THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
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 Ab3s 
 
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The Slaveholding Indians 
 
 (1) As Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 (2) As Participants in the Civil War 
 
 (3) Under Reconstruction 
 
 Vol. I 
 
THfc LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
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The American Indian as 
 Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 AN OMITTED CHAPTER IN 
 
 THE DIPLOMATIC HISTORY OF THE 
 
 SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY 
 
 
 BY 
 
 ANNIE HELOISE ABEL, PH.D. 
 
 THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY 
 CLEVELAND: 1915 
 
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COPYRIGHT, 1 9 I 5 , BY 
 
 ANNIE HELOISE ABEL 
 
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 CONTENTS 
 
 PREFACE 13 
 
 I GENERAL SITUATION IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY, 1830- 
 
 1860 17 
 
 II INDIAN TERRITORY IN ITS RELATIONS WITH TEXAS 
 
 AND ARKANSAS 63 
 
 III THE CONFEDERACY IN NEGOTIATION WITH THE IN- 
 
 DIAN TRIBES 127 * 
 
 IV THE INDIAN NATIONS IN ALLIANCE WITH THE CON- 
 
 FEDERACY 207 
 
 APPENDIX A - FORT SMITH PAPERS 285 
 
 APPENDIX B - THE LEEPER OR WICHITA AGENCY PAPERS 329 
 
 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ". . 359 
 
 INDEX 369 
 
li'iJ 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 INDIAN TERRITORY, 1861 Frontispiece 
 
 MAP SHOWING FREE NEGRO SETTLEMENTS IN THE CREEK 
 
 COUNTRY 25 
 
 PORTRAIT OF COLONEL DOWNING, CHEROKEE ... 65 
 PORTRAIT OF JOHN Ross, PRINCIPAL CHIEF OF THE CHERO- 
 
 KEES 112 
 
 PORTRAIT OF COLONEL ADAIR, CHEROKEE .... 221 
 
 MAP SHOWING THE RETREAT OF THE LOYAL INDIANS . 263 
 
 FORT McCuLLOCH 281 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This volume is the first of a series of three dealing 
 with the slaveholding Indians as secessionists, as par- 
 ticipants in the Civil War, and as victims under recon- 
 struction. The series deals with a phase of American 
 Civil War history which has heretofore been almost 
 entirely neglected or, where dealt with, either misun- 
 derstood or misinterpreted. Perhaps the third and last 
 volume will to many people be the most interesting 
 because it will show, in great detail, the enormous price 
 that the unfortunate Indian had to pay for having al- 
 lowed himself to become a secessionist and a soldier. 
 Yet the suggestiveness of this first volume is consider- 
 ably larger than would appear at first glance. It has 
 been purposely given a sub-title, in order that the pecu- 
 liar position of the Indian, in 1861, may be brought out 
 in strong relief. He was enough inside the American 
 Union to have something to say about secession and 
 enough outside of it to be approached diplomatically. 
 It is well to note, indeed, that Albert Pike, negotiated 
 the several Indian treaties that bound the Indian na- 
 tions in an alliance with the seceded states, under the 
 authority of the Confederate State Department, which 
 was a decided advance upon United States practice -an 
 innovation, in fact, that marked the tremendous im- 
 portance that the Confederate government attached to 
 the Indian friendship. It was something that stood 
 out in marked contrast to the indifference manifested at 
 the moment by the authorities at Washington ; for, while 
 
14 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 they were neglecting the Indian even to an extent that 
 amounted to actual dishonor, the Confederacy was offer- 
 ing him political integrity and political equality and 
 was establishing over his country, not simply an empty 
 wardship, but a bona fide protectorate. 
 
 Granting then that the negotiations of 1861 with the 
 Indian nations constitute a phase of southern diplomatic 
 history, it may be well to consider to what Indian par- 
 ticipation in the Civil War amounted. It was a cir- 
 cumstance that was interesting rather than significant; 
 and the majority will have to admit that it was a cir- 
 cumstance that could not possibly have materially af- 
 fected the ultimate situation. It was the Indian coun- 
 try, rather than the Indian owner, that the Confederacy 
 wanted to be sure of possessing; for Indian Territory 
 occupied a position of strategic importance, from both 
 the economic and the military point of view. The 
 possession of it was absolutely necessary for the political 
 and the institutional consolidation of the South. Texas 
 might well think of going her own way and of forming 
 an independent republic once again, when between her 
 and Arkansas lay the immense reservations of the great 
 tribes. They were slaveholding tribes, too, yet were 
 supposed by the United States government to have no 
 interest whatsoever in a sectional conflict that involved 
 the very existence of the "peculiar institution." Thus 
 the federal government left them to themselves at the 
 critical moment and left them, moreover, at the mercy 
 of the South, and then was indignant that they betrayed 
 a sectional affiliation. 
 
 The author deems it of no slight advantage, in under- 
 taking a work of this sort, that she is of British birth 
 and antecedents and that her educational training, so 
 largely American as it is, has been gained without re- 
 
Preface 1 5 
 
 spect to a particular locality. She belongs to no section 
 of the Union, has lived, for longer or shorter periods 
 in all sections, and has developed no local bias. It is 
 her sincere wish that no charge of prejudice can, in ever 
 so small a degree, be substantiated by the evidence, pre- 
 sented here or elsewhere. ANNIE HELOISE ABEL. 
 Baltimore, September, 1914 
 
I. THE GENERAL SITUATION IN THE IN- 
 DIAN COUNTRY, 1830-1860 
 
 Veterans of the Confederate service who saw action 
 along the Missouri-Arkansas frontier have frequently 
 complained, in recent years, that military operations in 
 and around Virginia during the War between the States 
 receive historically so much attention that, as a conse- 
 quence, the steady, stubborn fighting west of the Mis- 
 sissippi River is either totally ignored or, at best, cast 
 into dim obscurity. There is much of truth in the criti- 
 cism but it applies in fullest measure only when the 
 Indians are taken into account; for no accredited his- 
 tory of the American Civil War that has yet appeared 
 has adequately recognized certain rather interesting 
 facts connected with that period of frontier develop- 
 ment; viz., that Indians fought on both sides in the 
 great sectional struggle, that they were moved to fight, 
 not by instincts of savagery, but by identically the same 
 motives and impulses as the white men, and that, in the 
 final outcome, they suffered even more terribly than did 
 the whites. Moreover, the Indians fought as solicited 
 allies, some as nations, diplomatically approached. 
 Treaties were made with them as with foreign powers 
 and not in the farcical, fraudulent way that had been 
 customary in times past. They promised alliance and 
 were given in return political position -a fair exchange. 
 The southern white man, embarrassed, conceded much, 
 far more than he really believed in, more than he ever 
 could or would have conceded, had he not himself been 
 
1 8 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 so fearfully hard pressed. His own predicament, the 
 exigencies of the moment, made him give to the Indian 
 a justice, the like of which neither one of them had 
 dared even to dream. It was quite otherwise with the 
 northern white man, however; for he, self-confident 
 and self-reliant, negotiated with the Indian in the tra- 
 ditional way, took base advantage of the straits in which 
 he found him, asked him to help him fight his battles, 
 and, in the selfsame moment, plotted to dispossess him 
 of his lands, the very lands that had, less than five and 
 twenty years before, been pledged as an Indian posses- 
 sion "as long as the grass should grow and the waters 
 
 run." 
 
 From what has just been said, it can be easily in- 
 ferred that two distinct groups of Indians will have to 
 be dealt with, a northern and a southern ; but, for the 
 present, it will be best to take them all together. Col- 
 lectively, they occupied a vast extent of country in the 
 so-called great American desert. Their situation was 
 peculiar. Their participation in the war, in some ca- 
 pacity, was absolutely inevitable; but, preparatory to 
 any right understanding of the reasons, geographical, 
 institutional, political, financial, and military, that 
 made it so, a rapid survey of conditions ante-dating the 
 war must be considered. 
 
 It will be remembered that for some time prior to 
 1860 the policy 1 of the United States government had 
 been to relieve the eastern states of their Indian inhab- 
 itants and that this it had done, since the first years of 
 
 1 Confessedly much to its discredit, the United States government has never 
 had, for any appreciable length of time, a well-developed and well-defined In- 
 dian policy, one that has made the welfare of the aborigines its sole concern. 
 Legislation for the subject race has almost invariably been dictated by the needs 
 of the hour, by the selfish and exorbitant demands of pioneers, and by the 
 greed and caprice of politicians. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 19 
 
 Andrew Jackson's presidency, by a more or less com- 
 pulsory removal to the country lying immediately west 
 of Arkansas and Missouri. As a result, the situation 
 there created was as follows: In the territory compre- 
 hended in the present state of Kansas, alongside of in- 
 digenous tribes, like the Kansa and the Osage, 2 had been 
 placed various tribes or portions of tribes from the old 
 Northwest 3 -the Shawnees and Munsees from Ohio, 4 
 the Delawares, Kickapoos, Potawatomies, and Miamies 
 from Indiana, the Ottawas and Chippewas from Mich- 
 igan, the Wyandots from Ohio and Michigan, the Weas, 
 Peorias, Kaskaskias, and Piankashaws from Illinois, 
 and a few New York Indians from Wisconsin. To the 
 southward of all of those northern tribal immigrants 
 and chiefly beyond the later Kansas boundary, or in the 
 present state of Oklahoma, had been similarly placed 
 the great 5 tribes from the South 6 -the Creeks from 
 
 2 There were, of course, other indigenous tribes to the westward, in the 
 direction of Colorado and Texas, and to the northward, in southern Nebraska; 
 but only the latter were more than remotely affected, as far as local habitation 
 was concerned, by the coming of the eastern emigrants and the consequent in- 
 troduction of the reservation system. 
 
 3 Kansas Historical Society Collections, vol. viii, 72-109. 
 
 * In scarcely a single case here cited was the old home of the tribe limited 
 by the boundaries of a single state nor is it to be understood that the state here 
 mentioned was necessarily the original habitat of the tribe. It was only the 
 territorial headquarters of the tribe at the time of removal or at the time when 
 the policy of removal was first insisted upon as a sine qua non. Some of the 
 Indians emigrated independently of treaty arrangements with the United States 
 government and some did not immediately direct their steps towards Kansas 
 or Oklahoma; but made, through choice or through necessity, an intervening 
 point a stopping-place. The Kickapoos, the Shawnees, and the Delawares tar- 
 ried in Missouri, the Choctaws and the Cherokees, many of them, in Arkansas 
 but that was before 1830, the date of the removal law. After 1830, there was 
 no possible resting-place for weary Indians this side of the Ozark Mountains. 
 
 5 Some of the more insignificant southern Indians eventually found their 
 way also to Oklahoma. In 1860 there were a few Louisiana Caddoes in the 
 northwestern part of the Chickasaw country, most likely the same that, in 
 1866, were reported to have been driven out of Texas in 1859 by bushwhackers 
 and then out of the Washita country at the opening of the Civil War. They 
 
2O The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Georgia and Alabama, the Cherokees from Tennessee 
 and Georgia, the Seminoles from Florida, and the Choc- 
 taws and Chickasaws from Alabama and Mississippi/ 
 The population of the whole country thus colonized 
 
 continued throughout the war loyal to the United States. In 1853 the Choctaw 
 General Council passed an act admitting to the rights of citizenship several 
 Catawba Indians; and, from that circumstance, the Office of Indian Affairs 
 surmised that the Choctaws would be willing to incorporate Catawbas yet in 
 the Carolinas. In 1857 there were about seventy Catawbas in South Carolina on 
 a tiny reservation. They expressed an ardent wish to go among the Choctaws. 
 In 1860 the Catawbas were in possession of the northeastern part of the Choc- 
 taw country. 
 
 6 For the detailed history of events leading up to Indian removals, partic- 
 ularly the southern, see American Historical Association, Report, 1906, 241-450. 
 
 7 Not all of the southern Indians had emigrated in the thirties and forties. 
 A considerable number of Cherokees removed themselves from the country east 
 of the Mississippi to Texas. This was immediately subsequent to and induced 
 by the American Revolution [Texas Historical Association, Quarterly, July, 
 1897, 38-46 and October, 1903, 95-165]. Many Cherokees, likewise, took the 
 suggestion of President Jefferson and moved to the Arkansas country prior to 
 1820. Moreover, there were "Eastern Cherokees" in controversy with the 
 "Western Cherokees" for many years after the Civil War. Their endless 
 quarrels over property proved the occasion of much litigation. In the late 
 fifties active measures were taken by the Office of Indian Affairs to complete 
 the removal of the Seminoles and to accomplish by intrigue and diplomacy 
 what the long and expensive Second Seminole War had utterly failed to do. 
 Elias Rector of Arkansas superintended the matter and the Seminole chief, 
 John Jumper, gave valuable assistance, as did also the Creeks, who generously 
 granted to the Seminoles a home within the Creek country west [Creek Treaty, 
 1856, Kappler's Indian Laws and Treaties, vol. ii, 757]. Billy Bowlegs was 
 the last Seminole chief of prominence to leave Florida [Coe's Red Patriots, 
 198]. In 1853 there were still some four hundred Choctaws reported as living 
 in Alabama and there must have been even more than that in Mississippi. In 
 1854 steps were taken, but unsuccessfully, for their removal. In 1859 Repre- 
 sentative John J. McRae presented a petition from citizens of various Mis- 
 sissippi counties asking that the Choctaws be removed altogether from the 
 state because of their intimacy and intercourse with the negroes. The Office 
 of Indian Affairs refused to act. Perchance, it considered the moment inop- 
 portune or the means at hand insufficient. It may even have considered the 
 charge against the Choctaws a mere pretext and quite unfounded since it was 
 commonly reported that the Choctaws had a decided aversion to that particular 
 kind of race mixture. In that respect they differed very considerably from 
 the Creeks who to-day are said to present a very curious spectacle of an al- 
 most complete mixture. Choctaws from Mississippi and Cherokees from North 
 Carolina and Catawbas from South Carolina fought with the South in the 
 Civil War. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 21 
 
 and, in a sense, reduced to the reservation system, 
 amounted approximately to seventy-four thousand souls, 
 less than seven thousand of whom were north of the 
 Missouri-Compromise line. The others were all south 
 of it and, therefore, within a possible slave belt. 
 
 This circumstance is not without significance; for it 
 is the colonized, or reservation, Indians 8 exclusively 
 that are to figure in these pages and, since this story is a 
 chapter in the struggle between the North and the 
 South, the proportion of southerners to northerners 
 among the Indian immigrants must, in the very nature 
 of things, have weight. The relative location of north- 
 ern and southern tribes seems to have been determined 
 with a very careful regard to the restrictions of the 
 Missouri Compromise and the interdicted line of thir- 
 ty-six degrees and thirty minutes was pretty nearly the 
 boundary between them. 9 That it was so by accident 
 may or may not be subject for conjecture. Fortunately 
 for the disinterested motives of politicians but most un- 
 fortunately for the defenceless Indians, the Cherokee 
 land obtruded itself just a little above the thirty-seventh 
 parallel and formed a "Cherokee Strip" eagerly covet- 
 ed by Kansans in later days. One objection, be it re- 
 membered, that had been offered to the original plan of 
 removal was that, unless the slaveholding southern In- 
 dians were moved directly westward along parallel 
 
 8 Other Indians made trouble during the progress of the Civil War, as, 
 for instance, the Sioux in the summer of 1862. The Sioux, however, were not 
 fighting for or against the issues of the white man's war. They were simply 
 taking advantage of a favorable occasion, when the United States government 
 was preoccupied, to avenge their own wrongs. 
 
 9 The existence of the "Cherokee Neutral Land" out of which the south- 
 eastern counties of Kansas were illegitimately formed was not exactly an ex- 
 ception to this. The Neutral Land, eight hundred thousand acres in extent, 
 was an independent purchase, made by the Cherokees, and was not included in 
 the exchange or in the original scheme that forced their removal from Georgia. 
 It was a subsequent concession to outraged justice. 
 
22 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 lines of latitude, northern rights under the Missouri 
 Compromise would be encroached upon. Yet slavery 
 was not conscientiously excluded from Kansas in the 
 days antecedent to its organization as a territory. With- 
 in the Indian country, and it was all Indian country 
 then, slavery was allowed, at least on sufferance, both 
 north and south of the interdicted line. It was even en- 
 couraged by many white men who made their homes or 
 their living there, by interlopers, licensed traders, and 
 missionaries; 10 but it flourished as a legitimate institu- 
 tion only among the great tribes planted south of the 
 line. With them it had been a familiar institution long 
 before the time of their exile. In their native haunts 
 they had had negro slaves as had had the whites and 
 removal had made no difference to them in that partic- 
 ular. Since the beginning of the century refuge to fugi- 
 tives and confusion of ownership had been occasions for 
 frequent quarrel between them and the citizens of the 
 Southern States. Later, when questions came up touch- 
 ing the status of slavery on strictly federal soil, the In- 
 dian country and the District of Columbia often found 
 themselves listed together. 11 Moreover, after 1850, it 
 became a matter of serious import whether or no the 
 Fugitive Slave Law was operative within the Indian 
 country; and, when influenced apparently by Jefferson 
 Davis, Attorney- general Cushing gave as his opinion 
 that it was, new controversies arose. Slaves belonging 
 
 10 By far the best instance of missionary activity in behalf of slavery among 
 the northern Indian immigrants is to be found in the case of the Reverend 
 Thomas Johnson's work at the Shawnee Mission [Ray's Repeal of the Missouri 
 Compromise, footnote 207]. Johnson, like William Walker, head chief of the 
 Wyandots, was an ardent pro-slavery advocate [ibid., footnote 205] and took a 
 rather disgracefully prominent part in the notorious election frauds of early 
 Kansas territorial days [House Report, 34th congress, first session, no. 200, pp. 
 
 14, 18, 94, 425]- 
 
 11 Buchanan's Works, vol. iii, 348, 350, 353. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 23 
 
 to the Indians were often enticed away by the abolition- 
 ists 12 and still more often were seized by southern men 
 under pretense of their being fugitives. 13 In cases of 
 the latter sort, the Indian owners had little or no re- 
 dress in the federal courts of law. 14 
 
 12 Siebert's Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom, 284. 
 
 13 The most interesting case that came up in this connection was that of the 
 so-called Beams' Negroes, resident in the Choctaw country and illegally 
 claimed as refugees by John B. Davis of Mississippi [Indian Office, Special 
 Files, no. 277]. The Reverend S. A. Worcester interested himself in their be- 
 half [Jefferson Davis to Worcester, October 7, 1854] and a decision was finally 
 rendered in their favor. Another interesting case of similar nature was, "In 
 re negroes taken from Overton Love and David Wall of the Chickasaw Nation 
 by Citizens of Texas, i848-'57" [ibid., no. 278]. 
 
 14 Under the Intercourse Law of 1834, the Indian Territory had been an- 
 nexed for judicial purposes to the western district of Arkansas. The Indians 
 were much dissatisfied. They felt themselves entitled to a federal court of 
 their own, a privilege the United States government persistently denied to 
 them but one that the Confederate government readily granted. As matters 
 stood, prior to the Civil War, the red men seemed always at the mercy of the 
 white man's distorted conception of justice and were, perforce, quite beyond 
 the reach of the boasted guaranties of theoretical Anglo-Saxon justice since 
 the very location of the court precluded a trial by their peers of the vicinage. 
 The journey to Arkansas, in those early days, was long and tiresome and ex- 
 pensive. Complications frequently arose and matters, difficult of adjustment, 
 even under the best of circumstances. Among the Creeks and Seminoles, the 
 status of the free negro was exceptionally high, partly due, with respect to the 
 latter, to conditions growing out of the Second Seminole War. As already in- 
 timated, the Creeks had no aversion whatsoever to race mixtures and inter- 
 marriage between negroes and Indians was rather common. The half-breeds 
 resulting from such unions were accepted as bona fide members of the tribe by 
 the Indians in the distribution of annuities, but not by the United States 
 courts another source of difficulty and a very instructive one as well, par- 
 ticularly from the standpoint of reconstructionist exactions. 
 
 Occasionally the presence of the free negro within the Indian country was 
 a source of grave danger. The accompanying letters outline a case in point: 
 HEAD QUARTERS 7TH. MIL: DEPT. FORT SMITH, March 5th. 1852. 
 
 SIR: By direction of the Colonel commanding the Department I 
 transmit herewith copies of a communication from George Folsom, 
 Chief of the Pushmataha District, to Colonel Wilson Choctaw Agent and 
 one from Colonel William Wilson Choctaw Agent to Brevet Major 
 Holmes commanding Fort Washita asking aid from the Military force. 
 
 As the letter from the Choctaw Agent is not sufficiently explicit as to 
 what he wishes done by the Military authority the subject is referred to 
 you, and if on investigation it be found that Military interference is 
 
24 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 In point of fact, during all the years between the 
 various dates of Indian removal and the breaking out 
 of the Civil War, the Indian country was constantly 
 
 necessary to enforce the intercourse law, prompt assistance will be ren- 
 dered for the purposes therein specified, under the direction and in pres- 
 ence of the Choctaw Agent. Respectfully Yr Obt. Servt., 
 
 FRANCIS N PAGE, Asst. Adjt. Genl. 
 Colonel John Drennen, Superintendent W. T. 
 
 Inclosure 
 
 CHOCTAW AGENCY, February 9th 1852 
 
 SIR: The enclosed copy of a letter from Colonel George Folsom 
 Chief of Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation will put you in 
 possession of the facts and reasons why I address you at this time. 
 
 As the position of the free Negros and Indians alluded to in the 
 Chief's letter seems to be of rather a hostile character, having built 
 themselves a Fort doubtless for the purpose of defending themselves if 
 interupted in their present location, it seems to me necessary that they 
 should be driven away if necessary by Military authority; and, as your 
 post is the most convenient to the place where the Negroes and Indians 
 are Ported I have thought that a command could be sent with less 
 trouble and at less expense to the government by you than any one else. 
 I would therefore most respectfully call upon you to take such steps as 
 you may think most advisable to remove from the Choctaw country the 
 persons complained of by the Chief, and if necessary call upon Chief 
 Folsom to aid you with his light horse, who may be of much service to 
 you in the way of Guides. Very Respectfully Yr. Obt Servt. 
 
 (Signed) WILLIAM WILSON, Choctaw Agent 
 [Endorsement] A true Copy, Francis N Page, Asst. Adjt. Genl. 
 
 Inclosure 
 
 PUSHMATAHA DISTRICT, January 23. 1852. 
 
 DEAR SIR: I spoke to you about those free negroes upon the head 
 waters of Boggy, when I last saw you, requesting to have something 
 done with them. I have just learned that the negroes and some Indians 
 are banded together and have built themselves a little Fort. There is 
 no doubt but that they will be a great trouble to us. One of our coun- 
 try judges sent for the light-horse-men to go and seize the negroes, but 
 I have forbid them going, and many of our people wish to go and see 
 them. I have forbid any body to go there with intentions to take them. 
 It will no doubt be hard to break them up. You have probably just 
 returned home, and it may seem tresspassing upon you to write you 
 about those negroes and Indians, but you are our agent, and we have 
 the right to look to you for help. It seems to me this affair wants an 
 immediate action on it. 
 
 I have simply stated to you how these negroes and Indians are 
 Ported up that you may better know how to deal with them. In pur- 
 
IHt LlttBARK 
 
 OMHE 
 UHWERS1TY OF 1111101$ 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 27 
 
 beset by difficulties. Some of the difficulties were inci- 
 dent to removal or to disturbances within the tribes but 
 most of them were incident to changes and to political 
 complications in the white man's country. Scarcely 
 had the removal project been fairly launched and the 
 first Indian emigrants started upon their journey west- 
 ward than events were in train for the overthrow of the 
 whole scheme. 
 
 When Calhoun mapped out the Indian country in his 
 elaborate report of 1825, tne selection of the trans-Mis- 
 souri region might well have been regarded as judicious. 
 Had the plan of general removal been adopted then, 
 before sectional interests had wholly vitiated it, the 
 United States government might have gained and, in a 
 measure, would have richly deserved the credit of do- 
 ing at least one thing for the protection and preserva- 
 tion of the aborigines from motives, not self-interested, 
 but purely humanitarian. The moment was oppor- 
 tune. The territory of the United States was then lim- 
 ited by the confines of the Louisiana Purchase and its 
 settlements by the great American desert. Traders 
 only had penetrated to any considerable extent to the 
 base of the Rockies; but experience already gained 
 might have taught that their presence was portentous 
 and significant of the need of haste; that is, if Calhoun's 
 selection were to continue judicious; for traders, as has 
 been amply proved in both British and American his- 
 tory, have ever been but the advance agents of settlers. 
 
 Unfortunately for the cause of pure philanthropy, the 
 United States government was exceedingly slow in 
 
 forming your duties if I can in any way render you any assistance I 
 shall always be happy to do so. Very respectfully Your friend 
 
 (Signed) GEORGE FOLSOM, Chief Push: Dist: 
 Col: William Wilson, Choctaw Agent 
 [Endorsement] a true Copy, Francis N Page, Asst. Adjt. Genl. 
 
28 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 adopting the plan of Indian removal; but its citizens 
 were by no means equally slow in developing the spirit 
 of territorial expansion. Their successful seizure of 
 West Florida had fired their ambition and their cupid- 
 ity. With Texas annexed and lower Oregon occupied, 
 the selection of the trans-Missouri region had ceased 
 to be judicious. How could the Indians expect to be 
 secure in a country that was the natural highway to a 
 magnificent country beyond, invitingly open to settle- 
 ment! But this very pertinent and patent fact the offi- 
 cials at Washington singularly failed to realize and 
 they went on calmly assuring the Indians that they 
 should never be disturbed again, that the federal gov- 
 ernment would protect them in their rights and against 
 all enemies, that no white man should be allowed to 
 intrude upon them, that they should hold their lands 
 undiminished forever, and that no state or territorial 
 lines should ever again circumscribe them. Such prom- 
 ises were decidedly fatuous, dead letters long before the 
 ink that recorded them had had time to dry. The Mex- 
 ican War followed the annexation of Texas and its con- 
 quests necessitated a further use of the Indian high- 
 way. Soldiers that fought in that war saw the Indian 
 land and straightway coveted it. Forty-niners saw it 
 and coveted it also. Prospectors and adventurers of all 
 sorts laid plans for exploiting it. It entered as a deter- 
 mining factor into Benton's great scheme for building 
 a national road that should connect the Atlantic and 
 Pacific shores and with the inception of that came a 
 very sudden and a very real danger; for the same great 
 scheme precipitated, although in an indirect sort of 
 way, the agitation for the opening up of Kansas and 
 Nebraska to white settlement, which, of course, meant 
 that the recent Indian colonists, in spite of all the sol- 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 29 
 
 emn governmental guaranties that had been given to 
 them, would have to be ousted, for would not the "sov- 
 ereign" people of America demand it? Then, too, the 
 Dred Scott decision, the result of a dishonorable politi- 
 cal collusion as it was, 15 militated indirectly against 
 Indian interests. It is true that it was only in its extra- 
 legal aspect that it did this but it did it none the less; 
 for, if the authority of the federal government was not 
 supreme in the territories and not supreme in any part 
 of the country not yet organized into states, then the 
 Indian landed property rights in the West that rested 
 exclusively upon federal grant, under the Removal Act 
 of 1830, were virtually nil. It is rather interesting to 
 observe, in this connection, how inconsistent human na- 
 ture is when political expediency is the thing at stake; 
 for it happened that the same people and the same 
 party, identically, that, in the second and third decades 
 of the nineteenth century, had tried to convince the In- 
 dians, and against their better judgment too, that the 
 red man would be forever unmolested in the western 
 country because the federal government owned it abso- 
 lutely and could give a title in perpetuity, argued, in 
 the fourth and fifth decades, that the states were the 
 sole proprietors, that they were, in fact, the joint own- 
 ers of everything heretofore considered as national. In- 
 ferentially, therefore, Indians, like negroes, had no 
 rights that white men were bound to respect. 
 
 The crucial point has now been reached in this dis- 
 cussion. From the date of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 
 the sectional affiliation of the Indian country became a 
 thing of more than passing moment. Whatever may 
 have been John C. Calhoun's ulterior and real motive 
 
 15 Buchanan's Works, vol. x, "the Catron letter," 106; "the Grier letter," 
 106-107. 
 
30 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 in urging that the trans-Missouri region be closed to 
 white settlement forever, whether he did, as some of his 
 abolitionist enemies have charged, plan thus to block 
 free-state expansion and so frustrate the natural oper- 
 ations of the Missouri Compromise, certain it is, that 
 southern politicians, after his time, became the chief 
 advocates of Indian territorial integrity, the ones that 
 pleaded most often and most noisily that guaranties to 
 Indians be faithfully respected. They had in mind the 
 northern part of the Indian country and that alone ; but, 
 no doubt, the circumstance was purely accidental, since 
 at that time, the early fifties, the northern 16 was the only 
 part likely to be encroached upon. 17 Their interest in 
 the southern part took an entirely different direction 
 
 16 This was as it appeared to N. G. Taylor, Commissioner of Indian Af- 
 fairs, as he looked back, in 1867, upon events of the past few years. He was 
 then of the opinion that the very existence of slavery among the southern 
 tribes had most probably saved their country from being coveted by emigrants 
 going westward. 
 
 17 One agency under the Southern Superintendency, the Neosho River 
 Agency, was, however, included in the scheme preliminary to the organization 
 of Kansas and Nebraska. See the following letters found in Thomas S. Drew's 
 Letter Press Book: 
 
 (a) OFFICE SUPT. IND. AFFAIRS FORT SMITH, ARKS. Dec. 21, 1853. 
 SIR: Inclosed herewith you will receive letters from Agent Dorn, 
 
 dated the ist and 2nd instant; the former in relation to the disposition 
 of the Indians within his agency to meet Commissioners on the subject 
 of selling their lands, or having a Territorial form of Government ex- 
 tend over them by the United States: and the latter nominating John 
 Finch as Blacksmith to the Great and Little Osages. Very respectfully 
 Your obt. servt. A. H. RUTHERFORD, Clerk for SupL 
 
 Hon. Geo. W. Manypenny, Com r Ind. Affairs 
 Washington City. 
 
 (b) OFFICE SUPT. INDIAN AFFAIRS FORT SMITH, ARKS. Dec. 29, 1853. 
 SIR: ... I have also to acknowledge the receipt of letters from 
 
 you of the 2nd instant to the Commissioner of Ind. Affrs. upon the sub- 
 ject of the Indians within your Agency being willing to meet Commis- 
 sioners on the part of the U.S. preparatory to selling their lands, or to 
 take into consideration the propriety of admitting a Territorial form of 
 Government extended over them & ... 
 
 A. H. RUTHERFORD, Clerk for Supt. 
 A. J. Dorn, U.S. Indian Agt, Crawford Seminary. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 31 
 
 and that also may have been accidental or occasioned by 
 conditions quite local and present. For this southern 
 part, by the way, they recommended American citizen- 
 ship and the creation of American states 18 in the Union, 
 
 18 In this connection, the following are of interest: 
 
 (a) The Choctaws, it is understood, are prepared to receive and as- 
 sent to the provisions of a bill introduced three years since into the Senate 
 by Senator Johnson of Arkansas, for the creation of the Territories of 
 Chah-la-kee, Chah-ta, and Muscokee, and it is greatly to be hoped that 
 that or some similar bill may be speedily enacted. . . Their country, 
 a far finer one than Kansas. . . The Choctaws have adopted a new 
 constitution, vesting the supreme executive power in a governor. . . 
 It is understood that this change has been made preparatory to the ac- 
 ceptance of the bill already mentioned. 
 
 The foregoing is taken from the Annual Report of the southern superintendent 
 for 1857 and in that report, Elias Rector who was then the superintendent, 
 having taken office that very year, argued that all the five great tribes ought 
 to be allowed to have delegates on the floor of Congress and to be made citi- 
 zens of the United States ; for the constitutions of the Cherokees, Choctaws, and 
 Chickasaws would compare favorably, said he, with those of any of the south- 
 western states [Senate Documents, 35th congress, first session, vol. ii, 485]. 
 (b) The Fort Smith Times of February 3, 1859 printed the following: 
 
 SAM HOUSTON AND THE PRESIDENCY 
 
 The following we take from a printed slip sent to us by our Doaks- 
 ville correspondent, who informs us that it was sent to that office just 
 as he sends it. We presume that it is the programme laid down by 
 some of the Texas papers, friendly to the election of Sam Houston to the 
 Presidency. . . 
 
 Re-organization of the Territories 
 
 1. The organization of the Aboriginal Territory of Decotah, from 
 that part of the late Territory of Minnesota, lying west of the State of 
 Minnesota. 
 
 2. To fix the western boundaries of Kansas and Nebraska, at the 
 Meridian 99 or 100; and to establish in those Territories, Aboriginal 
 counties, for the exclusive and permanent occupation of the Aboriginal 
 tribes now located east of that line and within those Territories; also to 
 provide, that said Territories shall not be admitted into the Union as 
 States unless their several Constitutions provide for the continuation of 
 the Federal regulations adopted for better government and welfare of 
 the Aboriginal tribes inhabiting the same. 
 
 3. To organize the Indian territory lying west of Arkansas, as "the 
 Aboriginal Territory of Neosho," under regulation similar to those pro- 
 posed by Hon. Robert W. Johnson of Arkansas in 1854 for the organiza- 
 tion of the Indian territory of Neosho. 
 
 4. To purchase from the State of Texas all that portion of the State 
 
32 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 also a territorial organization immediately that should 
 look towards that end. Such advice came as early as 
 1853, at least, and was more natural than would at first 
 glance appear; for the southern tribes were huge in 
 population, in land, and in resources. They were civ- 
 ilized, had governments and laws modelled upon the 
 
 lying north of the Red river and include the same in the Aboriginal 
 territory of Comanche or Ouachita. 
 
 5. The territory of New Mexico. 
 
 6. From the western portion of New Mexico to take the Aboriginal 
 territory of Navajoe. 
 
 7. From the western portion of Utah, to take the Aboriginal terri- 
 tory of Shoshone. 
 
 Re-organize the eastern part of Utah, (the Mormon country), as an 
 Aboriginal territory. 
 
 Organize the western territory of Osage. 
 
 From Nebraska, west of the M.ioo, and south of the 4$th parallel 
 take the Aboriginal territory of Mandan. 
 
 Organize the eastern half of Oregon, as the Aboriginal territory of 
 Umatilla. 
 
 Washington east of the M.n8 to be the Aboriginal territory of 
 Okanagan. 
 
 Nebraska, north of the 45th parallel to be the Aboriginal territory of 
 Assinneboin. Emigration into these territories to be prohibited by law 
 of Congress, until the same shall have been admitted into the Union as 
 States. 
 
 In each territory, a resident Military Police to preserve order. . . 
 (c) Henry Wilson, in the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power, vol. ii, 634- 
 635 says, 
 
 In the Indian Territory there were four tribes of Indians Cherokees, 
 Choctaws, Chickasaws/ and Creeks. Under the fostering care of their 
 governments slavery had become so firmly established that slaveholders 
 thought them worthy of political fellowship, and articles in favor of 
 their admission began to appear in the southern press. "The progress 
 of civilization," said the New Orleans "Picayune," "in several of the 
 Indian tribes west of the States will soon bring up a new question for 
 the decision of Congress. . . It cannot fail to give interest to this 
 question that each of the Indian tribes has adopted the social institu- 
 tions of the South." To concentrate and give direction to such efforts, 
 a secret organization was formed to encourage Southern emigration, and 
 to discourage and prevent the entrance into the Territory of all who 
 were hostile to slaveholding institutions. It was hoped thus to guard 
 against adverse fortune which had defeated their purposes and plans 
 for Kansas. . 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 33 
 
 American, and more than all else, they were southern 
 in origin, in characteristics, and in institutions. 
 
 The project for organizing 19 the territories of Kansas 
 and Nebraska caused much excitement, as well it might, 
 
 1S With reference to the proposed organization the subjoined documents 
 are of interest: 
 
 MR. Mix, C STREET J u ^ 2 ' 
 
 Dear Sir, Please have the western boundary of Mis. laid down on 
 this map, and the outline of the Pawnee, Kanzas & Osage purchases, 
 and the reservations, as they now stand within that outline. You need 
 not show each purchase, but the outline of the whole. Yours truly 
 
 THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 Letter of July 2, 1853, Indian Office Miscellaneous Files, 1851-1854, 
 
 WASHINGTON CITY, August 5th, 1854. 
 HON. G. W. MANYPENNY Esq., Com Indian Department, Washington 
 
 City. 
 
 Dear Sir, Many people of Ohio, as well as of the states west of it, 
 have for a long time been most anxious to learn through your Depart- 
 ment, the nature of the several treaties made by yourself in behalf of the 
 Government, with the several tribes of Indians occupying the Terri- 
 tories of Nebraska & Kansas: particularly as to the reservation of land 
 made by such Tribes, its extent, where, when, & how to be located, & 
 within luhat time, and also what lands in both of said Territories by 
 virtue of said treaties are now subject to location"} 
 
 I regret to inform you that much censure has attached to your Depart- 
 ment, in consequence of the delay which has attended the promulgation 
 of the above information, but which from my long knowledge of you 
 personally, and of the very prompt manner in which you have invari- 
 ably discharged your public duties, I believe to be most unjust. 
 
 I seek the above information, not only for myself (contemplating a 
 
 removal to Kansas) but also in behalf of many persons in the western 
 
 states, who have solicited my intervention in that matter on my visit to 
 
 this City. Very respectfully your friend S. W. WHITE 
 
 Indian Office Miscellaneous Files, 1851-2854. 
 
 C. STREET, Aug. 19, '53. 
 To GEO. W. MANYPENNY ESQ., Com. of Indian Affairs, 
 
 Sir, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of yes- 
 terday with the accompanying copy of a letter to the Hon. Mr. Atchi- 
 son, and make my thanks to you for this mark of your attention. The re- 
 ply will be immediately forwarded to Meas Ami, to be published in the 
 same paper in which your note to me covering the map on which the 
 Indian's cessions & reserves west of Missouri, was published, Very re- 
 spectfully, Sir, Yr. obt. servant, THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 Indian Office Miscellaneous Files, 1851-1854. 
 
34 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 among the Indian immigrants, even though the Wyan- 
 dots, in 1852, had, in a measure, anticipated it by initiat- 
 ing a somewhat similar movement in their own restrict- 
 ed locality. 20 Most of the tribes comprehended to the 
 full the ominous import of territorial organization; for, 
 obviously, it could not be undertaken except at a sacri- 
 fice of Indian guaranties. At the moment some of the 
 tribes, notably the Choctaw and Chickasaw, 21 were hav- 
 ing domestic troubles that threatened a neighborhood 
 war and the new fear of the white man's further aggran- 
 dizement threw them into despair. The southern 
 Indians, generally, were much more exercised and 
 much more alarmed than were the northern. 22 Being 
 more highly civilized, they were better able to compre- 
 hend the drift of events. Experience had made them 
 unduly sagacious where their territorial and treaty 
 rights were concerned, and well they knew that, al- 
 though the Douglas measure did not in itself directly 
 affect them or their country, it might easily become the 
 forerunner of one that would. 
 The border strife, following upon the passage of the 
 
 20 Ray, op. cit., 86 ; Connelley, in Kansas Historical Society, Collections, vol. 
 vi, 102 ; Connelley, Provincial Government of Nebraska Territory, pp. 24, 30 
 et seq. 
 
 The Wyandots took an active part in the Kansas election troubles. For 
 some evidence of that, see, House Reports, 34th congress, first session, no. 200, 
 pp. 22, 266. 
 
 21 By the treaty of 1837 [Kappler, op. cit., vol. ii, 486], the Choctaws, for a 
 money consideration as was natural, agreed to let the Chickasaws occupy their 
 country jointly with themselves and form a Chickasaw District within it that 
 should be on a par with the other districts (Moo-sho-le-tubbee, Apucks-hu- 
 nubbe, and Push-ma-ta-ha), or political units, of the Choctaw Nation. The 
 arrangement meant political consolidation, one General Council serving for 
 the two tribes, but each tribe retaining control of its own annuities. The 
 boundaries of the Chickasaw District proved the subject of a contention, con- 
 stant and bitter. Civil war was almost precipitated more than once. Finally, 
 in 1855, tne political connection was brought to an end by the terms of the 
 Treaty of Washington [Kappler, op. cit., vol. ii, 706], negotiated in that year. 
 
 22 See Report of C. C. Copeland to Cooper, August 27, 1855. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 35 
 
 Kansas-Nebraska Bill, disturbed in no slight degree the 
 Indians on the Kansas reservations, which, by-the-by, 
 had been very greatly reduced in area by the Many- 
 penny treaties of 1853-1854. Some of the reserves lay 
 right in the heart of the contested territory, free-state 
 men intrenching themselves among the Delawares and 
 pro-slavery men among the Shawnees, 23 the former 
 north and the latter south of the Kansas River. But even 
 remoteness of situation constituted no safeguard against 
 encroachment. All along the Missouri line the squat- 
 ters took possession. The distant Cherokee Neutral 
 Lands 24 and the Osage and New York Indian reserva- 
 tions 25 were all invaded. 26 The Territorial Act had 
 expressly excluded Indian land from local govern- 
 mental control; but the Kansas authorities of both 
 parties utterly ignored, in their administration of af- 
 fairs, this provision. The first districting of the terri- 
 tory for election purposes comprehended, for instance, 
 the Indian lands, yet little criticism has ever been passed 
 
 23 A secret society is said to have been formed in Missouri for the express 
 purpose of gaining the Shawnee land for slavery. 
 
 24 Dean wrote to Butler, November 29, 1855 [Letter Press Book"] saying that 
 the disturbed state of things in Kansas was having a very serious effect upon 
 the Cherokee Neutral Land. Early in 1857, Butler reported that he had given 
 notice that if intruders had not removed themselves by spring he would have 
 them removed by the military [Butler to Dean, January 9, 1857]. Manypenny 
 approved Butler's course of action which is quite significant, considering that 
 the federal administration was supposed to be unreservedly committed to the 
 pro-slavery cause and the intruders were pro-slavery men from across the 
 border. 
 
 25 Andrew Dorn took charge of the Neosho Agency, to which these reserva- 
 tions as well as the Quapaw, Seneca, and Seneca and Shawnee belonged, in 
 1855 and regularly had occasion to complain of intruders. White people seem 
 to have felt that they could with impunity encroach upon the New York In- 
 dian lands because they were only sparsely settled and because the Indian title 
 was in dispute. 
 
 26 Apart from any sectional desire to obtain the Indian country, would-be 
 settlers seem to have been attracted thither from a mistaken notion that there 
 were mines of precious metals west of Missouri [Commissioner of Indian Af- 
 fairs, Report, 1858]. 
 
36 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 upon that grossly illegal act. Needless to say, the con- 
 troversy between slavocracy and freedom obscured and 
 obliterated, in those years, all other considerations. 
 
 As the year 1860 approached, appearances assumed 
 an even more serious aspect. Kansas settlers and 
 would-be settlers demanded that the Indians, so re- 
 cently the only legal occupants of the territory, vacate 
 it altogether. So soon had the policy of granting them 
 peace and undisturbed repose on diminished reserves 
 proved futile. The only place for the Indian to go, 
 were he indeed to be driven out of Kansas, was present 
 Oklahoma; but his going there would, perforce, mean 
 an invasion of the property rights of the southern tribes, 
 a matter of great moment to them but seemingly of no 
 moment whatsoever to the white man. Some of the 
 Kansas Indians saw in removal southward a temporary 
 refuge -they surely could not have supposed it would 
 be other than temporary- and were glad to go, making 
 their arrangements accordingly." Some, however, had 
 to be cajoled into promising to go and some had to be 
 forced. A few held out determinedly against all 
 thought of going. Among the especially obstinate ones 
 were the Osages, 28 natives of the soil. The Buchanan 
 
 27 As early as 1857, the Sacs and Foxes of Missouri were reported as look- 
 ing for a new home to the southward, in a less rigorous climate, and, with that 
 purpose in mind, they visited the Cherokees. When the Delaware treaty of 
 1860 was being negotiated, the Delawares expressed themselves as very anxious 
 to get away from white interference, to leave Kansas. The Ottawas thought 
 and thought rightly, forsooth, judging from the experience of the past, that re- 
 moval would do no good. They declared a preference for United States citi- 
 zenship and tribal allotment [Jotham Meeker, Baptist missionary, to Agent 
 James, September 4, 1854, a ^ so Agent James's Report, 1857]. At this same 
 period, Agent Dorn reported that the Kansas River Shawnees were desirous of 
 joining those of the Neosho Agency. Greenwood replied, January 18, 1860, 
 that the subject of allowing the northern Indians to go south was then under 
 consideration by the department [Letter to Superintendent Rector]. 
 
 28 The evidence of this is to be found in a letter from W. G. Coffin to Dole, 
 June 17, 1861 [Neosho Files, 1838-1865, 1223]. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 37 
 
 government failed utterly to convince them of the 
 wisdom of going and was, thereupon, charged by the 
 free-state Kansans with bad faith, with not being sincere 
 and sufficiently persistent in its endeavors to treat, its 
 secret purpose being to keep the free-state line as far 
 north as possible. The breaking out of the Civil War 
 prevented the immediate removal of any of the tribes 
 but did not put a stop to negotiations looking towards 
 that end. 
 
 All this time there was another influence within the 
 Indian country, north and south, that boded good or ill 
 as the case might be. This influence emanated from 
 the religious denominations represented on the various 
 reserves. Nowhere in the United States, perhaps, was 
 the rivalry among churches that had divided along 
 sectional lines in the forties and fifties stronger than 
 within the Indian country. There the churches con- 
 tended with each other at close range. The Indian 
 country was free and open to all faiths, while, in the 
 states, the different churches kept strictly to their own 
 sections, the southern contingent of each denomination 
 staying close to the institution it supported. Of course 
 the United States government, through its civilization 
 fund, was in a position to show very pointedly its sec- 
 tional predilections. It will probably never be known, 
 because so difficult of determination, just how much the 
 churches aided or retarded the spread of slavery. 29 
 
 Among the tribes of Kansas, denominational strength 
 was distributed as follows: The Kickapoos 30 and 
 
 29 For information on this subject, see Carroll's American Church History, 
 19, 93, 253-254, 302. 
 
 30 Feeling that, under the treaty of 1854, they were free to choose whatever 
 denomination they pleased to reside among them, the Kickapoos expressed a 
 preference for the Methodist Episcopal Church South, but the Presbyterian 
 Board of Foreign Missions was already established among their neighbors of 
 
38 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Wyandots 31 were Methodists; but, while the former 
 were a unit in their adherence to the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church South, the latter were divided and among 
 them the older church continued strong. The Amer- 
 ican Baptist Missionary Union had a school on the 
 Delaware reservation and, previous to 1855, nac ^ had 
 one also on the Shawnee, which the political uproar in 
 Kansas had obliged to close its doors. These same 
 Northern Baptists were established also among the 
 Ottawas, as the Moravians were among the Munsees 
 and the Roman Catholics 32 among the Osages and the 
 Potawatomies. The Southern Baptists were likewise to 
 be found among the Potawatomies 83 and the Southern 
 Methodists among the Shawnees. The Shawnee Man- 
 ual Labor School, under the Southern Methodists, was, 
 however, only very grudgingly patronized by the In- 
 dians. Its situation near the Missouri border was 
 partly accountable for this as it was for the selection 
 of the school as the meeting-place of the pro-slavery 
 legislature in 1855. The management of the institution 
 was from time to time severely criticized and the super- 
 
 the Otoe and Missouria and Great Neraaha Agencies, their own agent, Mr. 
 Baldwin, was a Presbyterian, and so, before long, in some almost unaccountable 
 way, they found that the Presbyterians (Old School) had obtained an entry 
 upon their reserve and had established a mission school there. The Kickapoos 
 were indignant, as well they had a right to be, and made as much trouble as 
 they possibly could for the Presbyterians. In 1860, the Presbyterian Board 
 vacated the premises and the Methodist Episcopal Church South took posses- 
 sion, Agent Badger favoring the change. The change was of but short dura- 
 tion, however; for, in 1861, the Southern Methodists, finding the sympathy of 
 the Kickapoos was mainly with the federal element, took their departure. 
 
 31 Ray, op. cit., 86, footnote 107. 
 
 32 The most flourishing schools seem to have been the Roman Catholic. 
 The Roman Catholics did not greatly concern themselves, as a church organiza- 
 tion, with the slavery agitation, and St. Mary's Mission and the Osage Manual 
 Labor School were scarcely affected by the war and not at all by the troubles 
 that presaged its approach. 
 
 33 The Baptist school among the Potawatomies closed in 1861. See Ap- 
 pendix. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 39 
 
 intendent, the Reverend Thomas Johnson, an intense 
 pro-slavery agitator, 34 was strongly suspected of mal- 
 feasance, 35 of enriching himself, forsooth, at the expense 
 of the Indians. The school found a formidable rival, 
 from this and many another cause, in a Quaker estab- 
 lishment, which likewise existed on the Shawnee Re- 
 serve but independently of either tribal or govern- 
 mental aid. 
 
 If church influences and church quarrels were dis- 
 cernible among the northern tribes, they were certainly 
 very much more so among the southern. The Amer- 
 ican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions 
 (Congregational) that had labored so zealously for the 
 Cherokees, when they were east of the Mississippi, ex- 
 tended its interest to them undiminished in the west; 
 and, in the period just before the Civil War, 38 was the 
 strongest religious force in their country. There it had 
 no less than four mission stations 87 and a flourishing 
 school in connection with each. The same organization 
 was similarly influential among the Choctaws 38 or, in 
 the light of what eventually happened, it might better 
 be said its missionaries were. Both Southern and North- 
 ern Baptists and Southern Methodists likewise were to 
 be found among the Cherokees; 39 Presbyterians 40 and 
 
 34 House Report, 34th congress, first session, no. 200, pp. 14, 18, 94, 425. 
 
 35 See Indian Office, Special File, no. 220. 
 
 36 The work of the American Board among the Cherokees was discontinued 
 just before the war [Missionary Herald, 1861, p. n ; American Board Re- 
 port, 1860, p. 137]. 
 
 37 The four were: "Park hill, five miles south from Tahlequah; Dwight, 
 forty-two miles south-southwest from Tahlequah; Fairfield, twenty-five miles 
 southeast from Tahlequah; Lee's creek, forty-three miles southeast from Tahle- 
 quah" Commissioner of Indian Affairs [Report, 1859, p. 173]. There had 
 been a fifth, an out station. 
 
 38 The Congregational schools among the Choctaws were : lyanubbi, near 
 the Arkansas line ; Wheelock, eighteen miles east of Doaksville ; and Chuahla, 
 one mile from Doaksville. 
 
 89 The Southern Baptist Convention had not been long in the country prior 
 
40 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Southern Methodists among the Chickasaws and Choc- 
 taws; and Presbyterians only among the Creeks and 
 Seminoles. In every Indian nation south, except the 
 Creek and Seminole, 41 the work of denominational 
 schools was supplemented, or maybe neutralized, by 
 that of public and neighborhood schools. 
 
 True to the traditions and to the practices of the old 
 Puritans and of the Plymouth church, the missionaries 
 of the American Board,* 2 so strongly installed among 
 the Choctaws and the Cherokees, took an active interest 
 in passing political affairs, particularly in connection 
 with the slavery agitation. On that question, they 
 early divided themselves into two camps ; those among 
 the Choctaws, led by the Reverend Cyrus Kingsbury, 43 
 
 to the Civil War. The Methodist Episcopal Church South had no schools but 
 several missionaries. The American Baptist Missionary Union had a number 
 of meeting-houses. 
 
 40 The Presbyterians (Old School) established Wah-pa-nuc-ka Institute for 
 young women, forty miles north of Red River and one and one-eighth miles 
 west of the Choctaw and Chickasaw line; but differences arose between the 
 Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions and the Chickasaw authorities, neither 
 institutional nor sectional, but purely financial, which caused the Presbyterians 
 to abandon the school in 1860 [C. H. Wilson, attorney for the Presbyterian 
 Board of Foreign Missions, to Cooper, April 16, 1860]. The Presbyterian 
 schools among the Choctaws were: Spencer Academy, "located on the old mil- 
 itary road leading from Fort Towson to Fort Smith, about ten miles north of 
 Fort Towson," and Koonsha Female Seminary. Both of them were under the 
 Presbyterian Board. A third institution, Armstrong Academy, belonged to the 
 Cumberland Presbyterians. The Southern Methodists had Bloomfield Acad- 
 emy, Colbert Institute, and the Chickasaw Manual Labor School among the 
 Chickasaws; and the Fort Coffee and New Hope academies, for boys and 
 girls respectively, among the Choctaws. 
 
 41 The Seminoles were late in manifesting an interest in education, and, when 
 interest did arise among them, John Jumper, the chief, declared for boarding- 
 schools and asked that such be established under the Presbyterian Board, the 
 same that had influence among their near neighbors, the Creeks. 
 
 42 The American Board itself was inclined to be non-committal and tem- 
 porizing [Garrison, op. cit., vol. iii, 30]. The Missionary Herald, so valuable 
 an historical source as it proved itself to be for Indian removals, is strangely 
 silent on the great subject of negro slavery among the Indians. Its references 
 to it are only very occasional and never more than incidental. 
 
 43 Kingsbury was superintendent of the Chuahla Female Seminary. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 41 
 
 supporting slavery; and those among the Cherokees, led 
 by the Reverend S. A. Worcester, 44 opposing it. The 
 actions of the former led to a controversy with the 
 American Board and, in 1855, the malcontents, or pro- 
 slavery sympathizers, expressed a desire to separate 
 themselves and their charges from its patronage. 45 
 When, eventually, this separation did occur, 1859-1860, 
 the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions (Old 
 School) stepped into the breach. 46 
 
 The rebellious conduct of the Congregational mis- 
 sionaries met with the undisguised approval of the 
 Choctaw agent, Douglas H. Cooper, 47 formerly of 
 Mississippi. It was he who had already voiced a ner- 
 vous apprehension, as exhibited in the following docu- 
 ment, 48 that the Indian country was in grave danger of 
 being abolitionized: 
 
 ^^ If things go on as they are now doing, in 5 years slavery 
 
 will be abolished in the whole of your superintendency. 
 
 (Private) I am convinced that something must be done 
 
 speedily to arrest the systematic efforts of the Missionaries to 
 
 abolitionize the Indian Country 
 
 Otherwise we shall have a great run-away harbor, a sort of 
 
 "Worcester died, April, 1859 [Missionary Herald, 1859, p. 187; 1860, 
 p. xa]. 
 
 45 Missionary Herald, 1859, pp. 335-336; 1860, p. 12; The American 
 Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Report, 1856, p. 195. 
 
 Report of C. C. Copeland, 1860. 
 
 4T Cooper was also Chickasaw agent. On the fifth of October, 1854, some 
 of the principal men of the Chickasaw Nation, Cyrus Harris, James Gamble, 
 Sampson Folsom, Jackson Frazier, and D. Colbert, petitioned President Pierce 
 for the removal of Agent Andrew J. Smith on charges of official irregularity 
 and gross immorality. A year later, Superintendent Dean reiterated the 
 charges. Smith's commission was revoked, November 9, 1855; and, in March, 
 1856, Cooper was assigned the Chickasaws as an additional charge. Hence- 
 forth, the two tribes had an agent in common. 
 
 48 This note itself bore no date but there is documentary proof that it was 
 received at Fort Smith, November 27, 1854. It is to be found in the Indian 
 Office among the Fort Smith Papers. 
 
42 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Canada -with "underground rail-roads" leading to & through 
 it adjoining Arkansas and Texas. 
 
 It is of no use to look to the General Government its arm 
 is paralized by the abolition strength of the North. 
 
 I see no way except secretly to induce the Choctaws & Chero- 
 kees & Creeks to allow slave-holders to settle among their people 
 & control the movement now going on to abolish slavery among 
 them. C 
 
 Cooper sent this note, in 1854, as a private memo- 
 randum to the southern superintendent, who at the time 
 was Charles W. Dean. In 1859, it was possible for 
 him to write to Dean's successor, Elias Rector, in a very 
 different tone. The missionaries had then taken the 
 stand he himself advocated and there was reason 
 for congratulation. Under such circumstances, Cooper 
 wrote, 
 
 I cannot close this report without calling your attention to 
 the admirable tone and feeling pervading the reports of super- 
 intendents of schools and missionaries among the Choctaws, and 
 particularly to that of the Rev. Ebenezer Hotchkin, one of the 
 oldest missionaries among the Choctaws, who, in referring to 
 past political disturbances, says: "We have looked upon our 
 rulers as the 'powers that be, are ordained of God,' and have 
 respected them for this reason. 'Whomsoever, therefore, re- 
 sisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God' (Romans, xiii, 
 2). This has been our rule of action during the political excite- 
 ment. We believe that the Bible is the best guide for us to fol- 
 low. Our best citizens are those most influenced by Bible 
 truth." 
 
 I rejoice to believe the above sentiments are entertained by 
 most, if not all, the missionaries now among the Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws, and that they entirely repudiate the higher-law doc- 
 trine 49 of northern and religious fanatics. It is but lately, as I 
 learn, that the Choctaw mission, for many years under the con- 
 trol of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- 
 sions (whose headquarters are at Boston) has been cut off, be- 
 
 49 The allusion is, of course, to the "higher law" doctrine expressed in 
 Seward's Senate Speech of March n, 1850. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 43 
 
 cause they preferred to follow the teachings of the Bible, as un- 
 derstood by them, rather than obey the dogmas contained in Dr. 
 Treat's letter and the edicts of the parent board. 
 
 It is a matter of congratulation among the friends of the old 
 Choctaw missionaries, who have labored for thirty years among 
 them, and intend to die with armor on, that all connection with 
 the Boston board has been dissolved. If it had been done years 
 ago, when their freedom of conscience and of missionary action 
 was attempted to be controlled by the parent board, much of sus- 
 picion, of ill-feeling, and diminished usefulness, which attached 
 to the Choctaw missionaries in consequence of their connection 
 with and sustenance by a board avowedly and openly hostile to 
 southern institutions, would have been prevented. 50 
 
 50 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1859, pp. 190-191. 
 
 The letter of Dr. Treat referred to by Agent Cooper is herewith given. 
 It is accompanied by the letter that covered it and that letter, as it is found 
 among the Fort Smith Papers in the United States Indian Office, bears a record 
 to the effect that the copy of it was transmitted by the southern superintendent 
 
 to Washington. November 28, 1855. 
 
 FORT TOWSON Nov. 16, 1855 
 
 SIR: I have the pleasure to forward a copy of letter, addressed to 
 the Rev d S. B. Treat, Corresponding Secretary of the American Board 
 of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, by C. Kingsbury and others - 
 Missionaries among the Choctaws - and request the same may be trans- 
 mitted to the Hon Comr of Indian Affairs for the information of the 
 Government of the United States. 
 
 The letter as you will perceive refers to an exciting and highly 
 important subject -in which the States adjoining the Indian Territory 
 are deeply & directly interested, as well as the Choctaw People. 
 
 I cannot refrain from the expression of my gratification at the posi- 
 tion assured in this letter by the old and valued Missionaries among the 
 Choctaws. The copy was handed to me by Rev d Cyrus Kingsbury, 
 one of the signers to the original letter. Respectfully 
 
 DOUGLAS H COOPER, U. S. Agent for Choctaws 
 Hon. C. M. Dean, Supt. Indian Affairs, 
 
 Ft Smith. 
 
 \Inclosure\ Copy 
 
 PINE RIDGE, CHOC. NA. Nov. 15, 1855. 
 REV. S. B. TREAT, Cor. Secretary of the A.B.C.F.M. 
 
 Rev. & Dear Brother, When the Rev. G. W. Wood visited us as a 
 deputation from the Prudential Committee, he treated us, our views, and 
 our practice so kindly, and spoke to us so many encouraging words, that 
 we were constrained to meet him in a similar spirit of concilliation. 
 We were willing to re-examine the difference in views on the subject 
 of slavery, which for a long time had existed between the Committee 
 
44 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 In the next year, 1860, Cooper was still sanguine as 
 to affairs among the Indians of his agency and he could 
 
 and ourselves, and to see if there was not common ground on which 
 we could stand together. 
 
 At the opening of the meeting at Good Water, Mr. Wood laid aside 
 the letter of June 22nd '/48. This was a subject we were not to dis- 
 cuss. He then introduced, by way of compromise, as we understood 
 it, certain articles to show that there were principles, or modes of ex- 
 pression, in relation to slavery, in which there was substantial agree- 
 ment. To these articles, though not expressed in every particular as we 
 could have wished, (and after some of them had been modified by oral 
 explanations,) we gave our assent, for the sake of peace. We 
 hoped it would put an end to agitation on a subject which had so long 
 troubled us, and hindered us in our work. We took it for granted that 
 the Committee had yielded certain important points, insisted on in the 
 letter of June 22nd '/48. This gladdened our hearts, and disposed us to 
 meet Mr. Wood's proposal in a spirit of concilliation and confidence. 
 We are not skilled in diplomacy, and had no thought that we were 
 assenting to articles which would be considered as covering the whole 
 ground of the letter of June 22nd. The first intimation that we had 
 been mistaken, was from a statement made by Mr. Wood, in New York, 
 that the result of the meeting at Good Water "involved no change of 
 views or action on the part of the Prudential Committee and Secretaries." 
 
 In Mr. Wood's report to the Pru. Com. which was read at Utica, 
 the Good Water document was placed in such a relation to other state- 
 ments, as to make the impression that we had given our full and willing 
 assent to the entire letter of June 22d. The Com. on that Report, of 
 which Dr. Beman was chairman, say, "The great end aimed at by the 
 Pru. Com. in their correspondence with these missions for several years; 
 and by the Board at their last annual meeting; has been substantially 
 accomplished." 
 
 This is a result we had not anticipated. We can not consent to be 
 thus made to sanction principles and sentiments which are contrary to 
 our known, deliberate, and settled convictions of right, and to what we 
 understand to be the teachings of the word of God. We are fully con- 
 vinced that we can not go with the Committee and the Board, as to the 
 manner in which as Ministers of the Gospel and Missionaries we are 
 to deal with slavery. We believe the instructions of the Apostles, in 
 relation to this subject, are a sufficient guide, and that if followed the 
 best interests of society, as well as of the Church, will be secured. 
 
 We have no wish to give the Com. or the Board farther trouble on 
 this subject. As there is no prospect that our views can be brought to 
 harmonize, we must request that our relations to the A.B.C.F.M. may be 
 dissolved in a way that will do the least harm to the Board, and to our 
 Mission. 
 
 We haA-e endeavored to seek Divine guidance in this difficult matter, 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 45 
 
 report to Rector, unhesitatingly, as if confident of offi- 
 cial endorsement both at Forth Smith and at Wash- 
 ington, 51 
 
 Great excitement has prevailed along the Texas border, in con- 
 sequence of the incendiary course pursued in that State by horse 
 thieves and religious fanatics ; but I am glad to say, as yet, so far 
 as I am informed, no necessity has existed in this agency for the 
 organization of "vigilance committees" . . . No doubt we 
 have among us free-soilers; perhaps abolitionists in sentiment; 
 but, so far as I am informed, persons from the North, residing 
 among the Choctaws and Chickasaws, who entertain opinions un- 
 friendly to our system of domestic slavery, keep their opinions 
 to themselves and attend to their legitimate business. 52 
 
 George Butler, the United States agent for the Cher- 
 okees, seems to have been, no less than Cooper, an ad- 
 herent of the State Rights Party and an upholder of the 
 
 and we desire to do that which shall be most for the glory of our Divine 
 Master, and the best interests of his cause among this people. We re- 
 gret the course we feel compelled to take, but we can see no other relief 
 from our present embarassment. Fraternally and truly yours, 
 
 (Signed) C. KINGSBURY C. C. COPELAND 
 C. BYINGTON O. P. STARK 
 
 E. HOTCHKIN 
 
 51 That the Buchanan administration did endorse pro-slavery policy and 
 actions requires no proof today. The findings of the Covode committee of in- 
 vestigation, 1860, are in themselves sufficient evidence, were other evidence 
 lacking, of the intensely partisan and corrupt character of the Democratic re- 
 gime just prior to the Civil War. Of the officials, having Indian concerns in 
 charge, the Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
 are, for present purposes, alone important. Buchanan's Secretary of the In- 
 terior was Jacob Thompson, who had formerly been a representative in Con- 
 gress from Mississippi and had thrown all the weight of his influence in favor 
 of the Lecompton constitution for Kansas [Rhodes, J. F. History of the United 
 States, vol. ii, 277]. After his retirement from Buchanan's cabinet, Thompson 
 served as commissioner from Mississippi, working in North Carolina for the 
 accomplishment of secession [Moore's Rebellion Record, vol. i, 5]. A. B. 
 Greenwood of Arkansas was Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Buchanan's 
 time. He also had been in Congress and, while there, had served on the 
 House Committee of Investigation into Brooks's attack upon Sumner. He 
 formed with Howell Cobb of Georgia the minority element [Von Hoist, vol. 
 
 v, 324]- 
 
 52 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1860, p. 129. 
 
46 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 institution of slavery. In 1859, he ascribed the very 
 great material progress of the Cherokees to the fact that 
 they were slaveholders. 53 Slavery, in Butler's opinion, 
 had operated as an incentive to all industrial pursuits. 
 To an extent this may have been true, since all Indians, 
 no matter how high their type, have an aversion for 
 work. As Professor Shaler once said, they are the 
 truest aristocrats the world has ever known. But the 
 . slaveholders among the great tribes of the South were, 
 for the most part, the half-breeds, the cleverest and 
 often, much as we may regret to have to admit it, the 
 most unscrupulous men of the community. 
 
 Butler's commission as Indian agent expired in 
 March, 1860, and he was not reappointed, Robert J. 
 Cowart of Georgia 54 being preferred. This man, illit- 
 erate and unprincipled, immediately set to work to 
 perform a task to which his predecessor had proved 
 unequal. The task was the removal of white intruders 
 from the Cherokee country. For some time past, the 
 southern superintendent and the agents under him, to 
 say nothing of Commissioner Greenwood and Secretary 
 Thompson, the one a citizen of Arkansas and the other 
 of Mississippi, had resented most bitterly the invasion 
 of the Cherokee Neutral Lands by Kansas free-soilers 
 and the division of it into counties by the unlawfully 
 assumed authority of the Kansas legislature. The re- 
 sentment was thoroughly justifiable; for the whole pro- 
 ceeding of the legislature was contrary to the express 
 enactment of Congress; but no doubt, enthusiasm for 
 the strict enforcement of the federal law came largely 
 from political predilections, precisely as the Kansan's 
 
 53 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1859, p. 172. 
 
 54 Greenwood to Rector, March 14, 1860 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 63, 
 p. 128] ; Greenwood to Cowart, March 14, 1860 [ibid., 125]. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 47 
 
 outrageous defiance of it came from a deep-rooted dis- 
 trust of the Buchanan administration. 
 
 There were, however, other intruders that Cowart 
 and Rector and Greenwood designed to remove and 
 they wanted to remove them on the ground that they 
 were making mischief within the tribe and interfering 
 with its institutions, or, more specifically, with slavery. 
 The intruders meant were principally the missionaries 
 against whom Greenwood had even the audacity to lay 
 the charge of inciting to murder. Newspapers of bor- 
 dering slave states were full of criticism, 55 just before 
 the war, of these same men and, notably, of the Rev- 
 erend Evan 56 and John Jones, the reputed ringleaders. 
 
 65 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1860. See also additional docu- 
 ments in Appendix B. 
 
 56 The following extract from the Fort Smith Times of February 3, 1859 
 makes particular mention of the Reverend Evan Jones: 
 
 In the True Democrat of the i9th inst., we find an article credited 
 to the Fort Smith Times, in which the Rev. Evan Jones, a Baptist Mis- 
 sionary, residing near the State line, Washington county, is handled 
 rather roughly so far as words are concerned. He is said to be an abo- 
 litionist, and a very dangerous man, meddling with the affairs of the 
 Cherokees, and teaching them abolition principles. 
 
 "As such reports will be circulated to the prejudice of the Southern 
 Baptists, we hereby request some of our Brethren in the northwest part 
 of the State to write us the grounds for such reports. 
 
 "Is the *Rev. Evan Jones' connected with any Missionary Society and 
 if so, what one? 
 
 "We hope shortly to hear more concerning this matter." 
 
 The above notice is from the first number of the Arkansas Baptist, 
 a new paper just published in Little Rock, P. S. G. Watson, Editor. It 
 was not our intention to cast any reflections on the Baptist Church by 
 noticing the Rev. gentleman named above, as we have great respect for 
 the Church. We deny, however, that Mr. Jones "is handled roughly 
 so far as words are concerned," for there are no harsh words or epi- 
 thets in the article referred to ; but he is handled roughly so far as facts 
 are concerned. He is a Missionary Baptist, and the society by which he 
 is supported, has, we believe, its headquarters in Boston, Mass. Mr. 
 Jones' conduct has been fully reported to the Indian office, at Washing- 
 ton, by a number of the Cherokees, and by their Agent, Mr. George 
 Butler, to whom we refer the editor of the Baptist, for the truth of the 
 
48 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 The official excuse for removing them is rather inter- 
 esting because it is so similar to that given, some thirty 
 years earlier, in connection with the removal from 
 Georgia. Ulterior motives can so easily be hidden 
 under cold official phrase. 
 
 That the cause of slavery within the Cherokee coun- 
 try was in jeopardy in the spring and summer of 1860 
 can not well be denied. To the men of the time the 
 evidence was easily obtainable. Almost as if by magic, 
 a "search organization" started up among the full- 
 bloods, an organization profoundly secret in its mem- 
 bership and in its purposes, but believed to be for no 
 other object than the overthrow of the "peculiar insti- 
 tution." Its existence was promptly reported to the 
 United States government and, as was to be expected, 
 the missionaries were held responsible for both its in- 
 ception and its continuance. It was then that Green- 
 wood made 57 his most serious charge against these men 
 and prepared, under color of law, to have them re- 
 moved. Later, in this same year of 1860, Quantrill, 
 the Hagerstown, Maryland man of Pennsylvania Dutch 
 origin, who afterwards became such a notorious fron- 
 tier guerrilla in the interests of the Confederate cause, 
 leagued himself with some abolitionists for the sake of 
 
 charges we have made against him; and, if they are not satisfactory 
 
 we can give a full history of Evan Jones' conduct for a number of years, 
 
 well known among the Cherokees. 
 
 In connection with the foregoing newspaper extract, it is well to note that 
 Richard Johnson was the editor of the True Democrat. Richard was a 
 brother of Robert W. Johnson who represented one faction of the Democratic 
 parry in Arkansas while Thomas C. Hindman represented another. This was 
 before their devotion to the Confederate cause had made them friends. Robert 
 W. Johnson served in the United States Congress, first as representative, then 
 as senator. He was later a senator in the Confederate States Congress. The 
 Johnson family, although not so numerous as the Rector family, was, like it, 
 strongly secessionistic. 
 
 57 Greenwood to Thompson, June 4, 1860 [Indian Office, Report Book, no. 
 12, pp. 323-324]- 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 49 
 
 making an expedition to the Cherokee country and 
 rescuing negroes, there held in bondage. 58 The timely 
 distrust of Quantrill, however, caused the enterprise to 
 be abandoned even before its preliminaries had been 
 thoroughly well arranged; yet, had the rescue been 
 carried to completion, it would not have been entirely 
 without precedent 59 and its very contrivance indicated 
 an uncertainty and a precariousness of situation south 
 of the Kansas line. 
 
 Ever since their compulsory removal from Georgia 
 under circumstances truly tragic, the Cherokees had 
 been much given to factional strife. This was largely 
 in consequence of the underhand means taken by the 
 state and federal authorities to accomplish removal. 
 The Cherokees had, under the necessities of the situa- 
 tion, divided themselves into the Ross, or Anti-removal 
 Party, and the Ridge, or Treaty Party. 60 Removal took 
 place in spite of the steady opposition of the Rossites 
 and the Cherokees went west, piloted by the United 
 States army. Once in the west a new division arose in 
 their ranks ; for, as newcomers, they came into jealous 
 contact with members of their tribe who had emigrated 
 many years previously and who came to figure, in sub- 
 sequent Cherokee history, as the Old Settlers' Party. 61 
 In 1846, the United States government attempted to as- 
 sume the role of mediator in a settlement of Cherokee 
 tribal differences but without much success. 62 The old 
 wrongs were unredressed, so the old divisions remained 
 
 58 Connelley, Quantrill and the Border Wars, 147-149, 152. 
 
 59 Siebert, Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom, 284. 
 
 fto This party came to be known, almost exclusively, as the Treaty Party. 
 After the murder of John Ridge, from whom the party took its name, his 
 nephew, Stand Watie, became its leader. Stand Watie figured conspicuously 
 on the southern side in the Civil War. 
 
 61 A good general account of these Cherokee factional disputes may be 
 found in Thomas Valentine Parker's Cherokee Indians. 
 
 62 Kappler, op. cit., vol. ii, 561; Folk's Diary (Quaife's edition), vol. ii, 80. 
 
50 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 and formed nuclei for new disintegrating issues. Thus, 
 in 1857, there were no less than three factions created in 
 consequence of a project for selling the Cherokee Neu- 
 tral Lands. 63 Each faction had its own opinion how best 
 to dispose of the proceeds, should a sale take place. In 
 1860, there were two factions, the selling and the non- 
 selling. 64 This tendency of the Cherokees perpetually 
 to quarrel among themselves and to bear long-standing 
 grudges against each other is most important; inasmuch 
 as that marked peculiarity of internal politics very 
 largely determined the unique position of the tribe with 
 reference to the Civil War. 
 
 The other great tribes had also occasions for quarrel 
 in these same critical years. The disgraceful circum- 
 stances of their removal had widened the gulf, once 
 simply geographical, between the Upper and the Low- 
 er Creeks. They were now almost two distinct polit- 
 ical entities, in each of which there were a principal 
 and a second chief. In 1833, provision had been made 
 for the accommodation of the Seminoles within a cer- 
 tain definite part of the Creek country 65 - just such an 
 arrangement, forsooth, as worked so ill when applied to 
 the Choctaws and Chickasaws; but it took several years 
 for the Seminoles to be suited. At length, when their 
 numbers had been considerably augmented by the com- 
 ing of the new immigrants from Florida, they took up 
 
 63 George Butler to Dean, January 9, 1857. 
 
 64 ". . . The Cherokee Council is in session, tho they do not seem to be 
 doing much. It will hold about four weeks yet. I will stay till it breaks. I 
 think the Councilmen seem to be split on some questions. It seems as if there 
 are two parties, one is called the land selling party & those opposed to selling 
 the land (that is Neutral lands). They passed a bill last council to sell it. 
 Congress would not have anything to do with it & in fact they got up a pro- 
 test against selling it & sent it to Washington City & they did not sell the 
 land." Extract from J. C. Dickinson to Captain Mark T. Tatum, dated 
 Tahlequah, October 16, 1860 [For/ Smith Papers]. 
 
 65 Kappler, op. cit., vol. ii, 388. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 51 
 
 their position, for good and all, in the southwestern cor- 
 ner of the Creek Reserve, a politically distinct com- 
 munity. By that time, the Creeks seem to have repent- 
 ed of their generosity, 66 so, perhaps, it was well that the 
 United States government had not yielded to their im- 
 portunity and consented to a like settlement of the 
 southern Comanches. 67 It had taken the Chickasaws a 
 long time to reconstruct their government after the 
 political separation from the Choctaws; but now they 
 had a constitution, 68 all their own, a legislature, and a 
 governor. The Choctaws had attempted a constitution, 
 likewise, first the Scullyville, then the Doaksville, set 
 up by a minority party; but they had retained some sem- 
 blance of the old order of things in the persons of their 
 chiefs. 69 
 
 There were other Indians within the southern divi- 
 sion of the Indian country that were to have their part 
 in the Civil War and in events leading up to it or result- 
 ing from it. In the extreme northeastern corner, were 
 the Quapaws, the Senecas, and the confederated Senecas 
 and Shawnees, all members, with the Osages and the 
 New York Indians of Kansas, of the Neosho River 
 Agency which was under the care of Andrew J. Dorn. 
 In the far western part, at the base of the Wichita 
 Mountains, were the Indians of the Leased District, 
 
 66 Rector to Greenwood, June 14, 1860. 
 
 67 Tuckabatche Micco and other Creek chiefs wished the southern Co- 
 manches to be located somewhere between the Red and Arkansas Rivers. That 
 might or might not have meant a settlement upon the actual Creek reservation. 
 Manypenny promised to look into the matter and find out whether there were 
 any vacant lands in the region designated [Manypenny to Dean, May 25, 1855, 
 Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 51, pp. 444-445]. 
 
 68 Dean to Manypenny, November 24, 1856, and related documents [General 
 Files, Chickasaw, 1854-1858, 0304, 1400]. 
 
 69 For Choctaw political disturbances in 1858, see General Files, Choctaio, 
 1859-1866, 1933 and Rioo4. 
 
52 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Wichitas, Tonkawas, 70 Euchees, and others, collectively 
 called the "Reserve Indians." Most of them had been 
 brought from Texas, 71 because of Texan intolerance of 
 their presence, and placed within the Leased District, 
 a tract of land west of the ninety-eighth meridian, 
 which, under the treaty of 1855, the United States had 
 rented from the Choctaws and Chickasaws. It was a 
 part of the old Chickasaw District of the Choctaw Na- 
 tion. Outside of the Wichita Reserve and still wander- 
 ing at large over the plains were the hostile Kiowas and 
 Comanches, against whom and the inoffensive Reserve 
 Indians, the Texans nourished a bitter, undying hatred. 
 They charged them with crimes that were never com- 
 mitted and with some crimes that white men, disguised 
 as Indians, had committed. They were also suspected 
 of manufacturing evidence that would incriminate the 
 red men and of plotting, in regularly-organized meet- 
 ings, their overthrow. 72 
 
 Although the plan for colonizing some of the Texas 
 Indians had been completed in 1855, the Indian Office 
 found it impossible to execute it until the summer of 
 1859. This was principally because the War Depart- 
 ment could not be induced to make the necessary mil- 
 itary arrangements. 73 In point of fact, the southern In- 
 
 78 Some of the Tonkawas most probably went back to their old Texan hunt- 
 ing-grounds upon the breaking out of the war and were found encamped, in 
 1866, around San Antonio [Cooley to Sells, February 15, 1866, Indian Office, 
 Letter Book, no. 79, p. 293]. 
 
 71 The Leased District was designed to accommodate any Indians that the 
 United States government might see fit to place there, exclusive of New Mex- 
 ican Indians, who had caused the Wichitas a great deal of trouble, and those 
 tribes "whose usual ranges at present are north of the Arkansas River, and 
 whose permanent locations are north of the Canadian. . ." [Kappler, op. 
 cit., vol. ii, 708]. 
 
 72 The treatment of the Indians by Texas will be made the subject of a later 
 publication. The story is too long a one to be told here. 
 
 78 Mix to Rector, March 30, 1859 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 60, pp. 
 386-388]. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 53 
 
 dian country was, at the time, practically without a 
 force of United States troops, quite regardless of the 
 promise that had been made to all the tribes upon the 
 occasion of their removal that they should always be 
 protected in their new quarters and, inferentially, by 
 the regular army. Even Fort Gibson had been vir- 
 tually abandoned as a military post on the plea that its 
 site was unhealthful; and all of Superintendent Rec- 
 tor's recommendations that Frozen Rock, on the south 
 side of the Arkansas a few miles away, be substituted 74 
 had been ignored, not so much by the Interior Depart- 
 ment, as by the War. Secretary Thompson thought that 
 enough troops should be at his disposal to enable him 
 to carry out the United States Indian policy, but Secre- 
 tary Floyd demurred. He was. rather disposed to dis- 
 mantle such forts as there were and to withdraw all 
 troops from the Indian frontier, 75 a course of action that 
 would leave it exposed, so the dissenting Thompson 
 prognosticated, to "the most unhappy results." 7a 
 
 It happened thus that, when the United States sur- 
 veyors started in 1858 to establish the line of the ninety- 
 eighth meridian west longitude and to run other boun- 
 dary lines under the treaty of 1855," they found the 
 country entirely unpatrolled. Troops had been ordered 
 from Texas to protect the surveyors; but, pending their 
 arrival, Agent Cooper, who had gone out to witness the 
 
 74 Annual Report, 1857. 
 
 75 Samuel Cooper, the New York man, who was now in United States em- 
 ploy but later became adjutant-general of the Confederacy [Crawford, Genesis 
 of the Civil War, 310], made, about this time, a very significant inquiry as to 
 how many Indian warriors there were in the vicinity of the various settle- 
 ments [Cooper to Mix, January 29, 1856, Indian Office, Miscellaneous Files, 
 1858-1863']. 
 
 76 J. Thompson to J. B. Floyd, March 12, 1858 [Indian Office, Miscellaneous 
 Files'}. 
 
 77 By this treaty, the Choctaws had surrendered to the United States all their 
 claims to land beyond the one hundredth degree of west longitude. 
 
54 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 determination of the initial point on the line between 
 his agency and the Leased District, himself took post at 
 Fort Arbuckle and called upon the Indians for patrol 
 and garrison duty. 78 It would seem that Secretary 
 Thompson had verbally authorized 79 Cooper to make 
 this use of the Indians; but they proved in the sequel 
 very inefficient as garrison troops. On the thirtieth of 
 June, Lieutenant Powell, commanding Company E, 
 First United States Infantry, arrived at Fort Arbuckle 
 from Texas and relieved Cooper of his self-imposed 
 task. The day following, Cooper set out upon a sixteen 
 day scout of the Washita country, taking with him his 
 Indian volunteers, Chickasaws 80 and a few Cherokees; 81 
 and for this act of using Indian after the arrival of 
 white troops, he was severely criticized by the depart- 
 ment. One thing he accomplished: he selected a site 
 for the prospective Wichita Agency with the recom- 
 mendation that it be also made the site 82 of the much- 
 needed military post on the Leased District. The site 
 had originally been occupied by a Kechie village and 
 was admirably well adapted for the double purpose 
 Cooper intended. It lay near the center of the Leased 
 
 78 Cooper to Rector, June 23, 1858. 
 
 79 Cooper to Rector, June 30, 1858. 
 
 80 Some of the Chickasaws came to Cooper under the lead of the United 
 States interpreter, James Gamble, later Chickasaw delegate in the Confederate 
 Congress. 
 
 81 The Cherokees soon deserted Cooper, no cause assigned. Why they were 
 with him at all can not very easily be explained unless they were looking out 
 for the interests of the "Cherokee Outlet." They may, indeed, have been some 
 refugee Cherokees who, in 1854, were reported as living in the Chickasaw 
 country and consorting with horse thieves and other desperadoes. Under or- 
 dinary circumstances, Cooper had no authority to command the actions of 
 Cherokees and his call was to Choctaws and Chickasaws whose agent he was 
 and whose interests were directly involved in the survey then being made. 
 
 82 On the question of the proposed site, see Rector's Report, 1859, pp. 307, 
 309. For Emory's familiarity with the region, note his report of a military 
 reconnaissance undertaken by him in 1846 and 1847 [Pacific Railroad Surveys, 
 vol. ii]. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 55 
 
 District and near the sources of Cache and Beaver 
 Creeks. It was also, so reported Cooper, "not very dis- 
 tant from the Washita, & Canadian" (and commanded) 
 "the Mountain passes through the Wichita Mountains 
 to the Antelope Hills -to the North branch of Red 
 River and also the road on the South side of the Wich- 
 ita Mountains up Red River." 
 
 The colonization of the Wichitas and other Indians 
 took place in the summer of 1859 under the excitement 
 of new disputes with Texas, largely growing out of an 
 unwarranted and brutal attack 83 by white men upon In- 
 dians of the Brazos Agency. That event following so 
 closely upon the heels of Van Dorn's 84 equally brutal 
 attack upon a defenceless Comanche camp brought 
 matters to a crisis and the government was forced to be 
 expeditious where it had previously been dilatory. The 
 Comanches had come in, under a flag of truce, to confer 
 in a friendly way with the Wichitas. Van Dorn, igno- 
 rant of their purpose but supposing it hostile, made a 
 forced march, surprised them, and mercilessly took 
 summary vengeance for all the Comanches had been 
 charged with, whether justly or unjustly, for some time 
 past. After it was all over, the Comanches, with about 
 sixty of their number slain, accused the Wichitas of hav- 
 ing betrayed them. Frightened, yet innocent, the 
 
 83 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1859, and accompanying docu- 
 ments. 
 
 84 It would seem that Van Dorn had been ordered by General Twiggs, 
 commanding in Texas, to explore the country between the one hundredth and 
 the one hundred and fourth meridians as far north as the Canadian River. 
 He was to do it quite irrespective of department jurisdictional lines. Van 
 Dorn had the Texan's unrelenting hatred for all Indians and, as was to have 
 been expected, considering the latitude of his orders, soon got himself into 
 trouble. It is interesting to note in connection with this affair and in view 
 of all that followed when Van Dorn and Albert Pike were both serving under 
 the Confederacy, that their dislike of each other dated from Pike's condemna- 
 tion of Van Dorn's cruel treatment of the Comanches. 
 
56 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Wichitas begged that there be no further delay in their 
 removal, so the order was given and arrangements 
 made. Unfortunately, by the time everything was 
 ready, the season was pretty far advanced and the In- 
 dians reached their new home to find it too late to put in 
 crops for that year's harvest. Subsistence rations had, 
 therefore, to be doled out to them, the occasion afford- 
 ing, as always, a rare opportunity for graft. Instead of 
 calling for bids, as was customary, Superintendent Rec- 
 tor entered into a private contract 85 with a friend and 
 relative of his own, the consequence being that the gov- 
 ernment was charged an exorbitant price for the rations. 
 Soon other troubles 86 came. The Leased District 
 proved to be already occupied by some northern Indian 
 refugees 87 and became, as time went on, a handy ren- 
 
 85 The contractor was Charles B. Johnson of Fort Smith. Under the firm 
 name of Johnson & Grimes, this man and Marshal Grimes, also of Arkansas, 
 were able again and again to secure subsistence contracts from Rector and 
 always with the suspicion of fraud attaching. Whenever possible, Rector and 
 his friends eliminated entirely the element of competition. Abram G. Mayers 
 of Fort Smith seems to have been the chief informer against Rector. As a 
 matter of fact, and this must be admitted in extenuation of Rector's conduct, 
 the Indian field service was so grossly mismanaged, officials from the highest 
 to the lowest were so corrupt, that it is not at all surprising that each one 
 [unless by the merest chance he were strong enough morally to resist tempta- 
 tion] took every opportunity he could get to enrich himself at the Indian's ex- 
 pense; for, of course, all such ill-gotten gains came sooner or later out of the 
 Indian fund. Very few Indian officials seem to have been able to pass muster 
 in matters of probity during these troublous times. Secretary Thompson and 
 even Ex-president Pierce were not above suspicion in the Indian's estimation 
 [Article, signed by "Screw Fly" in the Chickasaiu and Choctaw Herald, Feb- 
 ruary n, 1859]. Mix was accused of dishonesty, so were Commissioner Dole, 
 Commissioner Cooley, and Secretary Usher, to say nothing of a host of lesser 
 officials. 
 
 86 Supervising agent, Robert S. Neighbors, who had always befriended the 
 Indians when he conveniently could against unfounded charges, was killed soon 
 after the removal by vindictive Texans. S. A. Blain was then given charge 
 of the Texas superintendency in addition to his own Wichita Agency. The 
 consolidation of duties gave the Texans, apparently, a fresh opportunity to 
 lodge complaints against the Wichitas. 
 
 87 These refugees were mostly Delawares and Kickapoos. There were oth- 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 57 
 
 dezvous for free negroes; but, as soon as Matthew 
 Leeper 88 of Texas became agent, the stay of such was 
 extremely short. 89 
 
 Such were the conditions obtaining among the In- 
 dians west of Missouri and Arkansas in the years imme- 
 diately antedating the American Civil War; and, from 
 such conditions, it may readily be inferred that the In- 
 dians were anything but satisfied with the treatment that 
 had been and was being accorded them. They owed no 
 great debt of gratitude to anybody. They were restless 
 and unhappy among themselves. Their old way of liv- 
 ing had been completely disorganized. They had noth- 
 ing to go upon, so far as their relations with the white 
 men were concerned, to make them hopeful of anything 
 better in the future, rather the reverse. Indeed at the 
 very opening of the year 1860, a year so full of distress 
 to them because of the great drouth 90 that ravaged Ne- 
 
 er "strays," or "absentees," scattered here and there over the Indian country. 
 There were Shawnees near the Canadian, Delawares among the Cherokees, and 
 Shawnees and Kickapoos on the southwestern border of the Creek lands. 
 
 88 Matthew Leeper was appointed to succeed S. A. Blain as agent, July, 
 1860. He had previously been special Indian agent in Texas. 
 
 89 Among the Leeper Papers is found the following: 
 
 Notice: All free negroes are notified to leave the Wichita Reserve 
 or Leased District forthwith, except an old negro who is in charge of 
 Messrs. Grimes & Rector, who will be permitted to remain a few days. 
 
 [M. LEEPER], U. S. Ind. Agt. 
 Wichita Agency, L.D. Sept. 26, 1860. 
 
 80 The suffering among the Indians must have been very great There 
 was a complete failure of crops everywhere. Subsistence had to be continued 
 to the Wichitas, the Seminoles were reported absolutely destitute, and even the 
 provident Choctaws were obliged to memorialize Congress for relief on the 
 basis of the Senate award under their treaty of 1855 [General Files, Choctaiv, 
 1859-1866']. Out of this application of Choctaw funds to the circumstances 
 of their own pressing needs, came the great scandal of the Choctaw Corn 
 Contract, in which Agent Cooper and many prominent men of the tribe were 
 implicated. In some way Albert Pike was concerned in it also; but it must 
 have been practically the only time a specific charge of anything like peculation 
 could possibly have been brought against any of his transactions. His char- 
 acter for honesty seems to have been impeccable. 
 
58 The Indian as ^Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 braska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, the worst that had been 
 known in thirty years, there came occasion for a new 
 distrust. Proposals were made to the Creeks, 91 to the 
 Choctaws, 92 and to the Chickasaws to allot their lands in 
 severalty, notwithstanding the fact that one of the in- 
 ducements offered by President Jackson to get them 
 originally to remove had been, that they should be per- 
 mitted to hold their land, as they had always held it, in 
 common, forever. The Creeks now replied to the pro- 
 posals of the Indian Office that they had had experience 
 with individual reservations in their old eastern homes 
 and had good reason to be prejudiced against them. 
 The Indians, one and all, met the proposals with a 
 downright refusal but they did not forget that they had 
 been made, particularly when there came additional 
 cause for apprehension. 
 
 The cause for apprehension came with the presiden- 
 tial campaign of 1860 and from a passage in Seward's 
 Chicago speech, 93 "The National Idea; Its Perils and 
 Triumphs," expressive of opinions, false to the national 
 trust but favorable to expansion in the direction of the 
 Indian territory, most inopportune, to say the least, and 
 foolish. Seward probably spoke in the enthusiasm of 
 a heated moment; for the obnoxious sentiment, "The 
 Indian territory, also, south of Kansas, must be vacated 
 by the Indians," was very different in its tenor from 
 equally strong expressions in his great Senate speech 94 
 
 91 In January, 1860, Agent Garrett asked the Creeks in their National 
 Council to consent to the apportionment of the tribal lands. Motty Cunard 
 [Motey Kennard] and Echo Mayo [Echo Harjo] sent the reply of the Council 
 to Garrett, January 19, 1860. It was an unqualified and absolute refusal. 
 
 92 Cooper to Greenwood, March 31, 1860 [General Files, Choctazv, 1859- 
 1866, C445], 
 
 3 George E. Baker, Works of W. H. Seward (edition of 1884), vol. iv, 
 363 ; Bancroft's Seward, vol. ii, 460-470. 
 
 94 Congressional Globe, 33rd congress, first session, Appendix, p. 155. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 59 
 
 on the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, February 17, 1854. I* 
 soon proved, however, easy of quotation by the seces- 
 sionists in their arguments with the Indians, it being 
 offered by them as incontestable proof that the designs 
 of the incoming administration were, in the highest de- 
 gree, inimical to Indian treaty rights. At the time of 
 its utterance, the Indians were intensely excited. The 
 poor things had had so many and such bitter experi- 
 ences with the bad faith of the white people that it took 
 very little to arouse their suspicion. They had been told 
 to contract their domain or to move on so often that they 
 had become quite super-sensitive on the subject of land 
 cessions and removals. Seward's speech was but an- 
 other instance of idle words proving exceedingly fate- 
 ful. 
 
 Two facts thus far omitted from the general survey 
 and reserved for special emphasis may now be remarked 
 upon. They will show conclusively that there were 
 personal and economic reasons why the Indians, some 
 of them at least, were drawn irresistibly towards the 
 South. The patronage of the Indian Office has always 
 been more or less of a local thing. Communities ad- 
 joining Indian reservations usually consider, and with 
 just cause because of long-established practice, that all 
 positions in the field service, as for example, agencies 
 and traderships, are the perquisites, so to speak, of the 
 locality. It was certainly true before the war that 
 Texas and Arkansas had some such understanding as to 
 Indian Territory, for only southerners held office there 
 and, from among the southerners, Texans and Arkan- 
 sans received the preference always. It happened too 
 that the higher officials in Washington were almost in- 
 variably southern men. 
 
 The granting of licenses to traders rested with the 
 
60 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 superintendent and everything goes to show that, in the 
 fifties and sixties, applications for license were scrutin- 
 ized very closely by the southern superintendents with 
 a view to letting no objectionable person, from the 
 standpoint of southern rights, get into the territory. 
 The Holy See itself could never have been more vig- 
 ilant in protecting colonial domains against the intro- 
 duction of heresy. The same vigilance was exercised 
 in the hiring of agency employees, blacksmiths, wheel- 
 wrights, and the like. Having full discretionary power 
 in the premises, the superintendents could easily inter- 
 pret the law to suit themselves. They could also evade 
 it in their own interests and frequently did so. One 
 notorious case 95 of this sort came up in connection with 
 Superintendent Drew, who gave permits to his friends 
 to "peddle" in the Indian country without requiring of 
 them the necessary preliminary of a bond. Traders once 
 in the country had tremendous influence with the In- 
 dians, especially with those of a certain class whom or- 
 dinarily the missionaries could not reach. Then, as be- 
 fore and since, Indian traders were not men of the high- 
 est moral character by any means. Too often, on the con- 
 trary, they were of degraded character, thoroughly un- 
 scrupulous, proverbial for their defiance of the law, gen- 
 eral illiteracy, and corrupt business practices. It stands to 
 reason that such men, if they had themselves been select- 
 ed with an eye single to the cause of a particular section 
 and knew that solicitude in its interests would mean 
 great latitude to themselves and favorable reports of 
 themselves to the department at Washington, would 
 spare no efforts and hesitate at no means to make it their 
 first concern, provided, of course, that it did not inter- 
 fere with their own monetary schemes. 
 
 95 Dean to Manypenny, October 24, 1855 [Dean's Letter Book']. 
 
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 61 
 
 To cap the climax, the last and greatest circumstance 
 to be noted, if only because of the great weight it car- 
 ried with the Indians when it was brought into the argu- 
 ment by the secessionists, is that practically all of the 
 Indian money held in trust for the individual tribes by 
 the United States government was invested in southern 
 stocks; 96 in Florida 7's, in Georgia, Kentucky, Louisi- 
 ana, Maryland, South Carolina, Missouri, Virginia, 
 and Tennessee 6's, in North Carolina and Tennessee $ J s, 
 and the like. To tell the truth, only the merest mini- 
 mum of it was secured by northern bonds. The south- 
 erners asserted for the Indians' benefit, that all these 
 securities would be forfeited 97 by the war. Sufficient 
 
 9 INDIAN TRUST FUND 
 
 List of stocks held by the Secretary of the Interior in trust for Indian 
 
 tribes 
 
 STATE PER CENT AMOUNT 
 
 Arkansas ..... 5 $ 3,000.00 
 
 Florida ..... 7 132,000.00 
 
 Georgia . . . . 6 3,500.00 
 
 Indiana ..... 5 70,000.00 
 
 Kentucky ..... 5 183,000.00 
 
 Louisiana ..... 6 37,000.00 
 
 Maryland* ..... 6 131,611.82 
 
 Missouri ..... $% 63,000.00 
 
 Missouri .!*'!' . . 6 484,000.00 
 
 North Carolina .... 6 562,000.00 
 
 Ohio . . . f . . 6 150,000.00 
 
 Pennsylvania* . . . . 5 96,000.00 
 
 South Carolina . . . . 6 125,000.00 
 
 Tennessee ..... 5 218,000.00 
 
 Tennessee . . . . . 6 143,000.00 
 
 United States . . . . 6 251,330.00 
 
 Virginia .. . . . 6 796,800.00 
 
 3,449,241.82 
 
 * Taxed by the State. 
 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1859, p. 452. 
 
 97 David Hubbard to Ross and McCulloch, June 12, 1861 [Official Records, 
 first ser., vol. xiii, 497]. 
 
62 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 is the fact, that the position of the Indians 98 was un- 
 questionably difficult. With so much to draw them 
 southward, our only wonder is, that so many of them 
 stayed with the North. 
 
 98 The position of the tribes in the northern part of the Indian country, in 
 Kansas, was considerably different from that of the tribes in the southern part, 
 in Oklahoma. Each of the great tribes to the southward had a government 
 of its own that was modelled very largely upon that of the various states. 
 The tribes to the northward had retained, unchanged in essentials, their old 
 tribal community government. Moreover, they had already been obliged to 
 allow themselves to be circumscribed by territorial lines, soon to be state lines; 
 their integrity had been broken in upon ; and now they were not of sufficient 
 importance to have, either individually or collectively, anything to say about 
 the sectional affiliation of Kansas. As a matter of fact, they never so much 
 as attempted to take general tribal action in the premises. Neither their situa- 
 tion nor their political organization permitted it. 
 
II. INDIAN TERRITORY IN ITS RELA- 
 TIONS WITH TEXAS AND ARKANSAS 
 
 For the participation of the southern Indians in the 
 American Civil War, the states of Texas and Arkansas 
 were more than measurably responsible. Indian Ter- 
 ritory, or that part of the Indian country that was his- 
 torically known as such, lay between them. Its south- 
 ern frontage was along the Red River; and that stream, 
 flowing with only slight sinuosity downward to its junc- 
 tion with the Mississippi, gave to Indian Territory a 
 long diagonal, controlled, as far as situation went, en- 
 tirely by Texas. Texas lay on the other side of the river 
 and she lay also on almost the whole western border of 
 Indian Territory." She was, consequently, in posses- 
 sion of a rare opportunity, geographically, for exercis- 
 ing influence, should need for such ever arise. Running 
 parallel with the Red River and northward about one 
 hundred miles, was the Canadian. Between the two 
 rivers were three huge Indian reservations, the most 
 western was the Leased District of the Wichitas and 
 allied bands, the middle one was the Chickasaw, and 
 the eastern, the Choctaw. 100 The Indian occupants of 
 these three reservations were, therefore, and sometimes 
 to their sorrow, be it said, the very next door neighbors 
 
 99 An interruption to this came in the shape of the indefinitely defined 
 "Cherokee Outlet," which lay north of Texas and in addition occupied the 
 northern part of Indian Territory. 
 
 100 The subjoined map will illustrate the relative position of the individual 
 Indian reservations. Although published in 1867, it is not correct for that 
 date but is fairly correct for 1861. The "reconstruction treaties" of 1866 made 
 various changes in the Indian boundaries but the map takes no account of them. 
 
64 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 of the Texans. The Choctaws were, likewise, the next 
 door neighbors of the Arkansans who joined them on 
 the east; but the relations between Arkansans and Choc- 
 taws seem not to have been so close or so constant dur- 
 ing the period before the war as were the relations be- 
 tween the Choctaws and the Texans on the one hand and 
 the Cherokees and the Arkansans on the other. 
 
 The Cherokees dwelt, like the Choctaws, over against 
 Arkansas but north of the Canadian River and in close 
 proximity to Fort Smith, the headquarters of the South- 
 ern Superintendency. 101 Their territory was not so com- 
 pactly placed as was the territory of the other tribes; 
 and, in its various parts, it passes, necessarily, under 
 various designations. There was the "Cherokee Out- 
 let," a narrow tract south of Kansas that had no definite 
 western limit. It was supposed to be a passage way to 
 the hunting grounds of the great plains beyond. Then 
 there was the "Cherokee Strip," the Kansas extension 
 of the outlet, and for most of its extent originally and 
 legally a part of it. The territorial organization of 
 Kansas had made the two distinct. Finally, as respects 
 the more insignificant portions of the Cherokee domain, 
 there were the "Cherokee Neutral Lands," already suf- 
 ficiently well commented upon. They were insignifi- 
 cant, not in point of acreage but of tribal authority oper- 
 ating within them. They lay in the southeastern corner 
 of Kansas and constituted, against their will and against 
 the law, her southeastern counties. They were separat- 
 ed, to their own discomfiture and disadvantage, from 
 the Cherokee Nation proper by the reservation of the 
 Quapaws, of the Senecas, and of the confederated Sen- 
 ecas and Shawnees. This Cherokee Nation lay, as has 
 
 u Van Buren had a short time previously been the headquarters of the 
 Southern Superintendency. 
 
COLONEL DOWNING, CHEROKEE 
 
 [From Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American 
 Ethnology] 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 67 
 
 already been indicated, over against Arkansas and north 
 of the northeastern section of the Choctaw country. 
 The Arkansas River formed part of the boundary be- 
 tween the two tribal domains. So much then for the 
 location of the really great tribes, but where were the 
 lesser? 
 
 The Quapaws, the Senecas, and the confederated Sen- 
 ecas and Shawnees, the most insignificant of the lesser, 
 occupied the extreme northeastern corner of Indian 
 Territory and, therefore, bordered upon the southwest- 
 ern corner of Missouri. The Creeks lived between the 
 Arkansas River, inclusive of its Red Fork, and the Can- 
 adian River, having the Cherokees to the east and north 
 of them, the Choctaws and Chickasaws to the south, and 
 the Seminoles to the southwest, between the Canadian 
 and its North Fork. The Indians of the Leased Dis- 
 trict have already been located. 
 
 In the years preceding the Civil War, the interest of 
 Texas and of Arkansas in Indian Territory manifested 
 itself, not in a covetous desire to dispossess the Indians 
 of their lands, as was, unfortunately for national honor, 
 the case in Kansas, but in an effort to keep the actual 
 country true to the South, settled by slaveholders, In- 
 dian or white, as occasion required or opportunity of- 
 fered. When sectional affairs became really tense after 
 the formation of the Republican Party, they redoubled 
 their energies in that direction, working always through 
 the rich, influential, and intelligent half-breeds, some 
 of whom had property interests and family connections 
 in the states operating upon them. 102 The half-breeds 
 were essentially a planter class, institutionally more 
 
 102 \y e n( j t h at t h; s intimate intercourse extended even to things scholas- 
 tic; for, though there were plenty of female seminaries, so-called, within In- 
 dian Territory, Indian girls regularly attended similar institutions in Fayette- 
 ville [Bishop, A. W., Loyalty on the Frontier, 143]. 
 
