1845

          History, like life, is complicated, and doesn't always fit neatly into discrete stories. The period after the Removal was like that. It was a time of tragedy and change for the Indians. The tribes from the east and the tribes from the west were trying to find a way to survive. There was constant conflict, even between divisions of individual tribes, and constantly changing alliances. The history of the period consists of hundreds of stories, many of which we will never hear. The following two stories will hopefully give some idea of what the situation was like in Indian Territory the year my great grandfather was born.

          After their Removal in 1837, the Chickasaws lived for several years in the Choctaw domain, mainly in camps near the supply depots established to distribute their first year's rations. It wasn't safe to move into their own land to the west because the plains Indian tribes who lived and hunted there weren't willing to give up their home without a fight. The closest fort, Ft. Towson, was 70 miles to the east, so it offered little protection for the Chickasaws.

          My great great grandmother, Ela Teecha, "Ellen," and her first husband Jason McClure (see post of Dec 22, 2011) were among 12 Chickasaw families who moved into the Chickasaw domain in 1839. They settled on the Blue River just east of the Washita. There was a settlement of Kickapoo Indians nearby, and soldiers were sent down from Fort Gibson to evict them, but the Kickapoos moved right back. In 1842 construction was begun on Fort Washita, just five miles west of the McClure farm. The fort was built to provide protection for the Chickasaws from raids by the plains tribes, but it wasn't completed until 1844. In the meantime the Chickasaw families were on their own. According to stories handed down in the family, Ellen advised her husband not to fight or barricade the doors when those "horse riding Indians" came, but just to "go out and offer to feed them, because they are always hungry and they will eat and if they eat there will be no trouble."      

          As near as I can tell, Jason McClure died in 1842, and in 1844, the year that Fort Washita opened, Ellen married my great great grandfather, Smith Paul. The trouble with the plains Indians continued. In 1845, the year my great grandfather, Sam Paul, was born, there were several raids on Chickasaw settlements in the area in spite of the fort. One of these raids was on a settlement six miles from Fort Washita, almost surely my great great grand parents' farm. After these attacks, Chickasaw leaders called a meeting to plan for the defense of their settlements, and Major Beall, the commander of Ft. Washita, having sent out all his available units to search for the marauders, asked for reinforcements from Ft. Towson.

          In the mean time the Chickasaw agent, Col. A. M. M. Upshaw, sent some Delaware warriors to the Wichita village to retrieve the horses. The Delawares found the Wichita Village burned, with dead bodies lying everywhere. A band of Pani Maha, an indigenous tribe which wreaked havoc on the plains for several years, had attacked the village while the Wichita warriors were away on a hunt.

          The Creek immigrants were also having problems. In February of 1845 a group of Creek Indians surprised some Pani Maha near Edwards Trading Post. The Pani Maha shot arrows at the Creeks, who replied with gun fire, killing four Pani Maha. Word of the incident spread like wild fire. It was followed by a rumor that 500 Pani Maha were massacring Creeks settled along the Verdigris River. A war party was sent out under Jim Boy, the famous Creek war chief, to rescue the settlers. The next news was that Jim Boy's warriors had been repulsed. Principal Chief McIntosh then sent out reinforcements, and requested troops from Fort Gibson. A company of Dragoons under Nathan Boone, son of Daniel Boone, was sent out from the fort. Meanwhile Creek farmers living along the Verdigris began to flee for the safety of the fort.

          The situation was described by the Creek agent James Logan, who also fled to Fort Gibson:

          I should not previously have believed the Creeks to be so excitable a people. In extenuation, however, it may be said that they knew no mercy would be shown by the invaders. Everything was in the greatest possible confusion. Here was to be seen a crowd of the poorer class of women on foot, loaded down with their children and bundles containing their valuables; here a line of wagons laden with the property of the richer class … and their families on horse back; there a warrior begrimed with paint, rifle and tomahawk in hand, making the welkin ring with the discordant war whoop! The rivers were literally covered with canoes laden with women, children, etc., all wending their way to Fort Gibson; here they all congregated, conceiving themselves secure under its protection.

          As Captain Boone rode out to assist the Creek war parties, he met Chief McIntosh who was coming back. McIntosh reported that the settlements were safe, and that there had been no attack. The whole incident was a product of the imagination of the frightened settlers.

