SVSMVMHV
c/i
<
X
UJ.
The Slaveholding Indians
1 i ) As Slaveholder and Secessionist
(2) As Participants in the Civil War
(3) Under Reconstruction
Vol. I
AN OMITTED CHAPTER IN
THE DIPLOMATIC HISTORY OF THE
SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
BY
ANNIE HELOISE ABEL, PH.D.
THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY
CLEVELAND: 1915
83318
COPYRIGHT, IQIS, BY
ANNIE HELOISE ABEL
TO
MY FATHER AND MOTHER
CONTENTS
PREFACE , . 13
I GENERAL SITUATION IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY, 1830-
1860 ."; . 17
II INDIAN TERRITORY IN ITS RELATIONS WITH TEXAS
AND ARKANSAS . . . ... 63
III THE CONFEDERACY IN NEGOTIATION WITH THE IN-
DIAN TRIBES . . . . f ' . . 127
IV THE INDIAN NATIONS IN ALLIANCE WITH THE CON-
FEDERACY . . . . . * . 207
APPENDIX A - FORT SMITH PAPERS . . . 285
APPENDIX B-THE LEEPER OR WICHITA AGENCY PAPERS 329
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . .' . . . 359
INDEX 369
ILLUSTRATIONS
INDIAN TERRITORY, 1861 Frontispiece
MAP SHOWING FREE NEGRO SETTLEMENTS IN THE CREEK
COUNTRY 25
PORTRAIT OF COLONEL DOWNING, CHEROKEE ... 65
PORTRAIT OF JOHN Ross, PRINCIPAL CHIEF OF THE CHERO-
KEES 112
PORTRAIT OF COLONEL ADAIR, CHEROKEE . . . 221
MAP SHOWING THE RETREAT OF THE LOYAL INDIANS . 263
FORT McCuLLocH 281
PREFACE
This volume is the first of a series of three dealing
with the slaveholding Indians as secessionists, as par-
ticipants in the Civil War, and as victims under recon-
struction. The series deals with a phase of American
Civil War history which has heretofore been almost
entirely neglected or, where dealt with, either misun-
derstood or misinterpreted. Perhaps the third and last
volume will to many people be the most interesting
because it will show, in great detail, the enormous price
that the unfortunate Indian had to pay for having al-
lowed himself to become a secessionist and a soldier.
Yet the suggestiveness of this first volume is consider-
ably larger than would appear at first glance. It has
been purposely given a sub-title, in order that the pecu-
liar position of the Indian, in 1861, may be brought out
in strong relief. He was enough inside the American
Union to have something to say about secession and
enough outside of it to be approached diplomatically.
It is well to note, indeed, that Albert Pike, negotiated
the several Indian treaties that bound the Indian na-
tions in an alliance with the seceded states, under the
authority of the Confederate State Department, which
was a decided advance upon United States practice -an
innovation, in fact, that marked the tremendous im-
portance that the Confederate government attached to
the Indian friendship. It was something that stood
out in marked contrast to the indifference manifested at
the moment by the authorities at Washington ; for, while
14 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
they were neglecting the Indian even to an extent that
amounted to actual dishonor, the Confederacy was offer-
ing him political integrity and political equality and
was establishing over his country, not simply an empty
wardship, but a bona fide protectorate.
Granting then that the negotiations of 1861 with the
Indian nations constitute a phase of southern diplomatic
history, it may be well to consider to what Indian par-
ticipation in the Civil War amounted. It was a cir-
cumstance that was interesting rather than significant;
and the majority will have to admit that it was a cir-
cumstance that could not possibly have materially af-
fected the ultimate situation. It was the Indian coun-
try, rather than the Indian owner, that the Confederacy
wanted to be sure of possessing; for Indian Territory
occupied a position of strategic importance, from both
the economic and the military point of view. The
possession of it was absolutely necessary for the political
and the institutional consolidation of the South. Texas
might well think of going her own way and of forming
an independent republic once again, when between her
and Arkansas lay the immense reservations of the great
tribes. They were slaveholding tribes, too, yet were
supposed by the United States government to have no
interest whatsoever in a sectional conflict that involved
the very existence of the "peculiar institution." Thus
the federal government left them to themselves at the
critical moment and left them, moreover, at the mercy
of the South, and then was indignant that they betrayed
a sectional affiliation.
The author deems it of no slight advantage, in under-
taking a work of this sort, that she is of British birth
and antecedents and that her educational training, so
largely American as it is, has been gained without re-
Preface 15
spect to a particular locality. She belongs to no section
of the Union, has lived, for longer or shorter periods
in all sections, and has developed no local bias. It is
her sincere wish that no charge of prejudice can, in ever
so small a degree, be substantiated by the evidence, pre-
sented here or elsewhere. ANNIE HELOISE ABEL.
Baltimore, September, 1914
I. THE GENERAL SITUATION IN THE IN-
DIAN COUNTRY, 1830-1860
Veterans of the Confederate service who saw action
along the Missouri- Arkansas frontier have* frequently
complained, in recent years, that military operations in
and around Virginia during the War between the States
receive historically so much attention that, as a conse-
quence, the steady, stubborn fighting west of the Mis-
sissippi River is either totally ignored or, at best, cast
into dim obscurity. There is much of truth in the criti-
cism but it applies in fullest measure only when the
Indians are taken into account; for no accredited his-
tory of the American Civil War that has yet appeared
has adequately recognized certain rather interesting
facts connected with that period of frontier develop-
ment; viz., that Indians fought on both sides in the
great sectional struggle, that they were moved to fight,
not by instincts of savagery, but by identically the same
motives and impulses as the white men, and that, in the
final outcome, they suffered even more terribly than did
the whites. Moreover, the Indians fought as solicited
allies, some as nations, diplomatically approached.
Treaties were made with them as with foreign powers
and not in the farcical, fraudulent way that had been
customary in times past. They promised alliance and
were given in return political position -a fair exchange.
The southern white man, embarrassed, conceded much,
far more than he really believed in, more than he ever
could or would have conceded, had he not himself been
1 8 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
so fearfully hard pressed. His own predicament, the
exigencies of the moment, made him give to the Indian
a justice, the like of which neither one of them had
dared even to dream. It was quite otherwise with the
northern white man, however; for he, self-confident
and self-reliant, negotiated with the Indian in the tra-
ditional way, took base advantage of the straits in which
he found him, asked him to help him fight his battles,
and, in the selfsame moment, plotted to dispossess him
of his lands, the very lands that had, less than five and
twenty years before, been pledged as an Indian posses-
sion "as long as the grass should grow and the waters
run."
From what has just been said, it can be easily in-
ferred that two distinct groups of Indians will have to
be dealt with, a northern and a southern ; but, for the
present, it will be best to take them all together. Col-
lectively, they occupied a vast extent of country in the
so-called great American desert Their situation was
peculiar. Their participation in the war, in some ca-
pacity, was absolutely inevitable; but, preparatory to
any right understanding of the reasons, geographical,
institutional, political, financial, and military, that
made it so, a rapid survey of conditions ante-dating the
war must be considered.
It will be remembered that for some time prior to
1860 the policy 1 of the United States government had
been to relieve the eastern states of their Indian inhab-
itants and that this it had done, since the first years of
1 Confessedly much to its discredit, the United States government has never
had, for any appreciable length of time, a well-developed and well-defined In-
dian policy, one that has made the welfare of the aborigines its sole concern.
Legislation for the subject race has almost invariably been dictated by the needs
of the hour, by the selfish and exorbitant demands of pioneers, and by the
greed and caprice of politicians.
The Indian Country, 1 830-1860 19
Andrew Jackson's presidency, by a more or less com-
pulsory removal to the country lying immediately west
of Arkansas and Missouri. As a result, the situation
there created was as follows: In the territory compre-
hended in the present state of Kansas, alongside of in-
digenous tribes, like the Kansa and the Osage, 2 had been
placed various tribes or portions of tribes from the old
Northwest 3 -the Shawnees and Munsees from Ohio, 4
the Delawares, Kickapoos, Potawatomies, and Miamies
from Indiana, the Ottawas and Chippewas from Mich-
igan, the Wyandots from Ohio and Michigan, the Weas,
Peorias, Kaskaskias, and Piankashaws from Illinois,
and a few New York Indians from Wisconsin. To the
southward of all of those northern tribal immigrants
and chiefly beyond the later Kansas boundary, or in the
present state of Oklahoma, had been similarly placed
the great 5 tribes from the South 6 -the Creeks from
2 There were, of course, other indigenous tribes to the westward, in the
direction of Colorado and Texas, and to the northward, in southern Nebraska ;
but only the latter were more than remotely affected, as far as local habitation
was concerned, by the coming of the eastern emigrants and the consequent in-
troduction of the reservation system.
3 Kansas Historical Society Collections, vol. viii, 72-109.
4 In scarcely a single case here cited was the old home of the tribe limited
by the boundaries of a single state nor is it to be understood that the state here
mentioned was necessarily the original habitat of the tribe. It was only the
territorial headquarters of the tribe at the time of removal or at the time when
the policy of removal was first insisted upon as a sine qua non. Some of the
Indians emigrated independently of treaty arrangements with the United States
government and some did not immediately direct their steps towards Kansas
or Oklahoma; but made, through choice or through necessity, an intervening
point a stopping-place. The Kickapoos, the Shawnees, and the Delawares tar-
ried in Missouri, the Choctaws and the Cherokees, many of them, in Arkansas
but that was before 1830, the date of the removal law. After 1830, there was
no possible resting-place for weary Indians this side of the Ozark Mountains.
5 Some of the more insignificant southern Indians eventually found their
way also to Oklahoma. In 1860 there were a few Louisiana Caddoes in the
northwestern part of the Chickasaw country, most likely the same that, in
1866, were reported to have been driven out of Texas in 1859 by bushwhackers
and then out of the Washita country at the opening of the Civil War. They
2O The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Georgia and Alabama, the Cherokees from Tennessee
and Georgia, the Seminoles from Florida, and the Choc-
taws and Chickasaws from Alabama and Mississippi. 7
The population of the whole country thus colonized
continued throughout the war loyal to the United States. In 1853 the Choctaw
General Council passed an act admitting to the rights of citizenship several
Catawba Indians; and, from that circumstance, the Office of Indian Affairs
surmised that the Choctaws would be willing to incorporate Catawbas yet in
the Carolinas. In 1857 there were about seventy Catawbas in South Carolina on
a tiny reservation. They expressed an ardent wish to go among the Choctaws.
In 1860 the Catawbas were in possession of the northeastern part of the Choc-
taw country.
6 For the detailed history of events leading up to Indian removals, partic-
ularly the southern, see American Historical Association, Report, 1906, 241-450.
7 Not all of the southern Indians had emigrated in the thirties and forties.
A considerable number of Cherokees removed themselves from the country east
of the Mississippi to Texas. This was immediately subsequent to and induced
by the American Revolution [Texas Historical Association, Quarterly, July,
1897, 38-46 and October, 1903, 95-165]. Many Cherokees, likewise, took the
suggestion of President Jefferson and moved to the Arkansas country prior to
1820. Moreover, there were "Eastern Cherokees" in controversy with the
"Western Cherokees" for many years after the Civil War. Their endless
quarrels over property proved the occasion of much litigation. In the late
fifties active measures were taken by the Office of Indian Affairs to complete
the removal of the Seminoles and to accomplish by intrigue and diplomacy
what the long and expensive Second Seminole War had utterly failed to do.
Elias Rector of Arkansas superintended the matter and the Seminole chief,
John Jumper, gave valuable assistance, as did also the Creeks, who generously
granted to the Seminoles a home within the Creek country west [Creek Treaty,
1856, Kappler's Indian Laias and Treaties, vol. ii, 757]. Billy Bowlegs was
the last Seminole chief of prominence to leave Florida [Coe's Red Patriots,
198]. In 1853 there were still some four hundred Choctaws reported as living
in Alabama and there must have been even more than that in Mississippi. In
1854 steps were taken, but unsuccessfully, for their removal. In 1859 Repre-
sentative John J. McRae presented a petition from citizens of various Mis-
sissippi counties asking that the Choctaws be removed altogether from the
state because of their intimacy and intercourse with the negroes. The Office
of Indian Affairs refused to act. Perchance, it considered the moment inop-
portune or the means at hand insufficient. It may even have considered the
charge against the Choctaws a mere pretext and quite unfounded since it was
commonly reported that the Choctaws had a decided aversion to that particular
kind of race mixture. In that respect they differed very considerably from
the Creeks who to-day are said to present a very curious spectacle of an al-
most complete mixture. Choctaws from Mississippi and Cherokees from North
Carolina and Catawbas from South Carolina fought with the South in the
Civil War.
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 21
and, in a sense, reduced to the reservation system,
amounted approximately to seventy- four thousand souls,
less than seven thousand of whom were north of the
Missouri-Compromise line. The others were all south
of it and, therefore, within a possible slave belt.
This circumstance is not without significance; for it
is the colonized, or reservation, Indians 8 exclusively
that are to figure in these pages and, since this story is a
chapter in the struggle between the North and the
South, the proportion of southerners to northerners
among the Indian immigrants must, in the very nature
of things, have weight. The relative location of north-
ern and southern tribes seems to have been determined
with a very careful regard to the restrictions of the
Missouri Compromise and the interdicted line of thir-
ty-six degrees and thirty minutes was pretty nearly the
boundary between them. 9 That it was so by accident
may or may not be subject for conjecture. Fortunately
for the disinterested motives of politicians but most un-
fortunately for the defenceless Indians, the Cherokee
land obtruded itself just a little above the thirty-seventh
parallel and formed a "Cherokee Strip" eagerly covet-
ed by Kansans in later days. One objection, be it re-
membered, that had been offered to the original plan of
removal was that, unless the slaveholding southern In-
dians were moved directly westward along parallel
8 Other Indians made trouble during the progress of the Civil War, as,
for instance, the Sioux in the summer of 1862. The Sioux, however, were not
fighting for or against the issues of the white man's war. They were simply
taking advantage of a favorable occasion, when the United States government
was preoccupied, to avenge their own wrongs.
9 The existence of the "Cherokee Neutral Land" out of which the south-
eastern counties of Kansas were illegitimately formed was not exactly an ex-
ception to this. The Neutral Land, eight hundred thousand acres in extent,
was an independent purchase, made by the Cherokees, and was not included in
the exchange or in the original scheme that forced their removal from Georgia.
It was a subsequent concession to outraged justice.
22 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
lines of latitude, northern rights under the Missouri
Compromise would be encroached upon. Yet slavery
was not conscientiously excluded from Kansas in the
days antecedent to its organization as a territory. With-
in the Indian country, and it was all Indian country
then, slavery was allowed, at least on sufferance, both
north and south of the interdicted line. It was even en-
couraged by many white men who made their homes or
their living there, by interlopers, licensed traders, and
missionaries; 10 but it flourished as a legitimate institu-
tion only among the great tribes planted south of the
line. With them it had been a familiar institution long
before the time of their exile. In their native haunts
they had had negro slaves as had had the whites and
removal had made no difference to them in that partic-
ular. Since the beginning of the century refuge to fugi-
tives and confusion of ownership had been occasions for
frequent quarrel between them and the citizens of the
Southern States. Later, when questions came up touch-
ing the status of slavery on strictly federal soil, the In-
dian country and the District of Columbia often found
themselves listed together. 11 Moreover, after 1850, it
became a matter of serious import whether or no the
Fugitive Slave Law was operative within the Indian
country; and, when influenced apparently by Jefferson
Davis, Attorney-general Gushing gave as his opinion
that it was, new controversies arose. Slaves belonging
10 By far the best instance of missionary activity in behalf of slavery among
the northern Indian immigrants is to be found in the case of the Reverend
Thomas Johnson's work at the Shawnee Mission [Ray's Repeal of the Missouri
Compromise, footnote 207]. Johnson, like William Walker, head chief of the
Wyandots, was an ardent pro-slavery advocate [ibid., footnote 205] and took a
rather disgracefully prominent part in the notorious election frauds of early
Kansas territorial days [House Report, 34th congress, first session, no. 200, pp.
4, 18, 94, 425].
11 Buchanan's Works, vol. iii, 348, 350, 353.
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 23
to the Indians were often enticed away by the abolition-
ists 12 and still more often were seized by southern men
under pretense of their being fugitives. 13 In cases of
the latter sort, the Indian owners had little or no re-
dress in the federal courts of law. 14
12 Siebert's Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom, 284.
13 The most interesting case that came up in this connection was that of the
so-called Beams' Negroes, resident in the Choctaw country and illegally
claimed as refugees by John B. Davis of Mississippi [Indian Office, Special
Files, no. 277], The Reverend S. A. Worcester interested himself in their be-
half [Jefferson Davis to Worcester, October 7, 1854] and a decision was finally
rendered in their favor. Another interesting case of similar nature was, "In
re negroes taken from Overton Love and David Wall of the Chickasaw Nation
by Citizens of Texas, i848-'57" [ibid., no. 278].
14 Under the Intercourse Law of 1834, the Indian Territory had been an-
nexed for judicial purposes to the western district of Arkansas. The Indians
were much dissatisfied. They felt themselves entitled to a federal court of
their own, a privilege the United States government persistently denied to
them but one that the Confederate government readily granted. As matters
stood, prior to the Civil War, the red men seemed always at the mercy of the
white man's distorted conception of justice and were, perforce, quite beyond
the reach of the boasted guaranties of theoretical Anglo-Saxon justice since
the very location of the court precluded a trial by their peers of the vicinage.
The journey to Arkansas, in those early days, was long and tiresome and ex-
pensive. Complications frequently arose and matters, difficult of adjustment,
even under the best of circumstances. Among the Creeks and Seminoles, the
status of the free negro was exceptionally high, partly due, with respect to the
latter, to conditions growing out of the Second Seminole War. As already in-
timated, the Creeks had no aversion whatsoever to race mixtures and inter-
marriage between negroes and Indians was rather common. The half-breeds
resulting from such unions were accepted as bona fide members of the tribe by
the Indians in the distribution of annuities, but not by the United States
courts another source of difficulty and a very instructive one as well, par-
ticularly from the standpoint of reconstructionist exactions.
Occasionally the presence of the free negro within the Indian country was
a source of grave danger. The accompanying letters outline a case in point:
HEAD QUARTERS TTH. MIL: DEPT. FORT SMITH, March sth. 1852.
SIR: By direction of the Colonel commanding the Department I
transmit herewith copies of a communication from George Folsom,
Chief of the Pushmataha District, to Colonel Wilson Choctaw Agent and
one from Colonel William Wilson Choctaw Agent to Brevet Major
Holmes commanding Fort Washita asking aid from the Military force.
As the letter from the Choctaw Agent is not sufficiently explicit as to
what he wishes done by the Military authority the subject is referred to
you, and if on investigation it be found that Military interference is
24 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
In point of fact, during all the years between the
various dates of Indian removal and the breaking out
of the Civil War, the Indian country was constantly
necessary to enforce the intercourse law, prompt assistance will be ren-
dered for the purposes therein specified, under the direction and in pres-
ence of the Choctaw Agent. Respectfully Yr Obt. Servt.,
FRANCIS N PAGE, Asst. Adjt. Genl.
Colonel John Drennen, Superintendent W. T.
Inclosure
CHOCTAW AGENCY, February 9th 1852
SIR: The enclosed copy of a letter from Colonel George Folsom
Chief of Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation will put you in
possession of the facts and reasons why I address you at this time.
As the position of the free Negros and Indians alluded to in the
Chief's letter seems to be of rather a hostile character, having built
themselves a Fort doubtless for the purpose of defending themselves if
interupted in their present location, it seems to me necessary that they
should be driven away if necessary by Military authority; and, as your
post is the most convenient to the place where the Negroes and Indians
are Forted I have thought that a command could be sent with less
trouble and at less expense to the government by you than any one else.
I would therefore most respectfully call upon you to take such steps as
you may think most advisable to remove from the Choctaw country the
persons complained of by the Chief, and if necessary call upon Chief
Folsom to aid you with his light horse, who may be of much service to
you in the way of Guides. Very Respectfully Yr. Obt Servt.
(Signed) WILLIAM WILSON, Choctaw Agent
[Endorsement] A true Copy, Francis N Page, Asst. Adjt. Genl.
Inclosure
PUSHMATAHA DISTRICT, January 23. 1852.
DEAR SIR: I spoke to you about those free negroes upon the head
waters of Boggy, when I last saw you, requesting to have something
done with them. I have just learned that the negroes and some Indians
are banded together and have built themselves a little Fort. There is
no doubt but that they will be a great trouble to us. One of our coun-
try judges sent for the light-horse-men to go and seize the negroes, but
I have forbid them going, and many of our people wish to go and see
them. I have forbid any body to go there with intentions to take them.
It will no doubt be hard to break them up. You have probably just
returned home, and it may seem tresspassing upon you to write you
about those negroes and Indians, but you are our agent, and we have
the right to look to you for help. It seems to me this affair wants an
immediate action on it.
I have simply stated to you how these negroes and Indians are
Forted up that you may better know how to deal with them. In pur-
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 27
beset by difficulties. Some of the difficulties were inci-
dent to removal or to disturbances within the tribes but
most of them were incident to changes and to political
complications in the white man's country. Scarcely
had the removal project been fairly launched and the
first Indian emigrants started upon their journey west-
ward than events were in train for the overthrow of the
whole scheme.
When Calhoun mapped out the Indian country in his
elaborate report of 1825, the selection of the trans-Mis-
souri region might well have been regarded as judicious.
Had the plan of general removal been adopted then,
before sectional interests had wholly vitiated it, the
United States government might have gained and, in a
measure, would have richly deserved the credit of do-
ing at least one thing for the protection and preserva-
tion of the aborigines from motives, not self-interested,
but purely humanitarian. The moment was oppor-
tune. The territory of the United States was then lim-
ited by the confines of the Louisiana Purchase and its
settlements by the great American desert. Traders
only had penetrated to any considerable extent to the
base of the Rockies; but experience already gained
might have taught that their presence w r as portentous
and significant of the need of haste; that is, if Calhoun's
selection were to continue judicious; for traders, as has
been amply proved in both British and American his-
tory, have ever been but the advance agents of settlers.
Unfortunately for the cause of pure philanthropy, the
United States government was exceedingly slow in
forming your duties if I can in any way render you any assistance I
shall always be happy to do so. Very respectfully Your friend
(Signed) GEORGE FOLSOM, Chief Push: Dist:
Col: William Wilson, Choctaw Agent
[Endorsement] a true Copy, Francis N Page, Asst. Adjt. Genl.
28 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
adopting the plan of Indian removal; but its citizens
were by no means equally slow in developing the spirit
of territorial expansion. Their successful seizure of
West Florida had fired their ambition and their cupid-
ity. With Texas annexed and lower Oregon occupied,
the selection of the trans-Missouri region had ceased
to be judicious. How could the Indians expect to be
secure in a country that was the natural highway to a
magnificent country beyond, invitingly open to settle-
ment! But this very pertinent and patent fact the offi-
cials at Washington singularly failed to realize and
they went on calmly assuring the Indians that they
should never be disturbed again, that the federal gov-
ernment would protect them in their rights and against
all enemies, that no white man should be allowed to
intrude upon them, that they should hold their lands
undiminished forever, and that no state or territorial
lines should ever again circumscribe them. Such prom-
ises were decidedly fatuous, dead letters long before the
ink that recorded them had had time to dry. The Mex-
ican War followed the annexation of Texas and its con-
quests necessitated a further use of the Indian high-
way. Soldiers that fought in that war saw the Indian
land and straightway coveted it. Forty-niners saw it
and coveted it also. Prospectors and adventurers of all
sorts laid plans for exploiting it. It entered as a deter-
mining factor into Benton's great scheme for building
a national road that should connect the Atlantic and
Pacific shores and with the inception of that came a
very sudden and a very real danger; for the same great
scheme precipitated, although in an indirect sort of
way, the agitation for the opening up of Kansas and
Nebraska to white settlement, which, of course, meant
that the recent Indian colonists, in spite of all the sol-
I
*
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 29
emn governmental guaranties that had been given to
them, would have to be ousted, for would not the "sov-
ereign" people of America demand it? Then, too, the
Dred Scott decision, the result of a dishonorable politi-
cal collusion as it was, 15 militated indirectly against
Indian interests. It is true that it was only in its extra-
legal aspect that it did this but it did it none the less;
for, if the authority of the federal government was not
supreme in the territories and not supreme in any part
of the country not yet organized into states, then the
Indian landed property rights in the West that rested
exclusively upon federal grant, under the Removal Act
of 1830, were virtually nil. It is rather interesting to
observe, in this connection, how inconsistent human na-
ture is when political expediency is the thing at stake;
for it happened that the same people and the same
party, identically, that, in the second and third decades
of the nineteenth century, had tried to convince the In-
dians, and against their better judgment too, that the
red man would be forever unmolested in the western
country because the federal government owned it abso-
lutely and could give a title in perpetuity, argued, in
the fourth and fifth decades, that the states were the
sole proprietors, that they were, in fact, the joint own-
ers of everything heretofore considered as national. In-
ferentially, therefore, Indians, like negroes, had no
rights that white men were bound to respect.
The crucial point has now been reached in this dis-
cussion. From the date of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill,
the sectional affiliation of the Indian country became a
thing of more than passing moment. Whatever may
have been John C. Calhoun's ulterior and real motive
15 Buchanan's Works, vol. x, "the Catron letter," 106; "the Grier letter,"
106-107.
30 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
in urging that the trans- Missouri region be closed to
white settlement forever, whether he did, as some of his
abolitionist enemies have charged, plan thus to block
free-state expansion and so frustrate the natural oper-
ations of the Missouri Compromise, certain it is, that
southern politicians, after his time, became the chief
advocates of Indian territorial integrity, the ones that
pleaded most often and most noisily that guaranties to
Indians be faithfully respected. They had in mind the
northern part of the Indian country and that alone; but,
no doubt, the circumstance was purely accidental, since
at that time, the early fifties, the northern 16 was the only
part likely to be encroached upon. 17 Their interest in
the southern part took an entirely different direction
16 This was as it appeared to N. G. Taylor, Commissioner of Indian Af-
fairs, as he looked back, in 1867, upon events of the past few years. He was
then of the opinion that the very existence of slavery among the southern
tribes had most probably saved their country from being coveted by emigrants
going westward.
37 One agency under the Southern Superintendency, the Neosho River
Agency, was, however, included in the scheme preliminary to the organization
of Kansas and Nebraska. See the following letters found in Thomas S. Drew's
Letter Press Book:
(a) OFFICE SUPT. IND. AFFAIRS FORT SMITH, ARKS. Dec. 21, 1853.
SIR: Inclosed herewith you will receive letters from Agent Dorn,
dated the ist and 2nd instant; the former in relation to the disposition
of the Indians within his agency to meet Commissioners on the subject
of selling their lands, or having a Territorial form of Government ex-
tend over them by the United States: and the latter nominating John
Finch as Blacksmith to the Great and Little Osages. Very respectfully
Your obt. servt. A. H. RUTHERFORD, Clerk for Supt.
Hon. Geo. W. Manypenny, Com r Ind. Affairs
Washington City.
(b) OFFICE SUPT. INDIAN AFFAIRS FORT SMITH, ARKS. Dec. 29, 1853.
SIR: ... I have also to acknowledge the receipt of letters from
you of the 2nd instant to the Commissioner of Ind. Affrs. upon the sub-
ject of the Indians within your Agency being willing to meet Commis-
sioners en the part of the U.S. preparatory to selling their lands, or to
take into consideration the propriety of admitting a Territorial form of
Government extended over them & ...
A. H. RUTHERFORD, Clerk for Supt.
A. J. Dorn, U.S. Indian Agt., Crawford Seminary.
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 31
and that also may have been accidental or occasioned by
conditions quite local and present. For this southern
part, by the way, they recommended American citizen-
ship and the creation of American states 18 in the Union, '
18 In this connection, the following are of interest :
(a) The Choctaws, it is understood, are prepared to receive and as-
sent to the provisions of a bill introduced three years since into the Senate
by Senator Johnson of Arkansas, for the creation of the Territories of
Chah-la-kee, Chah-ta, and Muscokee, and it is greatly to be hoped that
that or some similar bill may be speedily enacted. . . Their country,
a far finer one than Kansas. . . The Choctaws have adopted a new
constitution, vesting the supreme executive power in a governor. . .
It is understood that this change has been made preparatory to the ac-
ceptance of the bill already mentioned.
The foregoing is taken from the Annual Report of the southern superintendent
for 1857 and in that report, Elias Rector who was then the superintendent,
having taken office that very year, argued that all the five great tribes ought
to be allowed to have delegates on the floor of Congress and to be made citi-
zens of the United States ; for the constitutions of the Cherokees, Choctaws, and
Chickasaws would compare favorably, said he, with those of any of the south-
western states [Senate Documents, 35th congress, first session, vol. ii, 485].
(b) The Fort Smith Times of February 3, 1859 printed the following:
SAM HOUSTON AND THE PRESIDENCY
The following we take from a printed slip sent to us by our Doaks-
ville correspondent, who informs us that it was sent to that office just
as he sends it. We presume that it is the programme laid down by
some of the Texas papers, friendly to the election of Sam Houston to the
Presidency. . .
Re-organization of the Territories
1. The organization of the Aboriginal Territory of Decotah, from
that part of the late Territory of Minnesota, lying west of the State of
Minnesota.
2. To fix the western boundaries of Kansas and Nebraska, at the
Meridian 99 or 100; and to establish in those Territories, Aboriginal
counties, for the exclusive and permanent occupation of the Aboriginal
tribes now located east of that line and within those Territories ; also to
provide, that said Territories shall not be admitted into the Union as
States unless their several Constitutions provide for the continuation of
the Federal regulations adopted for better government and welfare of
the Aboriginal tribes inhabiting the same.
3. To organize the Indian territory lying west of Arkansas, as "the
Aboriginal Territory of Neosho," under regulation similar to those pro-
posed by Hon. Robert W. Johnson of Arkansas in 1854 for the organiza-
tion of the Indian territory of Neosho.
4. To purchase from the State of Texas all that portion of the State
32 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
also a territorial organization immediately that should
look towards that end. Such advice came as early as
1853, at least, and was more natural than would at first
glance appear; for the southern tribes were huge in
population, in land, and in resources. They were civ-
ilized, had governments and laws modelled upon the
lying north of the Red river and include the same in the Aboriginal
territory of Comanche or Ouachita.
5. The territory of New Mexico.
6. From the western portion of New Mexico to take the Aboriginal
territory of Navajoe.
7. From the western portion of Utah, to take the Aboriginal terri-
tory of Shoshone.
Re-organize the eastern part of Utah, (the Mormon country), as an
Aboriginal territory.
Organize the western territory of Osage.
From Nebraska, west of the M.ioo, and south of the 4Sth parallel
take the Aboriginal territory of Mandan.
Organize the eastern half of Oregon, as the Aboriginal territory of
Umatilla.
Washington east of the M.n8 to be the Aboriginal territory of
Okanagan.
Nebraska, north of the 45th parallel to be the Aboriginal territory of
Assinneboin. Emigration into these territories to be prohibited by law
of Congress, until the same shall have been admitted into the Union as
States.
In each territory, a resident Military Police to preserve order. . .
(c) Henry Wilson, in the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power, vol. ii, 634-
635 says,
In the Indian Territory there were four tribes of Indians Cherokees,
Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Creeks. Under the fostering care of their
governments slavery had become so firmly established that slaveholders
thought them worthy of political fellowship, and articles in favor of
their admission began to appear in the southern press. "The progress
of civilization," said the New Orleans "Picayune," "in several of the
Indian tribes west of the States will soon bring up a new question for
the decision of Congress. . . It cannot fail to give interest to this
question that each of the Indian tribes has adopted the social institu-
tions of the South." To concentrate and give direction to such efforts,
a secret organization was formed to encourage Southern emigration, and
to discourage and prevent the entrance into the Territory of all who
were hostile to slaveholding institutions. It was hoped thus to guard
against adverse fortune which had defeated their purposes and plans
for Kansas.
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 33
American, and more than all else, they were southern
in origin, in characteristics, and in institutions.
The project for organizing 19 the territories of Kansas
and Nebraska caused much excitement, as well it might,
19 With reference to the proposed organization the subjoined documents
are of interest:
MR. MIX, c - STREET > J u] y 2 -
Dear Sir, Please have the western boundary of Mis. laid down on
this map, and the outline of the Pawnee, Kanzas & Osage purchases,
and the reservations, as they now stand within that outline. You need
not show each purchase, but the outline of the whole. Yours truly
THOMAS H. BENTON.
Letter of July 2, 1853, Indian Office Miscellaneous Files, 1851-1854.
WASHINGTON CITY, August sth, 1854.
HON. G. W. MANYPENNY Esq., Com Indian Department, Washington
City.
Dear Sir, Many people of Ohio, as well as of the states west of it,
have for a long time been most anxious to learn through your Depart-
ment, the nature of the several treaties made by yourself in behalf of the
Government, with the several tribes of Indians occupying the Terri-
tories of Nebraska & Kansas: particularly as to the reservation of land
made by such Tribes, its extent, ivhere, when, & how to be located, tc
within what time, and also what lands in both of said Territories by
virtue of said treaties are no<w subject to location?
I regret to inform you that much censure has attached to your Depart-
ment, in consequence of the delay which has attended the promulgation
of the above information, but which from my long knowledge of you
personally, and of the very prompt manner in which you have invari-
ably discharged your public duties, I believe to be most unjust.
I seek the above information, not only for myself (contemplating a
removal to Kansas) but also in behalf of many persons in the western
states, who have solicited my intervention in that matter on my visit to
this City. Very respectfully your friend S. W. WHITE
Indian Office Miscellaneous Files, 1851-1854.
C. STREET, Aug. 19, '53.
To GEO. W. MANYPENNY ESQ., Com. of Indian Affairs,
Sir, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of yes-
terday with the accompanying copy of a letter to the Hon. Mr. Atchi-
son, and make my thanks to you for this mark of your attention. The re-
ply will be immediately forwarded to Meas Ami, to be published in the
same paper in which your note to me covering the map on which the
Indian's cessions & reserves west of Missouri, was published, Very re-
spectfully, Sir, Yr. obt. servant, THOMAS H. BENTON.
Indian Office Miscellaneous Files, 1851-1854.
34 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
among the Indian immigrants, even though the Wyan-
dots, in 1852, had, in a measure, anticipated it by initiat-
ing a somewhat similar movement in their own restrict-
ed locality. 20 Most of the tribes comprehended to the
full the ominous import of territorial organization; for,
obviously, it could not be undertaken except at a sacri-
fice of Indian guaranties. At the moment some of the
tribes, notably the Choctaw and Chickasaw, 21 were hav-
ing domestic troubles that threatened a neighborhood
war and the new fear of the white man's further aggran-
dizement threw them into despair. The southern
Indians, generally, were much more exercised and
much more alarmed than were the northern. 22 Being
more highly civilized, they were better able to compre-
hend the drift of events. Experience had made them
unduly sagacious where their territorial and treaty
rights were concerned, and well they knew that, al-
though the Douglas measure did not in itself directly
affect them or their country, it might easily become the
forerunner of one that would.
The border strife, following upon the passage of the
20 Ray, op. cit., 86 ; Connelley, in Kansas Historical Society, Collections, vol.
vi, 102 ; Connelley, Provincial Government of Nebraska Territory, pp. 24, 30
et seq.
The Wyandots took an active part in the Kansas election troubles. For
some evidence of that, see, House Reports, 34th congress, first session, no. zoo,
pp. 22, 266.
21 By the treaty of 1837 [Kappler, op. cit., vol. ii, 486], the Choctaws, for a
money consideration as was natural, agreed to let the Chickasaws occupy their
country jointly with themselves and form a Chickasaw District within it that
should be on a par with the other districts (Moo-sho-le-tubbee, Apucks-hu-
nubbe, and Push-ma-ta-ha), or political units, of the Choctaw Nation. The
arrangement meant political consolidation, one General Council serving for
the two tribes, but each tribe retaining control of its own annuities. The
boundaries of the Chickasaw District proved the subject of a contention, con-
stant and bitter. Civil war was almost precipitated more than once. Finally,
in 1855, the political connection was brought to an end by the terms of the
Treaty of Washington [Kappler, op. cit., vol. ii, 706], negotiated in that year.
- 22 See Report of C. C. Copeland to Cooper, August 27, 1855.
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 35
Kansas-Nebraska Bill, disturbed in no slight degree the
Indians on the Kansas reservations, which, by-the-by,
had been very greatly reduced in area by the Many-
penny treaties of 1853-1854. Some of the reserves lay
right in the heart of the contested territory, free-state
men intrenching themselves among the Delawares and
pro-slavery men among the Shawnees, 23 the former
north and the latter south of the Kansas River. But even
remoteness of situation constituted no safeguard against
encroachment. All along the Missouri line the squat-
ters took possession. The distant Cherokee Neutral
Lands 24 and the Osage and New York Indian reserva-
tions 25 were all invaded. 26 The Territorial Act had
expressly excluded Indian land from local govern-
mental control; but the Kansas authorities of both
parties utterly ignored, in their administration of af-
fairs, this provision. The first districting of the terri-
tory for election purposes comprehended, for instance,
the Indian lands, yet little criticism has ever been passed
23 A secret society is said to have been formed in Missouri for the express
purpose of gaining the Shawnee land for slavery.
24 Dean wrote to Butler, November 29, 1855 [Letter Press Book] saying that
the disturbed state of things in Kansas was having a very serious effect upon
the Cherokee Neutral Land. Early in 1857, Butler reported that he had given
notice that if intruders had not removed themselves by spring he would have
them removed by the military [Butler to Dean, January 9, 1857]. Manypenny
approved Butler's course of action which is quite significant, considering that
the federal administration was supposed to be unreservedly committed to the
pro-slavery cause and the intruders were pro-slavery men from across the
border.
25 Andrew Dorn took charge of the Neosho Agency, to which these reserva-
tions as well as the Quapaw, Seneca, and Seneca and Shawnee belonged, in
1855 and regularly had occasion to complain of intruders. White people seem
to have felt that they could with impunity encroach upon the New York In-
dian lands because they were only sparsely settled and because the Indian title
was in dispute.
26 Apart from any sectional desire to obtain the Indian country, would-be
settlers seem to have been attracted thither from a mistaken notion that there
were mines of precious metals west of Missouri [Commissioner of Indian Af-
fairs, Report, 1858].
36 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
upon that grossly illegal act. Needless to say, the con-
troversy between slavocracy and freedom obscured and
obliterated, in those years, all other considerations.
As the year 1860 approached, appearances assumed
an even more serious aspect. Kansas settlers and
would-be settlers demanded that the Indians, so re-
cently the only legal occupants of the territory, vacate
it altogether. So soon had the policy of granting them
peace and undisturbed repose on diminished reserves
proved futile. The only place for the Indian to go,
were he indeed to be driven out of Kansas, was present
Oklahoma; but his going there would, perforce, mean
an invasion of the property rights of the southern tribes,
a matter of great moment to them but seemingly of no
moment whatsoever to the white man. Some of the
Kansas Indians saw in removal southward a temporary
refuge -they surely could not have supposed it would
be other than temporary- and were glad to go, making
their arrangements accordingly. 27 Some, however, had
to be cajoled into promising to go and some had to be
forced. A few held out determinedly against all
thought of going. Among the especially obstinate ones
were the Osages, 28 natives of the soil. The Buchanan
27 As early as 1857, the Sacs and Foxes of Missouri were reported as look-
ing for a new home to the southward, in a less rigorous climate, and, with that
purpose in mind, they visited the Cherokees. When the Delaware treaty of
1860 was being negotiated, the Delawares expressed themselves as very anxious
to get away from white interference, to leave Kansas. The Ortawas thought
and thought rightly, forsooth, judging from the experience of the past, that re-
moval would do no good. They declared a preference for United States citi-
zenship and tribal allotment [Jotham Meeker, Baptist missionary, to Agent
James, September 4, 1854, a ' so Agent James's Report, 1857]. At this same
period, Agent Dorn reported that the Kansas River Shawnees were desirous of
joining those of the Neosho Agency. Greenwood replied, January 18, 1860,
that the subject of allowing the northern Indians to go south was then under
consideration by the department [Letter to Superintendent Rector].
28 The evidence of this is to be found in a letter from W. G. Coffin to Dole,
June 17, 1861 [Neosho Files, 1838-1865, 1223].
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 37
government failed utterly to convince them of the
wisdom of going and was, thereupon, charged by the
free-state Kansans with bad faith, with not being sincere
and sufficiently persistent in its endeavors to treat, its
secret purpose being to keep the free-state line as far
north as possible. The breaking out of the Civil War
prevented the immediate removal of any of the tribes
but did not put a stop to negotiations looking towards
that end.
All this time there was another influence within the
Indian country, north and south, that boded good or ill
as the case might be. This influence emanated from
the religious denominations represented on the various
reserves. Nowhere in the United States, perhaps, was
the rivalry among churches that had divided along
sectional lines in the forties and fifties stronger than
within the Indian country. There the churches con-
tended with each other at close range. The Indian
country was free and open to all faiths, while, in the
states, the different churches kept strictly to their own
sections, the southern contingent of each denomination
staying close to the institution it supported. Of course
the United States government, through its civilization
fund, was in a position to show very pointedly its sec-
tional predilections. It will probably never be known,
because so difficult of determination, just how much the
churches aided or retarded the spread of slavery. 29
Among the tribes of Kansas, denominational strength
was distributed as follows: The Kickapoos 30 and
29 For information on this subject, see Carroll's American Church History,
'9, 93, 253-254, 302.
30 Feeling that, under the treaty of 1854, they were free to choose whatever
denomination they pleased to reside among them, the Kickapoos expressed a
preference for the Methodist Episcopal Church South, but the Presbyterian
Board of Foreign Missions was already established among their neighbors of
83318
38 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Wyandots 31 were Methodists; but, while the former
were a unit in their adherence to the Methodist Epis-
copal Church South, the latter were divided and among
them the older church continued strong. The Amer-
ican Baptist Missionary Union had a school on the
Delaware reservation and, previous to 1855, had had
one also on the Shawnee, which the political uproar in
Kansas had obliged to close its doors. These same
Northern Baptists were established also among the
Ottawas, as the Moravians were among the Munsees
and the Roman Catholics 32 among the Osages and the
Potawatomies. The Southern Baptists were likewise to
be found among the Potawatomies 33 and the Southern
Methodists among the Shawnees. The Shawnee Man-
ual Labor School, under the Southern Methodists, was,
however, only very grudgingly patronized by the In-
dians. Its situation near the Missouri border was
partly accountable for this as it was for the selection
of the school as the meeting-place of the pro-slavery
legislature in 1855. The management of the institution
was from time to time severely criticized and the super-
the Otoe and Missouria and Great Nemaha Agencies, their own agent, Mr.
Baldwin, was a Presbyterian, and so, before long, in some almost unaccountable
way, they found that the Presbyterians (Old School) had obtained an entry
upon their reserve and had established a mission school there. The Kickapoos
were indignant, as well they had a right to be, and made as much trouble as
they possibly could for the Presbyterians. In 1860, the Presbyterian Board
vacated the premises and the Methodist Episcopal Church South took posses-
sion, Agent Badger favoring the change. The change was of but short dura-
tion, however; for, in 1861, the Southern Methodists, rinding the sympathy of
the Kickapoos was mainly with the federal element, took their departure.
81 Ray, op. cit., 86, footnote 107.
82 The most flourishing schools seem to have been the Roman Catholic.
The Roman Catholics did not greatly concern themselves, as a church organiza-
tion, with the slavery agitation, and St. Mary's Mission and the Osage Manual
Labor School were scarcely affected by the war and not at all by the troubles
that presaged its approach.
33 The Baptist school among the Potawatomies closed in 1861. See Ap-
pendix.
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 39
intendent, the Reverend Thomas Johnson, an intense
pro-slavery agitator, 34 was strongly suspected of mal-
feasance, 35 of enriching himself, forsooth, at the expense
of the Indians. The school found a formidable rival,
from this and many another cause, in a Quaker estab-
lishment, which likewise existed on the Shawnee Re-
serve but independently of either tribal or govern-
mental aid.
If church influences and church quarrels were dis-
cernible among the northern tribes, they were certainly
very much more so among the southern. The Amer-
ican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
(Congregational) that had labored so zealously for the
Cherokees, when they were east of the Mississippi, ex-
tended its interest to them undiminished in the west;
and, in the period just before the Civil War, 36 was the
strongest religious force in their country. There it had
no less than four mission stations 37 and a flourishing
school in connection with each. The same organization
was similarly influential among the Choctaws 38 or, in
the light of what eventually happened, it might better
be said its missionaries were. Both Southern and North-
ern Baptists and Southern Methodists likewise were to
be found among the Cherokees; 39 Presbyterians 40 and
84 House Report, 34th congress, first session, no. 200, pp. 14, 18, 94, 425.
35 See Indian Office, Special File, no. 22O.
36 The work of the American Board among the Cherokees was discontinued
just before the war [Missionary Herald, 1861, p. n ; American Board Re-
port, 1860, p. 137].
37 The four were: "Park hill, five miles south from Tahlequah; Dwight,
forty-two miles south-southwest from Tahlequah; Fairfield, twenty-five miles
southeast from Tahlequah ; Lee's creek, forty-three miles southeast from Tahle-
quah" Commissioner of Indian Affairs {Report, 1859, p. 173]. There had
been a fifth, an out station.
38 The Congregational schools among the Choctaws were: lyanubbi, near
the Arkansas line ; Wheelock, eighteen miles east of Doaksville ; and Chuahla,
one mile from Doaksville.
39 The Southern Baptist Convention had not been long in the country prior
40 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Southern Methodists among the Chickasaws and Choc-
taws; and Presbyterians only among the Creeks and
Seminoles. In every Indian nation south, except the
Creek and Seminole, 41 the work of denominational
schools was supplemented, or maybe neutralized, by
that of public and neighborhood schools.
True to the traditions and to the practices of the old
Puritans and of the Plymouth church, the missionaries
of the American Board,* 2 so strongly installed among
the Choctaws and the Cherokees, took an active interest
in passing political affairs, particularly in connection
with the slavery agitation. On that question, they
early divided themselves into two camps; those among
the Choctaws, led by the Reverend Cyrus Kingsbury, 43
to the Civil War. The Methodist Episcopal Church South had no schools but
several missionaries. The American Baptist Missionary Union had a number
of meeting-houses.
40 The Presbyterians (Old School) established Wah-pa-nuc-ka Institute for
young women, forty miles north of Red River and one and one-eighth miles
west of the Choctaw and Chickasaw line; but differences arose between the
Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions and the Chickasaw authorities, neither
institutional nor sectional, but purely financial, which caused the Presbyterians
to abandon the school in 1860 [C. H. Wilson, attorney for the Presbyterian
Board of Foreign Missions, to Cooper, April 16, 1860]. The Presbyterian
schools among the Choctaws were: Spencer Academy, "located on the old mil-
itary road leading from Fort Towson to Fort Smith, about ten miles north of
Fort Towson," and Koonsha Female Seminary. Both of them were under the
Presbyterian Board. A third institution, Armstrong Academy, belonged to the
Cumberland Presbyterians. The Southern Methodists had Bloomfield Acad-
emy, Colbert Institute, and the Chickasaw Manual Labor School among the
Chickasaws; and the Fort Coffee and New Hope academies, for boys and
girls respectively, among the Choctaws.
41 The Seminoles were late in manifesting an interest in education, and, when
interest did arise among them, John Jumper, the chief, declared for boarding-
schools and asked that such be established under the Presbyterian Board, the
same that had influence among their near neighbors, the Creeks.
42 The American Board itself was inclined to be non-committal and tem-
porizing [Garrison, op. cit., vol. iii, 30]. The Missionary Herald, so valuable
an historical source as it proved itself to be for Indian removals, is strangely
silent on the great subject of negro slavery among the Indians. Its references
to it are only very occasional and never more than incidental.
43 Kingsbury was superintendent of the Chuahla Female Seminary.
The Indian Country, 1830-1860- 41
supporting slavery; and those among the Cherokees, led
by the Reverend S. A. Worcester, 44 opposing it. The
actions of the former led to a controversy with the
American Board and, in 1855, the malcontents, or pro-
slavery sympathizers, expressed a desire to separate
themselves and their charges from its patronage. 45
When, eventually, this separation did occur, 1859-1860,
the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions (Old
School) stepped into the breach. 46
The rebellious conduct of the Congregational mis-
sionaries met with the undisguised approval of the
Choctaw agent, Douglas H. Cooper, 47 formerly of
Mississippi. It was he who had already voiced a ner-
vous apprehension, as exhibited in the following docu-
ment, 48 that the Indian country was in grave danger of
being abolitionized:
^~ If things go on as they are now doing, in 5 years slavery
will be abolished in the whole of your superintendency.
(Private) I am convinced that something must be done
speedily to arrest the systematic efforts of the Missionaries to
abolitionize the Indian Country
Otherwise we shall have a great run-away harbor, a sort of
44 Worcester died, April, 1859 [Missionary Herald, 1859, p. 187; 1860,
p. ia].
45 Missionary Herald, 1859, pp. 335-336; 1860, p. 12; The American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Report, 1856, p. 195.
46 Report of C. C. Copeland, 1860.
4T Cooper was also Chickasaw agent. On the fifth of October, 1854, some
of the principal men of the Chickasaw Nation, Cyrus Harris, James Gamble,
Sampson Folsom, Jackson Frazier, and D. Colbert, petitioned President Pierce
for the removal of Agent Andrew J. Smith on charges of official irregularity
and gross immorality. A year later, Superintendent Dean reiterated the
charges. Smith's commission was revoked, November 9, 1855; and, in March,
1856, Cooper was assigned the Chickasaws as an additional charge. Hence-
forth, the two tribes had an agent in common.
48 This note itself bore no date but there is documentary proof that it was
received at Fort Smith, November 27, 1854. It is to be found in the Indian
Office among the Fort Smith Papers.
42 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Canada with "underground rail-roads" leading to & through
it - adjoining Arkansas and Texas.
It is of no use to look to the General Government - its arm
is paralized by the abolition strength of the North.
I see no way except secretly to induce the Choctaws & Chero-
kees & Creeks to allow slave-holders to settle among their people
& control the movement now going on to abolish slavery among
them. C
Cooper sent this note, in 1854, as a private memo-
randum to the southern superintendent, who at the time
was Charles W. Dean. In 1859, it was possible for
him to write to Dean's successor, Elias Rector, in a very
different tone. The missionaries had then taken the
stand he himself advocated and there was reason
for congratulation. Under such circumstances, Cooper
wrote,
I cannot close this report without calling your attention to
the admirable tone and feeling pervading the reports of super-
intendents of schools and missionaries among the Choctaws, and
particularly to that of the Rev. Ebenezer Hotchkin, one of the
oldest missionaries among the Choctaws, who, in referring to
past political disturbances, says: "We have looked upon our
rulers as the 'powers that be, are ordained of God,' and have
respected them for this reason. 'Whomsoever, therefore, re-
sisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God' (Romans, xiii,
2) . This has been our rule of action during the political excite-
ment. We believe that the Bible is the best guide for us to fol-
low. Our best citizens are those most influenced by Bible
truth."
I rejoice to believe the above sentiments are entertained by
most, if not all, the missionaries now among the Choctaws and
Chickasaws, and that they entirely repudiate the higher-law doc-
trine 49 of northern and religious fanatics. It is but lately, as I
learn, that the Choctaw mission, for many years under the con-
trol of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis-
sions (whose headquarters are at Boston) has been cut off, be-
49 The allusion is, of course, to the "higher law" doctrine expressed in
Seward's Senate Speech of March u, 1850.
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 43
cause they preferred to follow the teachings of the Bible, as un-
derstood by them, rather than obey the dogmas contained in Dr.
Treat's letter and the edicts of the parent board.
It is a matter of congratulation among the friends of the old
Choctavv missionaries, who have labored for thirty years among
them, and intend to die with armor on, that all connection with
the Boston board has been dissolved. If it had been done years
ago, when their freedom of conscience and of missionary action
was attempted to be controlled by the parent board, much of sus-
picion, of ill-feeling, and diminished usefulness, which attached
to the Choctaw missionaries in consequence of their connection
with and sustenance by a board avowedly and openly hostile to
southern institutions, would have been prevented. 60
50 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1859, pp. 190-191.
The letter of Dr. Treat referred to by Agent Cooper is herewith given.
It is accompanied by the letter that covered it and that letter, as it is found
among the Fort Smith Papers in the United States Indian Office, bears a record
to the effect that the copy of it was transmitted by the southern superintendent
to Washington, November 28, 1855.
FORT TOWSON Nov. 16, 1855
SIR: I have the pleasure to forward a copy of letter, addressed to
the Rev d S. B. Treat, Corresponding Secretary of the American Board
of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, by C. Kingsbury and others -
Missionaries among the Choctaws - and request the same may be trans-
mitted to the Hon Comr of Indian Affairs for the information of the
Government of the United States.
The letter as you will perceive refers to an exciting and highly
important subject -in which the States adjoining the Indian Territory
are deeply & directly interested, as well as the Choctaw People.
I cannot refrain from the expression of my gratification at the posi-
tion assured in this letter by the old and valued Missionaries among the
Choctaws. The copy was handed to me by Rev d Cyrus Kingsbury,
one of the signers to the original letter. Respectfully
DOUGLAS H COOPER, U. S. Agent for Choctaws
Hon. C. M. Dean, Supt. Indian Affairs,
Ft Smith.
[Inclosure] Copy
PINE RIDGE, CHOC. NA. Nov. 15, 1855.
REV. S. B. TREAT, Cor. Secretary of the A.B.C.F.M.
Rev. & Dear Brother, When the Rev. G. W. Wood visited us as a
deputation from the Prudential Committee, he treated us, our views, and
our practice so kindly, and spoke to us so many encouraging words, that
we were constrained to meet him in a similar spirit of concilliation.
We were willing to re-examine the difference in views on the subject
of slavery, which for a long time had existed between the Committee
44 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
In the next year, 1860, Cooper was still sanguine as
to affairs among the Indians of his agency and he could
and ourselves, and to see if there was not common ground on which
we could stand together.
At the opening of the meeting at Good Water, Mr. Wood laid aside
the letter of June 22nd '/48. This was a subject we were not to dis-
cuss. He then introduced, by way of compromise, as we understood
it, certain articles to show that there were principles, or modes of ex-
pression, in relation to slavery, in which there was substantial agree-
ment. To these articles, though not expressed in every particular as we
could have wished, (and after some of them had been modified by oral
explanations,) we gave our assent, for the sake of peace. We
hoped it would put an end to agitation on a subject which had so long
troubled us, and hindered us in our work. We took it for granted that
the Committee had yielded certain important points, insisted on in the
letter of June 22nd '/48. This gladdened our hearts, and disposed us to
meet Mr. Wood's proposal in a spirit of concilliation and confidence.
We are not skilled in diplomacy, and had no thought that we were
assenting to articles which would be considered as covering the whole
ground of the letter of June 22nd. The first intimation that we had
been mistaken, was from a statement made by Mr. Wood, in New York,
that the result of the meeting at Good Water "involved no change of
views or action on the part of the Prudential Committee and Secretaries."
In Mr. Wood's report to the Pru. Com. which was read at Utica,
the Good Water document was placed in such a relation to other state-
ments, as to make the impression that we had given our full and willing
assent to the entire letter of June 22d. The Com. on that Report, of
which Dr. Beman was chairman, say, "The great end aimed at by the
Pru. Com. in their correspondence with these missions for several years;
and by the Board at their last annual meeting; has been substantially
accomplished."
This is a result we had not anticipated. We can not consent to be
thus made to sanction principles and sentiments which are contrary to
our known, deliberate, and settled convictions of right, and to what we
understand to be the teachings of the word of God. We are fully con-
vinced that we can not go with the Committee and the Board, as to the
manner in which as Ministers of the Gospel and Missionaries we are
to deal with slavery. We believe the instructions of the Apostles, in
relation to this subject, are a sufficient guide, and that if followed the
best interests of society, as well as of the Church, will be secured.
We have no wish to give the Com. or the Board farther trouble on
this subject. As there is no prospect that our views can be brought to
harmonize, we must request that our relations to the A.B.C.F.M. may be
dissolved in a way that will do the least harm to the Board, and to our
Mission.
We have endeavored to seek Divine guidance in this difficult matter,
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 45
report to Rector, unhesitatingly, as if confident of offi-
cial endorsement both at Forth Smith and at Wash-
ington, 51
Great excitement has prevailed along the Texas border, in con-
sequence of the incendiary course pursued in that State by horse
thieves and religious fanatics ; but I am glad to say, as yet, so far
as I am informed, no necessity has existed in this agency for the
organization of "vigilance committees" . . . No doubt we
have among us free-soilers; perhaps abolitionists in sentiment;
but, so far as I am informed, persons from the North, residing
among the Choctaws and Chickasaws, who entertain opinions un-
friendly to our system of domestic slavery, keep their opinions
to themselves and attend to their legitimate business. 62
George Butler, the United States agent for the Cher-
okees, seems to have been, no less than Cooper, an ad-
herent of the State Rights Party and an upholder of the
and we desire to do that which shall be most for the glory of our Divine
Master, and the best interests of his cause among this people. We re-
gret the course we feel compelled to take, but we can see no other relief
from our present embarassment. Fraternally and truly yours,
(Signed) C. KINGSBURY C. C. COPELAND
C. BYINCTON O. P. STARK
E. HOTCHKIN
51 That the Buchanan administration did endorse pro-slavery policy and
actions requires no proof today. The findings of the Covode committee of in-
vestigation, 1860, are in themselves sufficient evidence, were other evidence
lacking, of the intensely partisan and corrupt character of the Democratic re-
gime just prior to the Civil War. Of the officials, having Indian concerns in
charge, the Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
are, for present purposes, alone important. Buchanan's Secretary of the In-
terior was Jacob Thompson, who had formerly been a representative in Con-
gress from Mississippi and had thrown all the weight of his influence in favor
of the Lecompton constitution for Kansas [Rhodes, J. F. History of the United
States, vol. ii, 277]. After his retirement from Buchanan's cabinet, Thompson
served as commissioner from Mississippi, working in North Carolina for the
accomplishment of secession [Moore's Rebellion Record, vol. i, 5]. A. B.
Greenwood of Arkansas was Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Buchanan's
time. He also had been in Congress and, while there, had served on the
House Committee of Investigation into Brooks's attack upon Sumner. He
formed with Howell Cobb of Georgia the minority element [Von Hoist, vol.
v, 324].
52 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1860, p. 129.
46 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
institution of slavery. In 1859, he ascribed the very
great material progress of the Cherokees to the fact that
they were slaveholders. 53 Slavery, in Butler's opinion,
had operated as an incentive to all industrial pursuits.
To an extent this may have been true, since all Indians,
no matter how high their type, have an aversion for
work. As Professor Shaler once said, they are the
truest aristocrats the world has ever known. But the
slaveholders among the great tribes of the South were,
for the most part, the half-breeds, the cleverest and
often, much as we may regret to have to admit it, the
most unscrupulous men of the community.
Butler's commission as Indian agent expired in
March, 1860, and he was not reappointed, Robert J.