68 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 truly so than were the inhabitants of the border slave 
 states. It is therefore not surprising that, during the 
 excitement following Abraham Lincoln's nomination 
 and election, identically the same political agencies 
 worked among them as among their white neighbors 
 and events in Indian Territory kept perfect pace with 
 events in adjoining states. 
 
 The first of these that showed strong sectional ten- 
 dencies came in January, 1861, when the Chickasaws, 
 quite on their own initiative apparently, met in a called 
 session of their legislature to consider how best the 
 great tribes might conduct themselves with reference to 
 the serious political situation then shaping itself in the 
 United States. There is some evidence that the Knights 
 of the Golden Circle had been active among the Indians 
 as they had been in Arkansas 103 during the course of the 
 late presidential campaign. At all events, the red men 
 knew full well of passing occurrences among their 
 neighbors and they certainly knew how matters were 
 progressing in Texas. There the State Rights Party 
 was asserting itself in no doubtful terms. For the time 
 being, however, the Chickasaws contented themselves 
 with simply passing an act, 104 January 5, suggesting 
 
 103 Bishop [Loyally on the Frontier, 20] says that to the zeal of the Knights 
 of the Golden Circle, or "Knaves of the Godless Communion," was mainly 
 attributable "the treasonable complexion" of the Arkansas legislature that or- 
 ganized in November of 1860. 
 
 104 The following documents include the act of the Chickasaw Legislature 
 and related correspondence: 
 
 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the Chickasaw Nation, That the 
 Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, be and he is hereby authorized to 
 appoint four Commissioners, one from each county, namely :-Panola, 
 Pickens, Tishomingo, and Pontotoc County, on the part of the Chick- 
 asaw Nation, to meet a like set of Commissioners appointed respective- 
 ly by the Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee, and Seminole Nations, to meet 
 in General Convention at such time and place That the Chief of the 
 Creek Nation, may set, for the purpose of entering into some compact, 
 not inconsistent with the Laws and Treaties of the United States, for 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 69 
 
 an inter-tribal conference and arranging for the execu- 
 tive appointment of a Chickasaw delegation to it. The 
 
 the future security and protection of the rights and Citizens of said 
 nations, in the event of a change in the United States, and to renew 
 the harmony and good feeling already established between said Na- 
 tions by a compact concluded & entered into on the i4.th of Nov. 1859, 
 at Asbury Mission Creek Nation. 
 
 Be it further enacted That said Commissioners shall receive for their 
 services the sum of One hundred dollars each, and shall report the pro- 
 ceedings of said Convention to the next session of the Chickasaw Leg- 
 islature for its approval or disapproval. . . 
 
 Passed the House Repts as amended Jany $th 1861. 
 
 Passed Senate Jan. 5, 1861. 
 Approved Jan. 5, 1861. 
 Indian Office General Files - Cherokee 1859-1865, $15. 
 
 Enclosed please find an Act of the called Session of the Chickasaw 
 Legislature, the object of which you will readily understand. Your 
 cooperation, and union of action of the Cherokee people in effecting the 
 object therein expressed is hereby respectfully solicited. 
 
 It will be left to the Principal Chiefs of the Creek Nation to appoint 
 the time and place of meeting, of which you will have timely notice. - 
 CYRUS HARRIS, governor of the Chickasaw Nation, to John Ross, prin- 
 cipal chief of the Cherokees, dated Tishomingo, C.N. January 5th, 1861 
 [ibid,]. 
 
 You will please find enclosed a communication from the Gov r of 
 the Chickasaw Nation & an Act of the Chickasaw Legislature calling 
 upon their Brethren the Creeks to appoint a time & place for a Gen- 
 eral Convention of the Chickasaws, Choctaws, Cherokees, and Creeks. 
 We therefore appoint the ijth inst. to meet at the General Council 
 Ground of the Creek Nation- At which time & place we will (be) 
 happy to meet our Brethren the Cherokees. - JACOB DERRYSAW, acting 
 chief of the Creek Nation, to John Ross, dated Cowetah, Creek Nation, 
 February 4, 1861 [ibid.']. 
 
 I was much surprised to receive a proposition for taking action so 
 formal on a matter so important, without having any previous notice or 
 understanding about the business, which might have afforded oppor- 
 tunity to confer with our respective Councils and People. 
 
 Although I regret most deeply, the excitement which has arisen 
 among our White brethren : yet by us it can only be regarded as a fam- 
 ily misunderstanding among themselves. And it behooves us to be care- 
 ful, in any movement of ours, to refrain from adopting any measures 
 liable to be misconstrued or misrepresented:- and in which (at present 
 at least) we have no direct and proper concern. 
 
 I cannot but confidently believe, however, that there is wisdom and 
 virtue and moderation enough among the people of the United States, 
 
yo The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 authorities of the other tribes were duly notified 105 and 
 to the Creek was given the privilege of naming time 
 and place. 
 The Inter-tribal Council assembled at the Creek 
 
 to bring about a peaceable and satisfactory adjustment of their differ- 
 ences. And I do not think we have the right to anticipate any con- 
 tingency adverse to the stability and permanence of the Federal Union. 
 
 Our relations to the United States, as defined by our treaties, are 
 clear and definite. And the obligations growing out of them easily 
 ascertained. And it will ever be our wisdom and our interest to adhere 
 strictly to those obligations, and carefully to guard against being drawn 
 into any complications which may prove prejudicial to the interests of 
 our people, or imperil the security we now enjoy under the protection 
 of the Government of the United States as guaranteed by our Treaties. 
 In the very worst contingency that can be thought of, the great National 
 Responsibilities of the United States must and will be provided for. 
 And should a catastrophe as that referred to in (your) communication, 
 unhappily occur, then will be the time for us to take proper steps for 
 securing the rights and interests of our people. 
 
 Out of respect to the Chiefs of neighboring Nations, and from the 
 deep interest I feel for the peace and welfare of our red brethren, I have 
 deemed it proper to appoint a Delegation to attend the Council ap- 
 pointed by the Creek Chiefs at your request, on the i7th inst. at the 
 Gen 1 Council Ground of the Creek Nation, for the purpose of a friendly 
 interchange of the views & sentiments on the general interests of our 
 respective Nations. 
 
 In the language of our Fathers, I am your 
 
 "Elder Friend and Brother" 
 
 JOHN Ross, Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation. 
 Extract from letter to Cyrus Harris, February 9, 1861 [ibid."]. 
 
 Previous to the receipt of your Communication enclosing the pro- 
 ceedings of the Chickasaw Authorities, I had received similar papers 
 from the "Governor of the Chickasaw Nation." 
 
 And I herewith enclose for the information of yourself & people a 
 copy of my reply. I will appoint a Delegation to attend your Council 
 for the purpose therein stated. -Ross to Derrysaw, February 9, 1861 
 [ibid.]. 
 
 I have received a communication from the Gov. of the Chickasaw 
 Nation, with a copy of an Act of their Legislature. And I presume a 
 similar communication has been received by you. Deeming it important 
 that much prudence and caution should be exercised by us in regard to 
 the object of the Governor's communication, I have thought it proper 
 to address him a letter, giving a brief expression of my views on the 
 subject, a copy of which I enclose for your information. - Ross to the 
 principal chief of the Choctaw Nation, February n, 1861 [ibid.']. 
 105 See preceding note. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 71 
 
 Agency, 106 February 17, but comparatively few dele- 
 gates were in attendance. William P. Ross, a gradu- 
 ate 10T of Princeton and a nephew of John Ross, the prin- 
 cipal chief of the Cherokees, went as the head of the 
 Cherokee delegation. It was he who reported the scan- 
 ty attendance, 108 saying that there were no Chickasaws 
 present, no Choctaws, but only Creeks, Seminoles, and 
 Cherokees. Why it happened so can not now be exact- 
 ly determined but to it may undoubtedly be ascribed the 
 outcome; for the council did nothing that was not per- 
 fectly compatible with existing friendly relations be- 
 tween the great tribes and the United States govern- 
 ment. John Ross, in instructing his delegates, had 
 strictly enjoined caution and discretion. 109 William P. 
 Ross and his associates seem to have managed to secure 
 
 ice The Creek Agency was probably chosen because of its convenient situa- 
 tion. It was at the junction of the North Fork and the Canadian and, conse- 
 quently, in close proximity to three of the reservations and not far distant 
 from the other two. 
 
 107 See Mrs. W. P. Ross, Life and Times of William P. Ross. 
 
 108 American Historical Review, vol. xv, 282. 
 
 109 . . . On your deliberations it will [be] proper for you to 
 advise discretion, and to guard against any premature movement on 
 our part, which might produce excitement or be liable to misrepresenta- 
 tion. Our duty is very plain. We have only to adhere firmly to our 
 respective Treaties. By them we have placed ourselves under the pro- 
 tection of the United States, and of no other sovereign whatever. We 
 are bound to hold no treaty with any foreign Power, or with any in- 
 dividual State or combination of States nor with Citizens of any State. 
 Nor even with one another without the interposition and participation 
 of the United States. . . 
 
 Should any action of the Council be thought desirable, a resolution 
 might be adopted, to the effect, that we will in all contingencies rest 
 our interests on the pledged faith of the United States, for the fulfilment 
 of their obligations. We ought to entertain no apprehension of any 
 change, that will endanger our interests. The parties holding the re- 
 sponsibilities of the Federal Government will always be bound to us. 
 And no measures we have it in our power to adopt can add anything 
 to the security we now possess. Relying on your intelligence & discre- 
 tion I will add no more. - CHIEF Ross's instructions to the Cherokee 
 Delegation, February 12, 1861 [Indian Office General Files, Cherokee 
 1859-1865, 
 
72 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 the observance of both. Perchance it was Chief 
 Ross's 110 known aversion to an interference in matters 
 that did not concern the Indians, except very indirectly, 
 and the consciousness that his influence in the council 
 would be immense, probably all-powerful, that caused 
 the Chickasaws to draw back from a thing they had 
 themselves so ill-advisedly planned. It is, however, 
 just possible that, between the time of issuing the call 
 and of assembling the council, they crossed on their own 
 responsibility the boundary of indecision and resolved, 
 as most certainly had the Choctaws, that their sym- 
 pathies and their interests were with the South. It 
 might well be supposed that in this perilous hour their 
 thoughts would have travelled back some thirty years 
 and they would have remembered what havoc the same 
 state-rights doctrine, now presented so earnestly for 
 their acceptance, although it scarcely fitted their case, 
 had then wrought in their concerns. Strangely enough 
 none of the tribes seems to have charged the gross in- 
 justice of the thirties exclusively to the account of the 
 South. On the contrary, they one and all charged it 
 against the federal government, against the states as a 
 whole, and so, rightly or wrongly, the nation had to pay 
 for the inconsistency of Jackson's procedure, a proced- 
 ure that could so illogically recognize the supremacy 
 of federal law in one matter and the supremacy of state 
 law in another matter that was precisely its parallel. 
 
 The decision of the Choctaws had found expression in 
 a series of resolutions under date of February 7. They 
 are worthy of being quoted entire. 
 
 no The Indian Office files are full of testimony proving John Ross's wis- 
 dom, foresight, sterling worth generally, and absolute devotion to his people. 
 Indeed, his whole biography is written large in the records. His character 
 was impeccable. Judged by any standard whatsoever, he would easily rank 
 as one of the greatest of Indian half-breeds. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 73 
 
 February 7, 1861. 
 
 RESOLUTIONS expressing the feelings and sentiments of the Gen- 
 eral Council of the Choctaw Nation in reference to the political 
 disagreement existing between the Northern and Southern States 
 of the American Union. 
 
 Resolved by the General Council of the Choctaw Nation as- 
 sembled, That we view with deep regret and great solicitude the 
 present unhappy political disagreement between the Northern 
 and Southern States of the American Union, tending to a perma- 
 nent dissolution of the Union and the disturbance of the various 
 important relations existing with that Government by treaty stip- 
 ulations and international laws, and portending much injury to 
 the Choctaw government and people. 
 
 Resolved further, That we must express the earnest desire 
 and ready hope entertained by the entire Choctaw people, that 
 any and all political disturbances agitating and dividing the peo- 
 ple of the various States may be honorably and speedily adjusted ; 
 and the example and blessing, and fostering care of their Gen- 
 eral Government, and the many and friendly social ties existing 
 with their people, continue for the enlightenment in moral and 
 good government and prosperity in the material concerns of life 
 to our whole population. 
 
 Resolved further, That in the event a permanent dissolution 
 of the American Union takes place, our many relations with the 
 General Government must cease, and we shall be left to follow 
 the natural affections, education, institutions, and interests of our 
 people, which indissolubly bind us in every way to the destiny of 
 our neighbors and brethren of the Southern States upon whom 
 we are confident we can rely for the preservation of our rights of 
 life, liberty, and property, and the continuance of many acts of 
 friendship, general counsel, and material support. 
 
 Resolved further, That we desire to assure our immediate 
 neighbors, the people of Arkansas and Texas, of our determina- 
 tion to observe the amicable relations in every way so long exist- 
 ing between us, and the firm reliance we have, amid any disturb- 
 ance with other States, the rights and feelings so sacred to us 
 will remain respected by them and be protected from the en- 
 croachments of others. 
 
 Resolved further, That his excellency the principal chief be 
 
74 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 requested to inclose, with an appropriate communication from 
 himself, a copy of these resolutions to the governors of the South- 
 ern States, with the request that they be laid before the State 
 convention of each State, as many as have assembled at the date 
 of their reception, and that in such as have not they be published 
 in the newspapers of the State. 
 
 Resolved, That these resolutions take effect and be in force 
 from and after their passage. 
 Approved February 7, i86i. lxl 
 
 These resolutions of the Choctaw Council are in the 
 highest degree interesting in the matter both of their 
 substance and of their time of issue. The information 
 is not forthcoming as to how the Choctaws received the 
 invitation of the Chickasaw legislature to attend an in- 
 ter-tribal council; but, later on, in April, 1861, the 
 Choctaw delegation in Washington, made up of P. P. 
 Pitchlynn, Samuel Garland, Israel Folsom, and Peter 
 Folsom, assured the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
 that the Choctaw Nation intended to remain neutral, 112 
 
 111 Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 682. 
 
 112 The evidence of this is to be found in an official letter from Commis- 
 sioner W. P. Dole to Secretary Caleb B. Smith, under date of April 30, 1861, 
 which reads as follows: 
 
 I have the honor to enclose herewith a copy of a letter, dated lyth. 
 Inst from Elias Rector, Esq., Supt. Indian Affairs . . . together 
 with copy of its enclosure, being one addressed to Col. W. H. Emory 
 by M. Leeper, Agent for the Indians within the "Leased District," hav- 
 ing reference to the removal of the troops from Fort Cobb. 
 
 The Government being bound by treaty obligations to protect the 
 Indians from the incursions of all enemies, I would respectfully ask to 
 be informed, if it is not its intention to keep in the country a sufficient 
 force for the purpose. 
 
 The Choctaw and Chickasaw delegation - composed of the prin- 
 cipal men of those Nations - while recently in this City expressed great 
 apprehensions of attack upon their people, by Citizens of Texas and 
 Arkansas; and these delegations having assured me of their determin- 
 ation to maintain a neutral position in the anticipated difficulties through- 
 out our Country, I would recommend that a depot for arms be estab- 
 lished within the Southern Superintendency in order that the Indians 
 there may be placed in the possession of the means to defend themselves 
 against any attack. . .-Indian Office Report Book, no. 12, p. 152. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 75 
 
 which assurance was interpreted to mean simply that 
 the Choctaws would be inactive spectators of events, ex- 
 pressing no opinion, in word or deed, one way or the 
 other. The Chickasaw delegation gave the same assur- 
 ance and at about the same time and place. Now what 
 is to be concluded? Is it to be supposed that the Act of 
 January 5, 1861 in no wise reflected the sentiments of a 
 tribe as a whole and similarly the Resolutions of Feb- 
 ruary 7, 1 86 1, or that the tribal delegations were, in 
 April, utterly ignorant of the real attitude of their re- 
 spective constituents? The answer is to be found in the 
 following most interesting and instructive letter, writ- 
 ten by S. Orlando Lee to Commissioner Dole from 
 Huntingdon, Long Island, March 15, i86a: 113 
 
 Thinking you and the government would like to hear some- 
 thing about the state of affairs among the Choctaws last summer 
 and the influences which induced them to take their present po- 
 sition I will write you what I know. I was a missionary teacher 
 at Spencer Academy for two years and refer you to Hon. Walter 
 Lowrie Gen. Sec. of the Pres. Board of Foreign Missions for in- 
 formation as to my character &c. I left Spencer June I3th & 
 the nation June 24th but have heard directly from there twice 
 since, the last time as late as Sept 6th. So that I can speak of 
 occurrences as late as that. 
 
 After South Carolina passed her secession ordinance in Dec. 
 1860 there was a public attempt to excite the Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws as a beginning hoping to bring in the other tribes af- 
 terwards. Many of the larger slaveholders (who are nearly all 
 half breeds) had been gained before and Capt. R. M. Jones was 
 the leader of the secessionists. The country was full of lies about 
 the intentions of the new administration. The border papers in 
 Arkansas & Texas republished from the New York & St. Louis 
 papers a part of a sentence from Hon. W. H. Seward's speech at 
 Chicago during the election campaign of 1860 to this effect "And 
 Indian Territory south of Kansas must be vacated by the Indian" 
 (These words do occur in the report of Mr. Seward's Chicago 
 113 General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, 1,632. 
 
76 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 speech as published in New York Evening Post Weekly for I 
 read it myself). This produced intense excitement of course 
 and to add to the effect the Secessionist Journals charged that 
 another prominent republican had proposed to drive the indians 
 out of Indian Ter. in a speech in congress. "This" they were 
 told "is the policy of the new administration. The abolitionists 
 want your lands - we will protect you. Your only safety is to 
 join the South." Again they were told "that the South must 
 succeed in gaining their independence and the money of the in- 
 dians being invested in the stocks of Southern states the stocks 
 would be cancelled & the indians would lose their money unless 
 they joined the south, if they did that the stocks would be reis- 
 sued to the Confederate States for them." Their special commis- 
 sioners Peter Folsom &c, who came to Washington to get the 
 half million of dollars for claims, reported that they got along 
 very well until they were asked if they had slaves after that they 
 said they could do nothing. Sampson Folsom said however that 
 he thought they would have succeeded had it not been for the at- 
 tack on Sumpter - He said President Lincoln then told them 
 "He would not give them a dollar until the close of the war" 
 An interesting fact in relation to these commissioners is that they 
 came to Washington by way of Montgomery & were when they 
 reached Washington probably all, except Judge Garland, seces- 
 sionists. Thus all influences were in favor of the rebels - Where 
 could the indians go for light The former Indian agent Cooper 
 was a Col. in the rebel service. The oldest missionary who has 
 undoubtedly more influence with the Choctaws than any other 
 white man is an ardent secessionist believing firmly both in the 
 right & in the final success of the rebel cause He (Dr. Kings- 
 bury) prays as earnestly & fervently for the success of the rebels 
 as any one among us does for the success of the Union cause. 
 The son of another, Mr. Hodgkin, is a captain in the rebel ser- 
 vice - another Mr. Stark actively assisted in organizing a com- 
 pany acted as sec. of secessionist meetings &c. Even Mr. Reid 
 superintendant of Spencer was confident the rebels could never 
 be subdued and thought when the treaty should be made they 
 ought in justice to have Ind. Territory. Again when Fort Smith 
 was evacuated the rebel forces were on the way up the Ark. 
 river to attack it & the garrison evacuated it in the night which 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 77 
 
 looked to the Indians (if not to the white men) as if the north- 
 erners were afraid. The same was true of Fort Washitaw where 
 our forces left in the night and were actually pursued for sev- 
 eral days by the Texans. Thus matters stood when Col. Pitch- 
 lynn the resident Com. of the Choctaws at Washington returned 
 home. He gave all his influence to have the Choctaws take a 
 neutral position. The chief had called the council to meet June 
 1st. & Col. P. so far succeeded as to induce him to prepare a 
 message recommending neutrality. Col. P. was promptly re- 
 ported as an abolitionist and visited & threatened by a Texas 
 Vigilance committee. 
 
 The Council met at Doaksville seven miles from Red River 
 & of course from Texas. It was largely attended by white men 
 from Texas our Choctaw neighbors who attended said the place 
 was full of white men. 
 
 The Council did not organize until June 4th or 5th (I forget 
 which) In the meanwhile the white men & half bloods had a se- 
 cession meeting when it leaked out through Col. Cooper that the 
 Chief Hudson had prepared a message recommending neutrality 
 at which Robert M. Jones was so indignant that he made a fu- 
 rious speech in which he declared that "any one who opposed se- 
 cession ought to be hung" "and any suspicious persons ought to 
 be hung." Hudson was frightened and when the Council was 
 organized sent in a message recommending that commissioners 
 be appointed to negotiate a treaty with the Confederates and that 
 in the meantime a regiment be organized under Col. Cooper for 
 the Con fed. army. 
 
 This was finally done but not for a week for the Choctaws 
 were reluctant. They feared that their action would result in 
 the destruction of the nation. Said Joseph P. Folsom, a member 
 of the council & a graduate of Dartmouth College New Hamp- 
 shire, "We are choosing in what way we shall die" Judge Wade 
 said to me, "We expect that the Choctaws will be buried. That 
 is what we think will be the end of this." Judge W. is a mem- 
 ber of the Senate (for the Choctaw Council is composed of a 
 Senate & lower house chosen by the people in districts & the con- 
 stitution is modeled very much after those of the states.) & he 
 has been a chief. Others said to me "If the north was here so 
 we could be protected we would stand up for the north but now 
 
78 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 if we do not go in for the south the Texans will come over here 
 and kill us." Mr. Reid told me a day or two before we left that 
 he had become convinced during a trip for two or three days 
 through the country that the full bloods were strongly for the 
 north. I am sure it was so then & it was the opinion of the mis- 
 sionaries that if we had all taken the position, that we would not 
 leave, some of us had been warned to do so by Texan vigilance 
 committees, we could have raised a thousand men who would 
 have armed in our defence Our older brethren told us that this 
 would hasten the destruction of the indians as they would be 
 crushed before any help could come. - We thought this would 
 probably be the case and the missionaries who were most strong- 
 ly union in sentiment left. 
 
 One of the number Rev. John Edwards had been hiding for 
 his life from Texan & half blood ruffians for two weeks & we 
 at Spencer had had the honor to be visited by a Texas committee 
 searching for arms. 
 
 I continue my narrative from a letter from one of our teach- 
 ers who was detained when we left by the illness of his wife & 
 who left Spencer Sept 5th & the Nation Sept. gth. He says Col. 
 Coopers regiment was filled up with Texans "The half breeds af- 
 ter involving the full bloods in the war have rather drawn back 
 themselves and but few of them have enlisted & gone to the war." 
 This indicates that the full bloods have at last yielded to the 
 pressure and joined the rebels. The missionaries who remained 
 would generally advise them to do this. 
 
 The Choctaw commissioners met Albert Pike rebel commis- 
 sioner & made a treaty with him, with reference to this he says 
 "The Choctaws rec'd quite a bundle of promises from the rebel 
 government. Their treaty gives their representative a seat in the 
 rebel congress, acknowledges the right of the Choctaws to give 
 testimony in all courts in the C. S., exempts them from the ex- 
 pences of the war, their soldiers are to be paid 20$ a month by 
 the C. S. during the war, the C. S. assume the debts due the 
 Choctaws by the U. S., they have the privilege of coming in as 
 a state into the Confederacy with equal rights if they wish it, or 
 remain as they are, the C. S. to sustain their schools after the 
 war, they guarantee them against all intrusion on their lands by 
 white men, allow them to garrison the forts in their territory 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 79 
 
 with their own troops if they wish it said troops to be paid by 
 the C. S." - Here is a list of promises and when I think of these, 
 of the belief of their oldest missionaries in the final success of 
 the rebels, of the fact that all the old Officers of the U. S. gov- 
 ernment were in the service of the rebels, of the occupation of 
 the forts there by rebels, of the activity of a knot of bitter dis- 
 unionists led by Capt. Jones, who has long been a very influential 
 man, of the Texas mob law which considered it a crime for a 
 young man to refuse to volunteer, of the fact that there was no 
 way for them to hear the truth as to the designs of the U. S. 
 government concerning them, except through Col. Pitchlyn who 
 was soon silenced & of the falsehoods told them as to the designs 
 of the Government, I do not wonder that they have joined the 
 rebels. 
 
 I saw strong men completely unmanned even to floods of tears 
 by the leaving of Dr. Hobbs and the thoughts of what was before 
 them. I heard men say they did not want to fight but expected 
 to be forced to do it. 
 
 I trust the government will consider the circumstances of the 
 case & deal gently, considerately with the Indians. I do not like 
 to write such things of my brother missionaries but they are I 
 believe facts & though I love some of them very much I still must 
 say that, except Rev. Mr. Byington who was doubtful & Rev. 
 Mr. Balantine a missionary to the Chickasaws who was union, 
 all the ordained missionaries belonging to the Choctaw & Chicka- 
 saw Mission of the Presbyterian Board who remain there were 
 victims of the madness which swept over the South, were seces- 
 sionists One or two of the three Laymen who remained were 
 union men Cyrus Kingsbury son of Rev. Dr. K. being 
 one. . . 
 
 The failure of the United States government to give 
 the Indians, in season, the necessary assurance that they 
 would be protected, no matter what might happen, can 
 not be too severely criticized. It indicated a very short- 
 sighted policy and was due either to a tendency to ig- 
 nore the Indians as people of no importance or to a lack 
 of harmony and cooperation among the departments at 
 Washington. Such an assurance of continued protec- 
 
80 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 tion was not even framed until the second week in May 
 and then the Indian country was already threatened by 
 the secessionists. Moreover, it was framed and intend- 
 ed to be given by one department, the Interior, and its 
 fulfilment left to another, the War. It went out from 
 the Indian Office in the form of a circular letter, 11 * ad- 
 dressed by Commissioner William P. Dole to the chief 
 executive 115 in each of the five great tribes. It assured 
 the Indians that President Lincoln had no intention of 
 interfering with their domestic institutions or of allow- 
 ing government agents or employees to interfere and 
 that the War Department had been appealed to to fur- 
 nish all needed defense according to treaty guaranties. 
 The new southern superintendent, William G. Coffin 
 of Indiana, was made the bearer of the missive; but, 
 unfortunately, quite a little time elapsed 116 before the 
 military situation 117 in the West would allow him to as- 
 
 114 The letter can be found in manuscript form in Indian Office, Letter 
 Book, no. 65, pp. 447-449, and in printed form in Commissioner of Indian 
 Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 34. 
 
 115 John Ross, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation; Cyrus Harris, gov- 
 ernor of the Chickasaw Nation ; M. Kennard, principal chief of the Lower 
 Creeks; Echo Hadjo [Echo Harjo], principal chief of the Upper Creeks; 
 George Hudson, principal chief of the Choctaw Nation ; and the unnamed 
 principal chief of the Seminoles west of Arkansas. 
 
 116 It would seem that the letter was not given to Coffin immediately but 
 was held back on account of the insecurity of the mails [Dole to Creek and 
 Seminole chiefs, November 16, 1861, Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, pp. 
 78-79]. 
 
 117 Th e delay was not entirely due to the military situation. Coffin went 
 from Washington to his home in Indiana. He was there on the twentieth, 
 at Annapolis, Parke County, when Dole wrote urging him to hasten on his way, 
 
 I herewith enclose a slip taken from the National Intelligencer of 
 this date, being an extract from the Austin [Texas] State Gazette of the 
 4th Instant, by which you will perceive that efforts are being made to 
 tamper with the Indians within your Superintendency. 
 
 By this you will perceive the urgent necessity, that you should pro- 
 ceed at the earliest moment practicable to the vicinity of the duties in 
 your charge, that from your personal knowledge of the views of the 
 Government in relation to these Indians as well as by the instructions 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 81 
 
 sume his full duties or to reach his official headquar- 
 ters, 118 and, in the interval, he was detailed for other 
 
 and communications in your possession, you may be able to thwart the 
 endeavors of any and all who have or shall attempt to tamper with 
 these tribes and array them in hostility to the Government. 
 
 I deem it of the utmost importance that no time be lost in this matter, 
 as delay may be disastrous to the public service. - Indian Office, Letter 
 Book, no. 65, p. 473. 
 
 By the nineteenth of June, Coffin had managed to reach Crawford Sem- 
 inary, from which place he reported to Dole, 
 
 We have at length reached the Indian Territory propper. . . I 
 find Mr. Elder the Agent absent. I learned on my way down here that 
 he had gone to Fort Scott with the view of locating the Agency there 
 for the present which I supposed when I wrote you from the Catholic 
 Mission might be propper from its close proximity to Missouri but as 
 Mr. Phelps district is opposit here and he a good Union man and has 
 been Stumping the district and I learn that the Union cause is growing 
 fast in that part of the State I think there is now at least no Sort of ex- 
 cuse for removing, the buildings here are ample for a large family, 
 waiter good. . . - General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, 
 
 CI229. 
 
 The sequel showed that Agent Elder was right and Superintendent Coffin 
 wrong about the security of the region. Coffin never reached Fort Smith at all 
 and was soon compelled to vacate the Indian Territory. Indian Office, Letter 
 Book, no. 66, which covers the period from June, 1861 to October, 1861, con- 
 tains scarcely a letter to prove that the Indian Office was in communication 
 with Indian Territory. Official connection with the country had been com- 
 pletely cut off. Military abandonment and dilatory officials had done their 
 work. 
 
 118 Official instructions were issued to Coffin, then in Washington, on the 
 ninth, and gave him permission to change his headquarters at discretion. The 
 following is an excerpt of the instructions: 
 
 You having been appointed by the President to be Superintendent of 
 Indian Affairs for the Southern Superintendency in place of Elias Rector, 
 Esq. . . You will repair to Fort Smith, Arkansas, as early as prac- 
 ticable, for the purpose of relieving Elias Rector, Esq. 
 
 In your progress from Indiana to Fort Smith, should you deem it ex- 
 pedient and advisable to pass down the Kansas line and among the In- 
 dians in that section, you will make it your business to inquire as to their 
 sentiments and disposition with reference to the present disturbances in 
 the neighboring countries, so far as time and opportunity will enable 
 you to do so. On reaching Fort Smith you will also inform yourself as 
 to the condition of Affairs there and surrounding country, and as to the 
 prospect of the business of the Superintendency being carried on without 
 molestation or other inconvenience, and should you find it necessary 
 
82 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 work. The Indians, meanwhile, were left to their own 
 devices and were obliged to look out for their own de- 
 fense as best they could. 
 
 To all appearances neither the legislative action of 
 the Chickasaws and of the Choctaws nor the work of the 
 inter-tribal council was, at the time of occurrence, re- 
 ported officially to the United States government or, if 
 reported officially, then not pointedly so as to reveal its 
 real bearings upon the case in hand. All the agents 
 within Indian Territory were as usual southern men; 11 
 but may not have been directly responsible or even cog- 
 nizant of this particular action of their charges. The 
 records show that practically all of them, Cooper, Gar- 
 rett, Cowart, Leeper, and Dorn, were absent 120 from 
 their posts, with or without leave, the first part of the 
 
 from the circumstances that may surround you to remove the office of 
 Superintendent from Fort Smith you are authorized to do so, selecting 
 some eligible point in the proximate Indian Territory, or if required 
 some point northwardly among the Indians in Kansas as your best dis- 
 cretion may dictate. I trust however that this discretionary authority 
 may prove unnecessary and that in the legitimate discharge of your du- 
 ties, you may suffer no interruption from any cause or source whatever. 
 In a report from this Office of the 3oth Ultimo, with reference to antici- 
 pated Indian troubles in your Superintendency consequent upon the re- 
 moval of the troops from Fort Cobb, the attention of the Hon. Secretary 
 of the Interior was called to the subject, and the enquiry as to the policy 
 of the Government to keep in the country a sufficient force for the pur- 
 pose of proper protection; and further calling his attention to the ex- 
 pression of friendship and loyalty made by the Choctaw and Chickasaw 
 delegates lately in this City, recommended that a depot for arms be 
 established within the Southern Superintendency, in order that the In- 
 dians there may be placed in possession of the means to defend them- 
 selves against any attack. As yet no response to this report has been re- 
 ceived. . .-Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 65, pp. 442-443. 
 
 119 Douglas H. Cooper, agent for the Choctaws and Chickasaws, was from 
 Mississippi; William H. Garrett, agent for the Creeks, was from Alabama; 
 Robert J. Cowart, agent for the Cherokees, was from Georgia; Matthew 
 Leeper, agent for the Indians of the Leased District, was from Texas; and 
 Andrew J. Dorn, agent at the Neosho River Agency, was from Arkansas. 
 
 120 Telegram, Greenwood to Rector, January 19, 1861 [Indian Office, Let- 
 ter Book, no. 65, p. 104]. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 83 
 
 new year and that every one of them became or was al- 
 ready an active secessionist. 121 
 
 It has been authenticated and is well understood to- 
 day that, as the Southern States, one by one, declared 
 themselves out of the Union or were getting themselves 
 into line for so doing, they prepared to further the cause 
 of secession among their neighbors and, for the pur- 
 pose, sent agents or commissioners to them, who organ- 
 ized the movement very much as the Committees of 
 Correspondence did a similar movement prior to the 
 American Revolution. In short, in the spring of 1861, 
 the seceding states entered upon active proselytism and 
 at least two of them extended their labors to and among 
 the Indians. Those two were Texas and Arkansas. 
 Missouri also worked with the same end in view, so 
 did Colorado, but apparently not so much with the 
 great tribes of Oklahoma as with the politically less 
 important of Kansas. Colorado, it is true, did operate 
 to some extent upon the Cherokees of the Outlet and 
 upon the Wichitas, but mostly upon the Indians of the 
 western plains. No one can deny that, in the interests 
 of the Confederate cause, the project of sending emis- 
 saries even to the Indians was a wise measure or refuse 
 to admit that the contrasting inactivity and positive in- 
 difference of the North was foolhardy in the extreme. 
 It indicated a self-complacency for which there was no 
 justification. More than that can with truth be said; 
 for, from the standpoint of political wisdom and fore- 
 sight, the inactivity where the Indians were concerned 
 was conduct most reprehensible. 
 
 121 For information showing what Indian agents became adherents of the 
 Confederate cause, see, among other things, an extract from a report of Albert 
 Pike to be found in Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 130, pp. 237-238; and a let- 
 ter from R. W. Johnson to L. P. Walker, published in Official Records, first 
 ser., vol. iii, 598. 
 
84 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 While Chickasaws and Choctaws, unsolicited, 122 were 
 expressing themselves, the secessionist sentiment was de- 
 
 122 The evidence on this point is not very convincing, either one way or the 
 other. A number of documents might be cited bearing some brief, vague, or 
 indefinite reference to the steps the Indians took from the beginning. The 
 closing paragraph of the following report from E. H. Carruth, under date of 
 July 11, 1 86 1, is a typical case: 
 
 SIR: I know not that any person has given information to any of the 
 United States officers in regard to the position of the Indian Tribes con- 
 nected with the Southern Superintendency. 
 
 I am just arrived from the Seminole Country where for a year I 
 have been employed as [illegible] to induce the Seminoles to establish 
 schools. In Sept. last the chiefs applied to the Department to set aside 
 $5000 for this purpose, but never heard from their application, and their 
 Ag't soon became too deeply interested in the politics of the Country to 
 pay much attention to the affairs of the tribe. 
 
 From the time the secession movement began to ripen into treason, 
 the Chief of the Seminoles has constantly sought information on the sub- 
 ject, and whenever I rec'd a mail he would bring an Interpreter & re- 
 main with me until all had been read and explained. 
 
 After the Forts west were taken possession of by the Texans, the 
 tribes living under the protection of Government around Fort Cobb 
 came into the Seminole Country, seeking the counsel of the Seminoles as 
 to what they should do, hostility to the Texans, being with them strength- 
 ened by the recollection of recent wrongs. The Seminoles gave them 
 permission to reside on their lands, and advised them to interfere with 
 neither party, should both be represented in the country. 
 
 The Texan officers sent several letters among them & left Commis- 
 sioners at Cobb to treat with them offering to them the same protection 
 before enjoyed while the Government of the U. S. was represented 
 among them. A letter was also sent to the Seminoles signed by Geo. 
 W. Welch, "Capt - Commanding the Texan troops in the service of the 
 Southern Confederacy" which asserted that the Northern people were 
 determined to take away their lands Gf negroes, that the old Gov't would 
 never be able to fulfill her treaty stipulations and wound up by asking 
 them to place their interests under the protection of the Southern Con- 
 federacy. 
 
 Very soon aferwards Capt- Albert G. Pike "Commissioner for the 
 Confederate States of America" wrote to the Seminole Chief from the 
 Creek Agency, asking that he should meet him at that place with six of 
 his best men fully authorized to treat with him. He also asked for a 
 body of Seminole warriors, & promised as "good perhaps better treaty" 
 than their old one. His letter was backed up by one from Washburn 
 (formerly Seminole Ag't) who gave a glowing description of treason, 
 representing to the Indians that the U.S. could never pay one dollar of 
 the moneys due them, that European Nations were committed to the 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 85 
 
 veloping rapidly in Texas. By the middle of February, 
 conditions were such that steps might be taken to order 
 
 cause of the Rebels, and entreated, prayed, almost commanded them to 
 take the step so essential to their political salvation. This Washburn 
 had once been engaged in a money transaction with two of the Chiefs 
 which swindled the nation out of many thousands of dollars, and while 
 they came near losing their heads in the operation, he escaped, & still 
 enjoys great personal popularity with the tribe. No man knows better 
 how to approach Indians. He was born among them of missionary 
 parents, & like all southern men, who regret their northern parentage, 
 he is the most rabid of violent traitors. The day after these letters were 
 rec'd the Chief (John Jumper) spent at my house. He felt true to the 
 treaties, & said that all his people were with the Government, but, the 
 Forts west were in possession of its enemies, their Agent would give 
 them no information on the subject, & he feared that his country would 
 be overrun, if he did not yield. 
 
 I told him plainly that Government was shamefully misrepresented, 
 that the treaties bound him to all the states alike, that the U.S. could not 
 fall with all the Army & Navy at her disposal, & that should the South 
 ever succeed in gaining her own independence the free States would 
 fight till not a man, woman or child was left, before yielding one inch 
 of Territory to the rebels. The war being entered into not so much 
 either for or against slavery in the states, as to protect the Constitutional 
 rights of Government in the Territories. The Chief told me that all the 
 full Indians everywhere were with the Gov't, that he did not wish to 
 fight, nor did his people, they had hoped to be left to themselves untill 
 the whites settled their quarrels, his people had enough of war in Flor- 
 ida, & were now anxious for peace. He would however go to the Creek 
 Agency Sc tell Capt. Pike & Ben McCulloch their determination. I be- 
 lieve the object of Pike in drawing the Seminoles to the Creek country 
 was that he could thus bring Creek influence to bear upon them. When 
 Pike's letter came, the Bearer sent word to the Chief to meet him ten 
 miles below, where they were read, but this caution did not keep them 
 out of sight, as the Chief immediately brought them to me, to whom as 
 clerk they should have come at first, but a "white man" was declared to 
 be the adviser of the Seminoles, for whom a black jack limb would soon 
 suffice. I knew it dangerous to await the arrival of my ranger friends, 
 & with my wife I left on horseback, traveling in a Kickapoo trail, com- 
 ing in above the Creek country, as they had seceded - 1 was questioned 
 a good deal in the Cherokee Nation, but not interfered with as I was 
 personally acquainted with their leading half breeds, and my wife being 
 fortunate enough to have a Virginia birth and a brother in Missouri. 
 
 When within a half hour's travel of the Neosho River, my shot gun 
 was taken by a company of men, organized that day -the 2d after Sey- 
 mour was killed - they said "to clean out Kansas Jay hawkers." 
 
 The influence of Capt Pike the Rebel Commissioner is second to no 
 
86 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 the evacuation of the state by Federal troops. This was 
 finally done under authority of the Committee of Pub- 
 man's among the Southern Indians & I fear that he may succeed in his 
 intrigues with the other tribes, the Creeks, Chickasaws, & Choctaws 
 having already gone. The Cherokees refuse to go as a Nation, & no one 
 is a firmer friend to the Union than John Ross, their Chief, but traitors 
 are scheming, and the half breeds in favor of the South, want an army 
 to come in, in which event they promise to be "forced in" to the Arms 
 of Jeff. Davis, & the select crowd of traitors at Montgomery. 
 
 There are many true & loyal men even among the half breeds, some 
 of the Judges of their courts I know to be so, while all the full blood 
 element is with the Gov't. 
 
 The half breeds belong to the K. G. C. a society whose sole object is 
 to increase & defend slavery and the full bloods have - not to be out- 
 done - got up a secret organization called the "pins" which meets among 
 mountains, connecting business with Ball-playing, and this is under- 
 stood to be in favor of Gov't, at least when a half breed at Webers 
 falls raised a secession flag, the "pins" turned out to haul it down & 
 were only stopped by a superior force, they retired swearing that "it 
 should yet be done & its raiser killed" and now Sir, let me say a word 
 in behalf of the full Indians who make up in devotion to our Gov't 
 what they lack in knowledge. 
 
 I sometimes hear rejoicing on the part of Northern people, that these 
 tribes are seceding, because they say such violation of their treaties 
 will lose them their lands, whose beauty & fertility have long been ad- 
 mired by western farmers. I have been twelve years among these 
 tribes & I know the full bloods to be loyal to the Gov't. That Gov't 
 is bound by treaties to protect these nations, to keep up Forts for that 
 purpose. The forts are deserted, the soldiers are gone. The Agents 
 are either resigned or, working under "confederate" commissions. The 
 Indians are told that the old Gov't is bankrupt, that it must die, that 
 England & France will help the South, That they are southern Indians 
 & own slaves, & have interests only with & in the south, That the war 
 is waged by the North for the sole purpose of killing slavery, & steal- 
 ing the Indian lands etc. etc. What have the Indians with which to 
 disprove this? The "Confederate" Gov't is represented there by an 
 army & Commissioners, but the United States have not been heard from 
 for six months. Every battle is believed to be against the old Gov't 
 & those who control the news know in what shape it should go to have 
 influence. The Seminole Agent, Col. Rutherford, has never lifted his 
 finger to give information or advice to the Indians under his charge - 
 He said before Mr. Lincoln took his seat as President that he would not 
 receive a reappointment from him, but would serve until it should come, 
 which means that his love of money would enable him to make an oc- 
 casional visit to the Agency buildings, but his fear for & sympathy with 
 Ark. rebels, would keep him from doing anything to endanger their 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 87 
 
 lie Safety 123 and the general in command, D. E. Twiggs 
 of Georgia, compliantly yielded. His small show of 
 resistance seemed, under the circumstances, a mere pre- 
 tense, although he had his reasons, and good ones too, 
 perfectly satisfactory to himself, for doing what he did. 
 Two main conditions were attached to the agreement of 
 surrender; 124 one, exacted by General Twiggs, to the 
 effect that his men be allowed to retain their arms, com- 
 missary stores, camp and garrison equipage, and the 
 means of transportation; the other, exacted by the 
 Texan commissioners, that the troops depart by way of 
 the coast and not overland, as the United States War 
 Department had designed when, a short time before, it 
 had ordered a similar removal. 123 The precaution of 
 
 interests. A proper officer could have kept the Seminoles from sending 
 a delegation to Capt. Pike, as well as in the Creek country one could 
 have kept the Creeks loyal. That there has been the most culpable neg- 
 lect on the part of its officers to the interests of the Genl Gov't needs 
 no demonstration - The cry has been : "More favorable treaties can now 
 be made with the South than after the war, as it will show that the 
 Indians are at heart with the South" - No doubt is allowed to be felt 
 as to the issue of the war. The agents who hold Commissions from 
 Mr. Lincoln & go to Montgomery to have Jeff. Davis endorse them, 
 show a faith in the issue, that is not lost upon the Indians. 
 
 A Capt. Brown of the Chickasaw tribe was commanding at Ar- 
 buckle, in the absence of Col. McKing who was at Tishimingo where 
 the legislature was in session. He informed me that the Texans would 
 not come over until the Choctaws & Chickasaws had given them to un- 
 derstand that "it would be all right" - At the time these nations did not 
 wish to invite them, it would have been too palpable a violation of 
 treaties, tho' they took command of the Fort, whether under their na- 
 tional authorities, or the "Confederate" I do not know which. 
 
 Letters now in possession of the Seminole Chief will prove much 
 herein stated. I told the chief to preserve those letters & all others 
 which he might receive of a like nature. . . - General Files, Southern 
 Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ci348. 
 128 Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 513. 
 Ibid., 515-516. 
 
 126 The order was one of the many, dictated by the policy of "no coercion," 
 that issued in the last days of Buchanan's administration and the first of Lin- 
 coln's. A few of them, affecting or designed to affect the frontier, may as well 
 
88 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 forcing a coastwise journey 126 was taken by the Texan 
 commissioners to consume time and to prevent the 
 troops being retained in states or territories through 
 which transit lay for possible future use against 
 Texas. The easy compliance of General Twiggs 12 
 undoubtedly merits some censure and yet was perfectly 
 well justified to his own conscience by the exigencies of 
 the situation and by the fact that he had repeatedly 
 asked for orders as to what he should do in the event 
 of an emergency and had received none. The circum- 
 stance of his surrender and the resulting triumph of the 
 secessionist element could not fail to have its effect upon 
 the watchful Indians to whom the exhibition of present 
 power was everything. 
 
 That the Texan secessionists fully appreciated the 
 strategic position of the Indian nations and the absolute 
 necessity of making some sort of terms with them was 
 brought out by the action of the convention at its first 
 session. An ordinance was passed "to secure the 
 friendship and co-operation of the Choctaw, Cherokee, 
 Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations of Indians ;" 
 and three men, James E. Harrison, James Bourland, and 
 Charles A. Hamilton, were appointed as commis- 
 
 be listed in chronological order. On the thirteenth of February, an aban- 
 donment of Fort Smith was ordered [Official Records, first sen, vol. i, 654.]. 
 The citizens protested and the order was countermanded [ibid., 655]. On 
 the fifteenth of the same month, General Scott ordered, in the event of seces- 
 sion, all United States troops from Texas, via Fort Belknap and the Indian 
 country, to Fort Leavenworth [ibid., 589]. On the eighteenth of March, a 
 similar abandonment of Arkansas and the Indian country was arranged for 
 [ibid., 667]. 
 
 126 Official Records, first ser., vol. liii, supplement, pp. 626, 628, 629. 
 
 127 General Twiggs was then waiting to be relieved of his command, hav- 
 ing personally requested to be relieved, his sense of embarrassment being strong 
 and his unwillingness to take responsibility, extreme. Robert E. Lee, brevet 
 colonel, Second United States Cavalry, was relieved from duty in Texas and 
 ordered to repair to Washington, by orders of February 4, 1861 [Official 
 Records, first ser., vol. i, 586]. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 89 
 
 sioners 128 "to proceed to said nations and invite their 
 
 128 Commissioners of some sort had been sent to the Indians even before 
 this. They do not seem to have been, in any sense, agents of Texas, indeed, 
 the ones particularly in mind were from Arkansas ; but Texas may have taken 
 her cue from their appointment. Their presence in the Indian country is 
 sufficiently attested by the following correspondence: 
 
 I have been informed today that persons purporting to act in the 
 capacity of Commissioners are now visiting the Indian nations on our 
 frontier - preparatory to forming an alliance with them to furnish them 
 with arms and munitions of war, in violation of subsisting treaties and 
 the laws of the United States. Occupying the position I do as a Civil 
 officer of the Government in discharge of my duty as well as instruc- 
 tions, It is my duty to make inquiry and report such a state of facts as 
 may-exist in relation to the same. And having no authentic informa- 
 tion in relation to this matter other than public rumor, I have believed 
 it my duty to address you knowing that if such projects are in embryo 
 or consummation that they cannot escape your vigilance ; and that from 
 you I shall be informed of the same, that, they may be communicated 
 from a reliable official source to the authorities at Washington for their 
 action. - JOHN B. OGDEN, United States commissioner, to John Ross, 
 dated Van Buren, February 15, 1861 [Indian Office, General Files, 
 Cherokee, 1859-1865, 032]. 
 
 I have received your communication of the i$th inst. - stating that 
 you have been informed that persons purporting to act in the capacity 
 of commissioners are now visiting the Indian Nations on the frontier 
 preparatory to forming an alliance. . . 
 
 It is currently rumored in the Country that Mr. R. J. Cowart-the 
 U. S. Agent - is officially advocating the secession policy of the Southern 
 States and that he is endeavoring to influence the Cherokees to take 
 sides and act in concert with the seceded States -At the same time ut- 
 tering words of denunciation against all the distinguished Patriots who 
 are exerting their efforts, to devise measures of reconciliation in Con- 
 gress as well as those in the Peace Convention at Washington for the 
 Preservation of the Union. 
 
 Mr. Cowart brought out with him from the State of Georgia a man 
 named - Solomon - who is a notorious drunken brawling disunionist. 
 He is strolling about Tahlequah under the permission of the socalled 
 "U.S. Agent" - and is creating strife & getting into difficulties with 
 citizens of the Nation - a perfect nuisance to the peace and good order 
 of society. 
 
 The conduct and general deportment of this man, also of the Agent 
 being in direct violation of the laws and Treaties of the United States - 
 they should be removed out of the Cherokee Country. 
 
 For further information as to such facts relating to the subjects of 
 your enquiry, I have to refer you at present to Mr. W. P. Ross for what 
 he may be in possession of. . . - JOHN Ross to John B. Ogden, Febru- 
 ary 28, 1861 [Indian Office, General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 032]. 
 
90 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 prompt co-operation in the formation of a Southern 
 Confederacy." 129 
 
 Now before following these men in the execution of 
 their mission, it may be advisable, for breadth of view, 
 to illustrate how Texas still further made Indian rela- 
 tions an issue most prominent in all the earlier stages 
 of her secession movement; but at the very outset it must 
 be admitted that, in so doing, she differentiated care- 
 fully between the civilized and the uncivilized tribes. 
 With the one group she was ready to seek an alliance, 
 offensive and defensive, but with the other to wage a 
 relentless, exterminating war. The failure of the 
 United States central government to protect her against 
 the aggressions and the atrocities so-called of the wild 
 tribes was cited by her as one principal justification for 
 withdrawal from the Union, 130 her obvious purpose be- 
 ing to gain thereby the adherence of the northern coun- 
 ties, non-slaveholding but frontier. Almost conversely, 
 on the other hand, Governor Houston gave as one good 
 and sufficient reason for not withdrawing from the 
 Union, the fear that should the Union be dissolved the 
 wild tribes, who were now, in a measure, restrained 
 from committing depredations and enormities by the 
 very nature of their treaty guaranties, would be literally 
 let loose upon Texas. 131 As far as the civilized tribes 
 were concerned, however, all were of one mind and that 
 took the form of the conviction that so great was the 
 necessity of gaining and holding the confidence of the 
 Indians, that Texas must not procrastinate in joining 
 
 129 Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 322. 
 
 "OTenney, W. J. Military and Naval History of the Rebellion in the 
 United States, 134. 
 
 181 Letter to the Alabama commissioner, J. M. Calhoun, January 7, 1861 
 [Official Records, fourth sen, vol. i, 74]. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 91 
 
 her fortunes with those of her sister states in the Con- 
 federacy. 132 
 
 James E. Harrison and his colleagues started out 
 upon the performance of the duties assigned them, Feb- 
 ruary 27, 1 86 1. Their report 133 of operations and of 
 observations being somewhat difficult of access and its 
 contents not easily summarized, is herewith appended. 
 Its fullness of detail is especially to be commended. 
 
 We . . . crossed Red River and entered the Chickasaw 
 Nation about thirty miles southwest of Fort Washita; visited 
 and held a private conference with His Excellency Governor C. 
 Harris and other distinguished men of that nation, who fully 
 appreciated our views and the object of our mission. They in- 
 formed us that a convention of the Chickasaws and Choctaws 
 was in a few days to convene at Boggy Depot, in the Choctaw 
 Nation, to attend to some municipal arrangements. We, in 
 company with Governor Harris and others, made our way to 
 Boggy Depot, conferring privately with the principal men on 
 our route. We arrived at Boggy Depot on the loth day of 
 March. Their convention or council convened on the nth. 
 Elected a president of the convention ( Ex-Governor Walker, of 
 the Choctaw Nation) ; adopted rules of decorum. On the I2th 
 we were waited on by a committee of the convention. Intro- 
 duced as commissioners from Texas, we presented our creden- 
 tials and were invited to seats. The convention then asked to 
 hear us, when Mr. James E. Harrison addressed them and a 
 crowded auditory upon the subject of our mission, setting forth 
 the grounds of our complaint against the Government of the 
 United States, the wrongs we had suffered until our patience 
 had become exhausted, endurance had ceased to be a virtue, our 
 duty to ourselves and children demanded of us a disruption of 
 the Government that had ceased to protect us or to regard our 
 rights; announced the severance of the old and the organization 
 of a new Government of Confederate Sovereign States of the 
 
 132 "Report of a Committee of the Convention, being an address to the 
 people of Texas, March 30, i86i."-/W/., 199. 
 
 133 Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 322-325. 
 
92 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 South, with a common kindred, common hopes, common interest, 
 and a common destiny ; discussed the power of the new Govern- 
 ment, its influence, and wealth; the interest the civilized red 
 man had in this new organization ; tendering them our warmest 
 sympathy and regard, all of which met the cordial approbation 
 of the convention. 
 
 The Choctaws and Chickasaws are entirely Southern and are 
 determined to adhere to the fortunes of the South. They were 
 embarrassed in their action by the absence of their agents and 
 commissioners at Washington, the seat of Government of the 
 Northern Confederacy, seeking a final settlement with that Gov- 
 ernment. They have passed resolutions authorizing the raising 
 of a minute company in each county in the two nations, to be 
 drilled for actual service when necessary. Their convention 
 was highly respectable in numbers and intelligence, and the busi- 
 ness of the convention was dispatched with such admirable de- 
 corum and promptness as is rarely met with in similar delibera- 
 tive bodies within the States. 
 
 On the morning of the I3th, hearing that the Creeks (or 
 Maskokys) and Cherokees were in council at the Creek agency, 
 on the Arkansas River, 140 miles distant, we immediately set 
 out for that point, hoping to reach them before their adjourn- 
 ment. In this we were disappointed. They had adjourned 
 two days before our arrival. We reached that point on Satur- 
 day evening. On Sunday morning, hearing that there was a 
 religious meeting five miles north of the Arkansas River, in the 
 Creek Nation, Mr. James E. Harrison attended, which proved 
 to be of the utmost importance to our mission. The Reverend 
 Mr. H. S. Buckner was present, with Chilly Mclntosh, D. N. 
 Mclntosh, Judge Marshall, and others, examining a translation 
 of a portion of the Scriptures, hymn book, and Greek grammar 
 by Mr. Buckner into the Creek language. Mr. Buckner 
 showed us great kindness, and did us eminent service, as did also 
 Elder Vandiven, at whose house we spent the night and portion 
 of the next day with these gentlemen of the Creek Nation, and 
 through them succeeded in having a convention of the five 
 nations called by Governor Motey Kinnaird, of the Creeks, to 
 meet at North Fork (Creek Nation) on the 8th of April. 
 
 In the intermediate time we visited the Cherokee Nation, 
 calling on their principal men and citizens, conversing with 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 93 
 
 them freely until we reached Tahlequah, the seat of government. 
 Near this place Mr. John Ross resides, the Governor of the 
 nation. We called on him officially. We were not unex- 
 pected, and were received with courtesy, but not with cordiality. 
 A long conference was had with him, conducted by Mr. Har- 
 rison on the part of the commissioners, without, we fear, any 
 good result. He w r as very diplomatic and cautious. His posi- 
 tion is the same as that held by Mr. Lincoln in his inaugural ; 
 declares the Union not dissolved ; ignores the Southern Govern- 
 ment. The intelligence of the nation is not with him. Four- 
 fifths, at least, are against his views, as we learned from observa- 
 tion and good authorities. He, as we learned, had been urged 
 by his people to call a council of the nation (he having the only 
 constitutional authority to do so), to take into consideration the 
 embarrassed condition of political affairs in the States, and to 
 give some expression of their sentiments and sympathies. This 
 he has persistently refused to do. His position in this is that of 
 Sam. Houston in Texas, and in all probability will share the 
 same fate, if not a worse one. His people are already oppressed 
 by a Northern population letting a portion of territory pur- 
 chased by them from the United States, to the exclusion of 
 natives, and we are creditably informed that the Governors of 
 some two or more of the Western free-soil States have recom- 
 mended their people emigrating to settle the Cherokee country. 
 It is due Mr. John Ross, in this connection, to say that during 
 our conference with him he frequently avowed his sympathy for 
 the South, and that, if Virginia and the other Border States 
 seceded from the Government of the United States, his people 
 would declare for the Southern Government that might be 
 formed. The fact is not to be denied or disguised that among 
 the common Indians of the Cherokees there exists a considerable 
 abolition influence, created and sustained by one Jones, a North- 
 ern missionary of education and ability, who has been among 
 them for many years, and who is said to exert no small influence 
 with John Ross himself. 
 
 From Tahlequah we returned to the Creek Nation, and had 
 great satisfaction in visiting their principal men the Mcln- 
 toshes, Stidhams, Smiths, Vanns, Rosses, Marshalls, and others 
 too numerous to mention. Heavy falls of rain occurred about 
 
94 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 the time the convention was to meet at North Fork, which pre- 
 vented the Chickasaws and Choctaws from attending the coun- 
 cil, the rivers and creeks being all full and impassable. The 
 Creeks, Cherokees, Seminoles, Quapa, and Socks (the three lat- 
 ter dependencies of the Creeks) met on the 8th of April. After 
 they had organized by calling Motey Kinnaird, the Governor 
 of the Creeks, to the chair, a committee was appointed to wait 
 on the commissioners present, James E. Harrison and Capt. 
 C. A. Hamilton, and invite them to appear in the convention, 
 when, by invitation, Mr. Harrison addressed the convention in 
 a speech of two hours. Our views were cordially received by 
 the convention. The Creeks are Southern and sound to a man, 
 and when desired will show their devotion to our cause by acts. 
 They meet in council on the ist of May, when they will prob- 
 ably send delegates to Montgomery to arrange with the South- 
 ern Government. 
 
 These nations are in a rapid state of improvement. The 
 chase is no longer resorted to as means of subsistence, only as an 
 occasional recreation. They are pursuing with good success 
 agriculture and stock raising. Their houses are well built and 
 comfortable, some of them costly. Their farms are well 
 planned and some of them extensive and all well cultivated. 
 They are well supplied with schools of learning, extensively 
 patronized. They have many churches and a large membership 
 of moral, pious deportment. They feel themselves to be in an 
 exposed, embarrassed condition. They are occupying a country 
 well suited to them, well watered, and fertile, with extensive 
 fields of the very best mineral coal, fine salt springs and wells, 
 with plenty of good timber, water powers which they are using 
 to an advantage. Pure slate, granite, sandstone, blue limestone, 
 and marble are found in abundance. All this they regard as 
 inviting Northern aggression, and they are without arms, to any 
 extent, or munitions of war. They declare themselves South- 
 erners by geographical position, by a common interest, by their 
 social system, and by blood, for they are rapidly becoming a 
 nation of whites. They have written constitutions, laws, etc., 
 modeled after those of the Southern States. We recommend 
 them to the fostering care of the South, and that treaty arrange- 
 ments be entered into with them as soon as possible. They can 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 95 
 
 raise 20,000 good fighting men, leaving enough at home to at- 
 tend to domestic affairs, and under the direction of an officer 
 from the Southern Government would deal destruction to an 
 approaching army from that direction, and in the language of 
 one of their principal men : 
 
 "Lincoln may haul his big guns about our prairies in the day- 
 time, but we will swoop down upon him at night from our 
 mountains and forests, dealing death and destruction to his 
 army." 
 
 No delay should be permitted in this direction. They can- 
 not declare themselves until they are placed in a defensible posi- 
 tion. The Administration of the North is concentrating his 
 forces at Fort Washita, about twenty-four miles from the Texas 
 line, and within the limits of the Chickasaw Nation. This fort 
 could easily be taken by a force of 200 or 300 good men, and it 
 is submitted as to whether in the present state of affairs a for- 
 eign government should be permitted to accumulate a large 
 force on the borders of our country, especially a portion con- 
 taining a large number of disaffected citizens who repudiate 
 the action of the State. 
 
 In this connection it may not be improper to state that from 
 North Fork to Red River we met over 120 wagons, movers 
 from Texas to Kansas and other free States. These people are 
 from Grayton, Collin, Johnson, and Denton, a country beau- 
 tiful in appearance, rich in soil, genial in climate, and inferior 
 to none in its capacity for the production of the cereals and 
 stock. In disguise, we conversed with them freely. They had 
 proposed by the ballot box to abolitionize at least that portion 
 of the State. Failing in this, we suppose at least 500 voters 
 have returned whence they came. 
 
 All of which is respectfully submitted this April 23, 
 1861. . . , 
 
 Presumably, the suggestions, contained in the closing 
 paragraphs of the commissioners' report, in so far as 
 they concerned Texas, were immediately acted upon 
 by her. It was very true, as the commissioners had 
 reported, that a change was taking place in the dispo- 
 sition of Federal troops within the Indian country. 
 
96 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 About the middle of February, a complaint 134 had been 
 filed at the Indian Office by the Wichita agent, Mat- 
 thew Leeper, to the effect that men, claiming to be 
 Choctaws and Chickasaws, were trespassing upon the 
 Leased District. The Reserve Indians asked for relief 
 and protection at the hands of their guardian, the 
 United States government. Shortly afterwards, per- 
 haps in a measure in response to the appeal or more 
 likely, to a hint that everything was not quite as it 
 should be on the Texan border, Colonel William H. 
 Emory, First United States Cavalry, was ordered, 
 March i3, 186 to take post at Fort Cobb. He was then 
 in Washington and, immediately upon his departure 
 thence, was ordered, March i8, 186 to form his regiment 
 at Fort Washita instead, word having come from the 
 commander at that post, 137 in a report of the third in- 
 stant, of a threatened attack by Texans. In explanation 
 of a policy so vacillating, Emory was given to under- 
 stand that the change of destination was really made at 
 the solicitation of the agent and delegation of the Chick- 
 asaws. Those men were in Washington, out of reach 
 of and apparently out of sympathy with, the events 
 transpiring at home. Agent Cooper, secessionist 
 though he was, probably did not altogether approve of 
 the interference of the Texans. At any rate, he shared 
 the representations of the Chickasaw delegation that 
 Fort Washita stood in need of reenforcement, 138 and 
 the War Department acceded to their request on the 
 ground that, "The interests of the United States are 
 
 is* Leeper to Greenwood, February 12, 1861 [General Files, Wichita, 
 1860-1861, L373]. 
 
 135 Official Records, first sen, vol. i, 656. 
 
 Ibid., 660. 
 
 Ibid., 648. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 97 
 
 paramount to those of the friendly Indians on the reser- 
 vation near Fort Cobb." 139 
 
 Emory's orders further comprehended a concentra- 
 tion of all the troops at Fort Washita that were then 
 at that place and at Forts Cobb and Arbuckle; 140 but 
 the orders were discretionary in their nature and per- 
 mitted his leaving a small force at the more northern 
 posts should circumstances warrant or demand it. On 
 the nineteenth, General Scott had had a conference 
 with Senator Charles B. Mitchell of Arkansas and, in 
 deference to Mitchell's opinion, still further modified 
 his orders to Emory so that, while leaving him the bulk 
 of his discretionary power, he recommended that, if 
 advisable, Emory retain one company at Fort Cobb. 141 
 In any event, one company of infantry was to move in 
 advance from Fort Arbuckle to Fort Washita. 142 
 
 Up to the twenty-fourth of March, at which time he 
 left Memphis, Colonel Emory made pretty good time 
 in his attempt to reach his destination ; but from Mem- 
 phis on his movements were unavoidably and consider- 
 ably hampered. Low water in the Arkansas detained 
 him for several days so that he deemed it prudent to 
 send his orders on ahead to the commanding officer at 
 Fort Arbuckle "to commence the movement upon Fort 
 Washita, and, in the event of the latter place being 
 threatened, to march to its support with his whole 
 force." 143 On reaching Fort Smith, Emory found that 
 matters had come to a crisis in Arkansas and, touching 
 
 139 Official Records, first sen, vol. i, 656. 
 
 140 The Indian Office protested against a reduction of the forts because of 
 treaty guaranties to the Indians [Dole to Smith, April 30, 1861, Indian Office, 
 Report Book, no. 12, p. 152]. 
 
 141 Townsend to Emory, March 21, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. 
 
 f 659}- 
 
 142 Same to same, ibid., 660. 
 
 143 Emory to Townsend, April 2, 1861 [ibid., 660]. 
 
98 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 the disposition of his force and the objects of his mis- 
 sion, allowed himself to be unduly influenced in his 
 judgment by men of local predilections. 144 It was upon 
 their advice and upon the urgent pleadings of Matthew 
 Leeper, 145 Indian agent on the Leased District, that he 
 exercised his discretionary power as to the disposal of 
 troops, without listening to his military subordinates 14 
 or having viewed the locality for himself. In the in- 
 terests of these local petitioners, 147 he even enlarged 
 upon Mitchell's recommendation and concluded to 
 leave two companies at Fort Cobb as one was deemed 
 altogether inadequate to the protection of so isolated 
 
 144 At the time, when it was intended to remove all the troops from Fort 
 Cobb for purposes of concentration farther south and nearer to the source of 
 danger, instructions were issued that the Reserve Indians, whose peculiar 
 protection Fort Cobb was, might remove within the limits of Fort Washita; 
 but the Choctaws and the Chickasaws objected and, in deference to their wishes, 
 Emory suspended the permission [Official Records, first sen, vol. i, 663], his 
 excuse being that Fort Cobb was not to be abandoned anyway. The contract- 
 ors, Johnson and Grimes, whom Superintendent Rector had so much favored, 
 had a good deal to do with the forming of this decision. They told Emory 
 that the Reserve Indians were not free to move; for they had no means and 
 that they were "hutted and planting at Fort Cobb." Quite naturally the food 
 contractors did not wish the Indians to be taken out of their reach within the 
 limits of a military reservation. 
 
 145 Matthew Leeper was very insistent. He not only wrote letters to Emory 
 arguing his case but travelled from his agency to Fort Smith to interview him. 
 
 146 Emory refused to grant the appeal of Major Sackett and Captain Prince 
 not to abandon Fort Arbuckle {Official Records, first ser., vol. 5, 666]. 
 
 147 This circumstance ought not, however, to be cited to the prejudice of 
 Colonel Emory; for it was while he was yet at Fort Smith that he manifested 
 some of the spirit that inspired Robert E. Lee, who, by the way, was in com- 
 mand of the 2nd regiment of United States cavalry and had been stationed, 
 like Emory, in Texas, and who, whether he believed in the doctrine of seces- 
 sion or not, put, as many another high-minded Southerner did, the state before 
 the nation in matters of pride, of allegiance, and of personal honor. Such men 
 as Lee belonged to quite another class from what the self-seeking politicians 
 did who, in isolated cases at least, engineered the secession movement from 
 hope of gain. Many of the Indian agents and employees belonged to this 
 latter class. Emory was unlike Lee in the final result; for he did not ulti- 
 mately conclude to go with his state. It was he who later on commanded, as 
 a Union brigadier-general, the defences of New Orleans. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 99 
 
 a post. It never seems to have occurred to him that the 
 attack would have to come from the south, from the 
 direction of Fort Washita, and that a force large 
 enough to be efficient at either Fort Washita or Fort 
 Arbuckle would necessarily protect Fort Cobb and the 
 Indians of the Leased District. 
 
 The position of the Indians in the Leased District 
 was serious in the extreme. They lived in mortal 
 terror of the Texans and their agent, the man placed 
 over them by the United States government, was now 
 an avowed secessionist. He was a Texan and declared, 
 as so many another southerner did from General Lee 
 down, that honor and loyalty compelled him to go with 
 his state. In February, he had been in Washington 
 City, settling his accounts with the government and 
 estimating for the next two quarters in accordance with 
 the rulings and established usage of the Indian Office. 
 On his way west and back to his agency, he was waylaid 
 by a man of the name of "Burrow," very probably 
 Colonel N. B. Burrow, acting under authority from 
 the state of Arkansas, who despoiled him of part of his 
 travelling equipment and then suffered him to go on 
 his way. 148 Leeper reached his agency to find the In- 
 dians greatly excited. He endeavored to allay their 
 fears, assuring them that the Texans would do them no 
 harm. Soon, however, came his own defection and he 
 thenceforward made use of every means, either to make 
 the way easy for the Texans or to induce the Indians to 
 side with them against the United States. 
 
 While Emory was dilly-dallying at Fort Smith, the 
 Texans made their preparations 149 for invading the In- 
 
 148 See Appendix B, Leeper Papers. 
 
 149 Very early, as has already been commented upon, the Texans bethought 
 them of securing the Indian alliance. Additional evidence is to be found in 
 such a request as Henry E. McCulloch made of Secretary Walker, on the occa- 
 
ioo The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 dian country and a regiment of volunteers under Will- 
 iam C. Young, once a planter of Braganza County and 
 now state regimental colonel, moved towards the Red 
 River. There is something to show that they came at 
 the veiled invitation 15 of the Indians. At any rate they 
 seem to have felt pretty sure of a welcome 151 and were 
 close at hand when Colonel Emory reached Fort 
 Washita. He reached Fort Washita to find that the 
 concentration of troops, even of such as his ill-advised 
 orders would permit, had not yet fully taken place, that 
 his supplies had been seized by the Texans, and that a 
 general attack by them upon the poorly fortified posts 
 
 sion of his brother Ben's having passed over to him the charge originally con- 
 ferred upon himself of raising a regiment of mounted troops for the defence 
 of the frontier. Henry E. McCulloch requested Secretary Walker to permit him 
 
 To use some of the friendly Indians in the Indian Territory, if I can 
 procure their services, in my scouting parties and expeditions against 
 the hostile Indians. These people can be made of great service to us, 
 and can be used without any great expense to the Government. - Official 
 Records, first ser., vol. i, 618. 
 
 150 Letter of Carruth, July n, 1861. 
 
 151 As proof that the Texans regarded the Choctaws and the Chickasaws 
 as friends, the two following letters may be cited: 
 
 A letter from John Hemphill and W. S. Oldham, two of the represen- 
 tatives from Texas in the Provisional Congress, to Secretary Walker, March 
 30, 1861, outlining a scheme of defence for Texas in which the admission was 
 made that, from the southwest corner of Arkansas to Preston on the Red 
 River, Texas needed no defense as her neighbors on that side were, "the 
 highly-civilized and agricultural tribes of Choctaws and Chickasaws, who are 
 in friendship with Texas and the Confederate States." - Official Records, first 
 sen, vol. i, 619. 
 
 A letter from E. Kirby Smith, major, Artillery, Confederate States of 
 America, to Walker, April 20, 1861, to the effect that, 
 
 In considering the defense of the line of the western frontier of 
 Texas our relations with the civilized Indians north of Red River are 
 of the utmost importance. Numbering some eight thousand rifles, they 
 form a strong barrier on the north, forcing the line of operations of an 
 invading army westward into a region impracticable to the passage of 
 large bodies of troops. Regarding them as our allies, which their nat- 
 ural affinities make them, the line of the western frontier reduces itself to 
 the country between the Rio Grande and Red River. - Official Records, 
 first sen, vol. i, 628. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 101 
 
 was to be hourly expected. Emory, thereupon, re- 
 solved to withdraw from Fort Washita towards Ar- 
 buckle and Cobb. The day after he did so, April 16, 
 Young's troops entered in force. Emory hurried for- 
 ward to strengthen Fort Cobb and, indeed, to relieve 
 it, taking, in his progress, the open prairie road that his 
 cavalry might be more available. On the way, 152 he 
 was joined by United States troops from Fort Arbuckle, 
 the Texans in close pursuit. Fort Arbuckle was occu- 
 pied by them in turn and then Fort Cobb, Emory never 
 so much as attempting to enter the place; for he 
 found its garrison in flight to the northeast. Fugitives 
 all together, the Federal troops, piloted by a Delaware 
 Indian, Black Beaver, 153 hurried onwards towards Fort 
 Leavenworth. They seem to have made no lengthy 
 stop until they were safe across the Arkansas River 164 
 
 162 Between Fort Washita and Fort Arbuckle, Colonel Emory was over- 
 taken by William W. Averell, second lieutenant, Regiment Mounted Rifles, 
 with additional despatches from Townsend, ordering him, upon their receipt, 
 immediately to repair to Fort Leavenworth, "with all the troops in the Indian 
 country west of Arkansas" [ibid., 667]. Lieutenant Averell's own account of 
 his experiences on the journey between Washington City and Fort Washita, 
 the hardships, difficulties, and delays, also the frenzied excitement of the Ar- 
 kansas people over the prospect of secession, forms an interesting narrative 
 [ibid., vol. liii, supplement, 488, 493-496]. 
 
 153 Black Beaver had served creditably as United States interpreter for the 
 Wichitas and recently Leeper had turned to him for help in allaying their 
 fears [Leeper to Rector, dated Wichita Agency, March 28, 1861, Leeper 
 Papers'}. For services rendered on this expedition northward to Fort Leaven- 
 worth [Letter of W. S. Robertson, September 30, 1861, General Files, Southern 
 Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ri6is], Black Beaver brought a claim against 
 the United States [E. S. Parker to J. D. Cox, July i, 1869, Indian Office, 
 Report Book, no. 18, pp. 417-418 ; and same to same, April 25, 1870, ibid., no. 
 *9 P- 3 2I 1- Evidently Black Beaver served also in the Mexican War. He 
 was then head of a company of mounted volunteers, Shawnees and Delawares 
 [George W. Manypenny to Drew, August 8, 1854], which had been called and 
 mustered into the service by Harney [P. Clayton, 2nd auditor, to A. K. Par- 
 ris, 2nd comptroller, October 26, 1850]. 
 
 184 Emory to Townsend, May 19, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. 
 1, 648]. 
 
IO2 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 and their flight may well be said to have been a precip- 
 itous one. Behind them, at Fort Arbuckle, Colonel 
 Young took possession of abandoned property and 
 placed it in the care of the Chickasaw Indians, 155 who 
 had materially aided him in his attack. His next move 
 was to negotiate, 156 unauthoritatively, a treaty with the 
 Reserve Indians, gaining the promise of their alliance 
 upon the understanding that the Confederacy, in return, 
 would feed and protect them. Fort Cobb was rifled 
 and the Indians made rich, in their own estimation, 
 with booty. 157 Colonel Young seems then to have 
 drawn back towards the Red River; but for several 
 months he continued to occupy with his forces, 158 under 
 the authority of Texas and with the consent of the 
 Chickasaw Indians, the three frontier posts that Emory 
 had been instructed to guard; viz., Forts Washita, Ar- 
 buckle, and Cobb. 
 
 If Texas took time by the forelock in her anxiety to 
 secure the Indian country and its inhabitants, Arkansas 
 most certainly did the same; and, in the undertaking, 
 various things told to her advantage, among which, not 
 the least important was the close family relationship 
 existing between her secessionist governor, Henry M. 
 
 155 Captain S. T. Benning to Walker, May 14, 1861 [Official Records, first 
 ser., vol. i, 653.] 
 isa 
 
 157 Leeper to Rector, January 13, 1862 \Leeper Papers'}. 
 
 158 A note, communicated by X. B. Debray, aide-de-camp to the Governor 
 of Texas, to Walker and dated, Richmond, August 28, 1861, says, 
 
 The governor of Texas being convinced that the integrity of the soil 
 of Texas greatly depends upon the success of the Southern cause in Mis- 
 souri, and moved by an appeal to the people of Arkansas and Texas 
 (published at the beginning of July by General Ben. McCulloch) or- 
 dered on the 25th ultimo the raising and concentration on Red River of 
 3,000 mounted men, besides the regiment commanded by Col. W. C. 
 Young, which has been occupying for several months Forts Arbuckle, 
 Cobb, and Washita, under authority of Texas, and at the request of the. 
 Chickasaw Indians. - Official Records, first ser., vol. 5v, 98. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 103 
 
 Rector, and the southern superintendent. They were 
 cousins and, to all appearances, the best of friends. It 
 is doubtful if in any state the executive authority there- 
 of worked more energetically for secession or with 
 greater consistency and promptitude than in Arkansas. 
 Governor Rector had been elected, in the autumn of 
 1860, by the Democrats and old-line Whigs. He be- 
 longed to a numerous and most influential family, land- 
 surveyors most of them, seemingly by inheritance, and, 
 although from northern or border states originally, 
 strongly committed to the doctrine of state sovereignty. 
 The family connections were also powerful socially and 
 politically. The gubernatorial inauguration came in 
 November, 1860, and from that moment Henry M. 
 Rector and his host of relations and friends worked for 
 secession. 
 
 At the outset, Governor Rector identified the Indian 
 interests with those of Arkansas. Even in his mes- 
 sage 159 of December 11, 1860 he gave it as his opinion 
 that the two communities must together take measures 
 to prevent anti-slavery migration. It was rather late 
 in the day, however, to intimate that men of abolitionist 
 sentiments must not be allowed to cross the line, and a 
 man of the political acumen of Henry M. Rector must 
 have known it. Immediately after the general election 
 there were evidences of great excitement in Arkansas 
 and, when news 160 came that the disused arsenal at 
 Little Rock was to be occupied by artillery under Cap- 
 tain James Totten from Fort Leavenworth, it broke out 
 into expressions of public dissent. Little Rock was 
 scarcely less radical and secessionist in its views than 
 was Fort Smith and Fort Smith was regarded as a 
 regular hot-bed of sectionalism. The legislature, too, 
 
 159 House Journal, Arkansas, 1861, p. 304. 
 
 160 Confederate Military History, vol. x, 4. 
 
104 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 was filled with state-rights advocates and some of the 
 actions taken there were almost revolutionary in their 
 trend. With the new year came new alarms and false 
 reports of what was to be. Harrell records 161 that the 
 first message over the newly completed telegraph line 
 between Memphis and Little Rock was a repetition of 
 the rumor, quite without foundation, that Major Emory 
 had been ordered from Fort Gibson to reinforce Totten 
 at Little Rock, and that the effect upon Helena was 
 electrical. It is no wonder that the newspapers and 
 personal communications 162 of the time showed great 
 
 161 Confederate Military History, vol. x, 7. 
 
 iss Two letters found among the Fort Smith Papers may serve, in a meas- 
 ure, to illustrate the point: 
 
 LITTLE ROCK, ARKS, Jan* 6, 1861. 
 
 DR THAD: I received your letter a few days ago ... I am 
 thankful that there are a few righteous men left and particularly grati- 
 fied that you and Henry Lewis are true and faithful to the South. 
 
 I will endeavor to keep you posted so that you may hold your own 
 with the Union savers in sober truth the question is not whether the 
 Union ought or can be saved but whether Arkansas shall go with the 
 North or adhere to the South. Neither Fishback or anybody can pre- 
 serve the Union - it now becomes us as wise men to put our house in 
 order for the impending crisis. I wrote to Porter last night -the Sen- 
 ate have not passed the Convention bill and will not in anything like a 
 right shape. . . BEN T. Du VAL. 
 
 [Addressed to Capt. M. T. Tatum, Greenwood, Arks.]. 
 
 LITTLE ROCK ARK, January yth 1861. 
 
 DEAR THAD. I enclose you a copy of the printed bill now before 
 our House to arm and equip the Militia of this State and to appropriate 
 100,000$ for that purpose. . . We have passed a bill through the 
 House appropriating five hundred dollars to Porter to cover his losses 
 to some extent in money which he has paid out in recovering fugitives, 
 it ought to have been a good deal more, but I never worked harder for 
 anything in my life to get what we did. I think it will pass the Sen- 
 ate. The news from South Carolina indicate a Tea party at Charleston 
 before many days. From the general signs of the times I think a Com- 
 promise will be effect between the North and the South and the Union 
 saved. The Convention bill has not passed the Senate yet but will in 
 a few days I think. Give my respects to the boys generally Your obt 
 Servt JOHN T. LONDON 
 
 [Addressed to Capt. M. T. Tatum, Greenwood, Sebastian County, 
 Arkansas.] 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 105 
 
 intensity of feeling and a tendency to ring the changes 
 on a single theme. 
 
 The public indignation following the receipt of the 
 unsubstantiated rumor that Totten was to be reenforced 
 seems to have compelled the action of Governor Rector 
 in taking possession, 168 on February eighth, in the name 
 of the state of Arkansas, of the United States arsenal at 
 
 168 An interesting series of telegrams has a bearing upon that event. 
 
 February i, 1861. 
 J. J. GREEN, WILLIAM WALKER, Van Buren, Ark.: 
 
 Not possible to leave here. Southern confederacy certain. Arkansas 
 must save her children by joining it. Write by mail to-day. 
 
 JOHNSON and HINDMAN 
 Official Records, first ser., vol. liii, supplement, 617. 
 
 WASHINGTON, February 7, 1861. 
 JOHN POPE, ESQ., Little Rock, Ark.: 
 
 For God's sake do not complicate matters by an attack. It will be 
 premature and do incalculable injury. We cannot justify it. The 
 reasons that existed elsewhere for seizure do not exist with us. 
 
 ALBERT PIKE, R. W. JOHNSON. 
 
 Ibid., vol. i, 682. 
 
 U. S. SENATE, WASHINGTON, February 7, 1861. 
 His EXCELLENCY H. M. RECTOR, Little Rock, Ark. : 
 
 The motives which impelled capture of forts in other States do not 
 exist in ours. It is all premature. We implore you prevent attack on 
 arsenal if Totten resists. R. W. JOHNSON, W. K. SEBASTIAN. 
 
 Ibid., 68 1. 
 
 WASHINGTON, February 7, 1861. 
 R. H. JOHNSON, JAMES B. JOHNSON, Little Rock: 
 
 Southern States which captured forts were in the act of seceding, 
 were threatened with troops, and their ports and commerce endangered. 
 Not so with us. If Totten resists, for God's sake deliberate and go 
 stop the assault. R. W. JOHNSON. 
 
 Ibid., 681-682. 
 
 WASHINGTON, February 7, 1861. 
 GOVERNOR RECTOR, Little Rock, Ark. : 
 
 For God's sake allow no attack to be made on Fort Totten. 
 
 A. RUST. 
 
 Ibid., vol. liii, supplement, 617. 
 
 February 7, 1861. 
 E. BURGEVIN, Little Rock: 
 
 For God's sake do not attack the arsenal. It can do no good and 
 will be productive of great harm. C. B. JOHNSON. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
io6 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Little Rock; but, as a matter of fact, Rector needed only 
 an excuse, and a very slight one at that, for doing more 
 than he had already done to prove his sectional bias. 
 Nor had he forgotten or neglected the Indians. In- 
 deed, never at any time did he leave a single stone un- 
 turned in his search for inside and outside support; and, 
 notwithstanding the fact that the Arkansas Ordinance 
 of Secession was not passed until the sixth of May, 
 Governor Rector conducted himself, for months before 
 that, as though the state were a bona fide member of 
 the Confederacy. In all his audacious venturings, pro- 
 posals, and acts, he had the full and unquestioning 
 support, not only of his cousin, Elias Rector, 164 in whose 
 honor Albert Pike had written the well-known par- 
 
 LITTLE ROCK, February 8, 1861. 
 
 C. B. JOHNSON, Washington: 
 
 Spoke too late, like Irishman who swallowed egg. Arsenal in hands 
 
 of Governor. EDMUND BURGEVIN. 
 
 Official Records, first ser., vol. liii, supplement, 617. 
 
 The senders and recipients of the telegraphic dispatches were, with one 
 or two exceptions, all relatives of each other, and all in public life. Robert 
 Ward Johnson and William K. Sebastian were, at the time, United States sen- 
 ators from Arkansas; Thomas C. Hindman and Albert Rust were Arkansas 
 representatives in Congress; Albert Pike was in Washington, prosecuting the 
 Choctaw Indian claim; Edmund Burgevin was the attorney-general of Ar- 
 kansas and a brother-in-law of Governor Rector; Richard H. Johnson and 
 James Johnson were brothers of Robert W. Johnson, the former being proprie- 
 tor and editor of the Little Rock Democrat and the latter, in future years, a 
 colonel in the Confederate army. In 1868, R. W. Johnson moved to Wash- 
 ington City and became the law partner of Albert Pike. [Arkansas His- 
 torical Association, Publications, vol. ii, 268.] Hindman was the man who 
 sneered at the precautions taken to insure President-elect Lincoln's safety 
 [Stanwood, History of Presidential Elections, 235]. Sebastian was expelled 
 from the Senate because of his southern sympathies; but, as he really took no 
 active part in the Confederate movements, the resolution of expulsion was 
 rescinded in 1878. 
 
 164 It would be interesting to know whether Elias Rector had as yet for- 
 mulated any such plan for personal aggrandizement such as must have been 
 in his mind when he wrote the letter to Douglas H. Cooper that called forth 
 from Cooper the following response: 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 107 
 
 ody 165 on "The Old Scottish Gentlemen;" 166 but of the 
 leading citizens of Fort Smith and Little Rock, partic- 
 
 Private & Confidential 
 
 Copy FORT SMITH May ist 1861. 
 
 MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR 
 
 Dr. Sir: I have concluded to act upon the suggestion yours of the 
 28th Ultimo contains. 
 
 If we work this thing shrewdly we can make a fortune each, satisfy 
 the Indians, stand fair before the North, and revel in the unwavering 
 confidence of our Southern Confederacy. 
 
 My share of the eighty thousand in gold you can leave on deposite 
 with Meyer Bro, subject to my order. Write me soon. COOPER. 
 
 Indian Office, General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1863-1864., 1435. 
 The foregoing letter of Cooper's was one of those referred to in the fol- 
 lowing telegraphic communication from Special Agent G. B. Stockton to Sec- 
 retary Usher, dated Fort Smith, Arkansas, February 20, 1864: 
 
 I have just found & have now in this office a large desk containing 
 Indian papers treaties correspondence of Cooper Rector & others, corre- 
 spondence of W. P. Dole as late as May fifteenth 1861 vouchers ab- 
 stracts & correspondence convicting Rector & Cooper of enticing the 
 various tribes to become enemies of the U. S. The papers extend back 
 as far as 1834 will you please direct me what disposition to make of 
 them. 
 
 Secretary Usher referred the matter to the Office of Indian Affairs and 
 Mix instructed Stockton to send the papers on to Washington [Letter of Feb- 
 ruary 20, 1864]. This Stockton did and notified the Commissioner of Indian 
 Affairs in this wise, by telegraph : 
 
 I have boxed the Indian Papers which I found at this place, and this 
 day send them by wagons to Leavenworth City, Kansas, to be thence 
 forwarded by the American Express Company. 
 
 There seems to have been considerable delay in their transmittal after 
 they had passed into the custodianship of the express company but they 
 eventually reached the Indian Office and to-day form part of the Fort Smith 
 collection. 
 
 165 The melodious refrain of this, 
 
 That fine Arkansas gentleman, 
 Close to the Choctaw line. 
 
 unconsciously brings out one of the very ideas sought to be conveyed by the 
 present chapter; namely, the extremely close connection between Arkansas 
 and Indian Territory. 
 
 we This old, old song, "written on the model and to the air of 'The Old 
 Country Gentleman'," runs thus: 
 
 The song I'll sing, though lately made, it tells of olden days, 
 Of a good old Scottish gentleman, of good old Scottish ways; 
 
io8 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 ularly of those whose previous occupations, residence, 
 inclinations, or interests had made them conversant with 
 Indian affairs and, therefore, unusually appreciative of 
 the strategic value of the Indian country. Under such 
 circumstances, it is not at all surprising that Governor 
 Rector seized, as he did, the earliest 187 opportunity to 
 approach the Cherokees. Fort Smith at the junction 
 of the Arksansas and Poteau Rivers was only eighty 
 miles from Fort Gibson. 
 
 Before taking up for special comment Governor 
 Rector's negotiations with the Cherokees through their 
 principal chief, John Ross, it might be well to retrace 
 our steps a little in order to show how, in yet other ways, 
 Arkansas interested herself more than was natural in 
 the concerns of the Indians and made some of her citi- 
 zens, in the long run, more than ordinarily responsible 
 for the development of secessionist sentiment among the 
 southern tribes. 
 
 When David Hubbard, journeying westward as 
 special secessionist commissioner 168 from Alabama to 
 Arkansas, reached Little Rock -and that was in the 
 early winter of i86i-he soon discovered that many 
 Arkansans were not willing for their state to go out of 
 the Union unless she could take Indian Territory with 
 her. Hubbard's letter, 169 descriptive of the situation, is 
 very elucidating. It is addressed to Andrew B. 
 
 When our barons bold kept house and hold, and sung their olden lays 
 And drove with speed across the Tweed, auld Scotland's bluidy faes, 
 Like brave old Scottish gentlemen, all of the olden time. 
 Scottish Songs, printed by W. G. Blackie and Company (Glasgow). 
 
 167 The commissioners to whom Ogden referred in his letter of February 
 15, 1861, may have been the tangible evidence of Governor Rector's first at- 
 tempt to influence the Indians. 
 
 168 Fleming, Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama, 46, footnote i. 
 
 169 Smith, Debates of the Alabama Convention, 443-444; Official Records, 
 fourth sen, vol. i, 3. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 109 
 
 Moore, 170 governor of Alabama, and bears date Kin- 
 loch, Alabama, January third. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR: On receipt of your letter and appointment 
 as commissioner from Alabama to Arkansas, I repaired to Little 
 Rock and presented my credentials to the two houses, and also 
 your letter to Governor Rector, by all of whom I was politely 
 received. The Governor of Arkansas was every way disposed 
 to further our views, and so were many leading and influential 
 members of each house of the Legislature, but neither are yet 
 ready for action, because they fear the people have not yet made 
 up their minds to go out. The counties bordering on the In- 
 dian nations - Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws 
 would hesitate greatly to vote for secession, and leave those 
 tribes still under the influence of the Government at Washing- 
 ton, from which they receive such large stipends and annuities. 
 These Indians are at a spot very important, in my opinion, in 
 this great sectional controversy, and must be assured that the 
 South will do as well as the North before they could be induced 
 to change their alliances and dependence. I have much on this 
 subject to say when I get to Montgomery, which cannot well 
 be written. The two houses passed resolutions inviting me to 
 meet them in representative hall and consult together as to what 
 had best be done in this matter. When I appeared men were 
 anxious to know what the seceding States intended to do in cer- 
 tain contingencies. My appointment gave me no authority to 
 speak as to what any State would do, but I spoke freely of what, 
 in my opinion, we ought to do. I took the ground that no State 
 which had seceded would ever go back without full power be- 
 ing given to protect themselves by vote against anti-slavery 
 projects and schemes of every kind. I took the position that the 
 Northern people were honest and did fear the divine displeasure, 
 both in this world and the world to come, by reason of what 
 they considered the national sin of slavery, and that all who 
 agreed with me in a belief of their sincerity must see that we 
 could not remain quietly in the same Government with them. 
 Secondly, if they were dishonest hypocrites, and only lied to im- 
 
 170 Governor Moore had appointed the commissioners, including Hubbard, 
 on his own initiative before the convention met. See his address, Smith's De- 
 bates, 35. 
 
1 10 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 pose on others and make them hate us, and used anti-slavery 
 arguments as mere pretexts for the purpose of uniting Northern 
 sentiment against us, with a view to obtain political power and 
 sectional dominion, in that event we ought not to live with 
 them. I desired any Unionist present to controvert either of 
 these positions, which seemed to cover the whole ground. No 
 one attempted either, and I said but little more. I am satisfied, 
 from free conversations with members of all parties and with 
 Governor Rector, that Arkansas, when compelled to choose, will 
 side with the Southern States, but at present a majority would 
 vote the Union ticket. Public sentiment is but being formed, 
 but must take that direction. . . 
 
 What, in addition to that just cited, Hubbard had 
 to say about the Indians or about the profit accruing 
 from close contact with them, we have no way of know- 
 ing; but we have a right to be suspicious of the things 
 that have to be communicated by word of mouth only, 
 especially in this instance, when we remember that 
 white men have always made the Indians subjects of 
 exploitation and that Hubbard was the man whom the 
 southern Confederacy chose for its first commissioner 
 of Indian affairs, also that Hubbard's first outline of 
 work, as commissioner, in truth, his only outline, com- 
 prehended an extended visit to the Indians before 
 whom he proposed to expatiate on the financial advan- 
 tages of an adherence to the Confederacy and the inevi- 
 table financial ruin that must come from continued 
 loyalty to the Union. All things considered, it would 
 surely seem that in Hubbard's mind the money question 
 was always uppermost. 
 
 But there were others to whom the Indian income 
 was a thing of interest. At the earlier meeting of the 
 Arkansas convention, a resolution 171 had been passed, 
 March 9, 1861, authorizing an inquiry to be made into 
 the annual cost to the United States government of the 
 
 171 House Journal, Arkansas, 38. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas ill 
 
 Indian service west of Arkansas. The state adminis- 
 tration had already seized 172 the Indian funds on hand, 
 an opportunity to do so having offered itself upon the 
 occasion of the death 173 of the United States disbursing 
 officer, Major P. T. Crutchfield. But, later, for fear 
 that this might work prejudice with the Indians a reso- 
 lution 174 was passed providing that the money should 
 not be diverted from its proper uses. Because of such 
 actions and others of like direction, it is certainly safe 
 to assume that pecuniary considerations made the fron- 
 tiersmen of 1 86 1 vitally interested in Indian affairs. 
 The same influences that moved Hubbard to write his 
 letter to Governor Moore with special mention of the 
 Indians unquestionably moved the citizens of Boons- 
 boro to try, 175 without much further ado, the temper of 
 the Cherokees. 
 
 172 House Journal, Arkansas, 314, 445. 
 
 173 January 12, 1861. 
 
 174 The resolution is found in House Journal, Arkansas, 167 and in Official 
 Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 307. Its text is as follows: 
 
 Resolved, That no money or property of any kind whatever, now in 
 the hands of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, or of any Indian 
 agent, being placed there, or designed for the Indians on the western 
 frontier of Arkansas, shall be seized, but that the same shall so remain 
 to be applied to and for the use of the several Indian Nations, faithfully, 
 as was designed when so placed in their hands for disbursement. 
 
 And the people of the State of Arkansas, here in sovereign conven- 
 tion assembled, do hereby pledge the sovereignty of the State of Arkan- 
 sas, that everything in their power shall be done to compel a faithful 
 application of all money and property now in the hands of persons or 
 agents designed and intended for the several Indian tribes west of 
 Arkansas. 
 
 Adopted in and by the convention May 9, 1861. 
 
 DAVID WALKER, President of the Arkansas State Convention. 
 Attest. ELIAS C. BOUDINOT, Secretary of the Convention. 
 
 BOONSBOROUGH, ARK., May 9, 1861. 
 HON. JOHN Ross: 
 
 Dear Sir: The momentous issues that now engross the attention of 
 the American people cannot but have elicited your interest and attention 
 as well as ours. The unfortunate resort of an arbitrament of arms seems 
 now to be the only alternative. Our State has of necessity to co-operate 
 
112 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Returning now to Govenor Rector and to a recital of 
 his endeavors with the same Indian people, it is seen 
 that his approach to the Cherokees was made, as has 
 been already intimated, through their principal chief, 
 John Ross, and by means of the following most excel- 
 lently worded letter: 
 
 THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, 
 Little Rock, January 29, 1861. 
 To His EXCELLENCY JOHN Ross, 
 
 Principal Chief Cherokee Nation: 
 
 SIR: It may now be regarded as almost certain that the 
 States having slave property within their borders will, in conse- 
 quence of repeated Northern aggressions, separate themselves 
 and withdraw from the Federal Government. 
 
 South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, and 
 Louisiana have already, by action of the people, assumed this 
 attitude. Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, 
 North Carolina, and Maryland will probably pursue the same 
 course by the 4th of March next. Your people, in their institu- 
 
 with her natural allies, the Southern States. It is now only a question of 
 North and South, and the "hardest must fend off." We expect man- 
 fully to bear our part of the privations and sacrifices which the times 
 require of Southern people. 
 
 This being our attitude in this great contest, it is natural for us to 
 desire, and we think we may say we have a right, to know what posi- 
 tion will be taken by those who may greatly conduce to our interests as 
 friends or to our injury as enemies. Not knowing your political status 
 in this present contest as the head of the Cherokee Nation, we request 
 you to inform us by letter, at your earliest convenience, whether you 
 will co-operate with the Northern or Southern section, now so unhap- 
 pily and hopelessly divided. We earnestly hope to find in you and your 
 people true allies and active friends; but if, unfortunately, you prefer to 
 retain your connection with the Northern Government and give them 
 aid and comfort, we want to know that, as we prefer an open enemy to 
 a doubtful friend. 
 
 With considerations of high regard, we are, your obedient servants, 
 MARK BEAN, J. A. McCoLLocn, 
 
 W. B. WELCH, J. M. LACY, 
 
 E. W. MACCLURE, J. P. CARNAHAN, 
 JOHN SPENCER, And many others. 
 
 Official Records, first sen, vol. xiii, 493-494; Indian Office, General Files, 
 Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515. 
 
JOHN Ross, PRINCIPAL CHIEF OF THE CHEROKEES 
 
 [From Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American 
 Ethnology] 
 
THfc LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 DIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 113 
 
 tions, productions, latitude, and natural sympathies, are allied to 
 the common brotherhood of the slaveholding States. Our 
 people and yours are natural allies in war and friends in peace. 
 Your country is salubrious and fertile, and possesses the highest 
 capacity for future progress and development by the application 
 of slave labor. Besides this, the contiguity of our territory with 
 yours induces relations of so intimate a character as to. preclude 
 the idea of discordant or separate action. 
 
 It is well established that the Indian country west of Arkan- 
 sas is looked to by the incoming administration of Mr. Lincoln 
 as fruitful fields, ripe for the harvest of abolitionism, freesoilers, 
 and Northern mountebanks. 
 
 We hope to find in your people friends willing to co-operate 
 with the South in defense of her institutions, her honor, and 
 her firesides, and with whom the slaveholding States are willing 
 to share a common future, and to afford protection commen- 
 surate with your exposed condition and your subsisting monetary 
 interests with the General Government. 
 
 As a direct means of expressing to you these sentiments, I 
 have dispatched my aide-de-camp, Lieut. Col. J. J. Gaines, to 
 confer with you confidentially upon these subjects, and to report 
 to me any expressions of kindness and confidence that you may 
 see proper to communicate to the governor of Arkansas, who is 
 your friend and the friend of your people. Respectfully, your 
 obedient servant, 
 
 HENRY M. RECTOR, Governor of Arkansas. 176 
 
 Lieutenant Gaines duly started out upon his mission 
 and upon reaching Fort Smith interviewed Superin- 
 tendent Rector and received from him a letter of intro- 
 duction m to John Ross, which was, in effect, a hearty 
 endorsement of the governor's project. An inkling of 
 what Gaines was about soon came to the ears of A. B. 
 Greenwood, an Arkansan, a state-rights man, and 
 United States commissioner of Indian affairs. At the 
 
 176 Indian Office, General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515; Official Records, 
 first ser., vol. i, 683-684; vol. xiii, 490-491. 
 
 177 Indian Office, General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515; Official Records, 
 first ser., vol. i, 683. 
 
114 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 moment he was the official, intent upon doing his duty, 
 nothing more. It was then in his official capacity that 
 he straightway demanded of Agent Cowart an expla- 
 nation of Gaines's movements; but Cowart was privy 
 to Governor Rector's plans undoubtedly, a Georgian, a 
 secessionist, and one of those illiterate, disreputable, 
 untrustworthy characters that frontier or garrison 
 towns seem always to produce or to attract, the kind, 
 unfortunately for its own reputation and for the Indian 
 welfare, that the United States government has so often 
 seen fit to select for its Indian agents. More than that, 
 Cowart was a man of such base principles that he could 
 commercialize with impunity a great cause and calmly 
 continue to hold office under and to draw pay from 
 one government while secretly plotting against it in the 
 interests of another. On this occasion he attempted a 
 denial 178 of the presence of Rector's commissioner at 
 
 178 In a letter to A. B. Greenwood, dated Fort Smith, February 13, 1861, 
 he says: 
 
 On the nth Inst. I sent a dispatch to you asking for Troops and yes- 
 terday recM an answer making enquiries as to the Object for which they 
 are wanted, and asking if the Governor's Commissioner was here & 
 what was his Object. 
 
 I have just replyed in a Dispatch, that the Gov. has no Com. here 
 and has had none. I suppose you have been Tehlegraphed that there 
 was a Com. and that for mischief. Now the following are the facts in 
 the case as far as I have been able to learn them. On Saturday or Sun- 
 day last there came a young man by the name of Gains called Dr. 
 Gains from Little Rock. He stated his object was to visit the Indian 
 Tribes west of this to cultivate with them friendly Relations and stated 
 moreover that he was authorized to do so by the Gov. of Arkansas. 
 When I returned your Dispatch I went to Dr. Gains and asked him in 
 the presents of witnesses if he was acting as Com. for the Gov. of Ar- 
 kansas he replyed that he was not, and now Sir I am sorry to learn to 
 day that a rumor is afloat that I am here to aid in taking this post & 
 that by having Troops sent from here to weaken the forces. Nothing 
 can be more false. In the first place, the Citizens have no Disposition 
 to interfere with this post in any way and the truth is I see no persons 
 but the Officers and I will not judge of their motives. 
 
 Them and myself are all friendly as far as I know except it may be 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 115 
 
 Fort Smith; but the Indian Office had soon good 
 proof 179 that a commissioner had been there and that he 
 
 they object to a Speach I made here on Monday night last. I can say 
 and prove by all the best citizens of the Place that my remarks were 
 mild and conciliatory and could not be objectionable to any true Southern 
 man this the citizens of the City will bare me out, the truth is the only 
 objection they could make to my speach was that it was unanswerable 
 I told you the same when in Washington. I appeal to the Citizens for the 
 truth of what I say. I desire troops to protect the Cherokees from Ab- 
 olition forays from Kansas & the Neutral land. I am told that there 
 are three times the No. of Intruders now that there was there last fall 
 and that violent threats have been made by Kansas. 
 
