Chickasaw Removal, Part II

          Ironically, the people who drove the Chickasaws out of their homeland paid tribute to them as they were leaving. Here's an excerpt from an article published in a newspaper in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1837.

          In taking leave of our red brethren and neighbors we render them no more than a just tribute to their merit, when we say that they have always stood deservedly high as a nation of Indians. They have been, both in profession and practice, the friends of white men. In war they have always been found enlisted in the cause of Government, and not infrequently their blood has been spilt in support of the cause of civilized man.

          The Chickasaws had been good neighbors. Not only had they fought on the side of the United States, even against other Indian tribes; they had for years provided food, lodging and supplies to those travelling through their domain on the Natchez trace, the most heavily traveled road in the south, but these words of praise must have sounded hollow to the Chickasaws in the fall of 1837, as they prepared to make their grueling journey west.

          By this time white settlers and whiskey peddlers were wreaking havoc among the Chickasaws. Shortly after the Chickasaws signed the treaty of Doaksville, buying for themselves a portion of the Choctaw domain in the west, the Chickasaw chiefs wrote a letter to the new President, Martin Van Buren, requesting that he provide for their people "a speedy removal to their new home, and thereby prevent the many evils which they now suffer." 

          Colonel A. M. M. Upshaw was appointed superintendant for the removal. He quickly enrolled the citizens in each of the four Chickasaw districts, named Tishomingo, McGilbery, Alberson, and Sealy, for their chiefs. Supply depots were identified along the planned route and rations were purchased. The plan was for the Chickasaw emigrants to travel in their wagons along a land route, first across the Arkansas swamp to Little Rock, and then south to Ft. Towson in the Choctaw domain.

          Much of the Chickasaw land was bought up quickly at a minimum rate of $1.25 per acre by companies formed for land speculation, and those deemed competent by the commission became rich instantly. Most of the Chickasaws though, unaccustomed to wealth and despondent over being forced to leave their native land, were easy marks for swindlers who took their money for liquor and cheap goods.

          Even those who were prudent with their money tended to buy more than was practical for them to carry. Col. Upshaw reported:

          They bought a great many valuable articles for themselves to take west, believing that their wants could not be supplied after getting to their homes. … Every merchant was pressing off on them every article he could. In fact, sir, I saw two women purchase seven hundred dollars worth of goods in the course of two hours. … Some had three or four waggons. … Besides the waggons that they brought loaded, they brought about seven thousand ponies and horses, all packed as long as an Indian can pack them, and they can pack more on a horse than other people I ever saw.

          When Upshaw protested to the Chickasaw leaders about the quantity of baggage they were taking he received the following reply:

          We are moved out of our own money. This is our property. We want it. It is valuable to us. Were we to attempt to sell it, we could not for a hundred dollars worth get five dollars. Will you make us burn or throw our property in the River? We are the friends of the Whites; we have ever been and wish ever to be. In our treaty with our Great Father, it does not say that we shall not carry our baggage with us.

          Col. Upshaw apologized to his superiors in Washington:

          Under these circumstances what could I say? I tell you what I did say. 'Put your baggage in the boat.' If I was wrong, it was in not obeying the Regulation. Feelings of kindness and justice compelled me to take the course I did.

          Colonel Upshaw was one of the few men in charge of the Indian removal who were moved by "feelings of kindness and justice."

          The first group of emigrants, about 500, departed in late June. Like the other tribes, the Chickasaws suffered on their journey through the swamps. Heavy rains caused the roads to be almost impassible, and soon the group's progress was slowed to a crawl. They were also afflicted with fevers and dysentery. When the exhausted travelers reached Little Rock, their conductor, John Millard, informed them that the plan had been changed. They would be traveling first to Ft. Coffee by steamer, and then on to Ft. Towson, their final destination, by land.  

