OKLAHOMA:
foot-loose and fancy-free
By Angie Debo1
Chapter One:
The Land We Know
When it was proposed that several pieces of
unconnected territory be put together to form
the state of Oklahoma, someone noticed that the
projected commonwealth was shaped like a
butcher’s cleaver. If former Governor Bill
Murray’s memory is correct, there were
members of the Constitutional Convention
determined to adopt the handy utensil as the
state seal, and it required shrewd maneuvering
to circumvent them. The figure is graphic if not
poetical; the long narrow strip on the northwest
now known as the Panhandle is the helve of the
implement, and the Red River boundary forms
its hacked and dented edge.
In measurement Oklahoma is about 470
miles long on the north edge, including the
handle (“from tip to tip” as it were), about 320
miles through the greatest length of the blade;
its greatest breadth is about 225 miles. It
contains about 69,283 square miles, which ranks
it seventeenth in area among the forty-eight
[contiguous] states. It is about the size of North
Dakota, slightly larger than Missouri, almost
half again the size of New York, and more than
10 per cent larger than all New England.
Outsiders seem to think every one of the
69,283 miles is exactly like all the others. For
example, Kyle Crichton in an excellent article
on Oklahoma’s athletic prowess characterized
the whole state from the part he happened to see
as “a large flat piece of ground covered with oil
wells, wheat fields, and a crop of long rangy
individuals.” But it probably has more kinds of
country, more kinds of weather, and more kinds
1
Debo, Dr. Angie, Oklahoma: Foot-Loose and FancyFree. Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1982.
of flora and fauna than any other area of similar
size in the United States.
Geologists have traced these differences to
a time remote in the earth’s history. The area
was apparently a land surface uncounted
millions of years in the dim pre-Cambrian ages.
The about the middle of the Cambrian period
the sea advanced over much of the region and
mile-deep layers of Cambrian, Ordocivian,
Silurian, Devonian, and Mississippian rocks
were deposited. During the ensuring
Pennsylvanian period most of Oklahoma stood
near sea level, thus forming great swamps in
which plants grew rank; but the sea flooded it
from time to time, laying down layers of mud
and sand, thus covering the vegetation, which
was eventually converted into coal. At or near
the close of this period there were great seismic
movements that folded all these rocks into
corrugations—if one can imagine an elongated
layer cake crumpled into washboard folds,
upbent anticlines, downbent synclines—or even
broke and shoved them over each other forming
what the geologists call “faults.” The tops of
these folds have long been worn off, but
remnants of the more resistant rocks form
Oklahoma’s four mountain uplifts: the Ozarks
of the northeast and the Ouachitas of the
southeast, extensions of similar formations in
Missouri and Arkansas; and the Arbuckles and
Wichitas of the south central and southwest
[respectively], both projections of one great
upthrust.
During the succeeding period—the
Permian, as geologists reckon time—the sea
covered only the western part of Oklahoma,
depositing red sands and shales. It is these
Permian Red Beds that give the characteristic
color to the western half of the state. This about
finished the job except for a much later invasion
of the sea from the south, and the deposit of
Comanchean (Lower Cretaceous) rocks along
the southern margin, a continuation of the
formation extending through Central Texas and
far into Old Mexico. Any subsequent change in
the land was the work of wind and streams,
except for a lava flow that came over the
western border of the Panhandle to form the
Black Mesa. The rest of the Panhandle is
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deeply covered with rock debris washed down
rock forming conspicuous strips across the
from the Rocky Mountains.
hillsides, and he will notice that each formation
So much for the geological history of
has its characteristic types of soil, topography,
Oklahoma. But in addition to the local
and vegetation.
movements with their folding and faulting, the
The variation one sees here in miniature
whole state is part of a greater fold that bends
extends throughout the state. In the Ozark
the entire area east of the Rocky Mountains into
region are timbered hills of limestone covered
an immense syncline. Strictly speaking one
with a loose mantle of chert. These are the
should call it a synclinorium because the whole
“flint hills” of northeastern Oklahoma. In the
structure is wrinkled, just as a washboard may
Ouachitas are shales and sandstones, the most
have smaller corrugations running parallel to the
resistant of which form pine-clad mountains
main folds. The trough crosses western
rising nearly two thousand feet above their base.
Oklahoma through Alva and Arapaho. (The
West of these uplifts is a prairie region of shale
southeastern end of this “Anadarko Basin” was
and limestone grading west into a belt of
the scene of the most active geological
sandstone hills covered with scrub timber. The
exploration in the state during the late nineteen
Arbuckles thrust up their many-folded strata
forties.) In the wide bottom the rocks lie almost
through the south end of these sandstone hills.
level, but on either side the entire structure rises
Next come the Red Beds along a line
very gently toward the Rocky Mountains on the
roughly dividing the state into eastern and
west and the Ouachita-Ozark uplift on the east.
western halves; and strangely enough, the
Remember we are not speaking of the surface,
settlement of Oklahoma followed almost exactly
but of the fundamental rock structure.
that line of cleavage between white pioneers to
Thus nearly every rock ledge one sees in
the west, Indians to the east. Along this
Oklahoma is tilted in some direction. In the
Permian boundary the Red Beds have eroded
Arbuckle Mountains this structure is visible on
into rugged shapes merging into the older
the surface and can be examined by the layman.
sandstone hills to the east, but through most of
Here rock layers many thousands of feet in
the area the soft shales and sandstones have
thickness that once lay horizontal have been
weathered into level prairie. In the southern
thrust up into an immense wrinkle, with the prepart of this region the Wichita Mountains
Cambrian porphyry and granite at the core and
obtrude their bare granite masses five hundred
the younger formations arching over it; and the
to eleven hundred feet above the plain. Their
top of the wrinkle has been worn away, leaving
structure is almost certainly identical with that
the raw edges exposed. If I place a pencil under
of the Arbuckles, but the Permian deposits have
several pages of this book, it forms a ridge; then
covered all but traces of the older formations on
if I shear off the top of the ridge, I expose the
their flanks. Farther west, even the core of the
pencil core and the cut edges of the leaves.
uplift is completely buried; but it continues
Thus one may walk into the heart of the earth by
beneath the surface across the Oklahoma border
starting at the outer portion of the fold and
to form the hidden Amarillo Mountains of the
walking from the younger rocks across the
Texas Panhandle oil field. Also under these
upturned edges of succeeding formations (from
level central prairies lie the buried Nemaha
Mississippian through Devonian, Silurian,
Mountains, starting near Mill Creek in the
Ordovician, and Cambrian—limestones,
Arbuckle region and running north across the
sandstones, and shales) until he reaches the
state, and bearing the greatest oil fields of
ancient mass of porphyry in the center of the
Oklahoma on either side of their huge granite
uplift. Or he may cross these millions of years
axis.
in a few minutes by driving north from Ardmore
In the western part of the state, ledges of
on U.S. Highway 77, where a geologywhite gypsum alternate with the red soil to form
conscious Lions Club has placed road signs
picturesque flat-topped mesas or escarpments
marking the steps in this backward sweep of
along the streams. The most conspicuous are
time. He will see uptilted layers of resistant
the so-called Glass Mountains near Fairview,
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where a transparent form of gypsum known as
dunes; near Waynoka on the Cimarron River
selenite catches the rays of the sun and throws
several great wide-rippled drifts are rolling
them back with dazzling effect. The
north over the upland, covering elm and
surrounding area is wild and barren with the
cottonwood trees as they advance.
banded red and white soil carved in “bad-land”
Thus Crichton made a true characterization
topography, and the surface strewn with
of all these rivers when he described the
sparkling crystals washed down from the hills.
Cimarron as a “historic stream” lacking only
The whole “gyp hills” region rises rapidly
water. But sometimes they are filled with water,
toward the west, merging in the northwest into
which sweeps down in a swirling torrent bearing
the High Plains.
soil and uprooted trees, breaking over the low
The High Plains are deeply eroded at the
banks, destroying farms and tearing out bridges.
eastern margin and along the streams to form
In earlier days pioneers trying to cross the
rugged bluffs. Especially picturesque are the
treacherous fords were drowned in these sudden
barren Antelope Hills, once a landmark for early
rises or engulfed in quicksand.
travelers, near the western boundary of the state
But it would not be like Oklahoma to have
on the South Canadian River. But this is only
only one kind of river. From the Ozarks and the
the edge of the High Plains. On top, at some
Ouachitas come clear streams rippling over
places in the Panhandle they are so level that
rocky beds. There are no more agreeable
they have no drainage; not even the smallest
combinations of shad and waterfall and mossy
rivulet cuts their surface, and surplus rainfall
bank than one finds along the Illinois, the
gathers into saucer-like lakes.
Sallisaw, the Poteau, the Kiamichi, or the
Distinct from all this, is the narrow
Mountain Fork.
Comanchean strip bordering the Red River. It
The rainfall also varies from an average
may once have extended along the full length of
annual precipitation of less than seventeen
the state, but now it appears only along the
inches in the western Panhandle to fifty-one
eastern half. Here the structure dips gently
inches in the southeast. One can draw parallel
toward the south and southeast, form parallel
lines almost straight north and south across the
east-west outcroppings of sand, limestone, and
map to connect the points of equal prescription.
shale. A very sandy belt, once an ancient
The Oklahoma climate is a of spangled
coastal plain, lies along the northern margin,
sunshine—with variations. Spring comes early
then a band of black waxy soil like that in North
with a flash of mockingbirds’ wings, moving
Texas, and to the south another strip of coastal
across the land in power like an army with
plain.
banners. Summer is dry and scorching with
The whole surface of Oklahoma slopes
cool breezes at night. Autumn is golden and
from northwest to southeast: the altitude on the
perfect; it begins about the first of September
top of the Black Mesa in the northwestern
and lasts till after Christmas. Properly speaking,
corner of the Panhandle is 4,978 feet; on the
there is no winter; the period is filled with
Red River next to the Arkansas line, it is 324.
weather left over from the other seasons—
Many long rivers flow in parallel lines southeast
spring days alternating with autumn days, an
across the state. Perhaps one should not say
occasional summer day, and once in a great
“flow” of these twisting, shallow sheets of water
while a howling blizzard. But all the seasons
moving lazily over wide beds of sand. In the
are likely to be jumbled—snow in May, hot
western half each of these streams is bordered
winds in March, spring showers in November,
along the northeast by a strip of sand two to
with hailstorms or even tornadoes thrown in for
eighteen miles wide blown up out of the river by
good measure. On United States weather maps
the south wind. It can still be seen rising from
showing the generalized path of storms,
the dry bed on any windy day. White and thick
Oklahoma is a little white island surrounded by
it covers the Red Beds, held down by vegetation
sweeping black lines—a fortunate isle set in a
except where it has been unwisely put in
tempestuous sea. But when a storm strikes, it
cultivation. In only a few places it forms naked
strikes hard.
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At such times the thermometer may drop in
haze and the air is a lurid darkness. These days
twelve hours from eighty degrees to below
are trying, but they come seldom. The sifting
freezing; and most of the drop comes in the first
dust is not so hard on the temper of housewives
hour or two after the wind swings to the north. I
as the smoke pall that lies over Eastern cities,
remember very well a change of that kind that
and the obscurity is not so depressing as the
occurred, I believe, about the middle of April in
fogs of less sunny climes.
1938. It was the noon hour of a perfect spring
For Oklahomans like to take their weather
day, and I was sitting under a tree enjoying it
straight. They like their clear atmosphere and
all. I happened to be facing the north when I
brilliant sky. The most scorching sunshine suits
felt—I could almost swear I saw—the wind veer
them better than a cloud; even in times of
sharply, and an icy blast sweep across the bright
drought when their very living depends on
landscape. By the middle of the afternoon the
getting moisture, a half-day’s rain is about all
snow was whirling, and by night the railroads
they can take without grumbling. And they
and the highways were blocked with drifts.
have much sunshine. Oklahoma City has an
Hundreds of school children from three states
annual average of 166 clear days, and most
were at Enid to march in the spring band
others are only party cloudy. St. Louis has 139,
festival. Even the wires were down so that
Chicago 117, Detroit 99, New York 105,
frantic parents could not communicate with their
Pittsburgh 87, and Washington 128. Even sunthinly clad offspring. Enid took them into its
kissed Los Angeles has only 179.
homes until the roads were opened. Of course
With all kinds of soil and all kinds of
the drifts soon melted, but the trees had to put
weather Oklahoma should—and does—grow
out a second crop of leaves and spring had to
many kinds of plants. Botanists say that only
start all over again.
about 5 per cent of our species are found in all
Oklahomans like to tell weather stories.
parts of the state; in other words, nineteen out of
There was the man out in the field with his
twenty reach the limit of their range here. And
team, when the sun shone so hot that one of the
in unspoiled portions of this still new land the
horses fell and quickly died. While the
abundance as well as the variety of wild flowers
discouraged farmer was removing the harness,
beggars description. Sheets of color blot out the
the wind changed to the north; and before he
green of the prairie: banks of color glow through
had finished his task, the other horse froze to
the timber. And flowers bloom every month of
death. Then there was the drought so severe
the year.
that when the fish swam up the creek, they
The mountainous eastern end of the state is
raised a dust cloud; but when the rain finally
heavily forested. In the northeast is
came, the water rose with such fury that it tore
hardwood—oak, elm, hickory, maple—and
the bricks out of the pavement and bore them
some pine (southern yellow pine); south of the
away on the surface of the flood. And weather
Arkansas River is hardwood and much pine, and
proverbs have passed into the common speech:
in the extreme southeast along the sparkling
“Anybody who tries to predict the weather in
steams grow the tulip tree and the cypress. The
Oklahoma is a newcomer or a fool”; or “If you
largest tree in Oklahoma is an ancient cypress
don’t like this weather, just wait a minute.”
near Eagletown; it measures fifty-six feet in
During the [first] fifty-odd years of white
circumference and is ninety feet high. Here in
settlement there [were] three series dry cycles:
the spring is the breath-taking beauty of the
there was the one beginning in the fall of 1893,
flowering dogwood; in the winter, the waxy
which almost broke the pioneers; there was the
green leaves and bright red berries of the holly.
terrible summer of 1910, and two or three years
West of this, in the great reaches of prairie,
following; and there was the drought of the
the bluestem grass—so say the old-timers—
“dust bowl” ill repute in the middle nineteen
once grew as tall “as a man on horseback.”
thirties. Even in normal years the western half
Washington Irving, who traveled over this park
of the state has an occasional day when the wind
like region in 1832, described it as a land “of
blows hard and the sun is a white ball in a red
flowery plains and sloping uplands, diversified
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by groves and clumps of trees, and long screens
of woodland; the whole wearing the aspect of
complete, and even ornamental cultivation
instead of native wildness.”
Crossing the state from north to south
through the rugged sandstone hills and
extending into the eroded margin of the Red
Beds lies the belt of tangled blackjacks and post
oaks known—and dreaded—by the early
travelers as the “Cross Timbers.” Fingers of the
same blackjack-post oak jungle extend
northwest on the sand hills that flank the rivers.
Again quoting Irving: “The Cross Timbers is
about forty miles in breadth, and stretches over
a rough country of rolling hills . . . very much
cut up by deep ravines. . . . The fires made on
the prairie by the Indian hunters, had frequently
penetrated these forests, scorching and calcining
the lower twigs and branches of the trees, and
leaving them black and hard, so as to tear the
flesh of man and horse that had to scramble
through them. . . . It was like struggling through
forests of cast iron.”
Through all this land west of the mountains,
whether prairie or scrub timber, fine trees
formerly grew along the streams (the largest
ones are gone now); walnut and oak, cedar—
partial to the Cimarron and its branches—and
pecan, from which the nuts were gathered and
shipped in quantity long before the white man
came. Through much of the state these trees are
decorated in the winter with green knots of
mistletoe, which also is shipped commercially.
This plant was loved by the pioneers—it is said
because it was used in funerals in bleak days
when no other growing plant was available—
and it is still the “state flower.” As one follows
the streams west and the other timber falls
away, the cottonwood becomes increasingly
conspicuous. It is poor for fuel and worse for
lumber, but how could dwellers in a prairie land
live without the beauty of its craggy white
branches and its polished, twinkling leaves?
Also extending far west are the wild plum—in
the spring a white drift of bloom, in the summer
good for marmalade—and the redbud, the “state
tree,” most popular of all Oklahoma plants.
And on the broad flood plains of the rivers,
especially the Cimarron and Red, the tamarisk
raises its slender gray-green or lavender-pink
sprays.
The great continuous plain of the Red Beds
once formed a sea of grass starred with flowers.
Here, about the center of the state, the rank
bluestem of the east began to shade into the
short, dense buffalo grass of the west. Most of
the grass is gone now, and the prairie is an
ocean of wheat. But its green waves still roll to
a far horizon, with the curled plumes of
timbered streams seeming to float on its restless
surface.
As the plains grade west into a drier climate
and a ragged land of gyp hills, the grass
becomes bunchy and the blackjack thickets on
the strips of river-blown sand give place to
shinnery oak and sagebrush. Increasingly
common is the yucca (“soap weed” or “bear
grass”) with its sharp spear-like leaves and its
tall stems of fragrant, waxy flowers, and the
cactus—especially the prickly pear (“hog-ear”
cactus)—with its fleshy, thorny body and fragile
blooms. In the southwest grow the tough but
delicate-looking desert willow (Chilopsis
lineraris) with its lavender flowers, and the
mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) with its dainty
foliage and hanging pods.
Here is a familiar story about the
mesquite—this frail-seeming tree that grows
underground. It is a Texas story, but since this
part of Oklahoma once thought it belonged to
Texas, it is not inappropriate. A tenderfoot
ranch hand was directed to climb the windmill
tower to turn on water for the stock. Then he
was put to digging mesquite roots for fuel. But
this time he balked, expressing a fluent opinion
of “a -- -- country where you have to climb for
water and dig for firewood.”
In the Panhandle, sagebrush and clumps of
grass still grow on the sand hills bordering the
streams, but the flat top of the plains is indeed
the “short-grass country.” In this land of
shimmering mirages and overpowering sky the
curly buffalo grass once grew as tight and thick
as the nap of a carpet. Flowers bloom here, too,
mostly yellow flowers; and that strange plant,
the locoweed, favorite of “Western” fiction
writers, once was a minor hazard to the owner
of livestock. The Russian thistle, not a native,
but a weed brought in with impure seed, breaks
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from its roots and tumbles—a great, loose
dynamite in great numbers at their roosting
ball—across the fields or drifts high along the
places.
fences. On the rugged lava-capped Black Mesa
Of the migratory birds, orioles,
grow piñon trees (Pinus edulis) strayed from
hummingbirds, mockingbirds, catbirds,
New Mexico, and a few western yellow pine.
kingbirds, and the scissor-tailed flycatcher [the
Thus Oklahoma flora runs the gamut from the
state bird] are among the most common. The
great cypress of warm, low southeastern valley
mockingbird is the universal favorite. All day
to the brave piñon of wind-swept height.
and all night he pours out his joy (one wonders
Zoologists say that they range in species of
when he eats), his slender body atilt on treetop
native Oklahoma animals is probably greater
or house roof, or floating up into the air borne
than that of any equal area in the United States.
by the surge of his song. Once in a while a
Denizens of the timbered East were at home in
belated one stays all winter, when he may be
the Ozarks and Ouachitas; Rocky Mountains
heard singing rather sadly on some crisp night.
species strayed to the western sections; Great
Oklahoma also has tarantulas with hairy
Plains animals found the prairies their natural
legs spreading to a terrifying distance and hairy
habitat.
body “as big as a hen’s egg.” (I never saw any
Most of the wild life is gone now. The
that big; one is likely to overestimate their size
bears have been killed, the great herds of
when he is scared.) It has centipedes ten inches
buffalo have disappeared except in parks, the
long, repulsive looking and really poisonous. It
panther’s scream is seldom heard in the timber,
has scorpions, always in a fury, and able to
the fierce gray lobo no longer menaces the
deliver a painful sting with their lashing tails. It
cowman’s profit, and the prairie-dog towns are
has harmless lizards darting about, and innocent
vanishing from the western flats. But as few
horned toads spreading themselves flat and
protected deer still live in the northeast and
turning their grotesque little heads up wisely.
southeast and one small band of wild antelope
Oklahoma also has people. They have been
fleets across the Black Mesa; the farmers still
greatly written about these later years, and as
join together to kill the predatory coyote; the
they have writhed under distorted portrayals,
jack rabbit lopes across the wheat fields as once
they have developed an abnormal sensitiveness
he loped across the grassland; and small game
to public opinion. For they are not Wild West
and fur-bearing animals still seek refuge in the
characters nor Joads [the famed family of John
timber.
Stienbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath], but people.
The birds also find Oklahoma a meeting
And yet they do have traits that set them apart
place of North and South, East and West, plain
from their fellow Americans. There is a
and timber. There are more than 250 varieties,
distinctive Oklahoma character—partly the
200 of which stay the year around. Prairie
product of physical environment, but even more
chickens and wild turkeys, once very numerous,
then result of a peculiar history.
have been almost destroyed; quail on their way
to extinction have been restocked. Geese and
ducks fly over, flocks of sea gulls from the Gulf
of Mexico visit the state, and dense clouds of
blackbirds wheel and twist, and settle on feedlot
and pasture. Meadowlarks and cardinals stay all
winter, filling the air with their clear notes on
every sunny day. Robins also remain the year
around. Every spring some unobservant
Oklahoman goes into ecstasies on seeing the
“first robin” that hopped around his lawn all
winter. Crows also stay all the time, probably in
order to plot more meanness. Sometimes they
become such a nuisance that they are killed with
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A Tour on the
Prairies
By Washington Irving2
The Pawnee Hunting Ground
In the often vaunted regions of the Far
West, several hundred miles beyond the
Mississippi, extends a vast tract of uninhabited
country, where there is neither to be seen the log
house of the white man, not the wigwam of the
Indian. It consists of great grassy plains,
interspersed with forests and groves, and clumps
of trees, and watered by the Arkansas, the grand
Canadian, the Red River, and their tributary
streams. Over these fertile and verdant wastes
still roam the elk, the buffalo, and the wild
horse, in all their native freedom. These, in fact,
are the hunting grounds of the various tribes of
the Far West. Hither repair the Osage, the
Creek, the Delaware and other tribes that have
linked themselves with civilization, and live
within the vicinity of the white settlements.
Here resort also, the Pawnees, the Comanches,
and other fierce, and as yet, independent tribes,
the nomads of the prairies, or inhabitants of the
skirts of the Rocky Mountains. The regions I
have mentioned form a debatable ground of
these warring and vindictive tribes; none of
them presume to erect a permanent habitation
within its borders. Their hunters and “braves”
repair thither in numerous bodies during the
season of game, throw up their transient hunting
camps, consisting of light bowers covered with
bark and skins, commit sad havoc among the
innumerable herds that graze the prairies, and
having loaded themselves with venison and
buffalo meat, warily retire from the dangerous
neighborhood. These expeditions partake,
2
From Irving, Washington. A Tour on the Prairies. Ed.
John Francis McDermott. Norman, OK: Univ. of
Oklahoma Press, 1956.
always, of a warlike character; the hunters are
all armed for action, offensive and defensive,
and are bound to incessant vigilance. Should
they, in their excursions, meet the hunters of an
adverse tribe, savage conflicts take place. Their
encampments, too, are always subject to be
surprised by wandering war parties, and their
hunters, when scattered in pursuit of game, to be
captured or massacred by lurking foes.
Mouldering skulls and skeletons, bleaching in
some dark ravine, or near the traces of a hunting
camp, occasionally mark the scene of a foregone
act of blood, and let the wanderer know the
dangerous nature of the region he is traversing.
It is the purport of the following pages to narrate
a month’s excursion to these noted hunting
grounds, through a tract of country which had
not as yet been explored by white men.
Traveling Companions
It was early October 1832, that I arrived at
Fort Gibson, a frontier post of the Far West,
situated on the Neosho, or Grand River, near its
confluence with the Arkansas. I had been
traveling for a month past, with a small party
from St. Louis, up the banks of the Missouri,
and along the frontier line of agencies and
missions, that extends from the Missouri to
Arkansas. Our party was headed by one of the
Commissioners appointed by the government of
the United States to superintend the settlement
of the Indian tribes migrating from the east to
the west of the Mississippi. In the discharge of
his duties, he was thus visiting the various
outposts of civilization.
And here let me bear testimony to the
merits of this worthy lead of our little band. He
was a native of one of the towns of Connecticut,
a man in whom a course of legal practice and
political life had not been able to vitiate an
innate simplicity and benevolence of heart. The
greater part of his days had been passed in the
bosom of his family. And the society of
deacons, elders, and select men, on the peaceful
banks of the Connecticut; when suddenly he had
been called to mount his steed, shoulder his
rifle, and mingle among stark hunters,
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backwoodsmen, and naked savages on the
trackless wilds of the Far West.
Departure from Fort Gibson
We now made all arrangements for prompt
departure. Our baggage had hitherto been
transported on a light wagon, but we were now
to break our way through an untravelled
country, cut up by rivers, ravines, and thickets,
where a vehicle of the kind would be a complete
impediment. We were to travel on horseback, in
hunter’s style, and with as little encumbrance as
possible. Our baggage, therefore, underwent a
rigid and most abstemious reduction. A pair of
saddlebags, and those by no means crammed,
sufficed for each man’s scanty wardrobe, and
his great coat were to be carried upon the steed
he rode. The rest of the baggage was placed on
packhorses. Each one had a bearskin and a
couple of blankets for bedding, and there was a
tent to shelter us in case of sickness or bad
weather. We took care to provide ourselves
with flour, coffee, and sugar, together with a
small supply of salt pork for emergencies; for
our main subsistence we were to depend upon
the chase.
Such of our horses as had not been tried out
in our recent journey were taken with us as
pack-horses, or supernumeraries; but as we were
going on a long and rough tour, where there
would be occasional hunting and where, in cases
of meeting with hostile savages, the safety of
the rider might depend upon the goodness of his
steed, we took care to be well mounted. I
procured a stout silver-gray; somewhat rough,
but staunch and powerful; and retained a hardy
pony which I had hitherto ridden, and which,
being somewhat jaded, was suffered to ramble
along with the packhorses, to be mounted only
in case of emergency.
with the wild scenery around him. He wore a
bright blue hunting-shirt trimmed with scarlet
fringe: a gaily colored handkerchief was bound
round his head something like a turban, with
one end hanging down beside his ear; he held a
long rifle in his hand, and looked like a wild
Arab on the prowl. Our loquacious and evermeddling little Frenchman called out to him in
his Babylonish jargon, but the savage having
satisfied his curiosity tossed his hand in the air,
turned the head of his steed, and galloping along
the shore soon disappeared among the trees.
Picturesque March
It was a bright sunny morning, with a pure
transparent atmosphere that seemed to bathe the
very heart with gladness. Our march continued
parallel to the Arkansas, through a rich and
varied country; sometimes we had to break our
way through alluvial bottoms matted with
redundant vegetation, where the gigantic trees
were entangled with grape-vines, hanging like
cordage from their branches; sometimes we
coasted along sluggish brooks, whose feebly
trickling current just served to link together a
succession of glassy pools, imbedded like
mirrors in the quiet bosom of the forest,
reflecting its autumnal foliage, and patches of
the clear blue sky. Sometimes we scrambled up
broken and rocky hills, from the summits of
which we had wide views stretching on one side
over distant prairies diversified by groves and
forests, and on the other ranging along a line of
blue and shadowy hills beyond the waters of the
Arkansas.
Camp Scenes
At one time we passed through a luxuriant
bottom of meadow bordered by thickets, where
the tall grass was pressed down into numerous
An Indian Cavalier
“deer beds,” where those animals had couched
the preceding night. Some oak trees also bore
As we were crossing the ford we saw on the
signs of having been clambered by bears, in
opposite shore a Creek Indian on horseback. He
quest of acorns, the marks of their claws being
has paused to reconnoiter us from the brow of a
visible in the bark. As we opened a glade of this
rock, and formed a picturesque object, in unison
sheltered meadow we beheld several deer
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bounding away in wild affright, until having
gained some distance they would stop and gaze
back, with the curiosity common to this animal,
at the strange intruders into their solitudes.
There was immediately a sharp report of rifles
in every direction, from the young huntsmen of
the troop, but they were too eager to aim surely,
and the deer, unharmed, bounded away into the
depths of the forest.
In the course of our march we struck the
Arkansas, but found ourselves still below the
Red Fork, and, as the river made deep bends, we
again left its banks and continued through the
woods until nearly eight o’clock, when we
encamped in a beautiful basin bordered by a fine
stream, and shaded by clumps of lofty oaks.
were then placed athwart it on the inside, to
keep it in shape; our camp equipage and a part
of our baggage were placed within, and the
singular bark was carried down the bank and set
afloat. A cord was attached to the prow, which
Beatte took between his teeth, and throwing
himself into the water went ahead, towing the
bark after him; while Tonish followed behind, to
keep it steady and to propel it. Part of the way
they had foothold, and were enabled to wade,
but in the main current they were obliged to
swim. The whole way, they whooped and
yelled in the Indian style, until they landed
safely on the opposite shore.
The Crossing of the Arkansas
We had now arrived at the river, about a
quarter of a mile above the junction of the Red
Fork; but the banks were steep and crumbling,
and the current was deep and rapid. It was
impossible, therefore, to cross at this place; and
resumed our painful course through the forest,
dispatching Beatte ahead, in search of a fording
place. We had proceeded about a mile further,
when he rejoined us, bringing intelligence of a
place hard by, where the river, for a great part of
its breadth, was rendered fordable by sand-bars,
and the remainder might easily be swam by the
horses.
Here, then, we made a halt. Some of the
rangers set to work vigorously with their axes,
felling trees on the edge of the river, wherewith
to form rafts for the transportation of their
baggage and camp equipage. Others patrolled
the banks of the river father up, in hopes of
The Commissioner and myself were so well
finding a better fording place; being unwilling
pleased with this Indian mode of ferriage, they
to risk their horses in the deep channel.
we determined to trust ourselves in the buffalo
It was now that our worthies, Beatte and
hide. Our companions, the Count and Mr. L.,
Tonish, had an opportunity of displaying their
had proceeded with the horses, along the river
Indian adroitness and resource. At the Osage
bank, in search of a ford which some of the
village which we had passed a day or two
rangers had discovered, about a mile and a half
before, they had procured a dry buffalo skin.
distant. While we were waiting for the return of
This was now produced; cords were passed
our ferryman, I happened to cast my eyes upon a
through a number of small eyelet holes with
heap of luggage under a bush, and described the
which it was bordered, and it was drawn up,
sleek carcass of the polecat, snugly trussed up,
until it formed a kind of deep trough. Sticks
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and ready for roasting before the evening fire. I
could not resist the temptation to plump it into
the river, where it sunk to the bottom like a
lump of lead; and thus our lodge was relieved
from the bad color which this savory viand had
threatened to bring upon it.
Our men having recrossed with their
cockleshell bark, it was drawn to shore, half
filled with saddles, saddle-bags, and other
luggage, amounting to a hundred weight; and
being again placed in the water, I was invited to
take my seat. It appeared to me pretty much
like the embarkation of the wise men of
Gotham, who went to sea in a bowl: I stepped
in, however, without hesitation, though as
cautiously as possible, and sat down on the top
of the luggage, the margin of the hide sinking to
within a hand’s breadth of the water’s edge.
Rifles, fowling-pieces, and other articles of
small bulk, were then handed in, until I
protested against receiving any more freight.
We then launched forth upon the stream, the
bark being towed as before.
It was with sensation half serious, half
comic, that I found myself thus afloat, on the
skin of a buffalo, in the midst of a wild river,
surrounded by wilderness, and towed along by a
half savage, whooping and yelling like a devil
incarnate. To please the vanity of little Tonish,
I discharged the double-barreled gun, to the
right and left, when in the center of the stream.
The report echoed along the woody shores, and
was answered by shouts from some of the
rangers, to the great exultation of the little
Frenchman, who took to himself the whole
glory of this Indian mode of navigation.
Our voyage was accomplished happily; the
Commissioner was ferried across with equal
success, and all our effects were brought over in
the same manner. Nothing could equal the
vainglorious vaporing of little Tonish, as he
strutted about the shore, and exulted in his
superior skill and knowledge, to the rangers.
Beatte, however, kept his proud saturnine look,
without a smile. He had vast contempt for the
ignorance of the rangers, and felt that they had
undervalued him. His only observation was,
“Dey now see de Indian good for something,
anyhow!”
The broad, sandy shore where we had
landed was intersected by innumerable tracks of
elk, deer, bears, raccoons, turkeys, and
waterfowl. The river scenery at this place was
beautifully diversified, presenting long, shinning
reaches, bordered by willows and cotton-wood
trees; rich bottoms, with lofty forests; among
which towered enormous plane trees, and the
distance was closed in by high embowered
promotions. The foliage had a yellow autumnal
tint, which gave to the sunny landscape the
golden tone of one of the landscapes of Claude
Lorraine. There was animation given to the
scene, by a raft of logs and branches, on which
the Captain and his prime companion, the
Doctor, were ferrying their effects across the
stream; and by a long line of rangers on
horseback, fording the river obliquely, along a
series of sand-bars, about a mile and a half
distant.
Thunderstorm on the Prairies
In crossing a prairie of moderate extent,
rendered little better than a slippery bog by the
recent showers, we were overtaken by a violent
thunder-gust. The rain came rattling upon us in
torrents, and spattered up like steam along the
ground; the whole landscape was suddenly
wrapped in gloom; the whole landscape was
suddenly wrapped in gloom that gave a vivid
effect to the intense sheets of lightning, while
the thunder seemed to burst over our very heads,
and was reverberated by the groves and forests
that checkered and skirted the prairie. Man and
beast were so pelted, drenched, and confounded,
that they line was thrown in complete
confusion; some of the horses were so
frightened as to be almost unmanageable, and
our scattered cavalcade looked like a tempesttossed fleet, driven hither and thither, and the
mercy of wind and wave.
At length, at half past two o’clock, we came
to a halt, and gathering together our forces,
encamped in an open and lofty grove, with a
prairie on one side and a stream on the other.
The forest immediately rang with the sound of
the axe, and the crash of falling trees. Huge
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fires were soon blazing; blankets were stretched
before them, by way of tents; booths were
hastily reared of bark and skins; every fire had
its group drawn close round it, drying and
warming themselves, or preparing a comforting
meal. Some of the rangers were discharging
and cleaning their rifles, which had been
exposed to the rain; while the horses, relieved
from their saddles and burdens, rolled in the wet
grass.
village remains blank and silent. In case they
are hard pressed by their pursuers, without any
hope of escape, they will assume a pugnacious
air, and a most whimsical look of important
wrath and defiance.
. . . It was toward evening that I set out with
a companion, to visit the village in question.
Unluckily, it had been invaded in the course of
the day by some of the rangers, who had shot
two or three of its inhabitants, and thrown the
whole sensitive community in confusion. As we
A Republic of Prairie Dogs
approached, we could perceive numbers of the
inhabitants seated at the entrances of their cells,
On returning from our expedition . . . I
while sentinels seemed to have been posted on
learned that a burrow, or village, as it is termed,
the outskirts, to keep a lookout. At sight of us,
of prairie dogs had been discovered on the level
the picket guards scampered in and gave the
summit of a hill, about a mile from the camp.
alarm; whereupon every inhabitant gave a short
Having heard much of the habits and
yelp, or bark, and vided into his hole, his heels
peculiarities of these little animals, I determined
twinkling in the air as if he had thrown a
to pay a visit to the community. The prairie dog
somerset.
is, in fact one of the curiosities of the Far West,
We traversed the whole village, or republic,
about which travelers delight to tell marvelous
which covered an area of about thirty acres; but
tales, endowing him at times with something of
not a whisker of an inhabitant was to be seen.
the politic and social habits of a rational human
We probed their cells as far as the ramrods of
being, and giving him systems of civil
our rifles would reach, but could unearth neither
government and domestic economy, almost
dog, nor owl, nor rattlesnake. Moving quickly
equal to what they used to bestow on the beaver.
to a little distance, we lay down upon the ground
The prairie dog is an animal of the coney
and watched for a long time, silent and
kind, and about the size of a rabbit. He is of
motionless. By and by, a cautious old burgher
sprightly mercurial nature; quick, sensitive, and
would slowly put forth the end of his nose, but
somewhat petulant. He is very gregarious,
instantly draw it in again. Another, at a greater
living in large communities, sometimes of
distance, would emerge entirely; but catching a
several acres in extent, where innumerable little
glance at us, would throw a somerset, and
heaps of earth show the entrances to the
plunge back again into his hole. At length,
subterranean cells of the inhabitants, and the
some who resided on the opposite side of the
well-beaten tracks, like lanes and streets, show
village, taking courage from the continued
their mobility and restlessness. According to
stillness, would steal forth, and hurry off to a
the accounts given of them, they would seem to
distant hole, the residence possibly of some
be continually full of sport, business, and public
family connection, or gossiping friend, about
affairs; whisking about hither and thither, as if
whose safety they were solicitous, or with
on gossiping visits to each other’s houses, or
whom they wished to compare notes about the
congregating in the cool of the evening, or after
late occurrences.
a shower, and gamboling together in the open
. . . The dusk of evening put an end to our
air. Sometimes, especially when the moon
observations, but the train of whimsical
shines, they pass half the night in revelry,
comparisons produced in my brain by the moral
barking or yelping with short quick, yet weak
attributes which I had heard given to these little
tones, like those of very young puppies. While
politic animals, still continued after my return to
in the height of their playfulness and clamor,
camp; and late in the night, as I lay awake after
however, should there be the least alarm, they
all the camp was asleep, and heard in the
all vanish into their cells in an instant, and the
stillness of the hour, a faint clamor of shrill
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voices from the distant village, I could not help
picturing to myself the inhabitants gathered
together in noisy assemblage and windy debate,
to devise plans for the public safety, and to
vindicate the invaded rights and insulted dignity
of the republic.
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Historical
Atlas of
Oklahoma
By John W. Morris, Charles R. Goins,
and Edwin C. McReynolds3
Map Three:
Geographic Regions of Oklahoma
Three of the large physical regions of the
United States extend into or across Oklahoma.
These are the Interior Highlands, Coastal Plains,
and Interior Plains. Oklahoma is divided into
ten geographic regions, largely on a physical
base. The Ozark Plateau, the Ouachita
Mountains, and the intervening Arkansas River
valley for a part of the Interior Highlands; the
Coastal Plain extends from the Gulf of Mexico
into southeastern Oklahoma; and the remainder
of the geographic regions are divisions of the
Interior Plains even though some parts carry the
names of hills or mountains.
The Ouachita Mountains have a rougher
topography than any other region in the state.
They are westward extensions of the mountains
of southwestern Arkansas. There are several
almost parallel ridges extending in a general
east-west direction. In such a region, where the
topography is rough and the soils are thin, the
life of the people is strongly influenced by these
physical surroundings. Farming is largely
confined to the valleys, the hillsides being used
for grazing and the growing of trees. The Ozark
Plateau, on the other hand, has several large,
fertile areas, commonly known as prairies, on
which good crops can be grown. Here, also, the
more rugged land can be used for grazing and
the growing of trees. All the Ouachita
3
Mountains were in the Choctaw Nation, all of
the Ozark Plateau in the Cherokee Nation.
The Coastal Plain, often called the Red
River Plains in Oklahoma, extend across the
southern part of the Choctaw Nation and
westward from Island Bayou into the Chickasaw
Nation. The region is low in elevation and the
land generally level with only a few low hills.
In general the soils are fertile, and it was in this
area that several large plantations developed in
the pre-Civil War era.
The Sandstone and Gypsum hills regions
have broken lines of hills or cuestas extending
in a somewhat general north-south direction. In
the eastern area the hills result largely from the
resistance of hard sandstones and shales to
weathering and erosion. In the western region
the hills are capped with layers of white gypsum
fifteen to twenty feet thick. Between the hills in
both regions are large areas of fertile land
suitable for cropping or pasture.
From Morris, John W., Charles R. Goins, and Edwin C.
McReynolds. Historical Atlas of Oklahoma.
Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1986.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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The three plains areas are relatively level
regions although all have numerous topographic
variations caused by wind and/or water erosion.
The Prairie Plains have the greatest variety or
crops, grown on smaller fields, due to climatic
conditions more suitable for agricultural
production. Westward, in the Red Bed Plains
and on the High Plains, farm size increases and
the density of population decreases; thus the
High Plains region contrasts sharply with the
Prairie Plains in land utilization and population
density.
The Arbuckle and Wichita regions are
classified as mountain areas largely because of
their geologic history. The Arbuckles were
formed by the faulting and folding of strata of
limestone, shale, sandstone, and other materials.
The layer of Arbuckle limestone is some 8,000
feet in thickness. Since being exposed the
various strata have been worn down from great
heights by weathering and erosion. Glass sand,
granite, limestone, and asphaltic materials have
been mined or quarried. The Wichita
Mountains were formed when earth forces
caused igneous materials to be pushed up, the
land above being folded into high domes. The
folded material was long ago eroded ways
leaving great masses of granite standing above
the surrounding plains. Mt. Scott, the bestknown mountain in the region, has an elevation
of 2,464 feet, approximately 1,000 feet above its
base.
Map Five:
Landforms of Oklahoma
Map 5 is a diagrammatic drawing showing
the generalized variations in the local natural
landscape of the geographic regions of
Oklahoma as identified on Map 3. The
principal rivers are also shown on the drawing,
but none of the large man-made lakes are
located.
The Ouachita Mountains are formed by a
series of curving ridges known as the Kiamichi
Mountains, Winding Stair Mountains, and other
local names. The mountains form the most
rugged topography in the state and the
development of transportation systems within
the area is therefore extremely difficult. The
Kiamichi River, flowing westward in the valley
north of the Kiamichi Mountains, eventually
flows south and southeast across the Coastal
Plain into the Red River. Other streams, such as
the Glover and Little rivers, also follow
mountain valleys, but Mountain Fork River has
cut a deep valley through some of the southern
ridges. The San Bois Mountains, between the
Fourche Maline and Arkansas rivers, form the
northern part of the Ouachitas.
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The Cookson Hills and the Boston
Mountains form the rugged southern part of the
Ozark Plateau, but the northern part of the
Plateau has several large areas often referred to
as prairies. The Illinois is the principal river
flowing southwestward from the Ozarks. The
Grand and Arkansas rivers delimit the western
and southern boundary of the region.
West of the Ouachitas and Ozarks most of
the remainder of Oklahoma is a vast plains area.
Some local variations are: (1) the rounded hills
in south-central Oklahoma known as the
Arbuckle Mountains; (2) the large granite peaks
of southwestern Oklahoma called the Wichita
Mountains and their outlier, the Quartz
Mountains; (3) the Shawnee Hills, a sandstone
cuesta area located near the Canadian River in
the east-central part of the state; (4) the
Antelope Hills in the most western of the large
meanders of the Canadian River in Roger Mills
County; (5) gypsum-capped hills known as the
Glass Mountains, located somewhat on the
divide between the North Canadian and
Cimarron rivers; and (6) Black Mesa, located in
northwestern Cimarron County. The Osage
Hills, located largely in Osage County, are a
southern extension of the Flint Hills of Kansas.
The elevations of the plains areas across the
state increase gradually from the Coastal Plains
south of the Ouachitas to the eastern edge of the
Panhandle. Once the Great Plains are reached,
however, elevation increases rapidly westward
across the High Plains to Black Mesa. In
several places large sand dunes have formed on
the left bank of the Cimarron and North
Canadian rivers as well as along Beaver Creek.
Much of this material is blow-sand from the
rivers. Unless vegetation is able to tie the sand
in place it continues to move generally eastward
because of wind direction. Large salt plains are
located on the Salt Fork of the Arkansas and the
upper Cimarron River in Woods County.
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The Arkansas, Canadian, and Red rivers,
for the most part, are braided streams that
meander across sand-filled beds. Several early
travelers and writers noted that these rivers, as
well as parts of the Cimarron, “are a mile wide
but only six inches deep.” Although little water
may be seen flowing on the surface, much water
flows through the sands below the surface.
These sands are often forty to sixty feet deep.
The North Canadian, formed by the confluence
of the Beaver and Wolf creeks, flows through a
narrow drainage basin which is higher than the
areas to the north or south of it. The Washita is
the principal western tributary of the Red River.
A deep and narrow canyon has been formed
where the Washita cuts through the Arbuckles.
The Three Forks Area, where the Grand,
Verdigris, and Arkansas rivers unite at the edge
of the Ozarks, is one of the most historically
important locations in Oklahoma.
Map Thirty-Seven:
Three Forks Region
No place in Oklahoma has a stronger appeal
for students of history than the area surrounding
Three Forks. For many years it was the center
of exchange for products of the trappers—
Indian, French, American pioneers, and others.
Trading posts were established by men whose
names were known in St. Louis and New
Orleans, as well as to the Indians, who seldom
ventured from the security of their remote
homeland. Colonel Hugh Glenn and Jacob
Fowler knew the place as traders and pioneer
caravan leaders on the long trail to New
Mexico. Nathaniel Pryor, the noted explorer of
the upper Missouri with Lewis and Clark, was
the partner of Colonel Glenn for a few years.
Brand and Barbour, French and Rutherford,
Jean Pierre Chouteau, Auguste Pierre Chouteau,
Jesse B. Turley, and Benjamin Hawkins, a
leader of the McIntosh Creeks, were all
identified with the trading activities of the Three
Forks area.
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Fort Gibson, constructed in 1824, gave an
Congress was instrumental in finally bringing an
impetus to trade and road building in the Three
end to the worst of the disorders.
Forks region. Fort Davis had a brief existence
as a Confederate stronghold during the Civil
Map Sixty-Nine:
War. The Texas Road [Eastern Shawnee cattle
Agricultural Regions of
trail] crossed the Arkansas below the mouth of
the Verdigris, and an early cattle trail,
Oklahoma
prominent in the northern drive, made use of the
same ford. Important agencies were established
Most of the early settlers of Oklahoma,
from time to time in the area.
both Indian and white, were primarily interested
Great mission schools flourished and
in agricultural activities. Many of the Indians
declined in the vicinity of Three Forks. Most
who moved over the “Trail of Tears” into
famous, perhaps, was the academy at
eastern Oklahoma had long engaged in growing
Tullahassee, where Alice Robertson attended
various crops. When they settled in their new
classes and began the career which was to add
land, they tried to continue farming. Large
fame to a great family. As the daughter of Ann
cotton plantations developed on the Red River
Eliza Robertson and the granddaughter of
plains, and well-cultivated and well-stocked
Samuel Austin Worcester, Alice Robertson was
farms were fairly numerous in the Three Forks
expected to render effective public service. Her
and Ozark areas. Most of the pioneers who later
membership in Congress was only a small part
moved into the Unassigned Lands, the Cherokee
of her useful career.
Outlet, and the various reservations as they were
Bacone Indian College, founded by Almon
opened to settlement were farmers. Often the
C. Bacone as Indian University at Tahleguah in
agricultural activities resulted in failure because
1880, was moved near Muskogee and continued
the settlers did not know how to farm in the
as a junior college. It has achieved a secure
environment into which they had moved.
position in the field of Indian education.
Oklahoma can be divided into five
Among its famous alumni are Alexander Posey,
agricultural
land-use areas, chiefly on the bases
the Creek poet, and Patrick Hurley, formerly
of climate, soils, and topography. In each area
United States Secretary of War.
the farmers grow about the same groups of
The Negro settlement at Marshall Town on
crops in about the same way. Boundaries
the “Point” between the Arkansas and Verdigris
between the areas are not clearly defined lines
rivers was a turbulent spot for many years,
but rather are zones in which a somewhat
especially between 1878 and 1885. Cattle theft
gradual transition takes place. Livestock is the
was common in the region, and occasionally
common denominator for all the agricultural
some of the Cherokee cattlemen attempted to
regions since the most common land use in all
take the law into their own hands to recover
parts of Oklahoma is for pasture.
their cattle and punish the thieves. Generally,
Six areas of Oklahoma—the western
light-horse police in the Muskogee District were
Panhandle,
the western Canadian River valley,
black, and racial antipathy was added to the bad
the Osage Hills, the Wichita Mountains, the
relations between the young Cherokee cattlemen
Arbuckle Mountain area, and the Ouachita
and the Creek law officers. The clashes were
Mountains—grow very few crops other than
frequent and sometimes fatal. In August, 1879,
hay. All these area are too rugged or too dry for
for example, a fight between the Cherokees and
intensive or even extensive cultivation. Wheat
the black police resulted in the death of John
is the dominant crop in the northwestern quarter
Vann, a prominent member of the Indian tribe.
of the state and is Oklahoma’s primary export.
The battle was a continuation of another clash,
Farms are large, and much of the work is
on the previous Christmas, in which a
mechanized. Winter wheat makes good pasture
policeman was killed and three of his men
during the winter season; thus the grazing of
wounded. An Indian police force established
feeder stock is common throughout the area.
for the Five Civilized Tribes by an act of
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 17
Grain sorghums are the second most important
crop of the northwest. In southwestern
Oklahoma cotton competes with wheat for land
use, especially in those sections where water is
available for irrigation; grain sorghums to be
used for feed are the third crop of the southwest.
In the region south of the Ouachita Mountains
more acres are planted in soybeans than in
cotton, but the crop having the greatest acreage
is hay. Peanuts are also a common product of
this region. In the northeastern part of
Oklahoma grain sorghum, corn, wheat, and
soybeans are important crops. The northeastern
region is also an area of specialty crops, such as
vegetables, fruits, and berries. Again, however,
more land is planted in hay than in any other
crop. Like the northwestern part of the state,
livestock grazing is common in all the other
regions.
Map Seventy:
Petroleum and Natural Gas
Oklahoma has long been one of the
principal petroleum and natural-gas-producing
states of the nation. No authentic records of the
first discovery of oil in Oklahoma are available,
but early settlers found oil springs in
northeastern Oklahoma and reported a burning
spring northeast of McAlester. In 1859 a well
being drilled for salt near Salina accidentally
produced oil, which was sold as lamp oil. Of
wells drilled in search of petroleum, the first
commercial well (one that makes a reasonable
profit above the cost of drilling, equipping, and
producing) was completed at Bartlesville in
about 1896. The earliest production of oil in
Oklahoma was thirty barrels, in 1901.
Since 1933 detailed data has been
developed on oil and gas exploration in
Oklahoma, but the data prior to that time,
especially for the boom years, are incomplete.
It has been estimated that the total number of
wells drilled in the state in search of oil and gas
is probably greater than half a million. In 1981
there were 82,639 wells producing crude oil and
16,994 wells producing natural gas. Daily
average production of oil was six barrels per
well, and the value of crude oil and natural gas
produced in 1981 was $9.2 billion. Total
cumulative production during 1901 through
1981 was 12.2 billion barrels of oil, 49.4 trillion
cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.46 billion barrels
of natural gas liquids. The total value of these
products was $68.5 billion.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 18
A substantive part of oil and gas production
within Oklahoma comes from areas that have
been designated as giant oil or gas fields. A
giant oil field is one that has an ultimate
recovery of more than 100 million barrels.
Through the years there have been twenty-three
such fields accounted for 48.7 million barrels of
the 152.3 million barrels produced in Oklahoma
in 1981. The state’s yearly production has
averaged around 160 million barrels of crude oil
production of natural gas with 10 percent of the
nation’s output.
In 1979 a well in Beckham County was
producing gas from a depth of 23,920 to 24,924
feet. This well established a new depth record
for production in Oklahoma and flowed 9
million cubic feet of gas per day. Beckham and
Washita counties are in the deep part of the
Anadarko basin and continue to be the area of
deepest drilling in Oklahoma. The deepest
since 1973. A giant gas field is one that has an
borehole in the United States is located in
ultimate recovery of more than 1 trillion cubic
Beckham County. In 1974 the Lone Star No. 1
feet, and there have been five such fields
Bertha Rodgers was drilled to a total depth of
identified in Oklahoma.
31,441 feet and captured the depth record from
Due in considerable part to the oil embargo
a well in Washita County, the Lone Star No. 1
by the Organization of petroleum Exporting
Baden, which had been drilled to a depth of
Countries (OPEC) in 1973, the price of oil
30,050 feet in 1972. These wells were drilled as
increased tremendously. In 1973, Oklahoma
part of the intensive exploration program
produced 191.2 million barrels of oil worth
designed to find natural gas reserves known to
$723 million or approximately $3.78 a barrel.
exist at great depths in major sedimentary basins
In 1981, 152.2 million barrels of oil were
of the world.
produced in the state worth $5.35 billion or
This material was taken from or based upon
$35.18 a barrel. The great increase in the price
two Oklahoma Geological Survey publications,
of oil during the seventies led to a burgeoning
Geology and Earth Resources of Oklahoma
oil and gas drilling industry that produced an
(revised, 1979) and Oklahoma Geology Notes
all-time high value of $9.2 billion in 1981. In
43 no. 6 (December, 1983).
that year Oklahoma ranked fifth in oilproduction among the nation’s oil producing
Map Seventy-One:
states by providing 5 percent of the total
Other Mineral Resources
national output, and third among the states in
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 19
The mineral wealth of Oklahoma is
enormous and is fairly evenly distributed
throughout the state. Mineral industries are
active in seventy-six of the seventy-seven
counties. The annual mineral production of the
state, including petroleum and natural gas, is
valued at more than $1 billion, approximately 5
percent of the mineral wealth of the entire
United States. Oklahoma is the fourth-leading
mineral producer in the nation. Total
production since statehood is valued in excess
of $28 billion. Although petroleum accounts for
about 94 percent of the state’s yearly output,
nonpetroleum mineral resources represent a vast
reserve of future wealth.
Coal, copper, granite, gypsum, cement,
helium, stone (limestone, dolomite, sandstone,
chat), sand and gravel, and zinc are the principal
nonpetroleum resources that are being or have
been mined. Minerals of lesser value at present
are salt, Tripoli, glass sand, bentonite, volcanic
ash, clay, lime and lead (not all these minerals
are shown on May 71). Uranium and iron ore
are among the untapped mineral resources.
Among the states Oklahoma ranks fifth in the
production of gypsum and third in helium. The
single helium plant is located in Cimarron
County, near Keyes.
Large reserves of bituminous coal are
distributed over an area of 10,000 square miles
in eastern Oklahoma. The coal ranges from low
to high volatile. At present it is burned as an
energy source in electric power plants and is
converted to coke for use in steel manufacture.
More than 200 million tons of coal have been
mined from hundreds of Oklahoma mines since
mining began in 1872. A recent estimate
indicated remaining reserves of more than 3.2
billion tons. Ten Oklahoma companies are not
producing coal at the rate of about 2.5 million
tons per year.
In the past, mined open pit, or strip pit, coal
lands have been left without any serious effort
to restore or reclaim the land surface, but
restoration is now required by Oklahoma’s
Mining Lands Reclamation Acts of 1968 and
1971. Newly mined lands must be graded to a
gently rolling surface, revegetated, and have
their acid-forming minerals buried. In addition,
most Oklahoma coal operators voluntarily set
aside the original topsoil and then spread it over
the leveled “spoil banks.” These reclamation
requirements greatly reduce one of the major
environmental problems that have been
associated with the recovery of this much
needed energy resource.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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is ugly and that its natural tendency is to
weakness and disease. Incarcerated in such a
body, man's only hope is to avert these
characteristics through the use of ritual and
ceremony. Every household has one or more
shrines devoted to this purpose. The more
powerful individuals in the society have several
shrines in their houses and, in fact, the
lavishness of a house is often referred to in
terms of the number of such ritual chambers it
4
possesses.
By Horace Miner
While each family generally has at least one
such shrine, the rituals associated with it are not
The anthropologist has become so familiar
family ceremonies but are private and secret.
with the diversity of ways in which different
The rites are normally only discussed with
people behave in similar situations that he is not
children, and then only during the period when
apt to be surprised by even the most exotic
they are being initiated into these mysteries. I
customs. In fact, if all of the logically possible
was able, however, to establish sufficient
combinations of behavior have not been found
rapport with the natives to examine these
somewhere in the world, he is apt to suspect that
shrines and to have the rituals described to me.
they must be present in some yet undescribed
The focal point of the shrine is a box or
tribe. In this light, the magical beliefs and
chest which is built into the wall. In this chest
practices of the Nacirema present such unusual
are kept the many charms and magical potions
aspects that it seems desirable to describe them
without which no native believes he could live.
as an example of the extremes to which human
These preparations are secured from a variety of
behavior can go.
specialized practitioners. The most powerful of
Professor Linton first brought the ritual of
these are the medicine men, whose assistance
the Nacirema to the attention of anthropologists
must be rewarded with substantial gifts.
in 1936, but the culture of this people is still
However, the medicine men do not provide the
very poorly understood. They are a North
curative potions for their clients, but decide
American group. Little is known of their origin,
what the ingredients should be and then write
although tradition states that they came from the
them down in an ancient and secret language.
east....
This writing is understood only by the medicine
Nacirema culture is characterized by a
men and by the herbalists who, for another gift,
highly developed market economy which has
provide the required charm.
evolved in a rich natural habitat. While much of
The charm is not disposed of after it has
the people's time is devoted to economic
served
its purpose, but is placed in the
pursuits, a large part of the fruits of these labors
charmbox of the household shrine. As these
and a considerable portion of the day are spent
magical materials are specific for certain ills,
in ritual activity. The focus of this activity is
and the real or imagined maladies of the people
the human body, the appearance and health of
are many, the charm-box is usually full to
which loom as a dominant concern in the
overflowing. The magical packets are so
philosophy of the people. While such a concern
numerous that people forget what their purposes
is certainly not unusual, its ceremonial aspects
were and fear to use them again. While the
and associated values are unique.
natives are very vague on this point, we can
The fundamental belief underlying the
only assume that the idea in retaining all the old
whole system appears to be that the human body
magical materials is that their presence in the
charm-box, before which the body rituals are
4
Miner, Horace. “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema.”
conducted, will in some way protect the
American Anthropologist. Vol. 58. No. 3. June
worshiper.
1956.
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Body Ritual
Among the
Nacirema
Beneath the charm-box is a small font.
In the client's view, the purpose of these
Each day every member of the family, in
ministrations is to arrest decay and to draw
succession, enters the shrine room, bows his
friends. The extremely sacred and traditional
head before the charm-box, mingles different
character of the rite is evident in the fact that the
sorts of holy water in the font, and proceeds
natives return to the holy-mouth-men year after
with a brief rite of cleansing. The holy waters
year, despite the fact that their teeth continue to
are secured from the Water Temple of the
decay.
community, where the priests conduct elaborate
It is to be hoped that, when a thorough
ceremonies to make the liquid ritually pure.
study of the Nacirema is made, there will be
In the hierarchy of magical practitioners,
careful inquiry into the personality structure of
and below the medicine men in prestige, are
these people. One has but to watch the gleam in
specialists whose designation is best translated
the eye of a holy-mouth-man, as he jabs an awl
as "holy-mouth-men." The Nacirema have an
into an exposed nerve, to suspect that a certain
almost pathological horror of and fascination
amount of sadism is involved. If this can be
with the mouth, the condition of which is
established, a very interesting pattern emerges,
believed to have a supernatural influence on all
for most of the population shows definite
social relationships. Were it not for the rituals
masochistic tendencies. It was to these that
of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would
Professor Linton referred in discussing a
fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink,
distinctive part of the daily body ritual which is
their friends desert them, and their lovers reject
performed only by men. This part of the rite
them. They also believe that a strong
includes scraping and lacerating the surface of
relationship exists between oral and moral
the face with a sharp instrument. Special
characteristics. For example, there is a ritual
women's rites are performed only four times
cleansing of the mouth for children which is
during each lunar month, but what they lack in
supposed to improve their moral fiber.
frequency is made up in barbarity. As part of
The daily body ritual performed by
this ceremony, women bake their heads in small
everyone includes a mouth-rite. Despite the fact
ovens for about an hour. The theoretically
that these people are so meticulous about care of
interesting point is that what seems to be a
the mouth, this rite involves a practice which
preponderantly masochistic people have
strikes the uninitiated stranger as revolting. It
developed sadistic specialists.
was reported to me that the ritual consists of
The medicine men have an imposing
inserting a small bundle of hairs into the mouth,
temple, or latipsoh, in every community of any
along with certain magical powders, and then
size. The more elaborate ceremonies required to
moving the bundle in a highly formalized series
treat very sick patients can only be performed at
of gestures.
this temple. These ceremonies involve a
In addition to the private mouth-rite, the
permanent group of vestal maidens who move
people seek out a holy-mouth-man once or
sedately about the temple chambers in
twice a year. These practitioners have an
distinctive costume and headdress.
impressive set of paraphernalia, consisting of a
The latipsoh ceremonies are so harsh that it
variety of augers, awls, probes, and prods. The
is phenomenal that a fair proportion of the really
use of these items in the exorcism of the evils of
sick natives who enter the temple ever recover.
the mouth involves an almost unbelievable ritual
Small children whose indoctrination is still
torture of the client. The holy-mouth-man
incomplete have been known to resist attempts
opens the client's mouth and, using the aboveto take them to the temple because "that is
mentioned tools, enlarges any holes which
where you go to die." Despite this fact, sick
decay may have created in the teeth. Magical
adults are not only willing but eager to undergo
materials are put into these holes. If there are
the protracted ritual purification, if they can
no naturally occurring holes in the teeth, large
afford to do so. No matter how ill the
sections of one or more teeth are gouged out so
supplicant or how grave the emergency, the
that the supernatural substance can be applied.
guardians of many temples will not admit a
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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client if he cannot give a rich gift to the
caretaker. Even after one has gained and
survived the ceremonies, the guardians will not
permit the recruit to leave until he makes still
another gift.
Few supplicants in the temple are well
enough to do anything but lie on their hard beds.
The daily ceremonies, like the rites of the holymouth-men, involve discomfort and torture.
With ritual precision, the vestals awaken their
miserable charges each dawn and roll them
about on their beds of pain while performing
cleansings, in the formal movements of which
the maidens are highly trained. At other times
they insert magic wands in the supplicant's
mouth or force him to eat substances which are
supposed to be healing. From time to time the
medicine men come to their clients and jab
magically treated needles into their flesh. The
fact that these temple ceremonies may not cure,
and may even kill the recruit, in no way
decreases the people's faith in the medicine
men.
In conclusion, mention must be made of
certain practices which have their base in native
esthetics but which depend upon the pervasive
aversion to the natural body and its functions.
There are ritual fasts to make fat people thin and
ceremonial feasts to make thin people fat. Still
other rites are used to make women's breasts
larger if they are small, and smaller if they are
large. General dissatisfaction with breast shape
is symbolized in the fact that the ideal form is
virtually outside the range of human variation.
A few women afflicted with almost inhuman
hyper-mammary development are so idolized
that they make a handsome living by simply
going from village to village and permitting the
natives to stare at them for a fee.
Our review of the ritual life of the
Nacirema has certainly shown them to be a
magic-ridden people. It is hard to understand
how they have managed to exist so long under
the burdens which they have imposed upon
themselves.
Stories of
Creation
From the Apache5
In the beginning nothing existed—no earth,
no sky, no sun, no moon, only darkness was
everywhere.
Suddenly from the darkness emerged a thin
disc, one side yellow and the other side white,
appearing suspended in midair. Within the disc
sat a small bearded man, Creator, the One Who
Lives Above. As if waking from a long nap, he
rubbed his eyes and face with both hands.
When he looked into the endless darkness,
light appeared above. He looked down and it
became a sea of light. To the east, he created
yellow streaks of dawn. To the west, tints of
many colors appeared everywhere. There were
also clouds of different colors.
Creator wiped his sweating face and rubbed
his hands together, thrusting them downward.
Behold! A shining cloud upon which sat a little
girl.
“Stand up and tell me where are you
going,” said Creator. But she did not reply. He
rubbed his eyes again and offered his right hand
to the Girl-Without-Parents.
“Where did you come from?” she asked,
grasping his hand.
“From the east where it is now light,” he
replied, stepping upon her cloud.
“Where is the earth?” she asked.
“Where is the sky?” he asked, and sang, “I
am thinking, thinking, thinking what I shall
create next.” He sang four times, which was the
magic number.
Creator brushed his face with his hands,
rubbed them together, then flung them wide
open! Before them stood Sun-God. Again
5
Edmonds, Margot, and Ella E. Clark. “Creation.”
Voices of the Winds: Native American Legends.
New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2003. 101104.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Creator rubbed his sweaty brow and from his
Then he began a song about the sky. None
hands dropped Small-Boy.
existed, but he thought there should be one.
All four gods sat in deep thought upon the
After singing about it four times, twenty-eight
small cloud.
people appeared to help make a sky above the
“What shall we make next?” asked Creator.
earth. Creator chanted about making chiefs for
“This cloud is much too small for us to live
the earth and sky.
upon.”
He sent Lightning-Rumbler to encircle the
Then he created Tarantula, Big Dipper,
world, and he returned with three uncouth
Wind, Lightning-Rumbler, and some western
creatures, two girls and a boy found in a
clouds in which to house Lightning-Rumbler,
turquoise shell. They had no eyes, ears, hair,
which he just finished.
mouths, noses, or teeth. They had arms and
Creator sang, “Let us make earth. I am
legs, but no fingers or toes.
thinking of the earth, earth, earth; I am thinking
Sun-God sent for Fly to come and build a
of the earth,” he sang four times.
sweathouse. Girl-Without-Parents covered it
All four gods shook hands. In doing so,
with four heavy clouds. In front of the east
their sweat mixed together and Creator rubbed
doorway, she placed a soft, red cloud for a foothis palms, from which fell a small round, brown
blanket to be used after the sweat.
ball, not much larger than a bean.
Four stones were heated by the fire inside
Creator kicked it, and it expanded. Girlthe sweathouse. The three uncouth creatures
Without-Parents kicked the ball, and it enlarged
were placed inside. The others sang songs of
more. Sun-God and Small-Boy took turns
healing on the outside, until it was time for the
giving it hard kicks, and each time the ball
sweat to be finished. Out came the three
expanded. Creator told Wind to go inside the
strangers who stood upon the magic red cloudball and blow it up.
blanket. Creator then shook his hands toward
Tarantula spun a black cord and, attaching
them, giving each one fingers, toes, mouths,
it to the ball, crawled away fast to the east,
eyes, ears, noses, and hair.
pulling on the cord with all his strength.
Creator named the boy, Sky-Boy, to be
Tarantula repeated with a blue cord to the south,
chief of the Sky-People. One girl he named
a yellow cord to the west, and a white cord to
Earth-Daughter, to take charge of the earth and
the north. With mighty pulls in each direction,
its crops. The other girl he named Pollen-Girl,
the brown ball stretched to immeasurable size—
and gave her charge of health care for all Earthit became the earth! No hills, mountains, or
People.
rivers were visible; only smooth, treeless, brown
Since the earth was flat and barren, Creator
plains appeared.
thought it fun to create animals, birds, trees, and
Creator scratched his chest and rubbed his
a hill. He sent Pigeon to see how the world
fingers together and there appeared
looked. Four days later, he returned and
Hummingbird.
reported, “All is beautiful around the world.
“Fly north, south, east, and west and tell us
But four days from now, the water on the other
what you see,” said Creator.
side of the earth will rise and cause a mighty
“All is well,” reported Hummingbird upon
flood.”
his return. “The earth is most beautiful, with
Creator made a very tall piñon tree. Girlwater on the west side.”
Without-Parents covered the tree framework
But the earth kept rolling and dancing up
with piñon gum, creating a large, tight ball.
and down. So Creator made four giant posts—
In four days, the flood occurred. Creator
black, blue, yellow, and white—to support the
went up on a cloud, taking his twenty-eight
earth. Wind carried the four posts, placing them
helpers with him. Girl-Without-Parents put the
beneath the four cardinal points of the earth.
others into the large, hollow ball, closing it tight
The earth sat still.
at the top.
Creator sang, “World is now made and now
In twelve days, the water receded, leaving
sits still,” which he repeated four times.
the float-ball high on a hilltop. The rushing
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floodwater changed the plains into mountains,
hills, valleys, and rivers. Girl-Without-Parents
led the gods out from the float-ball onto the new
earth. She took them upon her cloud, drifting
upward until they met Creator with his helpers,
who had completed their work making the sky
during the flood time on earth.
Together the two clouds descended to a
valley below. There, Girl-Without-Parents
gathered everyone together to listen to Creator.
“I am planning to leave you,” he said. “I
wish each of you to do your best toward making
a perfect, happy world.
“You, Lightning-Rumbler, shall have
charge of clouds and water.
“You, Sky-Boy, look after all Sky-People.
“You, Earth-Daughter, take charge of all
crops and Earth-People.
“You, Pollen-Girl, care for their health and
guide them.
“You, Girl-Without-Parents, I leave you in
charge over all.”
Creator then turned toward Girl-WithoutParents and together they rubbed their legs with
their hands and quickly cast them forcefully
downward. Immediately between them arose a
great pile of wood, over which Creator waved a
hand, creating fire.
Great billowy clouds of smoke at once
drifted skyward. Into this cloud, Creator
disappeared. The other gods followed him in
other clouds of smoke, leaving the twenty-eight
workers to people the earth.
Sun-God went east to live and travel with
the Sun. Girl-Without-Parents departed
westward to live on the far horizon. Small-Boy
and Pollen-Girl made cloud homes in the south.
Big Dipper can still be seen in the northern sky
at night, a reliable guide to all.
From the Cherokee6
Earth is floating on the waters like a big
island, hanging from four rawhide ropes
fastened at the top of the sacred four directions.
6
Eddoes, Richard. Ed. “Earth Making.” American
Indian Myths and Legends. New York: Pantheon
Books, 1984. 105-107.
The ropes are tied to the ceiling of the sky,
which is made of hard rock crystal. When the
ropes break, this world will come tumbling
down, and all living things will fall with it and
die. Then everything will be as if the earth had
never existed, for water will cover it. Maybe
the white man will bring this about.
Well, in the beginning also, water covered
everything. Though living creatures existed,
their home was up there, above the rainbow, and
it was crowded. “We are all jammed together,”
the animals said. “We need more room.”
Wondering what was under the water, they sent
Water Beetle to look around.
Water Beetle skimmed over the surface but
couldn’t find any solid footing, so he dived
down to the bottom and brought up a little dab
of soft mud. Magically the mud spread out in
the four directions and became this island we
are living on—this earth. Someone Powerful
then fastened it to the sky ceiling with cords.
In the beginning the earth was flat, soft, and
moist. All the animals were eager to live on it,
and they kept sending down birds to see if the
mud had dried and hardened enough to take
their weight. But the birds all flew back and
said that there was still no spot they could perch
on.
Then the animals sent Grandfather Buzzard
down. He flew very close and saw that the earth
was still soft, but when he glided low over what
would become Cherokee country, he found that
the mud was getting harder. By that time
Buzzard was tired and dragging. When he
flapped his wings down, they made a valley
where they touched the earth; when he swept
them up, they made a mountain. The animals
watching from above the rainbow said, “If he
keeps on, there will be only mountains,” and
they made him come back. That’s why we have
so many mountains in Cherokee land.
At last the earth was hard and dry enough,
and the animals descended. They couldn’t see
very well because they had no sun or moon, and
some said, “Let’s grab Sun from up there behind
the rainbow! Let’s get him down too!” Pulling
Sun down, they told him, “Here’s a road for
you,” and showed him the way to go—from east
to west.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Now they had light, but it was much too
hot, because Sun was to close to the earth. The
crawfish had his back sticking out of a stream,
and Sun burned it red. His meat was spoiled
forever, and the people still won’t eat crawfish.
Everyone asked the sorcerers, the shamans,
to put Sun higher. They pushed him up as high
as a man, but it was still too hot. So they
pushed him farther, but it wasn’t far enough.
They tried four times, and when they had Sun
up to the height of four men, he was just hot
enough. Everyone was satisfied, so they left
him there.
except that it’s winter down there when it’s
summer up here. We can see that easily,
because spring water is warmer than the air in
winter and cooler than the air in summer.
From the Yuchi7
In the beginning, water covered everything.
Wind asked, “Who will make the land? Who
will make the land appear?”
Lock-chew, the Crawfish, said, “I will
make the land appear.”
So he went down to the bottom of the water
and began to stir up the mud with his tail and his
claws. He brought up some mud to a certain
place and piled it up until it made a mound.
The owners of the land at the bottom of the
water said, “Who is disturbing our land?” They
kept careful watch and discovered it was
Crawfish. When they started toward him,
Crawfish stirred up the mud so much with his
tail that they could not see him.
Lock-chew continued to pile up mud, until
it came out on top of the surface of the great
water. This is how land first appeared. It was
so soft that Wind said, “Who will spread the
land to make it dry and hard?”
Hawk and Buzzard appeared. Because
Buzzard’s wings were larger, he tried first. He
flew, fanning the soft earth and spreading it all
about. When he flapped his wings, hills and
valleys were formed.
“Who will make the light?” Wind asked. It
was very dark.
Yo-hah, the Star, said, “I will make light.”
It was agreed. The Star shone forth, but its light
only remained close to the Star.
“Who will make more light? Wind asked.
Shar-pah, the Moon, said, “I will make
enough light for all my children and I will shine
forever.” But the world was still too dark.
T-cho, the Sun, said, “Leave it to me to
make enough light for everyone everywhere.”
Before making humans, Someone Powerful
had created plants and animals and had told
them to stay awake and watch for seven days
and seven nights. (This is just what young men
do today when they fast and prepare for a
ceremony.) But most of the plants and animals
couldn’t manage it; some fell asleep after one
day, some after two days, some after three.
Among the animals, only the owl and the
mountain lion were still awake after seven days
and nights. That’s why they were given the gift
of seeing in the dark so that they can still hunt at
night.
Among the trees and other plants, only the
cedar, pine, holly, and laurel were still awake on
the eighth morning. Someone Powerful said to
them: “Because you watched and kept awake as
you had been told, you will not lose your hair in
the winter.” So these plants stay green all the
time.
After creating plants and animals, Someone
Powerful made a man and his sister. The man
poked her with a fish and told her to give birth.
After seven days she had a baby, and after seven
more days she had another, and every seven
days another came. The humans increased so
quickly that Someone Powerful, thinking there
would soon be no more room on this earth,
arranged things so that a woman could have
only one child every year. And that’s how it
was.
Now, there is still another world under the
one we live on. You can reach it by going down
7
Edmonds, Margot, and Ella E. Clark. “In the
a spring, a water hole; but you need underworld
Beginning.” Voices of the Winds: Native American
people to be your scouts and guide you. The
Legends. New York: Barnes and Noble Books,
world under our earth is exactly like ours,
2003. 285-287.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 26
Sun went to the East and suddenly enough
light was everywhere. As Sun traveled over the
earth, a drop of blood fell from the sky to the
ground. From this spot sprang the first people,
the children of the Sun they were called, the Yuchis.
The Yu-chis wished to find their medicine
since a large monster had destroyed some of
their people. The Yu-chis cut off its head, but
the next day its head and body were together
again. They killed the monster a second time.
Again, its head grew back on its body.
A third time, they cut off its head. They
placed the head on top of a tall tree, so the body
could not reach the head. The next morning, the
tree was dead and the head had rejoined the
monster’s body. They killed it once more,
putting its head at the top of a cedar tree. The
next morning the cedar tree was still alive, but
covered with blood from the head. The monster
remained dead.
This is how the Yu-chis found their great
medicine, the Cedar Tree. Fire was soon
discovered by boring a stick into some hard, dry
weeds.
The Yu-chis selected a second medicine, as
each one made a picture of the Sun upon their
door.
In the beginning, all of the animals could
talk with one another. All animals and people
were at peace. The deer lived in a cave watched
over by a Yu-chis keeper. When the Yu-chis
became hungry, the keeper selected a deer and
killed it for their food. Finally, all of the deer
were set free with the other animals, and a name
was give to every animal upon the earth.
This is how it was in the beginning with the
first people, the Yu-chis Indian tribe.
God spoke: “Light!”
And light appeared.
God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day One.
God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!”
God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Two.
God spoke: “Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one
place;
Land, appear!”
And there it was.
God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.
God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
And there is was.
Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Three.
God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
From the Hebrew8
Mark seasons and days and years,
Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—
And there it was.
all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup
God made two big lights, the larger
of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky
to take charge of Day,
blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
above the watery abyss.
and he made the stars.
God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
8
From Peterson, Eugene H. “Genesis”. The Message.
And
oversee Day and Night,
Colorado Spring, CO: Nav Press, 2002.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 27
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Four.
God looked over everything he had made:
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Six.
God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all
sea life! Birds, fly through the sky over
Earth!”
God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill
Ocean! Birds reproduce on Earth!”
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Five.
Heaven and Earth were finished,
down to the last detail.
By the seventh day
God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
God blessed the seventh day.
He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work,
all the creating God had done.
This is the story of how it all started,
Of Heaven and Earth when they were
created.
God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort
and kind: cattle and reptiles and wild
animals—all kinds.”
And there it was:
wild animals of every kind.
Cattle of all kinds, every sort or reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.
God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our
image, make them reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the
sea, the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of
Earth.”
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take
charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in
the air, for every living thing that moves on
the face of Earth.”
Then God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for
food.” And there it was.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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presence of the artifacts already mentioned
seems to point to the possibility of the presence
of man in southwestern Oklahoma, in
Pleistocene times.
