heard, the white traders, whiskey peddlers, strag 
 glers and refugees from justice! In all their previous know 
 ledge of whose race, they had seen the same motto inscribed 
 upon all their flags "Traffic and trade, War and strife;" 
 but now they came disrobed of every appearance 1 of greedy 
 gain and all implements of war and strife, and teaching the 
 strange tidings of peace on earth and good will to man. Nor 
 were the missionaries scarcely less astonished to find the 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS 157 
 
 people who had been represented to them by the tongue of 
 calumny as a set of savages, to be quite the reverse even a 
 remarkable people in many respects; first, for their native 
 moral principle, their innocence of all hypocrisy, lying- and 
 all forms of deceit, in all their social relations with each other; 
 secondly, for their virtue, their fair-mindedness,- their 
 great and abiding paternal and parental aff ectioii; thirdly, 
 their respect for the right of property and the sacredness of 
 human character from slander and vituperation. 
 
 This is not an over-drawn picture. Nowhere among 
 any people was property, life, and human character more 
 sacred, and hypocrisy and lying less known, than among the 
 ancient Choctaw and Chickasaw, Cherokee and Muskogee 
 people. I speak from personal knowledge. And the mis 
 sionaries found them, to their agreeable surprise, as little 
 meriting the title, savag es, which ignorance, prejudice and 
 imbecile egotism had applied to them, as any race of unlet 
 tered people that were ever known to exist; and, in viewing" 
 them in the light of a true catholic spirit, saw much that was 
 touching and beautiful in their manners and customs. They 
 also found them to be a people with immovable faith in a 
 Supreme Being, and possessing a great reverence for powers 
 and abilities. superior to those of earth; though, to some ex 
 tent, materialistic in their conception, but totally ignorant of 
 the white man s ideas and views of Christ and the Father. 
 They regarded the Great Spirit as the source of general 
 good, and of whom they asked guidance in all undertakings, 
 and implored aid against their enemies, and to whose power 
 they ascribed favors and frowns, blessings, successes and 
 disappointments, joys and sorrows; and though their faith 
 may have seemed cold to us, and their ceremonies, frivolous, 
 ridiculous, and even blasphemous in our eyes; but in such 
 lightas they had truly walked, with ready and sincere acknowl 
 edgement of human dependence on super-human aid and 
 mercy. Can we say as much for ourselves? Do we walk 
 according to the light we have as truly and faithfully as the 
 unlettered Indians did? 
 
 But among the many things that are associated with the 
 North American Indians as topics of conversation and sub 
 jects of the printer s ink-more talked about and less under 
 stood-is the "Medicine Man." On Nov. 14, 1605, the -first 
 French settlement was made in America, on the north-east 
 coast of Nova Scotia, and they gave the name A cadia to the 
 country; and on July 3, 1808, Samuel Champlain laid the 
 foundation of Quebec. The character "Medicine-Man" had 
 its origin, according to tradition, among those early French 
 colonists who corrupted the word "Meda" a word in the 
 
158 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 language of one of the Indian tribes of that day signifying 
 chief, into "Medicine-Man," and also called the religious 
 ceremonies of the Indian "making medicine," which was 
 afterwards called, as the result, "medicine," and which final 
 ly became in use among the Indians themselves, and has so 
 continued to the present day. 
 
 It was a religious ceremony for the propitiation of invisi 
 ble spirits and practised by all of the North American 
 Indians, with scarcely an exception. The ancient Choctaws 
 and Chickasaws had their Medicine Men, with many of whom 
 I was personally acquainted in the years of the long ago. 
 
 There were two kinds of Medicine (religious ceremon 
 ies) among the Choctaws and Chickasaws, the same as 
 among all other tribes of their race, the tribal medicine and 
 the individual, each peculiar to the individual tribe and in 
 dividual person of that tribe. What the different ingredients 
 were, which composed the tribal medicine, no one knew, or 
 ever tried to know, except he who secretly collected and 
 stored them away in the carefully dressed, highly orna 
 mented and sacred deer-skin sack; yet it was held as sacred 
 in the hearts of the entire tribe of all ages and sexes, as was 
 the ark of the convenant among the ancient Jews. And 
 equally so was that of the individual, whose ingredients were 
 known only to its maker and possessor. More than once did 
 my boyish curiosity induce me to ask a Choctaw warrior 
 what was in his medicine sack, but only to get the repulsive 
 reply: None of your business. 
 
 Indeed, the mission of the tribal medicine was to the In 
 dians the same, to all intents and purposes, as that of the sa 
 cred ark to the ancient Jews when borne through the wilder 
 ness in those days of their historical pilgrimage^ It was re 
 garded as the protector of the tribe, in fact, tfife visible em 
 bodiment of the promise of the good Great Spirit to provide 
 for the tribe all the necessaries of life, and protect them 
 from all enemies. So too was that of the individual medicine 
 which he had made fqr himself alone, and which was indeed 
 a part of his life, his assurance in danger, his safety in bat 
 tle, and his success amid all the vicissitudes of his earthly 
 career. If the sacred and secret articles that composed the 
 contents of the tribal medicine bag, or those of the individual 
 medicine bag, should become known to others, than the one 
 who collected and placed them therein, the mystic bag at 
 once became powerless even as Sampson, when shorn of 
 his hair by the treacherous hands of Delilah. And was it 
 captured in war or otherwise fell into the hands of an enemy 
 the greatest consternation fell upon the entire tribe, and su 
 per-human efforts were made to recover it. If they failed in 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 159 
 
 this, overtures soliciting- pearce, even to humiliation, were 
 made at once to the ememy. 
 
 But, if an individual was in any way deprived of his, 
 which he always kept about his person, he -made another. 
 The making of another may seem an easy matter to the un 
 informed. But not so. It entailed upon the maker a long 
 period of utter seclusion in the solitude and silence of the 
 forest far away from the abodes of man-kind, with long- con 
 tinued fasting, meditation and prayer, followed by long- pro 
 tracted labor in finding and securing the necessary articles, 
 such as earths *of different colors, the ashes of various 
 weeds, bones of certain birds and snakes, and various other 
 things which his fancy may suggest. These were placed 
 in a vessel of water prepared for the. purpose, and the vessel 
 is then placed upon a lire and the contents continually stirred 
 with a st^ck as it became more and more heated. During 
 this process he obtains a sign from some developed peculiarity 
 which he regards as infallible, and which enables him to in 
 terpret signs and omens, both of good and evil. A small 
 portion of the contents of the vessel was placed in his mystic 
 sack and accompanied him every where. In time of peace, 
 the tribal medicine was placed in the care of a chief noted 
 for his bravery, who carefully guarded it from all profana 
 tion; but in the time of war, the war-chief carried it in front 
 of his warrior as they marched upon the war-path. The 
 youthful warriors was always instructed in the art of mak 
 ing medicine by the aged men of the tribe, of which he made 
 good use antl never forgot. 
 
 The philosophy of the ancient Indian ever taught him 
 to concentrate his mind upon the spirit land; and that the 
 influences which surrounded him in Nature, above, beneath, 
 around, are sent direct by the spirits that dwell in an invisi 
 ble world above; that there are two kinds of spirits the 
 crood and the bad, who are continually at war with each other 
 wer him, the good directing all things for his prosperity 
 and happiness, the bad directing all things agaiiist his pros 
 perity and happiness; that within himself he can do nothing, 
 as he is utterly helpless in the mighty contest that is waged 
 over him by theigood and bad spirits. Therefore, he exerts 
 his greatest energies of mind and body to the propitiation of 
 of the bad spirits rather than the good, since the former may 
 be induced to extend the sceptre of mercy to him, while the 
 latter will ever strive for his good, and his good alone. 
 Therefore, when he is fortunate he attributes it to some good 
 spirit; when unfortunate, to some bad spirit. So, when he 
 -said it is "good medicine," he meant that the good spirit had 
 
160 HIST OR Y O F THE INDIANS. 
 
 the ascendency; and when he said it is "bad medicine" he- 
 meant that the bad spirit had the ascendency. 
 
 Therefore, all thing s in nature, as a natual consequence,, 
 indicated to him the presence of the spirits, both good and 
 bad, as each made, known their immediate nearness 
 through both animate and inanimate nature. The sighing- 
 of the winds; the flight of the birds; the howl of the lone wolf; 
 the midnight hoot of the owl, and all other sounds heard 
 throughout his illimitable forests both by day and by nip-ht, 
 had to him most potent significations; and, by which, he so 
 governed all his actions, that he never went upon any enter 
 prise, before consulting the signs and omens; then acted in 
 conformity thereto. If the medicine is g ood, he undertakes 
 his journey; if bad, he remains at home, and no argument 
 can induce him to change his opinion, which I learned from 
 personal experience. 
 
 The missionaries found the precepts of the Choctaw s 
 to be moral; and also that they respected old ag^e, and kept 
 fresh in memory the wise councils of theii; fathers, whose les 
 sons of wisdom the experience of the past, taught their 
 youthful minds to look upward, and whose teachings they 
 did not forget in their mature years. 
 
 Their tenderness to and watchful care of the aged and 
 infirm was truly remarkable; they looked upon home and 
 regarded their country as sacred institutions, and in the 
 defense of which they freely staked their lives; they also in 
 culcated a hig-h regard for parents, and were always cour 
 teous by instinct as well as by teaching; they held in high 
 veneration the names of the wise, the good, and the brave of 
 their ancestors, and from their sentiment toward the dead 
 grew sweet flowers in the heart. They believed that interity 
 alone was worthy of station, and that promotion should rest 
 on capacity and faithfulness; they also had swift and sure 
 methods of dealing with the incorrigible, official or private; 
 nor were they impatient of the slow processes of the years 
 but knew how to wait in faith and contentment; and if they 
 were not as progressive, as our opinion demands in its rush 
 for gain and pompous show, they had at least conquered the 
 secret oi National and individual steadfastness. To-day we 
 are a prodigal and wasteful people, the .Indians are frugal 
 and economical. 
 
 In 14 months after the location of the mission at Elliot 
 by the indefatigable perseverance of Mr. Kingsbury, a 
 sufficiency of houses were erected, a school was opened, 
 and that then young pioneer of the Cross proclaimed the 
 Gospel of the Son of God, where it never before had been 
 proclaimed; and at the time the Chactaws were so cruelly 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 161 
 
 driven from their ancient domains to make room for our cruel 
 and unchristian venality called "Progress," the Ellliot and 
 May hew missions together with the eleven other established 
 in various parts of the Choctaw Nation, were in a flourishing 
 condition; and this earliest effort to evangelize this worthy 
 people, was highly encouraging from the readiness, yea, 
 absolute eagerness, on their part to receive instruction. 
 A considerable and suitable literature both educational and 
 religious was soon prepared; a school system was also founded 
 > through which many young Choctaws, both male and female, 
 received the elements of a good education. Many of the 
 useful arts of civilized life were introduced; and the mission 
 aries had gathered many Christian congregations of whom 
 not a few had received the good seed in an honest heart. 
 And of those noble, self-sacrificing missionaries, it may truly 
 be said, "Their works do follow them;" and to-day the names 
 Kinp"sburv, Byington, Williams, Cushman, Polly, Hotchkins, 
 Hawes, Bardwell and Smith, are still held in grateful re 
 membrance by the Choctaws, as the names of some "of those 
 who were their true, their noblest and best earthly friends, 
 to which the following will truthfully attest. 
 
 In his first annual report of the Elliot Mission, bearing 
 date October 28th, 1819, Mr. Kingsbury says: (I copy from 
 the original MS.) "The first tree was^ felled on the 13th of 
 August, 1818. Since we arrived, (himself and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Williams) we have been joined by the following persons; 
 
 Mr. Peter Kanaise, Mr. John Kanaise and wife, car 
 penter, Mr. Moses Jewell and wife, Mr. N.Jersey, Mr. 
 N. York, carpenter and millwright, Mr. A. V. Williams, 
 laborer, Mrs. Kingsbury, Miss Chase, Mr. Isaac Fisk, 
 blacksmith, Mr. W. W. Pride, physician. 
 
 "All these came out to labor gratuitously for the benefit 
 of the Choctaws. 
 
 It would be trespassing unnecessarily on the time of 
 the secretary to detail the principal circumstances and diffi 
 culties which have attended the progress of our labors. 
 They have been similar to what must always attend sucji 
 enterprises in an uncivilized country far removed from those 
 places where the necessaries, comforts, and conveniences of 
 life can be obtained. 
 
 Since our arrival, we have been principally occupied in 
 erecting buildings. This devolved upon us much labor and 
 greatly retareted our other business, but by the blessing of a 
 kind Providence, we have been prospered in our work, much 
 beyond our expectations. 
 
 Within about fourteen months there have been erected at 
 
162 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Elliott seven commodious cabins which are occupied as 
 dwelling- houses. / 
 
 A dining- room and kitchen contiguous, (54 x 20) with 
 hewed logs and a piazza on each side. 
 
 - A school house 36ft x 34 hewed logs; and finished on the 
 Lancastrian plan. 
 
 A millhouse 34 x 30ft, and also a lumberhouse and 
 granary, each 18 x 20ft. 
 
 A blacksmith shop, stable, and three outhouses, all of 
 which are nearly completed. 
 
 On the plantation between 30 and 40 acres haA r e been 
 cleared and fenced; and between 20 and 30 acres have been 
 cultivated, which have produced a considerable quantity of 
 corn, potatoes, beans, peas, etc. 
 
 Besides the above, considerable time has been spent in 
 cutting- roads in different directions, and constructing several 
 small bridges, which were necessary for transporting- with a 
 wag-on. 
 
 The stock at present belonging- to the mission, consists 
 of 7 horses, 10 steers, 75 ccws, 75 calves and young cattle, 
 and about 30 swine. Of the above, 54 cows and calves, and 
 6 steers and young cattle have been presented by the Choc- 
 taws for the benefit of the school. 
 
 "There is no private property attached to the mission. 
 All is sacredly devoted to the various purposes of instructing- 
 the Choctaws. t 
 
 "Urged by the importunity of the natives, the school was 
 commenced under many disadvantages in April last, with 
 ten pupils. As accommodations and means of support have 
 increased the school has been enlarged, and there are fifty- 
 four students who attend regularly males and females. 
 All these board in our family. They are of different ages 
 from 6 to 20, and could not speak our language when they 
 came. More pupils are expected to join the school shortly. 
 In addition to the common rudiments of education, the boys 
 are acquiring a practical knowledge of agriculture in its 
 various branches, and the girls, while out of school, are em 
 ployed under the direction of the female missionaries in\dif- 
 ferent departments of domestic labor. We have also a full- 
 blooded Choctaw lad learning- the blacksmith trade; and 
 another, now in school, wishes to engage in the same em 
 ployment, so soon as there is opportunity. All the children 
 are placed entirely under our control, and the most entire 
 satisfaction is expressed as to the manner they are treated. 
 
 "The school is taught on the Lancastrian plan, and the 
 progress of the children has exceeded our most sanguine ex 
 pectations. Thirty-one began the A. B. C s. Several of these 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 163 
 
 can now read the Testament, and others in easy reading- les 
 sons. Most of them have also made considerable prog-ress 
 in writing. 
 
 "There have been instances of lads 14 to 16 years old, en 
 tirely ignorant of our language, who have perfectly learned 
 the alphabet in three days, and on the fourth day could read 
 and pronounce the abs. We have never seen the same num 
 ber of children in any school, who appeared more promising-. 
 Since they commenced, their attention has been constant. 
 No one has left the school, or manifested a wish to leave it. 
 
 "Want of accommodations, but more particularly want of 
 funds, has obliged us to refuse many children who wish to 
 enter the school. If adequate means can be obtained, we 
 design to increase the number to 80 or 100. It is our inten 
 tion to embrace in their education, that practical industry, 
 and that literary, moral and religious instruction, which may 
 qualify them for useful members of society; and for the ex 
 ercise of those moral principles, and that genuine piety, 
 which form the basis of true happiness. 
 
 "The expenditures of the mission, including the outfit 
 and traveling expenses of the missionaries, and exclusive of 
 their services (which have all been gratuitous) have been more 
 than $9000: About $2000, of this has been on account of 
 buildings. It has been our constant endeavor to impress on 
 the people of this nation the advantages of instruction, and 
 the propriety of their contributing towards the education 
 of .their own children; and by commencing on a labored and 
 extensive scale for their improvement we have drawn forth a 
 spirit of liberality as unexpected as it is encouraging. 
 
 "At a council in August, which by invitation I attended, 
 the natives subscribed ninety-five cows and calves, and more 
 than $1300 in cash k for the, benefit of the school. At a lower 
 town district, in September, they unanimously voted to 
 appropriate $2,000 (their proportion of the money due from 
 the United States for the last purchase of land) to the sup 
 port of a school in that district. It has been proposed in this 
 district to make a similar appropriation for the benefit of 
 this school. 
 
 "These measures disclose the disposition of the Nation 
 and evince that under the influence and direction of 
 the Executive a fund might be established, which eventu 
 ally would be adequate to the instruction of the Nation, 
 We feel a confidence that in future treaties with the Nation, 
 this subject will, without any suggestion of ours, receive 
 that attention which its consideration demands." 
 
 "To bring this people," continues that true Christian, 
 "within the pale of civilization and Christianity is a great 
 
164 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. s 
 
 work. The instruction of the rising- generation^ is unques 
 tionably the most direct way to advance. Nothing 1 is now 
 wanting- to put the great mass of children in this Nation, in 
 a course of instruction but efficient means. 
 
 It may be puoper to observe that the Chickasaws are 
 anxious to have similar institutions in their Nation; and 
 two more are earnestly desired and much needed by the 
 Choctaws. For the support of one of them, two thousand 
 dollars for 17 years annually ($34,000) have already been ap 
 propriated by the Choctaws. It is the intention of the Amer 
 ican Board to commence one or more of the establishments as 
 soon as they can command the means. It is therefore desir 
 able that the one already commenced here should be comple 
 ted without delay and placed on a permanent foundation. 
 
 Before closing- this report, I beg" leave to remark on two 
 points relative to the improvement of the Choctaws. 
 
 First: We think the introduction of a few respectable 
 mechanics of good moral character, would be of great ad 
 vantage in civilizing and introducing industry among them. 
 We have a blacksmith of this description, who came out at 
 the expense of the American Board, and the profits of his- 
 work are devoted to the support of this establishment. Many 
 of the mechanics found in the Indian countries are of little 
 advantage in any respect; and the conduct of some is an out 
 rage on barbarism itself. 
 
 Second. "Could the missionaries be relieved from the 
 labor of erecting the buildings, it would enable them much 
 sooner to direct their attention to the improvement of a 
 plantation and other necessary preparations for commencing 
 the school. 
 
 "With sentiments of sincere respect, I am, dear sir,, 
 your obedient and very humble servant, 
 
 CYRUS KINGSBURY. 
 
 From a letter (now before me) written to the then young 
 missionary, Rev. Cyrus Kingsbury, bearing date, October, 
 2nd, 1819, I take the following extract: "In a situation like 
 yours, it must be an unspeakable comfort to know that you 
 have the prayers of God s people. Many are daily supplicat 
 ing the Throne of Grace for you, and the object in which you 
 are engaged; but I presume you can hardly realize the extent 
 of the interest which is awakened for our missions among 
 the Southern Indians. The eyes of all our churches are 
 turned toward them with the earnest expectation, which is 
 the offspring of faith and prayer. The Indian character in 
 the estimation of even those who have hitherto deemed 
 them too savage to be civilized; and those who acknowledged 
 the excellency of many of the native traits of their character, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 165 
 
 were faithless as to the practicability of making- them 
 good citizens, are now convinced by the experiments made at 
 Brainard, (among- the Cherokees) that the Indians can be 
 educated, become good citizens and devout Christians. 
 Another evidence that had the whites exercised the same 
 credulity in giving 1 heed to the voice of truth that so long- and 
 loudly appealed to them in behalf of the Indian race, as they 
 were credulous to the voice of falsehood, the unfortunate 
 Indians would not have so suffered at the hands of ignorance. 
 But continues the writer: 
 
 "Truly, you have seen more to rejoice your heart than is 
 witnessed by one in ten of our New England ministers. You 
 have witnessed the Christian devotion of characters once de 
 graded. You have witnessed the wilderness and the solitary, 
 place, in one yeai j became glad before you, and the desert 
 blossom as the rose. After such experience of the smiles of 
 lieaven do not faint or become discouraged. God s promises 
 are established in truth, and they are all yours. Blessed 
 promises! Thus far the Lord has favored you more than 
 any Indian missionary for sixty or seventy years past. The 
 public are waking- up with wonderful rapidity to the 
 wants of the Indians. You may be distressed and perplexed 
 for a season, but it will not last always. The Lord will come 
 and will not tarry." 
 
 But it does not fall within the present plan of this work 
 to enter fully into the history, in all its particulars, of those 
 worthy and interesting- missions of seventy years ago among 
 the Choctaws, to them the dawn of hope; the return of spring 
 after a long- and dreary winter, but only to present certain 
 aspects and features of them, which shall exhibit the hand 
 of God as eng-ag-ed to renovate and bless a long- oppressed 
 Nation, and preparing- for it a gracious visitation. Shortly 
 after the necessary houses for dwellings, school and church 
 purposes, had been erected and all things had settled down 
 to systematic business, and the missionaries to give their 
 whole attention to their ministerial labors, there was a mov 
 ing of the Jong stagnant waters, a presentment of coming: 
 chang-e; and soon a mental activity that presaged emancipa 
 tion of the Choctaws from the long-, dark night of spiritual 
 gloom that had brooded over their minds during ages un 
 known. 
 
 For the first few years the good and glorious work of 
 reform went on for the most part quietly though steadily. 
 Then there was manifested a greater spirit of inquiry, not 
 only about the truth as a matter of speculation, but after 
 salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. It was truly 
 affecting to see the deep and unaffected interest manifested 
 
166 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 by those unlettered warriors, as they listened for the first 
 time to the wonderful story of the Cross a theme to them 
 incomprehensible and almost beyond human belief. That a 
 friend might peradventure die for a friend was to them a 
 possible thing-; but for a father to give his only son to die for 
 the benefit of his enemies, and that son also be willing to 
 accept the ordeal of dying the most excruciating death that 
 their mutual enemies might be benefitted thereby, seemed 
 too incredible for belief, and filled them with wondering as 
 tonishment. Yet hundreds of them yielded to the regener 
 ating influences and power of the Divine Spirit years before 
 they were driven from their ancient homes to seek others in 
 a distant wilderness that the progress of the white man in 
 his strife for gain might not be impeded by their presence, 
 and lived the exemplary lives of the true Christian, and 
 died the death of the righteous in bright hopes of a blissful 
 immortality. 
 
 The first conversion among* the full-blooded Choctaws 
 was that of an aged man, who lived near Col. David Folsom, 
 chief of the Ch octaws, named Tun-a pin a-chuf-fa, (Our one 
 weaver) h therto as ignorant of the principles of the religion 
 of Jesus Christ as it is possible to conceive. He manifested 
 an interest in the subject of religion about six months before 
 any other of his people in the neighborhood, and soon began 
 to speak publicly in religious meetings, and gave evidence, 
 by his. daily walk and conversation, of a happy and glorious 
 change, to the astonishment of his people, who could not 
 comprehend the mystery. The old man, but now a new 
 one, lived the life of a true and devoted Christian the few 
 remaining years of, his life, and then died leaving bright 
 evidence of having died the death of the righteous. When 
 he was received into the church, he was baptised and given 
 the name of one of the missionaries, viz.: William Hooper, 
 by his own request, to whom Mr. Hooper had endeared himself 
 by many acts of kindess conferred upon the aged and appr- 
 ciative Chocta\v. 
 
 Shortly after he professed religion, he dictated a letter 
 to Col. David Folsom, his nephew, which was written and 
 translated into English byMr. Loring Williams, of which the 
 following is a copy: 
 
 "AI-IK-HUM-A; Jan. 30, 1828," (A place of learning.) 
 
 "BROTHKK: Long time had we been as people in a storm 
 which threatened destruction, until the missionaries came 
 to our land; but now we are permitted to hear the blessed 
 Gospel of truth. You, our brother and chief, found for us a 
 good and bright path, and we would follow you in it. You 
 are as our good father, and vour words are good. Your 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 167 
 
 messengers (the missionaries), that you sent to us, we hear. 
 When we think of our old ways, we feel ashamed. This 
 blessed day I have given a true talk. The black and dirty 
 clothes I used to wear I have taken off and cast away. Clean 
 and good clothes, I now put on. My heart, I hope, had been 
 made new. My bad thoughts I throw away. The words of 
 the great Father above I am seeking to have in my mind. 
 
 The missionaries, in the Choctaw Nation, salute. The 
 missionaries, chiefs, and people, I salute. O my chief, I, 
 your uncle, salute you. I am your warrior. You must re 
 member me in your love. The letter which I send you, you 
 must read to your captains, leaders, and warriors. As I feel 
 today, I wish to have all my Choctaw brothers feel. I am 
 the first of the Choctavvs that talk the good talk. My chief, 
 as you go about among your people, you must tell them this, 
 the dark night to me has gone, and the morning has dawned 
 upon me. The missionaries at Mayhew, I salute you. Mr. 
 Kingsbury, when this letter you see, you will forward it to 
 Miko (chief )Folsom. TUNAPINACHUFFA. 
 
 Soon after the writing of this letter, Mr Williams visited 
 the venerable ex-chief and reil* cd warrior of the Choctaws. 
 As he drew near the humble log cabin of the aged Choctaw, 
 his attention was attracted by the voice of singing. He halt 
 ed a moment to listen. It was the aged Tunapinachuffa 
 singing a song of Zion ; and when Mr. Williams came 
 up he found him sitting at the opposite side of his little 
 cabin, resting his head on one hand and holding a catachism 
 in the other, holding holy and sweet communion with his 
 newly found Savior; and so absorbed was he in his medita 
 tions, that the presence of Mr. Williams was not known, un 
 til announced by the barking of the dogs; and yet, so deep 
 and pleasant was his reverie, that he remained seemingly 
 unconscious of everything around him until Mr> Williams 
 came to his side and spoke to him. He then looked up, 
 sprrng to his feet and greeted Mr. Williams with unfeigned 
 manifestations of the greatest joy; and, at once, inquired 
 after Mr. Kingsbury with expressions of the greatest affec 
 tion ; then requested Mr. Williams to tell Mr. Kingsbury, 
 that "he did love the Savior with all his heart and soul;" that 
 he took^reat delight in the Sabbath, and loved to pray." 
 that, "to-day heaven is near; it is not for away I know it is 
 near I feel it." Mr. , Williams and the new born babe in 
 Christ, though feeble alone with the weight of nearly three 
 score years and ten the Psalmist s allotted period of man s 
 earthly sojourn joined in a song together, in praise to Him 
 who has said: "Come unto me, ye that are heavy laden, and 
 I will give you rest; and then Tunapinachuffa offered up a 
 
168 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 i 
 
 prayer to Him who is the Indian s God as well as the white 
 man s. 
 
 Mr. Williams stated, in speaking- of the interview with 
 the venerable Choctaw, that, he prayed with the deepest 
 sincerity for his family; then, that all his people "mig-ht be 
 united to Christ in peace and love as with an iron chain; and 
 that they mig-ht take hold of the Savior with their hands." 
 At morning 1 and at nig-ht this redeemed Choctaw child of: God 
 called his household around the family altar, nor ever per 
 mitted business or company to interfere with those sacred 
 devotions. 
 
 But Tuna pin a chuffa was not an isolated case. Hun 
 dreds of similar cases could be mentioned among the young-, 
 as well as the aged, of those Choctaw converts under the 
 teachings of the missionaries when living in their ancient 
 possessions. 
 
 After the conversion of Tuna pin a chuffa, a great and 
 wonderful change for the better was soon seen in not only 
 Tuna pin a chuffa s district, but also in other districts 
 both in outward appearance and moral condition. The men 
 soon began to acquire habits of industry, cultivating cotton 
 and enlarging their corn fields. Temperance rapidly 
 gained ground, all over the Nation; and in nearly every house 
 throughout the country soon were found the cotton card, 
 the spinning wheel and the loom, with here and there black 
 smith and wood-shops. 
 
 Soon large quantities of various cotton cloths were made 
 by the Choctaw mothers and daughters; while the father and 
 son raised corn, sweet potatoes, peas, beans, and various 
 kinds of vegetables; and their willingness to work ran 
 parallel with their progress and advancement in Christian 
 knowledge. Nor was there any difficulty experienced by the 
 missionaries in hiring\Choctaws to work for them, both men. 
 and women, and even boys and girls; many of the men with 
 their families, went to the adjoining States and picked cotton 
 for the white farmers, after they had gathered their own 
 crops. As cotton pickers, both in quantity and quality, day 
 by day, they had no superiors; therefore, the white farmers 
 paid them one dollar per hundred pounds, and also boarded 
 them; and a thousand have been known to leave their Nation 
 at one time to pick cotton in the States; and before they were 
 driven to the wild wilderness far away to the west by the 
 inexorable law of the whites, that "Might is Right," when 
 dealing with the North American Indian; fifty, yea a hun 
 dred and fifty, drunken white men could be found in the 
 coritigudus States, to where one Choctaw would be found in 
 the Nation most distant from the neighborhood of the white 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 169 
 
 settlements. Much has been said to prove the drunken 
 Indian, to be a friend incarnate; and though I have seen 
 drunken Indians, yet my experience has taught me that a 
 drunken white man is far worse than a drunken Indian, and 
 more to be feared ten to one, than the Indian. 
 
 AfterTunapinachuffa, followed the con version of Col. David 
 Folsom, and many other leading- men of the Nation, together 
 with the common warriors and their wives; and to that extent 
 was the interest in the subject of religion manifested by all 
 that a special meeting was appointed in the woods by the 
 missionaries; and at which, Col. David Folsom and others, 
 together with the now zealous and good old Tunapinachuffa, 
 took an active part. Though there were few Choctaws 
 present, yet the Spirit of God was there; and one evening an 
 unusual solemnity seemed to pervade the entire little com 
 pany of worshippers, and so deeply felt by old Tunapina- 
 chuifa, that he was unable to longer restrain himself. He 
 arose and commenced an exhortation to his people present, 
 -and continued for thirty or more minutes in such sublime 
 Indian eloquence (Nature s gift untarnished by human art) 
 .such deep pathos", and such irresistible arguments, as are 
 seldom heard anywhere. 
 
 At the close of his inimitable and indescribable exhorta 
 tion, he, in a persuasive tone of voice, said: "All you who 
 desire and are willing to receive these Good Tidings from 
 above into your hearts and go with me to the good land 
 above, come and sit on this log." What a moment was that to 
 the noble-hearted and pious missionaries who were so for 
 tunate as to be present ! Who can justly describe it? Firs 1 ^: 
 one, and then another and another, came forward and took 
 their seats on that forest log, until it was covered, thus mani 
 festing and openly avowing their determination to serve the 
 living God; and there and then twelve adults became living, 
 active witnesses for the cause of the world s Redeemer. 
 That little religious meeting, in the -deep solitudes of a Mis 
 sissippi forest, closed; but the tidings of its strange pro 
 ceedings and its more wonderful results spread far and 
 wide, and it became the subject of conversation and inquiry 
 for miles away; and soon was awakened such a feeling of 
 curiosity and desire to learn more of this, to them strange 
 and incomprehensible thing, that other meetings were ap 
 pointed, to which hundreds gathered, and the result was they 
 -were multiplied all over the land and scores flocked to and 
 around the standard of Christianity. 
 
 But this interest was confined for several months, al 
 most exclusively, to the northern part of the Nation contigu 
 ous to Mayhew, whence the missionaries went out among the 
 
170 HISTORY OF THB INDIANS. 
 
 Choctaws and taught and preached to them. The converts, 
 were at first gathered into one church organization though 
 widely separated; hence their sacramental meetings, were 
 held in the woods under the wide extended branches of the 
 mighty forest oaks of that day God s natural temples 
 where many hundreds would congregate and spend several 
 days worshipping God; and a more humble and devout as 
 sembly, of worshippers of the living God (without an indif 
 ferent or idle spectator) was never anywhere beheld than 
 were those worshipping Choctaws. At "one of these forest 
 meetings, where the wind, (nature s harp) sighing amid the 
 thick and wide extended limbsfof the giant forest trees,, had 
 for ages untold received no response but that of the defiant 
 war-hoop, now was mingled the praise of human tongues in 
 anthems sweet with nature to nature s God; ninety Choc 
 taws both men and women, were enrolled in the army of the 
 Cross; and at another over a hundred, 
 
 Messrs. Williams, Smith, Howse and Bardwell, shortly 
 after the establishment of the May hew mission, took charge 
 of the one established in the southern part of the Nation 
 among a clan of Choctaws called Okla Hunnali, (people Six), 
 distant seventy or more miles from Mayhew, leaving Messrs. 
 Kingsbury, (to whom the Choctaws gave the name Na-sho-ba 
 No-wah (Walking Wolf), Byingtoii (whom they named La- 
 pish O-la-han-chih, Sounding Horn), Cushman and a few 
 others at Mayhew. 
 
 Soon after the close of the revival meetings in the north 
 ern part of the Nation, several new converts, in company 
 with Col. David Folsom and a few missionaries of the May- 
 hew mission, made a journey to the Okla Hunnali mission to 
 attend a religious meeting previously appointed. The Choc 
 taws of that district, expecting them, came in large numbers 
 from the surrounding villages to the appointed place to wel 
 come them, and manifested the greatest delight regarding it 
 as great favor conferred upon them by their friends who had 
 come so far to attend their meetings. They assembled 
 without ostentation, yet in all the paraphernailia of Choctaw 
 custom, presenting a novel appearance to the eye of the 
 novice. But the "tidings of great joy peace on earth and 
 good will-to man" to the red as well as the white, proclaimed 
 and urged upon them with such evidence of truth, sincerity 
 and deep feeling, was to them something new indeed, unseen 
 and unfelt before. 
 
 Calm reflection assumed (as at the meetings in the north 
 ern section of the Nation) the place of thoughtlessness and 
 indifference, (for an Indian can and does reflect as well as a 
 white man), and soon were seen on many a painted face 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 171 
 
 trickling" tears (though not given to .weeping 1 ) forming little 
 channels througii the vermilion as they coursed their way 
 down. And this meeting" was also blessed with a gracious, 
 visitation of the Holy Spirit, and many precious souls 
 (though Choctaws) were gathered into the fold of the Great 
 Shepherd as had been done in the northern portion of their 
 country. At once a mighty change began all over their 
 Nation wherever the missionaries went, who truly might be 
 termed the Apostles of God to the Choctaws; and soon, one 
 by one their ancient customs and habits were forever laid 
 aside, culminating in a general change of things well adapt 
 ed to their then, it may be truthfully stated, progressive 
 condition. But among the most prominent features indicat 
 ing a speedy reformation at this time (1826), was the enact 
 ing of a law forever banishing that curse of all curses O-ka 
 Humma (Red Water) or properly OkaHo-mi (Strong Water) 
 which, like that of the Medes and Persians changeth not, 
 stands to-day unrepealed, and will so continue as long as 
 they are permitted to exist as a Nation. 
 
 Many of the ancient Choctaws were a depts in the art of 
 singing their native airs, of which they had many; but all 
 effort to induce one of them to sing alone one of his favorite 
 songs was fruitless. They invariably replied to the solicitation 
 in broken English, "Him no good." Then sing me a war- 
 song. "Him heap no good," with an ominous shake of the 
 head. Then sing me a hunting song. "No good; he no fit 
 for pale face. "Well, sing me a love song. "Wah"!(anancient. 
 exclamation of suprise now obsolete) much love song, him 
 bad, fio good for pale face." Though this w r as somewhat 
 tantalizing yet it had to be endured. 
 
 Like all their race, the Choctaws never forgot an act of 
 kindness be it ever so trivial; and many a white man overtaken 
 by misfortune when traveling over their country, and weak 
 beneath the remorseless grasp of hunger, has felt that the 
 truth of the eastern proverb has been brought home to him: 
 Cast thy bread upon the waters, and thou shalt find it after 
 many days. More than once has it fallen to my lot to con 
 tribute to an Indian s immediate necessities, in days of their 
 individual want and weakness; and, in after days the inci 
 dent by me long forgotten; they have returned the favor 
 thirty fold; and for many favors have I become indebted to 
 them, when I had nothing to return. Their great de- 
 licacv in conferring a favor was not the least admirable 
 part of their conduct, often they would leave a large wild 
 turkey upon the door-sill, or place a venison ham just within 
 it, and steal away without saying a word, as if they feared 
 you might suspect them of trying to buy your friendship,. 
 
172 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 when not enabled to secure it alone by merit; or that, to 
 accept a present from a poor Indian might be humiliating to 
 the pride of the receiver a*nd they would spare him the mor 
 tification of returning* thanks . Never was a race of people 
 more sensitive of kindness, or more grateful for any little 
 act of benevolence exercised toward them, or practiced the 
 great Christian principle, Charity to a greater degree of 
 perfection, especially in regard to strangers, than did the 
 North American Indians. The missionaries everywhere 
 and among all tribes, met them with kindness and confidence, 
 and conducted themselves by the rules of strict integrity in 
 all their dealings with them; and no instance has been re 
 corded, where their confidence in the Indians was betrayed, 
 or their good opinion of them destroyed. 
 
 The Choctaws were great imitators, and possessed a 
 nice tact in adopting the manners of those with whom they 
 associated. An Indian, however, is Nature s gentleman 
 never familiar, coarse or vulgar. If he takes a meal with you, 
 he quietly waits to see you make use of the unaccustomed 
 implements on the table, and the manner in which you eat, 
 he exactly imitates with a grave decorum and as much appar 
 ent ease, as if he had been accustomed to the same usages 
 from childhood. He never attempts to help himself or de 
 mand more food, but patiently waits until you perceive what 
 he requires. This v mnate politeness is natural to all Indians. 
 But the mixture of white blcod. while it may be said to add a 
 little to the physical beauty of the half race, yet produces a 
 deplorable falling off from the original integrity of the Indian 
 character; which, however, may be attributed "wholly to the 
 well known fact, that the young half-breeds mingle with the 
 whites ninety per cent more than the full-bloods; and ever 
 retain that peculiar characteristic of the Indian i. e. confi 
 dence in all professions of friendship until proved false, then 
 never again to be trusted; thus are they easily made the 
 dupes of the whites, and are ignorantly, and therefore un 
 consciously, led step by step down to a level with their de 
 stroyers, and too late awake to the consciousness 
 that they are the victims. Thus is the professed grandeur 
 of our civilization portrayed to the full-blood Indian. No 
 wonder he wants none of it. If such is the result Of that 
 civilization we would have him adopt, no wonder he shrinks 
 from it as he would from a fearful contagion. 
 
 No Indian was ever so selfish as to smoke alone in the 
 presence of others. I have oft attended their social gather 
 ings where, seated on the ground in little groups forming 
 little circles, the personification of blissful contentment, I 
 invariably saw the pipe on its line of march, and so continued 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 173 
 
 until the talk was ended. If but two were seated together, 
 and .one lighted his pipe, he only drew a few whiffs and then 
 handed it to his companion, who also drew, a whiff or two 
 and returned it; and thus the symbol of peace, friendship 
 and good will passed back and forth until the social chat was 
 terminated! 
 
 The Choctaw women did not indulge in the use of tobacco 
 in any way whatever when living east of the Mississippi, ex 
 cept a few in advanced years; and it was regarded as great 
 a breach of female decorum for a Choctaw women to use the 
 weed, as it is with the white women of the present day to 
 chew or smoke; and even the men confined its use exclusively 
 to the pipe. But now they seem to have deviated to some 
 extent from that good custom; for in my travels over their 
 country during the last few years, I have frequently fallen in 
 company with Choctaws, and when offered a chew of tobacco 
 it was accepted by a few fullbloods, and chewed with as 
 much gusto as we rode along together, as I dared to assume 
 with all my long years of experience; and thus I ascertained 
 that those of the present dav do not confine the use of tobacco 
 exclusively to the pipe as did their fathers of the long ago, 
 proving the truthf ulness of the adage, "Evil communications 
 corrupt good manners," and also good habits. 
 
 The innate politeness of the Indians, when in their 
 strength and independence east of the Mississippi River, was 
 truly remarkable. The early explorers were surprised at 
 the perfection of this characteristic in the Choctaw Indians, 
 and many expressed their admiration in their writings. If 
 a Choctaw of the long ago met a white man with whom he 
 was acquainted and on terms of social friendship, he took his 
 proffered hand, then with a gentle pressure and forward in 
 clination of the head, said, in a mild and sweet tone of voice: 
 "Chishno pisah yukpah siah it tikana su," I am glad to see 
 you my friend, and if he has nothing of importance to com 
 municate, or of anything to obtain information, he passed on 
 without further remarks; no better proof of good sense can 
 be manifested, and well worthy of imitation. 
 
 But one of the many noble traits among the Choctaws 
 was that of unfeigned hospitalit}^; and to that extent that it 
 became proverbial deservingly so. When any one entered 
 their house or hunting camp, be he a friend, mere acquain 
 tance or entire stranger, they extended the hand of welcome 
 and it was sincere, and after exchanging a few .words of 
 greeting, the visitor was invited to take a seat; after which, 
 they observed the most profound silence, waiting for their 
 visitor to report his business. When he had done this, the 
 silent but attentive wife brought what food she might have 
 
174 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 prepared, (they were seldom found without something on 
 hand), and her husband said to his g-uest: "Chishno upah" 
 "you eat." To exhibit a true knowledge of Choctaw 
 etiquette, it became your duty to partake a little of every 
 thing the hospitable wife had placed before you; otherwise 
 you would, though unwittingly, cause your host and hostess 
 to regard your neglect of duty as a plain demonstration of 
 contempt for their hospitality purpose!}* intended and of 
 fered. 
 
 Whether the Choctaws assembled for social conversa 
 tion or debate in council, there never was but one who spoke 
 at a time, and under no circumstances was he interrupted. 
 This noble characteristic belongs to all the North American 
 Indians, as far as I have been able to ascertain. In the 
 public councils of the Choctaws, as well as in social gather 
 ings and religious meetings, the utmost decorum always 
 prevailed, and he who was talking in the social circle or ad 
 dressing the council or lecturing in the religious meeting, 
 always had as silent and attentive hearers as ever delighted 
 and blessed a speaker. A noble characteristic. And when 
 a question had been discussed, before putting it to a vote, a 
 few minutes were always given for silent meditation, during 
 which the most profound silence was observed; at the expira 
 tion of the allotted time, the vote of the assembly was taken ; 
 and which, I have been informed, is still kept up to this day. 
 For many years after they had arrived from their ancient 
 homes to the present place of abode, no candidate for an 
 office of any kind ever went around among the people solicit 
 ing votes; the candidates merely gave notice by public an 
 nouncement, and that was all ; and had a candidate asked a 
 man for his support, it would have been the death knell to 
 his election. 
 
 On the day of the election, the name of all the candidates 
 were written in regular order upon a long strip of paper, 
 with the office to which each aspired written opposite to his 
 name; and when the polls were opened, this paper, with the 
 names of the candidates and the offices to which each 
 aspired written upon it, was handed to the voter when he 
 presented himself at the polls to vote, who commenced at 
 the top of the list and called out the name of the candidate he 
 wished to support for the different offices; if the voter could 
 not read, then one of the officers in charge of the election, 
 who could read, took the paper and slowly read the names 
 and the office each aspirant desired; and the voter called out 
 the name of each candidate for whom he wished to vote as he 
 read; and no candidate ever manifested any hard feelings 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 175 
 
 -toward those who voted against him. Here was exhibited 
 true liberty and free suffrage. 
 
 De Soto found the southern Indians to be an agricultural 
 people, provident, patriotic, hospitable and generous, .three 
 hundred and fifty years ago; and when he tested their patri 
 otism at Momabinah, and Chickasahha he learned to his sat 
 isfaction that their heroic bravery in defense of their 
 country, their homes and heaven bequeathed right, was 
 unsurpassed in the history of the world. 
 
 The missionaries found them in 1815. an unlettered 
 people, yet far from meriting the title savage in the common 
 acceptation of the word. They found them to be a noble 
 hearted and interesting people free of a majority of the de 
 basing vices practiced by the whites, and acquainted with 
 many of the domestic and agricultural, and possessing many 
 utensils and implements belonging to each; on a small scale 
 tis true, yet amply sufficient for their wants. 
 
 They recognized and acknowledged a Supreme Being, 
 The Great Spirit, the creator and ruler of all things. This 
 Great Spirit was held in great reverence by all Indians. 
 Never did a North American Indian profane the name of his 
 Creator or deny his power. 
 
 The Choctaw warrior, as I knew him in his native Mis 
 sissippi forest, was as fine a specimen of manly perfection 
 as I have ever beheld. He seemed to be as perfect as 
 the human form could be. Tall, beautiful in symmetry of 
 form and face, graceful, active, straight, fleet, with lofty and 
 independent bearing, he seemed worthy in saying, as he of 
 Juan Fernandez fame: "I am monarch of all I survey." His 
 black, piercing eye seemed to penetrate and read the very 
 thoughts of the heart, while his firm step proclaimed a feel 
 ing-sense of his manly tndependence. Nor did their women 
 iall behind in all that pertains to female beauty. I have seen 
 among the Choctaws and Chickasaws, when living east of the 
 Mississippi, as beautiful young women as could be found 
 among any nation of people civilized or uncivilized. Many 
 of them seemed, and truly were, nymphs of the woods. 
 They were of such unnatural beauty that they literally ap 
 peared to light up everything around them. Their shoul 
 ders were broad and square and their carriage true to 
 Nature which has never been excelled by the hand of art, 
 their long, black tresses hung in flowing waves, extending 
 nearly to the ground; but the beauty of the countenances of 
 many of those Choctaw and Chickasaw girls was so extra 
 ordinary that if such faces were seen to-day in one of the 
 parlors of the fashionable world, they would be considered 
 as a type of beauty hitherto unknown. It was the wild un- 
 
1J76 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 trammeled beauty of the forest, at the same time melancholy 
 and splendid. The bashful calm in their large, magnificent 
 eyes, shaded by unusually long-, black eye-lashes, cannot be 
 described; nor Vet the glance, nor the splendid light of the 
 smile which at times lit up the countenance like a flash, ex 
 posing the leveliest white and even teeth. Vainly one was 
 tempted to believe a whole nocturnal world lay in those 
 eyes, the dark fringe of which cast a shadow upon the cheek; 
 while they seemed to glance downward into a depth, -dreamy, 
 calm and melancholy, without a tinge or shadow of gloom. 
 Twas a beauty ind eed upon which they who looked, long 
 gazed that they might call it up in after days, as some wild 
 melody that haunts them still, when far a ways, Then the 
 Choctaw s boast was and justly too "Chahtah siah !" and 
 with as much merited pride as he of old "Romanus sum." 
 
 But alas! what a change has seventy-five years wrought 
 upon this once free and happy people! How different the 
 present generation from that happy, independent spirit that 
 characterized their people when living in their ancient 
 domains now the State of Mississippi! That manly bearing 
 has given place to weakness and dejection; that eye, once so 
 bright, bold and piercing, is now faint and desponding. The 
 Choctaws once looked you straight in the eye with fearless 
 yet polite, manly independence; his descendants now scarcely 
 raise their heads to greet you. They seem no longer to view 
 life through the rainbow lenses of sanguine hope, but as those 
 in despair. Ah, the world may die, but there are some 
 sorrows immortal. / I have frequently met, here and there, a 
 few Choctaws in Texas bordering on Red River. They 
 seemed as strangers wandering . in a strange land among 
 whose people no voice of sympathy could be heard; no word of 
 commisseration to be found; no smile of encouragement to be 
 seen. With each different little band I tried to introduce a 
 conversation only to be disappointed; and though I addressed 
 them in their, own native language; I could only obtained a 
 reply in a few scarcely audible monosyllables. They remem 
 bered the past and were silent, yet how eloquent that 
 silence. 
 
 In 1832, at Hebron, the home of the missionary, Calvin 
 Cushman and his family, was the place appointed for the 
 assembling of all the Choctaws in that district prepartory to 
 their exodus from their ancient domaines to a place they 
 knew not wnere; but toward the setting sun as arbitrary 
 power had decreed. Sad and mounful indeed was their gath 
 ering together helpless and hopeless under the hand of a 
 haman power that knew no justice or mercy. 
 
 I was an eye witness to that scene of desparing woe and 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 177 
 
 / 
 
 heard their sad refrain. I frequently visited their encamp 
 ment and strolled from one part of it to another; while from 
 every part of their wide extended camp, as I walked, gazed 
 and wondered at the weird appearance of the scene, there 
 came, borne upon the morn and evening breeze from every 
 point of the vast encampment, faintly, yet distinctly, the 
 plaintive sounds of weeping rising s/and falling in one 
 strangely sad and melancholy chorus, then dying away in a 
 last, long-drawn wail. It was the Availing of the Choctaw 
 women even as that of Rachel for her children. 
 
 Around in different groups .they sat with their children 
 from whose quivering lips sobs and moans came in subdued 
 unison; now, in wild concert united, their cries quivered and 
 throbbed as they rose and fell on the night air, then dying 
 away in a pathetic wail proclaiming, in language not to be 
 misunderstood, the pressure of the ang uish that was crush 
 ing their souls hidden from human eyes and told only to 
 the night. Truly, their grief was so deep, so overpowering, 
 that even reason seemed to reel, blighted beneath its wither 
 ing touch, too great to admit the comfort of human sym 
 pathy. 
 
 The venerable old men, who long had retired from the 
 hardships and fatigues of war and the chase, expressed the 
 majesty of silent grief; yet there came now and them a sound 
 that here and there swelled from a feeble moan to a deep, 
 sustained groan - rising and falling till it died away just as 
 it began. True, a few encouraging smiles of hope, though 
 utterly void of sincerity, would not have been out of place, 
 but they were unlearned in such subtle arts; therefore, their 
 upturned faces mutely, but firmly -spoke the deep sorrow 
 that heaved vvithin, as they sat in little groups, their gray 
 heads uncovered in the spray of dancing sunshine which fell 
 through the branches of the trees from above, while pitiful 
 indeed was the feeble semblance of approval of the white 
 man s policy which they strove to keep in their care worn 
 countenances; while the heart-piercing cries of the women 
 and children, seated upon the ground with heads covered 
 with shawls and blankets and bodies swinging forward and 
 backward, set up day and night, sad tones of woe echoing 
 far back from the surrounding but otherwise silent forests, 
 presenting a scene baffling in description the power of all 
 human language; while the young and middle-aged warriors, 
 now subdued and standing around in silence profound, gazed 
 into space and upon the scattered clouds as they slowly 
 swept across the tender blue, lending wings to the imagina 
 tion which seemed momentary to still, with a sense of their 
 own eternal calm, the conflicting thoughts that then composed 
 
178 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 the turbulent garison of their hearts. Inaudible, yet from 
 flashing- eyes and lips compressed that bespoke the emotions 
 that surged within, could be read, "Why longer seek for 
 hope amid the ashes of life"? While here and there was 
 heard an inarticulate moan seeking expression in some snatch 
 of song, which announced its leaving a broken heart. 
 
 But why dwell upon such bitter memories? My soul 
 finds no pleasure in them. Deep down to undiscovered 
 depths has my life among, and study of the North Ameri 
 can Indians during over three score and ten years, enabled me 
 to penetrate their human nature with all their endurances 
 and virtues. What the world ought to know, that I have 
 written; and especially for those who desire more light on 
 that unfortunate race of people, and feel an interest in truth, 
 justice, and what concerns humanity the world over. To 
 me was offered the mission, and I accepted it because my 
 conscience approved it as right; and I have thus far, exerted 
 every power to fulfill even to the letter and shall so continue 
 to the end; allowing each reader to freely think his or her 
 own thoughts. 
 
 Every missionary among the Choctaws, when he entered 
 the mission gave a pjedge that he would devote his or her 
 life to the service of God in the cause of civilizing and Chris- 
 tainizing the Choctaw people, with no remuneration what* 
 ever except that of food and clothing for himself and family. 
 This was supplied by the Board of Foreign Missions estab 
 lished at Boston, Mass., to which Board everything pertain 
 ing to the mission in the way of property belonged the 
 missionaries owning nothing. This Board had spent a great 
 deal towards the missions, and, in the removal of the Choc- 
 taws west, was unable to build up new missions there of suf 
 ficient number to supply labor for all of ^e missionaries; 
 hence, all but three were absolved from their pledge, who 
 soon returned to their friends iu Massachusetts, while the 
 three Messrs Kingsbury, Byington and Hotchkins, with 
 their families, followed the exiled Choctaws to their unknown 
 homes to be found in the wilderness of the west. Mr. Cal 
 vin Cushman was one of the two who remained in Mississip 
 pi, and died at his old Missionary Post, Hebron, a few years 
 after the banishment of his old and long tried friends the 
 Choctaws, for whose moral and intellectual benefit he had so 
 long and faithfully laborea; and the other was Mr. Elijah 
 Bardwell, who labored at Ok-la Huii-na-li sixty miles south 
 west of Hebron, but who, after the banishment of the Choc 
 taws, moved to a point a mile and a half east of the present town 
 of Starkville, Mississippi. He too, with all the rest of his co- 
 Ja.borers, has long since also gone to his reward in the blissfu 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. $ 179 
 
 A 
 
 Immortality; but whose names still live, in honored remem 
 brance in the hearts of a few aged Choctaws, who still sur 
 vive. 
 
 As an example of the faithfulness with which those 
 ancient missionaries adhered to every principle inculcated in 
 the religion they professed among and preached to the Choc- 
 taws of the long ago, I will here relate the following as 
 worthy of remembrance. 
 
 In the early days of the town of Starkville, Mississippi, a 
 blacksmith, (John McGaughey), established a shop in the 
 embryo city, and, in ponnection with his smithing, also 
 traded in horses, keeping a few on hand all the time. Mr. 
 Bardwell knowing this, and wishing to purchase a horse, 
 called at Mr. McGaughey s shop one morning and asked him if 
 he had a horse for sale that would be suitable for a farm. 
 Mac. replying in the affirmative they went to the stable, 
 where Mr. Bardwell, after examining the animal, asked the 
 price. To this Mr. McGaughey replied: "Eighty-five 
 dollars." "I regard that as too high a price," said Mr. 
 Bardwell. Mr. McGaughey, well knowing the aged mission 
 ary and having unlimited confidence in his integity, asked 
 him what he believed the horse to be worth. To which Mr. 
 Bardwell replied: "Sixty-five dollars." "You can have him 
 at that price," responded Mr. McGaughey. Mr. Bardwell 
 paid the money and took the horse. The trade was made in 
 the spring of the year. Early in the following autumn, Mr. 
 Bardwell called at the shop and, after the usual salutation, 
 handed Mr. McGaughey twenty dollars, saying; "Here is 
 that money that I owe you." Mr. McGaughey, in much 
 astonishment, replied: "You are certainly mistaken. You 
 -do .not owe me a dollar, you have always paid me the cash 
 for all the work I have done for you in my shop." "True"! 
 said Mr. Bardwell. "But this is not for work done in the 
 shop, but is due you in a trade we made last spring." "What 
 trade"? asked Mr. McGaughey in unfeigned suprise. "Why! 
 in the purchase of a horse from you," replied Mr. Bardwell. 
 "But you paid me the sixty-five dollars cash, the price for 
 which I told you, you could have him." "True," replied Mr. 
 Bardwell, "But you judged the horse to be worth eighty-five 
 dollars, while I estimated his worth at only sixty-five; upon 
 trial I have found him to be well worth the eighty-five dollars, 
 the price you first asked for him. Here is your money." 
 "But, Mr. Bardwell, I cannot accept the money. It was a 
 fair trade." "Not so;" replied the aged missionary, "you were 
 right, Mr. McGaughey in your judgment as to the correct 
 value of the horse, and I was wrong. I insist upon your 
 accepting that which is your just due." Mr. McGaughey 
 
180 ^HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 finally accepted the twenty dollars but only through his great- 
 respect for Mr. Bardwell, whose feelings he knew would be 
 wounded if he did not accept the proffe red-twenty dollars. 
 
 Mr. John McGaughey, many years afterwards, frequent 
 ly related this horse trade. 
 
 Seventy years ago, the Choctaw hunter generally hunted 
 alone and on foot; and when he killed his game, unless small, 
 he left it where it had fallen, and turning his footsteps home 
 ward, traveled in a straight line, here and there breaking a 
 twig leaving its top in the direction he had come, as a guide 
 to his wife whom he intended to send to bring it home. As 
 soon as he arrived, he informed he!" of his success and merely 
 pointed in the direction in which he the game lay. At once 
 she mounted a pony and started in the direction indicated ; 
 and guided by the broken twigs, she~soon arrived at the spot, 
 picked up and fastened the dead animal to the saddle, mounted 
 and soon was at home again; then soon dressed and prepared a 
 portion for her hunter lord s meal, while he v sat and smoked 
 his pipe in meditative silence. No animal adapted for food 
 was ever killed in wanton sport by any Indian hunter. 
 
 As a marksman the Choctaw could not be surpassed in 
 the use of the rifle. It mattered not whether his game was 
 standing or running; a bullet shot from his rifle, when directed 
 by his experienced eye, was a sure messenger of death. A 
 shotgun was regarded with great contempt, and never used. 
 The rifle, and the rifle alone, would he use. To surprise a 
 Choctaw warrior or hunter in the woods see him before he 
 saw you was a feat not easily accomplished ; in fact, impos 
 sible by an experienced white woodsman, and extremely 
 .difficult even by the most experienced. His watchful and 
 practiced eye was always on the alert, whether running, 
 walking, standing or sitting ; and his acute ear, attentive to 
 every passing sound, heard the most feeble noise, which, to 
 the white man s ear was utter silence. 
 
 Years ago I had a Choctaw (full-blood) friend as noble 
 and true as ever man possessed, and whom once to know 
 was to remember with an esteem approaching the deepest 
 affection; and of whom I was justly proud and in whoin I 
 took delight; and to-day, had I a hundred tongues, I could 
 not express my appreciation of that noble friend. He was 
 indeed a cordial to my heart oft imparting to me an earnest 
 of happiness which I thought had fled. Oft in our frequent 
 hunts together, while silently gliding through the dense 
 forests ten or fifteen rods apart, he would attract my atten 
 tion by his well-known ha ha (give caution) in a low but dis 
 tinct tone of voice, and point to a certain part of the woods 
 where he had discovered an animal of some kind; and though 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 181 
 
 
 
 I looked as closely as possible I could see nothing- whatever 
 that resembled a living- object of any kind. Being- at too 
 great aMistance to risk a sure shot, he would signal me to 
 remain quiet, as he endeavored to get closer. To me that 
 w r as the most exciting and interesting part of the scene; for 
 then began those strategic movements in which the most 
 skillful white hunter that I have ever seen, was a mere bun 
 gler. With Deepest interest, not unmixed with excitement,! 
 closely watched his every movement as he slowly and stealth 
 ily advanced, w r ith eyes fixed upon his object; now crawling 
 noiselessly upon his hands and knees, then as motionless as 
 a stump; now stretched full length upon the ground, then 
 standing erect and motionless; then dropping suddenly to 
 the ground, and crawling off at an acute angle to the right 
 or left to get behind a certain tree or log, here and there 
 stopping and slowly raising his head just enough to look 
 over the top of the grass; then again be hidden until he 
 reached the desired tree; with intense mingled curiosity and 
 excitement, when hidden from my view in the grass, did I 
 seek to follow him in his course with my eyes. Oft I w r ould 
 see a little dark spot not larger than 1113 fist just above the 
 top of the grass, which slowly grew larger and larger until I 
 discovered it was his motionless head; and had I not known 
 he was there somewhere I w r ould not have suspected it was 
 a human head or the head of anything else; and as I kept my 
 eyes upon it, I noticed it slowly getting smaller until it grad- 
 ually disappeared; and when he reached the tree, he then 
 observed the same caution slowly rising until he stood erect 
 and close to the body of the tree, then slowly and cautiously 
 peeping around it first on the right, then on the left; and 
 when, at this juncture, I have turned jpy eyes from him, but 
 momentarily- as I thought, to the point where I thought the 
 game must be, being also eager to satisfy m3 r excited curi 
 osity as to the kind of animal he was endeavoring to shoot, 
 yet, when I looked to the spot where I had just seen him 
 lo! he was not there; and while wondering to what point of 
 the compass he had so suddenly disappeared unobserved, 
 and vainly looking to find bis mysterious whereabouts, I 
 would be startled by the sharp crack of his rifle in a differ 
 ent direction from that in which I was looking for him, and 
 in turning my eye would see him slowl3 T rising out of the 
 grass at a point a hundred yards distant from where I had 
 last seen him. "Well, old fellow," I then ejaculated to my 
 self, "I would not hunt for you in a wild forest for the purpose 
 of obtaining your scalp, knowing, at. the same time, that you 
 were somewhere about seeking also to secure mine; I would 
 just call to you to come and take it at once and save anxiety." 
 
182 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Talk about a whi?e man out maneuvering- an Indian m a for 
 est, is an absurdity veritable nonsense. 
 
 Frequently have I proposed to exchange guns^ with 
 George (that was his name simply Georg-e and nothing- 
 else) my double barrel shot-gun for his rifle, but he invari 
 able refused; and when I asked for his objection to my gun, 
 he ever had but one and the same reply "Him push." He 
 did not fancy the reaction or "kicking" so oft experienced in 
 shooting- the" shot-gun which George had, no doubt, once ex 
 perienced to his entire satisfaction. Generous and faithful 
 George! I wonder where you are to-day ? If on the face of 
 God s green earth, I am sure humble though you may be- 
 there is one true heart above the sod that still beats in love 
 for me. \ 
 
 . It was truly wonderful with what ease and certainty the 
 Choctaw hunter and warrior made his way through the dense 
 forests of his country to any point he wished to go, near or 
 distant. But give him the direction, was all he desired; with 
 an unerring certainty, though never having been in that part 
 of tire country before, he would go over hill and valley, 
 through thickets and canebrakes to the desired point, that 
 seemed incredible. I have known the little Choctaw boys, in 
 their juvenile excursions with their bows and arrows and 
 blow-guns to wander miles away from their homes, this way 
 and that through the woods, and return home at night, with 
 out a thought or fear of getting lost; nor did their parents 
 have any uneasiness in regard to their wanderings. It is a 
 universal characteristic of -the Indian, when traveling in aii,un- 
 known country, to let nothing pas x s unnoticed. His watch 
 ful eye marks every distinguishing feature of the surround 
 ings a peculiarly leaning or fallen tree, stump or bush, rock 
 or hill, creek or branch, he will recognize years afterwards, 
 and use them as land marks, in going again through the 
 same country, Thus the Indian hunter was enabled to go 
 into a distant forest, where he never before had been, pitch 
 his camp, leave it and hunt all day wandering this way and 
 that over hills and through jungles for miles away, and re 
 turn to his camp at the close of the day with that apparent 
 ease and unerring certainty, that baffled all the ingenuity of 
 the white man and appeared to him as bordering on the mir 
 aculous. Ask any Indian for directions to a place, near or 
 distant, and he merely points in the direction you should go, 
 regarding that as sufficient information for any one of com 
 mon sense. 
 
 In traveling through the Choctaw Nation in 1884, at one 
 time I desired to go to a point forty miles distant, to which 
 led a very dim path, at times scarcely deserving the name,, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 183 
 
 and upon making inquiry of different Choctaws whom I fre 
 quently met along 1 my way, they only pointed in the direction 
 I must travel and passed on; and being ashamed to let it appear 
 that I did not have sense enough to goto the desired point after 
 being told the direction, I rode on without further inquiry, 
 and by taking the path, at every fork that seemed to lead the 
 nearest in the direction I had been told to travel, I, in good 
 time, reached my place of destination. So, after all, the 
 Choctaws told me all that was necessary in the matter. 
 
 The ancient Choctaw warrior and hunter ieft the do 
 mestic affairs of his humble home wholly to the management 
 of his wife and children. The hospitalities of his cabin, 
 however, were always open to friend or stranger, but 
 before whom he ever assumed a calm and respectful reserve, 
 though nothing escaped his notice. If questioned he would 
 readily enter into a conversation concerning his exploits as a 
 warrior an$ hunter, but was indifferent upon the touching 
 episodes of home, with its scenes of* domestic bliss or woe, 
 though their tendrils were as deeply and strangely inter 
 woven with the fibres of his heart as with those of any other 
 of The human race. The vicissitudes of life, its joys and 
 sorrows, its hopes and fears, were regarded as unworthy the 
 consideration of a warrior and hunter; but the dangers, the 
 fatigues and hardships of war and the chase as subjects only 
 worthy to be mentioned. Yet, with all this, in unfeigned 
 a ffection for his wife, children, kindred and friends; in deep 
 a nxiety for them in sickness and distress; in untiring efforts 
 to relieve their necessities and wants; in anxiety for their 
 sa fety in hours of danger; in fearless exposure of himself to 
 p rotect them from harm ; in his silent yet deep sorrow at 
 their death; in his unassumed joy in their happiness; in 
 the se^all Indians stand equal to any race of people that ever 
 liv ed. And when roaming with him years ago in the solitudes 
 of his native forests, and have looked upon him, whose nature 
 and peculiar habits have been declared by the world to have 
 no place with the rest of the human family, and then have 
 gone with him to his humble, but no less hospitable, forest 
 home, and there witnessed the same evidences of joy and 
 sorrow, of hope and fear, of pleasure and pain that are 
 every where peculiar to man s nature, I could but be more 
 firmly established in that which I long had known, that the 
 North American Indian, from first to last, had been wrong 
 fully and shamefully misrepresented, and though in him are 
 blended vindictive and revengeful passions, so much con 
 demned by the civilized world, yet I found these were equally 
 balanced by warm, generous, and noble feelings, as were 
 found in any class of the human race: 
 
184 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 To the ancient Choctaw warrior and hunter, excitement 
 of some kind was indispehsible to relieve the tedium of the 
 nothing-to-do in which a great part of his life was spent. 
 Hence the intervals between war and hunting were filled up 
 by various amusements, ball plays, dances, foot and horse 
 races, trials of strength and activity in wrestling and jump 
 ing, all of which being regulated by rules and regulations of 
 a complicated etiquette. 
 
 But the Tolik (Ball play) was the ultimatum of all games 
 u the sine qua non" of all amusements to the Indians of the 
 south; and to which he atttached the greatest importance, 
 and in the engagement of which his delight reached its high 
 est perfection, and in the excelling of which his ambition fell 
 not below that of him who contested in the Olympic games of 
 ancient Greece. 
 
 A Choctaw Tolik seventy years ago, was indeed a game 
 that well might have astonished the Titan, and diverted 
 them, pro. tern, at least, from their own pastime. But 
 when I look back through the retrospective years of the long 
 past to that animating scene, and then read in recent yearjs 
 th different attempts made by many through the journals 
 of the day to describe a genuine Choctaw T Ball-play of those 
 years ago, it excites a smile and only intensifies the hold 
 memory retains of that indescribable game. No one, who 
 has not witnessed it, can form a* just idea of the scene from 
 any description given; for it baffles all the powers of lan 
 guage and must be seen to be in any way comprehended. 
 The base ball-play of the present day, so popular among the 
 whites, in point of .deep interest and wild excitement pro 
 duced in" the spectator, when compared to the Chashpo Tolik 
 (Ancient Ball-play) of the Choctaws east of the Mississippi 
 river, bears about the same relation that the light of the 
 crescent moon does to the mid-day light of the mighty orb o^ 
 day in a cloudless sky. However", I will attempt a descrip 
 tion, though well aware that after all that can be said, the 
 reader will only be able to form a very imperfect idea of the 
 weird scene. 
 
 When the warriors of a village, wearied by the mono 
 tony of every day life, desired a change that was truly from 
 one extreme to that of another, they sent a challenge to those 
 of another village of their own tribe, and, not infrequently, 
 to those of a neighboring tribe, to engage in a grand ball-play. 
 If the challenge was accepted, and it was rarely ever declined 
 a suitable place was selected and prepared by the challengers, 
 and a day agreed upon. The Hetoka (ball ground) was 
 selected in some beautiful level plain easily found in their then 
 beautiful and romantic country. Upon the ground, from 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 185 
 
 three hundred to four hundred yards apart, two straight 
 pieces of timber were firmly planted close tog-ether in the 
 ground, each about fifteen feet in height, and from four to 
 six inches in width, presenting a front of a foot or more. 
 These were called Aiulbi. (Ball posts.) During the inter 
 vening time between the day of the challenge and thai of the 
 play, great preparations were made on both sides by those 
 who intended to engage therein. With much care and 
 unaffected solemnity they went through with their prepara 
 tory ceremonies 
 
 The night preceding the day of the play was spent in 
 painting, with the same care as when preparing for the war 
 path, dancing with frequent rubbing of both the upper and 
 lower limbs, and taking their "sacred medicine." 
 
 In the mean time, tidings of the approaching play spread 
 on wing s of the wind from village to villag e and from neigh 
 borhood to neighborhood for miles away; and during the 
 first two or three days preceding the play, hundreds of In 
 dians the old, the young, the gay, the grave of both sexes, 
 in immense concourse, were seen wending their way through 
 the vast forests from every point of the compass, toward the 
 ball-ground; with their ponies loaded w T ith skins, furs, 
 trinkets, and every other imaginable thing that was part and 
 parcel of Indian wealth, to stake upon the result of one or the 
 other side. 
 
 On the morning of the appointed day, the players, from 
 seventy-five to a hundred 011 each side, strofig and athletic 
 men, straight as arrows and fleet as antelopes, entirely in a 
 nude state, excepting a broad piece of cloth around the hips, 
 were heard in the distance advancing toward the plain from 
 opposite sides, making the heretofore silent forests ring 
 with their exulting songs and defiant hump-he! (banter) as 
 intimations of the great fats of strength and endurance, 
 fleetness and activity they would display before the eyes of 
 their admiring friends. The curiosity, anxiety and excite 
 ment now manifested by the vast throng of assembled spec 
 tators were manifested on every countenance. Soon the 
 players were dimly seen in the distance through their majes 
 tic forests, flitting here and there as spectres among the 
 trees. Anon they are all in full view advancing from opposite 
 sides in a steady, uniform trot, and in perfect order, as if to 
 engage in deadly hand to hand conflict; now they meet and 
 intermingle in one confused and disorderly mass interchang 
 ing friendly salutations dancing and jumping in the wildest 
 manner, while intermingling with all an artillery of wild 
 Shakuplichihi that echoed far back from the solitudes of the 
 surrounding woods. 
 
186 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Then came a sudden hush a silence deep, as if all 
 Nature had made a pause the prophetic calm before the 
 bursting- storm. During- this brief interval, the betting- was 
 g-oing- on and the stakes being- put up; the articles bet were 
 all placed promiscuously in one place, often forming- a vast 
 conglomeration, of thing s too numerous to mention, and the 
 winning side took the pile.- This being- completed, the play 
 ers took their places, each furnished with two kapucha (ball- 
 sticks), three feet long-, and made of tough hickory wood 
 thoroughly seasoned. At one end of each ka-puch-a a very 
 ing-enious device, in shape, and size, very similar to that of 
 the hand half closed, was constructed of sinews of wild 
 animals, in which they caug-ht and threw the ball. It was 
 truly astonishing- with what ease and certainty they would 
 catch the flying- ball in the cups of the sticks and the amaz 
 ing- distance and accuracy they would hurl it throug-h the 
 air. In taking- their places at the opening- of the play, ten or 
 twenty, according- to the number of players engaged, of each 
 side were stationed at each pole. To illustrate, I will say, 
 ten of the A. party and ten of the B party were placed at pole 
 C.; and ten of the B. party and ten of the A. party at pole D. 
 The ten of the B party who were stationed at the pole C. 
 were called Fa-lo-mo-li-chi (Throw-backs); and the ten of the 
 A. party also stationed at pole C. were called Hat-tak fa-bus- 
 sa (Pole men), and /the ten of the A. party stationed at the 
 pole D. were called Fala molichi, and the ten of the B. party 
 stationed at the pole D., Hattak fabussa. The business 
 of the Falamolichi at each pole was to prevent, if 
 possible, the ball thrown by the opposite party, from strik 
 ing- the pole C.; and throw it back towards the pole D. to 
 their own party; while that of the Hattak fabussa at pole C. 
 was to prevent this, catch the ball themselves, if possible, 
 and hurl it against the pole C., and the business of the Fala 
 molichi and Hattak fabussa at the pole D. was the same as 
 that at the pole C. In the centre, between the two poles, 
 were also stationed the same number of each party as were 
 stationed at the poles, called Middle Men, with whom was a 
 chief "Medicine man," whose business was to throw the ball 
 straight up into the air, as the signal for the play to com 
 mence. The remaining players were scattered promiscu 
 ously along the line between the poles and over different por 
 tions of the play-ground. 
 
 All things being ready, the ball suddenly shot up into 
 the air from the vigorous arm of the Medicine Man, and the 
 wash-o-ha (playing) began. The moment the ball was seen 
 in the air, the players of both sides, except the Falamolichi 
 and Hattak fabussa, who remained at their posts, rushed to 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 187 
 
 the spot, where the ball would likely fall, with a fearful shock. 
 Now began to be exhibited a scene of wild grandeur that 
 beggared all description. As there were no rules and regu 
 lations governing the manner of playing nor any act con 
 sidered unfair, each of course, acted under the impulse of 
 thfe moment regardless of consequences. 
 
 They threw down and ran over each other in the wild 
 excitement and reckless chase after the ball, stopping not 
 nor heeding the broken limbs and bruised heads or even 
 broken neck of a fallen player. Like a herd of stampeded 
 buffaloes upon the western plains, they ran against and over 
 each other, or any thing else, man or beast, that stood in 
 their way; and thus in wild confusion, and crazed excitement 
 they scrambled and tumbled, each player straining every 
 nerve and muscle to its utmost tension, to get the ball or 
 prevent his opponent, who held it firmly grasped between 
 the cups of his trusty kapucha, from making a successful 
 throw; while up and down the lines the shouts of the players 
 "Falamochi! Falamochi!" (.Throw it back! Throw it 
 back) as others shouted Hokli! Hoklio! (Catch! Catch!) The 
 object of each party was to throw the ball against the two 
 upright pieces of timber that stood in the direction of the 
 village to which it belonged; and, as it came whizzing through 
 the air, with the velocity comparatively of a bullet shot from 
 a gun, a player running at an angle to intercept the flying 
 ball, and when near enough, would spring several feet into 
 the air and catch it in the hands of his sticks, but ere he 
 could throw it, though running at full speed, an opponent 
 would hurl him to the ground, with a force seemingly suffi 
 cient to break every bone in his body and even to destroy 
 life, and as No. 2 would wrest the ball from the fallen No. 1 
 and throw it, ere it had flown fifty feet, No. 3 would catch it 
 with his unerring kapucha, and not seeing, perhaps an op 
 portunity of making an advantageous throw, would start off 
 with the speed of a deer, still holding the ball in the cups of 
 his kapucha pursued by every player. 
 
 Again was presented to the spectators another of those 
 exciting scenes, that seldom fall to the lot of one short life 
 time to behold, which language fails to depict, or imagination 
 to conceive. He now runs off , perhaps, at an acute angle 
 with that of the line of the poles, with seemingly super-hu 
 man speed; now and then elevating above his head his ka 
 pucha in which safely rests the ball, and in defiant exultation, 
 shouts, "hump-he! hump-he!" (I dare you) which was ack 
 nowledged by his own party with a wild-response of approval, 
 but responded to by a bold cry of defiance from the opposite 
 side. Then again all is hushed and the breathless , silence is 
 
188 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 only disturbed by thelieavy thud of their running-feet. For 
 a short time he continues his straight course, as if to test 
 the speed of his pursuing opponents; then begins to circle 
 toward his pole. Instantly comprehending his object, his 
 running friends circle with him, with eyes fixed upon him, 
 to secure all advantages given to thein by any stragetic throw 
 he may make for them, w r hile his opponents are mingled 
 among them to defeat his object; again he runs in a straight 
 line; then dodges this way and that; suddenly he hears the 
 cry from some one of his party in the rear of the parallel 
 running throng, who sees an advantage to be gained if the 
 ball was thrown to him, "Falamolichi"! "Falamolichi"-] He 
 now turns and dashes back on the line and in response to the 
 continued cry "Falamolichi"! heiiurls the ball with all his 
 strength; with fearful velocity it flies through the air and 
 falls near the caller; and in the confusion made by the sud 
 denly turning throng, he picks it up at full speed with his 
 kapucha, and starts toward his pole. Then is heard the cry 
 of his hattak fabussa. and he hurls the ball toward them and, 
 as it falls, they and the throw-backs stationed at that pole, 
 rush to secure it; and then ag ain, though on a smaller" scale, 
 a scene of wild confusion was seen scuffling, pulling, push 
 ing, butting unsurpassed in any game ever engaged in by 
 man. Perhaps, a throw-back secures the ball and starts 
 upon the wing, in the direction of his pole, meeting the ad 
 vancing throng, but with his own throw-backs and the pole- 
 men of his opponents at his heels; the latter to prevent him 
 from making a successful throw and the former to prevent 
 any interference, while the shouts of "Falamolichi!"" "Fala 
 molichi!" arose from his ow r n men in the advancing runners. 
 Again the ball flies through the air, and is about to fall di 
 rectly among them, but ere it reaches the d ground many 
 spring into the air to catch it, but are tripped alid they fall 
 headlong to the earth. Then, as the ball reaches the ground 
 again is brought into full requisition the propensities of each 
 one to butt, pull, and push, though not a sound is heard, ex 
 cept the wild rattling of the kapucha, that reminded one of 
 the noise made by the collision of the horns of a drove of 
 stampeding Texas steers. Oft amid the plav women w^re 
 seen giving water" to the thirsty and offering words of encour 
 agement; while others, armed with long switches stood ready 
 to give their expressions of encouragement to the supposed 
 tardy, by a severe rap over the naked shoulders, as a gentle 
 reminder of their dereliction of duty; all of which was re 
 ceived in good faith, yet invariably elicited the response 
 "Wah!" as an acknowldgement of the favor. 
 
 From ten to twenty was generally the game. Whenever 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 189 
 
 N 
 
 the ball was thrown against the upright fabussa (poles), it 
 counted one, and the successful thrower shouted; i llli tok," 
 (dead) meaning- one number less; oft accompaning the shout 
 by gobbing vociferously like, the wild turkey, which elicited a 
 shout of laughter from his party, and a yell of defiance from 
 the other. TJius the exciting-, and truly wild and romantic 
 scene was continued, with unbatecl efforts on the part of the 
 players until the game was won. But woe to the Inconsider 
 ate white man, whose thoughtless curiosity had led him too 
 far upon the hetoka. (ball ground) and at whose feet the ball 
 should chance to fall; if the path to that ball was not clear 
 of all obstructions, the 200 players, now approaching 
 w r ith the rush of a mighty whirlwind would soon make it so. 
 And right then and there, though it might be the first time in 
 life, he became a really active man, if the desire of immediate 
 safety could be any inducement, cheerfully inaugurating pro 
 ceedings by turning a few double somersets, regardless as 
 to the scientific manner he executed them, or the laugh of 
 ridicule that might be offered at his expense; and if he 
 escaped only with a broken limb or two, and a first-class 
 scare, he might justly consider himself most fortunate. But 
 the Choctaws have long since lost that interest in the ball- 
 play that they formerly cherished in their old homes east of 
 the Mississippi River. Tis true, now and then, even at the 
 present day, they indulge in the time honored game, but the 
 game of the present day is a Lillipution a veritable pygmy- 
 in comparison with the grand old game of three quarters of 
 a century ago; nor will it be many years ere it will be said of 
 the Choctaw tohli, as of ancient Troy Ilium fuit." 
 
 To any one of the present day, an ancieW Choctaw ball- 
 play would be an exhibition* far more interesting, strange, 
 wild and romantic, in all i.ts features, than anything ever ex 
 hibited in a circus from first to last excelling it in every 
 particular of daring feats and wild recklessness. In the 
 ancient ball-play, the activity, fleetness, strength and endur* 
 ance of the Mississippi Choctaw warrior and hunter, were 
 more fully exemplified than anywhere else; for there he 
 brought into the most severe action every power of soul and 
 body. In those ancient ball-plays, I have known villages tc 
 lose all their earthly possessions upon the jssue of a single 
 play. Yet, they bore their misfortune with becoming grace 
 ,and philosophic indifference and appeared as gay and cheer 
 ful as if nothing oi importance had occurred. The educa 
 tion of the ancient Choctaw warrior and hunter consisted 
 mainly in the frequency of these muscular exercises whicl 
 enabled him to endure hunger, thirst and fatigue; henc( 
 they often indulged in protracted fastings, frequent foot 
 
190 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 races, trials of bodily strength, introductions to the war 
 path, the chase and their favorite Tolih. 
 
 They also indulged in another game in which they took 
 great delight, called Ulth Chuppih, in which but two players 
 could engage at the same time; but upon the result of which, 
 .as in the Tolih, they frequently bet their little all. An alley, 
 with a hard smooth surface and about two hundred feet long, 
 was made upon the ground. The two players took a posi 
 tion at the upper end at which they were to commence tjae 
 game, each having in his hand a smooth, tapering pole eight 
 or ten feet long flattened at the ends. A smooth round stone 
 of several inches in circumference was then brought into 
 the arena; as soon as .both were ready, No. 1 took the stone 
 and rolled it with all his strength down the narrow inclined 
 plane of the smooth alley; and after which both instantly 
 staged wit^i their utmost speed. Soon No. 2, threw his pole 
 at the rolling stone; instantly No. 1, threw his at the flying 
 pole of r No. 2, aiming to hit it, and, by so doing, change its 
 course from the rolling stone. If No. 2 hits the stone, he 
 counts one; but if No. 1 prevents it by hitting the pole of 
 No, 2, he then counts one; and he, who hits his object the 
 greater number of times in eleven rollings of the stone, was 
 the winner. It was a more difficult matter to hit either the 
 narrow edge of the rolling stone, or the flying pole, than 
 would be at first imagined. However, the ancient Chahtah 
 Ulte Chupih may come in at least as a worthy competitor with 
 the pale-face Teii-pin-alley, for the disputed right of being 
 the more dignified amusement. 
 
 Judge Julius Folsom of Atoka, Indian Territory, inform 
 ed me that a friend of his, -Isaac McClure, found an Ulth 
 Chuppih ball in a mound near Skullyville, Choctaw Nation, 
 Indian Territory, and not knowing what it was, brought it to 
 him for information. This proves that the Indians who 
 occupied the territory prior to the Choctaws also indulged in 
 the game of Ulth Chuppih. 
 
 The following was furnished me by my learned friend 
 H. S. Halbert, of Mississippi, a genuine philanthropist and 
 true friend to, the North American Indian race: 
 
 /The Great Ball Play and Fight on Noxubee" (a cor 
 ruption of the Choctaw word Nakshobih, a peculiarly. offen 
 sive odor), between the Creeks and Choctaws. 
 
 "In the fall of 1836, there died in the "southern part of 
 Noxubee county an aged Indian warrior named Stonie Hadjo. 
 This old ludian had resided in the county for years and was 
 very popular with the pioneers, who regarded him as an up 
 right and truthful man. He was a Creek by birth, a Choc 
 taw by adoption. This old warrior would often tell of a 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 191 
 
 great ball play and fight which occurred between the Creeks 
 and Choctaws in Noxubee county. This event, from date 
 given by him, must have occurred about the year 1790. 
 
 "On Noxubee river there was anciently a large beaver 
 pond, about which the Creeks and Choctaws had a violent 
 dispute. The Creeks claimed it by priority of discovery, 
 while the Choctaws asserted their right to it because it lay 
 in their own territory. As the fur trade at Mobile and Pen- 
 sacola, (corruption of the Choctaw words puska okla, bread 
 people, then small places, but the main points of trade for 
 the southern Indians) was lucrative, each party was loath to 
 renounce the right to the beavers. The two Nations finally 
 agreed to settle the matter by a ball-play. A given number 
 of the best players were accordingly selected from each 
 Nation, who were to decide, by the result of the game, to 
 which Nation, the exclusive right to the beaver pond should 
 belong. Great preparations were made by each party for 
 this important event. They commenced preparing on the 
 new moon and it took them two whole inoons and until the 
 full of the third to complete preparations. Great quantities 
 -of provisions had to be procured, and the ball players had to 
 subject themselves meanwhile to the usual requirement of 
 practice, the athletic exercises customary on such occa 
 sions. 
 
 "Finally the day came, and Stonie Hadjo said that there 
 were ten thousand Indians, Creeks and Choctaws, camped 
 around the ball ground on Noxubee river. The Creek Chief 
 who held the highest command, after seemg his people 
 properly encamped left to pay a visit of ceremony to great 
 Chief of the Choctaws, who lived at some distantance. Stonie 
 Hadjo-give the names of those two chiefs, but these names 
 cannot now be recalled." (If I mistake/ not, the Choctaw 
 Chief was Himakubih, now to kill). "Every thing being now 
 ready the play commenced, and it was admitted on all sides 
 to have been the closest and most evenly matched game ever 
 witnessed by either nation. Fortune vascillated from Creek 
 to Choctaws and then from Choctaw to Creek. At last, it 
 was a tied game, both parties standing even. One more 
 game remained to be played which would decide the contest. 
 Then occurred a long and terrible struggle lasting for four 
 hours. Every Creek and every Choctaw strained himself to 
 his utmost bent. Finally after prodigious feats of strengh 
 and agility displayed on both sides, fortune at last declared in 
 favor of the Creeks. The victors immediately began to 
 .shout and sing! The. Choctaws were greatly humiliated. 
 At length a high spirited Choctaw player, unable longer to 
 endure the exultant shouts of the victorious party, made an 
 
192 HISTORY. OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 nsulting remark to a Creek player. (Who, in retaliation, 
 Choctaws state, threw a petticoat on the Choctaw the 
 the greatest insult that can be offered to an Indian). The 
 latter resente d it, and the two instantly clutched each other 
 in deadly combat. The contag-ion spread, and a general fig-lit 
 with sticks, knives, guns, tomahawks and bows and arrows, 
 began among 1 the ball players. Then warriors from each 
 tribe commenced joining in the fight until all were engaged 
 in bloody strife. 
 
 "The fight continued from an hour by the sun in the 
 evening- with but little intermission during the night, until 
 two hours by the sun the next morning. At this juncture 
 the. great chiefs of the Creeks and the Choctaws arrived upon 
 the ground and at on ce put a stop to the combat, runners- 
 having been dispatched at the beginning of the fight to these 
 two leaders to inform them of the affair. The combatants 
 upon desisting from the fight, spent the remainder of the 
 day in taking care of the wounded; the women watching over 
 the dead, The next" day the dead were buried; their money, 
 silver ornaments, and dther articles of value being deposited 
 with them in their graves. The third day a council convened. 
 The Creek and the Choctaw chiefs made "talks" expressing 
 their regrets that their people should have given way to 
 such a wild storm of passion resulting in the death of so 
 many brave warriors. There was no war or cause for war 
 between the two Nations and they counciled that all forget 
 the unhappy strife, make peace and be friends as before.. 
 This advice was heeded. The pipe of peace was smoked, 
 all shook hands and departed to their homes.. 
 
 "Stonie Hadjo stated that five hundred warriors were 
 killed outright in this fight and that a great many of the 
 wounded afterward died. The Creeks and Choctaws had had 
 several wars with each other, had fought many bloody bat 
 tles, but that no battle was so disastrous as this fight at the 
 ball ground. For many long years the Creeks and Choc 
 taws looked back to this event with emotions of terror and 
 sorrow. For here, their picked men, their ball players, 
 , who were the flower of the two Nations, almost to a man 
 perished. Scarcely was there a Creek or Choctaw family, 
 but had to mourn the death of some kinsman slain. For 
 several years the Creeks made annual pilgrimages to this 
 ball ground to weep over the graves of their dead. The 
 Choctaws kept up thi* Indian custom much long-dr. Even 
 down to the time of their emigration in 1832 they had not 
 ceased to make similar lamentations. 
 
 "After the fight, by tacit consent, the beaver pond was. 
 left in the undisputed possession of the Choctaws; but it is- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 193 
 
 said that soon afterwards, the beaver entirely abandoned the 
 pond. According to Indian superstition, their departure 
 was supposed to have some connection with the unfortunate 
 fight. 
 
 "In 1832, a man named Charles Dobbs settled on this ball 
 and battle ground . Stonie Hadjo, who was then living- in 
 the vicinity ^pointed out to him many of the graves, where 
 in money and other valuables were buried. Dobbs dug- 
 down and recovered about five hundred dollars in silver, and 
 about two hundred and fifty dollars worth of silver orna 
 ments. 
 
 "This ground is situated on the eastern banks of Noxu- 
 bee river, about five miles west of Cooksville and about two 
 hundred yards north of where Shuqualak(corruption of Shoh- 
 pakalih, Sparkling,) creek empties into Noxubee. The beaver 
 pond, now drained and in cultivation, is situated on the 
 western, bank of Noxubee, about half a mile north of the 
 ball-ground. 
 
 Frequently disputes between the ancient Choctaws and 
 Muscogees arose as a result of a ball-play, but which too 
 frequently terminated in a fearful fight, followed by a pro 
 tracted war. My friend, H. S. Halbert, informed me by 
 letter, of another , which was told to him by an aged Choctaw 
 who remained in Missisippi with others at the time of the 
 Choctaw exodus in 1832. Is is as follows: 
 
 "The war in 1800 between the Choctaws and Creeks had 
 its origin in a dispute about the territory between the Tom- 
 bigbee and Black Warrior rivers, which both Nations claim 
 ed. It was finally agreed to settle the matter by a ball-play. 
 The play occurred on the west bank of the Black Warrior, a 
 mile below Tuscaloosa. The Creek chief was named Tus- 
 keegee, the Choctaw, L/uee, (corruption of La wih, being 
 equal). Both parties claimed the victory. A violent dispute 
 arose which resulted in a call to arms followed by a furious 
 battle in which many were killed and wounded on both sides, 
 but the Choctaws were victorious. This occurred in the 
 spring. The Choctaws after the fight withdrew to their 
 homes. The Creeks, stung by defeat, invaded x the Choctaw 
 Nation in the ensuing fall under Tuskeegee and fought the 
 second battle in the now Noxubee county, in which the 
 Creeks were victorious. Luee again commanded the Choc 
 taws." But the Choctaws being reinforced,- another battle 
 was soon after fought in which the Choctaws under Himar- 
 kubih, were victorious and drove the Creeks out of their 
 country. I have been told that previous to our civil war the 
 trees still showed signs of the ancient conflict. 
 
 The Choctaws, at the time of their earliest acquaintance 
 
194 HISTORY OF. THE INDIANS. 
 
 with the European races, possessed,, in conjunction with all 
 their race of the North American Continent, a vague, but to 
 a great extent, correct knowledge of the Oka Falama, "The 
 returning- waters," as they termed it The Flood/ 
 
 The Rev. Cyrus Byington related a little incident, as one 
 out of many interesting- and pleasing- ones that frequently 
 occurred when traveling- throug-h their country from one 
 point to another in the discharge of his ministerial duties, 
 over seventy years ago. At one time he found night fast 
 approaching without any visible prospect of finding a place 
 of shelter for the night, safe from the denizens of the wilder 
 ness through which his devious^ path was leading him. Then 
 and there roads were unknown and paths alone led the trav 
 eler from place to place. Soon, however, he discovered an 
 humble cabin a few hundred yards distant, directly to which 
 the little path was leading him, and which he readily recog 
 nized as the home of a Choctaw hunter. Several little chil 
 dren were engaged in their juvenile sports near the house, 
 who, upon seeing the .white stranger approaching, made a 
 precipitate retreat into the house. The mother hastened to 
 the door to learn, the cause of the alarm saw, gazed a 
 moment, and then as suddenly disappeared. As Mr. Bying- 
 ton rode up, he observed an Indian man sitting before the 
 door, whose appearance betokened his experience in the vi 
 cissitudes of life to have reached four score years or more, 
 who cheerfully extended the hospitality of his humble home 
 to the solitary and wayworn stranger. 
 
 But nothing strange in this, for who ever heard of an 
 American Indian refusing the hospitality of his cabin, how 
 ever so humble, to a passing stranger? Soon Mr. Byington 
 was also seated before the cabin door near the aged Choctaw, 
 and very naturally took a survey of the surroundings. It was 
 a cloudless eve in May, 1825. The calm beautiful day was 
 j,ust drawing to a close and the slanting sunbeam fell in a 
 dreamy sort of indolent beauty upon the delicate shrubbery 
 Beneath the majestic trees that towered above in stately 
 grandeur dangling with their branches in a careless radiance 
 and throwing upon them such gorgeous tints, as they alone 
 can bestow at the last moment of their departing glory. Far 
 away before the admiring gaze of the humble missionary, 
 stretched a gently undulating plain which seemed to extend 
 beyond the sunbeams into the gray twilight of the distant 
 east. Here and there dense masses of foliage on the north, 
 south and west, deepening and darkening into increasing 
 depths of shade, blended so imperceptibly with the out 
 stretching shadows which they cast, that it was difficult to 
 tell where the reality ceased and the shadow began. Various 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 1 95 
 
 kinds of birds were now flocking from the c>pen plain into 
 the recesses of the dark foliage of the surrounding trees, 
 and, with noisy twitterings seemed disputing for the occu 
 pancy of their favorite roosting .place upon some selected 
 twig; lovely flowers of variegated hue filled the air with 
 sweetest perfume, rendering it a luxury to breathe; while 
 here and there little groups of cattle and horses lazily crop 
 ped the new and tender grass or idly lay upon its soft caf-pet, 
 which now covered the ground with living green. The aged 
 warrior, true to his~nature, had sought his cabin door that, 
 undisturbed, he might look upon the scene that stretched in 
 a wild panorama of beauty before his appreciative and admir 
 ing gaze. Romantic and lovely indeed were all the surround 
 ings of that forest home, so truly characteristic of the Indian 
 in the selection of his abode. The old warrior and hunter, 
 ere his meditations were disturbed by the coming stranger, 
 was, no doubt, silently and attentively listening to the voice 
 of memory calling him from afar off, back to the sunny days 
 of early youth, while his ears caught other cadences that 
 whispered of man-hood s strength, when, untrammeled 
 by the weight of years, he roamed o er his native land, 
 and, with eagle-eye and, nimble-foot, pursued his game, 
 or, with stealthy step, followed the war-path in its dubious 
 windings through the distant country of his foes. But to 
 the cultivated mind of the man of God, who now sat by his 
 side and also viewed the glories of the scene, how different 
 the emoti ons awakened ! His thoughts arose from, Nature s 
 beauties to the sublimities and glories of Nature s God. For 
 it -was the place and hour to enter Nature s sacred temple 
 and there commune with her in her own mystic language; 
 to see the beautiful where others see it not; to hear anthems 
 that whisper to man of hope and joy in the diapason of the 
 gentle zepyrs, making the appreciative heart thankful to be 
 alive; while pitying the dwellers in crowded cities who never 
 see or enjoy aught like this. 
 
 After an exchange of a few words, and the aged man 
 had learned who his guest was, for he had heard of the good 
 missionaries, mutual confidence was at once established be 
 tween the two; especially as the stranger was conversant, to 
 some extent, in his native Choctaw tongue. During the con 
 versation of the evening, the good missionary, true to his 
 trust, narrated to his aged host the story of the Cross, with 
 all its interesting bearings, and in conclusion set forth, with 
 much eloquence, the importance and necessity of his host s 
 immediate attention to the things that appertained to his in 
 terests beyond the sphere of time; to all of which the old 
 man listened in profound silence, and with the deepest inter- 
 
196 ^ HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 est and attention; then rising- from his seat and taking- Mr, 
 By ing-ton by the hand and leading- him to the corner of the 
 little cabin where the setting- sun could be seen in full view, 
 he pointed to it and said: "Your talk is, no doubt, true and 
 good, but it is strange and dark to me. See yonder is the 
 sun.(5f my life; it but ling-ers upon the western sky. It is 
 now too late for me to follow your new and strang-e words. 
 Let me continue in the path I long- have walked, and in which, 
 my fathers before me trod; the Great Spirit tells me, it will, 
 lead me to the happy hunting- grounds of the Indian, and that 
 is sufficient for me." And who can say it was not? With 
 unshaken faith he believed the Great Spirit would take him 
 at the hour of death to the happy hunting- ground the heav 
 en of the Indian, the only one of which he had ever heard. 
 Then pointing- to his children and grand-children, he contin 
 ued: "Tell your new talk to them and to my young- people. 
 They have time to consider it. If it is a better way to the 
 happy hunting- grounds than the Indian s, teach them to 
 walk In it, but persuade me not to now forsake my long- 
 known path, for one unknown and so strange to me." Mr. 
 Byington, deeply interested in his ag-ed friend, related, in 
 connection with other Bible truths, the account of the flood. 
 Instantly the old veteran s countenance brig-htened up, and 
 with a smile of self-confidence said: "You no longer talk 
 mysteries. I know now of what you speak. Mv father told 
 me when a boy of the Oka Falama." Mr. Bying-ton then 
 asked him, if he knew how long since it occurred. The old 
 veteran, with an air of injured innocence, by the doubt ex 
 pressed in the question of his veracity for truth, stooping, 
 filled both hands with sand, then, with an expression of tri 
 umphal confidence, said: "As many seasons of snow ago, 
 as I hold grains of sand in my hand . " 
 
 During the fall of 1887, I was boarding at a Choctaw 
 friend s in the territory, a man of noble characteristics, and 
 one day related to him the above incident. I was struck with 
 his remark. As I closed, he said in a slow and mournful 
 tone of voice; "Ever thinking of the good of their people, 
 the young and rising generations coming after them." I 
 asked a more explicit explanation. He replied; "The aged 
 men of my people always expressed more concern for the 
 welfare of the young than they did for themselves. That 
 old Choctaw, of whom you have just spoken, seemed to re 
 alize that it was too late for him to be benefitted by -the teach 
 ings of the good white man, but still was anxious for him to 
 do all the good he could for the young and rising generation of 
 his Nation. Why is the Indian so traduced by the white 
 man? Has my race no redeeming traits?" Shame for my 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 197 
 
 own race hushed me to silence, and -I made no reply, as he 
 arose and quietly left my room and me to my unpleasant 
 reflections. 
 
 The Choctaw hunter was famous as a strategist when 
 hunting- alone in the woods; and was such an expert in the 
 art of exactly imitating- the cries of the various animals of 
 the forests, that he would deceive the ear of the most expe 
 rienced. They made a very ing-eniously constructed instru 
 ment for calling deer to them, in the use of which they were 
 very expert; and in connection with this, they used a decoy 
 made by cutting the skin clear round the neck, about ten 
 inches from the head of a slain buck having huge horns, and 
 then stuffing the skin in one entire section up to the head 
 and cutting off the neck where it joins the head. The skin, 
 thus made hollow from the head back, is kept in its natural 
 position by inserting upright sticks; the skin is then pulled 
 upwards from the nose to the horns and all the flesh and 
 brains removed; then the skin is repulled to its natural place 
 and laid away to dry. In a year it has become dry; hard and 
 inoffensive, and fit for use. All the upright sticks are then 
 taken out except the one next to the head, which is left as a 
 hand-hold. Thus the hunter, with his deer-caller and head 
 decoy, easily enticed his game within the range of his deadly 
 rifle; for, secreting himself in the woods, he commenced to 
 Imitate the bleating of a deer; if within hearing distance, one 
 soon responds; but, perhaps, catching the scent of the 
 hunter, stops and begins to look around. The hunter now 
 inserts his arm into the cavity of the decoy and taking hold 
 of the upright stick within, easily held it up to view,- and at 
 tracted the attention of the doubting deer by rubbing it 
 against the bushes or a tree; seeing which, the then m 
 longer suspicious deer advanced, and only learned its mis 
 take by the sharp crack of the rifle and the deadly bullet. 
 
 The antlers of some of the bucks grew to a wonderful 
 size, which were shed off every February, or rather pushec 
 off by the forthcoming new horns, a singularly strangt 
 freak of nature, yet no less true. There was also a strangt 
 and ancient tradition among the Choctaw and Chickasav 
 hunters, before their exodus to their present place of abode 
 that, as soon the horns dropped off, the buck at once PAWED ; 
 hole in the ground with his feet (it being (always soft durim 
 the season of shedding, from the frequent rains) into whicl 
 he pushed the fallen horns and carefully covered them up 
 This may seem fabulous, yet there are good grounds upoi 
 which to establish, at leas"t a probability, if not its truth, 
 have heard of white hunters who had been attracted by th 
 appearance of something .being freshly covered up, with th 
 
198 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 tracks of deer alone at and around the spot, and, upon dig 
 ging down, have found the horns of a deer. In many hunts 
 in the forest of Mississippi, during many years, where the 
 deer almost filled the woods, I have never seen a deer horn 
 except those attached to a skull left in the woods by the 
 hunter, or those of a buck that had died a natural death. 
 The forests were burnt off the latter part of every March, 
 and thus the ground, was entirely naked and a deer s horn, if 
 above ground, could have been seen a hundred yards distant,, 
 but they were not seen. The fires of the forest were not hot 
 enough to burn them. Now what became of them if not 
 buried by the bucks, as hundreds were shed yearly? 
 
 The Choctaw warrior was equally as expert in deceiving 
 his enemy as he was in that of the wild denizens of his native 
 forests. When upon the war-path the Choctaws always 
 went in small bands, which was the universal custom of their 
 entire race, traveling one behind the other in a straight line; 
 and, if in the enemy s territory each one stepped exactly in 
 the tracks of the one. who walked before him, while the one 
 in the extreme rear defaced, as much as possible, their 
 tracks, that no evidence of their number, or whereabouts 
 might be made known to the enemy. In these war excur 
 sions, the most profound silence was observed; their com 
 munications being carried on by preconcerted and well un 
 derstood signs made by the hand or head; if necessary to 
 be audible, then by a low imitative cry of some particular 
 wild animal. 
 
 The dignity of chieftainship was bestowed upon him 
 who had proved himself worthy by his skill and daring deeds 
 in war; and to preserve the valiant character of their chief, 
 it was considered a disgrace for him to be surpassed in. dar 
 ing deeds by any of his warriors; at the same time, it was 
 also regarded as dishonorable for the warriors to be sur 
 passed by their chief. Tnus there were great motives for 
 both to perform desperate deeds of valor which they did; 
 nor did they wait for opportunities for the display of hero 
 ism, but sought perils and toils by which they might distin 
 guish themselves. These war parties, gliding noiselessly 
 like Spectres through the dense forests, painted in the most 
 fantastic manner conceivable, presented a wild and fearful 
 appearance, more calculated to strike terror to the heart of 
 the beholder than admiration. Though they advanced in small 
 bodies and detached parties, yet in their retreats they scat 
 tered like frightened partridges, each for himself, but to 
 unite again at a pre-arranged place miles to the rear. No 
 gaudy display was ever made in their war excursions to 
 their enemy s country. They meant business, not display, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 199 
 
 depending* on the success of their expedition in their silent 
 and unexpected approach, patient watching-, and artful strata 
 gems. To fight a pitched battle in an open field giving the 
 enemy an equal chance, was to the Choctaws the best evi 
 dence of a want of military skill. But unlike most of their 
 race, they seldom invaded an enemy s territory from choice; 
 but woe to the enemy, who attributing- this to cowardice, 
 should have the presumption to invade their country; like 
 enraged bears robbed of their young-, they would find the 
 Choctaw warriors, to a man, ready to repel them with the most 
 desperate and fearless bravery ever exhibited by any race 
 of men. Yet, to them, no less than to the whites, strategy 
 was commendable, and to outwit an enemy and thus gain 
 an advantag-e over him, was evidence of great and praise* 
 worthy skill. 
 
 DUELS. The duelist, according to the white man s code 
 of honor, was regarded by the Choctaws with utmost con* 
 tempt, the fool above all fools; and in this, manifesting much 
 better sense than the white man with all his boasted idea of 
 honor. That a man would stand up openly before his enemy 
 to be shot at with the opportunity of getting an open shot at 
 him, was a code of honor beyond their comprehension, a piece 
 of nonsense in the indulgence of which a Choctaw could not 
 be guilty. 
 
 I did once hear, however, of a young Choctaw warrior ac 
 cepting a chellenge from a white man in their nation east of 
 the Mississippi river. A white man, who had been living in 
 one of their, villages for several months, taking offense at 
 something a young warrior had done, and well-knowing the 
 repugnance with which the Choctaws regarded the white 
 man s code of honor, thought it a proper time to impress 
 them with the belief that he was very brave, since he had but 
 little to fear that he would be called upon to put it to the test; 
 therefore, gave him a verbal challenge, in the presence of 
 many other Choctaw warriors, to fight him a duel accord 
 ing to the white man s code; and to impress upon the 
 minds of the by-standers that where there was so much 
 bravery, there must be a proportional amount of honor, the 
 heroic challenger informed the young Choctaw that, as he 
 was the challenged party, the white man s code of honor 
 nobly awarded to him the choice of weapons, time and place. 
 To all of which the young Choctaw listened in meditative sil 
 ence. All eyes were turned upon him expecting a negative 
 reply; none moro so than the "brave" pale-face. At that mo 
 ment he sprang to his feet and with a nimble bound placed him 
 self directly before the face, and within a few feet of his chal 
 lenger, and, with his piercing eyes upon, said in broken 
 
200 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 English, "You say, me hab choice of weapon, time, and place, 
 too?" "Yes," responded the now dubious white brave; then 
 looking around upon all with a determined eye, to the aston 
 ishment of all, the challenger by no means excepted, ex 
 claimed in a calm tone of voice: "Pale-face, me fight you to- 
 marler wid rifle." Then turning to one of the by-standers 
 he said: "You take him" (pointing to his challenger) "to- 
 marler, sun so high," (pointing to the east) one mile dis way, 
 put him behind tree, den you come back." Then turning to 
 another, continued: "You take me to-marler, sun same so 
 high" (again pointing to the east) "one mile dis udder way, 
 put me beh,ind tree, too, den you come back." Then turning 
 his penetrating black eyes fully upon the then astonished 
 "man of honor," and looking him straight in the eyes, said: 
 "Pale face, you hunt me to-marler, and me hunt you to-mar 
 ler; you see me first, den youshootme first; me see you first, 
 den me shoot you first." The pale-face warrior, quickly con 
 cluding that prudence then and there was evidently the bet 
 ter part of valor, wisely declined the honor with all the 
 prospective pleasure of the morrow s hunt; to the great 
 amusement of the Choctaws, who by their continued tantiliz- 
 ing, soon drove the would-be duellist from their territory. 
 
 Upon this subject, I here quote the following from the 
 pen of Rev. Israel Folsom, a Choctaw, with whom I was per 
 sonally acquainted, east of the Mississippi river, and kindly 
 furnished me by his amiable daughter, Czarena, now Mrs. 
 Robb, a noble Christian lady living in Atoka I. T. (from Ai- 
 a-tuk-ko, a protection or shield.) 
 
 "They had duels too; but they were quite different from 
 any that has been practiced by anv of the Indians of the con 
 tinent or the whites; and which most commonly proved fatal 
 to both parties. When a quarrel or difficulty occurred be 
 tween two warriors, a challenge was sent by one to the other; 
 not to meet and take a pop at each other with pistols, as is 
 the case in civilized and refined Nations, but in reality, it was 
 a challenge for both to die. It was understood in no other 
 way; this was the mode of trying the man s bravery, for 
 they believe that a brave man, who possesses an honest and 
 sincere heart, would never be afraid to die: It was usual for 
 each one to select his own friend to dispatch him. If one 
 should back out from the challenge, they considered it as a 
 great mark of cowardice and dishonesty in him, and he would 
 be despised by his relations and friends, and by the whole 
 tribe. If a challenge was given and accepted, it* was certain 
 to end in the death of both parties; this mode of deciding 
 difficulties had a strong tendency to restrain men from 
 quarreling and fighting among themselves, for fear of being 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 201 
 
 challenged and consequenty compelled to die, or forever be 
 branded with dishonesty and cowardice, and afterwards live 
 a life of degradation and disgrace. Hence, it was a common 
 saying among them, that a man should never quarrel, unless 
 he was willing to be challenged and to die. On one occasion 
 a sister seeing her brother about to baclr out from a chal- 
 stepped forward and boldly offered herself to die in his 
 stead, but her offer was not accepted, and she was so morti 
 fied at her brother s want of courage that she burst into 
 tears." 
 
 Thus they fought the duel: When one Choctaw chal 
 lenged another the challenge was given verbally, face to face, 
 the time and place then and there designated. If accepted 
 (and it was almost certain to be) the two went to the place 
 each with his second. The two combatants then took their 
 places unarmed about twenty feet apart, each with a second 
 at his right side with a rifle in hand. At a given signal each 
 second shot the combatant standing before him. That 
 closed the scene. Each had proven himself a Tush-ka Siah; 
 (warrior I am) and that was satisfactory to all. 
 
 To have it said, "he died bravely," was the highest am- 
 "bition of the Choctaw warrior, and thus it is even to the 
 present day. He regards death as merely a transmigration 
 to the happy hunting-ground, to which many of his friends 
 had already gone. His rifle, so long his boon companion and 
 trusty friend, together with his tomahawk, knife and tobacco, 
 he only required to be deposited in the grave by his side as 
 all the requisites necessary for him, when he arrived at the 
 land of abundant game to resume the sports of the chase; 
 frequentlv a little corn and venison were also placed in the 
 grave, by the hand of maternal fore-sight and love, that her 
 warrior boy might not hunger during his long journey. 
 
 There was a peculiar custom among the ancient Choc- 
 taws, prior to 1818, which, according to tradition, was as 
 follows: For many years after the marriage of her daughter, 
 the mpther-in-law was forbidden to look upon her son-in-law. 
 Though they might converse together, they must be hidden 
 the one from the other by some kind of a screen, and when 
 nothing else offered, by covering her eyes. Thus the mother- 
 in-law was put to infinite trouble and vexation least she 
 should make an infraction upon the strange custom; since, 
 when travelling or in camp often without tents, they were 
 necessarily afraid to raise their heads, or open their eyes 
 through fear of seeing the interdicted object. 
 
 Another peculiarity, which, howeyer. they possessed in 
 common with other tribes, was, the Choctaw wife never 
 called her husband by name. But addressed him as "my son 
 
202 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 or daughter s father;" or more commonly using- the child s 
 name, when if Shah-bi-chih, (meaning-, to make empty, the 
 real name of a Choctaw whom I know) for instance, she 
 she calls her husband "Shah-bi-chih s father." Another 
 oddity in regard to names was, the ancient Choctaw warriors 
 seemed to have a strange aversion to telling their own names,- 
 and it was impossible to get it unless he had an acquaintance 
 present, whom he requested to tell it for him. 
 
 THE CHOCTAW YA-YAHS ; CRIES OVER THE DEAD. Their 
 manifested sorrow and wailing over the graves of their dead 
 were affecting in the extreme truly bordering on the sub 
 lime in their severe simplicity; and had the Indian character 
 istics been rightly understood, and the nature of their 
 lamentations justly comprehended by the whites, their an 
 cient "Yayahs" might well have been compared to the com 
 plaints of the mother of Euriauls, in the ^Enead: the same 
 passionate expressions of deep sorrow, and the same ex 
 travagance of grief, whose aif ecting tones sank deep into the 
 inexperienced heart. For twelve months, at various inter 
 vals, the women repaired to the grave of the last deceased 
 relative or friend there to weep and express their unassum- 
 ed, heart-felt griefs to the memory of the dead, loved in life 
 and lamented in death, thus manifesting the tender sensi 
 bility of the Indian female. And though those tender and 
 affecting exhibitions of affection may be regarded by the 
 arrogant whites as having their origin in ignorance, super 
 stition and error, yet how hard that heart must be that par 
 dons not the illusion that soothes the sufferings of a bereaved 
 soul. But that age in which superstition held her empire 
 undisputed in the Choctaw mind has long since past; and 
 that noble people, however seemingly low, or however op 
 posed in their progress by conflicting and opposing circum 
 stances, have years ago turned 1 towards truth, and have long 
 since attained that goal which reason has erecTed in their 
 breasts equaj to that of the White Race. 
 
 The deep and unaffected grief of a Choctaw mother at 
 the death of a daughter, and that also of a father at the loss 
 of an only son in whom rested his fondest hopes, words are 
 inadequate to describe. With tearless eyes and solemn 
 countenance the bereaved father strolled about his little 
 premises, seemingly unconscious of all the surroundings, 
 while the frequent outbursting of grief in the loud lamenta 
 tions of the mother was truly a Rachel weeping for her child 
 ren. There never lived a race of people more affectionate 
 one to another than the Choctaws inyiieir ancient homes. 
 They actually seemed as one great brotherhood one loving > 
 trusting family; nor has there been any material change 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 203 
 
 from that day to this. Tis true, they were subject to like 
 passions with all imperfect humanity, and in momentary fits 
 of passion, excited by the white man s "Personal Liberty," 
 one sometimes killed another; but as soon as his drunken fit 
 had worn off and momentary anger cooled, he manifested 
 the deepest sorrow for the unfortunate affair; nor did he 
 ever try to escape from the punishment attending- the crime 
 never; but calmly offered himself as a voluntary sacrifice 
 to the offended law. 
 
 They held specified cries for the dead, which to us of the 
 present day would appear strange and even bordering- upon, 
 the romantic, yet could not be witnessed without emotions 
 of sadness. After the death and burial, the time was set by 
 the near relations of the deceased for the cry, and notice was 
 given to^ the neighboring* villages for their attendance, to 
 which all gave a ready response. When assembled, as many 
 as could conveniently, would kneel in a close circle around the 
 grave, both men and women; then drawing their blankets 
 over their heads would commence a wailing cry in different 
 tones of voice, which, though evident to a sensitive ear that 
 the rules of harmony had been greatly overlooked, produced 
 a solemnity of feeling that was indescribable, to which also 
 the surroundings but added to the novelty of the scene; for 
 here and there, in detached little groups, were seated upon 
 the ground many others, who in solemn demeanor chatted 
 in a low tone of voice and smoked the indispensible pipe; 
 while innumerable children of all ages and sexes, engaged in 
 their juvenile sports and in thoughtless glee mingled their 
 happy voices with the sad dirge of their seniors; which ad 
 ded to the barking of a hundred dogs intermingling with the 
 tinkling chimes of the little bells that were suspended upon 
 the necks of as many ponies, made a scene baffling all des 
 cription. At different intervals, one, sometimes three or 
 four together, would arise from the circle of mourners, qui 
 etly walk away and join some one of the many little groups 
 seated around, while the vacancy in the mourning circle was 
 im mediately filled by others, who promptly came forward, 
 knelt, drew their blankets over their heads, and took up the 
 mournful strain; and thus for several days and nights, the 
 wailing voices of the mourners, the gleeful shouts of thought 
 less yet innocent and happy childhood; the howling and 
 barking of innumerable dogs, and the tinkling of the pony- 
 bells of every tone imaginable, in all of which dissonance was 
 a prominent feature, was heard for miles away through the 
 surrounding forests, echoing a wild, discordant note, more 
 incomprehensible than the united voices of a thousand of the 
 different denizens of the wilderness, of w r hich no one, who 
 
204 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 has not been an eye witness, can form even the most remote 
 conception. If alone in the silent gloom of the wilderness, 
 the boldest heart would quail, and the strongest nerve relax, 
 unless the course and meaning- were known and understood; 
 for he could but believe that all the lost spirits of the lower 
 world had left their dark and dismal abodes, ascended to 
 earth, and, in one mystic concert, brayed the fearful discord. 
 More than once have I witnessed the scene and heard the 
 Availing thereof. Oft, in the calm still hours of a starry night, 
 have I heard the dubious tones of a distant Choctaw Indian 
 cry, and as the disconnected sounds, borne upon the night 
 breeze, floated by in undulating tones, now plainly audible, 
 then dying away in the distance, I must confess there was a 
 strange sadness awakened in my breast, unfelt and unknown 
 before or since. It must be heard to be comprehended. 
 When the time for the cry had expired, the mourning was 
 exchanged for a previously prepared feast; after the enjoy 
 ments afforded in the participation of which, all joined in a 
 jolly dance; thus happily restoring the equilibrium so long 
 physically and mentally disturbed. Then each to his home 
 returned, while the name of the departed was recorded 
 among the archives of the past, to be mentioned no more. 
 
 The relatives of the deceased, who lived at too great a 
 distance to conveniently to cry over the grave of the dead 
 set up a post a short distance from the house, around which 
 they gathered and cried alternately during a period of 
 twelve months. Such were some of the ancient characteris 
 tics of this peculiar but interesting people of the long ago, 
 most of which, however, have long since been abandoned and 
 numbered with the things of yore. 
 
 The faces of the-Choctaw and Chickasaw men of sixty 
 years ago were as smooth as a woman s, in fact they had no 
 beard. Sometimes there might be seen a few tine hairs (if 
 hairs they might be called) here and there upon the face, 
 but they were few and far between, and extracted with a 
 pair of small tweezers whenever discovered. Oft have I seen 
 a Choctaw warrior standing before a mirror seek ng with 
 untiring perseverance and unwearied eyes, as he turned his 
 face at different angles to the glass, if by chance a hair could 
 be found lurking there, which, if discovered, was instantly 
 removed as an unwelcome intruder. Even to-day, a full- 
 blood Choctaw or Chickasaw with a heavy beard is never 
 seen. I have seen a few, here and there, with a little patch 
 of beard upon their chins, but it was thin and short, and 
 with good reasons to suspect that white blood flowed in their 
 veins. 
 
 It is a truth but little known .among the whites, that the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 205 
 
 North American Indians of untarnished blood have no hair 
 upon any part of the^body except the head. My knowledge 
 of this peculiarity was confined,* however, to the Choctaws 
 and Chickasaws alone. But in conversation with an aged 
 Choctaw friend upon this subject, and inquiring" if this 
 peculiarity extended to all Indians, he replied; "To all, I 
 believe. I have been among- the Comanches, Kiowa s and 
 other western Indians, and have often seen them bathing, 
 men and women, promiscuously together, in the rivers of 
 their country, and found it was the same with them, their 
 heads alone were adorned with hair." 
 
 In conversation soon after with a Creek friend upon the 
 subject in regard to the full-blood Creeks, he said, "They have 
 no hair whatever upon the body, except that of the head, and 
 the same is the case with all full-bloods that I have seen of 
 other tribes." It is also the testimony^of all the early ex 
 plorers of this continent. 
 
 In their ancient councils and great national assemblies, 
 the Choctaws always observed the utmost order arid decorum, 
 which, however, is universally characteristic of the Indians 
 everywhere. In those grave and imposing deliberations of 
 years ag-o convened at night, all sat on the ground in a circle 
 around a blazing fire called "The Council Fire." The aged, 
 who from decrepitude had long retired from the scenes of 
 active life, the war-path and the chase, formed the inner 
 circle; the middle aged warriors, the next and the young 
 warriors, the outer circle. The women and children were 
 always excluded from all their national assemblies. The old 
 men, beginning with the oldest patriarch, would then in 
 regular succession state to the attentive audience all that had 
 been told them by their fathers, and what they themselves 
 had learned in the experience of an eventful life the past 
 history of their nation; their vicissitudes and changes; what 
 difficulties they had encountered, and how overcome; their 
 various successes in war and their defeats; the character and 
 kind of enemies whom they had defeated and by whom they 
 had been defeated, the mighty deeds of their renowned 
 chiefs and famous warriors in days past, together with their 
 own achivements both in war and the chase; their nation s 
 days of prosperity and adversity; in short; all of their tradi 
 tions and legends handed down to them through : the suc 
 cessive generations of ages past; and when those old seers 
 and patriarchs, oracles of the past, had in their turn gone to 
 dwell with their fathers in the Spirit Land, and their voices 
 were no longer heard in wise counsel, the next oldest 
 occupied the chairs of state, and in turn rehearsed to their 
 young braves the traditions of the past, as related to them 
 
206 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 by the former sages of their tribe, together with their own 
 knowledge; and thus were handed down through a long line 
 of successive generations, and with much accuracy and 
 truth, the events of their past history; and when we consider 
 the extent to which all Indians cultivated that one faculty, 
 memory, their connections in the history of the past is not 
 so astonishing. I will here relate a little incident (frequently 
 published) in the life of the famous Indian chief, Red Jacket, 
 as an evidence of strength and correctness of the Indian s 
 memory. It is said of Red Jacket, that he never forgot any 
 thing he once learned. On a certain occasion, a dispute 
 arose in a council with his tribe and the whites, concerning 
 the stipulations made and agreed upon in a certain treaty. 
 "You have forgotten," said the agent, "we have it written on 
 paper." "The paper then tells a lie," replied Red Jacket. 
 "I have it. written down here," he added, placing his hand 
 with great dignity on his brow. "This is the book the Great 
 Spirit has given the Indian; it does not lie." A reference 
 was immediately made to the treaty in question, when, to the 
 astonishment of all present, the document confirmed every 
 word the unlettered warrior and statesman had utttered. 
 There can be little doubt but that a large majority of their 
 traditions are based upon truth; though passing as they have 
 through so long a period of time, it is reasonable to suppose 
 that many errors have crept in. 
 
 But one has given his opinion, on page 92 of his "History 
 of the Indian Tribes of North America," in the following 
 positive and presumptuous assertion, though his apparent 
 ignorance of all the characteristics (well known to the thous 
 ands of the White Race who have lived among them and 
 studied them a long life-time) of the North American Indians 
 so plainly manifested throughout his entire work, entitles 
 his assumed learned opinion regarding the truth or untruth 
 of the traditions of the North American Indians, or anything 
 else concerning that people, to but little, if any, credit. He 
 boldly asserts, with a seemingly great indifference as re 
 gards its truth, that "Nothing can be more uncertain, and 
 more unworthy, we will not say of credit, but of consid 
 eration, than their (the Indians ) earlier traditions; and 
 probably there is not a single fact in all their history, sup 
 ported by satisfactory evidence, which occurred half a cen 
 tury previous to the establishment of the Europeans." 
 Though all admit that the voices of tradition coming from 
 all Nations even from our own ancestors, the Britons are 
 enshrouded, to a greater or less extent, in dense and dubious 
 fogs, and become more dim and distant as we go further 
 .back into the past. Yet that does not necessarily bring even 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 207 
 
 -the traditions of the North American Indians under his edict, 
 "Nothing can be more uncertain, and more unworthy, we 
 will not say of credit, but of consideration, than their tra 
 ditions, "as here comes to our aid modern Oriental Discovery, 
 with records engraven on rocks and stamped on bricks 
 records contemporary with the events, and in all cases inde 
 pendent of the modern authority since the records have 
 been hidden from the eyes of both the believer and disbe 
 liever. Inscriptions are disclosed, in languages now dead, 
 in characters long- forgotten, and to which every key had 
 been apparently lost. Ancient cities and countries, Thebes, 
 Ninevah, Pompeii, Balbee, Babylon, Jerusalem and Egypt 
 rise to testify and confirm the credit of many of tne tra- 
 ditons, fables and legends of the Old World. And so also, 
 from the buried past of the New World, hundreds of wit 
 nesses have already been summoned, and are still being 
 summoned, that confirm the credit of the traditions and 
 legends of the North American Indians, and to which they 
 pointed back through the long vista of ages past, ere the 
 Indians were known to the White Race, and give the merited 
 contradiction to the assertion that their traditions "merit 
 not even consideration." 
 
 An ancient Choctaw tradition attributes the origin of the 
 prairies along the western banks of the Tombigbee River, to 
 some huge animals (mammoths) that existed there at the 
 advent of their ancestors from the west to Mississippi. 
 Their tradition also states that the Nahullo, (Supernatural) 
 a race of giant people, also inhabited the same country, 
 with whom their forefathers oft came in hostile contact. 
 These mighty animals broke off the low limbs of the trees in 
 eating the leaves, and also gnawed" the bark off the trees, 
 which, in the course of time, caused them to wither and die; 
 that they roamed in different bands, which engaged in des 
 perate battles whenever and wherever they met, and thus 
 caused them to rapidly decrease in numbers; and that, in the 
 course of years all had perished but two large males, who, 
 separate and alone, wandered about for several years each 
 confining himself to the solitude of the forest many miles 
 from the other. Finally, in their wanderings they met, and 
 at once engaged in terrible conflict in which one was killed. 
 The survivor, now monarch of the forests, strolled about for 
 a fewxyears wrapt in the solitude of his own reflections and 
 independence then died, and with him the race became 
 extinct. 
 
 That the Choctaw traditions of both the mammoth and 
 great men, was based on truth as to their former existence^ 
 .in the southern and western parts of this continent is satis^ 
 
208 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 factorily established by the many mammoth skeletons of 
 both men and beasts and fragments of huge bones that have 
 been, and are continually being" found in different parts of 
 the country, and all of whom, according- to their tradition 
 were contemporary with the ancient fathers of the present 
 Indian race. It is "well known that the ancient existence of 
 those giants and mammoth was wholly unknown to the 
 White Race, until the excavation of their bones proved their 
 former existence; yet were known to the Indians to have 
 existed and so declared; but which was regarded by the 
 whites as only an Indian fable, unworthy of belief or even a 
 second thought. A huge skeleton of one of those ancient 
 animals was found in March, 1877, four miles east of the 
 town of Greenville, Hunt county, Texas. I secured a frag 
 ment of the skeleton, evidently a part of the femoral bone, 
 which measured twenty-one inches in circumference. A 
 tooth measured three inches in width, five inches in length 
 along the surface of the jaw bone and five inches in depth 
 into the jaw, and weighed the seemingly incredible weight 
 of eleven pounds. The teeth proved the monster herbifer- 
 ous, the anamel of which was in a perfect -state of preserva 
 tion. The greater part of the frame crumbled to dust, as 
 soon as exposed to the action of the air. 
 
 Here then it had found a burial place, among- others of 
 the prehistoric population of the various animals which held 
 possession of this continent before, perhaps, tlie advent of 
 man, rising up before us like some old granite dome, weather- 
 beaten and darkened by the lapse of ages past. But death 
 came to it, as to its predecessors, whose cemeteries time has 
 opened here and there, and revealed to the scrutiny of the 
 curious, the testimony of vanished age . Many citizens of the 
 immediate neighborhood visited the place of disinterment, 
 and viewed the solitary grave and looked with wondering in 
 terest upon this stranger of hoary antiquity arising- from his 
 forest tomb where he has so long slept in silence, unknown 
 and unsung; whose history, as that of his mighty race, is 
 wrapt in the eternal silence of the unknown past. Yet, to 
 one who seeks to muse o er the mysteries of the unwritten 
 long ago, this fossil tells a story of the mystic days of yore 
 and of the multiplied thousands of years since old Mother 
 Earth commenced to bear and then destroy her children. 
 
 Ah, could the records of the ages to which they point be 
 restored, how many doubts and problems would be solved? 
 But they only tantalize us by their near approach and uddi- 
 minished inscrutableness, while imagination shrinks from 
 the comtemplation of the intervening- years between. Yet, 
 from those relics of the ages past, an unlimited field for the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 209 
 
 imagination is open to view, which many thinkers have 
 attempted to explore only to find themselves utterly lost. 
 
 "Hupimmi hattak tikba a mintih hushi aiokatula" (our 
 , forefathers came from the west), declare the ancient Choc- 
 taws through their tradition, and "they saw the mighty 
 beasts of the forests, whose tread shook the earth; but our 
 forefathers ancestry came from the northwest beyond the 
 the big water." 
 
 "Tis but the tradition of the ignorant Indian a foolish 
 fable," responded he of the pale-face, of boasted historical 
 attainments- When lo! accident unearths the long hidden 
 monster of traditional record, and the truth of the rejected 
 declaration of the despised Indian is established, and 
 with equal truth establishing the fact that, mid all 
 our boasted ancient pedigree, theirs is more ancient, and 
 perhaps more honorable, reaching back through the vista of 
 pre-historic times to the" dim and hazy regions of ages past 
 and unknown. 
 
 Also of the tradition of the Choctaws which told of a race 
 of giants that once inhabited the now State of Tennessee, 
 and with whom their ancestors fought when they arrived in 
 Mississippi in their migration from the west, doubtless Old 
 Mexico. Their tradition states the Nahullo (race of giants) 
 was of wonderful stature; but, as their tradition of the mas 
 todon, so this was also considered to be but a foolish 
 fable, the creature of a wild imagination, when lo! their 
 exhumed bones again prove the truth of the Choctaws tradi 
 tion. In the fall of 1880, Mr. William Bevtrly, an old gentle 
 man 84 years of age living near Piano, Collin County, Texas, 
 and who was born in west Tennessee and there live d to man 
 hood, stated to me that near his father s house on a small 
 creek were twenty-one mounds in consecutive order forming 
 a crescent, each distant from the other about fifty feet 
 ~and each with a base of seventy-five or eighty feet in 
 diameter, and rising to an average height of forty feet; that 
 he, when a boy twelve years of age, was present with his 
 father, when an excavation was made in one of the moundjTin 
 which human bones of enormous size were found, the femoral 
 bones being five inches longer than the ordinary length, and 
 the jaw bones were so large as to slip over the face of a man 
 with ease. This statement was confirmed by Rev. Mr. 
 Rudolph of McKinney, Texas, and several others, all men of 
 undoubted veracity, which places the truth of the former 
 existence of the mounds, their excavations and results, as 
 well as the Choctaw tradition, beyond all doubt and even 
 controversy. 
 
 In regard to the race of giants that 1 once occupied the 
 
210 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 now State of Tennessee and mentioned in the tradition of the 
 ancient Choctaws, Mr. H. S. Halbert, an esteemed friend, 
 says in a letter to me, January 22, 1878, "I will give you some 
 facts which modern researches have thrown upon the 
 ancient occupancy of this continent, on the Atlantic seaboard 
 of\the United States stretching- from the coast of North 
 Carolina up to and through New England. I refer particu 
 larly to the seaboard . 
 
 "I am satisfied that the Indian race were in occupancy of 
 this seaboard region only about 200 years before the discov 
 ery of America in 1492, I give the reasons: 
 
 -1* About the year 1000, A. D. (I quote the date from 
 memory, not having the authories before me) the Northmen 
 discovered America and made some settlements on the New 
 England coast. All this, as you know, is historical. The 
 Northmen there came in contact with a people whom they 
 called Skrellings. Now these Skrellings, from the descrip 
 tion given by them were not Indians, but Esquimaux. They 
 were the same kind of people the Northmen had previously 
 met in Greenland and whom they called also Skrellings, or 
 rather Skraellinger. This is plain proof that 500 years be 
 fore Columbus, the Esquimaux race was inhabiting the sea 
 board of New England and not the Indians. 
 
 "Again, the Tuscarora Indians, now living in Canada, 
 but formerly from North Carolina, state in their traditions 
 that they came from the west and settled on the North Caro 
 lina seaboard about the year A. D. 1300. Their traditions 
 also state that they came in contact with a people of short 
 steiture, ignorant of maize and eaters of raw flesh. 
 
 "Now to whom does this description apply but to the 
 Esquimaux? Thirdly, relics have been discovered imple 
 ments of various kinds, along the seaboard exactly similar to 
 those used by the Esquimaux of the present day. All this 
 is plain proof to my mind, that the Esquimaux once inhabited 
 the Atlantic seaboard as far south as North Carolina, and 
 that they were pushed northward by the influx of the incom 
 ing Indian tribes; and that- the Indian had not been settled 
 but for comparatively a short period in this seaboard at the 
 time of Columbus discovery. The Mound Builders seemed 
 to have never occupied this seaboard stretching from North 
 Carolina upward. Now as to the Delaware tradition. 
 
 "The Delawares, or Leni L/enape as thev style them 
 selves in their native tongue, have a tradition that they came 
 from the west. When they came to the Great River, 
 perhaps, somewhere in the latitude of St. Louis, they 
 found a people of tall stature, and living- in towns. This 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 211 
 
 people the Delawares called Allegewi. They asked 
 the Allegewi for permission to cross the river, which was 
 granted. The Alleg-ewi, however, seeing the Indians con 
 stantly coming from the west in such large numbers, 
 and fearing they would ultimately dispossess them of their 
 country, commenced war upon them. After years of fight 
 ing, the Allegewi were defeated and driven out of their 
 country retreating southward, and the Delawares and other 
 tribes took possession of their country. Now these Allegewi 
 are without doubt the same stock of people spoken of in Choc- 
 taw tradition as the Nahoolo." 
 
 The word Nahoolo is a corruption of the Choctaw word 
 Nahullo and is now applied to the entire White Race, but 
 anciently it referred to a giant race with whom they came in 
 contact when they first crossed the Mississippi river. These 
 giants, says their tradition, as related to the missionaries 
 occupied the northern part of the now States of Mississippi 
 and Alabama and the western part of Tennessee. The true 
 signification of the word Nahullo is a superhuman or super 
 natural being, and the true words for white man are Hattak- 
 tohbi. The Nahullo were of white complexion, according to 
 Choctaw tradition, and were still an existing people at the 
 time of the advent of the Choctaws to Mississippi; that they 
 were a hunting people and also cannibals, who killed and 
 ate the Indians whenever they could capture them, conse 
 quently the Nahullo were held in great dread by the Indians 
 and were killed by them whenever an opportunity was 
 presented; by what means they finally became extinct, tradi 
 tion is silent. 
 
 "Chemical analysis of the bones of this giant race in 
 Tennessee and elsewhere," says Mr. H. S. Halbert, in a 
 letter of January 3rd, 1878, "indicate the ravages of one of 
 the most terrible diseases to which flesh is heir. Bones ex 
 humed from these ancient cemeteries indicate with painful 
 certainty that syphilis was, at least, one cause of the extinct 
 ion of this ancient people. 1 It was long supposed that syph 
 ilis was imported into this continent by the European race. 
 That may have been the case, in the historical period, but I 
 have no doubt it prevailed with awful fatality among that 
 ancient people, who -dominated a large portion of this 
 continent before the advent of the Indian race. - 
 
 "Mr. Grant L/incicum, (Dr. Gideon Lincicum, with whom 
 I was personally acquainted, was an educated white man, 
 who came to the Choctaw Nation after the advent of the mis 
 sionaries, and settled at Columbus, then a small place, and 
 afterwards wrote a MS. of the Choctaw habits, customs, 
 traditions and legends, which has been lost) "stated that 
 
212 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 they (the Mound Builders) were, according- to the Choctaw 
 tradition, a hunting- people. He certainly must be in error 
 on this point. (Not so; Lincicum used the pronoun "they" 
 with reference to the Nahullo, and not to the Mound Build 
 ers, of whom their traditions never spoke). Now I believe 
 that the Mound Builders were of much fairer complexion 
 than the Indian, perhaps almost, if not quite, as fair as we, 
 and were an agricultural people also. Disease and war no 
 doubt were the main causes of their extinction. Detached 
 oifsliODts of them may have amalgamated with the Indian 
 tribes, and thus lost their physical peculiarities, but at the 
 same time kept up with their tribal organization. The Man- 
 dan Indians (now extinct) are supposed to have been a de- 
 g-enerate and amalgamated offshoot of the Mound Builders,. 
 ln--their manners and customs they were strikingly differen. 
 from the other Indians. I have no doubt but the researches 
 of antiquarians in some manner, to us yet unknown, will 
 throw much light upon the early occupants of this con 
 tinent." 
 
 Be that as it may, I still believe in the Choctaw traditions 
 that the Nahulio who inhabited North Mississippi and Ala 
 bama, and West Tennessee, were "a hunting people," as 
 they have left no trace whatever of having been agricultur 
 ists, ad the unbroken forests of majestic trees of ages 
 growth, that covered the land everywhere at the advent the 
 of the Europeans, evidently prove. 
 
 Still I admit, with friend Halbert, that, possibly the Al- 
 legewi of Delaware tradition may be the Nahulio of Choctaw 
 tradition, if they were of white complexion, as the word 
 Nahulio is emphatically applied to the white race and no 
 other. If white, may they not be of the Northmen, who, it 
 is said, established a few colonies upon the Atlantic coast 
 A. D. 1000. ?" Then, if the North American Indians are not 
 the Mound builders, (which has not yet been satisfactorily 
 proved) may not the Northmen be? 
 
 Some hate believed that the Nahulio were the Carib 
 Indians, as they were said to be of gigantic stature and also 
 cannibals, and who once inhabited our Gulf coast. The} 
 were found by Columbus in the West Indies, and they are 
 still found in the isles of the Caribbean sea and Venezuela. 
 The early French writers of Louisiana called the Caribs by 
 their Indian name Attakapas, and Attakapas Parish in Louis 
 iana took its name from that tribe. The French translated 
 Attakapas, Man-eater. Attakapas is a corruption of the 
 Choctaw words Hattakapa, (man eatable) which they (the 
 French), no doubt, got from the Choctows, who gave the 
 tribe that name. I am inclined to believe that the Nahulio 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 213 
 
 4 
 
 of the Choctaw tradition were not regular cannibals, but that 
 they sacrificed human victims in their religious ceremonies, 
 which in extreme cases may, perhaps, have required their 
 officiates to eat a portion also of the victim s flesh. The same 
 also of the Caribs, hence Hattakapa, (man eatable) instead 
 of Hattakupa, eater. 
 