Cowart of Georgia 54 being preferred. This man, illit-
erate and unprincipled, immediately set to work to
perform a task to which his predecessor had proved
unequal. The task was the removal of white intruders
from the Cherokee country. For some time past, the
southern superintendent and the agents under him, to
say nothing of Commissioner Greenwood and Secretary
Thompson, the one a citizen of Arkansas and the other
of Mississippi, had resented most bitterly the invasion
of the Cherokee Neutral Lands by Kansas free-soilers
and the division of it into counties by the unlawfully
assumed authority of the Kansas legislature. The re-
sentment was thoroughly justifiable; for the whole pro-
ceeding of the legislature was contrary to the express
enactment of Congress; but no doubt, enthusiasm for
the strict enforcement of the federal law came largely
from political predilections, precisely as the Kansan's
53 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1859, p. 172.
54 Greenwood to Rector, March 14, 1860 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 63,
p. 128] ; Greenwood to Cowart, March 14, 1860 [ibid., 125].
>- The Indian Country, 1830-1860 47
outrageous defiance of it came from a deep-rooted dis-
trust of the Buchanan administration.
There were, however, other intruders that Cowart
and Rector and Greenwood designed to remove and
they wanted to remove them on the ground that they
were making mischief within the tribe and interfering
with its institutions, or, more specifically, with slavery.
The intruders meant were principally the missionaries
against whom Greenwood had even the audacity to lay
the charge of inciting to murder. Newspapers of bor-
dering slave states were full of criticism, 55 just before
the war, of these same men and, notably, of the Rev-
erend Evan 56 and John Jones, the reputed ringleaders.
65 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1860. See also additional docu-
ments in Appendix B.
56 The following extract from the Fort Smith Times of February 3, 1859
makes particular mention of the Reverend Evan Jones:
In the True Democrat of the i9th inst, we find an article credited
to the Fort Smith Times, in which the Rev. Evan Jones, a Baptist Mis-
sionary, residing near the State line, Washington county, is handled
rather roughly so far as words are concerned. He is said to be an abo-
litionist, and a very dangerous man, meddling with the affairs of the
Cherokees, and teaching them abolition principles.
"As such reports will be circulated to the prejudice of the Southern
Baptists, we hereby request some of our Brethren in the northwest part
of the State to write us the grounds for such reports.
"Is the "Rev. Evan Jones' connected with any Missionary Society and
if so, what one?
"We hope shortly to hear more concerning this matter."
The above notice is from the first number of the Arkansas Baptist,
a new paper just published in Little Rock, P. S. G. Watson, Editor. It
was not our intention to cast any reflections on the Baptist Church by
noticing the Rev. gentleman named above, as we have great respect for
the Church. We deny, however, that Mr. Jones "is handled roughly
so far as words are concerned," for there are no harsh words or epi-
thets in the article referred to; but he is handled roughly so far as facts
are concerned. He is a Missionary Baptist, and the society by which he
is supported, has, we believe, its headquarters in Boston, Mass. Mr.
Jones' conduct has been fully reported to the Indian office, at Washing-
ton, by a number of the Cherokees, and by their Agent, Mr. George
Butler, to whom we refer the editor of the Baptist, for the truth of the
48 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
The official excuse for removing them is rather inter-
esting because it is so similar to that given, some thirty
years earlier, in connection with the removal from
Georgia. Ulterior motives can so easily be hidden
under cold official phrase.
That the cause of slavery within the Cherokee coun-
try was in jeopardy in the spring and summer of 1860
can not well be denied. To the men of the time the
evidence was easily obtainable. Almost as if by magic,
a "search organization" started up among the full-
bloods, an organization profoundly secret in its mem-
bership and in its purposes, but believed to be for no
other object than the overthrow of the "peculiar insti-
tution." Its existence was promptly reported to the
United States government and, as was to be expected,
the missionaries were held responsible for both its in-
ception and its continuance. It was then that Green-
wood made 57 his most serious charge against these men
and prepared, under color of law, to have them re-
moved. Later, in this same year of 1860, Quantrill,
the Hagerstown, Maryland man of Pennsylvania Dutch
origin, who afterwards became such a notorious fron-
tier guerrilla in the interests of the Confederate cause,
leagued himself with some abolitionists for the sake of
charges we have made against him ; and, if they are not satisfactory
we can give a full history of Evan Jones' conduct for a number of years,
well known among the Cherokees.
In connection with the foregoing newspaper extract, it is well to note that
Richard Johnson was the editor of the True Democrat. Richard was a
brother of Robert W. Johnson who represented one faction of the Democratic
party in Arkansas while Thomas C. Hindman represented another. This was
before their devotion to the Confederate cause had made them friends. Robert
W. Johnson served in the United States Congress, first as representative, then
as senator. He was later a senator in the Confederate States Congress. The
Johnson family, although not so numerous as the Rector family, was, like it,
strongly secessionistic.
57 Greenwood to Thompson, June 4, 1860 [Indian Office, Report Book, no.
12, pp. 323-324]-
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 49
making an expedition to the Cherokee country and
rescuing negroes, there held in bondage. 58 The timely
distrust of Quantrill, however, caused the enterprise to
be abandoned even before its preliminaries had been
thoroughly well arranged; yet, had the rescue been
carried to completion, it would not have been entirely
without precedent 59 and its very contrivance indicated
an uncertainty and a precariousness of situation south
of the Kansas line.
Ever since their compulsory removal from Georgia
under circumstances truly tragic, the Cherokees had
been much given to factional strife. This was largely
in consequence of the underhand means taken by the
state and federal authorities to accomplish removal.
The Cherokees had, under the necessities of the situa-
tion, divided themselves into the Ross, or Anti-removal
Party, and the Ridge, or Treaty Party. 60 Removal took
place in spite of the steady opposition of the Rossites
and the Cherokees went west, piloted by the United
States army. Once in the west a new division arose in
their ranks; for, as newcomers, they came into jealous
contact with members of their tribe who had emigrated
many years previously and who came to figure, in sub-
sequent Cherokee history, as the Old Settlers' Party. 61
In 1846, the United States government attempted to as-
sume the role of mediator in a settlement of Cherokee
tribal differences but without much success. 62 The old
wrongs were unredressed, so the old divisions remained
58 Connelley, Quantrill and the Border Wars, 147-149, 152.
59 Siebert, Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom, 284.
60 This party came to be known, almost exclusively, as the Treaty Party.
After the murder of John Ridge, from whom the party took its name, his
nephew, Stand Watie, became its leader. Stand Watie figured conspicuously
on the southern side in the Civil War.
61 A good general account of these Cherokee factional disputes may be
found in Thomas Valentine Parker's Cherokee Indians.
62 Kappler, op. cit. y vol. ii, 561; Folk's Diary (Quaife's edition), vol. ii, 80.
$O The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
and formed nuclei for new disintegrating issues. Thus,
in 1857, tnere were no less than three factions created in
consequence of a project for selling the Cherokee Neu-
tral Lands. 63 Each faction had its own opinion how best
to dispose of the proceeds, should a sale take place. In
1860, there were two factions, the selling and the non-
selling. 64 This tendency of the Cherokees perpetually
to quarrel among themselves and to bear long-standing
grudges against each other is most important; inasmuch
as that marked peculiarity of internal politics very
largely determined the unique position of the tribe with
reference to the Civil War.
The other great tribes had also occasions for quarrel
in these same critical years. The disgraceful circum-
stances of their removal had widened the gulf, once
simply geographical, between the Upper and the Low-
er Creeks. They were now almost two distinct polit-
ical entities, in each of which there were a principal
and a second chief. In 1833, provision had been made
for the accommodation of the Seminoles within a cer-
tain definite part of the Creek country 63 - just such an
arrangement, forsooth, as worked so ill when applied to
the Choctaws and Chickasaws ; but it took several years
for the Seminoles to be suited. At length, when their
numbers had been considerably augmented by the com-
ing of the new immigrants from Florida, they took up
68 George Butler to Dean, January 9, 1857.
64 ". . . The Cherokee Council is in session, tho they do not seem to be
doing much. It will hold about four weeks yet. I will stay till it breaks. I
think the Councilmen seem to be split on some questions. It seems as if there
are two parties, one is called the land selling party & those opposed to selling
the land (that is Neutral lands). They passed a bill last council to sell it.
Congress would not have anything to do with it & in fact they got up a pro-
test against selling it & sent it to Washington City & they did not sell the
land." Extract from J. C. Dickinson to Captain Mark T. Tatum, dated
Tahlequah, October 16, 1860 [Fort Smith Papers}.
65 Kappler, op. cit., vol. ii, 388.
The Indian Country, 1 8 30-1860 51
their position, for good and all, in the southwestern cor-
ner of the Creek Reserve, a politically distinct com-
munity. By that time, the Creeks seem to have repent-
ed of their generosity, 66 so, perhaps, it was well that the
United States government had not yielded to their im-
portunity and consented to a like settlement of the
southern Comanches. 67 It had taken the Chickasaws a
long time to reconstruct their government after the
political separation from the Choctaws; but now they
had a constitution, 68 all their own, a legislature, and a
governor. The Choctaws had attempted a constitution,
likewise, first the Scullyville, then the Doaksville, set
up by a minority party; but they had retained some sem-
blance of the old order of things in the persons of their
chiefs. 69
There were other Indians within the southern divi-
sion of the Indian country that were to have their part
in the Civil War and in events leading up to it or result-
ing from it. In the extreme northeastern corner, were
the Quapaws, the Senecas, and the confederated Senecas
and Shawnees, all members, with the Osages and the
New York Indians of Kansas, of the Neosho River
Agency which was under the care of Andrew J. Dorn.
In the far western part, at the base of the Wichita
Mountains, were the Indians of the Leased District,
66 Rector to Greenwood, June 14, 1860.
67 Tuckabatche Micco and other Creek chiefs wished the southern Co-
manches to be located somewhere between the Red and Arkansas Rivers. That
might or might not have meant a settlement upon the actual Creek reservation.
Manypenny promised to look into the matter and find out whether there were
any vacant lands in the region designated [Manypenny to Dean, May 25, 1855,
Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 51, pp. 444-445],
68 Dean to Manypenny, November 24, 1856, and related documents [General
Files, Chickasaw, 1854-1858, 0304, 1400].
69 For Choctaw political disturbances in 1858, see General Files, Choctaw,
1859-1866, 1933 and Rioo4.
C2 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Wichitas, Tonkawas, 70 Euchees, and others, collectively
called the "Reserve Indians." Most of them had been
brought from Texas, 71 because of Texan intolerance of
their presence, and placed within the Leased District,
a tract of land west of the ninety-eighth meridian,
which, under the treaty of 1855, the United States had
rented from the Choctaws and Chickasaws. It was a
part of the old Chickasaw District of the Choctaw Na-
tion. Outside of the Wichita Reserve and still wander-
ing at large over the plains were the hostile Kiowas and
Comanches, against whom and the inoffensive Reserve
Indians, the Texans nourished a bitter, undying hatred.
They charged them with crimes that were never com-
mitted and with some crimes that white men, disguised
as Indians, had committed. They were also suspected
of manufacturing evidence that would incriminate the
red men and of plotting, in regularly-organized meet-
ings, their overthrow. 72
Although the plan for colonizing some of the Texas
Indians had been completed in 1855, the Indian Office
found it impossible to execute it until the summer of
1859. This was principally because the War Depart-
ment could not be induced to make the necessary mil-
itary arrangements. 73 In point of fact, the southern In-
7 * Some of the Tonkawas most probably went back to their old Texan hunt-
ing-grounds upon the breaking out of the war and were found encamped, in
1866, around San Antonio [Cooley to Sells, February 15, 1866, Indian Office,
Letter Book, no. 79, p. 293].
71 The Leased District was designed to accommodate any Indians that the
United States government might see fit to place there, exclusive of New Mex-
ican Indians, who had caused the Wichitas a great deal of trouble, and those
tribes "whose usual ranges at present are north of the Arkansas River, and
whose permanent locations are north of the Canadian. . ." [Kappler, op,
a/., vol. ii, 708].
72 The treatment of the Indians by Texas will be made the subject of a later
publication. The story is too long a one to be told here.
78 Mix to Rector, March 30, 1859 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 60, pp.
386-388].
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 53
dian country was, at the time, practically without a
force of United States troops, quite regardless of the
promise that had been made to all the tribes upon the
occasion of their removal that they should always be
protected in their new quarters and, inferentially, by
the regular army. Even Fort Gibson had been vir-
tually abandoned as a military post on the plea that its
site was unhealthful; and all of Superintendent Rec-
tor's recommendations that Frozen Rock, on the south
side of the Arkansas a few miles away, be substituted 74
had been ignored, not so much by the Interior Depart-
ment, as by the War. Secretary Thompson thought that
enough troops should be at his disposal to enable him
to carry out the United States Indian policy, but Secre-
tary Floyd demurred. He was rather disposed to dis-
mantle such forts as there were and to withdraw all
troops from the Indian frontier, 75 a course of action that
would leave it exposed, so the dissenting Thompson
prognosticated, to "the most unhappy results." 78
It happened thus that, when the United States sur-
veyors started in 1858 to establish the line of the ninety-
eighth meridian west longitude and to run other boun-
dary lines under the treaty of 1855," they found the
country entirely unpatrolled. Troops had been ordered
from Texas to protect the surveyors; but, pending their
arrival, Agent Cooper, who had gone out to witness the
74 Annual Report, 1857.
75 Samuel Cooper, the New York man, who was now in United States em-
ploy but later became adjutant-general of the Confederacy [Crawford, Genesis
of the Civil War, 310], made, about this time, a very significant inquiry as to
how many Indian warriors there were in the vicinity of the various settle-
ments [Cooper to Mix, January 29, 1856, Indian Office, Miscellaneous Files,
1858-1863'].
70 J. Thompson to J. B. Floyd, March 12, 1858 [Indian Office, Miscellaneous
Files'].
77 By this treaty, the Choctaws had surrendered to the United States all their
claims to land beyond the one hundredth degree of west longitude.
54 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
determination of the initial point on the line between
his agency and the Leased District, himself took post at
Fort Arbuckle and called upon the Indians for patrol
and garrison duty. 78 It would seem that Secretary
Thompson had verbally authorized 79 Cooper to make
this use of the Indians; but they proved in the sequel
very inefficient as garrison troops. On the thirtieth of
June, Lieutenant Powell, commanding Company E,
First United States Infantry, arrived at Fort Arbuckle
from Texas and relieved Cooper of his self-imposed
task. The day following, Cooper set out upon a sixteen
day scout of the Washita country, taking with him his
Indian volunteers, Chickasaws 80 and a few Cherokees; 81
and for this act of using Indian after the arrival of
white troops, he was severely criticized by the depart-
ment. One thing he accomplished: he selected a site
for the prospective Wichita Agency with the recom-
mendation that it be also made the site 82 of the much-
needed military post on the Leased District. The site
had originally been occupied by a Kechie village and
was admirably well adapted for the double purpose
Cooper intended. It lay near the center of the Leased
78 Cooper to Rector, June 23, 1858.
79 Cooper to Rector, June 30, 1858.
80 Some of the Chickasaws came to Cooper under the lead of the United
States interpreter, James Gamble, later Chickasaw delegate in the Confederate
Congress.
81 The Cherokees soon deserted Cooper, no cause assigned. Why they were
with him at all can not very easily be explained unless they were looking out
for the interests of the "Cherokee Outlet." They may, indeed, have been some
refugee Cherokees who, in 1854, were reported as living in the Chickasaw
country and consorting with horse thieves and other desperadoes. Under or-
dinary circumstances, Cooper had no authority to command the actions of
Cherokees and his call was to Choctaws and Chickasaws whose agent he was
and whose interests were directly involved in the survey then being made.
82 On the question of the proposed site, see Rector's Report, 1859, pp. 307,
309. For Emory's familiarity with the region, note his report of a military
reconnaissance undertaken by him in 1846 and 1847 [Pacific Railroad Surveys,
vol. ii].
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 55
District and near the sources of Cache and Beaver
Creeks. It was also, so reported Cooper, "not very dis-
tant from the Washita, & Canadian" (and commanded)
"the Mountain passes through the Wichita Mountains
to the Antelope Hills -to the North branch of Red
River and also the road on the South side of the Wich-
ita Mountains up Red River."
The colonization of the Wichitas and other Indians
took place in the summer of 1859 under the excitement
of new disputes with Texas, largely growing out of an
unwarranted and brutal attack 83 by white men upon In-
dians of the Brazos Agency. That event following so
closely upon the heels of Van Dorn's 84 equally brutal
attack upon a defenceless Comanche camp brought
matters to a crisis and the government was forced to be
expeditious where it had previously been dilatory. The
Comanches had come in, under a flag of truce, to confer
in a friendly way with the Wichitas. Van Dorn, igno-
rant of their purpose but supposing it hostile, made a
forced march, surprised them, and mercilessly took
summary vengeance for all the Comanches had been
charged with, whether justly or unjustly, for some time
past. After it was all over, the Comanches, with about
sixty of their number slain, accused the Wichitas of hav-
ing betrayed them. Frightened, yet innocent, the
83 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1859, and accompanying docu-
ments.
84 It would seem that Van Dorn had been ordered by General Twiggs,
commanding in Texas, to explore the country between the one hundredth and
the one hundred and fourth meridians as far north as the Canadian River.
He was to do it quite irrespective of department jurisdictional lines. Van
Dorn had the Texan's unrelenting hatred for all Indians and, as was to have
been expected, considering the latitude of his orders, soon got himself into
trouble. It is interesting to note in connection with this affair and in view
of all that followed when Van Dorn and Albert Pike were both serving under
the Confederacy, that their dislike of each other dated from Pike's condemna-
tion of Van Dorn's cruel treatment of the Comanches.
56 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Wichitas begged that there be no further delay in their
removal, so the order was given and arrangements
made. Unfortunately, by the time everything was
ready, the season was pretty far advanced and the In-
dians reached their new home to find it too late to put in
crops for that year's harvest. Subsistence rations had,
therefore, to be doled out to them, the ocasion afford-
ing, as always, a rare opportunity for graft. Instead of
calling for bids, as was customary, Superintendent Rec-
tor entered into a private contract 85 with a friend and
relative of his own, the consequence being that the gov-
ernment was charged an exorbitant price for the rations.
Soon other troubles 86 came. The Leased District
proved to be already occupied by some northern Indian
refugees 87 and became, as time went on, a handy ren-
85 The contractor was Charles B. Johnson of Fort Smith. Under the firm
name of Johnson & Grimes, this man and Marshal Grimes, also of Arkansas,
were able again and again to secure subsistence contracts from Rector and
always with the suspicion of fraud attaching. Whenever possible, Rector and
his friends eliminated entirely the element of competition. Abram G. Mayers
of Fort Smith seems to have been the chief informer against Rector. As a
matter of fact, and this must be admitted in extenuation of Rector's conduct,
the Indian field service was so grossly mismanaged, officials from the highest
to the lowest were so corrupt, that it is not at all surprising that each one
[unless by the merest chance he were strong enough morally to resist tempta-
tion] took every opportunity he could get to enrich himself at the Indian's ex-
pense; for, of course, all such ill-gotten gains came sooner or later out of the
Indian fund. Very few Indian officials seem to have been able to pass muster
in matters of probity during these troublous times. Secretary Thompson and
even Ex-president Pierce were not above suspicion in the Indian's estimation
[Article, signed by "Screw Fly" in the Chickasaiv and Choctaiv Herald, Feb-
ruary ii, 1859]. Mix was accused of dishonesty, so were Commissioner Dole,
Commissioner Cooley, and Secretary Usher, to say nothing of a host of lesser
officials.
86 Supervising agent, Robert S. Neighbors, who had always befriended the
Indians when he conveniently could against unfounded charges, was killed soon
after the removal by vindictive Texans. S. A. Blain was then given charge
of the Texas superintendency in addition to his own Wichita Agency. The
consolidation of duties gave the Texans, apparently, a fresh opportunity to
lodge complaints against the Wichitas.
87 These refugees were mostly Delawares and Kickapoos. There were oth-
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 57
dezvous for free negroes; but, as soon as Matthew
Leeper 88 of Texas became agent, the stay of such was
extremely short. 89
Such were the conditions obtaining among the In-
dians west of Missouri and Arkansas in the years imme-
diately antedating the American Civil War; and, from
such conditions, it may readily be inferred that the In-
dians were anything but satisfied with the treatment that
had been and was being accorded them. They owed no
great debt of gratitude to anybody. They were restless
and unhappy among themselves. Their old way of liv-
ing had been completely disorganized. They had noth-
ing to go upon, so far as their relations with the white
men were concerned, to make them hopeful of anything
better in the future, rather the reverse. Indeed at the
very opening of the year 1860, a year so full of distress
to them because of the great drouth 90 that ravaged Ne-
er "strays," or "absentees," scattered here and there over the Indian country.
There were Shawnees near the Canadian, Delawares among the Cherokees, and
Shawnees and Kickapoos on the southwestern border of the Creek lands.
88 Matthew Leeper was appointed to succeed S. A. Blain as agent, July,
1860. He had previously been special Indian agent in Texas.
89 Among the Leeper Papers is found the following:
Notice: All free negroes are notified to leave the Wichita Reserve
or Leased District fdrthwith, except an old negro who is in charge of
Messrs. Grimes & Rector, who will be permitted to remain a few days.
.... ... [M. LEEPER], U. S. Ind. Agt.
Wichita Agency, L.D. Sept. 26, 1860.
90 The suffering among the Indians must have been very great. There
was a complete failure of crops everywhere. Subsistence had to be continued
to the Wichitas, the Seminoles were reported absolutely destitute, and even the
provident Choctaws were obliged to memorialize Congress for relief on the
basis of the Senate award under their treaty of 1855 [General Files, CAoctais,
1859-1866], Out of this application of Choctaw funds to the circumstances
of their own pressing needs, came the great scandal of the Choctaw Corn
Contract, in which Agent Cooper and many prominent men of the tribe were
implicated. In some way Albert Pike was concerned in it also; but it must
have been practically the only time a specific charge of anything like peculation
could possibly have been brought against any of his transactions. His char-
acter for honesty seems to have been impeccable.
58 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
braska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, the worst that had been
known in thirty years, there came occasion for a new
distrust. Proposals were made to the Creeks, 91 to the
Choctaws, 92 and to the Chickasaws to allot their lands in
severalty, notwithstanding the fact that one of the in-
ducements offered by President Jackson to get them
originally to remove had been, that they should be per-
mitted to hold their land, as they had always held it, in
common, forever. The Creeks now replied to the pro-
posals of the Indian Office that they had had experience
with individual reservations in their old eastern homes
and had good reason to be prejudiced against them.
The Indians, one and all, met the proposals with a
downright refusal but they did not forget that they had
been made, particularly when there came additional
cause for apprehension.
The cause for apprehension came with the presiden-
tial campaign of 1860 and from a passage in Seward's
Chicago speech, 93 "The National Idea; Its Perils and
Triumphs," expressive of opinions, false to the national
trust but favorable to expansion in the direction of the
Indian territory, most inopportune, to say the least, and
foolish. Seward probably spoke in the enthusiasm of
a heated moment; for the obnoxious sentiment, "The
Indian territory, also, south of Kansas, must be vacated
by the Indians," was very different in its tenor from
equally strong expressions in his great Senate speech 94
91 In January, 1860, Agent Garrett asked the Creeks in their National
Council to consent to the apportionment of the tribal lands. Motty Cunard
[Motey Kennard] and Echo Mayo [Echo Harjo] sent the reply of the Council
to Garrett, January 19, 1860. It was an unqualified and absolute refusal.
92 Cooper to Greenwood, March 31, 1860 [General Files, Choctaw, 1859-
1866, C44S].
93 George E. Baker, Works of W. H. Seward (edition of 1884), vol. iv,
363 ; Bancroft's Seivard, vol. ii, 460-470.
94 Congressional Globe, 3jrd congress, first session, Appendix, p. 155.
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 59
on the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, February 17, 1854. It
soon proved, however, easy of quotation by the seces-
sionists in their arguments with the Indians, it being
offered by them as incontestable proof that the designs
of the incoming administration were, in the highest de-
gree, inimical to Indian treaty rights. At the time of
its utterance, the Indians were intensely excited. The
poor things had had so many and such bitter experi-
ences with the bad faith of the white people that it took
very little to arouse their suspicion. They had been told
to contract their domain or to move on so often that they
had become quite super-sensitive on the subject of land
cessions and removals. Seward's speech was but an-
other instance of idle words proving exceedingly fate-
ful.
Two facts thus far omitted from the general survey
and reserved for special emphasis may now be remarked
upon. They will show conclusively that there were
personal and economic reasons why the Indians, some
of them at least, were drawn irresistibly towards the
South. The patronage of the Indian Office has always
been more or less of a local thing. Communities ad-
joining Indian reservations usually consider, and with
just cause because of long-established practice, that all
positions in the field service, as for example,, agencies
and traderships, are the perquisites, so to speak, of the
locality. It was certainly true before the war that
Texas and Arkansas had some such understanding as to
Indian Territory, for only southerners held office there
and, from among the southerners, Texans and Arkan-
sans received the preference always. It happened too
that the higher officials in Washington were almost in-
variably southern men.
The granting of licenses to traders rested with the
60 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
superintendent and everything goes to show that, in the
fifties and sixties, applications for license were scrutin-
ized very closely by the southern superintendents with
a view to letting no objectionable person, from the
standpoint of southern rights, get into the territory.
The Holy See itself could never have been more vig-
ilant in protecting colonial domains against the intro-
duction of heresy. The same vigilance was exercised
in the hiring of agency employees, blacksmiths, wheel-
wrights, and the like. Having full discretionary power
in the premises, the superintendents could easily inter-
pret the law to suit themselves. They could also evade
it in their own interests and frequently did so. One
notorious case 95 of this sort came up in connection with
Superintendent Drew, who gave permits to his friends
to "peddle" in the Indian country without requiring of
them the necessary preliminary of a bond. Traders once
in the country had tremendous influence with the In-
dians, especially with those of a certain class whom or-
dinarily the missionaries could not reach. Then, as be-
fore and since, Indian traders were not men of the high-
est moral character by any means. Too often, on the con-
trary, they were of degraded character, thoroughly un-
scrupulous, proverbial for their defiance of the law, gen-
eral illiteracy, and corrupt business practices. It stands to
reason that such men, if they had themselves been select-
ed with an eye single to the cause of a particular section
and knew that solicitude in its interests would mean
great latitude to themselves and favorable reports of
themselves to the department at Washington, would
spare no efforts and hesitate at no means to make it their
first concern, provided, of course, that it did not inter-
fere with their own monetary schemes.
95 Dean to Manypenny, October 24, 1855 [Dean's Letter Book}.
The Indian Country, 1830-1860 61
To cap the climax, the last and greatest circumstance
to be noted, if only because of the great weight it car-
ried with the Indians when it was brought into the argu-
ment by the secessionists, is that practically all of the
Indian money held in trust for the individual tribes by
the United States government was invested in southern
stocks; 96 in Florida y's, in Georgia, Kentucky, Louisi-
ana, Maryland, South Carolina, Missouri, Virginia,
and Tennessee 6's, in North Carolina and Tennessee 5's,
and the like. To tell the truth, only the merest mini-
mum of it was secured by northern bonds. The south-
erners asserted for the Indians' benefit, that all these
securities would be forfeited 97 by the war. Sufficient
96 INDIAN TRUST FUND
List of stocks held by the Secretary of the Interior in trust for Indian
tribes
STATE PER CENT AMOUNT
Arkansas ...... 5 $ 3,000.00
Florida ..... 7 132,000.00
Georgia . . . . . 6 3,500.00
Indiana ..... 5 70,000.00
Kentucky . . . . . 5 183,000.00
Louisiana ..... 6 37,000.00
Maryland* . . . . 6 131,611.82
Missouri ..... $y s 63,000.00
Missouri ..... 6 484,000.00
North Carolina . . . . (^ 562,000.00
Ohio ...... -16 150,000.00
Pennsylvania* . . .*. 5 96,000.00
South Carolina . . . . 6 125,000.00
Tennessee . . . . . '\ 5 218,000.00
Tennessee . , . . 4 6 143,000.00
United States j .- . , 6 251,330.00
Virginia . . , . ,,, 6 796,800.00
3,449,241.82
* Taxed by the State.
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1859, p. 452.
97 David Hubbard to Ross and McCuIloch, June 12, 1861 [Official Records,
first sen, vol. xiii, 497].
62 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
is the fact, that the position of the Indians 98 was un-
questionably difficult. With so much to draw them
southward, our only wonder is, that so many of them
stayed with the North.
98 The position of the tribes in the northern part of the Indian country, in
Kansas, was considerably different from that of the tribes in the southern part,
in Oklahoma. Each of the great tribes to the southward had a government
of its own that was modelled very largely upon that of the various states.
The tribes to the northward had retained, unchanged in essentials, their old
tribal community government. Moreover, they had already been obliged to
allow themselves to be circumscribed by territorial lines, soon to be state lines;
their integrity had been broken in upon ; and now they were not of sufficient
importance to have, either individually or collectively, anything to say about
the sectional affiliation of Kansas. As a matter of fact, they never so much
as attempted to take general tribal action in the premises. Neither their situa-
tion nor their political organization permitted it.
II. INDIAN TERRITORY IN ITS RELA-
TIONS WITH TEXAS AND ARKANSAS
For the participation of the southern Indians in the
American Civil War, the states of Texas and Arkansas
were more than measurably responsible. Indian Ter-
ritory, or that part of the Indian country that was his-
torically known as such, lay between them. Its south-
ern frontage was along the Red River; and that stream,
flowing with only slight sinuosity downward to its junc-
tion with the Mississippi, gave to Indian Territory a
long diagonal, controlled, as far as situation went, en-
tirely by Texas. Texas lay on the other side of the river
and she lay also on almost the whole western border of
Indian Territory." She was, consequently, in posses-
sion of a rare opportunity, geographically, for exercis-
ing influence, should need for such ever arise. Running
parallel with the Red River and northward about one
hundred miles, was the Canadian. Between the two
rivers were three huge Indian reservations, the most
western was the Leased District of the Wichitas and
allied bands, the middle one was the Chickasaw, and
the eastern, the Choctaw. 100 The Indian occupants o
these three reservations were, therefore, and sometimes
to their sorrow, be it said, the very next door neighbors
99 An interruption to this came in the shape of the indefinitely defined
"Cherokee Outlet," which lay north of Texas and in addition occupied the
northern part of Indian Territory.
100 The subjoined map will illustrate the relative position of the individual
Indian reservations. Although published in 1867, it is not correct for that
date but is fairly correct for 1861. The "reconstruction treaties" of 1866 made
various changes in the Indian boundaries but the map takes no account of them.
64 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
of the Texans. The Choctaws were, likewise, the next
door neighbors of the Arkansans who joined them on
the east; but the relations between Arkansans and Choc-
taws seem not to have been so close or so constant dur-
ing the period before the war as were the relations be-
tween the Choctaws and the Texans on the one hand and
the Cherokees and the Arkansans on the other.
The Cherokees dwelt, like the Choctaws, over against
Arkansas but north of the Canadian River and in close
proximity to Fort Smith, the headquarters of the South-
ern Superintendency. 11 ' 1 Their territory was not so com-
pactly placed as was the territory of the other tribes;
and, in its various parts, it passes, necessarily, under
various designations. There was the "Cherokee Out-
let," a narrow tract south of Kansas that had no definite
western limit. It was supposed to be a passage way to
the hunting grounds of the great plains beyond. Then
there was the "Cherokee Strip," the Kansas extension
of the outlet, and for most of its extent originally and
legally a part of it. The territorial organization of
Kansas had made the two distinct. Finally, as respects
the more insignificant portions of the Cherokee domain,
there were the "Cherokee Neutral Lands," already suf-
ficiently well commented upon. They were insignifi-
cant, not in point of acreage but of tribal authority oper-
ating within them. They lay in the southeastern corner
of Kansas and constituted, against their will and against
the law, her southeastern counties. They were separat-
ed, to their own discomfiture and disadvantage, from
the Cherokee Nation proper by the reservation of the
Quapaws, of the Senecas, and of the confederated Sen-
ecas and Shawnees. This Cherokee Nation lay, as has
iai Van Buren had a short time previously been the headquarters of the
Southern Superintendency.
COLONEL DOWNING, CHEROKEE
{From Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American
Ethnology]
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 67
already been indicated, over against Arkansas and north
of the northeastern section of the Choctaw country.
The Arkansas River formed part of the boundary be-
tween the two tribal domains. So much then for the
location of the really great tribes, but where were the
lesser?
The Quapaws, the Senecas, and the confederated Sen-
ecas and Shawnees, the most insignificant of the lesser,
occupied the extreme northeastern corner of Indian
Territory and, therefore, bordered upon the southwest-
ern corner of Missouri. The Creeks lived between the
Arkansas River, inclusive of its Red Fork, and the Can-
adian River, having the Cherokees to the east and north
of them, the Choctaws and Chickasaws to the south, and
the Seminoles to the southwest, between the Canadian
and its North Fork. The Indians of the Leased Dis-
trict have already been located.
In the years*preceding the Civil War, the interest of
Texas and of Arkansas in Indian Territory manifested
itself, not in a covetous desire to dispossess the Indians
of their lands, as was, unfortunately for national honor,
the case in Kansas, but in an effort to keep the actual
country true to the South, settled by slaveholders, In-
dian or white, as occasion required or opportunity of-
fered. When sectional affairs became really tense after
the formation of the Republican Party, they redoubled
their energies in that direction, working always through
the rich, influential, and intelligent half-breeds, some
of whom had property interests and family connections
in the states operating upon them. 102 The half-breeds
were essentially a planter class, institutionally more
102 \y e fj n( j tnat t hi s intimate intercourse extended even to things scholas-
tic; for, though there were plenty of female seminaries, so-called, within In-
dian Territory, Indian girls regularly attended similar institutions in Fayette-
ville [Bishop, A. W., Loyalty on the Frontier, 143].
68 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
truly so than were the inhabitants of the border slave
states. It is therefore not surprising that, during the
excitement following Abraham Lincoln's nomination
and election, identically the same political agencies
worked among them as among their white neighbors
and events in Indian Territory kept perfect pace with
events in adjoining states.
The first of these that showed strong sectional ten-
dencies came in January, 1861, when the Chickasaws,
quite on their own initiative apparently, met in a called
session of their legislature to consider how best the
great tribes might conduct themselves with reference to
the serious political situation then shaping itself in the
United States. There is some evidence that the Knights
of the Golden Circle had been active among the Indians
as they had been in Arkansas 103 during the course of the
late presidential campaign. At all events, the red men
knew full well of passing occurrences among their
neighbors and they certainly knew how matters were
progressing in Texas. There the State Rights Party
was asserting itself in no doubtful terms. For the time
being, however, the Chickasaws contented themselves
with simply passing an act, 104 January 5, suggesting
103 Bishop [Loyalty on the Frontier, 20] says that to the zeal of the Knights
of the Golden Circle, or "Knaves of the Godless Communion," was mainly
attributable "the treasonable complexion" of the Arkansas legislature that or-
ganized in November of 1860.
104 The following documents include the act of the Chickasaw Legislature
and related correspondence:
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the Chickasaw Nation, That the
Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, be and he is hereby authorized to
appoint four Commissioners, one from each county, namely:- Panola,
Pickens, Tishomingo, and Pontotoc County, on the part of the Chick-
asaw Nation, to meet a like set of Commissioners appointed respective-
ly by the Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee, and Seminole Nations, to meet
in General Convention at such time and place That the Chief of the
Creek Nation, may set, for the purpose of entering into some compact,
not inconsistent with the Laws and Treaties of the United States, for
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 69
an inter-tribal conference and arranging for the execu-
tive appointment of a Chickasaw delegation to it. The
the future security and protection of the rights and Citizens of said
nations, in the event of a change in the United States, and to renew
the harmony and good feeling already established between said Na-
tions by a compact concluded & entered into on the i4th of Nov. 1859,
at Asbury Mission Creek Nation.
Be it further enacted That said Commissioners shall receive for their
services the sum of One hundred dollars each, and shall report the pro-
ceedings of said Convention to the next session of the Chickasaw Leg-
islature for its approval or disapproval. . .
Passed the House Repts as amended Jany sth 1861.
Passed Senate Jan. 5, 1861.
Approved Jan. 5, 1861.
Indian Office General Files - Cherokee 1859-1865, C$i$.
Enclosed please find an Act of the called Session of the Chickasaw
Legislature, the object of which you will readily understand. Your
cooperation, and union of action of the Cherokee people in effecting the
object therein expressed is hereby respectfully solicited.
It will be left to the Principal Chiefs of the Creek Nation to appoint
the time and place of meeting, of which you will have timely notice. -
CYRUS HARRIS, governor of the Chickasaw Nation, to John Ross, prin-
cipal chief of the Cherokees, dated Tishomingo, C.N. January 5th, 1861
You will please find enclosed a communication from the Gov r of
the Chickasaw Nation & an Act of the Chickasaw Legislature calling
upon their Brethren the Creeks to appoint a time & place for a Gen-
eral Convention of the Chickasaws, Choctaws, Cherokees, and Creeks.
We therefore appoint the tyth inst. to meet at the General Council
Ground of the Creek Nation - At which time & place we will (be)
happy to meet our Brethren the Cherokees. - JACOB DERRYSAW, acting
chief of the Creek Nation, to John Ross, dated Cowetah, Creek Nation,
February 4, 1861 [ibid.].
I was much surprised to receive a proposition for taking action so
formal on a matter so important, without having any previous notice or
understanding about the business, which might have afforded oppor-
tunity to confer with our respective Councils and People.
Although I regret most deeply, the excitement which has arisen
among our White brethren : yet by us it can only be regarded as a fam-
ily misunderstanding among themselves. And it behooves us to be care-
ful, in any movement of ours, to refrain from adopting any measures
liable to be misconstrued or misrepresented :- and in which (at present
at least) we have no direct and proper concern.
I cannot but confidently believe, however, that there is wisdom and
virtue and moderation enough among the people of the United States,
JO The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
authorities of the other tribes were duly notified 103 and
to the Creek was given the privilege of naming time
and place.
The Inter-tribal Council assembled at the Creek
to bring about a peaceable and satisfactory adjustment of their differ-
ences. And I do not think we have the right to anticipate any con-
tingency adverse to the stability and permanence of the Federal Union.
Our relations to the United States, as defined by our treaties, are
clear and definite. And the obligations growing out of them easily
ascertained. And it will ever be our wisdom and our interest to adhere
strictly to those obligations, and carefully to guard against being drawn
into any complications which may prove prejudicial to the interests of
our people, or imperil the security we now enjoy under the protection
of the Government of the United States as guaranteed by our Treaties.
In the very worst contingency that can be thought of, the great National
Responsibilities of the United States must and will be provided for.
And should a catastrophe as that referred to in (your) communication,
unhappily occur, then will be the time for us to take proper steps for
securing the rights and interests of our people.
Out of respect to the Chiefs of neighboring Nations, and from the
deep interest I feel for the peace and welfare of our red brethren, I have
deemed it proper to appoint a Delegation to attend the Council ap-
pointed by the Creek Chiefs at your request, on the xyth inst. at the
Genl Council Ground of the Creek Nation, for the purpose of a friendly
interchange of the views & sentiments on the general interests of our
respective Nations.
In the language of our Fathers, I am your
"Elder Friend and Brother"
JOHN Ross, Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation.
Extract from letter to Cyrus Harris, February 9, 1861 [ibid.].
Previous to the receipt of your Communication enclosing the pro-
ceedings of the Chickasaw Authorities, I had received similar papers
from the "Governor of the Chickasaw Nation."
And I herewith enclose for the information of yourself & people a
copy of my reply. I will appoint a Delegation to attend your Council
for the purpose therein stated. -Ross to Derrysaw, February 9, 1861
{ibid.].
I have received a communication from the Gov. of the Chickasaw
Nation, with a copy of an Act of their Legislature. And I presume a
similar communication has been received by you. Deeming it important
that much prudence and caution should be exercised by us in regard to
the object of the Governor's communication, I have thought it proper
to address him a letter, giving a brief expression of my views on the
subject, a copy of which I enclose for your information. - Ross to the
principal chief of the Choctaw Nation, February n, 1861 [ibid.].
106 See preceding note.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 71
Agency, 106 February 17, but comparatively few dele-
gates were in attendance. William P. Ross, a gradu-
ate 107 of Princeton and a nephew of John Ross, the prin-
cipal chief of the Cherokees, went as the head of the
Cherokee delegation. It was he who reported the scan-
ty attendance, 108 saying that there were no Chickasaws
present, no Choctaws, but only Creeks, Seminoles, and
Cherokees. Why it happened so can not now be exact-
ly determined but to it may undoubtedly be ascribed the
outcome; for the council did nothing that was not per-
fectly compatible with existing friendly relations be-
tween the great tribes and the United States govern-
ment. John Ross, in instructing his delegates, had
strictly enjoined caution and discretion. 109 William P.
Ross and his associates seem to have managed to secure
Creek Agency was probably chosen because of its convenient situa-
tion. It was at the junction of the North Fork and the Canadian and, conse-
quently, in close proximity to three of the reservations and not far distant
from the other two.
107 See Mrs. W. P. Ross, Life and Times of William P. Ross.
108 American Historical Review, vol. xv, 282.
. . . On your deliberations it will [be] proper for you to
advise discretion, and to guard against any premature movement on
our part, which might produce excitement or be liable to misrepresenta-
tion. Our duty is very plain. We have only to adhere firmly to our
respective Treaties. By them we have placed ourselves under the pro-
tection of the United States, and of no other sovereign whatever. We
are bound to hold no treaty with any foreign Power, or with any in-
dividual State or combination of States nor with Citizens of any State.
Nor even with one another without the interposition and participation
of the United States. . .
Should any action of the Council be thought desirable, a resolution
might be adopted, to the effect, that we will in all contingencies rest
our interests on the pledged faith of the United States, for the fulfilment
of their obligations. We ought to entertain no apprehension of any
change, that will endanger our interests. The parties holding the re-
sponsibilities of the Federal Government will always be bound to us.
And no measures we have it in our power to adopt can add anything
to the security we now possess. Relying on your intelligence & discre-
tion I will add no more. - CHIEF Ross's instructions to the Cherokee
Delegation, February 12, 1861 [Indian Office General Files, Cherokee
1859-1865, C 5 i 5 ].
72 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
the observance of both. Perchance it was Chief
Ross's 110 known aversion to an interference in matters
that did not concern the Indians, except very indirectly,
and the consciousness that his influence in the council
would be immense, probably all-powerful, that caused
the Chickasaws to draw back from a thing they had
themselves so ill-advisedly planned. It is, however,
just possible that, between the time of issuing the call
and of assembling the council, they crossed on their own
responsibility the boundary of indecision and resolved,
as most certainly had the Choctaws, that their sym-
pathies and their interests were with the South. It
might well be supposed that in this perilous hour their
thoughts would have travelled back some thirty years
and they would have remembered what havoc the same
state- rights doctrine, now presented so earnestly for
their acceptance, although it scarcely fitted their case,
had then wrought in their concerns. Strangely enough
none of the tribes seems to have charged the gross in-
justice of the thirties exclusively to the account of the
South. On the contrary, they one and all charged it
against the federal government, against the states as a
whole, and so, rightly or wrongly, the nation had to pay
for the inconsistency of Jackson's procedure, a proced-
ure that could so illogically recognize the supremacy
of federal law in one matter and the supremacy of state
law in another matter that was precisely its parallel.
The decision of the Choctaws had found expression in
a series of resolutions under date of February 7. They
are worthy of being quoted entire.
Indian Office files are full of testimony proving John Ross's wis-
dom, foresight, sterling worth generally, and absolute devotion to his people.
Indeed, his whole biography is written large in the records. His character
was impeccable. Judged by any standard whatsoever, he would easily rank
as one of the greatest of Indian half-breeds.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 73
February 7, 1861.
RESOLUTIONS expressing the feelings and sentiments of the Gen-
eral Council of the Choctaw Nation in reference to the political
disagreement existing between the Northern and Southern States
of the American Union.
Resolved by the General Council of the Choctaw Nation as-
sembled, That we view with deep regret and great solicitude the
present unhappy political disagreement between the Northern
and Southern States of the American Union, tending to a perma-
nent dissolution of the Union and the disturbance of the various
important relations existing with that Government by treaty stip-
ulations and international laws, and portending much injury to
the Choctaw government and people.
Resolved further, That we must express the earnest desire
and ready hope entertained by the entire Choctaw people, that
any and all political disturbances agitating and dividing the peo-
ple of the various States may be honorably and speedily adjusted ;
and the example and blessing, and fostering care of their Gen-
eral Government, and the many and friendly social ties existing
with their people, continue for the enlightenment in moral and
good government and prosperity in the material concerns of life
to our whole population.
Resolved further, That in the event a permanent dissolution
of the American Union takes place, our many relations with the
General Government must cease, and we shall be left to follow
the natural affections, education, institutions, and interests of our
people, which indissolubly bind us in every way to the destiny of
our neighbors and brethren of the Southern States upon whom
we are confident we can rely for the preservation of our rights of
life, liberty, and property, and the continuance of many acts of
friendship, general counsel, and material support.
Resolved further, That we desire to assure our immediate
neighbors, the people of Arkansas and Texas, of our determina-
tion to observe the amicable relations in every way so long exist-
ing between us, and the firm reliance we have, amid any disturb-
ance with other States, the rights and feelings so sacred to us
will remain respected by them and be protected from the en-
croachments of others.
Resolved further, That his excellency the principal chief be
74 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
requested to inclose, with an appropriate communication from
himself, a copy of these resolutions to the governors of the South-
ern States, with the request that they be laid before the State
convention of each State, as many as have assembled at the date
of their reception, and that in such as have not they be published
in the newspapers of the State.
Resolved, That these resolutions take effect and be in force
from and after their passage.
Approved February 7, I86I. 111
These resolutions of the Choctaw Council are in the
highest degree interesting in the matter both of their
substance and of their time of issue. The information
is not forthcoming as to how the Choctaws received the
invitation of the Chickasaw legislature to attend an in-
ter-tribal council; but, later on, in April, 1861, the
Choctaw delegation in Washington, made up of P. P.
Pitchlynn, Samuel Garland, Israel Folsom, and Peter
Folsom, assured the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
that the Choctaw Nation intended to remain neutral, 112
111 Official Records, first sen, vol. i, 682.
112 The evidence of this is to be found in an official letter from Commis-
sioner W. P. Dole to Secretary Caleb B. Smith, under date of April 30, 1861,
which reads as follows:
I have the honor to enclose herewith a copy of a letter, dated lyth.
Inst. from Elias Rector, Esq., Supt. Indian Affairs . . . together
with copy of its enclosure, being one addressed to Col. W. H. Emory
by M. Leeper, Agent for the Indians within the "Leased District," hav-
ing reference to the removal of the troops from Fort Cobb.
The Government being bound by treaty obligations to protect the
Indians from the incursions of all enemies, I would respectfully ask to
be informed, if it is not its intention to keep in the country a sufficient
force for the purpose.
The Choctaw and Chickasaw delegation - composed of the prin-
cipal men of those Nations - while recently in this City expressed great
apprehensions of attack upon their people, by Citizens of Texas and
Arkansas; and these delegations having assured me of their determin-
ation to maintain a neutral position in the anticipated difficulties through-
out our Country, I would recommend that a depot for arms be estab-
lished within the Southern Superintendency in order that the Indians
there may be placed in the possession of the means to defend themselves
against any attack. . .-Indian Office Report Book, no. 12, p. 152.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 75
which assurance was interpreted to mean simply that
the Choctaws would be inactive spectators of events, ex-
pressing no opinion, in word or deed, one way or the
other. The Chickasaw delegation gave the same assur-
ance and at about the same time and place. Now what
is to be concluded? Is it to be supposed that the Act of
January 5, 1861 in no wise reflected the sentiments of a
tribe as a whole and similarly the Resolutions of Feb-
ruary 7, 1 86 1, or that the tribal delegations were, in
April, utterly ignorant of the real attitude of their re-
spective constituents? The answer is to be found in the
following most interesting and instructive letter, writ-
ten by S. Orlando Lee to Commissioner Dole from
Huntingdon, Long Island, March 15, i862: 113
Thinking you and the government would like to hear some-
thing about the state of affairs among the Choctaws last summer
and the influences which induced them to take their present po-
sition I will write you what I know. I was a missionary teacher
at Spencer Academy for two years and refer you to Hon. Walter
Lowrie Gen. Sec. of the Pres. Board of Foreign Missions for in-
formation as to my character &c. I left Spencer June I3th &
the nation June 24th but have heard directly from there twice
since, the last time as late as Sept 6th. So that I can speak of
occurrences as late as that.
After South Carolina passed her secession ordinance in Dec.
1860 there was a public attempt to excite the Choctaws and
Chickasaws as a beginning hoping to bring in the other tribes af-
terwards. Many of the larger slaveholders (who are nearly all
half breeds) had been gained before and Capt. R. M. Jones was
the leader of the secessionists. The country was full of lies about
the intentions of the new administration. The border papers in
Arkansas & Texas republished from the New York & St. Louis
papers a part of a sentence from Hon. W. H. Seward's speech at
Chicago during the election campaign of 1860 to this effect "And
Indian Territory south of Kansas must be vacated by the Indian"
(These words do occur in the report of Mr. Seward's Chicago
113 General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, 1,632.
76 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
speech as published in New York Evening Post Weekly for I
read it myself). This produced intense excitement of course
and to add to the effect the Secessionist Journals charged that
another prominent republican had proposed to drive the Indians
out of Indian Ter. in a speech in congress. "This" they were
told "is the policy of the new administration. The abolitionists
want your lands we will protect you. Your only safety is to
join the South." Again they were told "that the South must
succeed in gaining their independence and the money of the In-
dians being invested in the stocks of Southern states the stocks
would be cancelled & the indians would lose their money unless
they joined the south, if they did that the stocks would be reis-
sued to the Confederate States for them." Their special commis-
sioners Peter Folsom &c, who came to Washington to get the
half million of dollars for claims, reported that they got along
very well until they were asked if they had slaves after that they
said they could do nothing. Sampson Folsom said however that
he thought they would have succeeded had it not been for the at-
tack on Sumpter-He said President Lincoln then told them
"He would not give them a dollar until the close of the war"
An interesting fact in relation to these commissioners is that they
came to Washington by way of Montgomery & were when they
reached Washington probably all, except Judge Garland, seces-
sionists. Thus all influences were in favor of the rebels Where
could the indians go for light The former indian agent Cooper
was a Col. in the rebel service. The oldest missionary who has
undoubtedly more influence with the Choctaws than any other
white man is an ardent secessionist believing firmly both in the
right & in the final success of the rebel cause - He ( Dr. Kings-
bury) prays as earnestly & fervently for the success of the rebels
as any one among us does for the success of the Union cause.
The son of another, Mr. Hodgkin, is a captain in the rebel ser-
vice - another Mr. Stark actively assisted in organizing a com-
pany acted as sec. of secessionist meetings &c. Even Mr. Reid
superintendant of Spencer was confident the rebels could never
be subdued and thought when the treaty should be made they
ought in justice to have Ind. Territory. Again when Fort Smith
was evacuated the rebel forces were on the way up the Ark.
river to attack it & the garrison evacuated it in the night which
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 77
looked to the Indians (if not to the white men) as if the north-
erners were afraid. The same was true of Fort Washitaw where
our forces left in the night and were actually pursued for sev-
eral days by the Texans. Thus matters stood when Col. Pitch-
lynn the resident Com. of the Choctaws at Washington returned
home. He gave all his influence to have the Choctaws take a
neutral position. The chief had called the council to meet June
ist. & Col. P. so far succeeded as to induce him to prepare a
message recommending neutrality. Col. P. was promptly re-
ported as an abolitionist and visited & threatened by a Texas
Vigilance committee.
The Council met at Doaksville seven miles from Red River
& of course from Texas. It was largely attended by white men
from Texas our Choctaw neighbors who attended said the place
was full of white men.
The Council did not organize until June 4th or 5th (I forget
which) In the meanwhile the white men & half bloods had a se-
cession meeting when it leaked out through Col. Cooper that the
Chief Hudson had prepared a message recommending neutrality
at which Robert M. Jones was so indignant that he made a fu-
rious speech in which he declared that "any one who opposed se-
cession ought to be hung" "and any suspicious persons ought to
be hung." Hudson was frightened and when the Council was
organized sent in a message recommending that commissioners
be appointed to negotiate a treaty with the Confederates and that
in the meantime a regiment be organized under Col. Cooper for
the Confed. army.
This was finally done but not for a week for the Choctaws
were reluctant. They feared that their action would result in
the destruction of the nation. Said Joseph P. Folsom, a member
of the council & a graduate of Dartmouth College New Hamp-
shire, "We are choosing in what way we shall die" Judge Wade
said to me, "We expect that the Choctaws will be buried. That
is what we think will be the end of this." Judge W. is a mem-
ber of the Senate (for the Choctaw Council is composed of a
Senate & lower house chosen by the people in districts & the con-
stitution is modeled very much after those of the states.) & he
has been a chief. Others said to me "If the north was here so
we could be protected we would stand up for the north but now
78 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
if we do not go in for the south the Texans will come over here
and kill us." Mr. Reid told me a day or two before we left that
he had become convinced during a trip for two or three days
through the country that the full bloods were strongly for the
north. I am sure it was so then & it was the opinion of the mis-
sionaries that if we had all taken the position, that we would not
leave, some of us had been warned to do so by Texan vigilance
committees, we could have raised a thousand men who would
have armed in our defence - Our older brethren told us that this
would hasten the destruction of the indians as they would be
crushed before any help could come. We thought this would
probably be the case and the missionaries who were most strong-
ly union in sentiment left.
One of the number Rev. John Edwards had been hiding for
his life from Texan & half blood ruffians for two weeks & we
at Spencer had had the honor to be visited by a Texas committee
searching for arms.
I continue my narrative from a letter from one of our teach-
ers who was detained when we left by the illness of his wife &
who left Spencer Sept 5th & the Nation Sept. 9th. He says Col.
Coopers regiment was filled up with Texans "The half breeds af-
ter involving the full bloods in the war have rather drawn back
themselves and but few of them have enlisted & gone to the war."
This indicates that the full bloods have at last yielded to the
pressure and joined the rebels. The missionaries who remained
would generally advise them to do this.
The Choctaw commissioners met Albert Pike rebel commis-
sioner & made a treaty with him, with reference to this he says
"The Choctaws rec'd quite a bundle of promises from the rebel
government. Their treaty gives their representative a seat in the
rebel congress, acknowledges the right of the Choctaws to give
testimony in all courts in the C. S., exempts them from the ex-
pences of the war, their soldiers are to be paid 20$ a month by
the C. S. during the war, the C. S. assume the debts due the
Choctaws by the U. S., they have the privilege of coming in as
a state into the Confederacy with equal rights if they wish it, or
remain as they are, the C. S. to sustain their schools after the
war, they guarantee them against all intrusion on their lands by
white men, allow them to garrison the forts in their territory
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 79
with their own troops if they wish it said troops to be paid by
the C. S." - Here is a list of promises and when I think of these,
of the belief of their oldest missionaries in the final success of
the rebels, of the fact that all the old Officers of the U. S. gov-
ernment were in the service of the rebels, of the occupation of
the forts there by rebels, of the activity of a knot of bitter dis-
unionists led by Capt. Jones, who has long been a very influential
man, of the Texas mob law which considered it a crime for a
young man to refuse to volunteer, of the fact that there was no
way for them to hear the truth as to the designs of the U. S.
government concerning them, except through Col. Pitchlyn who
was soon silenced & of the falsehoods told them as to the designs
of the Government, I do not wonder that they have joined the
rebels.
I saw strong men completely unmanned even to floods of tears
by the leaving of Dr. Hobbs and the thoughts of what was before
them. I heard men say they did not want to fight but expected
to be forced to do it.
I trust the government will consider the circumstances of the
case & deal gently, considerately with the Indians. I do not like
to write such things of my brother missionaries but they are I
believe facts & though I love some of them very much I still must
say that, except Rev. Mr. Byington who was doubtful & Rev.
Mr. Balantine a missionary to the Chickasaws who was union,
all the ordained missionaries belonging to the Choctaw & Chicka-
saw Mission of the Presbyterian Board who remain there were
victims of the madness which swept over the South, were seces-
sionists One or two of the three Laymen who remained were
union men - Cyrus Kingsbury son of Rev. Dr. K. being
one. . .
The failure of the United States government to give-
the Indians, in season, the necessary assurance that they
would be protected, no matter what might happen, can
not be too severely criticized. It indicated a very short-
sighted policy and was due either to a tendency to ig-
nore the Indians as people of no importance or to a lack
of harmony and cooperation among the departments at
Washington. Such an assurance of continued protec-
80 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
tion was not even framed until the second week in May
and then the Indian country was already threatened by
the secessionists. Moreover, it was framed and intend-
ed to be given by one department, the Interior, and its
fulfilment left to another, the War. It went out from
the Indian Office in the form of a circular letter, 114 ad-
dressed by Commissioner William P. Dole to the chief
executive 115 in each of the five great tribes. It assured
the Indians that President Lincoln had no intention of
interfering with their domestic institutions or of allow-
ing government agents or employees to interfere and
that the War Department had been appealed to to fur-
nish all needed defense according to treaty guaranties.
The new southern superintendent, William G. Coffin
of Indiana, was made the bearer of the missive; but,
unfortunately, quite a little time elapsed" 6 before the
military situation 117 in the West would allow him to as-
114 The letter can be found in manuscript form in Indian Office, Letter
Book, no. 65, pp. 447-449, and in printed form in Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 34.
115 John Ross, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation ; Cyrus Harris, gov-
ernor of the Chickasaw Nation ; M. Kennard, principal chief of the Lower
Creeks; Echo Hadjo [Echo Harjo], principal chief of the Upper Creeks;
George Hudson, principal chief of the Choctaw Nation ; and the unnamed
principal chief of the Seminoles west of Arkansas.
116 It would seem that the letter was not given to Coffin immediately but
was held back on account of the insecurity of the mails [Dole to Creek and
Seminole chiefs, November 16, 1861, Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, pp.
78-79].
117 The delay was not entirely due to the military situation. Coffin went
from Washington to his home in Indiana. He was there on the twentieth,
at Annapolis, Parke County, when Dole wrote urging him to hasten on his way,
I herewith enclose a slip taken from the National Intelligencer of
this date, being an extract from the Austin [Texas] State Gazette of the
4th Instant, by which you will perceive that efforts are being made to
tamper with the Indians within your Superintendency.
By this you will perceive the urgent necessity, that you should pro-
ceed at the earliest moment practicable to the vicinity of the duties in
your charge, that from your personal knowledge of the views of the
Government in relation to these Indians as well as by the instructions
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 81
sume his full duties or to reach his official headquar-
ters, 118 and, in the interval, he was detailed for other
and communications in your possession, you may be able to thwart the
endeavors of any and all who have or shall attempt to tamper with
these tribes and array them in hostility to the Government.
I deem it of the utmost importance that no time be lost in this matter,
as delay may be disastrous to the public service. - Indian Office, Letter
Book, no. 65, p. 473.