          The Pani Maha attack was indeed a false alarm, but the plans of the plains tribes to attack the immigrant tribes was not. When the Creeks sent out an invitation to the Comanche to attend a peace council later that summer, the Comanche replied that they were already planning to meet with the other plains tribes at the next full moon. The purpose of that meeting was to plan a coordinated attack on the Creeks and on the Chickasaws, the two immigrant tribes whose settlements extended furthest west. The Creek messengers were seized and would have been put to death had it not been for the brave intervention of Echo Harjo, a Creek warrior who spoke Comanche. Harjo went to the Comanche camp and successfully pled for the messengers' release.

          The Creeks sent a message to the council of plains tribes by their neighbors the Osage, who had been invited to attend. The message, delivered by Black Dog, the great Osage chief, was that the Creeks wanted peace but they would fight if needed. Black Dog went on to advise the western tribes against arousing the Creeks, the most powerful of the immigrant tribes.

          The Creeks hosted their own council that summer, which was also attended by the Chickasaws. Peace with the plains tribes was not won in a single council, but at least the Five Civilized Tribes were earning respect. Not only were they formidable foes, they were also better able to deal with the white man.  

The Comanche

                                   Comanche Horsemanship, George Catlin

          To begin with, I want to acknowledge that I'm no expert on the Comanche. I've only come across a few bits of information about them over the years, but what I've learned fascinates me. In my last post I told the stories of Cynthia Parker, who, kidnapped by Comanches as a child, grew so attached to them that after she was "rescued" she begged to return, and the story of her son, Quanah Parker, who transformed himself from the leader of the most feared band of Comanche warriors, to a successful rancher, respected by his neighbors and friend of President Theodore Roosevelt.

          Lately I've been rereading some excerpts from the journal of Captain R. B. Marcy who spent 30 years stationed on the frontier in the early 1800's. His descriptions and his understanding was not from the Comanche perspective, which makes a difference, but he did sympathize with the Indians, and he was fascinated by the Comanche.

          The following excerpt from Marcy's journal describes the horsemanship of the Comanche. I first read it several years ago and it still amazes me. He first describes the horsemanship of the Comanche brave:

          He is in the saddle from boyhood to old age, and his favorite horse is his constant companion. It is when mounted that the Comanche exhibits himself to the best advantage: here he is at home, and his skill in various manoeuvres which he makes available in battle - such as throwing himself entirely upon one side of his horse, and discharging his arrows with great rapidity towards the opposite side beneath the animal's neck while he is at full speed - is truly astonishing.

          Even more amazing is Marcy's description of the display of skill of two young Comanche girls that Marcy witnessed himself:

          Many of the women are equally expert, as equestrians, with the men. They ride upon the same saddles in the same manner, with a leg upon each side of the horse. As an example of their skill in horsemanship, two young women of one of the bands of Northern Comanche, while we were encamped near them, upon seeing some antelopes at a distance from their camp, mounted horses, and with lassos in their hands set off at full speed in pursuit of this fleetest inhabitant of the plains. After pursuing them for some distance, and taking all the advantages which their circuitous course permitted, they finally came near them, and - throwing the lasso with unerring precision, secured each an animal and brought it back in triumph to the camp. 

          Every time I see a herd of prong horned antelope standing by the road, I think of this story. Once or twice I've stopped the car and walked toward these beautiful creatures and watched as they loped easily away, launching themselves like arrows through the air. It's hard to imagine running one down on a horse, let alone lassoing one. Certainly, of all the animals I've seen, they are the fleetest of foot. 

          Marcy went on to describe the nomadic life of the Comanche, their simple needs and their dependence on the buffalo for food shelter and clothing. He told how their chiefs were chosen for bravery and skill in battle, and were quickly removed for any display of cowardice or poor judgment.

          In spite of the Comanches' reputation for ferocity in battle, Marcy described them as being

… hospitable and kind to all with whom they are not at war; and on the arrival of a stranger at their camps, a lodge is prepared for him, and he is entertained as long as he chooses to remain with them. They are also kind and affectionate to each other, and as long as anything comestible remains in the camp, all are permitted to share alike.