Numerous other instances of the discovery
of artifacts so deeply embedded in the earth as
to attest great antiquity, might be cited. A few
of these must suffice, however. In the eastern
part of Washita County a sand pit was opened
on the brow of a prairie hill. From this deposit
of sand, several granite mortars, or metates were
taken, the granite evidently having been
transported at least sixty miles from the nearest
9
spurs of the Wichita Mountains. In Greer
By Joseph B. Thoburn
County, a metate was excavated from a point
five feet beneath the surface of the prairie loam
The prehistoric cultures of Oklahoma may
in digging a basement. Near Oklahoma City, a
be divided into three classes as to time, namely;
stone arrow point was found beneath five feet of
(1) Ancient, dating back two thousand or more
sand which, in turn, was overlaid by three feet
years; (2) Mediaeval, probably dating back from
of red clay loam. In the northwestern part of
seven to fifteen centuries; and (3)Recent, dating
Logan County, a very large earthenware jar, or
back from the beginning of the historical period
urn, was excavated from beneath several feet of
to three or four centuries.
sandy loam soil. This receptacle contained a
As yet, comparatively little has been
number of bones, supposedly human.
accomplished in the determination of the scope
Unfortunately this last find was not called to the
and extent of the Ancient Period. Traces of very
attention of any one especially interested in such
ancient human occupancy and activities have
matters until after all specimens had been lost or
been found in numerous parts of the state,
carried away.
though, as a rule, such discoveries have been so
Of the cultures of the Ancient Period which
rarely made and so remotely connected, if at all,
have
been partially differentiated and separated,
as to afford small basis of correlation, and it is
though not yet fully described, or definitely
not possible to draw much if any in the way of
identified as to classification, there are at least
definite conclusions as to age or cultural
two, namely; (a) a Cave-Dwelling stock of the
identities. Among the most ancient of these
western portion of the Ozark Uplift which
might be mentioned the discovery of certain
occupied the caves and rock shelters of the
mortars, or metates, from the lower levels of the
Boone chert formation and, (b) the Basketextensive gravel pit in Tillman County, together
maker stock which occupied small caves in the
with specimens of chipped chert. This gravel
Wingate sandstone, in the canyons of the
pit is pronounced by geologists to be an extinct
Cimarron River region, in the western part of
river bed, which, resisting the process of
Cimarron County. Some work has been done in
erosion, now appears in the form of a ridge, and
the first mentioned of these two cultures and the
which extends northward from the site for many
caves and rock shelters of northeastern
miles toward the Wichita range of mountains,
Oklahoma and of Arkansas and southwestern
which seems to have been partially included
Missouri. I have personally directed some work
within the drainage area of this ancient river.
in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The archaeological
While no skeletal remains have been definitely
material of this culture was secured by
identified as those of human beings, the
excavating the accumulation of ancient kitchen
refuse from the floors of the caves. This kitchen
9
Thoburn, Joseph B. “The Prehistoric Cultures of
refuse, consisting of wood ashes, charcoal,
Oklahoma.” Chronicles of Oklahoma. Vol. 7, No. 3.
mussel and clam shells and broken bones, was
September 1929.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 29
The
Prehistoric
Cultures of
Oklahoma
carefully sifted and searched for artifacts and
other vestigia. On the first expedition into that
field, numerous specimens of bones, teeth and
bivalve shells were gathered for examination
and identification by competent biologists.
These specimens attested the fact that the bill of
fare of these ancient Cave people was greatly
varied. With twenty species of mammals,
including those from the size of a squirrel to
those of the bison, or buffalo and the elk, with
the bones of several species of game birds and
several species of fishes were identified, and,
with these, no less than twenty-six species of
bivalve mollusks. In addition to these, the
presence of stationary mortars, in situ, for the
grinding of grain and the finding of charred
specimens of maize or Indian corn in the ear,
corncobs, beans, and the seeds of pumpkins,
melons, and gourds, gave further evidence of
their habits and customs.
Cave-Dwellers
Jacob’s cavern, near Pineville, Missouri, was
rather enlightening in this connection, because
of the evidence which it seemed to present as to
the chronology of such human occupancy in that
underground retreat. This stalagmite, which
was still in process of formation at the time of
its removal, was found in an open-mouthed
cave, or rock shelter and, because of the dust
accumulation during the windy season, in
March and April, it showed a discolored deposit
in a series of annual rings, not unlike those of a
tree, when a cross section was made. It is hoped
that further work may be done in this line, as
opportunity is afforded, in the future.
Probably the most ancient culture subject to
identification in Oklahoma—older than that of
the Ozark Cave-Dwellers—is that of the BasketMakers, traces of whose occupancy are
scattered far and wide over Arizona, Nevada,
New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. These
primitive people were acquainted with the
rudiments of the textile arts, as they could
weave baskets and spin cordage. They knew
nothing of the art of fashioning and burning
earthenware pottery. Neither did they make or
use bows and arrows, nor were they acquainted
with the use of polished stone ornaments or
implements. They were growing corn and
pumpkins and squashes, however. And some of
these ears of corn and pumpkin seed and
fragments of their baskets and neatly twisted
twine are still to be found beneath the deposit of
wood ashes and other ancient kitchen refuse on
the floors of certain small caves, caverns and
rock-shelters in the Wingate sandstone of the
upper Cimarron River country, in Cimarron
County.
The artifacts of this Ozark cave-dwelling
stock included the sherds of well-burned pottery
(in some instances sufficiently numerous to
make possible the restoration of an entire
utensil), implements and ornaments of shell,
bone and stone. Shells seem to have frequently
been used for scrapers. The bone implements
included needles, awls, and shuttles. The stone
implements included arrow, javelin, and spear
points, knife blades, scrapers and ceremonial
blades. Pipes, so far as found, were of burned
clay though of varying patterns. The most
interesting pipe discovered was an almost exact
imitation of a modern calabash pipe in size,
shape and color. Some of the bone needles were
The Mound-Builder Cultures
beautifully wrought and highly polished. Many
of the flint blades were also beautifully wrought.
These included large numbers of bird points
The Mediaeval Period would indicate the
(blow-gun points), some of which are very
eras of the Mound-Builders, proper, and those
minute, though perfect in outline and finish.
of other people, or peoples, of equal or similar
Many others are finished with a very accurately
cultural development. They all tilled the soil,
flaked saggitate edge on either side.
their implements of tillage usually being
The work of Mr. Vernon C. Allison, being a
fashioned of stone, either by flaking, pecking, or
determination of the age of a stalagmite which
grinding by means of abrasive sandstone or by a
had protruded upward from the floor through
combination of two of these processes. They
the deposit of prehistoric kitchen refuse, in
were also advanced, at least as far as the
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beginning of the Bronze Age, since they knew
something of the art of working in copper.
Illinois River, in the northern part of Adair
County. Of course, large mounds of the true
Mound-Builder type are much more numerous
in Arkansas than they are in Oklahoma.
Mounds of the True
I have only been privileged to be connected
Mound-Builders
with the dissection of one mound of the true
Mound-Builder type. This mound was located
The mounds of the true Mound-Builders
at a point where the flood plain of the Elk River
occur sparingly along the valleys of the
merges with that of the Grand-Neosho River, on
principal rivers of Eastern Oklahoma, including
the boundary-line between Ottawa and
those of the larger tributaries of the Red and
Delaware counties. It was a small mound of the
Arkansas rivers. Whether each of these
shapeless pattern just described. Its original
monuments to the constructive genius of the
altitude was about fourteen feet and its basic
inhabitants of Eastern Oklahoma and adjacent
diameter was approximately thirty-five feet. A
portions of neighboring states are all
party, operating under my direction, dissected
representative of a single culture, has not yet
only about one-third of the contents of this
been determined. There is at least a possibility
mound, for the reason that the poachers had
that these mounds may represent two or three
broken into it at the instance of a commercial
distinct cultures. This is a matter that can only
collector, and this had been followed, later, by
be settled by very thorough and extensive
further work under the supervision of the owner.
investigation and at a considerable outlay of
Consequently, many of the finished implements,
expense and labor.
ornaments, and utensils were removed several
Mounds of this class and age vary greatly in
years before I undertook to complete the
size, form grouping, etc., as they probably also
dissection.
did in the various purposes for which they were
The purpose for which this mound had been
severally designed. Possibly most of them are
erected is believed to have been ceremonial, this
conical in shape. Others are in the form of
inference being drawn from the fact that it
pyramids, either square or oblong. In one case,
contained numerous utensils, artifacts, and
near Muskogee, there is a very fine specimen of
ornaments which were evidently deposited,
a mound in the form of a truncated pyramid,
during the course of its construction, as votive
approximately sixty feet square at the base and
offerings. Exactly what the poachers secured is
ten feet high, with the lines following the
not known. The owner secured some very fine
cardinal points very closely. Others apparently
specimens of earthenware pottery, including
were merely heaped up into an elevation
vases, urns, and water bottles, which are now in
without seeming regard to form.
two of the large eastern museums. The
The largest mound which I have inspected,
specimens secured by the expedition of the
in Oklahoma, was of the last mentioned type. It
Oklahoma Historical Society in the spring and
is located out in the valley of the Grand-Neosho
summer of 1925, included similar ceramic
River in the western part of Delaware County.
products. Most of the pottery had been broken
Its extreme height is forty-eight feet and its
by the expansion or constriction of roots of the
basic area probably covers a space of more than
trees growing on the surface of the mound, but
two acres. Its bulk is composed of material
all of the fragments were saved and eventually
carried from a decomposing bluff of the Boone
each of these works of art was restored. Other
chert formation situated half a mile from the
items secured included ornamental sheet copper,
location of the mound. The mound was
partially decomposed beads of shell or pearl,
completed by covering this material with a foot
and pulley-shaped, disk ear ornaments, made of
or more of black river-valley loam soil, which
polished stone and partially encased in copper.
now supports a rather dense growth of forest
These came in pairs and are similar to the diskvegetation. A mound even larger than this is
shaped ear ornaments once commonly used in
reported to be located near the valley of the
tropical America.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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The bulk of this mound was composed of
What the careful dissection of other
clay with considerable gravel content, evidently
mounds in eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas may
excavated near at hand, but it had been finished
disclose along similar lines, is still a matter for
with a heavy covering of black river-valley
conjecture. If, as has already been intimated,
loam soil. This clay content was compact and
two or three distinct cultures should be found as
because of its contour, very dry and hard to
representative of as many separate Moundexcavate. But few traces of human remains
Building stocks, then the separation and
were found in the body of the mound and these
identification of each of these stocks would
seemed to indicate at least partial incineration.
seem to be in order.
Surface burials were much more numerous,
however. These were all of a shallow nature, so
The Cultural Remains of the
that the process of decay had been very nearly
Caddoan People
complete. From the number of these shallow,
surface burials on the part of the mound
dissected by the Oklahoma Historical Society’s
One of the most important archaeological
field party, it was inferred that there had been no
fields in the United States, and the most recent
less than fifty such burials on the surface of the
of the Mediaeval Period in the lower valleys of
whole mound, before the poachers disturbed it.
the Mississippi and its western tributaries, the
Such shallow burials indicated the presence and
Red, Arkansas, and Missouri rivers, is that of
mortuary visits of people of the Southern
the Caddoan peoples, who, while not MoundDivision of the Siouan stock, presumably Osage
Builders themselves, were on a par of culture
or Quapaw, within the past two or three
with the Mound-Building peoples, and who
centuries. The finding of stone pipes of the
incidentally, but not intentionally, left more
modern Siouan type further evidenced that the
mounds to mark the face of the land within
intrusive burials thus made were of such origin.
limits of their prehistoric habitat, than all the
At a point supposed to represent the exact
mounds of all of the true Mound-Building
center of the base of the mound, there was found
peoples combined.
a fragment of a very large clam or mussel shell
Beginning at a point on the Gulf Coast at
with concave side uppermost. In the hollow of
the mouth of the Colorado River of Texas, and
this shell was found a group of three small stone
extending eastwardly along the Coast past
pipes, one of which was partially decomposed
Calcasieu Pass, in southwestern Louisiana; then
and the other two slightly so, as if it had been
to a crossing of the Mississippi River near
deposited with organic matter. These pipes are
Vicksburg; then extending northward, a few
similar to stone pipes which were found in the
miles east of the course of the Mississippi, to a
valleys of the Ohio River and some of its
point approximately opposite the mouth of the
principal tributaries. I believe that they are of
Missouri River; then recrossing the Mississippi,
proto-Siouan origin. If this conjecture is
and extending southwestward, past the corner of
warranted, then it means that the people of the
Kansas, to a point near the mouth of the
whole Siouan stock passed through eastern
Cimarron River; then southward to the mouth of
Oklahoma, before they reached the valleys of
the Washita River; and then back to the point of
the Mississippi River and its eastern tributaries;
beginning, roughly marks the bounds of the
in the course of their migration to the Piedmont
prehistoric habitat of the Caddoan peoples.
Plateau of Virginia and the Carolinas and
Throughout this region a very frequent, and, in
several centuries before their retrogressive
many places, an almost constant landscape
migration to the West. In this connection, it
feature consists of multitudes of low, circular
seems an odd coincidence that the Osage or
mounds, about the shape or contour of an
Quapaw people should have found their way
ordinary saucer turned upside down. These low,
back to bury their dead upon the earthen pile
circular, mounds vary in diameter from twenty
that had been built by their own people, if not
to as much as one hundred and forty feet in
indeed, by their own direct ancestors.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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extreme cases, and in central height, from a
formed any theory as to their origin. It was
barely perceptible swell of from four or five
nearly twenty-three years later that, while riding
inches to as much as five feet, in the case of the
through a section of eastern Oklahoma, where
larger specimens. Most of them, however, are
the whole face of the country was dotted and
nearly of the average size, which is from forty to
pimpled with these low, circular mounds, at a
forty-five feet in diameter, and from twenty to
rate varying from three to five or six per acre,
twenty-four inches in height at the center.
there suddenly dawned upon my imagination the
Throughout the years since the first
idea that if the Pawnee Indians had built their
exploration and early settlements of the region
timber-framed, dome shaped, earth-covered huts
in question, approximately two centuries ago,
or lodges, without excavating the interior circle
there has been much puzzle and speculation as
to a depth of fifteen or eighteen inches, as they
to the origin of these small circular mounds.
did, and without building a vestibule entrance,
The laymen gave it up as an unsolvable problem
also sodded over, as they did, the fall of such a
long ago, but the world of science continued to
structure, due to the decay of its supporting
puzzle over the matter, and not of merely to
posts and poles, would make just such a pile of
puzzle over it but to dispute over it as well.
earth or low circular mound, when the last of its
The geologists, who profess to be more
posts had disappeared. It was not until some
informed concerning the Earth’s surface and its
days later that I met Dr. Charles N. Gould, the
peculiar formations than the learned men of any
well-known geologist, and discussed the matter
other profession, were almost unanimous in
with him. His concluding remark at the close of
scouting every suggestion of human agency, and
the interview was that I had advanced the only
in agreeing to call them "natural mounds."
human agency theory as to the possible origin
Among the theories advanced for the purpose of
of, these mounds that could be regarded as
accounting for such formations by the operation
being at all plausible, and that he would like to
of purely natural causes, were the following;
see a thorough investigation made. Within a
erosion, glaciation, wind action, wave action,
year and a half, I was privileged to begin such
spring and gas vents, earthquakes, animal
an investigation under the sponsorship of the
burrows, ant hills and uprooted trees, with a
University of Oklahoma. In the course of this
number of others even more fantastic than any
investigation I carefully dissected not one, but a
of these. The archaeologists, on the other hand,
number of these small, circular mounds. In each
were quite keen to claim these low, circular
instance so undertaken, I found abundant proof
mounds were the result of the work of human
of human origin. This investigation was
hands, but most of them were utterly at a loss to
undertaken primarily for the purpose of
offer any sort of a valid explanation to account
determining whether or not these mounds were
for such a line of construction. About the best
due to human activities. At the time there was
theory advanced by any of the archaeologists
little thought, and less intention, of attempting
was that each of these small mounds was a
to determine the identity of the culture of the
platform or elevated building site to furnish
people who were responsible for the formation
good drainage for a lodge or hut. To this, the
of these peculiar landscape features. The work
geologists rejoined with the question, "but why
thus begun has been carried on at intervals with
so many of them and why were they built on
some co-operation at the hands of the University
hillsides, where natural drainage was good?"
of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Historical
I first became familiar with these small,
Society but more largely by reason of the
circular mounds in eastern Oklahoma, in 1889,
generous co-operation of private individuals,
and my curiosity concerning their origin led me
who furnished means to defray the expense of
to ask questions of many people, always with
such a line of investigations, which the public
negative results, though occasionally someone
institutions were not in a position to do.
would answer, "I believe some prehistoric race
In the dissection of one of these earth-lodge
was responsible for them, but I do not know
mounds, it was found that the structure had been
why they were built." Personally, I never
destroyed as the result of an internal fire, there
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 33
being from two to three and a half inches of
wood ashes over the entire floor, as if wood had
been piled into the but or lodge and deliberately
set afire, either by an enemy or by the owner or
his neighbors possibly for the purpose of
destroying some disease or infection.
Moreover, excavation beneath the floor of the
but revealed the fact that each of the supporting
posts had been charred from ten to thirteen
inches below the floor level, and that these
charred sections were still standing in place. In
addition to this, there were found scattered
throughout the ashes on the floor, burned brickhard, fragments of the clay plastering of a
partitioned wall, with the parallel imprints of the
woven cane or wattle lath very perfectly
preserved. Another mute evidence of the life of
that time, that was very interesting, was found in
the form of several of the clay nests of the muddauber wasps, also burned brick-hard.
Another of these mounds that was
excavated was much larger than the average,
being seventy-five feet in diameter and fortytwo inches in height in the center. In walking
over this mound, from which the timber had
been cleared for cultivation only a few years
before, I was surprised to find chipped chert and
potsherds. Remarking upon these to Mr.
Leonard M. Logan, a student of the University
of Oklahoma, who was with me, the latter
replied: "Yes, and see what I have found," and
he handed over a fragment of what had once
been a pulley shaped stone disk. Instantly there
flashed through my mind, that here there had
been a possible collapse of such a timberframed, dome-shaped, earth-covered human
habitation while it was still occupied, and that
this mound should furnish the proof of human
origin. Several days later, I slipped back and
excavated a small pit at one side of the mound,
which resulted in confirming the conjecture this
formed. It was not until three years later—in
the winter of 1917-18 that I finally dissected the
whole mound. This mound was found on what
is known as the Fort Coffee Bottoms, about
eight miles northeast of Spiro, in the
northeastern part of Leflore County, and is
located on the flood plain of the Arkansas River.
Description of a
Caddoan Earth Lodge
The ground plan of the timber-frame for a
Prehistoric Caddoan earth-lodge was practically
identical with that of the people of the Pawnee
tribe, since the beginning of the Historical
Period, with the exception that the prehistoric
Caddoan lodge contained no vestibule or frame
for the same. Four large, forked posts were
selected to support the center of the domeshaped frame. In the case of this lodge, which
had collapsed while occupied, the postholes
were found to be from fourteen to fifteen inches
in diameter. These four posts occupied the four
cardinal points. This has been found true in all
other lodges excavated or dissected by my
teams. At a radius of twenty-two and one-half
feet from the center, a circle of smaller forked
posts had also been erected. The size of the
postholes for this circle of smaller posts was
found to be from ten and one-half to eleven
inches in diameter.
Heavy timbers were laid from fork to fork,
on the four sides of the square formed by the
large poles surrounding the center. Heavy poles
or head-logs were then laid from fork to fork,
around the circle of smaller posts. Heavy posts
or slabs were then laid at an angle of forty-five
degrees or less, the tops resting on the headlogs, of the outer circle, the lower ends probably
being embedded in the ground so that they
would not slip or slide inward. Heavy poles or
light logs, were then laid from the interior
square to the head-logs of the outer circle, to
serve as rafters. Short length poles, the size of
a man’s arm were then laid transversely from
rafter to rafter, being tied securely in place with
willows or withes. The whole top thus
completed was woven full of brush and this was
covered with a layer of sedge or coarse grass.
The rafters did not quite join at the center of the
dome, a small opening being left to admit of
light, ventilation, and the escape of smoke, the
domestic fire being built immediately under the
same. Sod, or turf was cut where there was a
natural growth of grass, with an abundance of
fibrous roots and these were carried to the frame
of the new structure where they were used in
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building a wall that leaned against the posts or
settlement. That the head men of the village
slabs, slanting outwardly from the head-logs of
knew how to "police" camp as well as a modern
the post circle. This wall was carried up over
military commander, is quite evident.
the head-walls and the frame work for the roof,
The careful dissection of this mound
and was built sufficiently thick to afford good
required several weeks of labor, even with an
surface drainage, regardless of the sagging of
adequate force of assistants. During the course
any rafter or rafters which might not have been
of this work, it was discovered that, subsequent
straight. The only openings to this structure
to the collapse of the earth-covered lodge, from
were the aperture at the center of the dome and
the decay and disappearance of its supporting
the door, which was located on the east side.
posts, people of another stock had dwelt for a
The wall was possibly doubled and made very
time in the vicinity and that they had used this
heavy, as the roof was also.
mound-like lodge ruin as a place of burial for
A structure thus erected was comparatively
their dead. These burials had been so shallow as
warm in winter and relatively cool in summer.
to be just below the plow-level. As a result, the
It was secure against all but the most violent
process of decay of the skeletal remains had
storms, and it afforded fair opportunity for
been so complete that but little was left except
defense, in case of attack. Platforms, which
the enamel of the teeth, with occasional traces
could be used for seats by day and as beds by
of chalky white material that was evidently
night, could be constructed of sticks and poles,
formed by the decomposition of bone. There
around the outer wall beneath the sloping slabs,
had been twenty-two of these intrusive
posts, or poles which supported the same. The
interments on the surface of this mound.
width of this portion outside of the post circle
Because of the shallowness of these burials it
was proportioned to the size of the building, as
was surmised that the same had been made by
was the height of the structure also. The
people of one of the tribes of the Southern
location of these seats and beds, covered with
Division of Siouan stock. This conjecture was
mats, robes, etc., is surmised from the fact that
subsequently verified by the finding of several
the Pawnee peoples who did not excavate their
ceremonial pipes of the modern Siouan type,
floors between the post circle, and the foot of
which had been carved from a stone of a
the wall, used that space for seats in day-time
grayish-white color. One of these, eighteen
and as beds at night. Moreover, the modern
inches long, with a large bowl of perfectly
Wichita and Caddo Indians who dwelt in
cylindrical bore, is the largest Siouan
timber-framed, dome-shaped, grass-thatched
ceremonial pipe which I have ever seen. The
huts, or lodges, used such beds and seats made
only other artifacts found which were certainly
of stakes and poles and covered with robes,
identified with this Southern Siouan culture,
skins and mats.
were a number of exquisitely flaked blades of
Beneath the floor of the structure, its
chert or flint. Four of these, averaging about
occupants were wont to dig caches, or storage
five inches in length, were found just as they
pits, into which they might place much of their
had been placed at the time of interment, lying
property, temporarily. Later, these pits were
with overlapping edges, like shingles on a roof.
emptied of their contents and refilled with a
The presence of such vestigia, so uniformly near
mixture of surface earth, sub-soil, wood ashes
the surface and so evidently Siouan of origin,
and debris from all parts of the camp.
was taken to be a certain indication of the
Incidentally, it is notable that all the rubbish in
intrusive mortuary activities of more recent
the camp was collected—all its loose bones,
occupants of the region immediately
clam-shells, flaked and broken chert, postherds,
surrounding the site and, in point of time,
and other waste material—and thrown in the
probably not more than half as old as the mound
bottom of such storage pits before refilling. This
itself.
fact doubtless accounts for the utter absence of
The collection of artifacts, utensils, tools,
any sort of broken utensils or artifacts in the
implements, and ornaments which were secured
village site of any average prehistoric Caddoan
in the dissection of this mound was quite
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extensive and, from a scientific viewpoint, a
very valuable one. Only one unbroken piece of
ceramic ware was secured—a beautifully
decorated shallow bowl of about three-quarts
capacity. Much broken earthenware pottery was
found, however, and the sherds were preserved
for ultimate restoration, if possible. More than
thirty-five of the pulley-shaped stone disk ear
ornaments were found, many of them with the
larger, or outer flange encased in a thin sheet of
copper. The diameter of these ear ornaments
varied from one and three-fourths to nearly two
and one-half inches, the outer flange sometimes
having a considerably larger diameter than the
inner flange. These occurred commonly in pairs,
the two individual specimens being practically
identical in pattern, size and decoration. All of
these were perforated in the center, the
perforation being in the form of a smooth
cylindrical bore. With these there were also
found and secured, three larger ornaments of the
same sort, neither of which was perforated, nor
was there a duplicate to either, so it would seem
not unlikely that these had been used as labrets
rather than ear ornaments.
Beads of several different kinds were
found, the larger beads being made of the black
Webber Falls argillite, running from threeeighths to five-eighths of an inch in diameter
and very highly polished. Several pearl beads
were found in a very palpable condition, as were
also several unusually large shell beads. In
some places, veins or layers of very small shell
beads, about the size of the modern glass bead
used in beading buckskin, were found.
A great deal of copper was found. Most of
this was in thin plates and evidently had been
used in the decoration of wearing apparel,
headdresses or shields. Some of this copper was
beautifully corrugated, with evenly sized small
ridges and channels. Evidence is not lacking
that these people had the ability to either weld
copper or, at least, to solder or braze it. One of
the most interesting finds made was that of a
copper blow-pipe which had been made by
hammering the native copper into a thin sheet
and then rolling it into a tube which, when
completed, was not as large as an ordinary lead
pencil.
Implements and Tools
The people of the prehistoric Caddoan race
were largely given to agriculture, as their
descendants remain down to the present time.
Their implements of tillage are to be found
scattered over many fields that were supposed to
be still in the virgin sod, when the white man
first came, but which had really been broken up
and reduced to cultivation some hundred years
earlier, by the people of this stock. Their
implements of tillage consisted chiefly of spades
and hoes made of stone. Throughout the greater
part of eastern Oklahoma, such implements
were made of the black argillite, mostly secured
from the ledge which causes the riffle or rapid
in the channel of the Arkansas River, in
Muskogee County, that has long been known as
Webbers Falls. This material is as black as coal.
In composition it is a combination of lime, clay,
and silica. It flakes somewhat like chert or flint,
only much more coarsely. While it is quite
hard, it is not nearly so hard as chert or flint, and
it was, therefore, worked also by pecking with a
hammerstone and by grinding or polishing with
abrasive sandstone. Implements made of this
material are better adapted to tilling soil than
those made of chert, for the reason that it is
tougher and not so brittle. Most Caddoan
spades were oblong or almost rectangular
blades, from two and one-half to four inches
wide and from seven to twelve inches long, and
from one-half to three-fourths of an inch thick,
thinner at the edges and sharpened at each end.
Some of the spades were much narrower and
thicker than those just described. These are
believed to have been used also in excavating
post holes for building purposes and in digging
caches, or storage pits, beneath the floors of the
lodges.
The Caddoan stone hoe was double bitted
and, in that region, almost uniformly made of
black argillite. It is quite thin on the cutting
edges but averages about an inch thick in the
narrow center, between the broader blades.
Locally, these hoes are commonly called "battle
axes," for which purpose they would doubtless
have served effectively. These people also used
a very large and somewhat heavy turf cutter,
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approximately five by twelve inches in size and
in which two or more specimens of pottery have
nearly, if not quite, one inch thick, with
been buried, supposedly that of some member of
carefully ground cutting edges at each end.
the community of more than ordinary
These were doubtless used in cutting out turf for
prominence. In rare instances as many as eight
the covering of earth lodges, as well as for
or ten specimens of ceramic ware may be found
breaking up ground for cultivation.
with such burials. The surplus pieces of pottery
It is believed that the Caddoan people must
accompanying such burials are almost always
have cleared up extensive areas of fertile land
not only better burned, but also artistic in design
on river and creek flood plains, removing all
or decoration, or both. It is believed that burial
timber, brush, and canebrake growths
in the valley lands, where a sandy sub-soil could
therefrom; such lands, however, being selected
be readily found beneath a cultivated surface,
with a view to the fact that they were seldom or
was generally resorted to for the reason that
never, subject to overflow. They also reduced
such an operation could be much more
to cultivation certain areas on the upland prairie,
expeditiously carried out than if attempts were
where the surface was sufficiently level to resist
made to excavate graves in the heavy clay suberosion, or soil washing. It is comparatively
soil of the uplands, with their crude stone
easy to recognize some of these ancient
excavating tools. The presence of large clam or
cornfield sites to this day, for the reason that,
mussel shells in some graves leads to the
later when the village site encroached upon the
inference that most of these valley-land graves
cornfield, there was not to be found, near at
were excavated in a mere fraction of the time
hand, any grassy turf, bound together with
that would have been required to excavate a
fibrous roots, which was not only suitable but
grave of like size and depth in the heavy clay
necessary for the covering of the earth lodges.
sub-soil of the uplands, by the use of such crude
Consequently, the builders either had to go on
stone tools.
higher ground, or along the edges of brakes and
ravines, or even to the lowland swales where the
The Origin of the Caddoan
soil was of a tough gumbo consistency, in order
People in the United States
to find such needed turf for roofing purposes.
Therefore, when mounds of light colored clay,
or heavy, black gumbo are found superimposed
When I first dug a small pit near the edge of
on a field having a black or dark brown surface
the large Caddoan mound in the northern part of
loam, it seems reasonable to conclude that it had
LeFlore County, in January, 1914, and found
been under cultivation before these sods or turfs
pulley-shaped disk ear-ornaments, I
containing a different soil, had been transported
immediately recognized in them an indication of
thither, for building purposes.
a possible kinship with the cultures of the
The early Caddoan people buried
tropical end of the continent. However, since
practically all of their dead in the sandy sub-soil
one such instance could not prove a theory any
of some of their valley land cornfields, usually
more than "one swallow makes a summer,"
from three and one-half to four and one-half feet
discretion suggested that I remain silent on the
below the surface. An average of one piece of
subject. I did this until the summer of 1925,
burned earthenware pottery was buried with
when I was privileged to oversee the dissection
each interment. From the fact that bones of
of what was left of a mound of the true Moundgame animals and birds have been found in
Builder type, near the Delaware-Ottawa county
some of the pottery vessels thus buried with the
boundary line, as previously described. There,
dead, it may be inferred that some of these, at
with the finding of similar pulley-shaped disk
least, contained food and drink to sustain the
ear-ornaments, though differing somewhat in
departed on the journey to the spirit realm.
details of construction, I realized that, at last, I
Occasionally a skeleton may be found with no
might announce a hypothesis concerning the
pottery-near; on the other hand, instances have
possibility that the eastern half of the United
been noted wherein interments have been found
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States and Eastern Canada had been largely
region in northeastern Oklahoma were still there
peopled as a result of a series of successive
when the first French explorers and traders
waves of mass-movement migration from racial
came among them in the 17th century. But the
swarming-grounds in the southern part of the
rum and the smallpox and other vices and
North American Continent. That such a
diseases which came in with the French traders,
hypothesis would have to assume that the
decimated the numbers of the Caddoan people
Mound-Builder cultures, and that of the
groups. So, sometime during the latter part of
Caddoan people as well, were of exotic origin,
the 18th century, the remnants of these peoples
instead of local development, was equally plain.
merged and their descendants are now called the
Down to that time, so far as I was aware,
Wichita.
American archaeology had not given much
attention to the element of racial swarmingThe Siouan Culture
grounds, in population and cultural
development, though the native American race
was as surely as much entitled to have this
As previously stated, traces of the Siouan
element considered in the problem of
culture are to be found in numerous places in
development as are any of the races of Europe
the northeastern part of Oklahoma, some of
or Asia. Plainly, the natural conditions of
them coming down to the beginning of Historic
Northwestern America did not make for racial
Period. The oldest of these are believed to have
swarming-grounds. On the other hand, there
been made by the present Osage and Quapaw
were areas in Yucatan, Southern Mexico, and
people. They are easily distinguished from the
Central America which, though of limited extent
cultural remains from other stocks by such type
were possessed of happy combinations of fertile
artifacts as the tobacco pipe, the stone hoe and
soil and humid climate, thus offering
the mortar, or metate, with which they ground
opportunities for the production of such vast
grain. Their occupancy of Oklahoma probably
quantities of human food, by agricultural means,
was but temporary from time to time, during the
and at such low economic cost, as to lead first,
Prehistoric Period. They were among the first
to the development of a dense population and
tribes to come under French influence in the
that, in turn, to that of a high degree of culture
Mississippi Valley in the 17th century. Their
in the arts and crafts. Then, when the capacity
cultural remains are interesting for comparative
or saturation point was reached in population,
reasons. If, as I have suggested, the Siouan
either a real or prospective shortage of food,
peoples were in the procession of great
imperial colonization, or political discontent,
migrations from the far South, that movement
might have led to the removal of considerable
must have taken place at least a thousand years
elements of such overcrowded population.
ago, as they are known to have lived in the
When such culture was brought into the midst of
region east of the Alleghenies and south of the
a new and sparsely settled region which was
Potomac for several centuries before their
teeming with game and fish, and where the
retrogressive migration to the West. If such be
climate made possible an introduction of the
the case, the highly developed culture which
cultivation of maize, pumpkins, squashes,
was abundantly and well exemplified in the
melons and gourds, it would have been but
contents of the mound in northwestern
natural that there should be a scattering of such
Oklahoma has had a long time in which to
an immigrant population and, with that
deteriorate, and this deterioration is very
dispersion, an almost certain and comparatively
manifest in the crude pottery and rather coarse
early deterioration in culture.
work in their other arts, as found existing in the
That the Caddoan stock was subdivided
village sites and burials of the Siouan (Osageinto well-defined tribe groups in prehistoric
Quapaw), which date from just before the
times, as it was during the early Historical
beginning of the Historical Period.
Period, seems altogether probable. These
various Caddoan tribes of the Arkansas River
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The Athapascan Culture
Scattered over western Oklahoma and
adjacent portions of the Texas Panhandle,
western Kansas, and southeastern Colorado, are
to be found traces of the culture of people
whose occupancy antedated the later arrival of
the Comanche, the Kiowa, the Cheyenne and
the Arapahoe. From the early Spanish archives
of New Mexico, it is evident that the region of
the Great Plains, extending southward from the
valley of the Republican River to that of Red
River, was included within the range of that
great branch of the Athapascan stock, which is
known collectively as the Apache people, and
which includes quite a number of tribes.
Hitherto, these have always been regarded, as
have their distant kinsmen of the Navajo tribe
also, as having migrated from the far Northwest,
and as being a proof of the theory that all of the
Indian Tribes of the Eastern United States, had
migrated from the same region. As yet,
comparatively little has been done in the way of
identifying the remains of any prehistoric
culture of the region in question as belonging to
the Athapascan people.
In the summer of 1920, I spent several
weeks with Dr. Warren K. Moorehead, who was
then engaged on an archaeological survey of the
drainage area along the Arkansas River,
accompanied by a small field party, along the
Canadian River in the Texas Panhandle.
Incidentally, in company with Doctor
Moorehead, I visited an ancient irrigation canal
in Meade and Clark counties, in southwestern
Kansas. I have since revisited that section
several times and have made considerable
further investigation of these remarkable traces
of an ancient culture. I have also located traces
of similar irrigation works in Oklahoma and the
Texas Panhandle, and several mounds, besides
one mound group, all of which are believed to
be the ruins of pueblo-like structures with
earthen walls and earth-covered roofs. That
these people grew corn has been definitely
determined; that they still continue to make and
use pottery is likewise proven; that they might
have learned the art of growing corn or that of
making pottery in the far Northwest, or at any
point between the far Northwest and the Great
Plains south of the Republican River, is highly
improbable; that they had once lived much
farther east, where they had grown corn under
naturally humid conditions, is not unlikely; that
they had been driven out upon the High Plains
where they still sought to practice agriculture,
but where their crops were blasted by the hot
winds and destroyed by the big buffalo herds,
seems altogether likely; that some of their
hunters may have made their way to the Pueblo
settlements on the Mora, the Upper Pecos and
the Rio Grande, in New Mexico, where they
found corn and other field crops being grown by
irrigation, is wholly within the bounds of
possibility; that they attempted to avail
themselves of Pueblo irrigation engineering
talent, and that they attempted to adopt and to
adapt to their purpose the irrigation husbandry
and the architecture of the Pueblo peoples,
seems evident.
I believe that by means of type artifacts, it
may be possible to trace the Athapascan
occupancy much farther east than it was at the
time of the first exploration and settlements in
New Mexico. I am planning to do some
systematic work in this very interesting field
which, down to this time has been almost a
sealed book.
Unidentified Cultures
Scattered over various portions of
Oklahoma are to be found numerous ancient
village sites and shop sites which, while plainly
distinguished, are as yet unidentified. This is
especially true of the central part of the state,
where the remains of most of the identified
cultures are scarce or lacking altogether. Such
vestigia include implements and projectile
points of chert and flint, potsherds, mortars,
mullers, hoes, spades, hatchets, cells and
occasionally, even grooved axes. Careful study
will probably be necessary to identify these and
find the type artifacts of the same. This is not of
more importance locally than it will be in its
relationships in the final study of prehistoric
migrations and movements.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Plains Indian
Women
From the American Indian Culture
Research Center10
American Indian women were revered by
their communities as the mothers of the people.
They were responsible for raising the children
and feeding, clothing, and sheltering their
families. They also earned position in other
areas such as participants in religious rituals and
as medicine women. Generally, they enjoyed a
great deal more independence and security than
did the white women of that era.
The ultimate achievement for a woman in
Native American societies is being a mother and
rearing a healthy family. Even though many
Indian women attained distinctions as religious
practitioners, medicine women, and skilled
artisans in craftwork, in no way did these tasks
affect their role as bearers and raisers of
children.
Although infant mortality was probably
very high among early Native American
children and many women undoubtedly died
during childbirth, prospective mothers used
every precaution to ensure safe delivery and
healthy children. Early Plains Indian women
relied on herbal medicines, myths, and
superstitions to guide them during their
pregnancies. Older women in the tribe warned
first time mothers to avoid certain foods and to
be careful of their personal behavior. According
to Indian custom, both were believed to be the
cause of a difficult delivery or defect in the
unborn baby.
The bond between mothers and daughters
was very special. However, much of the
training of young girls fell to the grandmothers,
who taught them to sew and cook, to tan hides,
to make their clothing, and to fashion and
decorate items. Grandmothers also instilled the
10
From the American Indian Culture Research Center of
Marvin, South Dakota. “Plains Indian Women”.
tribe’s moral values and traditions in their
granddaughters.
Instructions on proper conduct intensified
as a girl approached puberty. Her mother and
grandmother would increase the amount of tasks
assigned to her—tasks that would prepare her
for her own lifework as a mother and wife. She
no longer enjoyed the freedom to run and play
games with the other children. She would be
instructed to stay near her lodge and could only
venture out in the company of adults.
Her family usually arranged the marriage of
a Plains Indian woman. Marriage was viewed
as a social contract for sharing responsibilities
and child rearing. It was not expected to be a
marriage based upon the concept of love.
However, Plains Indian women had the right to
refuse their chose mate, but very few probably
exercised that option. If a man fell in love with
a young woman, he did everything in his power
to impress her family. The suitor would bring
gifts and horses and leave them in front of her
lodge. Then he waited for a response from her
family. If the proposal was rejected, the gifts,
including the horses were returned to the suitor.
If the proposal was accepted, the young
woman’s family took the gifts and the horses.
Both families made the marriage preparations
and the newlyweds were received into the
community with a wedding ceremony and feast.
Women’s Work is Never Done
A woman’s place in Plains Indian culture
was an indispensable part of tribal life. The
man and the woman were partners, he had his
responsibilities and she had hers. Each partner’s
respective roles were necessary for their
survival. The lifestyle of the buffalo-hunting
tribes of the Great Plains revolved around the
dangerous and risky male pursuits of warfare
and hunting. The role of Plains Indian women
was to support the hunters and warriors. Such a
supportive task involved considerable labor. It
is true that the life of the Indian woman was
hard, but her value to the tribe was recognized.
The woman’s many tasks promoted tribal
welfare.
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The Plains Indians lived with constant
The buffalo was the commissary of the
exposure to the elements, to hunger and to
Plains Indians and virtually nothing was wasted.
attacks by enemy tribes. When these nomadic
Buffalo bones and horns were fashioned into
peoples moved their campsite, the men rode on
cooking utensils and tools; even the hoofs were
the outside or ahead of the group ready to
utilized in making glue. In truth, during the
defend their families against any threat of attack
height of hunting season, even the most
and to look for game along the way. The
industrious Plains Indian women could not keep
women took down the tipis and packed their
up with her daily tasks and all the work that
possessions on the horses and travois; small
needed to be done to process the buffalo. It
children rode with their mothers in a
took the labor or at least two women to keep up
cradleboard or sometimes the cradleboards were
with the amount of meat and hides one hunter
tied to the firmly to the travois, older children
provided. Usually, every wife had someone to
often rode their own horses. (Before the
help her—a young girl or an elderly relative.
acquisition of the horse from the Europeans, the
women packed their belongings on the backs of
Women in Battle
dogs or on a dog drawn travois.) And it was the
women who unpacked and pitched the tipi and
set up the housekeeping at the next campsite.
Although Plains Indian women were
Apart from being a wife and mother, this
devoted to peace and fighting battles with the
strenuous work was done in addition to their
enemy was generally the duty of men, the
daily homemaking duties of gathering firewood,
women could not help but be involved in
cooking food, fetching water, and making and
combat activities. When a way party was
repairing clothing, moccasins, tipis and
getting ready to go out on a raid, the camp was
manufacturing household items.
full of activity. For the most part, the women
The primary task of early Plains women
participated by providing supplies, outfitting
revolved around providing food for her family.
their husbands for battle, singing in support of
The harvesting of buffalo was the responsibility
departing war parties, sending the warriors off
of the man, but once the game was harvested, it
with prayers for a safe return, and by imploring
became the property of the woman. The women
the warriors to avenge the deaths of those they
of the encampment often followed the men on a
loved. Sometimes young wives turned their
buffalo hunt. They waited by their travois until
children over to the grandmothers and
the harvesting was finished and then they would
accompanied their husbands on raids, helping
rush down to start skinning and cutting up the
out by preparing food, nursing the wounded,
meat. Each carcass had to be quickly attended
and, when necessary, fighting beside the men.
to in order to prevent spoilage, especially during
When the victorious way party returned from
the summer months. The women, skilled in
battle with their spoils, the women had the
cutting the hide away from the meat, were
privilege of dancing during the victory
careful no to damage the hide in the process.
celebration. In many early tribes, the women
Before the hides cooled and became stiff, the
decided the fate of any captured enemy.
women quickly scraped the hides clean of fat
In some communities, wives were allowed
and tissue. They wrapped the meat in fresh
to carry their husband’s war shield on special
buffalo hides and took it back to camp on their
occasions. The shield was perceived as having
travois. The men might help with the heaviest
magical powers to protect the warrior in battle.
work such as turning the animal over, but
The warrior painted a personal symbol of
processing the meat and tanning the hide were
protection on the cherished shield and it was
primarily the women’s responsibility. If the
then strapped onto to the arm with which he
hunters had to travel some distance to where the
held his bow so that his hands were free to use
herd had migrated, the men did the butchering
weapons.
and carried the hide and the meat back to the
It was custom of Plains Indians to instill the
camp where the women waited for their return.
virtue of bravery in both sexes from early
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childhood. In some cases, girls were
encouraged to develop their riding and fighting
skills. Ordinarily, the women left warring and
raiding expeditions to men, but in some
exceptional cases stronger willed women
actually became outstanding warriors. Tribal
legends give accounts of brave women who
were cunning in strategy and skilled in archery
and horsemanship. However, not all women
who engaged in battle always had a choice.
They joined the battle to save themselves and
their children from death or from becoming the
spoils of way—taken from their homes and
becoming captives of their enemies.
An appropriate way to express grief, for
women whose husbands had been killed in
battle, was for the widow to organize a vengeful
raid on the enemy tribe. Sometimes the widow
would be allowed to accompany the war party.
Plains Indians followed certain rituals to show
respect for the dead. An important custom for
the women of many tribes was to mourn the
death their spouses for a year or longer.
Widows in come Plains tribes cut their hair
short, wailed, and slashed their bodies as a
means of ensuring that dead mates would have a
safe journey to the afterlife. In some Plains
tribes the family tipi was burned and its contents
were given away. The widow was taken in and
cared for by members of her tribe. After the
period of mourning, the widow usually
remarried right away, for her skills were vital to
the welfare of the community.
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If a child's name included the word
"buffalo" in it, the Indians believed that the
child would be especially strong and would
mature quickly. And though a name in itself is
not the guarantee of automatic transformation, a
"buffalo" child usually fulfilled the expectations
of others by striving to accomplish what his
name implied. If a warrior was renamed after a
vision or great hunting or war accomplishment,
and his new name included the word "buffalo,"
it meant that the buffalo was his supernatural
helper, or that he exhibited the strength of a
buffalo, or that he was an extraordinary hunter.
In other words, the name described the powers
of the man.
All the Plains tribes had special songs
11
which
they believed would make the buffalo
By Thomas E. Mails
approach their camp areas. And all the tribes
had Dreamers, or holy men, who would conduct
If God was the creator and overseer of life,
secret rites and then prophesy where the buffalo
if the morning star, the moon, and Mother Earth
were most plentiful.
combined their talents to give birth and hope to
Speaking generally, when considering the
the Indians, if the sun was dispatcher of wisdom
energy
put into buffalo calling, it should be
and warmth, then the buffalo was the tangible
recognized that there were many reasons to
and immediate proof of them all, for out of the
want the buffalo herds to come close to the
buffalo came almost everything necessary to
camps. First, the transportation problems were
daily life, including his religious use as an
monumental, since the enormous quantities of
intermediary through which the Great Spirit
meat and heavy hides were not easy to carry
could be addressed, and by which the Spirit
from the hunting areas to the campsites.
often spoke to them. In short, the buffalo was
Second, it was much safer to hunt in one's own
life to the Plains Indians until the white man's
domain. In particular, the penetration of enemy
goods and ways first eliminated and then
territory or even of contested areas was
replaced the animal.
extremely hazardous. A Ponca spokesman, in
Understandably, then a major part of Indian
describing the plight of his tribe, tearfully stated
life was oriented in and around the buffalo
that the more numerous Sioux were cutting the
herds. They moved with them during all but the
Ponca warriors, who were few in number, to
winter months. The buffalo's habits were
pieces because they had to go into Sioux
studied intensely, and in time the Indians put
territory to obtain buffalo. And third, without
virtually every part of the beast to some
the ever-present buffalo all the Indians could not
utilitarian use. In fact, it is almost astounding to
have survived, at least on the Great Plains.
see a graphic breakdown of the uses made of
The buffalo had poor vision, a keen sense
him, of his hide, of his organs, of his muscles, of
of smell, and surprising speed when aroused.
his bones, and of his horns and hoofs. It is
With their short tails sticking straight up and
slight wonder that the Indians reverenced the
their shaggy manes shaking, they ran with a roll
buffalo, related him directly to the Great
in their gallop which easily deceived the
Creator, and be a natural symbol for the
spectator as to the pace they were going. The
universe, and no doubt the other tribes accorded
earth shook as they thundered over it, and not
him a like honor.
every horse could match their speed. “Blind
fury” was an exact description of a charging
11
From Mails, Thomas E. The Mystic Warriors of the
buffalo bull. Its momentum was fantastic. In
Plains. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1995.
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Buffalo:
The Life and
Spirit of the
American
Indian
addition to weight and speed, it had an
complete detail all of the old ways of dealing
impressive height. A mature bull stood six or
with hides. Before 1850 the Indians were using
seven feet at the shoulder hump. Beyond this
woolen and cotton trade cloth in addition to
there was a tough hide, a battering-ram skull
skins, and from 1890 on, trade cloth was almost
with a thick hair pad, and a nervous system that
exclusively used to make clothing.
sometimes kept it moving long after the beast
At their peak, around 60 million buffalo
was technically dead.
were estimated to have lived on the Great
Against these teeming mountains of
Plains. When railroad tracks were laid, the
muscle, the Indian boy or warrior, until he
“iron horse” and buffalo met. Delays occurred
obtained a gun, had only the bow and arrow, the
as buffalo herds took perhaps one half a day to
lance, the long two-edged knife and, of course,
cross the tracks. The railroads saw a way to
the horse, which was really the weapon that
capitalize on this and solve a problem. They
finally sliced the odds between hunter and
advertised hunting by rail, a sport for the “fun”
hunted. Skillfully used, it alone enabled its
of killing because the buffalo were left for dead.
master to catch up with and get away from a
In the East a demand for buffalo robes
stampeding herd.
became an incentive to kill more buffalo.
Accordingly, the buffalo hunt became, in
Leavenworth, Kansas became a trading center
addition to a source of supply, an ideal training
for the robes. This meant year-round work for
ground for military duty on horseback, for the
buffalo hunters who also supplied buffalo meat
two thousand pound Goliaths of blind fury and
to the growing number of U.S. army forts in the
thrust were excellent tests of anyone’s
West. In less than 35 years, the entire
competence and valor as a warrior.
population was estimated at only 1,000. Today
Hunting buffalo was close to warfare in its
it is only 200,000.
demands upon horsemanship and courage. Cool
Native Americans were so dependent were
nerves and sharp reflexes were required of horse
so dependent upon the animal that their entire
and rider in both hunting and war, so the young
culture came to be interrelated with it. It was
brave trained his finest horses in the buffalo
their storehouse, their source of industry, their
hunt until they became like extensions of the
main topic of conversation, and one of the prime
lower part of his own body.
intermediaries between God and man. Its swift
A bow’s length away was the distance
destruction by white hunters, beginning about
hunters had to try for, and the preferred targets
1870 in the south and 1886 in the north, left the
were the intestinal cavity just behind the last rib,
Indians destitute and confused. Life itself as
and just back of the left shoulder and into the
they knew it had been taken suddenly and
heart. At that narrow distance their powerful
cataclysmically away. Little wonder they
bows could sink an arrow into the buffalo’s
fought so furiously for their hunting grounds,
body up to the feather, or even pass it clear
and in the end were so slow to convert to an
through him. A foot closer brought them into
agricultural society, although the reasons for
hooking range, but a foot farther away meant
their reluctance to be converted are exceedingly
losing power and accuracy. Unless the buffalo
complex, and go far beyond the buffalo itself.
was hit in a vital spot, he died slowly, or often
recovered altogether. In either case, he would
race away and was lost to the tribe. After
successfully killing a buffalo, the victor cut out
the buffalo’s liver and ate it raw, seasoned with
gall and still steaming with body hear and
dripping blood.
Once the buffalo became virtually extinct,
and deer and elk scarce, hide preparations and
use came to an end so abruptly that it has not
been possible for scholars to reconstruct in
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Coronado’s
Journey
through New Mexico,
Texas, Oklahoma, and
Kansas12
In Brief
Finding no wealth in Cibola or the
surroundings, Coronado moved his army east to
the pueblos around Albuquerque, on the Rio
Grande River, in September 1540. They spent
the winter there. In these pueblos, Coronado
heard stories of another wealthy trade center,
Quivira, to the northeast. In April 1541, the
entire army marched east to the Texas
panhandle, and in May Coronado and thirty
horsemen rode north to Quivira, which was
located in Kansas. Again finding no wealth,
they returned to the Albuquerque area. In
December, Coronado was injured in a fall from
his horse.
Having found no transportable wealth,
ailing from his injury, and wanting to see his
wife again, Coronado ordered a return of the
army to Mexico in 1542. The expedition was
considered a colossal failure, squandering
fortunes of several participants. Coronado
resigned his governorship of the northwest
frontier of New Spain and retired to his estates.
The Spanish were so disillusioned by the lack of
rich empires that they didn't return north in
substantial numbers for half a century.
Although the Coronado expedition mapped the
northern Gulf, pioneered a route to New
Mexico, explored America all the way to
Kansas, and made the only observations of preEuropean native life, most of this knowledge
was lost.
12
The Main Army Moves to Cibola
and the Naval Expedition Reaches
the Colorado
While Coronado's advance guard fought the
battle of Cibola on July 7, 1540, the main army
was still waiting at the base camp in Corazones,
in central Sonora. After occupying the town of
Hawikuh, Coronado sent out several parties,
including one that discovered the Grand
Canyon, another which went east to discover the
pueblos along the Rio Grande and the plains full
of buffalo herds beyond, and still another to
Corazones. The last group notified the army of
the events, and the army set out for Cibola in
September, reaching there later in the fall.
In the mean time, the naval branch of the
expedition had packed many of the personal
supplies of the soldiers and sailed from
Acapulco May 9, 1540. This expedition was
under the captain, Hernando de Alarcon.
Alarcon reached the Colorado River delta,
which had already been discovered by Francisco
Ulloa in an expedition sent by Cortes in 1539,
but Alarcon sailed further up the river, past
modern day Yuma, in a fruitless search for the
army. He buried a message, which was later
found by party sent out by Coronado, stating
that he had sailed this far and returned home.
Thus, the army was on its own, and the dream of
naval support died.
Moving East from Cibola
After Coronado realized that no gold was to
be found in any of the six or seven towns of the
Cibola province (the present day Zuni
Reservation of west central New Mexico), and
after the main army arrived, Coronado moved in
the last weeks of 1540. He passed the famous
mesa-top pueblo of Acoma, which Marcos de
Niza had first learned about and recorded as
Acus. After a few days they came to the Rio
Grande River, along which were numerous
large, multi-story pueblos. This is a province
the Spaniards called Tiguex (TEE-wish),
probably after a native name.
http://www.psi.edu/coronado/coronadosjourney2.html
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The army spent the winter of 1540-41 in
couldn't find their way back and were lost. This
that area. Although the army made attempts at a
area is identifiable as the Llano Estacado, or
peaceful presence, they were a serious strain on
"Staked Plains" of the Texas panhandle. Finally
the food resources of the area, and several
that found two canyons where they camped.
skirmishes were fought with pueblos, including
In an intriguing tie-in, an old, partly blind
one site now known as Santiago Pueblo. A
informant at one of these Texas panhandle
National Historical Monument is located at the
campsites told the soldiers that he had heard of
ruin of Kuaua Pueblo, a few miles west of
the Cabeza de Vaca party, which had passed
Albuquerque, where the army may have spent
somewhere near there to the south. With a little
some time. Crossbow bolt heads and nails,
more detail, this remark could help us identify
resembling the material at Hawikuh, have been
the route of Cabeza de Vaca's castaways, but no
found at some of these sites, including one bolt
one is sure how far to the south they were.
head reportedly embedded in a Puebloan
At this point, Coronado did the same thing
skeleton at Santiago Pueblo. One of these sites
he had done the previous year. He picked a
is commemorated by a sign along the west side
small, light contingent to travel north to Quivira,
of a highway a few miles southwest of
leaving the main army behind. There are some
Albuquerque.
indications that he was beginning to suspect that
The army was growing more desperate
Quivira would have no more gold than Cibola
during this period. During this period,
did. In any case, he sent the main army back to
Coronado's men sought information about other
their base in pueblos of Tiquex, near
possible wealthy locations. Many of the
Albuquerque, where they arrived in June 1541.
soldiers, not to mention Coronado's wife and
Meanwhile Coronado's small expeditionary
Viceroy Mendoza, had invested their fortunes in
force then set out to the north, and probably in
the expedition, and the only hope of making
July they arrived in the Quivira province, turned
good on this investment was to find gold,
out to be located in Kansas!
jewels, or other transportable wealth that could
The midsummer march across the dry
be plundered from the native people. Because
plains must have been uncomfortable, and once
of their faith in their own religion and the
again the army was disappointed in the
superiority of European culture (not to mention
destination. Although Quivira was an important
theological questions about whether the "Indietrade center to the buffalo-hunting Plains
ans" were actually human), the Spanish army
Indians, it was less impressive than the pueblos
never questioned their assumed moral right to
of New Mexico. As perceived by the Spanish, it
take the property and even the lives of the
was merely a collection of impoverished
"heathen" natives—an age-old problem that has
villagers in mud huts. Coronado stayed about 25
been expressed by many cultures.
days in Quivira, and finally decided to return to
After many interviews, the army learned of
the pueblo country, leaving toward the end of
another important trading center far to the
August, 1541. Some of the soldiers must have
northeast, called Quivira. This center did exist,
decided that this was the end of the line, and
though some historians believe the Puebloans
flung down their heavy armor, because various
exaggerated its importance just to get rid of the
pieces of chain mail have turned up in Kansas.
troublesome Spanish visitors!
On April 23, 1541, the entire army set out
Evidence of Coronado in Kansas
to find Quivira, stopping first at the Pecos
Pueblo, now a National Monument east of
Albuquerque. More Coronado materials have
The evidence that Coronado reached
been found there.
Kansas is well documented but not widely
Leaving Pecos, they traveled east across
known. The army, of course, recorded that they
east-central New Mexico until they reached
had marched many days east and north from
extremely flat plains—so devoid of features that
New Mexico. As early as 1880s, a piece of
some men who set out from army camps to hunt
chain mail turned up in central Kansas, and
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locals proclaimed that it was Coronado material
and Quivira was in Kansas. Others questioned
this, however; the chain mail might have come
from later Spaniards such as Oñate, in 1601, or
been traded into the region by Indians. Writing
in 1994, however, archaeologist Waldo Wedel
documented numerous fragments of chain mail,
from six sites scattered over a few miles in
central Kansas, and only in that area. Many of
these are from caches made by Indians, and thus
are material buried by Indian hands, not directly
part of a known Coronado Army campsite.
Trade pottery from the New Mexico pueblos is
also abundant in the area, affirming that this was
a specific destination region for Pueblo traders.
Although native people may have moved the
material over short distances, it is unlikely that
all the material was moved en mass. Wedel thus
locates Quivira near Lyons, Kansas.
The Retreat
Coronado marched quickly back to the Rio
Grande pueblos, arriving October 2, 1541.
Some time in December he fell from his horse
and hit his head. This injury took some time to
heal, and Coronado seems to have become
despondent over his failure to find gold, his
injury, and his separation from his wife. During
the cold weeks of January 1542, in the
Albuquerque pueblo country, Coronado decided
that the army should return to Mexico, empty
handed. Return meant that the investments
would be abandoned and the soldiers would
return bankrupt. Some of the soldiers tried to
talk the general out of his decision, probably
arguing that they should stay, explore the new
land, and perhaps find mineral deposits that
could be worked by native labor, as was being
done in Mexico. Coronado overruled them and
the return began in the spring of 1542.
On the way home, near the campsite at the
ruin of Chichilticale, he met up with a relief
army on its way north. Many of the fresh troops
argued for a glorious return to the
Cibola/Tiquex country, but Coronado talked
them out of it. The armies returned home,
numerous soldiers dropping out and settling
near Culiacán or Compostela rather than return
to Mexico City in shame.
An Alternate History: A Southern
Empire from Florida to Mexico
Ironically, at the time of the march to
Quivira in 1541, Hernando de Soto's army was
probing west from Florida. In May of 1541, at
the same time Coronado was dividing his army
in the Panhandle of Texas and starting north to
Kansas, de Soto was crossing to the west bank
of the Mississippi River. The armies may have
passed within some hundreds of miles of each
other. All the time that Coronado was in Kansas
and marching back to the Albuquerque area, de
Soto probing west of the Mississippi, where he
died on the Red River in April of 1542. If the
two armies had met up, they might have
considered their expeditions as much more
successful. Such a linkage could have formed a
string of base camps and eventual settlement
along the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas
and on around to the Spanish towns on the
Mexican coast. Without such a link, and
without a good way to measure longitude, the
Spanish of the 1500s never really understood
how far North America stretched from east to
west. Since the Spaniards in Florida were never
able to link up with those in Mexico, the
Spaniards of the mid 1500s went on believing
that these lands were independent islands of the
"West Indies." If the Spanish had established
ports along the coast, it is possible that all of the
southern U.S. might have been permanently
settled by Spain in the later 1500s and 1600s,
instead of being claimed later by the French in
New Orleans and the U.S.
Significance of Coronado's
Expedition
Coronado's expedition remains a paradox of
history and an object lesson in not capitalizing
on a discovery. On the one hand, they carried
out an amazing exploration of central North
America several generations before the Pilgrims
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landed on Plymouth Rock! Undeniably, they
displayed great courage and stamina. But
because they had the idea that "wealth" must be
gold and jewels, and because their economic
system required that they get rich quick instead
of creating self-sustaining agricultural
settlements, they did not recognize value in the
fertile valleys and mineral-rich hills through
which they passed. It was only because of their
own worldview that they were forced to return
home as failures. They were among the first
exponents of the peculiarly American slash-andburn dream of getting rich quick at the expense
of the land and the people, without any long
term investment—and because of this perverted
dream, they failed to recognize their
possibilities for success and pursued their own
path toward self-perceived failure.
Spanish
Exploration of
Oklahoma
1599-1792
By A.B. Thomas13
Introductory
We do not customarily associate Oklahoma
with the Spanish Southwest, but the Spaniards
in their thinking and actions closely linked the
region with their possessions in this part of
North America. For present Oklahoma, like
Colorado and Arkansas, formed, from the
Spanish point of view, an important unit in their
long frontier line which ran disjointedly from
eastern Texas to New Mexico. Necessarily,
therefore, of this area and its people, the
Spaniards took particular note in their frontier
calculations, whether in hopefully searching for
new lands, appeasing the Indians, or planning to
hold back aggressive French, English, and
Americans.
In the seventeenth and early eighteenth
centuries Spanish pioneers brought parts of
present Oklahoma well within the orbit of their
extensive explorations about New Mexico. In
the later eighteenth century other equally
energetic Spaniards traversed the region
westward along the Arkansas River, northward
out of Texas, and finally eastward again from
Old Santa Fe. In this work the forerunner was
Coronado. His expedition, besides being the
first to cross the region, brought into view
certain Indian tribes—the Querechose of eastern
New Mexico, the Teyas in the upper Brazos
13
Thomas, A.B. “Spanish Exploration of Oklahoma
1599-1792.” Chronicles of Oklahoma. Vol. 6, No.
2, June 1928.
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River of Texas, and Quiviras beyond the
Arkansas River that constantly thereafter
attracted Spanish attention. Later Spaniards
revealed further customs both of these tribes and
ones found within present Oklahoma itself,
threw light on the various relations existing
between themselves, the tribes of neighboring
areas, and the Europeans who subsequently
came to settle in the lands surrounding.
Such is the significance of the explorations
considered here, which span the period from
1599 to 1792.
expansion. Of the series of explorations
between 1580 and 1598, which opened this new
movement, only Humaña and Leyba in 15921593, so far as is known, explored parts of
present Oklahoma. Leaving Mexico without
proper authority, these adventurers sojourned
among the Pueblos for a year and then made off
towards Quivira, accompanied by an Indian
named Joseph. Like Coronado they
encountered shortly beyond Pecos the
Querechos; wandering further to the east and
north they reached eventually, beyond two large
rivers an extensive pueblo of grass lodges,
surrounded by cultivated fields. Continuing still
northward, they came to another larger river and
then attempted to return. Only their guide,
Joseph, however, reached New Mexico alive. In
later years it was learned that they had visited
Indians now within present Oklahoma, and
Humaña and Leyba 1592-1593
Kansas.
After Coronado, the Spaniards advanced
Five years later, in the spring of 1598, Juan
more slowly towards the regions he had
de
Oñate,
of a proud old family, led forth from
penetrated. Effectively established in northern
northern
Mexico
a colony, composed of four
Mexico by 1580 these colonizers were in that
hundred men, women, and children, eighty-three
year again contemplating the further extension
wagons and carts, and more than seven thousand
of their civilization. Missionary zeal, greed, and
head of cattle, that established Spain in New
fear of foreign aggression stimulated this new
Mexico. From his base at San Juan, near later
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Spanish Exploration of Oklahoma
1599-1719
Santa Fe, Oñate hunted for the treasures of a
them traveling, the ends of the poles dragging
second Mexico. Meanwhile in 1599 the more
on the ground, nearly all of them snarling in
prosaic demands of his colonists sent forth his
their encounters, traveling one after another on
lieutenant, Vincente de Saldivar Mendoza, to
their journey. In order to lead them the Indian
the eastern plains for a supply of buffalo fat.
women seize their heads between their knees
Proceeding by way of Pecos the party soon
and thus load them or adjust the load, which is
encountered a band of Indians whom they
seldom required, because they travel along, at a
referred to as Apachi, and who fruitlessly
steady pace as if they had been trained by means
begged the Spaniards’ aid against their enemy
of reins.” In another place the sargento mayor
the Jumano. Beyond, about one hundred and
adds to his description: “The Indians are
thirty miles from Pecos the soldiers built a huge
numerous in all that land. They live in
cottonwood enclosure near the Canadian River.
rancherias in the hide tents hereinbefore
They had poor success, however, in corralling
mentioned. They always follow the cattle, and
wild buffalo though they finally secured about a
in their pursuit they are as well sheltered in their
ton of tallow. There, near the present Texastents as they could be in any house. They eat
New Mexico line the Spaniards described
meat almost raw, and much tallow and suet,
informingly the Indians whom they found. Near
which serves them as bread, and with a chunk of
the Canadian itself they met many herdsmen
meat in one hand and a piece of tallow in the
who had just crossed the stream, “coming from
other, they bite first on one and then on the
trading with the Picuries and Taos, populous
other and grow up magnificently strong and
pueblos of this New Mexico, where they sell
courageous. Their weapons consist of flint and
meat, hides, tallow, suet, and salt in exchange
very large bows, after the manner of the Turks.
for cotton blankets, pottery, maize, and some
They saw some arrows with long thick points,
small green stones which they use.” Nearby in a
although few, for the flint is better than spears to
ranchería, Saldivar found “fifty tents made of
kill cattle. They kill them at the first shot with
tanned hides, very bright red and white in color
the greatest skill, while ambushed in brush
and bell-shaped, with flaps and openings, and
blinds made at the watering places, as all saw
built as skillfully as those of Italy and so large
who went there . . .”
that in the most ordinary ones four different
mattresses, and beds were easily
Oñate 1601
accommodated. The tanning is so fine that
Three years later Oñate himself set out for
although it should rain bucketfuls it will not
the East in the hope of locating there the
pass through nor stiffen the hide, but rather
rumored rich kingdom of Quivira. There is little
upon drying it remains as soft and pliable as
doubt as to Oñate’s general route. His map and
before. This being so wonderful Saldivar
account of his journey show that he followed the
wanted to experiment, and, cutting off a piece of
Canadian River one hundred and eleven leagues
hide from one of the tents, it was soaked and
to the Antelope Hills region in Western
placed to dry in the sun, but it remained as
Oklahoma. From this point the party turned
before, and as pliable as if it had never been
northeast and reached some Indian lodges just
wet. The sargento mayor bartered for a tent and
across the Arkansas River near present day
brought it to camp, and although it was so very
Wichita. Along the first part of his route to the
large, as has been stated, it did not weigh over
Antelope Hills region, Indians called “Apachi”
two arrobas.” To carry the tent poles, supplies
were first encountered at the point where the
of meat and pinole or maize, the “Indians use a
Canadian turns to the east in Eastern New
medium-sized shaggy dog, which is their
Mexico, “Here some Indians of the nation
substitute for mules. They drive great trains of
Apache came out with signs of peace . . . raising
them. Each, girt round its breast and haunches,
their hands to the sun, which is the ceremony
and carrying a load of flour of at least one
they use as a sign of friendship, and brought to
hundred pounds, travels as fast as his master. It
us some small black and yellow fruit of the size
is a sight worth seeing and very laughable to see
of small tomatoes, which is plentiful on all that
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river. . . .” After this meeting Apaches were
reaped, but lived solely on the cattle. They were
frequently encountered. “In some places we
ruled and governed by chiefs, and like
came across camps of people of the Apache
communities which are freed from subjection to
nation, who are the ones who possess these
any lord, they obeyed their chiefs but little.
plains, and who, having neither a fixed place or
They had large quantities of hides which,
site of their own, go from place to place with the
wrapped about their bodies, served them as
cattle always following them. They did not
clothing, but the weather being hot, all of the
disturb us at all, although we were in their land,
men went about nearly naked, the women being
nor did any Indian become impolite. We
clothed from the waist down. Men and women
therefore passed on always close to the river,
alike used bows and arrows, with which they
and although on one day we might be delayed in
were very dexterous.”
our journey by very heavy rains, such as are
These Indians, as indicated on Oñate’s map
common in those plains, on the following day
and in other sources, were called Escanjaques.
and thereafter we journeyed on, sometimes
They guided the explorers to the Arkansas
crossing the river at very good fords.” Near the
River. The Indians “in a few hours quickly,
Antelope Hills region the party left the
built a rancheria as well established as the one
Canadian, apparently following Commission
left behind, which caused no little wonder to
Creek. “Having traveled to reach this place one
all.” Here the main body halted, for, as they
hundred and eleven leagues, it became
claimed, the Indians beyond were their enemies.
necessary to leave the river, as there appeared
From other accounts, however, some of the
ahead some sand dunes; and turning from the
Escanjaques, apparently went on with the
east to the north, we traveled up a small stream
Spaniards. Across the Arkansas, in Quivira near
until we discovered the Great Plains covered
present Wichita, the Spaniards found extensive
with innumerable cattle. We found constantly
settlements containing several thousand Indians.
better roads and better land.” After crossing
There they visited several rancherias and wrote
several small streams they “discovered a large
in considerable detail concerning the life they
rancheria with more than five thousand souls;
saw and the Quivira grass habitations. Their
and although the people were warlike, as it later
descriptions of the latter bear a striking
developed, and although at first they began to
resemblance to those of the Wichita grass
place themselves in readiness to fight by signs
lodges. These Indians treated the Spaniards
of peace they were given to understand that we
well, allowed them to move about their
were not warriors, and they became so friendly
rancherias and obligingly informed them of their
with us that some of them came that night to our
country.
camp and entertained us with wonderful reports
They told Oñate, as had the Escanjaques, of
of the people further on.” The next day the
Humaña’s residence among them, but
Spaniards moved forward to this rancheria but
disclaimed any part in their death.
cautiously stopped within an arquebus shot of
Some of these Quiviras shortly developed a
their settlement. “From there the governor and
hostile attitude and Oñate, petitioned by his
the priets went with more than thirty armed
soldiers, set out to return. Their route was
horsemen to investigate the people and the
disputed by the Escanjaques with whom they
rancheria, and they, all drawn up in regular
fought a bloody battle, and then continued their
order in front of their ranchos, began to raise the
journey to reach New Mexico on November
palms of their hands towards the sun, which is
24th.
the sign of peace among them. Assuring them
Oñate’s expedition to the Quiviras was, of
that peace was what we wanted, all the people,
course, an event of importance to the Quiviras
women, youths, and small children, came to
themselves and soon after the Spaniards’ return
where we were; and they consented to our
they sent an embassy to secure the aid of the
visiting their homes, most of which were
newcomers against the defeated Escanjaques.
covered with tanned hides, making resemble
The incident is described in 1626 by the priesttents. They were not people who sowed or
historian, Zarate Salmeron, of New Mexico,
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who wrote, while the achievements of Oñate
were still familiarly known to the New
Mexicans, that there was sent, “from Quivira an
Indian ambassador of high standing and gravity.
He brought with him six hundred servants with
bows and arrows who served him. He Arrived
and gave his message inviting the Spaniards
with his friendship and lands to help him fight
against their enemies, the Ayjaos.” The Ayjaos
seem to be but another name for the
Escanjaques for a later account furnished by an
equally distinguished and well-known New
Mexico writer, Father Posadas, writing in 1686,
states that the Aijados Indians had accompanied
Oñate into the land of the Quivira and proposed
to burn their houses. The commander forbade
this act of hostility and as a result the Aijados
attacked the Spaniards in a great battle.
Baca 1634
For the remainder of the seventeenth
century information concerning the eastern
plains, particularly for the area within present
Oklahoma, is scanty. At present, the only
known expedition that apparently crossed the
region was that of Captain Alonzo Baca, 1634,
who, accompanied by some Indian allies,
marched three hundred leagues east of Santa Fe.
Arriving on the banks of a large river, his allies,
like Oñate’s Escanjaques, refused to cross and
warned Baca that if he continued the Quivira
tribes beyond would eventually kill him and his
men. The Spaniards, too few to go on alone,
returned to New Mexico.
Thus Spanish explorations to 1634 had
added to the earlier information supplied by
Coronado concerning the Oklahoma region.
The area in Eastern New Mexico and the
Panhadle of Texas, occupied by the Querechos
of Coronado and the Vaqueros of Humaña, is
found occupied by Indians; doubtless the same
tribe called by 1634 the Apache. Beyond them
have appeared the Escanjaques in present
Oklahoma, in warlike relations with the
Quiviras across the Arkansas River. Who the
Escanjaques were is as yet un-determined, for
there is no known mention of them again in
Spanish records.
De Vargas 1696
For the moment, however, we must note the
activities of Governor de Vargas, whose
reconquest of New Mexico compelled him to
engage in the fall of 1696 in an expedition to the
east. In that year some Pueblos, adamantly
refusing to accept the Spanish king and God,
rebelled and fled from their homes eastward
over the Taos Mountains. De Vargas, setting
out at once from the Picuries Pueblo recaptured,
after an exciting chase, the majority of the
rebels but the rest escaped in the company of
some Apaches. The governor’s journal of the
event does not give sufficient information to
state how far he penetrated on this march. He
later stated he traveled eighty-four leagues; but
whether this is the distance for one or both ways
is not clear. His entire journey, going and
coming, however, consumed only seventeen
days, two of which were spent in camp because
of a blinding snowstorm. Colonel Twitchell,
nevertheless, has interpreted his remark and the
diary to mean that the journey took de Vargas
eastward beyond Clayton, New Mexico, into the
western Panhandle of present Oklahoma.
In the following year, 1697, the Reconquest
of New Mexico was completed but the reoccupation of the lost province still presented
serious problems to the Spaniards. Constantly
on the qui vive against a new uprising, they
were quick both to investigate suspicious
rumors of revolt and to lend helpful hands to the
Pueblo Indians. In this latter spirit the governor
dispatched in 1706 an expedition to the far off
Cuartelejos to bring back the fugitives who
escaped de Vargas in 1696, and others there
enslaved, and who now sought the privilege of
returning to their kinsmen. The expedition,
commanded by Captain Juan de Uribarri,
journeyed through the Jicarilla country of
northeastern New Mexico, the Carlana country
south of the Arkansas and then eastward from
near present day Pueblo, Colorado, to the
Cuartelejos in eastern Colorado. These savages
received the expedition with genuine
expressions of friendship, offered no objection
to the loss of their slaves and servants but
loaded the Pueblo ponies high with corn and
sent off Spaniards and Indians rejoicing.
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Uribarri’s expedition is important to
Oklahoma’s history. For the first known time
there appears, in Uribarri’s notes, the Indian
name of the Arkansas River, Rio Napestle. The
commander first noted the Arkansas under this
name when he crossed it in the foothill region
near present Pueblo, Colorado. Thereafter, until
the early nineteenth century the stream was
always spoken of in New Mexico as the Rio
Napestle. Finally, however, the usage of the
French, Arkansas, applied to the lower reaches
of the stream was carried westward by the
Americans and succeeded in displacing this
original Indian name.
French and Spanish Exploration
of Oklahoma 1713-1763
Eighteenth century history of present
Oklahoma can also be studied through the
approach of the French from Louisiana and that
of the Spaniards who come north to the Red
River from their settlements in Central Texas.
However, the activities of the French, but
briefly summarized here, will be considered
only as they bear upon Spanish exploration of
the region.
The French entered present Oklahoma from
two directions; west/southwest from their
Illinois settlements through the Osage country,
and northwest from Louisiana via the Red,
Arkansas, and Canadian rivers. As early as
1703 expeditions from Illinois traded towards
New Mexico; thereafter the movement from that
direction developed rapidly and joined with the
one coming from the southeast. This latter
advance was led by St. Denis, the well-known
Frenchman who dominated the lower Red River
valley in the early part of the eighteenth century
from his post at Natchitoches, in present
Louisiana. From there French influence
extended itself into present eastern and northern
Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. In 1719 the
Nasonite post was founded among the
Cadadocho just beyond the southeast boundary
of Oklahoma. In 1719 La Harpe established
another trading center among the Cadadoches
tribes, visited the Touacaras then living near the
mouth of the Canadian River and proposed a
third post for that region. At the same time Du
Rivage was sent up the Red River to extend
French control in that direction. Paralleling this
penetration at the moment was the expedition of
Du Tisné who, coming southwest from the
Osage, visited and made an alliance with the
Pawnees on the Arkansas River where he left a
flag flying to indicate French possession. Two
years later, 1721, in exploring the Arkansas
River, La Harpe’s travels took him about half
way to the mouth of the Canadian.
Most of these French explorations had for
their object, besides Indian commerce, the
opening of a trading route via these streams to
New Mexico. We have already seen the earliest
indications of this advance in the Spanish
reports of the French, Plawnee, and Jumano
attack on the Cuartelejos. But the French about
this time, 1720, as noted above, found
themselves blocked by two powerful tribes of
Indians. The Apaches along the Red River were
hostile to these westward moving Europeans
who traded with their enemies, the Indians of
Northern Texas and present Oklahoma, known
to the Spaniards as the Norteños. North of the
Red, along the Arkansas and South Platte rivers
the Comanches on their part were averse to
French traders supplying weapons to their
enemies beyond, the Apaches. Finally, the
Spaniards themselves took definite steps to
encourage Apache enmity to prevent the French
approach to New Mexico. Indeed, the Viceroy
of New Spain wrote to the Governor of New
Mexico in 1719 that he should take particular
care to win the Apaches to the Spanish
allegiance so that they might be used with those
allied with the Spaniards in Texas, to prevent
French entrance into Spanish dominions. As a
result, this tribal rivalry and Spanish policy,
successfully shut off the advance of French
traders until about the middle of the century.