By the nineteenth of June, Coffin had managed to reach Crawford Sem-
inary, from which place he reported to Dole,
We have at length reached the Indian Territory propper. . . I
find Mr. Elder the Agent absent. I learned on my way down here that
he had gone to Fort Scott with the view of locating the Agency there
for the present which I supposed when I wrote you from the Catholic
Mission might be propper from its close proximity to Missouri but as
Mr. Phelps district is opposit here and he a good Union man and has
been Stumping the district and I learn that the Union cause is growing
fast in that part of the State I think there is now at least no Sort of ex-
cuse for removing, the buildings here are ample for a large family,
waiter good. . . - General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862,
The sequel showed that Agent Elder was right and Superintendent Coffin
wrong about the security of the region. Coffin never reached Fort Smith at all
and was soon compelled to vacate the Indian Territory. Indian Office, Letter
Boob, no. 66, which covers the period from June, 1861 to October, 1861, con-
tains scarcely a letter to prove that the Indian Office was in communication
with Indian Territory. Official connection with the country had been com-
pletely cut off. Military abandonment and dilatory officials had done their
work.
118 Official instructions were issued to Coffin, then in Washington, on the
ninth, and gave him permission to change his headquarters at discretion. The
following is an excerpt of the instructions:
You having been appointed by the President to be Superintendent of
Indian Affairs for the Southern Superintendency in place of Ellas Rector,
Esq. . . You will repair to Fort Smith, Arkansas, as early as prac- >
ticable, for the purpose of relieving Elias Rector, Esq.
In your progress from Indiana to Fort Smith, should you deem it ex-
pedient and advisable to pass down the Kansas line and among the In-
dians in that section, you will make it your business to inquire as to their
sentiments and disposition with reference to the present disturbances in
the neighboring countries, so far as time and opportunity will enable
you to do so. On reaching Fort Smith you will also inform yourself as
to the condition of Affairs there and surrounding country, and as to the
prospect of the business of the Superintendency being carried on without
molestation or other inconvenience, and should you find it necessary
82 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
work. The Indians, meanwhile, were left to their own
devices and were obliged to look out for their own de-
fense as best they could.
To all appearances neither the legislative action of
the Chickasaws and of the Choctaws nor the work of the
inter-tribal council was, at the time of occurrence, re-
ported officially to the United States government or, if
reported officially, then not pointedly so as to reveal its
real bearings upon the case in hand. All the agents
within Indian Territory were as usual southern men; 119
but may not have been directly responsible or even cog-
nizant of this particular action of their charges. The
records show that practically all of them, Cooper, Gar-
rett, Cowart, Leeper, and Dorn, were absent 120 from
their posts, with or without leave, the first part of the
from the circumstances that may surround you to remove the office of
Superintendent from Fort Smith you are authorized to do so, selecting
some eligible point in the proximate Indian Territory, or if required
some point northwardly among the Indians in Kansas as your best dis-
cretion may dictate. I trust however that this discretionary authority
may prove unnecessary and that in the legitimate discharge of your du-
ties, you may suffer no interruption from any cause or source whatever.
In a report from this Office of the 3Oth Ultimo, with reference to antici-
pated Indian troubles in your Superintendency consequent upon the re-
moval of the troops from Fort Cobb, the attention of the Hon. Secretary
of the Interior was called to the subject, and the enquiry as to the policy
of the Government to keep in the country a sufficient force for the pur-
pose of proper protection ; and further calling his attention to the ex-
pression of friendship and loyalty made by the Choctaw and Chickasaw
delegates lately in this City, recommended that a depot for arms be
established within the Southern Superintendency, in order that the In-
dians there may be placed in possession of the means to defend them-
selves against any attack. As yet no response to this report has been re-
ceived. . . - Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 65, pp. 442-443.
119 Douglas H. Cooper, agent for the Choctaws and Chickasaws, was from
Mississippi; William H. Garrett, agent for the Creeks, was from Alabama;
Robert J. Cowart, agent for the Cherokees, was from Georgia; Matthew
Leeper, agent for the Indians of the Leased District, was from Texas; and
Andrew J. Dorn, agent at the Neosho River Agency, was from Arkansas.
120 Telegram, Greenwood to Rector, January 19, 1861 [Indian Office, Let-
ter Book, no. 65, p. 104].
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 83
new year and that every one of them became or was al-
ready an active secessionist. 121
It has been authenticated and is well understood to-
day that, as the Southern States, one by one, declared
themselves out of the Union or were getting themselves
into line for so doing, they prepared to further the cause
of secession among their neighbors and, for the pur-
pose, sent agents or commissioners to them, who organ-
ized the movement very much as the Committees of
Correspondence did a similar movement prior to the
American Revolution. In short, in the spring of 1861,
the seceding states entered upon active proselytism and
at least two of them extended their labors to and among
the Indians. Those two were Texas and Arkansas.
Missouri also worked with the same end in view, so
did Colorado, but apparently not so much with the
great tribes of Oklahoma as with the politically less
important of Kansas. Colorado, it is true, did operate
to some extent upon the Cherokees of the Outlet and
upon the Wichitas, but mostly upon the Indians of the
western plains. No one can deny that, in the interests
of the Confederate cause, the project of sending emis-
saries even to the Indians was a wise measure or refuse
to admit that the contrasting inactivity and positive in-
difference of the North was foolhardy in the extreme.
It indicated a self-complacency for which there was no
justification. More than that can w 7 ith truth be said}
for, from the standpoint of political wisdom and fore-
sight, the inactivity where the Indians were concerned
was conduct most reprehensible.
121 For information showing what Indian agents became adherents of the
Confederate cause, see, among other things, an extract from a report of Albert
Pike to be found in Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 130, pp. 237-238; and a let-
ter from R. W. Johnson to L. P. Walker, published in Official Records, first
ser., vol. iii, 598.
84 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
While Chickasaws and Choctaws, unsolicited, 1
expressing themselves, the secessionist sentiment was de-
122 Xhe evidence on this point is not very convincing, either one way or the
other. A number of documents might be cited bearing some brief, vague, or
indefinite reference to the steps the Indians took from the beginning. The
closing paragraph of the following report from E. H. Carruth, under date of
July u, 1861, is a typical case:
SIR: I know not that any person has given information to any of the
United States officers in regard to the position of the Indian Tribes con-
nected with the Southern Superintendency.
I am just arrived from the Seminole Country where for a year I
have been employed as [illegible] to induce the Seminoles to establish
schools. In Sept. last the chiefs applied to the Department to set aside
$5000 for this purpose, but never heard from their application, and their
Ag't soon became too deeply interested in the politics of the Country to
pay much attention to the affairs of the tribe.
From the time the secession movement began to ripen into treason,
the Chief of the Seminoles has constantly sought information on the sub-
ject, and whenever I rec'd a mail he would bring an Interpreter & re-
main with me until all had been read and explained.
After the Forts west were taken possession of by the Texans, the
tribes living under the protection of Government around Fort Cobb
came into the Seminole Country, seeking the counsel of the Seminoles as
to what they should do, hostility to the Texans, being with them strength-
ened by the recollection of recent wrongs. The Seminoles gave them
permission to reside on their lands, and advised them to interfere with
neither party, should both be represented in the country.
The Texan officers sent several letters among them & left Commis-
sioners at Cobb to treat with them offering to them the same protection
before enjoyed while the Government of the U. S. was represented
among them. A letter was also sent to the Seminoles signed by Geo.
W. Welch, "Capt - Commanding the Texan troops in the service of the
Southern Confederacy" which asserted that the Northern people were
determined to take away their lands & negroes, that the old Gov't would
never be able to fulfill her treaty stipulations and wound up by asking
them to place their interests under the protection of the Southern Con-
federacy.
Very soon aferwards Capt- Albert G. Pike "Commissioner for the
Confederate States of America" wrote to the Seminole Chief from the
Creek Agency, asking that he should meet him at that place with six of
his best men fully authorized to treat with him. He also asked for a
body of Seminole warriors, & promised as "good perhaps better treaty"
than their old one. His letter was backed up by one from Washburn
(formerly Seminole Ag't) who gave a glowing description of treason,
representing to the Indians that the U.S. could never pay one dollar of
the moneys due them, that European Nations were committed to the
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 85
veloping rapidly in Texas. By the middle of February,
conditions were such that steps might be taken to order
cause of the Rebels, and entreated, prayed, almost commanded them to
take the step so essential to their political salvation. This Washburn
had once been engaged in a money transaction with two of the Chiefs
which swindled the nation out of many thousands of dollars, and while
they came near losing their heads in the operation, he escaped, & still
enjoys great personal popularity with the tribe. No man knows better
how to approach Indians. He was born among them of missionary
parents, & like all southern men, who regret their northern parentage,
he is the most rabid of violent traitors. The day after these letters were
rec'd the Chief (John Jumper) spent at my house. He felt true to the
treaties, & said that all his people were with the Government, but, the
Forts west were in possession of its enemies, their Agent would give
them no information on the subject, & he feared that his country would
be overrun, if he did not yield.
I told him plainly that Government was shamefully misrepresented,
that the treaties bound him to all the states alike, that the U.S. could not
fall with all the Army & Navy at her disposal, & that should the South
ever succeed in gaining her own independence the free States would
fight till not a man, woman or child was left, before yielding one inch
of Territory to the rebels. The war being entered into not so much
either for or against slavery in the states, as to protect the Constitutional
rights of Government in the Territories. The Chief told me that all the
full Indians everywhere were with the Gov't, that he did not wish to
fight, nor did his people, they had hoped to be left to themselves untill
the whites settled their quarrels, his people had enough of war in Flor-
ida, & were now anxious for peace. He would however go to the Creek
Agency & tell Capt. Pike & Ben McCulloch their determination. I be-
lieve the object of Pike in drawing the Seminoles to the Creek country
was that he could thus bring Creek influence to bear upon them. When
Pike's letter came, the Bearer sent word to the Chief to meet him ten
miles below, where they were read, but this caution did not keep them
out of sight, as the Chief immediately brought them to me, to whom as
clerk they should have come at first, but a "white man" was declared to
be the adviser of the Seminoles, for whom a black jack limb would soon
suffice. I knew it dangerous to await the arrival of my ranger friends,
& with my wife I left on horseback, traveling in a Kickapoo trail, com-
ing in above the Creek country, as they had seceded -I was questioned
a good deal in the Cherokee Nation, but not interfered with as I was
personally acquainted with their leading half breeds, and my wife being
fortunate enough to have a Virginia birth and a brother in Missouri.
When within a half hour's travel of the Neosho River, my shot gun
was taken by a company of men, organized that day -the zd after Sey-
mour was killed - they said "to clean out Kansas Jay hawkers."
The influence of Capt Pike the Rebel Commissioner is second to no
86 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
the evacuation of the state by Federal troops. This was
finally done under authority of the Committee of Pub-
man's among the Southern Indians & I fear that he may succeed in his
intrigues with the other tribes, the Creeks, Chickasaws, & Choctaws
having already gone. The Cherokees refuse to go as a Nation, & no one
is a firmer friend to the Union than John Ross, their Chief, but traitors
are scheming, and the half breeds in favor of the South, want an army
to come in, in which event they promise to be "forced in" to the Arms
of Jeff. Davis, & the select crowd of traitors at Montgomery.
There are many true & loyal men even among the half breeds, some
of the Judges of their courts I know to be so, while all the full blood
element is with the Gov't.
The half breeds belong to the K. G. C. a society whose sole object is
to increase & defend slavery and the full bloods have - not to be out-
done - got up a secret organization called the "pins" which meets among
mountains, connecting business with Ball-playing, and this is under-
stood to be in favor of Gov't, at least when a half breed at Webers
falls raised a secession flag, the "pins" turned out to haul it down &
were only stopped by a superior force, they retired swearing that "it
should yet be done & its raiser killed" and now Sir, let me say a word
in behalf of the full Indians who make up in devotion to our Gov't
what they lack in knowledge.
I sometimes hear rejoicing on the part of Northern people, that these
tribes are seceding, because they say such violation of their treaties
will lose them their lands, whose beauty & fertility have long been ad-
mired by western farmers. I have been twelve years among these
tribes & I know the full bloods to be loyal to the Gov't. That Gov't
is bound by treaties to protect these nations, to keep up Forts for that
purpose. The forts are deserted, the soldiers are gone. The Agents
are either resigned or, working under "confederate" commissions. The
Indians are told that the old Gov't is bankrupt, that it must die, that
England & France will help the South, That they are southern Indians
& own slaves, & have interests only with & in the south, That the war
is waged by the North for the sole purpose of killing slavery, & steal-
ing the Indian lands etc. etc. What have the Indians with which to
disprove this? The "Confederate" Gov't is represented there by an
army & Commissioners, but the United States have not been heard from
for six months. Every battle is believed to be against the old Gov't
& those who control the news know in what shape it should go to have
influence. The Seminole Agent, Col. Rutherford, has never lifted his
finger to give information or advice to the Indians under his charge -
He said before Mr. Lincoln took his seat as President that he would not
receive a reappointment from him, but would serve until it should come,
which means that his love of money would enable him to make an oc-
casional visit to the Agency buildings, but his fear for & sympathy with
Ark. rebels, would keep him from doing anything to endanger their
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 87
lie Safety 123 and the general in command, D. E. Twiggs
of Georgia, compliantly yielded. His small show of
resistance seemed, under the circumstances, a mere pre-
tense, although he had his reasons, and good ones too,
perfectly satisfactory to himself, for doing what he did.
Two main conditions were attached to the agreement of
surrender; 124 one, exacted by General Twiggs, to the
effect that his men be allowed to retain their arms, com-
missary stores, camp and garrison equipage, and the
means of transportation; the other, exacted by the
Texan commissioners, that the troops depart by way of
the coast and not overland, as the United States War
Department had designed when, a short time before, it
had ordered a similar removal. 125 The precaution of
interests. A proper officer could have kept the Seminoles from sending
a delegation to Capt. Pike, as well as in the Creek country one could
have kept the Creeks loyal. That there has been the most culpable neg-
lect on the part of its officers to the interests of the Genl Gov't needs
no demonstration - The cry has been : "More favorable treaties can now
be made with the South than after the war, as it will show that the
Indians are at heart with the South" - No doubt is allowed to be felt
as to the issue of the war. The agents who hold Commissions from
Mr. Lincoln & go to Montgomery to have Jeff. Davis endorse them,
show a faith in the issue, that is not lost upon the Indians.
A Capt. Brown of the Chickasaw tribe was commanding at Ar-
buckle, in the absence of Col. McKing who was at Tishimingo where
the legislature was in session. He informed me that the Texans would
not come over until the Choctaws & Chickasaws had given them to un-
derstand that "it would be all right" - At the time these nations did not
wish to invite them, it would have been too palpable a violation of
treaties, tho' they took command of the Fort, whether under their na-
tional authorities, or the "Confederate" I do not know which.
Letters now in possession of the Seminole Chief will prove much
herein stated. I told the chief to preserve those letters & all others
which he might receive of a like nature. . . - General Files, Southern
Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ci348.
123 Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 513.
12 * Ibid., 515-516.
125 The order was one of the many, dictated by the policy of "no coercion,"
that issued in the last days of Buchanan's administration and the first of Lin-
coln's. A few of them, affecting or designed to affect the frontier, may as well
88 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
forcing a coastwise journey 126 was taken by the Texan
commissioners to consume time and to prevent the
troops being retained in states or territories through
which transit lay for possible future use against
Texas. The easy compliance of General Twiggs 127
undoubtedly merits some censure and yet was perfectly
well justified to his own conscience by the exigencies of
the situation and by the fact that he had repeatedly
asked for orders as to what he should do in the event
of an emergency and had received none. The circum-
stance of his surrender and the resulting triumph of the
secessionist element could not fail to have its effect upon
the watchful Indians to whom the exhibition of present
power was everything.
That the Texan secessionists fully appreciated the
strategic position of the Indian nations and the absolute
necessity of making some sort of terms with them was
brought out by the action of the convention at its first
session. An ordinance was passed "to secure the
friendship and co-operation of the Choctaw, Cherokee,
Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations of Indians;"
and three men, James E. Harrison, James Bourland, and
Charles A. Hamilton, were appointed as commis-
be listed in chronological order. On the thirteenth of February-, an aban-
donment of Fort Smith was ordered [Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 654.].
The citizens protested and the order was countermanded [ibid., 655]. On
the fifteenth of the same month, General Scott ordered, in the event of seces-
sion, all United States troops from Texas, via Fort Belknap and the Indian
country, to Fort Leavenworth [ibid., 589]. On the eighteenth of March, a
similar abandonment of Arkansas and the Indian country was arranged for
[ibid., 667],
126 Official Records, first sen, vol. liii, supplement, pp. 626, 628, 629.
127 General Twiggs was then waiting to be relieved of his command, hav-
ing personally requested to be relieved, his sense of embarrassment being strong
and his unwillingness to take responsibility, extreme. Robert E. Lee, brevet
colonel, Second United States Cavalry, was relieved from duty in Texas and
ordered to repair to Washington, by orders of February 4, 1861 [Official
Records, first ser., vol. i, 586].
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 89
sioners 128 "to proceed to said nations and invite their
128 Commissioners of some sort had been sent to the Indians even before
this. They do not seem to have been, in any sense, agents of Texas, indeed,
the ones particularly in mind were from Arkansas; but Texas may have taken
her cue from their appointment. Their presence in the Indian country is
sufficiently attested by the following correspondence:
I have been informed today that persons purporting to act in the
capacity of Commissioners are now visiting the Indian nations on our
frontier - preparatory to forming an alliance with them to furnish them
with arms and munitions of war, in violation of subsisting treaties and
the laws of the United States. Occupying the position I do as a Civil
officer of the Government in discharge of my duty as well as instruc-
tions, It is my duty to make inquiry and report such a state of facts as
may exist in relation to the same. And having no authentic informa-
tion in relation to this matter other than public rumor, I have believed
it my duty to address you knowing that if such projects are in embryo
or consummation that they cannot escape your vigilance ; and that from
you I shall be informed of the same, that, they may be communicated
from a reliable official source to the authorities at Washington for their
action. - JOHN B. OGDEN, United States commissioner, to John Ross,
dated Van Buren, February 15, 1861 [Indian Office, General Files,
Cherokee, 1859-1865, 032].
I have received your communication of the isth inst. - stating that
you have been informed that persons purporting to act in the capacity
of commissioners are now visiting the Indian Nations on the frontier
preparatory to forming an alliance. . .
It is currently rumored in the Country that Mr. R. J. Cowart - the
U. S. Agent -is officially advocating the secession policy of the Southern
States and that he is endeavoring to influence the Cherokees to take
sides and act in concert with the seceded States - At the same time ut-
tering words of denunciation against all the distinguished Patriots who
are exerting their efforts, to devise measures of reconciliation in Con-
gress as well as those in the Peace Convention at Washington for the
Preservation of the Union.
Mr. Cowart brought out with him from the State of Georgia a man
named - Solomon - who is a notorious drunken brawling disunionist.
He is strolling about Tahlequah under the permission of the socalled
"U.S. Agent" - and is creating strife & getting into difficulties with
citizens of the Nation - a perfect nuisance to the peace and good ordpr
of society.
The conduct and general deportment of this man, also of the Agent
being in direct violation of the laws and Treaties of the United States -
they should be removed out of the Cherokee Country.
For further information as to such facts relating to the subjects of
your enquiry, I have to refer you at present to Mr. W. P. Ross for what
he may be in possession of. . . - JOHN Ross to John B. Ogden, Febru-
ary 28, 1861 [Indian Office, General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 032].
90 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
prompt co-operation in the formation of a Southern
Confederacy." 129
Now before following these men in the execution of
their mission, it may be advisable, for breadth of view,
to Hlustrate how Texas still further made Indian rela-
tions an issue most prominent in all the earlier stages
of her secession movement; but at the very outset it must
be admitted that, in so doing, she differentiated care-
fully between the civilized and the uncivilized tribes.
With the one group she was ready to seek an alliance,
offensive and defensive, but with the other to wage a
relentless, exterminating war. The failure of the
United States central government to protect her against
the aggressions and the atrocities so-called of the wild
tribes was cited by her as one principal justification for
withdrawal from the Union, 130 her obvious purpose be-
ing to gain thereby the adherence of the northern coun-
ties, non-slaveholding but frontier. Almost conversely,
on the other hand, Governor Houston gave as one good
and sufficient reason for not withdrawing from the
Union, the fear that should the Union be dissolved the
wild tribes, who were now, in a measure, restrained
from committing depredations and enormities by the
very nature of their treaty guaranties, would be literally
let loose upon Texas. 131 As far as the civilized tribes
were concerned, however, all were of one mind and that
took the form of the conviction that so great was the
necessity of gaining and holding the confidence of the
Indians, that Texas must not procrastinate in joining
129 Official Records, fourth sen, vol. i, 322.
130 Tenney, W. J. Military and Naval History of the Rebellion in the
United States, 134.
131 Letter to the Alabama commissioner, J. M. Calhoun, January 7, 1861
[Official Records, fourth sen, vol. 5, 74].
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 91
her fortunes with those of her sister states in the Con-
federacy. 132
James E. Harrison and his colleagues started out
upon the performance of the duties assigned them, Feb-
ruary 27, 1 86 1. Their report 133 of operations and of
observations being somewhat difficult of access and its
contents not easily summarized, is herewith appended.
Its fullness of detail is especially to be commended.
We . . . crossed Red River and entered the Chickasaw
Nation about thirty miles southwest of Fort Washita; visited
and held a private conference with His Excellency Governor C.
Harris and other distinguished men of that nation, who fully
appreciated our views and the object of our mission. They in-
formed us that a convention of the Chickasaws and Choctaws
was in a few days to convene at Boggy Depot, in the Choctaw
Nation, to attend to some municipal arrangements. We, in
company with Governor Harris and others, made our way to
Boggy Depot, conferring privately with the principal men on
our route. We arrived at Boggy Depot on the loth day of
March. Their convention or council convened on the nth.
Elected a president of the convention ( Ex-Governor Walker, of
the Choctaw Nation) ; adopted rules of decorum. On the I2th
we were waited on by a committee of the convention. Intro-
duced as commissioners from Texas, we presented our creden-
tials and were invited to seats. The convention then asked to
hear us, when Mr. James E. Harrison addressed them and a
crowded auditory upon the subject of our mission, setting forth
the grounds of our complaint against the Government of the
United States, the wrongs we had suffered until our patience
had become exhausted, endurance had ceased to be a virtue, our
duty to ourselves and children demanded of us a disruption of
the Government that had ceased to protect us or to regard our
rights ; announced the severance of the old and the organization
of a new Government of Confederate Sovereign States of the
132 "Report of a Committee of the Convention, being an address to the
people of Texas, March 30, 1861." -Ibid., 199.
133 Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 322-325.
92 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
South, with a common kindred, common hopes, common interest,
and a common destiny ; discussed the power of the new Govern-
ment, its influence, and wealth; the interest the civilized red
man had in this new organization ; tendering them our warmest
sympathy and regard, all of which met the cordial approbation
of the convention.
The Choctaws and Chickasaws are entirely Southern and are
determined to adhere to the fortunes of the South. They were
embarrassed in their action by the absence of their agents and
commissioners at Washington, the seat of Government of the
Northern Confederacy, seeking a final settlement with that Gov-
ernment. They have passed resolutions authorizing the raising
of a minute company in each county in the two nations, to be
drilled for actual service when necessary. Their convention
was highly respectable in numbers and intelligence, and the busi-
ness of the convention was dispatched with such admirable de-
corum and promptness as is rarely met with in similar delibera-
tive bodies within the States.
On the morning of the I3th, hearing that the Creeks (or
Maskokys) and Cherokees were in council at the Creek agency,
on the Arkansas River, 140 miles distant, we immediately set
out for that point, hoping to reach them before their adjourn-
ment. In this we were disappointed. They had adjourned
two days before our arrival. We reached that point on Satur-
day evening. On Sunday morning, hearing that there was a
religious meeting five miles north of the Arkansas River, in the
Creek Nation, Mr. James E. Harrison attended, which proved
to be of the utmost importance to our mission. The Reverend
Mr. H. S. Buckner was present, with Chilly Mclntosh, D. N.
Mclntosh, Judge Marshall, and others, examining a translation
of a portion of the Scriptures, hymn book, and Greek grammar
by Mr. Buckner into the Creek language. Mr. Buckner
showed us great kindness, and did us eminent service, as did also
Elder Vandiven, at whose house we spent the night and portion
of the next day with these gentlemen of the Creek Nation, and
through them succeeded in having a convention of the five
nations called by Governor Motey Kinnaird, of the Creeks, to
meet at North Fork (Creek Nation) on the 8th of April.
In the intermediate time we visited the Cherokee Nation,
calling on their principal men and citizens, conversing with
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 93
them freely until we reached Tahlequah, the seat of government.
Near this place Mr. John Ross resides, the Governor of the
nation. We called on him officially. We were not unex-
pected, and were received with courtesy, but not with cordiality.
A long conference was had with him, conducted by Mr. Har-
rison on the part of the commissioners, without, we fear, any
good result. He was very diplomatic and cautious. His posi-
tion is the same as that held by Mr. Lincoln in his inaugural;
declares the Union not dissolved; ignores the Southern Govern-
ment. The intelligence of the nation is not with him. Four-
fifths, at least, are against his views, as we learned from observa-
tion and good authorities. He, as we learned, had been urged
by his people to call a council of the nation (he having the only
constitutional authority to do so) , to take into consideration the
embarrassed condition of political affairs in the States, and to
give some expression of their sentiments and sympathies. This
he has persistently refused to do. His position in this is that of
Sam. Houston in Texas, and in all probability will share the
same fate, if not a worse one. His people are already oppressed
by a Northern population letting a portion of territory pur-
chased by them from the United States, to the exclusion of
natives, and we are creditably informed that the Governors of
some two or more of the Western free-soil States have recom-
mended their people emigrating to settle the Cherokee country.
It is due Mr. John Ross, in this connection, to say that during
our conference with him he frequently avowed his sympathy for
the South, and that, if Virginia and the other Border States
seceded from the Government of the United States, his people
would declare for the Southern Government that might be
formed. The fact is not to be denied or disguised that among
the common Indians of the Cherokees there exists a considerable
abolition influence, created and sustained by one Jones, a North-
ern missionary of education and ability, who has been among
them for many years, and who is said to exert no small influence
with John Ross himself.
From Tahlequah we returned to the Creek Nation, and had
great satisfaction in visiting their principal men the Mcln-
toshes, Stidhams, Smiths, Vanns, Rosses, Marshalls, and others
too numerous to mention. Heavy falls of rain occurred about
94 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
the time the convention was to meet at North Fork, which pre-
vented the Chickasaws and Choctaws from attending the coun-
cil, the rivers and creeks being all full and impassable. The
Creeks, Cherokees, Seminoles, Quapa, and Socks (the three lat-
ter dependencies of the Creeks) met on the 8th of April. After
they had organized by calling Motey Kinnaird, the Governor
of the Creeks, to the chair, a committee was appointed to wait
on the commissioners present, James E. Harrison and Capt.
C. A. Hamilton, and invite them to appear in the convention,
when, by invitation, Mr. Harrison addressed the convention in
a speech of two hours. Our views were cordially received by
the convention. The Creeks are Southern and sound to a man,
and when desired will show their devotion to our cause by acts.
They meet in council on the ist of May, when they will prob-
ably send delegates to Montgomery to arrange with the South-
ern Government.
These nations are in a rapid state of improvement. The
chase is no longer resorted to as means of subsistence, only as an
occasional recreation. They are pursuing with good success
agriculture and stock raising. Their houses are well built and
comfortable, some of them costly. Their farms are well
planned and some of them extensive and all well cultivated.
They are well supplied with schools of learning, extensively
patronized. They have many churches and a large membership
of moral, pious deportment. They feel themselves to be in an
exposed, embarrassed condition. They are occupying a country
well suited to them, well watered, and fertile, with extensive
fields of the very best mineral coal, fine salt springs and wells,
with plenty of good timber, water powers which they are using
to an advantage. Pure slate, granite, sandstone, blue limestone,
and marble are found in abundance. All this they regard as
inviting Northern aggression, and they are without arms, to any
extent, or munitions of war. They declare themselves South-
erners by geographical position, by a common interest, by their
social system, and by blood, for they are rapidly becoming a
nation of whites. They have written constitutions, laws, etc.,
modeled after those of the Southern States. We recommend
them to the fostering care of the South, and that treaty arrange-
ments be entered into with them as soon as possible. They can
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 95
raise 20,000 good fighting men, leaving enough at home to at-
tend to domestic affairs, and under the direction of an officer
from the Southern Government would deal destruction to an
approaching army from that direction, and in the language of
one of their principal men :
"Lincoln may haul his big guns about our prairies in the day-
time, but we will swoop down upon him at night from our
mountains and forests, dealing death and destruction to his
army."
No delay should be permitted in this direction. They can-
not declare themselves until they are placed in a defensible posi-
tion. The Administration of the North is concentrating his
forces at Fort Washita, about twenty-four miles from the Texas
line, and within the limits of the Chickasaw Nation. This fort
could easily be taken by a force of 200 or 300 good men, and it
is submitted as to whether in the present state of affairs a for-
eign government should be permitted to accumulate a large
force on the borders of our country, especially a portion con-
taining a large number of disaffected citizens who repudiate
the action of the State.
In this connection it may not be improper to state that from
North Fork to Red River we met over 120 wagons, movers
from Texas to Kansas and other free States. These people are
from Grayton, Collin, Johnson, and Denton, a country beau-
tiful in appearance, rich in soil, genial in climate, and inferior
to none in its capacity for the production of the cereals and
stock. In disguise, we conversed with them freely. They had
proposed by the ballot box to abolitionize at least that portion
of the State. Failing in this, we suppose at least 500 voters
have returned whence they came.
All of which is respectfully submitted this April 23,
1861. . .
Presumably, the suggestions, contained in the closing
paragraphs of the commissioners' report, in so far as
they concerned Texas, were immediately acted upon
by her. It was very true, as the commissioners had
reported, that a change was taking place in the dispo-
sition of Federal troops within the Indian country.
96 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
About the middle of February, a complaint 134 had been
filed at the Indian Office by the Wichita agent, Mat-
thew Leeper, to the effect that men, claiming to be
Choctaws and Chickasaws, were trespassing upon the
Leased District. The Reserve Indians asked for relief
and protection at the hands of their guardian, the
United States government. Shortly afterwards, per-
haps in a measure in response to the appeal or more
likely, to a hint that everything was not quite as it
should be on the Texan border, Colonel William H.
Emory, First United States Cavalry, was ordered,
March I3, 185 to take post at Fort Cobb. He was then
in Washington and, immediately upon his departure
thence, was ordered, March i8, 136 to form his regiment
at Fort Washita instead, word having come from the
commander at that post, 137 in a report of the third in-
stant, of a threatened attack by Texans. In explanation
of a policy so vacillating, Emory was given to under-
stand that the change of destination was really made at
the solicitation of the agent and delegation of the Chick-
asaws. Those men were in Washington, out of reach
of and apparently out of sympathy with, the events
transpiring at home. Agent Cooper, secessionist
though he was, probably did not altogether approve of
the interference of the Texans. At any rate, he shared
the representations of the Chickasaw delegation that
Fort Washita stood in need of reinforcement, 138 and
the War Department acceded to their request on the
ground that, "The interests of the United States are
184 Leeper to Greenwood, February 12, 1861 [General Files, Wichita^
1860-1861, 1373].
135 Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 656.
w lbid.
137 _ m^ 66o .
64 g.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 97
paramount to those of the friendly Indians on the reser-
vation near Fort Cobb." 139
Emory's orders further comprehended a concentra-
tion of all the troops at Fort Washita that were then
at that place and at Forts Cobb and Arbuckle; 140 but
the orders were discretionary in their nature and per-
mitted his leaving a small force at the more northern
posts should circumstances warrant or demand it. On
the nineteenth, General Scott had had a conference
with Senator Charles B. Mitchell of Arkansas and, in
deference to Mitchell's opinion, still further modified
his orders to Emory so that, while leaving him the bulk
of his discretionary power, he recommended that, if
advisable, Emory retain one company at Fort Cobb. 141
In any event, one company of infantry was to move in
advance from Fort Arbuckle to Fort Washita. 142
Up to the twenty-fourth of March, at which time he
left Memphis, Colonel Emory made pretty good time
in his attempt to reach his destination; but from Mem-
phis on his movements were unavoidably and consider-
ably hampered. Low water in the Arkansas detained
him for several days so that he deemed it prudent to
send his orders on ahead to the commanding officer at
Fort Arbuckle "to commence the movement upon Fort
Washita, and, in the event of the latter place being
threatened, to march to its support with his whole
force." 143 On reaching Fort Smith, Emory found that
matters had come to a crisis in Arkansas and, touching
139 Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 656.
140 The Indian Office protested against a reduction of the forts because of
treaty guaranties to the Indians [Dole to Smith, April 30, 1861, Indian Office,
Report Book, no. 12, p. 152].
141 Townsend to Emory, March 21, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol.
J, 659].
142 Same to same, ibid., 660.
143 Emory to Townsend, April 2, 1861 {ibid., 660].
98 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
the disposition of his force and the objects of his mis-
sion, allowed himself to be unduly influenced in his
judgment by men of local predilections. 14 * It was upon
their advice and upon the urgent pleadings of Matthew
Leeper, 145 Indian agent on the Leased District, that he
exercised his discretionary power as to the disposal of
troops, without listening to his military subordinates 14
or having viewed the locality for himself. In the in-
terests of these local petitioners, 147 he even enlarged
upon Mitchell's recommendation and concluded to
leave two companies at Fort Cobb as one was deemed
altogether inadequate to the protection of so isolated
144 At the time, when it was intended to remove all the troops from Fort
Cobb for purposes of concentration farther south and nearer to the source of
danger, instructions were issued that the Reserve Indians, whose peculiar
protection Fort Cobb was, might remove within the limits of Fort Washita;
but the Choctaws and the Chickasaws objected and, in deference to their wishes,
Emory suspended the permission [Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 663], his
excuse being that Fort Cobb was not to be abandoned anyway. The contract-
ors, Johnson and Grimes, whom Superintendent Rector had so much favored,
had a good deal to do with the forming of this decision. They told Emory
that the Reserve Indians were not free to move; for they had no means and
that they were "hutted and planting at Fort Cobb." Quite naturally the food
contractors did not wish the Indians to be taken out of their reach within the
limits of a military reservation.
145 Matthew Leeper was very insistent. He not only wrote letters to Emory
arguing his case but travelled from his agency to Fort Smith to interview him.
146 Emory refused to grant the appeal of Major Sackett and Captain Prince
not to abandon Fort Arbuckle [Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 666].
147 This circumstance ought not, however, to be cited to the prejudice of
Colonel Emory; for it was while he was yet at Fort Smith that he manifested
some of the spirit that inspired Robert E. Lee, who, by the way, was in com-
mand of the 2nd regiment of United States cavalry and had been stationed,
like Emory, in Texas, and who, whether he believed in the doctrine of seces-
sion or not, put, as many another high-minded Southerner did, the state before
the nation in matters of pride, of allegiance, and of personal honor. Such men
as Lee belonged to quite another class from what the self-seeking politicians
did who, in isolated cases at least, engineered the secession movement from
hope of gain. Many of the Indian agents and employees belonged to this
latter class. Emory was unlike Lee in the final result; for he did not ulti-
mately conclude to go with his state. It was he who later on commanded, as
a Union brigadier-general, the defences of New Orleans.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 99
a post. It never seems to have occurred to him that the
attack would have to come from the south, from the
direction of Fort Washita, and that a force large
enough to be efficient at either Fort Washita or Fort
Arbuckle would necessarily protect Fort Cobb and the
Indians of the Leased District.
The position of the Indians in the Leased District
was serious in the extreme. They lived in mortal
terror of the Texans and their agent, the man placed
over them by the United States government, was now
an avowed secessionist. He was a Texan and declared,
as so many another southerner did from General Lee
down, that honor and loyalty compelled him to go with
his state. In February, he had been in Washington
City, settling his accounts with the government and
estimating for the next two quarters in accordance with
the rulings and established usage of the Indian Office.
On his way west and back to his agency, he was waylaid
by a man of the name of "Burrow," very probably
Colonel N. B. Burrow, acting under authority from
the state of Arkansas, who despoiled him of part of his
travelling equipment and then suffered him to go on
his way. 14 ' Leeper reached his agency to find the In-
dians greatly excited. He endeavored to allay their
fears, assuring them that the Texans would do them no
harm. Soon, however, came his own defection and he
thenceforward made use of every means, either to make
the way easy for the Texans or to induce the Indians to
side with them against the United States.
While Emory was dilly-dallying at Fort Smith, the
Texans made their preparations 149 for invading the In-
148 See Appendix B, Leeper Papers.
149 Very early, as has already been commented upon, the Texans bethought
them of securing the Indian alliance. Additional evidence is to be found in
such a request as Henry E. McCulloch made of Secretary Walker, on the occa-
TOO The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
dian country and a regiment of volunteers under Will-
iam C. Young, once a planter of Braganza County and
now state regimental colonel, moved towards the Red
River. There is something to show that they came at
the veiled invitation 15 of the Indians. At any rate they
seem to have felt pretty sure of a welcome 151 and were
close at hand when Colonel Emory reached Fort
Washita. He reached Fort Washita to find that the
concentration of troops, even of such as his ill-advised
orders would permit, had not yet fully taken place, that
his supplies had been seized by the Texans, and that a
general attack by them upon the poorly fortified posts
sion of his brother Ben's having passed over to him the charge originally con-
ferred upon himself of raising a regiment of mounted troops for the defence
of the frontier. Henry E. McCulloch requested Secretary Walker to permit him
To use some of the friendly Indians in the Indian Territory, if I can
procure their services, in my scouting parties and expeditions against
the hostile Indians. These people can be made of great service to us,
and can be used without any great expense to the Government. - Official
Records, first sen, vol. i, 618.
150 Letter of Carruth, July n, 1861.
151 As proof that the Texans regarded the Choctaws and the Chickasaws
as friends, the two following letters may be cited:
A letter from John Hemphill and W. S. Oldham, two of the represen-
tatives from Texas in the Provisional Congress, to Secretary Walker, March
30, 1861, outlining a scheme of defence for Texas in which the admission was
made that, from the southwest corner of Arkansas to Preston on the Red
River, Texas needed no defense as her neighbors on that side were, "the
highly-civilized and agricultural tribes of Choctaws and Chickasaws, who are
in friendship with Texas and the Confederate States." - Official Records, first
sen, vol. i, 619.
A letter from E. Kirby Smith, major, Artillery, Confederate States of
America, to Walker, April 20, 1861, to the effect that,
In considering the defense of the line of the western frontier of
Texas our relations with the civilized Indians north of Red River are
of the utmost importance. Numbering some eight thousand rifles, they
form a strong barrier on the north, forcing the line of operations of an
invading army westward into a region impracticable to the passage of
large bodies of troops. Regarding them as our allies, which their nat-
ural affinities make them, the line of the western frontier reduces itself to
the country between the Rio Grande and Red River. - Official Records,
first ser., vol. i, 628.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 101
was to be hourly expected. Emory, thereupon, re-
solved to withdraw from Fort Washita towards Ar-
buckle and Cobb. The day after he did so, April 16,
Young's troops entered in force. Emory hurried for-
ward to strengthen Fort Cobb and, indeed, to relieve
it, taking, in his progress, the open prairie road that his
cavalry might be more available. On the way, 152 he
was joined by United States troops from Fort Arbuckle,
the Texans in close pursuit. Fort Arbuckle was occu-
pied by them in turn and then Fort Cobb, Emory never
so much as attempting to enter the place; for he
found its garrison in flight to the northeast. Fugitives
all together, the Federal troops, piloted by a Delaware
Indian, Black Beaver, 133 hurried onwards towards Fort
Leavenworth. They seem to have made no lengthy
stop until they were safe across the Arkansas River 154
152 Between Fort Washita and Fort Arbuckle, Colonel Emory was over-
taken by William W. Averell, second lieutenant, Regiment Mounted Rifles,
with additional despatches from Townsend, ordering him, upon their receipt,
immediately to repair to Fort Leavenworth, "with all the troops in the Indian
country west of Arkansas" [ibid., 667]. Lieutenant Averell's own account of
his experiences on the journey between Washington City and Fort Washita,
the hardships, difficulties, and delays, also the frenzied excitement of the Ar-
kansas people over the prospect of secession, forms an interesting narrative
[ibid., vol. liii, supplement, 488, 493-496].
153 Black Beaver had served creditably as United States interpreter for the
Wichitas and recently Leeper had turned to him for help in allaying their
fears [Leeper to Rector, dated Wichita Agency, March 28, 1861, Leeper
Papers'}. For services rendered on this expedition northward to Fort Leaven-
worth [Letter of W. S. Robertson, September 30, 1861, General Files, Southern
Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ri6i5], Black Beaver brought a claim against
the United States [E. S. Parker to J. D. Cox, July i, 1869, Indian Office,
Report Book, no. 18, pp. 417-418 ; and same to same, April 25, 1870, ibid., no.
*9i P- 321]. Evidently Black Beaver served also in the Mexican War. He
was then head of a company of mounted volunteers, Shawnees and Delawares
[George W. Manypenny to Drew, August 8, 1854], which had been called and
mustered into the service by Harney [P. Clayton, 2nd auditor, to A. K. Par-
ris, 2nd comptroller, October 26, 1850].
154 Emory to Townsend, May 19, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol.
i, 648].
IO2 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
and their flight may well be said to have been a precip-
itous one. Behind them, at Fort Arbuclde, Colonel
Young took possession of abandoned property and
placed it in the care of the Chickasaw Indians, 155 who
had materially aided him in his attack. His next move
was to negotiate, 156 unauthoritatively, a treaty with the
Reserve Indians, gaining the promise of their alliance
upon the understanding that the Confederacy, in return,
would feed and protect them. Fort Cobb was rifled
and the Indians made rich, in their own estimation,
with booty. 157 Colonel Young seems then to have
drawn back towards the Red River; but for several
months he continued to occupy with his forces, 158 under
the authority of Texas and with the consent of the
Chickasaw Indians, the three frontier posts that Emory
had been instructed to guard; viz., Forts Washita, Ar-
buckle, and Cobb.
If Texas took time by the forelock in her anxiety to
secure the Indian country and its inhabitants, Arkansas
most certainly did the same; and, in the undertaking,
various things told to her advantage, among which, not
the least important was the close family relationship
existing between her secessionist governor, Henry M.
155 Captain S. T. Benning to Walker, May 14, 1861 [Official Records, first
ser., vol. 5, 653.]
157 Leeper to Rector, January 13, 1862 [Leeper Papers].
158 A note, communicated by X. B. Debray, aide-de-camp to the Governor
of Texas, to Walker and dated, Richmond, August 28, 1861, says,
The governor of Texas being convinced that the integrity of the soil
of Texas greatly depends upon the success of the Southern cause in Mis-
souri, and moved by an appeal to the people of Arkansas and Texas
(published at the beginning of July by General Ben. McCulloch) or-
dered on the 25th ultimo the raising and concentration on Red River of
3,000 mounted men, besides the regiment commanded by Col. W. C.
Young, which has been occupying for several months Forts Arbuckle,
Cobb, and Washita, under authority of Texas, and at the request of the.
Chickasaw Indians. - Official Records, first sen, vol. iv, 98.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 103
Rector, and the southern superintendent. They were
cousins and, to all appearances, the best of friends. It
is doubtful if in any state the executive authority there-
of worked more energetically for secession or with
greater consistency and promptitude than in Arkansas.
Governor Rector had been elected, in the autumn of
1860, by the Democrats and old-line Whigs. He be-
longed to a numerous and most influential family, land-
surveyors most of them, seemingly by inheritance, and,
although from northern or border states originally,
strongly committed to the doctrine of state sovereignty.
The family connections were also powerful socially and
politically. The gubernatorial inauguration came in
November, 1860, and from that moment Henry M.
Rector and his host of relations and friends worked for
secession.
At the outset, Governor Rector identified the Indian
interests with those of Arkansas. Even in his mes-
sage 159 of December n, 1860 he gave it as his opinion
that the two communities must together take measures
to prevent anti-slavery migration. It was rather late
in the day, however, to intimate that men of abolitionist
sentiments must not be allowed to cross the line, and a
man of the political acumen of Henry M. Rector must
have known it. Immediately after the general election
there were evidences of great excitement in Arkansas
and, when news 160 came that the disused arsenal at
Little Rock was to be occupied by artillery under Cap-
tain James Totten from Fort Leavenworth, it broke out
into expressions of public dissent. Little Rock was
scarcely less radical and secessionist in its views than
was Fort Smith and Fort Smith was regarded as a
regular hot-bed of sectionalism. The legislature, too,
159 House Journal, Arkansas, 1861, p. 304.
1 * Confederate Military History, vol. x, 4.
104 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
was filled with state-rights advocates and some of the
actions taken there were almost revolutionary in their
trend. With the new year came new alarms and false
reports of what was to be. Harrell records 161 that the
first message over the newly completed telegraph line
between Memphis and Little Rock was a repetition of
the rumor, quite without foundation, that Major Emory
had been ordered from Fort Gibson to reinforce Totten
at Little Rock, and that the effect upon Helena was
electrical. It is no wonder that the newspapers and
personal communications 162 of the time showed great
161 Confederate Military History, vol. x, 7.
162 Two letters found among the Fort Smith Papers may serve, in a meas-
ure, to illustrate the point:
LITTLE ROCK, ARKS, Jan? 6, 1861.
DR THAD: I received your letter a few days ago ... I am
thankful that there are a few righteous men left and particularly grati-
fied that you and Henry Lewis are true and faithful to the South.
I will endeavor to keep you posted so that you may hold your own
with the Union savers in sober truth the question is not whether the
Union ought or can be saved but whether Arkansas shall go with the
North or adhere to the South. Neither Fishback or anybody can pre-
serve the Union - it now becomes us as wise men to put our house in
order for the impending crisis. I wrote to Porter last night -the Sen-
ate have not passed the Convention bill and will not in anything like a
right shape. . . BEN T. Du VAL.
[Addressed to Capt. M. T. Tatum, Greenwood, Arks.].
LITTLE ROCK ARK, January 7th 1861.
DEAR THAD. I enclose you a copy of the printed bill now before
our House to arm and equip the Militia of this State and to appropriate
100,000$ for that purpose. . . We have passed a bill through the
House appropriating five hundred dollars to Porter to cover his losses
to some extent in money which he has paid out in recovering fugitives,
it ought to have been a good deal more, but I never worked harder for
anything in my life to get what we did. I think it will pass the Sen-
ate. The news from South Carolina indicate a Tea party at Charleston
before many days. From the general signs of the times I think a Com-
promise will be effect between the North and the South and the Union
saved. The Convention bill has not passed the Senate yet but will in
a few days I think. Give my respects to the boys generally Your obt
Servt JOHN T. LONDON
[Addressed to Capt. M. T. Tatum, Greenwood, Sebastian County,
Arkansas.]
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 105
intensity of feeling and a tendency to ring the changes
on a single theme.
The public indignation following the receipt of the
unsubstantiated rumor that Totten was to be reenforced
seems to have compelled the action of Governor Rector
in taking possession, 163 on February eighth, in the name
of the state of Arkansas, of the United States arsenal at
163 An interesting series of telegrams has a bearing upon that event.
February i. 1861.
J. J. GREEN, WILLIAM WALKER, Van Buren, Ark.:
Not possible to leave here. Southern confederacy certain. Arkansas
must save her children by joining it. Write by mail to-day.
JOHNSON and HINDMAN
Official Records, first ser., vol. liii, supplement, 617.
WASHINGTON, February 7, 1861.
JOHN POPE, ESQ., Little Rock, Ark.:
For God's sake do not complicate matters by an attack. It will be
premature and do incalculable injury. We cannot justify it. The
reasons that existed elsewhere for seizure do not exist with us.
ALBERT PIKE, R. W. JOHNSON.
Ibid., vol. i, 682.
U. S. SENATE, WASHINGTON, February 7, 1861.
His EXCELLENCY H. M. RECTOR, Little Rock, Ark. :
The motives which impelled capture of forts in other States do not
exist in ours. It is all premature. We implore you prevent attack on
arsenal if Totten resists. R. W. JOHNSON, W. K. SEBASTIAN.
Ibid., 681.
WASHINGTON, February 7, 1861.
R. H. JOHNSON, JAMES B. JOHNSON, Little Rock:
Southern States which captured forts were in the act of seceding,
were threatened with troops, and their ports and commerce endangered.
Not so with us. If Totten resists, for God's sake deliberate and go
stop the assault. R. W. JOHNSON.
Ibid., 681-682.
WASHINGTON, February 7, 1861.
GOVERNOR RECTOR, Little Rock, Ark.:
For God's sake allow no attack to be made on Fort Totten.
A. RUST.
Ibid., vol. liii, supplement, 617.
February 7, 1861.
E. BURGEVIN, Little Rock:
For God's sake do not attack the arsenal. It can do no good and
will be productive of great harm. C. B. JOHNSON.
Ibid.
io6 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Little Rock; but, as a matter of fact, Rector needed only
an excuse, and a very slight one at that, for doing more
than he had already done to prove his sectional bias.
Nor had he forgotten or neglected the Indians. In-
deed, never at any time did he leave a single stone un-
turned in his search for inside and outside support; and,
notwithstanding the fact that the Arkansas Ordinance
of Secession was not passed until the sixth of May,
Governor Rector conducted himself, for months before
that, as though the state were a bona fide member of
the Confederacy. In all his audacious venturings, pro-
posals, and acts, he had the full and unquestioning
support, not only of his cousin, Elias Rector, 164 in whose
honor Albert Pike had written the well-known par-
LITTLE ROCK, February 8, 1861.
C. B. JOHNSON, Washington:
Spoke too late, like Irishman who swallowed egg. Arsenal in hands
of Governor. EDMUND BURGEVIN.
Official Records, first ser., vol. liii, supplement, 617.
The senders and recipients of the telegraphic dispatches were, with one
or two exceptions, all relatives of each other, and all in public life. Robert
Ward Johnson and William K. Sebastian were, at the time, United States sen-
ators from Arkansas; Thomas C. Hindman and Albert Rust were Arkansas
representatives in Congress; Albert Pike was in Washington, prosecuting the
Choctaw Indian claim; Edmund Burgevin was the attorney-general of Ar-
kansas and a brother-in-law of Governor Rector; Richard H. Johnson and
James Johnson were brothers of Robert W. Johnson, the former being proprie-
tor and editor of the Little Rock Democrat and the latter, in future years, a
colonel in the Confederate army. In 1868, R. W. Johnson moved to Wash-
ington City and became the law partner of Albert Pike. [Arkansas His-
torical Association, Publications, vol. ii, 268.] Hindman was the man who
sneered at the precautions taken to insure President-elect Lincoln's safety
[Stanwood, History of Presidential Elections, 235]. Sebastian was expelled
from the Senate because of his southern sympathies; but, as he really took no
active part in the Confederate movements, the resolution of expulsion was
rescinded in 1878.
164 It would be interesting to know whether Elias Rector had as yet for-
mulated any such plan for personal aggrandizement such as must have been
in his mind when he wrote the letter to Douglas H. Cooper that called forth
from Cooper the following response:
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 107
ody 165 on "The Old Scottish Gentlemen;" 166 but of the
leading citizens of Fort Smith and Little Rock, partic-
Private & Confidential
Copy FORT SMITH May ist 1861.
MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR
Dr. Sir: I have concluded to act upon the suggestion yours of the
28th Ultimo contains.
If we work this thing shrewdly we can make a fortune each, satisfy
the Indians, stand fair before the North, and revel in the unwavering
confidence of our Southern Confederacy.
My share of the eighty thousand in gold you can leave on deposite
with Meyer Bro, subject to my order. Write me soon. COOPER.
Indian Office, General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1863-1864., 1435.
The foregoing letter of Cooper's was one of those referred to in the fol-
lowing telegraphic communication from Special Agent G. B. Stockton to Sec-
retary Usher, dated Fort Smith, Arkansas, February 20, 1864:
I have just found & have now in this office a large desk containing
indian papers treaties correspondence of Cooper Rector & others, corre-
spondence of W. P. Dole as late as May fifteenth 1861 vouchers ab-
stracts & correspondence convicting Rector & Cooper of enticing the
various tribes to become enemies of the U. S. The papers extend back
as far as 1834 will you please direct me what disposition to make of
them.
Secretary Usher referred the matter to the Office of Indian Affairs and
Mix instructed Stockton to send the papers on to Washington [Letter of Feb-
ruary 20, 1864]. This Stockton did and notified the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs in this wise, by telegraph:
I have boxed the Indian Papers which I found at this place, and this
day send them by wagons to Leavenworth City, Kansas, to be thence
forwarded by the American Express Company.
There seems to have been considerable delay in their transmittal after
they had passed into the custodianship of the express company but they
eventually reached the Indian Office and to-day form part of the Fort Smith
collection.
les The melodious refrain of this, s
That fine Arkansas gentleman,
Close to the Choctaw line.
unconsciously brings out one of the very ideas sought to be conveyed by the
present chapter; namely, the extremely close connection between Arkansas
and Indian Territory.
166 This old, old song, "written on the model and to the air of 'The Old
Country Gentleman'," runs thus:
The song I'll sing, though lately made, it tells of olden days,
Of a good old Scottish gentleman, of good old Scottish ways;
io8 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
ularly of those whose previous occupations, residence,
inclinations, or interests had made them conversant with
Indian affairs and, therefore, unusually appreciative of
the strategic value of the Indian country. Under such
circumstances, it is not at all surprising that Governor
Rector seized, as he did, the earliest 167 opportunity to
approach the Cherokees. Fort Smith at the junction
of the Arksansas and Poteau Rivers was only eighty
miles from Fort Gibson.
Before taking up for special comment Governor
Rector's negotiations with the Cherokees through their
principal chief, John Ross, it might be well to retrace
our steps a little in order to show how, in yet other ways,
Arkansas interested herself more than was natural in
the concerns of the Indians and made some of her citi-
zens, in the long run, more than ordinarily responsible
for the development of secessionist sentiment among the
southern tribes.
When David Hubbard, journeying westward as
special secessionist commissioner 168 from Alabama to
Arkansas, reached Little Rock -and that was in the
early winter of i86i-he soon discovered that many
Arkansans were not willing for their state to go out of
the Union unless she could take Indian Territory with
her. Hubbard's letter, 169 descriptive of the situation, is
very elucidating. It is addressed to Andrew B.
When our barons bold kept house and hold, and sung their olden lays
And drove with speed across the Tweed, auld Scotland's bluidy faes,
Like brave old Scottish gentlemen, all of the olden time.
Scottish Songs, printed by W. G. Blackie and Company (Glasgow).
i7 The commissioners to whom Ogden referred in his letter of February
15, 1861, may have been the tangible evidence of Governor Rector's first at-
tempt to influence the Indians.
168 Fleming, Civil War and Reconstruction In Alabama, 46, footnote i.
169 Smith, Debates of the Alabama Convention, 443-444; Official Records,
fourth ser., vol. i, 3.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 109
Moore, 170 governor of Alabama, and bears date Kin-
loch, Alabama, January third.
MY DEAR SIR: On receipt of your letter and appointment
as commissioner from Alabama to Arkansas, I repaired to Little
Rock and presented my credentials to the two houses, and also
your letter to Governor Rector, by all of whom I was politely
received. The Governor of Arkansas was every way disposed
to further our views, and so were many leading and influential
members of each house of the Legislature, but neither are yet
ready for action, because they fear the people have not yet made
up their minds to go out. The counties bordering on the In-
dian nations - Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws
would hesitate greatly to vote for secession, and leave those
tribes still under the influence of the Government at Washing-
ton, from which they receive such large stipends and annuities.
These Indians are at a spot very important, in my opinion, in
this great sectional controversy, and must be assured that the
South will do as well as the North before they could be induced
to change their alliances and dependence. I have much on this
subject to say when I get to Montgomery, which cannot well
be written. The two houses passed resolutions inviting me to
meet them in representative hall and consult together as to what
had best be done in this matter. When I appeared men were
anxious to know what the seceding States intended to do in cer-
tain contingencies. My appointment gave me no authority to
speak as to what any State would do, but I spoke freely of what,
in my opinion, we ought to do. I took the ground that no State
which had seceded would ever go back without full power be-
ing given to protect themselves by vote against anti-slavery
projects and schemes of every kind. I took the position that the
Northern people were honest and did fear the divine displeasure,
both in this world and the world to come, by reason of what
they considered the national sin of slavery, and that all who
agreed with me in a belief of their sincerity must see that we
could not remain quietly in the same Government with them.
Secondly, if they were dishonest hypocrites, and only lied to im-
170 Governor Moore had appointed the commissioners, including Hubbard,
on his own initiative before the convention met. See his address, Smith's De-
bates, 35.
1 10 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
pose on others and make them hate us, and used anti-slavery
arguments as mere pretexts for the purpose of uniting Northern
sentiment against us, with a view to obtain political power and
sectional dominion, in that event we ought not to live with
them. I desired any Unionist present to controvert either of
these positions, which seemed to cover the whole ground. No
one attempted either, and I said but little more. I am satisfied,
from free conversations with members of all parties and with
Governor Rector, that Arkansas, when compelled to choose, will
side with the Southern States, but at present a majority would
vote the Union ticket. Public sentiment is but being formed,
but must take that direction. . .
What, in addition to that just cited, Hubbard had
to say about the Indians or about the profit accruing
from close contact with them, we have no way of know-
ing; but we have a right to be suspicious of the things
that have to be communicated by word of mouth only,
especially in this instance, when we remember that
white men have always made the Indians subjects of
exploitation and that Hubbard was the man whom the
southern Confederacy chose for its first commissioner
of Indian affairs, also that Hubbard's first outline of
work, as commissioner, in truth, his only outline, com-
prehended an extended visit to the Indians before
whom he proposed to expatiate on the financial advan-
tages of an adherence to the Confederacy and the inevi-
table financial ruin that must come from continued
loyalty to the Union. All things considered, it would
surely seem that in Hubbard's mind the money question
was always uppermost.
But there were others to whom the Indian income
was a thing of interest. At the earlier meeting of the
Arkansas convention, a resolution 171 had been passed.
March 9, 1861, authorizing an inquiry to be made into
the annual cost to the United States government of the
171 House Journal, Arkansas, 38.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas ill
Indian service west of Arkansas. The state adminis-
tration had already seized 172 the Indian funds on hand,
an opportunity to do so having offered itself upon the
occasion of the death 173 of the United States disbursing
officer, Major P. T. Crutchfield. But, later, for fear
that this might work prejudice with the Indians a reso-
lution 174 was passed providing that the money should
not be diverted from its proper uses. Because of such
actions and others of like direction, it is certainly safe
to assume that pecuniary considerations made the fron-
tiersmen of 1 86 1 vitally interested in Indian affairs.
The same influences that moved Hubbard to write his
letter to Governor Moore with special mention of the
Indians unquestionably moved the citizens of Boons-
boro to try, 175 without much further ado, the temper of
the Cherokees.
172 House Journal, Arkansas, 314, 445.
173 January 12, 1861.
174 The resolution is found in House Journal, Arkansas, 167 and in Official
Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 307. Its text is as follows:
Resolved, That no money or property of any kind whatever, now in
the hands of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, or of any Indian
agent, being placed there, or designed for the Indians on the western
frontier of Arkansas, shall be seized, but that the same shall so remain
to be applied to and for the use of the several Indian Nations, faithfully,
as was designed when so placed in their hands for disbursement.