 In the next place I can do nothing without Troops there and a No. of 
 lawless murderers in the Nation that cannot without Troops, and I told 
 you those things when with you last and in addition to the above facts 
 the Troops can live and support quite as comfortable and for less money 
 out there than they can here. - Indian Office, General Files, Cherokee, 
 1859-1865. 
 
 179 The proof appeared in the correspondence of John B. Ogden, commis- 
 sioner of the district court of the United States for the western district of 
 Arkansas. On March 4, 1861, Ogden wrote from Van Buren to the Secretary 
 of the Interior the following letter: 
 
 Having learned on the isth of Feby last from rumor the person ap- 
 pointed as Com r had been sent by Gov. Rector of the State of Arkansas to 
 the Indian tribes upon our frontier for co-operation in secession move- 
 ments, and the same being in violation of treaty stipulations and the laws 
 enacted by Congress regulating trade and Intercourse, I addressed a 
 letter of inquiry to John Ross principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in 
 relation to the same, which letter accompanies this with his reply- The 
 letter to me I think was intended to be confidential from its language 
 and from my conversation with the messenger who was the bearer of it 
 to me, of this however I cannot positively judge and have thought best 
 to forward the same. John Ross was unable to give me an imediate 
 answer as he was not personally advised of the subject matter. But 
 upon the return of Mr VV. P. Ross who was a delegate from the Chero- 
 kees to a General Council being held of the tribes West of Arkansas 
 in relation to their own international policy, he became advised of the 
 matter of inquiry and for the purpose of furnishing the required in- 
 formation sent Mr W. P. Ross the bearer of this letter to Van Buren 
 that he might fully communicate with me in the matter. I learn from 
 him that one Dr J. J. Gains late editor of a secession sheet at Little 
 Rock, did attend the said Council held by the Indian tribes west of 
 Arks i n the Choctaw Nation, and that said Gains announced to the 
 Council his mission to be that of a Com r from Arkansas accredited by 
 the Gov r to consult with them in relation to co-operation with the seced- 
 ing States - That he submitted a written Statement to them in reference 
 
1 1 6 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 had proceeded thence to the Cherokee country. It was 
 no other than Gaines, of course, who, when once he had 
 delivered the Rector letters to Ross, saw fit, in the 
 further interests of his mission, to attend the inter-tribal 
 council at the Creek Agency. 
 
 to their interests and future relations in the event of a dissolution of the 
 Union - but that he was guarded in his propositions - You will learn 
 from M r John Ross' letter that he informs me officially that the present 
 (agent) of the Cherokees "is officiously advocating the secession policy 
 of the southern States and that his endeavoring to influence the Chero- 
 kees to take sides and act in Concert with the Seceding Sates." - 1 can 
 state from my own information that when said Agent is in Ark 8 he is 
 invariably to be found upon the stump "open-mouthed and - " for dis- 
 union, to the great anoyance of the good people of the Country. These 
 people should be heard and their grievances redressed and the causes 
 removed, and some man of correct constitutional morals appointed in 
 his stead. We have hosts of such men in this State, and as the Incom- 
 ing Administration are not advised of persons in this country, allow me 
 to suggest that on application to the Hon. A. B. Greenwood now of 
 Washington the selection of a suitable person could be named. I have 
 no doubt, that would be satisfactory- pardon this apparent officious- 
 ness - At this time my great anxiety for the preservation of the Union 
 must be my apology for what I have said. 
 
 I also enclose you a copy of a permit furnished me by M r Ross is- 
 sued by said agent. - Indian Office, General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 
 
 Inclosures 
 
 1. John Ogden to John Ross, February 15, 1861. 
 
 2. John Ross to John B. Ogden, February 28, 1861. 
 
 3. CHEROKEE AGENCY, near Tahlequah, C.N. 
 Isaac G. Freeman, a citizen of what was formerly the United States 
 
 and a farmer by occupation has permission to remain with J. C. Cun- 
 ningham near Park Hill in said Nation and labor for the said Cunning- 
 ham for twelve months from this date subject to be removed by the 
 Agent at any time for cause. R. J. COWART, U.S. Cherokee Agent. 
 
 [Endorsement] A true copy from the original as taken by me March 
 ist 1861 WILL P. Ross 
 
 4. Newspaper clippings, one containing the Choctaw resolutions of Febru- 
 ary 7, 1861, and the other this: 
 
 Dr. J. J. Gains, (an old editor) dropped in upon us, last week, on 
 his way to Little Rock, from the Indian country. His mission was one 
 of peace, and not to "incite rebellion" as was telegraphed to Washing- 
 ton City, by some officious person. We were glad to learn from him, 
 that our border friends are all right. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 117 
 
 John Ross did not reply to Governor Rector's com- 
 munication until the anniversary of George Washing- 
 ton's birthday and he then expressed the same ideas of 
 concern, of sympathy, but also those of positive neutral- 
 ity that had characterized his advice to the Indian con- 
 ferees. He scouted, though, the very idea of the in- 
 coming administration's planning to abolitionize the 
 Indian country while at the same time he manifested 
 his utter disapproval of it. This is what he said: 
 
 TAHLEQUAH, CHEROKEE NATION, February 22, 1861. 
 His EXCELLENCY HENRY M. RECTOR, Governor of Arkansas: 
 Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your 
 Excellency's communication of the 2Qth ultimo, per your aide- 
 de-camp, Lieut. Col. J. J. Gaines. 
 
 The Cherokees cannot but feel a deep regret and solicitude 
 for the unhappy differences which at present disturb the peace 
 and quietude of the several States, especially when it is under- 
 stood that some of the slave States have already separated them- 
 selves and withdrawn from the Federal Government and that it 
 is probable others will also pursue the same course. 
 
 But may we not yet hope and trust in the dispensation of 
 Divine power to overrule the discordant elements for good, and 
 that, by the counsel of the wisdom, virtue, and patriotism of the 
 land, measures may happily be adopted for the restoration of 
 peace and harmony among the brotherhood of States within the 
 Federal Union. 
 
 The relations which the Cherokee people sustain toward their 
 white brethren have been established by subsisting treaties with 
 the United States Government, and by them they have placed 
 themselves under the "protection of the United States and of no 
 other sovereign whatever." They are bound to hold no treaty 
 with any foreign power, or with any individual State, nor with 
 the citizens of any State. On the other hand, the faith of the 
 United States is solemnly pledged to the Cherokee Nation for 
 the protection of the right and title in the lands, conveyed to 
 them by patent, within their territorial boundaries, as also for 
 the protection of all other of their national and individual rights 
 and interests of persons and property. Thus the Cherokee 
 
1 1 8 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 people are inviolably allied with their white brethren of the 
 United States in war and friends in peace. Their institutions, 
 locality, and natural sympathies are unequivocally with the 
 slave-holding States. And the contiguity of our territory to 
 your State, in connection with the daily, social, and commercial 
 intercourse between our respective citizens, forbids the idea that 
 they should ever be otherwise than steadfast friends. 
 
 I am surprised to be informed by Your Excellency that "it 
 is well established that the Indian country west of Arkansas is 
 looked to by the incoming administration of Mr. Lincoln as 
 fruitful fields ripe for the harvest of abolitionism, free-soilers, 
 and Northern mountebanks." As I am sure that the laborers 
 will be greatly disappointed if they shall expect in the Cherokee 
 country "fruitful fields ripe for the harvest of abolitionism," 
 &c., you may rest assured that the Cherokee people will never 
 tolerate the propagation of any obnoxious fruit upon their soil. 
 
 And in conclusion I have the honor to reciprocate the saluta- 
 tion of friendship. 
 
 I am, sir, very respectfully, Your Excellency's obedient ser- 
 vant, JNO. Ross, Principal Chief Cherokee Nation. 180 
 
 The Arkansas state convention, sanctioned by popular 
 vote, met, by authority of the governor's proclamation, 
 March fourth. Its members were inclined to tem- 
 porize, however; for, as Harrell says, they were co- 
 operationists m rather than secessionists and their policy 
 of temporizing they carried out even in the provision 
 made for reassembling after adjournment. David 
 Walker, the president of the convention, was out of 
 sympathy with this ; and, at the first news of the attack 
 upon Fort Sumter and while passion and excitement 
 were still at fever heat, called 182 an extra session for the 
 sixth of May. The regular session was not to come 
 until the nineteenth of August. Coincidently Governor 
 
 180 General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515; Official Records, first ser., 
 vol. xiii, 491-492. 
 
 181 Stephens says they were almost equally divided on the question of se- 
 cession [Constitutional View of the Late War between the States, vol. ii, 363]. 
 
 182 On April 20, 1861. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 119 
 
 Rector again showed where his sympathies lay by re- 
 fusing 183 President Lincoln's call for troops. 
 
 The Arkansas Ordinance of Secession was passed on 
 the sixth of May. S. R. Cockrell had proved himself 
 a good prophet; for, writing jubilantly to L. P. Walker, 
 on the twenty-first of April, on the progress of secession, 
 he had said, 184 "Arkansas will go out 6th of May before 
 breakfast. The Indians come next." His closing re- 
 mark had some foundation for its utterance. Intel- 
 ligent and prominent Indians were to be found in the 
 very ranks of the Arkansas secessionists. E. C. Bou- 
 dinot, a Cherokee, an enemy and rival of John Ross, 
 and later Cherokee delegate in the Confederate Con- 
 gress, was secretary 183 of the convention. M. Kennard, 
 a leading and a principal Creek chief, seems also to 
 have been influential. The alliance of the Indians was 
 yet being sought. 18 ' 
 
 The secession ordinance once safely launched, the 
 Arkansas convention turned its attention without equiv- 
 ocation to Indian concerns. On the tenth of May, for 
 instance, it followed the example set by Texas and 
 passed a resolution, 187 authorizing the president of the 
 convention to appoint three delegates to visit Indian 
 Territory. The men appointed were, S. L. Griffith of 
 Sebastian County (the same man, interestingly enough 
 to whom the United States government had recently 
 offered 188 the Southern Superintendency), J. Murphy of 
 
 183 Stephens, op. cil., vol. ii, 375 ; Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 674, 687. 
 
 184 Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 686. 
 
 185 Journal, Arkansas Convention, 369. 
 
 186 The importance of such an alliance seems never to have been lost sight 
 of. In his message of May 6, 1861, Governor Rector called attention to the 
 fact that Arkansas was the most exposed state in the Union, because of the 
 Indians on the west [Journal, 153]. In various ways, he emphasized the 
 strategical value of Indian Territory [ibid., 156]. 
 
 187 Journal, Arkansas Convention, 183. 
 
 188 See page 183. 
 
I2O The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Madison County, and G. W. Laughinghouse of St. 
 Francis County. Two of these counties were on or 
 near the border. Sebastian was on the border and 
 Madison not far inland, so Griffith and Murphy very 
 probably realized the full significance of their mission. 
 On the eleventh of May, the convention tried to pass 
 another resolution, 189 indicative of a community of in- 
 terests between Arkansas and the Indian country. This 
 resolution failed, but, had it passed, it would have 
 prayed the president of the Confederate States to erect 
 a military department or division out of Arkansas and 
 Indian Territory. As it was, the convention contented 
 itself, on this occasion, with empowering 190 Brigadier- 
 general Pearce 191 to cooperate with Brigadier-general 
 McCulloch. 192 It took this action on the twenty-first of 
 May and on the twenty-eighth it received a communi- 
 cation 193 from Elias Rector concerning the Choctaws 
 and Chickasaws. 
 
 Almost simultaneously with this legislative activity, 
 solicitation of the Indians came from yet other direc- 
 tions. On the eighth of May, Brigadier-general B. 
 Burroughs of the Arkansas militia took it upon himself 
 to make an appeal to the Chickasaws, which he did in 
 this wise : 
 
 HEADQUARTERS EIGHTH BRIGADE, FIRST DIVISION, ARKANSAS 
 MILITIA, Fort Smith, Ark., May 8, 1861. 
 Gov. C. HARRIS : To-day we have information that Arkan- 
 sas, in Convention, has seceded, by a vote 69 to I. Tennessee 
 
 189 Journal, Arkansas Convention, 189. 
 
 190 Ibid., 295. 
 
 191 N. Bart Pearce had just been created by the convention "brigadier- 
 general of Arkansas, to command the Western frontier." 
 
 192 On the thirteenth of May, the Confederate War Department had as- 
 signed Ben McCulloch to the command of the district embracing Indian Ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 193 Journal, Arkansas Convention, 369. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 121 
 
 has also seceded, and made large appropriations and ordered an 
 army of 50,000 men. 
 
 Arkansas has for several days past been in arms on this 
 frontier for the protection (of) citizens, and the neighboring 
 Indian nations whose interests are identical with her own. 
 
 I have news through my scouts that the U. S. troops have 
 abandoned the forts in the Chickasaw country. 
 
 Under my orders from the commander-in-chief and governor 
 of Arkansas, I feel authorized to extend to you such military aid 
 as will be required in the present juncture of affairs to occupy 
 and hold the forts. 
 
 I have appointed Col. A. H. Word, one of the State senators, 
 and Captain Sparks, attached to this command, commissioners 
 to treat and confer with you on this subject. These gentlemen 
 are fully apprised of the nature of the powers intrusted to my- 
 self by the governor of this State, and are authorized to express 
 to you my views of the subject under consideration. I ask, 
 therefore, that you express to them your own wishes in the prem- 
 ises, and believe, my dear sir, that Arkansas cherishes the kind- 
 est regards for your people. 
 
 I have the honor to subscribe myself, with sentiments of re- 
 gard, your excellency's friend and servant, 
 
 B. BURROUGHS, Brigadier-General, Commanding. 194 
 
 The impudence and calm effrontery of this has its 
 humorous side and would seem even ridiculous were it 
 not for the fact that we are bound to remember that the 
 Indians took it all so very seriously. It was true 
 enough, as Burroughs said, that the Federal troops had 
 abandoned the Indian country; but against whom were 
 the forts to be held? Surely not against the Federals. 
 Furthermore, what need was there for Arkansas to 
 interest herself in the Chickasaw forts, since the Texan 
 troops were already in possession? Is it possible to 
 suppose that Burroughs's scouts, who had found out so 
 much about the withdrawal of the Federal forces, had 
 not discovered the work of the Texans in contributing 
 
 194 Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 691. 
 
122 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 thereto? The Chickasaws were particularly friendly 
 to the secessionists and, in this same month of May, 
 passed, by means of their legislature, those eight reso- 
 lutions 195 in which they gave such strong expression to 
 
 195 These resolutions are found in the Official Record, first sen, vol. in, 
 585-587 and are as follows: 
 
 Resolutions of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Chick- 
 asaw Legislature assembled, May 25, 1861 : Whereas the Government 
 of the United States has been broken up by the secession of a large 
 number of States composing the Federal Union - that the dissolution has 
 been followed by war between the parties; and whereas the destruction 
 of the Union as it existed by the Federal Constitution is irreparable, and 
 consequently the Government of the United States as it was when the 
 Chickasaw and other Indian nations formed alliances and treaties with 
 it no longer exists; and whereas the Lincoln Government, pretending 
 to represent said Union, has shown by its course towards us, in with- 
 drawing from our country the protection of the Federal troops, and 
 withholding, unjustly and unlawfully, our money placed in the hands of 
 the Government of the United States as trustee, to be applied for our 
 benefit, a total disregard of treaty obligations toward us; and whereas 
 our geographical position, our social and domestic institutions, our feel- 
 ings and sympathies, all attach us to our Southern friends, against 
 whom is about to be waged a war of subjugation or extermination, of 
 conquest and confiscation - a war which, if we can judge from the dec- 
 larations of the political partisans of the Lincoln Government, will sur- 
 pass the French Revolution in scenes of blood and that of San Domingo 
 in atrocious horrors; and whereas it is impossible that the Chickasaws, 
 deprived of their money and destitute of all means of separate self-pro- 
 tection, can maintain neutrality or escape the storm which is about to 
 burst upon the South, but, on the contrary, would be suspected, oppressed, 
 and plundered alternately by armed bands from the North, South, East, 
 and West; and whereas we have an abiding confidence that all our 
 rights - tribal and individual - secured to us under treaties with the 
 United States, will be fully recognized, guaranteed, and protected by 
 our friends of the Confederate States ; and whereas as a Southern people 
 we consider their cause our own: Therefore, 
 
 Be it resolved by the Chickasa<w Legislature assembled, ist. That the 
 dissolution of the Federal Union, under which the Government of the 
 United States existed, has absolved the Chickasaws from allegiance to 
 any foreign government whatever; that the current of the events of the 
 last few months has left the Chickasaw Nation independent, the people 
 thereof free to form such alliances, and take such steps to secure their 
 own safety, happiness, and future welfare as may to them seem best. 
 
 ad. Resolved, That our neighboring Indian nations - Choctaws, Cher- 
 okees, Creeks, Seminoles, Osages, Senecas, Quapaws, Comanches, Kio- 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 123 
 
 their views, at the same time, however, giving the 
 Southern States clearly to understand that they knew 
 
 was, together with the fragmentary bands of Delawares, Kickapoos, 
 Caddoes, Wichitas, and others within the Choctaw and Chickasaw coun- 
 try who are similarly situated with ourselves, be invited to co-operate, 
 in order to secure the independence of the Indian nations and the defense 
 of the territory they inhabit from Northern invasion by the Lincoln 
 hordes and Kansas robbers, who have plundered and oppressed our red 
 brethren among them, and who doubtless would extend towards us the 
 protection which the wolf gives to the lamb should they succeed in over- 
 running our country ; that the Chickasaws pledge themselves to resist by 
 all means and to the death any such invasion of the lands occupied by 
 themselves or by any of the Indian nations; and that their country shall 
 not be occupied or passed through by the Lincoln forces for the purpose 
 of invading our neighbors, the States of Arkansas and Texas, but, on 
 the contrary, any attempt to do so will be regarded as an act of war 
 against ourselves, and should be resisted by all the Indian nations as in- 
 sulting to themselves and tending to endanger their Territorial rights. 
 
 3d. Resolved, That it is expedient, at the very earliest day possible, 
 that commissioners from other Indian nations for the purpose of forming 
 a league or confederation among them for mutual safety and protection, 
 and also to the Confederate States in order to enter into such alliance 
 and to conclude such treaties as may be necessary to secure the rights, 
 interests, and welfare of the Indian tribes, and that the co-operation of 
 all the Indian nations west of the State of Arkansas and south of Kansas 
 be invited for the attainment of these objects. 
 
 4th. Resolved, That the Chickasaws look with confidence especially 
 to the Choctaws (whose interests are so closely interwoven with their 
 own, and who were the first through their national council to declare 
 their sympathy for, and their determination, in case of a permanent dis- 
 solution of the Federal Union, to adhere to the Southern States), and 
 hope they will speedily unite with us in such measures as may be neces- 
 sary for the defense of our common country and a union with our nat- 
 ural allies, the Confederate States of America. 
 
 5th. Resolved, That while the Chickasaw people entertain the most 
 sincere friendship for the people of the neighboring States of Texas and 
 Arkansas, and are deeply grateful for the prompt offer from them of 
 assistance in all measures of defense necessary for the protection of our 
 country against hostile invasion, we are desirous to hold undisputed 
 possession of our lands and all forts and other places lately occupied by 
 the Federal troops and other officers and persons acting under the au- 
 thority of the United States, and that the governor of the Chickasaw Na- 
 tion be, and he is hereby, instructed to take immediate steps to obtain 
 possession of all such forts and places within the Choctaw and Chick- 
 asaw country, and have the same garrisoned, if possible, by Chickasaw 
 troops, or else by troops acting expressly under and by virtue of the au- 
 
124 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 the extent of their own rights and were determined to 
 hold fast to them. They also declared that they wished 
 to hold their forts themselves. 
 
 On the ninth of May, the Indians were still further 
 addressed and this time by the citizens of Boonsboro, 
 Arkansas, whose appeal has already been referred to 
 and quoted. 196 The appeal was made through the me- 
 dium of a letter to John Ross and of him the citizens of 
 Boonsboro inquired where he intended to stand; inas- 
 much as they much preferred "an open enemy to a 
 
 thority of the Chickasaw or Choctaw nations, until such time as said 
 forts, Indian agencies, etc., may be transferred by treaty to the Confed- 
 erate States. 
 
 6th. Resolved, That the governor of the Chickasaw Nation be, and 
 he is hereby, instructed to issue his proclamation to the Chickasaw Na- 
 tion, declaring their independence, and calling upon the Chickasaw war- 
 riors to form themselves into volunteer companies of such strength and 
 with such officers (to be chosen by themselves) as the governor may pre- 
 scribe, to report themselves by filing their company rolls at the Chick- 
 asaw Agency, and to hold themselves, with the best arms and ammuni- 
 tion, together with a reasonable supply of provisions, in readiness at a 
 minute's warning to turn out, under the orders of the commanding gen- 
 eral of the Chickasaws, for the defense of their country or to aid the 
 civil authorities in the enforcement of the laws. 
 
 7th. Resolved, That we have full faith and confidence in the justice 
 of the cause in which we are embarked, and that we appeal to the 
 Chickasaw people to be prepared to meet the conflict which will surely, 
 and perhaps speedily, take place, and hereby call upon every man ca- 
 pable of bearing arms to be ready to defend his home and family, his 
 country and his property, and to render prompt obedience to all orders 
 from the officers set over them. 
 
 9th [8th]. Resolved, That the governor cause these resolutions to be 
 published in the National Register, at the Boggy Depot, and copies 
 thereof sent to the several Indian nations, to the governors of the ad- 
 jacent States, to the President of the Confederate States, and to Abraham 
 Lincoln, President of the Black Republican Party. 
 
 Passed the House of Representatives May 25, 1865. 
 
 A. ALEXANAN, Speaker House Representatives. 
 Attest: C. CARTER, Clerk House Representatives 
 
 Passed the Senate. JOHN E. ANDERSON, President of Senate. 
 
 Attest: JAMES N. McLiSH, Clerk of Senate. 
 
 Approved, Tishomingo, May 25, 1861. C. HARRIS, Governor. 
 
 196 See footnote 175. 
 
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 125 
 
 doubtful friend." They earnestly hoped, they said, to 
 find in him and his people "true allies and active 
 friends." On the fifteenth of May, J. R. Kannady, 
 lieutenant-colonel, commanding at Fort Smith, also 
 communicated 197 with Ross and on the same subject, his 
 immediate provocation being the report that Senator 
 James H. Lane was busy raising troops in Kansas to 
 be used against Missouri and Arkansas. Of the Kan- 
 nady letter, John B. Luce was the bearer and, to it, Ross 
 replied 198 on the seventeenth, the very day that he pub- 
 lished his great proclamation 199 of neutrality; for the 
 otherwise most sensible John Ross labored under the 
 delusion that the Indians would be allowed to figure as 
 silent witnesses of events. In this respect, he was, how- 
 ever, on slightly firmer ground than were the citizens 
 of such a state as Kentucky; but, none the less, he la- 
 bored under a delusion as he soon found out to his 
 sorrow. His proclamation of neutrality was intended 
 as a final and conclusive answer 200 to all interrogatories 
 like that from Boonsboro. 
 
 197 General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515 ; Official Records, first ser., vol. 
 xiii, 492. 
 
 198 General Files, ibid.; Official Records, first sen, vol. xiii, 492-493. 
 
 199 The text of this is to be found in various places. The most convenient 
 of such places are, Official Records, first ser., vol. xiii, 489-490 and Moore's Re- 
 bellion Record, vol. ii, 145-146. A manuscript copy of the proclamation may 
 be found in General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 0515; and a synopsis of its 
 contents in Moore's Rebellion Record, vol. ii, 1-2. 
 
 200 Ross gave the citizens of Boonsboro their direct answer, May 18, 1861 
 [General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515; Official Records, first ser., vol. xiii, 
 494-495]- 
 
III. THE CONFEDERACY IN NEGOTIATION 
 WITH THE INDIAN TRIBES 
 
 The provisional government of the Confederate 
 States showed itself no less anxious and no less prompt 
 than the individual states in its endeavor to secure the 
 Indian country and the Indian alliance. On the 
 twenty-first of February, 1861, the very same day that 
 the law was passed for the establishment of a War De- 
 partment of which Leroy P. Walker of Alabama took 
 immediate charge, William P. Chilton, member 201 of 
 the Provisional Congress from Alabama, offered in that 
 body a resolution to the effect, that the Committee on 
 Indian Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expedi- 
 ency of opening up negotiations with the Indian tribes 
 of the West in relation to all matters concerning the 
 mutual welfare of said tribes and the people of the Con- 
 federate States. 202 The resolution was adopted. Four 
 days later, Edward Sparrow of Louisiana asked that 
 the same committee be instructed to consider the advis- 
 ability of appointing agents to those same Indian 
 tribes. 203 The Indian committee, at the time, was com- 
 posed of Jackson Morton of Florida, Lawrence M. 
 Keitt of South Carolina, and Thomas N. Waul of 
 Texas. Robert W. Johnson became a member after 
 Arkansas had seceded and had been admitted to the 
 Confederacy. 
 
 201 The official list of members of the Confederate congresses can be found 
 in Official Records, fourth sen, vol. iii, 1185-1191. 
 
 202 Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, Journal, vol. i, 70. 
 
 81. 
 
ia8 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Preliminary steps such as these led naturally to a 
 comprehension of the need for a Bureau of Indian 
 Affairs 204 and, on the twelfth of March, President 
 Davis recommended 205 that one be organized and a 
 commissioner of Indian affairs appointed. His recom- 
 mendations were acted upon without delay and a law 206 
 in conformity with them passed. This happened on 
 the fifteenth of March and on the day following, the 
 last of the session, Davis nominated David Hubbard, 207 
 ex-commissioner 208 from Alabama to Arkansas, for the 
 Indian portfolio. For some time, however, Hubbard 
 had little to do. 209 It is wise therefore to leave him for 
 
 204 Under the second section of the law of February 21, 1861, Indian affairs 
 had been left for general supervision to the War Department [Provisional and 
 Permanent Constitutions of the Confederate States and Acts and Resolutions of 
 the First Session of the Provisional Congress, 48]. The Bureau of Indian Af- 
 fairs, created by the law of March 15, 1861, was made a bureau of the Wat 
 Department. 
 
 205 Provisional Congress Journal, vol. i, 142 ; Richardson, Messages and 
 Papers of the Confederacy. 
 
 206 Provisional and Permanent Constitutions, 133-134. 
 
 207 Provisional Congress Journal, vol. i, 154. 
 
 208 Hubbard had occupied other and earlier positions of importance ; but 
 it must certainly have been upon the basis of the experience gained in filling 
 this one that his nomination for commissioner of Indian affairs was made. 
 Hubbard had been a state senator, a representative in the twenty-sixth and in 
 the thirty-first United States congresses, and presidential elector on the Demo- 
 cratic ticket in 1844 and on the Breckinridge and Lane ticket in 1860 [Bio- 
 graphical Congressional Directory, 1774-1903, 608]. 
 
 209 T ne Bureau of Indian Affairs . . . has been organized. . . 
 So far this Bureau has found but little to do. The necessity for the ex- 
 tension of the military arm of the Government toward the frontier, and 
 the attitude of Arkansas, without the Confederacy, have contributed to 
 circumscribe its action. But this branch of the public service doubtless 
 will now grow in importance in consequence of the early probable ac- 
 cession of Arkansas to the Confederacy ; of the friendly sentiments of 
 the Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws, and other tribes west 
 of Arkansas toward this Government; of our difficulties with the tribes 
 on the Texas frontier; of our hostilities with the United States, and of 
 our probable future relations with the Territories of Arizona and New 
 Mexico. - Extract from the Report of Secretary Walker to President 
 Davis, April 27, 1861 [Official Records, fourth sen, vol. i, 248]. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 129 
 
 a while and resume the examination of congressional 
 work. 
 
 n The journal entries through February and March 
 show that the Provisional Congress had, not infre- 
 quently, Indian matters placed before it and, at times 
 presumably, communications direct from the tribes. 
 On the fourth of March, Robert Toombs, himself on 
 the Finance Committee and at the same time Secretary 
 of State, 210 offered the following resolution: 211 
 
 Resolved, That the President be, and he is hereby authorized 
 to send a suitable person as special agent of this Government to 
 the Indian tribes west of the State of Arkansas. 
 
 Whether this was called forth by the investigations of 
 the Committee on Indian Affairs under the Chilton 
 resolution of the twenty-first of February or whether it 
 grew out of a correspondence between Toombs and 
 Albert Pike does not appear. Toombs and Pike were 
 friends, brother Masons 212 in fact, and then or soon 
 afterwards in intimate correspondence on the subject of 
 Indian relations. The resolution passed, but there the 
 matter seems to have rested for a time. On the tenth 
 of May, William B. Ochiltree proposed 213 that the 
 Committee on Indian Affairs consider the condition of 
 Reserve Indians in Texas ; and, on the fifteenth, a most 
 important measure was introduced 214 in the shape of a 
 bill, reported by Keitt from the Committee on Indian 
 Affairs, "for the protection of certain Indian tribes." 
 This opened up the whole subject of prospective rela- 
 
 210 Davis would have preferred to have had Toorabs for secretary of 
 the treasury [Rhodes, History of the United Stales, vol. iii, 295, note 7]. 
 
 211 Journal, vol. i, 105. 
 
 212 Both Pike and Toombs reached in time the thirty-second degree, or 
 Scottish Rite. Note Pike's glowing tribute to Toombs, quoted in Richardson, 
 Messages and Papers of the Confederacy, vol. ii, 142. 
 
 213 Journal, vol. i, 205. 
 m Ibid., 225. 
 
130 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 tions with the great tribes of Indian Territory and, 
 taken in connection with the provision for a special 
 commissioner, was fruitful of great results. 
 
 On the seventh of May, Thomas A. Harris of Mis- 
 souri had made the Provisional Congress acquainted 
 with some Choctaw and Chickasaw resolutions, 21 ' 
 which, in themselves, seemed indicative of a friendly 
 disposition towards the South. This fact lent to the 
 bill for the assumption of a protectorate a large signi- 
 ficance. Congress considered it, for the most part, in 
 secret session. The text of the act as finally passed does 
 not appear in any of the published 216 statutes of the 
 Confederate States; but, under the act, Albert Pike, 
 special commissioner for the purpose appointed by 
 President Davis, negotiated all his remarkable treaties 
 with the western tribes. Three sections of the law, 
 those added to the original bill by way of amendment, 
 appear in the Provisional Congress Journal. 211 They 
 are strictly financial in their nature and are as follows: 
 
 Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the Confederate 
 States do hereby assume the duty and obligation of collecting 
 and paying over as trustees to the several Indian tribes now 
 located in the Indian Territory south of Kansas, all sums of 
 money accruing, whether from interest or capital of the bonds 
 of the several States of this Confederacy now held by the Gov- 
 ernment of the United States as trustees for said Indians or any 
 
 215 Just what particular sets of resolutions those were I have no means of 
 knowing. The most important set of Chickasaw resolutions, those issued 
 under date of May 25, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 585-587] had 
 not yet been passed. The Choctaw resolutions presented may have been and 
 very probably were those of February 7, 1861 [ibid.]. 
 
 216 On the twenty-first of May, President Davis approved "An Act for the 
 protection of the Indian Tribes" [Journal, 263], it having gone through its 
 various stages of amendment and having passed Congress, May seventeenth 
 [ibid., 244]. Adjutant-general G. W. Andrews reports, November 4, 1912, 
 that nothing additional concerning the text of this law is to be found in the 
 Confederate archives. 
 
 217 Journal, vol. i, 244. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 131 
 
 of them; and the said interest and capital as collected shall be 
 paid over to said Indians or invested for their account, as the 
 case may be, in accordance with the several treaties and contracts 
 now existing between said Indians and the Government of the 
 United States. 
 
 Sec. 7. That the several States of this Confederacy be re- 
 quested to provide by legislation or othenvise that the capital 
 and interest of the bonds issued by them respectively, and held 
 by the Government of the United States in trust for said In- 
 dians, or any of them, shall not be paid to said Government of 
 the United States, but shall be paid to this Government in trust 
 for said Indians. 
 
 Sec. 8. That it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of 
 Indian Affairs to obtain and publish, at as early a period as 
 practicable, a list of all the bonds of the several States of this 
 Confederacy now held in trust by the Government of the United 
 States as aforesaid, and to give notice in said publication that 
 the capital and interest of said bonds are to be paid to this Gov- 
 ernment and to no other holder thereof whatever. 
 
 Before this bill for the protection of the Indians had 
 come up for discussion or had even emerged from the 
 rooms of the Committee on Indian Affairs, Albert Pike, 
 in letters to Toombs and R. W. Johnson, had pointed 
 out most emphatically the military necessity of secur- 
 ing 218 the Indian country. His conviction was strong 
 that the United States had no idea of permanently 
 abandoning the same but would soon replace the reg- 
 ular troops, it had withdrawn from thence, by volun- 
 teers. Pike discussed the matter with N. Bart Pearce 
 and the two agreed 219 that there was no time to lose and 
 that something must be done forthwith to prevent the 
 
 218 Governor Clark of Texas, also, at this time displayed great interest in 
 the matter. On the fifteenth of May, he wrote to President Davis that he was 
 constituting James E. Harrison, a man thoroughly conversant with the whole 
 subject, "the duly accredited agent of Texas to convey" the Report of April 23, 
 1861 to Richmond [Official Records, fourth ser., vol. 5, 322]. 
 
 219 See letter from Pearce to President Davis, May 13, 1861 [ibid., first sen, 
 vol. iii, 576]. 
 
132 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 possibility of Federal emissaries gaining a foothold 
 among the great tribes; for, if they did gain such a 
 foothold, their influence was likely to be very great, 
 especially among the Cherokees who might be regarded 
 as predisposed to favor them, they having many aboli- 
 tionists on their tribal rolls. Whether, at so early a 
 date, Pike thought formal negotiation, as had been cus- 
 tomary, the preferable method of procedure, we are 
 not prepared to say, positively. Formal negotiation 
 was scarcely consistent with the southern argument of 
 Jackson's time or consonant with present state-rights 
 doctrine. When writing 220 to Johnson on the eleventh 
 of May, Pike seems to have been thinking simply of 
 Indian enlistment and of the use of white and red troops 
 in the defense of the Indian country. At that date his 
 own appointment 221 as diplomatic agent for the nego- 
 tiation of treaties of amity and alliance was certainly 
 not prominently before him. He expressed himself to 
 Johnson in such a way, indeed, as would lead us to 
 suppose that the position he half expected to get, and 
 did not altogether want, was that of commander of an 
 Indian Department which he hoped would be created. 
 For such a position Pike was not entirely unfitted. 
 He had served in the Mexican War and had attained 
 the rank of captain; but his tastes were certainly not 
 what one would call military. He was a poet 222 of 
 acknowledged reputation and a lawyer of eminence. 
 Arkansas had recognized him as one of her foremost 
 citizens by sending him as her one and only dele- 
 
 220 Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 572-574. 
 
 221 Pike was appointed under authority of a resolution passed by Congress, 
 March 5, 1861. See Message of President Davis, December 12, 1861 [ibid., 
 fourth ser., vol. i, 785]. 
 
 222 To-day he is, perhaps, best known by his parody on "Dixie" and by his 
 singularly beautiful and pathetic "Every Year" [Poems, Roome's edition, 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 133 
 
 gate to the Commercial Convention 223 of Southern and 
 Western States, held at Charleston, South Carolina, 
 April, 1854. Just recently, at the time when the ques- 
 tion of secession was before the people of Arkansas, he 
 had issued a pamphlet, entitled, State or Province, 
 Bond or Free, described by a contemporary as, "a most 
 specious argument for secession, but a re-production of 
 the political heresies, that thirty years ago called down 
 on John C. Calhoun, the anathema maranatha of An- 
 drew Jackson." 224 To the men of his time, it seemed 
 all the more astonishing that Albert Pike should take 
 such a pronounced stand on the subject of state rights, 
 not because he was a New Englander by birth, for there 
 were many such in Arkansas and in the ranks of the se- 
 cessionists, but because he was the author of that stirring 
 poem against the idea of national disintegration, pub- 
 lished some time before under the title of, "Dis- 
 
 union." 225 
 
 223 See Journal of Proceedings, no. 273 of Johns Hopkins University Civil 
 War Pamphlets. 
 
 224 Bishop, Loyalty on the Frontier, 148-151. 
 
 225 T ne poem is printed entire in Bishop's Loyalty on the Frontier, 149-150. 
 The first two stanzas are here given: 
 
 DISUNION 
 
 Ay, shout! 'Tis the day of your pride, 
 
 Ye despots and tyrants of earth; 
 Tell your serfs the American name to deride, 
 
 And to rattle their fetters in mirth. 
 Ay, shout! for the league of the free 
 
 Is about to be shivered to dust, 
 And the rent limbs to fall from the vigorous tree, 
 Shout! shout! for more firmly established, will be 
 Your thrones and dominions beyond the blue sea. 
 
 Laugh on! for such folly supreme, 
 
 The world has yet never beheld ; 
 And ages to come will the history deem, 
 
 A tale by antiquity swelled ; 
 For nothing that time has upbuilt 
 
 And set in the annals of crime, 
 
134 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 On the twentieth of May, Pike wrote 226 again to 
 Toombs and by that time he certainly knew 227 of his 
 commission to treat with the Indian tribes, but had 
 apparently not received any very definite instructions 
 as to the scope of his authority. One little passage in 
 the letter brings out very clearly the essential fair- 
 mindedness of the man, a marked characteristic in all 228 
 
 So stupid and senseless, so wretched in guilt, 
 
 Darkens sober tradition or rhyme. 
 // will be like the fable of Eblis' fall, 
 A by-taord of mockery and horror to all. 
 
 226 Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 580-581. 
 
 227 In a letter to Commissioner D. N. Cooley, under date of February 17, 
 1866, Pike said that Toombs requested him in May of 1861 to visit the Indian 
 country as commissioner. I have not been able to find out whether Toombs 
 made his request in writing or verbally. The correspondence of Toombs re- 
 cently edited by U. B. Phillips does not furnish any additional information on 
 this point. 
 
 228 On one very important occasion, Albert Pike was not strictly fair to the 
 Indians. That occasion was after the war when the United States Indian 
 Office was endeavoring to make a settlement with the Cherokees on the basis of 
 their adherence to the Confederate cause. Pike was appealed to and threw 
 the weight of his influence against John Ross, but most unjustly as it would 
 seem. The letter embodying his views is a narrative of the events of 1861 as 
 they happened in the Indian country under his scrutiny, and may as well be 
 inserted here in full. It is to be found in the Indian Office in a bundle la- 
 beled, "Loyalty of John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokees: Letter of 
 Albert Pike (original), Feb. 17, 1866 -and Copies of several of Ross' letters - 
 relative to his loyalty in 1861 & 1862, etc." 
 
 5. Albert Pike to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
 
 MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, i7th February 1866. 
 
 SIR: I have received, to-day, a copy of the "Memorial" of the 
 "Southern Cherokees," to the President, Senate and House of Representa- 
 tives, in reply to the Memorial of other Cherokees claiming to be "loyal." 
 
 It is not for me to take any part in the controversy between the two 
 portions of the Cherokee People, nor have I any interest that could lead 
 me to side with one in preference to the other. Nor am I much in- 
 clined, having none of the rights of a Citizen, to offer to testify in any 
 matter, when my testimoney may not be deemed worthy of credit, as 
 that of one not yet restored to respectability and creditability by a pardon. 
 
 But, as I know it to be contemptible as well as false, for Mr. John 
 Ross and the "loyal" Memorialists to pretend that they did not volun- 
 tarily engage themselves by Treaty Stipulations to the Confederate 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 135 
 
 his dealings with the Indians, but at once his strength 
 
 States, and as you have desired my testimony, I have this to say, and I 
 think no man will be bold enough to deny any part of it. 
 
 In May, 1861, I was requested by Mr. Toombs, Secretary of State of 
 the Confederate States, to visit the Indian Country as Commissioner, 
 and assure the Indians of the friendship of those States. The Conven- 
 tion of the State of Arkansas, anxious to avoid hostilities with the 
 Cherokees, also applied to me to act as such Commissioner. I accord- 
 ingly proceeded to Fort Smith, where some five or six Cherokees called 
 upon General McCulloch and myself, representing those of the Chero- 
 kees who sympathized with the South, in order to ascertain whether the 
 Confederate States would protect them against Mr. Ross and the Pin 
 Indians, if they should organize and take up arms for the South. We 
 learned that some attempts to raise a Secession flag in the Cherokee 
 Country on the Arkansas had been frustrated by the menace of violence ; 
 and those who came to meet us represented the Pin Organization to be a 
 Secret Society, established by Evan Jones, a Missionary, and at the 
 service of Mr. John Ross, for the purpose of abolitionizing the Chero- 
 kees and putting out of the way all who sympathized with the Southern 
 States. 
 
 The truth was, as I afterwards learned with certainty, the Secret 
 Organization in question, whose members for a time used as a mark of 
 their membership a pin in the front of the hunting shirt, was really 
 established for the purpose of depriving the half-breeds of all political 
 power, though Mr. Ross, himself a Scotchman and a McDonald by the 
 father and the mother, was shrewd enough to use it for his own ends. 
 At any rate, it was organized and in full operation, long before Seces- 
 sion was thought of. 
 
 General McCulloch and myself assured those who met us at Fort 
 Smith, that they should be protected; and agreed to meet, at an early 
 day then fixed, at Park Hill, where Mr. Ross resided. Upon that I sent 
 a messenger with letters to five or six prominent members of the Anti- 
 Ross party, inviting them to meet me at the Creek Agency, two days 
 after the day on which General McCulloch and I were to meet at Park 
 Hill. 
 
 I did not expect to effect any arrangement with Mr. Ross, and my 
 intention was to treat with the heads of the Southern party, Stand Wade 
 and others. 
 
 When we met Mr. Ross at Park Hill, he refused to enter into any 
 arrangement with the Confederate States. He said that his intention 
 was to maintain the neutrality of his people; that they were a small and 
 weak people, and would be ruined and destroyed if they engaged in the 
 war; and that it would be a cruel thing if we were to engage them in 
 our quarrel. But, he said, all his interests and all his feelings were 
 with us, and he knew that his people must share the fate and fortunes 
 of Arkansas. We told him that the Cherokees could not be neutral. 
 
136 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 and his weakness. He succeeded with the red man for 
 
 We used every argument in our power to change his determination, but 
 in vain; and finally General McCulloch informed him that he would 
 respect the neutrality of the Cherokees, and would not enter their 
 Country with troops, or place troops in it, unless it should become neces- 
 sary in order to expel a Federal force, or to protect the Southern Chero- 
 kees. 
 
 So we separated. General McCulloch kept his word, and no Con- 
 federate troops ever were stationed in or marched into the Cherokee 
 Country, until after the Federal troops invaded it. 
 
 Before leaving the Nation I addressed Mr. Ross a letter, which I 
 afterwards printed, and circulated among the Cherokee people. In it I 
 informed him that the Confederate States would remain content with 
 his pledge of neutrality, although he would find it impossible to main- 
 tain that neutrality; that I should not again offer to treat with the 
 Cherokees, and that the Confederate States would not consider them- 
 selves bound by my proposition to pay the Cherokees for the neutral 
 land, if they should lose it in consequence of the war. I had no further 
 communication with Mr. Ross until September. 
 
 Meanwhile, he had persuaded Opoth le Yahola, the Creek leader, not 
 to join the Southern States, and had sent delegates to meet the Northern 
 and other Indians in Council near the Antelope Hills, where they all 
 agreed to be neutral. The purpose was, to take advantage of the war 
 between the States, and form a great independent Indian Confedera- 
 tion - 1 defeated all that, by treating with the Creeks at the very time 
 that their delegates were at the Antelope Hills in Council. 
 
 When I had treated with them and with the Choctaws and Chicka- 
 saws, at the North Fork of the Canadian, I went to the Seminole Agency 
 and treated with the Seminoles. Then I went to the Wichita Agency, 
 having previously invited the Reserve Indians to return there, and in- 
 vited the prairie Comanches to meet me. After treating with these, I 
 returned by Fort Arbuckle, and before reaching there, met a nephew of 
 Mr. Ross, and a Captain [Keld? sic] in the prairie, bearing a letter to 
 me from Mr. Ross and his Council, with a copy of the resolutions of 
 Council, and an invitation in pressing terms to repair to the Cherokee 
 Country and enter into a Treaty. 
 
 I consented, fixed a day for meeting the Cherokees, and wrote Mr. 
 Ross to that effect, requesting him also to send messengers to the Osages, 
 Quapaws, Shawnees, Senecas, &c. and invite them to meet me at the 
 same time. He did so, and at the time fixed I went to Park Hill, and 
 there effected Treaties. 
 
 When I first entered the Indian Country, in May, I had as an escort 
 one company of mounted men. I went in advance of them to Park Hill; 
 General McCulloch went there without an escort. At the Creek Agency 
 I sent the Company back: I then remained without escort or guard, 
 until I had made the Seminole Treaty, camping with my little party and 
 displaying the Confederate flag. When I went to the Wichita Country, 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 137 
 
 the very same reason that he failed with the white, be- 
 
 I took an escort of Creeks and Seminoles. These I discharged at Fort 
 Arbuckle on my return, and went, accompanied only by four young men, 
 through the Creek Country to Fort Gibson, refusing an escort of Creeks 
 offered me on the way. 
 
 From Fort Gibson eight or nine companies of Colonel Drew's Regi- 
 ment of Cherokees, chiefly full-bloods and Pins, escorted me to Park 
 Hill. This regiment was raised by order of the National Council, and 
 its officers appointed by Mr Ross, his nephew William P. Ross, Secretary 
 of the Nation, being Lieut. Colonel, and Thomas Pegg, President of the 
 National Committee, being its Major. 
 
 I encamped, with my little party near the residence of the Chief, un- 
 protected even by a guard, and with the Confederate flag flying. The 
 terms of the Treaty were fully discussed and the Cherokee authorities 
 dealt with me on equal terms. Mr. John Ross had met me as I was on 
 my way to Park Hill, escorted by the National Regiment, and had 
 welcomed me to the Cherokee Nation, in an earnest and enthusiastic 
 speech ; and seemed to me throughout to be acting in perfect good faith. 
 I acted in the same way with him, 
 
 After the treaties were signed, I presented Colonel Drew's Regiment 
 a flag, and the chief in a speech exhorted them to be true to it: and 
 afterwards, at his request, I wrote the Cherokee Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence which is printed with the Memorial of the Southern Chero- 
 kees. I no more doubted, then, that Mr. Ross' whole heart was with 
 the South, than that mine was. Even in May he said to General McCul- 
 loch and myself, that if Northern troops invaded the Cherokee Country, 
 he would head the Cherokees and drive them back. "I have borne 
 arms" he said, "and though I am old I can do it again." 
 
 At the time of the treaty there were about nine hundred Cherokees 
 of Colonel Drew's Regiment encamped near, and fed by me, and Colonel 
 Watie, who had almost abandoned the idea of raising a regiment, had 
 a small body of men, not more, I think, than eighty or ninety, at Tahle- 
 quah. When the flag was presented, Col. Watie was present, and after 
 the ceremony the chief shook hands with him and expressed his warm 
 desire for union and harmony in the Nation. 
 
 The gentlemen whom I had invited to meet me in June at the 
 Creek Agency did not do so. They were afraid of being murdered, 
 they said, if they openly sided with the South. In October they cen- 
 sured me for treating with Mr. Ross, and were in an ill humour, saying 
 that the regiment was raised in order to be used to oppress them. 
 
 The same day that the Cherokee Treaty was signed, the Osages, 
 Quapaws, Shawnees and Senecas signed treaties, and the next day they 
 had a talk with Mr. Ross at his residence, smoked the great pipe and 
 renewed their alliance, being urged by him to be true to the Confed- 
 erate States. 
 
 I protest that I believed Mr. John Ross, at this time and for long 
 after, to be as sincerely devoted to the Confederacy as I myself was. 
 
138 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 cause he gave to the Indians the consideration and the 
 
 He was frank, cheerful, earnest, and evidently believed that the inde- 
 pendence of the Confederate States was an accomplished fact. I should 
 dishonour him if I believed that he then dreamed of abandoning the 
 Confederacy or turning the arms of the Cherokees against us in case of 
 a reverse. . 
 
 Before I left the Cherokee Country, part of the Creeks, under Opoth- 
 le-Yaholo left their homes, under arms and threatened hostilities. Mr. 
 Ross, at my request, invited the old Chief to meet him, and urged him 
 to unite with the Confederate States. Colonel Drew's regiment was 
 ordered into the Creek Country, and afterwards, on the eve of the action 
 at Bird Creek, abandoned Colonel Cooper, rather than fight against 
 their neighbours. But after the action, the regiment was again reor- 
 ganized. The men were eager to fight, they said, against the Yankees ; 
 but did not wish to fight their own brethren, the Creeks. 
 
 When General Curtis entered North Western Arkansas, in February 
 1862, I sent orders from Fort Smith to Colonel Drew to move towards 
 Evansville and receive orders from General McCulloch. Colonel Watie's 
 Regiment was already under General McCulloch's command. Colonel 
 Drew's men moved in advance of Colonel Watie, with great alacrity, 
 and showed no want of zeal at Pea Ridge. 
 
 I do not know that any one was scalped at that place or in that ac- 
 tion, except from information. None of my officers knew it at the time. 
 I heard of it afterwards. I cannot say to which regiment those belonged 
 who did it. But it has been publicly charged on some of the same men 
 who afterwards abandoned the Confederate cause and enlisting in the 
 Federal Service were sent into Arkansas to ravage it. 
 
 After the actions at Pea Ridge and Elk Horn, the Regiment of 
 Colonel Drew was moved to the mouth of the Illinois, where I was able, 
 after a time, to pay them $25 cash, the commutation for six months' 
 clothing, in Confederate money. Nothing more, owing to the wretched 
 management of the Confederate government, was ever paid them; and 
 the clothing procured for them was plundered by the commands of Gen- 
 erals Price and Van Dorn. The consequence was that when Colonel 
 Weer entered the Cherokee Country, the Pin Indians joined him en 
 masse. 
 
 I had procured at Richmond, and paid Mr. Lewis Ross, Treasurer of 
 the Cherokee Nation, about the first of March 1862, in the Chief's house 
 and in the Chief's presence, the moneys agreed to be paid them by 
 Treaty, being about $70,000 (I think) in coin, and among other sums 
 $150,000 in Confederate Treasury notes, loaned the Nation by way of 
 advance on the price expected to be paid for the Neutral land. This 
 sum had been promised in the Treaty at the earnest solicitation of Mr. 
 John Ross; and it was generally understood that it was desired for the 
 special purpose of redeeming scrip of the Nation issued long before, and 
 much of which was held by Mr. Ross and his relatives. That such was 
 
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 139 
 
 justice which were their due. This is the significant 
 
 the case, I do not know. I only know that the moneys were paid, and 
 that I have the receipts for them, which, with others, I shall file in the 
 Indian Office. 
 
 In May, 1862, Lieut. Colonel William P. Ross visited my camp at 
 Fort McCulloch, near Red River, and said to me that "the Chief" would 
 be gratified if he were to receive the appointment of Brigadier General 
 in the Confederate Service. I did not ask him if he was authorized by 
 the Chief to say so ; but I did ask him if he were sure that the appoint- 
 ment would gratify him; and being so assured, I promised to urge the 
 appointment. I did so, more than once, but never received a reply. It 
 was not customary with the Confederate War Department to exhibit 
 any great wisdom ; and in respect to the Indian Country its conduct was 
 disgraceful. Unpaid, unclothed, uncared for, unthanked even, and their 
 services unrecognized, it was natural the Cherokees should abandon the 
 Confederate flag. 
 
 When Colonel Weer invaded the Cherokee Country, Mr. Ross re- 
 fused to have an interview with him, declaring that the Cherokees would 
 remain faithful to their engagements with the Confederate States. There 
 was not then a Confederate soldier in the Cherokee Nation, to overawe 
 Mr. Ross or Major Pegg or any other "loyal" Cherokee. Mr. Ross sent 
 me a copy of his letter to Colonel Weer, and I had it printed and sent 
 over Texas, to show the people there that the Cherokee Chief was 
 "loyal" to the Confederate States. 
 
 Afterwards, when Stand Watie's Regiment and the Choctaws were 
 sent over the Arkansas into the Cherokee Country, and Mr. Ross consid- 
 ered his life in danger from his own people, in consequence of their 
 ancient feud, he allowed himself to be taken prisoner by the Federal 
 troops. At the time, I believed that if white troops had been sent to 
 Park Hill, who would have protected him against Watie's men, he would 
 have remained at home and adhered to the Confederacy: for either he 
 was true to his obligations to the Confederate States, voluntarily entered 
 into, - true at heart and in his inmost soul, - or else he is falser and more 
 treacherous than I can believe him to be. 
 
 The simple truth is, Mr. Commissioner, that the "loyal" Cherokees 
 hated Stand Watie and the half-breeds and were hated by them. They 
 were perfectly willing to kill and scalp Yankees, and when they were 
 hired to change sides, and twenty two hundred of them were organized 
 into regiments in the Federal Service, they were just as ready to kill and 
 scalp when employed against us in Arkansas. We did not pay and 
 clothe them, and the United States did. They scalped for those who 
 paid, for and clothed them. As to "loyalty" they had none at all. 
 
 I entered the Indian Country in May, and left it in October. For 
 five months I travelled and encamped in it, unprotected by white troops, 
 alone with the four young men, treating with the different tribes. If 
 there had been any "loyalty" among the Indians, I could not have gone 
 
140 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 passage from his letter to Toombs : 229 
 
 a mile in safety. Opoth-le-Yaholo was not "loyal." He feared the 
 Mclntoshes, who had raised troops, and who, he thought, meant to kill 
 him for killing their father long years before. He told me that he did 
 not wish to fight against the Southern States, but only that the Indians 
 should all act together. If Mr. Ross had treated with us at first, all the 
 Creeks would have done the same. If Stand Watie and his party took 
 one side, John Ross and his party were sure, in the end, to take the 
 other, especially when that other proved itself the stronger. 
 
 So far from the Watie party overawing the party which upheld Mr. 
 Ross, I know it to be true that they were afraid to actively cooperate 
 with the Confederate States, to organize, to raise Secession flags, or even 
 to meet me and consult with me. They feared that Colonel Drew's 
 Regiment would be used to harrass them, and they never dreamed of 
 forcing the authorities into a Treaty. 
 
 After the action at Elkhorn, murders were continually complained of 
 by Colonels Watie and Drew, and the Chief solicited me to place part 
 of Colonel Drew's Regiment at or near Park Hill, to protect the govern- 
 ment and its records. I did so. There never was a time when the 
 "loyal" Cherokees had not the power to destroy the Southern ones. 
 
 As to myself, I dealt fairly and openly with all the Indians. I used 
 no threats of force or compulsion, with any of them. The "loyal" 
 Cherokees joined us because they believed we should succeed, and left 
 us when they thought we should not. At their request I wrote their 
 declaration of Independence and acceptance of the issues of war; and if 
 any men voluntarily, and with their eyes open, and of their own motion 
 acceded to the Secession movement, it was John Ross and the people 
 whom he controlled. I am, Sir, Very resPy, Your obt Svt 
 
 ALBERT PIKE 
 D. N. Cooley Esq, Commissioner of Ind. Aff. 
 
 229 In writing this letter, Pike most certainly addressed himself to Toombs 
 officially and with the idea in mind that he was holding his commission under 
 the Confederate State Department. That he was serving under that depart- 
 ment and that he did not get his appointment until May seem scarcely to admit 
 of a doubt, notwithstanding the fact that Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of War 
 later in the year, December [14?], 1861, in reporting to President Davis, could 
 make the following statement: 
 
 At the first session of the Congress an act was passed providing for 
 the sending of a commissioner to the Indian tribes north of Texas and 
 west of Arkansas, with the view of making such arrangements for an 
 alliance with and the protection of the Indians as were rendered neces- 
 sary by the disruption of the Union and our natural succession to the 
 rights and duties of the United States, so far as these Indians were 
 concerned. The supervision of this important branch of administrative 
 duty was confided to the State Department, by which Brig.-Gen. Albert 
 Pike was selected as commissioner. At a later period of the same ses- 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 141 
 
 I very much regret that I have not received distinct authority 
 to give the Indians guarantees of all their legal and just rights 
 under treaties. It cannot be expected they will join us without 
 them, and it would be very ungenerous, as well as unwise and 
 useless, in me to ask them to do it. Why should they, if we 
 will not bind ourselves to give them what they hazard in giving 
 us their rights under treaties? 
 
 As you have told me to act at my discretion, and as I am not 
 directed not to give the guarantees, I shall give them, formal, 
 full, and ample, by treaty, if the Indians will accept them and 
 make treaties. General McCulloch will join me in this, and 
 so, I hope and suppose, will Mr. Hubbard, and when we shall 
 have done so we shall, I am sure, not look in vain to you, at 
 least, to affirm these guarantees and insist they shall be carried 
 out in good faith. 
 
 There was an implied doubt of Hubbard in Pike's 
 reference to him and a single future declaration almost 
 justified the doubt, notwithstanding the fact that 
 Hubbard was supposed to have been chosen as commis- 
 sioner of Indian affairs because of his "well known 
 sympathy for the Indian tribes and the deep concern" 
 he had ever "manifested in their welfare." Hubbard's 
 
 sion a Bureau of Indian Affairs was created by law and attached to 
 this Department, charged with the management of our relations with 
 the Indian tribes. . .-Official Records, fourth sen, vol. i, 792. 
 Now, if Benjamin was correct in his chronology, the appointment of Pike 
 must have antedated that of Hubbard, a very unlikely state of affairs unless, 
 indeed, the Confederate government from the start, taking cognizance of the 
 very advanced condition of the Indians under discussion and of the very ex- 
 treme delicacy of the situation, concluded it would be wisest to act upon the 
 assumption that the great tribes were independent enough to be dealt with al- 
 most as foreign powers and so left everything to the discretion of the State 
 Department. 
 
 In November, 1861, the Provisional Congress considered the advisability 
 of transferring the whole Indian Bureau to the Department of State [Journal, 
 November 28, 1861, vol. i, 489]. The transfer was probably suggested by the 
 fact that the relations to date of the Confederate States with the Indians had 
 been conducted altogether upon a basis of diplomacy. An added reason might 
 have been, that the ordinary business of the War Department was sufficiently 
 onerous without the details of Indian complications being made a part of it. 
 Yet the transfer was never made. 
 
142 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 official position was that of Commissioner of Indian 
 Affairs; but the unorganized character of the Confed- 
 erate administration in early 1861 is well attested by 
 the way Secretary Walker confounded the name and 
 functions of that office with those of an ordinary super- 
 intendent. On the fourteenth of May, he addressed 
 Hubbard as "Superintendent of Indian Affairs" and 
 instructed him 
 
 To proceed to the Creek Nation, and to make known to them, as 
 well as to the rest of the tribes west of Arkansas and south of 
 Kansas . . . the earnest desire of the Confederate States to 
 defend and protect them against the rapacious and avaricious 
 designs of their and our enemies at the North. . . You will, 
 in an especial manner, impress upon the Creek Nation and sur- 
 rounding Indian tribes the imperious fact that they will doubt- 
 less recognize, that the real design of the North and the Gov- 
 ernment at Washington in regard to them has been and still is 
 the same entertained and sought to be enforced against ourselves, 
 and if suffered to be consummated, will terminate in the emanci- 
 pation of their slaves and the robbery of their lands. To these 
 nefarious ends all the schemes of the North have tended for 
 many years past, as the Indian nations and tribes well know 
 from the character and conduct of those emissaries who have 
 been in their midst, preaching up abolition sentiments under the 
 disguise of the holy religion of Christ, and denouncing slave- 
 holders as abandoned by God and unfit associates for humanity 
 on earth. 
 
 You will be diligent to explain to them, under these circum- 
 stances, how their cause has become our cause, and themselves 
 and ourselves stand inseparably associated in respect to national 
 existence and property interests; and in view of this identifica- 
 tion of cause and interests between them and ourselves, entailing 
 a common destiny, give to them profound assurances that the 
 Government of the Confederate States of America, now power- 
 fully constituted through an immense league of sovereign polit- 
 ical societies, great forces in the field, and abundant resources, 
 will assume all the expense and responsibility of protecting them 
 against all adversaries. 
 
 Give them to understand, in this connection, that a brigadier- 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 143 
 
 general of character and experience has been assigned to the mil- 
 itary district embracing the Indian Territories south of Kansas, 
 with three regiments under his command, while in Texas an- 
 other military district has been formed. . . 
 
 In addition to these things, regarded of primary importance, 
 you will, without committing the Government to any especial 
 conduct, express our serious anxiety to establish and enforce the 
 debts and annuities due to them from the Government at Wash- 
 ington, which otherwise they will never obtain, as that Govern- 
 ment would, undoubtedly, sooner rob them of their lands, eman- 
 cipate their slaves, and utterly exterminate them, than render 
 to them justice. Finally, communicate to them the abiding 
 solicitude of the Confederate States of America to advance their 
 condition in the direction of a proud political society, with a dis- 
 tinctive civilization, and holding lands in severally under well- 
 defined laws, by forming them into a Territorial government; 
 but you will give no assurance of State organization and inde- 
 pendence, as they still require the strong arm of protecting 
 power, and may probably always need our fostering care; and, 
 so far as the agents of the late Government of the United States 
 may be concerned, you will converse with them, and such of 
 them as are willing to act with you in the policy herein set forth 
 you are authorized to substantiate in the employment of this 
 Government at their present compensation. . . 23 
 
 Hubbard's mission to the west was quite inde- 
 pendent 231 of Pike's, although both missions were un- 
 doubtedly part of the one general plan of securing as 
 quickly, as surely, and as easily as possible the friendly 
 cooperation of the Indians. At about the same moment 
 that they were devised, the Confederacy took yet an- 
 other means of accomplishing the same object and one 
 referred to in the letter of Secretary Walker just 
 quoted. On the thirteenth of this same month of May, 
 1861, it assigned Brigadier-general Ben McCulloch 
 
 230 Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 576-578. 
 
 231 Hubbard's ill-health, however, seems to have made it incumbent upon 
 Pike to assume much the larger share of official responsibility and practically 
 to do Hubbard's work as well as his own ; that is, so much of it as was not 
 transacted in Richmond. 
 
144 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 "to the command of the district embracing the Indian 
 Territory lying west of Arkansas and south of Kansas." 
 McCulloch's orders 232 were "to guard that Territory 
 against invasion from Kansas or elsewhere," and, for 
 the purpose, in addition to three regiments of white 
 troops, "to engage, if possible, the service of any of the 
 Indian tribes occupying the Territory referred to in 
 numbers equal to two regiments." 
 
 Hubbard's part in the prosecution of this great en- 
 deavor may as well be disposed of first. It was of short 
 duration and seemingly barren of direct results. Hub- 
 bard was long in reaching the western boundary of Ar- 
 kansas. On the way out he was seized with pneumonia 
 and otherwise delayed by wind and weather. On the 
 second of June he was still in Little Rock, apparently 
 much more interested 233 in the local situation in Arkan- 
 sas than in the real object of his mission. His intention 
 was to "go up the river to Fort Smith," June third. 
 From that point, on the twelfth, he addressed the Chero- 
 kee chief, John Ross, and the Confederate general, Ben 
 McCulloch. The letter was more particularly meant 
 for the former. 
 
 As Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the Confederate States 
 it was my intention to have called upon you and consulted as 
 to the mutual interests of our people. Sickness has put it out of 
 my power to travel, and those interests require immediate con- 
 sideration, and therefore I have determined to write, and make 
 what I think a plain statement of the case for your considera- 
 tion, which I think stands thus: If we succeed in the South - 
 succeed in this controversy, and I have no doubt of the fact, 
 for we are daily gaining friends among the powers of Europe, 
 and our people are arming with unanimity scarcely ever seen in 
 the world before - then your lands, your slaves, and your sep- 
 
 232 Adjutant and Inspector-General S. Cooper to McCulloch, May 13, 1861 
 [Official Records, first sen, vol. iiS, 575-576]. 
 
 238 Hubbard to Walker, June 2, 1861 [ibid., 589-590]. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 145 
 
 arate nationality are secured and made perpetual, and in addition 
 nearly all your debts are in Southern bonds, and these we will 
 also secure. If the North succeeds you will most certainly lose 
 all. First your slaves they will take from you ; that is one ob- 
 ject of the war, to enable them to abolish slavery in such man- 
 ner and at such time as they choose. Another, and perhaps the 
 chief cause, is to get upon your rich lands and settle their squat- 
 ters, who do not like to settle in slave States. They will settle 
 upon your lands as fast as they choose, and the Northern people 
 will force their Government to allow it. It is true they will 
 allow your people small reserves - they give chiefs pretty large 
 ones but they will settle among you, overshadow you, and 
 totally destroy the power of your chiefs and your nationality, 
 and then trade your people out of the residue of their lands. 
 Go North among the once powerful tribes of that country and 
 see if you can find Indians living and enjoying power and prop- 
 erty and liberty as do your people and the neighboring tribes 
 from the South. If you can, then say I am a liar, and the 
 Northern States have been better to the Indian than the South- 
 ern States. If you are obliged to admit the truth of what I 
 say, then join us and preserve your people, their slaves, their vast 
 possessions in land, and their nationality. 
 
 Another consideration is your debts, annuities, &c., school 
 funds due you. Nearly all are in bonds of Southern States and 
 held by the Government at Washington, and these debts are 
 nearly all forfeited already by the act of war made upon the 
 States by that Government. These we will secure you beyond 
 question if you join us. If you join the North they are forever 
 forfeited, and you will have no right to believe that the North- 
 ern people would vote to pay you this forfeited debt. Admit 
 that there may be some danger take which side you may, I think 
 the danger tenfold greater to the Cherokee people if they take 
 sides against us than for us. Neutrality will scarcely be pos- 
 sible. As long as your people retain their national character 
 your country cannot be abolitionized, and it is our interest there- 
 fore that you should hold your possessions in perpetuity. 234 
 
 The effect that such a communication as the forego- 
 
 234 Official Records, first sen, vol. xiii, 497-498 ; General Files, Cherokee, 
 1859-1865, 515. 
 
146 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 ing might well have had upon the Indians can scarcely 
 be overestimated. Time out of number they had been 
 over-reached in dealings financial. Only the year be- 
 fore, bonds in which Indian trust funds were invested 
 had been abstracted 235 from the vaults of the Interior 
 Department; and, for this cause and other causes, In- 
 dian money had not been readily forthcoming for the 
 much needed relief of Indian sufferers from the fearful 
 drought that devastated Indian Territory, Kansas, and 
 other parts of the great American desert in 1860. 
 
 Comment upon Hubbard's letter from the standpoint 
 of historical inaccuracy seems hardly necessary here. 
 Suffice it to say that the distortion of facts and the shift- 
 ing of responsibility for previous Indian wrongs from 
 the shoulders of Southern States to those of a federal 
 government made up entirely of northern states must 
 have seemed preposterous in the extreme to the Indians. 
 One can not help wondering how Hubbard dared to say 
 such things to the Indian exiles from Southern States 
 and particularly to John Ross who like all of his tribe 
 and of associated tribes was the victim of southern ag- 
 gression and not in any sense whatsoever of northern. 
 
 To Hubbard's gross amplification and even defiance 
 of his instructions, also to his extravagant utterances 
 touching the repudiation of debts and southern versus 
 northern justice and generosity. Chief Ross replied, 236 
 
 235 Rhodes, op. cit., vol. iii, 237-238 ; also Report of the Select Committee to 
 Investigate the Abstraction of Bonds Held by the United States Government 
 in Trust for Indian Tribes, being House Report, 36th congress, second session, 
 no. 78. Dole, in his Annual Report for 1861, p. 27, urged that the government 
 make the loss good to the Indians and also appropriate money "to meet the un- 
 paid interest on those trust bonds of the revolted States yet in custody of the 
 Secretary of the Interior." There ought never, either from the standpoint of 
 national faith or of that of political expediency, to have been any hesitation in 
 the matter. 
 
 236 The entire letter is to be found in Official Records, first ser., vol. xiii, 
 498-499; also in General Files, Cherokee, 18^-1865, 515. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 147 
 
 by way of strong contrast, in terms dignified and con- 
 vincing: 
 
 It is not the province of the Cherokees to determine the char- 
 acter of the conflict going on in the States. It is their duty to 
 keep themselves, if possible, disentangled, and afford no grounds 
 to either party to interfere with their rights. The obligations 
 of every character, pecuniary and otherwise, which existed prior 
 to the present state of affairs between the Cherokee Nation and 
 the Government are equally valid now as then. If the Govern- 
 ment ow r e us, I do not believe it will repudiate its debts. If 
 States embraced in the Confederacy owe us, I do not believe 
 they will repudiate their debts. I consider our annuity safe in 
 any contingency. 
 
 A comparison of Northern and Southern philanthropy, as 
 illustrated in their dealings toward the Indians within their re- 
 spective limits, would not affect the merits of the question now 
 under consideration, which is simply one of duty under existing 
 circumstances. I therefore pass it over, merely remarking that 
 the "settled policy" of former years was a favorite policy with 
 both sections when extended to the acquisition of Indian lands, 
 and that but few Indians now press their feet upon the banks of 
 either the Ohio or the Tennessee. . . 
 
 Judging from all the instructions that Secretary Walk- 
 er sent out on Indian matters in May of 1861, it would 
 seem that he had very much at heart the enlistment of 
 the Indians and their actual participation in the war. 
 Mention has already been made of how General Mc- 
 Culloch was told by Adjutant-general Cooper to add, 
 if possible, two Indian regiments to his brigade and of 
 how Walker had written Hubbard urging him to per- 
 suade the Indians to join forces and raising the number 
 of Indian regiments desired from two to three. In a 
 similar strain Walker wrote 237 to Douglas H. Cooper 
 
 237 WAR DEPARTMENT, C.S. ARMY, MONTGOMERY, May 13, 1861. 
 
 MAJOR DOUGLAS H. COOPER, Choctaw Nation: 
 
 Sir: The desire of this Government is to cultivate the most friendly 
 relations and the closest alliance with the Choctaw Nation and all the 
 
148 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 on the occasion of definitely asking him to give his ser- 
 vices to the South. In all these letters no special stress 
 was laid upon an intention to use the Indians as home 
 guards exclusively. On the contrary, one might easily 
 draw, from the letters, a quite opposite inference and 
 
 Indian tribes west of Arkansas and south of Kansas. Appreciating 
 your sympathies with these tribes, and their reciprocal regard for you, 
 we have thought it advisable to enlist your services in the line of this 
 desire. From information in possession of the Government it is deemed 
 expedient to take measures to secure the protection of these tribes in 
 their present country from the agrarian rapacity of the North, that, un- 
 less opposed, must soon drive them from their homes and supplant them 
 in their possessions, as, indeed, would have been the case with the en- 
 tire South but for our present efforts at resistance. It is well known 
 that with these unjust designs against the Indian country the Northern 
 movement for several years has had its emissaries scheming among the 
 tribes for their ultimate destruction. Their destiny has thus become our 
 own, and common with that of all the Southern States entering this 
 Confederation. 
 
 Entertaining these views and feelings, and with these objects before 
 us, we have commissioned General Ben. McCulloch, with three regi- 
 ments under his command, from the States of Arkansas, Texas, and 
 Louisiana, to take charge of the military district embracing the Indian 
 country, and I now empower you to raise among the Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws a mounted regiment, to be commanded by yourself, in co- 
 operation with General McCulloch. It is designed also to raise two 
 other similar regiments among the Creeks, Cherokees, Seminoles, and 
 other friendly tribes for the same purpose. This combined force of six 
 regiments will be ample to secure the frontiers upon Kansas and the in- 
 terests of the Indians, while to the south of the Red River three regi- 
 ments from Texas, under a different command, have been already as- 
 signed to the Rio Grande and western border. 
 
 It will thus appear, I trust, that the resources of this Government are 
 adequate to its ends, and assured to the friendly Indians. We have our 
 agents actively engaged in the manufacture of ammunition and in the 
 purchase of arms, and when your regiment has been reported organized 
 in ten companies, ranging from 64 to 100 men each, and enrolled for 
 twelve months, if possible, it will be received into the Confederate 
 service, and supplied with arms and ammunition. Such will be the 
 course pursued also in relation to the two other regiments I have in- 
 dicated. 
 
 The arms we are purchasing for the Indians are rifles, and they will 
 be forwarded to Fort Smith. Respectfully, 
 
 L. P. WALKER, Secretary of War. 
 Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 574-575. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 149 
 
 conclude that the Indian troops, if raised, were to be 
 used very generally and exactly as any other volunteers 
 might be used. This is important in view of the stand, 
 and a very positive one it was, that Albert Pike took 
 some time afterwards. In his own letter 288 to Johnson 
 of May 11, 1861, he does not specifically say that the 
 Indian soldiers, whose mustering he has in contempla- 
 tion, are not to be used outside of the Indian country; 
 but he does insist that that country be occupied by them 
 and by a certain number of white regiments -another 
 important point as subsequent events will divulge.' 
 
 General McCulloch took up his part of the task of 
 securing the Indians in his own characteristic way. He 
 had great energy and great enthusiasm and both qual- 
 ities were displayed to the fullest extent on the present 
 occasion. He first laid his plans for taking possession 
 forthwith of the Indian country, it having come to his 
 knowledge that Colonel Emory with the Federal forces 
 had abandoned it. 239 Apparently, it had never occurred 
 to McCulloch that the Indians themselves might be 
 averse to such a proceeding on his part but he was soon 
 made aware of it; for when he consulted 240 with John 
 Ross, he found, to his discomfiture and deep chagrin, 
 that the desire and the determination of this greatest of 
 all the Indians was to remain strictly neutral. On the 
 twelfth of June, McCulloch still further communicat- 
 ed 241 with Ross and informed him that he would respect 
 his wishes in so far as expediency justified but that he 
 would have to insist upon the inherent right of the in- 
 dividual Cherokees to organize themselves into a force 
 
 238 Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 572-574. 
 w lbid., 583. 
 
 240 See McCulloch to Walker, May 28, 1861, ibid., 587; also same to same, 
 June 12, 1861, ibid., 590-591. 
 
 241 Ibid., 591-592 ; also vol. xiii, 495. 
 
150 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 of Home Guards should they feel so inclined. Then 
 he closed his letter by this note of warning: 
 
 Should a body of men march into your Territory from the 
 North, or if I have an intimation that a body is in line of march 
 for the Territory from that quarter, I must assure you that I 
 will at once advance into your country, if I deem it advisable. 
 
 Once again the forbearance of Chief Ross had been 
 put to a severe test, but he none the less replied to Mc- 
 Culloch with his customary dignity. Ross was then at 
 Park Hill, McCulloch at Fort Smith, where he had 
 halted hoping that the permission would be forthcom- 
 ing for him to cross the line. Ross's reply 242 came by 
 return mail, so to speak, and was dated the seventeenth. 
 It was largely a reiteration of the reasons he had al- 
 ready given for preserving neutrality, but it was also 
 a positive refusal to allow the individual Cherokees to 
 organize a Home Guard. The concluding paragraph 
 gives the lie direct to those intriguing and self-inter- 
 ested politicians who, in later years, endeavored to im- 
 pugn Ross's sincerity: 
 
 Your demand that those people of the nation who are in 
 favor of joining the Confederacy be allowed to organize into 
 military companies as Home Guards, for the purpose of defend- 
 ing themselves in case of invasion from the North, is most re- 
 spectfully declined. I cannot give my consent to any such or- 
 ganization for very obvious reasons : First, it would be a pal- 
 pable violation of my position as a neutral; second, it would 
 place in our midst organized companies not authorized by our 
 laws but in violation of treaty, and who would soon become 
 efficient instruments in stirring up domestic strife and creating 
 internal difficulties among the Cherokee people. As in this 
 connection you have misapprehended a remark made in conver- 
 sation at our interview some eight or ten days ago, I hope you 
 will allow me to repeat what I did say. I informed you that I 
 
 242 General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515 ; Official Records, first ser., vol. 
 Hi, 596-597 and vol. xiii, 495-497. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 151 
 
 had taken a neutral position, and would maintain it honestly, 
 but that in case of a foreign invasion, old as I am, I would assist 
 in repelling it. . . 
 
 It will develop later how Ross's wishes with respect 
 to the enrollment of Home Guards were successfully 
 and adroitly circumvented, with the connivance of Gen- 
 eral McCulloch, by men of the Ridge faction in Cher- 
 okee politics. From the beginning, McCulloch seemed 
 determined not to take Ross seriously, yet he duly in- 
 formed Secretary Walker of the turn events were tak- 
 ing. On the twelfth of June, for instance, he wrote 243 
 to him and gave an account of his recent interview with 
 the Cherokee chief. It was rather a misleading ac- 
 count, however; for it conveyed to Walker the idea that 
 Ross was only waiting for provocation from the North 
 to throw in his lot with the Confederacy. On the twen- 
 ty-second of June, McCulloch wrote 244 to Walker again 
 
 243 Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 590-591. 
 
 244 HEADQUARTERS MCCULLOCH'S BRIGADE, 
 
 Fort Smith, Ark., June 22, 1861. 
 HON. L. P. WALKER, Secretary of War: 
 
 Sir: I have the honor to transmit the inclosed copy of a communica- 
 tion from John Ross, the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. 
 
 Under all the circumstances of the case I do not think it advisable 
 to march into the Cherokee country at this time unless there is some 
 urgent necessity for it. If the views expressed in my communication to 
 you of the i4th instant are carried out, it will, I am satisfied, force the con- 
 viction on the Cherokees that they have but one course to pursue - that 
 is, to join the Confederacy. The Choctaw and Chickasaw regiment will 
 be kept on the south of them; Arkansas will be to the east; and with my 
 force on the western border of Missouri no force will be able to march 
 into the Cherokee Nation, and surrounded as they will be by Southern 
 troops, they will have but one alternative at all events. From my posi- 
 tion to the north of them, in any event, I will have a controlling power 
 over them. I am satisfied from my interview with John Ross and from 
 his communication that he is only waiting for some favorable oppor- 
 tunity to put himself with the North. His neutrality is only a pretext 
 to await the issue of events. 
 
 I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 BEN. McCuLLOCH, Brigadier-General Commanding. 
 Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 595-596. 
 
152 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 and to the same effect as far as his belief that Ross was 
 not sincere in his professions of neutrality was con- 
 cerned, even though, in the interval between the two 
 letters, he had been carefully corrected by Ross himself 
 and even though he was, at the very time, sending on to 
 Richmond, the correspondence that denied the truth of 
 his own statement. He did, however, add that his be- 
 lief now was that Ross was awaiting a favorable mo- 
 ment to join forces with the North. 
 
 Albert Pike, special commissioner from the State 
 Department of the Confederate States to the Indian 
 tribes west of Arkansas, had accompanied General Mc- 
 Culloch on his visit to Ross, the latter part of May, 
 and had been present at the resulting interview. He 
 had told 246 Toombs that he would leave Little Rock 
 for Fort Smith the twenty-second and go at once 246 to 
 the Cherokee country. At Fort Smith, Pike met Mc- 
 Culloch and the two, seeking the same object, agreed 
 to go forward together, 247 having already been ap- 
 proached by an anti-Ross element of the Cherokee Na- 
 tion. 248 Ross, as has been shown, insisted upon main- 
 taining an attitude of strict neutrality, which probably 
 did not surprise his interviewers, since, according to 
 Pike's own testimony, he and McCulloch had not gone 
 to Park Hill expecting to be able to effect any arrange- 
 ment with Chief Ross. 249 Ross, however, did go so far 
 
 245 See Pike to Toombs, May 20, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 
 580-581]. 
 
 248 On the twenty-ninth of May, Pike wrote to Toombs again and informed 
 him that he was leaving for Tahlequah that very morning [ibid., fourth ser., 
 vol. i, 359]. 
 
 247 See McCulloch to Walker, May 28, 1861 [Ibid., first ser., vol. iii, 587- 
 588]. 
 
 248 See Pike to Cooley, February 17, 1866 [Indian Office, Miscellaneous 
 Files']. 
 
 w Ibid. 
 
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 153 
 
 as to promise 250 that within a short while he would call 
 a meeting of the Cherokee Executive Council and con- 
 fer with it further on the policy to be pursued. Ross 
 doubtless felt that it was a part of political wisdom to 
 do this. His was an exceedingly difficult position; for, 
 within the nation, there was a large element in favor of 
 secession. It was a minority party, it is true; but, none 
 the less, it represented for the most part, the intelligence 
 and the property and the influence of the tribe. Op- 
 posed to it and in favor of neutrality, was the large ma- 
 jority, not nearly so influential because made up of the 
 full-bloods and of those otherwise poverty-stricken and 
 obscure. In the light of previous tribal discords, the 
 minority party was the old Ridge, or Treaty, Party, 
 now headed by Stand Watie and E. C. Boudinot, while 
 the majority party was the Ross, or Non-treaty Party. 
 Ross himself, his nephew, William P. Ross, and a few 
 others were the great exceptions to the foregoing char- 
 acterization of their following. Of sturdy Scotch ex- 
 traction and honest to the core, they personally stood 
 out in strong contrast to the rank and file of the non- 
 secessionists and it was they who so guided public sen- 
 timent that John Ross had the nation back of him when, 
 on May 17, 1861, he issued his memorable Proclama- 
 tion of Neutrality: 2 " 
 
 Proclamation to the Cherokee people 
 
 Owing to the momentous state of affairs pending among the 
 people of the several States, I, John Ross, Principal Chief, 
 hereby issue this my proclamation to the people of the Cherokee 
 Nation, reminding them of the obligations arising under their 
 treaties with the United States, and urging them to the faithful 
 
 250 McCulloch to Walker, June 12, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. 
 iii, 591]. 
 
 251 Official Records, first ser., vol. xiii, 489-490. 
 
154 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 observance of said treaties by the maintenance of peace and 
 friendship toward the people of all the States. 
 
 The better to obtain these important ends, I earnestly impress 
 upon all my fellow-citizens the propriety of attending to their 
 ordinary avocations and abstaining from unprofitable discussions 
 of events transpiring in the States and from partisan demonstra- 
 tions in regard to the same. 
 
 They should not be alarmed by false reports thrown into cir- 
 culation by designing men, but cultivate harmony among them- 
 selves and observe in good faith strict neutrality between the 
 States threatening civil war. By these means alone can the 
 Cherokee people hope to maintain their rights unimpaired and to 
 have their own soil and firesides spared from the baleful effects 
 of a devastating war. There has been no declaration of war 
 between the opposing parties, and the conflict may yet be averted 
 by compromise or a peaceful separation. 
 
 The peculiar circumstances of their condition admonish the 
 Cherokees to the exercise of prudence in regard to a state of 
 affairs to the existence of which they have in no way contrib- 
 uted; and they should avoid the performance of any act or the 
 adoption of any policy calculated to destroy or endanger their 
 territorial and civil rights. By honest adherence to this course 
 they can give no just cause for aggression or invasion nor any 
 pretext for making their country the scene of military opera- 
 tions, and will be in a situation to claim and retain all their 
 rights in the final adjustment that will take place between the 
 several States. For these reasons I earnestly impress upon the 
 Cherokee people the importance of non-interference in the affairs 
 of the people of the States and the observance of unswerving 
 neutrality between them. 
 
 Trusting that God will not only keep from our own borders 
 the desolations of war, but that He will in infinite mercy and 
 power stay its ravages among the brotherhood of States. 
 
 Given under my hand at the executive office at Park Hill 
 this 1 7th day of May, 1861. 
 
 JNO. Ross, Principal Chief Cherokee Nation. 
 
 The discretion of the Cherokees, their wily diplo- 
 macy if, under the circumstances, you should please to 
 call it such, was more than counterbalanced by the in- 
 
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 
 
 discretion and the impetuosity of some of their neigh- 
 bors. It has already been noted how the Chickasaws 
 expressed their southern sympathies in the legislative 
 resolves 252 of the twenty-fifth of May, but not as yet 
 how the Choctaws took an equally strong stand. Both 
 tribes were so very pronounced in their show of affec- 
 tion for the Confederacy that they gave a secessionist 
 color to the whole of the Indian Territory, so much so, 
 in fact, that Lieutenant-colonel Hyams could report 253 
 to Governor Moore of Louisiana, on the twenty-eighth 
 of May, and upon information given him by some In- 
 dian agent. 
 
 . . . That the nations on the borders of this State (Ar- 
 kansas) are anxious and desirous to be armed; that they can and 
 will muster into the service 25,000 men; that they have immense 
 supplies of beeves, sufficient to supply the meat for the whole 
 Confederate service. All they ask is arms and enrollment. If 
 within your power to forward their views with the President, 
 it would be a great step in the right direction, and erect a more 
 effectual barrier against the Kansas marauders than any force 
 that could be sent against them, and thereby protect the northern 
 boundary of both Arkansas and Louisiana. The reasons why 
 every effort should be made to arm these people (now heart and 
 soul with us) to defend themselves and us are so palpable, that I 
 do not attempt to urge them upon you, but do solicit your at- 
 tention, so far as is compatible with your high position, to this 
 matter, to impress its importance on the President, and use your 
 well-known influence to effect this much desirable result. . . 
 
 General McCulloch, in a letter 254 also of the twenty- 
 eighth of May, more particularly specified the tribes 
 that were friendly to the South, but he too mentioned 
 some of them, the Choctaw and the Chickasaw, as 
 "anxious to join the Southern Confederacy." It should 
 not be a matter of surprise then to find that on the four- 
 
 252 Official Records, first sen, vol. Hi, 585-587. 
 zsz lbid., 589. 
 254 Ibid., 587. 
 
156 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 teenth of June, George Hudson, principal chief of the 
 Choctaw Nation, acting in accordance with the will of 
 the General Council, which had met four days before, 
 publicly declared 255 the Choctaw Nation, "free and in- 
 dependent}' 1 The chief's proclamation was, in effect, a 
 conscription act and provided for the enrollment, for 
 military service in the interests of the Confederacy, of 
 all competent males between the ages of eighteen and 
 forty-five years. The General Council had authorized 
 this and had further arranged for the appointment of 
 commissioners "to negotiate a treaty of alliance and 
 amity" with the Confederate States. 
 
 Under such conditions, the work of Albert Pike must 
 have seemed all plain sailing when once he was safely 
 beyond the Cherokee limits; but his efforts, 256 vain 
 though they were, to persuade that tribe into an alliance 
 did not end 257 with the first recorded interview with 
 Ross. He kept up his intercourse with the Ridge fac- 
 tion; but finally decided that as far as Ross and the na- 
 tion as a whole were concerned it would be best to await 
 the issue of events. It was only too apparent to all the 
 southern agents and commissioners that Ross would 
 never yield his opinion unless compelled thereto by one 
 of three things or a combination of any or all of them. 
 The three things were, pressure from within the tribe; 
 some extraordinary display of Confederate strength 
 that would presage ultimate success for southern arms; 
 and encroachment by the Federals. It was the com- 
 
 593-594- 
 
 256 See Albert Pike to John Ross, June 6, 1861 and John Ross to Albert 
 Pike, July i, 1861 in General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515. 
 
 257 It would appear that, failing with John Ross, Pike tried to negotiate 
 with the disaffected Cherokees under the control of Stand Watie, Boudinot, and 
 others. See Office Letter to President Johnson, February 25, 1866. Pike him- 
 self says that he invited some of these men to meet him at the Creek Agency. 
 See Pike to Cooley, February 17, 1866. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 157 
 
 bination that eventually won the day. Pike, mean- 
 while, had passed on to the Creek country. 
 
 At the North Fork Village, in the Creek country, the 
 work of negotiating Indian treaties in the interests of 
 the Confederacy really began and it did not end until 
 a rather long series of them had been concluded. The 
 series consisted of nine main treaties 258 and the nine 
 group themselves into three distinct classes. The basis 
 of classification is the relative strength or power of the 
 tribe, or better, the degree of concession which the Con- 
 federacy, on account of that strength or that power or 
 under stress of its own dire needs, felt itself obliged to 
 make. This is the list as classified : 
 
 FIRST CLASS 
 
 1. Creek, negotiated at North Fork, Creek Nation, July 259 10, 
 1861 
 
 2. Choctaw and Chickasaw, negotiated at North Fork, July 
 12, 1861 
 
 3. Seminole, negotiated at the Seminole Council House, Au- 
 gust i, 1861 
 
 4. Cherokee, negotiated at Tahlequah, Chreokee Nation, Oc- 
 tober 7, 1 86 1 
 
 SECOND CLASS 
 
 1. Osage, negotiated at Park Hill, Cherokee Nation, October 
 2, 1861 
 
 2. Seneca and Shawnee, negotiated at Park Hill, October 4, 
 1861 
 
 3. Quapaw, negotiated at Park Hill, October 4, 1861 
 
 258 The text of the treaties is to be found in the Confederate Statutes and 
 also in Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, as follows: 
 
 Creek Treaty, 426-443 Comanche Treaty, 548-554 
 
 Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty, 445- Osage Treaty, 636-646 
 
 466 Seneca and Shawnee Treaty, 647-658 
 
 Seminole Treaty, 513-527 Quapaw Treaty, 659-666 
 
 Wichita Treaty, 542-548 Cherokee Treaty, 669-687 
 
 259 Although the Creek Treaty was negotiated July tenth and was the first 
 to be negotiated, Dole was ignorant of its existence as late as October second 
 
158 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 THIRD CLASS 
 
 1. Wichita, etc., negotiated at the Wichita Agency near the 
 False Washita River, August 12, 1861 
 
 2. Comanche, negotiated at the Wichita Agency, August 12, 
 1861 
 
 Although all the treaties, made in 1861 by Albert 
 Pike, were negotiated under authority 260 of the Act of 
 the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, ap- 
 proved May 21, 1 86 1, by which the Confederacy of- 
 fered and agreed to accept the protectorate of the In- 
 dian tribes west of Arkansas and Missouri, only those 
 made with the great tribes contained a statement, 261 
 definitely showing that the protectorate had been for- 
 mally offered, formally accepted and formally assumed. 
 Thus, in a very unequivocal way, Creeks, Choctaws, 
 Chickasaws, Seminoles, and Cherokees, all signified 262 
 their willingness to transfer their allegiance from the 
 United to the Confederate States. The smaller tribes 
 seem not to have been asked to make the same conces- 
 sion and their nationality was, in no sense, recognized. 
 They acted more or less under duress or compulsion, 
 and the very negotiation of treaties with them was taken 
 as a full compliance with the confederate scheme. 
 
 The nationality of the great tribes, or more properly 
 speaking, their political importance, was still further 
 
 [Report, 1861, 39], which only goes to prove how very slight was the Federal 
 communication with Indian Territory through all that critical time. 
 240 President Davis, in his message of December 12, 1861, said, 
 Considering this act as a declaration by Congress of our future policy 
 in relation to those Indians, a copy of that act was transmitted to the 
 commissioner and he was directed to consider it as his instructions in 
 the contemplated negotiation. [Richardson, Messages and Papers of 
 the Confederacy, vol. i, 14.9 ; Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 785.] 
 261 All the treaties of the First Class contain a Preamble, lacking in the 
 others, which specifically outlines the assumption of the protectorate. In addi- 
 tion, those same treaties have a special clause accepting the full force of the 
 Act of May twenty-first 
 
 All references to these treaties, unless otherwise noted, will be page refer- 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 159 
 
 recognized by clauses guaranteeing territorial and po- 
 litical integrity, 263 representation by delegates 264 in the 
 
 ences to the treaties as found in the Statutes at Large of the Provisional Gov- 
 ernment of the Confederate States of America. 
 
 262 See Creek Treaty, Articles II and iv, pp. 289, 290; Choctaw and Chick- 
 asaw Treaty, Articles n and VH, pp. 312, 313 ; Seminole Treaty, Articles n and 
 iv> pp. 332, 333; Cherokee Treaty, Articles u and v, pp. 395, 396. 
 
 263 ARTICLE vin (Creek Treaty). The Confederate States of America 
 do hereby solemnly agree and bind themselves that no State or Territory 
 shall ever pass laws for the government of the Creek Nation ; and that 
 no portion of the country hereby guaranteed to it shall ever be em- 
 braced or included within or annexed to any Territory or Province; nor 
 shall any attempt ever be made, except upon the free, voluntary and un- 
 solicited application of the said nation, to erect the said country, by it- 
 self or with any other, into a State or any other territorial or political 
 organization, or to incorporate it into any State previously created [p. 
 291]. 
 
 Compare with similar articles in the other treaties; viz., Article x of the 
 Choctaw and Chickasaw, p. 314; Article vni of the Seminole, p. 334; Article 
 vin of the Cherokee, p. 397; Articles vin and xxvi of the Osage, pp. 364, 367; 
 Articles vm and xix of the Seneca and Shawnee, pp. 376, 377; Article VH of 
 the Quapaw, p. 387. 
 
 264 ARTICLE XL (Creek Treaty). In order to enable the Creek and 
 Seminole Nations to claim their rights and secure their interests without 
 the intervention of counsel or agents, and as they were originally one 
 and the same people and are now entitled to reside in the country of 
 each other, they shall be jointly entitled to a delegate to the House of 
 Representatives of the Confederate States of America, who shall serve 
 for the term of two years, and be a member of one of the said nations, 
 over twenty-one years of age, and labouring under no legal disability 
 by the law of either nation; and each delegate shall be entitled to the 
 same rights and privileges as may be enjoyed by delegates from any 
 territories of the Confederate States to the said House of Representatives. 
 Each shall receive such pay and mileage as shall be fixed by the Con- 
 gress of the Confederate States. The first election for delegate shall be 
 held at such time and places, and be conducted in such manner as shall 
 be prescribed by the agent of the Confederate States, to whom returns 
 of such election shall be made, and he shall declare the person having 
 the greatest number of votes to be duly elected, and give him a certifi- 
 cate of election accordingly, which shall entitle him to his seat. For all 
 subsequent elections, the times, places, and manner of holding them and 
 ascertaining and certifying the result shall be prescribed by law of the 
 Confederate States [p. 297]. 
 
 Compare with Article xxvii of Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty [p. 318], the 
 chief point of difference between the two being that, in the latter treaty the 
 delegate to which the two tribes, parties to the treaty, were entitled jointly, 
 
160 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Confederate Congress, and the prospect 265 of ultimate 
 statehood. The guarantee of territorial integrity was, 
 
 was to be elected from them alternately. The Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty 
 also stipulated that the delegate was to be a member by birth or blood on 
 either the father's or the mother's side. The corresponding provision in the 
 Cherokee Treaty, Article XLIV [pp. 403-404], said that the delegate should be a 
 native born citizen. The Seminole arrangement, Article xxxvn [p. 339], was, 
 as might be expected, exactly the same as the Creek. 
 
 265 The Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty was the only one that developed 
 this idea. We might presume that the Creeks were even opposed to it This 
 is how it appears in Articles xxvin, xxix, and xxx, of the Choctaw and Chick- 
 asaw Treaty [pp. 318-319]: 
 
 ARTICLE XXVIIL In consideration of the uniform loyalty and good 
 faith, and the tried friendship for the people of the Confederate States, 
 of the Choctaw and Chickasaw people, and of their fitness and capacity 
 for self-government, proven by the establishment and successful main- 
 tenance, by each, of a regularly organized republican government, with 
 all the forms and safe-guards to which the people of the Confederate 
 States are accustomed, it is hereby agreed by the Confederate States, 
 that whenever and so soon as the people of each nation shall, by ordi- 
 nance of a convention of delegates, duly elected by majorities of the 
 legal voters, at an election regularly held after due and ample notice, 
 in pursuance of an act of the Legislature of each, respectively, declare 
 its desire to become a State of the Confederacy, the whole Choctaw and 
 Chickasaw country, as above defined, shall be received and admitted 
 into the Confederacy as one of the Confederate States, on equal terms, 
 in all respects, with the original States, without regard to population; 
 and all the members of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations shall 
 thereby become citizens of the Confederate States, not including, how- 
 ever, among such members, the individuals of the bands settled in the 
 leased district aforesaid. 
 
 Provided, That, as a condition precedent to such admission, the said 
 nations shall provide for the survey of their lands, the holding in sev- 
 erally of parts thereof by their people, the dedication of at least one 
 section in every thirty-six to purposes of education, and the sale of such 
 portions as are not reserved for these, or other special purposes, to citi- 
 zens of the Confederate States alone, on such terms as the said nation 
 shall see fit to fix, not intended or calculated to prevent the sale thereof. 
 ARTICLE xxix. The proceeds of such sales shall belong entirely to 
 members of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, and be distributed 
 among them or invested for them in proportion to the whole population 
 of each, in such manner as the Legislatures of said nations shall pro- 
 vide ; nor shall any other persons ever have any interest in the annuities 
 or funds of either the Choctaw or Chickasaw people, nor any power to 
 legislate in regard thereto. 
 
 ARTICLE xxx. Whenever the desire of the Creek and Seminole 
 people and the Cherokees to become a part of the said State shall be 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 161 
 
 of a certainty, not new. It had been inserted into vari- 
 ous removal treaties as a safeguard against a repetition 
 of the injustice that had been meted out to the Indians 
 by the Southern States in Jackson's day. It comprised, 
 in effect, a solemn promise that no state or territorial lines 
 should ever again circumscribe the particular domain 
 of the Indian nation securing the guarantee; and that 
 state or territorial laws, as the case might be, should 
 have no operation within the Indian country. The idea 
 of congressional representation 266 was also not new, but 
 where it had previously been but a promise or a mere 
 contingency, it was now an assured fact, a thing definite- 
 ly provided for. Ultimate statehood had, however, at- 
 tached to it the old time elements of uncertainty, which 
 is not at all surprising, considering that Walker, in his 
 instructions 267 to Hubbard, had positively spoken 
 against it. 
 
 All the treaties, without distinction of class, recog- 
 nized the land rights of the Indians and their existing 
 territorial limits, but with the usual restriction upon 
 alienation to foreign powers. A sale or cession to a for- 
 eign state, without the consent of the Confederate 
 States, was to result in forfeiture and reversion to the 
 Confederate States. By the Choctaw and Chickasaw 
 Treaty, the arrangement, 268 already satisfactorily 
 reached, for a Chickasaw country distinct from a Choc- 
 expressed, in the same manner and with the same formalities, as is 
 above provided for in the case of the Choctaw and Chickasaw people, 
 the country of the Creeks and Seminoles, and that of the Cherokees, re- 
 spectively, or either by itself, may be annexed to and become an integral 
 part of said State, upon the same conditions and terms, and with the 
 same rights to the people of each, in regard to citizenship and the pro- 
 ceeds of their lands. 
 
 266 Abel, "Proposals for an Indian State in the Union, 1778-1878," in the 
 American Historical Association, Report, 1907, pp. 89-102. 
 
 267 Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 577. 
 2(58 Articles V and vi. 
 
1 62 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 taw was continued, the Indians of both tribes being giv- 
 en the privilege of having their particular land sur- 
 veyed and sectionized whenever they might so please, 
 provided it be done by regular legislative process. 269 
 The same treaty transferred 270 the lease of the Wichita 
 Reserve from the United to the Confederate States and 
 limited it to ninety-nine years. Practically the same 
 bands of Indians were to be accommodated in this 
 Leased District as before; namely, those whose perma- 
 nent ranges were south of the Canadian or between it 
 and the Arkansas. The New Mexican Indians were 
 still to be absolutely excluded. The Choctaw and 
 Chickasaw Indians reserved the right to pass upon the 
 accommodation of any other Indians than those spe- 
 cifically mentioned in the treaty. The individual bands, 
 so accommodated in the Leased District, were to be 
 settled upon reserves and to hold the same in fee. 
 Finally, the treaty placed, 271 for the time being, the 
 Wichitas and their fellow reservees exclusively under 
 the control of the Confederate States with a limited jur- 
 isdiction resting in the Choctaw Nation and a full right 
 of settlement in Choctaws and Chickasaws. 
 
 In regard to special features of the land rights of 
 tribes other than those already mentioned, it is well to 
 observe, perhaps, that the title to the reservation then 
 occupied by the Seminoles was admitted to be depend- 
 ent upon Creek sufferance; 272 that the United States 
 patent of December 31, 1838, was recognized 273 as pro- 
 tecting the Cherokee; and that the Osage lands in Kan- 
 sas were inferentially covered by the Confederate guar- 
 
 2 9 Article VIII. 
 
 270 Article XI. 
 
 271 Article xn. 
 
 272 Article vii of the Seminole Treaty [p. 334.], and Article VH likewise of 
 the Creek Treaty [p. 291]. 
 
 27 3 Article iv of the Cherokee Treaty [pp. 395-396]. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 163 
 
 antee, given that tribe, of title in perpetuity. 274 The 
 Confederate States, moreover, agreed to indemnify 273 
 the Cherokees should their Neutral Lands be lost to 
 them through the misfortune of the war. It is rather 
 interesting to see that this new government, in promis- 
 ing the insignificant tribes a permanent occupancy of 
 their present holdings, made use of the same high- 
 flown, meaningless language that the United States had 
 so long used ; but Albert Pike knew better than to assure 
 the truly powerful tribes that they should hold their 
 lands themselves and in common "as long as the grass 
 should grow and the waters run." That language could 
 yet be made appealing and effective, though, in official 
 dealings with weak Wichitas, 276 Senecas, and Shaw- 
 nees, 277 and, strange as it may seem, even with Creeks. 278 
 In reciprocal fashion, the wild Comanches could most 
 naively promise 279 to hold the Confederate States "by 
 the hand, and have but one heart with them always." 
 Speaking of indemnification, we are reminded of 
 other very important financial obligations assumed by 
 the Confederacy when it made its famous treaties with 
 the Indians west of Arkansas. Those financial obliga- 
 tions comprised the payment of annuities due the tribes 
 from the United States in return for land cessions of 
 enormous extent. They also comprised the interest on 
 various funds, such as the Orphan Creek fund, educa- 
 tion funds, and the like. Albert Pike had been given 
 no specific authority to do this but he knew well that no 
 
 274 In the matter of the guarantee of territorial integrity, the treaties of the 
 Second Class were strictly on a par with those of the First Class. See Article 
 viii of the Osage Treaty [p. 364], Article xix of the Seneca and Shawnee 
 Treaty [p. 378], Article vn of the Quapaw [p. 387]. 
 