Meanwhile, on their side, the French traders and
officials concentrated their efforts on persuading
the Comanches and Apaches to let them pass
beyond. Much of this little-known struggle took
place on the soil of what is now Oklahoma.
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Spanish Exploration of Oklahoma
1763-1793
traders the sensible plan was to utilize the
services of the French agents who had remained
in the province after the transfer to accustom the
Norteños to Spanish rule. This policy was
accordingly adopted.
Two Frenchmen appointed as Indian
agents, De Villiers and De Mezieres, were to
render signal service to Spain in this capacity
among the Norteños. Happily the work of
Athanase De Mezieres in Northern Texas has
been thoroughly studied and his achievements
given their proper recognition.
The transference of Louisiana to Spain in
1763 had its effect upon the frontier Indian
policy of New Spain particularly with regard to
the region considered here. With the acquisition
of Louisiana, Spain’s frontier advanced from
Texas to the Mississippi River, beyond which
were the expanding English colonies. As a
result of this advance, the Norteños, i.e., the
Indian tribes of Northern Texas, the Red River
Valley, and adjacent regions, heretofore beyond
De Mezieres 1772
the frontier and, as we have seen, under French
De Mezieres set about immediately to carry
influence, were now brought into the empire.
out his new duties. In 1770 he secured the
Their location accordingly presented a real
attendance of powerful chiefs of the Taovayas,
problem for they were in a strategic position, on
Tawaknoi, Yscanis, and Kichai tribes at a
the one hand in the rear of the Spanish Illinoiscouncil near present Texarkana. There they
Louisiana settlements and on the other north of
promised their friendship and signed treaties
those in Texas. Consequently over these
drawn up in 1771 at Natchitoches. Next, in
Indians, their former enemies, the Spaniards
1772, De Mezieres made an extensive journey
now had to extend their control.
through the northern tribes to explore their
To meet these new conditions, Spanish
country, learn the strength, and investigate
officials characteristically made careful
rumors of English trading among them. From
preparation by ordering a survey of the whole
Natchitoches he went to the Trinity River,
region so that all frontier relations could be
thence up the Brazos to the Wichita Indians in
viewed in their proper perspective. The
Northern Texas. From there he communicated
undertaking was entrusted to the Marqués de
with the Taovayas, on the Red River. From his
Rubi in 1767. When his tour of the frontier was
reports of this extensive exploration we learn
completed, he drew up recommendations that
that the Taovayas were procuring English goods
were incorporated, practically as submitted in a
in exchange for stolen horses and that the
royal order issued in 1772, known as the “New
northern tribes were being hard pressed by the
Regulation of Presidios.” For our purposes here
Osage. Indeed, his report of the hostility of the
it is sufficient to note that the New Regulations
Oasge towards the Spanish and their Indian
provided for the abandonment of Western Texas
allies is paralleled by similar reports from the
since that region was now protected from the
Spanish commandant, Don Pedro Piernas, at St.
English colonists by Louisiana. Meanwhile
Louis and from the commandant at the Arkansas
measures had been taken to win over the
post.
Norteños and thereby protect the Texas
In 1776 a further administrative change was
establishments from attack. Here the Spaniards
put into effect on the northern frontier of New
readily perceived the elements of their problem.
Spain. This was the establishment of the
For one thing they recognized that the Norteños
Privincias Internas, a department composed of
were subject to the growing influence of English
the provinces from California to Texas
traders who had for many years prior been
inclusive, of which El Cavallero de Croix, a
crossing the Mississippi River to operate among
great but little known administrator of western
the Indians of the western bank, even as far as
North America, was made the first Commanderpresent Oklahoma and Arkansas. Secondly, the
General. His most important problem was to
Spaniards realized that since these Norteños had
check Indian raids on the northern frontiers of
long been accustomed to the influence of French
New Spain, of whom the Apaches of Western
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Texas were the greatest offenders. De Croix
immediately laid plans to use the Norteños,
Apache enemies, with Spanish forces in a joint
campaign into Western Texas. A council was
held accordingly at Monclova, and a later one in
January, 1778, at San Antonio whence De
Mezieres was summoned from Louisiana. To
prepare the Norteños for their role, De Mezieres
set out in March to visit the northern tribes. On
this occasion he reached the Taovayas villages
on the Red River after passing through the
northern tribes of Texas about the Brazos. From
the Taovayas villages he sent a warning to the
Comanches. His visit informed him, too, that in
1777 English traders had pushed their way in
the year before into these very villages, on the
far side of present Oklahoma, a circumstance
that impelled him to write De Croix urging a
Spanish settlement among the Taovayas. On his
return to Natchitoches he brought back Parilla’s
cannon left there after the battle of 1759,
recounted above. Shortly afterward De
Mezieres was transferred to Texas from
Louisiana to control the Norteños from San
Antonio instead of Eastern Texas. His death in
1779 and Spain’s entry into our Revolutionary
War, partly altered De Croix’s plans in this
quarter for the joint campaign against the
Apaches. De Meziere’s contribution to our
subject is considerable. His marches reveal the
importance attached to the tribes of the area
within and about present Oklahoma; his reports
show that the English have definitely replaced
the French as a menace to the frontier here, and
finally, his activities center attention on the
Taovayas now friendly to Spanish control. In
the next decade the Taovayas assume further
importance in Spanish frontier explorations.
between New Mexico and Texas. Apache and
Comanche hostility, however, was the chief
factor in preventing the opening of this route.
During the eighteenth century the French traders
had learned how to conciliate the Comanche and
Apache, and De Mezieres and others had in
large part transferred this affection for French
traders to the Spaniards, so that the foundations
were laid for the efforts now to be successfully
made. Pedro Vial, another Frenchman, whose
experience among the Indians between Texas
and New Mexico well fitted him for the
undertaking, was in 1786 the first to be
commissioned for this purpose. In that year,
directed by the governor of Texas, Don
Domingo Cabello, Vial set out to explore a
direct route from San Antonio to Santa Fe.
Leaving on October 4th, he went north to the
Colorado River, turned east to the Brazos,
followed that stream sixty-two leagues and then
branched off to the Taovayas, northeast on the
Red River. Leaving the Taovayas on January 8,
1787, Vial moved along the Red River to a
Comanche village where he remained until
February 18th when he renewed his journey up
the Red thence north to the Canadian, finally
making his way to Santa Fe on May 26th, after
having passed through several Comanche
villages. Vial thus established the fact that
communication was not impossible and that the
Comanches and other tribes were friendly.
In 1788 Vial set out on his return to Texas.
This time his objective was Natchitoches.
Accompanied by Francisco Xavier Fragoso and
thirty soldiers, he left Santa Fe on June 24th,
1788, taking apparently a route between that of
his first journey and that of Mares’, to the
Taovayas. There his escort left him and after
four days returned to Santa Fe. Vial himself
Vial 1786-1792
reached Natchitoches on August 20th, passing
Another important problem raised by the
after leaving the Sabine the ranchos of six
adding of Louisiana to the Spanish possessions
Frenchmen and one Englishman. In 1789 Vial
was that of establishing effective
again set out from San Antonio for Santa Fe.
communication between the widely separated
On this journey, however, he left the Brazos
centers of St. Louis, San Antonio and Santa Fe.
near the junction of the ninety-fifth meridian
In the solving of this problem, much of the
and the thirty-third parallel and went northwest
resulting exploration between these points
directly to Santa Fe, consuming slightly less
passed through present Oklahoma. Before this
than two months. From the above account of
time, plans, one of which appeared as early as
these travels it will be observed that all except
1630, had been proposed to establish routes
the last passed through the Taovayas, a fact
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which indicates the strategic importance of this
trader and on the 16th, having secured a pirogue
part of the Spanish frontier then within present
from three other traders going to St. Louis,
Oklahoma.
followed the stream to the Missouri and thence
Vial’s extensive experience and successes
to their destination. Arriving there on October
entitled him to further honors and he was
6th Vial presented his credentials and diary to
accordingly selected by the viceroy in 1792 to
Zenon Trudeau, the Spanish commandant, and
open a route between New Mexico and St.
told him that had they not encountered obstacles
Louis. The governor of New Mexico, Fernando
they could have made the journey in twenty-five
de la Concha, drew up Vial’s instructions.
days. Vial’s journey is particularly interesting
Accompanied by two young men Vial was to
in that it is the first to connect St. Louis and
leave New Mexico via Pecos, march east to the
Santa Fe along the approximate route followed
villages of the Magages, thence east northeast to
takes by the caravall trade to New Mexico.
the Missouri River nearest to Los Ylinneses
(Illinois). On this journey Vial was careful to
Conclusion
note all landmarks, rivers, the direction of their
flow, tablelands, etc., and Indian tribes that he
encountered. His faithfulness in this respect
This study of Spanish exploration in and
enables us here to trace the general route of his
about the region of present Oklahoma brings
travels.
into view some important considerations. It is
Vial set out on May 21, 1792, from Santa
strikingly evident that Spanish sources
Fe. Shortly after leaving the Pecos River they
contribute much to the Indian history of this
lost a day in camp with a band of Comanches
area. The names, locations of tribes, unknown
and a Spanish interpreter coming from San
heretofore in some cases, can therein be
th
Antonio. On the 26 they renewed their journey
determined; their customs and their relations
to the Canadian River which they reached on the
with neighboring tribes indicated; and the part
29th. Thereafter until June 22nd the party
they played in the international struggle carried
followed the Canadian along Oñate’s old route.
on by Europeans for this region, understood. In
On that day they left the stream to turn northeast
the second place, as appears here, long before
towards the Arkansas. Apparently they left the
the advent of Pike, Wilkinson, Dunbar, and
Canadian about the Antelope Hills region.
other explorers of the early nineteenth century,
Their northeast journey took them across several
much of the territory and the principal rivers of
streams in this part of Oklahoma and southern
present Oklahoma and adjacent states was
Kansas to the Arkansas which they reached on
explored by Spaniards and Frenchmen. Thirdly,
the 27th. Without doubt they came upon the
there is revealed in our knowledge of this
latter where it turns to the northeast for, Vial,
frontier some gaps that await research.
after spending the 28th in camp, took up the
Particularly does the period of French control
journey on the 29th. They shortly encountered
and influence over the tribes beyond those
Indians who took possession of their horses, cut
revealed by Spanish exploration, need
off the clothes of Vial and his companions, and
investigation. Likewise the work of the Spanish
threatened to kill them. However, one of the
traders after 1763 from St. Louis among the
savages, a former servant in St. Louis,
Osages and beyond, and from the Arkansas post
recognizing Vial, interceded and fortunately
westward into present Arkansas and Oklahoma
saved the lives of the party. The explorers were
presents a fascinating study. Finally, this survey
then forced to remain with the hunters until
of but a small corner of Spain’s immense empire
August 16th when they were permitted to set out
suggests the fundamental nature of her
once more, though still naked, for the northeast.
contribution to North American civilization.
A ten days’ journey of about fifty leagues
brought them to a Cances village on the river of
the Kances River. On September 11th they
secured some clothes from a passing French
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extending west to the Spanish possessions of
New Mexico, and embracing mainly the present
states of Arkansas and Oklahoma—that country
drained by the Arkansas, Verdigris and
Canadian rivers. The history of this wedgeshaped country has been treated as only
secondary to that of the country to the north and
to the south; while its history has been just as
distinct and important. The history of this
country, especially of Oklahoma, could be
written around the quest of the white man to
find great riches, as the Gran Quivira, and the
Seven Cities of Cibola, for which the Spaniards
14
sought. The trade with the Spanish Southwest,
By Anna Lewis
Taos and Santa Fe, lured the French into this
country. Then, last, but not least, Indian trade,
The same year that Benjamin Franklin,
free land, mines and oil have brought other
John Jay, and John Adams signed the treaty of
white men into this country.
Paris, 1788, making the Thirteen Colonies free
The French explorers of this country have
and independent states of America, Jacobo du
left many traces in the naming of the rivers and
Breuil, Commander of Fort Charles III on the
mountains. And especially did they leave a
Arkansas, celebrated the hundredth anniversary
marked influence upon the Indians with whom
of that Post. For this celebration a great council
they came in contact. Among the Choctaws,
of the Arkansas chiefs was held, of which du
there was a legend handed down from father to
Breuil, in his report, says, "for this occasion we
son that the French king was coming and with
fired two cannon shots and each took twenty
his coming all would be well. Even today this
pounds of gunpowder."
legend is familiar to the older members of the
The earliest history of the Arkansas region
tribe. The first French explorers in the Arkansas
dates back to Hernando de Soto, 1542. From
region, of whom we have any knowledge, were
his expedition we get the first geographical
Father Marquette and Joliet, who came down
knowledge of the region, and our first real
the Mississippi River as far as the Arkansas
history of the Indians in the southwest. Other
River. Father Marquette drew a map of this
expeditions into this region came with the same
western region, and on his map the Mississippi
object in mind, in search of the Gran Quivira.
River descended only to the mouth of the
Coronado, 1541, "crossed the Texas Panhandle
Arkansas. The next visit by the white man to
and Oklahoma, and reached Quivira in eastern
this region was that of Father Hennipen in 1680.
Kansas." The explorations of De Soto and
But it was left for La Salle and Tonty to take
Coronado were the most elaborate efforts made
possession of this country and to establish the
by the Spaniards into the interior of North
first post.
America, and, in some respects, never surpassed
On March 14, 1682, La Salle reached the
in the later history of the country. Other
villages
on the Arkansas, took possession of the
explorations were made by the Spaniards, but it
country in the name of France, erected the arms
was left to the French to make the first
of the king, and planted a cross. Father Zenobia
permanent settlement.
Membre, who accompanied La Salle, related
The Arkansas region includes that part of
this act in a truly missionary way. "I took
our country between the Illinois country on the
occasion to explain something of the truth of
north, and the Natchitoches on the South
God, and the mysteries of our redemption, of
which they saw the arms. During this time they
14
Lewis, Anna. “French Interests and Activities in
showed that they relished what I said, by raising
Oklahoma.” Chronicles of Oklahoma. Vol. 2, No.
their eyes to heaven and kneeling as if to adore.
3, September 1924.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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French
Interests and
Activities in
Oklahoma
We also saw them rub their hands over their
bodies after rubbing them over the cross. In
fact, on our return from the sea, we found that
they had surrounded the cross with a palisade."
This was the formal taking possession of the
Arkansas region.
While in the Arkansas region, La Salle gave
Tonty a grant of land, and it was on this grant
that the historic old Arkansas post was founded.
Here Tonty built a house and fort in 1683. This
statement, with that of du Breuil that, in 1783,
the post celebrated its hundredth anniversary,
gives evidence of the fact that the Arkansas Post
was established soon after the return of La Salle
and Tonty from the first expedition to the mouth
of the Mississippi, or, at least that they must
have reckoned their beginning from that date.
After leaving the Arkansas, La Salle
reached the mouth of the Mississippi in April,
where he took possession of the great valley,
naming it, in honor of the King, Louisiana. La
This hazardous undertaking and the failure to
find La Salle is one of the romantic incidents in
the early history of the Southwest. On the
return trip, Tonty made alliances with various
Indian nations along the Mississippi. He says,
"When we were at Arkansas, ten of the
Frenchmen who accompanied me asked for a
settlement on the Arkansas River, on a grant
that La Salle had given me on our first voyage.
I granted the request to some of them. They
remained there to build a house surrounded with
stakes. The rest accompanied me to Illinois, in
order to get what they wanted. We arrived in
Illinois, June 24, 1686." Tonty must be ranked
next only to La Salle, in his contribution toward
the exploration and settlement of the Mississippi
Valley.
This was the beginning of one of the oldest
French posts in the southwest; and from this
post, France made treaties with the different
Indian tribes, in her efforts to keep back both
Salle now planned a colony at the mouth of the
English and Spanish, the Spaniards pushed in
Mississippi, and for this purpose returned to
from the Southwest, and the English from the
France to make definite arrangements. In the
Carolinas, using the same methods to get control
summer of 1684, La Salle left France with a
of the Indians through trade and by alliances.
colony to establish this settlement. Tonty, in
The Arkansas Post was not only for the
order to aid La Salle, descended the Mississippi.
purpose of material gain. Tonty, like many
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other early explorers, was a missionary in
advantage in numbers and bases of supplies.
thought. And that side of life in the Arkansas
Tonty, in establishing the post on the Arkansas,
country was early considered. Tonty gave to the
hoped to forestall the English as well as the
Superiors of Canada in 1689, a deed to a strip of
Spaniards. The hand of fate seems to have
land on the Arkansas a little east of his fort, "for
played a part here, because Jean Couture, who
a chapel and a mission-house, beside an
had been the one that Tonty had selected in
immense tract on the opposite side of the river
establishing the post, deserted and went to the
near the Indian village, for the support of the
English in Carolina, and, in 1700, led a party of
missionary." This mission was to have been
English to the mouth of the Arkansas,
erected in 1690, and, among other things, the
accomplishing what Tonty had feared, the
missionaries were to build two chapels, raise a
diversion of the western trade from the French
cross fifteen feet high, minister to the Indians,
to the English. France realized that in order to
and say a mass for Tonty on his feast day." If
cope with the Spanish and the English, and to
any missionaries were sent to the Arkansas at
reap the harvest of her discoveries, colonies
this time there are no traces left.
must be established as posts of exchange. This
Little growth or development had come to
caused her to turn to private individuals for aid
the Arkansas Post for the first quarter of a
in settling up and holding her possessions. In
century, trade being slow in development,
September 1717, John Law, and his Mississippi
because of the Spanish deadlock. When, at the
Company, was granted the commerce and
close of the seventeenth century, the Spaniards
control of Louisiana. Although, Law’s
and the French came face to face on the
economic goals failed, a new interest in
Louisiana-Texas frontier, in a contest for
Louisiana had brought men like Bernard de la
commerce and empire, they found there several
Harpe, Le Page du Pratz, and Du Tisne into the
well-marked groups of confederations of native
region; each giving new information concerning
tribes, which became so the bases for much of
the Arkansas country.
the struggle. This contest for the control of the
Bernard de la Harpe had been granted by
frontier tribes was one of the chief policies of
the company a tract of land on the upper waters
both Spain and France; of course behind this
of the Red River, and, in 1718, he started out to
was the ultimate object of territorial possession.
take possession of this grant. Leaving New
The effort expended by the two competing
Orleans in December 1718, he arrived at the
nations to maintain an influence over these
mouth of the Red River on January 10, 1719,
tribes had, from the first moment of contact to
and, after much difficulty, reached the fort of
the time when Louisiana was ceded to Spain,
the Natchitoches.
the nature of a contest. It, in the main, was
While at the Natchitoches post, La Harpe
waged only to a slight extent with weapons of
learned that the Spanish governor of Texas had
military warfare. The principal weapon used by
ordered the establishment of a post among the
the French was the Indian trader and agent; by
Nassonites on the Red River. This news caused
the Spaniards, the Franciscan missionary; each
him to hurry on his way. Upon his arrival at the
backed by a small display of military force.
Nassonites, his first concern was to make
This contest to control the Southwest was
alliances with them. This was accomplished
fought along the Arkansas, Canadian, and Red
when the Nassonites, Cadodaquins, Natsooe and
rivers. The Arkansas Post served as a center for
Natchitoches sang the Calumet. This
making alliances with Indians along the
celebration lasted twenty-four hours. After the
Arkansas River, and, later on, with those of the
feast, La Harpe made them presents of a large
whole region. By these treaties and alliances,
amount of merchandise, in order to interest them
France hoped to open up trade with the
in his company, for which the Indian trade was
Spaniards in New Mexico.
very necessary.
There was, at this same time, a contest in
In the meanwhile, La Harpe, having learned
the southeast between the English and the
that the Spanish and French were at war, and
French. From the first, the English had the
war being an obstacle to his attempt to establish
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a trade with the Spanish, set out to explore and
objects of the expeditions between 1718-1724.
to make alliances with the Indians to the
La Harpe, Du Rivage, Du Tisne, by series of
northeast. This expedition led him through
alliances with Indians, treaties were made with
Northeastern Oklahoma, and near the mouth of
at least thirty different nations in the western
the Canadian River, an alliance was made with
part of Louisiana. It was hoped that through
eight nations including a part of the Roving
these alliances, the coveted trade with the
Nation. La Harpe says that seven thousand
Spaniards in New Mexico would be established.
persons were here assembled to sing the
When the western company wished to open
Calumet.
up the Arkansas River as a highway to Spanish
La Harpe considered that one of the best
territory, La Harpe was chosen for the task. La
places in all Louisiana for the establishment of a
Harpe reached the Arkansas Post early in
post was at the mouth of the Canadian River,
March, 1722. His first care was to gain
because of its importance in trade, and "because
knowledge of the course of the river and the
the French could thus obtain control of the trade
nations along its banks. The Indians seemed to
with the Padoucas and Aricaras." This was the
have been under Spanish influence, as they were
aim of France, to get control of the Indians by
rather reluctant to give any information. They
trade. The Spaniards had been trading with the
told him that five Frenchmen from M. Law’s
Indians in this region for a long time, especially
company had ascended the river to the Indian
in the trade of horses and cattle.
nation on the headwater of the river to purchase
While La Harpe was making alliances with
horses and had been killed by the Osages. After
the Indians in Oklahoma, as a stepping stone
making some preparations for his journey, La
toward the trade in the Spanish southwest, Du
Harpe left the Arkansas Post with a detachment
Tisne was making alliances with the Indian
of twenty-two men. He continued his
tribes on the Osage, the Missouri, and the
explorations up the river nine days, when he
Arkansas rivers. He made an alliance with the
became short of provisions. La Harpe then set
Pawnees on the Arkansas, "bought Spanish
out overland to see if he could find the fork of
horses from them and established the French
the river whose right branch led to the nations
flag in their village." These two expeditions
he had discovered by land in 1719. On account
mark a definite step in the direction of trade
of the condition of his men, he went only about
with the Spaniards in New Mexico.
fifty leagues in a westerly direction. But, from
To the early French trader, New Mexico
the appearances of the river, he concluded that it
held almost the same lure that the Gran Quivira
was navigable in high water to the settlements
held for the early Spaniards, gold and precious
of the Padoucas, and the Spanish in New
stones, and, in addition, perhaps, a route to the
Mexico. He recommended the establishment of
South Sea. For the French traders, there were
posts near "the Rock" and at the Fork, and that
three natural highways of trade with the
the Arkansas Post be strengthened by sending
Spaniards in New Mexico, the Missouri, the
out people to cultivate the soil.
Arkansas, and the Red rivers. Each had its own
In 1723, Bourgmont erected a post among
difficulties. Between the French and New
the Missouri tribes and in order to open up this
Mexico there roamed the treacherous Comanche
route, made treaties with various tribes along the
and Apache, from the far north, to the south,
route, and secured permission for the
following the buffalo. The jealous Spaniards
Frenchmen to pass through the Comanche
kept these Indians hostile to the French, forming
country to the Spanish dominions. Although the
as the Spaniards wished, a barrier between the
Missouri post was soon destroyed, there are
French and the Spanish possessions in New
indications of traders attempting to reach New
Mexico.
Mexico. The Mallet party, which reached Santa
In order to trade with New Mexico, it
Fe in 1739 is an example. Four of this party
would be necessary to maintain peace among
returned by way of the Canadian and the
the Indians by causing them to make alliances
Arkansas rivers. The safe return of this
with each other. This was one of the main
expedition gave added momentum to
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possibilities of opening up a trade by way of the
Arkansas River.
Governor Bienville, in 1741, sent Fabray de
la Brugeie, with a letter to the Governor of New
Mexico, and, guided by the four men of the
Mallet party, he was furnished with instructions
to open up a commercial route. After going a
short distance up the Canadian, Fabray was
forced to go back to the Arkansas post for
horses. Returning by way of the Cadodacho, he
learned that the Mallet brothers had continued to
Santa Fe on foot. He gave up the project,
crossed Oklahoma from the Canadian to the Red
River, where he visited the tribes which La
Harpe had discovered in 1719.
With the establishment of Fort Cavagnolle,
at the Kansas village on the Missouri, the
Arkansas route was made safe by a treaty
between the Comanche and Jumano, in 1746 or
1747. France had, at last, accomplished her
purpose of making possible a highway to the
Spaniards of New Mexico, which she had
definitely started, by establishing the Arkansas
Post, and by making treaties with the Arkansas.
A second step was made by La Harpe in 1719,
when he made alliances with nine tribes,
collectively called Touacara. During the period
between La Harpe’s expedition and the treaty
between the Comanches and the Jumano, many
attempts had been made to open communication
with New Mexico, with more or less success.
The effect of the treaty between these
important Indian nations that patrolled the
western frontier of Louisiana was immediate.
At once, new expeditions of all kinds, private,
deserters, and official agents started toward
New Mexico, the Mecca, of trade in the west.
Professor Herbert E. Bolton, searching in the
Archives of Mexico, has brought to light records
of two of these expeditions which give some
interesting facts concerning both the Indians of
this western frontier and the methods the French
traders used in getting to Spanish territory.
The Comanche were little known to the
French at this time. Until the middle of the
eighteenth century, they were hostile to both
French and Spanish. This hostility made a
barrier between Spanish New Mexico and
French Louisiana. Between the French and the
Comanche were the Jumano, Pawnee, and other
tribes to the east, all of which had been enemies
of the Comanche. This gave the Spaniards a
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better opportunity to trade with the Comanche.
European, but the Indian. For the first three
Their principal trading place was Taos, where,
hundred years, he blazed the way for the white
each year, they met in large numbers, and where
man on every frontier. He was the buffer
pelts and captives were exchanged for horses,
between hostile tribes and hostile nations.
knives, and other merchandise.
Neither of the European nations realized the
This trading mart at Taos held great
importance of the Indian as a frontiersman. Had
attraction for the French, and soon after the
there been a better understanding, there would
alliance between the Comanche and Jumano, the
have been an entirely different Indian problem
Comanche reported that two Frenchmen were at
for the American government to take up later,
their village waiting to accompany them to the
and attempt to solve.
Taos fair. The Spaniards at once became
At the close of the Seven Years’ War, the
concerned. In 1749, the governor of New
Indian had only two masters. France had not
Mexico sent his lieutenant to attend the Taos
been able to hold her possessions, though not
fair, and he brought three Frenchmen back to
for lack of support of her Indian alliances. The
Santa Fe. In questioning these three men, as
Indian knew that the aggressive English farmer
was the Spanish custom, it was found that all
would take the place of the French hunter and
three claimed to have been deserters from the
trapper. The Treaty of Paris, 1763, meant that
Arkansas Post, and that they had all heard of
civilization had taken a step forward on the
Santa Fe from Frenchmen who had come from
North American continent. But, an old Choctaw
there a few years before.
Indian, in recounting what he had once had, said
The route over which these travelers came
that he remembered the time when he and his
is interesting. They started from the village of
fellow tribesmen owned a vast territory, "plenty
the Arkansas Indians, a short distance from the
horses and cattle, on a thousand hills. Now," he
post, going up the Arkansas River to the village
said, "all we have is civilization, just
of the Jumano Indians. The Jumano conducted
civilization." "Just civilization" did not appeal to
them one hundred and fifty leagues to the
the red man.
Comanche settlement; here they remained some
Spain accepted Western Louisiana as she
time. From the Comanche settlement they came
found it and attempted to carry out France’s
to the Taos fair and from there they were taken
policy in dealing with the Indians. Monsieur de
to Santa Fe, taking, in all, six months. This was
Clouet was commander of the Arkansas Post
the route that the French had long wanted to
just after, and, possibly, at the time of the
open, the nearest and the most direct, to New
transfer. From his letters to Lord Aubry, at that
Mexico. Within a year another had entered
time senior captain of the military forces, and,
New Mexico over practically the same route.
as such, the temporary governor of Louisiana
The Arkansas and Canadian rivers became the
until Spain took possession of the province, it
international highway between the French and
can be seen that the commander of the Arkansas
the Spanish in the New World, France using all
Post shared the feeling of opposition to Spanish
means at her disposal to open and keep open the
rule, as did those near New Orleans.
way, and Spain using all her means to block it.
The contest for the control of North
America was, each year, drawing nearer and
nearer to an end. The Indian on the frontier had
borne the greater part of the burden. Two
hundred and fifty years of contact with the white
man, and the white man’s superior methods of
warfare and diplomacy had made the Indian a
tool, merely to be used in getting possession of
the Territory. As that possession was gained,
the Indian was pushed on to newer frontiers.
The true pioneer of North America was not the
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American
Explorers in
Oklahoma
By W. David Baird and Danney Goble15
On finalizing the agreement to purchase
Louisiana, United States Commissioner Robert
Livingston asked his French counterpart to
define the boundaries of the province. The
reply was, “You have made a noble bargain, Mr.
Livingston. Make the most of it!” From the
very beginning President Thomas Jefferson and
his administration intended to make the most of
it. That determination had important
implications for Oklahoma.
President Jefferson believed that Louisiana
would provide the foundation for a great
American empire. In that role it could supply
needed natural resources, living room for an
expanding population, a barrier against foreign
aggression, and space for the resettlement of
eastern Indians. Yet Jefferson recognized that
effective use of Louisiana’s resources required
better knowledge of its topography, its flora and
fauna, it rocks and minerals, and its people. His
desire for that kind of information led him to
dispatch a series of expeditions to undertake
scientific exploration of Louisiana.
way Lewis and Clark gathered incredible
amounts of information about the northern
reaches of Louisiana, in addition to impressing
the Indians with the power and might of the
“Great Father” in Washington. What the two
commanders had done in the north, Jefferson
hoped others could do in the south.
The Sparks Expedition
Early in 1806 the President ordered Captain
Richard Sparks to proceed up the Red River to
the Twin Villages of the Wichitas and from
there to the Rocky Mountains. He was to take
careful notes on the country he saw and the
people he met. Sparks put together a company
of twenty-four soldiers and moved upriver in a
small fleet of canoes. But his party barely made
it into present-day Oklahoma—if it made it all.
A Spanish cavalry unit of several hundred men
overran its camp and ordered the captain to
return to the American settlements or face
arrest. Sparks went back. Obviously the
Spanish were very sensitive about any United
States party exploring southern Louisiana when
boundaries were still indefinite.
The Pike-Wilkinson Expedition
Since southern Louisiana remained a
mystery, authorities next dispatched Captain
Zebulon Pike to search out the origins of the
Red River. In July 1806, Pike departed from St.
Louis with twenty-three men on a route that
took him up the Missouri River to the Osage
villages. There he obtained horses and, dodging
Spanish patrols, made his way to the Great Bend
of the Arkansas River in west-central Kansas.
At this point, Lieutenant James Wilkinson
Scientific Explorers
became ill and the command was divided.
Wilkinson and five men were sent east down the
Arkansas while Pike and the rest of the troops
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
went west up the river to its source. Pike’s
commanded the earliest and probably best
party pushed on to the Rocky Mountains,
known of the scientific expeditions. Between
eventually being arrested by a Spanish patrol
1804 and 1806 it went up the Missouri River,
and subjected to imprisonment in Mexico before
crossed the Rocky Mountains, and followed the
returning to the United States.
Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. Along the
Meanwhile, in November and December,
Wilkinson’s party worked its way down the
15
From Baird, W. David and Danney Goble. The Story of
Arkansas River in two elm bark canoes.
Oklahoma. Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press,
Shallow water soon forced them to march along
1994.
the riverbank. By the time they had reached
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northeastern Oklahoma they were barely able to
navigate the river in two dugout canoes. Winter
came early and hard in 1806. The Arkansas
filled with ice, and snowstorms limited
visibility. The Wilkinson Party suffered greatly,
losing supplies of food and ammunition and
experiencing severe frostbite. Some relief came
from Osage hunters encamped along the river’s
edge.
Wilkinson celebrated New Year’s Day
1807 by leaving Oklahoma. Although his group
had limited time for observation, the journey
shows that they had learned a good deal. The
Osages were numerous and in “a constant state
of warfare” with any Cherokees, Creeks, and
Choctaws who ventured into the area.
Wilkinson heard about a prairie that was
encrusted with salt and about lead mines
“northwest” of the Osages, and he passed over a
seven-foot waterfall (Webbers Falls) on the
Arkansas. He also documented that American
hunters and trappers were already working the
Poteau River. President Jefferson found the
official report extremely interesting, especially
the part about any entire prairie of salt.
The Long-Bell Expedition
No military expedition yielded more
information about Oklahoma than did that
commanded by Stephen Long. Yet it was an
accident. Long was assigned to search out the
sources of the Red and Arkansas rivers and to
descend each to the Mississippi River. In July
1820 he led his command west from Omaha
along the Platte River to the Rocky Mountains.
There he divided his party, similarly to the PikeWilkinson expedition, sending Captain John
Bell and twelve men down the Arkansas while
he continued south to the headwaters of the Red.
Bell, like Wilkinson before him, found the
Arkansas route tough going. Only this time the
problem was not cold temperatures but hot ones.
When Bell and his party got to Oklahoma in
mid-August, ninety degree temperatures had
worn out the animals and men and made game
difficult to find. For food they were reduced to
eating skunks, a fawn taken literally from the
jaws of a wolf, hawks, turkeys, turtles, mussels,
and boiled corn. An occasional deer, and grain
and melons taken from abandoned Osage
campsites restored their strength and kept them
going until they reached Fort Smith on
The Sibley Expedition
September 9.
It was the prospect of salt that brought the
Thomas Say, a noted zoologist, was a
third official expedition to Oklahoma in 1811.
member of Bell’s command. His task was to
Salt was an important commodity on the
make and record observations on the plants,
frontier, necessary for meat preservation and
animals, minerals, and native peoples the party
food seasoning. George Sibley led the
encountered along the Arkansas. Unfortunately
expedition, and, being a subagent from Fort
his five large journals were lost when three
Osage, was given the primary mission of
soldiers deserted and took those valuable
negotiating peace alliances between the Osages
materials with them. From the few remaining
and western Kansas tribes. He also used the
notebooks, Say later published the only account
occasion to lead his party into Oklahoma to look
of this expedition.
at the storied deposits of salt.
In the meantime, Long continued
Sibley’s visit to the Great Salt Plains
southward from the Arkansas looking for the
revealed wafer-thin sheets of salt on the vast flat
headwaters of the Red River. His party also
glistening “like a brilliant field of snow.” The
included a noted biologist, Edwin James.
sight so excited Sibley’s imagination that he
Eventually Long encountered a broad stream
pressed on to the Big Salt Plains, the salt
which he took to be the Red River, an
deposits mentioned by Lieutenant Wilkinson
assumption that he held for nearly seven weeks.
five years earlier. The “beautifully white” rock
Actually it was the Canadian, the waterway the
salt, Sibley wrote, was “unquestionably superior
French had followed to Santa Fe. Riding horses
to any that I ever saw.” Altogether, there was in
in the bed of the river, the Long Party reached
northern Oklahoma and “inexhaustible store of
the Antelope Hills and Oklahoma on August 17.
ready made salt” just waiting to enter “into
James was impressed with the wildlife he saw:
channels of commerce.”
“Herds of bison, wild horses, elk, and deer, are
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seen quietly grazing in these extensive and
fertile pastures.” A prairie-dog colony, a mile
square in area, filled him with awe, as did flocks
of white pelicans, egrets and snowy herons, and
the occasional bald eagle, not to mention
tarantulas.
When the Long Party arrived at the
Arkansas on September 10, 1820, they
recognized to their “mortification” that they
were not on the Red River, but the Canadian.
Both Long and James were embarrassed and
disappointed, even more so because they knew
that they did not have the energy, the time, or
the means to go back and do the job rights.
Instead they pushed on to Fort Smith, where
three days later they were reunited with Bell and
the remainder of the original party.
agriculture. Thereafter, maps of the American
West usually labeled the area as “the Great
American Desert.” If Long and his colleagues
had had their way, Oklahoma and the
surrounding area would have remained in its
natural condition.
Thomas Nuttall in Oklahoma
The most useful and complete information
assembled about the resources and people of
Oklahoma did not come from governmentsponsored expeditions. Rather it was gathered
by the English botanist Thomas Nuttall. In
1819 he spent several months in Oklahoma
gathering botanical samples. His expedition
followed a route up the Poteau River and then
down the Kiamichi River. Along the way
The Long expedition did not meet its
Nuttall marveled at the wildlife he saw (bears,
declared objective, yet it had important
bison, panthers, and snakes) and the loveliness
consequences. It generated, despite the loss of
of the prairies and mountains. “Nothing could
Say’s journals, an impressive quantity of
at this season exceed the beauty of these plains,”
scientific data on Oklahoma’s flora, fauna,
he wrote, “enameled with such an uncommon
geology, geography, and native peoples. More
variety of flowers of vivid tints, possessing all
important, the expedition confirmed a general
the brilliancy of tropical productions.”
impression that the Southern Plains were a
sandy wasteland unsuitable for general
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Commercial Explorers
While some Americans sought scientific
knowledge about Oklahoma, other sought
primarily to profit from it. In the tradition of the
French coureurs de bois, they ventured up the
Arkansas and Red rivers to trade with the
Indians for furs, live-stock, and captives, or to
trap and hunt for the skins themselves. Some
hoped to realize the old French dream of
opening a trade route with Spanish settlements
along the Rio Grande. Many of these
“expectant capitalists,” became trailblazers and
explorers in their own right.
respect fro the needs and rights of Indians. The
army tried to expel them from the area in
1819—but with little success.
Three Forks Traders
American traders along the Arkansas
tended to concentrate in the Three Forks area
where the Arkansas, Verdigris, and the Grand
rivers merge. Near there the Arkansas band of
the Osages resided. French traders out of
Arkansas Post frequented the Osages’ Verdigris
River villages from the time they were
established.
With the onset of the American period,
there was even more commercial activity at the
Three Forks. The Chouteau brothers accounted
Red River Traders
for much of this. Pierre and Auguste Chouteau
The quest for economic success of Anthony
had made fortunes trading with the Osage along
Glass took him up the Red River only two years
the Missouri River. The brothers had lost their
after Sparks had been turned back. In July
monopoly of that trade, granted by the Spanish,
1808, with permission from American Indian
and in 1802 they relocated their considerable
agents, Glass and ten others went to participate
operation among the 3,000 members of the
in a trade fair hosted by the Wichitas and
Arkansas Osage band.
involved all of the Southern Plains tribes.
Joseph Bogy was another early Three Forks
Because of Spanish apprehensions regarding
trader. Of French extraction, he had operated
American intentions, Glass was supposed to
trading establishments earlier at Kaskaskia,
following the north bank of the Red River to the
Illinois and at Arkansas Post. On the Verdigris
Twin Villages. Actually he took a route parallel
he constructed a post of picket logs and traded
to the Red on the Texas side.
extensively with the Osages. That commerce in
Glass presented the greetings of the
part accounted for his loss of a boatload of trade
President to the Wichitas and expressed his own
goods to a Choctaw war party in 1807.
desire to trade with them and their Comanche
With the general westward movement of
allies. He stayed in the area for six month
the American people after the War of 1812, both
swapping horses and tracking down a meteorite
the population and the range of activity in the
revered by the Indians. His final report tells
Three Forks area increased. Joining Bogy—the
much about Wichita cultural habits. Particularly
Chouteau family was temporarily absent—were
important were his observations that the Wichita
merchants, hunters, salt manufacturers, and even
were a people under siege and held virtually as
farmers.
captives in their own villages by the Osages.
The Chouteau interests returned to the
Also significant was Glass’s report that an
Three Forks area when Colonel A.P. Chouteau,
American trading party has already passed
the son of Pierre and a graduate of West Point,
through the villages on it way to Santa Fe.
opened a post on Grand River at Salina in 1817.
Glass was able to ascend the Red River
Chouteau had just completed a prison term in
when two American military expeditions
Mexico, his reward for taking trade goods
(Sparks and Long) had failed. Other
across the plains of Santa Fe without Spanish
commercial explorers would follow him to the
permission. He immediately purchased the
Twin Villages and beyond, but most focused
interests of a few competitors near the mouth of
their activities in southeastern Oklahoma.
the Verdigris and even added a keelboat
These hunters and trappers are nameless today,
construction operation. Fluent in the Osage
but they were an independent lot who had little
language and the husband of one white and four
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Indian wives. For the next decade Chouteau
reigned as the merchant prince of the Three
Forks area until the commercial activity of the
region shifted from hunting to agriculture.
Given those prospects, Oklahoma was idea—
from a white perspective—as a resettlement
zone for eastern Indians who, federal officials
assumed, wanted to escape the pressures of
civilization.
Santa Fe Traders
In 1819 the United States negotiated the
Adams-Onís Treaty with Spain. This agreement
finally defined the southern boundary of the
Louisiana Purchase from the Gulf of Mexico to
the Pacific Ocean. Spain negotiated the treaty
in part to help ensure continued control of its
Mexican provinces. The idea was to protect
them from North American aggression by a
well-defined boundary. But Spain’s problem
was not external; it was internal. Two years
after the Adams-Onís Treaty, Mexico declared it
independence from Spain and made it stick.
This had important implications fro the traders
and merchants at Three Forks and St. Louis
because it offered hope that the new government
might liberalize its trade policies and permit
Americans to trade with Santa Fe and other Rio
Grand settlements.
Although Mexican policy did allow these
traders the economic freedom to pursue trade
with Santa Fe, the routes to get there were long
and rough. Several expeditions by various
traders showed that it was possible to get to the
dreamed destination, the profits, due high costs
for the trip, were not enough to remove the
focus from Three Forks and St. Louis.
What is the Meaning?
In 1803 when the flag of the United States
rose over Oklahoma very little was known of its
resources. Official and unofficial scientific
expeditions discovered much about Oklahoma,
especially along the Arkansas, Cimarron,
Canadian, and Poteau rivers. Hunters and
traders operating out of Three Forks and along
the Red River discovered even more. By 1825,
the “nature and extent” of the land that is now
Oklahoma—what Jefferson had set out to
know—were reasonably known. Adjoined to
“the Great American Desert” and bounded on
two sides by Mexico, the area was not likely to
attract even the energetic American farmers.
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Indians, that you may the better comprehend the
parts dealt out to you in detail through the
official channel, and observing the system of
which they make a part, conduct yourself in
unison with it in cares where you are obligated
to act without instruction. Our system is to live
in perpetual peace with the Indians, to cultivate
an affectionate attachment from them, by
everything just and liberal which we can do for
them within the bounds of reason, and by giving
them effectual protection against wrongs from
our own people. The decrease of game
rendering their subsistence by hunting
insufficient, we wish to draw them to
By Michael P. Johnson16
agriculture, to spinning and weaving. The latter
branches they take up with great readiness,
Diplomatic relations with American Indians
because they fall to the women, who gain by
were among the new nation’s most important
quitting the labors of the field for those which
activities. A growing population and the rush of
are exercised within doors. When they
settlers to frontier farms pushed to the fore
withdraw themselves tot he culture of a small
issues of access to Indian lands and
piece of land, they will perceive how useless to
subordination of tribal authority to the trade,
them are their extensive forests, and will be
laws, and customs of white Americans.
willing to pare them off from time to time in
President Thomas Jefferson outlined his
exchange for necessaries for their farms and
strategy for Indian affairs in 1803 in a private
families. To promote this disposition to
letter to the governor of Indiana Territory,
exchange lands, which they have to spare and
William Henry Harrison, excerpted here. In
we want, for necessaries, which we have to
public, Jefferson expressed his Indian policy
spare and they want, we shall push our trading
many times when visiting delegations of
uses, and be glad to see the good and influential
American Indians came to Washington, D.C.
individuals among them run in debt, because we
Jefferson’s address to the Mandans—the source
observe that when these debts get beyond what
of the next selection—illustrates the public face
the individuals can pay, they become willing to
of American policy.
lop them off by a cession of lands. At our
trading houses, too, we mean to sell so low as
merely to repay us cost and charges, so as
Letter to Governor William H.
neither to lessen or enlarge our capital. This is
Harrison, February 27, 1803
what private traders cannot do, for they must
gain; they will consequently retire from the
You receive from time to time information
competition, and we shall thus get clear of this
and instructions as to our Indian affairs. These
pest without giving offense of umbrage to the
communications being for the public records,
Indians. In this way our settlements will
are restrained always to particular objects and
gradually circumscribe and approach the
occasions; but this letter being unofficial and
Indians, and they will in time either incorporate
private, I may with safety give you a more
with us as citizens of the United States, or
extensive view of our policy respecting the
remove beyond the Mississippi. The former is
certainly the termination of their history most
happy for themselves; but, in the whole course
16
Johnson, Michael P. “President Thomas Jefferson’s
of this, it is essential to cultivate their love. As
Private and Public Indian Policy.” Reading the
to their fear, we presume that our strength and
American Past. Vol. 1. Boston: Bedford/St.
their weakness is now so visible that they must
Martin’s, 2005.
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President
Jefferson’s
Indian Policy:
Private and Public
Expressions of Thought
see we have only to shut our hand to crush
them, and that all our liberalities to them
proceed from motives of pure humanity only.
Should any tribe be fool-hardy enough to take
up the hatchet at any time, the seizing the whole
country of that tribe, and driving them across
the Mississippi, as the only condition of peace,
would be an example to others, and a
furtherance of our final consolidation.
Combined with these views, and to be
prepared to against the occupation of Louisiana
by a powerful and enterprising people, it is
important that, setting less value on interior
extension of purchases from the Indians, we
bend our whole views tot he purchase and
settlement of the country on the Mississippi,
from its mouth to its northern regions, that we
may be able to present as strong a front on our
western as on our eastern border, and plant on
the Mississippi itself the means of its own
defense. . . . Of the means, however, of
obtaining what we wish, you will be the best
judge; and I have given you this view of the
system which we suppose will best promote the
interest of the Indians and ourselves, and finally
consolidate our whole country to one nation
only; that you may be enabled the better to
adapt your means to the object, for this purpose
we have given you a general commission for
treating. The crisis is pressing: whatever can
now be obtained must be obtained quickly. The
occupation of New Orleans, hourly expected, by
the French, is already felt like a light breeze by
the Indians. You know the sentiments they
entertain of that nation; under the hope of their
protection they will immediately stiffen against
cessions of lands to us. We had better,
therefore, do at once what can now be done.
I must repeat that this letter is to be
considered as private and friendly, and is not to
control any particular instructions which you
may receive through official channel. You will
also perceive how sacredly it must be kept
within your own breast, and especially how
improper to be understood by the Indians. For
their interests and their tranquility it is best they
should see only the present age of their history.
Address to the Wolf and People of
the Mandan Nation, December
30, 1806
My children, the Wolf and people of the
Mandan nation—I take you by the hand of
friendship and give you a hearty welcome to the
seat of the government of the United States.
The journey which have taken to visit your
fathers on this side of our island is a long one,
and your having undertaken it is a proof that
you desired to become acquainted with us. . . .
My friends and children, we are descended
from the old nations which live beyond the great
water, but we and our forefathers have been so
long here that we seem like you to have grown
out of this land. We consider ourselves no
longer of the old nations beyond the great water,
but as united in one family with our red brethren
here. The French , the English, the Spanish,
have now agreed with us to retire from all the
country which you and we hold between Canada
and Mexico, and never more to return to it. And
remember the words I now speak to you, my
children, they are never to return again. We are
now your fathers; and you shall not lose by the
change. As soon as Spain had agreed to
withdraw from all the waters of the Missouri
and Mississippi, I felt the desire of becoming
acquainted with all my red children beyond the
Mississippi, and of uniting them with us as we
have those on this side of that river, in the bonds
of peace and friendship. I wished to learn that
we could do to benefit them by furnishing them
the necessaries they want in exchange for their
furs and peltries. I therefore sent our beloved
man, Captain [Meriwether] Lewis, on of my
own family, to go up the Missouri River to get
acquainted with all the Indian nations in its
neighborhood, to take them by the hand, deliver
my talks to them, and to inform us in what way
we could be useful to them. Your nation
received him kindly, you have taken them by
the hand and been friendly to him. My children,
I thank you for the services you rendered him,
and for your attention to his words. He will
now tell us where we should establish trading
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houses to be convenient to you all, and what we
yourselves. Be sure there are some lying spirits
must send to them.
between us; let us come together as friends and
My friends and children, I have now an
explain to each other what is misrepresented or
important advice to give you. I have already
misunderstood, the clouds will fly away like
told you that you and all the red men are my
morning, fog, and the sun of friendship appear
children, and I wish you to live in peace and
and shrine forever bright and clear between us.
friendship with one another as brethren of the
same family ought to do. How much better is it
for neighbors to help than to hurt one another;
how much happier must it make them. If you
will cease to make war on one another, if you
will live in friendship with all mankind, you can
employ all your time in providing food and
clothing for yourselves and your families. Your
men will not be destroyed in war, and your
women and children will lie down to sleep in
their cabins without fear of being surprised by
their enemies and killed or carried away. Your
numbers will be increased instead of
diminishing, and you will live in plenty and in
quiet. My children, I have given this advice to
all your red brethren on this side of the
Mississippi; they are following it, they are
increasing in their numbers, are learning to
clothe and provide for their families as we do.
Remember then my advice, my children, carry it
home to your people, and tell them that from the
day that they have become all of the same
family, from the day that we became father to
them all, we wish, as a true father should do,
that we may all live together as one household,
and that before they strike one another, they
should go to their fathers and let him endeavor
to make up the quarrel.
My children, you are come from the other
side of our great island, from where the sun sets,
to see your new friends at the sun rising. . . . I
very much desire that you should not stop here,
but go . . . and visit our great cities . . . and see
how many friends and brothers you have here. .
. . I wish you, my children, to see all you can,
and to tell your people all you see; because I am
sure the more they know of us, the more they
will be our hearty friends. . . .
My children, I have long desired to see you;
I have now opened my heart to you, let my
words sink into your hearts and never be
forgotten. If ever lying people or bad spirits
should raise up clouds between us, call to mind
what I have said, and what you have seen
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hours gambling, smoking, or talking while
women worked in the fields. And in winter,
most women stayed in warm houses while men
traveled great distances in bitter cold to search
for game. But the Cherokees were not
particularly concerned with the optimum use of
their labor supply because for them, tasks
17
involved far more than the production of
By Theda Perdue
commodities. A person’s job was an aspect of
their gender, a source of economic and political
Prior to contact with Europeans, the
power, and an affirmation of cosmic order and
Cherokees lived in the fertile valleys of the
balance.
southern Appalachians. They conceived of their
Theoretically, the division of labor was
world as a system of categories that opposed
very
rigid, but in reality, men and women often
and balanced one another. In this belief system,
willingly helped one another. Men assisted in
women balanced men just as summer balanced
several agricultural chores, including clearing
winter, plants balanced animals, and farming
fields and harvesting crops. Although, they did
balanced hunting. Peace and prosperity
not hoe and weed, Cherokee men helped women
depended on the maintenance of boundaries
plant the large fields that lay on the outskirts of
between these opposing categories, and blurring
their towns. Between planting and harvest, the
the lines between them threatened disaster. The
men retired from agriculture and the women
balance their categories and, in particular,
assumed total responsibility. Women not only
between men and women may not have
tended the crops in the large fields but also
permitted equality in a modern sense, but their
planted smaller gardens near their homes.
concern with balance made hierarchy, which
These they fenced with hickory or oak saplings
often serves to oppress women, indefensible.
tied to stakes. In their “kitchen gardens” the
Men did not dominate women, and women were
women cultivated another kind of corn, which
not subservient to men. Men knew little about
was smaller than field corn and ripened in only
the world of women; they had no power over
two months, and they grew beans, peas, and
women and no control over women’s activities.
other vegetables.
Women had their own arena of power, and any
Although they probably spent far more time
threat to its integrity jeopardized the cosmic
farming
than European men credited them with,
order. So it had been since the beginning of
women did have other means for supplying their
time.
families with the earth’s bounties. In particular,
Like their ancestors, the Cherokees divided
Cherokee women were prodigious gatherers. In
labor according to gender. Men hunted because
the fall, they burned the underbrush in the
the first man had been responsible for providing
woods and collected vast quantities of nuts,
his family with meat. Women farmed because
which they used in bread or for oil. In summer,
their ancestral mother was the source of corn.
they picked berries and fruit. Throughout the
Men helped clear fields and plant crops, but the
year, they relied on wild plants for seeds, leaves
primary responsibility for agriculture rested
(which were never eaten raw), roots, and stems
with women. When women accompanied men
to add variety to their diet and to tide them over
on the winter hunt, they confined their activities
in case provisions ran out before harvest or the
to gathering nuts and firewood, cooking for the
corn crop failed. The women searched for bee
hunters, and perhaps preparing skins. By
trees and collected honey, and they made sugar
modern standards such a division of labor was
from maple sap.
not very efficient. Men spent many summer
The responsibility for a bountiful harvest,
though,
fell to the women. If the Cherokees
17
From Perdue, Theda. Cherokee Women: Gender and
experience a drought, the women summoned a
Culture Change 1700-1835. Lincoln NE: Univ. of
priest who tried to produce rain. In addition to
Nebraska Press, 1999.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Cherokee
Women
ensuring favorable growing conditions, women
It was certainly true that beyond their help
were also responsible for protecting the crops
at planting and harvesting, Cherokee men had
from predators, one of the more dangerous and
no role in cultivating gardens or fields, which
demanding chores associated with farming. In
Europeans attributed to the men’s laziness.
the outlying fields, the Cherokees built large
However, the men were not idle; their
scaffolds from which they could watch for
obligations to the community differed from
crows and raccoons. The task of sitting alone
those of women. Perhaps women willingly
on scaffolds all summer, the season for war, fell
performed most of the work in Cherokee society
to elderly women.
because they also controlled the fruits of their
Cherokee women also made a variety of
labor, the crops; the means of production, the
other things not directly related to food but
land; and the result of production, the children.
necessary to the well being of their households
The primary landholding unit in Cherokee
or for their own pleasure. They made their
society was the household, and the produce
cooking utensils and other pottery from clay.
from the household’s fields went into its own
Vessels included pitchers, bowls, dishes, basins,
crib. A household consisted of an extended
and platters. Cherokee women constructed
family linked by women, typically an elderly
baskets, which served as containers and sieves,
woman, her daughters and their children, the
out of river or swamp cane, which they cut into
women’s husbands, and any unmarried sons.
strips. Dyes for baskets included bloodroot,
Married sons did not live in the household.
walnut bark, and butternut. Rectangular baskets
They resided with their own wives because the
usually measured about 3 feet long, 1-½ feet
Cherokees were matrilocal; husbands and
wide, and I foot deep. In addition to baskets and
children lived in the households of their wives
pots, gourds and skins served as containers.
and mothers. A husband and wife, therefore,
Women hollowed out large bottle gourds for
occupied buildings belonging to the wife, or
carrying water. For storing oil and honey, they
rather to the wife’s family, and marriage did not
turned whole deerskins into flasks by cutting off
alter a woman’s right to her property. Such an
the head and feet and sewing up all openings
arrangement gave women control over the crops
except the neck. Women made their clothing
they produced and a sense of ownership in their
from a number of materials, including buffalo
houses and fields.
hair they collected after the animals had shed,
The connection between women and corn
which they wore into garments and pouches.
gave women considerable status and economic
Deerskins as well as fabrics made of hemp and
power because the Cherokees depended heavily
mulberry bark were sewn into clothing with
on that crop for subsistence. Corn was the
bone needles and thread of sinew. For their
preferred food, particularly for those who faced
houses, women wove cane mats and hemp
competition or danger. Warriors, for example,
carpets, which they painted bright colors. They
ate only parched corn. Apparently, the
also probably carved the soapstone pipes they
Cherokees considered meat to be more
smoked. Women provided wood and water for
weakening than corn and its consumption
their households. Carrying water, associated
problematic for those who faced various kinds
with fertility, was a gender-specific task.
of trials. In the 17th century before the advent of
Cherokee women, then, had relatively little
the deerskin trade, hunting conceivably had
free time. Even in the winter they had to keep
become so insignificant to the Cherokee
the fire going, prepare food, and make any items
economy that it was largely ritualistic.
they could indoors. In addition, some women
Traditional Cherokee ceremonial life may, in
followed the men on long hunts lasting three or
fact, reflect the relative importance of
four months in order to perform their customary
agriculture and hunting; most public
chores—carrying water, gathering wood, and
ceremonies, and in particular the Green Corn
cooking. Consequently, it is not surprising that
Ceremony, were associated with farming; none
Europeans generally believed Cherokee women
directly related to the chase.
to be victims of male exploitation.
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The Cherokees’ understanding of the
cosmos helped them understand their place in
the world. Although the Cherokees did not have
“deities” in the sense of physical representations
of spiritual beings they worshipped, they did
personify many things in the natural world and
assigned them religious significance. A female
spirit sometimes appeared as corn, while the
Cherokees regarded thunder and rivers as male
spirits. The most important “deities” were the
sun and the moon: the sun was female and the
moon was male. In some ways, this description
of the sun and moon symbolizes Cherokee
gender roles. The day belongs to the sun, the
night to the moon. Rarely can both be seen in
the sky at the same time. Similarly, men and
women had separate and distinct
responsibilities. But the Cherokees viewed the
tasks both women and men performed and the
contributions they made as essential to their
society and, like the sun and moon, to the
integrity of the universe.
The
Southeastern
Indians
By W. David Baird and Danney Goble18
The name of our state, Oklahoma, is a
Choctaw Indian word. The seals of five Indian
nations—the Choctaws, the Chickasaws, the
Creeks, the Seminoles, and the Cherokees—
appear on the great seal of Oklahoma. From
Atoka to Wewoka, countless place-names in the
state originate with the Five Tribes. Today,
nearly two-thirds of all the Indian people within
our state are members of one of the Five Tribes.
How do we explain this close connection
between Oklahoma and the Five Tribes?
Primarily, it is because people of those tribes
dominated the history of our state for most of
the nineteenth century. They were the first to
develop the land rather than just exploit it. They
organized Oklahoma’s earliest schools and
churches, as well as its first constitutional
government. In sum, the real pioneers of
modern Oklahoma were not Spanish, not
French, not European American; our pioneers
were people of those Southeastern tribes. To
help us appreciate their contribution, we need to
know something about them before their arrival
in Oklahoma. Although there were many
differences, all of the tribes held many beliefs
and customs in common at the time of the
arrival of the Europeans.
Traditional Religious Beliefs
The Southeastern Indians believed that all
living creatures and spiritual beings in the
universe existed together in harmony.
18
From Baird, W. David and Danney Goble. The Story of
Oklahoma. Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press,
1994.
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Everything—even directions, colors, and
numbers—had purpose and significance. If
tragedy occurred, Indians concluded that things
were no longer in harmony.
There were three worlds in the universe.
The perfectly harmonious Upper World was the
residence of gods like the Sun, the Moon,
Thunder, and Corn. Monsters and witches lived
in the Under World, which was filled with
chaos. Southeastern Indians lived in the third
world, or “This World,” which they conceived
of as a flat island floating on water and hanging
on four cords. This World benefited from fire,
which was a gift on the Sun, but it was often
troubled by the activities of spiritual beings
from the Under World. These visitors from the
Under World had to be treated carefully. If they
were slighted, they might strike the offender
with disease or even death.
The Five Tribes believed that ghosts were
the source of great misery. When a person died,
friends and relatives shouted and made noise to
frighten the dead person’s ghost up into the
western sky. Unfortunately, the ghost did not
always stay away but might return when it was
lonely and haunt its relatives. In contrast, spirits
known as the Immortals were friendly beings,
who looked after tired hunters and helped
defend villages from enemy attack. They were
invisible except when they wanted to be seen.
The Immortals lived on high peaks where no
timber grew.
Traditional Political Organization
Council composed of representatives from the
chiefdoms, had some influence when the
interests of all were involved.
A council of leading men chose the head of
the chiefdom, generally from one of the more
important clans. At their meetings each member
of the council, seated according to his rank,
listened politely to all speeches. The purpose of
the council was to achieve a consensus of
opinion and harmony of action. The objective
was the same in district or national councils.
Traditional Economic Systems
Indian children never agonized about what
they would do as adults. Men would clear land,
construct buildings, make tools and weapons,
hunt with a bow and arrows, and fish with
spears, traps, nets, and hooks. They would also
be warriors. Women would cultivate fields of
corn, squash, and beans, gather wild foods,
cook, manufacture baskets and pottery, tan
hides, make clothing, and raise the children.
Women owned the food they produced and
controlled the fields they worked. They did not,
however, own the land itself. Land was held in
common, owned by everyone, by the chiefdom.
There was no money system among the
Five Tribes. Goods changed hands in barter
transactions where on Indian might swap grain
for the meat of another Indian. Products also
moved from person to person as gifts. Members
of the Five Tribes wee more impressed with
generosity than individual wealth. They chose
their leaders because of their willingness to
share their possessions with the rest of the
chiefdom. In turn, the leaders had an obligation
to be generous, especially in the distribution of
the fruits of a common hunt or harvest.
The Southeastern Indians lived in political
units known as chiefdoms. The territories of a
chiefdom could extend over several miles and
contained at least one village, where residents
would gather to discuss matters of common
concern, play games, and participate in religious
Civilization Program
ceremonies. Often several chiefdoms joined
together to form larger political units. The
Choctaw chiefdoms coalesced into three to five
Once the American Revolution ended in
divisions that together comprised the tribe as a
1783, the newly formed United States
whole. Among Creeks, however, some fifty or
government dealt with the Indians much as it
more chiefdoms, known as “towns,” were
would have dealt with a European nation. It
virtually autonomous. Cherokee chiefdoms
recognizes each tribe as a sovereign community
were independent too, although a National
that conducted its internal affairs by traditional
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methods. If a change in relations between a
tribe and the United States was required, a treaty
was negotiated with tribal leaders, signed by the
President, and ratified by the Senate.
In relationships with the Indian, the goal of
the United States was quite simple. Its leaders
wanted to transform the tribes people so that
they behaved like white Americans. The
Indians were to set aside their natural way of
life in the wilderness for one dependent on
agriculture and domestic arts (spinning and
weaving), facilitated by reading, writing, and
arithmetic, and redeemed by the beliefs of
Christianity. In other words, the United States
officials wanted to civilize the Indians and then
assimilate them into American society.
The Five Tribes responded to the
civilization program differently. Some made it
clear that they did not want any part of it.
Others welcomed it, because they saw it as a
way or preserving their tribal independence,
since “civilized” people got more respect from
the whites than did “savages.” To win respect
of the outside world, the leaders of the Five
Tribes set a course of change. Although the
members of the prominent mixed-blood families
were most receptive to the changes,
“progressives” in favor of the changes came
from every level of tribal society.
New Religious Beliefs
attributing some of the pressure for removal on
the missionaries. There was similar feeling
among the Cherokees.
In none of the Five Tribes did Christianity
replace traditional Indian religion. The sacred
fires continued to burn in most villages. What
the Indians took from the missionaries they took
on their own terms and adapted to their own
needs and perspectives.
New Political Organization
The forms and functions of tribal
government changed dramatically under the
pressures of white civilization and the
encouragement of a small group of wealthy
mixed-blood Indians. In 1808 the first written
law of the Cherokees established a police force
that was to find, try, and execute criminals as
well as assure the descent of property through
the father’s line. To make government more
efficient, the Cherokees established an executive
committee of thirteen members, and by 1817 the
National Committee had become a powerful and
independent executive body. In 1819 the
Cherokees adopted a written constitution
modeled on that of the United States, creating a
government with legislative, executive, and
judicial branches. The Cherokees even
established a capital city at New Echota,
Georgia.
In 1826, the Choctaws wrote their first
constitution. It provided for a central
government with an executive of three district
chiefs and a council of elected representatives.
Among its first laws were those ordering the
construction of a national council house,
providing for inheritance through the father’s
line, and discouraging polygamy. The
Chickasaws began adopting written laws in
1829. The Creeks and the Seminoles did not
enact written codes of law and establish
constitutional governments until after removal
to Oklahoma.
The Southeastern Indians, as a general rule,
had little interest in the spiritual opportunities
presented by the Christian missionaries. At first
the Cherokees permitted missionary societies to
open schools only if the teachers kept their
religious convictions to themselves. Until 1822
the Creeks kept missionaries out of their
domain. The Choctaws were so impressed with
Presbyterian gospel that ten years passed before
thee was a single convert among them!
The removal crisis of the 1820s and 1830s
both helped and hurt the cause of Christianity
among the Five Tribes. In despair Choctaws by
the thousands attended both Methodist and
Presbyterian camp meetings and professed
belief in Christianity. On the other hand, the
Creeks became stridently anti-Christian,
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New Economic Systems
Early in the 1800s the economies of the
Southeastern tribes changed from hunting and
subsistence farming to herding and plantation
agriculture. Indian families Pitchlynns
(Choctaw) grazed large herds of cattle on
pastures once covered by white-tailed deer. The
McIntoshes (Creek) cleared large fields and
planted cotton. The cattlemen and planters sold
their calves and cotton crops to buyers in
adjacent states. A substantial number reinvested
the money they received in black slaves.
George Waters (Cherokee) possessed 100
slaves, while the Gunter family (Cherokee)
owned 104.
As United States currency began to
circulate within the tribal domains, Indians
opened their own stores and trading posts. One
of the most successful merchants was James
Vann (Cherokee). Still others, like John Ross
(Cherokee), built and operated ferries at crucial
river crossings.
In the household, the introduction of
spinning wheels and weaving looms changed
the work patterns of many women. No longer
did wives and daughters labor in the fields
planting and tending the corn crop. Rather their
days largely were spent in the house
manufacturing cloth and sewing clothes.
crossing the Mississippi River, and settling in
Arkansas. A small, militant group of the Creeks
known as the Red Sticks would go to the other
extreme by taking up arms against the American
during the War of 1812—a decision that would
bring increased antagonism from white
Americans on all members of the Five Tribes
once the war was over.
Resistance to Civilization
Not all Southeastern Indians embraced the
“civilization.” These “traditionalists”, who held
fast to the old way, are often associated with
tribal members with no white ancestors, the fullbloods. However, there where mixed-blood
traditionalists, but they were usually aspiring
leaders who adopted traditional perspectives to
primarily to win their political support. John
Ross (Cherokee) and Alexander McGillivray
(Creek) were two prominent mixed-blood
traditionalists.
Resistance to “civilization” was found in
many different forms. The Bowl (Cherokee)
and his followers chose a peaceful path of
resistance by leaving their traditional homeland,
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themselves to competitive society was of
immense benefit when the frontiersmen began
to press heavily upon them.
Four influences seemed to have
predominated in the transformation of these
Southern Indians. One influence was the whites
who infiltrated into the Indian country, became
members of the tribes, intermarried with them
and came to exert a large influence in Indian life
and government. A second force for
regeneration was the United States government
which through its Indian agents, trading stations,
and protection by the United States soldiers
exerted a salutary influence on the tribes. The
missionaries were a third influence which
induced the Indians to accept, at least in part,
19
Christian ideals and customs for the more
By Edward Davis
repulsive primitive Indian customs. Finally the
Indians themselves definitely accepted the white
The Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek
man's civilization and government in order to
and Seminole Indians are known as the Five
compete with the white civilization and combat
Civilized Tribes. Approximately 22.5 percent
the pressure of the States about them.
of the Indians of the United States are members
The first white man to come in contact with
of these tribes. The fact that five tribes, rated as
the Southern Indians was De Soto in his
civilized, constitute such a large portion of the
expedition 1539-1541. The Spaniards did not
Indians of the United States invites a study of
immediately follow this expedition up with
the civilizing influences which raised the
further explorations of settlements. The French
standard of culture of these Indians, and enabled
who settled Biloxi, Mobile, and New Orleans
them to maintain their numbers while many
had considerable contact with the Choctaws and
other tribes formerly strong became miserable
Creeks. They incurred the enmity of the
remnants of their former selves.
Chickasaws and were never able to win their
The Southern Indians were far advanced in
friendship. A French mission existed among the
civilization prior to the time of their first contact
Choctaws for some time in the early part of the
with the whites. Their economy was based on
18th century but with little evidence of
agriculture, and corn constituted the chief food
converting the Indians to Catholicism or of
in their diet. In addition, they raised pumpkins,
permanent results. Christian Priber, a French
several varieties of beans, squash, artichokes
Jesuit, was among the Cherokees from 1736 to
and tobacco. They utilized the wild fruits of the
about 1745. He seems to have taught many
forest, and made oil for cooking from acorns
Bible stories to the Cherokees and laid a
and hickory nuts. They fished and hunted to
foundation of knowledge that the Protestant
secure their meat and fat for cooking, while
missionaries built upon when they came to the
bear, deer, beaver, otter, and other skins
Nation about 1800. Many French intermarried
constituted most of the sources of their bedding,
among the Choctaws and Creeks. Greenwood
carpets, and clothing. As soon as white contacts
LeFlore, Chief of the Choctaws at the time of
were made with them, they adopted many of the
removal, was the son of a French father.
white customs and methods and made quick
Alexander McGillivray, Chief of the Creeks
adjustments to them. This ability to adjust
during Washington's administration, was the son
of a French-Creek mother.
19
Davis, Edward. “Early Advancement Among the Five
In the English colonies the Germans and
Civilized Tribes.” Chronicles of Oklahoma. Vol.
particularly
the Scotch or Scotch Irish usually
14, No. 2, June 1936.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Early
Advancement
Among the
Five Civilized
Tribes
occupied the frontier positions and often served
the other by retaliation. The United States made
as traders in the Indian trade. Such men
treaties with the Cherokees in 1785 and the
naturally formed marriage alliances with the
Choctaws in 1786 in which like terms were
Indian women and came to reside in the Indian
made.
country. The Revolutionary war gave an added
The white settlers continued to press on to
momentum for white men to press into the
Indian lands and new treaties were soon made in
Indian country. These men were often Tories
which the Indians were forced to cede additional
and sometimes caused friction between the
lands. A topic common to most of these treaties
Indians and the United States. They often came
of the 1790's was the insertion of clauses
from families of wealth and culture. They took
regulating horse stealing between whites and
their slaves with them and set up farms in the
Indians along the frontier. The Indians except
Indian country. The sons of these pioneers were
the Choctaws had been friends of the English
educated in the States. After the Creek War
during the Revolutionary War. They had
1813-1814 and Jackson's attack on the foreign
foraged along the frontier and obtained a supply
traders in Florida in 1817, they supported the
of livestock. They learned to conserve and
United States more loyally and came to exert a
propagate these horses, cattle and other
wholesome influence in Indian culture and
livestock. These stock, increased by many
government. Their homes and farms were,
introduced by the whites, served to lift the level
whether intentional or not, models of excellence
of the Indian life. The food supply of the
for the Indians to copy and their home methods
Indians was increased and horses were
tended gradually to be absorbed by the Indians.
beginning to be used, for plowing to replace the
The tribes, from about 1810 until the time the
crude hand methods of earlier days. As
removals to the west were completed, were
beneficial as the acquisition of livestock was to
controlled in a large measure by these mixed
the Indians, horse stealing was one of the very
blood Indians.
surest means of friction between the white
The early Indian policy of the United
frontiersmen and the Indians. The Indian agents
States, strangely enough, was stated by George
made strenuous attempts to repress horse
III, King of England, in a proclamation of
stealing. Benjamin Hawkins, the United States
October 7, 1763. In this proclamation the
Agent to the Creeks, required horses offered for
Indians' right of occupancy was recognized over
sale in the Creek country to be registered. Soon
their hunting grounds and they were not to be
the conditions improved and less and less
molested in that possession. Subjects of Great
friction arose from horse stealing.
Britain were to remove from recognized Indian
The Creek Treaty of August 7, 1790
lands and to refrain from future settlements.
pledged the Creek tribe to restore to the troops
The right of purchase of Indian lands was
of the United States such whites or Negroes as
reserved to the government and private parties
they might have in their possession. The treaty
were forbidden to make such purchases. The
of June 19, 1796 added property taken from
right to trade with the Indians was strictly
citizens of the United States to the list. The
limited to persons licensed by government
treaty of January 8, 1821 specified that the
officials.
Creeks should pay to the State of Georgia in
The Congress under the Articles of
five annual installments the value of property
Confederation followed the lines of the
taken before 1802 provided that the five
Proclamation of King George and in a
payments should not exceed $250,000.00.
Chickasaw treaty of 1786 with the United
Undoubtedly the Creeks were held responsible
States, certain specified lands were guaranteed
for Negroes who fled through the Creek Nation
to the Indians, white intruders were to be
and into the Seminole country. This led to
removed from there, the Indians, pledged
much later controversy. At the time of the
themselves to trade only with traders licensed
Seminole removal, the Creeks and other tribes
by the United States government, and both sides
assisted the United States in despoiling them of
pledged themselves not to injure the innocent of
their Negroes. Although many of such slaves
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were the legitimate property of citizens of the
Between 1795 and 1810 fourteen such stations
United States, the matter became a racket in
were established with four of them among the
which Indians and whites participated. This
five tribes. These trading stations were well
matter delayed and sorely complicated the
distributed and did much to break the power of
Seminole removal and advancement problem.
the Spanish and British in these tribes. Their
The Indian agents, blacksmiths, and
goods were cheaper than their competitors.
interpreters did fine work for a number of years
They sought to cooperate with the Indian agents
inducing the Indians to use horse culture, to
in introducing plants, animals, farm tools, and
raise more livestock, to change communal
home utensils among the Indians. When the
cultivation for individual fields, and to induce
system was discontinued in 1822, it was found
the Indian men to do a greater portion of the
that the stations had been operated at a financial
work in cultivating the fields. They showed the
loss to the federal government. They should be
Indians how to care for, protect, and increase
given, however, much credit for the forward
their livestock. They taught the Indians to plant
progress of the Indians.
and care for many varieties of fruit instead of
These earlier treaties of the five tribes with
depending on the wild fruits as they had
the United States provided the tribes with
formerly done. In the way of home
blacksmiths and interpreters. The Cherokee
conveniences they taught the Indian men to
treaty of February 27, 1819, provided for a tract
manufacture spinning wheels, looms, and like
of land 12 miles square to be set aside as a
devices for the making of cloth in the homes.
school fund. The lands were sold by the United
Many of these tools and articles were introduced
States and the proceeds invested as Cherokee
and soon the primitive Indian clothing gave
school fund. The Choctaw treaty of 1820
way, almost entirely, to civilized dress.
likewise provided 54 sections of land for sale
The traders from the Spanish territory in
and investment as a school fund. In 1825, the
their trade relations with the Southern Indians
United States, in addition, made permanent a
were a source of much trouble to the United
Choctaw annuity of $6000 which they had been
States. They plied the Indians with whisky and
using for schools. Then under the treaty of
drove hard bargains with their drunken
September 27, 1830, provision was made for the
customers. They, further, incited the Indians to
education of 20 Choctaw youths annually for
hostilities against the United States. These
twenty years. The Creek treaty of November
conditions were aggravated by the Seminoles
15, 1827 provided for $10,000 for education and
who were in the Spanish territory and freely
$5,000 for relief. The sum of $5,000 was to be
harbored slaves fleeing from the adjoining
spent for Creek youths at "Choctaw Academy in
states. Alexander McGillivray, Chief of the
Kentucky," $2,000 at two schools in Creek
Creeks during Washington's first administration,
Nation and $3,000 for mills, cards, and wheels.
was in league with the traders and benefited by
The Chickasaw Treaty of May 24, 1834
the trade. He played British, Spanish and
likewise provided $3,000 yearly for 15 years for
Americans off against each other and was under
the education of Chickasaw youths in the states.
the pay of each. Such situations were very
The Cherokee treaty of December 29, 1835 set
detrimental to our relations with the Indian
aside $50,000 for a fund for education and care
tribes.
of orphans and $200,000 in addition to existing
Congress under the Articles of
school funds for a permanent school fund.
Confederation had already evolved a plan that
These illustrate the beginnings of the school
aided materially in combating the menace of the
funds and of aid to education on the part of
foreign traders. The government established
these tribes.
trading houses with goods owned by it. These
As a forerunner of an active missionary
goods could be provided to the Indians cheaper
effort among the Indians, the Moravians were
than those from Pensacola. Not only was
the first Protestant denomination to establish a
whiskey prohibited in their trading but they
school among these tribes. This school was
cooperated in keeping it from the Indians.
opened at Spring Place, Georgia in 1801. Soon
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after this they established four stations among
mixed blood Indians often allied themselves
the Chickasaws.
with the Churches, and hastened the adoption of
The American Board of Commissioners for
Christian ideals.