 That the fore-fathers of the present Choctaws, Chicka- 
 saw r s, Cherokees and Muscogees migrated ag-es ago from 
 Mexico to their ancien^abodes east of the Mississippi river 
 there can be scarcely a doubt; and that they were a branch 
 of the Aztecs there is much in their ancient traditions and 
 leg ends upon which to predicate, at least, a reasonable sup 
 position, if not a belief. The Aztecs are regarded by some 
 as x the first of the human race that came to the North Amer 
 ican continent, and by others as one of the oldest races of the 
 human family upon earth, whose records and traditions point 
 back to those of the books of Genseis and Job . Though 
 the historical legends of the above named tribes do not divide 
 the ages past of their race into four epochs as the Aztecs, as 
 GamV Dom Yasco Da, the Portuguese mariner and discov 
 erer of the maritime route to India near the close of the 14th 
 century, asserts; and the first of which terminated in a de 
 struction of the people of the world by famine, the second by 
 wind, the third by fire, and the fourth by water, (very simi 
 lar to the traditions and legends of the Hindoos), yet they do 
 point back to many historical facts of the Christian s Bible, 
 which have been handed dow r ii by tradition through ages and 
 point to great and important events of the long past, equally 
 showing that their race, as well as the Aztecs, are among 
 the oldest of the human race, and also among the first that 
 came to the North American continent. These legends, 
 traditions and parts of histories point back to pestilences, 
 . plagues and cataclysms preceded by long periods of dark 
 ness, then dense clouds followed by the return of light to the 
 earth, during which the human race was nearly exterminated, 
 which are fully sustained by the geologists of the present 
 clay, who affirm that there has been an age of thick clouds 
 and of floods, snows and glacier ice. 
 
 The Choctaws endurance of pain even to excruciating 
 torture and to him the true exponent of every manly virtue, 
 was equal to that of any of his race and truly astonishing to 
 behold; and he who could endure the severest torture 7 with 
 the least outward manifestation of suffering, was regarded 
 by his companions as .most worthy of admiration and adula 
 tory praise, the bravest of the brave. No race of the human 
 family, of which I have read or heard, ever endured turture, 
 without a murmur, groan^or sigh, as did the North Ameri- 
 
214 .. HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 can Indians when inflicted by an enemy to elicit a groan or 
 sigh to them a manifestation of disgraceful weakness; 
 therefore, both men and women, endured the fire at the 
 stake, or to be cut to pieces by piece-meal, without any mani 
 festation of pain whatever; but derided their tormentors and 
 mocked at their efforts to force even a groan from their vic 
 tim. Of all the animals of their forests, there were but two 
 that no torture could force from them a manifestation of pain 
 the wolfe and the opossum: 
 
 Even the little Choctaw boys took delight in testing the 
 degrees of their manhood by various ways of inflicting" pain.. 
 I have often seen the little fellows stir up the nests of yellow 
 jackets, bumble-bees, hornets and wasps, and then stand 
 over the nests of the enraged insects which soon literally 
 covered them, and fight them with a switch in each hand; 
 and he who stood and fought longest without flinching fore 
 shadowed the future man was worthy the appellation of 
 Mighty Warrior. But the business ends of the hornets,, 
 bees and wasps, noted for their dispatch in all matters of 
 this kind, universally effected a hasty retreat of the intrtider 
 upon their domiciles, sooner or later much to the delight of 
 his youthful companions and acknowledged by an explosion 
 of yells and roars of laughter. But the discomfitted embryo 
 warrior consoled himself by daring- any one of his merry 
 making companions to "brave the lion in his den," as he had 
 and endure longer than he did the combined attacks of the 
 valiant little enemy. The challenge was most sure to be ac 
 cepted, but invariably with the same result, a retreat at the 
 expense of a hearty laugh. From one to three minutes was 
 the average length of a battle, the insects holding the field 
 invariably. I have also seen them place a hot coal of fire on 
 the back of the hand, wrist and arm, and let it burn for 
 many seconds bearing it with calm composure and without 
 the least manifestation of pain; thus practicing those first 
 lessons of endurance which were to enable them, when ar 
 rived to manhood, to undergo the most dreadful tortures 
 without manifestation of pain, or experience the deepest 
 sorrow without the slightest emotion. Verily, who can offer 
 a better claim than the North American Indian to the title, 
 "The stoic of the woods the man without a tear?" As a 
 race of people, they have exhibited a power of enduring the 
 severest torture of which it is possible to conceive without a 
 murmur, without a groan, or even the movement of a mus 
 cle; in this differing from all Nations of people that have ever 
 been known to exist. A few years ago, in the Sherman and 
 Sheridan s wars of exterminating- the unfortunate and help 
 less western Indians, it is stated that, during a fight with 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 215 
 
 y 9 
 
 some white men. who had made an attack upon an Indian vil 
 lage of a western tribe, an Indian mother concealed her little 
 daughter a mere child in a barrel, telling her to remain 
 perfectly quiet no matter what should take place. After the 
 battle the soldiers found the little girl with her arm fearfully 
 shattered by a minnie ball, but the little sufferer had not 
 uttered a word. Was there ever recorded of any other Na 
 tion of people such manifestations of heroic fortitude? 
 
 Patience was also considered among the Choctaws a 
 bright and manly virtue and in connection with that of en 
 durance, formed the basis from which they derived all the 
 other qualities of their characters; and they estimated their 
 success, both in war and hunting, as depending almost *ex- 
 clusively upon their unwearied patience and the ability of 
 great and long endurance. 
 
 The ancient Choctaws were as susceptible to all the 
 pleasing emotions produced by the sweet concords of sound 
 as any other people, yet their musical genius, in the inven 
 tion of musical instruments, never extended beyond that of 
 a cane flute and a small drum, which was constructed from 
 a section cut from a small hollow tree, over the hollow part 
 of which was stretched a fresh deer skin, cleansed from the 
 hair, which became very tight when dried; and when struck 
 by a stick made a dull sound, little inferior to that of our 
 common snare-drum; which could be heard at a considerable 
 distance; and though uncouth in appearance, and inharmo 
 nious in tone, as all drums, still its "voice" was considered 
 an indispensable adjunct as an accompaniment to all their 
 national and religious ceremonies; even as the ear-spl? Iting 
 discords of the- civilized snare or kettle-drum, united with 
 the deafening roar of the base drum are considered by the 
 white man as indispensable in all his displays of harmonj . 
 Yet the ancient Choctaw, in all his solemn ceremonies, as 
 well as amusements and merry-makings, did not depend so 
 much upon the jarring tones of the diminutive drum, as he 
 did upon his own voice; which in concert with the monoto- 
 ,nous tones of the drum, to the cultivated and sensitive ear 
 a mere jargon of sound, was to the Indian ear the most ex 
 citing music, and soon wrought him to the highest state of 
 excitement. In all their dances they invariably danced to 
 the sound of the indispensable drum, accompanied with the 
 low hum of the drummer, keeping exact step with its mo 
 notonous tone. In the social dance alone were the women 
 permitted to participate, which to the youthful maiden of 
 "sweet sixteen," was truly the ultimatum of earthly bliss. 
 
 But little restraint, parental or otherwise, was placed 
 upon their children, hence they indulged in any and all 
 
216 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 i , * 
 
 amusements their fancy might suggest. The boys in little 
 bands roamed from village to village at their own pleasure, 
 or strolled through the woods with their blow-guns and bow 
 and arrows, trying their skill upon all birds and squirrels 
 that were so unfortunate as to come in their way. They were 
 but little acquainted with the principles of right and wrong, 
 having only as their models the daring deeds of their fathers 
 in war and the chase, they only yearned for the time when 
 they might emulate them in heroic achievements ; and one 
 would very naturally infer that these boys, ignorant of all 
 restraint from youth to manhood, would have been, when 
 arrived to manhood, a set of desperadoes, indulging in every 
 vi<?e and committing every crime. But not so. No race of 
 young people ever grew up to manhood in any nation who 
 were of a more quiet nature and peaceful dispositions than 
 the youths of the old Mississippi Choctaws. They seldom 
 quarreled among themselves even in boyhood, and less, when 
 arrived to the state of manhood. To them in youth as well 
 as in advanced years, as to all of their race, the dearest of all 
 their earthly possessions from childhood to manhood, from 
 manhood to old age, and from old age to the grave, was their 
 entire and unrestrained freedom; and though untrammeled by 
 mortal restraint, yet there seemed to exist in their own 
 breasts a restraining influence, a counteracting power, that 
 checked the ungoverned passions of their uncultivated na 
 tures through life, and kept them more within the bounds of 
 prudence and reason, than any race of uneducated people I 
 ever knew. 
 
 Among- every North American Indian tribe from their 
 earliest known history down to the present, -there was and is 
 a universal belief in the existence of a God, and Supreme 
 Being, universally known among- all Indians as the Great 
 Spirit; and with whose attributes were associated all the 
 various manifestations of. natural phenomena; and in point of 
 due respect and true devotion to this Great Spirit their 
 acknowledged God they as a whole to-day excel, and ever 
 have excelled, the whites in their due respect and true devo 
 tion to their acknowledged God. Never was an Indian known 
 to deny the existence of his God the Great Spirit and 
 attribute the creation of all things, himself included, to 
 chance. Never was a North American Indian known to deny 
 the wisdom and power of the Great Spirit as manifested iii 
 the creation of an intellectual and immortal being, yet found 
 and acknowledged it in the monkey. 
 
 Never was an Indian known to deny his immortality 
 bestowed upon him by the Great Spirit. " Immortality, that 
 most sublime thought in all the annals of fallen humanity, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 has ever found a resting place immovably fixed in every 
 Indian s heart, not one excepted;andunderitsbenigninfluence, 
 their uncultivated minds have expanded and shadows of 
 death been disarmed o.f terror; and though, through all the 
 ages past has been heard the inquiry "Is there a latent 
 spark in the human breast that will kindle and glow after 
 death?" and though earth s learned of all time have pondered 
 over it, and pronounced it the world s enigma, and affirmed 
 and still affirm, death to be the end of all, eternal oblivion, an 
 endless sleep, yet the unlettered children of nature, the 
 despised, down-trodden Indians, have lo ng had the problem 
 solved to their own satisfaction and peace of mind, never 
 experiencing- a doubt. 
 
 To the Choctaws, as well as to all Indians, the voice of 
 the distant muttering thunder that echoed from hill to hill 
 through their wide extended forests; the roaring wind and 
 lightning flash that heralded the approaching storm, were 
 but the voice of that Great Spirit, and they made them the 
 themes that filled their souls with song and praise. They 
 ever heard the voice of that unseen Great Spirit throughout 
 .all nature in the rustling leaf and the sighing breeze; in the 
 roaring cataract and the murmuring brook; and they ex 
 pressed their souls adoration; understood and comprehend 
 ed by them alone, in their songs and dances. To them all 
 nature ever spoke in lang uage most potential, and their im 
 mortality and future existence in another world they never 
 doubted, though their ideas of future rewards and punish 
 ments beyond the tomb were feeble and confused. 
 
 It was their ancient custom to leave the murderer in the 
 hands of the murdered man s relatives and friends; and, .as 
 "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" was recorded 
 .upon their statute book, he was, sooner or later, most sure to 
 fall by an unknown. "and unseen hand. Sometimes, however, 
 the slayer, appeased the avenger by paying a stipulated 
 amount; buk this was of rare x occurrence. Soon after the 
 missionarieiffcwere established among them, a company, of 
 armed ar:d ntounted police, called "Light Horse Men," .were 
 organized for - each district, in whom was vested the power 
 of arresting and trying all violators of the law. They were 
 continually riding over the country settling all difficulties 
 that arose among parties or individuals, and arresting all 
 violators of the law. The custom of leaving the murderer to 
 be disposed of as the relatives of the deceased saw proper, 
 was then set aside, and the right of trial by the Light Horse 
 who acted in a three fold capacity sheriff, judge and jury, 
 was awarded to all offenders. The Light Horse were com 
 posed of a brave and vigilant set of fellows, and nothing es- 
 
218 PISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 caped their eagle eyes; and they soon became a terror to 
 white whiskey peddlers who invaded the Choctaw territories 
 at that time. When caug ht, the whiskey was poured upon 
 the ground and the vender informed that his room was pre 
 ferable to his company. 
 
 When a murder was committed, the Light Horse at once 
 took the matter into consideration, and after hearing 1 all the 
 testimony pro and con, pronounced the verdict in accordance 
 thereto. If the person accused was found to be guilty, there 
 and then, the time and place of his execution was designated, 
 and the doomed man was informed that his presence would 
 accordingly be expected. He never failed to make his ap 
 pearance at the appointed place and hour, and all things be 
 ing ready, a small red spot was painted directly over his 
 heart as a target for the executioner; and, being placed in 
 position, calmly received the fatal bullet, soon the grave 
 closed over him and thus the matter ended. Sometimes the 
 condemned would request a short respite, a few days exten 
 sion of time, assigning as a reason for the desired delay, that 
 a grand ball-play, dance or hunt, was soon to take place, in 
 which he desired to participate, and as it did not take place 
 until after the appointed day of his execution, he requested 
 the favor of postponing his little affair until afterward. The 
 request was seldom refused. The doomed man then desig 
 nated the day and hour on which he would return and attend 
 to the matter under consideration. He went to the ball-play, 
 the dance, or the hunt, engaged in and enjoyed his anticipated 
 fun, then returned true to his, promised word and paid the 
 penalty of the violated law, by calmly receiving the fatal shot. 
 The rifle was invariably used as the instrument of execution, 
 for the soul of the Choctaw who had been executed by hang 
 ing was regarded as accursed never being permitted to 
 join his people in the happy hunting grounds, but his spirit 
 must forever haunt the place where he was hung. Hence 
 their horror of death by hanging, and the gallows has ever 
 been unknown among them. If the condemned-should fail to 
 appear, which was never known to be, at the time and place 
 of his execution, or should manifest any emotion of fear dur 
 ing his execution, it was regarded as a disgrace to himself, his 
 relatives, and his nation as a Choctaw warrior, which 110 length 
 of time could ever efface; hence their honor, resting upon 
 their firmness in the hour of death, was watched with jeal 
 ous care. Never was a full-blood Choctaw known to evade 
 the death penalty, passed upon him by the violated law, by 
 flight. If he violated the law he calmly abided the conse 
 quences, hence all places of imprisonment were unknown. 
 For minor offenses, whipping was the punishment; fifty 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 219 
 
 lashes for the first offense, one hundred for the second, and 
 death by the rifle for the third offense in case of theft, and 
 so it is today. 
 
 He who had been condemned to receive this punish 
 ment never attempted to evade it; but promptly presented 
 himself, or herself, at the designated place of punishment. 
 This punishment was inflicted several times at the mission 
 of Hebron, to which I was an eye witness. Before the hour 
 appointed, the neighborhood assembled around the church 
 which stood about forty rods distant from the mission-house, 
 where they indulged in social conversation and smoking; 
 never, however, mentioning, or even hinting the subject 
 which had brought them together. The culprit was as gay 
 and cheerful as any of them, walking with an air of perfect 
 indifference, chatting and smoking w r ith the various groups 
 sitting around on blankets spread upon the ground. Precisely 
 at the moment designated, the Light-Horse, -who constituted 
 a sort of ambulatory jury, to arrest, try and punish all 
 violators of the law, would appear. The crowd then went 
 into the church, closed the door and commenced singing a 
 religious hymn, taught them by the missionaries, which they 
 continued until the tragedy outside was over. At the same 
 time the culprit shouted "Sa mintih!" I have come! then 
 ejaculated u Sa kullo!" (I am strong!) He then elevated his 
 arms and turned his back to the executioner and said: "Fum- 
 mih! (whip). When he had received fifteen or twenty 
 blows, he calmly turned the other side to the Fum-mi /(one 
 who whips); and then again, his. back, uttering not a word 
 nor manifesting the least sign of pain. As soon as the 
 whipping was over, the church door was opened and the 
 whole assembly came out and shook hands with the "Fum- 
 ah" (whipped), thus reinstating him to his former position in 
 society, and the subject was then and there dropped, never 
 to be mentioned again, and it never was. 
 
 The Choctaws had great pride of, race. The warrior, s- 
 proudest boast was Choctaw Siah! (I am a Choctaw!) and he 
 still clings to it with commendable tenacity even as he does 
 to his native language. It has been said that no people have 
 been truly conquered who refuse to speak the language of 
 the conqueror; therefore the North American Indians, that 
 subdued, yet unsubduable people, have never ceased to speak 
 their native tongue. 
 
 The law on whipping for minor offenses, especially that 
 for theft, was, fifty lashes on the bare back for the first 
 offense; one hundred for the second, and death by the rifle 
 for the third. This law is still in force in the Choctaw Nation. 
 Truly, if the whites would adopt this method of dealing with 
 
220 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 \ 
 
 their own thieves, would there not be less stealing among" 
 them? 
 
 As an illustration of this peculiar characteristic of the 
 Indians so different from that of any race of whom I have 
 heard i. e., never fleeing from, or in any way attempting 
 to evade the penalties of the violated law, I here introduce 
 the sad scene in the execution of Chester Dixon, a Choctaw 
 youth convicted of murder at a term of the Circuit Court of 
 the Choctaw Nation in December, 1883. 
 
 Chester Dixon was a young, full-blood Choctaw 7 , about 17 
 years of age. He was subject to fits, during which he seem 
 ed to be unconscious of his acts. Aside from this malady, 
 he was considered rather a brig ht boy. He lived with his 
 mother and step-father, five or six miles from Atoka. Their 
 nearest neighbors were a Choctaw known as Washington and 
 Martha, his wife. One evening Washington, on his return 
 home from Atoka, was shocked in finding- the body of his 
 wife lying on the floor of his cabin fearfully mangled, the 
 head severed fronuthe body, with several frightful gashes, 
 evidently inflicted with an ax, which lay by the side of the 
 corpse. The alarm was given, and it was soon ascertained 
 that Chester Dixon was seen coming from the house, in 
 which the deed had been committed, covered with blood. 
 He was arrested, trie d by the Choctaw 7 law, condemned, and 
 sentenced to be shot on an appointed day, at noon. He was 
 neither, confined nor guarded, but went where he pleased, 
 having pledged his word of honor, however, that he would be 
 at the place of execution punctual to the hour appointed. 
 Here I would deviate a little from the subject, to show how 
 prone the whites are to misrepresent the Indians in nearly 
 everything they write about them; and it does seem that 
 they cannot write a half dozen words about this people with 
 out shamefully misrepresenting them. It seems incredible, 
 nevertheless it is true, as the thousands of publications that 
 flood the country prove. I saw an article in a Texas news 
 paper in regard to this very case of Chester Dixon, in which 
 the writer says: "The laws of the Choc taws provide for NO 
 APPKAL, or poor Chester s case might have been re-consider- 
 ed;for after his conviction he was attacked with one of his ac 
 customed fits, which was conclusive and satisfactory evidence 
 that he was subject \o temporary aberration, during \vhich 
 he was irresponsible for his actions. His attorney had neg 
 lected to make this plea in behalf of his client during the 
 trial, and once the sentence of death having been pronounced 
 it was unalterable." Now, the above is utterly false, and the 
 writer should learn to keep in respectful distance of the 
 truth, at least, before he attempts to write about the Choc- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 221 
 
 taws. The truth is, the laws of the Choctaws provide for 
 three appeals first from the County Court to the District 
 Court; thence to the Supreme Court; thence to the United 
 States Supreme Court. But to return to Chester Dixon. A 
 few days before the execution, Dixon came with his 
 step-father to Atoka for the purpose of ordering his coffin. 
 He had his measure taken for the grave, and then calmly 
 informed his step-father where he wished to be buried. 
 
 The day of execution came; and a few, mostly whites as 
 sembled at the place of execution to witness the sad scene. 
 The doomed boy did not make his appearance to within 
 twenty or thirty minutes of the appointed time/ and many of 
 the whites, judging- from their own standpoint, began to 
 doubt the integrity of the Choctaw, and expressed those 
 doubts one to another. But true to his plighted word, the 
 truthful youth soon rode up; and, dismounting" from his 
 horse, quietly walked up to a little group of Choctaws, who 
 were sitting around a fire, without taking any notice what 
 ever of the surroundings, and calmly took his seat upon the 
 ground, with his head bowed between his knees as if lost in 
 meditation. An aged Choctaw man soon approached him, 
 and, speaking to him in his own language, encouraged him to 
 bravely meet his fate as a young Choctaw brarve; and to die 
 willingly, since nothing- but his life could atone for the one 
 he had taken; and also to feel that his people had been just 
 in condemning" him. He spoke not a word nor raised his 
 head during his old friend s conversation; but at its conclu 
 sion he looked up and around for a moment, then grasped 
 the old man s hand, as if to say, I ll be firm, and he was to 
 the last. Then his Choctaw friends, both men and women 
 came up and bade him their last earthly adieu; with all of 
 whom he shook hands, but spoke not a word. After which, 
 the sheriff brought the unfortunate boy a change of clothing, 
 in which he clothed himself for the grave, without the least 
 discernible sign of agitation; he then took his seat on a 
 blanket spread for Jbim, and his mother combed his hair with 
 calm composure her last act of maternal love; and though, 
 with a heart bleeding at every pore, no outward manifesta 
 tion was made, yet her face told the storm of grief that raged 
 within; while, true to her nature, sh e clung to her boy to the 
 last moment, to console him with a mother s presence and 
 a mother s love. 
 
 The sheriff then told Chester that the hour of execution 
 had come. He arose at once and quietly walked to the spot 
 pointed out to him by the sheriff, and stopped facing his 
 coffin the personification of calm composure and firm resig 
 nation. His step-father and cousin then walked up, the 
 
222 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 former taking- him by the righthand and the latter by the left. 
 The same venerable old man who had first approached him, 
 again came forward and made a little black spot upon his 
 breast, just over the heart, and once more whispered a few^ 
 words of parting- encourag-emerit, then walked away. The 
 sheriff then bound a handkerchief over his eyes, asked him 
 to kneel, and beckoned to a man who had until then kept 
 himself concealed. This man was a cousin of Chester Dixon, 
 and had been chosen by Chester to do the shooting-. He now 
 advanced, and taking his position five or six paces from the 
 poor boy, leveled his Winchester rifle and fired. 
 The ball went to the mark. At the report of the rifle 
 Dixon fett forward, and died without a . struggle. The 
 mother now came forward took charg-e of the lifeless body of 
 her boy, and with the assistance of friends, laid it away in 
 the grave. No confusion nor even the semblance of excite 
 ment disturbed the solemn proceedings. And when con 
 trasted to the civilized mode of punishment that of hanging 
 the Choctaw method is certainly more humane and effec 
 tive, to say the least of it. 
 
 I will state another instance that took place among the 
 Choctaws when living in their ancient domains. 
 
 A Choctaw unfortunately killed another in a fit of pas 
 sion. He was duly tried, convicted, and sentenced to be 
 shot on a certain day; but requested a stay of the execution, 
 upon the plea that his wife and little children would be left 
 in a destitute condition unless he was allowed to return 
 home and finish making his brop. His request was granted 
 with no other assurance than his pledged word that he would 
 return and receive his death sentence. The day of execution 
 was fixed at a time when the crop would be matured, and 
 the doomed man returned to his home and family. The fatal 
 day came and found the necessary labor on the crop finished 
 and also the noble Choctaw at the appointed hour and place, 
 where he calmly received the fatal bullet which at once 
 closed his earthly career. 
 
 Thus sacred was held the noble virtue, Truth, among 
 the ancient Choctaws when they lived east of the Mississippi 
 river; and thus sacred is it still held among the full-bloods 
 west of the same river; and I have never known or heard of a 
 full-blood Choctaw or Chickasaw, during my personal ac 
 quaintance with that truly grand and noble people for seven 
 ty-five years, who violated his pledged word of honor by fail 
 ing to appear at the time and place designated, to suffer the 
 penalties of the violated law, be it death by the rifle or fifty 
 -or a hundred lashes at the whipping post. And truly it may 
 be said: No race of people ever adhered with greater ten- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 223 
 
 acity to truth, or the greater hatred for the falsehood, than did 
 and do the Choctaws. They truly abhorred and still abhor a 
 liar. Years before the advent of the missionaries among 
 them, one of their chiefs was strangely addicted to lying-; 
 and so great did their disgust finally become that they, in 
 council assembled, banished him "from their Nation under 
 pain of death if he ever returned. This exiled chief then 
 settled with his family in the now parish of Orleans, Louisi 
 ana, on a small tract of land which projects into lake Pontch- 
 artrain, and erected his lonely cabin near a bayou which is 
 connected with the lake. And to this day, that small tract 
 of land, it is said, is called Ho-lub-i Miko (Lying Chief), hav 
 ing taken its name from the exiled Choctaw chief. 
 
 The territories of the Choctaws in 1723, in which year 
 the seat of the French government in Louisiana, then under 
 Bienville, was definitely transferred from Natchez to New 
 Orleans, then containing about one hundred houses and three 
 thousand inhabitants, extended from the Mississippi River 
 to the Black Warrior, east: and from Lake Pontchartrain to 
 the territories of the Natchez, west, and Chickasaws, north. 
 They possessed upwards of sixty principal towns, and 
 could muster, as was estimated, twenty-five thousand war 
 riors. 
 
 The Choctaws called all fables Shukha Anump (hog 
 talk) as a mark of derision and contempt. Some of their 
 fables, handed down by tradition through unknown genera 
 tions, were similar in the morals- taught by x those of the 
 famous ^Esop. One of these Shukha Anumpas was that of 
 the turkey and the terrapin: A haughty turkey gobbler, 
 with long flowing beard and glossy feathers, meeting a ter 
 rapin one bright and beautiful spring morning, thus accos 
 ted him with an expression of great comtempt; "What are 
 you good for?" To which the terrapin humbly replied 
 "many things." "Name one," continued the turkey. "I 
 can beat you running," said the terrapin. "What nonsense!" 
 "I thought you were a fool, now I know it," continued the 
 turkey. 
 
 "I repeat it, I can beat you running, distance half a mile" 
 continued the terrapin. "To prove you are a fool in believ 
 ing such an absurdity, I ll run the race with you," responded 
 the turkey with marked disgust. The day was appointed, 
 the distance marked off, and the agreements entered into, 
 one of which was, the .terrapin was to run with a white 
 feather in his mouth by which the turkey might be able to 
 distinguish him from other terrapin; another was, the turkey 
 was to give the terrapin the advantage of one hundred yards 
 in the start. In the intervening time of the race, the wily 
 
224 ;. HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 terrapin secured the assistance of another terrapin to help 
 him out of his dilemma, and thereby establish the reputation 
 of the terrapin family in point of fleetness to the discomfiture 
 of the haughty turkey. Therefore, he secretly placed his 
 assistant, with the white insignia also in his mouth, at the 
 terminus to which the race was to be run. Early on the 
 morning of the day agreed upon, the competitiors were at 
 their posts the contemptuous turkey at the goal, and the 
 dispassionate terrapin a hundred yards on the line. The 
 turkey was to give the signal for starting by a loud gobble. 
 The signal was given, and the race was opened. The turkey 
 soon came up with the terrapin, who had gotten but a few 
 feet from his goal, and shouted derisively as he passed by 
 "What a fool!" 
 
 To which the terrapin ejaculated "Not as big as you 
 imagine." The confident turkey ran on about half way, and 
 then stopped and turned off a little distance to secure his 
 breakfast, but kept an eye on the track that the terrapin 
 might not pass unobserved. After feeding about some time 
 and not seeing any thing of the terrapin, he began to fear he 
 had passed him unobserved; therefore, he started again at 
 full speed; and not overtaking the terrapin as he expected, 
 he redoubled his exertions and reached the goal breathless, 
 but to find the terrapin with the white feather in his mouth 
 (his supposed opponent) already there, Moral. The scorn 
 ful are often outwitted by those upon whom they look with 
 contempt. 
 
 In estimating character, all the ancient Indians that once 
 lived east of the Mississippi river, if the statement of the 
 early writers and noble missionaries be true, and he, whose 
 incredulity would,make him doubt their statements is in 
 capable of believing any thing even his own senses regard 
 ed moral worth alone; The man must possess truth, honor, 
 patriotism, bravery, hospitality and virtue all of which 
 seemed intuitive to the minds and hearts of those North 
 American Indian s of the south. I know this will be regarded 
 by thousands of my own race as untenable ground. Never 
 theless, I speak of that I know obtained by a long life, 
 personal acquaintance with the Choctaws ami Chickasaws, 
 and the same acquaintance with different missionaries to the 
 Cherokees, Muscogees and Seminoles, all sustained by the 
 great philanthorpist Oglethorpe and the noted ministers of 
 the gospel John and Charles Wesley, and George Whitefield, 
 and their missionary successors sent out to the Indians by 
 the Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist churches; and more, 
 proving beyond doubt the susceptibility of the Noi>th Ameri 
 can Indians to easily become civilized and christianized. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 225 
 
 ^f In the disposition of their dead, the ancient Choctaws 
 practiced a strange method different from any other Nation 
 of people, perhaps, that ever existed. After the death of a 
 Choctaw, the corpse wrapped in a bear skin or rough kind 
 of covering- of their own manufacture, was laid out at full 
 length upon a high scaffold erected near the house of the 
 deceased, that it might be protected from the wild beasts of 
 the woods and the scavengers of the air. After the body 
 had remained upon the scaffold a sufficient time for the flesh 
 to have nearly or entirely decayed, the Hattak fullih nipi 
 foni. (Bone Picker) the principal official in their funeral cere 
 monies and especially appointed for that duty appeared 
 and informed the relatives of the deceased that he had now 
 come to perform the last sacred duties of his office to their 
 departed friend. Then, with the relatives and friends, he 
 marched with great solemnity of countenance to the scaffold 
 and. ascending which, began his awful duty of picking off the 
 flesh that still adhered to the bones, "with loud groans 
 and fearful grimaces, to which the friends below responded 
 in cries and wailings. 
 
 The Bone-Picker never trimmed the nails of his thumbs, 
 index and middle fingers which accordingly- grew to an as 
 tonishing length sharp and almost as hard as flint and well 
 adapted to the horrid business of their owner s calling. 
 After he had picked all the flesh from the bones, he then 
 tied it up in a bundle and carefully laid it upon a corner of 
 the scaffold; then gathering up the bones in his arms he de 
 scended and placed them in a previously prepared box, and 
 then applied fire to the scaffold, upon which the assembly 
 gazed uttering the most frantic cries and moans until it was 
 entirely consumed. Then forming a procession headed by 
 the Bone-Picker the box containing the bones was carried, 
 amid weeping and wailing, and deposited in a house erected 
 and consecrated to that purpose and called A-bo-ha fo-ni, 
 (Bone-house) with one of which all villages and towns were 
 supplied. Then all repaired to a previously prepared feast, 
 over which the Bone-Picker, in virtue of his office, presided 
 with much gravity and silent dignity. 
 
 As soon as the bone-houses of the neighboring villages 
 were filled, a general burial of the bones took place,"to which 
 funeral ceremony the people came from far and near, and, 
 in a long and imposing procession, with weeping and wailing 
 and loud lamentations of the women, bore off the boxes of 
 bones to their last place of rest, and there despositing them 
 in the form of a pyramid they were covered with earth three 
 or four feet in depth forming a conical mound. All then 
 
226 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 returned to a previously designated village and concluded 
 the day in feasting-. V.. 
 
 Thus many of the mounds found in Mississippi and 
 Alabama are but the cemeteries of the ancient Choctaws; 
 since, as often as the bone-houses became filled, the boxes of 
 bones were carried out to the same cemetery and deposited 
 on the previously made heap commencing- at the base and 
 ascending to the top, each deposit being covered up with 
 earth to the depth of three or four feet, and thus, by con 
 tinued accession through a long series of ages, became the 
 broad and high mounds, concerning which there has been so 
 much wild speculation with so little foundation for truth or 
 common sense. Even at the time the missionaries were 
 established among them (1818), many of the mounds were of 
 so recent date that not even bushes were growing upon them, 
 though the custom of thus laying away their dead had become 
 obsolete: still a few Bone-Pickers had survived the fall of 
 their calling, and were seen, here and there, wandering about 
 from village to village as ghosts of a departed age, with the 
 nails of the thumb, index and middle fingers still untrimmed, 
 and whose appearance indicated their earthly pilgrimage had 
 reached nearly to a century, some of whom I personally 
 knew. 
 
 Shortly before the advent of the missionaries, the cus 
 tom of placing the dead upon the scaffolds was abolished, 
 though not without much opposition; and that of burial in a 
 sitting posture was adopted, with also new funeral ceremon 
 ies, which were as follows: Seven men were appointed 
 whose duty it was to set up each a smooth pole (painted red) 
 around the newly made grave, six of which were about eight 
 feet high, and the seventh about fifteen, to which thirteen 
 hoops (made of grape vines) were suspended and so united 
 as to form a kind of ladder, while on its top a small white 
 flag was fastened. This ladder of hoops was for the easier 
 ascent of the spirit of the deceased to the top of the pole, 
 whence, the friends of the deceased believed, it took its final 
 departure to the spirit land. 
 
 They also believed that the spirits of the dead, after their 
 flight from the top of the pole to the unknown world, had to 
 cross a fearful river which stretched 1 its whirling waters 
 athwart their way; that this foaming stream has but one 
 crossing, at which a cleanly peeled sweet-gum log, perfectly 
 round, smooth and slippery, reached from bank to bank; 
 that the moment the spirit arrives at the log, it is attacked 
 by two other spirits whose business is to keep any and all 
 spirits from crossing thereon. But if a spirit is that of a 
 good person, the guardians of the log have no power over it, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 227 
 
 and it safely walks over the log to the opposite shore, where 
 it is welcomed by other spirits of friends gone before, 
 and where contentment and happiness will forever be the lot 
 of all. 
 
 But alas, when the spirit of a bad person arrives at the 
 log-crossing- of the fearful river, it also is assailed by the 
 ever wakeful guards, and as it attempts to walk the slippery 
 log they, push it off into the surging waters below, to be help 
 lessly borne down by the current to a cold and barren des 
 ert, where but little game abounds and over which he is 
 doomed to wander, a forlorn hope, naked, cold and hungry. 
 
 When a death was announced, which was made by the 
 firing of guns in quick succession, the whole village and sur 
 rounding neighborhood almost to a man assembled at 
 once at the home of the deceased, to console and mourn with 
 the bereaved. On the next day a procession was formed 
 headed by seven men called Fabussa Sholih (Pole-bearer), 
 each carrying on his shoulder a long, slender pole painted 
 red, and all slowly and in profound silence marched to the 
 grave, where the poles were at once firmly set up in the 
 ground three on each side of the grave, and one at the head, 
 on which thirteen hoops were suspended while on its top a 
 small white flag fluttered in the breeze. The corpse was 
 then carefully placed in its last earthly place of rest, the 
 grave filled up, and all returned to the former home of the 
 departed. They had specified cries at the grave of the de 
 ceased, which continued for thirteen moons. At the termi 
 nation of each cry, a hoop was taken off of the pole, and so 
 on until the last one was removed; then a grand funeral cere 
 mony was celebrated called Fabussa halut akuchchih, (pole 
 to pull down). And the manager of the pole-pulling was call 
 ed Hattak iti i miko, (their chief man); and the hunters sent 
 out to provide venison for the company on that occasion, 
 were called Hattak (man) illi (dead) chohpa (meat). That is, 
 meat for the dead man; or, more properly, meat for the obse 
 quies of the dead man. 
 
 To this celebration, or last commemoration the dead, 
 when all had assembled, the Fabussa halulli, (the same Fa- 
 "bussa Sholih who had set up the poles) under the command 
 of the Hattak iti i miko (the same who bore and set up the 
 long pole upon which was attached the hoops and flag) slowly 
 and silentl3 T marched in solemn procession to the grave and 
 pulled up the poles, and carried them off together with the 
 hoops and concealed them in a secret place in the forest 
 where they were left to return to dust forever undisturbed. 
 
 As soon as the Fabussa Hallulli had disposed of the 
 poles and hoops, preparations were begun for the finale a 
 
228 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 feast and the grand r Aboha hihlah, home dancing-, or dancing- 
 home of the deceased good man to the land of plenty and 
 happiness, and the bad man to the land of scarcity and suf 
 fering. 
 
 The festivities continued during- the day and the night 
 following" the pole-pulling". On the next morning- all returned 
 to their respective homes; and from that day he or she of the 
 grave became a thing of the past, whose names were to be 
 mentioned no more. And they were not. 
 
 Among- the ancient Choctaws, a mare and colt, cow and 
 calf, and a sow and pig s were given to each child at its birth, 
 if the parents were able so to do, and all, with few excep 
 tions, were able; this stock, with its increase under no cir 
 cumstances whatever, could be disposed of in any way; and 
 when he or she, as the case might be, became grown, the 
 whole amount was formally conveyed over to him or her. 
 Thus when a young- couple started out in life they had a 
 plenty of stock, if nothing- more. 
 
 Diseases, they believed, originated in part from natural 
 causes, therefore their doctors sought in nature for the 
 remedies. Graver maladies, to them, were inexplicable, and 
 for their cures they resorted to their religious superstitions 
 and incantations. They were very skillful in their treat 
 ment of wounds, snake bites, etc., Their knowledge of the 
 medicinal qualities of their various plants and herbs, in 
 w r hich their forests so bountifully abounded, was very great. 
 Tis true they were powerless against the attacks of many 
 diseases importations of the White Race, such as small-pox, 
 measles, whooping-cough, etc; yet, thev did not exhibit any 
 greater ignorance in regard to those new diseases, to them 
 unknown before, than do the doctors of the White Race, who 
 have had the experience of ages which has been handed 
 down to them through the art of printing, manifest in regard 
 to the new diseases that so oft attack their own race. The 
 art of blood-letting and scarifying was well understood and 
 practiced by many of their doctors, as well as the virtue of 
 cold and warm baths; and in many of the healing- arts they 
 fell not so far below those of the White Race as might be 
 HUpgosed, though many w r hite doctors imagine themselves 
 perfect in the healing art, since forsooth their diplomas 
 coast the signatures of the medical faculties in the world.. 
 
 In cases of bowel affections they use persimmons dried 
 by the heat of the sun and mixed with a light kind of bread. 
 In case of sores, they applied a poultice of pounded ground 
 ivy for a few days, then carefully washing the afflicted part 
 with the resin of the copal-tree. For fresh wounds they 
 made a poultice of the root of the cotton-tree which proved 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS 229 
 
 very efficacious; to produce a copious perspiration, a hot 
 decoction of the China root swallowed, had the desired effect. 
 They possessed an antidote for the bite and sting- of snakes 
 and insects, in the root of a plant called rattle snake s master, 
 having- a pungent yet not unpleasant odor. The root of the 
 plant was chewed, and also a poultice made of it was applied 
 to the wound, which at once checked the poison and the 
 patient was well in a few days. The medical properties of 
 the sassafras, sarsaparilla, and other medicinal plants, were 
 known to them. They possessed many valuable secrets to 
 cure dropsy, rheumatism, and many other diseases, which, 
 no doubt, will ever remain a secret with them, proving- that 
 their powers of observation, investigation and discrimination, 
 are not, by any means, to be regarded as contemptible; 
 while their belief, that the Great Spirit has provided a 
 remedy in plants for all diseases to which poor humanity 
 seems an heir, and never refuses to make it known to those 
 who seek the knowledge of it by proper supplications, is 
 praiseworthy in them to say the least of it. 
 
 Their doctors were held in great veneration, though 
 they oft practiced upon their patrons many frauds. Mill- 
 fort, p. 298, says: "when one of them had a patient on hand 
 a long time, and the poor sick fellow s means had been ex 
 hausted he privately told the relatives that his skill was ex 
 hausted, that he had done all in his power to no avail, and 
 that their friend must die within a few days at farthest; and, 
 with great seeming sympathy, set forth the propriety of 
 killing- him, and so terminate his sufferings at once. Having 
 the utmost confidence in the doctor s judgment and knowl 
 edge of the case, and also believing the case hopeless, the 
 poor fellow was at once killed." In proof of this, he states 
 that in 1772 a doctor thus advised concerning one of his pa 
 tients. "The sick man," he says, "suspecting, from the 
 actions of his physician, that he was advising the propriety 
 of ending his suffering by having him killed, with great effort 
 succeeded one night in crawling out of the house and making 
 good his escape. After much suffering he succeeded in 
 making his way into the Muscogee Nation, and fortunately 
 went to the house of Col. McGillivry, who, Samaritan like, 
 took him in^o his house, and soon restored him to his usual 
 health. At the expiration of several months he returned to 
 his home, and found his relatives actually celebrating his 
 funeral by burning the scaffold which they had erected to his 
 memory, with the accustomed weeping and wailing, -^be 
 lieving him to be dead. His unlocked for appearance among 
 them, at that solemn hour and place, threw them into the 
 .greatest consternation, and, in horror and wild dismay, all 
 
230 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 fled to the woods. Finding- himself thus received by his 
 own relatives and friends, he returned in disgust to the^ 
 Muscogees and spent the remainder of his days among 
 them. But when his relatives had become truly satisfied 
 that he did not die, and was actually alive and well, they 
 made the doctor pay -heavily for the deception he had prac 
 ticed upon them, by killing him." 
 
 The greatest mortality among them was most generally 
 confined to the young-er children; while longevity was a 
 prominent characteristic among the adults. After the age of 
 six or eight years the mortality of disease among them -was 
 less than among the white children of the present day after 
 that age. But after those baneful diseases, scarlet fever, 
 measles, mumps, whooping-cough, diseases unknown to them 
 before, had been introduced among them, the fatality among 
 the children was distressing, frequently destroying the 
 greater number of the children in a village or neighborhood; 
 being wholly ignorant as they were of the proper mode of 
 treatment was a great cause of the fearful fatality. Mental 
 or nervous diseases were unknown to the ancient Choctaws; 
 and idiocy and deformity were seldom seen. But of all the 
 "diseases" introduced among them by the white?, the most 
 pernicious and fatal in all its features, bearings, and con 
 sequences, to the Choctaw people, was, is, and ever \vill be, 
 Okahumma (red water or whiskey); which, when once 
 formed into habit, seemed to grow to a species of insanity 
 equal even to that so often exhibited among the whites. 
 
 "The Medicine Man," was a dignitary who swayed his 
 scepter alike among all Indians, but was altogether a very dif 
 ferent personage from the common physician. The Medicine 
 Man professed an insight into the hidden laws of Nature; he 
 professed a power over the elements, the fish of the waters 
 and the animals of the land; he could cause the fish to volun 
 tarily suffer themselves to be caught, and give success to the 
 hunter by depriving the denizens of the forest of their natural 
 fear of man; he could impart bravery to the heart of the war 
 rior, strength and skill to his arm and fleetness to his feet; 
 yea, could put to flight the evil spirits of disease from the 
 bodies of the sick. He could throw a spell or charm over a 
 ball player that would disenable him to hit the post; or over 
 the ball-post that would prevent its being hit by anyone 
 whom he wished to defeat. Such were the professed attain 
 ments of the Indian "Medicine Man." But whether he 
 possessed all or any of the supernatural powers he profess 
 ed, it matters not, it is certain, however, that he possessed 
 one thing, the power, art, or skill, call it which you may, to 
 make his people believe it, and that was all-sufficient for him 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 231 
 
 even as it is with all. humbug s. The Choctaws regarded 
 dreams as the direct avenues to the invisible world, the divine 
 revelations of the Great Spirit. If a vision of the spirit of an 
 animal appeared to the hunter in his dream, he felt confident 
 of success on the morrow s hunt. But though he invoked the 
 friendship, the protection and the good will of spirits, and 
 besought the mediation of the Medicine Man, he never would 
 confess his fear of death. But chide not too harshly, reader, 
 the poor, unlettered Indian for his superstitions and wild 
 beliefs, for the same long existed among the civilized Na 
 tions of the world, nor are they entirely exempt even at the 
 present day, nor is it likely they ever will be. 
 
 They lived in houses made of logs, but very comfortable; 
 not more rude or uncouth, however, than many of the whites 
 even of the present day. Their houses consisted generally 
 of two rooms, both of which were used for every domestic 
 purpose cooking, eating, living and sleeping; nor was their 
 furniture disproportionate with that of the dwelling for the 
 sitting room, a stool or two; for the kitchen, a pot or kettle, 
 two or three tin cups, a large and commodious wooden bowl, 
 and a horn spoon, constituted about the ultimatum twas all 
 they needed, all they wanted, and with it they were perfectly 
 contented and supremely happy. 
 
 Tafula; (pro. Tarm-ful-ah," hominy; corrupted to Tom- 
 fuller), is made of pounded corn boiled, using lye for fermen 
 tation, and tafula tobi ibulhtoh (boiled corn mixed with 
 beans) were, and are to the present day, favorite dishes 
 among the Choctaws; nor need it be thought strange, as they 
 are dishes Worthy the palate of the most fastidious. The 
 taf ula,their favorite and indispensable dish was put into a large 
 bowl, around which all gathered, and each in turn using the 
 horn spoon to replenish his waiting mouth with the coveted 
 luxury. But little pains was taken in the preparation of 
 their food, which was as rude, though clean and nice, as the 
 means of preparing it. Having no tables or dishes, except 
 the wooden bowl, nor knives and forks, they squatted around 
 the pot of boiled meat and bowl of tafula, and each used his 
 or her fingers in extracting the contents of the pot, and con 
 veying it to the mouth, and the horn spoon by turns in 
 doing obeisance to the tafula all in perfect harmony and 
 jollity. 
 
 They use another preparation/ for food called Botah 
 Kapussa, (cold flour) which was made of parched corn 
 pounded very fine; an ounce of which mixed with a little 
 water would in a few minutes become as thick as soup cooked 
 by a fire. Two or three ounces of this were sufficient to 
 sustain a man for a day.- In their war expeditions it 
 
232 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 was an indispensable adjunct the .sine qua non to the 
 warrior s bill of fare, as they could not shoot game with the 
 rifle when upon the war-path in their enemy s territories for 
 fear of giving notice of their presence. Bunaha was another 
 food much used in the long ago. It was made , of pounded 
 meal mixed with boiled beans to which is added a little lye, 
 then made into a dough wrapped in corn husks and boiled. 
 Oksak (hickory nut), atapah (broken in) is still another; this 
 was made of pounded meal mixed with the meat of the 
 hickory nut instead of boiled beans, and cooked as buiiaha. 
 I have eaten the three kinds, and found them very palatable. 
 
 They were great lovers of tobacco; yet never chewed it, 
 but confined its use exclusively to the pipe, in which they 
 smoked the weed mixed with the dried leaf of the aromatic 
 sumac, which imparted to the smoke a delightful flavor, 
 agreeable even to the most fastidious nose. But they now 
 have learned to chew, which I ascertained by actual observa 
 tion, when riding over their country visiting them during 
 the year 1884 to 18 ( JO. Frequently I have ridden several miles 
 with different Choctaws, with whom I accidental!} fell in com 
 pany, and to whom } offered a chew of tobacco, which was 
 frequently accepted; and I noticed they chewed it with as 
 much apparent delight and gusto, as their white brothers, 
 proving themselves worthy rivals in the accomplished art. 
 However, I could state^that the habit is not as universal, by 
 great odds, as among the white. 
 
 All the drudgery work about the house and the hunting 
 camp was done by the wife assisted by her children; and as 
 the^wife of the Choctaw warrior and hunter was regarded as 
 the slave of her husband, so likewise may equally be 
 regarded the unfortunate wives of many oi" the boasted 
 civilized white men of this 19th century. 
 
 With the Choctaw wife, as with all Indians, parturition 
 was matter that gave no uneasiness whatever; nor did it 
 interfere with her domestic affairs, but for a few hours. 
 Unlike her civilized sister, she neither required nor desired, 
 nor accepted any assistance whatever. I have known them 
 to give birth to a child during the night, and the next morn 
 ing would find them at the cov/pen attending to the affairs 
 of the dairy. To have. a man physician, on such occasions, 
 was as abhorrent to her sense of modesty and revolting to her 
 feelings, as it was wholly unnecessary. And the old cus 
 tom is still adhered to by the present Choctaw wife and 
 mother. After a child was born, after undergoing the usual 
 necessary preliminaries, it was placed in a curiously con 
 structed receptacle called Ullosi afohka, (infant receptacle) 
 where, it spent principally the first year of its life, only 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 233 
 
 when taken out for the purpose of washing and dressing 1 . 
 This curiously made little cradle (for such it may truly be 
 called) was often highly ornamented with all the pharapher- 
 nalia that a mother s love and care\ could suggest or obtain. 
 The little fellow s face, which was always exposed to view, 
 was carefully protected by a piece of wood bent a few inches 
 above and over it. Contented as Diogenes in his tub, the 
 babe would remain in its little prison for hours without a 
 whimper; part of the time asleep, and part of the time awake 
 looking around in its innocence with calm and tranquil 
 resignation. According to her convenience, the mother sus 
 pended her thus cradled child on her back, when walking, 
 or the saddle when riding; or stood it up against a neighbor 
 ing tree, if a pleasant day, that it might enjoy the fresh and 
 pure air, and exhilarating sunshine; or suspend it to the 
 projecting limb of a tree there to be rocked to sleep and 
 pleasant dreams by the forest breeze. As soon as it was 
 old enough to begin to crawl, it bade an informal adieu 
 to its former prison, but to be found perched upon its moth 
 er s back, wliere it seemed well contented in all its journeys 
 long or short. It was truly astonishing with what appar 
 ent ease the Choctaw mother carried her child upon her back. 
 The child was placed high up between the shoulders of the 
 mother, and over it was thrown a large blanket, which was 
 drawn tightly at the front of the mother s neck, forming a 
 fold behind; in this the child was placed and safely carried, 
 with seemingly little inconvenience to either mother or child. 
 When the little chap had grown to such proportions as to be 
 no longer easily thus transported, he was fastened to the 
 saddle upon the back of a docile pony, which follower the 
 company at pleasure; though here and there stopping 
 momentarily to bite the tempting grass that grew along the 
 pathway, then briskly trotting up until it had again reached 
 its proper place in rank and file, indifferent to the jolting 
 experienced by the youthful rider tied upon its back, who, 
 ho\vever, seemed to regard it with stoical indifference. 
 When arrived at the age of four or five years, he was con 
 sidered as having passed through his fourth and last chrys 
 alis stage, and was then untied from the saddle and bid ride 
 for himself; and soon did the young horseman prove himself 
 a true scion of the parent tree, as a fearless and skillful 
 rider. 
 
 Though the Allosi afohka has long since passed away 
 with other ancient customs, still the Choctaw mother carries 
 her child upon her back as she of a century ago, and loves it 
 with the same fond- and strong love; and though she did not, 
 nor does not, express it by any outward manifestations, yet 
 
234 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 her love was and is real, perfect and constant; nor was she 
 ever known to trust her babe to a hired nurse. The love 
 for their children and untiring- devotion to their homes and 
 families, and their profound regard for the aged, were in 
 deed beautiful and touching traits in the characteristics of 
 the Choctaw women. In fact, the great respect and uniform 
 kindness paid by the Indians everywhere, and under all cir 
 cumstance, to the aged of their people, might justly bring 
 the blush of shame upon the face of many of the young twigs 
 of the professed enlightened white race. The Choctaw 
 women of years ago were a merry, light-hearted race, and 
 their constant laugh and incessant prattle formed a strange 
 contrast to the sad taciturnity of the present day. The 
 easily conjectured cause precludes the necessity of being 
 mentioned here. 
 
 Adair (p. 89) says; "the Choctaws, in an early day, 
 practiced the custom of flattening the heads of their infants 
 by- compression, and were first known to the whites by the 
 name of Flat Heads." Be that as it may, the custom had 
 long ceased to be practiced, when later known. 
 
 Wherever they went, distant or otherwise, many or 
 few, they always traveled in a straight line, one behind the 
 other. ( They needed no broad roads, nor had they any; 
 hence, they dispensed with the necessity of that expense, 
 road-working, so grudgingly bestowed by all white men. 
 Paths alone, plain and straight, then led the Choctaws where 
 now are broads roads and long high bridges, from village to 
 neighborhood, and from neighborhood to village, though many 
 iniles apart; and so open and free of logs, bushes, and all 
 fallen timber, was their country then, rendered thus by their 
 annual burning off of the woods, it was an easy matter to travel 
 in any direction and any distance, except through the vast 
 cane-brakes that covered all the bottom lands, which alone 
 could be passed by paths. 
 
 On hunting excursions, when a party moved their camp 
 to another point in the woods, whether far or near, they 
 invariably left a broken bush with the top leaning in the 
 direction they had gone, readily comprehended by the practi 
 ced eyeof the Choctaw hunter . They kept ona straight line to 
 where a turn was made, and whatever angle there taken, they 
 travelled it in a straight line, but left the -broken bush at the 
 turn indicating the direction they had taken. If a wandering- 
 hunter happens to stumble upon the late deserted camp and 
 desired to join its former occupants, the broken but silent 
 bush gave him the information as to the direction they had 
 gone. .He took it and traveled in a straight line perhaps for 
 several miles; when suddenly his ever watchful eye saw a 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 235 
 
 broken bush with its top leaning in another direction. He at 
 once interpreted its mystic language "Here a turn was 
 made." He too made the turn indicated by the bush; and 
 thus traveled through the unbroken forest for miles, directed 
 alone by his silent but undeviating guide, which was sure to 
 lead him to his desired object. 
 
 All North American Indians, have always held their lands 
 in common; occupancy alone giving the right of possession, a 
 custom peculiar to the North American Indians, and a living 
 proof of practical communism, as far as land is concerned, at 
 least. When a Choctaw erected a house upon a spot of 
 ground, and prepared a few acres for his corn, beans, potatoes, 
 etc., so long as he resided upon it as his home, it was exclus 
 ively his, and his rights were strictly respected by all; but if 
 he left it and moved to another place, then his claim to his 
 forsaken home was forfeited; and whoever saw proper could 
 go and take possession; nor was the second occupant expected 
 to remunerate the first for the labor he had done. However, 
 if No. 1, afterward should desire to return to his previous 
 home he could do so, provided no one had taken possession.. 
 The present time, if one improves a place and leaves it, no one 
 has the right to take possession of the deserted place without, 
 permission of the one who improved it. 
 
 The famous little Choctaw pony was a veritable forest 
 camel to the Choctaw hunter, as the genuine animal is to the 
 sons of Ishmael. His unwearied patience, and his seemingly 
 untiring endurance of hardships and fatigue, were truly 
 astonishing surpassing, according to his inches, every other 
 species of his race and proving himself to be a worthy de 
 scendant of his ancient parent, the old Spanish war-horse, 
 introduced by the early Spanish explorers of the continent. 
 In all the Choctaws expeditions, except those of war in 
 which they never used horses, the chubby little pony always, 
 was considered an indispensable adjunct, therefore always, 
 occupied a conspicuous place in the cavalcade. A packsaddle 
 which Choctaw ingenuity had invented expressly for the 
 benefit of the worthy little fellow s back, and finely adapted 
 in every particular for its purpose, was firmly fastened upon 
 his back, ready to receive the burden, which was generally 
 divided into three parts, each weighing from forty to fifty 
 pounds. Two of these were suspended across the saddle 
 by means of rawhide rope one-fourth of an inch in diameter 
 and of amazing strength, and the third securely fastened 
 upon the top, over all of which a bear or deer skin was- 
 spread, which protected it from rain. All things being 
 ready, the hunter, as leader and protector, took his position 
 in front, sometimes on foot and sometimes astride a pony of 
 
236 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 such diminutive proportions, that justice and mercy would 
 naturally have suggested a reverse in the order of thing s, 
 and, with his trusty rifle in his hand, without which he never 
 went anywhere, took up the line of march,, and directly after 
 whom, in close- order, the loaded ponies followed in regular 
 succession one "behind the other, while the dutiful wife 
 and children brought up the rear in regular, successive 
 order, often with from three to five children on a single pony 
 literally hiding the submissive little fellow from view. 
 Upon the neck of each pony a little bell was suspended, 
 whose tinkling chimes of various tones broke the monotony 
 of the desert air, and added cheerfulness to the novel scene. 
 Long accustomed to their duty, the faithful little pack-ponies 
 seldom gave any trouble, but in a straight line followed on 
 after their mastery sometimes, however, one here and there, 
 unable to withstand the temptation of the luxuriant grass 
 that offered itself so freely along the wayside, would make a 
 momentary stop to snatch a bite or two, but the shrill, dis 
 approving voice" of the wife in close proximitv behind, at once 
 reminded him of his dereliction of order and he would hastily 
 trot up to his position; and thus the little caravan, with the 
 silence broken only by the tinkling pony bells, moved on amid 
 the dense timber of their majestic forests, until the declin 
 ing sun gave warning of the near approaching night. Then 
 a halt was made, and the faithful little ponies, relieved of 
 their wearisome loads which they had borne throughout the 
 day with becoming and uncomplaining patience, were set 
 free that they might refresh themselves upon the grass and 
 cane nature s bounties to the Indian that grew and cover 
 ed the forests in wild abundance. Late next morning (for 
 who ever knew an Indian, in the common affairs of life, to be 
 in a hurry or to value time? Time! He sees it not; he feels 
 it not; he regards it not. To him tis but a shadowy name 
 a succession of breathings, measured forth by the change of 
 night and day by a shadow crossing the dial-path of life) 
 the rested and refreshed ponies were gathered in, and, each 
 having received his former load, again the tinkling chimes of 
 the pony bells alone disturbed the quiet of the then far ex 
 tending wilderness, announcing in monotonous tones the 
 onward march, as the day before, of the contented travelers; 
 and thus was the journey continued, day by day, until the 
 desired point was reached. 
 
 The Indian unlike the white man, often received a new 
 name from some trivial incident or some extraordinary ad 
 venture, which frequently occurred, especially in their wars. 
 Anciently the Choctaws and Muscogees were uncompromis 
 ing enemies, ever making raids into each others territories. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 237 
 
 At one time a Muscogee party invaded the Choctaw country y 
 and made a sudden and unexpected attack upon a band of 
 Choctaw warriors. The Choctaws, though surprised, made 
 a brave resistance, and, after a short but furious light,, de 
 feated and put their assailants to flight. A vigorous pursuit 
 at once ensued in which a fleet young Choctaw warrior nam 
 ed Ahaikahno, (The Careless) had far in advance of his 
 comrades, killed a MuscOgee, and was in the act of scalping 
 him, when two Muscogee warriors turned and rushed toward 
 him with their utmost speed. The Choctaws in the rear, 
 seeing the danger of Ahaikahno, who was ignorant of his 
 two fast approaching foes, shouted to him with all the 
 strength of their voices Chikke-bulilih chia! Chikke bulilih 
 chia! (pro. Chik-ke (Quickly) bul-elih (run) che-ah (3*011!). 
 Ahaikahno, hearing the shout and seeing his danger, was 
 not slow in heeding the advice. Ever afterwards Ahaikahno 
 bore the additional name Chikke Bulilih Chia. Both parties 
 lost many warriors in this short but bloody fight, and the 
 little mound erected by the Choctaws over the common grave 
 of their slain warriors was still to be seen down to the \-ear 
 of the Choctaw migration west, in 1831- ? 2. 
 
 Nearly every river, creek, lake, rock, hill and vale, was 
 endeared to them, by a name given to it from some peculiar- 
 ity. some incident or adventure of the past, that was signifi 
 cant of the same; and in which were embodied the remem 
 brance of the heroic achievements of a long" line of ances 
 try; some in nature s rocks, mountains, hills, dells, woods, 
 and waters; while others took substantial form in the im 
 pressive memorials reared by loving hearts and willing nands 
 in the form of mounds over their dead. Many of those names 
 were beautifully significant; but alas, how corrupted b\ T the 
 whites, to that extent indeed, that not even one has retained 
 its original purity. Think you, reader, it was an easy matter 
 for the Choctaws, with such a country* as the\ r then posses^ 
 sed, endeared to them by ten thousand times ten thousand 
 ties as strong as were ever interwoven around- the human 
 heart, to cut loose from this their ancient home, and set sail 
 on an unknown sea foi j distant ports in an unknown land, and 
 under the pilotage of those pretended friends, who they 
 bad found could not be trusted. 
 
 Of all the wild animals of the cane-brake, the wild boar 
 truly merited the name of being the- most dangerous, when 
 brought to bay, the panther or bear not excepted, and in at 
 tacking him, coolness and a steady nerve were as necessary 
 as perfect marksmanship. In this kind of sport a novice would 
 always find it the better part of valor to keep in mind that 
 "distance lends enchantment to the view" for ke seldom 
 
238 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 made a charge without leaving- his mark, since that charge 
 I can attest by frequent observation, was no child s play. One 
 stroke with his long, keen tusks, was all he wanted to kill an 
 offending dog, or even disembowel a horse; and woe to the 
 hunter that carelessly or with foolhardiness approached too 
 near; if he failed to make a dead-shot, his life was the forfeit; 
 for with the rush of a whirlwind, and the agility of a cat, he 
 sprang from his lair, and more sure and fatal was his stroke 
 as he passed, than the stroke of a dagger in the hands of an 
 enraged man. An effectual shot was only made by shooting 
 him through the brain, as his shoulders were protected by 
 a massive shield extending from his short neck two-thirds of 
 the way to the hips, and impervious even by a ball shot from 
 -the rifle of that day; his enormous head, set of by ears about 
 the size of a man s hand, standing straight up, and his pow 
 erful jaws, armed with four fearful tusks, two short stubby 
 ones protruding from the upper and two long, dagger-like 
 ones from the lower lips, with a backward curve, combined 
 with his strength and activity, rendered him a formidable 
 foe, and made him truly the monarch of the Mississippi cane- 
 brake 70 years ago. From his short legs and sluggish ap 
 pearance, when secretly seen from a distance moving about 
 at his leisure, one would have supposed him slow in point of 
 speed; but such was not the case. For as soon as you gave 
 him a good cause to bestir himself, he did it to such a good 
 purpose that it was hard for a common horse to escape his 
 pursuit for a short distance, or to overtake him in his flight. 
 But of the two contingencies the latter, so far as the hunter 
 was concerned, was immeasurably the safer; since his temper 
 was as short as his legs, and very little indeed sufficed his 
 boarship s philosophy to constitute sufficient provocation, to 
 make a sudden whirl, present and about face, and instantly 
 make a furious charge; then, if the horseman was not as 
 quick to make the turn, there was a collision, always to the 
 great advantage of the boar. 
 
 To intrude upon his retreat when at bay, even though 
 no malicious propensities had been proven against the tres 
 passer, was madness; for he charged the intruder without 
 hesitation and with positively such terrific impetuosity that 
 proved there was no reservation about his conduct nor 
 opportunity intended to be given to the incautious visitor for 
 making any mistake as to his intentions; and he then and 
 there learned to his entire satisfaction that, if he intended to 
 have apologized to his boarship, it would be policy to do so in 
 writing at some future day; as, at that moment, it was de 
 cidedly the best to get out of the way nor seek leisure for 
 explanation of the intrusion, since the monster was coming 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 *^ 
 
 down upon him, with now and then a snort, that emphatically 
 said, "Out you go," as intelligibly as ever snorts said any 
 thing-, yet singularly expressive, unmistakably meaning 
 prompt ejection from his premises; and though his 
 progeny were styled the "racers, razor backs, subsoilers, 
 jumpers, and rail splitters," by the early white settlers, yet, 
 with his fleetness, agility, strength and savage snout armed 
 .with those terrible tusks veritable lancets indeed which in 
 many instances grew to incredible dimensions both in size 
 and length his majesty was justly styled the undisputed 
 monarch of the Mississippi cane-brakes. His courage was 
 indeed fearless and defiant, and with a reckless ferocity that 
 no sane hunter had the nerve to resolutely receive. Oft he 
 waited not for presumptuous provocation, but waged war 
 at once on hunter and dogs as soon as trespassing on his 
 domains, whom he calmly faced with a defiant front that 
 indicated a business propensity not to be safely misjudged, 
 as he slowly turned from side to side seemingly to scan the 
 immediate surroundings and take in the situation; but when 
 he set himself to going after man or dog, he displayed an 
 agility and address which those who have once experienced 
 it pronounced amazing, nor desires ever again to test his 
 boarship s peculiarities by personal experience. He often 
 wandered companionless, then he became more morose and 
 malignant, and more dangerous to intrude upon. One of 
 this character, for reasons best known to himself, ventured 
 under the cover of a dark night, to sleep w T ith the tame hogs 
 belonging to the missionary station, Hebron, over which Mr. 
 Calvin Cushmaii had jurisdiction, soon after the exodus of 
 the Choctaws. At that early day, hounds were a protective 
 necessity against the carnivorous w r ild animals that numer 
 ously abounded in the forests, though Mr. Calvin Cushman 
 was never known to fire a gun at a wild animal of any kind, 
 or to go into the woods as a hunter, but left that wholly to 
 others, among whom his three sons were generally found. 
 The visitor had overslept himself, or, at least, was a little 
 dilatory the next morning in starting for his home in the 
 cane-brake, and thus was discovered about daybreak, by one 
 of the hounds between whom and his boarship uncompromis 
 ing hostility existed. At once the hound gave notice to his 
 companions in the yard of the presence of their hated and 
 dreaded enemy by loud and vociferous barking, to which the 
 whole pack, gave immediate response by rushing headlong 
 over the yard fence, and in full cry hastened to the call of 
 their fellow. At once they rushed for the wild intruder, 
 who, taking in the surroundings, broke at once for his citadel 
 in the. swamp two miles away across an intervening forest 
 
240- HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 * " 
 
 with 110 undergrowth in which to shelter himself in case of 
 being- overtaken by his pursuing- foes. My brother and I, 
 knowing- from the" wild outcry of the hounds that they had 
 discovered some wild animal of merit, seized our rifles, rushed 
 to the barn, saddled our. hunting horses and mounted; then 
 listened a moment to ascertain the bearings of the hounds 
 whose cry was now faintly heard in the distance, but gave 
 evidence that the object of their pursuit was no small matter. 
 At once w r e started at full speed through the open forest, and, 
 after running- a mile or more, stopped to listen, when we 
 ascertained that they had overtaken the night intruder, 
 whatever he was, and brought him to bay, but still nearly a 
 mile distant. Ag ain we put our horses at full speed, and 
 thus continued until we had reached the top of a high ridge, 
 where came into full view, about three hundred yards distant, 
 the hounds encircling a hug e wild boar. For a minute we- 
 silently stood and gazed upon the exciting scene. 
 
 The hounds (eight in number) knowing, from sad ex 
 perience, the characteristics of their foe. were running this 
 way and that around the old monarch of the canebrake, but 
 observing* the judicious caution to keep twenty or thirty feet 
 distant from him. who defiantly stood in the- centre of 
 the circle and boldly solicited closer quarters. No under 
 growth obstructed our view, and the whole play was being 
 enacted before us. Now a hound would make a dash at his 
 rear only to be^net by the about face of the agile boar, which 
 caused the hound to also make an about face followed by a 
 hasty retreat, then one would succeed in giving him a snap 
 in the rear, which caused the boar, not only to make a quick 
 turn, but also to make a rush for a few paces after the now 
 retreating dog-, but to be again pinched in the rear by some 
 one of his more venturesome assailants. Finally one made a 
 dash at the rear of the boar with high expectations of secur 
 ing a good bite; but poor Pete was not quick enough in his 
 whirl, for the boar, in his sweep, struck him with his curv 
 ing- tusks upon the thigh making art> ugly wound three or 
 four inches in length and to the bone. . Pete at once acknowl 
 edged his defeat by a shrill cry and immediate retreat to the 
 rear. Thinking it time to take a hand in/ the fray, w r e dis 
 mounted, and leaving our horses concealed, cautiously ad 
 vanced to the scene of action, but taking care not to let his 
 boarship learn of our proximity. But not much danger of 
 that, as his attention was wholly engaged with the still tor 
 menting dogs. When we had approached within a hundred 
 yards, we halted behind a large tree and formed our plan of 
 attack, as we silently peeped from our hiding place and view 
 ed the scene. The boar was still ignorant of our presence; 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 241 
 
 but the hounds had evidently suspected our. presence some 
 where, by frequently looking back and sniffing the air, and 
 then barking more vigorously at the boar and making bolder 
 and more frequent attacks upon his rear. 
 
 He was truly a magnificent specimen of his race/ of a 
 sandy color, full grown, and in fine condition. His huge 
 head" was adorned with enormous, curving tusks with one 
 sweep of which he could cut a man, dog or horse into 
 threads. His little red eyes, nearly covered with shaggy 
 hair, now glowed like coals of fire, beneath a pair of ears 
 about the size of a man s hand which stood perfectly erect; 
 his tail, though curled once at his body, nearly touched the 
 ground with its long shaggy hairs; his cavernous mouth was 
 white with foam proof tha t he was mad all over; his bristles 
 about four inches long, extended from his ears to his tail, 
 and stood up erect and stiff, while every hair upon his body 
 seemingly quivered with rage; the massive sinews of his 
 great chest stood out like small ropes as he turned from side 
 to side, exposing also to view the outlines of the almost im 
 pervious shield that enveloped his shoulders. He was truly 
 an incarnation of immense strength, activity, courage, and 
 brutal ferocity. 
 
 Our curiosity being satisfied in viewing his^dimensions 
 and appearance, it was resolved -that my brother, who was 
 the more courageous and the better marksman, should crawl 
 to a large tree that stood exactly between us and the boar, 
 which would bring him within fifty or sixty yards of his boar- 
 ship, and also, the sure range of his rifle, while I was to keep 
 my position as a rear guard in case of a compulsory retreat. 
 By good fortune he gained the tree unobserved by hound or 
 boar; then arose to his feet and brought his rifle to his shoul= 
 der, with the barrel resting against the right si<le of the tree, 
 thus being enabled to keep his body wholly concealed. Soon 
 I saw the boar turn his head exactly toward the tree and in 
 stantly the crack of the rifle mingled with the baying of the 
 hounds, and the fierce brute pitched over on his nose to be 
 instantly covered with exultant dogs who bit and snapped 
 their fallen foe. We hurried up, only to see a convulsive shiver 
 run through the huge mass of flesh and bone, and the fierce 
 glare of the eye as it died out slowly, like a coal fading in the 
 sunlight as t|j white ashes cover it. The v i;ifl e ball had ac 
 complished its mission of death. 
 
 In conclusion, I will but add: If those, who to-day talk 
 about dangerous game, would like to enjoy a rough and tum 
 ble encounter, I would, could I recall the last seventy years, 
 recommend to them a wild boar of the Mississippi cane- 
 
242 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 breaks, with strong- testimonials; nor would they have far to 
 go, at that day, to find him. 
 
 O-ka-it-tib-ih-ha -county, Mississippi, as well as its 
 sister counties, has been the scene of many hard struggles 
 between the contending warriors of the different tribes, 
 who inhabited the noble old state in years of the long past; 
 not only from the statements and traditions of the Choctaws, 
 who were among the last of the Indian race whose council- 
 iires lit up her forests, and whose hoyopatassuha died away 
 upon her hills, but also from the numerous fortifications and 
 intrenchments, that were plainly visible, ere the ploughshare 
 had upturned her virgin soil, and her native- forests still 
 stood in their primitive beauty and grandeur. From those 
 rude fortifications, plainly identified many years after the 
 advent of the missionaries, strong positions were evidently 
 held by each contending party; yet they seemed to have 
 been constructed with no regard to mathematical skill, but 
 rather as circumstances demanded or would admit. Such 
 at least were the intrenchments enclosing the Shakchi 
 Humma old fort; and the mail}* evidences, such as rusted 
 tomahawks, arrow-heads, human bones, teeth and fragments 
 of skulls that were continually being ploughed up for 
 many years, proved the hard contested fight of the Shak 
 chi Hummas and the allied Choctaws and Chickasaws; and 
 that the brave but greatly out-numbered Shakchi Hummas 
 had disputed every inch of the ground, and had only yielded 
 to the superior numbers of the combined Choctaws and 
 Chickasaw warriors. The ancient Choctaws, as well as all 
 other Indians, did not confine their battles to forts and in 
 trenchments, but fought as circumstances offered, oftener 
 in small bodies than in large. Hence, they never drew out 
 their forces in open field, but fought from behind trees, 
 stumps and logs; each seeking every possible advantage of 
 his enemy, regarding- all advantages gained as wholly at 
 tributable to superior skill; all advantages lost, to want 
 of it. 
 
 According to the statements made by the Choctaws to 
 Mr. Calvin Cushman, when first established among them 
 as a missionary, nearly eighty years ago, the Shakchi 
 Hummas, a warlike and very overbearing tribe of Indians, 
 were wholly exterminated by the combined forces of the 
 Choctaws and Chickasaws about the year 1721. ^ 
 
 I was personally acquainted with a remarkable old Choc- 
 taw warrior, by the name of Ish-iah-hin-la, (you liable to go) 
 who claimed to have fought through the Shakchi Humma 
 war. He was said to be the last surviving Choctaw warrior 
 of that memorable conflict, and died in 1828 at the advanced 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 243 
 
 -age of 107 years, so he claimed to be. Indeed the old war 
 rior s white locks, wrinkled face, shriveled and decrepit 
 body, indicated life s journey to have reached that point; 
 and, as longevity was frequent at that time (as even to-day) 
 among the Indians, many then living whose ages reached 
 eighty and ninety years. I did not doubt the old man s state 
 ment. He took great delight in relating many incidents of 
 that war and oft amused my boyish fancy in telling many 
 thrilling scenes in which he participated. This war had its 
 origin from the overbearing disposition of the Shakchi Hum- 
 mail, and the frequent murders committed by their war par 
 ties upon the Choctaws and Chickasaws. The account, as 
 related by the Choctaws to the missionaries, is in substance, 
 about as follows: Many years after the Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws had established themselves east of the Missis 
 sippi river, a Choc taw chief, named Shakchi Hum ma (Craw 
 fish Red), recrossed the Mississippi river, with his family 
 and a large number of his adherents, and established a col 
 ony (under the name of their chief, Shakchi Hum ma) in, 
 now the state of Arkansas, 
 
 In the course of years this colony became greatly en 
 larged by constant accessions; and, with increasing numbers 
 and strength, also became insolent and overbearing* to that 
 extent that a war arose between them and another tribe, in 
 which they were defeated and driven back over the Missis 
 sippi "to their former country. After being established 
 there, (not as Choctaws but as Shakchi Hummas, disregard 
 ing their ancient kindred ties) they adopted an arrogant and 
 aggressive policy towards both the Choctaws and Chicka 
 saws, who, provoked beyond longer endurance, formed a 
 secret alliance in an exterminating war against the Shakchi 
 Hummas. 
 
 Then followed a three years war of extermination (fa 
 mous in Choctaw tradition) culminating at the battle of Oski 
 Hlopah and blotting out the Shakchi Humma nation. The 
 Choctaws and Chickasaws took the war path together, re 
 solving to exterminate their insolent enemies or be exter 
 minated themselves. At this juncture, several large parties 
 of Shakchi Hummah hunters were camped on Noxubee 
 creek, as much game had congregated there owing to the 
 destruction of the range in many parts of the country by the 
 accidental fall fires. The Choctaws, being aware of the lo 
 cality of the Shakchi Humma hunters, opened the war by 
 making an unexpected attack upon them and slew the greater 
 part, throwing their dead bodies into the creek which caused 
 ;in awful stench, which gave the name Nahshobili to the 
 creek, and .opened hostilities in good earnest between the 
 
244 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Choctaws and Ghickasaws on one side and the Shakchf 
 Hummas on the other. 
 
 Extermination being th ewar-cry adopted by the con 
 testants, both parties fought with desperation. But, un 
 expectedly as the two allied tribes had rushed upon their 
 unsuspecting- and unprepared enemies (thus in the outset 
 gaining great advantage) yet the Shakchi Hummas soon 
 rallied from their discomfiture caused by their surprise; and 
 then commenced one of those fierce and bloody conflicts, so 
 oft engaged in by the Red Men in the years of the hoWy 
 past, but known only to themselves. In union there is strength, 
 is an old but true adage; and thus it proved to the Choctaws 
 and Chickasaws. Though fortune for a while appeared to 
 waver, vacillating 1 from the one side to the other and seeming" 
 at a loss on whom to bestow her smiles, but finally looked 
 with favor upon the two allied tribes. The Shakchi ifummas, 
 after many reverses and great losses, finally sought to pro 
 tract the strong- struggle by taking- refuge in their intrenched 
 villages. But one after another of these fell into the hands of 
 the victorious Choctaws and Chickasaws, who now had 
 become fearless by their success, and, e re the third year of 
 the desperate conflict had closed, every village had been 
 taken, and destroyed, and the majority of the inhabitants 
 slain. The few who escaped united their strength and finally 
 took their last stand at a point now known as Ly oil s bluff on 
 Oski Hlopah (Cane stripped) river known now as Trimcane, 
 about nine miles northeast of Starkville, Mississippi, hope 
 less, yet determined to fight to the death. Sheltered by a 
 few logs and banks of earth, the last of that once powerful 
 and arrogant tribe, now f ought as only men in despair can 
 and do fight, sending many of their enemies to precede them 
 to the hunting grounds in the great beyond. How true it is, 
 that man is a being, when placed in danger and devoid of 
 hope that oasis. amid the arid desert of life who is to be 
 dreaded! When hope has fled, despair usurps its place; and 
 none despair till they behold death staring them in the face; 
 dnd .when life, with all its beautiful shades and colors, is 
 bleached with the bitterness of death, tis then man becomes 
 desperate; and even the most timid have then accomplished 
 feats of daring seemingly incredible. Such was the forlorn 
 hope cooped up in that little fort, if fort it might be called. 
 Surrounded on all sides without the possibility of escape, 
 and sheltered only by a few logs and piles of dirt; yet they 
 baffled all attempts of their enemies to dislodge them. 
 
 Like tigers at bay, they fought day and night, though 
 hour by hour thinned in numbers, till at last but few re 
 mained; yet that handful yielded not, nor asked for quarter. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 245 
 
 sing-ing their death song-, and ever and anon hurling 
 back their defiant war-whoops, they continued to fight, kill 
 ing everyone who attempted to scale their little breast-work 
 of logs and* earth. For many days did the warriors of that 
 log and mud fort successfully hold out, bravely driving back 
 their assailants in every charge. At length, the Choctaws 
 and Chickasaws, maddened at the obstinate resistance of the 
 now desperate Shakchi Hummas, and the continued falling 
 here and there of their own warriors, with a, mighty rush 
 broke over the feebly defended walls of logs and earth, but 
 to be met by the little squad of still defiant Shakchi Hum 
 mas, who received them with the last shout of their still defi 
 ant war-whoop. Then, for a few moments, was heard the 
 clashing and ringing of the tomahawks as the busy scene of 
 death went on; each Shakchi Humma warrior fighting, not 
 for life or for glory, but in mad despair seeking to kill ere 
 he was killed/ But soon the last death-dealing- blow was 
 struck that blotted out forever the Shakchi Humma Nation. 
 Only one of the whole tribe was left, and that one was a 
 young girl about sixteen or eighteen years of ag*e, who was 
 spared on account of her wonderful beauty. She was adopt 
 ed by the Choctaws, and lived to be nearly or quite a hun 
 dred years old, and was living some years after the advent 
 of the missionaries among them. Mr. H. Peden, who lived 
 fourteen miles from Hebron, the home of Mr. Calvin Cush- 
 man, stated that Mr. P. P. Pitchlynn, who had often spoken 
 to him of this old Shakchi Humma captive, one day pointed- 
 her out to him at a religious meeting of the Choctaws. Mr. 
 Peden stated that she was the oldest looking human being 
 that he had ever seen, and from her appearance, he judged 
 her to be over a century old. She died a few years before 
 the venerable old warrior, Stahenka; but lived to hear the 
 tidings of the Cross preached to her race, though the only 
 survivor of her own tribe, exterminated in the bright morn 
 of her youthful but eventful life. Alas, the single combats 
 of the heroes of history or fable may amuse v the fancy and 
 engag e the admiration; the skillful evolutions of war may 
 inform the mind; but in the uniform and terrible picture of 
 a general assault, all is blood, horror and desolation; nor shall 
 I further attempt to delineate, at the distance of nearly two 
 centuries, a scene at which the actors themselves were in 
 capable of forming any just or adequate idea. But such is 
 the only history of the Shakchi Hummas whose blood still 
 runs in the veins of a few Choctaws descendants of the girl 
 saved at the tragic destruction of her tribe one of whom 
 .became a chief of the Choctaws and died in 1884 at his home 
 
246 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 a few miles east of Atoka, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory.. 
 His name is Coleman Cole. , % . 
 
 The Choctaws, like all of their race, had no written. laws, 
 and their government rested alone on custom and usage, 
 growing- out of their possessions and their wants ; yet was 
 conducted so harmoniously by the influence of their native 
 genius and experience, that one would hardly believe 
 that human society could be maintained with so 
 little artifice. As they had no money, their traffic con 
 sisted alone in mutual exchang-e of all commodities ; as 
 there was no employment of others for hire, there 
 were no contracts, hence judges and lawyers, sheriffs 
 and jails were unknown among them. There were no beg 
 gars, no wandering tramps, no orphan children unprovided 
 for in their country, and deformity was almost unknown, 
 proving that nature in the wild forest of the wilderness is 
 true to her type. Their chief had no crown, 110 sceptre, no 
 body guards, no outward symbols of authority, nor power to 
 give validity to their commands, but sustained their author 
 ity alone upon the good opinion of their tribe. No Choctaw 
 ever worshipped his fellow man, or submitted his will to the 
 humiliating subordinations of another, but with that senti 
 ment of devotion that passed bevorid the region of humanity, 
 and brought him in direct contact with nature and the imag 
 inary beings by whom it was controlled, which he divined but 
 could not fathom; to these, and these alone, he paid his hom 
 age, invoking their protection in war and their aid in the 
 chase. 
 
 The ancient Choctaws believed, and those of the present 
 day believe, and I was informed bv Governor Basil LeFlore,. 
 in 1884, isince deceased) that there is an appointed time for 
 every one to die; hence suicide appeared to them, as an act 
 of the meanest cowardice. Though thev regarded it as a 
 sacrilege to mention the names of their dead, still they spoke 
 of their own approaching death with calmness and tran- 
 quility. No people on earth paid more respect to their dead, 
 than the Choctaws did and still do; or preserved with more 
 affectionate veneration the graves of their ancestors. They 
 were to them as holy relics, the only pledges of their history; 
 hence, accursed was he who shouldfdespoil the dead. They 
 had but a vague idea of future rewards and punishments. 
 To them a future life was a free gift of the GreatjSpirit, and 
 the portals of the happy hunting grounds would be opened 
 to them, in accordance as their life had been meritorious as 
 a brave warrior. They were utterly ignorant of the idea of 
 a general resurrection, and it was difficult for them to be in 
 duced to believe that the body would again be raised up. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 247 
 
 But to-day finds the Choctaws advanced in knowledge and 
 improvement, which has produced a revolution in their moral 
 and intellectual condition and in the current of their thoughts 
 and ideas. Though seemingly slow to many has been their 
 progress, yet not more so than other nations. For it must 
 be remembered, that to-day there are many nations on the 
 eastern continent, where a knowledge of letters has been 
 known for centuries, and whose intellectual advantages have 
 been much superior to that of the North American Indians, 
 who have not yet reached that moral and intellectual culture 
 that many tribes of the Indians have. It required over 2000, 
 years for us to rise from a state of savage barbarity to our 
 present state of advancement, though, tis true they have 
 had, to a small extent, the advantages of pur civilization; but 
 when we take into consideration the great disadvantages 
 which even the five civilized tribes have labored under and 
 the many oppositions they have had to encounter from first 
 to last, in their commendable efforts to moral and intellectual 
 improvement, (though enjoying the advantages of the teach 
 ings of the faithful and noble missionary for half a century) 
 from the corrupting influences and pernicious examples of 
 the base white men who have ever cursed their country, even 
 as fated Egypt of old was cursed by the visitations of the 
 locusts, frogs and lice, we have just and good reasons to be 
 surprised that they have made the progress they have. 
 
 As a proof of the Indian s love of country and the scenes 
 of his childhood, so cruelly denied him by his oppressors, I 
 will state that a few years after they had moved west, a few 
 Choctaw warriors, seemingly unable to resist the desire of 
 once more looking upon the remembered scenes of the un- 
 forgotteii past, returned to the homes of their youth; for 
 a few weeks they lingered around, the very .personification 
 of hopeless woe, with a peculiar something in their manner 
 and appearance, which seemed to speak their thoughts as 
 absently following a long dream that was leading them to 
 the extreme limits of their once interminable fatherland. 
 But their souls could not brook the change, or the ways of 
 the pale-face. They gazed awhile, as strangers in a strange 
 land, then turned in silence and sorrow from the loved vision 
 they never would enjoy or look upon again, but which they 
 never would forget, and once more directed their steps to 
 ward the setting sun and were seen no more. But nothing 
 strange in this; for who does not delight, even in after years, 
 to return to the well remembered walks of early life! the 
 touch of the long vanished hands, and the echo of the voices, 
 that are hushed, all seem to return, reminding us in touch 
 ing accents of unutterable pathos, of the days that are no 
 
248 HISTORt OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 more! again are we united with the days of childhood, call 
 ing up by-gone joys. Truly, what a hallowing glory invests 
 our past, beckoning us back to the haunts of boyhood s days! 
 again the songs we sang sweep o er the harp of memory in 
 tones of sweetest melody! again the faces that early weht 
 down to the tomb, that cheerless habitation of the dead, 
 smile on us with unchanging love and tenderness. The 
 past! To every heart, what a fairy land. Who would not 
 keep the memory of those days unsullied, unalloyed from 
 those that raise a sadness in the soul! Ah! as a token from 
 some lost loved one, whose name is only spoken within the 
 secrets of the heart, would I cherish and keep them with 
 memories that never die. 
 
 The Indians have ever been termed a nomadic race, and 
 as such have been represented by all who have written about 
 them. There certainly never has a greater error been pro 
 mulgated about any people. I refer to the southern Indians 
 who formerly lived east of the Mississippi river. How far 
 the Indians of the western plains may merit the title, I 
 will not attempt to judge, being but little acquainted with 
 their habits and customs, ancient or modern. But I have no 
 fears in saying that no people merited less the appellation, 
 nomadic, than those who formerly dwelt east of the Missis 
 sippi river. Webster, the standard authority, gives the defi 
 nition of nomadic -as signifying, "Moving from place to 
 place," and how that word could in any way justly be ap 
 plied to the Choctaw , Chickasaw and Muscogee Indians, who 
 were never known to move in the knowledge of the whites, 
 until moved by them from their ancient domains to their 
 present location, is a difficult matter to comprehend. In 
 15^0, De Soto found them in the very spot from which the 
 government moved them in 1832, 1836, and 1840. In 1623, 
 the early settlers of Virginia found them exactly where De 
 Soto had left them. When the French established them 
 selves in Mobile, Alabama, they found them still where the 
 Viginia settlers had found them. In 1735, the Carolina 
 traders found them exactly where De Soto, the Virginians 
 and the French had found them. In 1744, Adair found them 
 still where De Soto, the Virginians, the French, and the 
 Carolina traders, had found them, and lived among the 
 Chickasaws thirty years. In 1771, Roman still found them 
 at the very place where De Soto, the Virginians, the French, 
 the Carolina traders and Adair, had found them; and states, 
 in his travels through the Choctaw Nation, he passed 
 through seventy of their towns. In 1815, the missionaries 
 still found them exactly where De Soto, the Virginians, the 
 French, the Carolinian traders, Adair, d.nd Roman had found 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 249 
 
 -them. In 1832, the United States Government found them 
 still where De Soto, the Virginians, the French, the Caro 
 lina traders, Adair, Roman, and the missionaries had found 
 them, and moved them to their present place of abode in 
 1832; and 1899, A. D. finds them just where the government 
 put them sixty-seven years ago. So they have "moved from 
 place to place/ once in 359 years, and then moved by the 
 force of arbitrary power, they are called nomadic. 
 Of the Indians it may be truly said: 
 t 
 
 "But on the natives of that land misused, 
 
 Not long the silence of amazement hung, 
 Nor brooked they long their friendly faith abused; 
 For with a common shriek, the general tongue 
 Exclaimed, to arms ! and fast to arms they sprung." 
 
 They were truly men of the past, as well as men of the 
 woods, yet noble and true, glorying in their ancestors, and 
 living in their deeds by reverencing what they had handed 
 clown to them. 
 
 The Choctaws, from their earliest history, have ever 
 maintained their independence, and their love of country, 
 amounting to almost idolatry, which cannot be described by 
 words; and, in defending it, they utterly despised danger 
 and mocked at fear. 
 
 Having no alphabet nor written language, their know 
 ledge was conveyed to the eye by rude imitation. In the 
 pictures of various animals which had been drawn on s-mooth 
 substance, a piece of bark, or tree, there he recognized a 
 symbol of his tribe; and in these various figures, which he 
 saw sketched here and there, he re,ad messages from his 
 friends. The rudest painting, though silent and unintelligi 
 ble to the white man, told its tale to the Choctaws. He 
 abhorred restraint of any kind, while liberty, free and un 
 restrained, was the ruling passion of his soul; the natural 
 and unrestrained propensities, of his wild nature were his 
 system of morals, to which he firmly adhered and tenaciously 
 followed. They had no calendar, but reckoned time thus: 
 The months, by the full or crescents moons; the years by 
 the killing of the vegetation by the wintry frosts. Thus, for 
 two years ago the Choc taw would say: Hushuk (grass) illi 
 -(dead) tuklo (twice); literally, grass killed twice, or, more 
 properly, two killings of the grass ago. The sun was called 
 Nittak hushi the Day-sun; and the moon, Neuak hushi, 
 \he Night-sun and sometimes, Tekchi hushi the Wife 
 of the sun. Their almanac was kept by the flight of 
 the fowls of the air; whose coming and going announced to 
 Ihem the progress of the advancing and departing 
 
250 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 seasons. Thus the fowls of the air announced to the then 
 blessed and happy Choctaw the progress of the seasons, 
 while the beasts. "of the field gave to him warning- of the 
 gathering and approaching storm, and the sun marked to 
 him the hour of the day; and so the changes of time were 
 noted, not by figures, but by days, sleeps, suns and moons- 
 signs that spoke the beauty and poetry of nature. If a shorter 
 time than a day was required to be indicated two parallel 
 lines were drawn on the ground, a certain distance apart, 
 then pointing to the sun he would say: "It is as long as it 
 would take the sun to move from there to there." The time 
 indicated by the moon was from its full to the next; that of 
 the year, from winter to winter again, or from summer to 
 summer. To keep appointments, a bundle of sticks contain 
 ing the exact number of sticks as there were days from the 
 day of appointment to the appointed, was kept; and every 
 morning one was taken out and thrown away, the last stick 
 announced the arrival of the appointed. This bundle of 
 twigs was called Fuli (sticks) kauah (broken) broken sticks. 
 
 The abundant game of his magnificent and wide extended 
 forests, which he never killed in wanton sport, no more than 
 a white man would kill his cattle, but only as his necessities 
 demanded, together with the fish of his beautiful streams, 
 his fields of corn, potatoes, beans, with that of the inexhaus 
 tible supplies of spring and summer berries of fine variety 
 and flavor, and winter nuts, all united to consummate his 
 earthly bliss in rendering him a successful huntsman, 
 a good fisherman, and cheerful tiller of the ground. 
 The Choctaws have long been known to excel all the North 
 American Indians in agriculture, subsisting to a considerable 
 extent on the produce of their fields. In mental capacity the 
 Choctaws, as a race of people, both ancient and modern, were 
 and are not inferior to the whites; and their domestic life, 
 as I know them seventy years ago, would sustain in many 
 respects, a fair comparison with average civilized white com 
 munities. Their perspective faculties were truly wonder 
 ful; and the Choctaws of to-day, to whom the advantages of 
 an education have been extended, have given indisputable 
 evidence of as great capacity for a high order of education 
 as any people on earth, I care not of what nationality. 
 
 There were no degrees of society among them, no dif 
 ference in social gatherings; all felt themselves equal, of the 
 same standing and on the same terms of social equality. 
 And it is the same to day. They had no sur-names,yet their 
 names were peculiar, and most always significant, express 
 ive of some particular action or incident; even as the names 
 given to their hills, rivers, creeks, towns and villages. As- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 251 
 
 those of ancient, classic fame in the eastern world, so to the 
 superstitious mind of the Choctaw of the western world, 
 caused him also to regard the sudden appearance of certain 
 birds and their chirping s and twittering s, the howl of the 
 wolf and thelonely hootof the owl, as omens of evil, whileothers, 
 asomensof good; the spiritual significance of which, however, 
 he interpreted according to the dictation of his own judg 
 ment, instead of that of an augur differing in this particular 
 from his ancient brothers of Rome and Greece; yet like them 
 he undertook no important enterprise without first consult 
 ing his trusted signs, whether auspicious or otherwise. If 
 the former, he hesitated not its undertaking; if the latter, no 
 inducement could be offered that would prevail upon him to* 
 undertake it; but he returned to his cabin and there re 
 mained for favorable omens. 
 
 But how far mav be found a more just cause for admi 
 ration of the religious superstitions of the ancient Romans 
 and Grecians than that of the North American Indians, it is 
 difficult to see, since the Indians, alike with them, acknowl 
 edged, everywhere in nature, the presence of invisible be 
 ings; and it was the firm belief that his interests were under 
 the special care of the Great and Good Spirit that the Choc- 
 taw warrior went upon the war-path, and the hunter sought 
 the solitudes of his native forests in search of his game; and 
 that his career in life was marked out for him by a decree 
 that could not be altered. True, he was free to act, but the 
 consequences of those actions were fixed beforehand; his 
 daily food, life, joys, all, everything, were acknowledged as 
 coming from the Great Spirit, who knew all things and im 
 parted his wisdom to man; rewarded good deeds and pun 
 ished crimes; implanted unwritten laws of right and wrong 
 on the human heart, and unfolded to him coming events- 
 through dreams. The mystery of nature had its influence 
 upon the untutored minds of all Indians, as well as its phe 
 nomena upon his senses; which, to them, were represented 
 by the inferior spirits that surround the Great Spirit, who 
 was the all-controlling deity; and to Him they all turned in 
 gratitude for blessings, and for aid in all the affairs of life. 
 Surely, it is the part of humanity in us, who have lived under 
 a higher dispensation, in tracing the deep influences that 
 the mythology of this strange, wonderful and peculiar peo 
 ple had over them ;> to admire rather than condemn without 
 admitting the many extenuating circumstances. And 
 though the rites and ceremonies of the Indians, by which 
 they expressed their belief in their dependence on the Great 
 Spirit, was made in offerings of corn, bread, fruits, etc, in 
 stead of the sacrifices of animals; and sought omens in the 
 
252 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 actions of living- animals, instead of an augury in the entrails 
 of dead animals; yet the sincere feelings of piety, of grati 
 tude and dependence, which gave origin to those offerings, 
 gave origin also to that universal habit of self-examination 
 . and secret prayer to the great Spirit, so characteristic of the 
 Indian race. They believed that the Great Spirit communi 
 cated his will to man in dreams, in thunder and lightning, 
 eclipses, meteors, comets, in all the prodigies of nature, and 
 the thousands of unexpected incidents that occur to man. 
 Could it be otherwise expected from those who walked by 
 the light of nature alone? And though few assumed to have 
 attained the power of revealing the import of these signs and 
 wonders, yet many sought the coveted prize but found it not, 
 therefore, became self-constituted prophets, but remained 
 silent as to the character and functions of the spirits with 
 whom thev held their mysterious intercourse, thus leaving 
 little foundation by which to identify their mythology. But 
 that they derived their religious beliefs from the common 
 seed with which man first started, there can be no doubt; 
 but ere it had developed to any extent they strayed from the 
 parent stock, and it assumed different aspects under differ- 
 en circumstances, during the long period of isolation that en 
 sued. Still, we find existing everywhere among mankind 
 the same sensitiveness to the phenomena of nature, and the 
 same readiness and power of imagining invisible beings as 
 the cause of these phenomena. 
 
 The tendency of the Indian mind was thoroughly prac 
 tical, stern and unbending, it was not filled with images of 
 poetry nor high strung* conceptions of fancy. He struggled 
 for what was immediate, the war path, the chase and council 
 life; but when not engaged therein, -the life of the national 
 games, under the head of social amusements, filled up the 
 measure of his days the ball plav, horse-race, foot-race, 
 jumping and wrestling to them as honorable as the gym 
 nastic exercises of the eastern nations of antiquity; enduring 
 heat and cold, suffering" the pang - s of hunger and thirst, fa 
 tigue and sleeplessness. The object of the Indian boy also, 
 was to gain all the experience possible in all manly exercises, 
 therefore at an early age he went in search of adventures. 
 Their tribal council consisted of the best, wisest and most 
 worthy of the tribe. A fact from which we might draw 
 many useful lessons. In its meetings, the most important 
 topics of their country were the subjects of their delibera 
 tions; nor was the question ever asked in regard to any new 
 question presented before that body, "If there was any money 
 in it?" the good of their common country was the only thing 
 discussed or even thought of. It was a body, which, in point 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 253 
 
 of true dignity, if not of wisdom, has seldom been equalled 
 and never surpassed; and which was regarded the supreme 
 power of the tribal commonwealth. They had but few laws, 
 but the few were rigidly enforced. 
 
 There were many natural orators among- the ancient 
 Choctaws when living 1 in undisturbed prosperity amTMiappi- 
 ness east of the Mississippi river. Their orations were 
 very concise, animating and abounding in many beautiful meta 
 phors; and who, had they possessed the embellishments of a 
 refined education, would have compared well with any race 
 of mankind that ever existed. v 
 
 The Choctaws, like all their race, deliberated with great 
 dignity and solemnity on national affairs; and jn all their 
 assemblies, both, national and social, everything- was carried 
 on in the best order and unassumed decorum. Their treaties 
 were ratified by smoking- the pipe of peace an emblem 
 respected, honored, and held sacred ^by all Indians every 
 where. As with all their race, so war was, in the estimation 
 of the ancient- Choctaws, the most patriotic avocation in which 
 a man could engage; they seldom began a war with another 
 tribe, but rather waited for an attack, then no braver or more 
 resolute warriors ever went upon the war-path. The open 
 ing of hostilities was alwas preceded by the famous Hoyopa- 
 hihla, War-dance. Night was the chosen time for engaging- in 
 that time-honored ceremony; and as soon as evening- began 
 to spreadher dark mantle o er their forests, ahuge pile of dry 
 logs and brush previously prepared was set on fire, whose 
 glaring and crackling flames intermingling- with their hoyopa- 
 taloah (war-songs) and soul-stirring hoyopa-tassuhah (war- 
 hoops) presented a scene as wild and romantic as can possi 
 bly be imagined. 
 
 The manly forms of the dusky warriors with their paint 
 ed faces illuminated with the wildest excitement; the huge 
 fire blazing and crackling in the centre of the Wide extended 
 circle of excited dancers, which, now and then, a kick from a 
 dancing warrior, caused to send the flames and sparks 
 hig-h up among- the wide extended branches of the mighty 
 forest trees that stood around; the stern visages of the old 
 warriors, whom age and decrepitude had long since placed 
 upon the retired list from further duty upon the war-path or 
 in the chase, sitting- around in little groups where the light 
 of the burning log-heap disputed precedency with the gloom 
 of night,, calm and silent spectators of the weird scene in 
 which they could no lorijger participate, but which awakened 
 thrilling- memories of the past; the Goddess Minerva s fav 
 orite birds, allured from their dark abode?} in the forest by 
 the glaring light, flitted here and there overhead through 
 
254 HISTORY OF THE mDIANS. 
 
 the extended branches of the overshadowing- oaks, and anon 
 joined in \vith their voices, to which in wild response, the 
 distant howl of a pack of roving- wolves filled up the meas 
 ure of the awe inspiring- scene. But those who have wit 
 nessed it will not be easily satisfied with any vain attempt to 
 d,epict it on paper; and those who have not will hardly have 
 their anticipations realized by anything- short of the opportun 
 ity of judging for themselves. Therefore, have I contented 
 myself with giving a mere outline of my own impressions; for 
 he who would attempt to picture a Choctaw Hoyopa-hihla, as 
 it was exhibited seventy years ago in the midnight solitudes 
 of a Mississippi forest, would have to aim at condensation and 
 exaggeration and yet expect failure in both; for adjectives 
 would only confuse and sentences but veil the scene; besides 
 any description that could be made would not express the 
 -thousandth part of what ought to be said, and if but a weak 
 picture was drawn, even then it would be called the w r ild hal 
 lucinations of a disordered brain. But that the reader may 
 be able to form a faint idea of the scene, I know of nothing 
 more appropriate, (judging from what I have read and also 
 been told by eye witnesses) to which it ma} be compared, 
 than a Chicago political convention of the present age, with 
 this exception however; the yells of the Indian squaws were 
 not heard intermingling with the war-whoops of the. forest 
 warriors in wild cadences of the war-dance, as the yells of 
 the white squaws are heard mingling with the political 
 whoops of the white warriors in the crazed scenes of the con 
 ventional dance. 
 
 On the return of a successful war-path, the village at 
 once became the scene of festivity and triumph. The varied 
 trophies scalps, painted shields, etc., were hung on poles 
 near the houses. Then followed war-feasts, scalp-dances, 
 .accompanied with war-songs and shouts of victory,- while the 
 old men went from house to house rehearsing in a loud tone 
 of voice the events of the battle and the various daring ex 
 ploits of the warriors. But, amid all this, sounds of another 
 kind were also heard mingling in discordant tones with those 
 of joy; they were the piteous wailings of the women borne 
 upon the air from the surrounding hills, where they had 
 retired to mourn in darkness and solitude for their slain in 
 battle. There the mother, wife and sister gave full sway to 
 the anguish of their hearts; reminding the intelligent hearer 
 o that affecting pasasage of Scripture, "In Rama was there 
 a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, 
 Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted 
 because they were not." 
 
 As all nations of the human family, so the Choctaws of 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 255 
 
 both sexes delighted in ornaments. Though the Choctaw 
 warrior, in his training" for the duties of manhood, inured 
 himself to fatigue and privation, and in defense of his country 
 and home, and resenting an insult, was as brave as bravery 
 itself; yet he was fond of admiring himself before a mirror 
 when arrayed in the paraphernalia of Choctaw fashion; i. e. a 
 red turban, highly decorated w r ith the gay plumage of various 
 kinds of birds encircling his head; with face painted accord- 
 to Choctaw etiquette; with crescents of highly polished tin 
 supended from his neck and extending in regular order 
 from the chin to the waist; with shining bracelets of the same 
 metal encircling his wrists and arms above the elbows; with 
 a broad belt around his waist, tastily interwoven with 
 innumerable little beads of every gay and flashing color; 
 with feet encased in moccasins soft and pliant, and highly 
 decorated with little beads of sparkling hue. did the young 
 Choctaw warrior walk forth among the admiring beauties of 
 his tribe as much the personification of a modern, first-class, 
 white dude, complete and perfect, as ever contested for the 
 honor of superiority in the "laudable" occupation;, yielding 
 the palm of victor} 7 to his pale-face brother disputant, only in 
 the "gift of continuance; 1 since the Choctaw, after indulging 
 in momentary paroxysms of self-admiration, .turned from his 
 mirror, doffed his effeminate plumage to soon forget what 
 manner of man he appeared, since the thought of his noble 
 aspirations and strivings returned to excel as a warrior and 
 conselor in his nation, but leaving his pale-face opponent 
 master of the field to live and die contented and happ}- in his 
 imbecility. 
 
 The Choctaws were strong in their belief in the exist 
 ence of hat-tak holth-kun-a Twitches); even as our own "en- 
 -Tightened" ancestors in the days of Cotton Mather differ 
 ing, however, in this particular; the Choctaws selected old 
 and decrepit women as victims of their superstitions, w r hile 
 their white brothers, whose boasted civilization had rendered 
 a little more fastidious, manifested their superiority in 
 intellectual attainments over the Indians, by selecting the 
 young as the victims of their wild theories. But ghosts 
 and witches. have long since been to the Choctaws as things 
 r>f the forgotten past. 
 
 The restless and fertile imagination of the Choctaws, 
 .as well as all their race, peopled with beings of a higher or 
 der than themselves the mountains, plains, woods, lakes, 
 fountains and streams. But in regard to the origin of man, 
 the one generally accepted among the Choctaws, as well as 
 many other tribes was that man and all other forms of life 
 had originated froin^ the common mother earth through the 
 
256 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 agency of the Great Spirit; but believed that the,lruman race- 
 sprang- from many different primeval pairs created by the 
 Great Spirit in the various parts of the earth in which man 
 was found; and according to the different natural features of 
 the world in which man abode, so their views varied with 
 regard to the substance of which man was created; in a 
 country of vast forests, they believed the primeval pair, o r 
 pairs, sprang from the trees; in a mountainous and rocky 
 district of country, they sprang from the rocks; in valleys 
 and prairies, from the earth; but their views as to the time 
 this creation of man took place, whether at the same time 
 throughout the various inhabited regions or at different 
 periods, their traditions are silent. 
 
 To the unlettered and untutored mind of man through 
 out the world, all things are endowed with individuality and 
 life; from which arose, no doubt, the great number of mystic 
 conceptions, regarding the sun, moon, stars, clouds, winds 
 and storms, as being animate bodies, possessing life as all 
 animate creatures. The traditions of some of the North 
 American Indian tribes are said to state, that the sun was 
 once caught in a snare by a great hunter, and was set free 
 by the moles, but at the loss of their eyes from its intense 
 light, and have ever since been blind. Perhaps the primi 
 tive fathers of those tribes possessed sonie knowledge of 
 Joshua s command to the orb of day. Brinton states in his 
 "Myths of the New World," page 55, that the legend of the 
 Peruvian Incas, in regard to the sun, is\ "He is like a teth 
 ered beast who makes a daily round under the eye of a 
 master." Many of the North American Indian tribes be- . 
 lieved, in regard to the eclipse of "the sun and moon, that 
 some animal, wolf, dog, etc., was devouring the sun, and 
 ma.de every effort to drive him away. Some whipped their 
 own dogs during an eclipse because a "Big dog" was eating 
 the sun or moon, and believed the "Big dog" might be in 
 duced to postpone his meal by the howls of their whipped 
 curs. 
 
 p?he ancient Choctaws believed an eclipse was caused by 
 a little black squirrel, which had resolved to devour the sun, 
 and which could only be saved from the little gormandizer 
 by frightening him away by a great noise, to which I have, 
 more than once, been an eye witness, and to the modus oper- 
 randi adopted to give him a scare; and also testify from ex 
 perience as to the virtues of the music; at least the sun came 
 out all right; but as to the strict adherence to the accepted 
 rules of harmony during the performance, I will write more 
 definitely on some other page. It is also stated, that the 
 South American Indians believed that the moon, when in an 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 257 
 
 eclipse, was being" devoured by dog s, and, to scare them off,, 
 the natives, made a great noise. (Tyler, "Culture," Vol. 1, 
 p. 296.) Also of the African Moors, says Grimm, "Teuto 
 nic Mythology," Vol, 2, p. 707. When the sun eclipse was at 
 its highest, we saw the people running- about as if mad, and 
 firing their guns at the sun, to frighten the monster who, 
 they supposed, was wishing to devour i^ie orb of day. The 
 women banged copper vessels together, making such a din 
 that it was heard miles away." ( 
 
 A legend of the Mongolians states that a monster con 
 tinually pursues the sun and moon, and when overtaking the 
 one or the other an eclipse is the result. The Chinese be 
 lieve, even at the present day, the sun and moon are being 
 devoured by a great dragon during an eclipse. During the 
 eclipse of the sun in 1887, the Chinese authorities, in accord 
 ance with the usage of the empire, commanded the Buddhist 
 and Tauist priests to perform their incantations to rescue 
 thejsun "from the jaws of a devouring monster. It was at 
 the time of the celebration of the Emperor s birthday, 
 when all the officials were required to wear embroidered 
 robes; but it is also the law that during an eclipse officials 
 who participate in the ceremonies must wear ordinary 
 clothing until the sun is rescued. An edict had to be ob 
 tained from the Emperor to settle it. He ordered the offi 
 cials to ignore .his birthday and attend to the wants of th& 
 sun. So they all wore ordinary clothes, The EstheJfflabtis. 
 believed the sun and moon were being eaten during art 
 eclipse by som^ animal, and endeavored to frighten it away 
 by conjuring. "The Hindoos, to this day, -believe that a- 
 giant lays hold of the luminaries, and tries to swallow t&em.. 
 The. Romans flung fire-brands into the air and blew trum 
 pets and clanged brazen pots and pans." During an eclipse 
 in the 17th century the Celtics "run about beating kettles 
 and pans thinking their clamor and vexations available to the 
 assistance of the higher orbs." (Tyler, Op. Cit. p. 301.) 
 So also it is s*aid of the Northern Asiatics, and of the Finns 
 of Eurdpe. 
 
 N The traditions of the Polynesians state that Mauiand his 
 brothers thought the sun went too fast for their convenience 
 and determined to check him; therefore, they made strong- 
 ropes, and then went "very far to the eastward, and came to 
 the very edge of the place out . of which the s>un rises." 
 There they placed a noose to catch the sun. "He rises up 
 his head passes through the noose, and it takes>in more and 
 more of his body, uqftil his fore paws pass Through; then 
 are pulled tight the ropes. The sun screams aloud; he 
 roars; Maui strikes him fiercely with many blows. They 
 
258 I HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 hold him for a long- time; at last they let him go; and then 
 weak from wounds the sun crept slowly along- his course." 
 (Grey s Polynesian Mythology, p. 35-8.) It is said, however, 
 that there are different versions of this legend; one, that 
 Maui finally released the sun; another that he still has him 
 roped, and holds him in check; .and the Polynesians still be 
 lieve they can- see the ropes at the rising and setting of the 
 sun, to which they point and exclaim "Behold the ropes of 
 Maui," while we" say, "the sun is drawing water," both 
 equally absurd. 
 
 The Australians, it is said, regarded the sun as a woman. 
 "Every night she descends among the dead, who stand in 
 double lines to greet her and let her pass. She has a lover 
 among the dead, who has presented her with a red kangaroo 
 skin, and in this she appears at her rising." To us how 
 foolish, yet how similar to our own ancestors, who regarded 
 the dawn a red cow, and the sun her calf. (Zoological Mytho 
 logy, Vol. 1, p. 50.) So also of the Vedas whose Ushas (Dawn) 
 "opens the darkness as a cow her stall." Hence the sacred- 
 ness of the cow to the Hindoos in their worship; and also, it 
 might be added, the red heifer among the Israelites. (Num. 
 19.) 
 
 And thus it appears that all other nations of mankind 
 are, and have been, theorizers, even as the North American 
 Indians; and though these theories were crude yet they 
 found embodiment in stories handed down to posterity as 
 traditions and legends. They were not allegories, but man 
 :in his primitive state endeavoring- to find out and to explain 
 the mysteries of nature around him; and, as learning -and 
 intelligence advanced, these absurdities passed alike into 
 forgeifulness. So it is evident, we have little ground upon 
 which to base our contempt for the Indians in regard to their 
 myths, since we have also passed through the same. 
 
 The Choctaws had several classes of dignitaries among 
 -.them who were held in the hig hest reverence: The Medi 
 cine Man or Prophet, the Rain Maker, the Doctor a verita 
 ble chip of Esculapius. Well indeed did each fill his allotted 
 position in life, and faithfully discharge the mystic duties 
 appertaining thereunto, both in their own opinion as well as 
 that of their people. The Choctaws Materia Medica, like 
 all their race, was Nature, herbs and roots furnishing 
 their remedies both externally and internally; and the 
 success with which they used those remedies proved 
 their knowledge of the healing properties of the various 
 herbs and roots" in,. which their extensive forests abounded. 
 They had a specific for the, bite of the sintullo (rattle snake). 
 Their doctors relied much . on dry-cupping-, using their 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 259 
 
 mouth alone in all such cases. Oft have I witnessed the 
 Choctaw physician, east of the Mississippi river, administer 
 ing to the necessities of his suffering- patient throug-h the 
 virtues found in the process of dry-cupping;. Stretching the 
 sufferer upon a blanket spread upon the ground, he kneeled 
 beside him and began a process of sucking that part of the 
 body of which the patient complained, or where, in his own 
 judgment, the disease was located, making a guttural noise 
 during the operation that reminded one of dog- worrying- an 
 opossum; at different intervals raising his head a few inches 
 and pretending to deposit into his hands, alternately in the 
 one and the other, an invisible something which he had 
 drawn from his patient, by a magic power- known alone to 
 himself. 
 
 After sucking a sufficient length of time to nil both 
 hands, judging from the frequent deposits - therein made, 
 -with great apparent dignity and solemn gravity, this worthy 
 son of Esculapius arose and stepping to the nearest tf ee, 
 post, or fence, wiped the secret contents of his apparently 
 full hands thereon; then with an air of marked importance 
 walked away to the enjoyments of his own reflections, while 
 the sufferer, in real or fancied relief, acknowledged the efficacy 
 of the physician s healing powers by ceasing to complain, 
 turned over and sought forgetfulness in the arms of refresh 
 ing sleep. If there ensued a change for the better he claimed 
 the honor and praise as due the noble profession of which he 
 recognized himself a worthy and important member; but if 
 the disease proved stubborn and refused to yield to the medi 
 cinal virtues of his herbs, roots and\ dry-cupping, he turned 
 to his last resort the Anuka, (Hot-house.) This edifice, an 
 important adjunct in all Choctaw T villages, was made of logs 
 rendered nearly air tight by stopping all cracks with mortar. 
 A little hole was left on one side for an entrance. A fire was 
 built in the centre of this narrow enclosure, and soon the 
 temperature within was raised to the desired degree, then 
 the fire w r as taken out and the patient instructed to crawl in; 
 which being done, the little opening was closed. As a matter 
 of course, the patient must bake or sweat; w r hich, however, 
 resulted in the latter; and when, in the opinion of the Alikchi, 
 (doctor) he had undergone a thorough sweating, the entrance 
 was opened, and the patient bidden to come forth; who, upon 
 his exit, at once runs to the nearest water into which he 
 plunged head first; but if not of sufficient amount and depth 
 for the correct performance of that ceremony to its fullest 
 extent, he ducks his head into it several times, thus making 
 practical the wholesome theory of the hygienist: "Keep 
 your head cool, but your feet warm." In case of common 
 
260 HISTORY^ OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 intermittent fever, the efficiency of this mode of proceeding- 
 (the sweat and cold bath) was truly astonishing-, seldom 
 failing- to effect a cure. 
 
 But if the patient died ah, then! with that shrewdness 
 pecular to all quacks the world over, he readily found a 
 cause upon which to base his excuse for his inefficacy to 
 effect a cure; differing somewhat, however, from his white 
 brother alikchi, who attributes the cause of his failure to 
 innumerable "where-as-es and ifs," while he openly ackowl- 
 edged and emphatically declared the interposition of a hat- 
 tak holth-kun-na (witch), which counteracting the beneficial 
 virtues of his remedies, had caused the death of his patient 
 by thus placing him beyond the reach of mortal skill, noth 
 ing more nor less. Sometimes, for the sake of variety, he 
 attributed the death of his patient, if occurring very sudden 
 ly, to an Ish tulbih (witch ball) shot from an invisible rifle in 
 the hands of a witch. At this important juncture of affairs, 
 it now becomes his duty to find the witch that he, she, or it, 
 may be brought to pay the penalty of the law in all such 
 cases death. As a matter of course, the doctor, not very 
 scrupulous in the matter of shifting- the blame from his own 
 shoulders to that of another so natural to all mankind 
 easily found a witch in the person of some attenuated bid 
 woman, whom he designated as the guilty party, and who 
 consequently was immediately slain by the relatives of the 
 deceased; an illustration of which I have already given in the 
 case of the unfortunate Il-lich-ih. 
 
 In the matter of rain, the Choctaw Rainmaker truly 
 swayed the sceptre of authority in that line of art, uiidis- 
 
 Euted, and was regarded with reverential awe by his people, 
 n all cases of protracted drouth, which was quite frequent 
 at an early day in their ancient domains, the Hut-tak Um-ba 
 7 Ik-bi, (man rain maker) was regarded as the personage in 
 whom alone was vested the power to create rain; therefore 
 to him they went with their offerings and supplications, the 
 former, however, partaking more of a persuasive nature than 
 the latter, in the judgment of the Umba Ikbi, as an effectual 
 means to bring into requisition his mysterious power in the 
 matter of rain. He without hesitation promised to heed 
 their solicitations, but gently hinting that, in his judgment, 
 the offerings were not in as exact ratio to their importuni 
 ties as they should have been. However, he now assumes 
 an air of mysterious thoughtfulness and, "grand, gloomy 
 and peculiar wrapped in the solitude of his own imagina 
 tion," strolled from village to village, gazing at the sun by 
 day and the stars by night, seeming to hold communion with 
 the spirits of the upper worlds; finally he ventured his^repu- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 261 
 
 tation by specifying- a certain day upon which he would 
 make it rain. The day arrived, and if haply came 
 with it a rain the faith of his dupes wasconfirmed, his mystic 
 power unquestioned, and the Umba Ikbi made comfortable. 
 But if otherwise, he did not as the Alikchi, attribute his fail 
 ure to the counteracting influence of a witch in the person 
 of an old woman, but to that of a brother Umba Ikbi living- in 
 some remote part of the nation, with whom he was just then 
 at variance. He now informs his unfortunate b.ut not faith 
 less people that /an Umba Ikbi s mind must be free of all 
 contending- emotions while engaged in the mystic ceremo 
 nies of rain making; that he was now angry, too much mad 
 to make it rain. Upon which announcement, the now de 
 spairing people earnestly solicited to know if they, in any 
 way could assuage his wrath. Pie replied in the negative; 
 but promised, however, to consider the matter as soon as his 
 anger abated. He now became more reserved; sought soli 
 tude where undisturbed he might scan the sky and per 
 chance discern some sign of rain. Sooner or later, he 
 discovers a little-hazv cloud stretched along the distant 
 western horizon;, attentively and carefully watches it as 
 broader and higher it ascends, until he feels sure he can 
 safely risk another promise; then leaves his place of secret 
 and thoughtful meditation, and, with countenance fair as a 
 summer morn, presents himself before his despairing 
 people and announces his anger cooled and wrath departed; 
 that now he would bring rain without delay, yet drqpping I 
 casual hint as to the efficacy of a coveted pony, cow, blanket, 
 etc., being added, as a surer guarantee, since "the Jaborer 
 was worthy his hire." The hint was comprehended and 
 fully complied with in hopeful expectation. Anon the low 
 muttering thunder vibrates along the western horizon in 
 audible tones, and the lightning flash is seen athwart the 
 western sky heralding the gathering and approaching storm; 
 soon the sky is overcast with clouds of blackest hue while 
 the lightning s flash and the thunder s roar seem to proclaim 
 to the people their wonderful Umba Ikbi s secret power in 
 the affair of rain; and, as the vast sheets of falling water wet 
 the parched earth they sing his praise; which he, with as 
 sumed indifference, acknowledged with an approving grunt; 
 then, with measured steps, sought his home, there to await 
 another necessity that would call him forth to again deceive 
 his credulous admirers. But all such delusions soon van 
 ished before the teachings of the missionaries. 
 
 In connection with this peculiar one of the Choctaws, I 
 will here relate an incident that took place during- a great 
 
262 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 drouth that prevailed in their Nation soon after the estab 
 lishment of the mission called Hebron. 
 
 The Rain Maker had long- been appealed to through sup 
 plications and fees, but all in vain; and it seemed that the 
 stubborn drouth had united! -.vith more than one distant broth 
 er Umba Ikbi in rendering- his present worship prodigiously 
 mad, not only with them but also with himself and the world 
 in general, as his ears seemed deaf to all appeals upon the 
 subject of water. Since wells and cisterns were luxuries 
 then unknown to the Indians, they depended upon their 
 rivers, creeks, lakes and ponds, which seldom failed to sup 
 ply. Amid the prevailing gloom an aged Choctaw widow 
 named Im-ai-yah (to go by) living two miles south of Hebron, 
 came one day, as she oft had done before, to talk with her 
 pale-face friend, Mrs. Cushman, concerning the drouth. She 
 soon stated that she believed there would be plenty of rain in 
 a few days. When asked upon what she based her belief, 
 she replied: "On my way here this morning, I sat down at 
 the roots of a large tree; while sitting there these thoughts 
 came to me. Our Rain Maker cannot make it rain, or he 
 would. If he can make it rain, why should not I be able to 
 make it rain too? Why should not anyone? Then I asked 
 myself; who made this big tree? Somebody made it, and he 
 who made it surely can make it rain too. I know he can; and 
 I will ask him to please make it rain very soon. I then kneel 
 ed down at the roots of that big tree and earnestly prayed to 
 him who made the big tree to please make it rain; and while 
 I was praying a little cloud formed directly over the tree, 
 and a little shower fell and many of the drops of water, pass 
 ing through the leaves of the tree, fell on me. I know now 
 who can make it rain." "Who?" earnestly asked the deeply 
 interested pale-face listener. "He who made that tree. Is 
 he your God of whom you have told me?" "He is," replied 
 the poor widow s pale-face friend and spiritual teacher. But 
 I will leave the further conversation that ensued betwen the 
 two red and white friends to the imagination of the reader, 
 with this only: No two women were more devoted friends, 
 the one to the other, than were the poor Choctaw widow and 
 the "pale-face" missionary. But what of that prayer at the 
 roots of that "big tree?" It was heard and answered by the 
 Maker of that "big tree;" who has said, "I will not bruise the 
 broken reed nor quench the smoking flax." Yes, in a few 
 days, an abundance of rain fell; yea, more. From that xime 
 the mystic power of the Umba Ikbis began to wane, and soon 
 vanished as a summer dream from the Choctaw Nation. 
 And he who cannot believe that Israel s God heard the hum 
 ble request of that earnest petitioner, and did not then and 
 
HISTORY OF THE /INDIANS. 263 
 
 there acknowledge its virtue in th.^ little shower of rain, and 
 in a few days answer -that prayer of faith by an abundant 
 shower, is thrice welcome to his unbelief. 
 
 Their laws (for they had laws,) though exceptional in 
 some respects to the White Race, nevertheless, were good, 
 and quite consistent with the nations of a primitive age. But 
 like all others of their race*, their severest law was that of 
 blood revenge. Whosoever^sheddeth man s blood, by man 
 shall his blood be shed" was a statute rigidly enforced among 
 all North American Indians. It was acknowledged among all, 
 not only to be the right, but also the imperative duty of the 
 nearest relative on the male side of the slain, to kill the slayer 
 wherever and whenever a favorable opportunity was presented. 
 Under many existing circumstances the law might, perhaps, 
 have bee n just and salutary; but unfortunately it went too 
 far, as any male member of the murderer s family, though 
 innocent and even ignorant of the- crime, might become the 
 victim of the avenger of blood, if the guilty had fled; but 
 such seldom occurred, as the murderer rarely ever made any 
 effort whatever to escape, but passively submitted to his fate. 
 Still, this law, revolting as it .may appear to many, exercised 
 a good influence among the Choctaws, as it had a salutary 
 effect in restraining them in the heat of passion, by render 
 ing them cautious in their disputes and quarrels, lest blood 
 should be shed; knowing the absolute certainty of murder 
 being avenged sooner or later upon the murderer himself, or 
 some one of his nearest male relatives; hence 110 man, or 
 family, would with impunity commit or permit, if they could 
 avoid or prevent it, an act that would be sure to be avenged, 
 no one could tell when or where. Days, weeks, and -even 
 months perhaps,|might pass, yet the avenger sleepeth not nor 
 has he forgotten; and, at an hour least expected and from a 
 source least apprehended, the blow at last falls, and there 
 the matter ends. Nor did the slayer find any protection 
 from any source whatever, not. even from his nearest rela 
 tives. Yet calmly and with stoical indifference awaited his 
 certain doom; nor was the avenger, though known, inter 
 rupted in any .manner whatever, either before or after he had 
 accomplished his revenge. The avenger of blood never took 
 the life of a female of the slayer s family, but satisfied him 
 self in the death of the slayer himself or in the person of some-, 
 one of his nearest male relatives. If the murderer had fled, 
 and the life of one of his male relatives had been sacrificed in 
 lieu of his own, he. then could return without fear of molesta 
 tion; but the name of coward was given to him an appella 
 tion more dreaded and less endurable than a hundred deaths 
 to all North American Indians.. 
 
264 HISTORY. OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 A few instances have -been known among" the Choctaws, 
 where a relative proposed tp-die for the slayer, and was ac 
 cepted on the part of ttfe relatives of the slain; but such 
 instances were very rare. I remember of an instance re 
 lated, of undoubted authority, whilch deserves to be held in 
 lasting- remembrance if nothing- more than to forever silence 
 and put to eternal shame the foolish croaking-s of those who 
 deny to the Indian the possession of any of the finer feelings 
 and emotions of the. heart, and to establish the fact that the 
 height, -depth, and breadth of an Indian mother s love can 
 only be equalled by. that of her wh^te sister, **botlr immeasur 
 able, incomprehensible, unfathomable. The case which I 
 here relate, was Toh-to Pe-hah (Red Elm Gathered Up), -an 
 aged Choctaw mother, who gave her life for that of her old 
 est son; and which clearly illustrates the depth and strength, 
 the sensibility and tenderness of maternal affection in an 
 Indian woman, whose name, had she lived in the days of 
 classic lore, wduld have been handed down to all future ages 
 in the songs of the poet minstrels, and upon the pages of the 
 historians. But alas! she was unfortunately an Indian and 
 virtue in an Indian is, with many of the present day, not a 
 virtue; while vice, in their defamers, is. This poor widowed 
 Choctaw mother, ^pame with others of her friends to the 
 place of execution on the day her son was to be shot for kill 
 ing an aged Choctaw man living many miles distant from 
 that of his own home. This killing was done before the 
 establishment of. the law that the slayer should be tried by 
 law, and no longer left in the hands of the "avenger of 
 blood." Of her four children he was the oldest, her darling 
 first-born, on whom she mainly depended for assistance in 
 the support of her little family, and whom she had named 
 Hoh-tak Lah-ba (Luke Warm). 
 
 When the mother arrived at the place of execution, she 
 found many had already assembled; but with emotions, felt 
 and known only by and to a mother, she pressed through the 
 throng to where her doomed boy stood, close to the execu 
 tioner with the deadly rifle in hand, upon which Hohtak Lah- 
 Iba looked with steady eye and unshaken nerves. All were 
 silent. Not a whisper disturbed the profound hush that 
 rested like a gloomy pall upon that assembly. The mother 
 glanced a look of love at the erect form of her son, who stood 
 as a statue before her eyes; then turned them a moment upon 
 the executioner with an appealing look for compassion; then 
 beseechingly upon the relatives of the man slain, and at once 
 broke the silence with an irresistible appeal to them to take 
 her life instead. of Hohtak Lahba s. u He is young, and I am 
 old," she cried. "His wife and child, his two little sisters and 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 265 
 
 "brother, will suffer if he is taken from them. They cannot 
 live without him, they can without me. I am old and can do 
 but little for them, nor that little long. Your relative he 
 killed was an old man. Why take a young 1 life for an old life? 
 Take mine in the place of Hohtak Lahba s. Let the avenger 
 of the death of your kinsman be satisfied with my death. 
 Blood for blood satisfies our violated law. It seeks no more, 
 it demands no more. What more should vou require? Speak 
 kinsman of the dead! Will you accept my life as sufficient 
 propitiation, a just compensation for the life of your slain? 
 I await your answer." A murmur of approval was heard in 
 the crowd, and soon one of the nearest in kindred to the slain 
 arose and accepted the offer in a firm and distinct tone of 
 voice. A smile of joy lit up the countenance of Toh-to Pe-hah 
 as she responded, "Tis well." A few moments were given 
 her to bid an adieu to her loved ones, and give her last 
 admonitions to her wayward boy; after which she calmly 
 presented herself before the executioner, and, nerved with 
 a mother s love that bids defiance to fear, bade him do his 
 duty. Then the sjiarp crack of the rifle broke the profound 
 stillness of the moment, and the spirit of that loving Choc- 
 taw mother winged its flight to Him* who has said: "Where 
 little is given, little is required." Such was the custom of 
 this peculiar people in the years of the long ago.^ v \ An eye 
 for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," was ever found 
 written in all Indians code of laws, and to the execution of 
 which they adhered with the strictest punctuality. The 
 spirit of the murdered Indian could never take its flight from 
 earth, or find rest anywhere in the eternal unknown, until 
 blood had atoned for blood, a belief as firmly fixed upon the 
 Indian heart as that upon the Christian s, that the blood of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, atoned for the sins of 
 the world. y 
 
 It is natural to suppose that Hohtak Lahba would have 
 refused the offer of his devoted mother. But custom denied 
 him the privilege of any action, whatever in the matter. If 
 the offer was made and accepted by the relatives of the slain, 
 he no longer stood condemned before the violated law, or in 
 the eyes of the avenger, and he or she, who had voluntarily 
 assumed the position, could only make the atonement. The 
 mother, in this case, had offered her life, a voluntary sacri- 
 . fice for that of her son s; it had been accepted as a sufficiency 
 by the avenger, and, even as the law of the Medes and Per 
 sians that "changeth not," so Tohto Pehah could not re 
 verse her accepted proposal, even if she had relented, nor 
 the son refuse, she must die, and Hoh tak Lahba must live; 
 and the Amen was the response of the law. Y ne unfortu- 
 
266 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 nate Hoh tak Lahba, though the avenger of the blood of his 
 slain victim had beenappeasedat a fearfulcost to him, was af 
 terwards often taunted by the relatives and friends of the 
 old man he had slain, with the accusation of cowardice, which 
 to all Indians is more to be dreaded than death. 
 
 For several years he bore up under their taunts until 
 he eventually began to believe that all regarded him as a cow 
 ard, and life to him had became a burden too great to be 
 longer borne. But what could he do? To take his own life 
 would not do, since that act would stamp the seal of woe 
 upon his eternal destiny. How then was he to secure for 
 himself an honorable death and wipe off the stain of coward 
 ice that had been attached to his name, and depart to the 
 eternal and happy home that awaited all brave warriors? 
 His cogitative mind at last suggested a plan; it was, only by 
 killinganother man. This he adopted and put into immediate 
 execution; and to make his death the more certain, he sought, 
 found, and slew a son of the very man for whose death his 
 doting mother had so heroically atoned; and though his 
 victim lived many miles distant, he well knew the deed would 
 speedily bring the avenger to his side. But that he might 
 effectually w r ipe forever from his name the stain of coward 
 ice, to his own honor and that of his kindred, he at once re 
 solved to take his own life, since now it would be blood for 
 blood, and self sacrifice would no longer fix upon him the 
 penalty of eternal woe. Quietly but resolutely he dug his 
 own grave before putting his dreadful resolution into effect; 
 and when completed, calmly x stretched himself therein to as 
 certain if it was complete in every particular. As soon as he 
 had slain his victim he hastened home with his utmost speed, 
 and at once told his relatives and friends what he had done, 
 and then said: "You know that I have long been accused of 
 cowardice, but now I will prove to you that I can also 
 meet death like. a brave warrior." Well" they knew his fear 
 ful determination and the impossibility of dissuading him 
 therefrom, as they sat in gloomy silence awaiting the ap 
 proaching fearful scene that was" soon to be enacted. Slow- 4 
 ly he went through with his preliminary death ceremonies 
 with that stoicism so peculiar to his race; the careful exami 
 nation of his rifle, to see if it would still be as true to its 
 trust as it so long had proved in his many conflicts with the 
 wild beasts of his native forests; the singing of his death 
 song, (the Indians adieu to earth) and the farewell shaking 
 of the hands of his relatives and friends present, consisting of 
 his wife, two sisters and brother, who sat in a mournful 
 group a little to one side, with eyes vacant and fixed as if 
 upon some distant object, but presenting a picture of silent 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 267 
 
 woe that baffles description; while the old men of the neigh 
 borhood sat in little groups around, smoking- their pipes in 
 doleful silence. No wailing-, not even a half smothered sigh, 
 broke the silence of the solemn scene. Nothing- was heard 
 but the voice of Hoh tah Lahba, as he now and then chanted 
 his death-song-. When he had bidden all his last adieu, he 
 seized his bottle of whiskey, that "bright insignia" of the 
 white man s "Personal -Liberty," drank a long- draught then 
 hurled the bottle with its contents to the ground with all his 
 strength, as if invoking a curse upon its maker and vendor, 
 then snatched his rifle from its leaning position against a 
 tree, rushed to his waiting .grave, and the sharp crack of the 
 rifle that immediately followed told but too plainly that Hoh- 
 tah Lahba was dead. Then burst forth a long restrained 
 w r ail of grief from his bereaved wife, sisters, and other fe 
 male friends alone, (as an Indian man never expresses his 
 grief by any external emotions) heretofore smothered in re 
 spect to Hoh tah Lahba s request, "that all emotions of 
 grief be restrained in his presence," that echoed far back 
 from the surrounding forests. 
 
 What Christian heart could witness such a scene without 
 emotions of sorrow, since it exhibits the human mind 
 shrouded in the greatest error, w r hile at the same time it 
 exhibits the elements of a noble nature. Contemplate the 
 love of that unlettered mother! Listen again to her arguments 
 before that stern court of inflexible justice, pleading her own 
 destitution of all further usefulness to her people, as a just 
 reason for the preservation of her son s manhood and useful 
 ness! View the son too, though sacrificing the life of his 
 loving mother by his wayward life, yet manifesting as great 
 a sense of shame and fear of public censure, as his civilized 
 white brother, (yet far more honorable) who sacrificed two 
 lives also under his so-called exalted views of honor in fighting 
 a duel ! Now turn aside from a long, lingering gaze upon the 
 desolate hearts of that wife, now widowed, and those weeping 
 sisters ; hear again that fearful, undissembled shriek as the 
 crack of the rifle announced that its messenger of death had 
 accomplished its work; listen to those lamentations loud,*as 
 they rush to the fatal spot and throw themselves upon the 
 quivering body, and then will you, can you, longer deny to 
 the Indian mother, wife, sister, daughter," any of those divine 
 and holy sensibilities so justly awarded to the white females? 
 
 Truly may it be said of the North American Indian 
 woman as a general thing, that they rank higher in those 
 feminine virtues that so peculiarly belong to women than any 
 unlettered race known in nistory or otherwise. And for that 
 highest of all female virtues, chastity, -the full-blood North 
 
268 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. ;* 
 
 American Indian woman can fearlessly challenge her white 
 sisters of the entire United States, without the fear of the 
 possibility of defeat. During- my sojourn among- the Choctaw 
 and Chickasaw people in the years 1884 to 1890, I made fre 
 quent inquiries relative to this subject, both of native citizens 
 and white citizens married among them, and whites living 
 among them as renters of their farms, and they have spoken 
 in the highest terms of praise of the chastity of the Choctaw 
 and Chickasaw women, and to which I add my own, based 
 upon a knowledge of over seventy years personal acquaint 
 ance with these two branches* of the Indian race, and also 
 that of the missionaries who labored among them when 
 living east of the Mississippi River. In conversation with a 
 . Chickasaw (half blood) in February, 1886, an ex-auditor of 
 the Chickasaw Nation and a man of undoubted veracity, who 
 lived near the line of division between his own people and the 
 war-like Commanches, and with whom he had formed an 
 extensive acquaintance by trading among them, he thus 
 replied to my inquiries concerning the chustitv of the Com- 
 manche women: "It is an absolute impossibility to rob a 
 Commanche woman of her virtue, only by superior physical 
 force. No professions of love, no promises of marriage, no 
 temptation of bribery, can avail anything in inducing her to 
 step from the path of rectitude, virtue and honor." I was 
 informed by a gentleman who lived in the southern part of 
 Arizona, that he was well acquainted with a tribe of Indians 
 whose women it was impossible to influence from the path of 
 virtue. Many of the early 1 writers speak in the highest com 
 mendation of the native Indian women. All praise to the 
 North American Indian women! uneducated, uncivilized, 
 with no advantages of moral culture, yet true to the natural 
 instincts of morality, "adorning" no cities, towns and villages 
 with houses erected for the prostitution of their bodies and 
 the eternal damnation of their souls. 
 
 The Choctaw women were of medium height, beautiful 
 in form, strong and a^ile in body; strictly honest, truthful, 
 light-hearted and gay, and devoted in their affection to fam 
 ily and friends, while common custom protected them against 
 all offense, even as it does at the present day; how com 
 mendable to the Choctaw men. 
 