And the people of the State of Arkansas, here in sovereign conven-
tion assembled, do hereby pledge the sovereignty of the State of Arkan-
sas, that everything in their power shall be done to compel a faithful
application of all money and property now in the hands of persons or
agents designed and intended for the several Indian tribes west of
Arkansas.
Adopted in and by the convention May 9, 1861.
DAVID WALKER, President of the Arkansas State Convention.
Attest. ELIAS C. BOUDINOT, Secretary of the Convention.
BOONSBOROUGH, ARK., May 9, 1861.
HON. JOHN Ross:
Dear Sir: The momentous issues that now engross the attention of
the American people cannot but have elicited your interest and attention
as well as ours. The unfortunate resort of an arbitrament of arms seems
now to be the only alternative. Our State has of necessity to co-operate
112 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Returning now to Govenor Rector and to a recital of
his endeavors with the same Indian people, it is seen
that his approach to the Cherokees was made, as has
been already intimated, through their principal chief,
John Ross, and by means of the following most excel-
lently worded letter:
THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
Little Rock, January 29, 1861.
To His EXCELLENCY JOHN Ross,
Principal Chief Cherokee Nation:
SIR: It may now be regarded as almost certain that the
States having slave property within their borders will, in conse-
quence of repeated Northern aggressions, separate themselves
and withdraw from the Federal Government.
South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, and
Louisiana have already, by action of the people, assumed this
attitude. Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia,
North Carolina, and Maryland will probably pursue the same
course by the 4th of March next. Your people, in their institu-
with her natural allies, the Southern States. It is now only a question of
North and "South, and the "hardest must fend off." We expect man-
fully to bear our part of the privations and sacrifices which the times
require of Southern people.
This being our attitude in this great contest, it is natural for us to
desire, and we think we may say we have a right, to know what posi-
tion will be taken by those who may greatly conduce to our interests as
friends or to our injury as enemies. Not knowing your political status
in this present contest as the head of the Cherokee Nation, we request
you to inform us by letter, at your earliest convenience, whether you
will co-operate with the Northern or Southern section, now so unhap-
pily and hopelessly divided. We earnestly hope to find in you and your
people true allies and active friends; but if, unfortunately, you prefer to
retain your connection with the Northern Government and give them
aid and comfort, we want to know that, as we prefer an open enemy to
a doubtful friend.
With considerations of high regard, we are, your obedient servants,
MARK BEAN, J. A. McCoLLOCH,
W. B. WELCH, J. M. LACY,
E. W. MACCLURE, J. P. CARNAHAN,
JOHN SPENCER, And many others.
Official Records, first sen, vol. xiii, 493-494; Indian Office, General Files,
Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515.
JOHN Ross, PRINCIPAL CHIEF OF THE CHEROKEES
[From Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American
Ethnology]
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 113
tions, productions, latitude, and natural sympathies, are allied to
the common brotherhood of the slaveholding States. Our
people and yours are natural allies in war and friends in peace.
Your country is salubrious and fertile, and possesses the highest
capacity for future progress and development by the application
of slave labor. Besides this, the contiguity of our territory with
yours induces relations of so intimate a character as to preclude
the idea of discordant or separate action.
It is well established that the Indian country west of Arkan-
sas is looked to by the incoming administration of Mr. Lincoln
as fruitful fields, ripe for the harvest of abolitionism, freesoilers,
and Northern mountebanks.
We hope to find in your people friends willing to co-operate
with the South in defense of her institutions, her honor, and
her firesides, and with whom the slaveholding States are willing
to share a common future, and to afford protection commen-
surate with your exposed condition and your subsisting monetary
interests with the General Government.
As a direct means of expressing to you these sentiments, I
have dispatched my aide-de-camp, Lieut. Col. J. J. Gaines, to
confer with you confidentially upon these subjects, and to report
to me any expressions of kindness and confidence that you may
see proper to communicate to the governor of Arkansas, who is
your friend and the friend of your people. Respectfully, your
obedient servant,
HENRY M. RECTOR, Governor of Arkansas. 176
Lieutenant Gaines duly started out upon his mission
and upon reaching Fort Smith interviewed Superin-
tendent Rector and received from him a letter of intro-
duction 177 to John Ross, which was, in effect, a hearty
endorsement of the governor's project. An inkling of
what Gaines was about soon came to the ears of A. B.
Greenwood, an Arkansan, a state-rights man, and
United States commissioner of Indian affairs. At the
176 Indian Office, General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515; Official Records,
first sen, vol. i, 683-684; vol. xiii, 490-491.
177 Indian Office, General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 0515; Official Records,
first ser., vol. i, 683.
1 14 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
moment he was the official, intent upon doing his duty,
nothing more. It was then in his official capacity that
he straightway demanded of Agent Cowart an expla-
nation of Gaines's movements; but Cowart was privy
to Governor Rector's plans undoubtedly, a Georgian, a
secessionist, and one of those illiterate, disreputable,
untrustworthy characters that frontier or garrison
towns seem always to produce or to attract, the kind,
unfortunately for its own reputation and for the Indian
welfare, that the United States government has so often
seen fit to select for its Indian agents. More than that,
Cowart was a man of such base principles that he could
commercialize with impunity a great cause and calmly
continue to hold office under and to draw pay from
one government while secretly plotting against it in the
interests of another. On this occasion he attempted a
denial 178 of the presence of Rector's commissioner at
178 In a letter to A. B. Greenwood, dated Fort Smith, February 13, 1861,
he says:
On the nth Inst. I sent a dispatch to you asking for Troops and yes-
terday rec'd an answer making enquiries as to the Object for which they
are wanted, and asking if the Governor's Commissioner was here &
what was his Object.
I have just replyed in a Dispatch, that the Gov. has no Com. here
and has had none. I suppose you have been Tehlegraphed that there
was a Com. and that for mischief. Now the following are the facts in
the case as far as I have been able to learn them. On Saturday or Sun-
day last there came a young man by the name of Gains called Dr.
Gains from Little Rock. He stated his object was to visit the Indian
Tribes west of this to cultivate with them friendly Relations and stated
moreover that he was authorized to do so by the Gov. of Arkansas.
When I returned your Dispatch I went to Dr. Gains and asked him in
the presents of witnesses if he was acting as Com. for the Gov. of Ar-
kansas he replyed that he was not, and now Sir I am sorry to learn to
day that a rumor is afloat that I am here to aid in taking this post &
that by having Troops sent from here to weaken the forces. Nothing
can be more false. In the first place, the Citizens have no Disposition
to interfere with this post in any way and the truth is I see no persons
but the Officers and I will not judge of their motives.
Them and myself are all friendly as far as I know except it may be
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 115
Fort Smith; but the Indian Office had soon good
proof 179 that a commissioner had been there and that he
they object to a Speach I made here on Monday night last. I can say
and prove by all the best citizens of the Place that my remarks were
mild and conciliatory and could not be objectionable to any true Southern
man this the citizens of the City will bare me out, the truth is the only
objection they could make to my speach was that it was unanswerable
I told you the same when in Washington. I appeal to the Citizens for the
truth of what I say. I desire troops to protect the Cherokees from Ab-
olition forays from Kansas & the Neutral land. I am told that there
are three times the No. of Intruders now that there was there last fall
and that violent threats have been made by Kansas.
In the next place I can do nothing without Troops there and a No. of
lawless murderers in the Nation that cannot without Troops, and I told
you those things when with you last and in addition to the above facts
the Troops can live and support quite as comfortable and for less money
out there than they can here. - Indian Office, General Files, Cherokee,
1859-1865.
179 The proof appeared in the correspondence of John B. Ogden, commis-
sioner of the district court of the United States for the western district of
Arkansas. On March 4, 1861, Ogden wrote from Van Buren to the Secretary
of the Interior the following letter:
Having learned on the i$th of Feby last from rumor the person ap-
pointed as Com r had been sent by Gov. Rector of the State of Arkansas to
the Indian tribes upon our frontier for co-operation in secession move-
ments, and the same being in violation of treaty stipulations and the laws
enacted by Congress regulating trade and Intercourse, I addressed a
letter of inquiry to John Ross principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in
relation to the same, which letter accompanies this with his reply - The
letter to me I think was intended to be confidential from its language
and from my conversation with the messenger who was the bearer of it
to me, of this however I cannot positively judge and have thought best
to forward the same. John Ross was unable to give me an imediate
answer as he was not personally advised of the subject matter. But
upon the return of Mr W. P. Ross who was a delegate from the Chero-
kees to a General Council being held of the tribes West of Arkansas
in relation to their own international policy, he became advised of the
matter of inquiry and for the purpose of furnishing the required in-
formation sent Mr W. P. Ross the bearer of this letter to Van Buren
that he might fully communicate with me in the matter. I learn from
him that one Dr J. J. Gains late editor of a secession sheet at Little
Rock, did attend the said Council held by the Indian tribes west of
Ark 8 in the Choctaw Nation, and that said Gains announced to the
Council his mission to be that of a ComT from Arkansas accredited by
the Gov r to consult with them in relation to co-operation with the seced-
ing States - That he submitted a written Statement to them in reference
1 1 6 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
had proceeded thence to the Cherokee country. It was
no other than Gaines, of course, who, when once he had
delivered the Rector letters to Ross, saw fit, in the
further interests of his mission, to attend the inter-tribal
council at the Creek Agency.
to their interests and future relations in the event of a dissolution of the
Union -but that he was guarded in his propositions- You will learn
from M r John Ross' letter that he informs me officially that the present
(agent) of the Cherokees "is officiously advocating the secession policy
of the southern States and that his endeavoring to influence the Chero-
kees to take sides and act in Concert with the Seceding Sates." - 1 can
state from my own information that when said Agent is in Ark 8 he is
invariably to be found upon the stump "open-mouthed and - " for dis-
union, to the great anoyance of the good people of the Country. These
people should be heard and their grievances redressed and the causes
removed, and some man of correct constitutional morals appointed in
his stead. We have hosts of such men in this State, and as the Incom-
ing Administration are not advised of persons in this country, allow me
to suggest that on application to the Hon. A. B. Greenwood now of
Washington .the selection of a suitable person could be named. I have
no doubt, that would be satisfactory - pardon this apparent officious-
ness- At this time my great anxiety for the preservation of the Union
must be my apology for what I have said.
I also enclose you a copy of a permit furnished me by M r Ross is-
sued by said agent. - Indian Office, General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865,
3 2.
Inclosures
1. John Ogden to John Ross, February 15, 1861.
2. John Ross to John B. Ogden, February 28, 1861.
3. CHEROKEE AGENCY, near Tahlequah, C.N.
Isaac G. Freeman, a citizen of what was formerly the United States
and a farmer by occupation has permission to remain with J. C. Cun-
ningham near Park Hill in said Nation and labor for the said Cunning-
ham for twelve months from this date subject to be removed by the
Agent at any time for cause. R. J. COWART, U.S. Cherokee Agent.
[Endorsement] A true copy from the original as taken by me March
ist 1861 WILL P. Ross
4. Newspaper clippings, one containing the Choctaw resolutions of Febru-
ary 7, 1861, and the other this:
Dr. J. J. Gains, (an old editor) dropped in upon us, last week, on
his way to Little Rock, from the Indian country. His mission was one
of peace, and not to "incite rebellion" as was telegraphed to Washing-
ton City, by some officious person. We were glad to learn from him,
that our border friends are all right.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 117
John Ross did not reply to Governor Rector's com-
munication until the anniversary of George Washing-
ton's birthday and he then expressed the same ideas of
concern, of sympathy, but also those of positive neutral-
ity that had characterized his advice to the Indian con-
ferees. He scouted, though, the very idea of the in-
coming administration's planning to abolitionize the
Indian country while at the same time he manifested
his utter disapproval of it. This is what he said:
TAHLEQUAH, CHEROKEE NATION, February 22, 1861.
His EXCELLENCY HENRY M. RECTOR, Governor of Arkansas:
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your
Excellency's communication of the 29th ultimo, per your aide-
de-camp, Lieut. Col. J. J. Gaines.
The Cherokees cannot but feel a deep regret and solicitude
for the unhappy differences which at present disturb the peace
and quietude of the several States, especially when it is under-
stood that some of the slave States have already separated them-
selves and withdrawn from the Federal Government and that it
is probable others will also pursue the same course.
But may we not yet hope and trust in the dispensation of
Divine power to overrule the discordant elements for good, and
that, by the counsel of the wisdom, virtue, and patriotism of the
land, measures may happily be adopted for the restoration of
peace and harmony among the brotherhood of States within the
Federal Union.
The relations which the Cherokee people sustain toward their
white brethren have been established by subsisting treaties with
the United States Government, and by them they have placed
themselves under the "protection of the United States and of no
other sovereign whatever." They are bound to hold no treaty
with any foreign power, or with any individual State, nor with
the citizens of any State. On the other hand, the faith of the
United States is solemnly pledged to the Cherokee Nation for
the protection of the right and title in the lands, conveyed to
them by patent, within their territorial boundaries, as also for
the protection of all other of their national and individual rights
and interests of persons and property. Thus the Cherokee
n8 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
people are inviolably allied with their white brethren of the
United States in war and friends in peace. Their institutions,
locality, and natural sympathies are unequivocally with the
slave-holding States. And the contiguity of our territory to
your State, in connection with the daily, social, and commercial
intercourse between our respective citizens, forbids the idea that
they should ever be otherwise than steadfast friends.
I am surprised to be informed by Your Excellency that "it
is well established that the Indian country west of Arkansas is
looked to by the incoming administration of Mr. Lincoln as
fruitful fields ripe for the harvest of abolitionism, free-soilers,
and Northern mountebanks." As I am sure that the laborers
will be greatly disappointed if they shall expect in the Cherokee
country "fruitful fields ripe for the harvest of abolitionism,"
&c., you may rest assured that the Cherokee people will never
tolerate the propagation of any obnoxious fruit upon their soil.
And in conclusion I have the honor to reciprocate the saluta-
tion of friendship.
I am, sir, very respectfully, Your Excellency's obedient ser-
vant, JNO. Ross, Principal Chief Cherokee Nation. 180
The Arkansas state convention, sanctioned by popular
vote, met, by authority of the governor's proclamation,
March fourth. Its members were inclined to tem-
porize, however; for, as Harrell says, they were co-
operationists 181 rather than secessionists and their policy
of temporizing they carried out even in the provision
made for reassembling after adjournment. David
Walker, the president of the convention, was out of
sympathy with this ; and, at the first news of the attack
upon Fort Sumter and while passion and excitement
were still at fever heat, called 182 an extra session for the
sixth of May. The regular session was not to come
until the nineteenth of August. Coincidently Governor
180 General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515; Official Records, first sen,
vol. xiii, 491-492.
181 Stephens says they were almost equally divided on the question of se-
cession [Constitutional View of the Late War between the States, vol. ii, 363].
182 On April 20, 1861.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 119
Rector again showed where his sympathies lay by re-
fusing 183 President Lincoln's call for troops.
The Arkansas Ordinance of Secession was passed on
the sixth of May. S. R. Cockrell had proved himself
a good prophet; for, writing jubilantly to L. P. Walker,
on the twenty-first of April, on the progress of secession,
he had said, 184 "Arkansas will go out 6th of May before
breakfast. The Indians come next." His closing re-
mark had some foundation for its utterance. Intel-
ligent and prominent Indians were to be found in the
very ranks of the Arkansas secessionists. E. C. Bou-
dinot, a Cherokee, an enemy and rival of John Ross,
and later Cherokee delegate in the Confederate Con-
gress, was secretary 185 of the convention. M. Kennard,
a leading and a principal Creek chief, seems also to
have been influential. The alliance of the Indians was
yet being sought. 186
The secession ordinance once safely launched, the
Arkansas convention turned its attention without equiv-
ocation to Indian concerns. On the tenth of May, for
instance, it followed the example set by Texas and
passed a resolution, 187 authorizing the president of the
convention to appoint three delegates to visit Indian
Territory. The men appointed were, S. L. Griffith of
Sebastian County (the same man, interestingly enough
to whom the United States government had recently
offered 188 the Southern Superintendency), J. Murphy of
183 Stephens, op. cit., vol. ii, 375; Official Records, first ser., vol. i, 674, 687.
184 Official Records, first sen, vol. i, 686.
185 Journal, Arkansas Convention, 369.
186 i^e importance of such an alliance seems never to have been lost sight
of. In his message of May 6, 1861, Governor Rector called attention to the
fact that Arkansas was the most exposed state in the Union, because of the
Indians on the west [Journal, 153]. In various ways, he emphasized the
strategical value of Indian Territory [ibid., 156].
187 Journal, Arkansas Convention, 183.
188 See page 183.
I2O The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Madison County, and G. W. Laughinghouse of St.
Francis County. Two of these counties were on or
near the border. Sebastian was on the border and
Madison not far inland, so Griffith and Murphy very
probably realized the full significance of their mission.
On the eleventh of May, the convention tried to pass
another resolution, 189 indicative of a community of in-
terests between Arkansas and the Indian country. This
resolution failed, but, had it passed, it would have
prayed the president of the Confederate States to erect
a military department or division out of Arkansas and
Indian Territory. As it was, the convention contented
itself, on this occasion, with empowering 190 Brigadier-
general Pearce 191 to cooperate with Brigadier-general
McCulloch. 192 It took this action on the twenty-first of
May and on the twenty-eighth it received a communi-
cation 193 from Elias Rector concerning the Choctaws
and Chickasaws.
Almost simultaneously with this legislative activity,
solicitation of the Indians came from yet other direc-
tions. On the eighth of May, Brigadier-general B.
Burroughs of the Arkansas militia took it upon himself
to make an appeal to the Chickasaws, which he did in
this wise :
HEADQUARTERS EIGHTH BRIGADE, FIRST DIVISION, ARKANSAS
MILITIA, Fort Smith, Ark., May 8, 1861.
Gov. C. HARRIS : To-day we have information that Arkan-
sas, in Convention, has seceded, by a vote 69 to i. Tennessee
189 Journal, Arkansas Convention, 189.
190 Ibi<t., 295.
191 N. Bart Pearce had just been created by the convention "brigadier-
general of Arkansas, to command the Western frontier."
192 On the thirteenth of May, the Confederate War Department had as-
signed Ben McCulloch to the command of the district embracing Indian Ter-
ritory.
193 Journal, Arkansas Convention, 369.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 121
has also seceded, and made large appropriations and ordered an
army of 50,000 men.
Arkansas has for several days past been in arms on this
frontier for the protection (of) citizens, and the neighboring
Indian nations whose interests are identical with her own.
I have news through my scouts that the U. S. troops have
abandoned the forts in the Chickasaw country.
Under my orders from the commander-in-chief and governor
of Arkansas, I feel authorized to extend to you such military aid
as will be required in the present juncture of affairs to occupy
and hold the forts.
I have appointed Col. A. H. Word, one of the State senators,
and Captain Sparks, attached to this command, commissioners
to treat and confer with you on this subject. These gentlemen
are fully apprised of the nature of the powers intrusted to my-
self by the governor of this State, and are authorized to express
to you my views of the subject under consideration. I ask,
therefore, that you express to them your own wishes in the prem-
ises, and believe, my dear sir, that Arkansas cherishes the kind-
est regards for your people.
I have the honor to subscribe myself, with sentiments of re-
gard, your excellency's friend and servant,
B. BURROUGHS, Brigadier-General, Commanding. 194
The impudence and calm effrontery of this has its
humorous side and would seem even ridiculous were it
not for the fact that we are bound to remember that the
Indians took it all so very seriously. It was true
enough, as Burroughs said, that the Federal troops had
abandoned the Indian country; but against whom were
the forts to be held? Surely not against the Federals.
Furthermore, what need was there for Arkansas to
interest herself in the Chickasaw forts, since the Texan
troops were already in possession? Is it possible to
suppose that Burroughs's scouts, who had found out so
much about the withdrawal of the Federal forces, had
not discovered the work of the Texans in contributing
194 Official Records, first set., vol. i, 691.
122 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
thereto? The Chickasaws were particularly friendly
to the secessionists and, in this same month of May,
passed, by means of their legislature, those eight reso-
lutions 193 in which they gave such strong expression to
195 These resolutions are found in the Official Record, first ser., vol. iii,
585-587 and are as follows:
Resolutions of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Chick-
asaw Legislature assembled, May 25, 1861: Whereas the Government
of the United States has been broken up by the secession of a large
number of States composing the Federal Union - that the dissolution has
been followed by war between the parties; and whereas the destruction
of the Union as it existed by the Federal Constitution is irreparable, and
consequently the Government of the United States as it was when the
Chickasaw and other Indian nations formed alliances and treaties with
it no longer exists; and whereas the Lincoln Government, pretending
to represent said Union, has shown by its course towards us, in with-
drawing from our country the protection of the Federal troops, and
withholding, unjustly and unlawfully, our money placed in the hands of
the Government of the United States as trustee, to be applied for our
benefit, a total disregard of treaty obligations toward us; and whereas
our geographical position, our social and domestic institutions, our feel-
ings and sympathies, all attach us to our Southern friends, against
whom is about to be waged a war of subjugation or extermination, of
conquest and confiscation a war which, if we can judge from the dec-
larations of the political partisans of the Lincoln Government, will sur-
pass the French Revolution in scenes of blood and that of San Domingo
in atrocious horrors; and whereas it is impossible that the Chickasaws,
deprived of their money and destitute of all means of separate self-pro-
tection, can maintain neutrality or escape the storm which is about to
burst upon the South, but, on the contrary, would be suspected, oppressed,
and plundered alternately by armed bands from the North, South, East,
and West; and whereas we have an abiding confidence that all our
rights - tribal and individual - secured to us under treaties with the
United States, will be fully recognized, guaranteed, and protected by
our friends of the Confederate States ; and whereas as a Southern people
we consider their cause our own: Therefore,
Be it resolved by the Chickasaw} Legislature assembled, ist. That the
dissolution of the Federal Union, under which the Government of the
United States existed, has absolved the Chickasaws from allegiance to
any foreign government whatever; that the current of the events of the
last few months has left the Chickasaw Nation independent, the people
thereof free to form such alliances, and take such steps to secure their
own safety, happiness, and future welfare as may to them seem best.
zd. Resolved, That our neighboring Indian nations- Choctaws, Cher-
okees, Creeks, Seminoles, Osages, Senecas, Quapaws, Comanches, Kio-
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 123
their views, at the same time, however, giving the
Southern States clearly to understand that they knew
was, together with the fragmentary bands of Delawares, Kickapoos,
Caddoes, Wichitas, and others within the Choctaw and Chickasaw coun-
try who are similarly situated with ourselves, be invited to co-operate,
in order to secure the independence of the Indian nations and the defense
of the territory they inhabit from Northern invasion by the Lincoln
hordes and Kansas robbers, who have plundered and oppressed our red
brethren among them, and who doubtless would extend towards us the
protection which the wolf gives to the lamb should they succeed in over-
running our country; that the Chickasaws pledge themselves to resist by
all means and to the death any such invasion of the lands occupied by
themselves or by any of the Indian nations; and that their country shall
not be occupied or passed through by the Lincoln forces for the purpose
of invading our neighbors, the States of Arkansas and Texas, but, on
the contrary, any attempt to do so will be regarded as an act of war
against ourselves, and should be resisted by all the Indian nations as in-
sulting to themselves and tending to endanger their Territorial rights.
3d. Resolved, That it is expedient, at the very earliest day possible,
that commissioners from other Indian nations for the purpose of forming
a league or confederation among them for mutual safety and protection,
and also to the Confederate States in order to enter into such alliance
and to conclude such treaties as may be necessary to secure the rights,
interests, and welfare of the Indian tribes, and that the co-operation of
all the Indian nations west of the State of Arkansas and south of Kansas
be invited for the attainment of these objects.
4th. Resolved, That the Chickasaws look with confidence especially
to the Choctaws (whose interests are so closely interwoven with their
own, and who were the first through their national council to declare
their sympathy for, and their determination, in case of a permanent dis-
solution of the Federal Union, to adhere to the Southern States), and
hope they will speedily unite with us in such measures as may be neces-
sary for the defense of our common country and a union with our nat-
ural allies, the Confederate States of America.
5th. Resolved, That while the Chickasaw people entertain the most
sincere friendship for the people of the neighboring States of Texas and
Arkansas, and are deeply grateful for the prompt offer from them of
assistance in all measures of defense necessary for the protection of our
country against hostile invasion, we are desirous to hold undisputed
possession of our lands and all forts and other places lately occupied by
the Federal troops and other officers and persons acting under the au-
thority of the United States, and that the governor of the Chickasaw Na-
tion be, and he is hereby, instructed to take immediate steps to obtain
possession of all such forts and places within the Choctaw and Chick-
asaw country, and have the same garrisoned, if possible, by Chickasaw
troops, or else by troops acting expressly under and by virtue of the au-
124 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
the extent of their own rights and were determined to
hold fast to them. They also declared that they wished
to hold their forts themselves.
On the ninth of May, the Indians were still further
addressed and this time by the citizens of Boonsboro,
Arkansas, whose appeal has already been referred to
and quoted. 196 The appeal was made through the me-
dium of a letter to John Ross and of him the citizens of
Boonsboro inquired where he intended to stand; inas-
much as they much preferred "an open enemy to a
thority of the Chickasaw or Choctaw nations, until such time as said
forts, Indian agencies, etc., may be transferred by treaty to the Confed-
erate States.
6th. Resolved, That the governor of the Chickasaw Nation be, and
he is hereby, instructed to issue his proclamation to the Chickasaw Na-
tion, declaring their independence, and calling upon the Chickasaw war-
riors to form themselves into volunteer companies of such strength and
with such officers (to be chosen by themselves) as the governor may pre-
scribe, to report themselves by filing their company rolls at the Chick-
asaw Agency, and to hold themselves, with the best arms and ammuni-
tion, together with a reasonable supply of provisions, in readiness at a
minute's warning to turn out, under the orders of the commanding gen-
eral of the Chickasaws, for the defense of their country or to aid the
civil authorities in the enforcement of the laws.
7th. Resolved, That we have full faith and confidence in the justice
of the cause in which we are embarked, and that we appeal to the
Chickasaw people to be prepared to meet the conflict which will surely,
and perhaps speedily, take place, and hereby call upon every man ca-
pable of bearing arms to be ready to defend his home and family, his
country and his property, and to render prompt obedience to all orders
from the officers set over them.
9th [8th]. Resolved, That the governor cause these resolutions to be
published in the National Register, at the Boggy Depot, and copies
thereof sent to the several Indian nations, to the governors of the ad-
jacent States, to the President of the Confederate States, and to Abraham
Lincoln, President of the Black Republican Party.
Passed the House of Representatives May 25, 1865.
A. ALEXANAN, Speaker House Representatives.
Attest: C. CARTER, Clerk House Representatives
Passed the Senate. JOHN E. ANDERSON, President of Senate.
Attest: JAMES N. McLisn, Clerk of Senate.
Approved, Tishomingo, May 25, 1861. C. HARRIS, Governor.
196 See footnote 175.
Indian Territory, Texas, and Arkansas 125
doubtful friend." They earnestly hoped, they said, to
find in him and his people "true allies and active
friends." On the fifteenth of May, J. R. Kannady,
lieutenant-colonel, commanding at Fort Smith, also
communicated 197 with Ross and on the same subject, his
immediate provocation being the report that Senator
James H. Lane was busy raising troops in Kansas to
be used against Missouri and Arkansas. Of the Kan-
nady letter, John B. Luce was the bearer and, to it, Ross
replied 198 on the seventeenth, the very day that he pub-
lished his great proclamation 199 of neutrality; for the
otherwise most sensible John Ross labored under the
delusion that the Indians would be allowed to figure as
silent witnesses of events. In this respect, he was, how-
ever, on slightly firmer ground than were the citizens
of such a state as Kentucky; but, none the less, he la-
bored under a delusion as he soon found out to his
sorrow. His proclamation of neutrality w T as intended
as a final and conclusive answer 200 to all interrogatories
like that from Boonsboro.
197 General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515; Official Records, first ser., vol.'
xiii, 492.
198 General Files, ibid.; Official Records, first ser., vol. xiii, 492-493.
199 The text of this is to be found in various places. The most convenient
of such places are, Official Records, first ser., vol. xiii, 489-490 and Moore's Re-
bellion Record, vol. ii, 145-146. A manuscript copy of the proclamation may
be found in General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 0515; and a synopsis of its
contents in Moore's Rebellion Record, vol. ii, 1-2.
2W> Ross gave the citizens of Boonsboro their direct answer, May 18, 1861
[General Files, Cherokee, 1850-1865, 515; Official Records, first ser., vol. xiii,
494-495]-
III. THE CONFEDERACY IN NEGOTIATION
WITH THE INDIAN TRIBES
The provisional government of the Confederate
States showed itself no less anxious and no less prompt
than the individual states in its endeavor to secure the
Indian country and the Indian alliance. On the
twenty-first of February, 1861, the very same day that
the law \vas passed for the establishment of a War De-
partment of which Leroy P. Walker of Alabama took
immediate charge, William P. Chilton, member 201 of
the Provisional Congress from Alabama, offered in that
body a resolution to the effect, that the Committee on
Indian Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expedi-
ency of opening up negotiations with the Indian tribes
of the West in relation to all matters concerning the
mutual welfare of said tribes and the people of the Con-
federate States. 202 The resolution was adopted. Four
days later, Edward Sparrow of Louisiana asked that
the same committee be instructed to consider the advis-
ability of appointing agents to those same Indian
tribes. 203 The Indian committee, at the time, was com-
posed of Jackson Morton of Florida, Lawrence M.
Keitt of South Carolina, and Thomas N. Waul of
Texas. Robert W. Johnson became a member after
Arkansas had seceded and had been admitted to the
Confederacy.
201 The official list of members of the Confederate congresses can be found
in Official Records, fourth ser., vol. iii, 1185-1191.
202 Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, Journal, vol. i, 70.
203 _
128 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Preliminary steps such as these led naturally to a
comprehension of the need for a Bureau of Indian
Affairs 204 and, on the twelfth of March, President
Davis recommended 205 that one be organized and a
commissioner of Indian affairs appointed. His recom-
mendations were acted upon without delay and a law 206
in conformity with them passed. This happened on
the fifteenth of March and on the day following, the
last of the session, Davis nominated David Hubbard, 207
ex-commissioner 208 from Alabama to Arkansas, for the
Indian portfolio. For some time, however, Hubbard
had little to do. 209 It is wise therefore to leave him for
204 Under the second section of the law of February 21, 1861, Indian affairs
had been left for general supervision to the War Department [Provisional and
Permanent Constitutions of the Confederate States and Acts and Resolutions of
the First Session of the Provisional Congress, 48]. The Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs, created by the law of March 15, 1861, was made a bureau of the Wat
Department.
205 Provisional Congress Journal, vol. i, 142 ; Richardson, Messages and
Papers of the Confederacy.
206 Provisional and Permanent Constitutions, 133-134.
207 Provisional Congress Journal, vol. i, 154.
208 Hubbard had occupied other and earlier positions of importance ; but
it must certainly have been upon the basis of the experience gained in filling
this one that his nomination for commissioner of Indian affairs was made.
Hubbard had been a state senator, a representative in the twenty-sixth and in
the thirty-first United States congresses, and presidential elector on the Demo-
cratic ticket in 1844 and on the Breckinridge and Lane ticket in 1860 [Bio-
graphical Congressional Directory, 1774-1903, 608].
209 The Bureau of Indian Affairs . . . has been organized. . .
So far this Bureau has found but little to do. The necessity for the ex-
tension of the military arm of the Government toward the frontier, and
the attitude of Arkansas, without the Confederacy, have contributed to
circumscribe its action. But this branch of the public service doubtless
will now grow in importance in consequence of the early probable ac-
cession of Arkansas to the Confederacy; of the friendly sentiments of
the Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws, and other tribes west
of Arkansas toward this Government; of our difficulties with the tribes
on the Texas frontier; of our hostilities with the United States, and of
our probable future relations with the Territories of Arizona and New
Mexico. - Extract from the Report of Secretary Walker to President
Davis, April 27, 1861 [Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 248].
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 129
a while and resume the examination of congressional
work.
The journal entries through February and March
show that the Provisional Congress had, not infre-
quently, Indian matters placed before it and, at times
presumably, communications direct from the tribes.
On the fourth of March, Robert Toombs, himself on
the Finance Committee and at the same time Secretary
of State, 210 offered the following resolution : 211
Resolved, That the President be, and he is hereby authorized
to send a suitable person as special agent of this Government to
the Indian tribes west of the State of Arkansas.
Whether this was called forth by the investigations of
the Committee on Indian Affairs under the Chilton
resolution of the twenty-first of February or whether it
grew out of a correspondence between Toombs and
Albert Pike does not appear. Toombs and Pike were
friends, brother Masons 212 in fact, and then or soon
afterwards in intimate correspondence on the subject of
Indian relations. The resolution passed, but there the
matter seems to have rested for a time. On the tenth
of May, William B. Ochiltree proposed 213 that the
Committee on Indian Affairs consider the condition of
Reserve Indians in Texas ; and, on the fifteenth, a most
important measure was introduced 214 in the shape of a
bill, reported by Keitt from the Committee on Indian
Affairs, "for the protection of certain Indian tribes."
This opened up the whole subject of prospective rela-
210 Davis would have preferred to have had Toombs for secretary of
the treasury [Rhodes, History of the United States, vol. iii, 295, note 7].
211 Journal, vol. i, 105.
212 Both Pike and Toombs reached in time the thirty-second degree, or
Scottish Rite. Note Pike's glowing tribute to Toombs, quoted in Richardson,
Messages and Papers of the Confederacy, vol. ii, 142.
213 Journal, vol. i, 205.
225.
130 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
tions with the great tribes of Indian Territory and,
taken in connection with the provision for a special
commissioner, was fruitful of great results.
On the seventh of May, Thomas A. Harris of Mis-
souri had made the Provisional Congress acquainted
with some Choctaw and Chickasaw r resolutions, 215
which, in themselves, seemed indicative of a friendly
disposition towards the South. This fact lent to the
bill for the assumption of a protectorate a large signi-
ficance. Congress considered it, for the most part, in
secret session. The text of the act as finally passed does
not appear in any of the published 216 statutes of the
Confederate States; but, under the act, Albert Pike,
special commissioner for the purpose appointed by
President Davis, negotiated all his remarkable treaties
with the western tribes. Three sections of the law,
those added to the original bill by way of amendment,
appear in the Provisional Congress Journal.'" They
are strictly financial in their nature and are as follows:
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the Confederate
States do hereby assume the duty and obligation of collecting
and paying over as trustees to the several Indian tribes now
located in the Indian Territory south of Kansas, all sums of
money accruing, whether from interest or capital of the bonds
of the several States of this Confederacy now held by the Gov-
ernment of the United States as trustees for said Indians or any
215 Just what particular sets of resolutions those were I have no means of
knowing. The most important set of Chickasaw resolutions, those issued
under date of May 25, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 585-587] had
not yet been passed. The Choctaw resolutions presented may have been and
very probably were those of February 7, 1861 [ibid.].
216 On the twenty-first of May, President Davis approved "An Act for the
protection of the Indian Tribes" [Journal, 263], it having gone through its
various stages of amendment and having passed Congress, May seventeenth
[ibid., 244]. Adjutant-general G. W. Andrews reports, November 4, 1912,
that nothing additional concerning the text of this law is to be found in the
Confederate archives.
217 Journal, vol. i, 244.
Negotiations with the Confederacy 131
of them; and the said interest and capital as collected shall be
paid over to said Indians or invested for their account, as the
case may be, in accordance with the several treaties and contracts
now existing between said Indians and the Government of the
United States.
Sec. 7. That the several States of this Confederacy be re-
quested to provide by legislation or otherwise that the capital
and interest of the bonds issued by them respectively, and held
by the Government of the United States in trust for said In-
dians, or any of them, shall not be paid to said Government of
the United States, but shall be paid to this Government in trust
for said Indians.
Sec. 8. That it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs to obtain and publish, at as early a period as
practicable, a list of all the bonds of the several States of this
Confederacy now held in trust by the Government of the United
States as aforesaid, and to give notice in said publication that
the capital and interest of said bonds are to be paid to this Gov-
ernment and to no other holder thereof whatever.
Before this bill for the protection of the Indians had
come up for discussion or had even emerged from the
rooms of the Committee on Indian Affairs, Albert Pike,
in letters to Toombs and R. W. Johnson, had pointed
out most emphatically the military necessity of secur-
ing 218 the Indian country. His conviction was strong
that the United States had no idea of permanently
abandoning the same but would soon replace the reg-
ular troops, it had withdrawn from thence, by volun-
teers. Pike discussed the matter with N. Bart Pearce
and the two agreed 219 that there was no time to lose and
that something must be done forthwith to prevent the
218 Governor Clark of Texas, also, at this time displayed great interest in
the matter. On the fifteenth of May, he wrote to President Davis that he was
constituting James E. Harrison, a man thoroughly conversant with the whole
subject, "the duly accredited agent of Texas to convey" the Report of April 23,
1861 to Richmond [Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 322].
219 See letter from Pearce to President Davis, May 13, 1861 [ibid., first ser.,
vol. iii, 576].
132 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
possibility of Federal emissaries gaining a foothold
among the great tribes; for, if they did gain such a
foothold, their influence was likely to be very great,
especially among the Cherokees who might be regarded
as predisposed to favor them, they having many aboli-
tionists on their tribal rolls. Whether, at so early a
date, Pike thought formal negotiation, as had been cus-
tomary, the preferable method of procedure, we are
not prepared to say, positively. Formal negotiation
was scarcely consistent with the southern argument of
Jackson's time or consonant with present state-rights
doctrine. When writing 220 to Johnson on the eleventh
of May, Pike seems to have been thinking simply of
Indian enlistment and of the use of white and red troops
in the defense of the Indian country. At that date his
own appointment 221 as diplomatic agent for the nego-
tiation of treaties of amity and alliance was certainly
not prominently before him. He expressed himself to
Johnson in such a way, indeed, as would lead us to
suppose that the position he half expected to get, and
did not altogether want, was that of commander of an
Indian Department which he hoped would be created.
For such a position Pike was not entirely unfitted.
He had served in the Mexican War and had attained
the rank of captain; but his tastes were certainly not
what one would call military. He was a poet 222 of
acknowledged reputation and a lawyer of eminence.
Arkansas had recognized him as one of her foremost
citizens by sending him as her one and only dele-
220 Official Records, fourth sen, vol. i, 572-574.
221 Pike was appointed under authority of a resolution passed by Congress,
March 5, 1861. See Message of President Davis, December 12, 1861 [ibid.,
fourth ser., vol. i, 785].
222 To-day he is, perhaps, best known by his parody on "Dixie" and by his
singularly beautiful and pathetic "Every Year" [Poems, Roome's edition,
3I-34]-
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 133
gate to the Commercial Convention 223 of Southern and
Western States, held at Charleston, South Carolina,
April, 1854. Just recently, at the time when the ques-
tion of secession was before the people of Arkansas, he
had issued a pamphlet, entitled, State or Province,
Bond or Free, described by a contemporary as, "a most
specious argument for secession, but a re-production of
the political heresies, that thirty years ago called down
on John C. Calhoun, the anathema maranatha of An*
drew Jackson." 22 * To the men of his time, it seemed
all the more astonishing that Albert Pike should take
such a pronounced stand on the subject of state rights,
not because he was a New Englander by birth, for there
were many such in Arkansas and in the ranks of the se-
cessionists, but because he was the author of that stirring
poem against the idea of national disintegration, pub-
lished some time before under the title of, "Dis-
union." 225
223 See Journal of Proceedings, no. 273 of Johns Hopkins University Civil
War Pamphlets.
224 Bishop, Loyalty on the Frontier, 148-151.
223 The poem is printed entire in Bishop's Loyalty on the Frontier, 149-150.
The first two stanzas are here given:
DISUNION
Ay, shout! 'Tis the day of your pride,
Ye despots and tyrants of earth;
Tell your serfs the American name to deride,
And to wfttle their 1 fetters in mirth.
Ay, shout! for the league of the free
Is about to be shivered to dust,
And the rent limbs to fall from the vigorous tree,
Shout! shout! for more firmly established, will be
Your thrones and dominions beyond the blue sea.
Laugh on ! for such folly supreme,
The world has yet never beheld ;
And ages to come will the history deem,
A tale by antiquity swelled;
For nothing that time has upbuilt
And set in the annals of crime,
134 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
On the twentieth of May, Pike wrote 226 again to
Toombs and by that time he certainly knew 227 of his
commission to treat with the Indian tribes, but had
apparently not received any very definite instructions
as to the scope of his authority. One little passage in
the letter brings out very clearly the essential fair-
mindedness of the man, a marked characteristic in all 228
So stupid and senseless, so wretched in guilt,
Darkens sober tradition or rhyme.
It -will be like the fable of Eblis' fall,
A by-<word of mockery and horror to all.
226 Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 580-581.
227 In a letter to Commissioner D. N. Cooley, under date of February 17,
1866, Pike said that Toombs requested him in May of 1861 to visit the Indian
country as commissioner. I have not been able to find out whether Toombs
made his request in writing or verbally. The correspondence of Toombs re-
cently edited by U. B. Phillips does not furnish any additional information on
this point.
228 On one very important occasion, Albert Pike was not strictly fair to the
Indians. That occasion was after the war when the United States Indian
Office was endeavoring to make a settlement with the Cherokees on the basis of
their adherence to the Confederate cause. Pike was appealed to and threw
the weight of his influence against John Ross, but most unjustly as it would
seem. The letter embodying his views is a narrative of the events of 1861 as
they happened in the Indian country under his scrutiny, and may as well be
inserted here in full. It is to be found in the Indian Office in a bundle la-
beled, "Loyalty of John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokees: Letter of
Albert Pike (original), Feb. 17, 1866 -and Copies of several of Ross' letters -
relative to his loyalty in 1861 & 1862, etc."
5. Albert Pike to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, i7th February 1866.
SIR: I have received, to-day, a copy of the "Memorial" of the
"Southern Cherokees," to the President, Senate and House of Representa-
tives, in reply to the Memorial of other Cherokees claiming to be "loyal."
It is not for me to take any part in the controversy between the two
portions of the Cherokee People, nor have I any interest that could lead
me to side with one in preference to the other. Nor am I much in-
clined, having none of the rights of a Citizen, to offer to testify in any
matter, when my testimoney may not be deemed worthy of credit, as
that of one not yet restored to respectability and creditability by a pardon.
But, as I know it to be contemptible as well as false, for Mr. John
Ross and the "loyal" Memorialists to pretend that they did not volun-
tarily engage themselves by Treaty Stipulations to the Confederate
Negotiations with the Confederacy 135
his dealings with the Indians, but at once his strength
States, and as you have desired my testimony, I have this to say, and I
think no man will be bold enough to deny any part of it.
In May, 1861, I was requested by Mr. Toombs, Secretary of State of
the Confederate States, to visit the Indian Country as Commissioner,
and assure the Indians of the friendship of those States. The Conven-
tion of the State of Arkansas, anxious to avoid hostilities with the
Cherokees, also applied to me to act as such Commissioner. I accord-
ingly proceeded to Fort Smith, where some five or six Cherokees called
upon General McCulloch and myself, representing those of the Chero-
kees who sympathized with the South, in order to ascertain whether the
Confederate States would protect them against Mr. Ross and the Pin
Indians, if they should organize and take up arms for the South. We
learned that some attempts to raise a Secession flag in the Cherokee
Country on the Arkansas had been frustrated by the menace of violence;
and those who came to meet us represented the Pin Organization to be a
Secret Society, established by Evan Jones, a Missionary, and at the
service of Mr. John Ross, for the purpose of abolitionizing the Chero-
kees and putting out of the way all who sympathized with the Southern
States.
The truth was, as I afterwards learned with certainty, the Secret
Organization in question, whose members for a time used as a mark of
their membership a pin in the front of the hunting shirt, was really
established for the purpose of depriving the half-breeds of all political
power, though Mr. Ross, himself a Scotchman and a McDonald by the
father and the mother, was shrewd enough to use it for his own ends.
At any rate, it was organized and in full operation, long before Seces-
sion was thought of.
General McCulloch and myself assured those who met us at Fort
Smith, that they should be protected; and agreed to meet, at an early
day then fixed, at Park Hill, where Mr. Ross resided. Upon that I sent
a messenger with letters to five or six prominent members of the Anti-
Ross party, inviting them to meet me at the Creek Agency, two days
after the day on which General McCulloch and I were to meet at Park
Hill.
I did not expect to effect any arrangement with Mr. Ross, and my
intention was to treat with the heads of the Southern party, Stand Watie
and others.
When we met Mr. Ross at Park Hill, he refused to enter into any
arrangement with the Confederate States. He said that his intention
was to maintain the neutrality of his people; that they were a small and
weak people, and would be ruined and destroyed if they engaged in the
war; and that it would be a cruel thing if we were to engage them in
our quarrel. But, he said, all his interests and all his feelings were
with us, and he knew that his people must share the fate and fortunes
of Arkansas. We told him that the Cherokees could not be neutral.
136 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
and his weakness. He succeeded with the red man for
We used every argument in our power to change his determination, but
in vain; and finally General McCulloch informed him that he would
respect the neutrality of the Cherokees, and would not enter their
Country with troops, or place troops in it, unless it should become neces-
sary in order to expel a Federal force, or to protect the Southern Chero-
kees.
So we separated. General McCulloch kept his word, and no Con-
federate troops ever were stationed in or marched into the Cherokee
Country, until after the Federal troops invaded it.
Before leaving the Nation I addressed Mr. Ross a letter, which I
afterwards printed, and circulated among the Cherokee people. In it I
informed him that the Confederate States would remain content with
his pledge of neutrality, although he would find it impossible to main-
tain that neutrality; that I should not again offer to treat with the
Cherokees, and that the Confederate States would not consider them-
selves bound by my proposition to pay the Cherokees for the neutral
land, if they should lose it in consequence of the war. I had no further
communication with Mr. Ross until September.
Meanwhile, he had persuaded Opoth le Yahola, the Creek leader, not
to join the Southern States, and had sent delegates to meet the Northern
and other Indians in Council near the Antelope Hills, where they all
agreed to be neutral. The purpose was, to take advantage of the war
between the States, and form a great independent Indian Confedera-
tionI defeated all that, by treating with the Creeks at the very time
that their delegates were at the Antelope Hills in Council.
When I had treated with them and with the Choctaws and Chicka-
saws, at the North Fork of the Canadian, I went to the Seminole Agency
and treated with the Seminoles. Then I went to the Wichita Agency,
having previously invited the Reserve Indians to return there, and in-
vited the prairie Comanches to meet me. After treating with these, I
returned by Fort Arbuckle, and before reaching there, met a nephew of
Mr. Ross, and a Captain [Keld? sic] in the prairie, bearing a letter to
me from Mr. Ross and his Council, with a copy of the resolutions of
Council, and an invitation in pressing terms to repair to the Cherokee
Country and enter into a Treaty.
I consented, fixed a day for meeting the Cherokees, and wrote Mr.
Ross to that effect, requesting him also to send messengers to the Osages,
Quapaws, Shawnees, Senecas, &c. and invite them to meet me at the
same time. He did so, and at the time fixed I went to Park Hill, and
there effected Treaties.
When I first entered the Indian Country, in May, I had as an escort
one company of mounted men. I went in advance of them to Park Hill;
General McCulloch went there without an escort. At the Creek Agency
I sent the Company back: I then remained without escort or guard,
until I had made the Seminole Treaty, camping with my little party and
displaying the Confederate flag. When I went to the Wichita Country,
Negotiations with the Confederacy 137
the very same reason that he failed with the white, be-
I took an escort of Creeks and Seminoles. These I discharged at Fort
Arbuckle on my return, and went, accompanied only by four young men,
through the Creek Country to Fort Gibson, refusing an escort of Creeks
offered me on the way.
From Fort Gibson eight or nine companies of Colonel Drew's Regi-
ment of Cherokees, chiefly full-bloods and Pins, escorted me to Park
Hill. This regiment was raised by order of the National Council, and
its officers appointed by Mr Ross, his nephew William P. Ross, Secretary
of the Nation, being Lieut. Colonel, and Thomas Pegg, President of the
National Committee, being its Major.
I encamped, with my little party near the residence of the Chief, un-
protected even by a guard, and with the Confederate flag flying. The
terms of the Treaty were fully discussed and the Cherokee authorities
dealt with me on equal terms. Mr. John Ross had met me as I was on
my way to Park Hill, escorted by the National Regiment, and had
welcomed me to the Cherokee Nation, in an earnest and enthusiastic
speech ; and seemed to me throughout to be acting in perfect good faith.
I acted in the same way with him.
After the treaties were signed, I presented Colonel Drew's Regiment
a flag, and the chief in a speech exhorted them to be true to it: and
afterwards, at his request, I wrote the Cherokee Declaration of Inde-
pendence which is printed with the Memorial of the Southern Chero-
kees. I no more doubted, then, that Mr. Ross' whole heart was with
the South, than that mine was. Even in May he said to General McCul-
loch and myself, that if Northern troops invaded the Cherokee Country,
he would head the Cherokees and drive them back. "I have borne
arms" he said, "and though I am old I can do it again."
At the time of the treaty there were about nine hundred Cherokees
of Colonel Drew's Regiment encamped near, and fed by me, and Colonel
Watie, who had almost abandoned the idea of raising a regiment, had
a small body of men, not more, I think, than eighty or ninety, at Tahle-
quah. When the flag was presented, Col. Watie was present, and after
the ceremony the chief shook hands with him and expressed his warm
desire for union and harmony in the Nation.
The gentlemen whom I had invited to meet me in June at the
Creek Agency did not do so. They were afraid of being murdered,
they said, if they openly sided with the South. In October they ceo?
sured me for treating with Mr. Ross, and were in an ill humour, saying
that the regiment was raised in order to be used to oppress them.
The same day that the Cherokee Treaty was signed, the Osages,
Quapaws, Shawnees and Senecas signed treaties, and the next day they
had a talk with Mr. Ross at his residence, smoked the great pipe and
renewed their alliance, being urged by him to be true to the Confed-
erate States.
I protest that I believed Mr. John Ross, at this time and for long
after, to be as sincerely devoted to the Confederacy as I myself was.
138 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
cause he gave to the Indians the consideration and the
He was frank, cheerful, earnest, and evidently believed that the inde-
pendence of the Confederate States was an accomplished fact I should
dishonour him if I believed that he then dreamed of abandoning the
Confederacy or turning the arms of the Cherokees against us in case of
a reverse.
Before I left the Cherokee Country, part of the Creeks, under Opoth-
le-Yaholo left their homes, under arms and threatened hostilities. Mr.
Ross, at my request, invited the old Chief to meet him, and urged him
to unite with the Confederate States. Colonel Drew's regiment was
ordered into the Creek Country, and afterwards, on the eve of the action
at Bird Creek, abandoned Colonel Cooper, rather than fight against
their neighbours. But after the action, the regiment was again reor-
ganized. The men were eager to fight, they said, against the Yankees ;
but did not wish to fight their own brethren, the Creeks.
When General Curtis entered North Western Arkansas, in February
1862, I sent orders from Fort Smith to Colonel Drew to move towards
Evansville and receive orders from General McCulloch. Colonel Wade's
Regiment was already under General McCulloch's command. Colonel
Drew's men moved in advance of Colonel Watie, with great alacrity,
and showed no want of zeal at Pea Ridge.
I do not know that any one was scalped at that place or in that ac-
tion, except from information. None of my officers knew it at the time.
I heard of it afterwards. I cannot say to which regiment those belonged
who did it. But it has been publicly charged on some of the same men
who afterwards abandoned the Confederate cause and enlisting in the
Federal Service were sent into Arkansas to ravage it.
After the actions at Pea Ridge and Elk Horn, the Regiment of
Colonel Drew was moved to the mouth of the Illinois, where I was able,
after a time, to pay them $25 cash, the commutation for six months'
clothing, in Confederate money. Nothing more, owing to the wretched
management of the Confederate government, was ever paid them ; and
the clothing procured for them was plundered by the commands of Gen-
erals Price and Van Dorn. The consequence was that when Colonel
Weer entered the Cherokee Country, the Pin Indians joined him en
masse.
I had procured at Richmond, and paid Mr. Lewis Ross, Treasurer of
the Cherokee Nation, about the first of March 1862, in the Chief's house
and in the Chief's presence, the moneys agreed to be paid them by
Treaty, being about $70,000 (I think) in coin, and among other sums
$150,000 in Confederate Treasury notes, loaned the Nation by way of
advance on the price expected to be paid for the Neutral land. This
sum had been promised in the Treaty at the earnest solicitation of Mr.
John Ross; and it was generally understood that it was desired for the
special purpose of redeeming scrip of the Nation issued long before, and
much of which was held by Mr. Ross and his relatives. That such 'was
Negotiations with the Confederacy 139
justice which were their due. This is the significant
the case, I do not know. I only know that the moneys were paid, and
that I have the receipts for them, which, with others, I shall file in the
Indian Office.
In May, 1862, Lieut. Colonel William P. Ross visited my camp at
Fort McCulloch, near Red River, and said to me that "the Chief" would
be gratified if he were to receive the appointment of Brigadier General
in the Confederate Service. I did not ask him if he was authorized by
the Chief to say so ; but I did ask him if he were sure that the appoint-
ment would gratify him ; and being so assured, I promised to urge the
appointment. I did so, more than once, but never received a reply. It
was not customary with the Confederate War Department to exhibit
any great wisdom ; and in respect to the Indian Country its conduct was
disgraceful. Unpaid, unclothed, uncared for, unthanked even, and their
services unrecognized, it was natural the Cherokees should abandon the
Confederate flag.
When Colonel Weer invaded the Cherokee Country, Mr. Ross re-
fused to have an interview with him, declaring that the Cherokees would
remain faithful to their engagements with the Confederate States. There
was not then a Confederate soldier in the Cherokee Nation, to overawe
Mr. Ross or Major Pegg or any other "loyal" Cherokee. Mr. Ross sent
me a copy of his letter to Colonel Weer, and I had it printed and sent
over Texas, to show the people there that the Cherokee Chief was
"loyal" to the Confederate States.
Afterwards, when Stand Watie's Regiment and the Choctaws were
sent over the Arkansas into the Cherokee Country, and Mr. Ross consid-
ered his life in danger from his own people, in consequence of their
ancient feud, he allowed himself to be taken prisoner by the Federal
troops. At the time, I believed that if white troops had been sent to
Park Hill, who would have protected him against Watie's men, he would
have remained at home and adhered to the Confederacy: for either he
was true to his obligations to the Confederate States, voluntarily entered
into, - true at heart and in his inmost soul, - or else he is falser and more
treacherous than I can believe him to be.
The simple truth is, Mr. Commissioner, that the "loyal" Cherokees
hated Stand Watie and the half-breeds and were hated by them. They
were perfectly willing to kill and scalp Yankees, and when they were
hired to change sides, and twenty two hundred of them were organized
into regiments in the Federal Service, they were just as ready to kill and
scalp when employed against us in Arkansas. We did not pay and
clothe them, and the United States did. They scalped for those who
paid, for and clothed them. As to "loyalty" they had none at all.
I entered the Indian Country in May, and left it in October. For
five months I travelled and encamped in it, unprotected by white troops,
alone with the four young men, treating with the different tribes. If
there had been any "loyalty" among the Indians, I could not have gone
140 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
passage from his letter to Toombs : 229
a mile in safety. Opoth-le-Yaholo was not "loyal." He feared the
Mclntoshes, who had raised troops, and who, he thought, meant to kill
him for killing their father long years before. He told me that he did
not wish to fight against the Southern States, but only that the Indians
should all act together. If Mr. Ross had treated with us at first, all the
Creeks would have done the same. If Stand Watie and his party took
one side, John Ross and his party were sure, in the end, to take the
other, especially when that other proved itself the stronger.
So far from the Watie party overawing the party which upheld Mr.
Ross, I know it to be true that they were afraid to actively cooperate
with the Confederate States, to organize, to raise Secession flags, or even
to meet me and consult with me. They feared that Colonel Drew's
Regiment would be used to harrass them, and they never dreamed of
forcing the authorities into a Treaty.
After the action at Elkhorn, murders were continually complained of
by Colonels Watie and Drew, and the Chief solicited me to place part
of Colonel Drew's Regiment at or near Park Hill, to protect the govern-
ment and its records. I did so. There never was a time when the
"loyal" Cherokees had not the power to destroy the Southern ones.
As to myself, I dealt fairly and openly with all the Indians. I used
no threats of force or compulsion, with any of them. The "loyal"
Cherokees joined us because they believed we should succeed, and left
us when they thought we should not. At their request I wrote their
declaration of Independence and acceptance of the issues of war; and if
any men voluntarily, and with their eyes open, and of their own motion
acceded to the Secession movement, it was John Ross and the people
whom he controlled. I am, Sir, Very resPr, Your obt Svt
ALBERT PIKE
D. N. Cooley Esq, Commissioner of Ind. Air.
229 In writing this letter, Pike most certainly addressed himself to Toombs
officially and with the idea in mind that he was holding his commission under
the Confederate State Department. That he was serving under that depart-
ment and that he did not get his appointment until May seem scarcely to admit
of a doubt, notwithstanding the fact that Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of War
later in the year, December [14?], 1861, in reporting to President Davis, could
make the following statement:
At the first session of the Congress an act was passed providing for
the sending of a commissioner to the Indian tribes north of Texas and
west of Arkansas, with the view of making such arrangements for an
alliance with and the protection of the Indians as were rendered neces-
sary by the disruption of the Union and our natural succession to the
rights and duties of the United States, so far as these Indians were
concerned. The supervision of this important branch of administrative
duty was confided to the State Department, by which Brig.-Gen. Albert
Pike was selected as commissioner. At a later period of the same ses-
Negotiations with the Confederacy 141
I very much regret that I have not/ received distinct authority
to give the Indians guarantees of all their legal and just rights
under treaties. It cannot be expected they will join us without
them, and it would be very ungenerous, as well as unwise and
useless, in me to ask them to do it. Why should they, if we
will not bind ourselves to give them what they hazard in giving
us their rights under treaties?
As you have told me to act at my discretion, and as I am not
directed not to give the guarantees, I shall give them, formal,
full, and ample, by treaty, if the Indians will accept them and
make treaties. General McCulloch will join me in this, and
so, I hope and suppose, will Mr. Hubbard, and when we shall
have done so we shall, I am sure, not look in vain to you, at
least, to affirm these guarantees and insist they shall be carried
out in good faith.
There was an implied doubt of Hubbard in Pike's
reference to him and a single future declaration almost
justified the doubt, notwithstanding the fact that
Hubbard was supposed to have been chosen as commis-
sioner of Indian affairs because of his "well known
sympathy for the Indian tribes and the deep concern"
he had ever "manifested in their welfare." Hubbard's
sion a Bureau of Indian Affairs was created by law and attached to
this Department, charged with the management of our relations with
the Indian tribes. . . - Official Records, fourth sen, vol. i, 792.