 275 Article XLVH [pp. 407-408]. 
 
 276 Article V [p. 348]. 
 
 277 Article HI [pp. 374-375]. 
 
 278 Article v [p. 291]. 
 Article I [p. 354]. 
 
164 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 treaties could possibly be made without it. It was not 
 very likely that the slaveholding tribes would surren- 
 der so much wealth for nothing, and so Pike argued, 
 when justifying himself and his actions later on. In his 
 capacity as commissioner with plenary powers, he also 
 promised the Indians that the Confederacy would see 
 to it that their trust funds, secured by southern bonds, 
 should be rendered safe and negotiable. Over and 
 above all this, the government of the Confederate 
 States made itself responsible for claims for damages 
 of various sorts that the different tribes had brought or 
 were to bring against the United States. Three good 
 instances of the same are the following: the claim of 
 the Cherokees for losses, personal and national, incident 
 to the removal from Georgia ; the claim 28 * of the Sem- 
 
 280 For an illustration of how the Scminoles had been preferring the claim, 
 see the following affidavit: 
 
 Be it known that on this zzd day of January, A.D. 1856, personally 
 appeared before me, J. W. Washbourne, United States' Agent for Sem- 
 inoles, in open Council, the following named Chiefs and Head men of 
 the Seminole tribe of Indians, and deposed to the subsequent statement. 
 
 That sometime during the war between the United States and the 
 Seminoles, Gen. Thomas S. Jessup, then commanding the U.S. troops in 
 Florida, issued a proclamation to the effect that all negroes belonging 
 to the hostile Seminoles who should come in and take service under the 
 Government against their masters, or in any way render service to the 
 United States against the Seminoles, or induce them to sue for peace 
 and emigrate west, they, the negroes, should be declared free: That 
 many negroes took advantage of said illegal proclamation and did take 
 service in Florida under Government, but that, by far the larger num- 
 ber of negro slaves who took refuge under said proclamation and thereby 
 claimed their freedom, did so after the immigration west was deter- 
 mined or consummated: That said negro slaves, in great numbers and 
 to the great injury of their owners, and against their orders, took refuge 
 within the United States' post, Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation, where 
 they were for upwards of three years protected by the United States 
 officers at that Post, although the Seminoles claimed them, the negroes, 
 as their lawful slaves, and protested against this procedure of the U.S. 
 officers: That while these negro slaves were thus protected by military 
 officers, it was impossible to keep their slaves at home who were con- 
 tinually flying to Fort Gibson, where they were beyond the reach of 
 their masters: That this occurred during the years i845-'6-*7: That 
 
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 165 
 
 inoles for losses sustained by reason of General Thomas 
 
 through the instrumentality of their former Sub Agent and attornies 
 employed by them, they after long delay and at great expense and loss 
 of slaves, presented the matter to the attention of the Secretary of War, 
 Hon. Wm, L. Marcy, and that finally from him, as such Secretary of 
 War, there issued an order bearing date the sth of August 1848, di- 
 rected to the commanding officer at Fort Gibson, enjoining him to pro- 
 tect no longer said negro slaves at that Post and commanding him to 
 deliver all of said slaves to the Seminoles their rightful owners: That 
 even after this order the nuisance did not abate, for another order dated 
 July sist 1850 required the commanding officer of Fort Gibson to give 
 no further protection to these "Seminole negroes": That by this order 
 of the Secretary of War, as was just and right, the United States 
 recognised the ownership of these said slaves as being in the Seminoles, 
 and that they were entitled by law and right to said slaves and their 
 service: That in consequence of the withdrawal of the protection af- 
 forded them at Fort Gibson and from their having so long considered 
 themselves free, said slaves in great numbers escaped, some of whom 
 reached Mexico, some were killed by the wild Indians, and the re- 
 mainder were only captured at great and ruinous expense: That the 
 owners of these said negro slaves are justly and equitably entitled to the 
 service of said slaves, while unlawfully and against the power and pro- 
 tests of the Seminoles, detained at Fort Gibson for the space of more 
 than three years, by U.S. officers: That the number of said negro slaves 
 so unlawfully detained and kept from the service due their masters, as 
 near as now can be estimated was Two Hundred and Thirty-four or 
 thereabouts: That the services of these said slaves for these three years 
 and upwards were amply worth at the time Seventy five dollars each 
 per annum, making the sum of Fifty two Thousand Six hundred and 
 fifty dollars ($52.650.0x3,) to which the Seminole owners of said slaves 
 are fully and fairly, in law and equity, entitled, and which ought to be 
 paid to them by the Government of the United States. 
 
 JOHN JUMPER, P. Chief Seminoles X his mark 
 
 PAH sue AH YO HO LAH, Speaker Council X his mark 
 
 CHITTO-TUSTO-MUGGEE X his mark 
 
 ARHAH-LOCK-TUSTO-MUGGEE X his mark 
 
 NOKE-SU-KEE X his mark 
 
 PARS-CO-FER X his mark 
 
 TESI-KI-AH X his mark 
 
 ALLIGATOR X his mark 
 
 TALLA-HASSA X his mark 
 
 GEORGE CLOUD X his mark 
 
 HO-TUL-GEE-HARJO X his mark 
 
 TAR-HAH FIXICO X his mark 
 Sworn to and subscribed before me, in open Council Jany 22d 1856. 
 
 J. W. WASHBOURNE U.S. Agent for Seminoles. 
 Witnesses: GEORGE M. AUD 
 
166 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 S. Jesup's emancipation 281 order during the progress of 
 the Second Seminole War; and the claim of the Wich- 
 itas against the United States government for having 
 granted to the Choctaws the land that belonged by he- 
 reditary preemption to them and had so belonged from 
 time out of mind. It is exceedingly interesting to know 
 that these Wichitas had been colonized on the very land 
 they claimed as indisputably their own. 
 
 In all the treaties, negotiated by Pike, except the two 
 of the Third Class, 282 the Wichita and the Comanche, 
 the institution of slavery was positively and particularly 
 recognized, recognized as legal and as having existed 
 from time immemorial. Property rights in slaves were 
 guaranteed. Fugitive Slave Laws were declared oper- 
 ative within the Indian country, and the mutual rendi- 
 tion of fugitives was promised throughout the length 
 and breadth of the Confederacy. The First Class of 
 treaties differs from the Second in this matter but only 
 in a very slight degree. The latter condenses in one 
 clause 283 all that bears upon slavery in its various as- 
 pects, the former separates the discussion of the legality 
 of the institution from that of the rendition of slaves. 
 Of the First Class, the Creek Treaty 284 constituted the 
 
 281 President Polk seems to have been of the opinion that negro slaves could 
 not be freed by military proclamation [Diary (Quaife's edition), vol. iii, 504]. 
 
 282 Slavery was not completely ignored even in the treaties of the Third 
 Class. In Article ix of their treaty [p. 348], the Wichitas promised to do all in 
 their power to take and return any negroes, horses, or other property stolen 
 from white men or from Indians of the great tribes. The corresponding 
 article in the Comanche Treaty [p. 355], was to like purpose. 
 
 288 Article xxxvii of the Osage Treaty, Article xxvin of the Seneca and 
 Shawnee Treaty, and Article xxvin of the Quapaw Treaty. 
 
 284 The following are the Creek clauses and the Choctaw and Chickasaw, 
 Articles XLV and XLVII, the Seminole, Articles xxix and xxxm, and the Chero- 
 kee, Articles xxxiv and xxxvn, are similar: 
 
 ARTICLE xxix. The provisions of all such acts of Congress of the 
 
 Confederate States as may now be in force, or may hereafter be enacted, 
 
 for the purpose of carrying into effect the provision of the constitution 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 167 
 
 model ; of the Second, the Osage. 285 
 
 Aside from the things to which reference has already 
 been made, the Confederate Indian treaties were, in a 
 variety of ways and to the same extent that the Confed- 
 erate constitution itself was, a reflection upon past his- 
 tory. To avoid the friction that had always been pres- 
 ent between the red men and their neighbors, an attempt 
 was now made to redefine and to readjust the relations 
 of Indians with each other both within and without the 
 tribe; their relations with white men considered apart 
 from any political organization; their relations, either 
 as individuals or as tribes, with the several states of the 
 Confederacy; and their relations with the central gov- 
 ernment. In general, their rights, civil, political, and 
 judicial, as men and as semi-independent communities 
 were now specified under such conditions as made for 
 what in times past would have been regarded as full 
 recognition, and even for enlargement. Indian rights 
 were at a premium because Indian alliances were in 
 demand. 
 
 in regard to the re-delivery or return of fugitive slaves, or fugitives 
 from labour and service, shall extend to, and be in full force within the 
 said Creek Nation; and shall also apply to all cases of escape of fugi- 
 tive slaves from the said Creek Nation into any other Indian nation or 
 into one of the Confederate States, the obligation upon each such nation 
 or State to re-deliver such slaves being in every case as complete as if 
 they had escaped from another State, and the mode of procedure the 
 same [p. 296]. 
 
 ARTICLE XXXIL It is hereby declared and agreed that the institu- 
 tion of slavery in the said nation is legal and has existed from time im- 
 memorial ; that slaves are taken and deemed to be personal property ; 
 that the title to slaves and other property having its origin in the said 
 nation, shall be determined by the laws and customs thereof; and that 
 the slaves and other personal property of every person domiciled in said 
 nation shall pass and be distributed at his or her death, in accordance 
 with the laws, usages and customs of the said nation, which may be 
 proved like foreign laws, usages & customs, and shall everywhere he 
 held valid and binding within the scope of their operation [p. 296]. 
 
 285 p. 369. 
 
1 68 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 The relations of Indians with Indians need not be 
 considered at length. Suffice it to say that many clauses 
 were devoted to the regulation of the affairs of those 
 tribes that were, either politically or ethnologically, 
 closely connected with each other; as, for example, the 
 Choctaws and Chickasaws on the one hand and the 
 Creeks and Seminoles on the other. Still other clauses 
 assured the tribes of protection against hostile invasion 
 from red men and from white, and assured all the great 
 tribes, except the Cherokees, 286 of similar protection 
 against domestic violence. 287 The Cherokees, very pos- 
 sibly, were made an exception because of the known in- 
 tensity of their factional strife and hatred, which, purely 
 for its own selfish ends, the Confederacy had done so 
 much to augment. There may also have been some lin- 
 gering doubt of John Ross's sincerity in the matter of 
 devotion to the Confederacy. The time had been and 
 might come again when the Confederacy would find it 
 very expedient to play off one faction against another. 
 Injuries coming to the Indians from a failure to protect 
 were to be indemnified out of the Confederate treasury. 
 Could the United States, throughout the more than a 
 hundred years of its history have had just such a law, 
 its national treasury would have been saved millions and 
 
 286 Article xvu of the Cherokee Treaty [p. 399]. 
 
 287 ARTICLE xv (Creek Treaty). The Confederate States shall pro- 
 tect the Creeks from domestic strife, from hostile invasion, and from 
 aggression by other Indians and white persons not subject to the juris- 
 diction and laws of the Creek Nation, and for all injuries resulting from 
 such invasion or aggression, full indemnity is hereby guaranteed to the 
 party or parties injured, out of the Treasury of the Confederate States, 
 upon the same principle and according to the same rules upon which 
 white persons are entitled to indemnity for injuries or aggressions upon 
 them committed by Indians [p. 293]. 
 
 See also Article xxi of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty and Article xv of 
 the Seminole Treaty. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 169 
 
 millions of dollars paid out in claims, just and unjust, 
 of white men against the Indians. 
 
 As affecting their relations with white men, the In- 
 dians were conceded the right to determine absolutely, 
 by their own legislation, the conditions of their own 
 tribal citizenship. This would mean, of course, the 
 free continuance of the custom of adoption, a custom 
 more pernicious in Indian history than even the prin- 
 ciple of equal apportionment in Prankish; because it 
 was the entering wedge to territorial encroachment. 
 The white man, once adopted into the tribe as a citizen, 
 was to be protected against unjust discrimination or 
 against the forfeiture of his acquired status. The pro- 
 visions against intruders were legitimately severe, those 
 of the United States had never been severe enough. 
 The executive power had always been very weak and 
 very lax but now it was to reside in the tribal Council 
 and would bid fair to be firm because interested, or, per- 
 haps, we should say disinterested. The Confederacy, 
 on its part, promised that the aid of the military should 
 be forthcoming for the expulsion of intruders on appli- 
 cation by the agent, should the tribal authority prove 
 inadequate. The Indians might compel the removal of 
 obnoxious men from agency and military reserves. 
 Unauthorized settlement within the Indian country by 
 citizens of the Confederate States was absolutely for- 
 bidden under pain of punishment by the tribe en- 
 croached upon. 
 
 With respect to Indian trade, there was consider- 
 able innovation and considerable modification of exist- 
 ing laws. For years past, the Indians of the great 
 tribes had chafed under the restrictions which the 
 United States government had placed upon their trade 
 
170 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 and, unquestionably, no other single thing had irritated 
 them more than the very evident monopoly right which 
 the United States had given to a few white men over it. 
 Indian trade, under federal regulations, was nothing 
 more nor less than an extension of the protective policy, 
 a policy that was destructive of all competition and that 
 put the Indian, often to the contempt of his intelligence, 
 at the mercy of the white sharper. Indian commis- 
 sioner after Indian commissioner had protested against 
 it, but all in vain. George W. Manypenny, particu- 
 larly, had tried 288 to effect a change; for he was himself 
 convinced that, if the Indians were capable of self- 
 government, they were certainly capable of conducting 
 their own trade. Needless to say, Manypenny's efforts 
 were entirely unavailing. The Indian trade in the 
 hands of the licensed white trader, although a per- 
 nicious thing for the Indian, was an exceedingly lucra- 
 tive business for enterprising American citizens, white 
 men who were, unfortunately, in possession of the elect- 
 ive franchise but of little else that was honorable and 
 the government, controlled by constituents with local 
 interests, dared not surrender it to the unenfranchised 
 Indians no matter how highly competent they might 
 be. Thus the Indian country, throughout its entire 
 extent, was exploited for the sake of the frontiersman. 
 Moreover, the annuity money, a just tax upon a govern- 
 ment that had received so much real estate from the 
 aborigines, instead of being spent judiciously to meet 
 the ends of civilization and in such a way as to reflect 
 credit upon the donor, who after all was a self-consti- 
 tuted guardian, went right back into the pockets of 
 United States citizens but, of necessity, into those of 
 only a very limited number of them. 
 
 288 Manypenny to Dean, November 30, 1855 [Indian Office, Letter Book, 
 no - 53> PP- 94-95]- Dean to Manypenny, December 25, 1855 [Letter Press 
 BooK}. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 171 
 
 Because it was a matter of expediency and not be- 
 cause it was a principle that it believed in, otherwise 
 it would have given it to the weak tribes as well as to 
 the strong, the Confederacy gave to the Indians of the 
 great tribes, but not to all in exactly the same measure, 289 
 the control of their own trade. It did not do away with 
 the post trader, as it ought to have done in order to 
 make its reform complete, but it did deprive him of 
 his monopoly privileges. It hedged his license about 
 with restrictions, 290 made it subject, on complaint of the 
 Indian and in the event of arrearages, to revocation; 
 and, to all of the great tribes except the Seminoles, it 
 gave the power of taxing his goods, his stock in trade, 
 usually a rather paltry outfit. No better precaution 
 could have possibly been devised against exorbitant 
 charging. An ad valorem tax would most certainly 
 have quite eliminated the fifty, the one hundred, and 
 the two hundred per cents of profit. As a matter of 
 fact, the extravagantly high prices of the ordinary In- 
 dian trader would be, for most persons, positively pro- 
 hibitive. The Confederacy further bound itself to pay 
 to the Indians an annual compensation for the land and 
 timber used by the trader. 
 
 The questions settled as between the several states and 
 the Indian tribes were chiefly 291 of property rights and 
 
 289 Compare Article xx of the Cherokee Treaty and Article xxrv of the 
 Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty with Article xvi of the Creek Treaty and all 
 of these with Article xvi of the Seminole Treaty. 
 
 290 See, for example, Article xvm of the Seminole Treaty [p. 336]. 
 
 291 One other important right was conceded and that was the right of free 
 transit. The concession is well stated in the Creek Treaty and occurs in con- 
 nection with a prohibition against the pasturing of stock by outsiders within 
 the Creek country. 
 
 ARTICLE XXH. No citizen or inhabitant of the Confederate States 
 shall pasture stock on the lands of the Creek Nation, under the penalty 
 of one dollar per head for all so pastured, to be collected by the authori- 
 ties of the nation; but their citizens shall be at liberty at all times, and 
 
172 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 of civil and criminal rights and procedure. In addi- 
 tion to their property right in slaves, the Indians were 
 at last admitted to have a possible right in other things, 
 in land, for instance, that might lie within the limits 
 of a state. This they were henceforth to hold, dispose 
 of as they pleased, and bequeath by will. 292 Restric- 
 tions, likewise, upon their power freely to dispose of 
 their chattels, 293 were removed, a coordinate concession, 
 but one that did not so much affect their relations with 
 a given individual state as their relations with the cen- 
 tral government. To such 294 of the Indians as were 
 not to be brought within the jurisdiction of the Confed- 
 erate States District Courts 295 that were to be created 
 within the Indian country, the right was given to sue 
 and to implead in any of the courts of the several states. 
 To Indians generally of the great tribes was given the 
 right to be held competent as witnesses 296 in state courts, 
 and, if indicted there themselves, to subpoena witnesses 
 and to employ counsel. 297 The Cherokees, the Choc- 
 
 whether for business or pleasure, peaceably to travel the Creek country; 
 and to drive their stock to market or otherwise through the same, and to 
 halt such reasonable time on the way as may be necessary to recruit their 
 stock, such delay being in good faith for that purpose. 
 
 ARTICLE xxni. It is also further agreed that the members of the 
 Creek Nation shall have the same right of travelling, driving stock and 
 halting to recruit the same in any of the Confederate States as is given 
 citizens of the Confederate States by the preceding aricle [p. 295]. 
 
 292 Article LXV of the Creek Treaty, Article xxvi of the Choctaw and Chick- 
 asaw Treaty, Article xxxi of the Seminole Treaty, and Article xxn of the 
 Cherokee Treaty. 
 
 293 Article xvm of the Creek Treaty, Article XXV of the Choctaw and 
 Chickasaw Treaty, Article xix of the Seminole Treaty, and Article xxi of the 
 Cherokee Treaty. . 
 
 294 Article LXV of the Creek Treaty and Article xxxi of the Seminole 
 Treaty. 
 
 295 Tush-ca-hom-ma at Boggy Depot and Cha-lah-ki at Tahlequah. 
 
 296 Article xxx of the Creek Treaty, Article XLIII of the Choctaw and 
 Chickasaw Treaty, Article xxx of the Seminole Treaty, and Article xxxv of 
 the Cherokee Treaty. 
 
 297 Article xxviii of the Creek Treaty, Article XLIV of the Choctaw and 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 173 
 
 taws, and the Chickasaws were also granted the right of 
 recovery 298 as against citizens of the Confederate States. 
 Should recovery not be possible, the Confederacy was 
 to stand the loss. But more than anything else recip- 
 rocal right of extradition was henceforth to be accorded. 
 This was to exist as between tribe and tribe 299 and, with 
 some slight exceptions, as between tribe and state. An 
 examination of the various treaties reveals a steady de- 
 velopment in the matter of this concession. The Creek 
 Treaty, 300 which was the first to be negotiated, made 
 extradition a rather one-sided 801 affair. The tribe was 
 to yield the criminal to the state, but, not reciprocally, 
 the state to the tribe. This verbal inequality would not 
 have so much mattered had there been a possibility that 
 in the sequel it would have been interpreted, as in the 
 
 Chickasaw Treaty, Article XXVIH of the Seminole Treaty, Article xxxm of the 
 Cherokee Treaty, Article xxxvi of the Osage Treaty, Article xxvn of the 
 Seneca and Shawnee Treaty, and Article xxvn of the Quapaw Treaty. 
 
 298 Article xxix of the Cherokee Treaty and Article xxm of the Choctaw 
 and Chickasaw Treaty. 
 
 299 ARTICLE xxxi (Cherokee Treaty)- Any person duly charged with a 
 criminal offence against the laws of either the Creek, Seminole, Choctaw 
 or Chickasaw Nations, and escaping into the jurisdiction of the Chero- 
 kee Nation, shall be promptly surrendered upon the demand of the proper 
 authority of the nation within whose jurisdiction the offence shall be 
 alleged to have been committed ; and in like manner, any person duly 
 charged with a criminal offence against the laws of the Cherokee Nation, 
 and escaping into the jurisdiction of either of the said nations, shall be 
 promptly surrendered upon the demand of the proper authority of the 
 Cherokee Nation [pp. 401-402]. 
 
 Note the development from the corresponding extradition clause in the ear- 
 lier treaties of the series. In the Creek and Seminole treaties, extradition was 
 as between Creeks and Seminoles exclusively. In the Choctaw and Chickasaw 
 Treaty, it was as between Choctaws and Chickasaws exclusively. In this treaty 
 of the Cherokees, all the tribes were to be sharers in the extradition privilege; 
 but it is difficult to understand how a clause in the Cherokee Treaty could be 
 made legally binding upon other Indians than Cherokee. 
 
 300 Article xxvi. 
 
 301 It was also a one-sided affair in the treaties of the Second Class. See 
 Article xxxiv of the Osage Treaty, Article xxv of the Seneca and Shawnee 
 Treaty, and Article xxv of the Quapaw Treaty. 
 
174 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 states, in terms of executive courtesy and discretion; 
 but the chances were that a state would have made it 
 a matter of absolute obligation with the tribe. Reci- 
 procity 802 found its way into the second treaty, however, 
 and also into all the later ones of the First Class. 
 Finally, be it remarked, that as a climax to this series 
 of judicial concessions, full faith and credit 303 were to 
 be given by the one Indian nation or Confederate state, 
 as the case might be, to all legal processes, decisions, 
 and acts of the other. 
 
 There yet remain two provisions 304 of importance 
 that were intended to put the Indian nations on a basis 
 of equality with the states. They are provisions rather 
 particular in their nature, however, and, in their full 
 operation, would have affected Texas and Arkansas 
 much more nearly than any other members of the 
 Southern Confederacy. The first of these provisions is 
 to be found, as a grant of mutual rights, only in treaties 
 of the First Class and in two only of those, the Choc- 
 taw and Chickasaw and the Cherokee. The omis- 
 sion from the Creek and Seminole treaties was due, 
 most likely, to geographical conditions; but the lack of 
 reciprocity in the Osage, the one treaty of the Second 
 Class in which a suggestion of the provision occurs, 
 was just as surely due to the weakness of the tribe from 
 which the privilege was exacted. The provision com- 
 prehended the use of navigable streams within the 
 limits of the Confederacy and the Indians specified 
 
 302 Article xxxvii of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty [p. 320], and 
 Article xxxii of the Cherokee Treaty [p. 402]. 
 
 303 Article xxxi of the Creek Treaty, Article XLVI of the Choctaw and 
 Chickasaw Treaty, Article xxxii of the Seminole Treaty, and Article xxxvi of 
 the Cherokee Treaty. Note that the enjoyment of the privilege by the Semin- 
 ole Nation was to be conditioned upon its own establishment of regular courts. 
 
 304 There were also secret articles to some of the treaties. The indications 
 are that such secret articles entailed the customary bribery of chiefs and influ- 
 ential men upon whose support depended successful negotiation. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 175 
 
 were to have the same rights in the premises as the 
 citizens of the Confederate States. Osage 805 streams 
 and water courses were, however, to be open to white 
 people but not conversely Confederate waters to the 
 Osages. The clauses in treaties of the First Class, em- 
 bodying this provision, comprehended all navigable 
 streams whatsoever but had particular application to 
 the Red and Arkansas Rivers, the Choctaw 306 and 
 Chickasaw to the former and the Cherokee 307 to the 
 latter. The rights of ferrying on these streams were 
 to be open alike to white and red men living upon their 
 banks. 
 
 The second provision was couched in terms of general 
 amnesty. The Indians were to forgive wholesale the 
 citizens of the individual Confederate states for their 
 past offences and, reciprocally, the states were to forgive 
 and. pardon the Indians for theirs, or, rather, the gov- 
 ernment of the Confederate States was to use its good 
 offices to persuade and induce them to do so. 308 The 
 Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty contained, in addition 
 to this general clause, a particular one bringing out 
 again the close connection with Texas and Arkansas. 
 It reads thus : 
 
 . . . And the Confederate States will especially request 
 the States of Arkansas and Texas to grant the like amnesty as 
 to all offences committed by Choctaw or Chickasaw against the 
 laws of those States respectively, and the Governor of each to 
 reprieve or pardon the same, if necessary. 309 
 
 Some evidence of the special interest Texas might 
 have in the matter came out rather prominently in the 
 
 305 Article vn of the Osage Treaty [p. 364]. 
 
 306 Article xm of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty [p. 315]. 
 
 307 Article IX of the Cherokee Treaty [p. 397]. 
 
 308 Article LXVI of the Creek Treaty, Article XLIV of the Serainole, Article 
 LUI of the Cherokee. 
 
 309 Article LXIV [p. 330]. 
 
176 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 treaties of the Third Class, the amnesty in them was 
 particular while the amnesty in the treaties of the other 
 two classes was general. This is what the Wichita and 
 Comanche say: 
 
 It is distinctly understood by the said several tribes and 
 bands, that the State of Texas is one of the Confederate States, 
 and joins this Convention, and signs it when the Commissioner 
 signs it, and is bound by it; and all hostilities and enmities be- 
 tween it and them are now ended and are to be forgotten and 
 forgiven on both sides. 810 
 
 It soon developed that Texas was not pleased to find 
 her consent so thoroughly taken for granted and that 
 the Reserve Indians were no better satisfied. The en- 
 mity between the two continued as before. 
 
 As regarded the relations between the Indian tribes 
 and the Confederate States proper, the Pike treaties 
 were old law in so far as they duplicated the earlier 
 United States treaty arrangements and new law only 
 in so far as they met conditions incident to the war. 
 United States laws and treaties were specifically con- 
 tinued in force wherever possible, and, in most cases, 
 the name of the one government was simply substituted 
 for that of the other. Considerable emphasis was laid 
 upon the right of eminent domain. The Indians con- 
 ceded to the Confederacy the power to establish agency 
 reserves, 311 military posts 812 and fortifications, to main- 
 
 810 Article XL of the Wichita Treaty and Article x of the Comanche. 
 
 811 Article xi of the Creek Treaty, Article xvi of the Choctaw and Chick- 
 asaw Treaty, Article xi of the Seminole Treaty, Article XIII of the Cherokee 
 Treaty, Article iv of the Osage Treaty, Article v of the Seneca and Shawnee 
 Treaty, and Article iv of the Quapaw Treaty. 
 
 312 Article XII of the Creek Treaty, Article xvn of the Choctaw and Chick- 
 asaw Treaty, Article xii of the Seminole Treaty, Article xiv of the Cherokee 
 Treaty, Article v of the Osage Treaty, Article VI of the Seneca and Shawnee 
 Treaty, and Article v of the Quapaw Treaty. After the war the posts in cer- 
 tain specified cases were to be garrisoned by native troops. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 177 
 
 tain post and military roads, 313 and to grant the right 
 of way, 314 upon payment of an indemnity, 315 to certain 
 corporations for purposes of internal improvement, 
 mainly railway and telegraph lines. Most of this 
 would have contributed very materially to the good of 
 the southern cause in guarding one of the approaches 
 to Texas and in increasing the convenience of communi- 
 cation. The Confederate States assumed the wardship 
 of the tribes, exacted a pledge of loyalty from the 
 weaker and one of alliance, 316 offensive and defensive, 
 but without the entail of pecuniary responsibility, from 
 the stronger. In its turn, the Confederacy promised to 
 the Indians many things, deserving of serious mention 
 and far too important for mere enumeration. As a 
 matter of fact, the South paid pretty dearly, from the 
 view-point of historical consistency, for its Indian alli- 
 ance. In the light of Indian political history, it yielded 
 far more than at first glance appears and, as a conse- 
 quence, the great tribes gained nearly everything that 
 they had been contending for for half a century. 
 
 As has just been intimated, the concessions made by 
 the Confederacy to the Indians were somewhat sig- 
 nificant. In addition to the things noted a few para- 
 graphs back, congressional delegates, control of trade, 
 and others of like import, Pike, the lawyer commis- 
 sioner and the man of justice, promised the establish- 
 ment of Confederate States courts within the Indian 
 country. There were to be two of them, one in. the 
 
 313 The reference is the same as the foregoing with two exceptions ; viz., 
 Article xxvm of the Osage Treaty and Article xx of the Quapaw Treaty. 
 
 314 Article xm of the Creek Treaty, Article xvm of the Choctaw and 
 Chickasaw Treaty, and Article xm of the Seminole Treaty. 
 
 315 The provision in the Osage Treaty was one exception to this. It was 
 definitely said there that there should be no compensation. 
 
 316 The details of this will come out in the chapter following. 
 
178 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Choctaw country 317 and one in the Cherokee. 318 They 
 were to be District Courts with a limited Circuit Court 
 jurisdiction. The importance of the concession cannot 
 well be over-estimated ; for it struck at the root of one 
 of the chief Indian grievances. The territorial extent 
 of the districts was left a little vague and the jurisdiction 
 was not fairly distributed. Here again we have an illus- 
 tration of might conditioning right. The Osages, 319 the 
 Senecas and Shawnees, 320 and the Quapaws 321 were all 
 brought within the limits of the Cha-lah-ki, or Cher- 
 okee district, but it is not clear that, as far as they 
 were concerned, any other offences than those against 
 the Fugitive Slave 322 laws, were to come within the 
 
 317 ARTICLE xxxvni (Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty). In order to 
 secure the due enforcement of so much of the laws of the Confederate 
 States in regard to criminal offences and misdemeanors as is or may be 
 in force in the said Choctaw and Chickasaw country, and to prevent 
 the Choctaws and Chickasaws from being further harassed by judicial 
 proceedings had in foreign courts and before juries not of the vicinage, 
 the said country is hereby erected into and constituted a judicial district 
 of the Confederate States to be called the Tush-ca-hom-ma District, 
 for the special purposes and jurisdiction hereinafter provided; and there 
 shall be created and semi-annually held, within such district, at Boggy 
 Depot, a district court of the Confederate States, with the powers of a 
 circuit court, so far as the same shall be necessary to carry out the pro- 
 visions of this treaty, and with jurisdiction co-extensive with the limits 
 of such district, in such matters, civil and criminal, to such extent and 
 between such parties as may be prescribed by law, and in conformity to 
 the terms of this treaty [p. 320]. 
 
 Articles xxxix, XL, XLI, and XLII more specifically define the jurisdiction. 
 
 318 See Article xxm of the Cherokee Treaty, and, for the jurisdiction of the 
 court, see Articles xxiv, xxv, and xxvi. 
 
 319 Article xxxv. 
 
 320 Article xxvi. 
 
 321 Article xxvi. 
 
 322 In other ways than this, the treaties with the minor tribes stressed the 
 "peculiar institution." Consider, for instance, in the matter of extradition, how 
 it was not the criminal generally, but only the fugitive slave that was to be 
 reciprocally extradited. Moreover, as a rule, the weak tribes all pledged them- 
 selves to try to return negroes and other property and were assured that ne- 
 groes should come under the jurisdiction of tribal laws. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 179 
 
 purview of the court. The Wichitas and Comanches 
 were left entirely unassigned, although naturally, they 
 would have come within the Tush-ca-hom-ma, or Choc- 
 taw district. 
 
 The Confederacy reinstituted the agency system and 
 continued it with modifications. These modifications 
 were in line with reiterated complaints of the Indians. 
 They restricted the government patronage to some ex- 
 tent and, in certain instances, allowed a good deal of 
 tribal control. As a general thing, to each tribe was 
 allowed one agent and to each language, one interpreter. 
 An exception to the first provision was to be found 
 wherever it had been found under the earlier regime. 
 Thus there was a single agent for the Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws, another for the fragmentary tribes of the 
 Leased District, and another for those of the Neosho 
 River country. In the minor treaties, it was stipulated, 
 for very evident and very sound reasons, most of them 
 based upon experiences of past neglect, that the agent 
 should be faithful in the performance of his duties, that 
 he should reside at his agency continually, and never 
 be absent for long at a time or without good and suffi- 
 cient cause. 
 
 There were also certain things the Indians were for- 
 bidden to do, many of them familiar to us in any ordi- 
 nary Bill of Rights and having reference to ex-post 
 facto laws, laws impairing the obligation of contracts, 
 due process of law, and the like. The Confederacy, 
 in turn, bound itself not to allow farming on govern- 
 ment reserves or settlement there except under certain 
 conditions and not to treat 323 with Cherokee factions. 
 It inserted into the treaties with the minor tribes the 
 usual number of civilization clauses, promising agri- 
 
 3 23 Article II [p. 395]. 
 
180 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 cultural and industrial support; and into the Cherokee 
 some things that were entirely new, notably a provision 
 that the congressional delegation from each of the great 
 tribes should have the right to nominate a youth to 
 membership in any military academy that might be 
 established. 324 It also promised to maintain a postal 
 system throughout the Indian country, one that should 
 be, in every particular, a part of the postal system of 
 the Confederate States with the same rates, stamps, and 
 so on. To the Cherokees, it promised the additional 
 privilege 325 of having the postmasters selected and ap- 
 pointed from among their own people. From the fore- 
 going analysis of the treaties, it is clearly seen that the 
 characteristic feature of them all was conciliation and 
 conciliation written very, very large. Of the great 
 tribes, the Confederacy asked an alliance full and com- 
 plete ; of the middle tribes, such as the Osage, it asked 
 a limited alliance and peace; and of the most insig- 
 nificant tribes it asked simply peace but that it was 
 prepared, not only to ask, but, if need be, to demand. 
 Between the Cherokees and the Wichitas, there was a 
 wide, wide gulf and one that could be measured only 
 in terms of political and military importance. 
 
 So much for the contents of the treaties but what 
 about the detailed history of their negotiation? When 
 Albert Pike first came within reach of the Indian coun- 
 try, he communicated 326 officially or semi-officially 
 
 324 Article LH [p. 410]. 
 
 325 Article xxxix [p. 403]. 
 
 326 Without doubt some preliminary sounding of Leeper must have preceded 
 the accompanying document. Pike would hardly have written with such 
 assurance or given such instructions unless he had been very sure of his ground. 
 
 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS, 26th May 1861. 
 
 SIR: I have been appointed by the President of the Confederate 
 States of America Commissioner to the Indian Tribes West of Arkansas, 
 with discretionary powers, for the purpose of making treaties of alii- 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 181 
 
 with the men belonging or recently belonging to the 
 Indian field service, agents and agency employees, or, 
 at least, with those of them that were known as Con- 
 federate sympathizers. A few very necessary changes 
 
 ance with them, and of enlisting troops to act with the forces of the 
 Confederate States. 
 
 In the exercise of the powers entrusted to me, I hereby authorize and 
 request you to exercise the powers of Agent for the Wichitas and other 
 Indians in the Country leased from the Choctaws and Chickasaws, until 
 you shall receive a regular commission therefor. Your compensation 
 will be the same as that received from the United States, to commence 
 from the day when you resigned as agent of the United States. 
 
 And you are hereby instructed forthwith to repair to your agency, 
 and to inform the Indians under your charge that the Confederate States 
 of America will take you themselves and fully comply with all the obli- 
 gations entered into by the United States in their behalf; securing and 
 paying all that may be due them from injury; and especially that they 
 will continue to supply them with rations, as it has heretofore been 
 done, until they shall no longer need to be supplied. 
 
 You will also please inform them that I shall in a short time be 
 among them, to enter into a treaty with them, on the part of the Con- 
 federate States. 
 
 You will impress upon them that the people of Texas are now a part 
 of the Confederate States, and must no longer be looked upon as enemies: 
 and if any troops from Texas should come within your jurisdiction, you 
 will particularly warn them against doing any harm to the Indians un- 
 der your charge. 
 
 You will make known to the Delawares, and if practicable to the 
 Kickapoos, that it is my desire, and I have authority, to enlist a battalion 
 of 350 men, of the Delawares, Kickapoos, and Shawnees, and will es- 
 pecially assure the Kickapoos, that if they have any cause of complaint 
 against any of the people of Texas, it will be inquired into, and repara- 
 tion made, and that they must in no case commit any act of hostility 
 against Texas. 
 
 I shall be greatly obliged to you for all assistance you can render 
 in securing the services in arms of the Kickapoos and Delawares. They 
 will be paid like other mounted men, receiving 40 cents a day for use 
 and risk of their horse, in addition to their pay, rations, and clothing. 
 
 I need not say that I place much reliance on your zeal and intelligence 
 and assure you that your services will not fail to be appreciated by the 
 Government of the Confederate States. Most respectfully yours 
 
 ALBERT PIKE, Comm r C.S.A. to the 
 Indian Tribes, West of Arkansas. 
 Matthew Leeper Esq. 
 
 Leeper Papers. 
 
182 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 had been made in the service with the inauguration of 
 President Lincoln but the changes were not always such 
 as could, in any wise, have strengthened the Federal 
 position. First, as regards the southern superintend- 
 ency, an attempt had been made to find a successor to 
 Elias Rector 327 at about the same time that Harrison 
 
 327 It is not clear as to just when Elias Rector left the United States ser- 
 vice or when he entered the Confederate. The Indian Office in Washington 
 was communicating with him officially for some little time after Griffith had 
 been notified of his appointment. There seems no reason to doubt that Rector 
 was working in the interests of the Southern Confederacy all through the 
 spring of 1861 ; and, when he went over openly to the South, he did not close 
 his accounts with the United States Indian Office. He was accordingly re- 
 garded as a defaulter and there was talk of confiscating his property at Fort 
 Smith [W. G. Coffin to Dole, January 29, 1864, General Files, Southern Su- 
 perintendency, 1863-1864, 1640; Dole to Usher, February 2, 1864, Indian Office, 
 Report Book, no. 13, p. 297]. 
 
 In the course of his official connection with the United States government 
 Elias Rector had frequently been accused of irregularities and even of crook- 
 edness [General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, 1222]. As 
 touching the Seminole removal from Florida, he had much that was peculiar 
 to explain away. Apparently he quite frequently made queer contracts, was 
 given to making over-charges for mileage and to favoring his friends at the 
 expense of the Indians and of the government. In 1861, he rendered a vouch- 
 er showing he had paid a certain Henry Pape $6000.00 for building the 
 Wichita Agency house. On various matters connected with his official record, 
 see Rector's Letter Press Book and Indian Office, Letter Books, no. 64, p. 342; 
 no. 65, p. 49; no. 66, p. 26. In 1865, Rector made application to be allowed 
 to straighten out his accounts [J. B. Luce to Cooley, November 2, 1865]. 
 
 Returning, however, to the subject of Rector's incumbency: on the twelfth 
 of June, 1861, he wrote quite frankly to John Schoenmaker, principal of the 
 Osage Mission, 
 
 . . . I have no connection at this time with the Indian Depart- 
 ment under the old U. S. Government. I am now acting as Superin- 
 tendent under the Government of the Confederate States, and as no 
 treaties have as yet been concluded between the Southern confederacy 
 and the tribes of Indians with whom you are engaged I of course can 
 say nothing to you on the subject matter of your letter. . . - General 
 Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862. 
 
 The Confederate southern superintendency had not at the time been filled, 
 but Rector seems to have been considered the most competent candidate. 
 Johnson, in recommending various men to Walker for various positions, rec- 
 ommended Rector in strong terms of implied commendation, 
 
 Dr. Griffith wants to be appointed superintendent in place of E. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 183 
 
 B. Branch 328 of Missouri had been appointed central 
 superintendent in the stead of A. M. Robinson. The 
 man chosen was Samuel L. Griffith 329 of Fort Smith 
 to whom the new Secretary of the Interior, Caleb B. 
 Smith, telegraphed on the fifth of April, tendering the 
 position. Similarly by wire, on the ninth, Griffith 
 accepted; and, on the tenth, explained 330 the delay in 
 the following letter: 
 
 Being a member of our State Convention on the Union side, I 
 hesitated a day or two, as to the propriety of accepting, fearing 
 it might affect the union cause, but on mature deliberation and 
 counsel with union friends, and on the receipt of a memorial 
 signed by a large number of names of men of all parties, I con- 
 cluded to accept. . . 
 
 Col. W. H. Garret Agt. for the Creeks, passed through this 
 place on the 8th. . . 
 
 Col. S. Rutherford left here this morning for his agency 
 (the Seminole). I desired him to ascertain on his way through 
 the Creek and Choctaw Nations, the facts, as to the rumor that 
 two men from Texas were in the Creek Nation for the purpose 
 of meeting the several nations in Council &c. and to report to 
 me immediately. . . 
 
 Dr. Griffith's solicitude for the Union interests appar- 
 
 Rector. Do not allow this to be done. Hold everything as it is until 
 peace and unity are attained, and then make all the changes you think 
 proper ; but not now - not now, by all manner of means. 
 
 I do earnestly beg you to keep your agencies as they were. They 
 are good and true men, and popular and qualified with the tribes and 
 their business. Restore and commission Elias Rector, superintendent; 
 John Crawford, Cherokee agent; William Quesenbury, Creek agent; 
 Samuel M. Rutherford, Seminole agent; and Matthew Leeper, Wichita 
 agent; and if Cooper has resigned (which I fear is the case), appoint 
 Richard P. Pulliam (who is the next best living man on earth for the 
 place, I believe) as agent of the Choctaws. With this programme you 
 will have peace and success; without it, no one can tell your troubles 
 or our misfortunes on this frontier. . . - Official Records, first sen, 
 vol. iii, 598. 
 
 328 Dole to Robinson, April 9, 1861 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 65, 323]. 
 
 329 Dole to Rector, April 6, 1861 {ibid., p. 317]. 
 
 330 General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, 6463. 
 
184 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 ently soon vanished. On the twentieth of April, he 
 wrote 331 that, "under the circumstances," he could not 
 hold office. Coffin of Indiana was then selected 332 for 
 the place of southern superintendent and, in a very 
 little while, Griffith was among the applicants 333 for 
 the corresponding position in the Confederate States. 
 Between the dates of the two activities, morever, he had 
 been appointed by the Arkansas Convention one of the 
 three special agents to interview the Indian tribes in 
 the interests of secession. That was on the tenth of 
 May. 
 
 The changes in the agency incumbents proved equally 
 temporary and unfortunate. Particularly was this the 
 case with two determined 334 upon on the sixth of April. 
 Four days later, William Quesenbury 335 of Fayetteville, 
 Arkansas was notified that he had been appointed to 
 succeed William H. Garrett as agent for the Creeks, 
 and John Crawford 336 of the same place that he had 
 been appointed to succeed Robert J. Cowart as agent 
 for the Cherokees. Both went over to the Confederacy. 
 Nothing else could well have been expected of Craw- 
 ford, or of Quesenbury either for that matter, and it is 
 rather surprising that their past records were not more 
 thoroughly examined. Quesenbury, like Richard P. 
 Pulliam, was a sort of protege of Elias Rector. 
 Pulliam had been Rector's clerk in the office and 
 
 331 General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, 6463. 
 
 332 Smith to Dole, May 4, 1861; Dole to Rector, May 9, 1861 [Indian Office, 
 Letter Book, no. 65, p. 440]. 
 
 333 Johnson to Walker, June 25, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 
 
 598]. 
 
 334 Caleb B. Smith to Dole, April 6, 1861 [General Files, Southern Super- 
 intendency, 1859-1862']. 
 
 335 Dole to Quesenbury [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 65, p. 330]. In 
 the middle of the summer, George A. Cutler became United States agent for 
 the Creeks {ibid., no. 66, p. 200]. 
 
 336 Dole to Crawford [ibid., no. 65, p. 331]. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 185 
 
 Quesenbury his clerk in the field. 337 Crawford had been 
 very prominent 338 in the Arkansas legislature the pre- 
 ceding winter in the expression of ideas and sentiments 
 hostile to Abraham Lincoln. He accepted the office of 
 Cherokee agent under Lincoln, notwithstanding, and he 
 subsequently said 339 that he did so because the Indians 
 would not have liked a northern man to come among 
 them. Before Crawford's commission arrived, Cowart 
 had departed 340 and Cherokee affairs were in dire con- 
 fusion. 341 John J. Humphreys 342 of Tennessee had 
 
 337 Rector to Greenwood, August 31, 1860 [Letter Press Book}. 
 
 338 November 27, 1860, he voted in the affirmative on a resolution against 
 Lincoln's election and against the advisability of Arkansas members of Con- 
 gress taking their seats during his administration [Arkansas House Journal, 
 thirteenth session, 1860-1861, p. 234]. 
 
 339 On the thirteenth of June, when Crawford wrote, resigning his com- 
 mission, he said in extenuation of his conduct, 
 
 I only accepted through the influence of friends knowing then the 
 Cherokee Indians was Southern in their feelings and did not wish a 
 Northern man sent among them to act as Agent & as the Government 
 of the Southern Confederacy has in their wisdom thought best to take 
 charge of all the Indian Tribes south of Kansas and the Indians all be- 
 ing anxious to join in with the South and oppose to the bitter end the 
 course now pursued by the Northern Government - 1 most respectfully 
 decline acting as agent for the Cherokee Indians under the Adminis- 
 tration of A. Lincoln. - CRAWFORD to Dole, June 13, 1861 [General Files, 
 Cherokee, 1859-1865, Ci376]. 
 
 340 Crawford to Dole, May 20, 1861 [ibid.]. 
 
 341 The excitement here is at an alarming pitch for the last few days 
 I trust to God that those in power will do something to settle this in- 
 terruption in the government and something must be done soon or War 
 will ensue troops were drilling here last night at ten oclock, State 
 troops, strong talk of attacking Fort Smith the President of the Con- 
 vention has called the Convention to meet on the 6th day of May and 
 the State will seceed if there is not something done immediately per- 
 haps war will be commenced before you receive my letter though I trust 
 not. I should very much to know that the North and South were en- 
 gaged in a war, if you can do anything to have those troubles settled 
 use your influence with the President in calling a national convention 
 or something else to have peace. . . - CRAWFORD to Dole, dated Van 
 Buren, April 21, 1861 [General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, Cic>44]. 
 
 342 Smith to Dole, April 20, 1861 [General Files, Wichita, 1860-1861, 
 1320]. 
 
1 86 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 meanwhile been offered the Wichita Agency 3 * 3 and 
 Peter P. Elder 344 of Kansas, the Neosho River. The 
 Choctaw and Chickasaw Agency seems to have been 
 left vacant. Truth to tell, there was no longer any such 
 agency under United States control. Cooper had 
 thrown in his lot with the secessionists and was already 
 working actively in their cause. 
 
 The defection of Douglas H. Cooper, United States 
 agent for the Choctaws and the Chickasaws, can not be 
 passed by so very lightly; for it had such far reaching 
 effects. The time came during and after the war, when 
 the United States Indian Office came to have in its 
 possession various documents 3 * 5 that proved conclu- 
 sively that Douglas H. Cooper had been most instru- 
 mental in organizing the secession movement among the 
 Indians of at least his own agency. It was even re- 
 ported 3 * 6 that material was forthcoming to show how 
 he "was engaged in raising troops for the Rebel Army, 
 during the months of April, May, and June, 1861, while 
 holding the office of U.S. Indian Agent." His suc- 
 cessor had been appointed considerably before the end 
 of that time, however, and, when the war was over, the 
 Indians themselves exonerated him from all responsi- 
 bility in the matter of their own defection. 347 Not- 
 withstanding, he most certainly did manifest unusual 
 activity in behalf of the slaveholding power. Even his 
 
 343 Some slight account of the Wichita Agency and of Agent Leeper's de- 
 fection has already been narrated. A number of documents elucidating the 
 subject are to be found in the "Appendix." 
 
 344 Dole to Elder, April 29, 1861 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 65, pp. 
 390-391] ; Mix to Elder, August 22, 1861 [ibid., no. 66, pp. 283-284]. 
 
 345 See, for instance, Stockton to Usher, February 20, 1864 [General Files, 
 Southern Superintendency, 1863-1864], 
 
 346 See Isaac Coleman, United States Indian agent, to Superintendent Elijah 
 Sells, a copy of which letter is retained in the Office of Indian Affairs, the 
 original having been sent to the office of the United States attorney-general, 
 October 10, 1865. 
 
 347 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, pp. 310, 345. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 187 
 
 motives for manifesting activity are, in a sense, im- 
 pugned as instanced by the following most extraordi- 
 nary letter, which, written by Cooper to Rector pri- 
 vately and in confidence and later transmitted to Wash- 
 ington out of the ordinary course of official business, has 
 already been quoted once for the purpose of forming a 
 correct estimate of the recipient's character. It is grat- 
 ifying to know that such letters are very rare in connec- 
 tion with the history of the American Civil War. 
 
 Private & Confidential 
 
 [Copy] FORT SMITH May ist 1861. 
 
 MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR 
 
 Dr. Sir: I have concluded to act upon the suggestion yours 
 of the 28th Ultimo contains. 
 
 If we work this thing shrewdly we can make a fortune each, 
 satisfy the Indians, stand fair before the North, and revel in 
 the unwavering confidence of our Southern Confederacy. 
 
 My share of the eighty thousand in gold 348 you can leave on 
 deposite with Meyer Bro. subject to my order. Write me soon. 
 
 COOPER. 
 
 348 The reference is, presumably, to a portion of the money that the United 
 States government had allowed the Choctaws in satisfaction of claims arising 
 under the treaties of 1830 and 1855 [Act of March 2, 1861, U. S. Statutes at 
 Large, vol. xii, 238]. The episode of the Corn Contract was directly con- 
 nected with the expenditure of the money. For documents bearing upon it, 
 see Land Files, Choctaiv, 1874-1876, Box 39, CiojS, particularly documents 
 labelled "N," "O," and "P." Document "N" is a communication from Albert 
 Pike to the General Council of the Choctaw Nation, received at the June ses- 
 sion, 1861, and is most interesting as showing how Pike mixed up private and 
 public business and, indeed, gave to private the preference. 
 
 FRIENDS AND BROTHERS: You are aware that since the year 1854 
 M r John T. Cochrane and myself, aided by Col. Cooper your agent and 
 by your delegates, have been engaged at Washington in prosecuting the 
 just claims of your people under the treaty of 1830 before the Govern- 
 ment of the United States. 
 
 We have succeeded in procuring a final award of the Senate, giving 
 you the net proceeds of all the lands which you ceded by that treaty, and 
 a Report from the Committee of Indian Affairs, estimating the sum due 
 you at over two millions three hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 At the last session of Congress, we succeeded in procuring an ap- 
 
38 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 When Captain Pike 349 reached the North Fork Vil- 
 
 propriation on account of this debt of $250,000 in money and $250,000 
 in bonds of the United States. 
 
 Owing to the unfortunate difficulties between the Northern and South- 
 ern States, one hundred and thirty-eight thousand dollars, only, of the 
 sums, has been paid, $135,000 of which was placed in your Agent's 
 hands, ostensibly to purchase corn ; and most of it remains unexpended. 
 
 Towards my expenses while prosecuting your claims and towards 
 my fee, I have received the sum of sixteen hundred dollars. My ex- 
 penses alone, in four years have been five thousand dollars. 
 
 I have had to abandon my other business, to attend to yours: and un- 
 less some part of my compensation is paid, or my expenses repaid me, 
 my property will have to be sold to pay my debts. I am entirely 
 without money, and have you only to look to. 
 
 I have labored for you very faithfully; and am sure your Delegates 
 will tell you that, but for me your claims would never have been al- 
 lowed; and but for me, after they were allowed, the appropriation 
 would not have been obtained. 
 
 The whole of the claims will be paid whenever peace is restored, 
 either by the United States, or by the Confederate Southern States. I 
 shall take it in charge and never desert you until all is paid. 
 
 I respectfully and earnestly request you to cause to be paid to me, 
 out of the moneys now in the Agent's hands, for my expenses, and on 
 account of my fee, such sum of money as you may think just and right; 
 and which I hope will not be less than seven thousand five hundred 
 dollars. 
 
 I also desire to inform you that I have been appointed by the 
 President of the Confederate States, a Commissioner to your Nation, and 
 all the other Nations and Tribes west of Arkansas ; that I shall at the 
 proper time come among you to counsel with you, and that I shall take 
 your interests in charge, and see that your title to your lands, and all 
 annuities, and other moneys due you by the United States are assumed 
 and guaranteed by the Confederate States. On this you may implicitly 
 rely; as it is the promise of one who never breaks his word. 
 
 Let your people therefore, and the Chickasaws remain perfectly quiet 
 until the proper time arrives, and look to me for advice. If any em- 
 issaries from Arkansas come among you, hear them and say nothing. 
 So it is that wise men do. The State of Arkansas has nothing whatever 
 to do with you, and cannot protect you. The Confederate States are 
 both able and willing to do so; and when they have guaranteed your 
 rights, it will be time enough for you to act. Your friend 
 
 (signed) ALBERT PIKE. 
 Office of the National Secretary of the Choctaw Nation. 
 
 [Endorsement] I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy 
 from the original letter from Albert Pike on file in the National Secre- 
 tary's Office. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 
 
 lage, very probably still attended by the escort that the 
 
 Given under my hand and official seal. Done at Chahta Tamaha, 
 November I st A.D. 1873. 
 
 (signed) JNO. P. TURNBULL, National Secretary Choctaw Nation. 
 349 Pike's programme of operations is outlined in his letter to Toombs of 
 May 29, 1861: 
 
 SIR: I leave this morning for Tahlequah, the seat of government of 
 the Cherokee Nation, and Park Hill, the residence of Governor Ross, 
 the principal chief. Since 1835 there have always been two parties in 
 the Cherokee Nation, bitterly hostile to each other. The treaty of that 
 year was made by unauthorized persons, against the will of the large 
 majority of the nation and against that of the chief, Mr. Ross. Several 
 years ago Ridge, Boudinot, and others, principal men of the treaty 
 party, were killed, with, it was alleged, the sanction of Mr. Ross, and 
 the feud is today as bitter as it was twenty years ago. The full-blooded 
 Indians are mostly adherents of Ross, and many of them- 1,000 to 1,500 
 it is alleged - are on the side of the North. I think that number is ex- 
 aggerated. The half-breeds or white Indians (as they call themselves) 
 are to a man with us. It has all along been supposed, or at least sus- 
 pected, that Mr. Ross would side with the North. His declarations are 
 in favor of neutrality. But I am inclined to believe that he is acting 
 upon the policy (surely a wise one) of not permitting his people to com- 
 mit themselves until he has formal guarantees from an authorized agent 
 of the Confederate States. These I shall give him if he will accept 
 them. General McCulloch will be with me, and I strongly hope that 
 we shall satisfy him, and effect a formal and firm treaty. If so, we 
 shall have nearly the whole nation with us, and those who are not will 
 be unimportant. If he refuses he will learn that his country will be oc- 
 cupied ; and I shall then negotiate with the leaders of the half-breeds 
 who are now raising troops, and who will meet me at the Creek Agency 
 on Friday of next week. Several of those living near here I have al- 
 ready seen. 
 
 On Wednesday of next week I will meet the chiefs of the Creeks at 
 the North Fork of the Canadian. I will then fix a day for a council of 
 the Creeks, and go on to meet the Choctaws at Fort Washita. When I 
 shall have concluded an arrangement with them I will go to the Chick- 
 asaw Country, and thence to the Seminoles. 
 
 I hope to meet the heads of the Wichitas, Caddos, lowas, Toncawes, 
 Delawares, Kickapoos, and Reserve Comanches at Fort Washita. I have 
 requested their agent to induce them to meet me there. The Creek 
 chiefs have a council with the wild Indians, Comanches and others, 
 high up on the North Fork of the Canadian, on the loth proximo. I 
 shall endeavor, through the Creek chiefs, to have an interview with the 
 heads of the wild tribes at Fort Washita and induce them to come in 
 and settle on the reserve upon the False Washita River near Fort Cobb. 
 
 As I shall be absent from this post some six weeks or more, it is not 
 
190 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Military Board of Arkansas had graciously-or per- 
 haps officially since Pike, according to his own con- 
 likely that I shall be able to give you frequent advice of ray move- 
 ments. There are no mails in the Indian country and I shall have to 
 employ expresses when I desire to send on letters. 
 
 We shall have no difficulty with the Creeks, Seminoles, Choctaws, 
 and Chickasaws, either in effecting treaties or raising troops. The 
 greatest trouble will be in regard to arms. Not one in ten of either of 
 the tribes has a gun at all, and most of the guns are indifferent double- 
 barreled. I do not know whether the Bureau of Indian Affairs is a part 
 of the Department of State, and of course whether this is properly ad- 
 dressed to you. I do not address the Commissioner because I under- 
 stand he is on his way hither. The suggestions I wish to make are im- 
 portant and I venture to hope that you will give them their proper 
 direction. I have already spoken of arms for the Indians. Those arms, 
 if possible, should be the plain muzzle-loading rifle, large bore, with 
 molds for conical bullets hollowed at the truncated end, which I suppose 
 to be the minie-ball. Revolvers, I am aware, cannot be had, and an 
 Indian would not pick up a musket if it lay in the road. 
 
 Our river is falling and will soon be low, when steam-boats will not 
 be able to get above Little Rock, if even there. To embody the Indians 
 and, collecting them together, keep them long without arms would dis- 
 gust them, and they would scatter over the country like partridges and 
 never be got together again. The arms should, therefore, be sent here 
 with all speed. 
 
 No funds have been remitted to me, nor have I any power to pro- 
 cure or draw for any, for my expenses or for those of the councils I 
 must hold. It has always been customary for the Indians to be fed at 
 such councils, and they will expect it. I have borrowed $30x3 of Mr. 
 Charles B. Johnson, giving him a draft on the Commissioner of Indian 
 Affairs, for incidental expenses, and if I have a council at Fort Washita 
 shall contract with him to feed the Indians. I have seen Elias Rector, 
 late superintendent of Indian affairs at Fort Smith, and William Quesen- 
 bury, appointed agent for the Creeks by the Government at Washing- 
 ton, but who did not accept, and Samuel M. Rutherford, agent for the 
 Seminoles, who forwards his resignation immediately; and have writ- 
 ten to Matthew Leeper, agent for the Wichitas and other Reserve In- 
 dians; and have formally requested each to continue to exercise the 
 powers of his office under the Confederate States. They are all citizens 
 of Arkansas and Texas and have readily consented to do so. 
 
 If we have declared a protectorate over these tribes and extended 
 our laws over them we have, I suppose, continued in force there the 
 whole system. Even if we have not we cannot dispense with the super- 
 intendent and agents. I shall also see Mr. Crawford, agent for the 
 Cherokees, and request him to continue to act, as I have requested 
 Colonel Cooper to do as agent for the Choctaws and Chickasaws. Un- 
 less all this were done there would be both discontent and confusion, 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 191 
 
 fession, was acting as commissioner from Arkansas 350 as 
 well as from the Confederacy- furnished 351 him, 332 he 
 found the Creeks awaiting his approach with some 
 anxiety. Among them were Motey Kennard, 353 prin- 
 
 and I therefore earnestly request that my action may be immediately 
 confirmed and these officers assured that they shall be continued, and 
 that their compensation shall be the same as under the United States 
 and date from the day of the resignation of each or of his acceptance of 
 office under the Confederate States. And I also strenuously urge that no 
 changes be made in these offices. The incumbents are all good men and 
 true, competent, and honest, and are, or will be, very acceptable to the 
 Indians. To make changes will be to make mischief. 
 
 Mr. Charles B. Johnson is feeding the Wichitas and other Reserve 
 Indians under a contract which ends on the 3<>th of June. I have in- 
 structed him to continue feeding them during the present season under 
 the same contract, i.e., on the same terms, which I know to be reasonable. 
 
 It is very important that some funds should be at my disposition. 
 The State of Arkansas has furnished me an escort of a company and 
 General McCulloch has procured me transportation. To meet contin- 
 gent expenses it is necessary that at least $1000 should be placed here 
 subject to my draft; and, as I have several times urged, money should 
 be placed in the proper hands to pay a bounty to each Indian that en- 
 lists. 
 
 I wish I had more definite instructions and power more distinctly 
 expressed, especially power in so many words to make treaties and give 
 all necessary guarantees. For without giving them nothing can be done, 
 and I am [not] sure that John Ross will be satisfied with my statement 
 or assurance that I have the power, or with anything less than a formal 
 authority from the Congress. He is very shrewd. If I fail with him 
 it will not be my fault. 
 
 I have the honor to be, sir, very truly and respectfully, yours, 
 
 ALBERT PIKE, Commissioner, &c. 
 Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 359-361. 
 
 350 Pike to Cooley, February 17, 1866. 
 
 351 Official Records, first ser., vol. liii, supplement, 688. 
 
 352 A military escort had also been furnished by the Arkansas Military 
 Board to General McCulloch [Ibid., 687]. 
 
 353 Motey, or Moty, Kennard is occasionally spoken of, in the records, as 
 the principal chief of the entire Creek Nation. The tribe was, however, very 
 sharply divided into the Lower and the Upper Creeks. Their differences had 
 been accentuated by the unpleasant and even dishonorable and tragic circum- 
 stances of their removal from Georgia and Alabama. The Lower Creeks rep- 
 resented the faction that had stood back of William Mclntosh and that had 
 consented to the fraudulent treaty of Indian Springs, the Upper Creeks were 
 the dissenters [Abel, History of Indian Consolidation, chapters vi and vii ; 
 Phillips, Georgia and State Rights, 56-57]. 
 
192 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 cipal chief of the Lower Creeks, and Echo Harjo, prin- 
 cipal chief of the Upper Creeks, both of whom had 
 been absent 354 in Washington at the time the intertribal 
 council of the spring had been planned. They had 
 gone to Washington, in company with John G. 
 Smith, as a delegation, greatly concerned about the 
 prospect of Creek finances and the continuance of 
 Creek integrity should the quarrel between the 
 North and the South continue. Greenwood had tried 
 to reassure them; but, when shortly afterwards, all 
 Indian allowances were suspended 355 by the United 
 States Indian Office for fear that remittances might 
 fall, en route, into the hands of the disaffected, the 
 distrust and the dissatisfaction of the Indians revived 
 and increased, thus rendering them peculiarly suscept- 
 ible to the plausible secessionist arguments of men like 
 Agent Garrett. Sometime in May, therefore, a dele- 
 gation was sent to Montgomery 356 to confer with au- 
 thorities of the Confederate States, who by the time of 
 the arrival of the Creeks had moved on to Richmond. 
 At the North Fork Village, everything seemed to be 
 working in Pike's favor. There was scarcely a white 
 man 357 around who was willing to say a word for the 
 North; and leading Indians, who were known to be 
 anti-secessionists, were away 358 treating with the Indians 
 
 354 Letter from Greenwood to the Delegation, February 4, 1861 [Indian 
 Office, Letter Book, no. 65, pp. 140-141]. 
 
 355 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861. Note that as early as 
 March 18, 1861, Secretary Smith had ordered the suspension of the issuance 
 of all requisitions to ordinary disbursing officers in the seceding states. This 
 order probably affected indirectly even the Indian Territory [Smith to com- 
 missioner of Indian affairs, March 18, 1861, Miscellaneous Files, 1858-1863], 
 
 356 Governor Thomas O. Moore of Louisiana to President Davis, May 31, 
 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 588]. 
 
 357 See letter of W. S. Robertson to the Secretary of the Interior [General 
 Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ri664]. 
 
 358 See statement of the "Loyal" Creek Delegation at the Fort Smith Coun- 
 
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 193 
 
 of the Plains. Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la, who was to become 
 the stanch leader of the opposition, was not with the 
 absentees, it would seem; but then that, at the time, did 
 not so much signify because he was not a ranking chief 
 and so had little influence. 359 On the tenth of July, 
 the treaty that Pike and the Creek commissioners had 
 been working on for days was finally submitted for 
 signature and the names of Motey Kennard, Echo 
 Harjo, Chilly Mclntosh, Samuel Checote and many 
 
 cil, September, 1865 [Land Files, Indian Talks, Councils, etc., 1865-1866, Box 
 4; Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, pp. 328-329]. 
 
 359 Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la was nevertheless a very prominent man among the 
 Upper Creeks and had been prominent even before the exodus from Georgia 
 and Alabama. At all events he was sufficiently prominent to protest with 
 others against the transportation contracts that had been made by the War 
 Department [Lewis Cass to Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la and other Creek chiefs, dated 
 Tuckabatchytown, Alabama, January 27, 1836]. Again in 1838, Opoeth-le-yo- 
 ho-la headed a party of protest, that time against the selling of certain Creek 
 lands left unsold at the time of emigration \Creek Reservation Papers, 25]. 
 
 Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la seems to have been one of the assassins of William 
 Mclntosh ; that is, if the subjoined statement of Acting-superintendent William 
 Armstrong is to be trusted: 
 
 CHOCTAW AGENCY August 31, 1836 
 C. A. HARRIS Esqr, Com r of Ind Affairs, 
 
 Sir: The first party of emigrating Creeks are now on the opposite 
 side of the river Arkansas, on their way up. I shall leave tomorrow so 
 as to meet them at Gibson; while there, I will see the Mclntosh party 
 and endeavor to learn the state of feelings amongst the several parties. 
 Many threats have been made; and much dissatisfaction manifested by 
 both Chilly & Roily Mclntosh, the latter has sworn to kill A-po-the-ho-lo 
 who was concerned in taking the life of his Father. Roily Mclntosh 
 and the other Chiefs now over, are opposed to Ne-a-math-la the Chief 
 who is with the party emigrating, upon the ground mainly that they 
 may probably be superseded, or their authority abridged. I will how- 
 ever report to you, fully, after I shall have informed myself, of the state 
 of feeling &c, and will endeavor with Gen' Arbuckle, to bring about a 
 reconciliation. Respectfully Your Obt Servt 
 
 WM ARMSTRONG Act Supt West n Terv 
 War Department Files, A^j. 
 
 Early in the forties, Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la posed as a trader in the Creek 
 country. He was the partner of J. W. Taylor, a white man. The company 
 so composed failed, in 1843, "to give bond and license" and so Agent J. L. 
 Dawson closed its store [Communication of J. L. Dawson, September 5, 1843, 
 War Department Files, 11537]. 
 
194 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 other less prominent Creeks were attached to it. On 
 the twentieth, the general council approved it and more 
 names were attached, that of Jacob Derrysaw being 
 among them. On one or the other occasion, several 
 white men signed. William Quesenbury, who was 
 acting as Pike's secretary, Agent Garrett, Interpreter G. 
 W. Stidham, 360 and W. L. Pike. Soon came the return 
 of the travellers and much subsequent commotion. 
 They expressed themselves as opposed to the whole 
 proceeding, yet three of them found that, in their ab- 
 sence, their names had been forged 361 to the document 
 that was passing as a treaty between the Creeks and the 
 Confederate States. The three whose names were 
 forged were, Ok-ta-ha-hassee Harjo (better known 
 subsequently as "Sands" and who became in reconstruc- 
 tion days the great rival of Samuel Checote for the 
 office of principal chief), Tallise Fixico, and Mikko 
 Hutke. It is a matter of dispute what course Opoeth- 
 le-yo-ho-la had taken 362 in the treaty conference but not 
 what he did afterwards; for he became the intrepid 
 
 300 G. W. Stidham was probably a half-breed. Naturally, being the official 
 interpreter, he signed as the interpreter and not as a member of the tribe. 
 si \y e t h e loyal Creek Indians represented by the Delegation now 
 present, solemnly declare that the Treaty of July to, 1861 was alone 
 made by the rebel portion of the Creek Indians, and never was executed 
 or assented to by the Union portion of the Nation, and is, not now, and 
 never has been, obligatory upon them and the names to said treaty, of 
 the loyal party, was a forgery - Land Files, Indian Talks, Councils, 
 etc.. Box 4, 1865-1866; Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, 
 P- 330. 
 362 The document herewith given presents one view of the case: 
 
 The undersigned Delegates from the Creek Nation would respect- 
 fully ask to make the following statement concerning the alliance be- 
 tween the said Creek Nation and the so-called Confederate States of 
 America. To the end that the Creek Nation may be put upon a proper 
 footing in the estimation of your honorable body and that there may be 
 no misapprehension on the part of the Government you here represent 
 we beg leave to state: 
 
 ist. The Alliance entered into by the Creek Nation with the Con- 
 
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 195 
 
 leader of the so-called "Loyal Creeks" and the foremost 
 of the "Refugees." 
 
 If the Creeks were disturbed about their national 
 
 federate Government was entered into voluntarily, and without the in- 
 terference of any person or persons other than members of our tribe. In 
 taking that step the assembled wisdom of the Nation in council, thought 
 they were acting for the best interests of the Nation and of their pos- 
 terity. 
 
 2d. Hopoethle Yoholo the far-famed leader of those members of our 
 tribe who battled against us, was not at the time of the making of the 
 treaty with Albert Pike Commissioner on the part of the Confederate 
 States, a Chief, counsellor or head man in said tribe and had no voice in 
 the council, he was however present at the making of said Treaty and 
 give said Pike to understand that he fully concurred in the result of our 
 deliberations. After the making of the Treaty Hopoethle Yoholo col- 
 lected together his adherents, and for reasons entirely of a domestic 
 character and in no wise connected with the National question at issue, 
 withdrew from the country and assumed a hostile attitude. With this 
 exception the Creeks were united as one man in action and were ever 
 united as one man in principle on the National question then agitated. 
 
 3d. Although the Nation we represent would not attempt at this 
 time to urge anything in palliation of the course of conduct they adopted 
 in this matter, other than to ask your honorable body to esteem the error 
 as one of the "head and not of the heart" -but we beg leave to state 
 that at the time of the forming of the Alliance above refered to circum- 
 stances over which we could not possibly exercise control seemed to de- 
 mand an adoption of the course taken. The protection always borne 
 with the idea of allegiance, was taken from our Nation by the with- 
 drawal of the United States forces from the Indian Territory. This 
 movement left the Nations entirely without the support of the United 
 States government, and had they desired to remain neutral or to take 
 active measures on the side of the United States they could not possibly 
 have done so without having their Country desolated, or by abandoning 
 their homes. Surrounded by States, in a tumult of angry excitement 
 attendant upon a dissolution of their connection with the United States, 
 they were completely in the power of those States, without having United 
 States forces to call to their aid or assistance. An alliance under such 
 circumstances were [was] indispensible to the safety of the country. 
 Viewing the matter in this light the Treaty was made, and once having 
 linked our destiny with those of the Confederacy, we could not in 
 honor betray our trust. In conclusion we beg leave to say that as long 
 as events cannot be controlled by human wisdom and foresight and until 
 an honorable adherence to promises made voluntarily, is dishonorable so 
 long must we deem ourselves in one sense at least - guiltless of any 
 criminality in this matter. - Land Files, Indian Talks, Councils, etc., 
 Box 4, 1865-1866. 
 
196 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 finances, the Choctaws 363 were even more so. There 
 were many suspicious circumstances connected with a 
 certain corn contract and with the expenditure gener- 
 ally of the huge sum of money that the United States 
 Congress had appropriated in satisfaction of claims 
 arising under the treaty of removal, payment on which 
 it had recently suspended to the displeasure of the In- 
 dians and the discomfiture of the speculators. Wher- 
 ever suspicion rested, Pike attempted elaborate explana- 
 tions and, wherever affairs could be turned to the ac- 
 count of the Confederacy, he labored with redoubled 
 zeal. His task was an easy one comparatively-speak- 
 ing, though, for the Choctaws were already committed 364 
 to the southern cause. The two Folsoms, Peter and 
 Sampson, who were among the special commissioners 
 sent to Washington to inquire about the money and who 
 had lingered at Montgomery, were his eager coadjutors. 
 Just how far George Hudson, principal chief, was 
 readily compliant, it is difficult to say. It is supposed 
 that he issued his proclamation 365 of June 14, announc- 
 ing independence and calling for troops, under com- 
 pulsion and, in July, he may still have been secretly in 
 favor of neutrality. The joint treaty for the Choctaws 
 
 sea They were also worried over rumors of sequestration : 
 
 Statements having found their way into some of the public prints, to 
 the effect that supplies purchased for the use of the Choctaws, have 
 been detained by citizens of the Northern States, which statements if un- 
 contradicted may engender hostile feelings between those Indians and 
 the Government, I have thought proper to forward to you the enclosed 
 copies of official correspondence in relation to this subject, that you may 
 be able authoritatively to contradict such statements and satisfy the 
 Choctaws that the Government intends faithfully to preserve and per- 
 petuate the amicable relations subsisting between itself and those peo- 
 ple. - DOLE to Rector and same to Coffin, May 16, 1861 [Indian Office, 
 Letter Book, no. 65, p. 458]. 
 
 364 Particularly by means of the resolutions of the National Council, June 
 10, 1861. 
 
 365 Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 593. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 197 
 
 and Chickasaws was completed on the twelfth of July 
 and again prominent men, the most prominent in the 
 tribes, no doubt, endorsed the action by affixing their 
 signatures. R. M. Jones, the chief 366 of the secession-/ ^ 
 ists, W. B. Pitchlynn, Winchester Colbert, and James 
 Gamble, 367 who was soon afterwards selected as the 
 first delegate 368 to the Confederate Congress, were 
 among the signers; but Agent Cooper was not. Per- 
 chance, he and Pike had already begun to dispute over 
 the propriety of an Indian agent's holding a colonelcy in 
 the Confederate army. Cooper 369 wanted to be both 
 agent and colonel. 
 
 Having disposed satisfactorily of the Creeks, Choc- 
 taws, and Chickasaws, Pike passed on, with his group of 
 white and red friends, to the Seminoles and met them in 
 council 370 at their own agency. Rector was now 371 one 
 
 366 For evidence of this and for the fullest extant account of the progress 
 of secession among the Choctaws, see letter of S. Orlando Lee to Dole, March 
 15, 1862. 
 
 367 The following is found in the Fort Smith Papers: 
 
 Tishomingo, C.N. Nov. 26, 1861. 
 GEN. A. G. MAYERS 
 
 Sir: Having been appointed as a Delegate from this Nation (the 
 Chickasaw) to the Southern Congress, am at a loss (to know) when the 
 Congress does meet. I have all along understood from newspaper ac- 
 counts that it was to be on the 22d of February, but some seems to think 
 it is sooner. Will you please inform me at your earliest convenience at 
 what time the S. Congress does meet. Your attention to the above is 
 respectfully requested. I am yours very Respectfully JAMES GAMBLE. 
 P.S. Please continue to send me the Parallel. I will make it all 
 right with you when on my way to Va. J. G. 
 
 sfl8 In the list of members of the Confederate congresses, given in Official 
 
 Records, fourth sen, vol. iii, 1184-1191, no Indian delegate is specified until 
 
 1863. 
 
 369 Cooper to President Davis, July 25, 1861 [ibid., first sen, vol. iii, 614]. 
 
 370 E. H. Carruth, in a letter to General Hunter of November 26, 1861 
 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 47], would have us under- 
 stand that the Seminoles as a tribe did not negotiate with Pike, but that the 
 whole affair was as between Pike and Jumper, Jumper being assisted by four 
 chosen friends. The five were probably bribed. That Pike was not averse 
 to the use of money for such ends, his letter to Walker of June twelfth would 
 
198 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 of his assistants. The poor Seminoles, according to 
 their own story of what happened, were taken completely 
 unawares; 372 and, after some skilful maneuvering, Pike 
 succeeded in inducing about half 373 of them, headed by 
 one of their principal chiefs, John Jumper, 374 and a 
 town chief, Pas-co-fa, to agree to "perpetual peace and 
 friendship" with the Confederate States. There was 
 nothing specifically said about an alliance, offensive 
 and defensive, but it was understood and was immedi- 
 ately provided for. 375 The head chief, Billy Bow- 
 legs, 376 and other chiefs of present and future impor- 
 
 lead us to suspect [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 590]. We have, how- 
 ever, no definite proof of the same. John Jumper was early rewarded by the 
 Confederate government. By act of the Provisional Congress, January 16, 
 1861 [Statutes at Large, p. 284], he was made an honorary lieutenant-colonel 
 of the army of the Confederate States. Carruth further says that the family 
 influence of Jumper "enabled him to raise forty-six men, not all Seminoles, 
 and Ben McCulloch authorized him to call to his aid six hundred rangers 
 from Fort Cobb, that he might crush out the Union feeling in his tribe." 
 
 371 It is just possible that Rector had been with him all the time. At all 
 events Rector subsequently entered an expense account against the C.S.A. for 
 services from July tenth to August twenty-fourth inclusive. See Appendix A, 
 Fort Smith Papers. 
 
 372 See letter of Agent Snow, dated March 10, 1864, and its enclosures, 
 one of which is a speech of Long John, who became principal chief when the 
 aged Billy Bowlegs died, and another, a speech of Pas-co-fa, who, provided 
 his signature to the treaty be genuine, eventually must have repented of his 
 Confederate alliance. He was soon, with Bowlegs and Chup-co, in the ranks 
 of Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la [General Files, Seminole, 1858-1867, 8291]. 
 
 373 The report of the United States commissioner of Indian affairs for 1863 
 estimates the loyal Seminoles at about two-thirds of the tribe [House Executive 
 Documents, 38th congress, first session, vol. iii, 143], that of the Confederate 
 States commissioner of Indian affairs as fully one-half [S. S. Scott to Secretary 
 Seddon, January 12, 1863, Official Records, fourth ser., vol. ii, 353]. 
 
 374 While at the Creek Agency, Pike had communicated, so it seems, with 
 John Jumper and had asked him to meet him there with six others competent 
 and authorized to make a treaty. Up to the time of hearing from Pike, John 
 Jumper seems to have been inclined to adhere faithfully to the United States 
 government. The excellent report of E. H. Carruth, July n, 1861 gives full 
 particulars of this whole affair. 
 
 375 See supplementary Article [Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 525]. 
 
 376 See communications from Bowlegs [So-nuk-mek-ko] to Commissioner of 
 Indian Affairs, March 2, 1863 an d May 13, 1863 [General Files, Seminole, 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 199 
 
 tance, like John Chup-co, 377 refused 378 to sign the treaty 
 and, before many days had elapsed, joined the party of 
 the "Loyal Creeks." Various ones of the "Southern" 
 Creeks, notably Motey Kennard, were present at the 
 treaty-making and used their influence to strengthen 
 that of Pike, Rector, Agent Rutherford, 379 Contractor 
 Charles B. Johnson, and a host of minor enthusiasts, 
 like J. J. Sturm and H. P. Jones, all of whom had for- 
 merly been in the United States employ and were now, 
 or soon to be, in the Confederate. 380 
 
 Pike's military escort had surely left him by this time 
 and had returned to Arkansas and yet never had it been 
 more needed; for the Confederate commissioner and 
 his party were about to go into the western country to 
 confer with the tribes of the Leased District whose 
 friendship as yet could scarcely be counted upon, not- 
 withstanding the fact that their agent had openly 
 thrown in his fortunes with the South 381 and was using 
 
 1858-1869, 6131, 8317]. See also Dole to Coffin, March 24, 1863 [Indian 
 Office, Letter Book, no. 70, pp. 208-209]. 
 
 377 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1869 [House Executive Docu- 
 ments, 4ist congress, second session, vol. iii, part 3, p. 521], 
 
 3 78 See letter of E. H. Carruth. 
 
 379 William P. Davis of Indiana had been given the United States Seminole 
 Agency but he never reached his post [Dole to John D. Davis, April 5, 1862, 
 Indian Office Letter Book, no. 68, p. 39]. Consequently, the Confederate States 
 agent, Rutherford, had sole influence there. Not until George C. Snow of 
 Indiana became United States Seminole agent, did the non-secessionist Indians 
 get the encouragement and support they ought to have had all along. 
 
 380 See Appendix B - Leeper Papers. 
 
 381 The Leeper Papers, printed in the Appendix, furnish convincing proof 
 of this. Note also that July 4, 1861, Rector wrote to Leeper from Fort Smith 
 as follows: 
 
 In the 3rd section of the law of the Confederate Congress, regulating 
 the Indian service connected with said government, and making pro- 
 vision for the continuance in office of the Superintendent and Agents 
 heretofore connected with the original U. S. government, you will be 
 continued upon the same terms and at the same salary, as heretofore re- 
 ceived from the federal government, and before entering upon your 
 duties as such it will be your duty to take an oath before a proper 
 
2OO The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 every form of persuasive art to induce them to do the 
 same. Fearing, perhaps, some show of hostility from 
 the Wichitas, Comanches, and Tonkawas, and hoping 
 that a show of force on his part would intimidate them, 
 Pike gathered together, before proceeding to the Leased 
 District, a company of fifty-six 382 mounted men, friend- 
 ly Creeks and Seminoles, and with them left the Semin- 
 ole Council House. The Leased District once reached, 
 some of the hardest work of the whole negotiation be- 
 gan and two treaties 383 were ultimately concluded, one 
 
 officer of a State of the Confederate States, to support the Constitution 
 of and accept a Commission from the Confederate States of Amer- 
 ica. . .-Leeper Papers. 
 
 382 Pike to Walker, dated Seminole Agency, July 31, 1861 [Official Records, 
 first ser., vol. iii, 624]. Writing to Benjamin, December 25, 1861 [ibid., vol. 
 viii, 720], Pike said he had "64 men." 
 
 383 These two treaties are interesting in various particulars. They con- 
 tained fewer concessions, fewer departures from established practice than any 
 others of the nine. They were made primarily for the maintenance of peace 
 on the Texan frontier. That fact is only too evident from their contents and 
 from the circumstances of their negotiation. One of the chief reasons, cited 
 by Texas, for her withdrawal from the Union was the failure of the United 
 States to protect her from Indian ravages. It seems never to have occurred 
 to her to mention the fact that her citizens, by their aggressions, had constantly 
 provoked the ravages, if such we can call them. The northern counties of 
 Texas were not "Southern" in climate or industries, so it was especially neces- 
 sary to enlist their sympathy in the Confederate cause by keeping the Indians 
 of the plains quiet and peaceful. 
 
 The Comanche treaties were also interesting in the matter of their signa- 
 tures and of their schedules. The signatures included that of Rector, of the 
 Creek chiefs, Motey Kennard and Chilly Mclntosh, and of the Seminole chief, 
 John Jumper. The schedules promised such things as the following to the 
 Indians but in amounts that were beautifully indefinite: 
 
 Blue drilling, warm coats, calico, plaid check, regatta cotton shirts, 
 socks, hats, woolen shirts, red, white and blue blankets, red and blue list 
 cloth, shawls and handkerchiefs, brown domestic, thread, yarn and 
 twine, shoes, for men and women, white drilling, ribbons, assorted col- 
 ors, beads, combs, camp kettles, tin cups and buckets, pans, coffee pots 
 and dippers, needles, scissors and shears, butcher knives, large iron 
 spoons, knives and forks, nails, hatchets and hammers, augers, drawing 
 knives, gimlets, chopping axes, fish-hooks, ammunition, including pow- 
 der, lead, flints and percussion caps, tobacco. 
 Two of a kind would have satisfied most of the requirements of these 
 
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 201 
 
 with some of the legitimate residents of the locality and 
 one with wandering bands who came in for the purpose. 
 It is well to note at the outset, however, that the Wichi- 
 tas proper refused to be either cajoled or intimidated 
 and that, in consequence, they who had always, under 
 United States control, been the most important of the 
 reservees, the ones to give the name to the entire group, 
 were now reduced to a subordinate position and some of 
 the Comanches 884 elevated to the first rank. The first 
 treaty then, the one made with reservees, was thus desig- 
 nated, "Treaty with Comanches and Other Tribes and 
 Bands." The second treaty, made with Indians be- 
 
 schedules. The list of things is interesting from the standpoint of domesticity 
 and general utility and also from the standpoint of the things that the same 
 Indians had previously seemed to need in such immense quantities. For il- 
 lustration it would be well to note that when Agent Leeper handed in his last 
 accounts to the United States government, he claimed to have issued during 
 the second quarter of 1861 to the Indians at the Wichita Agency, 550 pounds 
 of coffee, 550 pounds of sugar, 650 pounds of soap, 600 pounds of tobacco, etc. 
 
 In conclusion, with respect to these Comanche treaties, we may say that, 
 since the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty had put the Leased District under 
 the jurisdiction of the C.S.A., there was very little for the reservees themselves 
 to do, except take the protection and other things offered by the Confederacy 
 (the Comanches of the Prairie and Staked Plain had promised to become 
 reservees on the Leased District) and be content. Pike did not bother about 
 promising to make them citizens eventually or about making them admit the 
 legality of the institution of slavery. Their political status had never been 
 high and it was no higher under the Confederacy than it had been under the 
 Union. 
 
 384 The Tonkawas seem to have been the ones who were the most com- 
 pletely persuaded of all to adhere to the South and they continued unwaver- 
 ingly loyal thereafter to its failing fortunes [S. S. Scott to Governor Win- 
 chester Colbert, dated Fort Arbuckle, November 10, 1862 ; Colbert to Scott, 
 same date; Moore's Rebellion Record, vol. vi, 6; Commissioner of Indian 
 Affairs, Report, 1863, House Executive Documents, 38th congress, first session, 
 vol. iii, 143; Indian Office, Report Book, no. 19, pp. 186-188]. Apparently the 
 Confederacy was rather careful in carrying out its obligations to the Tonkawas. 
 Among the Leeper Papers are various documents proving this, such as an un- 
 signed receipt for money received from Pike, July 19, 1862, to carry out the 
 terms of Articles xvi and xvn of the treaty of August 12, 1861 ; and a copy 
 of a letter, from Leeper probably, to J. J. Sturm, commissary, dated November 
 30, 1861, complaining that Sturm had not followed "instructions in making 
 issues to Tonkahua Indians." 
 
2O2 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 longing outside the Leased District was designated, 
 "Treaty with the Comanches of the Prairies and Staked 
 Plain." 
 
 The negotiation of the remaining treaties of the Pike 
 series came as an immediate effect of Confederate mil- 
 itary successes and belongs, in its description, to the next 
 chapter. It is proper now to return to a consideration 
 of the work of the Confederate Congress, in so far, at 
 least, as that work had a bearing upon the alliance with 
 the tribes. On the twenty-eighth of August, Hugh F. 
 Thomason of Arkansas, offered the following resolu- 
 tion: 
 
 Resolved, That the Committee on Indian Affairs be instructed 
 to inquire whether any, and if so what, treaties have been made 
 with any of the Indian tribes, and if so, with which of them; 
 and whether any, and if so, what legislation is necessary in con- 
 sequence thereof; and that they have leave to report at such 
 time and in such manner as to them shall seem proper. 385 
 
 There the matter rested until after the whole series of 
 treaties had been completed which was in ample time 
 for President Davis to submit 386 Pike's report 387 and 
 the tangible evidence of his successful work to the Pro- 
 visional Congress at its winter session. 
 
 President Davis's message of December 12, 1861, 
 transmitting the Pike treaties to the Provisional Con- 
 gress, summarized their merits and their defects and 
 gave direction to the consideration and discussion that 
 ended in their ratification. It called particular atten- 
 tion to the pecuniary obligations 388 assumed and to the 
 
 385 Journal, vol. i, 565. 
 
 386 Message of Dec. 12, 1861 [Richardson, op. cit., vol. i, 149-151; Official 
 Register, fourth sen, vol. i, 785-786]. 
 
 387 This report I have been unable to find. 
 
 sss Th e pecuniary obligations of these treaties are of great import- 
 ance. Apart from the annuities secured to them by former treaties, and 
 which we are to assume by those now submitted, these tribes have large 
 permanent funds in the hands of the Government of the United States as 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 203 
 
 contemplated change of status. Regarding the latter, 
 Davis said, 
 
 Important modifications are proposed in favor of the respective 
 local governments of these Indians, to which your special atten- 
 tion is invited. That their advancement in civilization justified 
 an enlargement of their power in that regard will scarcely ad- 
 mit of a doubt; but whether the proposed concessions in favor 
 of their local governments are within the bounds of a wise policy 
 may well claim your serious consideration. In this connection 
 your attention is specially invited to the clauses giving to certain 
 tribes the unqualified right of admission as a State into the com- 
 pact of the Confederacy, and in the meantime allowing each of 
 these tribes to have a delegate in Congress. These provisions 
 
 their trustee. These funds may be divided into three classes: First. 
 Money which the Government of the United States stipulated to invest 
 in its own stocks or stocks of the States, and which has been partly in- 
 vested in its own stocks and partly uninvested, remains in its Treasury, 
 but upon which it is bound to pay interest. Second. Funds invested in 
 the stocks of States not members of this Confederacy. Third. Money in- 
 vested in stocks of States now members of this Confederacy. . . By 
 the treaties now submitted to you the first and second class are absolutely 
 assumed by this Government; but this Government only undertakes as 
 trustee to collect the third class from the States which owe the money 
 and pay over the amounts to the Indians when collected. It is fortunate 
 for the Indians and ourselves that the amounts embraced in classes one 
 and two are relatively small, and the obligations incurred by their as- 
 sumption cannot be onerous, as the amount due by States of the Confed- 
 eracy on account of investments in the funds of Northern Indians con- 
 siderably exceeds the amount to be assumed under this provision of the 
 treaties. We thereby have the means to compel the Government of the 
 United States to do justice to the Indians within the jurisdiction of the 
 Confederate States, or to indemnify ourselves for its breach of faith. 
 
 . . . I also submit to you the report of Albert Pike, the commis- 
 sioner, which contains a history of his negotiations and submits his rea- 
 sons for a departure from his instructions in relation to the pecuniary 
 obligations to be incurred. [The reference here is to a letter from Pike 
 to Toombs, May 20, 1861, Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 581.] In 
 view of the circumstances by which we are surrounded, the great im- 
 portance of preserving peace with the Indians on the frontier of Texas, 
 Arkansas, and Missouri, and not least, because of the spirit these tribes 
 have manifested in making common cause with us in the war now ex- 
 isting, I recommend the assumption of the stipulated pecuniary obliga- 
 tions, and, with the modifications herein suggested, that the treaties 
 submitted be ratified. - Official Records, fourth sen, vol. i, 786. 
 
204 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 are regarded not only as impolitic but unconstitutional, it not 
 being within the limits of the treaty-making power to admit a 
 State or to control the House of Representatives in the matter 
 of admission to its privileges. I recommend that the former 
 provision be rejected, and that the latter be so modified as to 
 leave the question to the future action of Congress; and also 
 do recommend the rejection of those articles in the treaties which 
 confer upon Indians the right to testify in the State courts, be- 
 lieving that the States have the power to decide that question, 
 each for itself, independently of any action of the Confederate 
 Government. 889 
 
 Again Arkansas was in the lead in the exhibition of 
 interest and, on the motion 390 of one of her delegation, 
 Robert W. Johnson, the president's message and the doc- 
 uments accompanying it were referred to the Committee 
 on Indian Affairs. This was on the thirteenth of De- 
 cember and Johnson was the chairman of the commit- 
 tee. On the nineteenth, the treaties began to be con- 
 sidered 391 in executive session. The first to be so con- 
 sidered was the Choctaw and Chickasaw, and interest 
 concentrated on its twenty-seventh article, 392 the one 
 giving to the two tribes jointly a delegate in the Con- 
 federate Congress. This provision was finally amend- 
 ed 393 so as to leave the delegate's status, his rights and 
 his privileges, just as Davis had recommended, to the 
 House of Representatives. Then came the considera- 
 tion of the twenty-eighth article, 394 which promised 
 ultimate statehood, and that also was amended in such 
 a way as to leave the final determination to Congress, 
 
 By whose act alone, under the Constitution, new States can be 
 
 389 Official Record, fourth sen, vol. i, 785-786. 
 
 390 Journal, vol. i, 564, 565. 
 39i_ Ibid., 590-596. 
 
 3S2 Ibid., 590-591. 
 
 393 Statutes at Large, 330. 
 
 894 Journal, vol. i, 591-592. 
 
Negotiations with the Confederacy 205 
 
 admitted and whose consent it is not in the power of the Presi- 
 dent or the present Congress to guarantee in advance. . , 898 
 
 In the afternoon of December twenty-first, the Pro- 
 visional Congress resumed 390 its consideration of the 
 Indian treaties. The day previous, it had decided upon 
 this order of procedure and had agreed 397 that the 
 Comanche treaties, being of the least importance, 
 should be left to the last. The work of the twenty-first 
 was on the judicial clauses and, on the question of the 
 qualification of the Indians to be competent witnesses 
 in civil and criminal suits. Article XXXVI 898 of the 
 Osage Treaty, dealing with the right to subpoena wit- 
 nesses and to have counsel, seemed likely to create pre- 
 judice. 399 At length Waul of Texas suggested 400 that 
 Commissioner Pike be invited to be present at future 
 sessions in order that some very necessary explanations 
 of scope, of motives, and of reasons might be forthcom- 
 ing. In the end, the only changes made in the grant of 
 judicial privileges were along the line of safe-guarding 
 the existing rights of the individual states. In illustra- 
 tion of this, take the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty as 
 typical of all of the treaties of the First Class. Articles 
 XLIII and XLIV were amended. To the former was 
 added, 
 
 And the Confederate States will request the several States 
 of the Confederacy to adopt and enact the provisions of this ar- 
 ticle, in respect to suits and proceedings in their several courts. 401 
 
 From the latter, the phrase, "or of a State," was stricken 
 
 395 Statutes at Large, 331. 
 39fl Journal, vol. i, 597. 
 w lbid., 593. 
 
 398 Statutes at Large, 367. 
 
 399 Journal, 601. 
 * Ibid., 598. 
 
 * 01 Statutes at Large, 331. 
 
206 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 out and this substitution made; "or of a State, subject to 
 the laws of the State." 402 
 
 On the whole, the Indian treaties took up a very large 
 share of the attention of the Confederate Congress 
 throughout the month of December; and, after debate, 
 President Davis's advice in every particular was fol- 
 lowed, even to the assumption of the pecuniary obliga- 
 tions. On the twenty-third of December, Johnson re- 
 ported 403 back the treaty with the Cherokees and some 
 of its clauses were then considered. On the same day, 
 Johnson offered 404 a resolution of ratification for the 
 Seminole Treaty and it was unanimously adopted, the 
 same changes identically having been made in the treaty 
 as had been made in the Choctaw and Chickasaw in so 
 far as the two treaties corresponded originally with 
 each other. Congress also ratified a supplementary 
 article to the Seminole Treaty. The last of the month, 
 the Comanche treaties were reached 405 and soon pushed 
 through with only very slight modifications. Then 
 came the final consideration of the treaty with the Creek 
 Indians. It was ratified 406 with the customary amend- 
 ments the same day. The Quapaw Treaty came 40T next 
 and with its congressional ratification, the work of dip- 
 lomatically securing the Indians was practically done. 
 The later Indian ratification was more or less perfunc- 
 tory. 
 
 402 Statutes at Large, 331. 
 
 403 Journal, vol. i, 610. 
 
 404 
 
 405 Ibid., 632-633. 
 
 406 _ Hid., 634. 
 w lbid., 635. 
 
IV. THE INDIAN NATIONS IN ALLIANCE 
 WITH THE CONFEDERACY 
 
 The work of soliciting the military support of the 
 Indians and, to a large extent, that of securing it, ante- 
 dated very considerably the formal negotiation of 
 treaties with their constituted authorities. Whether it 
 be true or not, that Douglas H. Cooper, United States 
 agent for the Choctaws and the Chickasaws, did, as early 
 as April, 1861, begin to enroll his Indians for the ser- 
 vice of the Confederate States, it is indisputable that, 
 immediately upon receiving Secretary Walker's com- 
 munication 408 of May thirteenth, he began to do it in 
 real earnest and, from that time forward, gained his re- 
 cruits with astonishing ease. There were many 409 to 
 recommend the employment of the Indians and some to 
 oppose it. A certain F. J. Marshall, writing 410 to Jef- 
 ferson Davis from Marysville, Kansas, on the twentieth 
 of May, mapped out a tremendous programme of activ- 
 ities in which Indians were to play their part and to 
 help secure everything of value between the Missouri 
 line and the Pacific coast. Henry McCulloch 
 thought 411 they might be used advantageously in Texas 
 and on her borders. Pike believed 412 not more than 
 thirty-five hundred could be counted upon, maybe five 
 
 408 Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 574. 
 
 409 Chief Justice M. H. McWillie of La Mesilla, Arizona, was among the 
 number. See his letter to President Davis, June 30, 1861, quoted in Official 
 Records, vol. iv, 96. 
 
 410 Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 578-579. 
 
 411 _ JbM^ vo l. [ t fog. 
 
 412 Letter to Johnson, May u, 1861, ibid., vol. iii, 572. 
 
208 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 thousand, but whatever the number, he would engage 
 them quickly and provide them with the necessary 
 equipment. He wanted also to employ 413 a battalion 
 of those Indians that more strictly belonged to Kansas. 
 Presumably, then, he would not have confined Confed- 
 erate interest to the slaveholding tribes. Others besides 
 Pike were doubtless of the same mind. Marshall was, 
 for instance, and southern emissaries were frequently 
 heard of, north of the Neosho River. Henry C. Whit- 
 ney, one of two United States special agents (Thomas 
 C. Slaughter was the other), sent 414 out to Kansas to 
 investigate and with a view to relieve under congres- 
 sional appropriation 415 the distress among the Indians, 
 caused by the fearful and widespread drouth of 1860, 
 met 416 with many traces of secessionist influence. 4 " 
 
 413 Letter to Toombs, May 20, 1861, ibid., 581. 
 
 414 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 14. 
 
 415 Act of March 2, 1861, U.S. Statutes at Large, vol. xii, 239. 
 
 416 On the twenty-second of May, Whitney reported, generally, on the 
 condition of several tribes: 
 
 Owing to the extremely dangerous state of political affairs in Mis- 
 souri especially along the line of the H. & St. Jo. R.R., I have refrained 
 from writing to you. . . Although the Delaware* were not especially 
 refered to in my instructions yet I visited the Mission & Agent as it was 
 quite convenient . . . and ascertained to my complete satisfac- 
 tion . . . that they were a wealthy tribe and that although many of 
 their individual members were necessitous yet they were not of the 
 destitute kind contemplated by your department: 2d. that the new agent 
 who had heard of this movement towards relief was very anxious to 
 make it appear that his tribe was very needy & to have large amounts 
 of relief furnished at his residence on the Missouri River away from 
 the agency & also from a central point. . . 
 
 I next visited the Osage River Agency and ascertained that all of 
 the tribes belonging to that Agency were in rather a destitute condition, 
 they having used and still (are) using their school fund in buying pro- 
 visions: the Miamis of that agency I found to be the most needy & it 
 might be said that they were suffering to some extent. . . 
 
 . . . In reference to the Neosho Agency, as that was such a long 
 distance I engaged three trains of wagons before leaving Leaven- 
 worth. . . 
 Whitney speaks harshly of the Osages as lazy vagabonds and continues, 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 209 
 
 The efforts of Cooper, coupled with those of Pike 
 and McCulloch, in this matter of the enlistment of In- 
 
 . . . The general famine throughout Kansas had but little to do 
 with their sufferings as they cultivate nothing of consequence . . . 
 and therefore . . . they are not morally & strictly proper objects of 
 government charity. . . 
 
 . . . Systematic and well planned solicitations had been and are 
 being made by Missourians to them to take up arms against the bor- 
 derers to which the people throughout this entire section feared they 
 might be induced on account of the neglect of Government [and because 
 the whites steal their ponies] - Land Files, Central Superintendency, 
 1852-1869, W223. 
 
 Note that Whitney thought the reports of border ruffian inducements, 
 though true in a measure, had been exaggerated. On the eighth of June, he 
 reported again, 
 
 When I got within reach of the H. & St. J. R. R. it became apparent 
 that my produce would be at best somewhat exposed to seizure by the 
 secessionists and that such hazard would be very greatly enhanced if it 
 was known to be government property and especially if it should be 
 known to be going to the Indians whom the Missourians were even then 
 as was reported upon authority endeavoring to excite against the bor- 
 derers. . . - Land Files, Central Superintendency, 1852-1869, W223- 
 Slaughter had less to report; but even he, on the twenty-first of June, said, 
 while insisting that the reports had been exaggerated, 
 
 I have no doubt overtures have been held out to them [the more north- 
 ern tribes], but whether from authorized parties from [the] South no 
 one can tell. It is all matter of conjecture. A general council of the 
 tribes it is understood has been solicited by some of the Southern In- 
 dians, but I doubt whether it will be held. - General Files, Central Su- 
 perintendency, 1860-1862, 8404. 
 
 Slaughter further surmised, from personal observations, that the northern 
 tribes would remain loyal to the United States. See his letter to Dole, June 15, 
 1861. Other people were of the same opinion, although, in early 1861, the 
 various tribes had much to complain of, much to make them discontented and 
 therefore very susceptible to bad influences. Some of the Miamis were pre- 
 ferring charges against Agent Clover for misapplication of funds and other 
 things [Louis Lefontaine, etc. to Greenwood, January 13, 1861, Land Files, 
 Osage River, 1860-1866] ; the Kaws were suffering and R. S. Stevens slowly 
 working out the details of his preposterous graft in the construction of houses 
 for them [M. C. Dickey to Greenwood, February 26, 1861, General Files, 
 Kansas, 1855-1862, 0250, and same to same, March i, 1861, ibid., 0251]; the 
 Shawnees were having the usual troubles over their tribal elections, Joseph 
 White having recently been elected second chief in place of Eli Blackhoof 
 [Robinson to Greenwood, February 19, 1861, Land Files, Shaivnee, 1860-1865] ; 
 and then, even farther north, from among the Otoes, came additional complaints; 
 
2io The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 dian troops, were soon rewarded. Chief Hudson's 
 proclamation of June fourteenth, besides being a decla- 
 ration of independence, was a call for troops and a call 
 that was responded to by the Choctaws with alacrity. 
 A little more than a month later, the enlistment of In- 
 dians had so far advanced that McCulloch was able to 
 speak 418 positively as to his intended disposition of 
 them. It was to keep them, both the Choctaw-Chick- 
 asaw regiment, which was then well under way towards 
 
 for Agent Dennison, who by the way, became a secessionist and a defaulter 
 [Dole to Thaddeus Stevens, May 26, 1862, Indian Office, Report Book, no. 12, 
 pp. 388-389], was withholding annuities and an uprising was threatening in 
 consequence [General Files, Otoe, 1856-1862}. 
 
 417 The alien influence extended itself even to the wild Indians of the 
 Plains. On the sixth of August, 1861 [General Files, Pottatuatomie, 1855-1861, 
 6704.], Branch reported bad news that he had received from Agent Ross re- 
 garding the hostile approach of these Indians and remarked, 
 
 I think there can be little doubt but what emissaries of the Rebels have 
 been and are actively engaged in creating dissatisfaction against the 
 government with every tribe of Indians that they dare approach on that 
 subject. 
 
 As soon as I can get the business of this office in a shape so I can 
 conveniently leave my office duties I propose visiting the most of the 
 tribes under this superintendency with a view to reconciling them and 
 enjoining peace. . . 
 