 There always have existed among the North American 
 Indians, and still exist, many examples of intellectual ability, 
 of genius, of high moral feeling and as noble and pure patri 
 otism as was ever found in any nation of people and as proof 
 of this fact I relate the following: Some twenty-five years ago 
 a photographer of Chicago, being in Arizona on a vacation 
 trip, found and rescued from an Apache camp an abandoned 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 269 
 
 Indian male infant of full blood. The photographer became 
 possessed with a desire to take the boy home with him and 
 adopt him. In spite of warnings that the child would prove 
 a viper in his bosom, he carried out his intentions, and rear 
 ed the boy, to whom the name of Charles Moiitezuma was 
 given, as a member of his family. The young Apache grew 
 up to bein.face and physique the very type of his tribe; but 
 he was at the same time an excellent scholar and a perfect 
 gentleman. He graduated at the Chicago High School with 
 credit, and was very popular in his class, being gentle, polite, 
 industrious. A recent inquiry as to Montezuma s career 
 since the completion of his high school education developed 
 the facts that he has selected surgery for a profession, and 
 will graduate from the Chicago Medical College far above 
 the average of his class; that he is liked by his classmates 
 and has never manifested any desire to resume the barbar 
 ous habits of his relatives, or shown any savage traits what 
 ever; that he supports himself, during his studies at the 
 medical college, by filling prescriptions at a Chicago drug 
 store where he is looked upon as an expert pharmacist, and 
 that every circumstance indicates that he will make a suc 
 cessful professional man. 
 
 But long since has it been proven and established beyond 
 contradiction that they possessed capacities as susceptible 
 of the highest refinement as that of the White Race, which, 
 w r rapt in the garb of self-importance impervious to truth 
 and reason, regarded the Indians as inferior beings, unworthy 
 its consideration, except as objects to be plundered and 
 destroyed; and in justification of which, called them savages, 
 but with as little justice and reason as the Indians had to 
 call them Christians. What unlettered nations, utterly 
 without books, colleges and schools, have ever produced such 
 men, worthily renowned as orator^and statesmen in council, 
 and brave in the field of battle as palriots, as the true Native 
 Americans of the North Western Continent, in their Mas- 
 sasoits, Phillips, Pontiacs, Red Jackets, Black Hawks, Te- 
 cumsehs, Humming Birds, Red Shoes, Apushamatahahs, 
 * Weatherfords, Osceolas, Ridges, Rosses, Colberts, and 
 hundreds of others of equal renown? They are not to be found 
 in tradition on in ancient or modern history. 
 
 Who that has read Cooper s "Last of the Mohicans," 
 but remembers Uncas, the yonng Mohawk warrior, and 
 jointly with that of his white friend Leather Stocking, the 
 hero of the story? It is said his Indian name w T as Tschoop; 
 but if it is corrupted as badly as all other Indians names 
 when put in print by the whites, it is as foreign from his 
 true name as that by which he figured in the u Last of the 
 
270 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Mohicans." However, he has been handed down as a noted 
 warrior among his people the once powerful and warlike 
 Mohawks who inhabited the now State of New York in the 
 years of long- past famous for his daring- exploits in war, 
 and his fiery eloquence in the councils of his Nation. In 
 1741, he was often visited at his home by a Moravian mis 
 sionary, named Christian Rauch, who often spoke to him 
 upon the subject of relig-ion during their frequent socal con 
 versations; and finally asked him if he had any desire to save 
 his soul. "We all desire that," responded Uncas. The 
 good missionary, in his zeal, became persistent in urgiug 
 upon him the importance and great necessity of his becom 
 ing a Christian, praying and pleading with him often with 
 tears; and after many months of prayer and entreaty, the 
 pious Rauch was delighted to see his forest pupil a changed 
 man a truly pious Christian, whom he baptised under the 
 name of John. In a letter Uncas afterwards sent to the 
 Delaware Indians, he said: U I have been a bad, very bad, 
 man. But a white preacher told me there is a God.. I said: 
 Do I riot know that? Return whence you came. 
 
 Then another came and told me that God was offended 
 at me when I did any bad acts. Again I said: Do I not know 
 that too? Do you think that I am a fc/ol? Then Christian 
 Rauch came into my cabin and sat down by me and told me 
 of my crimes, of Jesus who died to save me from them; and 
 this he did day after day, until I became tired of his talk and 
 treatened to kill him if he came to my cabin again. But one 
 day I came home and found him in my cabin sound asleep. 
 I stood and looked at him, and said to myself "What sort 
 of a man is this? How easily I might kill him; yet he is with 
 out fear, for he says his Jesus will protect him from all 
 harm. Who is that that Jesus? I too must and will find 
 him." And, reader, he did find him; and soon after he be 
 came not only an humble and devout follower of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, but also became a preacher of the Gospel with 
 the same fiery eloquence which had given him a power among 
 his race, and spent many years in traveling among the neigh 
 boring tribes of his day who long since have all been num 
 bered with the events that were fading before the tide of the 
 white man s Christian oppression like a shadow that leaves 
 no trace behind, except in the persons of a few who have 
 survived the wreck of years, only, it seems, because they 
 have the right to live. 
 
 Curiosity was one of the chief characteristics of the* 
 Choctaws, and held a prominent position in their breasts. 
 They were desirous to know everything peculiar or strange 
 that was transpiring about them; not more so, however, than 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 271 
 
 any others of the human race. Yet the Choctaw differed 
 from his white brother in this particular; the white man ex 
 pressed openly his curiosity at anything- unusual or strange, 
 and asked innumerable questions concerning- it, and 
 manifested the greatest excitement until his curiosity 
 was gratified ; but the Choctaw asked no questions, 
 nor manifested any "surprise whatever, no matter how 
 strange or incomprehensible to him, but walked around with 
 an air of seemingly perfect indifference; yet was attentive to 
 any and all explanations that were being- made by others. 
 The ing-enuity of the white man as displayed in his vari 
 ous inventions was, to him, as to all his race, the deepest 
 mystery, an incomprehensible enigma that placed the pale 
 face, in his opinion, in close relationship to super-human 
 beings; and influenced an ag-ed Indian chief to exclaim, when 
 viewing* the mysterious working s of a steam engine when 
 once at Washington City, "I hate the avarice of the white 
 man s heart, but worship the ing-enuity of his mind." The 
 astonishment sometimes depicted upon, the countenances of 
 the Indians when beholding- the wonderful performances of 
 the white man, audibly expressed by the ancient Choctaws 
 in the sudden ejaculation, u Wah ? " was often very divert 
 ing. 
 
 On one occasion a venerable old Indian man, who, in 
 order to light his pipe, was trying to catch a spark upon a 
 piece of punk struck from his flint and steel; after many 
 fruitless attempts, a white man standing near had observed 
 the old man s unsuccessful efforts to obtain the desired 
 spark, and anticipating a little laugh might be had at the ex 
 pense of the old veteran, stepped up and proposed to bring 
 clown fire from the sun with which to light his pipe. At 
 this astounding- proposal, the old man looked up and shook 
 his head with an incredulous grunt, which being interpreted 
 evidently signified: "You are a fool." The white man then 
 slowly taking a sun-glass from his pocket, held it concealed 
 in his hand directly over the well filled pipe of tobacco. The 
 fecal rays of the sun soon did their work. "Now smoke," 
 said the white man. The old man obeyed, and at once his 
 mouth was filled w r ith smoke. That was enough. He at 
 once puffed the smoke from his mouth; then stopped and 
 looked at the \vhite man, then up at the sun; then down at 
 his well lighted pipe; then again at the white - man and the 
 sun, with that expression of amazement and awe which 
 plainly expressed his now changed opinion, that, instead of 
 a fool, that white man was nothing more nor less a person 
 age than the devil himself; and, with eyes askant resting 
 upon him, he slowly arose and walked away with his last 
 
272 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 formed opinion which no argument could have induced him 
 to again change; yet not with as devotional a spirit, ^it is pre 
 sumed, of he of the steam engine. 
 
 As an evidence of the tenacity with which the ancient 
 Choctaws adhered to the veracity of their traditions handed 
 down through a long line of ancestry, I will here relate a little 
 incident in which my twin brother and myself (then seven 
 years of age) were the chief actors, and shared all the glory. 
 At that time, there was a remembered tradition of their an 
 cestors which they truly believed, that u pale-face" twins (if 
 boys) possessed the magic power of dispelling all depreda 
 ting worms and insects from cornfields, gardens, etc., which, 
 in some years, at that early day, proved quite destructive, 
 especially to their corn during the milk stage. Now it so 
 happened during one summer, that the corn-worms were 
 unusually numerous and were committing great depredations 
 upon their fields of green corn. This corn-worm, with which 
 all southern farmers are well acquainted but entertained no 
 dread, is, when fully grown, about an inch and a half or two 
 inches long, and aboik the size of a wheat straw, and commits 
 its depredations (if depredations it may now be called) only 
 when the corn is in the milk stage, entering the ear at the 
 top and gradually working downward, but leaving it as soon 
 as the grain becomes hard. Now it also happened, they had 
 learned that Mr. Cushman, the "good pale-face," as he was 
 termed, had a pair of twin boys; a propitious opportunity (long 
 desired) was now offered to secure for themselves, by an 
 occular demonstration, the traditional efficacy of the pale-face 
 twins super-natural power, which they joyfully embraced. 
 Unexpectedly, one beautiful June morning, a company 
 ; of fine-looking Choctaw warriors were seen approaching on 
 i horseback at full speed. They halted at the gate of Mr. 
 Cushman s yard and called for him. He at once responded 
 by walking out to them. After the usual friendly salutations 
 had been passed, they inquired if he had a pair of twin sons, 
 to which he replied in the affirmative. They then informed 
 him of the depreciations being committed upon their fields of 
 green corn, and also of the traditions of their ancestors, re 
 questing at the same time the loan of his twins that they 
 might, by that mysterious power possessed alone by pale 
 face twins, rid them of the voracious pests that were then de 
 stroying their fields of corn. Mr. Cushman, ignorant of 
 such a power having been bestowed upon his twin boys, at 
 first demurred; but they becoming more importunate in 
 their request, he finally told them he would give them an an 
 swer in a few minutes. He then stepped into the house and 
 presented the case to Mrs. Cushman for consideration, who 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 273 
 
 at once, from a mother s natural apprehensions that would 
 arise in such a novel case, most positively refused her con 
 sent; but after a few minutes deliberation reluctantly yield 
 ed, to the great joy and satisfaction of the twins, who had 
 been attentive spectators and listeners to the whole proceed 
 ing s, and had become eager to test their attributed power, 
 (unknown before) and to enjoy the anticipated novel sport so 
 closely connected with the horseback ride that was present 
 ed. Mr. Cushman at once led his little twins to the gate and 
 introduced them to the now jubilant warriors, by telling 
 them the respective names of the wonderfully gifted" 
 twins; and then granted their request upon the promise that 
 they would return his boys in^ the evening of the day, before 
 the sun had set. The promise was given and accepted by 
 Mr. Cushman without the least apprehension of its violation, 
 while Mrs. Cushman stood in the door and viewed the pro 
 ceedings with that doubtful anxiety known and felt only by 
 mothers. 
 
 Mr. Cushman then set each of his boys upon a horse be 
 fore a warrior, accompanying the act with the parting re 
 quest: "Take good care of my little boys!" Unnecessary 
 .appeal, as not a Choctaw in that little band but would have 
 shielded the entrusted twins from injury even at the ex 
 pense of his life. At once we galloped of? in the direction of 
 their village three miles distant called Okachiloho fah. 
 (Water falling, or Falling water.) When we arrived in sight, 
 their success was announced by a shrill whoop to which the 
 villagers responded their joy by another. As soon as we rode 
 into the village, we were immediately surrounded by an ad 
 miring throng, and being tenderly lifted from our positions 
 on the horses, we were handed over to the care of several old 
 men, who took us in their arms and with much gravity 
 carried us into a little cabin, which had previously been set 
 in order for our reception, where we found prepared a va 
 riety of eatables, to us seemingly good enough to excite the 
 appetites of the most fastidious twin epicures; after 
 which the venerable old seers of the village instructed 
 us in the mystic rites and ceremonies of their tribe, 
 preparatory to calling into requisition the magic power 
 of our twinship in all its bearings* upon the duties 
 of the day. Then showing us our weapons, which 
 consisted of iron, wood and fire/the two former in the shape 
 of a frying-pan, in which we were to burn the worms after 
 picking them from the corn, and a blazing chunk of fire, two 
 stout and straight sticks about six feet in length, with the 
 proper instructions in regard to the manner of using them 
 effectually. Having been thoroughly drilied in these pre- 
 
274 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 liminaries, the line of march was taken up toward the field 
 where the enemy were said to be strongly intrenched; in 
 profound silence and with unfeigned gravity, the Palokta 
 Tohbi, (Twins White, or White Twins) led the van, borne 
 upon the shoulders of two powerful warriors closely followed 
 by three others bearing the arms, while the villagers, headed 
 by the veteran seers, brought up the rear presenting an im 
 posing appearance with a considerable smack of the ridicu 
 lous, even as Don Quixote astride of his famous Rosinante 
 followed by his valuable squire in like position on his mule. 
 
 When the field was reached a halt was made, and two 
 venerable looking old men, whose- hoary locks and wrinkled 
 faces bespoke their earthly pilgrimage had extended many 
 years beyond their allotted three score years and ten, came 
 to the front and, with solemn mien, lifted us from our perches 
 and gently placed us over the fence into the field; then hand 
 ing the frying pan, chunk of fire, and sticks, our weapons, to 
 us, with a word of encouragement whispered in our ears to 
 prove ourselves valiant and worthy our traditional fame, they 
 bade us charge the foe. The plan of the campaign was to 
 attack the enemy first in the center; there build a hot fire 
 with the dry wood, previously prepared by the thoughtful 
 Choctaws, upon \vhich place the frying pan and into which 
 throw all prisoners without discrimination, as our flag bore 
 the motto "Neither giving nor asking quarter;" and like 
 wise also at the the four corners of the field. The centre 
 was gained, the fire made, and upon it placed the pan; then 
 we made a vigorous attack upon the strong-holds of the 
 enemy dislodging them and at the same time taking them 
 prisoners of war; then hurrying them to the centre hurled 
 them hors de combat into the frying pan heated to a red heat, 
 and with our ready sticks stirred them vigorously, while the 
 wreathes of smoke that ascended from the scene of carnage 
 and floated away before the summer breeze, together with 
 the odor, not as fragaant to the sensitive nose, however, as 
 the lily or the rose, gave undisputed evidence of our victories; 
 while our waiting Choctaw friends, acknowledged their 
 approval from the outside of the field, (since the tradition, for 
 bade^ them sharing in the dangers of the conflict the Palok- 
 tas must fight alone) filling our youthful hearts with heroic 
 emotions unfelt before or afterwards. 
 
 After we had immolated two or three panfulls of the 
 enemy at the center and at each corner of the field, nor lost a 
 man, we returned in triumph to our waiting friends, by 
 whom we were received with unfeigned manifestations of 
 affection and pride. Thence we were borne as before to 
 other fields, where were enacted the same prodigies of valor, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 275 
 
 with similar results until the declining sun gave warning- of 
 their promise not being- fulfilled if the Paloktas were not re 
 turned ere the sun went down. Therefore we were carried 
 from our last field of slaughter back to the village in "glori 
 ous triumph," where never were offered to frail mortality 
 more sincere homage and unfeigned devotion than were be 
 stowed upon the Paloktas by those grateful Choctaws. They 
 seemed only to regret not being able to manifest a still 
 greater degree of gratitude, and to do more for us as a man 
 ifestation of their appreciation of the great favor 
 we had conferred upon them. With zealous care they 
 watched over us while under their care, that no 
 harm might befall us. As we came so we returned, and 
 safely reached home ere the sun sank behind the western 
 horizon. We were afterwards frequently called upon, 
 much to our gratification and delight, it was fun for us, to 
 bring into requisition our mysteriously delegated power in 
 behalf of their cornfields; and we became the special favor 
 ites of that kind-hearted and appreciative people; and woe to 
 him or them who should impose upon or attempt to injure 
 their little pets, the pale-face Paloktas. But the boyish 
 pride that filled my heart on those occasions, though seventy 
 years have fled, is remembered to this-day. haunting the 
 imagination with a mystic power, as thought goes back to 
 many a vanished scene recalling associates incident to the 
 days of the long past. 
 
 But curiosity might now be inquisitive enough to ask: 
 "Did the \vorms cease their depredations on the green 
 corn?" To wljich I reply: Many of them certainly did; and, 
 as no further complaint was made by the Choctaws during 
 that season, it is reasonable to suppose those that were left, 
 after the immolation of so many of their relatives, took a 
 timely hint and sought other quarters where pale-face Palok 
 tas were unknown; but whether actuated through fear of a 
 similar fate as had befallen a goodly number of their com 
 panions, or because the corn had become too hard by age for 
 easy mastication and healthy digestion, I will leave for future 
 consideration and determination of those who , feel more 
 interested in its solution than I do just now. However, this" 
 much I can and will unfold; as the little pale-face Paloktas 
 honorably sustained the reputation of their mystic art, at 
 least in the opinion of their Choctaw friends, who were ren 
 dered supremely happy in the indulgement of their faith in 
 the truth of the ancient declaration of their honored an 
 cestors; appreciative and gratefuljto the "Good Pale-face" for 
 the loan of his favored twins; and the twins enjoyed the new 
 and novel sport, and nobody hurt, (unless the worms, who 
 
276 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 are at liberty to render their own complaint,) we will let it 
 pass without further ado as being- only a little superstitious 
 yet novel affair, not less unreasonable however, in all its con 
 comitants than other superstitions so oft indulged by the 
 human race of all nationalities, even of to-day as well as in 
 the years of yore. 
 
 There were many traditions among all North American 
 Indians, many of which bordered on the poetical and from 
 which I will select one or two more, which shall suffice as 
 examples of a few of the peculiarities of this peculiar yet 
 interesting- people. 
 
 Thus says the tradition of "Ohoyo Osh Chisba," (The 
 Unknown Woman.) In the days of many moons ago, two 
 Choctaw hunters were encamped for the nig-ht in the swamps 
 of the bend of the Alabama river. But the scene was not 
 without its romance. Dark, wild, and unlovely as a swamp 
 is generally imagined to be, yet to the musing heart and 
 contemplative spirit, it had its aspects of beauty, if not of 
 brightness, which rose up before the mind as objects of se 
 rene delight, i speak from long- personal experience. Its 
 mysterious appearance; its little lakes and islands of repose: 
 its silent and solemn solitudes; its green cane-breaks and 
 lofty trees, all combined to present a picture of strange but 
 harmonious combination to which a lover of nature in all its 
 diversified phases could not be wholly insensible. The two 
 hunters having been unsuccessful in the chase on that and 
 the preceding- day, found themselves without anything- on 
 that night with which to satisfy the craving s of hunger ex 
 cept a black hawk which they had shot with an arrow. Sad 
 reflections filled their hearts as they thought of their sad dis 
 appointments and of their suffering- families at home, while 
 the gloomy future spread over them its dark pall of despon 
 dency, all serving to render them unhappj indeed. They 
 cooked the hawk and sat down to partake of their poor and 
 scanty supper, when their attention was drawn from their 
 gloomy forebodings by the low but distinct tones, strange 
 yet soft and plaintive as the melancholy notes of the dove, 
 but produced by what they were wholly unable to even con 
 jecture. At different intervals it broke the deep silence of 
 the early night with its seemingly muffled notes of woe; and 
 as the nearly full orbed moon slowly ascended the eastern 
 sky the strange sounds became more frequent and distinct. 
 With eyes dilated and fluttering heart they looked up and 
 down the river to learn whence the sounds proceeded, but 
 no object except the sandy shores glittering in the moon 
 light greeted their eyes, while the dark waters of the river 
 seemed alone to give response in murmuring- tones to the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 277 
 
 strange notes that continued to float upon the night air from 
 a direction they could not definitely locate; but happening- to 
 look behind them in the direction opposite the moon they 
 saw a woman of wonderful beauty standing upon a mound a 
 few rods distant. Like an illuminated shadow, she had sud 
 denly appeared out of the moon-lighted forest. She was 
 loosely clad in snow-white raiment, and bore in the folds of 
 her drapery a wreath of fragrant flowers. She beckoned 
 them to approach, while she seemed surrounded by a halo of 
 light that gave t o her a supernatural appearance. Their im 
 agination now influenced them to believe her to be the Great 
 Spirit of their nation, and that the flowers she bore were re 
 presentatives of loved ones who had- passed from earth ,to 
 bloom in the Spirit-Land; truly, a beautiful sentiment that 
 touches every heart, for who has not some treasure in that 
 immortal home? Reason as we may, there is something, in 
 describable though it may be, that draws us to the unseen 
 world; and we pine for a word or token from the dear ones 
 who have thither gone. Call it heathenish if you will, a relic 
 of superstition, of the days when every rock, tree and plant 
 were deemed the abode of a deity, but we never gather a 
 flower that we do not feel for the life thus ended. It may be 
 an error clothed with beauty and tenderness, and far more 
 harmless than the theory that thrusts us helpless into life 
 and leaves us to grope our way through it uncared for, -.then 
 to die unnoticed and forgotten. 
 
 The mystery was solved. At once they approached to 
 where she stood, and offered their assistance in any way they 
 could be of service to her. She replied she was ver^y hungry, 
 whereupon one of them ran and brought the roasted hawk 
 and handed it to her. She accepted it with grateful thanks; 
 but, after eating a small portion of it, she handed the remain 
 der back to them replying that she would remember their 
 kindness when she returned to her home in the happy hunt 
 ing grounds of her father, who was Shilup Chitoh Osh The 
 Great Spirit of the Choctaws. She then told them that when 
 the next mid-summer moon should come they must meet her 
 at the mound upon which she was then standing. She -then 
 bade them an affectionate adieu, and was at once borne away 
 upon a gentle breeze and, mysteriously as she came so she 
 disappeared. The two hunters returned to their camp for the 
 night and early next morning sought they- homes, but kept 
 the strange incident a profound secret to themselves. When 
 the designated time rolled around the mid-summer full moon 
 found the two hunters at the foot of the mound but Ohoyo 
 Chishba Osh was nowhere to be seen. Then remembering 
 she told them they must come to the very spot where she 
 
278 .HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 was then standing, they at once ascended the mound and 
 found it covered with a strange plant, which yielded an ex 
 cellent food, which was ever afterwards cultivated by the 
 Choctaws, and named by them Tunchi; (Corn). 
 
 Somewhat similar to the tradition of the Ohoy,o Chishba 
 Osh is that of the Hattak Owa Hushi Osh, (The Man Hunt 
 ing For The Sun.) 
 
 The Choctaws once, a great amount of corn having been 
 made and as a manifestation of their appreciation and,gratifi- 
 cation and gratitude to the Great Spirit, their benefactor, 
 held a Great National Council at which their leading prophet 
 spoke at great length upon the beauties of x Nature which 
 contributed so much to their pleasure, and the various pro 
 ductions of the earth and the enjoyment derived therefrom, 
 attributing much of all to the effects of the sun. That great 
 lighter and heater of the earth came from the east, but 
 whence it went after it had passed behind the western hills, 
 had long been a subject of debate, never satisfactorily de 
 termined. Again the mooted question was brought up by 
 the prophet in his speech at the aforesaid council, who, in 
 a strain of wild eloquence, cried out, Is there not a warrior 
 among all my people who will go and find out what becomes 
 of the sun when it departs in the west? " At once a young 
 warrior, named Oklanowah, (Walking People) arose in the 
 assembly and said: k I will go and try to find where the sun 
 sleeps, though I may never return." He soon took his de 
 parture on his dubious errand leaving behind him one sad 
 heart at least, to whom he gave a belt of wampum as a token 
 of remembrance. 
 
 But after an absence of many years he returned to the 
 home of his nativity, only to find himself an entire stranger 
 among his people. After many days search, however, he 
 found one in the person of an aged and decrepit woman, who 
 remembered the circumstances connected with the young 
 hunter who had gone many years before on his adventurous 
 exploit to find the sleeping place of the sun; and though he 
 was satisfied that she was his identical betrothed the loved 
 one of his youth oft spoke with the deepest affection- of her 
 long lost Oklanowah, yet no arguments could induce her to 
 acknowledge the old man before her as her lover of the past. 
 The unfortunate and forlorn Hattak Owa Hushi Osh spent 
 his few remaining days in narrating his adventures to his peo 
 ple, the vast prairies and high mountains he had crossed; the 
 strange men and animals he had seen; and, above all, that 
 the sleeping place of the sun was in a big, blue water. Still 
 after hearing all this, the old woman, more incredulous than 
 "doubting Thomas" of Biblical fame, refused to believe, but 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 279 
 
 secluded herself in her lonely cabin, and alone occupied the 
 sad hours of the days and years that came and went in 
 counting the wampum in her belt, the sacred memento of her 
 Oklanowah loved, but lost; lost, yet loved. -Spring- return 
 ed, but ere the leaves were grown Hattak Owa Hushi Osh 
 died, and was buried near the ancient mound Nunih Waiyah, 
 and ere the moon of the corn planting had come, the old 
 woman also died, and she. to was buried at the sacred Nunih 
 Waiyah by the side of her unrecognized yet faithful Okla 
 nowah. 
 
 Another specimen of their love legends is exhibited in 
 that of Chahtah Osh Hochifoh Keyu the Nameless Chah 
 tah. In the days of the long past there lived in the Choctaw 
 village Aiasha, (Habitation), the only son of a great war- 
 chief. This son was noted for his wonderful beauty of form 
 and features and manly bearing. The aged men of the 
 Nation predicted, on account of his known and acknowledged 
 bravery, he would become a renowned warrior. But as he 
 had not distinguished himself in. war either by slaying an 
 enemy, taking a prisoner, or striking the dead (a feat ac 
 companied with the greatest danger, as every effort is made 
 by the friends of the fallen warrior to prevent such an insult 
 to the dead), he was not permitted to occupy a seat in the 
 councils of, the tribe, though respected and honored, and his 
 bravery undoubted by all. 
 
 According to the custom of the ancient Choctaws, a boy 
 was not given a specific name in childhood unless he merited 
 it by some daring act, and the. young warrior, by some un 
 avoidable chain of circumstances, passed through his chrys 
 alis stage of life without having won a reputation according 
 to his youthful abilitv; therefore went by the general name 
 Chahtah Osh Hochifoh Keyu. The Nameless Chahtah. In 
 the same village of Aiashah, there also lived, according to the 
 legend, the most famous beauty of the tribe, the daughter of 
 a noted warrior and skillful hunter, and the betrothed of 
 Chahtah Osh Hochifo Iksho. Though they often met at the 
 great dances and festivals of the tribe, yet she (whose name 
 the legend does not state) treated him with distant reserve 
 (then the universal custom of the Choctaw girls) though the 
 ardent lover of the nameless hero. Still one cloud cast its 
 gloomy shadow over their happiness; it was the knowledge 
 of the stubborn truth, that the laws of their Nation, as those 
 of the Medes and Persians, were unalterable; and that they 
 could never become husband and wife until he had acquired 
 a name by some daring deed in battle with the enemies of 
 his country. But time slowly rolled away and summer again 
 came with a balmy day followed by its evening twilight^ 
 
280 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 which witnessed the lovers seated together upon the summit 
 of a hill shaded by the foliage of innumerable and immense 
 forest trees. Far below from a distant plain ascended the 
 light and smoke from the fire of a war-dance, around which 
 danced in wild excitement four hundred Choctaw warriors, 
 preparatory to a war-expedition against the Osages, far dis 
 tant to the west, and that night , was the last night of their 
 Sreparatory ceremonies. Previous to that night Chahtah 
 sh Hochifoh Keyu had acted as one of the most conspicu 
 ous in the dances engaged in the four previous nights before, 
 but on the last night, had retired from the dance to enjoy a 
 parting interview with his betrothed. . There they parted, 
 and ere the morning s sun again lighted up the eastern hori 
 zon, the "sound of revelry by night" had ceased, while 
 silence again resumed her sway o er Nature s vast expanse, 
 and bespoke the four hundred warriors with Chahtah Osh 
 Hochifoh Keyu were many miles upon the war-path that led 
 to the country of the Osages among the headwaters of the 
 Arkansas river. 
 
 The hostile land was reached, and soon they discovered 
 a large cave into which they entered, that concealed they 
 might the better arrange their plans for future operations, 
 being then in the enemies country. Two scouts, however, 
 were sent out to reconnoitre, one to examine the surround 
 ings east, the other west. The latter was Chahtah Osh 
 Hochifoh Keyu. But alas for human hopes! The evening 
 passed away and night came on bringing one Osage hunter 
 who had oft before sought the cave and found a safe resting 
 place for the night. But as he drew near the cave, his ob 
 servant eyes, ever on the alert, discovered signs which told 
 him of the presence of others; further examination revealed 
 that they were his nation s most bitter and unrelenting ene 
 mies, the hated Choctaws. Silently he stole away undis 
 covered by the Choctaws, until safely distant, then sped 
 away through the darkness on nimble feet to his village and 
 told of his discovery; at once a large band of Osag e warriors 
 rushed for the cave, and as they drewnear gathered up small 
 logs, chunks, limbs and brush with which they silently and 
 effectually closed the mouth of the cave, and to which they 
 applied the torch, and the sleeping Choctaws awoke but to 
 read their inevitable doom all perished. The Choctaw 
 scout who had gone east returned during the night, but ere 
 he reached the cave the flames revealed to him the tale of 
 woe; he approached near enough, however, to comprehend the 
 whole; stooda moment and gazed in mazv bewilderment, then 
 turned and fled for home where he safely arrived and re 
 vealed the sad intelligence of the wretched fate of his com- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 281 
 
 rades to their relatives and friends. It was also believed by 
 all that Chahta Osh Hochifoh Keyu had been discovered and 
 had also been slain. The sad tidings fell heavily upon all 
 and the wail of woe was heard in many a village and cabin; 
 but upon one it fell with terrible weight; and the promised 
 wife of "The Nameless Choctaw" at once began to droop 
 and soon withered away as a rose severed from the parent 
 stem; and ere another moon had passed away she was laid 
 away in a grave upon the very spot (by her request) where 
 she had last shared the parting embrace with her adored 
 Chahtah Osh Hochifoh Keyu, upon whose tomb-stone, had 
 one been erected to her memory, could justly have borne the 
 epitaph "A broken heart." 
 
 But the supposition that he too had been slain proved 
 untrue. Though he had been discovered by the Osages and 
 vigorously pursued for several days arid nights, he finally 
 was fortunate enough to escape. During the chase his flight 
 had- been devious, and when he had gotten beyond the danger 
 of further pursuit by his fearful foes, he found himself to be 
 a bewildered man, wretched and forlorn. Everything ap 
 peared wrong, and even the sun appeared to him to rise in 
 the wrong direction, all nature was out of order. After 
 several days of dubious wanderings, hither and thither, he 
 knew not where, he came to the foot of a mountain, whose 
 sides were covered with a kind of grass entirely different 
 from anything he had ever seen before. Then, in the course 
 of his wanderings, he strayed, at the close of another day, 
 into a lovely wooded valley, where he camped for the night, 
 kindled a fire and cooked a rabbit he had killed, of which he 
 made his supper, and then sought temporary forgetfulness 
 of his woes in sleep, Morning again dawned, but to awake 
 him to a stronger sensibility of his loneliness and wander 
 ings he / knew r not where. Many moons came and passed 
 away and left him a lost wanderer. Summer came, and he 
 called upon the Great Spirit to make his paths straight, that 
 they might lead him out of bewilderment. He then hunted 
 for a spotted deer, found and killed one, and offered it a sac 
 rifice to the Great Spirit, after reserving a small portion to 
 satisfy his own immediate wants. Night again came on. and 
 as he sat by his little campfire in lonely solitude, he heard 
 the near approach of footsteps in an adjoining thicket, but 
 before he could take a second thought, a snow-white wolf of 
 immense size was crouching at his feet, and licking his 
 moccasins with the utmost manifestations of affection. Then 
 looking him in the face said: "Whence came you, and why 
 are you alone in this wilderness?" To which Chohtah Osh 
 Hochifoh Keyu gave a full account of his misfortunes. The 
 
282 HISTORY OF THE> INDIANS. 
 
 wolf then promised to lead him safely out of the wilderness 
 in which he had been, so long- wandering- and return him 
 to his country, and they started early on the following 
 morning. 
 
 Long- was the journey, and dangerous the route; but by 
 the time that the corn-hoeing moon came the forlorn wan 
 derer entered once more his native village, the anniversary 
 of the day he. had bidden his betrothed adieu; but alas, only 
 to find his village in mourning for her premature death. Alas 
 too, so changed was he that none recognized in the wayworn 
 stranger the lost Chatah Osh Hochifoh Keyu; nor did he 
 make himself known. Often, however, did he solicit them to 
 rehearse to him the account of her death; and oft he chanted 
 his wild songs, to the astonishment of all, to the memory of 
 his loved one, dead yet loved, loved yet dead. During his 
 frequent nightly visits to her lonely grave upon the hill which 
 had witnessed their last parting, he once came on a calm, 
 cloudless night twas his last and stood by the grave that held 
 his dead at a moment when the Great Spirit cast a shadow 
 upfln the moon, then fell upon it and died. They found him 
 there, and then was he recognized as the long lost Chatah 
 Osh Hochifoh Keyu, and there buried by the side of his 
 earthly idol. For three consecutive nights the silence of the 
 forests contiguous to the lovers graves was broken by the 
 continual wailing howl of a solitary wolf, then it ceased and 
 was heard no more; but the same wail was taken up by the 
 pine forest upon the hill where the lovers parted in hope, but 
 there to be buried in despair, and that mournful, wailing 
 sound they have continued from that day dawn to the present 
 time. 
 
 The traditions of the Choctaws concerning the Oka Fal- 
 ama (Returned waters the Flood) is as follows : In ancient 
 time, after many generations of mankind hadlivecl and passed 
 from the stage of being, the race became so corrupt and 
 wicked brother fighting against brother and wars deluging 
 the earth with human blood and carnage the Great Spirit 
 became greatly displeased and finally determined to destroy 
 the human race ; therefore sent a great prophet to them 
 who proclaimed from tribe to tribe, and from village to vil 
 lage, the fearful tidings that the human race was soon to 
 be destroyed. None believed his words, and lived on in 
 their wickedness- as if they did not care, and the seasons 
 came again and went. Then came the autumn of the year, 
 followed by many succeeding cloudy days and nights, dur 
 ing which the sun by day and the moon and stars by night 
 were concealed from the 9arth ; then succeeded a total dark 
 ness, and the sun seemed to have been blotted out ; while 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 283*, 
 
 darkness and silence with a cold atmosphere took posses 
 sion of earth. Mankind wearied and perplexed, but not re 
 penting- or reforming-, slept in darkness but to awake in 
 darkness ; then the mutterings of distant thunder began to 
 be heard, gradually becoming incessant, until it reverbera 
 ted in all parts of .the skv and seemed to echo back even from 
 the deep center of the earth. Then fear and consternation 
 seized upon every heart and all believed the sun would never 
 return. The Magi of the Choctaws spoke despondently in 
 reply to the many interrogations of the alarmed people, and 
 sang their death-songs which were but faintly heard in the 
 mingled confusion that arose amid the gloom of the night 
 that seemed would have no returning morn. Mankind went 
 from place to place only by torch-light ; their food stored 
 away became mouldy and unfit for use ; the wild animals of 
 the forests gathered around their fires bewildered and even 
 entered their towns and villages, seeming to have lost all 
 fear of man. Suddenly a fearful crash of thunder, louder 
 than ever before heard, seemed to shake the earth, and im 
 mediately after a light was seen glimmering seemingly far 
 away to the North. It was soon discovered not to be the 
 light of the returning- sun, but the gleam of great waters ad 
 vancing- in mighty billows, wave succeeding wave as they on 
 ward rolled over the earth destroying everything- in their 
 path . 
 
 Then the wailing cry was heard coining from all direc 
 tions, Oka Falamah, Oka Falamah; (The returned waters). 
 Stretching" from horizon to horizon, it came pouring- its mass 
 ive waters onward. "The foundations of the Great Deep 
 were broken up." Soon the earth was entirely overwhelmed 
 by the mig-hty and irresistible rush of the waters which swept 
 away the human race and all animals leaving the earth a des 
 olate waste. Of all mankind only one was saved, and that 
 one was the mysterious prophet who had been sent by the 
 Great Spirit to warn the human race of their near approach 
 ing doom. This prophet saved himself by making- a raft of " 
 of sassafras log s by the direction of the Great Spirit, upon 
 which he floated upon the great waters that covered the 
 earth, as various kinds of fish swam around him, and twined 
 among- the branches of the submerged trees, while upon the 
 face of the waters he looked upon the dead bodies of men 
 and beasts, as they arose and fell upon the heaving- billows. 
 
 After many weeks floating he knew not where, a large 
 black bird came to the raft flying in circles above his head. 
 He called to it for assistance, but it only replied in loud, 
 croaking tones, then flew away and was seen no more. A 
 few days after a bird of bluish color, with red eyes and beak 
 
284 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 came and hovered over the raft, to which the. prophet spoke 
 and asked if there was a spot of dry land anywhere to be 
 seen in the wide waste of waters. Then it flew around his 
 head a few moments fluttering its wing s and uttering" a 
 mournful cry, then flew away in the direction of that part of 
 the sky where the new sun seemed to be sinking- into the 
 rolling 1 waves of the great ocean of waters. Immediately a 
 strong- wind sprang up and bore the raft rapidly in that 
 direction. Soon night came on, and the moon and stars 
 again made their appearance, and the next morning the sun 
 arose in its former splendor; and the prophet looking around 
 saw an island in the distance toward which the raft was 
 slowly drifting, and before the sun had gone down seemingly 
 again into the world of waters, the raft had touched the 
 island upon which he landed and encamped, and being wear 
 ied and lonely he soon forgot his anxieties in sleep; and when 
 morning came, in looking around over the island, he found it 
 covered with all varieties of animals excepting* the mam 
 moth which had been destroyed. He also found birds and 
 fowls of every kind in vast numbers upon the island; and 
 among which he discovered the identical black bird which 
 had visited him upon the waters, and then left him to his 
 fate; and, as he regarded it a cruel bird, he named it Fulushto 
 (Raven) a bird of ill omen to the ancient Choctaws. 
 
 With great joy he also discovered the bluish bird which 
 had caused the wind to blow his raft upon the island, and be 
 cause of this act of kindness and its great beauty he called it 
 Puchi Yushubah (Lost Pigeon). 
 
 After many days the waters, passed away; and in the 
 course of time Puchi Yushubah became a beautiful woman, 
 whom the prophet soon after married, and by them the world 
 was again peopled. 
 
 Whence this tradition with such strong resemblance to 
 the account of the deluge as given in the Sacred Scriptures? 
 It is not fiction or fable, but the actual tradition of the ancient 
 Choctaws as related by them to the/ missionaries in 1818. 
 Whence this knowledge of the flood of the Bible? Does one 
 reply, they obtained it from the early European explorers 
 of the continent? Not so; for the earliest explorers speak of 
 . the North American Indians various traditions of the Flood. 
 May it be possible that their ancestors, far back in the early 
 dawn of the morn of Christian ty, received it from some one 
 or more of the apostles, as ours did the ancient Britons? 
 Who knows? It is not a thing impossible, if we admit they 
 drifted ages ago from Asia s shores to the western conti 
 nent. If not, whence and how have they this knowledge of 
 the flood? 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 285 
 
 St. Paul himself declares, in his epistie to the Galatians, 
 that soon after he had been called to preach Christianity 
 among- the heathen, he "went into Arabia." The dissen 
 sions which arose in the Eastern church, in the early part of 
 the third century, breaking- it up into sects, drove many into 
 exile into remote parts of the East, and planted the Chris 
 tian faith among- the principal tribes of that region. 
 
 Another Choctaw version of their traditional flood (Oka- 
 falama) is as follows: In the far distant ages of the past, 
 the people, whom the Great Spirit had created, became so 
 wicked that he resolved to sweep them all from the earth, ex 
 cept Oklatabashih (People s .mourner) and his family, who 
 alone did that which was good. He told Oklatabashih to 
 build a larg-e boat into which he should go with his family 
 and also to take into the boat a male and female of all the an 
 imals living- upon the earth. He did as he was commanded 
 by the Great Spirit. But as he went out in the forests to 
 bring- in the birds he w r as unable to catch a pair of biskinik 
 (sapsucker), fitukhak (yellow hammer), bak bak. (a large 
 red-headed woodpecker); as these birds were so quick in. 
 hopping- around from one side to the other of the trees upon 
 which they clung- with their sharp and strong claws, that 
 Oklatabashih found it was impossible for him to catch them, 
 therefore he g-ave up the chase, and returned to the boat, 
 and the door closed, the rain beg-an to fall increasing- in vol 
 ume for many days and nights, until thousands of people and 
 animals perished. Then it suddenly ceased and utter dark 
 ness covered the face of the earth for a long" time, while, the 
 people and animals that still survived groped here and there 
 in the fearful gloom. Suddenly far in the distant north was 
 seen a long- streak of light. They believed that, amid the 
 raging elements and the impenetrable darkness that covered 
 the earth, the sun had lost its way and was rising in the 
 north. All the surviving people rushed towards the seem 
 ingly rising sun, though utterly bewildered, not knowing 
 or caring what they did. But well did Oklatabashih in 
 terpret the prophetic sign of their fast approaching doom. 
 Instead of the bright dawn of another long wished-for day, 
 they saw, in utter despair, that it was but the mocking light 
 that foretold how near the Okafalama was at hand, rolling 
 like mountains on mountains piled and engulfing everything 
 in its resistless course. All earth was at once overwhelmed 
 in the mighty return of waters, except the great boat which, 
 by the guidance of the Great Spirit, rode safely upon the 
 rolling and dashing waves that covered the earth. During 
 many moons the boatfloated safely o er the vast sea of waters. 
 Finally Oklatabashih sent a dove to see if any dry land could 
 
286 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 be found. She soon returned with her beak full of grass, 
 which she had gathered from a desert island. Oklatabashih 
 to reward her for her discovery mingled a little salt in her 
 food. Soon after this the waters subsided and the dry land 
 a-opeared; then the inmates of the great boat went forth to 
 repeople another earth. But the dove, having acquired a 
 taste for salt during her stay in the boat continued its use 
 by finding it at the salt-licks that then abounded in many 
 places, to which the cattle and deer also frequently resorted. 
 Every day after eating, she visited a salt-lick to eat a little 
 salt to aid her digestion, which in the course of time became 
 habitual and thus was transmitted to her offspring. In the, 
 course of years, she became a grand-mother, and took great 
 delight in feeding and caring for her grand-children. One 
 day, however, after having eaten some grass seed, she un 
 fortunately forgot to eat a little salt as usual. For this 
 neglect, ,the Great Spirit punished her and her descendants 
 by forbidding them forever the use of salt. When she re 
 turned home that evening, her grand-children, as usual be 
 gan to coo for their supply of salt, but their grand-mother 
 having been forbidden to give them any more, they cooed in 
 vain. From that day to this, in memory of this lost privil 
 ege, the doves everywhere, on the return of spring, still con 
 tinue their cooing for salt, which they will never again be 
 permitted to eat. Such is the ancient tradition of the Choc- 
 taws of the origin of the cooing of doves. 
 
 But as to the fate of the three birds who eluded capture 
 by Okjatabashih, their tradition-states : They flew high in 
 air at the approach of Okafalama, and, as the waters rose 
 higher and higher, they also flew higher and higher above 
 the surging waves. Finally, the -waters rose in near prox 
 imity to the. sky, upon which they lit as their last hope. 
 Soon, to their great joy and comfort, the waters ceased to 
 rise, and commenced to recede. But while sitting 011 the 
 sky their tails, projecting downward, were continually being 
 drenched by the -dashing spray of the surging waters below, 
 and thus the end of their tail feathers became forked and 
 notched, and this peculiar shapfe of the tails of the biskinik, 
 fitukhak and bakbak has been transmitted to their latest 
 posterity. But the sagacity and skill manifested by these 
 birds in eluding the grasp of Oklatabashih,. so greatly de 
 lighted the Great Spirit that he appointed them to forever be 
 the guardian birds of the red men. Therefore these birds, 
 and especially the biskinik, often made their appearance in 
 their villages on the eve of a ball play ; and, whichever one of 
 the three came, it twittered in happy tones its feelings of 
 joy in anticipation of the near approach of the Choctaws 1 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 287 
 
 favorite game. But in time of war one of these birds al 
 ways appeared in the camp of .a war party, to give them 
 warning- of approaching danger, by its constant chirping 
 and hurried flitting from place to place around their camp. 
 In many ways did these birds prove their love for and 
 friendship to the red man, and he ever cherished them as 
 the loved birds of his race, the remembered gift of the 
 Great Spirit in the fearful days of the mighty Okafalama. 
 
 The French in making their voyages of discovery along 
 the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in 1712, under the command 
 of Iberville, anchored one evening near an island ( now known 
 as Ship Island) which they discovered to be intersected with 
 lagoons and inhabited by a strange and peculiar animal 
 seemingly to hold the medium between the fox and cat, and 
 they give it the name Cat Island, by which it is still known; 
 thence they passed over the main land, where they discovered 
 a tribe of Indians called Biloxi, among whom they afterwards 
 located a town and gave it the name Biloxi now the oldest 
 town in the State of Mississippi. This tribe of Indians 
 proved to be a clan of the Choctaws, and the name Biloxi, a 
 corruption of the Choctaw word Ba-luh-chi, signifying hick 
 ory bark. Thence going eastward they discovered another 
 tribe weich they called the Pascagoulas, which also proved 
 to be a clan of the Choctaws, and the name Pascagoula, a 
 corruption of the two Choctaw words Puska (bread) and 
 Okla (people), i. e: Bread People, or people having bread; 
 but which has been erroneously interpreted to mean "Bread 
 Eaters." A remnant of the Ba-luh-chis still exist among the 
 Choctaws, while the Puskaoklas have been long lost by unit 
 ing with other Choctaw clans. There was an ancient tradi 
 tion among the Puskaoklas, which stated that, in the years 
 long past, a small tribe of Indians of a lighter complexion than 
 themselves, and also different in manners and customs, ^in 
 habited the country near the mouth of the Pascagoula river r 
 whose ancestors, according to the tradition, originally emer 
 ged from the sea, where they were born; that they were a 
 kind, peaceful and inoffensive people, spending their time in 
 public festivals and amusements of various kinds; that they 
 had a temple in which they worshiped the figure of a Sea 
 God; every night when the moon was passing from its cres 
 cent to the full, they gathered around the figure playing upon 
 instruments and singing and dancing, thus rendering hom 
 age to the Sea God. That shortly after the destruction of 
 Mobilla (now Mobile, Alabama,) in 1541, by De Soto, there 
 suddenly appeared among the Sea God worshippers a white 
 man with a long, gray beard, flowing garments and bearing 
 a large cross in his right hand; that he took from his bosom 
 
288 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 X 
 
 a book, and, after kissing- it again and again, he began to ex 
 plain to them what was contained in it; that they listened 
 attentively and were fast being- converted to its teaching s 
 when a fearful catastrophy put an end to all. One night, 
 when the full moon was at its zenith, there came a sudden 
 rising of the waters of the river, which rolled in mighty 
 waves along its channel; on the crest of thefoamingwaterssat 
 a woman, with magnetic eyes, singing in a tone of voice that 
 fascinated all; that the white man, followed by the entire 
 tribe, rushed to the bank of the stream in wild amazement, 
 when the siren at once, modulated her voice to still more 
 fascinating tones, chanting a mystic song with the oft 
 repeated chorus, "Come to me, come to me, children of the 
 sea! Neither book nor cross, from your queen, shall win ye;" 
 Soon, an Indian leaped into the still raging waters, followed 
 by the remainder in rapid succession, all disappearing as 
 they touched the water, when a loud and exultant laugh was 
 heard, and then the waters returned to their usual level and 
 quiet leaving no trace of their former fury; the white man 
 was left alone, and soon died of grief and loneliness. 
 
 TRADITION OF THE PAPAGOES INDIANS. 
 
 It is stated of the Papagoes, (known as the short-haired 
 Indians of the Southwest) that an ancient tradition of their 
 tribe proclaims the coming of a Messiah by the name "Moc- 
 tezuma." They affirm that, in the ancient past, he lived in 
 Casa Grande, the famous prehistoric temple on the Gila 
 river; that his own people rebelled against him and threaten 
 ed to kill him, and he fled 7 to Mexico. But before leaving 
 them he told them that they would experience great afflic 
 tions for many years, but eventually, at the time of their 
 greatest need, he would return to them from the east with 
 the rising sun; that he would then cause the rain to fall again 
 upon their arid country, and make it bloom as a garden, and 
 make his people to become the greatest on earth. There 
 fore, when Moctezuma arrives, that he may see all the doors 
 open and none closed against him, this humble people, with 
 a pathetic faith, make the only entrance to their houses 
 toward the east and leave the door always standing open 
 that their Messiah may enter when he comes. During the 
 years 1891, 1892 and 1893, a three years drouth had destroy 
 ed their crops, dried up their water, cut off their supply of 
 seeds, and killed great numbers of their cattle. Truly it 
 was the time of their greatest suffering, and surely Mocte 
 zuma would now come to their rescue; and it was enough to 
 move the heart of the most obdurate infidel, to see the people. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 289 
 
 ascending- just before sunrise to the top of the surrounding- 
 hills and look anxiously toward the rising- sun for Moctezu- 
 ma, until disappointment usurped the place of hope, and 
 one by one, each returned patiently to his house, but to 
 hope on. 
 
 Christianity, it is said, dates back from the return of 
 the Hellenist Jews and proselytes from "Egypt and the 
 parts of Libya about Cyrene," who heard St. Peter preach 
 on the day of Pentecost. 
 
 It is well known that, in the history of the early church, 
 no city is more famous than Alexandria. From that city 
 came Apollos ; there, too, Mark, the evangelist, is said to 
 have preached ; and from it Pantemusas was sent as a mis 
 sionary to India ; in it also dwelt Clement, Athanasius and 
 Origin. Carthage and Hippo have given to the world the 
 names of Cyprian, Tertullian and Augustine. In the fifth 
 century there were 560 Bishoprics in North Africa. The 
 Coptic church in Egypt, and its daughter church in Abys 
 sinia which still survive, though in corrupted state, while of 
 the ancient North African church, not a vestige, it is said, 
 remains, being wholly swept away by Mohammedism in the 
 seventh century. 
 
 May not the ancestors of the North American Indians 
 have dwelt in some of those regions of country in which the 
 gospel was preached by those ancient missionaries? and 
 also have been among those of the early Christians who fled 
 before the persecutions of the Turk and Tartar, and cross 
 ed over to this continent by way of Behring Strait, or the 
 fabled sunken continent Atlantis (if it ever existed), bring 
 ing with them the many Asiatic characteristics they possess 
 in their manners and customs and religious ceremonies, and 
 their traditional knowledge of the flood? But alas! upon 
 this we can but conjecture, there we can but begin and there 
 we have to end. 
 
 The belief of the ancient Choctaws in regard to the 
 eclipses of the sun was not more inconsistent, than that of 
 an} r portion of the human family, whose minds had never 
 been enlightened by the rays of spiritual light from the gos 
 pel of the Son of God. The Romans} the Celtics, the Asia 
 tics, the Finns of Europe, and, 110 doubt, Britons, too, all 
 had their views in regard to eclipses as absurd as the Choc- 
 taws. The Choctaws, as before stated, attributed an eclipse 
 of the sun to a black squirrel, whose eccentricities often led 
 it into mischief, and, among other things, that of trying- to 
 eat up the sun at different intervals. When thus inclined, 
 they believed, which was confirmed by long experience, that 
 the only effective means to prevent so fearful a catastrophe 
 
- 
 
 290 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 befalling- the world as the ~blotting out of that indispensable 
 luminary, was to favor the little, black epicure with a first- 
 class scare; therefore, whenever he manifested an inclination 
 to indulge in a meal on the sun, every ingenuity was called 
 into requisition to give him a genuine fright that he would 
 be induced, at least, to postpone his meal on the sun at that 
 particular time and seek a lunch elsewhere. As soon, there 
 fore, as the sun began to draw its lunar veil over its face, 
 the cry was heard from every mouth from the Dan to the 
 Beersheba of their then wide extended territory, echo 
 ing from hill to dale, "Funi lusa hushi umpa! Funi lusa 
 hushi umpa," according to our phraseology, The black squir 
 rel is eating the sun! Then and there was heard a sound of 
 tumult by day in the Choctaw Nation for the space of an 
 hour or two, far exceeding that said to have been heard by 
 night in Belgium s Capital, and sufficient in the conglomera 
 tion of discordant tones terrific, if heard by the distant, 
 little, fastidious squirrel, to have made him lose forever 
 afterward all relish for a mess of suns for an early or late 
 dinner. The shouts of the women and children mingling 
 with the ringing of discordant bells as the vociferous pound 
 ing and beating of ear-splitting tin pans and cups mingling 
 in "wild confusion worse confounded," yet in sweet unison 
 with a first-class orchestra of yelping, howling, barking 
 dogs gratuitously thrown in by the innumerable and highly 
 excited curs, produced a din, which even a "Funi lusa," had 
 he heard it, could scarcely have endured even to have in 
 dulged in a nibble or two of the sun, though urged by the 
 demands of a week s fasting. 
 
 But during the wild scene the m^n were not idle specta 
 tors, or indifferent listeners. Each stood a few paces in 
 front of his cabin door, with no outward manifestation of 
 excitement whatever so characteristic of the Indian war 
 rior but with his trusty rifle in hand, which so oft had 
 proved a friend sincere in many hours of trial, which he 
 loaded and fired in rapid succession at the distant, devastat 
 ing squirrel, with the same coolness and calm deliberation 
 that he did when shooting at his game. More than once have 
 I witnessed the fearful yet novel scene. When it happened 
 to be the time of a total eclipse of the sun, a sufficient evi 
 dence that the little, black epicure meant business in regard 
 to having a square meal, though it took the whole sun to fur 
 nish it, -then indeed there were sounds of revelry and tumult 
 unsurpassed by any ever heard before, either in "Belgium" 
 or elsewhere. Then the women shrieked and redoubled 
 their efforts upon the tin p,ans, which, under the desperate 
 blows, strained every vocal organ to do its utmost and whole 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 291 
 
 duty in loud response, while the excited children screamed 
 -and beat their tin cups, and the sympathetic dogs (whose 
 name was legion) barked and howled all seemingly deter 
 mined not to fall the one behind other in their duty since 
 the occasion demanded it ; while the warriors still stood, in 
 profound and meditative silence, but firm and undaunted, as 
 they quickly loaded and fired their rifles, each time taking- 
 deliberative aim, if perchance the last shot might prove the 
 successful one ; then, as the moon s shadow began to move 
 from the disk of the sun, the joyful shout was heard above 
 the mighty din Funi-lusa-osh mahlatah ! The black squirrel 
 is frightened. But the din remained unabated until fhe sun 
 again appeared in its usual splendor, and all nature again 
 .assumed its harmonious course ; then quiet below again as 
 sumed its sway, while contentment and happiness resumed 
 their accustomed place in the hearts of the grateful Choc- 
 taws grateful to the Great Spirit who had given them the 
 victory. But the scene of a total eclipse of the sun in the 
 Choctaw Nation in those ancient years must be witness 
 ed to be justly comprehended by the lover of the romantic, 
 and heard by the highly sensitive ear to be fully appreciated 
 and enjoyed. 
 
 On the road leading from St. Stephens then a little town 
 in Alabama, near which was the home of the renowned Choc- 
 taw Chief Apushamata hahubi in 1812, to the city of Jackson, 
 Mississippi, stood the mound Nunih Waiyah erected by the 
 Choctaws in commemoration of their migration, as has been 
 previously stated, from a country far to the west to their 
 homes east of the Mississippi river, where they were first 
 known to the Europeans. I read an article published some 
 years ago in a newspaper, which stated that an ancient tra 
 dition of the Choctaws affirmed that they derived their 
 origin from Nunih Waiyah, their ancestors swarming from 
 the hole on the top as bees swarming from the hive in sum 
 mer, and thus was that part of the world peopled with Choc 
 taws. The Choctaws did not so state their origin to the 
 early missionaries of 1818. They always have claimed their 
 origin from a country far to the West, and the above men 
 tioned tradition with all its absurdities, so numerous in the 
 writings of the majority of those of the present age, who, 
 having nothing more, clothe their nominal Indian in myths 
 and hide him in impenetrable fogs, had its origin in" the 
 prolific brain of the writer, who assumes to be gifted with a 
 vivid imagination, even as his congenial fellow writers of the 
 present day when getting up a "send-off" upon the Indians; 
 and who imagine themselves wiser than even seven men who 
 can render a reason, though they have advanced no further 
 
292 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 in Indian lore than the widely circulated hear-say & 
 elementary spelling-book; and, having- learned all there is to- 
 be known in that branch of historical information, they feel 
 themselves incapable of receiving- any further instruction 
 in regard to the North American Indian characteristics,, 
 from any source whatever, yet they are lacking in one very 
 essential thing; i. e. Not to know how little they do know. 
 But nothing better could be -expected from such "Worldly 
 Wisemen," whose heads have been stuffed with naught else 
 but tales of "Indian devils and Indian ghosts; Indian fairies 
 and Indian elves; Indian tomahawks and Indian scalps;" and 
 with ears full of such hobgoblins, they fell in love, as soon as 
 thev grew to manhood, with the desire to anathematize that un 
 fortunate race as naturally as a bird sings; yet blinded as ef 
 fectually to the enemity and atrocity of the wrongs and in 
 juries done to the helpless Indians, as that drunkenness of 
 "heart which follows up long, continued success, creating 
 utter insensibility and remorselessness of conscience, but 
 establishing the fact, that morally the Indians are immeasur 
 ably superior to any and all such oppressing, plundering and. 
 defaming specimens of humanity. 
 
 The Choctaws lived around their honored, memento of 
 the past for many successive generations, and some, even in 
 large excavations made in its sides. And when interrogated^ 
 by the whites with the question "Whence came they?" 
 alluding to the origin of their race, the Choctaws, thinking 
 their interrogator wished to learn from what part of their 
 nation they came, replied: "From the Mound;" while those 
 who dwelt in the excavations made in its sides, answered: 
 "From out the Mound," meaning they lived in the mound. 
 No Choctaw was such a fool as to believe, or even assert, 
 their ancestors jumped out of the hole on the top of Nunih 
 Waiyah full fledged warriors, as they of fabled renown who 
 spring from the dragon s teeth sown in the earth. And 
 when speaking to them of this tradition, with seeming emo 
 tions of pity mingled with contempt, they have replied: 
 "That fellow did not know what he was talking about;" a 
 self-evident truth to all who know anything about the Choc- 
 taw people. True, they held Nunih Waiyah in N great rever 
 ence; but not as the author of the tradition would make 
 believe, that, in their degraded ignorance, they cherished it 
 as the place of their origin which sent them forth in num 
 bers "as swarming bees," but as an ancient relic handed 
 down to them through a long line of honored ancestry; and 
 even as the great pyramid, Cheops, of the arid desert, points 
 the Egyptian back to the cycles of ages past, so too did Nu 
 nih Waiyah remind the Choctaw of his long line of descent as- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 293 
 
 lie proudly gazed upon its hoary and weather-beaten sides. 
 
 As an evidence of their admiration and veneration for 
 this ancestral memento, the Choctaws, when passing-, would 
 -ascend it and drop into the hole at its top various trinkets, 
 and sometimes a venison ham, or dressed turkey, as a kind 
 of sacrificial offering" to the memory of its ancient builders, 
 who only appeared to them through the mists of ages past; 
 and as the highest evidence of their veneration for this 
 relic of their past history, it was sometimes spoken of by 
 the more enthusiastic as their Iholitopa Ishki, (beloved 
 mother). 
 
 In 1810, the United States Agent, George S. Gaines, was 
 -one day riding along the road that leads near Nunih Waiyah, 
 and to satisfy his curiosity turned^and rode to its base, then 
 dismounted and walked to its top. While there, he noticed 
 a large band of Choctaw warriors passing along the road; 
 .and being desirous of their company, he hastily descended, 
 mounted his horse and soon overtook them. As he rode up, 
 -and the usual salutations had been exchanged, the chief, 
 who was no less than the renowned Apushamatahaubih, with 
 a significant smile in which fun and innocent mischief were 
 most prominent, said: "Well, friend Gaines, I see you have 
 been up to pay your compliments to our good mother." 
 "Yes, I concluded to pay her a visit as I was passing," re 
 plied Mr. Gaines. "Well, what did she say to you?" asked 
 the great chief . "She said," responded Mr. Gaines, "that 
 her Choctaw children had become too numerous to longer 
 be prosperous, contented and happy in their present coun 
 try, therefore, she thought it best for them to exchange 
 their old country and lands for a new country and lands 
 west of the Mississippi river, where the ,game was much 
 more abundant, and the hunting grounds far more exten; 
 ;$ive." With a loud laugh in which his warriors also heartily 
 joined, Apushamatahah then exclaimed "Holobihlholubit ish 
 nohowa nih! (It s a lie.) Do not go about telling lies. Our. 
 .good old mother never could have spoken such words to 
 you." After the laugh of the joke was over, Apushamata- 
 hahubih expressed himself freely with. Mr. Gaines upon vari 
 ous subjects relative to his people as they rode along 
 together; among many things that were mentioned, that of 
 their origin was brought up; and to the inquiry of Mr. 
 Gaines, "Whence they came to the country then occupied by 
 them," the chief replied: "Our ancestors came from a 
 country far to the west many suns and moons ago. And this 
 was the invariable reply made by all the Choctaws when 
 asked concerning their traditional origin. 
 
 The Choctaw Nation, from its earliest known history to 
 
294 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 / 
 
 the present time has, at different intervals, produced many 
 great and good men; who, had they have had the advantages 
 of education, wpuld have lived upon the pages of history 
 equally with those of earth s illustrious great. 
 
 The first of whom we have any historical account, is 
 Tush-ka Lu-sa, (the heroic defender of Moma Bin-na, a 
 Lodge for All corrupted first to Mobila, then to Mobile) 
 who perished, with many thousands of his people, in that 
 bloody tragedy of three and a half centuries ago, while de 
 fending his ancient city against the Spaniards, nothing more 
 "however, has been handed down by which we can judge of 
 his ability as a wise and judicious ruler, but the fact that De 
 Soto found his Nation in a prosperous condition; his people 
 dwelling in large and well fortified towns, comfortable houses, 
 subsisting to a very large extent by the cultivation of the 
 soil. 
 
 But of the patriotism and undaunted bravery of Tush- 
 ka Lusa, and his ability as a commander of his warriors, 
 DeSoto had satisfactory proof at the battle of Momabinah. 
 But so little of the history of those ancient Choctaws has 
 escaped oblivion that in sketching a line of their history at 
 such a distance of time we necessarily pass through un 
 known fields so wide and diversified that it is like gliding 
 lightly and swiftly over the numberless waves of the agita 
 ted ocean, and only touching here and there some of their 
 highest tops ; while, as we approach our own times, merely 
 the outline of their history, if accurately drawn, would fill 
 many volumes ; therefore, in the selection of objects to pre 
 sent to the reader, with a due regard for his pleasure and 
 profit, I shall have continual reference to the power of as 
 sociation, and endeavor to present such as will be most 
 likely to bring to my Choctaw and Chickasaw friends, for 
 whom the work is especially written, the remembrance of 
 many incidents and circumstances, which once were fresh, 
 but now are fading in their minds, by devoting here a few 
 pages to the brief sketch of the lives of some of their emi 
 nent men now living, together with some of their distin 
 guished dead. Noble men they were ; the fame of whose 
 virtues belong not to the world, but alone to their own Na 
 tion and people, though I am well aware that the whole sub 
 ject of the North American Indians is so tinged with ro 
 mance and fiction that did not the interest of correct history 
 demand that at least an attempt should be made to shed a 
 ray of light upon that wonderful people, I would not, as a 
 truthful chronicler, have attempted to lift the veil and look in 
 upon this mystic people, so long known, but so little under 
 stood by my own race. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 295 
 
 It is an accepted fact that one/grand requisite to give,, or 
 sufficiently comprehend a biography, lies in a knowledge of 
 the times to which it refers. I can truly say that with a 
 knowledge of the times to which most of the following bio 
 graphical sketches refer, I am fully acquainted ; but I am 
 well aware, however, that the standard of public regard is 
 so constantly changing that a character half a century ago 
 would have attracted the adulation of the world with its ex 
 cellence ; in the present age receives but a moderate share of 
 praise, however meritorious, aside from that of its own fel 
 low citizens and people. 
 
 But the custom of commemorating the virtues and emi 
 nent characteristics of .those who have won the admiration, 
 confidence and affection of, their fellow citizens, and have 
 passed away from earth s tragic scenes, has always com 
 manded the services of civilized life; as it has been deemed 
 usjeful to their contemporaries to awaken and keep alive in 
 their thoughts those grateful deeds that are hallowed by 
 memory, and to transmit a record of those deeds to the 
 future, in order to act as incentives and models to succeeding 
 generations. 
 
 Therefore, that -the following biographical sketches may 
 be as incentives and models to the young men of the Choc- 
 taw and Chicaksaw people, has been one of the inducements 
 that has actuated me in writing them. Still to notice the 
 virtues of humble individuals, lacking kingly ancestry and 
 high position in the civilized world, with none of the accom 
 plishments of birth, fortune and name, is an incident so un 
 usual, that I might forbear, were I not writing to and for 
 their ow r n people, who will read not to criticise, but to bear 
 testimonv to the excellence and worth of their noble dead. 
 
 It has been said that there is a place for every man in 
 the theatre of life. If true, it is equally so, that every man 
 does not always find his true place, nor occupy the position 
 best suited to his capacity or ability. The circumstances 
 and incidents of human life, as they are daily unrolled, have 
 much to do in throwing men in the various situations in soci 
 ety, someof which they neither occupy nor faith fully,fill. There 
 should be a fitness for the man for the place; else a statue of 
 Vulcan would as well adorn a niche in the temple of the Muses, 
 and a clown in his colored dress suitably represent the stern 
 judge. I claim, however, for the subjects of this biography, 
 not only a proper place, but an entire fitness for the varied 
 duties incident to the occupancy of the place. Therefore, 
 whether 1 we look upon them as the faithful men, the intelli 
 gent and judicious citizens or the zealous rulers, they 
 challenge alike a just adimration and worthy praise. In the 
 
296 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 various relations in which they stood among their people, 
 -|;hey won the confidence, affection and esteem of all who 
 knew them, both of their own race and also of the white; and, 
 under the influence of a laudable ambition, they spared 
 neither labor, time, nor well directed exertion to elevate their 
 people in the scale of morality, prosperity and happiness. 
 To their signal success in these efforts, the intelligence and 
 prosperity of their people to-day, bear indisputable testimony, 
 as the result of the labors of those who, in conjunction with 
 the missionaries, carried all the ardor of their souls, all the 
 strength of their minds, and all the application and concen 
 tration of their powers that were necessary for securing 
 their object in view. The responsibility of the stations they 
 thus honored, they felt in all their force, and earnestly, 
 honorably, and nobly they endeavored to discharge them. 
 
 None but those who personally knew them, can form 
 any just conception of the manly efforts put forth by those 
 truly noble and honest patriots, in their exertions to elevate 
 the standard of their Nation in the estimation of the Chris 
 tian world. They sought and obtained every useful informa 
 tion that could give them additional mental power in the 
 pursuit of their favorite object, and studiously gathered the 
 ripe experience of others, both by the study of books and 
 observations in their travels among the whites, in their visits 
 to Washington City on business of national affairs; and it is 
 a matter of astonishment that amid the many difficulties 
 they had to overcome in counteracting the evil influences of 
 the lawless whites who invaded their country, that they ac 
 complished what they did. / Yet they were but in a prepara 
 tory state for enlarged usefulness among their people, when 
 the hand of disease was laid upon them and they were re 
 moved from their labors. Many of them in the very prime 
 of their powers, in the very morn of the expansion of their 
 matured minds, were cut down in the bright promise of a 
 glorious future. But the}^ had done enough to make their 
 lives notable, and to justify the presenting of the records of 
 their lives as containing laudable incentives to encourage 
 others in the path of honorable usefulness, and meritorious 
 examples as a model for them. 
 
 Tushka Lusa, the hero of Moma Bina, as before stated, 
 is the only Choctaw chief whose name has been handed down 
 from that tragic scene through the long line of historic 
 silence, to the year 1745, when in the English and French 
 wars, in which each were contending for supremacy upon 
 the western continent, involving both the Choctaw and Chick- 
 asaw Nations, a few chiefs arose to the surface whose names 
 .have, escaped oblivion by their daring achievements during 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 297 
 
 "those scenes of blood and carnage; the most prominent of the 
 Choctaws were Shulush Humma and Ibanowa, (one who 
 walks with) Miko (chief) whom I will more particularly 
 .speak in the history of the Chickasaws. From 1745 to 1785 
 no other names of Choctaw chiefs have been preserved , all 
 alike having- gone down into the silence of eternal forgetful- 
 ness, but from 1785 the names of many of their great chiefs 
 have been preserved, though long since deceased; among 
 which, as the most prominent, stand that of A-push-a-ma-ta- 
 hah-ub-i, (a messenger of death; literally, one whose rifle, 
 tomahawk, or bow alike fatal in war or hunting.) A-pak- 
 foh-li-chih-ub-ih, (to encircle and kill, corrupted by the 
 whites to A-puck-she-nubee, and so used by the Choctaws of 
 the present day.) A-to-ni Yim-in-tah, (a watchman infatuated 
 with excitement) Olubih, (to take by force); -Coleman Cole, 
 Greenwood La Flore, Nit-tak-a chih-ub-ih, (to suggest the day 
 and kill); David Folsom, Peter P. Pitchlynn, (the Calhoun of 
 the Choctaws); Isaac Folsom, Silas Pitchlynn, Israel Fol 
 som, (The Wesley of the Choctaws) and many others. 
 With the last seven mentioned I was personally acquainted. 
 
 The distinguished warrior and chief of the Choctaws, 
 Apushamatahah, was born, as near as can be ascertained, in 
 the year 1764. He was of the Iksa, called Kun-sha (A reed 
 the name of the creek along whose banks the Kunsha Clan 
 dwelt.) Kunsha-a-he (reed potato) is the full name -of the 
 clan, which took its name from the thick reeds and wild 
 potatoes that grew together in the marshy ground along the 
 banks of the creek Cane and Potato creek. 
 
 At an early age Apushamatahah (For the sake of brevity 
 the ubi is dropped). acquired great celebrity among his peo 
 ple as a brave warrior and successful hunter. His love for 
 the facinating excitement of the chase and daring adventures 
 frequently led him into the deep solitudes of the then distant 
 and wild forests west of the Mississippi river untrodden by 
 the foot of the white man, to engage in hunting buffalo, a 
 sport considered by the red man, and at a later period by the 
 white also, as the noblest ever engaged in upon the North 
 American continent. The buffalo, at that day, congregated 
 in seemingly incredible numbers, and roamed over the entire 
 wide extended western valley, grazing in countless multi 
 tudes upon. the rich grasses of the vast prairies that extended 
 before the vision to where earth and sky seemed to embrace. 
 But now that noble game is numbered with the things of the 
 past. 
 
 In those distant hunting expeditions and daring adven 
 tures, accompanied only by a small number of youthful and 
 congenial spirits, Apushamatahah encountered many dangers 
 
298 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 ; 
 
 and ended many privations "and hardships; which consti 
 tuted, to the young-, free and independent Indian warrior and 
 hunter, the veritable elixir of life, the ultimatum of earthly 
 bliss. 
 
 At one time, while engaged in one of those hunts on Red 
 river with a little party of Choctaw "braves," his camp was 
 unexpectedly and unceremoniously attacked, by a large band 
 of Cal T lag--e-hah warriors, (Callage-hah is evidently a cor 
 ruption of the words, Chah lih hihla, (fast dancers). These 
 Indians may possibly have been a clan of the Choctaws be 
 fore they left Mexico, and .afterwards followed on to join the 
 main body, but ne x ver crossed the Mississippi river, hence 
 became forever lost from the parent stock) and being- 
 greatly outnumbered, Apushamatahah and his little party, 
 after a brief skirmish, were totally defeated, and but few 
 escaped, each taking care of himself. Apushamatahah, 
 being one of the few, found himself alone. After experienc 
 ing great hardships and dangers in eluding the vigilance of 
 his wily enemies, he fortunately stumbled upon a Spanish 
 settlement, in which he remained many months, hunting 1 for 
 the Spaniards, and secretly preparing his plans for revenge 
 against the Callagehahs for their unceremonious attack upon 
 his camp, and which he successfully executed, as the sequel 
 will show. At this. time (1793) Missouri, Kansas and Arkan 
 sas were under Spanish Dominion. 
 
 After he had thoroughly laid his plans of revenge, he 
 bade his Spanish employers a formal adieu, and started for 
 his distant and long absent home by devious paths, until he 
 came upon a camp of his enemies, the Callag ehahs, upon 
 which he rushed at night with the ferocity of a tiger, and 
 slew seven of its occupants and secured their scalps, ere 
 they could recover from their surprise; then shouting back his 
 war-whoop of defiance, he fled with the nimble feet of the 
 antelope, directing his course homeward, where he, in the 
 course of several weeks safely arrived, to the astonishment 
 and joy of his relatives, who had regarded him among- the 
 number of the slain, who had fallen on the fatal night of the 
 raid made upon their camp by the Callagehahs. He remain 
 ed at home two or three years, but had not forgotten the: 
 attack made upon his hunting camp in the distant solitudes 
 of the forests west of the Mississippi river, and the death of 
 his comrades; while his proud spirit still chafed under the 
 imagined disgrace of his defeat, he yearned to punish the 
 Callagehahs still more severely for their audacity and insult; 
 therefore, he again started with a select company of warriors 
 for his enemies territories; where again surprising one of 
 their unsuspecting camps he slew three warriors without.sus- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 299 
 
 taining loss; after which he withdrew from the Callagehahs 
 country, but remained west of the Mississippi river for sev 
 eral months in the fascinating- amusements of the chase, that 
 exciting- occupation that renders the hunter, both red and 
 white, oblivious to all else. Again he returned home with 
 his little band; yet his restless spirit could not rest in in 
 activity longer than a few weeks; and once more, with anoth 
 er little company of cong-enial spirits of about twenty-five in 
 number, he started for the land of his foes and was gone 
 several months, when he again returned home with a dozen 
 or more Callagehah scalps, without the loss of a single one of 
 his little party. He remained at home, after this exploit, 
 nearly a year, then again, but for the last time, sought the 
 distant territories of the Callagehahs with another band of 
 his warriors; again fortune smiled upon her seemingly 
 chosen favorite; for he struck another death dealing blow, 
 obtaining many scalps, then bade the unfortunate Callage 
 hahs a final adieu, returned to his native land with his war 
 riors, and annoyed them no more. 
 
 The Choctaws and Muscogees, in years long past, were 
 proverbial enemies, and hated each other with uncompromis 
 ing bitterness ; therefore, embraced every opportunity to 
 manifest their hostility the one toward the other. On on 
 occasion a oarty of Muscogees secretly entered the Choctaw 
 territories and, among other depredations committed on 
 their devious route, they burned the house of Apushamata- 
 hah, who, with his family, was absent from home engaged 
 in his favorite amusement a grand ball-play. As soon as he 
 returned home and found it a heap of smoking ruins, and 
 learned who had committed the mischief, he at once collec 
 ted a company of warriors and sought the Muscogee Nation 
 with the same determination and resolution that he had pre 
 viously sought that of the Callagehahs ; and when arrived, 
 he repaid them ten fold for the destruction of his home. . 
 Many years afterward Apushamatahah was the first Choc- 
 taw chief who led a war-party of 800 warriors against the 
 Muscogees in what is known as the Creek War of 1812. 
 
 Several Choctaw companies joined Washington s army 
 during our Revolutionary war, and served during the entire 
 war; some of them were at the battle of Cowpens, under 
 General Morgan; others, at the battle of Stony Point, under 
 General Wayne, and others, at the battle of Tilico Plains, un 
 der General Sullivan, sent by General Green to punish 
 the Tories and northern Cherokees (at that time the 
 only Cherokees hostile to the Americans) for the destruction 
 of Fort Loudon, situated on the Tennessee river in the terri 
 tories then of North Carolina, whom he overtook at Tilico- 
 
300 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Plains, engaged and routed, with great loss on the part of 
 the tories and Cherokees,also securing- the women and child 
 ren whon they taken had prisoners in the fall of Fort Loudon, 
 and devastating- the country of the hostile Cherokees as he 
 went, in driving- them, (Tories and Cherokees) through 
 Deep Creek Gap, in Cumberland mountains, into the now 
 State of Kentucky; and there ending the pursuit, Sullivan re 
 turned and joined his command near Yorktown. It is said, 
 those Cherokees never did return to their former homes, 
 but became incorporated with other Indians in Kentucky; 
 others, were under Washington at the capture of Yorktown, 
 and witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis. 
 
 An amusing- incident was related to me when in the Choc- 
 taw Nation in 1888, in which a Choctaw scout, under General 
 Sullivan, previous to the defeat of the Tories and Cherokees 
 at Tilico Plains, was the chief hero. This scout, from his 
 short and thick set form, was given the name Dutch Johnnie, 
 by the soldiers. Dutch Johnnie was an uncompromising 
 enemy to the hostile Cherokees, for the re ison that a scout 
 ing party of theirs had killed his wife and only child; and in 
 revenge he had sworn, as he of ancient Carthage, eternal 
 hatred against the Cherokees. Learning this, Gen. Sullivan 
 .appointed Dutch Johnnie as one of his chief scouts, much to 
 the joy of Johnnie, as it gave him a broader field in which to 
 seek and obtain the much desired revenge for the death of 
 his wife and child. He soon became noted for his intrepidity 
 endurance, skill, and valuable reports in regard to the enemy; 
 and by his many noble traits also became the pet of the army. 
 At one time, he was returning to the command from a long 
 scout of several days absence, and had reached within ten or 
 fifteen miles of the army, when night overtook him at an old 
 and long deserted house. It had been raining all day, so the 
 story goes, and was still raining and growing dark. As any 
 port in a storm had long been Dutch Johnnie s motto, he at 
 once resolved to accept the offered hospitalities of the for 
 saken mansion; and, without formality, entered the open 
 space, where once had hung the door that then lay upon the 
 ground, a wreck of its former glory, and surveyed its apart 
 ments. He found it consisted of but one room, with but one 
 ingress or egress, one chimney of sticks and dirt, and four 
 or five logs extending across the room above, about 
 four feet apart, upon which were loosely laid some 
 boards extending from one to the other. 
 
 Being a good retreat from the rain and chill without, 
 Dutch Johnnie soon stretched himself upon the puncheon 
 floor in his wet clothes, too considerate to build a fire in the 
 hearth by which to dry and warm himself, and thus attract 
 
HISTQRY OF THE INDIANS 301 
 
 the eye of an enemy engaged in the same business as him 
 self, and was just passing" into the shadows of the land of 
 dreams, when his ears, ever wakeful sentinels and always 
 on the alert, whispered "danger without." He instantly 
 arose to a sitting posture and heard approaching footsteps. 
 Instantly he seized his rifle and quickly and noiselessly 
 climbed up the wall and laid down upon the boards, and there 
 waited future developments. The approaching footsteps 
 grew plainer until they stopped before the house. Then all 
 was hushed for a few moments, and then the intruders en 
 tered. Dutch Johnnie from above could see nothing, so in 
 tense was the darkness ; but soon learned that his visitors 
 were a company of Tories and Cherokee warriors, who, alike 
 with him, had sought the hospitality of the deserted house 
 from the inclemency of the night. He understood enough 
 English to learn much of their plans as the Tories convers 
 ed with each other. In the course of an hour all had stretch 
 ed themselves upon the puncheon floor, and were shortly 
 after wrapt in sleep ; yet with a sleepless sentinel eight feet 
 above, who could see nothing not even his hand before him 
 but hear everything, even to the low breathing of his un 
 welcome visitors belo\v. Poor, entrapped Johnnie, how 
 was he to safely get out of the dilemma? If he remained 
 until morning some curiosity seeker might climb the wall to 
 see what lay above, and then Dutch Johnnie s doom was in 
 evitable. After cogitating the matter over carefully, he 
 finally concluded he would try and escape by noislessly de 
 scending the wall which he. had ascended; but the question 
 arose in his mind how far from the wall in \vhich the door 
 way was cut w r as the first parallel joist over which space he 
 discovered there were no boards when he first entered the 
 house. When he had taken his position above he had 
 stretched himself full length (face downward) upon the 
 boards, with his head toward the wall he desired to descend. 
 He began at once to /reach out with his right hand into the 
 darkness for the wall, but his arm was too short. Again 
 and again he stretched it out, but to no avail. Anxiety, at 
 length, overcame his prudence ; for, in attempting to extend 
 his body a little over the joist that he might be enabled, per 
 chance, to reach the coveted w r all, the boards, which were 
 not nailed to the joist, slipped from their places and, in con 
 fusion worse confounded, fell together with Dutch Johnnie 
 in a promiscuous mass upon the sleepers below. The scene 
 of confusion that then ensued may be imagined only. 
 
 The sleepers, thus suddenly aroused, \vere utterly be 
 wildered, and unable to decide whether a cyclone had struck 
 the house, an earthquake was upon them, or the knell of time 
 
302 . . HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 was at hand. But Dutch Johnnie s presence of mind,/vhich 
 had so oft brought him safely out of difficulties that tried 
 men s souls, forsook him not in this hour of peril, but ren 
 dered him equal to the emergency, having-, however, the ad 
 vantage of his foes in knowing why he had made such a des 
 perate charge, alone and in utter darkness, upon them; for 
 he seized a board with both" hands, sprang to his feet, and be 
 gan to strike, right and left in the dark, with super-human 
 force, accompanying the act with reiterated Choctaw war- 
 hoops intermingled with General Sullivan s war-cry in Eng 
 lish; which at once caused the Tories and Cherokee warriors 
 to believe that, instead of a cyclone, earthquake, or the knell 
 of time, or all together, it was Sullivan and his troopers upon 
 them; therefore, each one, actuated with the frantic desire 
 of self-preservation alone, sought, in frenzied haste, the one, 
 and only egress into the open air, jumping, tumbling, falling, 
 rolling out, while Johnnie s wild war-hoops uttered in both 
 Choctaw and English, with his board wielded by his vigorous 
 arms, whizzing through the darkness this way and that thus 
 oft meeting in collision with heads and bodies, added wings 
 to the retreat of his foes. Soon the house was left in 
 possession of Dutch Johnnie alone; then to make the victory 
 complete, he sprang to the rifles of his foes stacked in a 
 corner of the room and then to the door, where he fired off 
 each one in rapid succession accompanied with reiterated 
 war-hoops, which made each flying Tory and Cherokee 
 : believe that himself alone had escaped. As he seized a gun 
 and fired it off, he threw it upon the floor, and sprang for 
 another, and so continued to do until he had fired the last; 
 then, not knowing what might still be in the house, since the 
 pitchy darkness prevented anything being seen, he leaped 
 out, uttered several war-hoops of victory, and sought safety 
 amid the darkness of the forest feeling his way .as best he 
 could. When he had gone far enough to feel safe from 
 immediate danger, he sat down and waited for the light of 
 the returning morning: then hastened to the encampment, 
 where he arrived in safety about an hour after sunrise. He 
 soon related his adventure to General Sullivan, who sent a 
 company of troopers back with Dutch Johnnie to prove the 
 statement of his romantic adventure, and night conflict with 
 the emeny, over whose unknown numbers unlike Sampson 
 with his jaw bone of an ass, but like Dutch Johnnie alone 
 with a post-oak board, hfc had gained a complete victory. 
 When the company had reached the battle ground and enter- 
 ed the again tenantless and silent fort, they found the fallen 
 boards upon the floor under which lay Johnnie s rifle suffi 
 cient proof of his rapid descent upon the enemy,: ...while the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 303 
 
 twenty empty rifles that lay upon the floor, gave entire satis 
 faction, none more so than to Dutch Johnnie himself, that he 
 had defeated his enemies as one to twenty, by his rapid de 
 scent upon them with his shower of boards, followed by the 
 vigorous use of one alone in his stalwart hands accompanied 
 with his terrific war-hoops. Of course, he became the hero 
 of the day. The twenty rifles were justly awarded to him 
 as trophies of his victory; which he traded" for various articles 
 necessary for his comfort and protection in his anticipated 
 future adventures. He lived through the war as an indis 
 pensable scout, proving- himself fearless in battle, and oft 
 dazzling his comrades by his daring acts. 
 
 THE MEETING IN 1811, OF TECUMSEH, THE 
 MIGHTY SHAWNEE, WITH APUSHAMATA- 
 HAH, THE INTREPID CHOCTAW. 
 
 I will here give a true narrative of an incident in the life 
 of the great and noble Choctaw chief, Apushamatahah, as re 
 lated by Colonel John Pitchlynn, a white man of sterling 
 integrity, and whb acted for many years as- interpreter to 
 the Choctaws for the United States Government, and who 
 was an eye-witness to the thrilling scene, a similar one, never 
 before nor afterwards befell the lot of a white man to witness, 
 except that of Sam Dale, the great scout of General Andrew 
 Jackson, who witnessed a similar one that of Tecumseh in 
 council assembled with the Muscogees, shortly afterwards 
 of which I will speak in the history of that once powerful 
 and war-like race of people. 
 
 Colonel John Pitchlynn was adopted in early manhood by 
 the Choctaws, and marrying among them, he at once became 
 as one of their people; and was named by them "Chahtah It- 
 ti-ka-na," The Choctaws Friend; and long and well he 
 proved himself worthy the title Conferred upon, and the trust 
 confided in him. He had five sons by his Choctaw wife, 
 Peter, Silas, Thomas, Jack and James, all of whom provea to 
 be men of talent, and exerted a moral influence among their 
 people, except Jack, who was ruined by the white man s 
 whiskey and his demoralizing>examples and influences. I 
 was personally acquainted with Peter. Silas and Jack, the 
 former held, during a long and useful life, the highest posi 
 tions in the political history of his Nation, well deserving the 
 title given him by the whites, "The Calhoun of the Choc 
 taws;" but of whom I will speak more particularly else 
 where. 
 
 England, in her anticipated war with the United States in 
 
304 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 1812, early made strenuous efforts to secure the co-operation 
 of all the Indian tribes, both north and south, as allies 
 against the Americans, as she had done against the French 
 previous to supplanting- them in 1763; though, not with that 
 success that she did in arraying them in opposition to the 
 Americans; for to the honor and praise of the majority of 
 the early settlers of the French among the North American 
 Indians be it said, that they had won the respect, confidence^ 
 and love of the northern Indians especially, by their freedom 
 from all arrogance, abuse and oppression, and by honest 
 dealing with them, comparing well in this particular with 
 the Quakers, and thus seeming to the, highly appreciative 
 Indians more as affable companions and genial friends, than 
 insolent and pretended masters, as the English had assumed 
 to be, and afterwards the Americans, who followed in their 
 wake; both of whom, early and late,, introduced the traffic in 
 whiskey among them, which had been effectually prohibited 
 by the French down to that time. 
 
 Having secured the co-operation, however, of many of 
 the northern tribes to operate under the command of the 
 cruel Proctor, the English then turned their attention to the 
 securing of the south ern tribes as allies, especially the five 
 great and most war-like tribes then within the boundaries of 
 the United States, viz: The Choctaws, Chickasaws, Chero- 
 kees, Muscogees and Seminoles, whose warriors were then 
 justly considered as the shrewdest, bravest and most to be 
 dreaded in war of all the North American Indians; and that 
 they might the more effectually and with greater certainty 
 secure the aid of those brave, skilful and daring warriors of 
 the south, the renowned Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, was sent 
 to persuade them by his great influence and unsurpassed 
 native eloquence to unite with them as allies in the expected 
 war. As one of the bravest and most skilful Indian chiefs 
 that ever trod the American soil; as a statesman in the 
 council of his nation; as a foresighted politician; as a man of 
 integrity and humanity, according to the morals of his 
 people; as a man of comprehensive mind, rich in resources 
 for every emergency; as a man of undaunted nature, Tecum 
 seh stands with no superiors and few equals upon the pages 
 of Indian history; and his name still hovers among the 
 northern and western tribes, with those of Sassacus, chief 
 of the Pequods, in 1637; Philip, chief of the Pokanokets in 
 1674; Canonochet, chief of the Naragansetts in 1675; and the 
 great Pontiac, chief of the Ottawas in 1763; Red Jacket, of 
 the Senecas; Black Hawk, of the Sacs, and Fox, and others, 
 who figured along down the path of time in their noble but 
 vain endeavors to protect their homes and country from the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 305 
 
 encroachment of foreign vandals, as the heroes, who, in the 
 days of their prosperity and strength, had each devised the 
 plan for unity of action among all the tribes in driving- back 
 the usurping whites from their common territories, and 
 conducted their mighty but unavailing struggles with seem 
 ing destiny for the continued independence of their race, as- 
 men who loved no enjoyment equal to that of perfect per 
 sonal freedom in the companionship of nature, as it then 
 presented itself in its picturesque garb of mountains and 
 valleys, rivers and lakes, forests and prairies, affording them 
 all the necessaries of life, and uniting to consummate their 
 earthly bliss as a free, independent, contented and happy 
 people. Therefore one master spirit filled and ruled the 
 hearts of those ancient chieftains, and gave to their whole 
 lives their character. 
 
 Willingly, therefore, did Tecumseh accept the embassy 
 to the southern tribes, in behalf of tfce English ; nor could 
 they have confided their mission with greater hope of suc 
 cess to a more influential chief, or a more bitter enemy to 
 the Americans than to Tecumseh. North and South, far 
 and near, was the name of the great Shawnee Chief and 1 , 
 warrior known. From their youth the warriors of all the: 
 tribes, at that day and time, had heard of his great achieve 
 ments in battle; of his irresistible eloquence in debate and 
 the devastation that marked his footsteps upon the war-path ;. 
 for his tomahawk was like the lightning bolt in force and 
 power, armed with swift and sure destruction to all upon 
 whom it fell when wielded by its master s hand, to all In 
 dians, a meritorious commendation and worthy all accepta 
 tion. Unknown to fear, yet it is said of Tecumseh that 
 his heart was tender as a child s, and the sufferings of a 
 friend whom he loved could torture him with the keenest 
 anguish. His mother was a Muscogee and his father a 
 Shawnee ; and both were born in Alabama, at a village called 
 Sau-van-o-gee (afterwards known as "Old Augusta") on the 
 Tallapoosa river, though Tecumseh s father and grand par 
 ents belonged to the Shawnees of the North. They moved 
 to the then wilds of the now State of Ohio with their family 
 of several children, where, in 1768, Tecumseh was born, who 
 became so distinguished in the history of his race as a chief 
 and warrior. He had five brothers, all of whom were noted 
 warriors. He also had one sister named Tecum-a-pease, 
 -, who was highly endowed as a woman of strong character 
 and sound judgment, and a great favorite of her war-like 
 brother, over whom she exercised great influence. At the 
 age of nineteen years Tecumseh visited the South, once the 
 home of his parents, where he spent a few years principally 
 
 - 
 
306 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 among- the Muscogees, the relatives and friends of his 
 mother engaging with them in their hunts and various 
 amusements, and winning their admiration by a heroism free 
 from tefmerity, and a friendship free from partiality. 
 
 In the spring of 1811, tecumseh, with thirty congenial 
 spirits all well mounted, again left his northern home and 
 directed his course once more to the South to visit those dis 
 tant friends, not as before, a pleasure seeker in their hunts, 
 national festivals and social amusements, but as one seeking 
 co-operative vengeance upon a common. foe, the pale-face in 
 truders and oppressors of their race. Silently and fearlessly 
 did the little band of resolute men, keep their course with un 
 wearied resolution and unerring judgment through the vast 
 wilderness that intervened; over hills . and endless wastes; 
 swimming broad rivers and narrow creeks, and working 
 their way through wide extended cane-brakes, where seldom 
 or never before had trod human feet, the sun their guide by 
 dav, the stars, by night, until they reached the broad terri 
 tories of the Chickasaws through which they passed, nor 
 ceased their march, until they entered the Choctaw Nation 
 in the district over which Apakfohlichihubih was the ruling 
 chief and there pitched their camp. Soon the tidings of the 
 arrival and encampment of the renowned Shawnee chief and 
 his thirty warriors as an embassy were borne as on wings of 
 the wind, throughout the district fanning the hitherto quiet 
 inhabitants into a blaze of the wildest exciteme nt, and many 
 rushed at once to see the great Chieftain and his warriors; 
 actuated more however through curiosity than expectation of 
 learning anything concerning the intent or purpose of their 
 coming; for an Indian embassador is ever silent upon the sub 
 ject of his mission, and opens not his mouth but in council 
 assembled, and thus manifesting good sense and profound 
 judgment. In solemn pomp, therefore, Tecumseh and his 
 warriors /were escorted to the home of Apakfolichihubih,- to 
 whom Tecumseh stated that his business was of a national 
 character and of the most vital importance, to the Choctaw 
 Nation. At once Apakfolichihubih, summoned the warriors 
 of his district to convene in council, at which a resolution was 
 passed calling the entire Choctaw Nation to assemble in a 
 great council, extending the invitation alike to the Chickasaw 
 Nation, stating as a reason, that it was made through the 
 request of Tecumseh, as an embassador of the Shawnees; 
 that he, with thirty warriors, was now a guest of Apakfolih- 
 chihubih, and had a proposition to lay before the council of 
 vital import to both Nations. A day was also appointed and 
 the place designated, in and at which the two Nations should 
 assemble in united council to hear the words of the mighty 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 307 
 
 r 
 
 "Shawnee. The place selected at which the council was to 
 convene, was at a point on the Tombigbee riyer>,five miles (by 
 land) north of Columbus, Mississippi, and now known by the 
 name of Plymouth. 
 
 Immediately runners (news horsemen) were sent out to 
 the remotest points of their country, also to the Chickasaws, 
 to notify all of the coming" event; and soon they were seen on 
 their fleetest horses speeding- in wild haste and in all direc 
 tions, over their wide extended territory; even as was wit 
 nessed when our Declaration of Independence was first pro 
 claimed, and the "Old Liberty Bell" rang- out its joyous peals 
 echoing amid wild shouts along- the hills of the Atlantic 
 shore, but to die away in muffled tones among the rocky bat 
 tlements of the far-away Pacific coast; and as the tones of 
 the "Old Liberty Bell" secured responsive ears, so too the 
 call of Tecumseh secured the speedy response of every 
 Choctaw and Chickasaw warrior, however remote his cabin 
 from the designated place of rendezvous. 
 
 For many days previous to the convening of the council, 
 hundreds upon hundreds of warriors, in various groups, 
 were seen slowly and silently wending their way through 
 the forests from every direction toward the designated place 
 for the meeting of the two Nations in council with the mighty 
 chief and Shawnee embassador; and when the appointed day 
 came, many thousands had presented themselves. 
 
 Col. John Pitchlynn stated to the missionaries who es 
 tablished a mission among the Choctaws several years after, 
 that he never saw so great a number of Indian warriors 
 gathered together. It was indeed a congregation vast of so 
 licitous and expectant men, whose breasts heaved and tossed 
 with the conflicting emotions of the wildest imaginations, 
 for rumor of war between the United States and England 
 liad reached them in their distant villages situated along the 
 banks of their rivers and creeks, and in their humble cabins 
 found scattered everywhere amid the deep solitudes of their 
 seemingly illimitable forests ; therefore hope and fear alter 
 nately held dubious sway o er their minds as to the design 
 of Tecumseh s unexpected visit, and the calling them to 
 gether in council, which seemingly foreshadowed evil, also to 
 their respective nations as compulsory allies to the one or to 
 the other of the belligerent parties ; still no external mani 
 festations of any kind whatever were seen that betrayedythe 
 secret emotions within, as profound silence and the utmost 
 decorum were always and everywhere observed by the North 
 American Indians when assembling and having assembled in 
 national council. 
 
 But the light of that memorable day seemed to wane 
 
308 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 slowly, and its sunset was followed by that seemingly breath 
 less pause and stupor so oft experienced in a southern clime. 
 The increasing dusk crept 011 by degrees, while the outlines 
 of familiar objects became blurred, then dim and fantastic 
 in the uncertain light. At length the leaves began to stir 
 and the placid waters of the itombi ikbi trembled in the 
 darkness, for the night wind had sprung .up freighted with 
 the cool breath and sweet odors of the surrounding forests, 
 as twilight dropped her mantle to her successor night. 
 Then a huge pile of logs and chunks, previously prepared, 
 was set on fire the signal to the waiting multitudes, who 
 sat in groups of hundreds around chatting in low tones and 
 smoking .their indispensable pipes, constructed in the heads- 
 of their tomahawks. Each group arose without delay or 
 confusion and in obedience to its mandates, marched up in 
 solemn and impressive silence, and took their respective 
 seats upon the ground forming" many wide, extended circles 
 around the blazing heap, but leaving an open space of twenty 
 or thirty feet in diameter for the occupancy of the speaker 
 and his attendants. 
 
 The chiefs and old warriors always formed the inner 
 circle; the middle aged, next, and soon to the outer circle, 
 which was composed of the young and less experienced war 
 riors, thus carrying out the old precept, "The old for 
 counsel, the young for war." All being seated, the pipes, 
 indispensable adjuncts in all the North American Indians 
 national and religions assemblies, were lighted, and com 
 menced their rounds through the vast concourse of seated 
 men; and each one, as a pipe came to him, drew a whiff or 
 two, and then, in turn, passed it on to the next, while pro 
 found silence throughout the vast assembly reigned su 
 preme, disturbed alone by the crackling and sputtering of 
 the burning logs. Twas indeed a silence deep, as if all 
 nature had made a pause prophetic of the gathering storm. 
 
 What a beautiful characteristic of the North American 
 Indians was that of repressing every emotional feeling when 
 assembled in council or otherwise, and observing the most 
 profound silence when one of their number was speaking! 
 Even in the social circle, never but one speaks at a time 
 while the closest attention is given and the most profound 
 silence observed by the others. This was and is a part of 
 their education, an established rule of their entire race, into 
 the violation of which they were seldom if ever betra}^ed by 
 any kind of excitement whatsoever; and in visiting the Choc- 
 taw and Chickasaw councils in 1885, 1 found they still adhered 
 to the old established rule with the same rigid tenacity as- 
 did their ancestors east of the Mississippi river in the days- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 309 
 
 of the long-ago. For this noble virtue (for virtue it may be 
 called) they are termed taciturn and grave, yet their national 
 sensibilities are deep, active and strong. 
 
 Soon Tecumseh was dimly seen emerging from the dark 
 ness beyond into the far reflected light of the blazing logs, 
 followed by his thirty warriors. With measured steps and 
 grave demeanor they slowly advanced. But no wild shouts 
 heralded their coming. No deafening yells proclaimed their 
 welcome. Silence deep and profound swayed her sceptre 
 there. Yet that vast assembly of silent men seated in cir 
 cles upon the ground, while clouds of tobacco smoke gently 
 floated o er their heads; with countenances beaming with in 
 quiry as their calm but piercing eyes glistened in the reflect 
 ed light of the blazing logs, spoke a language to Tecumseh 
 more potent than the -wild huzzas of the whites ever did to 
 their approaching political favorite. In silence the circle 
 was opened as Tecumseh and his followers drew near 
 through which they slowly marched, then immediately closed 
 .-behind them surrounding them by^ thousands of strangers; 
 but nothing to fear, for the Peace Pipe was in the left hand 
 of the mighty Shawnee, an emblem rigidly respected by all 
 North American Indians all over the continent. When Te 
 cumseh had reached a point near the fire, he halted and his 
 thirty warriors at once seated themselves on the ground 
 forming a crescent before their adored chieftain, while he, 
 the personification of true dignity and manly beauty, stood 
 erect and momentarily flashed his piercing 1 eyes over the 
 mighty host as if to scan each countenance (that index of the 
 soul) and read its import, the better thereby to lav a proper 
 basis for the successful effect of his arguments in the sup 
 port of his mighty scheme. 
 
 Every eye was now fastened upon him, while, in turn, 
 beneath his high forehead flashed his own black and restless 
 eyes; and though his face wore a calm expression 
 yet there was a nervousness about him- withal that plainly 
 indicated one of those sensitive organisms that 
 kindle at the slightest warmth. But he sought not the 
 personal admiration or the praise of his audience. He 
 meant business serious and weighty; business, in which he 
 fell was involved thefuturedestiny of the entirelndian race for 
 weal or woe. Noble and unselfish patriot! How true thy 
 far-sighted statemanship! But alas, how unavailing! What 
 -an imposing and impressive scene was there! A hundred 
 closely formed circles of silent men seated on the ground 
 from whose dark features were reflected, by the light on 
 the burning log-heaps, a thousand conflicting emotions of 
 iiop and doubt, -as they gazed in profound silence upon the 
 
310 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 imposing 1 figure that stood in their midst. The scene at 
 this juncture, stated Col. Pitchlynn, was grand and impos 
 ing indeed, and worthy the pencil of a Raphael. Every 
 countenance told of suppressed feeling, and every eye 
 sparkled 1 with mental excitement. An enthusiasm border 
 ing on ecstacy marked the manner of the elder, while the 
 young, sturdy fellows in the flower of manhood s strength, 
 had more than usual expression upon their faces, which 
 indicated that some of the deepest chords in their natures 
 had already been struck, holding- out a promise to them of 
 things undreamed of before, by touching- that note to which 
 their every breast gave more or less response. 
 
 Tecumseh s observant eye read its import at a glance, 
 and at once the tones of his voice broke the stillness. Now 
 he seemed nothing but nerves, and shot out magnetism that 
 electrified his hearers into like intensity of feeling-, and every^ 
 nerve and muscle of the vast assembly seemed to take up 
 the measure and tingle with the same enthusiasm and feel 
 ing, as the wild orator voiced the sentiments of his audience. 
 In the outset he unfolded the desig-ns of the whites andjtheir 
 schemes to accomplish them ; he portrayed the consequences 
 that would inevitably ensue in case they should get the as 
 cendency ; he spared no artifice, omitted no topic that would 
 have a tendency to alarm their concern for their country, or 
 their fears for themselves ; he arraigned all the conduct of 
 the whites since their first introduction among their race, 
 and portrayed in vivid colors their ingenuity in concealing" 
 their avarice and covetousness under a veil of most gener 
 ous and disinterested principles ; and how insidious and vile 
 their schemes had ever been, and still continued to be ; he 
 made good use of the figures which g-ave force and energy 
 to his discourse, for no one better understood the designs of 
 the white man, and no one could better explain them than he; 
 therefore he drew his lines, sketched his plans, and well did 
 the drawings and sketches manifest the master s hand ; and 
 ere he had closed, strange alternatives of elevating hope were 
 manifest in the countenances of his silent and attentive 
 hearers. 
 
 He began his speech in a grave and solemn ifianner, 
 stated Col. Pitchlynn, which I here give in substance, as 
 follows : 
 
 "In view of questions of vast importance, have we met 
 together in solemn council to-night. Nor should we here 
 debate whether we have been wronged and injured, but by 
 what measures we should avenge ourselves ; for our merci 
 less oppressors, having long since planned out their proceed 
 ings, are not about to make, but have and are still making: 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 311 
 
 attacks upon those of our race who have as yet come to no 
 resolution. Nor are we ig-norant by what steps, and by 
 what gradual advances, the whites break in upon our neigh 
 bors. Imagining themselves to be still undiscovered, they 
 show themselves the less audacious because you are insen 
 sible. The whites are already nearly a match for us all 
 united, and too strong for any one tribe alor^e to resist ; so 
 that unless we support one another with our collective and 
 united forces ; unless every tribe unanimously combines to 
 grve a check to the ambition and avarice of the whites, they 
 will soon conquer us apart and disunited, and we will be 
 driven away from our native country and scattered as 
 autumnal leaves before the wind. 
 
 "But have we not courage enough remaining to defend 
 our country and maintain our ancient independence? Will 
 we calmly suffer the white intruders and tyrants to enslave 
 us? Shall it be said of our race that we knew not how to ex 
 tricate ourselves from the three most to be dreaded calami 
 ties folly, inactivity and cowardice? But what need is 
 there to speak of the past? It speaks for itself and asks, 
 Where to-day is the Pequod? Where the Narragansetts, 
 the Mohawks, Pocanokets, and many other once powerful 
 tribes of our race? They have vanished before the avarice and 
 oppression of the white men, as snow before a summe^" sun. 
 In the vain hope of alone defending their ancient possessions, 
 they have fallen in the wars with the w r hite men. Look 
 abroad over their once beautiful country, and what see you 
 now? Naught but the ravages of th pale-face destrovers 
 meet your eyes.^So it will be with you Choctaws and Chicka- 
 saws! Soon your mighty forest trees, under the shade of 
 whose wide spreading branches you have played in infancy, 
 sported in boyhood, and now rest your wearied limbs after 
 the fatigue of the chase, will be cut down to fence in the land 
 which the white intruders dare to call their own. Soon 
 their broad roads will pass over the grave of your fathers, 
 and the place of their rest will be blotted out forever. The 
 annihilation of our race is at hand unless we unite in one 
 common cause against the common foe. Think not, brave 
 Choctaws and Chickasaws, that you can remain passive and 
 indifferent to the common danger, and thus escape the com 
 mon fate. Your people too, will soon be as falling leaA^es 
 and scattering clouds before their blighting breath. You too 
 will be driven away from your native land and ancient do 
 mains as leaves are driven before the wintry storms." 
 
 These were corroding words; and well might terrible 
 thoughts of resistance pass through the minds of those 
 freemen and patriots, as, by the light of the burning heap 
 
 \ 
 
312 ^ HISTORY OF THB INDIANS. 
 
 gleaming- through the darkness of the night, they in admir 
 ing* silence gazed upon the face of Tecumseh and listened to 
 his .untaught eloquence, which thrilled and swayed, their 
 hearts and moved the deep waters of their souls, as he plead 
 the cause of right from the vindications of his own heart 
 upon which wa s written the statute "A favor for a favor, an 
 injury for an injury." 
 
 "Sleep not longer, O Choctaws and Chickasaws," con 
 tinued the indefatigable orator, "in false security and delu 
 sive hopes. Our broad domains are fast .escaping from our 
 grasp. Every year our white intruders become more greedy, 
 exacting, oppressive and overbearing. Every year con 
 tentions spring up between them and our people and when 
 blood is shed we have to make atonement whether right or 
 wrong, at the cost of the lives of our greatest chiefs, and the 
 yielding up of larg e tracts of our lands. Before the pale 
 faces came among us, we enjoyed the happiness of unbounded 
 freedom, and were acquainted with neither riches, wants, 
 nor oppression.*" How is it now? Wants and oppressions are 
 our lot; for are we not controlled in everything, and dare we 
 move without asking, by your leave? Are we not being strip 
 ped day by day of the little that remains of our ancient 
 liberty? Do they not even now kick and strike us as they 
 do their black-faces? How long will it be before they will tie 
 us to a post and whip us, and make us work for them in their 
 corn fields as they do them? Shall we wait for that moment 
 or shall we die fighting before submitting to such ignominy"? 
 
 At this juncture a low, muffled groan of indignation 
 forced its way through the clinched teeth running through 
 the entire assembly, and some of the younger warriors, no 
 longer enabled to restrain themselves, leaped from their 
 seats upon the ground, and, accompanying the act with the 
 thrilling war-whoops of defiance, nourished their toma 
 hawks in a frenzy of rage. Tecumseh turned his eyes upon 
 them with a calm but rebuking look, which spoke but too 
 well his disapproval of such an undignified and premature 
 display of feelings, which had interrupted him; then with 
 a gentle wave of the hand, the interpretation of which was 
 not very difficult, he again continued: "Have we not for 
 years had before our eyes a sample of their designs, and are 
 they not sufficient harbingers of their future determina 
 tions? Will we not soon be driven from our respective 
 countries and the graves of our ancestors? Will not the 
 bones of our dead be plowed up, and their graves be turned 
 into fields? Sjiall we calmly wait until they become so numer 
 ous that we will no longer be able to resist oppression? 
 Will we wait to be destroyed in our turn, without making an 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 313 
 
 effort worthy our race? Shall -we give up our homes, our 
 country, bequeathed to us by the Great Spirit, the graves of 
 our dead, and everything" that is dear and sacred to us, with 
 out a struggle? I know you will cry with me, Never! 
 Never! Then let us by unity of action destroy them all, 
 which we now can do, or drive them back whence they came. 
 War or extermination is now our only choice. Which do 
 you choose? I know your answer. Therefore, I now call 
 on you, brave Choctaws and Chickasaws, to assist in the just 
 cause of liberating our race from the grasp of our faithless 
 invaders and heartless oppressors. ! he white usurpation 
 in our common country must be stopped, or we, its rightful 
 owners, be forever destroyed and wiped out as a race of 
 people. I am now at the head of many warriors backed by 
 the strong arm of English soldiers. Choctaws and Chicka-. 
 saws, you have too long borne with g rievous usurpation in 
 flicted by the arrogant Americans. Be no longer their 
 dupes. If there be one here to-night who believes that his 
 rights will not sooner or later, be taken from him by the 
 avaricious American pale-faces, his ignorance ought tp excite 
 pity, for he knows little of the character of our common foe. 
 And if there be one among you -mad enough to undervalue 
 the growing power of the white race among us, let him 
 tremble in considering the fearful woes he will bring down 
 upon our entire race, if by his criminal indifference he 
 assists the designs of our common enemy against our com 
 mon country. Then listen to the voice of duty, of honor, 
 of nature and of your endangered country. L/et us form one 
 body, one heart, and defend to the last warrior our country, 
 our homes, our liberty, and the graves of our fathers. 
 
 "Choctaws and Chickasaws, you are among the few of 
 our race who sit indolently at ease. You have indeed enjoy 
 ed the reputation of being brave, but will you be indebted 
 for it more from report than fact? Will vou let the whites 
 encroach upon your domains even to your very door. before 
 you will assert your rights in resistance ? Let no one in 
 this -council imagine that I speak more from malice against 
 the pale-face Americans than just grounds of complaint. 
 Complaint is just toward friends who have failed in their 
 du.ty ; accusation is against enemies guilty of injustice. 
 And surely, if any people ever had, we have good and just 
 reasons to believe we have ample grounds to accuse the 
 Americans of injustice; especially when such great acts of 
 injustice have been committed by them upon our race, of 
 which they seem to have no manner of regard, or even to re 
 flect. ; They are a people fond of innovations, quick to con 
 trive and quick to put their schemes into effectual execution, 
 
314 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 no matter how great the wrong and injury to us; while we 
 are content to preserve what we already have. Their de 
 signs are to enlarge their possessions by taking yours in 
 turn ; and will you, can you longer dally, O Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws? Do you imagine that that people will not con 
 tinue longest in the enjoyment of peace who timely prepare 
 to vindicate themselves, and manifest a determined resolu 
 tion to do themselves right whenever they are wronged? 
 Far otherwise. Then haste to the relief of our common 
 ca^use, as by consanguinity of blood you are bound ; lest the 
 day be not far distant when you will be left single-handed 
 and alone to the cruel mercy of our most inveterate foe." 
 
 Though the North American Indians never expressed 
 their emotions by any audible signs whatever, yet the frown 
 ing brows, and the flashing eyes of that mighty concourse of 
 seated and silent men told Tecumseh, as he closed and took 
 his seat upon the ground among his warriors, that he had 
 touched a thousand chords whose vibrations responded in 
 tones that were in perfect unison and harmony with his own, 
 and he fully believed, and correctly too, that he had accom 
 plished the mission whereunto, he was sent, even beyond his 
 most sanguine hopes and expectations. 
 
 A few of the Choctaw and Chickasaw chiefs now arose 
 in succession and, walking to the centre, occupied, in turn, 
 the place which Tecumseh had just vacated and expressed 
 their opinions upon the question so new and unexpectedly 
 presented to them for their consideration; the majority lean 
 ing to the views advanced by the Shawnee chief, a few doubt 
 ing their expediency. Tecumseh was now jubilant, for his 
 cause; seemed triumphant. But at this crisis of affairs, a sud 
 den and unexpected change came o er the scene. Another, 
 who, up to this time, had remained a silent but attentive 
 listener, arose and, free of all restraint, marched to the cen 
 tre mid the .deep silence that again prevailed. A noble speci 
 men also, was he, of manly beauty, strength, [and unlettered 
 eloquence, who was to fasten a ring in the nose of the mighty 
 Shawnee to lead him before all the Philistines at his royal 
 will and pleasure. As he drew himself up to his full height, 
 there was revealed the symmetrical form of the intrepid and 
 the most renowned and influential chief of the Choctaws, a 
 man of great dignity, unyielding firmness, undisputed brav 
 ery, undoubted veracity, sound judgment, and the firm and 
 undeviating friend of the American people. He was Apush- 
 amatahah. 
 
 All eyes were at once turned to and riveted upon him, as 
 he momentarily stood in profound silence surveying the faces 
 of his people with that indescribable expression which in- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 315- 
 
 clicated to the stranger, and none the less to the astonished 
 g-aze of Tecumseh, that under it lurked such fearlessness 
 as commanded respect. How truly and plainly the soul 
 writes its tale on that expressive and plastic tablet the face 
 :>f man! Though habitually of a lively and jovial disposition, 
 yet Apufehamatahah could rival the lynx when he applied his 
 penetrating mind to detect the weak points of his opponent, 
 and present his arguments in such a manner as to unravel 
 the hidden meaning of those of his antagonist. Free from 
 any nervous agitation he calmly looked over his audience. 
 His long black locks fell back from a broad manly brow, 
 from which shone dark, eloquent eyes full of depth and lire; 
 his face broad and of a clear olive tint, his lips thin and 
 compressed, all united to give an expression of firmness and 
 intellectuality. The solemn manner and long silence that he 
 assumed as he calmly gazed upon the scene before him, was 
 as full of eloquence as any words he could have uttered, and 
 fell with unmistakable meaning upon the silent throng, upon 
 whose faces still shone the light of the blazing council fire, 
 reflecting no longer conflicting emotions, but one seemingly 
 united all pervading sentiment. War and extermination to 
 the whites. Apushamatahah s observant eye read its deep 
 signification. But n othing daunted, he began in a low but 
 distinct tone of voice, which increased in volume and pathos as 
 he he became more and more animated. It was then that his 
 eloquence also struck other sympathetic chords in that 
 silent and attentive audience, and caused hundreds of hearts 
 to pulsate faster under the magnetic influence of his words, 
 and feel at once that before j:hem stood, what many already 
 knew, a great man. He also began his speech in the ancient 
 method of opening an address (long since obsolete), thus: 
 "O-mish-ke! A numpa tillofasih ish hakloh." (Attention! 
 Listen you to my brief remarks) ; and then continued in 
 substance as follows: 
 
 "It was not my design in coming here to enter into a 
 disputation with any one. But I appear before you, my 
 warriors and mv people not to throw in my plea against the 
 accusations of Tecumseh; but to prevent your forming rash 
 and dangerous resolutions upon things of highestimportance, 
 through the instigations of others. I have myself learned 
 by experience, and I also see many of you, O Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws, who have the same experience of years that I 
 have, the injudicious steps of engaging in an enterprise be 
 cause it is new. Nor do I stand up before you to-night to 
 contradict the many facts alleged against the American 
 people, or to raise my voice against them in useless-accusa 
 tions. The question before us now is not w T hat wrongs- 
 
316 HISTORY OF THB INDIANS. 
 
 they have inflicted upon our race, but what measures are 
 best for us to adopt in regard to them; and though our race 
 may have been unjustly treated and shamefully wronged by 
 them, yet I shall not for that reason alone advise you to de 
 stroy them, unless it was just and expedient for you so to do; 
 nor, would I advise you to forgive them, thoug-h worthy of 
 your commiseration, unless I believe it would be to the in 
 terest of our common good. We should consult more in re 
 gard to our future welfare than our present. What people, 
 my friends and countrymen, were so unwise and inconsid 
 erate as to engage in a war of their own accord, when their 
 own strength, and even with the aid of others, was judged 
 unequal to the task? I well know causes often arise which 
 force men to confront extremities, but, my countrymen, 
 those causes do not now exist. Reflect, therefore, I* earn 
 estly beseech you, before you acthas tily in this great matter, 
 arid consider with yourselves how greatly you will err if you 
 injudiciously approve of and inconsiderately act upon Te- 
 cumseh s advice. Remember the American people are now 
 friendly disposed toward us. Surely you are convinced that 
 the greatest good will result to us by the adoption of and ad 
 hering to those measures I have before recommended to 
 you; and, without giving too great a scope to mercy or for 
 bearance, by which I could never permit myself to be se 
 duced, I earnestly pray you to follow my advice in this 
 weighty matter, and in following it resolve to adopt those ex 
 pedients for our future welfare. My friends and fellow 
 countrymen! you now have no just cause to declare war 
 against the American people, or wreak your vengeance upon 
 them as enemies, since they have ever manifested feelings 
 of friendship towards you. It is besides inconsistent with 
 vour national glory and with your honor, as a people, to vio 
 late your solemn treaty; and a disgrace to the memory of 
 your forefathers, to wage war against the American people^ 
 merely to gratify the malice of the .English. 
 
 "The war, which you are now contemplating against 
 the Americans, is a flagrant breach of justice; yea, a fear 
 ful blemish on your honor and also that of your fathers, and 
 which you will flnd if you will examine it carefully and judi 
 ciously, forbodes nothing but destruction to our entire race. 
 It is a war against a people whose territories are now far 
 greater than ^our own, and who are far better provided with 
 all the necessary implements of war, with men, guns, 
 horses, wealth, far beyond that of all our race combined, and 
 where is the necessity or wisdom to make war upon such a 
 people? Where is our hope of success, if thus weak and un 
 prepared we should declare it against them ? Let us not be 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 317 
 
 deluded with the foolish hope that this war, if begun, will 
 soon be over, even if we destroy all the whites within our 
 territories, and lay waste their homes and fields. Far from 
 it. It wijl be but the beginning of the end that terminates 
 in the total destruction of our race. And though we will 
 not permit ourselves to be made slaves, or, like inexperienced 
 warriors, shudder at the thought of war, yet I am not so in 
 sensible and inconsistent as to advise you to cowardly yield 
 to the outrages of the whites, or wilfully to connive at their 
 unjust encroachments ; but only not yet to have recourse to 
 war, but to send embassadors to our Great Father at Wash 
 ington, and lay before him our grievances, without betraying 
 too great eagerness for war, or manifesting any tokens of 
 pusillanimity. Let us, therefore, my fellow countrymen, 
 form our resolutions with great caution and prudence upon 
 a subject of such vast importance, and in which such fearful 
 consequences may be involved. 
 
 "Heed not, O, my countrymen, the opinions of others to 
 that extent as to involve your country in a war that destroys 
 ,its peace and endangers its future safety, prosperity and 
 happiness. Reflect, ere it be too late, on the great uncer 
 tainty of war with the American people, and consider well, 
 ere you engage in it, what the consequences will be if you 
 should be disappointed in, your calculations and expectations* 
 Be not deceived with illusive hopes. Hear me, O, my coun 
 trymen, if you begin this war it will end in calamities to us 
 from which we are now free and at a distance; and upon 
 w r hom of us they will fall, will only be determined by the un 
 certain and hazardous event. Be not, I pray you, guilty of 
 rashness, which I never as yet have known you to be; there 
 fore, I implore you, while healing measures are in the elec 
 tion of us all, not to break the treaty, nor violate vour pledge 
 of honor, but to submit our grievances, whatever they may 
 be, to the Congress v of the United States, according to the 
 articles of the treaty existing between us and the American 
 people. If not, I here invoke the Great Spirit, w r ho takes- 
 cognizance of oaths, to bear me witness, that I shall endeavor 
 to avenge myself upon the authors of this war, by whatever 
 methods you shall set me an example. Remember we are a 
 people who have never grown insolent with success, or be 
 come abject in adversity; but let those who invite us to haz 
 ardous attempts by uttering our praise, also know that the 
 pleasure of hearing has never elevated our spirits above our 
 judgment, nor an endeavor to exasperate us by a flow of in 
 vectives to be provoked the sooner to compliance. From 
 tempers equally balanced let it be known that we are warm 
 in the field of battle, and cool in the hours of debate ; the for- 
 
318 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 mer, because a sense of duty has the greater influence over 
 a sedate disposition, and magnanimity the keenest sense of 
 shame; and thoug-h good we are at debate, still our education 
 is not polite enough to teach us a contempt of laws, yet by its 
 severity gives us so muclugood sense as never to disregard 
 them. 
 
 "We are not a people so impertinently wise as to invali 
 date the preparations of our enemies by a plausible haran 
 gue, and then absolutely proceed to a contest; but we reckon 
 the thoughts of the pale-faces to be of a similar cast with our 
 own, and that hazardous contingenciesarenottobe determined 
 by a speech. We always presume that the projects of our 
 enemies are judiciously planned, and then we seriously pre 
 pare to defeat them. Nor do we found our success upon the 
 hope that they will certainly blunder in their conduct, but 
 upon the hope that we have omitted no proper steps for our 
 own security. Such is the discipline which our fathers 
 have handed down to us; and by adhering 1 to it, we have 
 reaped many advantages. Let us, my countrymen, not forget 
 it now, nor in short space of time precipitately determine a 
 question in which so much is involved. It is indeed the duty 
 of the prudent, so long as they are not injured, to delight in 
 peace. But it is the duty of the brave, when injured, to lay 
 peace aside, and to have recourse to arms; and when success 
 ful in these, to then lay them down again in peaceful quiet; 
 thus never to be elevated above measure by success in war, 
 nor delighted with the sweets of peace to suffer insults. For 
 he who, apprehensive of losing the delight, sits indolently at 
 ease, will soon be deprived of the enjoyment of that delight 
 which interesteth his fears; and he whose passions are in 
 flamed by military success, elevated too high by a treacher 
 ous confidence, hears no longer the dictates of judgment. 
 
 "Many /are the schemes, though unadvisedly planned, 
 through the more unreasonable conduct of an enemy, which 
 turn out successful ; but more numerous are those which, 
 though seemingly founded on mature counsel, draw after 
 them a disgraceful and opposite result. This proceeds from 
 that great inequality of spirit with which an exploit is pro 
 jected, and with which it is put into actual execution. For 
 in council we resolve, surrounded with security ; in execu 
 tion we faint, through the prevalence of fear. Listen to 
 the voice of prudence, oh, my countrymen, ere you rashly 
 act. But do as you may, know this truth, enough for you tcr, 
 - know, I shall join our friends, the Americans, in this war." 
 
 The observant eye of Tecumseh saw, ere Apushamajta- 
 hah had closed, that the tide was turning against him ; afvcl, 
 maddened at the unexpected eloquence, the bold and irre- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 319 
 
 sistible arguments of the Choctaw orator, the moment 
 Apushamatahah had taken his seat he sprang- to the center 
 of the circle and, as a last effort to sustain his waning- cause, 
 cried out in a loud, bold and defiant tone of voice, "All who 
 will follow me in this war throw your tomahawks into the 
 air above your heads." Instantly the air for many feet above 
 was filled with the clashing- of ascending-, revolving- and de 
 scending tomahawks, then all was hushed. Tecumseh 
 then turned his piercing- eyes upon Apushamtahah with a 
 haughty air of triumph, and ag-ain took his seat. All eyes 
 were instantly turned to where the fearless hero sat. "At 
 once the mighty Choctaw, nothing daunted, sprang- to his 
 feet, gave the Choctaw hoyopatassuha (war-whoop), then, 
 with the nimble bound of an antelope, leaped into the circle, 
 and hurling his tomahawk into the air, shouted in a loud and 
 defiant tone, "All who will follow me to victory and glory in 
 this war let me also see your tomahawks in the air." 
 
 Again the air seemed filled with tomahawks. Again 
 silence prevailed. The test has been made, and what is the 
 issue? The two forest orators have just counterpoised each 
 others arguments, making an equal division in opinion 
 among the vast assembly of warriors, which caused a strange 
 alternative of hope in the one, and of apprehension in the 
 other, of the now newly formed and opposing parties. Truly, 
 that midnight council presented as wild and romantic a 
 scene as can possibly be imagined, but which neither words 
 nor pencil can justly express or paint; the wild glare of the 
 burning log-heap alternately presenting in different shades 
 the immediate surroundings in all their picturesque and 
 romantic appearance; the voice of nature s unlettered and 
 untutored orators alone disturbing the stillness of the night; 
 friends and countrymen besieged by conflicting emotions 
 expressed alone by the face. What a medley was there and 
 then presented! some incredulous, some convinced; some 
 hopeful, some despairing; but all breasts heaving with the 
 wildest, conflicting emotions. But I leave the reader to turn 
 his thoughts upon it, and view it through the whole of its 
 proceedings by the power of his imagination, which he can 
 only do. 
 
 What now was to be done in this dilemma of a dubious 
 issue? If half followed the suggestions of Tecumseh, and 
 took sides with the English, and the other, those of Apush 
 amatahah declaring for the Americans, it would virtually be 
 civil war, and that should not must not be. To settle the 
 question, after many conflicting suggestions had been pro 
 posed and rejected by first one and then the other of the two 
 opposing parties, it was finally resolved to refer the matter 
 
320 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 to an aged Choctaw seer, living some distance away, and 
 abide by his decision. The council adjourned to await his 
 coming. A proper deputation was immediately sent to 
 request his presence without delay, which returned in the 
 evening of the second day accompanied by the old and vener 
 able Choctaw hopaii (seer) whose white locks and wrinkled 
 face proclaimed life s journey had passed many years beyond 
 man s alloted period of three score and ten. As the twilight 
 of the declining day approached, the council fire was replen 
 ished, and when night again had thrown o er all her sable 
 mantle, the council once more convened. 
 
 Again Tecumseh made the opening speech, rehearsing 
 his designs and plans before the attentive seer and warrior 
 host in strains of the most fascinating eloquence. Again 
 followed Apushamatahah, who fell not behind his worthy 
 competitor in native eloquence and logical argument. No 
 other spoke, for both parties had mutually left the mooted 
 question in the hands of the two great chiefs, statesmen and 
 orators. When the two distinguished disoutants had been 
 respectively heard by the aged seer, he arose and slowly 
 walked to the centre of the circle, gazed a moment over the 
 silent but solicitous throng, and then said: "Assemble here 
 to-morrow v r hen the sun shall be yonder pointing to the 
 zenith^ buila i scaffold there pointing to the spot as high 
 as my head; fill up the intervening space beneath with dry 
 wood; bring also a red heifer two years old free of all disease, 
 and tie her near the sGaffold; and to-morrow the Great Spirit 
 will decide for you this great question." 
 
 On the next day the appointed hour found the multitude 
 assembled; the altar erected; the wood prepared, and the 
 sacrificial offering in waiting. The seer then ordered the 
 heifer to be slain; the skin removed; the entrails taken out 
 and placed some distance away; the carcase cut up into 
 small pieces and laid upon the scaffold; he then applied a 
 brand of fire to the dry wood under the scaffold; then com 
 manded the vast multitudes, all, everyone, to stretch them 
 selves upon the ground, faces to the earth, and thus to re 
 main in profound silence until he ordered them to rise, which 
 command was instantly obeyed; then seizing the bloody skin 
 he stretched it upon the ground, hair downward, and 
 quickly rolled himself up in it, and commenced a series of 
 prayers and doleful lamentations, at the same time rolling 
 himself backward and forward before the consuming sacri 
 fice uttering his prayers and lamentations intermingled with 
 dissonant groans fearful to be heard; and thus he continued 
 until the altar and the flesh thereon were entirely consumed. 
 Then freeing himself from the skin, he sprang to his feet 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 321 
 
 and said: "Osh (the) Hoche-to (Great) Shilup (Spirit) a- 
 num-pul-ih (has spoken). Wak-a-yah (rise) ah-ma (and) Een 
 (His) a-num-pa (message) hak-loh (hear). ^All leaped to their 
 feet, and gathered in close circles around their venerated 
 seer, who, pointing to the sky, exclaimed: "The Great 
 Spirit tells me to warn you against the dark and evil designs 
 of Tecumseh, and not to be deceived by his words; that his 
 schemes are unwise; and if entered into by you, will bring 
 you into trouble; that the Americans are our friends, and 
 you must not take up the tomahawk against them; if you do, 
 vou will bring sorrow and desolation upon yourselves and 
 nations. Choctaw and Chickasaws, obey the words of 
 the Great Spirit. 1 Enough! As oil upon the storm agi 
 tated waters of the sea, so fell the mandates of the Great 
 Spirit upon the war agitated hearts of those forest warriors, 
 and all was hushed to quiet; reason assumed again her sway; 
 peace rejoiced triumphant, as all in harmony sought their 
 forest homes; and thus the far scattered white settlers, in 
 Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, and the western 
 portion of Tennessee, escaped inevitable destruction; for, 
 had Tecumseh been successful in uniting those five then 
 powerful and warlike tribes into the adoption of his schemes 
 scarcely a white person would have been left in 
 all their broad territories to tell the tale of 
 their complete extermination; since the wily Shawnee 
 had laid off for each ^ibe its particular field of 
 operation, before he had left his northern home to entice 
 them into daring schemes. The whites were then but few v 
 scattered here and there, and at great distances apart, and 
 could not have competed even with the Choctaws alone, as, 
 they, at that time, numbered between thirty and forty thou 
 sand warriors, and, besides, the blow would have fallen upon 
 them when least expected and most unprepared. 
 
 But the long cherished hopes of Tecumseh were blas 
 ted, and Apushamatahah erected his trophies upon his de 
 feat. Though greatly disappointed, yet not disheartened, 
 Tecumseh at once set his footsteps toward the Muscogee 
 Nation, now the State of Georgia. 
 
 Apushamatahah, who then lived near St. Stephens, now 
 in Washington county, Alabama, turned his steps directly 
 for that little town.^ Rumor of Tecumseh s presence among 
 the Choctaws and Chickasaws, and the council on the Tana- 
 poh Ikbfh river, had preceded him ; and when he arrived at 
 the little place he found it in a blaze of excitement, for a 
 thousand exaggerated reports had but added to the conjec 
 ture as to the convening of the two tribes in common coun 
 cil, with the noted Shawnee Chief. But their fears were 
 
. 322 HISTORY OP THE INDIANS. 
 
 wholly allayed when the noble Apushamatahah, whose vera 
 city none questioned, rode into the little town, and gave a 
 short sketch of the proceedings at the council, and also 
 proffered the services of himself and warriors to the Ameri- 
 cans, which were cordially accepted by George S. Gaines, then 
 -United States agent to the Choctaws. and who, in company 
 "with the noble chief, immediately hastened to Mobile, to in 
 form General Flournoy of Apushamatahah s proposition. 
 To the astonishment of all, General Flournoy refused to ac- 
 cept the offer of the great Choctaw chief and warriors; while 
 from every mouth loud curses and bitter denunciations were 
 heard against his considered folly and seeming madness. 
 -With heavy heart and unpleasant forebodings Gaines return- 
 <ed to St. Stephens with Apushamatahah, whose grave silence 
 ..but too plainly told the wound inflicted. 
 
 Fortunately, however, Flournoy reconsidered his re- 
 fusal, and at once sent word to Gaines not only to accept the 
 proposal of Apushamatahah in the name of the United States, 
 but also to go immediately into the Choctaw Nation and se- 
 cure the Choctaws as allies in the approaching war. There 
 had been great apprehension lest the Choctaws would unite 
 nvith the Muscogees and other disaffected tribes, as allies to 
 the English; which they would, perhaps, have done, had 
 Flournoy s rejection of Apushamatahah s proposal been 
 given previous to the council held but a few days before. 
 Apushamatahah, without delay, returned to his people then 
 in the northern district of his Nation contiguous to~the 
 Chickasaw Nation, and there assembled his warriors in coun- 
 t <$fo while Gaines hastened to Colonel John Pitchlynn s house, 
 ne^r where the council with Tecumseh had but shortly 
 adjourned, and where he was fortunate enough to meet 
 ^Colonel McKee, United States Agent to the Chickasaws. At 
 that time, the Choctaw Nation was divided into three dis 
 tricts, of which Apushamatahah was the ruling chief of the 
 .eastern, Apakfohlichihubih, of the northern, and Amosho- 
 lihubih of the southern. Gaines at once left Colonel Pitch- 
 lynn s.^-W d hastened to the Choctaw council, where he found 
 Apusfaamatahah and several thousand of his warriors already 
 -Assembled; to whom Apushamatahah made a long and elo 
 quent speech denouncing the ambitious views of Tecumseh, 
 and extolling the friendship of the American people; then 
 .offered to lead all who would follow him, to victory and glory 
 against the enemies of the Americans. As soon as he had 
 concluded his speech, a warrior sprang from his seat on the 
 ground, and striking his breast repeatedly with the palm of 
 : h}.s right hand, shouted: "Choctaw siah! Tushka chitoh 
 .siah aiena! Pimnii miko nno iakiyah. (A Choctaw I am. I 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 323 
 
 am also a great warrior. I will follow our chief) . To which 
 action and sentiment the whole council at once responded. 
 In the mean time, McKee hastened with Colonel John Pitch- 
 lynn to the Chickasaw Nation, and by mutual efforts suc 
 ceeded in assembling" them in council, and successfully 
 secured them also as the allies to the Americans. Thus, by 
 the firmness, influence and eloquence of the great and g*ood 
 .Apushamatahah, Tecumseh s plans were thwarted, and those 
 two then powerful tribes, the Choctaws and Chickasaws, 
 secured as allies to the Americans, in the Avar with England 
 in 1812, and also in that known as "The Creek war." 
 
 In the council convened, in which the Choctaws declared 
 in favor of the Americans against the English and the Mus- 
 cogees, Apushamatahah publicly announced that, every 
 Choctaw warrior w r ho joined the Muscogees,- should be shot, 
 if ever they returned home. Still, there were thirty young 
 warriors under the leadership of a sub-chief named Illi 
 Shuah (Dead Stink), who joined the Muscogees. It was said, 
 five or six lived to return home after the defeat of the Mus 
 cogees, all of whom Apushamatahah caused to be shot. But 
 an aged Choctaw (long since deceased) whom I interviewed 
 concerning- the subject, stated that all the thirty warriors, 
 who joined the Muskog-ees under Illi Shuah, were slain in 
 battle to a man; but Illi Shuah escaped and finally returned 
 home, but he did not remember whether Apushamatahah 
 had him shot or not. In the "Creek Avar," Apushamatahah, 
 assisted General Jackson with seven hundred warriors; and 
 in the "Battle of Orleans," with five hundred. In both of 
 which they proved themselves to be worthy allies in bravery 
 and in the use of the deadly rifle. 
 
 The noble Apushamatahah descended not through a 
 successive line of chiefs, but was of common parentage. Yet 
 of whom it may be truly said: He was one of nature s nobil 
 ity, and born to command a man who raised himself from 
 the obscurity of the wilderness unlettered and untaught; 
 but by his superior native talents, undaunted bravery, noble 
 generosity, unimpeachable integrity, unassumed hospitality 
 to the known and unknown, won the admiration, respect, 
 confidence and love of his people; and also, of all the whites 
 high or low, rich or poor who were personally acquainted 
 with him. He was truly and justly the pride of the Choctaw r 
 people when living, and their veneration today though long- 
 dead. He acknowledged no paternity. Yet, hfs own state 
 ment in regard to his genaeology, as related to me by the 
 aged Choctaws of the past, and is still mentioned by their 
 descendants at the present day, with great pride, as charac- 
 
324 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 teristic of the manly independence of their honored chief 
 tain, is worthy of record. It is in substance as follows: 
 
 On one occasion a deputation was sent by the Choctaws 
 to Washing-ton City to present the respects of their nation to 
 the President of the United States who, at that time, was 
 Andrew Jackson, and to assure him of their abiding- friend 
 ship toward him as the "Great Chief" of the American peo 
 ple, and to also confer with him relative to the future inter 
 ests and welfare of their nation. The renowned Apushama- 
 tahah was one of the deputation. A few days after their 
 arrival in the city a reception was given to them, at which 
 many of the cabinet and representative officers were pres 
 ent. Among the many and various questions that were 
 asked of the different members of the delegation was the 
 question, How they became so distinguished among- their 
 people ? To which various answers were given, each telling- 
 his own story of the exploits which brought him out of ob 
 scurity and placed his name in the temple of human fame. 
 Apushamatahah, up to this time, had said nothing-. At length 
 President Jackson requested the interpreter to ask him how 
 .he became such a great warrior and renowned chief. To 
 which Apushamatahah coolly and with unassumed indiffer 
 ence replied: "Tell the white chief it s none of his busi 
 ness." This unexpected retort attracted the attention of 
 all present, and all eyes were at once turned upon the bold 
 chief. Jackson, amused at the reply, and pleased at the 
 manly independence of the noble chief, requested the inter 
 preter to propound the same question again ; which was 
 done, but to which Apushamatahah seemed to give no heed. 
 The curiosity of all being- greatly excited, the question was 
 asked still again. To which Apushamatahah then replied : 
 "Well, if the white chief must know, tell him fhat Apusha- 
 matahahubih has neither father nor mother, nor kinsman 
 upon the earth. Tell him that once upon a time, far away 
 from here in the great forests of the Choctaw Nation, a dark 
 cloud arose from the western horizon, and with astonishing- 
 velocity, traveled up the arched expanse ; across its dark 
 face the bright lightning played in incessant flashes, while 
 the rolling thunder reverberated in muffled tones from hill 
 to hill amid the vast solitudes of the surrounding forests. 
 Swiftly and majestically it climbed the western sky, 
 while the lightning flashed, followed by the thunder s roar in 
 successive peal after peal. In silence profound, -till animate 
 nature stood apart ; soon the fearful cloud reached the zen 
 ith, then as quickly spread its dark mantle o er the sky en 
 tire, shutting out the light of the sun, and wrapping earth in 
 midnight gloom, ligh ted only in lucid intervals by the light- 
 
HISTORY OF THB INDIANS. 325 
 
 rung s fitful glare, followed by peals of thunder in deafening 
 roar. Then burst the cloud and rose the wind; and while 
 falling rains and howling winds, lightnings gleam and thun 
 ders roar, in wild confusion blended, a blinding flash blazed 
 athwart the sky as if to view the scene, then hurled its 
 strength against a mig hty oak an ancient monarch of tWe 
 woods that for ages had defied the storm with his boasted 
 power and cleft it in equal twain from utmost top to lowest 
 bottom; when, lo! from its riven trunk leaped a mighty 
 man; in stature, perfect ; in wisdom, profound; in bravery, 
 unequalled a full-fledged warrior. Twas-Apushamatahah- 
 ubih." 
 