Now, if Benjamin was correct in his chronology, the appointment of Pike
must have antedated that of Hubbard, a very unlikely state of affairs unless,
indeed, the Confederate government from the start, taking cognizance of the
very advanced condition of the Indians under discussion and of the very ex-
treme delicacy of the situation, concluded it would be wisest to act upon the
assumption that the great tribes were independent enough to be dealt with al-
most as foreign powers and so left everything to the discretion of the State
Department.
In November, 1861, the Provisional Congress considered the advisability
of transferring the whole Indian Bureau to the Department of State [Journal,
November 28, 1861, vol. i, 489]. The transfer was probably suggested by the
fact that the relations to date of the Confederate States with the Indians had
been conducted altogether upon a basis of diplomacy. An added reason might
have been, that the ordinary business of the War Department was sufficiently
onerous without the details of Indian complications being made a part of it.
Yet the transfer was never made.
142 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
official position was that of Commissioner of Indian
Affairs; but the unorganized character of the Confed-
erate administration in early 1861 is well attested by
the way Secretary Walker confounded the name and
functions of that office with those of an ordinary super-
intendent. On the fourteenth of May, he addressed
Hubbard as "Superintendent of Indian Affairs" and
instructed him
To proceed to the Creek Nation, and to make known to them, as
well as to the rest of the tribes west of Arkansas and south of
Kansas . . . the earnest desire of the Confederate States to
defend and protect them against the rapacious and avaricious
designs of their and our enemies at the North. . . You will,
in an especial manner, impress upon the Creek Nation and sur-
rounding Indian tribes the imperious fact that they will doubt-
less recognize, that the real design of the North and the Gov-
ernment at Washington in regard to them has been and still is
the same entertained and sought to be enforced against ourselves,
and if suffered to be consummated, will terminate in the emanci-
pation of their slaves and the robbery of their lands. To these
nefarious ends all the schemes of the North have tended for
many years past, as the Indian nations and tribes well know
from the character and conduct of those emissaries who have
been in their midst, preaching up abolition sentiments under the
disguise of the holy religion of Christ, and denouncing slave-
holders as abandoned by God and unfit associates for humanity
on earth.
You will be diligent to explain to them, under these circum-
stances, how their cause has become our cause, and themselves
and ourselves stand inseparably associated in respect to national
existence and property interests; and in view of this identifica-
tion of cause and interests between them and ourselves, entailing
a common destiny, give to them profound assurances that the
Government of the Confederate States of America, now power-
fully constituted through an immense league of sovereign polit-
ical societies, great forces in the field, and abundant resources,
will assume all the expense and responsibility of protecting them
against all adversaries. . .
Give them to understand, in this connection, that a brigadier-
Negotiations with the Confederacy 143
general of character and experience has been assigned to the mil-
itary district embracing the Indian Territories south of Kansas,
with three regiments under his command, while in Texas an-
other military district has been formed. . .
In addition to these things, regarded of primary importance,
you will, without committing the Government to any especial
conduct, express our serious anxiety to establish and enforce the
debts and annuities due to them from the Government at Wash-
ington, which otherwise they will never obtain, as that Govern-
ment would, undoubtedly, sooner rob them of their lands, eman-
cipate their slaves, and utterly exterminate them, than render
to them justice. Finally, communicate to them the abiding
solicitude of the Confederate States of America to advance their
condition in the direction of a proud political society, with a dis-
tinctive civilization, and holding lands in severalty under well-
defined laws, by forming them into a Territorial government;
but you will give no assurance of State organization and inde-
pendence, as they still require the strong arm of protecting
power, and may probably always need our fostering care; and,
so far as the agents of the late Government of the United States
may be concerned, you will converse with them, and such of
them as are willing to act with you in the policy herein set forth
you are authorized to substantiate in the employment of this
Government at their present compensation. . . 28
Hubbard's mission to the west was quite inde-
pendent 231 of Pike's, although both missions were un-
doubtedly part of the one general plan of securing as
quickly, as surely, and as easily as possible the friendly
cooperation of the Indians. At about the same moment
that they were devised, the Confederacy took yet an-
other means of accomplishing the same object and one
referred to in the letter of Secretary Walker just
quoted. On the thirteenth of this same month of May,
1861, it assigned Brigadier-general Ben McCulloch
230 Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 576-578.
231 Hubbard's ill-health, however, seems to have made it incumbent upon
Pike to assume much the larger share of official responsibility and practically
to do Hubbard's work as well as his own ; that is, so much of it as was not
transacted in Richmond.
144 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
"to the command of the district embracing the Indian
Territory lying west of Arkansas and south of Kansas."
McCulloch's orders 232 were "to guard that Territory
against invasion from Kansas or elsewhere," and, for
the purpose, in addition to three regiments of white
troops, "to engage, if possible, the service of any of the
Indian tribes occupying the Territory referred to in
numbers equal to two regiments."
Hubbard's part in the prosecution of this great en-
deavor may as well be disposed of first. It was of short
duration and seemingly barren of direct results. Hub-
bard was long in reaching the western boundary of Ar-
kansas. On the way out he was seized with pneumonia
and otherwise delayed by wind and weather. On the
second of June he was still in Little Rock, apparently
much more interested 233 in the local situation in Arkan-
sas than in the real object of his mission. His intention
was to "go up the river to Fort Smith," June third.
From that point, on the twelfth, he addressed the Chero-
kee chief, John Ross, and the Confederate general, Ben
McCulloch. The letter was more particularly meant
for the former.
As Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the Confederate States
it was my intention to have called upon you and consulted as
to the mutual interests of our people. Sickness has put it out of
my power to travel, and those interests require immediate con-
sideration, and therefore I have determined to write, and make
what I think a plain statement of the case for your considera-
tion, which I think stands thus: If we succeed in the South -
succeed in this controversy, and I have no doubt of the fact,
for we are daily gaining friends among the powers of Europe,
and our people are arming with unanimity scarcely ever seen in
the world before - then your lands, your slaves, and your sep-
2*2 Adjutant and Inspector-General S. Cooper to McCulloch, May 13, 1861
[Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 575-576].
233 Hubbard to Walker, June 2, 1861 [ibid., 589-590].
Negotiations with the Confederacy 145
arate nationality are secured and made perpetual, and in addition
nearly all your debts are in Southern bonds, and these we will
also secure. If the North succeeds you will most certainly lose
all. First your slaves they will take from you ; that is one ob-
ject of the war, to enable them to abolish slavery in such man-
ner and at such time as they choose. Another, and perhaps the
chief cause, is to get upon your rich lands and settle their squat-
ters, who do not like to settle in slave States. They will settle
upon your lands as fast as they choose, and the Northern people
will force their Government to allow it. It is true they will
allow your people small reserves - they give chiefs pretty large
ones but they will settle among you, overshadow you, and
totally destroy the power of your chiefs and your nationality,
and then trade your people out of the residue of their lands.
Go North among the once powerful tribes of that country and
see if you can find Indians living and enjoying power and prop-
erty and liberty as do your people and the neighboring tribes
from the South. If you can, then say I am a liar, and the
Northern States have been better to the Indian than the South-
ern States. If you are obliged to admit the truth of what I
say, then join us and preserve your people, their slaves, their vast
possessions in land, and their nationality.
Another consideration is your debts, annuities, &c., school
funds due you. Nearly all are in bonds of Southern States and
held by the Government at Washington, and these debts are
nearly all forfeited already by the act of war made upon the
States by that Government. These we will secure you beyond
question if you join us. If you join the North they are forever
forfeited, and you will have no right to believe that the North-
ern people would vote to pay you this forfeited debt. Admit
that there may be some danger take which side you may, I think
the danger tenfold greater to the Cherokee people if they take
sides against us than for us. Neutrality will scarcely be pos-
sible. As long as your people retain their national character .
your country cannot be abolitionized, and it is our interest there-
fore that you should hold your possessions in perpetuity. 284
The effect that such a communication as the forego-
234 Official Records, first sen, vol. xiii, 497-498 ; General Files, Cherokee,
1859-1865, C 5 i S .
146 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
ing might well have had upon the Indians can scarcely
be overestimated. Time out of number they had been
over-reached in dealings financial. Only the year be-
fore, bonds in which Indian trust funds were invested
had been abstracted 235 from the vaults of the Interior
Department; and, for this cause and other causes, In-
dian money had not been readily forthcoming for the
much needed relief of Indian sufferers from the fearful
drought that devastated Indian Territory, Kansas, and
other parts of the great American desert in 1860.
Comment upon Hubbard's letter from the standpoint
of historical inaccuracy seems hardly necessary here.
Suffice it to say that the distortion of facts and the shift-
ing of responsibility for previous Indian wrongs from
the shoulders of Southern States to those of a federal
government made up entirely of northern states must
have seemed preposterous in the extreme to the Indians.
One can not help wondering how Hubbard dared to say
such things to the Indian exiles from Southern States
and particularly to John Ross who like all of his tribe
and of associated tribes was the victim of southern ag-
gression and not in any sense whatsoever of northern.
To Hubbard's gross amplification and even defiance
of his instructions, also to his extravagant utterances
touching the repudiation of debts and southern versus
northern justice and generosity, Chief Ross replied, 236
2 3 5 Rhodes, op. cit., vol. iii, 237-238 ; also Report of the Select Committee to
Investigate the Abstraction of Bonds Held by the United States Government
in Trust for Indian Tribes, being House Report, 36th congress, second session,
no. 78. Dole, in his Annual Report for 1861, p. 27, urged that the government
make the loss good to the Indians and also appropriate money "to meet the un-
paid interest on those trust bonds of the revolted States yet in custody of the
Secretary of the Interior." There ought never, either from the standpoint of
national faith or of that of political expediency, to have been any hesitation in
the matter.
236 The entire letter is to be found in Official Records, first ser., vol. xiii,
498-499; also in General Files, Cherokee, 1850-1865, 515.
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 147
by way of strong contrast, in terms dignified and con-
vincing:
It is not the province of the Cherokees to determine the char-
acter of the conflict going on in the States. It is their duty to
keep themselves, if possible, disentangled, and afford no grounds
to either party to interfere with their rights. The obligations
of every character, pecuniary and otherwise, which existed prior
to the present state of affairs between the Cherokee Nation and
the Government are equally valid now as then. If the Govern-
ment owe us, I do not believe it will repudiate its debts. If
States embraced in the Confederacy owe us, I do not believe
they will repudiate their debts. I consider our annuity safe in
any contingency.
A comparison of Northern and Southern philanthropy, as
illustrated in their dealings toward the Indians within their re-
spective limits, would not affect the merits of the question now
under consideration, which is simply one of duty under existing
circumstances. I therefore pass it over, merely remarking that
the "settled policy" of former years was a favorite policy with
both sections when extended to the acquisition of Indian lands,
and that but few Indians now press their feet upon the banks of
either the Ohio or the Tennessee. . .
Judging from all the instructions that Secretary Walk-
er sent out on Indian matters in May of 1861, it would
seem that he had very much at heart the enlistment of
the Indians and their actual participation in the war.
Mention has already been made of how General Mc-
Culloch was told by Adjutant-general Cooper to add,
if possible, two Indian regiments to his brigade and of
how Walker had written Hubbard urging him to per-
suade the Indians to join forces and raising the number
of Indian regiments desired from two to three. In a
similar strain Walker wrote 237 to Douglas H. Cooper
237 WAR DEPARTMENT, C.S. ARMY, MONTGOMERY, May 13, 1861.
MAJOR DOUGLAS H. COOPER, Choctaw Nation:
Sir: The desire of this Government is to cultivate the most friendly
relations and the closest alliance with the Choctaw Nation and all the
148 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
on the occasion of definitely asking him to give his ser-
vices to the South. In all these letters no special stress
was laid upon an intention to use the Indians as home
guards exclusively. On the contrary, one might easily
draw, from the letters, a quite opposite inference and
Indian tribes west of Arkansas and south of Kansas. Appreciating
your sympathies with these tribes, and their reciprocal regard for you,
we have thought it advisable to enlist your services in the line of this
desire. From information in possession of the Government it is deemed
expedient to take measures to secure the protection of these tribes in
their present country from the agrarian rapacity of the North, that, un-
less opposed, must soon drive them from their homes and supplant them
in their possessions, as, indeed, would have been the case with the en-
tire South but for our present efforts at resistance. It is well known
that with these unjust designs against the Indian country the Northern
movement for several years has had its emissaries scheming among the
tribes for their ultimate destruction. Their destiny has thus become our
own, and common with that of all the Southern States entering this
Confederation.
Entertaining these views and feelings, and with these objects before
us, we have commissioned General Ben. McCulloch, with three regi-
ments under his command, from the States of Arkansas, Texas, and
Louisiana, to take charge of the military district embracing the Indian
country, and I now empower you to raise among the Choctaws and
Chickasaws a mounted regiment, to be commanded by yourself, in co-
operation with General McCulloch. It is designed also to raise two
other similar regiments among the Creeks, Cherokees, Seminoles, and
other friendly tribes for the same purpose. This combined force of six
regiments will be ample to secure the frontiers upon Kansas and the in-
terests of the Indians, while to the south of the Red River three regi-
ments from Texas, under a different command, have been already as-
signed to the Rio Grande and western border.
It will thus appear, I trust, that the resources of this Government are
adequate to its ends, and assured to the friendly Indians. We have our
agents actively engaged in the manufacture of ammunition and in the
purchase of arms, and when your regiment has been reported organized
in ten companies, ranging from 64 to too men each, and enrolled for
twelve months, if possible, it will be received into the Confederate
service, and supplied with arms and ammunition. Such will be the
course pursued also in relation to the two other regiments I have in-
dicated.
The arms we are purchasing for the Indians are rifles, and they will
be forwarded to Fort Smith. Respectfully,
L, P. WALKER, Secretary of War.
Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 574-575.
Negotiations with the Confederacy 149
conclude that the Indian troops, if raised, were to be
used very generally and exactly as any other volunteers
might be used. This is important in view of the stand,
and a very positive one it was, that Albert Pike took
some time afterwards. In his own letter 238 to Johnson
of May n, 1861, he does not specifically say that the
Indian soldiers, whose mustering he has in contempla-
tion, are not to be used outside of the Indian country;
but he does insist that that country be occupied by them
and by a certain number of white regiments -another
important point as subsequent events will divulge.
General McCulloch took up his part of the task of
securing the Indians in his own characteristic way. He
had great energy and great enthusiasm and both qual-
ities were displayed to the fullest extent on the present
occasion. He first laid his plans for taking possession
forthwith of the Indian country, it having come to his
knowledge that Colonel Emory with the Federal forces
had abandoned it. 239 Apparently, it had never occurred
to McCulloch that the Indians themselves might be
averse to such a proceeding on his part but he was soon
made aware of it; for when he consulted 240 with John
Ross, he found, to his discomfiture and deep chagrin,
that the desire and the determination of this greatest of
all the Indians was to remain strictly neutral. On the
twelfth of June, McCulloch still further communicat-
ed 241 with Ross and informed him that he would respect
his wishes in so far as expediency justified but that he
would have to insist upon the inherent right of the in-
dividual Cherokees to organize themselves into a force
238 Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 572-574..
w lbid., 583.
240 See McCulloch to Walker, May 28, 1861, ibid., 587; also same to same,
June 12, 1861, ibid., 590-591.
241 Ibid., 591-592; also vol. xiii, 495.
150 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
of Home Guards should they feel so inclined. Then
he closed his letter by this note of warning:
Should a body of men march into your Territory from the
North, or if I have an intimation that a body is in line of march
for the Territory from that quarter, I must assure you that I
will at once advance into your country, if I deem it advisable.
Once again the forbearance of Chief Ross had been
put to a severe test, but he none the less replied to Mc-
Culloch with his customary dignity. Ross was then at
Park Hill, McCulloch at Fort Smith, where he had
halted hoping that the permission would be forthcom-
ing for him to cross the line. Ross's reply 242 came by
return mail, so to speak, and was dated the seventeenth.
It was largely a reiteration of the reasons he had al-
ready given for preserving neutrality, but it was also
a positive refusal to allow the individual Cherokees to
organize a Home Guard. The concluding paragraph
gives the lie direct to those intriguing and self-inter-
ested politicians who, in later years, endeavored to im-
pugn Ross's sincerity:
Your demand that those people of the nation who are in
favor of joining the Confederacy be allowed to organize into
military companies as Home Guards, for the purpose of defend-
ing themselves in case of invasion from the North, is most re-
spectfully declined. I cannot give my consent to any such or-
ganization for very obvious reasons: First, it would be a pal-
pable violation of my position as a neutral; second, it would
place in our midst organized companies not authorized by our
laws but in violation of treaty, and who would soon become
efficient instruments in stirring up domestic strife and creating
internal difficulties among the Cherokee people. As in this
connection you have misapprehended a remark made in conver-
sation at our interview some eight or ten days ago, I hope you
will allow me to repeat what I did say. I informed you that I
242 General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515; Official Records, first ser., vol.
Hi, 596-597 and vol. xiii, 495-497.
Negotiations with the Confederacy 151
had taken a neutral position, and would maintain it honestly,
but that in case of a foreign invasion, old as I am, I would assist
in repelling it. . .
It will develop later how Ross's wishes with respect
to the enrollment of Home Guards were successfully
and adroitly circumvented, with the connivance of Gen-
eral McCulloch, by men of the Ridge faction in Cher-
okee politics. From the beginning, McCulloch seemed
determined not to take Ross seriously, } r et he duly in-
formed Secretary Walker of the turn events were tak-
ing. On the twelfth of June, for instance, he wrote 243
to him and gave an account of his recent interview with
the Cherokee chief. It was rather a misleading ac-
count, however; for it conveyed to Walker the idea that
Ross was only waiting for provocation from the North
to throw in his lot with the Confederacy. On the twen-
ty-second of June, McCulloch wrote 244 to Walker again
243 Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 590-591.
244 HEADQUARTERS McCuLLOCH's BRIGADE,
Fort Smith, Ark., June 22, 1861.
HOK. L. P. WALKER, Secretary of War:
Sir: I have the honor to transmit the inclosed copy of a communica-
tion from John Ross, the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Under all the circumstances of the case I do not think it advisable
to march into the Cherokee country at this time unless there is some
urgent necessity for it. If the views expressed in my communication to
you of the I4th instant are carried out, it will, I am satisfied, force the con-
viction on the Cherokees that they have but one course to pursue -that
is, to join the Confederacy. The Choctaw and Chickasaw regiment will
be kept on the south of them ; Arkansas will be to the east ; and with my
force on the western border of Missouri no force will be able to march
into the Cherokee Nation, and surrounded as they will be by Southern
troops, they will have but one alternative at all events. From my posi-
tion to the north of them, in any event, I will have a controlling power
over them. I am satisfied from my interview with John Ross and from
his communication that he is only waiting for some favorable oppor-
tunity to put himself with the North. His neutrality is only a pretext
to await the issue of events.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
BEN. MCCULLOCH, Brigadier-General Commanding.
Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 595-596.
152 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
and to the same effect as far as his belief that Ross was
not sincere in his professions of neutrality was con-
cerned, even though, in the interval between the two
letters, he had been carefully corrected by Ross himself
and even though he was, at the very time, sending on to
Richmond, the correspondence that denied the truth of
his own statement. He did, however, add that his be-
lief now was that Ross was awaiting a favorable mo-
ment to join forces with the North.
Albert Pike, special commissioner from the State
Department of the Confederate States to the Indian
tribes west of Arkansas, had accompanied General Mc-
Culloch on his visit to Ross, the latter part of May,
and had been present at the resulting interview. He
had told 245 Toombs that he would leave Little Rock
for Fort Smith the twenty-second and go at once 246 to
the Cherokee country. At Fort Smith, Pike met Mc-
Culloch and the two, seeking the same object, agreed
to go forward together, 247 having already been ap-
proached by an anti-Ross element of the Cherokee Na-
tion. 248 Ross, as has been shown, insisted upon main-
taining an attitude of strict neutrality, which probably
did not surprise his interviewers, since, according to
Pike's own testimony, he and McCulloch had not gone
to Park Hill expecting to be able to effect any arrange-
ment with Chief Ross. 249 Ross, however, did go so far
245 See Pike to Toombs, May 20, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii,
580-581].
246 On the twenty-ninth of May, Pike wrote to Toombs again and informed
him that he was leaving for Tahlequah that very morning [ibid., fourth ser.,
vol. i, 359].
247 See McCulloch to Walker, May 28, 1861 [Ibid., first ser., vol. iii, 587-
588].
248 See Pike to Cooley, February 17, 1866 [Indian Office, Miscellaneous
Files'].
Negotiations with the Confederacy 153
as to promise 250 that within a short while he would call
a meeting of the Cherokee Executive Council and con-
fer with it further on the policy to be pursued. Ross
doubtless felt that it was a part of political wisdom to
do this. His was an exceedingly difficult position; for,
within the nation, there was a large element in favor of
secession. It was a minority party, it is true; but, none
the less, it represented for the most part, the intelligence
and the property and the influence of the tribe. Op-
posed to it and in favor of neutrality, was the large ma-
jority, not nearly so influential because made up of the
full-bloods and of those otherwise poverty-stricken and
obscure. In the light of previous tribal discords, the
minority party was the old Ridge, or Treaty, Party,
now headed by Stand Watie and E. C. Boudinot, while
the majority party was the Ross, or Non-treaty Party.
Ross himself, his nephew, William P. Ross, and a few
others were the great exceptions to the foregoing char-
acterization of their following. Of sturdy Scotch ex-
traction and honest to the core, they personally stood
out in strong contrast to the rank and file of the non-
secessionists and it was they who so guided public sen-
timent that John Ross had the nation back of him when,
on May 17, 1861, he issued his memorable Proclama-
tion of Neutrality: 291
Proclamation to the Cherokee people
Owing to the momentous state of affairs pending among the
people of the several States, I, John Ross, Principal Chief,
hereby issue this my proclamation to the people of the Cherokee
Nation, reminding them of the obligations arising under their
treaties with the United States, and urging them to the faithful
250 McCulloch to Walker, June 12, 1861 {Official Records, first sen, vol.
iii, 591].
251 Official Records, first ser., vol. xiii, 489-490.
154 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
observance of said treaties by the maintenance of peace and
friendship toward the people of all the States.
The better to obtain these important ends, I earnestly impress
upon all my fellow-citizens the propriety of attending to their
ordinary avocations and abstaining from unprofitable discussions
of events transpiring in the States and from partisan demonstra-
tions in regard to the same.
They should not be alarmed by false reports thrown into cir-
culation by designing men, but cultivate harmony among them-
selves and observe in good faith strict neutrality between the
States threatening civil war. By these means alone can the
Cherokee people hope to maintain their rights unimpaired and to
have their own soil and firesides spared from the baleful effects
of a devastating war. There has been no declaration of war
between the opposing parties, and the conflict may yet be averted
by compromise or a peaceful separation.
The peculiar circumstances of their condition admonish the
Cherokees to the exercise of prudence in regard to a state of
affairs to the existence of which they have in no way contrib-
uted; and they should avoid the performance of any act or the
adoption of any policy calculated to destroy or endanger their
territorial and civil rights. By honest adherence to this course
they can give no just cause for aggression or invasion nor any
pretext for making their country the scene of military opera-
tions, and will be in a situation to claim and retain all their
rights in the final adjustment that will take place between the
several States. For these reasons I earnestly impress upon the
Cherokee people the importance of non-interference in the affairs
of the people of the States and the observance of unswerving
neutrality between them.
Trusting that God will not only keep from our own borders
the desolations of war, but that He will in infinite mercy and
power stay its ravages among the brotherhood of States.
Given under my hand at the executive office at Park Hill
this 1 7th day of May, 1861.
JNO. Ross, Principal Chief Cherokee Nation.
The discretion of the Cherokees, their wily diplo-
macy if, under the circumstances, you should please to
call it such, was more than counterbalanced by the in-
Negotiations with the Confederacy 155
discretion and the impetuosity of some of their neigh-
bors. It has already been noted how the Chickasaws
expressed their southern sympathies in the legislative
resolves 252 of the twenty-fifth of May, but not as yet
how the Choctaws took an equally strong stand. Both
tribes were so very pronounced in their show of affec-
tion for the Confederacy that they gave a secessionist
color to the whole of the Indian Territory, so much so,
in fact, that Lieutenant-colonel Hyams could report 253
to Governor Moore of Louisiana, on the twenty-eighth
of May, and upon information given him by some In-
dian agent.
. . . That the nations on the borders of this State (Ar-
kansas) are anxious and desirous to be armed; that they can and
will muster into the service 25,000 men; that they have immense
supplies of beeves, sufficient to supply the meat for the whole
Confederate service. All they ask is arms and enrollment. If
within your power to forward their views with the President,
it would be a great step in the right direction, and erect a more
effectual barrier against the Kansas marauders than any force
that could be sent against them, and thereby protect the northern
boundary of both Arkansas and Louisiana. The reasons why
every effort should be made to arm these people (now heart and
soul with us) to defend themselves and us are so palpable, that I
do not attempt to urge them upon you, but do solicit your at-
tention, so far as is compatible with your high position, to this
matter, to impress its importance on the President, and use your
well-known influence to effect this much desirable result. . .
General McCulloch, in a letter 254 also of the twenty-
eighth of May, more particularly specified the tribes
that were friendly to the South, but he too mentioned
some of them, the Choctaw and the Chickasaw, as
"anxious to join the Southern Confederacy." It should
not be a matter of surprise then to find that on the four-
252 Official Records, first sen, vol. Hi, 585-587.
2 '3 Ibid,, 589.
Z5t Ibid., 587.
156 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
teenth of June, George Hudson, principal chief of the
Choctaw Nation, acting in accordance with the will of
the General Council, which had met four days before,
publicly declared 255 the Choctaw Nation, "free and in-
dependent" The chief's proclamation was, in effect, a
conscription act and provided for the enrollment, for
military service in the interests of the Confederacy, of
all competent males between the ages of eighteen and
forty-five years. The General Council had authorized
this and had further arranged for the appointment of
commissioners "to negotiate a treaty of alliance and
amity" with the Confederate States.
Under such conditions, the work of Albert Pike must
have seemed all plain sailing when once he was safely
beyond the Cherokee limits; but his efforts, 250 vain
though they were, to persuade that tribe into an alliance
did not end 257 with the first recorded interview with
Ross. He kept up his intercourse with the Ridge fac-
tion; but finally decided that as far as Ross and the na-
tion as a whole were concerned it would be best to await
the issue of events. It was only too apparent to all the
southern agents and commissioners that Ross would
never yield his opinion unless compelled thereto by one
of three things or a combination of any or all of them.
The three things were, pressure from within the tribe;
some extraordinary display of Confederate strength
that would presage ultimate success for southern arms;
and encroachment by the Federals. It was the com-
593-594.
25 See Albert Pike to John Ross, June 6, 1861 and John Ross to Albert
Pike, July i, 1861 in General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515.
257 It would appear that, failing with John Ross, Pike tried to negotiate
with the disaffected Cherokees under the control of Stand Watie, Boudinot, and
others. See Office Letter to President Johnson, February 25, 1866. Pike him-
self says that he invited some of these men to meet him at the Creek Agency.
See Pike to Cooley, February 17, 1866.
Negotiations with the Confederacy 157
bination that eventually won the day. Pike, mean-
while, had passed on to the Creek country.
At the North Fork Village, in the Creek country, the
work of negotiating Indian treaties in the interests of
the Confederacy really began and it did not end until
a rather long series of them had been concluded. The
series consisted of nine main treaties 258 and the nine
group themselves into three distinct classes. The basis
of classification is the relative strength or power of the
tribe, or better, the degree of concession which the Con-
federacy, on account of that strength or that power or
under stress of its own dire needs, felt itself obliged to
make. This is the list as classified:
FIRST CLASS
1. Creek, negotiated at North Fork, Creek Nation, July 259 10,
1861
2. Choctaw and Chickasaw, negotiated at North Fork, July
12, 1861
3. Seminole, negotiated at the Seminole Council House, Au-
gust i, 1861
4. Cherokee, negotiated at Tahlequah, Chreokee Nation, Oc-
tober 7, 1 86 1
SECOND CLASS
1. Osage, negotiated at Park Hill, Cherokee Nation, October
2, 1861
2. Seneca and Shawnee, negotiated at Park Hill, October 4,
1861
3. Quapaw, negotiated at Park Hill, October 4, 1861
258 The text of the treaties is to be found in the Confederate Statutes and
also in Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, as follows:
Creek Treaty, 426-443 Comanche Treaty, 548-554
Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty, 445- Osage Treaty, 636-646
466 Seneca and Shawnee Treaty, 647-658
Seminole Treaty, 513-527 Quapaw Treaty, 659-666
Wichita Treaty, 542-548 Cherokee Treaty, 669-687
259 Although the Creek Treaty was negotiated July tenth and was the first
to be negotiated, Dole was ignorant of its existence as late as October second
158 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
THIRD CLASS
1. Wichita, etc., negotiated at the Wichita Agency near the
False Washita River, August 12, 1861
2. Comanche, negotiated at the Wichita Agency, August 12,
1861
Although all the treaties, made in 1861 by Albert
Pike, were negotiated under authority 260 of the Act of
the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, ap-
proved May 21, 1861, by which the Confederacy of-
fered and agreed to accept the protectorate of the In-
dian tribes west of Arkansas and Missouri, only those
made with the great tribes contained a statement, 261
definitely showing that the protectorate had been for-
mally offered, formally accepted and formally assumed.
Thus, in a very unequivocal way, Creeks, Choctaws,
Chickasaws, Seminoles, and Cherokees, all signified 2G2
their willingness to transfer their allegiance from the
United to the Confederate States. The smaller tribes
seem not to have been asked to make the same conces-
sion and their nationality was, in no sense, recognized.
They acted more or less under duress or compulsion,
and the very negotiation of treaties with them was taken
as a full compliance with the confederate scheme.
The nationality of the great tribes, or more properly
speaking, their political importance, was still further
[Report, 1861, 39], which only goes to prove how very slight was the Federal
communication with Indian Territory through all that critical time.
2 ' President Davis, in his message of December 12, 1861, said,
Considering this act as a declaration by Congress of our future policy
in relation to those Indians, a copy of that act was transmitted to the
commissioner and he was directed to consider it as his instructions in
the contemplated negotiation. [Richardson, Messages and Papers of
the Confederacy, vol. i, 149 ; Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 785.]
261 All the treaties of the First Class contain a Preamble, lacking in the
others, which specifically outlines the assumption of the protectorate. In addi-
tion, those same treaties have a special clause accepting the full force of the
Act of May twenty-first
All references to these treaties, unless otherwise noted, will be page refer-
Negotiations with the Confederacy 159
recognized by clauses guaranteeing territorial and po-
litical integrity, 263 representation by delegates 264 in the
ences to the treaties as found in the Statutes at Large of the Provisional Gov-
ernment of the Confederate States of America.
262 See Creek Treaty, Articles II and iv, pp. 289, 290; Choctaw and Chick-
asaw Treaty, Articles n and vn, pp. 312, 313; Seminole Treaty, Articles II and
iv, pp. 332, 333; Cherokee Treaty, Articles II and v, pp. 395, 396.
263 ARTICLE vm (Creek Treaty). The Confederate States of America
do hereby solemnly agree and bind themselves that no State or Territory
shall ever pass laws for the government of the Creek Nation ; and that
no portion of the country hereby guaranteed to it shall ever be em-
braced or included within or annexed to any Territory or Province ; nor
shall any attempt ever be made, except upon the free, voluntary and un-
solicited application of the said nation, to erect the said country, by it-
self or with any other, into a State or any other territorial or political
organization, or to incorporate it into any State previously created [p.
291].
Compare with similar articles in the other treaties; viz., Article X of the
Choctaw and Chickasaw, p. 314; Article vm of the Seminole, p. 334; Article
vm of the Cherokee, p. 397; Articles vm and xxvi of the Osage, pp. 364, 367;
Articles vm and xix of the Seneca and Shawnee, pp. 376, 377; Article vii of
the Quapaw, p. 387.
264 ARTICLE XL (Creek Treaty). In order to enable the Creek and
Seminole Nations to claim their rights and secure their interests without
the intervention of counsel or agents, and as they were originally one
and the same people and are now entitled to reside in the country of
each other, they shall be jointly entitled to a delegate to the House of
Representatives of the Confederate States of America, who shall serve
for the term of two years, and be a member of one of the said nations,
over twenty-one years of age, and labouring under no legal disability
by the law of either nation; and each delegate shall be entitled to the
same rights and privileges as may be enjoyed by delegates from any
territories of the Confederate States to the said House of Representatives.
Each shall receive such pay and mileage as shall be fixed by the Con-
gress of the Confederate States. The first election for delegate shall be
held at such time and places, and be conducted in such manner as shall
be prescribed by the agent of the Confederate States, to whom returns
of such election shall be made, and he shall declare the person having
the greatest number of votes to be duly elected, and give him a certifi-
cate of election accordingly, which shall entitle him to his seat. For all
subsequent elections, the times, places, and manner of holding them and
ascertaining and certifying the result shall be prescribed by law of the
Confederate States [p. 297].
Compare with Article XXVH of Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty [p. 318], the
chief point of difference between the two being that, in the latter treaty the
delegate to which the two tribes, parties to the treaty, were entitled jointly,
160 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Confederate Congress, and the prospect 265 of ultimate
statehood. The guarantee of territorial integrity was,
was to be elected from them alternately. The Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty
also stipulated that the delegate was to be a member by birth or blood on
either the father's or the mother's side. The corresponding provision in the
Cherokee Treaty, Article XLIV [pp. 403-404], said that the delegate should be a
native born citizen. The Seminole arrangement, Article xxxvil [p. 339], was,
as might be expected, exactly the same as the Creek.
265 The Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty was the only one that developed
this idea. We might presume that the Creeks were even opposed to it. This
is how it appears in Articles XXVIIL, xxix, and xxx, of the Choctaw and Chick-
asaw Treaty [pp. 318-319]:
ARTICLE xxvni. In consideration of the uniform loyalty and good
faith, and the tried friendship for the people of the Confederate States,
of the Choctaw and Chickasaw people, and of their fitness and capacity
for self-government, proven by the establishment and successful main-
tenance, by each, of a regularly organized republican government, with
all the forms and safe-guards to which the people of the Confederate
States are accustomed, it is hereby agreed by the Confederate States,
that whenever and so soon as the people of each nation shall, by ordi-
nance of a convention of delegates, duly elected by majorities of the
legal voters, at an election regularly held after due and ample notice,
in pursuance of an act of the Legislature of each, respectively, declare
its desire to become a State of the Confederacy, the whole Choctaw and
Chickasaw country, as above defined, shall be received and admitted
into the Confederacy as one of the Confederate States, on equal terms,
in all respects, with the original States, without regard to population ;
and all the members of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations shall
thereby become citizens of the Confederate States, not including, how-
ever, among such members, the individuals of the bands settled in the
leased district aforesaid.
Provided, That, as a condition precedent to such admission, the said
nations shall provide for the survey of their lands, the holding in sev-
eralty of parts thereof by their people, the dedication of at least one
section in every thirty-six to purposes of education, and the sale of such
portions as are not reserved for these, or other special purposes, to citi-
zens of the Confederate States alone, on such terms as the said nation
shall see fit to fix, not intended or calculated to prevent the sale thereof.
ARTICLE xxix. The proceeds of such sales shall belong entirely to
members of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, and be distributed
among them or invested for them in proportion to the whole population
of each, in such manner as the Legislatures of said nations shall pro-
vide; nor shall any other persons ever have any interest in the annuities
or funds of either the Choctaw or Chickasaw people, nor any power to
legislate in regard thereto.
ARTICLE xxx. Whenever the desire of the Creek and Seminole
people and the Cherokees to become a part of the said State shall be
Negotiations with the Confederacy 161
of a certainty, not new. It had been inserted into vari-
ous removal treaties as a safeguard against a repetition
of the injustice that had been meted out to the Indians
by the Southern States in Jackson's day. It comprised,
in effect, a solemn promise that no state or territorial lines
should ever again circumscribe the particular domain
of the Indian nation securing the guarantee; and that
state or territorial laws, as the case might be, should
have no operation within the Indian country. The idea
of congressional representation 266 was also not new, but
where it had previously been but a promise or a mere
contingency, it was now an assured fact, a thing definite-
ly provided for. Ultimate statehood had, however, at-
tached to it the old time elements of uncertainty, which
is not at all surprising, considering that Walker, in his
instructions 267 to Hubbard, had positively spoken
against it.
All the treaties, without distinction of class, recog-
nized the land rights of the Indians and their existing
territorial limits, but with the usual restriction upon
alienation to foreign powers. A sale or cession to a for-
eign state, without the consent of the Confederate
States, was to result in forfeiture and reversion to the
Confederate States. By the Choctaw and Chickasaw
Treaty, the arrangement, 268 already satisfactorily
reached, for a Chickasaw country distinct from a Choc-
expressed, in the same manner and with the same formalities, as is
above provided for in the case of the Choctaw and Chickasaw people,
the country of the Creeks and Seminoles, and that of the Cherokees, re-
spectively, or either by itself, may be annexed to and become an integral
part of said State, upon the same conditions and terms, and with the
same rights to the people of each, in regard to citizenship and the pro-
ceeds of their lands.
266 Abel, "Proposals for an Indian State in the Union, 1778-1878," in the
American Historical Association, Report, 1907, pp. 89-102.
267 Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 577.
268 Articles V and vi.
162 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
taw was continued, the Indians of both tribes being giv-
en the privilege of having their particular land sur-
veyed and sectionized whenever they might so please,
provided it be done by regular legislative process. 269
The same treaty transferred 27 the lease of the Wichita
Reserve from the United to the Confederate States and
limited it to ninety-nine years. Practically the same
bands of Indians were to be accommodated in this
Leased District as before; namely, those whose perma-
nent ranges were south of the Canadian or between it
and the Arkansas. The New Mexican Indians were
still to be absolutely excluded. The Choctaw and
Chickasaw Indians reserved the right to pass upon the
accommodation of any other Indians than those spe-
cifically mentioned in the treaty. The individual bands,
so accommodated in the Leased District, were to be
settled upon reserves and to hold the same in fee.
Finally, the treaty placed, 271 for the time being, the
Wichitas and their fellow reservees exclusively under
the control of the Confederate States with a limited jur-
isdiction resting in the Choctaw Nation and a full right
of settlement in Choctaws and Chickasaws.
In regard to special features of the land rights of
tribes other than those already mentioned, it is well to
observe, perhaps, that the title to the reservation then
occupied by the Seminoles was admitted to be depend-
ent upon Creek sufferance; 272 that the United States
patent of December 31, 1838, was recognized 273 as pro-
tecting the Cherokee; and that the Osage lands in Kan-
sas were inferentially covered by the Confederate guar-
269 Article vin.
270 Article xi.
271 Article XIL
272 Article vii of the Seminole Treaty [p. 334], and Article vii likewise of
the Creek Treaty [p. 291].
273 Article iv of the Cherokee Treaty [pp. 395-396].
Negotiations with the Confederacy 163
antee, given that tribe, of title in perpetuity. 27 * The
Confederate States, moreover, agreed to indemnify 275
the Cherokees should their Neutral Lands be lost to
them through the misfortune of the war. It is rather
interesting to see that this new government, in promis-
ing the insignificant tribes a permanent occupancy of
their present holdings, made use of the same high-
flown, meaningless language that the United States had
so long used ; but Albert Pike knew better than to assure
the truly powerful tribes that they should hold their
lands themselves and in common "as long as the grass
should grow and the waters run." That language could
yet be made appealing and effective, though, in official
dealings with weak Wichitas, 276 Senecas, and Shaw-
nees, 277 and, strange as it may seem, even with Creeks. 278
In reciprocal fashion, the wild Comanches could most
naively promise 279 to hold the Confederate States "by
the hand, and have but one heart with them always."
Speaking of indemnification, we are reminded of
other very important financial obligations assumed by
the Confederacy when it made its famous treaties with
the Indians west of Arkansas. Those financial obliga-
tions comprised the payment of annuities due the tribes
from the United States in return for land cessions of
enormous extent. They also comprised the interest on
various funds, such as the Orphan Creek fund, educa-
tion funds, and the like. Albert Pike had been given -
no specific authority to do this but he knew well that no
274 In the matter of the guarantee of territorial integrity, the treaties of the
Second Class were strictly on a par with those of the First Class. See Article
viii of the Osage Treaty [p. 364], Article xix of the Seneca and Shawnee
Treaty [p. 378], Article vn of the Quapaw [p. 387].
275 Article XLVII [pp. 407-408].
276 Article V [p. 348],
277 Article HI [pp. 374-375].
278 Article v [p. 291].
279 Article I [p. 354].
164 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
treaties could possibly be made without it. It was not
very likely that the slaveholding tribes would surren-
der so much wealth for nothing, and so Pike argued,
when justifying himself and his actions later on. In his
capacity as commissioner with plenary powers, he also
.promised the Indians that the Confederacy would see
to it that their trust funds, secured by southern bonds,
should be rendered safe and negotiable. Over and
above all this, the government of the Confederate
States made itself responsible for claims for damages
of various sorts that the different tribes had brought or
were to bring against the United States. Three good
instances of the same are the following: the claim of
the Cherokees for losses, personal and national, incident
to the removal from Georgia; the claim 28 * of the Sem-
280 For an illustration of how the Seminoles had been preferring the claim,
see the following affidavit:
Be it known that on this 2zd day of January, A.D. 1856, personally
appeared before me, J. W. Washbourne, United States' Agent for Sem-
inoles, in open Council, the following named Chiefs and Head men of
the Seminole tribe of Indians, and deposed to the subsequent statement.
That sometime during the war between the United States and the
Seminoles, Gen. Thomas S. Jessup, then commanding the U.S. troops in
Florida, issued a proclamation to the effect that all negroes belonging
to the hostile Seminoles who should come in and take service under the
Government against their masters, or in any way render service to the
United States against the Seminoles, or induce them to sue for peace
and emigrate west, they, the negroes, should be declared free: That
many negroes took advantage of said illegal proclamation and did take
service in Florida under Government, but that, by far the larger num-
ber of negro slaves who took refuge under said proclamation and thereby
claimed their freedom, did so after the immigration west was deter-
mined or consummated: That said negro slaves, in great numbers and
to the great injury of their owners, and against their orders, took refuge
within the United States' post, Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation, where
they were for upwards of three years protected by the United States
officers at that Post, although the Seminoles claimed them, the negroes,
as their lawful slaves, and protested against this procedure of the U.S.
officers: That while these negro slaves were thus protected by military
officers, it was impossible to keep their slaves at home who were con-
tinually flying to Fort Gibson, where they were beyond the reach of
their masters: That this occurred during the years i84S-'6-'7: That
Negotiations with the Confederacy 165
inoles for losses sustained by reason of General Thomas
through the instrumentality of their former Sub Agent and attornies
employed by them, they after long delay and at great expense and loss
of slaves, presented the matter to the attention of the Secretary of War,
Hon. Wm, L. Marcy, and that finally from him, as such Secretary of
War, there issued an order bearing date the $th of August 1848, di-
rected to the commanding officer at Fort Gibson, enjoining him to pro-
tect no longer said negro slaves at that Post and commanding him to
deliver all of said slaves to the Seminoles their rightful owners: That
even after this order the nuisance did not abate, for another order dated
July sist 1850 required the commanding officer of Fort Gibson to give
no further protection to these "Seminole negroes": That by this order
of the Secretary of War, as was just and right, the United States
recognised the ownership of these said slaves as being in the Seminoles,
and that they were entitled by law and right to said slaves and their
service: That in consequence of the withdrawal of the protection af-
forded them at Fort Gibson and from their having so long considered
themselves free, said slaves in great numbers escaped, some of whom
reached Mexico, some were killed by the wild Indians, and the re-
mainder were only captured at great and ruinous expense: That the
owners of these said negro slaves are justly and equitably entitled to the
service of said slaves, while unlawfully and against the power and pro-
tests of the Seminoles, detained at Fort Gibson for the space of more
than three years, by U.S. officers: That the number of said negro slaves
so unlawfully detained and kept from the service due their masters, as
near as now can be estimated was Two Hundred and Thirty-four or
thereabouts : That the services of these said slaves for these three years
and upwards were amply worth at the time Seventy five dollars each
per annum, making the sum of Fifty two Thousand Six hundred and
fifty dollars ($52.650.00,) to which the Seminole owners of said slaves
are fully and fairly, in law and equity, entitled, and which ought to be
paid to them by the Government of the United States.
JOHN JUMPER, P. Chief Seminoles X his mark
PAH sue AH TO HO LAH, Speaker Council X his mark
CHITTO-TUSTO-MUGGEE X his mark
ARHAH-LOCK-TUSTO-MUGGEE X his mark
NOKE-SU-KEE X his mark
PARS-CO-FER X his mark
TESI-KI-AH X his mark
ALLIGATOR X his mark
TALLA-HASSA X his mark
GEORGE CLOUD X his mark
HO-TUL-GEE-HARJO X his mark
TAR-HAH FIXICO X his mark
Sworn to and subscribed before me, in open Council Jany 22d 1856.
J. W. WASHBOURNE U.S. Agent for Seminoles.
Witnesses: GEORGE M. AUD
1 66 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
S. Jesup's emancipation 281 order during the progress of
the Second Seminole War; and the claim of the Wich-
itas against the United States government for having
granted to the Choctaws the land that belonged by he-
reditary preemption to them and had so belonged from
time out of mind. It is exceedingly interesting to know
that these Wichitas had been colonized on the very land
they claimed as indisputably their own.
In all the treaties, negotiated by Pike, except the two
of the Third Class, 282 the Wichita and the Comanche,
the institution of slavery was positively and particularly
recognized, recognized as legal and as having existed
from time immemorial. Property rights in slaves were
guaranteed. Fugitive Slave Laws were declared oper-
ative within the Indian country, and the mutual rendi-
tion of fugitives was promised throughout the length
and breadth of the Confederacy. The First Class of
treaties differs from the Second in this matter but only
in a very slight degree. The latter condenses in one
clause 283 all that bears upon slavery in its various as-
pects, the former separates the discussion of the legality
of the institution from that of the rendition of slaves.
Of the First Class, the Creek Treaty 284 constituted the
281 President Polk seems to have been of the opinion that negro slaves could
not be freed by military proclamation [Diary (Quaife's edition), vol. iii, 504].
282 Slavery was not completely ignored even in the treaties of the Third
Class. In Article IX of their treaty [p. 348], the Wichitas promised to do all in
their power to take and return any negroes, horses, or other property stolen
from white men or from Indians of the great tribes. The corresponding
article in the Comanche Treat}' [p. 355], was to like purpose.
288 Article xxxvn of the Osage Treaty, Article xxvm of the Seneca and
Shawnee Treaty, and Article xxvm of the Quapaw Treaty.
284 The following are the Creek clauses and the Choctaw and Chickasaw,
Articles XLV and XLVII, the Seminole, Articles xxrx and xxxin, and the Chero-
kee, Articles xxxiv and xxxvii, are similar:
ARTICLE xxix. The provisions of all such acts of Congress of the
Confederate States as may now be in force, or may hereafter be enacted,
for the purpose of carrying into effect the provision of the constitution
Negotiations with the Confederacy 167
model ; of the Second, the Osage. 285
Aside from the things to which reference has already
been made, the Confederate Indian treaties were, in a
variety of ways and to the same extent that the Confed-
erate constitution itself was, a reflection upon past his-
tory. To avoid the friction that had always been pres-
ent between the red men and their neighbors, an attempt
was now made to redefine and to readjust the relations
of Indians with each other both within and without the
tribe; their relations with white men considered apart
from any political organization; their relations, either
as individuals or as tribes, with the several states of the
Confederacy; and their relations with the central gov-
ernment. In general, their rights, civil, political, and
judicial, as men and as semi-independent communities
were now specified under such conditions as made for
what in times past would have been regarded as full
recognition, and even for enlargement. Indian rights
were at a premium because Indian alliances were in
demand.
in regard to the re-delivery or return of fugitive slaves, or fugitives
from labour and service, shall extend to, and be in full force within the
said Creek Nation; and shall also apply to all cases of escape of fugi-
tive slaves from the said Creek Nation into any other Indian nation or
into one of the Confederate States, the obligation upon each such nation
or State to re-deliver such slaves being in every case as complete as if
they had escaped from another State, and the mode of procedure the
same [p. 296].
ARTICLE xxxn. It is hereby declared and agreed that the institu-
tion of slavery in the said nation is legal and has existed from time im-
memorial ; that slaves are taken and deemed to be personal property ;
that the title to slaves and other property having its origin in the said
nation, shall be determined by the laws and customs thereof; and that
the slaves and other personal property of every person domiciled in said
nation shall pass and be distributed at his or her death, in accordance
with the laws, usages and customs of the said nation, which may be
proved like foreign laws, usages & customs, and shall everywhere he
held valid and binding within the scope of their operation [p. 296].
28 ' P. 369.
1 68 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
The relations of Indians with Indians need not be
considered at length. Suffice it to say that many clauses
were devoted to the regulation of the affairs of those
tribes that were, either politically or ethnologically,
closely connected with each other; as, for example, the
Choctaws and Chickasaws on the one hand and the
Creeks and Seminoles on the other. Still other clauses
assured the tribes of protection against hostile invasion
from red men and from white, and assured all the great
tribes, except the Cherokees, 286 of similar protection
against domestic violence. 287 The Cherokees, very pos-
sibly, were made an exception because of the known in-
tensity of their factional strife and hatred, which, purely
for its own selfish ends, the Confederacy had done so
much to augment. There may also have been some lin-
gering doubt of John Ross's sincerity in the matter of
devotion to the Confederacy. The time had been and
might come again when the Confederacy would find it
very expedient to play off one faction against another.
Injuries coming to the Indians from a failure to protect
were to be indemnified out of the Confederate treasury.
Could the United States, throughout the more than a
hundred years of its history have had just such a law,
its national treasury would have been saved millions and
286 Article XVH of the Cherokee Treaty [p. 399].
287 ARTICLE xv (Creek Treaty). The Confederate States shall pro-
tect the Creeks from domestic strife, from hostile invasion, and from
aggression by other Indians and white persons not subject to the juris-
diction and laws of the Creek Nation, and for all injuries resulting from
such invasion or aggression, full indemnity is hereby guaranteed to the
party or parties injured, out of the Treasury of the Confederate States,
upon the same principle and according to the same rules upon which
white persons are entitled to indemnity for injuries or aggressions upon
them committed by Indians [p. 293].
See also Article xxi of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty and Article xv of
the Seminole Treaty.
Negotiations with the Confederacy 169
millions of dollars paid out in claims, just and unjust,
of white men against the Indians.
As affecting their relations with white men, the In-
dians were conceded the right to determine absolutely,
by their own legislation, the conditions of their own
tribal citizenship. This would mean, of course, the
free continuance of the custom of adoption, a custom
more pernicious in Indian history than even the prin-
ciple of equal apportionment in Prankish; because it
was the entering wedge to territorial encroachment.
The white man, once adopted into the tribe as a citizen,
was to be protected against unjust discrimination or
against the forfeiture of his acquired status. The pro-
visions against intruders were legitimately severe, those
of the United States had never been severe enough.
The executive power had always been very weak and
very lax but now it was to reside in the tribal Council
and would bid fair to be firm because interested, or, per-
haps, we should say disinterested. The Confederacy,
on its part, promised that the aid of the military should
be forthcoming for the expulsion of intruders on appli-
cation by the agent, should the tribal authority prove
inadequate. The Indians might compel the removal of
obnoxious men from agency and military reserves.
Unauthorized settlement within the Indian country by
citizens of the Confederate States was absolutely for-
bidden under pain of punishment by the tribe en-
croached upon.
With respect to Indian trade, there was consider-
able innovation and considerable modification of exist-
ing laws. For years past, the Indians of the great
tribes had chafed under the restrictions which the
United States government had placed upon their trade
170 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
and, unquestionably, no other single thing had irritated
them more than the very evident monopoly right which
the United States had given to a few white men over it.
Indian trade, under federal regulations, was nothing
more nor less than an extension of the protective policy,
a policy that was destructive of all competition and that
put the Indian, often to the contempt of his intelligence,
at the mercy of the white sharper. Indian commis-
sioner after Indian commissioner had protested against
it, but all in vain. George W. Manypenny, particu-
larly, had tried 288 to effect a change; for he was himself
convinced that, if the Indians were capable of self-
government, they were certainly capable of conducting
their own trade. Needless to say, Manypenny's efforts
were entirely unavailing. The Indian trade in the
hands of the licensed white trader, although a per-
nicious thing for the Indian, was an exceedingly lucra-
tive business for enterprising American citizens, white
men who were, unfortunately, in possession of the elect-
ive franchise but of little else that was honorable and
the government, controlled by constituents with local
interests, dared not surrender it to the unenfranchised
Indians no matter how highly competent they might
be. Thus the Indian country, throughout its entire
extent, was exploited for the sake of the frontiersman.
Moreover, the annuity money, a just tax upon a govern-
ment that had received so much real estate from the
aborigines, instead of being spent judiciously to meet
the ends of civilization and in such a way as to reflect
credit upon the donor, who after all was a self-consti-
tuted guardian, went right back into the pockets of
United States citizens but, of necessity, into those of
only a very limited number of them.
288 Manypenny to Dean, November 30, 1855 [Indian Office, Letter Book,
- 53 PP- 94'95]- Dean to Manypenny, December 25, 1855 [Letter Press
Book'}.
Negotiations with the Confederacy 171
Because it was a matter of expediency and not be-
cause it was a principle that it believed in, otherwise
it would have given it to the weak tribes as well as to
the strong, the Confederacy gave to the Indians of the
great tribes, but not to all in exactly the same measure, 289
the control of their own trade. It did not do away with
the post trader, as it ought to have done in order to
make its reform complete, but it did deprive him of
his monopoly privileges. It hedged his license about
with restrictions, 290 made it subject, on complaint of the
Indian and in the event of arrearages, to revocation;
and, to all of the great tribes except the Seminoles, it
gave the power of taxing his goods, his stock in trade,
usually a rather paltry outfit. No better precaution
could have possibly been devised against exorbitant
charging. An ad valorem tax would most certainly
have quite eliminated the fifty, the one hundred, and
the two hundred per cents of profit. As a matter of
fact, the extravagantly high prices of the ordinary In-
dian trader would be, for most persons, positively pro-
hibitive. The Confederacy further bound itself to pay
to the Indians an annual compensation for the land and
timber used by the trader.
The questions settled as between the several states and
the Indian tribes were chiefly 291 of property rights and
289 Compare Article xx of the Cherokee Treaty and Article xxiv of the
Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty with Article xvi of the Creek Treaty and all
of these with Article xvi of the Seminole Treaty.
290 See, for example, Article xvm of the Seminole Treaty [p. 336].
291 One other important right was conceded and that was the right of free
transit. The concession is well stated in the Creek Treaty and occurs in con-
nection with a prohibition against the pasturing of stock by outsiders within
the Creek country.
ARTICLE xxn. No citizen or inhabitant of the Confederate States
shall pasture stock on the lands of the Creek Nation, under the penalty
of one dollar per head for all so pastured, to be collected by the authori-
ties of the nation; but their citizens shall be at liberty at all times, and
172 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
of civil and criminal rights and procedure. In addi-
tion to their property right in slaves, the Indians were
at last admitted to have a possible right in other things,
in land, for instance, that might lie within the limits
of a state. This they were henceforth to hold, dispose
of as they pleased, and bequeath by will. 29 ' Restric-
tions, likewise, upon their power freely to dispose of
their chattels, 293 were removed, a coordinate concession,
but one that did not so much affect their relations with
a given individual state as their relations with the cen-
tral government. To such 294 of the Indians as were
not to be brought within the jurisdiction of the Confed-
erate States District Courts 295 that were to be created
within the Indian country, the right was given to sue
and to implead in any of the courts of the several states.
To Indians generally of the great tribes was given the
right to be held competent as witnesses 296 in state courts,
and, if indicted there themselves, to subpoena witnesses
and to employ counsel. 297 The Cherokees, the Choc-
whether for business or pleasure, peaceably to travel the Creek country ;
and to drive their stock to market or otherwise through the same, and to
halt such reasonable time on the way as may be necessary to recruit their
stock, such delay being in good faith for that purpose.
ARTICLE xxm. It is also further agreed that the members of the
Creek Nation shall have the same right of travelling, driving stock and
halting to recruit the same in any of the Confederate States as is given
citizens of the Confederate States by the preceding aricle [p. 295].
292 Article LXV of the Creek Treaty, Article xxvi of the Choctaw and Chick-
asaw Treaty, Article xxxi of the Seminole Treaty, and Article xxn of the
Cherokee Treaty.
293 Article xvm of the Creek Treaty, Article xxv of the Choctaw and
Chickasaw Treaty, Article xix of the Seminole Treaty, and Article xxi of the
Cherokee Treaty.
294 Article LXV of the Creek Treaty and Article xxxi of the Seminole
Treaty.
205 Tush-ca-hom-ma at Boggy Depot and Cha-lah-ki at Tahlequah.
296 Article xxx of the Creek Treaty, Article XLIII of the Choctaw and
Chickasaw Treaty, Article xxx of the Seminole Treaty, and Article xxxv of
the Cherokee Treaty.
297 Article xxviii of the Creek Treaty, Article XLIV of the Choctaw and
Negotiations <with the Confederacy 173
taws, and the Chickasaws were also granted the right of
recovery 298 as against citizens of the Confederate States.
Should recovery not be possible, the Confederacy was
to stand the loss. But more than anything else recip-
rocal right of extradition was henceforth to be accorded.
This was to exist as between tribe and tribe 2 " and, with
some slight exceptions, as between tribe and state. An
examination of the various treaties reveals a steady de-
velopment in the matter of this concession. The Creek
Treaty, 300 which was the first to be negotiated, made
extradition a rather one-sided 301 affair. The tribe was
to yield the criminal to the state, but, not reciprocally,
the state to the tribe. This verbal inequality would not
have so much mattered had there been a possibility that
in the sequel it would have been interpreted, as in the
Chickasaw Treaty, Article xxvm of the Seminole Treaty, Article xxxm of the
Cherokee Treaty, Article xxxvi of the Osage Treaty, Article xxvil of the
Seneca and Shawnee Treaty, and Article xxvil of the Quapaw Treaty.
298 Article xxix of the Cherokee Treaty and Article XXIII of the Choctaw
and Chickasaw Treaty.
299 ARTICLE xxxi (Cherokee Treaty). Any person duly charged with a
criminal offence against the laws of either the Creek, Seminole, Choctaw
or Chickasaw Nations, and escaping into the jurisdiction of the Chero-
kee Nation, shall be promptly surrendered upon the demand of the proper
authority of the nation within whose jurisdiction the offence shall be
alleged to have been committed ; and in like manner, any person duly
charged with a criminal offence against the laws of the Cherokee Nation,
and escaping into the jurisdiction of either of the said nations, shall be
promptly surrendered upon the demand of the proper authority of the
Cherokee Nation [pp. 401-402].
Note the development from the corresponding extradition clause in the ear-
lier treaties of the series. In the Creek and Seminole treaties, extradition was
as between Creeks and Seminoles exclusively. In the Choctaw and Chickasaw
Treaty, it was as between Choctaws and Chickasaws exclusively. In this treaty
of the Cherokees, all the tribes were to be sharers in the extradition privilege ;
but it is difficult to understand how a clause in the Cherokee Treaty could be
made legally binding upon other Indians than Cherokee.