 Similarly Captain Elmer Otis from Fort Wise, August 17, 1861, and A. G. 
 Boone from the Upper Arkansas Agency, September 7, 1861, reported the 
 Texans' tampering with the Kiowas [Land Files, Upper Arkansas, 1855-1865, 
 040, 6772], who seem successfully to have resisted their threats and their 
 blandishments. The Comanches of Texas were also approached but they fled 
 rather than yield [Boone to Mix, October 19, 1861, ibid., B86i]. They, how- 
 ever, importunately demanded a treaty from the United States government in 
 return for their loyalty. They were poor, they said, and had lost their hunt- 
 ing-grounds. Boone made good use of them as scouts and spies against the 
 Texans [Letter of December 14, 1861, ibid., Bioo6]. They were of the Co- 
 manches who had treated with Pike and who had solemnly pledged themselves, 
 under duress and temporary excitement, to amity and allegiance. Secret 
 agents from the South went also among the Blackfeet and Agent Thomas G. 
 McCulloch sent an ex-employee of the American Fur Company, named Alex- 
 ander Culbertson and married to the daughter of the Blackfeet chief, as a 
 secret agent to counteract their influence [General Files, Central Superin- 
 tendency, 1860-1862}. 
 
 418 Letter to Walker, July 18, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. Hi, 6ti]. 
 
Alliance 'with the Confederacy 211 
 
 organization, and the Creek, which was then forming, at 
 Scullyville, situated fifteen miles, or thereabouts, from 
 Fort Smith, as a check upon the Cherokees. Evidently 
 the peace-loving element among the Cherokees was yet 
 the dominant one. On the twenty-fifth of July, Cooper 
 furnished further information, 
 
 The organization of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Regiment 
 of Mounted Rifles will be completed this week, but as yet no 
 arms 419 have been furnished at Fort Smith for them. I hope 
 speedy and effectual measures will be taken to arm the people 
 of this (Indian) Territory - the Creeks, Seminoles, Cherokees. 
 . . . The Choctaws and Chickasaws can furnish 10,000 war- 
 riors 42 if needed. The Choctaws and Chickasaws are extreme- 
 ly anxious to form another regiment. 
 
 419 The scarcity of arms proved to be a serious matter. On the thirtieth 
 of July, the assistant-quartermaster general, George W. Clark, telegraphed 
 to Walker that arms had not yet arrived and that the Indians, encamped at 
 the Old Choctaw Agency, were, in consequence, showing signs of discontent 
 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 620], 
 
 420 Cooper probably spoke the truth, for the Choctaws and Chickasaws to- 
 gether had a population of twenty-three thousand. 
 
 In 1861, the Indian population of the Southern Superintendency was, as 
 reported by Dole upon inquiry from Hon. J. S. Phelps of Missouri [John C. 
 G. Kennedy, of the Census Office, to Dole, August 9, 1861] : 
 
 Chickasaws ....... 5,000 
 
 Choctaws . . . . .. . . 18,000 
 
 Cherokees . . . . . . 21,000 
 
 Creeks . . . . ... . . I355Q 
 
 Seminoles (of which 1,247 were males) . . . 2,267 
 
 [Dole's answer, August 10, 1861]. 
 
 In April, the report from the Indian Office had been: 
 
 Choctaws ....... 18,000 
 
 Chickasaws ....... 5,000 
 
 Total . 23,000 
 
 Creeks ........ 13,550 
 
 Cherokees ....... *7>S3O 
 
 Seminoles ....... 2,267 
 
 Neosho Agency ....... 4*863 
 
 Leased District ....... 2,500 
 
 Total . 63,710 
 
 [Indian Office, Report Book, no. 12]. 
 
212 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 There seems to be a disposition to keep the Indians at home. 
 This seems to me bad policy. They are unfit for garrison duty, 
 and would be a terror to the Yankees.* 21 
 
 All this time, of course, Pike had been making prog- 
 ress with his treaties and undoubtedly simplifying 
 Cooper's task by embodying in those treaties the prin- 
 ciples of an active alliance. These clauses from the 
 Creek Treaty will illustrate the point: 
 
 ARTICLE I. There shall be perpetual peace and friendship, 
 and an alliance offensive and defensive, between the Confederate 
 States of America, and all of their States and people, and the 
 Creek Nation of Indians, and all its towns and individuals. 422 
 
 ARTICLE xxxvi. In consideration of the common interests of 
 the Creek Nation and the Confederate States, and of the pro- 
 tection and rights guaranteed to the said nation by this treaty, 
 the Creek Nation, hereby agrees that it will, either by itself or 
 in conjunction with the Seminole Nation, raise and furnish a 
 regiment of ten companies of mounted men to serve in the armies 
 of the Confederate States for twelve months, the company of- 
 ficers whereof shall be elected by the members of the company, 
 and the field officers by a majority of the votes of the members 
 of the regiment. The men shall be armed by the Confederate 
 States, receive the same pay and allowances as other mounted 
 troops in the service, and not be moved beyond the limits of the 
 Indian country west of Arkansas without their consent. 423 
 
 ARTICLE xxxvn. The Creek Nation hereby agrees and 
 binds itself at any future time to raise and furnish, upon the re- 
 
 421 Letter to President Davis [Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 614]. 
 
 422 Identical with Article I of both the Cherokee and the Choctaw and 
 Chickasaw, but different from the Seminole in that the Seminole provided 
 simply for "perpetual peace and friendship." 
 
 423 The corresponding Choctaw and Chickasaw Article [XLIX] stipulated 
 that the colonel of the regiment should be appointed by the president. Of 
 course, Douglas H. Cooper, was at this time, the one and only candidate for 
 the place and there is no doubt that the exception was made for his especial 
 benefit. However, Pike objected to his holding, in addition to the colonelcy, 
 the office of Indian agent [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 614]. 
 
 Agent Garrett wanted the position of colonel in the Creek regiment and 
 Pike recommended him, but McCulloch objected saying, 
 
 I hope the appointment will not be made, for Colonel Garrett is in no 
 way qualified for the position, and from what I know of his habits, I 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 213 
 
 quisition of the President, such number of troops for the defence 
 of the Indian country, and of the frontier of the Confederate 
 
 am satisfied that a worse appointment could not be made. - Official Rec- 
 ords, first sen, vol. iii, 597. 
 
 This was before the treaty had been negotiated and, after it had been ne- 
 gotiated, Pike wrote to Walker as follows: 
 
 When I recommended the appointment of William H. Garrett, the 
 present agent for the Creeks, to be colonel of the Creek regiment, I had 
 not sufficiently estimated the ambition and desire for distinction of the 
 leading men of that nation, and I also supposed that Mr. Garrett, popu- 
 lar with them as an agent, would be acceptable as colonel of their 
 regiment; but when I concluded with them the very important treaty 
 of July 10, instant, they strenuously insisted that the colonel of the 
 regiment to be raised should be elected by the men. As the public in- 
 terest did not require I should insist upon a contrary provision, by 
 which I might have jeoparded the treaty, I yielded, and the conse- 
 quence is that by the treaty, as signed and ratified by the Creek coun- 
 cil, the field officers are all to be elected by the men of the regiment 
 
 This being the case, I have this day written Colonel Garrett, re- 
 questing him to inform the Creeks immediately, as I have already done, 
 that notwithstanding his appointment they will elect their colonel. If 
 he should not do so he will cause much mischief, and would deserve se- 
 vere censure ; but I do not doubt he will promptly do it. . . - Official 
 Records, first sen, vol. iii, 623-624. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of August, the matter was settled at Richmond by 
 Walker's writing to Pike, 
 
 In order that there shall be no misunderstanding with the friendly 
 Indians west of Arkansas, this Department is anxious that the article in 
 the treaty made by you, guaranteeing to them the right of selecting 
 their own field officers, shall be carried out in good faith. The name of 
 Mr. Garrett will therefore be dropped as colonel of the Creek regiment, 
 and that regiment will proceed to elect its own officers. The regiment 
 being formed among the Seminoles will exercise the same right. Re- 
 assure the tribes of the perfect sincerity of this Government toward 
 them. -I bid., 671. 
 
 The corresponding Cherokee Article [XL] differed slightly from the Creek. 
 It seems to have taken certain things, like the choice of officers, both company 
 and field, for granted. It reads thus: 
 
 In consideration of the common interest of the Cherokee Nation and 
 the Confederate States, and of the protection and rights guaranteed to 
 the said nation by this treaty, the Cherokee Nation hereby agrees that 
 it will raise and furnish a regiment of ten companies of mounted men, 
 with two reserve companies, if allowed, to serve in the armies of the 
 Confederate States for twelve months; the men shall be armed by the 
 Confederate States, receive the same pay and allowances as other mount- 
 ed troops in the service, and not be moved beyond the limits of the 
 Indian country west of Arkansas without their consent. 
 
214 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 States as he may fix, not out of fair proportion to the number 
 of its population, to be employed for such terms of service as 
 the President may fix; and such troops shall always receive the 
 same pay and allowances as other troops of the same class in the 
 service of the Confederate States. 424 
 
 ARTICLE xxxvm. It is further agreed by the said Confed- 
 erate States that the said Creek Nation shall never be required 
 or called upon to pay, in land or otherwise, any part of the ex- 
 penses of the present war, or of any war waged by or against 
 the Confederate States. 425 
 
 ARTICLE xxxix. It is further agreed that, after the restora- 
 tion of peace, the Government of the Confederate States will 
 defend the frontiers of the Indian country, of which the Creek 
 country is a part, and hold the forts and posts therein, with na- 
 tive troops, recruited among the several Indian Nations includ- 
 ed therein, under the command of officers of the army of the 
 Confederate States, in preference to other troops. 426 
 
 Although John Ross had positively forbidden the re- 
 cruiting of any force within the limits of the Cherokee 
 country, that while nominally for home defense, should 
 be in reality a reserve force for the Confederacy, he was 
 unable to prevent individuals from going over, on their 
 own responsibility entirely, to McCulloch; and many 
 did go and are believed to have fought 427 with his 
 
 424 Identical with Article LI of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty and 
 with Article LXI of the Cherokee. 
 
 425 Identical with Article L of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty, with 
 Article XLII of the Cherokee, and with Article xxxvi of the Seminole. 
 
 426 Identical with Article LII of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty and 
 with Article XLIII of the Cherokee. 
 
 427 Fremont reported to Townsend, August 13, 1861, that Cherokee half- 
 breeds, judging from the muster roll and from the corroborating testimony of 
 prisoners, were with McCulloch in this battle, fought about ten miles south 
 of Springfield, August 10, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 54]. Con- 
 nelley says, in 1861, Quantrill, returning from Texas, lingered in the Cher- 
 okee Nation with a half-breed Cherokee, Joel Mayes, 
 
 Who, many years after the war, was elected Head Chief of the 
 Nation. Mayes espoused the cause of the Confederacy and was captain 
 of a company or band of Cherokees who followed General Ben Mc- 
 Culloch to Missouri. - Quantrill and the Border Wars, 198]. 
 A letter, written by McCulloch to Colonel John Drew, September i, 1861, 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 215 
 
 brigade at the Battle of Oak Hills, or Wilson's Creek. 
 That battle proved the determining point in this period 
 of Cherokee history. It was a Confederate victory, and 
 a victory gained under such circumstances 428 that the 
 watchful Indians had every reason to think that the 
 southern cause would be triumphant in the end. 
 
 The dissensions 429 among the Cherokee and the con- 
 stant endeavors of the Ridge Party to develop public 
 sentiment in favor of the Confederacy, to undermine 
 the popularity of John Ross, and to destroy his influence 
 over the full-bloods were, and there is no gainsaying it, 
 the real causes of the ultimate Cherokee defection. 
 The Battle of Wilson's Creek was only the occasion, 
 only the immediate cause, the excuse, if you please, and 
 of itself could never have brought about a decision. 
 Yet its effect 430 upon Cherokee opinion was unquestion- 
 ably great and immediate, and that effect was notice- 
 ably strengthened and intensified by the memory of 
 
 seems to indicate that individual Cherokees had joined him [Official Records, 
 first ser., vol. iii, 691]. 
 
 428 The Federal defeat was believed by contemporaries to have been due 
 to mismanagement, to army friction, to the incompetency and sloth of Sigel, 
 and to Fremont's failure to reinforce the redoubtable Lyon, who fell in the 
 engagement. An investigation into Sigel's conduct was subsequently made 
 by Hal leek, Sigel's bitter enemy. Halleck hated Sigel, because Sigel so greatly 
 admired Fremont, whom Halleck supplanted; and because Sigel was the hero 
 of the Germans, and one of them. For the Germans, Halleck had a great 
 antipathy. Many of them were "pfalzisch-badischen Revolutionare" and 
 Halleck regarded them as adventurers or as refugees from justice. They in 
 turn referred to Halleck as one of the West Point "bunglers" who were so 
 numerous in the northern army, the really efficient and capable West Pointers, 
 so they said, having all gone with the South [Kaufmann's "Sigel und Hal- 
 leck" in Deutsch-Amerikanische Geschichtsblatter, Band, 210-216, October 
 1910]. 
 
 429 Even in the latter part of May, these were so serious as to threaten a 
 Cherokee civil war [Letter of John Crawford, May 21, 1861, General Files, 
 Cherokee, 1859-1865; Mix to Crawford, June 4, 1861, Indian Office, Letter 
 Book, no. 66, pp. 15-16]. 
 
 430 Ben McCulloch to Walker, September 2, 1861 [Official Records, first 
 ser., vol. iii, 692] ; Pike to Benjamin, December 25, 1861 [ibid., vol. viii, 720]. 
 
216 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 other Federal reverses along the Atlantic seaboard, 
 especially the more recent and more serious one of 
 Manassas Junction, on the twenty-first of July. 
 
 Up to about that time, the neutral policy of John Ross 
 seems to have received the endorsement of a majority 
 of the Cherokee people. In the last days of June, the 
 Executive Council had been called together and had, 
 after a session of several days, publicly and officially 
 approved 431 of the stand the principal chief had taken 
 to date. But events were already under way that were 
 to make this executive action in no sense a true index to 
 popular feeling. The secessionists were secretly organ- 
 izing themselves, ready to seize the first opportunity 
 that might appear. The full-bloods, or non-secession- 
 ists, were also organized and, under the name of "Pins," 
 were holding meetings of mutual encouragement 
 among the hills. Encounters between the two factions 
 were not infrequent and the half-breeds resorted to all 
 sorts of expedients for persuading, or that failing, of 
 frightening the full-bloods into a compliance with their 
 wishes. They told them that the Kansas people had 
 designs upon their lands (which was not altogether un- 
 true), and that the Federal government would free 
 their slaves and otherwise dispossess, degrade, and hu- 
 miliate them. Such arguments had their effect and 
 there was little at hand to counteract it, none in the 
 memory of the past, none in the neglect and embarrass- 
 ment of the present, none in the prospect of the future. 
 There were no Federal troops, no new Federal assur- 
 ances of protection. Agent Crawford, who was the 
 only agent within reach, added his threats and his Con- 
 federate promises to those of the half-breeds. Then 
 came the Battle of Wilson's Creek with its disastrous 
 
 431 "Meetings and Proceedings of the Executive Council of the Cherokee 
 Nation, July 2, 1861" [General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515]. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 217 
 
 Federal showing, and the exhausted resisting power of 
 the Pins went down before the renewed secessionist 
 ardor. 
 
 A meeting of the Cherokee Executive Council had 
 been called for August first, and John Ross, Joseph 
 Vann, James Brown, John Drew, and William P. Ross, 
 all prominent non-secessionists, had attended it. On 
 this occasion, a general, or mass, meeting of the Chero- 
 kee people was arranged for, in response to a public 
 appeal, and the date for it was fixed for the twentieth of 
 August. 432 In the interval came the news from Spring- 
 field and another communication from Albert Pike. 433 
 
 The convention which met at Tahlequah in August 
 of 1861 ended in the secession of the Cherokee Nation. 
 While it was in progress, the events of the last few 
 months were gone over in thorough review and em- 
 phasis placed upon those of recent occurrence. The at- 
 tendance at the convention was large. 434 Both political 
 factions were well represented and there seems to have 
 been only a slight show of force, if any, from the seces- 
 sionists. The Reverend Evan Jones is our authority for 
 thinking that some "seventy or eighty of them appeared 
 there in arms with the intention to break up the meet- 
 ing;" but that only two of them succeeded in making 
 
 432 See "Meetings and Proceedings of the Cherokee Executive Council, 
 August i, 1861" [General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, GSIS]. 
 *33 pjke to Ross, August i, 1861 [Ibid,']. 
 
 434 A general meeting of the Cherokee people was held at Tahlequah on 
 Wednesday, the 2ist day of August, 1861. It was called by the execu- 
 tive of the Cherokee Nation for the purpose of giving the Cherokee peo- 
 ple an opportunity to express their opinions in relation to subjects of 
 deep interest to themselves as individuals and as a nation. The num- 
 ber of persons in attendance, almost exclusively adult males, was about 
 4,000, whose deportment was characterized by good order and propriety, 
 and the expression of whose opinions and feelings was frank, cordial, 
 and of marked unanimity. - Report of the Proceedings at Tahlequah, 
 August 21, 1861, transmitted to General McCulloch by the Executive 
 Council, August 24, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 673]. 
 
21 8 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 any disturbance. 435 In the course of the meeting, Agent 
 Crawford put in an appearance and again asserted him- 
 self in behalf of the Confederacy. He "appeared on 
 the platform," says an eyewitness, 
 
 And stated that although for some time past he had been among 
 the Cherokees acting as U. S. Agent, it had been by the advice 
 and consent of the Confederate authorities, and with the un- 
 derstanding that when the proper time arrived he should de- 
 clare himself the Agent of the C.S.A. That time had now come 
 making this the proudest day of his life. 436 
 
 435 Evan Jones of the Baptist Mission, Cherokee Nation, to Dole, dated 
 Lawrence, Kansas, November 2, 1861 [General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 
 
 436 W. S. Robertson, who for twelve years had been "teaching in the Tul- 
 lahassee Manual Labor School in the Creek Nation under the care of the 
 Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions" [Robertson's Letter of September 30, 
 1861, General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ri6is]. 
 Robertson says, that 
 
 Having witnessed the whole struggle between the Loyal & War par- 
 ties, when the latter prevailed, I was on the 25 th of August ordered by a 
 party of the "Creek Light Horse" acting under the written orders of 
 Moty Kenard and Jacob Derrysaw, Chief of the Creeks, to leave with- 
 in twenty-four hours from the Creek country. I retired to my friends at 
 Park Hill in the Cherokee where the same struggle was going on. 
 
 At Park Hill I enjoyed every facility for knowing the feelings of 
 the people, the designs of the Executive. 
 
 When at last the Rebel flag flaunted over the council ground at Tahle- 
 quah, I left the Cherokee country with my family, and after encounter- 
 ing many dangers, succeeded in reaching Rolla, on the 23 rd Sept. with- 
 out giving any pledge to the enemy. 
 
 Having written to the Sec. of the Interior (from St. Louis, Oct. is*) 
 stating my long residence among the Creeks and Cherokees, my means 
 of information, and my desire to give any information that would ben- 
 efit our Gov't or my loyal friends among the Indians - and having 
 forwarded all the printed correspondence between the Rebels and Chief 
 Ross (except the last letter of the Rebel commissioner, Albert Pike) to- 
 gether with Chief Ross' speech at the Cherokee Convention at Tahle- 
 quah, on the 2i st of Aug. and the resolutions passed at said Convention, 
 without receiving any answer, I concluded that Col. Humphrey's (of 
 Tenn.) mysterious movements were all right, that he was loyal, and 
 kept our Gov't well informed as to the Rebel doings among the Indians. 
 That I had redeemed my pledge to loyal Creeks & Cherokees. 
 
 Recent letters from St. Louis, & New York stating that "Gov't agents 
 are seeking information everywhere," and urging me to write to "Gen. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 219 
 
 Such a confession of baseness seems hardly credible. 
 The secessionist was entitled to his opinions touching 
 the doctrine of state rights, for which a difference of 
 view found its justification both in fact and in theory. 
 He might even conscientiously believe in the righteous- 
 ness of negro enslavement, inasmuch as it really did 
 offer an easy solution of a labor problem; and more- 
 Hunter" & Washington, induce me to send you my address, to urge you in 
 the name of humanity and justice not to take decisive measures against 
 the betrayed and oppressed people, until you have heard all that can be 
 said in their behalf. - Letter to Department of the Interior and referred 
 to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated January 7, 1862 [General 
 Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ri664]. 
 
 Mix answered it February 14, 1862 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 
 67, P- 35?]- 
 
 In a somewhat earlier letter, the one from which the extract, in the body 
 of the text was taken, Robertson had said, 
 
 I am . . . deeply interested in their welfare, acquainted with 
 the feelings of the people, well informed as to the men and measures 
 which have detached these nations from their allegiance to the U.S. 
 
 Chief among the traitors were not only the Superintendent of that 
 District, and the Agents under him appointed by the late Administra- 
 tion but others claiming to have received commissions as Indian Agents 
 "since the 4 th of March last" from the U.S. Gov't. 
 
 On the 2i st of Aug. last I was in Tahlequah, the capital of the 
 Cherokee Nation, at a convention of the Cherokee people called by their 
 Chief Jno. Ross. . .-ROBERTSON to President Lincoln, dated Winne- 
 conne, Wisconsin, December 12, 1861 [General Files, Southern Superin- 
 tendency, 1859-1862, Ri6s8]. 
 
 Concerning the responsibility attaching to government agents for Indian 
 defection, E. C. Boudinot and W. P. Adair wrote, January 19, 1866, to Cooley, 
 
 The Southern Indians have repeatedly repudiated the idea that they 
 were induced by the machinations of any persons to ally themselves 
 with the rebellion, but accept the full responsibility of their acts with- 
 out such excuse. 
 
 The passage above quoted [meaning one from Coffin's report of Sep- 
 tember 24, 1863 - "They resisted the insidious influences which were 
 brought to bear upon them by Rector, Pike, Cooper, Crawford and oth- 
 er rebel emissaries for a long time."] however does great injustice to all 
 the parties named, particularly to Genl Cooper, who had no earthly 
 connection with the Cherokees until several months after. Mr. John 
 Ross made the treaty with the so-called Confederate States. - General 
 Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, B6o. 
 
220 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 over, would work under a benign paternalism, for the 
 thorough, because so gradual, development of an in- 
 ferior race; but by no standard of personal honor, or of 
 moral rectitude could conduct such as Crawford's be 
 condoned. 
 
 John Ross had opened the meeting with an address 
 in which he had defined its purposes and his own good 
 intentions, both past and present. Personally, he 
 seemed still inclined to maintain a neutral attitude but 
 designing persons had made his position most diffi- 
 cult. 437 
 
 . . . Our soil has not been invaded, our peace has not 
 been molested, nor our rights interfered with by either Gov- 
 ernment. On the contrary, the people have remained at home, 
 cultivated their farms in security, and are reaping fruitful re- 
 turns for their labors. But for false fabrications, we should 
 have pursued our ordinary vocations without any excitement at 
 home, or misrepresentations and consequent misapprehensions 
 abroad, as to the real sentiments and purposes of the Cherokee 
 people. Alarming reports, however, have been pertinaciously 
 circulated at home and unjust imputations among the people of 
 the States. The object seems to have been to create strife and 
 conflict, instead of harmony and good-will, among the people 
 themselves, and to engender prejudice and distrust, instead of 
 kindness and confidence, towards them by the officers and citi- 
 zens of the Confederate States. . . 
 
 . . . The great object with me has been to have the 
 Cherokee people harmonious and united in the full and free ex- 
 ercise and enjoyment of all their rights of person and property. 
 Union is strength ; dissension is weakness, misery, ruin. In time 
 of peace, enjoy peace together; in time of war, if war must come, 
 fight together. As brothers live, as brothers die. While ready 
 and willing to defend our firesides from the robber and murder- 
 
 * 37 "Ross was overborne. It is said that his wife was more staunch than 
 her husband and held out till the last. When an attempt was made to raise 
 a Confederate flag over the Indian council house, her opposition was so spirit- 
 ed that it prevented the completion of the design." - Howard, My life and ex- 
 periences among our hostile Indians, 100. 
 
COLONEL ADAIR, CHEROKEE 
 
 [From Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of 
 American Ethnology'] 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 223 
 
 er, let us not make war wantonly against the authority of the 
 United or Confederate States, but avoid conflict with either, 
 and remain strictly on our own soil. We have homes endeared 
 to us by every consideration, laws adapted to our condition of 
 our own choice, and rights and privileges of the highest charac- 
 ter. Here they must be enjoyed or nowhere else. When your 
 nationality ceases here, it will live nowhere else. When these 
 homes are lost, you will find no others like them. Then, my 
 countrymen, as you regard your own rights, as you regard the 
 welfare of your posterity, be prudent how you act. The per- 
 manent disruption of the United States is now probable. The 
 State on our border and the Indian nations about us have sev- 
 ered their connection from the United States and joined the 
 Confederate States. Our general interests are inseparable from 
 theirs, and it is not desirable that we should stand alone. The 
 preservation of our rights and of our existence are above every 
 other consideration. And in view of all the circumstances of 
 our situation I do say to you frankly that in my opinion the time 
 has now come when you should signify your consent for the au- 
 thorities of the nation to adopt preliminary steps for an alliance 
 with the Confederate States upon terms honorable and advan- 
 tageous to the Cherokee Nation. 488 
 
 After having received this most solemn of warnings, 
 "and a few pertinent and forcible remarks from Col- 
 onel Crawford," the meeting organized with Joseph 
 Vann as president and William P. Ross as secretary. 
 To effect a reconciliation between the contending fac- 
 tions and to decide upon some national policy that 
 should be acceptable to the majority of the people, 
 were, undoubtedly, the objects sought and so, after 
 much discussion, a series of resolutions was adopted in 
 which these ideas were given prominence as well as 
 some of kindred importance. The resolutions asserted 
 the legal and constitutional right of property in slaves 
 and, in no doubtful terms, a friendship for the Confed- 
 
 *38 p or the entire address of John Ross, see Official Record, first sen, vol. 
 iii, 673-675. 
 
224 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 eracy. Yet the convention itself took no definite action 
 towards consummating an alliance but left everything 
 to the discretion of the constituted authorities of the 
 nation, in whom it announced an unwavering con- 
 fidence. 
 
 Whereas we, the Cherokee people, have been invited by the 
 executive of the Cherokee Nation, in compliance with the request 
 of many citizens, to meet in general meeting, for the purpose of 
 drawing more closely the bonds of friendship and sympathy 
 which should characterize our conduct and mark our feelings 
 towards each other in view of the difficulties and dangers which 
 have arisen from the fearful condition of affairs among the peo- 
 ple of the several States, and for the purpose of giving a free 
 and frank expression of the real sentiments we cherish towards 
 each other, and of our true position in regard to questions which 
 affect the general welfare, and particularly on that of the sub- 
 ject of slavery: Therefore be it hereby 
 
 Resolved, That we fully approve the neutrality recommended 
 by the principal chief in the war pending between the United 
 and the Confederate States, and tender to General McCulloch 
 our thanks for the respect he has shown to our position. 
 
 Resolved, That we renew the pledges given by the executive 
 of this nation of the friendship of the Cherokees towards the 
 people of all the States, and particularly towards those on our 
 immediate border, with whom our relations have been har- 
 monious and cordial, and from whom they should not be sep- 
 arated. 
 
 Resolved, that we also take occasion to renew to the Creeks, 
 Choctaws, Seminoles, Chickasaws, and Osages, and others, as- 
 surances of continued friendship and brotherly feeling. 
 
 Resolved, That we hereby disavow any wish or purpose to 
 create or perpetuate any distinctions between the citizens of our 
 country as to the full and mixed blood, but regard each and all 
 as our brothers, and entitled to equal rights and privileges ac- 
 cording to the constitution and laws of the nation. 
 
 Resolved, That we proclaim unwavering attachment to the 
 constitution and laws of the Cherokee Nation, and solemnly 
 pledge ourselves to defend and support the same, and as far as 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 225 
 
 in us lies to secure to the citizens of the nation all the rights and 
 privileges which they guarantee to them. 
 
 Resolved, That among the rights guaranteed by the constitu- 
 tion and laws we distinctly recognize that of property in negro 
 slaves, and hereby publicly denounce as calumniators those who 
 represent us to be abolitionists, and as a consequence hostile to 
 the South, which is both the land of our birth and the land of 
 our homes. 
 
 Resolved, That the great consideration with the Cherokee 
 people should be a united and harmonious support and defense of 
 their common rights, and we hereby pledge ourselves to mutually 
 sustain our nationality, and to defend our lives and the integrity 
 of our homes and soil whenever the same shall be wantonly as- 
 sailed by lawless marauders. 
 
 Resolved, That, reposing full confidence in the constituted 
 authorities of the Cherokee Nation, we submit to their wisdom 
 the management of all questions which affect our interests grow- 
 ing out of the exigencies of the relations between the United and 
 Confederate States of America, and which may render an alli- 
 ance on our part with the latter States expedient and desirable. 
 
 And which resolutions, upon the question of their passage be- 
 ing put, were carried by acclamation. JOSEPH VANN, President. 
 Wm. P. Ross, Secretary. 
 Tahlequah, C.N., August 21, i86i. 439 
 
 In making his plans, prior to the Battle of Wilson's 
 Creek, for effecting a junction with Price and cooper- 
 ating with him and others in southwest Missouri, Mc- 
 Culloch acted, not under direct orders from Richmond, 
 but from his own desire to take such a position opposite 
 the Cherokee Neutral Lands, once so outrageously in- 
 truded upon by Kansas settlers and now being made the 
 highway of marauders entering Missouri, as would 
 make it appear to the Cherokees that he was there as 
 their friend and as the protector of their interests. 
 After the battle, he refused, and rightly in view of his 
 
 439 Official Record, first ser., vol. iii, 675-676. A slightly incorrect copy of 
 these same resolutions is to be found in vol. xiii, 499-500. 
 
226 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 own special commission, to accompany Price in his 
 forward march towards the Missouri River. Instead 
 he drew back into the neighborhood of the Cherokee 
 boundary and there developed his plans for attacking 
 Kansas, should such a course be deemed necessary in 
 order to protect Indian Territory. 
 
 It was at this juncture that the Cherokees as a nation 
 expressed their preference for the South and for the 
 southern cause, moved thereto, however, by the pecu- 
 liarities and the difficulties of their situation. The Ex- 
 ecutive Council lost no time in communicating 44 ' to 
 McCulloch the decision of the Tahlequah mass-meet- 
 ing and their own determination to carry out its wishes 
 by effecting an alliance with the Confederacy "as early 
 as practicable." They realized very clearly that this 
 might "give rise to movements against the Cherokee 
 people upon their northern border" and were resolved 
 to be prepared for such an emergency. They, there- 
 fore, authorized the raising of a regiment of mounted 
 men, home guards they were to be and to be so desig- 
 nated, officered by appointment of the principal chief, 
 Colonel John Drew being made the colonel. It would 
 appear that the nucleus of this regiment, and with a 
 strong southern bias, had made 441 its appearance prior 
 to the Tahlequah meeting and the circumstance gave 
 rise to the suspicion that the Cherokees had not been act- 
 ing in good faith. After the war, the suspicion con- 
 centrated, very unjustly, upon John Ross and was made 
 the most of by Commissioner Cooley at the Fort Smith 
 
 440 John Ross and others to McCulloch, August 24, 1861 [Official Records, 
 first sen, vol. iii, 673]. 
 
 441 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865. The Report of the Com- 
 missioner of Indian Affairs to President Johnson, February 25, 1866, in answer 
 to the Cherokee protest against Chief Ross's deposition contains this statement: 
 
 As early as June or July, the exact date is not known, John Ross 
 authorized the raising of Drew's Regiment, for the Southern army. . . 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 227 
 
 conference; in order to accomplish, for reasons dishon- 
 orable to the United States government, the aged chief's 
 deposition. 
 
 Drew's regiment of home guards was tendered to 
 McCulloch and he agreed to accept it 442 but not until 
 after a treaty of alliance should have been actually con- 
 summated between the Cherokees and the Confederate 
 States. Pending the accomplishment of that highly de- 
 sirable object, McCulloch promised to protect the 
 Cherokee borders with his own troops and confessed 443 
 that he had already authorized the enlistment of an- 
 other force of Cherokees under the command of 
 Stand Watie, which had been designed to protect that 
 same northern border but "not to interfere with the 
 neutrality of the Nation by occupying a position within 
 its limits." 
 
 It is not easy to decide just when or by whom the use 
 of Indians by the Federals in the border warfare 444 was 
 
 442 McCulloch to Ross, September i, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. 
 iii, 690]. 
 
 443 Ibid. ; McCulloch to John Drew, September i, 1861 [ibid., 691]. 
 
 444 In the course of the war, both inside and outside of Kansas, many in- 
 stances occurred of Indians' expressing a wish to fight or of their services 
 being earnestly solicited. In late April of 1861, a deputation, headed by 
 White Cloud, came east and tendered to the United States government the 
 services of some three hundred warriors, Sioux and Chippewas [Moore's 
 Rebellion Record, vol. i, 43]. 
 
 Agent Burleigh, in charge of the Yancton Sioux, asked permission to 
 garrison Fort Randall with Indians [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 
 1861, p. 118]. The Omahas manifested great interest in the war, so their 
 agent, O. H. Irish, reported [ibid., p. 65]. Towards the end of the struggle 
 a young recruiting officer, who went among them, persuaded about thirty 
 youths, mostly students at the Mission School, to enlist. Their terms had not 
 expired when the war closed, so they were sent out as scouts to protect the 
 Union Pacific Railroad, in course of construction from Denver to Salt Lake 
 City, against the Sioux who were attacking workmen and emigrants. Even 
 Senecas from the far away Cattaraugus Reservation, New York, offered to 
 enlist [Dole to Strong, December 7, 1861, Indian Office Letter Book, no. 67, p. 
 129] ; and so did the Pawnees from the great plains. The United States gov- 
 ernment, however, refused to accept the Pawnees for anything but scouts and, 
 
228 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 first suggested. As late as May twenty-second, Gov- 
 ernor Charles Robinson of Kansas, in a letter 445 to 
 Superintendent Branch, protested against even so much 
 as arming them, which would certainly indicate that a 
 
 in that capacity, they proved exceedingly useful [Commissioner of Indian 
 Affairs, Report, 1869, p. 472]. Winnebagoes were in the United States employ 
 [Indian Office, Report Book, no. 13, pp. 276-277], as were also many indi- 
 viduals from other tribes. Some Indians became commissioned officers and a 
 number were at the head of companies. Captain Dorion of Company B, 
 Regiment Fourteenth Kansas Volunteers was an Iowa {ibid., 261] and Eli 
 S. Parker on General Grant's staff was a Seneca. 
 
 After the Enrollment Act of March 3, 1863 [United States Statutes at 
 Large, vol. xii, 731-737] was passed, several attempts were made to force the 
 Indians to serve in the army but Mix, the Acting Commissioner of Indian 
 Affairs, declared they were exempt from the draft [Letter to Agent D. C. 
 Leach, September 4, 1863, Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 71, p. 354]. On the 
 sixteenth of July, 1863, the United States War Department inquired very par- 
 ticularly as to the Indian eligibility for enrollment and Secretary Usher took 
 occasion to instruct Mix that the respective agents should be 
 
 Directed to offer no resistance to the enrolling officers, after notifying said 
 officers of the fact, that the tribe or tribes under their charge are com- 
 posed of Indians who have not acquired the rights of Citizenship, but 
 immediately upon being informed of the drafting of any member of 
 his tribe, he will report the case to the Com r of Indian Affairs, for such 
 action as may be necessary to procure the exemption of the Indians from 
 military service. - Letter of Secretary Usher, September 12, 1863, Mis- 
 cellaneous Files, 1858-1863. 
 
 445 The bearer has a train of goods at this point en route for the In- 
 dians on the western border of the State, containing quite a quantity 
 of arms & ammunition. 
 
 There is great excitement in the community with reference to 
 arming the Indians at the present time, as for several days past re- 
 ports have come to us that our frontier settlements are in danger of at- 
 tack from hostile Indians who are collecting in the neighborhood. I 
 am daily importuned to send them aid. Also, report says, and it seems 
 very reliable, that the Indians on our southern border are arming them- 
 selves against our citizens. In addition to these Indian rumors it is 
 believed by many that these arms are in danger of falling into the 
 hands of secessionists, before reaching their destination. Quite a num- 
 ber of that class of men have recently passed up this way (Topeka) 
 and through Riley County. In this condition of affairs I do not think 
 these arms & ammunition can be taken west without an escort, as the 
 rabble will be almost certain to waylay them as soon as they get on the 
 Pottawatomie Reserve. I can protect them while in this county & will 
 do so, but cannot follow them. Would it not be well, if you have the 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 229 
 
 general use of their services had not yet been thought 
 of or resorted to; but, in August, when Senator James 
 H. Lane was busy organizing his brigade of volunteers 
 for the defense of Kansas, he resolved, 446 rather offi- 
 
 authority, to direct the bearer to leave that part of his freight in charge 
 of the U.S. Marshal, or in my charge, until there shall be a change 
 of circumstances, or until further orders from Washington? 
 
 Although I would not undertake to oppose the action of Government 
 in the matter and would not interfere unless it should be to prevent 
 the property from falling into the hands of a mob, yet I do think under 
 the circumstances it is very bad policy to arm the Indians on the bor- 
 der. I feel very sure from what I learn, they will be used against our 
 citizens within three months time. I am ready to co-operate at all 
 times with the U.S. authorities. . . - General Files, Central Superin- 
 tendency, 7860-1862, 6479. See also Branch's reply, May 23, ibid. 
 446 H. B. Branch to Mix, September 16, 1861, transmitting a letter from 
 Agent Farnsworth of September 13, 1861, enclosing communications from Sen- 
 ator Lane, Captain Price, and others, "relative to organizing the Indians for 
 the defense of the Government" [General Files, Kansas, 1855-1862, 6774]. 
 Headquarters K.B. Ft. Lincoln, Aug. 22<* 1861. 
 To Indian Agents Sac and Foxes- Shawnees -Delawares-Kicka- 
 
 poos - Potawatomies - and Kaws- Tribes of Indians 
 
 GENTS: For the defence of Kansas I have determined to use the 
 loyal Indians of the Tribes above named. To this end I have appoint- 
 ed Augustus Wattles, Esq to confer with you and adopt such measures 
 as will secure the early assembling of the Indians at this point. 
 
 If you have the means within your control I would like to have you 
 supply them when they march with a sufficient quantity of powder, 
 lead & subsistence for their march to this place, where they will be fed 
 by the Government. 
 
 You can assure them for the Govt that they will not be marched 
 out of Kansas without their consent -that they will be used only for the 
 defence of Kansas. 
 
 I enjoin each of you to be prompt and energetic that an early as- 
 sembling of said Indians at this point may thereby be secured. 
 
 J. H. LANE, Commanding Kansas Brigade. 
 By ABRAM CUTLER, Acting assistant Adgt-Gen. 
 
 The danger is imminent. Hordes of whites & half breeds in the 
 Indian country are in arms driving out & killing Union men. They 
 threaten to overrun Kansas and exterminate both whites & Indians. It 
 it rumored that John Ross, the Cherokee Chief is likely to be overcome 
 unless he is assisted. 
 
 The Osages also need assistance. Gen. Lane intends to establish a 
 strong Indian camp near the neutral lands as a guard to prevent forage 
 into Kansas. He is very solicitous that you should come if possible 
 
230 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 ciously, one might think, upon using some of the Kan- 
 sas River tribes in establishing "a strong Indian camp 
 near the neutral lands to prevent forage into Kansas" 
 and arranged for a conference with the Indians at Fort 
 
 with the Chiefs & see him at Ft. Lincoln on the Little Osage 10 miles 
 south of Mound City. 
 
 If you do come, please bring all the fighting men you can, of all 
 Kinds. Men are needed. 
 
 If you do not come, please authorise some responsible man to lead 
 the Indians as far as Ft. Lincoln where Gen. Lane will receive them 
 and give them a big war talk. Bring an interpreter. Expenses will 
 be paid. 
 
 Congress will undoubtedly make suitable acknowledgements to the 
 Kaws, as an independent nation, for any valuable services which they 
 may render. . . 
 
 P.S. A Captain's wages will be given to any competent man whom 
 you may appoint to take the lead of the band, provided there are fifty 
 or more. - AUGUSTUS WATTLES to Major Farnsworth, dated Sac and 
 Fox Agency, Kansas, August 25, 1861. 
 
 Wattles had evidently not yet heard of the Tahlequah mass-meeting. Pos- 
 tal connections with Indian Territory were, of necessity, very poor. Dole 
 had recommended, May 29, 1861, to Secretary Smith a new postal route 
 through southwest Missouri or southern Kansas instead of the old route 
 through Arkansas [Indian Office, Report Book, no. 12, p. 170]. 
 
 The Confederates were similarly embarrassed. On the twenty-seventh of 
 May, the postmaster at Fort Smith had complained to the postmaster-general 
 J. H. Reagan, 
 
 Enclosed please find letter of G. B. Hester (a Choctaw who was 
 made quarter-master and commissary in the First Choctaw Regiment 
 and, in 1865, "cotton agent for the Creek Indians who were at that time 
 squatting in the Chickasaw Nation." See O'Beirne's Leaders and Lead- 
 ing Men of the Indian Territory) at Boggy Depot, C.N. You will 
 see they are without mails in that country. For three weeks the mails 
 for the Indian country have been accumulating in this office. I sent 
 forward all the mail that could be packed on a single horse. . . I 
 cannot get men to carry the mail. They say they are afraid of being 
 robbed or murdered. . . Our neighbours, the Indians must suffer 
 great inconvenience on account of the stoppage of mail facilities. All 
 tribes are in favor of the South except the Cherokees. A little good 
 talk would do them good, perhaps a little powder and lead might help 
 the cause. Ross and his party are not to be relied on. - Fort Smith 
 Papers. 
 Mayers wrote Reagan in a similar vein a month later, on June 26, 1861, 
 
 Our mails throughout the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw & Creek 
 nations have all been stopped by the old mail carriers. . . - Ibid. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 231 
 
 Lincoln, his headquarters. Soon, however, a stay of 
 execution was ordered 447 until the matter could be dis- 
 cussed, in its larger aspects, with Commissioner Dole, 
 to whom courtesy, 448 at least, would have demanded that 
 the whole affair should have been first submitted. 
 
 Dole was then in Kansas 4 * 9 and before long became 
 aware 450 that General Fremont was also favoring the 
 
 447 On August 26, 1861, Wattles wrote Farnsworth from Lawrence, 
 
 I wrote you a few days ago concerning the employment of the In- 
 dians in the defence of our frontier. 
 
 The necessity seemed imperative. But on hearing that the Com- 
 missioner of Indian Affairs was in Kansas and will probably see you - 
 I think it best to say nothing to the Indians till he is consulted in the 
 matter. 
 
 Gen. Lane has 60 miles of the Missouri border to guard, and an army 
 of at least double his to hold in check, which employs all his force night 
 & day. 
 
 Besides this, he has the Indian frontier on the south of about too 
 miles. This he intends to intrust to the loyal Indians - 1 will add, if 
 the Commissioner agrees to it. 
 
 The stay of execution was not of long duration, however; for, September 
 10, 1861, J. E. Prince sent Farnsworth from Fort Leavenworth a circular re- 
 questing immediate enrollment and an estimate of the strength of the loyal 
 Indians. 
 
 4*8 The conduct of Lane was presumptuous, arrogant, dictatorial ; but he 
 had interfered in yet other ways in Indian concerns. He must have had quite 
 a hold, political or otherwise, over several of the agents and they appealed 
 to him in matters that ought, in the first instance, to have been referred to the 
 Indian Office and left there. Thus, in July, Agent F. Johnson had approached 
 Lane on the subject of having Charles Journeycake appointed Delaware chief 
 in place of Rock-a-to-wa deceased. Both Pomeroy and Lane endorsed the 
 appointment but it was unquestionably entirely out of their province to do so. 
 Tribal politics were assuredly no concern of the Kansas delegation in Con- 
 gress. 
 
 449 Dole had gone to Kansas in the latter part of August "to submit in 
 person the amendments, made by the Senate at its last session, to the Delaware 
 treaty of May 30, 1860" [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, p. n]. 
 
 450 I find here your letter to the Agent of the Delaware, requesting 
 Fall Leaf to organize a party of 50 men for the service of your De- 
 partment. Mr. Johnson the Agent called the tribe together before I ar- 
 rived here, and found the Chiefs unwilling that their young men should 
 enter the service as you desired. Since my arrival I have seen the 
 Chiefs and stated to them that the Government was not asking them to 
 enter the war as a tribe but that we wished to employ some of the tribe 
 
232 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 enlistment of Indians, or, at all events, their employ- 
 ment by the army in some capacity. He had ap- 
 proached Agent Johnson on the subject, his immediate 
 purpose being to request Fall Leaf, a Delaware, "to 
 organize a party of 50 men for the service of" his de- 
 partment. Agent Johnson called the tribe together and 
 discovered that the chiefs were much averse to having 
 their young men enlist. Dole inquired into the matter 
 and assured 451 the chiefs that a few braves only were 
 needed and those simply for special service and that 
 there was no intention of asking the tribe, as a tribe, to 
 give its services. The chiefs refused consent, notwith- 
 standing; but Fall Leaf and a few others like him did 
 enlist. 452 They were probably among the fifty-three 
 Delawares, subsequently reported 453 as having been em- 
 ployed by Fremont to act as scouts and guides. Fall 
 Leaf attained the rank of captain. 454 Superintendent 
 
 for Special Service and wished the Chiefs to make no objection. I 
 could not however get their consent even to acquiesce in their men Vol- 
 unteering for the service as you desired, & Fall Leaf and several of the 
 tribe are here and determined to tender you their Services, with my 
 consent. I have advised them that they are at Liberty to join you if they 
 choose. Fall Leaf says he will be able to report at Fort Leavenworth 
 in a very few days with twenty to twenty five men. Should you require 
 more men, you will have probably to call on some other tribe. Those men 
 who volunteer against the advice of their Chiefs should be particularly 
 remembered by the Gov't. - DOLE to Fremont, dited Leavenworth City, 
 September 13, 1861 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 66, p. 485]. 
 451 Ibid. 
 
 452 1 am instructed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 
 i3th inst., and to state that the Commanding General will accept with 
 pleasure the services of Fall Leaf and his men. 
 
 Other tribes will be applied to immediately. I have written to the 
 same effect to Mr. Johnson, at the Deleware Agency. - JOHN R. HOW- 
 ARD, captain and secretary, to William P. Dole, dated Headquarters, 
 Western Department, at St. Louis, September 20, 1861 [General Files, 
 Central Superintendency, 1860-1862], 
 
 453 F. Johnson to Dole, June 6, 1862 [General Files, Delaware, 1862-1866]. 
 
 454 Dole to Captain Fall Leaf, November 12, 1863 [Indian Office, Letter 
 Book, no. 72, p. 109]. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 233 
 
 Branch, 455 be it said, and also Commissioner Dole, 458 at 
 this stage of the war, were strongly opposed to a general 
 use of the Indians for purposes of active warfare. They 
 knew only too well what it was likely to lead to. In- 
 deed, the most that Dole had, up to date, agreed 457 to, 
 was the supplying the Indians with the means of their 
 own defense when United States troops had shown 
 themselves quite unavailable. 
 
 Dole's opinion being such, it is scarcely to be sup- 
 posed that he could have considered favorably Senator 
 Lane's idea of an Indian camp in the Cherokee Neutral 
 Lands or the one, developed later, of an Indian patrol 
 along the southern boundary of Kansas. Lane's 
 troubles, quite apart from his Indian projects, were 
 daily increasing; and, considering the method of war- 
 fare indulged in by him and encouraged in his white 
 troops, the same one that pro-slavery and free-state men 
 had equally experimented with in squatter-sovereignty 
 days, it would have been simply deplorable to have per- 
 mitted him the free use of Indian warriors. Com- 
 plaints 458 of Lane and of his brigade, of their jayhawk- 
 ing and of their marauding were being made on every 
 
 455 Report to Dole, October 22, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
 Report, 1861, p. 50] ; Report to Dole, September 17, 1862 [Commissioner of 
 Indian Affairs Report, 1862, p. 98], 
 
 456 I send you a letter to General Fremont open that you may read 
 and understand its object. Fall Leaf will call upon you probably 
 this afternoon and receive from you such information as you see proper 
 to give him. I am disinclined to encourage the Indians to engage in 
 this war except in extreme cases, as guides. I have in this case used 
 my influence in favor of the formation of this Company, without any 
 knowledge of the views of Gov't, supposing Gen 1 Fremont was a special 
 need of them or he would not have made the request. . . - DOLE to 
 Captain Price, dated Leavenworth, September 13, 1861 [Indian Office, 
 Letter Book, no. 66, pp. 485-486]. 
 
 457 Letter of August 15, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 
 1861, p. 39]. 
 
 458 General Orders, no. 23 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 539]. 
 
234 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 hand. Governor Robinson 439 reported these complaints 
 and endorsed them. Secretary Cameron, while making 
 his western tour of investigation, heard 460 them and re- 
 ported them also. Lane attributed 461 them to personal 
 dislike of him, to envy, to everything, in fact, except 
 their true cause; but we know now that they were all 
 well-grounded. Yet, remarkable to relate, Lane's in- 
 fluence with Lincoln and with the War Department suf- 
 fered no appreciable decline. His suggestions 462 were 
 acted upon; and, as we shall presently see, he was even 
 permitted to organize a huge jayhawking expedition 
 at the beginning of the next year. 
 
 The mention of Lane's jayhawking expedition calls 
 to mind the conditions that made it seem, at the time, an 
 acceptable thing and takes us back in retrospect to In- 
 dian Territory and to the events occurring there after 
 the Tahlequah mass-meeting of the twenty-first of Au- 
 gust. As soon as the meeting had broken up, John Ross 
 despatched 463 a messenger to Albert Pike to inform him 
 of all that had happened and of the Cherokee willing- 
 ness, at last, to negotiate with the Confederacy. It was 
 arranged that Pike should come to the Cherokee coun- 
 try, taking up his quarters temporarily at Park Hill, 
 
 459 Villard says, as early as 1856, rivalry had developed between Robinson 
 and Lane [John Brown, 108]. 
 
 460 Thomas to Fremont, October 14, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. 
 
 i, 533]. 
 
 461 Lane to Lincoln, October 9, 1861 {ibid., 529]. 
 
 462 It would seem as if Lane were remotely responsible for the division of 
 the Western Department into the Department of Kansas and the Department 
 of Missouri. In his letter to President Lincoln of October 9, 1861, he described 
 the good work that his Kansas Brigade had done and asked that, in order 
 that it might be enabled to continue to do effective work, a new military de- 
 partment be created, one that should group together Kansas, Indian Territory, 
 and so much of Arkansas and the territories as should be advisable [ibid.']. 
 
 463 Ross's Address to Drew's Regiment, December 19, 1861 [Commissioner 
 of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 355] ; Letter of Albert Pike to D. N. Cooley, 
 February 17, 1866. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 235 
 
 the home of Ross near Tahlequah, and that a general 
 Indian council should be called. A special effort was 
 made to have the fragmentary bands of the northeast 
 represented and Pike sent out various agents 464 to urge 
 an attendance. John Ross was also active in the same 
 interest. He, personally, communicated with the 
 Osages 465 and with the Creeks 466 by letter; but the 
 
 464 "Chisholm" the well known interpreter has been sent to the Co- 
 rnanches, Creeks to the Osages - Matthews to the Senecas Quapaws 
 &c. . .-ROBERTSON in a letter, dated St. Louis, September 30, 1861 
 [General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ri6i5]. 
 
 . . . In the fall of the same year Albert Pike called a General 
 Council of the same tribes to meet at Talloqua and in order to secure 
 their attendance stated that John Ross was to make a speech ... he 
 sent Dorn late U.S. Indian Agent to notify the Osages, Quapaws Sen- 
 ecas & Shawnees that there was to be a Council at Talloqua and that 
 Ross was going to talk at the same time to tell them that the U.S. 
 Government was breaking up - that they would get no more money and 
 that they were about to send an Army to take their Negroes and drive 
 them from the country and pointed to Missouri in proof of it, when 
 the Council met at Talloqua instead of Ross the council was opened by 
 Pike who told them "We are here to protect our property and to save 
 our Country. . .-BAPTISTE PEORIA. 
 
 Baptiste Peoria, in the spring and summer of 1862, went around as a 
 secret agent of the United States government among the southern Indians 
 finding out their real sentiments respecting the war. The report from which 
 the above extract is taken is dated May i, 1862, and is in General Files, Osage 
 River, 1855-1862, 61430. 
 
 465 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS, September i9 th 1865. 
 In a talk held at the rooms of the Commission, with Commissioners 
 
 Sells and Parker, the following statement was this day voluntarily made 
 by Shon-tah-sob-ba ("Black Dog") the Chief of the Black Dog band of 
 the Osage Indians, relating to a treaty with the so-called Confederate 
 States. In answer to a question by Commissioner Sells, "How did you 
 happen to be in this Southern Country?" Shon-tah-sob-ba (Black Dog) 
 replied "I am glad you have asked that question, for I wish to make 
 some statements in explanation. We came down here upon the invitation 
 of John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, who sent us a 
 letter asking us to attend a Council for the purpose of making a treaty 
 with Albert Pike" - 
 
 COMM R SELLS -Have you that letter now in your possession? 
 
 ANSWER: We don't know where the letter is. It was sent to Cler- 
 mont, whose son had it in his possession when he died & we suppose it 
 was buried with him. But I have it here in my head & will never 
 
236 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Creeks, 467 like Evan Jones, 468 seem to have been incred- 
 ulous as to Cherokee defection. They seem to have 
 doubted the genuineness of the letter sent to them and 
 
 forget it. John Ross, the Cherokee Chief, said in that letter, "My 
 Bros, the Osages, there is a distinguished gentleman sent by the Con- 
 federate States who is here to make treaties with us. He will soon be 
 ready to treat, and I want you to come here in order that we may all 
 treat together with him. My Brothers, there is a great black cloud com- 
 ing from the North, about to cover us all, and I want you to come 
 here so that we can counsel each other & drive away the black cloud." 
 This is all that he said & signed his name. All the Osages went. We 
 were all there together, Pike, John Ross and I, sitting as you are. Pike 
 told us he was glad that we had come to make peace & a treaty. All 
 your other brothers have made treaties & shook hands, & if you want to, 
 you can do so too. I will tell you what John Ross said at the time. 
 John Ross told us, "My Red Bros, you have come here as I asked you 
 & I am glad to see you & hope you will do what the Commissioner 
 wants you to do. The talk the Commissioner has made is a good talk 
 & I want you to listen to it & make friends with the Confederate States. 
 You can make a treaty or not, but I advise you, as your older brother, 
 to make a treaty with them. It is for your interest & your good." 
 After he finished talking, John Ross told us we could consult among 
 ourselves over there (pointing to our camp near his residence) & de- 
 cide among ourselves. We consulted on the matter, & on the request 
 of John Ross we signed the treaty. He asked us to do it. He was the 
 man that made us make that treaty, and that's how we came to be away 
 from our country. 
 
 The above statement was endorsed by Wah-tah-in-gah, Chief Coun- 
 selor of the Black Dog & Clermont bands of the Osage Indians. 
 
 The above is a correct statement as interpreted. 
 
 E. S. PARKER Com r GEO. L. COOK Ass't Sec?. 
 ELIJAH SELLS Com r 
 
 Papers relating to the Council at Fort Smith, September, 1865, Indian 
 Office Files. 
 
 466 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, pp. 353-354. 
 
 467 These Creeks, of course, were the Upper Creeks, the anti-McIntosh 
 Creeks, the following of Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la. Some of the confidence that 
 Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la seems to have had in John Ross, in his discretion and in 
 his integrity, may have dated from the days when John Ross had refused, as he 
 must have refused, to share in the plan for a betrayal of his country', at the 
 instance of William Mclntosh. The following document will explain that 
 
 circumstance : 
 
 NEWTOWN 2ith October 1823 
 
 MY FRIEND: I am going to inform you a few lines as a friend. I 
 want you to give me your opinion about the treaty wether the chiefs 
 will be willing or not. If the chiefs feel disposed to let the United 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 237 
 
 made inquiries about it, only to be assured 469 again and 
 again by Ross that all was well and that he wished the 
 Indians en masse to join the Southern States. 
 
 The council at Tahlequah, viewed in the light of its 
 immediate object, was unusually successful. Four 
 treaties were negotiated, one 470 at Tahlequah itself, 
 October seventh, with the Cherokees and three at Park 
 Hill. Of these three, one 471 was with four bands of the 
 Great Osages, Clermont's, White Hair's, Black Dog's, 
 and the Big Hill, October second; another 472 with the 
 Quapaws, October fourth; and the third, 473 on the same 
 day, with the Senecas 474 (once of Sandusky) and the 
 Shawnees (once of Lewistown and now of the mixed 
 
 States have the land part of it, I want you to let me know. I will 
 make the United States commissioner give you two thousand dollars, A. 
 McCoy the same and Charles Hicks $3000 for present, and no body shall 
 know it, and if you think the land wouldent sold, I will be satisfied. 
 If the land should be sold, I will get you the amount before the treaty 
 sign, and if you got any friend you want him to Receive it, they shall 
 reed the same, nothing moore to inform you at present. I remain your 
 affectionate Friend WM MclNTOSH 
 
 John Ross - an answer return 
 
 NB. the whole amount is $12000. you can divide among your friends, 
 exclusive $7000. 
 
 This letter is on file in the United States Indian Office and bears the fol- 
 lowing endorsement: 
 
 rec d on the 23 rd Oct. 1823. 
 
 M R JOHN Ross President N. Committee 
 
 Letter from Wm Mclntosh to Mr John Ross read & exposed in open 
 Council in the presence of Wm Mclntosh Oct 24 th 1823 J Ross 
 
 468 Letters to Dole, October 31, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
 Report, 1861, p. 42] and November 2, 1861 [General Files, Cherokee, 1859- 
 1865, J S 03]. 
 
 469 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, pp. 353, 354. 
 
 470 Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 669-687. 
 m Ibid., 636-646. 
 
 * Ibid., 659-666. 
 
 * lbid., 647-658. 
 
 474 The Senecas of the mixed band of Senecas and Shawnees were not or- 
 iginally parties to the treaty, but provision was duly made for their becom- 
 ing so. 
 
238 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 band of Senecas and Shawnees). Hereditary 475 chiefs 
 alone signed for the Great Osages, the merit chief, Big 
 Chief, being, apparently, not present. The notorious 
 ex-United States agent, J. W. Washbourne,* 76 was very 
 much in evidence as would most likely also have been 
 the equally notorious and disreputable Indian trader, 
 
 475 Ka-hi-ke-tung-ka for Clermont's Band, Pa-hiu-ska for White Hair's, 
 Shon-tas-sap-pe for Black Dog's, and Chi-sho-hung-ka for the Big Hill. 
 
 476 For information concerning Washbourne [Washburne or Washburn] 
 and charges against him, see Dean to Manypenny, December 28, 1855, Decem- 
 ber 31, 1855 [Dean's Letter Book, Indian Office]; and Elias Rector to Secretary 
 Thompson, October i, 1859 [Rector's Letter Book, Indian Office]. Rector's 
 letter was as follows: 
 
 An important sense of my duty as Superintendent of Indian Affairs 
 for the Southern Superintendency compells me to recommend, most earn- 
 estly, the immediate removal of the present incumbent of the Seminole 
 Agency, 
 
 The performance of this unpleasant duty is forced upon me by the 
 following consideration, - 
 
 ist The neglect of duty and disregard of the orders and Regulations 
 of the Department in absenting himself repeatedly and for protracted 
 periods, from his Agency without authority for so doing; to the preju- 
 dice of the public interests entrusted to him, - 
 
 On this point I presume it is not necessary for me to enlarge, or to 
 urge upon the Department my views of the paramount necessity of In- 
 dian Agents residing at their Agencies and being at all times present 
 at their Stations as well to cultivate the respect and confidence, and a 
 just knowledge of the character and wants of the people entrusted to 
 their care, as to be in position to execute promptly the orders, and to 
 promote the views of the Department, - 
 
 2nd I consider him unworthy of the trust reposed in him from certain 
 facts connected with the late payment of money to the Indians under his 
 charge, which have come to my knowledge - 
 
 Of the $90.000 recently paid to those Indians, appropriated by Con- 
 gress expressly to pay such of them as should remove under the late 
 Treaty; for their improvements and to assist in defraying their removal 
 expences I have ascertained, and it is notorious, that thirteen thousand 
 Dollars or more passed into the hands of Mr Washbourne, through Col- 
 lusion with the principal Chiefs, $5000 of which he received under a 
 private Contract with Senator Yulee of Florida for services in obtain- 
 ing the consent of the Chiefs to the payment of thirty thousand dollars 
 of this money to Senator Yulee on an old claim presented by him of long 
 standing in behalf of one Gov Humphreys of Florida. The balance of 
 the $13000 received by Mr Washbourne was probably awarded him in 
 consideration of his permitting the Chiefs to appropriate certain por- 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 239 
 
 John Mathews, 477 had he not recently received his 
 deserts at the hands of Senator Lane's brigade. 
 
 tions of the money they paid over to them in trust for the legetimate 
 claimants, to their own use and benefit, 
 
 I have informed you in a late letter of the pains I took to make the 
 Chiefs acquainted with the true object of the appropriations. Having 
 been instructed to pay over the whole amount to the authorities of the 
 Nation, this was all I could do in furtherance of the intentions of Con- 
 gress ; my efforts to accomplish which were thus frustrated by Mr Wash- 
 bourne and his advances. - 
 
 3d The breach of good faith in the Chiefs towards the Indians, 
 prompted by Mr Washbourne in the distribution of this $90.000 as ex- 
 plained in my late letter, has incensed the Indians to such degree that 
 bloodshed has been threatened and is seriously to be apprehended, - 
 
 4th The influence of Mr Washbourne over the Chiefs acquired 
 through his Collusion with them in this swindling the intended legal re- 
 cipients of this money is such that, the Chiefs have intimated that they 
 will not send a delegation to Florida unless Mr Washbourne shall ac- 
 company them, and I have reason to believe that in case he is not per- 
 mited to accompany them, he is prepared to throw every obstacle in 
 the way of the accomplishment of this, so much desired measure of the 
 Government, 
 
 The conduct of the Chiefs and their Agent in the distribution of the 
 $90000 and the enclosed letter from Mr Jacoway U S Marshal of this 
 District, whose acquaintance you have made, taken in connection with 
 the declarations of the Chiefs, that they will not go without him (or 
 that they desire that he should go with and have charge of them) justi- 
 fies the apprehension that there is another scheme in embryo between 
 them to perpetrate another swindle. Should circumstances favour its 
 accomplishment; and if it is the intention of the Department to charge 
 me with conducting the negotiations of a Delegation to Florida, I must 
 decline the performance of this duty if one in whom I have so little 
 confidence is permited to accompany the Delegation in the capacity of 
 Agent; for I hesitate not to say, that if disappointed in his hopes of 
 making a profitable employment of his influence he would exert himself 
 to defeat any negotiations that might be set on foot, and there is good 
 reason to fear that he might be successful, - 
 
 For these reasons I beg leave respectfully to urge upon the Depart- 
 ment the immediate removal of Mr Washbourne and the appointment in 
 his stead of some gentleman who will perform the duties of the office 
 with a high appreciation of the trust confided to him and with a view, 
 rather to the honest discharge of this trust, than to his own profit, 
 
 I make this communication direct to the Sec't of Interior instead of 
 sending it through the Indian office for the reason that I learn that the 
 Comr Ind Affrs is absent on official acct. 
 477 Agent Elder to Coffin, September 30, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian 
 
240 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 An accurate and connected account of the occur- 
 rences at the Tahlequah council, it is well nigh impos- 
 sible to obtain. Some intimidation 478 seems to have 
 been used, and there was a report of a collision 479 be- 
 tween the Ross and Ridge factions some days previous 
 to the meeting. Drew's regiment, which, when organ- 
 ized, had been placed as a guard 480 on the northern bor- 
 der, escorted 481 Commissioner Pike to Park Hill and 
 later took up its station on the treaty ground. Some of 
 Stand Watie's Confederate forces were also in the 
 
 Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 37]; Coffin to Dole, October 2, 1861 {ibid., p. 38]; 
 
 Moore's Rebellion Record, vol. iii, 33. 
 
 478 \y e th e loyal Cherokee Delegation acknowledge the execution of 
 the treaty of Oct. 7, 1861. But we solemnly declare that the execution 
 of the Treaty was procured by the coercion of the rebel army [Land 
 Files, Indian Talks, Councils, etc., Box 4, 1865-1866]. 
 9 Hon, J. S. Phelps to C. B. Smith, dated Rolla, Mo., October 3, 1861 
 
 [General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, ?44]. 
 
 480 A difference of opinion seems to exist as to the original object of the 
 organization of Drew's regiment. When Ross wrote his despatches to McCul- 
 loch concerning the proceedings at Tahlequah, he sent them for transmission 
 to the C.S.A. quartermaster at Fort Smith, Major George W. Clark, to whom 
 he imparted the information that the Cherokees were going to raise a regiment 
 of mounted men immediately and place it under the command of Colonel John 
 Drew, "to meet any emergency that may arise." "Having espoused," said he, 
 "the cause of the Confederate States, we hope to render efficient service in the 
 protracted war which now threatens the country, and to be treated with a 
 liberality and confidence becoming the Confederate States." - Moore's Rebellion 
 Record, vol. iii, 155, Document 63^2- 
 
 Those, who afterwards wanted to put the Cherokee position in the best pos- 
 sible light, declared repeatedly that Drew's regiment had no sectional bias in 
 the work mapped out for it, that it was nothing more than a home guard. 
 Writing to Dole, January 21, 1862, the Reverend Evan Jones said, 
 
 A regiment of Cherokees was raised for home protection, composed of 
 one company for each of eight Districts, and either two or three com- 
 panies for the District of Tahlequah. But these were altogether sep- 
 arate and distinct from the rebel force. . . The great majority of 
 officers and men, in this case, being decidedly loyal Union men Four 
 of the Captains and four hundred men, gave evidence of their loyalty, in 
 the part they acted, at the battle in which Opothleyoholo was attacked by 
 the Texan rangers & rebel Creeks & Choctaws, under Cooper. . . 
 - General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, Jss6. 
 
 481 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 355. 
 
Alliance 'with the Confederacy 241 
 
 neighborhood. 482 In 1865, at the Fort Smith Council, 
 held for the readjustment of political relations with the 
 United States government, the Indians of the Neosho 
 Agency gave 483 a rather picturesque description of the 
 way they had been prevailed upon to sign the treaty 
 with the Confederate States. The real object of the 
 Tahlequah meeting was evidently not revealed to them 
 until they had actually reached the treaty ground. 
 Agent Dorn had told them that they had to go to the 
 meeting. They went and were there taken in hand by 
 Pike who said, 
 
 If you don't do what we lay before you, we can't say you shall 
 
 live happy. 
 
 The Indians 
 
 feeling badly, just looked on, and the white man went to work, 
 got up a paper and said I want you to sign that. The Indian 
 did not want to, but he compelled him. You know yourself 
 that, under such circumstances, he would do anything to save his 
 life. . . 
 
 Now that the history of the diplomatic relations be- 
 tween the Indian tribes and the Confederacy has been 
 brought thus far, nothing seems more fitting than to re- 
 turn to the consideration of the Federal government 
 and its representatives, its purposes, and its plans, be- 
 ginning the account with the Indian Office and Com- 
 missioner Dole. Dole's early attempt to prevail upon 
 the War Department to resume its occupation of Indian 
 Territory was followed up by the convincing letter of 
 the thirtieth of May in which he likened the Indians to 
 the Union element in some of the border states and 
 ended by throwing the full responsibility for any dis- 
 loyalty that might appear among them upon the Fed- 
 
 482 Cooley's Report to President Johnson, February 25, 1866. This letter 
 was found in the loose files of the Indian Office and is not to be found in In- 
 dian Office, Report Book, no. 15, where it would properly belong. 
 
 483 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 321. 
 
242 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 eral authorities; inasmuch as they had neglected and 
 were still neglecting to give the support and protection 
 that any ordinary guardian is bound in honor to give 
 to his wards. Dole said in writing to Secretary Smith, 
 
 . . . Experience has shown that the presence of even a 
 small force of federal troops located in the disaffected States 
 has had the effect to preserve the peace, encourage the friends of 
 the Union, and induce the people to return to their allegiance. 
 That this same result would be produced in the Indian coun- 
 try I cannot doubt, as they can have no inducement to unite 
 with the enemies of the United States unless we fail as a nation 
 to give them that protection guaranteed by our treaty stipula- 
 tions, and which is necessary to prevent designing and evil-dis- 
 posed persons from having free intercourse with them, to work 
 out their evil purposes. . . 484 
 
 Nothing came of Dole's application and thus was 
 exemplified, as often before and often since, a very seri- 
 ous defect in the American administrative system by 
 which the duty of doing a certain thing rests upon one 
 department and the means for doing it with quite an- 
 other. It is surely no exaggeration to say that hundreds 
 and hundreds of times the Indians have been the inno- 
 cent victims of friction between the War and Interior 
 Departments. 
 
 But if the authorities at Washington were indifferent 
 to the Indian's welfare, Senator Lane was neither in- 
 different to nor ignorant of the strategical importance 
 of Indian Territory. With him the defence of Kansas 
 and the means of procuring that defence were every- 
 thing. Indian Territory and the Indian tribes came 
 within the scope of the means. And so it happened 
 that, while he was organizing his Kansas brigade, he 
 commissioned 485 a man, E. H. Carruth, who had for- 
 
 484 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 35; Indian Office, Re- 
 port Book, no. 12, p. 176. 
 
 485 Enclosed pleaz find a coppy of a Commission given by General 
 
Alliance 'with the Confederacy 243 
 
 merly posed as an educator 486 among the Seminoles, to 
 communicate with the various tribes for the purpose of 
 determining their real feelings towards the United 
 States government and of obtaining, if possible, an in- 
 terview between Lane and some of their accredited rep- 
 resentatives. The interview was to take place "at Fort 
 Lincoln on the Osage or some point convenient there- 
 to." 487 
 
 Now a considerable portion of the Creek tribe was in 
 just the right mood and in just the right situation to re- 
 ceive such overtures in the right spirit. That portion 
 consisted of those who, after the treaty of July tenth 
 had been negotiated in the manner already described, 
 had rallied around Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la; and who, in a 
 Creek convention that had been called for August fifth 
 had declared that the chiefs, who had signed a treaty 
 outside the National Council, had violated a funda- 
 mental law of the tribe and had thereby forfeited their 
 administrative rank. The criticism applied to Motey 
 Kennard and to Echo Harjo, the principal and the sec- 
 Lane to E. H. Carruth together with coppies of Letters sent by him to the 
 various Tribes in the Indian Territory. I had an interview with Mr. 
 Carruth yesterday. I find him a very Inteligent man and thougherly 
 posted as to all matters relating to the Southern Indians he is very confi- 
 dent that most if not all the Southern Indians written to will Send 
 deligations to Fort Scott as requested there ware three Creek In- 
 dians came up to se General Lane who came to lola for Caruthe to go 
 with them to General Lane which he did and they ware the barers of 
 letters of which the enclosed are coppies. I am going to Fort Scott 
 today and will make arrangements with Agent Elder to give the notice 
 imediately on their arrival or Bring them to Humboldt. I shall try to 
 secure the assistance of Mr. Caruthe tho he is now a voluntear in the 
 Home Guards for protection. I very much feer the service required of 
 me at the Sacks & Fox and Kaw agencies will take me to far off but will 
 try to attend to all if possible- General Files, Southern Superintendency, 
 1859-1862, Ci348. 
 
 486 Manypenny to Dean, April 9, 1855 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 51, 
 pp. 232-233]. 
 
 487 Extract from commission, dated Fort Scott, August 30, 1861, issued to 
 Carruth by authority of J. H. Lane, Commanding the Kansas Brigade [ibid.']. 
 
244 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 ond chief respectively. Kennard, as we have seen, was 
 the leader of the Lower Creeks and Harjo of the Up- 
 per. A further division in Creek ranks was now in- 
 evitable and it came forthwith, the Non-treaty Party, 
 made up mostly of Upper Creeks, proceeding to recog- 
 nize 488 Ok-ta-ha-hassee Harjo (better known as 
 "Sands") as the acting principal chief of the tribe. It 
 also betook itself westward so as to be as much as pos- 
 sible out of the reach of the secessionists. When once 
 in a position of at least temporary security, it de- 
 spatched Mik-ko Hut-kee (White Chief), Bob Deer, 
 Jo Ellis, and perhaps others to Washington to confer 
 with the "Great Father." 489 
 
 * 88 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 328. 
 489 The loyal Creeks testified, in 1865, that they sent their "chief" and 
 others to Washington and leave the reader to infer that the chief meant was 
 "Sands;" but the accredited delegates were most certainly Mik-ko Hut-kee, 
 Bob Deer, and Jo Ellis. These three men signed their names, or rather at- 
 tached their mark, to an address to the president of which the following is a 
 certified copy: 
 
 SHAWNEE AGENCY, LEXINGTON, September 18, 1861. 
 SIR, we the Chiefs, Head Men, and Warriors, of the Creek Nation of 
 Indians, in the Indian Territory, through our delegates, the undersigned 
 desire to state to your excellency the condition of our people. Owing to 
 the want of correct information as to condition of the Country and Gov- 
 ernment our people are in great distress. Men have come among us, 
 who claim to represent a New Government, who tell us that the Govern- 
 ment represented by Our Great Father at Washington, has turned 
 against us and intends to drive us from our homes and take away our 
 property, they tell us that we have nothing to hope from our old Father 
 and that all the Friends of the Indian have joined the New Govern- 
 ment. And that the New Government is ready to make treaties with 
 the Indians and do all and more for them than they can claim under 
 their old treaties, they ask us to join their armies and help sustain the 
 Government that is willing to do so much for us. But we doubted their 
 statements and promises and went to talk with the Agent and Super- 
 intendent which Our father has always kept among us but they were 
 both gone and then some of our people began to think that Our Great 
 Father had forsaken us and a very few joined the Army of the New 
 Government and our people were in great trouble and we called a 
 Grand Council of the Chiefs of Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Shaw- 
 nees, Senecas, Quapaws, Kickapoos, Delawares, Weas, Peankeshaws, 
 
Alliance <with the Confederacy 245 
 
 The Creek delegates, Mik-ko Hut-kee and his com- 
 panions, went, on their way to Washington, northward 
 through Kansas, saw Superintendent Coffin 490 and, 
 later, Lane's agent, E. H. Carruth. This was about 
 the second week of September and Carruth was at 
 Barnesville, Lane's headquarters. Carruth received 
 the Creeks kindly, read sympathetically the letter 491 
 
 Witchetaws Tribes and bands of Comanches, Seminoles, and Cadoes. 
 And after a long discussion of the source of their troubles, decided to 
 remain loyal to our Government and if possible neutral. The Chiefs 
 went among their people (and as a general thing) counteracted the 
 influence of the emissaries of the New Government. But these emissaries 
 are still among us giving us great trouble, while our Government has 
 no one who can officially represent itself. And we most earnestly ask 
 that some person shall be sent here who shall meet the Chiefs of the 
 above mentioned tribes in Council at some suitable place, and then make 
 known to them the condition, policy and wishes of the Government so 
 far as the interests of the Indians are concerned. If your Excellency 
 should deem it best to comply with our request, we would suggest that 
 Humboldt Allen County Kansas be the place for holding the Council. 
 A notice sent to the Agent of the Shawnees, will immediately be for- 
 warded by a messinger to the Chiefs. Very Respectfully, your Obedient 
 Servants WHITE CHIEF X his mark 
 
 BOBB DEER X his mark 
 JOSEPH ELLIS X his mark Interpreter 
 
 P.S. The Choctaws were not present at the Council and we have 
 reason to feer that they have gone with the Southern Confederacy. It 
 will take near forty days to notify the Chiefs and get them together 
 after the notice gets at this place. WHITE CHIEF X his mark 
 
 490 They also saw Agent Abbot [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 
 1865, p. 330] and received new assurances from him. 
 
 491 Perchance the same letter, either the original or a copy of which, Super- 
 intendent Branch transmitted to Dole along with an explanatory letter from 
 Agent Abbott. The "talk" of the Creek chiefs was accompanied by a sort of 
 Seminole and Chickasaw endorsement. Dole replied to the Creek and Seminole 
 delegate appeals, November 16, 1861 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, pp. 
 78-79]. This is what the Creek chiefs said: 
 
 CREEK NAT. Aug 15, 1861. 
 
 Now I write to the President our Great Father who removed us to 
 our present homes, & made a treaty, and you said that in our new homes 
 we should be defended from all interference from any people and that 
 no white people in the whole world should ever molest us unless they 
 come from the sky but the land should be ours as long as grass grew or 
 waters run, and should we be injured by anybody you would come with 
 
246 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 that they brought from their distressed chiefs, Sands 
 and Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la, assured the equally distressed 
 delegates of the continued fatherly interest of the Unit- 
 ed States government, and sent them on their way, 
 greatly comforted. It was while these Creek delegates 
 were lingering at Barnesville that Carruth made a spe- 
 cial effort to induce the southern Indians generally to 
 send representatives for an interview with Lane. He 
 wrote personally to Ross, 492 to the two Creek chiefs, 493 
 
 your soldiers & punish them, but now the wolf has come, men who are 
 strangers tread our soil, our children are frightened & the mothers can- 
 not sleep for fear. This is our situation now. When we made our 
 Treaty at Washington you assured us that our children should laugh 
 around our houses without fear, & we believed you. Then our Great 
 Father was strong. And now we raise our hands to him we want his 
 help to keep off the intruder & make our homes again happy as they 
 used to be. . . 
 
 I was at Washington when you treated with us, and now White 
 People are trying take our people away to fight against us and you. 
 I am alive. I well remember the treaty. My ears are open & my mem- 
 ory is good. This is the letter of Your Children by 
 
 OPOTHLEHOYOLA 
 OUKTAHNASERHARJO 
 
 The Seminoles also send the same word & the full Indians of the 
 Chickasaws too send to the P - 
 
 The reply to this letter was made by Dole, November 16, 1861. See In- 
 dian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, pp. 79-80. 
 
 Pascofar the chief of Seminoles was present he was not able to come 
 with us now but sent word. And if our Great Father want us we will 
 come to see him. MICEO HULKA Jo ELLIS 
 
 ROB DEER 
 General Files, Creek, 1860-1869, tySj. 
 
 492 There is a delegation of the Creeks now at Gen'l Lanes Head 
 Quarters. 
 
 We wish to see delegations from the tribes loyal to the U.S. Govern- 
 ment. You will send us a delegation who will report to the Head 
 Quarters of the Kansas Brigade where commissioners of the Govern- 
 ment will meet and confer with them. 
 
 You are probably aware of the falsehoods resorted to by the en- 
 emies of the U.S. to induce the Indians to withdraw their allegiance 
 from the Government. Could you come in person it would be grattify- 
 ing to the Commissioners. - Letter of September n, 1861 [General Files, 
 Southern Superintendence*, 1859-1862, Ci348]. 
 
 493 Your letter by Micco Hutka is received. You will send a delega- 
 
Alliance 'with the Confederacy 247 
 
 and to the Wichita chief, Tusaquach, 494 and, in addi- 
 tion, wrote to the Seminole chiefs and headmen 495 and 
 to the "loyal" Choctaws and Chickasaws. 496 
 
 Presumably, Superintendent Coffin did not alto- 
 gether approve of Senator Lane's taking it upon him- 
 self to confer with the Indians who, after all, were offi- 
 cially Coffin's charges; for, in October, we find him, 
 likewise, planning for an intertribal conference to be 
 held at Humboldt. 497 It is rather interesting to look 
 back upon all this and to realize, as perforce we must, 
 that every plan for conferring with the southern tribes 
 
 tion of your best men to meet the Commissioners of the United States 
 Government in Kansas. 
 
 I am authorized to inform you that the President will not forget 
 you. Our armies will soon go south and those of your people who are 
 true and loyal to the Government will be treated as friends -Your 
 rights & property will be respected. The Commissioners from the Con- 
 federate States have deceived you they have two tongues. 
 
 They wanted to get the Indians to fight and they will rob and 
 plunder you if they can get you into trouble. But the President is stil 
 alive his soldiers will soon drive these men who have treacherously 
 violated your homes from the land they have entered. When your Del- 
 egates Return to you they will be able to inform you when and where 
 your monies will be paid those who stole your orphan funds will be pun- 
 ished and you will learn that the people who are tru to the Govern- 
 ment which has so long protected you are your Friends. - Letter to Opoth- 
 le-ho-yo-ho, Ho-so-tau-hah-sas Hayo, dated Barnesville, September u, 
 1861.- General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ci348. 
 The author's opinion is that the mistakes in spelling were made by the il- 
 literate Coffin, who probably made a copy of Carruth's letters for transmission 
 to the Indian Office. He may also have made a slight alteration in the date 
 of the letter to the Creeks; for the original of the letter, bearing the date of 
 September 10, 1861, was found in Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la's camp after the Battle 
 of Chustenahlah, December 26, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. viii, 25]. 
 
 494 Official Records, first ser., vol. viii, 26. 
 
 495 In his letter to the Seminole chiefs and headmen, Carruth reminds 
 them that he was with them when letters came from Pike and that Pike "is 
 the man who has tried so hard to get your lands sectionalized" and asks, "who 
 brought up a bill in Congress to bring your tribes under Territorial laws, 
 Johnson of Arkansas. . ." 
 
 * Ibid., 26. 
 
 497 Coffin to Dole, October 2, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Re- 
 port, 1861, pp. 38-39]. 
 
248 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 in the interests of the United States government, at this 
 critical time, contemplated a meeting at some place out- 
 side of Indian Territory. Here were agents of the In- 
 dian's "Great Father" offering protection to the red 
 men and yet giving incontestable proof in the very de- 
 tails of the offer that they did not themselves dare to 
 venture 498 beyond the Kansas boundary. As a matter 
 of fact, all such plans for a general conference came to 
 nothing, although, as late as November, Lane had still 
 the idea of one in mind. He was, at the time, hoping 
 to meet the Indians at Leroy 499 in Coffey County, Kan- 
 sas, on the twenty-fourth. Lane also continued to ad- 
 vocate the use of the friendly Indians as soldiers. A 
 little earlier, Agent Johnson had endorsed 500 Lane's 
 plan in a letter to Commissioner Dole; but the coming 
 of General Hunter upon the scene considerably affected 
 the sphere of influence. 
 
 Dissatisfaction with Fremont on account of his ex- 
 travagance, his haphazard way of issuing commissions, 
 
 498 Evan Jones wrote, October 31, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
 Report, 1861, pp. 41-43] that he had found it impossible to get anyone who 
 would undertake to carry a message to John Ross. The risk was too great. 
 
 499 Dole to Hunter, November 16, 1861 [ibid., p. 44]. 
 
 5 o On consultation with Gen'l Jas. H. Lane he thinks an auxiliary 
 Regiment of Indians are necessary to the service and could be used to 
 great advantage in this department. If it meets with your approbation 
 I would like and ask the privilege of Raising such Regt which I think 
 I could do in thirty days. I have made my estimate of the number of 
 men which I think would be furnished by each tribe as follows 
 lowas & Kickapoos ...... 225 
 
 Delawares ........ 125 
 
 Potawatomies ....... 250 
 
 Shawnees, Miamies, & Weas ..... 100 
 
 Sacks & Foxes . . . . . . . 250 
 
 Senecas & Wyandotts ...... 125 
 
 1075 
 
 This will be laid before you by Gen 1 Lane in person I hope it will 
 meet with your approval and that you will grant the permission to raise 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 249 
 
 his tardiness, and, above all, his general military in- 
 competence had crystallized in September; and, by 
 orders 501 of General Scott on the twenty-fourth of Octo- 
 ber, Hunter was directed to relieve him. Hunter 
 reached his post in early November and almost immedi- 
 ately thereafter, either upon his own initiative or after 
 consultation with someone like Coffin (it could hardly 
 have been with Lane; for Lane had gone 502 to Wash- 
 ington, or with Branch; for Branch was strongly op- 
 
 the Regt and if necessary I have no doubt but a Brigade of Indians 
 could be organized by embracing the Osages and Loyal Creeks and 
 Cherokees. - Letter of October 10, 1861 [General Files, Delaware, 1855- 
 1861]. 
 
 501 Official Records, first ser., vol. Hi, 553. 
 
 502 i arn no t certain of the exact date of Lane's departure for Washington. 
 Spring says [Kansas, 279] that he went there in November. When an Indian 
 delegation reached Fort Scott, seeking him, some time about the middle of the 
 month, he had already handed over his command to Colonel James Montgom- 
 ery and "had gone to Washington" [Cutler to Coffin, September 30, 1862, Com- 
 missioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 138]. Yet Dole's letter to Gen- 
 eral Hunter would convey the impression that Lane was still in Kansas the 
 middle of the month and expected to be there on the twenty-fourth. I am also 
 in doubt as to when Hunter reached his post. He communicated with Agent 
 Cutler from St. Louis, November 20, 1861 [ibid., 1861, p. 44]. Hunter and 
 Lane may very well have met even outside of Kansas and have exchanged 
 views and opinions that would have given a basis for the representations that 
 Lane must have made to Lincoln and Cameron regarding Hunter's approval 
 of the "Jayhawking Brigade." McClellan seems to have advised the forward 
 movement in the direction of the Indian Territory; for he says, when writing 
 to Hunter, December n, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. viii, 428]: 
 
 Immediately after you were assigned to your present department I re- 
 quested the Adjutant-General to inform you that it was deemed ex- 
 pedient to organize an expedition under your command to secure the 
 Indian territory west of Arkansas, as well as to make a descent upon 
 Northern Texas, in connection with one to strike at Western Texas from 
 the Gulf. The general was to invite your prompt attention to this sub- 
 ject, and to ask you to indicate the necessary force and means for the 
 undertaking. 
 
 It is only fair to say that Lane had always advocated a more southern concen- 
 tration of forces. He more than any other northern man seems to have ap- 
 preciated fully the importance of Indian Territory. He continually recom- 
 mended using Fort Scott as a base for such military operations as had the 
 protection of Kansas as their main object. 
 
250 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 posed to the project intended), he telegraphed 503 to the 
 War Department "for permission to muster a Brigade 
 of Kansas Indians into the service of the United States, 
 to assist the friendly Creek Indians in maintaining their 
 loyalty." Evidently, the request was not granted, 50 * but 
 duties akin to it were, by arrangement of President Lin- 
 coln, conferred upon Hunter which involved his assum- 
 ing the responsibility of holding, if such a plan were 
 feasible, an intertribal council so as to renew the con- 
 fidence of the southern Indians in the United States 
 government. A letter 505 from Dole, outlining the plan, 
 reveals an astonishing ignorance of just how far those 
 selfsame Indians had gone in their defection, because 
 of the loss of the confidence. 
 
 In the giving of these new duties to General Hunter, 
 there was not the slightest intention of ignoring Senator 
 Lane. In fact, Dole expressly mentioned that Lane had 
 called for just such an Indian conference 506 and sug- 
 gested that, if Hunter's military duties prevented his 
 
 503 Hunter to Thomas, dated Leavenworth, January 15, 1862 [General 
 Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862}. 
 
 504 In January, 1862, Hunter deplored the fact that his request had not been 
 acceded to and said, 
 
 Had this permission been promptly granted, I have every reason to be- 
 lieve that the present disastrous state of affairs, in the Indian country 
 west of Arkansas, could have been avoided. I now again respectfully 
 repeat my request - Ibid. 
 
 595 Dole to Hunter, November 16, 1861 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, 
 pp. 80-82; Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, pp. 43-44]. 
 
 506 Lane's proposed conference called for the assembling of representatives 
 of Kansas tribes as well as of Indian Territory tribes. Judging from Hunter's 
 letter to Agent Cutler of November 20, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
 Report, 1861, pp. 44-45], I infer that Hunter's conference was to be confined 
 to the southern Indians. The purpose of Lane's must have been represented 
 to the Kansas Indians as Creek needs [Shawnee "talk" to the Creeks, Novem- 
 ber 15, 1861, ibid., p. 45]. Hunter intended to hold his conference at his head- 
 quarters, Fort Leavenworth, which was making the southern Indians come a 
 pretty long way [Hunter to Cutler, November 20, 1861, ibid., p. 44; Dole to 
 Cutler, December 3, 1861, Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, p. 107]. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 251 
 
 meeting the Indians in person, Lane might take his 
 place, "provided he can be spared from his post" The 
 whole affair was incident to the reorganization that had 
 recently, under general orders 507 of the ninth of No- 
 vember, taken place in the Western Department, from 
 which had resulted a Department of Kansas, separate 
 and distinct from the Department of Missouri. The 
 Department of Kansas included "the State of Kansas, 
 the Indian Territory west of Arkansas, and the Terri- 
 tories of Nebraska, Colorado, and Dakota" and was to 
 be under the command of Major-general David Hunt- 
 er 508 with headquarters at Fort Leavenworth. The 
 idea governing this division of the old western depart- 
 ment was, ostensibly, as Nicolay and Hay express 509 it, 
 that Kansas might be protected, Indian Territory re- 
 possessed, and Texas reached. As we shall presently 
 see, a similar reorganization took place, about the same 
 time, in the Confederate western service and for very 
 much the same reason, the condition of the Indian coun- 
 try being a very large proportion of that reason. It is 
 barely possible that, as far as the United States was con- 
 cerned, Senator Lane's recommendation 510 of the ninth 
 of October was almost wholly accountable for the 
 change. 
 
 It was, undoubtedly, high time that something vigor- 
 ous was being done to stay Confederate progress in In- 
 dian Territory. Indeed, events were happening there 
 
 507 Official Records, first set., vol. iii, 567. 
 
 508 Major-general H. W. Halleck was to command the sister department of 
 Missouri. 
 
 509 Abraham Lincoln, vol. v, 81-82. 
 
 510 1 earnestly request and recommend the establishment of a new 
 military department, to be composed of Kansas, the Indian country, and 
 so much of Arkansas and the Territories as may be thought advisable 
 to include therein. - LANE to Lincoln, dated Leavenworth City, Kansas, 
 October 9, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 529]. 
 
252 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 at this very moment that made all plans for an inter- 
 tribal conference exceedingly out of date. The Con- 
 federate government had now a large Indian force 511 in 
 the field and expectations of an increase, provided the 
 
 511 By the end of July, the First Regiment of Choctaw and Chickasaw 
 Mounted Rifles had been completely organized {Official Records, first ser., vol. 
 iii, 620, 624] and eight companies of a prospective Creek regiment [ibid., 624]. 
 By October twenty-second, when McCulloch ordered him [ibid., 721] to take 
 up a position in the Cherokee Neutral Lands, Stand Watie's battalion had ap- 
 parently reached the proportions of a regiment, the First Cherokee Mounted 
 Rifles. On the twenty-seventh of November, Pike who was then in Richmond 
 informed Benjamin, 
 
 We have now in the service four regiments, numbering in all some 
 3,500 men, besides the Seminole troops and other detached companies, in- 
 creasing the number to over 4,000. An additional regiment has been of- 
 fered by the Choctaws and another can be raised among the Creeks. If 
 I have the authority I can enlist even the malcontents among that people. 
 I can place in the field (arms being supplied) 7,500 Indian troops, not 
 counting the Comanches and Osages, whom I would only employ in case 
 of an invasion of the Indian country. . . - Official Records, first sen, 
 vol. viii, 697. 
 
 A supposed report of Agent Garrett, sent to the United States Indian Office 
 under the following endorsement, is not without interest as bearing upon the 
 strength of the Confederacy within the Indian country: 
 
 The copy of a letter herewith, is without signature, but is said to be 
 in the handwriting of the late Col. Garret, who at that date, was U.S. 
 Indian Agent of the Creeks. It is not of much importance, but yet, as 
 historical and statistical, is not without some interest. I obtained it a 
 few weeks ago, found among other papers at the Agency, and I presume 
 
 is a retained copy of the original. 
 
 CREEK AGENCY C.N. Dec. i6th 1861. 
 
 SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
 the 2d ultimo, requiring certain information from me in regard to the 
 number of Creek Indians; and their relations or feelings towards the 
 Confederate States. Owing to the great irregularity of the mails, I did 
 not receive your communication as soon as I ought. The difficulty at 
 the time I received your letter in regard to answering it properly, caused 
 me to delay a few days, so that I might answer it definitely. Incidental 
 to the confusion here, I could not state to you who were reliable, and 
 who were not, for I did not know myself, and believing that a battle 
 would be fought in a few days where every one would have to show 
 his hand, I thought I could give you more reliable information: and 
 from the valor and fidelity of the Creeks engaged then I can give you 
 reliable information. 
 
 The Creeks number in all 14630, a portion of whom reside in Ala- 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 253 
 
 necessary arms 512 were obtainable. On the twenty-sec- 
 ond 513 of November, by special orders 514 from Rich- 
 
 bama, Texas and Missouri, leaving about 13000 within the limits of the 
 Creek Nation : - From the best information I can get, there are among 
 the lower Creeks 1650 warriors, 375 of them are unfriendly - Among the 
 Upper Creeks there are 1600 warriors - only 400 of them are friendly - 
 to sum up the whole matter there are 1675 Creek warriors friendly to 
 the Confederate States and 1575 unfriendly - Of those friendly there are 
 in the service of the Confederate States 1375 -One Regiment is com- 
 manded by Col. Chilly Mclntosh, numbering 400 - and an independent 
 company commanded by Capt. J. M. C. Smith numbering 75 men, all in 
 the service, and armed with a very few exceptions, and I think from re- 
 cent indications are willing to do service wherever ordered, and circum- 
 stances justify it. 
 
 The Regiment, Battalion and Company were all mustered into service 
 for twelve months. This comprises nearly all the friendly warriors 
 in the Nation. I cannot answer you in regard to the number that are 
 willing to serve during the war. My opinion is, though, that the num- 
 ber now in the service, and perhaps more, are willing to remain in the 
 service as long as they may be wanted. The Hostiles are headed by 
 Ho path ye ho lo who has engaged in his cause portions of several 
 tribes viz a portion of the Seminoles, Kickapoos, Shawnees, Delawares, 
 Wichitas, Comanches, and Cherokees - 400 of whom deserted a few days 
 before the recent battle from Col. John Drews Regiment Cherokee Vol- 
 unteers and joined Hopathyeholo who is in communication with the fed- 
 eral forces in Kansas, and has received goods and ammunition from 
 them: His force is estimated from 2500 to 3000-! would give you a 
 more detailed account of the battle, but I do not think it proper in this 
 communication and I presume the commanding officer Col. Cooper has 
 made his report of the Battle to the Secretary of War -I may be mis- 
 taken to some extent, in regard to the friendly and hostile. Creeks, but 
 I think I am not, and it is correct from the best information I can get, 
 and my own knowledge of the facts. It will afford me much pleasure, 
 to communicate to you at any time anything of importance to the Con- 
 federate States. Very Respectfully Your Obt Servt. 
 Hon. David Hubbard, Com. Indian Affairs 
 
 Richmond Va. 
 
 512 Therein lay the whole difficulty. It was simply impossible for the Con- 
 federate government to honor all requisitions for arms. 
 
 513 The matter must have been even earlier under advisement; for, on the 
 twenty-sixth of October, J. P. Benjamin, Acting Secretary of War, sent this 
 notice to "General Albert Pike, Little Rock, Ark.:" 
 
 I cannot assign to your command any Arkansas troops at this moment. 
 Governor Rector is applying for return of the regiments in Tennes- 
 see. - Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 727. 
 
 514 Ibid., vol. viii, 690. 
 
254 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 mond, Indian Territory had been erected into a sep- 
 arate military department and Albert Pike, now a brig- 
 adier-general, assigned to the command of it. For the 
 present, however, things seem to have remained much 
 as they were with McCulloch nominally in command 
 and Cooper in actual charge. Moreover, long before 
 Pike reappeared upon the scene, matters had come to 
 an issue between the secessionist and unionist Creeks. 
 
 Determined not to allow themselves to be over-per- 
 suaded or intimidated by the secessionist element in 
 their nation, the unionist Creeks, under Opoeth-le-yo- 
 ho-la, had withdrawn from active intercourse with the 
 rival faction and, resisting all attempts of Cooper and 
 others to inveigle them into an interview that might 
 result in compromise, they had encamped at or near the 
 junction of the Deep and North Forks of the Canadian 
 River. Cooper resolved to attack them there and, for 
 the purpose, gathered 515 together an effective fighting 
 force of about fourteen hundred men, all Indians ex- 
 cept for a detachment of Texas cavalry. On the fifth of 
 November, Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la broke camp and took up 
 the line of march for Kansas, hoping that, in Kansas, 
 he and his followers would receive either succor or 
 refuge. It has been estimated that Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la's 
 force, at this time, was less than two thousand men and 
 that it comprised, besides Creeks and Seminoles, some 
 two or three hundred negroes. His traveling cortege 
 was, however, very much larger; for it included women 
 and children, the sick and the aged. Approximately 
 half of the Creeks were on the move for pastures new. 
 For many of them it was a second exodus. 
 
 Colonel D. H. Cooper reached the deserted camp of 
 Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la on the fifteenth of November and, 
 
 515 Daily State Journal (Little Rock), Nov. 8, 1861. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 255 
 
 finding his enemy gone and locating his trail, moved 
 himself in a slightly northeasterly direction towards the 
 Red Fork of the Arkansas. He came up with the 
 unionist Creeks at Round Mountain on the night of the 
 nineteenth and an indecisive engagement 516 followed, 
 both sides claiming the victory. Under cover of dark- 
 ness, Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la managed to slip away and 
 crossed into the Cherokee country where there were 
 plenty of disaffected full-bloods to give him sympathy. 
 It is more than likely that they had invited him there 
 and had prepared for his coming. Cooper did not at- 
 tempt to pursue the Creek refugees, having been called 
 back to the Arkansas line, there to wait in readiness to 
 reenforce McCulloch should the Federals make a for- 
 ward march southward from Springfield, as then seemed 
 probable. But that danger soon passed, passed even be- 
 fore Cooper had had time to take the post indicated or 
 to leave his own camp at Concharta, after a brief re- 
 cuperation. He was now free to follow up the meagre 
 advantage of the nineteenth. 
 
 The next opportunity to crush Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la 
 came in the Battle of Bird Creek [Chusto-Talasah, 
 Little High Shoals, or the Caving Banks], 517 fought De- 
 cember 9, 1 86 1. On the twenty-ninth of the preceding 
 month, a part of Cooper's force had set out for Tulsey 
 Town and an advance guard had been sent up the Ver- 
 digris in the direction of a place, called "Coody's Set- 
 tlement," where Colonel John Drew with a detachment 
 of his regiment of Cherokee full-bloods was posted. 
 The orders were that Drew should effect a junction 
 with Cooper's main force and, on December eighth 
 they were all encamped on Bird Creek in the south- 
 
 516 Colonel D. H. Cooper's "Report" {Official Records, first sen, vol. viii, 5]. 
 
 517 Colonel D. H. Cooper's "Report" [Official Records, first sen, vol. viii, 
 7, 709]- 
 
256 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 western corner of the Cherokee Nation. At this junc- 
 ture, word came that Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la wished to treat 
 for peace and Major Pegg, a Cherokee, with three com- 
 panions was sent forward to confer with him. They 
 found the Creek chief, surrounded by his warriors and 
 ready for battle. It was evening and Colonel Cooper 
 had scarcely heard the news of the Creek determination 
 to fight when a message came that four companies of 
 Drew's regiment, horrified at the thought of fighting 
 with their neighbors, had dispersed and gone over to 
 Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la. The incident did not promise well 
 for success on the morrow and the Battle of Bird 
 Creek was another indecisive engagement, although 
 the Creeks, eager and resplendent with their yellow 
 corn-shuck badges, seem to have had all the advantage 
 of position. Again they made their escape and again 
 Colonel Cooper was prevented from following them, 
 this time because he was exceedingly fearful lest the 
 Cherokee desertion might have a lasting and disastrous 
 effect upon the remaining Indian forces, particularly 
 upon the small group that was all that was left of the 
 original First Cherokee Mounted Rifles. Cooper's per- 
 sonal opinion was, that the defection was widespread 
 among the Cherokees and that it would be sheer folly to 
 start out after Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la until more white 
 troops had been added to the pursuing force, by way 
 both of reinforcement and of encouragement. 
 
 Instead, therefore, of continuing northward. Colonel 
 Cooper drew off in the direction of Fort Gibson and, 
 from that point, sent for aid to Colonel James Mcln- 
 tosh at Van Buren. He then occupied himself with his 
 own troops and prevailed upon John Ross to rally 518 the 
 Cherokees. It was now the nineteenth of December and 
 
 518 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, pp. 355-357. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 257 
 
 the aged chief did his best to keep his people true to 
 the faith that the nation had pledged in the treaty of 
 the seventh of October. He recalled to their minds the 
 fact that it was, by all odds, the best treaty that the 
 Cherokees had ever secured, the one that gave them the 
 fullest recognition of their rights as a semi-independent 
 people, and he might have added with sad, sad truth 
 that it was the best that they could ever hope to get. 
 He made no such pessimistic reflection, however, but 
 concluded, 
 
 It is, therefore, our duty and interest to respect it, and we must, 
 as the interest of our common country demands it. According 
 to the stipulations of the treaty we must meet enemies of our 
 allies whenever the south requires it, as they are our enemies as 
 well as the enemies of the south ; and I feel sure that no such oc- 
 currence as the one we deplore would have taken place if all 
 things were understood as I have endeavored to explain them. 
 Indeed the true meaning of our treaty is, that we must know 
 no line in the presence of our invader, be he who he may. . , 619 
 
 Colonel Cooper then addressed 520 the Indians and, after 
 him, Major Pegg; 521 but they were not convinced and 
 many of them went home, positively refusing to march 
 farther with the army. 
 
 Meanwhile Cooper's call for reinforcements had 
 reached Mclntosh 522 and, as the need seemed so urgent, 
 
 519 Extract from John Ross's address to Drew's regiment [Commissioner of 
 Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 356]. 
 
 520 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 357. 
 
 621 
 
 522 Mclntosh, at the time, was in charge of McCulloch's brigade, McCul- 
 loch having gone to Richmond to explain to the authorities there why he had 
 persistently laid himself open to the charge of refusing to cooperate with Ster- 
 ling Price in his many Missouri ventures, planned subsequent to the Battle of 
 Wilson's Creek. McCulloch's orders from the Confederate War Department 
 were that he should guard the Indian Territory. Price's great idea was to 
 occupy the Missouri River country. Had McCulloch gone northward with 
 Price, he would, so he ably argued, have removed himself altogether from his 
 base. 
 