 In November 1812, Apushamatahah visited General 
 Claiborne. When he approached the General s tent, he was 
 received by thelieutenanton guard, who invited him to drink, 
 that "civilized" method of the whites to prove the sincere 
 emotions of the heart in regard to friendship. Apushama 
 tahah answered only with adook of contempt. He recognized 
 no equal with one epaulette. When Gen Claiborne walked 
 in, the Choctaw Chieftan shook him by the hand and proudly 
 .said, as to one equal, "Chief, I will drink with you." He 
 was six feet two inches in height, of powerful frame and 
 Herculean strength, and with features after the finest models 
 of the antique, composed, dignified, and seductive in his de 
 portment, and was the most remarkable man the Choctaws 
 ever produced since the days of Cbahtah, the Great Miko of 
 their traditional past. He was sometimes called Koi Hosh, 
 (The Panther); and sometimes, Ossi Hosh; sometimes Oka 
 Chilohonfah (Falling Water).; The two first alluding to his 
 quick movements and daring exploits in war, and the latter, 
 to the sonorous and musical intonations of his voice. 
 
 Sam Dale, the renowned scout of General Andrew Jack 
 son in the "Creek war" of 1812, and as famous in his day, 
 as Kit Carson in the narrative of Gen. Fremont in his ex 
 ploring expedition over the Rocky Mountains, stated that he 
 had heard Tecumseh and the Prophet of the Shawtiees; 
 Bill Weatherford of the Muscogees; Big Warrior of the 
 Cherokees, and Apokfohlichubih of the Choctaws, besides 
 the most distinguished American orators in congress, but 
 never one who had such music in his tones, such energy in 
 his manner, and such power over his audience as Apushama 
 tahah, the Choctaw chief, patriot and warrior. 
 
 Many characteristic anecdotes are related of him, and 
 of which I will mention a few: A feud once existed between 
 him and another Choctaw chief of the Yazoo district, and it 
 was generally believed that when they met their tomahawks 
 would settle the difference between them. One day his rival 
 
326 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 was seen approaching- in company with a large party of war 
 riors; and on a nearer approach, manifested great agitation 
 irresolutely grasping 1 his tomahawk/ Apushamatahah, as 
 soon as he discovered him shoutedhis challenging- warwhoop, 
 rushed toward him with his long hunting knife in his hand, 
 then suddenly stopped, and with a smile of the utmost con 
 tempt, cried out "Hushi osh chishikta! Katihma ish wun- 
 nichih! Hosh mahli Keyumahlih. Ea, ho bak! Ea!" 
 (Leaf of the red-oak! Why. do you tremble? The wind 
 blows not. Go, coward! Go!) The word hobak is consid 
 ered by the Choctaws, as a word of the greatest reproach 
 and most unpardonable offense that could possibly be ap 
 plied to a man, its true signification being an eunuch. 
 
 ^Apushamatahah was very sensitive at the appearance of 
 anything- that even bore the appearance of oppression. A 
 few soldiers, at that day, were stationed at the agency among- 
 the Choctaws, as they are and always have b een among- all 
 Indians, as a bright (?) manifestation of the great confidence(?) 
 ~the whites cherished in the integrity and friendship of all 
 Indians; and one of the soldiers being addicted to drunk 
 enness, and at one time having- become boisterously drunk,, 
 he was tied to a tree, for the want of that necessary ap 
 pendage to an Indian Ag-ency, as well as to all towns among- 
 the whites, a jail or guard house, until he became sober. 
 Apushamatahah happening- to pass by and seeing" the 
 soldier, tied asked him of what he was guilty, that he should 
 be placed in so humiliating- a condition; being told the cause-, 
 he at once released the unfortunate man, exclaiming, "Is 
 that all? many good warriors get drunk." 
 
 Apushamatahah, in unison with the ancient custom of 
 the Choctaws, had two wives. Being asked if he did not 
 consider it wrong for a man to have more than one living- 
 wife, he replied: Certainly not. Should not every woman 
 be allowed the privilege of having a husband, as well as a man 
 a wife? and how can every one have a husband when there are 
 more women than men? Our Great Father had the Choc 
 taws counted last year, and it was ascertained that there 
 were more women than men, and if a man was allowed but 
 one wife many of our women would have no husbands. 
 Surely, the women should have equal chances with the men 
 in that particular." 
 
 During- the Creek war of 1814, in which Apushamatahah 
 was engag-ed with eight hundred of his warriors as allies of 
 the United" States, as before stated, a small company of 
 Choctaw women, among whom was the wife of Apushamata 
 hah, visited their husbands and friends then in the Ameri 
 can army in the Creek Nation. A white soldier, grossly 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 327 
 
 insulted the wife of the distinguished Choctaw chief, for 
 which the justly indignant chief knocked him down with the 
 hilt of his sword, instead of plunging it through his body, as~ 
 he should have done. Being arrested for the just anc meri 
 torious act, and asked by the commanding general the rea 
 sons for his act, he fearlessly answered: "He insulted my 
 wife, and I knocked the insolent dog down; but had you,. 
 General, have insulted her as that common soldier did, I 
 would have used the point upon you instead of the hilt, in, 
 resenting an insult offered to my wife." And he would have 
 been as good as his word; for a Choctaw then, as now, is not 
 slow in resenting any insult offered to the female portion of 
 his family, and his work is quick and sure; and had not the 
 noble Apushamatahal}. regarded the soldier who insulted his 
 wife, as too contemptible a creature for the point of his- 
 sword, he would have plunged it through his body without a 
 moment s hesitation; and that he only knocked him down 
 with the hilt, is sufficient evidence that he did not regard! 
 him worthy its point. 
 
 Apushamatahah was exceedingly fond of engaging in. 
 that ancient and time-honored amusement, the famous To- 
 lih (ball play) ; and in which the Choctaws, as well as the 
 southern portion of their race, took great delight a gymna 
 sium indeed, where were exhibited and tried the various, 
 physical powers of man, unsurpassed on earth; and in which 
 even those of ancient Greece and Rome dwindle into insig 
 nificance. 
 
 While battling with his warriors for the interests of the 
 Americans under Andrew Jackson, in 1814. General Jackson 
 presented to Apushamatahah a complete military suit and 
 sword, as worn by the American generals ; which he wore 
 with manly and becoming dignity until the close of the war; 
 which, after the close, he took off and hung up in his cabin,, 
 and never afterwards put on the suit ; but donned his native 
 garb and once more became the Apushamatahah of his peo 
 ple. Having become wearied, however, in looking upon the 
 white man s insignia that feeble representation of true- 
 greatness in the opinion of the Choctaw hero he took the: 
 suit from its resting place, rolled it up and fastened it to one- 
 end of a long rope, then attached the other end to his belt; 
 and then, with quiver full of arrows hung over his left 
 shoulder and bow in hand, marched through various parts of 
 his /village, dragging the insignificant badge of meritorious 
 distinction on the ground behind him; at each house he ap 
 proached, he shot a chicken, if one was found ; took it up and. 
 inserted its head under his belt ; then he continued his silent, 
 walk, and seeking another house, there shot another, chicken,. 
 
328 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 also slipped its head under his belt : and thus he continued 
 his march from house to house with a solemn and silent grav 
 ity, taxing- each a chicken until he had shot as many as he 
 could slip heads under the belt. The owners of the chickens 
 said nothing-, knowing 1 that some fun was ahead. He then 
 walked to an untaxed house with his load of chickens dang 
 ling- from his belt, had them nicely dressed and cooked, then 
 invited all from whom he had taken a chicken to come and 
 partake of the feast he had thus unceremoniously prepared 
 for them. They went and had a jolly time, Apushamatahah 
 figuring- as the g-ayest among- the g-ay. He left his suit lying 
 upon the ground before the door of the house at which he 
 deposited the chickens, a frail memento of human greatness 
 with its hopes departed. 
 
 In 1823, Apushamatahah, then about sixty years of age. 
 walked about 80 miles from his home (being too poor to own a 
 horse, and too proud to borrow one) to attend a council of his 
 Nation. Mr. John Pitchlynn, then United States interpreter 
 to the Choctaws, and Mr. Ward, United States agent, (with 
 both of whom I was in boyhood personally acquainted), were 
 present at the council. At the adjournment of the council, 
 Mr. Ward suggested to Mr. Pitchlynn that they purchase a 
 horse for the old chief. Mr. Pitchlynn readily acquiesced 
 in the proposition, but with the proviso that Apushamatahah 
 must pledge his word that he would not sell the horse for 
 whiskey. Apushamatahah cheerfully gave the pledge, re 
 ceived the horse and departed for his distant home highly 
 elated with his unexpected good fortune. A few months 
 .after he visited the- agency, and Ward discovered that he 
 was again minus a horse, and learned, upon inquiry that he 
 had lost the presented horse in betting him on a ball-play. 
 Ward at once accused him of violating his pledged word, 
 which Apushamatahah as firmly denied. "But you promised," 
 continued Ward, "that you would not sell the horse." 
 "True I did;" retorted the venerable old chief. "But I did 
 not promise you and my good friend, John Pitchlynn, that I 
 would not bet him in a game of ball. Ward conceded the 
 victory to Apushamatahah, and chided him no more. 
 
 In 1824, this great and good man visited Washington 
 City in company with other Ghoctaw chiefs, as delegates of 
 their Nation to the United States government; at which time 
 he made the following remarks to the Secretary of War, 
 which were written down as he spoke them. 
 
 "Father, I haye been here many days, but have 1 not 
 talked, have been sick. I belong to another district, differ 
 ent from these my companions and countrymen. You have 
 no doubt Jbeaund of me, I am Apushamatahahubih. When in 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 329 
 
 my own country, I often looked towards this Council House, 
 and desired to see it, I have come, but I am in trouble, and 
 would tell my sorrows; for I feel as a little child reclining 
 in the bend of its father s arms, and looks up into his face 
 in childish confidence to tell him of its troubles; and I would 
 now recline in the bend of your arm, and trustingly look in 
 your face, therefore hear my words. 
 
 "When at my distant home in my own native land, I 
 heard thai men had been appointed to talk to us; I refrained 
 from speaking there, as I preferred to come here and speak; 
 therefore I am here to-day. I can boastingly say, and in so 
 doing speak the truth, that none of my ancestors, nor my 
 present Nation, ever fought against the United States. As 
 a Nation of people, we have always been friendly, and ever 
 listened to the applications of the American People. We 
 have given of our country to them until it has become very 
 small. I came here years ago when a young man to see my 
 Father Jefferson. He then told me if ever we got into 
 trouble we must come and tell him, and he would help us. 
 We are in trouble, and have come; but I will now let another 
 talk." 
 
 The above was but a preliminary to a speech he intended 
 to make, and which, had he lived to have delivered, would 
 have proved to his hearers in Washington his great native 
 eloquence, which had been so long and much eulogized by 
 the whites who had often heard him around the council fires 
 of his Nation. 
 
 In conversation with the noble General Lafayette during 
 the same visit to Washington City Apushamatahah closed 
 with the following : "This is the first time I have seen you, 
 and I feel it will be the last. The earth will separate us for 
 ever farewell !" How prophetic ! He died but a few days 
 after. When stretched upon his bed of death, fully con 
 scious of his near approaching end, he calmly turned his 
 eyes upon the faces of the Choctaw delegates standing 
 around him, and said : "I am dying, and will never return 
 again to our native and loved land. But you will go back to 
 our distant homes ; and as you journey you will see the wild 
 flowers of the forests and hear the songs of the happy birds 
 of the woods, but Apushamatahahubih will see and hear 
 them no more. 
 
 When you return home you will be asked, Apushama 
 tahah katimmaho? (where is 1 Apushamatahah?), and you 
 will -answer, Illitok (dead to be). And it will fall upon their 
 >ars as the sound of a mighty oak falling in the solitude of 
 the woods." His dying words were "Illi siah makinli sa 
 paknaka tanapoh chitoh tokalichih" (As soon as I am dead 
 
330 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 shoot off the big- guns above). The request of the dying- 
 hero was strictly complied with. The minute-guns were 
 fired on Capitol Hill as the solemn and imposing procession 
 of half a mile in length marched to the cemetery that silent 
 and melancholy habitation of the dead and there the great 
 Choctaw Chief and warrior found a grave where all distinc 
 tions cease and where neither flatteries, nor censures, nor 
 proffered wealth, nor honors, could seduce his incorruptible 
 heart. 
 
 His surrounding brother chiefs erected a monument 
 over the grave of their distinguished chieftain, with the fol 
 lowing meritorious epitaph, "Apushamatahah, a Choctaw 
 Chief; lies here. This monument to his memory is erected 
 by his brother chiefs who were associated with him in a dele 
 gation from their nation, in the year 1824, to the government 
 of the United States. \ Apushamatahah was a warrior of 
 great distinction. He was wise in council, eloquent to an 
 extraordinary degree ; and on all occasions, and under all cir 
 cumstances, the white man s friend. He died in Washing 
 ton on the 24th of December, 1824, of the croup, in the 60th 
 year of his age." 
 
 Apushamatahah had only one son, who was named John 
 son. He moved with his people to their present homes, 
 and served them in the capacity of Prosecuting Attorney 
 for many years, in Apushamatahah District. He lived to 
 prove himself worthy of his distinguished father, and in 
 many respects was a true scion of the parent trunk. 
 
 Truly, if the adventures through which Apushamatahah 
 passed had been preserved, they would have furnished alone 
 abundant material for all the writers of romance in the 
 United States, for years. 
 
 It is conceded by all who knew him, that he was the 
 most renowned warrior and influential chief of the Choctaw 
 Nation, since their acquaintance with the whites. He was a 
 man who never surrendered nor disguised his opinions and con 
 victions upon any subje ct whatever. His recoil from all that 
 which was mean, selfish, false, and unjust resembled the im 
 pulse with which, the strongly bent bow recoils from the 
 curve to which the strong arm of the experienced archer has 
 forced it. 
 
 Nor did Tecumseh, whom I would not pass unheeded by, 
 fall below Apushamatahah; and he too may deservedly have 
 a place among the greatest of the North American Indian 
 chiefs;and truthfully may it be said of him, his arm pervaded, 
 his vigilance detected, his spirit animated, and his generosity 
 won, in all directions, and he ever maintained the standing 
 he acquired among all his race everywhere. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 331 
 
 That Tecumseh was a man of tender feeling s and noble 
 principles is sufficiently attested in his actions at Fort 
 Miami. When the white prisoners, taken at Fort Meigs in 
 1813, were confined in Fort Miami by General Proctor, some 
 of them were being- slain by the Indians in the presence of 
 Proctor, and his officers, when suddenly a thrilling voice in 
 the Shawnee language was heard, and soon Tecumseh was 
 seen approaching- on his horse at full speed, and spring- 
 ing to the ground where two Indians were in the act of kill 
 ing an American prisoner, he hurled them both to the ground, 
 then brandishing his tomahawk he threatened death to the 
 Indian that dared to kill another prisoner. All knew too 
 well that the fearless chieftain threatened not in vain, and 
 the killing- instantly ceased. Then he called out in the loud 
 est tone of voice, "Where is Proctor?" but at the same in 
 stant, seeing- him standing- a few rods distant, he sternly 
 demanded of him why he permitted the murdering- of the 
 American prisoners? To which Proctor. replied: "I cannot 
 govern your warriors." Upon which Tecumseh fixed his 
 keen and penetrating- eyes upon him a moment, and then, 
 w r ith the utmost contempt, cried out, "Begone! you are not 
 fit to command; go put on a petticoat," an epithet denot 
 ing the Indian s supreme disgust and highest contempt. 
 
 To Tecumseh the idea of selling land was an absurdity. 
 On one occasion, he cried out in unfeigned astonishment: 
 "What ! sell land ! As well sell air and water. The Great 
 Spirit gave them in common to all the air to breathe, the 
 water to drink, and the land to live upon you may as well 
 sell air and water as sell land;" and in the same light did all\ 
 the North American Indians view it, and hence their opposi 
 tion to land severalty which they cannot understand nor 
 comprehend. 
 
 Tecumseh, signifying Flying Arrow, (it is said) belonged 
 to the clan called Panther of the Kickapoo tribe. His mother 
 was a Muscogee and his father a Shawnee, though born 
 among the Muscogees in the South, and aferwards moved to 
 Ohio among his own tribe and settled upon the banks of the 
 Sciota river, but while upon the journey Tecumseh was 
 born. 
 
 The Kickapoos of the present day are supposed to be a 
 branch of the Shawnee tribe proper, as the traditions of 
 both give nearly the same accounts of their union and separa 
 tion, besides their language is said to identically the same- 
 
 The Shawnee traditions declare their ancestors formerly 
 dwelt in a foreign land, but the reason for the abandonment 
 of their ancient sites is not stated. 
 
 But when the day appointed for their exodus rolled 
 
332 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 around, they were informed by the Great Spirit through their 
 prophets, to march in a body to the shore of a sea, and then 
 select a leader from themultitude, who would be clothed by the 
 Great Spirit with that supernatural power that the waters of 
 the sea, as soon as he touched them, would seperate and he 
 would conduct them on dry land safely across to another 
 country. Having- reached the sea, a selection was made but 
 the incredulity of the chosen caused him to refuse the 
 honor as well as the responsibility; many having been chosen 
 with like results, it began to awaken no little trepidation, 
 when one, who was selected from a clan called The Turtle 
 Clan, accepted the position, and confidence was again restored. 
 All thing s being- duly prepared to resume their journey, still 
 to many of uncertain issue, their chosen leader boldly placed 
 himself at the head of the host, and fearlessly stepped into 
 the sea, upon which the waters at once divided to the rig-ht 
 and to the left, and they safely walked across on the bottom 
 and thus came to this country; reminding- one of the account 
 given by Holy Writ of Moses and the Jewish host encounter 
 ing- the waters of the Red Sea. To what else can the Shaw- 
 nee tradition point, but the crossing- of the Red Sea by the 
 Israelites in their exodus from Eg-ypt and their flight before 
 Pharaoh and his pursuing army? 
 
 The Shawnees had another tradition whose shades of 
 coloring seem greatly Jewish. It is, that the Shawnees were 
 originally divided into twelve tribes, each one having a 
 distinct and separate name; and each of which was after 
 wards sub-divided into clans., called The Eagle, The Pan 
 ther, The Turtle, etc., the animals whose names they bore 
 constituting their coat-of-arms, or totem. Their traditions 
 also affirm two of the original tribes became extinct, as also 
 were their names; while the other ten are still extant, though 
 but four are wholly distinct, and are called The Ma-kas-tra- 
 ke, The Pick-a-way, The Kick-a-poo, and the Chil-i-coth-e 
 Clans; the other six, according to their tradition, having been 
 incorporated with the four. It has been stated by the early 
 missionaries to them, that to a late date their council houses 
 were separated into four divisions, each one of which was 
 assigned to the occupancy of each one of the tribes separate 
 and apart from each other, and was invariably so occupied. 
 And that it was impossible for the whites to discriminate in 
 the least whatever, yet the Indians themselves could tell to 
 which clan any one belonged as soon as they saw him. 
 
 Truly, what an interesting and instructive volume 
 would the early history of the North American Indians have 
 been, with all the various traditions of their migrations, 
 vicissitudes and changes, had they been preserved. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 333 
 
 It long has been believed that Col. Richard M. Johnson 
 killed Tecumseh at the battle of the Thames, and the follow 
 ing from the pen of Benjamin B. Griswold strengthens, if 
 not wholly confirms it. "I had an interview with Noon-day, 
 chief of the Ottawa tribe, about the year 1838. This chief 
 was six feet high, broad shouldered, well proportioned, with 
 broad high cheek bones, piercing black eyes, and long black 
 hair which hung down upon his shoulders, and he possessed 
 wonderful muscular power. He was converted to the 
 Christian religion by the preaching of a Baptist missionary 
 named Slater, whose mission was located about three miles 
 north of Gull Prairie, in the county of Kalamangoo, Michi 
 gan. Just over the county line and in the edge of Barry 
 county, this chief and about one hundred and fifty of his 
 tribe were located and instructed in farming. A church 
 was erected which answered for a school house, and here, 
 residing near them, I attended their church and listened to 
 the teachings of Mr. Slater in the Indian dialect, and to the 
 prayers of this old chief. To get a history of any Indian 
 who fought on the side of the British has ever been a dif 
 ficult task; but through the Rev. Mr. Slater I succeeded, to a 
 limited extent, in getting a sketch from this old. chief of the 
 battleof the Thames, in which he was engaged. After rehears 
 ing the speech which Tecumseh made to his warriors previous 
 to the engagement and how they all felt, that they fought to 
 defend Tecumseh more than for the British, he was asked, 
 were you near Tecumseh when he fell? Yes; directly on 
 his right. Who killed him? Richard M. Johnson. "Give 
 us the circumstances. He was on a horse, and the horse 
 fell over a log; and Tecumseh, with his tomahawk, rushed 
 upon him to kill him, when he drew a pistol from his holster, 
 shot him in the breast, and he fell dead on his face. I ran 
 to him and, with the assistance of Sag inaw, carried him 
 from the field. When he fell the Indians all stopped fight 
 ing and the battle ended. 1 We laid him down upon a blanket 
 in a wigwam, and we all w r ept, we loved him so much. I took 
 his hat and tomahawk. Where are they now? I have his 
 tomahawk and Saginaw his" hat. Could I get them? No; 
 Indian keep them. How : did vou know it was Johnson who 
 killed him? General Gas s took me to see the Great Father, 
 Van Buren, at Washington. I went to the great wigwam, 
 and when I went in I saw the same man I see in Battle, an 
 Indian never forgets a man s face (once seen). The same 
 man I see kill Tecumsee. Johnson replied that he never 
 knew who it was, but a powerful Indian approached him and 
 he shot him with his pistol. That was Tecumseh. I see 
 you do it. Noon-day finished his story of Tecumseh bv 
 
334 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 telling of his noble traits, the tears meanwhile trickling 
 down his cheeks." There can be no doubt of Noon-day s 
 unvarnisned narative; and he who would doubt it, is well 
 prepared to doubt any truth. 
 
 It is a matter of regret that so little has been preserved 
 of Apushamatahah and Tecumseh, and so few circumstances 
 have escaped oblivion, which would most clearly have eluci 
 dated their private characters. Both were men respected, 
 honored, and loved by all who knew them. Tecumseh, by 
 the Indians and English, and Apushamatahah, by the Indians 
 an cl Americans. Noble men ! Though history may not re 
 cord their names with earth s illustrious great as worthy 
 remembrance in the years to come, yet they were, as -well as 
 thousands of their race, mortals of no common mould, and 
 worthy a place mid names of high degree. 
 
 But why have not the services of Apushamatahah that 
 remarkable friend of the American people been written ? 
 Alas ! he was an Indian. But I mistake ! They have been 
 written ; and to-day, after the lapse of nearly three quarters 
 of a century, the aged Choctaws speak his name with loving 
 reverence, while the young listen with wondrous delight to 
 the thrilling stories of his life in many an humble home in 
 their territory. 
 
 The death of Apushamatahah shrouded the countenances 
 of the bereaved chiefs at Washington in the deepest unaffec 
 ted gloom during their remaining short stay in the city, tell 
 ing a tale of sorrow that nothing but a full realization of 
 their loss could create. One, however, a young warrior of 
 noble mien, whose power of self-command was not equal to 
 his seniors in age and experience, betrayed emotions that 
 told of a heart overwhelmed with the keenest and deepest 
 anguish, though manifested by no outward expression of 
 feeling. To offered words of consolation by some of the 
 whites, he replied : "I m sorry" ; and being questioned why 
 he should be more deeply grieved than the others, answered: 
 "I m sorry it was not I who had died" ; signifying that his 
 country would have sustained^ but little loss in his death, in 
 comparison with the loss sustained by the death of Apusha 
 matahah, and thus expressed it Tm sorry it was not I. 
 But the recorders of the incident have greatly misrepresen 
 ted that young Choc: taw by stating that the firing- of the 
 minute-guns and the pageantry displayed at the burial of 
 Apushamatahah alone produced the deep sorrow manifested, 
 because he himself was not the subject of the honors con 
 ferred. That young and sorrowing Choctaw youth was Ni- 
 takachieubih (Give us the day to kill), the nephew of A-push- 
 a-ma-taha, and proved himself to be a worthy scion of the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 335 
 
 ^, 
 
 ancestral tree, as a statesman and counselor among his peo 
 ple, sustaining his high honors with dignity through a long 
 and useful life and dying as his noble uncle lamented by 
 his nation. 
 
 In traveling through their present country, man} 7 of the 
 aged Choctaws (old friends when living east of the Missis 
 sippi river) have expressed great indignation that Nitakachie 
 w r as so unjustly misrepresented. Indian men die every day, 
 whose lives are grander than those of the world s historic 
 battle heroes ; yea, and women too, before whose pure devo 
 tion the heroism even of Joan of Arc would fade away ; yet 
 the world knows nothing of them. 
 
 We, the American people of to-day, still pay (and justly 
 loo) the highest honors" to the name of General La Fafayette, 
 who extended so generously a helping hand to our fathers in 
 their darkest hour of need; remembering him with filial 
 reverence and gratitude unalloyed, but silently bury in 
 oblivion the name of Apushamatahah, as unworthy of eulogy 
 or even a place in the annals of history; though he, at the 
 Tiead of his brave warriors, with purity of motives and with 
 out expectation of reward, also extended to them a helping 
 hand in a gloomy hour of their history-, and saved the primi 
 tive white settlers of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia 
 then few, far between, and feeble from actual extermina 
 tion. 
 
 But had he lived, whose character and noble deeds form 
 the subject under consideration, some centuries ago; had he 
 saved a portion q_f_the citizens of a Roman or Grecian province 
 from destruction, as he did the American citizens of the 
 above named States in 1811, Old Rome and Greece would 
 have deemed no applause too loud, no honors to great, no 
 laurals too extravagant, yea, would have embodied him in 
 columns of unfading marble; yet the name of the old hero of 
 the past, though forgotten by the white beneficiaries of his 
 friendship, still live written upon that imperishable monu 
 ment, the hearts of his people. 
 
 In a letter to me, September 5th, 1891, Judge Julius Fol- 
 som, son of Rev. Israel Folsom, thus wrote: " In the year 
 1861, two Delegates of the Choctaw Nation, Peter P. Pitch- 
 lynn and Israel Folsom, were in the city of Washington, D. 
 C., attending to business in which our Nation w r as interested, 
 but accomplished nothing, as the prospect of an approaching 
 war between the North and South absorbed every other con 
 sideration. The two delegates, as soon as they learned that 
 war had actually commenced between the North and South, 
 hastened home that they might use their influence (which no 
 two men exercised more over their Nation than they) in an 
 
336 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 r . x 
 
 effort to keep the Choctaw Nation upon neutral ground. 
 But alas, they were too late! Already had the Confederate 
 troops taken possession of our country, and they found 
 everything- in a state of wildest confusion. Up to this time, 
 our protection was in the United States troops stationed at 
 Fort Washtta, under the command of Colonel Emory. But 
 he, as soon as the Confederate troops had entered our coun 
 try, at once abandoned us and the Fort; and, to make his 
 flight more expeditious and his escape more sure, employed 
 Black Beaver, a Shawnee Indian, under a promise to him of 
 five thousand dollars, to pilot him and his troops out of the 
 Indian country safely without a collision with the Texas 
 Confederates; which Black Beaver accomplished. By this 
 act the United States abandoned the Choctaws and Chicka- 
 saws. 
 
 Our Indian Agent, Duglas H. Cooper, also betrayed the 
 United States by his acts, for he at once joined the rebellion, 
 and urged the Indians of both the Choctaw and Chickasaw 
 tribes to do the same, backing- his arg-uments with the threat 
 of confiscation of both land and stock if they refused. But 
 -under all this pressure, abandoned by the North, and threat 
 ened by the South, they stood upon neutral grounds until the 
 middle of June, 1861! Then, there being- no other alterna 
 tive by which to save their country and property, they, as 
 the less of the two evils that confronted them, went with the 
 Southern Confederacy. Your friend, JULIUS FOLSOM." 
 
 Contemporaneous with Apushamatahah was the Choctaw 
 chief Apakfolichihubih who was of the Hai-yipa-tuk-lo Clan 
 (meaning- Two Lakes.) He also was a Choctaw whose blood 
 was uiicontaminated with anything- foreign, a man of sterling- 
 merits, whose name is held in grateful and proud remem 
 brance by his people to this day, as a worthy and faithful 
 chief in the national affairs of his common country and the 
 interest of his people. He was also a quiet and unobtrusive 
 man, but faithful in the discharge of his dutys as chief; and 
 his seemingly premature death was a national loss to his 
 people, and deeply deplored by them. He lost his life by 
 accidentally stepping off a balcony at night, at a hotel in Mays- 
 ville, Kentuckey, his neck being dislocated by the fall, while 
 going to Washington City as a deligate with Apushamatahah 
 and others of his Nation. Little has been preserved of 
 Apakfolichih s life but that he was an honest man. Enough! 
 Requiescat en pace. Amen! Amosholihubih (To destroy 
 as by fire), was a noted chief of the Oklafalaiah Clan (Long 
 People). It is said the name of this clan had its origin in 
 a Choctaw family who, both parents and children, were un- 
 commonry tall. Amosholihubih, than whom a more far- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 337 
 
 sighted man, white or red, is seldom found, was a true 
 patriot; he was calm and dignified in council; possessing- a 
 black, keen penetrating eye, and a lowering yet meditative 
 brow 7 on which a thousand emotions of conflicting thoughts 
 and designs seemed to have stamped a portion of their 
 obscurity. Many years prior to the expulsion of his people 
 from their ancient homes, his character was assailed by the 
 white intruders who strolled about over the country, and of 
 whom he had seen and learned enough to convince him, as 
 well as many others, of their utter want of scarcely a redeem 
 ing trait of character; therefore, strenuously advocating 
 measures for their explusion from the Choctaw country and 
 prevention of their return, he was called Hattak-upi-humma 
 okpuloh, (a Bad Red Man.) 
 
 Amosholihubih through whose veins unadulterated Choc- 
 
 o 
 
 taw blood alone coursed, and of which he was justly proua, 
 moved with his people to their present homes, where he spent 
 the few remaining years of his life (for he was then an old 
 man) in encouraging their desponding hearts to rise above 
 misfortune and adversity. Though not a fluent speaker, yet 
 he spoke with a dignified but gentle humility; he addressed 
 the reason and good sense of his hearers, and not their pas 
 sions and prejudices. His untutored delivery was indeed 
 graceful; his argument connected and convincing, and his 
 manners, calculated to attract audiences and hold attention. 
 He lived several years beyond the allotted life of man, reach 
 ing nearly four score years and ten. He died at home among 
 his friends and people, honored, respected and loved by his 
 nation, though age seemed not to have diminished his mental 
 faculties, and but slightly impaired his physical powers; and 
 to the last he continued a gran d old man, who, while he was 
 as confiding as a child in those who had won his confidence, 
 was full of fire and vigor when he was convinced that wrong 1 
 had been done either to himself or his people. Always a 
 hater of shams and deceits, liars and defamers, and being 
 never a dissembler nor a coward, liar or defamer himself, 
 there was no room to doubt the side on which he would be 
 found in any cause where there was a question about its 
 truth or its justice; and withal a kindlier, gentler spirit than 
 Amosholihubih possessed was seldom found. The years of 
 his aged wife, who survived her venerable husband many 
 years reached within a few years of a century. 
 
 Apushamatahahubih, Apakfolichihubih and Amosholih 
 ubih were the head chiefs of the Choctaw Nation in 1814, 
 the latter being the youngest; but after the demise of the 
 two former, Coleman Cole and Nittakachihubih, the nephew 
 of the renowned Apushamatahahubih were chosen as their 
 
338 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 successors a few years previous to the treaty of 1830 at 
 Bok Chuckfiluma. He hlah (dancing rabbit creek), Nittaka- 
 chihubih succeeding- his uncle and Coleman Cole, Apakfol- 
 ichihubih. 
 
 Subsequently Greenwood Le Flore superseded Coleman 
 Cole as leading" chief of the Apakfolichihubih District, and 
 David Folsom superseded Amosholihubih District ; to the 
 proceeding s of the latter succession Amosholihubih taking 
 exceptions, and being- strenuously supported by Nittakachi- 
 hubih, he openly disputed the claims of David Folsom to the 
 chieftaincy over him ; while Coleman Cole, who was of Shuk- 
 chih Humma descent, and proved himself an upright and 
 honest man during his whole public, as well as private life, 
 quietly returned to private life after he was superseded by 
 Le Flore, moved west with his people and spent his remain 
 ing days in using his influence by precept and example, for 
 their welfare and happiness, and died in the fall of 1884 at 
 the honored age of four score and ten, at his home near 
 Atoka, Indian Territory. But Amosholihubih, still chafing 
 under his political defeat, and viewing the appointment of 
 Colonel Dayid Polsom as cnief of the district over which he 
 had so long ruled, as an unjust encroachment upon his 
 rights, resolved to sustain his claims at all hazards. At this 
 time there had just been paid to the Choctaws an annuity, 
 which getting into the hands of Amosholihubih, sustained by 
 a strong party of his adherents, and also by Nittakachih and 
 his entire district, he refused to pay it, or any part of it, into 
 the hands of Colonel Folsom, the proper person to hold it 
 for distribution. This seemingly bold step at once threw 
 the entire nation into a high state of excitement. A council 
 was immediately called, to be represented by the two dis 
 tricts the one over which Nittakachih presided and t"he one 
 over whichr-Colonel Folsom had just been appointed. The 
 council at once convened and, as was expected, controversy 
 ran high and the dispute waxed warmer and warmer, and 
 the breach grew wider and wider, resulting in the adjourn 
 ment of the council sine die, without any definite conclusion 
 being attained ; and each party, with anything but amicable 
 feelings the one toward the other, returned to their respec 
 tive homes Colonel Folsom and his partisans to their 
 homes in the northern part of the district, the others to 
 theirs in the southern. 
 
 Nittakachih was as true a specimen of the North Ameri 
 can Indian warrior as ever lived. True courage, than which 
 no other quality commands so great admiration among men, 
 seemed to have been written in every lineament of his face, 
 and his unflinching eyes convinced at a glance that no etrth- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 339 
 
 - \ 
 
 ly power could intimidate him. Though small in stature, 
 yet nature had cast his limbs in a mould of delicate yet man 
 ly beauty, and also endowed him with a constitution which 
 seemed to bid defiance to almost all changes, as well as to 
 fatigue and privations of every kind. His disposition seem 
 ed, in a great degree, to partake of the qualities of his bodily 
 frame; and as the one possessed great activity, strength and 
 endurance, the other, under a calm semblance, had much 
 of the fiery love of glory which constituted the principal 
 attribute of the Indian character, constituting them, in the 
 estimation of the inconsiderate, a remarkable phenomenon; 
 though not more so to be regarded than many of the Nations 
 of antiquity, whose love of war fell not behind that of the 
 North American Indians, yet have not been considered as a 
 remarkable phenomenon. But the face of Nittakachih might 
 well be termed a luminous medium of the passions. The 
 bright or the dark, the lurid cloud and the calm sunshine, 
 made themselves known, not only in the voice and gesture, 
 but also in the ever-varying expression of his eloquent coun 
 tenance. His self-command under any and all circumstances, 
 and his calm and unassumed fearlessness in the hour that 
 tests the soul of man, were truly wonderful; and, as an illus 
 tration, I will here relate an incident of his life, in connection 
 with that of Colonel David Folsom, having its origin in the 
 deposal of Amosholihubih and the elevation of Colonel David 
 Folsom to his place as a chief concerning which I have just 
 spoken. 
 
 As soon as the council adjourned, Colonel David Folsom, 
 fearing the hot words passed in the council might be but the 
 preliminaries to something serious, immediately sent a mes 
 senger to Greenwood Le Flore then living in the extreme 
 western portion of the Nation to inform him of the unpleas 
 ant state of affairs existing in his district, and the causes; 
 and also the fears he entertained of its .resulting in blood 
 shed. Le Flore, comprehending the situation at once, col 
 lected a large body of his warriors without delay and hasten 
 ed to Colonel Folsom s place of residence, then known as 
 The Choctaw Agency, twelve or fifteen miles south of the 
 present town of Starkville, Mississippi, on the road now 
 leading from Columbus to Jackson, then known as the "Old 
 Robinson Road." 
 
 In the meantime rumor was on the wing that Amosho 
 lihubih and Nittakachih had threatened to depose Colonel 
 Folsom and reinstate Amosholihubih even if it had to be 
 done by the tomahawk and rifle. Colonel Folsom at first re 
 garded the rumor as having no foundation in truth a feint 
 on the part of Amosholihubih and Nittakachih to bring him 
 
340 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 .to their measures but soon learned to his surprise and sor 
 row that they evidently meditated hostilities, as they were 
 actually collecting- their warriors at the then trading-house 
 of the Choctaws with the whites, on the Tanapo Ikbi river, 
 now known as Demopolis. Colonel Folsom now fully com 
 prehended the gathering- storm no longer of doubtful mien ; 
 for the distant thunder in its low muttering-s, and the glitter- 
 ings here and there of the lightning s Hash, while he felt the 
 heaving- and rocking- of the convulsed mountain, all unmis 
 takably portended a terrific eruption ; and it was now mani 
 fest that but a spark was wanting- to kindle the flame of civil 
 war, and who could tell the moment that spark would ap 
 pear! Colonel Folsom immediately sent out his runners 
 (fleet horsemen) to call tog-ether his warriors; and then were 
 seen these runners, mounted upon their fleetest horses, 
 speeding- with the velocity of the wind from village to village 
 and from neighborhood to neighborhood, calling to arms. 
 Truly, it was astonishing in how short a time the Choctaws. 
 at that day and time, could send any intelligence they desir 
 ed to convey, from any part of their country to another. If 
 anything of importance occurred to-day in any part of the 
 Nation it was known on the morrow at distances seemingly 
 incredible. 
 
 All was now in a blaze of wild excitement. The mission 
 aries in their quiet and peaceful homes, though not indif 
 ferent totheseeminglyapproaching events thatwere thenand 
 there extending their shadows before, did not anticipate 
 anything serious at first, even as was thought by all that the 
 events that foreshadowed our civil war of 1861, would have its 
 origin in blustering only to terminate in an empty noise; but 
 the thrilling warwhoop that now disturbed the hitherto 
 quiet, echoing by day and by night from hill to hill through 
 their then boundless forest; the renewed life and active 
 energy displayed by the warriors, who but the day before 
 reclined in silent reverie before their cabin doors, or in list 
 less indifference smoked their pipes, but too plainly an 
 nounced to them, that a fearful storm was not only fast 
 gathering, but seemed ready to v b urst with all its terrific 
 fury upon the Choctaw Nation, and who could tell where or 
 upon whom its fury would be spent! The pale-face intru 
 ders, loafers, stragglers, and traders, taking the hint, bade 
 the country a hasty adieu; but. the missionaries hoping for 
 the better, still lingered with their families, but stood in 
 readiness forprecipitous flight ata moments warning, should 
 safety absolutely require it. Colonel David Folsom s resi 
 dence, then known and long after remembered as the old 
 Choctaw Agency, was appointed as the place of rendezvous 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 341 
 
 for his assembling warriors, there to unite with the coming 
 forces of LeFlore, the warriors of Colonel Folsom living- in 
 the northern part of his district, passed directly by Hebron, 
 the missionary station and home of Mr. Calvin Cushman, 
 on their way to the point of rendezvous. Many parties 
 stopped in passing and conversed with him concerning the 
 unfortunate state of affairs; and replied to his interroga 
 tories, as to the propriety of his leaving the nation with his 
 family at once, or wait for further developments, by urging* 
 him to remain, and assuring- him, at the same time, a timely 
 notice of approaching danger, and also a sufficient escort to 
 conduct him and family to a place of safety. Mr. Cushman, 
 having implicit confidence in their plighted word, resolved to 
 remain, though not entirely free of all apprehensions, but 
 stood in readiness to depart with his family at any mo 
 ment. 
 
 For two or three days, and frequently during the night, 
 bands of warriors continued to pass dressed in all the Choc- 
 taw paraphernalia of war, and painted as an Indian only can 
 paint an art known but to him by which the countenance is 
 made to assume a most frightful and awe-creating express 
 ion, and the eye that deadly ferocity, which to be compre 
 hended must be seen. Invariably when passing, night or 
 day, as they drew near Mr. Cush man s home, the thrilling 
 war-whoop broke the stillness of the forests that stretched 
 around and away from that humble and peaceful missionary 
 habitation, as a signal to its occupants that, though it pro 
 claimed war to others, it was a harbinger of peace to them; 
 but which, after all, was not, to the unaccustomed ear, in 
 strict accordance with the rules of harmony, or to the timid 
 heart very persuasive in its melody. 
 
 But this difficulty, the result of which seemed would in 
 evitably terminate in a civil war, was brought to a happy 
 settlement by an incident unparalleled in the annals of an 
 cient or modern history, and which I will here relate from, 
 memory as I heard it in my boyhood, when narrated to Mr. 
 Cushman by Colonel David Folsom, who was one of the two 
 who figured as the most conspicuous in the novel scene; and 
 which was so impressed upon my youthful mind, that dis 
 tance nor time has been able to efface it from the pages of 
 memory. Still I do. not presume to be able to present before 
 my readers the vivid picture that was presented tolmv de 
 lighted imagination by the eloquent tongue of Colonel David 
 Folsom, who both saw and felt that which of itself alone 
 could give unwearied wings to the imaginative mind and un- 
 -deviating eloquence to the tongue. 
 
342 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Colonel Folsom stated to Mr. Cushman, in substance., 
 as follows; and which I will place under the caption: 
 
 THE MEETING OF FOLSOM AND NITTAKACHIH 
 THE TWO CHOCTAH CHIEFS. 
 
 When the council, convened for the adjustment and 
 final distribution of the annuity, adjourned in such confus 
 ion, tog-ether with the animosity manifested and openly ex 
 pressed by both contending- parties the one toward the other, 
 (a similar scene never before witnessed in a Choctaw coun 
 cil) I feared the consequences that I was apprehensive would 
 follow; but hoped that the conflicting- opinions then agitating 
 my people would be harmonized upon calm reflection and the 
 adoption of wise and judicious measures. But when I ascer 
 tained that Nittakachih and Amosholihubih were truly assem 
 bling their warriors, I beg-an to view the matter in its true 
 and proper light. I knew those two chiefs too well to longer 
 doubt the full interpretations of their designs as set forth in 
 their actions; for they both were men who indulg-ed not in 
 meaningless parade, or delighted in empty display. Inevi 
 table war kindred against kindred and brother against 
 brother with all its horrors and irreparable consequences 
 now seemed to stare me in the face, with no alternative 
 but to speedily prepare to meet it; therefore Le Flore and 
 myself, after due deliberation, resolved, if we must fight, to 
 confine the fighting as much as possible within Amosholihu- 
 bih s and Nittakachih s own districts. W^e at once took up 
 our line of march south toward Demopolis which was in the 
 district of Amosholihubih, and Where .they had assembled 
 their warriors. 
 
 At the termination of our second days march, we ascer 
 tained through our scouts, that Amosholihubih and Nittaka 
 chih were also advancing with their warriors to meet us. 
 In vain I still sought for some pacific measures that might be 
 advanced to stop further demonstrations of war. To send a 
 flag of truce, requesting a conference with the two disaf 
 fected chiefs, would, I felt, prove unavailing, as it would be 
 attributed to fear on the part of myself and LeFlore, and 
 but render them the more obstinate and unyielding. On the 
 morning of the third day we were informed by our scouts 
 that they were only a few miles distant, slowly but boldly 
 advancing. In a few hours marching, I looked ahead and 
 -dimly saw the outlines of the front warriors here and there 
 visible among the trees, and then the whole army appeared 
 in full view about half^a mile distant, all in full war dress 
 and armed complete, advancing slowly and in good order. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 343 
 
 Even up to this moment I had cherished the fond hope that 
 matters would not be carried to the extreme; but now hope 
 fled, and the speedy destruction of my people and country 
 seemed inevitable. In vain I endeavored to think of some 
 plan that might yet avail and prevent bloodshed. A few 
 moments more and it would be too late for reflection, as each 
 army with stern brows, firm steps and resolute hearts, were 
 slowly but fearlessly shortening- the distance between. 
 But now the time for futile reflection had^ passed, and stern 
 determination claimed the hour. 
 
 Nearer and nearer the fearless warriors were steadily 
 approaching 1 each other. Not a word had been spoken, nor a 
 sound of defiance uttered by either the one or the other of 
 the still advancing parties; and thus in profound silence each 
 continued to advance, the one toward the other, until not ex 
 ceeding- two hundred yards intervened, when Nittakachih 
 gave the signal for his warriors to halt, which they instantly 
 obeyed. LeFlore and myself instantly ga.ve the same to 
 our men, which was as quickly obeyed. For several minutes 
 the armies stood and gazed upon each other in profound 
 silence. To me what minutes of indescribable suspense! I 
 speak not boastinglv when I affirm that my own safety had 
 not the weight of the sixteenth part of a poor scruple in my 
 reflections. The terrible consequences that would follow 
 the firing of a single gun absorbed my every thought; and 
 how soon that might be done by some inconsiderate and 
 reckless one, no one knew. I still clung to a feeble and 
 lingering hope that the unfortunate affair might yet be ami 
 cably adjusted; but what step to take that could lead to that 
 desirable and happy result, at that advanced stage of affairs, 
 I WAS utterly at a loss. 
 
 At this juncture of alternate hope and despair my aston 
 ishment was unbounded when I saw Nittakachih leave his men 
 where they were standing and alone advance toward us with 
 slow and measured steps, looking with a calm and steady 
 gaze upon us. Every eye was upon him in a moment, as with 
 firm and dignified steps he continued to advance until he had 
 reached a point half way between the now wondering, but 
 still silent, warriors ; then stopped and, slowly raising his 
 arms, he gently folded them across his breast and, in calm 
 and dignified silence, looked with fearless eyes upon me, Le 
 Flore, and our astonished men. Truly, what a scene ! What 
 a picture ! There he stood in his shining war-dress midway 
 between the gazing and admiring warriors, the personifica 
 tion of calm courage and heroic daring; his dark eyes flash 
 ing, and his proud lips curling seemingly in fearless defi 
 ance, and presenting one of the finest specimens of a North 
 
344 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 American Indian warrior conceivable. No figure of bronze 
 could have been more rigid than that of Nittakachih, as he 
 there stood erect and in calm sil ence ; truly a more striking- 
 subject for a picture was never exhibited than was presen 
 ted in Nittakachih in that attitude. What a theme was he to 
 whom fear was a stranger! 
 
 But what his motive in thus presenting himself delib 
 erate as it was strange none could comprehend, or even ad 
 vance a reniote conjecture. Yet, all could read that what 
 ever it might be, he meant it ; for no one did him the injus 
 tice by even supposing that the situation was contrived for 
 dramatic effect. Ah ! it is comparatively an easy matter to 
 unravel those characters which appear before us in butter 
 fly colors, whose easy dispositions and familiarities of man 
 ner preclude the possibility of deception; but to understand 
 the secret and hidden workings of that mind which lies con 
 tinually wrapped up in its own solitude to trace the secret 
 springs and solitary windings of the mysterious power 
 within, and read the intents of the heart as they are made 
 manifest, in the attitude, the look, the silence, the act, re 
 quires an intimate knowledge of the human soul which but 
 few; if any, possess, and which nothing but long experience 
 can ever secure. 
 
 To all, it seemed a fearful scene, terrific in its conse 
 quences, was about to be enacted. In vain I sought for 
 some token, some sign expressive of his wish ; but his silent 
 and motionless form, indexing a determined soul, was all 
 that seemed animate. Like a statue he still stood, calm, sil 
 ent and motionless, presenting a picture grand and beautiful 
 even to sublimity, while silence profound seemed to brood 
 over everything animate. Even the gentle breezes seemed to 
 have sung themselves to rest;and a solemn hush prevailed, as 
 though all nature in pitying suspense had made a pause, to 
 stay the death dealing struggle that seemed about to ensue 
 between kindred and friends. It was a bright October morn 
 ing, clear, sunny and cool, with the bluest of blue skies over 
 head, dotted he re and there with little white clouds that 
 floated about like sails upon an ocean, while the sunlight 
 filtered down between the branches of the trees and fell in 
 bright flecks upon the ground. The melancholy haze of 
 Indian Summer wrapped every distant object in the soft, 
 purple veil; the dim vistas of the surrounding forests ended 
 in misty depths; through the openings the majestic trees of 
 endless variety and gigantic size were dropping their dying 
 leaves, and here and there along a ravine, crimson maples 
 gleamed against the back-ground of dark green sweet-gums. 
 In all directions, the forest foliage painted with autumnal 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 345 
 
 hectic, were strewing the bier of the departing" year, casting* 
 over all a melancholy, dreamy, appearance that approximated 
 to the sublime; and which, under other circumstances, 
 would have awakened the harp of memory to the sweetest 
 tones, carrying- the thoughts back to the haunts of the olden 
 time, under the magic melody of boyhood s by -gone joys; but 
 then all was wrapped in that mysterious silence which pro 
 duced sensations not unsimilar to that experienced by the 
 birds beneath the basilisk glare of the serpent. What 
 emotions thrilled my soul! emotions which seemed to isolate 
 my whole being from all surrounding objects, but that silent 
 and motionless form before me, wrapt in the impenetrable 
 silence of his own heart. 
 
 Again I loooked around for some one from whom I might 
 receive even a conjecture as to the interpretation of the in 
 comprehensible enigma, that so mysteriously and unexpec 
 tedly had presented itself before us, but none ventured to 
 break the stillness by a word. 
 
 I then resolved to go to him alone, be the consequences 
 what they might ; and a ray of hope illuminated theTlarkness 
 of my despairing soul, as I thought a word to him might, 
 perhaps, be as oil upon the troubled waters, and the threat 
 ening- storm of war yet be hushed to peace. With emotions 
 known only to myself, yet with a calm exterior, I started to 
 ward him with a slow but firm step, and had walked but a 
 few paces when I observed Nittikachih s warriors silently, 
 but steadily raising their rifles to their shoulders and bring 
 ing them to bear directly upon me; and at the same instant 
 heard behind me the ominous click of {the rifle-locks of my 
 own men the signification of which I well understood. 
 With deadly aim Nittakachih s warriors held their rifles up 
 on me, as I drew nearer and nearer tb their adored chieftain 
 who still stood silent and motionless, but with his black, pen 
 etrating eyes upon me as if he would read the very thoughts 
 of my heart ; yet without a visible sign of emotion, and ut 
 terly unheeding the thousand rifles that also rested upon 
 him, with as many clear andresolute eyes glancing along their 
 dark barrels. The silence was still profound, Not a word, 
 not even the chirping of a bird or rustling of a leaf broke 
 the fearful stillness. I well knew everything was suspended 
 at this juncture upon a pivot which the slightest breath 
 might turn the equally poised scale for the worst, and give a 
 signal for several thousand rifles to begin their work of 
 death, and Nittakachih and myself would be the first to fall 
 riddled with bullets, and our position but made it doubly 
 sure. 
 
 With a secret bracing of my nerves I continued to stead- 
 
346 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 ily advance, and when within a few paces of him I met his 
 eyes fixed upon mine with that baffling- expression, which, I 
 must confess, caused me to feel an inward alarm, as if some 
 thing- vaguely dangerous had suddenly reared himself in my 
 path, which by its very charm instinctively bade me be\yare. 
 But I as quickly subdued my apprehensions, by thinking 1 , 
 with a certain haughty pride which I fear will never be elimi 
 nated from my nature, of the dang-ers I had already met and 
 overcome in my brief but troubled life, and meeting- his 
 calm and steady gaze with a smile which I knew to contain a 
 spice of audacity, stopped immediately before and near him r 
 and calmly said, as I noticed the strife of expression be 
 tween his* eye and lip; the one hard, cold and unyielding; the 
 other deprecating in its half smile and falsely gentle, as if 
 the mind that controlled it was even then divided between its 
 wish to subdue and the necessity it felt to win: Nittakach- 
 ih, it would be only folly for me to speak as if nothing had 
 occurred to justify your present attitude. It would be do 
 ing your good sense and sound judgment but little honor; 
 and putting myself, or rather, ourselves, for we, as chiefs, 
 should be one in the matter of our country s interests, in a 
 position which would make any after explanations exceed 
 ingly difficult. For explanations can be given, and in a word, 
 for what has doubtless appeared to you as strange and un 
 warrantable on our part, explanations which I am sure you 
 will cheerfully accept, as it is not natural for you to nurse 
 suspicions contrary to your own candid and noble nature. 
 I calmly waited for the words I felt to be hovering upon his 
 lips, but they were scarcely the ones I expected. He replied 
 that he was satisfied with my proffered words of reconcilia 
 tion, and, as he spoke his voice assumed its confident tone, 
 whatever might have been the disturbance communicated to 
 his inward nature. Then looking with his dark and pierc 
 ing eyes into mine, as if to read the secret thoughts of mv 
 heart, and see if perchance treachery lurked not beneath 
 the smile of friendship: finding none, the dark cloud of defi 
 ance that greeted my approach instantly gave place to the 
 sun-lit rays of confidence, and he continued: "I feel that I 
 can and will again give you the title of friend. Will you ac 
 cept it from me, and with it my past confidence and esteem?" 
 I responded, I will in behalf of the common interests of our 
 people; and then extended my hand to him, but in a steady 
 mechanical way that I felt committed me to nothing, for I 
 was fully alive to the possible consequences of my every act. 
 He took it, though the slight unmistakable pressure he re 
 turned seemed to show that he accepted it for a true sign of 
 restored friendship, if not of absolute surrender. "You 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 347" 
 
 have removed a great weight from my heart," he ag-ain re 
 marked. "Had you been one of the common place type of 
 men, you might have made this a serious matter for us." 
 
 What have I said and done, I replied, though not so bit- 
 terfy, or with as much irony as I might have done, had that 
 desire to understand the full motive of a condescension I 
 could but feel was unprecedented in his arrogant nature, been< 
 less keen than it was, to influence you to suppose that I will 
 not yet do so? "Your glance and your honest hand are your 
 surety," he answered; then with a real smile, though it was 
 not the reassuring and attractive one he doubtless meant it 
 to be, we both turned our face s toward our anxious and 
 waiting warriors, and each gave the signal of. peace and 
 friendship restored. Instantly every rifle was lowered, and 
 the two armies slowly marched in perfect order to where we 
 stood, and there all shook hands. A council was v then and 
 there convened; satisfactory explanations made and accepted; 
 peace and friendship restored, and a terrific civil war 
 averted. And then, as the party turned their faces home 
 ward, all fired off their guns as an acknowledgment that not 
 a particle of animosity lingered in the heart of a single one 
 of either party, but that entire confidence and friendship 
 was restored. 
 
 In more ancient times, when difficulties between two 
 clans of parties had been settled they stacked their arms to 
 gether, and as an evidence that entire confidence, friend 
 ship and good will was restored; which ceremony was called 
 "Tanapoh Aiyummih," signifying guns mixed. 
 
 Such was the narrative (in substance) related to Mr. Cal 
 vin Cushman by Colonel David Folsom sixty years ago, por 
 traying a scene in actual life that stands unequaled in the 
 annals of historic warfare; while also displaying a self-sac 
 rificing and patriotic heroism (especially in Colonel David 
 Folsom) that should put to shame and confusion of tongue 
 those ignorant and senseless babblers who deny to the 
 Indian race the possession of a single virtue. 
 
 Nittakachih moved west -with his people; remained a 
 few years, and then returned to the home of his nativity in 
 Mississippi to attend to some unfinished business, and while 
 there was taken sick and died; and thus secured for himself 
 the gratification of dying in his native land, and having his 
 body laid away in peaceful rest among the graves of his an 
 cestors a privilege so much coveted by the North American 
 Indian. 
 
 Had Nittakachih possessed the advantages of a thorough 
 education, he would have placed his name high on the roll of 
 fame among earth s illustrious great as a brave, patriot and 
 
348 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 honest statesman; yet, without any of those advantages what 
 ever; few, if any, among- the whites could equal him in point 
 of true native eloquence, genuine patriotism, self-comma"nd, 
 and moral courage, under any and all circumstances. It wa$ 
 my fortune to be personally acquainted with him, and never 
 have I seen, nor do I ever expect to see, a finer specimen of 
 nature s true man, than was exhibited in Nittakachih. He 
 left one son, who was known as Captain Jackson Nittakachih, 
 and also one son-in-law named Tunapoh Humma, (Red Gum). 
 He was chief at one time of the Kunsha-ache Iksa, which 
 lived on the creek then called Lussah Hocheto, (Big Swamp), 
 now known as Big Black. They both moved with their peo 
 ple to their present place of abode, and died soon after the 
 death of their noble father and father-in-law. 
 
 Colonel David Folsom, the first chief of the Choctaws, 
 elected by ballot, was a man whose generosity of nature was 
 conspicuous, not merely in the ordinary acceptance of that 
 term, but in its fullest and broadest sense ; and I hazard 
 nothing in saying if posterity shall do justice to his memory, 
 history will accord to David Folsom a high rank as a just and 
 honest ruler, a noble patriot and an exemplary Christian; and 
 it is no doubtful proof of the distinguished talents of this il 
 lustrious Choctaw, that he administered the national affairs 
 of his people for thirty years, during a period the most crit 
 ical and perilous in the annals of the Choctaw Nation,, con 
 jointly with other kindred spirits venerable for their age, 
 prudence and integrity and of which their nation seemed re 
 markably prolific, and whose names and eulogy might fill a 
 volume. Colonel David Folsom was a good man in the full 
 sense of that word. Continually filling offices of greater or 
 less importance in his country, still he ever carried the traits 
 of honesty, faithfulness, zeal and energy into every position. 
 He was truly one of those characters that naturally come to 
 the front in all matters, and possessed many of the charac 
 teristics of a leader of men. It was natural that such a man 
 should sometimes encounter antagonism and be misunder 
 stood, but his noble heart and generous nature could not 
 carry malice or harbor revenge. No man was more ready 
 for reconciliation and forgiveness, whether the cause of mis 
 understanding was just or unjust. Of his worth as a citi 
 zen, public or private, and his Christian faith and life, his 
 people know full well and justly appreciate. 
 
 He was elevated to the chieftaincy at a time when his 
 country was agitated by many conflicting emotions; his 
 people were just emerging from ( the state of nature to that 
 of Christianity and civilization; and the fountains of the great 
 deep of their hearts were being broken up by the new order 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 349 
 
 of things that were being- established among- them in govern 
 ment and in morals; and in connection with this, the ex 
 change of their homes and country for others remote in the 
 distant and unknown west, by a process of coercion, fraud 
 and tyranny unsurpassed in the annals of man, but justly 
 aroused their fears to the highest pitch, and filled every 
 heart with misgivings and the deepest gloom. I witnessed 
 their indescribable agitation, and heard their wail of woe. 
 Yet. amid the raging storm of conflicting emotions that 
 everywhere prevailed, Colonel David Folsom stood pre-emi 
 nent; the prudent, wise and wholsome counsels he then gave 
 upon all questions to the subordinate chiefs and his agitated 
 people; his calm and noble bearing amid the all pervading 
 confusion; the firm and undaunted rebuke which his en 
 lightened and enlarged philanthrophy administered to the 
 wrong policy of the uninformed and inconsiderate, were as 
 oil upon the troubled waters and conspired to make him the 
 chief influence for good . 
 
 But in his home life Colonel Folsom s virtues shone in 
 all their unvarnished beauty. This was his chosen sphere; 
 here he delighted to receive and entertain the friends who 
 were privileged with his intimate acquaintance, official or 
 private, rich or poor, high or low; and for warmth of affec 
 tion to his people, kindred and cherished friends; for singu 
 lar unselfishness, he had few equals and no superiors any 
 where. His sympathies were as prompt and as tender as a 
 child s, and it was natural and became habitual for his peo 
 ple to go to him when in trouble, to seek council and sympa 
 thy which they never sought in vain; nor did he wait to be 
 sought. He loved outward nature too as the source of con 
 scious pleasurable emotions. He would say, "It rests me to 
 look upon its varied and lovely scenes, landscapes which are 
 really a means of education to the susceptible mind, and 
 which so often have been invested with the charms of poetry 
 and romance. " 
 
 During a visit to the Choctaw Nation, in 1884, I unex 
 pectedly came upon a cemetery in my devious wanderings 
 wherein I found the graves of many Choctaws. Conspicu 
 ous among many monuments, stood that of Colonel David 
 Folsom, whom I had known from youth s early morn. Thus 
 reads the epitaph: 
 
 "To the memory of Colonel David Folsom, the first Re 
 publican Chief of the Chahtah Nation, the promoter of indus 
 try, education, religion, arid morality; was born January 
 25th, 1791, and departed this life, September 24th, 1847, 
 aged 56 years and eight months. 
 
 "He being dead yet speaketh." 
 
350 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 His son, then my companion, and old friend from early 
 youth, informed me that the above appropriate epitaph was 
 dictated by Rev. Cyrus Byington, the long- known and faith 
 ful friend of Colonel David Folsom and his people. To all, 
 Colonel Folsom seemed to have died in the very mids.t of his 
 great usefulness and the brightest glory of his days; but 
 those years and the responsibilities that had attended them, 
 had already added dignity to his firm, bold brow, with its 
 strongly marked eyebrows above black penetrating eyes. 
 For many years he had been the ruling spirit among his 
 people, and this sense of mastery had given him some touch 
 of kingliness to his general appearance, his tone aild manners 
 something of that loo*k and demeanor which is seen in re 
 nowned statesmen and famous warriors. 
 
 In strolling o er that silent and lonely habitation of the 
 dead, I found the graves of many of my old Choctaw and 
 Chickasaw friends of the long-ago; and in reading their 
 names carved upon the hard, white stone, how beautifully 
 those cherished friends of other days seemed to rise up 
 again in the perspective of memory, calm and serene, as an 
 gels of life from the paradise of the past. 
 
 Close by that of Colonel David Folsom s was the grave 
 of Joel H. Nail, a brother-in-law to Colonel Folsom, and 
 grandfather of Joel H. Nail, now living in Caddo, Indian 
 Territory. He was another true and noble specimen of a 
 Choctaw Christian man. A beautiful marble monument also 
 marked his place of rest, and the following told the curious 
 and inquisitive passer-by who was the Occupant: 
 
 "Sacred to the memory of J. H. Nail, of tjie Chahtah 
 Nation, who died at his residence near Fort Tawson, Au 
 gust 24th, 1846, in the 52nd year of his age. 
 
 "Reader prepare to meet thy God." 
 
 The present Nail family of the Choctaws are the de 
 scendants of Henry Nail, a white man, who came among the 
 Choctaws abo^Lit the time Nathaniel Folsom, John Pitchlynn 
 and Lewis Le Flore came ; and as they, so did he, marry 
 among them, was adopted and thus became identified among 
 that people. He rose to the position of child and exerted, as 
 did the other three above mentioned, a moral influence among 
 that noble and appreciative people with whom he had cast his 
 lot. He had four sons Joel, Robert, Morris and Joseph ; 
 Joel Nail had seven daughters Harriet, Delilah, Selina, 
 Catharine, Isabelle, Melvina and Emma ; and three sons 
 Jonathan (father of the present J. H. Nail), Adam and Ed 
 win. Robert Nail had one son the only chief named Ed 
 win, who was drowned in Blue river ; and Jonathan had 
 only one son, the present Joel H. Nail, as above stated, and 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 351 
 
 who is a worthy scion of the old stock and still living- ; he is 
 a quiet and good man ; noble and good in his integrity of 
 character; attractive in the benevolence of his life; great 
 and good in his benefaction and charity to his fellow-man; 
 with a life full of gentleness, always ready, he lives as one 
 whom only those can understand who knew him and enjoyed 
 the benefits of his virtues. ^ 
 
 Near to this this stood another emblem of frail mortality, 
 which told of one who had lived and died, and upon whose 
 smooth face I read love s tribute of affection. "Sacred to the 
 memory of Major Pitman Colbert, . who departed this life 
 February, 26th, 1853, aged 56 years. He lived an exemplary 
 life. Ever devoted to the welfare of his people (the Chicka- 
 saws), and died respected by all \vho knew him." 
 
 Of Major Colbert it may justly belaid: He was emin- 
 ently a Christian reformer. His sympathy for his people 
 was intense. He sought to create love and harmony among 
 them; and to show them that purity of life, generosity, 
 honor, truth , are blossoms that spring- even from stagnant pools, 
 "which to know may be found, not faultless, but still true and 
 lovable, and learn that mercy and charity are needed as 
 well as justice to see what is beautiful in any life. His 
 hearty contempt for cant and snobbery in any form found a 
 ringing- echo in his noble nature. He was a true disciple in 
 the temple of knowledge; ever devoting his time and labors 
 to those useful pursuits, w r hich alone adorn and embellish 
 the mind, fitting it for the abode of truth. To the light of 
 nature and reason he added the light of the Bible and Revela- 
 lion; and prompted by a higher and nobler motive, moved 
 -and instigated by a Divine impulse, by that Spirit that comes 
 from above, he spent the morn, noon.and evening of his life 
 : in trying to alleviate the sufferings of others; to lift the 
 fallen, support the weak, confirm the good, elevate tbe scale 
 of excellence among his people, and with the laudable pur 
 pose of making them the bettejr by his having lived; and who, 
 in his devotion to the grea^ principles of morality and vir 
 tue, lived a life of pleasant toil, supporting and elevating his 
 race wherever fallen, curbing the vices of the vicious, cor 
 recting the waywardness of the dissolute, sustaining the 
 right and condemning the wrong-. 
 
 But what visions of the long past awoke to memory as I 
 stopped before a monument, whose beautiful symmetry of 
 form had attracted me and read; 4t ln memory of Louis 
 Garland; died Agust 14th, 1853, aged 33 years. Generous, 
 upright and virtuous, he lived an example for all who seek 
 the favor of the good." 
 
 More appropriate and truthful words never adorned the 
 
352 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 tombstone of man. We were fellow students during the 
 years 1839-40-41 and 1842 at Marietta College, Ohio-/ and 
 both professors and students who may now be living, could 
 they read the epitaph that records Lewis Garland s place of 
 rest, would attest to its truth without a dissenting voice; and 
 I too, though years have intervened with their varied vicis 
 situdes, would here offer some tribute, though feeble yet 
 sincere, to this my Choctaw friend, though an Indian, yet 
 loved none the less. I was born among his people and 
 thus was early initiated into the "mysteries of the Indian 
 character;" and a friendship and love for them, of which I 
 am not ashamed, but justly proud, was formed; not only for 
 them but their entire race, which time nor distance has been 
 able to weaken; and even to-day, in these my declining years, 
 my heart oft turns to these true children of the Great Spirit, 
 known during the long period of life, and among whom I 
 have yet to find my first false friend; and though during my 
 sojourn and travels among them, I could but feel that 
 
 We met like ships upon the sea, 
 Who hold an hour s converse- 
 One little hour! and then speed away, 
 On diverging paths to meet no more 
 
 and my heart still goes out in fond affection to all those old 
 Choctaw and Chickasaw friends of my youth; in whose 
 honest hearts I have ever found a friendship that never be 
 trayed and a constancy that never wearied. 
 
 " Continuing my walk through the cemetery, I discovered 
 a grave that had no marble token to tell of its silent occu 
 pant. Upon inquiring of my Choctaw companion, he in 
 formed me that it was the grave of his brother, Cornelius ; 
 another fellow-student of boyhood s merry time. We were 
 chums for two years in college life, and there and then be 
 came sincere friends, linked to the recollections of life s 
 early morn, ere sorrow s dark pall had fallen athwart our 
 pathway; but hope with rosy finger still pointed to the flat 
 tering possibilities of the promising future. But alas! Con 
 sumption claimed him as its own, and he returned to his 
 southernihome but to fall into a premature grave. In college 
 he was a diligent student, and stood high in his classes. The 
 high elements of his noble nature were so fully developed 
 that he commanded the respect and admiration of both pro 
 fessors and students. He was consistant in all things, and 
 his moral character was blameless; and the highest testi 
 mony to this was the respect which all classes of students 
 manifested toward him. But here, dear Cornelius, old 
 chum, loved friend and companion of school-boy days, I let 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 353 
 
 the curtain drop over thy blameless life, closed by a calm and 
 peaceful death and blessing s well bestowed. Thou went 
 loved and honored while living-, and thy early death deeply 
 mourned by all thy friends both red and white ; and friend 
 ship without alloy still drops a tear o er thy early grave, 
 while thy name and virtues are engraved onstill loving* hearts 
 that need no voiced urn or marble inscription to perpetuate 
 thy memory. 
 
 But adieu, old friends of the past. After life s fitful 
 fever, there you sleep. No persecution and oppression dis 
 turb you now. The tall forest oaks stand like sentinals 
 around your graves as if keeping watch over this bivouac of 
 the noble dead, which I visited with deep emotion, and left 
 with reflections sad. Why should not history preserve their 
 names? But all unnoticed by the bus} r world, they lived and 
 died, because they were Indians. That tells tale. 
 
 As a sample of Colonel David Folsom s ability as a letter 
 writer, I will insert a few of his letters written to Rev. Elias 
 Cornelius and others, copied from the original without altera 
 tion; and when it is taken into consideration that he neA T er 
 v\nt to school but six months, .they may justly cause the 
 blush of .shame (if such a thing be within the line of a possi 
 bility) to appear upon the cheeks of thousands of white men, 
 who. have gone as many years, and yet cannot do half as 
 well. 
 
 To Rev. Elias Cornelius: 
 
 CHOCTAW NATION, PIGEON ROOST. July 16, 181& 
 My Dear Sir: 
 
 Your letter dated Knoxville, June 2nd has come duly to 
 hand, safe this morning, which I am rejoice to learn that Vou 
 and brother McKee and three other boys are all well and 
 happy. I did learn from you and McKee, when you wrote 
 from Cherokee Nation to me by Mr. Kingsbury, and did 
 write you and direct the letter to City Washington, agree 
 able to your direction to me. Rev. Mr. Kingsbury was here 
 few days ago from Yellobusher; and he requested that he 
 wanted my brother Israel under his care, and that he was 
 much in need for company in traveling about the nation and 
 which his request was very certainly most pleasing talk to 
 me and Israel. He is under Mr. Kingsbury s care and as he 
 is very industrious boy I make no dou-bt but he will be use 
 ful to Mr. K, by the first opportunity that K. may have he 
 will send Israel on to you. My dear friend, I " have no 
 means to inform you at present in the regard of my nation , 
 as we have had no council since you left here. But I know 
 and all I can sa*y for my nation they are a people much in 
 
354 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 need for help and instruction, and we look up to the govern 
 ment of the U. S. for instruction, and which I do know the 
 establishment of this school will be the means of the great 
 est good ever been done for this nation. Our hunting- are 
 done for these many years back and for wanting good Father 
 and good Council that the general run of peoples at the Na 
 tion have still hunted for game an they have in many become 
 in want. But I know that your wish is pure and love and 
 good for this nation, and therefore I have been talking to my 
 peoples and have advice them for the best during their inten 
 tion to industrys and farming, and lay our hunting aside, and 
 here is one point of great work is just come to hand before 
 us which is the establishment of a school, and the Choctaws 
 are appear to be well pleased. I thank you for the good and 
 love you have, and what have already done for my nation. 
 Not long since I have heard from Rev and Mrs. Williams. 
 They are all well. I have not seen them yet. I wish you 
 happiness. 
 
 I am your true friend till death, 
 
 DAVID FOLSOM. 
 
 N. B. You will excuse my bad writing, as I did inform 
 you that I had only but six months schooling. 
 
 CHAHTAH NATION, PIGEON ROOST, Nov. 3, 1818. 
 To Rev. Elias Cornelius: 
 
 My dear sir: I have just returned from the Chahtah 
 Treaty, and I inform you that Chahtah did not sell or ex 
 change lands with the United States the Chahtah said that 
 it is but two years ago when the Nation sold a large track of 
 country to the United States and therefore they said that 
 they had no more lands to sell, which they cannot think to 
 sell the land which we are living on it and raising our 
 children on it. And I inform you also that the nation a great 
 of friendships to the United States Com. The Nation talk 
 of in Council and mention that it was great benefit for us 
 Chahtah to have school in our Nation, and appear to be well 
 please and rejoiced to have such aids in our Nation. The 
 chiefs wrote a letter to the president of the United States 
 a most friendly talk and I must inform you in one part of 
 the letter to the president, our chief said, Father we are 
 most thankful for your kindly favor that you aided the 
 Society School in our nation. The chiefs are I believe in 
 notion of visiting the father, the president. Give my warm 
 love to my brother McKee and Israel when you shall see 
 them, and tell them we are all well. 
 
 I remain your most dutiful friend till death, 
 
 DAVID FOLSOM. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 355 
 
 CHAHTAH NATION, PIGEON ROOST, July 6th, 1822. 
 My Dear Friend Rev. Byington: 
 
 I was rejoiced to learn from Rev. King-sbury good news 
 from Elliott, and that health of family was much better. It 
 is indeed good news to me to hear that Mr. Ward has 
 brought the large boys under his Government once more. 
 After all our fuss and talk and grumbling and dissatisfaction 
 on the part of we Chahtahs, I hope good will result from it. 
 I did feel sorry when I was there to witness some bad con 
 duct of the scholars there. But I hope good may overrule for 
 the best this is my sincere wish. Some days since I was 
 at Mayhew and staid there few days, and I am happy to say 
 to you that family were well, and the scholars are doing well, 
 and all in good health. The children go out to work cheer 
 fully, and come in the school cheerfully, and mine their 
 teacher cheerfully, and on the hole I think they improve 
 most handsomely and the missionary spirit at Mayhew I 
 think it is good they all appear to do what they can. We 
 shall have a council 18th inst. at Mayhew with the chiefs and 
 warriors of this District. I shall want Mr. Kingsbury to 
 give them a straight talk. I have no news to inform you at 
 present that is worth your notice. Give me some news if 
 you have any. . Present my best wishes to the Mission fam 
 ily. I am Dear Sir your friend, 
 
 DAVID FOLSOM. 
 Rev. C. Byington. 
 
 January 7th, 1829. 
 My Dear Friend Rev. C. Byington: 
 
 I am informed you have gone to Columbus, and I do not 
 know it is best that you were there with the lame hand you 
 had. I did not like the look of your hand other day. I think 
 it would be. well for you to be very careful hereafter and en 
 deavor to get your hand well. As to our appoint at Aiikhuna 
 (a school or place of learning), you need not feel any disap 
 pointment. I shall try to go over agreeable to promise, it 
 was made to the people, if I should be permitted to go by the 
 almighty hand.. I shall try to go and see the people if I only 
 just go there and shake hands and see the people. Mr. 
 Williams will be there, and he can preach to the people if it 
 be necessary to do so. I trust, if I am not deceived, the 
 Lord has done great things for my soul. Pray for me 
 brother. 
 
 I am, dear sir, your friend, 
 Aiikhuna. D. FOLSOM. 
 
 I have copied the above four letters of Colonel David 
 Folsom from the original without any alteration whatever. 
 
-- r:- . 
 
 356 . \. HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Though there are defects, yet, when we consider the limited 
 opportunity offered in six months tuition and only six 
 months and the writer beginning- at the alphabet of a lan 
 guage foreign to his native tongue, and of which he compar^ 
 atively knew nothing, are they not remarkable productions, 
 especially in that of their orthography? And when we also 
 take into consideration that Colonel David Folsom is but one 
 of hundreds of Choctaws, as well as of other North American 
 Indians all over the continent, as will be successfully estab 
 lished, do not the united voices of truth and justice proclaim 
 the falsity of the assertion, "The Indian could never be ed 
 ucated from his savagery." Here I will introduce to the 
 reader the Rev. Israel Folsom, a younger brother of the 
 great and good Colonel David Folsom, either of whom to 
 know was to love, yet true Choctaw Indians. But Rev. Israel 
 Folsom s name belongs alone to the religious history of his 
 country and people, by whom such a man cannot be forgot 
 ten. The cause for which he so prodigally spent himself is 
 his people; but I honor his name. What Christian can J>e 
 dead to the- lesson of self-sacrifice, and life-long devotion, 
 which his noble career so eminently exemplified? Who of 
 those who knew him can doubt that after life s journey he 
 entered into that everlasting rest which, while on earth, he 
 so wistfully contemplated, and so interestingly discoursed 
 upon? 
 
 His conversion to the Christian religion was somewhat 
 peculiar. After he had become the head of a family, he came 
 in possession of some deistical books handed to him by some 
 of that class of whites who would not only degrade the In 
 dian upon earth but also damn his soul in eternity. But the 
 God of pity and love thwarted the designs of the white, mis 
 creant by interposing in behalf of his untutored, inexperi 
 enced and unsophisticated child of nature, as the sequel will 
 prove. For several years he carefully and diligently read 
 the deistical works, to the gradual neglect of the religious 
 books, especially the Bible, all of which, had been furnished 
 him by those devoted missionaries, with their frequent 
 prayers for God s blessing to accompany them. Those 
 prayers of faith followed the Choctaw student from his home 
 east of the Mississippi river to his new home in the west; 
 when he still read his deistical books, and devoted much 
 thought and-calm reflection upon their teachings while en 
 gaged in the duties of his extensive farm and stock ranch. 
 One beautiful spring morning, having ridden out upon the 
 prairie to look after his cattle, and while reflecting upon 
 what he had read the night before, which denied the exist 
 ence of a First Great Cause, he asked himself: "Then 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 357 
 
 whence came the green grass that now covers this vast 
 prairie as with a carpet, that stretches away before me on 
 every side? Whence-came the innumerable flowers of varie- 
 ; gated colors that so delight my eye? Whence came the cattle, 
 the horses, the birds, and all other animals? Ah! Whence 
 came I, myself? There must be a God. There is a God!" 
 Then and there he sprang from his horse, fell upon his 
 knees, and in earnest prayer sought light from Him, who 
 hath said, "In the day that ye seek me with all thy heart, 
 I will be found of thee," and arose a changed man! He at 
 once turned his steps homeward, entered his house, and- 
 without speaking a word gathered every deistical and in 
 fidel book that had so long contaminated and polluted his 
 house and led him astray, and in one pile threw them into 
 the lire; then went out of the house, took his stand where 
 he could see the top of the chimney, and, as the black smoke, 
 made blacker by the consuming falsehoods of their infamous 
 ^contents, ascended in dark rolls to the sky, shouted as he 
 waved his hand to its final adieu, "Beholcl infidelity"! and 
 from that moment gave his life to the ministry, and in that 
 capacity filled a large ,sphere of usefulness, and sat upon the 
 throne of a wide public esteem. 
 
 By precept and example, he endeavored to lead the 
 minds of his people into the paths of virtue and truth. His 
 great effort was to train them morally by impressing upon 
 .them the value of Christian truth, as the basis of Christian 
 character and life. In his nature he was modest and retir 
 ing, but his social qualities were of the highest order; and 
 as husband, father, citizen 1 , friend and preacher of the Gos 
 pel, he illustrated in his daily life all those noble attributes 
 which make up and form the highest type of true manhood. 
 His fine sensibility fitted itself to every demand that could 
 be made upon it in his family and social relations. He was 
 happy in making others happy, tender, true and devoted; 
 and his ways were truly the ways of simplicity and gentle 
 ness. Thus lived and died this great man great, not in 
 the present acceptation of the word in this age of folly and 
 .sin, but in that of truth, an ornament to the truth, and a 
 gem in the diadem of his Redeemer. Truly, so grand a 
 specimen of the old school of Presbyterianism should not be 
 lost from the view of succeeding generations; who, in 
 .strength of faith, ardor of hope, and zealous devotion to the 
 cause of man s Redeemer, and unwearied labor for the sal 
 vation of souls, had few equals in any age of that glorious 1 
 -church of Christ. 
 
 One has spoken of him as "one of the saintliest men 
 with whom he had ever been acquainted"; and all those who 
 
358 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 knew him will fully acquiesce in the truth of that statement. 
 He was indeed a most sincere Christian; a man of great 
 spirituality; in which there was nothing" morbid or senti 
 mental, nor yet bustling and obtrusive; but unaffected and 
 genuine, and at the same time most active and efficient. The 
 elements of character which contributed to his success 
 were his simplicity, solidity and godly sincerity. He was 
 one who believed what he preached, and practiced what he 
 taught. He united gentleness with decision of character, 
 and was firm in his convictions, yet free of obstinacy; and 
 when convinced of his errors, he at once retracted. No one 
 ever knew him to knowingly sacrifice a right principle, frus 
 trate a worthy purpose, shrink from a known duty, betray a 
 sacred trust, speak evil of his fellowman, forsake a friend 
 or injure an enemy. Insincerity was a stranger in his 
 breast, and to say or do anything- for effect never entered his 
 honest mind. Though not what the world would call a bril 
 liant preacher, yet he possessed" what many brilliant preach 
 ers lack good, common sense; for extravagances or eccen 
 tricities never marred his own labors, nor were the legiti 
 mate effect of his pulpit works cancelled by his erratelife. 
 
 Rev. Israel Folsom always gave one tenth of his annual 
 income to the church; and in his will, left one tenth of his 
 property to the church to which he was attached ; and 
 though time seemed to have prematurely whitened his locks, 
 yet it also seemed to have gently touched his stalwart frame, 
 and his manly features indicated to the last a character that 
 had met life s vicissitudes as a man should meet them. His 
 native strength and force still seemed like the beautiful 
 country in which he lived once wild and rugged indeed, but 
 now softened and humanized by years of culture. It was 
 evident that he looked at the world, as mirrored before him, 
 not with cynicism nor mere curiosity, but with a heart in 
 sympathy with all the influences that were making it better. 
 He died April 24, 1870, and was buried at Old Boggy Depot, 
 Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, aged 67 years, 11 months 
 and 22 days. Such was Rev. Israel Folsom, of whom it may 
 be said: He was a remarkable illustration of the power of 
 Christianity a great mind, once entangled in the meshes of 
 error, but broke away, grasped the truth and yielded not 
 with his expiring breath. His was a religion that endured ; 
 a bright and shining light to all his people; a morning star 
 that had arisen, casting its wild light over the dark cloud 
 which, for untold centuries, had hung its dark and gloomy 
 pall over his nation; and though it seemed to se,t prema 
 turely, yet it cast back a light that illuminated the path of 
 truth. But the veil of silence has been drawn over as true 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 359 
 
 and unselfish a life as was ever laid at the Master s feet; 
 yet his grand Christian life will remain a bright, shining* 
 light, animating and encouraging his loved ones left behind, 
 while memory endures. 
 
 I will here give the following of the Choctaw people, 
 from the pen of their great and good countryman, Rev. 
 Israel Folsom, which I have copied from the original without 
 alteration whatever, furnished me by his daughter Czarena, 
 now Mrs. Rabb, and never before published: 
 
 "The history of the aborigines of America has been one 
 of the most prominent and interesting subjects of inquiry 
 and research of the present age. The, manners, habits, 
 customs and peculiarities of the different Indian tribes, have, 
 for many years, formed a theme of deep interest and praise 
 worthy investigation to the philanthropic and scientific 
 world. While their traditions are worthy of being pre 
 served, on account of their similarity to some of the won 
 drous and attractive events recorded in the Old Testament, 
 various and unsatisfactory are the conjectures set forth re 
 garding their parent root or origin. Some; with a good show 
 of plausibility, have attempted to prove that they are of- Jew 
 ish extraction and constitute a remnant of the lost ten tribes 
 of Israel; Jthers as earnestly agree, that they are but a 
 branch or off-shoot from the Tartar, Sclavonic or JTyrus 
 race; while, on the other hand, a class of speculative his 
 torians make bold to assert that they are not of Asiatic line 
 age, and do not, therefore, owe in common with^mankind 
 their descent from Adam. The first view is supported by 
 the Indians themselves, but gives little strength or addition 
 al force to the argument. Whatever value, or otherwise, 
 may be attached to one or all of these theories, which to a 
 large extent they onlv are, one thing is clear and beyond 
 contradiction, that the white people in general have, com 
 paratively speaking, but a very imperfect knowledge of the 
 Indian race. 
 
 "During the earlier period of the history of America, and 
 shortly after its discovery, the monarchs of Europe, fired 
 with the lust of conquest and spoil, attempted, but in vain, 
 to subjugate the Indians and rivet the shackles of slavery 
 upon them. They however, carried this purpose so far into 
 execution, as cruelly to tear them away from their peaceful 
 homes and endeared families, and transported them by 
 thousands into various parts of the world. These unjust 
 proceedings, instead of quenching the indomitable love of 
 liberty, which so strongly and brightly burned in their 
 breasts, served only to arouse the full power of resistance 
 
360 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 against their oppressors, which ultimately had the effect of 
 freeing- them from such bondage. 
 
 Tliey may bury the steel in the Indian s Breast; 
 Thev may lay him low with his sires to rest, 
 His scattered race from their heritage push, 
 But his dauntless spirit they cannot break. 
 
 "From that period up to the present time, the Indians 
 have been and are still receiving everything but justice. In 
 fact ever since the Christian world gained a foot-hold upon 
 the American continent and erected the cross on its shores 
 they have had no rest, but have been defrauded, trodden 
 down, oppressed, scattered, and weakened. Their condi 
 tion has - been one of constant suffering and injustice. 
 Avarice, the demon of civilized man, has worked heavily 
 upon them, the result of which is, that only a sad and melan 
 choly history c-an be written in regard to their past and 
 present conditions. Yet a people possessed of such rare 
 and remarkable traits, should not be permitted to pass away 
 without some notice and record of their history. 
 
 "But how true, wheii nature is wounded through all her 
 dearest ties, she must and will turn on the hand that stabs 
 and endeavor to wrest the poniard from the grasp that 
 aims at the life, pulse of her breast! And this she will do in 
 obedience to that immutable law, which blends the instinct 
 of self-preservation with every atom of human existence. 
 And for this, in less felicitous times, when oppression and 
 war succeeded alternately to each other, was the name 
 Indian blended with the epithet cruel, therefore, when they 
 (the whites) talk or write about the Indians wild, savage, 
 and irreclaimable nature, they speak not nor write as they 
 know or feel, but as they hear, by which and through which 
 they have been educated to regard the Indian race as beings 
 forming a lower link than humanity in the chain of nature, 
 and -finding- only a place for them in the ranks of ferocious 
 beasts of prey; but this, with other innumerable errors of 
 both excusable ignorance, but in most cases, that of inex 
 cusable ignorance and great want of principle, is shamefully 
 unjust; since the Indians cruelty to the White Race as a 
 whole, has not been greater than that practiced upon them 
 by the White Race, proving that they possess as humane 
 dispositions as any nation of people under the same 
 circumstances and in the same state of moral and intellectual 
 culture. 
 
 "As comprising an important chapter of this great sub 
 ject, I will now proceed to give a brief narrative of the Choc- 
 taw tribe of red people their traditions, government, relig"- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 361 
 
 ious belief, customs and manners, anterior to the introduc 
 tion of the gospel among- them. To guard against any 
 misconception, however, I deem it proper to state that their 
 traditions and history are so much commingled, it is difficult 
 to separate them without destroying, in a great measure, the 
 interest of the subject, and I have, therefore, to some ex 
 tent, interwoven them. 
 
 NAME AND MIGRATION FROM THE WEST. THE PRO 
 PHET WARRIOR, AND THE ENCHANTED POLE. " The 
 name Choctaw, or Chahtah is, derived from a pro-- 
 phet warrior who flourished at a time too remote for fixing 
 any date, as it is only handed down by tradition from one gen 
 eration to another. 
 
 "Headed by him, tradition informs us, the people in one 
 grand division migrated to the East from a country far to 
 ward the setting sun, following the Cherokees and Musco- 
 gees, who had moved on, four years previous, in search of a 
 suitable spot for a permanent location. He is said to have 
 been possessed of all the characteristics essential to the car 
 rying out of such an enterprise to a successful termination. 
 His benevolence and many other virtues are still cherished 
 and held in sacred remembrance by his people. The coun 
 try whence they migrated, or the causes which induced them 
 to seek another place of habitation, is wrapt in mysterious 
 oblivion, as their tradition begins abruptly with the epoch of 
 migratfon. In moving from place to place, Chahtah is said 
 to have carried a high staff or pole which, on encamping, was 
 immediately placed in front of his wigwam, where it re 
 mained until they broke up encampment. His wigwam is 
 represented to have been placed in the van of all the tribe. 
 When the pole inclined forward a power which it was be 
 lieved to possess the people prepared to march. This is 
 somewhat analogous to the cloud by day and pillar of fire by 
 night, by which the Lord, through His beloved servant, 
 guided the children of Israel from Egypt. After many 
 years of wanderings, during which "they, in common with 
 Ihose who have ever engaged in similar enterprises, suffered 
 many trials and privations, they at .length- arrived at a cer 
 tain place, where the staff stood still and, instead of bending 
 forward, inclined backward, which was regarded as a sign 
 they were at their journey s end. To this place where the 
 staff stood still, Chahtah gave the name of Nun-nih Wai-ya. 
 The exact period of the termination of their wanderings is 
 unknown. So soon as they got in some degree settled, Chah 
 tah called the warriors together for the purpose of organiz 
 ing a code of laws for their government. At this place of 
 rest, JSTunnih Waiya, the^ built strong fortifications in order 
 
362 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 to protect themselves from any foe who might conceive hos 
 tile intentions against them. Whether or not they were ever 
 assailed sre unknown. The remains of the fortress, how 
 ever, is still to be seen in Mississippi. A long time did not 
 elapse before their newly acquired territory was found to be 
 too limited to hold their rapidly increasing numbers, and 
 they were in consequence compelled to spread themselves 
 over the adjacent country, and form themselves in villages. 
 It is a well authenticated fact that from this out-pouring or 
 scattering, sprung the Indians called Shukchi, Hummas and 
 Yazoos. 
 
 DOMESTIC GOVERNMENT. "In the domestic government 
 the oldest brother or uncle was the head; the parents being 
 required merely to assist in the exercise of this duty by 
 their advice and example. This was similar in a great de 
 gree to the Patriarchal government in vogue among the 
 Jews. 
 
 TRIBAL GOVERNMENT. The tribal or national govern 
 ment was vested in the royal family. Their criminal code 
 was simple in the extreme life for life. For minor offenses 
 they inflicted punishments or imposed fines suited to the 
 nature of the case. They were under the government of 
 custom or common law of the Nation. All their matters of 
 dispute or difficulty were settled in open council. They 
 had no such officers as constables or sheriffs, but the chief 
 had power at any time to order out any number of warriors 
 to > bring offenders to justice. The chief s office was one 
 merely of supremacy or leadership, and consequently there 
 was no pay attached to it as at present. 
 
 IDOLS SPIRITS SACRED FIRES. They never worshiped 
 idols, or any works of their own hands, as other savage 
 nations. They believed in the existence of a Great Spirit, 
 and that He possessed super-natural power, and was omni 
 present, but they did not deem that He expected or required 
 any form of worship of them. They had 110 idea of God as 
 taught by revealed religion no conception of His manifold 
 mercies, or the atonement made for sin. All they felt was a 
 dread of His attributes and character, made (manifest to 
 them by the phenomena of the heavens. But in common 
 w r ith the believers of the Scriptures, they held the doctrine 
 of future rewards and punishments. They differed from 
 them, however, as to the location of heaven and their views 
 of happiness- and misery. Heaven, or the happy hunting 
 grounds, in their imagination, was similar to the Elysian 
 fields of the heathen mythology. There the spirit of those 
 who had been virtuous, honest and truthful, while on earth,, 
 enjoyed, in common with youthful angels, all manner of 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 363 
 
 games and voluptuous pleasures, with no care, no sorrow, 
 nothing- but one eternal round of enjoyment. They be 
 lieved that angels or spirits seldom visited the earth, and 
 cared but very little about doing so, as being supplied in 
 heaven with everything suitable to -their wants, nothing was 
 required from the earth. According to their notion, heaven 
 was located in the southwestern horizon, and spirits, instead 
 of ascending, according to the Christian idea, sped their 
 last journey in a line directly above the surface of the earth 
 in the direction of the southwest horizon. Previous to a 
 spirit s admission into the happv hunting ground, it was ex 
 amined by the attendant angel at the gate, who consigned i.t 
 to heaven or hell according to its deeds on earth. Their hell, 
 or place of punishment, as they termed it, was the reverse 
 of the happy hunting ground a land full of briers, thorns, 
 and every description of prickly plants, which could inflict 
 deep cuts, causing intense pain from which there was no 
 escape; onward they must go no healing oil for their 
 wounds nothing but an eternity of pain no games no 
 voluptuous pleasures nothing save an illimitable land of 
 blasted foliage. 
 
 They also believed in the existence of a devil, whom they 
 designated Na-lusa-chi-to, a great black being, or soul eater, 
 who found full occupation in terrifying and doing all manner 
 of harm to people. He accords well with the one described 
 in the Scriptures; "who goeth about like a roaring lion seek 
 ing whom he may devour." Previous to a spirit winging its 
 flight to the happv hunting ground, or the land of briers and 
 blasted foliage, it was supposed to hover around the place 
 where its tabernacle lay for several days four at least. 
 They believed that the happy hunting ground was at a dis 
 tance of many days journey. When a person died, provis 
 ion was prepared for the journey under the supposition that 
 the departed spirit still possessed hunger. Upon the death 
 of a man, his dog was killed, that its spirit might accompany 
 that of its master. Ponies, after they were introduced, were 
 also killed, that the spirit might ride. They believed that 
 all animals had spirits. During four days a fire was kept 
 kindled a few steps in front of the wigwam of the deceased,* 
 whether the weather was cold or hot. They imagined, that 
 if the spirit found no fire kindled in that manner for his 
 benefit, it would become exceedingly distressed and angry, 
 especially when the night was cold, dark and stormy. A 
 bereaved mother, on the loss of her child, would kindle up a 
 fire and sit by it all night. The wife on the loss of a husband 
 performed the same vigil. In either case a rest in sleep was 
 denied. For six months or more, in case of the death of a 
 
364 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 chief, the sorrowing and mourning relations indicated their 
 grief in many ways. The men, in the early part of their- 
 time of mourning, remained silent and subdued, ate very 
 sparingly, and abstained from all kinds of amusements, and 
 from decking themselves out in their usual manner; the 
 women did the same, with this difference, that they remained 
 at home prostrated with grief their hair streaming over 
 their shoulders, unoiled and undressed, being seated on 
 skins close to the place of burial or sacred fire. They not 
 unfrequently broke the silence of sadness by heart piercing 
 exclamations expressive of their grief. For a long time they 
 would continue to visit the grave regularly morning and even 
 ing to mourn and weep. 
 
 MODE OF BURIAL BONE-PICKERS. ORIGIN OF THE MIS 
 SISSIPPI MOUNDS. l The mode of burial practiced by the 
 Choctaws consisted in placing the corpse five or six feet 
 from the ground upon a platform of rough timber made for 
 that purpose, covered with a rough kind of cloth of their 
 own making, or skins of wild animals and bark of trees. 
 After remaining in that condition until the flesh had very 
 nearly or altogether decayed, the bones were then taken 
 down by the bone-pickers (persons appointed for that duty) 
 and carefully put in wooden boxes made for that purpose, 
 which were placed in a house built and set apart for them. 
 These were called bone-houses;- whenever they became full, 
 the bones were all taken out and carefully arranged to a con 
 siderable height somewhat in the form of a pyramid or cone, 
 and a layer of earth put over them. This custom, which 
 prevailed among many different tribes, is, no doubt, the or 
 igin of the Indian mounds, as they are generally called, 
 which are found in various parts of the country, -particularly 
 in the States of Mississippi and Alabama, formerly the home 
 of the Choctaws. When the custom of placing the dead 
 upon platforms was abandoned, which met with strong op 
 position, they buried their dead in a sitting posture in the 
 grave ; around the grave they set half a dozen red poles about 
 eight feet high, ancf one about fifteen feet high, at the top of 
 which a white flag was fastened. The occupation of the 
 bone-pickers having been abolished, it then became their 
 business to make and set up red poles around the graves, 
 and afterwards to remove them at the expiration of the time 
 of mourning, and hence they were called pole-pullers. They 
 were respected by the people, and for less labor being im 
 posed upon them, they were pleased with the change in the 
 burial of the dead. At the pole-pullings, which as stated, 
 was at the expiration of the time of mourning, a vast collec 
 tion of people would assemble to join in a general mourning. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 365 
 
 After much food had been consumed they would disperse to 
 their respective homes, and the. mourning- relations w^puld oil 
 their hair and dress up as usual. 
 
 TRADITION OF THE FLOOD. The tradition, as related by 
 wise men of the Nation, about the flood, is as follows: A 
 long- continued night came upon the land, which created no 
 small degree of fear and uneasiness among the people. 
 Their fears were increased at seeing the terrible buffaloes, 
 and the fleet deer making their appearance, and after them 
 the bears and panthers, wolves, and others approaching their 
 habitations; suspicious at first of their intentions, they 
 thought of placing themselves beyond the reach of the more 
 dangerous animals, but instead of exhibiting any disposition 
 of ferocity, they seemed rather to claim protection at their 
 hands. This presented an opportunity of having a jubilee 
 of feasting, and they therefore indulged themselves to the 
 fullest bent of their propensity and inclinations by an indis 
 criminate massacre of the animals. Having thus feasted for 
 some time, they at last saw daylight appearing. But what 
 surprised them much, was, they saw it coming from the 
 north. They were at a loss what to think of it. They, 
 however, supposed that the sun must have missed his path, 
 and was coming up from another direction, which caused 
 the unusual long night, or perhaps he had purposely changed 
 his course, to rise hereafter in the north instead of the east. 
 While such conjectures were making, some fast runners 
 arrived as messengers coming from the direction of the sup 
 posed day light, and announced to them that the light which 
 they saw was not the day light, but that it was a flood slowly 
 approaching, dro\vning and destroying everything. Upon 
 this report the people fled to the mountains, and began to 
 construct rafts of sassafras wood, binding them together 
 with vines, believing this expedient would save them from a 
 watery grave. But alas, delusive hope! fed* the bears were 
 swimming around in countless numbers, being very fond of 
 vine twigs gnawed them through, thereby setting loose the 
 materials of the raft, and bringing the people under dark 
 waters. Their cries, wailing and agony, were unheard and 
 unseen. But there was one man who prepared and launched 
 a strong peni or boat, into which he placed his family and 
 provisions and thus floated upon the deep waters. For 
 days the Penikbi (boat builder) strained his eyes looking all 
 around for the purpose of discovering the existence of 
 some animal life, and a place at which to anchor his vessel. 
 
 "Nothing met his sight save the cheerlees waste of 
 waters. The hawks, eagles and other birds of the same 
 class, had all, when they found that the tops of the moun- 
 
366 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 tains could not render them a lighting- place from the flood, 
 flown to the sky and clung- on to it with their talons, and re 
 mained until the flood abated, when they returned to their 
 old haunts and resumed their natural propensities and 
 habits. An indication of the disappearing- of the flood thus 
 manifested itself. A crow made its appearance and so much 
 delig-hted to see the boat, that it flew around and around it. 
 The Penikbi, overjoyed beyond measure, addressed the 
 sable bird, wishing- to elicit some information from it as to 
 whereabouts, and whether or not the flood was subsiding 
 any, but it heeded him not, seeming to be determined to con 
 sult its own safety before that of any One else; but scarcely 
 had the crow winged away from the peni before a dove was 
 described flying towards it, and 011 reaching it, the Penikbi 
 with joy perceived a leaf in its bill. It flew several times 
 around but did not alight; after doing so took its course 
 slowly flying toward the west, but seemingly anxious that 
 Penikbi would steer in the direction it flew, which he did 
 faithfully following the course. In this way many a weary 
 mile was traveled, before seeing a place to land. At length 
 a mountain became visible, and never did a benighted ma 
 riner hail the sight of land as Penikbi did, when its sum 
 mit became visible. When he had safely landed, the dove 
 flew away to return no more. Though this diluvial story is 
 in some respects absurd, still, the intelligible portions of 
 it concide with those evidences which are embalmed in the 
 convictions and understanding of the Christian world, in 
 the authenticity of the inspired Word. It is strange that 
 the Choctaws should have been in possession of those par 
 ticulars long before the white man spread before them the 
 pages of life." 
 
 Ancient Choctaw tradition affirms that a drouth followed 
 by a famine in corn, peas, beans, etc., prevailed throughout 
 their country far back in the days of their forefathers, which 
 continued over three years; that all the tributaries of the 
 Tanapoh Ikbi (Gun Maker), now known as the Tombigbee 
 river, together with all the lakes and jionds, were completely 
 dried up; that the river ceased to run, the water standing 
 only in holes here and there, that all the larger game left 
 the country, going west; that the buffalo, then inhabit 
 ing their country, never returned. Does this tradition point 
 back to those remote ages in which the Prophet of God and 
 king Ahab figured? This t/aditioiial drouth of the Choctaws 
 continued over three years, that of the Prophet three and a 
 half years. Did it extend to the western continent, or did 
 the tradition refer back prior to their ancestors migration 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 367 
 
 from the eastern to the western continent, the Tanapoh Ikbi 
 and the buffalo being- additions of a future generation? 
 
 IKSA: "The Choctaws were divided into various clans 
 called Iksa, established and regulated upon principles of 
 unity, fiidelity and charity. They held this to be a neces 
 sary and important custom to be sacredly kept and inviola 
 bly observed by them at all times and under all circumstan 
 ces, and never to be forgotten. If one should be found 
 in a strange place far from home, and should be placed 
 in a situation to need assistance, all he had to do was 
 to give the necessary intimation of his membership of one 
 of those Iksas, and upon the mention of the name of that clan 
 he would never fail to meet one or more, who would immedi 
 ately extend to him the hand of friendship. Should he be 
 sick, in want or in distress, relief would be immediately 
 administered. The marriage of persons belonging- to the 
 same Iksa was forbidden by the common law of the tribe. 
 The brotherly love, so strongly inculcated and highly recom, 
 mended in the Inspired Volume, was to a great extent prac 
 ticed under this sort of arrangement. It was considered 
 that the Nation could not exist without the Iksa. One Iksa 
 piled the bones, and buried the dead of another. No Iksa 
 performed these last offices to any of its own Iksa. Each 
 had their bone-pickers old men being usually chosenf or that 
 purpose and were held in high esteem on account of their 
 age and office. 
 
 DOCTORS: "I believe it is an acknowledged fact, there is 
 no nation in existence, or has ever existed, but has had doc 
 tors. This shows the importance of the profession. The 
 Choctaws also were not without them. But perhaps with the 
 advantage over all others, of having as many of the female as 
 of the male sex, who were quite as successful in their prac 
 tice as the latter. The doctors made use of herbs and roots 
 in various forms, applied and given in different modes for 
 emetics, cathartics, sweats, wounds and sores ; they also 
 made use of cold baths, scarification, cupping and blistered 
 by means of burning punk, and practiced suction to draw 
 out pain; some used enchantment, while others practiced by 
 magic, pretending to have learned the art of healing, Mor 
 mon-like, by special revelation, communicated to them in 
 some retired and unfrequented forest. It was in this way, 
 also, it was said, that the war-prophets were raised up to 
 lead the people to battle. At a high price and much expense 
 the doctors of both sexes learned the mode and manner of 
 the use of herbs and roots. It is a fact worthy of remark, 
 that even now many of them are in possession of some use 
 ful and important means of cure. They have, among other 
 
368 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 thing s, an effectual remedy for the bite of the rattle-snake, 
 or of any other venomous reptile, the bite of which they 
 consider very easy of cure. 
 
 MESMERISM. "Mesmerism was known among them, 
 though they regarded it with wonder and dread, 
 and it was looked upon as injurious and 
 hurtful in its results; while those who prac 
 ticed this curious art had often to pay very dearly for it, 
 for they were frequently put to death. Ventriloquism has 
 also been found among them, and used solely for vain, self 
 ish and evil designs, but to the great danger of the life of the 
 person practicing it, for the Choctaws believe that whatever 
 appears supernatural, is suspicious and likely at any time 
 to be turned to evil purposes. 
 
 ECLIPSES. BLACK SQUIRRELS EATING UP THE SUN. "Be 
 fore correctly understanding the true causes of the eclipses 
 of the sun, all heathen nations have had their superstitious 
 belief in regard to them. It was so with the Choctaws. 
 Their notions were strange indeed. When t]ie sun began to 
 get less in his brightness, and g row dark ancT obscure, they 
 believed that some thereal black squirrels of large size, 
 driven by hunger, had commenced eating him and were going 
 to devour him. With this belief they thought it was their 
 duty to make every exertion they could to save the great 
 luminary of day from being consumed by them. Therefore 
 every -person, both men, women and children, w r ho could 
 make a noise, were called upon to join in the effort to drive 
 the squirrels away. To do this they would begin in the 
 same manne^ as persons generallv do in trying to start a 
 squirrel off from a tree. Some would throw sticks towards 
 the declining sun, whooping and yelling, at the same time 
 shooting arrows toward the supposed black squirrels. 
 
 DANCES. "They had various kinds of dances as well as 
 other people, many of which were, however, insignificant 
 and do not deserve a notice here; but there were others 
 which were -considered important and national, such as the 
 ball-play dance, the war-dance, eagle-dance, and scalp-dance, 
 all of which seem to have been the result of rude and savage 
 ideas. The training of their young men consisted princi 
 pally in three things; viz.: War, hunting;, and ball-playjng. 
 The last was a national play with ball-sticks, in which they 
 all took much pride. In that for war, the young men were 
 required to pass through many hard exercises of the body 
 in order to inure them to hardships and suffering. They 
 were required to receive inflictions of tortures on their 
 naked bodies, once a year, and also to plunge into deep water 
 and dive four times in about one minute, during one of the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 369 
 
 cold and frosty morning s. Lectures on the subject of 
 bravery and sincerity, truth and justice, towards their 
 friends, were often given them by some of the bravest of 
 their head-men. In fact, no other, person was allowed to ad 
 dress the young, or the people at any time, but those only 
 whose bravery had been long known and acknowledged 
 among- them. They were also carefully drilled in the use of 
 the bow, with which they were expert and perfect. They 
 would hardly ever miss a deer or turkey at the distance of 
 fifty yards. 
 
 "The girls were trained up to perform various kinds of 
 domestic employments, as well as to work in the field, which 
 was but little at that time. They took no small degree of 
 pride in the latter, viewing it as a proper sphere for their ex 
 ertions. The women would ridicule and laugh at the inen 
 who would dare to undertake that kind of labor, which was 
 considered a.s properly belonging to the women. Their 
 maxim was men for war and hunting; while home is the 
 place for women, and theirs the duty to work. 
 
 ANCIENT CHOCTAW COURTSHIP: "When the young Choc- 
 taw beau went the first time to see his Fair Oiie, after 
 having resolved upon matrimony, he tested his own standing 
 in the estimation of his anticipated bride by indifferently 
 walking into the room where she is seated with the rest of 
 the family, and, during the general conversation, he sought 
 and soon found an opportunity to shoot, slyly and unobserv 
 ed, a little stick or small pebble at her. She soon ascertained 
 the source whence they came, and fully comprehended the 
 signification of those little messengers of love. If approved, 
 she returned them as slyly and silently as they came. If 
 not, she suddenly sprang from her seat, "turned a frowning 
 face of disapproval upon him and silently left the room. 
 That ended the matter, though not a word had been spoken 
 between them. But when the little tell-tales skipped back 
 to him from her fingers, followed by a pair of black eyes 
 peeping out from under their Ipng, silken eye-lashes, he joy 
 fully comprehended the import and, in. a few minutes, arose 
 and, as he started toward the door, he repeated his informal 
 Eali (I go), upon which a response of assent was given by 
 the father or mother in the equally informal Omih (very 
 well). 
 
 He returned in two or three days, however, with a few 
 presents for the parents, and to secure their approval. 
 Which being obtained, a day was appointed for the marriage 
 a feast prepared and friends invited. When all had assem 
 bled, the groom was placed in one room and the bride in 
 another and the doors closed. A distance of two or three 
 
370 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. * 
 
 hundred yards was then measured off, and at the farther end 
 a little pole, neat and straight was set up. Then, at a given 
 signal, the door of the bride s room was thrown open, and 
 at once she spring s out and starts for the pole with the 
 lightness and swiftness of an antelope. As soon as she has 
 gotten a few rods the start, enough for her to keep him from 
 overtaking- her if she was so inclined, the door of his room 
 was thrown open, and away he runs with seemingly super 
 human speed, much to the amusement of the spectators. 
 Often, as if to try the sincerity of his affection, she did not 
 let him overtake her until within a few feet of the pole; and 
 sometimes, when she had changed her *mind in regard to 
 marrying- him, she did not let him overtake her, which was 
 public acknowledgement of the tact, and the groom made the 
 race but to be grievously disappointed but such a result 
 seldom happened. As soon as he caught her, after an ex 
 change of a word or two, he gently led her back by the hand, 
 and were met about half way by the lady friends of the 
 bride, who took her from the hands of the groom yielding 
 to their demands with seeming reluctance, and led her back 
 into the yard to a place in front of the house previously pre 
 pared for her, and seated her upon a blanket spread upon the 
 ground. A circle of women immediately formed around her. 
 each holding in their hands the various kinds of presents 
 hey intended to bestow upon her as a bridal gift. Then 
 one after another in short intervals began to cast her presents 
 on the head of the seated bride, at which momenta first-class 
 grab-game was introduced. For the moment a present fell 
 upon her waiting head it was snatched therefrom by some 
 one of the party a dozen or more making a grab for it at the 
 same instant regardless of the suffering 1 bride, who was often 
 pulled hither and thither by the snatchers eager fingers be 
 coming entangled in her long, black ringlets. When the 
 presents had all been thus disposed of, the bride not receiv 
 ing a single article, the twain were pronounced one man 
 and \yife; then the feast was served, after which all returned 
 to their respective homes with merry and happy hearts." 
 
 As the land was free to all, the happy groom, a few 
 days aftar his nuptials, erected with the assistance of his 
 friends, a neat little cabin in some picturesque grove by the 
 side of some bubbling spring or on the banks of some rip 
 pling brook. A small iron kettle in which to boil their veni 
 son, and a. wooden bowl in which to put it when cooked, 
 were sufficient culinary utensils for the young house-keep 
 ers. They needed no mahogany tables or carved chairs, for, 
 they sat, as the Orientals, upon the ground. The bowl with 
 its contents was placed in the centre of the cabin and the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 371 
 
 husband and wife sat around it, and with the wooden or horn 
 spoon, helped themselves one after the other. If they had 
 guests the same rule of etiquette was observed each one 
 being* free to make a dip with the spoon into the contents 
 of the bowl, thence to the mouth, in regular turn. 
 
 Ta-ful-a, (Tomfuller), was their favorite and hence 
 standing dish, and is to this day. It consists of corn, pound 
 ed in a wooden mortar with a wooden pestle to take off the 
 husks, then thoroughly boiled; sometimes peas or beans are 
 mixed and cooked with it, then it is called Tafula tabi ibu- 
 Ihto. 
 
 Then v again, hickory or walnut kernels or meats are 
 mixed and cooked with it; it is then called Tafula oksak nip- 
 ibulhto; if walnut kernels, then it is called Tafula ok-sak- 
 hahe (walnut) nipi ibulhto. 
 
 They used a very pleasant beverage of acidulated fo-i 
 (honey) and o-ka, (water); also they made a very palatable 
 jelly from the pounded roots of the China brier, strained 
 through baskets, and mixing the dried farina with honey. 
 They pounded hickory and walnuts together, and having pass 
 ed them through boiling water, and then through strainers of 
 fine basket work, it produced an inspissated liquor, the color 
 and consistency of cream, and richer and of finer flavor. 
 
 LAWS Of the Choctaws regulating the marriage of 
 white men to the Choctaw women: 
 
 Whereas, the Choctaw Nation is being filled up with 
 white persons of worthless characters by so-called marriages 
 to the great injury of the Choctaw people. 
 
 Section 1st. Be it enacted by the General Council of the 
 Choctaw Nation assembled: That the peace and prosperity 
 of the Choctaw people require that any white man or citizen 
 of the United States, or of any foreign government, desiring 
 to marry a Choctaw woman, citizen of the Choctaw Nation, 
 shall be and is hereby required to obtain a license for the 
 same, from any of the Circuit Clerks or Judges of a Court 
 of Record, and make oath, or satisfactory showing to such 
 Clerk or Judge, that he has not a surviving wife from 
 whom he has not been lawfully divorced, and unless such 
 information be freely furnished to the satisfaction of the 
 Clerk or Judge no license shall issue. 
 
 Section 2nd. Be it further enacted: That every white 
 man or person applying for a license as provided in pre 
 ceding section of this act, shall before obtaining the same, 
 be required to present to the said Clerk or Judge a certifi 
 cate of good moral character, signed by at least ten respect 
 able Choctaw citizens by blood, who shall have been ac- 
 
372 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 quainted with him at least twelve months immediately pre 
 ceding- the signing- of such certificate. 
 
 3rd. Be it further enacted, before any license as herein 
 provided shall be issued; the person applying shall be, and is 
 hereby required to pay to the Clerk or Judge, the sum of 
 twenty-fi\Le dollars, and be also required to take the following- 
 oath : I do solemnly swear that I will honor, defend and sub 
 mit to the Constitution and Laws of the Choctaw Nation, and 
 will neither claim nor seek from the United States Govern 
 ment, or from the Judicial Tribunals thereof any protection, 
 privilege or redress incompatible with the same, as guaran 
 teed to the Choctaw Nation by the treaty stipulations enter 
 ed between them, so help me God. 
 
 Sec. 4th. Marriages contracted under the provisions of 
 this act, shall be solemnized as provided by the laws of this 
 Nation or otherwise null and void. 
 
 Sec. 5th. No marriages between a citizen of the United 
 States, or any foreign Nation, and a female citizen of this 
 Nation, entered into within the limits of this Nation, except 
 hereinbefore authorized and provided, shall be legal, and 
 ever} 7 person who shall engag-e and assist in solemnizing 
 such marriage, shall upon conviction before the Circuit 
 Court of the District of this Nation, be fined fifty dollars, 
 and it shall be the duty of the prosecuting attorney of the 
 District in which said" person resides to prosecute such per 
 son before the Circuit Court, and one-half of all fines arising 
 under this act, shall be equally divided between^ the sheriff 
 and prosecuting attorney. 
 
 Sec. 6th. Every person performing the marriage cere 
 mony under the authority of a license provided for herein, 
 shall be required to attach a certificate to the back of the 
 license and return it to the person in whose behalf it was is 
 sued, who shall within thirty days therefrom place the same 
 in the hands of the Circuit Clerk, whose duty it shall be to 
 record the same, and return it to the owner. 
 
 Section 7th. Be it further enacted: that should any man 
 or woman, a citizen of the United States, or of any foreign 
 country, become a citizen of the Choctaw Nation by inter 
 marriage and be left a widow or widower, shall continue to 
 enjoy the rights of citizenship, unless he or she shall marry 
 a white man or white woman, a citizen of the United States, 
 or of any foreign government, as the case may be, having- no 
 rights of Choctaw citizenship by blood; in that case, all his 
 or her rights acquired under the provision of this act shall 
 cease. 
 
 Section 8th. Every person who shall lawfully marry 
 under the provision of this act, and after abandon his wife, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 373 
 
 shall forfeit every right of citizenship and shall be considered 
 intruders and removed from this Nation by order of the 
 principal Chief. 
 
 Sectioiv 9th. Be it further enacted; that this act take 
 effect and be in force from and after its passage. 
 
 Proposed by Ishain Walker. 
 
 Passed the House, November 6, 1875, J. White, speaker. 
 
 Passed the Senate, November 9, 1875, J. B. Moore, Pres 
 ident Senate. 
 
 Approved, November 9, 1875, Cole man Cole, P. C., Choc- 
 taw Nation. 
 
 I hereby certify that the foregoing act in relation to 
 white men marrying an Indian woman, or white woman 
 marrying-, e c , is a true and correct copy from the Original 
 Bill now on file in my office. In testimony whereof I have 
 hereunto set my hand and and affixed the seal of the Choc- 
 taw Nation. 
 
 This the 9th day of October, 1884. 
 
 THOMPSON McKiNNEY, 
 National Secretary Choctaw Nation. 
 
 It no doubt would have been better for the Choctaws, if 
 they had strictly adhered to a resolution drawn up and 
 adopted in an ancient council of their tribe. A white man 
 at an early day, came into their country, and in the course 
 of time married a Choctaw girl and as a natural result, a 
 child was born. Soon after the arrival of the little stranger, 
 (the first of its type among them), a council was called to 
 consider the propriety of permitting white men to marry 
 the women of the Choctaws. If it was permitted, they 
 argued, the whites would become more numerous and event 
 ually destroy their national characteristics. Therefore it 
 was determined to stop all future marriages between the 
 Choctaws and the White Race, and at once, ordered the 
 white man to leave their country, and the child killed. A 
 committee w r as appointed to carry the decision into execu 
 tion, yet felt reluctant to kill the child. In the meantime, 
 the mother, hearing of the resolution passed by the council, 
 hid the child, and when the committee arrived they failed to 
 find it, and willingly reported that the Great Spirit had taken 
 it away. The mother kept it concealed for several weeks, 
 and then secretly brought it back one night, and told her 
 friends the next morning that the Great Spirit had returned 
 during the night with her child and placed it by her side as 
 she slept. The committee had previously, decided,- how 
 ever, that if ever the child returned it might live; but if it 
 never came back, they then would know that the Great 
 Spirit had taken it. The boy was ever afterwards regarded 
 
374 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 as being- under the special care of the Great Spirit, and be 
 came a chief of their Nation. The law was repealed; the 
 father re-called and adopted as one of the tribe; and thus 
 the custom of adopting- the white man originated and has so 
 continued from that day to this so affirms one of their 
 ancient traditions, those Indian caskets filled with documents 
 from the remote past, but which have long since passed into 
 the region of accepted fables. 
 
 As proof that the North American Indian has love for 
 country and home, I will here insert the following- (never be 
 fore published) taken from the original MS., written by Rev. 
 Israel Folsom, just before his people were driven from their 
 ancient possessions east of the Mississippi river to thef r 
 present place of abode. Their lands had been promised to 
 the Choctaws u as long- as water should run and grass should 
 grow." 
 
 THE INDIAN S SONG. LO! THE POOR INDIAN S HOPE. 
 
 "Land where brightest M aters flow, 
 Land where loveliest forests grow 
 Where warriors drew the bow- 
 Native land farewell . 
 
 "He who made yon stream and tree, 
 Made the White, the Red man free, 
 Gave the Indian s home to be 
 Mid the forest s wilds. 
 
 "Have the waters ceased to flow? 
 Have the forests ceased to grow? 
 Why do our brothers bid us go 
 From our native home? 
 
 "Here in infancy we played, 
 
 Here our happy wigwams made, 
 Here our fathers bones are laid 
 Must we leave them all ? 
 
 White men tell us of God on high. 
 So pure and bright in yonder sky 
 Will not then His searching eye 
 See the Indians wrong?" 
 
 The following- is from the pen of a missionary who has 
 long- labored among the Choctaws and knew of what he 
 spoke, ana is sufficient testimony of the moral worth of him 
 of whom he wrote : 
 
 "CHOCTAW NATION, April 9, 1885. 
 "Dear Brother Murrow : 
 
 U I write you a sad letter. Our old Brother Peter Folsom 
 is d ead. He was taken sick the first day of April, and has- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 375 
 
 been growing worse ever since. He died to-day. I am writ 
 ing- by his beloved body. His spirit is in heaven. I can write 
 no more. Please publish his death in the Champion, that all 
 friends may know. 
 
 "Your brother in Christ, 
 
 "SIMON HANDCOCK." 
 
 Such was the sad news that reached me. I knew Bro. 
 Folsom personally for twenty-seven years. Truly, a great 
 man has fallen. He was great first and chief est, because 
 he was good. He was good in a moral and Christian sense. 
 He was the first Choctaw who united with a Baptist church. 
 This was in the year 1829. No charge of unfaithfulness to 
 Christ has ever been made against him for over fifty years. 
 He was an eloquent and active preacher of the Gospel. He 
 established a number of churches, and developed and train 
 ed excellent pastors for them all. He might appropriately 
 be termed the father of the Baptist mission work in the 
 Choctaw Nation. His piety was known and read of all men. 
 He enjoyed the confidence and esteem of everybody red, 
 white and black. He walked with God, and is not, for God 
 has taken him. 
 
 Second. "He was great, because he was useful as a; 
 citizen. Uncle Peter was a true Choctaw. He loved his 
 people; he sought their interests. For many years he was 
 a prominent man in the councils and national affairs. He 
 was a safe and wise counselor; was never accused of betraying 
 a party to any crookedness nor a member of any ring. He 
 often represented his Nation at Washington City. While 
 there he always maintained his moral, upright character. 
 His religion and purity were not left at home. 
 
 "Third he was great, because he was charitable; 
 But the greatest of these is charity, or love. I think Uncle 
 Peter loved everybody and everything that was good . His 
 heart, his home, his purse were always open. Indeed, he 
 was, perhaps, too charitable, for he was often imposed upon. 
 The poor, the needy, the distressed, whether red, white or 
 black, were never turned from him without help or comfort. 
 For many years he enjoyed a competency of this world s 
 goods, for he was a good manager. But the war broke him 
 up, and he died in poverty. And yet he held an interest in a 
 large and just claim against the United States Government. 
 A claim> recognized by Congress as just and ordered paid. 
 Technicalities and red-tape delays hindered this payment. 
 O what a shame! A rich and prosperous Government, with 
 millions piled up in the treasury vault, owing money justly 
 to a feeble people who need it, and who die in poverty and 
 
376 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 suffering- for the want of it. But our brother needs it not 
 now. He is free from poverty and injustice. He is rich 
 and happy." 
 
 "J. L. MURROW." 
 
 Rev. .Peter Folsom had two sons Jerry and. William. 
 He had also three daughters Susan Francis, Sophia and 
 Kizia all of the daughters are deceased. 
 
 Judge Loring- Folsom, now the only surviving- child of 
 Colonel David Folsom and his first wife, Rhoda Nail, was 
 long one of the leading men of the Choctaw Nation, but re 
 tired from the political arena several years ago, and has ever 
 since been living in peace and quiet on his farm one and a 
 half miles south of the town of Caddo, which took its name 
 from a tribe of Indians whom the Choctaws defeated in bat 
 tle on a group of high hills at the base of which Judge Loring 
 Folsom now lives. This was the last battle in which the Choc- 
 taws were ever engaged as a Nation. In this the sun of 
 their military glory went down to be followed by no return 
 ing morn. 
 
 But no study is needed to ascertain that Judge Loring 
 Folsom is also a genuine man; a man from all dissimulation 
 free a characteristic so notable of the Choctaws and ever 
 wearing a ch eerful face, so indicative of the warm feelings 
 of a kind and generous friend. His natural disposition is 
 remarkably amiable, being endowed with a gentleness of 
 manner and delicacy of feeling, which to the casual observer 
 would not at first indicate that inflexible firmness which 
 he always manifests in determining questions of duty. 
 
 He filled the high and responsible position of Circuit 
 Judge in his district for nearly twenty years, with credit 
 and honor; though retired to private life, like his amiable 
 father, .he possesses a strong, clear mind, which he has cul 
 tivated with assiduous success, in consequence of which he 
 has obtained a large amount of general information, by ex 
 tensive reading, close observation and mature reflection. 
 He is well posted in all the political affairs of his own na 
 tion, and also of the United States. His whole public life, in 
 all the different and responsible fields in which he has been 
 called by his people to labor, attest the purity and loftiness 
 of its tone and purpose. He is a man of distinct individual 
 ity, yet in all his conduct, he is ever animated by the purest 
 motives arid an inflexible love of truth and justice, tha would 
 be. of great advantage to all to put into practice the noble 
 principles that animate the breast and govern the actions of 
 Judge Loring Folsom. 
 
 THE Two FRIENDS THE RED AND THE WHITE. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 377 
 
 During* my travels in the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations in 
 1884, I arrived one evening- the 19th of June, at the quiet and 
 unostentatious village of Doaksville one among- the first 
 towns located in their present country when arriving from 
 their ancient domains east of the Mississippi river, in the 
 year 1832. It soon becamea place of considerable trade; 
 but ultimately proving- to be very sickly it was nearly aban 
 doned; and, at the time I visited it, was but a relic of the 
 past w T ith Ichabod as an appropriate epitaph having- only 
 one small dry goods store and eig-ht or ten resident houses. 
 My object in visiting- it was to find a Choctaw friend, one 
 among- the few then living- and known as friend in- the 
 broadest sense of the word, in days of the long ago. On 
 entering the little place I found many Choctaws there of 
 both sexes and of all ages, the store full within and its im 
 mediate environments covered with diversified groups of 
 men, women and children sitting and standing. I asked a 
 Choctaw man standing near, if he knew Henry Folsorn, and 
 if he was in the town? Looking around a mornent he pointed 
 to a group of men a short distance away and said: "Yum- 
 mun-o (that one) chish-no (you) pisah (see) pil-lah (yonder). 
 Dismounting I slowly walked towards the group with fixed 
 eyes upon him who, I had just been told, was the object .of 
 my search. As I approached, all eyes of the little group 
 turned upon me with inquisitive gaze; but, by my steady 
 look at him alone, he seemed intuitively to know that he was 
 the one I sought; acting accordingly, he quietly arose and 
 advanced, with measured steps, to meet me looking straight 
 into my face. As each approached the other, I recognized 
 the features and knew twas he the long lost friend of the 
 far distant past though now in the dignity and the sadness 
 of his reclining years; once more, after so many years, I 
 looked upon him, whom of all others, aside from kindred ties, 
 I loved as one among the best of earthly friends, and knew 
 I was thus to him; and again felt the strange magnetic charm 
 of his noble soul, so well known in days of yore and remem 
 bered still; for he had stood to me during all the vears for 
 all that was good, a perfect type of friendship "true, and 
 honor without alloy. As we drew nearer, I saw also, that 
 o er him hung the shadows of fragile health, and thought 
 tis but the old type of receding years. , 
 
 We met, he paused a moment, Surprised and uncertain. 
 Ah! that long past time was now so dim to him, and many 
 remembrances had been so merged in the vicissitudes and 
 misfortunes that it was difficult to call them up. Alas, I 
 saw too that his eyes, so victorious in youth, so unsparing 
 in their attraction, now gazed into mine with painful desola- 
 
378 HISTORY OF TftE INDIANS. 
 
 tion. Truly, weary and time-worn was he; while in his 
 hands seemed an hour-glass whence the last sands of Hfe 
 were slowly but surely falling 1 . I looked upon his wrinkled 
 brow as memories uncalled rushed upon me, and with ex 
 tended hand, said: Henry, friend of my youth, have you 
 forgotten me? Grasping my offered hand he replied: "For 
 gotten my earliest friend ! never ! Wrong me not thus! 
 Much of my life now seems a blank to me, and our re-union 
 in this our decline of life gives me joy." Reader, there are 
 no words for such a re-union. Yet, this much I can and will 
 unfold. We met the red and the white as ardent friends 
 only can and do meet enough for thee to know. 
 
 Henry, how many joyous reminiscences as well as 
 blighted hopes do thy name and face now arouse from their 
 long sleep amid the scenes and events experienced together 
 in the years now so far behind ! 
 
 "Cush, I rejoice for what I bestowed and regret what I 
 took away. But are not what you call blighted hopes oft 
 changed into fruits of good ? " 
 
 Even so, Henry. But the years, how swiftly have they 
 seemed to speed away since we drifted apart ! 
 
 "True, and much older are we now." 
 
 Yet Henry! how the forms and faces of loved one, long- 
 since recorded among the dead, seem to rise up before me 
 now as they have not done for years before. 
 
 "Yes, friend Cush, like sprigs cast upon the waters of 
 a turbid stream they have been swept apart to meet on earth 
 no more. But how is it that w r e ve never met upon the 
 high-ways of life, until in this my home of retirement and 
 solitude?" 
 
 Oft I ve heard of you and thus kept upon your trail; 
 have suffered with you and your race in the bitterness of 
 your wrongs; have gloried in your patient endurance, though 
 distant away. Yet, you and your people seem to have made 
 a noble use of your adversity. 
 
 "Ah, old friend of better days, I m heart-sick of the 
 eternal babbling of the white people about my race and its 
 so-called worthlessness. It is your race (no reflections upon 
 you) who blinded us but to deceive; yours, who was never 
 satisfied until it had won our confidence only to violate it; 
 yours, who curse us, in right and in w r rong; yours, who, if 
 you see us at peace, imagine your lives are endangered and 
 drive peace away; yours, who eternally rants at us as 
 savages, yet little know and less care, that their mockery 
 destroys more lives than it has ever saved." 
 
 He thus spoke in passionate yet sad and mournful tones. 
 I made no reply. How could I when feeling the truth of his 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 379 
 
 words so deeply? Yet, with the thoughts of other days 
 which my presence had called up so unexpectedly, there 
 seemed as suddenly to steal on him one fresh, soft and lov 
 ing- memory that of our joyous boyhood s days. "Friend 
 of my youth," in calm and gentle tones he said; "Pardon 
 me! I did not wish to speak of those thing s, but they came 
 up uncalled. In the bliss of my early life, and in which you, 
 old friend, was a large sharer, Llooked upon the W.hite Race 
 with a wonder, in which mingled much of admiration, but 
 more of veneration, when first presented to me in its repre 
 sentative, the noble self-sacrificing white missionary. But 
 I learned, as I grew on to manhood, that th,er^e were few, 
 very few white missionaries among the White Race; but that 
 the animal lusts and the evil leaven, venality, lay concealed 
 seemingly- in the purest forms of its nature ready to rouse 
 and glut its insatiate appetite in the destruction of my race. 
 But because the White Race has destroyed my own, I would 
 not stoop so low as to deny the power of its cultivated intel 
 lect. It is worthy of its fame; but not, that I acknowledge 
 its superiority over that of the red, only in the cultivation. 
 But regard me none the better, friend Cush, that I thus 
 speak; for there are still times in hours of reflection, if a 
 reckoning could come between my race and thine, in which I 
 could resort to deadly weapons, I, with my race entire, would, 
 though few and feeble, deal with the common destrover hand 
 to hand and blow for blow." 
 
 , But, friend Henry, has not the United States Govern 
 ment manifested much lenity towards your race? Instantly 
 he replied in an excited and high tone of voice. "Lenity! 
 lenity! did you say: Alas! we are but the miserable wards 
 of a tyrannical government." 
 
 There was the vibration of deep and intense feeling in 
 his words, as he thus continued: "Have not the misguiding 
 influences of the whites hurled down to ruin the manhood of 
 my race, by the mighty arm of superior numbers and imple 
 ments of war; and then by the taunts, mockery, injury, hate 
 and cruelty with which it has always been requited for nobly 
 resisting aggression, oppression, outrage and extermination? 
 Surely, it would be super-human if, through the countless 
 years of unmerited wrong, and the constant banishments 
 from all it once owned arid loved, it had not despaired, long 
 since, of all hope or belief in truth and justice earthly or 
 divine; wiping out in their "helpless victims all higher in 
 stincts, all appearance of honor, all purity of conscience; 
 that if possible, even at the end, their hopes might be re 
 warded in fruition; that, under the weight of accumulated 
 wrongs, long-chained passions and long-strained endurance 
 
330, HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. :.;/" 
 
 might give way, and find their fall in dealing in retribution, 
 though it be in the justice of some avenging wrong. ". u r .. ; 
 
 I freely, but not without shame, confess, Henry, that all 
 you have stated is but truth and only truth. Yet, I rejoice 
 in also knowing the truth, that all the wrongs and suiferings 
 of .your race have not been able to wrench from it its better 
 and nobler nature. An involuntary sigh escaped him, as he 
 replied: "That is idle talk. My race is no better nor worse 
 than any other race of mankind; nor are we demi-gods, to 
 rise above all natural passions, and unmoved see evil triumph. 
 .Robbed us, you say? Tis true! yet, wisely kept to wind 
 ward of your/ law, Might is Right, and took our heritance by 
 forcing us to disinherit ourselves, and in lieu thereof be 
 queathed , us a mess of pottage a combination of whiskey, 
 poverty, degradation, suffering, death and called it "Pur 
 chase." But those who sin easily as easily -llnd an apology for 
 their crime; therefore, few know the Indians wrongs 
 as- they have been, are still to-day, and ITILIV be through all 
 future to come." 
 
 Thus he swept on, while thoughts seemed to rush upon 
 him with such sudden and passionate force that it was an 
 impossibility to frame them into words; yet they came with 
 an irresistible power; wholly absorbed I listened to his ex 
 pressed thoughts which moved him and seemed to stir 
 depths of his soul that time had long sealed. : I knew that 
 he had striven to live only the life of a reader and thinker; 
 and to leave behind him all weight of regret and the useless 
 indulgence of vain hopes But now looking backward to 
 multiplied remembrances, the events of those days rose up 
 and forced themselves upon him; and many things returned 
 to his mind and knocked for admittance which, until now, 
 had passed unheeded by; for he had long striven to hurl 
 from memory the remembrance of his and his people s 
 wrongs and losses the former beyond avenging-, the latter 
 beyond redemption. But as they look back to all they have 
 endured, all they have lost, by ttie merciless hands of arbi 
 trary power whose shout is "Might is Right," could they 
 but feel the fierce blood of retributive instinct latent in all 
 human hearts rise and burn in them? They could not be 
 ^humaii and feel otherwise. 
 
 "But how came you, friend Gush?" 
 
 I but pointed to my horse. 
 
 " Tis well ! Go "get him.* Yonder s my home, amid 
 those trees on the ridge, a quarter of a mile away. Let us 
 seek its quiet." 
 
 We reached his house. He paused at the yard gate and 
 said: "What think you, old friend, of this ; my home?" 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 381 
 
 It has the appearance of quietness, peacefulness, and 
 happiness unalloyed, and surely must constitute much of 
 pleasure to your declining 1 years. "Truly have you 
 spoken." It was indeed a quiet place bordering- even on the 
 romantic. But alas, how still! howlonelv! Surely, thought 
 I, one in search of utter exile from the din and noisy strife 
 of a contending- world, might here safely hide and find that 
 "solitude" of which the seemingly disconsolate poet sang- in 
 days of yore. We entered the open door, and then he said: 
 "Friend of my youth! feel at home under this my humble 
 roof. You have been lost to me for many, many years. 
 Is thy heart still unchanged?" In silence I extended my hand. 
 In silence he clasped it. 
 
 Our eyes met in unison of emotion, and the two long 
 separated friends were one ag-ain, even as in .the days of 
 youth and hope; endeared the one to the other not only by 
 the ties of boyhood and early manhood s association, but by 
 the ties of sincere friendship between the Red and the 
 White. 
 