Foreign Missions, a cooperative board of
The three factors treated above constitute a
Presbyterian and Congregational churches, was
great source of Indian advancement. The
next in this field. The Indians had requested
Indians themselves tremendously furthered the
schools and not churches. This Board therefore
objectives of these benefactors when they began
placed its major emphasis upon schools, but was
to choose the "white man's road" of their own
mildly evangelistic from the beginning. The
volition. The Cherokees met in 1808 with all
missionaries established Brainard Mission
the 7 clans present and passed an act of oblivion
which gave the name to Missionary Ridge near
for past offenses and renounced future
present Chattanooga, Tennessee in January
retaliation. After this date only horse thieves
1817. The next year they established Eliott
might be killed without trial and a provision was
Mission on the Yalobusha River in Northern
made for trials for them. Regulating companies
Mississippi. This station was on the border
were organized to enforce the law and punish
between the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations.
horse thieves and murderers and to probate
These institutions aimed to give the Indian
estates.
children training in agriculture, in mechanics,
The Cherokee legislation was amplified in
and in household arts. The missionaries worked
1810. The accidental killing of Indians was not
side by side with their charges in the school
to be punished. The murderer was to be
homes, shops, and farms. The younger Indians
punished although he might be the brother of the
progressed rapidly and soon acquired facility in
deceased. This law as the previous one left the
the English language and in various arts. The
thief of a horse at the mercy of the owner of the
adult Indians copied the clothing, houses and
horse, and the murderer of the horse thief should
agriculture of the mission stations. The stations
not be punished.
thus became, in a sense, experiment farms for
A very distinct step forward was made in an
the Indian tribes.
act of the Cherokee Council of October 24,
These first American Board stations were
1820. This act organized the Cherokee Nation
followed by others. In 1828 there were seven
into eight court districts and provided for a
mission stations and 34 workers among the
system of district and appellate courts and for
Cherokees and nine stations and 34 workers
district Councils. Each district was to have one
among the Choctaws and one station among the
Judge and a Marshal. A circuit Judge was
Chickasaws. This Board soon began the
provided for each two districts. A company of
evangelization of the Indians. Many prominent
light horse police was provided to accompany
Cherokees were converted and became
judges and punish offenders. A council house
members of Churches established in that Nation.
was established in each district and Councils
Evangelization was slow, at first, in the
met in the spring and fall. The act provided for
Choctaw Nation but some definite progress was
the collection of debts. A ranger was created to
made.
take up stray horses and if possible find their
The Baptist and Methodist Churches
owners. A rigid system of permits to traders
entered the field of missions to these Indians
and white laborers was provided for in October
somewhat later than the Moravians,
of 1819. The occupation taxes arising from the
Presbyterians, and Congregationalists. The
law of 1819 were used in defraying the cost of
Baptists established one school among the
the courts.
Creeks in 1823 and two school among the
The Choctaws soon made some notable
Cherokees soon after. The Methodists had one
attempts to discard their ancient customs and
school among the Creeks and four missionaries
adopt the white civilization. As an example, a
among the Cherokees in 1828. The active work
particularly repulsive burial custom of placing
of these two Churches was in camp meetings
their dead on scaffolds and later removing the
and in evangelistic effort. The more prominent
bones and placing them in a bone-house was
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changed about 1800 to burial with poles about
about 1900. Then in July 1827 the Cherokee
the grave. They held celebrations and "pulled"
Council met and formulated a Constitution for
or lifted the poles out of the ground. From
the tribe. This tribe now had a Constitution and
about 1820 to 1830 they discarded this
laws very similar to that of the states about
ceremony and adopted a form of Christian
them.
burial.
The Chickasaw, Choctaw and Cherokee
This striving for advancement is shown in a
tribes had adopted laws and governments
letter written by Oboho Kulla Humma, a fullpatterned after the whites. The Creeks had
blood Choctaw District Chief, to Cyrus
progressed in agriculture and made some
Kingsbury in October 1822. The Chief
progress in the acceptance of Christianity. The
explained that the previous year his district had
Seminoles had been so much involved in wars
passed laws for the prevention of infanticide,
and contests that they had made the least
introducing whisky, stealing hogs or cattle, or
progress. This start toward civilization would
running away with another man's wife. He then
probably have become greater had not the
made a very touching appeal to the American
removal problem intervened. This problem
Board to send missionaries to organize a school
served to embitter the Indians and postpone the
in his district. He asserted that the above laws
progress. Even though the educating influences
had been passed in order that the Indians might
were not given time to work out their logical
follow in the ways of the white man. He
conclusion a foundation for civilization had
pleaded for schools and education to supplement
been laid that has later proved of immeasurable
this work of legislation.
worth to the tribes.
The Northeastern District of the Choctaw
Nation in October 1821, created a system of
Light Horse Police. These were to have charge
of the execution of criminal laws and the
collection of debts. The Light Horse
apprehended criminals, tried the cases and on
conviction, executed the sentences. This system
was quickly extended to other districts of the
Nation. Greenwood LeFlore became District
Chief in 1824. Under his influence and that of
David Folsom and Peter P. Pitchlynn, the
Choctaws made great strides in the abolition of
primitive practices as witchcraft and blood
revenge. Soon the Choctaws modified their
district organizations and adopted a system of
tribal legislation, tribal chiefs, and a code of
written laws.
The Chickasaw movements have not been
treated at very great length. An investigation of
1830 showed them to have a set of laws which
promoted peace and good order among
themselves.
The Cherokees had been among the first to
accept the white standards. They still continued
to advance. In 1821 Sequoyah invented the
Cherokee alphabet. In 1826, a national
newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix was founded.
This paper was printed in both English and
Cherokee for the greater part of the time until
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Under these circumstances, the question
presented was, whether the General Government
had a right to sustain those people in their
pretensions? The Constitution declares, that “no
new State shall be formed or erected within the
jurisdiction of any other State,” without the
consent of its legislature. If the General
Government is not permitted to tolerate the
erection of a confederate State within the
territory of one of the members of this Union,
against her consent; much less could it allow a
foreign and independent government to
establish itself there. Georgia became a member
of the Confederacy which eventuated in our
Federal Union, as a sovereign State, always
asserting her claim to certain limits; which
having been originally defined in her colonial
December 8, 1829
charter, and subsequently recognized in the
treaty of peace, she has ever since continued to
. . . The condition and ulterior destiny of the
enjoy, except as they have been circumscribed
Indian Tribes within the limits of some of our
by her own voluntary transfer of a portion of her
States, have become objects of much interest
territory to the United States, in the articles
and importance. It has long been the policy of
cession of 1802. Alabama was admitted into the
Government to introduce among them the arts
Union on the same footing with the original
of civilization, in the hope of gradually
States, with boundaries which were prescribed
reclaiming them from a wandering life. This
by Congress. There is no constitutional,
policy has, however, been coupled with another,
conventional, or legal provision, which allows
wholly incompatible with its success.
them less power over the Indians within their
Professing a desire to civilize and settle them,
borders, than is possessed by Maine or New
we have, at the same time, lost no opportunity to
York. Would the People of Maine permit the
purchase their lands, and thrust them further into
Penobscot tribe to erect an Independent
the wilderness. By this means they have not
Government within their State? and unless they
only been kept in a wandering state, but been
did, would it not be the duty of the General
led to look upon us a unjust and indifferent to
Government to support them in resisting such a
their fate. Thus, though lavish in its
measure? Would the People of New York
expenditures upon the subject, Government has
permit each remnant of the Six Nations within
consistently defeated its own policy; and the
her borders, to declare itself an independent
Indians, in general, receding further and further
people under the protection of the United
to the West, have restrained their savage habits.
States? Could the Indians establish a separate
A portion, however, of the Southern tribes,
republic on each of their reservations in Ohio?
having mingled much with the whites, and made
and if they were so disposed, would it be the
some progress in the arts of civilized life, have
duty of this Government to protect them in the
lately attempted to erect an independent
attempt? If the principle involved in the
government, within the limits of Georgia and
obvious answer to these questions be
Alabama. These States, claiming to be the only
abandoned, it will follow that the objects of this
Sovereigns within their territories, extended
Government are reversed; and that it has
their laws over the Indians; which induced the
become a part of its duty to aid in destroying the
latter to call upon the United States for
States which it was established to protect.
protection.
Actuated by this view of the subject, I
informed the Indians inhabiting parts of Georgia
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Indian
Removal
Policy
Extract from President
Andrew Jackson's
Fifth Annual Message to
Congress
and Alabama, that their attempt to establish an
from the United States than such as may be
independent government would not be
necessary to preserve peace on the frontier, and
countenanced by the Executive of the United
between the several tribes. There the
States; and advised them to emigrate beyond the
benevolent may endeavor to teach them the arts
Mississippi, or submit to the laws of those
of civilization; and, by promoting union and
States.
harmony among them, to raise up an interesting
Our conduct towards these people is deeply
commonwealth, destined to perpetuate the race,
interesting to our national character. Their
and to arrest the humanity and justice of this
present condition, contrasted with what they
Government.
once were, makes a most powerful appeal to our
This emigration should be voluntary: for it
sympathies. Our ancestors found them the
would be as cruel as unjust to compel the
uncontrolled possessors of these vast regions.
aborigines to abandon the graves of their
By persuasion and force, they have been made
fathers, and seek a home in a distant land. But
to retire from river to river, and from mountain
they should be distinctly informed that, if they
to mountain; until some of the tribes have
remain within the limits of the States, they must
become extinct, and others have left but
be subject to their laws. In return for their
remnants, to preserve, for a while, their once
obedience, as individuals, they will, without
terrible names. Surrounded by whites, with
doubt, be protected in the enjoyment of those
their arts of civilization, which, by destroying
possessions which they have improved by their
the resources of the savage, doom him to
industry. But it seems to me visionary to
weakness and decay; the fate of the Mohegan,
suppose, that, in this state of things, claims can
the Narragansett, and the Delaware, is fast
be allowed on tracts of country on which they
overtaking the Choctaw, the Cherokee, and the
have neither dwelt nor made improvements,
Creek. That this fate surely awaits them, if they
merely because they have seen them from the
remain within the limits of the States, does not
mountain, or passed them in the chase.
admit of a doubt. Humanity and national honor
Submitting to the laws of the States, and
demand that every effort should be made to
receiving, like other citizens, protection in their
avert so great a calamity. It is too late to inquire
persons and property, they will, ere long,
whether it was just in the United States to
become merged in the mass of our population.
include them and their territory within the
bounds of new States whose limits they could
control. That step cannot be retraced. A State
cannot be dismembered by Congress, or
restricted in the exercise of her constitutional
power. But the people of those States, and of
every State, actuated by feelings of justice and a
regard for our national honor, submit to you the
interesting question, whether something cannot
be done, consistently with the rights of the
States, to preserve this much injured race?
As a means of effecting this end, I suggest,
for your consideration, the propriety of setting
apart an ample district West of the Mississippi,
and without the limits of any State or Territory,
now formed, to be guarantied to the Indian
tribes, as long as they shall occupy it: each tribe
having a distinct control over the portion
designated for its use. There they may be
secured in the enjoyment of governments of
their own choice, subject to no other control
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The Indian
Removal Act
May 28, 1830
An Act to Provide for an Exchange of Lands
with the Indians Residing in any States or
Territories, and for their Removal West of the
River Mississippi.
Be it enacted by . . . Congress . . . That it shall
and may be lawful for the President . . . to cause
so much of any territory belonging to the United
States, west of the river Mississippi, not
included in any state or organized territory, and
to which Indian title has been extinguished, as
he may judge necessary, to be divided into a
suitable number of districts, for the reception of
such tribes or nations of Indians as may choose
to exchange the lands where they now reside,
and remove there; and to cause each of said
districts to be so described by natural or
artificial marks, as to be easily distinguished
from every other.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall
and may be lawful for the President to exchange
any or all of such districts . . . with any tribe or
nation of Indians now residing within the limits
of any of the states or territories, and with which
the United States have existing treaties, for the
whole or any part or portion of the territory
claimed and occupied by such tribe or nation,
within the bounds of any one or more of the
states or territories, where the land claimed and
occupied by the Indians, is owned by the United
States, or the United States are bound to the
state within which it lies to extinguish the Indian
claim thereto.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That in the
making of any such exchange . . . it shall and
may be lawful for the President solemnly to
assure the tribe or nation with which the
exchange is made, that the United States will
forever secure and guarantee to them, and their
heirs or successors, the country so exchanged
with them . . . Provided always, That such lands
shall revert to the United States, if the Indians
become extinct, or abandon the same.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That if, upon
any of the lands now occupied by the Indians,
and to be exchanged for, there should be such
improvements as add value to the land claimed
by any individual or individuals of such tribes or
nations, it shall and may be lawful for the
President to cause such value to be ascertained .
. . and . . . to be paid to the person or persons
rightfully claiming such improvements. And
upon the payment of such valuation, the
improvements . . . shall pass to the United
States.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That upon the
making of any such exchange . . . it shall and
may be lawful for the President to cause such
aid and assistance to be furnished to the
emigrants as may be necessary and proper to
enable them to remove to, and settle in, the
country for which they may have exchanged;
and also, to give them such aid and assistance as
may be necessary for their support and
subsistence for the first year after their removal.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That is shall
and may be lawful for the President to cause
such tribe or nation to be protected, at their new
residence, against all interruption or disturbance
from any other tribe or nation of Indians, or
from any other person or persons whatever.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That it shall
be and may be lawful for the President to have
the same superintendence and care over any
tribe or nation in the country to which they may
remove . . . that he is now authorized to have
over them at their present places of residence:
Provided, That nothing . . . be construed as
authorizing . . . the violation of any existing
treaty between the United States and any of the
Indian tribes.
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refugees from one hiding place to another. By
the war’s end they had drifted to Florida and
settled among the Seminoles. Osceola grew into
manhood as a Seminole living north of presentday Tampa.
Soon after the Creek War ended, the First
Seminole War began. A major cause of the war
was conflict over black slaves. Many had
escaped from plantations to take refuge among
the Seminoles in Florida. Southern slaveholders
were furious and insisted that the army capture
runaway slaves and return them to their owners.
Major Andrew Jackson was dispatched to
20
the
scene
in March 1818. His troops fought
By Alan Lockwood and David Harris
several engagements with the Seminoles in
Spanish-owned Florida. The Seminoles were
Soon after gaining their independence from
finally driven south to the area around Tampa
England many Americans moved westward
Bay. Jackson withdrew, ending the war.
beyond the narrow coastal plain of the Atlantic.
After the First Seminole War it became
These pioneers braved the wilderness in search
clear to the Spanish that they had little control
of land for farms and plantations. In the
over Florida. It was turned over to the United
Southeast, white settlers steadily encroached on
States in 1819. Article 6 of the treaty with
the lands of the Creek Indians.
Spain stated that the inhabitants of Florida were
It was in 1813 that war broke out between
to be “admitted to the enjoyment of all
the Creeks of Georgia and the United States.
privileges, rights, and immunities of the citizens
The war ended the following year after General
of the United States.”
Jackson attacked a large Creek force, killing a
United States policy toward the Seminoles
thousand warriors. Fighting during the war
was
to
keep them, at least temporarily, in
forced migration of the Creeks from Georgia
Florida. Pressure increased on the government
into Florida. There they joined the Seminoles
to move the Indians westward. White
who had migrated to Florida during the previous
southerners claimed that unless the Indians were
century. Among the migrating Creeks was a
driven out of Florida, slaves would continue to
boy, later called Osceola, who was to become
join them. This pressure led in 1823 to the
one of the most famous figures in Florida
Treaty of Camp Moultrie. Under threat of
history.
renewed warfare, the leading chiefs,
Osceola was born in 1804 in Georgia. His
representing a majority of the Seminoles, signed
mother was a Creek Indian and his father a
the treaty. It had four major provisions.
white trader. Like other Creeks of mixed blood
1. The Seminoles gave up claim to the
with a Creek mother, Osceola considered
whole territory of Florida except for a
himself an Indian. He learned to kill squirrels
4-million-acre reservation.
with a bow and arrow and joined other boys for
2.
The U.S. government provided a cash
moonlight hunts after opossums and raccoons.
payment of $5,000 a year for 20 years,
He developed stealth in the woods that served
plus livestock and farm implements.
him well in the future as a warrior.
3. The Indians were to prevent runaway
The Creek War came close to young
slaves from entering the reservation.
Osceola. He and his mother fled with other
4. Whites would not be permitted to hunt,
settle, or intrude on the reservation.
20
Lockwood, Alan L. and David E. Harris. “A
The reservation boundaries were cut off
Unconquered Indian: Osceola.” Reasoning with
from the Florida coasts, so fishing was no
Democratic Values. Vol. 1. New York: Teachers
longer possible for the Indians. Furthermore,
College Press, 1985.
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An
Unconquered
Indian:
Osceola
the reservation land was poor for agriculture. A
agree to move their people there to live. Several
few inches of topsoil covered a base of white
leading Seminole chiefs did not sign the Payne’s
sand. If plowed for any length of time the sand
Landing Treaty. It was, however, ratified by the
became dominant. About a year after the Treaty
U.S. Senate and proclaimed by President
of Camp Moultrie was signed most Seminoles
Jackson.
experienced severe hunger. Some died of
The following year a party of Seminole
starvation.
chiefs examined the proposed reservation
By this time Osceola had risen to the
beyond the Mississippi and found it to their
position of Seminole war chief. He was an
liking. Upon returning, without consulting the
outstanding athlete, deeply admired for his
other chiefs, they signed an agreement on behalf
physical skills by other Indians. Despite harsh
of their nation. The agreement stated that they
conditions on the Seminole reservation, Osceola
would begin removal to their new homeland as
was determined to enforce the terms of the
soon as the federal government made
Camp Moultrie Treaty. He did not want his
arrangements.
people to be forced to move westward.
When they heard what the delegation of
Conditions west of the Mississippi, where
chiefs had agreed to, many Seminole leaders,
traditional enemies of the Seminole lived, would
including Osceola, were outraged. They
be even worse for his people. With a small
insisted that the chiefs who agreed to removal
band of followers, he began police actions to
had no authority to speak for all Seminoles. The
prevent young Seminoles from harming whites
prestige of Osceola increased as resistance to
or stealing white people’s property. This he
emigration grew. At a private council of
believed necessary if the Seminoles were to
Seminole chiefs, he said:
avoid being forced out of Florida. Many
If we must fight, we will fight. . . . I
Seminoles, nearly starving, raided white men’s
hope we don’t have to fight the white
cattle. Several murders were also committed.
man, but if it happens, every one of our
Osceola helped bring some of the offenders to
warriors will be ready . . . they white
justice.
people got some of our chiefs to sign a
Conflict over land, slaves, and cattle
paper to give our lands to them; but our
persisted between the Seminoles and the whites.
chiefs did not do as we told them to do.
The hatchet descended with Andrew Jackson
They did wrong; we must do right.
became President. In May 1830, the Removal
Osceola had now assumed leadership of the
Act was passed by congress and signed by the
Seminole nation. The chiefs, except those
President. The new law provided that the
favoring removal, were united behind him.
government could trade land in the West for
Because resistance to the Payne’s Landing
Indian land in the East. Under the law the
Treaty grew, the military commander of all
government could do whatever was necessary to
troops in Florida called a meeting in 1835. The
remove the Indians to the new land. The
purpose of the meeting was to gain acceptance
Removal Act was designed to expand white
for peaceful removal. A large number of
settlement by moving the Indians out of the
Seminole chiefs assembled for the meeting.
southeastern states.
Most were bitter and defiant. They protested
In accordance with the Removal Act, a
the Payne’s Landing Treaty, claiming it did not
conference was called in 1832 between white
represent the desires of the Seminole nation.
officials and Seminoles chiefs. They met at a
After listening to the protests of several
place called Payne’s Landing, near Fort King,
chiefs, the U.S. Indian Agent for the Florida
the army post near the Seminole reservation. At
Territory, General Wiley Thompson, addressed
the conference a treaty was signed. The Treaty
the chiefs. He picked up a document from the
of Payne’s Landing provided that a party of
conference table and read it aloud, pausing for
Seminole chiefs would be sent to examine the
the translator. The document asserted that the
country west of the Mississippi River. If the
Payne’s Landing Treaty was valid.
chiefs thought the country suitable, they would
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Thompson insisted that the Seminoles had
sale of arms and powder to the Indians.
agreed to go West. He demanded that the chiefs
Thompson was still angry about Osceola’s
confirm the Payne’s Landing Treaty by signing
refusal to sign the document approving the
the new document. Eight of the thirteen chiefs
Payne’s Landing Treaty. An argument broke
around the table signed. Five of the leading
out. Osceola flew into a flurry and stormed out
chiefs refused. Thompson, red with anger,
of the agent’s office. Thompson ordered four
picked up another paper. It was a list of
soldiers to overtake him. As they dragged
Seminole chiefs. Seizing the pen, he made five
Osceola back to the fort he shouted, “I shall
slashes on the roll. He then faced the Indians
remember this hour! The agent has his day, I
and said, “I have removed five names from the
will have mine!”
roll of the chiefs. These men no longer
represent the Seminole Nation.” Thompson’s
actions made one point clear to the Indians:
removal would be enforced with or without their
consent.
Thompson’s action of deposing the chiefs
was a deadly insult. When his words had been
translated, a roar of anger arose from the
deposed chiefs. There were wild shrieks from
warriors around the meeting tent. Finally, calm
was restored by the eight chiefs who had signed.
General Thompson now wanted the
subchiefs who were present to sign the
document. Some of them came forward and
made their marks on the paper. Osceola stood
silently with his arms folded. Thompson read
his name, signaling that he should step forward
to sign. In his graceful catlike manner, he
Osceola: Seminole Leader
approached the table, gazing sternly into
Osceola was placed in irons and confined to
Thompson’s eyes. With a sweeping motion he
the guardhouse. By nightfall his fury abated,
suddenly drew his hunting knife and stabbed
and he was able to think clearly. Thompson, he
savagely through the paper on the table. With
though, must be killed for this terrible insult.
this defiant gesture he cried out, “This is the
Meanwhile he needed a means of being
only way I sign!” Amidst the shock of white
released. He decided to lie. He apologized to
officials, Osceola yanked out his knife and
Thompson, agreed to sign the paper confirming
calmly walked away. The flash of his knife was
Payne’s Landing Treaty, and promised to urge
a hint of what was to come.
other Seminoles to move West. The irons were
Osceola, more than any other Seminole
struck and Osceola left the guardhouse in
leader, inspired his people to fight rather than
silence, revenge on his mind.
move West. He became a symbol of Indian
Matters moved toward disaster. A council
resistance to white domination. That resistance
of Seminole chiefs met and decided to resist
led to the Second Seminole War, the costliest
removable forcibly. The chiefs appointed
ever fought against the American Indian. It
Osceola head war chief. They also decided that
resulted in fifteen hundred deaths among white
those chiefs who favored removal be treated like
soldiers and cost the United States almost 40
enemies and killed.
million dollars, an enormous sum for the times.
One chief who believed in emigration was
In June 1835, before hostilities broke out,
Charley
Emathla. Osceola led four hundred
Osceola paid a final visit to Wiley Thompson in
warriors to Charley Emathla’s village where
his office at Fort King. Osceola had come to
they surrounded the chief’s lodge. They
complain about the general’s recent ban on the
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demanded that the chief pledge himself and his
soldiers barely had a chance to return the fire.
people to resist removal. The chief protested,
By the end of the assault 107 soldiers were
saying that the only hope of being saved from
killed and only 3 Seminoles.
total destruction was to go West. Osceola and
Osceola was winning his war. U.S.
12 companions ambushed the chief the next day
generals had been unable to subdue the
and shot him to death.
Seminoles. This gave Osceola little satisfaction,
Hostilities between Seminoles and soldiers
however. He knew that in the long run the
began in December 1835. During the early days
superior forces of the whites could overcome his
of the war, Osceola’s enemy General Wily
people. His goal was now to secure an
Thompson, still believed the Indians could be
honorable peace before the Seminole will to
coerced into removal. Midday on December 28,
resist disintegrated.
1935, he walked from his office at Fort King to
As the war became a stalemate, Osceola
the officer’s mess for lunch. After a leisurely
decided to discuss a possible peace with General
meal Thompson took a stroll outside the fort.
Thomas Jessup, commander of U.S. forces.
When he did not return, a party was sent out to
Jessup had only one goal in mind: stop the war
search for him. His body was found stabbed,
by stopping Osceola. Other Seminole leaders
scalped, and riddled with fourteen bullets.
were important, but they were mere shadows
Osceola had taken his revenge against the
when compared to Osceola. Recently Jessup
Indian agent.
had received a note from Osceola claiming he
Full-scale warfare was now in progress.
could holdout against the total forces of the
Osceola’s grasp of tactics was excellent. HitUnited States for five years.
and-run attacks by the Seminoles were
In October 1837, Osceola arrived near St.
successful. The white soldiers were trained for
Augustine with about one hundred warriors to
open combat on battlefields. They were
engage Jessup in peace talks. A white flag of
unprepared for repeated ambushes by Seminole
truce flew above the Seminole camp. While
warriors concealed in the swamps and forests of
they spoke, soldiers encircled the Indian camp
Florida. In addition to attacks on soldiers,
and closed it in. No shots were fired. The
Seminole bands plundered the civilian
Seminoles were armed but it was too late to
settlements along the east coast of the peninsula.
resist. Osceola was captured and placed in a
Plantations were attacked and burned as far
cell at Fort Marion, an old Spanish prison.
south as Miami.
Soon after his capture, Osceola had an
Characteristic of combat early in the war
opportunity to escape with his companions. The
was an incident now known as Dade’s
Indian prisoners were confined in a small
Massacre. On a cold December morning in
dungeon of the prison lighted only by a small
1835, 108 men under the command of Major
opening in the wall. There were two metal bars
Francis Dade were marching along the Little
across the opening. On the night of October 21,
Withlacoochee River toward Fort King. The
1837, one of the bars, which was either rusted or
soldiers gnawed at cold field rations. They
loose, was removed by one of the Indians. With
plowed through the mud, often waist-deep in
one bar removed, the prisoners managed to
swamp water. Mosquitoes and flies bit their
squeeze with great difficulty through the
necks. Alligators lay on the surface of adjacent
opening. The sharp stones scraped skin off their
sands. It was a struggle for the soldiers to keep
bodies. Earlier they had cut up the bags given
their cartridge boxes and weapons dry. They
to them to sleep on. The shredded bags
were also frightened that Seminole warriors
furnished the material for rope which they used
might be hiding in the woods, waiting to
to reach the ground below. Twenty Seminoles
ambush them.
escaped from their Fort Marion cell that night
Suddenly the morning silence was shattered
and made their way safely back to a Seminole
as a single shot rang out in the midst. Major
encampment. Osceola refused to join his
Dade slumped in his saddle. An ear-splitting
cellmates in their escape. When asked why he
assault by Seminole warriors followed. The
had not joined those who escaped, he proudly
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replied, “I have done nothing to be ashamed of;
it is for those to feel shame who entrapped me.”
On January 30, 1838, Osceola died of
malaria in prison. Though a few chiefs
continued to fight, Seminole resistance began to
crumble. By 1842, the war had sputtered to an
end. A small number of Seminoles retreated to
the Everglades. Most were removed west to
Oklahoma.
Cherokees
Debate
Removal
By Michael P. Johnson21
President Jackson proudly announced to
Congress in 1830 that the “benevolent policy of
the government . . . in relation to the removal of
the Indians beyond the white settlements is
approaching to a conclusion.” To the Indians
being removed, the policy did not appear
benevolent. In 1836, Congress ratified the
Treaty of New Echota, which provided that the
Cherokees would relinquish all claims to land
east of the Mississippi in return for land west of
the Mississippi, a large cash payment, and help
moving to their new homes. The treaty bitterly
divided the Cherokees. The largest group, led
by the principal chief, John Ross, opposed the
treaty and insisted that the Cherokees not give
up their lands. A minority group, led by Elias
Boudinot, signed the treaty and urged other
Cherokees to accept its terms. The following
selections from the letters of Ross and Boudinot
reveal the clashing assessments among
Cherokees about the threats they confronted and
how best to respond to them.
John Ross, 1836
Answer to Inquires from a Friend
I wish I could acquiesce in your impression,
that a Treaty has been made, by which every
difficulty between the Cherokees and the United
States has been set at rest; but I must candidly
say, that I know of no such Treaty. I do no
mean to prophesy any similar troubles to those
which have, in other cases, followed the failure
21
Johnson, Michael P. “Cherokees Debate Removal.”
Reading the American Past. Vol. 1. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005.
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to adjust disputed points with Indians; the
wrong us with their eyes open. I am persuaded
Cherokees act on a principle preventing
they have erred only in ignorance, and an
apprehensions of that nature—their principle is,
ignorance forced upon them by the
“endure and forbear”; but I must distinctly
misrepresentation and artifices of the interested.
declare to you that I believe, the document [the
. . . The Cherokees, under any circumstances,
Treaty of New Echota] signed by unauthorized
have no weapon to use but argument. If that
individuals at Washington, will never be
should fail, they must submit, when their time
regarded by the Cherokee nation as a Treaty.
shall come, in silence, but honest argument they
The delegation appointed by the people to make
cannot think will be forever used in vain. The
a Treaty, have protested against that instrument
Cherokee people will always hold themselves
“as deceptive to the world and a fraud upon the
ready to respect a real treaty and bound to
Cherokee people.” . . .
sustain any treaty which they can feel that they
With your impressions concerning the
are bound to respect. But they are certain not to
advantages secured by teh subtle instrument in
consider the attempt of a very few persons to
question, you will, no doubt, wonder at this
sell the country for themselves, as obligatory
opposition. But it possesses not the advantages
upon them, and I and all my associates in the
you and others imagine; and that is the reason
regular delegation, still look confidently to the
why it has encountered, and ever will encounter
effect of a sense of justice upon the American
opposition. You suppose we are to be removed
community, in producing a real settlement of
through it from a home, by circumstances
this question, upon equitable terms and with
rendered disagreeable and even untenable, to be
competent authorities. But, on one point, you
secured in a better home, where nothing can
may be perfectly at rest. Deeply as our people
disturb or dispossess us. Here is the great
feel, I cannot suppose they will ever be goaded
mystification. We are not secured in the new
by those feelings to any acts of violence. No,
home promised to us. We are exposed to
sir. They have been too long inured to suffering
precisely the same miseries, from which, if this
without resistance, and they still look to the
measure is enforced, the Untied States’ power
sympathies and not to the fears, of those who
professes to relieve us, but does so entirely by
have them in their power. In certain recent
the exercise of that power, against our will.
discussions in the representative hall at
If we really had the security you and others
Washington, our enemies made it an objection
suppose we have, we would not thus complain.
against me and against others, that we were not
One impression concerning us, is, that
Indians, but had the principles of white men, and
though we object to removal, as we are equally
were consequently unworthy of a hearing in the
averse to becoming citizens of the United States,
Indian cause. I will own that it has been my
we ought to be forced to remove; to be tied hand
pride, as Principal Chief of the Cherokees, to
and foot and conveyed to the extreme western
implant in the bosoms of the people, and to
frontier, and then turned loose among the wild
cherish in my own, the principles of white men!
beasts of the wilderness. Now, the fact is, we
It is to this fact that our white neighbors must
never have objected to become citizens of the
ascribe their safety under the smart of the
United States and to conform to her laws; but in
wrongs we have suffered from them. It is in this
the event of conforming to her laws, we have
they may confide for our continued patience.
required the protection and privileges of her
But when I speak of the principles of white men,
laws to accompany that conformity on our part.
I speak not of such principles as actuate those
We have asked this repeatedly and repeatedly
who talk thus to us, but of those mighty
has it been denied. . . .
principles to which the United States owes her
In conclusion I would observe, that I still
greatness and her liberty. To principles like
strongly hope we shall find ultimate justice from
these even yet we turn with confidence for
the good sense of the administration and of the
redemption from our miseries. When Congress
people of the United States. I will not even yet
shall be less overwhelmed with business, no
believe that either the one of the other would
doubt, in some way, the matter may be brought
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to a reconsideration, and when the
representatives of the American people have
leisure to see how little it will cost them to be
just, we are confident they will be true to
themselves, in acting with good faith towards
us. Be certain that while the Cherokees are
endeavoring to obtain a more friendly
consideration from the United States, they will
not forget to show by their circumspection how
well they merit it; and though no doubt there are
many who will represent them otherwise, for
injurious purposes, I can assure you that the
white people have nothing to apprehend, even
from our sense of contumely [humiliating
insults] and unfairness, unless it be through the
perverse and the treacherous maneuvers of such
agents as they themselves may keep among us.
contact with settled prejudices—with the deeprooted attachment for the soil of our forefathers.
Aside from these natural obstacles, the influence
of the chiefs, who were ready to take advantage
of the well-known feelings of the Cherokees, in
reference to their lands, was put in active
requisition against us. . . .
It is with sincere regret that I notice you
[John Ross] say little or nothing about to moral
condition of this people, as affected by present
circumstances. I have searched in vain, in all
your late communications, for some indication
of our sensibility upon this point. . . . Indeed,
you seem to have forgotten that your people are
a community of moral beings, capable of an
elevation to an equal standing with the most
civilized and virtuous, or a deterioration to the
level of the most degraded, of our race. . . . Can
it be possible that you consider the mere pains
Elias Boudinot, 1837
and privations of the body, and the loss of a
A Reply to John Ross
paltry sum of money, of a paramount
importance to the depression of the mind and
the degradation and pollution of the soul? That
“What is to be done?” was a natural
the difficulties under which they are laboring,
inquiry, after we found that all our efforts to
originating from the operation of the State laws,
obtain redress from the General Government, on
and their absorption by a white population, will
the land of our fathers, had been of no avail.
affect them in that light, I need not here stop to
The first rupture among ourselves was the
argue with you: that they have already affected
moment we presumed to answer that question.
them, is a fact too palpable, too notorious, for us
To a portion of the Cherokee people it early
to deny it: that they will increase to affect them,
became evident that the interest of their
in proportion to the delay of applying the
countrymen and the happiness of their posterity,
remedy, we need only judge from past
depended upon an entire change of policy.
experience. How, then, can you reconcile your
Instead of contending uselessly against superior
conscience and your sense of what is
power, the only course left, was, to yield to
determined by the best interest of your people. .
circumstances over which they had no control.
. . How can you persist in deluding your people
In all difficulties of this kind, between the
with phantoms, and in your opposition to that
United States and the Cherokees, the only mode
which alone is practicable, when you see them
of settling them has been by treaties;
dying a moral death?
consequently, when a portion of our people
To be sure, from your account of the
became convinced that no other measures would
condition
and circumstances of the Cherokees,
avail, they became the advocates of a treaty, as
the public may form an idea different from what
the only means to extricate the Cherokees from
my remarks may seem to convey. When
their perplexities, hence they were called the
applied to a portion of our people, confined
treaty party. Those who maintained the old
mostly to whites intermarried among us, and the
policy, were known as the anti-treaty party. At
descendants of whites, your account is probably
the head of the latter has been Mr. John Ross.
correct . . . but look at the mass, look at the
To advocate a treaty was to declare war
entire population as it now is, and say, can you
against the established habits of thinking
see any indication of a progressing
peculiar to the aborigines. It was to come in
improvement, anything that can encourage a
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philanthropist? You know that it is almost a
opinion, and under such a settled opinion I have
dreary waste. I care not if I am accounted a
acted in al this affair. My language has been;
slanderer of my country’s reputation; every
“fly for your lives”; it is now the same. I would
observing man in this nation knows that I speak
say to my countrymen, you among the rest, fly
the words of truth and soberness. In the light
from the moral pestilence that will finally
that I consider my countrymen, not as mere
destroy our nation.
animals, and to judge of their happiness by their
What is the prospect in reference to your
condition as such, which, to be sure, is bad
plan or relief, if you are understood at all to
enough, but as moral beings, to be affected for
have any plan? It is dark and gloomy beyond
better or for worse by moral circumstances, I
description. Subject the Cherokees to the laws
say their condition is wretched. Look, my dear
of the States in their present condition? It
sir, around you, and see the progress that vice
matters not how favorable those laws may be,
and immorality have already made! see the
instead of remedying the evil you would only
spread of intemperance, and the wretchedness
rivet the chains and fasten the manacles of their
and misery it has already occasioned! I need
servitude and degradation. The final destiny of
not reason with a man of your sense and
our race, under such circumstances, is too
discernment, and of your observation, to show
revolting to think of. Its course must be
the debasing character of that vice to our people;
downward, until it finally becomes extinct or is
you will find an argument in very tippling shop
merged in another race, more ignorable and
in the country; you will find its cruel effects in
more detested. Take my word for it, it is the
the bloody tragedies that are frequently
sure consummation, if you succeed in
occurring in the frequent convictions and
preventing the removal of your people. The
executions for murders, and in the tears and
time will come when there will be only here and
groans of the widows and fatherless, rendered
there those who can be called upon to sign a
homeless, naked, and hungry, but this vile curse
protest, or to vote against a treaty for their
of our race. And has it stopped its cruel ravages
removal; when the few remnants of our once
with the lower or poorer classes of our people?
happy and improving nation will be viewed by
Are the higher orders, if I may so speak, left
posterity with curious and gazing interest, as
untainted? While there are honorable
relics of a brave and noble race. Are our people
exceptions in all classes . . . it is not to be denied
destined to such a catastrophe? Are we to run
that, as a people, we are making a rapid
the race of all our brethren who have gone
tendency to a general immorality and
before us, and of whom hardly any thing is
debasement. What more evidence do we need,
known but their name, and, perhaps, only here
to prove this general tendency, than the slow but
and there a solitary being, waking, “as a ghost
sure insinuation of the lower vices into our
over the ashes of his fathers,” to remind a
female population? Oh! it is heart-rending to
stranger that such a race once existed? May
think of these things, much more to speak of
God preserve us from such a destiny.
them; but the world will know them, the world
does know them, and we need not try to hid our
shame. . . .
If the dark picture which I have here drawn
is a true one, and no candid person will say it is
an exaggerated one, can we see a brighter
prospect ahead? In another country, and under
other circumstances, there is a better prospect.
Removal, then, is the only remedy, the only
practicable remedy. By it there may be finally a
renovation; our people may rise from their very
ashes, to become prosperous and happy, and a
credit to our race. Such has been and is now my
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tribes, bequeathing a mental poise to their
descendants, many of whom achieved wealth,
distinction and influence among the Indians.
Scottish surnames became common among the
Cherokees, Creeks and Choctaws and the
absorption process continued through the years
as these racial currents amalgamated. In the
22
political affairs of the Cherokee Nation, Scottish
By John Bartlett Meserve
influence began to evidence itself and for
upwards of fifty years, the political life of that
It is to the social upheaval and the chaos of
tribe yielded to the influence of chieftains of
religious beliefs which engaged England and all
Scottish blood.
Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, that
Among the Scottish immigrants who
America is indebted for its first substantial
arrived
at Charlestown, South Carolina in 1766,
settlement. When the Church of England folk
was young John MacDonald, who was born at
began to oppress the Puritans in the valley of the
Inverness, Scotland in 1737. He immediately
lower Trent, the Puritans withdrew to Holland
removed to Savannah, Georgia and became
and from thence came to Massachusetts. When,
engaged as a clerk in a trading store that did a
under Cromwell's regime, the Roundhead
thriving business with the Indians. The young
abused the Churchman, the latter sought refuge
Scotchman evidenced much finesse in his
in Virginia. Likewise later, the persecuted
dealings with the Indian clientele of his
Quaker found a haven in New Jersey and
employers that resulted in his being sent to Fort
Pennsylvania and the Catholic sought religious
Loudon, on the Tennessee River near Kingston,
tolerance in Maryland. Here each brought his
Georgia, to open up a trading post and carry on
peculiar religious tenets and here they continued
a trade with the Cherokees. Shortly thereafter,
to dispute wherever they were afforded an
he married Anne Shorey, a daughter of William
opportunity or could beg one. The Scotch
Shorey and Chi-goo-ie (“sweetheart”) his full
immigrant to the shores of America was
blood Cherokee Indian wife and was adopted
influenced by the repeated collapse of his efforts
into the Cherokee tribe. He subsequently
to reestablish the Stuarts upon the throne of
removed, with certain of the Cherokees and
England. He was of Calvinistic stock but was
located near Lookout Mountain, Tennessee,
less serious minded about laying up treasures in
where he resumed his trading operations and
Heaven; his interest was absorbed in the
where he met and formed the acquaintance of
plentitude of golden opportunity among the
Daniel Ross under circumstances which had a
Indians in the new country. These sturdy,
rather romantic denouement.
militant folk settled largely in the Carolinas and
Daniel Ross was a native of
later in Georgia. The Highlanders, in many
Southerlandshire,
Scotland where he was born
instances and quite naturally, headed back into
in 1760 and as a child came with his parents to
the hill country of these colonies and obviously
America in the latter half of the 18th century.
their immediate contact with the Indians was
His parents settled at Baltimore where young
much more complete than was that of other
Ross was orphaned about the close of our War
settlers who lingered in the tidewater regions.
of the Revolution. The young man,
The Indians gave a ready response to the
accompanied by a companion by the name of
fraternal spirit evidenced by the Scottish
Mayberry, journeyed to Hawkins County,
settlers, the utmost comity prevailed and many
Tennessee where they constructed a flat boat
of the Highlanders were accorded tribal
which they loaded with merchandise and the
membership. Numerous Scotch traders and
adventurous pair undertook a trip down the
settlers intermarried with the women of the
Tennessee River to the Chickasaw country to
engage in the fur trade with the Indians. At
22
Meserve, John Bartlett. “Chief John Ross.” Chronicles
Sitico, on the Tennessee River near Lookout
of Oklahoma. Vol. 13, No. 4. Winter 1935.
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Chief John
Ross
Mountain, they were detained by the Cherokees
own cotton and woolen cloth and blankets and
and as a consequence, were enforced to remain
knitted the stockings worn by the family. The
among the members of that tribe. It was here
Indians lived in cabins built of hewn logs with
that young Ross became acquainted with John
well-built floors and chimneys. The wealthier
MacDonald and the members of his family and
members enjoyed fine plantation homes.
in 1786, married his daughter Mary. She was
Hunting shirts, leggings and moccasins along
born at Fort Loudon, Tennessee, on November
with old customs and religions were rapidly
1, 1770 and died at Maryville, Tennessee on
disappearing. Political progress kept apace with
October 5, 1808. During the next twenty years,
education and economic advancement and in
Daniel Ross traveled among and traded with the
1817, New Echota was made the capital of the
Cherokee Indians at numerous trading posts that
nation and by 1820, a modest form of
he had established. He enjoyed the highest
representative government was enjoyed and
confidence of these Indians, wielded
admirably administered. All savage, nomadic
considerable influence among them and died on
impulses and practices of the red man had been
May 22, 1830. The children of Daniel and
abandoned and the Cherokees lived at peace
Mary Ross were Jennie, Eliza, John, Susannah,
among themselves and with the adjoining tribes.
Lewis, Andrew, Annie, Margaret and Marie.
Missionaries had been a most potent factor in
The celebrated Cherokee Chieftain John
the advancement made by these Indians.
Ross, son of Daniel and Mary Ross was born at
During the years of their progress, the
Ross Landing, now Chattanooga, Tennessee on
menace of potential eviction from their ancient
October 3, 1790. There being no schools to
and hereditary homes ever confronted the
accommodate the education of his growing
Cherokees. They stubbornly parried the earliest
family, Daniel Ross who was then living at
efforts of the Government, but as time
Maryville, Tennessee, prevailed upon the
progressed the menace grew until their peaceful
Cherokee council, about the closing days of the
homes were rudely violated and the actual
18th century, to take its initial steps in the
deportation of these unwilling Indians was
matter of education. The first school was
enforced. The years preceding the removal of
established at Maryville and John Ross was one
the Cherokees to the old Indian Territory were
of the first pupils. He subsequently attended an
eventful years in their history. The path of exile
academy at Kingston where he remained for two
across the prairies to the West and the struggles
or three years and later clerked at a trading post.
during the inceptive years in their new homes,
Independent trading operations were later
were painful experiences. It was no pageantry
undertaken by young Ross and his brother
of adventure; it was a boulevard of broken
Lewis which proved quite successful.
dreams. Much dishonor was involved in our
The dawn of the 19th century found the
early treatment of the Cherokees. Through
Cherokees, not only the most powerful but also
these uncharted seas, the stricken Indians were
the most civilized of the North American tribes.
extremely fortunate to possess the masterful and
Their domain covered lands in southern
unselfish leadership of John Ross, chieftain of
Tennessee, southwestern North Carolina,
the Cherokee Nation from 1828 until his death
western South Carolina, northwestern Georgia
in 1866. The life story of John Ross covers fifty
and northern Alabama. Remarkable progress
years of the vital history of the Cherokee
was being made in education and in the
Indians with every portion of which his efforts
adoption of the civilized methods of the white
were closely interwoven. These were the years
man. Schools, churches, and asylums were
of their greatest distresses and later, of their
established by leaders who were comparable in
rehabilitation.
ability with that of their white oppressors. By
The public service of John Ross began at
1822 each family cultivated from ten to forty
the age of 19 years when Indian Agent Meigs
acres, raising corn, rye, wheat and cotton and
dispatched him on a mission to the Western
much trading was done with their white
Cherokees in Arkansas. He later enlisted and
neighbors. The women spun and wove their
served as an adjutant in his company in a
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regiment of Cherokee warriors who fought with
Government to proceed with the deportation of
General Jackson in the Creek War of 1813-14.
the tribes.
The young adjutant served with distinction and
John Ross became president of the National
rendered heroic service at Horseshoe Bend in
Committee in October 1819, a position he
the spring of 1814, when the recalcitrant Creek
continued to occupy for eight years. The
were well nigh annihilated. After the war,
National Committee was, at that time, the
young Ross and his brother Lewis engaged in
designation of the upper house of the legislative
the mercantile business and in 1816, he made a
branch of the Cherokee national government.
business trip to New York.
The progress made by the Cherokees was
United States officials in surveying the
greatly augmented in 1821, by the invention of
lands ceded by the Creeks at the conclusion of
the Cherokee alphabet by Sequoyah, a full blood
the Creek War by the Treaty of August 9, 1814,
member of the tribe. The response of the
undertook to include a fraction of the Cherokee
Indians to this innovation was truly phenomenal
domain. A protesting delegation, of which John
and in 1823 Sequoyah, with unselfish zeal,
Ross was a member, hastened to Washington
carried his invention to the Western Cherokees
and negotiated the Treaty of March 22, 1816
in Arkansas, where he established his permanent
whereby the boundary lines of the Nation were
abode. In the fall of that year the Cherokee
satisfactorily adjusted. With this service was
council, in recognition of the splendid
inaugurated a fifty-year period of unremitting
contribution made by Sequoyah, awarded him a
devotion to the welfare of the Cherokee Indians
silver medal bearing a commemorative
by John Ross who was to become a most potent
inscription. John Ross was delegated to convey
force among them. The political autonomy of
this token of regard to Sequoyah and once more
the Cherokees was again threatened the
he journeyed to his fellow tribesmen in
following year by the arrival among them of a
Arkansas.
commission from Washington to open
negotiations for the removal of the Cherokees to
the West. This commission contacted the Indian
leaders at the agency in July 1817 and the task
of formulating a response to the demands of the
commissioners was delegated to John Ross and
Elijah Hicks, his brother-in-law. The response
submitted by Ross and Hicks invited attention to
the progress being made by these Indians; to the
prescriptive rights under which the Indians held
title to their lands; expressed disapproval of the
removal idea and requested that the tribe be
permitted to enjoy a peaceable possession of
their domain. This memorial was signed by 67
town chiefs and approved by the Cherokees.
John Ross: Principal Chief of the Cherokees
Despite the overwhelming opposition of the
The State of Georgia became insistent upon
responsible leaders of the tribe, a few
the
removal
of the Cherokees and continually
irresponsible town chiefs signed a removal
reminded the Federal Government of the
treaty on July 6, 1817. Efforts to enforce this
engagements it had made by the Act of
treaty provoked another delegation to
Congress of April 24, 1802. On October 4,
Washington, headed by John Ross, the finale of
1823, United States Commissioners
which was the Treaty of February 27, 1819
Meriweather and Campbell arrived quite
which effectively put an end to all removal
unexpectedly at New Echota to contact the
agitation, at least for the present, although the
Cherokee council, then in session, to perfect
authorities of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee
terms for a removal of the tribe to the West.
were continually urging the Federal
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The Indian leaders calmly listened to the
overtures of the commissioners, but firmly
expressed their resolve not to yield another foot
of their domain. It was at this point in the
negotiations that the famous McIntosh incident
took its place in the pages of Indian history and
not altogether to the credit of the United States
Commissioners. William McIntosh, a mixed
blood of Scottish and Creek Indian descent was,
at that time, chief of the lower Creeks and had
hitherto enjoyed a high measure of confidence
among his Cherokee neighbors. The cunning
McIntosh had been a flexible tool in the hands
of the commissioners in their dealings with the
Creeks and through his skillful manipulations
the tribal domain of his people had been entirely
dissipated. As a concluding effort in their
unsuccessful negotiations with the Cherokees,
the commissioners undertook to enlist the
assistance and influence of McIntosh, to control
the tribal leaders. As a preliminary gesture, but
which was quite unfortunate, the wily chief
wrote his famous letter of October 21, 1823 to
John Ross, in which he expressly agreed to get
the commissioners to pay to Ross and his
friends, certain, definite sums of money, if they
would yield in the negotiations. McIntosh came
on to New Echota while the negotiations were
pending, to discuss the matter with Ross and
requested that he be permitted to address the
Cherokee council. Ross easily arranged this
engagement but as a preliminary gesture, Ross
caused the letter to be read and translated before
the council, in the presence of McIntosh. It is
unnecessary to state that McIntosh did not
address the council, but did barely escape from
the hall, mount his pony and ride in haste from
the scene of his disgrace. He had misjudged the
character of John Ross. Ross sent the letter on
to Washington where it may be found today
among the archives of the Indian Department.
The commissioners returned empty handed and
through the adroitness and integrity of John
Ross the removal menace again was postponed,
although sentiments of uneasiness and
uncertainty impelled the council to dispatch
another delegation headed by John Ross to
Washington, to plead against any further
importunities for land cessions.
This delegation grew bolder as it met the
demands of Secretary of War Calhoun for the
immediate removal of the Cherokees, by a
reiteration of their determination to cede no
more lands, because the limits as fixed by the
treaty of 1819 had left them territory barely
adequate for their comfort and convenience.
Then in unmistakable terms, the delegation
reminded the Secretary that the Indians were the
original inhabitants of the country and were
unwilling to permit the sovereignty of any state
within the boundaries of their domain; they had
never engaged to cede their lands to the Federal
Government, but, on the other hand, the
Government had guaranteed the land to them by
solemn treaties which guaranties had been
confirmed by the Supreme Court of the United
States. Ross and his delegation left nothing to
be imagined as to the position of the Cherokee
Nation and its people. It was a challenge to the
rights of the states and to the bona fides of the
Federal Government in the numerous
engagements which it had made with the tribe.
The challenge was taken up by Gov. George M.
Troup of Georgia, who hotly declared that "a
state of things so unnatural and fruitful of evils
as an independent government of a semibarbarous people existing within the limits of a
state could not long continue" and in a message
to his legislature in 1825, he counseled the
extension of the laws of Georgia over the
Cherokees.
The Cherokees under the inspiration of
John Ross, insisted upon their rights as an
independent political entity and when the State
of Georgia sent surveyors to lay out the course
of a canal through the Cherokee country, they
were refused permission by the Cherokee
council in 1826 with a resolution that "No
individual state shall be allowed to make
internal improvements within the sovereign
limits of the Cherokee Nation."
To more effectively coordinate their
political status with the plan of the United States
Government, a constitutional convention of
Cherokee representatives met at New Echota on
July 4, 1827 for the purpose of framing a
constitution for the Nation and was organized
by electing John Ross as its presiding officer. A
constitution was framed, modeled after the
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Federal constitution with the powers of
government carefully distributed into three
branches; popular suffrage was ordained and
religious freedom guaranteed. Significant was
the language of its preamble, "We, the Cherokee
people, constituting one of the sovereign and
independent Nations of the earth and having
complete jurisdiction over its territory to the
exclusion of the authority of any other state, do
ordain this constitution." The challenge to the
states of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee was
complete. It was a noble and appealing gesture,
predicated upon historic facts, but was to
provoke a tragedy. The so-called inherent rights
of the Indian had become more or less
legendary. As a matter of fact, the "man on
horseback" came to the Indian when the
Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
In October 1828, John Ross, the duly
elected chief, assumed the duties of chief
executive of the newly created Cherokee
Republic and immediately proceeded to
organize the new government.
The discovery of gold in the Cherokee
country in July 1829 excited the cupidity of the
whites and provoked drastic legislation by the
Georgia legislature which completely nullified
the potency of the Cherokee government. Its
national council was forbidden to meet save for
the purpose of ceding its lands. Cherokee courts
were denied the right to convene. Laws denying
the right of an Indian to bring suit or to testify
against the word of a white man were enacted
and these provisions rendered it impossible for
the Indian to defend his rights in any court or
resist the seizure of his home and property.
White persons were denied the right to live
within the Cherokee country without a license
from the Georgia authorities. This enactment
was leveled against the white Christian
missionaries who lived among and taught these
people and this occasioned the arrest, conviction
and prison sentence of Rev. Samuel A.
Worcester and Elizur Butler, to be followed by
the famous decision of the United States
Supreme Court in 1832. Obviously, the purpose
of these and kindred laws, equally obnoxious,
was to enforce the withdrawal of the Cherokees
from the state. The Indian Removal Act was
passed at Washington on May 28, 1830 and the
Federal Government declared a fixed policy.
Disaffection against the policy of Chief
Ross began to develop within the tribe, led by
Major Ridge, his son John, and his nephew Elias
Boudinot, who formed an opposition party
which favored removal to the West. These men
were capable, cultured, and patriotic members
of the tribe who appraised the hopelessness of
the situation and the utter futility of further
resistance to the stated purposes of the General
Government. The Cherokee council passed a
law which made possible the imposition of the
death penalty upon any citizen who bartered
away any of the tribal domain. Although the
laws of Georgia had prohibited assemblages of
the council, the council continued to meet at
Red Clay and Chief Ross never abandoned his
brave protest against the oppressive measures
invoked by the State of Georgia and the Federal
Government. Numerous delegations were sent
to Washington to protest against the aggressions
of the Georgia authorities, but were able to
accomplish nothing.
The Treaty of February 28, 1835
engineered by Rev. John F. Schermerhorn with
the Ridge faction provided for the complete
extinguishment of all title to Cherokee lands in
the East and the removal of the tribe to the
West. This treaty was submitted to and rejected
by the council although it had the support of the
Ridges and Boudinot who gave it their support
in the face of the previous council legislation
providing the death penalty. Chief Ross
vigorously opposed the adoption of the treaty by
the council and prepared to depart at once for
Washington to protest again. On November 7,
1835, the eve of his departure, the Chief was
seized by the Georgia authorities and held for
several days. His private papers as well as the
records of the council were rifled. It was
evidently thought that with Ross out of the way,
the Cherokees could be managed more easily.
At the same time, his friend John Howard
Payne, who was his houseguest, was also seized
and his historical manuscript rifled. Payne was
subsequently released and ordered out of the
country. A short time before this, the Cherokee
Phoenix and its plant had been seized and
removed to Georgia. In the spring of 1834, the
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comfortable plantation home of Chief Ross and
his extensive farm and buildings near Ross
Landing had been ruthlessly taken from him by
the holder of a lottery ticket, under Georgia law.
He and the members of his family were evicted
in a most cruel, humiliating, and inhumane
manner.
In October 1835, aided by a handful of
unprincipled, self-styled representatives of the
tribe, a treaty of removal was made, ratified by
the United States Senate and proclaimed by the
President on May 23, 1836. This treaty was an
obvious fraud upon the Cherokees and was
Government now hastened to banish the Indians
en masse to lands set aside for them beyond the
Mississippi.
The removal of the Cherokees came as the
culmination of years of imposition upon them.
It was a soulless enterprise in which no
considerations of humanity were permitted to
interfere. The Southeastern States declared a
suspension of political ethics and deliverance
from the Indians became their chief objective.
The Cherokees ultimately yielded their ancient
legacies to the despotism of the strong and
acquiesced in the tyranny of the more powerful.
denied approval by their council. Chief Ross
hastened to Washington with a protest signed by
over 15,000 members of the tribe, but with no
avail. In the fall of 1836, Ross visited the
Western Cherokees in Arkansas again and
sought to enlist their opposition to the
fraudulent treaty. Opposition to the treaty was
practically unanimous among the Cherokees as
was evidenced by another protest which Chief
Ross presented to Congress in the spring of
1838 and which was signed by 15,665 tribal
members. These protests accomplished no
consideration and with unrelenting severity the
In the spring of 1838, the enforced removal
of the Cherokees was entrusted to Gen. Winfield
Scott and on May 10th, the General established
headquarters for his troops at New Echota and
the actual deportation by military force, was
undertaken. Ross met the situation with a calm
dignity which forestalled armed opposition by
the Indians, but with a strength of purpose
which inspired with confidence the harassed
Indians. In the ranks of the opposition to the
Indians, Ross was considered the chief
adversary. The United States Government and
the state authorities declined and refused him all
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recognition. Straggling bands of the
conflict. Discord was growing and in some
disheartened Indians for months had been
manner which has never been satisfactorily
wending their way to the West when the
explained, the Ridges and Boudinot, each
military arm of the Government took charge.
signers of the removal treaty, were pronounced
The Indians were circumvented at every turn but
guilty and the penalty of death cruelly exacted
it became evident that the removal of these
on June 22, 1839 in a savage manner. These
people could not be accomplished by brute,
men, under the impact of overwhelming odds,
military force. There were so many pathetic
had favored removal and signed the treaty
features which challenged the finer sensibilities
which ceded the tribal lands and thus rendered
of even the hardened soldiers who were engaged
themselves liable to the death penalty. This
in the effort. On July 23, 1838, upon request of
death penalty was exacted, but not through any
the Cherokee council, the entire program for the
pretense of compliance with the orderly
removal of the Cherokees was handed over to
processes of the law, but by some sort of
the council and to this task, Chief Ross gave his
concerted action. Quite naturally, the Ridge
every attention. The famous chieftain, whom
adherents attempted to fasten the crime upon
the United States Government had declined to
Chief Ross, who was perfectly innocent.
recognize and whom the Georgia authorities had
Naturally, the breach widened and quite
attempted to bribe and bulldoze, was now
inopportunely, shortly thereafter, the Ross
recognized to accomplish the task where the
Nationals met in council and denounced the
army had failed. Truly, it was a vindication and
Ridges and Boudinot as outlaws justly liable to
belated recognition of the masterful leadership
the death penalty and declared the murderers
of John Ross among his people. The kind,
restored to their confidence and good favor.
unselfish executive in whom his people so
In September 1839, a new constitution was
relentlessly believed, patiently regimented the
framed and subsequently adopted and agreed to
Cherokees and in the winter of 1838-39, led the
by all factions and John Ross was elected
last remnant of the tribe to the unknown West—
Principal Chief of the reunited Cherokee tribe, a
the West where the broad, open prairies gather
position he was to hold by successive
the sunset in their arms until the dark comes.
reelections until his death in 1866 and
When the agony was over, some four thousand
Tahlequah was made the capital.
of the more helpless old men, women, and
It was with courage and finesse that the
children had perished during the journey, to be
chief postponed the removal crisis for twenty
buried by the wayside in unknown and
years and his diplomatic efforts in so doing had
unmarked graves. Truly, it was a "trail of
won and sustained for him, the highest
tears." Quatie, the Cherokee wife of Chief Ross
confidence of his people although their ultimate
sickened during the trip and died at Little Rock
destiny should have been apparent. The
in March 1839. The brave chief pressed on and
conflicting status provoked by the attempted
into the Territory and shortly thereafter
political autonomy of the Cherokees within the
established his famous home at Park Hill some
confines of the States was wholly illogical and
three miles southeast of the present town of
could have no permanence. Ross, erudite leader
Tahlequah.
that he was must have foreseen the futility of his
The Ridges and Boudinot were already in
efforts to preserve for his people, even a
the West and difficulties faced the chief and the
semblance of their independent status in the
council in their new home. Three factions grew
East. He was not a conciliator but shared the
out of the discordant elements—the Old
fundamental impulses of the Indians. He created
Settlers, composed of the Western Cherokees
for them a social and political condition which
who had voluntarily come west many years
set them apart from "barbarians."
before, the Ridge faction who had accepted
The decades of their tribal life in the West
removal and the Ross Nationals. The Old
were as interludes preparatory to their splendid
Settlers and the Ridge adherents combined
participation in the social and political life of
against Ross but were destined to lose in the
Oklahoma, but the service of John Ross to these
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people will never be forgotten. His public life
involved his complete personal sacrifice. He
was an incorruptible advocate amid environs of
bribery, betrayal and graft. A survey of the
Indian leaders during the tragic removal years,
places John Ross foremost in the ranks of his
contemporaries. His career is a study in personal
leadership of the highest character.
The Golden
Years in the
Five Republics
By Arrell Morgan Gibson23
The one bright period in the 19th century for
American Indians was the interval between the
conclusion of the removals (around 1835) and
the outbreak of Civil War in 1861. There were
the “golden years” for the Five Tribes, a time
when the Indians made remarkable progress in
taming the Oklahoma wilderness. They
organized constitutional governments and
established towns, schools, farms, ranches, and
plantations. They published newspapers,
magazines, and books.
During these golden years, an extensive
educational system, sustained by tribal
governments and missionaries, provided
noteworthy educational opportunities for Indian
youth. In most of the Indian nations it was
possible for every child to attend school from
kindergarten through the academy (equivalent
of high school), and in some cases to complete
the first two years of college. From the
academies, many bright young men were sent to
the eastern colleges of the United States to
complete their studies. After 1850, many
business, social, and political leaders of the
tribes were college graduates.
Students in Indian nation schools were
taught vocational subjects (job training) in
addition to the traditional subjects such as
spelling, biology, history, astronomy, Latin,
Greek, English, arithmetic, philosophy, and, in
the mission schools, Bible studies. The boys
were trained in animal husbandry, agriculture,
the mechanical arts, and carpentry, which the
girls were instructed in childcare, cooking,
23
From Gibson, Arrell Morgan. Oklahoma: A History of
Five Centuries. Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma
Press, 1981.
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sewing, and other domestic arts. “Special
Education” is not new in Oklahoma: the Indian
Territory educational systems included schools
for orphans, the deaf, blind, and mentally ill.
Support came from various sources for the
schools of Indian Territory. Congress
appropriated an annual sum of $10,000 for the
Indian Civilization Fund. But there was much
competition for this money among the tribes so
the tribes turned to missionary groups to provide
educational services for their people. Tribes
required that for every preacher allowed into
their nations, the missionary group must provide
a teacher and school facilities as well. Most of
the money the Five Tribes poured into their
educational systems came from the annuities
(annual payments) from the U.S. government
for the sale of their eastern lands. Tribal
revenues came from several sources but in no
case from taxes on Indian citizens, for there
were no taxes in Oklahoma in those times.
Land, which is the usual source of tax revenue,
was held in common by each tribe and thus
could produce no revenue.
Through its richly varied activities,
emphasis on learning, and general
enlightenment effort, Park Hill Mission School
could well qualify for the title of “Athens of the
American Southwest.” This mission was the
creation of Rev. Samuel Worcester. Following
his release from the Georgia state prison in
1834, Worcester and his wife came to Indian
Territory. Disasters on their journey slowed
them so much that they did not arrive in
Oklahoma until 1835. The great teacher had
worked long and hard in eastern cities raising
money to purchase a printing press, but the
steamer carrying their personal effects, supplies,
and the press sank in the Arkansas River. All
seemed lost to the muddy waters, but Worcester
persevered, and finally recovered the press.
This piece of equipment became one of the most
important devices ever brought to Oklahoma.
Worcester set up his press and published
the first two books ever printed in Oklahoma—
an eight-page Cherokee language book and a
hundred-page translation of portions of the New
Testament in Creek. Additionally, Worcester’s
press published the first newspaper ever
published in Indian Territory: The Cherokee
Phoenix.
In 1837, Worcester selected a site five
miles south of Tahlequah for his Park Hill
Mission School. Under his vigorous and
creative leadership, Park Hill became the most
important learning center in Indian Territory. In
addition to a complex of buildings for
classrooms, a church, and dwellings for the
missionaries and teachers, the station included a
boarding hall and dormitory for students, shops,
stables, and barns. Extensive fields were
cleared near the station, for Worcester’s goal
was to make this a self-sufficient community.
Park Hill became famous for its printing
press. The missionary compound finally
included a two-story publishing house complete
with a bindery. The famous Park Hill Press did
a massive volume of work for the Cherokees,
numbering more than 14 million pages.
But his great energy began to falter in 1859,
and he called a friend and coworker, Charles C.
Torrey to Park Hill to succeed him. A few
months later in the same year, Rev. Samuel
Worcester, the Cherokees’ greatest teacher died.
Economically, the Five Tribes flourished
during this period. Slavery was widely
practiced among the mixed-blood Indians and
they began to rebuild farms and plantations as
they had in the Southern states. The more
successful planters replaced their log houses
with large mansions furnished with carpets,
music rooms and libraries, and other elegant
fixtures found in many white Southern homes.
The Five Tribes had diversified economies.
Their farms, plantations, and mines produced
meat, hides, grain, salt, lead and other products.
The markets for Indian Territory goods were
varied as well. The many military posts and
forts in Indian Territory were heavy customers
of local produce. Fort Washita alone purchased
seven thousand bushels of corn and great
quantities of eggs, butter, meat, and vegetables
each year from Chickasaw farmers. Their goods
were also sold in the growing towns within each
nation.
Although water transportation was widely
used for moving people and goods in frontier
Oklahoma, not all Indian Territory communities
wee situated at river landings. The ancestor of
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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today’s highways was the early day network of
wagon roads that cut through the wilderness to
connect the towns and military posts.
The first road constructed in Oklahoma was
the 58-mile wagon road laid out in 1825 to
connect Fort Smith and Fort Gibson. All of the
earliest roads were created to connect the
various military forts. By 1845 eastern and
central Oklahoma were laced with roads, traces,
and trails linking towns, military posts,
missions, and schools situated in the Five
Republics.
Some of the most famous highways in the
West were built across Oklahoma before the
General Watie surrendered after the
Civil War. The Texas Road crossed through the
Civil War, by the following articles.
southeastern corner of Oklahoma and was the
principal road for settlers bound for Texas.
THE TREATY
The Butterfield Road provided
transportation and mail service originating at
"Treaty stipulations made and entered into this
Tipton, Missouri and on to the Pacific Shore.
23rd day of June 1865 near Doaksville Choctaw
Customers purchasing one-way tickets paid
Nation between Sent. Colonel A. C. Mathews
$200 and road in rode in a stagecoach or spring
and W. H. Vance U. S. Vol. commissioners
wagon. Passengers were advised to include the
appointed by Major General Herron U. S. A. on
following in there baggage for the journey:
part of the military authorities of the United
“One Sharp’s rifle and a hundred
States and Brig. General Stand Watie Governor
cartridges; a Colts navy revolver and
and Principal Chief of that part of the Cherokee
two pounds of balls; a knife and
Nation lately allied with Confederate States in
sheath; a pair of thick boots and
acts of hostilities against the Government of the
woolen pants; a half dozen pairs of
United States as follows towit:
thick woolen socks; six undershirts;
three woolen over shirts; a wide-awake
"ARTICLE I. All acts of hostilities on the part
hat; a cheap sack coat; a soldiers
of both armies having ceased by virtue of a
overcoat; one pair of blankets in
convention entered into on the 26th day of May
summer and two in winter; a piece of
1865 between Major General E. R. S. Cantry U.
Indian rubber cloth for blankets.”
S. A. Comdg. Mil. Division West Miss. and
Another great early day Oklahoma road
General E. Kirby Smith C. S. A. Comdg. Trans.
was the California Road. The discovery of gold
Miss Department. The Indians of the Cherokee
in California set off a feverish rush of gold
Nation here represented lately allied with the
seekers from the eastern states in 1849. Before
Confederate States in acts of hostilities against
the gold fever ended, about 5,000 persons
the Government of the United States.
passed through Oklahoma on their way to
California. Indian Territory towns became
"Do agree at once to return to their respective
prosperous trade centers, as merchants and
homes and there remain at peace with United
traders profited from the business of outfitting
States, and offer no indignities whatever against
emigrant trains with wagons, mules, horses, and
the whites or Indians of the various tribes who
oxen, camp equipment and provisions for the
have been friendly to or engaged in the service
crossing. Gold fever hit the Five Tribes too,
of the United States during the war.
especially the Cherokees, and several hundred
Indians made the trip out west to the golden
fields of California.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Treaty of
Surrender by
General Stand
Watie
"ARTICLE II. It is stipulated by the
undersigned commissioners on part of the
United States, that so- long as the Indians
aforesaid observe the provisions of article first
of this agreement, they shall be protected by the
United States authorities in their person and
property, not only from encroachment on the
part of the whites, but also from the Indians who
have been engaged in the service of the United
States.
"ARTICLE Ill. The above articles of agreement
to remain and be in force and effect until the
meeting of the Grand Council to meet at
Armstrong Academy, Choctaw Nation on the
1st day of September A. D. 1865 and until such
time as the preceedings of said Grand Council
shall be ratified by the proper authorities both of
the Cherokee Nation and the United States.
"In testimony whereof the said Lieut. Col. A. C.
Mathews and adjutant W. H. Vance
commissioners on part of the United States and
Brig. General Stand Watie Governor and
Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation have
hereunto set their hands and seals.
Signed.
A. C. Mathews, Sent. Col.
W. H. Vance, Adjr. Commissioners.
Stand Watie Brig. Genl.,
Governor and Principal Chief
Cherokee Nation.
Historical
Atlas of
Oklahoma
By John W. Morris, Charles R. Goins,
and Edwin C. McReynolds24
Map Thirty-Two:
Battle of the Washita
Indians on the Great Plains regularly
avoided military campaigns during winter
months. Lacking grain fro their horses, the most
active raiders preferred the comfort of the lodge
to matching their ponies, subsisting on meager
winter pasturage, against the grain-fed mounts
of the United States Cavalry. Furthermore,
young warriors sometimes sought refuge in the
winter camp of a peace friend. United States
Army commanders were provoked to
desperation by the elusive tactics of hostile
Indian leaders.
The Battle of the Washita was the result of
Black Kettle’s (Moke-ta-ra-to’s) loyalty to
Indian friends who were wanted by United
States officers, together with determined winter
campaigning by General George A. Custer and
the difficulty of communication between the
two races. In effect, it was a surprise assault of
United States troops upon a camp whose leader
was well disposed toward the authority of the
United States. Black Kettle had shown interest
in the Peace Commission of 1867 and a strong
tendency toward cooperation with N.G. Taylor,
the Indian commissioner.
However, Custer had orders from General
Philip Sheridan to conduct a cold-weather
campaign. The blizzard that descended upon
the Southwest in November 1868, offered the
24
From Morris, John W., Charles R. Goins, and Edwin C.
McReynolds. Historical Atlas of Oklahoma.
Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1986.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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to warm
himself; but
the
Cheyenne
warriors did
not get
warning
soon enough
to catch their
ponies and
mount. A
rear guard
was
outnumbered
four to one.
Black Kettle
did manage
to get on his
pony and
help his wife mount behind him, but a volley
from Cook’s sharpshooters killed them both.
Custer learned from a captive, Black
Kettle’s sister that there were one thousand
Indian lodges farther down the Washita. He
determined to pull out without pursuing the
fugitives farther. His report showed that he had
killed 103 warriors, 16 women, and “a few”
children. The United States force last highly
valued officers and men, including Major Elliot,
Sergeant-Major Walter Kennedy, and Captain
Louis Hamilton.
earliest opportunity for trial of the new policy,
and Custer was the man chosen to attack the
Cheyennes.
Custer and twelve troops of the Seventh
Cavalry, a party of about 800 men, rode south.
Ben Clark, California joe, Hard Rope the Osage,
and Jimmy Morrison—all first-rate scouts—
accompanied the soldiers. Custer knew the
extent of the Cheyenne camp before he attacked.
Two young Cheyenne raiders, Crow Neck and
Black Shield, had recently come back from
Kansas with fresh scalps as trophies. The young
men were confident that white troops would not
venture an attack on the camp during cold
Map Thirty-Three:
weather, but Black Kettle was in doubt and
Indian Territory, 1866-1889
thought it best to post a sentry.
Approaching from the north, Custer waited
for dawn behind a low hill. He divided his
The Reconstruction Era treaties negotiated
command into four bands of about 200 men
in 1866 with each of the Five Civilized Tribes,
each. Major Joel Elliot was sent downstream
in addition to providing for the abolition of
nearly three miles to approach the camp from
slavery and the recognition of citizens’ rights
the east. Captain William Thompson cut south
for the freedmen of the Indian tribes, provided
across the Washita to come in from the
land in the western part of Indian Territory for
southwest. The soldiers under Colonel Edward
the settlement of tribes from Kansas, Nebraska,
Myers advanced on the right, crossing the
and elsewhere.
stream to approach the Cheyenne camp on the
The Choctaw-Chickasaw treaty ceded the
south bank as Custer’s band moved in directly
Leased District to the United States for
from the northwest. With Custer rode forty
$300,000. The Creek treaty ceded the western
sharpshooters under Lieutenant W.W. Cook.
half of Creek lands—3,250,000 acres—for
The savage barking dogs aroused Double
$975,168. The Seminoles ceded all of their
Wolf, the sentinel, who had slipped inside a log
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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land—2,169,080 acres—for $325, 362. The
Seminoles further agreed to purchase 200,000
acres of land, a part of the tract of land recently
acquired by the United States from the Creeks.
The Seminoles would eventually purchase an
additional tract of land in 1881, enlarging their
new home to 375,000.
The Cherokee treaty provided that friendly
Indian tribes might be settled on the Cherokee
The Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes
occupied a reservation more than 3,000,000
acres in extent in the southeastern part of the
Leased District. The Cheyenne and Arapaho
Reservation was west of the 98th meridian and
south of the Cherokee Outlet.
The region between the North Fork of the
Red River and the 100th meridian, about 2,300
square miles in extent, was still in dispute
Outlet at a price agreed upon by the Cherokees
between Texas and the United States. Texas
and the purchasers. The Cherokee Strip and the
had organized the area as Greer County and
Neutral Lands, both in Kansas, were to be sold
admitted more than 8,000 homesteaders.
to the highest bidder for the benefit of the
The Cherokee Outlet comprised over
Cherokees, at an average price no lower than
6,000,000 acres not occupied by Indian groups.
$1.25 an acre.
“No Man’s Land” had no legal settlers, and was
Settlements on land ceded by the Creeks
not officially attached to any state or territory.
and Seminoles also were limited to “such other
Greer County was settled only in part. A fourth
civilized Indians as the United States may
region, the “Unassigned Lands,” containing
choose to settle thereon.”
1,887,796 acres, became the first area opened to
Each of the Five Civilized Tribes agreed to
non-Indian settlement in 1889. It was near the
admit two railroads—one rail line running east
center of the present state.
to west, the other north to south—across tribal
lands.
Map Forty-Six:
Tribal settlements in the Cherokee Outlet as
Cattle Trails
of 1889 were as follows: east of the Arkansas
River, Osage and Kaw; west of the Arkansas,
Oto and Missouri, Ponca, and Tonkawa. On
The trails of the great cattle drives from
Creak and Seminole land were the Sac and Fox,
Texas through the Indian Territory became wellPottawatomie and Shawnee, Iowa, and
established routes fro the transportation of cattle
Kickapoo tribes.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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on the hoof. In 1866 the price of a fine steer in
Texas was usually not more than $5; in Chicago
and New York the same beef animal would sell
for a price ranging from $65 to $90. The great
need of Texas ranchers was a means for
delivering their cattle to a point where railroad
lines made connections with markets.
Railroads in Missouri and eastern Kansas
determined the route of the first northern drives.
As the rails were pushed westward in Kansas,
however, cattle trails leading to them also were
established father west.
The drives in 1866 followed the Texas
Road, a trail filled with difficulties and
dangers—deep streams that were hard to ford,
Indians who resented cattle drives across their
of the Arkansas, passing near the sites of
Pawnee and Ponca City.
Eighty miles west of Colbert’s Ferry the
Chisholm Trail crossed the Red River near
Ringold, TX and extended north to the Kansas
line. This famous route, slightly irregular
because of the locations of the best fords, was
roughly parallel to the 98th meridian and to the
line followed later by the Rock Island railroad
and U.S. Highway 81.
This great artery of the northern drive was
named for Jesse Chisholm, the trader. Jesse was
son-in-law of the proprietor of Edward’s Post at
the mouth of the Little River. The Chisholm
Ranch, near the site of Asher, drove cattle
nearly one hundred miles to King Fisher’s
insufficient pasture lands, and rough, timbered
stagecoach station, where the Texas cattle
areas where the wild Texas steers might cause
passed on the way to Kansas. Jesse Chisholm,
endless delay by hiding in the brush. This was
more interested in trade rather than livestock
known as the East Shawnee Trail. From Fort
growing, hauled provisions south from
Gibson a branch trail developed along the left
Caldwell, KS to supply the crews on the great
bank of the Arkansas River, and many Indian
cattle drives. The Cherokee Indian trader thus
ranchmen of northeastern Indian Territory
became the best-known person on the trail, and
followed this route into Cowley County, KS.
it was natural to designate the route by his
The West Shawnee Trail left the Texas
name.
Road at Boggy Depot toward the northwest,
The Great Western Trail, crossing the Red
crossing the Canadian River near the site of
River within sight of Doan’s Store, TX ran
Konawa, the North Canadian River near the site
almost due north to Trail and Cedar Springs,
of Shawnee, the Cimarron River near the site of
then northwest to the crossing of Beaver Creek
present-day Cushing, and continued to the west
and to the Kansas line beyond Sherman Ranch.
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The Great Western was relatively free of timber,
and the Indians were willing to exchange
pasturage for beef.
The northern objective was Dodge City,
KS, which was called “the cow capital of the
world” for a decade. Between 1866 and 1885
about 6,000,000 head of cattle were driven north
from Texas to the Kansas railroad lines or to
northern ranges in Nebraska, the Dakotas,
Wyoming, or Montana. The Missouri, Kansas,
and Texas railroad, completed in 1872, the
Santa Fe line completed across Oklahoma lands
in 1886, and other lines from Texas to Kansas
quickly reduced the cattle drives to local
operations.
Map Sixty-Four:
Oklahoma Railroads, 1870-1985
Plans for railroad building at the time of the
Civil War included connecting the Great Lakes
with the Missouri River, the Missouri Valley
with the Gulf Coast, and the Mississippi River
with California. Indian Territory was in the
path of the second and third of these major
plans. The first railroad line to the Pacific
become a reality when the Union Pacific
building west from Omaha, and the Central
Pacific, building east from Sacramento, met at
Promontory Point, UT in 1869.