258 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Mclntosh resolved to supply it and notified Cooper to 
 that effect. Subsequently, he decided 523 to take the field 
 in person and to head a column, separate from Cooper's. 
 What induced him to do this, nobody can well say. 
 Cooper always felt that the incompleteness of the vic- 
 tory over Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la, which was soon to come, 
 was mainly attributable to the divided effort of the at- 
 tacking force. In the two former engagements, Opoeth- 
 le-yo-ho-la's force, such as it was, untrained and miscel- 
 laneous, had greatly outnumbered the Confederate; but 
 now the two were more equally matched in point of 
 numbers and the chances of success were all on the 
 southern side because of superior training and equip- 
 ment, so Cooper was probably correct in his conjecture. 
 Mclntosh's excuse 524 for advancing precipitately and 
 alone was, notwithstanding, very reasonable. The 
 scarcity of forage made it expedient to march compact- 
 ly; and the two generals had agreed, so Mclntosh de- 
 clared, when in conference at Fort Gibson, "that either 
 force should attack the enemy on sight." 
 
 The privilege of attacking Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la fell, 
 under this arrangement, supposing it was made, to Mc- 
 lntosh, who had been able to push on in advance of 
 Cooper. The Battle of Chustenahlah was fought in the 
 early afternoon of Decmber 26, 1861, and ended in 
 what seemed the complete defeat of the Creeks. Mc- 
 lntosh reported that, although their position was strong, 
 they were forced to retreat 
 
 To the rocky gorges amid the deep recesses of the mountains, 
 where they were pursued by our victorious troops and routed in 
 every instance with great loss. They endeavored to make a 
 stand at their encampment, but their efforts were ineffectual, and 
 
 523 Official Records, first sen, vol. viii, n. 
 
 524 Hid, 22. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 259 
 
 we were soon in the midst of it. The battle lasted until 4 
 o'clock, when the firing gradually ceased. 525 . . 
 
 And then the Creeks fled, leaving practically every- 
 thing in the shape of property behind them. Cooper 
 came up and detachments of his troops pursued them 
 almost to the Kansas line. The weather was bitterly 
 cold, provisions scarce, the country rough and bleak. 
 The pursuit took the form of a seven day scout; but the 
 Creeks, no matter how great their dispersion, were 
 headed straight for Walnut Creek, Kansas. 
 
 Their coming was anticipated. Hearing of their ap- 
 proach, Superintendent Coffin had directed 526 all the 
 agents 527 under his charge to report to him for duty at a 
 place on the Verdigris River called Fort Roe 528 "about 
 thirty-five or forty miles from Leroy and Burlington." 
 It was Coffin's intention to meet the refugees upon their 
 first arrival; but, as Commissioner Dole was expected 
 soon to be at Fort Leavenworth, he thought it best to 
 wait 529 and consult with him. It does not seem to have 
 been recorded on just what date the first of the Indian 
 refugees crossed the Kansas line, but they were very 
 soon crossing in great numbers and, by the time Coffin 
 finally reached them, their condition was truly pitiable. 
 They took up their station on the bare prairies between 
 the Verdigris and the Arkansas Rivers and stretched 
 
 525 Official Records, first sen, vol. viii, 23-24. 
 
 526 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 136. 
 
 527 The agents were, George A. Cutler, Creek, Charles W. Chatterton, 
 Cherokee, Isaac Coleman, Choctaw and Chickasaw, G. C. Snow, Seminole, and 
 Peter P. Elder, Neosho River. Agent Elder did not report for duty. 
 
 528 The Indian agents usually referred to it as "Fort Roe" but the military 
 men, with a few possible exceptions, when meaning identically the same local- 
 ity, spoke of "Roe's Fork." There is no such place as Fort Roe given in the 
 Lists of Military Posts, etc., established in the United States from its earliest 
 settlement to the present time, published by the United States War Department, 
 1902. That list, however, is far from being complete. 
 
 529 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 138. 
 
260 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 themselves in almost hopeless confusion over about two 
 hundred miles of country. Fortunately the land upon 
 which they camped was Indian land, New York Indian 
 land, and the few white men thereon were legally in- 
 truders and could not consistently object to the presence 
 of the refugees. The numbers of the refugees were 
 variously estimated. Starting with about forty-five 
 hundred, 630 they increased daily and at an astonishing 
 rate; for the exodus of the Creeks was but the signal 
 for the flight of other tribesmen from Indian Territory, 
 of all those, in fact, who were either tired of their alli- 
 ance with the Confederacy or had never been in sym- 
 pathy with it and were only too eager to take the first 
 chance to escape from it. 
 
 The suffering of the refugees, due to destitution and 
 exposure, was something horrible to think upon. Super- 
 intendent Coffin had little to give them. He appealed 
 to General Hunter for an allowance from the army sup- 
 plies and Hunter sent down his chief commissary of sub- 
 sistence, Captain J. W. Turner, to do what he could to 
 relieve the distress. Hunter also sent Brigade-surgeon 
 A. B. Campbell; for it was not simply food and cloth- 
 ing, that were needed and roof shelter, but medical at- 
 
 530 In compliance with instructions from Major-General Hunter, con- 
 tained in your order of the 22d. ultimo, I left this place on the 2zd. and 
 proceeded to Burlington, where I learned that the principal part of the 
 friendly Indians were congregated, and encamped on the Verdigris 
 river, near a place called Roe's Fork, from twelve to fifteen miles south 
 of the town of Belmont. I proceeded there without delay. By a census 
 of the tribes taken a few days before my arrival, there was found to be 
 of the Creeks, 3,168 ; slaves of the Creeks, 53 ; free negroes, members 
 of the tribe, 38; Seminoles, 777; Quapaws, 136; Cherokees, 50; Chick- 
 asaws, 31; some few Kickapoos and other tribes, about 4,500 in all. 
 But the number was being constantly augmented by the daily arrival of 
 other camps and families. . .-A. B. CAMPBELL, surgeon, U.S.A., to 
 James K. Barnes, surgeon, U.S.A., medical director, Department of Kan- 
 sas, dated Fort Leavenworth, February 5, 1862. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 261 
 
 tendance. As soon as possible, cheap blankets 531 were 
 furnished and some condemned army tents. The jour- 
 ney northward had been undertaken in the bitterest of 
 cold weather. With a raw northwest wind beating in 
 their faces, 
 
 And over the snow-covered roads, they travelled all night and 
 the next day, without halting to rest. Many of them were on 
 foot, without shoes, and very thinly clad. . . In this condi- 
 tion they had accomplished a journey of about three hundred 
 miles ; but quite a number froze to death on the route, and their 
 bodies with a shroud of snow, were left where they fell to feed 
 the hungry wolves. . . 
 
 Families who in their country had been wealthy, and who 
 could count their cattle by the thousands and horses by hundreds, 
 and owned large numbers of slaves, and who at home had lived 
 at ease and comfort, were without the necessaries of life. 582 
 
 58i These were purchased by Coffin, acting under the advice of Hunter 
 [Dole to Smith, June 5, 1862, Indian Office, Report Book, no. 12, pp. 392-396]. 
 
 532 Extracts from Agent Cutler's Report, September 30, 1862. Various re- 
 ports, more or less detailed, descriptive of the intense sufferings of Indian 
 refugees in the first weeks of their sojourn in Kansas may be found in the 
 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1862, pp. 135-175. 
 Those of Turner, Campbell, Cutler, and George W. Collamore are particularly 
 good. Some of the reports originally accompanied Dole's Report of June 5, 
 1862 [Indian Office, Report Book, no. 12, pp. 392-396; Commissioner of Indian 
 Affairs, Report, 1862, pp. 147-149 ; House Executive Documents, 37th congress, 
 second session, vol. x, no. 132], which was prepared in answer to a House 
 resolution, calling for information on the southern refugee Indians. 
 
 Collamore's Report of April 21, 1862 is to be found in manuscript form in 
 General Files, Southern Superlntendency, 1859-1862, Ci6o2. Another report, 
 most excellent in character, issued from the pen of special agent, William 
 Kile, February 21, 1862. It is in Land Files, Southern Superintendency, 1855- 
 1870, Kio7- There are also a few good accounts of the Creek exodus of 1861. 
 One of them is a sworn statement, presented by Holmes Colbert in a letter, 
 dated March 25, 1868, and authoritatively cited by Mix in an office letter to 
 Secretary Browning, June 8, 1868 [Indian Office, Report Book, no. 17, p. 308]. 
 
 Another account came from John T. Cox to W. G. Coffin under date of 
 March 18, 1864, and, while not in the least detailed, is worth quoting because 
 of its tribute of respect to the loyal Indians. It runs thus: 
 
 Herewith I enclose a map of the route of retreat of the early Loyal 
 
 Refugee Indians, under Apoth yo-ho-lo, in the Winter of 1861. 
 
 With the facilities within my reach, for obtaining facts connected 
 
262 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 When, sometime in early December, Commissioner 
 Dole heard of the resistance that the unionist Creeks 
 were making to Colonel Cooper, he immediately ap- 
 
 with that remarkable exodus, I am fully warrented in saying, that the 
 history of the War does not furnish a parallel of patriotic devotion to 
 the Union. 
 
 The Rebels had managed so adroitly during the administration of 
 Buchanan, as to secure the appointment of, or favor of every Govern- 
 ment Official, or Employee, within the limits of the South Indian Coun- 
 try, all sources of information were corrupted or poisoned. Postmasters 
 deplored the fall of the Old Government, as already taken place, Indian 
 Agents, and all others holding business relations with the several tribes, 
 used every means in their power to discourage them and destroy their 
 confidence in the Old Government, resorting to the grossest Misrepre- 
 sentations, Bribery of Chiefs, Headmen, &c., Malfeasance and Robbery - 
 Military Posts, Government Stores, Ordnance &c. &c. were surrendered 
 or abandoned under color of the most dire military necessity, and the ap- 
 parent tardiness of the Old Government to render them timely assistance, 
 or in any way counteract those influences, left them without counsel, and 
 without friends, and implied a total abandonment of the Indians. Yet 
 under all the discouraging surroundings a large portion of the Creeks, 
 Cherokees, Seminoles and others maintained their loyalty. The Chick- 
 asaws were divided in their Councils, and the Choctaws went over al- 
 most entirely to the Rebel Government. 
 
 In the month of March 1861, international councils were held, first 
 at the Creek Agency, next at North Fork, without affecting very materi- 
 ally the fidelity of the Indians. But in the latter part of April, the 
 Choctaws and Chickasaws gave in full adhesion to the Confederate 
 Government. The remaining tribes were alternating between the Coun- 
 sels of Apoth-yo-ho-lo, McDaniel and others on the one hand, and a 
 swarm of Rebel Commissioners on the other. 
 
 The Rebel Government was pushing forward the organization of 
 Indian Regiments, under the Mclntoshes, Stan Watie, Adair, Jumper, 
 Smith and others, while the Conservative element, forming a Cherokee 
 Regiment under Col. Drew, for armed neutrality, but in truth loyal to 
 the Union, while Apoth-yo-ho-lo headed the hostiles, as they were 
 termed by the Rebels. 
 
 In a Report dated Creek Agency C.N. Dec. i6th., 1861, addressed to 
 the Hon. David Hubbard, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Richmond, 
 Va., the Creek Agent, Col. Garrert says, See Copy marked "A" (Gar- 
 rett's report to Hubbard appears in another connection in the present 
 work. It seems to have come into the Indian Office from two independ- 
 dent sources). I have noted this to show the attitude of the several 
 tribes at the beginning of the Rebellion. 
 
 The principal object of this report is to call attention to the real 
 claims of the Indians upon the Government, not only to sympathy, but 
 
[From Office of Indian Affairs'] 
 
THt LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 265 
 
 plied once more, through the Secretary of the Interior, to 
 the War Department for troops sufficient to assert Fed- 
 eral supremacy south of the Kansas line, his immediate 
 object being, the strengthening of the force then op- 
 posed to Cooper. At the moment, Lane's expedition 
 was under consideration, Lane having managed to con- 
 vince the Washington authorities, both congressional 
 and administrative, that an expedition southward was 
 absolutely necessary 538 for the protection of the frontier. 
 Somewhat earlier, in fact in the late autumn, the non- 
 secession Indians of various tribes had made their own 
 appeal for help. They had made it to the United States 
 government and also, a little later on, to the Indian 
 tribes of Kansas. Along about the first of November, 
 a mixed delegation 534 of Creeks, Seminoles, and Chick- 
 compensation for services from the time they abandoned their homes 
 and all they possessed, and took up arms in support of the Government. 
 Although they claim nothing of the kind, yet the moral effect of such 
 a tangible recognition of their early services, would insure fidelity of all 
 other tribes against any other future rebellion or disaffection against 
 our Government. 
 
 The history of their destitution, and terrible sufferings in their pil- 
 grimage of three hundred miles in mid-winter, is familiar to you and 
 not necessary here to relate [General Files, Southern Superintendency, 
 1863-1864, 824]. 
 
 533 Others had reached that decision likewise. On the tenth of December, 
 McClellan had written to Halleck, "I shall send troops to Hunter to enable 
 him to move into the Indian Territory west of Arkansas and upon Northern 
 Texas. That movement should relieve you very materially" - Official Records, 
 first ser., vol. viii, 419. See also the letter of December u, 1861 [ibid., 428]. 
 
 534 It was to this delegation, I have no doubt, that the Shawnees sent their 
 note of encouragement. It bears date November 15, 1861 and was issued from 
 the Shawnee Agency, Johnson County, Kansas. Its inspiring passages are these: 
 
 Brothers, hold fast to the Union! Hold to your treaties! And now 
 call upon the United States government to fulfill their treaty stipula- 
 tions with you by protecting you in this your time of need, and save 
 your country to you first, and then, by so doing, save the whole of the 
 Indian country to the Union. 
 
 . . . And now our advice to you is, go immediately to Washing- 
 ton City, lay your case before President Lincoln, state everything, and 
 we assure you that he will protect you, and that immediately; we think 
 that delay on your part will be ruinous to your people ; we believe that 
 
266 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 asaws had made its appearance 535 at Leroy and, finding 
 there the United States Creek agent, George A. Cutler, 
 had consulted with him "in reference to the intentions 
 of the Federal government regarding the protection due 
 them under treaty stipulations." Cutler advised the 
 Indians to talk the matter over with Senator Lane and 
 accompanied them to Fort Scott, Lane's headquarters, 
 for the purpose. Arriving there, they learned that 
 Lane had gone to Washington and had left his com- 
 mand in charge of Colonel James Montgomery. Col- 
 onel Montgomery counselled with the Indians as Cut- 
 ler had done and helped them to reach the decision that 
 it would be best to proceed to Washington and lay their 
 complaints before the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 
 At the same time, Montgomery notified 536 President 
 Lincoln of their intention. 
 
 Still accompanied by Agent Cutler, the delegation 
 resumed its journey, going by way of Fort Leaven- 
 worth. There they conferred 537 with General Hunter 
 and left greatly strengthened in their resolution of pro- 
 ceeding to Washington; for Hunter, too, thought that 
 such a trip might compel the government to realize the 
 Indian's very real distress and its own obligation to re- 
 lieve it. We are fain to believe that General Hunter 
 personally believed in the military necessity of securing 
 Indian Territory even though he did do all he could to 
 oppose the project of Senator Lane in the early months 
 of 1862 and even though he did disapprove of the for- 
 mation of the department of Kansas and his own assign- 
 
 your agent ought to conduct you there. Put your confidence only in the 
 
 Union and you will be safe. . . - Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
 
 Report, 1861, p. 45. 
 
 535 Report of Agent Cutler, September 30, 1862 [Commissioner of Indian 
 Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 138]. 
 
 636 Montgomery to Lincoln, November 19, 1861 [ibid., 1861, p. 461]. 
 
 537 Hunter to Dole, December i, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
 Report, 1861, p. 49]. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 267 
 
 ment to it instead of to that of Missouri, which would 
 have been his preference. If he at any time to date had 
 wavered 538 in his opinion as to the needs of the Indians 
 and their legitimate claim upon the United States gov- 
 ernment for protection, Carruth's letter of November 
 twenty-sixth ought to have settled the matter, unless, in- 
 deed, its rather savage tone had created prejudice in- 
 stead of working conviction as was intended. 
 
 . . . I have from the first believed it would be good 
 policy to let loose the northern Indians, under the employ of 
 government; it certainly would be better for the border States 
 to have the Indian country for a battle ground than to have it 
 remain a shelter for rebel hordes the coming winter. . , 539 
 
 The visit of the Indians to Washington proved very 
 opportune. By the twenty- seventh of December, they 
 were back at Fort Leavenworth and considerably re- 
 assured. Superintendent Coffin had a council with 
 them on the twenty-eighth "at the Fort to good satisfac- 
 tion." He says of his interview, 
 
 I gave them Presents of Pipes, tobacco, and Sugar, and they 
 went on their way to Fort Scott rejoicing they seem to be in 
 fine Spirits, 540 but are at a Loss what to do for a living til Lanes 
 Army goes down there into the Indian Territory they want very 
 much to get Some of the Funds now due the Creeks. . , 541 
 
 538 Note that Hunter, when writing to McClellan, December 19, 1861 
 [Official Records, first ser., vol. viii, 450], professed that, previous to the re- 
 ceipt of McClellan's letter of the eleventh, he had not known that it was ex- 
 pected of him that he should undertake an expedition for the defense of Indian 
 Territory. He declared that Thomas' communication of November twenty- 
 sixth, touching the matter, had been vague in the extreme. 
 
 539 Extract from letter of Carruth to Hunter, November 26, 1861 [Com- 
 missioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 49]. 
 
 540 It seems a little surprising that they did depart from Fort Leavenworth 
 in such good spirits; for, while there, they surely must have heard rumors of 
 the final attack upon Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la. Agent Cutler tells us that he heard 
 of the exodus a few days after his return to Kansas with the delegation. He 
 had then left Leavenworth, however, for he says farther on in his letter that 
 he went back there to confer with Coffin as to what should be done. 
 
 541 Extract from letter of Coffin to Dole, December 28, 1861 [General 
 Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862]. 
 
268 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 A more pathetic appeal, and one more immediately 
 telling in its effects, was that made to the brother In- 
 dians of Kansas. It came direct from Opoeth-le-yo- 
 ho-la and when it reached the Delawares found in them 
 a ready response. It invited their cooperation 542 in the 
 war and asked for men and ammunition. 543 This is the 
 Delaware reply: 544 
 
 We are much rejoiced to receive your letter by James Mc- 
 Daniel 545 and David Balon. Our Agent has sent it to our 
 
 542 See letter of Mix to F. Johnson at the Delaware Agency, Quindaro, 
 Kansas, dated January 22, 1862, acknowledging Johnson's letter of January 
 fourth, which enclosed 
 
 A copy of the reply of the Delaware Chiefs in Council to the letter of 
 the Creek Chief O-poeth-lo-yo-ho-la, inviting their cooperation against 
 the rebel States. . . - Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, pp. 271-272. 
 
 543 On the ist inst., I mailed you the letter of Opoth-la-yar-ho-la Mus- 
 cogee Chief to the Delawares asking for men and ammunition. On 
 the 2nd inst. the Delaware chiefs in Council returned the following let- 
 ter in answer to Opoth-la-ho-la. . . - F. JOHNSON to Dole, dated Quin- 
 daro, Kansas, January 4, 1862 [General Files, Delaware, 1862-1866, 
 
 J543]. 
 
 544 John Connor, Head Chief, Ne-con-he-con, Sur-cox-ie, Chas. Jour- 
 neycake, Assistant Chiefs, to Oputh-la-yar-ho-la, Muscogee Chief War- 
 rior and our loyal Grand Children dated Delaware Nation, Kansas 
 Jan, 3rd 1861. 
 
 545 James McDaniel seems to have been a Cherokee. On April 2, 1862, 
 Agent Johnson reported to Dole that forty-one Delaware Indians had re- 
 turned destitute from the Cherokee country and that he had given them as- 
 sistance and also "a refugee Cherokee chief, James McDaniel." This idea 
 is further borne out by the following letter: 
 
 Office of U.S. Agent for Cherokees 
 Tahlequah, Ind. Ter. April 7, 1873 
 HON. H. R. CLUM, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affs 
 
 SIR: I beg leave to call your attention to the fact that in the fall 
 and winter of 1861 Opothleyoholo a Creek and James McDaniel a Chero- 
 kee placed themselves at the head of the loyal Creeks, Seminoles, 
 Cherokees & others. Unsustained by any U.S. forces they gathered on 
 Bird Creek, in this Nation, to resist rebel conscription into their army. 
 They tried to avoid a fight, to make their way peacably to the union 
 army in Kansas, by a far western route. But Gen. Douglas H. 
 Coopper, & Gen. Stand Watie, with troops from Texas, & Arkansas, & 
 with rebel Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws &c pressed upon them, & at- 
 tempted to bring them into subjection to the Southern Confederacy. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 269 
 
 great Father, the President, "at Washington," and to Gen. Hun- 
 ter at "Fort Leavenworth." It gives us great pleasure to hear 
 that you are good and true friends to the President, and to the 
 Government of the United States. We hope you will continue 
 to be their friend. If bad men of the South ask you to go to war 
 against the President, stop your ears, don't listen to them, they 
 are your worst enemies, they are trying to destroy you and the 
 Country. 
 
 Grand Children it does our hearts good, we rejoice to hear 
 of the victories you have gained over your enemies of the Gov- 
 ernment under your brave leader Oputh-la-yar-ho-la. 
 
 Grand Children we are ready and willing to help you. Our 
 brave Warriors are ready to spill their Blood for you, and are 
 only waiting to hear from our great Father at Washington, we 
 have asked of him the privaledge of going to your assistance, and 
 hope that our request will be granted, we don't wish to go to 
 War against the wishes of our great Father the President. We 
 have heard that the President will soon have a large Army in 
 
 They adhered to their loyalty. Fought the rebel forces in three or four 
 battles. At first vanquishing the rebel forces, but finally were over- 
 come, & compelled to flee to Kansas in mid-winter, with women & chil- 
 dren. In Kansas these men were organized into regiments, & on ar- 
 riving in the Cherokee Nation were largely reinforced by their friends 
 here, & in the Creek & Seminole Nations. 
 
 I have made this statement so that you may see the situation in 
 which these men are placed, & judge intelligently. 
 
 No<w I wish to know if men wounded in those engagements, under 
 Opothleyoholo & James McDaniel, while fighting against the rebels, 
 & the widows of those who were killed, & those who were otherwise 
 disabled in those fights, & in the subsequent flight, are entitled to the 
 benefits of pension laws. Can they be pensioned under existing laws? 
 
 If not, can you, through the Secretary of the Interior, prevail on the 
 President to have the matter presented to the next Congress, with a 
 view to having these persons placed on the rolls of the pension office. 
 I need say nothing of the propriety of the Government rewarding as far 
 as possible, such acts of loyalty & voluntary fighting for the Govern- 
 ment by full blood Indians - when all the influence & power of faithless 
 Indian Agents, & Superintendants, & the Southern army from Texas & 
 Arkansas, & the more wealthy & educated mixed blood Indians, were 
 arrayed against them. It should be rewarded, as far [as] practicable, 
 as an incentive to like faithfulness in any emergency that may arise in 
 the future. I have the honor to be Very Respectfully Your Obdt. Ser- 
 vant JOHN B. JONES, U.S. Agent for Cherokees 
 
270 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 the Indian Country to protect you, that he has ordered Gen. 
 Lane to march to your relief. We are confident that our great 
 Father is able and will protect his red children - Grand Chil- 
 dren we pray to the "great spirit" to protect you and keep you 
 out of the hands of the bad men of the South, who are trying to 
 destroy you and the Government - We have no fears as to the 
 result of this war - the President has large Armies in the field 
 that will conquer and punish the Rebels - We are proud of our 
 Muscogee Children. 
 
 The United States government had already deter- 
 mined upon an expedition to the Indian country and, 
 yielding to the importunities of Senator Lane, who rep- 
 resented General Hunter as in full accord with himself 
 in the matter, had decided to use the Kansas Indians in 
 the making up of the attacking force. It was well that 
 the Indians had manifested a readiness to fight and that 
 the Delawares, particularly, had overcome their previ- 
 ous aversion. The first official record of the fact that 
 the decision to use the Kansas Indians had been reached 
 appears to be a communication 546 from Assistant Ad- 
 jutant-general E. D. Townsend to Surgeon-general 
 C. A. Finley, under date of December 31, 1861, notify- 
 ing him that medical supplies would soon be needed 
 for a force of about twenty-seven thousand men, about 
 four thousand of whom were to be Indians, which 
 was to be concentrated at an early day near Fort Leav- 
 enworth. On the third of January, Lane wrote 547 to 
 
 546 Official Records, first ser., vol. viii, 576. 
 
 547 WASHINGTON, D.C. January 3, 1862. 
 MAJOR-GENERAL HUNTER, Commanding Kansas Department: 
 
 It is the intention of the Government to order me to report to you 
 for an active winter's campaign. They have ordered General Denver 
 to another department. They have ordered to report to you eight regi- 
 ments cavalry, three of infantry, and three batteries, in addition to your 
 present force. They have also ordered you, in conjunction with the 
 Indian Department, to organize 4,000 Indians. Mr. Doles, Commis- 
 sioner, will come out with me. J. H. LANE. 
 Official Records, first ser., vol. viii, 482. 
 
Alliance 'with the Confederacy 271 
 
 Hunter, informing him, as if at first hand and semi- 
 officially, of the new plan. It is not to be wondered at 
 that General Hunter took offence at the officiousness 
 and presumption Lane displayed. In point of fact, it 
 was a clear case of executive interference. 
 
 Now that it had, to all appearances, gained a long- 
 desired object, the Indian Office lost no time in lending 
 the War Department its hearty cooperation. Commis- 
 sioner Dole was especially enthusiastic and, under in- 
 structions from Secretary Smith, prepared to go out to 
 Kansas himself to help organize the Indians for army 
 service. He also sent particulars 548 of the new move- 
 ment to Superintendent Branch and a circular letter 549 
 to the agents of the central superintendency, detailing 
 the advantages that would accrue to individual Indians 
 should they enlist. Dole wrote these letters on the sixth 
 of January and was then expecting to be in Leaven- 
 worth City for the making of final arrangements eight 
 or ten days "hence." He did not manage to get away, 
 
 548 It being the intention of the Gov't of the United States to take into 
 its miliary service 4000 Indians from the borders of Kansas and Mis- 
 souri, to be organized under Major Gen 1 Hunter, you are hereby made 
 acquainted therewith. The different Agents in your superintendency 
 will be instructed direct from this Office to use their best endeavors to 
 engage the above number of Indians, taking care that those so engaged 
 are capable of good service and are well affected towards this Gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 All the operations in this behalf should be conducted with dispatch 
 and as much secrecy as the nature of the measure will admit of. 
 
 I understand that the Government proposes to equalize the pay of 
 these Indian volunteers with that of other volunteers, but giving the 
 chiefs an additional compensation. Each man will receive a blanket, and 
 those not having arms of their own will be provided by the Govern- 
 ment. Their subsistence will be the same as that provided in Re- 
 vised Regulations No. 5, Section 39 of this Bureau, or the army sub- 
 sistence, whatever that may be. Where any of the Indians, thus en- 
 gaged, shall die or be killed whilst in service, their pay will be given 
 over to their families - Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, pp. 211-212. 
 s * 9 Ibid., 215-216. 
 
272 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 however, quite so soon ; but the agents went to work im- 
 mediately and, even before Dole arrived in Kansas, 
 Agent Farnsworth, who had always been rather too 
 eager for Indian enlistment, was able to report 550 the 
 initial steps taken. By the twenty-first of January, 551 
 Dole was well on his way west. He reached Kansas in 
 due season and there learned 552 for the first time, that 
 Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la had been completely overwhelmed, 
 that the refugees were on the Verdigris, and that Gen- 
 eral Hunter was subsisting them. This was doleful 
 news, indeed, and made the project of a southern ex- 
 pedition seem more and more expedient. 
 
 General Hunter had done the best he could to relieve 
 the awful sufferings of the refugees; but, on the sixth 
 of February, he was obliged to inform 553 Dole that he 
 could do no more, that he had practically reached the 
 
 550 Farnsworth wrote on the 2ist, acknowledging Dole's letter of the sixth 
 and saying, 
 
 Its contents has been explained to two trusty Indians, who will keep 
 the matter entirely secret until the time for public action comes. I have 
 sent for the Indians to come in. I think they will all be here by the 
 3oth or 3ist of this month. I will enroll them as soon as possible. I 
 think I shall be able to enlist about 150 vigorous warriors. . .-Gen- 
 eral Files, Kickapoo, 1855-1862, FSJS- 
 
 551 Your communication to this office of the jist December last has been 
 received enclosing a letter which was brought to you by a messenger 
 from the South, as you were holding a Council with the Delaware 
 Chiefs of your Agency, and which letter you desired to be laid before 
 the President of the United States. Your communication also represent- 
 ed the readiness of the Delawares and all the other Western tribes to 
 engage in military service on the side of the Government against the 
 rebel States. 
 
 With reference to all these Subjects, you will have an opportunity of 
 conferring with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs (who has perused 
 your letter in person) at Leavenworth City, for which destination he 
 left this City on Sunday last on public business. - CHARLES E. Mix, 
 acting commissioner, to F. Johnson, January 21, 1862 [Indian Office, 
 Letter Book, no. 67, p. 268]. 
 
 652 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, pp. 26, 147-148. 
 553 1 have the honor to inform you that Capt. J. W. Turner, Chief 
 Commissary of Subsistence of the Department, has just returned from 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 273 
 
 end of his resources, and that, after the fifteenth of Feb- 
 ruary, the whole responsibility of subsisting the desti- 
 tute Indians would have to fall upon the Interior De- 
 partment. Dole was almost at his wits' end. He had 
 no funds that he could use legitimately for the need that 
 had arisen. It was a case of emergency, however, and 
 something certainly had to be done. Before the fif- 
 teenth of December arrived, additional reports 554 came 
 
 the encampments of the loyal Indians, on the Verdigris river, and in its 
 vicinity. Having made arrangements for subsisting these unfortunate 
 refugees until the isth day of the present month. 
 
 In the neighborhood of Belmont and Roe's Fort, there were, at the 
 time Capt. Turner left, about four thousand five hundred Indians, 
 chiefly Creeks and Seminoles. But their number was being constantly 
 augmented by the arrival of fresh camps, tribes and families. 
 
 Their condition is pictured as most wretched - destitute of clothing, 
 shelter, fuel, horses, cooking utensils and food. This last named article 
 was supplied by Capt. Turner in quantities sufficient to last until the 
 15th instant after which time, I doubt not, you will have made further 
 arrangements for their continued subsistence. 
 
 In taking the responsibility of supplying their wants until the Indian 
 Department could make provision for their necessities I but fulfilled a 
 duty due to our common humanity and the cause in which the Indians 
 are suffering. I now trust and have every confidence that under your 
 energetic and judicious arrangements these poor people may be sup- 
 plied with all they need after the 15th instant, on which day the sup- 
 plies furnished by Capt. Turner will be exhausted. 
 
 I make no doubt that provision should be made for feeding, cloth- 
 ing and sheltering not less than six thousand Indians, and possibly as 
 high as ten thousand, on this point however, you are doubtless better 
 prepared to judge than myself. I only wish to urge upon you the neces- 
 sity for prompt measures of relief. 
 
 P.S. Copies of the reports made by Capt. Turner and Brigade Sur- 
 geon Campbell will be furnished to you by tomorrow's post, in view of 
 the urgency of this case, and the fact that these Indians cannot be 
 supplied any further than have been done from the supplies of the 
 army, I send one copy of this letter to Topeka and the other to Leaven- 
 worth City. Fearful suffering must ensue amongst the Indians unless 
 the steps necessary are promptly taken. 
 
 This letter was forwarded by Edw. Wolcott, at Dole's request, to the Indian 
 Office [General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Wsis]. 
 
 554 Coffin to Dole, dated Fort Roe, Verdigris River, Kansas, February 13, 
 1862 [General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ci526]; Snow to 
 Coffin, February 13, 1862 [General Files, Seminole, 1858-1869}. 
 
274 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 in from Superintendent Coffin, detailing distress. Un- 
 der the circumstances it was necessary to act quickly 
 and without congressional authorization. Dole tele- 
 graphed 555 to Secretary Smith, 
 
 Six thousand Indians driven out of Indian territory, naked and 
 starving. General Hunter will only feed them until I5th. 
 Shall I take care of them on the faith of an appropriation? 
 
 He received a reply 556 that should have been dictated, 
 not so much in the spirit of generosity, as of simple jus- 
 tice: 
 
 Go on and supply the destitute Indians, Congress will supply 
 the means. War Department will not organize them. 
 
 With this approbation in hand, Dole went to work, pur- 
 chased sufficient supplies on credit, and appointed 557 a 
 special agent, Dr. William Kile of Illinois, who had 
 been commissioned 558 by President Lincoln to act on 
 Lane's staff and was then in Kansas as Lane's brigade 
 quartermaster, to attend to their distribution. Mean- 
 while, the attention of Congress had been called to the 
 matter and a particularly strong letter of Dole's, de- 
 scribing the utter misery of the exiles, was read in the 
 Senate February 14, in support of a joint resolution for 
 their relief. 559 It was intended originally to apply only 
 to the loyal Creeks, Seminoles, and Chickasaws but had 
 its title changed later so as to make it include the Choc- 
 taws. On the third of March, Congress passed 56 an act 
 providing that the annuities of the "hostiles," Creeks, 
 Chickasaws, Seminoles, Wichitas, and Cherokees, should 
 be applied, as might be necessary, to the relief of ref- 
 
 555 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 148. 
 
 556 _ 
 
 557 Dole to Dr. Kile, February 10, 1862 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, 
 pp. 450-452]. 
 
 668 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 148. 
 
 559 Congressional Globe, 37th congress, second session, p. 815. 
 
 560 United States Statutes at Large, vol. xiii, 562. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 275 
 
 ugees from Indian Territory. It was expressly stipu- 
 lated in this enactment 561 that the money should not be 
 used for other than Indian Territory tribes. 
 
 Secretary Smith's telegram, as the reader has prob- 
 ably already observed, had given to Dole a small piece 
 of information that was not of slight significance, sig- 
 nifying as it did a change of front by the War Depart- 
 ment. The War Department had rescinded its former 
 action and had now refused to organize the Indians for 
 service. The objections to Lane's enterprise must have 
 been cumulative. Before the idea of it had embraced 
 the Indians and before it had become so closely identi- 
 fied with Lane's name and personality, in fact, while it 
 was more or less a scheme of McClellan's, Hunter had 
 interposed 562 objections, but purely on military grounds. 
 His force was scarcely equal to a movement southward. 
 Subsequently, Halleck interposed objections likewise 
 and his reasons, 563 whatever his motives may have been, 
 were perfectly sound, indeed, rather alarmingly so, 
 since they broadly hinted at the miserably local inter- 
 ests involved in the war in the west and the gross sub- 
 ordination of military policies to political. Then came 
 
 561 It was, however, the beginning of a great deal of graft and misuse of 
 government funds. Citizens of Kansas, otherwise reputable, prepared to reap 
 a rich harvest, and government officials were not at all behindhand in the 
 undertaking. Presumably, immediately upon the departure of Hunter's com- 
 missary from Fort Roe, the Indians began to get into the debt of the settlers 
 and the sum of the indebtedness soon mounted up tremendously. Coffin again 
 and again urged payment [Coffin to Dole, May 12, 1862], so did Colonel C. 
 R. Jennison of the Seventh Regiment Kansas Volunteers, and so did General 
 Blunt. 
 
 The act of March 3, 1862, reinforced by that of July 5, 1862 [United 
 States Statutes at Large, vol. xii, 528] was re-enacted, in whole or in part, each 
 year of the war [Act of March 3, 1863, United States Statutes at Large, vol. 
 xii, 793 ; Act of June 25, 1864, ibid., vol. xiii, 180]. In addition, special ap- 
 propriations were made, like that of May 3, 1864, for the refugees. 
 
 562 Hunter to Thomas, December n, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. 
 viii, 428]; McClellan to Hunter, December n, 1861 [ibid.]. 
 
 563 Halleck to McClellan, January 20, 1862 [ibid., 509-510]. 
 
276 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Lane with energy like the whirlwind, a local politician 
 through and through. He had absolutely no respect 
 for official proprieties and the military men, opposed to 
 him, were men of small calibre. He reached Kansas, 
 joyfully intent upon putting into immediate effect the 
 power that Lincoln had conferred upon him, only to 
 find that there stood Hunter, fully prepared to contest 
 authority with him. The Adjutant-general had writ- 
 ten 564 Hunter that Lane had not been given a command 
 independent of his own and that, if he so desired, he 
 might conduct the expedition southward in person. In 
 the evening of the twenty-sixth, Lane reached Leaven- 
 worth, and the very next day, Hunter issued general 
 orders 565 that he would command in person. Taken 
 aback and excusably indignant, Lane communicated 566 
 at once with John Covode and requested him to impart 
 the news to the President, to Stanton 567 and the new Sec- 
 retary of War, and to General McClellan. 
 
 Official sensitiveness was unquestionably at the bot- 
 tom of the whole trouble, yet Lincoln was very largely 
 to blame for having yielded to Lane's importunities. 
 He frankly said that he had wished to keep the affair 
 out of McClellan's hands as far as possible. 568 He 
 hoped to profit by the services of both Hunter and 
 Lane ; but, if they could not agree, then Lane must yield 
 the precedence to Hunter. He must report for orders 
 or decline the service. 569 Military men, stationed in 
 the west, and civil officers of Kansas were all prejudiced 
 
 564 Thomas to Hunter, January 24, 1862 [Official Records, first ser., vol. 
 viii, 525-526]. 
 
 565 Ibid., 529-530. 
 
 567 Stanton had become Secretary of War, January 15, 1862. On the real 
 reasons for Cameron's retirement, see Welles' Diary, vol. i, 57. 
 
 568 Lincoln to Stanton, January 31, 1862 [Official Records, first sen, vol. 
 viii, 538]. 
 
 569 Lincoln to Hunter and Lane, February 10, 1862 [ibid., 551]. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 277 
 
 against the "Lane Expedition." 57 They expected it to 
 be nothing but jayhawking and marauding of the worst 
 description. The Indians, however, were deeply dis- 
 appointed 571 when a halt came in the preparations. 
 
 570 Hunter to Halleck, February 8, i86a [Official Records, first ser., vol. viii, 
 829-831]; Halleck to Hunter, February 13, 1862 [ibid., 554-555]; McClellan to 
 Halleck, February 13, 1862 [ibid., 555]. 
 
 571 My object more particularly in writing to you to-night is on account 
 of the orders that we learn here to-night from General Gennison to 
 General Hunter that no Indians are to be mustered into the Service 
 we have taken greate paines and have made flattering progress in en- 
 rooling them according to the orders of your Selfe and General Hunter 
 nearly all of them set apart 10 Dollars out of their wages pr month for 
 their families and many that have no families leave it in the hands of 
 the Agents for their benefit after the war is over and they are burning 
 with revenge and spiling for a fight and I have no dout at all but they 
 would doo good Service there are two amongst them at least perhaps 
 many more that I think would make good Commanders Billy Bowlegs 
 & Little Captain the latter a Creek that commands in all the Late Bat- 
 tles and they suposed that he was killed but he got in a few days sine 
 Billy has also recently arivd I am fully of the opinion that these Indians 
 at least two Thousand of them for such a campaigne as they are de- 
 signed for or the one is suposed to be that is to go South from here 
 are as well calculated for as any Troops that could be selected and it 
 will make great trouble with them as they have their harts set upon it 
 and will be most cruelly disappointed if not permettd to go and they 
 should be got back as soon as posabl to their homes as the planting sea- 
 son is near and if they do not get there in time for putting in a crop 
 the present Spring it looks like they will have to be suportd by the 
 Government til August 1863 or til a crop can be maturd nex year which 
 could not be sooner than August this would entail a heavy expense upon 
 the Indian department that I would like to be avoidd I have had an In- 
 terview with General Gennison and he is very sure that if they would 
 arm these Indians and give him three thousd other Troops he could 
 put those Indians into their homes in time for a crop this year all here 
 are very much disappointed and mortified at the course things are for 
 their families will be no small Item in lessening the expense of Sub- 
 sisting them which with all the Economy we can use will be very large.- 
 COFFIN to Dole, dated Humboldt, Kansas, February 28, 1862 [General 
 Files, Southern Supertntendency, 1859-1862, Ci54i]. 
 
 Since writing you from Humboldt Dr. Kile & my selfe have visited 
 Fort Roe to make arrangements for moving the Indians to the Neosho 
 on getting there we found that about 1500 of them had left for this 
 place they left Saturday noon it turned cold Saturday night and com- 
 
278 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la personally addressed a communica- 
 tion 572 to Lincoln. He wanted nobody but Lane to 
 command the expedition. Pending a settlement, Dole 
 
 menced snowing and snowed hard most of the day Sunday and last 
 night was the coldest of the season the Indians all got to timber Sat- 
 urday night to camp and remained in camp Sunday but most of them 
 ware on the Road to day tho it was too coald to travel in the fix they 
 are in I saw many of them barefooted and many more that the feett 
 was a small part of them that was bare, these people realy seem to be 
 doomd to suffer for this Loyalty beyond measure, the goods and shoes 
 ordered by Dr. Kile and an order sent by myselfe before Kile's arival 
 have not yet reached here. Kile remained at Fort Roe to Settle and 
 close up business there and assist in the araingements for starting them 
 from there and I came on to se to those on the way and make araeng- 
 ments for taking care of them when they get here I found many of 
 them Sick and not able to leave camp till teams are sent to them to 
 aid them. We find that we cannot move them with less than about 
 three Teams to the Hundred and it may overrun that the weather is 
 moderating now and we shall make a vigorous effort to move them as 
 quick as possible, we find it very dificult to get Teams on government 
 vouchers and may not be able to move them in a reasonable time on 
 that account the funds I brot down three Thousand Dollars was nearly 
 exausted before Kile arived we are now nearly destitute of money if I 
 find it as dificult around here to get teams as I have between here and 
 the fort I shall make an effort to raise some funds for that purpose 
 tomorrow with what success remains to be seen we have kept them 
 pretty well suplied with Something to eat so far but that is all we can 
 bost of, iff we ware to say they ware well clothed there would be ten 
 thousand square ft of nakedness gaping forth its contradiction; they 
 have been out of Tobacco for Several days and I doo think one days 
 experience in camp would convince the most skeptical that with Indians 
 at least the weed is a necessity, the Indians of all tribs held a grand 
 council last Thursday at Fort Roe in regard to the war, at which they 
 determined with great unanimity to gather up and arm as best they 
 could, all there able bodied men and go down with the army on their 
 own hook and aid in driving out the Rebels from their homes in time 
 to plant a crop for this season and then gather all the Ponies they can 
 and they think they can capture enough from the Rebels with what they 
 have to come up for their families. Cannot the Government aid so 
 Laudible an enterprise as that at least <with a few guns and some amun- 
 ition they appear to be in good earnest and are feeding up the best of 
 their Ponies for the Trip. . . - COFFIN to Dole, dated Leroy, March 
 3, 1862 [General Files, Southern Superintendency , 1859-1862, 1544]. 
 572 Letter of January 28, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. viii, 534]. 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 279 
 
 ordered 573 Coffin 574 to desist from further enrollment. 
 Secretary Stanton was declared opposed to the use of 
 Indians in civilized warfare. 575 Soon the orders for the 
 expedition were countermanded with the understand- 
 ing, explicit or implied, that it should later proceed 
 under the personal direction of General Hunter. 
 
 The military situation in the middle west and the 
 great desire on the part of the Confederacy to gain Mis- 
 souri and to complete her secession from the old Union 
 necessitated, at the opening of 1862, a thorough-going 
 reorganization of forces concentrated in that part of the 
 country. Experience had shown that separate and in- 
 dependent commands had a tendency to become too 
 much localized, individual commanders too much in- 
 clined to keep within the narrow margin, each of his 
 
 573 I have a despatch from Secretary Smith saying that the Secretary 
 of War is opposed to mustering the Indians into the service, and that 
 he would see the President and settle the matter that day (Feb. 6). 
 
 This as you will see disarranges all my previous arrangements, 
 and devolves upon me the necessity of revoking my orders to you to 
 proceed with the agents, to organize the loyal Indians in your Superin- 
 tendency into companies preparatory to their being mustered into the 
 service by Gen. Hunter. I have now to advise that you explain fully 
 to the Chiefs that no authority has yet been received from Washington 
 authorizing their admission into the army of the United States; but I 
 would, at the same time advise that you proceed to ascertain what num- 
 ber are able and willing to join our army, and that you so far prepare 
 them for the service as you can consistently do, without committing 
 the Government to accept them, as I still hope for the power to get 
 these refugees if no others, into the service, it being one, and as I 
 think, the best means of providing for their necessities. . .-DOLE to 
 Coffin, February n, 1862 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, p. 448]. 
 
 574 Coffin had not been written to, Jan. 6, because the original plan did 
 not contemplate the employment of southern Indians. Not until he heard of 
 their presence, as refugees in Kansas, did Dole include them in his list of 
 possible soldiers. 
 
 575 Superintendent Branch may have had something to do with the opposi- 
 tion that grew up in Washington after Dole's departure ; for he was there 
 the last days of the month. Lane asked for his immediate return to the west 
 [Mix to Lane, January 27, 1862, Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, p. 293]. 
 
280 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 instructions, for the good of the service as a whole to be 
 promoted. It was thought best, therefore, to establish 
 the Trans-Mississippi District of Department No. 2 576 
 and to place in command of it, Major-general Earl Van 
 Dorn. The district was to comprise all of Louisiana 
 north of the Red River, all of Indian Territory proper, 
 all of Arkansas, and all of Missouri west of the St. 
 Francis. Wise in the main, as the scheme for consoli- 
 dation unquestionably was, it had its weak points. The 
 unrestricted inclusion of Indian Territory was decided- 
 ly a violation of the spirit of the Pike treaties, if not of 
 the actual letter. Under the conditions of their alli- 
 ance with the Confederacy, the Indian nations were not 
 obliged to render service outside of the limits of their 
 own country; but the Confederacy was obliged, inde- 
 pendent of any departmental reorganization or regula- 
 tions, to furnish them protection. 
 
 Almost the first thing that Van Dorn did, after as- 
 suming command of the new military district, was to 
 write, 5 " from his headquarters at Jacksonport in east- 
 ern Arkansas, to Price, advising him that Pike would 
 shortly be ordered to take position in southwestern 
 Missouri, say in Lawrence County near Mt. Vernon, 
 "with instructions to cooperate with you in any emer- 
 gency." Van Dorn was then laboring under the im- 
 pression that Pike's force consisted of a majority of 
 white troops, three regiments, he thought, out of a 
 brigade of eight or nine thousand men, whereas there 
 was only one white regiment in the whole Indian de- 
 partment. Colonel Cooper complained 578 that this lat- 
 ter condition was the fact and insisted that it was con- 
 
 576 Special Orders, no. 8, Jan. 10, 1862 [Official Records, vol. viii, 734]. 
 
 577 Van Dorn to Price, February 7, 1862 [Official Records, first ser., vol. 
 viii, 749]. 
 
 578 Cooper to Pike, February 10, 1862 [ibid., vol. xiti, 896]. 
 
FO#T M*CULLOGH 
 
 [From Office of Indian Affairs'} 
 
TIL 
 
 OMHE 
 UHWERSITY OF IUHOIS 
 
Alliance with the Confederacy 283 
 
 trary to the express promises made, by authority, 579 to 
 the Choctaws and Chickasaws when he had begun his re- 
 cruiting work among them the previous summer. Had 
 Van Dorn only taken a little trouble to inquire into the 
 real state of affairs among the Indians, he would, in- 
 stead of ordering Pike to bring the Indian regiments 
 out of Indian Territory, have seen to it that they stayed 
 at home and that danger of civil strife among the Cher- 
 okees was prevented by the presence of three white reg- 
 iments, as originally promised. At this particular time 
 as it happened, Pike was not called upon to move his 
 force; for the order so to move did not reach him until 
 after the Federals, "pursuing General Price, had in- 
 vaded Arkansas." 58 
 
 It proved, however, to be but a brief stay of execu- 
 tion; for, as soon as Van Dorn learned that Price had 
 fallen back from Springfield, he resolved 581 to form a 
 junction with McCulloch's division in the Boston 
 Mountains and himself take command of all the forces 
 in the field. He estimated 582 that, should Pike be able 
 to join him, with Price's and McCulloch's troops al- 
 ready combined, he would have an army of fully twen- 
 ty-six thousand men to oppose a Federal force of be- 
 tween thirty-five and forty thousand. Pike was duly 
 informed 583 of the new arrangement and ordered 584 to 
 "hasten up with all possible dispatch and in person 
 direct the march of" his "command, including Stand 
 Watie's, Mclntosh's, and Drew's regiments." His men 
 
 579 Walker to Cooper, May 13, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 
 574-575]. 
 
 580 Report of Albert Pike, dated Fort McCulloch, May 4, 1862 [ibid., vol. 
 xiii, 819]. 
 
 581 Van Dorn, Report to Bragg, March 27, 1862 [Official Records, first 
 ser., vol. viii, 283]. 
 
 582 Van Dorn to Mackall, February 27, 1862 [ibid., 755]. 
 
 583 Maury to Pike, March 3, 1862 [ibid., 763-764]. 
 
 584 Maury to Pike, March 3, 1862 [ibid., 764]. 
 
284 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 were to "march light, ready for immediate action." 585 
 The outcome of all these preparations was the Battle of 
 Pea Ridge 586 and that battle was the consummation, the 
 culminating point, in fact, of the Indian alliance with 
 the Southern Confederacy. It was the beginning of 
 the end. It happened just at the time when the Rich- 
 mond legislators were organizing 587 the great Arkansas 
 and Red River superintendency, 588 which was intended 
 to embrace all the tribes with whom Albert Pike had 
 made his treaties. Albert Pike retired from Pea Ridge 
 to his defences at Fort McCulloch, angry and indignant 
 that the Indians had been taken out of their own coun- 
 try to fight the white man's battles. His displeasure 
 was serious; for the Indian confidence in the Confed- 
 eracy depended almost wholly upon the promises and 
 the assurances of the Arkansas poet. 
 
 585 Maury to Drew, Mclntosh, and Stand Watie, March 3, 1862 [Official 
 Records, first ser., vol. viii, 764]. 
 
 586 This will be discussed fully in a later volume. 
 
 587 Journal, vol. i, 640, 743; vol. ii, 19, 20, 51, 52; vol. v, 47, 115, 116, 151, 
 
 167, 210. 
 
 588 The act was passed April 8, 1862 [Confederate Statutes at Large (edi- 
 tion of 1864), II " 2 5]- 
 
APPENDIX A -FORT SMITH PAPERS 
 
 Copy TAHLEQUAH, January gth 1857. 
 
 SIR : - Some time since I received a letter from you calling for in- 
 formation in reference to the white intruders who were settling upon 
 the Cherokee Neutral Land. I have been creditably (credibly) in- 
 formed that there are several white families living upon the Neutral 
 Land, some of them are making improvements, others are in the em- 
 ployment of Cherokee Citizens, living on the Neutral Land, from the 
 best information that I can get, most of the intruders are good citi- 
 zens of the U-States. I have notified them to leave, with the under- 
 standing that if they do not leave by spring, they will be removed by 
 the Military. My reason for not removing them at an earlier date is, 
 the weather is so cold and disagreeable that it would be improper to 
 turn women and children out of doors, therefore I will not remove 
 them til the winter breaks it maybe that the Military will have to be 
 employed in their removal : yet I shall make the effort to remove them 
 peacefully and without the military if possible. Very Respectfully, 
 Your ob't, Svt. (Signed). GEO. BUTLER, Cherokee Agent. 
 
 Doct. C. W. Dean, Sup't. of Ind. Affs. 
 
 Copy FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS, February igth, 1859. 
 
 SIR: I deem it my duty as an independant citizen to apprize you, 
 as the head of the Indian Bureau, of a recent transaction of the Super- 
 intendent of Indian Affairs at this place, and demand of you the proper 
 action the facts may impose. 
 
 A contract has been given to an intimate friend and relation of 
 the Superintendent, to feed the Witchita and other Indians inhabiting 
 the country between the g8th and looth degrees, West Longitude, at 
 a sum pr ration, of one third, perhaps one half, more than other per- 
 sons would have fed these Indians for; which persons were denied 
 the privilege of contending for the contract, as no puplic notice invit- 
 ing proposals was made, and the contract was given privately. 
 
 I assert this postively, as to the notice for proposals, and enclose 
 you a letter of Capt. J. H. Strain, confirmatory of the fact, that he 
 
286 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 was willing to feed the Witchitas, for a sum far less than the records 
 of your Office must show the government has been pledged to pay 
 another. The character of this gentleman, who has been for years 
 Sutler at Fort Arbuckle, if unknown to you, can be avouched by the 
 U. S. Senators from this State. 
 
 The Seminoles are now fed under a contract given in the usual 
 regular mode of publishing invitations for proposals and awarding the 
 contract to the lowest bidder, at the sum of about seven cents pr ra- 
 tion. The Witchitas are encamped only forty or fifty miles from the 
 Seminoles and near the Texas and Chickasaw lines, where corn and 
 beef are much cheaper and more abundant. In proof of this I refer 
 you to late contracts for these articles given at Fort Washita and Fort 
 Arbuckle the first being near the Witchitas, and the other near the 
 Seminoles. Captain Strain says he would have fed the Witchitas for 
 ten cents per ration, and if proposals had been invited, the Contract 
 would have been taken for a less sum. 
 
 There are some seven hundred Indians now fed, and thirteen cents 
 pr ration is the sum stated as allowed I believe it is more, but the 
 Indian Office contains the proof of the exact sum. If the Contract 
 had been given at nine cents pr ration, it would have been a saving of 
 twenty eight dollars pr day, over the price said to be now paid, which 
 would amount to eight hundred and forty dollars pr month, and ten 
 thousand and eighty dollars a year. This is surprisingly large, for a 
 small Indian contract, and at a time too when the duty of government 
 Officers to retrench expenses is so imperiously demanded. 
 
 I am opposed to such favoriteism under any circumstances, and par- 
 ticularly so, when the recipient can lay no claim to Democratic sup- 
 port. 
 
 I am credibly informed that the number of the Indians fed under 
 this contract, is rapidly increasing, and that efforts are all the time 
 made to induce the Texas Reserve Indians to claim relationship with 
 the Wichitas, and come into their camp and draw rations. One of 
 the employees under this Contract makes this statement, and says quite 
 a number have already been induced so to come. If the number is 
 swelled to two thousand, as conjectured here, the large price now 
 paid will roll up the sum thus disbursed to the Superintendents fa- 
 vorite so much that other notice will be taken of it, unless you find it 
 in your power to interfere. 
 
 I am tired of such conduct and such unfairness towards the gov- 
 
Fort Smith Papers 287 
 
 ernment, and now make the charge distinctly and demand of you that 
 it be stopped. 
 
 Of course I have no desire to withhold my name, and can refer you 
 to Senators Sebastian and Johnson for an endorsement of my character. 
 
 Please acknowledge receipt of this. I am most respectfully, Your 
 Obt. Servant, A. G. MAYERS. 
 
 Hon. J. W. Denver, Comr. Ind. Affairs, 
 
 Washington City, D. C. 
 
 P.S. I may add that I am not, nor have I ever been interested in 
 these sort of Contracts, and have no desire to be interested in this 
 one. A.G.M. 
 
 FORT SMITH i6th Feby. 759. 
 
 DEAR SIR: I am in receipt of yours of the I5th inst. You were 
 correct in understanding me to say, that I was willing to feed the 
 Witchita Indians, near Fort Arbuckle, at ten cents per ration. 
 
 Was the contract to be let to the lowest bidder, it would go below 
 what I said I was willing to take it at. Very Respectfully, Your Obt. 
 Servant J. H. STRAIN. 
 
 Gen. A. G. Mayers, Ft. Smith, Ark. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. OFFICE INDIAN AFFAIRS, 
 
 May 1 2th 1859. 
 
 SIR, For your information and such action as you may deem neces- 
 sary, I transmit a copy of a letter, and its enclosures, addressed to 
 this Office by A. G. Mayers on the 2ist ultimo, and of my reply of the 
 nth instant. Very respectfully, Your Obt. Servant, 
 
 CHARLES E. Mix, Commissioner, ad interim. 
 E. Rector Esq, Superintendent &c, 
 Fort Smith, Arkansas. 
 
 Copy FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS April 2ist 1859 
 
 CHAS. E. Mix, Esq, Acting Comr. of Indian Affairs 
 
 Washington City D. C. 
 
 SIR : - Allow me to ask of you the favor to inform, officially wheth- 
 er the funds provided by the Government for the subsistence of the 
 Wichita Indians has been turned over to the Superintendent of Indian 
 Affairs at this place or any other disbursing offices of the department, 
 to carry out the Contract made by the Supt. with C. B. Johnson for 
 subsisting those Indians after the facts reported by me in regard to the 
 
a88 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 matter, in a letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of date the 
 i gth Feby 59-. 
 
 It has been stated to me that such monies have been so turned over 
 to the Superintendent, and statement has been contracted, I therefore 
 wish to know of you the truth of the matter, and am assured such in- 
 formation will be readily afforded me, 
 
 I may add, to strengthen the report of facts formerly made by me 
 in regard to the Wichita Contracts, that the Seminoles, who are sub- 
 sisted at a sum less than seven cents per ration, under contract given 
 after publication for proposals, are near Fort Arbuckle, and the Wichi- 
 tas, who are subsisted under private contract at over thirteen cents per 
 ration, are near Fort Washita and within the Chickasaw Nation (much 
 of course to the annoyance of the Chickasaws). Now I ask a refer- 
 ence to the Comparative Contracts to feed the two tribes on file in your 
 office, with the Contract for corn and beef given at the two posts men- 
 tioned to supply the Soldiers, on file in the War Office, to convince 
 you that the Witchitas are fed at an exhorbitant cost to the Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 I also herewith enclose a letter from Mr. Dennis Trammel, who 
 was the Contractor to feed the Seminoles; stating that he was willing, 
 and had so stated it to the Supt, to feed the Wichitas for seven cents 
 pr ration. For Mr Trammel's veracity I can avouch and full en- 
 dorsement can be given of it from others, if required ; as can be done 
 for my own character and standing in this community.- 
 
 I intend to follow up this matter to a conclusion, and in so declair- 
 ing must state that I do it without motive of personal malice and 
 simply as an impartial Citizen and a supporter of the administration 
 impelled to the duty in view of the universal acclaim throughout the 
 Country for economy in Govt. expenses on account of the depleted 
 state of the Treasury, Otherwise I might have left the unpleasant af- 
 fair to the proper officers of the Government to find out and determine 
 as they might see proper, 
 
 Let me ask ; - Is it true that the Supt. has received the Two hun- 
 dred thousand dollars due the Creeks under the treaty of 1851, with- 
 out an order from that tribe to the government to send out the money 
 and upon the Supt's own responsibility?- An early reply will greatly 
 oblige me, Very Respectfully Your obt. Svt. A. G. MAYERS. 
 
Fort Smith Papers 
 
 Copy GREENWOOD ARKANSAS April i8th 1859. 
 
 DEAR SIR: I have understood that you was willing to feed the 
 Wichataw Indians at the same price that you received from the Gov- 
 ernment for feeding the Seminole Indians. 
 
 Please state if I am correct in so understanding your propositions 
 Very respectfully Your Obt. Servt. A. G. MAYERS 
 
 Mr Dennis Trammell, at Greenwood Arks. 
 
 Copy BACKBARN Aprial 19. 1859. 
 
 DEAR SIR: I reed your note of the 18 instant and state that you 
 are correct, I have stated that I was willing to feed them at the same 
 price 7 cents. I am Yours, &c. DENNIS TRAMMELL 
 
 Genl, A. G. Myers Esq. 
 
 Copy DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE INDIAN AFFAIRS 
 
 nth May 1859. 
 
 SIR: In reply to your letter of the 2ist Ultimo I have the honor 
 to state that a portion of the funds appropriated by Congress towards 
 defraying the expenses of Colonizing the Wichita and other Indians 
 in the western part of the Choctaw and Chickasaw country, includ- 
 ing their temporary subsistance, has all along been in the hands of 
 Superintendent Rector, to meet any necessary current expenses con- 
 nected with said measure. 
 
 In regard to the contract made with Mr. C. B. Johnson by Super- 
 intendent Rector, for feeding the Witchitas, it was but a temporary 
 measure to meet an emergency, and was fully approved by the late 
 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, under subsequent instructions Supt. 
 Rector, will it is expected, at an early day, make a different arrange- 
 ment, for furnishing said Indians with such subsistence as must neces- 
 sarily be supplied to them by advertising for proposals therefor, or by 
 causing it to be purchased and issued to them direct by an agent of 
 the Government, as may be best and most economical. 
 
 The money due the Creeks under the Treaty of 1856, to which you 
 refer, was placed in Superintendent Rectors hands to be paid to them, 
 in compliance with the formal and urgent demand of the Council of 
 the tribe. Very respectfully Your Obt Servant 
 
 Signed. CHAS. E. Mix, Commissioner ad interim. 
 A. G. Mayers Esq., Fort Smith Arks. 
 
290 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, 
 
 March 14, 1860. 
 
 SIR: Robert J. Cowart, Esq. of Georgia, has been appointed by 
 the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, Agent 
 of the Cherokee Indians in place of George Butler, Esq. whose com- 
 mission has expired. 
 
 He has been directed to report himself to you at Fort Smith for 
 instructions, when you will assign him to duty. His compensation 
 will be at the rate of $1500 per annum, and the time of its commence- 
 ment will be fixed upon when he arrives in this City, which he has 
 been directed to take in his route to Fort Smith. The sufficiency of 
 his bond will also be made the subject of examination at this Office 
 upon his arrival. 
 
 A letter has been written to M r Butler notifying him of the ap- 
 pointment, and directing him to make up and forward his accounts 
 immediately, and to turn over to Mr. Cowart all moneys, papers, and 
 other property in his hands upon application. Very respectfully, Your 
 obedient servant, A. B. GREENWOOD, Commissioner. 
 
 Elias Rector, Esq., Superintendent, &c., Present. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE INDIAN AFFAIRS, 
 
 April 21, 1860. 
 
 SIR : From information that has been received at this Office in re- 
 gard to certain persons, who are residing within the limits of the 
 Cherokee nation, it is found necessary to call your attention to the 
 propriety of seeing that the provisions of the Intercourse law are ob- 
 served with respect to them. By reference to the law, you will find 
 that no person can reside within the limits of the country of any In- 
 dian nation or tribe without permission, and such must be obtained 
 under certain prescribed rules; and even after permission is given, if 
 the party is found abusing the privilege by acting in violation of any 
 of the provisions of law, or is found unfit to reside in the country 
 whether from example, from the want of moral character, from his 
 interference with the institutions of the tribe, from seditious language 
 and teachings, or from any cause tending to disturb the peace and 
 quiet of the tribe, or tending to alienate their attachment to the Gov- 
 ernment of the United States, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 
 and Indian Agents have authority to remove him; and the President 
 is authorized to direct the Military force to be employed in such re- 
 moval. 
 
Fort Smith Papers 291 
 
 The necessity for such power, and for greater facility in carrying 
 the same into execution, was so apparent, that at the first session of 
 the 35th Congress it was found advisable to legislate further in the 
 matter; and the 3rd Section of the Indian appropriation bill was ac- 
 cordingly passed, which is, "That the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
 be, and he is hereby, authorized and required, with the approval of 
 the Secretary of the Interior, to remove from any tribal reservation 
 any person found therein without authority of law, or whose presence 
 within the limits of the reservation may, in his judgment, be detrimen- 
 tal to the peace and welfare of the Indians, and to employ for the pur- 
 pose such force as may be necessary to enable the agent to effect the 
 removal of such person or persons." 
 
 As I remarked before, I am induced to believe that the Cherokees 
 have just cause of complaint from the presence of some such persons 
 within their limits, and it is my desire that you call the attention of 
 the newly appointed Agent particularly to the subject. He should 
 look not only to those cases which are there originally without au- 
 thority of law, but also to those who, with ostensibly worthy purposes, 
 have received permission, and falsified their pretensions. This is a 
 delicate trust, and should be executed with great caution and discre- 
 tion, and you cannot enjoin upon the agent too much care and circum- 
 spection for although I shall examine carefully the grounds of his 
 charges, yet I must be guided in a great measure by his opinion, and 
 am determined that the law shall be enforced. 
 
 You will therefore, so soon as Mr. Cowart shall report to } r ou for 
 duty, communicate to him the contents of this letter, and require him 
 to investigate, as quietly as possible, the cases of all white persons 
 found within the limits of his agency, and report to me, through you, 
 such as are there without the authority of law, and such as may be un- 
 worthy longer to remain although they may have originally had per- 
 mission to enter the country. Very respectfully, Your Obt, Sevt. 
 
 A. B. GREENWOOD, Commissioner. 
 Elias Rector, Esq. ; Fort Smith, Arkansas. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE INDIAN AFFAIRS, 
 
 June 4th 1860. 
 
 SIR : The attention of this office has been called to an article which 
 appeared in the Fort Smith Times (which is herewith enclosed) in 
 which it will be seen that a secret organization has been formed in the 
 Cherokee Nation, which is rapidly increasing. The existence of such 
 
292 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 an organization, the objects of which cannot be misunderstood, has 
 caused in my mind the greatest apprehension as to the future peace 
 and quiet of that country; and, if permitted to mature its plans, will 
 be productive of the worst results. The article alluded to points to 
 the Jones' as being the leaders in this movement, and who have been 
 permitted for a long time to enjoy the privileges of that Nation. It 
 is believed that the ultimate object of this organization is to interfere 
 with the institutions of that people, and that its influences will extend 
 to other tribes upon the Western border of Arkansas. 
 
 This scheme must be broken up: for if it is permitted to ripen, 
 that country will, sooner or later, be drenched in blood. You are 
 aware that there is a large slave property in the Cherokee country, 
 and if any steps are taken by which such property will be rendered un- 
 safe, internal war will be the inevitable result, in which the people of 
 the bordering state will be involved. The relations which the Editor 
 of the Times bears to the Cherokees enables him to procure reliable 
 information from that section which is not accessible to all and hence 
 the greater credit is due to his published statements in relation to the 
 affairs of that people. This office is also in possession of private ad- 
 vices from that country, which fully corroborates the statements in the 
 article referred to. This organization and its purposes are no longer 
 left to mere conjecture. In view of these facts I have to direct that 
 in addition to the instructions contained in a letter from this office, of 
 the 2 ist of April last, the contents of which you were instructed to 
 communicate to Agent Cowart, you will direct him immediately on 
 his arrival at his Agency to cautiously, institute inquiry as to the ex- 
 istence of this secret organization, its objects and purposes; who are 
 the counsellors and advisers of this movement, and proceed at once to 
 break it up; and, if in his investigation he should be satisfied that any 
 white persons residing in the Nation are in any way connected with 
 this organization he will notify such person or persons forthwith to 
 leave the Nation. You will inform Agent Cowart that the Secretary 
 of War will be requested to place such force at his disposal as may be 
 necessary to enforce any order he may deem it his duty to make. You 
 will direct him also to spare neither time or trouble in carrying out 
 these instructions, and that he report direct to this office, advising you 
 in the meantime of his action. 
 
 A copy of this letter has been sent direct to Agent Cowart. Yours 
 Respectfully, A. B. GREENWOOD, Commissioner. 
 
 Elias Rector, Esq., Supt: Ind. Affairs: 
 
 Fort Smith, Arkansas 
 
Fort Smith Papers 293 
 
 TROUBLE BREWING AMONG THE CHEROKEES 
 WHAT DOES IT MEAN? 
 
 The Fort Smith (Ark.) Times says: We noticed a week or two 
 ago that there was a secret organization going on in the Cherokee Na- 
 tion, and that it was among the full-blood Indians alone. We are 
 informed by good authority that the organization is growing and ex- 
 tending daily, and that no half or mixed blood Indian is taken into 
 this secret organization. The strictest secrecy is observed, and it is 
 death, by the order, to divulge the object of the Society. They hold 
 meetings in the thickets, and in every secret place, to initiate members. 
 We are told that the mixed-bloods are becoming alarmed, and every 
 attempt to find out the object of this secret cabal has thus far proved 
 abortive. The Joneses are said to be the leaders in the work, and 
 what these things are tending to, no one can predict. We fear that 
 something horrible is to be enacted on the frontier, and that this secret 
 work will not stop among the Cherokees, but will extend to other 
 tribes on this frontier. The Government should examine into this 
 matter, before it becomes too formidable. 
 
 CHEROKEE AGENCY. Near Tahleguah C.N. 
 HON. ELIAS RECTOR, Supt. Ind. Affairs 
 
 Fort Smith, Ark. 
 
 Sir: Yours of the I5th Inst, is before me, contents closely noted. 
 
 In reply I have to state, that I am in receipt of the Instructions 
 of which you write, from the Indian Ag 1 
 
 And I now hasten to Lay before you the result of my investiga- 
 tions, thus far in this nation, 
 
 Soon after I entered the nation before I had proceeded say half 
 days travel, I was met with complaints against certain persons (white 
 men) who it was said had been enterf earing with the Institution of 
 Slavery - to which I invariably replied to the complainants, bring 
 me the charges - or the witnesses - by whome I can substantiate them, 
 and my duty, will be as pleasent, as promptly fulfilled - none came, 
 
 In Tahlequah in time of Circuit Court, I made a short speach to 
 the Citizens, in which I told them, that if they, or any of them, knew 
 any thing on the subject - to report forthwith to me,- and none have 
 reported and while I have heard much said on the subject I have not 
 as yet been able to get any thing that would do for proof - that would 
 be reliable. And while I make the above statement I do not enter- 
 
294 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 tain a doubt, of the truth of the charges - And being satisfied of the 
 truth of those charges - 1 shall use evry effort to establish them, 
 
 As regards those Secret Societies, I firmly believe, that they are 
 gotten up with a view to aid in coveying those abolition plans of 
 operation, to a successful termination Allow me to ?ay - that I 
 shall continue to travel in and through the Nation (unless differently 
 instructed) until I establish those charges if it can possible be done, 
 
 Mean while, I shall be pleased to recive Instructions and advice 
 from you on the subject, and will keep you advised of my movements, 
 I am Sir with much respect, your obt Servt, 
 
 ROBT. J. COWART, U. S. Cherokee Agent 
 
 Private 
 
 The Second Chief is about to call the Council together to take into 
 consideration the conduct of those white men who are interfearing 
 with the institutions of Slavery - and to devise means by which those 
 Secret Societies may be put down, and when the Council meets, I 
 think we can remidy all those evials - 
 
 I find there are many white men in the nation without permits - 
 and one or two English men, these I shall order to leave the nation 
 Instanter, R. J. COWART 
 
 TAHLEQUAH C. N. July 9th 1860 
 
 DEAR MAJ RECTOR, When I reached home I found that Hon. 
 A. B. Greenwood had been here, stayed two days, and a half & left. 
 I am told that he expressed a verry strong desire to see me but had 
 not time to remain here or go to Fort Smith. 
 
 He has brought his family home to Ark. to remain as he writes 
 me- 
 
 I wish now verry much to see you and Col. Pulliam, of which I 
 have written him, I would go forthwith to see Greenwood but sup- 
 pose from what he wroat me that he had left, or will have done so 
 before I could get there. I am with much respect, your friend 
 
 R. J. COWART 
 Hon. Elias Rector Fort Smith, Ark Tahlequah C.N. 
 
 CHEROKEE AGENCY. TAHLEQUAH C. N. August i5th 1860 
 HON. ELIAS RECTOR, Sup* Ind Affairs Fort Smith, Arks. 
 
 Dear Sir : Tomorrow morning I set out, to the Neutral Lands 
 
Fort Smith Papers 295 
 
 and am advised to take a few men with me which I propos doing, 
 It may be truely said, that, this Nation is in the midest of a crises. 
 I shall be compelled to call for Military aid which I expect to 
 
 do forthwith - 
 
 Immediatly upon my return from the Neutral Lands - 1 expect 
 
 to go to Fort Smith - 
 
 Please Remember me kindly to my friend Col Pulliam - 
 I am very kindly your obt Servt. R. J. Cow ART 
 
 Tahlequah C. N. 
 
 OFFICE U.S. NEOSHO AGENCY, QUAPAW NATION 
 
 Augt 24th 1860 
 
 SIR: By refference to my letter of July nth you will find that I 
 according to your instructions, gave all the intruders upon the Osage 
 reservation notice to leave forthwith, or that they would be removed 
 by Military force. That notice was dated May 22nd 1860, & the 
 intruders are still there, and I have most respectfully now to suggest, 
 that in view of the situation of the Neutral land of the Cherokees and 
 the reserve of the Osages, they, laying adjoining each other, and the 
 great number of squatters therein, I would advise that at least two 
 companies of U. S. Dragoons or Cavalry be called for, both to act 
 together in the removal of the intruders from the Osage and Neutral 
 lands - 
 
 I learn that Major Cowart expects to be at your office in a few 
 days, in order to make a Requisition upon the Commanding Officer 
 of Fort Caleb for Troops to remove the intruders from the Neutral 
 land, and enclosed you will find one from me, which if approved by 
 you, please forward by the same express, in order that the Troops 
 may march together, as their destination is about the same - 
 
 I would also say that in my opinion, that in order that the removal 
 should avail anything that all their improvements should be destroyed 
 by the Troops as they progress - 
 
 Your instructions are requested in all this matter. Very Re- 
 spectfully Your Obt Svt ANDREW J. DORN, U.S. Neosho Agnt 
 Major Elias Rector, Supt Indian Affairs 
 
 Fort Smith Arkansas. 
 
 N.B. Please forward the enclosed letter directed to Capt W. L. 
 Cabell U.S.A. and much oblige yours truly A.J.D. 
 
296 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 EVANSVILLE, ARKS Sept 6th/6o 
 
 FRIEND, THAD ... I wish you woold come up in this part 
 of the country. I am going to start to Campmeeting next Saturday 
 at Cane Hill there was a big Camp meeting a going on when I came 
 here in the nation it was about five miles west of this place. I did 
 not go as I was busy fixing up to work tho if I dont have any bad 
 luck I think I will have a good time at Cane Hill 
 I think business will be pretty good here from the prospects I think 
 I will spend a couple months at Tahlequah this fall. I want to 
 attend the next council there which will begin in Oct. . . . etc. 
 Remain your Friend JNO. C. DICKENSON 
 
 Mark,, T,, Tatum, Greenwood, Arks 
 
 TAHLEQUAH CHEROKEE NATION, September 8th, 1860. 
 HON. ELIAS RECTOR, Supt. Indian Affairs, Fort Smith, Arks. 
 
 Dear Sir, Enclosed please find Copy of letter from the Secre- 
 tary of War, to Hon. A. B. Greenwood - 
 
 Unofficial WAR DEPARTMENT June i/j-th 1860, 
 
 DEAR SIR- In answer to your note of the nth Inst in regard to 
 trouble among the Cherokees, I have to inform you that orders have 
 been given to the Commander of Fort-Cobb, as suggested, Yours 
 &c, Signed JOHN B. FLOYD. 
 
 HON. A. B. GREENWOOD, Commr.- It seems from the above that 
 orders have been given the Commander at Fort Cobb to furnish me 
 Troops to remove intruders from this Nation. I have not heard 
 any thing from Washington since I left Fort Smith. 
 I would be glad to have the Troops as early as convenient, as I feel 
 that I can do but little more without them. 
 
 I this day sent a Notice to John, B. Jones to leave the Nation 
 by the 25th Inst.- which I trust he will do. I am writing to the 
 Department today and giving the facts in reference to this Nation - 
 I have asked for contingent funds, as the requirements of the Depart- 
 ment, are, that money appropriated for one purpose, should not be 
 used for another. 
 
 Please give me the benefit of any information, you have or may 
 get on the subject of Troops. I am as ever your friend And obedient 
 Servt. R. J. Cow ART 
 
 Tahlequah C, N, 
 
Fort Smith Papers 297 
 
 TAHLEQUAH CHEROKEE NATION, Oct 2gth 1860 
 COL. PULLIAM, 
 
 My Dear friend, Will you be so kind as to forward the enclosed 
 Dispatch to Hon A. B. Greenwood Washington D.C. Please Con- 
 sult Capt. Sturgeons, you may, find it necessary, to change it, if so, 
 please make any alteration, you and the Capt may, think best. 
 
 I expect to visit Fort Smith in a few days when I hope to settle 
 up my accounts, and spend some time with you - 1 [illegible] say 
 pleasantly. 
 
 I Learned from Capt , your Recent affliction. Please al- 
 low me to tender to you and Especially to Mrs. Pulliam my heart 
 felt Simpathy. 
 
 Write me by the barer all the News, I send written to Maj. 
 Rector for two hundred Dollars, please see that the matter is ar- 
 ranged. I am very kindly yours, R. J. Cow ART 
 
 Tahlequah C. N. 
 Col R. P. Pulliam, Fort Smith Ark. 
 
 FORT SMITH A.R.K. Oct sist 1860. 
 HON. A. B. GREENWOOD Com. Ind. Affairs, Washington D.C. 
 
 Intruders Removed from Neutral land - much desire to confer 
 with you and [illegible] in person with Capt Sturgeons who com- 
 manded Troops. R. J. COWART, U.S. Cherokee Agent 
 
 SIR: I have received reliable information that Forts Washita, 
 Arbuckle, and Cobb, all in the Choctaw & Chickasaw Nations, and 
 recently abandoned by Federal troops, are now in possession of Texas 
 State troops, and that Texas is now urging at Montgomery, that the 
 Wichita Indians and bands affiliated with them, occupying the district 
 of Country between the 98 and 100 degrees west longitude & between 
 Red River & Canadian leased by the United States from the Choctaws 
 & Chickasaws, for the purpose of Locating said Indians are within the 
 Jurisdiction of this, the Southern Superintendency, and by an exam- 
 ination of the treaty of 1855 made between the U. S and the Choc- 
 taws & Chickasaws, you cannot fail to see the impropriety of the 
 Indians occupying said district being attached to the Jurisdiction of 
 Texas, unless she also extends her Jurisdiction over the Choctaws 
 and Chickasaws.- Texas has tried on several occasions heretofore to 
 have those Indians in the Leased district placed under her jurisdic- 
 
298 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 tion, but the Indians regard her as their ancient, and present enemy, 
 and will never consent to such arrangement, 
 
 I have thought it my duty to call your attention to the subject 
 that you may, if you think it expedient, lay it before your Honorable 
 body for such action as it may think proper in the premises. Very 
 Respectfully Your obt Servt ELIAS RECTOR, Supt. Ind Affairs. 
 Hon David Walker, President Arks. State Convention. 
 
 CHEROKEE AGENCY, May the i5th 1861 
 To the Superintendent of Indian Affairs 
 
 Fort Smith Arks. 
 
 SIR: I have the honor of making the following report have this 
 day taken into my possession as Agent for the Cherokee Indians, the 
 following property as left by late Agent R. J. Corvort (gone) Dwell- 
 ing house Kitchen and other out houses one office, houses all in bad 
 repair one farm belonging to the Agency, in bad repair one table 
 three desks and papers all in very bad condition one box containing 
 old papers almost distroyed by rats one letter press and Books one 
 Rule one Inkstand and letter Stamp one chair one Iron Safe. I also 
 have in my possession 14 Bounty Land Warrants received by me from 
 you at office of Superintendency left by R. J. Corvort late Agent and 
 receipted for by me to Superintendant the Book on Treaties as re- 
 ported to of been, left by R. J. Corvort in office not found by me. 
 Yours Respectifully JOHN CRAWFORD, U.S. Agent for Cherokees 
 Elias Rector, Superintendant Indian Affairs. 
 
 WICHITA AGENCY L.D., June 30-1861 
 
 SIR, Enclosed herewith I have the honor to transmit my quar- 
 terly return, for the second quarter of the current year, and with it 
 my operations as a Federal Officer will cease. 
 
 The seizure of the mules, wagon etc. by Gen 1 Burrow, rendered it 
 necessary in my judgment, to issue at once to the Indians all the public 
 property, moneys and effects in my hands, intended for their use and 
 benefit by the original U. S. Government ; believing as I do, that the 
 moneys and other means which I have held in trust for them, would 
 be as liable to seizure as the mules and wagon were, and result in a 
 loss : the losses sustained by them on the Arkansas River and at Fort 
 Smith by fire of very many of their goods, cause them to be in much 
 need of the goods which I have issued, more particularly as there ap- 
 pears to be no arrangements by which they may expect supplies dur- 
 
Fort Smith Papers 299 
 
 ing the present year. The sudden withdrawal of the troops spread 
 alarm and disquiet through the different settlements or encampments, 
 many of them fled from the L.D. with a hope elsewhere to find 
 security and protection, the remainder would have followed, but for 
 the issue of goods which I made them, and assurances that they would 
 not be molested. 
 
 With these remarks submitted, I have the honor to be, sir, Very 
 Respectfully Your Ob't Srv't, M. LEEPER, Ind. Agt. 
 
 Major Elias Rector, Supt. Ind. Affairs 
 
 Fort Smith, Arks. 
 
 ESTIMATE OF FUNDS REQUIRED IN THE OFFICE OF 
 
 SUPERINTENDENT INDIAN AFFAIRS ARKANSAS 
 
 SUPURENTENDENCY. 
 
 For Salary of Superintendent, for l /z year of 1861. which 
 
 includes 3 & 4th qrs. at $2 .000 -per Anum . . $1000.00 
 
 Pay of Clerk l / 2 year 3 & 4th qrs. at $1.500- . . 750.00 
 
 " " Interpreter " " " 400- . . 200.00 
 
 ' Traveling expences. Contingences of office &c . 500.00 
 
 $2.450.00 
 Office rent for l /2 year .... 200.00 
 
 $2.65000 
 
 ESTIMATE OF FUNDS NECESSARY FOR DISBURSMENT 
 TO SEMINOLE INDIANS UP TO 3oTH DECEMBER 1861 
 AS PROVIDED FOR BY TREATY OF ;TH AUGUST 1856 
 
 To provide for the Support of Schools for ten years the 
 sum of $3000 -per Annun. from 7th August, 1856 
 to 3Oth December 1861. . , . . $16.000.00 
 
 For agricultural assistance, from 3Oth December 1859 
 
 to 3Oth December 1861. at $2000 -per Annm . 4.00000 
 
 For the Support of Smiths & Smith Shops from 3Oth 
 December 1859. to 3Oth Deer. 1861. at $2.200 per 
 Annum . . . , ." 4.400.00 
 
 Interest on $500.000 - invested at 5 per Centum from 
 
 30th Deer 1860 to 3Oth Deer 1861. ,-.. . 25.000.00 
 
 $49.400 oo 
 
300 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Pay of Agent for year 1861 . . . . 1.500.00 
 
 " " Interpreter for year 1861 . . 400.00 
 
 Contingent expenses of Office .... 300.00 
 Provisions for Indians attending payments of annuities & 
 
 visiting Agency on business .... 30000 
 
 $2.50000 
 
 Amount invested by Old U S government for Seminoles as per treaty 
 7th August 1856 at 5 per centum. $500.000 - This amount has never 
 been invested in State bonds but held by the Government. 
 
 ESTIMATE OF FUNDS NECESSARY FOR DISBURSMENT 
 TO CREEK INDIANS FROM 3oTH JUNE TO 3iST DE- 
 CEMBER 1861. AND BALANCES DUE THEM BY THE OLD 
 U. S. GOVERNMENT. UP TO 3oTH JUNE 1861. 
 
 Permanent provisions for Blacksmiths for y?. year 1861. 1.680.00 
 
 " Iron & Steel " " " 540.00 
 
 " Wheelwrights " " " 300.00 
 
 " Wagon Makers " " " 300.00 
 " Agricultural assistance for ^ 
 
 year . . . i.ooo.oo 
 Interest on $200.000 - at 5 per Centum, for purposes of 
 
 Education, from 3Oth June 1860 to 3Oth June 1861. 10.000.00 
 
 Interest on same from 3Oth June to 3Oth December " 5 ooo oo 
 Unexpended balances Interest due on same, up to 3Oth 
 
 June 1860 which has never been paid . . 15.00000 
 
 $33.82000 
 
 Pay of Agent for 3 & 4 qrs 1861 . . . 750.00 
 
 " Interpreter 3 & 4 qrs 1861 . . . 200.00 
 
 Contingent Expences " " " " . . 1 50.00 
 
 Provisions for Indians at payment of Annuities . . 150.00 
 
 $35.070.00 
 
Fort Smith Papers 301 
 
 AMOUNT OF MONEY DUE CREEK INDIANS ANNUAL- 
 LY UNDER TREATY ;TH AUGUST 1856 
 
 Permanent Annuity . .. . . . $24500.00 
 
 Permanent provisions for Blacksmiths . . . 3.36000 
 
 " Iron & Steel . . . 54O.OO 
 
 " Wheelwrights . . 60000 
 
 " " " Wagonmakers . . 60000 
 
 Assistance in Agriculture. . . . 2.000.00 
 
 Interest on $2OO.OO. at 5 per centum for purposes of 
 
 Education . . io.ooo.oo 
 
 $41.600.00 
 
 Amounts due Creek Indians for amounts 
 
 invested by Treaty 7th August 1856. 
 
 For purposes of Education . . $200000 
 
 Creek Orphan fund . . . 200 741 
 
 $400.741 
 
 CREEK ORPHAN FUND INVESTED AS FOLLOWS 
 
 In Bonds of State of Kentucky at 5pr Cent, . $1.00000 
 
 " " " " Missouri " 5*/ 2 " . 28.00000 
 
 " " " " " " 6 " . 28.000.00 
 
 " " " " " Tennessee " 5 . 20.000.00 
 
 " " " " Virginia " 6 . 7380000 
 
 United States "6 " . 49 941 oo 
 
 $200.741.00 
 
 NORTH FORK OF CANADIAN RIVER, 5th July 1861 
 SIR: On receipt of this you will please effect a continuance, on 
 behalf of the Confederate States of America, with Mr. Charles B. 
 Johnson of Fort Smith, of the contract existing up to 3Oth June last 
 between the United States of America and himself, for feeding the 
 Wichitas, Caddoes, and other kindred and other bands of Indians 
 now settled in the country leased from the Choctaws and Chickasaws. 
 If no more favorable terms can be effected, you are authorized to 
 adopt those of the former contract, with its conditions and stipula- 
 tions in all respects. 
 
 You will provide that the contract shall end, at the pleasure of the 
 
302 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, on the 3ist day of December 1861, 
 and not sooner; and that it shall be at his option to continue it for 
 such further term as he may please, upon the same terms in all 
 respects. 
 
 You will provide that the contract shall relate to, and take effect 
 as of the first day of July 1861 : and you will receive bond, in form 
 used by the United States, but to the Confederate States, with suffi- 
 cient sureties, and in such sum as you may consider sufficient to en- 
 sure faithful performance. I have the honor to be, Sir 
 
 ALBERT PIKE, Commissioner of the Conf. 
 States to Indian Tribes West of Arkansas. 
 Elias Rector Esq, Superintendent Ind. Affairs, 
 
 Arkansas Superintendency. 
 
 Agreement made and entered into, this I4th day of August 1861, 
 at the Wichita Agency, between Albert Pike, Commissioner of the 
 Confederate States of America to the Indians west of Arkansas, of 
 the one part, and Charles B. Johnson of the County of Sebastian and 
 State of Arkansas, of the other part. 
 
 This agreement witnesseth, that the said Albert Pike, Commis- 
 sioner as aforesaid, for and on behalf of the Confederate States of 
 America and the said Charles B. Johnson, his heirs executors and 
 administrators, have covenanted and agreed, and by these presents do 
 covenant mutually and agree to and with each other as follows to wit : 
 
 That the said Charles B. Johnson, his heirs, executors and admin- 
 istrators, shall and will supply and issue or cause to be issued and 
 supplied at such times and places in the Leased District west of the 
 98th degree of west longitude as the Wichita Agent may direct, daily 
 rations to the several Tribes and Bands of Comanches, Wichitas and 
 other Indians that now are or may hereafter during the continuance 
 of the present contract be settled in the said Leased District, for and 
 during the term of one full year, commencing with the sixteenth day 
 of August instant, at the price of sixteen cents for each complete 
 ration issued as aforesaid: which rations shall be issued, one for each 
 individual in all of said Tribes and Bands and shall consist of one 
 pound of fresh beef or fresh pork, and three quarters of a quart of 
 corn or corn meal or one pound of flour to every ration, with four 
 quarts of salt, three pounds of coffee, six pounds of sugar, two quarts 
 of vinegar, one and a half pounds of tallow and three pounds of soap 
 to every hundred rations. 
 
 Payment shall be made quarterly for the rations furnished under 
 
Fort Smith Papers 303 
 
 this contract, but in the event of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
 being without funds for such purposes, the payment to be made as 
 soon thereafter as funds are provided for such purposes. 
 
 This contract may be terminated in whole or in any part at any 
 time by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, upon equitable terms 
 and conditions whenever it shall be deemed expedient to do so upon 
 giving thirty days' notice of such intention. 
 
 Witness our hands and seals the day and year first above written. 
 Signed and Sealed in triplicate 
 
 ALBERT PIKE, Commissioner of the Confederate States 
 
 Signed and Sealed in our presence. 
 
 WM QUESENBURY CHARLES. B. JOHNSON. 
 
 W WARREN JOHNSON 
 
 NORTH FORK OF THE CANADIAN RIVER, 5th July 1861 
 
 SIR: I have sent a Special Messenger to the Wichita and other 
 Indians on the Reserve in the Country leased from the Choctaws 
 and Chickasaws, requesting Black Beaver, and other Captains and 
 Chiefs to meet me at the Seminole Agency on the 22nd instant, in 
 order to hear a talk from me and enter into a Treaty. If they should 
 not do so, I shall go from the Seminole Agency to the Reserve for 
 that purpose. 
 
 As it was through your instrumentality these Bands were settled 
 on the Reserve, and the promises made them were made through 
 you, and as you are favorably known to them for these reasons, and 
 as the Head of the Superintendency of Indian Affairs in which they 
 are included, your presence and cooperation with me, in negotiating 
 with them, will, I am very sure, be of great service. 
 
 I therefore request, that, if your health and other duties permit, 
 you will be present with me at the Seminole Agency on the 22nd, 
 and accompany me, if necessary, to the Reserve. 
 
 I shall leave this place about the Qth, and at furtherst by the loth, 
 and go round by Forts Washita and Arbuckle. I shall be gratified 
 if you can so time your movements as to overtake me on the way. 
 
 I wish also to suggest that the presence of the Agent, Mr. Leeper, 
 will be indispensable, and to desire you to direct him to accompany 
 you, that he may as soon as possible repair to his Agency. I have the 
 honor to be With deep regards your obt Svt 
 
 ALBERT PIKE, Commissioner of the Confederate 
 
 States to Indian Tribes west of Arkansas. 
 
 Elias Rector, Esq, Superintendent Ind. Aff. Arkansas Superintendency. 
 
304 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Confederate 
 
 THE HNFFEB STATES, 
 
 TO Elias Rector 
 
 DR. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Dolls. Cts 
 
 1861 
 August 24 
 
 For Services rendered assisting Comr. 
 Pike in making treaties with Seminole, 
 Wichita And Commanche Indians un- 
 der orders so to do, by Comr. Pike, 
 from loth July to 24th August 1861 
 inclusive 45 days at $5.00 pr day 
 
 For hire of Bugg. horses & driver for 
 same length of time at $5 per day 
 
 For hire of wagon team & driver for 
 same service & same time, to Trans- 
 port tent Baggage provisions &c. at 
 $5 per day .... 
 
 Forrage for 4 horses for same length of 
 time and for same service 50 cents per 
 day each horse 
 
 Paid ferrage Crossing streams . 
 
 225 
 
 225 
 
 225 
 
 90 
 
 oo 
 
 oo 
 
 00 
 
 00 
 
 $765 
 
 8 
 
 oo 
 oo 
 
 $77300 
 
 Received at 185 , of ELIAS RECTOR, 
 
 Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southern Superintendency, 
 
 Dollars in full of this account 
 
 $ 
 
 (Triplicate.) 
 
 I CERTIFY, on honor, that the above account is correct and just, 
 and that I have actually, this day of 185 , 
 
 paid the amount thereof. Sup't Indian Affairs. 
 
 WICHITA AGENCY L. D. Sept. i5th 1861 
 
 SIR; A considerable amount of intermittent fever has made its 
 appearance at this place, supposed to be occasioned by an unusual 
 degree of dampness produced by the most luxuriant growth of veg- 
 etation I ever knew, and the recent heavy rains which have been 
 
Fort Smith Papers 305 
 
 almost incessant for many days past, it gives us just cause of alarm 
 as we are entirely out of medicines of almost every kind and placed 
 at so remote a distance from the settlements, that none can be pro- 
 cured short of a visit to Fort Smith ; I had a slight attack of fever 
 myself and luckily for me, Dr. Shirley discovered a small portion of 
 Quinine which I partly consumed, and which had escaped the vigilant 
 search of the so called Texas Troops at the time they took from him 
 his medicines and medical books, and transferred them to parts un- 
 known. These causes in addition to some information in reference 
 to Indians which I will impart, I hope will be considered an ample 
 apology for incuring the expenses of an Express, I have employed a 
 man at $3.00 per day, he bears his own expense, and runs the risk of 
 meeting with wild Indians and land Sharks by the way. 
 
 The renowned Indian warrior and Chief Buffalo Hump has made 
 his appearance with fifteen or sixteen followers, the remainder of the 
 Indians and the principal part of his own party, he says are encamped 
 on the Canadian and head waters of the Washita, he called on me 
 the second day after his arrival, and told me that he was now old and 
 desirous of abandoning the war path, and spending his latter days in 
 quietness and peace with all men, but said the winter would soon be 
 at hand, and that he would require a much better house than any he 
 saw at the Comanche Camp, that he thought if he had a house, such 
 as the Agency building, that he would be warm in cold weather, and 
 that he would be content to live in it, and pursue the walks of white 
 men, I replied to him that I knew he was a great man and had an 
 immense amount of influence with the wild tribes, and that the Con- 
 federate States had also heard of him, and that if he thought proper 
 to bring in his people and settle down in good faith on the Reserve, 
 quit stealing and depredating upon the country, that they would give 
 him all that had been promised, and that he might calculate, that if 
 houses were built for him, that they would not be as good as those at 
 the Comanche Camp, that several of those houses were more extensive 
 and expensive, than would be deemed necessary in future, that he 
 might only look for small cabins, and perhaps only receive assistance 
 in their erection, that it was the object of the Confederate States to 
 learn the Indians to work and support themselves, not to work for 
 them and support them; that upon those terms if he were disposed to 
 settle I would be glad to receive him, if not, it mattered but little, 
 that he was at liberty to pursue just such course as suited him best. 
 The next day he called again his tone and bearing was altogether 
 
306 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 changed, professed to be satisfied and said at the falling of the leaves, 
 the time appointed for settlement and consumating the Treaty with 
 Capt. Pike, he would be here with his people. He gave it as his 
 opinion that the others who had a conference with Capt. Pike would 
 not come in or settle; but I learn from Py-oh who went out with 
 those Chiefs and returned with Buffalo Hump that their respective 
 bands are divided in sentiment, that about half of each band will 
 come in and settle, and that the others will probably remain on the 
 prairies, they have large bands of stolen horses and mules, and he 
 thinks they are afraid to bring them in, lest they should be taken away 
 from them. 
 
 Jim Ned and the other Delawares with the exception of one family 
 left the Reserve without any cause, he returned from his first en- 
 campment and attempted to persuade Jim Pock Marked to leave with 
 his people, by telling him that he would be assailed by the Texans be- 
 fore long, and if not by them, most certainly by the northern Troops, 
 and that he had better leave at once, and save the lives of his women 
 and children. Jim Ned is a most unmitigated scoundrel, and I have 
 no doubt that most if not all the disquiet heretofore produced among 
 the Reserve Indians might be traced to him, and I think it very for- 
 tunate that he has abandoned the Reserve, by doing so, he has forfeited 
 his right of citizenship upon it, and the protection which the Con- 
 federate States had guaranteed to him. 
 
 I learn from an Indian Mexican and a half breed Delaware Indian 
 who have recently returned from Santa Fe, that all the northern In- 
 dians who visit that part of the country are amply armed and equiped 
 by the Federalists, and sent in every direction over the plains as spy 
 Companies, that propositions of the like character, had been made to 
 the Southern Indians, but not accepted, they are now regarded as 
 enemies, and have retracted farther South, not being permitted to in- 
 habit the country or travel as far north as heretofore; Py-oh re- 
 marked that they were herded in by Texas and Mr. Lincoln's govern- 
 ment like a band of horses or cattle. 
 
 Please forward by my Expressman, blank forms of every descrip- 
 tion, and ask Mr. Johnson to forward blank forms for provision 
 checks; you will also oblige me by making an application for the 
 Indian mules taken by Burrow, and by aiding the bearer to procure 
 the public wagon and my harness which were loaned to Algernon 
 Cabell. 
 
 You are aware that I cannot close my returns without funds for 
 
Fort Smith Papers 307 
 
 the purpose, when shall I look for them? Very Respectfully Your 
 obt. Srvt. M. LEEPER, Ind. Agent 
 
 Elias Rector Esqr., Supt. Ind. Affairs 
 Fort Smith Arks. 
 
 CREEK AGENCY, Sept soth 1861 
 
 SIR: I have the honor to hand you herewith the Bond License, 
 and Invoices of John Barnwell of the Creek Nation 
 Very Respectfully Your Obt Servant 
 
 W. H. GARRETT, C.S. Agent for Creeks 
 Maj Elias Rector, Superintendent C. A. 
 Fort Smith, Ar 
 
 TAHLEQUAH C. N. October the loth 1861 
 MAJ ELIAS RECTOR, Superintendant of Indian Affairs, 
 
 Fort Smith, Ark. 
 
 Dear Sir: I have the honor of transmitting through your office 
 to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Richmond a requisition for 
 the Annuities School and Orphan funds due the Cherokee Indian on 
 Stock invested up to July 1861. I send two copies. If it is not neces- 
 sary to send but on[e] you can arrange that in regard to the leave of 
 Asence that I wished you to grant me I will not ask for owing to the 
 Governor declaring my seat vacant in the Legislator and ordering an 
 election though I am under many obligations to you for your willing- 
 ness to grant me leave the Treaty will be ratified today. Every thing 
 going on well the Texas Troops passed through on Wednesday the 
 Creek excitement turned out to be nothing I shall be anxious to hear 
 from you at any time on all subjects I have the honor Sir to be 
 your most obedient Servnt 
 
 JOHN CRAWFORD Agent Cherokees, C.S.A. 
 Hon. E. Rector, Superintendant Indian Affairs 
 
 TAHLEQUAH, C. N. October loth, 1861 
 DAVID HUBBARD Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Richmond, Va. 
 
 Dear Sir: I have the honor to make out and transmit to you a 
 requisition for the Annuities due the Cherokee Indians for the year 
 1860 and 1861 
 
 For the installments of interest on the permanent General fund as 
 estimated for July 1860 and January and July 1861 forty three Thou- 
 sand and three hundred and Seventy two dollars and thirty six Cents 
 
 $43 372 36 
 
308 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 For the installments of interest on the permanent Orphan fund as 
 estimated and uninvested for July 1860 and January and July 1861 
 four thousand and five hundred dollars $4.500 
 
 For tiie installment of interest on the permanent School fund as es- 
 timated for July 1860 and January and July 1861 Seventeen thousand 
 Seven hundred and Seventy two dollars $17.772. 
 
 Total Amount due the Cherokees on Stock invested Sixty five Thou- 
 sand Six hundred and forty four dollars and thirty Six Cents 
 
 $65.644.36 
 
 One half years pay of Agent . . . 75000 
 
 Contingent expenses, l /2 year . . . 75 oo 
 
 pay of interpreter l /2 year . . . 200.00 
 
 $66.669.36 
 
 Sir the Statement as made out is correct to the best of my judgment 
 I have been acting as Agent for the Cherokee Indians Since the 22nd 
 day of April 1861 Came by request of Hon R. W. Johnson of Arkan- 
 sas, received a letter from the Hon David Hubbard Commissioner 
 of Indian Affairs dated 12 June 1861 requesting me to try and get 
 along as Agent of the Cherokees the best that I Could which I have 
 done to the best advantage and evry thing here is working well for 
 the South I have not received any moneys from the Lincoln goven- 
 ment Since I have been acting as Agent for the Cherokee Indians 
 Your most obedient Servt JOHN CRAWFORD, 
 
 Agent for the Cherokee Indians West of Arkansas, C.S.A. 
 David Hubbard, Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
 Richmond, Va 
 
 WICHITA AGENCY L.D. Oct. 2ist 1861 
 
 SIR : Five weeks ago I despatched a messenger to Fort Smith with 
 a report to you, and for medicines for the Agency and Indians; since 
 which time I have heard nothing either from the report or messenger, 
 sufficient time has elapsed for the man to have made two trips. In 
 the report of that date I apprised you of the sickness which had and 
 still prevails here to a considerable extent, and that we are destitute of 
 medicines : Dr. Shirley's supplies having been forcibly taken from him 
 by persons from Texas, claiming to act as a military posse from that 
 State. You are aware that we are entirely cut off from mail facilities, 
 and from an opportunity of procuring medicines of any description 
 short of Fort Smith, the want of which has been excessively annoying, 
 
Fort Smith Papers 309 
 
 and perhaps the occasion of several deaths ; this report will be handed 
 you by a second messenger, whom I hope you will furnish with a 
 supply of Quinine, Calomel and blue mass if nothing more. 
 
 On friday last a man was shot at by an Indian in company with six 
 others within a mile of the late Fort Cobb; on the next day two 
 Indians arrived as messengers on the part of the Kiowas and all the 
 Southern bands of Comanches, who are said to be encamped on the 
 North Canadian within four days ride of this place; they say that 
 their intention is to be here at the falling of the leaves, to conclude a 
 treaty with Capt. Pike. The Kiowas inform us that they received 
 the white beads and tobacco from Capt. Pike, and that they desire to 
 be on terms of friendship with us, that it is the wish of the whole band, 
 with the exception of one bad man and fifteen or twenty followers, 
 whom they cannot control, and that they desire us to kill them, that 
 if it is not done, they will surely commit serious depredations, and 
 that they believe they are now in this vicinity. 
 
 The Indians at present on the Canadian are supposed to number 
 Seven or eight thousand, and if they should come here as is anticipat- 
 ed, they will require a large amount of provision, I would therefore 
 respectfully suggest the propriety of your notifying the Contractor of 
 the fact, that he may not be taken on Surprise : you will also perceive 
 the necessity of Capt. Pike or some other duly authorized person, to 
 be here at the appointed time to consummate treaties with them; 
 they say that no further depredations will be committed on Texas, 
 provided the twenty men above described are killed. 
 