 "Much," he continued, "of my life you know not, tis 
 with the dead. To-night we ll talk till wearied nature de 
 mands a halt to seek repose. My domestic affairs attention 
 need. Excuse a moment s absence. I ll soon return." 
 He then left me to muse alone. Night had already begun to 
 glide along the woods shutting- out the wilderness of forests 
 that stretched away on every side, whose deep silence 
 seemed never to have been broken by the din of human life. 
 But after many years have flown, we dear Henry, have met 
 ag-ain; met as only ardent friends long lost can and do meet, 
 enough for us to know 
 
 Reader, no gilded ornaments adorned this my Choctaw 
 friend s humble home; no luxurious furnishings attracted 
 the eye as you entered its portals, but a piano and violin, 
 whose appearance bespoke the vicissitudes of many years, 
 yet, his sweet solaces in hours of despondency and gloom 
 undeviating- adjuncts decreed to man; but here his house 
 stands far back amid broad-armed oaks of centuries growth, 
 whose leafy crowns were never defaced by the ax wielded 
 by the topping- hand of art, and where the way-worn and 
 weary traveler and long absent friend found indeed a place 
 of rest. Haughty pride and folly would look down upon it, 
 with scorn, and even ask in sneering- tones, "What is its 
 object there"? Yet, it still remains with its inmates (father 
 and son and a few negro servants, slaves of former days) 
 in that same quiet spot with open doors to all. Yet no 
 blazoned insignia were needed to attract attention to this 
 
382 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 abode of peace, nor gilded monument necessary to perpetu 
 ate its memory. , 
 
 Dr. Folsom lost his wife (daughter of the great and good 
 Chickasaw, John Colbert) and daughter many years ago by 
 the ruthless hand of man s common foe ; but true to his 
 early love, he had remained a widower, living alone with his 
 unmarried son, the solace of his father s declining years. 
 God be gracious to you and yours, my noble Henry! Though 
 advanced in years, even as I, thou still art that cheery com 
 rade and trusty friend as in days of yore; and though thy 
 merry heart is mellowed by the fine sympathy born of care 
 and thoughtfulness, yet thy nature is still beautified by that 
 dash of spirit, like to the spell of enchantment the moonlight 
 throws over the hills and forests of thy country and home. 
 With what glowing fascination did the full orbed moon, in 
 that silent and sacred hour of thought, flood, with its dreamy 
 light, those ancient oaks that adorned his home! The birds 
 too knew their value and rejoiced in their beauty, and came 
 into their wide embrace seemingly as children to the extend 
 ed arms of a doting parent, making the morn and eve reso 
 nant with their joyous twitterings. That hour alone I can 
 never forget; as twilight slowly gave place to night, so rich 
 with her crown of stars and seemingly sceptered for domin 
 ion o er a world hushed to quiet, while earth seemed to 
 thoughtfully lay beneath my feet. Ah, the stars and full or 
 bed moon then seemed, more than ever before, as a -seraph- 
 choir thrilling all Nature with their minstrelsy, till she was 
 moved to bliss ineffable, yea, as spirits that have passed 
 through sin and death without a stain, and now wear crowns 
 of fadeless glory above. 
 
 His domestic duties done, my old friend returned and 
 aroused me from my reverie as he exclaimed : "Upon what 
 dwelt your thoughts?" I pointed to the full orbed moon 
 that lighted up the eastern sky ; then to the earth beneath 
 and sky above blushing in wild and romantic beauty; then, 
 to the giant oaks that stood around in silent majesty as they 
 received a soft glow from the fleecy clouds which softly re 
 flected upon them the gentle light of departing day and ad 
 vancing night. He then said in a low tone of voice: "I too 
 love them all." 
 
 Reader, twas amid such a scene, and at that lovely hour, 
 when the sweet songs of nature seem to whisper of peace 
 and joy, we sat, a groupof three, on the moonlighted piazza in 
 exchange of thoughts; and there lingered (loth to part) till 
 the stars climbed to the zenith, and all around lay sleeping 
 In the silence of a moonlit summer night. To me his con 
 versation was fascinating full of grace and originality; 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 383 
 
 brilliant I will not call it, for it was too mellow and restful to 
 be thus characterized. But upon his face rested the mystic 
 sign which constitutes the bond of union among- all congenial 
 souls, and 1 felt that the emotions of his heart were in 
 strict unison with my own, and each responded in perfect 
 harmony the one to the other. Ah! then and there, 
 
 We spoke of many a vanished scene, 
 Of what we once had thought and said, 
 Of what had been, and might have been. 
 And who was changed, and who was dead; 
 And all that fllls the hearts of friends, 
 When first they feel with secret pain, 
 Their! lives thenceforth have separate ends, 
 And can never be one again. 
 
 He also spoke of our youth s bright and promising morn 
 "God s days," as he expressed it; the days of childhood s 
 innocence when life was new and hope was bright. Now, 
 with folded hands and drooping head, he sat in silence long, 
 as memories of other days around him rush; but each un 
 derstood the other s sigh, for each had experienced life s, 
 vicissitudes had long- since bade adieu to scenes of early* 
 youth and happy days, which, by a sttange and unknown 
 law of association, stood out before us again as vividly as if 
 but yesterday intervened; and felt as if left behind in the 
 race of life, and sadly v toiling on alone, while new proofs 
 poured upon us where er we turned. You may not under 
 stand the tie that then bound the red and the white. Nor 
 can you. Firm in his attachments, the Indian never forgets 
 a friend; let this suffice for thee to know, if thou hast never 
 had an Indian friend. 
 
 Then he spoke of the silent stealing on of man s days and 
 years, the unseen and unfelt progress of his life from youth 
 to age; and which, as we look back upon that flowing water, 
 now a dry channel overgrown with leaves, we see few marks 
 along its course by which we can remenber how it ran. 
 Could I listen but with emotionable delight? Now he speaks 
 of his people, of their vicissitudes and sorrows, their past 
 history, their present condition, their future hopes and pros 
 pects; then he spoke of those heart memories that never 
 die, and which the rough usages of the world can never des 
 troy, nor time nor distance weaken, those memories of his 
 early home east of the Mississippi, of boyhood s morn with 
 its gay and hopeful dreams, sunny hours and illusive visions 
 of bliss all gone, but which time nor change, sorrow nor age, 
 can blot from the heart, but which, though on the verge of 
 the grave, reproduce the freshness of emotion with which 
 life began. 
 
384 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 He talked too of art, literature and modern science, but 
 in the quiet, unconscious way of one with whom knowledge 
 flows as a full stream, and to whom knowledge a^nd research 
 (for he was a man of fine erudition and scientific attainments 
 attained at school, and had also mingled freely during a long 
 life with men of learning and culture) have taught that deep 
 yet saddening truth the limitation of human knowledge. 
 He was indeed a pleasant companion; interesting and instruc 
 tive in conversation, which was enriched by experience and 
 and observation. Picturesque too was he; and though nearly 
 three score and fifteen years had been his earthly pilgrimage, 
 yet he walked with elastic steps, and his form still was finely 
 expressive of sinewy energy, but bore the record of his years 
 and their garnered cares; while his face held a full chronicle 
 of bitter experience that had mingled with the sweet; for 
 he too had tasted the cup of affliction in more than one 
 form; he too had seen the happiness of life decay, and also 
 felt that there is an unseen and mysterious power which 
 operates upon man s destiny, controlling events over which 
 ^he possesses no control. 
 
 But his regular, clear cut features and dark, piercing 
 eyes still possessed a touch of melancholy in their depths, 
 indicating his slig htly mixed blood the quick intelligence of 
 the white man with the in ing-led sadness of the Red, a sadness 
 impressed as a heritage by long years of oppression and 
 wrong. I observed it also in the broken but still majestic 
 warriors of his race, as I mingled among them a buried yet 
 still living resentment a touch of defiance in the prevailing 
 coldness of their mien, and a gleam of suspicion in the forced 
 smile they still alike bestow on all strange- white men, the 
 authors of all their misfortunes and woes. 
 
 " A hundred long years! what visions rise 
 
 Of dynasties risen and set, 
 
 Of powers that melted from earth away 
 
 When the wroue and the right clashed and met 
 
 Alas! the old died hard to make way for the now." 
 
 But ah! how soon does sorrow N tread upon the heels of 
 joy! A few short weeks after I had left him in perfect 
 health, and turned to other duties forgetting him for the 
 moment, believing him to be as we parted, a letter from a 
 Choctaw friend informed me of his death. Then and there 
 I felt I had lost a friend of a life time a friend of unconquer 
 able integrity, true and faithful in all things; one whose 
 heart was warm; intelligence strong, and whose devotion 
 to his convictions and his obligations immovable. Truly, 
 to lose such a friend from among the living seems an irre 
 parable misfortune, and I numbered him with the dead in 
 
HISTORY OP THE INDIANS. 3S& 
 
 sorrow earnest and deep. What though, old friend of the 
 past, I have no picture of thee the work of art! Tis well;- 
 for no artist could paint thee; and surely it would mar my 
 joy to look upon a blank, expressionless and fading- toy, and 1 
 call it by thy name; but there is a picture hung- in the death 
 less halls of memory, framed in the rarest wood which time 
 can never dim. But I will not chide the outbursts of sor 
 row, though it is not well to be betrayed by passion into- 
 wild forgetfulness of reason, since time s busy fingers are 
 never at rest, and ere another summer comes and goes what 
 changes may be wrought, who can tell? Ah! "The future s- 
 great veil our breath fitfully flaps, and behind it broods 
 ever the mighty perhaps." 
 
 He lived beyond the allotted years of manhood s three 
 score years and ten of the Psalmist, yet his busy brain and 
 untiring hand wrought on, as if in the vigor of a changeless 
 youth. Adieu, thou pattern of fidelity that never betrayed 
 and constancy that never wearied. 
 
 I found a few others, here and there, in my travels over" 
 the country, that were familiar figures in mv boyhood and 
 manhood days, and of whom I now may say : One glance at: 
 their keen, black eyes and I still loved them ; one look at 
 the honest, good-humored, kind expression of their faces, 
 and intuitively I yet loved them those unchanged, old and 
 dear comrades of the long ago; and again, as oft before,.. T. 
 listened with delignt to their ancient legends as facts asso 
 ciated with their history in the days of yore, known but to 
 themselves. How I again reveled in those tales of ancient 
 days as their aged eyes brightened and sparkled at the most 
 improbable passage of the narative, but which I assumed 
 not to doubt for fear of wounding their sensitive hearts ; yet 
 fascinating to me, since truth and fancy were so intermingled, 
 that they rivaled the most extravagant fairy tale that ever 
 imagination wove in the recess of a subtle brain; and who, 
 when their heroes stars had set, turned their faces away 
 from their ancient domains and here in their present hornet 
 carved out their own fortunes and handed down their hon 
 ored names to posterity; and though their legends again re 
 hearsed as before in the days of the long past were only as a 
 memory to me, yet I treasure them as beautiful and inter 
 esting eulogies pronounced upon their heroes of ages past., 
 [well knew that, because of their chivalrous patriotism and" 
 high sense of honor, they ranked among the greatest of 
 their race; and I gloried* in the thought that their of t re 
 peated legends and tales found in me not only a ready and; 
 an intensely sympathetic listener, but making me admire 
 and love the red race more than ever, because of the all 
 
386 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 absorbing 1 devotion that made them lose their own identity in 
 that of their ancient great. Nearly all of those Indian friends 
 of my youth and manhood days have gone down to the silent 
 and cheerless habitation of the dead, yet their memory still 
 survives in many a picture of the years that have been. 
 
 I will here present to the reader the memoirs of -Nath 
 aniel Folsom^ the oldest of the three brothers who cast their 
 lot in their morning" of life among" the Choctaws, and became 
 the fathers of the Folsom House in the Choctaw Nation, as 
 related by himself to the missionary, Rev. C}-rus Byington, 
 June, 1823, and furnished me by his grand-daughter Czarena 
 Folsom, now Mrs. Rabb. 
 
 "I -was born in North Carolina, Rowan County, May 
 17th, 1756. My father was born in Massachusetts or Con 
 necticut. My mother was born in New Jersey. My parents 
 moved to Georgia, and there my father sent me to school 
 about six months, during which time I learned to read and 
 write. My mother taught me to read and spell at home. 
 My father had a great desire to go to Mississippi to get 
 money; they said money grew on bushes! We got off and 
 came into the Choctaw Nation. The whole family came; we 
 hired an Indian pilot who led us through the Nation to Pearl 
 river, where we met three of our neighbors who were re 
 turning on account of sickness. This alarmed my father, 
 who then determined to return to North Carolina. We came 
 back into the Nation to Mr. Welch s, on Bok Tuklo (Two 
 Preeks), the father of Mr. Nail. At this time I was about 19 
 yxjars of age. At that place we parted. My father knocked 
 "me .down". I arose and told him I would quit him, and did so 
 by walking straight off before his face. I do not remember 
 -what I did, but I always thought I was not in fault. My 
 .parents then moved into the Chickasaw Nation. . I entered 
 into partnership with Mr. Welch, and could do many things 
 for him. In the Chickasaw Nation my brother Israel ran 
 away from my father and came to me. He died at the age 
 of 18 near where Mr. Juzon now lives. He was a good young 
 man. My parents moved again to Fort St. Stephens. My 
 brother Ebenezer visited me several times; he also sent me 
 word to come and move him up into the Nation. I did so. 
 He lived with me two years. Still he wanted to go to Mis 
 sissippi, and wished I would raise a guard and send him 
 there. I did so. Brother Edmond and^ two sisters went 
 with him, and there my father died, on Cole s creek, Missis 
 sippi. I really believe my mother was a pious woman. I 
 traded a long time in the Nation, sometimes taking up three 
 pr four thousand dollars worth of goods. I followed trading 
 about thirty years. I lived principally at Bok Tuklo, fifteen 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 387 
 
 miles this side of Juzon s (i. e. north). There was a great 
 town of about four hundred Indians. The French King- 
 lived there. (This great French King- was, no doubt, Bien- 
 ville, or some one of his officers). I learned the Choctaw lan 
 guage very slow. I was never perfect in the language. But 
 after ten years I could do any business with the Choctaws. 
 I bought a Bible of Robert Black about twelve years ago. 
 This is the first Bible I ever owned. Before that I cared noth 
 ing about the Bible. I first heard a sermon by Mr. Bell at 
 the Pigeon Roost about twelve years ago. I heard Lorenzo 
 Dow pray once. About this time I began to have serious 
 thoughts. Before this I had none. My mind was affected by 
 what the missionaries said, who came from the North. Soon 
 after my son Edmond died. One Sabbath I had a great con 
 flict in me. I heard a sermon at the Pigeon Roost. My 
 friends thought I felt bad because my son died. But it was 
 something else. At that time there was a great change in 
 me, which has remained ever since. This was in August, 
 1824. I joined the church at Mayhew, October, 1827, in my 
 72nd year. I have been the father or twenty-four children, 
 fourteeen of whom are living. I have lived to see six of them 
 join the church, and three others sit on the anxious seat." 
 According to an entry in the church record of Mountain Fork 
 church, Nathaniel F"olsom died October 9th. 1833, in his 78th 
 year. 
 
 Mr. Rufus Folsom, great grandson of Nathaniel Folsom, 
 also kindly furnished me with a sketch of his great grand 
 father, which was nearly the same as the above closing, 
 however, with the following: "In September, 1830, the 
 government of the United States made a treaty with the 
 Choctaws for their lands east of the Mississippi river, and 
 in October, 1832, our old great grand-father, afflicted with a 
 palsy of the limbs for many years, started from the old 
 Nation to come to this. He reached Mountain Fork, and 
 there resided till the 9th of October, 1833, when he died, 
 aged 77 years, four months, and twenty-seven days." 
 Signed, RUFUS FOLSOM, 
 
 Folsom Station, Indian Territory. 
 
 Nathaniel Folsom married Aiahnichih Ohoyoh (A 
 woman to prefer above all others.) She was a niece of Miko 
 Pusktish, (Infant Chief,) who was the father of Amosholih- 
 ubih. She descended from a long and ancient line of chiefs, 
 and belonged to the ancient Iksa Hattakiholihta, one of the 
 of the two great families, the other being Tashapaokla (Part 
 of a People); the laws of which forbid any person, male or 
 female, to marry any one of the same Iksa. Though Mr. 
 Nathaniel Folsom had acquired but a limited education, yet 
 
\ 
 
 388 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 he was a moral man, and the good example he set before the 
 people of his adoption and with whom he had cast his lot, 
 won Itheir respect, confidence and love, which he fully recipro 
 cated to the day of his death. According- to th ancient cus 
 tom of the Choctaws, he had two wives at the same time, 
 Aiahnichih Ohoyoh and her sister, whose name has not been 
 preserved. Colonel David Folsom and Rev. Israel Folsom 
 were sons of Aiahnichih Ohoyoh; and Captain Robert Folsom 
 and Isaac Folsom were sons of her sister; with all the four I 
 was personally acquainted. Robert and Isaac lived near 
 Hebron, and were prominent members in the church at that 
 mission. I will here insert an eAtract from a letter now 
 before me, written by Mr. Nathaniel Folsom to Rev. Cyrus 
 Byington on the death of his daughter and Lewis Folsom, his 
 grandson, dated March, 1830, which truly manifests the 
 humble and pious heart of the father and grandfather. I 
 copy it from the original with no alteration whatever. 
 
 Dear friend Mr. Byington: I desire to let you know my 
 felings at this presenttime. I feel satisfied it is the Lord s 
 will. God give her to me and he has taken her away and his 
 will is rig ht and good in all things that befalls us wicked 
 mortals here upon earth. I bfess God for it all things that 
 befalls me it is the holy will of the blessed God it is rite an 
 good. I hope her soul at rest with the blessed Savior of the 
 world I believe she has gone to Him forever this turble thing 
 of my grand son at Mayhew thar is no hope. O childen take 
 \vareng by this I say turn O childen and remember your 
 Creator God on you all will die but wat wil becum of your 
 little souls if you repent on earth you all ar lost ever I say 
 my dear childun quit your bad ways an turn to Lord with 
 all your heart an Christ wil reseve you for he loves little 
 children if you obev his commandments my dear friend you 
 no my felings about children that blessed Book the Bible is 
 the gide to larn us all to fit us to the worlds to come the Lord 
 bless you all." N. FOLSOM. 
 
 The deatli of his grand son, Lewis Folsom, to which 
 the good old man so pathetically alludes, was indeed a sad 
 affair. I was acquainted with Lewis, his grand-son, whose 
 father was Capt. Robert Folsom. Lewis and Joel Nail, his 
 cousin and son of Henry Nail, were driving four horses at 
 tached to the end of the two levers of a mill, two horses at 
 the end 1 of each. The two boys got into a play in which 
 they soon began to throw corn cobs at each other, while 
 riding around on the levers and driving the horses. Un 
 fortunately Lewis jumped upon the big cog wheel and 
 was instantly killed. 
 
 I was personally acquainted with his father s entire fam- 
 
HISTOKY OF THE INDIANS. 389 
 
 ily. His youngest sister, Else, now Mrs. Perkins, is still 
 living-. His father, at the time of the sad occurrence, was 
 in their present territory, being- sent with others by their 
 Nation, to look after the country preparatory to the exchange 
 which was afterwards made with the Unifed States Govern 
 ment in 1830. 
 
 From an old MS. left by Nathaniel Folsom in his own 
 hand writing-, I here insert the the following- extracts ob 
 tained through the kindness of his grand-daughter Czarina 
 Folsom, now Mrs. Rabb, living- in Atoka. 
 
 "The Choctaws were more numerous than now. Thirty 
 years ag-o it is probable there were nearly 30,000. Before I 
 came here the smallpox killed two-thirds of the people. 
 The measles also destroyed a great many. There was one 
 town entirely destroyed by the measles. 
 
 "They had axes and hoes, but not a plough in the Na 
 tion. I gave twenty-two dollars for the first plough I had; 
 twenty dollars for a bushel of salt; ten dollars for a common 
 blanket. Goods were then brought from St. Augustine, 
 Florida, on pack-horses. I gave once twenty dollars for a 
 half bushel of salt in a time of war (the Revolution;. 
 
 "The woman s dress was a petticoat that came just be 
 low the knees, and a head-gear; and in the winter a tight 
 woolen jacket with bright buttons in front. They had an 
 abundance of blankets by sewing the feathers of turkeys 
 together. They had but few iron pots and kettles, the arti 
 cles were dear. 
 
 "When anyone died a scaffold was made in the yard near 
 the house, put high enough to be safe from the dogs. On 
 the top of this the body was laid on its side; and then a 
 blanket or bear skin was thrown over it; and there it re 
 mained until it perished. Then the bone-pickers came and 
 picked the ilesh off and put the bones in a box. The head 
 was adorned and put away in a box, and then the boxes were 
 put away in a bone-house a house set apart to receive them, 
 and placed at the edge of the town. At this time there was 
 a large collection of people. The bone-pickers had some 
 ceremonies, but I do not recollect them. Twice a year fall 
 and spring the people assembled, and had a great gather 
 ing over the bones of the dead. The two families would 
 meet. One day one family would cry; and on the next day 
 the other would cry, and then the bones would be brought 
 out in the boxes and buried. A little present was made to 
 the bone-pickers. 
 
 "Ever since about the time of the Revolutionary war the 
 Choctaws began to leave their towns and settle in the woods, 
 .for the benefit of their stock. I was the first to settle on the 
 
390 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Natchez trace at Pig-eon Roost, about twenty-five years since. 
 Still, at the time of the exodus of the Choctaws, in 1832, they 
 had many large and populous towns and villages in their 
 Nation which I personally knew. 
 
 "King s. Some inherited the office; others were ap 
 pointed by the French and English. Amosholihubih is the 
 old family (i. e., the old family of kings or chiefs). David s 
 old uncle was of the royal family. 
 
 "The Indians spoke in a different style from what they 
 do now. The doctors are great deceivers. One came to me 
 and said he could cure me of my lameness (palsy in the 
 limbs.) I told him if he would cure me, I would give him a 
 horse; if he did not cure me, I d give him nothing. The doc 
 tor inquired where the lameness commenced. I told him, 
 in the sole of my feet. He then examined them, got down, 
 spit on them and sucked the place until a long time, as 
 though he d draw something out. After awhile he got up 
 and then made a great effort to get something out of his 
 mouth; at length he took out a small piece of deer skin, as 
 appeared, and said he had drawn that out of my foot. I 
 asked him where the hole was. He said: It never makes 
 a hole. I took the bit of leather and talked to him, and told 
 him that doctors were the greatest liars in the world. You 
 never pulled that out of my foot. You cut it off from some 
 deer skin and put it in your mouth. Now stop telling such 
 lies, or somebody will injure you. He looked very much 
 ashamed and walked off. Before the doctors begin to doctor, 
 they sing a long song, whisper a prayer, and then com 
 mence. 
 
 "At that time there were several white men among the 
 Choctaws, all of whom married Choctaw wives, and thus be 
 came identified with that people. The descendants of 
 nearly all of whom are still among the Choctaws to this 
 day. 
 
 "Hardy Perry," continued Nathaniel Folsom, "brought 
 the first neat cattle s into the Nation." 
 
 The old gentleman evidently refers to the eastern part 
 of the Nation, where he lived; since it was well known that, 
 either about the same time or a short time before Perry s 
 drove were first introduced into the eastern part of the 
 Nation, and the waters of the Tombigbee river, Lewis and 
 Michael LeFlore and Lewis Durant introduced a small herd 
 into the western part of the Nation, and located it on the 
 w r aters of the Yazoo river. But thus continues Mr. Fol 
 som. 
 
 "He bought them of the French at Mobile, Twenty- 
 five dollars for a cow and calf. This was soon after I came 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 391 
 
 into the country. Benj. James then bought one. I was the 
 third man. From these the stocks of cattle have sprung-. 
 There was abundance of horses. There were many hogs in 
 the Nation when I first came. I have seen nearly .thirty 
 dogs at an Indian house. They- resembled the wolf. 
 
 "David Folsom went to a school on Elk river, Tennes 
 see. Started off alone at sixteen years of age, at least 250 
 miles from home, and was there six months. That was the 
 end of his schooling there. I employed another man a 
 month to teach him figures. That was seven months 
 education. 
 
 "About this time (he seemed to forget to mention dates) 
 he was married to Rhoda Nail. He took her out of the In 
 dian Territory to a magistrate and married her lawfully. 
 She is his wife, and this is the first instance" I know of, 
 where an Indian was married according to our laws." 
 
 John Pitchlynn, the name of another white man who at 
 an early day cast his lot among the Choctaws, not to be a 
 curse but a true benefactor. He was contemporaneous with 
 the three Folsoms, Nathaniel, Ebenezer and Edmoncl; the 
 three Nails, Henry, Adam and Edwin; the two L/e Flores 
 Lewis and Mitchel, and Lewis Durant. John Pitchh iin, as 
 the others, married a Choctaw girl and thus become a bona- 
 fide citizen of the Choctaw Nation. He was commissioned 
 by Washington, as United States Interpreter for the Choc- 
 taws in 1786, in which capacity he served them long and 
 faithfully. Whether he ever attained to the position of chief 
 of the Choctaws is not now known. He, however, secured 
 and held to the day of his death not only the respect, esteem 
 and confidence of the Choctaws as a moral and good citizen, 
 but also that of the missionaries who regarded him as one 
 among their best friends and assistants in their arduous 
 labors for the moral and religious elevation of the people of 
 his adoption. He married Sophia Folsom, the daughter and 
 only child of Ebenezer Folsom. They had five sons, Peter 
 P., James, -Thomas, Silas and Jack, all of w r hom were men of 
 fine talents and high position, reflecting credit on their an 
 cient and honorable name, except Jack, who was led astray 
 and finally killed. 
 
 How many strange little incidents oft happen to various 
 persons the cause of which none can satisfactorily explain; 
 many of which are similar to the following that Major John 
 Pitchlynn once experienced in early life! He stated to the 
 missionaries that he, in company with sixty Choctaw war 
 riors, was once returning home from a trading expedition to 
 Mobile then a small town and trading point of the Choc 
 taws. One night they all had lain down upon their blankets 
 
392 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 side by side, and all soon fell asleep but himself, who, by a 
 .strange and unusual restlessness, was unable to sleep. For 
 c.a long- time he rolled this way and that upon his blanket, but 
 :all to no purpose; he could not sleep. Finally he arose, took 
 up his blanket and laid down on the opposite side.pf the fire 
 which had been made for the common benefit of the camp. 
 Scarcely had he adjusted himself upon his new bed when a 
 large tree suddenly fell to the ground and exactly across the 
 bodies of his six sleeping comrades, killing every one of 
 them, and leaving him a lone survivor of the camp. Major 
 Pitchlynn often afterwards spoke of this incident as a mani 
 festation of a special Providence; his unaccountable sleep 
 lessness on that night, and his getting up and going to the 
 -other side of the fire to sleep, as a divine interposition in his 
 .special behalf. Peter was born January 30, 1806, in a little 
 village called Shik-o-poh (The Plume), which was then in 
 what is now Noxubee County. In early youth young Peter 
 /manifested a disposition for intellectual attainments ; heat- 
 tended the great councils of his Nation as an attentive hearer 
 but silent spectator, and sought every opportunity to inform 
 himself of all that was transpiring around him. As he grew 
 up his desire to obtain an education increased, and he was 
 finally sent to a school in Tennessee. 
 
 He returned home at a time his people were negotiating 
 -a treaty with the United States Government; when and 
 where he made himself the object of much conversation, in 
 the way of reproof by some, and commendation by others, 
 in refusing to shake hands with Andrew Jackson, the 
 negotiator of a treaty, which, in his youthful judgment, he 
 regarded as an imposition (which Jackson himself well 
 knew) upon his mis-led and deluded people and an insult to 
 his Nation; this opinion was never changed to the hour of his 
 death years after. After remaining 1 at home awhile, he went 
 to school at Columbia Academy, Tennessee; thence to the 
 Nashville University, where he graduated; and afterwards 
 became, as the sequel will show, a great and useful man to 
 his Nation. 
 
 During his scholastic days at the Nashville University, 
 General Jackson visited there officially as a trustee, and on 
 seeing young Peter, at once recognized him as the Choctaw 
 boy who had some years before refused to receive 
 him as an acquaintance, or recognize in him a friend. 
 Jackson, than whom few were better judges of human 
 nature and moral worth, determined to win the friendship 
 and confidence of the proud and manly young Choctaw, and 
 -succeeded finally in changing the old feeling of dislike to one 
 -of warm personal friendship, which sacred ties were never 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 393 
 
 broken. After he graduated he returned home and settled, 
 as a farmer, upon the outskirts of a beautiful prairie to 
 which his name was given, and down to the war of 1861 it 
 still bore, and perhaps does yet, the name, "The Pitchlynri 
 Prairie." 
 
 His remarkably manly form and bearing-; his beautifully 
 shaped head covered with long 1 , black, shining- hair and 
 possessed with as black, piercing- eyes as ever penetrated 
 to the secret thoughts of the heart; his broad cheek-bones 
 and brown complexion together with his natural and unaf 
 fected courteousness, affability and generous disposition, all 
 served to constitute Peter P. Pitchlynn as stately and com 
 plete a gentleman of Nature s handy work as I ever beheld. 
 He erected a comfortable house upon the spot selected for 
 his home, and won the heart of the youngest daughter of 
 Nathaniel Folsom, (Rhoda) to whom he was soon married ac 
 cording to the usages of the Whites, by the missionary, 
 Rev. Cyrus Kingsbury. 
 
 In 1824 a law was passed by the council of the Nation 
 organizing a corps of Light-Horse (a little company of cav 
 alry), who were clothed with the authority and also made as 
 their imperativevduty to close all the dram-shops that were 
 dealing in the miserable traffic in opposition to law and 
 treaty stipulations. The command of this band was given 
 to young Peter P. Pitchlynn, who united the bravery of 
 Leonidas to the incorruptible virtues of Aristides, and in one 
 year, from the time he undertook to erase the foul blotch 
 (traffic in whiskey) from the face of his country, he had suc 
 cessfully accomplished it. 
 
 From his soon known abilities he was early elected a 
 member of the National Council, an honor never before con 
 ferred upon one so young. Pitchlynn at once brought be 
 fore the council the necessity of educating their children, 
 and argued the great advantages that would accrue therefrom; 
 and, that the students might more readily become accus 
 tomed to the usages of the w r hites, he suggested the pro 
 priety of establishing a school for Choctaw youths in some 
 one of the states. It was decided, therefore, by the council 
 in accordance with his proposition, and a Choctaw Academy 
 was established near Georgetown, Kentucky, sustained by 
 the funds of the Nation, and stood, until driven from their 
 ancient domains, a proud monument of the Choctaw s ad 
 vancing civilization under the fostering care of God s mis 
 sionaries sent to them. 
 
 I,; In the year 1828 he, with another Choctaw, -two Chicka- 
 saw and two Muscogee warriors, constituted a delegation ap 
 pointed and sent by, and at the expense of, the United States 
 
394 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Government, to go upon a peace-making- expedition into the 
 Osage country west of the Mississippi river, now the State 
 of Kansas, as the Osages and Choctaws were and had been 
 uncompromising 1 enemies for years untold ; and if peace 
 could be established between them, it was believed that the 
 Choctaws would the more readily consent to the exchange of 
 lands, as was afterwards ma ^e. The little band of six, few 
 but resolute and fearless, with Pitchlynn as their chief,, 
 went first to Memphis, then a little village; thence to St. 
 Louis, where they received necessary supplies from the In 
 dian superintendent ; thence to Independence, consisting 
 then of only a few log cabins, where they were received and 
 hospitably "entertained by a son of the renowned Daniel. 
 Boone. At Independence they were joined by an Indian 
 agent; thence they started and made their first camp on a 
 broad prairie near a Shawnee village. The Shawnees had 
 never before seen a Choctaw, Chickasaw or Muscogee ; nor 
 had they ever seen a Shawnee, except in the persons of Te- 
 cumseh and his thirty warriors, in their memorable visit to 
 their three nations in 1812, while each knew of the existence 
 of the other. On the following morning Pitchlynn and his 
 little band directed their footsteps toward the Shawnee vil 
 lage, with the decorations of the pipe of peace gaily flutter 
 ing to the prairie breeze above their heads an emblem ever 
 respected and honore,d by the North American Indians any 
 where and everywhere. Upon seeing the peace-pipe extend 
 ed, the Shawnees at once came out to meet them, and escor 
 ted them in much pomp and ceremony into their village, 
 where a council was soon convened to learn the object of the 
 strangers visit; which soon being explained, pledges of 
 friendship were exchanged and speeches made, and the 
 strangers earnestly solicited to remain the next day to attend 
 a grand feast that would be given to them in honor of their 
 visit, which was duly accepted ; and then the little band 
 again took up its line of travel toward the territories of the 
 Osages. For several days they traveled along on the famous 
 Santa Fe trail, then turned in a southeast direction, travel 
 ing over beautiful prairies skirted here and there with tim 
 ber. 
 
 One day, about the middle of the afternoon, a few deer 
 were seen on a prairie a half a mile distant, and Pitchlynn 
 left his company to continue their course, while he would 
 try to procure some venison for their supper. He had ap 
 proached nearly near enough to risk a shot, when he was 
 discovered by the deer, who scampered off across the prai 
 rie. At that moment he discovered a small herd of buffalo, 
 at one of which he tried to get a shot; but they, too, discov- 
 
* HISTORY OF. THE INDIANS. 39S 
 
 ered him and took to flight. He pursued them a mile or two, 
 but finding- he was getting too far away he stopped his pur 
 suit and and turned to overtake his companions by traveling 
 at an angle that would enable him to overtake or strike their 
 trail several miles south of where he had left them. But 
 after riding a few miles he saw about half a mile before 
 him a ridge of undulating prairie, on the opposite side of 
 which he felt sure his little company must have passed. As 
 the sun was now hearing- the western horizon, and he knew 
 not how far his companions were ahead of him, he started 
 for the top of the ridge in a brisk gallop until he reached the 
 base of the hill, then reined in his horse to a steady walk as 
 he ascended the ridge, ever keeping in practice the safe 
 motto, "Caution is the mother of safety." And well he did, 
 for he was then in the country of Osages, who, not knowing 
 his mission, would have made short work of him, had they 
 have met him. As he drew nearer the top the slower ne 
 rode, and thus cautiously moved until he could see the valley 
 beyond, and there he saw a company of Osage warriors but 
 a short distance ahead. Some were riding slowly along in 
 tently looking on the ground, while others had dismounted 
 and were leading their horses, now stooping with eager look 
 and then pushing the grass this way and that, as if to find 
 something lost. Pitchlynii at once comprehended the whole. 
 They had found the trail of his companions and were using 
 their woods-craft to read the signs indicated, and learn 
 whether friends or foes had passed, and also their number. 
 Pitchrynn at once reined his horse backward until he 
 was below the brow of the hill, then turned and rode slowly 
 down until he had reached its base lest the sound of his 
 horse s feet should betray him; then struck off at full gal 
 lop in a south direction and continued it until night called a 
 halt. He then dismounted, roped his horse upon the grass, 
 and lay down to reflect upon his day s ventures, until sleep 
 embraced him in her arms and lulled him to unconsciousness. 
 In the morning he arose and was soon/ again on his dubious 
 way, making a wide circuit to avoid running again upon his 
 unwelcome neighbors. Again night overtook him a lone 
 wanderer in a pathless wilderness, without having made any 
 discoveries as to the whereabouts of his companions, or 
 his enemies, the Osages. Again he stretched himself 
 upon the grass and found forgetfulness in sleep. Again 
 he starte^l and was rejoiced, after an hour .s ride, to strike 
 the trail of his friends whom he overtook in the even 
 ing of the same day. Not knowing what had become of him, 
 or where to look for him in that endless wilderness, they 
 had traveled slowly, hoping that he would yet come up ; but 
 
.. 
 
 396 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS, 
 
 when .the second night .came without ^is return, despair 
 had usurped the place of hope and they had given him up as 
 forever lost to them. ; 
 
 .The Osages, for unknown reasons,, did not pursue 
 them. If, they had, there would have been affinal separation 
 as, the Osages so outnumbered them, that not one of the little 
 . company x would have been left to tell the tale of their com- 
 -plete destruction. The unexpected return of their chief 
 gave new life to all, and they pursued their journey with re 
 newed vigor. In a few days they came to .a large Osage vil 
 lage-situated on a high bluff on the Qsage river, and camped 
 near the same, where they remained several days safe under 
 the Pipe of Peace, whose decorations of ribbons fluttered 
 above their camps; the rOsages refusing, however, to meet 
 them in council, since but a short time previous a war party 
 of Choctaws had invaded their country, and in a battle had 
 slain several of their warriors. Still Pitchlynn proposed .a 
 treaty of peaqe and after much equivocation and, delay the 
 Osages consented to meet Pitchlynn and his little band in 
 council; but nothing definite was done on the first day, 
 though Pitchlynn told them that he and his party, the first 
 Choctaws x that had ever proposed peace to the Osages, had 
 traveled over two thousand miles through the request of the 
 United States government, to propose a treaty of perpetual 
 peace and friendship to the Osages. To which an Osage 
 chief made a haughty and defiant reply. The next clay in 
 council assembled, Pitchlynn also assumed an air more of 
 haughty defiance than that of a suppliant for peace, and in 
 his speech, in reply to the Osage Chief s speech made the 
 day before, boldly said: "After what the Osage warrior 
 said to us in his talk yesterday, we find it difficult to restrain 
 our old animosity. You tell us that by your 1 iws it is your 
 duty to strike down all who are not Osage Indians. Th e 
 Choctaws have.no such laws. But we have a law which tells 
 us that we must always strike down an Osage warrior when 
 ever w r e meet him. I know not what war-paths you may 
 have follower! west of the Great river, but ijinow very well 
 that the. smoke of our council fires you have never seen, as 
 w.e live on the other side of the Great River. Our soil has 
 never been tracked by an Osage, only ,when he was a pris 
 oner. I will. not, as you have done, boast of the many war 
 path s we have followed. I am in earnest and speak the 
 truth, \vhen I now tell you that our last war-path, since you 
 will have it so, has brought us to the Osage country, .and to 
 this village. The Choctaw warriors now at home would be 
 rejoiced. to get a few hundred of your scalps, for it is thus 
 that they get their reputation as warriors. I tell you this 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 397 
 
 to remind you that we also have some ancient laws as well as 
 the Osages, aX4 that the Choctaws know too how : to fight. 
 Stand by the laws-of your fathers, and refuse the offer of 
 peace that we have now extended to you, and bear the conse 
 quences that will follow, * 
 
 "We are now a little band in your midst, but we do not 
 fear to speak openly to you and tell you the truth. We ex 
 pect to move soon from our ancient country east of the 
 Great River to the sources of the Arkansas and Red rivers, 
 which will bring" us within two hundred miles of your coun 
 try; and then you shall hear the defiant war-whoops of the 
 Choctaws in good earnest and the crack of their death-deal 
 ing rifles from one end of your country to the other; nor 
 will they cease to be heard until the last Osage warrior has 
 fallen; your wives and children carried into captivity, and 
 the name of the Osages blotted out. You may regard this 
 as vain boasting, but our numbers so much exceed that of 
 your own that I am justified, as you well know, in my asser 
 tion. You say you will not accept the white paper of the 
 Great Father at Washington ; therefore, we now tell you that 
 we take back all we said yesterday about a treaty of peace. 
 If we are to have peace between the Choctaws and Osages, 
 the proposition must now come from the Osages. I have 
 told you all I have to say, and shall speak no more." 
 
 This bold speech of Pitchlynn s had the desired effect, 
 causing a great change to come suddenly over the spirit of 
 the Osages dreams; therefore, on the next day the council 
 was again convened and the Osages, without further solici 
 tations, negotiated for peace, which was soon declared, and 
 followed by a universal shaking of hands and great demon 
 strations of friendship, intermixed with una ssumed joy in 
 the happy result. A grand feast was at once prepared, at 
 which everything presented a joyous appearance, while 
 peace-speeches furnished the greater part of the entertain 
 ment; the honor of delivering the closing speech was award 
 ed to Pitchlynn, in which, with his usual eloquence, he por 
 trayed before the eyes of the attentive Osages the benefit 
 that would, accrue to them as a Nation to lay aside their old 
 manner of living and begin a new r kind of life that of adopt 
 ing the customs of civilization. He spoke of his own people, 
 the Choctaws, who had conformed to the customs of civiliza 
 tion, by encouraging white missionaries to come among them 
 and teach them ; by establishing schools for the educafion 
 of their children, and by turning the attention of the men to 
 the cultivation of the soil; and had given up war as a" source 
 of amusement, and hunting as their sole dependence for 
 food, and how much benefit they had already derived in so 
 
398 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 doing-, and he would advise the Osages, aswelj as all Indians, 
 to do the same; as it was the only means of preserving 1 them 
 selves from the grasping habits and power of the white 
 men. If they would make an effort to elevate themselves in 
 the scale of civilization, the American government would 
 treat them with greater respect, and they thus would pre 
 serve their nativity. 
 
 At the close of the peace ceremonies and festivities a 
 party of Osage warriors, with the Osage speaker of the 
 Council, were appointed to escort, as token of peace and 
 friendship between the Osages and Choctaws, Pitchlynn and 
 his little company to the borders of the Osage territories, 
 a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. There the Osage 
 escort bade their old enemies, but now newly-made friends, 
 a formal adieu, and returned to their villages, while Pitch 
 lynn and his five companions, after an absence of nearly six 
 months, turned their faces homeward with light hearts, pur 
 suing a southern direction down the Canadian river, and 
 continuing along the Red river valley, and finally reached 
 home in safety. 
 
 Peter P. Pitcblynn, while upon this adventurous jour 
 ney, picked up a little Indian boy belonging to no particular 
 tribe, whom he adopted and carried home with him, had him 
 educated at the Choctaw academy in Kentucky; and that 
 homeless boy of the western prairies became one of the 
 most eloquent and faithful preachers that ever preached the 
 Glad tidings of great joy" among the Choctaw people. 
 
 Peter P. Pitctilynn first formed an acquaintance with 
 the great American statesman, Henry Clay, in 1840, when 
 travelling on a steamboat. While on board, he one day heard 
 two apparently old farmers discussing the subject of agri 
 culture, to whose conversation he was attracted, and soon 
 became a silent but deeply interested listener for more than 
 an hour; then going to his state-room he told his travel 
 ling companion what a treat he had enjoyed in the discussion 
 between "two old farmers" upon the subject of farming, and 
 added : "If that old farmer with an ugly face had only been 
 educated for the law, he would have been one of the greatest 
 men in this country." That "old farmer with an ugly face" 
 was Henry Ciay, who was delighted at the compliment paid 
 to him by the appreciative Choctaw. 
 
 The noble Peter P. Pitchlynn was in Washington City 
 at the time of the commencement of the civil war in 1861, at 
 tending to the national affairs of his people, but at once has 
 tened home, hoping that they would escape the evils of the 
 expected strife, and returned to his home to pursue the quiet 
 life of a farmer among his own people. But the Choctaws, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 399 
 
 as well as the Chickasaws, Cherokees, Creeks and Seminoles, 
 from their position between the contending- parties, were not 
 permitted to occupy neutral grounds, but were forced into 
 the fratricidal strife, some on the one side and some the 
 other, but to ^he inconceivable injury of all. 
 
 CV Peter P. P tchlynn it can be said, he was teacher, 
 philosopher and friend among" the Choctaws, cherishing with 
 great pride the history and romantic traditions of his peo 
 ple. As a private citizen, he was a good man; as an official 
 and public servant, he was a pure man. As a high official in 
 his country, he too was a pious man ; nor thought the relig 
 ion of Jesus Christ derogatory to the position of a public 
 official, but taught to all the lesson of personal grace as pro 
 duced in the heart, and won from those who knew him their 
 esteem, reverence and praise. His daily w r alk, both in pub 
 lic and private capacity, was as bright as the sunshine and as 
 beautiful too. It truly seemed as if nothing could disturb 
 his serenitv, so evenly was it spread over his life, and so 
 much did it seem to be a part of it. He was one of those 
 Christian men who carried the charm of an attraction with 
 them everywhere. He possessed such sweetness of spirit, 
 such gentleness of manner, such manly frankness, such 
 thorough self-respect on one hand, and on the other, such 
 perfect regard for the judgment of others, that one could 
 not help loving him, however conscience might compel con 
 clusions on matters of mutual consequence unlike those he 
 had reached. Often indeed, one was even more drawn to 
 him when in opposition, because he was so true and just that 
 his respect carried with it all the refreshment of variety 
 with none of the friction of hostility. His character possess 
 ed a completeness and grandeur rarely found, and the vir 
 tues which distinguished him were many, both excellent and 
 winning. His unswerving fidelity in religion, so remarka 
 ble in the Choctaws, and his eminent purity of life, ever 
 shone out brightly in all the circumstances in which he was 
 placed, whether in the private or public walks of life. And 
 with all he was a spirited citizen of his country, who lived 
 and labored, not for selfish gain and self-emolument, but for 
 the good of his people, and always felt a lively interest and 
 performed an active part in any and all things looking to the 
 welfare of his country. The loss of such a man may well be 
 mourned, and his example sacredly treasured and followed. 
 In the light of a spiritual sun he passed from the scenes of 
 earth, but his influence lives, and illustrates the new crea 
 tive power that is possible to all. 
 
 The Cravat family of Choctaws are the descendants of 
 John Cravat, a Frenchman, who came among the Choctaws at 
 
400 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 an early day, and was adopted among- them by marriage. 
 He had two daughters by his Choctaw wife, Nancy and Re 
 becca, both of whom became the wives of Louis LeFlore. 
 His Choctaw wife dying he married a Chickasaw woman, by 
 whom he had four sons, Thomas, Jefferson, William and 
 Charles, and one daughter, Elsie, who married- a white man 
 by the name of Daniel Harris, and who became the parents 
 of Col. J. D. Harris, whose first wife was Catharine Nail, 
 the fourth daughter of Joel H. Nail. The descendants of 
 John Cravat are still among the Choctaws and Chickasaws, 
 and known as prominent and useful citizens in the two 
 nations. 
 
 The LeFlore family of Choctaws are the descendants 
 of Major Louis LeFlore, and his brother, Michael LeFlore, 
 Canadian Frenchmen, who, after the expulsion of the French 
 from the territories of Mississippi by the English, first set 
 tled in Mobile, Ala., then a small trading post. After re 
 maining there a few years, Louis moved to the now state of 
 Mississippi and settled on Pearl river, in the county of 
 Nashqba (Wolf). Thence he moved to the Yazoo Valley, 
 wher he lived until he died. As before stated, he married 
 the two daughters of John Cravat, Nancy and Rebecca. By 
 the former he had four sons in the following order of their 
 names : Greenwood, William (who was drowned in Bok Iski- 
 tini), Benjamin and Basil; and five daughters, viz : Clarissa, 
 Emilee the names of the others not remembered. After 
 the death of Nancy he married Rebecca, by whom he had 
 two sons, viz: For bis and Jackson. Clarissa married a- white 
 man by the name of Wilson, and living, at the time of the 
 exodus of her people, in what is now known as Winston 
 county, Mississippi, east. of the- town of Louisville. Wilson 
 having died she married a man by the name of Alfred Leach 
 and moved with him to the western part of Winston county, 
 and settled on. the banks of a creek called Lobucha (cor 
 rupted from Lah-buch-ih, to make warm.) She there died. 
 Her children, by her first husband, moved with their people 
 to the west. Emilee married A. H. Carpenter, a Frenchman 
 of higfh family. He practiced law in Jackson, Mississippi, 
 and rose to an eminence that caused him to be regarded as 
 a lawyer having few equals and no superiors. Mr. Carpen 
 ter died in 1852, followed by his wife in 1860. They left 
 two sons, Jerome and Surry. Jerome at the age of fifteen 
 entered the Confederate army as a private, serving under 
 General Robert E. Lee in Virginia. He was wounded July. 
 1862, at the battle of Malvern. After he had recovered he 
 served as one of Gen. Joe Johnson s body guards, and acted 
 in the capacity of dispatch bearer. Soon after the t war he 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 401 
 
 went to Mexico and received a commission as Colonel in 
 Maximillian s army. 
 
 At the defeat of Maximillian, the youthful Jerome was 
 condemned to be executed with the unfortunate Prince; but 
 was saved by the timely intervention of Secretary Seward. 
 As an acknowledgment of Jerome s services and devotion 
 to Maximillian, the Emperor, Francis Joseph, conferred the 
 title of "Baron" upon him, and also offered him a position in 
 the Austrian army, which he declined to accept. He re 
 turned to the United States, and was shortly afterwards 
 killed in a duel with Amos Price, leaving- a wife to mourn his 
 untimely death. He had no children. The other three 
 daughters married as follows: One married John Harkins, 
 who became the grand-father of Colonel G. W. Harkins of 
 the Chickasaw Nation; another married a man by the name 
 of Traydu or Traydew; and the other married a man by 
 the name of Harris. 
 
 The LeFlores have, ever since the introduction of the 
 family, always held a prominent place in the annals of Choc- 
 taw history; and can justly boast a noble genealogy that ex 
 tends far back into the twilight of history, when the Indians 
 were truly and justly the Lords from the Great Lakes of 
 the north to the Gulf of Mexico. Basil and Forbis were 
 the only sons who followed the fortunes of their banished 
 people to the west. William, as before stated, was acci 
 dentally drowned in Bok Iskitini; Benjamin lived and died at 
 his old home on the banks of a stream where he kept a ferry, 
 called Yockanookany, a corruption from Yakniokhina, (the 
 land of streams). 
 
 Major Louis LeFlore was adopted by the Choctaws, and: 
 gradually rose to great distinction as a chief among that ap 
 preciative people, who quickly discerned true merit and 
 knew how to esteem it. He with his brother Michael who* 
 came to Mississippi and also settled in the Yazoo Valley, and 
 Lewis Durant, also a Frenchman, and the progenitor of the 
 Durant family of Choctaws, first introduced cattle into the 
 western part of the Choctaw Nation from Mobile, about the 
 year 1770, the first animal of the bovine species ever seen bv 
 the Choctaws in that part of the Nation. They drove their 
 little herd to the waters of Pearl river in now, Nashoba 
 county, and placed them upon the range, then seemingly un 
 limited in its wide extended forests and impenetrable cane- 
 brakes. As a matter of course the cattle were a great curi 
 osity to the Choctaws. The LeFlores and Durant told an 
 amusing incident that took place a short time after their ar 
 rival at their ranch with the cattle. A little yearling had 
 strayed from the herd. It so happened that three Choctaw 
 
402 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 hunters soon after pitched their camp a few miles from the 
 newly established cattle ranch being- entirely ignorant of its 
 near proximity, and also of the new animals just introduced 
 into their hunting- grounds. One day, as usual, the three 
 hunters left their camps for a hunt, each taking- his course 
 yet keeping- near each other. During- the day one of them 
 discovered the yearling slowly emerging- from a little plat of 
 cane; to him a wonderful beast. Unseen by the lonely calf, 
 he stood, gazed, and wondered. Naught like that bad ever 
 been seen upon his hunting path before. What it was, 
 whence it came and how, baffled tbe wildest flights of even 
 conjecture. Twas not a deer, nor a panther, nor yellow 
 wolf! Must he signal for his companions? It might flee, 
 must he shoot? He might only wound and cause it to at 
 tack, and then what! But he raised his trusty rifle and 
 brought it to bear upon the unsuspecting calf; at that mo 
 ment he discovered that it was eating the grass similar to 
 his native deer; at once his fears were allayed and he con 
 cluded not to kill but to capture the prodigy, and take it alive 
 to his camp as a living wonder. 
 
 Setting his gun against a tree, he bolted for the calf; 
 which hearing the approaching footsteps, raised its head, 
 gazed a moment, and seeing the fast approaching and equally 
 strange object, at once gave the signal for a test of speed by 
 elevating its rear appendage to an angle of forty-five degrees, 
 and the race began; the pursued, for the realities of life, and 
 the pursuer for that of curiosity. Hither and thither, helter 
 skelter; round and round; here at rig ht angles, and there at 
 acute; now in a circle, and then ir\ a semi-circle; over logs 
 and through bushes, the astonished calf, with head straight 
 out, nostrils expanded, led his indefatigable and indefeasible 
 pursuer. Finally the physical endurance of a Choctaw 
 hunter proved superior to that of a city calf; for he now ran 
 but a few feet behind his coveted prize. But alas for human 
 hopes! With a desperate spring in which were centered all 
 his hopes, he made a g rab at the tail of the despairing calf 
 which then drooped at twenty-two and a half; when, seem 
 ingly to comprehend his design, the calf gave it a vigorous 
 twitch as it leaped a treacherous log that lay concealed in 
 the grass over which he tumbled headlong to the ground. 
 The lucky calf, comprehending the advantage offered, again 
 raised its flag to forty-five, and with invigorated strength 
 increased its speed, and was soon out of sight. 
 
 With hopes blighted, the unfortunate hunter crawled up 
 to a sitting posture and commenced rubbing his bruised and 
 painful knee, when he discovered that the whole top of the 
 knee moved hither and thither at his slightest push, "a thing 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 403 
 
 untaught in his book of anatomy, and at once concluded that 
 his leg" was fearfully shattered. He whooped to, his com 
 rades, who, happening- to be near and hearing- his call, has 
 tened to his side. They also, upon close examination of the 
 wounded limb, arrived at the same conclusion with the sup 
 posed injured man, when the two LeFlores and Durant, 
 .searching 1 for the strayed yearling, rode up; and taking in 
 the situation at a glance, after a few words of inquiry, they 
 soon explained the anatomy of the human knee to the three 
 hunters by showing them that the moving of the knee-cap 
 was common to all, and did not denote a broken bone. Being 
 thoroughly convinced of its truth, the fallen man arose to 
 his feet, gave a brief account of his adventure, pointed the 
 direction in which the strange beast had disappeared ; and 
 the three Choctaw deer hunters, and the three white calf 
 hunters, soon found the wanderer and safely placed it again 
 within the fold; then the three Choctaws returned to their 
 forest camp to talk over the adventures of the clay, as well 
 as the knowledge gained regarding the new animal intro 
 duced, whose flesh was equal, if not superior, to that of their 
 famous deer, and also of the addition to their knowledge in 
 osteology. 
 
 Major Lewis Le Flore resided for many years on the 
 waters of the Pearl River raising* cattle, and early became a 
 wealthy man; from his -stock, which increased rapidly in 
 their abundant range and genial climate, the surrounding 
 Choctaws supplied themselves with cattle. He then moved 
 to the Yazoo Valley where he spent the remainder of his 
 days respected and loved. As colonel, he commanded a bat 
 talion of Choctaw warriors under Jackson at the taking of 
 Pensacola in the Creek war of 1812. 
 
 Greenwood, after his father s death, succeeded him as 
 one of the chiefs of the Choctaw Nation, which he retained 
 until the exodus. He was a man of great energy, and to 
 whom nature had given force of character; and had he also 
 have bad the advantages of high mental culture, he would 
 have been a leader of men. He did not move west with his 
 people, but remained at his old home in a little town called 
 Greenwood, situated on a tributary of the Yazoo River, 
 where he lived to an advanced age, died and was buried there. 
 He was married twice. His wives were sisters, the daugh 
 ters of John Dunley of Alabama. The old chief was highly 
 respected by the whites, and was elected to the State Legis 
 lature as a member from Yazoo county ; and afterwards was 
 elected to the State Senate from Yazoo and Carroll counties. 
 
 William lived near the Yelobusha River (corrupted from 
 Yaloba-aia-sha where tadpoles abound). He, too, was a 
 
404 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 respected and useful man. He was^unfortunately drowned 
 in Bok Iskitini (as before stated) in the pride and manhood 
 of his life, regretted and mourned by all his numerous ac 
 quaintances and friends. His body was recovered and 
 buried at his home. 
 
 Forbis and Basil were the only two sons who moved west 
 with their people, both lived to an advanced age ; the former 
 died in 1883, the latter in 1886. Both were pious men and 
 died in strong" faith of a blissful immortality. Forbis, in re 
 lating his Christian experience, once said: "I was once a very 
 wicked man. God g-ave me a long rope a mighty long rope 
 but I cut it right short off." And his Christian life after 
 he embraced the religion of the Son of God, proved that he 
 did cut "right short off" from his wickedness. Forbis Le 
 Flore was indeed a man of stern merits, and blended with 
 his force of character were gentleness of spirit and entire 
 conscienciousness, by which he obtained the confidenceof his 
 people; and while he merited all their esteem by his virtues, 
 he also secured their affections by them. 
 
 Basil LeFlore was a man than whom a purer one is sel 
 dom found in this age of the world. Of him it can with truth 
 be said: "He was an honest man." His long and useful 
 life was devoted to the moral and intellectual improvement, 
 the prosperity and happiness of his fellow man. He filled 
 the highest public offices of his Nation with honor to himself 
 and his country. He was truly a bright and ever shining 
 light among the Choctaw people, of him they are justly 
 proud, for they have the best of reasons to be. Kind words 
 and pleasant smiles spread sunshine throughout his whole 
 actions; his home was a model home, where all the virtues 
 known to man seem to congregate and delight to dwell. I 
 speak from personal knowledge. But his crowning virtue 
 was his earnest piety, his simple, trusting faith. No one 
 could detect inconsistency in Basil LeFlore. He carried 
 his religion with him everywhere, which burned-, with a 
 steady beautiful light, making its influence felt far and wide. 
 His Christian life was truly most exemplary, his morals 
 the purest, and his principles the noblest, while unostenta 
 tious religion truly seemed a part and parcel of his being; 
 never arrogant or obtrusive, but all pervading and firm as 
 the Rock upon which his faith was founded. As a friend 
 he was warm-hearted, steadfast and true as the magnet to 
 the pole; as a public or private citizen his character was 
 above reproach; and his many virtues will ever be emulated, 
 his goodness of heart and head, and his numerous deeds of 
 charity and love remembered with profound gratitude. 
 
 To see him was to admire him; to meet him was to re- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 405 
 
 spect him; and to know him was to love and honor him. 
 His public services were not less patriotic than his private 
 virtues were conspicuous. The former are monuments to 
 his wisdom and honest statesmanship, and will ever be 
 viewed by his admiring people as stars in the firmament of 
 their Nation. And his life illustrates the possibilities of a 
 Choctaw citizen meriting and receiving the entire confidence, 
 respect and love of his people, whom he had long and faith 
 fully served in the capacity of a public servant; and the 
 respect and admiration of all the whites who were person 
 ally acquainted with him. He died full of years (well spent) 
 at the home of a friend, October, 1886, living a few miles 
 frpm his own, whom he was visiting. His death was sud 
 den and unexpected falling dead from his chair while at the 
 supper table. But his lamp was well trimmed and full of 
 oil waiting for his Master s call. "Blessed is the death of 
 the righteous." A Choctaw friend informed me of his death, 
 by letter, in the following truthful and memorable words: 
 * Gov Basil LeFlore is dead. He is the last of the family. 
 It is a national loss to the Choctaw and Chickasaw people. 
 Our best old men are fast disappearing." Yes, the death of 
 Basil LeFlore but thins still more the sadly thinned ranks 
 of the few noble old Choctaw men, whose ^history, if it had 
 been written, would be strangely beautiful and far more 
 interesting and fascinating than the most thrilling fiction, 
 since in it were hidden romantic truths of which the "pale 
 faces" never even dreamed, or will ever know. 
 
 Michael LeFlore, the brother and only relative of 
 Major Lewis LeFlore among the Choctaws, the people of 
 their adoption, had five sons, viz: Thomas, Michael, Joel, 
 Ward and Johnson, and two daughters, Mary and Sophia. 
 Thomas was chief in their present Nation for several years. 
 When I last heard of his widow she was still living near 
 Wheelock, Choctaw nation, and is said to be bordering on 
 a nundred years of age. Young Michael served as major in 
 the Confederate army through the civil war. 
 
 Louis Durant, a Canadian Frenchman, was the proprie 
 tor of the Durant family among the Choctaws, who came, 
 as before stated, to the Choctaw Nation with the two 
 brothers, Lewis and Michael LeFlore about the year 1770. 
 He, as his friends and contemporaries, the two LeFore 
 brothers, also selected a wife among the Choctaw forest 
 flowers, but whose name has been lost amid the vicissitudes 
 through which her people have passed. They had three 
 sons, Pierre, Charles and Lewis; and two daughters, Mar 
 garet and Syllan. The father and three sons served under 
 
406 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 their renowned chief, Apushamatahah, as allies of the 
 Americans in the Creek war of 1812. 
 
 Pierre had seven sons, viz: Fisher, George, Jefferson, 
 Sylvester, Isham, Ellis and Joseph. Ellis and Sylvester 
 served in the Confederate army during" the civil war of 1861,. 
 the former in the rank of major. Alexander Durant, one of the 
 Supreme Judges of the Choctaw Nation, (with whom I am 
 personally acquainted) is a son of George Durant. Fisher 
 Durant had three sons, Bissant, Dixon and Jesse. Dixon 
 is a minister of the Gospel. He is a poor man in a pecuni 
 ary sense, but rich in a spiritual sense. He seems to live 
 alone for the cause of his Divine Master and the salvation 
 of his fellow men. Ah! if the world s Christians were all 
 .such Christians as Dixon Durant, the djevil s kingdom on 
 earth would soon be overturned, and that of the World s. 
 Redeemer permanently established thereon. God be with 
 you, my Christian brother! Though poor in worldly goods, 
 and unknown to earthly fame, yet of you, will it not be said 
 in the day of final accounts, as of the poor widow who cast 
 her mite into the treasury? Who then of man can justly es 
 timate thy riches? 
 
 Margaret Durant married a man by the name of Eli 
 Crowder; and Syllan, a William Taylor.. The two husbands 
 were with their father-in-law and their three brothers-in-law 
 in the Creek war of 1812 as allies of the Americans. 
 
 Eli Crowder secured for himself, in the Creek war of 
 1812, the name Mu scokubi (Muscogee or Creek-Killer), which 
 he ever afterwards bore; being called by the Choctaws, Mus- 
 cokubi, and by the whites, Creek-Killer. The following are 
 the circumstances by which he gained the name: 
 
 At one time, during the campaign, a company of Choc- 
 taw warriors, of which he was a member, was encamped on 
 the outskirts of the main body of General Jackson s army, 
 then in the Muscogee or Creek Nation. Crowder, at that 
 time, possessed a little pony which had served him faithfully 
 in more than one trouble, and to which he was greatly at 
 tached through a sense of deep gratitude. He frequently 
 would attach a little bell to the neck of the pony and turn 
 him out at night upon the range to graze upon the luxuriant 
 grass that covered the earth in rich profusion, and go early 
 the next morning and drive him from his night wanderings 
 back to camp. Frequently the pony would wander a mile or 
 more from the camp during the "night, and Crowder had 
 been warned of the danger of his morning walk after the 
 pony, since a scouting Muscogee might be attracted some 
 night by the bell, and finding it upon the horse, naturally 
 conclude that the owner would be out after him in the morn- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 407 
 
 ing 1 , and would lie in ambush for him, and, ten to one, would 
 lift his scalp. But Crowder seemed to have no fears. One 
 morning-, however, in going after his pony, he heard the little 
 bell at rather an unusual distance awaj r , which aroused his 
 suspicions a little that perhaps the pony had been driven 
 there by a Muscogee scout in order to draw the anticipated 
 owner as far into the solitudes of the forest and away from 
 the Choctaw camp, whose location he perhaps well knew, 
 that he might the safer shoot him; therefore, he kept a vigi 
 lant outlook. When he had approached within sight of his 
 little truant quietly feeding some two or three hundred 
 yards distant, whose tinkling bell, mingling- its monotonous 
 tones with the song s of the various forest birds-, alone dis 
 turbed the profound silence of the scene. The peculiar cir 
 cumstances of the immediate surroundings, however, began 
 to awaken his suspicions the more that an enemy was lurk- 
 kig near, whose eyes, perhaps, already rested upon him. 
 But bracing- up his nerves he continued walking- slowly to 
 wards the pony, but with eyes playing- in all directions and 
 ears attentive to the minutest sound. He had approached 
 within two hundred yards of his pony when his watchful 
 eye detected the quick movement, as he thought, of an ob 
 ject four or five feet above the base of a large tree a few 
 rods to the left of the still quietly, feeding pony, who seemed 
 to be enjoying his breakfast upon the grass that lay in rich 
 profusion under his feet, as well as the tinkling* chimes of 
 his bell that alone broke the profound silence of the vast 
 solitude that lay around, unconscious of the bloody scene 
 that was about to be enacted at his very side. 
 
 Crowder made no halt, nor altered his movements in any 
 way, that might have a tendency to betray to his suspected 
 enemy (if real) that he suspicioned his presence. But while 
 he guarded with eagle eyes the suspected tree, he placed 
 double duty upon his ears and also glanced everywhere 
 around. He had walked but a few paces farther when he 
 noticed a seemingly unnatural protuberance, scarcely visi 
 ble, on one side of the now truly suspected tree. Yet he 
 slowly proceeded on his way, but kept an eye askant upon 
 the tree. As he steadily continued, he noticed the protuber 
 ance slowly, but surely, enlarging. Little by little it grew 
 in size until the outlines of half^the size of a man s head was 
 discernible then instantly disappeared. That told the 
 tale. Crowder easily guessed the lurking and peeping non 
 descript that stood behind the tree, and also why the pony 
 was so unusually distant from camps. In a twinkling he 
 formed ! his resolution. It was to continue walking towards 
 the pony until within sure range of his rifle, and then risk 
 
408 , HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 the chance of securing" the first shot. If he failed, then 
 Margaret Crowder would be a widow. But the word fail was 
 nowhere to be found in Muscokubi s vocabulary. Therefore, 
 he proceeded on his way, nothing* discomfitted by the new 
 acquaintance he was about to form, believing- he had as long 
 ranged rifle and was as accomplished an expert in the use of 
 it as he who was peeping from behind the tree, and who, he 
 felt sure, would indulge in another peep ere he risked a shot; 
 but after that he resolved to be no longer peeped at, without 
 indulging in a sly peep himself; so he slowly, but resolutely, 
 marched on towards his concealed foe, but kept his eyes 
 upon the place of his concealment. As he expected, again 
 he saw the unnatural protuberance slowly forming on the 
 side of the tree at the very spot where it had twice formed 
 before ; slowly, but steadily, inch by inch, it grew until it 
 was in size as before, then as instantly disappeared. Mus- 
 cokubi ran as nimbly and lightly as a cat towards the tree, 
 which brought him in easy range, and stopped, raised his 
 rifle and held it with unerring aim upon the very spot where 
 the apparition had so oft appeared and disappeared. There 
 he stood the very personification of a marble statue mo 
 tionless and silent. 
 
 Soon he saw the dark barrel of a rifle becoming slowly 
 visible and becoming plainer and plainer to view as it extend 
 ed out along the side of the tree and pointing toward him, 
 then was motionless; then as before, the apparition slowly 
 began to form; inch by inch it enlarged, but just as it reach 
 ed its former size the sharp crack of Muscokubi s rifle, fol 
 lowed by a dull, heavy thud, united with the tinkling pony 
 bell to break the forest silence. He then re-loaded his rifle 
 and again slowly advanced to the (to him) so nearly fatal tree 
 to learn the extent of his morning adventure, and there saw 
 a Muscogee warrior stretched full length in death, as he had 
 expected, with the right side of his head torn off the effect 
 of his death-dealing bullet. For a moment he gazed upon 
 his fallen foe; then severed the scalp from the head, attached 
 it to his belt, and with it and the rifle of the outwitted war 
 rior "as proofs of his adventure, returned to the camp slowly 
 driving the truant pony before him, while the unceasing 
 tinkling of the pony bell seemed as the exultants of both 
 pony and master the former in remembrance of his night s 
 rich repast, and the latter of the securing of the scalp and 
 rifle. 
 
 Eli Crowder, alias Muscokubi, lived, as would seem at 
 the present day, to the extraordinary age of 102 years, 2 
 months and 11 days; but longevity among the Choctaws at 
 that time, as well as among other southern tribes, was of 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 409 
 
 very common occurrence. His first wife was a white woman 
 by whom he had two sons. From her he separated cause 
 unknown. He then married a Choctaw woman by whom he 
 had nine sons and two daughters, who were born: Harris, 
 Jackson, Phebe, James, Catherine, Solomon, David, Louis, 
 Washington, Martin, and one who died in infancy. 
 
 His Chocta\y wife dying, he married a Chickasaw 
 woman, by whom he had nine sons; Francis Marion (known 
 as Dick,) Eli, Van (known as Bob); the fourth died in in 
 fancy; then followed Thomas, William, Joshua, George and 
 John. Louis Crowcler, (or Louie, as he is called, and to 
 whom I am indebted for all the above concerning the 
 Crowder family,) the sixth son of Muscokubi by his Choctaw 
 wife, is acknowledged throughout the Choctaw Nation as the 
 best interpreter in it. He has been acting in the capacity of 
 general interpreter for the Choctaws and Missionaries dur 
 ing the last forty-five years. He is a consistent member of 
 the Old School Presbyterian Church (south). His grand 
 father, James Crowder was an ordained Methodist minister 
 of the Gospel; and two of his uncles, Jeptha and Levi, were 
 class leaders in, the Methodist church. He has been greatly 
 afflicted with rheumatism for many years, yet has born his 
 affliction with becoming Christian fortitude, ever wearing a 
 smiling face and a cheerful countenance. 
 
 John Harkins, a white man, is the father of the Harkins 
 family of Choctaws. His advent to the Choctaw nation was, 
 as near as can be ascertained, about the year 1800 or soon 
 afterwards. He was a man of high-toned principles, and 
 contemporary with the Folsoms, Nails, Pitchlynns, Le- 
 Flores, Durants, Cravats, Crowders, and others of the long 
 ago, who married among the Choctaws; all men, who, hav 
 ing cast their lot among that people made their interests 
 their own, and sought, by every means in their power to 
 elevate them in the scale of morality and virtue. 
 
 John Harkins married a daughter of Major Lewis 
 LeFlore, by whom he had four sons Willis, George, Rich 
 ard and James. Willis married Salina Folsom, oldest daugh 
 ter of Col. David Folsom. They had two sons, George W. 
 and Crittendon, and one daughter, Salina. 
 
 Col. George W^ Harkins was a graduate of Danville Col 
 lege, Kentucky. He was a man of acknowledged abilities; 
 a lawyer by profession, and a fine jurist and wise counsellor. 
 He for many years acted in the capacity of delegate to 
 Washington in attending to the national affairs of the Chick 
 asaw Nation, with which people, though a Choctaw by con 
 sanguinity, he cast his lot. He was a bold, vigorous and 
 able defender of the rights of his people in the Congress of 
 
410 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 the United States; and by energetic and fervent persever 
 ance, with solid learning 1 , he rose to eminence in the spheres 
 of an active life, as well as in his profession. He died in 
 August, 1891. 
 
 Salina, the only daughter, is a lady of fine literary at 
 tainments, and high cultivation of both mind and heart ; and 
 who, by an indefeasible resolution and indefatigable perse 
 verance has placed herself high in the esteem and confidence 
 of a wide circle of admiring friends. She has never mar 
 ried, but seems to prefer fighting the battles of life single 
 handed than running the risk of finding a partner in the 
 present seemingly rickety old ship of matrimony, who would 
 prove a worthy ally in the campaign from time to eternity, 
 amid its fluctuating hopes and fears, its joys and sorrows ; 
 though many a young swain has taken issue with her in re 
 gard to her convictions, and truly believes her decision is 
 injudicious and without true wisdom for its foundation. But 
 there being two sides to the mooted question, the future 
 alone can and will decide whose arguments will prevail; 
 though the flag of victory thus far triumphantly waves over 
 the citadel which the still defiant young lady holds as a wise, 
 ""judicious and brave commander. She graduated in one of 
 the female colleges of Tennessee, after which she .engaged,, 
 for a while, in teaching, but for several years was engaged 
 as telegraph operator at Talbott Station, Tennessee. She at 
 different intervals visits her relatives and friends in the 
 Choctaw Nation, then returns \to her duties in Tennessee. 
 May prosperity and happiness attend her through life. 
 
 George, of the four sons of John Harkins, was one of 
 the chiefs of the Choctaw Nation in 1852, in conjunction 
 with Cornelius McCurtain and George Folsom. 
 
 But it would not be practicable, were it even possible, to 
 give a sketch, though short, of the lives of all the Choctaws 
 who became conspicuous by their virtues and noble deeds, 
 both of unmixed and mixed .blood, being wise in counsel, 
 brave in the field of battle, judicious in peace, orators by 
 nature, and who eloquently and courageously presented the 
 wrongs and sustained the rights of .their people. 
 
 It has been my good fortune, as well as pride and pleas 
 ure, to be personally acquainted from youth to old age with 
 the majority of those Choctaws whose characteristics I have 
 thus delineated; and with the ancient and present habits, 
 manners and customs, of whose people I have made myself 
 fully acquainted by the diligent study, the long and free as 
 sociation and close observation of over three score and ten 
 years; and it has ever been, and will ever continue to be, my 
 sunniest memories to know that I have ever stood as the 
 
F 
 
 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 411 
 
 friend of the Red Man, as my parents before me who sev 
 ered the ties of all that makes life most dear, leaving- all be 
 hind, to go to the rescue of the Choctaw people in obedience 
 to their Divine Master s injunction "Go ye into all the world 
 and preach my gospel" and also that I have been blest with 
 such noble friends as I have found, secured and still possess 
 in them, true as the needle to the pole, and in whose friend 
 ship unalloyed I have always found, still find, and ever ex 
 pect to find, equal joy and cheer, though a people unknown 
 to earthly fame. 
 
 And though I freely and proudly acknowledge my preju 
 dice in their favor, if love and friendship without alloy,. based 
 updn true merit, are worthy that title, yet I have endeavored 
 to give a truthful sketch of those noble and as worthy men 
 as ever blest a Nation, though much more might be said of 
 their virtues; and with equal truth of hundreds of others of 
 that noble people, both men and women, who have lived and 
 died, and others who still live, but occupied a less public, yet 
 none the less useful and glorious sphere in life, since they 
 did their duty and thus filled it nobry. 
 
 It is the first time their names have been presented to- 
 .the world; and I have ventured this just and true sketch for 
 the consideration of those of my own race who have hereto 
 fore seemingly felt, and therefore evidently exercised but 
 little interest in the North American Indians, beyond that 
 found in reading the falsehoods and vituperations published 
 against them in the sensational articles of the day by many 
 of the newspaper men. 
 
 What more could be expected but that the Indian Race 
 should be regarded, root and branch, as being incapable of 
 possessing or exercising any of those virtues whose ten 
 dencies are to elevate and adorn the human race? To the 
 refutation of this false charge, have I given to the world the 
 characteristics of the Indian hoping that it might serve, to 
 some extent at least to remove from the minds of those open 
 to conviction, the gross errors under which they have been 
 living in regard to that unfortunate but noble race, by their 
 thoughtless credulity when giving heed to the defamations 
 of those who scruple not to do anything by which they can 
 add a penny to their selfish interests. Still I know the 
 sketch given of those noble Choctaws may be, and will be 
 cast aside by those over whom long established prejudice 
 still sways her merciless sceptre, with the interrogatory, 
 "Cari anything good come out of Nazareth"? To which I 
 respond: There did. A glorious light which exposed to- 
 view a world that lay in moral and intellectual darkness. 
 What next? This much. What I have writte n, I have writ- 
 
412 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 i . 
 
 ten; and with a full knowledge of its truth, sustained by over 
 three quarters of a century s personal acquaintance and ex 
 perience with the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, and con 
 firmed by hundreds of others whose acquaintance and ex 
 perience are greater than my own, and bidding defiance to 
 successful contradiction. 
 
 But it will not trouble me, as far as my own individual 
 interests are concerned, if the facts presented are rejected 
 as the wild and absurd hallucinations of a disordered brain; 
 but only in behalf of the down-trodden Indian I would that 
 they might be otherwise accepted; as lam well aware, that a 
 brief period will place me beyond all anxiety in their behalf, 
 and I shall leave them to the humanity, or inhumanity, of an 
 other generation; but in which, God grant, others, more able 
 and worthy than myself, shall rise up as their true friends 
 and successful protectors against any future generation 
 whose humanity may not exceed that of the present. Old 
 and worthy friends they are, long tried and ever true, there 
 fore doubly dear in their misfortunes. I still delight to take 
 them by the hand as of old and listen to their voices, harmo 
 nious in gentle tones of love and friendship unalloyed, reviv 
 ing the memory of happy years long past, when in child 
 hood s morn I listened with delight to their songs of praise 
 ~ > Israel s God; and though but few remain with whom I 
 trod life s flowery paths, scattered here and there at their 
 humble homes and around their peaceful firesides calm and 
 silent; yet the names of those whose places in the old family 
 circle are vacant now still live in tender recollection ; and my 
 sojourns among them have been to me like rambling amid 
 pleasant scenes of the remembered past; and bringing long 
 hidden beauties again to light by the fresh cementing of that 
 friendship which has grown stronger with increasing years, 
 and given t ) me the pleasant thought that there is, at least, 
 one spot c i earth, if no other, that I can visit as long as life 
 endures; the assurance of an unfeigned welcome that is as 
 spontaneous as it is sincere and beautiful, and which I ven 
 ture to lay upon the shrine of our life-long friendship that 
 has existed untarnished through the vicissitudes of nearly 
 eighty yeai s. 
 
 Dark indeed have been the clouds and shadows that have 
 swept over those time-honored friends; but they nobly and 
 bravely withstood the fiery test, and slowly and surely 
 pressed forward and upward over innumerable difficulties, 
 until those clouds and shadows were riven, and their names 
 now stand forth in a bright and glorious sunshine; for, coin 
 cident with their early and high position among their people, 
 a little star was seen to twinkle, which small though it was, 
 
X 
 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 413 
 
 added its mite in dispelling- the moral and intellectual dark 
 ness that so long had brooded o er their Nation; and, from 
 whatever point we view it, we find it has pierced the dark 
 clouds and revealed the bright sky beyond; and with great 
 and noble objects in view resting upon the firm foundation 
 rock of Truth, and with the help of a just God above, they 
 have been enabled to withstand the taunts and malice of a 
 selfistT and unmerciful world, and to-day their works do 
 show forth in tffe peace and prosperity of their people; and 
 to-day, if those g*ood men, whose memories stand along 
 down the years of the Choctaws past ^history, were called 
 up -from their graves and asked, what was their proudest 
 boast? they would respond with one united voice: "We 
 stood on the side of truth and justice, and ever were the ad 
 vocates of temperance and virtue." 
 
 But if, in your opinion, reader, I have committed errors 
 of judgment in my sketch of those illustrious Choctaws, and 
 in my emotional feelings of interest in behalf of them and 
 their people, in excuse I plead but two things: The strength 
 of affection for worthy men and their no less worthy peo 
 ple, and the weakness (if it be a weakness) of human nature. 
 If these carry 110 weight with you, read no further. You 
 are too good for me, and I am too human for you. We can 
 not be congenial nor abiding friends, so there let the matter 
 forever rest. 
 
 Yet it is surpassingly strange that talent, worth and 
 true merit should be so overlooked, and so little appreciated, 
 because its possessor occupies an imaginary low position in 
 the fabric of society; in other" words, because he is an Indian. 
 Alas! When will human nature recognize the great truth 
 and be actuated by it in social intercourse, that some flowers 
 may be repulsive at first sight, but when closely examined 
 unfold a world of beauty, and so it is with man. But if in 
 the face of all the immense array of incontrovertible testi 
 mony that has been and still can be adduced to sustain the 
 present^and long moral and intellectual standing of the 
 Choctaws and their four sister tribes, the Chickasaws, Cher- 
 okees, Creeks and Seminoles, and many other tribes within 
 the jurisdiction of these United States, there still remain 
 those who cling to their unenviable ignorance and inconsist 
 ent prejudices. It can only be said of them, "They are 
 joined to their idols, let them alone." 
 
 The government of the Choctaws is modeled after that 
 of the state of Mississippi, and was adopted before they 
 were exiled from their ancient domains to their present 
 places of abode. The executive power is lodged in a gov 
 ernor. Each county in the Nation chooses a sheriff and 
 
414 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 other officers by ballot. The legislative department consists 
 of a general council, comprising- a senate and house of rep 
 resentatives. The Nation is divided into three districts, 
 from each of which four senators are sent. The members 
 of the house of representatives are chosen by ballot from 
 the various counties. The judiciary consists in a supreme 
 court of three judges, one from each district. The names 
 of three judicial districts are A-push-a-ma-ta-ha, A-puk-shen- 
 ub-i, and A-mo-sho-la-ub-i, the names of three of their former 
 and famous chiefs. The senior judge is the Chief Justice. 
 This court has only appellate jurisdiction. A prosecuting 
 attorney is elected in each district, whose duty it is to rep- 
 represent the Nation in all civil and criminal cases. The 
 national capital is Tush-ka Hum-ma, (red warrior) where a 
 National Council and Supreme Court are annually held, con 
 vening on the first Monday in October of each year. 
 
 In the First District, the court holds its session during 
 the entire session of their courts; and mv informer re 
 marked: "It is beautiful to see how harmoniously and 
 Christian-like they engage in these religious exercises and 
 devotions." Noble people and true servants of the Most 
 High! 
 
 I was informed by the Choctaws, when visiting Tushka 
 Humma in October, 1884, during the session of their council, 
 that during the session of their District Courts as well as 
 that of the national council, which are invariably opened by 
 prayer, they have preaching every night in the week; and 
 that many of the district judges, attorneys and jurymen, 
 are ministers of the Gospel of all denominations, preaching 
 alternately at night. 
 
THE CHICKASAWS. 
 
 Conquest or Progress! It is the same, since it is with 
 blood that the book of humanity is written. The pages here 
 devoted to the narrative of the Chickasaw Indians is not an 
 exception; their s, too, is stained with the seemingly inevita 
 ble sanguinary horrors, but nowhere is the trace inexplica 
 ble. To some it may seem useless and even wrong to recall 
 these pages of history so distant in the past, which began in 
 wrong, continued in wrong and will end, so for as human ob 
 servation can judge, in wrong, and then ask nothing better 
 than to be forgotten. Alas, experience has shown that to 
 change the mode of life of a primitive race is to condemn it 
 to death ; since always regarded as an inferior race by their 
 conquerors, they have been swept away without justice or 
 mercy a people who had existed in an unbroken line of de 
 scent from prehistoric ages unknown. 
 
 East of the Mississippi River was also the Chickasaws 
 hereditary domain, handed down through a long line of an 
 cestry during ages unknown, and who, like the Choctaws, 
 were first made known to the Eastern world by Hernando 
 de Soto who invaded their country in the month of Novem 
 ber, 1540; but beyond which, except through the tradition of 
 the Choctaws and Chickasaws, as before related, the faintest 
 glimmerings of vague tradition has afforded scarcely a ray 
 of light to penetrate the darkness which envelops their his- 
 to -y with its mantle of silence; yet has also opened a wide 
 field to those dreamy speculations of which the imagination 
 is so fond, and in which it so delights to indulge. Ah, would 
 not their ancient history, if known, present as many subjects 
 of interest as any other race of primitive man, our own not 
 excepted? Would there not be much found in that period of 
 their early existence which precedes their known history, 
 which, when placed in contrast to their seemingly unhappy, 
 cruel destiny, appeals to the heart of the Christian? Who, 
 .so incapable of reflection, could sit under the shades of the 
 gigantic trees of centuries growth that bedecked their an 
 cient possessions, standing so densely together that their 
 wide extended branches, interlocked high above, shutting 
 
416 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 out the rays of the sun which only reached the ground here 
 and there, while the earth beneath was covered with grass, 
 from twelve to fifteen inches high, interspersed with a great 
 variety of w r ild flowers, many of which were of exquisite 
 beauty and emitting the sweetest perfume, with no bushes 
 to mar the beauty and grandeur of the fascinating scene; or 
 on the top of those ancient mounds, the sepulchers of man 
 erected by his own hand the Nunih Waiyahs of the long 
 ago and not feel his whole soul glow with hallowed emo 
 tions ? 
 
 Let your thoughts again revert to the scene presented 
 in the Ba y of Santo Spiritu, Florida, May 31st, 1540. Three 
 vessels, it is recorded, of strange- and curious shape to the 
 native beholders, bearing the banner of haughty Spain, 
 moored close to their shores, and one thousand men of in 
 fantry and three hundred cavalry landed in proud array, 
 with Hernando De Soto, their -leader, the former companion 
 of Pizarro, in his conquest of Peru and butchery of its 
 helpless inhabitants. View again the heroism of those 
 ancient Choctaws in the patriotic defense of their city, 
 Moma-Binah. Look again upon those noble Choctaw women 
 mothers, wives, sisters and daughters lighting side be 
 side with fathers, husbands, brothers and sons, mid blood 
 and carnage, and perishing in the flames of their burning 
 homes rather than yield to the human fiends that had in 
 vaded t/heir country. Take also a retrospective view of 
 those foreign marauders afterwards quartered for the win 
 ter in Chikasahha, November, 1540, the most ancient city of 
 the Chickasaws, the bravest of the brave among the North 
 American Indians, whose king (th Chickasaw rulers were 
 anciently called kings instead of chiefs) had received De Soto 
 and his followers (though uninvited) with the greatest kind 
 ness, and extended to them the hospitality of his town and 
 eople; but who, preparatory to the renewal of his wild and 
 AOtic journey in the following spring, manifested his 
 gratitude to the generous Chickasaw king for his kindness 
 and hospitality, by haughtily demanding two hundred of his 
 warriors to accompany him in his dubious adventures as 
 burden bearers and servants of the camp. To which inso 
 lent, insulting and outrageous demand the Chickasaw king 
 scorned to submit, and evaded a direct answer to De Soto 
 by requesting a few days in which to lay the matter before 
 his people in council assembled, but during which interval 
 nobly prepared for a bold resistance ; and, ere the insolent 
 invaders were aware, gave his reply to De Soto s insulting 
 demand in the defiant war-whoop; then setting fire to their 
 town in which the perfidious Spaniards were sleeping, the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 417 
 
 \ 
 
 brave and justly indignant Chickasaws, with a noble patriot 
 ism, unsurpassed even in- the civilized world, rushed upon 
 their unprincipled and ungrateful invaders and intruders. 
 
 But as the Choctaws, in defense of Moma Binah a few 
 months before, were defeated, so too were the Chickasaws ;. 
 for. what could avail the feeble bow and arrow wielded by an 
 unprotected body against powder and lead, lance and broad 
 sword wielded by a steel-clad body? Yet they bravely 
 fought until hundreds of their noble warriors were slain and 
 longer fighting was vain; not without, however, making it a 
 deadly fought victory to the Spaniards; besides teaching 
 them, as had the Choctaws a few weeks before, that, though 
 termed savages, yet they were patriots and heroes unsurpass 
 ed even by exotic barbarians (\f boasted Castillian blood with 
 bodies incased in steel; since, unprotected and with feeble 
 bows and arrows, the young Chickasaw king and his war 
 riors heroically attacked the insolent intruders and maraud 
 ers and justly punished their base ingratitude by burning 
 their ancient Capitol, Chikasahha the Moscow of the Chick 
 asaws in which De Soto had unceremoniously quartered his 
 cruel* soldiers for the near approaching winter, and killed 
 many of his men and horses, destroying the greater part of 
 his baggage, throwing his entire army into confusion; and 
 though the Chickasaws were finally defeated by superior 
 arms, yet De Soto was glad to bid them an eternal adieu .with 
 out any further demonstration of their prowess. Thus, as. 
 the Choctaws were initiated into a knowledge of the charac* 
 teristics of the White Race, so too were the Chickasaws. 
 And from that day to the present, the former bright sun of 
 their freedom, contentment and happiness, alike with their 
 entire race upon the North American continent, has been 
 steadily and constantly waning. And though over 400 years, 
 have elapsed since their entire country was sleeping in its 
 cradled wilderness of grand forests and prairies, unknown 
 in its solitude and beauty to the Eastern world, yet they 
 were here, .but in their primitive state of nature, as they 
 were then regarded and so termed ; and, being also pro 
 nounced by their new discoverers to be of different origin 
 from all others of the human race, they were denounced as. 
 "unreclaimable savages" from that day to this; yet were a 
 noble branch of the human -race, possessing more of the vir 
 tues that adorn humanity, and fewer of vices that degrade,, 
 than any other race of unlettered people recorded upon the 
 pages of history, ancient or modern. To-dav as a race of 
 people, though overpowered (not conquered), impoverished, 
 calumniated, abused, they fearlessly challenge these United 
 States to show purer and cleaner skirts, in point of virtue 
 
418 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 \ 
 
 and morality as set forth in the Bible (our professed guide) 
 and point to the God of the Bible as the judge by whose de 
 cision they will abide. Who will take up that glove thrown 
 at our feet as an acceptance of the challenge? 
 
 Three centuries .after, the Russians burned their capi- 
 tol, Moscow, over the head of their invader, Napoleon Bona 
 parte; thus forcing him to retreat at the loss of his army; 
 which act of patriotism was heralded over the world by the 
 pens of historians as meriting immortal fame; while the pa 
 triotism of the true Native Americans, though equally meri 
 torious, remains unwritten and unsung. But such is the 
 consistency of fallen and depraved humanity everywhere, 
 and such too is its boasted justice. 
 
 No history records the Chickasaws past prior to their 
 acquaintance with the White Race. Like their entire race, 
 it is hidden amid the mysteries of the unknown. But from 
 the legends handed down through the long and bewildering 
 tracts of time by their "wise old men," those Chroniclers of 
 the North American Indians long ago, as related to the 
 missionaries seventy-five years in the past, the voice of the 
 Chickasaw s traditions are in harmony with the dubious 
 lights afforded by the Magi of the ancient Choctaws; differ 
 ing, however, in a few iionessential particulars. Their tra 
 dition in regard to ancestry, migration, etc, are the same as 
 the Choctaws, being o.ne tribe and people until the mutual 
 division made by their two chiefs Chikasah and Chahtah 
 many years after their arrival and location east of the Mis 
 sissippi river. 
 
 In the year 1S19 the Synod of South Carolina resolved 
 to establish a mission among" the Southern Indians east of 
 the Mississippi river. The Cherokees, Muscogees, Semi- 
 noles, Choctaws and Chickasaws then occupied Georgia, 
 Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Rev. David Humphries 
 offered to take charge of the intended mission. He was 
 directed to visit the Indians, obtain their consent and select 
 a suitable location. Rev. T. C. Stewart, then a young licen 
 tiate, offered himself as a; companion to Mr. Humphries. 
 They first visited the Muscogees (Creeks), who , in a coun 
 cil of the Nation, declined their proposition. They then 
 traveled through Alabama into Mississippi, and proposed to 
 establish a mission among the Chickasaws. They found 
 them on the eve of holding a council of the Nation to elect a 
 king. In that council, held in 1820, permission was granted 
 the missionaries to establish missions in their Nation, and a 
 charter was signed by the newly-chosen king. The two 
 missionaries then returned to South Carolina. During the 
 return Mr. Humphries concluded-that he was not called to 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 419 
 
 preach to the untaught North American Indians. But the 
 Rev. T. C. Stewart, during- the same journey, firmly resolved 
 to undertake the self-denying work, and offered to take 
 charge of the contemplated mission. The Synod gladly ac 
 cepted, and he at once commenced making preparations to 
 enter upon the life of a missionary to the Chickasaws. In 
 January, 1821, he reached the place chosen for a station, and 
 named it Monroe Station, in honor of James Monroe, the 
 then president of the United States. Mr. Stewart was the 
 only missionary. Two men, however, accompanied him with 
 their families one named Vernon, a mechanic, the other 
 named Pickens, a farmer. Houses were erected, a farm 
 opened, a school established, and preaching through an in 
 terpreter. 
 
 Rev. T. C. Stewart was born in the year 1793, and died 
 in Tupelo, Mississippi, October 9th, 1882. 
 
 In early youth I was personally acquainted with that 
 great philanthropist, sincere and self sacrificing Christian, 
 T. C. Stewart; and in recalling the reminiscences of those 
 years of the long ago, I can but regard them as treasures 
 from the memory of those jsvho were indeed what they pro 
 fessed to be, honest and sincere friends of the entire North 
 American Indian Race, as well as all mankind the world over. 
 Yet those memories are freighted with sadness, when re 
 flecting that all those hallowed relics have passed a way 
 leaving the poor Indians, for whom they so long and faith- 
 fullyjabored, to struggle among wolves (many in sheeps 
 clothing) with few such shepherds to counsel and lead them 
 as those old missionary heroes of eighty years ago; while 
 those years with their vicissitudes have silvered the heads 
 of the only two remaining children now living, of those 
 messengers of peace and bearers of the glad tidings of great 
 joy to the descendants of two traditional brother-chiefs 
 Chahtah and Chikasah; the one a daughter living in Bel- 
 pry, Ohio; the other a son living in Greenville, Texas. Both 
 were born among the Choctaws at the Missionary Station 
 Mayhew; but now, under the weight of years beyond those 
 allotted to man s eartjily pilgrimage, totter upon the banks 
 of the mystic river; and though the scenes and the land 
 marks of the early labors of their fathers and mothers, 
 hallowed by their foot-prints as the devoted friends of the 
 Red Man, have long been blotted out, as far as concerns 
 the White Race; yet they still live in the hearts of the pres 
 ent civilized and Christian people, the Chickasaws and Choc- 
 taws, whom they have handed down to the present as liv 
 ing, moving monuments of the great and abiding truth that 
 the North American Indians everywhere are as susceptible 
 
420 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 of as high civilization and Christianity as any race of people 
 that ever lived upon earth. 
 
 The little colony soon became a centre of Gospel light -and 
 civilizing influences, to the whole Nation. Other missiona 
 ries came at different times to aid the one man, who began 
 the good work: Rev. Hugh Wilson, in 1821, from North Car 
 olina; Rev. W. C. Blair, from Ohio, in 1822; James Holmes, 
 of Pennsylvania, in 1824. The first two named, after the 
 removal of the Indians, went to Texas, where their bodies 
 now sleep, Mr. Holmes was licensed to preach after he 
 came to the mission as teacher. He became a doctor of 
 divinity and taught a classical school of high reputation at 
 Covington, Tennessee, for many years, and died at an ad 
 vanced age. But it is unnecessary to enter into a detail of 
 the fruits of this mission. It will suffice to say that many 
 Indian youths who have become prominent in their tribe as 
 legislators, preachers of the Gospel and influential citizens, 
 received their education, in part or in full, at Monroe. The 
 foundation ot a Christian civilization, to whieh the Chicka- 
 saws have years ago reached and stilt firmly maintain, may 
 be safely said, was laid in the mission of which the noble 
 T. C. Stewart was founder. 
 
 About the year 1822 Rev. Haynes opened a school in the 
 Chickasaw Nation, near the southern line of the Cherokee 
 Nation, under the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, 
 for the benefit of which George Colbert established a board 
 ing house. This school and the one established at Monroe 
 by Rev. T. C. Stewart, January 1821, soon became flourishing 
 institutions of learning. In the course of years a son of Rev. 
 Haynes married a Chickasaw girl who formerly had been a 
 pupil at his father s school. He (the son) labored among 
 both the Chickasaws and the Choctaws as a missionary until 
 they emigrated west. He lived with his Chickasaw wife 
 nearly forty years, when she died. He then (1884) went 
 west to live with his daughter, Mrs. Eads, who lives in Lone 
 Oak, Denton county, Texas. At that time he was 88 years 
 of age, still in his mental vigor and attending to his minis 
 terial duties. 
 
 In 1821 the Methodist church sent out Rev. Alex Deavers 
 as a missionary to the Chickasaws, who remained among 
 them until they moved west. He had two sons, one of whom 
 married a Chickasaw girl and the other a Choctaw. 
 
 De Soto and his band gave to the Choctaws at Moma 
 Binah and the Chickasaws at Chikasahha their first lesson in 
 the white man s modus operandi to civilize and Christianize 
 North American Indians; so has the same lesson been con 
 tinued to be given to that unfortunate people by his white 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 421 
 
 successors from that day to this, all over this continent, but 
 which to them, was as the tones of an alarm-bell at midnight. 
 And one hundred and twenty-three years have passed since 
 our forefathers declared all men of every nationality to be 
 free and equal on the soil of the North American continent 
 then under their jurisdiction, except the Africans whom 
 they held in slavery, and the Native Americans agai nst 
 whom they decreed absolute extermination because they 
 could not also enslave them; toprove which, they at once began 
 to hold out flattering- inducements to the so-called oppressed 
 people of all climes under the sun, to come to free America 
 and assist them to oppress and kill off the Native Ameri 
 cans and in partnership take their lands and country, as this 
 was more in accordance with their lust of wealth and speedy 
 self-aggrandizement than the imagined slow process of edu 
 cating, civilizing and Christianizing them, a work too con 
 descending, too humiliating; and to demonstrate that it has 
 been a grand and glorious success, we now point with 
 vaunting pride and haughty satisfaction to our broad and 
 far extended landed possessions as indisputable evidence of 
 our just claims to the resolution passed by our pilgrim an 
 cestors, "We are the children of the Lord"; and to the little 
 remnant of hapless, helpless and hopeless Indians who 
 calmly wait their turn to be wiped out as tribes and nation 
 alities, that the y also, as all their race before, may give 
 place to our glorious institutions of civilization. 
 
 Justly have the ancient Chickasaws been regarded as the 
 bravest and most skillful warriors among all the North 
 American Indians; and it has been affirmed that they never 
 were conquered, though fighting oft under adverse circum 
 stances; and also, had they maintained the fight with DeSoto 
 but a few hours longer, they would have defeated him and 
 utterly destroyed his army, leaving not a single one to tell of 
 his overthrow arid Complete extermination. The surround 
 ing tribes recognized and acknowledged them as justly the 
 lords and masters of the vast territory they claimed extend 
 ing from the Yalobaaiasha (Tadpole Habitation corrupted 
 to Yalobusha), Mississippi, north to t^e Ohio River, and from 
 the Mississippi to the Muscle Shoals in the Tennessee River ; 
 afTd oft the Indian hunters from the prairies of Illinois and 
 the lakes of the North, in pursuing the deer and buffalo in 
 the then wide extended and magnificent forests south of the 
 Ohio River, trespassed upon those of the Chickasaws and 
 fierce and bloody battles ensued. As it is the Choctaws 
 boast "they never in war shed an American s blood" so it 
 is the Chickasaws boast "they never in war shed a white 
 man s blood of English descent." 
 
422 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Neither the Choctaws nor Chickasaws ever engaged in 
 war against the American people, but always stood as their 
 faithful allies. It has been published that, after the destruc 
 tion of Fort Mims by the Creeks, in 1812, "the Chickasaw 
 towns began to paint and sing their war songs ; and the 
 Choctaws had snuffed the scent of -blood and were panting 
 for war, and ready to draw the scalping knife against the 
 Americans." This was founded alone on rumor promul 
 gated for sensational purposes, so much delighted in by our 
 people, especially if it regards the Indians. True, had the 
 Choctaws, Chickasaws and Cherokees united with the Mus- 
 cogees and Seminoles in 1812, depopulation of all the white 
 settlements within their territories would have been the 
 inevitable result. The Chickasaws and Choctaws, though 
 distinct nations, yet speaking nearly the same language, 
 were generally animated by the same views and motives ; 
 had nearly the same customs and habits ; were governed by 
 the same principles, and followed by the same fortunes. 
 Alike, they were doomed to experience the same ingratitude 
 from the American people, which caused thousands of them 
 to descend in poverty and sorrow to untimely graves, leaving 
 it for posterity to do justice to their memory, while the re 
 maining few and feeble stand waiting for us to exert our 
 clemency in helping them to prosperity and happiness, or 
 display our power in the destruction of their nationalit} r and 
 sending them forth as sheep without a shepherd among 
 ravenous wolves, already howling upon their heels. 
 
 But let us go back, reader, a few centuries and review 
 the progress of the early European settlers of this continent 
 and their dealings with each other and also their modus oper- 
 andi to dispossess the Native Americans and secure, each 
 for .their own nationality, the entire continent, as they in 
 truded upon the Indians, tribe after tribe, until they reached 
 the Chickasaws. 
 
 Twenty years after Columbus made his great discovery 
 Juan Ponce de Leon, ex-governor of Porto Rico, sailed from 
 that island in March, 1512, and landed off/ the coast of the 
 now State of Florida, which he gave that name, from the 
 profusion of wild flowers, seen on all sides, and its having 
 been first seen on Easter Sunday, which was called ^by the 
 Spaniards, Pascua Florida "The Country of Flowers." 
 In May, 1539, Ferdinand de Soto, Governor of Cuba, landed 
 at Tampa Bay. 
 
 For many years, by the so-called right of discovery 
 Spain claimed the entire country, bounded by the Atlantic 
 to thp Gulf of St. Lawrence on the north, all of which being 
 then known by the name of Florida. About twenty years 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 4.23 
 
 after DeSoto made his discovery of the Mississippi river, a 
 few Roman Chatholic missionaries made an attempt to 
 establish settlements at St. Augustine and its vicinity;- and 
 shortly afterwards a colony of French Calvinists was estab 
 lished ontheSt. Mary s river near the coast, butwas destroyed 
 in 1565 by an expedition from Spain, under Pedro Melendez 
 de Aviles, cowardly murdering" upwards of nine hundred 
 French men, women and children, and suspending- many of 
 the slain to branches of trees, with the inscription "Not as 
 Frenchmen but as heretics." This diabolical butchery 
 being accomplished, Melendez founded St. Augustine, the 
 oldest town by nearly half a century of any in the United 
 States. Four years after, Dominic de Gourges, to avenge 
 the butchery of his countrymen on the St. Mary s river, 
 fitted out an expedition at his own expense and attacking the 
 Spanish colonists on the St. Mary s river, he ravaged the 
 settlements with fire and sword, burning their houses, de 
 molishing their forts, and slaying the inhabitants. This 
 being accomplished, he, in turn, suspended some of the 
 dead bodies from the trees, with the inscription, "Not as 
 Spaniards, but as murderers," and then returned to France 
 with his fleet. With the exception of a few years, Spain 
 held Florida until 1819, when, greatly diminished from its 
 original boundaries, it was ceded to the United States, and 
 became a state in 1845, 
 
 In 1535 James Cartier, a French explorer, sailed with an 
 expedition up the St. Lawrence and took formal possession 
 of the country in the name of his king, calling it New France. 
 In 1608 Champlain founded Quebec, which soon became a 
 nucleus for the settlement of Canada. This was the same 
 year in which the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, was 
 established ; and twelve years before the Puritans landed 
 upon the rocks of Plymouth. 
 
 In order to strengthen the power of the French, Cham- 
 plain resolved to establish missions among the Indians. At 
 that period of time "the far west" had never been trodden by 
 the foot of the European. In 1616 Le Caron, a French Fran 
 ciscan, visited the Iroquois and Wyandotts, and thence to the 
 tributaries of Lake Huron; and in 1634 the Jesuits estab 
 lished the first mission in that then distant and visionary 
 region of country. A century had passed, however, from 
 the discovery of the Mississippi River, before the first Can 
 adian envoys met the Indians inhabiting the unknown re 
 gions of the northwest, in council assembled at the falls of 
 the St. Marys, a little below the outlet of Lake Superior. 
 But not till the year 1669 did any of the adventurous trap.- 
 pers and fur-traders spend the winter along the shores of 
 
424 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 that great lake ; nor until 1660 that Rene Mesnard establish 
 ed the first missionary station upon its cold, rocky and in 
 hospitable coast, and who, soon after, was lost in the bleak 
 wilderness and was heard of no more. Father Claude Al- 
 louez, five years after, built the first permanent habitation of 
 Europeans among- the Indians of the northwest; and in 1668 
 a mission was established by Dablon and Marquette at the 
 falls of St. Mary s. In 1671 the French took formal posses 
 sion of the northwest and Marquette established another 
 missionary station in that country at Point St. Ig-nace, north 
 of Mackinac, which was the first European settlement in 
 Michigan. 
 
 Owing 1 to the hostility of the Iroquois (whose territo 
 ries lay along the Lakes Erie and Ontario), caused by Cham- 
 plain inconsiderately joining with a few other Frenchmen, t a 
 war party of Hurons ag-ainst the Iroquis, and a battle ensu 
 ing in which the latter were defeated, the missionaries were 
 forced to travel far north by the Ottawa and French rivers 
 of Canada, in journeying w"est, to avoid their threatened 
 veng-eance. 
 
 At that period the French had not advanced beyond 
 Fox river, in Wisconsin; but in May, 1673, Marquette, with 
 a few companions, started from Mackinac in canoes ; pad 
 dled up Green bay; thence into Fox river; thence transport 
 ing- their little canoes across the country to the Wisconsin 
 river, and launching them upon that stream they reached 
 the Mississippi, and upon its turbid, waters floated down sev 
 eral hundred miles, then returned in the ensuing- autumn. 
 The discovery of the great Mississippi was a source of 
 much joy to the French, who, in that age of newly discov 
 ered wonders, believed that a direct route to the South Sea, 
 and thence to China, would be found throug-h some of its 
 western tributaries. The indefatigable M . La Salle first 
 explored the mighty stream to its termination in the Gulf, 
 in 1682, and took formal possession of the country, throug-h 
 which it flowed, in the name of the king of France, in honor 
 of whom he called it Louisiana. Three years later he also 
 took possession of Texas, establishing- a colony on the Col 
 orado. Being- assassinated by one oj: his men, th& colony 
 was, shortly after, dispersed. 
 
 Lemoine D Iberville, a French officer, renewed the ex 
 plorations of LaSalle in 1697. He entered the Mississippi 
 river with two vessels in March 1698; and also erected forts 
 on the bay of Boloxi, and at Mobile, both of which were 
 afterwards abandoned for the Island of Dauphine, which 
 for many years was the headquarters of the colony. He 
 also built Fort Balise, at the mouth of the river, and selected 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 425 
 
 the site of Fort Rosalie, afterwards destroyed by the 
 Natchez Indians. Still, after the death of D Iberville, in 1706, 
 Louisiana was but little more than a wilderness, since a 
 futile search for gold and the obtaining" of furs, engaged the 
 thoughts of the colonists, to the neglect of more substantial 
 pursuits, and valuable time wasted in journeyings of dis 
 covery, and in obtaining furs and skins among distant 
 tribes. 
 
 Kaskaskia and Cahokia, the oldest towns in the Valley 
 of the Mississippi, were founded near the year 1680. The 
 former becoming the capitol of the Illinois country, and 
 where, in 1721, a Jesuit college and monastery were estab 
 lished. 
 
 In 1700 peace was established between the two hostile 
 ttribes, the Iroquois and Ottawas, and the French, which 
 .gave the latter the desired opportunities for colonizing the 
 western portion of Canada. Whereupon De la Motte Cadil 
 lac, with a hundred men and a Jesuit missionary, laid, in 
 June, 1701, the foundation of Detroit, Michigan. At this 
 period the French claimed the entire, vast and extensive re 
 gion south of the Great Lakes under the name of Canada, or 
 New France. As a matter of course, this aroused .the jeal 
 ousy of the English to the highest pitch and the Legislature 
 of New York^ published a Bill for hanging any and all Papish 
 priests who should voluntarily make his appearance in the 
 province. 
 
 When the war broke out between England and France 
 in 1711, the friendship and confidene of the western In 
 dians had been so completely gained by the French through 
 -the mild and conciliatory course adopted by them and their 
 missionaries, that all the most powerful tribes became their 
 allies; when the former attempted to restrict the claims of 
 the latter to the country south of the Great Lakes, their ef 
 fort proved abortive; and though the Fox tribe, as allies of 
 the English, made an attack upon Detroit in 1713, they were 
 sorely defeated and driven back by the French and their 
 numerous Indian allies. But the treaty of Utrecht having 
 been concluded that year, the war closed. 
 
 By the year 1720 the French had established a lucrative 
 trade in furs, skins and agricultural products between their 
 Louisiana and Illinois colonies, and settlement had been ex 
 tended on the Mississippi river to points below on the junc 
 tion of the Illinois. But for the more effectual confinement 
 of their hated rival, the English, to the Atlantic coast, the 
 French adopted the plan of erecting aline of military posts 
 extending from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico; and 
 ;as one of the important links of this chain they erected 
 
426 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Fort Chartres, on the Mississippi river, near Kaskaskia, 
 where, in close proximity, stood the towns Cahokia and 
 Prairie de Rocher. 
 
 The early settlers upon the Great Lakes of the north, 
 were chiefly French emigrants from Picardy and Nor 
 mandy, in France. They settled in and around the forts 
 that had been erected for the extension of the dominion of 
 France, promulgating- the Catholic religion among the In 
 dians, and securing the fur trade of the various tribes that 
 visited the forts, bringing their furs to barter with the 
 pale-faces for their new and strange commodities. The 
 most attractive features of those forts, according- to the 
 early writers, were the fort garrisoned with a few soldiers, 
 the chapel and its functionaries, the Jesuit priests, and the 
 Indian wig-warns, interspersed here and there, all sur 
 rounded with little patches of cultivated land, comprising- a 
 commandant and a heterogeneous company of soldiers, 
 priests, merchants, traders, hunters, trappers, half-breeds 
 and the genuine Indians the most respectable and meri 
 torious of the outfit all oi whom, the pure Indian excepted, 
 were attached to a system of machinery in relig-ion and in 
 trade peculiar to themselves alone. Next to the command 
 ant in prominence stood the merchants, who were regarded 
 as the masters of the situation when at their post of trade. 
 They were said to be shrewd, careful and frugal, with but 
 , little enterprise and less virtue, and employed their time in 
 procuring skins and furs from the Indians in exchange for 
 their goods and commodities. They kept on the best terms 
 of friendship with the Indians and displayed their regard 
 for virtue and morality in the large number of half-breed 
 children they fostered, but whose mothers they called 
 wives, though only truly so regarded by the Indians them 
 selves; who grew up to speak the language of their parents 
 a mixture of French and Indian and learning just enough 
 of their religion to care for neither. The progress of the 
 Indians, morally and intellectually, were things unthought 
 of by the French west of the Alleghany mountains, or by 
 the English east. 
 
 The design of the French was to enrich themselves by 
 the fur trade^ therefore they had little motive to attend to 
 anything else; but were remarkable for their skill in ingra 
 tiating themselves into the confidence of the warlike tribes 
 around them, and for their easy amalgamation in manners, 
 customs and blood; while that of the English was to enrich 
 themselves in seizing the Indians land. 
 
 At this period (1720) .of their history the Ohio river 
 seems to have been but little known to the French, as it ap- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 427" 
 
 peared to be but an insignificant stream as exhibited on their 
 early maps. Early in the year 1720 their energetic mission 
 aries had explored" to the head waters of the Allegheny river;: 
 and in the following year the French trader and agent, Jan- 
 cairie, established a trading post among the Senecas, at 
 Lewistown, and five years afterward Fort Niagara was 
 erected contiguous to the falls. In 1735, according to some 
 writers, Post St. Vincent was built on the Wabash; and 
 about the same time the military post of Presque Isle was- 
 erected, on the site of Erie, Penn., and thence a line of posts 
 extended on the Allegheny to Pittsburg, thence down the: 
 Ohio to the Wabash. 
 
 A map published in London in 1775 has the following list 
 of French posts as then existing in the West. Two on 
 French Creek, near Erie, Pennsylvania; Duquesne, where 
 Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, now stands; Miamis, on the Mau- 
 mee River, near where Toledo is now situated ; Sandusky,, 
 on Sandusky Bay ; St. Joseph s, on St. Joseph s River, Mich 
 igan; Ponchartrain, where Detroit, Michigan, now stands; 
 Michilimackinac; one on Fox River, Green Bay; Creve- 
 cour, on the Illinois River; Rockport, or Fort St. Louis, on 
 the Illinois River; Vincennes; Cahpkia; Kaskaskia, and one: 
 at each of the mouths of the Wabash, Ohio and Missouri.. 
 Others besides, it is said, were also built at that period, but 
 not named. Just below Portsmouth, on the Ohio, ruins have 
 been found which, no doubt, were those of an anc ; ~nt French 
 port, as they had a port there, it is said, during Braddock s 
 war. 
 
 The Ohio company, principally composed of wealthy 
 Virginians, sent Christopher Gist, in 1748, to explore the 
 country, secure the friendship of the Indians (always ready 
 and willing to cultivate the acquaintance and friendship of the 
 Whites who sought their friendship upon the platform of 
 truth and justice) and learn concerning the movements of 
 the French. He reached the Ohio River over land, thence 
 went down that river to its junction with the Great Miami, 
 thence up the Great Miami to the villages of the Miamis, 
 nearly fifty miles north of the present Dayton. In the fol 
 lowing year the company located a trading post near that 
 point, on Laramies Creek, the first place of English settle 
 ment in the Western country; but the French, ever on the 
 alert, soon broke it up. 
 
 In 1749 the French began a more regular exploration of 
 the Ohio river, and also formed alliances of peace and friend 
 ship with the Indians in Western New York, -Pennsylvania 
 and Virginia, while the English, who extended their claims, 
 west to the Pacific ocean, though their actual possessions. 
 
428 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 were circumscribed within the comparatively narrow strip 
 east of the Alleghany mountains were becoming- more irri 
 tated at the rapidly increasing power of the French in the 
 west. Not contented in exerting- every means to excite the 
 Indians to hostilities against them, thus using, alike with the 
 French, the misguided Indians as the cat s paw to draw out 
 the chestnuts from the hot embers, they as a stimulus to 
 private enterprise, gave to the "Ohio Company" six hundred 
 thousand acres of excellent land, -without so much as even 
 saying, "By your leave" to the just and legal owners, the 
 Indians. And when they nobly fought against such high 
 handed business, they were decreed as meriting speedy an 
 nihilation. 
 
 By the year 1751 the settlements in the Illinois country 
 consisted of Cahokia, five miles south of the present city, of 
 St. Louis; St. Philips, forty-five miles lower down the river; 
 St. Genevieve, still lower; Fort Chartres. Kaskaskia and 
 Prairie de Rocher, still below, and on the eastern side of the 
 Mississippi river. Kaskaskia being the largest of the last 
 three named, containing at one time upwards of three thou 
 sand persons. 
 
 The English, ever wakeful to their interests upon the 
 North American continent, viewed with apprehension the 
 rapidly growing power of the French; especially as they re 
 garded themselves as possessing an equal claim by the right 
 of discovery through the Cabots, and of extending their set 
 tlements even to the Pacific ocean; while the French, on the 
 I other hand, maintained their claim to the valley of the Mis- 
 sissippi upon the right of having first explored and colonized 
 it; therefore insisted that the English should confine them 
 selves to the country east of the Alleghany mountains. But 
 in their conflicting pretensions, no regard for the prior 
 rights of the Indians which, in the sight of justice, equally 
 barred the claims of both, was manifested by either. And 
 it is said an Indian chief remarked, with reference to the 
 two disputants, "The French claim all the country to the 
 west, and the English all to the east and west; where, then, 
 is the country of the Indians?" Truly a question that never 
 has been answered, nor will it ever be. 
 
 Measures were now adopted by both French and Eng 
 lish for the approaching conflict that seemed would inevita 
 bly ensue. On the 9th of July, 1755, General Braddock s 
 (army was destroyed, which gave the French a complete as 
 cendency on the Ohio river and its tributaries, and for a few 
 years, checked the operations of the English, west of the Al 
 leghany mountains. In July, 1758, General Forbes, with 
 an army of seven thousand men, started for the west from 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 429 
 
 Carlisle, Pennsylvania. A detachment under Major Grant, 
 consisting- of Highland Scotch, were defeated on the 13th 
 of September, near Fort Duquesne. Soon after, the French 
 were in turn defeated by the advanced guard under Colonel 
 Boquet. In November, the French army at Fort Duquesne, 
 finding its inability to cope with the superior force advanc 
 ing under General Forbes, abandoned Fort Duquesne and 
 descended the river to New Orleans leaving the fortress to 
 be occupied by Forbes, who thoroughly repaired it, but 
 changed its name to Fort Pitt, in honor of England s 
 Prime Minister. 
 
 For the first time the English were now in possession of 
 the upper Ohio; while success had also attended them in the 
 North. In 1759 Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Fort Niagara 
 and Quebec fell into their hands and, in the following year, 
 Montreal also, and with it all of Canada. A few days after 
 the fall of Montreal Major Rogers was sent with forces to 
 take possession of the French posts along the southern shore 
 of Lake Erie and also at Detroit. 
 
 In 1663 the treaty of Paris concluded, by which France 
 yielded to England, Canada and New France which embraced 
 all the territory east of the Mississippi River from the source 
 to the Bayou Iberville. The remainder of her North Ameri 
 can possessions, embracing Louisiana west of the Missis 
 sippi River and the Island of New Orleans, she soon after 
 secretly ceded to Spain, and thus terminated the dominion 
 of France upon this continent, and with it alike vanished her 
 vast schemes for power and self-aggrandizement as mists be 
 fore the morning sun. 
 
 Immediately after the .peace of 1763 all the French forts 
 in the west as far as Green bay were garrisoned with Eng 
 lish troops ; and the Indians now began to realize, but too 
 late, what they had long apprehended the selfish designs of 
 both French and English threatening destruction, if not 
 utter annihilation, to their entire race. These apprehen 
 sions brought upon the theatre of Indian warfare, at that 
 period of time, the most remarkablfe Indian in the annals of 
 history, Pontiac, the chief of the Ottawas and the principal 
 sachem of the Algonquin Confederacy. He was not only 
 distinguished for his noble and manly form, commanding 
 address and proud demeanor, but also for his lofty courage, 
 winning manners and a pointed and vigorous eloquence, 
 which won the respect and confidence of all Indians, and 
 made him a marked example of that grandeur and sublimity 
 of character so often found among his so greatly miscom 
 prehended race. Pontiac had xlosely watched the slowly 
 advancing power of the English, and their haughty and de- 
 
430 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 fiant encroachments upon the territories of . his own people 
 and his entire race. 
 
 When he was informed of the appoach of Major Rogers 
 with a company of English soldiers into his country, the in 
 dignation of the forest hero was roused to its highest pitch; 
 and at once he sent a messenger to Rogers, who met him on 
 -the 7th of November, 1763, with a request to halt until Pon- 
 tiac, the chief of the Nation, should arrive, then on his way. 
 As soon as Pontiac came up he boldly demanded of Rogers 
 his business and why he had come with his soldiers into the 
 Ottawa country unsolicited? To which Rogers replied; He 
 had no evil designs against his people, nor any of his race; 
 his only object in coming was to remove the French from 
 the country who pretended a mutual friendship and trade 
 between his people and the English. The next morning, 
 after smoking by turns the pipe of peace, Pontiac told Rog 
 ers that he would protect him and his party from the attack 
 of his warriors who were already collected at the mouth of 
 Detroit River to stop his further progress. Major Rogers 
 having arrived unmolested at Detroit, he at once entered into 
 friendly negotiations with many of the neighboring tribes; 
 .after which he left Captain Campbell in charge of the fort 
 and departed on the 21st of December for Pittsburgh 
 
 The Indians, throughout the whole of the country form 
 erly occupied by the French, regarded the arrogant Eng 
 lish as intruders, and were indignant at the incomprehen 
 sible exchange without a voice in the matter; and the smile 
 that might have been observed playing around the mouth 
 of Pontiac when he first met Rogers and his soldiers on the 
 shores of Lake Erie, but concealed the deep cherished 
 hatred he entertained for the English, even as the rays of 
 the setting sun. bedazzle the thundercloud in the far 
 distant east; as he had only made professions of friendship 
 as a matter of national policy, that he might gain time to ma 
 ture his plans for the defense of his people and race against 
 the destruction that seemed approaching. Truly, the far- 
 sighted statemanship evinced in his plans far effecting the 
 expulsion of the English, their assumed friends but deadly 
 foes, and thereby the preservation also of his people and 
 race, proved his possession of an extraordinary courage, 
 and an energy of the highest order. His plan was a sud 
 den and contemporaneous attack upon all the English ports 
 everywhere in the Indian territories west of the Alleghany 
 mountains at St. Joseph, Green Bay, Ouiateon, Detroit, 
 Michilimackinac, Maumee, Sandusky, Niagara, Presque 
 Isle, LeBoeuf, Venango and Pittsburg; the last four men 
 tioned being in Western Pennsylvania. Could the attack 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 431 
 
 be simultaneous, and every English fort upon a line of many 
 hundreds of miles be destroyed upon the same day, no one 
 would be able to give assistance to the other; while, at the 
 same time, the failure of one attacking- party would have 
 no deleterious effect upon the other. Thus the war might 
 begin and end in the same day, and the Indians would again 
 be free and in the possessions and enjoyment of the land 
 of their ancestors. 
 
 Pontiac first laid his plans before his own people, the 
 Ottawas, who at once embraced his propositions and gladly 
 entered into his plans. He then called for a great council of 
 all the tribes to be held at a designated point on the Aux 
 Ecarces river. They responded to the call of the mighty 
 Ottawa, whose name was known far and wide ; and it was an 
 assemblage vast of unvarnished, unpanoplied men consult 
 ing upon plans for mutual protection against a fearful foe 
 threatening their destruction. Then and there was heard 
 the untaught eloquence of nature s orator, the great Pon 
 tiac, who in strains of wild eloquence appealed to his hear 
 ers fears and hopes, their patriotism, their love of freedom 
 and hatred of the English, their oppressors and destroyers; 
 then to their superstitions, by relating a dream in which he 
 told them the Great Spirit (whom all Indians held in great 
 reverence unsurpassed by any nation of people on earth) 
 had revealed to a Delaware prophet the path his red children 
 should pursue; and concluded in a wild tone of voice : "Why, 
 why, said the Great Spirit, angrily to the Delaware prophet, 
 why do you permit those dogs in red clothes to come into 
 your country and rob you of the land and homes I have 
 given you? Drive them back whence they came. If you 
 need assistance, I will help you." 
 
 That was enough. The dawn of the morn of their lib 
 eration seemed gloriously appearing in the East. With 
 Pontiac at their head a host within himself and the Great 
 Spirit s promised assistance, failure in the great undertaking 
 was impossible. The foot prints of the foreign intruder 
 and oppressor were soon to be seen no more upon their soil, 
 and again they were to be free. A plan of action was adop 
 ted at once and far and wide, even to the borders of North 
 Carolina, the tribes laid aside their former feuds, became 
 friends and joined the league in common and united effort to 
 rid their common country of its foreign enemies whom they 
 had ignorantly embraced as friends but to find them foes. 
 
 Silenly and unobserved g-athered the clouds of the ap- 
 proachi ig tempest, while the quiet or fancied security res 
 ted upon all. The traders, as usual, traveled from village 
 to village; the idle soldiers dozed away the day in dreamy 
 
432 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 thoughtlessness and all was calm life; yet unseen, journeyed 
 bands of Red Men through the deep solitudes of the forests, 
 until every English fort was hemmed in by mingled war 
 riors. The day came, and first . the traders everywhere were 
 slain. Then every English fort west of the Alleghany moun 
 tains was at once destroyed through the pre-conceivejl^and 
 pre-arranged plans of the master mind of Pontiac, except 
 four, Detroit, Bedford, Ligonier and Pitt. 
 
 Detroit was the most important situation to be taken, 
 since, if captured, it would enable the Indians to unite their 
 hitherto separate lines of operation, above and below; there 
 fore, Pontiac, in person, undertook its capture with his own 
 Ottawa warriors. The garrison numbered one hundred and 
 thirty, with forty or fifty traders in the village. 
 
 On the 8th of May, 1760, Pontiac, with about three. hun 
 dred warriors, appeared before the gates of the fort, and 
 solicited an interview with the commanding officer, Major 
 Gladwyn; but, alas, for the hopes of Pontiac! A few days 
 before an Indian woman had betrayed the secret to Major 
 . Gladwyn, and Pontiac found all on their guard and prepared 
 for an attack. Yet he delayed not, but made a bold attack 
 upon the fort, and adopted every means his ingenuity could 
 suggest to destroy it ; but after a siege of several weeks he 
 withdrew, having learned of the approach of re- enforce 
 ments for the fort. Thus Detroit was saved by the treach 
 ery of one of his own .race, and Pontiac s hopes utterly 
 thwarted; and also, as if by miracle, the three above men 
 tioned forts escaped destruction. The nobl,e, sagacious and 
 patriotic Pontiac afterwards fell by the hand of a traitor 
 and assassin, and with his death perished the last hope of 
 the western Indians, who were soon, conquered and humil 
 iated. Ill fated race! Who but must sympathize with you 
 in y.our misfortunes. 
 
 Treaties of peace were then concluded-with the different 
 and disconsolate tribes at Niagara, by Sir William Johnson; 
 at Detroit by General Bradstreet; in Ohio by Colonel Bo- 
 quet; and at the German Flats on the Mohawk river, with 
 the Six Nations and their allies. By these treaties, exten 
 sive tracts of lands, as usual, were taken from the Indians, 
 as a recompense of reward for daring to fight for freedom, 
 homes and their native land. 
 
 The power of the Indians being destroyed, and them 
 selves utterly humiliated, the whites began to cross the Al 
 leghany mountains. Millitary land-warrants of incredible 
 numbers had been issued, and a frenzied mania for western 
 lands seemingly absorbed every other desire in the hearts of 
 the people of that period; and which has not abated from 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 4.33.< 
 
 that day to this, but rather increased, as was practically il 
 lustrated in the Oklahoma craze that added so much "glory * 
 to these United States, but to tfrfe pecuniary loss of the de 
 frauded Creeks. Those treaties of 1768, witji the north 
 western and western Indians, and the two made .about the 
 same time with the Cherokees at Hard Labor and Lochaber, 
 afforded a pretext under which the white settlements ad* 
 vanced upon the rights of the Indians. It was now falsely 
 claimed that the Indian title was extinguished east and. 
 south of the Ohio river, to an indefinite extent, and the 
 spirit of emigration and speculation rushed headlong- over 
 reason, justice and truth in all things pertaining to the 
 rights of the Indians. 
 
 The war in 1774 with the Indians, known as "Dunmore s, 
 War," had its origin exclusively from the cold-blooded and 
 diabolical murders committed upon inoffensive Indians by 
 the Virginians in the region of the upper Ohio. Among; 
 those murdered by Cresap and Greathouse at Captina andl 
 Yellow Creek, near Wheeling, was the entire family of the 
 noble, generous, but unfortunate Logan. He was, and al 
 ways had been, the firm friend of the Whites, and the advo- 
 cate of peace; but upon this barbarous outrage he justly 
 rushed to war to obtain revenge his only mode. The Shaw-* 
 nees were also among the murdered, whose tribe, as socrii^a^ 
 it was known, rushed upon the war-path with e mot ions-, of. : 
 anger and revenge that knew no limits, and directed tl&e^ 
 vengeance mainly against the Virginians. The Colonial 5 
 Legislature of Virginia, then in session, at once adopted 
 measures for the emergency. What measures? ConcHlat- 
 tory, by immediately causing the white murderers to be ar^- 
 rested and handed over to the outraged Indians to be dealt 
 with as they saw proper, and thus manifesting to them that 
 
 we practiced what we so loudly professed justice to all 
 
 and by so doing, saving the lives of hundreds of innocent 
 persons, white and red? No. But measures justifying the 
 white cut-throats in their crimes by preparing to success 
 fully resist the Indians in their righteous appeals for justice 
 even from the bloody hands of war. The Indians only- did 
 what we or any other people would have done under similar 
 circumstances. But that "Colonial Legislature" had smelt 
 Indian blood, and four hundred volunteers responded to its 
 call for more blood, who, under one Angus McDonald, rush 
 ed into the Indian country on the Muskingum River, in 
 June, 1774, and burned the towns of the Wappatomica In-- 
 dians, killing many of the inhabitants, nor lost a man. But 
 what was the effect of this "conciliatory" measure of that- 
 "Colonial Legislature?" It" was what it expected and, no, 
 
434 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 doubt, greatly desired. It only served to further exasper 
 ate the outraged Indians and to excite them to fearless action 
 in defense of their lives and God-inherited rights. What 
 next? Was this act of vandalism burning the towns of the 
 Wappatomicas and killing the inhabitants a recompense of 
 reward sufficient to Cresap and Greathouse to induce them 
 to again wash their hands in the blood of innocent and un 
 offending Indians, when desiring to gratify their murderous 
 whims? 
 
 In the following September, Lord Dunmore, the royal 
 governor of Virginia, raised a force of three thousand men 
 to make a raid on the Shawnee towns on the Scioto river. 
 This force was collected in two divisions. The first to ren 
 dezvous at Wheeling, under Dunmore; the other to cross the 
 Ohio at the mouth of the Kanawha, under Colonel Andrew 
 Lewis. Having arrived there, they encamped. The next 
 morning two soldiers went up the river about two miles in 
 quest of game, and unexpectedly came upon a body of Shaw- 
 n ee warriors, who killed one of them, and the other made 
 good his escape to camps with the intelligence. The armv 
 was soon on the march in two lines, and when they had pro 
 ceeded scarcely a half a mile they were met and bravely 
 charged by the Shawnee warriors, upon . which both lines 
 gave way and were retreating, when they were rallied by 
 Colonel Field, and the battle soon became general and sus- 
 -ta^eu with obstinate bravery by both sides, The Shawnees 
 judiciously formed in a line across a point from the Ohio 
 river to the Kana\* h a (the battle being at the junction of the 
 -two streams) to prevent being flanked. In this order of bat 
 tle they maintained the fight with unabated resolution and 
 bravery from early in the day until nearly sunset, heroically 
 resisting successive charges made upon their line by the 
 whites. 
 
 The Shawnees were under the command of the dis 
 tinguished and consummate chief, Cornstalk. His plan of al 
 ternate retreat and attack was masterly conceived, and 
 caused the chief loss of the whites. Whenever the warriors 
 manifested signs of wavering, his voice was heard above the 
 din of the battle, exclaiming in his native tongue, "Be 
 strong! be strong!" Atone time it is said, a warrior near 
 him manifested fear and a reluctance to charge, and Corn 
 stalk, dreading his pernicious example, struck him dead 
 with his tomahawk. As the evening of the day drew on, 
 and the Shawnees still maintained their position against the 
 most vigorous attacks, and apprehending the consequences 
 that might arise if the battle was not decided before night, 
 .Colonel Andrew Lewis, sent three companies, who secretly 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 435 
 
 marched up under the banks of the Kanawha river beyond 
 the upper end of the Shawnee line, and thus gaining- their 
 rear made an attack. The Shawnees unexpectedly finding 
 themselves surrounded on both sides, and believing- their 
 rear attack was made by reinforcements, soon g-ave way, 
 and crossing- the Ohio river retreated to their villag-es on the 
 Scioto. - But the victory was dearly boug-ht, the brave 
 Shawnees having- killed and wounded two hundred and fif 
 teen of the whites, while their loss was never ascer 
 tained, y 
 
 ^ In the meantime Dunmore had descended the Ohio river 
 from Wheeling- to the mouth of the Hocking-. Thence he 
 marched toward the Shawnee towns on the Scioto. After 
 the battle, Colonel Lewis hastened on with his forces to the 
 same point, "maddened" as it has been recorded 
 the loss of so many brave men, and anxious to avenge their 
 fate by the annihilation of the Shawnee villag-es." 
 
 But before reaching the Scioto, the Shawnees, seeing the 
 folly of attempting to oppose the forces approaching, sent 
 an embassy to Dunmore, requesting peace. He accepted 
 their proposition. A conference was ordered that peace 
 might be ratified. Dunmore then sent orders to Lewis to 
 discontinue his march. He refused to obey orders, nor was 
 it until Dunmore went in person to his camp, then on Congo 
 creek, just south of the Shawnee villages, before he could be 
 induced to give up his murderous designs against the In 
 dians, because they had dared to avenge the murder of their 
 people by the hands of Cresap and Greathouse. 
 
 - Dunmore remained at his camp, within four miles of the 
 Shawnee towns, where the council was soon convened with 
 the Shawnee chiefs to negotiate peace. The, deliberations 
 were opened by Cornstalk, who, in a short, concise and ener 
 getic speech, delivered with great natural dignity, and in a 
 tone t so powerful as to be heard all over the camp. But brev 
 ity, energy and dignity, so commendable, were noted char 
 acteristics of the North American Indian orator. In his 
 speech, Cornstalk rehearsed the former power of his race; 
 the number of their tribes ; the magnitude of their landed 
 possessions and the happiness of the people ; then compared 
 their past to their present feeble condition; to their forlorn 
 and diminished numbers; to their diminutive landed pos 
 sessions; to their hunting grounds and game destroyed 
 those gifts of the Great Spirit to his red children and to 
 the impoverished and humiliating condition of the people. 
 Then he spoke of a focmer treaty made at Fort Stanwix, 
 and the great cessions of territory made by the-m to the 
 pale-faces. - Then he pointed to the lawless encroachments 
 
436 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 of the pale-faces upo$ their lands everywhere, in open and 
 -defiant violation of all treaty stipulations; to, the forbear- 
 ance.of his race for years, under reiterated wrongs, indig 
 nities and insults heaped upon them everywhere by the 
 frontier white people. He said his people, as well as all 
 others of his race, knew and deeply felt their weakness, and 
 their inability to successfully contend in hostilities with the 
 whites, and they asked only for justice; that the war just 
 closed was not sought by his .people, for it was commenced 
 by the whites without any provocation on the part of his 
 people or race; that under the same circumstances the pale 
 faces would have done as they had done; that if they had 
 failed to resent the unprovoked, cruel and treacherous mur 
 ders of their relatives and friends at Captina and Yellow 
 Creek, they would have deserved the contempt of all nations 
 ,. of people; that the war was the work of the whites and not 
 the Indians, for they wanted peace. 
 
 The treaty was concluded, but not before Dunmore, as a 
 manifestation of his confidence in the integrity of the In 
 dians, judged from the fallacy of his own heart, had secured 
 four Indian warriors, as hostages to be taken by him to Vir 
 ginia, and right in the face of the irrefragable truths just 
 rehearsed in his hearing by the noble and patriotic Corn 
 stalk; proving conclusively, also, that though he knew the 
 whites were wholly in the wrong, yet, like all evil doers, he 
 would shift the blame from his own shoulders to that of the 
 Indians, by making it appear that the Indians could not be 
 trusted; therefore, it w r as necessary to coerce them by 
 hostages. 
 
 The stipulations of the treaty under consideration made 
 the Ohio River the boundary between the Indians and the 
 white people; the Indians agreeing not to pass beyond the 
 east side of the river, and the Whites agreeing not to pass 
 beyond the west side. Thus was that beautiful river, ac 
 knowledged for the first time by the Indians, as the boun 
 dary between the territory of the White Race and the hunt 
 ing grounds of the Red. 
 
 Great anger was manifested by the officers and soldiers- 
 against Dunmore, it is narrated by the chroniclers of that 
 war, for making peace and the treaty with the Indians, and 
 their indignation knew no bounds in their disappointment at 
 losing so good an opportunity of indulging their natural and 
 now urgent propensities for a copious draught of Indian, 
 blood. Cresap, Greathouse and their crew had enjoyed a 
 hearty drink awakening also their momentary sleeping 
 thirst; and now, after marching so far only to have the tan 
 talizing cup dashed from their. expectant lips as they were in 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 437 
 
 the very act of enjoying a few sips could poor humanity 
 endure any greater disappointment and live? Therefore, 
 long and loud were the curses heaped upon Dunmore for his 
 unusual act of humanity towards the Indians inexplicable, 
 except on the supposition, it was said, that Dunmore had re 
 ceived orders from the Royal Government to make peace 
 with the Indians as quick as possible, and on such terms as 
 might secure their alliance in favor of tb.. Rnglish against 
 the colonies in the eApected war that was anticipated with 
 them; for, as Pericles, so did King 1 George "Behold war 
 advancing, with wide and rapid "strides from the Pelopon 
 nesus," in North America. And thus was displayed the 
 character of that leniency and exhibition of mercy as was 
 displayed on that occasion by "Dunmore to the Indians self 
 interest momentarily checked the thirst for Indian blood. 
 
 But the noble chief, L^ogan, who mourned the ruthless 
 murder of his entire family by the hands of the white vil 
 lains, though winked a\ by the authorities of that law that 
 lay powerless in thei*r hands, as far as regarded the poor and 
 unfortunate Indians; nobly and justifiably refused to be 
 seen as a suppliant ai. >ng his brother chiefs, whose anxiety 
 and love for their living families had overcame their natural 
 and manlv, pride, and ha.d alone induced them to assume the 
 humiliating attitude of suppliants when outraged beyond 
 human endurance; yet, in a private interview with General 
 Gibson, who had been sent as an envoy to the Shawnees, 
 he, though with a broken heart, yet with a calm and manly 
 dignity and in a calm, low and solemn tone of voice, nar 
 rated the pathetic story of his unsurpassed wrongs and in 
 juries in the following we J.l known but little heeded words; 
 as they have long since been pronounced as being above 
 the ability of the Indian; therefore, are the work of the 
 white man, who writhes in agony at the mere mention of al 
 lowing the Indian any credit for anything that is commenda 
 ble or meritorious. Thus spake the noble but broken 
 hearted Indian chief : 
 
 "I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered 
 Logan s cabin hungry, aad I gave him not meat; If ever he 
 came cold or naked, and I gave him riot clothing." 
 