          Marcy continues to describe the hospitality of the Comanche, relating an experience of his own:

          The manner in which they salute a stranger is somewhat peculiar, as my own reception at one of their encampments will show. The chief at this encampment was a very corpulent old man, with exceedingly scanty attire, who, immediately on our approach, declared himself a great friend of the Americans, and persisted in giving me evidence of his sincerity by an embrace, which, to please him, I forced myself to submit to, although it was far from agreeable to my own feelings. Seizing me in his brawny arms while we were yet in the saddle, and laying his greasy head upon my shoulder, he inflicted upon me a most bruin-like squeeze, which I endured with a degree of patient fortitude worthy of the occasion; and I was consoling myself upon the completion of the salutation, when the savage again seized me in his arms, and I was doomed to another similar torture, with his head upon my other shoulder, while at the same time he rubbed his greasy face against mine in the most affectionate manner; all of which proceeding he gave me to understand was to be regarded as a most distinguished and signal mark of affection for the American people in general, and in particular for myself, who, as their representative, can bear testimony to the strength of his attachment. On leaving camp, the chief shook me heartily by the hand, telling me at the same time, that he was not a Comanche, but an American; and as I did not feel disposed to be outdone in politeness by an Indian, I replied in the same spirit, that there was not a  drop of Anglo-Saxon blood in my veins, but that I was wholly and absolutely a Comanche, at which he seemed delighted, duly understanding and appreciating the compliment.  

          In spite of his patronizing tone, I enjoyed reading Marcy's description of the old chief's attempt to make him feel welcome.

          Marcy lamented the effect on the Comanche of the extinction of the buffalo, which was approaching rapidly in 1853, the date of his report. Thousands of buffalo were being slaughtered every year,

          …for their skins, and often for their tongues alone; animals whose flesh is sufficient to afford sustenance to a large number of men are sacrificed to furnish a 'bon bouche' for the rich epicure….It is only eight years since the western borders of Texas abounded with buffaloes; but now they seldom go south of Ted River, and their range upon east and west has also been very much contracted within the same time; so that they are at present confined to a narrow belt of country between the outer settlements and the base of the Rocky Mountains. With this rapid diminution in their numbers, they must in the course of a very few years become exterminated. What will then become of the prairie Indian, whom as I have already remarked, relies for subsistence, shelter, and clothing, on the flesh and hide of this animal. He must either perish with them, increase his marauding depredations on the Mexicans, or learn to cultivate the soil. 

(The above descriptions by Captain Marcy are taken from a report he submitted to Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War for the United States, in 1853. See Advancing the Frontier, by Grant Foreman, Chapter 16.)

Nadua, Cynthia Ann Parker

                                         Nadua, Cynthia Ann Parker

          In December of 1860 the Texas Rangers made a surprise attack on 20 Comanche Indians who they believed had been raiding settlements in the area.  As the Comanche fled, the Rangers cut them down. One woman carrying a baby was spared. Her name was Nadua. Her husband was Peta Nocona, a great Comanche chief, and her son was Quanah Parker, the last chief of the Comanche.

          The relentless westward expansion of white settlers displaced, one by one, the Native American tribes from their homelands. Hundreds of tribes were crowded together onto land depleted of the game they depended on for survival. Relationships between tribal groups that had developed over centuries were disrupted, leading to wars among the tribes. An endless series of broken promises convinced the Indians that the word of the white man could not be trusted. Native Americans dealt with their dilemma in various ways: by trying to adopt the white man's ways, by trying to escape by moving further west, and by retaliation. The Comanche chose the latter.

          During the 1830's the Comanche lead an effort to create an Indian alliance, as had the Shawnee chief Tecumseh and the Sauk chief Black Hawk. One of the leaders of this movement was Nadua's husband Peta Nocona. Peta was the son of another Comanche chief, Iron Jacket, of whom it was said he could blow bullets away with his breath.

          In 1833, a white settler named John Parker brought his family down from Illinois to east Texas. He built a fort, made friends with some of the local Indian Tribes, and began farming. What he didn't realize was that he had settled in Comanche country. In 1836, a band of Comanche, led by Chief Nocona, attacked the Parker settlement. Five men were killed, and six women and children were taken hostage.