 It is impossible for me to keep you advised of the affairs of this 
 reserve without some kind of mail facilities, therefore, I hope you will 
 unhesitatingly employ some one to carry the mail once in two weeks 
 at least, until such time as the Government shall have made permanent 
 arrangements, it is not more strange than true, that I have not since 
 my arrival here on the Sixth of August, received a solitary news paper 
 or any other item of news, except such as can be gathered from an 
 occasional stragling teamster, and that is the most reliable informa- 
 tion that I have in reference to the battle at Springfield, the partic- 
 ulars of which I know very little. 
 
 When Capt. Pike left here it was his intention to have the place 
 garrisoned in the shortest time practicable, he left authority with 
 Jno. Jones to enlist thirty Indians to act as a protection to the 
 Agency, and as a spy company in its vicinity, Jno. Jones could only 
 enlist Seventeen, all Comanches, those and the few employees on the 
 
310 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 reserve are the only protection we have, and I would not give a fig 
 for the security the Indians would afford me in a case of actual danger, 
 they might be useful however in giving information of the approach 
 of an enemy: I shall feel obliged if you will inform me of the time 
 the troops may be expected, if the day is far distant, I shall deem it 
 my indispensable duty to select some place of security and safety for 
 my family, if it is the intention or wish of the Confederate Govern- 
 ment to leave this place ungarrisoned, I am willing to risk the con- 
 sequences myself, but I am unwilling to detain my family, where they 
 are in danger of being destroyed by savages: it is also apparent that 
 no Agent can exercise the control necessary to fill the expectations of 
 the Government, without the means placed within his reach of doing 
 so; without troops the most flagrant violations of the Intercourse 
 Laws might be practiced every day with impugnity; and without 
 funds to meet the expenses incident to the Agency, the employees can- 
 not be retained a great while. Those Indians who expect to treat 
 with Capt. Pike expect also supplies of blankets and clothing, and 
 white men to instruct them in the erection of houses for the winter. 
 
 Please advise me by the return of my messenger, when troops may 
 be expected, at what time the Commissioner will be here, and funds to 
 enable me to forward my accounts. The Estimates submitted in 
 August, in addition to the more liberal allowances of Capt. Pike in 
 his recent treaty with the Indians, I hope will be all that is required 
 on my part at present. 
 
 One of the Articles in Capt. Pike's late treaty, appears to be an 
 offense to the people of Texas, and I think it very doubtful whether 
 any assistance could be derived from that quarter, if we were threat- 
 ened with the most iminent danger: with these remarks submitted, 
 I have the honor to be, Very Respectfully Your Obt. Servt. 
 
 M. LEEPER, Indian Agent 
 Elias Rector Esq, Supt. Ind. Affairs 
 
 Fort Smith Arks 
 
 FORT SMITH ARKANSAS, Nov. 7th 1861 
 MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR, Superintendent of Indian affairs 
 
 Sir: As you intemated to me a few days since you ware going to 
 Richmond, and would do me a favor if it Laid in your Power 
 
 I ask you for the appointment of Forage Master at Fort Smith 
 and The Authority of Selling off all condemd Goverment Property 
 belonging to the confederate Stats at Fort Smith vanburen and Fay- 
 
Fort Smith Papers 311 
 
 etteville, you can Sir do me this favour, I am also a good judge of 
 Stock capable of receiving and receipting for any property belonging 
 belonging to the quarter masters department,, Such as horses mules 
 oxen and Waggens 
 
 I want this appointment for The, Sole purpose of keeping yenkee 
 Edwards, from dying with a very common Disease in the Garrison 
 cald the Big head I am Sir with much Respect your Obt, Servent 
 
 THOS. McCARRON 
 
 P.,S if you do me this favour I will discharge the duties with Honour 
 to you, and credit to Myself T.M.C 
 
 RICHMOND 21" November 1861. 
 
 SIR: The Commissioner of Indian Affairs has caused to be trans- 
 mitted to New Orleans the sum of twenty five thousand dollars, to be 
 used in purchasing the articles that are to be supplied to the Coman- 
 ches and other Reserve Indians. As soon as you arrive here the money 
 will be placed at your disposal. 
 
 As soon as possible after receipt of this letter, you will please send 
 a proper person to the Wichita Agency, and let the Comanches who 
 it is said are encamped, waiting for the leaves to fall, that they may 
 come in and settle, that I have been delayed, by circumstances that I 
 could not control, so as not to be able to meet them as soon as I in- 
 tended ; but that you will bring or send up their goods, and I will 
 meet them during the winter. It is important that this should be told 
 them at once. It would be better, if Col. Pulliam can go there him- 
 self, that he should do so. I do not know who else would answer. 
 
 Orders go by the messenger who takes this, from the Acting Com- 
 missioner to Agent Leeper, directing him to use all the government 
 laborers in putting up houses for the Comanches who are coming in, 
 and not to use them for any other purpose. If it is possible to send 
 up additional laborers, it had better be done. I am very respectfully 
 yours ALBERT PIKE, Commissioner of the Confederate 
 
 States to the Indian tribes West of Arkansas 
 Major Elias Rector, Superintendent of Ind. Affairs. 
 
 FORT SMITH, Novr. 22d 1861. 
 
 DR MAJOR. I send you the enclosed document from the Acting 
 Comr. Ind Affairs, reed here today. As I cannot respond to it for 
 you as you are there on the ground I send it to you for you to make 
 such reply as you think proper, in the premises. 
 
312 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 We have just reed authentic information from the armies above,, 
 the federals have left Springfield and are making their way towards 
 St. Louis, for what cause is not certainly known but it is thought that 
 their army have become demoralized by the displacing of Fremont 
 and the appointment of Hunter to the Command. Genl Price broke 
 up his encampment at Pineville at day light on Saturday last, and at 
 last accounts was at Sarcoxie. making his way towards the Mo. River 
 it is thought he is pursuing Hunter, you will see by an examination 
 of the map that he will cut of a considerable distance by that route. 
 Coming into the road Hunter will have to travel at Bolivar, or War- 
 saw. On the same day, (Saturday last) Genl McColloch took four 
 hundred picked men from each of his Mounted Regiments making 
 2000 men with ten days provisions and started in the direction of 
 Prices army, his destination however is not known, it is supposed 
 however that he & Price are going to throw their Cavalry forward 
 to attack & cut off, or hold until their Infantry can be brought up., 
 Hunters army. Whether these conjectures are true or not time will 
 tell. Cooper is on the march after Opothleyohola. who it is said has 
 taken Maj Emorys trail through Kansas towards Leaven worth, 
 
 Small Pox still raging Mrs Nowland lost a negro to day. I 
 saw your boy Henry to day he says your family are all well. 
 
 My kind regards to Pike. Also to Mr Scott. Your friend &c 
 
 R. P. PULLIAM 
 
 The above war news is reliable, and you can give the information to 
 the papers if you wish. P 
 
 I write this in Suttons Store, he says the above contains all the news 
 we have, all of which is confirmed by Messengers and private letters. 
 Consequently he will not write as he promised until something further 
 turns up P 
 
 TISHOMINGO C.N., Nov. 26, 1 86 1 
 GEN. A. G. MAYERS 
 
 Sir: Having appointed as a Delegate from this Nation to the 
 Southern Congress, am at a loss when the Congress does meet. I 
 have all along understood from newspaper accounts that it was to be 
 on the 22d of February but some seems to think it is sooner. Will 
 you please inform me at your earliest convenience at what time the 
 S. Congress does meet. Your attention to the above is respectfully 
 requested I am yours very Respectfully JAMES GAMBLE 
 
 P.S. Please continue to send me the Parallel. I will make it all 
 right with you when on my way to Va. J.G. 
 
Fort Smith Papers 313 
 
 OFFICE SUPT. IND. AFFAIRS FORT SMITH, Deer. 1861 
 MR. JESSE CHISHOLM 
 
 Dear Sir: I have just returned from Richmond where I have 
 been to see the President on Indian business. I wish you to go out 
 immediately and see the bands of Comanches that are encamped above 
 Fort Cobb and tell them that it is the wish of their great father at 
 Richmond that they come in at once and settle on the reserve, that so 
 soon as they do so they will be furnished with Beef - Flour, Salt, 
 Sugar & Coffee. And that the great father says that all the goods & 
 things that Commissioner Pike promised them will be furnished and 
 given to them. That the Arkansas River has now too little water in 
 it for Steam Boats to come up from the big Cities to bring goods, but 
 as soon as the big water comes in the River and Boats come up their 
 great father will send up to them many large wagons filled with nice 
 goods that I want them to send four or five of their Chiefs and head 
 men to Genl. Pikes head quarters, near Fort Gibson where he and 
 myself will meet them and talk with them and give them a great many 
 presents and satisfy them that the government will do all that Com- 
 missioner Pike promised them. I wish Buffalo Hump and his band 
 now on the reserve to be told this, and for him and four or five of 
 his principal men to come also,. I will direct the Contractor at the 
 Wichita Agency to furnish them with Rations to bring them over 
 and I will furnish them with Rations to return home, tell them to 
 bring, in all about twenty pack horses to carry back their presents. I 
 want them to meet us at Genl Pikes Camp or head quarters near Fort 
 Gibson, on the first of February if possible I have written a letter to 
 T Caraway inviting him to come with some three or four of his men 
 and I wish you to urge him to come, Commissioner Pike is now in 
 Richmond with their great father making arrangements to get their 
 goods and to do much for them he would have been up to see them 
 at the falling of the leaves but he has been very sick and could not 
 travel he is now well and will be here soon and will go from here to 
 his head quarters. [ELIAS RECTOR] 
 
 CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT, 
 Office of Indian Affairs, Richmond, Dec ad, 1 86 1. 
 MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR, Superintendent of Indian Affairs. 
 
 Sir: I am instructed by the Secretary of War to say that three 
 requisitions have been drawn by him on the Secretary of the Treas- 
 
314 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 ury in your favor, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs &c.,- One for 
 nine thousand, six hundred and fifty dollars, dated Dec. 4th 1861, 
 one for two thousand, one hundred and four dollars and fifty cents, 
 dated December 5th 1861, and the other for thirty thousand dollars, 
 dated December 6th 1861. 
 
 With the money received by you upon the first named requisition, 
 you will pay Charles B. Johnson, the amount of his account against 
 the Confederate States for Beef furnished certain Bands of Reserve 
 Indians, from July ist to August i6th under a verbal contract made 
 by him with Albert Pike, Commissioner, &c., and also pay the mount- 
 ed escort of Creeks and Seminoles, engaged by General Pike to accom- 
 pany him to the Comanche Country, &c. In regard to this escort 
 General Pike, in a letter to the War Department, of the I4th Octo- 
 ber, says that he had muster rolls regularly made out, and gave pay 
 accounts to the officers, and slips showing the amount due each of the 
 men. 
 
 With the money received by you upon the second named requisi- 
 tion you will pay Charles B. Johnson the balance due him by the old 
 United States Government prior to the 3Oth June, 1861, and which 
 General Pike, at the time of making the verbal contract hereinbefore 
 mentioned, agreed to pay or have paid him. 
 
 And with the money received by you upon the third named requi- 
 sition, you will pay such expenses of the Superintendency and different 
 Agencies, as may be necessary, proper and legitimate. The balance of 
 this money can be applied to the purchase of suitable clothing, if it 
 can be bought at fair prices, for the Reserve Indians, which Commis- 
 sioner Pike, in the Treaty of the I2th August, 1861, agreed should 
 be speedily furnished them. 
 
 You will forward a statement as to the disbursement of these sev- 
 eral sums of money with the proper voucher, &c. Very respectfully, 
 S. S. SCOTT, Act'g Commr. of Indian Affairs. 
 
 TREASURY DEPARTMENT, C.S.A., SECOND AUDITOR'S OFFICE 
 
 Richmond, Va, Dec 7th-i86i. 
 
 SIR: The Treasurer of the Confederate States will remit to you 
 the sum of Thirty two thousand one hundred & four 50/100 dollars 
 
 , being the amount of E.equisition No. 1889 & 1890 
 
 issued in your favor on the 6th Inst-, with which you are charged 
 
Fort Smith Papers 315 
 
 on the Books of this Office, on account of the following Appropria- 
 tion, to wit: 
 
 "To meet the Incidental Expenses of the Public service within the 
 Indian Tribes," as per Act May 21, 1861, No. 232. 
 
 Requisition No. 1889. . .. . $2,104.50 
 
 Req. " 1890, Same as above . . 30.000. " 
 
 $32.104.50 
 
 The Treasurer will advise you when the same will be remitted for 
 which you will please forward a Receipt to this OfHce, specifying 
 therein the date, number and amount of said Requisition. I am, 
 very respectfully, Your Ob't Serv't AUDITOR. 
 
 To Elias Rector, Esq, Supt. Ind. Affairs, Present 
 
 WICHITA AGENCY L. D., Deer. i2th 1861. 
 SIR: In all my official relations I have endeavored to be governed 
 strictly by the instructions of my superior officers, and in reference 
 to the alledged real or imaginary impropriety of my course towards 
 Buffalo Hump in your letter of the I2th Oct. last, I must plead my 
 instructions in mitigation which I followed strictly, not being in pos- 
 session of any, except the verbal instructions of Commissioner Hub- 
 bard, which was in effect to exercise my best judgment in the manage- 
 ment of the affairs of the Reserve, but in all things to be governed 
 by strict rules of economy. In my report to you of the I2th Augst. I 
 solicited written instructions, a copy of the Intercourse Laws and of 
 the Contract for furnishing supplies for the Indians, but as yet, have 
 not received even a reply to my communication. There is no Indian 
 with whose character and habits I am more familiar than with Buf- 
 falo Humps ; he is a fugitive from the Texas Agency of which I was 
 placed in charge; the late Superintendent of that State worried with 
 him for three years before he could induce him to settle, he would 
 come in and make promises to do so, and the Superintendent would 
 load him with presents, he would return to the prairies depredate up- 
 on the country until his blankets were worn out, then return with a 
 plausible excuse for not coming in with his people, receive other pres- 
 ents return again to the prairies and repeat the same thing over again 
 until the Superintendents patience became exhausted, and informed 
 Buffalo Hump that he would not submit to any further trifling on 
 the subject, that he had nothing more for him, but as he had come 
 in peace, he might return in peace, but that afterwards he would 
 
316 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 pursue and hunt him down with the troops; Buffalo Hump then 
 changed his tone, begged to be permitted to have a certain length of 
 time allowed him to bring in his people without renumeration or 
 presents, at that time it was granted, and at the appointed time he 
 brought in his people and settled on the Reserve, where he remained 
 until a feud took place between him and the Chief of the band locat- 
 ed previously, which caused him to abandon the Reserve and pursue 
 his former predatory habits. I induced him to come in this time, 
 in addition to the other wild chiefs, who met Commissioner Pike 
 in Augst. last, and entered into an informal treaty with them, it 
 was the result of a years negotiation, which was carried on by means 
 of messengers from this Reserve; it was attempted years ago by 
 Judge Rollins, one of the ablest Indian Agents perhaps the U.S. 
 ever had, who spent eighteen months in attempting to accomplish 
 the object; Agent Stemm lost his life in efforts of the kind; Major 
 Neighbors a very ingenious and competent Agent exerted his influ- 
 ence for six or seven years to no purpose: Dr. Hill, a most popular 
 Indian Agent and influential man, labored four years without effect, 
 and Capt. Ross' influence was equally ineffectual, yet I am informed 
 in your letter of the I2th Oct. that both yourself and Commissioner 
 Pike regret much that I did not hold out all the inducements which 
 were in my power, and use all the forces and means at my command 
 to provide him with such houses as were contemplated and provided 
 by Commissioner Pike for the comfort of those Indians. In this 
 matter I appear to be peculiarly unfortunate. You are fully aware 
 that I have not received any means for the erection of houses or for 
 any other purpose, and that the few employees who were induced to 
 engage in the work with a hope of renumeration hereafter were all 
 sick, which fact I made known in my report of the I5th Septr. last, 
 therefore it will be perceived that I had no means in my power to 
 build houses or any thing else, nor would I have employed them in 
 building houses for Buffalo Hump in advance of his settlement, if 
 I had possessed ever so much in the absence of positive instructions 
 to that effect. The course I pursued with him induced him to come 
 in with his people a week in advance of the time promised and settle, 
 he has given me no further trouble, tells me he intends to remain 
 here for life, that he does not wish houses built until such times as 
 he can select a suitable place on the Reserve for his future home, 
 and has employed as spies for me two of his sons who are with the 
 wild tribes watching their movements and those of the northern 
 
Fort Smith Papers 317 
 
 troops, to give immediate notice in case of an advanced demonstration 
 upon this part of the country. 
 
 During a period of more than twenty years public service, I have 
 received two rebukes only from my superior officers on account of 
 my official conduct, yours in reference to Buffalo Hump and from 
 the late Superintendent in Texas for failing to insert at the close of 
 one of my official letters "y ur obt. Srvt." 
 
 I infer from your letter of the 3Oth of Octr. that you conclude, 
 I am disposed to interfere with your appointment of Commissary, 
 I can assure you that such was not nor never has been my intention 
 to disturb or meddle in the slightest degree with the appointment of 
 Commissary or any other which it may be your pleasure to make; 
 sending Sturm as messenger was a matter of necessity not of choice, 
 I apprised you by him that I was not only sick myself, but that my 
 family and almost every one on the Reserve were sick and without 
 medicine, Sturm although sick, was the only person I could obtain 
 as messenger who was willing to make the trip alone, and with the 
 confident hope that by sending him I would obtain medicines which 
 would afford my family relief ; I was induced to do so with an under- 
 standing that he was to receive pay not only as Commissary during 
 the time of his absence, but three dollars per day also for his services 
 as messenger and I procured the assistance gratuitously of M r 
 Bickel one of the interpreters to act as Commissary during his 
 absence, whose name appears on the prevision checks for that quarter 
 merely to prevent confusion of the accounts, but my most sanguine 
 hopes were disappointed for the messenger returned without medi- 
 cines, and my son has not recovered yet. Whilst upon this subject 
 allow me most respectfully to direct your attention to the fact, and 
 through you the Department, that the office of Commissary is a 
 sinecure, and expense which is utterly useless to the Government and 
 an injury to the public Service, the duty of Commissary simply being 
 an impartial weigher and witness to the delivery of supplies agreably 
 to the terms of the Contract; I, hold it to be the duty of the Agent 
 where issues are made at the Agency to be present, and represent the 
 interest of the Indians, and the Interpreters who are required to be 
 present to witness the issues, such has been the case heretofore, no 
 Commissary has ever been employed at other Agencies, except where 
 issues were made at remote places or where it was impracticable for 
 the Agent to be present; the Commissary is employed perhaps half 
 a day once a week, the remainder of the time is spent in utter idle- 
 
318 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 ness, and in gossiping with the employees and Indians on the Reserve. 
 I received a recent visit from the Chiefs who met Comr. Pike in 
 Augst. last, after preparing to hold a Council or talk with them, 
 their first demand was whiskey, they said they could not talk without 
 having whiskey first, after a length of time however, I convinced 
 them that I had no whiskey, and that whiskey was not allowed on 
 the Reserve, they then informed me that they had approached this 
 place at the appointed time "the falling of the leaves" and ascer- 
 tained that the Commissioner was not here nor the presents agreably 
 to promise, that now they were here long after the time and still 
 there are no presents or Commissioner, I explained to them that the 
 Comr. had delegated to me his authority for the time being, and that 
 he was now purchasing goods to issue in accordance with his promise 
 as soon as they would comply with their part of the agreement and 
 settle with their people on the Reserve, that they would have the 
 privilege of settling on any part of the Leased District that suited 
 them best, and that I would issue provisions to them until such time 
 as the goods would arrive, they informed me that they had been lied 
 to a good deal, and that they wanted some greater and further 
 evidence now of the sincerity of the Government, that as the goods 
 were not here, which were intended for them, that they would take 
 a few that the trader had, and be satisfied with those, until such 
 time as the others would be forthcoming, and probably settle at the 
 time the grass rises in the Spring, I told them that the traders goods 
 did not belong to me or to the Government, and that I was conse- 
 quently unauthorized to issue them, they then instantly rose up and 
 told me they were going, I called back a Kioway Chief and told him 
 as it was his first visit, that I would make him a present of some 
 blankets, paint and tobacco, that I was glad to see him, that the 
 Government desired to be on friendly terms with him and his people, 
 and that if he thought proper to come here with his people and settle, 
 that he could do so on the same terms as the others, he informed 
 me that that was the object of his visit, that he would return and 
 consult on the subject and at no distant day would make me another 
 visit, and apprise me of the result of their deliberations ; in the mean 
 time the others returned in a better humor, and I told them that upon 
 my own responsibility, I would make them a few little presents, of 
 blankets, paints, &c. which appeared to satisfy them, and when they 
 finally left, declared their friendly intentions, and said they would 
 ultimately settle here in compliance with the treaty. 
 
Fort Smith Papers 319 
 
 In compliance with your letter of instructions of the 25th of Octr 
 last, I have rendered H. L. Rodgers all the assistance in my power 
 in the way of his building operations. Very Respectfully. Your 
 obt. Servt. M. LEEPER, Ind. Agt. C.S.A. 
 
 Elias Rector Esq., Supt. Indian Affairs. 
 
 Fort Smith, Arks. 
 
 FORT SMITH, ARK., Dec. 2yth, 1861. 
 
 SIR : Owing to the continued excitement in the Creek and Semi- 
 nole Nations, and the dangers necessarily to be encountered by persons 
 either residing in or travelling through the Indian Country, my 
 return to the Agency has been delayed longer than I expected. Taking 
 into consideration all the circumstances of the case I deemed it best 
 and most prudent to await your return from Richmond and submit 
 a report of the case to you. When I left the Agency early in November 
 there seemed a unity of opinion and general profession of Loyalty to 
 the Southern Confederacy; but since then there has been much disaf- 
 fection and increase of excitement. The consequence has been that 
 some of the Traders residing among the upper Creeks have left 
 narrowly escaping with their lives. Others are, as I learn, preparing 
 to leave. Since my departure from the Agency there has been two 
 engagements between the Confederate forces under command of Col. 
 Cooper and the followers of Hopothleyoholo, in both engagements 
 Col. Cooper was victorious. This, however, has only increased the 
 vindictiveness of Hopothleyoholos Party and, consequently, magnified 
 the dangers attendent on travelling through or residing in the Nation. 
 My Agency is, as you are aware, situated two hundred miles west of 
 this place, and wholy unprotected and exposed to depredation, it is 
 very insecure. Parscofer and others as stated in my report to the 
 Department as heading the disaffected party, were leaders, in the 
 recent battles, on side of the enemy. But I am pleased to be able 
 to state that Jumper, Short Bird, Cloud and Holatut Fixico were 
 found with Col. Cooper doing their duty as faithful and Loyal allies. 
 It will, probably, not be a great while before the excitement may 
 subside, rendering travel and residence there more secure. When 
 you deem it necessary and safe for me to return I will be ready. I 
 await your orders on the subject. I am very Respectfully Your 
 obt. Servt. SAM'L M. RUTHERFORD, C.S. Agent for Seminoles. 
 
 Maj. E. Rector, Sup. Ind. Affairs, C.S.A., 
 
 Fort Smith, Ark. 
 
320 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 RICHMOND, VA., 29th December, 1861. 
 
 SIR: I send herewith, to your care, by a Special Messenger, 
 packages for the Principal Chiefs of the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, 
 Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, which please forward to each 
 immediately by express. 
 
 Also a talk for the Comanches and Caiawas, which, if they are 
 still near Fort Cobb, I wish sent to them by express. There is a 
 letter to Chisholm, and it would perhaps be well to send the talk 
 to him and get him to go up and see them. 
 
 Also a letter for Major Dorn and one to his Indians. I want 
 them to come down to Head Quarters and receive what is to be 
 given them. I do not know how you will get his letter to him. 
 
 The Treaties are all ratified, with two or three amendments that 
 will cut no great figure. As to the money part, nothing has changed. 
 Congress appropriated $681,000 and over, under the Treaties, includ- 
 ing Charley Johnson's money up to middle of February, of the whole 
 sum, $265,000 and odd is to be paid in specie. I shall get the 
 Treasury notes to-morrow, and the Specie in New Orleans, and shall 
 bring it all to you. The Secretary agreed, indeed proposed, to send 
 it out by me. 
 
 Among them, they fixed my compensation at $3,750. 
 
 I mean to be at Head Quarters by the 25th of January. I hope 
 the different Tribes will ratify the amendments, so that you can pay 
 them pretty soon after that time. 
 
 I think you had better buy all the goods, of Cochran and others, 
 for the Comanches, that you can. I want them to meet me at 
 Head Quarters, and it will be necessary to have some goods for them. 
 Congress would not agree to give them any arms. 
 
 I hope when we pay the Indians their money, and I get some 
 white troops in the Country, we shall settle the difficulties there. 
 God knows. 
 
 Give my kind regards to Mrs. Rector and the children. Always 
 yours. ALBERT PIKE. 
 
 I send Dr. Duval's appointment, and Mr. Sandals', by the 
 Messenger. 
 
 CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT 
 Office of Indian Affairs, Richmond, December 3Oth, 1861. 
 MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 
 
 Fort Smith, Arkansas. 
 Sir: The first session of the Congress of the Confederate States 
 
Fort Smith Papers 321 
 
 will be held on the i8th February next; and it is important that the 
 Report, from this Bureau, in regard to Indian Affairs, for the benefit 
 of that Body, should be as full as possible. That this may be so, it 
 is essential that information should be sent here, at least by the I5th 
 of that month, of the true condition of affairs, in each of the several 
 Agencies under your supervision. 
 
 You will, therefore, write to all of the Agents, and state to them 
 these facts. Advise them also to give you full reports of all matters 
 connected with their respective charges, and forward them, when 
 received to this office. Very respectfully, 
 
 S. S. SCOTT, Act'g Commr. of Ind. Affairs. 
 
 CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT 
 Office of Indian Affairs, Richmond, Jany. ist, 1862. 
 MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 
 Fort Smith, Arkansas. 
 
 Sir: An Act was recently passed by the Congress of the Confed- 
 erate States, and approved December 26th, 1861, "making appropria- 
 tions to comply, in part, with Treaty stipulations made with certain 
 Indian Tribes." The whole amount appropriated by this Act was 
 six hundred and eighty one thousand, eight hundred and sixty nine 
 dollars, and fifteen cents. 
 
 By sundry requisitions of the Secretary of War upon the Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury, this sum has been placed in the hands of General 
 Albert Pike, for delivery to you, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs. 
 
 Herewith you will receive Tabular Statements, marked Numbers 
 (i) and (2) for your information and guidance, as to the times 
 manner, &c., that this money is to be disbursed. 
 
 You will perceive from these statements, that one hundred and 
 nineteen thousand, three hundred and forty dollars can be used, for 
 the purposes indicated immediately, or, whenever, it may be deemed 
 essential by you; while the residue, amounting to five hundred and 
 sixty two thousand, five hundred and twenty nine dollars and fifteen 
 cents, is dependent, for its dusbursement, upon the ratification of the 
 Treaties, as amended by the several Indian Tribes. Very respect- 
 fully, S. S. SCOTT, Act'g Commr. of Indian Affairs. 
 
 TREASURY DEPARTMENT, C.S.A., SECOND AUDITOR'S OFFICE, 
 
 Richmond, Va. Dec 3ist 1861. 
 
 SIR The Treasurer of the Confederate States will remit to you 
 the sum of six hundred and eighty one thousand, eight hundred & 
 
322 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 sixty nine 15/100 dollars-, being the amount of Requisitions Nos. 
 2175-76-77-78-79-80-81-82-83 & 84 issued in your favor on the 2Oth 
 Instant -, with which you are charged on the Books of this Office, on 
 account of the following Appropriation, to wit: 
 "An Act making Appropriations to comply in part with Treaty 
 Stipulations made with certain Indian Tribes," as per Act 
 
 Requisition No. 2175 For Contingencies of superintending & Agencies $ 3,500.00 
 
 Do " 2176 " Sundry Appropriations for Cherokee Indians 237,944.36 
 
 " Do Do " Seminole Indians 61,050.00 
 " Choctaw&Chick- 
 
 asaws . . 115,126.89 
 
 2179 " " " " Creek Indians 72,950.00 
 
 2180 " " " " Comanches . . 64,862.00 
 
 2181 " " " " Reserve Indians 82,905.00 
 
 2182 " " " " Seneca Indians 11,962.46 
 
 2183 " " " " Quapaw Indians 9,000.00 
 
 2184 " " " " Osage Indians 22,568.44 
 
 Total $681,869.15 
 
 The Treasurer will advise you when the same has been placed to 
 
 your credit on his Books, or hand you a Draft - for which you will 
 
 please forward a Receipt to this Office, specifying therein the date, 
 
 number and amount of said Requisition. I am, very respectfully, 
 
 your ob't serv't, W. H. S. TAYLOR, Auditor. 
 
 To Genl Albert Pike, Agent for the War Department for delivery 
 
 of the above funds to Elias Rector, Supt. Ind. Affairs, now in 
 
 Richmond, Va. 
 
 CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, TREASURER'S OFFICE, 
 
 Richmond, Va., Jan? 23 
 ELIAS RECTOR, Fort Smith, Ark. 
 
 Sir, I have this day placed to your credit 3,000 Dollars, amount 
 of Warrant No. 23 Issued in your favor by War Department. 
 Your checks on the Treasurer of the Confederate States will be 
 honoured for that amount. Please acknowledge the receipt of this 
 Notification, and enclose your official signature. Very Respectfully, 
 
 E. C. ELMORE, Treasurer C.S. 
 
Fort Smith Papers 323 
 
 CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT, 
 Office of Indian Affairs, Richmond Jany 2jd 1862. 
 
 MAJ. E. RECTOR, Superintendent &c, Fort Smith, Arkansas. 
 
 SIR: General Pike of date Dec. 3Oth 1861, writes to this Bureau, 
 
 as follows: 
 
 In order to obtain the ratification, by the several Indian Tribes, of 
 the amendments made by Congress to the Indian Treaties negotiated by 
 me, and to effect a Treaty with the Caiowas, I have sent messages to 
 the Creeks, Seminoles, Cherokees, Choctaws and Chickasaws, requesting 
 that their national Councils may be convened ; and to the Chiefs of the 
 Osages, Quapaws, Senecas, Senecas and Shawnes, Comanches, Reserve 
 Indians and Caiowas, requesting them to meet me at my head Quarters. 
 
 It will be necessary to furnish provisions to the Creek and Seminole 
 Councils, and to feed the more uncivilized Chiefs, while in Council, 
 and on their return, and also perhaps to make some presents ; for which 
 purposes no funds are in the hands of the Superintendent or myself. 
 
 In accordance with these suggestions and at the request of this 
 Bureau a requisition was drawn by the Secretary of War, a few days 
 ago, for the sum of three thousand dollars, which is to be placed to 
 your credit in the Treasury. 
 
 You will please use this money, or so much of it, as may be neces- 
 sary, for the purposes, and in the manner, above indicated. Very 
 respectfully, S. S. SCOTT, Act'g Commr. of Ind. Affairs. 
 
 LITTLE ROCK, ARK., 28th January, 1862. 
 
 DEAR RECTOR: I will leave here on Friday morning. It will 
 take me, I suppose, six days to reach Fort Smith with the money. 
 This will bring me to the 5th, 6th or 7th of February. 
 
 I have $265.927.50 in specie, all in gold except $65.000 in silver. 
 Of course I must stay with it. I think I can make the journey, 
 though in six days. 
 
 I think you had better go up to my head Quarters immediately, 
 and arrange to feed the Comanches and others if they come there; 
 and keep them there until I reach the place. I can take the money 
 there, and send by the same messenger who takes this, to Colonel 
 Cooper for an escort. 
 
 The Treasurer of the Choctaws means to sell the coin his people 
 get, buy Confederate paper, and put the difference in his pocket. We 
 must stop that. I think the best way will be for you to notify the 
 Chief, Hudson, the amount to be paid in coin, and that you will pay 
 it to the Treasurer only in the presence of three Commissioners 
 appointed by himself. 
 
324 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 If you can pay the Choctaws and Chickasaws at my Head Quarters, 
 it will of course be much better. 
 
 I have had to ask the immediate removal of Leeper, and the 
 appointment of Col. Pulliam in his place. This I have done to-day, 
 sending extracts from your letter, Charley Johnson's and Quesen- 
 bury's. 
 
 The Secretary is also advised, now, of Garrett's continual 
 [illegible]. 
 
 Why do you not demand his removal, and name a person for 
 his place? 
 
 I don't believe Col. Cooper will be removed. The President said 
 in my presence, "Now that the Choctaws have a Delegate in Congress, 
 what need of an Agent?" 
 
 About 150 gamblers are here, following up the Indian moneys. 
 I enclose an order requiring passports, that will keep them out of 
 the Nation. 
 
 I have the $150.000 advance for the Cherokees, the $12.000 due 
 the Nation, and the $10.300 due the Treaty party or Stand Watie's, 
 all in paper. Also the $50.000 advance for the Choctaws. In paper 
 and specie, I have for you $631.000 and over. 
 
 Have you received the money, (some $3.000) that I asked should 
 be sent you to pay expenses of the new Indian Councils? 
 
 If you cannot go to Head Quarters immediately, you will have to 
 send some one, and let him and Colonel Cooper keep the Indians 
 contented. Always yours, ALBERT PIKE. 
 
 Maj. E. Rector. 
 
 OFFICE SUPT. IND. AFFAIRS, Fort Smith, Feby ist, 1862. 
 
 SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith the Reports of 
 Agents Leeper, Cooper, Rutherford and Crawford. No report has 
 been received from Agent Dorn. 
 
 Business of importance requires me to leave here to-day for Fort 
 Gibson and the Creek Agency, it is important for me to take charge 
 of the public property at the Creek Agency which I shall do on my 
 arrival there and I will turn the same over to R P Pulliam who 
 I have appointed Agent to act until the Department may make a 
 permanent appointment and I hope Mr Pulliam may be the person 
 appointed. I have also appointed to meet a delegation of Comanches 
 and Kiawas at Fort Gibson where I expect Genl Pike and myself 
 will effect treaties with them. I have sent a lot of goods to make 
 
Fort Smith Papers 325 
 
 some presents to them and to the wild bands with whom Genl 
 Pike made treaties last fall and to whom he promised some goods; 
 after meeting these delegation and ascertaining what can be effected 
 with them I will make out and forward to you a report of Indian 
 matters generally in this superintendency which I hope will reach 
 you in time to be of some service to the Department. I could not, 
 until after I meet those Indians and ascertain the condition of the 
 Creek Agency, make a full and satisfactory report. 
 
 In regard to Agent Crawfords report I must here state, that from 
 the best information I can obtain of the condition of affairs among 
 the Cherokees, I cannot concur with him, but I will inform myself 
 fully in this regard during my present visit among them and will 
 furnish my views fully in my report, Very Respectfully Your Obt. 
 Servt. E. RECTOR, Supt. Ind. Affairs 
 
 S. S. SCOTT Esq Acting Comr. Ind. Affairs 
 
 Richmond, Va 
 
 OFFICE SUPT IND AFFAIR, Fort Smith Feby ist 1862 
 SIR: Genl. Pike is here with $50.000 Dollars in Gold and 
 Silver for the Choctaws, and as I am compelled to accompany him 
 on important business to Fort Gibson, I have determined to take the 
 above money with me to that place and pay it out there, which will 
 be as convenent for you as to pay it here, and as Col Cooper will 
 have to be present at the payment, it is necessary to make the payment 
 when he can attend. I will be ready to pay over to your Treasurer 
 the above money at Fort Gibson in days from this date, and I 
 wish you to send with your Treasurer a delegation of three responsi- 
 ble persons to be selected by you to witness the payment. This I re- 
 quire, as it is a special case with our government to pay out Coins to 
 the Indian tribes at this time, and to insure the payment by the Treas- 
 urer of the same funds to your people, that he receives from me. Our 
 government is determined to use all precautions to prevent specu- 
 lations out of the funds sent out to pay to Indian tribes. Very 
 Respectfully Your Obt Servt. E. RECTOR, Supt Ind Affrs 
 
 Hon Hudson, Chief Choctaw Nation. 
 
326 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT 
 Office of Indian Affairs, Richmond, Feby yth 1862. 
 MAJOR E. RECTOR, Superintendent of Ind. Affairs. 
 Fort Smith, Arkansas. 
 
 Sir: Your two letters, dated January gth & loth, have been 
 received. The former gave a brief statement of the facts, in relation 
 to the arrest, by Agent Leeper, of one Meyer, supposed to be a spy, 
 with $6.455.70, in Drafts and Specie upon his person, and enclosed 
 copies of letters from Messrs Leeper and Shirley, bearing upon same 
 subject. The latter simply covered the Affidavit of a Mr. Barnes, 
 claiming the Drafts referred to, followed by affidavits of Meyer and 
 one Jacob Mariner intended to substantiate it. 
 
 The questions presented in this case should properly be investigated 
 by Brig. Genl. Pike, who has command of the Department of the 
 Indian Territory, where this person was arrested; and a letter has 
 therefore been written to him from this Bureau, for the purpose of 
 calling his attention to the fact. 
 
 You will take the necessary steps to have the man Meyer turned 
 over to him. Very respectfully, 
 
 S. S. SCOTT, Act'g Comr. of Ind. Affairs. 
 
 FORT SMITH, i6th Feby 1862 
 ELIAS RECTOR Esq, Superintendent of Ind. Affairs 
 
 Sir: As to the case of Fredrick Meyer, arrested as a spy, there 
 is nothing beyond suspicion against him, except his possession of certain 
 drafts drawn by a U. S. Quartermaster on the Assistant Treasurer at 
 New York, and the Statements of Comanche Indians, who are not 
 competent witnesses. 
 
 I decline to place him in custody as a spy or to order a Miltary 
 Court to try him. I cannot order his discharge or the return of the 
 drafts and money taken from him, because the Military power is 
 silent, within the limits of Arkansas, in the presence of the Court 
 power, as to reports that may be asserted and remedies that may be 
 pursued, in the Courts. If I had the power, I should make the order. 
 
 If you continue to hold the property in question, or to detain the 
 party, you will please consider that you do it on your own authority. 
 I am very respectfully yours, 
 
 ALBERT PIKE, Brig. Genl. Commr. Ind. Dept. 
 
Fort Smith Papers 327 
 
 MOUTH OF CANADIAN, 2$d Febr. 1862. 
 
 MAJOR: I reached this place last night, and leave this morning. 
 The teams furnished me at Fort Smith are hardly able to go further, 
 and our progress must be slow. I shall hardly reach Spaniard's Creek 
 before tomorrow night, and wish you to meet me there. I did think 
 of sending the money, at least the specie, direct from this point to 
 North Fork, but have determined to keep it with me until I meet 
 you. If you will meet me at Spaniard's Creek, we can then determine 
 what disposition to make of it. 
 
 Gen. Price is at Walnut Grove, eight miles south of Fayetteville ; 
 will take position near Cane Hill, and means to attack as soon as 
 he gets 5,000. men in addition to his present force. McCulloch is 
 on the telegraph road, to his right. They are not acting in harmony, 
 Col. Gatewood says. 
 
 Our forces in Kentucky and Tennesse have had to fall back 
 before 70,000 of the enemy. The new position, it is expected, will 
 be at Stevenson and Charleston road. When the enemy took Fort 
 Donelson, both Bowling Green and Columbus became of value to 
 us. Each position was carried. But we have only taken a new 
 position, losing no battle. The fort surrendered. Columbus is or 
 will be evacuated and Nashville surrendered. 
 
 There are no means of crossing the Arkansas here, except one boat, 
 that must have a bottom put in it. I must bring at least part of the 
 Choctaws to Gibson, to cross the river and move towards Cane Hill, 
 and in order to be able to do it as soon as possible I wish to turn 
 over the money to you. Truly yours ALBERT PIKE 
 
 Major Elias Rector. 
 
 OFFICE SUP'T IND. AFF'RS, Fort Smith, Feb'y 28th, 1862. 
 SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 
 of 2^d ultimo notifying me that the sum of $3,000 -had been placed 
 to my credit in the Treasury on Requisition No. 23 from the War 
 Department subject to my Draft and request my official signature 
 which is hereto affixed. Very Respectfully your Ob't Serv't. 
 
 E. RECTOR, Sup't Ind. Aff'rs. 
 
 E. C. Elmore Esq., Treasurer of the Confederate States 
 Richmond, Va. 
 
328 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 OFFICE SUP'T IND. AFFAIRS, Fort Smith, Feb'y 28th, 1862. 
 SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 
 of Jany 1st accompanying Tabular Statements sent out by Gen'l 
 Pike. On his arrival here I was absent in the Indian Country where 
 I had been ordered by him to meet a Delegation of wild Comanches 
 and Kiawas. Genl P did not leave the money here to be paid 
 over to me but tuck it in the Indian Country to his head quarters, 
 where he will I presume pay it out to the Indians himself. Very 
 Respectfully, your ob't Serv't. E. RECTOR, Sup't Ind Affairs. 
 
 S. S. SCOTT Esq. Acting Com'r Ind. Affairs, Richmond, Va. 
 
 [Rector to Scott] 
 
 OFFICE SUPT IND. AFFAIRS, March 4th, 1862. 
 
 SIR: I deem it my duty, in justice to myself, as well as my duty 
 to the government to notify you that Gen'l Pike has been paying over 
 certain of the funds sent out by him to the Indians, one payment 
 which he has made, I wish here to enter my protest against as not 
 meeting with my approbation, it was in paying over to Agent A. J. 
 Dorn the specie sent out for the Indians in his Agency. My objec- 
 tions to said payment are these: Agent Dorn has never executed a 
 Bond to the Confederate government for the faithful accounting for 
 of funds placed in his hands, and I should certainly not turn over 
 large amounts of government funds to any Agent in my Department 
 until he first gave a good and sufficient Bond and next; the Agency 
 which Mr. Dorn fills is in the limits of the State of Kansas and has 
 been in the possession of the Federals for six or seven months, Dorn 
 cannot even get to it, he has no fixed locality for his Agency some- 
 times he is with the army, at others in the State and is now here at 
 this place and has with him the money. 
 
 I am clearly of the opinion that this money should have been kept 
 in some safe place in this State until after our present troubles are 
 over. The Federal army is now invading within fifty miles of this 
 place and between him and the Indians for whom Dorn is Agent, 
 which makes it impossible for him to pay it to them if he so intends. 
 
 None of the Agents in this Superintendency have entered into 
 Bond. Nor do I know whether they intend to do so except Agent 
 Rutherford he came here from his Agency a few days since for the 
 purpose of giving his Bond but is now on a bead of sickness from 
 which it is doubtful if he ever recovers. ELIAS RECTOR. 589 
 
 589 The wr jter of this letter was evidently Elias Rector, although the docu- 
 ment from which this copy was made is in the handwriting of Albert Pike. 
 
APPENDIX B-THE LEEPER 590 OR WICHITA 
 AGENCY PAPERS 
 
 OFFICE SUPT. INDIAN AFFAIRS, Fort Smith, Oct. i2th, 1861. 
 SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of I5th 
 
 sao The history of the collection that I have designated for convenience of 
 reference, the Leeper Papers, is outlined in the following letter from F. John- 
 son, Delaware Indian Agent, to Dole, January 20, 1863 [Indian Office, General 
 Files, Wichita, 1862-1871, J6z]. 
 
 On or about the first of September last a company of Delaware & 
 Shawnee Indians numbering ninety-six, seventy Delawares and twenty- 
 six Shawnees, left Kansas on an expedition southwest from Kansas un- 
 der the leadership of Ben Simon a Delaware Indian. 
 
 He reports that the expedition traveled to the Neosho River in south- 
 ern Kansas where they halted a few days. From thence they marched 
 in a southwest direction seventeen days to the leased district in Texas, 
 they then traveled up the Wichita River, one day to the neighbourhood 
 of the Wichita Agency. Simon then sent Spies and Scouts to the Agency 
 who reported two hundred Indians well armed at the Agency in the 
 Service of the Southern Confederacy. On receiving this intelligence the 
 Delawares & Shawnees immediately preceded to the Agency which they 
 reached about sundown. On arriving at the Agency they surrounded 
 the buildings when the Agent a man large sized with black hair came 
 out of the house and asked them what was wanting. Simon replied to 
 him that he was his prisoner. At the same instant the Indians rushed 
 into the house when one of the Delawares was shot dead and a Shawnee 
 wounded - there was four white men at the Agency; when the Indians 
 saw their comrades killed and wounded they killed the three men in the 
 House and Agent Leeper who Simon had hold of at the door -the In- 
 dians then took possession of the Property and papers belonging to the 
 Agency and burned the buildings. On the next morning they found 
 the trail of the Indians who had escaped from the Agency and followed 
 it to a grove of timber and found as they supposed about one hundred 
 & fifty Indians a part of whom was women and children whom they 
 attacked and report they killed about one hundred the Ballance making 
 their escape. The Delawares and Shawnees then turned homewards 
 with their Booty which consisted of about One hundred Ponies Twelve 
 hundred Dollars Fn Confederate Money, the papers correspondence etc. 
 which is wrapped in a rebel Flag taken at the Agency Among the 
 papers taken I would respectfully call your attention to the treaties in 
 
330 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 inst. by Expressman Sturm 591 at Tahlequah C.N. while on public 
 business at that place on the 2nd inst and in answer must say. 
 
 Your requisition for Medicine I cannot comply with. I have no 
 Medicines on hand for the Indian Service. Neither have I been 
 instructed to furnish either Medicines or Medical assistance to the 
 Indians, and if I were disposed to take the responsibility and advance 
 the funds to purchase Medicines they could not be procured at this 
 place. 
 
 I am pleased to learn that Buffalo Hump came in to see you, but 
 both myself & Corn 1 ". Pike regret that you did not hold out to him 
 all the inducements which were in your power, and use all the forces 
 and means at your command to provide him with such houses as were 
 contemplated and promised by Com r . Pike for the comfort of those 
 Indians and to make them satisfied and anxious to come in. 
 
 The Com r . has issued an order prohibiting Jim Ned from return- 
 ing to or ever occupying any portion of the Leased District again, 
 this order you will see carried out. He has also ordered the 
 Military to kill Ned should they find him. 
 
 No blanks have been furnished to the office as yet. Nor have 
 even forms been purchased for the vouchers, abstracts etc. You must 
 rule and arrange your papers as best you can for the present as I 
 have to do myself. 
 
 I have turned over to Mr. Sturm four mules turned over to me 
 as mules taken from you by Genl Burrow. I obtained them with 
 great difficulty in bad condition, nearly on the lift. I have had them 
 three or four weeks, these were all I could find and do not know 
 whether they are all that were taken from you or not. 
 
 manuscript entered into between Albert Pike Commissioner on the part 
 of the Confederate States and the diferent Tribes of Southern Indians 
 as also the commission of Mathew Leeper Indian Agent from James 
 Buchanan President of the United States dated ist of February 1861. 
 
 These Indians few in numbers marching upon a point more than 
 five hundred miles distant furnishing their own transportation forage 
 and provisions without cost to the Government certainly exhibits a great 
 degree of Loyalty daring and hardihood. 
 
 591 J- J- Sturm, commissary for the Indians of the Leased District [Rector 
 to Sturm, July i, 1861]. On Oct. 3, 1861, Sturm reported to Leeper: 
 
 I arrived here over a week ago, and have been waiting for Maj. 
 Rector, who is absent making a Treaty with the Cherokees, and other 
 Tribes at Telequa. . . No talk of anything but war here. Price 
 has taken Lexington, Mo., he took and killed over four thousand of 
 Abe's men, with a great deal of war material. . . 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 331 
 
 As stated above I have received no funds for the Indian Service 
 from the Confederacy, in fact there has been no Indian Department 
 organized consequently no appropriation has been made nor will any 
 Indian business be done in the War Department until after the late 
 Treaties are submitted and approved. 
 
 I shall leave here in a short time for Richmond for the purpose 
 of organizing the business of the Superintendency, procuring funds, 
 goods etc. for the Indians in compliance with the Stipulations of the 
 late Treaties. 
 
 C. B. Johnson is absent at New Orleans and is expected back in 
 a few days. 
 
 Enclosed you will find Sutton & Springs receipt for $200. 
 
 Owing to Creek difficulties I send Mr. Sturm back by direct route 
 for his safety and the safety of your property. Very Respectfully 
 Your Ob't. Servant E. RECTOR, Supt. Ind. Affairs. 
 
 Col. M. Leeper, Ind. Agent, Wichita Agency, L.D. 
 
 OFFICE SUPT. IND. AFFAIRS, FORT SMITH, ARKS. 
 
 Oct. soth, 1 86 1. 
 
 SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 2ist 
 inst. by Expressman. 
 
 On the 1 2th Inst, I wrote you by your expressman Mr. Sturm 
 and as then, state I have no funds in my hands for the purchase of 
 Medicines or for any other purpose for the Indian Service. Nor 
 have I been authorized to provide the Indians with Medicines or 
 Medical assistance; there has been no Indian Department regularly 
 organized as yet, by our Government, nor will there be until after 
 the Treaties lately made by Comr Pike are laid before the President 
 and approved. 
 
 I have purchased for you on your own account, all the medicines 
 I can purchase in this place that would be useful to the Indians. I 
 send them by your Expressman with the bills, you can charge the 
 Government with them in your account. 
 
 I am pleased to learn that the Kiowa Indians are likely to come 
 in and make a treaty. Comr Pike cannot possibly be there to treat 
 with them for some months to come, the treaties made by him with 
 the Comanches places all of those Indians who may hereafter come 
 in on the same footing with those who entered into treaty stipulations, 
 and I hereby authorize you, as I have authority to do from Comr 
 Pike, to make the same treaties and hold out the same inducements 
 
332 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 to the Kiowas as were made by him with the Comanches, do not, how- 
 ever, promise them blankets this winter as it would be impossible to 
 procure them, the Government cannot procure a sufficiency of them for 
 the Soldiers, not even at the most exorbitant prices. Agents are travel- 
 ing over the States purchasing second hand blankets from families who 
 take them off their beds to accomodate the Soldiers in the field. 
 
 H. L. Rogers is now on his way to your agency with hands to 
 build houses for the Indians, he is sent out by Com r . Pike on his 
 responsibility. I wrote you by him. 
 
 Gen'l Pike will have command of the Military Department of 
 the Indian Country. He is now on his way to Richmond Va., when 
 he will [return] I am not advised, it will be with him to direct what 
 military force will be placed at Fort Cobb for the protection of your 
 agency, when that protection will be furnished I am unable to advise 
 you, of the importance of an efficient force being stationed there at 
 an early day there can be no doubt. 
 
 In regard to the Mail or Express arrangements you speak of, I 
 must say I have neither power, authority, or means to establish mail 
 or express routes to your agency or elsewhere. Our State and other 
 States are suffering greatly for want of mail facilities, and I cannot 
 involve myself pecuniarily in the matter, this matter must be brought 
 regularly before the Department and its action had. 
 
 In regard to the time when you may expect funds to close your 
 accounts I can only say that you need not expect funds until after the 
 treaties recently made are ratified and appropriations made in accord- 
 ance with your estimates furnished Com r Pike, the Government 
 will not, of course, send out funds for Indians until it is advised that 
 it has some treaty relations with them, I will leave here on the yth 
 day of next month for Richmond for the purpose of assisting in the 
 organization of our Indian business, and for the procurement of 
 funds, goods, etc, to carry out the provisions of the late treaties, on 
 my return you will be advised of the result of my mission. 
 
 I learn from Mr. C. B. Johnson that you had advised him that 
 Mr. Beckle is acting as Commissary, this is wrong and is calculated 
 to produce confusion in the accounts. Mr. Sturm is the recognized 
 commissary regularly appointed by me, he should not be sent away 
 from his regular duties on any other business and I so informed him 
 while here and notified him that his absence from his regular duties 
 on another occasion would be sufficient cause for me to remove him 
 and appoint his successor, the appointment of commissary belongs 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 333 
 
 exclusively to me, and you are well aware of the importance of his 
 being constantly at his post, as he is the check on the contractor in 
 filling the requisitions of the agent. In future I hope he will not 
 be detailed for any other duties. Mr. Sturm is and will continue to 
 be Commissary until removed by me either upon charges or such cause 
 as I may think requires his removal. Very respectfully, Your Ob't. 
 Serv't, E. RECTOR, Supt. Ind. Affairs. 
 
 Col. M. Leeper, Indian Agent, Wichita Agency, L.D. 
 
 The bearer of this letter, Capt. H. L. Rogers, has been employed 
 and empowered by Genl Pike Commissioner with plenary powers, to 
 proceed to the Wichita Agency, with hands, to erect buildings neces- 
 sary for the Commissary and cabins for the Indians, Commissioner 
 Pike becomes responsible for the work. . .-RECTOR to Leeper, 
 dated Fort Smith, October 25, 1861. 
 
 SUBPOENA 592 
 
 Confederate States vs. Matthew Leeper, Indian Agt, Comanche, et al. 
 State of Arkansas, The Confederate States of America. 
 
 To J. J. Sturm Greeting. You are hereby commanded, that 
 laying all manner of excuses aside, you be and appear before the 
 undersigned, special commissioner of C.S.A. at the Law Office of 
 James P. Spring, in the City of Fort Smith, in the County of 
 Sebastian, and State of Arkansas, on the loth day of January, 1862. 
 Then and there to testify and the truth to speak in a certain matter 
 before said Commissioner pending, wherein The Confederate States 
 of America prefers certain charges against Matthew Leeper, Indian 
 Agent of Comanche and other reserved Indians west of the State of 
 Arkansas, and on behalf of the C.S.A. 
 
 Herein fail not at your peril. 
 
 In testimony whereof I, James P. Spring, Commissioner of Exami- 
 
 592 These two brief communications have a bearing upon Leeper's case: 
 You are hereby ordered to remain at Fort Smith Arkansas from 
 loth. January 1862 untill further ordered by the undersigned, as a 
 witness in the case of the Confederate States of America against M. 
 Leeper, Ind. Agt. on certain charges preferred. - JAMES P. SPRING, com- 
 missioner, to J. J. Sturm, dated Fort Smith, Ark., December 22, 1861. 
 
 Spring may not be able to begin on Leeper's case before Jan. 20- 
 Is obliged to leave city. If Leeper wants while Spring is away, [to go] 
 to Fayetteville, he may & Spring will telegraph him upon his return. - 
 SPRING to Leeper, dated Fort Smith, Ark., December 23, 1861. 
 
334 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 nation, have hereunto set my hand and affixed my private seal [there 
 being no public seal for such purposes provided] in ,the City of Fort 
 Smith, this 1 2th. day of November, 1861. 
 
 JAMES P. SPRING, [Seal], Commissioner of Examination, C.S.A. 
 
 QUESENBURY 593 TO LEEPER 
 
 Gen. Pike is now in Richmond. I am engaged in building winter- 
 quarters for his Brigade. The General will probably return about 
 the loth of December. 
 
 I hope you will honour my requisitions for forage for the animals 
 of the expedition for the blankets at Mr. Shirley's. The trip will 
 be a hard one, and I fear a long one. 
 
 There is no news of import from my quarter. There was some- 
 thing of an occurrance in the Ho-poieth-le Yohola imbroglio the other 
 day. Mr. Scrimpsher can give you the current particulars. . . 
 
 FORT SMITH, Dec 4, 1861. 
 
 DR. SIR: -We have no late news of importance. The Federal 
 troops 30000 strong came as far as Springfield and fearing to advance 
 further returned to St. Louis & Kansas; the Kansas party took from 
 the vicinity of Springfield 600 negroes from Union men as well as 
 Secessionists. 
 
 A heavy battle was fought in Mo. opposite Columbus a few days 
 since. Pillow commanded the Confederate forces 2500 strong, the 
 Federals came down in their gun-boats 7000 strong & landed. The 
 fight lasted 4 hours with heavy losses on both sides. Pillow was then 
 reinforced and drove the Federals back to their boats making a perfect 
 slaughter of the Yankees. Our victory was complete and a very 
 important one it was. Price has gone back to the Mo. River, 
 McCulloch is bringing his army down here to go into winter quarters 
 on the Arks. River. 
 
 Hardin is marching on Louisville, Ky., with from 80 to 100,000 
 Confederate troops. We are expecting to hear of his having posses- 
 sion of that city soon. 
 
 McClellan is said to be advancing slowly and continuously on 
 Johnson and Boregard. They are anxious for him to pay them a visit. 
 
 Our legislature has elected Bob Johnson & Chas. Mitchell 
 Senators, the Washington County District elected Batson over 
 
 593 William Quesenbury to Leeper, dated Fort Gibson, C. N., Nov. 28, 1861. 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 335 
 
 Thomason to Congress. G. D. Royston is elected in this District and 
 Judge Hanley in the Helena District. 
 
 Can't think of anything else that would interest you. Your friend 
 in haste, R. P. PULLIAM. 
 
 Col. M. Leeper. 
 
 OFFICE SUPT. IND. AFFAIRS, FORT SMITH, Dec. 4th, '61. 
 
 SIR: I enclose herewith a Copy of a letter from Albert Pike 
 Comr. etc. to Elias Rector, Supt. Ind. Aff., of date 2ist. ultimo also 
 two official letters. 
 
 That portion of Comr. Pike's letter relating to inviting the Indians 
 to settle on the Reserve was anticipated by Supt. Rector's letter of 
 instructions to you of the 3Oth October last. 
 
 The messages which Comr. Pike wishes given to the Indians you 
 will, of course, deliver to them. 
 
 Maj. Rector left here for Richmond about ten days ago. When 
 he will return I am unable to say, as it seems from Pike's letter he 
 has to purchase and bring on the Indian goods. Very respectfully, 
 
 R. P. PULLIAM, Clk. 
 Col. M. Leeper, Wichita Agent. 
 
 WICHITAW FED [FEED] HOUSE, December loth 1861 
 DEAR CONL. From what I can asertain the Dutchman supposed 
 to be a spy is one of the party who of ten, (five Mexicans & five 
 whites) who prevented the wild Comanchees from coming in by 
 telling them that we were fixing a trap to destroy the last one of 
 them, when we got them here, and as an indusement to dispose of 
 their Buffalo Robes this party told the Indians that we would take 
 the last Robe from them with our troops. 
 
 The [above] I was informed of by the Comanche Cheves several 
 days ago Very truly J. SHIRLEY 
 
 Col M. Leeper, Wichitaw Agency. 
 
 WICHITA AGENCY L.D., Deer loth 1861 
 
 A memorandum of moneys and effects found on the person of a 
 german who says his name is Frederick Myer, arrested and detained 
 here, he being suspected of being a spy on the part of the United 
 States in opposition to the Confederate States of America. The indi- 
 vidual together with the moneys and property found upon his person 
 
336 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 is intended to be forwarded to the Superintendent of Indian Affairs 
 Fort Smith at as early a day as practicable 
 
 Four drafts on the U. S. Asst. Treasurer New York, dated at 
 Santa Fe N. M. Sept. I7th 1861 and drawn by Jno P. Hatch Capt. 
 Rm R. Actg C. S. in favor John Dold transferred to Frederick 
 Myer, viz. 
 
 No 103. Twelve Hundred & fifty dollars 
 " 104. Twelve Hundred & fifty dollars 
 " 105. Four Hundred & Eighty four dollars 
 
 106. Two Hundred & nineteen 50/100 dollars. 
 Also five other drafts as above described dated on the iQth Sept. 
 1861. viz;- 
 
 No. 112. Six Hundred dollars 
 " 113. Five Hundred dollars. 
 " 114. Four Hundred dollars 
 " 115. Three Hundred dollars 
 
 1 1 6. Two Hundred dollars. 
 
 One draft dated Sept. i8th 1861 drawn by J L Donnevhen P. M. 
 favor Stephen Bryce or order transferred to Frederick Myer 
 No 1669. Nine Hundred & eighty three 25/100 dollars. 
 Also in Gold One Hundred & fifty five dollars 
 
 Silver Seventy cents 
 One Colts Revolver, belt & Scabbard 
 One large Pocket Knife 
 
 Also found in his possission two ponies one gray and one sorrel 
 Four letters addressed as follows, 
 
 Mr. J. W. Gregory Santa Fe N. M. 
 
 Mr B Seligman 
 Mr. Geo. T. Madison 
 Mr W. W. Griffin 
 
 Received Wichita Agency L. D. Deer. 15 1861, all the above articles 
 moneys &c. excepting the two ponies bridle and saddle and saddle 
 bags, large knife and ten dollars in gold which were forwarded by 
 H. L. Rodgers accompanying the prisioner, all of which balance in 
 my possession to be delivered to the Superintendent of Indian Af- 
 fairs Fort Smith Arks. M. GRIMES 
 Received Fort Smith Dec. gth 1861 from M Grimes the above monies 
 & Pistol as per his Recpt to Col Leeper 
 
 E. RECTOR, Supt. Indian Affrs 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 337 
 
 WICHITA AGENCY S.D., Deer. i2th 1861 
 
 SIR: I forward to your charge by H. L. Rodgers, a german by 
 the name of Frederick Myer, whom I arrested as a spy or smugler 
 in behalf of the United States, and upon whose person was found 
 Six Thousand three hundred dollars in drafts upon the Assistant 
 Treasurer New York, one hundred and fifty five dollars in gold and 
 seventy cents in silver, four private letters of unimportant import, 
 two ponies and revolver pistol No 72,942 belt and hoster, one riding 
 saddle, one pack saddle and one pair saddle bags, all of which will 
 be forwarded to you by Mr Marshall Grimes, with the exception of 
 the two ponies bridle and saddle and saddle bags and ten dollars in 
 gold, which I have placed in charge of Mr H. L. Rodgers and will 
 accompany the prisoner. 
 
 The principal evidence against Frederick Myer, was derived from 
 the Trader Mr. John Shirley, whose written statement is herewith 
 enclosed. Very Respectfully Your obt. sert. 
 
 M. LEEPER, Ind. Agt. C.S.A. 
 Elias Rector Esq, Supt. Ind. Affis, 
 Fort Smith Arks. 
 
 WICHITA AGENCY, L.D. December i5th 1861 
 To JOHN JUMPER, and our brothers in the Seminole Nation, 
 
 We have nothing particular to write you, we are all well and 
 doing well here 
 
 Since we had the talk we have understood that you had some diffi- 
 culty among your people, but that does not have any bad effect upon 
 us as we are friends the same as at the time we made the treaties - 
 Our brothers the Comanches, and all the other tribes, are still friends 
 with you, and are all very sorry that you are fighting one against 
 another, brothers against brothers, and friends against friends. When 
 Mode Cunard and you were here and had the talk with Genl Pike - 
 we still hold to the talk we made with Genl Pike, and are keeping 
 the treaty in good faith, and are looking for him back again soon. 
 
 We look to you and Mode Cunard and Genl Pike as brothers - 
 General Pike told us at the council that, there were but few of us 
 here, and if anything turned up to make it necessary he would protect 
 them. We are just as we were when Genl Pike was up here and 
 keeping the treaty made with him - Our brothers the wild Comanches 
 have been in and are friendly with us. 
 
 All the Indians here have but one heart our brothers, the Texans, 
 
338 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 and the Indians are away fighting the cold weather people we do 
 not intend to go North to fight them but if they come down here, 
 we will all unite to drive them away - Some of my people are one 
 eyed and a little Crippled, but if the enemy comes here they will all 
 jump out to fight him -Also that Pea-o-popicult has recently the 
 principal Kiowa Chief has recently visited the reserve, and has ex- 
 pressed friendly intentions, and has gone back to consult the rest of 
 his people and designs returning 
 
 HOSEEA MARIA BUFFALO HUMP 
 
 KI-KAD-A-WAH 
 
 Chiefs of the Comanches 
 
 TE-NAH JIM POCKMARK. 
 
 GEO WASHINGTON 
 
 The Confederate States of America 
 
 To M. GRIMES Dr. 
 
 1861: Nov 30 For Services rendered of negro man 
 Guss as Laborer from ist Oct. to 
 3Oth Nov 1 86 1, inclusive, 2 mos. 
 at $300.00 pr. an. . . $ 50.00 
 
 Received at Wichita Agency L.D. Deer 3ist 1861, of M. Leeper Ind. 
 
 Agt. C.S.A. Fifty dollars in full of the above account. 
 $50.00 M. GRIMES. 
 
 I certify on honor that the above account is correct and just, and that 
 I have actually this 3ist day of Deer. 1861, paid the amount 
 thereof. IND. AGT. C.S.A 
 
 [Triplicates] 
 
 The Confederate States of America 
 
 To A. OUTZEN Dr. 
 
 1861: Deer 31 For Services rendered as Wheel- 
 wright etc. at Wichita Agency, 
 L.D. from ist Oct. to 3ist Deer. 
 1 86 1 inclusive, 3 months at 
 $600.00 pr an . . . $ 150.00 
 
 Received at Wichita Agency L.D. Deer 3 ist 1861 of M. Leeper, 
 
 Indian Agent, C.S.A. One Hundred & fifty 00/100 
 $150.00 A. OUTZEN Wheelwright. 
 
 I certify on honor that the above account is correct and just, and that 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 339 
 
 I have actually this 3ist day of Deer 1861, paid the amount thereof, 
 [Triplicates] IND. ACT. C.S.A. 
 
 The Confederate States of America 
 
 To J. B. BEVELL Dr. 
 
 1 86 1 : Deer 31 For Services rendered as Laborer at 
 Wichita Agency L.D. June I 
 Oct. to 1 5th Nov 1 86 1 - inclusive 
 i mo & 15 days at $300.00 pr an $ 37.50 
 And as Farmer from 16 Nov to 31 
 Deer 1 86 1 inclusive I mo & 15 
 days at $600.00 pr an . 75-OO 
 
 $ 112.50 
 
 Received at Wichita Agency L.D. Deer 3ist 1861 of M. Leeper 
 Ind. Agt. C.S.A. One Hundred & twelve 50/100 Dollars in full 
 of the above account. 
 
 $112.50. JOHN BEVELL Farmer 
 
 I certify on honor that the above account is correct and just, and that 
 I have actually this 3ist day of Deer 1861, paid the amount thereof, 
 [Triplicates] IND. AGT., C.S.A. 
 
 The Confederate States of America 
 
 To D. SEALS Dr. 
 
 1861: Deer. 31 For Services rendered as Farmer at 
 Wichita Agency L.D. from ist 
 Oct. to 3 ist Deer. 1861 inclusive, 
 3 months at $600.00 per an . $ 150.00 
 
 Received at Wichita Agency L.D. Deer. 3 1st 1861 of M Leeper In- 
 dian Agent C.S.A. One Hundred & fifty 00/100 Dollars in full 
 of the above account. 
 
 $150.00 DAVID SEALS, Farmer 
 
 I certify that the above account is correct and just, and that I have 
 actually this 31 day of Deer 1861, paid the amount thereof, 
 [Triplicates] IND. AGT. C.S.A. 
 
 FORT SMITH, January I3th, 1862. 
 
 SIR: In compliance with your letter of instruction of the loth 
 inst. I have the honor to present in detail the condition of affairs con- 
 
34-O The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 nected with the Wichita Agency. In thus presenting my report I 
 shall attempt to be governed by as much brevity as possible. 
 
 In detailing the affairs of the people in my charge and of my action 
 in reference to them it will become necessary to refer not only to the 
 present but to their past history in Texas. There was a time in 
 Texas when these people were in a prosperous and happy condition, 
 and they advanced as rapidly in the arts of civilization during that 
 time, perhaps, as any people ever did. But evil disposed persons in 
 their vicinity and those not far distant on the frontiers of Texas be- 
 came dissatisfied with their locality and determined to disperse and 
 break them up. They continued their work of desolation until the 
 indians were compelled to abandon their homes and seek a refuge west 
 of the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations on the Leased District. In 
 doing so they suffered many and very severe losses and privations. 
 Numbers of their horses and cattle were driven off by their enemies 
 and many things useful to them, were necessarily abandoned. 
 Estimates were prepared of the amount of damage and submitted to 
 the original United States Government but before any action was 
 taken, the government dissolved and their just claims consequently 
 failed. Therefore permit me most respectfully to suggest the pro- 
 priety of immediately calling the attention of our Government and 
 of the proper Department to the fact, in order that these people may 
 obtain adequate remuneration. In reference to their habitations, they 
 have nothing to claim. They have more and better houses than they 
 had in Texas. The Commanches have eight or ten neatly hewn log 
 cabins with good chimneys. Three double log hewn houses with good 
 chimneys, to each room for the chief's in addition to a number of 
 warm comfortable picket houses which they partly built themselves 
 and covered with grass. 
 
 In Texas they had but one house which belonged to the Chief, in 
 the scramble for the spoils at the time of the abandonment of Fort 
 Cobb by the federal troops they were not altogether behind for I 
 have observed among them several new Sibley tents and a number of 
 new common tents. The Tonkahwas have warm comfortable houses 
 made of poles and grass such as they had in Texas. And for the 
 chief I built a good double log house with chimneys to each room and 
 a hall or passage in the centre, in which he now lives. 
 
 The Anahdahkoes have quite a number of comfortable houses con- 
 sisting of four double houses with chimneys to each room, passages 
 in the centre and to some of them shed rooms attached. The re- 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 341 
 
 mainder consist of hewn log cabins and Picket houses such as they 
 had in Texas covered with grass. The Caddoes also have quite a 
 number of houses consisting of various double houses, single houses 
 and picket houses. 
 
 The Witchitas have no houses except such as they have built for 
 themselves consisting of a net work of sticks and grass but they are 
 warm and comfortable. They are not decided upon a permanent 
 location and consequently refuse to have houses built. The Tahwac- 
 carroes, Wacoes, Ionics and Kechies inhabit the same kind of houses 
 as the Witchitas and like them have not decided upon a permanent 
 location. The Shawnees and Delawares all have good comfortable 
 cabins. 
 
 In February last whilst at Washington I closed all my former ac- 
 counts with the department of the Interior of the United States Gov- 
 ernment and estimated for the first and second quarter of 1861 which 
 estimates amounted to 13899 dollars and eighty-five cents. On my 
 way to the Agency in the Indian Country prepared to carry out the 
 designs and expectations of the government I was arrested by one 
 Burrow who represented himself to be a general on the part of the 
 State of Arkansas, who examined my papers and took from me one 
 wagon four set of harness, one horse and seven mules, property which 
 had been purchased by the United States government for the use and 
 benefit of the Indians in my charge, all of which has been subsequently 
 returned with the exception of two of the mules. After the wagon 
 and mules were taken I hired transportation and proceeded to the 
 Agency where I found the Indians in a high state of excitement and 
 alarm; their fears having been excited by a Delaware Indian by the 
 name of Jim Ned and other evil disposed persons, tattlers and tale 
 bearers who are apt to be found loitering about Indian Reserves. 
 
 In reference to the people of Texas, I succeeded in satisfying them 
 that their apprehensions were groundless, let several contracts for 
 breaking prairie and commenced to work generally in accordance with 
 my estimates and the wishes of the Department. But soon after- 
 wards my state (Texas) seceded from the Union and I determined 
 no longer to act as a federal officer, and having no authority to act 
 for the Confederate States, I delivered to the indians all the property 
 in my possession which was held in trust for their benefit with the 
 exception of two wagons which were used in my transportation, which 
 together with one which had previously been loaned to the Com- 
 missary are now reported on my property rolls. With a hope to 
 
342 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 satisfy the indians until an agent should be appointed by the Confed- 
 erate States (which I assured them would soon take place) I ex- 
 pended the remainder of the money's in my hands for blankets tobacco 
 and clothing for them, they being in a destitute condition, occasioned 
 principally on account of losses sustained by their goods being sunk 
 in the Arkansas River and by the fire at Fort Smith. The goods 
 were intended to be duplicated and money's had been promised for 
 that purpose in advance of their regular supply of goods of which 
 the indians were apprised. 
 
 Upon the withdrawal of Texas from the Union, they again became 
 apprehensive of danger from the people of that State. I reminded 
 them that I was a Texan, and in order that they might have a positive 
 guaranty of safety, that they should have Texas troops to defend them. 
 I made the application and Capt. Diamond's company arrived on the 
 day of my departure. 
 
 During the whole course of my operations as Commanche Agent, 
 and more particularly the past year, my best efforts have been em- 
 ployed with a hope to induce all the southern bands of Comanches 
 to abandon their wandering habits become colonized and settle, that 
 being the most effectual means, and by far the least expensive mode 
 of checking their depredations on Texas, and finally by means of 
 messengers and messages I induced them to come in on the first of 
 August last and enter into treaty stipulations with Commissioner 
 Pike. A train of untoward circumstances prevented the commissioner 
 from complying strictly with his agreements with them which have 
 cast a shade of discontent upon their minds, and they say that it 
 is the cause of the non-compliance on their part, which was to settle 
 on the reserve last fall and abandon their roving habits. This how- 
 ever I do not believe: if the commissioner had met them at the time 
 appointed (the falling of the leaves) with all the goods promised I 
 am of opinion they would have received the goods made some excuse, 
 and returned again to the prairies. Such has been the case of the other 
 Comanches who have settled for several years and I think they would 
 have done so too. Perhaps their stealing operations would not have 
 been so extensive; but they say that that practice shall cease at any 
 rate as long as they are friends with us. 
 
 In November last I received a visit from a Kiowa chief by the 
 name of "Big-head" who made many fine promises and agreed to 
 settle on the reserve with his people, but in this I place but little 
 reliance. The Kiowa's are a very numerous band. They are north- 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 343 
 
 ern indians and their principal range is from the sources of the Arkan- 
 sas River to Bents Fort. Their principal chief originally contempti- 
 ously spoke of the United States government and troops, notwith- 
 standing he annually received a large amount of presents from that 
 government, consisting of blankets, clothing, tobacco, rifles, powder 
 and lead, etc. They now have a federal agent at Bent's Fort. 
 
 During the past six months, but little has been done on the re- 
 serve I have had no means to accomplish much. The employees 
 who have been engaged have suffered considerably with sickness dur- 
 ing the months of September and October last. They have built a 
 very comfortable double log house with a gallery in front and a 
 stable which is partly finished to which a room is attached for the 
 benefit of employees. Without such protection and security there is 
 no safety for the public animals necessary to carry on the farming 
 operations of the reserve. 
 
 No troops being stationed on the Leased District I have been un- 
 able to exercise the necessary control. The indians have been kept 
 in a constant state of turmoil by false representations both in reference 
 to myself and things affecting their individual interest. No indian 
 reserve can be conducted in a satisfactory manner either to the gov- 
 ernment or indians without the cooperation of troops to enable the 
 Agent to enforce the intercourse laws and eject disorderly persons 
 from amongst them. 
 
 No funds as yet have been received to meet the current expenses 
 of the Agency, nor has any forage been furnished except twenty four 
 bushels of corn and twelve of oats, which were received from Com- 
 missioner Pike. The remainder of the forage which was used in 
 sustaining two government animals and four private animals employed 
 in the public service from the first of August until the last of October 
 and from that time till the 3ist of December four additional public 
 animals, was gathered up at the different corn houses which had been 
 abandoned and were going to destruction at Fort Cobb, and a small 
 amount purchased on my own responsibility from the contractor for 
 supplying the indians. 
 
 It is deemed useless to suggest additional plans of retrenchment 
 and economy to the government as I am not advised as to the extent 
 and nature of the design of its future operations in reference to the 
 affairs of the reserve. With these facts submitted I have the honor 
 to be Sir very respectfully Your obedient Servant [M. LEEPER.] 
 E. Rector, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Southern Superintend- 
 
 ency 
 
344 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 WITCHITA AGENCY, Jan. 3ist., 1862. 
 BRIG. GEN'L A. PIKE, Com'd'y Indian Territory. 
 
 Sir : Enclosed please find muster roll of Reserve Indians enlisted 
 in the services of the Confederate Government under your authority 
 of the 3Oth Aug't, 1861 to M. Leeper, Indian Agent, to act as spies 
 and for the protection of the Agency until relieved by Confederate 
 forces. 
 
 You will perceive that I enlisted them on the Qth Sept. last and 
 have made up the roll to the 9th Feb'y> 1862, at which time I would 
 respectfully suggest the disbandment of them as they have already 
 served three months longer than they anticipated at the time of their 
 enlistment and they are anxious to be disbanded at the expiration of 
 this month. 
 
 As much doubt has been expressed by the other Indians not en- 
 listed, of these ever receiving pay for their services, I believe if they 
 were paid off [it] would at once convince them of the integrity and 
 honor of the Confederate Government and should any emergency 
 hereafter arise they will more readily flock to the standard of our 
 country. 
 
 Having received special instructions from M. Leeper, Indian 
 Agent, to remain at my post during his absence, I therefore forward 
 these papers by Mr. John Shirley and authorize him to act for me in 
 this matter. 
 
 MUSTER ROLL OF RESERVE INDIANS MUSTERED IN- 
 TO THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA UNDER 
 COMMAND OF LIEUT. GEN'L H. P. JONES, 
 SEPT. 9, 1861. 
 
 HORSE BRIDLE & SADDLE RIFLE Bow, ETC. 
 
 1. Pinahontsama, Sergt. $60. $5.00 $25. $5.00 
 
 2. Pive-ahope Corpl. $60.00 $5.00 do. 5.00 
 
 3. Chick-a-poo 30.00 5.00 25.00 5.00 
 
 4. Charley Chickapoo 30.00 5.00 25.00 5.00 
 
 5. Somo 40.00 5.00 10.00 5.00 
 
 6. Boo-y-wy-sis-ka 50.00 5.00 25.00 5.00 
 
 7. Cu-be-ra-wipo 50.00 5.00 25.00 5.00 
 
 8. Ca-na-with 40.00 5.00 25.00 5.00 
 
 9. A-ri-ka-pap 55-OO 5.00 25.00 5.00 
 
 10. Pith-pa- wah 50.00 5.00 5.00 
 
 11. Pe-ah-ko-roh 35-OO 5.00 35-OO 5.00 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 345 
 
 HORSE BRIDLE & SADDLE RIFLE Bow, ETC. 
 
 12. Jim Chickapoo 
 
 65.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 six shooter 25.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 13. Na-na-quathteh 
 
 40.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 
 5.00 
 
 14. To-no-kah 
 
 80.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 25.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 15. Ath-pah 
 
 25.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 Pistol #5.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 1 6. Pe-ba-rah 
 
 30.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 25.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 17. Cur-su-ah 
 
 45.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 10.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 1 8. Cow-ah-dan Sept.23d. 
 
 $60. 
 
 5.00 
 
 15.00 
 
 5.00 
 
 Signed Sealed & delivered in the presence of David Seals & Dr. 
 Bucket, Sept. 9, 1861. 
 
 WICHITA AGENCY L. D. Feby the gth 1862 
 I certify on honor that I have received from Messrs Johnson & 
 Grimes Seventeen hundred and fifty-four rations of Beef, Flour, 
 Coffee, Sugar, Soap, and Salt for the use of my Spy Company raised 
 for the protection of the Wichita Agency by authority of Commis- 
 sioner A. Pike as per letter dated Augt. 3Oth 1861 to M. Leeper 
 Indian Agent H. P. JONES, Lt. Com'd'y. and Act'g C. of S. 
 
 HEAD QUARTERS DEP'T OF IND'N TERRITORY, 
 FORT McCuLLOCH, 23rd April 1862. 
 SPECIAL ORDERS, No. - 
 
 Lieut. Col. Harris, Commanding Chickasaw Battalion, will sta- 
 tion four companies instead of two, of his Battalion, at Camp Mcln- 
 tosh, and two only at Fort Arbuckle. He will consult with the Agent 
 for the Reserve Indians, Col. Matthew Leeper, and do everything in 
 his power to protect the Agency and the peaceful Indians on the Re- 
 serve, placing, if necessary his troops at or near the Agency, and con- 
 trolling the unruly Indians, by force of arms, if it becomes necessary. 
 By order of Brig. Gen'l Com'd'g 
 
 FAYETTE HEWITT A. A. General 
 
 [Copy] May 7, 1862. 
 
 Hon. Comr. Indian Affairs, enclosing copies from Gen'l Pike. 
 
 WASHITA AGENCY, L.D. May 7, 1862. 
 
 SIR: Enclosed herewith I have the honor to transmit for the in- 
 formation of the Department the copy of a letter addressed to Gen'l 
 Pike on the 1 3th April last, and his reply thereto; the troops promised 
 by the General have not arrived nor have I any tidings from them. 
 
 There can be no question, if the Confederate States desire to keep 
 up this Agency and to continue their friendly relations with the In- 
 
346 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 dians adjacent to the Reserve, that a strong garrison is necessary. 
 The appearance of friendship could be maintained perhaps without 
 it, but to put an entire stop to the depredations upon Texas, cannot 
 be accomplished without the restraining influence of a military force; 
 a small force at all times here is necessary to enable the Agent to 
 enforce the Intercourse Laws, and to expell from the Reserve, dis- 
 orderly persons and idlers, hovering around the Indian Camps with- 
 out any legitimate business or employment. I would further respect- 
 fully suggest with all due deference to the military skill of Gen. 
 Pike, that white troops would be infinitely better and far more avail- 
 able in every particular than Indians. It is well known that the 
 people of Texas adjacent to the Reserve have no very kind feelings 
 for Indians generally, and if it should become necessary to exercise 
 military authority over a Texan no matter who he is or however 
 worthless he might be, if it was done by Indian soldiers, it would en- 
 gender deep-rooted malice in the minds of very many of the Texan 
 people against the troops, which, in all probability would militate 
 largely against the interest of the Government. White troops have 
 a greater influence upon the Indians than Indian troops would have, 
 and understand more perfectly the obligations of enlisted men. 
 
 In my letter to Gen. Pike, I gave it as an opinion that it would be 
 better to either drive the Indians off, who are not located, or to re- 
 quire them to settle on the Reserve. Various conversations had with 
 them since that time has been the means of changing my opinion; I 
 think by continuing the practice of giving them provisions and more 
 supplies of presents when they visit the Agency will perhaps induce 
 them to remain quiet and not disturb Texas, particularly if we pre- 
 sent an array of troops sufficiently strong to chastise them in the event 
 of their forfeiting their promises and acting a faithless part. To-day 
 I held a Council with some of the wild chiefs, they made fair prom- 
 ises, and promised to bring to the Agency on the 2Oth of June next, 
 the other wild chiefs who have never visited this place, for the pur- 
 pose of entering into a general treaty of peace, and they say they will 
 use all their influence with the Kioways to restore the horses lately 
 stolen from the Reserve Indians and cause those to treat likewise. If 
 it should be the desire of the Government for me to have them sign 
 the Treaty with such amendments or alterations as may be suggested, 
 there would not be the slightest difficulty in the way, it can be accom- 
 plished without any further parade or expense, except the ordinary 
 supply of provision and a few small presents in the way of goods. 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 347 
 
 Allow me to direct the attention of the Department to the fact that 
 the present Contract for furnishing rations to the Indians will expire, 
 I am told, on the i6th August next, (I have never been furnished 
 with a copy) and that it will be necessary in order to give satisfaction 
 to the public to give at least a month's notice of the time and place, a 
 new one will be let and having been informed that the next Contract 
 would be let at this agency, and that the local agent would be charged 
 with the duty, I deem it necessary immediately to repair to Fort Smith 
 to await instructions and other necessary papers in reference to my 
 official station and to receive funds for the present and to forward an 
 estimate for the ensuing fiscal year. 
 
 May 8th. 
 
 To-day I was visited by quite a number of chiefs belonging to the 
 wild Comanches who have never been here before. They say they * 
 are desirous of making a perpetual and ever-lasting peace with the 
 Southern people, the fourth of July is appointed for a general gather- 
 ing in Council of all the Chiefs and principal men belonging to the 
 Comanches for the purpose of entering into a general and lasting peace 
 upon the same terms and conditions which are offered those already 
 settled. I appointed the 4th of July that I might have an opportunity 
 in the mean time of consulting with and ascertaining the pleasure of 
 the Government in reference to them. I am of the opinion that three 
 or four thousand dollars worth of goods furnished upon that occasion 
 and distributed to them as presents would have a beneficial effect. 
 
 I learn from them that four white men and four Indians were 
 recently killed on the Llano, Texas that the Indians were returning 
 from Mexico & without knowing anything of the friendly relations 
 which now exist between our people and theirs, they stopped as usual, 
 stole a parcel of horses, were pursued and the killing aforementioned 
 was the consequence, they assert that they will control their people 
 hereafter from depredating upon Texas, and that if any of their bad 
 men should cross Red River that they will give immediate notice of 
 the fact that they may be overtaken and killed, and if they should 
 escape notice steal horses and return they will immediately take them 
 from them, deliver them to the Agent with information in reference 
 to the place from which they were taken, so the owners can recover 
 them again. 
 
 With these facts submitted, I have the honor to be very respect- 
 fully, Your Obedient Servant 
 
 (Sgd.) M. LEEPER, Indian Agent, C.S.A. 
 
348 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 COPY TO BRIG. GEN'L A. PIKE, APR. 13, 1862. IN REF- 
 ERENCE TO THE CONDUCTING OF THE RESERVE 
 COMANCHES AND WILD BANDS OF COMANCHES, AL- 
 SO REQUESTING A MILITARY FORCE TO BE STA- 
 TIONED ON THE RESERVE 
 
 WASHITA AGENCY, L.D. April 13, 1862. 
 BRIG. GEN'L A. PIKE, Com'd'g of Indian Terr'y 
 
 Sir: It becomes my duty under official instructions to keep you 
 advised of the feelings and bearings of the Indians on the Reserve 
 and more particularly of the wild bands adjacent to it who profess 
 friendship for us. The recent friendly relations which have been 
 professed on the part of the Indians and attempted to be cultivated 
 on our part have produced an opposite result upon the Comanche 
 Reserve Indians from that which was anticipated, boys who have been 
 partly reared upon the Reserve and who hitherto have conducted 
 themselves with the greatest propriety are now unruly and are subject 
 to the most unbridled passions and unheard of improprieties, they 
 have destroyed pretty much all the poultry belonging to Dr. Shirley, 
 have shot arrows into his milk cows, killed several of the beeves be- 
 longing to the contractor. They are in the habit of shooting beeves 
 full of arrows in the beef pen before they are issued, killing some 
 of them and rendering others unable to be driven to the different In- 
 dian encampments, this practice was repeated on yesterday in the 
 presence of the chiefs, when one of the interpreters, Mr. H. P. Jones, 
 admonished Buffalo Hump to check such outrages and reprove the 
 boys for such improprieties, but was fiercely turned upon by the old 
 Indian and abused in the most unmeasured terms, the boys then rode 
 to the Agency, approached the horse lot and one of them was just in 
 the act of shooting a horse, I succeeded in preventing him from doing 
 so myself. 
 
 Those wild fellows come in, hold war dances and scalp dances, 
 speak of their agility in stealing horses and of their prowress in taking 
 scalps of white men and Mexicans, and of the rapture with which 
 they are received and amorous embraces of the young damsels on their 
 return until the young men heretofore inclined to lead an idle but 
 civil life on the Reserve are driven mad with excitement, some of 
 them have left, others are going today with the wild Indians for the 
 ostensible purpose I am told of depredating upon Mexico, but really, 
 in my opinion upon Texas, many depredations have recently been com- 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 349 
 
 mitted upon that frontier, and lately an Anahdahko Indian and a 
 negro belonging to that band crossed Red River, stole five horses, 
 killed three of them and returned home on the other two, they alledge 
 that it would not have taken place, but for the want of the restraining 
 influence of the Chief who was absent at Fort Davis for presents 
 (this is a mere subterfuge of course). 
 
 The wild Indians are principally located within two days ride of 
 this place and I suppose could muster two thousand warriors, when 
 they come here they are rather impudent and insolent in their demands 
 and upon one occasion threatened to force the doors of the Commis- 
 sary and help themselves. A few days since three of their young men 
 forcibly opened one of the doors of Dr. Shirley's house and attempted 
 to enter his wife's bed chamber. They were met by the doctor at 
 the door who, after a scuffle and slight altercation with one of them 
 caused them to desist. 
 
 Many horses have recently been stolen from the Reserve Indians, 
 some of which are known to have been taken by the bands professing 
 friendship, who promised to restore them. 
 
 I am clearly of the opinion that this Reserve cannot be sustained 
 without a strong military force, and that it would be much better to 
 require those wild fellows either to settle on the Reserve or quit the 
 country, at present they appear to make it a place of convenience, to 
 rest, feed and recruit themselves, on their return from a stealing ex- 
 pedition, and to procure provisions and a suitable outfit, the better to 
 enable them to prosecute their fiendish designs. Therefore permit me 
 respectfully to solicit you to furnish at the shortest practicable period 
 a strong mounted force, say one Regiment at least to be situated here 
 to act in concert with the Civil Authorities in holding those Indians 
 in check, preventing the forays in Texas and in regulating the affairs 
 of the Reserve. I would also with due deference suggest the name 
 of Col. Alexander of Sherman, as a gentleman eminently qualified 
 for the service. Texas troops would be more available here at present 
 than any others, for the Indians have an instinctive dread of them. 
 
 In the event that it should become absolutely necessary in the 
 absence of suitable protection to abandon the Reserve, a suggestion 
 from you in reference to the proper course to be taken would be ac- 
 ceptable, my notion is to fall back upon Red River or into Texas 
 with all the Indians who are true to the South and if overtaken by 
 the way, defend to the last extremity. 
 
350 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 All my official correspondence I report to the Department but 
 before I could get an expression of opinion from that source, it would 
 probably be too late to avail anything. I shall feel obliged for a reply 
 by the messenger. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant. 
 
 [M. LEEPER] 
 JONES 594 TO PIKE 
 
 I have the honor to inform you that the reserve Comanche Indians 
 enlisted in the service of the Confederate States by your authority of 
 the 3Oth August 1861 were on the 9th April last disbanded with the 
 consent and knowledge of Col. M. Leeper indian agent The reason 
 for so doing was that latterly they would not remain at their encamp- 
 ment and their horses were never at hand when wanted. 
 
 JONES 595 TO PIKE 
 
 The Indians placed in my charge by your order for the protection 
 of this agency finally proved uncontrollable and utterly useless, and 
 were therefore with the knowledge and consent of the Agent dis- 
 charged on the 1 3th of April last. . . 
 
 [On the nth of August, 1862, Agent S. G. Colley transmitted to 
 Dole from Fort Larned two documents, 596 one of which he thought 
 reflected upon the loyalty or honesty of Capt. Whittenhall, formerly 
 commanding at Fort Larned.] 
 
 (A) I have this day received of Lone Wolf a chief Kiowas a 
 paper from Albert Pike of the so-called S.C. which I will give to him 
 again and another to the said Albert Pike after the Indian agent shall 
 distribute the goods to the Indians. 
 
 D. S. WHITTENHALL, Capt. Com'd'g Post. 
 July 22, 1862 
 
 [Endorsement] A true copy. 
 
 J. H. LEAVENWORTH, Col. 2nd Reg't C.V. 
 
 (B) WICHITA AGENCY L.D., May 3ist, 1862. 
 The bearer E-sa-sem-mus Kiowa Chief has visited and promised 
 
 on the part of their tribe to be friendly with the people of Texas and 
 
 594 H. P. Jones, late lieutenant-commanding to Brigadier-general A. Pike, 
 commanding Indian Territory, dated Washita Agency L.D., May 8, 1862. 
 
 595 H. P. Jones to Pike, dated Washita Agency, May 8, 1862. 
 
 596 Indian Office, Land Files, Upper Arkansas, 1855-1865, 1749. 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 351 
 
 ourselves it is hoped that so long as they carry out that promise they 
 will be treated kindly. M. LEEPER, Ind. Agt. C.S.A. 
 
 per C. A. ZICHEL 
 [Endorsement] A true copy. 
 
 J. H. LEAVENWORTH Col. 2nd Reg't C.V. 
 
 LEEPER TO PIKE 
 
 WASHITA AGENCY, L.D., June 26, 1862. 
 BRIG. GEN'L A. PIKE, Com'd'y Ind. Terr'y and Act'g Superintendent. 
 
 Sir: Being desirous of keeping you advised of all my official oper- 
 ations, enclosed herewith you will please find a copy of requests made 
 by Capts. Hart & James. I found those officers courteous and 
 prompt, and manifesting an unreserved degree of willingness to aid 
 me in carrying out the designs of the Confederate States of America 
 in sustaining the Reserve and giving satisfaction to the Indians located 
 thereon. 
 
 I learn that an annual festival or dance of the Kioways and the 
 wild Comanche bands is expected to be held about this time, which 
 may detain them beyond the 4th of July, and with a view to have 
 reliable information in reference to the matter and ascertain the pre- 
 cise time they may be expected here, three or four days since I dis- 
 patched To-sha-hua and Pinahontsama to visit their encampments 
 for the purpose ; they will return in about six days. Upon the arrival 
 of the Kioway Chiefs here, I shall have your excellent address care- 
 fully interpreted to them and get them to sign the Treaty. If it 
 should be your pleasure they should do so, I apprehend that I can 
 take all the Comanche Chiefs and the Kioway Chiefs to your Head 
 Quarters, which I will cheerfully do, in that event however they 
 would naturally expect in addition to their daily supply of food a few 
 presents in the way of clothing and tobacco. 
 
 The present fiscal year is now within a few days of being closed, 
 the employees on the Reserve and the trader from whom small pres- 
 ents have been purchased for the Indians are unpaid, no funds have 
 been furnished for the purpose except fifteen hundred dollars which 
 was handed me by the late Superintendent and was in part used in 
 liquidation of my own Salary and the remainder, say six or seven 
 hundred dollars, in the payment of employees, for the want of funds 
 I have been unable to close my account, they will all be ready, how- 
 
352 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 ever, on the first of July, and if you should be in possession of funds 
 for the purpose, after the anticipated meeting of the Indians here, if 
 it should meet your approbation, I will take the accounts to your 
 Head Quarters and submit them to your inspection in order that 
 they may be closed, provided it is inconvenient for you to transmit 
 the money to me. 
 
 I desire to call your attention particularly to the fact that the 
 present Contract for supplying the Indians with rations on the Reserve 
 will terminate I am told (I have never been favored with a copy) on 
 the 1 6th of August next, and it therefore would seem proper that a 
 new contract should be let in time for the Contractor to have his 
 supplies in readiness for delivery at that time, and it is but justice 
 to Mr. Chas. B. Johnson, the present Contractor to say that he has 
 complied with his Contract to the entire satisfaction of all concerned, 
 kept ample supplies at all times on hand, and disposed to be pleasant 
 and obliging not only to the Indians, but to all other persons with 
 whom he has had business to transact. 
 
 When the Kioways arrive I apprehend they will have many horses 
 and mules in their possession which will be identified by the Texas 
 people here as the property of people living in Texas; the friendly 
 relations and recent social intercourse of these Indians with those 
 of the wild bands has been the cause of introducing here several 
 horses and mules of that description already. My original instruc- 
 tions under the United States Government was to take possession 
 of all such property and have them delivered to their proper owners, 
 but if a course of that kind was now pursued it would at once defeat 
 the Treaty with the wild bands and cause them to recommence their 
 depredations with increased violence and renewed vigor. The loth 
 Article of the recent Treaty reads thus: 
 
 It is distinctly understood by the said four bands of the Ne-um, the 
 State of Texas is one of the Confederate States, and joins in this Con- 
 vention, and signs it when the Commissioner signs it, and is bound by 
 it; and that all hostilities and enmities between it and them are now 
 ended, and are to be forgotten and forgiven forever on both sides. 
 
 Also the I gth Article commencing at the I5th line reads thus: 
 And the same things in all respects are also hereby offered to the Kio- 
 ways and agreed to be given them, if they will settle in said Country, 
 atone for the murders and robberies they have lately committed and 
 show a resolution to lead an honest life; to which end the Confederate 
 States send the Kioways with this talk, the wampum of peace and the 
 bullet of war, for them to take their choice, now and for all time to come. 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 353 
 
 But the Treaty is silent in reference to the manner in which the 
 owners of property lost in that manner are to be remunerated. 
 
 In a consultation which I held with Capts Hart and James we 
 determined to take proof in reference to the ownership of the prop- 
 erty, place a fair valuation upon it and submit it to the Confederate 
 Government for their approbation, approval, and allowance, pro- 
 vided, however, that it should meet your approbation in the first place. 
 
 A short time since a delegation from all the tribes here except the 
 Tonkahwas and Comanches visited the Kioways to obtain from them 
 their horses which were stolen by the Kioways, one of the Waco 
 Chiefs has returned and says they delivered to him ten of the stolen 
 horses, were disposed to be friendly and said all of them should be 
 given up, but after he left a Wichita stole from the Kioways twenty- 
 one horses and a Caddo four and have brought them to the Reserve. 
 I held a consultation with the Chiefs in reference to the matter in 
 which it was determined that the horses should be taken from those 
 who stole them and returned to the Kioways immediately after the 
 return of the Wichita Chief La-sa-di-wah, who will report the facts 
 as they are. 
 
 In all my official relations I have avoided, as far as possible, in- 
 curring useless or unnecessary expenses, and now the troubled condi- 
 tion of the country would seem to render it doubly necessary, allow 
 me therefore to suggest that the office of Commissiary is a sinecure, 
 a useless expenditure of public money to the Government and an in- 
 jury to the public service, it has never been allowed before at an 
 Agency where an agent could be present and witness the issues him- 
 self, the Interpreters necessarily have to be present, and heretofore 
 have witnessed the issues, the Commissary merely being an impartial 
 weigher between the Contractor and the Indians which can be done 
 just as well by one of the Interpreters without incurring any addi- 
 tional expense to the Government. 
 
 One of the greatest injuries which I have met with during a term 
 of more than five years service, has been experienced from officious 
 meddlers, idlers and tale-bearers who are apt to hover round Indian 
 encampments, and I have never found one more so than the present 
 Commissary. J. J. Sturm who spends the principal part of his time 
 at the Indian encampments pretends to know more than anyone else, 
 palpably neglects the instructions given him and has produced more 
 disquiet on the Reserve than has been produced from all other causes, 
 he would have been suspended and reported long since, but I was ap- 
 
354 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 prehensive that it might be supposed that I was actuated from vin- 
 dictive feelings towards him on account of an injury which he at- 
 tempted to inflict upon me. At the close of the present Contract if 
 you should deem it necessary to continue such an office, I hope a more 
 suitable man will be appointed. 
 
 At the close of the present fiscal year I shall report in detail every- 
 thing connected with the Reserve and the Indians thereon, the ex- 
 penses thereof and the reasons and necessities for so doing. I am sir, 
 Very respectfully, Your obt. servant. [M. LEEPER] 
 
 LEEPER TO PIKE 
 
 Copy to Brig. Gen'l Albert Pike, Acting Supt., Comr., Etc., in refer- 
 ence to making a treaty with the Kioway Indians and the signing 
 of the amendments of Congress. 
 
 WASHITA AGENCY, L.D., July n, 1862. 
 
 BRIG. GEN'L ALBERT PIKE, & Act'g Superintendent, Commissioner, 
 etc., 
 
 Sir: In compliance with your instructions and authority, I have 
 this day entered into Treaty stipulations with the Kioway Indians 
 and all the wild Comanche bands with the exception of the Kua-ha- 
 ra-tet-sa-co-no who inhabit the western portion of the "Staked Plains," 
 and with those I am negotiating and shall probably conclude a treaty 
 of peace in September or October next. Those who treated in August 
 last have also signed and adopted amendments of Congress. 
 
 They retired well satisfied with themselves, and with the action of 
 the Confederate Government, consequently peace and quietness may 
 be expected to prevail in future upon the frontier of Texas, provided, 
 however, that a band of fugitives from the various clans who have 
 congregated on the Pecos, numbering it is said one hundred and fifty 
 or two hundred, governed by no law and disposed to spread desolation 
 wherever they go, are destroyed or our troops can receive aid from the 
 bands who have treated in hunting down and destroying those "fel- 
 lows". I am sir, Very respectfully, Your obt. ser't 
 
 [M. LEEPER] Ind. Agency, C.S.A. 
 
 NOTICE 
 
 As Agent and Acting Commissioner on the part of the Confederate 
 States of America, I have entered into Solemn Treaty stipulations of 
 perpetual friendship and peace with the Kioway Indians and wild 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 355 
 
 bands of Comanches except the Kna-ha-ra-tet-sa-co-no whose habita- 
 tions are on the Western extremity of the "Staked Plains" and with 
 those I am negotiating and will probably conclude a treaty some time 
 in September next. 
 
 Therefore perfect peace and quietness may soon be expected to 
 prevail on the Texas frontier. 
 
 In order to convince the Indians of our sincerity and punctuality, 
 it is necessary to comply strictly with the Treaty, and to do that, the 
 Government expects me to employ four or five farmers and twenty 
 laborers which I desire to do; farmers with families would be pre- 
 ferred, to whom fifty dollars per month and rations will be given, and 
 to laborers twenty-five dollars per month and rations, negro men 
 would be preferred. 
 
 At present there is not the slightest danger there, the agency is 
 one of the most quiet and peaceful places within the limits of the 
 Confederate Government. 
 
 Apply to the undersigned who will remain a few days in Sherman 
 and afterward at the Washita Agency. 
 July 2ist 1862. 
 
 LEEPER [?] TO PARKS 
 
 SHERMAN, TEXAS, July 28th, 1862. 
 MR. ROBERT W. PARKS, 
 
 Sir, - Enclosed you will please find the copy of a letter of instruc- 
 tions to me from Gn'l Pike the Acting Superintendent of Indian 
 Affairs (addressed to you) in reference to fifteen thousand dollars 
 appropriated by the Government to purchase farming utensils, oxen, 
 wagons and stock animals for Indians located on the Washita Reserve, 
 which fund was handed to you. The direction of the expenditures 
 of the fund legitimately belongs to the local Agent who is alone sup- 
 posed to know the amount and description of articles necessary to be 
 purchased for the Indians, hence Gen'l Pike's letter. Before making 
 any of the purchases indicated it would be well to see me in order to 
 ascertain the amount and description required, the Indians already 
 have been furnished with a few wagons, oxen and farming utensils, 
 in fact in reference to farming implements they are well enough sup- 
 plied with the exception of weeding hoes and axes; and in reference 
 to the stock animals to be purchased I would like to have a distinct 
 understanding with regard to the quality and the price; a responsible 
 gentleman whom I met here is willing to furnish cows and calves, 
 
356 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 the cows not to exceed six years old delivered at the agency at sixteen 
 dollars ; therefore I should be unwilling to receive on the part of the 
 Government animals of that description at a higher price in the ab- 
 sence of positive instructions to that effect; the quantity also to be 
 purchased is an important item. 
 
 If you will take the trouble to visit the Agency, I will give you an 
 exact description of the articles necessary to be purchased and will 
 give you the preference as a contractor for furnishing the same. 
 
 A copy of this letter will be furnished the Acting Superintendent 
 Gen'l Pike, and the Department. Very respectfully, Your obt sevt. 
 
 [M. LEEPER] 
 
 WASH., ARK., Aug. 19, 1862. 
 