          The reason for this change of plan was an accommodation to government inefficiency. In meetings prior to their removal the Chickasaw leaders had requested that their rations be purchased along the way by their conductors as needed, but removal contracts were lucrative and so the awards were determined by political influence. Therefore rations for the entire removal were purchased in Cincinnati and New Orleans, and far in excess of what was needed. Then they were shipped to Fort Coffee in Indian Territory and allowed to sit out and spoil.

          In spite of the fact that the meat was rotten and the corn moldy, the army still intended to feed it to the Chickasaws, but by the time the first removal party reached Little Rock, Arkansas, the water level in the Arkansas River was too low to move the rations to the Indians, so the army decided to move the Indians to the rations. Ironically, Choctaw and Creek farms in Indian Territory were by 1837 producing enough food for the Chickasaw removal.

          The Chickasaws balked at the plan. They didn't know about the ration fiasco, but they had been told that the direct route to Ft. Towson was the best, and they could hunt along the way to supplement their rations, so they refused to change their plans. Millard did convince the Chickasaw leaders to allow the sick and elderly to go by steamer to Ft. Coffee, while the rest of the group followed the road south to Ft. Towson.

          The rations at Ft. Coffee were not very good medicine for the sick and elderly. Col. Upshaw reported later:

The rations … issued at Ft. Coffee consisted of damaged pork, damaged flour, and damaged corn, with salt … not regularly issued. The provision was so bad that, on distributing it to the party, many would not receive it. The corn appeared to have been shelled in its green state, and had been mildewed. A part of the corn was weevil eaten. Some of the corn was so much injured that horses would not eat it. … The pork was so bad that Dr Walker told me that, if the emigrants continued to use it, it would kill them all off. It gave those who eat it diarrhoea, and it was always my opinion that many of our poor people died in consequence of it.

          As it turned out, taking the land route proved to be as bad as having to pick through spoiled rations. The land party was plagued by sickness and as many as 4 - 5 people were buried each day. Also thieves had learned to follow the Indian emigrants. Each morning the Chickasaws would find some of their horses missing in spite of their efforts to guard them. Also the Indians were hunting along the way to supplement the poor quality of rations they were receiving. Their conductor, Millard, attributed these delays to the Indian personality. He said that the Chickasaws were "refractory and ungovernable," and that they "seem to take great satisfaction in disregarding all directions and orders they receive from us." He drafted a letter requesting troops from Ft. Towson, and threatened the Chickasaws that they "would be compelled to march at the point of a bayonet," if they continued to delay.

          The Chickasaws saw the futility of resisting, so they sped up their pace. After about a month they arrived at Ft. Towson where they were supplied with decent rations by the Choctaws.

          After this first group of immigrants had been taken to Indian Territory, superintendent Upshaw was assembling the rest, about 4000, to board steamers at Memphis. Learning of Millard's conflicts with the first group of emigrants, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs instructed Upshaw that he was to transport the remaining Chickasaws by steamboat, directly to Ft. Coffee, where the spoiled rations were stored. Also he was to inform them that if they refused to cooperate, he was authorized to call for troops or to withhold rations.

          It was in August that year that the steamboat Monmouth sank with 600 Creek Indians on board. When the Chickasaws arrived at Memphis in October, they learned of the tragedy, and many refused to board the boats, electing the land route instead. Upshaw, following his instructions, threatened the group, which numbered about 1000, with military force or starvation. The leader of the land party, Chief Konope, replied to Upshaw that he didn't have the right to give orders to the Chickasaws since they were paying their own way, and Upshaw, being the gentleman that he was, assigned the group a conductor, a physician and a distribution officer as they were entitled.

          The party travelling by land had the same difficulties going through the Arkansas swamps as did the previous group. The roads were either impassable or nonexistent. The wagons bogged down. The Chickasaws suffered from exposure to the winter cold, and they were stricken with illness.