          Among the hostages were Cynthia Ann Parker, age 9, and her brother John, age 5. Eventually all the hostages were ransomed except for Cynthia Ann, who was given the name Nadua, 'someone found,' in the Comanche language. Chief Nocona married Nadua, and they had three children together: two boys Quanah (Fragrance) and Pecos (Pecan), and a girl Topsanna (Prairie Flower). Nocona's affection for Nadua was so great that he never took another wife unlike most chiefs of his rank.

          At the time of the 1860 attack on Chief Nocona's band, the chief and his son Quanah were away hunting. Sull Ross, commander of the Texas Ranger unit which massacred the little group of Comanches, claimed to have killed Chief Nocona. Ross made a lot of his victory over the little band of Comanches, claiming that it put an end to the "great Comanche confederacy." It earned him the notoriety that later got him elected Governor or Texas.

          The other claim made by Ross was that he had rescued the long lost captive of the Comanche, Cynthia Ann Parker. Soon after Nadua's capture by Ross, one of his men noticed that her eyes were blue. After much questioning Ross managed to connect Nadua, who had forgotten how to speak English, with the Fort Parker massacre 25 years before. Nadua was returned to her white family, and when her uncle Isaac Parker mentioned that his niece Cythia had been captured by the Comanches, Nadua said: "me Cincee Ann." Although her family tried to make her feel at home, Nadua begged them to let her rejoin her Indian family, and she tried several times to escape. Four years after her capture, Nadua's daughter Prairie Flower died of pneumonia. After that Nadua stopped eating and soon she sickened and died.

          Nadua's husband Nocona also died soon after his wife and daughter were captured. According to his son Quanah he died of injuries he had sustained years before in a battle with the Apache.

                                                  Quanah Parker

          Quanah Parker lived until 1911. He had five wives and 25 children. After his father's death he became a great warrior and a great chief in his own right. He led the largest band of Comanche to remain free until in 1875, he was finally defeated at the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon. Soon after he and his his warriors surrendered and were forced to go to the Comanche reservation in southeastern Oklahoma where he was chosen chief over all the Comanche.

          Once in Indian Territory, Quanah Parker adapted well to the white culture. He took his mother's surname of Parker, and became a successful rancher. He included among his friends Theodore Roosevelt. He rode in Roosevelt's inaugural parade and Roosevelt visited Parker at his home in Oklahoma where they went hunting together.

          Quanah Parker was loyal to his Indian heritage. He helped found the Native American Church, an attempt to join together Christian and Indian traditions. Quanah was also loyal to his family. He became acquainted with his white family and before his death retrieved the remains of his mother and sister, and buried them near his home in Oklahoma.  

                                                      Quanah Parker

The International Council of 1843

          The International Council of 1843, John Mix Stanley

          In 1826 federal commissioners made the following promise to the Chickasaws:

          Your Father the President proposes to give his Chickasaw children a fine tract of country on the other side of the Mississippi River... By removing to that country, you will be freed from the intrusions and interruptions of your white brethren. You will then be enabled to live in peace and quietness...The Government will guarantee to you and your children forever the possession of your country, and will protect and defend you against all your enemies.

          When the Chickasaws and other "civilized" tribes arrived in Indian Territory, the situation in the Territory was chaotic. The U. S. Army's heroic expedition of 1834, described in Gunpandama, Part 2, posted Jan. 30, 2011, had little effect on the turmoil. On the return of the 1834 expedition, the Osage Chief, Black Dog, demanded additional payment for their hostage Gunpandama, saying that if they weren't paid they would send a war party to recapture her. Col. Dodge paid them out of his own money. When the representatives of the western tribes came to Fort Gibson later in 1834, they were not impressed by the power of the United States military. A Kiowa chief was surprised that the U. S. soldiers did not have more horses. Some of the delegates from the western tribes died on the way home and later claimed that they had been poisoned by lightning shooting from the eyes of one of the US commissioners - he wore glasses.

          The Osage continued to raid the farms of the Creek and Cherokee, and the Comanche and Kickapoo raided the Chickasaw and Choctaw. The western tribes complained because the Creeks were hunting buffalo on the prairie. It was the opinion of the Pani-maha that the stench of the Creeks was driving the buffalo away. The Pawnee and Caddo attacked the Wichita. The Delaware stole horses from the Comanche. The Comanche were at war with Osage.  The Kansan were at war with the Pawnee. The Kickapoo and Osage were at war with the Pani-maha.