 "During the course of the last long and bloody war, 
 Logan remained -in his cabin an advocate for peace. Nay 
 such was my love for the whites, that those of my own 
 country pointed at me as they passed by and said, Logan 
 is the friend of the white men. I had even thought to live 
 with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, 
 the last spring, in cool blood, and unprovoked, cut off all the 
 relatives of Logan; not sparing even my women and chil- 
 
438 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 dren. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of 
 any human creature. This called on me for revenge. I 
 have sought it. I have killed many. I have satisfied my 
 vengecince. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of 
 peace. But, do not harbor the thought that mine is the joy 
 of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his 
 heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? 
 Not one?" 
 
 Such was the language of a broken-hearted hero. And 
 it is but one of a thousand of the utterances of mingled pride, 
 courage, sorrow and despair of the North American Indians. 
 For three hundred years down the line of time to the pres 
 ent, have their wrongs, in pathetic woe, been expressed and 
 heard, moving to sympathizing tears, the angels of heaven, 
 but awakening no responsiv-e chord in the hearts of the 
 the white men lost, utterly lost, to all else, except the Indians 
 few remaining acres of land; amd who for the securing of 
 which, have made proper arrangements with the. devil for 
 future and permanent residences, according to fruman ideas 
 of justice, with him in the regions balow, as a just recom 
 pense of their reward for services re.ndered during their 
 stay in his dominions on earth. 
 
 The last years of the old chief \\ ^re spent in wandering 
 about from village to village and from tribe to tribe, a for 
 lorn, dejected, solitary and lonely old man a melancholy, 
 yet truthful, exhibition of the horrible falsity of the white 
 man s professed anxiety for the good of the Indian who had 
 finally yielded to the crushing weight of despair by the loss 
 of his family and relatives at the hands of white murderers, 
 and the d,ecay of his tribe and race. He also, as did his fam 
 ily, perished by the hands of an as.-sassin, near Detroit, Mich 
 igan. He was sitting before his camp-fire with his blanket 
 over his head, his elbows renting upon his knees and his 
 head upon his hands, wrapt in seemingly deep, sad and 
 mournful reflection o er the. scenes and experiences of the 
 eventful past, when an unexpected tomahawk was buried in 
 his brains, wielded by the hand of an Indian. But who does 
 not believe, who knows the sacredness and veneration with 
 which the aged were held by all North American Indians, 
 and the eternal disgrace that ensued to him who killed or 
 even injured an aged person, that when the fulfillment of the 
 declaration of Holy Writ "And the books were opened," at 
 the great and last assizes in which man shall be interested 
 that there and then wi il be found recorded, Logan fell by 
 the hands of a white assassin." The plea in favor of the 
 white assassin s innocence is feeble. Be as it may, so per 
 ished the aged and grand Indian Chief, Logan. ,<h 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 439 
 
 tf 
 
 Of the renowned Shawnee chief, Cornstalk, it may also* 
 be truthfully affirmed that ,he was a man of true nobility of 
 soul, a wise statesman in the councils of his Nation, and a 
 brave and skillful chief in war. After the battle near the 
 junction of the Ohio river and the Kanawha, he returned to 
 the Pickaway villages and called a council of his people and 
 other contiguous tribes to consult what should be done. 
 When assembled he upbraided them for their want of fore 
 sight and their injudicious measures adopted in not permit 
 ting him to make solicitations of peace to the whites, as he 
 desired, on the evening before the battle. "What," ex 
 claimed he, in his usual loud tone of voice and with great 
 vehemence, "do you now propose to do? The big knives^ 
 (referring to the swords of the officers) are coming onus 
 and we will all be killed, and our wives and children led away 
 into captivity, or scattered as autumn leaves before the win 
 try winds. Now we must fight in earnest, or we will be 
 destroyed." No reply being made, he continued: "Then 
 let us feill all our women and children and resolve to fight 
 until the last warrior has fallen." But still no reply being 
 made, he struck his tomahawk with a mighty blow into a 
 tree standing near, and exclaimed: "But I will go and make 
 peace." To this there was given a universal approval, and 
 runners were at once sent to Dunmore to solicit peace. The 
 result has been given. 
 
 But as the immortal Logan, whose name with others of 
 his race, has elevated the characters of the native Americans 
 throughout the intelligent world, and w r hose .touching elo 
 quence can never be forgotten so long as eloquence is admir 
 ed by man, fell by the hand of the stealthy assassin, so too 
 was the noble Cornstalk murdered, in the summer of 1777, 
 by some execrable white villains of the Cresap, Greatho use 
 and Whetzel order, at Point Pleasant, near where the battle 
 had been fought three years before. He had crossed the 
 river to communicate the designs of the English and their 
 allied Indians, as it was afterwards learned. When he saw 
 his murderers approaching, his little son, Elnipsico, trem 
 bled. His father, upon seeing which, said to him: "Be not 
 afraid. The Great Spirit has sent us here to die together." 
 As the white men drew near he rose up and, with his little 
 Elnipsico, advanced to meet them, when instantly a half dozen 
 bullets pierced their bodies. So fell the great warrior and 
 pure patriot, Cornstalk, whose narnf was bestowed upon him 
 by his Nation, as their great strength and support. 
 
 Three years later, in the summer of 1780, we find eight 
 hundred men, under Colonel Brodhead, in rendezvous at 
 Wheeling, where six years before Dunmore had collected 
 
-440 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 his forces whom he led in person to exterminate the 
 Shawnees and destroy their villages, because they grumbled 
 .about Cresap and Greathouse butchering a dozen or more 
 <of their people regardless of age or sexv Colonel Brod- 
 .head, with his eight hundred, are to march against the In- 
 ^dian villages on the Muskingum river, Ohio. They 
 marched, plundered and burnt a few villages, and captured 
 a number of Indians among whom were sixteen warriors, 
 who were led out and, in cool blood, tomahawked and 
 scalped. On the-next morning, a noble looking chief, under 
 SL promise of protection from Brodhead, came into camp; 
 ..and while talking with Brodhead in regard to peace, 
 Whetzel secretly stole up behind him, and with one blow of 
 liis tomahawk cleft his skull in twain. They now had to re 
 treat; but before so doing, they massacred all the remaining 
 prisoners, except a few women and children; then, when ar 
 rived safely at home, enjoyed a higher degree of complacency 
 in imagined self-importance in having taken a few villages of 
 Indian wigwams and butchering helpless prisoners, than 
 did Cyrus in taking Babylon, or Titus, Jerusalem. f 
 
 In the early part of the year 1763 two Moravian mission 
 aries, Post an/1 Heckewelder, established a mission among 
 ;the Tuscarawa Indians, and in a few years they had three 
 nourishing missionary stations, viz : Shoenbrun, [Gnaden- 
 brutten and Salem, which were about five miles apart and fifty 
 .miles west of the present town of Steubenville, Ohio. During 
 our Revolutionary War their position being midway between 
 the hostile Indians (allies of the British) on the Sandusky 
 _River, and our frontier settlements, and therefore on the di 
 rect route of the war parties of both the British Indian allies 
 ..and the frontier settlers, they were occasionally forced to 
 ;give food and shelter to both, which aroused the jealousy of 
 .both the Indian allies of the English and the American front- 
 .iersmen, although they preserved the strictest neutrality. 
 
 In February 1772, the American settlers (nothing more 
 .could be expected) assumed to believe that the Moravian, or 
 ^Christian Indians; as they were called, harbored the hos 
 tile Indians; therefore they pronounced them enemies, 
 -and at once doomed them to destruction. Accordingly on 
 .the following march, ninety volunteers, under the leadership 
 -of one David Williamson, started for Gnadenbrutten where 
 .they arrived on the morning of the 8th, and at once sur 
 rounded and entered the station; but found the most of the 
 Indians in a field gathering corn. They told them they had 
 come in peace and friendship, and with a proposition to 
 move them from their unpleasant and dangerous position 
 between the two hostile races to Fort Pitt for their better 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 441 
 
 protection. The unsuspecting" Indians, delighted at the 
 suggestion of their removal to a safer place, gave up their 
 few arms used for hunting alone, all the kind they had, and 
 commenced preparing breakfast for their guests and also 
 for themselves. The still unsuspecting Indians at once sent 
 a runner to Salem to inform the brethren there of the new 
 arrangement. After eating breakfast, both Indians and 
 whites returned from the field to Gnadenbrutten; and, on 
 reaching it, a number of the whites started on their horses 
 for the Salem station, but met the Salem Indians already on 
 their way, through the advice of the messenger, to join their 
 brethren at Gnadenbrutten. In the meantime, the whites, 
 who had remained at Gnadenbrutten, had secured the In 
 dians whom they had already decoyed into their power, by 
 binding them and confining them in two separate houses 
 under a strong guard. As soon as the party from Salem 
 came up (their arms having been previously secured with 
 out awakening any suspicion of hostile intention), they were 
 also placed in fetters and confined in the two prison-houses 
 with their brethren, the men in one, and the women and 
 children in the other. The number thus seized and im 
 prisoned, including men women and children, were ninety- 
 six. What next? 
 
 A mock council was then convened to decide what dispo 
 sition should be made of their victims. Upon this horrid 
 tragedy the late Dr. Dodd ridge, in his published notes on 
 Indian wars, says : Colonel Williamson put the question, 
 Whether the Moravian Indians should be taken pris 
 oners to Fort Pitt, or put to death? requesting those who 
 were in favor of saving their lives to step out and form a 
 second rank. Only eighteen out of the whole number 
 stepped forth as advocates of mercy. In these the feelings 
 of humanity were not extinct. In a majority, which was 
 large, no sympathy was manifested. They resolved to mur 
 der (for no other word can express the act) the whole of the 
 Christian Indians in their custody. Among these were sev 
 eral who had contributed to aid the missionaries in the work 
 of conversion and civilization, two of whom graduated from 
 New Jersey after the death of their spiritual father, the, 
 Rev. David Brainard. One woman, who could speak good 
 English, knelt before the commander and begged his pro 
 tection. Her supplication was unavailing. They were or 
 dered to prepare for death. But the warning had been an 
 ticipated. Their firm belief in their new creed was shown 
 forth, in the sad hour of their tribulation, by religious exer 
 cises of preparation. The orisons of the devoted people 
 were already ascending the throne of the most high ! The 
 
442 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 ^ 
 
 sound of the Christian s hymn and the Christian s prayer 
 found an echo in the surrounding- woods, but no responsive 
 feeling in the bosom of their executioners. With gun and 
 spear, tomahawk and scalping-knife the work of death pro 
 gressed in these slaughter-houses until not a sigh or moan 
 was heard to proclaim the existence of human life within. 
 All, save two two Indian boys escaped, as if by a miracle, 
 to be witnesses in after times of the savage cruelty of the 
 white man toward their unfortunate race. 
 
 "Of the number thus butchered by those backwoods 
 men of Ohio between fifty and sixty were women and chil 
 dren some of them little babes. No resistance was made; 
 one only attempted to escape. The Whites finished the tra 
 gedy by setting fire to the town, including the slaughter 
 houses wjth the bodies in them, all of which were consumed. 
 A detachment was also sent to the upper town, Shoenbrunn, 
 but the people having received information of what was 
 transpiring below, had deserted it." 
 
 Reader, what think you now of the justice in still call 
 ing the Indian an irreclaimable savage, when our motto in 
 dealing with the North American Indians from the alpha to 
 the omega has been "Massacre and burn" until barbarity 
 could go no further? 
 
 I agree that in every instance pointed out, that I have ex 
 amined, the Indians imbibed their treachery from motives 
 of self-preservation against their skilled teachers in the art 
 of treachery and hypocrisy to many of whom such arts are 
 intuitive. The Indian is a H plomatist as much so as the 
 white man and his habits are formed from those of the 
 Whites with whom he had to deal and from whom he had to 
 defend himself. I have never known, in my personal experi 
 ence of seventy-five years, a single instance where kindness 
 failed to go straight home to the Indian s heart, or was not 
 fully reciprocated. 
 
 In 1780 Colonel George Clark erected Fort Jefferson on 
 the Mississippi River, in the territories of the Chickasaws, 
 a few miles below the mouth of the Ohio, and on his return 
 from Fort Jefferson he organized a company of one thousand 
 men, in July, made a secret and rapid raid into the Miami 
 country, plundered and burned the Pequa villages on Mud 
 River and also the Chillicothe villages on the Little Miami, 
 murdering all the unfortunate Indians that fell into their 
 hands with fiendish delight and returned in triumph with 
 out loss. 
 
 In the year following, 1781, the Chickasaws, justly indig 
 nant ai the erection of Fort Jefferson upon their soil, be 
 sieged it under the command of the great Colbert. As us- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 443 
 
 ual everywhere for every act of injustice heaped upon the 
 Indians, the Whites have been sustained ; therefore, General 
 Clark hastened from Kaskaskia with re-inforcements, upon 
 the arrival of which the Chickasaws drew off a little dis 
 tance. Soon after, however, Clark dismantled the fort, re 
 turned to his own, and the Chickasaws quietly returned to 
 their homes. 
 
 In the year 1799, when the remnant of the Moravians 
 were recalled by the United States, in the plenitude of .their 
 mercy which required just twenty-seven years to mature, 
 an old Indian, in company with a young white man by the 
 name of Carr, visited the desolate and melancholy scene, and 
 an excavation was pointed out by the old man, which had 
 formerly been a cellar, and in which were still some moul 
 dering bones of the victims, though 27 years had passed 
 since their tragic death, while the tears trickled down the 
 wrinkled face of that aged child of the Tuscarawas. 
 
 At the time of the diabolical massacre, but little more, 
 than one-third of the Moravian Indians were at their villages 
 on the Tuscarawas, the others having been induced by the 
 hostile Indians to move and settle at Sandusky in their vi 
 cinity. Soon after the return of Williamson s men what 
 may be called a second Moravian campaign was projected, 
 the object being first to complete the destruction of the 
 Christian Indians, at their new establishment on the San- 
 dusky river, murder-the Wyandott Indians on the same river, 
 then plunder and burn their villages. Having had a taste of 
 blood warm from the veins of Christian Indians, men, 
 women and children, like the tiger man-eater of the Bengal 
 jungles, it proved more palatable to their taste since there 
 was no impediment to obstruct a full display of their manhood 
 and heroic bravery in butchering and drinking the blood of 
 the Christian Indians, who stood as helpless before them as a 
 little girl of ten years in the spring of the Bengal man-eater, 
 they no\w determined not to spare the lives of any Indians 
 who might fall into their clutches, whether friend or foe, 
 old or young, male or female, all from the decrepit in years 
 to the babe in its swaddling clothes. Such was the modus 
 operandi adopted by the professed civilized and Christian 
 race to gather the Native Americans into the folds of the re 
 ligion of the world s Great Redeemer, and practiced from 
 that day to this plainly shown in the butchery of the western 
 Indians by the two modern Caligulas, Sherman and Sheri 
 dan and their subordinates, by Mr. Manypenny in his "Our 
 Indian Wards." 
 
 On the 20th of May, 1792, four hundred and eighty hu 
 man monsters, impiously called men, collected from the-. 
 
 \ 
 
444 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 country of the upper Ohio at a point, then known as the 
 "Old Ming-o Towns," to carry out their diabolical schemes, 
 and there raised one of their number, William Crawford, to 
 the position of their commander. 
 
 Notwithstanding- the secrecy of their murderous 
 schemes, the Indian scouts the best the world ever pro 
 duced learned the place of their rendezvous in the Mingo 
 bottom, where they ascertained their number and destina 
 tion. Every encampment after their departure was visited 
 by those Indian vigilants, whose skill in obtaining* facts 
 from signs alone seemed superhuman. Every scrap of pa 
 per and chip that was found in the place of encampment 
 with marks made upon them were picked up and carried at 
 once to the Moravian Indians, who had fled from Shoenbrunn 
 at the time of the slaughter of their brethren and settled at 
 Sandusky; who, having been taught to read and write by 
 "their spiritual guides the white missionaries read the 
 writings upon the scraps of paper and chips: "No quarter 
 to any Indian man, woman or child." 
 
 The march of the whites was directly through the 
 Moravian villages, the scenes of their former butchery. On 
 the 6th of June they reached the Moravian villages, on a 
 branch of the Sandusky river ; but, instead of finding- inno 
 cent and helpless Ind ians to murder and plunder, they 
 .found only vestiges of desolation. A few huts scattered 
 here and there, alone remained to tell of their blighted hopes 
 and bitter chagrin, in being thwarted in their grand designs 
 of besieging, taking and destroying an imagined North 
 American Nineveh, Babylon and Jerusalem, and thus have 
 their names and heroic achievements engraved upon the 
 rolls of fame with a Cyaxares, a Cyrus and a Titus. Alas! 
 for human hopes! The scraps of paper and the chips injudi 
 ciously left at their encampments had warned their intended 
 victims, who had fled; and with them set the sun, whose 
 rays were to light up the pages of their imagined glory 
 through all future generations with such brilliancy that 
 one, though a fool, might run and read, nor err therein. 
 Could American ambition aspire to anything greater! It 
 seems not from the history of the past. For our foolish 
 boasting over the sacking of a few Indian villages and butch 
 ering the sleeping inhabitants, the accomplishment of wjiich 
 always eliciting the soul animating and flattering ejaculation: 
 "Too much praise cannot be awarded the officers and sol 
 diers for their bravery and heroism displayed in the fearful 
 conflict." While our great generals enjoy in dreamy frenzy 
 their fancied flight to their roost upon the pinnacle of earthly 
 fame, there to revel in imagined glory, and feel themselves, 
 
OF THE INDIANS. 445 
 
 as Cyrus, encompassing the walls of Ancient Babylon and 
 gazing with admiring and contemplative mind upon its lofty 
 battlements, as they listen to the noisy shouts of the rabble 1 
 below, and the call of the sensational newspapers, "Sheridan 
 to the front! To arms! To arms! The Greek! The Greek! " 
 When rumor whispers on a cloudy day, "An Indian failed to 
 answer at roll call on such a reservation." 
 
 But what of Crawford and his band of murderers? 
 Maddened at their disappointment in not obtaining a few gal 
 lons of Indian blood to cool their raging thirst, they resolved 
 to proceed one dav longer on their hunt; and then if no In 
 dian villages with their unsuspecting inhabitants were found, 
 to retreat. But on the next day, about 2 o clock, they found 
 the object of their -search, but not a helpless village of Chris 
 tian Indians in thoughtless security, but a well organized 
 body of fearless Indian warriors ready to face their ruffian 
 invaders in open battle. At once the conflict was opened^ 
 and continued with unabated vigor until dark, each part^j 
 lying upon their arms during the night to prevent sur~, 
 prise. The next morning at a deliberation of officers, 
 Williamson, the leader at the massacre of the Gnadenbrutton 
 and Salem Indians, proposed to go with one hundred and 
 fifty volunteers to upper Sandusky, which proposition was 
 promptly rejected upon the grounds that their divided forces 
 would be attacked in detail and destroyed. The day, there 
 fore, was spent in burying the dead and making prepara 
 tions for a night retreat; since, to fight wide awake Indians 
 was not in their vocabulary of warfare in seeking military 
 fame. But the Indians, suspecting their intentions, and de 
 siring to -give them a full and quenching draught of Indian 
 blood, renewed the attack about sunset with renewed vigor 
 and fearless resolutions from all sides except that toward 
 Sandusky. The white marauders unable to withstand the 
 urgent desires "to live, that they might fight on some other 
 day," which then seemed to overbalance the desires to fight 
 at, night live and wide awake Indians, began a retreat with 
 their thirst for Indian blood somewhat abated, since the 
 price of it had gone up to such an unexpected and extrava 
 gant degree that prudence forbade further indulgence unfei 
 they should return home and recuperate their now weakened 
 desires. But many, with the heroism displayed at Gnaden 
 brutton, believing the wide awake Indians would follow the 
 main body, broke off into small detached parties and hurried 
 in different directions toward their THEN much desire d : 
 homes". All these the wide awake Indians pursued in equal 
 detachments, overtook and. sent them to their long homes, 
 where they might quench tfteir thirst with something 
 
446 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 - , ," . \ 
 
 stronger and more enduring- than the blood of Christian 
 Indians. 
 
 Soon after the retreat had gotten under full headway, 
 Crawford, having- missed his son and^several other relatives, 
 halted and vainly searched the line as it passed along- for 
 the objects of his solicitation, and waited too long- in anxious 
 expectation of learning- something- concerning- them, for in 
 attempting- to overtake his retreating- army, he with one 
 Dr. Knig-ht and a few others, after the third day s ride was 
 captured by the victorious Indians. They were all taken to 
 an encampment in the vicinity, and next morning- their cap 
 tors, under the command of the Delaware chief, Pipe, 
 started with them for a Wyandott village, but slew all ex 
 cept Crawford and Knig-ht before reaching- it. When at the 
 village, Crawford recognized among; the Indians the re 
 nowned Shawnee chief, Wingenund, with whom he had long 
 Aeen acquainted and between whom a mutual friendship ex 
 isted. Crawford at once made an appeal to Wing-enund to 
 intercede in his behalf. But to his solicitations Wing-enund 
 calmly replied: "I am not unmindful of our former friend 
 ship; and cheerfully would I now assist you in your misfort 
 une, were you in any other place but this, and were you still 
 what I once thought you to be." To which the despairing- 
 Crawford replied: "I have been engaged only in honorable 
 warfare." Then what must be dishonorable warfare? But 
 to which reply, Wing-enund, with a significant look, re 
 sponded: "I mig-ht possibly have been able to save you had 
 you not joined Williamson in murdering the Moravian In 
 dians without discrimination of ag-e or sex knowing they 
 were innocent of all wrong." "Had I been with him I 
 would- not have permitted the cruel act," replied the 
 wretched Crawford. "That may be all true," replied the 
 chief; but Williamson went a second time and killed more of 
 the Christian Indians. ? "But I went out and did all I could 
 to stop him," said Crawford. "That may also be true, but 
 you car/not make the Indians believe it; for, when you were 
 marching here, you turned aside with your soldiers and 
 went to the Moravian villages, but found them deserted. 
 Our scouts were watching you and saw you do this. Had 
 you been looking for warriors, you would not have gone 
 there, for you knew the Christian Indians are foolish and 
 will not fight. I shall ta|ve no pleasure in your death^ 
 though you have forfeited your life. Had we also captured 
 Williamson, we might spare your life; but as we have 
 failed in that, you must take his place. I am unable to save 
 you." 
 
 Crawford still implored him to interfere in his behalf, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 447 
 
 but the chief assured him that it would be of no avail, and 
 at once turned away and left the hapless and now hopeless 
 captive to his fearful fate, which was witnessed by Knight, 
 who had also been condemned to a similar fate, bnt fortu 
 nately made his escape shortly after the execution of Craw 
 ford. All the prisoners captured in this marauding- cam 
 paign were slain, in retaliation for the butchery of the Del- 
 awares, then known as the Moravian Christians. Crawford s 
 son was executed at a Shawnee town. 
 
 The account given by Knight of the execution of Craw 
 ford need not be repeated here. All should denounce, with 
 -a united voice, executions by fire, no matter how great the 
 crime of the culprit. But let God, and not guilty man, be 
 the judge between the white executioners of the ninety-six 
 Christian Indians, guilty of no offense; therefore, the dupes 
 of the vilest treachery, and the Indian executioners of their 
 white prisoners of war, invaders of their country bearing 
 the banner with the inscription : "No quarter to any Indian 
 of any age or sex," and carrying death, destruction and de 
 vastation every where in their route. Though a howl of 
 indignation rent the air at the announcement of Crawford s 
 fearful death by Knight, but not a whimper at the brutal 
 execution of the ninety-six Moravian Indians. Such is the 
 justice the White Race has awarded the Red from the alpha 
 to the omega of their dealings with that unfortunate people. 
 
 But two years/previous to the invasion of Crawford and 
 his four hundred and eighty merciless vandals, thirteen hun 
 dred men if men they may be called made a raid from 
 Cincinnati, under the command of General Harmer, against 
 the Indian villages on the Maumee river. When within a 
 short distance, Colonel Hardiii was sent forward with six 
 hundred and fifty men to reconnoitre, who found the villages 
 deserted. On the next day when the main body came up 
 the work of pillage, destruction and desolation was com 
 menced... The villages, some containing upwards of three 
 hundred houses, were plundered and burned, their fruit 
 trees cut down, and over twenty thousand bushels of corn 
 destroyed. Such was the work of those who really believed 
 themselves to be civilized, and the accepted followers of 
 Jesus Christ. Should the devil be discouraged!. 
 
 But while this vandalism was going on, Hardin was 
 again sent forward, but with only one hundred and fifty men, 
 to follow up a little trail, hoping it would lead to other vil 
 lages which might also add to their beastly propensities a 
 little more joy. But they had not proceeded many miles, 
 cogitating the emotions of heroic pride that must swell their 
 breasts to a danger of bursting, when, returned to their 
 
448 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 . . t.i/ J .H : 
 
 homes, they should be encircled with wife and children, each 
 asking- innumerable questions u Papa, did you kill v an In 
 dian? Papa, why didn t you bring 1 me a little pap-poo-sy to 
 play with? Papa, wasn t you f raid?" This was a poser. 
 But the wife came to the rescue "No, my son. Papa 
 \vasn t fraid"; and the momentary cloud passed off, and 
 papa s features assumed again their wonted appearance of 
 heroism. But the pleasant reverie of future narrations o 
 bloody strife mid scenes of carnage in burning, deserted 
 villag-es, cutting- down fruit trees and destroying corn, was 
 cut short by the reality in the shrill and defiant war-whoop 
 seconded by the united report of a volley of rifles in the 
 hands of a band of outraged, insulted and maddened In 
 dian warriors under the noted chief, Little Turtle, and 
 twenty-six of the white marauders kissed their mother 
 earth, while the remaining one hundred and fifty-four bade 
 Little Turtle and his band of patriots a hasty adieu without 
 even returning their morning salutation by the discharging 
 of a single gun. 
 
 As soon as the fugitives returned to the main body and 
 gave the information that live and wide aw r ake Indians were 
 at hand, it was suddenly ascertained that pressing business 
 at home required their attention, and a retreat at once be 
 gan. On the next morning, however, Colonel Hardin and 
 Major Willis returned, with a force of 340 militia and 60 reg 
 ulars, to the burnt villages, hoping to find that the old men, 
 women and children had returned to view the scene which 
 portrayed the destruction of their homes and their earthly 
 all, and thus would be afforded an opportunity of adding to 
 the glory of their precious barbarism, the butchery of their 
 contemplated victims without danger to themselves, and 
 thus add another wreath of unfading glory to the chapter of 
 their already attained heroism, and also one to be placed upon 
 the angelic brow of their Government, as an imperishable 
 trophy of its success in disseminating her so-called glorious 
 principles "Liberty and equal rights to all mankind" and 
 humane efforts to civilize and christainize the native Ameri 
 cans. As they approached the melancholy scene of smoking 
 ruins, a few forlorn hopes were seen running from the oppo 
 site end of that place of desolation, and who were at once 
 pursued, as the Indians desired, by the ^340 militia. When 
 the chase had drawn them to a proper distance, the live Lit 
 tle Turtle and his wide awake band of warriors charged the 
 regulars and, ere the militia could return, sent the last one 
 of them, with Major Willis, to where Indian lands excite 
 covetousness no more- The heroic militia returned near 
 the close of the fight, fired a few random shots as they hur- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 449 
 
 riedly passed, and then, with renewed activity and increased 
 animation, sought the main body, leaving" the dead and 
 wounded regulars in the hands of the victorious chief and 
 his warriors. 
 
 The ferocious vandalism displayed by the w r hite intrud 
 ers and devastaters of their homes and country, aroused the 
 Indians to that degree of manly and vigorous efforts of self- 
 protection that they w r ould have broken up the settlements 
 of the white intruders had it not been for the total destruc 
 tion of their provisions and homes just at the opening of 
 winter. . 
 
 In May, 179lf a force of 750 men from Kentucky, under 
 Charles Scott, crossed the Ohio river and plundered and 
 burned several Indian villages on the Wabash river, murder 
 ing thirty of the inhabitants, capturing fifty-eight, and re 
 turned home in three week s without loss, all of which was- 
 regarded only as a little freak of fun a little pleasant rec 
 reation for the jolly boys. 
 
 The following August, a company of 550 similar "jolly 
 boys," under one^ James Wilkerson, left Fort Washington 
 to complete the work of destruction upon the Indians on the 
 Wabash river, which Scott and his gang had so successfully 
 begun. Wilkerson also was successful in burning many 
 towns, cutting down all their fields of corn, killing several, 
 and capturing thirty-four. 
 
 But while theseplunderers were committing their dep 
 redations upon the Wabash and its tributaries, the war 
 department of theUnited States was engaged in organizing 
 an army of three thousand men, by directions of congress,. 
 to invade the territories of the northwestern Indians, to be 
 placed under the command of Governor St. Clair. This 
 force encamped on the night of the 3d of November, 1791, 
 on a tributary of the Wabash river. On the following morn 
 ing, a little before sunrise, the bold and patriotic Indians 
 made a. vigorous attack upon the advanced guard, who were 
 encamped about a quarter of a mile in front of the main 
 body, which was encamped in two lines, with a space of a 
 hundred yards or more between. The guard at once gave 
 way, and in a wild frenzy of fright rushed headlong over the 
 camp-fires and, camps of the first line, closefy pursued by~ 
 the outraged Indians, who, however, were momentarily^ 
 checked by the fire of the first line. At once they made a. 
 terrific charge upon that line, and almost simultaneously 
 upon the second line also, and the battle became general at 
 once. In a short time the heroic Indians had penetrated 
 into the camps, and though charge after charge was made 
 upon them, yet each was met with the bravest resistance. 
 
.. 
 
 ... .--,. .;y.^. r ;., .-.-, il. 
 450 - HISTORY OF:. THE INDIANS. 
 
 . 
 
 Finally.a desperate cKargp was made by the whites to regain 
 ad from which^the had been cut off.. /Tn &twas suc- 
 
 .road from which^they 
 ;/cessful, and then began the retreat which , soon terminated 
 } * in a reckless flight, which began about 9 in the morning- and 
 S>"-; continued to Fort Jefferson, twenty-nine miles from the field 
 ff|rJ : f battle, reaching- the Fort about sunset. 
 
 The Indian warriors rheroes every one ~*df them- 
 
 were commanded by those consummate chiefs and warriors, 
 
 Red Jacket, Little Turtle and Bukongahelas, and numbered 
 
 about two; thousand. The .government, lost 900 killed and 
 vHvounded, among wliom were forty-nine commissioned 
 
 officers. Red Jacket,,Little Turtle an& Bukongahelas had 
 only about/60 killed ; wounded unknown. v r N 
 
 " Thus tb^ Indians were depredated upon by the various 
 
 ; : : campaigns of marauding parties from every where," killing, 
 
 ^j: destroying and laying waste thiir homes and country, which 
 
 -aroused their pitriotism to th at pitch of enthusiasm that 
 
 caused them to fight with a desperation unsurpassed in the 
 
 annals of man. ) 
 
 In Ap-ril, 1792, General. Anthony Wayne was appointed 
 ;y : by^the general government to take command of the Nortli- 
 C: : - western Ar.my. . : / , lv 
 
 g| On the 5th of the following November a hundred men 
 
 f* from Kentucky, under Adair as captain, made a raid across 
 the Ohio River into the Indians country, but the indefatiga- 
 *\>it Little Turtle and his band of heroes met him arid, in a 
 severe $>bt:, defeated him, with heavy loss, and drove him 
 -back to bi^ o\vn. 
 
 In the Spring- of 1793, during i!i6 arrangements that 
 
 were being ma;ie lor Wayne s campaign, Congress sent com 
 
 missioners to the Northwest Indians to negotiate a treaty 
 
 on the basis of the treaty made at Fort Harmer in 1789. 
 
 TMs treaty-niaking with the Northwest Indians was not a 
 
 ^ step with^thc view of civilizing tli3 Indians and bringing 
 
 them under the benign influences of Christianity, nor was 
 
 ^v the or<-aniz Uija of Wayne s army for the purpose of pro^- 
 
 tectin^them from the raids of the marauding companies, en 
 
 W^ white "marauders, robbers and thieves, \vho invaded taeir 
 
 r country whenever they desired; but for the accomplish merit 
 
 of a scheme for robbing the helpless Indians of their coun 
 
 try arid liomes. <; , 
 
 The commissioners called a council of tap Indians to be 
 
 "held at the mouth of the Musldn-urn river. Now, it is a. 
 known fact, that the. Congress of the United States never 
 did assemble anv tribe or tribes of Indians upon the North 
 American continent frAm 1776 to the present time, for the 
 humane purpose of consulting with them upon measures 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 451 
 
 relating* to their civilization and Christianity. Never. But 
 to rob and swindle them out of their country was the only 
 motive for a council, and I challenge , successful contradic 
 tion. About twenty Indians, from about the same number 
 of tribes, responded to the commissioners call, and as 
 sembled at the designated place. They justly denied the 
 validity of the treaty made in 1789, at Fort Harmer, as it 
 had only been made by representatives of six of the tribes, 
 who had no power or right to cede the territories of the 
 other tribes, and Congress knew it, as well as the Indians. 
 But .that infamous game of secretly making a sham pur 
 chase of lands from a tribe or two, and then extend the claim 
 over every tribe whose lands were coveted, and then back 
 the diabolical proceedings by seizing it vi ET ARMIS, X then 
 burning their homes, cutting down their orchards, destroy 
 ing their every means of support, and murdering them in 
 cold blood, all, without distinction of age or sex, because 
 they dared to raise a hand in self-defense, has been our plan, 
 and only plan, of dealing w r ith the North American Indians 
 from fijrst to last. 
 
 The deputation of Indians mentioned above justly insis 
 ted on the treaty of Fort Stanwix, made in 1767, which es 
 tablished the Ohio River as the boundary; and boldly affirm 
 ed that the Whites must conform to that treaty, as they had 
 made no- other with them; and move from their territories 
 west of the Ohio River, if they desired peace with the In 
 dians. But the commissioners still pointed to the two trea- 
 tiQS of 1784 and 1789, in which they affirmed the United 
 States had bought large bodies of land which they had de 
 termined to hold. How clearly this old precedent, handed 
 down from that day to this, was illustrated in the securing 
 of the Oklahoma Territory, and also that from the Sioux, 
 in which fraud, falsehood, hypocrisy and rascality are the 
 only characteristics that are visible in the whole? 
 
 But the commissioners, finding the Indians immovable 
 and strenuously appeali-ng to the treaty of 1768, and know 
 ing- that they had truth, justice and honor on their side, and 
 -judging that noble race of the long ago, who then were free, 
 pure and even unstained by the vices of the White Race, 
 whose very breath seemed pollution to them by the fallacy of 
 their, own polluted hearts, offered pecuniary inducements to 
 them to confirm the treaty, then endeavoring to be made 
 with them, the vast tracts of land in the Ohio country which 
 were claimed by the treaty of Fort Harmer in 1789, made 
 with six little tribes alone. If that treaty was just and valid, 
 what necessity was there in calling a council of those Indians 
 to make another treaty in regard to those identical lands? 
 
452 HISTORY OF TH] INDIANS, 
 
 And why did Congress instruct those commissioners, if ca 
 jolery and threats would not avail, to resort to their last ar 
 gument bribery. 
 
 But those ancient Indian patriots could not be bribed. 
 It would have been as easy for those commissioners to have, 
 turned the sun from its course as those twenty native Amer 
 ican chiefs of a century ago from the paths of honor. Nor 
 would they agree to any other boundary line than the Ohio 
 River, proposed by the Whites, accepted by the Indians and 
 established by both in the treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768. 
 The council adjourned and the bull dogs of war were untied 
 and turned loose upon the Indians, Why? Because they re 
 fused to sell their country. That s all. Congress knew 
 they would not give up their country by the bog-us treaty of 
 1789; and it knew that it had no more just claims to those 
 vast tracts of land than it did to the throne of Queen Vic 
 toria. But the United States had the power, but not the 
 honor, therefore Ahab took the land. 
 
 Wayne at once took up the line of march for the Indian 
 territories in Ohio. On his march, he built a fort where 
 Greenville, Ohio, is now situated. In October 1793, the 
 seemingly indomitable Little Turtle and his warriors made 
 an attack upon Lieutenant Lowry, who, with ninety men, 
 was conveying supplies for the army, and killed Lowry 
 and fourteen of his men, and captured ninety horses. 
 
 Wayne remained at the newly erected, fort until the 
 spring of 1794 making every preparation for a successful ex 
 terminating* campaign against the Indians, who were con 
 centrating their strength upon the Maumee -river, and also 
 making every preparation that their meag-er means would 
 admit to repel their plundering invaders. On the 27th . of 
 July, Wayne, with an army of 4000 men, started upon his 
 depredatory and exterminating work upon the Indians. 
 August 4th, found him on the St. Mary s river, 47 miles, 
 from the fort. There he erected another fort and 
 named it Fort Adams, garrisoning it with one hun 
 dred men. He again resumed his march, and, ,011 
 the 8th of August encamped 103 miles from his first fort. 
 On the morning of the 20th he came to the encampment of 
 the Indians on the bank of the Maumee river, and the battle 
 opened, which resulted in the defeat of the Indians, though 
 they foug-ht with heroic bravery, and, says Wayne in his re 
 port of the battle "exposed their persons in an unusual de 
 gree, and seemed determined to conquer or perish." 
 Wayne remained three days after the battle, burning their 
 houses, destroying 1 their cornfields and everything that 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 453 
 
 "* * T -J -.j fc -% _ji v" : v , *+*> -3 : ". / w - " . r .,%, . . 
 
 -.- . . : . Vff- J : << . ; .^ - x" .-V : . - : & . " " oT X 1 
 
 could be destroyed, above and below for. fifty miles on each 
 side of the Maumee river. 
 
 This barbarous destruction of their villages and vast 
 cornfields that spread for fifty and sixty miles along the 
 banks of the Maumee and Auglaize rivers, reduced the In 
 dians to such privations and sufferings, that they were 
 forced to sue for peace; and on the 3rd of August, 1795, 
 Wayne concluded a treaty of peace with the northwest 
 tribes, in which the Indians were forced to make concessions * 
 of large tracts of land, as usual in all such cases, for fight 
 ing ^for liberty and their native land. 
 
 But here, as in the middle iwatches of the night, I will 
 close this cursory review of the fearful sufferings and cruel 
 destruction of that portion of the human family, who were 
 seldom equalled and never surpassed in the annals of the 
 world for patient endurance and patriotic heroism when bat 
 tling for their homes and native land against the iron heel 
 of tyranny, and who formerly possessed and inhabited the 
 northern and western part of this continent as a free and 
 happy people; then fell into the hands of France, and sub 
 sequently into those of England, to be finally handed over 
 to the United States as old and useless goods and chattels. 
 And though I have but exhibited the mere skeleton of their 
 wrongs and woes inflicted by the hands of white civilization j 
 and professed Christianity, yet I will return to my subject, 
 the Chickasaws, from which I have so long and far wan 
 dered ; not to repose in hope of a fairer morn in tracing the 
 line of their history, sin^e there can be no hope expected in 
 this age abounding, as all heretofore have, more with vice 
 than with virtue. 
 
 While the English east of the Alleghany mountains were 
 adopting active, but secret measures, to stop the progress 
 of French colonization on the banks of the Mississippi river,- 
 their traders were meeting the French traders every where 
 among the southern Indians, and their mutual animosity and 
 competition causing frequent quarrels, oft terminating in 
 collisions, in which the unfortunate Indians always became 
 involved on the one or the other side. But the French, at an ^#< 
 early day had excited the animosity of the Chickasaws by 
 failing to protect a band of\their warriors who had solicited - : : 
 an es.cort from Mobile to their homes through the Chocta^^/^ 
 Nation, with , whom they were then at war; but in passing; ^>| : ; 
 through the Choctaw Nation, though under a French escort, /5[;1; 
 they were slain to a man. by the Choctaws. The. Chickasaws, ^5^ 
 believing it was done through the connivance of the French, 
 never forgave them; and in all the quarrels between the 
 French p.hd English traders they took^sides with the latter < 
 
 
 
/ : < 
 
 . 
 
 
 V 454 " HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. : 
 
 /and ".finally became the firm and undeviating friends, and 
 allies of the English, and the most bitter" enemies. of.*the 
 French, giving- them more trouble than all the other so.uthern 
 tribes, and whom they regarded as the most dreaded enemies 
 among all the Indians in the Mississippi valley. 
 
 Their territory lay exactly between the French settle 
 ments in Louisiana and Illinois^and thus made all intercourse 
 extremely dangerousl The high point upon .which,Mem- 
 phis, Tennessee, is located, then known as the Chickasaw 
 
 Bluffs, was a favorite spot selected by the shrewd and wily 
 Chickasaw warriors from which to make their attacks upon 
 the French boats ascending and descending the river. Bien- 
 ville, then governor and commander of the French colonies 
 
 I in the Mississippi valley, adopted every possible method to 
 retaliate upon that brave Nation, and too often succeeded in 
 arraigning the Choctaws, his allies, against the Chickasaws 
 much to his great joy and satisfaction, but greatly to the 
 injury of the two injudicious and misguided tribes. In 1719 
 he succeeded in influencing the Choctaws to declare war 
 against them, and in which they, by the assistance of Bien- 
 ville in the way of arms and ammunition, defeated the Chicka 
 saws in several hard contested battles, and so weakened 
 them that they for awhile ceased their attacks upon the 
 French, though retaining, to the fullest extent, their hatred 
 and animosity toward them. Bienville, in one of his Betters 
 regarding this fratricidal war he had so effectually brought 
 about between those two kindred and warlike Nations, ex- 
 ultingly said: "The Choctaws, whom I have set in motion 
 against the Chickasaws, have destroyed entirely three vil 
 lages of this ferocious Nation, which disturbed our com 
 merce on the river. They have raised about four hundre.d 
 scalps, and made one hundred prisoners. Considering this 
 state of things, it is a most important advantage which we 
 
 -have obtained, the more so, that it has not cost one cr p of 
 
 ; French blood, "through the care I took of opposing tuosc 
 barbarians to one another. Their self-destruction operated 
 
 1 in this manner is the sole efficacious means of insuring tran- 
 quility to the colony." 
 
 It now seems almost incredible that such ,1 crazed infat 
 uation should-possess the Choctaws a s to so utterly blind them 
 from comprehending the dark designs of Bienville when ar 
 raigning them against their own race, and especially against 
 their kindred Chickasaw brethren. 
 
 In July 1720, the English traders among the Cliick- 
 asaws .involved them in turn in a war with the 
 French, by influencing (hem to kill Serignev, a : French 
 officer, whom Bienville had sent amoncr them .to in- 
 
HISTORY [OF, THE INDIANS. 45* 
 
 duce them to ..withdraw from the Erglish and give; 
 their trade to the French. Thus did the English, 
 and French use th e inconsiderate and misguided Native 
 Americans to advance their own interests, and sacrifice them 
 upon the altar of their avarice in settling- their disputes and 
 quarrels. Unfortunate race! Too credulous that petiidy 
 could not .dwell in JLhe hearts of such professed white 
 friends! 
 
 In 1731, after the destruction of the Natchez as a Nation, 
 a few of whom had fled to the brave and generous Chicka- 
 saws for protection, Governor -Perier, who had been ap 
 pointed commander of the colony in the place of Bienville, 
 then deposed and recalled to France, sent orders to the s 
 Chickasaws to drive the Natchez fugitives out of their terrl- 
 tories, if they did not wish to secure his animosity; to this 
 insolent cotnmand, they heroica ly replied: We neither 
 respect \ T ou as a friend, nor fea^ y m as an enemy. We 
 have extended the hand of friencohip and safety to the 
 unfortunate Natchez, and how to protect them." This 
 heroic but defiant message caused the conceited little French 
 governor to foam with rage; and he at once resolved upon 
 immediate war upon "those insolent savages" but a Na 
 tion of heroes, and, as an introductory to his designs, 
 adopted measures without delay to ajain array the C*hoctaws 
 in hostilities against them, but evidcntl\vnot without just ap 
 prehensions of success; for ia a letter written "at this time 
 to his government by Beauchamp, the commander at Mo 
 bile, he said: "The Choctaws are not friendly .disposed to 
 wards us, which is greatly to be regretted; lor should this 
 tribe declare against us, we should be compelled to abandon 
 the colony. The Natchez war principally endangered the / 
 traders on the Mississippi river, but a Ghickasiiw \va.r 
 would cause apprehension throughout the whole colony.- 
 They have already sent -three emissaries to seek the al- ; 
 liance of the Illinois Indians against us, who, however fell- 
 into our. hands, and Governor Pcrier intends ordering thcrn- 
 burnt." - 
 
 - Such rough measures and cruel punishment inflicted 
 upon the Indians, without any just cau^e whatsoever, froiru 
 that day to this, by those who professed and taught the hu 
 mane and pacific principles of Christianity, drove them to 
 justly abhor the- white race, and to justly retaliate u^ 
 them sixty fold, if justice c>an be found in retaliation a 
 
 But Perier wasjlisappohited,in carrying out his warlike 
 designs .against the .Chkkis.aws* and thus avenging the 
 imagined insult Coffered to the governor of an obscure littleX- 
 
 .?:&^-^^^3&K k^^.-J 
 
 ... 
 
456 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 French Colony somewhere in the wilds of America; for in 
 1733, Bienville after an absence of eight years, was rein 
 stated as governor in the place of Perier. It was at this 
 lime the king of France fully determined tq firmly establish 
 his supreme authority throughout the entire valley of the 
 Mississippi, then called Louisiana. But that little, yet 
 seemingly indomitable, Chickasaw Nation, stood in the path, 
 as did the Iroquois years before at the Great Lakes of the 
 North; and though the French openly derided the Chicka 
 saws, yet they secretly -dreaded them, and not without just 
 cause. It was they, who had influenced and encouraged the 
 Natchez to attack and destroy the French at Fort Rosalie, 
 November 28th, 1729, which however, ultimately resulted in 
 the overthrow and annihilation of the unfortunate Natchez 
 themselves. It was they- who had successfully debarred all 
 communication between the French colonies at Kaskaskia and 
 New Orleans, by sustaining their independence, tnus weak 
 ening the French upon the continent by a division of their 
 possessions; while the English traders from Virginia and 
 the Carolinas the uncompromising rivals and inveterate 
 enemies of the French in securing a foot-hold by which to 
 m establish their permanency upon the territories of the 
 southern Indians were welcomed by the Chickasaws in all 
 their towns and villages and throughout their entire terri 
 tory. Therefore to speedily secure and successfully retain 
 the eastern valley of the Mississippi for the French, it was 
 necessary to first overthrow the Chickasaws; and, either by 
 titter annihilation or reducing them to abject subjection, 
 destroy the power of that defiant and seemingly unconquer 
 able people. They must be wiped out" was the fiat of the 
 French, and thus were they made an object for extermina 
 tion by as formidable combination of enemies as ever sought 
 the destruction of a single Nation; yet, over that seemingly 
 irresistible combination, as will be fully shown, they suc 
 cessfully and gloriously triumphed, after a long and fearful 
 struggle of eighteen consecutive years, alone and unaided 
 except by a few Natchez refugees. 
 
 After Bienville was reinstated, he at once resolved to 
 put into execution the hostile measures of Perier against 
 the Chickasaws, and spent the whole year (1734) in futile at 
 tempts to induce the Choctaws to make war upon that still 
 resolute and defiant people; but at this juncture of affairs, a 
 Choctaw chief by the name of Shulush Humma (shoes red; 
 appeared upon the stage amid those vacillating scenes of 
 strife and carnage, who proved to be as shrewd a diploma 
 tist as he was a brave and consummate warrior; and well un 
 derstood how to shuffle his cards to the best advantage, as 
 
/ 
 
 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS 457 
 
 he oscillated between the assumed humble solicitations of 
 the English and the French for the favor of his coveted al 
 liance, with *a skill that would have done credit to, and elic- 
 fed the admiration and praise of the greatest statesmen of 
 civilized Nations. But the French proved unsuccessful; for 
 Bienville induced Shulush Humma to undertake a war expe 
 dition with a thousand warriors against the Chickasa\vs, 
 with whom Bienville also sent Lesuer, a French officer, with 
 thirty soldiers. But the ever vigilant Chickasaws had 
 learned of the whole proceeding s, and at once sent a dele 
 gation under a "white flag- to meet them and buy them off 
 with English goods of which they had a large amount; in 
 this they happily succeeded, and the war party returned 
 home, without attempting any further demonstrations of 
 hostilities, except Shulush Humma, who, for no other ap 
 parent reason than that of shame to return to Bienville with 
 out having made some demonstration, attacked a little 
 Chickasaw village with a few of his warriors as he was on 
 his way home; but was at once repulsed with a loss of four 
 of the attacking party. 
 
 Bienville could scarcely restrain his feelings of bitter 
 disappointment at the unexpected turn of affairs; and 
 though greatly disconcerted, he appeared indifferent so far 
 as to renew the former treaties of alliance with the Choc- 
 taws, as he well knew .the salvation of the French colony de 
 pended wholly upon the friendship and the aid of that then 
 powerful tribe of skillful and fearless warriors. But dur 
 ing the interval of those protracted negotiations, the Choc- 
 taws, through some unknown cause, became divided into two 
 parties, or factions, one in favor of the English, the other 
 of the French, both of whom had been .making, for many 
 years, the most indefatigable efforts to secure to their re 
 spective and exclusive interests that, then, justly dreaded 
 Nation of Indian warriors. 
 
 But the ever watchful Chickasaws, aided- alone by the 
 avenging Natchez refugees, were not idle during- the slow 
 and dubious negotiations of the French with the Choctaws 
 to secure and retain their alliance, but boldly attacked the 
 French whenever and wherever an opportunity presented 
 itself; and especially the Natchez, enraged with a burning 
 sense of their long series of wrongs, outages and misfort 
 unes at the hands of the French, .sought everywhere to 
 avenge their nation s destruction, and deeply felt: 
 1 . 
 
 "What though the fields be lost 
 All is not lost the unconquerable will 
 And study of revenge, immortal hate, 
 And courage never to submit or yield, 
 And \vhat is else not to be overcome." 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. . ,--^". 
 
 ,\:^.. t >, v- t " ,.. ** *}?* I "V V "--? if~<*" - ^ : *? < * *- ; /v 1 - : * ; * * y-*Y v " " 
 
 ->-. -M But the Choctaws evidently cherished a desire for pca"cc>r 
 for having captured three Frenchmen, an officer ifatned Di^.^. 
 Cader, a sergeant, and a private soldier, they requested^; 
 DuCader to write to Bienville and inform him that they de->y 
 sired peace; and as a manifestation of their sincerity, they 
 made the soldier the bearer of the" letter to Bienville, re-, 
 questing him to also confirm the statements set _ forth 
 therein. The soldier arrived safely in New Orleans, and 
 delivered the letter to Bienville, informing him also of the de*". 
 sires of the ChiCkasaws. But Bienville at once wrote baclv < 
 s to DuCader, that he would not make peace with the Chicka 
 saws; nor would he sacrifice the interests of the French Na 
 tion to the safety of two men; therefore he and the sergeant 
 must make the best of their misfortune by escaping, other 
 wise suffer the consequences. DuCader and- the sergeant,, 
 under the disguise of securing peace, did eventually outwit 
 the Chickasaws and made their escape, returning safely to v 
 New Orleans. 
 
 It was now plainly evident that Bienville had determined 
 not to accept any terms of peace with the. Chickasaws, but 
 had fully resolved to prosecute the war of extermination 
 which he had inaugurated .against them, until that brave 
 little Nation of patriotic heroes was totally and forever blot 
 ted out. A resolution afterwards adopted by the English, 
 the successors of the French, against all Indians; and when 
 they, in turn, handed over the sceptre of power on the Nofotli 
 American continent, Canada excepted, to the United States* 
 they also bequeathed to them, as a sacred legacy, the .in 
 junction, "Extermination of the North American Indians"; 
 and how faithfully thev have persisted to the accomplish 
 ment of that desired objejt, with unwavering diligence and 
 unfaltering resolution, unsurpassed in the annals of the 
 world, the feeble little remnant of that once free and happy 
 people still left sufficiently testify. 
 
 ..< Bienville immediately wrote to the French Minister of 
 Marine earnestly asking for four additional . companies of 
 , troops to be added to his forces, then amounting to .only two 
 .hundred men; and with which he did not feel justified in 
 risking the "glory and. honor of the French arms" in a battle 
 with the Chick;isaw*^* who could call into the field four 
 hundred and fiftv warriors." His appeal was acknowledged 
 by the arrival, soon after, of mori troops; and Bienville, 
 without further delav. commenced his .preparations for an 
 exterminating 1 expedition against the still resolute and de 
 fiant . Chickasaws. with an avowed determination to 1 wipe 
 them out d s a Nation and take possession .of their territory. 
 Elated with the flattering prospect of the complete success 
 

 >: . ; , : /:: : , -*;{ : \ , -^ ! ::>- \ / : - 
 
 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 459 
 
 of his plans, he organized two armies, one in Mobile, then in & 
 the Choctaw Nation; the other in Illinois; the former to be^r 
 commanded by himself, the bitter by D Artaguette, then 
 governor of the Illinois district. The two- were t6 forma, 
 junction by the 31st of March, 1736, in the Chickasaw Terr,-:V 
 ritory at the village, where, 196 years before, DcSoto had-"" 
 wintered, and had received a just rebuke to his follv in re- 
 garding that people to be a race of "savsge- cowards. , 
 Bienville had instructed D Artaguette to meet him with .a ll^S 
 the French troops he could possibly collect, and also with as ; 
 many warriors of his Indian allies as he could get. This in-^ 
 vasion, with the avowed purpose of exterminating the Chick- 
 asaws was planned and undertaken by the direction of theff 
 French government, "whose solicitude was anxiously turned - ; 
 to it with high anticipations of a successful result." 
 
 But, as precursive of failure, Bienville \vas unable to 
 leave Mobile with his army until th 4th of April; and slowly;*. / 
 ascending* the devious windings of the Tombigbee river, the- 1 | 
 troops reached Fort Tombigbee on the 23i;d, which had been; 
 built 250 miles above Mobile on the western bank of the, 
 river by a party sent forward for that purpose. *" 1 At thisi; 
 fort Bienville secured the aid of 600 Choctaw warriors (his 
 old friends and allies) by presents and promised rewards*-^ 
 for each and every Chickasaw s:alp, which increased his 
 force to twelve hundred men. Thus prepared to wreak hisj| 
 long cherished vengeance, Bienville again began his tedious 
 way up the windings of that crooked stream to a point then%S. 
 called "Tunmuntucche (Where the bow was strung)" cor-"%< 
 ruption of the Choctaw word Tuniuhushi, signifying ^village ; 
 and afterwards known as Cotton Gin Port, twenty-one-* 
 miles southeast of the famous groat village of the Chicka^!^!: 
 saws then called Chikasahha, but afterwards the "Chickasaw 
 Old Fields," which he reached on the 22nd of May, and^fer- 
 
 of May, with sanguine expectations of soon "honoring t 
 .French arms" by successfully defeating and exterminating 1 ^ 
 that little Nation of heroic patriots,. Bienville, leaving" a- A 
 strong guard to protect his boats; took up his -line of march -^ 
 toward Chikasahha, and arrived within three miles pf it the;i- 
 same day, and there encamped for the- night, during- Avhicli $ 
 the Choctaw scouts returned, but without having Ascertained 
 anything- concerning* D Artaguette. Bienville at once ^des~% 
 pairing of all hopes of D Artaguette s co-operation, resolved- , 
 to risk an^attick alone, being numerically as three to^ one iof -. 
 ,the Chickasaws; therefore, before daylight on the morning 
 
 : r.\\ 
 
4-V . -v x V gfe 
 
 .*" *\^J3$ 
 
 460 v HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. , ), . 
 
 I 
 
 of the 26th, he stealthily marched upon what he expected to 
 ; find a village of unsuspecting and sleeping inhabitants; a 
 plan so judiciously adopted and successfully executed by the 
 modern Sherman and Sheridan style of "military heroes" 
 whose military fame rested alone upon their skill in pounc 
 ing upon sleeping Indians and butchering them regardless 
 
 of age or sex. 
 
 But Bienville s disappointment in not finding D Ar- 
 taguette in waiting was only surpassed by finding the ever 
 
 . vigilant Chickasaw warriors, who had kept themselves well 
 
 ^posted in all his. imagined secret movements, calmly waiting 
 
 for him, fully prepared and ready to extend to him the 
 
 /hearty, lively and entertaining reception due him as the rep 
 resentative of the "honor of the French arms" (upon whose 
 
 escutcheon they read "Extermination, root and branch, to 
 
 all Chickasaws") from behind the strong fortifications with 
 which they had encircled their ancient and honored city over 
 which the British flag also waved in flaunting 1 defiance, w hile 
 here and there within .the fortifications were seen "a few 
 prodigal sons of Old England, as they, like spectres, flitted 
 with hurried steps from side to side. 
 
 The Chickasaws had protected their favorite city with 
 five forts, each well provided with loop-holos; also a larger 
 one constructed of logs placed upright and firmly in the 
 ground in near and convenient proximity to the five smaller 
 parts, and in addition to this the}* had strongly fortified 
 houses. During the first day Bienville made two unsuccess 
 ful efforts to storm this Chickasaw log and dirt citadel, but 
 was quicklv driven back, with great loss; for iipon both 
 charges the innumerable loop-holes that studded the forti 
 fications seemed a zone of lire and a hail-storm of leaden 
 bullets swept the ranks of the besiegers. For three succes 
 sive days did the French attempt to scale the log and "dirt 
 walls of that little fort, but to meet with defeat, for the 
 Chickasaw warriors met them at every point and heroically 
 disputed every inch of ground. Thus for three days jn 
 seemingly "doubtful scale the battle hung"; each charge 
 meeting with repulse, and forcing the assailants back be- 
 j-ond the reach of the rifles whose messengers of death 
 were directed by the keen eyes and steady nerves of as brave 
 and resolute patriots as ever defended home and native 
 land from the usurping footsteps of tyranny and oppression. 
 It is stated, the French soldiers had provided them selves 
 with wooden breast-plates as a protection from the Chicka 
 saw arrows, which it was believed would be the only wea pon 
 with which they would have to contend. No wonder th eir 
 
 astonishment was great, when, instead of a shower of ar- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 461 
 
 rows to rebound from their breast-plates, a hailstorm of 
 leaden bullets greeted them, against which their wooden 
 shields were as gossamer. 
 
 But the six hundred Choctaw warriors regarding the 
 French as nothing- short of idiots to thus charge upon and 
 shoot at logs instead of a visible enemy, remained at a com 
 mendable distance during the three days fight, calmly con 
 templating and discussing the apparent folly and 
 seeming indiscretion of the French; and easily discerning 
 the inevitable result of such a mode of proceeding, they at 
 once bade the French and Chickasaws an informal adieu, 
 and sought their distant homes by devious ways and means 
 known to themselves alone. The morning of the 29th of 
 May, 1735, found Bienville badly whipped and in inglorious 
 retreat with his army for his boats, vigorously pursued by 
 the victorious and exulting Chickasaws, who followed closely 
 upon the heels of the retreating and disorganized soldiers, 
 pouring into their unpadded backs volley after volley of 
 leaden messengers of death; and thus terminated Bienville s 
 exterminating invasion of the Chickasaw country, a disas 
 trous defeat with the loss of many men killed, wounded and 
 captured. 
 
 On May 30th, Bienville, throwing his few pieces of light 
 artillery into the river, hastily embarked with his army, and 
 greatly humilated and despondent in regard to the "honor 
 of the French arms" entrusted to his care, paddled down the 
 river, leaving the brave Chickasaws in quiet possession of 
 their homes and country, and, on the last of June, landed his 
 crest-fallen troops on the banks of the Bayou St. John. 
 Thus was Bienville justly chastised, under a just provi 
 dence, by the indomitable Chickasaws with a force less than 
 one-half of their assailants fully confident of success yet de 
 testable in the avowed use of their anticipated victory. 
 Truly, if ever gallant defense of country and homes merited 
 the admiration and applause of mankind, those ancient 
 Chickasaws did. 
 
 The cannon thrown into the river were found in its bed 
 near Cotton Gin Port, during a low stage of the water, by 
 the early settlers of the state of Mississippi, and were be 
 lieved by the uninformed and credulous, to have belonged to 
 DeSoto, and thus marked the spot where he crossed the 
 Tombigbee river in his memorable raid through the Chicka 
 saw territories^ in 1740 and 1741. 
 
 But what of D Artaguette and his invading army from 
 the Illinois district? Alas! Bienville learned the sad intelli 
 gence after he returned to New Orleans that D Artaguette 
 had arrived in the Chickasaw territory according to the time 
 
,.462 ^/HISTORY^ OF - THE, INDIANS. 
 
 Designated, hence many days in the advance of him, and 
 -when *he had advanced close . to jChikasabha he also, as 
 Bienville afterwards did, sent out Indian scouts to obtain tid- 
 
 irigs of him rwh7f\soon returned without gaining any infor- 
 -- Nation. But the next day a courier brought a letter to D 
 
 Artaguette informing him that JBienville would * not . be able 
 to reach Chikasahha before the first of May, and also instruc 
 ted him to govern his movements in accordance thereto, 
 ^ upon which D Artaguette immediately ca tled a council of his 
 
 - -officers and Indian chiefs who at once, and -unanimously, ad- 
 Wised an immediate attack; to which D Artaguette yielded, 
 :and forthwith marched, on with-his army numbering 130 
 . French soldiers and 3t>0 Indian warriors, and made a bold 
 stand fierce attack upon Chick^sahha. But equal was their 
 astonishment, with that of Bienville afterwards, when 500 
 
 Chickasaw warriors and 30 Englishmen suddenly made a 
 furious charge upon them from behind a hill, near the mouth 
 of a creek called Nita Bok (Bear Creek) and with such fear 
 less impetuosity accompanied with the terrible Chickasaw 
 hoyopatassuha (war-wjoop) that the Indian allies lied pro 
 miscuously in wild dismay, though the French soldiers 
 stood their ground and bravely fought until forty-five of their 
 number were killed, then began a slow and orderly retreat, 
 >vhich was soon discovered by the Chickasavvs who, with an 
 exultant war-whoop, made a fearless charge upon them 
 which at once destroyed all order among the soldiers and 
 caused them to fly panic-stricken, terminating in a complete 
 and disastrous rout. Shouting their wild and exulting war- 
 cry, the victorious Chickasavvs pursued the frantic fugitives, 
 killing fifty and wounding 1 many others. At this juncture 
 the hand of Providence seeme-1 to be stretched out in behalf 
 .of the French fugitives; for a furious storm suddenly arose 
 and ra jed with su:li terrific fury that further pursuit was 
 stopped, or scarcely one would have survived to narrate the 
 story ofXthcir utfcer destruction. The victory of the Chica- 
 asaws was complete, and the booty secured in the camp out 
 fit of the French wis highly prized, ^especially the guns and 
 ammunition v/bic".i amounted to 450 pounds of powder and 
 12,000 bullets, whic .i they soon after brought into re 
 quisition in clef eati n-r Bienville. Also a large amount of pro- 
 visionsjwore taken and many horses captured. But D Arta 
 guette was not as fortunate as Bienville. lie and Vincennes, 
 the second in command, and a Jesuit priest were taken pris 
 oners and all were burned at the stake according to the 
 North American Indian mode of revenge, and also in strict 
 "accordance with the example set before them in 1731 by 
 Governor Perier, who had burned the three Chickasaw war- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 463 
 
 riors sent by their Nation to seek the alliance of the Illinois 
 Indians, but unfortunately fell into his hands while on their 
 mission. If the seeking- of aid from others merited death 
 at the stake, how much more does seeking- the destruction 
 of an entire Nation merit a similar fate. The Chickasaws, 
 but executed the old primitive law An eye for an eye and 
 a tooth for a tooth" in perfect harmony with their white 
 foes when killing Indians. 
 
 A youth sixteen years of age, it is stated, led the sur 
 vivors of that unfortunate battle safely back from their dis 
 astrous defeat to their homes in Illinois; and thus terminated 
 the expedition of D Artaguette to assist Bienville in the utter 
 extermination of the Chickasaws. Many .prisoners were 
 also taken by the Chickasaws in the defeat and retreat of 
 Bienville to his boats, all of whom perished at the stake. Dur 
 ing- the fearful trag-edy, a Jesuit Priest, also a prisoner, pro 
 posed to his fellow prisoners, as they waited their inevitable 
 doom, that they all march tog-ether into the fire and thus ex 
 hibit to the Choctaws how Frenchmen could die; to which all 
 consented, provided he would lead the way. . Then com 
 mending- their souls to God, they together chanted the 
 miserere as the sig-nal for starting", and all calmly and reso 
 lutely marched up and threw themselves into the flames and 
 perished tog-ether. The Chickasaws were so astonished at 
 this unexpected movement that they looked on the scene in 
 silence and made no opposition whatever; and such was the 
 finale of Bienville s hopes to destroy the peace-seeking 
 Chickasaws root and branch. Had he been taken prisoner 
 by the Chickasaws and suffered death at the stake, instead 
 of his soldiers, even mercy might have exclaimed: "He 
 merited his fate." But such personages, who will sacrifice 
 the lives of thousands of their own people to gratify a re 
 vengeful spirit in seeking the deestruction of the objects of 
 their hate, are always endowed with that character of 
 bravery and great presence of mind that enables them to 
 bring- "self" salely out of all danger, no matter how great, 
 sufficient evidence of the advantage possessed over the com 
 mon soldier in having- a military education which so plainly 
 inculcates the art of keeping 1 before in all retreats from a 
 pursuing- enemy. 
 
 Years afterward, the old Chickasaws oft rehearsed to 
 the missionaries the traditional account of their two great 
 victories over the French, and proudly displayed to their 
 view, as trophies, many relics of the two "battles which com 
 memorated the defeat of D Artaguette and Bienville. 
 
 There is a little incident connected with the battle in 
 which D Artaguette and- his army were destroyed that mer- 
 
\ 
 
 464 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 * 
 
 its a place in memory, while bordering- on the romantic, yet 
 tinged with melancholy and sadness. In the pursuit of the 
 fugitives of D Artaguette s routed and fleeing- army a young 
 Chickasaw warrior named Hlikukhlo hosh (the humming 
 bird) captured a little French girl 5 years of age, named 
 Nancy. The chivalric young warrior spared the child, and, 
 captivated by her wonderful beauty, there and then resolved, 
 in the coming future, to make the pale-face maiden his wife. 
 In accordance therewith The Humming Bird watched over 
 his little captive protege and prospective wife from innocent 
 childhood to beautiful womanhood with zealous care, having 
 her trained and educated in strict accordance with the most 
 approved Chickasaw style of etiquette, while he ever mani 
 fested to her a proper reserve, attended with the greatest 
 respect and devotion as she grew to womanhood. In the 
 course of years his unwearied and undeviating devotion was 
 reciprocated by French Nancy, as she was called, which be^ 
 ing discovered by her attentive guardian and faithful lover, 
 he at a proper time solicited the hand of his fair protege in 
 marriage, and was accepted. Indue time the nuptial cere 
 mony was performed in accordance to Chickasaw custom 
 and usages, while the flowers and birds of the forest con 
 tributed their incense and music, and the Chickasaw maid- 1 
 ens envied the bliss and good fortune of the strange but 
 beautiful flower that had budded and bloomed as an exotic 
 among them. French Nancy raised a family and lived to a 
 great age. Rev. T. C. Stuart, the missionary, stated he saw 
 her and made her acquaintance in 1821, at which time she 
 was 91 ye^ars of age, according to the year she was captured 
 (1735) by Hlikukhlo, at the age she was said to be at the time 
 of her captivity. She remembered some of the circum 
 stances of her capture and seemed to delight in narrating 
 them. She still retained her European features, said Rev. 
 T. C. Stuart, but in every other respect was Chickasaw. 
 She was respected, honored and loved by the entire Chicka 
 saw Nation, and regarded as a living monument of their 
 victory over their inveterate enemies, the French. She died 
 and was buried at Monroe, the old missionary station. 
 
 Through the instigation of The French the war was 
 continued between the seemingly infatuated and blinded 
 Choctaws and Chickasaws during the entire year 1737, yet 
 without any perceptibly advantageous results to either. A 
 long and bitter experience seemed wholly inadequate to teach 
 them the selfish designs of the French. No one can believe 
 the friendship of the French for the Choctaws was unas- 
 sumed. They were unmerciful tyrants by whatever stand 
 ard one may choose to measure them, and without a redeem- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 465 
 
 ing- quality as far as their dealings with the North American 
 Indians go to prove; and their desire for the good of that 
 race of people utterly out of the question; and with equal 
 truth may the same be affirmed of the entire White Race, 
 whose universal opinion was just wise enough to measure the 
 Red Race by the standard found in their own souls; there 
 fore the North American Indians were called savages, and 
 have been so denominated to this day, and are now made the 
 foundation of innumerable and ridiculous myths. But Bien- 
 ville, still chafing like an enraged bear, under the mortifica 
 tion of his defeat by the brave and patriotic Chickasaws, 
 which but increased his desire and determination to destroy 
 them and blot out their very name, devoted the year 1739 to 
 preparation for another exterminating invasion into the 
 country of that seemingly indomitable people; and, as an in 
 troductory step to the more successful accomplishment and 
 full realization of his designs, he sent. an embassy, in March 
 1739, to the Choctaws to conciliate their good will a nd obtain 
 their aid. And strange as it may appear, Bienville secured 
 thirty-two villages out of forty-two to the interests of the 
 French, while, through the instigation and influence of Shu- 
 lush Humma, the remaining ten decided* in favor of the 
 English. 
 
 And now, for the first time in their history, the Choc- 
 taws were divided into two parties. Shulush Humma, elated 
 with his success in securing to himself even ten villages, 
 made a clandestine visit, with about a hundred of his war 
 riors, to the English settlements in now the State of Georgia, 
 but for what purpose, it was never satisfactorily ascertained. 
 By some, it was thought, he desired to adopt measures of 
 mutual action between the English and his party against the 
 French; by others, that he was influenced alone by the hope 
 of reward. Be it as it may, he, through the influence of 
 some unknown cause, suddenly changed his course of action, 
 and, returning home, at once declared himself in favor of the 
 French; soon after which he, to establish his sincerity, 
 burned three English warehouses and then started, without 
 delay, with a band of his warriors, on a war expedition, 
 against the Chickasaws. 
 
 Bienville was greatly pleased at the turn Shulush 
 Humma had taken, as with the assistance of the entire Choc- 
 taw Nation, his long cherished hopes of exterminating the 
 Chickasaws would now be fully realized. But to make his 
 second attack upon them a sure and complete success with 
 out the possibility of failure, he adopted every measure pos 
 sible that might strengthen his plans; therefore called into 
 requisition all the available troops he could command not 
 
466 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 only in Illinois and Canada, but even obtained troops from 
 France; and still to be more sure, he chose a different route 
 from that by the way of the Tombigbee river, to again in 
 vade the country of that little Nation of heroes for the 
 avowed purpose of their extermination. He now determined 
 to ascend the Mississippi river to a point on its banks, to be 
 previously ascertained, nearest to Chikasahha, from which he 
 had been so uncivilly and expeditiously induced to leave a 
 few years before; this point was found to be near the 
 mouth of a little creek called Margot, a few miles below the 
 present city of Memphis, Tennessee, and about 120 miles 
 from Chikasahha, the object of his unrelenting- and diaboli 
 cal vengeance, but whose sun of ancient glory still lingered 
 on the western horizon, as if loth to set, and still displayed 
 an effulgence of patriotism, which few nations could sur 
 pass, not even boasting BVance, of which Bienville was a 
 subject. 
 
 The forces to be .drawn from Illinois and Canada were 
 to assemble on a river then St. John in now the state of 
 Arkansas, with their headquarters on the bluff then called 
 Chickasaw Bluff, on which is now located Memphis, Ten 
 nessee. By the last of June, 1739, 1200 French soldiers and 
 2400 Indian warriors (allies of the French) had congregated, 
 and the doom of the Chickasaw patriots seemed inevitably 
 sealed. But the hand of Providence was again stretched 
 out for their protection; for inexplicable causes delayed the 
 ,French. army at the place of rendezvous during the whole 
 summer; in the intervening time, many soldiers, especially 
 those from France and Canada, fell victims to the diseases 
 peculiar to that malarial climate; in addition to this, their 
 supply of provisions failed, as fully half, which had been 
 forwarded from Fort St. Francis failed to reach their place 
 of destination; and also 250 horses and 50 beeves, sent 
 from Natchitoches, were lost enroute; nor was the march 
 ing route to Chikasahha fully established until nearly two 
 months of exploration had been spent, by which tinie (Jan 
 uary 1740) their provisions were exhausted. 
 
 But Bienville, still smarting and fretting under the- rec 
 ollection of his severe chastisement, and burning with a 
 spirit of revenge that the utter extermination of the Chicka- 
 saws could only quench, obstinately refused to accede to any 
 measures that tended to giving up the expedition, until 
 coerced by a council of war convened in February, which 
 declared a- retreat absolutely indispensable. Immediately 
 the main body of the army began its retreat down the Mis- 
 si^sippi river, March, 1740. But Celeron, the commander of 
 the Canadian troops, with 100 Canadian soldiers and 500 In- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 467 
 
 <lian warriors, determined, upon his own responsibility, to 
 go on to Chikasahha, and at once took up his line of march 
 accordingly. But the Chickasaws, ever on the alert, and 
 fully aware of the great army organized to invade their 
 country with the avowed purpose to exterminate their Nation 
 without regard to age or sex, and also of the approach of 
 Celeron, whom they believed (fortunately for him) was but 
 the van of the French army, sent an embassy to him to treat 
 on measures of peace. Celeron at once accepted their prop 
 osition, and told them to report to Bienville, whom they 
 soon overtook on his retreat to New Orleans. The Chicka 
 saws evidently did not comprehend the true state of affairs 
 at that time, for, had they truly known the demoralized state 
 -of the French, the peace embassy, instead of following after 
 Bienville, would have hastened home, and at once prepared 
 to receive Celeron, whom they could easily have defeated, as 
 they had D Artaguette and afterwards Bienville. 
 
 But Bienville gladly (yet unmanifested) accepted the pro 
 positions of peace, yet stated to them that the terms agreed 
 upon would not include the Chocktaws in the stipulations, 
 and, therefore, they would still continue the war against 
 them, and he would also continue to pay to the Choctaws the 
 promised reward for every Chickasaw scalp taken by them 
 until they should satisfactorily remunerate to them for the 
 many injuries (creatures of Bienville s own begetting) .they 
 had done them. Celeron at once returned to Fort Assump 
 tion, on the bluffs, which he destroyed and then started 
 with his soldiers for their distant Canadian homes; while 
 Bienville, with his troops, sought his southern post at New 
 Orleans, there to hide his deep mortification under the cloak 
 of false pretences. And thus his second exterminating cam 
 paign against the Chickasaw patriots also evaporated in 
 smoke the mountain labored and brought forth a diminu 
 tive mouse. And that brave little handful of heroes whom 
 Bienville once declared "so formidable as to threaten the ex 
 istence of the colony," and afterwards represented them "as 
 being the source of not much uneasiness to the colony," 
 nobly held their own, and still maintained their independence 
 in spite of Bienville and his efforts to execute his threats. 
 
 Peace was then proclaimed to have been established be 
 tween the Chickasaw Nation and the Kingdom of France; 
 but it was a peace that left the Chickasaws the undaunted 
 and unconquered lords of their own country, while to the 
 jurisdiction of France, over the vast expanse of Indian ter 
 ritory which she claimed it left but an empty name. 
 
 To the honor and praise of the Chickasaw people, it may 
 truly be said: They fought single handed and alone for 
 
468 HISTORY" OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 eighteen years against the French and their numerous In 
 dian allies, kept them out of their country and maintained 
 their independence to the last. Truly, history no where 
 upon its pages, ancient or -modern, records a nobler or 
 braver little nation of people than the Chickasaws of North 
 America. They defeated D Artaguette and Bienville in 1736; 
 Marquis of Vaudreuil in 1752, and Regio in 1753; and in 1771 
 sustained their authority over an extensive country, em 
 bracing the territory from middle Mississippi north to the 
 mouth of the Ohio river, and from the Tombigbee river west 
 to the Yazoo. 
 
 .The French regarded the treaty of peace which Bien 
 ville had made with the Chickasaws as of no weight or im 
 portance, and totally failing of the desired intent, since the 
 Choctaws still maintained that they had not as yet (1741) 
 received any compensation for the injuries (more imaginary 
 than real) inflicted upon them by the Chickasaws, -which be- 
 -ing supported by the French as a justifiable pretext to keep 
 up hostilities between the . Choctaws and Chickasaws, so 
 much desired by Bienville, who had not forgotten the chas 
 tisement inflicted upon him by the latter for his temerity in 
 entering their country uninvited; the Choctaws still impera 
 tively demanded the coveted remuneration. Consequently 
 these two nations were still at war, greatly to the joy and 
 satisfaction of the wily French, who, with all their boasted 
 friendship for the Choctaws, secretly rejoiced equally at the 
 weakening and destruction of the one or the other of those 
 two war-like nations, as the sequel will prove, while an in 
 comprehensible infatuation seemed to effectually close their 
 eyes, especially the Choctaws, against seeing the dark de 
 signs and artful hypocrisy of the French in regard to both 
 nations. 
 
 But in their fratricidal conflicts the Choctaws, being 
 fully supplied with guns and ammunition by the French, 
 often got the advantage of the Chickasaws; and who, at var- 
 ous times, seemed to be threatened with the fate of the 
 Natchez utter destruction and extinction as their numbers 
 were fast being thinned and their strength ebbing away. 
 At this crisis of affairs the different little bands of Natchez, 
 who had found a temporary asylum among the noble and 
 generous Chickasaws from their inveterate enemies, the 
 French, and who had bravely assisted them in defense of 
 their country, now, having learned that their presence but 
 entailed additional trouble upon their generous and noble 
 protectors, withdrew from them and sought safety among 
 the Cherokees, who openly extended to them the hand of 
 pitying charity. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 469 
 
 Yet thousands of the White Race still regard the Red 
 Race as-being wholly void of humanity, generosity; in short, 
 of every principle that distinguishes man from the brute. 
 How great the opportunity for compassion to exercise its 
 virtues upon such incomprehensible ignorance, which, with 
 all the visible light that proclaims the absurdity of such er 
 roneous views still clings to them with the tenacity of death, 
 yet claiming to be civilized and informed; upon-the current 
 events of this progressive age! What though dame Fortune 
 has not been so generous in the bestowal of her favors upon 
 the Red Race as upon the White! since Nature has been 
 equally as generous in her endowments of noble virtues to 
 the Red as to the White; yea, more so, in withholding from 
 the former the many dark vices with which she has endowed 
 the latter, while bestowing upon her Red children those 
 noble virtues which have called forth as great sacrifices, in 
 duced as arduous labors, excited as ardent hopes, awakened 
 as high joys and produced as noble patriotism in the breast 
 of the Red Race as ever was experienced or manifested 
 in that of the White; nor have the grossest supersti 
 tions, the wild and absurd fancies that have presented 
 themselves before mankind and received their homage, been 
 found to any greater extent among the North American In 
 dians than the European world, with all its boasted literary, 
 scientific and religious attainments, while all the Christian 
 virtues, moral stamina and social graces are found in the ed 
 ucated and Christian Indians as are found in the educated 
 and Christian Whites. 
 
 With the Chickasaws and Choctaws there was no truce 
 with a liar or slanderer. Their detestation of the one and 
 abhorrence for the other were deep and abiding. The 
 same may be said of all North American Indians, if the 
 statements of the early explorers and missionaries may be 
 relied on. They were never aggressive or oppressive in 
 disposition, or abusive of anyone. They were firm of 
 purpose, and of deep moral convictions, as understood by. 
 the light of nature. They were temperate in all their habits, 
 and warmly sympathetic in their natures, shedding a 
 brightness everywhere, while their charitable dispositions 
 were manifest to all. To their friends they were lovable in 
 the full sense of the word, and no one who was brought into 
 close contact with them could fail to love and admire them; 
 and the nature of the warfare so long waged upon them is 
 wholly responsible to the miserable and unreasonable mis 
 conception of their true characters, and the result of the 
 personal rancor of the whites whose desire for their lands 
 caused th.e uninformed to regard all Indians as incarnate 
 
470 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 devils, without a redeeming- trait; therefore, the Indian has 
 been and is to-day, the target against whom the scum of hu 
 manity have opened their batteries of abuse, slander and 
 falsehood, while no weapon that money or influence can com 
 mand has been left unused in their desperate efforts to dis 
 credit that innocent and helpless yet noble and Unfortunate 
 race with all mankind. 
 
 I "am fully awar/e that this statement will not pass un 
 challenged by the thousands whose knowledge of Indian, 
 characteristics rest alone upon hearsay; nevertheless it is 
 true and defies successful refutation. Such may deny it, 
 but the truth remains all the same. I speak from the per 
 sonal experience and knowledge of a long 1 life sustained and 
 confirmed by the testimony of all the old missionaries who 
 have labored among the Indians during 1 the last two cen 
 turies, and whose advantages for ascertaining- the truth 
 the whole truth, and nothing 1 but the truth in reg-ard to all 
 that pertains to the North American Indians, surpassed all 
 others in the world, and whose veracity none will question 
 who have a ny knowledge of those self-sacrificing men of 
 God. 
 
 Contemplate the noble sentiment expressed by that little 
 remnant of Natchez Indians, whose nation had been blotted 
 out a short time before by the French, in retiring from the 
 Chickasaw Nation, when they learned that their presence 
 but entailed upon their noble and generous benefactors the 
 deeper animosity of their mutual enemies, the French, 
 whose heart so hard, so lost to every principle of humanity 
 as not to sympathize with those forlorn Natchez Indians, 
 whose deep gloom and despondency must have shrouded 
 their souls in darkest night, as they contemplated their help 
 less and hopeless condition and looked out upon the dark 
 cloud of desolation that hung o er their future, beyond which 
 not a ray of light gave promise of a returning morn bring 
 ing peace and joy to them. 
 
 But whence the cause of all this human woe? Its foun 
 tain head may be traced to the insatiable avarice of the 
 white man, which has swallowed up all the finer sensibilities 
 of his heart and left him a wild demon roaming over the 
 earth, with destruction and woe closely following 1 upon his 
 heels. Verily, he who would deliberately add a single pang- 
 to the vast and fearful catalogue of sorrow already endured 
 by that forlorn race of people still lingering within the juris 
 diction of these United States is worse than a brute, and his. 
 cavilings about the Indians proceed alone from profound 
 ignorance and equal depravity of heart. Therefore, "let 
 him not quit his belief that a pop-gun is a pop-gun, although 
 
HISTORY OF TH-E INDIANS. 471 
 
 the ancient and honorable of earth affirm it to be the crack 
 of doom." x 
 
 The closing-of the year 1742 still found the inconsider 
 ate, deluded and misguided Chickasaws and Choctaws en 
 gaged in devastating- war, as the Choctaws, with an incom 
 prehensible infatuation and blindness, had now declared, 
 through the influence of the French, that they would con 
 tinue the war until the Chickasaws were driven from their 
 ancient domains or entirely exterminated; and the first 
 clause, at least, of their fratricidal threat seemed about to 
 be verified, for many of the Chickasaws were then seeking 
 an asylum among the English in the Carolinas, the Choctaws 
 little dreaming* they, in turn, were soon to be as deeply hu 
 miliated by the French, into whose hands they were so inju 
 diciously, blindly and foolishly playing", when trying to re 
 duce and humiliate their brethren and kinsmen, the Chicka 
 saws. 
 
 About two miles south of West Point, Mississippi, there 
 are, or were many years ago, two mounds standing in a line 
 of north and south, about 140 yards from each other. The 
 tradition of both the old-time Chickasaws and Choctaws state 
 that, in the years of the long past, a great battle was fought 
 near where the two mounds now stand, between a company 
 of Chickasaw and Choctaw warriors. The battle proved to 
 be a drawn one, and both parties agreed to bury their dead 
 without molestation, the one by the other. A large hole was 
 excavated by each party in which they placed their respect 
 ive dead, and filled up the grave, and then erected the 
 mounds over their dead and buried warriors. The Chicka 
 saws dead occupied the northern and the Choctaws the 
 southern. This battle, no doubt, was one among the many 
 they fought in their fearful conflicts with each other in be 
 half of the English and French, 1 and today stand, in silence 
 and solitude unknown, as living monuments of those fratri 
 cidal wars that so weakened both nations, to the secret joy 
 of both the English and the French. 
 
 At this juncture of aifairs, May 10th 1743, the marquis 
 of Vaudreuil arrived at New Orleans, and assumed com 
 mand of the colonies, Bienville having been again deposed. 
 As soon as the Chickasaws learned that Bienville had been 
 superceded by a new governor, they sent four of their 
 chiefs, at the close of the year 1743, to sue for peace; but 
 Vaudreuil informed them he would enter into no treaty with 
 them, unless they would drive all English traders from their 
 territories; and not even then would he treat with them un 
 less in concert with the Choctaws. Thus again were the 
 Chickasaws baffled in their efforts to make peace. The 
 
472 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 four chiefs then requested time to lay his terms of peace 
 before their, people. 
 
 Early in the following year, the Chickasaws again sent 
 an embassy to Vaudreuil and informed him they would ac 
 cept his first proposition, if he would supply them with 
 goods and ammunition as the English had done, but still 
 Vaudreuil would take no action in the matter without first 
 obtaining the sanction of the Choctaws. Great indeed 
 was his surprise in learning that the Chickasaws and Choc- 
 taws were at that very time endeavoring to establish peace 
 between themselves, without his knowledge. Such a thing 
 the French from the first had labored to prevent; therefore 
 Vaudreuil determined at once to defeat the object, if pos 
 sible, of all si^ch negotiations between the two long hostile 
 Nations, and immediately went to work for the accomplish 
 ment of that end; first, by postponing the making of a treaty 
 himself with the Chickasaws; second, by using every means, 
 right or wrong, to ag-ain revive the animosity so long exist 
 ing between the two Nations, and to again put into renewed 
 action their former hostilities, then temporarily slumber 
 ing. 
 
 Alas! he succeeded but too well in his nefarious designs 
 against the interests and welfare of those two kindred 
 tribes, who seemed deaf to the demands of their own .na 
 tional safety, prosperity and happiness, in not learning from 
 sad experience long before that both the English and French 
 desired nothing more of them than to see them waste away 
 their national strength against each other. But, unfortu 
 nately for them, they seemed under the complete control of 
 those two great foreign rivals, who, with jealousy, were con 
 tending everywhere for the possession of the Indians terri 
 tories from the Atlantic to the Pacific; and, therefore, con 
 tinually led the inconsiderate, deceived and unfortunate 
 North American Indians everywhere into suicidal hostilities 
 against each other which tended so rapidly to their destruc 
 tion and final extermination. But to the eternal condemna 
 tion before the tribunal of a just God, of both the English 
 and French, they made every effort in this civil discord, not 
 to conciliate, but to inflame the passions and strengthen the 
 animosities of the Chickasaws and Choctaws by the most 
 unjust and diabolical means that the corrupt heart of man 
 could conceive. 
 
 But-down to the year 1746, the undaunted and seemingly 
 invincible Chickasaws were still maintaining their ground 
 against fearful odds; while the Choctaws, now becoming 
 weary with their long protracted wars against them, and 
 also relenting in their continued hostility towards them, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. - 473 
 
 many of them became their friends and even allies; among* 
 the most prominent of whom stood the renowned Shulush 
 Humma, who by his daring deeds had become a terror to 
 the Chickasaws, and also Alabaman Mingo (a corruption of 
 Ullabanoh Miko, the only child of a chief), who had long- 
 been considered as a firm -friend of the French; still, the 
 French retained many friends among- the Choctaws, who 
 were now called "the French party"; and those who were 
 disposed to be lenient to the Chickasaws and had extended 
 to them the hand of peace and friendship were called "the 
 English party." 
 
 But now the judgments of God seemed about to be vis 
 ited upon the Choctaws for their inconsiderate hostility to 
 wards, and cruel wars against, the Chickasaws, through the 
 instigations alone of the covetous French, by sending upon 
 them an infatuation more fatal to themselves than were their 
 hostilities to the Chickasaws, which seemed for the time 
 being must, and would, terminate in nothing less than their 
 own destruction, for early in the year 1748 the animosity of 
 the two parties arose to that degree that a civil war, fierce 
 and bloody, was the actual result, to the infinite delight of 
 both the French and English, who with great complacency, 
 looked on and secretly exulted in the self-destruction of the 
 foolish Choctaws, who seemed to have lost their reason. 
 Each party formed themselves into small bands and made 
 hostile excursions, the one against the other. Also, the 
 English faction made excursions against the French, and the 
 French faction against the English. A band of the English 
 party made- an attack upon a German settlement under the 
 jurisdiction of the French, killed a German, wounded his 
 wife and took captive their daughter. And the leader of the 
 band was in turn killed by his own brother, who was also a 
 leader of one of the bands of the French party ; also a 
 brother of Shulush Humma, who had been sent on an em 
 bassy to the Carolinas with a small party to solicit aid from 
 the English settlements, was attacked by a company of the 
 French party and had eight warriors slain. On July 14th a 
 French party rushed upon a village of an English party 
 and slew thirteen, among whom were two noted chiefs, upon 
 which the English party, maddened with the desire of retal 
 iation, rushed upon a village of the French party, and there 
 a fierce and desperate hand-to-hand fight with tomahawk and 
 knife ensued, in which both sides lost grievously, but result 
 ing in the defeat of the English party with a loss of eighty 
 killed and an equal number wounded, whom they carried off 
 in their retreat, but many of whom afterwards died. Many 
 such fratricidal battles followed in quick succession, the 
 
474 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 English party always sustaining 1 the greater loss. Such an. 
 insane warfare and foolish destruction of life, sapping- the 
 very foundation of their national existence, finally put the 
 Ghoctaws to thinking 1 , which soon brought them to their 
 senses. Both parties mutually began to see that they were 
 cutting each others throats for the sole benefit and the en 
 tire satisfaction and gratification of their worst enemies, the 
 English and French pale-faces. 
 
 At once a council of the old and wise men of the Nation 
 was convened to deliberate upon the unhappy state of affairs 
 and to devise measures to bring about a cessation of hostili 
 ties and restore peace and friendship among their people. 
 After a few days of calm and solemn deliberation, the chief 
 cause of the unfortunate state of affairs was traced to Shu- 
 lush Humma, and the immediate verdict of the council was 
 death to him; and in accordance thereto, that noted chief and 
 consummate warrior was slain by a deputation, appointed for 
 that purpose, while returning one day to his home with a 
 company loaded with English goods. It was hoped that the 
 death of Shulush Humma would be effective in restoring 
 peace and harmony to the Nation, and it would have been 
 had not the English, still desiring to weaken as much as. 
 possible their old enemies, the Choctaws, determined that 
 peace should not be made between the two contending fac 
 tions if it was possible to prevent it; therefore they clandes 
 tinely secured the appointment of a brother of Shulush 
 Humma to the chieftaincy of that renowned chief s party, 
 and thus thwarted the good designs of the council and pro- 
 tricidal war, during which the English were diligent in ex 
 tending their own selfish interests to the serious injury of 
 their unfortunate dupes, the contending Choctaws, who con- 
 tinned the devastating strife until 1750, when it terminated 
 with the advantage on the part of the French faction, at 
 which time only two of the thirty-two villages still adhered 
 to the interests of the English; who, having lost 130 of their 
 warriors in a terrible battle that shortly afterwards ensued, 
 now sought peace of the French, who granted it with this 
 humiliating proviso: "That the punishment of death should 
 be inflicted on any and every Choctaw who should kill a 
 Frenchman, be he chief or common warrior; and if any one 
 or more Choctaws should attempt to rescue the guilty party, 
 or parties, from the punishment of this sentence, then the 
 entire Choctaw Nation should unite, assist and inflict death 
 also on all those who attempted to rescue the guilty party, or 
 parties; and also that death should be inflicted upon any 
 Choctaw who should lead an Englishmen into his village; nor 
 in such a case, should retaliation for his death be sought by 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 475 
 
 any one of his Nation; and also they should put to death the 
 Englishman thus introduced; and also the Choctaws should 
 continue hostilities ag-ainst the Chickasaws so long- as they 
 existed as a Nation." 
 
 The humiliating- terms were accepted and peace among 
 the Choctaws once more assumed her pacific sway, but too 
 late; learning what miserable dupes they had been made by 
 the wiles of the perfidious French and English; and only to 
 realize to what a humiliating extremity they had reduced 
 themselves by destroying each other and those of their own 
 race the Chickasaws and Natchez to secure the friend 
 ship of the pale-faces, who never felt an emotion of that 
 noble principle for them or any of their race. 
 
 Alas! what Christian heart but weeps over the mis 
 fortunes of the North American Indians, and sympathizes 
 with them- in their mistakes in the selection of friends, since 
 they were totally ignorant of the duplicity and incapable of 
 comprehending the avarice of the white men s hearts, and 
 thereby unfortunately judged them from the stand-point of 
 their own honest and truthful hearts which had never felt 
 the gnawings of avarice, nor knew deceit when dealing with 
 supposed friends. 
 
 The Chickasaws, now also reduced to the verge of de 
 struction by their long struggle with the combined forces of 
 the French and the inconsiderate Choctaws, once more sued 
 for peace with the French; but to their solicitation, Vaud- 
 reuil coolly replied, "That he would consider the matter." 
 But the truth is, he did not want to treat with the Chicka 
 saws upon any terms of peace whatever; for he still hoped 
 to be able to execute his former resolution, imbibed from 
 Bienville, against them, nothing more nor less than absolute 
 extermination. Therefore in a letter written shortly after 
 to his government, he stated: "With regard to the Chicka 
 saws, we must postpone all action, and patientl} wait until, 
 we can organize and make another expedition against them"; 
 and assigns his reasons for acting with such vindictive 
 cruelty and base injustice against that peace soliciting and 
 peace desiring Nation of noble patriots, that, "By the failure 
 of the expeditions undertaken against them between the 
 years 1735 and 1740, the Indians have arrived at the con 
 clusion that we cannot conquer or destroy them; and until 
 we erase from their minds the impression of our inability 
 to subdue them, by giving full retaliation for our unsuccess 
 ful operations against them, the honor of our arms will re 
 main tarnished." 
 
 But after two years of consideration on the solicitation, 
 of the Chickasaws for peace, Vaudreuil, instead of giving: 
 
476 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 them a reply pro or con, spent the intervening time in the 
 organization of another war expedition against them, lest 
 "the honor of our arms remain tarnished ;" and, in 1752, he 
 started with 700 French soldiers and a large body of Indian 
 warriors to exterminate that brave and heroic nation of 
 people, fully believing that it had fallen to his good fortune 
 "to erase from their minds the impression of our inability 
 to subdue them." But alas, for his anticipated good fortune! 
 His expedition proved as complete a failure as the previous 
 three, for the Chickasaw heroes, at Chikasahha, where they 
 had repulsed D Artaguette and Bienville seventeen years 
 before, also, whipped Vaudreuil, and he, too, sought safety 
 and found it in an inglorious retreat, without erasing- from 
 the minds of those indomitable Chickasaw warriors "the 
 impression of our inability to .subdue them ;" and also post 
 poned "giving full retaliation for our unsuccessful opera 
 tions against them," lest "the honor of our arms will remain 
 tarnished," to some more propitious time in the future, as 
 Bienville had done, but which never came. Yet he was blest 
 with the consoling reflection that he had done something, at 
 least, in the way of "giving full retaliation for our unsuccess 
 ful operations against them;" since he could state in his 
 report that he had been enabled, though in full retreat, "to 
 burn a few deserted Chickasaw r villages, destroy a few fields 
 of corn, and kill a few cattle of the enemy" neither Bien 
 ville nor D Artaguette could say as much and "the honor of 
 our arms will" not now "remain tarnished." For the sake 
 of humanity it is to be hoped so. 
 
 In 1753 Vaudreuil was appointed Governor of Canada, 
 and Kerleree took the place of Vaudreuil as Governor of the 
 Louisiana Colony; and shortly after, in a letter to his Gov 
 ernment, August 20, 1753, he said: "I am satisfied with the 
 Choctaws. I believe them true to their plighted word, and 
 it is necessary that we should be the same to them. They 
 are a people who reflect and reason more logically than it is 
 generally supposed." More truthful words could not have 
 been uttered in regard to the North American Indians; yet a 
 truth, which the White Race have ever been reluctant to ad 
 mit. 
 
 After the appointment of Vaudreuil as Governor of 
 Canada the French made no more "exterminating expedi 
 tions" against the Chickasaws. But Kerleree, shortly after 
 he had taken the place of Vaudreuil, had an interview with 
 several chiefs of the Arkansas tribes at New Orleans and 
 whose good will he won by his affected generosity and seem 
 ingly great friendship and hospitality manifested towards 
 them; nor was he unmindful of the "failure of the expedi- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 477 
 
 lions undertaken against the Chickasaws"; therefore, "lest 
 "the honor of our arms remain tarnished," he embraced the 
 opportunity offered to induce the chiefs of -the Arkansas 
 tribes to make war upon the Chickasaws wjiom they, had been 
 taught by bitter experience to fear, therefore still hated; for 
 that indefatigable Nation still presented the same bold and 
 defiant front to the French, though greatly reduced in num 
 bers and strength. Kerleree also made strenuous efforts to 
 induce those chiefs to make war upon the Cherokees, who 
 had entailed the hatred and animosity of the French, because 
 they had extended the hand of pity and protection, in con 
 nection with the Chickasaws, to the homeless and forlorn 
 little band of Natchez, who had escaped the wholesale 
 slaughter of their people by the hands of their common and 
 unrelenting enemy, the French. 
 
 That the Choctaws were once a numerous and powerful 
 people, even at the beginning of their hostilities with the 
 French; and that their warriors were among the most sa 
 gacious and fearless men that ever went into battle, no 
 stronger evidence is necessary than the fact, they stood 
 alone and maintained their independence against the com 
 bined forces of the Canadian, Illinois and Louisiana colonies, 
 together w r ith the soldiers sent from France and their 
 numerous Northern Indian allies, also the Choctaws, then 
 the most dreaded nation of warriors, except the Chicka 
 saws, among the North American Indians, from 1716 down 
 the march of time France ceded her North American pos 
 sessions to Eiigland in 1763; defeating four French armies, 
 well organized and equipped, and their Indian allies, sent 
 against them, each of which, in numbers and munitions of 
 war, was superior to them as the ratio of three to one, and 
 driving them from their territories; and though Roman 
 states, in his "Barnard Roman s Florida, page 571." "In 
 1771, this once powerful and warlike tribe could not number 
 over three hundred warrioVs," yet the combined forces of 
 their White and Red enemies failed to conquer them. 
 
 The following letter written by Governor Claiborne of 
 Mississippi, in 1802, to Samuel Mitchell, United States Agent 
 to the Chickasaws, expresses much trurth in regard to the 
 Indians: 
 
 "I am well pleased with your efforts to advance the hap 
 piness of our Chickasaw brethren. I hope, under your tu 
 torage, that they will soon acquire the habits of civilization. 
 Exert all your influence to induce the men to have fixed 
 abodes, cultivate the soil, and encourage the women to habits 
 of domestic life. Continue to supply them with wheels and 
 cards, scissors, thimbles, needles and thread. Retain a 
 
478 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 competent weaver constantly in your employ and persuade a 
 few young girls to learn the art from him. A competent 
 man of undoubted morals must be procured who must take 
 the necessary pains to teach them, and I will see him liberally 
 compensated. Itjs desirable to place a few intelligent In 
 dian lads with your wheelwright and blacksmith. In all 
 cases it is my express injunction that the white mechanics, 
 you are authorized to employ, shall be men of sober habits 
 and of good character. They are to be there not only as ar 
 tisans, but as teachers, to set an example to an untutored 
 people, entrusted to my guardianship by their great Father, 
 the President, and he demands that they shall be treated as 
 his children, and not, in any instance, be exposed to the evil 
 example of bad white men. Say to my old friend, Major 
 Colbert, his wish to have his son educated in and by the 
 United States shall be promptly recommended by me; and, 
 I doubt not, will be so directed by the President. A trad 
 ing house for the accommodation of the Chickasaws has been 
 established at the Bluffs, and the factor has been instructed 
 
 TO SELL AT PRICES MERELY TO COVER COST AND CHARGES. Com- 
 
 plaint of undue charges must be made through you to me. 
 You did right to exert your influence for peace between the 
 Chickasaws, Choctaws and Osages. The United States is 
 bound by treaty to restrain the tribes within their limits 
 from warring against tribes in the Spanish dominion." 
 
 What if the noble, humane and Christian sentiments ex 
 pressed in the above letter by Governor Claiborne had been 
 adopted and truly carried out by the Government and people 
 of the United States from the date of the above letter to the 
 present, who now could justly describe the happy and pros 
 perous condition of every Indian tribe within the jurisdic 
 tion of the United States? 
 
 In 1792, in a couucil held at Chickasaw Bluffs, where 
 Memphis, Tennessee, is now located, a treaty was made 
 with the Chickasaws, in which they granted the United 
 States the right of way through their territory for a public 
 road to be opened from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, 
 Mississippi. This road was long known, and no doubt, re 
 membered by many at the present time by the name 
 ^ Natchez Trace." It crossed the Tennessee river at a 
 point then known as "Colbert s Ferry," and passed through 
 -the present counties of Tishomingo, Ittiwamba, Lee, Pan- 
 totoc, Chickasaw, Choctaw, thence on to Natchez, and soon 
 became the great and only thoroughfare for emigrants pass 
 ing from the older states to Mississippi, Louisiana and 
 South Arkansaw. Soon after its opening, it was crowded by 
 fortune seekers and adventurers of all descriptions and 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 479 
 
 characters, some as bad as it was ^ possible for them to be, 
 and none as good as they might be. 
 
 One of the most noted desperadoes in those early days 
 of Mississippi s history was a man named Mason, who, with 
 his gang of thieves and cut-throats, established himself at a 
 point on the Ohio river then called "The Cave in the Rock," 
 and about one hundred miles above its junction with the 
 Mississippi river. There, under the disguise of keeping- a 
 store for the accommodation of emigrants, keel and flat 
 boatmen passing- up and down the river, he enticed them 
 into his power, murdered and robbed them; then sent their 
 boats and contents to New Orleans, throug-h the hands of 
 his accomplices to be sold. He, at length, left "The Cave 
 in the Rock," and sought a new location on the Natchez 
 Trace, where he established himself, and soon attained to 
 such a power, that he and his \vell organized band of outlaws 
 became a terror to all from the banks of the Mississippi 
 river to the hills of Alabama and Tennessee. Over this 
 wide extended territory he \vas "monarch of all he surveyed"/ 
 for several years; and though many efforts were made by 
 the law abiding- citizens to kill or capture him and break up x 
 this nest of land pirates, yet he always manag-ed to out-wit 
 his pursuers and elude their grasp. Ultimately a strong- 
 party organized themselves at Natchez and went in pursuit 
 of the daring- robber, resolving- to kill or capture him at all 
 hazards but was out-generaled by the sagacious and ever 
 watchful desperadoes. The company having- arrived on the 
 banks of the Pearl river, soon learned that the object of 
 their search was in the vicinity, but before making an at 
 tack upon him, they concluded to dine, feed and rest their 
 horses. During- this, two of the company, allured by the an 
 ticipated delig-ht of a swim, plunged into the cool and clear 
 waters of the river and swam to the opposite bank, but to 
 give themselves into the hands of the vigilant Mason, who, 
 cognizant of all the proceedings and designs, had closely 
 watched their maneuvers, by which he soon found himself 
 enabled to accomplish by stratagem, what he could not per 
 haps, by force. 
 
 Having secured the two thoughtless and inconsiderate 
 fathers, Mason at once assumed a bold and defiant attitude, 
 and called out to his would-be capturers on the opposite 
 bank and informed them that all further demonstration of 
 hostilities on their part would be followed by the instant death 
 of their two captive friends; and also stated if they wished 
 to save the lives of their two companions to stack their guns 
 and ammunition at once on the banks of the river at a desig 
 nated place and he would send for them; if they manifested. 
 
480 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. N 
 
 the least disposition to interfere with his messenger his two 
 prisoners would be instantly slain; but if they punctually 
 and obediently complied with his demand he would return 
 their two friends, unharmed, to them, at the same time 
 pledging his word of honor to the performance of the same. 
 The demands of Mason were duly obeyed and several of his 
 party swam across the river and took possession of the guns, 
 while the two captives were placed in full view with rifles 
 pointing in unpleasant proximity and in direct line to their 
 heads. Then Mason released his prisoners and bade them 
 return in the way they came; to which they gladly and with 
 out hesitation complied. He then sternly ordered the crest 
 fallen company to mount their horses and return to Natchez, 
 adding that it would not be healthy for them to indulge in a 
 hunt again for him, as he would not let them off so gently if 
 they should again fall into his hands. 
 
 Treachery finally effected what all other means failed to 
 accomplish. Shortly after, a man of high standing and his 
 two sons were robbed by a party of Mason s band, as they 
 were passing along the Natchez Trace, though they received 
 no bodily injury. After their return home, Governor Clai- 
 borne, of the Mississippi Territory, offered a large reward 
 for Mason, dead or alive, a copy of which soon found its way 
 to the notorious bandit, over which, it is said, he manifested 
 much merriment. But the reward proved too great a temp 
 tation for two of his band, and they treacherously slew 
 Mason and carried his head in secret triumph to Gov. Clai- 
 borne. It was at once recognized by many of the citizens. 
 But the joy of the two traitors in anticipation of the reward 
 was of short duration, since among the many spectators 
 were the two sons, who, with their father, had been robbed 
 shortly before, and who at once recognized the two scoun 
 drels as being of the party who had robbed them. At once 
 they were arrested, tried, convicted, and paid the penalty of 
 their crimes upon the gallows. And thus was broken up 
 one among the most notorious gangs of robbers that infested 
 the Natchez Trace. 
 
 However, another daring gang sprang up a few years 
 after the death of Mason, under the leadership of one John 
 A. Murrell. who also sought upon the Natchez Trace their 
 victims to murder and plunder during the years 1830 and 
 1840. And numerous werevthe bloody deeds and daring rob 
 beries committed by those bold free-booters upon the lonely 
 traveller who had the nerve to venture through that long 
 stretch of wilderness and solitude alone : and the thefts 
 of horses and negroes from the -planters, especially the 
 negroes, whom they enticed away under the promise of 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 481 
 
 taking- them north to a free state; then, after selling- and 
 stealing them a few times under the pretense to the deluded 
 negroes of getting- money to defray their expenses to a free 
 state, they would kill them and sink their bodies in a river 
 or lake. Murrell was finally captured, tried and condemned 
 to life imprisonment in the penitentiary at Nashville, Ten 
 nessee. After a few years of confinement he professed 
 religion (it was said), and his health failing, he was eventu- 
 ually pardoned, then became a preacher of the Gospel, and 
 shortly afterwards died. 
 
 General Andrew Jackson led his victorious army along- 
 this road (the Natchez Trace) on his return from New Or 
 leans, in 1815. Before steamboats began to plough the 
 waters of the Mississippi river, all kinds of produce were 
 transported to New Orleans in keel and flat boats from the 
 upper countries. When arriving there both boat and cargo- 
 were sold, and the owners with their employers returned 
 home, some on horseback and more on foot, by the way of 
 the "Old Natchez Trace." Bands of those rough and fear 
 less boatmen fllocked along on the old trace to their distant, 
 homes in North Mississippi, Tennessee and Southern Ken 
 tucky. The intervening wilderness of forests were illu-- 
 minated with the camp-fires, and the midnight silence of the: 
 then vast soliludes broken bytheirbacchanalian revelries.. 
 All characters blended together in those straggling bands of 
 wild and reckless humanity; the jolly ^boatmen whose lives 
 were spent on the bosom of the majestic "Misha Sipokni 1 " 
 and in the romantic and fascinating jolifications of thei 
 camp; men of education and refinement; adventurous youth,, 
 w T ho never before was out of sight of the smoke of bis, 
 native village or humble home; the sturdy farmer; the 
 shrewed trader; the calculating merchant; the wily gam-; 
 bier, and the daring robber, were, to a greater or less extent, 
 represented. 
 
 ^ut the "Old Trace" has long since been effaced by the-, 
 ploughshare and buried in the field of forgetfulness amid. 
 the corn and cotton plantations, together with the throbbing- 
 hearts, then buoyant with hope and elated with joy, dis~* 
 tracted with fear or burdened with care that followed its, 
 windings and dubious ways through the Chickasaw and Choc-. 
 taw Nations nearly a century ago, and sang or wept r laughed 
 or sighed along that old forest road, and have become as. si-. 
 lent and as little remembered as the multitudes that cnce- 
 thronged the busy streets of ancient Tyre, while obli viorv 
 has woven her raven web and thrown it upon the "Old;. 
 Natchez Trace" to be remembered "never more." 
 
 "Natchez-Under-The-Hill" was, at that early day, the: 
 
482 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 " sine qua non" as the point of rendezvous for the rough and 
 (care-for-nothing men who navigated the keel and flat-boats 
 <on the Mississippi river ere they were superseded by the 
 steamboat. Ai\ that early day the city of Natchez was an 
 -excellent market for the products of the "upper country," 
 consequently hundreds of heavily and richly-laden boats 
 often congregated there, to the great dread of the law-abid 
 ing 1 and peaceful inhabitants residing in the upper part of 
 the city, then known as "The Bluff;" for the wild and law 
 less boatmen knowing no restraint, and without the fear of 
 God or man, indulged their caprices in every kind of rowdy 
 ism known to man ; and often breaking through the ac 
 knowledged limits of their own district, "Natchez-Under- 
 The-Hill," they carried the city "On The Bluff " by storm, 
 not unlike a genuine cyclone of the present day, riding 
 rough-shod over the law and every physical obstruction that 
 impeded their headlong course. Then, having had their 
 "fun," during which they had drank and destroyed all the 
 whisky they could lay their hands upon, they returned to 
 the plateau "under the hill" with songs and hideous yells, 
 where, perhaps, they would meet with another gang of their 
 own faith and order, and a fight would ensue, in which the 
 Herculean strength there and then displayed has no parallel 
 ,except in Homer s description of the fabulous wars between 
 -the gods. Thus did those specimens of American freemen 
 , spend their leisure hours in drinking whiskey, yelling, fid- 
 .dling, dancing and fist-fighting, the latter seeming a direful 
 ^necessity, an unconquerable appetite, which, like hunger, 
 must be appeased at all costs; and even when quietness had 
 assumed her sway in camp, often it would be unexpectedly 
 and unceremoniously disturbed by some aspirant to fame 
 loudly crowing* forth his defiance like a game cock, which 
 was sure to be answered by another in a different part of the 
 camp, and the natural result is easily guessed, since he who 
 boasted according to the approved style of the game cock, 
 ^virtually proclaimed he had never been whipped, and, there 
 fore occupied a dangerous eminence, as some equally ambi 
 tious aspirant was sure to be in hearing of the midnight 
 challenge, and equally ready to dispute his claim to such dis 
 tinction. 
 
 Still those apparently lawless men had a code of honor 
 among themselves to which they strictly adhered and impli- 
 .citly obeyed. "Fair play" was a jewel among them; and in 
 .all disputes and difficulties they invariably took up the cause 
 of the weaker, and always espoused that of the aged, right 
 #r wrong. 
 
 "In 1794 the United States Government secured the aid of 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. \ 483 
 
 several companies of Chickasaw warriors to co-operate with 
 its troops against some of the northwestern tribes of In 
 dians with whom it had become involved in war; and though 
 the cause is not now known, yet it may with safety be easily 
 guessed, as, like the English and French before it, so it also 
 arrayed one tribe against another in its own wars with that 
 credulous people until partially destroyed, then gobbled up 
 all (allies and enemies) at a swoop. The following is a war 
 commission given by George Washington, then President of 
 the United States, to a Chickasaw chief called Mucklesha 
 Mingo (corrupted from Mokulichih Miko to outdo or excel 
 chief. The chief who excels: 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON, President of the United States of 
 America. To all who shall see these presents greeting: 
 
 "Whereas, I am authorized by law to employ such a 
 number of Indians and for such compensation as I shall 
 think proper, within certain limitations, to act against the 
 hostile tribes northwest of the Ohio. 
 
 "And, whereas, it is expedient that in case of such an 
 event certain chiefs should be previously designated; and 
 having full confidence in the well tried friendship of Muckle- 
 shamingo a chief of the Chickasaw Nation, I do hereby ap 
 point him to rank and to receive pay as Captain of Militia 
 while he shall actually be in the service of the United States, 
 and co-operating with the troops thereunto belonging. And 
 I do hereby direct that on such occasions he be respected 
 accordingly. 
 
 Given under my hand at Philadelphia, this the 20th of 
 July, in the year of our Lord 1794, and in the 19th year of 
 the Independence of the United States. 
 
 "G. WASHINGTON. 
 "By command of the President, J. KNOX." 
 
 After the French lost their claimed possessions upon the 
 North American continent and were driven therefrom, the 
 Chickasaws, from that time to the present, have been at 
 peace with the world of mankind; and though they never 
 wholly recovered from the long devastating wars with the 
 French, yet they fully maintained their independence to the 
 last. 
 
 Their country lay adjoining the Choctaws on the north; 
 and, like that of the Choctaws, was as fertile and beautiful 
 a country as the eyes of man ever looked upon; as it ap 
 peared under their own and Nature s rule, it indeed pos 
 sessed a charm that fascinated the admirers and lovers of the 
 grand and the beautiful. There was a beauty bordering on 
 the sublime in the spring, as nature unfolded and spread out 
 her forest robes; also, a loveliness in the summer, with her 
 
484 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 sh ady hills and valleys; a quiet, too, in the calm and mel 
 low autumn, with the variegated hues, falling leaves and 
 tranquil scenes, which language cannot depict, or even im 
 agination conceive. D With no undergrowth whatever the 
 great variety of majestic trees of centuries growth covered 
 the hills and valleys; yet with the ground everywhere con 
 cealed under a thick carpet of grass one to two feet high, in 
 termixed, especially on the prairies, with wild flowers of 
 every shade of color, covering the face of the entire earth. 
 In the months of April and May strawberries were found 
 profusely scattered amid the grass of the undulating prairies 
 that lay along the banks of their rivers and creeks, and here 
 and there scattered amid[the hills and valleys of their forests; 
 then summer too yielded her immense store of black 
 berries on every side; in turn, followed autumn with prodi 
 gal abundance of hickory nuts of several varieties, walnuts, 
 pecan, buckle berries, wild plums, persimmons, wild grapes, 
 muscadines, all of excellent flavor; while from early spring 
 to late autumn, among the wide extended branches of the 
 forest trees high above the verdant carpet of green that lay 
 spread out beneath by the accomplished hand of nature, 
 their forest orchestra, unsurpassed by the art of man, filled 
 the groves with melody and rivaled, with their bright and 
 variegated plumage, the hues of the flowers that bloomed 
 beneath, seemingly but u to waste their sweets upon the de 
 sert air." The scene seemed indeed as if the hand of en 
 chantment had suddenly raised a forest on the bosom of a 
 primitive prairie. 
 
 There amid those magnificent parks of primitive nature, 
 deer in great numbers, grazed with their cattle and horses, 
 while everywhere could be seen flocks of wild turkeys 
 feeding under the forest trees whose tops, seemed alive with 
 jolly squirrels, all undisturbed only as the swift arrow- from 
 the noiseless bow or the deadly bullet from the unerring rifle 
 demanded food for the Chickasaw; while the vast canebrakes 
 along all the water courses abounded with carnivorous ani 
 mals of various kinds in great numbers, furnishing skins and 
 furs to supply the necessities of the lords who justly claimed 
 dominion over those vast solitudes and their various quad 
 ruped occupants, and who were as noble a race of unlettered 
 men and women as ever lived upon earth; wholly free by 
 fortunate ignorance from the thousand debasing and ruin 
 ous vices. 
 
 But to one who has witnessed all the changes which have 
 taken place in the native characteristics of the southern In 
 dians in their former independence and happiness, as also 
 in the appearance of their ancient domains since their first 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 485 
 
 settlement by the White Race, all seem as a dream of the 
 night or romance of the imagination; and he finds it diffi 
 cult to realize the features of that forest wilderness which 
 was the home of his boyhood days, alike with that of the 
 red man. The humble little cabins of the generous and 
 hospitable Indians, their little fields of corn, pumpkins, 
 potatoes and beans that furnished their supplies of bread, 
 etc., have long- since been swallowed up in the wide-extended 
 group of the cotton fields of civilization, and the vast forests 
 have disappeared, leaving no trace of their former loveliness; 
 .and when he reflects on their original aspect, his thoughts 
 seem to revert to a period of time greatly more remote than 
 it really is; and the view from one extreme to the other ap 
 pears as that of an opposite shore over a wide expanse of 
 water, whose hills, valleys and forests present a confused 
 but romantic scenery, losing itself in the distant horizon, 
 though doubling the retrospect of life; and did not the defi 
 nite number of his years teach him the contrary, he would 
 imagine himself much older than he really is. But how dif 
 ferent it must be with those who have passed their lives 
 amid cities and ancient settlements, where the same un 
 changing aspect presents itself from year to year. There 
 the years come and go with no striking events or great 
 changes to mark their different periods, and give them an 
 imaginary distance from each other, and life passes away as 
 an illusion or dream, to close in bitter murmurings of its 
 shortness. 
 
 A few years after the exodus of the Chickasaws and 
 Choctaws, and before the tide of white emigration had set 
 in the most ppominent feature of their forsaken country 
 was its profound solitude, even the days seeming more soli 
 tary than the nights; nor did the gobbling of the wild turkey, 
 the chattering of the squirrel, the chirping of a bird, ming 
 ling -with the tapping of the woodpecker upon the hollow 
 limb of a decaying tree, seem to enliven the silent and lone 
 ly scene; and he who roamed through the solitudes of the 
 forests, as bequeathed to the White Race by the Chickasaws 
 and the Choctaws in 1830, was truly alone and far away 
 from the din of civilized and domesticated life. The fad 
 ing rays of the declining sun received not the requiem of 
 the song of the laborer returning from his tpil; but its sil 
 ence was interrupted by the howl of the wolf and the cry of 
 the panther issuing from the canebrakes in quest of their 
 prey upon the highlands; nor were his returning rays on 
 the morn announced by the voice of the domestic cock, but 
 .by the hoot of the owl as he sought the deeper solifcides of 
 
486 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 the dark swamp to doze away the unwelcome light of 
 day. 
 
 Though such a hunter s paradise will never be found 
 again upon the North American continent; yet hunting alone 
 was not wholly free of danger, and though the hunter was 
 seldom without his dog, the true and faithful animal to man 
 of the brute creation, whose native sagacity taught him to- 
 be as watchful as Argus and who saw everything and heard 
 every sound, and the acuteness of whose scent gave warn 
 ing of all approaching enemies, yet when in eager pursuit of 
 his game, with hope and fear alternately predominating in 
 his breast, his path was sometimes beset with hidden ene 
 mies. , Under his footsteps the sluggish, yet spiteful, rattle 
 snake, then abundant, might be coiled in watchfulness to in 
 flict a deadly wound upon all intruders into his retreat; Or 
 the wily panther stretched upon the limbs of a tree might 
 suddenly drop from his perch upon him to dispute the right 
 of man s supremacy over the brute creation, as also his 
 cousin, the catamount, which, in those early days, not unfre- 
 quently tried his physical strength with man, though he paid 
 dearly for his temerity, since his sharp teeth and keen claws 
 proved of little avail against the long, keen-edged knife wield 
 ed by the hand of the sturdy hunter; though the latter al 
 ways bore, as trophies of his victory, the unmistakable evi 
 dence of his enemy s valor. 
 
 When watching at a deer lick at night by the light of 
 the full orbed moon, in which the writer has indulged years 
 ago in the Mississippi forests then untouched by the ax, the 
 hunter found as his rival in the same sport, the panther or 
 the catamount, sometimes both; and whose preseiice was 
 made known by the moving shadow cast upon the ground by 
 moon-light as he was preparing to leap from his perch 
 upon a deer that had, unconscious of danger, walked into 
 the lick. An incident of this kind happened to a hunter in 
 Oktibbihaw county, Mississippi, shortly after the exodus 
 of the Choctaws. He had found a deer lick in Catarpo 
 (corruption of the Choctaw word Katapah, stopped re 
 ferring to the obstructions in the creek by drifts) swamps, 
 which was much frequented bv the deer. He built a scaf 
 fold 15 or 20 feet high on the edge of a lick, and on a beauti 
 ful night of the full moon, shortly after sundown, took his 
 seat thereon. About 10 o clock at night a deer noiselessly 
 entered the lick a few rods distant from his place of con 
 cealment, and, began licking the salty earth; he was just in the 
 act of shooting it, when his attention was attracted from the 
 deer to a moving shadow upon the ground between him and 
 the deer, he at once looked up to ascertain who his neighbor 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 487 
 
 was, and was not a little surprised to see a huge panther 
 standing" on a projecting limb of a tree, that reached nearly 
 over and just behind him, and preparing to spring upon the* 
 unsuspecting deer. He thought no more of the deer, and 
 gave his undivided attention to his rival who had unceremo 
 niously and clandestinely taken his seat a little higher and 
 nearly over his head without so much as saying "By your 
 leave." Not being very fastidious just then, he quietly 
 yielded the right of precedence to his fellow hunter above, in 
 all things pertaining to the deer quietly licking the salty 
 earth below. For several minutes he gazed upon ,the huge 
 beast as it maneuvered upon the limb seemingly doubtful as 
 to making a successful spring. Finally the panther made a 
 tremendous leap from the limb, passing almost directly over 
 the hunter s head, and lit directly upon the deer s back. 
 The bleating of the helpless deer momentarily broke the 
 stillness of the forest, and then all was hushed. The 
 panther pulled his victim to the outer edge of the lick, stood 
 a moment and then with mighty bounds disappeared in the 
 surrounding forests. During all this the hunter sat quietly 
 upon his perch cogitating over the novel scene. But his 
 reveries were suddenly interrupted by a wild and terrible 
 yell, seeminly half human and half beast, fearful enough to 
 awaken all the denizens of the forest for miles away; then 
 came an immediate response from a distant point in the 
 swamp. That was enough to bring the hunters cogitations 
 to a fixed determination, which was clearly manifested by 
 the agility disp^ed in descending the scaffold, and the 
 schedule time on which : he ran towards home, leaving the 
 two panthers to enjoy their unenvied supper of venison in 
 their native woods undisturbed. Often the hunter found 
 the panther had preceded him at the deer-licks; in all such 
 cases, having previously resolved never to dispute preced 
 ency with any gentleman of that family, he quietly left him 
 to the undisputed, possession of the chance of venison for 
 that night particularly. 
 
 The Chickasaws, at the time the missionaries were 
 established among them, as the Choctaws and other south 
 ern tribes, lived in rude log houses provided with a few 
 culinary articles (all they desired), and with skins and furs, 
 elaborately dressed and finished, for their bedding; all of 
 which were principally made by the women, who were 
 equally skilled in the art of making earthenware for all do 
 mestic purposes, as they were proficient in the art of pre 
 paring the skins and furs of various animals for domestic 
 use, which their forests so bountifully supplied. Their 
 shoes, called moccasins, were principally made of the skins. 
 
488, HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 of deer thoroughly dressed by a process, unequalled by the 
 art of the whites, and beautifully ornamented with little 
 Treads of various colors. 
 
 As ornaments, the men wore four or five broad crescents 
 -of tin hig-hly polished, or of silver when to be obtained, sus 
 pended upon the breast, one above the other, and one around 
 the head. They also used little beads in ornamenting their 
 leather garments, intermingled with fancy embroidery. 
 Their favorite embellishment, as with all North American 
 Indians, was the vermilion paint with which they decorated 
 their faces. This mode of decoration was confined to the 
 men. 
 
 The women, as their white sisters, wore ornaments sus 
 pended from their ears, bracelets around their necks, and 
 also strings of various kinds of gaudy beads. 
 
 The ancient Chickasaws were deservedly celebrated for 
 their handsome young women; and seldom have I looked 
 upon such specimens of female grace and loveliness as I have 
 -.seen among* the Chickasaws three quarters of a century ago 
 in. their former homes east of the Mississippi river, nor do 
 they fall much below at the present day. Their eyes were 
 dark and full and their countenances like their native clime 
 always beaming with sunshine whose sympathetic smiles, 
 chased fatigue away and changed the night of melancholy 
 into day. They were truly beautiful and, best of all, uncon- 
 sciouslv so. Oft was I at a loss which most to admire the 
 .graceful and seemingly perfect forms, finely chiseled fea 
 tures, lustrous eyes and flowing hair, or that soft, winning 
 artlessness which was so pre-eminently theirs. 
 
 To the Chickasaws, as to all the North American In 
 dians, worldly honors and distinctions that arose from wealth 
 or family connections were as empty bubbles unworthy of 
 their consideration or anxiety. Ignorant of commerce, so 
 they were utterly ignorant of the wealth and luxuries of the 
 -civilized world, with all their attending vices, nor did they 
 desire to know. Therefore, they lived in peaceful content 
 ment and died in blissful ignorance of the empty distinction 
 of wealth or rank; thus all were upon a natural equality; all 
 dressed alike, and all met as equals everywhere, at all times 
 and upon all occasions. The virtues of their primitive sim 
 plicity were indeed many. Punctuality and ttonesty in their 
 dealings, and unassumed hospitality to strangers were hab 
 itual; unalloyed friendship and cordiality to their neighbors 
 universal; and all seemed as members of one great, loving 
 .family, connected by the strongest ties of consanguinity. 
 
 The greatest care was bestowed upon their children by 
 the Chickasaw mothers, whom they never allowed to be 
 
 \ 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 489 
 
 placed upon their feet before the strength of their limbs 
 would safely permit; and the child had free access to the 
 maternal breast as long- as it desired, unless the mother s 
 health forbade its continuance. Children were never whipped 
 by the parents, but, if guilty of any misdemeanor, were 
 sent to their uncle for punishment (the same as the Choc- 
 taws), who only inflicted a severe rebuke or imposed upon 
 them soro_ little penance, or, what was more frequent, made 
 appeals to their feeling s of honor or shame. When the boys 
 arrived at the" age of proper discrimination so considered 
 when, arrived at the age of 12 or 15 years they were com 
 mitted to the instructions of the old and wise men of the 
 village, who, at various intervals, instructed them in all the 
 necessary knowledge and desired qualifications to constitute 
 them successful hunters and accomplished warriors. As 
 introductory lessons they were instructed in the arts of 
 swimming-, running-, jumping-, wrestling-, using the bow and 
 arrow; also, receiving from those venerable tutors those 
 precepts of morality which should regulate their conduct 
 when arrived at manhood. The most profound respect (a 
 noted charrcteristic of the North American Indians) was 
 paid everywhere to the oldest person in every family, 
 whether male or female, and whose decisions upon all dis 
 puted points were supreme and final, and were received with 
 cheerful and implicit obedience. No matter how distant 
 their blood relations might be, all the members of a family 
 addressed its head as father or mother, as the case might 
 be; and whenever they meant to speak of him (their natural 
 father), they said, -"My real father," in contradistinction to 
 that of father applied to the chief or head of the family. 
 
 The itinerant white trader, with his smuggled whiskey, 
 was, has ever been, is and will ever be, the patent instru 
 ment in the hands of the devil of demoralization among all 
 Indians, and counteracted the moral and religious influence, 
 teachings and regulations of the missionaries of the long 
 ago, as well as of the present day. Still those devoted 
 teachers of righteousnessof the long past succeeded ineffect 
 ually removing forever many of their ancient superstitious 
 customs and beliefs in almost and incredible short space of 
 time. The power and influence of the "Medicine Man," the 
 magic power of their personal totems, and alike that of the 
 Rain Maker, the Prophet, soon vanished before the light of 
 the Gospel of the Son of God, as mists before the/morning 
 sun; and it was truly affecting to witness with what deep and 
 unfeigned interest they listened to. the history of the Cross, 
 as narrated by those true and devoted servants of God, sev 
 enty-five years ago; and how soon, under the Divine guid- 
 
490 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 ance, they seemed to comprehend and feel the regenerating 
 influence of revealed religion. With unfeigned astonish 
 ment they, heard the story of the atonement. For a man to 
 yield his life to the demands of a violated law for the life he 
 had taken, or that a friend might die for a friend, was their 
 own law and creed; but for one to voluntarily die for a known 
 and inveterate enemy yea, for the Son of the Great Spirit 
 to willingly die for those who despised and reviled him re 
 quired more than the logic and eloquence of the missionaries 
 could accomplish; but it pleased the Divine Spirit to enlighten 
 their understandings, and they soon manifested an earnest 
 faith clearly visible in their prayers, daily walk and conver 
 sation and in their lives and deaths. Thus God himself 
 proved the whites that the live Indian was as good as the live 
 white man, and in many respects better. 
 
 As the art of writing was unknown to the .Chickasaws, 
 before the advent of the missionaries among them; their 
 history rested alone upon tradition, in common with the In 
 dian race, handed down through succeeding generations; 
 and that a correct, truthful and enduring knowledge of their 
 traditional love might be imparted to each generation, as, in 
 turn, it took its place upon the stage of life, and which each 
 was taught to regard as sacred and to cherish with the 
 greatest fidelity, that, in their turn, they might also be able 
 to transmit it to their successors with the exact minute 
 ness they had received it, the young men, as the future 
 repositories of the past, were, at various intervals, sum 
 moned before the aged patriarchs of the Nation to have re 
 hearsed to them the sacred things in which they -had been 
 previously instructed, and which were soon to be wholly 
 entrusted to their care, that it might be ascertained whether 
 there would be found any omissions from forgetfulness, or 
 additions proceeding from nights of youthful fancy, or the 
 pruriency of invention; thus evincing a regard for histori 
 cal narrators highly commendable and worthy of imitation 
 by all recorders of events. 
 
 It was a general custom among all the southern Indians, 
 and no doubt of the northern Indians also, when they be 
 lieved a just cause of war against another tribe had pre 
 sented itself, to pursue a certain preliminary course, though 
 similar to a great extent, yet must be regarded as having its 
 origin in a custom which became the law of Nations. In all 
 such cases the old men of the Nation constituted the council 
 of war, who deliberated with great gravity and solemnity 
 upon a question involving such momentous and dubious re 
 sults. But in all their deliberations, whether issues of the 
 highest or lowest importance were at stake, the one speak- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 491. 
 
 ing- was never interrupted under any circumstance ; and 
 even in social conversation but one talked while the others- 
 listened in profound silence and with strict attention. This 
 was a universal characteristic among all southern Indians, 
 which I have learned by personal observation among- the 
 Chickasaws and Choctaws during a life of over seventy-five 
 years, and also by reliable information from others who- 
 lived for many years among other tribes; and it was difficult 
 for them to reconcile the chattering of the whites in their 
 social gatherings with their ideas of propriety and good 
 sense, when hearing them all talking at the same time, to 
 them apparently without a listener. 
 
 Du Pratz, in 1716, when speaking of this noble charac 
 teristic of the southern Indians, says he had often noticed 
 the smile that played upon the lips of the Natchez Indians, 
 on many occasions, and had asked them the reason, but in 
 variably received the same reply "What is it to you? r 
 Finally one, after frequent solicitations, answered: "If we 
 smile when we see you talking together it is because you re 
 mind us of a flock of cackling geese." Verily, Mr. Natchez, 
 if you could attend a modern "social," fully" understanding 
 the English language, your sense of justice and honor would 
 compel you to make humble acknowledgments to every goose 
 you met, for the insult offered (though inadvertently) to her 
 race in illustrating the senseless chatterings of a "social" 
 by the significant language of her illustrious family in loving 
 association assembled. 
 
 But to return to the council of war. If, after due delib 
 eration, they concluded that their Nation had been wronged 
 to such a degree as to justify their action, an embassy was 
 immediately sent to seek redress! If granted, the "Pipe of 
 Peace" was then smoked and a renewal of friendship estab 
 lished. 
 
 The "Pipe of Peace," which was tastefully decorated 
 with a profusion of fanciful ornaments, the white feathers- 
 of the eagle being the most conspicuous, was respected 
 everywhere by the North American Indians, and the bearers 
 of that sacred emblem were always safe in going and re 
 turning under any and all circumstances. 
 
 But if satisfactory explanation was refused, the em 
 bassy hastily returned home, and the warriors of the Na 
 tion at once summoned in council, in which war measures- 
 were discussed and adopted duringwhich the "Pipe of ^STar" 
 was smoked; this pipe was similar in shape to the peace- 
 pipe, with the exception that the colors of its ornaments 
 were different, red being the most prominent. 
 
 During these preliminaries, the opening tribe not un- 
 
492 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 mindful of the gathering- storm, were also performing- their 
 war ceremonies. With some tribes, a declaration of war 
 was made by leaving a hieroglyphic picture near a principal 
 villag-e of the Nation ag-ainst which war was declared, and 
 executed in such a manner as to be fully comprehended by 
 the challenged who the challengers were. If the challenged 
 did not desire war, an embassy bearing the pipe of peace 
 was immediately sent to the offended Nation with full powers 
 of negotiating for combined peaceful relations between the 
 two nations, which most always terminated successfully. 
 
 When preparing for war, the Chickasaws, like their en 
 tire race, of whom I have read or personally known, painted 
 their faces in such a manner (known only to the North 
 American Indians) as to give the face an expression of fierce- 
 ness that must be seen to be justly comprehended. A few 
 days before going upon the war-path a day was solemnly 
 appointed for a great feast, consisting of all the varieties of 
 food that could be obtained; but every night previous to the 
 day of the feast those contemplatiug going upon the war 
 path engaged in the war-dance during the greater part of the 
 nights dressed in all the paraphernalia of Indian warfare. 
 Tl^e warriors also came to the prepared feast fully equipped 
 with every necessary appertaining to the war-path, but with 
 no superfluous articles whatever that might have a tendency 
 to impede their actions. Before they partook of the waiting 
 repast some celebrated old chief or noted old warrior, with 
 the war-pipe in his hand, who, from the decrepitude of age, 
 had been placed upon the "retired list" among the seers and 
 prophets of the Nation, delivered a speech to the war-going 
 company,- in which he rehearsed his own exploits,, not in the 
 spirit of self-adulation, but as an honest exhortation to them 
 to emulate his deeds of heroic valor; then enpouraged them 
 to go in trusting confidence; to be great in manly courage 
 and strong in heart; to be watchful, keen in sight and fleet 
 in foot ; to be attentive in ear and unfailing in endurance; to 
 be cunning as the fox, sleepless as the wolf and agile as the 
 panther; not to be eager beyond prudence ; and when wis 
 dom so dictates, to flee as the swift antelope, as your lives 
 are of great worth to your Natiou, and even one life neces 
 sarily or unnecessarily sacrificed, will bring sorrow to the 
 hearts of your people. But to the appreciation of which no 
 outward manifestation whatever was made, as an Indian 
 warrior is ever silent upon any and all emotions of his heart, 
 yet the aged orator plainly read its significance in each silent 
 and attentive face, and was satisfied. Then he filled the 
 war-p ipe with prepared sumac leaves and tobacco; lighted 
 it; drew a few whiffs, then passed it to the war-chief, the 
 
\ HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 493 
 
 leader of the forth-going war-party, who also drew a few 
 puffs, and from him it went the rounds of the entire party, 
 each in profound silence drawing a whiff or two snd then 
 passing it to the next in turn. . After this impressive cere 
 mony they turned to the prepared feast and did ample justice 
 thereto; after which, the "war-post," painted red, was set 
 up, at which the chief of the war-party rushed and struck 
 with his tomahawk with all his strength, as if one of the 
 enemy. Then followed his warriors in regular order, each 
 doing the same. 
 
 Then followed again the war-dance, the finale of the war 
 ceremonies, which continued two or three consecutive nights 
 during the intervening days of which their relatives and 
 friends observed a strict fast and engaged in solemn and 
 supplicating prayer to the Great Spirit for their success 
 against their enemies, and their safe return. 
 