 COLONEL: I have forwarded you letters to the Commissioner of 
 Indian Affairs. Having resigned and been deprived of command in 
 the Indian Country, I am also relieved of duty as Acting Superin- 
 tendent, for which crowning mercy, God be thanked. 
 
 Mr. Parks returned on receiving your letter and refunded me 
 $15,000 placed in his hands, except $2OO, paid for a mowing ma- 
 chine. I have deposited the residue, with all other Indian moneys, 
 (Coin and paper), in a safe place, and so advised the Commissioner. 
 As soon as a new Superintendent is appointed, I hope to get rid of 
 it all. 
 
 If you had written me, before, what you write now, in regard to 
 McKusken[?], you would not have had to complain that I frustrated 
 your efforts. You sent him to me it is true, but with no such charges, 
 and consequently left me bound to pay him off. I had employed him, 
 and no showing was made to me that he did not deserve his pay. I 
 hear the charges now for the first time. 
 
 As to the corn at Cobb, I think you are misinformed. When I 
 returned there last fall I found it difficult to get a small quantity, 
 because the officer in Command said they needed it all; although the 
 troops were on the point of leaving. I know it had been so wasted 
 that there was not much left and what was left, you needed, as you 
 had none. I wonder you did not send your wagons and get it, as 
 soon as the troops left, if there was any remaining, and account for it. 
 
 I was sorry to hear that you had made unkind remarks in regard 
 to myself, and though apparently my friend, were secretly my enemy - 
 and I am truly glad to receive your flat contradiction. I have never 
 had any unkind feelings towards you, and was glad to believe after 
 
Wichita Agency Papers 357 
 
 meeting you this Summer, that you had none towards me. For any 
 imputations against yourself in your official capacity, you are indebted 
 in chief measure to Major Rector who made them openly, anywhere, 
 and in the presence of many. What Mr. Sturm said was not said 
 willingly, but drawn from him. He showed a great disinclination to 
 say anything against you. 
 
 Believe me, I would now, as always for years past, rather serve 
 than injure you. And I sincerely hope our friendly relations may 
 continue. I expect to settle not far from you and will always gladly 
 aid in cultivating friendship with the Indians and enabling you to 
 succeed with them. I am very truly yours ALBERT PIKE 
 
 Col. M. Leeper C.S. Agent Etc. 
 
 DESHLER 59T TO LEEPER 
 
 Gen. Holmes in reply to your letter of iyth inst. just received, 
 instructs me to say, that Gen. Hindman is going to take command 
 of all the troops in the Indian country, he starts in a day or two. 
 Col. W. P. Lane's Reg't has been ordered to Fort Arbuckle. The 
 gen. com'd'g thinks these measures will be sufficient to insure quiet 
 in your region, but instructs me to say that if he knew of any avail- 
 able force in Texas he would have no objection to sending 5 or 6 
 Companies to you, but there are no troops available other than Col. 
 Lane's Reg't already ordered to Arbuckle. 
 
 597 James Deshler to Leeper, dated Little Rock, Sept. 28, 1862. 
 
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 I. GENERAL ACCOUNT OF DOCUMENTARY SOURCES. 
 
 The material for this book has been drawn almost entirely from 
 documentary sources and, in a very large measure, from unpublished 
 documentary sources; namely, the manuscript records of the United 
 States Indian Office. Those records to-day are in a very disorganized 
 state, largely due to change of system and to the many removals to 
 which they have been subjected within the last few years. At the 
 time when they were examined for the purposes of the present work, 
 such of them as were not included in Registers, Letter Books, and 
 Report Books were classified as Land Files, General Files, Special 
 Files, Emigration Files, Miscellaneous Files, Star Files, and the like, 
 the basis of classification being, convenience in the current and routine 
 work of the office. The individual files were arranged according 
 to tribe, agency, or superintendency and every incoming letter had 
 its own file mark. It had a letter to designate the transmitter, that 
 letter being the initial of the transmitter's surname or of the office 
 he represented, and it had a number to indicate its rank in a series, 
 all the papers of which bore the same initial letter and had been 
 received in the same given year. Finally, it was rated as belonging 
 to a particular tribe, agency, or superintendency and to a particular 
 file. 
 
 In the autumn of 1911, an attempt was made to consolidate the 
 old Land and General Files with the result that now they are no 
 longer distinct from each other; but it has seemed best not to change 
 the reference in the citations. The year, the letter, and the number 
 are permanent indices and, with them at hand, there ought to be no 
 difficulty in the locating of a paper, except for the fact that nearly 
 everything in the United States Indian Office seems, just now, rather 
 transitory and chaotic. Had the inaugural ball for 1913 not been 
 dispensed with, the plan was, to use the records as the base for the 
 band-stand, a decidedly interesting reflection, one must admit, upon 
 the popular notion of the value of the national archives. 
 
 Among the manuscripts used in the preparation of the present 
 
360 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 work, were two collections of papers that came into the United States 
 Indian Office out of the regular course of its official business. In the 
 citations, one is noted as Leeper Papers, and the other as Fort Smith 
 Papers. Their history, since they came into the Indian Office, proves 
 how urgent is the need for a Hall of Records. Inasmuch as these 
 papers were not required for the every-day business of the office, they 
 were packed away, years and years ago, along with a lot of other 
 commercially useless papers, in huge boxes and stored in the attic of 
 the old Post-office Building. There they were left to be forgotten. 
 In the course of time, the Office of Indian Affairs was moved from 
 the old Post-office Building to the Pension Building ; but the packing- 
 boxes in the attic were inadvertently left behind. One day, however, 
 the writer discovered that papers, found at the Wichita Agency at 
 the time Agent Leeper was killed, October, 1862, had really come 
 into the Indian Office; but the question was, where were they? A 
 search high and low was totally without success until it developed 
 that the packing-boxes in the attic were supposed to contain "useless" 
 papers and were still in the old Post-office Building. Permission was 
 obtained to have them examined and, for this purpose, they were 
 transferred to the Pension Building. Among their contents was 
 found a number of interesting and valuable documents which very 
 likely would soon have been lost forever, destroyed by the General 
 Land Office because abandoned by the Indian. The contents included, 
 besides the Leeper Papers for which the search had been especially 
 conducted, letter-books of Michigan territorial governors, file-boxes 
 of all sorts, and a mass of Confederate stuff, brought from Fort Smith. 
 The last-named proved a veritable mine of wealth. It comprised 
 the occasional correspondence of Cooper, Cowart, Crawford, Drew, 
 Dean, Rector, Pike, and many others whose official life had brought 
 them into contact with the Indians. It was all very suggestive and 
 remunerative. 
 
 To supplement the manuscripts an exhaustive search of the Official 
 Records of the War of the Rebellion has been made and with good 
 results. It is a pity that the material in the Official Records is so 
 badly arranged and so much of it duplicated and often triplicated. 
 Had it been better edited and better indexed, the danger of over- 
 looking important documents would have been minimized a hundred- 
 fold. The volumes found particularly useful for Indian participation 
 in the Civil War were the following: 
 First Series, vols. i; iii; iv; viii; ix; xiii; xxii, parts I and 2; 
 
Bibliography 361 
 
 xxvi, parts I and 2; xxxiv, parts I, 2, and 3; xli, parts I, 2, 3, and 4; 
 xlviii, parts I and 2; liii, supplement. 
 Third Series, vols. i; ii; iii. 
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 Messages of the Governors. 
 
 BUCHANAN, JAMES. Works, collected and edited by John Basset 
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 CAIRNES, J. E. Slave Power: its character, career, and probable 
 designs (New York, 1863), pamphlet. 
 
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 1865. (United States Senate Executive Documents, 58th con- 
 gress, second session, no. 234). 
 
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 1862 (Richmond, 1862). 
 CONNELLEY, WILLIAM E., editor. Provisional government of Ne- 
 braska Territory and the Journals of William Walker [Lincoln, 
 
 Nebraska, 1899]. 
 DEAN, CHARLES W. Letter Book, May 26, 1855 to December 31, 
 
 1856 (Manuscript in United States Indian Office). 
 DREW, THOMAS S. Letter Book, June i, 1853 to June i, 1854 
 
 (Manuscript in United States Indian Office). 
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 materials, transmitted from Fort Smith, Arkansas, at the close of 
 
 the Civil War. Among them is the fragment of one of Elias 
 
 Rector's Letter Books. 
 Minutes of the private meetings of the commissioners, 1865 
 
 (Land Files, Indian Talks, Councils, etc., Box 4). 
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 original manuscripts of Johnson Hagood (Columbia, S.C., 1912). 
 
362 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 KAPPLER, CHARLES J., compiler and editor. Indian affairs: Laws 
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 LEEPER PAPERS. Manuscripts, chiefly letters written or received 
 by Matthew Leeper, successively United States and Confederate 
 States Indian Agent, brought from the Wichita Agency after the 
 massacre of October, 1862. 
 
 LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Writings, edited by A. B. Lapsley (New 
 York, 1905-1906), 8 vols. 
 
 Complete Works, edited by John G. Nicolay and John Hay 
 
 (New York, 1894), 2 vols. 
 
 MCPHERSON, EDWARD. Political history of the United States of 
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 tribes (Richmond, 1864). 
 
 Statutes at Large of the first congress of the Confederate States 
 
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 57, May 26, 1857 to October 31, 1857. 
 
364 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
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 " 60, October 25, 1858 to April 29, 1859. 
 
 " 61, April 30, 1859 to August 23, 1859. 
 
 " 62, August 24, 1859 to February 9, 1860. 
 
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INDEX 
 
 ABBOTT, J. B : 245, footnote 
 
 Abel, Annie Heloise: work cited, 71, 
 footnote, 191, footnote 
 
 Abolitionists: Indians' slaves enticed 
 away, 23 ; charges against Cal- 
 houn, 30; Quantrill in league with, 
 48; desire Indian lands, 76, 118; 
 among Cherokees, 132; Cherokees re- 
 pudiate idea that they are, 225 ; 
 charges against, 291-294 
 
 Adair, W. P: 219, footnote 
 
 Address: of John Ross at Cherokee 
 mass-meeting, 220 
 
 Agency system: under Confederacy, 
 179 
 
 Alabama: Creeks, Choctaws, and 
 Chickasaws from, 20, 193, footnote ; 
 Choctaws in, 20, footnote; David 
 Hubbard, commissioner from, 108 
 
 Alliance: Indians given political posi- 
 tion in return for, 17 ; reasons for 
 southern Indians entering into, with 
 Confederacy, 18 ; Confederate State 
 Department to effect, 140, footnote; 
 failure of Pike to effect, with Cher- 
 okees, 156; Choctaw General Coun- 
 cil authorizes negotiation of treaty 
 of, 156; Confederacy paid dearly 
 for its Indian, 177; nature of Sem- 
 inole, with Confederacy, 197; prin- 
 ciples of active, inserted by Pike 
 into treaties, 212; McCulloch to ac- 
 cept Drew's regiment of Home 
 Guards as soon as treaty of, be con- 
 summated, 227; conditions of, be- 
 tween the Indians and Confederacy, 
 280; result of Battle of Pea Ridge 
 on Indian, 284 
 
 Allies: Indian, 17; hope of finding in 
 Cherokees, 125 
 
 Allotment in severally: suggested to 
 Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws, 
 58 
 
 American Baptist Missionary Union: 
 
 38 
 
 American Board of Commissioners for 
 Foreign Missions: work among 
 Cherokees and Choctaws, 39; rec- 
 ords of, 40, footnote; missionaries 
 among Choctaws remove themselves 
 from patronage, 41, 42, 43, footnote 
 
 American Civil War: [See Civil War] 
 
 American Historical Association: Re- 
 port, 20, footnote 
 
 American Revolution: effect upon 
 Cherokee emigration to Texas, 20, 
 footnote; work of Committees of 
 Correspondence in connection with, 
 83 
 
 Amnesty: provided for, 176 
 
 Annuities: negro and Indian half- 
 breeds share Indian, 23, footnote; 
 Choctaw, distinct from Chickasaw, 
 34, footnote; Indian, declared for- 
 feited by Lincoln government, 145 ; 
 John Ross considers Indian, safe, 
 147; payment of Indian, assumed by 
 Confederacy, 163 ; Indian, diverted 
 from regular channels, 170; to use, 
 of hostile Indians, 274; Crawford 
 makes requisition for Cherokee, 307 
 
 Antelope Hills: 55, 136, footnote 
 
 Apucks-hu-nubbe : district of, 34, foot- 
 note 
 
 Arbuckle, General: 193, footnote 
 
 Arkansas: Choctaws and Cherokees 
 tarry in, 19, footnote; Indian Ter- 
 ritory annexed to, for judicial pur- 
 poses, 23, footnote; and Indian pat- 
 ronage, 59 ; and Indian participa- 
 
372 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 tion in Civil War, 63 ; interest in 
 Indian Territory, 67; Knights of 
 Golden Circle active in, 68 ; inter- 
 est in Indian alliance, 83 ; affairs 
 reach crisis, 97 ; Hubbard, commis- 
 sioner to, 108 ; sends commission to 
 Indian country, 119; sends Albert 
 Pike as delegate, 132-133 
 
 Arkansas Baptist: 47, footnote 
 
 Arkansas Convention: Journal, 119, 
 footnotes, 120, footnotes 
 
 Arkansas Historical Association: Pub- 
 lications, 106, footnote 
 
 Arkansas Legislature: House Journal, 
 103, footnote, no, footnote, in, 
 footnote 
 
 Arkansas River: 67, 76, 97, 135, foot- 
 note, 162, 175 
 
 Arms: description of, needed for In- 
 dians, 190, footnote; Choctaw- 
 Chickasaw regiment not furnished 
 with, 2ii ; scarcity of, 211, footnote; 
 Cherokees in, at Tahlequah mass- 
 meeting, 217; Ross able to bear, 
 137, footnote; Creeks under, threaten 
 I hostilities, 138, footnote; fear, for 
 
 Indians will be taken by secession- 
 ists, 228, footnote; Confederate dif- 
 ficulty in securing, 253 and footnote 
 
 Armstrong Academy: 40, footnote 
 
 Armstrong, William: 193, footnote 
 
 Asbury Mission: Indian amity com- 
 pact concluded at, 69, footnote 
 
 Assinneboin: suggested Territory of, 
 32, footnote 
 
 Atchison, David R: letter to, men- 
 tioned, 33, footnote 
 
 Austin State Gazette: 80, footnote 
 
 Averell, William W: 101, footnote 
 
 BAKER, GEORGE E: work cited, 58, 
 footnote 
 
 Balentine, H : 79 
 
 Ball-playing: connected with secret or- 
 ganization of "Pins," 86, footnote 
 
 Bancroft, Frederic: work cited, 58, 
 footnote 
 
 Barnes, James K: 260, footnote 
 
 Barnesville: 245, 246 
 
 Beams's Negroes: 23, footnote 
 
 Beaver Creek: 55 
 
 Beening, S. T: 102, footnote 
 
 Benjamin, Judah P: 140, footnote, 200, 
 footnote, 215, footnote, 252, footnote 
 
 Benton, Thomas H: plan for a na- 
 tional highway, 28; request, 33, 
 footnote 
 
 Big Chief: merit chief of Great 
 Osages, 238 
 
 Billy Bowlegs: leaves Florida, 20, 
 footnote; communications from, 198, 
 footnote ; refuses to sign treaty with 
 Confederate States, 198-199 ; death 
 of, 198, footnote; regarded as good 
 commander, 277, footnote 
 
 Bird Creek: battle of, 138, footnote, 
 255-256 
 
 Bishop, A. W: work cited, 67, foot- 
 note, 68, footnote, 133, footnote 
 
 Black Beaver: 101 and footnote, 303 
 
 Black Dog: see Shon-tah-sob-ba 
 
 Blackhoof, Eli: 209, footnote 
 
 Blain, S. A: 56, footnote, 57, footnote 
 
 Blankets: furnished Indian refugees, 
 261 ; to be furnished Indian soldiers 
 in U.S.A., 271, footnote; Indians 
 need, 310; Leeper offers to give 
 Kiowas, 318; Rector urges Leeper 
 not to promise, Kiowas, 332; Ki- 
 owas receive from U.S. government, 
 
 343 
 
 Bloomfield Academy: 40, footnote 
 
 Bob Deer: 244 
 
 Boggy Depot: 91, 230, footnote 
 
 Bonds: 61, 145-146 
 
 Boone, A. G: 210, footnote 
 
 Boonsboro [Boonsborough] : in and 
 footnote, 125 
 
 Boudinot, E. C: 119, 153, 156; foot- 
 note, 219, footnote 
 
 Bourland, James: appointed commis- 
 sioner, 88 ; report, 91 
 
 Branch, Harrison B: 182-183, 210, 
 footnote, 22%, 232-233, 249, 271, 279, 
 footnote 
 
 Brazos Agency: 55 
 
Index 
 
 373 
 
 Bribery: William Mclntosh guilty of, 
 236; of chiefs to induce secession, 
 262, footnote 
 
 Brigade: jayhawking character of 
 Lane's, 233; Lane's gives John 
 Mathews his deserts, 239 ; Hunter 
 asks permission to muster, of friend- 
 ly Indians, 250; Kile, quartermaster 
 in, 274; proportion of white troops 
 in Pike's, 280 
 
 Brooks, Preston : 45, footnote 
 
 Brown, James: 217 
 
 Buchanan, James: administration 
 charged by free-state Kansans with 
 bad faith, 37 ; endorses pro-slavery 
 policy, 45, footnote; distrusted, 47; 
 "no coercion" policy, 87, footnote; 
 patronage, given to southern men, 
 262, footnote; work cited, 22, foot- 
 note, 29, footnote 
 
 Buckner, H. S: 92 
 
 Buffalo Hump: 305, 315, 330, 338, 348 
 
 Bureau of Indian Affairs (Confeder- 
 ate) : 128, 141, footnote, 190, foot- 
 note 
 
 Burgevin, Edmund: 105, footnote 
 
 Burleigh, Walter A: 227, footnote 
 
 Burlington: 259, 260, footnote 
 
 Burroughs, B: 120 
 
 Burrow, N. B: 99, 298, 305, 330, 341 
 
 Bushwhackers: drive Caddoes out of 
 Texas, 19, footnote 
 
 Butler, George: agent for Cherokees, 
 45 47i footnote, 285, 290 
 
 Byington, Cyrus: 79 
 
 CACHE CREEK: 55 
 
 Caddoes: from Louisiana, 19, foot- 
 note; Pike to meet, 189, footnote; 
 horses stolen by, 353 
 
 Calhoun, J. M: 90, footnote 
 
 Calhoun, John C: report, 27; motive, 
 29; political heresy, 133 
 
 Cameron, Simon: 234, 249, footnote 
 
 Campbell, A. B : 260, footnote 
 
 Canadian River: 55, 63, 67, 162 
 
 Cane Hill: 296, 327 
 
 Carolinas: Catawbas in, 20, footnote 
 
 Carroll, H. K: work cited, 37, footnote 
 
 Carruth, E. H: report, 84, footnote, 
 197, footnote, 198, footnote; appoint- 
 ed by Lane, 242; interviews Creek 
 delegates, 245 ; tries to arrange for 
 inter-tribal council, 246; letter, 267 
 
 Cass, Lewis: 193, footnote 
 
 Catawbas: admitted to Choctaw citi- 
 zenship, 20, footnote; in possession 
 of northeastern part of Choctaw 
 country, 20, footnote; in South Car- 
 olina fight with South, 20, footnote 
 
 "Catron letter": 29, footnote 
 
 Chah-la-kee: suggested territory of, 
 31, footnote 
 
 Chah-lah-ki: district of, 178 
 
 Chah-ta: suggested territory of, 31, 
 footnote 
 
 Chahta Tamaha: 189, footnote 
 
 Chatterton, Charles W: 259, footnote 
 
 Checote, Samuel: 193, 194 
 
 Cherokee Declaration of Independence: 
 written by Pike, 137, footnote 
 
 Cherokee Executive Council, 136, foot- 
 note; John Ross promises to call 
 meeting of, 153 ; meeting of, 216, 
 217; communicates with McCulloch, 
 226 
 
 Cherokee Neutral Lands: location, 21, 
 footnote, 64; size, 21, footnote; in- 
 truded upon, 35, 46, 285, 290; project 
 for selling, 50, 163 ; McCulloch 
 takes position opposite, 225 ; Lane's 
 proposed camp in, 233; Stand 
 Watie ordered to take up a position 
 in, 252, footnote; Cowart sets out 
 for, 294 
 
 Cherokee Outlet: 54, footnote; 63, 
 footnote, 64 
 
 Cherokee Proclamation of Neutrality: 
 153-154 
 
 Cherokee Strip: location, 21, 64; cov- 
 eted by Kansans, 21 
 
 Cherokee Treaty: 157 and footnote; 
 declares allegiance to C.S.A., 159, 
 footnote; contains guarantee of au- 
 tonomy, 159, footnote; contains prom- 
 ise of representation in Congress, 
 
374 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 X 59i footnote', navigable waters, 
 174; admission to military academy, 
 1 80; appointment of postmasters, 
 1 80; considered by Provisional Con- 
 gress, 206; negotiated, 237; Ross's 
 characterization of, 257 
 
 Cherokees: from Tennessee and Geor- 
 gia, 20; tarried in Arkansas, 19, 
 footnote', go to Texas, 20, footnote', 
 removal to Arkansas suggested by 
 Jefferson, 20, footnote; in North 
 Carolina fight with South, 20, foot- 
 note; "Eastern" in controversy with 
 "Western," 20, footnote; character 
 of constitution, 31, footnote; visited 
 by Sacs and Foxes, 36, footnote; 
 work of A.B.C.F.M. among, 39; 
 schools among, 39, footnote; religious 
 denominations among, 39-40; desir- 
 able to have slaveholders settle 
 among them, 42; material progress 
 due to slavery, 46 ; search organiza- 
 tion among, 48 ; with Cooper as vol- 
 unteers, 54; antebellum relations 
 with people of Arkansas, 64; repre- 
 sentatives at inter-tribal conference, 
 71 ; visited by commissioners from 
 Texas, 92; in council with Creeks, 
 Seminoles, Quapaws, and Sacs, 94; 
 Pike's negotiations with, 134, foot- 
 note; to be indemnified, 163; made 
 an exception, 168 ; at Battle of 
 Wilson's Creek, 214-215, 214, foot- 
 note; secession of, 217; resolutions 
 of, 223-225 ; secret organization 
 among, 291-293 
 
 Chickasaw: district, 34, footnote, 52 
 
 Chickasaw and Choctaw Herald: 56, 
 footnote 
 
 Chickasaw Legislature: act, 68; reso- 
 lutions, 122, footnote, 155 
 
 Chickasaw Manual Labor School: 40, 
 footnote 
 
 Chickasaws: from Alabama and Mis- 
 sissippi, 20; character of constitu- 
 tion, 31, footnote; domestic troubles, 
 34; political connection with Choc- 
 taws, 34, footnote; religious denom- 
 
 inations among, 40, footnote; con- 
 struct government, 51 ; as volun- 
 teers, 54; country, 63; not repre- 
 sented at inter-tribal conference, 71 ; 
 convention of Choctaws and, 91 ; 
 prevented from attending council at 
 North Fork, 94; take charge of 
 property abandoned by Federals at 
 Fort Arbuckle, 102 ; appeal of Bur- 
 roughs to, 120-121 ; resolutions of 
 Choctaws and, 130; negotiations of 
 Albert Pike with, 136, footnote, 196- 
 197; reported as anxious to join 
 Southern Confederacy, 155; treaty 
 with, considered by Provisional 
 Congress, 204-207; E. H. Carruth 
 communicates with loyal portion of, 
 246-247 
 
 Chilton, William P: 127 
 
 Chippewas: from Michigan, 19; war- 
 riors, 227, footnote 
 
 Chi-sho-hung-ka : 238, footnote 
 
 Chisholm, Jesse: 313, 320 
 
 Choctaw-Chickasaw Regiment : 77, 
 207, 210, 211, 230, footnote, 252, 
 footnote 
 
 Choctaw-Chickasaw Treaty: 157, and 
 footnote; declares allegiance to C. 
 S. A., 159, footnote; contains prom- 
 ise of representation in Congress, 
 159, footnote; suggests ultimate 
 statehood, 160, footnote; recognizes 
 Choctaw country as distinct from 
 Chickasaw, 161 ; transfers lease of 
 Wichita Reserve to Confederate 
 States, 162; navigable waters, 174; 
 amnesty, 175 
 
 Choctaw Corn Contract: scandal in- 
 volves Pike, 57, footnote 
 
 Choctaw General Council: act, 20, 
 footnote; resolution, 72-74; under 
 authority of Chief Hudson declares 
 Choctaw Nation "free and inde- 
 pendent," 156, 196; plan treaty of 
 alliance and amity with Confeder- 
 acy, 156; communication from Pike, 
 187, footnote, 196, footnote 
 
 Choctaw Light Horse: 24, footnote 
 
Index 
 
 375 
 
 Choctaws: tarried in Arkansas, 19, 
 footnote; Catawbas wish to unite 
 with, 20, footnote] intimacy with 
 negroes, 20, footnote ; in Mississip- 
 pi fight with South, 20, footnote; 
 prepared to assent to territorial bill, 
 31, footnote; domestic troubles, 34; 
 political connection with Chicka- 
 saws ended, 34, footnote; religious 
 denominations among, 39-40; schools 
 among, 40, footnote; desirable to 
 have slaveholders settle among 
 them, 42; ask relief, 57, footnote; 
 country, 63 ; antebellum relations 
 with people of Arkansas and Texas, 
 64; not represented at inter-tribal 
 conference, 71; delegation, 74; af- 
 fairs, 75-79; treaty with Confed- 
 erate States, 78, 204; convention of 
 Chickasaws and, 91 ; prevented from 
 attending council at North Fork, 94 ; 
 resolutions of Chickasaws and, 130; 
 negotiations of Pike with, 136, 
 footnote, 196-197; reported as anx- 
 ious to join Confederacy, 155 ; en- 
 list in army, 210; Carruth in com- 
 munication with loyal portion, 246- 
 247 
 
 Chuahla: 39, footnote 
 Chustenahlah: battle of, 258 
 Citizenship: U.S. recommended for In- 
 dians, 31 and footnote; Ottawas ex- 
 press preference for U.S., 36, foot- 
 note; Indians to determine own 
 tribal, 169; Jim Ned's right of, 
 forfeited within Leased District, 
 306 
 
 Civil War (American) : no adequate 
 history of American, 17; Indian al- 
 lies of South in, 20, footnote; in 
 Choctaw-Chickasaw country threat- 
 ened, 34 and footnote; delays Indian 
 removal from Kansas, 37; corrupt 
 practices of Democratic Party just 
 prior to American, 45, footnote; 
 Stand Watie on Southern side in, 
 49, footnote; responsibility of Tex- 
 as and Arkansas for participation 
 of Indians in, 63 ; early interest of 
 
 Texas and Arkansas in Indian coun- 
 try* 67; see also Enlistment of In- 
 dians 
 
 Civilization Fund: 37 
 Clark, George W: 211, footnote, 240, 
 
 footnote 
 
 Clover, Seth: 209, footnote 
 Cobb, Howell: 45, footnote 
 Cockrell, S. R: 119 
 Coe, Chas. H : work cited, 20, footnote 
 Coffin, William G: 80 and footnotes, 
 
 184, 245, 247, 259, 274 
 Colbert, D : 41, footnote 
 Colbert, Holmes: 261, footnote 
 Colbert, Winchester: 197, 201, footnote 
 Colbert Institute: 40, footnote 
 Coleman, Isaac: 186, footnote, 259, 
 
 footnote 
 
 Collamore, George W: 261, footnote 
 Colley, S. G: 350 
 
 Collin (Texas) : exodus of non-seces- 
 sionists from, 95 
 
 Colorado: indigenous tribes in, 19, 
 footnote; attempts to secure Indian 
 cooperation, 83 
 Comanche Treaty: 157, footnote, 158; 
 
 amnesty, 176 
 
 Comanches: 51, 52, 55, 189, footnote, 
 zoo and footnote, 201, 206, 313, 320, 
 323, 324, 33', 337, 347, 35i 
 Commission: from Texas to Indian 
 nations, 88 et seq; from Arkansas, 
 108, footnote 
 Concharta: 255 
 
 Confederate Contract: for supplying 
 Indians of Leased District, 301-303, 
 347, 352 
 Confederate Military History: work 
 
 cited, 103, footnote 
 Congressional Globe: work cited, 58, 
 
 footnote 
 
 Connelley, W. E: work cited, 34, foot- 
 note, 49, footnote 
 Connor, John: 544 
 
 Cooley, D. N: 56, footnote, 134, foot- 
 note, 226 
 
 Cooper, Douglas H: citizen of Mis- 
 sissippi, 41 ; fears abolitionization 
 of Indian country, 41 ; sends note 
 
376 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 to Superintendent Dean, 42; san- 
 guine as to slavery conditions 
 among Indians, 45 ; survey of Leas- 
 ed District, 53 ; Choctaw Corn Con- 
 tract, 57, footnote; becomes colonel 
 in Confederate army, 76; regiment 
 of Choctaws to be under command 
 of, 77, 207; absent from post, 82 
 and footnote ; apparently disap- 
 proves of Texan interference, 96 ; 
 receives suggestions from Rector, 
 106-107, footnote, 187; instructions 
 to, 147, footnote', defection of, 186- 
 187; asked to continue as agent, 
 190, footnote ; wishes to be agent 
 and colonel, 197, footnote, 212, foot- 
 note; report concerning Indian en- 
 listment, 211 ; in battle with Opoe- 
 thleyohola, 254 et seq., 312; com- 
 plains of not having more white 
 troops, 280 
 
 Cooper, Samuel: 53, footnote, 147 
 Corn Contract: see Choctaiu Corn 
 
 Contract 
 
 Council : Cherokee, in session at Tahle- 
 quah, 50, footnote; Choctaw at 
 Doaksville, 77 ; composition of 
 Doaksville, 77; at Fort Smith, 226- 
 227, 241 ; at Tahlequah, 237 et seq., 
 240; Coffin holds, with representa- 
 tives of non-secession element of 
 various tribes, 267; Agent Johnson 
 holds, with Delaware chiefs, 272, 
 footnote; Indian refugees hold, at 
 Fort Roe, 278, footnote; Creek, de- 
 mands payment of money, 289; Co- 
 wart reports rumor of Cherokee, 
 294; Cherokee, to meet, 296; of 
 each tribe to consider amendments 
 to treaties, 323 ; Leeper holds with 
 Indians of Leased District, 346 ; Co- 
 manches propose, to effect everlast- 
 ing peace with Southern people, 
 347; see also Inter-tribal Confer- 
 ence 
 
 Covode, John: 276 
 Covode Committee: 45, footnote 
 Cowart, Robert J : 46, 83 and footnote, 
 
 89, footnote, 114 and footnote, 184, 
 290, 295, 298 
 
 Cowetah: 69, footnote 
 
 Cox, John T: 261, footnote 
 
 Crawford, John: 183, footnote, 184- 
 185, and footnotes, 190, footnote, 
 215, footnote, 216, 218, 219, footnote, 
 220, 223, 298, 325 
 
 Creek Country: Seminoles accommo- 
 dated within, 50; proposal for giv- 
 ing southern Comanches home with- 
 in, 51 and footnote; proposal to al- 
 lot lands in severalty, 58 
 
 Creek Light Horse: 218, footnote 
 
 Creek National Council: rejects pro- 
 posal for allotment of lands in sev- 
 eralty, 58, footnote; approves draft 
 of treaty with C.S.A., 194 
 
 Creek Treaty: 157 and footnote; Dole 
 ignorant of existence, 157, footnote; 
 declares allegiance to C.S.A., 159, 
 footnote; contains guarantee of au- 
 tonomy, 159, footnote; contains 
 promise of representation in Con- 
 gress, 159, footnote; model on sub- 
 ject of recognizing slavery, 166-167; 
 extradition, 173 ; negotiation of, 
 192-195 ; considered by Provincial 
 Congress, 206 ; clauses providing 
 for active alliance, 212 
 
 Creeks: from Georgia and Alabama, 
 19-20; assist in Seminole removal, 
 20, footnote; mixture with negroes, 
 20, footnote, 23, footnote; status of 
 free negro among, 23, footnote; 
 Presbyterians among, 40; desirable 
 to have slaveholders settle among, 
 42; repent giving home to Semin- 
 oles, 51; location, 67; representa- 
 tives at inter-tribal council, 71 ; vis- 
 isted by commissioners from Texas, 
 92 ; in council with Cherokees, Sem- 
 inoles, Quapaws, and Sacs, 94 
 
 Crime: unjustly charged against mis- 
 sionaries, 47; charged against Re- 
 serve Indians, 52 
 
 Crutchfield, Major P. T: in 
 
 Culbertson, Alexander: 210, footnote 
 
Index 
 
 377 
 
 Cumberland Presbyterians: 40, fool- 
 note 
 
 Curtis, Gen. S. R: 138, footnote 
 Gushing, Caleb: opinion as attorney- 
 general, 22 
 
 Cutler, Abram: 229, footnote 
 Cutler, George A: 184, footnote, 249, 
 footnote, 259, footnote, 266 
 
 DAVIS, JEFFERSON: influences Cushing, 
 22; writes to Worcester, 23, foot- 
 note; nominates Hubbard Commis- 
 sioner of Indian Affairs, 128 ; ap- 
 points Pike special commissioner to 
 Indians, 130; message, 202; Mar- 
 shall writes to, 207 
 
 Davis, John B: 23, footnote 
 
 Davis, John D : 199, footnote 
 
 Davis, William P: 199, footnote 
 
 Dawson, J. L: 193, footnote 
 
 Dean, Charles W: 42; work cited, 35, 
 footnote, 60, footnote 
 
 Debray, X. B: 102, footnote 
 
 Decotah: suggested territory of, 31, 
 footnote 
 
 Deep Fork of Canadian: 254 
 
 Delawares: from Indiana, 19; tarry in 
 Missouri, 19, footnote; free state 
 men among, 35; anxious to avoid 
 white man's interference, 36, foot- 
 note; Baptist school on reservation, 
 38; as refugees, 56, footnote; Lee- 
 per to communicate with, 181, foot- 
 note; Pike hopes to meet, 189, foot- 
 note; wealth, 208, footnote; treaty 
 with, 231, footnote; employed as 
 scouts, 232 ; appeal to, 268 ; response 
 of, 268 ; and Shawnees attack 
 Wichita Agency and kill Leeper, 
 329, footnote 
 
 Delegates: five great tribes should 
 have, in Congress, 31, footnote; 
 Pike sent as, 132-133 ; to be allowed 
 in Confederate Congress, 159, 161, 
 177, 203, 204, 324; Creek, on way 
 to Washington, 245 ; Gamble to 
 Confederate Congress, 312 
 
 Delegation: Choctaw and Chicka- 
 
 saw, gives assurance to Indian Of- 
 fice of neutrality, 74 and footnote, 
 75; from non-secession element in 
 various tribes, 265-266 and footnote, 
 267 and footnote; from Leased Dis- 
 trict visits Kiowas, 353 
 
 Denton: exodus from, 95 
 
 Denver, J. W: 270 
 
 Derrysaw, Jacob: 69, footnote, 194, 
 218, footnote 
 
 Dickey, M. C: 209, footnote 
 
 Dickinson, J. C: 50, footnote, 296 
 
 Diplomacy: used to effect Indian al- 
 liance, 17; and intrigue to effect 
 Seminole removal from Florida, 20, 
 footnote 
 
 District of Columbia: status of slavery 
 in, 22 
 
 Disunion: Pike's poem on, 133 and 
 footnote 
 
 Doaksville: 39, footnote; Choctaw 
 constitution, 51; Council at, 77 
 
 Dole, William P: 56, footnote, 74, 
 footnote, 75, 80, 231 and footnote, 
 233, 241-242, 250, 266, 271, 273, 274 
 
 Dorn, Andrew J: 30, footnote; takes 
 charge of Neosho Agency, 35, foot- 
 note, 51; absent from post, 82; cit- 
 izen of Arkansas, 82, footnote; tells 
 Neosho River Agency Indians to at- 
 tend Tahlequah meeting, 241 ; letter 
 of, 295 ; Rector complains of con- 
 duct of, 328 
 
 Dred Scott Decision: effect upon In- 
 dian interests, 29 
 
 Drew, John: 137, footnote, 214, foot- 
 note, 217, 226, 253, footnote, 255 
 
 Drew, Thomas: work cited, 30, foot- 
 note; issues permits to peddle in 
 Indian country, 60 
 
 Drouth: 57, 146, 208 
 
 Du Val, Ben T: 104, footnote 
 
 Dwight: Cherokee school at, 39, foot- 
 note 
 
 ECHO HARJO: 58, footnote, 80, footnote, 
 
 192, 193, 243 
 Edwards, John : 78 
 
378 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Elder, Peter P: 81, footnote 
 
 Elk Horn Tavern: battle of, 138, foot- 
 note 
 
 Ellis, Jo: 244 
 
 Emigration: of Indians voluntary, 19, 
 footnote 
 
 Emissaries: 83, 88, 89, footnote, 113 et 
 seq., 114, footnote, 115, footnote, 132, 
 142, 148, footnote, 183, 208, 210, 
 footnote, 218, footnote, 219, footnote, 
 242 
 
 Emory, William H: 96-102, 98, foot- 
 notes 
 
 Enlistment of Indians: Pike favors, 
 132; McCulloch instructed to se- 
 cure, 144, 147 ; no intention of Con- 
 federacy to use as Home Guards 
 exclusively, 148 ; Pike objects to use 
 outside of Indian country, 149 ; Hy- 
 ams urges, 155; Chief Hudson au- 
 thorizes, among Choctaws, 156; 
 Federal attitude towards, 227 et 
 seq.; compulsory, illegal, 228, foot- 
 note; Lane resolves upon, 229-230 
 and footnotes', Fremont favors, 231- 
 232; Delaware chiefs oppose, 232; 
 Lane persists in urging, 248 ; urged 
 by Hunter, 250; to be resorted to by 
 Federals in invading Indian Terri- 
 tory, 270-271 and footnotes, 272, 
 footnote; U.S. War Department re- 
 verses action respecting, 275, 279 
 and footnotes ; Coffin's views on, 277, 
 footnote; muster roll showing, 344; 
 among Comanches abandoned, 350 
 
 Euchees: 52 
 
 FACTIONS: among Cherokees, 49-50, 
 151 et seq., 215, 223, 240; among 
 Creeks, 192-194, 254; among Sem- 
 inoles, 198-199; among Comanches, 
 306 
 
 Fairfield: Cherokee school at, 39, foot- 
 note 
 
 Fall Leaf: 231, footnote, 232 and foot- 
 notes, 233, footnote 
 
 Farnsworth, H. W: 229, footnote, 272 
 
 Fayetteville: 67, footnote, 184, 310, 326 
 
 Female seminaries: Indian girls at- 
 tend, 67, footnote 
 
 Finch, John : 30, footnote 
 
 Finley, C. A: 270 
 
 Fishback, William Meade: 104, foot- 
 note 
 
 Fleming, Walter L: work cited, 108, 
 footnote 
 
 Floyd, John B: 53, 296 
 
 Folsom, George: 23, footnote 
 
 Folsom, Israel : 74 
 
 Folsom, Joseph P: 77 
 
 Folsom, Peter: 74, 76, 196 
 
 Folsom, Sampson: 41, footnote, 76, 196 
 
 Food: Indian refugees need, 260; to 
 destitute Delawares from Cherokee 
 country, 268, footnote; Creek refu- 
 gees destitute of, 273, footnote, 278, 
 footnote; supposed fraudulent char- 
 acter of contract for supplying, 285- 
 289; Confederate contract with 
 Charles B. Johnson for supplying, 
 301-303; for Comanches, 313; to be 
 furnished Indians in council consid- 
 ering amendments to treaties, 323 ; 
 receipt for, furnished, 345 
 
 Fort Arbuckle: 54, 87, footnote, 97, 
 135, footnote, 201, footnote, 297, 303, 
 
 345, 357 
 
 Fort Belknap : 88, footnote 
 
 Fort Caleb: 295 
 
 Fort Cobb: 82, footnote, 84, footnote, 
 9*> 97, 98 and footnote, 189, foot- 
 note, 296, 332, 356 
 
 Fort Coffee Academy: 40, footnote 
 
 Fort Davis: 349 
 
 Fort Gibson: abandoned as military 
 post, 53; Major Emory and, 104; 
 distance from Fort Smith, 108 ; Pike 
 returns to, 137, footnote; Armstrong 
 to meet emigrating Creeks at, 193, 
 footnote; Cooper draws off in direc- 
 tion of, 256 ; money at, 325 
 
 Fort Leavenworth: 88, footnote, 103, 
 208, footnote, 251, 259, 266, 267, 270 
 
 Fort Lincoln: 229, footnote, 230, 243 
 
 Fort McCulloch: 139, footnote, 284 
 
 Fort Randall: 227, footnote 
 
Index 
 
 379 
 
 Fort Roe: 259 and footnote, 275, foot- 
 note, 277, footnote 
 
 Fort Scott: 249, footnote, 266 
 
 Fort Smith: headquarters of southern 
 superintendency, 64; evacuated, 76; 
 W. G. Coffin fails to reach, 81, foot- 
 note; Emory reaches, 97; Emory 
 tarries at, 99; hot-bed of sectional- 
 ism, 103 ; distance from Fort Gib- 
 son, 108 ; J. J. Gaines reaches, 113; 
 Pike proceeds to, 138, footnote; 
 McCulloch at, 150; talk of confis- 
 cating Rector's property at, 182, 
 footnote; distance from Scullyville, 
 211 ; fire at, 298 
 
 Fort Smith Council : 192, footnote, 226- 
 227, 241 
 
 Fort Smith Papers: cited, 41, footnote, 
 43, footnote, 50, footnote, 104, foot- 
 note , 197, footnote, 198, footnote, 
 285-328 
 
 Fort Smith Times: cited, 47, footnote 
 
 Fort Sumter: 118 
 
 Fort Towson : 40, footnote 
 
 Fort Washita: 77, 91, 96, 189, foot- 
 note, 297, 303 
 
 Fort Wise: 210, footnote 
 
 Forty-niners: covet land in Indian 
 country, 28 
 
 Frauds: William Walker, head chief 
 of Wyandots, takes part in Kansas 
 election, 22, footnote 
 
 Frazier, Jackson: 41, footnote 
 
 Free negroes : status among Creeks and 
 Seminoles, 23, footnote; among Choc- 
 taws, 24, footnote; Leased District 
 rendezvous for, 56-57 
 
 Free-soilers : 45, 46, 113 
 
 Free-state expansion: charge that Cal- 
 houn intended to prevent, 30 
 
 Free-state men: intrenched among 
 Delawares north of Kansas River, 
 
 35 
 
 Fremont, John C: 214, footnote, 215, 
 footnote, 231, 232, 233, footnote, 248, 
 312 
 
 Frontier: action along Missouri-Ar- 
 kansas in Civil War, 17; character 
 
 of men of, 114; Indians exploited 
 for sake of men of, 170; trouble on, 
 to be expected, 183, footnote 
 
 Frozen Rock: 53 
 
 Fugitive Slave Law: operative within 
 Indian country, 22, 166, 178 
 
 GAINES, J. J: 113, 115, footnote, xx6 
 
 Gamble, James: 41, footnote, 54, foot- 
 note, 197, 312 
 
 Garland, Samuel: 74, 76 
 
 Garrett, William H: 58, footnote, 82, 
 and footnote, 183, 184, 192, 194, 212, 
 footnote, 324 
 
 Georgia: Creeks and Cherokees from, 
 *) r 93> footnote; D. E. Twiggs 
 from, 87 
 
 Grayton: exodus from, 95 
 
 Green, J. J: 105, footnote 
 
 Greenwood, A. B: 36, footnote, 45, 
 footnote, 46, 48, 113, 192, 209, foot- 
 note, 291, 292, 294 
 
 "Grier letter": 29, footnote 
 
 Griffith, Samuel: 119, 182, footnote, 
 183-184 
 
 Grimes, Marshal: 56, footnote, 57, 
 footnote, 98, footnote, 336, 337 
 
 HAGERSTOWN (Md.) : Quantrill, native 
 of, 48 
 
 Half-breeds: status of, 23, footnote; 
 generally slaveholders, 46 ; influence 
 sought in holding Indian country 
 for South, 67; planter class in In- 
 dian Territory, 67, 75 ; white men 
 and Choctaw, hold secession meet- 
 ing* 77 J missionaries fear, 78 ; 
 hated by "loyal" Cherokees, 139, 
 footnote ; attempt to force full-bloods 
 into alliance with Confederacy, 216 
 
 Halleck, Henry W; 215, footnote, 275 
 
 Hamilton, Charles A: appointed com- 
 missioner, 88 ; report, 91 
 
 Harris, C. A: 193, footnote 
 
 Harris, Cyrus: 41, footnote, 69, foot- 
 note, 80, footnote; visited by com- 
 missioners from Texas, 91 
 
 Harris, Thomas A: 130 
 
380 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Harrison, James E: appointed com- 
 missioner, 88 ; report, 91 ; referred 
 to by Governor Clark, 131, footnote 
 
 Helena (Ark.) : 104 
 
 Hemphill, John: 100, footnote 
 
 Hester, G. B: 230, footnote 
 
 Hicks, Charles: 237, footnote 
 
 Hindman, Thomas C: 48, footnote, 
 105, footnote, 357 
 
 Hobbs, Reverend Doctor S. L: 79 
 
 Hotchkin, Ebenezer: 42, 76 
 
 Houston, Sam: 31, footnote, 90, 93 
 
 Howard, O. O: work cited, 220, foot- 
 note 
 
 Hubbard, David: 108; letter to Gov- 
 ernor Moore, 109-110; nominated 
 as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
 128 ; Pike hopes for cooperation, 
 141 ; receives instructions from 
 Walker, 142-143; ill-health, 143, 
 footnote; writes to John Ross, 144- 
 145; reply of John Ross to, 146- 
 147; instructed not to offer state- 
 hood, 161 ; advice to Crawford, 308 ; 
 advises economy, 315 
 
 Hudson, George: 77, 80, footnote; de- 
 clares Choctaw Nation "free and 
 independent," 156; dealings with 
 Pike, 196; proclamation, 196, 210 
 
 Humboldt: 243, footnote, 247 
 
 Humphreys, John J: 185, 218, footnote 
 
 Hunter, David: 248, 249, and foot- 
 note, 250, 251, 260, 266, 270, 275, 
 276, 312 
 
 Hyams, S. M: 155 
 
 ILLINOIS: tribes from, 19 
 
 Indian adoption: 169 
 
 Indian camp: Lane plans establish- 
 ment to prevent foraging into Kan- 
 sas, 230; to be located in Cherokee 
 Neutral Lands, 233 ; Cooper reaches, 
 254 
 
 Indian country: west of Arkansas and 
 Missouri, 19; tribes within, indige- 
 nous and emigrant, 19 and footnote; 
 population, 20-21 ; cut in two by 
 Missouri Compromise line, 20; res- 
 
 ervation system established, 21 ; 
 listed with District of Columbia as 
 strictly federal soil, 22; Fugitive 
 Slave Law declared operative with- 
 in, 22; presence of free negroes 
 sometimes source of grave danger, 
 23, footnote; constantly beset by dif- 
 ficulties, 24, 27; likely to be greatly 
 reduced in area by Manypenny 
 treaties, 35; intruders attracted by 
 supposed mines of precious metals, 
 35, footnote; rivalry among churches, 
 37; intruders to be removed by 
 Agent Cowart, 46; practically no 
 U.S. troops within, 52-53 ; northern 
 tribes of less importance politically 
 than southern, 62, footnote; slave- 
 holding politicians work through 
 halfbreeds to hold for South, 67; 
 strategic importance of, appreciated 
 by Arkansas, 108 ; military neces- 
 sity of securing, 131; Pike describes 
 sojourn in, 134 et seg., footnote; 
 McCulloch to give military protec- 
 tion to, 148; McCulloch lays plans 
 for taking possession of, 149 ; estab- 
 lishment of Confederate States 
 courts promised by treaty with great 
 tribes, 177; postal system to be 
 maintained throughout, 180; U.S. 
 War Department resolves upon ex- 
 pedition to, 270 
 
 Indian Home Guards: Pike in favor 
 of Indians as, 132; no evi- 
 dence that Indians wanted ex- 
 clusively as, 148 ; individual 
 Cherokees as, 149-151; disposition 
 to keep Indians as, 212; Ross's plan 
 defeated by McCulloch, 226-227; 
 authorized by Cherokee Executive 
 National Council, 226 ; Drew's regi- 
 ment tendered to McCulloch, 227; 
 Drew's regiment escorts Pike to 
 Park Hill, 240 
 
 Indian Intercourse Law: difficulty in 
 enforcing, 24, footnote ; Greenwood's 
 exposition of, 290; Leeper asks for 
 copy, 315; Leeper reports troops 
 
Index 
 
 necessary to enforce law within 
 Leased District, 346 
 
 Indian Property Rights: put in jeop- 
 ardy by pioneer advance, 28 ; in 
 trans-Missouri region, 29; rendered 
 secure by treaty promises, chap, iii 
 
 Indian Removal: policy, 19, footnote; 
 law for, 19, footnote; indemnifica- 
 tion for, 164-166 
 
 Indian States in Union: suggested by 
 southern politicians, 31; suggested 
 by Texas newspapers, 31, footnote; 
 Confederacy promises to Choctaws, 
 78 ; no assurance of, to be given by 
 Hubbard, 143 ; promised in treaties 
 made by Confederacy, 160 and foot- 
 note, 161 ; Davis calls attention to 
 clauses in Indian treaties providing 
 for, 203 ; Provisional Congress mod- 
 ifies treaty guarantee for, 204 
 
 Indian Territory: small tribes find 
 their way to, 19, footnote; annexed 
 for judicial purposes to Western 
 District of Arkansas, 23, footnote; 
 in danger of being abolitionized, 
 41-42 ; only home for Indians from 
 Kansas, 36; drouth in, 58; political 
 status of tribes in, 62, footnote; 
 position with respect to Texas and 
 Arkansas, 63 ; topographical de- 
 scription of, 63 ; early interest of 
 Texas and Arkansas in, 67; half- 
 breeds of, a planter class, 67, 75 ; 
 Knights of Golden Circle active in, 
 68 ; Indians to be driven out of, 76 ; 
 cut off from communication with 
 U.S. Indian Office, 81, footnote; 
 agents within, all southern men, 82 ; 
 Commissioner Dole urges reoccupa- 
 tion of, 241 ; strategical importance 
 of, 242; included within Trans- 
 Mississippi District of Department 
 No. 2, 280 
 
 Indian trade: licenses for, 59-60; reg- 
 ulations respecting, 169-171 
 
 Indiana: tribes from, 19; W. G. Cof- 
 fin from, 80 
 ,-, Indians: lands granted in perpetuity, 
 
 18 ; participation in American Civil 
 War inevitable, 18 ; as emigrants, 
 19 ; number of colonized, 20-21 ; 
 proportion of southern to northern, 
 21 ; slaves enticed away by aboli- 
 tionists, 23 ; seized as fugitives by 
 southern men, 23 ; interests militated 
 indirectly against by Dred Scott de- 
 cision, 29 ; territorial form of gov- 
 ernment for, 30, footnote, 31, foot- 
 note ; treaty rights likely to be seri- 
 ously affected by repeal of Missouri 
 Compromise, 34; plan for coloniz- 
 ing Texas, 52, 55; Knights of Gol- 
 den Circle active among, 68 ; con- 
 dition of, reported by Texas com- 
 missioners, 94; Choctaw and Chick- 
 asaw friendly to Confederate States, 
 loo, footnote; enlistment, 132, 147- 
 *49> I 5S> *8i, footnote, 207, 210, 
 211-212, 227, footnote, 248, 250, 252, 
 footnote, 270, 275, 279 ; treaties with 
 Confederate States, 157-158, 202- 
 206; judicial rights under treaties 
 with Confederate States, 172-174; 
 military support secured early by 
 Confederacy, 207 ; use of, by U.S. 
 as soldiers uncertain, 227 et seq.; 
 not subject to conscription, 228, foot- 
 note; reported arming themselves 
 on southern border of Kansas, 228, 
 footnote; conference with Lane at 
 Fort Lincoln, 230 ; totally abandoned 
 by U.S. government, 262, footnote; 
 see also under names of individual 
 nations and tribes 
 
 Interior Department: 53, 80, 218, foot- 
 note, 242, 265, 273 
 
 Interlopers: encourage slavery within 
 Indian country, 22; see also In- 
 truders 
 
 Inter-tribal Conference : documents re- 
 lating to, called by the Chickasaws, 
 68, footnote; assembling of, at 
 Creek Agency, 70; attendance, 71; 
 action, 71-72 ; action not officially re- 
 ported to U.S. government, 82; 
 Motey Kennard and Echo Harjo in 
 
382 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Washington at time, was planned, 
 192; Indians solicit, 209, footnote; 
 Lane arranges for, to meet at Fort 
 Lincoln, 243, 246; Coffin desires, at 
 Humboldt, 247; plans for, at Le- 
 roy, 248 ; Hunter instructed to hold, 
 250; difference between, as planned 
 by Lane and by Hunter, 250, foot- 
 note; John T. Cox gives account of, 
 262, footnote 
 
 Interview: of Pike and McCulloch 
 with Cherokee Confederate sym- 
 pathizers, 135, footnote, 152; of 
 Lane with representatives of various 
 tribes at Fort Lincoln proposed, 
 243, 246; of Coffin with Carruth, 
 243, footnote; of Carruth with 
 Creek delegation, 245 
 
 Intrigue : and diplomacy to effect Sem- 
 inole removal from Florida, 20, 
 footnote; Pike expected to succeed 
 in, with Southern Indians, 86, foot- 
 note 
 
 Intruders: to be removed by Agent 
 Cowart, 46; interfere with slavery, 
 47; Confederate military authority 
 to supplement tribal in expulsion of, 
 169 ; Agent Butler's reports, 285 ; 
 Greenwood discusses matter with 
 Rector, 290-291 ; Cowart reports 
 progress in removal of, 295, 296, 
 297; Cowart gives notice to John 
 B. Jones to leave Cherokee Nation, 
 296 ; see also Interlopers 
 
 lowas: 189, footnote 
 
 Irish, O. H: 227, footnote 
 
 lyanubbi: Choctaw school at, 39, foot- 
 note 
 
 JACKSON, ANDREW: 19; inducements 
 offered to Indians, 58 ; procedure of, 
 72; opposed to political tenets of 
 John C. Calhoun, 133 
 
 Jayhawking: of Lane's brigade, 233, 
 234, 277 
 
 Jennison, C. R: 275, footnote 
 
 Jesup, Thomas S: 164, footnote, 165 
 
 Jim Ned: 306, 330, 341 
 
 Jim Pockmark: 306, 338 
 
 John Chupco: 198, footnote, 199 
 
 John Jumper: and Seminole removal, 
 20, footnote ; favors boarding schools 
 for youth of tribe, 40, footnote ; ap- 
 proached by Albert Pike, 85, foot- 
 note, 197, footnote, 198, footnote; 
 signs complaint against General 
 Jesup, 164, footnote; signs treaty 
 with Confederate States, 198 ; sig- 
 nature attached to Comanche treat- 
 ies, 200, footnote; doing duty faith- 
 fully, 319; letter to, 337 
 
 Johnson, Charles B: 56, footnote, 98, 
 footnote, 105, footnote, 190, footnote, 
 199, 287, 289, 301, 314, 323, 332, 
 352 
 
 Johnson, F: 231, footnote, 232, 248, and 
 footnote, 329, footnote 
 
 Johnson, James B: 105, footnote 
 
 Johnson, Richard H : 47, footnote, 105, 
 footnote 
 
 Johnson, Robert W: 31, footnote, 47, 
 footnote, 105, footnote, 127; corre- 
 spondence with Albert Pike, 131, 
 132; motion, 204; Crawford serves 
 by request, 308; elected senator, 334 
 
 Johnson, Thomas : slavery-propaga- 
 tion work among Indians, 22, foot- 
 note, 39 
 
 Johnson, W. Warren: 303 
 
 Johnson: exodus from, 95 
 
 Jones, Evan: 47, 93, 135, footnote, 217, 
 218, footnote, 236, 240, footnote, 292, 
 293 
 
 Jones, H. P: 199, 348, 350 
 
 Jones, John: 309 
 
 Jones, John B: 47, 269, footnote, 296 
 
 Jones, R. M: 75, 77, 79, 197, 344'345 
 
 Journeycake, Charles: 231, footnote, 
 268, footnote 
 
 Jumper, John: see John Jumper 
 
 KA-HI-KE-TUNG-KA : 238, footnote 
 Kannady, J. R: 125 
 Kansa: indigenous to Kansas, 19; suf- 
 fering of, 209, footnote 
 Kansas: Indian tribes in, 19; agita- 
 
Index 
 
 383 
 
 tion for the opening up of, 28 ; com- 
 pared with Choctaw country, 31, 
 footnote', suggested organization 
 causes excitement among Indians, 
 33-34; citizens encroach upon Cher- 
 okee Neutral Lands, 46; drouth in, 
 58 ; political status of tribes in, 62, 
 footnote', and Cherokee Outlet, 64; 
 Elder, citizen of, 186; Pike desires 
 to raise Indian battalion, 207; In- 
 dians -wish to fight, 227, footnote 
 Kansas Historical Society: Collections, 
 
 19, footnote, 34, footnote 
 Kansas-Nebraska Bill : effect upon In- 
 dian interests, 29, 35; settlers de- 
 mand Indians to vacate territory 
 covered by, 36 ; Seward's speech 
 on, 58-59 
 
 Kansas Territory: first districting il- 
 legally included Indian lands, 35; 
 free-state settlers charge Buchanan 
 government with bad faith, 37 
 Kappler, C. J: work cited, 20, footnote, 
 34, footnote, 49, footnote, 50, foot- 
 note, 52, footnote 
 Kaskaskias: from Illinois, 19 
 Keitt, Lawrence M: 127, 129 
 Kennedy, John C: 211, footnote 
 Kickapoos: from Indiana, 19; tarry in 
 Missouri, 19, footnote; denomina- 
 tionalism among, 37, footnote; ref- 
 ugees, 56, footnote; Leeper to com- 
 municate with, in name of Albert 
 Pike, 181, footnote; Pike hopes to 
 meet, 189, footnote 
 Kile, William: 261, footnote, 274 
 Kingsbury, Rev. Cyrus: 40, and foot- 
 note, 43, footnote, 76 
 Kingsbury Jr., Cyrus: 79 
 Kiowas: 52; Texans reported tamper- 
 ing with, 210, footnote; messengers 
 from, 309; talk for, 320; treaty 
 with, to be effected, 323, 331; dele- 
 gation of, 324; Big-head, chief of, 
 342; Lone Wolf, chief of, 350; E-sa- 
 sem-mus, chief of, 350; annual fes- 
 tival of, 351; treaty with, 354 
 
 Knights of Golden Circle: probable 
 influence with Arkansas Legislature, 
 68, footnote; evidence of activity 
 among Indians, 68; halfbreeds be- 
 long to, 86, footnote 
 
 Koonsha Female Seminary: 40, foot- 
 note 
 
 LANDS: plot to dispossess Indian of, 
 18; pledged by U.S. government as 
 Indian possession in perpetuity, 18, 
 28 ; of Cherokees extended north of 
 thirty-seventh parallel, 21 ; of In- 
 dians coveted by Forty-niners, 28; 
 of Indians in Kansas excluded from 
 local governmental control, 35; al- 
 lotment in severally proposed to 
 Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws, 
 58 ; violation of treaties to cost In- 
 dians their, 86, footnote; property 
 rights of Indians guaranteed by 
 Confederacy, 161 et seq.; Indians 
 to have right to dispose of by will, 
 172; Cherokee halfbreeds fear de- 
 signs upon Indian, 216 
 
 Lane, James H: 125, 229, 231, foot- 
 note, 233, 242, 251 and footnote, 265, 
 270, 276, 278 
 
 Lane, W. P: 357 
 
 Laughinghouse, G. W: 120 
 
 Leased District: 52 and footnote, 54, 
 56, 57, footnote, 63, 67, 96, 179, 199, 
 297, 340, 349 
 
 Lee, Robert E: 88, footnote, 98, foot- 
 note, 99 
 
 Lee, S. Orlando: letter, 75-79, 197, 
 footnote 
 
 Leeper, Matthew: 57 and footnote, 82 
 and footnote, 96, 98 and footnote, 99, 
 180, footnote, 199, footnote, 303, 
 304-307, 311, 315-319; removal of, 
 asked for by Rector, 323 ; death of, 
 329, footnote; charges against, 333 
 
 Leeper Papers: cited, 57, footnote, 99, 
 footnote, 102, footnote, 181, footnote, 
 186, footnote, 199, footnote, 200, 
 footnote, 201, footnote, 329-357 
 
384 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Lee's Creek: Cherokee school at, 39, 
 footnote 
 
 Lefontaine, Louis: 208, footnote 
 
 Leroy: 248, 266 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham: 68, 76, 80, 86, foot- 
 note, 93, 95, n8, 122, footnote, 182, 
 185, 234 and footnote, 250, 265, foot- 
 note, 266, 274, 276, 278 
 
 Little Captain: 277, footnote 
 
 Little Rock: 103, 108, 190, footnote 
 
 London, John T: 104, footnote 
 
 Long John: 198, footnote 
 
 Love, Overton: 23, footnote 
 
 Lower Creeks: 50, 80, footnote, 192, 
 244 
 
 Lowrie, Walter: 75 
 
 "Loyal Creeks": 192, footnote, 193, 194, 
 footnote, 195, 199, 243-246, 250, 254, 
 259; sufferings, 260; measures for 
 relief of, 260 et seq., 272; annuities 
 of "hostiles" to be applied to relief 
 of, 274 
 
 Luce, John B: 125, 182, footnote 
 
 MCCARRON, THOMAS: 311 
 
 McClellan, George B: 265, footnote, 
 275, 276 
 
 McCulloch, Ben: 85, footnote, 120, 
 *35 footnote, 141, 143-144; letter of 
 Hubbard to, 144-145 ; attempt to se- 
 cure Cherokee help, 149-153; com- 
 munication with John Ross, 149 ; re- 
 ply of John Ross to, 150; correspon- 
 dence with Secretary Walker, 151, 
 and footnote; reports Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws as anxious to join Con- 
 federacy, 155; accompanies Albert 
 Pike, 189, footnote', gives authority 
 for calling out six hundred rangers 
 from Fort Cobb, 198, footnote; ob- 
 jects to appointment of Garrett as 
 colonel of Creek regiment, 212, foot- 
 note; acts under direct orders from 
 Richmond, 225 ; promises to protect 
 Cherokee borders, 227 ; orders Stand 
 Watie to take up position in Chero- 
 kee Neutral Lands, 252, footnote; 
 goes to Richmond, 257, footnote 
 
 McCulloch, Henry E: 99, footnote, 207 
 
 McCulloch, Thomas C: 210, footnote 
 
 McDaniel, James: 262, footnote, 268, 
 and footnote 
 
 Machinations : secessionist sympathy of 
 Indians not due to, of agents and 
 others, 219, footnote 
 
 Mclntosh, Chilly: 92, 140, footnote, 
 193, and footnote, 200, footnote 
 
 Mclntosh, D. N: 92 
 
 Mclntosh, James: 256 et seq. 
 
 Mclntosh, Roily: 193, footnote 
 
 Mclntosh, William: 191, footnote, 193, 
 footnote; attempts to bribe John 
 Ross, 236, footnote 
 
 McRae, John J: presents petition for 
 removal of Choctaws, 20, footnote 
 
 McWillie, M. H: 207, footnote 
 
 Mails: insecurity, 116; none in Indian 
 country, 190, footnote; irregularity, 
 230, 252, footnote ; must be provided 
 for in Leased District, 309 ; Rector 
 has no authority to establish, 332 
 
 Malfeasance: Rev. Thomas Johnson 
 suspected of, 39, 41 ; few Indian 
 Office officials free from, 56, foot- 
 note; Washburn implicated in, 85, 
 footnote; Indian agents guilty of, 
 262, footnote 
 
 Manassas Junction: battle of, 216 
 
 Mandan: suggested territory of, 32, 
 footnote 
 
 Manypenny, George W: 30, footnote; 
 Indian treaties made by, 33, foot- 
 note, 3 5 ; promises to look into ex- 
 pediency of Comanche removal, 51, 
 footnote; suggests giving Indians 
 control of trade, 170 
 
 Marcy, William L: 165, footnote 
 
 Marshall, F. J: 207 
 
 Marysville: 207 
 
 Mass-meeting: of Cherokees at Tahle- 
 quah, 217 et seq., 226, 234 
 
 Mathews, John: 235, footnote, 239 
 
 Mayers, Abram G: 56, footnote, 197, 
 footnote, 230, footnote, 287, 288, 289, 
 312 
 
 Mayes, Joel: 214, footnote 
 
Index 
 
 385 
 
 Medicines: Texans seize, 305, 308; 
 Leeper's requisition can not be hon- 
 ored, 330-331 
 
 Memphis (Tenn.) : 97, 104, 134, foot- 
 note 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church South : 37, 
 footnote, 38, 40, footnote 
 
 Methodists: 38 
 
 Mexican War: effect upon Indian in- 
 terests, 28; service of Pike in, 132 
 
 Miamies: from Indiana, 19; charges 
 against Agent Clover, 209, footnote 
 
 Michigan: tribes from, 19 
 
 Mikko Hutke: 194, 244 
 
 Military Board of Arkansas: 190 
 
 Minnesota: territory of Decotah to be 
 carved out of, 31, footnote 
 
 Mission: of Pike, 134 et seq.; of Hub- 
 bard, 143 et seq.; of Carruth, 242, 
 246-247 
 
 Missionaries: encourage slavery with- 
 in Indian country, 22; among In- 
 dians, 39 et seq.; suspected of at- 
 tempting to abolitionize Indian 
 country, 41 ; charged with inciting 
 to murder, 47; search organization 
 among Cherokees due to, 48 
 
 Missionary Herald: cited, 40, footnote, 
 41, footnote 
 
 Missions: 39 et seq., 143 
 
 Mississippi : Choctaws and Chickasaws 
 from, 20 ; Choctaws in, fight on side 
 of South, 20, footnote; Cooper, citi- 
 zen of, 41 
 
 Mississippi River: 17, 63 
 
 Missouri: Kickapoos, Shawnees, and 
 Delawares tarry in, 19, footnote; in- 
 terests herself in Indian alliance, 83 
 
 Missouri Compromise: line approxi- 
 mately boundary between northern 
 and southern Indian immigrants, 21 ; 
 encroachment upon northern rights 
 under, 22 ; as affected by Kansas- 
 Nebraska bill, 30 
 
 Mitchell, Charles B: 97, 98, 334 
 
 Montgomery: 76, 87, footnote, 94, 109, 
 192, 196, 297 
 
 Moore, Andrew B: 108 
 
 Moore, Frank: work cited, 45, foot- 
 note, 125, footnote, 227, footnote 
 
 Moore, Thomas O: 155, 192, footnote 
 
 Moo-sho-le-tubbee : district of, 34, 
 footnote 
 
 Moravians: 38 
 
 Morton, Jackson: 127 
 
 Motey Kennard: 58, footnote, 80, foot- 
 note, 92, 94, 119, 191, and footnote, 
 *93> *99> 20 , footnote, 218, footnote, 
 243, 337 
 
 Mound City: 230, footnote 
 
 Munsees: from Ohio, 19; Moravians 
 among, 38 
 
 Murphy, J: 119 
 
 Mus-co-kee: territory of suggested, 
 31, footnote 
 
 NAVAJOE: suggested territory of, 32, 
 footnote 
 
 Ne-a-math-la: 193, footnote 
 
 Nebraska: indigenous tribes in, 19, 
 footnote; agitation for opening up 
 of, 28 ; drouth in, 57 
 
 Ne-con-he-con : 268, footnote 
 
 Negroes: Choctaws charged with mix- 
 ing with, 20, footnote; Creeks al- 
 most completely mixed with, 22, 
 footnote; Creeks possess no aversion 
 to race mixture, 23, footnote; no 
 rights that white men are bound to 
 respect, 29 ; Quantrill plans to res- 
 cue, 48 ; Indians agree to return 
 fugitive, 166, footnote; six hundred, 
 seized by Kansans, 334 
 
 Neighbors, Robert S: 56, footnote 
 
 Neosho: suggested territory of, 31, 
 footnote 
 
 Neosho River: 208, 277, footnote 
 
 Neosho River Agency: 30, footnote; 
 invaded, 35, footnote; Elder put in 
 charge of, 186; Indians of, at Fort 
 Smith Council, 241 
 
 Neutrality: McCulloch agrees to re- 
 spect Cherokee, 136, footnote; of 
 Indians scarcely possible, 145 ; Chief 
 Ross gives reasons for preserving, 
 147, 150; Chief Ross objects to vio- 
 
386 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 lation of, 150; majority of Chero- 
 kees favor, 153; Chief Ross's Proc- 
 lamation of, 153-154; discussion in 
 Cherokee meeting at Tahlequah, 
 220 et seq. ; McCulloch orders Stand 
 Watie's men not to interfere with 
 Cherokee, 227 
 
 New Hope Academy: 40, footnote 
 New Orleans Picayune: 32, footnote 
 Newspapers: 47, 75, 80, footnote 
 New York Indians: from Wisconsin, 
 19; reservation invaded, 35; mem- 
 bers of Neosha River Agency, 51 ; 
 Refugees camp upon lands of, 260 
 North Carolina: Cherokees fight on 
 
 side of South, 20, footnote 
 North Fork Village: 92, 94, 95, 157, 
 
 188, 192 
 North Fork of Canadian: 67, 136, 
 
 footnote, 189, footnote, 254 
 Northern Baptists: 38, 39 
 Northern Indians: colonized within 
 limits of great American desert, 18 ; 
 relative position of, 21 ; Pike hoped 
 to exert influence over, 208 ; report- 
 ed organized into spy companies by 
 Federals, 306 
 
 OAK HILLS, or Wilson's Creek: battle 
 of, 215, 216, 225, 257, footnote 
 
 Ochiltree, William B: 129 
 
 Office of Indian Affairs: plans for re- 
 moval of Catawbas from Carolinas, 
 20, footnote', takes measures for re- 
 moval of Seminoles from Florida, 
 20, footnote', refuses to remove 
 Choctaws from Mississippi, 20, 
 footnote; unable to execute plan for 
 removal of Texas Indians before 
 1859, 52; reply of Creeks to pro- 
 posals, 58; patronage of, 59; out of 
 communication with Indian Terri- 
 tory, 8 1, footnote; complaint filed 
 at, 96 ; in possession of documents 
 incriminating D. H. Cooper, 186; 
 discontinues Indian allowances, 192; 
 supports War Department, 271 
 
 Ogden, John B: 89, footnote, 108, 
 footnote, 115, footnote 
 
 Ohio: people of, desire information 
 about Manypenny treaties, 33, foot- 
 note 
 
 Okanagan: suggested territory of, 32, 
 footnote 
 
 Ok-ta-ha-hassee Harjo [Sands] : 194, 
 244, and footnote 
 
 Old Choctaw Agency: 211, footnote 
 
 Oldham, W. S: 100, footnote 
 
 Old Scottish Gentleman: 107 and 
 footnote 
 
 Old Settlers Party: 49 
 
 Omaha Mission School: youths from, 
 enlist in army, 227, footnote 
 
 Omahas: 227, footnote 
 
 Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la: 138, footnote, 193 
 and footnote, 194, 195, footnote, 198, 
 footnote, 236, footnote, 243, 253, 
 footnote, 254 et seq., 268, 278 
 
 Oregon: occupied, 28 
 
 Osage Manual Labor School: 38, 
 footnote 
 
 Osage Mission: 182, footnote 
 
 Osage River Agency: 208, footnote 
 
 Osage Treaty: 157 and footnote; lands 
 in Kansas guaranteed by, 162; 
 model on subject of rendition of 
 slaves, 167; navigable waters, 175; 
 negotiated, 237 
 
 Osages: indigenous to Kansas, 19; 
 Great and Little, 20, footnote; res- 
 ervation invaded, 35, 295; deter- 
 mined to resist removal, 36 ; Roman 
 Catholicism among, 38; members of 
 Neosho River Agency, 51 ; negotia- 
 tions with Pike, 137, footnote; de- 
 scribed as "lazy," 208, footnote; 
 letter to, from John Ross, 235, 236, 
 footnote; bands of, 237 
 
 Otis, Elmer: 210, footnote 
 
 Otoes: 209, footnote 
 
 Ottawas: from Michigan, 19; regard 
 removal as useless, 36, footnote; 
 Baptists among, 38 
 
 Ozark Mountains: 19, footnote 
 
Index 
 
 PACIFIC RAILROAD SURVEYS: cited, 54, 
 footnote 
 
 Pa-hiu-ska: 238, footnote 
 
 Panola: county of, 68, footnote 
 
 Pape, Henry: 182, footnote 
 
 Park Hill: Cherokee school at, 39, 
 footnote', residence of John Ross, 
 135, footnote, 188, footnote', John 
 Ross at, 150; W. S. Robertson re- 
 tires to, 218, footnote; Pike invited 
 to, 234; treaties negotiated at, 237 
 
 Parker, Eli S: 228, footnote 
 
 Parker, Thomas Valentine: work cit- 
 ed, 49, footnote 
 
 Parks, Robert W: 355 
 
 Pas-co-fa: 198 and footnote, 319 
 
 Pawnees: purchase from, 33, footnote; 
 offer to enlist in U. S. army de- 
 clined, 227, footnote 
 
 Pea Ridge: battle of, 138, footnote, 284 
 
 Pearce, N. Bart: 120, 131 
 
 Pegg, Major: 256, 257 
 
 Peoria, Baptiste: 235, footnote 
 
 Peorias: from Illinois, 19 
 
 Petition: of Representative John J. 
 McRae, 20, footnote 
 
 Phelps, J. S: 81, footnote; 211, foot- 
 note, 240, footnote 
 
 Phillips, U. B: work cited, 134, foot- 
 note, 191, footnote 
 
 Piankeshaws: from Illinois, 19 
 
 Pickens: county of, 68, footnote 
 
 Pierce, Franklin : 41, footnote, 56, foot- 
 note 
 
 Pike, Albert: dislike of Van Dora, 55, 
 footnote; concerned with Choctaw 
 Corn Contract, 57, footnote; and 
 Choctaw commissioners, 78 ; writes 
 to Seminole chief, 84, footnote; tel- 
 egram, 105, footnote; poem in hon- 
 or of Elias Rector, 106; correspon- 
 dence with Robert Toombs, 129, 
 131, 134 and footnote, 152 and foot- 
 note ; appointed by President Davis 
 special commissioner to Indians 
 west of Arkansas, 130; correspon- 
 dence with R. W. Johnson, 131, 132; 
 writings, 132, footnote, 133 and 
 
 footnote; unjust to John Ross, 134, 
 footnote; commissioner from Arkan- 
 sas, 190-191; views on use of In- 
 dians as soldiers, 149 ; continues 
 intercourse with Ridge Party, 156 
 and footnote; moderate in promises 
 to strong tribes, 163 ; assumes finan- 
 cial obligations in name of Confed- 
 eracy, 163-164; opens communica- 
 tion with Indian field service, 180- 
 181; offers post to Leeper, 180, foot- 
 note; negotiates with Creeks, 192- 
 195 ; negotiates with Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws, 196-197; negotiates 
 with Seminoles, 197-199; negotiates 
 with western Indians, 200-202, 200, 
 footnote; report submitted by Pres- 
 ident Davis to Provisional Congress, 
 202; invited to be present at con- 
 sideration of Indian treaties, 205 ; 
 desires to raise an Indian battalion 
 from Kansas, 208; informed of 
 Cherokee willingness to treat, 234; 
 assigned to command of Indian 
 Territory, 253-254, 322; Van Dorn's 
 plans for, 280, 283 ; retires to Fort 
 McCulloch, 284; continues Charles 
 B. Johnson as contractor, 301-303 ; 
 receives Leeper's apology, 356 
 
 Pike, W. L: 194 
 
 Pine Ridge: 43, footnote 
 
 Pins: 86, footnote, 135, footnote, 137, 
 footnote, 138, footnote, 216 
 
 Pioneers: 18, footnote 
 
 Pitchlynn, P. P: 74, 77 
 
 Pitchlynn, W. B: 197 
 
 Policy: of U.S. government with re- 
 spect to Indians, 18; of Confeder- 
 ate States government, 147 
 
 Politicians: as influencing Indian pol- 
 icy of government, 18, footnote; mo- 
 tives of, 21 ; demands of, for In- 
 dians, 31; reason for urging seces- 
 sion among Indians, 98, footnote; 
 unjust charges against Ross, 150 
 
 Polk, James K: work cited, 49, foot- 
 note, 166, footnote 
 
 Pomeroy, Samuel C: 231, footnote 
 
388 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Pontotoc: county of, 68, footnote 
 
 Pope, John: 105, footnote 
 
 Population: of Indian country, 20-21; 
 of southern superintendency, 211, 
 footnote; of Creek Nation as esti- 
 mated by Agent Garrett in report 
 to Hubbard, 252-253, footnote 
 
 Postal system: to be maintained by 
 Confederate States throughout In- 
 dian country, 180 
 
 Potaw atomies: from Indiana, 19; Ro- 
 man Catholicism among, 38 ; South- 
 ern Baptists among, 38 
 
 Poteau River: 108 
 
 Presbyterian Board of Foreign Mis- 
 sions: 37, footnote, 40, footnote, 41, 
 
 79 
 
 Presbyterians (Old School) : 38, foot- 
 note, 39, 40, footnote, 41 
 
 Price, Sterling: 138, footnote, 225, 257, 
 footnote, 280, 283, 312, 326, 334 
 
 Prince, J. E: 98, footnote, 231, footnote 
 
 Proclamation: of Ross pledging Cher- 
 okee neutrality, 153-154; of Hudson 
 announcing Choctaw independence, 
 196, 210 
 
 Pro-slavery men: intrenched among 
 Shawnees south of Kansas River, 
 35 ; settled upon Cherokee Neutral 
 Lands, 35, footnote 
 
 Protectorate: over Indian tribes sug- 
 gested, 130, 142, 158, 190 
 
 Provisional Congress of Confederate 
 States: act of, May 21, 1861, 130, 
 158 and footnote; considers treaties 
 with Indian tribes, 202-206 
 
 Pulliam, Richard P: 183, footnote, 184, 
 294, 295, 297, 311, 324 
 
 Pushmataha: George Folsom, chief of 
 district of, 23, footnote; District 
 of, 34, footnote 
 
 QUAKERS: 39 
 
 Quantrill, Wm. Clarke: 48, 214, foot- 
 note 
 
 Quapaw Treat}-: 157 and footnote 
 Quapaws: 51, 64, 67; in council with 
 
 Creeks, Cherokees, Seminoles, and 
 Sacs, 94; negotiations with Pike, 
 136, footnote, 235, footnote, 237 
 Quesenbury, William: 183, footnote, 
 184, 190, footnote, 194, 303, 323 
 
 RAY, P. ORMAN: work cited, 22, foot- 
 note, 34, footnote, 38, footnote 
 Reagan, J. H: 230, footnote 
 Rector, Elias: superintends removal 
 of Seminoles, 20, footnote, 182, foot- 
 note; demands for Indians, 31, foot- 
 note; Cooper writes to, 42; urges 
 that Frozen Rock be converted into 
 military post, 53 ; enters into sort 
 of private contract with Johnson 
 and Grimes, 56 and footnote; 
 Grimes and, 57, footnote, 285-289; 
 relieved, 80, footnote; seconds ef- 
 forts of cousin, 106; suggestion to 
 Cooper, 106-107, footnote, 187; gives 
 letter of introduction to Gaines, 113 ; 
 gives information concerning Choc- 
 taws and Chickasaws, 120; attempt 
 of U. S. government to find success- 
 or to, 182; uncertainty as to when 
 entering Confederate service, 182, 
 footnote; interview with Pike, 190, 
 footnote; in company of Pike, 197, 
 198, footnote; writes to Leeper, 199, 
 footnote; expense account of, 304; 
 complaint against Pike, 328 
 Rector, Henry M: 102, 112 
 Red Fork of Canadian: 67, 255 
 Red River: 55, 63, 77, 91, 95, too and 
 footnote, 108, 139, footnote, 175, 
 
 347, 349 
 
 Refugees: Opoethleyohola, leader of, 
 195 ; Coffin prepares to meet, 259 ; 
 take up station between Verdigris 
 and Arkansas Rivers, 259 ; approx- 
 imate number of, 260 and footnote; 
 sufferings of, 260-261 and footnotes, 
 265, footnote, 272; absolute destitu- 
 tion of, 273, footnote ; Dole furnish- 
 es supplies to, 274; joint resolution 
 for relief of, 274; annuities of hos- 
 
Index 
 
 389 
 
 tile Indians to be diverted to relief 
 of, 274 and footnote 
 
 Regiment: Colonel Cooper's filled with 
 Texans, 78 ; Choctaw-Chickasaw 
 and Creek, 210-211; Creek, to elect 
 its own officers, 213; Drew's, or- 
 ganized, 226-227; work and char- 
 acter of Drew's, 240 and footnote; 
 of Choctaw-Chickasaw Mounted 
 Rifles, of Creeks, and of Cherokee 
 Mounted Rifles, 252, footnote, 262, 
 footnote; Drew's deserts Cooper, 
 256 ; only one white, in whole In- 
 dian Department, 280; Leeper asks 
 for at least one, to keep order on 
 Reserve, 349 
 
 Reid, Alexander: 76, 78 
 
 Removal: of Indians more or less 
 compulsory, 19 and footnote; slav- 
 ery advanced as objection to Indian, 
 21-22 ; makes no difference in mat- 
 ter of slavery among Indians, 22; 
 difficulties within Indian country in- 
 cident to, 27; Calhoun's plan for, 
 27 ; U. S. government slow to adopt 
 policy of, 27-28 ; settlers demand, of 
 Indians from Kansas, 36; certain 
 tribes contemplating, 36, footnote; 
 of Indians from Kansas delayed on 
 account of Civil War, 37; Mission- 
 ary Herald useful for history of, 
 40, footnote; reasons for, 48; pro- 
 ject for, of Cherokees causes dis- 
 * sensions within tribes, 49 ; of Texas 
 Indians, 52; Wichitas ask for im- 
 mediate, 56; guarantee of territorial 
 integrity in treaties arranging for, 
 160-161 ; indemnification for, 164- 
 166; Choctaw claims under treaty 
 of, 196 
 
 Reservation : system, introduced into 
 trans-Missouri region, 21 ; Creeks 
 disgusted with idea of individual, 
 
 58 
 Reserve Indians: see Indians of Leased 
 
 District, Wichitas, Tonkaioas, Eu- 
 
 chees, etc. 
 Resolutions: of Choctaws, February 7, 
 
 1861, 72-74, 75; of Chickasaw Leg- 
 islature, May 25, 1861, 122-124 an d 
 footnote; offered by Chilton of Ala- 
 bama, 127; offered by Toombs for 
 appointment of special agent to In- 
 dian tribes, 129; of Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws showing friendly dis- 
 position towards South, 130 and foot- 
 note ; passed at Cherokee mass-meet- 
 ing at Tahlequah, August, 1861, 
 218, footnote, 223-225 ; joint, for re- 
 lief of Indian refugees in Kansas, 
 274 
 
 Rhodes, J. F: work cited, 45, footnote, 
 129, footnote, 146, footnote 
 
 Richardson, James D : work cited, 129, 
 footnote, 158, footnote, 202, footnote 
 
 Ridge, John: 47, footnote 
 
 Ridge, or Treaty Party: in favor of 
 Cherokee removal, 49; connives 
 with Ben McCulloch to circumvent 
 wishes of Chief Ross, 151; minority 
 party, 153 ; Pike's intercourse with, 
 continues, 156; attempts to develop 
 public sentiment in favor of Con- 
 federacy, 215 ; collision with Ross 
 faction, 240 
 
 Robertson, W. S: 101, footnote, 192, 
 footnote, 218, footnote 
 
 Robinson, Charles: 228, 234 
 
 Rock-a-to-wa : 231, footnote 
 
 Rogers, H. L: 332, 333, 336, 337 
 
 Rolla: W. S. Robertson fleeing from 
 Indian country, reaches, 218, foot- 
 note 
 
 Roman Catholics: 38, footnote 
 
 Ross, John: correspondence, 69, foot- 
 note, uncle of Wm. P. Ross, 71 ; 
 instructions of, 71, footnote; influ- 
 ence, 72; character, 72, footnote; 
 letter of Dole to, 80, footnote; no 
 one firmer friend to Union than, 
 86, footnote; correspondence with 
 John B. Ogden, 89, footnote, 115, 
 footnote; called upon by commis- 
 sioners from Texas, 93 ; letter from 
 Governor Rector, 112; letter to Rec- 
 tor, 117; letter from citizens of 
 
390 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Boonsboro, in, footnote, 124; J. R. 
 Kannady communicates with, 125 ; 
 issues proclamation of neutrality, 
 I2 5i I 53- I 54>' Albert Pike unjust to, 
 134, footnote letter of Hubbard to, 
 144-145; reply to Hubbard, 146-147; 
 correspondence with Ben McCul- 
 loch, 149-151; sincerity possibly 
 doubted, 168 ; declared shrewd, 189, 
 footnote; Ridge Party attempts to 
 undermine popularity, 215; attends 
 meeting of Cherokee Executive 
 Council, 217; address, 220, 223; 
 suspected of not acting in good 
 faith, 226; notifies Pike of Chero- 
 kee willingness to treat, 234; com- 
 municates with Creeks and Osages, 
 235 ; called upon to rally Cherokees, 
 256 
 
 Ross, Lewis: 138, footnote 
 
 Ross, Mrs. John: 220, footnote 
 
 Ross, Mrs. William P: work cited, 71, 
 footnote 
 
 Ross, William P: 71, 89, footnote, 
 116, footnote, 137, footnote, 139, foot- 
 note, 217, 223 
 
 Ross, W. W: 210, footnote 
 
 Ross Party: opposed to removal, 49; 
 majority party, 153 
 
 Round Mountain: 255 
 
 Route: of Opoethleyohola's retreat, 
 261-262 and footnote 
 
 Rust, Albert: 105, footnote 
 
 Rutherford, A. H: 30, footnote, 190, 
 footnote 
 
 Rutherford, Samuel M: 86, footnote, 
 I ^3, 199 and footnote, 319 
 
 SACKETT, MAJOR: 98, footnote 
 Sacs and Foxes: of Missouri, 36, foot- 
 note 
 
 San Antonio: 52, footnote 
 Sands: see Ok-ta-ha-hassee Harjo 
 Schoenmaker, John: 182, footnote 
 Scott, S. S: 198, footnote, 201, footnote, 
 
 3i4> 32i 
 Scott, Winfield: 88, footnote, 97, 249 
 
 Scottish Songs: work cited, 108, foot- 
 note 
 
 Screw Fly: work cited, 56, footnote 
 
 Scullyville: Choctaw constitution of, 
 51; Creek regiment forming at, 211 
 
 Sebastian, William K: 106, footnote, 
 287 
 
 Secession : meeting held by white men 
 and Choctaw half-bloods, 77 ; Pres- 
 byterian ordained missionaries favor, 
 79 ; Indian country threatened by 
 advocates for, 80; Indian agents ac- 
 tive for, 82-83 and footnote; mer- 
 cenary motives in urging, 98, foot- 
 note; sentiment in Arkansas, 103 
 et seq.; Pike offers arguments for, 
 133 ; secret organization of "Pins," 
 135, footnote; Stand Watie's party 
 afraid to raise flag of, 140, footnote ; 
 large element within Cherokee Na- 
 tion favors, 153 ; Griffith appointed 
 commissioner to interview Indians 
 in interests of, 184; Indian oppon- 
 ents absent from Pike's meeting at 
 North Fork Village, 192; Jones most 
 prominent of Choctaw advocates, 
 197; traces of influence of, 208; 
 August mass-meeting of Cherokees 
 ending in, 217 
 
 Second Seminole War: 20, footnote, 
 23, footnote, 164, footnote, 164-166 
 
 Secret Society: purpose of organiza- 
 tion, 32, footnote; in Missouri, 35, 
 footnote; among full-blooded Cher- 
 okees, 48 ; "the Pins," 86, footnote, 
 135, footnote, 216; among Chero- 
 kees for abolition purposes, 291, 
 293 ; Greenwood orders its dissolu- 
 tion, 292; Cowart's views upon 
 schemes of, 294 
 
 Sells, Elijah: 186, footnote 
 
 Seminole Treaty: 157 and footnote; 
 declares allegiance to C.S.A., 159, 
 footnote; contains guarantee of au- 
 tonomy, 159, footnote; contains 
 promise of representation in Con- 
 gress, 159, footnote; negotiated, 
 
Index 
 
 391 
 
 197-199, 197, footnote; considered 
 by Provisional Congress, 206 
 
 Seminoles: from Florida, 20; removal 
 in late fifties, 20, footnote; status 
 of free negro among, 40; Presby- 
 terians among, 40; manifest only 
 slight interest in education, 40, foot- 
 note; given home in Creek country, 
 50; destitute, 57, footnote; represen- 
 tatives at inter-tribal conference, 
 71; letter to chief of, 80, footnote; 
 condition reported by Carruth, 84, 
 footnote; in council with Creeks, 
 Cherokees, Quapaws, and Sacs, 94; 
 negotiations of Pike with, 136, foot- 
 note; complaint against General 
 Jesup, 164, footnote; Rector's trans- 
 actions with, 182, footnote 
 
 Seneca and Shawnee Treaty; 157 and 
 footnote 
 
 Senecas: 51, 64, 67; negotiations of 
 Pike with, 136, footnote; from Cat- 
 taraugus Reservation, 227, footnote 
 
 Senecas and Shawnees: 51, 64, 67; ne- 
 gotiations of Pike with, 136, foot- 
 note, 237 
 
 Settlers: in Kansas demand that In- 
 dians vacate territory, 36 
 
 Seward, William H: reference to 
 "higher law" speech, 42, footnote; 
 Chicago speech, 58, 75 ; Senate 
 speech, 58 
 
 Shawnee Manual Labor School, 38 
 
 Shawnee Mission: work of Rev. 
 Thomas Johnson at, 22, footnote 
 
 Shawnees: from Ohio, 19; tarry in 
 Missouri, 19, footnote; pro-slavery 
 men among, 3 5 ; reported by Agent 
 Dorn as anxious to leave Kansas, 
 36, footnote; Baptist school on res- 
 ervation of, 38; Southern Method- 
 ists among, 38; as refugees, 57, 
 footnote; trouble over tribal elec- 
 tions, 209, footnote; attack Wichita 
 Agency, 329, footnote 
 
 Shon-tah-sob-ba [Black Dog]: 235, 
 footnote, 238, footnote 
 
 Short Bird: 319 
 
 Shoshone: suggested territory of, 32, 
 footnote 
 
 Siebert, W. H: work cited, 23, foot- 
 note, 49, footnote 
 
 Sigel, Franz: 215, footnote 
 
 Simon, Ben: 329, footnote 
 
 Sioux: uprising, 21, footnote; warriors, 
 227, footnote 
 
 Slaughter, Thomas C: 208 
 
 Slavery: in Kansas, 22; encouraged, 
 22 ; among Southern Indians, 22, 
 292; influence of churches upon, 
 37; white men to prevent abolition 
 among Indians, 42; opposition 
 among Choctaws and Chickasaws, 
 45 ; is being interfered with by in- 
 truders, 47; cause in jeopardy 
 among Cherokees, 48 ; North to ex- 
 terminate among Indians, 145 ; rec- 
 ognized as legal institution by treat- 
 ies, 166 and footnote; offers easy 
 solution of labor problem, 219; Co- 
 wart reports complaints of interfer- 
 ence with, 293 
 
 Slaves: 22, 142, 143, 144-145, 165. 
 166, footnote, 167, footnote, 172, 216, 
 261 
 
 Smith, Andrew J : charges against, 41, 
 footnote 
 
 Smith, Caleb B: 74, footnote, 183, 242, 
 271, 274, 275 
 
 Smith, E. Kirby: 100, footnote 
 
 Smith, John G: 192 
 
 Smith, William R: work cited, 108, 
 footnote, 109, footnote 
 
 Snow, George C: 198, footnote, 199, 
 footnote 
 
 Southern Baptist Convention: 39, foot- 
 note 
 
 Southern Baptists: 38, 39 
 
 South Carolina: 20, footnote 
 
 Southern Indians: 18, 21, 32, 34, 36 
 
 Southern Methodists: 38, 39, 40 
 
 Southern Superintendency: 30, foot- 
 note 
 
 Sparrow, Edward: 127 
 
392 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 Spencer Academy: 40, footnote, 75, 
 76,78 
 
 Springfield: 214, footnote, 217, 255, 
 283, 312, 334 
 
 Spy companies: reported equipped by 
 Federals, 306 
 
 Stand Watie: 49, footnote, 137, foot- 
 note, 153, 156, footnote, 227, 240, 
 283, 324 
 
 Stanton, Edwin M: 276, 279 
 
 Stanwood, Edward: work cited, 106, 
 footnote 
 
 Stark, O. P: 76 
 
 State Department (C.S.A.) : Albert 
 Pike, commissioner from, 134, foot- 
 note, 152; Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
 part of, 188, footnote 
 
 Stephens, Alexander H: work cited, 
 118, footnote, 119, footnote 
 
 Stevens, R. S: 209, footnote 
 
 Stevens, Thaddeus: 210, footnote 
 
 Stidham, G. W: 194 
 
 Stocks: 6x, 76, 203, footnote 
 
 Stockton, G. B: 107, footnote, 186, 
 footnote 
 
 Strain, J. H: 285, 287 
 
 Sturm, J. J: 199, 201, footnote, 330, 
 
 33i, 353, 357 
 
 Sumner, Charles: 45, footnote 
 Sur-cox-ie: 268, footnote 
 Surveyors: 53 
 
 TAHLEQUAH: 39, footnote, 93, 188, 
 footnote, 217, and footnote, 218, 
 footnote, 226, 234, 237, 293 
 
 Tallise Fixico: 194 
 
 Tatum, Mark T: 50, footnote, 104, 
 footnote, 296 
 
 Taylor, J. W: 193, footnote 
 
 Taylor, N. G: 30, footnote 
 
 Tennessee: Cherokees from, 20; John 
 J. Humphreys from, 185 
 
 Tenney, W. J : work cited, 90, footnote 
 
 Tents: furnished to refugees, 261 
 
 Territorial expansion: 28, 58 
 
 Territorial form of government: 30, 
 31, footnote, 33 
 
 Texas: indigenous tribes in, 19, foot- 
 
 note; Indians expelled from, 19, 
 footnote, 52, 340; Cherokees in, 20, 
 footnote annexed, 28 ; troops from, 
 53; Indian patronage, 59; Indian 
 participation in Civil War, 63 ; in- 
 terest in Indian Territory, 67; in- 
 terest in securing alliance of In- 
 dians, 83, 88, 90; interest in am- 
 nesty provisions of Indian treaties, 
 175-176; commissioners from, 183; 
 attitude of northern countries of, 
 200, footnote', desires Reserve In- 
 dians placed under her jurisdiction, 
 297 
 
 Texas Historical Association Quarter- 
 ly: work cited, 20, footnote 
 
 Texas Superintendency: 56, footnote 
 
 Thomason, Hugh F: 202, 335 
 
 Thompson, Jacob : 45, footnote, 46, 54, 
 56, footnote 
 
 Tishomingo: county of, 68, footnote 
 
 Tonkawas: 52 and footnote, 189, foot- 
 note, 200, 201, footnote, 340, 353 
 
 Toombs, Robert: 129, 131, 134 and 
 footnote, 135, footnote, 152 
 
 Totten, James: 103, 104 
 
 Traders: 22, 27, 59-60, 169 et seq., 
 193, footnote, 238-239, 319 
 
 Trammel, Dennis: 288, 289 
 
 Treat, S. B: 43, footnote 
 
 Treaties: 34, footnote, 37, footnote, 53, 
 78, 84, footnote, 102, 117, 122, foot- 
 note; made with Indians as with 
 foreign powers, 17 ; Ohio desires in- 
 formation as to Manypenny, 33, 
 footnote ; relations to U. S. in, 70, 
 footnote; obligation to abide by, 71, 
 footnote; reduction of forts viola- 
 tion of guaranties in, 97, footnote; 
 resulting from council at Tahle- 
 quah, 237 et seq. ; with the Chero- 
 kees in part the result of intimida- 
 tion, 240, footnote; with the Neosho 
 Agency Indians, 241 ; money due 
 the Creeks under, 289; Pike reports 
 all ratified, 320; amendments to, 
 323; manuscript copies of, 329-330, 
 footnote; no Indian Department to 
 
Index 
 
 393 
 
 be organized until ratification of, 
 331; terms of the, with the wild 
 Indians, 352; Leeper makes a, with 
 the Comanches, 354-355 
 
 TROOPS : Confederate - in Cherokee 
 country, 136, footnote; no Arkan- 
 sas, available, 253, footnote; Van 
 Dorn's erroneous surmise as to pro- 
 portion of white, in Pike's brigade, 
 280; Van Dorn's plans as to dis- 
 position of, 283 ; Leeper inquires 
 when, may be expected, 310; Pike's 
 confidence in white, 320; lack of, in 
 Leased District, 343, 349 ; non-ar- 
 rival of, 345. Indian - Confeder- 
 acy secure before negotiation of 
 treaties of alliance, 207; plans for 
 distribution of, 207; Cherokee, un- 
 der McCulloch, 226-227; Northern, 
 offer to furnish U. S. with, 227, foot- 
 notes; large and increasing number 
 in Indian Territory, 252; not pos- 
 sible to keep order, 346. United 
 States - few within Indian country, 
 52-53 ; Secretary Floyd disposed to 
 withdraw from Indian frontier, 53 ; 
 from Texas ordered to protect U. S. 
 surveyors, 53 ; number to be re- 
 tained in Indian country queried, 
 72, footnote; Carruth reports all 
 gone from Indian Territory, 86, 
 footnote; ordered to leave, 87 and 
 footnote; disposition, reported upon 
 by Texas commissioners, 95 ; under 
 Emory ordered to Indian Territory, 
 96 et seg. ; flee from Indian Ter- 
 ritory, 101 ; dissatisfaction at report- 
 ed change in disposition in Arkan- 
 sas, 103, 105; to counteract influ- 
 ence of secessionists, 216; method 
 of warfare under Lane, 233 ; Dole 
 urges to re-occupy Indian Territory, 
 241 ; sudden withdrawal spreads 
 alarm in Leased District, 299 
 
 True Democrat: work cited, 47, foot- 
 note, 48, footnote, 106, footnote 
 
 Tuckabatche Micco: 51, footnote 
 
 Tuckabatchee Town: 193, footnote 
 
 Tulsey Town: 255 
 Turnbull, John P: 189, footnote 
 Turner, J. W: 260, 272, footnote 
 Tusaquach: 247 
 
 Tush-ca-hom-ma : district of, 179 
 Twiggs, D. E: 55, footnote, 87 
 
 UMATILLA: suggested territory of, 32, 
 footnote 
 
 Underground railroad : 42 
 
 Upper Arkansas Agency: 210, footnote 
 
 Upper Creeks: 50, 208, footnote, 191, 
 footnote, 192, 193, footnote, 236, 
 footnote, 244, 319 
 
 Usher, John P: 56, footnote, 228, foot- 
 note 
 
 VAN BUREN (Ark.) : 64, footnote 
 Van Dorn, Earl: 55, 138, footnote, 
 
 280, 283 
 
 Vann, Joseph: 217, 223 
 Verdigris River: 259, 272 
 
 WAH-PA-NUC-KA INSTITUTE: 40, foot- 
 note 
 
 Walker, David: 116, 298 
 
 Walker, Leroy P: 119, 127, 142, 147, 
 151, 161, 200, footnote, 207, 215, 
 footnote 
 
 Walker, William: head chief of the 
 Wyandots, 22, footnote 
 
 Walker, William: 105, footnote 
 
 Wall, David: 23, footnote 
 
 Walnut Creek: 259 
 
 War Department: C.S.A., 128, foot- 
 note, 139, footnote, 140, footnote, 
 193, footnote, 257, footnote; U.S.A., 
 52, 80, 87, 96, 228, footnote, 234, 
 241, 250, 264-265, 275 
 
 Washburn, J. W: 84, footnote, 164, 
 footnote, 238, and footnote 
 
 Washita: Indians driven from coun- 
 try of, 19, footnote 
 
 Wattles, Augustus: 229, footnote 
 
 Waul, Thomas N: 127, 205 
 
 Weas: from Illinois, 19 
 
 Weber's Falls: 86, footnote 
 
 Welch, George W: 84, footnote 
 
394 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist 
 
 West Florida: seizure of, 28 
 
 West Point: 215, footnote 
 
 Wheelock: Choctaw school, 39, foot- 
 note 
 
 White, Joseph: 209, footnote 
 
 White, S. W: letter of, 33, footnote 
 
 White Cloud: 227, footnote 
 
 Whitney, Henry C: 208 and footnote 
 
 Whittenhall, Daniel S: 350 
 
 Wichita Agency: site for, 54, 56, foot- 
 note, 136, footnote, attack upon, 329, 
 footnote 
 
 Wichita Mountains: 51, 55 
 
 Wichita Treaty: 157, footnote, 158, 
 163, 176 
 
 Wichitas: 52; colonization of, 55; sub- 
 sistence given to, 57, footnote; Leas- 
 ed District of, 63 ; colonized on land 
 claimed as their own, 166; Pike 
 hopes to meet, 189, footnote; Pike 
 fears hostility of, 200; refuse to be 
 cajoled or intimidated, 201 
 
 Wilson, Henry: work cited, 32, foot- 
 note 
 
 Wilson, William: 23, footnote 
 Wilson's Creek: battle of, 225 
 Winneconne: 219, footnote 
 Wisconsin: tribes from, 19 
 Wolcott, Edward: 273, footnote 
 Worcester, Reverend S. A: 23, foot- 
 note; opposed to slavery, 41 
 Wyandots: from Ohio and Michigan, 
 19 ; William Walker, head chief of, 
 22, footnote; initiate movement for 
 organization of Nebraska Territory, 
 34; interested in Kansas election 
 troubles, 34, footnote; Methodism, 
 38 
 
 YANCTON Sioux: Agent Burleigh sug- 
 gests that garrison Fort Randall, 
 227, footnote 
 Young, William C: 100 
 Yulee, David L: 238, footnote 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
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 THE SLAVEHOLDING INDIANS. CLEVELAND 
 
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