The Union Pacific planned a southern
branch to connect eastern Kansas with the Gulf
of Mexico, following the route of the old Texas
Road. In 1869 the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas
Railway Company, charted by the state of
Kansas, acquired the properties of this southern
branch, and by 1873 had extended the line from
Chetopa, KS across Indian Territory to the Red
River near Colbert’s Ferry. Crossing the
Arkansas River on a bridge 840 feet long, this
first line in the land of the Five Civilized Tribes
ran southwest through Muskogee, Eufaula,
McAlester, Atoka, and Durant.
The Atlantic and Pacific had constructed a
line from St. Louis to Seneca, Missouri, on the
border of Indian Territory by April 1, 1871.
This route extended its line southwest toward
the Creek Nation. It formed a junction with the
MK&T at Vinita on September 1, and stopped
construction until 1882. By that time it had
been reorganized as the St. Louis and San
Francisco Railroad Company. It bridged the
Arkansas River by 1886 and established an
important cattle-shipping center at Red Fork on
the right bank. Between 1882 and 1887 the
same company constructed a line from Fort
Smith through the Choctaw Nation to the Red
River south of Hugo.
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
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Railroad built south from Caldwell, KS in 1890,
approximately along the line of the Chisholm
Trail across the Cherokee Outlet and the
Unassigned Lands to the border of the
Chickasaw Nation. In 1902 the Rock Island
Company bought the properties of the Choctaw,
Oklahoma, and Gulf Railroad, which gave El
Reno a connection with Oklahoma City,
Shawnee, Wewoka, McAlester, and Wister
Junction. Since the principal fuel for
locomotives at that time was coal, access to the
eastern Oklahoma mines was an important
consideration for the MK&T, the Rock Island,
and other routes.
The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe, which
was in operation before the opening of the
Unassigned Lands, played a large part in the
runs for homesteads and the location of town
sites. The growth of population in the Twin
Territories and the development of industry and
agriculture were closely dependent upon
railroads in Oklahoma, as in other parts of the
American West.
By 1916, even before railroad construction
was completed in Oklahoma, abandonment of
unprofitable lines had begun. This
phenomenon, due in part to the competition of
highways and pipelines, parallels abandonments
in the nation at large. For example, in 1972 a
long MK&T line in western Oklahoma was
abandoned. This route had extended from Altus
to Woodward and then westward across the
Panhandle to a point near Keyes in Cimarron
County. The most recent abandonment was the
dropping of the Santa Fe line from Pauls Valley
to Lindsay in April, 1985.
The Battle of
the Little
Bighorn
By Eyewitness to History25
In late 1875, Sioux and Cheyenne Indians
defiantly left their reservations, outraged over
the continued intrusions of whites into their
sacred lands in the Black Hills. They gathered
in Montana with the great warrior Sitting Bull to
fight for their lands. The following spring, two
victories over the U.S. Cavalry emboldened
them to fight on in the summer of 1876.
To force the large Indian army back to the
reservations, the Army dispatched three
columns to attack in coordinated fashion, one of
which contained General George A. Custer and
the Seventh Cavalry. Spotting the Sioux village
about fifteen miles away along the Rosebud
River on June 25, Custer also found a nearby
group of about forty warriors. Ignoring orders
to wait, he decided to attack before they could
alert the main party. He did not realize that the
number of warriors in the village numbered
three times his strength. Dividing his forces in
three, Custer sent troops under Captain
Frederick Benteen to prevent their escape
through the upper valley of the Little Bighorn
River. Major Marcus Reno was to pursue the
group, cross the river, and charge the Indian
village in a coordinated effort with the
remaining troops under his command. He
hoped to strike the Indian encampment at the
northern and southern ends simultaneously, but
made this decision without knowing what kind
of terrain he would have to cross before making
his assault. He belatedly discovered that he
would have to negotiate a maze of bluffs and
ravines to attack.
25
“The Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876.” Eyewitness to
History. www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1998).
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Reno's squadron of 175 soldiers attacked
the southern end. Quickly finding themselves in
a desperate battle with little hope of any relief,
Reno halted his charging men before they could
be trapped, fought for ten minutes in
dismounted formation, and then withdrew into
the timber and brush along the river. When that
position proved indefensible, they retreated
uphill to the bluffs east of the river, pursued
hotly by a mix of Cheyenne and Sioux.
Just as they finished driving the soldiers
out, the Indians found roughly 210 of Custer's
men coming towards the other end of the
village, taking the pressure off of Reno's men.
Cheyenne and Hunkpapa Sioux together crossed
the river and slammed into the advancing
soldiers, forcing them back to a long high ridge
to the north. Meanwhile, another force, largely
Oglala Sioux under Crazy Horse's command,
swiftly moved downstream and then doubled
back in a sweeping arc, enveloping Custer and
his men in a pincer move. They began pouring
in gunfire and arrows.
Custer and his men were killed in the worst
American military disaster ever. After another
day's fighting, Reno and Benteen's now united
forces escaped when the Indians broke off the
fight. They had learned that the other two
columns of soldiers were coming towards them,
so they fled.
After the battle, the Indians came through
and stripped the bodies and mutilated all the
uniformed soldiers, believing that the soul of a
mutilated body would be forced to walk the
earth for all eternity and could not ascend to
heaven. Inexplicably, they stripped Custer's
body and cleaned it, but did not scalp or
mutilate it. He had been wearing buckskins
instead of a blue uniform, and some believe that
the Indians thought he was not a soldier and so,
thinking he was an innocent, left him alone.
Because his hair was cut short for battle, others
think that he did not have enough hair to allow
for a very good scalping. Immediately after the
battle, the myth emerged that they left him alone
out of respect for his fighting ability, but few
participating Indians knew who he was to have
been so respectful. To this day, no one knows
the real reason.
Little Bighorn was the pinnacle of the
Indians' power. They had achieved their
greatest victory yet, but soon their tenuous
union fell apart in the face of the white
onslaught. Outraged over the death of a popular
Civil War hero on the eve of the Centennial, the
nation demanded and received harsh retribution.
The Black Hills dispute was quickly settled by
redrawing the boundary lines, placing the Black
Hills outside the reservation and open to white
settlement. Within a year, the Sioux nation was
defeated and broken. "Custer's Last Stand" was
their last stand as well.
Carnage at the Little Bighorn
George Herendon served as a scout for the
Seventh Cavalry—a civilian under contract with
the army and attached to Major Reno's
As the Indians closed in, Custer ordered his
command. Herendon charged across the Little
men to shoot their horses and stack the carcasses
Bighorn River with Reno as the soldiers met an
to form a wall, but they provided little
overwhelming force of Sioux streaming from
protection against bullets. In less than an hour,
their encampment. After the battle, Herendon
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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told his story to a reporter from the New York
The command headed for the ford, pressed
Herald.
closely by Indians in large numbers, and at
Reno took a steady gallop down the creek
every moment the rate of speed was increased,
bottom three miles where it emptied into the
until it became a dead run for the ford. The
Little Horn, and found a natural ford across the
Sioux, mounted on their swift ponies, dashed up
Little Horn River. He started to cross, when the
by the side of the soldiers and fired at them,
scouts came back and called out to him to hold
killing both men and horses. Little resistance
on, that the Sioux were coming in large numbers
was offered, and it was complete rout to the
to meet him. He crossed over, however, formed
ford. I did not see the men at the ford, and do
his companies on the prairie in line of battle,
not know what took place further than a good
and moved forward at a trot but soon took a
many were killed when the command left the
gallop.
timber.
The Valley was about three fourth of a mile
Just as I got out, my horse stumbled and fell
wide, on the left a line of low, round hills, and
and I was dismounted, the horse running away
on the right the river bottom covered with a
after Reno's command. I saw several soldiers
growth of
who were
cottonwood trees
dismounted, their
and bushes.
horses having been
After scattering
killed or run away.
shots were fired
There were also
from the hills and
some soldiers
a few from the
mounted who had
river bottom and
remained behind, I
Reno's
should think in all
skirmishers
as many as thirteen
returned the
soldiers, and seeing
shots.
no chance of
He advanced
getting away, I
about a mile
called on them to
from the ford to a
come into the
line of timber on
timber and we
the right and
would stand off the
dismounted his
Indians.
men to fight on foot. The horses were sent into
Three of the soldiers were wounded, and
the timber, and the men forward on the prairie
two of them so badly they could not use their
and advanced toward the Indians. The Indians,
arms. The soldiers wanted to go out, but I said
mounted on ponies, came across the prairie and
no, we can't get to the ford, and besides, we
opened a heavy fire on the soldiers. After
have wounded men and must stand by them.
skirmishing for a few minutes Reno fell back to
The soldiers still wanted to go, but I told them I
his horses in the timber. The Indians moved to
was an old frontiers-man, understood the
his left and rear, evidently with the intention of
Indians, and if they would do as I said I would
cutting him off from the ford.
get them out of the scrape which was no worse
Reno ordered his men to mount and move
than scrapes I had been in before. About half of
through the timber, but as his men got into the
the men were mounted, and they wanted to keep
saddle the Sioux, who had advanced in the
their horses with them, but I told them to let the
timber, fired at close range and killed one
horses go and fight on foot.
soldier. Colonel Reno then commanded the
We stayed in the bush about three hours,
men to dismount, and they did so, but he soon
and I could hear heavy firing below in the river,
ordered them to mount again, and moved out on
apparently about two miles distant. I did not
to the open prairie.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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know who it was, but knew the Indians were
fighting some of our men, and learned afterward
it was Custer's command. Nearly all the Indians
in the upper part of the valley drew off down the
river, and the fight with Custer lasted about one
hour, when the heavy firing ceased. When the
shooting below began to die away I said to the
boys “come, now is the time to get out.” Most
of them did not go, but waited for night. I told
them the Indians would come back and we had
better be off at once. Eleven of the thirteen said
they would go, but two stayed behind.
I deployed the men as skirmishers and we
moved forward on foot toward the river. When
we had got nearly to the river we met five
Indians on ponies, and they fired on us. I
returned the fire and the Indians broke and we
then forded the river, the water being heart deep.
We finally got over, wounded men and all, and
headed for Reno's command which I could see
drawn up on the bluffs along the river about a
mile off. We reached Reno in safety.
now about five o'clock, and the fight lasted until
it was too dark to see to shoot.
As soon as it was dark Reno took the packs
and saddles off the mules and horses and made
breast works of them. He also dragged the dead
horses and mules on the line and sheltered the
men behind them. Some of the men dug rifle
pits with their butcher knives and all slept on
their arms.
At the peep of day the Indians opened a
heavy fire and a desperate fight ensued, lasting
until 10 o'clock. The Indians charged our
position three or four times, coming up close
enough to hit our men with stones, which they
threw by hand. Captain Benteen saw a large
mass of Indians gathered on his front to charge,
and ordered his men to charge on foot and
scatter them.
Benteen led the charge and was upon the
Indians before they knew what they were about
and killed a great many. They were evidently
much surprised at this offensive movement, and
I think in desperate fighting Benteen is one of
the bravest men I ever saw in a fight. All the
time he was going about through the bullets,
encouraging the soldiers to stand up to their
work and not let the Indians whip them; he went
among the horses and pack mules and drove out
the men who were skulking there, compelling
them to go into the line and do their duty. He
never sheltered his own person once during the
battle, and I do not see how he escaped being
killed. The desperate charging and fighting was
over at about one o'clock, but firing was kept up
on both sides until late in the afternoon.
General George A. Custer
We had not been with Reno more than
fifteen minutes when I saw the Indians coming
up the valley from Custer's fight. Reno was
then moving his whole command down the
ridge toward Custer. The Indians crossed the
river below Reno and swarmed up the bluff on
all sides. After skirmishing with them Reno
went back to his old position which was on one
of the highest fronts along the bluffs. It was
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Reservations
Not Accepted:
Chief Joseph
By Alan Lockwood and David Harris26
Centuries before the arrival of whites,
American Indian tribes roamed freely
throughout what is now the northwestern part of
the United States. Animals were hunted for
meat. Other foods, such as roots and berries,
were gathered from the land. Among the tribes
in the area were the Palouse, the Yakima, the
Spokan, the Wallawalla, and the Nez Perce.
When Lewis and Clark explored the area in
1805-1806, the Nez Perce was one of the largest
tribes. According to one estimate, there were
four to six thousand Nez Perce living in bands
in the area where the borders of present-day
Oregon, Washington, and Idaho meet.
Lewis and Clark, as well as other whites,
reported that the Nez Perce were friendly and
helpful. As more and more whites came to the
area, however, conflicts developed. There were
significant differences between white and
American Indians ideas about religion, property,
and law.
Christian missionaries came to the
Northwest in the early 1800s. They believed it
was their duty to convert the various tribes to
Christianity. Often the missionaries failed to
understand the importance of Indian religious
beliefs, or looked upon them as being of little
worth.
The Nez Perce, and other tribes, held strong
religious views. In general their religions were
related to nature and the spirits they believed
influenced human and animal behavior, as well
as the climate and the weather. The Indians’
26
Lockwood, Alan L. and David E. Harris. “Reservations
Not Accepted: Chief Joseph.” Reasoning with
Democratic Values. Vol. 2. New York: Teachers
College Press, 1985.
respect for the natural environment was partly a
result of their religious beliefs. For example,
each Nez Perce might have a personal guardian
spirit or Wyakim. Each Wyakim was connected
with some feature of the natural world.
The conflicts between whites and Indians
often erupted into bloody battles. The Nez
Perce were generally successful in avoiding
violence. At time members of the tribe served
as scouts for U.S. soldiers. Unfortunately, the
Nez Perce’s time of war was to come.
As the United States moved westward, it
was its policy to place Indians on reservations in
an effort to control the Native American
population. When Isaac Stevens became
governor of the Washington Territory, he set out
to establish reservations for the various tribes in
the Territory.
In 1855 Stevens met with the leaders of
many tribes, and, after much debate, a treaty
was established. According to the treaty, large
areas of land were set aside for reservations.
The government promised to provide money
and make certain improvements on the land, and
no whites were to be allowed on the reservations
without permission of the tribes.
The treaty provisions were soon violated.
White settlers often moved onto tribal lands.
Gold was discovered in the area, and miners
began to enter the reservation areas. There were
occasional outbreaks of violence.
Because of the treaty violations, a new
treaty meeting was held in 1863. The chiefs of
the Nez Perce bands had a major disagreement.
Some were willing to draw boundaries for a new
reservation while others were not. As a result,
some Nez Perce bands signed a new treaty
establishing reservations and other refused to
sign. Those who refused to sign returned to the
lands they had inhabited after the treaty of 1855.
One group of Nez Perce, which had refused
to sign the treaty, returned to their lands in the
Wallowa Valley. When the chief of the band
died in 1871, he told his son Joseph: “When I
am gone, think of our country. . . . Always
remember that your father never sold his
country. You must stop your ears whenever you
are asked to sign a treaty selling your home. . . .
Never sell the bones of your father and mother.”
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Joseph, holding his dying father’s hand, said
Soon after this crisis, Howard and other
that he would protect the land with his life.
government officials were ordered to place the
Young Chief Joseph, now in his early
Nez Perce on the reservation. A meeting was
thirties, tried to live in peace with the white
arranged in November 1876.
settlers in the area. He occasionally ate dinner
At the meeting, Chief Joseph made his
with the settlers and played with their children.
position clear:
He would explain why the land traditionally
The earth was my mother. . . . I could
belonged to the Nez Perce. As more and more
not consent to sever my affections from
white settlers came into the area, however,
the land which bore me. I ask nothing
tension increased.
of the President. I am able to take care
Government policy did not reduce the
of myself. I do not desire the Wallowa
tension. In 1873, President Grant issued an
Valley as a reservation, for that would
order prohibiting whites from settling on the
subject me to the will of another and
Nez Perce land in the Wallowa Valley. The
make me dependent on him and subject
order was ineffective partly because the
to laws not of our own making. I am
boundaries of the Nez Perce land were not
disposed to live peaceably.
clearly established. Then, in 1875, the President
General Howard and others argued that the
revoked the 1873 order, opening the valley to
U.S. government made the laws and that all the
white settlers. The President’s decision was
people must follow them. According to
based on an incorrect report stating that Joseph
Howard, the Nez Perce were denying the proper
and his group were willing to move onto the
authority of the government. Joseph and the
Nez Perce reservation.
other chiefs were not persuaded, and the
Pressure to move the tribes onto
meeting ended.
reservations continued. In some parts of the
Northwest, nonreservation Indians fought
battles with whites. Throughout the area, a fear
and distrust of nonreservation tribes grew
among whites.
Efforts were made to persuade the
nonreservation Nez Perce to move onto the
reservation. General Oliver O. Howard was
military commander of the area. At first he
opposed moving Chief Joseph’s group. In 1875
he wrote the War Department: “I think it is a
great mistake to take from Joseph and his band
of Nez Perce Indians that valley . . . possibly
Congress can be induced to let these really
peaceable Indians have this poor valley for their
own.” Howard’s advice was not followed.
Relations between Joseph’s band and
neighboring whites reached a dangerous point.
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce
Two whites killed a friend of Chief Joseph’s
The time for discussion was over. The
whom they accused of horse stealing. Joseph
government ordered Howard to more the Nez
was particularly outraged when it seemed that
Perce onto the reservation. Violence was to be
they two whites were not going to be brought to
avoided, but force was to be used if necessary.
trial. At one point he treated to drive the white
As Howard later wrote, “In fact the time for
settlers out of the valley, and he demanded that
loving persuasion had now gone by. Positive
the killers be turned over the Nez Perce.
instruction had come, and obedience was
Eventually the killers were brought to trial by
required.”
white authorities, but they were no convicted.
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In May 1877, Howard again met with the
nonreservation Nez Perce. It was an angry
meeting. One chief challenged the general:
“The Great Spirit made the world as it is and as
He wanted it. . . . I do not see where you get
your authority to say that we shall not live here
as He placed us.”
The argument continued and finally
Howard announced: “I stand here for the
President, and there is no spirit good or bad that
will hinder me. My orders are plain, and will be
executed. I hoped that the Indians had good
sense enough to make me their friend, and not
their enemy.”
Many of the Nez Perce were furious and
wanted to begin a war. Chief Joseph was angry
also, but he opposed war. He believed a war
could be disastrous for his people. The U.S.
army had too many soldiers and weapons. After
much discussion, the Nez Perce reluctantly
agreed to move onto reservations.
General Howard wanted to be sure that they
tribe would move as quickly as possible. He
said the Nez Perce would have 30 days to move
to the reservation. Then, it is reported, he gave
a warning: “If you let the time run over one day,
the soldiers will be there to drive you on the
reservation, and all your cattle and horses
outside of the reservation at that time will fall
into the hands of the white men.”
It would be difficult for the Nez Perce to
reach the reservation lands within 30 days.
They owned thousands of horses and many
heads of cattle, and they would have to cross
flooded rivers and rocky terrain. Nonetheless,
Howard insisted upon the 30-day time limit.
Frustrated, sad, and angry, the Nez Perce began
their move to the reservation.
As they moved, a warlike spirit grew in
some of the Nez Perce. Young warriors of
Chief White Bird’s band were especially
agitated. Whites had made their lives difficult.
One white had killed the father of Wahlitits, a
young man of White Bird’s band, two years
earlier. The memory of his father’s death fueled
the flames of resentment in Wahlitits. One day
a Nez Perce taunted Wahlitis: “If you are so
brave, why don’t you go kill the white man who
killed your father?” Before he died, Wahlitits’
father had told him not to seek revenge, but now
Wahlitits could no longer restrain himself.
Wahlitis and two other young men rode out
to seek revenge. They were unable to find the
man believed to have killed Wahlitits’ father,
but they knew other whites in the area who had
mistreated the Nez Perce. The young warriors
attacked and killed a number of white settlers.
The next day more whites were killed.
Although the killings had taken place
without the consent of the tribal leaders, Chief
Joseph and others were certain the entire tribe
would be blamed. Hopes for peace faded, and
the Nez Perce prepared for war.
On June 14, the 30-day deadline for
reaching the reservation had passed, and
General Howard heard about the killings of the
whites. He ordered troops to pursue the Nez
Perce. Howard was convinced that Chief
Joseph was the war leader of the tribe. He was
incorrect. Joseph’s main responsibility was to
oversee the protection of the women, children,
and elderly. Other chiefs directed the war
efforts.
The first battle was faught on June 17,
1877, and the Nez Perce were able to beat back
the soldiers. The tribe then began a long series
of maneuvers to avoid the troops. The plan that
developed was to leave Idaho be crossing the
mountains into Montana. Once in Montana, the
Nez Perce hoped they could live in peace in the
buffalo country. If not, they would cross the
border into Canada as the Sioux had done after
the defeat of Custer the previous year.
Peace did not await them. U.S. troops from
the Montana side of the mountains surprised the
Nez Perce at Big Hole on August 9. The Nez
Perce suffered heavy losses including the death
of many women and children. The troops were
unable to capture the tribe, however, and the
surviving Nez Perce moved on.
In the meantime, General Howard and his
troops had made the difficult trek across the
mountains and were about two days behind the
Nez Perce. Public opinion began to turn against
the former Union hero of the Civil War.
Newspaper articles explained that Howard was
moving too slowly; that he should have captured
the Nez Perce by now. There were many fears
that the Nez Perce would bring war against
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white settlers in Montana. General William
When Howard and his troops arrived on
Sherman, Howard’s superior officer, heard the
October 4, Miles gave them a chilly reception.
fears and criticisms. He ordered Howard to
Howard assured Miles that he would receive full
pursue the Nez Perce more vigorously: “That
credit for the victory, and Miles quickly warmed
force of yours should pursue the Nez Perce to
up. Some Howard’s men were angry because
the death, lead where they may. . . . If you are
they had suffered during the long march and
tired, give the command to some young
believed they deserved the credit. Nonetheless,
energetic officer.”
the general had his way.
Howard sent a reply to Sherman saying that
On October 5, Joseph was invited to
the delay had been caused by the difficult march
surrender. Miles and Howard told the chief that
and the need to wait for supplies. He said that
if he surrendered, his people and their remaining
he and his troops would continue to chase the
horses and cattle would be returned to the
Nez Perce.
reservation in Idaho. Joseph accepted the terms
Grief-stricken from the causalities suffered
of surrender and said: “I am tired of fighting . . .
at Big Hole, the Nez Perce continued to
little children are freezing to death. . . . Hear me,
maneuver away from the troops. They moved
my chiefs, I am tired; my heart is sick and sad.
through Yellowstone Park. On the way they
From where the sun now stands, I will fight no
encountered some tourists and killed them. The
more forever.”
Nez Perce feared that they tourists would report
After Joseph’s surrender, a number of Nez
their movements to Howard.
Perce led by White Bird escaped to Canada. Of
The Tribe then turned northward toward
the group that surrendered with Joseph, there
Canada. Howard’s forces were still two days
were approximately four hundred of the over
behind, so the Nez Perce stopped to rest in a
eight hundred Nez Perce that started out
section near the Bear Paw Mountains. For
together in June. During the course of their
many of them it would be their final resting
1,700-mile trek, approximately one hundred and
place.
twenty men, women, and children had been
General Howard had sent a message ahead
killed. About one hundred and eighty whites
to Colonel Nelson Miles. Miles commanded a
had died.
group of soldiers who were in a position to head
The surrender terms promised by Miles and
off the Nez Perce. In late September, Miles and
Howard were rejected by General Sherman and
his men discovered the location of the tribe.
other higher authorities. Howard agreed with
A battle began on September 30. Miles was
their decision. He said that because White Bird
eager to capture the Nez Perce. If he could
and his group had escaped after Joseph’s
defeat them before Howard arrived, he would
surrender, the terms of the agreement had been
get all the credit for the victory and probably a
violated, and the promise no longer counted.
promotion to general. If Howard arrived before
Miles pleaded with his superiors to honor
the defeat, Howard, as the superior officer,
the surrender promise. Sherman and others
would receive credit for capturing the Nez
would not agree. They said it would be too
Perce.
dangerous to send the Nez Perce to the
On October 1, Miles sent out a flag of truce
Northwest. Violence might begin again. Miles
and said he wanted to meet with Chief Joseph.
apologized to Chief Joseph: “You must not
Miles told Joseph he was in an impossible
blame me. I have endeavored to keep my word,
situation and that he should surrender at once.
but the chief who is over me has given the order
Joseph disagreed and refused to surrender.
and I must obey it or resign. That would do you
Fighting continued, and it began to look
no good. Some officer would carry out the
hopeless for the Nez Perce. Joseph and other
order.”
leaders held a meeting. Chief White Bird
The Nez Perce were taken to Kansas and
wanted to attempt to escape to Canada; Joseph
then to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. The
believed surrender would be best. They decided
climate and other conditions were different from
that each band could do as it chose.
the cool, dry mountain air to which the Nez
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Perce were accustomed. Many of them died of
malaria and other diseases.
Chief Joseph continued to apply for better
treatment, and finally public opinion began to
shift in favor of the Nez Perce. In 1885, the
government returned the Nez Perce to
reservations in the Northwest. Some were
settled in Idaho; others, including Chief Joseph,
were sent to a reservation in Washington.
Joseph made repeated efforts to persuade
the government to return his group to their
homeland. His appeals were rejected. In 1904,
the sad, old chief died on the reservation in
Washington.
Standing Bear
Becomes a
Person
By Dee Brown27
In 1804, at the mouth of the Niobrara River
(in what is today Nebraska) . . . Lewis and Clark
met with a friendly tribe of Indians called the
Poncas. The tribe then numbered only two or
three hundred, the survivors of a massive
epidemic of the white man’s small pox. Half a
century later, the Poncas, were still there, still
friendly, and eager to trade with white men,
their sturdy tribe increased to about a thousand.
Unlike most Plains Indians, the Poncas raised
corn and kept vegetable gardens, and because
they were prosperous and owned many horses,
they frequently had to fight off raiders from
Sioux tribes to the north.
In 1858 the Poncas gave up part of their
territory in exchange for promises made by the
government to guarantee them protection and a
permanent home on the Niobrara River. But in
1876, Congress decided to include the Poncas in
the list of northern tribes who were to be exiled
to Indian Territory. The first news of the
Poncas had of their impending removal was
brought to them early in January 1877. The
chiefs were united in their determination to hold
the government to its treaty obligations and
refused to be removed. The U.S. government
authorized the use of troops (force) and by May
of 1877, the Poncas began their five hundred
mile walk to Indian Territory with guns at their
backs.
Summer heat and biting flies plagued them
for weeks, and then at last, on July 9, after a
severe drenching in a thunderstorm, they
reached their new homes and found a small
27
From Brown, Dee. Bury My Heart of Wounded Knee:
An Indian History of the American West. New York:
Henry Holt and Co., Inc., 2000.
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group of Poncas who had preceded them living
would not blame him. Look at me. Take pity
wretchedly in tents. The Poncas died so rapidly
on me and help me to save the lives of my
that by the end of their first year in Indian
women and children. My brothers, a power,
Territory they lost one fourth of their
which I cannot resist, crowds me down to the
population. One of those who died was the
ground. I need help. I have done.”
oldest son of Chief Standing Bear. “At last I
The judge in the case ruled that an Indian
had only one son left; then he sickened,”
was a “person” within the meaning of the
Standing Bear said, “When he was dying he
habeas corpus act, that the right of expatriation
asked me to promise him one thing. He begged
was a natural, inherent, and inalienable right of
me to take him, when he was dead, back to our
the Indian as well as the white race, and that in
old burying ground by the Swift Running Water,
time of peace no authority could transport
the Niobrara. I promised. When he died, I and
Indians from one section of the country to
those with me put his body into a box and then
another without the consent of the Indians or to
in a wagon and we started north.”
confine them to any particular reservation
Sixty-six Poncas made up the burial party,
against their will. The judge concluded the
all of the Standing Bear’s clan, following the
proceedings by ordering Standing Bear and his
old wagon drawn by two starving horses. It was
band be released from custody. They were free
January of 1879. Standing Bear led his people
to return their homes in Nebraska.
over trails away from settlements and soldiers
As soon as the surviving 530 Poncas in
but a company of soldiers led by General
Indian Territory learned of this astonishing turn
George Cook intercepted the party and arrested
of events, most them began preparations to join
them for leaving their reservation in Indian
their relatives back in Nebraska. Through its
Territory. In his jail cell Standing Bear told his
agents the Bureau of Indian Affairs informed
captors, “I thought God intended us to live but I
the Ponca chiefs that only the Great White
was mistaken, God intends to give the country
Father in Washington could decide if and when
to the white people, and we are to die. It may be
the tribes might return. The Bureaucrats and
well; it may be well.”
politicians in D.C. recognized the decision as a
With the help of sympathetic local Indian
strong threat to the reservation system; it would
rights activists and even the officer who arrested
endanger the large group of entrepreneurs who
him—General Cook—Standing Bear sued in
were making fortunes selling bad food, shoddy
U.S. District Court for his right to return home.
blankets, and poisonous whiskey to the
The U.S. government claimed that Standing
thousands of Indians trapped on reservations. If
Bear did not have a right to habeas corpus
the Poncas were allowed to leave their
because Indians “were not persons within the
reservation in Indian Territory and walk away as
meaning of the law.”
free citizens, this would set a precedent which
Thus began in April 1879, the now almost
might well destroy the entire reservation system.
forgotten civil-rights case of Standing Bear v.
Standing Bear’s brother, Big Snake, was
Cook. The Poncas’ lawyers argued that an
determined to test the new law. He requested
Indian was as much a “person” as any white
permission to leave the reservation and go north
man and could avail himself of the rights of
to join his brother. As he expected, permission
freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. The
to leave was refused by the Indian agent. Big
climax of the case came when Standing Bear
Snake’s next move was not to leave Indian
was given permission to speak for his people: “I
Territory, but to travel only a hundred miles to
am now with the soldiers and the officers. I
the Cheyenne reservation. With him went thirty
want to go back to my old place north. I want to
other Poncas, making what they believed to be a
save myself and my tribe . . . May the Almighty
gentle testing of the law which said that an
send a good spirit to brood over you, my
Indian was a person and could not be confined
brothers, to move you to help me. If a white
to any particular reservation against his will.
man had land and someone should swindle him,
The U.S. army arrested Big Snake and
that man would try to get it back, and you,
while he was in custody he was beat and shot by
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soldiers. The government first issued a
statement that Standing Bear’s brother “Big
Snake, a bad man [had been] shot accidentally.”
The American press, however, growing more
sensitive to treatment of Indians since the
Standing Bear case, demanded an investigation
by Congress. Nothing came of the
investigation.
The Poncas of Indian Territory had learned
a bitter lesson. The white man’s law was an
illusion; it did not apply to them. And so, like
many other tribes, the diminishing Ponca tribe
was split in two—Standing Bear’s band was
free in the north and the others were prisoners in
Indian Territory.
Indian Policy
Reform
Extract from President
Chester Arthur's
First Annual Message to
Congress
December 6, 1881
. . . Prominent among the matters which
challenge the attention of Congress at its present
session is the management of our Indian affairs.
While this question has been a cause of trouble
and embarrassment from the infancy of the
Government, it is but recently that any effort has
been made for its solution at once serious,
determined, consistent, and promising success.
It has been easier to resort to convenient
makeshifts for tiding over temporary difficulties
than to grapple with the great permanent
problem, and accordingly the easier course has
almost invariably been pursued.
It was natural, at a time when the national
territory seemed almost illimitable and
contained many millions of acres far outside the
bounds of civilized settlements, that a policy
should have been initiated which more than
aught else has been the fruitful source of our
Indian complications.
I refer, of course, to the policy of dealing
with the various Indian tribes as separate
nationalities, of relegating them by treaty
stipulations to the occupancy of immense
reservations in the West, and of encouraging
them to live a savage life, undisturbed by any
earnest and well-directed efforts to bring them
under the influences of civilization.
The unsatisfactory results which have
sprung from this policy are becoming apparent
to all.
As the white settlements have crowded the
borders of the reservations, the Indians,
sometimes contentedly and sometimes against
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their will, have been transferred to other hunting
for their own protection made inalienable for
grounds, from which they have again been
twenty or twenty-five years, is demanded for
dislodged whenever their new-found homes
their present welfare and their permanent
have been desired by the adventurous settlers.
advancement.
These removals and the frontier collisions
In return for such considerate action on the
by which they have often been preceded have
part of the Government, there is reason to
led to frequent and disastrous conflicts between
believe that the Indians in large numbers would
the races.
be persuaded to sever their tribal relations and to
It is profitless to discuss here which of them
engage at once in agricultural pursuits. Many of
has been chiefly responsible for the disturbances
them realize the fact that their hunting days are
whose recital occupies so large a space upon the
over and that it is now for their best interests to
pages of our history.
conform their manner of life to the new order of
We have to deal with the appalling fact that
things. By no greater inducement than the
though thousands of lives have been sacrificed
assurance of permanent title to the soil can they
and hundreds of millions of dollars expended in
be led to engage in the occupation of tilling it.
the attempt to solve the Indian problem, it has
The well-attested reports of the their
until within the past few years seemed scarcely
increasing interest in husbandry justify the hope
nearer a solution than it was half a century ago.
and belief that the enactment of such a statute as
For the success of the efforts now making
I recommend would be at once attended with
to introduce among the Indians the customs and
gratifying results. A resort to the allotment
pursuits of civilized life and gradually to absorb
system would have a direct and powerful
them into the mass of our citizens, sharing their
influence in dissolving the tribal bond, which is
rights and holden to their responsibilities, there
so prominent a feature of savage life, and which
is imperative need for legislative action.
tends so strongly to perpetuate it.
My suggestions in that regard will be
Third. I advise a liberal appropriation for
chiefly such as have been already called to the
the support of Indian schools, because of my
attention of Congress and have received to some
confident belief that such a course is consistent
extent its consideration.
with the wisest economy. . . .
First. I recommend the passage of an act
making the laws of the various States and
Territories applicable to the Indian reservations
within their borders and extending the laws of
the State of Arkansas to the portion of the
Indian Territory not occupied by the Five
Civilized Tribes.
The Indian should receive the protection of
the law. He should be allowed to maintain in
court his rights of person and property. He has
repeatedly begged for this privilege. Its exercise
would be very valuable to him in his progress
toward civilization.
Second. Of even greater importance is a
measure which has been frequently
recommended by my predecessors in office, and
in furtherance of which several bills have been
from time to time introduced in both Houses of
Congress. The enactment of a general law
permitting the allotment in severalty, to such
Indians, at least, as desire it, of a reasonable
quantity of land secured to them by patent, and
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The Dawes Act
February 8, 1887
An act to provide for the allotment of lands in
severalty to Indians on the various reservations,
and to extend the protection of the laws of the
United States and the Territories over the
Indians, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by . . . Congress . . . That in all
cases where any tribe or band of Indians has
been . . . located upon any reservation created
for their use . . . the President of the United
States be . . . authorized, whenever in his
opinion any reservation or any part thereof of
such Indians is advantageous for agricultural
and grazing purposes . . . to be surveyed . . . and
to allot the lands in said reservation in severalty
to any Indian located thereon in quantities as
follows:
To each head of a family, one-quarter of a
section;
To each single person over eighteen years
of age, one-eighth of a section;
To each orphan child under eighteen years
of age, one-eighth of a section; and
To each other single person under eighteen
years now living, or who may be born prior
to the date of the order of the President
directing an allotment of the lands
embraced in any reservation, one-sixteenth
of a section . . .
SEC. 4. That where any Indian not residing
upon a reservation, or for whose tribe no
reservation has been provided . . . he or she shall
be entitled, upon application to the local landoffice for the district in which the lands arc
located, to have the same allotted to him or her,
and to his or her children, in quantities and
manner as provided in this act for Indians
residing upon reservations . . .
land thus allotted, for the period of twenty-five
years, in trust for the sole use and benefit of the
Indian to whom such allotment shall have been
made . . . and that at the expiration of said
period the United States will convey the same
by patent to said Indian, or his heirs . . .
SEC. 6. That upon the completion of said
allotments and the patenting of the lands to said
allottees, each and every member of the
respective bands or tribes of Indians to whom
allotments have been made shall have the
benefit of and be subject to the laws, both civil
and criminal, of the State or Territory in which
they may reside . . . And every Indian born
within the territorial limits of the United States
to whom allotments shall have been made under
the provisions of this act, or under any law or
treaty, and every Indian born within the
territorial limits of the United States who has
voluntarily taken up, within said limits, his
residence separate and apart from any tribe of
Indians therein, and has adopted the habits of
civilized life, is hereby declared to be a citizen
of the United States, and is entitled to all the
rights, privileges, and immunities of such
citizens . . .
SEC. 8. That the provisions of this act shall not
extend to the territory occupied by the
Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws,
Seminoles, and Osages . . .
SEC. 10. That nothing in this act contained shall
be so construed to affect the right and power of
Congress to grant the right of way through any
lands granted to an Indian, or a tribe of Indians,
for railroads or other highways, or telegraph
lines, for the public use, or condemn such lands
to public uses, upon making just compensation.
SEC. 5. That upon the approval of the
allotments provided for in this act by the
Secretary of the Interior, he shall . . . declare
that the United States does and will hold the
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with images of eagles and buffaloes. These
"Ghost Shirts" they believed would protect them
from the bluecoats' bullets. During the fall of
1890, the Ghost Dance spread through the Sioux
villages of the Dakota reservations, revitalizing
the Indians and bringing fear to the whites. A
desperate Indian Agent at Pine Ridge wired his
superiors in Washington, "Indians are dancing
in the snow and are wild and crazy. . . . We need
protection and we need it now. The leaders
28
should be arrested and confined at some military
By Eyewitness to History
post until the matter is quieted, and this should
be done now." The order went out to arrest
On the morning of December 29, 1890, the
Chief Sitting Bull at the Standing Rock
Sioux chief Big Foot and some 350 of his
Reservation. Sitting Bull was killed in the
followers camped on the banks of Wounded
attempt on December 15. Chief Big Foot was
Knee Creek. Surrounding their camp was a
next on the list.
force of U.S. troops charged with the
When he heard of Sitting Bull's death, Big
responsibility of arresting Big Foot and
Foot
led his people south to seek protection at
disarming his warriors. The scene was tense.
the Pine Ridge Reservation. The army
Trouble had been
intercepted the band on
brewing for months.
December 28 and
The once proud
brought them to the edge
Sioux found their freeof the Wounded Knee to
roaming life destroyed,
camp. The next morning
the buffalo gone,
the chief, racked with
themselves confined to
pneumonia and dying, sat
reservations dependent
among his warriors and
on Indian Agents for
powwowed with the
their existence. In a
army officers. Suddenly
desperate attempt to
the sound of a shot
return to the days of
pierced the early morning
their glory, many
gloom. Within seconds
sought salvation in a
the charged atmosphere
new mysticism
erupted as Indian braves
preached by a Paiute
scurried to retrieve their
shaman called
discarded rifles and
Wovoka. Emissaries
troopers fired volley after
from the Sioux in South Dakota traveled to
volley
into
the
Sioux
camp.
From the heights
Nevada to hear his words. Wovoka called
above, the army's Hotchkiss guns raked the
himself the Messiah and prophesied that the
Indian teepees with grapeshot. Clouds of gun
dead would soon join the living in a world in
smoke filled the air as men, women and children
which the Indians could live in the old way
scrambled for their lives. Many ran for a ravine
surrounded by plentiful game. A tidal wave of
next to the camp only to be cut down in a
new soil would cover the earth, bury the whites,
withering cross fire.
and restore the prairie. To hasten the event, the
When the smoke cleared and the shooting
Indians were to dance the Ghost Dance. Many
stopped, approximately 300 Sioux were dead,
dancers wore brightly colored shirts emblazoned
Big Foot among them. Twenty-five soldiers lost
their lives. As the remaining troopers began the
28
“Massacre at Wounded Knee, 1890.” Eyewitness to
grim task of removing the dead, a blizzard
History. www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1998).
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Massacre at
Wounded
Knee
swept in from the North. A few days later they
returned to complete the job. Scattered fighting
continued, but the massacre at Wounded Knee
effectively squelched the Ghost Dance
movement and ended the Indian Wars.
Eyewitness to a Massacre
down when he gets around the circle.” When
the medicine man came to the end of the circle,
he squatted down. A cavalry sergeant
exclaimed, “There goes an Indian with a gun
under his blanket!” Forsyth ordered him to take
the gun from the Indian, which he did. Whitside
then said to me, “Tell the Indians it is necessary
that they be searched one at a time.” The young
warriors paid no attention to what I told them. I
heard someone on my left exclaim, “Look out!
Look out!” I saw five or six young warriors cast
off their blankets and pull guns out from under
them and brandish them in the air. One of the
warriors shot into the soldiers, who were
ordered to fire into the Indians. I looked in the
direction of the medicine man. He or some
other medicine man approached to within three
or four feet of me with a long cheese knife,
ground to a sharp point and raised to stab me.
He stabbed me during the melee and nearly cut
off my nose. I held him off until I could swing
my rifle to hit him, which I did. I shot and
killed him in self-defense.
“Troop K” was drawn up between the tents
of the women and children and the main body of
the Indians, who had been summoned to deliver
their arms. The Indians began firing into
“Troop K” to gain the canyon of Wounded Knee
creek. In doing so they exposed their women
and children to their own fire. Captain Wallace
was killed at this time while standing in front of
his troops. A bullet, striking him in the
forehead, plowed away the top of his head. I
started to pull off my nose, which was hung by
the skin, but Lieutenant Guy Preston shouted,
“My God Man! Don't do that! That can be
saved.” He then led me away from the scene of
the trouble.
Philip Wells was a mixed-blood Sioux who
served as an interpreter for the Army. He later
recounted what he saw that Monday morning:
I was interpreting for General Forsyth just
before the battle of Wounded Knee, December
29, 1890. The captured Indians had been
ordered to give up their arms, but Big Foot
replied that his people had no arms. Forsyth
said to me, “Tell Big Foot he says the Indians
have no arms, yet yesterday they were well
armed when they surrendered. He is deceiving
me. Tell him he need have no fear in giving up
his arms, as I wish to treat him kindly.” Big
Foot replied, “They have no guns, except such
as you have found.” Forsyth declared, “You are
lying to me in return for my kindness.”
During this time a medicine man, gaudily
dressed and fantastically painted, executed the
maneuvers of the ghost dance, raising and
throwing dust into the air. He exclaimed “Ha!
Ha!” as he did so, meaning he was about to do
something terrible, and said, “I have lived long
enough,” meaning he would fight until he died.
Turning to the young warriors who were
squatted together, he said “Do not fear, but let
your hearts be strong. Many soldiers are about
us and have many bullets, but I am assured their
bullets cannot penetrate us. The prairie is large,
and their bullets will fly over the prairies and
will not come toward us. If they do come
toward us, they will float away like dust in the
air.” I turned to Major Whitside and said, “That
man is making mischief,” and repeated what he
had said. Whitside replied, “Go direct to
Colonel Forsyth and tell him about it,” which I
did.
Forsyth and I went to the circle of warriors
where he told me to tell the medicine man to sit
down and keep quiet, but he paid no attention to
the order. Forsyth repeated the order. Big
Foot's brother-in-law answered, “He will sit
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at being a proper Comanche warrior then most
of the other boys. He excelled at hunting but
still could not break the barrier of his mixed
blood.
The Chieftainship is not hereditary; one
must earn the right to be called chief. There are
two qualifications. First, one must have an
outstanding war record. Second, the candidate
29
must show concern for his followers. Quanah
excelled as a warrior but as a youth he did not
prove to be always so generous with his
Quanah Parker was the last Chief of the
followers. He did keep the best horses and lions
Comanches and never lost a battle to the white
share of the stolen booty for himself. He did
man. His tribe roamed over the area where
provide well for his followers on the reservation
Pampas stands. He was never captured by the
in later years. Providing for his followers and
Army, but decided to surrender and lead his
the guests that came to visit, sometimes
tribe into the white man's culture, only when he
unannounced, necessitated Quanah to seek loans
saw that there was no alternative.
in the last years of his life.
His was the last tribe in the Staked Plains to
Quanah fell in love with Weakeah but her
come into the reservation system.
father, Ekitaocup, forbid their marriage. The
Quanah, meaning "fragrant," was born
young couple eloped and spent several years out
about 1850, son of Comanche Chief Peta
on the plains with a growing tribe of which
Nocona and Cynthia Ann Parker, a white girl
Quanah was the leader. He was gaining a
who had been taken captive during the 1836 raid
reputation as a fierce warrior and capable leader.
on Parker's Fort, Texas. Cynthia Ann Parker,
Eventually Weakeah's father accepted the
along with her daughter Prairie Flower, was
marriage and they were able to return to the
recaptured by whites during an 1860 raid on the
Comanche Nation. Years later Ekitaocup
Pease River in northwest Texas. She had spent
accompanied Quanah to Fort Worth where he
24 years among the Comanche, however, and
died in an accident. This accident almost killed
thus never readjusted to living with the whites
Quanah too. It also almost ended his career.
again. Ironically, Cynthia Ann's eldest son
Quanah joined the raiding parties of his
would adjust remarkably well to living among
father's old band and the band of his father-inthe white men. But first he would lead a bloody
law. During one raid the leader, Bear's Ear, was
war against them.
killed. Usually after the leader was killed the
A few years after his mother’s recapture,
raiders would become disoriented and cease the
Quanah’s father died of an infected wound.
raid or scatter and loose their booty. Bear's Ear
Quanah's brother Pecos died of smallpox in
was killed after the raid while they were being
1863 and a few months later Prairie Flower died
pursued. The raiding party had reached the Red
of influenza. Cynthia Ann starved herself to
River. They had planned to cross the Red River
death mourning the loss of her two youngest
farther west but with the death of Bear's Ear
children. Quanah, now an orphan, was taken in
confusion ruled. Quanah shouted to the men to
by one of his father's other wives, but she too
head north to the river where they crossed the
later died.
river to safety. His actions saved the remainder
Quanah was an outcast in his tribe being
of the raiding party and their stolen horses. This
part white, a fact he did not know until after his
lead to his being accepted as a true leader. It
mother had been returned to her white family.
gained him the right to speak openly in tribal
After his stepmother's death Quanah had to
council, something only the most noteworthy
forage and fend for himself. He worked harder
obtained.
A young medicine man named Eschiti led
29
an
attack
on Adobe Walls, a trading post for
http://www.nativeamericans.com/QuanahParker.htm
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Quanah
Parker:
Comanches Adapt to
Reservation Life
buffalo hunters, in 1864. This attack was a
miserable failure. Eschiti had told the warriors
he had medicine to protect them from bullets.
Eschiti's medicine proved false and several
warriors were wounded. Quanah was among
the wounded. Quanah was wounded while
rescuing a fallen comrade, Howeah. Howeah
later was recommended to replace Quanah as
Chief of the Comanches by Quanah's
opposition.
Quanah. It was another year before Quanah
gave up.
Mackenzie sent Dr. Jacob J. Sturm, a
physician and post interpreter, to solicit the
Quahada's surrender. Dr. Sturm found Quanah,
whom he called "a young man of much
influence with his people," and pleaded his case.
According to oral tradition, Quanah was
unsure of taking his tribe to the reservation. He
climbed a mesa at Caon Blanco to meditate on
his mother's life. She had been captured as a
child and adapted to the Comanche way of life.
She later was recaptured by the whites and taken
back to her family. While sitting at the top he
noticed a wolf below him. The wolf looked up
at him, howled and then turned northeastward
towards Fort Sill. Quanah then looked up to see
an eagle gliding overhead; it too headed
northeastward. Quanah took this to be a sign
and led his people to Fort Sill and a new way of
life.
Dr. Sturm then chose Quanah to be one of
the messengers to Colonel Mackenzie. Quanah
and the other messengers reached Fort Sill the
evening of May 13, 1875. Within a few days
Quanah had approached Mackenzie concerning
the whereabouts of his mother. Mackenzie sent
a letter to the quartermaster of Denison, Texas,
“Quanah Parker, prior to the reservation”—C.M. Bell
asking about Cynthia Ann Parker and her
In 1867, a faction of the Comanche Nation,
daughter. He received two responses both
as well as other tribes, signed the Treaty of
stating that both mother and child were dead.
Medicine Lodge with the American
This interest in his mother proved to be a bonus
government. This treaty would confined the
to Quanah. Mackenzie took an added interest in
southern Plains Indians to a reservation in
him and gave him special duties that aided his
exchange for the government’s promise to
ascent up the ladder of power at Fort Sill.
clothe the Indians and turn them into farmers, in
Shortly after his arrival at Fort Sill,
the imitation of the white settlers. Quanah and
Mackenzie sent Quanah into the field to retrieve
his Comanche faction, of whom his father had
some runaways. Two months after leaving the
been chief, refused to accept the provisions of
reservation he returned with 21 runaways. He
the treaty.
pleaded the case for the runaways asking for
Knowing of past lies and deceptive treaties
clemency. He made the whites happy by
of the "white man", Quanah continued to lead
bringing in the runaways and made the
and join raiding parties even after the signing of
runaways happy by keeping them out of prison.
the Treaty of Medicine Lodge. In 1874, Colonel
Thus started Quanah Parkers career in politics.
R. S. Mackenzie found Quanah's hidden
Reservation life required a complete
encampment at Palo Duro Canyon. Leading a
societal change for the Comanches. Quanah
charge that scattered the tribes’ horses and
desired to traveling the "white man's road," but
people, Mackenzie succeeded in breaking many
he did it his way. He refused to give up
of the Comanches under the command of
polygamy and the spiritual tradition of using
peyote, much to the reservation agents' chagrin.
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Reservation agents being political
problem with the ranchers in the area. Many
appointees of the Federal Government, their
ranchers from Texas would drive their cattle
main concern was to destroy all vestiges of
across the reservation to take their stock to
Native American life and replace their culture
market. The reservation consisted of 3,000,000
with that of theirs. Never before in the history
acres of land with a population of 3,000 Native
of the Comanche Nation had there been one
Americans. Ranchers used the western section
central leader. Prior to reservation life every
on their way to Dodge City. Because of the
clan had their own chief. Actually two chiefs,
ranchers using the land the Bureau of Indian
one for peacetime and one for war. The white
Affairs encouraged the Indians not to use the
"overlords" were unable to accept this kind of
western section of the reservation.
political system and imposed a white political
Quanah saw this as an opportunity to
system on the Comanches. Quanah was chosen
provide for his people. He received a letter from
by the reservation agent to be the primary chief.
the Indian Agent at the reservation; the letter
Quanah proved to be influential not only with
recognized him as Chief of the Comanches. He
the Comanches but also with the Kiowa and
would go out into the area where ranchers were
Apaches with whom they shared the reservation.
seen driving their herds. He would approach the
In the North Plains the Ghost Dance cult
trail boss and show him the letter. He would
was forming. Quanah scoffed at the Ghost
offer advise as to where the good grass and
Dance. Some Indians at the reservation did
water was and extract a payment in head of
follow the Ghost Dance but most did not. There
cattle. In this manner he provided extra food for
are several theories as to why Quanah did not
those who followed him.
follow the Ghost Dance. The Ghost Dancers
Quanah also leased out sections of "his"
were told that their shirts made them impervious
pasture to the Texas ranchers. This was not an
to bullets, the same thing Eschiti had told the
actual lease. What he would do is care for the
Comanches prior to the battle at Adobe Walls.
ranchers stock saying it was his own. The
Others speculate that Quanah would not follow
rancher would pay a nice sum of money to
another's teachings because he wanted to be the
Quanah for this service. Quanah was paid $50
leader. While still others simply state the ideals
per month and his four employees were paid
of the Plains Indians religious beliefs.
$25 per month.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs was to supply
The ranchers approached the Bureau of
the Comanches on the reservation with food,
Indian Affairs with a proposal of leasing the
clothing, blankets and other necessities per the
western section of the reservation. At first
Treaty of Medicine Lodge. The Treaty also
Quanah was anti-lease. His profitable
stated that the natives could hunt to supplement
relationship with the ranchers lead to his
the supplies given by the government. The
conversion to being pro-lease. December 1884
game was very scarce on the reservation and
saw the signing of the first lease agreement.
feelings towards the natives were very tense off
The ranchers leased the land at $.06 per acre.
of the reservation. The Comanches needed
The money received from this lease agreement
military escorts to go hunting off of the
was referred to as "grass money". The "grass
reservation. After one such hunting trip that had
money" was divided up equally amongst the
ended in failure, Quanah and his hunting party
Indians on the reservation, but held in trust by
were accused of stealing horses. In defense
the Federal Government.
Quanah pointed to the horses they rode showing
During the time of the lease agreements
their poor condition. If they had stolen horses
Quanah Parker flourished financially. Quanah
they would have stolen horses in better shape
was close friends with the ranchers. During
then those they rode. Considering the
their time leasing the rangeland the ranchers
Comanches knowledge of horseflesh this would
provided Quanah with an invaluable education,
have been true.
an education that he was to use later when
The Comanches began ranching. They
dealing with the government concerning
started raising cattle. But they also had a
allotments.
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In 1888 Quanah farmed 150 acres. In 1890
There has been several statements as to
Quanah had 425 head of cattle, 200 hogs, 3
the amount of money that we receive.
wagons, 1 buggy and 160 horses. Quanah was a
It is a great deal of money to be paid
celebrity, hosting several dignitaries of his time,
each person, and if the Indian makes
including hosting a wolf hunt for President
good use of it he can live like
Theodore Roosevelt.
Tanananaka and myself. You look
Roosevelt understood the Indians. He
around you and see so many good
understood why they fought so fiercely to save
faces, but they will take their money
their land. Roosevelt was an outdoorsman and
and buy whiskey. . . . We think we
as such loved and respected nature. The hunting
understand what the commission has
expedition with Quanah served as the avenue
said to us, but do not think the
for Roosevelt being made aware of the plight of
commission has understood what we
the Native American. This did prompt
have said. . . . This land is ours, just
Roosevelt to veto the Stephens Bill to open the
like your farm is yours; but for one
reservation to settlement. Several months later
reason we cannot hold on to ours,
Roosevelt did sign the revised bill on June 5,
because on the right had is what you
1906.
are trying to do and on the left hand is
The Jerome Commission came to the
the Dawes bill.
reservation on September 19, 1892. The Jerome
Quanah had realized he could not stop the
Commissions duty was to convince the Indians
allotments, but he could postpone them. He
to sign a treaty allowing allotting of land. The
knew he had two options. One, deal with the
allotments were to be 160 acres each, per the
Jerome Commission or two let the Dawes Act
Dawes Act. The Treaty of Medicine Lodge had
dictate what happened. He chose to deal with
stated that when allotments occurred the lots
the Jerome Commission. It took the Jerome
were to be 320 acres each. According to The
Commission one month to accomplish getting
Treaty of Medicine Lodge allotting of the land
the "signatures" they were after.
was to happen in 1898. Quanah pointed this out
Quanah told the commission that as long as
in one of the meetings. He also started asking
the Jerome Agreement was not ratified he would
how much per acre were the Indians going to
continue to see to the leasing of the grassland.
get for the land that was being opened up for
The Jerome Agreement was ratified 1900. The
settlement. An estimate of $2,000,000 had been
version that passing the House in March 1900
given for the sum total of money the Indians
gave each Indian 160 acres, but it did not
would receive for the land. The following is an
guarantee them money for the remainder of the
excerpt of this discussion between Quanah
land. The Indian Rights Association lobbied
Parker and Commissioner Sayre:
against this bill. In a statement they condemned
Quanah Parker: How much per acre?
it by saying:
Mr. Sayre: I can not tell you.
utterly destructive of that honor and
Quanah Parker: How do you arrive at
good faith which should characterize
the number of million dollars if you do
our dealings with any people, and
not know?
especially with one too weak to enforce
Mr. Sayre: We just guess at it.
their rights as against us by any other
Because of Quanah's line of questioning
means than an appeal to our sense of
Commissioner Jerome had came up with some
justice.
figures to give him the next day. But Quanah
This pressure lead to another version of the
was onto another line of questioning, he started
Jerome Agreement. This version gave each
lobbying for an additional $500,000. Lone
Indian 160 acres, an additional 480,000 acres of
Wolf of the Kiowas expressed concern for the
land to be held communally, and guaranteed the
more impoverished and less educated of the
Indians would receive at least $500,000 of the
reservation. Quanah agreed with Lone Wolf
$2,000,000 purchase price for the surplus land.
and went on to say:
This was the version of the Jerome Agreement
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that was ratified in 1900. Provisions were also
made for the children that had been born during
the time of the signing of the Jerome Agreement
and its ratification.
Quanah never learned to read but he spoke
three languages, Comanche, Spanish and
English. Realizing that the only way for his
people to survive was to acculturate he
encouraged education. Ironically, his own
children were not always in school. Lack of
space in the schools kept them from attending
regularly. In 1893, the Fort Sill Boarding
School opened. The addition of this school
afforded many children, Quanah's included, the
opportunity for an education they would not
have otherwise received.
Because of the lack of a school in his area
Quanah had enrolled his son Kelsey in a white
school in Cache. The residents of Cache
protested an Indian in their school. Officially
the reason given for Kelsey being denied access
to the school was that he lived outside of the
school district. So Quanah enrolled Kelsey in
the Fort Sill School. Kelsey was not happy.
Quanah said of the Indian school:
No like Indian school for my people.
Indian boy go to Indian school, stay
like Indian; go white school, he like
white man. Me want white school so
my children get educated like whites,
be like whites.
In 1908 Quanah offered a piece of his
property to be used for a school. The reason for
the proposed school was that many Indian and
white children in the area where Quanah lived
were not in any school district. This school
never was built. Rumor was that Quanah's son,
White Parker, was to be the teacher. Quanah
wanted a white teacher; he felt that an Indian
teacher would not speak English well enough to
truly teach the children.
On December 4, 1910, Quanah re-interred
his mother's remains. He had brought her body
up from Texas to Oklahoma. During the
ceremony he said:
Forty years ago my mother died. She
captured by Comanches, nine years
old. Love Indian and wild life so well
no want to go back to white folks. All
same people anyway, God say. I love
my mother. I like my white people.
Got great heart. I want my people to
follow after white way, get educated,
know work, make living when
payments stop. I tell 'em they got to
know how to pick cotton, plow corn. I
want them know white man's God.
Comanche may die today, tomorrow,
ten years. When end comes then they
all be together again. I want see my
mother again then.
Quanah Parker died on February 23, 1911,
and was buried next to his mother at Ft. Sill
Military cemetery on Chiefs Knoll in
Oklahoma. For his courage, integrity and
tremendous insight, Quanah Parker's life tells
the story of one of America's greatest leaders
and a true hero.
Biographer Bill Neeley writes:
"Not only did Quanah pass within the
span of a single lifetime from a Stone
Age warrior to a statesman in the age
of the Industrial Revolution, but he
accepted the challenge and
responsibility of leading the whole
Comanche tribe on the difficult road
toward their new existence."
“Quanah Parker, after to the reservation”—C.M. Bell
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of white settlers. The poorer, the more
insignificant, the more helpless the band, the
more certain the cruelty and outrage to which
they have been subjected. This is especially
true of the bands on the Pacific slope. These
Indians found themselves of a sudden
surrounded by and caught up in the great influx
30
of gold-seeking settlers, as helpless creatures on
By Helen Hunt Jackson
a shore are caught up in a tidal wave. There was
not time for the Government to make treaties;
There are within the limits of the United
not even time for communities to make laws.
States between two hundred and fifty and three
The tale of the wrongs, the oppressions, the
hundred thousand Indians, exclusive of those in
murders of the Pacific-slope Indians in the last
Alaska. The names of the different tribes and
thirty years would be a volume by itself, and is
bands, as entered in the statistical table so the
too monstrous to be believed.
Indian Office Reports, number nearly three
It makes little difference, however, where
hundred. One of the most careful estimates
one
opens
the record of the history of the
which have been made of their numbers and
Indians; every page and every year has its dark
localities gives them as follows: "In Minnesota
stain. The story of one tribe is the story of all,
and States east of the Mississippi, about 32,500;
varied only differences of time and place; but
in Nebraska, Kansas, and the Indian Territory,
neither time nor place makes any difference in
70,650; in the Territories of Dakota, Montana,
the main facts. Colorado is as greedy and unjust
Wyoming, and Idaho, 65,000; in Nevada,
in 1880 as was Georgia in 1830, and Ohio in
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona,
1795; and the United States Government breaks
84,000; and on the Pacific slope, 48,000."
promises now as deftly as then, and with an
Of these, 130,000 are self-supporting on
added ingenuity from long practice.
their own reservations, "receiving nothing from
One of its strongest supports in so doing is
the Government except interest on their own
the
wide-spread
sentiment among the people of
moneys, or annuities granted them in
dislike to the Indian, of impatience with his
consideration of the cession of their lands to the
presence as a "barrier to civilization" and
United States."
distrust of it as a possible danger. The old tales
Of the remainder, 84,000 are partially
of the frontier life, with its horrors of Indian
supported by the Government-the interest
warfare, have gradually, by two or three
money due them and their annuities, as provided
generations' telling, produced in the average
by treaty, being inadequate to their subsistence
mind something like an hereditary instinct of
on the reservations where they are confined.
questioning and unreasoning aversion which it
There are about 55,000 who never visit an
is almost impossible to dislodge or soften. . . .
agency, over whom the Government does not
President after president has appointed
pretend to have either control or care. These
commission
after commission to inquire into
55,000 "subsist by hunting, fishing, on roots,
and report upon Indian affairs, and to make
nuts, berries, etc., and by begging and stealing";
suggestions as to the best methods of managing
and this also seems to dispose of the accusation
them. The reports are filled with eloquent
that the Indian will not "work for a living."
statements of wrongs done to the Indians, of
There remains a small portion, about 31,000,
perfidies on the part of the Government; they
that are entirely subsisted by the Government.
counsel, as earnestly as words can, a trial of the
There is not among these three hundred
simple and unperplexing expedients of telling
bands of Indians one which has not suffered
truth, keeping promises, making fair bargains,
cruelly at the hands either of the Government or
dealing justly in all ways and all things. These
reports are bound up with the Government's
30
From Jackson, Helen Hunt. A Century of Dishonor.
Annual Reports, and that is the end of them. . . .
Minneapolis: Ross and Haines, 1964.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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A Century of
Dishonor
The history of the Government connections
the United States, their rights of property must
with the Indians is a shameful record of broken
remain insecure against invasion. The doors of
treaties and unfulfilled promises. The history of
the federal tribunals being barred against them
the border white man's connection with the
while wards and dependents, they can only
Indians is a sickening record of murder, outrage,
partially exercise the rights of free government,
robbery, and wrongs committed by the former,
or give to those who make, execute, and
as the rule, and occasional savage outbreaks and
construe the few laws they are allowed to enact,
unspeakably barbarous deeds of retaliation by
dignity sufficient to make them respectable.
the latter, as the exception.
While they continue individually to gather the
Taught by the Government that they had
crumbs that fall from the table of the United
rights entitled to respect, when those rights have
States, idleness, improvidence, and indebtedness
been assailed by the rapacity of the white man,
will be the rule, and industry, thrift, and
the arm which should have been raised to
freedom from debt the exception. The utter
protect them has ever been ready to sustain the
absence of individual title to particular lands
aggressor.
deprives every one among them of the chief
The testimony of some of the highest
incentive to labor and exertion—the very
military officers of the United States is on
mainspring on which the prosperity of a people
record to the effect that, in our Indian wars,
depends."
almost without exception, the first aggressions
All judicious plans and measures for their
have been made by the white man. . . . Every
safety and salvation must embody provisions for
crime committed by a white man against an
their becoming citizens as fast as they are fit,
Indian is concealed and palliated. Every offense
and must protect them till then in every right
committed by an Indian against a white man is
and particular in which our laws protect other
borne on the wings of the post or the telegraph
"persons" who are not citizens. . . .
to the remotest corner of the land, clothed with
However great perplexity and difficulty
all the horrors which the reality or imagination
there may be in the details of any and every plan
can throw around it. Against such influences as
possible for doing at this late day anything like
these are the people of the United States need to
justice to the Indian, however, hard it may be
be warned.
for good statesmen and good men to agree upon
To assume that it would be easy, or by any
the things that ought to be done, there certainly
one sudden stroke of legislative policy possible,
is, or ought to be, no perplexity whatever, on
to undo the mischief and hurt of the long past,
difficulty whatever, in agreeing upon certain
set the Indian policy of the country right for the
things that ought not to be done, and which must
future, and make the Indians at once safe and
cease to be done before the first steps can be
happy, is the blunder of a hasty and uninformed
taken toward righting the wrongs, curing the
judgment. The notion which seems to be
ills, and wiping out the disgrace to us of the
growing more prevalent, that simply to make all
present conditions of our Indians.
Indians at once citizens of the United States
Cheating, robbing, breaking promises-would be a sovereign and instantaneous panacea
these three are clearly things which must cease
for all their ills and all the Government's
to be done. One more thing, also, and that is the
perplexities, is a very inconsiderate one. To
refusal of the protection of the law to the
administer complete citizenship of a sudden, all
Indian's rights of property, "of life, liberty, and
round, to all Indians, barbarous and civilized
the pursuit of happiness."
alike, would be as grotesque a blunder as to
When these four things have ceased to be
dose them all round with any one medicine,
done, time, statesmanship, philanthropy, and
irrespective of the symptoms and needs of their
Christianity can slowly and surely do the rest.
diseases. It would kill more than it would cure.
Till these four things have ceased to be done,
Nevertheless, it is true, as was well stated by
statesmanship and philanthropy alike must work
one of the superintendents of Indian Affairs in
in vain, and even Christianity can reap but small
1857, that, "so long as they are not citizens of
harvest.
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the man both contemporaries and historians.
And that, as much as anything else, makes him
an intriguing historical agent. Loved by some,
loathed by others, Boudinot left not only a
rather disjointed and dubious image of himself
for posterity—produced by the mixture of his
actions and disputable character—but also one
that invites reappraisal.
Boudinot was born in 1839, the son of Elias
Boudinot, a Cherokee missionary and journalist,
and Harriet Gold, a white woman from
By Thomas Burnell Colbert31
Connecticut. After the elder Boudinot was
assassinated in 1839 for signing the Treaty of
“He is a grand fellow, above average in
New Echota, his children were raised in New
height, stalwart, well formed. . . . His features
England. In the 1850s Boudinot returned briefly
are strong, expressive, holding that look of
to the Cherokee Nation before settling in
patience which is the facial seal to some fixed,
Fayetteville, Arkansas. There he became a
unalterable purpose. His eyes burn and darken,
lawyer, and by 1859 he co-owned and edited the
and lighten again with the smile that quickly
Fayetteville Arkansian and had assumed an
follows.” That was how Marie Le Baron
active role in the Democratic Party.
described Elias Cornelius Boudinot in her
After Arkansas left the Union in 1861
“Washington Notables” column in the
Boudinot enlisted in the Confederate Cherokee
Baltimore Weekly Sun in 1876.
regiment being raised by his uncle, Stand Watie.
A few years later, Marcus J. Wright
With Watie and other Confederate supporters,
described Boudinot as “perhaps the best known
Boudinot pushed the Cherokee Nation toward
on the streets of Washington, and [he] has a
and alliance with the Confederacy to which
pleasant smile and kind word for everyone he
Principal Chief John Ross only reluctantly
meets.” It was also said of him that he “was on
acceded. But by the fall of 1862, Ross and his
familiar and easy terms with the learned justices
followers had switched sides; the Southern
of the Supreme Court, with stately senators,
Cherokees, in tern, elected Watie as Principal
members of Congress, distinguished military
Chief. Boudinot, who had attained the rank of
men, and indeed, with every class of society.”
lieutenant colonel, was chosen as the Cherokee
Yet, Boudinot also was a person who would
delegate to the Confederate Congress in
engage in a brawl outside of the office of the
Richmond.
Commissioner of Indian Affairs and who
Following the Confederacy’s defeat,
supposedly was threatened with death several
Boudinot became a major spokesman for the
times. He was described as “a betrayer of his
Southern Cherokees in treaty negotiations with
people and his race,” and a person who
the federal government. He endeavored to have
“prostitutes his Indian blood to these base
the Cherokee Nation formally split between
purposes for the sake of money.” Hero or
former Confederates and Union supporters. He
villain, visionary or rogue, Boudinot certainly
argued that the two groups could not again live
earned the distinction of being one of the most
in harmony and especially lashed out at Ross,
controversial personalities in Cherokee history.
whom he blamed for the murder of his father,
Throughout his life, Boudinot seemed
portraying the old chief as a hypocritical traitor.
either surrounded by conflict or embroiled in it,
Led by Boudinot, the Southern Cherokees
fostering differing, often contradictory, views of
wanted to organize a central government for
Indian Territory, grant railroad rights-of-way
through the Cherokee Nation, and sell the
31
From Colbert, Thomas Burnell. “Visionary or Rogue?
Cherokee-owned Neutral Land to the federal
The Life and Legacy of Elias Cornelius Boudinot.”
government. They almost attained their goals,
Chronicles of Oklahoma. Vol. 65, No. 3. Fall 1987.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Visionary or
Rogue?
The Life and Legacy of
Elias C. Boudinot
but in the end a new treaty was made with Ross’
to call for making Indian Territory an official
delegation.
territory of the United States, establishing a
John Ross died shortly thereafter, and
federal court in the territory, bestowing
William Potter Ross was chosen to complete his
American citizenship on Indians, and dividing
uncle’s term as Principal Chief. Many of the
tribal lands in severalty. He defended his
elder Ross’ faction, however, harbored
advocacy of these measures on the grounds that
misgivings about William. Desiring to foster
the court’s ruling in essence destroyed the
unity within the tribe again, they supported
validity of Indian treaties and that Indians were
Lewis Downing against Ross in the next
subject to the laws of the United States. Their
national election. Downing won, in part, with
rights would be secured, he averred, only after
the votes of Southern Cherokees. In turn, he
they held citizenship and their real property
appointed three Southern Cherokees, including
would be safeguarded only if they had private,
Boudinot, to the Cherokee delegation in
not tribal, ownership. Consequently, in an effort
Washington, D.C.
to gain support for his views, Boudinot became
Although he spent much time in
the spokesman for minority factions in the
Washington, Boudinot maintained business
Cherokee Nation—mixed-blood and white tribal
interests in the Cherokee Nation. He operated a
members, Cherokee freedman, and Delawares
ranch, but most important was the tobacco
and Shawnees who had been adopted as
factory that he and Watie established in 1868.
Cherokee citizens.
He also worked to bring railroads into the
During most of the next 15 years Boudinot
Cherokee Nation, becoming closely associated
spent much time lobbying in Washington for
first with the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas (or
territorial bills, claiming authorship for some
Katy) and later with the Atlantic and Pacific. In
and reportedly having the name “Oklahoma”
1871 he founded the town of Vinita, Indian
placed in such bills for the first time, or
Territory, at the junction of the Katy and the
traveling on the lecture circuit discussing the
A&P tracks.
“Indian Question,” thereby establishing himself
By that time Boudinot had already suffered
as a notable and quotable expert on Indian
some severe setbacks. He had been dropped
affairs, at least to white Americans. He also
from the Cherokee delegation for several
collected many influential friends, particularly
reasons. He championed railroad construction
form the ranks of politicians. Moreover, he
in the Cherokee Nation and thus angered
ignited even more controversy by declaring in
tribesmen who feared that their nation would
the Chicago Times in 1879 that millions of acres
lose land to these companies and be inundated
in Indian Territory were part of the public
with white settlers. He still entertained the idea
domain and could be opened to homesteaders.
of establishing a central government for all
His assertions fostered the Boomer agitation to
tribes in Indian Territory, thereby assaulting the
open the so-called Unassigned Lands to settlers,
sovereignty of tribal government. And he
a movement led by David L. Payne, one of
generally seemed more engaged in furthering
Boudinot’s friends.
his own interests rather than those of the
The high point in Boudinot’s political life
Cherokee Nation.
came in 1885, when, counting on his close
Most devastating, however, was the
connections with Democratic leaders, he
confiscation of his tobacco factory by federal
initiated a strong bid to be named Commissioner
agents in 1869 for violating a tax law enacted in
of Indian Affairs in President Cleveland’s
1868. The case eventually reached the United
administration. After his efforts failed,
States Supreme Court, which ruled that the
Boudinot returned to Arkansas, where he
United States government and Indian nations
practiced law, oversaw his ranch and other
were not equals and the 1868 statute superseded
holdings in the Cherokee Nation, and remained
Article X of the Cherokee Treaty of 1866.
active, but to a much lesser degree than before,
At this juncture, Boudinot further alienated
in Cherokee politics. Most notably, he fought to
himself from his native brethren when he began
keep the Cherokee government from leasing the
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Cherokee Outlet to the Cherokee Strip
“betrayed his trust and deserted his people and
Livestock Association, a point of view which
in turn was discarded by them.”
many Cherokees shared with Boudinot.
On the other hand, there were those,
Boudinot died in September 1890. By that
especially whites, who admired Boudinot, as
time, the Unassigned Lands in Indian Territory
can be seen in the responses to his death. The
had been opened to non-Indians and Oklahoma
Fort Smith Call, for example, stated that the
Territory established over the area. A federal
Cherokees had lost “one of their greatest and
court had been created for Indian Territory and a
most progressive leaders,” who for 25 years had
new right-of-way law allowed more railroads to
been “one of the most noted Indians of
enter Indian Territory. Also, the Dawes Act of
America.” The Fort Smith Elevator declared
1887 had become law. Although it excluded the
that Boudinot “was an extraordinary man, and
Five Civilized Tribes, this legislation
will occupy a marked place in history. Taken in
empowered the President to terminate selected
all phases of character, he was, perhaps, the best
reservations, allot their lands in severalty to
representative of the Indian race that ever
tribal members, and confer United States
existed.” Equally admiring was the New York
citizenship on them. All were measures which
Times, which described Boudinot as the “most
Boudinot had fought for and which so many of
noted of the Cherokees,” who “for thirty years
his fellow Indians had struggled against.
ahs been the most intelligent Indian in North
Even from this cursory biography of
America.” Likewise, when his fellow lawyers
Boudinot, it is easy to understand why, for a
in Fort Smith held a memorial gathering in his
good portion of his life, many Cherokees held
honor, Boudinot was heralded as the “best and
him in low repute. The Northern Cherokee
most favorably known Indian in America.”
treaty delegation in 1866, for example,
Former Congressman T. M. Gunter observed
described him as “a Cherokee by birth, but
that “no man living or dead know so thoroughly
reared and educated under the good old Puritan
the history, needs, and character of the Indian
system of New England—a man who without
races as Colonel Boudinot,” and Judge Thomas
cause has spent the vigor of his fault-finding
Boles opined that “the Indians will acknowledge
with the Cherokee Nation, of which he has
that he was a far-seeing, unselfish, and patriotic
never been a citizen.” A biased view, of course,
statesman.”
but one containing sentiments that were later
Such varying remarks about Boudinot can
expressed by others was made by Principal
be attributed in part to differing perspectives.
Chief Lewis Downing, who by 1873 would
Boudinot’s contemporaries often judged him
denounce Boudinot as a “betrayer of his people
from subjective personal appraisal. Historians
and his race.” Downing further declared, “This
recounting the triumph of statehood for
man is employed in the interest of Railroads. . . .
Oklahoma could see him as a progressive Indian
With vast schemes, for self-aggrandizement by
in the vanguard of opening the Indian Territory
private speculation in the land which is the
to white civilization. Other, however, pictured
common heritage of the Cherokee people, he
the Indians as people wronged by white
used the name of the Cherokee for the purpose
America, and unlike John Ross, who became
of robbing and crushing the Cherokee people.
identified as a noble tribal leader trying to
He prostitutes his Indian blood to these base
protect his people, Boudinot provided possibly
purposes for the sake of money.” Several of his
the best example of an outspoken promoter of
erstwhile friends also turned against him, such
assimilation, who was perceived at best as a
as William Penn Adair, who lamented, “I am
misguided mixed-blood, at worst a villainous
only sorry that he does not lend us the aid of his
traitor.
strong talent and ability to carry out the views
Clearly there is a lack of consensus in
and rights of his people.” More caustic was
appraising Boudinot’s character and
L.H. “Hooley” Bell, who compared Boudinot to
motivations. But despite the disparity of these
Judas Iscariot and Benedict Arnold and
conclusions about Boudinot, there are,
characterized him as a Cherokee leader who had
nevertheless, certain considerations that lend
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themselves to formulating a better
every instance, but nevertheless it may be
understanding of the man.
contended that generally he did and that he
For one, Boudinot was relentless in battling
never doubted his commitment to their best
his foes, especially John Ross, William Potter
interests—as he saw them. He came to envision
Ross, and the tribal faction they led. But others,
the changes modernizing white America
indeed almost all, who opposed his views or
ultimately overtaking the Cherokee Nation and
actions, incurred his animosity. And the
virtually destroying the inhabitants unless they
evidence of his seemingly ever-present conflicts
adapted to white ways. “The world is moving,”
makes him appear as a constantly quarrelsome
he declared. “We [Indians] must move with it
person, a view far removed from the perceptions
or be crushed.” In fact, the argument might be
of his many friends and acquaintances who
made that in his own way, Boudinot followed in
knew him to be a genial, gentle, gentlemanly
his father’s footsteps. The elder Boudinot had
fellow full of charm and warmth. There is,
worked to “civilized” the Cherokees by
however, no real paradox. Like all human
preaching Christianity and advocating
beings, Boudinot was often moved by his
education, but the prejudice that he found in
emotions, which were sometimes very strong, a
whites finally led him to conclude that
facet of his personality which was
assimilation would be impossible, thus
sympathetically explained in the Fort Smith
prompting him to accept removal in hopes of
Times at the time of his death: “To hate was not
saving his tribe from destruction. His son, on
part of his nature, and though he did hate his
the other hand, understood the situation in his
enemies with all the fervor of his soul, he did it
own times differently. His particular plight with
religiously—did it with the impulsive feeling
his tobacco factory, mixed with his
that no to hate them would be treason to the
fundamentally white views, led him to conclude
memory of his father and friends who suffered
that the best protection Cherokees, indeed all
at the hands of savage cruelty.”