300 Article xxvi.
301 It was also a one-sided affair in the treaties of the Second Class. See
Article xxxiv of the Osage Treaty, Article XXV of the Seneca and Shawnee
Treaty, and Article xxv of the Quapaw Treaty.
174 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
states, in terms of executive courtesy and discretion;
but the chances were that a state would have made it
a matter of absolute obligation with the tribe. Reci-
procity 802 found its way into the second treaty, however,
and also into all the later ones of the First Class.
Finally, be it remarked, that as a climax to this series
of judicial concessions, full faith and credit 303 were to
be given by the one Indian nation or Confederate state,
as the case might be, to all legal processes, decisions,
and acts of the other.
There yet remain two provisions 304 of importance
that were intended to put the Indian nations on a basis
of equality with the states. They are provisions rather
particular in their nature, however, and, in their full
operation, would have affected Texas and Arkansas
much more nearly than any other members of the
Southern Confederacy. The first of these provisions is
to be found, as a grant of mutual rights, only in treaties
of the First Class and in two only of those, the Choc-
taw and Chickasaw and the Cherokee. The omis-
sion from the Creek and Seminole treaties was due,
most likely, to geographical conditions; but the lack of
reciprocity in the Osage, the one treaty of the Second
Class in which a suggestion of the provision occurs,
was just as surely due to the weakness of the tribe from
which the privilege was exacted. The provision com-
prehended the use of navigable streams within the
limits of the Confederacy and the Indians specified
302 Article xxxvil of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty [p. 320], and
Article xxxii of the Cherokee Treaty [p. 402].
303 Article xxxi of the Creek Treaty, Article XLVI of the Choctaw and
Chickasaw Treaty, Article xxxii of the Seminole Treaty, and Article xxxvi of
the Cherokee Treaty. Note that the enjoyment of the privilege by the Semin-
ole Nation was to be conditioned upon its own establishment of regular courts.
804 There were also secret articles to some of the treaties. The indications
are that such secret articles entailed the customary bribery of chiefs and influ-
ential men upon whose support depended successful negotiation.
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 175
were to have the same rights in the premises as the
citizens of the Confederate States. Osage 305 streams
and water courses were, however, to be open to white
people but not conversely Confederate waters to the
Osages. The clauses in treaties of the First Class, em-
bodying this provision, comprehended all navigable
streams whatsoever but had particular application to
the Red and Arkansas Rivers, the Choctaw 306 and
Chickasaw to the former and the Cherokee 307 to the
latter. The rights of ferrying on these streams were
to be open alike to white and red men living upon their
banks.
The second provision was couched in terms of general
amnesty. The Indians were to forgive wholesale the
citizens of the individual Confederate states for their
past offences and, reciprocally, the states were to forgive
and pardon the Indians for theirs, or, rather, the gov-
ernment of the Confederate States was to use its good
offices to persuade and induce them to do so. 308 The
Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty contained, in addition
to this general clause, a particular one bringing out
again the close connection with Texas and Arkansas.
It reads thus:
. . . And the Confederate States will especially request
the States of Arkansas and Texas to grant the like amnesty as
to all offences committed by Choctaw or Chickasaw against the
laws of those States respectively, and the Governor of each to
reprieve or pardon the same, if necessary. 309
Some evidence of the special interest Texas might
have in the matter came out rather prominently in the
305 Article VII of the Osage Treaty [p. 364].
806 Article xui of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty [p. 315].
307 Article IX of the Cherokee Treaty [p. 397].
308 Article LXVI of the Creek Treaty, Article XLIV of the Seminole, Article
LIII of the Cherokee.
309 Article LXIV [p. 330].
176 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
treaties of the Third Class, the amnesty in them was
particular while the amnesty in the treaties of the other
two classes was general. This is what the Wichita and
Comanche say:
It is distinctly understood by the said several tribes and
bands, that the State of Texas is one of the Confederate States,
and joins this Convention, and signs it when the Commissioner
signs it, and is bound by it; and all hostilities and enmities be-
tween it and them are now ended and are to be forgotten and
forgiven on both sides. 810
It soon developed that Texas was not pleased to find
her consent so thoroughly taken for granted and that
the Reserve Indians were no better satisfied. The en-
mity between the two continued as before.
As regarded the relations between the Indian tribes
and the Confederate States proper, the Pike treaties
were old law in so far as they duplicated the earlier
United States treaty arrangements and new law only
in so far as they met conditions incident to the war.
United States laws and treaties were specifically con-
tinued in force wherever possible, and, in most cases,
the name of the one government was simply substituted
for that of the other. Considerable emphasis was laid
upon the right of eminent domain. The Indians con-
ceded to the Confederacy the power to establish agency
reserves, 311 military posts 812 and fortifications, to main-
810 Article XL of the Wichita Treaty and Article X of the Comanche.
311 Article XI of the Creek Treaty, Article xvi of the Choctaw and Chick-
asaw Treaty, Article XI of the Serainole Treaty, Article xill of the Cherokee
Treaty, Article iv of the Osage Treaty, Article V of the Seneca and Shawnee
Treaty, and Article iv of the Quapaw Treaty.
312 Article xn of the Creek Treaty, Article xvn of the Choctaw and Chick-
asaw Treaty, Article XII of the Seminole Treaty, Article xiv of the Cherokee
Treaty, Article V of the Osage Treaty, Article vi of the Seneca and Shawnee
Treaty, and Article v of the Quapaw Treaty. After the war the posts in cer-
tain specified cases were to be garrisoned by native troops.
Negotiations with the Confederacy 177
tain post and military roads, 313 and to grant the right
of way, 314 upon payment of an indemnity, 315 to certain
corporations for purposes of internal improvement,
mainly railway and telegraph lines. Most of this
would have contributed very materially to the good of
the southern cause in guarding one of the approaches
to Texas and in increasing the convenience of communi-
cation. The Confederate States assumed the wardship
of the tribes, exacted a pledge of loyalty from the
weaker and one of alliance, 318 offensive and defensive,
but without the entail of pecuniary responsibility, from
the stronger. In its turn, the Confederacy promised to
the Indians many things, deserving of serious mention
and far too important for mere enumeration. As a
matter of fact, the South paid pretty dearly, from the
view-point of historical consistency, for its Indian alli-
ance. In the light of Indian political history, it yielded
far more than at first glance appears and, as a conse-
quence, the great tribes gained nearly everything that
they had been contending for for half a century.
As has just been intimated, the concessions made by
the Confederacy to the Indians were somewhat sig-
nificant. In addition to the things noted a few para-
graphs back, congressional delegates, control of trade,
and others of like import, Pike, the lawyer commis-
sioner and the man of justice, promised the establish-
ment of Confederate States courts within the Indian
country. There were to be tw r o of them, one in the
313 The reference is the same as the foregoing with two exceptions ; viz.,
Article xxvni of the Osage Treaty and Article xx of the Quapaw Treaty.
314 Article xin of the Creek Treaty, Article xvni of the Choctaw and
Chickasaw Treaty, and Article xni of the Seminole Treaty.
315 The provision in the Osage Treaty was one exception to this. It was
definitely said there that there should be no compensation.
316 The details of this will come out in the chapter following.
1 78 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Choctaw country 317 and one in the Cherokee. 318 They
were to be District Courts with a limited Circuit Court
jurisdiction. The importance of the concession cannot
well be over-estimated; for it struck at the root of one
of the chief Indian grievances. The territorial extent
of the districts was left a little vague and the jurisdiction
was not fairly distributed. Here again we have an illus-
tration of might conditioning right. The Osages, 319 the
Senecas and Shawnees, 320 and the Quapaws 321 were all
brought within the limits of the Cha-lah-ki, or Cher-
okee district, but it is not clear that, as far as they
were concerned, any other offences than those against
the Fugitive Slave 322 laws, were to come within the
317 ARTICLE xxxvm (Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty). In order to
secure the due enforcement of so much of the laws of the Confederate
States in regard to criminal offences and misdemeanors as is or may be
in force in the said Choctaw and Chickasaw country, and to prevent
the Choctaws and Chickasaws from being further harassed by judicial
proceedings had in foreign courts and before juries not of the vicinage,
the said country is hereby erected into and constituted a judicial district
of the Confederate States to be called the Tush-ca-hom-ma District,
for the special purposes and jurisdiction hereinafter provided; and there
shall be created and semi-annually held, within such district, at Boggy
Depot, a district court of the Confederate States, with the powers of a
circuit court, so far as the same shall be necessary to carry out the pro-
visions of this treaty, and with jurisdiction co-extensive with the limits
of such district, in such matters, civil and criminal, to such extent and
between such parties as may be prescribed by law, and in conformity to
the terms of this treaty [p. 320].
Articles xxxix, XL, XLI, and XLII more specifically define the jurisdiction.
318 See Article xxm of the Cherokee Treaty, and, for the jurisdiction of the
court, see Articles xxiv, xxv, and XXVL
319 Article xxxv.
320 Article xxvi.
321 Article xxvi.
322 In other ways than this, the treaties with the minor tribes stressed the
"peculiar institution." Consider, for instance, in the matter of extradition, how
it was not the criminal generally, but only the fugitive slave that was to be
reciprocally extradited. Moreover, as a rule, the weak tribes all pledged them-
selves to try to return negroes and other property and were assured that ne-
groes should come under the jurisdiction of tribal laws.
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 179
purview of the court. The Wichitas and Comanches
were left entirely unassigned, although naturally, they
would have come within the Tush-ca-hom-ma, or Choc-
taw district.
The Confederacy reinstituted the agency system and
continued it with modifications. These modifications
were in line with reiterated complaints of the Indians.
They restricted the government patronage to some ex-
tent and, in certain instances, allowed a good deal of
tribal control. As a general thing, to each tribe was
allowed one agent and to each language, one interpreter.
An exception to the first provision was to be found
wherever it had been found under the earlier regime.
Thus there was a single agent for the Choctaws and
Chickasaws, another for the fragmentary tribes of the
Leased District, and another for those of the Neosho
River country. In the minor treaties, it was stipulated,
for very evident and very sound reasons, most of them
based upon experiences of past neglect, that the agent
should be faithful in the performance of his duties, that
he should reside at his agency continually, and never
be absent for long at a time or without good and suffi-
cient cause.
There were also certain things the Indians were for-
bidden to do, many of them familiar to us in any ordi-
nary Bill of Rights and having reference to ex-post
facto laws, laws impairing the obligation of contracts,
due process of law, and the like. The Confederacy,
in turn, bound itself not to allow farming on govern-
ment reserves or settlement there except under certain
conditions and not to treat 323 with Cherokee factions.
It inserted into the treaties with the minor tribes the
usual number of civilization clauses, promising agri-
323 Article U [p. 395].
180 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
cultural and industrial support; and into the Cherokee
some things that were entirely new, notably a provision
that the congressional delegation from each of the great
tribes should have the right to nominate a youth to
membership in any military academy that might be
established. 32 * It also promised to maintain a postal
system throughout the Indian country, one that should
be, in every particular, a part of the postal system of
the Confederate States with the same rates, stamps, and
so on. To the Cherokees, it promised the additional
privilege 825 of having the postmasters selected and ap-
pointed from among their own people. From the fore-
going analysis of the treaties, it is clearly seen that the
characteristic feature of them all was conciliation and
conciliation written very, very large. Of the great
tribes, the Confederacy asked an alliance full and com-
plete; of the middle tribes, such as the Osage, it asked
a limited alliance and peace; and of the most insig-
nificant tribes it asked simply peace but that it was
prepared, not only to ask, but, if need be, to demand.
Between the Cherokees and the Wichitas, there was a
wide, wide gulf and one that could be measured only
in terms of political and military importance.
So much for the contents of the treaties but what
about the detailed history of their negotiation? When
Albert Pike first came within reach of the Indian coun-
try, he communicated 326 officially or semi-officially
324 Article LII [p. 410].
325 Article xxxix [p. 403].
426 Without doubt some preliminary sounding of Leeper must have preceded
the accompanying document. Pike would hardly have written with such
assurance or given such instructions unless he had been very sure of his ground.
FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS, 26th May 1861.
SIR: I have been appointed by the President of the Confederate
States of America Commissioner to the Indian Tribes West of Arkansas,
with discretionary powers, for the purpose cf making treaties of alii-
Negotiations with the Confederacy 181
with the men belonging or recently belonging to the
Indian field service, agents and agency employees, or,
at least, with those of them that were known as Con-
federate sympathizers. A few very necessary changes
ance with them, and of enlisting troops to act with the forces of the
Confederate States.
In the exercise of the powers entrusted to me, I hereby authorize and
request you to exercise the powers of Agent for the Wichitas and other
Indians in the Country leased from the Choctaws and Chickasaws, until
you shall receive a regular commission therefor. Your compensation
will be the same as that received from the United States, to commence
from the day when you resigned as agent of the United States.
And you are hereby instructed forthwith to repair to your agency,
and to inform the Indians under your charge that the Confederate States
of America will take you themselves and fully comply with all the obli-
gations entered into by the United States in their behalf; securing and
paying all that may be due them from injury; and especially that they
will continue to supply them with rations, as it has heretofore been
done, until they shall no longer need to be supplied.
You will also please inform them that I shall in a short time be
among them, to enter into a treaty with them, on the part of the Con-
federate States.
You will impress upon them that the people of Texas are now a part
of the Confederate States, and must no longer be looked upon as enemies:
and if any troops from Texas should come within your jurisdiction, you
will particularly warn them against doing any harm to the Indians un-
der your charge.
You will make known to the Delawares, and if practicable to the
Kickapoos, that it is my desire, and I have authority, to enlist a battalion
of 350 men, of the Delawares, Kickapoos, and Shawnees, and will es-
pecially assure the Kickapoos, that if they have any cause of complaint
against any of the people of Texas, it will be inquired into, and repara-
tion made, and that they must in no case commit any act of hostility
against Texas.
I shall be greatly obliged to you for all assistance you can render
in securing the services in arms of the Kickapoos and Delawares. They
will be paid like other mounted men, receiving 40 cents a day for use
and risk of their horse, in addition to their pay, rations, and clothing.
I need not say that I place much reliance on your zeal and intelligence
and assure you that your services will not fail to be appreciated by the
Government of the Confederate States. Most respectfully yours
ALBERT PIKE, Comm r C.S.A. to the
Indian Tribes, West of Arkansas.
Matthew Leeper Esq.
Leeper Papers.
1 82 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
had been made in the service with the inauguration of
President Lincoln but the changes were not always such
as could, in any wise, have strengthened the Federal
position. First, as regards the southern superintend-
ency, an attempt had been made to find a successor to
Elias Rector 327 at about the same time that Harrison
327 It is not clear as to just when Elias Rector left the United States ser-
vice or when he entered the Confederate. The Indian Office in Washington
was communicating with him officially for some little time after Griffith had
been notified of his appointment. There seems no reason to doubt that Rector
was working in the interests of the Southern Confederacy all through the
spring of 1861 ; and, when he went over openly to the South, he did not close
his accounts with the United States Indian Office. He was accordingly re-
garded as a defaulter and there was talk of confiscating his property at Fort
Smith [W. G. Coffin to Dole, January 29, 1864, General Files, Southern Su-
perintendency, 1863-1864, 1640; Dole to Usher, February 2, 1864, Indian Office,
Report Book, no. 13, p. 297].
In the course of his official connection with the United States government
Elias Rector had frequently been accused of irregularities and even of crook-
edness [General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ci222]. As
touching the Seminole removal from Florida, he had much that was peculiar
to explain away. Apparently he quite frequently made queer contracts, was
given to making over-charges for mileage and to favoring his friends at the
expense of the Indians and of the government. In 1861, he rendered a vouch-
er showing he had paid a certain Henry Pape $6000.00 for building the
Wichita Agency house. On various matters connected with his official record,
see Rector's Letter Press Book and Indian Office, Letter Books, no. 64, p. 342 ;
no. 65, p. 49 ; no. 66, p. 26. In 1865, Rector made application to be allowed
to straighten out his accounts [J. B. Luce to Cooley, November 2, 1865].
Returning, however, to the subject of Rector's incumbency: on the twelfth
of June, 1861, he wrote quite frankly to John Schoenmaker, principal of the
Osage Mission,
. . . I have no connection at this time with the Indian Depart-
ment under the old U. S. Government. I am now acting as Superin-
tendent under the Government of the Confederate States, and as no
treaties have as yet been concluded between the Southern confederacy
and the tribes of Indians with whom you are engaged I of course can
say nothing to you on the subject matter of your letter. . . - General
Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862.
The Confederate southern Superintendency had not at the time been filled,
but Rector seems to have been considered the most competent candidate.
Johnson, in recommending various men to Walker for various positions, rec-
ommended Rector in strong terms of implied commendation,
Dr. Griffith wants to be appointed superintendent in place of E.
Negotiations with the Confederacy 183
B. Branch 328 of Missouri had been appointed central
superintendent in the stead of A. M. Robinson. The
man chosen was Samuel L. Griffith 329 of Fort Smith
to whom the new Secretary of the Interior, Caleb B.
Smith, telegraphed on the fifth of April, tendering the
position. Similarly by wire, on the ninth, Griffith
accepted; and, on the tenth, explained 330 the delay in
the following letter:
Being a member of our State Convention on the Union side, I
hesitated a day or two, as to the propriety of accepting, fearing
it might affect the union cause, but on mature deliberation and
counsel with union friends, and on the receipt of a memorial
signed by a large number of names of men of all parties, I con-
cluded to accept. . .
Col. W. H. Garret Agt. for the Creeks, passed through this
place on the 8th. . .
Col. S. Rutherford left here this morning for his agency
(the Seminole). I desired him to ascertain on his way through
the Creek and Choctaw Nations, the facts, as to the rumor that
two men from Texas were in the Creek Nation for the purpose
of meeting the several nations in Council &c. and to report to
me immediately. . .
Dr. Griffith's solicitude for the Union interests appar-
Rector. Do not allow this to be done. Hold everything as it is until
peace and unity are attained, and then make all the changes you think
proper; but not now - not now, by all manner of means.
I do earnestly beg you to keep your agencies as they were. They
are good and true men, and popular and qualified with the tribes and
their business. Restore and commission Elias Rector, superintendent;
John Crawford, Cherokee agent; William Quesenbury, Creek agent;
Samuel M. Rutherford, Seminole agent; and Matthew Leeper, Wichita
agent; and if Cooper has resigned (which I fear is the case), appoint
Richard P. Pulliam (who is the next best living man on earth for the
place, I believe) as agent of the Choctaws. With this programme you
will have peace and success; without it, no one can tell your troubles
or our misfortunes on this frontier. . . - Official Records, first ser.,
vol. iii, 598.
328 Dole to Robinson, April 9, 1861 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 65, 323].
329 Dole to Rector, April 6, 1861 [ibid., p. 317],
330 General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, 6463.
184 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
ently soon vanished. On the twentieth of April, he
wrote 831 that, "under the circumstances," he could not
hold office. Coffin of Indiana was then selected 332 for
the place of southern superintendent and, in a very
little while, Griffith was among the applicants 333 for
the corresponding position in the Confederate States.
Between the dates of the two activities, morever, he had
been appointed by the Arkansas Convention one of the
three special agents to interview the Indian tribes in
the interests of secession. That was on the tenth of
May.
The changes in the agency incumbents proved equally
temporary and unfortunate. Particularly was this the
case with two determined 334 upon on the sixth of April.
Four days later, William Quesenbury 335 of Fayetteville,
Arkansas was notified that he had been appointed to
succeed William H. Garrett as agent for the Creeks,
and John Crawford 339 of the same place that he had
been appointed to succeed Robert J. Cowart as agent
for the Cherokees. Both went over to the Confederacy.
Nothing else could well have been expected of Craw-
ford, or of Quesenbury either for that matter, and it is
rather surprising that their past records were not more
thoroughly examined. Quesenbury, like Richard P.
Pulliam, was a sort of protege of Elias Rector.
Pulliam had been Rector's clerk in the office and
331 General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, 6463.
332 Smith to Dole, May 4, 1861 ; Dole to Rector, May 9, 1861 [Indian Office,
Letter Book, no. 65, p. 440].
833 Johnson to Walker, June 25, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii,
598]-
S3* Caleb B. Smith to Dole, April 6, 1861 [General Files, Southern Super-
lntendency, 1859-1862}.
335 Dole to Quesenbury [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 65, p. 330]. In
the middle of the summer, George A. Cutler became United States agent for
the Creeks [ibid., no. 66, p. 200].
336 Dole to Crawford [ibid., no. 65, p. 331].
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 185
Quesenbury his clerk in the field. 337 Crawford had been
very prominent 388 in the Arkansas legislature the pre-
ceding winter in the expression of ideas and sentiments
hostile to Abraham Lincoln. He accepted the office of
Cherokee agent under Lincoln, notwithstanding, and he
subsequently said 339 that he did so because the Indians
would not have liked a northern man to come among
them. Before Crawford's commission arrived, Cowart
had departed 340 and Cherokee affairs were in dire con-
fusion. 3 * 1 John J. Humphreys 3 * 2 of Tennessee had
337 Rector to Greenwood, August 31, 1860 [Letter Press Book}.
338 November 27, 1860, he voted in the affirmative on a resolution against
Lincoln's election and against the advisability of Arkansas members of Con-
gress taking their seats during his administration [Arkansas House Journal,
thirteenth session, 1860-1861, p. 234].
839 On the thirteenth of June, when Crawford wrote, resigning his com-
mission, he said in extenuation of his conduct,
I only accepted through the influence of friends knowing then the
Cherokee Indians was Southern in their feelings and did not wish a
Northern man sent among them to act as Agent & as the Government
of the Southern Confederacy has in their wisdom thought best to take
charge of all the Indian Tribes south of Kansas and the Indians all be-
ing anxious to join in with the South and oppose to the bitter end the
course now pursued by the Northern Government - 1 most respectfully
decline acting as agent for the Cherokee Indians under the Adminis-
tration of A. Lincoln. - CRAWFORD to Dole, June 13, 1861 [General Files,
Cherokee, 1859-1865, Ci376].
84 Crawford to Dole, May 20, 1861 [ibid.'].
341 The excitement here is at an alarming pitch for the last few days
I trust to God that those in power will do something to settle this in-
terruption in the government and something must be done soon or War
will ensue troops were drilling here last night at ten oclock, State
troops, strong talk of attacking Fort Smith the President of the Con-
vention has called the Convention to meet on the 6th day of May and
the State will seceed if there is not something done immediately per-
haps war will be commenced before you receive my letter though I trust
not. I should very much to know that the North and South were en-
gaged in a war, if you can do anything to have those troubles settled
use your influence with the President in calling a national convention
or something else to have peace. . . - CRAWFORD to Dole, dated Van
Buren, April 21, 1861 [General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, CiO44].
342 Smith to Dole, April 20, 1861 [General Files, Wichita, f86o-l86r,
1320].
1 86 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
meanwhile been offered the Wichita Agency 3 * 3 and
Peter P. Elder 344 of Kansas, the Neosho River. The
Choctaw and Chickasaw Agency seems to have been
left vacant. Truth to tell, there was no longer any such
agency under United States control. Cooper had
thrown in his lot with the secessionists and was already
working actively in their cause.
The defection of Douglas H. Cooper, United States
agent for the Choctaws and the Chickasaws, can not be
passed by so very lightly; for it had such far reaching
effects. The time came during and after the war, when
the United States Indian Office came to have in its
possession various documents 345 that proved conclu-
sively that Douglas H. Cooper had been most instru-
mental in organizing the secession movement among the
Indians of at least his own agency. It was even re-
ported 346 that material was forthcoming to show how
he "was engaged in raising troops for the Rebel Army,
during the months of April, May, and June, 1861, while
holding the office of U.S. Indian Agent." His suc-
cessor had been appointed considerably before the end
of that time, however, and, when the war was over, the
Indians themselves exonerated him from all responsi-
bility in the matter of their own defection. 347 Not-
withstanding, he most certainly did manifest unusual
activity in behalf of the slaveholding power. Even his
343 Some slight account of the Wichita Agency and of Agent Leeper's de-
fection has already been narrated. A number of documents elucidating the
subject are to be found in the "Appendix."
344 Dole to Elder, April 29, 1861 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 65, pp.
390-391] ; Mix to Elder, August 22, 1861 [ibid., no. 66, pp. 283-284].
345 See, for instance, Stockton to Usher, February 20, 1864 [General Files,
Southern Superintendency, 1863-1864].
346 See Isaac Coleman, United States Indian agent, to Superintendent Elijah
Sells, a copy of which letter is retained in the Office of Indian Affairs, the
original having been sent to the office of the United States attorney-general,
October 10, 1865.
347 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, pp. 310, 345.
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 187
motives for manifesting activity are, in a sense, im-
pugned as instanced by the following most extraordi-
nary letter, which, written by Cooper to Rector pri-
vately and in confidence and later transmitted to Wash-
ington out of the ordinary course of official business, has
already been quoted once for the purpose of forming a
correct estimate of the recipient's character. It is grat-
ifying to know that such letters are very rare in connec-
tion with the history of the American Civil War.
Private & Confidential
[Copy] FORT SMITH May ist 1861.
MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR
Dr. Sir : I have concluded to act upon the suggestion yours
of the 28th Ultimo contains.
If we work this thing shrewdly we can make a fortune each,
satisfy the Indians, stand fair before the North, and revel in
the unwavering confidence of our Southern Confederacy.
My share of the eighty thousand in gold 348 you can leave on
deposite with Meyer Bro. subject to my order. Write me soon.
COOPER.
348 The reference is, presumably, to a portion of the money that the United
States government had allowed the Choctaws in satisfaction of claims arising
under the treaties of 1830 and 1855 [Act of March 2, 1861, U. S. Statutes at
Large, vol. xii, 238]. The episode of the Corn Contract was directly con-
nected with the expenditure of the money. For documents bearing upon it,
see Land Files, Choctaw, 1874-1876, Box 39, CioyS, particularly documents
labelled "N," "O," and "P." Document "N" is a communication from Albert
Pike to the General Council of the Choctaw Nation, received at the June ses-
sion, 1861, and is most interesting as showing how Pike mixed up private and
public business and, indeed, gave to private the preference.
FRIENDS AND BROTHERS: You are aware that since the year 1854
M r John T. Cochrane and myself, aided by Col. Cooper your agent and
by your delegates, have been engaged at Washington in prosecuting the
just claims of your people under the treaty of 1830 before the Govern-
ment of the United States.
We have succeeded in procuring a final award of the Senate, giving
you the net proceeds of all the lands which you ceded by that treaty, and
a Report from the Committee of Indian Affairs, estimating the sum due
you at over two millions three hundred thousand dollars.
At the last session of Congress, we succeeded in procuring an ap-
$8 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
When Captain Pike 349 reached the North Fork Vil-
propriation on account of this debt of $250,000 in money and $250,000
in bonds of the United States.
Owing to the unfortunate difficulties between the Northern and South-
ern States, one hundred and thirty-eight thousand dollars, only, of the
sums, has been paid, $135,000 of which was placed in your Agent's
hands, ostensibly to purchase corn ; and most of it remains unexpended.
Towards my expenses while prosecuting your claims and towards
my fee, I have received the sum of sixteen hundred dollars. My ex-
penses alone, in four years have been five thousand dollars.
I have had to abandon my other business, to attend to yours: and un-
less some part of my compensation is paid, or my expenses repaid me,
my property will have to be sold to pay my debts. I am entirely
without money, and have you only to look to.
I have labored for you very faithfully; and am sure your Delegates
will tell you that, but for me your claims would never have been al-
lowed; and but for me, after they were allowed, the appropriation
would not have been obtained.
The whole of the claims will be paid whenever peace is restored,
either by the United States, or by the Confederate Southern States. I
shall take it in charge and never desert you until all is paid.
I respectfully and earnestly request you to cause to be paid to me,
out of the moneys now in the Agent's hands, for my expenses, and on
account of my fee, such sum of money as you may think just and right;
and which I hope will not be less than seven thousand five hundred
dollars.
I also desire to inform you that I have been appointed by the
President of the Confederate States, a Commissioner to your Nation, and
all the other Nations and Tribes west of Arkansas ; that I shall at the
proper time come among you to counsel with you, and that I shall take
your interests in charge, and see that your title to your lands, and all
annuities, and other moneys due you by the United States are assumed
and guaranteed by the Confederate States. On this you may implicitly
rely; as it is the promise of one who never breaks his word.
Let your people therefore, and the Chickasaws remain perfectly quiet
until the proper time arrives, and look to me for advice. If any em-
issaries from Arkansas come among you, hear them and say nothing.
So it is that wise men do. The State of Arkansas has nothing whatever
to do with you, and cannot protect you. The Confederate States are
both able and willing to do so; and when they have guaranteed your
rights, it will be time enough for you to act. Your friend
(signed) ALBERT PIKE.
Office of the National Secretary of the Choctaw Nation.
[Endorsement] I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy
from the original letter from Albert Pike on file in the National Secre-
tary's Office.
Negotiations with the Confederacy
lage, very probably still attended by the escort that the
Given under my hand and official seal. Done at Chahta Tamaha,
November it A.D. 1873.
(signed) JNO. P. TURNBULL, National Secretary Choctaw Nation.
349 Pike's programme of operations is outlined in his letter to Toombs of
May 29, 1861:
SIR: I leave this morning for Tahlequah, the seat of government of
the Cherokee Nation, and Park Hill, the residence of Governor Ross,
the principal chief. Since 1835 there have always been two parties in
the Cherokee Nation, bitterly hostile to each other. The treaty of that
year was made by unauthorized persons, against the will of the large
majority of the nation and against that of the chief, Mr. Ross. Several
years ago Ridge, Boudinot, and others, principal men of the treaty
party, were killed, with, it was alleged, the sanction of Mr. Ross, and
the feud is today as bitter as it was twenty years ago. The full-blooded
Indians are mostly adherents of Ross, and many of them-i,ooo to 1,500
it is alleged - are on the side of the North. I think that number is ex-
aggerated. The half-breeds or white Indians (as they call themselves)
are to a man with us. It has all along been supposed, or at least sus-
pected, that Mr. Ross would side with the North. His declarations are
in favor of neutrality. But I am inclined to believe that he is acting
upon the policy (surely a wise one) of not permitting his people to com-
mit themselves until he has formal guarantees from an authorized agent
of the Confederate States. These I shall give him if he will accept
them. General McCulloch will be with me, and I strongly hope that
we shall satisfy him, and effect a formal and firm treaty. If so, we
shall have nearly the whole nation with us, and those who are not will
be unimportant. If he refuses he will learn that his country will be oc-
cupied ; and I shall then negotiate with the leaders of the half-breeds
who are now raising troops, and who will meet me at the Creek Agency
on Friday of next week. Several of those living near here I have al-
ready seen.
On Wednesday of next week I will meet the chiefs of the Creeks at
the North Fork of the Canadian. I will then fix a day for a council of
the Creeks, and go on to meet the Choctaws at Fort Washita. When I
shall have concluded an arrangement with them I will go to the Chick-
asaw Country, and thence to the Seminoles.
I hope to meet the heads of the Wichitas, Caddos, lowas, Toncawes,
Delawares, Kickapoos, and Reserve Comanches at Fort Washita. I have
requested their agent to induce them to meet me there. The Creek
chiefs have a council with the wild Indians, Comanches and others,
high up on the North Fork of the Canadian, on the loth proximo. I
shall endeavor, through the Creek chiefs, to have an interview with the
heads of the wild tribes at Fort Washita and induce them to come in
and settle on the reserve upon the False Washita River near Fort Cobb.
As I shall be absent from this post some six weeks or more, it is not
190 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Military Board of Arkansas had graciously -or per-
haps officially since Pike, according to his own con-
likely that I shall be able to give you frequent advice of my move-
ments. There are no mails in the Indian country and I shall have to
employ expresses when I desire to send on letters.
We shall have no difficulty with the Creeks, Seminoles, Choctaws,
and Chickasaws, either in effecting treaties or raising troops. The
greatest trouble will be in regard to arms. Not one in ten of either of
the tribes has a gun at all, and most of the guns are indifferent double-
barreled. I do not know whether the Bureau of Indian Affairs is a part
of the Department of State, and of course whether this is properly ad-
dressed to you. I do not address the Commissioner because I under-
stand he is on his way hither. The suggestions I wish to make are im-
portant and I venture to hope that you will give them their proper
direction. I have already spoken of arms for the Indians. Those arms,
if possible, should be the plain muzzle-loading rifle, large bore, with
molds for conical bullets hollowed at the truncated end, which I suppose
to be the minie-ball. Revolvers, I am aware, cannot be had, and an
Indian would not pick up a musket if it lay in the road.
Our river is falling and will soon be low, when steam-boats will not
be able to get above Little Rock, if even there. To embody the Indians
and, collecting them together, keep them long without arms would dis-
gust them, and they would scatter over the country like partridges and
never be got together again. The arms should, therefore, be sent here
with all speed.
No funds have been remitted to me, nor have I any power to pro-
cure or draw for any, for my expenses or for those of the councils I
must hold. It has always been customary for the Indians to be fed at
such councils, and they will expect it. I have borrowed $300 of Mr.
Charles B. Johnson, giving him a draft on the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, for incidental expenses, and if I have a council at Fort Washita
shall contract with him to feed the Indians. I have seen Elias Rector,
late superintendent of Indian affairs at Fort Smith, and William Quesen-
bury, appointed agent for the Creeks by the Government at Washing-
ton, but who did not accept, and Samuel M. Rutherford, agent for the
Seminoles, who forwards his resignation immediately; and have writ-
ten to Matthew Leeper, agent for the Wichitas and other Reserve In-
dians; and have formally requested each to continue to exercise the
powers of his office under the Confederate States. They are all citizens
of Arkansas and Texas and have readily consented to do so.
If we have declared a protectorate over these tribes and extended
our laws over them we have, I suppose, continued in force there the
whole system. Even if we have not we cannot dispense with the super-
intendent and agents. I shall also see Mr. Crawford, agent for the
Cherokees, and request him to continue to act, as I have requested
Colonel Cooper to do as agent for the Choctaws and Chickasaws. Un-
less all this \vere done there would be both discontent and confusion,
Negotiations with the Confederacy 191
fession, was acting as commissioner from Arkansas 350 as
well as from the Confederacy- furnished 351 him, 352 he
found the Creeks awaiting his approach with some
anxiety. Among them were Motey Kennard, 358 prin-
and I therefore earnestly request that my action may be immediately
confirmed and these officers assured that they shall be continued, and
that their compensation shall be the same as under the United States
and date from the day of the resignation of each or of his acceptance of
office under the Confederate States. And I also strenuously urge that no
changes be made in these offices. The incumbents are all good men and
true, competent, and honest, and are, or will be, very acceptable to the
Indians. To make changes will be to make mischief.
Mr. Charles B. Johnson is feeding the Wichitas and other Reserve
Indians under a contract which ends on the 3oth of June. I have in-
structed him to continue feeding them during the present season under
the same contract, i.e., on the same terms, which I know to be reasonable.
It is very important that some funds should be at my disposition.
The State of Arkansas has furnished me an escort of a company and
General McCulloch has procured me transportation. To meet contin-
gent expenses it is necessary that at least $1000 should be placed here
subject to my draft; and, as I have several times urged, money should
be placed in the proper hands to pay a bounty to each Indian that en-
lists.
I wish I had more definite instructions and power more distinctly
expressed, especially power in so many words to make treaties and give
all necessary guarantees. For without giving them nothing can be done,
and I am [not] sure that John Ross will be satisfied with my statement
or assurance that I have the power, or with anything less than a formal
authority from the Congress. He is very shrewd. If I fail with him
it will not be my fault.
I have the honor to be, sir, very truly and respectfully, yours,
ALBERT PIKE, Commissioner, &c.
Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 359-361.
350 Pike to Cooley, February 17, 1866.
351 Official Records, first sen, vol. liii, supplement, 688.
352 A military escort had also been furnished by the Arkansas Military
Board to General McCulloch [ibid., 687].
353 Motey, or Moty, Kennard is occasionally spoken of, in the records, as
the principal chief of the entire Creek Nation. The tribe was, however, very
sharply divided into the Lower and the Upper Creeks. Their differences had
been accentuated by the unpleasant and even dishonorable and tragic circum-
stances of their removal from Georgia and Alabama. The Lower Creeks rep-
resented the faction that had stood back of William Mclntosh and that had
consented to the fraudulent treaty of Indian Springs, the Upper Creeks were
the dissenters [Abel, History of Indian Consolidation, chapters vi and vii;
Phillips, Georgia and State Rights, 56-57].
192 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
cipal chief of the Lower Creeks, and Echo Harjo, prin-
cipal chief of the Upper Creeks, both of whom had
been absent 354 in Washington at the time the intertribal
council of the spring had been planned. They had
gone to Washington, in company with John G.
Smith, as a delegation, greatly concerned about the
prospect of Creek finances and the continuance of
Creek integrity should the quarrel between the
North and the South continue. Greenwood had tried
to reassure them; but, when shortly afterwards, all
Indian allowances were suspended 355 by the United
States Indian Office for fear that remittances might
fall, en route, into the hands of the disaffected, the
distrust and the dissatisfaction of the Indians revived
and increased, thus rendering them peculiarly suscept-
ible to the plausible secessionist arguments of men like
Agent Garrett Sometime in May, therefore, a dele-
gation was sent to Montgomery 356 to confer with au-
thorities of the Confederate States, who by the time of
the arrival of the Creeks had moved on to Richmond.
At the North Fork Village, everything seemed to be
working in Pike's favor. There was scarcely a white
man 857 around who was willing to say a word for the
North; and leading Indians, who were known to be
anti-secessionists, were away 358 treating with the Indians
354 Letter from Greenwood to the Delegation, February 4, 1861 [Indian
Office, Letter Book, no. 65, pp. 140-141].
355 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861. Note that as early as
March 18, 1861, Secretary Smith had ordered the suspension of the issuance
of all requisitions to ordinary disbursing officers in the seceding states. This
order probably affected indirectly even the Indian Territory [Smith to com-
missioner of Indian affairs, March 18, 1861, Miscellaneous Files, 1858-1863'].
356 Governor Thomas O. Moore of Louisiana to President Davis, May 31,
1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 588].
357 See letter of W. S. Robertson to the Secretary of the Interior [General
Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, 1*1664].
858 See statement of the "Loyal" Creek Delegation at the Fort Smith Coun-
Negotiations with the Confederacy 193
of the Plains. Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la, who was to become
the stanch leader of the opposition, was not with the
absentees, it would seem; but then that, at the time, did
not so much signify because he was not a ranking chief
and so had little influence. 359 On the tenth of July,
the treaty that Pike and the Creek commissioners had
been working on for days was finally submitted for
signature and the names of Motey Kennard, Echo
Harjo, Chilly Mclntosh, Samuel Checote and many
cil, September, 1865 [Land Files, Indian Talks, Councils, etc., 1865-1866, Box
4; Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, pp. 328-329].
359 Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la was nevertheless a very prominent man among the
Upper Creeks and had been prominent even before the exodus from Georgia
and Alabama. At all events he was sufficiently prominent to protest with
others against the transportation contracts that had been made by the War
Department [Lewis Cass to Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la and other Creek chiefs, dated
Tuckabatchytown, Alabama, January 27, 1836]. Again in 1838, Opoeth-le-yo-
ho-la headed a party of protest, that time against the selling of certain Creek
lands left unsold at the time of emigration [Creek Reservation Papers, 25].
Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la seems to have been one of the assassins of William
Mclntosh ; that is, if the subjoined statement of Acting-superintendent William
Armstrong is to be trusted:
CHOCTAW AGENCY August 31, 1836
C. A. HARRIS Esqr, Com 1 " of Ind Affairs,
Sir: The first party of emigrating Creeks are now on the opposite
side of the river Arkansas, on their way up. I shall leave tomorrow so
as to meet them at Gibson; while there, I will see the Mclntosh party
and endeavor to learn the state of feelings amongst the several parties.
Many threats have been made ; and much dissatisfaction manifested by
both Chilly & Roily Mclntosh, the latter has sworn to kill A-po-the-ho-lo
who was concerned in taking the life of his Father. Roily Mclntosh
and the other Chiefs now over, are opposed to Ne-a-math-la the Chief
who is with the party emigrating, upon the ground mainly that they
may probably be superseded, or their authority abridged. I will how-
ever report to you, fully, after I shall have informed myself, of the state
of feeling &c, and will endeavor with Gen 1 Arbuckle, to bring about a
reconciliation. Respectfully Your Obt Servt
WM ARMSTRONG Act Supt West n Tery
War Department Files, A$j.
Early in the forties, Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la posed as a trader in the Creek
country. He was the partner of J. W. Taylor, a white man. The company
so composed failed, in 1843, "to give bond and license" and so Agent J. L.
Dawson closed its store [Communication of J. L. Dawson, September 5, 1843,
War Department Files, 11537].
194 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
other less prominent Creeks were attached to it. On
the twentieth, the general council approved it and more
names were attached, that of Jacob Derrysaw being
among them. On one or the other occasion, several
white men signed. William Quesenbury, who was
acting as Pike's secretary, Agent Garrett, Interpreter G.
W. Stidham, 360 and W. L. Pike. Soon came the return
of the travellers and much subsequent commotion.
They expressed themselves as opposed to the whole
proceeding, yet three of them found that, in their ab-
sence, their names had been forged 361 to the document
that was passing as a treaty between the Creeks and the
Confederate States. The three whose names were
forged were, Ok-ta-ha-hassee Harjo (better known
subsequently as "Sands" and who became in reconstruc-
tion days the great rival of Samuel Checote for the
office of principal chief), Tallise Fixico, and Mikko
Hutke. It is a matter of dispute what course Opoeth-
le-yo-ho-la had taken 362 in the treaty conference but not
what he did afterwards; for he became the intrepid
360 G. W. Stidham was probably a half-breed. Naturally, being the official
interpreter, he signed as the interpreter and not as a member of the tribe.
361 \\r e mc loyal Creek Indians represented by the Delegation now
present, solemnly declare that the Treaty of July 10, 1861 was alone
made by the rebel portion of the Creek Indians, and never was executed
or assented to by the Union portion of the Nation, and is, not now, and
never has been, obligatory upon them and the names to said treaty, of
the loyal party, was a forgery -Land Files, Indian Talks, Councils,
etc., Box 4, 1865-1866; Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865,
P- 330.
362 The document herewith given presents one view of the case:
The undersigned Delegates from the Creek Nation would respect-
fully ask to make the following statement concerning the alliance be-
tween the said Creek Nation and the so-called Confederate States of
America. To the end that the Creek Nation may be put upon a proper
footing in the estimation of your honorable body and that there may be
no misapprehension on the part of the Government you here represent
we beg leave to state:
ist. The Alliance entered into by the Creek Nation with the Con-
Negotiations with the Confederacy 195
leader of the so-called "Loyal Creeks" and the foremost
of the "Refugees."
If the Creeks were disturbed about their national
federate Government was entered into voluntarily, and without the in-
terference of any person or persons other than members of our tribe. In
taking that step the assembled wisdom of the Nation in council, thought
they were acting for the best interests of the Nation and of their pos-
terity.
2d. Hopoethle Yoholo the far-famed leader of those members of our
tribe who battled against us, was not at the time of the making of the
treaty with Albert Pike Commissioner on the part of the Confederate
States, a Chief, counsellor or head man in said tribe and had no voice in
the council, he was however present at the making of said Treaty and
give said Pike to understand that he fully concurred in the result of our
deliberations. After the making of the Treaty Hopoethle Yoholo col-
lected together his adherents, and for reasons entirely of a domestic
character and in no wise connected with the National question at issue,
withdrew from the country and assumed a hostile attitude. With this
exception the Creeks were united as one man in action and were ever
united as one man in principle on the National question then agitated.
3d. Although the Nation we represent would not attempt at this
time to urge anything in palliation of the course of conduct they adopted
in this matter, other than to ask your honorable body to esteem the error
as one of the "head and not of the heart" -but we beg leave to state
that at the time of the forming of the Alliance above refered to circum-
stances over which we could not possibly exercise control seemed to de-
mand an adoption of the course taken. The protection always borne
with the idea of allegiance, was taken from our Nation by the with-
drawal of the United States forces from the Indian Territory. This
movement left the Nations entirely without the support of the United
States government, and had they desired to remain neutral or to take
active measures on the side of the United States they could not possibly
have done so without having their Country desolated, or by abandoning
their homes. Surrounded by States, in a tumult of angry excitement
attendant upon a dissolution of their connection with the United States,
they were completely in the power of those States, without having United
States forces to call to their aid or assistance. An alliance under such
circumstances were [was] indispensible to the safety of the country.
Viewing the matter in this light the Treaty was made, and once having
linked our destiny with those of the Confederacy, we could not in
honor betray our trust. In conclusion we beg leave to say that as long
as events cannot be controlled by human wisdom and foresight and until
an honorable adherence to promises made voluntarily, is dishonorable so
long must we deem ourselves in one sense at least - guiltless of any
criminality in this matter. - Land Files, Indian Talks, Councils, etc.,
Box 4, 1865-1866.
196 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
finances, the Choctaws 363 were even more so. There
were many suspicious circumstances connected with a
certain corn contract and with the expenditure gener-
ally of the huge sum of money that the United States
Congress had appropriated in satisfaction of claims
arising under the treaty of removal, payment on which
it had recently suspended to the displeasure of the In-
dians and the discomfiture of the speculators. Wher-
ever suspicion rested, Pike attempted elaborate explana-
tions and, wherever affairs could be turned to the ac-
count of the Confederacy, he labored with redoubled
zeal. His task was an easy one comparatively-speak-
ing, though, for the Choctaws were already committed 364
to the southern cause. The two Folsoms, Peter and
Sampson, who were among the special commissioners
sent to Washington to inquire about the money and who
had lingered at Montgomery, were his eager coadjutors.
Just how far George Hudson, principal chief, was
readily compliant, it is difficult to say. It is supposed
that he issued his proclamation 365 of June 14, announc-
ing independence and calling for troops, under com-
pulsion and, in July, he may still have been secretly in
favor of neutrality. The joint treaty for the Choctaws
363 They were also worried over rumors of sequestration :
Statements having found their way into some of the public prints, to
the effect that supplies purchased for the use of the Choctaws, have
been detained by citizens of the Northern States, which statements if un-
contradicted may engender hostile feelings between those Indians and
the Government, I have thought proper to forward to you the enclosed
copies of official correspondence in relation to this subject, that you may
be able authoritatively to contradict such statements and satisfy the
Choctaws that the Government intends faithfully to preserve and per-
petuate the amicable relations subsisting between itself and those peo-
ple. - DOLE to Rector and same to Coffin, May 16, 1861 [Indian Office,
Letter Book, no. 65, p. 458].
364 Particularly by means of the resolutions of the National Council, June
10, 1861.
866 Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 593.
Negotiations 'with the Confederacy 197
and Chickasaws was completed on the twelfth of July
and again prominent men, the most prominent in the
tribes, no doubt, endorsed the action by affixing their
signatures. R. M. Jones, the chief 368 of the secession-
ists, W. B. Pitchlynn, Winchester Colbert, and James
Gamble, 367 who was soon afterwards selected as the
first delegate 368 to the Confederate Congress, were
among the signers; but Agent Cooper was not. Per-
chance, he and Pike had already begun to dispute over
the propriety of an Indian agent's holding a colonelcy in
the Confederate army. Cooper 369 wanted to be both
agent and colonel.
Having disposed satisfactorily of the Creeks, Choc-
taws, and Chickasaws, Pike passed on, with his group of
white and red friends, to the Seminoles and met them in
council 370 at their own agency. Rector was now 371 one
306 For evidence of this and for the fullest extant account of the progress
of secession among the Choctaws, see letter of S. Orlando Lee to Dole, March
15, 1862.
367 The following is found in the Fort Smith Papers'.
Tishomingo, C.N. Nov. 26, 1861.
GEN. A. G. MAYERS
Sir: Having been appointed as a Delegate from this Nation (the
Chickasaw) to the Southern Congress, am at a loss (to know) when the
Congress does meet. I have all along understood from newspaper ac-
counts that it was to be on the 22d of February, but some seems to think
it is sooner. Will you please inform me at your earliest convenience at
what time the S. Congress does meet. Your attention to the above is
respectfully requested. I am yours very Respectfully JAMES GAMBLE.
P.S. Please continue to send me the Parallel. I will make it all
right with you when on my way to Va. J. G.
368 In the list of members of the Confederate congresses, given in Official
Records, fourth ser., vol. iii, 1184-1191, no Indian delegate is specified until
1863.
369 Cooper to President Davis, July 25, 1861 [ibid., first ser., vol. iii, 614].
370 E. H. Carruth, in a letter to General Hunter of November 26, 1861
[Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 47], would have us under-
stand that the Seminoles as a tribe did not negotiate with Pike, but that the
whole affair was as between Pike and Jumper, Jumper being assisted by four
chosen friends. The five were probably bribed. That Pike was not averse
to the use of money for such ends, his letter to Walker of June twelfth would
198 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
of his assistants. The poor Seminoles, according to
their own story of what happened, were taken completely
unawares; 372 and, after some skilful maneuvering, Pike
succeeded in inducing about half 373 of them, headed by
one of their principal chiefs, John Jumper, 37 * and a
town chief, Pas-co-fa, to agree to "perpetual peace and
friendship" with the Confederate States. There was
nothing specifically said about an alliance, offensive
and defensive, but it was understood and was immedi-
ately provided for. 375 The head chief, Billy Bow-
legs, 376 and other chiefs of present and future impor-
lead us to suspect {Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 590]. We have, how-
ever, no definite proof of the same. John Jumper was early rewarded by the
Confederate government. By act of the Provisional Congress, January 16,
1861 [Statutes at Large, p. 284], he was made an honorary lieutenant-colonel
of the army of the Confederate States. Carruth further says that the family
influence of Jumper "enabled him to raise forty-six men, not all Seminoles,
and Ben McCulloch authorized him to call to his aid six hundred rangers
from Fort Cobb, that he might crush out the Union feeling in his tribe."
371 It is just possible that Rector had been with him all the time. At all
events Rector subsequently entered an expense account against the C.S.A. for
services from July tenth to August twenty-fourth inclusive. See Appendix A,
Fort Smith Papers.
372 See letter of Agent Snow, dated March 10, 1864, and its enclosures,
one of which is a speech of Long John, who became principal chief when the
aged Billy Bowlegs died, and another, a speech of Pas-co-fa, who, provided
his signature to the treaty be genuine, eventually must have repented of his
Confederate alliance. He was soon, with Bowlegs and Chup-co, in the ranks
of Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la [General Files, Seminole, 1858-1867, 8291].
873 The report of the United States commissioner of Indian affairs for 1863
estimates the loyal Seminoles at about two-thirds of the tribe [House Executive
Documents, 38th congress, first session, vol. iii, 143], that of the Confederate
States commissioner of Indian affairs as fully one-half [S. S. Scott to Secretary
Seddon, January 12, 1863, Official Records, fourth sen, vol. ii, 353].
374 While at the Creek Agency, Pike had communicated, so it seems, with
John Jumper and had asked him to meet him there with six others competent
and authorized to make a treaty. Up to the time of hearing from Pike, John
Jumper seems to have been inclined to adhere faithfully to the United States
government. The excellent report of E. H. Carruth, July n, 1861 gives full
particulars of this whole affair.
375 See supplementary Article [Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 525].
876 See communications from Bowlegs [So-nuk-mek-ko] to Commissioner of
Indian Affairs, March 2, 1863 and May 13, 1863 [General Files, Seminole,
Negotiations with the Confederacy 199
tance, like John Chup-co, 377 refused 878 to sign the treaty
and, before many days had elapsed, joined the party of
the "Loyal Creeks." Various ones of the "Southern"
Creeks, notably Motey Kennard, were present at the
treaty-making and used their influence to strengthen
that of Pike, Rector, Agent Rutherford, 879 Contractor
Charles B. Johnson, and a host of minor enthusiasts,
like J. J. Sturm and H. P. Jones, all of whom had for-
merly been in the United States employ and were now,
or soon to be, in the Confederate. 380
Pike's military escort had surely left him by this time
and had returned to Arkansas and yet never had it been
more needed; for the Confederate commissioner and
his party were about to go into the western country to
confer with the tribes of the Leased District whose
friendship as yet could scarcely be counted upon, not-
withstanding the fact that their agent had openly
thrown in his fortunes with the South 881 and was using
1858-1869, 6131, 6317]. See also Dole to Coffin, March 24, 1863 [Indian
Office, Letter Book, no. 70, pp. 208-209].
377 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1869 [House Executive Docu-
ments, 4ist congress, second session, vol. iii, part 3, p. 521].
378 See letter of E. H. Carruth.
379 \Villiam P. Davis of Indiana had been given the United States Seminole
Agency but he never reached his post [Dole to John D. Davis, April 5, 1862,
Indian Office Letter Book, no. 68, p. 39]. Consequently, the Confederate States
agent, Rutherford, had sole influence there. Not until George C. Snow of
Indiana became United States Seminole agent, did the non-secessionist Indians
get the encouragement and support they ought to have had all along.
380 See Appendix B - Leeper Papers.
an The Leeper Papers, printed in the Appendix, furnish convincing proof
of this. Note also that July 4, 1861, Rector wrote to Leeper from Fort Smith
as follows:
In the 3rd section of the law of the Confederate Congress, regulating
the Indian service connected with said government, and making pro-
vision for the continuance in office of the Superintendent and Agents
heretofore connected with the original U. S. government, you will be
continued upon the same terms and at the same salary, as heretofore re-
ceived from the federal government, and before entering upon your
duties as such it will be your duty to take an oath before a proper
200 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
every form of persuasive art to induce them to do the
same. Fearing, perhaps, some show of hostility from
the Wichitas, Comanches, and Tonkawas, and hoping
that a show of force on his part would intimidate them,
Pike gathered together, before proceeding to the Leased
District, a company of fifty-six 382 mounted men, friend-
ly Creeks and Seminoles, and with them left the Semin-
ole Council House. The Leased District once reached,
some of the hardest work of the whole negotiation be-
gan and two treaties 383 were ultimately concluded, one
officer of a State of the Confederate States, to support the Constitution
of and accept a Commission from the Confederate States of Amer-
ica. . .-Leeper Papers.
382 Pike to Walker, dated Seminole Agency, July 31, 1861 [Official Records,
first ser., vol. iii, 624]. Writing to Benjamin, December 25, 1861 [ibid., vol.
viii, 720], Pike said he had "64 men."
483 These two treaties are interesting in various particulars. They con-
tained fewer concessions, fewer departures from established practice than any
others of the nine. They were made primarily for the maintenance of peace
on the Texan frontier. That fact is only too evident from their contents and
from the circumstances of their negotiation. One of the chief reasons, cited
by Texas, for her withdrawal from the Union was the failure of the United
States to protect her from Indian ravages. It seems never to have occurred
to her to mention the fact that her citizens, by their aggressions, had constantly
provoked the ravages, if such we can call them. The northern counties of
Texas were not "Southern" in climate or industries, so it was especially neces-
sary to enlist their sympathy in the Confederate cause by keeping the Indians
of the plains quiet and peaceful.
The Comanche treaties were also interesting in the matter of their signa-
tures and of their schedules. The signatures included that of Rector, of the
Creek chiefs, Motey Kennard and Chilly Mclntosh, and of the Seminole chief,
John Jumper. The schedules promised such things as the following to the
Indians but in amounts that were beautifully indefinite:
Blue drilling, warm coats, calico, plaid check, regatta cotton shirts,
socks, hats, woolen shirts', red, white and blue blankets, red and blue list
cloth, shawls and handkerchiefs, brown domestic, thread, yarn and
twine, shoes, for men and women, white drilling, ribbons, assorted col-
ors, beads, combs, camp kettles, tin cups and buckets, pans, coffee pots
and dippers, needles, scissors and shears, butcher knives, large iron
spoons, knives and forks, nails, hatchets and hammers, augers, drawing
knives, gimlets, chopping axes, fish-hooks, ammunition, including pow-
der, lead, flints and percussion caps, tobacco.
Two of a kind would have satisfied most of the requirements of these
Negotiations with the Confederacy 201
with some of the legitimate residents of the locality and
one with wandering bands who came in for the purpose.
It is well to note at the outset, however, that the Wichi-
tas proper refused to be either cajoled or intimidated
and that, in consequence, they who had always, under
United States control, been the most important of the
reservees, the ones to give the name to the entire group,
were now reduced to a subordinate position and some of
the Comanches 384 elevated to the first rank. The first
treaty then, the one made with reservees, was thus desig-
nated, "Treaty with Comanches and Other Tribes and
Bands." The second treaty, made with Indians be-
schedules. The list of things is interesting from the standpoint of domesticity
and general utility and also from the standpoint of the things that the same
Indians had previously seemed to need in such immense quantities. For il-
lustration it would be well to note that when Agent Leeper handed in his last
accounts to the United States government, he claimed to have issued during
the second quarter of 1861 to the Indians at the Wichita Agency, 550 pounds
of coffee, 550 pounds of sugar, 650 pounds of soap, 600 pounds of tobacco, etc.
In conclusion, with respect to these Comanche treaties, we may say that,
since the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty had put the Leased District under
the jurisdiction of the C.S.A., there was very little for the reservees themselves
to do, except take the protection and other things offered by the Confederacy
(the Comanches of the Prairie and Staked Plain had promised to become
reservees on the Leased District) and be content. Pike did not bother about
promising to make them citizens eventually or about making them admit the
legality of the institution of slavery. Their political status had never been
high and it was no higher under the Confederacy than it had been under the
Union.
384 TI^ Tonkawas seem to have been the ones who were the most com-
pletely persuaded of all to adhere to the South and they continued unwaver-
ingly loyal thereafter to its failing fortunes [S. S. Scott to Governor Win-
chester Colbert, dated Fort Arbuckle, November 10, 1862; Colbert to Scott,
same date; Moore's Rebellion Record, vol. vi, 6; Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, Report, 1863, House Executive Documents, 38th congress, first session,
vol. iii, 143 ; Indian Office, Report Book, no. 19, pp. 186-188]. Apparently the
Confederacy was rather careful in carrying out its obligations to the Tonkawas.
Among the Leeper Papers are various documents proving this, such as an un-
signed receipt for money received from Pike, July 19, 1862, to carry out the
terms of Articles xvi and xvn of the treaty of August 12, 1861 ; and a copy
of a letter, from Leeper probably, to J. J. Sturm, commissary, dated November
30, 1861, complaining that Sturm had not followed "instructions in making
issues to Tonkahua Indians."
2O2 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
longing outside the Leased District was designated,
"Treaty with the Comanches of the Prairies and Staked
Plain."
The negotiation of the remaining treaties of the Pike
series came as an immediate effect of Confederate mil-
itary successes and belongs, in its description, to the next
chapter. It is proper now to return to a consideration
of the work of the Confederate Congress, in so far, at
least, as that work had a bearing upon the alliance with
the tribes. On the twenty-eighth of August, Hugh F.
Thomason of Arkansas, offered the following resolu-
tion:
Resolved, That the Committee on Indian Affairs be instructed
to inquire whether any, and if so what, treaties have been made
with any of the Indian tribes, and if so, with which of them;
and whether any, and if so, what legislation is necessary in con-
sequence thereof; and that they have leave to report at such
time and in such manner as to them shall seem proper. 385
There the matter rested until after the whole series of
treaties had been completed which was in ample time
for President Davis to submit 386 Pike's report 387 and
the tangible evidence of his successful work to the Pro-
visional Congress at its winter session.