 The Chickasaws were addicted to one vice, the vice of 
 gambling. They bet on the proper handling and the skill 
 ful shuffling of his ball-sticks, the fleetness of his feet, 
 and his power of endurance; while his white brother risked 
 his money on the proper handling and skillful shuffling of 
 his paper cards. \ 
 
 Among the many redeeming traits of the Chickasaws 
 (though they did bet on their ball-plays a custom long lost 
 in the shadows of the dim historic past) there was one 
 that "hides a multitude of sins" it ts their care for and 
 protection of their orphans; and it is the universal testimony 
 of all personally acquainted with the various traits of Indian 
 characteristics, that no race of people, of whose history 
 there is any record, ever excelled the North American In 
 dians in this particular virtue. Never have there been found 
 among the Chickasaws or Choctaw T s homeless and friendless 
 orphan children, thrown out to shift for themselves, and left 
 "to root pig or die." I speak from a personal knowledge of 
 seventy-five years and know of what I speak; and I am sus 
 tained in the assertion, broad as it may seem, by the united 
 testimony of all the missionaries who labored among them 
 east of the Mississippi river, and some of w r hom came with 
 them to their present place of abode; and no t only does this 
 noble and God-approved virtue belong to the Chickasaws and 
 Choctaws, but also to all North American Indians, and the 
 missionaries among them everywhere have publicly attested 
 its truth. I have seen, time and again, in many families 
 among the Chickasa\vs and Choctaws from one to four adop 
 ted orphan children; and they were adopted, not through 
 mercenary motives the hope of gain but in the true spirit 
 of the word, actuated by the divine principle of justice and 
 
494 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 compassion for the fatherless, motherless and homeless, 
 .adopted in the full meaning- and sense of the word, to be 
 protected, cared for and loved, not to be enslaved for the few 
 dollars and cents that anticipation whispered would be made 
 out of them by adoption. And one might live a lifetime in a 
 family of adopted orphans, and, unless told, he would not 
 even suspect but that all the children were of the same 
 parentage. 
 
 The ancient Chickasaw divisions of the tribe were called 
 Yakissah, (here stops). In reference to family connections 
 in marrying they were the same as the Choctaws, No per- 
 sons of the same Yakissah were allowed to marry. Also 
 they have been called In Chukka Holhtenah Hochifo, most 
 frequently abbreviated to Inchukka holhte chifo, his house 
 {or clan) is numbered and named; and with the same refer- 1 
 ence as Yakissah, and also Iksa of the Choctaws. If a man 
 violated the law by marrying a woman of his own Yakissah 
 {or house), he forfeited his own rights and privileges, and 
 also his children of the same; but the wife forfeited noth 
 ing. 
 
 The Chickasaws, like their brethren, the Choctaws, 
 never betrayed any trust reposed in them. No matter what 
 whether of great value or of little consequence, was left in 
 their charge to be taken care of, that confidence was never 
 betrayed. They were true to their friendship, never being 
 the first to violate its sacred ties; yet bitter i their ani 
 mosity, even as all the fallen race of unfortunate Adam. 
 B^ut like all their race of the long ago, they too possessed but 
 little idea of compensation; therefore were easily made the 
 victims of unprincipled white traders who -well knew how to 
 defraud them, and had no compunctions of conscience to use 
 that knowledge to their own pecuniary advantage , though to 
 the- utter impoverishment of the Indian. But the Chicka 
 saws, beginning to realize that they received very little in re 
 turn for a very large amount given, adopted a very proper 
 plan, as they thought, to test the honesty of all white 
 traders, but which gave them completely into their hands. 
 It was this: They first offered for sale the most indiffer 
 ent article they had in whatever the line of barter consisted, 
 and asked a higher price for it than its intrinsic value; and 
 if the white man accepted it without dispute, it was sufficient 
 evidence to them that he did not design to wrong them, and 
 their confidence in his integrity was firmly established. 
 But if the trader refused to make the purchase in harmony 
 with the Chickasaw s offer, the bargain was at once closed 
 by the suspicion that the white man intended to defraud 
 them. - But the Whites soon learning the Chickasaws 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 495 
 
 method of testing- their honesty (though utterly void of the 
 virtue), at once bought the first article offered at the full 
 price set upon it by the owner without a whimper^ and thus 
 gained their confidence; and without hesitation, entered the 
 door of trade thus opened and continued to defraud the mis 
 guided Chickasaws. 
 
 The ancient Chickasaws had four laws only; all of which 
 were strictly adhered to and rigidly enforced throughout the 
 entire Yakissahs of the Nation. First, the law of murder, 
 which placed the slayer wholly and exclusively inthe hands of 
 of the oldest brother of the slain, whenever failed to execute 
 the law whose claims were thus entrusted to his care and 
 keeping, the standing verdict of which was "An eye for an 
 eye and a tooth for a tooth." death. In case the deceased 
 liad no brother or brothers, then one of the next nearest and 
 oldest male relative became the self-appointed executioner of 
 the violated law in which no delinquent was ever found. Nor 
 did anyone, not even the nearest relations of the slayer, in 
 terfere in the matter in any way whatever either to assist 
 or oppose. If the slayer fled, which was very seldom if ever 
 the case, his oldest brother, and if he had no brother, then 
 the next nearest and oldest relative in the male line was 
 slain in his place; after which he could return in safety and 
 without the fear of molestation, but to be ostracised and for 
 ever stigmatized as a coward wherever he went, a punish 
 ment more to be dreaded by all North American Indians 
 than a hundred deaths. In all such cases a woman was never 
 slain in the place of a man. On account of this rigid and in 
 exorable custom of dealing with him who had slain his fel- 
 lowman, murders were very few and far between, as the 
 slayer well knew the inevitable consequence that would follow 
 unless he fled to parts unknown, which would be attended 
 with eternal disgrace to himself, family and kindred, at the 
 sacrifice also of his brother s life, or next nearest male rela 
 tive. 
 
 Second, whipping for minor offenses; after which the 
 culprit was reinstated to favor without any disgrace being 
 attached to his name for his offense or punishment. He had 
 violated the law, but had paid the penalty thereunto attached. 
 The claims of the law were satisfied and therefore it was a 
 thing of the past, to be mentioned no more, and it never was. 
 
 Fourth. The property of deceased parents descended 
 to the brothers and sisters of the deceased, and not to their 
 own children. 
 
 To us a strange, unjust and inconsistent law; but of 
 which I was informed, as above recorded, by Governor Cyrus 
 Harris, in 1886, who was regarded as among the best posted 
 
496 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 of the Ghickasaws in regard to their laws and customs when 
 living- in their ancient domains, and . whose veracity was 
 never questioned by all who knew him, either among his own 
 race or that of the white. 
 
 Up to the time the Chickasaws moved west (1836- 38), 
 their country was divided into three districts, viz: Tisho- 
 mingo, Sealy and McGilvery. At the time of their exodus 
 west to their present places of abode, Tishomingo (properly 
 Tishu Miko, chief officer or guard of the king) was the chief 
 of the Tishu Miko district; Samuel Sealy, of the Sealy dis 
 trict, and William McGilvery, of the McGilvery district. 
 
 The Chickasaw ruler was styled king instead of chief? 
 and his chief officer was called Tishu Miko. 
 
 Ishtehotohpih was the reigning king at the time they 
 left their ancient places of abode east of the Mississippi 
 river for those west. He died in 1840. He was the last of 
 the Chickasaw rulers who bore the title, king. After his 
 death the monarchical form of government, which was 
 hereditary, as I was informed by Governor Cyrus ^Harris, 
 was abolished, and the form of Republicanism adopted. 
 ^Tbe power of their kings was very circumscribed, being only 
 about equal to that of their present governor. The king s 
 wife was called queen, but clothed with no authority what 
 ever, and regarded only as other Chickasaw women. 
 
 That Tishu Miko was a wise counselor and brave war 
 rior among the Chickasaws is about all that has escaped 
 oblivion, as little has been -preserved of his life by tradition 
 or otherwise. He was the acting Tishu Miko of Ishteho 
 tohpih at the time of the removal of his people to the west. 
 He died in 1839, the year before his royal master. He was 
 appointed during life as one of the chief counselors to Ishte 
 hotohpih ; and when he advised the king upon any mooted 
 question, so great was his influence over the other counsel 
 ors, as Governor Harris stated, that they at once unani 
 mously acquiesced to his propositions, but invariably with 
 the reiterated exclamation, "That s just what I thought! 
 That s just what I that!" while the king said but little, but 
 generally adopted the suggestions of Tishu Miko. 
 
 Tushkaapela (Warrior-Helper) was a former Chickasaw 
 king, but was made an invalid for life by an accident which 
 rendered him unable to walk in an upright position, but 
 slowly crawled about by means of a buck s horn in each 
 hand extended behind him, and his feet thrust forward, pre 
 senting an object of great compassion. His wife was named 
 Pakarli (blossom), corrupted by the whites Puc-caun-la. 
 
 The ancient Chickasaws, unlike the Choctaws, buried 
 their dead soon after life became extinct; placing in the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 497 
 
 grave with the corpse, if a man, his clothes, war and 
 hunting- implements, pipe and tobacco, and a few provisions; 
 if a woman or child, the clothes and other little articles the 
 deceased may have prized in life, and a few provisions. A 
 Chickasaw widow mourned twelve full moons for her de 
 ceased husband, while the other relatives prolonged their 
 mourning only three; at the close of which a Special Cry 
 was appointed at night, which was kept up until the break 
 of day; then the end of the hair of the mourners was clipped 
 and a string handed to them with which they tied up their 
 hair, which had been permitted to hang loose over their 
 shoulders from the death of their kindred to the end of the 
 three moons, the appointed time for mourning. 
 
 Suicide was sometimes committed by the ancient 
 Chickasaws, but very seldom. When it was, " it was invari 
 ably done with their favorite instrument of death, the 
 rifle. 
 
 Many of their doctors were well informed in the medi 
 cinal properties of various herbs and roots found in nature s 
 pharmacopoeia, and were remarkably successful in their 
 practice, especially in cases of common fevers, the bite of 
 snakes, and many other ills to which frail humanity is so 
 subject everywhere; they were more skilful years ago than 
 at the present day, relying principally upon the white doc 
 tors located among them. 
 
 But much practical sense would the best white physi 
 cians of the long ago have displayed, and much useful infor 
 mation obtained concerning the medicinal virtues of many 
 herbs which Nature then presented in her wild botanical 
 garden (now forever lost) if they had humbled their foolish 
 pride of imagined superiority over the Indian enough to have 
 studied his pharmacy a little more attentively. 
 
 When living in the ancient domains of their fathers the 
 Chickasaws had many native women among them who prac 
 ticed the healing art; and not a few of them became quite 
 adepts in their profession. A few female physicians are still 
 found among them. 
 
 ^ Some of the most skillful doctors were regarded by 
 their people as being not only wise in the knowledge of the 
 medicinal properties of various herbs and roots which their 
 boundless forests furnished so abundantly, but also gjfted 
 with the power of making it rain when so inclined; but they 
 did not make as frequent illustrations of that power bv act 
 ual experiment, as did some of the Choctaws. 
 
 As a.nong all North American Indians, .as far as I have 
 been able to ascertain, so too had the Chickasaws those priv 
 ileged personages, the Rain Maker, Medicine Man and the 
 
498 HISTORY 1 OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 r 
 
 Prophet, or Seer. The first, in seasons of protracted drouth, 
 was invoked to exert his mysterious power to bring- about an 
 abundant shower; the second to interpret dreams and charm, 
 away spells, and the third to lift the veil from the dim and 
 _ mystic future. But in this they differed not from all the 
 " human race whose minds had not been illuminated by the di 
 vine rays of the gospel of the Son of God. 
 
 The ancient manner. of Chickasaw courtship was not 
 very taxing. upon the sensitiveness pf thebashful, perspective 
 groom; since, when he wished to make known to any young- 
 lady of his tribe the emotions of his heart in regard to her, 
 he had but to send a small bundle of clothing- carefully tied 
 up in a large cotton handkerchief (similar in dimensions to a 
 medium-sized table cloth, very common in those primitive 
 days of ignorant bliss, when fashion and folly were un 
 known) by his mother or sister to the girl he desired to make 
 his wife. This treasure of acknowledged love was imme 
 diately taken possession of by the mother of the wished-for 
 bride and kept for a few days before presenting it to her 
 daughter; and when presented, if accepted, it was a bona 
 fide acknowledgement on her part of her willing-ness to ac 
 cept him as her husband, of which confession he was at once 
 duly notified; if otherwise, the subject was there and then 
 forever dropped, and the disappointed and disconsolate 
 swain found consolation in the privilege extended to all such 
 cases, that of presenting another bundle of clothes wrapped 
 in a similar mantle of cotton, to some other forest beauty in 
 which his country-so profusely abounded. But best of all, 
 the swain, whether bold or timid, was always spared that 
 fearful and dreaded ordeal of soliciting the "yes" of the 
 * old folks," as his mother took that imperative and obnox 
 ious duty upon herself, and was almost always successful 
 in the accomplishment of the desired object. The coast 
 being clear of all breakers, the elated lover painted his face 
 in exact conformity to the latest and most approved style, 
 donned his best suit, and soug-ht the home of his betrothed 
 with fluttering heart, who, strictly on the lookout, met him 
 a few rods from the door, and proudly and heroically es 
 corted him into the house where they, themselves, in the 
 presence of friends and relatives, performed the marriage 
 ceremony by the man presenting the woman with a ham of 
 venison; or a part of some other eatable animal of the chase; 
 she at the same time presenting him with an ear of corn, or 
 sack of potatoes, all of which betokened the man should pro 
 vide the household with meat, and the woman with bread. 
 Thus they were made man and wife, and so considered by 
 all. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 499 
 
 The Chickasaws, as all the human race in all ages past, 
 indulged in that time honored amusement, the dance. Their 
 ancient national dances were the same as the Choctaws; 
 Hoyopa-hihla (war-dance); Hakshup-hihla, (scalp-dance); 
 Tolih-hihla, (ball-play dance); Tanschusi-hihla (green corn 
 dance); Yunnushhihla, (buffalo dance.) Then followed the 
 -social or fun-making dances, such as Akanka-hihla, 
 (chicken dance); Issuba-hihla, (horse dance); Shut-tun-nih- 
 hih-la (tick-dance); all of which excelled, in purity of senti 
 ment, many of the civilized exotics, adopted bv us, in this 
 Vefined age of Christian progress, such as the "round- 
 dance," etc., if all be true that is stated about them by those 
 who still retain some idea of decency and respect for its just 
 claims. But I judge only from hear-say, never having wit 
 nessed the "heart-refining and soul-elevating N " perform 
 ances. 
 
 In a few only of their social dances, all of which were 
 performed in the open air, men and woman participated to 
 gether. Rarely more than Sne musician at a time engage^ 
 in that department of the entertainment, whose music was 
 of that quality which soon satisfied the ear of even the most 
 fastidious; he sat sometimes on a block of wood, and some 
 times on his mother earth, upon whose non-chiding bosom 
 the dancers also as recklessly "tipped the fantastic toe," as 
 he unyieldingly beat a little drum, accompanied its monoto 
 nous tones with his voice in a chanting kind of soothing lul 
 laby, to the facinating powers of which the dancers gave 
 joyous heed. 
 
 The Chickasaws had two dances sacred to the women 
 alone and in which they only engaged. One was called Iti- 
 lusahihla (Blackwood dance); the other, Itakhalusahihla 
 (Blackmouth dance), which, no doubt, might justly dispute 
 for rivalship with their pale-face sisters, when in their part 
 ners scientific embrace in the performance of the fashion 
 able "round dance" at least as far as external appearance 
 indicates judging only from "hearsay," however. 
 
 They also had a dance called Tanspichifah (crushed or 
 pounded corn), in which various meats were mixed and cook 
 ed, now called Tarns-pe-sho-fah. This dance was only per 
 formed before the door of a house in which lay the sick and 
 only indulged in at the injunction of the alikchi (doctor) who 
 was attending the sick; this ancient dance of the years of 
 the long past is still kept up among the Chickasaws by some 
 of the full bloods. 
 
 When a doctor was called in to see a patient if after ex- 
 erting his skill in the knowledge of the medicinal virtues 
 known in nature s pharmacy, newfound his patient gradually 
 
500 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 growing worse, he ordered a Tanspichifah hihla. At once 
 it was announced by sending- messengers throughout the 
 neighborhood, and the appointed day found the friends as-" 
 sembled. Then a straig-ht line was drawn from the centre 
 of the doorway of the house in which the sick was confined, 
 to a smooth and straight pole fifteen or twenty feet in length,, 
 gaily decorated, that had been firmly set up eight or ten- 
 rods from the door: Two guards called Tishu, each armed 
 with a long- stout switch, were each stationed at the oppo 
 site end of the line, whose duty was to prevent anything-, 
 man or beast from crossing- the mystic line either way. In 
 the meantime a fire was kindled a short distance to one side 
 over which was suspended a large iron vessel filled with 
 pounded corn and meats. The ground having- been previ 
 ously and cleanly swept for a little distance each side of the 
 line from the door to the erected pole, and all thing s being- 
 ready for the dance, the bed upon which the patient rested 
 was drawn into a position in the room fronting- the door, to 
 g-ive the patient full view of the m,erry dancers, see the gail} r 
 decorated pole, and hear the tones of the little drum as it 
 responded to the quick and vig-orous strokes of the musi 
 cian;, that thus the thoughts- of the sick might be diverted 
 from the depressing influences of the mind dwelling too 
 long upon the malady with which he or she was afflicted. 
 Then the Alikchi brought out two women from the house 
 gaily decorated with ribbons and beads of various colors, and 
 alsohaving thimbles or rattles made of dry luksihakshup (ter 
 rapin shell) attached to their moccasins or the skirts of their 
 dresses, and placed them together on one side of the line, 
 while several men stationed themselves on the opposite 
 side of the line; then the Alikchi returned to his duties in 
 the sick room, the musician started his favorite tune on "his 
 harp of " less than a thousand strings," and the dancing 
 commenced; the men confining their exercises strictly to 
 one side of the line, and the two woman to that of the other,, 
 each being extremely cautious not to step over its magic 
 bounds. From one to two women only danced at the same 
 time; when wearied they gave place to others to whom were 
 handed the little bells or luksi hakshups taken from their 
 ankles and dresses, which the fresh dancers attached to 
 their persons in like manner as the others had done. 
 
 The leader or director of the Tanspichifah was called 
 Tikbahika (going first). The above generally commenced 
 an hour or two before sun down and continued until the 
 shades of twilight began to appear, then gave place to the 
 partaking of refreshments fotind previously prepared in the 
 iron vessel around which botn dancers and spectators gath- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 501 
 
 . 
 
 -ered in happy merriment and partook (if so inclined) of the 
 Tanspichifati repast. During- the, hours devoted to the dance, 
 the doctor, true to his trust, had been attentive to the fluct 
 uating" symptoms of his patient; administering- atone time 
 a, decoction of different herbs; at another, performing his 
 mystic ceremonies, among" which was the vigorous rattling 
 of a dr^ gourd, into which had been placed some pebbles, 
 over the head and around the body of his confiding patient, 
 and squirting from his mouth, at different intervals, a quan 
 tity of the decoction upon the exposed breast of his patient. 
 After the refreshments the dancing was resumed, but in the 
 house instead of the yard, where it was kept up until a late 
 liour pf the night, all spectators being without; during 
 which the monotonous tinkling and rattling of the thimble 
 .bells and terrapin shells, in discordant harmony with the in 
 defeasible little drum, which gave forth its tones in seem 
 ingly inexhaustible quantities to the measured blows of the 
 relentless and indefatigable musician, all mingling with the 
 voices of the dancers chanting, E-yih-hah-heh! E-yih-hah- 
 lieh! was enough, it did seem, to kill or cure; or, at least, to 
 forever put to flight the "Evil Spirit" which the worthy 
 disciple of Esculapius had declared to be present, and baf- 
 JBed his healing skill by counteracting the efficacy of his 
 medicines and mystic ceremonies. 
 
 However, if the patient recovered, in spite of all the din 
 produced by the contest between the doctor and the "Evil 
 Spirit" for the victory, the doctor bore off the palm; and his 
 skill was deservedly undisputed, his reputation justly estab 
 lished and the honor of his profession nobly maintained. 
 .But if otherwise, and the "Evil Spirit" won the victory by 
 counteracting- the virtues of his medicines and mystic cere 
 monies, causing the death of his patient, the doctor, unwil 
 ling still to yield the palm of victory to the "Evil Spirit," 
 readily, as a worthy guardian of the reputation of his" high 
 calling, found a more honorable cause for his defeat than 
 that by an "Evil ^Spirit," and, what was still better, more 
 suitable to the credulity of his patrons even as many of his 
 pale-faced brothers of like profession; therefore, he solemnly 
 and with great gravity announced that his patient had been 
 .shot by an Isht-ul-bih (Witch-ball) from an invisible rifle in t 
 the hands of an invisible witch which left no visible signs of 
 its mysterious power; but the secret , effects of which were 
 beyond the skill of any and all human doctors, to which his 
 dupes. gave-ready assent; and thus the reputation of the in- 
 ;v;sible and indefeasible power of the hattakyushpakummi 
 .(Witch) was confirmed, and the alikchi was enabled to come 
 
502 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 out of the contest with a reputation unimpared, to his entire 
 satisfaction, and so the matter ended/ 
 
 The ancient Chickasaws, like the Choctaws, had their 
 specified cries over the graves of their dead. At the day 
 appointed, the relatives, friends and neighbors assembled 
 and one little group after another took their seats on the 
 ground in a circle around the grave, then drew thejr shawls, 
 and blankets over their heads and commenced their doleful 
 lamentations, which must be seen an4 heard to form any 
 just idea of the scene. The "cry" continued for several 
 days and nights, then terminated with a feast; after which 
 the name of the deceased was pronounced no more. The 
 dead are with the past; for them how fruitless our despair, 
 was their final and just conclusion. / 
 
 The Chickasaw mother, as her Choctaw sister, was. 
 blessed in one particular amid all her trials. She, too, was> 
 exempt from the curse which the Sacred Writings declare 
 was imposed upon parturition; and the necessity of a doctor 
 or midwife on such occasion was unknown. A woman, about 
 to become a mother, retired to some private place alone, and 
 in a few hours returned with her child, and quietly jesumed 
 her occupations. 
 
 The ancient Chickasaws, unlike their kindred, the Choc- 
 taws, entertained no superstitious views in regard to the 
 eclipse of the sun or moon; regarding it as a phenomenon 
 inexplicable, and to be th~e height of folly to be alarmed and 
 worried over that which they had no control a sensible con 
 clusion indeed. They called an eclipse, either of sun or 
 moon, hushi luma (sun hidden). Sometimes a total eclipse of 
 the sun was termed hushi illi (dead sun), and sometimes 
 hushi kunia (lost sun). They called the moon hushi ninak 
 aya (the sun of the night). 
 
 The traditions of the Chickasaws are silent in regard to 
 the flood; at least nothing has been preserved upon that sub 
 ject/ Rather strange! since the Choctaws, to whom they 
 were so closely allied by consanguinity, and the Cherokees, 
 Muscogees, Shawnees and many other tribes spoke of it in 
 their traditions. 
 
 Paki takohlih (hanging grapes), from which the present 
 townTPontotoc, Mississippi, derived its name, was a town 
 known to the French, in the days of Bienville, by the name 
 Chikasahha; and afterwards to the English as "Chickasaw 
 Old Town"; then to the Americans as "The Chickasaw Old 
 Fields"; and was, according to Chickasaw tradition (no dout>t 
 correct) the same "Old Town" in which De Soto wintered 
 with his army in 1540, and over whose heads the Chickasaws 
 burned to expel him from their territories, after his insolent 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 503 
 
 and unjust demand; but which they afterwards rebuilt. 
 The venerable "Old Town" was known to the Spaniards at 
 an early day by the name Chicaco; and truly no spot of ground 
 in the Southern States has deservingly greater military fame 
 than "Old Chicaco." This ancient town of the Chickasaws- 
 was located, in the years of the far back, upon the banks of 
 a little stream to which they also gave the name Pakitakoh- 
 lih, on account of the profusion of wild grapes that hung in 
 tempting clusters upon its shady banks; and though nothing* 
 now remains to tell where the ancient "Chicaco" once stood, 
 and "Ilium Fuit" is all that is remembered of its eventful 
 history, still Pakitakohlih continues its gentle meanderings 
 by the perished city of the dead, as the only imperishable 
 monument of Chickasaw patriotism, gently murmuring its 
 lowly requiem to its departed shades, while the winged har 
 monist of the South (hushi bulbaha mocking bird) is still 
 seen lingering around the scene caroling its orchestral hymns 
 of nature that once waked the dark-eyed Chickasaw maiden 
 to inhale the morning air laden with the sweet perfumes of a 
 world of flowers, and cheered the early hunter as he started 
 on the dubious chase. 
 
 But where are they, the once numerous, free and happy 
 Chickasaws, who, in the years gone by, stopd alone and 
 maintained their independence eighteen years against the 
 combined efforts of the French and their Indian allies to 
 carry out their nefarious designs, ""Extermination to the 
 Chickasaw Nation," but were defeated and driven back as 
 oft as they put their hostile feet upon Chickasaw soil? They 
 too, with their chivalry and glory, have passed away leaving 
 no trace behind them, except in the little handful that still 
 survives, yet retaining to the last the same chivalrous un 
 yielding, and unconquerable spirit of their noble ancestors 
 two centuries ago; and though 
 
 "No storied urn, no sculptured stone, 
 No marble record of their fame 
 
 / Tells of their deeds; but not unknown, 
 
 Have passed away without a name 
 Those heroes bold, for every stream 
 That murmurs by, with scarce a motion, _/ 
 Like the sweet memory of a dream, 
 Bears a soft Indian name to ocean, 
 
 As to* the Choctaws two years before, so to the Chicka 
 saws, places of rendezvous were appointed in different lo 
 calities at which they were commanded to congregate, prep 
 aratory to their being driven off; and, like flocks of sheep 
 for the slaughter, they were x herded together in little groups 
 under the guidance of their respective chiefs, who, one after 
 
504 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 another, moved off with his little band towards the setting 
 sun, cruelly banished from their ancient homes, and with 
 out the shadow of a just or reasonable cause. Here.\vas 
 seen a disconsolate mother calling- her unconscious children 
 from their childish and joyous gambols beneath the forest 
 oaks to fall into ranks w r ith a starting group; then, as she 
 took her place in file, turned her face again and again to take 
 one more long lingering look upon the loved scenes of her 
 youth and advanced years; while the loud laugh of the white 
 teamsters, who accompanied them, at some rough remark 
 made by some one of their number when driving by, jarred 
 like a discord in some mournful tune upon that mother s 
 heart, but aroused her not from her reveries. 
 
 How true it is that often the heaviest burdens of life are 
 those at which the world laughs, but of jvhich the over 
 weighted heart cannot and will not speak! There are some 
 misfortunes some sorrows that dwarf all others ; and 
 such indeed were those of the Chickasaws when defrauded 
 of their ancient homes, and bade depart, they knew not where. 
 They saw only merciless force behind them, and blind 
 chance before them; which, like that in nature, smites with 
 the tornado the lonely forest or the peopled country. They 
 had the courage to rush to arms against the wrong and in 
 defense of tfreir rights, but knew too well how futile would 
 be their effort; yet they felt like they would rather even 
 make the effort to push back an avalanche than cower before 
 it. But alas, the dark shadows of an evil future never before 
 had spead over them as now; but it seemed they were com 
 ing nearer and nearer, closing in, remorseless and relent 
 less, stealing upon them like vindictive, unpitying foes. It 
 was indeed a time of sad, yet cherished memories with them 
 a memory, cherished with love and honor, still only a mem 
 ory. Truly, where else is there so human, so enthralling 
 grief that so wrings the spectator s heart! 
 
 There, too, was seen the brave warrior and fearless 
 hunter, as he turned away from his hunting grounds with 
 its many objects sacred to memory and dear to his beart, 
 taking his place in front of his family circle; and as they 
 bade their final adieu to the graves of their ancestors, their 
 homes and native land, inherited from a long line of noble 
 ancestry, they moved off in silence with not an eye mois 
 tened with a tear, nor emotion depicted on a counte 
 nance. And though it belongs to the Indian s nature to con 
 ceal his emotions of grief, and he refrains from tears, yet 
 none feel more deeply or are subject to more intense agony 
 of soul, or possess deeper affection of heart than the North 
 American Indian. I speak from personal knowledge gained 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 505 
 
 from personal acquaintance and association during- a life of 
 over seventy-five years with the Choctaws and Chickasaws; 
 and what is said of them may be said with equal truth of 
 the entire North American Indian race. 
 
 The Indian s emotions may well and justly be compared 
 to the hidden fires in the deep caverns of the volcano, whose 
 existence is not known -till the fiery torrent breaks its bounds 
 and the consuming streams of lava roll over cities, towns 
 and villages. 
 
 In all that assembled throng-, where noble forms and 
 fearless hearts sat erect and silent, with stern faces and 
 tearless eyes, there was not a single Chickasaw, man or 
 woman, who would not have accepted death in any form, or 
 to endure in any degree even that of burning- at the stake 
 (a bold assertion, yet I make it in confidence of its truth) if 
 by such a sacrifice or suffering he or she could have rescued 
 the country of their inheritance and the home of their na 
 tivity from the grasp of the White Race and given it as a 
 sure possession to their people. Let blissful ig-norance 
 smile with incredulity, and conceited prejudice sneer, since 
 nothing more nor less can be expected of such. 
 
 And I know also that they would have resisted to the last 
 warrior, the arbitrary power that drove them from their an 
 cient possession had but a ray of hope promised success. 
 But there was none, not even a feeble glimmering-; therefore 
 they bowed submissively to the decree of the Great Spirit 
 (as they affirmed) and turned from the land dearer than life 
 to go to that which they had never seen and did not love; and 
 the grand old forest, as they left it with robes of g-reen and 
 autumnal vesture of beauty and myriads of game which na 
 ture had reared and fed for the benefit of her forest chil 
 dren, soon also melted away before the white man s love of 
 destruction of all that is public, as dry stubble before the 
 fire, all Chickasaws, forests and game disappeared, to be 
 seen no more. 
 
 But did they leave behind them the religion of the 
 World s Redeemer as taught them by the faithful mission 
 aries? Not at all. They took it with them as their most 
 sacred treasure, and worshipped the God of their salvation 
 under the canopies of the forest oaks in the wilderness of 
 their new homes for a few years. Then arose, here and 
 there, amid the forests alog cabin church and a school-house, 
 over which waved the defying flags bearing the motto, 
 Onward, and upward, with undeviating faith and un 
 wearied patience from this dark and shadowy vale of doubt 
 and fear to that blissful immortality whence comes the 
 Eternal Truth. 
 
506 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Next, in regular succession, comes a sufficiency of com 
 modious and comfortable churches and school-houses; and 
 186XJound them a thoroughly civilized, Christianized, pros 
 perous, contented and happy people. Then came our civil 
 war, into which we dragged them, vi et armis, and out of 
 which we sent them, stripped of everything. Yet/, Phoenix 
 like, again they arose from the ashes of desolation and stood 
 once more as a people whose indomitable resolution is un 
 surpassed in the annals of mankind. 
 
 But still not satisfied, we again have entered their little 
 garden of contentment, with the determination, this time, 
 to divide their lands in severalty as the introductory wedge 
 to the destruction of their nationality and our immediate 
 possession of their country, hurling them headlong, without 
 chart or compass, sail or rudder, to shift for themselves 
 among a race who possess but one characteristic "get 
 money," and but one belief "no good Indian but a dead In 
 dian." 
 
 But, as that of the Choctaw country, so it may equally 
 and truly be said that a more beautiful and richer country 
 could not be portrayed on the canvass of nature than was 
 also that of the Chickasaws .now forming the north half of 
 the State of Mississippi. They, as the Choctaws, annually 
 burned the grass of their forests throughout their entire 
 country; and thus the landscape was unobscured by any 
 wood undergrowth whatever, while the tall forest trees, 
 standing so thick as to shade the entire ground, spread their 
 giant arms over the thick carpet of grass beneath, varie 
 gated with innumerable flowers of all colors arraying the 
 earth in wild beauty, and filling the air with fragrance ; while 
 the incessant and merry warblings of their untaught orches 
 tra (nature s dowry) from the unwearied throats of innu 
 merable and gaily plumaged birds, fascinated the scene and 
 made the heart glad; and in the autumn season, the Indian 
 summer of those days of seventy-five years ago, when the sun 
 rose a coppered disk^ casting no shadow until risen several 
 degrees above the horizon; then, as it declined toward the 
 west, passing through all shades from a bright gold to blood 
 red and becoming invisible an hour or two before it sank 
 below the western sky; nature was still not without its at 
 tractive beauties, though the foliage had changed to bronze 
 by the kiss of winter frosts; on every side grapes, musca 
 dines, plums, persimmons of excellent flavor, and other 
 autumnal fruits in rich profusion greeted the eye and grati 
 fied the taste of the most fastidious, while the reproachful 
 chatterings and nimble gambols of the numberless squirrels 
 that gaily sported among the .extended branches of their 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 507 
 
 native woods ; and .the herds of deer and flocks of turkeys 
 that roamed o er the uolands. and amid the tangled cane- 
 brakes on the water courses where the bear, panther, cata 
 mount, wolf and innumerable smaller animals made their 
 homes, all invited the hunter to the enjoyment of an endless 
 variety of wild and fascinating- amusement unsurpassed in. 
 the annals of a hunter s paradise. Truly, that is happiness 
 which breaks not the link between man and nature. 
 
 For several years after the departure of the Chickasaws 
 not a vestige of change was seen; no sound of the w r oodman s 
 ax, or even the distant crowing- of the domestic cock an 
 nouncing- the approach of white civilization, broke the pro 
 found silence of the vast forests, undisturbed by man, yet 
 swarming- with animal life. Travel where you would, though 
 no sig-n indicating the presence of man was seen, yet you 
 felt not alone; above you countless warblers rendered the 
 air resonant with the wild but sweet music of nature s har 
 mony; before you the wild turkey flapped his broaci wings 
 carelessly and seemed only to change his position that he 
 might the better observe the actions and ascertain the inten 
 tions of the new and white-faced intruders upon his ancient 
 heritage; while here and there droves of deer crossed and 
 re-crossed your path at different intervals, sometimes run 
 ning with fleetest feet, at others quietly grazing, then gaily 
 gamboling in the tall, waving grass which, to an imaginative 
 mind, might have appeared as Naiads sporting upon the 
 wind-disturbed bosom of some enchanted lake; and, as even 
 ing let her curtains down and twilight shades appeared, the 
 ancient bird of the goddess Minerva hooted his accustomed 
 lays of wisdom, as a reminder that familiarity i>reeds con 
 tempt and sometimes worse; therefore, in commendable 
 modesty, sought safety in prudential distance, leaving you 
 alone to your reflections. Such-scenes and sounds greeted 
 the eye and regaled the ear of the traveler as he plodded his 
 way through the wilderness of Chickasaw and Choctaw for 
 ests as handed to the White Race seventy years ago by that 
 noble race of people when banished to the West by arbi 
 trary power, in 1832 and 36, and where their condition, for 
 several years, was little better than that of the hapless sea 
 men who had been put ashore by their comrades upon some 
 desolate island far out in the ocean. Yet it was declared to 
 be just and right, since the "progress of Christianity and 
 white civilization demanded it." 
 
 Who that beheld that lovely land and enjoyed its ro 
 mantic scenes, but still delights to dwell in memory upon 
 its former charms, as it then lay in all- its primitive loveli 
 ness and glory, fitted up and bequeathed by the Great 
 
.508 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Spirit to his Chickasaw children for their abode; but out 
 of which -they were cruelly and shamefully defrauded by 
 the United States in a treaty concluded October 20th, 1832. 
 .at the Council House on Pakitakalih Creek and ratified 
 March 1st, 1833, by the United States Senate. 
 
 This treaty having the same designs against the Chick- 
 asaws, and as effectually accomplished as that against the 
 Choctaws two years before on the banks of Bok Clukfi Luma 
 Hihlah, September 28th, 1830, was made and entered into by 
 John Eaton and John Coffee, on the part of the United States, 
 -and seventy-three members of the Council, on the part of 
 the Chickasaw Nation. 
 
 There were four Chickasaw families at that day, as I 
 was informed by Governor Cyrus Harris, who kept their 
 liouses so neatly, and their yards so free of all grass, weeds 
 and rubbish of all kinds, that they were called by the whites, 
 "The clean house Indians." Three of -the heads of the four 
 families were brothers, and the other a brother-in-law t the 
 three. The chief or the head man of the four families was 
 named Chikasah nana ubih (pro. Chik-a-sah nar-nar-ub-ih, 
 and sig. A Chickasaw who kills anything), and his two broth 
 ers, the one Ishkitahah (pro. Ish-ke-tar-hah and sig. No 
 mother or mother gone.) The other, Innihtowa (pro. In-nih- 
 to-wah, sig. Warm the ball,) The brother-in-law was named 
 Aiyuka ubih (pro. Ai-yu-kah ubih and sig. Each one Jail, or 
 to kill each one). 
 
 At an early day a few white men of culture and of good 
 morals, fascinated with the wild and romantic freedom and 
 simplicity of the Chickasaw life, cast their lot among that 
 brave and patriotic nation of people. 
 
 I read an article published in Mississippi a few years 
 ago, which stated that a. man. by the name of Mclntosh, 
 commissioned bv British authorities to .visit the Chickasaw 
 Nation and endeavor to keep up its ancient hostility to the 
 French, was so delighted with the customs and manners of 
 that brave, free and hospitable people that, after the accom 
 plishment of his mission, he remained among them; then 
 marrying a Chickasaw woman he became identified with the 
 tribe; that he became an influential character among the 
 Chickasaws; that he found the whole Nation living in one 
 large village in the "Chickasaw Old Fields"; that he per 
 suaded them to scatter, take possession of the most fertile 
 and watered lands, and live where game was more plentiful; 
 that he /planted a colony at a place called Tokshish (cor 
 ruption of Takshi-pro. Tark-shih, and sig. Bashful) sev 
 eral miles south of Pontotoc; that this colony became the 
 
\ 
 
 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 509 
 
 favorite residence of the white renegades, etc. All of which 
 is without even a shadow of truth. 
 
 True, a man by the name of Mclntosh once visited the 
 Chickasaw Nation as stated; but, after his diplomacy was 
 accomplished, departed and returned no more. There never 
 was a Mclntosh identified in any way with the Chickasaws at 
 that early day, nor has there been one from that day to this. 
 The only white men adopted and identified with the Chicka- 
 saws at that early day were James Gunn, Logan Colbert, 
 John Gilchrist, Malcomb McGee, James Allen and John By- 
 num, and their descendants are still among- the Chickasaws. 
 An aged daughter of John Bynum, with whom I am person 
 ally acquainted, as also with her children, was, in 1890, still 
 hovering upon the stage of human life, as bright an example 
 of true Christian piety as ever waited for the Divine Mas 
 ter s final summons to a blissful immortality. 
 
 At the time of the establishment of the Christian Mis 
 sion among the Chickasaws under the jurisdiction of that 
 noble 1 and true Christian philanthropist, Rey. T. C. 
 Stuart, Malcomb McGee (erroneously published as Malcomb 
 McGeche) was a venerable and highly venerated character/ 
 amftng the appreciative Chickasaws of all true moral worth. 
 He was born, according to his own statements, of Scotch 
 parents in the city of New York about the year 1757. 
 vShortly^ after his parents arrived in America, his father en 
 listed in the Colonial army in an expedition against the 
 French, and was killed at the storming of Ticonderoga, only 
 a few months before young Malcomb was born. 
 
 About this time marvelous rumors of the vast and mag 
 nificent plains of Illinois, covered by innumerable heYds of 
 buffalo, wild horses, deer and great varieties of other wild 
 animals, excited the cupidity of the adventurous, and a com 
 pany of enthusiasts resolved lo go to that imagined earthly 
 paradise,, among whom was the, young widow McGee. In 
 those days of the distant past, to reach that point in the "far 
 west" from New York, New Orleans had first to be reached 
 by sea; thence up the Mississippi river by a keel-boat worked 
 by hand, which took months of arduous toil and great priva 
 tion to make a voyage from New Orleans to St. Louis. The 
 adventurous journey, .however, was undertaken and success 
 fully accomplished by those lovers of the romantic. But in 
 that then world of wilderness the young widow McGee soon 
 found herself reduced to extreme poverty, with none near 
 who were able to assist her. At this time a man by the 
 name of Mclntosh visited the .distant little colony on the 
 Illinois river; learning her distressful situation, and moved 
 with pity, he advised her to let him adopt young Malcomb 
 
510 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 as his own son under the promise of being- a father to the 
 boy in raising- and educating- him. t In her extreme poverty 
 and feeble prospects of doing anything- for him in regard to 
 an education, she finally consented, but with great reluc 
 tance, and gave Malcomb, then about ten years of age, to the 
 care and guardianship of Mclntosh. JBut what an ordeal for 
 that mother s heart and that orphan boy, who had never seen 
 his father, as cruel fate now decrees their separation (which 
 proved a final one), the one to remain in the wilderness of 
 the west ; the other to go with a stranger to a wilderness far 
 in the east, to the land of the Muscogees, among whom Mc 
 lntosh had selected his future home; and afterwards marry 
 ing among them was adopted and became one of that war 
 like people, whose descendants from that day to this have 
 been a prominent family among the Muscogees, now known 
 as the Creeks. 
 
 . How different were those white men of that early day 
 who cast their lot among the southern Indians from those 
 who, of later years, have sought, and still seek, citizenship 
 among that people! The former sought the moral advance 
 ment of the people among whom they had cast their lot; and 
 who, when followed by the self-sacrificing missionaries, did 
 all they could to assist them in the promulgation of religion 
 and education among their newly adopted people being like 
 them free of all avarice; the latter being influenced Wholly 
 through selfish motives, without a thought or care for the 
 good of the Indians, have ever been, and still are, a wither 
 ing blight upon the labors of the missionaries a mildew 
 upon their hopes and a curse, in the plurality of cases, to 
 the Indians upon whom they intrude, as far as virtue and 
 morality are concerned. Alas! through what an ordeal has 
 the Red Race of the I^orth American continent been forced 
 to pass since first made acquainted with the White. 
 
 But true to his trust, the generous Mclntosh proved a 
 father and faithful friend to the homeless orphan Malcomb, 
 and, a few years after his return to the Muscogees, took 
 him to Mobile, then occupied by the French, and placed him 
 in a school under the jurisdiction of a French family, who, 
 shortly after his guardian had left became so tyrannical, 
 oppressive and abusive, that young Malcomb resolved to 
 free himself from their cruelty by bidding them an in 
 formal adieu which would place him forever beyond their 
 power; and soon he embraced the opportunity presented, to 
 put his resolutions into effect, by some Indian traders visit 
 ing Mobile, to whom he attached himself on their return, 
 and thus was enabled to rejoice again in the freedom of a 
 forest home, among that race of people who never forsook a 
 
-< HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 511 
 
 homeless and friendless orphan. He did not, however, re 
 turn to his former home under the roof of his benefactor, 
 Mclntosh, but stopped among- the Choctaws with whom he 
 remained several years, during- which he married a Choctaw 
 maiden by the name of Kanah hoyo (a seeker for somebody). 
 He lived happily with Kanahhoyo for several years, who 
 then dying 1 , he returned to the Chickasaws, his old friends, 
 and solicited citizenship which was readily and cheerfully 
 granted. After living- with them a few years, he married a 
 Chickasaw widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Harris, who was the old 
 est daughter of Molly Oxberry, and the mother of Governor 
 Cyrus Harris, of the Chickasaw Nation. 
 
 Malcomb McGee acted interpreter to the Chickasaws in 
 all their negotiations with the United States for nearly forty 
 years. He was greatly attached to the Rev. T. C. Stuart, 
 and when the Chickasaws were driven from their homes to 
 their present ones Malcomb McGee resolved to remain with 
 Mr. Stuart; and in his yard he lived nearly twelve years in a 
 neat little log house erected by his noble missionary friend 
 for his special use and benefit. But about the year 1848 his 
 daughter and her husband paid him a visit from their wes 
 tern home, and on their return persuaded him to return with 
 them to their western home, but he survived only a year af 
 ter his arrival. He died in the ninety-second year of his age 
 and was buried at Old Boggy Depot, in the\land of the Choc- 
 taws, also his long and faithful friends; and of Malcomb Mc- 
 gee and his Chickasaw and Choctaw friends, it well may be 
 said: 
 
 He that does the best his circumstances allow, 
 "Does well; acts nobly; Angels could do no more." 
 
 James Gunn, whose name is co^nmemorated in that of a 
 town called Gunntown, situated in Lee county, Mississippi, 
 was one among the six white men previously mentioned, 
 who at an early day cast their lot of life among the Chicka 
 saw people, preferring the happy freedom of that heroic 
 nation of people to all that was offered among* their own 
 race. James Gunn was a native Virginian, and also a fear 
 less and indomitable loyalist, who stood for the crown in the 
 troubled days of Charles the First and the Roundheads ; and 
 when he revolution proved triumphant, and the rising glory, 
 of these United States had been announced,, and also seemed 
 summoned to take their position among the great nations of 
 earth, the old royalist, disdaining the society of successful 
 rebels, "bade an adieu forever to the home of his youtl), and 
 sought.a more congenial one among the true native sons and 
 freemen of North America. He secured a wife among the 
 
512 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 wild forest flowers of the noted Chickasaw beauties of that 
 long" ago, selecting* one named Okashuah (Stinking" Wa 
 ter); a name, thoug-h not of classic fame or enviable signifi 
 cation, it is reasonable to presume, yet did not detract from 
 her. merits as an amiable and devoted wife and ^mother in 
 any particular whatever. They had only one daughter,, 
 named Molly, who married a Cherokee warrior named Ox- 
 berry, anil her oldest daughter by this marriage was named 
 Elizabeth, who became the mother of Governor Cyrus Har 
 ris; and another of her daughters, by the same marriage, 
 was, in 1890, living near Colbert Station, Chickasaw Nation, 
 I. T., at the advanced age of ninety-six, and is known as. 
 Grandma Alberson. Molly was also the mother of the cele 
 brated Chickasaw beauty named- Rhoda. James Gunn died, 
 in 1826 ; his age has not been preserved; but, it is said, he- 
 was a very old man at the time of his death. 
 
 Many young white sprigs who visited the Chickasaw" 
 Nation with the view of speculation, when they saw Rhoda, 
 the Chickasaw belle, the fairest rose that bloomed in the for 
 ests wild of that romantic age, felt their visions of lands, 
 negroes, mules, cotton bales and speedy fortunes vanish- as 
 mists before the morning surfy and though they sighed and 
 wooed, gazed in meditative solitude at the moon and stars, 
 and in hours of thoughtful mood gave birth to imaginative 
 verse on the Chickasaw nymph, 
 
 "Whose glossy locks to shame might bring 
 "The plumage of the raven s wing," 
 
 and in humble, yet loving, attitude, with promises many and 
 fair, solicited her heart and hand, but twas all in vain. The 
 inexorable Rhoda could not fancy those sprigs of white no 
 bility, nor judge a single one of them as a better substitute 
 for a husband than many* of the Cfyickasaw youths who had 
 never felt the blighting curse of avarice, noi; would sacrifice 
 a friend at the shrine of its demands; therefore turned away 
 from them and gave her youthful heart to one of her own 
 race, Samuel Colbert, a son of Major James Colbert; the ex 
 odus of her people soon following her nuptial day, she, with 
 them, bade a final adieu to the fair scenes of her joys and 
 soon the loveliness of the forest flower passed from the mem- " 
 ory of its former admirers as the evening star behind the 
 western hills to be thought of "Never More." She became 
 the mother of one daughter, but after living several years 
 with her husband a final separation, from some unknown 
 cause, took place between her and her husband. Several 
 years after which she married a man by the name of Joseph 
 Potts, who took a dose of strychnine through mistake for 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 513 
 
 quinine, in 1862, while at the house of Governor Cyrus Har 
 ris, and died from its effects in half an hour. A son of Gov 
 ernor Harris found the vial of strychnine in the road a few 
 rods from the house and brought it in, believing- it to be a 
 vial of quinine some one had accidentally dropped, and hence 
 the fatal and lamentable result. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF CYRUS HARRIS, EX-GOVERNOR OF 
 THE CHICKASAW NATION. 
 
 Cyrus Harris, who was of the House Emisha taluyah 
 (pro. E, we, mish-ar, beyond, ta-larn-yah, putting- it down) 
 was born, as he stated to me, three , miles south of 
 Pontotoc, Mississippi, on the 22nd of August, . 1817. He 
 died at his home on Mill Creek, Chickasaw Nation. He 
 lived with his mother until the year 1827, when he was sent 
 to school at the Monroe Missionary Station, at the time that 
 Rev. Thomas C. Stuart, that noble Christian missionary and 
 Presbyterian minister, had charge of the school, and in 
 which many Chickasaw youths, both male and female, were 
 being- educated. In 1828, he was taken, to the state of Ten 
 nessee by Mr. Hugh Wilson, a minister also of the Old 
 School Presbyterian faith and order, and placed in an Indian 
 school located on a small stream called Roberson Fork, in 
 the county of Giles. This humble little Indian school was 
 taught by a man named William R. McNight. Cyrus, at 
 the close of the year 1829, had only been taught the rudi 
 ments of an English education, to spell in the spelling-book 
 and read in the New Testament. In the early part of the 
 year 1830, he took up the study of geography and reading in 
 the first and second readers, which terminated his school 
 boy days, as he returned home that year and never attended 
 school again. When he returned to his home he found it va 
 cated; but learned that his mother had moved to a place 
 near a little lake then known as .Ishtpufahaiyip (pro. Isht- 
 poon-fah,-Horn, haiyip, lake), eighteen miles south-west of 
 the present .city of .Memphis, Tennessee. ^Thither he at 
 once ; turned his. steps, and soon found his mother in her new 
 home, where he remained but a : short time (then thirteen 
 years, of. age), as he was soon sent to stay a while with art old 
 lady as company for her, whose husband a short time before, 
 had been killed by a Choctaw who had been adopted by the 
 . Chickasaws. , r ..- r , : ; . : . ;-,-. ! , 
 
 Cyrus remained a few months with the bereaved widow, 
 but .he became, ; so lonely^ there ,being : no neighbors, nearer 
 than tfrree, miles, that -his boyish heart could .endure t it no 
 longer; though he amused himself. the best he^ould by hunt 
 ing. and shooting rabbits, squirrels and birds .with his. bow 
 
514 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 and arrows, often visiting- his mother living- a few miles 
 distant. He again returned to his mother but to remain a 
 short time as before; as his uncle by marriage, Martin Col 
 bert, a most excellent man employed him to come and assist 
 him with his stock. 
 
 Cyrus Harris who spoke both the Chickasawand English 
 languages, having 1 learned from a friend that there was a de 
 mand for interpreters, sought at once the land office estab 
 lished at Pontotoc, three miles from the home of his birth, 
 and fortunately succeeded in securing a position as clerk in 
 a dry goods store, and also to interpret for one John Bell, 
 who was then Surveyor General, but kept a trading house. 
 He remained only a short time as clerk, for he soon obtained 
 a more lucrative position in that of acting as interpreter for 
 the deputies of John Bell and one Robert Gordon who were 
 partners in buying lands. At this time the United States 
 Agent and the Chickasaw commissioners were busy in locat 
 ing lands. Land speculators followed up the agent and com 
 missioners, that no opportunity might be lost in which a 
 profitable -speculation might be made. 
 
 Cyrus Harris now became an indispensable personage in 
 the firm of Bell & Gordon. In 1839 the land sales were 
 brought to a close and the Chickasaws were then informed, 
 without equivocation, that their room was more desired than 
 their presence; and as nothing more could be made out of 
 them, they could now go West or to the devil, it made no dif 
 ference which, so they were expeditious in the matter. Cy 
 rus Harris was appointed as one of the interpreters to in 
 form the Chickasaws to meet at once in council and appoint 
 the day in which they would depart from their ancient heri 
 tage, now passed into the hands of the Philistines; and the 
 long cherished and loved scenes that make life doubly dear 
 to the heart. The Whites having now no longer need of the 
 cloak of friendship and good will to hide the hideous defor 
 mity of their hypocrisy, hurled it from them with unassum- 
 ed disgust and stood forth in their native ugliness. 
 
 The Chickasaws at once took up their line of march 
 westward, feeling that rather than abide such a tempest of 
 rascality as was daily exhibited before their eyes in the wild 
 and crazy scuffle for a few acres of earth by wliich to quench 
 their raging thirst for gain, they would flee even from heaven 
 did such a stream of strife and corruption threaten an en 
 trance there. 
 
 On the first of November, 1837, Cyrus Harris, with his 
 mother and a family of friends, left forever their homes and 
 native couiftry, now in the clutches of their assumed friends, 
 the Whites, to join the emigration, then awaiting transp^rta- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 515 
 
 tion at Memphis, Tennessee, which soon arrived, and the 
 greater part of the Chickasaws, under the jurisdiction of 
 one A. 1 Upshaw, the emigration agent, left for Fort Coffee, 
 Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, by way of steamboats. 
 Cyrus Harris and mother, with a few other families,- went 
 through by land to Fort Coffee. When they had arrived 
 there they learned that their friends were encamped near 
 Schullyville (Schully, a corruption of the word Tuli the full 
 word being Tuliholisso money paper, or paper money; a 
 place where the Government paid them their annuities), but 
 the "ville" part of it is unquestionably English. 
 
 Harris remained in camp at Schullyville about two 
 weeks; then, with several families, started to find a desira 
 ble place for settling, and finally located on Blue river. 
 This was in 1838. While living there he was induced to 
 " -enter the political arena of his country. In 1850 a council 
 was convened at Boiling Springs, in Ponola (Cotton) county, 
 in which he was appointed to accompany Edmond Pickens 
 to Washington City to arrange some national business, which 
 proved ineffectual from some injudicious recommendation. 
 
 On returning home -Mr. Harris sold his place on Blue 
 river and settled at Boggy Depot. He resided there a year, 
 and again sold out and moved to a point on Pennington 
 Creek, about a mile west of Tishomingo, where he remained 
 until November, 1855. Not satisfied there, he once more 
 sold and moved to a place on Mill creek, where he still lived 
 in 1884. In ; 1854 he was again appointed a delegate, with 
 several others, to Washington City. In 1856, after the adop 
 tion of the Chickasaw Constitution, he was elected governor 
 of the Chickasaw Nation. Having served two years, with 
 commendable discretion and sound judgment, he was re- 
 elected, and filled the gubernatorial chair for two more 
 years, sustaining himself with equal credit and honor, after 
 which he was elected two more terms, serving his people 
 with the same integrity. During his four terms of eight 
 years, peace, harmony and prosperity prevailed throughout 
 the Chickasaw Nation. 
 
 In 1876 ex-Governor Cyrus Harris was again brought be 
 fore the Chickasaw people as a candidate for the office of 
 Governor, but was defeated by his opponent, B. F. Overton, 
 who served his people faithfully and satisfactorily through 
 his first term, and at the next election was re-elected. In 
 1880 Cyrus Harris was again brought out by his friends, con 
 trary to his wishes, and was pronounced elected by the Leg 
 islature, but, it was said, votes were counted out just enough 
 to illegally elect his friend, B. C. Burney, a man highly es 
 teemed by the people. Ex-Governor Harris then and there 
 
516 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 announced that he had forever withdrawn frorn^ the political 
 field, and he has strictly adhered to his determination. 
 
 Since writing the above the sad tidings of the death of 
 ex-Governor Cyrus Harris, that noble patriot and true phil 
 anthropist, was announced in the following obituary: 
 
 "Died at his residence, Mill Creek, Chickasaw Nation, 
 Friday, the 6th, Cyrus Harris, ex-governor of the Chicka- 
 saws. He was buried on the 7th inst. at the family ceme 
 tery in Mill Creek." 
 
 "To record the passage from life to eternity is the sad 
 dest and gravest duty that falls to the lot of the journalist. 
 ..The more so, when he announces the death of one whose; 
 loss will be deeply and widely regretted; one beloved of all 
 men, whose place can never be filled in the homes anci hearts- 
 of his people. In recording the death of ex-Governor Har- 
 ris, we are fully aware of this fact; for not within the range 
 of man s recollection has any member of the Chickasaw 
 tribe impressed himself so favorably, so deeply and effect 
 ually upon his generation. 
 
 "His public and private character were wrought in the 
 same mould; both equally incorruptible. The low, the 
 base, the avaricious, were elements foreign to his existence, 
 Awhile the chambers of his heart were ever lighted for the 
 reception of such warm impulses and philanthropic ideas as 
 are rarely met with, save in natures of the noblest type. 
 Despite his progressive ideas, Cyrus Harris was an Indian 
 in the truest sense, a patriot and a leader of his people. His 
 country was his greatest care; so whether engaged in legis- 
 ture, in administration, or. dwelling peaceably in his humble 
 cottage, his heart and brain were alike harnessed to his 
 country s welfare. His generosity and his self-sacrifice 
 were finely displayed in his last executive act. His election 
 by the people being disputed by the House, in order to avoid 
 Apolitical trouble, he withdrew and retired into private life. 
 
 "There is no reward in this world for that which is in 
 corruptible; naught save the approbation of the good and 
 the wise. But how meager that reward, after a lifetime of 
 unselfish labor. Therefore, may the wish grow spontane 
 ously in .every sorrowing heart, that a new and everlasting 
 recompense lies, within reach of the departed chief. 
 
 "To the grief-stricken relatives of Governor Harris, and 
 to the Nation that mourns a true friend and a wise Counsel 
 lor, the Independent offers its most sincere and lasting, sym 
 pathy." 
 
 Verily, .that no truer words than the above eyer, formed 
 an obituary, may safely be^said, is the,, universal response ctf 
 all who were personally acquainted with" him who forms- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 517 
 
 this subject, a ,man, though a North American Indian, of 
 whose race ignorance and egotism declare there is none 
 good but those dead, yet unsurpassed in noble virtues, moral 
 stamina and social graces; and whom neither flatteries, nor 
 censures, proffered wealth. nor homes, could seduce from 
 the path of virtue and honor. 
 
 Logan Colbert married a native Chickasaw woman by 
 whom he had four sons, George, John, William and Levi; 
 all of whom arose to prominence and exerted a salutary in 
 fluence among their people, and became men of authority 
 and distinction. He also had another son by a second 
 marriage, named James, who fell not behind his dis 
 tinguished brothers. 
 
 Why Logan Colbert came to cast his lot at so early 
 an age and so far from the land of his nativity, among the 
 people so remote r from all the English settlements, are prob 
 lems that never will be solved, though it may be conjectured 
 with some show of probability, that he came with some of 
 the early English traders and adventurers who assisted the 
 Chickasaws in their wars against the French. At an early 
 day he was a renowned -leader among them, and to that de 
 gree of ce lebrity, that one of the names given to the Missis 
 sippi river by the early French writers, during the days of 
 their wars with that people with whom he had identified 
 himself, was Rivere de Colbert sustaining the conjecture, 
 that -Logan Colbert was the name of the most famous chief 
 among the Chickasaws; who at that time swayed the sceptre 
 of absolute authority over the country alono" the east banks 
 of the Mississippi river to the great annoyance and danger of 
 the French in ascending and descending that mighty stream. 
 Though little else of the life of Logan Colbert has escaped 
 oblivion, except he lived, he died; yet his name has been 
 handed down to posterity in that of his noble line of descend 
 ants, who figure upon the pages of Chickasaw history as be 
 ing among the influential families of that Nation. 
 
 Colonel George Colbert, in the prosperous days of the 
 Chickasaw people, lived three or four miles west of what is 
 now known as the town of Tupelo, Mississippi, (Tupelo is a 
 corruption of Tuhpulah To call or shout). George Colbert 
 became to be the most wealthy of the four brothers and was, 
 in his personal appearance and manners, very prepossess 
 ing. He did not act in any public capacity, yet he exerted a 
 .great personal influence as a private citizen. He was a true 
 conservative in sentiment and in spirit. He regarded his 
 people, the Chickasaws, uninfluenced by the Whites and un- 
 contaminated by their vices, as having reached the point of 
 national progress most favorable to virtue and earthly hap- 
 
518 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 piness; therefore, he opposed all innovations as an evil which 
 wisdom, virtue and patriotism loudly disapproved; and seem 
 ingly with much justice, since the Chickasaws (like the Choc- 
 taws) were a virtuous people before the Whites came and in 
 troduced their vices among" them; therefore, he was an out 
 spoken enemy to missions, to schools, to whiskey, in short, 
 to all the good as well as the evils that were being imported 
 into his then happy country, having learned by experience 
 and observation that the evil introduced by the tVhites coun 
 terbalanced the good in point of amount as five to one; yet 
 he failed to shape the policy of his Nation in accordance 
 with his views, for the missionaries came and introduced. * 
 Christianity and established it upon a firm basis in spite of 
 the whiskey-traders and others who followed closely in their 
 wake, with all their concomitant vices, who seemed to delight 
 in thwarting the noble efforts of those devoted and self-sac 
 rificing men of God (even as they do at the present day), 
 that they might the more easily drag the Indians down to 
 their own degraded level. 
 
 To escape the demoralizing influences of such degraded 
 characters, and not the missionaries, did George Colbert 
 advocate the emigration of his people to the remote wilds, 
 of the west, where he hoped and believed the evil tide of 
 innovation would be arrested which threatened to engulf his 
 people, if they remainedun their ancient domains, and sweep 
 away in its mighty current of iniquity all the Chickasaw old 
 land marks of their moral foundations. In that distant land, 
 so remote (then considered) from the whites, he fondly cher 
 ished the belief that his nation would throw off the manners 
 and customs of the whites which they had already adopted, 
 and return to the old paths of that simplicity of life in which 
 their progenitors had walked for ages unknown. But he 
 was doomed to disappointment, for not only the missionaries 
 went with his people to their new homes to be found in the 
 west, but the whiskey peddler and his congenial spirits, not 
 to be thus cheated out of their victims, soon, followed on 
 their track with the zeal of their master, the devil, where . 
 they have been hovering around the outskirts of the Chicka 
 saw Nation, and often sneaking within, from that day to this, 
 as they have been doing around in the territories of all In 
 dians; and though the Chickasaw people, alike with all their 
 race, have had to fight the devil and his imps in an unequal 
 contest, being hampered by the government of the United 
 States in its, laws regarding its worthy sons of freedom, 
 whose-proclivities lead them to indulge their "glorious inde 
 pendence" regardless of all laws and every principle of 
 truth, justice and honor, in regard to whiskey in particular;, 
 
 1 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 519 
 
 yet the Chickasaws and Choctaws have made that wilder 
 ness, to which they were banished, blossom as the rose, 
 while Georg-e Colbert sleeps beneath the soil under the 
 shades of the forest trees in the present country of his 
 noble people, the Chickasaws. He lived and died firmly ad 
 hering" to the principles which he believed to be the greatest 
 interest to his country. He was a true patriot, and loved 
 the simple manners of the olden times, and could not yield 
 them to give place to modern customs with their accompany 
 ing vices; and who can blame him?, Alas! the Indians, 
 everywhere on this North American continent, have been 
 compelled to pay a higher price for the few crumbs of Chris 
 tianity that they have been allowed to pick up and convert 
 to the use of their starving- souls than any race of people 
 that ever lived, since the divine command of the world s 
 Redeemer bade his apostles, "Go ye into all the world and 
 preach my Gospel." 
 
 General William Colbert was a man of a military turn of 
 character, and in that capacity rose to considerable dis 
 tinction in the "Creek War" of 1814. He won the confidence 
 of General Andrew Jackson in that war, by his manly bear 
 ing and noble conduct, and was presented by Jackson, as a 
 testimonial of his esteem, with a fine military coat made 
 after the American style, which Colbert carefully kept to 
 the close of his life as one among 1 the most highly treasured 
 relics of the past, and only wore it on important national 
 occasions. He lived a few miles south of a little place then 
 known as Tokshish a corruption of the word Takshi, (bash 
 ful). He died in 1826, honored by his people while living-, 
 and mourned by them when dead as an irreparable national 
 loss. . 
 
 Major Levi Colbert resided near a place then known as 
 Cotton Gin. He was truly a man wise in the councils of his 
 Nation and valiant in defense of his Nation s rig-hts. In 
 early manhood, or rather in boyhood, he was elevated by an 
 act of gallantry to the high position of "Itta wamba micco," 
 as has been so oft published by diif erent writers, and mean 
 ing, as given in the wisdom of their interpretation, "Bench 
 Chief, or King of the Wooden Bench." There is no such 
 word in the Chickasaw language as "Itta wamba micco," and 
 it can be but the fabrication of imaginative ig-norance. The 
 Chickasaw words for Bench Chief (if there ever was such a 
 personage among them) would be,"Aiobinili (a seat) falaia 
 (long) Miko (chief) >^ro. Ai-ome-bih-ne-lih-far-li-yah : Meen- 
 koh, The chief on the long- seat .or bench in our phrase 
 ology, O^he Chief in the Chair of State. 
 
 Major Levi Colbert s act of gallantry, by which he was 
 
520 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 at once elevated to the high position of chief, consisted in 
 having defeated, when but a youth, a war party of Mus- 
 cogees who had invaded the Chickasaw Nation, at a time 
 when all the warriors of the invaded district were away 
 from home on a hunting excursion. Young Levi at once 
 collected the old men and boys and formed them into a war 
 company and started for the depredating Creeks, whom he 
 successfully drew into an artfully planned ambuscade, by 
 which all the Muscogees were slain, not one being left to re 
 turn to his own country and tell of their \ complete destruc 
 tion! The little stream upon whose banks the battle took 
 place was afterwards called (so says a writer in one of his : 
 published articles) "Yahnubly," and gives its signification 
 as "All killed"; buf unfortunately for his erudition, no such 
 word is known in the Chickasaw language. There is, how 
 ever, the word yanubih (pro. yarn-ub-ih) in their language 
 but its signification is iron-wood. While the Chickasaw 
 words for "All killed" (same as the Choctaw) are moma- 
 ubih; the land or place where all were killed. 
 
 x When the warriors returned from their hunt and learn 
 ed of the battle and to whom the safety of their families was 
 due, and also the honor of the victory, a council was imme-- 
 diately called and the young hero summoned to attend; when/ 
 he appeared and the statement of facts had been laid before 
 them, they, without a dissenting voice, and "as men who 
 quickly discerned true merit and knew how to appreciate it, 
 elevated him to the responsible position of a chief in their 
 Nation. 
 
 The following publication appeared a few years ago as a 
 valuable piece of Chickasaw history: "Ittawamba was the 
 name of an office. The word signifies King of the Wooden 
 Bench. The individual who held the high title was elected 
 by the national council. A part of the imposing ceremony 
 by which the officer elected was initiated was as follows: 
 At a given signal he jumped from a wooden bench to the 
 floor in the hall of state where the magnates of the Nation 
 sat in conclave. At the moment his feet touched the earth 
 the whole of tire assembly exclaimed Ittawamba! The hon 
 ored individual who heard this voice became the second mag 
 istrate of the Nation. Thus he received the orders of Chick 
 asaw Knighthood, Ittawamba micco, or Bench Chief." 
 
 No doubt of it. But the greater mystery is, how anyone 
 could jump "from a wooden bench to the floor in the hall of 
 state," and the moment his feet touched the earth," not to 
 become instantly a notorious "Bench Chief." Verily, a prob 
 lem that must be left for solution to the unprecedented wis 
 dom of the author of the above historical piece of informa- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 521 
 
 :ion. But the whole article is such an exhibition of pitiable 
 nonsense, that in reading- it to some Chickasaw friends, they 
 ill exclaimed : "What a fool!" 
 
 The most ridiculous, absurd and utterly false articles 
 ire continually appearing in print, in regard to the Indians, 
 from the pens of those whose knowledge of that unfortunate 
 people, against whom lies enough have been fabricated and 
 published to satisfy the devil, is about as much as might be 
 expected to be found in an African Bushman. 
 
 But be what "Ittawamba" may, nevertheless the young 
 initiate., Levi Colbert, .after his initiation into its wonderful 
 mysteries, proved himself worthy to be not only a "king of 
 the wooden bench," but also, by his talents, purity of prin 
 ciples, energy and force of character, a king upon a regal 
 throne to bear rule over a natiem. For several years he 
 shaped the policy, and presided over the destinies of the 
 Chickasaw people with wisdom and discretion. , 
 
 On the 27th and 28th of September, L830, the Choctaws, 
 by. a .treaty with John Coffee and John Eaton, United States 
 commissioners, ceded their lands east of the Mississippi; 
 river to the United States. Major Levi Colbert, having 
 heard what they had done, immediately called upon his 
 friend, Mr. Stephen Daggette, and asked him to calculate 
 the interest for him of four hundred thousand dollars at 
 five, six, seven and eight per cent. The Cboctaws had taken- 
 government bonds at five per cent. ; Major Colbert at once 
 seeing that they had been badly and most outrageously 
 swindled, exclaimed in a loud and highly excited tone of 
 voice, "God! I, thought so." He then -informed .Mr. Dag 
 gette that he was anxious to obtain the calculation, that he 
 might : be enabled to explain it to his people in their own lan 
 guage. He also stated to Mr. Daggette that "the United 
 States would soon make an effort to buy the lands of the 
 Chickasaws also, and I want to be ready for them." 
 
 This conversation between Levi Colbert and jVTr. Dag 
 gette took place two years before the treaty with the Chick 
 asaws, which was mafre on the 20th of October, 183^, at the 
 house of a Chickasaw called Topulka a corruption of Tah- 
 pulah; (to halloo or make a noise), but was known, says a 
 writer of the yahnubbih and Ittawamba order of expounders, 
 in his publication, as "Pontaontac," which he also interprets 
 as signifying "Cat Tail Prairie"; but unfortunately for him 
 also, the Chickasaw words for his classic name "Cat Tail 
 Prairie" aVeKutus HasimbishOktak (pro. Kut-oos (cat) Har- 
 sim-bish (tail) Oke-tark (prairie); therefore he also must 
 seek elsewhere than in the Chickasaw language for his "Pon- 
 laontac" and its signification "Cat Tail Prairie," as there is 
 
522 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 ; 
 
 no such word in the Chickasaw language, nor in any other 
 North American Indian language, it is reasonable to sup 
 pose. Pontotoc, the name of a town in north Mississippi, 
 is a corruption, as has been before stated, of the words Pa 
 id Tukohli : grapes hung up; hanging grapes. 
 
 But such are the gross and ridiculous errors made by 
 those of the present age who not only prove their terrible 
 ignorance by their unmerciful butchery of the Indian lan 
 guages, but equally so in the exhibition of their shame 
 ful prejudice unreasonably cherished against that unjustly 
 persecuted people, concerning whom, in every particular, 
 they assume to be infinitely wise; and though totally ignor 
 ant of the subject, presume to talk and write about them 
 with arrogant duplicity to the 1 infinite injury of the Indians 
 and disgrace of their languages. 
 
 When the United States had resolved to gobble up the 
 Chickasaw country also, as they had the Choctaws two 
 years before, John Coffee was sent to the Chickasaw Nation 
 to order Ben Reynolds (the Chickasaw Agent) to imme 
 diately assemble the chiefs and warriors in council to effect 
 a treaty with them. 
 
 Three treaties (or rather articles) were drawn up, but 
 were promptly rejected by the watchful and discerning 
 Chickasaws. Then the fourth was written by the persist 
 ent Coffee ; but with the following clause inserted to catch 
 the noble and influential chief, Yakni Moma Ubih, the incor 
 ruptible Levi Colbert, which read as follows; "We hereby 
 agree to give our beloved chief, Levi Colbert, in considera 
 tion pf his services and expense of entertaining the guests 
 of the Nation, fifteen sections of land in any part of the 
 country he may select." "Stop! Stop! John Coffee!" shout 
 ed the justly indignant chief in a voice of thunder, "I am no 
 more entitled to those fifteen sections of land than the poor 
 est Chickasaw in the Nation. I scorn your infamous offer, 
 clothed under the falsehood of our beloved chief, and will 
 not accept it, sir." A frown of disappointment momentarily 
 rested, no doubt, upon the face of Coffee. 
 
 Then a fifth treaty was written out by Coffee, and the- 
 council again called together to consider upon its merits; 
 and which, after due deliberation, was finally accepted. 
 The Chickasaws agreed ( to take United States bonds, but 
 were unable to satisfactorily comprehend the six per cent 
 promised them, until their interpreter, Ben Love, illustrated 
 it as a hen laying eggs. That one hundred dollars would 
 lay six dollars in twelve months, which they at once fully un 
 derstood. But Ah! had that old hen inconsiderately roosted 
 one night in or near the Great Temple of American Liberty ~ 
 
* HISTORY OP THE INDIANS. 523 
 
 here would she have appeared ere the dawn of the return- 
 ig morn? Echo but answers, "Gentle shepherd -tell us 
 here"! 
 
 Ishtehotopa, the king, first walked up with a counte- 
 ance that betokened the emotions of one about to sign his 
 juntry s death warrant, and with a sad heart and tremb- 
 ng hand made his mark. Then Tishu Miko advanced 
 ith solemn mien and did likewise; then the other chiefs 
 ith countenance sad and forlorn; and last of all, the pure, 
 le noble Levi Colbert, whom gold could not buy, or cause to 
 3ver from the path of honor. 
 
 Soon after the treaty had been signed, Major Levi Col- 
 ert stated to Mr. Daggette he was not satisfied with some 
 lauses in the treaty which he did not at first correctly un- 
 erstand. Mr. Daggette advised him to go immediately to* 
 Washington and get it changed to his satisfaction before it 
 r as confirmed by the Senate. Colbert, with other delegates, 
 tarted immediately to Washington City, but only got as far 
 s his son-in-law, Kilpatrick Carter s, in Alabama, where he 
 as taken sick and died, to the great sorrow and loss of the 
 hickasaw Nation. The other delegates continued their 
 Durney to Washington, and secured the desired alteration, 
 i the treaty. 
 
 What attractive pictures for an art gallery would the 
 cenes presented at that treaty between the Chickasaw Na- 
 :on and the United States in 1832, at the humble home of 
 ^ahpulah, and the one two years before between the Choc- 
 aws and the United States. The United States, a great and 
 owerful nation, professing to be governed in all its actions 
 y the principles alone of Christianity. The Chickasawvand 
 fhoctaw Nations, weak, poor and unlettered, making no pro- 
 essions to intellectual attainments whatever. The former 
 sing its skilled ingenuity in deception, misrepresentation 
 nd falsehood to defraud; the latter, sustained by truth and 
 onor, watching and deliberating how best to successfully 
 leet the dire attack and come out of the unequal contest 
 /ith that alone that justice awards. The one representing- 
 he people of civilization, and Christianity; the other, the ^ 
 -eople of unpretending and unsophisticated nature. The 
 ne offering bribes: the other refusing to be bribed. The 
 ne called Christian; the other called heathen. But God is 
 he judge. 
 
 But, injustice, it must and shall be said of the Chicka- 
 aw Agent of 1832, Benj.. Reynolds,, that he was an honest 
 aan. As agent to the Chickasaw people for the United 1 
 -tates Mr. Reynolds annually paid them twenty thousand 
 iollars for several consecutive years as annuity. Previous 
 
524 - HISTORY OF .THE INDIANS. 
 
 to the treaty Mr. Daggette affirms he assisted Mr. Reynolds 
 in paying to the Chickasaws their annuities, and that Mr. 
 JReynolds distributed the last cent among" them, giving 1 to 
 each, his or her dues honestly and justly, though every op 
 portunity was offered to defraud them, and lived and died an 
 honest and pure man; and then, no doubt, went above to re 
 ceive the glorious welcome, "Well done, thou good and faith 
 ful servant." Such a government agent to the Indians at the 
 present day of boasted civilization and progress would be a 
 national prodigy, and ought to be, if possible to be found, 
 set up in a glass case at all the expositions the world over as 
 worthy to be. ranked with ;the Eight Wonders of the world 
 .as the meritorious Ninth/ t . 
 
 James .Colbert, the youngest of Logan Colbert s sons, 
 was also, as his renowned brothers, a man of great integ 
 rity and firmness of character. He acted, for many years, 
 in the capacity of the .national secretary .* The archives 
 of the Chickasaw Nation were placed in his hands for safe 
 keeping, the majority of which being in his own hand -writ 
 ing; and truly it may be said, antiquaries, in coming years 
 of the far future, may decipher with much interest and 
 profit, the documents written by James Colbert. 
 
 Thomas Love, who, at an early day, also identified 
 himself, with the Chickasaw people by marriage, had six 
 sons, viz: Henry, Benjamin, (who acted in the capacity of 
 interpreter for the Chickasaws for many years) Isaac. 
 Slone, William and Robert. All of whom have died, except 
 Robert, who was known as Bob Love. 
 
 The Chickasaws, in common with all the Indians of the 
 South, possessed many fine orators whose orations were 
 eloquent, persuasive and full of animation; and it is a ques 
 tion of great doubt if the White Race ever found" among 
 their uneducated citizens a single orator who could respect 
 ably compare with hundreds of unlettered orators among 
 the Indians of the South, or even of any of the North Ameri 
 can Indians. As a race of people the Chickasaws were tall, 
 elegantly proportioned, erect and muscular, with a square 
 forehead, high cheek bones, compressed lips and dark peney 
 trating eyes. In their councils (like all other Indians) grave 
 and dignified, and never indulged, under any circumstances, 
 in noisy harangues; they spoke slowly, distinctly and to the 
 point. It is, and has always been, the universal declaration 
 and belief of the Whites that the North American Indians 
 are taciturn, grave, and never smiled or indulged in merri 
 ment or laughter under any circumstances. This is a great 
 error, and but a repetition of the same old edition of the 
 same old story, which, like all else said and written and pub- 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 525 
 
 lished about the North American Indians, was begotten by 
 ignorance, conceived in duplicity and brought forth in pre 
 judice to say the least of it. Never did a more jovial, good 
 natured and light hearted race of people exist upon earth 
 than the North American Indians. True, they were grave 
 and taciturn in the presence of strangers, and the reason is 
 obvious. The white people (excepting the old missionaries 
 of the long ago), in all their actions among them, and in all 
 their conduct toward them, have ever and everywhere as 
 sumed an air of superiority over them, which the Indians 
 have ever justly denied; and which justly created in their 
 minds pity for the foolish self-conceit and egotism of the 
 Whites, which seemed to them a lamentable weakness un~ 
 known and unseen before in the human race; and also cre 
 ated equal contempt for such a display of presumption and 
 evident want of sound judgment, or rather of common 
 sense; the natural consequences of which were taciturnity 
 and gravity when in the presence of such self-imagined au 
 gust specimens of humanity. 
 
 Even many ministers of the gospel, sent among the 
 Indians by the various denominations of the states to preach 
 to them, preach themselves instead of Christ, by indulging 
 in unmistakable bantam rooster airs of the superiority of 
 the whites over the red, detailing their opinions concerning 
 the progressive renovation that would have certainly ensued 
 in every department of their national and social affairs had 
 the Indians, from their first acquaintance w r ith the White 
 Race, had the good fortune to have enjoyed the advantages 
 of their ethical wisdom and profound theological erudition. 
 Often have I been an eye witness to many such exhibitions 
 of clerical imbecility during my frequent sojourns among 
 the Chickasaws and Choctaws within the last ten years; and 
 though as loquacious as Brazilian parrots, yet "Pretty Poll 
 wants a cracker" was in substance, the climax of their ser 
 mons, as Self was so highly esteemed a personage that they 
 were oblivious to all else. 
 
 But such was not the style of men, who in 1815-20, pro 
 claimed the glad tidings of great joy to the Southern Indians. 
 Far from it. They were men of deep piety; of firm resolu 
 tions; of Christian humility; of self sacrificing zeal; of humble 
 submission to the will of God; of unshaken faith in the 
 promise, "Lo! I am with you even to the uttermost parts 
 of the earth"; of indefatigable energy to lead the Red Race, 
 long wandering in the path of moral darkness, into the fold 
 of -Christ; of unalloyed loye for their souls and desire for 
 their salvation; of unassumed sympathy for them as ljuman 
 beings to whom the knowledge of maiiV Redemption 
 
526 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 through the Son of God had never been proclaimed; of ad 
 miration for their many virtues unsurpassed by any nation 
 of people upon earth, to whom the Gospel of Jesus Christ 
 had never been preached. Therefore, they visited them at 
 their homes in their humble log- cabins; sat down among 
 them in the family circle upon the bear skins spread upon 
 the cleanly swept dirt floor; and there proclaimed to them 
 concerning- Him of whom Moses and the prophets wrote; 
 slept upon their bear and panther skins in humble grati 
 tude for as much, when remembering- their Savior had not 
 where to lay his head; ate of their venison, tafulatobi 
 ibulhto (hominy mixed with beans), and botahkapussa (cold 
 flour). 
 
 They sang- and prayed with them in the morning; then 
 went with them to their little fields of growing corn and in 
 structed them in the art of agriculture and imparted to them 
 new ideas of home comforts. Thus they taught them every 
 where and on all occasions, both by precept and example. 
 They acknowledged them as human beings; and for them 
 also Christ purchased salvation upon the cross. Self was 
 not in all their thoughts, only to preserve it for usefulness in 
 the cause of their Divine Master in bringing the Red Race 
 of the south into his fold. What was the result ? Mutual 
 confidence and disinterested love and friendship prevailed 
 everywhere between the appreciative Indians and those mis 
 sionaries, men and women, all true servants of God; and 
 the five civilized tribes (as they are now called) stand today 
 as living monuments of the salutary effects of the teachings 
 of those self-sacrificing men and women of seventy- five 
 years ago true and devoted servants of Jesus Christ in the 
 salvation of their fellow men found and acknowledged in the 
 North American Indians. 
 
 The ancient Chickasaws were the most famous trailers 
 of all the southern Indians. Their skill in this art was truly 
 astonishing, and seemed almost superhuman. I call it an 
 art; and it is as much so as is painting or sculpture, while 
 almost as few become proficient in it as in the handling of 
 brush or chisel. Art, or by whatever name it may be called, 
 yet it requires constant practice and much knowledge of 
 nature, in all its variations, to learn it thoroughlv ; and I be 
 lieve it more natural for an Indian to become a trailer of 
 man or beast than a white man, as they seemed to acquire 
 by intuition what the white has to learn from a life-time of 
 study. Here and there, I ll admit, a white man may be 
 found who becomes an expert, yet the boasted leaders of 
 civilization fall far behind the natural-born trailers, the North 
 American Indians. Who could learn, through the medium 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 527 
 
 of books or any other way pf instruction, but that of a life 
 time experience, to determine the age of a trail of man or 
 beast correctly, or tell the number of an enemy and how 
 long" since they had passed the spot which you may be ex 
 amining-? Yet the ancient Chickasaw warrior, in his palmy 
 days seventy-five years ago, could do it, and even what tribe 
 of Indians had made a given trail, its age, and all the partic 
 ulars as correctly as though he had seen them pass. Truth 
 fully did an Indian once exclaim : 
 
 "White man travel with his eyes shut and mouth open," 
 alluding to his propensity to talk. "Indian travel all day; 
 say nothing, but see everything." How true! Nothing es 
 caped his observation, whether alone or with others; while 
 the white man talks incessantly and sees nothing but the 
 general features of the things he is passing; therefore, can 
 scarcely retrace his steps for any great distance in a country 
 he has never traveled before; while it is impossible to lose an 
 Indian in any country, no matter how strange or new. No 
 matter how difficult or circuitous has been the route by which 
 he has arrived at any place, the Chickasaw would, with ease, 
 find his way back whence he started without hesitating a 
 moment which course to pursue. When asked how he did it 
 he may reply, Siah (I am) a chuffa [one) kutah (who) ikhanah 
 (remembers); though often he would make no reply. No 
 matter how loquacious he may have been at home or else 
 where, when upon the warpath or the chase he was silent. 
 The North American Indian was nearly as certain 
 in predicting the weather, as a barometer, and his 
 knowledge of the characteristics of the wild animals of his 
 ancient forests would be a prize indeed to the naturalist. 
 
 As warriors and hunters the Chickasaws of seventy-five 
 years ago had few equals, but no superiors, among the North 
 American Indians. They were unerring marksmen with 
 the rifle and capable of enduring seemingly incredible fa 
 tigue. They would follow the tracks of their game and the 
 signs left by their human enemies for hours, where the eyes 
 of the white man would not detect any sign of a foot-print 
 whatever. When hunting or upon the war-path, if they 
 came upon deserted camp-fires or human foot-prints they 
 could tell to what tribe they belonged and whether friends 
 or foes. 
 
 As an illustration of their skill in discerning and inter 
 preting landmarks and signs, I will here relate a little inci 
 dent proving the wonderful skill and ingenuity displayed 
 in ascertaining facts with regard to anything of which they 
 desired to inform 1 themselves. 
 
 In the years of long ago, a Chickasaw had a ham of veni- 
 
528 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 son taken from his little log" hquse in which he kept his stock 
 of provisions during- the absence of himself and family. 
 He described r the thief as being- a white man, low stature, 
 lame in one leg 1 , having- a short gun, and accompanied by a 
 short-tail dog. When requested to explain how he could be 
 so positive, he answered: "His track informed me he was a 
 white man by his shoes, Indian wear moccasins; he stood on 
 the toes of his shoes to reach the venison ham, which told 
 me he was a low man; one foot made a deeper and plainer 
 impress upon the ground than the other as he walked, which 
 told me he was a lame man; the mark made by the breech of 
 a gun upon the ground and the one made by its muzzle upon 
 the bark of the tree against which it had leaned, told me he 
 had a gun and it was a short gun; the tracks made by a dog 
 told me of his presence; and the impress he made where he 
 sat upon the ground to the end of that made bv his tail, as 
 he wagged it, was but a finger s length which told me the 
 dog s tail was short." What white man would ever have 
 thought to look for, or discovered such evidences in identi 
 fying a thief? 
 
 Among the ancient Chickasaws, descent was established 
 in the female line ; thus the ties of kinship converged upon 
 each other until they all met in the granddaughter; and 
 thus every grandson and granddaughter became the grand 
 son and granddaughter of the whole tribe, since all the un 
 cles of a given person were considered as his fathers also ; 
 
 .and all the mothers sisters were mothers; the cousins, as 
 brothers and sisters; the nieces, as daughters; and the 
 nephews as sons. They, as all their race, believed in the 
 
 /existence of one great, everywhere-present and over-ruling 
 spirit, whom they held in the highest reverence, and de 
 voutly worshipped; as to him were attributed the gifts of 
 peace, prosperity and happiness, abundant harvests of corn, 
 beans, pumpkins and success in war and the chase. They 
 also equally believed in the existence of an evil spirit, to 
 whom they attributed the cause of all misfortunes ; and here 
 came in the power and innnence of the wonder-working 
 "medicine man," or "prophet," who professed to have at 
 tained texa thorough knowledge of both good and evil spirits, 
 and also the ability to command their influence for good or 
 evil, by fasting and prayer and mystic ceremonies. 
 
 However, the usages, manners, customs, beliefs and 
 habits of life, national and social amusements of the Chicka 
 saws were, in many respects the same as the Choctaws, and 
 what may be said of the one, may with equal truth be said of 
 the other. 
 
 Among the ancient Chickasaws and Choctaws there 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 529 
 
 was a tradition concerning- the origin of a little lake 
 in Tibih swamp. Oktibihha county, Mississippi. This 
 isolated lake which I have oft visited on fishing- excur 
 sions, has long been known as Greer s lake, and is about 
 a half a mile long and one hundred feet or more wide. The 
 tradition is as follows: In the years of the long- past, 
 many generations before the advent of the White Race, a 
 Chickasaw hunter and his wife, with two little children, 
 (a boy and girl) were camped in the Tibih swamp near a 
 little hole of water formed by the roots of a fallen tree. One 
 morning- the hunter and his wife went out in pursuit of 
 game leaving* their children, as usual, in camp. On their 
 return late in the evening, they^ were stupified with horror 
 and amazement to find that their camp was swallowed up by 
 the earth, and this lake lay stretched over the spot. But 
 while, gazing upon the scene perplexed and terrified, they 
 beheld two enormous snakes swimming upon the newly 
 formed lake and coming directly towards them, which, 
 caused them to- flee from the spot in great consterna 
 tion. The sudden formation of the lake was ascribed by 
 them to some miraculous agent, and by the same power, 
 their children had been transformed into the two great 
 water snakes; and such was the credulity of the Chickasaws 
 and Choctaws in the account given of the wonderful event 
 by the Chickasaw hunter and his wife, that down through 
 all subsequent years, even to the time of their emigration 
 west, the lake and its immediate surroundings were held in 
 superstitious awe. Nor would they live nor approach any 
 where near it. Varied and many were the views concerning 
 its strange and sudden formation; all, however, agreeing 
 that it was brought into existence by the wrath of the Great 
 Spirit, and became the abode of evil spirits ever after 
 wards. 
 
 The ancient Chickasaws once practised the custom ofex- 
 tinguishing the fire in every house in their Nation at the close 
 of every year, and let them so remain during three succes 
 sive days and nights, while the occupants retired to the 
 woods where they remained. By this means they believed 
 they would rid themselves of all witches and evil spirits; 
 since, when they came three successive nights and found no 
 fire they would conclude the family had left their former 
 place of abode to return no more; therefore they also would 
 depart to never return. Then all the Chickasaws returned 
 to their homes, built new fires and were happy, being freed 
 from the fear of witches. 
 
THE NATCHEZ. 
 
 On February llth, 1700, De Iberville, Bienville, Perri- 
 caul and Tonti ascended the Mississippi river as far west as 
 the present city of Natchez. They were kindly received (so 
 states the journalist) by the great chief, or sun, as he was 
 termed, surrounded by six hundred of his warriors, who, 
 according- to their own account, had formerly been a great 
 nation. On the 13th the party left Natchez and visited the 
 villages of the Taensas, the customs and habits of whom 
 were the same as the Natchez, being evidently a branch of 
 the latter. .During their stay the sacred temple of these 
 Indians was struck by lightning and burned to ashes. To 
 appease the Sun God, the poor, infatuated women threw 
 themselves, anci parents, their children, into^the consuming 
 flames of the burning temple. Perricaul, who was one of 
 the witnesses of the fearful scene, thus wrote of it: "We 
 left the Natchez and coasted along to the right, where the 
 river is bordered with high, gravelly banks for a distance of 
 twelve leagues. At the extremity of these bluffs is a place 
 called Petit Gulf, on account of the whirlpool formed by the 
 river for the distance of a quarter league. Eight leagues 
 higher up we came to Grand Gulf, which we passed a short 
 distance above, on the right hand side. We landed to visit a 
 village four leagues in the interior. These Indians are 
 called the Taensas. We were well received, but I never saw 
 a more sad sight, frightful and revolting spectacle than that 
 which happened the second day, 16th of April, after our 
 arrival in the village. A sudden storm burst upon us. The 
 lightning struck the temple, burned all their idols and re 
 duced the whole to ashes. Quickly the Indians assembled 
 around, making horrible cries, tearing* out their hair, eleva 
 ting their hands to heaven, their tawnv visages turned to 
 ward the burning temple, invoking their Great Spirit to 
 come down and extinguish the flames. The fathers and 
 mothers then brought their children, and after having stran 
 gled them, threw them into the flames. M. De Iberville was 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 531 
 
 horrified at seeing- such a cruel spectacle, and gave orders 
 to stop it, by forcibly taking from them the little innocents; 
 but with all our efforts seventeen perished in this manner, 
 and had we not restrained them, the number would have 
 been over two hundred." 
 
 Father Le Petit, Superior of the Jesuits, in speaking of 
 the Natchez Indians, whom he had visited at an early day, 
 says: "They inhabited a beautiful country, and were the 
 only tribe that seemed to have an established worship. This 
 temple resembled an earthen oven, or the back of a tortoise, 
 and was one hundred feet in circumference. They entered 
 it by one small door, and there was no window. . Above, on 
 the outside of the roof, were three wooden eagles painted 
 red, yellow and white. In front of the door was a shed 
 where the guardian of the temple kept watch. All around 
 was a circle of painted pickets, capped with the skulls of 
 their enemies who had fallen in battle. The interior was 
 lined with shelves on which were baskets, holding the bones 
 of their favorite followers, who had been strangled, to at 
 tend their masters in the spirit world, made of bark, pro 
 vided by the patriarchs of the tribe. No woman, except 
 the mother and sisters of the Great Sun, was allowe d to 
 ^nter the sacred edifice. The common people dared only to 
 approach the threshold. The sun was their deity; their 
 great chief was called by the same name, and he, in turn, 
 called the sun his brother. Every morning at dawn, attend 
 ed by his retinue, the chief ascended a mound to ^converse 
 with his celestial brother. As soon as the sun appeared in 
 the heavens, the chief saluted with a long howl, and then 
 waved his hand from east to west, and directed. what course 
 he should travel! When this personage dies, they demolish 
 his house arid throw up a mound, and on that they build a 
 d welling for ; the brother of the sun." 
 
 Perieault, who was at Natchez in 1703, and at which time 
 the Great Female Sun died, says: "She was really the Great 
 Sun in her own right. Her husband, who was not of the 
 blood royal, was strangled by their eldest son, so that in 
 death, as in life, he might be her submissive attendant and 
 howl to her ghost! On the ontside of her house they placed 
 all her effects on a scaffold and on these they deposited the 
 two corpses. They likewise put there the bodies of twelve 
 children whom they had just strangled. These children had 
 been brought by their parents, by order of the eldest son of 
 the deceased, who had the right, as her successor, to put to 
 death as many. as he thought necessary to wait on her in the 
 land of spirits. Fourteen other scaffolds were erected, 
 decorated with vines and rude paintings. These were in- 
 
532 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 tended for the bodies of the victims, whose nearest rela 
 tives, dressed irr festive robes, surrounded them with looks : 
 arid gestures expressive of satisfaction. They then in pro 
 cession marched to the great square in front of the temple 
 and began to dance. Four days thereafter they again form 
 ed in procession an^d began what is called the March of 
 Death from the square to the house of the deceased. The 
 fathers and mothers of the strangled children held the bodies 
 in their arms. The oldest of these did not appear to be over 
 three years. The relatives of these infants, with their hair 
 closely shaven, began to howl in the most frightful manner. 
 But the adults who were about to die danced around the 
 house of the dead princess, until finally it was set on fire 
 by her eldest son and successor. All then marched to the 
 great temple. .The parents who carried their strangled in 
 fants then threw them on the ground and began to dance. 
 When the body of the deceased princess was deposited in 
 the temple, the intended victims were undressed and seated 
 on the ground. A cord with a noose was passed around each 
 of their necks and deer skins thrown over their heads. The 
 relatives, who were the executioners, then stood to the right 
 and left of each victim and, at a given signal, all were stran 
 gled. The bodies were placed on scaffolds and the bones, 
 when dry, were deposited in baskets in the temple, and con 
 stituted a sort of patent nobility. It was a privilege and an 
 honor to die with the Sun." 
 
 Even as late as 1730 the Natchez had their temple in 
 which were kept their sacred fire continually burning. Ac 
 cording to their traditions, Du Pratz says: Their territo 
 ries extended to the River Manchos, or Iberville, which is 
 about 50 leagues from the sea, to the River Wabash, which 
 is distant from the sea about 450 leagues, and that they had 
 about 800 suns, or princess." 
 
 The Natchez, if . tradition may be believed, also came 
 from Mexico where thev had lived for centuries; and after 
 the fall of the Montezuma Empire, to which they were allies, 
 they, alike, with the Choctaw, Chickasaw and Muscogee, 
 fled from Spanish tyranny. They, too, followed the rising 
 sun from west to east, continuing a wandering life for many 
 years, and nnalty reached the Mississippi river, which they 
 crossed, and settled at a point on the river where the city 
 Natchez now stands, which was named for them. At that 
 time they were a numerous people, occupying a territory 
 extending from Natchez to Wabash, and claiming many 
 hundred sons, or members of the royal family. In 1716, 
 the French built. Fort Rosalie upon the bluff upon which 
 Natchez now stands, in which they quartered a company of 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 533 
 
 soldiers. In 1720, DePratz visited the Great Sun of the 
 Natchez, and was informed by him, that the Natchez were 
 -once a great people extending- over a vast region of country, 
 and ruled by many suns; that one of the keepers of the 
 Temple let the holy fire go out, and in his fright substituted 
 profane fire, thus endeavoring to conceal his negligence; but 
 which caused them to be visited by a dreadful disease which 
 ravaged their country for many years, sweeping thousands 
 of their people into an untimely grave. As the ancient 
 Persians, the Natchez kept a perpetual fire burning in their 
 iemples, which was never permitted fora moment to be- 
 -come extinguished. It is stated by some of the early 
 writers, that the Taensas and Mobelians, who were eventu 
 ally merged into the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, also 
 kept a perpetual fire burning in their temples, when known 
 by the Europeans in 1*721. It is said of the Natchez, "that 
 the sight was never shocked by .the appearance of deformity," 
 such as are so frequently observed among the White Race; 
 and with equal truth, the same may be said of all the North 
 American Indians. As all their race, so the Natchez used 
 "the bow and arrow as their instrument of offense and de 
 fense, which they used effectively against their enemies .in 
 war, and supplying themselves with the flesh of the great 
 variety of wild animals in which their endless forests then 
 abounded. They were also skilled in the art of dressing the 
 .skins of animals, and thus provided themselves with comfort 
 able clothing, suitable for both summer and winter, using as 
 needles for sewing purposes, the sharp bones of birds, and 
 for thread the sinews of small animals. Their houses, as 
 those of all their race, were made of rude materials, with 
 one door for ingress and egress, without floor or chimney, 
 but a little hole left in the roof about the centre of the room, 
 through which the smoke might pass out, if so disposed. 
 The Natchez women are said to have been very proficient 
 in making earthen ware for their domestic purposes, such 
 as pots, cups, bowls, etc.; and also very skillful in the art 
 of dying the skins of animals, their favorite colors being red, 
 yellow, white and black, used in alternate stripes, The 
 men were skilled in managing their canoes, some of which 
 measuring from twenty to thirty feet in length, by two br 
 three in width. In short, what has been said in regard to 
 the ancient manners and customs of the Choctaw and Chick 
 asaw, Cherokee, Muscogee and Seminole Indians is equally 
 applicable to the. Natchez, differing only (as all others, .-how 
 ever) in their traditions of the origin of man, the flood, 
 funeral ceremonies and burial of the dead. 
 
 In regard to the origin of man, the tradition of the 
 
534 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Natchez affirms that the Great Spirit molded the first man 
 out of clay, similar to that out of which they made their 
 earthen ware, and being 1 pleased with his work, breathed 
 life into it. After the first man was created, he Cthe man) 
 suddenly was taken with a violent paroxysm or fit of sneez 
 ing-, when suddenly a strange something jumped from his 
 nose to the ground, where it commenced to hop and dance 
 about, growing larger and larger, until it soon assumed the 
 form of a woman and finally grew to be a perfect woman. 
 
 . They also had another tradition in substance, as follows: 
 In ancient times a man and woman appeared among them who 
 descended from the sun. They were so dazzlingly bright that 
 human eyes could not look, upon them. The man informed 
 them that he had seen their wretchedness and inability to 
 properly govern themselves, and hacl been influenced through 
 compassion toleave his bright abode in, the sun and descend 
 to earth that he might instruct them how they might live 
 happily. H e therefore gave them some moral pirecepts, 
 among the most important were, first not to kill a man. but 
 in self-defense; second to have but one living wife; third 
 to be truthful; fourth to, be strictly honest; fifth to be 
 temperate; sixth to be generous; seventh to be charita 
 ble; eighth to help the poor in their distress. 
 1 The stranger s appearance and moral precepts inculca 
 ted greatly impressed the Natchez, and they at once conven 
 ed in solemn council during, the quiet hours of the night and 
 resolved, upon due deliberation, to request the man to be 
 their chief; and the next morning, with much pomp and cere 
 mony, proceeded to the house to which the stranger and his 
 wife had been consignee] for the night and earnestly solicited 
 him to become their chief. He at first declined their intend- 
 ed honor, assigning as his reason that he knew they would 
 not conform to his teachings, and in so doing, he was grieved 
 to state to them, the Natchez would work their own destruc 
 tion, terminating in utter extermination. But the Natchez, 
 earnestly pressing their request, the stranger finally yielded 
 to their solicitations, but with the following proviso: That 
 they would emigrate to a country which he would also lead 
 them, where they would be more prosperous and happy; 
 and tjiat they would strictly yield obedience to the laws and 
 regulations he would establish, for them, and that their fu 
 ture chiefs should be chosen from his descendants. To all 
 of which they acceded. He then commanded fire from the 
 sun which he gave them with positive ins tructions to keep it 
 burning 1 in two temples by the use of walnut wood stripped 
 of its bark as fuel, which -temples were to be built at the two- 
 extreme boundaries of the territory, to be inhabited by 
 " 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 535 
 
 them. Eight men were selected by his instruction to.. serve 
 as priests for each temple, whose imperative duty was to 
 guard the sacred fire by regular turns, and death was to be 
 the punishment of him who should, upon his watch, let the 
 fire go out; since their mysterious law-giver and chosen 
 chief predicted to them the most dreadful calamities if the 
 fire ever was extinguished in both temples at the same time. 
 And more, if by accident or otherwise, the fire should be 
 come extinguished in one of the temples the keepers were to 
 quickly relight it by obtaining fire from the other temple, 
 and from" nowhere else; still the guardians of the temple in 
 which the fire had been suffered to go out should not be per 
 mitted to obtain it from the other temple peacefully, since 
 blood must be spilt on the floor of the temple, as an atoning 
 sacrifice to the offended spirits; therefore, the one should re 
 sist the other in obtaining the desired fire, and the other 
 should obtain it, even at the ,cost of shedding blood. Im 
 plicit obedience was ever given to their foreign chief the 
 Lycurgus of the Natchez who lived! to an unusual old age, 
 and made, and was ever regarded as the founder of their laws 
 and institutions. After his death they gave his descendants 
 the title of Suns, from their supposed origin, who ever after 
 wards ruled, without opposition, in the inherited and prom 
 ised right of their great progenitor the mysterious law 
 giver from the sun. 
 
 Their tradition of the flood was: In ages past a mighty 
 flood of waters destroyed mankind, but a few who escaped 
 to a very high mountain, and by them the earth was again 
 repeopled. They believed in a Great Spirit, the creator and 
 ruler of the world, whom they regarded as being so good, 
 kind and benevolent, that it was impossible for him to do 
 wrong or to harm anything, even if he desired to do so. They 
 believed, however, in a multiplicity of evil spirits, by whom 
 all evil in the world was produced ; that once a mighty chief 
 ruled over these spirits, and he committed so much mischief 
 in the world among mankind that the Great Spirit chained 
 him in a dark prison; and the evil spirits, his subjects, have 
 not, since the loss of their chief, manifested so great desire 
 to do .mischief in the world, especially when humbly peti 
 tioned by respectful prayers. 
 
 They had many great national festivals, partaking much 
 of a religious character, since they were instituted and ob 
 served with a special view of returning thanks to the Great 
 Spirit for his continued care and protection. 
 
 They reckoned time by moons. Their year began in 
 March and was divided into thirteen moons; this being done 
 that the course of that planet might correspond with that 
 
536 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 of the sun, thus completing- the year. At each new moon a 
 great feast was celebrated, which was named from the fruits 
 peculiar to that season, or the particular game that was 
 hunted during- that moon. They celebrated the beginning 
 of the new year (March) with the moon festival, called the 
 deer; tq.them one of their greatest and most important festi 
 vals, as resting- upon an ancient tradition which was: In 
 the far distant past, a great sun, hearing- an unusual tumult 
 in a distant part of his village, hastened to the spot to learn 
 its cause, and was taken prisoner by the warriors of a hos 
 tile nation who had made an unexpected attack upon his vil 
 lage, having- taken it completely by surprise. His -people 
 soon recovering, however, from their momentary confusio n 
 arising- from the unexpected attack, and frantic by the wild 
 cry that was heard throughout the village that their chief 
 had fallen into the hands of their enemies, rushed in a solid 
 body to his rescue, and soon routed them with fearful 
 slaughter, and rescued their chief. In commemoration of 
 this great achievement so honorable in the archives of their 
 nation s history, the warriors, at the new moon of the deer, 
 engaged in a sham battle, in which the Great Sun took an 
 active part. Dividing themselves into two companies, the 
 one representing the warriors of the Great Sun, and the 
 other that of the enemy, the former desi^iated by a white 
 feather in the head-dress, the latter by a red. They con 
 cealed themselves in ambush in close proximity to the house 
 of the Great Sun. The warriors of the red feathers, under 
 the leadership of a chief renowned for deeds of daring, first 
 crept from their place of ambush and stealthily advanced 
 toward the house of the Great Sun. As soon as they came 
 in view, they rushed upon it with fearful yells. Then the 
 Great Sun rushed from his house, assuming great bewilder 
 ment, as if suddenly awakened from sleep; shouting their 
 fearful war-whoop, the assumed enemies rush upon the be 
 wildered chieftain and triumphantly carry him off. At this 
 juncture the warriors of the white feathers rush from their 
 place of concealment with deafening yells to the rescue of 
 their chief, in which were combined the wildest tones that 
 could express the passions of the human heart, and threw 
 themselves with terrific desperation upon the warriors of 
 the red feather, and then and there was exhibited a wild 
 scene of mimic warfare indescribable by words; and in 
 which even the Great Sun himself was not an idle spectator, 
 for his voice arose above the fearful din in words of cheer to 
 his warriors, while his wooden tomahawk was seen gleaming 
 in ascending and descending mimic strokes amid the strug 
 gling throng, apparently performing deeds of valor worthy 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 537 
 
 the Great Sun. Finally, the warriors of the red feather 
 seemingly began to waver, then fled in wild confusion worse 
 confounded, hotly pursued by those of the white feather 
 many miles; then they of the white feather returned to the 
 village, bearing- their chief amid shouts of victory and glad 
 ness. In speaking of these mimic battles, the French wri 
 ters, who were eye witnesses of the novel scene, state that 
 they were true to nature in all their particulars, producing a 
 complete illusion. 
 
 The second (April) was called the moon of strawberries, 
 in which the women and children gathered this delicious 
 fruit. The third (May) was called the moon of old corn, in 
 which they feasted upon the corn made the year before, 
 cooked in many different ways. The fourth (June), was 
 called the moon of watermelons, the fifth (July) was called 
 the moon of peaches. The sixth (August) was called the 
 moon of blackberries. The seventh (September) was called 
 the moon of new corn. The eighth (October) was called 
 the moon of the turkey. The ninth (November) was called 
 the moon of the buffaloes. The tenth (December) was 
 called the moon of the bears. The eleventh (January) was 
 called the moon of the geese; then followed February the 
 moon of the walnuts, chestnuts and other nuts. At each re 
 turns of these moons they indulge in festivals of feasting 
 and dancing, contributing, at the same time, a full share of 
 all the delicacies to their honored chief, the Great Sun. 
 
 That they might perpetuate the blood of the Great Suns 
 in all its purity, as given to them Jav the mysterious stranger 
 of traditional lore, the Natchez established as the funda 
 mental law of their nation, that the right of succession to 
 the; exalted position of Great Sun must descend to the men 
 through the female line alone. Thus the female descend 
 ants of the Great Sun held the title of nobility, and the 
 honor of giving birth to the chief; and the grandson of a 
 Great Sun held a medium place in rank, and his great 
 grandson ranked with the common people. 
 
 But alas for the poor Natchez! An evil day brought the 
 pale-faces among them in the year 1716, who built the fort 
 Rosalie among them and in it garrisoned, as a matter of 
 course, a body of soldiers as a protection in their intended 
 aggressions upon and usurpations of the Indians rights; 
 and from that day the sun of the Natchez s happiness began 
 to wane, but to speedily set forever in the oblivion of utter 
 extermination. As an introduction, Cadillac, on his way up 
 the Mississippi river to search for gold and silver, stopped 
 at Natchez. As soon as the Indian chiefs learned of his ap 
 proach they marched out in state to meet him, and according 
 
538 HISTORY OF, THE INDIANS. 
 
 to their custom, presented the calumet of peace to him in 
 token .of their desired friendship with him.. Cadillac be 
 came greatly offended at what he regarded as presumption 
 of. the Indians in supposing- that he would contaminate his 
 pure patrician lips with the touch of their vile pipe. He ac 
 cordingly treated the peace desiring Indians as uncouth ani 
 mals thrusting themselves into his august presence; and un 
 ceremoniously departing without having consented to smoke 
 with them, he impressed the Natchez who could not compre 
 hend his rough manners toward them, or understand the 
 nature of his pride, with the belief that he meditated war 
 upon their tribe and was secretly preparing to make an at 
 tack upon them; and finding a few French strolling about 
 in their village .after the departing of Cadillac, and regarding 
 them as spies, they killed them. Hence the origin of the 
 first misunderstanding between the Natchez and the French. 
 ," Then following in the wake of Cadillae, came Bienville 
 on the 24th of April, with a company of soldiers and en 
 camped on an island, situated in the Mississippi river, oppo 
 site a village of the Tunica Indians, fifty miles from the 
 Natchez. Without delay he sent a Tunica warrior to the 
 Natchez with the information that he was coming to estab 
 lish a trading post among them, to exchange with them 
 English goods for their furs. Bienville had been informed 
 that the Natchez were ignorant of the fact, that he knew of 
 their killing the Frenchmen a short time before, therefore 
 he assumed to have come to them as a friend and would be 
 benefactor, that he might the better accomplish his precon 
 certed, nefarious designs against them. Gayarre, in his 
 history of Louisiana, Vol. I. p. 140, says: "Three Natchez, 
 as delegates representing their tribe, came to Bienville on 
 the 27th of April, 1716, and tendered to him the calumet, as 
 the ensign of peace." But Bienville refused to smoke with 
 them, and pretended to consider himself as not being 
 treated with that respect to which he was entitled, since 
 their great chief had not come in person to welcome him, the 
 chief of the French. "I see," said he, "that your people are 
 not pleased with the idea of my forming a settlement in 
 their territory, for the purpose of "Trading with them. 
 Otherwise they would have expressed their satisfaction in a 
 more becoming manner. Be it so. If the Natchez are so 
 thankless for what I meant to be a favor, I will alter my de 
 termination, and give my preference to the Tunicas, who 
 have always shown themselves such great friends to the 
 French." What an artful dissembler! 
 
 After this speech, to hide his treachery the more suc 
 cessfully, Bienville caused the three envoys to be feasted and 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 539 
 
 treated with the greatest hospitality and respect ;. and on 
 their return to their, villages sent a Frenchman with them 
 with instructions to extend an invitation to the Natchez 
 chiefs to a conference on the island on which he was en 
 camped. This greatly embarrassed the Natchez since they 
 were at a loss as to the best course to be pursued. Some 
 were of the opinion that it would be imprudent for their 
 chiefs, to thus place themselves in the hands of the French, 
 who might have heard of the killing of the Frenchmen, and 
 had now come under the assumed garb of peace and friend 
 ship to entrap their chiefs and wreak vengeance upon them. 
 Others on the other hand argued that, from the fact of the 
 French having- come in such a small number, was sufficient 
 proof that they were still ignorant of the death of their 
 countrymen, and did not intend to act as enemies. Fur-, 
 thermor.e, that the chiefs, by refusing 1 to accept Bienville s. 
 invitation, would incur his displeasure, and he would estab 
 lish a trading 1 post among- the Tunicas, and thus enrich their 
 rivals, to the great injury of the Natchez. This argument 
 prevailed, and in an evil hour for the Natchez chiefs, their 
 visit to Bienville s camp was resolved upon, and too late they 
 learned, even as all their race have learned from that day to 
 this, tnat for hypocrisy and treachery the pale-faces cannot 
 be surpassed, and from that hour a system of oppression 
 was inaugurated by the French against the Natchez to ex 
 terminate them, unequaled only by that adopted and prac 
 ticed by the Americans for the effectual destruction of the 
 entire Indian race upon the North American continent, pros 
 ecuted with unrelenting vigor to the present day upon the 
 still surviving little remnant, with an assumed Christian zeal 
 for their civilization and happiness that is truly astonishing 
 since so utterly void of reality. 
 
 In 1725 a son of onef of the Natchez chiefs was murdered 
 by a French sergeant which caused the Indians to kill a 
 Frenchman named M. Guenot, in retaliation, a reconcil- , 
 iation, however, was soon made, but was not satisfac 
 tory to Bienville. He therefore hastened from New r Orleans 
 with 500 men, attacked the Natchez wherever met, burned 
 their towns and destroyed their fields, upon which a war was 
 inaugurated, resulting in the defeat of the Indians, who sued- 
 for peace. This was granted on their giving up one of their 
 chiefs to be executed, who was accused by the French of be 
 ing the chief instigator of the war. He was at once slain, 
 and thus ^closed the second war of .the. French -with the Nat 
 chez. In 1726 Bienville returned to France, and Perier suc 
 ceeded him as governor in 1727. Bienville, by his cruelty 
 and oppression, had entailed the hatred of the Natchez upon. 
 
>40 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 all Frenchmen; in this they were encouraged by the Chick- 
 asaws who, it has been said, had also projected a general 
 confederation of all Indian tribes to drive th French from 
 their territories. 
 
 In 1729 an officer by the name of Chopart was comman 
 der of the French settlement. Chopart was naturally of a 
 haughty and tyrannical disposition a fit subject to lord it 
 over a helpless people. But his oppressive tyranny became 
 so great that it could not be longer endured with any degree 
 of patience by the colony; therefore, complaint was made to 
 Governor Perier at New Orleans who summoned Chopart 
 into his presence. He was tried and found guilty of great 
 abuse of power, and would have been justly punished but for 
 the interference of influential friends (always found by such 
 characters even at the present day) who secured his pardon 
 from the governor. The pardoned tyrant returned, of 
 course, to his colony, and in as much as he then acted with 
 justice and humanity toward the French who had resources 
 to a higher authority, the more did he oppress and abuse the 
 Indians who had no higher power to which they could appeal. 
 At this time the Indian company gave instructions to Gover 
 nor Perier to induce the Indians to remove to a greater dis 
 tance from the French colony, assigning as a reason, that 
 further collisions with the Whites might thus be obviated. 
 But why not induce the intruding French to remove to a 
 greater distance to obviate further collisions with the In 
 dians? Yes, why? What a system of injustice! Yet prac 
 ticed to the letter from that day to this by the Whites against 
 all .Indians. 
 
 Chopart, exulting / in the prospects of being able to 
 avenge his wounded pride upon some one, now emptied the 
 ,bottles of his long smothered wrath upon the devoted 
 heads of the unfortunate Natchez, treating them with 
 every insolence he could devise, and heaping upon them 
 every outrage and insult that he could suggest, hoping thus 
 to force them to leave their country and homes to the quiet 
 possession of the French, a successful plan of robbery 
 .adopted to get possession of the Indians Jands. One day 
 he summoned the Great Sun to his presence, and, with a 
 haughty contemptuous demeanor, informed him that he had 
 been iustructed by Governor Perier to take possession of 
 the White Apple, one of their most beautiful towns, situated 
 five or six miles from Fort Rosalie; and for them to re 
 move somewhere else out of the way of the plans of the 
 French, at the same time, giving the command in the most 
 insolent and authoritative tone of voice. The chief turned 
 his eyes full upon Chopart with a calm but inquisitive gaze 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 541 
 
 of astonishment, and said: "My white brother cannot be in 
 earnest, but only desires to try the temper of the Indians. 
 Is my white brother .ignorant of the fact that the Natchez 
 built that village many thousand moons ago, and have lived 
 there ever since"? "Insolent barbarian"! exclaimed Cho- 
 part, in. utter contempt. "Call me not brother. Between 
 thy race and mine there are no kindred ties; nor do I parley 
 with any of your race. Let it suffice you, that when I com 
 mand, you must obey." The noble chief, concealing his 
 em.otions, with a calm manly voice, replied: "Brother^ such 
 language was never before addressed to me; nor.have your 
 people ever before, taken our property from us by force. 
 What .they wished of ours, we freely gave or they pur- 
 chafed!. We prefer peace. to war with your nation. There 
 are other lands of ours which we ca h spare to your people; 
 take them! What more can we do? In the centre of the. 
 White Appl e is our temple, in which the bones of our ancest 
 ors .have reposed since we came from the far west to live on 
 the banks of the Great River, and it is dear to our hearts. 7 
 
 : "No more of your foolish talk to me," replied the inso 
 lent . Chppart. "Soon a vessel," he continued, "from our 
 great town down the river will arrive, and if the village of . 
 the White Apple is not given into my possession by the time 
 the vessel arrives, I will send you bound in chains to our, 
 great chief. I have no more to say. Go." "Tis well," re 
 sponded the Indian ; "and I go to my people and speak the 
 words before their old and wise men in council." The com 
 mand of their mighty chief to convene in council was hastily 
 obeyed; and when he laid before them the insolent and out 
 rageous demands of Chopart, the greatest indignation was- 
 manifest upon every face, though no outward expression of 
 words portrayed the slumbering hatred that now rankled 
 in, their, breasts against their insolent, domineering and op 
 pressive intruders. What was the result of the, council? . A 
 resolution ws unanimously passed to invite the Yazoos, 
 Choctaws, Chickasaws and other contiguous tribes, who had 
 also experienced the insolence and oppression of the pale 
 faces, to bury their former animosities for the sake of the 
 common good, and unite in one grand alliance and great 
 brotherhood against their common foe, and by one united 
 effort free their country from the oppressive yoke and 
 cruel tyranny of the pale-face strangers. ~ ^ 
 
 Without delay embassadors were sent to all the sur 
 rounding tribes to lay their proposition before their wise 
 men convened in solemn council. The embassadors carried 
 little bundles of an equal number of sticks, and to each tribe, 
 who should adopt the resolution, a bundle of the sticks was 
 
542" HISTORY OF THE INDIANS;- 
 
 I 
 
 given .with instructions to withdraw a stick from the bundle 
 daily, and the last stick was to designate the day that the 
 combined attack upon the French was to be made through 
 out their entire country. This manner of keeping" any ap 
 pointed day was anciently practiced by all the southern In 
 dians. In a few-days the embassadors returned with the in 
 formation that not a single tribe to which they had been sent 
 had refused to accept the proposition, and all would make the 
 attack on the day appointed. Unfortunately for the Natchez 
 the uncommon movements and unusual activity of their war 
 riors aroused the curiosity of the women. Unfortunately, 
 also, for the Natchez the mother of the then ruling Great 
 Sun cherished an uncommon friendship for the French, and 
 her curiosity had become- greatly excited by the frequent 
 secret meetings of all the wise men of the Nation and also 
 by the going and coming of the embassies who had departed 
 in and : returned from all directions, and she had determined 
 to solve the mystery; and in the accomplishment of her res 
 olution she proved herself a successful Delilah. Alas, who 
 can outwit a woman s excited curiosity! for this Indian 
 queen mother so artfully wrought upon her kingly son that 
 he disclosed the whole plot, even the most important secret 
 for the successful accomplishment of her treasonable de 
 signs, where, in the Great Temple was concealed the chron 
 ometer of the Natchez, the bundle of sticks, her knowledge 
 of which proved the successful overthrow of her chieftain 
 son, as the secret obtained by Delilah, that of Samson. 
 
 To conceal her feelings from her unsuspecting son, she, 
 of course, readily and easily assumed to enter heartily into 
 the plot, though she had determined to warn the French of 
 their impending danger, if it could be done without the be 
 trayal of herself. More than once she shrewdly managed to 
 get word to Chopart of the threatened storm, but he regard 
 ed the admonitions as idle stories purposely circulated by 
 the Indians to drive them from the resolution oirseizing their 
 village, the White Apple. The French manifested by their 
 conduct no knowlege of their fast approaching doom, not 
 withstanding her warnings sent them, the queen-mother, 
 unrelenting in her efforts to save them, secretly entered the 
 temple and withdrew several of the sticks from the bundle, 
 and thus destroyed the concert of action agreed upon among 
 the tribes, by bringing on the attack of the Natchez at an 
 earlier day. The traitoress hoped by this means that a few 
 French might escape and warn the rest of the colony. But 
 in spite of all the warnings received by Chopart, he still ad 
 hered to the same fatal incredulity, applying the insulting 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 543 
 
 epithet of cowardice to those who spoke to him of the rumors 
 that were afloat. 
 
 The next day after the convening- of the grand council 
 of the Natchez, the Great Sun presented himself at Fort 
 Rosalie, and expressed a willingness to Chopart to comply 
 with his oraer to evacuate the village of the white people; but 
 humbly requesting a little more time to select a place to 
 which they might transport their effects; to which Chopart 
 acceded, allowing him until the latter part of December, 
 but with this proviso, that the Natchez should pay to him 
 (Chopart), during the interval, one barrel of corn, a certaiti. 
 number of fowls, a certain quantity of furs and bear s oil> 
 for each cabin of the White Apple village. The Great Sun 
 and Chopart then parted; the one elated with his prospect 
 of gain, the other with his prospect of revenge. But the 
 fatal day, the 29th of November 1716, came, and ere the sun 
 had reached the meridian, the French were involved in one 
 common destruction; in one short hour the work was com 
 plete; and with the loss of only twelve warriors, the Natchez 
 slew two hundred and fifty of their merciless French in 
 truders and haughty oppressors. Chopart, the last to re- 
 ceive his just reward, fled to his garden hoping there to. 
 conceal himself; but he was found, dragged forth and handed, 
 over to the lowest class of the Natchez warriors, who beat 
 him to death with their war clubs, the highest taking no part 
 in his death, as they considered it dishonorable to imbue, 
 their hands in the blood of so contemptible a wretch.^ Two 
 men only were spared, one a tailor, and the other a wagoner,, 
 and three hundred women and children. The Natchez, still 
 ignorant of the queen-mother s theft of the sticks, and that, 
 their attack was premature, -and believing that the other 
 tribes had acted in concert with them, consequently the 
 French throughout their entire country were cut off, gave 
 themselves up to feasting and dancing. 
 
 In the wide extended arrangement of the plot to destroy, 
 the French, the destruction of New Orleans had been as 
 signed to the Choctaws, and the destruction of the little 
 French forts, scattered here and there over the country, had 
 been assigned to the weaker tribes. Thus fhe extermina 
 tion of the French would have been complete but for the 
 concert of action being destroyed by the stolen sticks from, 
 the chronometer of the Natchez. 
 
 A few days after the destruction of the French at White 
 Apple the Choctaws sent an embassy to the Natchez to learn 
 the cause of the premature attack upon the French, thus 
 causing a failure of concerted, action against their common 
 foe. When they arrived at the White Apple they angrily . 
 
544 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 demanded of the Natchez an explanation of their strange 
 and incomprehensible conduct and breach of faith. To 
 which the Natchez replied .that they had made the attack on 
 , the very day indicated by the last stick, and that if any one 
 had violated their word it was the Choctaws in not making- 
 the attack also at the time they themselves had made it ; at 
 the same time intimating- cowardice on the part of the Choc- 
 taws as a reason for their failure. To which insinuation the 
 Choctaw deputation took great offense, and at once departed,, 
 telling the Natchez that henceforward and forever they 
 would have no further alliance with them, but ever consider 
 themv.as unworthy of trust, while the Natchez hurled back 
 upon them .the accusations of perfidy and cowardice. 
 . In a few days after the departure of the first Ctiickasaw 
 embassy another, one came from a different district of the 
 Choctaw Nation, and were as much dissatisfied in their in 
 terview with the Natchez, regarding the explanation of their 
 premature attack upon the French as the former. But 
 learning that the Natchez contemplated killing the two men 
 and the three hundred women and children whom they still 
 held as prisoners, the Choctaw embassy boldly marched in a 
 body to the public square and struck the red post a chal 
 lenge of defiance among all Indians boldly declaring that 
 the Choctaws would no longer be the allies of the Natchez, 
 but would henceforward be the allies of the French, and if 
 they dared kill a single one of the French prisoners then in 
 their hands, every warrior of their great Nation would come 
 in a body against them. This defiant threat brought the 
 Natchez. to due reflection and the two men and three hundred 
 w r omen and children were saved. Having given this salutary 
 advice to the Natchez, the Choctaws departed, leaving the 
 seemingly unfortunate Natchez in a state of great perplex 
 ity as to the proper step they should take in so dubious a 
 state of affairs. 
 
 When Governor Perier learned of the destruction of the 
 French at Fort Rosalie he immediatel} r sent a courier to the 
 Choctaws with instructions to inform them that Governor 
 Perier desired to have a talk with them. The Choctaws at 
 that time were the most powerful of all the tribes, and great 
 doubts were entertained by them in their then critical state 
 of affairs, as to the course the Choctaws would pursue, and 
 it was highly important that their friendship should be se 
 cured. The destruction of Fort Rosalie by the Natchez had 
 thrown the French into great excitement, consternation and 
 dread, filling their minds with fear as rumor whispered to 
 their excited imaginations the uprising of the Indians in one 
 grand concert of action against them. And Governor Perier 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 54S 
 
 states: "So great was the fear that the Chauaches, a little 
 tribe of only thirty warriors, dwelling a few miles above 
 New Orleans, were even a subject of dread to the French.. 
 This induced me to have them destroyed by our negroes,, 
 who executed the mission with great promptness and se 
 crecy, setting an example before the small tribes higher up 
 the river that held them in check. If I had been so disposed 
 I could have destroyed all those nations, which are no service 
 to us, by the negroes; but who, on the other hand, may in 
 fluence our blacks to revolt." But he might the more truth 
 fully have said that he caused the innocent and harmless. 
 Chauaches to be murdered by the negroes, that he might, 
 create an enmity between the negro and Indian race, as he 
 no doubt had misapprehensions as to the negroes remaining 
 quiet in the then excited state of affairs, and not attempt, by 
 joining the Indians, to assert their rights to freedom. What 
 a volume of oppression, wrong and cruelty towards the 
 North Americans, from first to last, might be written from 
 the sentiment expressed in Governor Perier s, "which are 
 no service to us! " 
 
 On the 16th of January, 1717, Perier s fears and anxie 
 ties were greatly quieted when he was informed that Le 
 Sueur, a French officer, with seven hundred Choctaw war 
 riors, was on his march against the Natchez. Alas, for the. 
 Natchez! Dame fortune seemed to frown upon them from 
 every side, and to have consigned them to a speedy destruc 
 tion, for they seemed unable to resist the temptation of en 
 joying the rich booty taken from the French, though appre 
 hensive of the storm that was gathering around them,, and 
 whose muttering thunders in the distance might have been 
 audible had not every sense been swallowed up in the indul 
 gence of feasting and dancing, oblivious to all else. Alas, 
 how quickly does sorrow oft tread upon the heels of joy I 
 Unfortunate and inconsiderate Natchez! On the 27th of Jan 
 uary, 1730, while indulging in feasting and dancing; on the 
 banks of a small creek, in thoughtless security, Le Sueur 
 with his seven hundred Choctaws broke suddenly and un 
 expectedly upon them and turned their merriment into wail 
 ing by killing sixty, taking captive twenty and rescuing fifty 
 four French women and children ere they could rally and re 
 treat to two forts they had erected in expectation of a storm 
 which they felt would, sooner or later, burst with great fury 
 upon them. But this was only the prelude to what the 
 Natchez least expected would follow. 
 
 On the 8th of February, part of the French forces, ren 
 dezvousing among the Tunicas, arrived at Natchez under 
 the command of Loubois and united with the Choctaw under 
 
546 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 LeSueur, followed by the remainder on the next day. Or 
 the 14th, the united forces of the Choctaws and French 
 made an assault upon the two forts, which were bravely de 
 fended by the Natchez. The French brought four pieces ol 
 artillery to bear upon the two little forts, which they had 
 succeeded in planting on an eminence five hundred yard^ 
 distant, and for six consecutive hours hurled their balls 
 against the two forts with no effect whatever, the Natchez 
 responding with two pieces of artillery, taken in the capture 
 of Fort Rosalie, with like effect. The total failure of the 
 French to produce any effect upon the fo.rts, was humiliat 
 ing to the French commander, but a source of amusement 
 to the Choctaws; as he had promised them that he would 
 knock down the two forts over the heads of the Natchez in 
 two hours. The ineffectual cannonading was kept up seven 
 days; the Choctaws, in the meantime, laughing and deriding 
 theincompetency of the tanapoh chitoh (big guns); becom 
 ing wearied at noise without effect, the Choctaws threaten 
 ed, on the morning of the 23d, to return home if the affairs 
 of the siege were not prosecuted in a better manner. This 
 threat of the Choctaws had the desired effect; and on the 
 24th, the four pieces of artillery were brought to oear upon 
 the two little forts at a distance of three hundred yards, and 
 then the Natchez were told that it was determined to blow 
 them up, even at the sacrifice of the French captives in 
 their possession. 
 
 The near proximity of the artillery, together with that 
 of the threat, so intimidated the Natchez that they sent a 
 female captive to make propositions of peace, who remained, 
 without any response being returned to the Natchez. . On 
 the 25th a flag was hoisted by the Natchez as a token of 
 peace. Upon seeing this, a Choctaw chief went near to 
 one of the forts, and cried out to the Natchez, ; Who 
 ever knew before that the Choctaws encamped around 
 the fort of an enemy for many weeiks? Learn from this how 
 great is the friendship of the Choctaws for the French. It 
 is folly for you who are so much less in numbers than 
 the Choctaws to still refuse to give up to the French their 
 women and children. I and my warriors have determined 
 to stay here and keep you in those two forts until you perish 
 by hunger." Upon hearing this the Natchez promised to 
 deliver all their French prisoners to the Choctaws, on the 
 condition that the French would remove to the bank of the 
 river with their artillery. The French assenting to this 
 proposition, the following stipulations were agreed upon by 
 the two belligerent parties: That the French were to with 
 draw to the banks of the river; the Natchez to deliver their 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 547 
 
 French captives to the Choctaws, and be allowed to remain 
 in quiet and peaceable possession of their country and 
 homes. All of which was agreed upon on the 26th, and thus 
 terminated the siege, the French having lost fifteen men in 
 the affair. 
 
 Still the French commander, not regarding himself in 
 honor bound to the adherence of his word, like thousands at 
 the present day, when given to an Indian, had determined, 
 as soon as he had released the French captives in the hands 
 of the Natchez, to recommence hostilities against the 
 Natchez to their utter extermination. 
 
 But the Natchez, having learned by sad experience to 
 rely no more upon the promises of the French, had deter 
 mined to retreat. On the morning of the 27th they handed 
 over all the French women and children to the Choctaws, 
 who, in turn, delivered them to the French, and on the same 
 day the Choctaws departed for their homes. But on the 
 29th, when the French commander again appeared before 
 the two forts to execute his infamous determination against 
 the Natchez, he found them empty, and their former occu 
 pants flown. 
 
 Thus was finished this expedition against the unfortu 
 nate Natchez, for the succcessful and speedy termination of 
 which the honor (if honor there be) is due to the Choctaws; 
 for they alone influenced the Natchez to yield; and to the 
 Choctaws only would the Natchez consent to deliver their 
 French -prisoners, and then made good- their retreat with 
 honor to themselves and without loss; bidding an eternal 
 adieu to their native hills and ancient possessions to seek a 
 place of rest they knew not where, and leaving their aban 
 doned homes to the possession of the French. 
 
 The different tribes, acting in the beginning of the war 
 as allies to the Natchez, returned to their former allegiance 
 with the French, and assisted them in destroying the 
 Natchez wherever found. "Since their flight," said Perier, 
 P have had fifty of them killed or taken prisoners.. I 
 buried here six of them, four men and two women." 
 
 At this exhibition the whites seemed as proud of the, 
 horrid scene, as the ancient Romans were of the mutila 
 tion of human beings by wild beasts in the arena, above 
 which sat civilization in the shape of Governor Perier, prov 
 ing human nature to be the same at bottom, however modi 
 fied at the surface, whether it remains in the original naked 
 ness of barbarism, or conceals itself under the varied 
 garments of civilization, as is so well established in the op 
 pression and cruelty perpetrated by the American people of 
 the 19th century upon the Red Race of this continent. 
 
548 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Was not this savage act of cruelty, perpetrated by those 
 who assumed to be Christians, regarded by the Indians as 
 an approval of their custom? 
 
 Soon after this act of the French, a band of Tunica 
 warriors brought to New Orleans a poor Natchez woman 
 whom they had .captured .while lingering amid the scenes of 
 her youth, that called up in memory the loved ones then scat 
 tered to be united no more, and Governor Perier had her 
 burned to death on a high platform erected especially for the 
 ceremon} , and to witness which all New Orleans again turn 
 ed out in state. While slowly being consumed and suffering 
 tortures most intense, that forlorn Natchez woman far away 
 from kindred and friends- and alone, shed not a tear nor ut 
 tered a groan, but bore her tortures with Indian fortitude; 
 yet reproached her captors, the Tunicas, who stood around 
 in bitter epithets declaring the speedy destruction of their 
 people. The dying woman s prediction proved true; for the 
 Tunicas returned home but to be surprised by a band of 
 the homeless Natchez and their nation in turn nearly exter 
 minated. 
 
 To what a state of utter desperation must the Natchez 
 have been reduced, to perform such deeds of daring, and to 
 manifest such a thirst for revenge! But for what else had 
 they to live? Their country gone, kindred ties severed never 
 to be reunited, their people scattered as autumn leaves be 
 fore the gale. But why thus? The pale-face saw their 
 Eden, coveted it; and because they dared fight for their God 
 inherited right as God approved heroes, they must abide the 
 decree extermination. 
 
 The Tunicas were destroyed by a brave and resolute 
 band of the Natchez, who had found a temporary asylum 
 among the generous Chickasaws, though the exterminating 
 French believed that all the Natchez had sought refuge west 
 of the Mississippi river. But this heroic and indomitable 
 people, scattered in detached bands here and there, did not 
 fail to continually give satisfactory notice to the French that 
 they were not all exterminated. Therefore, Governor Pe 
 rier resolved that they should be; and in accordance with 
 that resolution he, on the 4th of January, 1731, personally 
 took command of his army, which had been instructed to 
 rendezvous at the mouth of Red river. But where to find, 
 the place where the Natchez had concealed themselves was a 
 problem which presented itself before him not easy of solu 
 tion. As delay would accomplish nothing towards gratify 
 ing his thirst for Indian blood, he immediately ascended the 
 Red river; thence into Black river; thence into a stream 
 then known as Silver river; thence into a small lake, near 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 549 
 
 which he had heard the Natchez were concealed, where he 
 arrived on January 19th. Again, fortune frowned upon the 
 poor persecuted Natchez, for on the next day a Natchez boy, 
 wandering- too far in his eager pursuit of the chase, fell into 
 the hands of his merciless foes, and, under the fear of terri 
 ble threats, betrayed the retreat of his people ; and on the 
 21st the unfortunate Natchez found themselves completely 
 surrounded; and on the 24th, fearing the little fort which 
 they had constructed, and in which their women and chil 
 dren were placed would be stormed, and in that case they 
 would be left to the mercies of a brutal soldiery, made over 
 tures of peace, to which Perier replied, "That he would hold 
 no parley with them, unless they would first give up the 
 negro slaves they had in their possession, and their chiefs 
 would then come out half way between the fort and the 
 French to have an interview with him." 
 
 Twenty negroes were at once given up. After much 
 hesitation, and how well founded the sequel will show, the 
 Great Sun, the Little Sun, and a subordinate chief came out 
 of their little fort, at 4 p. m. and advanced to the half-way 
 ground and there met Perier with whom .to have a consulta 
 tion. After a few words had been exchanged, a rain com 
 menced falling; upon which the perfidious Perier suggested 
 the propriety of entering a vacant cabin, near by, to which 
 they readily consented but the moment they entered they 
 were made prisoners by a company of soldiers concealed 
 therein. As night came on the rain increased, and during 
 the night became a fearful tempest; during which the subor 
 dinate made good his escape. On the next day (25th) forty- 
 five men and four hundred and fifty women and children 
 surrendered to the mercies of their foes during the day. 
 But the night following being again dark and rainy, the rest 
 about two hundred, fortunately made their escape. Perier 
 began his return on the 28th.; and in his dispatches, as our 
 great Indian butchering generals, the u heroic" Sheridan and 
 Sherman, did not forget the indispensable "Too much 
 praise cannot be awarded the officers and men for their gal 
 lant conduct against fearful odds and under adverse circum- 
 stances"; but forgot to mention, even as his "gallant" coun 
 terparts of the present era, the base treachery he adopted 
 to get the Indian chiefs into his hands. When he returned 
 to New Orleans, he took his Natchez prisoners with him 
 numbering forty-five men and four hundred and fifty women 
 and children, besides the Great Sun and Little Sun, whom 
 he so treacherously got into his hands, and then sent every 
 one of them to St. Domingo, and there sold them as slaves, 
 thus executing his threat against them. Extermination, 
 
550 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 because they had the manly courage to resist oppression,, 
 and fight to the death against merciless tyrants. 
 
 The little remnant of Natchez left, though in the last 
 stage of hopeless despair, instead of yielding, nobly and 
 bravely nerved themselves to desperate deeds of revenge, 
 for they still could call into the field about three hundred 
 warriors. But they were at last defeated, then all hope fled, 
 and the few scattered remnants, in three different bands, 
 sought safety where best they could find it; one sought ref 
 uge among the Christian hearted Chickasaws, who gener 
 ously gave them a home and protection. But even there they 
 were not idle, for they sought every opportunity to avenge 
 the destruction of their Nation and people, by attacking the- 
 French whenever and wherever found. 
 