Indians, could have would be private ownership
Second, Boudinot sought status in both
of their land and American citizenship. To him,
Cherokee and white society. The force of his
assimilation became the requisite for Indian
ambitions propelled him into political and
survival. Red men could not stop the tide of
economic activities, while failure or rejection
white advances, but they could, he proposed,
only spurred him with dogged determination
“join the resistless army of civilization and
into further ventures. However, regardless of
progress, and thus save our people from
how much he proudly proclaimed his Indian
destruction.”
heritage—to the point, for example, of wearing
Boudinot also saw the path to civilization in
his hair long as a distinguishing feature—
economic development. He wanted more
Boudinot thought and acted like a white man.
commercial and industrial enterprises in the
He embraced white America’s concept of
Cherokee Nation and saw railroads, in
progress, and after the Civil War, his business
particular, as the catalyst for such because they
dealings, his spirit of boosterism, his dreams of
“would send the blood of enterprise tingling
wealth, his seemingly constant scheming, all
through the viens of every Cherokee.”
clearly placed him in the main stream of GildedRailroads in the Cherokee Nation, he
Age America. In this context, he represented
proclaimed:
that “new type” of Indian pointed out by H.
are inevitable; they are the great
Craig Miner, the culturally more white than red
civilizers of the world. If we are ever
mixed-blood who promoted economic
to prosper as a civilized people, we
enterprises apparently for personal profit
must do as others do, by multiplying
without regard to the wishes or best interests of
the facilities of communication. I do
his Indian brethren.
not fear their demoralizing influences,
The foregoing leads to the crucial question:
because the fact is, that the individual
did Boudinot ever have the welfare of the
Indian has improved just in proportion
Cherokees at heart? Probably he did not in
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as he has come in close contact with
civilization.
All this is not to say that Boudinot was
imbued with altruism. He was not, nor was he
as principled as he would have wanted people to
believe. There was significant truth in some of
the charges of his critics. He was not above
duplicity. He was cozy with railroad
companies. He was ever looking for his own
gain. These foibles, however, do not necessarily
negate his having concern for his fellow
Cherokees. What might be said is that Boudinot
wanted the Cherokee Nation to boom with a
The Scramble of Settlers, Sooners,
prosperity, one in which he, too, shared, one
produced by a bond of unity and common
and Spectators—Reports of
purpose between Indians and whites.
Disturbances and Quarrels32
Unfortunately for Boudinot, many
Cherokees and others, including historians,
Purcell, Indian Territory, April 22—A great
neither trusted his motives nor shared his views.
change has come over this town. Yesterday it
Indeed, his undertakings and battles more often
was a metropolis; tonight it is a hamlet in point
than not could be interpreted as questionable in
of population. The metamorphosis was affected
purpose. But regardless of any misgivings—
at 12 o'clock today, when several thousand men,
justified or not—about Boudinot, it cannot be
women, and children crossed the Canadian
denied that he played a prominent role in
River and entered upon a wild struggle for
Cherokee history for almost three decades.
homes in the Promised Land. The scenes
In retrospect, while not excusing but
connected with this . . . will never be effaced
looking beyond his faults, Boudinot can be
from the memory of those who witnessed them.
characterized in the context of latter nineteenth
The sun was not up sooner than the average
century America, and be seen in much the same
Boomer this morning. Probably not half the
way as by Judge Isaac Parker, Boudinot’s friend
people slept at all during the night. Gasoline
and a staunch defender of Indian rights:
lamps flared from sundown to sunrise in the two
I think he was much misunderstood by
business streets, and the ghostly forms of prairie
some of his people. They had a belief
schooners could be seen moving toward the ford
that he was not true to their interest,
a mile north of town. Daybreak found scores of
and that he was willing to barter away
men in the saddle and within an hour the town
their rights. This was a great mistake.
was as lively as it has been since the boom
He was jealous of the rights of the
began. A steady stream of wagons poured from
Indians as any of them, and I believe
the broken country, west and north to the main
he was ever ready to defend their rights
ford and, when this became blocked, hundreds
of life, liberty, and property. He was
of them were turned to the right, facing the river
just a little ahead of his people. He
at every point where fording seemed at all
wanted them to fall into the ranks of
practicable. At least fifty wagons halted where
the great column of civilization and
their owners only sought a safer spot when
progress, as it goes marking on to that
Lieut. Samuel E. Adair of the Fifth Cavalry
higher, greater, and nobler goal of the
flatly told them he would prevent them from
nation.
attempting to cross there.
Although Parker’s remarks were intentionally
eulogistic, they are, nonetheless, arguably
accurate and fair, to a point, in presenting an
32
assessment of Elias C. Boudinot.
From New York Times, April 23, 1889.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Into
Oklahoma at
Last
Thousands Wildly
Dashing in for Homes
Lieut. Adair, with a small body of troopers,
men with outfits are known to have been in the
came to the scene at 8 o'clock and patrolled the
timber or ravines of the Territory, and these are
riverbank until noon. Another guard was
now reaping the reward of their temerity in
stationed at the Santa Fe Bridge, and still
opposing the mandate of Uncle Sam.
another detachment crossed to the race side and
At the Santa Fe station this forenoon
began beating the bush for hidden Boomers.
hundreds had gathered hours before the time for
While this body failed to find any of the five
the departure to the north. There was more
outfits which have invaded the Territory during
baggage piled on the platform than would be put
the last three days, it captured several wanderers
in any union station in the country. On a side
and made an appalling discovery. Twenty men
track fully fifty cars were loaded or being
compromised the command, and they rode
loaded with household goods and merchandise
along the river for several miles before turning
destined for Oklahoma City or Guthrie. Poles
to scout through the timber. Below the bridge is
and barbed wire for fences composed the cargo
a great bend, where the quicksand is known to
of fully one fourth of the cars and these were
be most treacherous.
marked for immediate shipments. A barbed
As the troops emerged from a little strip of
wire fence will be a powerful argument against
forest they saw, lying upon the sand, the body of
occupation of a quarter section by five or ten
a youth of not more than twenty years. He was
boomers, if it is erected within twenty-four
poorly clad and his eyes, his ears, and his
hours after pre-emption. A carload of beer was
nostrils were filled with sand. A wagon track,
known to be sidetracked here this morning, but
heading from the opposite shore to a point about
as most of the Deputy United States Marshals
forty feet from where the body lay, and there
had gone to Guthrie or Kingfisher, it was not
suddenly disappearing, told the tale as well as
descended upon. The other day Chief Deputy
an eye witness could have done. Some
Ensley discovered a barrel of beer on the
enterprising Boomer, with his family and
platform of the station at Norman, and he
effects, had essayed to ford the stream and the
destroyed it in the presence and to the infinite
quicksand had swallowed his outfit when it was
disgust of dozens of thirsty travelers.
apparently beyond the reach of danger. How
Men with packs on their backs and their
they came, will never be known. The dead boy
arms full of goods came down the bluff this
was freckled and homely, and was dressed in
morning and joined the crowd at the station.
the primitive Texas style. His pockets contained
The eating-houses were jammed to the very
nothing to throw light on the mystery. The
kitchen doors, and in the rear of one of these a
oldest river man is puzzled to know how he
curious woman, as she broiled beefsteak and
managed to reach the shore after the others had
made coffee over a fire in the yard.
perished. There have been many tragic
About 10 o'clock the street fakirs and
occurrences in this country since the Oklahoma
gamblers closed up their schemes and games for
excitement began, but none more terrible than
the present, packed their paraphernalia, and
this boy disclosed. The troops made such
made tracks for the station. Some were bound
disposition of the body as was possible and
for Guthrie and others for Oklahoma City, and a
searched up and down stream for further traces
few expressed their determination to go to
of the fatality, but nothing more was found and
Kingfisher, which they considered desirable
the scout continued.
from the fact that it would not be overrun at first
A mile below a Boomer was discovered
with gentlemen of their calling. If all the
who had just crossed and was urging his horse
Purcell "sports" settle in Oklahoma and display
up a ravine. He was captured without difficulty,
the hustling qualities they have shown here the
and a soldier was sent back with him to the ford
other fellows will have to rise very early in the
at Purcell. Three more rustlers were corralled
morning to make the running with them.
soon after, and it being then nearly 11 o'clock,
When the first train of eight coaches rolled
the troop was headed for Purcell, and the last
in to the station from the south every Boomer
Oklahoma raid was at an end. Several hundred
who had planned to invade Oklahoma by
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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railroad was on hand. A howl of rage went up
livery stables and the horse mart. At that hour
as the train sped on, with trainmen on every
fully 200 horses were being rubbed down and
platform to prevent anyone from getting aboard.
saddled and bridled, and every man in sight was
This train ran a little below town and halted
engaged in the work. From the preparations a
until the hour set for its departure into the
stranger of sporting proclivities would
Territory.
unhesitatingly have declared that a horse race
Soon afterwards a special train of 12
was on . . . the biggest race ever run in the
coaches appeared, and inside of five minutes it
United States—a race for homes, for 160 acres
was crowded with over one thousand people. It
of Oklahoma land.
ran down the switch and stopped until 11:40
The owners of the horses being so carefully
o'clock. The overflow was so great that another
groomed were, for the most part, young men
train of equal size was brought up, and this also
who own regulation Boomer outfits; who have
was crowded to the platforms in an incredibly
been here for months, and some of them for
short time.
years, and all of
As the trains
whom, it is
lay on the siding,
believed, belong to
each car was a
the Oklahoma
theatre. It seemed
Legion. Every man
as if every man had
of them has staked
a plan whereby he
out a claim within
could leave the
ten miles of Purcell,
train after it had
and the idea of each
passed into
is to get to it as soon
Oklahoma, and
after midday as
stealthy glances at
possible and wait
the bell rope
for the wagon to
showed that the
make a more
engineer's gong
leisurely trip. To
would sound about
accomplish this
the time the train
each had secured a
was over the
fleet horse, and
bridge of the town.
cared for it
A discussion in
religiously in
one car brought on
anticipation of this
a free fight among
trying hour. No
some gamblers and
cavalrymen going
pistols were
on inspection ever
flourished in the most reckless manner. There
paid such minute attention to details, as did
happened to be a Deputy United States Marshal
those home seekers. Every girth, every strap,
on the car, who once cut the lobe from a man's
was put to the severest test, and bridles and bits
ear at thirty paces or thereabouts, and when he
were carefully examined.
threw up his gun the others disappeared as if by
Finally, when nothing more remained to be
magic, showing indisputably that reputation in
done, the Boomers mounted and rode to a point
this country is not the inadequacy it is held to be
half a mile south of this town, where a wide
in the East. The two specials were finally joined
stretch of sand, with no more than an eighth of a
together behind a double-header, and thus
mile of water, formed the only barrier to
equipped the train waited for the word.
Oklahoma. Here they formed a line, and
In Canadian street at 11 o'clock the town
patiently waited for the signal to break for the
people who remained on the bluff found plenty
Promised Land.
of entertainment. There are situated several
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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At the main ford, a mile below other
and a moment later the sound of the pistol shots
horsemen had gathered in advance of the long
told that the Texans were firing their salute.
procession of wagons which ranged up the river
Gathering speed, the train soon came opposite
in one line and to the top of the bluff in another.
the ford, and then a furious fusillade broke out.
To the northeast, hidden from view by a clump
It was continued until the train dashed around
of tumbles, many wagons whose owners were
the bend, preparatory to crossing the bridge.
too timid to trust the river were stationed in
The succeeding twenty minutes were the
readiness to cross the railroad bridge as soon as
longest of the day to those on the banks of the
the troops should give the word. A number of
river. Lieut. Adair could be seen calmly sitting
Deputy United States Marshals were noticed
watching, and all eyes were centered on him.
among the horsemen at both fording places, and
Suddenly he is seen to motion to the soldier
although there was any amount of grumbling,
near him, and the next moment the cheerful
they retained their positions in the line and
strains of the recall are sounded. In an instant
seemed determined to make the race with the
the scene changes. There is a mighty shout, and
others. Events show that they did so and an
the advance guard of the invading army is
infinite amount of trouble will grow out of this
racing like mad across the sands toward the
very fast.
narrow expanse of water. The north and south
Lieut. Adair, with his troops, forded the
wings seem to strike the water together. In they
stream at 11 o'clock, and the men were stationed
go, helter-skelter, every rider intent on reaching
at intervals on the further banks, so they could
the bank first. There goes a horse into a deep
guard every known fording place. Previous to
hole and his rider falls headlong out of the
crossing, the Lieutenant had announced that at
saddle. Before he can arise he is apparently
noon, sun time, he would order his bugle to
crushed by another animal, which has stumbled
sound the recall, and that this would be the
and fallen in. The crowd on shore gives a cry of
signal for the rush to begin. At 11:30 o'clock
horror, which speedily changed to relief as
one of the troopers discovered a wagon
neither man is hurt. They struggled to their feet,
crossing, half a mile below him, and succeeded
and as one of the horses breaks away and joins
in heading it off. The old Texan who owned it
the flying host his owner surges after him, with
swore roundly, but was forced to follow the
the water up to his waist, and the other man
sand drifts to where the Lieutenant was
remounts.
stationed, and was kept there until after the
By this time the swiftest ones are over and
signal was sounded.
speeding up the slope of the nearest ridge. The
As the supreme moment drew near the
head of the line of wagons is just emerging from
excitement increased. Every person who had
the riverbed. At this rate it will not be ten
not arranged to cross had secured an
minutes before all are across. The racers take
advantageous position on a housetop or the
different directions, but most of the wagons
great bluff just north of the town and was
northeast. The glass detects dozens of men
feverishly waiting. Not a few field glasses were
miles beyond the river. These are Boomers who
brought into requisition. Oklahoma is visible
have been hiding.
for miles from any elevation in Purcell and
There goes a white flag raised over what
seems a succession of beautiful valleys, with
appears to be a wagon two miles away. "That's
well-timbered ridges between. The Times'
Dr. Johnson's claim," said an anxious watcher,
correspondent, glass in hand, stood 100 feet
"and the doctor is riding for it for all he's worth.
above the river and had an uninterrupted view of
I reckon he will lose it though." The doctor
the panorama.
does lose it, dugout and all, unless he can prove
At 11:40 o'clock the conductor of the long
that the man who hoisted the flag was on the
special train on the siding gave the signal. The
ground before 10 o'clock.
engines whistled shrilly and the special began
Six shots in rapid succession, coming from
its trip toward Oklahoma. It seemed as if every
a point a mile away, attract attention. "They're
man on the train shouted when the train moved,
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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settling one dispute already," remarked a man
extremely dangerous when drunk. He swears
who has pioneered all through the West.
tonight that he will hold the claim and Harness
"Pashaw, they're only giving notice of
is equally positive he will not.
preemption," said another.
The Purcell merchants who have preempted
More shots were heard, but no one could
claims today have clearly violated the spirit of
satisfactorily explain them.
the law. They do not intend to live upon them,
Soon the last wagon had crossed the main
and most of them will make no improvements at
ford and the canvas covers began to dot the
present beyond building shanties or tents or
Oklahoma landscape. Within thirty minutes
making a dugout. In the meantime home
Purcell had resumed its normal aspect.
seekers will roam through Oklahoma and
At the Santa Fe Bridge the mode of
perhaps lose their lives in contesting claims with
crossing was so wearisome that after two
other needy men.
wagons had been hauled across by hand the
A dispatch from Oklahoma City tonight
Boomers became discouraged and decided to
says that at 12 o'clock men seemed to rise out of
brave the dangers of the ford after all. So they
the ground there, and in an incredibly short time
took the back track and about 2 o'clock were
a town site was staked off and lots placed on the
safely in Oklahoma and headed for the north.
market. These men dropped from last night's
As every claim within ten miles of Purcell had
southbound train when it slowed up for the
already been taken, these people will travel late
station. It is estimated that 200 left the same
tonight to make up for lost time.
train between Guthrie and Oklahoma. It is
About 5 o'clock reports from the front
reported that two men have been killed eight
began to come in, and they give a fair indication
miles from Purcell.
of the state of affairs which today's grand rush
precipitated. The businessmen of Purcell were
largely represented among the horsemen who
led the precession. Two of these headed for a
claim which one had long since staked out and
which the other coveted. They made first-class
running, but the covetous man won by a few
yards and set a stake. The other declared that he
would hold the claim, and began work on a
dugout. The situation was waxing when mutual
friends, who had secured the adjoining 160
acres, came along and succeeded in preventing
"gun play." The dispute was not settled,
however, and tonight both men claim the
homestead.
Another merchant named Harness made a
noble ride and came up to his selected claim
only to find Tom McNally, Deputy United
States Marshall, in possession. Harness
dismounted, and by and by his wagon arrived
with a tent, which he proceeded to put up.
McNally asserted that he had been sent into the
territory by Lieut. Adair and was therefore
entitled to take up a claim. This argument is
worthless, because McNally was in Government
employ at the time, and even if he wished to
resign he could not well do so all by himself.
McNally is a tough citizen and is considered
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Identity,
Far and Away
By Steve Russell33
Next month, I will testify again in front of
the Texas Legislature, and once again I will hear
in my mind the unspoken question: What makes
you Indian? You don’t ride a horse; you drive a
truck. You don’t live in a tipi, but in a house
that looks a lot like mine. You are in front of a
legislative committee rather than dancing in the
woods. You have three college degrees. What
makes you any different from me?
Yesterday, instead of vision-questing or
sitting around a fire with a shaman, I was
channel-surfing on the satellite service (cable),
and came upon a movie I missed in the theatres,
the Tome Cruise/Nicole Kidman vehicle, Far
and Away.
The film tells the story of Irish immigrants
from the Auld Sod (Ireland) to Oklahoma
Territory. It contains a gritty portrayal of class
conflict and lack of opportunity in Ireland,
poverty and crime and exploitation in turn of the
century Boston. The Holy Grail for the
downtrodden Irish is “free land” in Oklahoma.
“Free land” indeed. Locked into that
phrase, “free land,” was the story of my people,
a story that eluded the pretty people on the big
screen. (By the way, can you imagine how the
people on reservations would appear if
malnutrition, alcohol, and regular beatings
produced the appearance of Tom Cruise and
Nicole Kidman?)
The “free land coveted in Far and Away
came from lands declared “surplus” after the
Curtis Act [similar to the Dawes Act, but
focused on the Five Tribes] destroyed the
33
reservations of the Five Tribes in Indian
Territory: Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole,
Muscogee (Creek), and my people, the
Cherokee. The Dawes Commission went out
and took rolls, a census of those who would
voluntarily receive a piece of the tribal
homelands, a process that proceeded in spite of
resistance led by the Muscogee Chitto Harjo and
the Cherokee Redbird Smith.
The lands allotted by the Dawes
Commission had been given to the tribes in
perpetuity (and also involuntarily) in exchange
for the land of their ancestors in the
Southeastern U.S. The Indians were removed at
gunpoint in an ethnic cleansing noted, if at all,
in American history as the Trail of Tears.
Cherokees lost their sacred lands and third of
their people. My great-great-great grandmother
made that walk, a lucky survivor.
The climatic land rush of the film visually
recreates the famous photos [taken by famed
photographer William S. Prettyman] of the run
for the Cherokee Strip. The Strip, also known
as the Cherokee Outlet, was given to the tribe as
a guaranteed path to the rich bison hunting on
the Southern Plains. That used of the land was
rendered moot with the near-extinction of the
bison, which of course did more harm to the
Plains Indians than to the Cherokee.
My Dutch immigrant great-grandfather was
an unsuccessful participant in that very land
rush. My Cherokee great-great grandfather was
a victim of it. None of this was adverted to in
the film. The only Indians on the screen were
extras in crowd scenes. Yes, I am a thoroughly
modern Indian, and even am a fan of Tom
Cruise. From the jet jock in Top Gun to the
wounded warrior in Born on the Fourth of July
to the jaded doctor in Stanley Kubrick’s final
effort, Eyes Wide Shut, I appreciate the
entertainment I have received from the actor.
But yesterday, channel-surfing on the
satellite service, I found myself in tears. And I
was not crying for the Irish.
Steve Russell is an Associate Professor of Criminal
Justice, Indiana University, Bloomington, and sits as
a visiting judge after retiring from a 17-year career
on the Bench. He has spoken and published
extensively about law and Indian rights. Steve is a
member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and a
past President of the Texas Indian Bar Association.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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The Dalton
Gang’s Last
Raid
The ensuing firefight lasted less than fifteen
minutes. A brief moment in time in which four
townspeople lost their lives, four members of
the Dalton Gang were gunned down and a small
Kansas town became part of history.
Anatomy of a Gun Battle
David Elliott was editor of the local newspaper
and published a detailed account soon after the
By Eyewitness to History
gun battle. We pick up his story as the
desperadoes dismount and head towards their
Around 9:30 the morning of October 5,
targets:
1892 five members of the Dalton Gang (Grat
. . . After crossing the pavement the men
Dalton, Emmett Dalton, Bob Dalton, Bill
quickened
their pace, and the three in the front
Powers and Dick Broadwell) rode into the small
file
went
into
C.M. Condon & Co.'s bank at the
town of Coffeyville, Kansas. Their objective
southwest door, while the two in the rear ran
was to achieve financial security and make
directly across the street to the First National
outlaw history by simultaneously robbing two
Bank and entered
banks. From the
the front door of that
beginning, their
institution. The
audacious plan
gentleman [the
went astray. The
observer] was
hitching post
almost transfixed
where they
with horror. He had
intended to tie
an uninterrupted
their horses had
view of the inside of
been torn down
Condon and Co.'s
due to road
bank, and the first
repairs. This
thing that greeted his
forced the gang
vision was a
to hitch their
Winchester in the
horses in a nearhands of one of the
by alley—a
men, pointed
fateful decision.
towards
the
cashier's
counter
in the bank. He
To disguise their identity, (Coffeyville was
quickly
recovered
his
lost
wits,
and realizing the
the Dalton's hometown) two of the Daltons wore
truth of the situation, he called out to the men in
false beards and wigs. Despite this, the gang
the store that “The bank is being robbed!”
was recognized as they crossed the town's wide
Persons at different points on the Plaza heard
plaza, split up and entered the two banks.
the cry and it was taken up and quickly passed
Suspicious townspeople watched through the
around the square.
banks' wide front windows as the robbers pulled
At the same time several gentlemen saw the
their guns. Someone on the street shouted, "The
two men enter the First National Bank,
bank is being robbed!" and the citizens quickly
suspecting their motive, followed close at their
armed themselves—taking up firing positions
heels and witnessed them “holding up” the men
around the banks.
in this institution. They gave the alarm on the
east side of the Plaza. A “call to arms” came
simultaneously with the alarm and in less time
34
“The Dalton Gang’s Last Raid, 1892.” Eyewitness to
than it takes to relate the fact a dozen men with
History. www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2001).
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 140
34
Winchesters and revolvers in their hands were
ready to resist the escape of the unwelcome
visitors.
Inside the C.M. Condon Bank
As the townspeople arm themselves, the
desperados enter the two banks—Bill Powers,
Dick Broadwell and Grat Dalton at the C.M.
Condon bank, Bob and Emmett Dalton at the
First National. Inside the Condon Bank, three
employees are forced at gunpoint to fill a sack
with money. One brave teller declares to the
robbers that the vault has a time lock and can't
be opened for another 10 minutes (this was
untrue.) The robbers decide to wait, however
their plan is interrupted as the townspeople
open fire:
. . . Just at this critical juncture the citizens
opened fire from the outside of the Condon
Bank and the shots from their Winchesters and
shot-guns pierced the plate-glass windows and
rattled around the bank. Bill Powers and Dick
Broadwell replied from the inside, and each
fired from four to six shots at citizens on the
outside. The battle then began in earnest.
Evidently recognizing that the fight was on,
Grat Dalton asked whether there was a back
door through which they could get to the street.
He was told that there was none. He then
ordered Mr. Ball and Mr. Carpenter, two bank
employees, to carry the sack of money to the
front door. Reaching the hall on the outside of
the counter, the firing of the citizens through the
windows became so terrific and the bullets
whistled so close around their heads that the
robbers and both bankers retreated to the back
room again. Just then one at the southwest door
was heard to exclaim: “I am shot; I can't use my
arm; it is no use, I can't shoot any more.”
Meanwhile, inside the First
National Bank
A similar scene played out at the First National
where Bob and Emmett Dalton forced the bank's
employees to fill their sack with money. Using
the employees as shields, the robbers attempted
to escape the bank, only to be driven back inside
by heavy gunfire:
. . . Bob Dalton then ordered the three
bankers to walk out from behind the counter in
front of him, and they put the whole party out at
the front door. Before they reached the door,
Emmett called to Bob to “Look out there at the
left.” Just as the bankers and their customers
had reached the pavement, and as Bob and
Emmett appeared at the door, two shots were
fired at them from the doorway of the drug store
. . . Neither one of them was hit. They were
driven back into the bank . . . Bob stepped to the
door a second time, and raising his Winchester
to his shoulder, took deliberate aim and fired in
a southerly direction. Emmett held his
Winchester under his arm while he tied a string
around the mouth of the sack containing the
money. They then ordered the young men to
open the back door and let them out. Mr.
Shepard complied and went with them to the
rear of the building, when they passed out into
the alley. It was then that the bloody work of
the dread desperadoes began.
Alley of Death
Many of the townspeople gathered in Isham's
Hardware Store near the banks. Not only did
the unarmed citizens get rifles, shotguns, and
ammunition, but the store also provided an
excellent view of the two banks and the alley
where the gang had tied their horses:
. . . The moment that Grat Dalton and his
companions, Dick Broadwell and Bill Powers,
left the C.M. Condon Bank that they had just
looted, they came under the guns of the men in
Isham's store. Grat Dalton and Bill Powers each
received mortal wounds before they had
retreated twenty steps. The dust was seen to fly
from their clothes, and Powers in his
desperation attempted to take refuge in the rear
doorway of an adjoining store, but the door was
locked and no one answered his request to be let
in. He kept his feet and clung to his Winchester
until he reached his horse, when another ball
struck him in the back and he fell dead at the
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 141
feet of the animal that had carried him on his
severe if not fatal wound at this moment. He
errand of robbery.
staggered across the alley and sat down on a pile
Grat Dalton, getting under cover of the oil
of dressed curbstones near the city jail. True to
tank, managed to reach the side of a barn that
his desperate nature he kept his rifle in action
stands on the south side of the alley . . . [At this
and fired several shots from where he was
point, Marshal Connelly ran across a vacant lot
seated. His aim was unsteady and the bullets
into “Death Alley” from the south to the spot
went wild . . . He arose to his feet and sought
where the bandits had tied their horses.] The
refuge alongside of an old barn west of the city
marshal sprang into the alley with his face
jail, and leaning against the southwest corner,
towards the point where the horses were
brought his rifle into action again and fired two
hitched. This movement brought him with his
shots in the direction of his pursuers. A ball
back to the murderous Dalton, who was seen to
from Mr. Kloehr's rifle struck the bandit full in
raise his Winchester to his side and without
the breast and he fell upon his back among the
taking aim fire a shot into the back of the brave
stones that covered the ground where he was
officer. Marshal Connelly fell forward on his
standing.
face within twenty feet of where his murderer
After shooting Marshal Connelly, Grat
stood.
Dalton made another attempt to reach his horse.
Dick Broadwell in the meantime had
He passed by his fallen victim and had advanced
reached cover in the Long-Bell Lumber
probably twenty feet from where he was
Company's yards, where he laid down for a few
standing when he fired the fatal shot. Turning
moments. He was wounded in the back. A lull
his face to his pursuers, he again attempted to
occurred in the firing after Grat Dalton and Bill
use his Winchester. John Kloehr's rifle spoke in
Powers had fallen. Broadwell took advantage of
unmistakable tones another time, and the oldest
this and crawled out of his hiding-place and
member of the band dropped with a bullet in his
mounted his horse and rode away. A ball from
throat and a broken neck.
townsman John Kloehr's rifle and a load of shot
Emmett Dalton had managed to escape
from a gun in the hands of Carey Seaman
unhurt up to this time. He kept under shelter
overtook him before he had ridden twenty feet.
after he reached the alley until he attempted to
Bleeding and dying he clung to his horse and
mount his horse. A half-dozen rifles sent their
passed out of the city . . . His dead body was
contents in the direction of his person as he
subsequently found alongside of the road a halfundertook to get into the saddle . . . Emmett
mile west of the city.
succeeded in getting into the saddle, but not
[As Marshal Connelly fell, Bob and
until he had received a shot through the right
Emmett Dalton—successfully escaping the First
arm and one through the left hip and groin.
National Bank—ran down a side alley and into
During all this time he had clung to the sack
“Death Alley” from the north.] When the two
containing the money they had taken from the
Daltons reached the junction of the alleys they
First National Bank. Instead of riding off, as he
discovered F.D. Benson in the act of climbing
might have done, Emmett boldly rode back to
through a rear window with a gun in his hand.
where Bob Dalton was lying, and reaching
Divining his object, Bob fired at him point
down his hand, attempted to lift his dying
blank at a distance of not over thirty feet. The
brother on the horse with him. “Its no use,”
shot missed Mr. Benson, but struck a window
faintly whispered the fallen bandit, and just then
and demolished the glass. Bob then stepped
Carey Seamen fired the contents of both barrels
into the alley and glanced up towards the tops of
of his shotgun into Emmett's back. He dropped
the buildings as if he suspected that the shots
from his horse, carrying the sack containing
that were being fired at the time were coming
over twenty thousand dollars with him, and both
from that direction. As he did so, the men at
fell near the feet of Bob, who expired a moment
Isham's took deliberate aim at him from their
thereafter.
position in the store and fired. The notorious
leader of the Dalton gang evidently received a
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 142
that removal of free blacks to another country
was the best way to rid the U.S. of their
"troublesome presence."
The short-term successes and long-term
failures of the Civil War and Reconstruction,
however, coupled with the opening of the West
to settlers (facilitated by the Homestead act of
1862), and the reestablishment of repression and
new forms of institutionalized oppression by
such measures as the Black Codes, the convict
lease and crop lien in the South led more and
more black people to view some sort of
colonization as their only viable alternative.
The withdrawal of federal troops from the South
witnessed an increased interest in the
possibilities of foreign and domestic
colonization. Such large-scale migrations as
those led by Henry Adams and "Pap" Singleton
in 1879 and 1880 from the South to Kansas,
By Martin Dann35
involving some 40,000 black settlers, were to
characterize black migrations for a generation.
Prior to the Civil War the emigration and
The various factors prompting migrations
colonization of black people had been a subject
(personal insecurity, economic discontent, the
of intense controversy among both black and
dream of freedom, and the availability of land)
white groups. Though black people, as a whole,
converged in the establishment of all-black
consistently rejected schemes for the mass
communities in the West towards the end of the
exportation of free blacks to another country, as
century, and specifically in Oklahoma. What
projected by the American Colonization Society
differentiates the Oklahoma efforts from those
before the Civil War, some black pioneers
which preceded it is that earlier efforts had not
migrated to Liberia, and by the mid-1850's a
emphasized the political, economic, and social
few thousand had gone to Haiti. The purpose of
exclusiveness based on a new political
the Caribbean colonists was not only to find
consciousness and racial pride that was
freedom, but also to establish a base from which
practiced by the latter movement. It is precisely
to attack the slave states. Canada and the
this appeal to black nationalism in the attempt to
Northwest Territory attracted a sizeable group
develop an economic and political power base
of black settlers, and communities were
among black people which spoke to increasingly
established from Ontario to Wisconsin. Free
vigorous black resistance. It is furthermore
blacks accumulated property in rural areas of
highly significant that the Oklahoma
the North (as in southwestern Michigan) despite
colonization movement coincided with a
a predominantly urban polarization of Northern
nascent black populist movement among the
black populations. White liberals, as well as
agricultural labor force under the Colored
racists, saw foreign colonization as a way of
Farmers' Alliance.
effectively removing an increasingly militant
Efforts to establish Oklahoma as a territory
black abolitionist group, and at the same time
where black people could exercise the right of
retain possession of the land. President Lincoln
self-determination had begun during the 1880's.
reflected a widely held belief when he declared
In 1883 a delegation of black men inquired of
the Secretary of the Interior as to their possible
35
Dann, Martin. “From Sodom to the Promised Land:
claims to the Indian Territory, as a continuation
E.P. McCabe and the Movement for Oklahoma
of efforts to bring black settlers to Kansas and
Colonization.” Kansas Historical Quarterly. Vol.
other Western states. William Eagelson, the
40. No. 3. 1974.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 143
From Sodom
to the
Promised
Land:
E.P. McCabe and the
Movement for
Oklahoma Colonization
editor of the Colored Citizen in Fort Scott, KS,
carried stories of the advisability of leaving the
in 1878 and later of The Herald of Kansas, in
South, as well as accounts of settlers who were
Topeka, was one of the most ardent advocates
waiting on the borders of Oklahoma Territory
of Western colonization. He later became the
for free land. In March 1889, the Leavenworth
editor of the Langston City Herald, the
Advocate, a black Republican paper, ran a story
newspaper of that all-black community. But the
under the caption "The Oklahoma Lands." The
central figure in this dramatic project in
editors emphasized the fact that the land had
Oklahoma was Edward P. McCabe.
"legally" come into the possession of the United
McCabe was born in Troy, NY, on October
States by expropriation from the Seminole and
10, 1850. The family soon moved to Fall River,
Creek tribes. This, however, did not deter black
MA, and then settled in Newport, RI, Edward
leaders who saw in the possession of this land a
was sent to Bangor, ME, where he attended
unique opportunity for black self-determination.
school until the death of his father. As a young
The Rev. Edward Bryant, black editor of the
man he traveled to New York City, where he
Birmingham Independent, was quoted: "Were
worked as a clerk on Wall Street. With this
you to leave this southland for 20 years it would
experience he moved to Chicago, where he
be one of the grandest sections of the globe. We
became a clerk for Potter Palmer, the hotel king,
would show you Mossback Crackers how to run
and in 1872 was appointed clerk in the Cook
a country."
County office of the federal treasury. Stirred by
By the fall of 1889, an immigration society
black migrations to the West, he moved to
was established in Topeka with agents
Kansas in 1878 with Abram T. Hall, Jr., city
throughout the South, to "provide for an exodus
editor of the Chicago Conservator, where they
of Negroes to Oklahoma." They expected
set up a law and real estate office in Nicodemus,
20,000 immigrants. Not surprising was an item
a predominantly black community. Hall
two weeks later which noted that Jay Gould
subsequently went on to St. Louis and became
wanted to push his railroad into the territory,
city editor of the National Tribune. But
with Guthrie as a terminal and thus capitalize on
McCabe linked his political fortunes to the
the new possibilities of exploiting the land and
future of black colonization. In 1878 he was
its inhabitants. Guthrie was a center of black
chosen secretary of the settlement at
organizational activity in that area.
Nicodemus, one year after it was formally
Such organizations as the First Colored
organized. In 1880 he married Sarah Bryant
Real Estate Homestead and Emigration
and in the same year he was appointed county
Association of the State of Kansas continued to
clerk from Nicodemus. A leading political
draw settlers into Oklahoma and help them
figure in the Republican Party, McCabe was
substantially. On February 28, 1890, the
selected as delegate-at-large from Kansas to the
American Citizen, a black Republican paper
Chicago convention of the Republican Party in
published in Kansas City, KS, carried the
June 1880. He was accused (at the State
following lengthy article concerning the efforts
Convention of Colored Men, in April, 1880) of
to establish an all-black community in
selling out to the conservative faction of the
Oklahoma. The author, A.G. Stacey, noted that
Republican Party in caucus. He replied that he
there were branches in many cities of Kansas,
"strove hard, single-handed, to secure a
Missouri, and Indian Territory. E.P. McCabe
representation for my race, but without avail."
was usually designated as the leader of the
In 1882 he was elected state auditor, and was
movement, though it is clear that he had the
reelected in 1884.
backing of mutual assistance societies in Kansas
By this time the "Oklahoma fever" had
(such as the First Grand Independent
caught on. Reports filtered in of secret black
Brotherhood). Although there is some question
"Oklahoma clubs" which had formed
as to the reliability of the information below, it
throughout Kansas. Repression in the South had
is significant that such a movement was
reached unbearable proportions, and lynchings
recognized as a reality by the press and public
were a common occurrence. Black newspapers
generally.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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TOPEKA.—While not generally
and Leavenworth counties have sent at
known, and certainly never advertised
least 4,000 more, while from other
in the press, there is a secret political
counties in the state, headed by
society in existence, membership in
Graham, the original home of the
which can be obtained only by those of
society, have gone fully 3,000 more,
Negro blood. Last year there was
making 10,000 from Kansas alone.
organized by a little band of Negroes in
The result of the work of the auxiliary
Graham County the first Grand
immigration society has been to add
Independent Brotherhood, which is
some 12,000 Negroes from Arkansas
based upon the principles of Negro
and Mississippi, making in all about
advancement, mentally and morally,
22,000 Negroes in the territory, which
and the future control of Oklahoma
number the brotherhood is bending
whenever it shall become a state. . . .
every energy to make 50,000 before
An auxiliary society, called an
September 1. . . .
"immigration society," was formed,
They proposed to found a Negro
which undertook the work of reaching
state in which the white man will be
the Negroes of the south to hasten their
tolerated as a necessary evil, but to
movement to the promise land.
whom no political honors will be
At first the officers worked only in
given. The brotherhood proposes to
Arkansas and Mississippi where the
fill all state, county, and municipal
results were most marked. Soon there
offices and will have only Negro
was a scarcity of labor in those states
teachers in their schools, which will be
and a corresponding increase of
mixed if the white's desire advantages
Southern Negroes in the new territory
for their children. As one of the
of Oklahoma. Negro settlement began
brotherhood officers said: "You must
to appear and grow as if by magic.
demand and see that your demands are
Near Purcell a large one was founded;
enforced, full social equality; you must
on the East Canadian two Negro
compel the white man to accept you at
settlements founded; west of
his table in his home and in his bed. . .
Kingfisher others were commenced
." They will not. . ." permit a white
and grew so rapidly that they were
man to be elected to any office
towns before the neighboring whites
whatever. We will rule."
realized what was being done. Nor
Reaction to these developments from the
was this all. Homesteads were taken,
press was mixed. The Leavenworth Times
and instead of one family on a quarter
believed that setting aside one state for blacks
section, or four on a square mile, there
might be a solution. But the Leavenworth
were often four or five families on a
Advocate urged black people not to go to
quarter section, where they await the
Oklahoma, as they said it was being
abandonment of a claim by the whites,
misrepresented by promoters, and that all the
when it was immediately pounced
fertile land had already been taken.
upon, or where they patiently wait for
Paraphrasing an earlier warning about Kansas, it
the day when the Cherokee Strip will
concluded: ". . . In God we trusted / In
be declared open for settlement.
Oklahoma we busted." The Topeka Capital (a
Parties in Oklahoma City and
white paper) also took a skeptical view of the
Guthrie declare with confidence that
movement (though it tended to favor migration),
there are not over 2,800 Negroes in that
and suggested that the whole idea was
territory. They are only mistaken.
developed by "speculators, land grabbers and
Shawnee County has alone furnished
office seekers" who had first tried to induce
3,000 Negroes all of whom had money.
white settlers to migrate in order to cheat them,
Chautauqua, Montgomery, Wyandotte,
and when this failed, these men turned to black
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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people for victims. The Advocate, which
covered with tents of emigrants and
staunchly opposed the Farmers' Alliance (and
that they are determined to protect
later the Populist Party), suggested that blacks
themselves from any attempt on the
were only being used by whites. But such
part of the whites to keep them from
concerns were perhaps motivated by political
their lands . . .
considerations, as it was recognized that the
The nearest approach to bloodshed
principal inducements to prospective
occurred when ex-auditor McCabe of
immigrants were not simply the possession of
Kansas, the founder of the Negro
rich farm lands, but control of the government
colony at Langston, started for Guthrie
of the territory. Southern Blacks were clearly
through Iowa lands. He was met by
divided and a few rejected migration as a
three men, who ordered him to go back
solution to their oppression: "We want no
whence he came. He declined and they
colonization. We are at home, the only home
opened fire on him. One shot struck
that we have. We are in our God-given land and
the pummel of his saddle, and being
we only want protection from government
unharmed, he fled back to Langston,
which we helped to make and a country for
and from there came to Guthrie.
which our forefathers fought and died. . . ."
In addition to attempts by whites to destroy
Nevertheless, black settlers continued to
them, the black settlers also faced the opposition
move toward the borders of Indian Territory.
of Indians. Numerous incidents were recorded
Appeals from Oklahoma were printed in black
which indicate the severity of the antagonism.
papers throughout the country which
VENITA, I.T.—Two hundred or
emphasized their quest for national identity,
more Negro squatters, armed with
such as the Detroit Plaindealer:
Winchesters and a brass cannon, are
We are here first as American
entrenched at "Gooseneck " in defiance
citizens; we are here because as such
of the Cherokee nation. The
we have the right to be here to better
Cherokees, after notifying the squatters
our condition and if permitted to prove
to vacate the lands, issued an order of
beyond question that we posses the
sale. This incensed the Negroes, and
qualifications of earnest, thrifty,
they armed themselves for resistance.
capable and law abiding citizens—
They are increasing their forces hourly
equal, in fact to the more favored race
and swearing vengeance against the
in conducting if necessary the affairs of
Cherokees.
a State without jars or friction to
The New York Age, more sympathetic to
anyone who may cast their lot with us,
colonization, reported the growing troubles and
of any race or nationality. . . . You are
concluded: "We did not before understand that
not wanted in the South. Then
the red man was affected by color prejudice like
embrace this, perhaps your last
the white man."
opportunity to get lands for yourselves
By the spring of 1891, it had become clear
and families . . .
to McCabe, and other leaders of the Oklahoma
Throughout 1890, white "Boomers" in
movement, that there was a limit to the number
Oklahoma secretly organized in fear that black
of new settlers who could be absorbed.
settlers would take over the entire territory. Ku
Disillusioned blacks wrote that many were in a
Klux Klans were formed and raids against black
"terrible condition, almost starving." McCabe's
families mounted. The black community,
Langston City Herald warned that only those
however, resisted efforts to drive them off:
with money should move to Oklahoma, as they
GUTHRIE, O.T.—Couriers from
would have to sustain themselves for at least a
Langston City, the Negro colony, came
year. While he cautioned "Come prepared, or
in this morning and purchased 20
not at all," the agents of the colonization effort
carbines and hastened back to the front.
continued to promote "Oklahoma—the future
They report that the entire town site is
land and the paradise of Eden and the garden of
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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the Gods . . . here the Negro . . . can rest from
congregation refused and the pastor was forced
mob law, here he can be secure from every ill of
to substitute "John Brown's Body."
the southern policies . . ." According to one
McCabe's involvement with Langston City
correspondent, there were 850 agents of the
did not sit well with white Republican leaders.
movement in the Southern states. And reports
He was nicknamed "pushahead," referring to his
continued of bands of blacks making their
desire to be appointed governor of the territory.
painful way westward.
The turning point for McCabe, and the black
Although the elements of a city had been
settlers as well, came on September 19, 1892,
established in September, it was not until
when he attempted to make a speech at the
October 22, 1890, that McCabe founded
Republican county convention telling why he
Langston City, "The Only Distinctively Negro
had urged blacks to bolt the party.
City in America." The town was named after
McCabe's bold confrontation brought the
John Mercer Langston, a black congressman
discontent of black people to a head, and nearly
from Virginia who served in the 51st Congress
six months later it appeared that the break was
from September 1890, to March 1891.
complete. A call was issued to Oklahoma black
Langston had been an early supporter of
settlers for a convention to organize an
colonization efforts and actively encouraged the
independent political party. The Republican
"Black Exodus" from the South.
Party had been using black voters to keep their
McCabe's political concern clearly indicates
majority, and had encouraged immigration for
the importance he placed on self-determination.
that purpose. But the black settlers in
I expect to have a Negro
Oklahoma had come too far to allow a repetition
population of over one hundred
of de facto disfranchisement, or second-class
thousand within two years, and we will
citizenship. The black Republican American
not only have made substantial
Citizen observed this phenomenon and sadly
advancement for my people, but we
concluded that unless this third party move
will by that time secure control of
could be headed off, the Republican Party in
political affairs. At present we are
Oklahoma was doomed.
Republicans, but the time will soon
McCabe apparently moved to Washington,
come when we will be able to dictate
D.C., in 1894 and accepted an appointment as
the policy of this territory or state, and
register of deeds for the District of Columbia.
when that time comes we will have a
In 1897 he returned to Oklahoma to accept the
Negro state governed by Negroes. We
position of deputy auditor of Oklahoma
do not wish to antagonize the whites.
Territory, a post he held until 1907 when
They are necessary in the development
Oklahoma became a state. With the subsequent
of a new country, but they owe my race
disfranchisement of black citizens, McCabe
homes, and my race owes to itself a
moved to Chicago, where he died in 1923.
governmental control of those homes.
For those who struggled on in Oklahoma, it
McCabe and the Langston City promoters
became in fact, a Southern state. Perhaps it was
were attacked by some who said that they were
only poetic justice that the 1910 "Grandfather
"reaping a fortune by fleecing the unsuspecting
Clause" which was used to disfranchise black
members of their race, charging them 50¢
people was declared unconstitutional in 1915.
apiece for admission to the colony." Though
The Oklahoma experiment was a modest
McCabe was never directly accused, a white
success, and Langston University, established in
promoter, W.R. Hill, who founded Hill City, in
1897, continues to attest to that success. For
Graham County, was arrested for alleged shady
those who sought the promised land of that day,
dealings. Nevertheless, the colonization
and for those who seek it on our own, political
movement had stirred a new sense of identity
self-determination was the ultimate, crucial
and destiny among black people. In a revealing
question.
incident, the pastor of a Kansas church asked his
audience to join him in singing "America." The
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Instead they were separated into five
independent and quite distinct Indian republics.
The Twin
Territories
By W. David Baird and Danney Goble
Tribal Politics
36
Before there was any state of Oklahoma,
there were two territories—the Oklahoma and
Indian territories—which commonly were called
the Twin Territories. In some respects their
eventual combination into one state was the
product of accident. But in another since, it was
no accident at all. The political reality,
Oklahoma, grew from circumstances that were
both predictable and political themselves.
As noted, political participation in each of
those republics was tightly limited to the
citizens of the separate tribe. Except for a
handful of newcomers who had married into
those tribes and thereby had acquired the status
of tribal citizens, neither the whites nor the
blacks who were flooding into the territory
enjoyed any of the benefits of Indian
citizenship.
For tribal citizens, however, those
governments were quite important. Both the
full-bloods and their mixed-blood cousins were
proud of their Indian heritage, and intermarried
citizens also recognized the significance of
tribal traditions. Not the least element of that
heritage and those traditions was the set of tribal
governments that had begun right after the
removals.
Although the forms of these tribal
governments looked much like those common in
most of the United States, the reality behind
them was unique to Indian Territory. For
example, although each tribe had at least two
36
From Baird, W. David and Danney Goble. The Story of
political parties, in no tribe were these at all
Oklahoma. Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press,
related to the Democratic and Republican
1994.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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However closely related, the Twin
Territories were hardly identical. Roughly the
western half of the modern state was known as
Oklahoma Territory. On the east lay the estates
of the Five Tribes. Although commonly
referred to as Indian Territory, that particular
term was much less political than it was
geographical in meaning. After all, there was
no single, unified government over those lands.
parties that existed throughout the rest of the
nation. Instead the tribal parties continued to
reflect distinctly Indian differences, many of
which went back to pre-removal divisions.
Thus the Creek Nation’s political parties in the
late 1800s still reflected the ancient split
between Upper and Lower Creeks. Similarly,
the Cherokee parties continued the rivalries
between the Ridge and Ross factions.
In practice the Indian governments
exercised only the most limited powers.
Although they continued to maintain fine
schools for their own children and effective
police forces for their own citizens, their
authority over most of their residents were
minimal. For example, tribal courts did not
have jurisdiction over non-tribal members in the
region which led to a large number of outlaws
from the surrounding states taking refuge within
Indian Territory. Also, the federal constitution’s
“commerce clause” allowed Congress to have
ultimate power over the Choctaw Nation’s coal
industry rather than the Choctaw legislature.
The whites and blacks who settled within
Indian Territory, despite political standing
within the tribes, still held Republican and
Democratic party conventions and acted like
their counterparts in the surrounding states.
Although they knew that their actions were not
valid, they were hopeful of a future when the
Indians no longer possessed control over Indian
Territory and they would be able to implement
their own political agendas.
These “outsiders” within Indian Territory
selected their party allegiances based upon their
attitudes regarding the Civil War and its
aftermath. Blacks and those whites from the
North favored the Republicans while those
whites from the South favored the Democrats.
In that Indian Territory was surrounded by
former Confederate states, it attracted far more
Democrats than Republicans. Should tribal
government disappear, it was almost certain that
Democrats would be in charge.
Politics in Oklahoma Territory
certainty about the eventual outcome. Being
bordered by Union Kansas and the large number
of freed blacks who sought land during the
various land runs, Oklahoma attracted more
Republicans than did Indian Territory. The
balance of the two parties was near equal.
Another difference separated the political
affairs of the Twin Territories. Unlike the tribal
dominance in Indian Territory, Oklahoma
Territory did have a formal territorial
government, established by the Organic Act of
1890 that officially created Oklahoma Territory.
Modeled on similar patterns for the
transition from territory to state status since the
ratification of the constitution, the Organic Act
provided a simple structure of government. A
governor and a territorial secretary exercised
executive authority, both appointed by the
President. Legislative authority rested with a
bicameral legislature selected by the territory’s
residents. Three judges appointed by the
President oversaw the territorial courts.
Party control in Oklahoma Territory
generally went to the Republicans in that they
held a slight majority, a majority that could be
overcome if the Democrats would side with a
minor party of any reasonable size. In that the
President appointed the governor, secretary, and
judges, whichever party controlled the White
House controlled executive and judicial control
in Oklahoma Territory. For thirteen of the
seventeen years as a territory, Republicans
controlled the presidency. Only one of the
territory’s nine governors was a Democrat.
Progressivism
During the territorial era a new political
movement developed in response to the rapid
growth of major corporations, such as the
railroad and steel industries. Progressivism
sought to limit the expansion of business by
increasing the powers of government.
Progressives called for laws to protect farmers,
workers, children, and others from unfair
corporate power. They also wanted to edit
governmental processes so that average people
would have more of a say within government
Oklahoma Territory, in the west, had
similar patterns of party loyalty, but with less
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(i.e. direct election of national senators and
female suffrage).
In the Twin Territories progressives saw a
magnificent opportunity to achieve all of those
things and to achieve them all at once.
Statehood would require Oklahomans to write a
constitution. Progressives hoped to place every
one of their ideas right in the heart of that
constitution.
The progressive agenda found favor among
many Democrats, especially in Indian Territory.
Uniting with other of like mind, they met in
Muskogee in 1905 and gave form and substance
to their ideas. Proposing to create a state of
Indian Territory alone, they gave it a name—
Sequoyah—and wrote a constitution for it.
Contained within the proposed constitution was
nearly every item on the progressive’s wish list.
Of course, Sequoyah never became a state.
Progressive or not, any state formed from Indian
Territory alone was certain to be Democratic.
Republican President Theodore Roosevelt and
the Republican controlled Congress had no
interest in such a prospect. Instead, they
insisted on a joint statehood of Democratic
Indian Territory and Republican Oklahoma
Territory that had some chance of sending
Republicans to Washington. To prepare the
way for its entry into the union, Congress
approved the Oklahoma Enabling Act in 1906.
of Labor, whose members were both Democrats
and Republicans.
Republicans remained largely silent during
much of the campaign for the upcoming election
of convention delegates, believing that
registered Republicans would select Republican
delegates and Democrats would select
Democratic delegates. However, Republicans
were soon forced to voice a stance on an issue
that arose during the campaigns.
Most southern states had laws requiring
racial segregation. These Jim Crow laws were a
major reason that many blacks had migrated to
the Twin Territories. Now, the Democrats in
those territories, due in party to their southern
legacies, began to demand that Oklahoma’s new
constitution must embrace Jim Crow laws too.
In that segregation was popular among
most whites, even white republicans. This led
the territory’s Republicans into an impossible
dilemma. If they opposed Jim Crow, many of
their white supporters might vote Democratic.
If they supported segregation, their black
followers might not vote at all. Calculating that
black voters had nowhere else to turn, the
Republicans made their decision and cast their
support for Jim Crow laws as well.
On the day of the election for delegates to
the constitutional convention, the majority of
whites voted for the party that committed itself
to the progressive reforms, the Democrats.
Most black voters, refusing to support a party
The Constitutional Convention
which endorsed segregation, did not vote at all.
After years of Republican domination in
The Enabling Act authorized citizens in
Oklahoma Territory, 100 of the 112 convention
both territories to elect a single convention later
delegate seats went to the Democrats.
in 1906. The 122 delegates (55 from Indian
Meeting at Guthrie through the last weeks
Territory, 55 from Oklahoma Territory, and 2
of 1906 and early 1907, the Democratic victors
from the Osage Nation) would then meet in
proceeded to keep nearly all of their many
Guthrie to draft a proposed constitution for the
pledges. One result was that they produced the
new state. Within broad guidelines contained in
longest written constitution produced up to that
the Enabling Act, the convention would be free
time. Another result was that Oklahoma’s
to write anything its members wanted.
constitution was regarded as the most
In preparation for those elections, the
progressive for its day. Strict corporate
progressive Democrats from the Sequoyah
regulation, safeguards for farmers, protection
convention reminded potential voters of the
for workers, rights for children, new instruments
progressive ideals that they already supported.
of popular rule—all of these and other
They also vowed to support an additional list of
provisions found their way into the 250,000progressive reforms proposed by both the
word document. There, too, was the mandate of
Indiahoma Farmers’ Union and the Federation
segregation in the new state.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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When the constitution was submitted to the
people for final ratification they were to vote
both on the constitution and for those
individuals who would become the first state
officials in the event that Congress and
President Theodore Roosevelt approved of the
finished constitution. In the debate over
ratification, Republicans encouraged voters to
vote no on the constitution and while Democrats
reminded voters that it was they who were
chiefly responsible for its progressive
provisions. This led the vast majority of the
people, who supported the progressive agenda,
to fear that Republicans, who were against the
final constitution, might attempt to destroy its
provisions if elected. When the results were
counted, the constitution was overwhelmingly
approved and Democrats were elected to every
statewide office in the new government.
Although Congress approved of the
document, President Theodore Roosevelt
wavered on signing the constitution. Roosevelt
was opposed to segregation elements within the
document. However, due to the Supreme
Courts’ ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896, his
advisors reminded him that segregation was
considered to be legal. Reluctantly Roosevelt
signed Oklahoma’s constitution on November
16, 1907. With the stroke of the President’s
pen, Oklahoma became the forty-sixth state in
the union and Charles N. Haskell, a key leader
at both the Sequoyah and Guthrie constitutional
conventions, was sworn in as and the first
governor.
The Good
Angel of
Oklahoma:
Kate Barnard
By Margaret Truman37
For a few brief years at the beginning of
this century, Kate Barnard was a power to be
reckoned with in Oklahoma politics.
A small, pretty woman with olive skin,
black hair, and deep blue eyes, Kate appeared
on the political scene in 1907 just as the “Twin
Territories”—Oklahoma and Indian—were
about to merge and become our forty-sixth state.
It was a rare opportunity to mold the future and
Kate Barnard played a major role in the drama.
A new commonwealth was about to be formed,
a new constitution written. Kate Barnard was
determined that this constitution would aid
Oklahoma’s poor and dispossessed—especially
the children.
An intense sympathy for the losers, the
dropouts, the failures of our competitive society
burned deep in Kate Barnard’s spirit. Her
mother died when she was only 18 months old
and her father’s job as a land surveyor kept him
away from home for long periods of time. In
her long days alone, she sometimes dreamt of
doing something bold and heroic which would
win his admiration. It is easy to see why she
was instinctively sympathetic to anyone—
especially children—who lacked a caring parent
or friend. She knew only too well the hollow
ache of that pain.
Kate thought that happiness had finally
arrived when she and her father moved to
Oklahoma City in 1892. But Mr. Barnard chose
to settle on land he owned in one of the city’s
slums—where Kate got her first glimpse of
37
From Truman, Margaret. Women of Courage.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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mass misery. Not everyone who followed the
a man with a violent temper. He had obviously
frontier was a self-reliant Daniel Boone or Davy
used this tactic in the past to silence other
Crockett type. A dismaying number were
visiting speakers. But it did not work with Kate
failures who thought geography was the answer
Barnard. She glared right back at him, and
to their woes. But they only repeated their
tossed aside her prepared speech.
dismal performance in a new area and their
Pointing her finger at the mine owner she
wives and children remained victims of
said:
poverty’s grinding humiliation and deprivation.
The diamonds you are wearing in your
Kate wrote a series of letters to the Daily
shirt front were bought with the blood
Oklahoman describing the grim life of the city’s
of fifteen men who were burned to
poor and asking the blunt question: What was
death in a mine which you own,
Oklahoma City going to do about it? The well
because you would not spend the
to do responded by practically burying Kate in
money to provide two entrances. You
no fewer than ten thousand garments and a
made their wives widows; you made
mountain of furniture. She and a small group of
their children orphans; you are
women associates found four hundred destitute
responsible to Almighty God for the
children, many of them living in tents, gave
long, weary lives of poverty and
them the clothing, bought books for them, and
ignorance which they face; and if the
sent them to school.
people of this state of Oklahoma will
While she continued to give away food and
elect me to the office which I am
clothing, Kate organized Oklahoma City’s
seeking I will change such conditions,
unemployed into a labor union. She gave
not only in your mine, but in all others.
frequent public speeches encouraging the
In the very election when territorial settlers
Constitutional Convention delegates to address
voted for Oklahoma’s Constitution, they also
compulsory education, abolition of child labor,
cast they votes for the first elected officials for
and the creation of a Department of Charities
what they hoped would be a new state. In that
and Corrections to supervise the state’s social
election in 1907, Kate made political history.
welfare programs. All three proposals became
She polled six thousand more votes than any
major issues in the state Constitutional
other Democrat on the ticket and at the age of
Convention and all were adopted by the
32 became the first woman in the United States
delegates. Thus it came as no surprise when the
to be elected to statewide office. An
delegates nominated Kate for the job as the first
accomplishment amplified even more by the
Commissioner of the Department of Charities
fact that women could not vote in that election.
and Corrections.
The early years of the twentieth century—
Kate’s popularity combined with her gifts
the “Progressive Era”—were a period of
as a public speaker made her virtually
tremendous social awareness. There were
unbeatable. She looked sweet and innocent, but
demands for reform in practically every area of
there was an inner toughness beneath her charm.
American life. Kate was in favor of most of the
On one occasion, she was scheduled to speak in
reforms, with one surprising exception. She had
a town where fifteen coal miners had recently
no interest in women’s suffrage. “The boys
been burned to death because of inadequate
always do what I ask them,” she said, “so I
safety conditions at the mine. The town fathers
don’t see any need to go to the polls myself.”
warned he not to come, but Kate went anyway.
Like a good politician, she was willing to
When she arrived, all the public halls suddenly
compromise on some issues, to win on more
became “unavailable.” Unintimidated, Kate
important ones. But Oklahoma would soon
staged her rally on a street corner.
discover that there were some issues on which
As soon as she began to speak, the
Kate Barnard would never compromise.
negligent mine owner pushed his way to the
The work of the Commissioner of Charities
front of the crowd and stood there, arms folded,
and Corrections covered every aspect of social
glaring at her. He was a thick-necked barrel of
welfare. Kate rounded up homeless children
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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and saw that they were housed and fed and sent
to school; she battled for safety laws in mines
and factories and explored new ways of
educating the deaf, the dumb, and the blind.
One of her major interests was prison reform.
In the summer of 1909, she barged into the
Kansas State Prison, where Oklahoma convicts
were being kept under a contract system, and
demanded to be taken on an inspection tour.
She discovered that the prisoners were being
grossly overworked and horrendously
mistreated. The guards had devised a number of
inhuman punishments. On was binding and
gagging a man, smearing his face with
molasses, and then leaving him beside an open
window where flies and other insects could get
at him. Another was tying a man’s hands and
feet behind his back until they met, and then
sealing him face down in a heavy coffin.
living in a field just outside of town. They slept
in the hollow of an old tree and got their food by
begging at nearby farmhouses. Kate sent one of
her assistants to find the trio and bring them
back to her office.
The three “elves” turned out to be Indian
children. They were a sorry sight. Their clothes
were filthy rags, their arms and legs were
scrawny and covered with scabs, their black hair
was so tangled and matted that it resisted comb
and brush and had to be cut away from their
scalps.
The youngsters were sent to a children’s
shelter while Kate set about finding out who
they were. After six weeks of investigation, she
turned up the fact that their parents had died a
few years before and they had been placed
under the protection of a guardian. The man
had also been appointed guardian for some 51
other Indian minors. When Kate asked him
where the other children were, he shrugged
indifferently. “I don’t know,” he murmured,
“I’ve lost all track of them.”
What made the situation even more
appalling was another discovery by Kate’s
investigators. The three Indian children owned
valuable lands in the Glenn Pool oilfields. The
guardian had been collecting their rents and
keeping them for himself.
Kate was horrified to discover that
defrauding Indians had become a popular and
profitable pastime in Oklahoma. Originally, the
federal government was supposed to hold the
land in trust for each Indian for twenty-five
years. But federal officials transferred the
responsibility for Indian minors to Oklahoma
Kate Barnard—Oklahoma Historical Society archives
courts after statehood. Many of these children
were immensely wealthy. Coal had been
Kate issued a devastating report of her
discovered on the Choctaw and Chickasaw
finding. In the wake of the scandal it caused,
lands, oil and gas on the Creek and Cherokee
Oklahoma was inspired to build its own model
territories. Since the children were completely
penitentiary (at McAlester) and Kansas convicts
ignorant about their holding, the opportunities
won some badly needed prison reforms.
for graft and corruption were enormous.
Kate was reelected by a large majority in
Oklahoma judges regularly appointed
1910. But her courage and her conscience
guardians
who had no interest in the children
forced her to fight some of the most powerful
they
were
assigned to protect but were
men in both her own Democratic Party and the
passionately interested in stealing their
Republican Party. The trouble started when a
inheritances. Kate uncovered dozens of
report came into the Department of Charities
schemes to cheat Indians. In one case, a
and Corrections that three “elf” children were
sixteen-year-old Indian boy was kidnapped and
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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forced to marry a local prostitute. The marriage
the men in charge of Oklahoma’s politics talked
legally established his status as an adult. The
about how the state budget had doubled in four
men who staged the kidnapping then made him
years and hypocritically insisted that the
sign over the deed to his land. With this
elimination of Kate’s department was
information in hand, Kate decided to undertake
“necessary.” Kate Barnard finally had to accept
a probe of the orphans in Oklahoma’s asylums.
the bitter truth. The Department of Charities
She discovered hundreds of Indian children who
and Corrections had ceased to exist.
had been turned out to fend for themselves after
Using the income from some property that
their lands were taken from them by courther father had left her at his death in 1909 and
appointed guardians.
the money she collected at fund-raising
Infuriated by these injustices, Kate Barnard
speeches, Kate organized a “People’s Lobby.”
went before the state legislature and demanded
For the next twenty years Kate continued to
that the Department of Charities and Corrections
speak out for the Indians, but it was not an issue
be given the right to intervene on behalf of any
on which she could rebuild he shattered political
Indian whose estate was being mismanaged.
career. She became more and more affected by
She was about adults as well as children. Many
a disfiguring skin disease and nervous
adult Indians could not read or write and did not
exhaustion. She died in 1930 at the age of 55, a
understand business procedures.
defeated, forgotten name in Oklahoma. Two
For the first time in her political life, Kate
histories of the state, both published by the
Barnard had a hard time mustering a majority.
University of Oklahoma, did not even mention
Some of the most respected men in the
her name. They also failed to mention anything
Oklahoma Legislature were either profiting
about Oklahoma’s robbing Indians.
from the Indian land frauds or had powerful
Kate Barnard died thinking of herself as a
friends who were getting rich from them.
failure. But the cause for which she fought did
Almost every guardian had a half dozen or more
not die. In 1926, a growing chorus of critics
children under his supposed supervision.
persuaded the government to fund a study by the
A few Oklahomans were delighted with
Brookings Institution to see how the Indians
Kate’s work. Most, however, were not very
were faring under the land allotment system.
enthusiastic about it and as the probes continued
The findings, published in 1928 and confirmed
and a number of influential men were
through a long, thorough Congressional
implicated, Kate’s popularity began to decline.
investigation, stunned the nation. Poverty,
The state legislature moved quickly to quiet the
starvation, humiliation, had become a way of
investigation.
life for tens of thousands of Indians.
Additionally, the legislature was
In 1887, they had owned 138 million acres
considering a reduction in the budget of Kate’s
of land. By 1934, their holdings had shrunk to
Department of Charities and Corrections. Kate
47 million. In Oklahoma, the land belonging to
recognized political blackmail when she saw it.
the largest tribes had dwindled from 19.5
If she continued her investigation she would
million acres to 1.5 million. It would be nice to
lose her funding. Unwilling to compromise,
say that all the injustices that Kate Barnard had
Kate found herself with no money to pay her
fought have been rectified. But this is an
staff. For the first time, Kate also found she was
imperfect world. At least her gallant voice,
unable to tell her side of the story in the
ignored in her own time, can be heard by
newspapers. Reporters avoided her. The
courageous men and women of another era. She
publishers had joined the ugly conspiracy. They
is one more example of a woman of courage
too had friends involved in the land frauds.
transcending the limitation of her time and
Kate tried to keep her office open with
place.
$350 of her own money and a few hundred
more borrowed from friends. Behind the scenes
she fought desperately to get another vote on an
emergency vote from the state legislature. But
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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share, and had paid off his debts at the local
store, he could be left with little, if any, cash
income.
Oklahomans who note how conservative
their state has become may be astonished to
learn just how strong socialism once was—
particularly when the look at it from the vantage
38
point of the collapse of socialism in eastern
By W. David Baird and Danney Goble
Europe and in the former Soviet Union. Such
comparisons, however natural, are unfair.
Rich and Poor
Oklahoma’s early socialists faced problems
unknown to later generations and they
advocated solutions completely unlike those that
Social class was a significant feature
later failed so dismally in Communist nations.
affecting early Oklahomans’ lives.
These were desperately poor people—people so
Oklahoman’s liked to claim that the defining
poor and so desperate that they were ready to
quality of their brand new state was the equality
replace what they regarded as an evil economic,
of all, but no one could deny that many families
social, and political system with a socialist
occupied a status considerably different than
alternative.
most. Even Oklahoma had its elites—some of
Increasing numbers of Oklahoma’s farmers
whom, like the oil giant E.W. Marland, would
faced
real want in the early years of statehood.
have been considered upper-class anywhere in
This large class of the rural poor provided a
America. Though of much more modest
fertile field for early socialism within
standing, at least some in every community
Oklahoma. Socialists believed that the state’s
were blessed with wealth and comfort that
Democratic officials not only could not solve
separated them from their fellow residents.
their problems but also added to them. In
That is hardly surprising. What may be
particular, they believed that the state’s political
startling is how very poor so very many early
elite had joined hands with its economic elite to
Oklahomans were. This was particularly true
force poverty upon the masses. In joining the
across the former Indian Territory, where the
Socialist Party (also known as the Working
grafting of land allotments had serious
Class Union), they were in open revolt against
consequences for not only Indians but everyone
that combined elite, the elite that they described
else as well. One consequence was that a few
as “the parasites in the electric light towns.”
were able to take control of huge parcels of
Theirs was not a violent revolt. Rather,
land. Another was that many were unable to
they appealed to voters to mark their ballots for
own land at all. Instead, they rented it, usually
Socialist Party candidates who pledged to
in an arrangement known as sharecropping.
promote fundamental changes: for publicly
What made it especially hard for them is that the
owned cooperatives, state credit for farmers, the
crop was almost always cotton (many landlords
forced breakup of great land estates, and the
would not allow their tenants to grow anything
like.
else), and cotton prices often barely covered the
Those appeals fell on fertile soil. In every
cost of production.
election from statehood in 1907 to World War I
In no county in eastern Oklahoma did
in 1914, the Socialist vote at least doubled in
anything like one-half of the farmers own their
Oklahoma. As early as 1910, Oklahoma had
own land. In many, not even one-tenth did. By
more Socialist Party members than did any state
the time the sharecropper had paid the cost of
in the union, even more than New York,
ginning the cotton, had given the landlord his
although the Empire State had seven times
Oklahoma’s population. By the outbreak of the
38
From Baird, W. David and Danney Goble. The Story of
First World War, one out of every five
Oklahoma. Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press,
Oklahomans was voting for Socialist candidates
1994.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Sooner
Socialism
and electing them to the state legislature and to
dozens of county and local offices. Particularly
in the southern counties, the party was unusually
strong. Drawing over one-third of the vote, the
Socialists passed the Republicans to become the
Democrats’ chief opposition in that large section
of the state.
The Green Corn Rebellion
Makes the News
Ada Weekly News August 2, 1917
To Resist Draft Law—Organization thought to
exist in several counties in OK
That there is a wrong organization in
Pontotoc, Seminole, Pottawatomie, and perhaps
The First World War
other counties, the purpose of which is to resist
the draft law, is the opinion of Pontotoc County
This opposition did not survive the world
officials. Acting upon evidence collected the
war. One reason was that the war’s demand for
office of Sheriff Bob Duncan and county
farm products briefly pushed prices up to record
Attorney A.L. Bullock the federal authorities
levels. The temporary easing of the farmer’s
today took into custody Sam Bingham, Geo.
plight took much wind from the Socialists’ sails.
Norman, Ernest Johnson, Jim Hammett Sr., and
The larger explanation, however, was that the
a Mr. Wilson, all of Francis or near that place.
war gave state officials the opportunity to blast
These will probably by lodged in the federal jail
their vessel from the water. Because many
at Holdenville or Muskogee.
Socialists opposed America’s participation in
Sheriff Bob Duncan and Deputy U.S.
the war, and a few openly campaigned against
Marshall Frank Whally made the arrests. The
it, their more powerful rivals were able to tar the
men charged with trying to incite young men in
entire party with the brush of “disloyalty,” even
the draft age to resist the call to arms, urging the
treason. This was especially the case after the
young men to defend themselves with weapons.
Socialists became associated with several
A large meeting, it is said, was held Saturday
random acts of violence, as well as an episode
night in a grove not far from Francis. And the
known as the Green Corn Rebellion.
attended was something like one hundred men
In the first summer of America’s
and boys. Some of the boys refused to enter
involvement in World War I, a poorly organized
into the plans. The county officials know of
band of farmers in the Canadian River valley
many meetings that have been held in various
took up arms, proclaiming the intent of
parts of the county within the last few days, and
marching on Washington to force peace on the
are keeping an eye on all developments. They
government. The revolt took its odd name from
have a list of practically all those who have been
the rebels’ supposed diet as they were marching
attending the meetings. Arrests of dozens of
along the way.
these participants may be expected at any time.
Few ever got beyond their home counties,
A meeting of the organization was to have been
and their pitiable forces were easily crushed by
held in Seminole County Sunday night, but the
local sheriffs and the state militia (national
News was unable to learn whether this meeting
guard). Still, the audacity of the deed was all
materialized or not.
that many Oklahomans needed for hysteria.
Some of the agitators, it is alleged believe
Warmly supported by public opinion, state
the time has come to strike for a different form
authorities proceeded to shut down Socialist
of government. They believe that all of those
newspapers and jail the party’s leaders—most of
not contented with things as they are now will
whom had no relationship at all to the pathetic
rise up in a common cause and overthrow the
rebellion. By the end of World War I,
powers of the government.
Oklahoma’s Socialist party was virtually dead.
It is possible that this organization has
spread to other counties. Mr. Bullock thinks.
Rumors of it have been reaching Ada fro several
days. Quietly the officers have been watching
developments. Officials in other counties are
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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doing the same. Arrests have been made in
Pottawatomie County. Arrests in Seminole are
looked for any time. One member of the
organization who has not yet been arrested is
said to have remarked that a few days would see
some startling developments. The officers
know who he is and are watching him.
However, there are quite a number of such guns
in the community and a good-sized squad could
be armed.
In Ada there has been no undue excitement,
but on every hand there has been evidence a
grim determination to back the officers in any
and all emergencies.
Ada Weekly News August 9, 1917
Ada Weekly News August 10, 1917
U.S. District Attorney in Deadly Earnest
Seven New Arrests Today
Against Leaders of Uprising—Excitement
At noon today Sheriff Duncan got word that
Subsides—Believed trouble is about over but no
one of the leaders and six men were captured
chances will be taken
and taken to Wewoka.
Anarchy reared its head in the southern part
Anti-draft rioters who for three days run
of Seminole County Thursday afternoon and
amuck in southeaster OK, this afternoon faced
night and part of that section is under control of
the United States commissioner’s to answer the
mob of anti-draft men of various ages.
charge of treason. District Attorney McGinnis,
The first outbreak came about 4 o’clock.
in charge of the prosecution, announced that
Thursday afternoon when Sheriff Grail of
where evidence is sufficient he will ask for the
Seminole County and Deputy Cross of Sasakwa
death penalty. Prohibitive bail will be asked in
were waylaid east of Sasakwa and fired on.
order to hold the men until trial.
They had but one gun but with this they
Authorities are confident they have two
returned the fire. Some thirty-five shots were
National organizers among the 250 prisoners.
exchanged and the ambushers disappeared.
Evidence and records seized by authorities show
The next move of the anti-drafters was to
the Working Class Union had 27,000 members
make a general roundup of the country, forcing
in the State. The records also give evidence for
every man they could find to accompany their
the arrest of many leaders of the revolutionary
party. It is reported that Grant Scroggins and
movement.
the father and brother of W.T. Melton were
The uprising in Seminole County is
among those taken. It is said that the raiders
apparently about to an end, but posses are still
were at least 100 strong when last reported, but
searching the woods and picking up suspects
they declared they would have 3,000 men
and arms. It is estimated that no fewer than 300
together in a short time.
men have been taken and now that the tide has
The Frisco Bridge was the next object of
set in so strongly against them, they are
attention, and they fired it in three places, doing
beginning to come in and surrender.
damage that required until noon today to repair.
It was reported that dynamite was also used, but
Brewer’s Story
men from Francis said if such was the case the
C.C. Brewer, age 41, and his two sons,
damage was slight. The fires were started and
Dave aged 18 and Homer aged 16, held in the
to make more certain of their work they set fire
city jail for the Seminole County authorities,
to a handcar of building material and shoved it
talked freely to a News-Herald representative
to the middle of the bridge. To conceal their
last night. They admitted membership in the
movements they cut the telegraph wires both
Working Class Union, but maintained they
north and south of Francis and service was not
entered into their plans only under duress and
restored until noon today.
had been trying to get out.
Evidently the leaders of this movement
Asked what the idea of the W.C.U. was in
have been preparing for some time, for this
their present activities, Brewer replied that it
morning when the news began to spread, many
was part of a tremendous revolution, which was
men went to the various hardware stores only to
expected to spread rapidly and become
find that every high power gun had been sold.
nationwide. The extermination of the officers
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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and all who refused to fall in with their plans
was contemplated. The only end the leaders
could see was the victorious over throw of the
government. Resistance of the draft was only a
part of their purpose, but was emphasized by the
actual nearness of the actual drawing for army
service.
Details by United Press
The death toll of the anti-draft rioting
reached three, when J.F. Moose of Okemah was
shot and killed Sunday night by a posse
guarding the roads leading to Holdenville.
Moose was killed when he failed to heed the
warning of the posse-men to halt, being riddled
with buckshot rifle bullets. He was in an
automobile and tried to escape.
Ed Blalock was killed and two posse-men
injured when a band of thirty rioters were
trapped in a schoolhouse southeast of here
Sunday afternoon.
Jack Paige, former marshal, was shot in the
leg and Henry Johnson shot in the head.
A special train took 56 arrested rioters from
Holdenville to McAlester this morning. All jails
of surrounding towns are filled. A total of 225
have been arrested in Seminole County since the
outbreak started. Reports from Ada and
Wewoka this morning state that everything is
quiet. Posses are still scouring the country
arresting all individuals in the groups or rioters.
Many are giving themselves up to the
authorities.
Alice Mary
Robertson:
Anti-Feminist
Congresswoman
By Louise B. James39
Alice Mary Robertson is one of the most
important women that Oklahoma has produced.
The story of her life includes a list of many
achievements culminating with her election to
the United States House of Representatives in
1920. She was only the second woman elected
to this body; she remains the only woman
Oklahoma has ever elected to Congress. In
spite of all her achievements, her public
comments about the role of women in American
life indicate her belief that a woman’s chief role
was that of wife and mother. Her victory in the
first election following the adoption of the
Nineteenth Amendment was a victory for those
opposed to women’s suffrage, as Miss Alice did
not wish the right of voting for herself or for
other women. Her life story was a paradox for
those interested in women’s rights. She was
opposed to much of what the feminists of her
day were seeking, yet, she achieved more in her
own life than most men have achieved either in
that time period or in the present.