President Davis's message of December 12, 1861,
transmitting the Pike treaties to the Provisional Con-
gress, summarized their merits and their defects and
gave direction to the consideration and discussion that
ended in their ratification. It called particular atten-
tion to the pecuniary obligations 388 assumed and to the
386 Journal, vol. i, 565.
386 Message of Dec. 12, 1861 [Richardson, op. cit., vol. i, 149-151; Official
Register, fourth sen, vol. i, 785-786].
887 This report I have been unable to find.
388 The pecuniary obligations of these treaties are of great import-
ance. Apart from the annuities secured to them by former treaties, and
which we are to assume by those now submitted, these tribes have large
permanent funds in the hands of the Government of the United States as
Negotiations with the Confederacy 203
contemplated change of status. Regarding the latter,
Davis said,
Important modifications are proposed in favor of the respective
local governments of these Indians, to which your special atten-
tion is invited. That their advancement in civilization justified
an enlargement of their power in that regard will scarcely ad-
mit of a doubt; but whether the proposed concessions in favor
of their local governments are within the bounds of a wise policy
may well claim your serious consideration. In this connection
your attention is specially invited to the clauses giving to certain
tribes the unqualified right of admission as a State into the com-
pact of the Confederacy, and in the meantime allowing each of
these tribes to have a delegate in Congress. These provisions
their trustee. These funds may be divided into three classes: First.
Money which the Government of the United States stipulated to invest
in its own stocks or stocks of the States, and which has been partly in-
vested in its own stocks and partly uninvested, remains in its Treasury,
but upon which it is bound to pay interest. Second. Funds invested in
the stocks of States not members of this Confederacy. Third. Money in-
vested in stocks of States now members of this Confederacy. . . By
the treaties now submitted to you the first and second class are absolutely
assumed by this Government; but this Government only undertakes as
trustee to collect the third class from the States which owe the money
and pay over the amounts to the Indians when collected. It is fortunate
for the Indians and ourselves that the amounts embraced in classes one
and two are relatively small, and the obligations incurred by their as-
sumption cannot be onerous, as the amount due by States of the Confed-
eracy on account of investments in the funds of Northern Indians con-
siderably exceeds the amount to be assumed under this provision of the
treaties. We thereby have the means to compel the Government of the
United States to do justice to the Indians within the jurisdiction of the
Confederate States, or to indemnify ourselves for its breach of faith.
. . . I also submit to you the report of Albert Pike, the commis-
sioner, which contains a history of his negotiations and submits his rea-
sons for a departure from his instructions in relation to the pecuniary
obligations to be incurred. [The reference here is to a letter from Pike
to Toombs, May 20, 1861, Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 581.] In
view of the circumstances by which we are surrounded, the great im-
portance of preserving peace with the Indians on the frontier of Texas,
Arkansas, and Missouri, and not least, because of the spirit these tribes
have manifested in making common cause with us in the war now ex-
isting, I recommend the assumption of the stipulated pecuniary obliga-
tions, and, with the modifications herein suggested, that the treaties
submitted be ratified. - Official Records, fourth sen, vol. i, 786.
204 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
are regarded not only as impolitic but unconstitutional, it not
being within the limits of the treaty-making power to admit a
State or to control the House of Representatives in the matter
of admission to its privileges. I recommend that the former
provision be rejected, and that the latter be so modified as to
leave the question to the future action of Congress; and also
do recommend the rejection of those articles in the treaties which
confer upon Indians the right to testify in the State courts, be-
lieving that the States have the power to decide that question,
each for itself, independently of any action of the Confederate
Government. 389
Again Arkansas was in the lead in the exhibition of
interest and, on the motion 390 of one of her delegation,
Robert W. Johnson, the president's message and the doc-
uments accompanying it were referred to the Committee
on Indian Affairs. This was on the thirteenth of De-
cember and Johnson was the chairman of the commit-
tee. On the nineteenth, the treaties began to be con-
sidered 391 in executive session. The first to be so con-
sidered was the Choctaw and Chickasaw, and interest
concentrated on its twenty-seventh article, 392 the one
giving to the two tribes jointly a delegate in the Con-
federate Congress. This provision was finally amend-
ed 393 so as to leave the delegate's status, his rights and
his privileges, just as Davis had recommended, to the
House of Representatives. Then came the considera-
tion of the twenty-eighth article, 394 which promised
ultimate statehood, and that also was amended in such
a way as to leave the final determination to Congress,
By whose act alone, under the Constitution, new States can be
389 Official Record, fourth sen, vol. i, 785-786.
390 Journal, vol. i, 564, 565.
wiIbid., 590-596.
** 2 Ibid., 590-591.
39 3 Statutes at Large, 330.
894 Journal, vol. i, 591-592.
Negotiations <with the Confederacy 205
admitted and whose consent it is not in the power of the Presi-
dent or the present Congress to guarantee in advance. . , 395
In the afternoon of December twenty-first, the Pro-
visional Congress resumed 396 its consideration of the
Indian treaties. The day previous, it had decided upon
this order of procedure and had agreed 397 that the
Comanche treaties, being of the least importance,
should be left to the last. The work of the twenty-first
was on the judicial clauses and, on the question of the
qualification of the Indians to be competent witnesses
in civil and criminal suits. Article XXXVI 398 of the
Osage Treaty, dealing with the right to subpoena wit-
nesses and to have counsel, seemed likely to create pre-
judice. 399 At length Waul of Texas suggested* 00 that
Commissioner Pike be invited to be present at future
sessions in order that some very necessary explanations
of scope, of motives, and of reasons might be forthcom-
ing. In the end, the only changes made in the grant of
judicial privileges were along the line of safe-guarding
the existing rights of the individual states. In illustra-
tion of this, take the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty as
typical of all of the treaties of the First Class. Articles
XLIII and XLIV were amended. To the former was
added,
And the Confederate States will request the several States
of the Confederacy to adopt and enact the provisions of this ar-
ticle, in respect to suits and proceedings in their several courts. 401
From the latter, the phrase, "or of a State," was stricken
395 Statutes at Large, 331.
396 Journal, vol. i, 597.
w lbid., 593.
398 Statutes at Large, 367.
399 Journal, 601.
* lbid., 598.
401 Statutes at Large, 331.
206 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
out and this substitution made; "or of a State, subject to
the laws of the State." 402
On the whole, the Indian treaties took up a very large
share of the attention of the Confederate Congress
throughout the month of December; and, after debate,
President Davis's advice in every particular was fol-
lowed, even to the assumption of the pecuniary obliga-
tions. On the twenty-third of December, Johnson re-
ported 403 back the treaty with the Cherokees and some
of its clauses were then considered. On the same day,
Johnson offered 404 a resolution of ratification for the
Seminole Treaty and it was unanimously adopted, the
same changes identically having been made in the treaty
as had been made in the Choctaw and Chickasaw in so
far as the two treaties corresponded originally with
each other. Congress also ratified a supplementary
article to the Seminole Treaty. The last of the month,
the Comanche treaties were reached 405 and soon pushed
through with only very slight modifications. Then
came the final consideration of the treaty with the Creek
Indians. It was ratified 406 with the customary amend-
ments the same day. The Quapaw Treaty came 40T next
and with its congressional ratification, the work of dip-
lomatically securing the Indians was practically done.
The later Indian ratification was more or less perfunc-
tory.
402 Statutes at Large, 331.
403 Journal, vol. i, 610.
404.
* Il,id., 632-633.
406
Ibid., 635.
IV. THE INDIAN NATIONS IN ALLIANCE
WITH THE CONFEDERACY
The work of soliciting the military support of the
Indians and, to a large extent, that of securing it, ante-
dated very considerably the formal negotiation of
treaties with their constituted authorities. Whether it
be true or not, that Douglas H. Cooper, United States
agent for the Choctaws and the Chickasaws, did, as early
as April, 1861, begin to enroll his Indians for the ser-
vice of the Confederate States, it is indisputable that,
immediately upon receiving Secretary Walker's com-
munication 408 of May thirteenth, he began to do it in
real earnest and, from that time forward, gained his re-
cruits with astonishing ease. There were many 409 to
recommend the employment of the Indians and some to
oppose it. A certain F. J. Marshall, writing 410 to Jef-
ferson Davis from Marysville, Kansas, on the twentieth
of May, mapped out a tremendous programme of activ-
ities in which Indians were to play their part and to
help secure everything of value between the Missouri
line and the Pacific coast. Henry McCulloch
thought 411 they might be used advantageously in Texas
and on her borders. Pike believed 412 not more than
thirty-five hundred could be counted upon, maybe five
408 Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 574.
409 Chief Justice M. H. McWillie of La Mesilla, Arizona, was among the
number. See his letter to President Davis, June 30, 1861, quoted in Official
Records, vol. iv, 96.
410 Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 578-579.
411 _ Jbi^ vo l. \ f 6l g.
412 Letter to Johnson, May n, 1861, ibid., vol. iii, 572.
208 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
thousand, but whatever the number, he would engage
them quickly and provide them with the necessary
equipment. He wanted also to employ 413 a battalion
of those Indians that more strictly belonged to Kansas.
Presumably, then, he would not have confined Confed-
erate interest to the slaveholding tribes. Others besides
Pike were doubtless of the same mind. Marshall was,
for instance, and southern emissaries were frequently
heard of, north of the Neosho River. Henry C. Whit-
ney, one of two United States special agents (Thomas
C. Slaughter was the other), sent 414 out to Kansas to
investigate and with a view to relieve under congres-
sional appropriation 415 the distress among the Indians,
caused by the fearful and widespread drouth of 1860,
met 416 with many traces of secessionist influence. 417
413 Letter to Toombs, May 20, 1861, ibid., 581.
414 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 14.
415 Act of March 2, 1861, U.S. Statutes at Large, vol. xii, 239.
416 On the twenty-second of May, Whitney reported, generally, on the
condition of several tribes:
Owing to the extremely dangerous state of political affairs in Mis-
souri especially along the line of the H. & St. Jo. R.R., I have refrained
from writing to you. . . Although the Delaware* were not especially
refered to in my instructions yet I visited the Mission & Agent as it was
quite convenient . . . and ascertained to my complete satisfac-
tion . . . that they were a wealthy tribe and that although many of
their individual members were necessitous yet they were not of the
destitute kind contemplated by your department: 2d. that the new agent
who had heard of this movement towards relief was very anxious to
make it appear that his tribe was very needy & to have large amounts
of relief furnished at his residence on the Missouri River away from
the agency & also from a central point. . .
I next visited the Osage River Agency and ascertained that all of
the tribes belonging to that Agency were in rather a destitute condition,
they having used and still (are) using their school fund in buying pro-
visions: the Miamis of that agency I found to be the most needy & it
might be said that they were suffering to some extent. . .
. . . In reference to the Neosho Agency, as that was such a long
distance I engaged three trains of wagons before leaving Leaven-
worth. . .
Whitney speaks harshly of the Osages as lazy vagabonds and continues,
Alliance <with the Confederacy 209
The efforts of Cooper, coupled with those of Pike
and McCulloch, in this matter of the enlistment of In-
. . . The general famine throughout Kansas had but little to do
with their sufferings as they cultivate nothing of consequence . . .
and therefore . . . they are not morally & strictly proper objects of
government charity. . .
. . . Systematic and well planned solicitations had been and are
being made by Missourians to them to take up arms against the bor-
derers to which the people throughout this entire section feared they
might be induced on account of the neglect of Government [and because
the whites steal their ponies] - Land Files, Central Superintendency,
1852-1869, W223.
Note that Whitney thought the reports of border ruffian inducements,
though true in a measure, had been exaggerated. On the eighth of June, he
reported again,
When I got within reach of the H. & St. J. R. R, it became apparent
that my produce would be at best somewhat exposed to seizure by the
secessionists and that such hazard would be very greatly enhanced if it
was known to be government property and especially if it should be
known to be going to the Indians whom the Missourians were even then
as was reported upon authority endeavoring to excite against the bor-
derers. . . - Land Files, Central Superintendency, 1852-1869, Wz2$.
Slaughter had less to report; but even he, on the twenty-first of June, said,
while insisting that the reports had been exaggerated,
I have no doubt overtures have been held out to them [the more north-
ern tribes], but whether from authorized parties from [the] South no
one can tell. It is all matter of conjecture. A general council of the
tribes it is understood has been solicited by some of the Southern In-
dians, but I doubt whether it will be held. - General Files, Central Su-
perintendency, 1860-1862, 8404.
Slaughter further surmised, from personal observations, that the northern
tribes would remain loyal to the United States. See his letter to Dole, June 15,
1861. Other people were of the same opinion, although, in early 1861, the
various tribes had much to complain of, much to make them discontented and
therefore very susceptible to bad influences. Some of the Miamis were pre-
ferring charges against Agent Clover for misapplication of funds and other
things [Louis Lefontaine, etc. to Greenwood, January 13, 1861, Land Files,
Osage River, 1860-1866] ; the Kaws were suffering and R. S. Stevens slowly
working out the details of his preposterous graft in the construction of houses
for them [M. C. Dickey to Greenwood, February 26, 1861, General Files,
Kansas, 1855-1862, 0250, and same to same, March i, 1861, ibid., 0251] ; the
Shawnees were having the usual troubles over their tribal elections, Joseph
White having recently been elected second chief in place of Eli Blackhoof
[Robinson to Greenwood, February 19, 1861, Land Files, Shaiunee, 1860-1865] ;
and then, even farther north, from among the Otoes, came additional complaints;
2io The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
dian troops, were soon rewarded. Chief Hudson's
proclamation of June fourteenth, besides being a decla-
ration of independence, was a call for troops and a call
that was responded to by the Choctaws with alacrity.
A little more than a month later, the enlistment of In-
dians had so far advanced that McCulloch was able to
speak 418 positively as to his intended disposition of
them. It was to keep them, both the Choctaw-Chick-
asaw regiment, which was then well under way towards
for Agent Dennison, who by the way, became a secessionist and a defaulter
[Dole to Thaddeus Stevens, May 26, 1862, Indian Office, Report Book, no. 12,
pp. 388-389], was withholding annuities and an uprising was threatening in
consequence [General Files, Otoe, 1856-1862'}.
417 The alien influence extended itself even to the wild Indians of the
Plains. On the sixth of August, 1861 [General Files, Pottaivatomie, 1855-1861,
6704], Branch reported bad news that he had received from Agent Ross re-
garding the hostile approach of these Indians and remarked,
I think there can be little doubt but what emissaries of the Rebels have
been and are actively engaged in creating dissatisfaction against the
government with every tribe of Indians that they dare approach on that
subject.
As soon as I can get the business of this office in a shape so I can
conveniently leave my office duties I propose visiting the most of the
tribes under this superintendency with a view to reconciling them and
enjoining peace. . .
Similarly Captain Elmer Otis from Fort Wise, August 17, 1861, and A. G.
Boone from the Upper Arkansas Agency, September 7, 1861, reported the
Texans' tampering with the Kiowas [Land Files, Upper Arkansas, 1855-1865,
040, 8772], who seem successfully to have resisted their threats and their
blandishments. The Comanches of Texas were also approached but they fled
rather than yield [Boone to Mix, October 19, 1861, ibid., BS6i]. They, how-
ever, importunately demanded a treaty from the United States government in
return for their loyalty. They were poor, they said, and had lost their hunt-
ing-grounds. Boone made good use of them as scouts and spies against the
Texans [Letter of December 14, 1861, ibid., Bioo6]. They were of the Co-
manches who had treated with Pike and who had solemnly pledged themselves,
under duress and temporary excitement, to amity and allegiance. Secret
agents from the South went also among the Blackfeet and Agent Thomas G.
McCulloch sent an ex-employee of the American Fur Company, named Alex-
ander Culbertson and married to the daughter of the Blackfeet chief, as a
secret agent to counteract their influence [General Files, Central Superin-
tendency, 1860-1862'].
418 Letter to Walker, July 18, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 611].
Alliance with the Confederacy 211
organization, and the Creek, which was then forming, at
Scullyville, situated fifteen miles, or thereabouts, from
Fort Smith, as a check upon the Cherokees. Evidently
the peace-loving element among the Cherokees was yet
the dominant one. On the twenty-fifth of July, Cooper
furnished further information,
The organization of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Regiment
of Mounted Rifles will be completed this week, but as yet no
arms 419 have been furnished at Fort Smith for them. I hope
speedy and effectual measures will be taken to arm the people
of this (Indian) Territory - the Creeks, Seminoles, Cherokees.
. . . The Choctaws and Chickasaws can furnish 10,000 war-
riors * 20 if needed. The Choctaws and Chickasaws are extreme-
ly anxious to form another regiment.
8 The scarcity of arms proved to be a serious matter. On the thirtieth
of July, the assistant-quartermaster general, George W. Clark, telegraphed
to Walker that arms had not yet arrived and that the Indians, encamped at
the Old Choctaw Agency, were, in consequence, showing signs of discontent
[Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 620].
420 Cooper probably spoke the truth, for the Choctaws and Chickasaws to-
gether had a population of twenty-three thousand.
In 1861, the Indian population of the Southern Superintendency was, as
reported by Dole upon inquiry from Hon. J. S. Phelps of Missouri [John C.
G. Kennedy, of the Census Office, to Dole, August 9, 1861]:
Chickasaws ....... 5,ooo
Choctaws ....... 18,000
Cherokees ....... 21,000
Creeks ........ 13,550
Seminoles (of which 1,247 were males) . . . 2,267
[Dole's answer, August ic, 1861].
In April, the report from the Indian Office had been:
Choctaws ....... 18,000
Chickasaws ....... 5,000
Total . 23,000
Creeks ........ >355O
Cherokees ....... 17,530
Seminoles ....... 2,267
Neosho Agency ....... 4,863
Leased District ....... 2 t 5OO
Total . 63,710
[Indian Office, Report Book, no. 12].
212 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
There seems to be a disposition to keep the Indians at home.
This seems to me bad policy. They are unfit for garrison duty,
and would be a terror to the Yankees. 421
All this time, of course, Pike had been making prog-
ress with his treaties and undoubtedly simplifying
Cooper's task by embodying in those treaties the prin-
ciples of an active alliance. These clauses from the
Creek Treaty will illustrate the point:
ARTICLE I. There shall be perpetual peace and friendship,
and an alliance offensive and defensive, between the Confederate
States of America, and all of their States and people, and the
Creek Nation of Indians, and all its towns and individuals. 4 * 2
ARTICLE xxxvi. In consideration of the common interests of
the Creek Nation and the Confederate States, and of the pro-
tection and rights guaranteed to the said nation by this treaty,
the Creek Nation, hereby agrees that it will, either by itself or
in conjunction with the Seminole Nation, raise and furnish a
regiment of ten companies of mounted men to serve in the armies
of the Confederate States for twelve months, the company of-
ficers whereof shall be elected by the members of the company,
and the field officers by a majority of the votes of the members
of the regiment. The men shall be armed by the Confederate
States, receive the same pay and allowances as other mounted
troops in the service, and not be moved beyond the limits of the
Indian country west of Arkansas without their consent. 423
ARTICLE xxxvn. The Creek Nation hereby agrees and
binds itself at any future time to raise and furnish, upon the re-
* 21 Letter to President Davis [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 614].
422 Identical with Article I of both the Cherokee and the Choctaw and
Chickasaw, but different from the Seminole in that the Seminole provided
simply for "perpetual peace and friendship."
423 The corresponding Chcctaw and Chickasaw Article [XLIX] stipulated
that the colonel of the regiment should be appointed by the president. Of
course, Douglas H. Cooper, was at this time, the one and only candidate for
the place and there is no doubt that the exception was made for his especial
benefit. However, Pike objected to his holding, in addition to the colonelcy,
the office of Indian agent [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 614].
Agent Garrett wanted the position of colonel in the Creek regiment and
Pike recommended him, but McCulloch objected saying,
I hope the appointment will not be made, for Colonel Garrett is in no
way qualified for the position, and from what I know of his habits, I
Alliance with the Confederacy 213
quisition of the President, such number of troops for the defence
of the Indian country, and of the frontier of the Confederate
am satisfied that a worse appointment could not be made. - Official Rec-
ords, first ser., vol. iii, 597.
This was before the treaty had been negotiated and, after it had been ne-
gotiated, Pike wrote to Walker as follows:
When I recommended the appointment of William H. Garrett, the
present agent for the Creeks, to be colonel of the Creek regiment, I had
not sufficiently estimated the ambition and desire for distinction of the
leading men of that nation, and I also supposed that Mr. Garrett, popu-
lar with them as an agent, would be acceptable as colonel of their
regiment; but when I concluded with them the very important treaty
of July 10, instant, they strenuously insisted that the colonel of the
regiment to be raised should be elected by the men. As the public in-
terest did not require I should insist upon a contrary provision, by
which I might have jeoparded the treaty, I yielded, and the conse-
quence is that by the treaty, as signed and ratified by the Creek coun-
cil, the field officers are all to be elected by the men of the regiment.
This being the case, I have this day written Colonel Garrett, re-
questing him to inform the Creeks immediately, as I have already done,
that notwithstanding his appointment they will elect their colonel. If
he should not do so he will cause much mischief, and would deserve se-
vere censure ; but I do not doubt he will promptly do it. . . - Official
Records, first ser., vol. iii, 623-624.
On the twenty-fourth of August, the matter was settled at Richmond by
Walker's writing to Pike,
In order that there shall be no misunderstanding with the friendly
Indians west of Arkansas, this Department is anxious that the article in
the treaty made by you, guaranteeing to them the right of selecting
their own field officers, shall be carried out in good faith. The name of
Mr. Garrett will therefore be dropped as colonel of the Creek regiment,
and that regiment will proceed to elect its own officers. The regiment
being formed among the Seminoles will exercise the same right Re-
assure the tribes of the perfect sincerity of this Government toward
them. - Ibid., 671.
The corresponding Cherokee Article [XL] differed slightly from the Creek.
It seems to have taken certain things, like the choice of officers, both company
and field, for granted. It reads thus:
In consideration of the common interest of the Cherokee Nation and
the Confederate States, and of the protection and rights guaranteed to
the said nation by this treaty, the Cherokee Nation hereby agrees that
it will raise and furnish a regiment of ten companies of mounted men,
with two reserve companies, if allowed, to serve in the armies of the
Confederate States for twelve months; the men shall be armed by the
Confederate States, receive the same pay and allowances as other mount-
ed troops in the service, and not be moved beyond the limits of the
Indian country west of Arkansas without their consent.
214 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
States as he may fix, not out of fair proportion to the number
of its population, to be employed for such terms of service as
the President may fix; and such troops shall always receive the
same pay and allowances as other troops of the same class in the
service of the Confederate States. 424
ARTICLE xxxvm. It is further agreed by the said Confed-
erate States that the said Creek Nation shall never be required
or called upon to pay, in land or otherwise, any part of the ex-
penses of the present war, or of any war waged by or against
the Confederate States. 425
ARTICLE xxxix. It is further agreed that, after the restora-
tion of peace, the Government of the Confederate States will
defend the frontiers of the Indian country, of which the Creek
country is a part, and hold the forts and posts therein, with na-
tive troops, recruited among the several Indian Nations includ-
ed therein, under the command of officers of the army of the
Confederate States, in preference to other troops. 428
Although John Ross had positively forbidden the re-
cruiting of any force within the limits of the Cherokee
country, that while nominally for home defense, should
be in reality a reserve force for the Confederacy, he was
unable to prevent individuals from going over, on their
own responsibility entirely, to McCulloch; and many
did go and are believed to have fought 427 with his
424 Identical with Article LI of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty and
with Article LXI of the Cherokee.
425 Identical with Article L of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty, with
Article xm of the Cherokee, and with Article xxxvi of the Seminole.
426 Identical with Article LII of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Treaty and
with Article XLIII of the Cherokee.
427 Fremont reported to Townsend, August 13, 1861, that Cherokee half-
breeds, judging from the muster roll and from the corroborating testimony of
prisoners, were with McCulloch in this battle, fought about ten miles south
of Springfield, August 10, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 54]. Con-
nelley says, in 1861, Quantrill, returning from Texas, lingered in the Cher-
okee Nation with a half-breed Cherokee, Joel Mayes,
Who, many years after the war, was elected Head Chief of the
Nation. Mayes espoused the cause of the Confederacy and was captain
of a company or band of Cherokees who followed General Ben Mc-
Culloch to Missouri. - Quantrill and the Border Wars, 198].
A letter, written by McCulloch to Colonel John Drew, September i, 1861,
Alliance with the Confederacy 215
brigade at the Battle of Oak Hills, or Wilson's Creek.
That battle proved the determining point in this period
of Cherokee history. It was a Confederate victory, and
a victory gained under such circumstances 428 that the
watchful Indians had every reason to think that the
southern cause would be triumphant in the end.
The dissensions 429 among the Cherokee and the con-
stant endeavors of the Ridge Party to develop public
sentiment in favor of the Confederacy, to undermine
the popularity of John Ross, and to destroy his influence
over the full-bloods were, and there is no gainsaying it,
the real causes of the ultimate Cherokee defection.
The Battle of Wilson's Creek was only the occasion,
only the immediate cause, the excuse, if you please, and
of itself could never have brought about a decision.
Yet its effect 430 upon Cherokee opinion was unquestion-
ably great and immediate, and that effect was notice-
ably strengthened and intensified by the memory of
seems to indicate that individual Cherokees had joined him {Official Records,
first ser., vol. iii, 691].
428 The Federal defeat was believed by contemporaries to have been due
to mismanagement, to army friction, to the incompetency and sloth of Sigel,
and to Fremont's failure to reinforce the redoubtable Lyon, who fell in the
engagement. An investigation into Sigel's conduct was subsequently made
by Halleck, Sigel's bitter enemy. Halleck hated Sigel, because Sigel so greatly
admired Fremont, whom Halleck supplanted; and because Sigel was the hero
of the Germans, and one of them. For the Germans, Halleck had a great
antipathy. Many of them were "pfalzisch-badischen Revolutionare" and
Halleck regarded them as adventurers or as refugees from justice. They in
turn referred to Halleck as one of the West Point "bunglers" who were so
numerous in the northern army, the really efficient and capable West Pointers,
so they said, having all gone with the South [Kaufmann's "Sigel und Hal-
leck" in Deutsch-Amerikanische Geschichtsblatter, Band, 210-216, October
1910].
429 Even in the latter part of May, these were so serious as to threaten a
Cherokee civil war [Letter of John Crawford, May 21, 1861, General Files,
Cherokee, 1859-1865; Mix to Crawford, June 4, 1861, Indian Office, Letter
Book, no. 66, pp. 15-16].
430 Ben McCulloch to Walker, September 2, 1861 [Official Records, first
ser., vol. iii, 692] ; Pike to Benjamin, December 25, 1861 [ibid., vol. viii, 720].
216 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
other Federal reverses along the Atlantic seaboard,
especially the more recent and more serious one of
Manassas Junction, on the twenty-first of July.
Up to about that time, the neutral policy of John Ross
seems to have received the endorsement of a majority
of the Cherokee people. In the last days of June, the
Executive Council had been called together and had,
after a session of several days, publicly and officially
approved 431 of the stand the principal chief had taken
to date. But events were already under way that were
to make this executive action in no sense a true index to
popular feeling. The secessionists were secretly organ-
izing themselves, ready to seize the first opportunity
that might appear. The full-bloods, or non-secession-
ists, were also organized and, under the name of "Pins,"
were holding meetings of mutual encouragement
among the hills. Encounters between the two factions
were not infrequent and the half-breeds resorted to all
sorts of expedients for persuading, or that failing, of
frightening the full-bloods into a compliance with their
wishes. They told them that the Kansas people had
designs upon their lands (which was not altogether un-
true), and that the Federal government would free
their slaves and otherwise dispossess, degrade, and hu-
miliate them. Such arguments had their effect and
there was little at hand to counteract it, none in the
memory of the past, none in the neglect and embarrass-
ment of the present, none in the prospect of the future.
There were no Federal troops, no new Federal assur-
ances of protection. Agent Crawford, who was the
only agent within reach, added his threats and his Con-
federate promises to those of the half-breeds. Then
came the Battle of Wilson's Creek with its disastrous
43i "Meetings and Proceedings of the Executive Council of the Cherokee
Nation, July 2, 1861" [General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, 515], j.
Alliance with the Confederacy 217
Federal showing, and the exhausted resisting power of
the Pins went down before the renewed secessionist
ardor.
A meeting of the Cherokee Executive Council had
been called for August first, and John Ross, Joseph
Vann, James Brown, John Drew, and William P. Ross,
all prominent non-secessionists, had attended it. On
this occasion, a general, or mass, meeting of the Chero-
kee people was arranged for, in response to a public
appeal, and the date for it was fixed for the twentieth of
August. 432 In the interval came the news from Spring-
field and another communication from Albert Pike. 433
The convention which met at Tahlequah in August
of 1861 ended in the secession of the Cherokee Nation.
While it was in progress, the events of the last few
months were gone over in thorough review and em-
phasis placed upon those of recent occurrence. The at-
tendance at the convention was large. 434 Both political
factions were well represented and there seems to have
been only a slight show of force, if any, from the seces-
sionists. The Reverend Evan Jones is our authority for
thinking that some "seventy or eighty of them appeared
there in arms with the intention to break up the meet-
ing;" but that only two of them succeeded in making
432 See "Meetings and Proceedings of the Cherokee Executive Council,
August i, 1861" [General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, GSIS].
433 Pike to Ross, August r, 1861 [ibid.].
434 A general meeting of the Cherokee people was held at Tahlequah on
Wednesday, the 2ist day of August, 1861. It was called by the execu-
tive of the Cherokee Nation for the purpose of giving the Cherokee peo-
ple an opportunity to express their opinions in relation to subjects of
deep interest to themselves as individuals and as a nation. The num-
ber of persons in attendance, almost exclusively adult males, was about
4,000, whose deportment was characterized by good order and propriety,
and the expression of whose opinions and feelings was frank, cordial,
and of marked unanimity. - Report of the Proceedings at Tahlequah,
August 21, i86f, transmitted to General McCulloch by the Executive
Council, August 24, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 673].
21 8 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
any disturbance. 435 In the course of the meeting, Agent
Crawford put in an appearance and again asserted him-
self in behalf of the Confederacy. He "appeared on
the platform," says an eyewitness,
And stated that although for some time past he had been among
the Cherokees acting as U. S. Agent, it had been by the advice
and consent of the Confederate authorities, and with the un-
derstanding that when the proper time arrived he should de-
clare himself the Agent of the C.S.A. That time had now come
making this the proudest day of his life. 436
435 Evan Jones of the Baptist Mission, Cherokee Nation, to Dole, dated
Lawrence, Kansas, November 2, 1861 [General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865,
438 W. S. Robertson, who for twelve years had been "teaching in the Tul-
lahassee Manual Labor School in the Creek Nation under the care of the
Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions" [Robertson's Letter of September 30,
1861, General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ri6i5].
Robertson says, that
Having witnessed the whole struggle between the Loyal & War par-
ties, when the latter prevailed, I was on the 25 th of August ordered by a
party of the "Creek Light Horse" acting under the written orders of
Moty Kenard and Jacob Derrysaw, Chief of the Creeks, to leave with-
in twenty-four hours from the Creek country. I retired to my friends at
Park Hill in the Cherokee where the same struggle was going on.
At Park Hill I enjoyed every facility for knowing the feelings of
the people, the designs of the Executive.
When at last the Rebel flag flaunted over the council ground at Tahle-
quah, I left the Cherokee country with my family, and after encounter-
ing many dangers, succeeded in reaching Rolla, on the 23 rd Sept. with-
out giving any pledge to the enemy.
Having written to the Sec. of the Interior (from St. Louis, Oct. i* 1 )
stating my long residence among the Creeks and Cherokees, my means
of information, and my desire to give any information that would ben-
efit our Gov't or my loyal friends among the Indians - and having
forwarded all the printed correspondence between the Rebels and Chief
Ross (except the last letter of the Rebel commissioner, Albert Pike) to-
gether with Chief Ross' speech at the Cherokee Convention at Tahle-
quah, on the 2i st of Aug. and the resolutions passed at said Convention,
without receiving any answer, I concluded that Col. Humphrey's (of
Tenn.) mysterious movements were all right, that he was loyal, and
kept our Gov't well informed as to the Rebel doings among the Indians.
That I had redeemed my pledge to loyal Creeks & Cherokees.
Recent letters from St. Louis, & New York stating that "Gov't agents
are seeking information everywhere," and urging me to write to "Gen.
Alliance with the Confederacy 219
Such a confession of baseness seems hardly credible.
The secessionist was entitled to his opinions touching
the doctrine of state rights, for which a difference of
view found its justification both in fact and in theory.
He might even conscientiously believe in the righteous-
ness of negro enslavement, inasmuch as it really did
offer an easy solution of a labor problem; and more-
Hunter" & Washington, induce me to send you my address, to urge you in
the name of humanity and justice not to take decisive measures against
the betrayed and oppressed people, until you have heard all that can be
said in their behalf. - Letter to Department of the Interior and referred
to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated January 7, 1862 [General
Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ri664].
Mix answered it February- 14, 1862 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no.
67, P- 357].
In a somewhat earlier letter, the one from which the extract, in the body
of the text was taken, Robertson had said,
I am . . . deeply interested in their welfare, acquainted with
the feelings of the people, well informed as to the men and measures
which have detached these nations from their allegiance to the U.S.
Chief among the traitors were not only the Superintendent of that
District, and the Agents under him appointed by the late Administra-
tion but others claiming to have received commissions as Indian Agents
"since the 4 th of March last" from the U.S. Gov't.
On the 2i st of Aug. last I was in Tahlequah, the capital of the
Cherokee Nation, at a convention of the Cherokee people called by their
Chief Jno. Ross. . .-ROBERTSON to President Lincoln, dated Winne-
conne, Wisconsin, December 12, 1861 [General Files, Southern Superin-
tendency, 1859-1862, Ri6s8].
Concerning the responsibility attaching to government agents for Indian
defection, E. C. Boudinot and W. P. Adair wrote, January 19, 1866, to Cooley,
The Southern Indians have repeatedly repudiated the idea that they
were induced by the machinations of any persons to ally themselves
with the rebellion, but accept the full responsibility of their acts with-
out such excuse.
The passage above quoted [meaning one from Coffin's report of Sep-
tember 24, 1863 - "They resisted the insidious influences which were
brought to bear upon them by Rector, Pike, Cooper, Crawford and oth-
er rebel emissaries for a long time."] however does great injustice to all
the parties named, particularly to Genl Cooper, who had no earthly
connection with the Cherokees until several months after. Mr. John
Ross made the treaty with the so-called Confederate States. - General
Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, B6o.
220 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
over, would work under a benign paternalism, for the
thorough, because so gradual, development of an in-
ferior race; but by no standard of personal honor, or of
moral rectitude could conduct such as Crawford's be
condoned.
John Ross had opened the meeting with an address
in which he had defined its purposes and his own good
intentions, both past and present. Personally, he
seemed still inclined to maintain a neutral attitude but
designing persons had made his position most diffi-
cult. 437
. . . Our soil has not been invaded, our peace has not
been molested, nor our rights interfered with by either Gov-
ernment. On the contrary, the people have remained at home,
cultivated their farms in security, and are reaping fruitful re-
turns for their labors. But for false fabrications, we should
have pursued our ordinary vocations without any excitement at
home, or misrepresentations and consequent misapprehensions
abroad, as to the real sentiments and purposes of the Cherokee
people. Alarming reports, however, have been pertinaciously
circulated at home and unjust imputations among the people of
the States. The object seems to have been to create strife and
conflict, instead of harmony and good-will, among the people
themselves, and to engender prejudice and distrust, instead of
kindness and confidence, towards them by the officers and citi-
zens of the Confederate States. . -;.
. . . The great object with me has been to have the
Cherokee people harmonious and united in the full and free ex-
ercise and enjoyment of all their rights of person and property.
Union is strength ; dissension is weakness, misery, ruin. In time
of peace, enjoy peace together ; in time of war, if war must come,
fight together. As brothers live, as brothers die. While ready
and willing to defend our firesides from the robber and murder-
437 "Ross was overborne. It is said that his wife was more staunch than
her husband and held out till the last. When an attempt was made to raise
a Confederate flag over the Indian council house, her opposition was so spirit-
ed that it prevented the completion of the design." - Howard, My life and ex-
periences among our hostile Indians, 100.
COLONEL ADAIR, CHEROKEE
[From Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of
American Ethnology']
Alliance with the Confederacy 223
er, let us not make war wantonly against the authority of the
United or Confederate States, but avoid conflict with either,
and remain strictly on our own soil. We have homes endeared
to us by every consideration, laws adapted to our condition of
our own choice, and rights and privileges of the highest charac-
ter. Here they must be enjoyed or nowhere else. When your
nationality ceases here, it will live nowhere else. When these
homes are lost, you will find no others like them. Then, my
countrymen, as you regard your own rights, as you regard the
welfare of your posterity, be prudent how you act. The per-
manent disruption of the United States is now probable. The
State on our border and the Indian nations about us have sev-
ered their connection from the United States and joined the
Confederate States. Our general interests are inseparable from
theirs, and it is not desirable that we should stand alone. The
preservation of our rights and of our existence are above every
other consideration. And in view of all the circumstances of
our situation I do say to you frankly that in my opinion the time
has now come when you should signify your consent for the au-
thorities of the nation to adopt preliminary steps for an alliance
with the Confederate States upon terms honorable and advan-
tageous to the Cherokee Nation. 438
After having received this most solemn of warnings,
"and a few pertinent and forcible remarks from Col-
onel Crawford," the meeting organized with Joseph
Vann as president and William P. Ross as secretary.
To effect a reconciliation between the contending fac-
tions and to decide upon some national policy that
should be acceptable to the majority of the people,
were, undoubtedly, the objects sought and so, after
much discussion, a series of resolutions was adopted in
which these ideas were given prominence as well as
some of kindred importance. The resolutions asserted
the legal and constitutional right of property in slaves
and, in no doubtful terms, a friendship for the Confed-
438 p or the entire address of John Ross, see Official Record, first ser., vol.
iii, 673-675.
V
224 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
eracy. Yet the convention itself took no definite action
towards consummating an alliance but left everything
to the discretion of the constituted authorities of the
nation, in whom it announced an unwavering con-
fidence.
Whereas we, the Cherokee people, have been invited by the
executive of the Cherokee Nation, in compliance with the request
of many citizens, to meet in general meeting, for the purpose of
drawing more closely the bonds of friendship and sympathy
which should characterize our conduct and mark our feelings
towards each other in view of the difficulties and dangers which
have arisen from the fearful condition of affairs among the peo-
ple of the several States, and for the purpose of giving a free
and frank expression of the real sentiments we cherish towards
each other, and of our true position in regard to questions which
affect the general welfare, and particularly on that of the sub-
ject of slavery: Therefore be it hereby
Resolved, That we fully approve the neutrality recommended
by the principal chief in the war pending between the United
and the Confederate States, and tender to General McCulloch
our thanks for the respect he has shown to our position.
Resolved, That we renew the pledges given by the executive
of this nation of the friendship of the Cherokees towards the
people of all the States, and particularly towards those on our
immediate border, with whom our relations have been har-
monious and cordial, and from whom they should not be sep-
arated.
Resolved, that we also take occasion to renew to the Creeks,
Choctaws, Seminoles, Chickasaws, and Osages, and others, as-
surances of continued friendship and brotherly feeling.
Resolved, That we hereby disavow any wish or purpose to
create or perpetuate any distinctions between the citizens of our
country as to the full and mixed blood, but regard each and all
as our brothers, and entitled to equal rights and privileges ac-
cording to the constitution and laws of the nation.
Resolved, That we proclaim unwavering attachment to the
constitution and laws of the Cherokee Nation, and solemnly
pledge ourselves to defend and support the same, and as far as
Alliance 'with the Confederacy 225
in us lies to secure to the citizens of the nation all the rights and
privileges which they guarantee to them.
Resolved, That among the rights guaranteed by the constitu-
tion and laws we distinctly recognize that of property in negro
slaves, and hereby publicly denounce as calumniators those who
represent us to be abolitionists, and as a consequence hostile to
the South, which is both the land of our birth and the land of
our homes.
Resolved, That the great consideration with the Cherokee
people should be a united and harmonious support and defense of
their common rights, and we hereby pledge ourselves to mutually
sustain our nationality, and to defend our lives and the integrity
of our homes and soil whenever the same shall be wantonly as-
sailed by lawless marauders.
Resolved, That, reposing full confidence in the constituted
authorities of the Cherokee Nation, we submit to their wisdom
the management of all questions which affect our interests grow-
ing out of the exigencies of the relations between the United and
Confederate States of America, and which may render an alli-
ance on our part with the latter States expedient and desirable.
And which resolutions, upon the question of their passage be-
ing put, were carried by acclamation. JOSEPH VANN, President.
Wm. P. Ross, Secretary.
Tahlequah, C.N., August 21, i86i. 439
In making his plans, prior to the Battle of Wilson's
Creek, for effecting a junction with Price and cooper-
ating with him and others in southwest Missouri, Mc-
Culloch acted, not under direct orders from Richmond,
but from his own desire to take such a position opposite
the Cherokee Neutral Lands, once so outrageously in-
truded upon by Kansas settlers and now being made the
highway of marauders entering Missouri, as would
make it appear to the Cherokees that he was there as
their friend and as the protector of their interests.
After the battle, he refused, and rightly in view of his
439 Official Record, first set., vol. iii, 675-676. A slightly incorrect copy of
these same resolutions is to be found in vol. xiii, 499-500.
226 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
own special commission, to accompany Price in his
forward march towards the Missouri River. Instead
he drew back into the neighborhood of the Cherokee
boundary and there developed his plans for attacking
Kansas, should such a course be deemed necessary in
order to protect Indian Territory.
It was at this juncture that the Cherokees as a nation
expressed their preference for the South and for the
southern cause, moved thereto, however, by the pecu-
liarities and the difficulties of their situation. The Ex-
ecutive Council lost no time in communicating 440 to
McCulloch the decision of the Tahlequah mass-meet-
ing and their own determination to carry out its wishes
by effecting an alliance with the Confederacy "as early
as practicable." They realized very clearly that this
might "give rise to movements against the Cherokee
people upon their northern border" and were resolved
to be prepared for such an emergency. They, there-
fore, authorized the raising of a regiment of mounted
men, home guards they were to be and to be so desig-
nated, officered by appointment of the principal chief,
Colonel John Drew being made the colonel. It would
appear that the nucleus of this regiment, and with a
strong southern bias, had made 441 its appearance prior
to the Tahlequah meeting and the circumstance gave
rise to the suspicion that the Cherokees had not been act-
ing in good faith. After the war, the suspicion con-
centrated, very unjustly, upon John Ross and was made
the most of by Commissioner Cooley at the Fort Smith
440 John Ross and others to McCulloch, August 24, 1861 [Official Records,
first sen, vol. iii, 673].
441 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865. The Report of the Com-
missioner of Indian Affairs to President Johnson, February 25, 1866, in answer
to the Cherokee protest against Chief Ross's deposition contains this statement:
As early as June or July, the exact date is not known, John Ross
authorized the raising of Drew's Regiment, for the Southern army. . .
Alliance with the Confederacy 227
conference; in order to accomplish, for reasons dishon-
orable to the United States government, the aged chief's
deposition.
Drew's regiment of home guards was tendered to
McCulloch and he agreed to accept it 4 * 2 but not until
after a treaty of alliance should have been actually con-
summated between the Cherokees and the Confederate
States. Pending the accomplishment of that highly de-
sirable object, McCulloch promised to protect the
Cherokee borders with his own troops and confessed 443
that he had already authorized the enlistment of an-
other force of Cherokees under the command of
Stand Watie, which had been designed to protect that
same northern border but "not to interfere with the
neutrality of the Nation by occupying a position within
its limits."
It is not easy to decide just when or by whom the use
of Indians by the Federals in the border warfare 444 was
442 McCulloch to Ross, September i, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol.
iii, 690].
443 Ibid. ; McCulloch to John Drew, September i, 1861 [ibid., 691].
444 In the course of the war, both inside and outside of Kansas, many in-
stances occurred of Indians' expressing a wish to fight or of their services
being earnestly solicited. In late April of 1861, a deputation, headed by
White Cloud, came east and tendered to the United States government the
services of some three hundred warriors, Sioux and Chippewas [Moore's
Rebellion Record, vol. i, 43].
Agent Burleigh, in charge of the Yancton Sioux, asked permission to
garrison Fort Randall with Indians [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report,
1861, p. 118]. The Omahas manifested great interest in the war, so their
agent, O. H. Irish, reported [ibid., p. 65]. Towards the end of the struggle
a young recruiting officer, who went among them, persuaded about thirty
youths, mostly students at the Mission School, to enlist. Their terms had not
expired when the war closed, so they were sent out as scouts to protect the
Union Pacific Railroad, in course of construction from Denver to Salt Lake
City, against the Sioux who were attacking workmen and emigrants. Even
Senecas from the far away Cattaraugus Reservation, New York, offered to
enlist [Dole to Strong, December 7, 1861, Indian Office Letter Book, no. 67, p.
129] ; and so did the Pawnees from the great plains. The United States gov-
ernment, however, refused to accept the Pawnees for anything but scouts and,
228 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
first suggested. As late as May twenty-second, Gov-
ernor Charles Robinson of Kansas, in a letter 4 * 6 to
Superintendent Branch, protested against even so much
as arming them, which would certainly indicate that a
in that capacity, they proved exceedingly useful [Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, Report, 1869, p. 472]. Winnebagoes were in the United States employ
[Indian Office, Report Book, no. 13, pp. 276-277], as were also many indi-
viduals from other tribes. Some Indians became commissioned officers and a
number were at the head of companies. Captain Dorion of Company B,
Regiment Fourteenth Kansas Volunteers was an Iowa [ibid., 261] and Eli
S. Parker on General Grant's staff was a Seneca.
After the Enrollment Act of March 3, 1863 [United States Statutes at
Large, vol. xii, 731-737] was passed, several attempts were made to force the
Indians to serve in the army but Mix, the Acting Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, declared they were exempt from the draft [Letter to Agent D. C.
Leach, September 4, 1863, Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 71, p. 354]. On the
sixteenth of July, 1863, the United States War Department inquired very par-
ticularly as to the Indian eligibility for enrollment and Secretary Usher took
occasion to instruct Mix that the respective agents should be
Directed to offer no resistance to the enrolling officers, after notifying said
officers of the fact, that the tribe or tribes under their charge are com-
posed of Indians who have not acquired the rights of Citizenship, but
immediately upon being informed of the drafting of any member of
his tribe, he will report the case to the Com r of Indian Affairs, for such
action as may be necessary to procure the exemption of the Indians from
military service. - Letter of Secretary Usher, September 12, 1863, Mis-
cellaneous Files, 1858-1863.
445 The bearer has a train of goods at this point en route for the In-
dians on the western border of the State, containing quite a quantity
of arms & ammunition.
There is great excitement in the community with reference to
arming the Indians at the present time, as for several days past re-
ports have come to us that our frontier settlements are in danger of at-
tack from hostile Indians who are collecting in the neighborhood. I
am daily importuned to send them aid. Also, report says, and it seems
very reliable, that the Indians on our southern border are arming them-
selves against our citizens. In addition to these Indian rumors it is
believed by many that these arms are in danger of falling into the
hands of secessionists, before reaching their destination. Quite a num-
ber of that class of men have recently passed up this way (Topeka)
and through Riley County. In this condition of affairs I do not think
these arms & ammunition can be taken west without an escort, as the
rabble will be almost certain to waylay them as soon as they get on the
Pottawatomie Reserve. I can protect them while in this county & will
do so, but cannot follow them. Would it not be well, if you have the
Alliance with the Confederacy 229
general use of their services had not yet been thought
of or resorted to; but, in August, when Senator James
H. Lane was busy organizing his brigade of volunteers
for the defense of Kansas, he resolved, 446 rather offi-
authority, to direct the bearer to leave that part of his freight in charge
of the U.S. Marshal, or in my charge, until there shall be a change
of circumstances, or until further orders from Washington?
Although I would not undertake to oppose the action of Government
in the matter and would not interfere unless it should be to prevent
the property from falling into the hands of a mob, yet I do think under
the circumstances it is very bad policy to arm the Indians on the bor-
der. I feel very sure from what I learn, they will be used against our
citizens within three months time. I am ready to co-operate at all
times with the U.S. authorities. . . - General Files, Central Superin-
tendency, 1860-1862, 6479. See also Branch's reply, May 23, ibid.
446 H. B. Branch to Mix, September 16, 1861, transmitting a letter from
Agent Farnsworth of September 13, 1861, enclosing communications from Sen-
ator Lane, Captain Price, and others, "relative to organizing the Indians for
the defense of the Government" [General Files, Kansas, 1855-1862, 8774].
Headquarters K.B. Ft. Lincoln, Aug. 22 d 1861.
To Indian Agents Sac and Foxes- Shawnees- Delawares-Kicka-
poos - Potawatomies - and Kaws - Tribes of Indians
GENTS: For the defence of Kansas I have determined to use the
loyal Indians of the Tribes above named. To this end I have appoint-
ed Augustus Wattles, Esq to confer with you and adopt such measures
as will secure the early assembling of the Indians at this point.
If you have the means within your control I would like to have you
supply them when they march with a sufficient quantity of powder,
lead & subsistence for their march to this place, where they will be fed
by the Government.
You can assure them for the Govt that they will not be marched
out of Kansas without their consent - that they will be used only for the
defence of Kansas.
I enjoin each of you to be prompt and energetic that an early as-
sembling of said Indians at this point may thereby be secured.
J. H. LANE, Commanding Kansas Brigade.
By ABRAM CUTLER, Acting assistant Adgt-Gen.
The danger is imminent. Hordes of whites & half breeds in the
Indian country are in arms driving out & killing Union men. They
threaten to overrun Kansas and exterminate both whites & Indians. It
it rumored that John Ross, the Cherokee Chief is likely to be overcome
unless he is assisted.
The Osages also need assistance. Gen. Lane intends to establish a
strong Indian camp near the neutral lands as a guard to prevent forage
into Kansas. He is very solicitous that you should come if possible
230 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
ciously, one might think, upon using some of the Kan-
sas River tribes in establishing "a strong Indian camp
near the neutral lands to prevent forage into Kansas"
and arranged for a conference with the Indians at Fort
with the Chiefs & see him at Ft. Lincoln on the Little Osage 10 miles
south of Mound City.
If you do come, please bring all the fighting men you can, of all
Kinds. Men are, needed.
If you do not come, please authorise some responsible man to lead
the Indians as far as Ft. Lincoln where Gen. Lane will receive them
and give them a big war talk. Bring an interpreter. Expenses will
be paid.
Congress will undoubtedly make suitable acknowledgements to the
Kaws, as an independent nation, for any valuable services which they
may render. . .
P.S. A Captain's wages will be given to any competent man whom
you may appoint to take the lead of the band, provided there are fifty
or more. - AUGUSTUS WATTLES to Major Farnsworth, dated Sac and
Fox Agency, Kansas, August 25, 1861.
Wattles had evidently not yet heard of the Tahlequah mass-meeting. Pos-
tal connections with Indian Territory were, of necessity, very poor. Dole
had recommended, May 29, 1861, to Secretary Smith a new postal route
through southwest Missouri or southern Kansas instead of the old route
through Arkansas [Indian Office, Report Book, no. 12, p. 170].
The Confederates were similarly embarrassed. On the twenty-seventh of
May, the postmaster at Fort Smith had complained to the postmaster-general
J. H. Reagan,
Enclosed please find letter of G. B. Hester (a Choctaw who was
made quarter-master and commissary in the First Choctaw Regiment
and, in 1865, "cotton agent for the Creek Indians who were at that time
squatting in the Chickasaw Nation." See O'Beirne's Leaders and Lead-
ing Men of the Indian Territory) at Boggy Depot, C.N. You will
see they are without mails in that country. For three weeks the mails
for the Indian country have been accumulating in this office. I sent
forward all the mail that could be packed on a single horse. . . I
cannot get men to carry the mail. They say they are afraid of being
robbed or murdered. . . Our neighbours, the Indians must suffer
great inconvenience on account of the stoppage of mail facilities. All
tribes are in favor of the South except the Cherokees. A little good
talk would do them good, perhaps a little powder and lead might help
the cause. Ross and his party are not to be relied on. - Fort Smith
Papers.
Mayers wrote Reagan in a similar vein a month later, on June 26, 1861,
Our mails throughout the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw & Creek
nations have all been stopped by the old mail carriers. . .-Ibid.
Alliance 'with the Confederacy 231
Lincoln, his headquarters. Soon, however, a stay of
execution was ordered 447 until the matter could be dis-
cussed, in its larger aspects, with Commissioner Dole,
to whom courtesy, 448 at least, would have demanded that
the whole affair should have been first submitted.
Dole was then in Kansas 449 and before long became
aware 450 that General Fremont was also favoring the
447 On August 26, 1861, Wattles wrote Farnsworth from Lawrence,
I wrote you a few days ago concerning the employment of the In-
dians in the defence of our frontier.
The necessity seemed imperative. But on hearing that the Com-
missioner of Indian Affairs was in Kansas and will probably see you -
I think it best to say nothing to the Indians till he is consulted in the
matter.
Gen. Lane has 60 miles of the Missouri border to guard, and an army
of at least double his to hold in check, which employs all his force night
& day.
Besides this, he has the Indian frontier on the south of about 100
miles. This he intends to intrust to the loyal Indians - 1 will add, if
the Commissioner agrees to it.
The stay of execution was not of long duration, however; for, September
10, 1861, J. E. Prince sent Farnsworth from Fort Leavenworth a circular re-
questing immediate enrollment and an estimate of the strength of the loyal
Indians.
448 The conduct of Lane was presumptuous, arrogant, dictatorial ; but he
had interfered in yet other ways in Indian concerns. He must have had quite
a hold, political or otherwise, over several of the agents and they appealed
to him in matters that ought, in the first instance, to have been referred to the
Indian Office and left there. Thus, in July, Agent F. Johnson had approached
Lane on the subject of having Charles Journeycake appointed Delaware chief
in place of Rock-a-to-wa deceased. Both Pomeroy and Lane endorsed the
appointment but it was unquestionably entirely out of their province to do so.
Tribal politics were assuredly no concern of the Kansas delegation in Con-
gress.
449 Dole had gone to Kansas in the latter part of August "to submit in
person the amendments, made by the Senate at its last session, to the Delaware
treaty of May 30, 1860" [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, p. u].
450 I find here your letter to the Agent of the Delaware, requesting
Fall Leaf to organize a party of 50 men for the service of your De-
partment. Mr. Johnson the Agent called the tribe together before I ar-
rived here, and found the Chiefs unwilling that their young men should
enter the service as you desired. Since my arrival I have seen the
Chiefs and stated to them that the Government was not asking them to
enter the war as a tribe but that we wished to employ some of the tribe
232 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
enlistment of Indians, or, at all events, their employ-
ment by the army in some capacity. He had ap-
proached Agent Johnson on the subject, his immediate
purpose being to request Fall Leaf, a Delaware, "to
organize a party of 50 men for the service of" his de-
partment. Agent Johnson called the tribe together and
discovered that the chiefs were much averse to having
their young men enlist. Dole inquired into the matter
and assured 451 the chiefs that a few braves only were
needed and those simply for special service and that
there was no intention of asking the tribe, as a tribe, to
give its services. The chiefs refused consent, notwith-
standing; but Fall Leaf and a few others like him did
enlist. 452 They were probably among the fifty-three
Delawares, subsequently reported 453 as having been em-
ployed by Fremont to act as scouts and guides. Fall
Leaf attained the rank of captain. 454 Superintendent
for Special Service and wished the Chiefs to make no objection. I
could not however get their consent even to acquiesce in their men Vol-
unteering for the service as you desired, & Fall Leaf and several of the
tribe are here and determined to tender you their Services, with my
consent. I have advised them that they are at Liberty to join you if they
choose. Fall Leaf says he will be able to report at Fort Leavenworth
in a very few days with twenty to twenty five men. Should you require
more men, you will have probably to call on some other tribe. Those men
who volunteer against the advice of their Chiefs should be particularly
remembered by the Gov't. - DOLE to Fremont, dated Leavenworth City,
September 13, 1861 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 66, p. 485].
451 _
452 1 am instructed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the
i3th inst., and to state that the Commanding General will accept with
pleasure the services of Fall Leaf and his men.
Other tribes will be applied to immediately. I have written to the
same effect to Mr. Johnson, at the Deleware Agency. - JOHN R. HOW-
ARD, captain and secretary, to William P. Dole, dated Headquarters,
Western Department, at St. Louis, September 20, 1861 [General Files,
Central Superintendency, 1860-1862].
453 F. Johnson to Dole, June 6, 1862 [General Files, Delaware, 1862-1866].
* 54 Dole to Captain Fall Leaf, November 12, 1863 [Indian Office, Letter
Book, no. 72, p. 109],
Alliance with the Confederacy 233
Branch, 455 be it said, and also Commissioner Dole, 458 at
this stage of the war, were strongly opposed to a general
use of the Indians for purposes of active warfare. They
knew only too well what it was likely to lead to. In-
deed, the most that Dole had, up to date, agreed 457 to,
was the supplying the Indians with the means of their
own defense when United States troops had shown
themselves quite unavailable.
Dole's opinion being such, it is scarcely to be sup-
posed that he could have considered favorably Senator
Lane's idea of an Indian camp in the Cherokee Neutral
Lands or the one, developed later, of an Indian patrol
along the southern boundary of Kansas. Lane's
troubles, quite apart from his Indian projects, were
daily increasing; and, considering the method of war-
fare indulged in by him and encouraged in his white
troops, the same one that pro-slavery and free-state men
had equally experimented with in squatter-sovereignty
days, it would have been simply deplorable to have per-
mitted him the free use of Indian warriors. Com-
plaints 458 of Lane and of his brigade, of their jayhawk-
ing and of their marauding were being made on every
455 Report to Dole, October 22, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1861, p. 50] ; Report to Dole, September 17, 1862 [Commissioner of
Indian Affairs Report, 1862, p. 98].
456 1 send you a letter to General Fremont open that you may read
and understand its object. Fall Leaf will call upon you probably
this afternoon and receive from you such information as you see proper
to give him. I am disinclined to encourage the Indians to engage in
this war except in extreme cases, as guides. I have in this case used
my influence in favor of the formation of this Company, without any
knowledge of the views of Gov't, supposing Gen 1 Fremont was a special
need of them or he would not have made the request. . . - DOLE to
Captain Price, dated Leavenworth, September 13, 1861 [Indian Office,
Letter Book, no. 66, pp. 485-486].
457 Letter of August 15, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report,
1861, p. 39].
458 General Orders, no. 23 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 539].
234 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
hand. Governor Robinson 459 reported these complaints
and endorsed them. Secretary Cameron, while making
his western tour of investigation, heard 460 them and re-
ported them also. Lane attributed 461 them to personal
dislike of him, to envy, to everything, in fact, except
their true cause; but we know now that they were all
well-grounded. Yet, remarkable to relate, Lane's in-
fluence with Lincoln and with the War Department suf-
fered no appreciable decline. His suggestions 462 were
acted upon; and, as we shall presently see, he was even
permitted to organize a huge jayhawking expedition
at the beginning of the next year.