 In 1733 a few still survived and still fought; for Bienville, 
 being at that time reappointed to the governorship in the 
 place of Perier, said, in a dispatch written on the 15th of 
 May, 1733, "That the Tunicas had assured him that the 
 Natchez were not destroyed, but were composed of three 
 bands; the smallest had fled north some distance from their 
 ancient villages; the next was on the banks of the Missis 
 sippi river, opposite the Yazoo river, and the third and larg 
 est had been received among- the Chickasaws who had given 
 them land on which to live." He closed by saying: "I shall 
 use ejvery effort to constantly harass them." 
 
 The two bands that still clung near their old homes, and 
 seemed so reluctant to leave forever the banks of that noble 
 river, the Mississippi, became so constantly harassed by 
 the French that they were finally driven to seek a safer 
 place of refuge; therefore, they also retreated to the Chicka 
 saws and joined the band that had preceded them and found 
 shelter and protection among that magnanimous people. 
 
 Their nation had perished; the remaining little remnant 
 of survivors went west, and were dispersed among the 
 various Indian tribes of that then little known country to the 
 white race, and were lost as a distinct people. However, it 
 has been stated through the medium of the press that a 
 small tribe of Indians have been discovered in southern 
 Arizona who are Idolaters; that they are in reality sun wor 
 shippers, but make small images out of clay with faces sup 
 posed to represent the sun, although bearing little if any 
 resemblance to it; that they do not associate with other 
 tribes and are very seldom seen by white men. In this re 
 spect at least they may be regarded as being extremely for 
 tunate. That the idols have large, round bodies and heads, 
 with eyes and mouth and ears beams radiating from the 
 eyes over the face. These Indians keep these idols in rude 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 551 
 
 houses or wigwams, and at certain seasons of the year they 
 hold a sun dance, which is with them a religious ceremony. 
 They have no other form of worship, although a few of them 
 were at one time induced to abandon their idols by the Jesuit 
 priests. If the story be true, there is a good reason to be 
 lieve that they are the descendants of the few Natchez who 
 [led west in 1733, at the destruction of their nation by the 
 French. 
 
 But the beneficent God of man s creation be praised that 
 
 There is ; a world, where souls are free, 
 Where tyrants taint not Nature s bliss; 
 If death that world s bright opening be. 
 Oh! who would live a slave in this?" 
 
 Noble race! Unaccustomed to crouch under oppression, 
 and when the evils of submission became greater than those 
 of resistance, how could it but beget a convulsive burst of 
 indignation and courage, supported by the hope of success 
 fully driving back the merciless invaders of their country 
 and homes! 
 
 But how vain the struggle against the irresistible 
 power of superior intelligence, crazed to become rich, and 
 the strength of civilization without mercy, honor or truth, 
 a power without morality, unscrupulous and unprincipled, 
 which came among them to wring from them their country, 
 upon which to build its own greatness, though at the cost 
 of the utter annihilation of its primitive inhabitants; a pow r er 
 from the Alpha to the Omega, which placed the administra 
 tion of justice, w r hen dealing with the Indians, in the hands 
 of its highest functionary Avarice, and there left it; thus 
 it came a war of helpless sheep against ravenous wolves, 
 untutored men against demons, to whom dissimulation, dis 
 honesty and avarice were as paws to the hungry tiger. 
 Endless promises, false excuses, elaborate tissues of cir 
 cumstantial falsehoods, unblushing chicanery, and extermi 
 nating war, untempered with mercy in regard to age or 
 sex, innocent or guilty, were the weapons adopted and 
 practiced, in the successful and speedy accomplishment of 
 their determination to destroy and exterminate the North 
 American Indian race; therefore they went implacable in 
 enmity and void of pity; and the pertinacity with which they 
 have adhered to their purpose needs no further confirma 
 tion. 
 
 The historic Indian is with the past, and his bones are 
 resting in the grave with his pre-historic ancestry ; while 
 his surviving descendant, shorn of all his former chivalry 
 and independence, is left alone to battle with the prejudice 
 of the exterminators of his race, who for 200 years have 
 
552 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 toeen pressing- it toward that period of evolution we call civ 
 ilization, but in reality extermination. 
 
 But alas, as a falling- star tumbling- from its primitive 
 place near the g-ates of heaven, bathed in primitive glory, so 
 has been the falling of the North American Red Race, that 
 noble, brave and wonderful people, into the dark clouds of 
 misfortune and woe, tracking- their lone and sorrowful course 
 down throug-h the deep midnight of despair to helpless ex 
 termination and hopeless oblivion; and though their spring 
 freshness and summer bloom have forever faded away, leav 
 ing no hope of a returning morn, still their silent, yet digni 
 fied despair, impresses an involuntary respect and admira 
 tion even as a fine nature becomes by the sorrows that 
 blight and the misfortunes that mildew and destroy. But 
 will that time never come when that spirit of love that seeks 
 the good of the poor, unfortunate Indian will be truly felt 
 and acted upon, and that spirit which is wise in mercy and 
 has no element of vengeance, shall speak in the actions of 
 our congress, sounded in sermons. from our pulpits and 
 pleaded in our prayers at the throne of grace. 
 
 Truly the life of the North American Indian of the 
 present day is, and long has been, a strange comedy to all 
 who observe, and a fearful tragedy to those who reflect. 
 But have they not endured enough? Can they endure more 
 and still exist? Nay verily. Already have they turned their 
 gaze to the skirmishers that line the other shore, as they 
 sadly and hopelessly, yet silently and heroically move for 
 ward in their uncomplaining (since unavailing) wretched 
 ness. 
 
 The North Americans everywhere were quick to ob 
 serve; prone to meditate on all they observed, and possessed 
 an imagination fertile, expansive and daring; they imbibed 
 with eagerness and retained in a tenacious memory; and be 
 fore their prospects, under the sustaining- and fostering care 
 of the loving and loved white missionary, were destroyed 
 and their hopes forever blighted by ruthless hands, their 
 lives were like an April day. True, they had experienced 
 reverses, but as the sun of their lives sank in the west the 
 rainbow of the white man s promise awhile bent beautifully 
 above them; but, alas, only to be driven back from their 
 hopes by realizing the utter falsity of that promise. Ah, 
 suspense and hope deferred! these are the two emotions 
 which serve to kill the human heart, to darken and blight 
 human existence. Therefore, soon in their faces, where 
 never before seen, were visible strength and weakness, man 
 hood and helplessness. 
 
 It is attested by thousands of Christian witnesses 
 
HISTORY OF THK INDIANS. 553 
 
 now living- who personally know, and thousands of Christian 
 witnesses long- since dead, who left their testimony behind 
 them in their writing s down the revolving- years back to over 
 two centuries ag-o, that the North American Indians every 
 where welcomed the religion of Jesus Christ; that they ad 
 mired the civilization of the White Race, and delig-hted to be 
 taught in the useful arts and sciences, while they abhorred 
 and dreaded the accompanying vices attending- that civiliza 
 tion, as exhibited before them by the lawless, who ever fol 
 lowed close on the heels of the servants of God. 
 
 It is a truth, though known to few, that the problems 
 which the North American Indians have presented, ever 
 since their first introduction to the White Race, and still 
 present to this g-eneration in the little remnant, still sur 
 viving-, are worthy the consideration and study of even the 
 most learned; and that the events which have formed their 
 known history during the last two centuries are worthy 
 to take rank among- the marvels of history. Nor do multi 
 plied thousands have the least conception of the changes 
 which that peculiar, but none the less worthy, people have 
 experienced and the effect they have had upon them. Truly 
 the one stands to the other in the relation of cause to effect. 
 But what the future has in store for them may closely be 
 guessed by their present condition in their transition from 
 the old to the new order of things under the weight of the 
 hand of merciless coercion; yet what many tribes have been 
 enabled to accomplish for the intellectual, moral and ma 
 terial improvement, amid all their vicissitudes, wrongs and 
 sufferings, few, very few, also know; therefore, millions, 
 without any investigation whatever, but upon vague rumor 
 alone, believe that no Indian is or can be fittted to enjoy the 
 blessings of Christianity, though the belief is as faulty as 
 its premises are absolutely false. 
 
 May a just and merciful God grant that others shall rise 
 up in the defense of this part of His fearfully perse 
 cuted race of mankind, whose pens more efficient than 
 mine shall relate to future generations it s wrongs and suf 
 ferings; its love of country and freedom; its heroic defense 
 of both; its patience and silence in misfortunes unparalleled 
 in the history of mankind ; its calm resignation in humilia 
 tion, after prodigies of justifiable resistance against over 
 whelming numbers, while laboring under the most adverse 
 surroundings ever known in the history of man fighting 
 for country, freedom, justice and truth. 
 
 And though here, as in the middle watches of the night, I 
 close my labors, yet I must leave the reader in great doubt 
 of a fairer morn ever dawning upon the Red Race of the 
 
554 HIST OK Y OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 United States, as such a morn can scarcel} be expected, or 
 even hoped for, in an age abounding- more with vice than vir 
 tue, as this hitherto has abounded and still abounds, with 
 fair prospects of indefinite continuance; since the manifes 
 ted desire and unyielding determination of the government 
 and people of the whole country have long been, still are and 
 will ever be, to exterminate their Indian wards forever blot 
 out their institutions and every vestige of their entire race; 
 but hoping and believing that in its oblivion would also be 
 forgotten the means adopted for the accomplishment of the 
 result; therefore, thousands still mock at and deride this 
 people, while others oppress, persecute and slander. 
 
 But in this account of the true Native Americans, this 
 peculiar and, in many respects, wonderful part of God s 
 created. races of man, I regret not that I have wandered far 
 from the old and beaten track in which former writers have 
 walked in their accounts given of that people known as the 
 Red Race of North America; and truly believe that I have 
 thereby escaped many of the ruts into which they have, 
 with here and there an exception, alike and invariably fallen; 
 though in passing through the shadowy lands of legend 
 and myth, where many of the pen pictures are, to an un 
 justifiable and inexcusable extent, imaginary, I deny not 
 but here and there a slender web of fiction, but, free of in 
 tended or known falsehood, may be found upon its pages; 
 as I have sought from many sources, whatever hues and 
 colors which were considered best adapted to and interest 
 and variety to its pages; and if it only tends to bring others 
 into sympathy for the Indian race of this continent, one of 
 its principal missions will be accomplished. 
 
 True, I have rejected much which might have been 
 written, for which, perhaps, many may think that fact de 
 serves more praise than to be pardoned for that which has 
 been published. Be it as it may; I murmur not at the verdict 
 of the reader; nor make any appeal to posterity. I sought 
 not for human adulation, that ephemeral thing so difficult to 
 obtain and so worthless when obtained ; therefore, if it 
 quickly dies, amen! as, in so doing, it will save trouble for 
 those who are inclined to injure from any attempt to kill 
 that which will inevitably soon perish of its own self. 
 
 But let this be added, the subject matter of this narra 
 tive was begun and ended with a full knowledge of the task 
 that lay before me: and so involved was it in uncertainty, 
 and so tinged with romance and fiction, that had not the in 
 terest of and justice to the North American Indians, de 
 manded, at least, that an attempt should be made to shed a 
 ray of true light upon their history, I would not indeed have 
 
HISTORY OF THIS INDIANS. OOO 
 
 ventured to attempt to lift the veil and bid a thoughtless 
 world look in again upon that mystic people, and thereby ex 
 pose them once more to its idle and heartless gaze, chilled 
 with the frosts of incredulity. 
 
 I have endeavored to draw a true picture of the repre 
 sentative type of southern Indians and their wrongs, as 
 found in the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Muscogee Cnow 
 Creek) and Seminole, as they appeared in the four epochs of 
 their known history; from the time of De Solo s .invasion 
 into their territories; during the period of the establishment 
 of the French colonies among them; during the transition 
 period following the advent of the Protestant missionaries 
 to them, and their final banishment to the then inhospitable 
 and little known "Wild West," and as they appear, and are 
 to-day, as a civilized and Christian people. 
 
 Hoping my labors will not be viewed in a wrong light, 
 yet ready at all times to defend my position as the abiding 
 friend of the true native North American race, I here bid 
 the reader a kind adieu, as my narrative is finished; my man 
 hood s years far behind, with life s declining sun lingering 
 upon its western sky; the years of the past hold the native 
 Americans wrongs, and time will tell the rest in the years 
 to come. 
 
 Noble race! I honor you and I love you. We ve been 
 friends together through the years of the Long Ago, enough 
 for us to know. We ll be so still in all our years to come; 
 nor time nor distance, though our paths of life diverge, 
 shall ever efface from our memory s page those words, 
 of truth. 
 
NORTH AMERICA S MOUNDS AND MOUND 
 
 BUILDERS THEIR ORIGIN 
 
 AND DESIGN. 
 
 What a sad record is the history of the human race 
 from the creation of Adam down along- the long flight of 
 ages to the closing scenes of this the 19th century! How 
 replete in strife and confusion! each nation seemingly in 
 turn, to entail upon itself the just retributions of a merciful 
 God, whose long forbearance could no long-er endure its de 
 grading idolatry and presumptuous wickedness. Yet, who 
 can but admire with emotions of astonishment as he gazes 
 upon or reads of those ancient temples and mighty struc- 
 ures of human skill that stand as living mementos to the 
 present age, of pre-historic man, but whose purposes of 
 erection are, with him, forever buried amid the mists of 
 ages past. 
 
 The Sphinx and the great pyramid Cheops, with heads 
 towering high, still look down in mournful silence upon the 
 surrounding desolation as dumb historians of remote ages 
 past. While, equally sad and mournful are the still visible 
 wrecks of fallen cities, some having been lost to the world 
 for many hundred years after their destruction; all alike 
 have passed away, to be remembered but in tradition, fable 
 and song, leaving, here and there a few moss-covered walls 
 and towers crumbling in turn to dust, with their undeciph- 
 red hieroglyphics all as mementos of the desolating 
 power of long succeeding years, still frowning on the mys 
 teries of a people who bequeathed to posterity only such 
 monuments as future testimonials of their history. 
 
 But respect for the dead and a just regard for their dis 
 position by burial have been distinctive characteristics in 
 man in all ag-es and countries of both the civilized and unciv 
 ilized world. There are two classes of primitive tombs, 
 both of the highest antiquity, the tumulus or mound of earth 
 heaped over the dead and the subterranean or excavated; the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 557 
 
 former Is the most ancient form of sepulture and has been 
 the universal mode among- all primitive nations. But what 
 awakens sadder emotions than the contemplation of the cem 
 etery of a nation or a race! Still as those cities of hoary an 
 tiquity on the Eastern Continent, with all their great inheri 
 tance of centuries past, their Pyramids, walls and other dif 
 ferent and wonderful structures of architectural skill, have 
 ever been of the deepest interest to the modern student, so 
 too, the mounds, stone implements of every description, 
 hieroglyphics, pottery, etc., shreds and patches of succeed 
 ing 1 generations, present many things of interest, though 
 like the detached fragments of some beautiful mosaic, which 
 demand the skill of the expert to replace them, or like geolo 
 gical strata, upheaved by a series of convulsions which with 
 out some knowledge of their history, cannot be reduced to 
 order. In gazing upon these silent relics of the long past, 
 these charnel houses of departed ages, their still calm lulls 
 the soul to a melancholy, yet pleasing, repose, as the imagi 
 native mind goes back and contemplates the various phases 
 in the stream of life which they have witnessed during the 
 slowly revolving centuries of their existence, and seem to 
 respond to the inquiry, "What of year record? that long 
 panorama of history that has been enrolled before you by 
 passing ages is but a part of what lies before." 
 
 Behind the white race now in possession and far behind 
 the Indian, whom the whites have dispossessed, is that un 
 known people whose receding memory the archaeologist still 
 seeks to save, since it is the most convenient race to be 
 brought in for all the riddles, myths and mysteries of the 
 continent in all future to come. Many of the mounds, tis 
 true, are of such ancient date that they seem almost parts 
 of the original land surface; yet have a history which, if 
 only known, would far surpass all the fairy tales of romance 
 and fiction that were ever written or imagined; standing in 
 their original strength disdainful of all assistance. 
 
 Each continent has memorials of its long lost and forgot 
 ten races; and America s mounds, fortification s, pottery, 
 metal remains, all interest us in the question, who were 
 they? One responds "The Ten Tribes of Israel." An 
 other shouts, "The Tartans." Each savant having a theory 
 of his own and, in attestation of its truth, unhesitatingly 
 sacrificing his bottle of ink at the shrine of his deity; but, 
 after all, they are still lost races; and though I have not be 
 come a convert to the sundry theories accounting- for their 
 origin and disappearance, yet have only been enabled to sat 
 isfactorily prove for myself, each in its turn, about as clearly 
 as our modern exegesists demonstrate the meaning- of 
 
.558 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 baptize; for many and diversified are the opinions advanced 
 by those who have attempted to solve the mystery of their 
 origin, their builders and their purposes. And, though 
 time, which antiquates antiquities, has spared these minor 
 monuments; yet, who were proprietaries of the se bones, or 
 what bodies those ashes made up, is a question above anti- 
 quarianism not to be determined by man. But where is 
 the antidote against the power of time? Our fatbers find 
 their graves in our short memories and sadly tell us how we 
 may be buried in our survivors. 
 
 By many these mounds, walls and fortifications, found in 
 various portions of the North American continent, are pro 
 nounced as the work of an extinct race of the human family, 
 .anterior to the occupancy of the country by the Indians a 
 feeble remnant of whose descendants, through the plenti- 
 tude of our great mercy, are still with us; while others as 
 strenuously contend that they were constructed by the an 
 cestors of our present Indians. The former, among whom 
 are many learned antiquaries/ base their opinion upon the 
 belief that the Indians, "being few in number and unskilled 
 in the arts, were wholly unable to have erected such works." 
 All, however, would perhaps concede that if the ancient 
 cities, pyramids of stone, rock walls, artificial lakes walled 
 in with immense pieces of stone, said to be lately discovered 
 in Mexico and various other portions of the North American 
 continent, and so published in the journals of the present 
 day, were true, there are strong grounds upon which to 
 predicate a belief that a race of people prehistoric to the an 
 cestors of our Indians ancestry, once inhabited the Western 
 Continent and were the builders of these massive structures, 
 some of which excelling in grandeur the great pyramid of 
 Egypt the mighty Cheops. 
 
 The following published, in a Texas journal, of 1883, is 
 sufficient as one example. 
 
 A RECENTLY Disco YEKED LOST CITY OF MEXICO. 
 Ancient ruins have recently been discovered in Sonora, 
 which if reports are true, surpass anything of the kind ever 
 found on this continent. With equal truth the writer 
 might have added, or on any other continent. "The ruins 
 are said to be about four leagues southeast of Magdalena. 
 There is one pyramid which has a base of 4350 feet and 
 rises to a height of 750 feet; there is a winding roadway 
 from the bottom leading up an easy grade to the top, wide 
 enough for carriages to pass over, which is said to be twen 
 ty-three miles in length; the outer walls of the road-way are 
 laid in solid masonry from huge blocks of granite in rubble, 
 and the circles are as uniform and the grade as regular as 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 559 
 
 could be made at this date by our best engineers. The wall 
 however, is only occasionally" exposed, being- covered over 
 with debris and earth, and in many places various kinds of 
 indigenous plants and trees have grown up, giving- the pyra 
 mid the appearance of a mountain. To the east of the py 
 ramid a short distance, is a small mountain about the same 
 size, and rises to about the same height; and, if reports are 
 true, will prove more interesting to the archaeologist than 
 the pyramid. 
 
 "There seems to be a heavy layer of a species of gypsum 
 about half way up the mountain, which is as white as snow, 
 and may be cut into any conceivable shape, but sufficiently 
 hard to retain its shape after being cut. In this layer of 
 stone a people of an unknown age have cut hundreds upon 
 hundreds of rooms, from five by ten to sixteen or eighteen 
 feet square. 
 
 "These rooms are cut out of solid stone, and so even 
 and true are the walls, floor and ceiling, so plumb and level, 
 as to defy variation. There are no windows to the rooms, 
 and but one entrance, which is always from the top. The 
 rooms are but eight feet high from floor to ceiling. The 
 stone is so white that it seems almost transparent, and the 
 rooms are not at all dark. On the walls of the rooms are 
 numerous hieroglyphics and representations of human 
 forms, with feet and hands of human beings cut in the stone 
 in different places. But, strange to say, the hands all have 
 five fingers and one thumb, and the feet have six toes. 
 Charcoal is found on the floors of many of the rooms, which 
 would indicate that they built fires in their houses. 
 
 "Stone implements of every description are to be found 
 In great numbers in and about the rooms. The houses or 
 rooms are one above the other, three or four stories high ; 
 but between each story there is a jag or recess the full 
 width of the room below, so that they present the appear 
 ance of large steps leading up the mountain." The writer 
 closes the account of this wonderful discovery with the fol 
 lowing grave soliloquy: "Who these people were, and in 
 what age they lived, must be answered, if answered at all, 
 by the wise men of the east." To which all will respond a 
 hearty amen! 
 
 Another writer, with equal assurance of not being ac 
 credited with too much love for truth, states through the 
 medium of the press to the credulous portion of the world 
 that there is to-day a "Walled Lake" in Wright County, 
 Iowa, 160 miles from Dubuque, evidently the work of man. 
 He thus writes: "Here is a prehistoric reservoir an arti 
 ficial lake a body of water covering nearly 300 acres, with 
 
560 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 a wall built up all around it, not a stone in which can be less 
 than 100 pounds weight, and some as heavy as three tons, 
 and yet there is not a stone to be found within ten miles of 
 the lake. The wall is ten feet high. The country is prairie 
 land for miles around, except a heavy belt of timber that en 
 circles the lake. This timber is oak, and it is plain that the 
 trees were planted. The water in the lake is twenty-five 
 feet deep." And the writer thus closes his story with the 
 healthy questions as follows: "Who built that wall? How 
 were those immense stones moved?" And last, though not 
 least, "And how did they keep the water back when building 
 the wall?" 
 
 But if such a "Sonora Pyramid" and "Iowa Lake" act 
 ually exist to-day on this continent, as they seem to exist in 
 the prolific brains of these sensational writers, it could not 
 be reconciled with the theory of being the work of our In 
 dians or of their ancestors ages ag - o. But. as an imaginative 
 pre-historic race evidently built the two lately discovered 
 wonders of pre-historic antiquity, it is evident, it has contrib 
 uted enough to the history of the Western Continent for the 
 study of the antiquarian in that line; therefore, let the build 
 ing of the other curious mounds scattered over the various 
 portions of the North American continent be ascribed to the 
 Indians, to whom it justly belongs, as there is ample evidence 
 that they were built at different ages of the world by differ 
 ent tribes of the American Indians not controlled by 
 science, but directed to a certain purpose then necessary. 
 Some of them were erected as symbols of some particular 
 virtue or deity taught by that religion for whose service they 
 were built and to whose mysteries they were consecrated". 
 Some, as memorials of great national events, as Nunih Wai- 
 yah of the ancient Choctaws and Chickasaws, erected in 
 commemoration of their arrival from the "Far West" (Mex 
 ico) to the now State of Mississippi in the periods of the long 
 forgotten past. But there they once stood in their primitive 
 beauty like a marvelous, beautiful dream; the expression of 
 the religious faith and hope of their builders, the North 
 American Indians of past years, and there they would have 
 remained, as far as human fore-sight could predict, until the 
 trumpet of the mighty arch angel should end their mission 
 or etheral fires restore their materials to their original ele 
 ments, but for their destroyers whose imagination had filled 
 them with silver and gold. 
 
 But that the mounds found scattered over different 
 states were erected by the ancestors of the present Indian 
 people, some, ages before tfye advent of the White Race to 
 this continent, and others since, there is abundant evidence,. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 561 
 
 even to satisfy (if such a thing- is within the range of a pos 
 sibility) the Infatuated lovers of the marvelous; and that 
 they were thrown up by different tribes and for different 
 purposes, some as cemeteries; some as sacrificial altars; 
 some as memorials of great events (as the famous Nunih 
 Waiyah); some as the honored places for the erection of the 
 houses of the chiefs; and some for signaling by fire from 
 their tops, (an ancient custom as well as modern to some 
 extent) of carrying- intelligence, successfully practiced by the 
 North American Indians. The Indians inhabiting the 
 prairie regions of the "Far West" resorted principally to 
 smoke signals, .in connection with fire signals on the top of 
 mounds; to give warning of danger to their scattered bands, 
 especially when on a raid in an enemy s country. The 
 signals were made to ascend in detached columns, or puffs, 
 by firing a dry bunch of grass and partially smothering it 
 with a blanket, shawl or other suitable article, until a consid 
 erable quantity of smoke had accumulated thereunder, then 
 quickly slipping the shawl to one side, then back again at 
 short intervals, which caused the smoke to ascend in puffs 
 similar to that often seen ascending from the smoke-stack 
 of a locomotive. The warning signal never failed to be seen 
 by the ever watchful eyes of the Indian warrior, who was 
 ever on the alert, whether anticipating danger or not. As 
 soon as a few puffs of smoke had ascended, the burning 1 
 grass was extinguished; then each one of the raiding party 
 from his point of the prairie acknowledged the warning by 
 doing the same; and though scattered miles apart on the 
 broad prairie, each one was made aware of the impending 
 danger, and gave proper heed thereto by retreating at once 
 to a pre-arranged point of rendevouz 50 or 60 miles to 
 the rear. 
 
 The mounds in the densely timbered regions east of the 
 Mississippi river were mostly found to be erected on the 
 hills and bluffs of the river valleys, from which, as a centre, 
 they extended to other more distant points. Upon these 
 mounds signal fires were made, which were fully understood 
 in all their significations by all Indians; and thus a commu 
 nication was established between different parts of their 
 country, and important information communicated to their 
 wide-extended towns and villages, since the lighten a mound 
 thirty, forty and even sixty feet high, erected on the high 
 bluffs and points, some of which a hundred or more feet 
 high themselves, could be seen up and down the valley fort}^ 
 miles distant. 
 
 Thus, from the highest mounds on those great bluffs, 
 which then looked out upon as fair an inland picture as it was 
 
562 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 possible to conceive, those signal mounds of the pre-historic 
 North American Indians and their descendants, flashed their 
 fires in their great signal system extending- all over their 
 country, fire answering fire and wreathes of smoke speaking 
 to -other wreathes of smoke, all conveying messages from 
 the lakes of the north to the gulf of the south. 
 
 Some tribes erected them as sites for the houses of their 
 chiefs and families, of which there is abundant proof; others 
 as cemeteries for the bones of their dead, which is also sus 
 tained by undoubted evidence, and others again as means of 
 defense, sustained by the best authority. Yet there are 
 many who still endeavor to inculcate the belief that these 
 mounds and old fortifications scattered here and there over 
 the western continent, many of which are visible even to the 
 present time, were the work of a race of people who inhabi 
 ted the continent long prior to the Indians; and who were 
 far advanced beyond them in civilization and were even 
 familiar, to some extent, with the arts and sciences, basing 
 their opinions upon the belief that the Indians, being "un 
 skilled in any of the arts," and also being "few in number, 
 were wholly unable" to erect such works. 
 
 But the so often repeated assertion that the North Amer 
 ican Indians, when discovered by the Europeans, were un 
 skilled in any of the human arts, and also few in number, is 
 not sustained by the writings of the early explorers of the 
 continent anywhere. All who are familiar with the writings 
 of the earl} discoverers and explorers, know what a numer 
 ous population was found everywhere, from Maine to Cali 
 fornia, and from the Carolinas to Oregon, and what ingenuity 
 was displayed by the natives everywhere in the building of 
 fortifications, temples, canoes and making bow and arrows. 
 And when we take into consideration that they were not ex 
 clusively an agricultural people, and engaged in no pursuit 
 principally but that of war and the chase, they had more 
 time to engage in such occupations as erecting mounds, for 
 tifications, etc., than any other people on the globe, especially 
 since time to them was a matter of no consideration what 
 ever. The writers, who accompanied De So to in his advent 
 urous expedition ^154o) from Florida to Arkansas, state that 
 the mounds were thrown up for the purpose of building on 
 their top-/, the bouses of their chiefs, while his subjects 
 erected their houses around the base; and they even describe 
 the manner in which the earth was carried to the place. 
 
 On the 18th of may 1838, a party of literary and scien 
 tific gentlemen from Natchez, Mississippi, examined two 
 square mounds three and a half miles below the city, 
 between the bluff and the river, about a mile from the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 563 
 
 river and one-eighth of a mile from the bluff, rising 
 .from 11 to 16 feet above the level upon which they are based. 
 The two mounds stood about 500 feet apart, ranging north 
 and south of each other, the larg-er being- 66 feet square, and 
 16 feet high, and the other 33 feet square and 11 feet high. 
 An excavation was made in the latter clear to the bottom 
 and, as usual human bones and numerous and various pieces 
 of Indian pottery; and trinkets were found at different 
 depths; as both structures were similar, no excavation was 
 made in the larger one. On the 20th of May, 1838, a party 
 of 25 men from Natchez visited a large mound standing 
 about 10 miles east of that city. On approaching the mound 
 from the west, states the writer, it presents the appearance 
 of a long, straight battery of earth, with a sloping, regular 
 front and platform at the top, with a few moderate ele 
 vations or towers upon the terrace, the whole being over 
 looked by an abrupt tower at the eastern end towards 
 Natchez; which rises nearly as high above the terrace or 
 platform as that does above the circumjacent plain. In ap 
 proaching the mound on the southern side, it presents a 
 most imposing and martial character, and the traces of de 
 sign are so apparent that the observer cannot but ascribe it 
 to the work of man, and involuntarily feels that so enor 
 mous a pile must have been the creation of heads that 
 planned, and hands that labored through long periods of 
 time. Its magnitude however did not impress the beholder 
 at first with its full proportions; but after ascending, its 
 steep face to the broad terrace, which is itself the base of 
 the great western tower and also of four other smaller 
 ones, and glancing" at the general outline of the foundation 
 mound, which has the appearance of a parallelogram, with 
 a regular southern side and an irregular front on the north, 
 then walking over the terrace which includes an area of 
 nearly five acres, and looking up at the western tower, it 
 self a parallelogram (perhaps once a perfect one) of 80 or 
 more feet in length and 50 in breadth, the mind fully com 
 prehends the vastness of the structure, and allows due 
 honor to the pre-historic ancestors of the North American 
 Indian race, who have left behind them such a mysterious 
 hieroglyphic of power, speaking a language of grandeur, 
 yet without a relic of a single word that we rh-ay translate 
 into the elements of history. The height of the great ter 
 race, from its base, was, in 1838, 45 feet by measurement, 
 and of the great tower above the terrace, 38 feet, making 
 83 feet in all above the plain. 
 
 The human skeletons, from the great length of time 
 they had been immured, prevented the examining party from 
 
564 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 obtaining- but few perfect specimens ^of craniology. At the 
 depth of about two feet from the surface they found the 
 skeleton of a full sized man from which, no doubt, much 
 earth must have washed away during- the long- years that had 
 passed since there entombed. The skull was indisputably a 
 compressed one of a Flat Head Indian, or one whose head in 
 infancy had undergone the compressing- process, a custom, 
 it is said by the early writers, practiced by the ancient an 
 cestors of the present Choctaws. 
 
 The sides of the larg-er mounds are nearly wholly en 
 cased about one foot beneath the surface of the earth with a 
 kind of rubbish resembling- slack baked bricks, regardless 
 of regularity of form, as if laid upon the original steep faces 
 of the mound to^ prevent the washing away of the soil. 
 This rude roofing, formed of a clay base, mixed with hair or 
 moss, like modern mortar, may once have been continuous, 
 or it may not have been otherwise than it was when discov 
 ered; in either case it was a sufficient security against the 
 action of rain water. .The soil above the rubbish was filled 
 with fragments of pottery, pieces of human and animal 
 bones, charcoal and the debris of the top of the mound and 
 of the smaller towers which seem to have been almost en 
 tirely washed away. The pottery found was made of differ 
 ent colors; some pieces were brick colored; others slate color 
 ed; others white. The pieces were large enough to show the 
 shape and curve of the circumference of the vessels of 
 which the pieces were a part. Some of the pieces proved 
 the original to/have been of beautiful structure. 
 
 In visiting the "Castine Mounds," near the Cahokia 
 creek, in Illinois, a writer says: "After a drive of an hour 
 and a half the second group of eminences, known as the 
 Castine Mounds, appeared upon the prairie at a distance of 
 three or four miles; the celebrated Monk Hill, the largest 
 monument of the kind yet discovered in North America, 
 heaving up its giant form, forest clothed from in the midst; 
 as it is first beheld, surrounded by the lesser heaps, it is 
 mistaken by the traveler for an elevation of natural origin; 
 as he draws nig;h, and at length stands at the base, its stu 
 pendous magnitude, its lofty summit, towering above his 
 head and throwing its broad shadow far across the meadow; 
 its slopes plowed with yawning ravines by the torrents of 
 centuries, descending to the plane ; its surface and declivi 
 ties perforated by the habitations of burrowing animals, and 
 carpeted with tangled thickets; the vast size of the aged 
 oaks rearing themselves from its soil, all confirm his impres 
 sion that no hand but that of the mightiest could have reared 
 the enormous mass. At that moment, should he be assured 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 565 
 
 that his vast earth-heap was of origin demonstrably artifi 
 cial, he would smile, but credulity the most sanguine would 
 fail to credit the assertion. But when, with jealous eye, 
 slowly and cautiously, and with measured footsteps he has 
 circled its base; when he has surveyed its slopes and decliv 
 ities from every position, and has remarked the peculiar 
 uniformity of its structure, and the mathematical exactitude 
 of its outline; when he has ascended to its summit, and 
 looked around upon the piles of a similar character by which 
 it is surrounded; when he has taken into consideration its 
 situation upon a river bottom of a nature decidedly diluvial, 
 and, of consequence, utterly incompatible with the natural 
 origin of such elevations; when he has examined the soil of 
 which it is composed, and has discovered it to be uniformly, 
 throughout the entire mass, of the same mellow and friable 
 species as that of the prairies at its base; and. when he has 
 listened with scrutiny to the facts which, on examination of 
 its depths, has thrown to light of its nature and its contents, 
 he is compelled, however reluctantly, yet without a doubt, to 
 declare that the gigantic pile is incontestibly the workman 
 ship of man s hand." But when, by what race of mankind, 
 and for what purpose? What changes they have undergone, 
 what vicissitudes and resolutions, like massive waves, have 
 rolled at their base during the centuries that have come and 
 gone, who can conjecture? As the gloom}*- and silent pyra 
 mids of Egypt, for ages unnumbered, have looked down 
 upon generation after generation as they came and went, 
 and whose existence remains a mystery, so too do the 
 mounds of North America point our inquiry back beyond 
 the grasp of human thought into the shades and mists of 
 centuries past, and bid us seek their origin and history 
 there. But their design was evidently for various purposes 
 some as cemeteries, some as fortifications, some as watch- 
 towers or vedettes, for religious ceremonies and memorials. 
 The largest of the Castine group of about fifty is Monk 
 Mound, whose base is said to be nearly six hundred yards 
 in circumference and in height nearly a hundred feet. Its 
 form is that of a rectangle, lying north and south; and upon 
 the latter extremity, which commands the view down the 
 bottom, is spread out a broad terrace, or rather a steppe to 
 the main body, about twenty feet lower than the summit, ex 
 tending the whole length of the side and is said to be one 
 hundred and fifty feet in breadth. At the left extremity of 
 this terrace winds up the sloping pathway from the prairie 
 to the summit of the mound. A well, it is also stated, has 
 been sunk on the western side of the mound (Mound Monk) 
 to the depth of ninety feet which penetrates the heart of the 
 
566 ^HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 -mound, but cannot reach, from its depth, lower than the 
 level of the surrounding- plain. And it is stated, when it was 
 excavated, fragments of pottery, decayed ears of corn and 
 various other articles were broug-ht up from a depth. of sixty 
 five feet; surely a conclusive proof, if true, that it is of ar 
 tificial structure. The mound is supposed to have taken its 
 name from a society of ecclesiastics of the La Trappe order 
 who dwelt there for many years in the early part of the pre 
 sent century. 
 
 Garcellasso de la Vega, says, in laying off the ground for 
 a town, the first thing that the Indians did, was the erection 
 of a mound, upon the top of which the houses of the chief 
 and his family and attendants were built; and at the base a 
 large square was laid off, around which the principal war 
 riors built their houses, while the common people placed 
 theirs on the opposite side of the mound from the square. 
 
 All the early explorers repeatedly state that they saw 
 the mounds in all parts of the country through which they 
 passed. Here then we learn of -Mound Builders (Indians) 
 nearly three and a half centuries ago. They were also 
 thrown up as a means of defense. When the French under 
 Bienville defeated the Natchez Indians in 1730, and drove 
 them from theii; country, where the city of Natchez, Mis 
 sissippi, now stands, and for whom the city was named, 
 they established themselves upon the Lower Washita, 
 Louisiana. Two years after they were again attacked and 
 defeated by the French, yet they had in those two years- 
 constructed mounds and embankments covering an area of 
 400 acres, which they used as means of defense against the 
 French in their second attack upon them. This is attested 
 by several authors, some of whom were eye witnesses. 
 This was done nearly 200 years after De Sato s invasion. 
 Some of these mounds were very large, and were still to be 
 seen 40 years ago; and no doubt still stand as monuments 
 of the thrilling scenes w r hich once were enacted there, dur 
 ing which a once proud, prosperous, and happy people were 
 blotted out as a nation. Truly what sad emotions must 
 awaken in the heart of the Christian when he contemplates 
 and ponders upon such dramas acted in/nature s vast theatre! 
 Who can mistake them? Verily,, life is a storm, and war 
 and bloodshed are its gloomy clouds. 
 
 McCulloh, in his. "Researches," p. 516, says, when 
 speaking of the larger mounds: "They were sites for the 
 dwellings of the chiefs, for council houses, temples and cem 
 eteries, which- fancy and conceit have constructed into va 
 rious shapes and variously situated, one to the other." All 
 know, who have any knowledge of the early history of the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 567 
 
 ) 
 
 western continent, that these mounds and fortifications have 
 been found scattered all over the continent, and whenever 
 or wherever a mound has been excavated, human bones, 
 together with various ornaments, wampum, pottery, arrow 
 heads, all of rude manufacture, have been found, clearly 
 indicating" their Indian origin. On the land of Judge Mes 
 sier, 21 miles from Fort Gaines, Ala.^ were, years ago, a 
 very remarkable group of mounds. The largest was 70 feet 
 in height and 600 in circumference, and was covered with 
 large forest trees, estimated to be, from appearance, from 
 400 to 500 years old. A shaft has been sunk in the centre 
 to the depth of "60 feet, and at its lower portion a bed of hu 
 man bones, five feet in thickness, and in a perfectly decom 
 posed state, was discovered. Two in this group of mounds 
 are thirty feet in height, having hearth-stones on the top 
 similar to the largest, with charred wood around them, evi 
 dently showing that they were used for sacrificial purposes. 
 A wall of earth encloses the three largest, outside of which 
 are four, twenty feet high (Picket!,. Vol. 1, p. 168;. 
 
 The Choctaws, who lived in large villages before their 
 exodus from Mississippi to the west, first placed their dead 
 upon scaffolds, near the villages; and those living in the 
 country near their homes, where they were carefully 
 guarded from the beasts and birds of prey, until decomposi 
 tion had thoroughly accomplished its work. Afterwards on 
 a previously appointed day, the remaining flesh was picked 
 from the bones by officials called Bone-Pickers many of 
 whom I have seen in the days of my boyhood. When their 
 duty had been performed, the bones were depositedlna box 
 and carried away and placed in the common bone-house, an~d 
 there sacredly kept until the appointed day rolled around 
 for a general bone-burying; which was once a year. Then 
 all from neighboring villages and country brought, in 
 solemn and imposing ceremony, the boxes containing the 
 bones of their dead to the place of interment where they 
 were laid away in one common grave, into which were cast 
 as memorial tokens various articles, such as earthen pots, 
 bows and arrows, tomahawks, ornaments, etc.; all of which 
 were first covered with ashes and charred coals, then filled 
 up with earth; then over all was erected a mound. The 
 same cemetery or mound was used as a place of deposit foj* 
 the bones of their dead for a long series of years, until it be 
 came in size and height inconvenient, and then another spot 
 was chosen, upon which, in like manner, another mound 
 gradually arose. That the custom of the ancient Choctaws 
 in disposing of their dead was also practiced by many of the 
 North American Indian^, is evident from the fact that, in 
 
568 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 digging into these mounds, wherever found, after passing 
 through a stratum of earth about two feet in thickness a bed 
 of ashes and charcoal is first met, then a bed of human 
 bones together with fragments of pottery, arrow heads, and 
 Indian ornaments; then follows another stratum of earth, 
 which is succeeded by a stratum of ashes and charcoal, then 
 of human bones, pottery, ornaments and arrow points, thus 
 on to the bottom. It is a conceded fact that, in nearly every 
 mound that has been excavated, there have been found 
 human bones, with more or less of various articles such as 
 broken pottery vessels, implements of stone and copper; 
 flint heads of spears and arrows; figures of various birds 
 and reptiles, shells and teeth of /carnivorous animals; orna 
 ments of silver, tin, copper and beads. 
 
 I read the following in the American Antiquarian over 
 the signature of H. F. Buck-ner: 
 
 "Mr. Maxwell, in a historical address, says: My^Vcon- 
 viction is that the high grade of military skill displayed by 
 the Mound Builders at Carthage, Alabama, attests a know 
 ledge of the necessities of attack and defense unknown to 
 the mode of warfare practised by the tribes found here by 
 De Soto." 
 
 Mr. Maxwell does not state in what respect the high 
 grade of military engineering skill displayed by the Mound 
 Builders at Carthage, Alabama, attests a knowledge of the 
 necessities of attack and defense unknown to the mode of 
 warfare practiced by the tribes found here by De Soto. 
 However, I will here state that the old Shakchih Humma 
 fort, within the enclosure of which was established the mis 
 sionary station among the Choctaws, called Hebron, of which 
 I have already spoken, and where I spent many years of my 
 life, displayed as "high grade of military engineering skill" 
 and attested a "knowledge of the necessities of attack and 
 defense" equal to our high grade of military engineering 
 skill displayed in the military forts erected throughout the 
 present Indian Territory, of which I have had an occular 
 demonstration. 
 
 "Who the Mound Builders were it is impossible to de 
 termine," continues Mr. Maxwell. "They were not built by 
 the ancestors of the tribes found here by De Soto, as they 
 pretended no knowledge of their construction, traditional or 
 otherwise." 
 
 Truly, a poor basis upon which to predicate the above 
 broad assertion; since De Soto s expedition was made alone 
 for the purpose of finding gold, while to learn the history of 
 the Indians, whom he regarded as a species of the, human 
 race scarcely above the brute creation, was not in all his 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 569 
 
 thoughts; nor did the Indians, unasked, ever mention the 
 subject of their history to the white man never. 
 
 "The only tradition they had or have is, that their fore 
 fathers found the mounds when they emigrated from the 
 Mexican Empire to the east of the Mississippi river, exter 
 minated the ancient inhabitants and appropriated the coun 
 try, so that we are compelled to go back to remote ages for 
 the only reasonable solution." 
 
 The above is an egregious error, as far as the Choctaws 
 and Chickasaws are concerned, for their traditions were 
 utterly silent in regard to the mounds, except that of Nunih 
 Waiyah (of which I have already spoken), which is one among 
 the largest, if not the largest, ever found in the now state of 
 Mississippi. 
 
 Is it not greatly inconsistent and unreasonable for Mr. 
 Maxwell to boldly assert, "My conviction is that the high 
 grade of military engineering skill displayed by the Mound 
 Builders at Carthage, Alabama, attests a knowledge of the 
 necessities of attack and defense unknown to the mode of 
 warfare practiced by the tribes found here by De Soto," and 
 then at once assert that the Indians, ignorant of all know 
 ledge "of the necessities of attack and defense," could ex 
 terminate the ancient inhabitants (Mound Builders) and ap 
 propriate the country to their own use? 
 
 Buckner, quoting from Maxwell s address, continues: 
 
 "Prescott says (vol. 2, pp 368 and 391) that the ancient 
 Aztecs* long before the days of Montezuma, had a tradition 
 that when they entered the Mexican valley they found simi 
 lar mounds containing just the same kind of materials as I 
 found in those at Carthage, Alabama, and that two of the 
 largest had been dedicated to the worship of the sun and 
 moon (another proof that they were built by the ancestors 
 of our Indians, among whom the Natchez Indians were wor 
 shippers of the sun even after they had settled upon the 
 banks of the Mississippi river), and that two of the largest 
 were dedicated to the worship of the stars, and served as 
 sepulchers for the great men of the Nation besides." 
 
 Exactly. They served as sepulchers for the great men 
 of the Nation, for which the ancient Natchez of Mississippi 
 erected the mounds, as well as other North American tribes. 
 "That the plane on which they stood was called Micoati, or 
 The Path of the Dead." Another proof that they were the 
 ancestors of the North American Indians, for the word Mi 
 coati is a corruption of the Choctaw words. Miko, king or 
 chief, and aiantah, to occupy; i. e., occupied by the king or 
 chief; and "Now, when the laborer turns up the ground, he 
 still finds numerous arrow-heads and blades of obsidian." 
 
570 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 The same things that are found in all the mounds scattered 
 over the North American continent, with the exception of 
 obsidian, as there were no volcanoes east of the Mississippi 
 river, "which attest the war-like character of its primitive 
 population." Still additional proof that they were the ances 
 tors of the North American Indians. 
 
 Continuing . Mr. Buckner says: "I prefer to leave it still 
 open for investigation until greater pains shall have been 
 taken to explore the archaeological wonders of this country." 
 And which no discovery will ever prove the mound builders 
 to-be others than the ancestors of the North American In 
 dians. 
 
 "Of one tiling we are sure, the Choctaws loved the bones 
 of their ancestors and of their people. This unlocks the 
 mystery of their funeral rites. They believed in immortal 
 ity and eternal life; and such was their veneration for their 
 dead that they. picked the flesh from their bones. Knowing 
 that they could not carry all their remains, and when forced 
 to remove from one place to another, it was the business of 
 certain appointed persons to carry these bones with them 
 until they could be again deposited in a place of rest and 
 safety." ... 
 
 The last clause above is but one of the thousand errors 
 published about the Indians. The ancient Choctaws, it is 
 true, did pick the bones of their dead, after having been 
 placed upon a high scaffold and decomposition had com 
 pleted its work, but never for the purpose Mr. Buckner has 
 above stated. After the bone-pickers (appointed for that 
 business) had picked all the flesh from the bones which de 
 composition had not wholly destroyed, the bones were taken 
 down and placed in a box, then the box was carried to the 
 bone-house, and therein placed; and when the bone-house be 
 came full of boxes all were taken to the cemetery-mound 
 and placed thereon and covered with earth to the depth of 
 about three feet. When this custom was abolished, the 
 Choctaws adopted the mode of burial in a sitting posture; 
 then this mode was abolished and that of the whites adopted 
 which is continued to this day. The Choctaws, as all North 
 American Indians of whom I ever read, or with whom I 
 was personally acquainted, never carried the bones of their 
 dead from one place to another, but buried them, and woe 
 to him who desecrated the mound cemetery by digging into 
 it, or in any way disturbed its sacred contents. But to re 
 turn from my digression. 
 
 Bartram, in his "Travels," page 516, positively asserts 
 that the Choctaws, when the bone-houses were full, took the 
 bones and buried them in a common grave and erected a 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 571 
 
 mound over them. And it is evident that the bone-houses of 
 the ancient Choctaws, when first known to the Europeans, 
 were but miniature temples of their ancestors who preceded 
 them centuries before. Bartram also discovered many pecu 
 liar mounds in East Florida, during his early explorations 
 through the now southern states. Some were square, sur 
 rounded by walls of earth, and others were pyramidal of 
 great height. "From the river St. John, southwardly to the 
 point of the peninsula of Florida," he states, "are to be 
 seen high pyramidal mounds, with spacious and extended 
 avenues leading from them out of the town to an artificial 
 lake or pond of water." In another place he says: "At 
 about 50 yards distance from the landing place stands a mag 
 nificent Indian mound. But what greatly contributed to the 
 beauty of the scene was a noble Indian highway, which led 
 from the great mound in a straight line three-fourths of a 
 mile through a forest of live oaks to the verge of an oblong 
 artificial lake, which was on the edge of an extensive level 
 savannah. This grand highway was about fifty yards wide, 
 sunk a little below the common level, and the earth thrown 
 on each side, making a bank about two feet high." 
 
 Charlevoix and Tantiboth speak of Indians who inhabi 
 ted the region of country around Lake Michigan, who were 
 well skilled in the art-of erecting mounds and fortifications, 
 Charlevoix also states that the Wyandots and the Six Nations 
 disinterred their dead and took the bones from their graves 
 where they had lain for several years and carried them to a 
 large pit previously prepared, in which they deposited them, 
 with the property of the deceased, filling up the pit with 
 earth and erected a mound over it. 
 
 A string of sleigh-bells much corroded, but still capable 
 of tinkling, is said to have been found among the flint and 
 bone implements in excavating a mound in Tennessee; while 
 in Mississippi, at a point where De Soto is supposed to have 
 camped, a Spanish coat-of-arms in silver, one blade of a pair 
 of scissors, and other articles- of European manufacture 
 were found in a mound evidently which had been picked up- 
 by some Indian after the Spaniards had gone, and buried 
 with him at his death as being among his treasured posses 
 sions while living. 
 
 Two copper plates were found in a Georgia mound, 
 upon which were stamped figures resembling the sculptures- 
 upon the Central American ruins, the workmanship of which 
 is said to be far superior to that displayed in the articles of 
 pottery, stone and bone found in the mound; though, aside 
 from these plates nothing was found to indicate a connec 
 tion between the mound builders and the Aztecs or the Pue- 
 
572 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 bios. Still their origin is not inexplicable; since it is reason 
 able to conclude that communications between the inhabi 
 tants of Central America, Mexico and the North American 
 Indians, were possible and even actually existed. But ad 
 mitting- this impossible, yet, it is not unreasonable to sup- 
 .pose that the two copper plates may have found their way 
 from Central America to Mexico; thence to Spain through 
 some one of Cortez s army; thence to Georgia by some one 
 in the army of De Soto only twenty years after. And, as 
 the string- of sleig-h-bells, Spanish coat-of-arms and scissors 
 were obtained by the Indians from De Soto s army so too did 
 the Spaniards obtain the copper plates from the Aztecs; and 
 North American Indians, in turn, from the Spaniards, more 
 .reasonable and easier to reconcile with truth, than to be 
 lieve that the two copper plates, found in the Georg-ia mound, 
 were the workmanship of a race of people ages prior to 
 the ancestry of the North American Indians. And though 
 several human skulls have been found in North America, 
 which upon examination, have led to the, belief that they be 
 longed to the human race living before v the glacial period, 
 yet that is not sufficient to overturn the reasonable belief 
 that the races of that ancient epoch are those of to-day, the 
 same cranial and facial forms being found, in spite of the 
 lapse of years and change of environment. Besides in re 
 gard to the copper plates found in a mound in Georgia, it is 
 an established fact that the Indians were acquainted with 
 copper three centuries ago. Hudson in exploring the 
 north in 1609, found the Indians using copper pipes and 
 wearing ornaments of the same metal. He states: "They 
 had red copper tobacco pipes, and other things of copper 
 they did wear about their necks." DeSoto<<ilso found that 
 the Southern Indians used copper as well as stone axes, of 
 which I have seen many in Mississippi. 
 
 It is an admitted fact that the ancient fortifications of the 
 Southern Indians corresponded exactly with those of the 
 Northern; and it has also been conclusively shown, by care 
 ful examination and comparison, that the skulls of the so- 
 called "Mound Builders" and the ancient people of Mexico, 
 also the Incas of Peru, together with the Southern 
 Indians of this continent, are so similar that the conclusion 
 is irresistible that they are of the same race of people. 
 Thomas, in his writings upon this subject, affirms: "This 
 proof is conclusive that the Southern Indians, when first 
 visited by the Europeans, were the builders of the mounds 
 of that region, which brings those works down to a date sub 
 sequent to the entry of the civilized tribes of MeAico." 
 Now, it is certain, according to the statement of the early 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 573 
 
 missionaries sent among- them, that all the tribes of the Gulf 
 States, as well as many others of different localities upon 
 the continent, if not all, had traditions of western, north 
 western and southwestern origin. Many of which I have 
 learned from the lips of the Indians themselves. 
 
 I will here insert the names of a few of the mounds 
 found in various localities upon the North American conti 
 nent: 
 
 Eagle Effigy, mound discovered in Georgia and measuring 
 from tip to tip of the wings, 132 feet; is made of stones and 
 surrounded by a circle composed also of stone. 
 
 The Great Serpent mound, discovered in Adams county, 
 Ohio. Another effigy mound, and erected on a hill formed 
 by the junction of a ravine, with the main branch of a creek 
 known as Brush creek, which rises 150 feet above the creek. 
 The hill is said to be in a wild region of country, and affords 
 an extensive view. The form of this mound is said to be 
 irregular, crescent shaped, and points to the northwest; thus 
 pointing, seemingly, to the direction whence its builders 
 came to the continent, while being erected as a memorial of 
 that event. The traditions of all the tribes with whom I 
 am personally acquainted, and of all of whom I have 
 read, point to the northwest as the direction of the 
 country whence they came to this. The entire length, ac 
 cording to MacLion s measurement of the serpent part, is 
 116 feet, and the space of the extended jaws, 100 feet; the 
 oval figure, 113 feet long and 50 feet wide; the head portion 
 is 55 feet. Mr. Squier affirms that the length, if extended, 
 \vould reach 1000 feet, while Prof. Putnam, of Harvard, says 
 it would reach to the distance of 1415 feet. 
 
 The Cahokia Mound, standing hear St. Louis, is said to 
 be the largest artificial mound upon the continent. It is 700 
 feet long by 500 feet wide at-the base, and 90 feet high, cov 
 ering 8 acres of land, with about 20,000,000 cubic feet of con 
 tents so it has been declared. 
 
 Many effigv mounds have been found in Wisconsin. 
 Some are over 150 feet long and about 15 feet in width, and 
 varying from 1 to 4 feet high. 
 
 Besides the effigy mounds there are Memorial Mounds, 
 Cemetery Mounds, Signal Mounds, Mounds erected for the 
 houses of chiefs, etc., scattered over the various Southern 
 States. 
 
 But who has ever found the line between the so-called 
 Mound Builders and the North American Indians? No one. 
 Nor will it. ever be found. The Indians not only erected 
 mounds for various specific purposes, but fortified their vil- 
 
574 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 lages with walls, and ditches filled with water; also with rows 
 of palisades interwoven with branches of trees. 
 
 At Tampa Bay, where De Soto is said to have landed in 
 his wild search for gold, his chroniclers state "That the 
 house of the chief was erected near the shore on a very high 
 mound made by hand." 
 
 And Garcillasso says: "The town and the house of the 
 Cazique (chief) Ossachile" (Choctaw words corrupted from 
 Ossi, eagle, chahlih, swift) are like those of the other 
 caziques." 
 
 Biedman says: "The caziques of this country, (sup 
 posed to be now Arkansas) make a custom of raising, near 
 their dwellings, very high hills, on which they sometimes 
 build their huts. 
 
 La Harpe,1n visiting the Indians on the lower Missis 
 sippi in 1820, says: "They are dispersed over the country 
 upon mounds of earth made with their own hands." 
 
 The Natchez, who were exterminated by the French in 
 1739, were also Mound Builders. DuPratz, who had lived 
 among them in 1718, says "of their customs, "Their tem 
 ple was about 30 feet square, and erected on a mound 8 
 feet high; that the house of the chief was built on a mound 
 of the same height and sixty feet over the surface. (Father 
 Le Petit, Note, page 142,) 
 
 Charlevoix, a Jesuit priest, describes the mounds 
 
 erected to a considerable extent in his writings, he says: 
 
 "When a chief died, the mound upon which his house was 
 
 erected, was abandoned, and a new one thrown up for his 
 
 successor." 
 
 Golden says of the Iroquois, "They make a round hole 
 in which the body is placed, then they raise the earth in a 
 round hill over it." 
 
 It was the custom of the ancient Choctaws to gather the 
 bones of all who had died during several years, which had 
 been safely kept in their bone-houses in boxes, bury them all 
 together in a common grave and then erect a mound over 
 them. It is also stated that the ancient Iroquois, at the ex 
 piration of every eight or ten years, gathered together the 
 bones of their dead and erected a mound over them. 
 
 Catlin, in his North American Indians (p. 95), states that 
 when he visited the pipe-stone quarry in Dakota, in 1832, he 
 saw a conical mound 10 feet high which had been erected 
 over the buried body of a young man who was accidentally 
 killed two years before. 
 
 Jefferson, in his "Notes on Virginia" (p. 191), in refer 
 ence to the mounds, says : "A party of Indians passing 
 about 30 years ago through the part of the country where 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 575 
 
 this mound is, went through the woods directly to it without 
 any instruction or inquiry; and having- staid about it some 
 time, with expressions of grief, they returned to the high 
 road, which they had left about a half dozen miles to pay the 
 visit, and pursued their journey." They had but visited 
 the grave of their loved ones for the last time. 
 
 "The types of the human skulls taken from those ancient 
 mounds said to have been erected by a pre-historic race, and 
 now called "Mound Builders" a race claimed to be far su 
 perior to our Indians are characteristic, not only of the 
 ancient Mexicans, Peruvians and other ancient tribes of 
 South America, but also of the ancient Natchez, Muscog-ees, 
 Choctaws, Chickasaws, Cherokees, Seminoles, Yamases and 
 others of the North American continent. And it is a con 
 ceded fact that all Indians ever found in North and South 
 America possess many common features. I have seen the 
 native Indians of Mexico, Arizona and California, and recog 
 nized them at once to be of the North American Indian race. 
 I have seen them singly and in groups; given special atten 
 tion to their features, the expression of their eyes, their 
 walk and manner of sitting-, their manner of carrying- their 
 babes and heavy burdens, and found them all to be exactly 
 the same as the southern Indians over seventy years ago. 
 
 The Indians of North America, as well as those of South 
 America, when first known to the whites down to the years 
 they were banished to the then wilderness west of the Mis 
 sissippi river, lived everywhere in villages and towns upon 
 the sites of which stand today many of our towns and cities: 
 Natchez, Mobile, New York and others. Carter, in 1535, 
 visited an Indian village named Ho-che-la-ga; De Soto, 1540, 
 and all the early explorers, La Salle and others down to 
 Lewis and Clark, in 1804; thence to the missionaries, in 
 1815; and thence to their banishment w r est of the Mississippi 
 river, found the Indians everywhere living in towns and vil 
 lages, proving- the long reiterated assertion that they were 
 nomadic, to be without even the shadow of truth upon which 
 to lay a foundation. They had fixed habitations even as the 
 whites, who move from place to place ten times as often as 
 the Indian. 
 
 All their ancient villages and towns were fortified. 
 Charlevoix, in his "Travels in North America, says: "The 
 Indian villages in Canada were surrounded with double, 
 and sometimes triple, rows of palisades, interwoven with 
 branches of trees. The Pequod villages, destroyed by 
 the English, in 1631, were surrounded by palisades. 
 
 Champlain, who, in 1615, invaded, with the Hurons as 
 allies, the territory of the Iroquois, found their villages 
 
576 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 strongly fortified. Biedman says: "We journeyed two 
 days, and reached an Indian village in a plain, surrounded 
 by" walls and a ditch filled by water, which had been made 
 by the Indians." Brackenridge, in his "Views of Louisi 
 ana," says: "The custom of palisading appears to have 
 been general among the Northern Tribes." 
 
 "Mavilla" (now Mobile, Alabama,) says Biedman, "stood 
 on a plane surrounded by strong walls." The early explor 
 ers found it the same in Mexico, Central and South America. 
 Yet, regardless of all the indisputable proofs to the contrary, 
 the works of the Indians have been ascribed to another, and 
 entirely different race of people called "Mound Builders," 
 .though their imagined works are exactly similar to those 
 known to be the work of the Indians, a common design per 
 vading the whole everywhere with the same stone implements, 
 axes, flint pointed arrowheads etc., also the same kind of per 
 sonal ornaments, silver, tin, copper, etc., all proving that 
 they are, and can be no other, than the works of our Indians 
 ancestors, if testimony is .any longer valid. Well and truth 
 fully has Brackenridge said in his "Views of Louisiana" 
 (p. 182), "We are often tempted by a fondness for the mar 
 velous to seek out remote and impossible causes for that 
 which may be explained by the most obvious." Not only 
 tempted, but yield to the temptation with wonderful alacrity. 
 The mounds are evidently the work of the Iridians and their 
 ancestors back through ages past; and, with equal truth 
 it may be said, they also lived in permanent stockaded towns 
 and villages, many of which much larger than many of our 
 towns and villages that imagine themselves to be what they 
 are not and never will be, by assuming the cognomen of city; 
 equally as absurd and ridiculous as the Don Quixote idea of 
 creating an imaginative, prehistoric race of people, and call 
 them "The Mound Builders"; since the fact is, the more the 
 subject is studied the more does truth point to the Indians 
 and their ancestors as the true Mound Builders, whose 
 mounds once so beautifully dotted various portions of this 
 continent; though now defaced and destroyed by the level- 
 ing influence of ages, together with the destructive charac 
 teristics of the White Race; yet leaving the imagination of 
 these modern knights of Lamanca a wide field in which to 
 indulge their sentimental propensities. 
 
 In Morgan s "Ancient Society," page 12, he says: "The 
 Ojibway Indians were peculiarly skilled in making stone 
 pipes, of which many showed elaborate skill in the carv 
 ing." 
 
 The Indians were also skilled in the art of pottery, as 
 is fully proven by the numerous examples of their work 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 577 
 
 seen by the early explorers. DuPratz spoke particularly 
 of the skill of the Natchez Indians in the art of pottery,, 
 Catlin also of the same thing- among- the Mandan Indians,, 
 He says: "I have seen specimens of pottery, which have 
 been dug- up in Indian mounds and tombs in the Southern 
 and Middle States, placed in our Eastern museums, and 
 looked upon as a great wonder, when here this novelty is at 
 once done away with, and the whole mystery, where wo 
 men can be seen handling- and using- them by hundreds, and 
 they can be seen every day in the summer, also, molding 
 into many fanciful forms and passing- them through the 
 kilns, where they are hardened. Others, after careful ex 
 amination of the contents and remains of the mounds exca 
 vated in different and various states, claimed to be the work 
 of a pre-historic race wholly different from our Indian Race, 
 whom they named "The Mound Builders," have found them 
 to be, in all respects, exactly like those found in the mounds, 
 known to have been built by the Indians, and also in and 
 around old Indian villages. The Southern Indians had 
 spades and shovels made of cedar, picks, axes and hoes of 
 stone, and spoons of horn; tog-ether with the mortar and 
 pestle, with which they prepared their corn for bread, and 
 the Choctaws and Chickasaws use them to this day. 
 
 It has been reiterated time and again that the Indians 
 had no traditions concerning the origin and design of the 
 mounds, and for this reason it had been asserted that the 
 mounds are the work of an extinct race of such antiquity as 
 to precede the ancient traditions of the Indians. But in this, 
 as in the majority that has been written about that people, 
 u zeal without knowledge" is more manifest than truth. The 
 traditions of the Indians, until within the past ten years, 
 have always and everywhere, been pronounced as myths, 
 absurdities unworthy of credence, though in every instance 
 where they have been put to the test by discovery, they have 
 invariably been confirmed by truth. Besides the Indians 
 everywhere were utterly silent before the whites in regard 
 to the manners, customs and traditions of their tribes, and 
 would only converse upon these subjects with those whites 
 in whom they had the most implicit confidence, such as the 
 missionaries and other intimate white friends who had won 
 their love and confidence ; and the great wonder is that so 
 much of their traditional history has been handed down to 
 us. And it may be truthfully asserted that, through Ithe 
 old missionaries of seventy-five and a hundred years ago, 
 the only true history, national and traditional, of the North 
 American Indians, has been preserved and handed down to 
 the present day; for they alone, of the white race, from first 
 
4 
 
 578 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 tO last, seemed to be the Indians true friend, and proved it 
 to the Indians entire satisfaction by their deeds and daily 
 walk among- them, many of them for over a half century, 
 while all others seemed to delight only in killing-, plundering 
 and defaming them; therefore, though they possessed many 
 traditions in regard to the memorial mounds, effigy mounds 
 and others, they have been silent, ever silent, upon the sub 
 ject; and thus have we forever closed the doors of knowl 
 edge against ourselves in regard to the history of that past, 
 and which we now would gladly read; but "too late" only 
 . ;hoes from those scenes of that mysterious unknown. 
 
 As late as when Lewis and Clark, in 1804, explored Ore- 
 
 ; ; >n, they saw the Western Indians throw up embankments 
 
 H ound their towns, and saw a newly erected mound six feet 
 
 i.igh and twelve feet in diameter at the base which the Maho 
 
 Indians had erected over the bodv of a chief. 
 
 De Soto, also the explorers who followed him two cen 
 turies afterwards, discovered towns strongly fortified with 
 breast-works of timber, around which were cut large ditches. 
 And it is not impossible that the \ery kind of implements 
 used in erecting the mounds by the ancient Indians were the 
 same used in cutting those old intrenchments. And the 
 most reasonable conclusion that can be arrived at is that 
 these ancient relics of the prehistoric past, scattered here 
 and there over the different States of the South and West, 
 are the work of the ancient Indians, and the probabilities are 
 so evident that I am naturally and reasonably confident; yet, 
 if driven back upon positive proof, I frankly acknowledge- 
 that I am. not able to support it, even as he of opposite opin 
 ion is also unable to support his theory by positive proof. 
 
 The mounds those silent memorials of North Ameri 
 can antiquity now mutilated, desecrated, misinterpreted, 
 have lost all meaning. Once, those signs and symbols in 
 -.heaped up earth might have been read, had the 
 ..champions of liberty and the equality of the entire human 
 race, only extended their professed noble characteristics to 
 the descendants of the builders of those memorials, so in 
 stinct with the characteristics of a people over whom they 
 had just begun to extend their power. Then they were tan 
 gible symbols and signs expressing truths known only to 
 Indians, in which they would have instructed the white race 
 had it proved itself their friend and protector, instead of 
 their foe and destroyer. Therefore they were ever reserv 
 ed towards the whites in general, and never revealed their 
 most sacred signs and symbols of the present or past con 
 cerning their race to any white man, except to those who 
 -,by long acquaintance, had completely won their confidence; 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 579 
 
 and it may be truthfully affirmed that, few ever reached 
 that hig-h place in the Indian s heart except the faithful and 
 loving- missionaries; they, and they only, ever penetrated be 
 neath the surface into the inner life and secrets of the North 
 American Indians. 
 
 But they, being- more intent upon the moral and intel 
 lectual improvement of the living Indians, gave little care 
 concerning- the dead. And those sentimental writers of the 
 present day who claim the Mound Builders to be a- race of 
 people far antecedent to the Red, from the fact that the In 
 dians gave a negative reply to all interrogatories made to 
 them concerning the mounds, therefore were utterly ignor 
 ant in all things concerning them, are but the willing- dupes 
 of the -Indians who keep, as much as possible, from the 
 Whites all things relating to their past. I speak from 75 
 years experience. In 1884 I was in the Choctaw Nation and, 
 upon being introduced to an aged Choctaw, born in his na 
 tive domains, east of the Mississippi river. I commenced in 
 terrogating him in his own language when, after replying to 
 a few questions, he suddenly fixed his keen, black eyes upon 
 me and said: "For what purpose do you ask me such ques 
 tions? The Choctaw friend who had introduced me to the 
 old veteran came to my relief most fortunately by telling 
 him who I was; that I was the true friend of all Indians and 
 could be trusted. The old man again turned his eyes upon 
 me, but with a confiding- smile which I fully comprehended, 
 and I found no trouble in obtaining a cheerful reply to any 
 and all my questions. 
 
 Again Colonel Cleiborne, of Natchez. Mississippi, who 
 was then writing a history of the States of Florida, Georgia, 
 Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, but died before com 
 pleting it, and in which necessarily came the five tribes who 
 formerly lived in said States, viz: Choctaws, Chickasaws, 
 Cherokees, Muscogees (Creeks) and Seminoles, stated to me 
 in a letter that he had written several different letters of in 
 quiry to prominent Choctaws whose names had been given 
 him, but never received a single reply, and asked me if I 
 could tell him the reason. I at once "wrote to him and gave 
 him the desired information. In my travels in the Choctaw 
 and Chickasaw Nations, during the last ten years, I have fre 
 quently met aged persons of both tribes with whom I had 
 the pleasure and honor (yes, honor, and of which I am not 
 ashamed even in these my declining years) of being school 
 mates, whose confidence in me is still as firm and unshaken 
 as mine in them, and whose assistance in gathering material 
 for this book has been great, for which I here acknowledge 
 
580 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 my deep and sincere gratitude. God bless my Indian .friends 
 everywhere! 
 
 Yes, the mounds were tangible signs used to express 
 truths known only to their builders the Indians; symbols 
 thrown together in that peculiar connection which the white 
 man is left to interpret the best he can, all to end only in 
 wild conjecture and romantic speculation ; while the build 
 ers, now deprived of all originality and of nearly all remem 
 brance of their former selves, still survive. But, alas, it is 
 the hour when the last day of their liberty perished with no 
 hope of another s dawn; while their future is still darkened 
 with a cloud that hangs motionless above them, as they 
 slowly drift before the monsoon of continued oppression as 
 it rises higher and higher; while the echoes that seem whirl 
 ing on its wings grow louder and louder as if to greet their 
 approaching" doom ; and slow chords of deep-toned woe 
 swell in waves of bitter grief which seem to give voice to all 
 kindred spirits in hopeless despair, as they mingle with the 
 wind that rushes hither and thither in wild and fitful 
 gusts. Verily, what but a sensational, rhetorical nourish is 
 our cry: "Liberty, freedom and independence to all nations 
 of mankind?" since we have denied the Red Race the right 
 of a nation to be a nation, and made their lives a joyless jour 
 ney to a premature and unjust extermination, that we might 
 establish thereon our own freedom whose motto is, "Might 
 is right," and will be as long- as a weaker nation exists over 
 whom we are able to ride with impunity; and, as proof of 
 which, the little remnant of that once numerous and happy 
 people are still a living 1 monument. 
 
 North America may be truly regarded as an olden land 
 with a modern history. That ages ago it was peopled 
 by a numerous race, the ancient ruins left by their former 
 occupants and scattered from .the great northern lakes to 
 the Pacific ocean, afford ample proof. But the origin and 
 history of the pre-historic Indians, evidently as far as now 
 known, the ancestors of our North American Indians, are 
 lost in the mists of antiquity; and the lengthening shadows 
 of time afford to us only a dim conjecture as to who they 
 were, whence and how and at what period, amid the cycles of 
 ages past, they came to this continent. 
 
 Some presume to trace the Indians back to the Neo 
 lithic age; while others affirm that the Eskemo Indians were 
 preceded by the Cave-men, and that they are of Ameri 
 can origin. While Abbott, in his "Primitive Industry," page 
 520, says: "The Eskimo appear to have been the last wave 
 of an aboriginal American race, which has spread over the 
 continent, following principally the rivers and water courses 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 581 
 
 and at last peopled the sea-coasts, and must once have lived 
 much further south." And seemingly, in proof of which, Brin- 
 ton, in his "Myths of the New World," says: "The tradition s 
 of the Tuscarawa Indians that place their own arrival on the 
 Atlantic coast in the year 1300, also refer to a tribe of people 
 that were, at least, much like the Eskimos." 
 
 An educated Tuscarora Indian, named Cusick, and 
 whose tribe, when driven from now the state of North Caro 
 lina by the whites in 1712 moved north and united them 
 selves with the five confederate tribes, making- the sixth, 
 affirms in his writings that an ancient tradition of the Iro- 
 quois states that their ancestors lived in Canada along the 
 banks of the St. Lawrence river; that the Mohawks, then 
 inhabiting the now state of New York, were the oldest-tribe 
 of Indians then known in that region of country; that four 
 other northern tribes united with the Mohawks and formed 
 a confederacy consisting of the Mohawks, Onondagas, Onei- 
 das, Senecas and Cayugas, and held their great national 
 councils on the banks of the St. Lawrence; that far distant 
 south there was also another great nation, to which the five 
 confederates, in council assembled, sent a chief, as embas- 
 sador to said nation, with whom a treaty of peace was made; 
 that in the course of many years, the warriors of the great 
 southern nation (which, no doubt, were the ancestors of the 
 present Cherokees, whose ancient traditions affirm -that they 
 once lived farther north, and were ultimately driven south 
 by their "allied enemies,") trespassed in tbeir hunting ex 
 cursions upon the territories of the confederate tribes, as 
 suming the right of erecting forts here and there. That this 
 considered encroachment, and also violation of the treaty, 
 resulted in a protracted war that finally terminated in the 
 utter defeat of the intruders, who hastened to return to their 
 own country. (But the lovers of sensation and the marvel 
 ous have pronounced these old antiquated forts and ruins to 
 be the work of their much-loved "Mound Builders" of pre 
 historic ages past.) .That theancient Lenni Lenapes (now 
 known as the Delaware Indians) were the uncompromising 
 enemies of the Iroqtiois, and in a protracted war with the 
 Iroquois they were defeated; that then the Lenni Lenape tribe 
 migrated south and settled near the Hurons (a traditional 
 off-shoot of the Iroquois) with whom they formed an alliance; 
 that, at that time, a strong and powerful tribe inhabited a 
 large territory south of them, and were called the Allegewi; 
 that, in the course of time the two allied tribes (the Hurons 
 and Lenni Lenapes) were involved in a war with the Allegewi, 
 who, being defeated, migrated, in turn, southward. Hecke- 
 
582 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. . 
 
 weilder, that noted and pious missionary among- the L/enni 
 Lenapes, confirms the traditions related by Cusick. 
 
 It is well known that Canada was first colonized by the 
 French in 1641 and remained in their possession until the 
 capture of Quebec by General Wolfe in 1759. But during 
 the intervening- time between their possession of the coun 
 try and its loss, they learned tha t the territory lying- east of 
 the western end of Lake Erie, and from the great northern 
 lakes to the Chesapeake bay on the south, was owned and in 
 habited by a confederacy of five Indian tribes, then known 
 as the Senecas, Mohawks, Onondag-as, Oneidas and Cayugas; 
 but to whom the French applied the general name Iroquois, 
 meaning "The Long House," and the English, "The Five 
 Nations." In 1712 the Tuscaroras joined the confederacy, 
 then they were known as "The Six Nations, " and bear that 
 name to this day. 
 
 j Here was indeed a-confederation a true republic in all 
 respects whose ties of unity were made long before the ex 
 istence of the western continent was even dreamed of by the 
 White Race, and whose bonds of ratification were never vio 
 lated and stand as firm today as when first made, and are 
 held as sacred by the remaining few of the descendants, as 
 are held, by the whites, the principles of the Christian re 
 ligion. 
 
 The Indians, having no written language, preserved and 
 handed down their history to future generations through 
 tradition, much of which could have been obtained a century 
 and a half ago, and even a century ago, which was authen 
 tic and would have added much to the interest of the history 
 of the continent of which we boast as our inheritance, 
 though obtained by the extermination of a race of people 
 whose wonderful history, had it been obtained as it once 
 could have been, would have been very interesting and bene 
 ficial to future generations, throwing its light back o er ages 
 unknown, connecting the present with the past. The tradi 
 tions of all Indians had been preserved for ages back by car 
 rying them from one generation to another by the means of 
 careful and constant repetition. The ancient Choctaws se 
 lected about twenty young men in the jurisdiction of each 
 chief, who were taught the traditions of the tribe, and were 
 required to rehearse them three or four times a year before 
 the aged men of the nation, who were thoroughly posted, 
 that nothing might be added to or taken from the original 
 as given to them. Besides, it is well known to. all who are 
 acquainted with the known history of the North American 
 Indians, that before the whites had commenced the war of 
 extermination upon them they all aided the memories of 
 
HISTORY OF THB INDIANS. 583 
 
 those to whom were entrusted the preservation of their tra 
 ditions by symbols, called by the whites wampum, and which 
 they regarded, judging- from their own standpoint, as the 
 Indians money. The Indians had no money, but they held 
 their wampum in as sacred veneration as the true Christian 
 holds his Bible, of which the Indians had never heard. The 
 wampum was their true and veritable history more reliable 
 than many histories of the present day. 
 
 The wampum, or belt rather, was made of strong-, 
 broad pieces of dressed buckskin beautifully adorned with 
 beads of various colors, to which were attached innumerable 
 skins of dressed buckskin, at the end of w r hich were also at 
 tached the symbols, composed of various thing s, such as 
 different kinds of shells, stones, bones, quills, carved pieces 
 of wood, teeth of bears and panthers, points of buck horns, 
 rattlesnake rattles, and other thing s too numerous to 
 mention. But each article attached had its meaning even as 
 the printed letters or words in a book have a meaning", yet 
 read and understood alone -by the Indians. Those young 
 men were also yearly required to interpret these symbols as 
 well as to rehearse the traditions entrusted to their memory; 
 and so faithfully and correctly were they required to inter 
 pret the signification of each symbol, and rehearse each tra-r 
 dition that generations would pass, and yet the wampuns 
 and tradition keepers of every tribe could read the wampum 
 as easily and correctly as an educated white man could 
 read a book; and tell the story of the tradition in their ex 
 treme old age as fluently and correctly as when they ha<? 
 first been entrusted with it in the bright days of their man 
 hood. 
 
 Several of those ancient wampums are said to still exist 
 among theJeeble remnants of the once powerful confederacy 
 of the six tribes, who. when in their palmy days, together 
 with all their race, had no memories of yesterday to annoy 
 them nor cares for the morrow to perplex. One, it is said, 
 contains upwards of 7000 strings of symbols relative to their 
 war with the Hurons assisted by Champlain and a few of 
 his companions, to whom they attributed their defeat by 
 the Hurons, and for which they never forgave the French, 
 and ever remained the inveterate ?_nd uncompromising ene 
 mies of all Frenchmen. One of the wampums still pos 
 sessed by the confederacy is said to date back to the year 
 1540, and contains much concerning the treaties and the wars 
 with the whites. But who, among the whites could read 
 those ancient wampums, even if they possessed them? And 
 even if any one of the forlorn remnant of that confederacy 
 who could read them, was requested so to do. would he 
 
584 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 comply to that request? Never. Broil him on a bed of 
 burning- coals, yet he would refuse to gratify the idle curi 
 osity of any one. Could. the ancient wampums of the North 
 American Indians speak to-day, what a thrilling history 
 would they narrate. But our ancestors were too deeply in 
 terested in other pursuits to pay any attention to their civ 
 ilization and Christianizing-, and to the collection and preser 
 vation, which would have contributed so largely to our 
 knowledge of the past history of this continent. 
 
 Many of late have tried to ascertain the exact date of 
 the -organization of the confederacy of the five tribes, but 
 only to end in foolish conjecture and wild speculation. One 
 of their traditions, it is said, places it in the year 1539, but 
 this is declared by others to be too recent a date by nearly 
 a century; while Cornplanter, a noted Seneca chief, who died 
 in 1836 at the advanced age of 105, stated that his tribe, the 
 Senecas, once had a wampum that contained the date of the 
 organization of the confederacy; that he had been taught to 
 read the wampum in early manhood; that he had often 
 readmit in his peoples counsels, and also in the yearly coun 
 sels of his tribe, and had also heard it read by others fre 
 quently; that it was destroyed in the burning of their vil 
 lages by Sullivan and his soldiers in 1799; that he. and the 
 chiefs, Blacksnake, Red jacket, and a few old men of his 
 tribe, partly restored it a few years after. But it too has 
 forever vanished. 
 
 Cornplanter, it is said, often repeated many portions of 
 different wampums, incidents and events that were known to 
 have taken place between 1530 and 1540 and recorded in the 
 wampum the true symbolic history of the Indians, read by 
 them alone. But far back through the decades beyond the 
 above mentioned years of the past, Cornplanter stated there 
 was a wampum in which was recorded the true history of 
 the organization of this wonderful republic, which took place 
 at the occasion of an eclipse of the sun. He says: U A dark 
 ening of the big light of the Great Spirit, which occurred 
 during one of the months when corn was being hoed, and 
 before the year 1540. I do not know when this occurred, 
 but remember the statement I read in the wampum, which 
 said it was an entire darkening of the big light of the Great 
 Spirit many years ago in the long past." The scene of the 
 formation of the confederacy was in central New York. It 
 is stated that there was a total eclipse of the sun on the 29th 
 of July, 1478. which, however, was too late in the season to 
 fulfill the statements recorded amid the strings of the 
 wampum. But it is also known that there was a total eclipse 
 of the sun, visible in central New York, on the 28th of June, 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 585 
 
 1451, which must be the date of the formation of the confed 
 eration of the live tribes, afterwards named Iroquois by the 
 French. 
 
 Cornplanter stated that the Indians regarded the event 
 as one long to be-remembered, and gave it great prominence 
 among the records of their historical wampum, on account 
 of the strange and peculiar circumstances of its occurrence. 
 He stated that a party of young Seneca warriors, then on a 
 hunting expedition, entered the territories of the Mohawks 
 and recklessly made prisoners of several children boys and 
 girls with whom they at once retreated to their own coun 
 try. A large party of enraged Mohawk warriors hastened 
 in pursuit, accompanied by a strong band of Onondaga war 
 riors. When the Mohawks and Onondagas had arrived near 
 the territories of the Senecas, the Mohawks sent a small 
 delegation of their warriors to the Seneca villages, with in 
 structions to try to settle the matter amicably, and thus 
 avoid the death of their captive children. But the haughty 
 Senecas turned a deaf ear to the embassadors of peace and 
 bade them return to their own; then placed the captive 
 children, under a strong guard on a hill near their village, 
 that the Mohawk and Onondaga warriors might see them 
 slain as they made their expected attack upon the village; 
 but as the Mohawks and Onondagas were considering what 
 best to do, and the Senecas standing ready to slay their cap 
 tives at the first demonstration made to rescue them, the 
 attention of one of the little captive g-irls was drawn to the 
 peculiar appearance of things around, and looking up at the 
 sun saw the great black shadow that seemed to be spreading 
 itself over its disk. With a loud shriek she pointed to the 
 sun, to which every eye was instantly turned, and at once 
 the whole scene was chang ed from a spirit of war and re 
 venge to that of superstitious horror and fear that cannot 
 be described, nor scarcely imagined. 
 
 I have witnessed the effects of an eclipse upon the Choc- 
 taws before they had been taught by the missionaries its 
 true cause. But at this auspicious moment, when no 
 thought occupied the mind of either captives or warriors but 
 that of astonishment and dread, *an aged chief, who w r ell 
 knew the desolating effects of war, solemnly arose and, with 
 eyes resting upon the fading sun and linger pointing upward, 
 called out in a loud tone of voice, "See! The Great Spirit 
 is spreading his hand over the face of his great light as a 
 manifestation of his displeasure at our proceedings this day, 
 and thus commands us to make peace at once lest he hide 
 his great light from us forever; and never again to make war 
 upon the Mohawks and Onondagas but to ever regard them 
 
586 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 as brothers; and to which if you will comply he will remove 
 his hand from over his great light, and it shall continue, as 
 it ever has before, to give us light." At once all gladly and 
 cheerfully agreed to the proposition; and soon the eclipse 
 began to pass off, to the great joy of the tribe; and as soon 
 as the sun shone out in its usual brightness and splendor, 
 all were wholly convinced of the anger of the Great Spirit in 
 their prospective war, and equally so, in the assurance 
 given of his pleasure in their promise to live in peace with 
 the Mohawks and Onondagas. At once a deputation, with 
 the captives, was sent to the waiting but still confused and 
 bewildered Mohawks and Onondagas, who were told what 
 the Great Spirit had said, and what the Senecas had resolved 
 and desired to do. To all of which they readily acquiesced 
 and all returned to the Seneca village. 
 
 A council was called, a treaty was made and ratified by 
 the three tribes, and they became as one nation. The news 
 of the established confederacy, with the strange particulars 
 of its conception and birth, soon reached the neighboring 
 tribes the Oneidas and Cayugas who, in compliance to 
 the commands of the Great Spirit, joined the confederacy 
 without delay. And thus, if tradition be true, which no 
 doubt it is, was formed a confederacy pledged by all the sol 
 emn and mysterious ceremonies of that peculiar people, 
 whose descendants still linger with us as feeble shadows of 
 their once great and happy people sparks still lingering in 
 the ashes of an exterminated race of four centuries ago, 
 never again to war against each other, nor refuse to assist 
 each other in war against the common enemy, or in any mis 
 fortune or distress. From that day to this the stipulations 
 of that solemn treaty have never been violated, according to 
 their latest traditions, and they have ever lived as a mighty 
 .brotherhood, though four hundred and forty-eight years 
 have passed since the formation of that mighty league of 
 friendship and love, the most wonderful ever known to man, 
 and with a history never to be duplicated upon earth. 
 
 As the Pyramids of ancient Egypt those miracles of 
 stone that have defied the ravages of ages must be ascrib 
 ed to the era of some greal, dominant people, whose history 
 is hidden in the silent mysteries of the past, and from whom 
 the nations of the east have descended; so too may these 
 ancient mounds and fortifications (and also those ruins of 
 ancient cities and large reservoirs of water, if true) be as 
 justly ascribed to a pre-historic race that is lost in the mists 
 of the past, but from whom the North American Indians 
 have also descended. 
 
 And though the advent of man upon earth is lost in the 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 587 
 
 gloom of pre-historic years, and the long dark night of igno 
 rance and superstition that succeeded, yet these silent mon 
 uments of the long ago display to our wondering vision, 
 great nations and races of people, inhabiting widely remote 
 portions of the globe, possessing various types and phases 
 of civilization and different characteristics of mind, which 
 distinguish their descendants of today. But whence the 
 different races of mankind had their birth, and through 
 what cycles of time they have been developing their growth; 
 where, when and how they lived, are questions which receive 
 no response from the annals of history, the voices of tradition 
 or even the revelations of inspired prophesy. Difficult, in 
 deed, is it to wander through the mazes of discussion, and 
 the no less intricate mazes of diversified opinions, which but 
 bewilder the investigator; and though fascinating as the 
 field of research has been, still nothing offers so wide a 
 scope of conjecture as that which the antiquarian finds in 
 studying the ruins and relics of that people who centuries 
 ago inhabited the North American continent. 
 
 But \vhile these researches and discoveries throw but 
 little light upon the origin or the character of its early in 
 habitants, yet reveal enough to conclusively pi ove that a 
 race existed upon^this continent ages ago, who possessed a 
 knowledge of many of the arts unpractised and seemingly 
 unknown by the natives when discovered by the Europeans. 
 With many it has been a cherished theory that the inhabi 
 tants, who first p eopled the Western continent, came by 
 land at a period when it was united by a bond of union with 
 the Eastern continent, afterwards ruptured by internal 
 commotions and upheavals, was severed from and into a dis 
 tinct continent. But from what part of the world, at what 
 period, or by what means they reached this country, can 
 only be conjecture; but that the emigrants were a partially 
 civilized people, and to a large extent an agricultural people 
 there are good reasons to believe, nor can it be successfully 
 disproven. The art of the North American Indians of the 
 last two or three centuries is said to be the exact equivolent, 
 in point of advancement to that of Europe and the Orient of 
 the stone age. The amount of material is limitless and cor 
 responds remarkably with that found in the very substrat 
 um of those localities where man seems to have first begun 
 his ascent towards civilization. Many of the scientists of 
 the present day seem inspired to activity by the knowledge 
 of the fact that the North American continent affords the 
 best opportunity the world has ever known to study the be 
 ginning of those things which constitute human progress 
 
588 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 an opportunity which by the encroachment of ^civilization is 
 rapidly passing- away. 
 
 It is said that, already upwards of 15000 specimens of 
 the handiwork of the "Mound Builders," the study of which, 
 in connection with the survey of the mounds themselves and 
 their surroundings, is gradually leading to a solution of cer 
 tain archaeologic riddles, which but a few years since ap 
 peared insolvable. Under the new light the mysteries 
 which have attached to the mounds and to their unknown 
 builders are thought to be disappearing to a great extent, 
 but only by exchanging conjecture for truth. 
 
 Be "that as it may; this truth, that the present North 
 American Indians and their ancestors have inhabited this 
 continent during a period embracing ages of the past, none 
 will deny who have studied and made themselves acquainted 
 with the many existing facts; and that, from all that has 
 been gathered, it is much more conclusive that the mounds 
 were erected by them, than that they are the works of some 
 long extinct race of people entirely different from that of 
 the Indians. Therefore, let "Requiescat in pace" be the 
 epitaph of the mound question for ail future to come; and 
 also, let this, age of sentimentality, sensation, and the love of 
 the marvelous come to an end, at least, upon that subject, 
 that it may seek other fields for the gratification of its seem 
 ingly incomprehensible thirst for a knowledge of that which 
 never existed. All Nations, b;>th civilized and uncivilized, 
 have long lost the memory of their barbaric state; and only 
 traditions, here and there, speak of the ancient past. All 
 mankind, in every age of the world have been mound builders; 
 and the same principle that leads to the erection of mounds 
 still exists in human nature. The various modern monu 
 ments of to-day are but ways of memorizing events which in 
 ages past would have led to the erection of mounds. 
 
 Yet mournful to the contemplative mind are the records 
 of departed greatness. These few still existing mounds of 
 other ages, these dumb oracles of the pre-historic past, 
 standing as monuments on the pedestal of years, point also 
 to the ruins of earth s other empires, and call to her most 
 potent nations with a voice more impressive to the heart than 
 the tongue of a Tully ; more symphonious than the harp of 
 Homer; more picturesque than the pencil of Appelles, sav 
 ing: "In us, behold thine own destiny, and the doom of thy 
 noblest achievements, the mutability of all human greatness 
 and all human grandeur;" and around and before us, whose 
 wild and huried life precipitates the hour of our own disso 
 lution, are strewed the crumbling fragments of an empire, 
 equally as extended as those of the east ; but the setting sun 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 589 
 
 sheds its last ray upon their tumbling- temples once hallowed 
 by the footsteps of worshipping 1 thousands, and the mellow 
 moonbeams glimmer through the moss-covered walls and 
 gloomy galleries, now nearly gone to decay; their sanctuary 
 is broken down, their glory is departed forever, and the gen 
 erations hence, in viewing the mounds of their sepulture, 
 will inquire with wondering thoughts what manner of beings 
 they were. 
 
 How must the hearts of the remaining fe\v Indians throb 
 with anguish as they contemplate the destruction of their 
 race and the gloomy destiny of their own children. With 
 what swelling hearts must they survey the once extended 
 boundaries of their empire! Alas! the grief of years en 
 shrouds their souls, as they bow the knee of meek submis 
 sion to the Great Spirit. Unhappy people! Who can but 
 weep over the ruined hopes of your declining race ! It is a 
 truthful saying, that, human happiness has no perfect 
 security but in freedom; freedom, none but in virtue; virtue, 
 none but in knowledge; and neither freedom, virtue 
 nor knowledge has any vigor or immortal hope, except in the 
 principles of the Christian faith, and in the sanctions of the 
 Christian religion. The birds that droop their plumage in 
 the cage, pine for the open field and flowery grove, where 
 they may sing their songs of joy and lave their pinions in 
 the free light of heaven. The vilest reptile that crawls upon 
 the earth, the noblest beast that roams the forest flies in ter 
 ror from its tyrant or repels the oppression that would de 
 prive it of its freedom. So man naturally sighs to be free. 
 Still tyranny, that demon of desolation, has stalked over the 
 world for ages and bound in cruel bondage the noblest of the 
 earth, and still in this 19th century of boasted freedom seems 
 to be again emerging, like the phoenix, from the dust of ages. 
 Alas! what is man, or a race of men, whose neck is beneath 
 the foot of the despot? 
 
 Bishop Whipple of Minnesota says: "Some years ago 
 an Indian stood at my door, and as I opened it he knelt at my 
 feet. Of course I bade him not to kneel. He said : My 
 father, I knelt only because my heart is warm to a man who 
 pitied the Red man. I am a wild man. My home is 500 miles 
 from here. I know that all the Indians east of the Missis 
 sippi river had perished and I never looked into the faces of 
 my children that my face was not sad. My father had told 
 me of the Great Spirit, and I have often gone out into the 
 woods and tried to talk with him. " Reader, here was a hu 
 man being traveling 500 miles to learn of God; yearning and 
 striving for a knowledge of the world s Redeemer, but to 
 whom and his race we have given powder and lead instead of 
 
590 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 the bread of life with our war-cry No good Indian but a 
 dead Indian. " 
 
 Alas! that it should be a principle of mankind to hate 
 those they have wronged even as dogs rush upon one of 
 their number that has been shot and not instantly killed and, 
 rendered ferocious by his cries, tare him to pieces. Un 
 happy race! Amid the protracted woes of thy present life 
 how can you forget the fearful history of thy past the hun 
 ger and thirst of the heart and the fire and frenzy of the 
 brain ! 
 
 Ah, when I look around over the wretched lives of the 
 present feeble remnant of the Red Race of this continent, 
 and then contemplate them as I knew them seventy-five 
 years ago, I can but say: Each life is a woe! Truly, fear 
 ful and rugged has been their path of life from freedom and 
 bliss to slavery and woe so replete in strife, confusion and 
 death! uttering their last groan in the wail of final despair; 
 while the quality of confidence is now an utter stronger to 
 their hearts; for they have experienced enough to harden 
 them against the White Race of the entire world. They 
 now realize that they are beyond the regions of all hope; 
 vet they seem to yield to a certain exterior resignation to 
 their fate. The world has lost its poignant interest in them; 
 it is now a pageant upon which they are looking for the last 
 time while indifferent to lift a hand to stay it in its course, 
 even had it been within their power. Though, at times, 
 they rebelled at their fate, and a wave of resistance swept 
 over them, as with one hand they carried the woes of the 
 present and, with the other, held up the glowing lamp of 
 the romantic past; but a sense of its unreality told them 
 that they grasped at a substance to find a shadow. The 
 coming of one event changed even the atmosph ere; at one 
 moment their breath is a new and invigorating hope, the 
 next, parched and dead. They see a covetous eye, a hated 
 face. Their lips are apart; their teeth are set and their 
 brows knit with the force that they summon to their souls 
 to endure, as all now are but memories far off amid the 
 shadowy past. 
 
 And now, as to the odium and even defamation that may 
 be attached to or hurled against me on account of my mani 
 fested love for and adpliration of the North American Indian 
 Race, I here submit to it all without a murmur or complaint. 
 And those who wash may search the world over to find terms 
 or ideas to express their contempt of me, or any other friend 
 of that noble but unfortunate race, and I will remain silent 
 and passive, while their anathemas enter one ear and, meet 
 ing no obstruction, pass harmlessly out at the other, and 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 591 
 
 still continue to oe their devoted, admiring and loving- friend 
 all the same; while I continue through life to rehearse to 
 myself the words of the noble Catlin, that true friend of the 
 North American Indians in toto because he knew them as 
 they ought to be known, 
 
 "Have I any apology to make for loving the Indians? 
 
 The Indians have always loved me, and why should I not love the Indians. 
 
 I love the people who have always made me weicome to the best they had. 
 
 I love the people who are honest without law, who have 110 jails and no poor-houses. 
 
 I love the people who keep the commandments without ever having read them or heard 
 
 them preached from the pulpit. 
 
 I love a people who never swear; who never take the name of God in vain. 
 I love a people who love their neighbors as themselves. 
 
 I love a people who worship God without a Bible, for I believe that God loves them too. 
 I love a people whose religion is all the same, and who are free from religious raus. 
 I love a people who have never raised a hand against me or stolen my property, where 
 
 there was no law to punish for. either. 
 I love a people who never have fought a battle with white men except on their own 
 
 ground. 
 
 I love and don t fear mankind where God has made and left them, . . they are children. 
 I love a people who live and keep what is their own without locks and keys. 
 I love all people who do the best they can, and, Oh! how I love a people who don t live 
 
 for the love of money. 
 
 I can and do here attest that there is not a single virtue 
 in the above tribute that did not justly belong to the North 
 American Indians; and with that true philanthropist the 
 noble Catlin who could and did discern and appreciate 
 merit wherever found, even in deformity. I do accede heart 
 ily to all his "loves ? above manifested, and can and do also 
 add: 
 
 I love the same people who also never first betrayed or 
 deserted a known friend under any circumstances whatever. 
 
 I love the same people who never spoke evil of any one 
 behind his back, not even of a known enemy. 
 
 I love the same people whose pledged words to any one 
 were as sacred as their lives. 
 
 I love " all people," too, of whom I can affirm, possess in 
 like quality and quantity, the known virtues of the North 
 American Indians uncontaminated with the blood of the Cau- 
 cassian or Anglo Saxon race. 
 
NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN NAMES. 
 
 The Indians all over this continent had names, tradi 
 tions, religions, ceremonies, feasts, prayers, songs, dances 
 all, more or less, with symbolism and allegory, adapted to 
 circumstances, just as all other races of mankind. 
 
 But the world has become so familiar with the continued 
 and ridiculous publications in regard to everything touching 
 upon that race of people that a universal doubt has long since 
 been created and established as to the possibility of refine 
 ment of thought and nobleness of action ever having existed 
 among the North American Indian race, ancient or modern; 
 and so little of truth has also been learned regarding the 
 real and true inner life of that peculiar and seemingly isola 
 ted race of mankind, that to-day only here and there can one 
 be found who, from a lifetime association and intimate ac 
 quaintance, is well versed in Indian thought, feeling and 
 character, and able to unfold and record the solution of that 
 imagined mystery known as "The Indian Problem," since 
 they learned it from the Indians themselves. From the In 
 dians own lips thev were taught its elucidation, and only as 
 it could be taught and learned, but never again can be taught 
 and learned. 
 
 Even as various nations of antiquity of ,the eastern con 
 tinent have left the evidences of their former occupation by 
 the geographical names that still exist, so to have the North 
 American Indians left their evidences upon the western (in 
 dependent of all written history) that they have likewise 
 possessed this continent during unknown ages of the past. 
 The artificial mounds, fortifications, lakes and ponds with 
 their original names and those of rivers, creeks, moun 
 tains, bluffs and hills, remain to this day; and here thev 
 will remain long after the lips that spoke the language 
 are hushed in death, even continuing to repeat the voices of 
 that prematurely and mercilessly exterminated people. 
 
 But alas, how mutilated the orthography and how er 
 roneous the translation of the original Indian namesi What 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. S9S 
 
 a manifestation of the utter want of even the most remote 
 idea of anything constituting- their language! 
 
 As an illustration I will here insert a few examples, 
 taken from a publication bearing date February 2nd, 1898,. 
 and to which is the signature, "John Hawkins rn< Phila 
 delphia Times," with the caption "Names from Indians" 1 
 and ajso the important announcement, "Some Inte res-ting; 
 Information Concerning Their Origin. They Contain Curi 
 ous Bits of Nature, Thought or Fancy, History or Tra 
 dition." 
 
 From among the names mentioned I have selected a few 
 which Mr. Hawkins says are "Choctaw names," giving also- 
 HIS orthography and translation: 
 
 First. "Chitimacha (La.) They possess cooking ves- 
 sels." Original, Chi-im-ai-ya-chih, Thine to conquer. But 
 the Choctaw words for "They possess cooking vessels" are--. 
 Original, Ah-la-bush-li ha-lul-li in, Cooking vessels possess 
 they. 
 
 Second. "Owatomy, Straight." Original, Owa-to-my, 
 Hunting in the sunshine. 
 
 Third. "Oklahoma (Beautiful land)." Original,, Qkrla- 
 hum-ma, Red people. 
 
 It is published in our school histories of the United 
 States that Oklahoma is a Chickasaw word meaning "Beauti 
 ful Country." The Chickasaw words for beautiful country 
 are yakiii iukli. 
 
 Fourth. "Chicola, The place of foxes." Original^ 
 Chu-la ai-aii-tah; Fox there. 
 
 Fifth. "Arkansas (Bow on the smoky water)." In the 
 Choctaw language, Sho-bo-ta oka chas-sa-la, means smoking 
 water bow, i. e. Bow on a foggy lake. 
 
 Sixth. "Tennessee, River of the great bend." The- 
 name given by the ancient Choctaws is Ta-nak-bi chi-tofo 
 bok, Big Bend river. 
 
 Seventh. "Missouri, Great muddy river." But the Choc 
 taw words for great muddy river are, Huch-cha hla-chi-ko< 
 chitoh. Missouri, if a Choctaw word, is a corruption of 
 Mish-o-hof-fih, Continually rubbing off. 
 
 Eighth. "Alabama, "here we rest." Original. Ul-la< 
 ba-noh hosh, The only child. The Choctaw words for: 
 "Here we rest" are Fohah hup-ish-no yak. 
 
 Ninth. "Mississippi river, .the great river." Original.. 
 Mish-a-si-pok-ni, Aged beyond. The Choctaw words for 
 great river are bok chi-toh, or Huch-cha chit-oh. Original, 
 Misha-sipokni Huchcha. A river whose age is beyond com 
 putation. 
 
 Tenth. Mr. Hawkins says : "A South Carolina river 
 
594 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 which now bears the prosaic name of Broad, was known to 
 the Indians (Choctaws) as Eswawpuddenah, the dividing- 
 river, after a bloody battle between the Catawbas and Chero- 
 kees. The name Piscataway has much the same meaning." 
 But the Choctaw words for "the dividing- river" are, Hush- 
 koli bok, and Piscataway is a corruption of the Choctaw 
 words, Pus-ka ta-hah, Bread all gone, or Without bread. 
 
 In the Fort Smith, (Arkansas) Elevator, February 4th, 
 1887, the following appeared: 
 
 "AMONG THE CHOCTAWS An interesting- article from 
 the Cincinnati Graphic, by John R. Music: 
 
 The Choctaw tradition states that they traveled east, 
 until from the summit of a mountain range they beheld a 
 well watered and beautiful land. In rapture they exclaim 
 ed: Tsi-g-ar-ma-kee (Chickamauga) g-ood." But the Choc 
 taw word for good is A-chuk-ma, and Chickamaug-a is a cor- 
 corruption of the Choctaw words Chik-emai-ah, (may, can, or 
 must, shall or will go in). Thef-e is no such word as Tsigar- 
 makee in their language, and, it is reasonable to believe, in no 
 other Indian language. Mr. Music thus continues: "The 
 largest town in this region shows the contact of the Choc- 
 taws with the Cherokees, Tsatak (Choctaw) and nu-ger 
 (t? ken out of the water). Here they drew a dead Choctaw 
 out of the water." Truly the "Choctaws" of Mr. Music 
 must be a tribe of Indians known only to himself. The 
 words of the North American Choctaw "Indians for "dead 
 Choctaw taken out of the water" are (in our phraseology) 
 Il-li (dead) Chah-tah (Choctaw) shu-e-kuch-ih (pulled out) 
 hosh (the) o-ka (water). He also asserts that one of the 
 ancient clans of the Choctaws was named "Hottah Inholata" 
 signifying "beloved of the people." But the Choctaw words 
 for "beloved of the people," are Ih-o-lih-to-pah (beloved) okla 
 (people) ho (the), the Prep, of is understood before okla, Be 
 loved of the peoplp. 
 
 Another, undbr the signature of Henry Inman, asserts, 
 through the columns of the Greenville (Texas) Banner, Oc 
 tober 9th, 189, that the signification of Apushamataha, the 
 name of th renowned Choctaw Chief, is "The Warrior s 
 Seat is Finished." 
 
 But the Choctaw words for "the warior s seat is fin 
 ished," are Tush-ka ai-ome-bin-i-li ak-okc-ta-hah. Apusha 
 mataha is a corruption of the noted chiefs true. name. 
 Original, A-num-pa-ish-ta-ya-u-bi, a messenger who kills. 
 
 Literally, a messeng-er of death, i. e., one whose rifle, 
 bow or tomahawk, was alike fatal on the war path or in the 
 chase. 
 
 By request of friends I have here giren a few Choctaw 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 595 
 
 and Chickasaw ancient names of places, towns, villages, 
 rivers, creeks, lakes, mounds, bluffs, etc., in the now States 
 of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, and 
 others, with the derivations, corruptions, originals, ortho 
 graphy and significations. I first give the corruption, fol 
 lowed by the original and signification : 
 
 Appalachee. Original, Ap-ah-li-chih, (an ancient Choc- 
 taw clan), To whoop at. 
 
 Apalachicola, a town and river in Florida. Original, Ap- 
 e-lu-chih kolih, Help to break. 
 
 Apookta. Original, A-yuk-pa (an ancient Choctaw vil 
 lage in Mississippi). A place of happiness. 
 
 In a late publication it is stated that Alabama is a corrup 
 tion of the Choctaw words, "Alba, vegetation," and "amo, 
 gather." 
 
 But the Choctaw words for "vegetation gather" are 
 Hush-uk (herbage, grass, etc.,) It-tun-a-hah (gathered). I 
 know of no such word as "Alba" in the Choctaw language. 
 It has the word "amba," signifying However, and the word 
 "amo," signifying The. 
 
 Alabama is a corruption of the Choctaw words Ul-la-ba- 
 noh hosh, The only child, and was the name of a noted Choc 
 taw chief who figured in 1746, contemporary with Shulush 
 Hum ma, another noted Choctaw chief, during the wars of 
 the French against the Ohickasaws. 
 
 The old interpretdLioii oT the word Alabama as being a 
 Choctaw word signifying, "Here we rest, or rested," is a 
 myth. The Choctaw words for "Here we rest, or rested," 
 are yak (here) hup-ish-no (we all of us) fo-hah (to rest, or 
 rested). 
 
 A-bo-ha kub-lo humma, Strong Red House. The name 
 of an ancient and noted Choctaw chief of the Ok-la hun-na-li 
 iksa, Six People, Iksa, Clan. 
 
 Allamucha. Original, A-lum-a-ka, A hiding place. The 
 name of an, ancient Choctaw town situated near the Ala 
 bama line in Lauderdale county, Mississippi. 
 
 Ai-ik-hun-a, A place of learning, a school. The name of a 
 Choctaw village in which was established a missionary sta 
 tion in 1821. 
 
 luka. Original, Ai-yu-pi, A place of bathing. The name 
 of a town in north Mississippi. 
 
 Boguefaliah. Original, Bok-fa-lai-yah, Long creek, in 
 Mississippi. 
 
 Buckatunnee. Original, Bok-it-tun-a-hah, collected to 
 gether. A large creek in Mississippi. The junction of sev 
 eral creeks which, uniting, formed BokFttunahah. 
 
596 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 \ 
 
 Betapinbogue. Original, Ni-ta-pm-bok, One Bear creek. 
 A large creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Buttihatche. Original, But-ih huch-cha, White Sumac 
 river. The name of a creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Biwier. Original, Bai-yi-wai-yah, Leaning white oak. A 
 creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Bok-sha-ha, Pearl river. The ancient Choctaw name of 
 Pearl river. 
 
 Biahela. Original, Bai-yi-il-ah, White oak by itself, lone 
 white oak. The name of a place in Mississippi. 
 
 Bulookta. Original, Bo-luk-ta, Square. A place in Mis 
 sissippi. 
 
 Bok-ta-nak-bi chi-toh, Big Bend river. The ancient 
 Choctaw name of the Tennessee river. 
 
 Boque Hooma. Original, Bok-hum-ma. Red creek in 
 Mississippi. 
 
 Conehatta. Original, Ko-nih-hut-a, whitish pole cat. 
 The name of a creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Caila. Original, Co-i-il-li, dead panther. The name of 
 a creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Chicopah. Original, Shik-o-pah, a plume. The name of 
 a missionary society in Alabama. 
 
 Culleoka. Original, Kul-ih-o-ka, water spring, or spring 
 water. The name of a town in Tennessee. 
 
 Chickahominy. Original, Che-kiho-mai-yih, to become 
 red quickly. A creek in Virginia. A stream of water 
 which, according to an ancient Choctaw tradition, suddenly 
 changed its natural color to that of a coffee color, or brown. 
 
 Chuk-fi-lum-a hih-lah bok, Dancing rabbit creek. The 
 name of a small creek in Mississippi, upon whose banks the 
 Choctaws, in 1830, ceded the last acre of their ancient pos 
 sessions east of the Mississippi river to the United States. 
 
 Chaff elia. Original, Sa-fa-la-yah, I am long. The name 
 of a creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Copiah. Original, Ho-pai-i, War Chief. The name of a 
 county in Mississippi. 
 
 Chulahoma. Original, Chu-la-hum-ma, Red Fox. The 
 name of a creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Chulatchee. Original, Chu-la-huch-cha, Fox River. 
 Name of a stream in Mississippi. 
 
 Chinchehoma. Original, Chish-a-hum-ma, Red Post Oak. 
 The name of an aged Choctaw, whom I personally knew in 
 my youth, and for whom a little stream took its name. 
 
 Chattanooga. Original, Cha-hah-nu-chi, Tall wild flax. 
 
 Chitimacha. Original, Chi-un-ai-ya-chih, Thine to con 
 quer. A place in Louisiana. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 597 
 
 Calolarchi. Original, Koloh-lich-ih, To cut in many 
 pieces. The ancient name of a Choctaw village. 
 
 Chickasawha. Original, Chik-a-sah-si-ah, I am a Choc- 
 taw. The name of an ancient Chickasaw town in which De 
 Soto and his army wintered in 1541. 
 
 Chunkey. Original, Chuki, A martin the name of a 
 small stream in Mississippi. 
 
 Chualley. Original, Chu-ah-la bok, Cedar creek. The 
 name of a creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Catahoula. Original, Ka-wah-chu-la, barking fox. The 
 ancient Choctaw name of a lake in Louisiana, and now the 
 name of a Parish in Louisiana. 
 
 It is published that the word "Catahoula" is a Choctaw 
 word derived from "Okatahulo" and meaning "Beloved 
 lake." But the Choctaw words for Beloved Lake are Ok- 
 hut-ah Ho-li-to-pa. There is no such word in the Choctaw 
 language as Okatahulo." 
 
 Chickamauga A tributary of the Tennessee river. 
 Original, Chik-emai-ah, may, can or must, shall or will, 
 go in. 
 
 Caloosahatchee. Original, Chas-su-lah huch-cha, crook 
 ed river. The ancient Choctaw name of a river in southwest 
 Florida. 
 
 Chauaches. Original, Chah-a-chih, to ennoble. The 
 name of an ancient Choctaw Iksa (clan), which dwelt a few 
 miles north of New Orleans and consisted of only thirty war 
 riors with their families whom Governor Perier caused to be 
 wholly exterminated, in January, 1717, by negroes the 
 slaves of the French colony; the particulars of which are 
 given in "History of the Natchez." 
 
 Coashatta. Original, Ko-i-sak-tih, panther bluff. The 
 ancient Choctaw 7 name of a bluff on the Bigbee river in Mis 
 sissippi. 
 
 Coahoma. Original, Co-i hum ma, red panther. The 
 name of a county in Mississippi. 
 
 Coosa. Original, Chu-sah, tapering. The name of an 
 ancient Choctaw family who were remarkable for their slen- 
 derness. 
 
 Etowah. Original, He-to-ka, ball ground. The ancient 
 Choctaw name of a river in Georgia upon whose banks was a 
 noted ball ground. 
 
 Eastabutchie. Original, I-ah-ta-ba-shih, to go mourning. 
 The ancient name of a creek in Mississippi, famous for its 
 fatal sickness; therefore, whoever lived upon its banks would 
 have cause to mourn. 
 
 Faket chee poonta. Original, Fa-kit-chi-pin-ta, very 
 
598 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 small turkey. The name of an ancient Choctaw village situ 
 ated on the Bigbee river in Mississippi. 
 
 Falukta bunnee. Original, Fa-lak-na-bun-ah, fox squir 
 rel doubled up. The name of an ancient Choctaw village on 
 the banks of the Bigbee river in Mississippi. _... . 
 
 Hatche camesa. Original, Huch-cha. chu-lo-sah, quiet 
 river. A river with a quiet current. 
 
 Hatchatigbee. Original, Ha-cho-tuk-ni, loggerhead turtle. 
 The ancient Choctaw name of a bluff on the Bigbee river in 
 Mississippi. . 
 
 I read the following in THE GLOBE DEMOCRAT, July IS, 
 1896: u Habalo chitto, the name of a river in Mississippi, 
 which means big fight." But the Choctaw words for "big 
 fight" are it-tib-ih chi-toh. 
 
 Habalo chitto. Original, Ha-bo-lih chi-to-lit, greatly di 
 minished. The ancient Choctaw name of a large stream 
 which had diminished in depth, owing to the washing from 
 the hills. 
 
 Hobakin loopa. Original, Ho-ba-chi yuk-pa, laughing 
 echo. The ancient Choctaw name of a shoal in the Bigbee 
 river in Mississippi. 
 
 Hiyoowunnie. Original, Hi-oh-lih un-i, standing berries. 
 The name of an ancient Choctaw town situated on Chick-a- 
 sah-hah creek, a tributary of Pearl river in Mississippi. 
 
 Hushookwa. Original. Hash-o-kak. something su 
 perior which cannot be treated with impunity. The 
 name of an ancient Choctaw town in which Peter P. Pitch- 
 lynn was born. Truly an appropriate name for the birth 
 place of that renowned Choctaw orator and fearless states 
 man, once known among the whites in Washington City as 
 the Calhoun of the Choctaw. 
 
 Humecheto. Original, Hum-ma-chi-toh, Big Red. The 
 ancient Choctaw name of a creek in Choctaw county, Mis 
 sissippi. 
 
 Ittibano. Original, It-ti-ba-no-wah, walking together. 
 The name of an ancient Choctaw village in Mississippi. 
 
 Issaquena. Original, Issiok-hina, Deer Branch. The 
 name of a town in Mississippi. 
 
 Koonowa. Original, Ka-no-wa, the walker. The name 
 of an ancient Choctaw hunter. 
 
 From the "GLOBE DEMOCRAT, July 18th, 1896," from the 
 New Orleans PICAYUNE, the following derivation and inter 
 pretation given by one I. H. Watkins, of the Chickasaw word 
 Itawamba, the name of a county in north Misssisippi. He 
 gives the original as "Ita-taka-lombi," with the interpretation 
 thereof, "Go and kill." Now the words in the Chickasaw 
 language for go and kill are, mi-ah mich-a-ub-ih. The Choc- 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 599 
 
 taws have identically the same, words nor have either any 
 other words for "go and kill." The word u lta-taka-lombi" 
 is utterly foreign to both languages. 
 
 ftawamba. ~ Original, It-i-ai-o-bin-i-li, Wooden seat. That 
 is, the seat occupied by the ancient Chickasaw chief in 
 council assembled. Sometimes it was called Ai-o-bin-i-li, 
 Bench or seat; fa-lai-a, (long) mi-ko (chief), i, e. Long Bench 
 Chief ; or Chief of the Long Bench. In our phraseology, 
 The Chair of State. 
 
 Loosascoona. Original, Lusa-ko-nih, black pole cat, 
 the name of a creek in Mississippi. The ancient Choctaws 
 had four different names for that odoriferous little animal. 
 
 Ko-nih, the general name. 
 
 Ko-nih chuk-cho, a large striped species. 
 
 Ko-nih lu-sa, small, black species. 
 
 Ko-nih shup-ik, a peculiar kind having snouts like pigs, 
 and feeding by rooting, according to the Choctaw tradition. 
 But had become extinct long before the advent of the mis 
 sionaries in 1818. Evidently the ant-eater of Mexico. 
 
 Lobutchy. Original, Lah-buch-ih, to make warm. The 
 name of a creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Looxapalia. Original, Luk-si-oh-pul-a-lih, Swimming 
 terrapin, a town and creek in Lamar county, Mississippi. 
 
 Lucarnatchie. Original, Lus-sah lucha, wet swamp. 
 
 Lapantie bogue. Original, La-pit-tah bok, buck creek. 
 The ancient Choctaw name of a creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Meshoba. Original, Mi-ah-shoh-bih, go in advance until 
 evening. The ancient Choctaw name of a place in Missis 
 sippi. 
 
 Mouma. Original, Mo-yum-a, every one. The name of 
 ah ancient Choctaw Iksa (clan) in Louisiana. Now the name 
 of a town in the same State, but changed to the name Homer. 
 
 Mishawaka. Original, Mish-a-wa-yah , raised in abund 
 ance beyond. The name of a town in Indiana. 
 
 Mokea lusha. Original, Bok-lus-a, black creek. An an 
 cient Choctaw village in Mississippi. 
 
 Mingo ho ma. Original, Mi-ko hum-ma, red chief. A 
 place in Mississippi. 
 
 The Choctaws and Chickasaws had two traditional 
 names for the Mississippi river, as follows: 
 
 Occochappo. Original, O-ka-chash-po-hosh, The ancient 
 waters. 
 
 Father Allouez, a Jesuit priest, when exploring the 
 country from Quebec to Lake Superior, in 1669, first heard 
 of a great river (which proved to be the Mississippi river) 
 called 
 
 Mecassheba. Original, Mi-ko Si-ah, King I am. 
 
*600 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Neshoba, "Original, Na-sho-ba, Wolf. A county in Mis 
 sissippi. 
 
 Nittayuma. Original, Nit-a-yum-ma, Bear yonder. The 
 name of a creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Natchez. Original, Na-chuf-fih, to break off from. A 
 town in Mississippi named after an ancient tribe of Indians 
 that formerly inhabited the country on the Mississippi river; 
 exterminated January 25th, 1733 by the French under Bien- 
 ville. 
 
 Noxubee. Original, Nak-sho-bih, offensive odor. The 
 name of a creek and also a county in Mississippi. It took 
 its name according to Choctaw tradition, from a great battle 
 fought upon its banks/in the remote past, between the Choc- 
 taws ,and Muscogees. The Muscogees were defeated and 
 left their slain upon the battle field which were thrown into 
 the creek by the Choctaws; and such were the number that 
 the decomposing mass polluted the air for miles around. It 
 was fought in 1790 according to Choctaw tradition, with 
 500 warriors slain. 
 
 I read the following in the St. Louis Globe Democrat, of Ju 
 ly 18th, 1896: "There isin the same state (Mississippi) a creek 
 called Noxubee. The change from the Original in this 
 word has also been very striking. The Indian form of the 
 word was Ok-a-mak-shobi." There is no such word in the 
 Choctaw or Chickasaw languages. 
 
 Nanna Way ah. Original, Nunih Waiyah, leaning 
 .mound. The name of a mound in Mississippi, previously 
 mentioned. 
 
 Ok-la-ta-ba-shih (the people s mourner) was the Noah of 
 the Choctaws, in their tradition of the flood, who made a 
 boat into which he placed his family and provisions and thus 
 saved them truly an appropriate name. 
 
 Oska loosa. Original, Os-si lu-sa, black eagle, A town 
 in Illinois. 
 
 Opelousas. Original, O-pah lus-sah, swamp owl. The 
 name of a place in Alabama. 
 
 Oaktoma. Original, Ok-toh-bi, to be foggy. The name 
 of a creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Okefinokee. Original,[O-ka-hi-o-lih, waters tanding. A 
 swamp in Georgia. 
 
 Ossachile. Original, Os-si-chah-li, swift eagle. The 
 name of an ancient Choctaw chief whom De Soto visited 
 in 1540. 
 
 Omaha. Original, O-mi-ha (if a Choctaw word), it must 
 be. Said to mean "To go against the current." 
 
 Osceola. Original, Os-si-o-lachih, Singing Eagle. The 
 renowned Seminole chief and patriot. 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 601 
 
 Okolona. Original, Ok-la-lok-on-lih, .People gathered to 
 gether. A town in Chickasaw county, Mississippi. 
 
 Os-ki-fa-kop-lih, Stripped Cane. A large and lengthy 
 creek in Mississippi known as Trimcane. 
 
 Ocklawaha. Original, Ok-la-yan-ha, People subject to fe 
 ver. The name of a river in Florida. 
 
 Okeion. Original, Oka-i-ah, Moving water. The name 
 of a little place in Mississippi. 
 
 The beginning of the creek Oka ittibihha (by abbrevia 
 tion Oktibihha) was known to the Choctaws as O-ka-ai-it-tu- 
 fa-ma (The coming together of the waters), and refers to 
 the junction of the seven large creeks which form it, viz: 
 
 First. Catarper. Original, Ka-ta-pah , checked or pushed 
 back; i. e., water retarded by drifts. 
 
 Second. Os-ki Fa-kop-lih, cane stripped of its leaves; 
 so called by the Choctaws from the abundance of switch cane 
 growing upon its banks, with which, when stripped of its 
 leaves, they made their beautiful baskets literally the place 
 where the cane is trimmed. 
 
 Third. Bai-yih (white oak) Wai-yih (leaning over). 
 
 Fourth. Bok (creek) Fa-lai-ah (long). 
 
 Fifth. Hush-ih (sun) Bok (creek). 
 
 Sixth. Ba-cha-ya Bok (line creek), which divided the 
 Choctaw and Chickasaw nations on the north, when living 
 east of the Mississippi river. 
 
 Seventh. Sukatanchi. Original, Shuk-ha Ni-a-chih, 
 hogs fattened. The place where hogs are fattened. 
 
 Okahola. Original, O-ka-ho-yah, Filtered water. The 
 name of a town in Marion county, Mississippi. 
 
 Oktibbehaw. Original, O-ka-it-tib-ih-ka, The water 
 fight. A county in Mississippi. The name given by the 
 ancient Choctaws to a large creek flowing into the Bigbee 
 river above the town of Columbus, Miss., now known as Tibi, 
 (corruption of Ittibih, having fought). It took its name, ac 
 cording to Choctaw tradition, from a great battle fought 
 between the Choctaws and Muscogees years before the ad 
 vent of the whites, in which the Muscogees occupied the 
 north side of the creek and the Choctaws the south, shooting 
 their arrows across the creek. The Choctaws were de 
 feated, but soon reinforcements returned and drove the 
 Muscogees out of their country. 
 
 Opelika. Original, Ok-pul-ila-ka, The lily by itself the 
 lone lily. The name of a missionary society in Alabama. 
 
 ^ Oktarkthalapulla. Original, Ok-tark-toh-boko-lih, bluish 
 white prairie. A beautiful prairie in the southwestern part 
 of Oktibbehaw county, Mississippi, six miles southwest of 
 Starkville, known, before brought into cultivation, as "The 
 
602 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Blue Prairie." It was a peculiar looking- prairie, presenting- a 
 lonely and melancholy appearance, nearly round, perfectly 
 level and extending- nearly two miles each way without a tree 
 or shrub upon it. but covered with a carpet of grass stand 
 ing (in the summer season) from two to three feet in height. 
 It was the last prairie between Starkville and the Mississippi 
 river, surrounded by magnificent forests of oak and pine, in 
 which were found wild game in sufficient quantities to glad 
 den the heart of the most fastidious lover of the chase; in 
 which I, with other congenial spirits, fully shared and enjoy 
 ed many years ere progress blotted it out. 
 
 Okahatchee. Original, Ok-la-huch-cha, river people. 
 An ancient Choctaw village whose people used river water. 
 
 Oaklehy. Original, Ok-la-le-lih, People who plow. The 
 name of an ancient Choctaw village in which several white 
 families lived. 
 
 Otocklawfa. Original, Ok-tah-lau-a, Many prairies. A 
 town in Mississippi. 
 
 Oaktewall} r . Original, O-ti-wa-lih, Exhibiting chestnuts. 
 The name of a little town in Mississippi. 
 
 Okatomie. Original, Ok-a-to-mih, Sunshine in water. 
 The name of an ancient Choctaw village in Mississippi. 
 
 Okenachitto. Original, Ok-hin-a-chi-toh, Big stream. 
 The Chocktaw name of a large creek in Mississippi. 
 
 Okshawali. Original, Ok-shau-a-lih, Light complexion. 
 The name of an ancient Choctaw town, among whose peo 
 ple were many of fair complexions. 
 
 Osyka. Original, Os-si-ka, The Eagle. A town in Pike 
 county, Mississippi. 
 
 Ofahoma. Original, O-n-hum-ma, Red dog. Town in 
 Leake county, Mississippi. 
 
 Okachickama. Original, O-ka-chukma, Good water. 
 The capital of Yalobusha county, Mississippi. 
 
 Yalobusha. Original, Ya-lo-ba-ai-a-sha, Tadpoles 
 abound. 
 
 Onalaska. Original, O-na-lu-chah, To arrive being wet. 
 A town in Arkansas. 
 
 Okatibbee. Original, O-ka-it-tib-ih, Water fight, i. e. A 
 battle across the water. A town in Lauderdale county, 
 Mississippi. 
 
 Oktoc. Original, Ok-tak, prairie. A town in Oktibbeha 
 county, Mississippi. 
 
 Pillahatchee. Original, Pil-lah-huch-cha, far off river. 
 A river in Rankin county, Mississippi. 
 
 "Ponchatoula, a Choctaw word," says the St. Louis 
 GLOBE DEMOCRAT of July 18, 1896, "is a corruption of Pan- 
 chagoula, which, according to the declaration of the \vell in- 
 
HISTORY OF THJE INDIANS. 603- 
 
 formed superintendent of the Choctaw schools in Mississippi, 
 a gentlemen who speaks the Choctaw language fluently, 
 means pond lilly." The Choctaw words for "pond lily" are 
 Haiyip (pond) Okpul (lily). 
 
 Pasgagoula, Original, Pus-ka-ok-la, people having 
 bread. A town in Jackson county, Mississippi. 
 
 Solgohachia, a town in Arkansas. Original, Sok-ko- 
 huch-cha, Muscadine river. 
 
 Panola. Original, Po-no-la, cotton; the name of a coun 
 ty in north Mississippi. 
 
 Pachuta. Original, Pa-sho-hah, to handle, a town in 
 Perry county, Mississippi. 
 
 Piache. Original, Pi-e-shih, to care for us, the name 
 of an ancient Choctaw town which De Soto passed through 
 in October, 1540. 
 
 Puchcheyanshoba. Original, Pu-chi-yo-shu-bah, pigeon 
 to be lost Strayed Pigeon, ancient Choctaw village. 
 
 Pantofoc. Original, Pa-ki-tak-oh-lih, grapes hung up 
 Hanging Grapes, the name of a town in north Mississippi. 
 
 Seneasha. Original, Si-nih-ai-an-ta, sycamore abound, 
 the name of a little branch in Mississippi, 
 
 Shetimasha. Original, Shit-til-e-mab-ai-a-shah, Habitation 
 of the disdainful. The Shittilemahaiashah Indians of St. 
 Mary s Parish, Louisiana, are evidently a remanent of an 
 ancient Choctaw Iksa (clan), a few feeble sparks still linger 
 ing in the ashes of their exterminated Iksa. 
 
 Senatobia. Original; Sin-ih-toh-bih-a, My white syca 
 more. The name of a town in Tate county, Mississippi. 
 
 Shubuta. Original, Sho-bo-tah, Smoking. A little town 
 in Clarke county, Mississippi. 
 
 Siboglahatcha. Original, Is-su-ba-ok-la-hu-cha, Horse 
 river people i. e. People living on horse river. A creek and 
 town in Calhoun county, Mississippi. 
 
 Suqualak. Original, Shau-wa-lah, widely branching. A 
 town in Noxubee county, Mississippi. The name also of a 
 small creek emptying into Noxubee near the great ball play 
 ground, upon which, in 1790, was fought the great battle be 
 fore mentioned. 
 
 Sukatanche. Original, Shuk-ha ne-a-chih, fattened hogs; 
 i. e., the place where hogs fatten. A large creek in north 
 Mississippi and town in Kemper county, Mississippi. 
 
 Tangipahoa. Original, Tun-chi-pa sho-hah, corn hand 
 led where corn was bought and sold. 
 
 Tallula. Original, Ta-lo-ho ah, continually singing. The 
 name of the falls of a river in Georgia, said to be 536 feet. 
 
 Talluhah. Original, Tal-lu-hah, a bell. A town in Lou- 
 siana. 
 
604 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Tuskogee. Original, Tush-ka-ko-cha, weather warrior, 
 i. e., a warrior who foretells the weather. 
 
 Tallasha. Original, Ta-la-ai-ar-sha, Palmetto abound. 
 The place of palmettoes. 
 
 Toonisuba. Original, To-no-lihis-su-ba, rolling horse. 
 A place in Mississippi. 
 
 Talletuluck. Original, Ta-le-tul-i, Palmetto rock, Pal 
 metto by a rock. A town in Kemper county Mississippi. 
 
 Tacaleeche. Original, Tak-a-li-chih, to put down, 
 town in Benton county Mississippi. Town and river in 
 Panola county Mississippi. 
 
 Tullahoma. Original, Tul-i-hum-ma, red stone, rock or 
 iron. Town in Jones county Mississippi. 
 
 Wantubbee. Original, Ai-an-ta-ub-ih, To be at and kill. 
 A little place in Mississippi. 
 
 Winona, Original, Wa-ton-la, A crane. A town in Mis 
 sissippi. 
 
 Yakanookane. Original, Yak-ni-nak-ish-wa-na, Cat fish 
 land. A creek in Oktibbehaw county, Mississippi. 
 
 Yoconapatawfa. Original, Yak-ni-pa-tuf-fih, Land 
 ploughed. 
 
 Waupanuckee. Original, Wak-chah-nu-sih, To sleep 
 wide a part. A town in the present Chickasaw Nation. 
 
 Tallula. Original, Til-oh-lih, to break off. A town in 
 Issaquena county, Mississippi. 
 
 Issaquena. Original, Is-si-ok-hena, deer branch. A 
 town in Mississippi. 
 
 Tillitoba. Original, Tul-i-toh-bi, gray rock. A town in 
 Yalobusha county, Mississippi. 
 
 Taloeah. Original, Ta lo ah-i-ah, to go singing. A town 
 in Marion county, Mississippi. 
 
 Tamolah. Original, Ta mo-ah, lost. A town in Kem 
 per county, Mississippi. 
 
 Tallase. Original, Tul-li-ai-sha, rocks abound. An an 
 cient Choctaw village which De Soto visited in 1540. 
 
 Toccopola. Original, Tosh-bo-ko li, mouse colored. A 
 town in LaFayette county, Mississippi. 
 
 Toomsuba. Original, Ta-is-su-ba, because or in as 
 much as a horse. A town in Lauderdale county, Mississippi. 
 
 Topisaw. Original, Tah-pi-sah, to see now. A town in 
 Pike county, Mississippi 
 
 Talawah. Original, Ta-lo ah, singing. A town in Mar 
 ion county, Mississippi. 
 
 Tubby. Original, Ub-ih, to kill. A town in Itawamba 
 county, Mississippi. 
 
 Tooanoowe. Original, To-mih-no-wa, walking in the sun 
 shine. The nephew of Tumoachi. 
 
I 
 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 60S 
 
 Tamoachih. Original, Turn o a-chi, you lost. Chief of 
 the Yamacaws, with whom Oglethorpe established a never 
 violated treaty. 
 
 Yamacaw. Original, Yum-mak-ka-sha-pah, That one 
 to be a part. The name of an ancient clan of Choctaws at 
 the time Oglethorpe founded Savannah, Georgia, February 
 1st, 1733. 
 
 Tuscola. Original, Tah-ok-la, Now a people. A town 
 in Leake county, Mississippi. 
 
 Chickasaw bogue. Original, Chik-a-sah-bok, Chickasaw 
 creek. Town in Mobile county, Alabama. 
 
 Choccolocco. Original, Chuk-cho-sok-koh, Thick maple 
 or maple grove. Town in Calhoun county, Alabama. 
 
 Choctawhatchie. Original, Chah-tah-huch-cha, Choctaw 
 river. Town in Henry county, Alabama. 
 
 Senauki. Original, Kin-nak-li, Limping. The wife of 
 Tumoachi, 
 
 Clayhatchie. Original, Chash-ah-huch-cha, Rattling or 
 rippling river. Town in Dale county, Alabama. 
 
 Enitachopco. Original, E-nit-tak ok chah, we awaken 
 at day. A town in Clay county Alabama. 
 
 Looxapalia. Original, Luk-si-ok pul-a lih, swiming ter 
 rapin. A town and creek in Lamar county Alabama. 
 
 Loachapoha. Original, Lau-a-chih-fo-hah, making many 
 to rest. Town in Lee county Alabama. 
 
 Talladega. Original, Tal-a-ti-hah, pulled up palmetto. 
 Town and county in Alabama. 
 
 Tallahatta. Original, Tal-a-hut-a, standing palmetto. 
 A town in Clark county, Alabama. 
 
 Tallassahatchee. Original, Tal-a-sa-huch-cha, I am the 
 palmetto river. A town in Calhoun county, Alabama. 
 
 Tallula. Original, Tul-u-la, a bell. A town in Fayette 
 county, Alabama. 
 
 Talucah. Original, Ta-lo-ah, singing. A town in Mor 
 gan county, Alabama. 
 
 Tallapoosa. Original, Tul-i-po-shi, Iron dust. A county 
 in Alabama. 
 
 Tuscahoma. Original, Tush-ka-hum-ma, red warrior. 
 A town in Choctaw county Alabama. 
 
 Tuscaloosa. Original, Tush-ka-lu-sa, black warrior. 
 A town and county in Alabama. 
 
 Tuscumbia. Original, Tush-ka-um-ba chi, rainmaker 
 warrior. A town in Colbert county, Alabama. Name of an 
 ancient Chickasaw chief renowned as a medicine war chief 
 and contemporary with the famous Chickasaw chief, John 
 Colbert. 
 
606 HISTORY OF THE INDIANS. 
 
 Wauchula. Original, Lau-a-chu-la, many foxes. A 
 town in De Soto county, Florida. 
 
 Chuluota. Original, Chu-la-an-tah, a fox stays where 
 foxes abound. A town in Orange county, Florida. 
 
 Oktahatchee. Original, Ok-tak-huch-cha, Prairie river. 
 A town in Hamilton county, Florida. 
 
 Oclawaha. Original, O-ka-lau-a-ha, Many times water. 
 Town in Lake county, Florida. That is, in riding over the 
 country your way is obstructed by lakes, lagoons and ponds. 
 
 Chattahoochee. Original, Chuk-lih-huch-cha, Rapid 
 river. A town in Fulton county, Georgia, and river in 
 Georgia. 
 
 Chenubee. Original, Chi-a-ub-ih, You kill. Town in 
 Webster county,. Georgia. 
 
 Ghokee. Original, Cho-ki, A martin, Town in Lee 
 county, Georgia. 
 
 Ossahutchee. Original, Os-si-huch-cha, Eagle river. A 
 town in Harris county Georgia. A river upon which eagles 
 abound. 
 
 Sallacoa. Original, Sa-la-ko-f ah, I made a notch. A town 
 in Cherokee county, Georgia. , 
 
 Chinchuba. Original, Chin-is-su-ba, thy horse. Town 
 in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. 
 
 Chepola. Original, Che-pn-15, To^v:^ .-; 3 . Helena 
 Parish, Louisiana. The name given by ilu anc.oTi Choc- 
 taws to a favorite dance, the termination of a protracted 
 feast and general good time. 
 
 Chacahoula. Original, Chit-oh-hul-wa, large soft shell 
 turtle. A town in Terre Bonne, Louisiana. 
 
 Coushatta. Original, Kau-ah-shak-ba, broken arm. A 
 town in Red River Parish, Lousiana. 
 
 Hitchiti . Original, Hish-i-it-ih, hairmouth whiskers. 
 An ancient Choctaw clan. A remnant of which are nov.* liv 
 ing among the Creeks, Indian Territory; they did not move 
 in 1832 with the Choctaws, but remained east of the Missis 
 sippi river, until the exodus of the Creeks and came with 
 them, and with whom they have still remained. 
 
 Professor Campbell, of the Presbyterian College, Mon 
 treal, believes that he has found the key to the Hittite (of 
 Biblical fame) inscriptions, and has sent the result of his 
 investigation to the Society of Biblical Archaeology. It is 
 said that the most striking and important feature of this 
 work is the identity established by Professor Campbell, as 
 he believes, between the Aztecs and the Hittites. He con 
 cludes a statement of his discovery in the Montreal Witness, 
 as follows: "It is interesting to know that we have on this 
 continent the remains of a people who played a great part in 
 
HISTORY OF THE INDIANA. 607 
 
 ancient history. It is also gratifying- to learn that by the 
 establishment of the Hittite origin of the Aztecs, evolutions 
 in philology and ethnology will receive its death blow." 
 
 Now, if the Aztecs be of Hittite orig-in, and the Choctaws 
 and Chickasaws of Aztec orig-in, of which there is more than 
 a probability if their ancient leg-ends and traditions are re 
 liable may not the Choctaw words Hishih itih (the name of 
 one of their ancient Iksasj be itself a corruption of. the 
 Hittite, and not only confirming- their eastern traditional mi 
 gration in the years of ag-es passed, but also pointing- back 
 even to a Hittite orig-in ? 
 

 

 
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