Born into one of Oklahoma’s distinguished
missionary families, she was the granddaughter
of Rev. Samuel A. Worcester who devoted most
of his life to work with the Cherokees. She was
the daughter of two missionaries to the Creek
Indians, William S. Robertson and Ann Eliza
Worcester Robertson. Her mother set an
example of what a woman might achieve as she
raised a growing family. Her mother also taught
classes of Indian students, translated books of
the Bible into Creek, and became the first
39
From James, Louise B. “Alice Mary Robertson: AntiFeminist Congresswoman.” Chronicles of
Oklahoma. Vol. 55, No. 4. Winter 1977-1978.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 158
American woman to earn a Doctorate of
member of the audience, and by the end of the
Philosophy (PhD) degree. Her father, William,
speech her remarks were directed to him.
commented on his wife’s ability, “Tis not every
Theodore Roosevelt came to her after the
mother that can teach with two children as
speech, introducing himself with the remark that
assistants, yet Ann Eliza scarcely loses an
their views on Indian education were much the
hour.” Miss Alice desired to achieve a name for
same.
herself. At thirteen, she wrote to her older
The friendship grew, and during the
sister, Ann Augusta, “I have studied algebra
Spanish-American War she helped recruit
today, and taken my first drawing lesson. I am
Troops L and M of Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.
going to be somebody yet.”
When Roosevelt became President, she found
For much of her life “being somebody” was
herself with a job far outside the education
connected with her family’s position and came
connected ones she had held in the past. He
mainly in the field of Indian education, an
appointed his staunch Republican woman friend
endeavor which she thought was proper for a
as the postmaster of Muskogee in 1905. Miss
woman. At the age of nineteen she was
Alice did not stop to consider the fact that she
employed by the Indian Department in
would be the only postmistress of a first class
Washington, D.C., as a clerk. While she was
post office. She saw work to be done, and she
working there, she taught herself shorthand.
tried to do her best.
Ben Pitman, the originator of the style of
A postmistress created quite a stir at the
shorthand she learned, was impressed with the
convention of postmasters in the fall of 1906.
efforts and sent here an autographed copy of his
She was placed on every committee. She was
shorthand manual. Shorthand brought her much
not intimidated by being the only woman. Miss
recognition later as she was the only person in
Alice presented several papers containing her
Indian Territory with such a skill and was
suggestions and addressed the convention
frequently called upon to use this ability in
supporting her views. She requested that she be
developments in Indian Territory, including the
allowed to become just “one of the boys,” with
commission which worked for the cession of the
the only exception being that they not smoke
Cherokee Outlet.
cigarettes in her presence. She did not mind
While she was working outside Indian
cigars being smoked, and as she attended all
Territory, her parent’s mission at Tullahassee
session, cigarette smoking was at a minimum.
burned leaving the students without a chance to
At the same time that she was enjoying the
continue their educations. She convinced
limelight in the convention, she was making
officials of the newly created school at Carlisle,
comments on women’s rights. “The exchange
PA, to accept twenty-five of the students from
of a woman’s privileges for a man’s right is too
Tullahassee, and even arranged free fare for
much like bartering the birthright for a mess of
these students from railroad officials.
pottage.” This statement was certain to anger
Her career outside Indian Territory was cut
suffragists who were trying to achieve political
short by the death of her father, and she returned
equality at this time! She made it clear that she
to help at home in 1881. During this time, she
was not a suffragist, but a “hard-working
started the boarding school which eventually
postmaster.” Roosevelt reappointed her to this
become Henry Kendall College, which in turn
position which she held until 1913.
became Tulsa University.
Her next venture into national recognition
Her knowledge in the field of Indian
was during World War I, and it was again in a
education led to Miss Alice being invited to
field safely and traditionally feminine. She
speak at an educational meeting at Lake
began meeting troop trains that came through
Mononk, NY, in 1891. In her audience was a
Muskogee and gave out cigarettes, candies, post
man destined to changed her life, for he would
cards, gum, and coffee to the soldiers. She
bring her into fields of endeavor far from
owned a cafeteria in Muskogee and fed soldiers
education and mission work. As she spoke she
and their families for free as they passed
become aware of one extremely interested
through Muskogee.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Following World War I, the avowed
opponent of women’s suffrage found herself as
a candidate for the United States House of
Representatives. As she explained, “The men
have thrust the vote on us and now I am going
to see whether they mean it.” The campaign she
conducted must have been one of the most
unusual in political history. It truly had a
woman’s touch. She usually ran advertisements
in the Muskogee paper for her cafeteria. These
advertisements listed the menus in enticing
ways, “Lots of hot soup today; pole beans,
boiled with bacon in the pot; corn bread, made
from white meal, buttermilk, cherry pie!” After
she filed for office, comments like, “our
campaign seems to be going very well, even if
we are not neglecting our customers,” appeared
with the usual list of foods. She also observed,
“I’m not anyone but home folks, and I want to
go to Congress. First because a lot of men
moved that I go and then a lot of women
seconded them. Some say I won’t get there, but
I’m well pleased with the outlook.”
She chose a very good year to be a
Republican running for Congress in Oklahoma.
Five of eight representatives that year were
Republican, and the anti-feminist past sixty
years of age found herself on of those members.
Oklahoma also sent a Republican United States
Senator to Washington that year.
Congressmen curious about their new
female colleague found that in appearance she
was “built on similar architectural lines as the
late Champ Clark.” Her clothing was never the
latest fashion but was described as “something
black,” and more suited for Muskogee than
Washington, D.C.
She had no intention of upsetting the male
dominated Congress. She was to pride herself
on never speaking when she could avoid a
speech. She had always gotten with men than
with women and had “always done a man’s
work, carried a man’s burdens, and paid a man’s
bills.” She was ready to work with Congress
and be “just one of the boys” again.
Miss Alice did believe that a woman might
have one special role in Congress. She believed
that a woman should help make the government
more honest and truthful, as indicated by her
campaign slogan of, “I cannot be bought; I
cannot be sold; I cannot be intimidated.”
While she did not plan to make waves when
she arrived in Washington, she could not help
but be noticed. She was frequently called upon
as a guest speaker; this was a request which
believed used energies and time which should
have been devoted to her duties in Congress.
She took committee assignments seriously and
tried to attend all meetings. She had a sharp wit
and her comments were often worth quoting,
especially as the congresswoman was also an
anti-feminist.
Alice Mary Robertson—Library of Congress archives
Of special interest for the press was the
meeting of Miss Alice and the only female
member of the British Parliament, Lady Astor.
She like the foreign visitor when they met, even
though a feminist group sponsored Lady Astor’s
visit. Miss Alice complimented her by saying “I
have been impressed with an appreciation of the
fact that the sanest women active in political
work are wives and mothers accustomed to
think for the future of their children. . . .”
Perhaps she included herself in such a group, for
while she remained single, she adopted, raised
and educated one young girl. There were
always children around that she helped. The
daughter of a close friend even lived with her
for a time while she was in Congress. She noted
the children around her, “Some women collect
china or jewels or lace. I have a fad for
collecting boys and girls. . . .”
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She was soon faced with the dilemma
mishandled in the telegraphic re-prints in the
which confronts elected officials. Should she
newspapers that I am simply seething in boiling
listen to her constituents and vote the way they
oil just now.” Oklahoma could not be expected
instructed her; or should she listen to her own
to continue in the unusual pattern of voting
conscience and vote as she believed? She chose
Republican for too many elections, so
to be her own voice and quickly found herself in
Oklahoma’s only woman in Congress returned
trouble with her voters. One of the unpopular
home after one term.
votes was on a veterans’ bonus bill, which she
She was not bitter about her defeat
voted against. This was an unusual vote for a
remarking, “Happiness is contentment, and I
woman who had given so much of her time and
always manage to content myself and find
resources to help these very soldiers during the
something that needs to be done.” She realized
war. But part of her campaign promises had
that the high point of her career had come rather
been, “I am a Christian; I am an American; I am
late in life, as she remarked, “I’ve been a
a Republican,” and the Republican part of her
Cinderella at sixty-nine, but now the pumpkin is
believed that paying a bonus to able-bodied men
round the corner, waiting to wisk me back.”
was a bad precedent. Her vote received much
She did get in one jab at enemies back
attention, and she had the courage to return
home, especially other women. She had been
home and defend her actions in person before a
told by some women in Oklahoma, “You see,
veteran’s group. This was an unpleasant and
we didn’t want you to go to Washington in the
difficult meeting. She asked for a show of
first place, and now we are going to keep you.”
hands of those men who had voted for her;
She responded, “How do you know I’ll come
among the angry veterans, only one man raised
back?”
his hand. He must have had as much courage as
But everyone realized that Miss Alice of
Miss Alice did. She thanked him for his vote
Muskogee would of course come home. For all
and realized that much of her political support
that she had seen and done while in
was now lost.
Washington, she was looking forward to hearing
The second unpopular vote was on the
those Oklahoma mockingbirds. Evidently she
Sheppard-Tower Bill, also called the Maternity
did hope that the Republican President would
Bill, which included a provision for the
reward a faithful party member with an
government furnishing instruction to mothers on
appointment connected to Indian affairs, but she
the care of young children. It was the
returned home just a private citizen.
legislation which the women’s rights groups had
What did Miss Alice’s career in
chosen to champion as the symbol of their new
Washington accomplish? She has an unusual
power in political affairs, and her negative vote
response to such a question, telling a reporter,
probably did not lose any political support. She
“If you asked a housekeeper that what do you
even urged women to write to their legislators
think she would say? I’ve been keeping house
and express their opposition to the bill. Prior to
for the nation just like a woman would in her
her vote and speech in Congress, she attacked
own home—busy, busy, every day, in every
the bill in public saying it would allow “the
way, without any outstanding thing to show for
establishment of practically uncontrolled, yet
it.” Most freshman Congressmen can point to
Federally authorized centers of propaganda.”
very few outstanding achievements, Miss Alice
She commented on the pressure being bought on
included.
her by women’s groups, “They are trying to
She had clashed with the feminists mainly
scare me into support of the bill, but I can’t be
because she believed they were asking for rights
scared.”
she did not want for herself. Typical of her
He defeat at the election of 1922 was no
comments on the right to vote was, “I did not
surprise. She realized that politically she was in
want suffrage. I didn’t ask for it, but they gave
trouble early that year when she wrote her sister,
it to us, and as God gives me strength, I’ll carry
“My political fences are in terrible shape
the responsibility.” She also believed that
everywhere. I made a speech which was so
feminists were asking for privileges simply
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because they were women. She said, “I have
never asked any discount on account of my
petticoats.” She also believed that very few
women had the training to succeed in public
life, even though she had managed to do so.
She thought other women had “gone into
politics the wrong way, beginning at the top
instead of bottom. . . . When a woman shows
she is fitted for office, she will receive the call
to office just as a man does.”
This was the way it had been in her life. At
important times in her career others had come to
her and asked her to do more. Her best work
always brought recognition, but she had an
advantage other women did not have. She could
not forgot that her name was already famous in
Oklahoma; she was the granddaughter of
Samuel Worcester and the daughter of Ann
Eliza Worcester Robertson. She always seemed
to work this information into interviews. In a
very long and candid interview as she left
Washington, she managed to show the two
Bibles in her office which had been translated
into Indian languages by her ancestors. Miss
Alice did not need a famous name in order to
succeed because she was very capable in her
own right, but with the prominent name she had
much more going for her than other Oklahoma
women. So when the call to public office came,
the caller knew her name so much better.
Tulsa Burning
By Jonathan Larsen40
"I was born and raised here, and I had never
heard of the riot," Tulsa district attorney Bill
LaFortune is saying. He is sitting in front of a
massive desk on the fourth floor of the Tulsa
County Courthouse. On the edge of his desk is
a manila folder stuffed with documents, old
newspaper clips and grand-jury indictments
relating to Tulsa's Race Riot of 1921, one of the
worst in the nation's history.
LaFortune pulls out one of the few
remaining copies of a self-published, eyewitness
account of the riot, written by a young black
woman named Mary Jones Parrish . A YMCA
typing instructor, Parrish had included in her
remarkable volume three wide-angle
photographs of the destruction, taped and folded
within the book like a triptych. Now LaFortune
spreads open the panorama for his guest. "It
looks like Hiroshima, or worse," he says.
The photographs are breathtaking: 35
blocks of the Greenwood neighborhood of
Tulsa, reduced to cinder and rubble. On a single
night, more than 10,000 armed and crazed
whites looted and burned down the city's entire
black section. In the pictures on LaFortune's
desk, the smoke is still rising off the scorched
earth, drifting between charred trees and the few
jagged remains of brick walls.
For most of the past 75 years, the riot
remained Tulsa's brooding secret. But on June
1, 1996, the 75th anniversary of the event, Tulsa
held its first commemorative service and erected
a memorial. And in October LaFortune
performed his own role in the ritual healing.
During an emotional ceremony, he cleared
a long deceased black man named J. B.
Stradford of the charge of inciting the riot.
Stradford was one of Tulsa's most
prosperous black entrepreneurs in the 1910's.
He owned a 65-room hotel, a savings and loan,
and other real estate in Greenwood. Having lost
40
http://www.northtulsa.com/tulsa_burning.html
Afrocentric News. 1999
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everything in the riot, Stradford escaped to
outlaws in which Tulsa furnished them with
Chicago, where he began life anew and became
asylum in exchange for being spared from
a successful lawyer. When he died in 1935, at
criminal acts." Even after Tulsa fell under the
the age of 75, the incitement charge still hung
American legal system, it remained unusually
over him. With the riot's anniversary, the
rough. The volatile mix of desperadoes,
family wanted his name cleared. But first
gamblers, prostitutes, cowboys, wildcatters,
LaFortune and Assistant District Attorney
roustabouts and Ku Kluxers was enough to
Nancy Little had to uncover the details of the
weaken the knees of the bravest lawevents of 1921.
enforcement officials.
"I would almost say I was staggered by
Many a town father decided it was more
what I learned," Little said.
prudent—and sometimes more lucrative—to
"I had heard my parents talk about a riot by
join the miscreants rather than fight them.
black people that came out of a rape." She was
James Mitchell, a student at the University of
bewildered to find out that neither half of that
Tulsa in 1950, wrote his master's thesis on the
equation had been true. In particular, Little was
politics of Tulsa in the early 1900s. "A vice
struck by a series of firsthand accounts, all by
ring consisting of newspapermen and
black victims of the riot, in the back of Mary
politicians, operated a protection racket for
Jones Parrish's book. "Those stories," said
illegal enterprises," he concluded. "Many
Little, "were among the most moving I have
crusades against open town conditions by
ever read." And the more she read, the more
newspapers in Tulsa's boom years were said to
she thought, "This doesn't look like a riot. It
result when the editors were denied their part of
looks like a war, an invasion of the area.
the payoffs."
Little's dismay is shared by almost any
Tulsan today who learns the truth about the riot.
Tulsa, after all, had none of the bitter memories
of the Civil War or Reconstruction. It was no
sprawling northern metropolis plagued by
poverty, unemployment and rotting tenements.
Nor was it a Southern backwater where racial
prejudice was endemic. Tulsa was full of pride
and prosperity on both sides of the tracks. The
city's black section was as remarkable as the
boomtown of the white oil barons. Moreover,
this riot happened during the Roaring Twenties:
Greenwood district prior to the riot—
in modern times. The fact that a southwestern
Greenwood Cultural Center archives
frontier town could experience such a paroxysm
of hate, anger and violence seemed to speak to
By 1910, Black Tulsans made up 10
the very notions of equality and civility. And
percent of the city's population. Most of these
white Tulsa's denial of its own guilt remains a
residents were immigrants from the East and
case study in cultural amnesia.
South, but many others were native to the area,
Tulsa in the 1920s was a boomtown with a
having been former slaves of wealthy Creek
short fuse. Originally part of the sprawling
Indians. The Blacks in Tulsa, totally segregated
Indian Territory, Tulsa had for years been
on the north side of the railroad tracks, were
beyond the reach of state or federal law, and
building up a prosperous community that
after the discovery of oil nearby at the turn of
boasted the second highest black literacy rate
the century, the town became a notorious haven
among Oklahoma counties, and a neighborhood
for criminals. An otherwise boisterous history,
of shops, hotels, gaming halls and restaurants
ordered up by the city in the 1970's, speculated
that was gaining a reputation across the
about those early boom years: "There seemed to
Southwest. The Greenwood section of Tulsa
be an unwritten law between the town and the
bristled with such energy, prosperity and
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promise, that Booker T. Washington himself—
of an allegation by a newspaper with even less.
so the legend goes—dubbed Greenwood
But those small details would not be fully
Avenue "the Black Wall Street."
understood before Black Tulsa burned to the
This Black prosperity caused resentment
ground.
among poorer whites, and the city elders
Walter White, an NAACP official who
worried that it was bad for the city's image. In
arrived in Tulsa during the height of the riot,
1912, the Tulsa Democrat complained: "Tulsa
would offer a detailed account of the "assault"
appears to be in danger of losing its prestige as
in The Nation later that month. According to
the whitest town in Oklahoma." The paper went
White, a young Black messenger named Dick
on to ask: "Does Tulsa wish a double invasion
Rowland called for an elevator in a downtown
of criminal Negro preachers, Negro Shysters,
Tulsa building. The operator, a young white
crap shooters, gamblers, bootleggers, prostitutes
woman named Sarah Page, on finding she had
and smart alecs in general?"
been summoned by a Black man, started the car
At the time of the riot, the Ku Klux Klan
on its descent when Rowland was only halfway
had something of a stranglehold on Tulsa.
in. To save himself from injury, Rowland threw
Mitchell found that during the early 1920s the
himself into the car, stepping on the girl's foot in
Klan "operated as a phantom regime," putting
doing so. Page screamed and, when a crowd
its imprimatur on political candidates. In the
gathered outside the elevator, claimed she had
year of the riot alone, 59 Blacks were lynched in
been attacked. The police arrested Rowland the
border and Southern states. Just six months
following day but with little enthusiasm,
before, in Oldenville, Oklahoma, a young Black
perhaps because they knew the reputation of his
man accused of assaulting a white woman was
accuser. Page, a new arrival in Tulsa, had left
taken from jail, strung to a telephone pole, and
her husband in Kansas City, and Sheriff Willard
riddled with bullets. The fact that a white man
McCullough had served divorce papers on her
had been lynched in Tulsa the previous summer
just two months before. He was reported to
only proved that skin color was no protection.
have said later that if half the charges alleged in
Accused of murdering a taxi driver, Roy Belton
the divorce petition were true, "she is a
had been "mobbed" by a group of whites while
notorious character."
the police directed traffic at the lynching site,
Nevertheless, her charge of assault gave
ensuring everyone a good view. A Black
Tulsa's most disreputable newspaper enough to
newspaper wrote at the time: "The lynching of
work with. Richard Lloyd Jones—a cousin of
Roy Belton explodes the theory that a prisoner
the famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright—had
is safe on top of the Court House from mob
purchased the Tulsa Democrat two years before.
violence."
Jones had changed the paper's name—to the
Since the end of World War I, Black
Tulsa Tribune—but not its behavior. He not
leaders had begun to encourage resistance to
only continued the newspaper's racist ways but
"Judge Lynch." In 1919, Crisis, the magazine
raised them to a higher power, referring to the
of the National Association for the
Black section of Tulsa as either "Little Africa"
Advancement of Colored People, had declared:
or "N-----town."
"When the murderer comes, he shall no longer
The Tribune's coverage of the alleged
strike us in the back. When the armed lynchers
attack on Page clearly inflamed feelings in
gather, we too must gather armed." In Tulsa,
Tulsa. The adjutant general of Oklahoma would
the success of the Black community had only
later blame the riot on "an impudent Negro, a
made this resolve more powerful.
hysterical girl, and a yellow journal." No
The incident that set off the Tulsa riot was
original copies of the offending articles exist
the same incident that set off so many other race
today, either in bound volumes or on microfilm,
riots before it: a report of an assault by a Black
having been destroyed in the years following the
man on a white woman. In the case of Tulsa, a
riot. But a University of Tulsa student managed
woman of little credibility and a story
to find a copy for his 1946 thesis, and published
apparently trumped the report up, a combination
it in its entirety.
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On its front page, the Tribune had charged
streets would be bathed in blood." In the event
that Rowland had attacked Page, "scratching her
of a lynching, Stradford left no doubt as to what
hands and face and tearing her clothes." The
he thought the community should do. "If I can't
managing editor of the paper would, days later,
get anyone to go with me, I will go singleadmit that the scratches and torn clothes were
handed and empty my automatic into the mob
fictions. The article stated that Rowland had
and then resign myself to my fate."
been identified and arrested, had admitted
grabbing Page's arm, and would be tried that
afternoon. The final sentence was a guaranteed
tearjerker: It stated that Page, whose age it gave
as an improbable 17, "is an orphan who works
as an elevator operator to pay her way through
business college."
The Tribune also ran an editorial that day.
No copies are known to survive, but people
interviewed after the riot recalled an article that
spoke of a lynching, and may have even
After looting, black homes set on fire by white rioters—
McFarlin Library, University of Tulsa archives
encouraged one. Scott Ellsworth, who wrote the
definitive book on the riot, Death in a Promised
In the end, the Black leaders assembled in
Land (1982), believes the headline read "To
the Star's office voted to go to the courthouse
Lynch Negro Tonight." Whatever the Tribune
without waiting for the sheriff's summons. (Nor
said, the fuse was now lit. Shortly after the
did they all heed Stradford's call to remain
paper hit the newsstands, talk of a lynching was
sober.) Fully armed, some 25 Blacks drove to
making its way around town. Within hours,
the courthouse. Sheriff McCullough and
hundreds of whites were milling in front of the
Deputy Sheriff Barney Cleaver, Tulsa's first
courthouse—a common prelude to "Judge
Black police officer met them there. The two
Lynch."
law officers persuaded the emissaries to return
According to the unpublished memoirs of
to Greenwood, which they did peacefully. But
J.B. Stradford, the Tribune's stories "aroused the
the white crowd did not disperse. It continued
wrath of the Ku Klux Klan," and the KKK let it
to swell to ominous proportions, reaching 1,500
be known that they would "mob" Rowland that
to 2,000. The Blacks returned, this time
night. Stradford went on to say that Sheriff
numbering between 50 and 75. Once again,
McCullough telephoned the office of the Tulsa
McCullough and Cleaver tried to send the
Star, a Black newspaper, to warn "he expected
entourage home, but before they could succeed,
an attack would be made on the jail that night."
an older white man made the mistake of
The sheriff promised that he would do all he
confronting a young Black veteran of World
could to protect Rowland, but that "if he found
War I. According to author Scott Ellsworth, the
he could not cope with the situation, for us to
white man said, "N-----, what are you going
get together and he would call us to help protect
with that pistol?" The answer was as polite as it
him."
was direct: "I'm going to use it if I need to."
A meeting was convened at the newspaper's
Within moments, a struggle for the gun
offices. Stradford was sent for and called upon
ensued, a shot rang out and guns were blazing.
to speak. As he wrote in his memoirs, "I
The Blacks retreated toward Greenwood while
hesitated at first, for the situation was a perilous
the whites began to prepare for their revenge. In
one; I advised the boys to be sober and wait
the next few hours, a dozen stores in downtown
until the sheriff called for us. I further said that
Tulsa that sold firearms—sporting-good stores,
I had expected something of that nature on
Pawnshops, and even jewelry stores—were
account of the bitter feelings against our group
broken into and looted. The National Guard
and I said then as I had said before that the day a
Armory was spared only because a small band
member of our group was mobbed in Tulsa, the
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of guardsmen, warned in advance, held off the
Whenever a fire engine appeared on the scene,
multitudes. The whites, now numbering 10,000,
the white mob refused to let the fire crew deploy
headed for Greenwood, as a smaller rear guard
its hoses, forcing them back to the station.
of Blacks tried to hold them off. Mary Jones
Police and their "deputies," those who were not
Parrish, who had read about recent riots in
actively engaged in the looting and burning,
Chicago and Washington, D.C., heard the firing
rounded up Black noncombatants, the elderly,
in the distance and later wrote: "It was hours
women and children, and trucked them to
before the horror of it all dawned upon me. . . .
holding facilities. At least one of these
It did not seem possible that prosperous Tulsa,
prisoners, Dr. A.C. Jackson, whom the Mayo
the city which was so peaceful and quiet that
brothers had once called the "most able Negro
morning, could be in the thrall of a great
surgeon in America," was killed while being
disaster."
held in police "protection."
The horror was also dawning on city
Mary Jones Parrish, who was still holed up
officials. For hours Police Chief John
with her daughter at the edge of the fighting,
Gustafson clung to the belief that local
later wrote: "Looking south out of the window
authorities could control the situation. In what
of what then was the Woods Building, we saw
was an act of either naiveté or depravity, he
car loads of men with rifles unloading up near
deputized as many as 500 white volunteers with
the granary. . . . Then the truth dawned upon us
"special commissions."
that our men were fighting in vain to hold their
The NAACP's Walter White, being very
dear Greenwood."
light complexioned, volunteered for duty shortly
The National Guard finally pulled into town
after his arrival in town, and was given one of
by train from Oklahoma City at 9:15 a.m. with
these commissions. "Now you can go out and
Adjutant General Charles Barrett in command.
shoot any N----- you see," he was told, "and the
"In all my experience," Barrett wrote years later,
law'll be behind you." White would spend a
"I have never witnessed such scenes as
tense night riding about the city in the company
prevailed in this city when I arrived at the height
of five members of the Ku Klux Klan.
of the rioting. Twenty-five thousand whites,
Before long, even Gustafson realized events
armed to the teeth, were ranging the city in utter
were out of his control. He signed a telegram,
and ruthless defiance of every concept of law
solicited by the governor, requesting the aid of
and righteousness. Motor Cars, bristling with
the National Guard. The telegram was a model
guns swept through the city, their occupants
of concise communications: "Race riot
firing at will." Nevertheless, the guards' first
developed here. Several killed. Unable to
official act was to prepare and eat breakfast.
handle situation. Request that National Guard
One man who had the temerity to question this
forces be sent by special train. Situation
indulgence was immediately arrested. The
serious."
guardsmen themselves, once they finished their
The fighting, pillaging and burning
breakfast, proceeded to round up the remaining
continued all night and into the morning. The
Black residents at bayonet point, often drawing
riot was now a war; being fought building by
blood and frequently showing no sympathy for
building, block by block. The white's rage was
the homeless Blacks who were supposedly
blinding: At one point, the advancing mob
under their protection.
noticed a lone, unarmed pedestrian across the
When it was all over, the Red Cross would
street. Mistaking him for Black, the rioters
report treating almost 1,000 people. Classrooms
opened fire, hitting him some 25 times. "Death
at the Booker T. Washington School were
was instantaneous," reported the Tulsa World
converted into an emergency facility. Parrish
the following morning. "He was hit so many
wrote: "I can never erase the sights of my first
times his body was mangled almost past
visit to the hospital. There were men wounded
identification." Now and again the mob would
in every conceivable way, like soldiers after a
string a Black corpse to the rear bumper of an
big battle. Some with amputated limbs, burned
automobile and drag the body around town.
faces, others minus an eye or with heads
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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bandaged. There were women who were
nervous wrecks, and some confinement cases.
Was I in a hospital in France? No, in Tulsa.
It is impossible to judge the severity of the
Tulsa Riot by its death toll. The official count
was 36, but the earliest newspaper accounts
ranged between 75 and 175, and Scott Ellsworth
gives 100 as his best guess. (Many Blacks and
some whites believe the actual number of deaths
was much higher, with truckloads of corpses
dumped into mass graves or into the nearby
Arkansas River.) There were other riots around
that time that had official counts almost as high,
or even higher—the East St. Louis riot of 1917
(at least 125 dead), the Chicago riot of 1919 (at
38 dead); the Elaine, Arkansas riot of 1919 (at
least 30 dead). But what had been lost in Tulsa
was far more than lives. It was a community
and a dream.
As bad as the riot was, what followed was
in many ways worse. To the hot-blooded
crimes of murder, pillaging and arson were
added the cold-blooded crimes of false
imprisonment, unusual cruelty and incredible
hypocrisy. Richard Lloyd Jones would once
again set the tone in his editorial in the Tulsa
Tribune: "Acres of ashes lie smoldering in what
but yesterday was 'N-----town'." He went on to
use the riot as a pretext for attacking his
political opponents. Over the next several days
the headlines told the story of how white Tulsa
would choose to view the riot for decades to
come:
—PROPAGANDA OF NEGROES IS
BLAMED.
—BLACK AGITATORS BLAMED FOR
RIOT.
—PLOT BY NEGRO SOCIETY?
—BLACKS HAD LEADERS.
—BLOOD SHED IN RACE WAR WILL
CLEANSE TULSA.
—NEGRO SECTION ABOLISHED BY
CITY'S ORDER.
The attorney general of the state, during an
address to the Tulsa City club two weeks after
the tragedy, declared: "The cause of this riot
was not Tulsa. It might have happened
anywhere for the Negro is not the same man that
he was 30 years ago when he was content to
plod along his own road accepting the white
man as his benefactor."
Over the following days and weeks white
Tulsa put forth two ideas: Blacks had caused all
the trouble, but the white community had
opened its purses and hearts and rebuilt the
burned neighborhood. The president of the
chamber of commerce furnished press
associations across the country with a broadside
that stated: "The sympathy of the citizenship of
Tulsa in a great wave has gone out to the
unfortunate law-abiding Negroes who became
victims of the action and bad advice of some of
the lawless leaders, and as quickly as possible
rehabilitation will take place and reparation be
made."
In fact, at the same time the city fathers
were busy passing new ordinances preventing
Blacks from rebuilding in the Greenwood area.
About the only intact structures left standing in
the forlorn landscape were outhouses. Although
awash in oil money during its boom years, Tulsa
had never extended the city sewer lines to the
Black north side.
Burning of the Greenwood District—
McFarlin Library, University of Tulsa achives
And as the rioters emptied their cans of oil,
they didn't bother with the outhouses, many of
which were at some distance from the street.
Now Tulsa wanted the north side of town to
become a new industrial and transportation
center. As for the Blacks, the mayor told his
city commission: "Let the Negro settlement be
placed further to the north and east." The courts
overruled that ordinance four months later, but
by then Blacks had lost precious time in
rebuilding.
As to rehabilitation and restitution, there
never would be any. Behind closed doors,
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Tulsa's white leaders plotted to do precisely the
the governor that Stradford "would be given a
opposite of their proclamations. The Executive
fair trial and would be adequately protected
Welfare Committee in charge of "relief" efforts
from mob violence." The governor was
voted to solicit no money for aid, nor accept any
convinced and ordered Stradford rearrested.
donation, "financial or otherwise," to
But Stradford was no fool. Already out on bail,
"reconstruct the Negro District." What money
he fled with his son to Chicago.
did come in to the Welfare Committee was used
As for Deputy Sheriff Barney Cleaver, he
to reimburse the Red Cross for its Herculean
became the toast of Tulsa. Although the town's
efforts immediately following the riot. Scott
newspapers showed little remorse that the entire
Ellsworth pored over the official records while
Black section had been burned to the ground,
researching his book. "One myth that persists is
they were sympathetic about Cleaver's losses,
that the white community created a generous
which were considerable. Cleaver had amassed
relief effort and rebuilt Black Tulsa," he
$ 20,000 worth of real estate on a policeman's
recently told a reporter for the Tulsa World.
pay. If this were not enough to raise questions
"The city fathers tried to keep Black Tulsans
about Cleaver's conduct, an article about him in
from rebuilding. They tried to swindle them out
the Tribune strongly suggested that he was
of their land. They refused donations from
playing a double game: "In all of Tulsa today
charitable organizations around the country,
there was just one Negro who walked the street
telling people they were going to rebuild the
openly and unafraid, molested by no one and
Black community." The winter of 1921-22
greeted with a cheery smile by all who knew
would find close to 1,000 Black Tulsans with
him."
nothing but tents to protect them from the cold
What had Cleaver done to deserve such
and snow.
good will? Whatever he had done before, he
Hundreds of Blacks left Tulsa immediately
now sided with the whites in blaming his fellow
after the riot, never to return. One of these was
Blacks for the riot. Two days after the riot,
A.J. Smitherman, the editor of the Tulsa Star,
Cleaver was quoted as saying: "I am going to do
whose business had been destroyed and whose
everything I can to bring the Negroes
name had been added to the grand-jury
responsible for the outrage to the bars of justice.
indictment. Gone too, was Stradford. The day
They caused me to lose everything I have been
after the riot, he and his wife had been held
accumulating and I intend to get them." Get
under "police protection" along with some 6,000
them he did. It was largely Cleaver's testimony,
Black residents. But with the help of some
in court and out, that helped convince white
white acquaintances, Stradford managed to
Tulsa that it was blameless.
leave town and eventually made his way to by
Dick Rowland was released from jail two
train to Independence, Kansas, to stay with his
weeks after the riot. Sarah Page dropped her
brother. The day after his arrival, the Kansas
charges three months later, and left town.
police knocked on his brother's door and
Police Chief John Gustafson was found guilty
arrested Stradford, on the grounds of having
on two counts: dereliction of duty during the riot
incited the riot. The evidence: testimony that
and "conspiracy to free automobile thieves and
the first armed carloads of Blacks had left from
collect rewards." Sheriff McCullough admitted
in front of Stradford's hotel on Greenwood
to the press later that he had fallen asleep. "I
Avenue. Stradford was quoted as saying after
didn't know there had been a riot until I read the
his arrest: "They wanted me and now they have
papers the next morning at 8 o'clock," he said.
me."
Reminded that he too had signed the telegram
There followed a law-enforcement soap
requesting the aid of the National Guard in the
opera. Tulsa wanted Stradford extradited. The
middle of the night, the sheriff said he had not
attorney general of Oklahoma, along with the
bothered to read it. Richard Lloyd Jones
Tulsa County attorney, traveled to Topeka to
suffered a fitting fate for his role in triggering
plead with the governor of Kansas, bringing
the riot. Eight years later he commissioned his
letters "from prominent men in Tulsa" assuring
cousin to build a house in Tulsa. It would be
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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perhaps Frank Lloyd Wright's least successful
Church, itself a powerful symbol of the riot,
house, a towering sprawling affair that
having been torched only two months after its
resembled a penitentiary and leaked like a
completion, and then lovingly rebuilt over the
fishing trawler.
next 31 years. A crowd of 1,200 overflowed the
As for the Black community of Tulsa, it
church. On hand were Benjamin Hooks, former
soon rebuilt Greenwood without the promised
executive director of the NAACP, former
help. In the '30s and '40s, the area experienced
senator David Boren, now the president of the
something of a revival as one of the country's
University of Oklahoma, Tulsa Mayor Susan
leading jazz centers. But in the decades that
Savage and Scott Ellsworth. At one point Rep.
followed, Greenwood decayed. Dissected by
Don Ross rose to say that over the last 75 years,
highways, emptied by suburban drift and
no public official had ever apologized for the
enervated by integration, the neighborhood
riot, so therefore he, an elected official, would
finally succumbed to the bulldozer. Today, all
do so. The irony that a black man was taking on
that remains of "the Black Wall Street" is a
the white man's burden of expiation was lost on
single gentrified block of Greenwood Avenue,
no one. The guests then walked a few hundred
surrounded by new urban-renewal projects: a
yards to the dedication of a granite slab called
new university complex, a duck pond and a new
the Black Wall Street Memorial.
cultural center that houses a jazz museum.
The day's events left many a Tulsan, black
Dreams of a memorial to the Tulsa tragedy
and white, near tears. "That service was
had long been popular in the city's Black
something of significance and real power,"
community, where the riot had never been
Levit recalled later. "For me, it was probably
forgotten. Don Ross, a Black State
one of the most intense moments I have ever
representative, had been trying to put together
experienced. Don Ross was electrifying."
some sort of commemoration since the 50th
Plans for the commemoration of Tulsa's
anniversary in 1971. And James Goodwin, a
race riot made the Today Show. And watching
Black lawyer whose family owns the Oklahoma
Bryant Gumbel on the morning of May 31
Eagle, had gone so far as to draw up elaborate
happened to be J.B. Stradford's great-grandson,
plans for a memorial and museum.
Chicago Circuit Court Judge Cornelius Toole.
What was missing was white participation
The judge thought that the Stradford family
and enthusiasm. Without white support, fundshould be included in any commemoration of
raising would be far more difficult and the point
the riot, and he called the mayor's office and the
entirely lost.
Greenwood Cultural Center to lodge his protest.
Enter Ken Levit. A young law graduate
No one returned his call.
and former staffer for Sen. David Boren, Levit
had the fragmentary knowledge of the riot usual
among white Tulsans. "I knew that some racial
incident of historic proportion took place," he
says. "I didn't really understand any of the
details—where, when, why, and how." While
studying for the bar in the summer of 1994 he
came upon Ellsworth's Death in a Promised
Land. Using his associations and connections
with Tulsa’s legal community, Levit, along with
James Goodwin and Don Ross began
formulating the plans for the 75th anniversary
commemorative and raising money for a
Aftermath of the Tulsa Race Riot—
Greenwood Cultural Center archives
memorial.
The anniversary ceremony took place on
The judge then fired off letters, explaining
June 1, 1996. It began with singing, prayers and
J.B. Stradford's central role in Black Tulsa
speeches at Greenwood's Mt. Zion Baptist
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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before the riot. Along with a photographic
For his part, Judge Toole was delighted. "It
portrait, he sent this description of the patriarch
was a wonderful ceremony," said the judge.
of the Stradford clan: "He was magnificent, and
"The governor spoke and made an apology to
had the courage and physical strength of a
the Stradford family; he said something
Mandingo warrior." Toole finished by
happened that should not have happened, and
mentioning the memoirs, which are still in the
we know that, but I have never seen such a
family's possession. "We are of course writing
forceful apology." As for Don Ross, he seemed
our own story of this era and his life.
of two minds. On the one hand, he said, "The
Toole's letter set in motion a series of
African American community of Tulsa can now
conversations that would lead to another moving
say we were the victims and not the criminals in
ceremony. On October 18, Toole and 20 other
this racial upheaval." On the other, Ross still
members of the extended Stradford clan, who
believes reparations are in order. He is thinking
traveled from Texas, Illinois, Ohio, and New
of introducing a bill that would pay out a total of
York, standing a stone's throw from where the
$6 million to the families that lost everything in
Stradford Hotel once stood, listened as Bill
the riot. Nancy Little, too, doubts that Tulsa's
LaFortune formally dropped the charges, and
season of remembrance and contrition can yet
Oklahoma governor Frank Keating granted an
come to a close. "There is a time to leave the
honorary executive pardon.
past behind," she mused. "I think that time is not
At the request of the family, J.B. Stradford's
when something has not been dealt with. Most
name was added posthumously to a list of those
people still do not know about it."
allowed to practice law in Tulsa.
Perhaps the newsletter sent out by the
"It's regrettable that we have come here to
Greenwood Cultural Center following the
recognize an embarrassment, a historical event
Stradford reception said it best. Under a
that never should have happened," said Keating.
photograph of the new memorial was a bit of
"Our tragedy as Oklahomans is that the
verse that went:
Stradfords are not living here." And he wasn't
"Things ain't what they oughta be, Things
overstating the case: No Stradford had ever set
ain't what they gonna be, But thank God things
foot in Tulsa since J.B.'s hasty departure, but the
ain't like they was."
family had flourished. Stradford's son became a
prominent Chicago lawyer and a founding
member of the National Bar Association,
arguing and winning Hansberry v. Lee, a crucial
civil-rights case, before the U.S. Supreme Court.
His granddaughter Jewel LaFontantMankarious, born one year after J.B.'s escape
from Tulsa, would go on to become a deputy
solicitor general and U.S. ambassador-at-large.
Her son, John Rogers, Jr., is founder and
president of Ariel Capital Investment in
Chicago, and was named by Time magazine in
1994 as one of the country's most promising
leaders under the age of 40. Another
granddaughter, Letitia Toole, would become a
stage and film actress and a member of the
American Negro Theater, acting with Ossie
Davis and Sidney Portier, and arrayed in front
of Keating during the ceremony were four
generations of Stradford's extended family,
including a cardiologist, a tennis professional, a
sculptor, a ballet dancer, and a movie director.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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The Arts in
Oklahoma
By W. David Baird and Danney Goble41
The Kiowa Five
When Plains Indian culture was at its
zenith, one symbol of its power was the
remarkable art that emerged from nearly every
tribe. On the Southern Plains the Kiowas have a
long history of art traditions linked their their
pride in the master of horsemanship, as
successful hunters of the great buffalo herds,
and as a culture that prides the beauty of dance,
song, stories, and the visual arts. The Kiowas
were noted especially for their calendars.
Known as winter counts, these were elaborate
series of pictographs composed and executed
collectively to record the tribe’s history through
the seasons and the years. Individuals also
displayed on hides their personal history and
notable exploits with elaborate and colorful
images. So striking was the tribe’s use of art,
that some people said that every Kiowa was a
natural-born artist.
“The Kiowa Five”: Tsa-to-ke, Hokeah, Mopope,
Professor Jacobson, Asah, and Auchiah (L to R)
After the American army defeated the
Indian warriors and destroyed their nomadic
cultures, their art assumed a different role. In
41
From Baird, W. David and Danney Goble. The Story of
Oklahoma. Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press,
1994.
1875 tribal elders reluctantly designated more
than seventy of their young men for punishment
for the tribes’ raids against whites. Federal
authorities transported these Kiowas, and other
tribal members, far from their homes to a prison
in Fort Marion at Saint Augustin, FL, where
they remained until 1878. Captain Richard H.
Pratt (who later founded the Carlisle Indian
School in Pennsylvania) headed the prison. He
recognized at once that his “pathetic” prisoners
were energetic painters. Providing them with
“Squaw Dance” by Stephen Mopope
paper (lined army ledger books), pencils, and
paints, Captain Pratt suggest that they create art
to sell to the white tourists who often stopped by
to see the “wild Indians.” More than 600
drawings and paintings resulted. Known as
ledger art, these were not like the tribal displays
of the past; instead, they were the private
expressions, often painfully autobiographical, of
individual Indians. Many even signed their
paintings with their private mark. When they
returned to Oklahoma, their people called them
by a word previously unknown in most Indian
languages, “artists.”
Few white people recognized the
significance of the work created by these
Indians and those inspired by them. Determined
to root out all traces of Indian identity, the
superintendent of Anadarko’s Indian School
forbade it when he found some young Kiowa
children devotedly sketching and painting. He
protested that “they should have been trying to
become white men rather than wasting a lot of
time with drawing.” One of the few who though
otherwise was Susie Ryan Peters.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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A native of Tennessee, Mrs. Peters had
come to Oklahoma Territory in a covered
wagon. In 1916 she went to work as a field
matron for the Kiowa agency in Anadarko.
“Greeting of thee Moon God” by Jack Hokeah
Uninterested in teaching young girls to clean
house, she was convinced that her charges—
both girls and boys—included several natural
artists. In 1918 she arranged for an art
instructor from Chickasha to come to Anadarko
and teach them, paying the artist’s salary
herself. Although these informal lessons lasted
only three or four months, Mrs. Peters
persuaded Saint Patrick’s Mission School in
Anadarko to accept the most promising of the
students. At the school, Sister Olivia and Father
Al enthusiastically added to the students’
preparation.
The budding Kiowa artists were neither
average students nor stereotypical “savages.”
Several were the sons and grandsons of famous
war chiefs and holy men, and most came from
important Indian families. All were close to the
leaders of their people, for whom ancient
traditions remained vivid memories. Many
continued themselves to participate in rituals
that dated from long before the whites’ arrival.
In 1923, Mrs. Peters and Father Al asked
the University of Oklahoma to admit some of
the Kiowa artists, but none had the necessary
scholastic background or the money for tuition.
Although they never enrolled as students,
Professor Oscar B. Jacobson, head of the
university’s school of art, invited them to live in
Norman, where they could paint in the
university’s art studios under his supervision. In
1927 five young Indians arrived to great
excitement. Collectively they were to achieve
fame as the “Kiowa Five”: Monroe Tsa-to-ke
(1904-1937), Stephen Mopope (1898-1974),
Spencer Asah (1905-1954), Jack Hokeah (19021969), and Lois Bou-ge-tah Smokey (19071981), who was later replaced by James
Auchiah (1906-1974).
They were almost instant celebrities. Awed
by their quickly developing gifts, Professor
Jacobson mounted a university exhibit of their
work within weeks of their arrival. In
November 1927 they gained national
recognition when the American Federation of
Arts exhibited their paintings at its national
convention in Denver. Soon the world learned
of the Kiowa Five through their exhibition at the
First International At Exposition in Prague,
Czechoslovakia. In 1929 a prestigious French
publisher issued a beautiful folio of some of
their more-important works. Travel in the
1920s and 30s was a unique opportunity for
them to follow the age-old Kiowa tradition, to
“journey to the four corners of the Earth.”
Imaginatively combining color and detail in
a highly stylized format, the Kiowa artists
launched an entire school of instantly
recognizable Indian art. In some measure they
“Warriors” by Monroe Tsa-to-ke
may have even influenced the U.S.
government’s policy toward the Indians. The
artwork of the Kiowa Five became well known
for its representational, narrative style with
ceremonial and social scenes of Kiowa life as
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their subject matter. Their work drew attention
to the traditional culture and history of the
Kiowas and other tribes. Auchiah once
commented: “Our forefathers’ deeds touch us,
shape us, like strokes of a painting. In endless
procession their deeds mark us. The Elders
speak knowingly of forever.” The enthusiasm
for rediscovered Indian traditions, sparked in
part by the Kiowas’ brilliant work, found one
expression in the Indian Reorganization Act of
1934. One of the New Deal’s reforms, this was
the law by which Washington finally abandoned
its determination to assimilate Indians into white
society through the calculated destruction of
their separate cultures.
In Oklahoma the Kiowa Five continued
their work through the 1930s. In particular,
several found employment when the New Deal
hired unemployed artists under the Works
Progress Administration. Later they went their
own ways, some continuing as painters while
others took up more ordinary employment to
support themselves and their families. Still,
even today, a few of Oklahoma’s older public
buildings display the murals and other projects
that they created. Their legacy, however, is
much, much more than that.
audiences. The location of many of those black
clubs in Kansas City, MO made that city the
nation’s jazz capital during the Roaring
Twenties.
Kansas City promoters regularly involved
the Blue Devils in their famous Battles of the
Bands. These were open competitions in which
rival bands successively tried to outdo each
other’s hottest licks. Not infrequently, the
Oklahoma Citians bested every big-time band in
the region in those competitions.
With the Great Depression of the 1930s,
clubs, both black and white, withered; and
denied audiences, the Oklahoma City Blue
Devils disbanded. Many of their members made
their way to Kansas City, where they became
the nucleus for a new band directed by one of
the Blue Devils’ old piano players. That band,
the Count Basie Orchestra, continued for
decades as America’s premier jazz band—a
continuing reminder of black achievements
behind Oklahoma’s walls of segregation.
Jerome Tiger
Eufaula, Oklahoma, takes its name from an
appropriate source: an Alabama Creek town and
a Creek word which means “they split up here
The Blue Devils
and went to other places.” At the end of a dirt
road that run three miles west of Oklahoma’s
America in the 1920s was said to be in the
Eufaula stands the West Eufaula Baptist
Jazz Age. With its conscious abandonment of
Church. Like all Creek Baptist churches, it
traditional forms and sentimental lyrics, jazz
faces east. For more than 150 years the church
was symbolic of the times. It also was
has provided not only a center of Christian
representative in that it bore the markings of Jim
worship but a site for Indian stickball games,
Crow. Most of the country’s leading jazz
ribbon dances, and other traditional Creek
musicians were black, and most of them honed
activities. In a weather-beaten four room house
their talents playing with other black musicians
on the church grounds, on of Oklahoma’s—and
for black audiences. That was certainly the case
America’s—most-acclaimed twentieth-century
for one of the era’s greatest jazz bands,
artists spent the formative first ten years of his
Oklahoma City’s Blue Devils.
life.
The Blue Devils came together in 1923 and
Jerome Tiger’s grandfather, Lewis
made their headquarters in Oklahoma City’s
Coleman, was the church’s pastor. Like the
Ritz Ballroom. Mostly they traveled to play at
Rev. Coleman and his wife, Hettie, Jerome’s
clubs, including white clubs across Oklahoma
parents, Lucinda Coleman Tiger and John Tiger,
and surrounding states. The group’s greatest
were bilingual. English was used with the
popularity, however, was on the old-time
whites, but all were more comfortable with the
Chittlin’ Circuit, a string of black-owned clubs
Creek that they spoke at home and in church.
that booked black bands for appreciative black
Because other Indian families moved in and out
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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headed Bacone’s art departement from 1935 to
1938, he had established national reputations for
both himself and the college. Subsequently,
Woody Crumbo, of Creek and Potawatomi
ancestry, took Blue Eagle’s place and, like him,
further developed the Indian style and enhanced
the college’s fame in art circles. He too had
studies under both Professor Jacobson and Mrs.
Peters like the Kiowa Five. When Jerome Tiger
returned to Muskogee, Dick West, a Cheyenne,
headed the legendary Bacone art department.
Unfortunately for Jerome, he could not be
admitted to the college, since he lacked a high
school diploma. His older brother, Johnny,
however, was a student there, and through him,
Jerome learned the conventions and styles of
Indian art.
No one had to give Jerome Tiger his talent.
From his boyhood onward, he had spent hours
drawing scenes inspired by events around him
and from his imagination as it had been shaped
“The Guardian Spirit” by Jerome Tiger
by his elders’ stories and tales. Naturally rightBut these were modern times, and Lucinda
handed, he could also draw amazingly well with
and John Tiger left Eufaula for Muskogee.
his left hand. In fact, he once did four drawings
Lucinda took a “white” job, pressing clothes at
simultaneously—one with each hand and one
Teel’s Laundry. John did too, beginning to
with each foot!
drive fifty miles to Tulsa and his job at the
Returning to his grandparents’ home in
Douglas Aircraft plant. For the first time
Eufaula, Jerome Tiger married, had the first of
Jerome and his brothers attended predominately
two children, and began to work seriously at his
white schools—Edison Elementary, Alice
art. Soon his paintings came to the attention of
Robertson Junior High, and Muskogee Central
Nettie Wheeler, owner of the Thunderbird Shop.
High schools.
Located north of Muskogee on Highway 69, the
School was not particularly hard for Jerome
little shop sold tourist trinkets and doodads.
Tiger, but neither was it much fun. He spent
Stashed among the prevailing disorder were
most of his spare time with Indians his age and
priceless original works of art, for Nettie
other lower income boys whom other students
Wheeler was an expert on and patron of Indian
regarded as hoods. His chief interests were an
artists. Recognizing Jerome Tiger’s genius, she
odd combination of violence and sensitivity—
began to promote his paintings and entered two
boxing and art. Bored with school, he quit after
of them in competitions at Sante Fe and Tulsa,
his junior year, served a two-year hitch with the
where both won prizes. She also encouraged
U.S. navy, and returned to Muskogee. He hope
Jerome to take advantage of a new program of
to enroll in Bacone College.
vocational training offered by the Bureau of
The little college had begun as a Baptist
Indian Affairs. Jerome, his wife, and his
missionary school for Indians. Although many
daughter moved to Cleveland, OH, where he
(even in Oklahoma) had never heard of it, it had
studied at the famous Cooper School of Art.
been a national treasure for years because of its
Cold and crowded, Cleveland was utterly
art department begun by Acee Blue Eagle. Blue
unlike any place where Jerome Tiger had ever
Eagle, also a Creek, had studied art at the
lived. Other than the Major League Baseball
University of Oklahoma, beginning there just
team, there were few other Indians in Cleveland,
after the Kiowa Five left. While Blue Eagle
and most of them were Navajos, with whom
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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of the other houses on the grounds, young
Jerome lived not only amid an extended family
but in something approaching a traditional
Creek communal village. Daily he was
surrounded by the living traditions of his fellow
Indians.
Tiger regularly fought. He did like the Cooper
School, however, even accepting for the first
time the discipline required in formal art
training. He might have stayed at the school if
he had not happened to wander by a professor’s
office one day. Standing unseen in the hallway,
he overheard one teacher tell another that,
although the young Oklahoman certainly had
talent, “by the time we get through with him,
he’ll be just another Indian that bit the dust.”
Jerome Tiger had other plans for his life.
He left Cleveland and the Cooper School
behind, returned to Muskogee, and polished and
perfected his craft. In little time he developed a
style so personal that his works were instantly
recognizable. Although based on the
conventions and themes pioneered by the Kiowa
Five and furthered by others, his works were
unlike anything ever seen in Indian art before.
Clean and uncluttered, their fine lines and
exquisite colors seemed to flow together to
suggest movement and emotions as much as
they did objects and people. Amazed to learn
that he was largely self-taught, critics
pronounced him a “painter’s painter.” His
works, whether based on traditional Creek ways
or illustrating the humor and the poignancy of
contemporary Indian life, completely fulfilled
the mandate that his grandfather had given him.
“Put on paper what the Creek has in his heart,”
old Coleman Lewis had told him. Jerome Tiger
did that better than anyone else ever had.
Tiger created an amazing number of
paintings. By the hundreds they poured from
his home in Muskogee. Working primarily in a
corner of his bedroom, he painted whenever and
as long as the inspiration moved him, sometimes
working all night and into the next. Some he
gave away to friends and family. Others he
sold, often for a little as thirty or forty dollars.
For many purchasers, his work provided their
introduction to Indian art, or, for that matter,
original art of any kind. Outside his immediate
surroundings, Jerome’s paintings regularly won
national prizes and took his fame across
America. They did not, however, take him. He
mailed his paintings to competitions around the
country, but Jerome Tiger never traveled outside
of Oklahoma again.
The fame that came to him did not change
Jerome. He kept up his boxing, one year
winning the Oklahoma Golden Gloves
championship as a middleweight. He continued
to participate in Indian dances and consult with
honored Creek holy men. Surrounded by his
old friends (some of whom had no idea of his
national stature), he played pool, drank beer,
and played around with firearms. He was doing
the last in the early morning hours of August 13,
1967. After a stomp dance in Eufaula, he piled
into his brother’s car with some other friends.
Pulling into an all-night restaurant and service
station, the group was ready to break up when a
deafening explosion shook the car. Jerome
Tiger’s .22 pistol had discharged accidentally,
sending a bullet into his brain.
When he was buried three days later, the
funeral brought television crews, nationally
famous artists and critics, and scores of simple
mourners to the West Eufaula Baptist Church.
That is where it had all begun no much earlier.
Jerome Tiger was twenty-six years old.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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The Harvest
Gypsies
By John Steinbeck42
Article One
At this season of the year, when California's
great crops are coming into harvest, the heavy
grapes, the prunes, the apples and lettuce and
the rapidly maturing cotton, our highways
swarm with the migrant workers, that shifting
group of nomadic, poverty-stricken harvesters
driven by hunger and the threat of hunger from
crop to crop, from harvest to harvest, up and
down the state and into Oregon to some extent,
and into Washington a little. But it is California
which has and needs the majority of these new
gypsies. It is a short study of these wanderers
that these articles will undertake. There are at
least 150,000 homeless migrants wandering up
and down the state, and that is an army large
enough to make it important to every person in
the state.
To the casual traveler on the great highways
the movements of the migrants are mysterious if
they are seen at all, for suddenly the roads will
be filled with open rattletrap cars loaded with
children and with dirty bedding, with fireblackened cooking utensils. The boxcars and
gondolas on the railroad lines will be filled with
men. And then, just as suddenly, they will have
disappeared from the main routes. On side
roads and near rivers where there is little travel
the squalid, filthy squatters' camp will have
been set up, and the orchards will be filled with
pickers and cutters and driers.
The unique nature of California agriculture
requires that these migrants exist, and requires
that they move about. A resident population of
laborers cannot harvest peaches and grapes,
hops and cotton. For example, a large peach
42
From Steinbeck, John. “The Harvest Gypsies [a
series].” San Francisco News. October 5-12, 1936.
orchard which requires the work of 20 men the
year round will need as many as 2000 for the
brief time of picking and packing. And if the
migration of the 2000 should not occur, if it
should be delayed even a week, the crop will rot
and be lost.
Thus, in California we find a curious
attitude toward a group that makes our
agriculture successful. The migrants are
needed, and they are hated. Arriving in a
district they find the dislike always meted out by
the resident to the foreigner, the outlander. This
hatred of the stranger occurs in the whole range
of human history, from the most primitive
village form to our own highly organized
industrial farming. The migrants are hated for
the following reasons, that they are ignorant and
dirty people, that they are carriers of disease,
that they increase the necessity for police and
the tax bill for schooling in a community, and
that if they are allowed to organize they can,
simply by refusing to work, wipe out the
season's crops. They are never received into a
community nor into the life of a community.
Wanderers in fact, they are never allowed to feel
at home in the communities that demand their
services.
Let us see what kind of people they are,
where they come from, and the routes of their
wanderings. In the past they have been of
several races, encouraged to come and often
imported as cheap labor; Chinese in the early
period, then Filipinos, Japanese and Mexicans.
These were foreigners, and as such they were
ostracized and segregated and herded about.
If they attempted to organize they were
deported or arrested, and having no advocates
they were never able to get a hearing for their
problems. But in recent years the foreign
migrants have begun to organize, and at this
danger signal they have been deported in great
numbers, for there was a new reservoir from
which a great quantity of cheap labor could be
obtained.
The drought in the middle west has driven
the agricultural populations of Oklahoma,
Nebraska and parts of Kansas and Texas
westward. Their lands are destroyed and they
can never go back to them.
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Thousands of them are crossing the borders
in ancient rattling automobiles, destitute and
hungry and homeless, ready to accept any pay
so that they may eat and feed their children.
And this is a new thing in migrant labor, for the
foreign workers were usually imported without
their children and everything that remains of
their old life with them.
They arrive in California usually having
used up every resource to get here, even to the
selling of the poor blankets and utensils and
tools on the way to buy gasoline. They arrive
bewildered and beaten and usually in a state of
semi-starvation, with only one necessity to face
immediately, and that is to find work at any
wage in order that the family may eat.
And there is only one field in California
that can receive them. Ineligible for relief, they
must become migratory field workers.
Because the old kind of laborers, Mexicans
and Filipinos, are being deported and repatriated
very rapidly, while on the other hand the river of
dust bowl refugees increases all the time, it is
this new kind of migrant that we shall largely
consider.
The earlier foreign migrants have invariably
been drawn from a peon class. This is not the
case with the new migrants.
They are small farmers who have lost their
farms, or farm hands who have lived with the
family in the old American way. They are men
who have worked hard on their own farms and
have felt the pride of possessing and living in
close touch with the land.
They are resourceful and intelligent
Americans who have gone through the hell of
the drought, have seen their lands wither and die
and the top soil blow away; and this, to a man
who has owned his land, is a curious and terrible
pain.
And then they have made the crossing and
have seen often the death of their children on
the way. Their cars have been broken down and
been repaired with the ingenuity of the land
man.
Often they patched the worn-out tires every
few miles. They have weathered the thing, and
they can weather much more for their blood is
strong.
They are descendants of men who crossed
into the middle west, who won their lands by
fighting, who cultivated the prairies and stayed
with them until they went back to desert.
And because of their tradition and their
training, they are not migrants by nature. They
are gypsies by force of circumstances.
In their heads, as they move wearily from
harvest to harvest, there is one urge and one
overwhelming need, to acquire a little land
again, and to settle on it and stop their
wandering. One has only to go into the
squatters' camps where the families live on the
ground and have no homes, no beds and no
equipment; and one has only to look at the
strong purposeful faces, often filled with pain
and more often, when they see the corporationheld idle lands, filled with anger, to know that
this new race is here to stay and that heed must
be taken of it.
It should be understood that with this new
race the old methods of repression, of starvation
wages, of jailing, beating and intimidation are
not going to work; these are American people.
Consequently we must meet them with
understanding and attempt to work out the
problem to their benefit as well as ours.
It is difficult to believe what one large
speculative farmer has said, that the success of
California agriculture requires that we create
and maintain a peon class. For if this is true,
then California must depart from the semblance
of democratic government that remains here.
The names of the new migrants indicate
that they are of English, German and
Scandanavian descent. There are Munns,
Holbrooks, Hansens, Schmidts.
And they are strangely anachronistic in one
way: Having been brought up in the prairies
where industrialization never penetrated, they
have jumped with no transition from the old
agrarian, self-containing farm where nearly
everything used was raised or manufactured, to
a system of agriculture so industrialized that the
man who plants a crop does not often see, let
alone harvest, the fruit of his planting, where the
migrant has no contact with the growth cycle.
And there is another difference between
their old life and the new. They have come
from the little farm districts where democracy
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was not only possible but also inevitable, where
when twelve hundred workers arrived to pick
popular government, whether practiced in the
the pea crop only to find it spoiled by rain.
Grange, in church organization or in local
All resources having been used to get to the
government, was the responsibility of every
field, the migrants could not move on; they
man. And they have come into the country
stayed and starved until government aid tardily
where, because of the movement necessary to
was found for them.
make a living, they are not allowed any vote
And so they move, frantically, with
whatever, but are rather considered a properly
starvation close behind them. And in this series
unpriviledged class.
of articles we shall try to see how they live and
Let us see the fields that require the impact
what kind of people they are, what their living
of their labor and the districts to which they
standard is, what is done for them and to them,
must travel. As one little boy in a squatters
and what their problems and needs are. For
camp said, "When they need us they call us
while California has been successful in its use of
migrants, and when we've picked their crop,
migrant labor, it is gradually building a human
we're bums and we got to get out."
structure which will certainly change the State,
There are the vegetable crops of the
and may, if handled with the inhumanity and
Imperial Valley, the lettuce, cauliflower,
stupidity that have characterized the past,
tomatoes, and cabbage to be picked and packed,
destroy the present system of agricultural
to be hoed and irrigated. There are several
economics.
crops a year to be harvested, but there is not
time distribution sufficient to give the migrants
Article Two
permanent work.
The orange orchards deliver two crops a
year, but the picking season is short. Farther
The squatters' camps are located all over
north, in Kern County and up the San Joaquin
California. Let us see what a typical one is like.
Valley, the migrants are needed for grapes,
It is located on the banks of a river, near an
cotton, pears, melons, beans and peaches.
irrigation ditch or on a side road where a spring
In the outer valley, near Salinas,
of water is available. From a distance it looks
Watsonville, and Santa Clara there are lettuce,
like a city dump, and well it may, for the city
cauliflowers, artichokes, apples, prunes, and
dumps are the sources for the material of which
apricots. North of San Francisco the produce is
it is built. You can see a litter of dirty rags and
of grapes, deciduous fruits and hops. The
scrap iron, of houses built of weeds, of flattened
Sacramento Valley needs masses of migrants for
cans or of paper. It is only on close approach
its asparagus, its walnuts, peaches, prunes, etc.
that it can be seen that these are homes.
These great valleys with their intensive farming
Here is a house built by a family who has
make their seasonal demands on migrant labor.
tried to maintain neatness. The house is about
A short time, then, before the actual picking
10 feet by 10 feet, and it is built completely of
begins, there is the scurrying on the highways,
corrugated paper. The roof is peaked; the walls
the families in open cars hurrying to the ready
are tacked to a wooden frame. The dirt floor is
crops and hurrying to be first at work. For it has
swept clean, and along the irrigation ditch or in
been the habit of the growers associations of the
the muddy river the wife of the family scrubs
state to provide by importation, twice as much
clothes without soap and tries to rinse out the
labor as was necessary, so that wages might
mud in muddy water. The spirit of this family is
remain low.
not quite broken, for the children, three of them,
Hence the hurry, for if the migrant is a little
still have clothes, and the family possesses three
late the places may all be filled and he will have
old quilts and a soggy, lumpy mattress. But the
taken his trip for nothing. And there are many
money so needed for food cannot be used for
things that may happen even if he is in time.
soap nor for clothes.
The crop may be late, or there may occur one of
With the first rain the carefully built house
those situations like that at Nipomo last year
will slop down into a brown, pulpy mush; in a
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few months the clothes will fray off the
their legs spread wide, there is room for the legs
children's bodies while the lack of nourishing
of the children.
food will subject the whole family to pneumonia
There is more filth here. The tent is full of
when the first cold comes.
flies clinging to the apple box that is the dinner
Five years ago this family had fifty acres of
table, buzzing about the foul clothes of the
land and a thousand dollars in the bank. The
children, particularly the baby; who has not
wife belonged to a sewing circle and the man
been bathed nor cleaned for several days.
was a member of the grange. They raised
This family has been on the road longer
chickens, pigs, pigeons and vegetables and fruit
than the builder of the paper house. There is no
for their own use; and their land produced the
toilet here, but there is a clump of willows
tall corn of the middle west. Now they have
nearby where human feces lie exposed to the
nothing.
flies—the same flies that are in the tent.
If the husband hits every harvest without
Two weeks ago there was another child, a
delay and works the maximum time, he may
four-year-old boy. For a few weeks they had
make four hundred dollars this year. But if
noticed that he was kind of lackadaisical, that
anything happens, if his old car breaks down, if
his eyes had been feverish.
he is late and misses a harvest or two, he will
They had given him the best place in the
have to feed his whole family on as little as one
bed, between father and mother. But one night
hundred and fifty.
he went into convulsions and died, and the next
But there is still pride in this family.
morning the coroner's wagon took him away. It
Wherever they stop they try to put the children
was one step down.
in school. It may be that the children will be in
They know pretty well that it was a diet of
a school for as much as a month before they are
fresh fruit, beans and little else that caused his
moved to another locality.
death. He had no milk for months. With this
Here, in the faces of the husband and his
death there came a change of mind in his family.
wife, you begin to see an expression you will
The father and mother now feel that paralyzed
notice on every face; not worry, but absolute
dullness with which the mind protects itself
terror of the starvation that crowds in against the
against too much sorrow and too much pain.
borders of the camp. This man has tried to
And this father will not be able to make a
make a toilet by digging a hole in the ground
maximum of four hundred dollars a year any
near his paper house and surrounding it with an
more because he is no longer alert; he isn't quick
old piece of burlap. But he will only do things
at piece-work, and he is not able to fight clear of
like that this year.
the dullness that has settled on him. His spirit is
He is a newcomer and his spirit and
losing caste rapidly.
decency and his sense of his own dignity have
The dullness shows in the faces of this
not been quite wiped out. Next year he will be
family, and in addition there is a sullenness that
like his next-door neighbor.
makes them taciturn. Sometimes they still start
This is a family of six; a man, his wife and
the older children off to school, but the ragged
four children. They live in a tent the color of
little things will not go; they hide in ditches or
the ground. Rot has set in on the canvas so that
wander off by themselves until it is time to go
the flaps and the sides hang in tatters and are
back to the tent, because they are scorned in the
held together with bits of rusty baling wire.
school.
There is one bed in the family and that is a big
The better-dressed children shout and jeer,
tick lying on the ground inside the tent.
the teachers are quite often impatient with these
They have one quilt and a piece of canvas
additions to their duties, and the parents of the
for bedding. The sleeping arrangement is
"nice" children do not want to have disease
clever. Mother and father lie down together and
carriers in the schools.
two children lie between them. Then, heading
The father of this family once had a little
the other way; the other two children lie, the
grocery store and his family lived in back of it
littler ones. If the mother and father sleep with
so that even the children could wait on the
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counter. When the drought set in there was no
bad field worker for the same reason. It takes
trade for the store any more.
him a long time to make up his mind, so he is
This is the middle class of the squatters'
always late in moving and late in arriving in the
camp. In a few months this family will slip
fields. His top wage, when he can find work
down to the lower class.
now; which isn't often, is a dollar a day.
Dignity is all gone, and spirit has turned to
The children do not even go to the willow
sullen anger before it dies.
clump any more. They squat where they are and
The next door neighbor family of man, wife
kick a little dirt. The father is vaguely aware
and three children of from three to nine years of
that there is a culture of hookworm in the mud
age, have built a house by driving willow
along the riverbank. He knows the children will
branches into the ground and wattling weeds,
get it on their bare feet.
tin, old paper and strips of carpet against them.
But he hasn't the will nor the energy to
A few branches are placed over the top to
resist. Too many things have happened to him.
keep out the noonday sun. It would not turn
This is the lower class of the camp.
water at all. There is no bed.
This is what the man in the tent will be in
Somewhere the family has found a big
six months; what the man in the paper house
piece of old carpet. It is on the ground. To go
with its peaked roof will be in a year, after his
to bed the members of the family lie on the
house has washed down and his children have
ground and fold the carpet up over them.
sickened or died, after the loss of dignity and
The three-year-old child has a gunnysack
spirit have cut him down to a kind of subtied about his middle for clothing. He has the
humanity.
swollen belly caused by malnutrition.
Helpful strangers are not well received in
He sits on the ground in the sun in front of
this camp. The local sheriff makes a raid now
the house, and the little black fruit flies buzz in
and then for a wanted man, and if there is labor
circles and land on his closed eyes and crawl up
trouble the vigilantes may burn the poor houses.
his nose until he weakly brushes them away.
Social workers, survey workers have taken case
They try to get at the mucous in the eyehistories.
corners. This child seems to have the reactions
They are filed and open for inspection.
of a baby much younger. The first year he had a
These families have been questioned over and
little milk, but he has had none since.
over about their origins, number of children
He will die in a very short time. The older
living and dead.
children may survive. Four nights ago the
The information is taken down and filed.
mother had a baby in the tent, on the dirty
That is that. It has been done so often and so
carpet. It was born dead, which was just as well
little has come of it.
because she could not have fed it at the breast;
And there is another way for them to get
her own diet will not produce milk.
attention. Let an epidemic break out, say
After it was born and she had seen that it
typhoid or scarlet fever, and the country doctor
was dead, the mother rolled over and lay still for
will come to the camp and hurry the infected
two days. She is up today, tottering around.
cases to the pest house. But malnutrition is not
The last baby, born less than a year ago, lived a
infectious, nor is dysentery, which is almost the
week. This woman's eyes have the glazed, farrule among the children.
away look of a sleepwalker's eyes.
The county hospital has no room for
She does not wash clothes any more. The
measles, mumps, and whooping cough; and yet
drive that makes for cleanliness has been
these are often deadly to hunger-weakened
drained out of her and she hasn't the energy.
children. And although we hear much about the
The husband was a sharecropper once, but he
free clinics for the poor, these people do not
couldn't make it go. Now he has lost even the
know how to get the aid and they do not get it.
desire to talk.
Also, since most of their dealings with authority
He will not look directly at you for that
are painful to them, they prefer not to take the
requires will, and will needs strength. He is a
chance.
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This is the squatters' camp. Some are a
little better, some much worse. I have described
three typical families. In some of the camps
there are as many as three hundred families like
these. Some are so far from water that it must
be bought at five cents a bucket.
And if these men steal, if there is
developing among them a suspicion and hatred
of well-dressed, satisfied people, the reason is
not to be sought in their origin nor in any
tendency to weakness in their character.
attitude of self-importance, but simply as a
register of a man's responsibility to the
community.
A man herded about, surrounded by armed
guards, starved and forced to live in filth loses
his dignity; that is, he loses his valid position in
regard to society, and consequently his whole
ethics toward society. Nothing is a better
example of this than the prison, where the men
are reduced to no dignity and where crimes and
infractions of the rule are constant.
We regard this destruction of dignity, then,
as one of the most regrettable results of the
Article Four
migrant's life, since it does reduce his
responsibility and does make him a sullen
The federal Government, realizing that the
outcast who will strike at our Government in
miserable condition of the California migrant
any way that occurs to him.
agricultural worker constitutes an immediate
The example at Arvin adds weight to such a
and vital problem, has set up two camps for the
conviction. The people in the camp are
moving workers and contemplates eight more in
encouraged to govern themselves, and they have
the immediate future. The development of the
responded with simple and workable
camps at Arvin and at Marysville makes a social
democracy.
and economic study of vast interest.
The camp is divided into four units. Each
The present camps are set up on leased
unit, by direct election, is represented in a
ground. Future camps are to be constructed on
central governing committee, an entertainment
land purchased by the Government. The
committee, a maintenance committee and a
Government provides places for tents.
Good Neighbors committee. Each of these
Permanent structures are simple, including
members is elected by the vote of his unit, and
washrooms, toilets and showers, an
is recallable by the same vote.
administration building and a place where the
The manager, of course, has the right of
people can entertain themselves. The
veto, but he practically never finds it necessary
equipment at the Arvin camp, exclusive of rent
to act contrary to the recommendations of the
of the land, costs approximately $18,000.
committee.
At this camp, water, toilet paper and some
The result of this responsible selfmedical supplies are provided. A resident
government has been remarkable. The
manager is on the ground. Campers are
inhabitants of the camp came there beaten,
received on the following simple conditions: (1)
sullen and destitute. But as their social sense
That the men are bona fide farm people and
was revived they have settled down. The camp
intend to work, (2) that they will help to
takes care of its own destitute, feeding and
maintain the cleanliness of the camp and (3) that
sheltering those who have nothing with their
in lieu of rent they will devote two hours a week
own poor stores. The central committee makes
towards the maintenance and improvement of
the law's that govern the conduct of the
the camp.
inhabitants.
The result has been more than could be
In the year that the Arvin camp has been in
expected. From the first, the intent of the
operation there has not been any need for
management has been to restore the dignity and
outside police. Punishments are the restrictions
decency that had been kicked out of the
of certain privileges such as admission to the
migrants by their intolerable mode of life.
community dances, or for continued anti-social
In this series the word "dignity" has been
conduct, a recommendation to the manager that
used several times. It has been used not as some
the culprit be ejected from the camp.
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A works committee assigns the labor to be
remaining 15 percent includes painters,
done in the camp, improvements, garbage
mechanics, electricians and even professional
disposal, maintenance and repairs. The
men.
entertainment committee arranges for the
When a new family enters one of these
weekly dances, the music for which is furnished
camps it is usually dirty, tired and broken. A
by an orchestra made up of the inhabitants.
group from the Good Neighbors meets it, tells it
So well do they play that one orchestra has
the rules, helps it to get settled, instructs it in the
been lost to the radio already. This committee
use of the sanitary facilities; and if there are
also takes care of the many self-made games
insufficient blankets or shelters, furnishes them
and courts that have been built.
from its own stores.
The Good Neighbors, a woman's
The children are bathed and cleanly dressed
organization, takes part in quilting and sewing
and the needs of the future canvassed. If the
projects, sees that destitution does not exist,
children have not enough clothes the community
governs and watches the nursery; where
sewing circle will get busy immediately. In
children can be left while the mothers are
case any of the family are sick the camp
working in the fields and in the packing sheds.
manager or the part-time nurse is called and
And all of this is done with the outside aid of
treatment is carried out.
one manager and one part-time nurse. As
These Good Neighbors are not trained
experiments in natural and democratic selfsocial workers, but they have what is perhaps
government, these camps are unique in the
more important, an understanding which grows
United States.
from a likeness of experience. Nothing has
In visiting these camps one is impressed
happened to the newcomer that has not
with several things in particular. The sullen and
happened to the committee.
frightened expression that is the rule among the
A typical manager's report is as follows:
migrants has disappeared from the faces of the
New arrivals. Low in foodstuffs. Most
Federal camp inhabitants. Instead there is a
of the personal belongings were tied up
steadiness of gaze and a self-confidence that can
in sacks and were in a filthy condition.
only come of restored dignity.
The Good Neighbors at once took the
The difference seems to lie in the new
family in hand, and by 10 o'clock they
position of the migrant in the community.
were fed, washed, camped, settled and
Before he came to the camp he had been
asleep.
policed, hated and moved about. It had been
These two camps each accommodate about
made clear that he was not wanted.
200 families. They were started as experiments,
In the Federal camps every effort of the
and the experiments have proven successful.
management is expended to give him his place
Between the rows of tents the families have
in society. There are no persons on relief in
started little gardens for the raising of
these camps.
vegetables, and the plots, which must be cared
In the Arvin camp the central committee
for after a 10 or 12-hours' day of work, produce
recommended the expulsion of a family which
beets, cabbages, corn, carrots, onions and
applied for relief. Employment is more
turnips. The passion to produce is very great.
common than in any similar group for, having
One man, who has not yet been assigned his
something of their own, these men are better
little garden plot, is hopefully watering a jimson
workers. The farmers in the vicinity seem to
weed simply to have something of his own
prefer the camp men to others.
growing.
The inhabitants of the Federal camps are no
The Federal Government, through the
picked group. They are typical of the new
Resettlement Administration, plans to extend
migrants. They come from Oklahoma,
these camps and to include with them small
Arkansas, and Texas and the other drought
maintenance farms. These are intended to solve
states. Eighty-five per cent of them are former
several problems.
farm owners, farm renters or farm laborers. The
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They will allow the women and children to
disease in the two experimental camps are proof
stay in one place, permitting the children to go
of this.
to school and the women to maintain the farms
The fourth argument, as made by the editor
during the work times of the men. They will
of The Yuba City Herald, a self-admitted sadist
reduce the degenerating effect of the migrants'
who wrote a series of incendiary and subversive
life; they will re-instill the sense of government
editorials concerning the Marysville camp, is
and possession that have been lost by the
that these are the breeding places for strikes.
migrants.
Under pressure of evidence the Yuba City
Located near to the areas which demand
patriot withdrew his contention that the camp
seasonal labor, these communities will permit
was full of radicals. This will be the argument
these subsistence farmers to work in the
used by the speculative growers' associations.
harvests, while at the same time they stop the
These associations have said in so many words
wanderings over the whole state. The success
that they require a peon class to succeed. Any
of these Federal camps in making potential
action to better the condition of the migrants
criminals into citizens makes the usual practice
will be considered radical to them.
of expending money on tear gas seem a little
silly.