          In addition to these conflicts, Black Hawk was trying to recruit the western tribes to join his war against the white settlers in Illinois. In 1837 the U. S. government promised the Choctaws $272 to go to Florida and fight the Seminoles, and then they reneged, leaving a large number of Choctaw warriors ready to fight. These warriors started negotiating with the Mexican government to fight against the rebellious white settlers in Texas in exchange for land. The Comanches and other tribes were raiding white settlements in Texas, and also trying to form an alliance of tribes to wage a general war on the United States. The Texans, convinced that no Indians were to be trusted, raided Chickasaw and Choctaw farms in Indian Territory, and in 1839 the Texas Rangers attacked a settlement of peaceful Cherokee farmers at Natchitoches, killing 100 and sending the remaining 1500 fleeing for their lives. The Chickasaws did what they could to help these miserable refugees as they crossed their domain on the way to join their kinsmen in Indian Territory.

          The Five Civilized Tribes had taken advantage of some of the benefits of civilization, but they hadn't forgotten their roots. At the time of the Removal they were already familiar with some of the tribes in the west. Their hunting parties had been making trips west for many years because of the lack of game in their eastern domains, and large groups of Cherokees and also Creeks had settled there before the rest of their people were forced to follow them.

          While the U. S. Government was saber rattling and making fools of themselves, the immigrant tribes were approaching their western brothers with respect and diplomacy. They hosted many conferences and made many agreements independent of the government's bungling efforts. One of these conferences was the International Council of 1843, or the Council of 18 Tribes.

          The Council was held on the Cherokee Council Grounds, built in 1839 on the site of the present town of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The Council Grounds were used for meetings of the Cherokee legislature and for general meetings of Cherokee citizens. In preparation for the Council of 18 Tribes, the Cherokees had built 30 cabins to accommodate the visitors in addition to two larger buildings which were used by the Cherokee legislature. They also constructed a large shed roofed with three foot boards split by hand for the Council sessions. Messengers had been sent out with wampum to 36 tribes, from the far north to the Rocky Mountains. 18 tribes attended: The Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek and Seminole, Osage, Delaware, Shawnee, Kickapoo, Iowa, Potawatomi, Chippewa, Stockbridge, Wichita, Piankashaw, Miami, Seneca, Peoria, and Ottawa. In accordance with tradition, the tribes didn=t just send representatives, they came in large groups. 3000 - 4000 gathered each day to attend the sessions.

          Representatives of the U. S. Government were invited, among them General Zachary Taylor, commander of Fort Washita, and Pierce Butler, the Cherokee agent. Some of the white people seemed puzzled by the Indians' initiative. The Agent Butler wrote in a letter to the commissioner of Indian Affairs:

          As far as I can learn their object, it is to renew old customs and friendships and to enact some international laws for the government of each and all.  

                               Black Dog, Osage Chief

          Prominent leaders from each tribe attended. Some notables included ninety year old Chief Wau-bon-sa, of the Potawatomi, who came all the way from Iowa. Pah-que-sah-ah, son of Tecumseh, represented the Shawnee. Big Soldier, an Osage who had spent 3 yrs in Europe, was there. He had medal that had been given to him by Lafayette. Another Osage attending the council, Black Dog, was almost 7 ft tall. The painter John Mix Stanley painted portraits of the leaders, and a large painting of the gathering which is now displayed at the Smithsonian Institute. 

          The Cherokees, hosts of the conference, provided food for all. A Methodist missionary gave sermons on Saturdays and Sundays. Also on Saturdays there were stick ball games. There was trading and bartering between the tribes. The Cherokees destroyed 1700 gallons of whiskey in order to prevent drunkenness.  One evening the Iowas began a procession that was soon joined by many. The Iowas led the procession around the entire gathering, singing and dancing and playing on flutes at each campsite, giving a loud whoop at the end of each performance before moving on to the next camp.    

          The thousands of Indians were dressed in their best finery. The men=s faces were painted, and the men and women=s hair was adorned by feathers. Some wore hats or turbans on their heads. Ornaments were worn in the nose and ears. The clothing was varied and colorful, from calico hunting shirts and pantaloons, to beaded buckskin leggings or dresses, to simple breechclouts. Colorful sashes, shawls, and blankets were in abundance. The Iowas wore little bells that jingled when they walked.