          There is no detailed account of the main Chickasaw migration, but there is one moving description written by a traveler who observed them as they passed:

          Much money could not compensate for the loss that I have seen … With all there is mixed sympathy for the exiles - for they go unwillingly - whether it be for their good or not - moreover the agents and officers all concurred in speaking of the integrity of the men and the good behavior of the women …I do not think that I have ever been a witness as so remarkable a scene as was formed by this immense column of moving Indians….. They were all most comfortably clad - the men in complete Indian dress with showy shawls tied in turban fashion round their heads - dashing about on their horses, like Arabs, many of them presenting the finest countenances and figures that I ever saw. The women also very decently clothed like white women, in calico gowns - but much tidier and better put on than common white people - and how beautifully they managed their horses, how proud and calm and erect, they sat in full gallop.

          Particularly painful for the Chickasaws was the loss of many of their horses. In one place 60 or 70 horses became mired in the swamp and had to be abandoned. The Chickasaws had been breeding horses for a century, and the Chickasaw horse was valued by both Indians and whites for its intelligence and stamina. Upshaw tried to warn the Chickasaws about taking so many horses. He wrote: "a great many Chickasaws have fine wagons and teams and 4 or 5000 horses. I have used all the influence that I had to get them to sell their horses, but they would about as soon part with their lives as part with a horse."

          About 1000 Chickasaws moved west without assistance from the government. Col. Upshaw came across a group of about 450 Chickasaws at Helena, Arkansas late in 1837, and offered them his help. They refused, saying that they planned to spend the winter hunting and they didn't want any white men with them.

          Some parties were led by wealthy tribal members who made a business of removal as had the Choctaws during their removal in order to claim the commutation payment of $30 per emigrant. 

          About 800 Creek Indians came west with the Chickasaws. They were among those given refuge by the Chickasaws when federal troops had driven the Creeks from their land in 1836.

          During the winter of 1837, after the main body of emigrants had departed, several groups of Chickasaws arrived at Memphis to be enrolled and taken west. Among these was a group of 170 under Chief Kin-hi-cha. These Indians contracted smallpox during their journey through Arkansas, and when they arrived at Fort Towson the disease spread among the Choctaws as well. Before the epidemic ran its course, it had claimed the lives of 500 Chickasaws and Choctaws, including the Choctaw chief, Mushulatubbe.

          This epidemic of smallpox could have been prevented. Vaccination was available at that time. It was just another example of the tragic disregard for the Indians' welfare that characterized the removal.  

          In the summer of 1838 news of the smallpox epidemic reached the Chickasaws still remaining in Mississippi and Alabama, and many refused to emigrate. Finally in the fall, Col. Upshaw was able to convince some to travel. One of these groups was led by the old Chickasaw king, Ish-ta-ho-to-pa. Although his group didn't contract smallpox, they suffered much sickness along the way. At one point 70 people were too sick to rise from their cots, and the party had to camp for two weeks to tend to the sick. The king's wife was among those who died on the journey.  

          For those immigrants surviving the trip west, the first year was difficult. The delivery of rations by government contractors was unreliable. At one point the Chickasaws were without corn for one month. One of the removal conductors, William Guy, wrote to Col. Upshaw in May of 1838:

          I am here starving with the Chickasaws by gross mismanagement on the part of the contractors, and when our situation will be bettered it is hard for me to tell, for it is one failure after another without end.

          One witness reported that he had seen Indian women picking up kernels of corn from where the army's horses had been fed.  

          In September when the time for promised government rations was due to expire, many of the Chickasaws had been unable to establish farms. Many were too late to plant crops, or just too weak after the grueling journey, and besides that there had been a drought. Tribal leaders petitioned Congress for help:

          Many of our people have died and the general drought throughout the Indian country has been particularly felt through ours; for these reasons together with the fact that many of our people arrived too late to make a crop, makes it out duty to apply for further subsistence.

          Congress approved a seven month extension of rations. Of course, the Chickasaws shouldn't have had to beg. The government was using their money to pay for everything anyway.

          In 1839, Colonel Upshaw discharged his staff and declared the Chickasaw Removal complete, even though there were still many Chickasaws remaining in the east.  Small groups continued to migrate west as late as 1850.