Article Five
The greater part of the new migrants from
the dust bowl will become permanent California
citizens. They have shown in these camps an
Migrant families in California find that
ability to produce and to cooperate. They are
unemployment relief, which is available to
passionately determined to make their living on
settled unemployed, has little to offer them. In
the land. One of them said, "If it's work you got
the first place there has grown up a regular
to do, mister, we'll do it. Our folks never did
technique for getting relief; one who knows the
take charity and this family ain't takin' it now."
ropes can find aid from the various state and
The plan of the Resettlement
Federal disbursement agencies, while a man
Administration to extend these Federal camps is
ignorant of the methods will be turned away.
being fought by certain interests in California.
The migrant is always partially
The arguments against the camps are as follows:
unemployed. The nature of his occupation
That they will increase the need for locally
makes his work seasonal. At the same time the
paid police. But the two camps already carried
nature of his work makes him ineligible for
on for over a year have proved to need no
relief. The basis for receiving most of the relief
locally paid police whatever, while the squatters'
is residence.
camps are a constant charge on the sheriff's
But it is impossible for the migrant to
offices.
accomplish the residence. He must move about
The second argument is that the cost of
the country. He could not stop long enough to
schools to the district will be increased. School
establish residence or he would starve to death.
allotments are from the state and governed by
He finds, then, on application, that he cannot be
the number of pupils. And even if it did cost
put on the relief rolls. And being ignorant, he
more, the communities need the work of these
gives up at that point.
families and must assume some responsibility
For the same reason he finds that lie cannot
for them. The alternative is a generation of
receive any of the local benefits reserved for
illiterates.
residents of a county. The county hospital was
The third is that they will lower the land
built not for the transient, but for residents of the
values because of the type of people inhabiting
county.
the camps. Those camps already established
It will be interesting to trace the history of
have in no way affected the value of the land
one family in relation to medicine, work relief
and the people are of good American stock who
and direct relief. The family consisted of five
have proved that they can maintain an American
persons, a man of 50, his wife of 45, two boys,
standard of living. The cleanliness and lack of
15 and 12, and a girl of six. They came from
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 183
Oklahoma, where the father operated a little
residents. The trouble described as a pain in the
ranch of 50 acres of prairie.
stomach by the father was not taken seriously.
When the ranch dried up and blew away the
The father was given a big dose of salts to
family put its moveable possessions in an old
take home to the boy. That night the pain grew
Dodge truck and came to California. They
so great that the boy became unconscious. The
arrived in time for the orange picking in
father telephoned the hospital and found that
Southern California and put in a good average
there was no one on duty who could attend to
season.
his case. The boy died of a burst appendix the
The older boy and the father together made
next day.
$60. At that time the automobile broke out
There was no money. The county buried
some teeth of the differential and the repairs,
him free. The father sold the Dodge for $30 and
together with three second-hand tires, took $22.
bought a $2 wreath for the funeral. With the
The family moved into Kern County to chop
remaining money he laid in a store of cheap,
grapes and camped in the squatters' camp on the
filling food—beans, oatmeal, and lard. He tried
edge of Bakersfield.
to go back to work in the fields. Some of the
At this time the father sprained his ankle
neighbors gave him rides to work and charged
and the little girl developed measles. Doctors'
him a small amount for transportation.
bills amounted to $10 of the remaining store,
He was on the weak ankle too soon and
and food and transportation took most of the
could not make over 75¢ a day at piecework,
rest.
chopping. Again he applied for relief and was
The 15-year-old boy was now the only
refused because he was not a resident and
earner for the family. The l2-year-old boy
because he was employed. The little girl,
picked up a brass gear in a yard and took it to
because of insufficient food and weakness from
sell.
measles, relapsed into influenza.
He was arrested and taken before the
The father did not try the county hospital
juvenile court, but was released to his father's
again. He went to a private doctor who refused
custody. The father walked in to Bakersfield
to come to the squatters' camp unless he was
from the squatters' camp on a sprained ankle
paid in advance. The father took two days' pay
because the gasoline was gone from the
and gave it to the doctor who came to the family
automobile and he didn't dare invest any of the
shelter, took the girl's temperature, gave the
remaining money in more gasoline.
mother seven pills, told the mother to keep the
This walk caused complications in the
child warm and went away. The father lost his
sprain which laid him up again. The little girl
job because he was too slow.
had recovered from measles by this time, but
He applied again for help and was given
her eyes had not been protected and she had lost
one week's supply of groceries.
part of her eyesight.
This can go on indefinitely. The case
The father now applied for relief and found
histories like it can be found in the thousands. It
that he was ineligible because he had not
may be argued that there were ways for this man
established the necessary residence. All
to get aid, but how did he know where to get it?
resources were gone. A little food was given to
There was no way for him to find out.
the family by neighbors in the squatters' camp.
California communities have used the old,
A neighbor who had a goat brought in a cup
old methods of dealing with such problems.
of milk every day for the little girl.
The first method is to disbelieve it and
At this time the 15-year-old boy came home
vigorously to deny that there is a problem. The
from the fields with a pain in his side. He was
second is to deny local responsibility since the
feverish and in great pain.
people are not permanent residents. And the
The mother put hot cloths on his stomach
third and silliest of all is to run the trouble over
while a neighbor took the crippled father to the
the county borders into another county. The
county hospital to apply for aid. The hospital
floater method of swapping what the counties
was full, all its time taken by bona fide local
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 184
consider undesirables from hand to hand is like
slack times the diet becomes all starch, this
a game of medicine ball.
being the cheapest way to fill up. Dinners
A fine example of this insular stupidity
during lay-offs are as follows:
concerns the hookworm situation in Stanislaus
—Family of seven—Beans, fried dough.
County. The mud along water courses where
—Family of six—Fried cornmeal.
there are squatters living is infected. Several
—Family of five—Oatmeal mush.
businessmen of Modesto and Ceres offered as a
—Family of eight (there were six
solution that the squatters be cleared out. There
children)—Dandelion greens and
was no thought of isolating the victims and
boiled potatoes.
stopping the hookworm.
It will be seen that even in flush times the
The affected people were, according to
possibility of remaining healthy is very slight.
these men, to be run out of the county to spread
The complete absence of milk for the children is
the disease in other fields. It is this refusal of
responsible for many of the diseases of
the counties to consider anything but the
malnutrition. Even pellagra is far from
immediate economy and profit of the locality
unknown.
that is the cause of a great deal of the unsolvable
The preparation of food is the most
quality of the migrants' problem. The counties
primitive. Cooking equipment usually consists
seem terrified that they may be required to give
of a hole dug in the ground or a kerosene can
some aid to the labor they require for their
with a smoke vent and open front. If the adults
harvests.
have been working 10 hours in the fields or in
According to several Government and state
the packing sheds they do not want to cook.
surveys and studies of large numbers of
They will buy canned goods as long as they
migrants, the maximum a worker can make is
have money, and when they are low in funds
$400 a year, while the average is around $300,
they will subsist on half-cooked starches.
and the large minimum is $150 a year. This
The problem of childbirth among the
amount must feed, clothe and transport whole
migrants is among the most terrible. There is no
families.
prenatal care of the mothers whatever, and no
Sometimes whole families are able to work
possibility of such care. They must work in the
in the fields, thus making an additional wage.
fields until they are physically unable or, if they
In other observed cases a whole family,
do not work, the care of the other children and
weakened by sickness and malnutrition, has
of the camp will not allow the prospective
worked in the fields, making less than the wage
mothers any rest.
of one healthy man. It does not take long at the
In actual birth the presence of a doctor is a
migrants' work to reduce the health of any
rare exception. Sometimes in the squatters
family. Food is scarce always, and luxuries of
camps a neighbor woman will help at the birth.
any kind are unknown.
There will be neither sanitary precautions nor
Observed diets run something like this
hygienic arrangements. The child will be born
when the family is making money:
on newspapers in the dirty bed. In case of a bad
—Family of eight—Boiled cabbage, baked
presentation requiring surgery or forceps, the
sweet potatoes, creamed carrots, beans,
mother is practically condemned to death. Once
fried dough, jelly, tea.
born, the eyes of the baby are not treated, the
—Family of seven—Beans, baking-powder
endless medical attention lavished on middlebiscuits, jam, coffee.
class babies is completely absent.
—Family of six—Canned salmon,
The mother, usually suffering from
cornbread, raw onions.
malnutrition, is not able to produce breast milk.
—Family of five—Biscuits, fried potatoes,
Sometimes the baby is nourished on canned
dandelion greens, pears.
milk until it can eat fried dough and cornmeal.
These are dinners. It is to be noticed that
This being the case, the infant mortality is very
even in these flush times there is no milk, no
great.
butter. The major part of the diet is starch. In
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 185
The following is an example: Wife of
family with three children. She is 38; her face is
lined and thin and there is a hard glaze on her
eyes. The three children who survive were born
prior to 1929, when the family rented a farm in
Utah. In 1930 this woman bore a child which
lived four months and died of "colic."
brought more than 30,000 persons into the state.
. . . The influx is now averaging one immigrant
outfit every ten minutes, and the trek has only
begun. . . . Many of the newcomers are
competent farmers who have lost out in the
drought and are seeking greener fields in
California. They’re eager to work for wages on
the farms, to save what they can, and eventually
buy land of their own. They’re decidedly in the
minority. The rank and file are out to seek their
fortunes in a land where, so they have been told,
living is easier. The relief office is the objective
of many of these, and relief costs, especially in
the San Joaquin counties, are rising. . . . When
the Dust Bowl people show up at the San
Joaquin farmer’s door asking for work, they’re
usually welcome, especially as heretofore
employers have had to transport most of their
laborers to the fields. Experience has shown,
too, that most of the newcomers won’t have
anything to do with farm labor organizers for a
time, at least, and this condition may tend to
relieve the pressure of the agricultural unions on
California farmers during this harvest season. . .
“Migrant Mother”—Dorothea Lange, 1937
. The addition of so great an army of immigrants
Library of Congress archives
to the farm areas is stimulating certain lines of
retail business. . . . The newcomers must eat.
In 1931 her child was born dead because "a
They must buy a certain amount of clothing
han' truck fulla boxes run inta me two days
(shelter, water, and wood are furnished by
before the baby come." In 1932 there was a
employers to those who work on the farms).
miscarriage. "I couldn't carry the baby 'cause I
The wages these people receive are providing
was sick." She is ashamed of this. In 1933 her
many of them with the first real cash they’ve
baby lived a week. "Jus' died. I don't know
had in months, and they’re eager to buy.
what of." In 1934 she had no pregnancy. She is
Observers point out that much of this buying is
also a little ashamed of this. In 1935 her baby
not “healthy,” that wages are going for down
lived a long time, nine months.
payments on radios, automobiles, cheap jewelry,
"Seemed for a long time like he was gonna
rather than for necessities. On the other side of
live. Big strong fella it seemed like." She is
the picture, Mr. John Citizen, of the San Joaquin
pregnant again now. "If we could get milk for
Valley, when questioned on the unprecedented
um I guess it'd be better." This is an extreme
immigration throws up his hands. For every
case, but by no means an unusual one.
worker that presents himself at the farmer’s
door asking for a job, another goes on relief
“Flee Dust Bowl for California”43
with his entire family. . . . County hospitals are
crowded with free patients, many of them
maternity cases, neatly timed for arrival in
California businessmen are watching with
California at the crucial moment. Schools are
mixed emotions the current influx of families
overwhelmed with new pupils. . . . A social
from the Dust Bowl which, since Jan. 1, has
worker asked one man why he had come to
California. He pulled two newspaper clippings
43
“Free Dust Bowl for California.” Business Week. Vol.
from his pocket, one from an Oklahoma paper
33, No. 409 (July 3, 1937), 36-37.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 186
and another from Texas. In them were unsigned
advertisements painting in glowing terms the
wonderful opportunities to be found in
California. Are certain interests exploiting these
people as ruthlessly as the steamship companies
did during the days of the great immigrations
from southern Europe two or three decades ago?
Is there any doubt of it?
Along the Road44
In April 1939, Fortune reported on its
findings about the migrant problem in a lengthy
article entitled “I Wonder Where We Can Go
Now.” The magazine sent a reporter to
California to live among migrants in order to
gather information for the article. The April
issue of Fortune included excerpts from the
reporter’s notebook with the feature article. The
following are from the reporter’s notes.
In an effort to get located I went to the
county camp near Shafter but when they found I
did not have a tent but was living in my car they
refused me admission on the grounds that it
would be embarrassing to the people around me.
I was just as glad as this camp was one of the
dirtiest that I had seen. I decided to stay on the
desert but I found that the health authorities
were driving them off the desert and trying to
get them into the county camp. I tried to get
space in a pay camp. There I was told . . . “I’d
like to rent you a space but I’m full up. I charge
$2 a month. I’ve had to turn away seventy-five
people in the last few days.” . . . So I decided to
see if I could “make it on the desert.” The idea
was to drive out about a mile or two from town
sometime around dusk and then set up camp.
There would generally be a dozen or more
others coming on right up until dark and soon
their campfires could be seen.
One night I talked to a group of family
people. There were three in the family, husband
and wife, nineteen and eighteen respectively,
and the boy’s seventeen-year-old sister. . . .
They gave the following as their yearly routine:
44
spuds at Shafter, ‘cots other side of Merced,
Marysville for prunes and hops, then to the Big
Valley (couldn’t remember the name of it) for
tomatoes. This took about six months of the
year, which was their full working period. . . .
The costume of the men is almost uniform.
The trousers are invariably blue jeans. These,
like the rest of their clothes, are many times
patched and mended, usually very neatly. The
clothes of the young boys are replicas of their
fathers’ except that they may go barefooted
occasionally.
. . . Several cases of typhoid have appeared
in the area [Imperial Valley] since I have been
here. This is due to their habit of drinking
“ditchwater,” or that water which flows through
the irrigation ditches. An epidemic was avoided
only because a great many were vaccinated.
There are at least eight, and possibly more,
cases of pellagra in the camp. The cure for this
disease, which may be fatal, is green vegetables
or red meat. However, they have eaten starchy
foods for so long that they no longer have a taste
for meats and vegetables. When the doctor told
one woman to feed meat to her family, she
replied that they didn’t like meat and wouldn’t
eat it.
. . . These people aren’t relief-minded. I’ve
seen them around where relief was being given
out. They’d ask what the line-up was about,
then say, “I’ve got two bucks left, I expect to get
work next week, I don’t want no relief.”
“Along the Road: Extracts from a Reporter’s
Notebook.” Fortune. Vol. 19, No. 4 (April 1939),
97-100.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 187
Other residents are opposed to granting any
honors because they remember Woody Guthrie
as a left-winger who betrayed the conservatism
of rural, east-central Oklahoma and wrote a
newspaper column for the American
Communist party.
Thus far, supporters of the dusty-voiced
singer have managed to get “Home of Woody
Guthrie” painted on one of the town's water
tanks. They also have persuaded the local
library to accept a collection of his records and
By B. Drummond Aryes, Jr.45
books.
But the town is still holding out on the
Okemah, Oklahoma—Out on the eastern
ultimate Guthrie honor—an annual Woody
edge of this little farming and ranching town,
Guthrie day.
where the streets run to yellow clay and the
“Commemoration just isn't justified
yards are littered with broken-down cars on
because of Guthrie's Communist affiliation,
cinder blocks, there is a crumbling hillside
whether he was active or duped,” says Allison
shack with a high porch that commands the best
Kelly, a banker.
view in Okemah.
“Commemoration is justified because
A person can stand on this porch and take
Woody was a great musician and a great
in a lot of what Oklahoma is all about—oil
individualist who nobody ever proved was a
pumps rhythmically nodding like so many giant
Communist,” counters Earl Walker, a petroleum
praying mantises, fat Black Angus cattle grazing
company owner who recently bought the old
in a pasture of frost-crumpled prairie grass, and
Guthrie house from another family for $7000
wind, always the wind, rattling willows down in
and hopes to turn it into a “living memorial” run
the bottom, flapping blue denim overalls on a
by a nonprofit foundation.
galvanized line, kicking up a puff of dust on a
Such give-and-take has caused memories of
distant tabletop butte.
Woody to flood back in Okemah.
Inside the old shack, there are four dank
Suddenly, those who knew him and those
and empty rooms. The light is bad, but even in
who did not seem to remember the wiry, curlythe semidarkness, the graffiti can be read:
haired boy who “blew out” of here at the age of
“Hey, hey, Woody Guthrie, I wrote on
15, memories of the panoramic view from that
your wall . . . and Woody, no one even
high porch imbedded deeply in his psyche,
cared.”
battered guitar slung across his back, “bound for
Not until recently, anyway.
glory, bound to win,” as he put it.
Now, however, five years after he died at
Suddenly everyone seems to recall how
the age of 55 and his ashes were scattered over
Woody used to swing up on red-balling freights
the Atlantic, Woody Guthrie is suddenly the talk
to escape railroad yard “bulls,” how he joined
of Okemah (pronounced Oh-KEE-Muh).
with other Dust Bowl migrants to pick the
Some of the town's 3000 residents have
grapes of wrath in California, how he used to
decided it is time to honor him as a native son
sing out for the laboring man to “take it easy,
who became the balladeer of the Depression and
but take it.”
Dust Bowl by writing 1000 heartfelt American
And of course everyone suddenly
folk songs, among them “This Land is Your
remembers that he wrote that column after his
Land.”
surfeit of social impatience boiled over.
Were it not for Earl Walker, the memories
might
have lain dormant. But Mr. Walker is a
45
From Ayers, B. Drummond, Jr. “Woody Guthrie’s
staunch Guthrie fan, and he has pushed
hometown is divided on paying him homage.” New
repeatedly for some sort of recognition.
York Times. December 14, 1972.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 188
Woody
Guthrie:
Hometown Divided on
Paying Him Homage
For instance, he led the drive to have the
“I know people around here say Woody
water tank painted. (The two other towers
Guthrie did some bad things, but about all I
already were labeled “hot” and “cold;” an
know about his songs is that he wrote ‘This
indication that the water board does not always
Land is Your Land’,” says 14-year-old Marilyn
toe the conservative line that cuts through rural
Jones. She is standing in front of Powers TV on
Oklahoma.)
Broadway, staring at a display of guitars.
Already some people are speaking out
There are, nevertheless, usually a few
against the new paint job, done in black against
youngsters in town who know all about
a bright yellow background. Says a service
Woody's songs. They come by foot, by car, and
station operator: “Woody was no good. About
by motorbike, one and two at a time, packs and
half the town feels that way. I knew him, went
guitars on their backs. Somehow, they always
to school with him, used to whup him. He
find their way to the old Guthrie house, though
doesn't deserve to have his name up there.”
they seldom ask directions from the local
Before persuading the water board to act,
populace. Then, they climb the rickety stairs,
Mr. Walker joined with some of Woody's
take in the view from the high porch, perhaps
second cousins—the only kin left here—and led
smoke a little grass, leave their respects on a
the fight that forced the local library to accept
wall and depart.
the collection of Guthrie records and books.
“Jai B” dropped by on 5/19/72. He wrote:
Initially the library board flatly refused,
Going down that hot dusty road
relenting only in the face of Mr. Walker's
Okie wind was ablowin'.
pressure and when Woody's widow, Marjorie,
I passed your only childhood home
and his son, Arlo, also a folk singer, showed up
And Woody, I'm aknowin'.
in Okemah to hand over the gift in person.
Well, Woody, I finally made it.
Mr. Walker and his followers are now
Woody, I'm finally here.
pushing for a Woody Guthrie Day. “We'll get
Woody, I finally made it.
something through sooner or later, but there's no
And Woody, no one even cared.
question that some people still don't fully accept
Woody,” says J. O. Smith, a hardware store
owner.
One of those people is Mr. Smith's son,
Mac, owner of a variety store. He says: “We can
honor him in some manner, O. K. But he did
have that affiliation and we ought not to go hogwild by painting his name all over the place.”
Mr. Smith, who sells records, says he has never
had a request for anything by Woody Guthrie
despite the current furor over the singer.
The older folks around here are still trying
to forget many of the things he sang about—the
Depression and the Dust Bowl days, when half
the town left, not bound for glory but simply
searching for a place where there was money
and topsoil.
Okemah's youngsters prefer to listen to the
Top 40 out of Tulsa and Oklahoma City, where
the disk jockeys play the Three Dog Night, the
Rolling Stones, and, of course, Merle Haggard,
a country and Western singer who put nearby
Muskogee on the musical map by celebrating its
supposedly upright Oklahoma ways in song.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 189
Maria
Tallchief:
America’s Prima
Ballerina
By Maria Tallchief,
with Larry Kaplan46
My father, Alexander Joseph Tall Chief,
was a full-blood Osage Indian. Six foot two; he
walked with a sturdy gait and loved to hunt.
With his strong curved profile, Daddy
resembled the Indian on the buffalo-head nickel.
Women found him handsome, and when I was
young I idolized him.
When Daddy was a boy, oil was discovered
on Osage land, and overnight the tribe became
rich. As a young girl growing up on the Osage
reservation in Fairfax, OK, I felt my father
owned the town. He had property everywhere.
The local movie theater on Main Street, and the
pool hall opposite, belonged to him. Our tenroom, terra-cotta-brick house stood high on a
hill overlooking the reservation.
When my father was a young man, he
married a young German immigrant and they
had three children—Alexander, Tommy, and
Frances. They were little children when their
mother died. Later, when Ruth Porter, my
mother, came to Fairfax to visit her sister, who
worked as a cook and housekeeper for my
Grandma Tall Chief, Daddy was Fairfax's most
eligible bachelor. Mother must have arrived
tired and dusty from her long journey, but from
what I'm told there was an instant attraction.
Mother was born in Oxford, KS. A
determined woman of Scots-Irish blood, she
was beautiful, with light brown hair, gray eyes,
and delicate features. My tall and lanky father
and my tiny mother made an odd couple
physically, but they were very much in love. As
46
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/style/longterm/books/chap1/mariatallchief.htm
soon as they married they started a family, and
Daddy's children from his first marriage went to
live with Grandma Tall Chief, who brought
them up in her house at the bottom of the hill.
I was born in Fairfax in the tiny local
hospital on January 24, 1925. The doctor
mishandled the forceps, leaving a large red mark
on my forehead. Otherwise, I was healthy and
normal. They named me Elizabeth Marie after
two grandmothers: Eliza Tall Chief and Marie
Porter, who'd been named for Marie Antoinette.
They called me Betty Marie.
When Mother became pregnant again, she
decided she wasn't going to repeat the
experience of giving birth in Fairfax. Her next
child, my sister Marjorie, born twenty-one
months after me, came into the world in Denver.
Summers were hot in Oklahoma, and every
July and August my parents drove to Colorado
Springs, where Daddy played golf and Mother,
Marjorie, and I played in the pool of the
Broadmoor Hotel. When I was three, Mother
took me for my first ballet lesson in the
Broadmoor's basement. What I remember most
is that the ballet teacher told me to stand straight
and turn each of my feet out to the side, the first
position. I couldn't believe it. But I did what I
was told.
Ballet lessons were a weekly affair for me,
and for Marjorie too, after she was three. In
1930 Mrs. Sabin, an itinerant ballet teacher from
Tulsa, visited Fairfax looking for students.
When she heard about the two little girls in the
town's most prominent family, she headed for
the house on the hill. Before long, Mrs. Sabin
had me dancing on pointe and giving recitals.
But I don't look back on her with gratitude.
She was a wretched instructor who never taught
the basics, and it's a miracle I wasn't
permanently harmed. And my frugal mother
was no help. She always bought my toe shoes a
size too big so she wouldn't have to buy them
too often. Then she'd stuff them with cloth pads
so they'd fit and I'd be able to perform the
double and triple turns on pointe that seemed to
thrill everybody. Of course, Mother didn't
really understand the finer points of ballet, and I
simply did what she asked. I showed an
aptitude for dancing and wanted to please. It
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
Page 190
never occurred to me to say, "It hurts to do
all mineral income, which was tax-free. An
that."
Osage might sell the surface rights to his land,
When I was growing up, my Grandma Tall
but never a "headright." That was illegal. The
Chief was a majestic figure to me. A typical
only way an Osage could lose his "headright"
Indian woman, she wore her hair in a single
was to die.
braid down her back and always had a tribal
By 1925, even though the Osage had
blanket draped over her shoulders. She and my
become rich, they, like all Indian tribes, were
father were my link to the Osage people. At the
subject to government edicts, which were
time, the tribe lived royally. I was an adult
designed to destroy tribal customs. Indian
before I heard some of their history.
ceremonies were banned and tribal languages
In the eighteenth century, the Osage lived
forbidden. The Osage and many other Indian
in Virginia's Piedmont region, where French and
nations kept their culture alive by holding
Spanish missionaries converted the Indians to
ceremonies in remote corners of the reservation.
Catholicism. When white people settled the
Marjorie and I were thrilled when, together with
region, the tribe migrated to the valleys near the
Grandma Tall Chief, Daddy drove us to the
Ohio and Missouri Rivers. After the West
location.
opened up and settlers began arriving, the Osage
The powwow was a journey to the past.
were forced to move again. They went to
The Indians wore traditional tribal clothing
Kansas, where they farmed the land and hunted.
made of animal hide, elaborate headdresses,
In the nineteenth century, the white man
tribal blankets, beads, silver jewelry, and
was continually chasing the Indians off their
moccasins; they clustered in groups, sitting on
land. As a result, the Osage weren't destined to
the ground in semicircles, smoking pipes.
remain in Kansas. But in 1871, when the U.S.
During conversations, they stared off into space,
seized their property, the government had a
never looking at the person they were talking to.
change of heart, if only for a short period. They
It was as if they could feel the person instead of
paid the Indians for what they took, and with the
seeing him, and that was preferable to visual
profits the tribe bought a million and a half
contact.
acres in northwestern Indian Territory, which
At the powwow there was dancing, and
later became Oklahoma.
Indian music was played on tom-toms. Osage
The Osage had to adjust to the new
women didn't really dance. Instead they formed
environment. People couldn't hunt or farm, and
a circle around the men and did a little side step,
times were difficult, but no one starved.
shifting their weight from one foot to the other
Underground lay one of the biggest mineral
in time to the drumbeat, covering very little
reserves in North America, and when oil was
space. Men did the active dancing, stomping
discovered, everything changed for the Osage.
their feet on the ground to the tom-tom rhythm.
Grandma Tall Chief's father, Chief Peter
Accompanying themselves on the drums, they
Bigheart, played an important role in the Osage
also sang songs that told fables about the history
saga. In 1886 Grandma traveled with him and
of the tribe. The rhythm of those songs has
Chief James Bigheart to Washington. Both men
stayed with me.
spoke English and were on the council that
When I was five, Mother enrolled me in
worked out the provisions of the Osage
Sacred Heart Catholic School, which was down
Allotment Act. The act, which was approved by
the hill from our house in the opposite direction
Congress in 1906, divided the reservation into
of Grandma's, almost at the end of our
tracts. Each of the 2,229 members of the tribe
driveway. The teachers there, impressed by my
received approximately 658 acres, but the
reading ability, placed me in a class two grades
allotment of land applied to surface rights only.
ahead of the other children my age.
All mineral rights, the gas and oil that lay
I was a good student and fit in at Sacred
underground, were held in common by the tribe.
Heart. But in many ways, I was a typical Indian
Each Osage received a "headright," meaning
girl—shy, docile, introverted. I loved being out
that he or she would receive an equal share of
doors and spent most of my time wandering
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around our big front yard where there was an
old swing and a garden. I'd also ramble around
the grounds of our summer cottage hunting for
arrowheads in the grass. Finding one made me
shiver with excitement. These rolling pastures,
green and lush, seemed magical to me.
As a little girl, however, I didn't have much
time to dream. When it was discovered that I
had perfect pitch Mother insisted I play the
piano. Most of my day was taken up with
schoolwork and music and ballet lessons. I
remember practicing ballet one afternoon with
Marjorie, when my half-sister, Frances, and my
cousin Pearl Bigheart appeared at the window of
our house, giggling and making fun of what we
were doing.
Cousin Pearl was an orphan, and our family
was concerned for her well-being. When she
was small, her house had been firebombed and
everyone inside killed, murdered for their
headrights. Pearl's situation was not
uncommon. In the 1920s, villainous white men
married into Osage families, then poisoned their
wives or shot them in order to get their money,
another example of the slaughter of Indians that
is a notorious chapter of U.S. history.
This was called the Osage Reign of Terror,
and it began in 1921 when an Osage woman
was found with a bullet in her head at the
bottom of a canyon. William K. Hale, a
prosperous rancher, who was responsible for
this death and many others, was also responsible
for the murder of Pearl's relatives. He had
persuaded his cousin Ernest Burkhart to marry
one of Pearl's aunts. After the wedding,
Burkhart poisoned her and inherited her
headright.
But he was greedy. He and Hale made
plans to grab all the family's headrights by
dynamiting the house and killing everyone
inside. Luckily, Pearl was visiting Grandma
Tall Chief when the blast occurred, and she
escaped with her life. Grandma was raising her
now. The irony was that because of the carnage,
Pearl now owned more headrights than anyone.
She was one of the richest people in the tribe.
When Hale and Burkhart realized what had
happened, they developed a new scheme and
tried stealing Pearl's fortune with a fake life
insurance policy naming Burkhart as
beneficiary. Insurance scams were another
means of robbing the Indians. But Grandma was
too brave and too smart to be taken in. She
couldn't read or write, and used to sign
important papers with an X, but she knew what
was happening. When Burkhart and Hale came
knocking on her door, she stood up to the killers
and sent them away.
Eventually, the FBI was brought in to
investigate. By 1926 the agency had gathered
enough evidence to indict Burkhart and Hale
and convict them for murder. The Reign of
Terror had come to an end but not before more
than sixty Osage Indians had been slaughtered.
Once Marjorie grew older, Mrs. Sabin
created routines we performed—part ballet, part
vaudeville—to "Stars and Stripes Forever" and
"Glow Worm" at community events, county
fairs, and rodeos. For "Glow Worm," I wore a
costume my mother made by putting turquoise
feathers onto her peach negligee. In "Stars and
Stripes Forever," an American flag was sewn
into the lining of my cape.
Like many in the wealthy Osage tribe,
Daddy had never worked a day in his life. He
was a modern-day Osage in another respect. He
drank. His drinking ran in cycles, mostly when
the oil royalties check arrived. Royalties were
paid quarterly for the sum of several thousand
dollars, a large amount for the time but
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considerably less than it had been because by
Ocean seemed to be everywhere, lurking
1930 the Osage oil supply was being depleted.
beyond curves in the road, hiding between gaps
Mother and Daddy often argued about
in the trees. After the ponds, creeks, and rivers
money. Since the income he received from his
of Oklahoma and Colorado, the immensity of
real estate holdings was negligible, the family
the ocean terrified me.
lived on the oil checks. Usually he was patient,
We reached Los Angeles after an overnight
always trying to calm Mother's fears, but the
stay with Mother's relatives in San Diego.
arrival of the oil money set him off. He'd
Without knowing where we would settle, we
pocket the check and cash it, then disappear for
just drove on. In the Wilshire District Daddy
a week at a time. Mother would become frantic.
stopped for gas. Marjorie and I were restless
She was afraid that Daddy would spend all the
and hungry, so Mother took us to the local
money, or worse, injure himself or become ill.
drugstore. We ordered hamburgers and soda
She suffered terribly during Daddy's binges,
pop at the fountain, and we sat on red-leather
never knowing her husband's whereabouts or
stools while waiting for them to be served.
what he was doing.
Mother asked the druggist if he knew a good
Mother endured father's alcoholism. She
dancing school in the neighborhood.
was helpless to change it and never judged him.
"Yes, I do," the man told us. "Ernest
She loved him in spite of his flaws. When the
Belcher's."
famous novelist Edna Ferber was writing her
That was it. An anonymous man in an
book Cimarron, which is set in Oklahoma, she
unfamiliar town decided our fate with those few
tried to interview Daddy. Cimarron concerned
words. After we devoured our hamburgers,
the Osage and their headrights, and I think
Mother walked out to the car and told Daddy
Ferber believed that Daddy had information she
that she wanted to live right there, in a
needed. But my mother wouldn't let him see
neighborhood where we had only stopped to fill
her. She was jealous. Daddy was extremely
the gas tank.
handsome, attractive to women. Although
In California, public school teachers
Ferber wasn't known for her good looks, I
seemed to understand that an eight-year-old had
believe Mother was afraid that Daddy would fall
no business being in the fifth grade, and they
in love with the sophisticated novelist and
placed me back in the third grade in what they
abandon us.
called an Opportunity Class, an advanced
My mother grew increasingly dissatisfied
program. Opportunity Class or not, I was still
with our life in Fairfax. To her it was a place
way ahead. With nothing to do, I often
where people wasted their lives, where her
wandered around the school yard by myself.
husband destroyed himself with drink, and
Ballet school was different. There I had to
where her daughters remained in small-town
work. At Ernest Belcher's studio, in addition to
music and ballet lessons that never would
ballet, pupils studied tap, acrobatics, and
amount to much.
Spanish dancing. So Marjorie and I had it all.
In 1933 Mother could wait no longer. To
Elissa Cansino, who taught Spanish dancing,
her, Los Angeles was a giant city that held a
was a wonderful teacher, and I became expert
future with glittering promise. Daddy raised no
with the castanets. We even studied tumbling,
objection to our leaving. L.A. promised a
and for hours on end I had to practice walkovers
dreamlike climate in which he could play golf
until I wanted to scream. I hated the tumbling
all year long, in truth, a powerful incentive for
classes and worked myself into such a frenzy
moving. We crowded into Daddy's maroon
over them that Mother let me stop, but years
Pierce-Arrow and set off into our future.
later I'd be able to put all I learned there to good
Hours in the car passed with little to do
use.
other than gaze out the windows as the world
Mr. Belcher understood, however, that it
flashed by. When we reached California, the
was not character dancing technique Marjorie
expanse of orange groves hypnotized me with
and I lacked. A character dancer performs
its order and brilliance of color. The Pacific
national or folk dances, such as mazurkas and
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polkas, which are not performed on pointe. My
a signal for students to take their places at the
sister and I were deficient in the basics of ballet
barre. In a flash, I realized who she was. By
technique. Our training shocked him.
then, there was no mistaking Madame Nijinska.
"Your daughters have been put on pointe
Everyone at the school was in awe of her.
way, way too early, Mrs. Tall Chief. It's a
Bronislava Nijinska was the sister of the
miracle they haven't injured themselves."
fabulous Vaslav Nijinsky, and like him a
He insisted we go back to the beginning.
graduate of the Imperial Theatre School in St.
We were fortunate. Mr. Belcher was an
Petersburg, Russia. She too had danced at the
excellent teacher who had studied the principles
Maryinsky Theatre and with Sergei Diaghilev's
of Enrico Cecchetti, the Italian ballet master
Ballets Russes in Europe, and she was also a
who worked in Russia at the turn of the century.
choreographer. Two of her ballets, Les Noces
A small man with a tiny mustache, Mr. Belcher
and Les Biches, were classics.
sat when he taught; even so, he would
When we started working I saw at once that
demonstrate in his chair, and that fascinated me.
Madame's class was rigorous. Students weren't
I was eager to learn.
allowed to slouch at the barre or hang on it
While Marjorie and I were studying at Mr.
haphazardly, and we had to be conscious of
Belcher's, our family moved from the Wilshire
each exercise. After we finished doing a step,
District to a house on Rexford Drive in Beverly
we had to walk to the side and stand still with
Hills. Public schools in Beverly Hills were
perfect posture until it was time to take our
academically superior to those in the rest of the
places for the next exercise. At the same time,
city, and Mother made the move so we could
Madame indicated that we should watch our
attend a public school. But at Beverly Vista
fellow students closely and listen to every
School I was made to feel different.
correction.
Some of the students made fun of my last
Because her English was practically
name, pretending they didn't understand if it
nonexistent Madame Nijinska rarely spoke. She
was Tall or Chief. A few made war whoops
didn't have to. She had incredible personal
whenever they saw me, and asked why I didn't
magnetism and she radiated authority. Most of
wear feathers or if my father took scalps. After
the time she demonstrated. It was hard to
a while, they became accustomed to me, but the
imagine her as a ballerina, but how she moved!
experience was painful. Eventually, I turned the
Her footwork was phenomenal. She jumped
spelling of my last name into one word.
and flashed around the studio. I was under her
Everything in school was in strict alphabetical
spell. The likes of Madame Nijinska were
order and I wanted to avoid confusion.
something I had never seen before.
When I was twelve years old and Marjorie
Every day she dressed in the same pants
was ten and a half, we went to a new ballet
and plain top; her ballet slippers had a slight
teacher. A ballet mother at Mr. Belcher's told
heel. In her pointe class, we'd have to repeat
Mother that the great Bronislava Nijinska had
steps over and over, learning how to balance
opened a studio near Beverly Hills, and even
and how to hold a position so that our entire
though I'm not sure Mother knew who Nijinska
backs were being utilized. She was very
was, she decided to have Marjorie and me study
precise. In first position, elbows had to be held
with her. Without telling Mr. Belcher, she
a certain way and the little finger had to touch
enrolled us at her school.
the front of the thigh. If Madame could come
The new studio seemed no different from
by and move someone's elbow, the position was
Mr. Belcher's. Little girls were changing into
wrong.
leotards, and mothers were milling about
She was insistent on port de bras, and she
gossiping. A small, rotund gray-haired woman
told us the reason her brother could jump so
with great, big, luminous green eyes was
high and hover in the air so long was because of
counting heads. I thought she was the secretary.
the control he had over his abdominals. It was
When the pianist entered and bowed to her,
from Madame Nijinska that I first understood
the little gray-haired woman clapped her hands,
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that the dancer's soul is in the middle of the
Nijinska's to take class and pay their respects. I
body and that proper breathing is essential.
couldn't get over the sight of those magnificent
Even though she wasn't verbal, Nijinska
artists in my teacher's studio. Frederic Franklin,
knew how to get her point across. She
Mia Slavenska, George Zoritch: They were all
communicated with a firm tap on the shoulder.
there. And the biggest star of all, Alexandra
Her husband, Nicholas Singaevsky, sometimes
Danilova, gave Nijinska roses when she entered
translated, but his English wasn't much better
the studio, and executed a reverence as she
than hers.
presented them.
"Madame say you look like spaghetti," he'd
It wasn't only at Nijinska's, however, that I
explain, and the message was understood. He'd
was learning what it meant to be a professional.
also expound her philosophy. "Madame say
Ada Broadbent, a one-time dancer with Fauchon
when you sleep, sleep like ballerina. Even on
and Marco's Hollywood Symphonic Ballet, used
street waiting for bus, stand like ballerina."
to choreograph dances for the Los Angeles
So we didn't concentrate only for an hour
Civic Light Opera, and Marjorie and I danced
and a half a day on what was being taught. We
for her. Broadbent also staged extravaganzas of
lived it, and I was beginning to understand just
her own—a mix of vaudeville, show business,
how hard I was going to have to work if I
and classical ballet—that featured music and
wanted to be a dancer. I was small-hipped and
dancing on themes like "Dance Through the
had to work hard for the turnout essential to
Ages." In one, Marjorie and I danced a jazzy
ballet. But since I was eager to develop, when I
number to the tune of the "Black Bottom." We
was in Nijinska's class I never took my eyes off
also danced the "Waltz of the Flowers" and
her, never looked away, even when she was
something called "South American Rumba."
helping another girl.
Broadbent choreographed the first pas de
The force of Madame Nijinska's
deux I ever danced, to music from The
personality, and her unwavering devotion to her
Vagabond King for the Los Angeles Civic Light
art, helped me to understand that ballet was
Opera. Paul Godkin, who later joined Ballet
what I wanted to do with my life. In her studio I
Theatre, was my partner. We did it in one of
became committed to becoming a ballerina, and
Broadbent's productions at the Philharmonic
Madame understood I was serious. She saw that
Auditorium. We also appeared at the Shrine
I was very musical and had good proportions,
Auditorium, where Milton Berle was on the bill.
and she paid a great deal of attention to me. She
When I was about fifteen years old,
was always giving me corrections, a sign of her
Madame Nijinska decided to stage three of her
interest, and little by little she began treating me
ballets, Etude, Chopin Concerto, and Bolero, at
like her protégée.
the Hollywood Bowl, which is a huge outdoor
In 1938 the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo's
amphitheater in the Hollywood hills. The music
arrival in Los Angeles was a momentous event
she was using for Chopin Concerto, the Piano
in my world. With a slew of other adolescent
Concerto in E Minor, was special to me as I was
girls, Marjorie and I flocked to performances,
playing it on the piano. That I was familiar with
returning several times. We saw Giselle and
the concerto seemed like a good omen.
Balanchine's Serenade, but Gaite Parisienne,
One big role was being performed by a
Ballet Russe's signature piece, so romantic and
lovely dancer named Cyd Charisse. Cyd, who
colorful, made the strongest impression.
would later become a movie star, was a
Choreographed to operetta music by Jacques
stunningly beautiful girl who had already
Offenbach, the ballet was a frothy celebration of
performed professionally with the Original
fin-de-siecle European ambience, filled with
Ballet Russe. When rehearsals began, instead of
high spirits and convivial dancing. I was
being cast opposite her in the other lead, I was
captivated.
put in the corps de ballet. I was hurt and
More thrilling than the performances,
humiliated. I couldn't understand what was
however, was when the Ballet Russe stars I
happening. Madame Nijinska had always paid
worshiped from afar arrived at Madame
so much attention to me. What was wrong?
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Didn't she love me anymore? Wasn't I her
favorite? I was miserable, and showed it. Not
being used to dancing in the ensemble, I stood
there in the line of girls without putting any
energy or feeling into what I was doing.
Mother understood the problem. "You
have to show that you want to dance with all
your heart, Betty, even in the corps. You
shouldn't just expect a role to be handed to you."
The next day, I put everything into
rehearsing, and shortly thereafter was rewarded
with the other leading part. I was ecstatic. Now
I couldn't stop practicing, and went over the
steps day and night.
Marjorie was also in the ballet, in the
ensemble. The night of the performance we
arrived at the Bowl about fifteen minutes before
curtain. Mother drove us but got us there late.
Uninitiated in the rites of professional theater,
she didn't realize we were supposed to arrive
two hours early to put on makeup and warm up.
At rehearsal earlier in the day we'd seen
how slippery and hard the floor was. Canvas
cloths had been laid down for the performance,
but we arrived too late to try them out.
Apprehensive, I stood in the wings waiting for
my cue, and when I heard it I made my
entrance. As soon as I started dancing, I
slipped. I recovered quickly and went on, but I
was shaken.
Madame Nijinska was watching from the
wings. It was the only time I had seen her in
street clothes. When I made my first exit, I
went over to her, a stricken look on my face.
But she made nothing of the incident.
Performing the ballet was different from
dancing in the Broadbent extravaganzas. The
choreography was extremely difficult. I had to
perform double fouettes, a bravura step in which
a whipping motion of the free leg propels the
dancer around the supporting leg, with the most
precise control. (The thirty-two fouettes the
ballerina performs in Swan Lake, Act Three, is
one of the most famous passages in the ballet.)
And dancing next to Cyd, the most beautiful girl
I'd ever seen in my life, with lovely long legs
and sculptured feet, didn't help my confidence.
But once I recovered my nerves, I attempted to
perform as Madame Nijinska had taught me.
Madame Nijinska was my ballet teacher all
through my high school years, and I worked
hard to absorb everything she taught me and to
do everything she said. Occasionally, however,
I studied with other celebrated artists who came
to Los Angeles to teach. One of them, David
Lichine, a respected dancer-choreographer,
made a favorable impression on Mother. His
wife, Tatiana Riabouchinska, a beautiful
Russian, had been one of the famous "baby"
ballerinas Balanchine had created in Paris in the
1930s, and was also a star of Colonel de Basil's
Original Ballet Russe. She seemed to epitomize
all the qualities Mother admired. She was
poised, ladylike, quite formal, and a wonderful
dancer.
In my senior year, another star came to Los
Angeles. Mia Slavenska, the beautiful
Yugoslavian ballerina who danced with the
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, was teaching at a
local studio and sometimes we went there to
study with her.
Like Nijinska, Slavenska seemed to favor
me and told my mother she was going to
arrange an audition for Serge Denham and his
committee when they came to town.
Mr. Denham was the head of the Ballet
Russe de Monte Carlo, and on the appointed day
he appeared at Slavenska's studio with Frederic
Franklin and a few others I didn't recognize and
watched her teach her class. When it was over,
no one said anything to me or offered me any
contract. But Mr. Denham did tell my mother,
"She's very good. I'd like to see her after she
graduates from high school."
That seemed like a vague promise and I
was a little disappointed, but I didn't let it bother
me. A part of me was determined to enter
college. Yet, in an unexpected turn of events,
my father didn't like the idea.
"You know, I've paid for your lessons all
your life and now it's time for you to find a job,"
he said.
I was surprised, but ages seventeen through
twenty are important years for a dancer. If I
was going to be a ballerina it was time to get
started. I auditioned for an MGM movie
musical called Presenting Lily Mars, a Judy
Garland vehicle. It wasn't much of a job; I was
little more than a dancing extra, but I liked
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being on the set. Judy Garland worked hard and
was full of energy. Listening to her sing on
playback was a thrill. Daddy was proud.
As soon as my part in the film was
completed I started thinking about what else I
could do. I knew I didn't want to dance in the
movies for a living. It wasn't gratifying. I was
trying to figure out how to earn money when my
mother startled me with a proposition.
"You know, Betty Marie, Tanya
Riabouchinska is going to New York to join
David Lichine and dance at Ballet Theatre. She
asked me if you'd like to go along with her for
the summer. She said she'd be perfectly willing
to take you. I think it's wonderful. When you're
in New York you can make an appointment with
Mr. Denham and audition again for the Ballet
Russe."
Mother was fired with enthusiasm for my
dancing dream. It seemed a little out of
character. She knew I was no longer practicing
piano two hours a day. Perhaps she was
beginning to understand my dreams. Most of all,
the visit in New York must have seemed like a
great way for me to spend the summer. She had
absolute faith in the Lichines and knew they
would look after my welfare. After I got over
my surprise, I agreed to go. I still wanted to do
whatever would please her.
Mother and I went out and bought a huge
fortnighter suitcase, which I packed so full that
we had a hard time closing it. I'm not sure what
I put into it or why I thought I needed such a
huge bag. I could hardly lift it off the ground.
A few days later, Daddy drove us all to the
terminal Marjorie, still in high school and
studying with Nijinska, was excited on my
behalf, certain that in New York I would be able
to realize the dream we both shared of becoming
a ballerina. After saying good-bye to Marjorie,
Daddy, and Mother, I boarded the train with
Riabouchinska I was on my way.
Maria was determined to win acclaim as a
great ballerina with her innate talent, not
because she was an Osage Indian. She
studied hard and became the highest paid
ballerina at one point in her career. Maria
Tallchief received numerous awards during
her lifetime of exquisite ballet performances.
Among those were:
1. Named “Woman of the Year” in 1953
by President Eisenhower.
2. Named Wa-Xthe-Thomba (“Woman of
Two Worlds”) by the Osage tribe in
recognition of her international
achievements and Native American
heritage.
3. Inducted into the Woman's National
Hall of Fame in 1996.
4. Gold Medal for lifetime contribution to
the Performing Arts by the Kennedy
Center, 1998.
5. Awarded an honorary Doctorate by
Illinois University in 1997 and was
inducted into the International
Women's Forum Hall of Fame.
6. One of only six women in the history of
ballet to receive the title “Prima
Ballerina Assoluta.”
Maria, her sister Marjorie, and two other
prominent American Indian ballerinas—Yvonne
Chouteau and Rosella Hightower—have been
immortalized in on of the four murals painted by
Charles Banks Wilson which hang in the
rotunda of Oklahoma’s Capitol Building.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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movement, believed in the usefulness of
nonviolent resistance as an instrument of social
change because of the example on the Indian
leader Mohandas Gandhi.
Blacks in Oklahoma made wide use of the
sit-in, a nonviolent tactic, in their march toward
first-class citizenship. The leader of the sit-in
movement in Oklahoma was an energetic,
By Jimmie Lewis Franklin47
highly vocal woman named Clara Luper,
Director of the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth
The social and legal position of African
Council. A native of Okfuskee County, Luper
Americans after the Civil War was not
took her undergraduate degree at Langston
immediately set in stone. Their new place in
University, later received a master’s degree
society was determined in part because of
from the University of Oklahoma, and was a
conflicts among whites. It became clear that
teacher for many years in the state. Luper
whites would relegate African Americans to the
believed in democratic government and her
lowest social and economic positions.
training as a social studies specialist doubtless
Whites ostracized blacks in many ways
had some impact on how she viewed America’s
after the Civil War. Part of the way that whites
failure to solve the race problem. Prior to her
did this was through an elaborate social
involvement in the sit-in movement, she had
structure of unwritten rules that both races were
been active in civil rights. Discrimination, she
to follow. However, there was another, and in
contended, degraded blacks, and amounted to
some ways, more serious form of ostracism used
immorality. A believer in Dr. Martin Luther
against blacks. Whites enacted a series of
King, Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolence, Luper set
segregation statutes known as “Jim Crow” laws.
out to overthrow segregation in public places.
These laws relegated a variety of interactions
She knew that legal methods took too much
between blacks and whites, including
time and had often failed. Therefore, she turned
educational facilities, use of public facilities like
to a technique that would bring the difference in
restrooms and waiting rooms, and occupancy of
treatment of black’s in public places to the
hotels and hospitals—even cemeteries.
attention of the entire community, and which
Throughout the early 20th century, but
would create such inconvenience that injustice
especially after World War II, African
to blacks would end.
Americans became more vocal in demanding
Like other cities in many parts of America,
their rights. Some of them filed court cases to
Oklahoma City and other municipalities in the
contest unequal education opportunities. Others
state adhered to a policy of segregation. There
participated in letter writing campaigns to the
was much logic in striking at Oklahoma City; it
federal government or circulated desegregation
had the state’s largest population and it was the
petitions. Still others adopted a different tactic
capital, the center of Oklahoma’s political
known as nonviolent resistance.
power. And it provided Luper with a potentially
Nonviolent resistance is a strategy to gain
large number of young black youths to man her
social change through strikes, sit-ins, boycotts,
“children’s army” against segregation, bigotry,
and civil disobedience. The idea is that the
and injustice. A strategic victory in Oklahoma
community is forced to address an issue that it
City, she correctly reasoned, would have an
has refused to deal with as a result of the actions
important effect upon other parts of the state,
of resisters. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of
and any success would help condition the white
the leaders of the American civil rights
community for even greater changes. After
much preparation, Luper and her NAACP
Youth Council were ready to act.
47
From Franklin, Jimmie Lewis. “Clara Luper:
When white segregated eating
Oklahoma Civil Rights Leader.” The Blacks in
establishments
failed upon request to change
Oklahoma.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Clara Luper:
Oklahoma
Civil Rights Leader
their policies of segregation, Luper struck at
stores in downtown Oklahoma City. In August
1958, the Youth Council conducted a “sit and
wait” demonstration against Katz drugstore.
Though sit-ins had occurred elsewhere in the
late 1940s and 1950s, this was the first
demonstration of this kind to involve youth.
The thirteen original participants in this historic
event in Oklahoma ranged from six to sixteen
years of age. Luper had taught them well about
nonviolence and about their major mission.
Whites experienced shock when the welldressed young blacks took their seats and
requested food to eat within the establishment,
not “to take out,” as had often been the custom
in many businesses which were segregated.
Some whites became angry when the children
persisted in their demonstration against Katz,
but after days of protest the drugstore changed
its policy—not just in Oklahoma, but in
Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa, too. Within the
next year a few other stores gave blacks service,
including the S.H. Kress Company. Much hardcore resistance, nevertheless, remained. Luper
intensified her attack with greater media
coverage of the sit-ins, and as the national
movement placed more emphasis on civil rights
activity. Moreover, as young blacks saw their
friends express their bravery by sitting at a
counter or standing in a picket line, they became
more inclined to “do something for freedom.”
Fired by the example in Oklahoma City,
demonstrations took place in a few other
Oklahoma cities. Clara Luper had been right
about the success and impact of a sit-in in the
state’s capital.
Clara Luper continued her work with youth
and civil rights, both as a teacher and with the
NAACP. She was a leader in the fight to
integrate Oklahoma’s public schools and helped
to organize the Oklahoma City sanitation
workers’ strike. She has now retired from
teaching but continues to be active for civil
rights causes. She still works with the OKC
NAACP Youth Council as an advisor.
Obituary
Jim Thorpe is Dead on
West Coast at 64
By the Associate Press48
LOS ANGELES, March 28—Jim Thorpe, the
Indian whose exploits in football, baseball, and
track and field won him acclaim as one of the
greatest athletes of all time, died today in his
trailer home in suburban Lomita. His age was
64.
He should have been in more than one Hall
of Fame. Children should read about him
school. But this remarkable athlete, master of
many sports, was destined to receive the back of
the hand from a cruel and insensitive society.
His Sac and Fox Indian ancestors were uprooted
from their native lands in Iowa by greedy white
neighbors. With the aid of blue-coated U.S.
troops, they were driven into Kansas and finally
herded to an arid territory in Oklahoma. It was
in to this grim, hopeless atmosphere that Jim
Thorpe was born on May 28, 1888 on of 19
children, son of a white farmer and Indian
mother. But Thorpe’s rare athletic skills saved
him from a bleak existence.
His mother gave him the Indian tribal name
Wa-Tho-Huck, or Bright Path. Official records,
however, list him as James Francis Thorpe.
Young Jim was sent to the Haskell Indian
School at Lawrence, KS, and then to the Carlisle
School at Carlisle, PA. He showed no particular
interest in college athletics until Pop Warner
persuaded him to come out for football. That
was in the fall of 1907 and he played as a
substitute. The next year he became a regular
and attracted attention as a ball-carrier and
kicker. He weighed around 178 pounds.
Hero of the 1912 Olympic Games in
Stockholm and a towering football figure, Jim
Thorpe was probably the greatest natural athlete
the world had seen in modern times. King
Gustaf V of Sweden said to the black-haired Sac
48
New York Times. March 29, 1953.
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and Fox Indian as he stood before the royal box,
“Pop” Warner. (Carlisle was an all-Indian
“Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.”
college in Pennsylvania.) In 1911 and 1912 he
That was after Thorpe almost single-handedly
was chose as halfback on Walter Camp’s Allgained the Olympic honors for the United
American teams.
States, setting a point-total record never before
Thorpe played professional football for
approached and dominating the games as no
almost fifteen years and in both his prime at
other figure. Thorpe came back from
Carlisle and as a pro he never had to leave the
Stockholm with $50,000 worth of trophies. The
field because of an injury, such was his courage
included a Viking ship presented to him by the
and stamina. In his last year at the Indian
Czar of Russia, and gifts from King Gustaf.
school he won letters in five major sports, and
A month later the new American sports idol
he was proficient in others. His activities
was toppled from his high pedestal when the
included running, jumping, football, lacrosse,
Amateur Athletic Union filed charges of
boxing, basketball, hockey, archery, rifle
professionalism against him, accusing him of
shooting, canoeing, handball, swimming, and
receiving pay for playing summer baseball with
skating.
the Rocky Mount Club in the Eastern Carolina
League. The amount of money was negligible,
His Record as Track Athlete
helping to tide him over at school, but the
American Olympic Committee offered its
apologies and sent back the gifts and medals
He could run the 100-yard dash in 10
lavished upon the young man to whom
seconds flat, the 220 in 21.8, the 440 in 50.8, the
President Theodore Roosevelt had cabled long
880 in 1:57, the mile in 4:35, the 120-yard high
messages of congratulations.
hurdles in 15 seconds, and the 220-yard low
Thorpe’s plea was that he was just an
hurdles in 24 seconds. He broad-jumped 23 feet
innocent Indian kid who was unaware of any
6 inches and high-jumped 6 feet 5 inches. He
wrongdoing. The medals were forwarded to the
pole-vaulted 11 feet, put the shot 47 feet 9
runners-up in the pentathlon and decathlon
inches, and threw the javelin 163 feet, the
events at Stockholm. Thorpe had won four of
hammer 140 feet, and the discus 136 feet.
the five events in the Pentathlon and finished
third in the other, a record unequaled to this day,
Career at Carlisle
and in the decathlon he scored 8,412 out of a
possible 10,000 points, also unequaled.
Thorpe’s decathlon feats in the Olympics
In the spring of 1908 Jim made the track
have since been surpassed by Bob Mathias, who
team. Jumping and hurdling were his
won the event for the second straight time last
specialties. By the time he finished his fiveyear. However, another Olympic great—
year term at Carlisle in the spring of 1909 he
Finland’s Paavo Nurmi—declared that “Jim
had developed into a track star.
Thorpe could still beat them all.” Even if
In 1911 he won All-American honors in
Thorpe never could beat Mathias in his prime,
football, as he did in 1912 also, performing
most experts still place the Indian ahead as an
sensationally against Harvard, Penn, Princeton,
all around athlete. In 1950 Thorpe’s athletic
Army, Syracuse, and Penn State. Against
prowess won for him selection as the greatest
Harvard in 1911 Thorpe ran 70 yards in nine
athlete of the twentieth century and the greatest
plays for a touchdown and kicked three field
football player in an Associated Press poll of
goals from back of the 40-yard line.
sports writers and broadcasters.
President Eisenhower can attest to Thorpe’s
Before leaping into world-wide fame as the
hitting power. When the general was a cadet at
star of the Olympics, Thorpe had become a
the United States Military Academy, the Army
national sports figure through his deeds on the
team played Carlisle, the Indians winning, 27gridiron as a member of the famous Carlisle
to 6. Thorpe stopped General Eisenhower time
Indians football teams coached by Glenn S.
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after time, and in the process the general injured
his knee and never played again.
The Alcatraz
Indian
Occupation
One-Man Track Team
In his track days Carlisle was booked to
meet the Lafayette team at Easton. A
welcoming committee was puzzled when only
two Indians got off the train.
“Where’s your team?” they asked.
“This is the team,” Thorpe replied.
“Only two of you?”
“Only one,” Jim said with a smile. “This
fellow’s the manager.”
Baseball Player
Thorpe played baseball with the New York
Giants baseball team for six years and briefly
for Cincinnati as outfielder. He finished his
career with three years in the minors, hitting
over 300.
Thorpe was back in the news in 1943, when
the Oklahoma Legislature adopted a resolution
that the A.A.U. be petitioned to reinstate
Thorpe’s Olympic records, but no action was
taken. In February 1952, a group in Congress
made another unsuccessful attempt to have the
medals restored. After an operation for cancer
of the lip in the preceding November, he had
been discovered to be nearly penniless and
groups throughout the country raised thousands
of dollars for him.
In the summer of 1949, Warner Brothers
started work on a motion picture entitled “Jim
Thorpe—All American,” with Burt Lancaster in
the athlete’s role. The picture reached
Broadway in the summer of 1951.
Thirty years after his death, Thorpe’s medals
finally were restored, thanks to a Swedish
researcher who discovered a loophole in the
Olympic Charter that specified that protests of
professionalism had to be made within 30 days
of the Games. The return of the medals brought
small solace to his family. The Olympic
committee, however, never restored his records.
By Dr. Troy Johnson49
European discovery and exploration of the
San Francisco Bay Area and its islands began in
1542 and culminated with the mapping of the
bay in 1775. These Early visitors to the Bay
Area, however, were preceded 10,000 to 20,000
years earlier by the native people indigenous to
the area. Prior to the coming of the Spanish and
Portuguese explorers, over 10,000 indigenous
people, later to be called the Ohlone (a Miwok
Indian word meaning "western people"), lived
in the coastal area between Point Sur and the
San Francisco Bay.
Early use of Alcatraz Island by the
indigenous people is difficult to reconstruct, as
most tribal and village history was recorded and
passed down generation-to-generation as an oral
history of the people. A large portion of this
oral history has been lost as a result of the huge
reduction of the California Indian population
following European contact and exploration.
Based on oral history it appears that Alcatraz
was used as a place of isolation for tribal
members who had violated a tribal law or taboo,
as a camping spot, an area for gathering foods,
especially bird eggs and sea-life, and that
Alcatraz was utilized also as a hiding place for
many Indians attempting to escape from the
California Mission system.
Once Alcatraz Island became a prison, both
military prisoners and civilians were
incarcerated on the island. Among these were
many American Indians. The largest single
group of Indian prisoners sentenced to
confinement on Alcatraz occurred in January
1895 when the U.S. government arrested, tried,
and shipped nineteen Moqui Hopi to Alcatraz
49
http://www.nps.gov/alcatraz/Indian.html
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Island. Indian people continued to be confined
as prisoners in the disciplinary barracks on the
island through the remainder of the 1800s and
the early 1900s.
November 9, 1969
On this day, Indian people once again came
to Alcatraz Island when Richard Oakes, a
Mohawk Indian, and a group of Indian
supporters set out in a chartered boat, the Monte
Cristo, to symbolically claim the island for the
Indian people. On November 20, 1969, this
symbolic occupation turned into a full-scale
occupation which lasted until June 11, 1971.
The November 9, 1969 occupation was
planned by Richard Oakes, a group of Indian
students, and a group of urban Indians from the
Bay Area. Since many different tribes were
represented, the name "Indians of All Tribes"
was adopted for the group. They claimed the
island in the name of Indians of all tribes and
left the island to return later that same evening.
In meetings following the November 9th
occupation, Oakes and his fellow American
Indian students realized that a prolonged
occupation was possible. Oakes visited the
American Indian Studies Center at UCLA where
he recruited Indian students for what would
become the longest prolonged occupation of a
federal facility by Indian people to this very
day. Eighty Indian students from UCLA were
among the approximately 100 Indian people
who occupied Alcatraz Island.
It is important to remember that the
occupation force was made up initially of young
urban Indian college students. And the most
inspirational person was Richard Oakes. Oakes
is described by most of those as handsome,
charismatic, a talented orator, and a natural
leader. Oakes was the most knowledgeable
about the landings and the most often sought out
and identified as the leader, the Chief, the mayor
of Alcatraz.
Government “Negotiations”
Once the occupiers had established
themselves on the island, organization began
immediately. An elected council was put into
place and everyone on the island had a job;
security, sanitation, day-care, school, housing,
cooking, laundry, and all decisions were made
by unanimous consent of the people.
The federal government initially insisted
that the Indian people leave the island, placed an
ineffective barricade around the island, and
eventually agreed to demands by the Indian
council that formal negotiations be held. From
the Indians side, the negotiations were fixed.
They wanted the deed to the island; they wanted
to establish an Indian university, a cultural
center, and a museum. The government
negotiators insisted that the occupiers could
have none of these and insisted that they leave
the island.
By early 1970 the Indian organization
began to fall into disarray. Two groups rose in
opposition to Richard Oakes and as the Indian
students began returning to school in January
1970, Indian people from the urban areas and
from reservations who had not been involved in
the initial occupation replaced them.
Additionally, many non-Indians now began
taking up residency on the island, many from
the San Francisco hippie and drug culture. The
final blow to the organized leadership occurred
on January 5, 1970, when Oakes's 13-year-old
stepdaughter fell three floors down a stairwell to
her death. Following Yvonne's death, Oakes
left the island and the two competing groups
maneuvered back and forth for leadership on the
island.
The federal government responded to the
occupation by adopting a position of noninterference. The FBI was directed to remain
clear of the island. The Coast Guard was
directed not to interfere, and the Government
Services Administration (GSA) was instructed
not to remove the Indians from the island.
While it appeared to those on the island that
negotiations were actually taking place, in fact,
the federal government was playing a waiting
game, hoping that support for the occupation
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would subside and those on the island would
elect to end the occupation. At one point, secret
negotiations were held where the occupiers were
offered a portion of Fort Miley, in San
Francisco, as an alternative site to Alcatraz
Island. By this time, mid-1970, however, those
on the island had become so entrenched that
nothing less than full title to the island and the
establishing of a university and cultural center,
would suffice.
In the meantime, the government shut off
all electrical power, and removed the water
barge which had provided fresh water to the
occupiers. Three days following the removal of
the water barge, a fire broke out on the island.
Several historic buildings were destroyed. The
government blamed the Indians; the Indians
blamed undercover government infiltrators
trying to turn non-Indian support against them.
The new population on the island became a
problem as time passed. The daily reports from
the government caretaker on the island as well
as testimony from the remaining original
occupiers complain of the open use of drugs,
fighting over authority, and general disarray of
the leadership. An egalitarian form of
government was supposed to prevail, yet no
leadership was visible with which the
government could negotiate.
The occupation continued on into 1971
with various new problems emerging for the
Indian occupiers. In an attempt to raise money
to buy food, they allegedly began stripping
copper wiring and copper tubing from the
buildings and selling it as scrap metal. Three of
the occupiers were arrested, tried and found
guilt of selling some 600lbs of copper. In early
1971, the press, which had been largely
sympathetic to this point, turned against them
and began publishing stories of alleged beatings
and assaults; one case of assault was prosecuted.
Soon, little support could be found.
it was enough to push the federal government
into action. President Nixon gave the go ahead
to develop a removal plan—to take place when
the smallest number of people were on the
island and to use as little force as possible.
On June 10, 1971, armed federal marshals,
FBI agents, and Special Forces police swarmed
the island and removed five women, four
children, and six unarmed Indian men. The
occupation was over.
The success or failure of the occupation
should not be judged by whether the demands of
the occupiers were realized. The underlying
goals of the Indians on Alcatraz were to awaken
the American public to the reality of the plight
of the first Americans and to assert the need for
Indian self-determination. As a result of the
occupation, whether directly or indirectly, the
official government policy of termination of
Indian tribes was ended and a policy of Indian
self-determination became the official US
government policy.
During the period the occupiers were on
Alcatraz Island, President Nixon returned Blue
Lake and 48,000 acres of land to the Taos
Indians. Occupied lands near Davis California
would become home to a Native American
university. The occupation of Bureau of Indian
Affairs offices in Washington, D.C. would lead
to the hiring of Native American's to work in the
federal agency that had such a great effect on
their lives.
Alcatraz may have been lost, but the
occupation gave birth to a political movement
which continues to today.
All Things Must Come to an End
In January 1971, two oil tankers collided in
the entrance to the San Francisco Bay. Though
it was acknowledged that the lack of an Alcatraz
light or foghorn played no part in the collision,
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Indians Of All
Nations:
The Alcatraz
Proclamation
To the Great White Father and his
People, 1969
Fellow citizens, we are asking you to join with
us in our attempt to better the lives of all Indian
people.
We are on Alcatraz Island to make known to the
world that we have a right to use our land for
our own benefit.
In a proclamation of November 20, 1969, we
told the government of the United States that we
are here "to create a meaningful use for our
Great Spirit’s Land."
We, the native Americans, reclaim the land
known as Alcatraz Island in the name of all
American Indians by right of discovery.
We wish to be fair and honorable in our
dealings with the Caucasian inhabitants of this
land, and hereby offer the following treaty:
We will purchase said Alcatraz Island for
twenty-four dollars in glass beads and red cloth,
a precedent set by the white man’s purchase of a
similar island 300 years ago. We know that $24
in trade goods for these 16 acres is more than
what was paid when Manhattan Island was sold,
but we know that land values have risen over
the years. Our offer of $1.24 per acre is greater
than the $0.47 per acre the white men are now
paying the California Indians for their lands.
and the rivers go down in the sea. We will
further guide the inhabitants in the proper way
of living. We will offer them our religion, our
education, our way of life—ways in order to
help them achieve our level of civilization and
thus raise them and all their white brothers up
from their savage and unhappy state. We offer
this treaty in good faith and wish to be fair and
honorable in our dealings with all white men.
We feel that this so-called Alcatraz Island is
more than suitable for an Indian reservation, as
determined by the white man’s own standards.
By this, we mean that this place resembles most
Indian reservations in that:
1.
It is isolated from modern
facilities, and without adequate
means of transportation.
2. It has no fresh running water.
3. It has inadequate sanitation
facilities.
4. There are no oil or mineral rights.
5. There is no industry and so
unemployment is very great.
6. There are no health-care facilities.
7. The soil is rocky and
nonproductive, and the land does
not support game.
8. There are no educational facilities.
9. The population has always
exceeded the land base.
10. The population has always been
held as prisoners and kept
dependent upon others.
Further, it would be fitting and symbolic that
ships from all over the world, entering the
Golden Gate, would first see Indian land, and
thus be reminded of the true history of this
nation. This tiny island would be a symbol of
the great lands once ruled by free and noble
Indians.
What use will we make of this land?
We will give to the inhabitants of this island a
Since the San Francisco Indian Center burned
portion of the land of their own to be held in
down, there is no place for Indians to assemble
trust . . . by the Bureau of Caucasian Affairs . . .
and carry on tribal life here in the white man’s
in perpetuity—for as long as the sun shall rise
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city. Therefore, we plan to develop on this
island several Indian institutions:
1. A Center for Native American Studies
will be developed which will educate
them to the skills and knowledge
relevant to improve their lives and
spirits of all Indian peoples. Attached
to this center will be traveling
universities, managed by Indians,
which will go to the Indian
Reservations, learning this necessary
and relevant materials now about
2. An American Indian Spiritual Center,
which will practice our ancient tribal
religious and sacred healing
ceremonies. Our cultural arts will be
featured and our young people trained
in music, dance, and healing rituals.
3. An Indian Center of Ecology, which will
train and support our young people in
scientific research and practice to
restore our lands and waters to their
pure and natural state. We will work to
de-pollute the air and waters of the Bay
Area. We will seek to restore fish and
animal life to the area and to revitalize
sea-life which has been threatened by
the white man’s way. We will set up
facilities to desalt seawater for human
benefit.
5. Some of the present buildings will be
taken over to develop an American
Indian museum which will depict our
native food and other cultural
contributions we have given to the
world. Another part of the museum
will present some of the things the
white man has given to the Indians in
return for the land and life he took:
disease, alcohol, poverty and cultural
decimation (as symbolized by old tin
cans, barbed wire, rubber tires, plastic
containers, etc.). Part of the museum
will remain a dungeon to symbolize
both those Indian captives who were
incarcerated for challenging white
authority and those who were
imprisoned on reservations. The
museum will show the noble and tragic
events of Indian history, including the
broken treaties, the documentary of the
Trail of Tears, the Massacre of
Wounded Knee, as well as the victory
over Yellow-Hair Custer and his army.
In the name of all Indians, therefore, we reclaim
this island for our Indian nations, for all these
reasons. We feel this claim is just and proper,
and that this land should rightfully be granted to
us as long as the rivers run and the sun shall
shine.
We hold the rock!
4. A Great Indian Training School will be
developed to teach our people how to
make a living in the world, improve
our standard of living, and to end
hunger and unemployment among all
our people. This training school will
include a center for Indian arts and
crafts, and an Indian restaurant serving
native foods, which will restore Indian
culinary arts. This center will display
Indian arts and offer Indian foods to
the public, so that all may know of the
beauty and spirit of the traditional
Indian ways.
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Unfortunately, a poor local economy made
the Mankiller family an easy target for the
Bureau of Indian Affairs relocation program of
the 1950s. Government agents were entrusted
with the job of moving rural Cherokees to cities,
effectively dispersing them and allowing others
to buy their traditional, oil-rich lands. In 1959
the family moved to San Francisco, where
Wilma's father could get a job and where Wilma
began her junior high school years. This was not
By Susannah Abbey50
a happy time for her. She missed the farm and
she hated the school where white kids teased her
Wilma Mankiller, former Principal Chief of
about being Native American and about her
the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, lives on the
name.
land which was allotted to her paternal
Mankiller decided to leave her parents and
grandfather, John Mankiller, just after
go to live with her maternal grandmother, Pearl
Oklahoma became a state in 1907. Surrounded
Sitton, on a family ranch inland from San
by the Cherokee Hills and the Cookson Hills,
Francisco. The year she spent there restored her
she lives in a historically rich area where a
confidence and after returning to the Bay Area,
person's worth is not determined by the size of
she got increasingly involved with the world of
their bank account or portfolio. Her family name
the San Francisco Indian Center.
"Mankiller" as far as they can determine, is an
"There was something at the Center for
old military title that was given to the person in
everyone. It was a safe place to go, even if we
charge of protecting the village. As the leader of
only wanted to hang out." The Center provided
the Cherokee people she represented the second
entertainment, social and cultural activities for
largest tribe in the United States, the largest
youth, as well as a place for adults to hold
being the Dine (Navajo) Tribe. Mankiller was
powwows and discuss matters of importance
the first female in modern history to lead a
with other BIA relocatees. Here, Mankiller
major Native American tribe. With an enrolled
became politicized at the same time reinforcing
population of over 140,000, and an annual
her identity as a Cherokee and her attachments
budget of more than $75 million, and more than
to the Cherokee people, their history and
1,200 employees spread over 7,000 square
traditions.
miles, her task may have been equaled to that of
When a group of Native Americans
a chief executive officer of a major corporation.
occupied Alcatraz Island in November 1969, in
Wilma Mankiller came from a large family
protest of U.S. Government policies, which had,
that spent many years on the family farm in
for hundreds of years, deprived them of their
Oklahoma. They were, of course, poor, but not
lands, Mankiller participated in her first major
desperately so. "As far back as I can remember
political action.
there were always books around our house," she
"It changed me forever," she wrote. "It was
recalls in her autobiography, Mankiller: A Chief
on Alcatraz...where at long last some Native
and Her People. "This love of reading came
Americans, including me, truly began to regain
from the traditional Cherokee passion for telling
our balance."
and listening to stories. But it also came from
In the years that followed the "occupation,"
my parents, particularly my father....A love for
Mankiller became more active in developing the
books and reading was one of the best gifts he
cultural resources of the Native American
ever gave his children."
community. She helped build a school and an
Indian Adult Education Center. She directed the
50
http://myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=w_mankiller
Native American Youth Center in East Oakland,
with excepts from
coordinating field trips to tribal functions,
http://www.powersource.com/gallery/people/wilma.
hosting music concerts, and giving kids a place
html
Oklahoma History Supplemental Reader
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Community
Hero:
Chief Wilma Mankiller
to do their homework or just connect with each
other. The youth center also gave her the
opportunity to pull together Native American
adults from around Oakland as volunteers, thus
strengthening their ties. Mankiller says she
learned on the job, joking "my enthusiasm
seemed to make up for my lack of skills." But
she was, in truth, a natural leader.
She returned to Oklahoma in the 1970s
where she worked at the Urban Indian Resource
Center and volunteered in the community. Then
in 1980 she was diagnosed with myasthenia
gravis, a chronic neuromuscular disease that
causes varying degrees of weakness in the
voluntary muscles of the body. She maintains
that it was the realization of how precious life is
that spurred her to begin projects for her people,
such as the Bell project.
Wilma Mankiller
easy one. There had never been a woman leader
of a Native American tribe. She had many ideas
to present and debate, but encountered
discouraging opposition from men who refused
to talk about anything but the fact that she was a
woman. Her campaign days were troubled by
death threats, and her tires were slashed. She
sought the advice of friends for ways to
approach the constant insults, finally settling on
a philosophy summed up by the epithet, "Don't
ever argue with a fool, because someone
walking by and observing you can't tell which
one is the fool." In the end, Mankiller had her
day: she was elected as first woman Deputy
Chief, and over time her wise, strong leadership
vindicated her supporters and proved her
detractors wrong.
In 1985, Chief Ross Swimmer resigned and
left to become the head of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs in Washington, D.C. With his
resignation Mankiller was obligated to step into
his position, becoming the first woman to serve
as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
In the historic tribal elections of 1987,
Mankiller won the post out-right and brought
unprecedented attention to the tribe as a result.
"We are a revitalized tribe," said Mankiller,
"After every major upheaval, we have been able
to gather together as a people and rebuild a
community and a government. Individually and
collectively, Cherokee people possess an
extraordinary ability to face down adversity and
continue moving forward. We are able to do that
because our culture, though certainly
diminished, has sustained us since time
immemorial. This Cherokee culture is a wellkept secret."
In 1986, Wilma married long time friend
and former director of tribal development,
Charlie Soap. Mankiller's love of family and
community became a source of strength when
again a life threatening illness struck. Recurring
kidney problems forced Mankiller to have a
kidney transplant, her brother Don Mankiller
served as the donor. During her convalescence,
she had many long talks with her family, and it
was decided that she would run again for Chief
in order to complete the many community
projects she had begun.
In 1981 she founded and then became
director of the Cherokee Community
Development Department, where she
orchestrated a community-based renovation of
the water system and was instrumental in lifting
an entire town, Bell, Oklahoma, out of squalor
and despair. It was the success of the Bell
project that thrust Mankiller into national
recognition as an expert in community
development.
In 1983, she ran for Deputy Chief of the
Cherokee Nation. The campaign was not an
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Although poor health forced her to retire
from that position in 1995, Wilma Mankiller
continues to be a political, cultural, and spiritual
leader in her community and throughout the
United States. In 1990 Oklahoma State
University honored her with the Henry G.
Bennett Distinguished Service Award, and in
1998, President Clinton awarded her the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's
highest civilian honor.
She has shown in her typically exuberant
way that not only can Native Americans learn a
lot from the whites, but that whites can learn
from native people. Understanding the
interconnectedness of all things, many whites
are beginning to understand the value of native
wisdom, culture and spirituality. Spirituality is
then key to the public and private life of Wilma
Mankiller who has indeed become known not
only for her community leadership but also for
her spiritual presence. A woman rabbi who is
the head of a large synagogue in New York
commented that Mankiller was a significant
spiritual force in the nation.
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