          The conference lasted four weeks. Meetings started about 3 o=clock in the afternoon, and were held with great dignity. The Chiefs sat in a great circle with the Delaware, acknowledged to be the most ancient tribe, occupying a favored place. A table was placed in the center for wampum and peace pipes. There were interpreters for each tribe, and each speech was translated, sentence by sentence, the speaker waiting until each tribe signaled understanding before he continued. John Ross, chief of the Cherokee, was the first to speak:

          Brothers, when we look back to the history of our race we see some green spots that are pleasing to us. We also see many things to make our hearts sad. When we look back on the days when the first council fires were kindled, around which the pipe of peace was smoked, we are grateful to our Creator for having united the hearts of the red men in peace; for it is in peace only that our women and children can enjoy happiness and increase in numbers. By peace our condition has been improved in the pursuits of civilized life. We should, therefore, extend the hand of peace from tribe to tribe, till peace is established between every nation of red men within the reach of our voice.  

          Brothers, when we call to mind the early associations which endeared us to the land that gave birth to our forefathers, where we were brought up in peace to taste the blessings of civilized life; when we see that our fires have there been extinguished, and our families been removed to a new and distant home, we can not but feel sorry. But the designs of Providence are mysterious: and we should not, therefore, despair of once more enjoying the blessings of peace in our new home.

          Brothers, by this removal tribes hitherto distant from each other have become

neighbors, and those hitherto unacquainted have become known to each other. There are, however, numerous other tribes with whom we are still strangers.

          Brothers, it is for renewing in the West the ancient talk of our forefathers, and of perpetuating forever the old pipe of peace, and of extending them from nation to nation, and of adopting such international laws as may redress the wrongs done by the people of our respective tribes to each other, that you have been invited to attend the present Council. Let us, therefore, so act that the peace which existed between our forefathers may be pursued, and that we may always live as members of the same family.

          Many others followed in addressing the group. One of the most notable being George Lowery, second chief of the Cherokee, who related a legend about how peace between the tribes had first been devised. He told of how a Shawnee messenger had come to the Cherokee, in a place also known as Tah-le-quah. According to the legend, the Shawnee messenger had started a fire which was to burn for eternity, and was to symbolize an agreement between the tribes to live together in peace. The messenger had left the fire with the Cherokee, who were then responsible for sharing this Atalk@ among all tribes.

          The delegates signed a treaty, pledging friendship, abjuring revenge and retaliation, and agreeing on the need to establish separate territories for each tribe in order that their people might improve in agriculture, manufacture and domestic arts. They also pledged not to cede any lands to the United States without the consent of the other tribes. There were clauses providing for punishment of offenders between tribes, and for extradition of offenders and restoration of stolen goods. They also agreed to repress the use of spirits, and not to introduce them into each other=s nations.

                       Osage Scalp Dance, John Mix Stanley

          The patience and bravery of the leaders of the Five Civilized Tribes is illustrated by an event which took place just two months following the end of the Council of 18

Tribes. Again it was the Osage who caused the trouble. The Osage had long been engaged in a war with the Pani-maha tribe, who incidentally had not attended the peace conference. When the Osage chief, Black Dog, found out that a group of Pani-maha had traded most of their guns to the Comanches and were unarmed, he sent out a war party against them. The party brought back 9 scalps and a woman captive. Black Dog then invited the Kickapoos to join him in continuing the war. Chief Roley McIntosh, of the Creeks, went personally to the Kickapoo camp, and bravely interrupted their war dance to remind them of their obligations under the treaty. He managed to convince them to agree to attend another conference at the Creek Council grounds in September to settle their differences with the Pani-maha, and he immediately sent out runners to invite the other tribes. 

          The immigrant tribes understood their western brothers. They knew what formalities needed to be followed in Councils to insure that every participant was shown the respect due to the leader of a nation. They understood that the relationships between Native American nations required more than just treaties. Each tribe needed guarantees that they would be secure from attack, and that they would have access to the game, corn and other supplies they needed to survive. They knew that required regular meetings and changes in agreements to fit the constantly changing situation.

          The efforts of the immigrant tribes to promote peace certainly prevented many deaths, not only among their own people but also among the white settlers.