The mention of Lane's jayhawking expedition calls
to mind the conditions that made it seem, at the time, an
acceptable thing and takes us back in retrospect to In-
dian Territory and to the events occurring there after
the Tahlequah mass-meeting of the twenty-first of Au-
gust. As soon as the meeting had broken up, John Ross
despatched 463 a messenger to Albert Pike to inform him
of all that had happened and of the Cherokee willing-
ness, at last, to negotiate with the Confederacy. It was
arranged that Pike should come to the Cherokee coun-
try, taking up his quarters temporarily at Park Hill,
459 Villard says, as early as 1856, rivalry had developed between Robinson
and Lane [John Brown, 108].
460 Thomas to Fremont, October 14, i86t [Official Records, first sen, vol.
"if 533]-
461 Lane to Lincoln, October 9, 1861 [ibid., 529].
462 j t W ould seem as if Lane were remotely responsible for the division of
the Western Department into the Department of Kansas and the Department
of Missouri. In his letter to President Lincoln of October 9, 1861, he described
the good work that his Kansas Brigade had done and asked that, in order
that it might be enabled to continue to do effective work, a new military de-
partment be created, one that should group together Kansas, Indian Territory,
and so much of Arkansas and the territories as should be advisable [ibid.~\.
463 Ross's Address to Drew's Regiment, December 19, 1861 [Commissioner
of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 355] ; Letter of Albert Pike to D. N. Cooley,
February 17, 1866.
Alliance with the Confederacy 235
the home of Ross near Tahlequah, and that a general
Indian council should be called. A special effort was
made to have the fragmentary bands of the northeast
represented and Pike sent out various agents 464 to urge
an attendance. John Ross was also active in the same
interest. He, personally, communicated with the
Osages 465 and with the Creeks 466 by letter; but the
464 "Chisholm" the well known interpreter has been sent to the Co-
manches, Creeks to the Osages - Matthews to the Senecas Quapaws
&c. . .-ROBERTSON in a letter, dated St. Louis, September 30, 1861
[General Files, Southern Superintend ency, 1859-1862, Ri6is].
. . . In the fall of the same year Albert Pike called a General
Council of the same tribes to meet at Talloqua and in order to secure
their attendance stated that John Ross was to make a speech ... he
sent Dorn late U.S. Indian Agent to notify the Osages, Quapaws Sen-
ecas & Shawnees that there was to be a Council at Talloqua and that
Ross was going to talk at the same time to tell them that the U.S.
Government was breaking up - that they would get no more money and
that they were about to send an Army to take their Negroes and drive
them from the country and pointed to Missouri in proof of it, when
the Council met at Talloqua instead of Ross the council was opened by
Pike who told them "We are here to protect our property and to save
our Country. . ,-BAprisTE PEORIA.
Baptiste Peoria, in the spring and summer of 1862, went around as a
secret agent of the United States government among the southern Indians
finding out their real sentiments respecting the war. The report from which
the above extract is taken is dated May i, 1862, and is in General Files, Osage
River, 1855-1862, 61430.
465 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS, September i9 th 1865.
In a talk held at the rooms of the Commission, with Commissioners
Sells and Parker, the following statement was this day voluntarily made
by Shon-tah-sob-ba ("Black Dog") the Chief of the Black Dog band of
the Osage Indians, relating to a treaty with the so-called Confederate
States. In answer to a question by Commissioner Sells, "How did you
happen to be in this Southern Country?" Shon-tah-sob-ba (Black Dog)
replied "I am glad you have asked that question, for I wish to make
some statements in explanation. We came down here upon the invitation
of John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, who sent us a
letter asking us to attend a Council for the purpose of making a treaty
with Albert Pike"-
COMM R SELLS -Have you that letter now in your possession?
ANSWER: We don't know where the letter is. It was sent to Cler-
mont, whose son had it in his possession when he died & we suppose it
was buried with him. But I have it here in my head & will never
236 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Creeks, 467 like Evan Jones, 468 seem to have been incred-
ulous as to Cherokee defection. They seem to have
doubted the genuineness of the letter sent to them and
forget it. John Ross, the Cherokee Chief, said in that letter, "My
Bros, the Osages, there is a distinguished gentleman sent by the Con-
federate States who is here to make treaties with us. He will soon be
ready to treat, and I want you to come here in order that we may all
treat together with him. My Brothers, there is a great black cloud com-
ing from the North, about to cover us all, and I want you to come
here so that we can counsel each other & drive away the black cloud."
This is all that he said & signed his name. All the Osages went. We
were all there together, Pike, John Ross and I, sitting as you are. Pike
told us he was glad that we had come to make peace & a treaty. All
your other brothers have made treaties & shook hands, & if you want to,
you can do so too. I will tell you what John Ross said at the time.
John Ross told us, "My Red Bros, you have come here as I asked you
& I am glad to see you & hope you will do what the Commissioner
wants you to do. The talk the Commissioner has made is a good talk
& I want you to listen to it & make friends with the Confederate States.
You can make a treaty or not, but I advise you, as your older brother,
to make a treaty with them. It is for your interest & your good."
After he finished talking, John Ross told us we could consult among
ourselves over there (pointing to our camp near his residence) & de-
cide among ourselves. We consulted on the matter, & on the request
of John Ross we signed the treaty. He asked us to do it. He was the
man that made us make that treaty, and that's how we came to be away
from our country.
The above statement was endorsed by Wah-tah-in-gah, Chief Coun-
selor of the Black Dog & Clermont bands of the Osage Indians.
The above is a correct statement as interpreted.
E. S. PARKER Com r GEO. L. COOK Ass't Sec?.
ELIJAH SELLS Com r
Papers relating to the Council at Fort Smith, September, 1865, Indian
Office Files.
466 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, pp. 353-354.
467 These Creeks, of course, were the Upper Creeks, the anti-McIntosh
Creeks, the following of Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la. Some of the confidence that
Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la seems to have had in John Ross, in his discretion and in
his integrity, may have dated from the days when John Ross had refused, as he
must have refused, to share in the plan for a betrayal of his country, at the
instance of William Mclntosh. The following document will explain that
circumstance :
NEWTOWN 2ith October 1823
MY FRIEND: I am going to inform you a few lines as a friend. I
want you to give me your opinion about the treaty wether the chiefs
will be willing or not. If the chiefs feel disposed to let the United
Alliance with the Confederacy 237
made inquiries about it, only to be assured 469 again and
again by Ross that all was well and that he wished the
Indians en masse to join the Southern States.
The council at Tahlequah, viewed in the light of its
immediate object, was unusually successful. Four
treaties were negotiated, one 470 at Tahlequah itself,
October seventh, with the Cherokees and three at Park
Hill. Of these three, one 471 was with four bands of the
Great Osages, Clermont's, White Hair's, Black Dog's,
and the Big Hill, October second; another 472 with the
Quapaws, October fourth; and the third, 473 on the same
day, with the Senecas 474 (once of Sandusky) and the
Shawnees (once of Lewistown and now of the mixed
States have the land part of it, I want you to let me know. I will
make the United States commissioner give you two thousand dollars, A.
McCoy the same and Charles Hicks $3000 for present, and no body shall
know it, and if you think the land wouldent sold, I will be satisfied.
If the land should be sold, I will get you the amount before the treaty
sign, and if you got any friend you want him to Receive it, they shall
reed the same, nothing moore to inform you at present. I remain your
affectionate Friend WM MclNTOSH
John Ross - an answer return
NB. the whole amount is $12000. you can divide among your friends,
exclusive $7000.
This letter is on file in the United States Indian Office and bears the fol-
lowing endorsement:
rec d on the 23 rd Oct. 1823.
M R JOHN Ross President N. Committee
Letter from Wm Mclntosh to Mr John Ross read & exposed in open
Council in the presence of Wm Mclntosh Oct 24 th 1823 J Ross
488 Letters to Dole, October 31, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1861, p. 42] and November 2, 1861 [General Files, Cherokee, 1859-
1865, J 5 o 3 ].
469 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, pp. 353, 354.
470 Official Records, fourth ser., vol. i, 669-687.
* ll>id., 636-646.
w lbid., 659-666.
w Ibid., 647-658.
474 The Senecas of the mixed band of Senecas and Shawnees were not or-
iginally parties to the treaty, but provision was duly made for their becom-
ing so.
238 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
band of Senecas and Shawnees). Hereditary 475 chiefs
alone signed for the Great Osages, the merit chief, Big
Chief, being, apparently, not present. The notorious
ex-United States agent, J. W. Washbourne, 476 was very
much in evidence as would most likely also have been
the equally notorious and disreputable Indian trader,
475 Ka-hi-ke-tung-ka for Clermont's Band, Pa-hiu-ska for White Hair's,
Shon-tas-sap-pe for Black Dog's, and Chi-sho-hung-ka for the Big Hill.
476 For information concerning Washbourne [Washburne or Washburn]
and charges against him, see Dean to Manypenny, December 28, 1855, Decem-
ber 31, 1855 [Dean's Letter Book, Indian Office] ; and Elias Rector to Secretary
Thompson, October i, 1859 [Rector's Letter Book, Indian Office]. Rector's
letter was as follows:
An important sense of my duty as Superintendent of Indian Affairs
for the Southern Superintendency compells me to recommend, most earn-
estly, the immediate removal of the present incumbent of the Seminole
Agency,
The performance of this unpleasant duty is forced upon me by the
following consideration, -
ist The neglect of duty and disregard of the orders and Regulations
of the Department in absenting himself repeatedly and for protracted
periods, from his Agency without authority for so doing; to the preju-
dice of the public interests entrusted to him, -
On this point I presume it is not necessary for me to enlarge, or to
urge upon the Department my views of the paramount necessity of In-
dian Agents residing at their Agencies and being at all times present
at their Stations as well to cultivate the respect and confidence, and a
just knowledge of the character and wants of the people entrusted to
their care, as to be in position to execute promptly the orders, and to
promote the views of the Department, -
2nd I consider him unworthy of the trust reposed in him from certain
facts connected with the late payment of money to the Indians under his
charge, which have come to my knowledge -
Of the $90.000 recently paid to those Indians, appropriated by Con-
gress expressly to pay such of them as should remove under the late
Treaty; for their improvements and to assist in defraying their removal
expences I have ascertained, and it is notorious, that thirteen thousand
Dollars or more passed into the hands of Mr Washbourne, through Col-
lusion with the principal Chiefs, $5000 of which he received under a
private Contract with Senator Yulee of Florida for services in obtain-
ing the consent of the Chiefs to the payment of thirty thousand dollars
of this money to Senator Yulee on an old claim presented by him of long
standing in behalf of one Gov Humphreys of Florida. The balance of
the $13000 received by Mr Washbourne was probably awarded him in
consideration of his permitting the Chiefs to appropriate certain por-
Alliance 'with the Confederacy , 239
John Mathews, 477 had he not recently received his
deserts at the hands of Senator Lane's brigade.
tions of the money they paid over to them in trust for the legetimate
claimants, to their own use and benefit,
I have informed you in a late letter of the pains I took to make the
Chiefs acquainted with the true object of the appropriations. Having
been instructed to pay over the whole amount to the authorities of the
Nation, this was all I could do in furtherance of the intentions of Con-
gress ; my efforts to accomplish which were thus frustrated by Mr Wash-
bourne and his advances. -
3d The breach of good faith in the Chiefs towards the Indians,
prompted by Mr Washbourne in the distribution of this $90.000 as ex-
plained in my late letter, has incensed the Indians to such degree that
bloodshed has been threatened and is seriously to be apprehended, -
4th The influence of Mr Washbourne over the Chiefs acquired
through his Collusion with them in this swindling the intended legal re-
cipients of this money is such that, the Chiefs have intimated that they
will not send a delegation to Florida unless Mr Washbourne shall ac-
company them, and I have reason to believe that in case he is not per-
mited to accompany them, he is prepared to throw every obstacle in
the way of the accomplishment of this, so much desired measure of the
Government,
The conduct of the Chiefs and their Agent in the distribution of the
$90000 and the enclosed letter from Mr Jacoway U S Marshal of this
District, whose acquaintance you have made, taken in connection with
the declarations of the Chiefs, that they will not go without him (or
that they desire that he should go with and have charge of them) justi-
fies the apprehension that there is another scheme in embryo between
them to perpetrate another swindle. Should circumstances favour its
accomplishment; and if it is the intention of the Department to charge
me with conducting the negotiations of a Delegation to Florida, I must
decline the performance of this duty if one in whom I have so little
confidence is permited to accompany the Delegation in the capacity of
Agent; for I hesitate not to say, that if disappointed in his hopes of
making a profitable employment of his influence he would exert himself
to defeat any negotiations that might be set on foot, and there is good
reason to fear that he might be successful, -
For these reasons I beg leave respectfully to urge upon the Depart-
ment the immediate removal of Mr Washbourne and the appointment in
his stead of some gentleman who will perform the duties of the office
with a high appreciation of the trust confided to him and with a view,
rather to the honest discharge of this trust, than to his own profit,
I make this communication direct to the Sec't of Interior instead of
sending it through the Indian office for the reason that I learn that the
Comr Ind Affrs is absent on official acct.
477 Agent Elder to Coffin, September 30, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian
240 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
An accurate and connected account of the occur-
rences at the Tahlequah council, it is well nigh impos-
sible to obtain. Some intimidation 478 seems to have
been used, and there was a report of a collision 479 be-
tween the Ross and Ridge factions some days previous
to the meeting. Drew's regiment, which, when organ-
ized, had been placed as a guard 480 on the northern bor-
der, escorted 481 Commissioner Pike to Park Hill and
later took up its station on the treaty ground. Some of
Stand Watie's Confederate forces were also in the
Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 37] ; Coffin to Dole, October 2, 1861 [ibid., p. 38] ;
Moore's Rebellion Record, vol. iii, 33.
478 We the loyal Cherokee Delegation acknowledge the execution of
the treaty of Oct. 7, 1861. But we solemnly declare that the execution
of the Treaty was procured by the coercion of the rebel army [Land
Files, Indian Talks, Councils, etc., Box 4, 1865-1866].
479 Hon. J. S. Phelps to C. B. Smith, dated Rolla, Mo., October 3, 1861
[General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, P44.].
480 A difference of opinion seems to exist as to the original object of the
organization of Drew's regiment. When Ross wrote his despatches to McCul-
loch concerning the proceedings at Tahlequah, he sent them for transmission
to the C.S.A. quartermaster at Fort Smith, Major George W. Clark, to whom
he imparted the information that the Cherokees were going to raise a regiment
of mounted men immediately and place it under the command of Colonel John
Drew, "to meet any emergency that may arise." "Having espoused," said he,
"the cause of the Confederate States, we hope to render efficient service in the
protracted war which now threatens the country, and to be treated with a
liberality and confidence becoming the Confederate States." - Moore's Rebellion
Record, vol. iii, 155, Document 63^2-
Those, who afterwards wanted to put the Cherokee position in the best pos-
sible light, declared repeatedly that Drew's regiment had no sectional bias in
the work mapped out for it, that it was nothing more than a home guard.
Writing to Dole, January 21, 1862, the Reverend Evan Jones said,
A regiment of Cherokees was raised for home protection, composed of
one company for each of eight Districts, and either two or three com-
panies for the District of Tahlequah. But these were altogether sep-
arate and distinct from the rebel force. . . The great majority of
officers and men, in this case, being decidedly loyal Union men Four
of the Captains and four hundred men, gave evidence of their loyalty, in
the part they acted, at the battle in which Opothleyoholo was attacked by
the Texan rangers & rebel Creeks & Choctaws, under Cooper. . .
- General Files, Cherokee, 1859-1865, Jss6.
481 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 355.
Alliance with the Confederacy 241
neighborhood. 482 In 1865, at the Fort Smith Council,
held for the readjustment of political relations with the
United States government, the Indians of the Neosho
Agency gave* 83 a rather picturesque description of the
way they had been prevailed upon to sign the treaty
with the Confederate States. The real object of the
Tahlequah meeting was evidently not revealed to them
until they had actually reached the treaty ground.
Agent Dorn had told them that they had to go to the
meeting. They went and were there taken in hand by
Pike who said,
If you don't do what we lay before you, we can't say you shall
live happy.
The Indians
feeling badly, just looked on, and the white man went to work,
got up a paper and said I want you to sign that. The Indian
did not want to, but he compelled him. You know yourself
that, under such circumstances, he would do anything to save his
life. . .
Now that the history of the diplomatic relations be-
tween the Indian tribes and the Confederacy has been
brought thus far, nothing seems more fitting than to re-
turn to the consideration of the Federal government
and its representatives, its purposes, and its plans, be-
ginning the account with the Indian Office and Com-
missioner Dole. Dole's early attempt to prevail upon
the War Department to resume its occupation of Indian
Territory was followed up by the convincing letter of
the thirtieth of May in which he likened the Indians to
the Union element in some of the border states and
ended by throwing the full responsibility for any dis-
loyalty that might appear among them upon the Fed-
* 82 Cooley's Report to President Johnson, February 25, 1866. This letter
was found in the loose files of the Indian Office and is not to be found in In-
dian Office, Report Book, no. 15, where it would properly belong.
483 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 321.
242 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
eral authorities; inasmuch as they had neglected and
were still neglecting to give the support and protection
that any ordinary guardian is bound in honor to give
to his wards. Dole said in writing to Secretary Smith,
. . . Experience has shown that the presence of even a
small force of federal troops located in the disaffected States
has had the effect to preserve the peace, encourage the friends of
the Union, and induce the people to return to their allegiance.
That this same result would be produced in the Indian coun-
try I cannot doubt, as they can have no inducement to unite
with the enemies of the United States unless we fail as a nation
to give them that protection guaranteed by our treaty stipula-
tions, and which is necessary to prevent designing and evil-dis-
posed persons from having free intercourse with them, to work
out their evil purposes. . , 484
Nothing came of Dole's application and thus was
exemplified, as often before and often since, a very seri-
ous defect in the American administrative system by
which the duty of doing a certain thing rests upon one
department and the means for doing it with quite an-
other. It is surely no exaggeration to say that hundreds
and hundreds of times the Indians have been the inno-
cent victims of friction between the War and Interior
Departments.
But if the authorities at Washington were indifferent
to the Indian's welfare, Senator Lane was neither in-
different to nor ignorant of the strategical importance
of Indian Territory. With him the defence of Kansas
and the means of procuring that defence were every-
thing. Indian Territory and the Indian tribes came
within the scope of the means. And so it happened
that, while he was organizing his Kansas brigade, he
commissioned 485 a man, E. H. Carruth, who had for-
484 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 35; Indian Office, Re-
port Book, no. 12, p. 176.
485 Enclosed pleaz find a coppy of a Commission given by General
Alliance 'with the Confederacy 243
merly posed as an educator 486 among the Seminoles, to
communicate with the various tribes for the purpose of
determining their real feelings towards the United
States government and of obtaining, if possible, an in-
terview between Lane and some of their accredited rep-
resentatives. The interview was to take place "at Fort
Lincoln on the Osage or some point convenient there-
to." 487
Now a considerable portion of the Creek tribe was in
just the right mood and in just the right situation to re-
ceive such overtures in the right spirit. That portion
consisted of those who, after the treaty of July tenth
had been negotiated in the manner already described,
had rallied around Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la; and who, in a
Creek convention that had been called for August fifth
had declared that the chiefs, who had signed a treaty
outside the National Council, had violated a funda-
mental law of the tribe and had thereby forfeited their
administrative rank. The criticism applied to Motey
Kennard and to Echo Harjo, the principal and the sec-
Lane to E. H. Carruth together with coppies of Letters sent by him to the
various Tribes in the Indian Territory. I had an interview with Mr.
Carruth yesterday. I find him a very Inteligent man and thougherly
posted as to all matters relating to the Southern Indians he is very confi-
dent that most if not all the Southern Indians written to will Send
deligations to Fort Scott as requested there ware three Creek In-
dians came up to se General Lane who came to lola for Caruthe to go
with them to General Lane which he did and they ware the barers of
letters of which the enclosed are coppies. I am going to Fort Scott
today and will make arrangements with Agent Elder to give the notice
imediately on their arrival or Bring them to Humboldt. I shall try to
secure the assistance of Mr. Caruthe tho he is now a voluntear in the
Home Guards for protection. I very much feer the service required of
me at the Sacks & Fox and Kaw agencies will take me to far off but will
try to attend to all if possible - General Files, Southern Superintendency,
1859-1862, Ci348.
486 Manypenny to Dean, April 9, 1855 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 51,
pp. 232-233].
487 Extract from commission, dated Fort Scott, August 30, 1861, issued to
Carruth by authority of J. H. Lane, Commanding the Kansas Brigade [ibid."].
244 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
ond chief respectively. Kennard, as we have seen, was
the leader of the Lower Creeks and Harjo of the Up-
per. A further division in Creek ranks was now in-
evitable and it came forthwith, the Non-treaty Party,
made up mostly of Upper Creeks, proceeding to recog-
nize 488 Ok-ta-ha-hassee Harjo (better known as
"Sands") as the acting principal chief of the tribe. It
also betook itself westward so as to be as much as pos-
sible out of the reach of the secessionists. When once
in a position of at least temporary security, it de-
spatched Mik-ko Hut-kee (White Chief), Bob Deer,
Jo Ellis, and perhaps others to Washington to confer
with the "Great Father." 489
488 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 328.
489 The loyal Creeks testified, in 1865, that they sent their "chief" and
others to Washington and leave the reader to infer that the chief meant was
"Sands;" but the accredited delegates were most certainly Mik-ko Hut-kee,
Bob Deer, and Jo Ellis. These three men signed their names, or rather at-
tached their mark, to an address to the president of which the following is a
certified copy:
SHAWNEE AGENCY, LEXINGTON, September 18, 1861.
SIR, we the Chiefs, Head Men, and Warriors, of the Creek Nation of
Indians, in the Indian Territory, through our delegates, the undersigned
desire to state to your excellency the condition of our people. Owing to
the want of correct information as to condition of the Country and Gov-
ernment our people are in great distress. Men have come among us,
who claim to represent a New Government, who tell us that the Govern-
ment represented by Our Great Father at Washington, has turned
against us and intends to drive us from our homes and take away our
property, they tell us that we have nothing to hope from our old Father
and that all the Friends of the Indian have joined the New Govern-
ment. And that the New Government is ready to make treaties with
the Indians and do all and more for them than they can claim under
their old treaties, they ask us to join their armies and help sustain the
Government that is willing to do so much for us. But we doubted their
statements and promises and went to talk with the Agent and Super-
intendent which Our father has always kept among us but they were
both gone and then some of our people began to think that Our Great
Father had forsaken us and a very few joined the Army of the New
Government and our people were in great trouble and we called a
Grand Council of the Chiefs of Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Shaw-
nees, Senecas, Quapaws, Kickapoos, Delawares, Weas, Peankeshaws,
Alliance with the Confederacy 245
The Creek delegates, Mik-ko Hut-kee and his com-
panions, went, on their way to Washington, northward
through Kansas, saw Superintendent Coffin 490 and,
later, Lane's agent, E. H. Carruth. This was about
the second week of September and Carruth was at
Barnesville, Lane's headquarters. Carruth received
the Creeks kindly, read sympathetically the letter 491
Witchetaws Tribes and bands of Comanches, Seminoles, and Cadoes.
And after a long discussion of the source of their troubles, decided to
remain loyal to our Government and if possible neutral. The Chiefs
went among their people (and as a general thing) counteracted the
influence of the emissaries of the New Government. But these emissaries
are still among us giving us great trouble, while our Government has
no one who can officially represent itself. And we most earnestly ask
that some person shall be sent here who shall meet the Chiefs of the
above mentioned tribes in Council at some suitable place, and then make
known to them the condition, policy and wishes of the Government so
far as the interests of the Indians are concerned. If your Excellency
should deem it best to comply with our request, we would suggest that
Humboldt Allen County Kansas be the place for holding the Council.
A notice sent to the Agent of the Shawnees, will immediately be for-
warded by a messinger to the Chiefs. Very Respectfully, your Obedient
Servants WHITE CHIEF X his mark
BOBB DEER X his mark
JOSEPH ELLIS X his mark Interpreter
P.S. The Choctaws were not present at the Council and we have
reason to feer that they have gone with the Southern Confederacy. It
will take near forty days to notify the Chiefs and get them together
after the notice gets at this place. WHITE CHIEF X his mark
490 They also saw Agent Abbot [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report,
1865, p. 330] and received new assurances from him.
491 Perchance the same letter, either the original or a copy of which, Super-
intendent Branch transmitted to Dole along with an explanatory letter from
Agent Abbott. The "talk" of the Creek chiefs was accompanied by a sort of
Seminole and Chickasaw endorsement. Dole replied to the Creek and Seminole
delegate appeals, November 16, 1861 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, pp.
78-79]. This is what the Creek chiefs said:
CREEK NAT. Aug 15, 1861.
Now I write to the President our Great Father who removed us to
our present homes, & made a treaty, and you said that in our new homes
we should be defended from all interference from any people and that
no white people in the whole world should ever molest us unless they
come from the sky but the land should be ours as long as grass grew or
waters run, and should we be injured by anybody you would come with
246 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
that they brought from their distressed chiefs, Sands
and Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la, assured the equally distressed
delegates of the continued fatherly interest of the Unit-
ed States government, and. sent them on their way,
greatly comforted. It was while these Creek delegates
were lingering at Barnesville that Carruth made a spe-
cial effort to induce the southern Indians generally to
send representatives for an interview with Lane. He
wrote personally to Ross, 492 to the two Creek chiefs, 493
your soldiers & punish them, but now the wolf has come, men who are
strangers tread our soil, our children are frightened & the mothers can-
not sleep for fear. This is our situation now. When we made our
Treaty at Washington you assured us that our children should laugh
around our houses without fear, & we believed you. Then our Great
Father was strong. And now we raise our hands to him we want his
help to keep off the intruder & make our homes again happy as they
used to be. . .
I was at Washington when you treated with us, and now White
People are trying take our people away to fight against us and you.
I am alive. I well remember the treaty. My ears are open & my mem-
ory is good. This is the letter of Your Children by
OPOTHLEHOYOLA
OUKTAHNASERHARJO
The Seminoles also send the same word & the full Indians of the
Chickasaws too send to the P -
The reply to this letter was made by Dole, November 16, 1861. See In-
dian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, pp. 79-80.
Pascofar the chief of Seminoles was present he was not able to come
with us now but sent word. And if our Great Father want us we will
come to see him. MICEO HULKA Jo ELLIS
ROB DEER
General Files, Creek, 1860-1869, 8787.
492 There is a delegation of the Creeks now at Gen'l Lanes Head
Quarters.
We wish to see delegations from the tribes loyal to the U.S. Govern-
ment. You will send us a delegation who will report to the Head
Quarters of the Kansas Brigade where commissioners of the Govern-
ment will meet and confer with them.
You are probably aware of the falsehoods resorted to by the en-
emies of the U.S. to induce the Indians to withdraw their allegiance
from the Government. Could you come in person it would be grattify-
ing to the Commissioners. - Letter of September n, 1861 [General Files,
Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ci348].
493 Your letter by Micco Hutka is received. You will send a delega-
Alliance with the Confederacy 247
and to the Wichita chief, Tusaquach, 494 and, in addi-
tion, wrote to the Seminole chiefs and headmen 495 and
to the "loyal" Choctaws and Chickasaws. 498
Presumably, Superintendent Coffin did not alto-
gether approve of Senator Lane's taking it upon him-
self to confer with the Indians who, after all, were offi-
cially Coffin's charges; for, in October, we find him,
likewise, planning for an intertribal conference to be
held at Humboldt. 497 It is rather interesting to look
back upon all this and to realize, as perforce we must,
that every plan for conferring with the southern tribes
tion of your best men to meet the Commissioners of the United States
Government in Kansas.
I am authorized to inform you that the President will not forget
you. Our armies will soon go south and those of your people who are
true and loyal to the Government will be treated as friends -Your
rights & property will be respected. The Commissioners from the Con-
federate States have deceived you they have two tongues.
They wanted to get the Indians to fight and they will rob and
plunder you if they can get you into trouble. But the President is stil
alive his soldiers will soon drive these men who have treacherously
violated your homes from the land they have entered. When your Del-
egates Return to you they will be able to inform you when and where
your monies will be paid those who stole your orphan funds will be pun-
ished and you will learn that the people who are tru to the Govern-
ment which has so long protected you are your Friends. - Letter to Opoth-
le-ho-yo-ho, Ho-so-tau-hah-sas Hayo, dated Barnesville, September n,
1861. - General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ci348.
The author's opinion is that the mistakes in spelling were made by the il-
literate Coffin, who probably made a copy of Carruth's letters for transmission
to the Indian Office. He may also have made a slight alteration inthe date
of the letter to the Creeks; for the original of the letter, beariqg the date of
September 10, 1861, was found in Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la's camp after the Battle
of Chustenahlah, December 26, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. viii, 25].
494 Official Records, first ser., vol. viii, 26.
495 In his letter to the Seminole chiefs and headmen, Carruth reminds
them that he was with them when letters came from Pike and that Pike "is
the man who has tried so hard to get your lands sectionalized" and asks, "who
brought up a bill in Congress to bring your tribes under Territorial laws,
Johnson of Arkansas. . ."
Ibid., 26.
497 Coffin to Dole, October 2, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Re-
port, 1861, pp. 38-39].
248 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
in the interests of the United States government, at this
critical time, contemplated a meeting at some place out-
side of Indian Territory. Here were agents of the In-
dian's "Great Father" offering protection to the red
men and yet giving incontestable proof in the very de-
tails of the offer that they did not themselves dare to
venture 498 beyond the Kansas boundary. As a matter
of fact, all such plans for a general conference came to
nothing, although, as late as November, Lane had still
the idea of one in mind. He was, at the time, hoping
to meet the Indians at Leroy 499 in Coffey County, Kan-
sas, on the twenty-fourth. Lane also continued to ad-
vocate the use of the friendly Indians as soldiers. A
little earlier, Agent Johnson had endorsed 500 Lane's
plan in a letter to Commissioner Dole; but the coming
of General Hunter upon the scene considerably affected
the sphere of influence.
Dissatisfaction with Fremont on account of his ex-
travagance, his haphazard way of issuing commissions,
498 Evan Jones wrote, October 31, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1861, pp. 41-43] that he had found it impossible to get anyone who
would undertake to carry a message to John Ross. The risk was too great.
499 Dole to Hunter, November 16, 1861 [ibid., p. 44].
500 On consultation with Gen'l Jas. H. Lane he thinks an auxiliary
Regiment of Indians are necessary to the service and could be used to
great advantage in this department. If it meets with your approbation
I would like and ask the privilege of Raising such Regt which I think
I could do in thirty days. I have made my estimate of the number of
men which I think would be furnished by each tribe as follows
lowas & Kickapoos ...... 225
Delawares ... . l .... 125
Potawatomies ....... 250
Shawnees, Miamies, & Weas ..... ico
Sacks & Foxes ....... 250
Senecas & Wyandotts ...... 125
1075
This will be laid before you by Gen' Lane in person I hope it will
meet with your approval and that you will grant the permission to raise
Alliance with the Confederacy 249
his tardiness, and, above all, his general military in-
competence had crystallized in September; and, by
orders 501 of General Scott on the twenty-fourth of Octo-
ber, Hunter was directed to relieve him. Hunter
reached his post in early November and almost immedi-
ately thereafter, either upon his own initiative or after
consultation with someone like Coffin (it could hardly
have been with Lane; for Lane had gone 502 to Wash-
ington, or with Branch; for Branch was strongly op-
the Regt and if necessary I have no doubt but a Brigade of Indians
could be organized by embracing the Osages and Loyal Creeks and
Cherokees. - Letter of October 10, 1861 [General Files, Delaware, 1855-
1861].
501 Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 553.
502 I am not certain of the exact date of Lane's departure for Washington.
Spring says [Kansas, 279] that he went there in November. When an Indian
delegation reached Fort Scott, seeking him, some time about the middle of the
month, he had already handed over his command to Colonel James Montgom-
ery and "had gone to Washington" [Cutler to Coffin, September 30, 1862, Com-
missioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 138]. Yet Dole's letter to Gen-
eral Hunter would convey the impression that Lane was still in Kansas the
middle of the month and expected to be there on the twenty-fourth. I am also
in doubt as to when Hunter reached his post. He communicated with Agent
Cutler from St. Louis, November 20, 1861 {ibid., 1861, p. 44]. Hunter and
Lane may very well have met even outside of Kansas and have exchanged
views and opinions that would have given a basis for the representations that
Lane must have made to Lincoln and Cameron regarding Hunter's approval
of the "Jayhawking Brigade." McClellan seems to have advised the forward
movement in the direction of the Indian Territory; for he says, when writing
to Hunter, December n, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. viii, 428]:
Immediately after you were assigned to your present department I re-
quested the Adjutant-General to inform you that it was deemed ex-
pedient to organize an expedition under your command to secure the
Indian territory west of Arkansas, as well as to make a descent upon
Northern Texas, in connection with one to strike at Western Texas from
the Gulf. The general was to invite your prompt attention to this sub-
ject, and to ask you to indicate the necessary force and means for the
undertaking.
It is only fair to say that Lane had always advocated a more southern concen-
tration of forces. He more than any other northern man seems to have ap-
preciated fully the importance of Indian Territory. He continually recom-
mended using Fort Scott as a base for such military operations as had the
protection of Kansas as their main object.
250 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
posed to the project intended), he telegraphed 503 to the
War Department "for permission to muster a Brigade
of Kansas Indians into the service of the United States,
to assist the friendly Creek Indians in maintaining their
loyalty." Evidently, the request was not granted, 504 but
duties akin to it were, by arrangement of President Lin-
coln, conferred upon Hunter which involved his assum-
ing the responsibility of holding, if such a plan were
feasible, an intertribal council so as to renew the con-
fidence of the southern Indians in the United States
government. A letter 505 from Dole, outlining the plan,
reveals an astonishing ignorance of just how far those
selfsame Indians had gone in their defection, because
of the loss of the confidence.
In the giving of these new duties to General Hunter,
there was not the slightest intention of ignoring Senator
Lane. In fact, Dole expressly mentioned that Lane had
called for just such an Indian conference 506 and sug-
gested that, if Hunter's military duties prevented his
503 Hunter to Thomas, dated Leavenworth, January 15, 1862 [General
Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862].
504 In January, 1862, Hunter deplored the fact that his request had not been
acceded to and said,
Had this permission been promptly granted, I have every reason to be-
lieve that the present disastrous state of affairs, in the Indian country
west of Arkansas, could have been avoided. I now again respectfully
repeat my request - Ibid.
85 Dole to Hunter, November 16, 1861 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67,
pp. 80-82; Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, pp. 43-44].
506 Lane's proposed conference called for the assembling of representatives
of Kansas tribes as well as of Indian Territory tribes. Judging from Hunter's
letter to Agent Cutler of November 20, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1861, pp. 44-45], I infer that Hunter's conference was to be confined
to the southern Indians. The purpose of Lane's must have been represented
to the Kansas Indians as Creek needs [Shawnee "talk" to the Creeks, Novem-
ber 15, 1861, ibid., p. 45]. Hunter intended to hold his conference at his head-
quarters, Fort Leavenworth, which was making the southern Indians come a
pretty long way [Hunter to Cutler, November 20, 1861, ibid., p. 44; Dole to
Cutler, December 3, 1861, Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, p. 107].
Alliance 'with the Confederacy 251
meeting the Indians in person, Lane might take his
place, "provided he can be spared from his post" The
whole affair was incident to the reorganization that had
recently, under general orders 507 of the ninth of No-
vember, taken place in the Western Department, from
which had resulted a Department of Kansas, separate
and distinct from the Department of Missouri. The
Department of Kansas included "the State of Kansas,
the Indian Territory west of Arkansas, and the Terri-
tories of Nebraska, Colorado, and Dakota" and was to
be under the command of Major-general David Hunt-
er 508 with headquarters at Fort Leavenworth. The
idea governing this division of the old western depart-
ment was, ostensibly, as Nicolay and Hay express 509 it,
that Kansas might be protected, Indian Territory re-
possessed, and Texas reached. As we shall presently
see, a similar reorganization took place, about the same
time, in the Confederate western service and for very
much the same reason, the condition of the Indian coun-
try being a very large proportion of that reason. It is
barely possible that, as far as the United States was con-
cerned, Senator Lane's recommendation 510 of the ninth
of October was almost wholly accountable for the
change.
It was, undoubtedly, high time that something vigor-
ous was being done to stay Confederate progress in In-
dian Territory. Indeed, events were happening there
507 Official Records, first sen, vol. iii, 567.
BOS Major-general H. W. Halleck was to command the sister department of
Missouri.
509 Abraham Lincoln, vol. v, 81-82.
510 1 earnestly request and recommend the establishment of a new
military department, to be composed of Kansas, the Indian country, and
so much of Arkansas and the Territories as may be thought advisable
to include therein, -'LANE to Lincoln, dated Leavenworth City, Kansas,
October 9, 1861 [Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 529].
252 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
at this very moment that made all plans for an inter-
tribal conference exceedingly out of date. The Con-
federate government had now a large Indian force 511 in
the field and expectations of an increase, provided the
5(11 By the end of July, the First Regiment of Choctaw and Chickasaw
Mounted Rifles had been completely organized [Official Records, first ser., vol.
iii, 620, 624] and eight companies of a prospective Creek regiment [ibid., 624].
By October twenty-second, when McCulloch ordered him [ibid., 721] to take
up a position in the Cherokee Neutral Lands, Stand Watie's battalion had ap-
parently reached the proportions of a regiment, the First Cherokee Mounted
Rifles. On the twenty-seventh of November, Pike who was then in Richmond
informed Benjamin,
We have now in the service four regiments, numbering in all some
3,500 men, besides the Seminole troops and other detached companies, in-
creasing the number to over 4,000. An additional regiment has been of-
fered by the Choctaws and another can be raised among the Creeks. If
I have the authority I can enlist even the malcontents among that people.
I can place in the field (arms being supplied) 7,500 Indian troops, not
counting the Comanches and Osages, whom I would only employ in case
of an invasion of the Indian country. . . - Official Records, first ser.,
vol. viii, 697.
A supposed report of Agent Garrett, sent to the United States Indian Office
under the following endorsement, is not without interest as bearing upon the
strength of the Confederacy within the Indian country:
The copy of a letter herewith, is without signature, but is said to be
in the handwriting of the late Col. Garret, who at that date, was U.S.
Indian Agent of the Creeks. It is not of much importance, but yet, as
historical and statistical, is not without some interest. I obtained it a
few weeks ago, found among other papers at the Agency, and I presume
is a retained copy of the original.
CREEK AGENCY C.N. Dec. i6th 1861.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of
the 2d ultimo, requiring certain information from me in regard to the
number of Creek Indians; and their relations or feelings towards the
Confederate States. Owing to the great irregularity of the mails, I did
not receive your communication as soon as I ought. The difficulty at
the time I received your letter in regard to answering it properly, caused
me to delay a few days, so that I might answer it definitely. Incidental
to the confusion here, I could not state to you who were reliable, and
who were not, for I did not know myself, and believing that a battle
would be fought in a few days where every one would have to show
his hand, I thought I could give you more reliable information: and
from the valor and fidelity of the Creeks engaged then I can give you
reliable information.
The Creeks number in all 14630, a portion of whom reside in Ala-
Alliance with the Confederacy 253
necessary arms 512 were obtainable. On the twenty-sec-
ond 513 of November, by special orders 51 * from Rich-
bama, Texas and Missouri, leaving about 13000 within the limits of the
Creek Nation: -From the best information I can get, there are among,
the lower Creeks 1650 warriors, 375 of them are unfriendly - Among the
Upper Creeks there are 1600 warriors - only 400 of them are friendly -
to sum up the whole matter there are 1675 Creek warriors friendly to
the Confederate States and 1575 unfriendly- Of those friendly there are
in the service of the Confederate States 1375 -One Regiment is com-
manded by Col. Chilly Mclntosh, numbering 400 - and an independent
company commanded by Capt. J. M. C. Smith numbering 75 men, all in
the service, and armed with a very few exceptions, and I think from re-
cent indications are willing to do service wherever ordered, and circum-
stances justify it.
The Regiment, Battalion and Company were all mustered into service
for twelve months. This comprises nearly all the friendly warriors
in the Nation. I cannot answer you in regard to the number that are
willing to serve during the war. My opinion is, though, that the num-
ber now in the service, and perhaps more, are willing to remain in the
service as long as they may be wanted. The Hostiles are headed by
Ho path ye ho lo who has engaged in his cause portions of several
tribes viz a portion of the Seminoles, Kickapoos, Shawnees, Delawares,
Wichitas, Comanches, and Cherokees - 400 of whom deserted a few days
before the recent battle from Col. John Drews Regiment Cherokee Vol-
unteers and joined Hopathyeholo who is in communication with the fed-
eral forces in Kansas, and has received goods and ammunition from
them: His force is estimated from 2500 to 3000-! would give you a
more detailed account of the battle, but I do not think it proper in this
communication and I presume the commanding officer Col. Cooper has
made his report of the Battle to the Secretary of War -I may be mis-
taken to some extent, in regard to the friendly and hostile Creeks, but
I think I am not, and it is correct from the best information I can get,
and my own knowledge of the facts. It will afford me much pleasure,
to communicate to you at any time anything of importance to the Con-
federate States. Very Respectfully Your Obt Servt.
Hon. David Hubbard, Com. Indian Affairs
Richmond Va.
512 Therein lay the whole difficulty. It was simply impossible for the Con-
federate government to honor all requisitions for arms.
513 The matter must have been even earlier under advisement; for, on the
twenty-sixth of October, J. P. Benjamin, Acting Secretary of War, sent this
notice to "General Albert Pike, Little Rock, Ark. :"
I cannot assign to your command any Arkansas troops at this moment.
Governor Rector is applying for return of the regiments in Tennes-
see. - Official Records, first ser., vol. iii, 727.
514 Ibid., vol. viii, 690.
254 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
mond, Indian Territory had been erected into a sep-
arate military department and Albert Pike, now a brig-
adier-general, assigned to the command of it. For the
present, however, things seem to have remained much
as they were with McCulloch nominally in command
and Cooper in actual charge. Moreover, long before
Pike reappeared upon the scene, matters had come to
an issue between the secessionist and unionist Creeks.
Determined not to allow themselves to be over-per-
suaded or intimidated by the secessionist element in
their nation, the unionist Creeks, under Opoeth-le-yo-
ho-la, had withdrawn from active intercourse with the
rival faction and, resisting all attempts of Cooper and
others to inveigle them into an interview that might
result in compromise, they had encamped at or near the
junction of the Deep and North Forks of the Canadian
River. Cooper resolved to attack them there and, for
the purpose, gathered 515 together an effective fighting
force of about fourteen hundred men, all Indians ex-
cept for a detachment of Texas cavalry. On the fifth of
November, Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la broke camp and took up
the line of march for Kansas, hoping that, in Kansas,
he and his followers would receive either succor or
refuge. It has been estimated that Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la's
force, at this time, was less than two thousand men and
that it comprised, besides Creeks and Seminoles, some
two or three hundred negroes. His traveling cortege
was, however, very much larger; for it included women
and children, the sick and the aged. Approximately
half of the Creeks were on the move for pastures new.
For many of them it was a second exodus.
Colonel D. H. Cooper reached the deserted camp of
Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la on the fifteenth of November and,
515 Daily Stale Journal (Little Rock), Nov. 8, 1861.
Alliance <with the Confederacy 255
finding his enemy gone and locating his trail, moved
himself in a slightly northeasterly direction towards the
Red Fork of the Arkansas. He came up with the
unionist Creeks at Round Mountain on the night of the
nineteenth and an indecisive engagement 518 followed,
both sides claiming the victory. Under cover of dark-
ness, Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la managed to slip away and
crossed into the Cherokee country where there were
plenty of disaffected full-bloods to give him sympathy.
It is more than likely that they had invited him there
and had prepared for his coming. Cooper did not at-
tempt to pursue the Creek refugees, having been called
back to the Arkansas line, there to wait in readiness to
reenforce McCulloch should the Federals make a for-
ward march southward from Springfield, as then seemed
probable. But that danger soon passed, passed even be-
fore Cooper had had time to take the post indicated or
to leave his own camp at Concharta, after a brief re-
cuperation. He was now free to follow up the meagre
advantage of the nineteenth.
The next opportunity to crush Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la
came in the Battle of Bird Creek [Chusto-Talasah,
Little High Shoals, or the Caving Banks], 517 fought De-
cember 9, 1861. On the twenty-ninth of the preceding
month, a part of Cooper's force had set out for Tulsey
Town and an advance guard had been sent up the Ver-
digris in the direction of a place, called "Coody's Set-
tlement," where Colonel John Drew with a detachment
of his regiment of Cherokee full-bloods was posted.
The orders were that Drew should effect a junction
with Cooper's main force and, on December eighth
they were all encamped on Bird Creek in the south-
516 Colonel D. H. Cooper's "Report" [Official Records, first sen, vol. viii, 5].
517 Colonel D. H. Cooper's "Report" [Official Records, first ser., vol. viii,
7, 709]-
256 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
western corner of the Cherokee Nation. At this junc-
ture, word came that Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la wished to treat
for peace and Major Pegg, a Cherokee, with three com-
panions was sent forward to confer with him. They
found the Creek chief, surrounded by his warriors and
ready for battle. It was evening and Colonel Cooper
had scarcely heard the news of the Creek determination
to fight when a message came that four companies of
Drew's regiment, horrified at the thought of fighting
with their neighbors, had dispersed and gone over to
Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la. The incident did not promise well
for success on the morrow and the Battle of Bird
Creek was another indecisive engagement, although
the Creeks, eager and resplendent with their yellow
corn-shuck badges, seem to have had all the advantage
of position. Again they made their escape and again
Colonel Cooper was prevented from following them,
this time because he was exceedingly fearful lest the
Cherokee desertion might have a lasting and disastrous
effect upon the remaining Indian forces, particularly
upon the small group that was all that was left of the
original First Cherokee Mounted Rifles. Cooper's per-
sonal opinion was, that the defection was widespread
among the Cherokees and that it would be sheer folly to
start out after Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la until more white
troops had been added to the pursuing force, by way
both of reinforcement and of encouragement.
Instead, therefore, of continuing northward, Colonel
Cooper drew off in the direction of Fort Gibson and,
from that point, sent for aid to Colonel James Mcln-
tosh at Van Buren. He then occupied himself with his
own troops and prevailed upon John Ross to rally 518 the
Cherokees. It was now the nineteenth of December and
518 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, pp. 355-357.
Alliance with the Confederacy 257
the aged chief did his best to keep his people true to
the faith that the nation had pledged in the treaty of
the seventh of October. He recalled to their minds the
fact that it was, by all odds, the best treaty that the
Cherokees had ever secured, the one that gave them the
fullest recognition of their rights as a semi-independent
people, and he might have added with sad, sad truth
that it was the best that they could ever hope to get
He made no such pessimistic reflection, however, but
concluded,
It is, therefore, our duty and interest to respect it, and we must,
as the interest of our common country demands it. According
to the stipulations of the treaty we must meet enemies of our
allies whenever the south requires it, as they are our enemies as
well as the enemies of the south ; and I feel sure that no such oc-
currence as the one we deplore would have taken place if all
things were understood as I have endeavored to explain them.
Indeed the true meaning of our treaty is, that we must know
no line in the presence of our invader, be he who he may. . . 519
Colonel Cooper then addressed 520 the Indians and, after
him, Major Pegg; 521 but they were not convinced and
many of them went home, positively refusing to march
farther with the army.
Meanwhile Cooper's call for reinforcements had
reached Mclntosh 522 and, as the need seemed so urgent,
519 Extract from John Ross's address to Drew's regiment [Commissioner of
Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 356].
520 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1865, p. 357.
"I Ibid.
622 Mclntosh, at the time, was in charge of McCulloch's brigade, McCul-
loch having gone to Richmond to explain to the authorities there why he had
persistently laid himself open to the charge of refusing to cooperate with Ster-
ling Price in his many Missouri ventures, planned subsequent to the Battle of
Wilson's Creek. McCulloch's orders from the Confederate War Department
were that he should guard the Indian Territory. Price's great idea was to
occupy the Missouri River country. Had McCulloch gone northward with
Price, he would, so he ably argued, have removed himself altogether from his
base.
258 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Mclntosh resolved to supply it and notified Cooper to
that effect. Subsequently, he decided 523 to take the field
in person and to head a column, separate from Cooper's.
What induced him to do this, nobody can well say.
Cooper always felt that the incompleteness of the vic-
tory over Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la, which was soon to come,
was mainly attributable to the divided effort of the at-
tacking force. In the two former engagements, Opoeth-
le-yo-ho-la's force, such as it was, untrained and miscel-
laneous, had greatly outnumbered the Confederate; but
now the two were more equally matched in point of
numbers and the chances of success were all on the
southern side because of superior training and equip-
ment, so Cooper was probably correct in his conjecture.
Mclntosh's excuse 52 * for advancing precipitately and
alone was, notwithstanding, very reasonable. The
scarcity of forage made it expedient to march compact-
ly; and the two generals had agreed, so Mclntosh de-
clared, when in conference at Fort Gibson, "that either
force should attack the enemy on sight."
The privilege of attacking Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la fell,
under this arrangement, supposing it was made, to Mc-
lntosh, who had been able to push on in advance of
Cooper. The Battle of Chustenahlah was fought in the
early afternoon of Decmber 26, 1861, and ended in
what seemed the complete defeat of the Creeks. Mc-
lntosh reported that, although their position was strong,
they were forced to retreat
To the rocky gorges amid the deep recesses of the mountains,
where they were pursued by our victorious troops and routed in
every instance with great loss. They endeavored to make a
stand at their encampment, but their efforts were ineffectual, and
523 Official Records, first ser., vol. viii, n.
22.
Alliance with the Confederacy 259
we were soon in the midst of it. The battle lasted until 4
o'clock, when the firing gradually ceased. 525 . .
And then the Creeks fled, leaving practically every-
thing in the shape of property behind them. Cooper
came up and detachments of his troops pursued them
almost to the Kansas line. The weather was bitterly
cold, provisions scarce, the country rough and bleak.
The pursuit took the form of a seven day scout; but the
Creeks, no matter how great their dispersion, were
headed straight for Walnut Creek, Kansas.
Their coming was anticipated. Hearing of their ap-
proach, Superintendent Coffin had directed 526 all the
agents 527 under his charge to report to him for duty at a
place on the Verdigris River called Fort Roe 528 "about
thirty-five or forty miles from Leroy and Burlington."
It was Coffin's intention to meet the refugees upon their
first arrival ; but, as Commissioner Dole was expected
soon to be at Fort Leavenworth, he thought it best to
wait 529 and consult with him. It does not seem to have
been recorded on just what date the first of the Indian
refugees crossed the Kansas line, but they were very
soon crossing in great numbers and, by the time Coffin
finally reached them, their condition was truly pitiable.
They took up their station on the bare prairies between
the Verdigris and the Arkansas Rivers and stretched
525 Official Records, first ser., vol. viii, 23-24.
526 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 136.
527 The agents were, George A. Cutler, Creek, Charles W. Chatterton,
Cherokee, Isaac Coleman, Choctaw and Chickasaw, G. C. Snow, Seminole, and
Peter P. Elder, Neosho River. Agent Elder did not report for duty.
528 The Indian agents usually referred to it as "Fort Roe" but the military
men, with a few possible exceptions, when meaning identically the same local-
ity, spoke of "Roe's Fork." There is no such place as Fort Roe given in the
Lists of Military Posts, etc., established in the United States from its earliest
settlement to the present time, published by the United States War Department,
1902. That list, however, is far from being complete.
529 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 138.
260 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
themselves in almost hopeless confusion over about two
hundred miles of country. Fortunately the land upon
which they camped was Indian land, New York Indian
land, and the few white men thereon were legally in-
truders and could not consistently object to the presence
of the refugees. The numbers of the refugees were
variously estimated. Starting with about forty-five
hundred, 530 they increased daily and at an astonishing
rate; for the exodus of the Creeks was but the signal
for the flight of other tribesmen from Indian Territory,
of all those, in fact, who were either tired of their alli-
ance with the Confederacy or had never been in sym-
pathy with it and were only too eager to take the first
chance to escape from it.
The suffering of the refugees, due to destitution and
exposure, was something horrible to think upon. Super-
intendent Coffin had little to give them. He appealed
to General Hunter for an allowance from the army sup-
plies and Hunter sent down his chief commissary of sub-
sistence, Captain J. W. Turner, to do what he could to
relieve the distress. Hunter also sent Brigade-surgeon
A. B. Campbell ; for it was not simply food and cloth-
ing, that were needed and roof shelter, but medical at-
530 In compliance with instructions from Major-General Hunter, con-
tained in your order of the 22d. ultimo, I left this place on the 22d. and
proceeded to Burlington, where I learned that the principal part of the
friendly Indians were congregated, and encamped on the Verdigris
river, near a place called Roe's Fork, from twelve to fifteen miles south
of the town of Belmont. I proceeded there without delay. By a census
of the tribes taken a few days before my arrival, there was found to be
of the Creeks, 3,168; slaves of the Creeks, 53; free negroes, members
of the tribe, 38; Seminoles, 777; Quapaws, 136; Cherokees, 50; Chick -
asaws, 31; some few Kickapoos and other tribes, about 4,500 in all.
But the number was being constantly augmented by the daily arrival of
other camps and families. . . - A. B. CAMPBELL, surgeon, U.S.A., to
James K. Barnes, surgeon, U.S.A., medical director, Department of Kan-
sas, dated Fort Leavenworth, February 5, 1862.
Alliance with the Confederacy 261
tendance. As soon. as possible, cheap blankets 531 were
furnished and some condemned army tents. The jour-
ney northward had been undertaken in the bitterest of
cold weather. With a raw northwest wind beating in
their faces,
And over the snow-covered roads, they travelled all night and
the next day, without halting to rest. Many of them were on
foot, without shoes, and very thinly clad. . . In this condi-
tion they had accomplished a journey of about three hundred
miles; but quite a number froze to death on the route, and their
bodies with a shroud of snow, were left where they fell to feed
the hungry wolves. . .
Families who in their country had been wealthy, and who
could count their cattle by the thousands and horses by hundreds,
and owned large numbers of slaves, and who at home had lived
at ease and comfort, were without the necessaries of life. 532
531 These were purchased by Coffin, acting under the advice of Hunter
[Dole to Smith, June 5, 1862, Indian Office, Report Book, no. 12, pp. 392-396].
532 Extracts from Agent Cutler's Report, September 30, 1862. Various re-
ports, more or less detailed, descriptive of the intense sufferings of Indian
refugees in the first weeks of their sojourn in Kansas may be found in the
Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1862, pp. 135-175.
Those of Turner, Campbell, Cutler, and George W. Collamore are particularly
good. Some of the reports originally accompanied Dole's Report of June 5,
1862 [Indian Office, Report Book, no. 12, pp. 392-396; Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, Report, 1862, pp. 147-149; House Executive Documents, 37th congress,
second session, vol. x, no. 132], which was prepared in answer to a House
resolution, calling for information on the southern refugee Indians.
Collamore's Report of April 21, 1862 is to be found in manuscript form in
General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ci6o2. Another report,
most excellent in character, issued from the pen of special agent, William
Kile, February 21, 1862. It is in Land Files, Southern Superintendency, 1855-
1870, Kio7. There are also a few good accounts of the Creek exodus of 1861.
One of them is a sworn statement, presented by Holmes Colbert in a letter,
dated March 25, 1868, and authoritatively cited by Mix in an office letter to
Secretary Browning, June 8, 1868 [Indian Office, Report Book, no. 17, p. 308].
Another account came from John T. Cox to W. G. Coffin under date of
March 18, 1864, and, while not in the least detailed, is worth quoting because
of its tribute of respect to the loyal Indians. It runs thus:
Herewith I enclose a map of the route of retreat of the early Loyal
Refugee Indians, under Apoth yo-ho-lo, in the Winter of 1861.
With the facilities within my reach, for obtaining facts connected
262 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
When, sometime in early December, Commissioner
Dole heard of the resistance that the unionist Creeks
were making to Colonel Cooper, he immediately ap-
with that remarkable exodus, I am fully warrented in saying, that the
history of the War does not furnish a parallel of patriotic devotion to
the Union.
The Rebels had managed so adroitly during the administration of
Buchanan, as to secure the appointment of, or favor of every Govern-
ment Official, or Employee, within the limits of the South Indian Coun-
try, all sources of information were corrupted or poisoned. Postmasters
deplored the fall of the Old Government, as already taken place, Indian
Agents, and all others holding business relations with the several tribes,
used every means in their power to discourage them and destroy their
confidence in the Old Government, resorting to the grossest Misrepre-
sentations, Bribery of Chiefs, Headmen, &c., Malfeasance and Robbery -
Military Posts, Government Stores, Ordnance &c. &c. were surrendered
or abandoned under color of the most dire military necessity, and the ap-
parent tardiness of the Old Government to render them timely assistance,
or in any way counteract those influences, left them without counsel, and
without friends, and implied a total abandonment of the Indians. Yet
under all the discouraging surroundings a large portion of the Creeks,
Cherokees, Seminoles and others maintained their loyalty. The Chick-
asaws were divided in their Councils, and the Choctaws went over al-
most entirely to the Rebel Government.
In the month of March 1861, international councils were held, first
at the Creek Agency, next at North Fork, without affecting very materi-
ally the fidelity of the Indians. But in the latter part of April, the
Choctaws and Chickasaws gave in full adhesion to the Confederate
Government. The remaining tribes were alternating between the Coun-
sels of Apoth-yo-ho-lo, McDaniel and others on the one hand, and a
swarm of Rebel Commissioners on the other.
The Rebel Government was pushing forward the organization of
Indian Regiments, under the Mclntoshes, Stan Watie, Adair, Jumper,
Smith and others, while the Conservative element, forming a Cherokee
Regiment under Col. Drew, for armed neutrality, but in truth loyal to
the Union, while Apoth-yo-ho-lo headed the hostiles, as they were
termed by the Rebels.
In a Report dated Creek Agency C.N. Dec. i6th., 1861, addressed to
the Hon. David Hubbard, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Richmond,
Va., the Creek Agent, Col. Garrett says, See Copy marked "A" (Gar-
rett's report to Hubbard appears in another connection in the present
work. It seems to have come into the Indian Office from two independ-
dent sources). I have noted this to show the attitude of the several
tribes at the beginning of the Rebellion.
The principal object of this report is to call attention to the real
claims of the Indians upon the Government, not only to sympathy, but
{From Office of Indian Affairs']
Alliance with the Confederacy 265
plied once more, through the Secretary of the Interior, to
the War Department for troops sufficient to assert Fed-
eral supremacy south of the Kansas line, his immediate
object being, the strengthening of the force then op-
posed to Cooper. At the moment, Lane's expedition
was under consideration, Lane having managed to con-
vince the Washington authorities, both congressional
and administrative, that an expedition southward was
absolutely necessary 533 for the protection of the frontier.
Somewhat earlier, in fact in the late autumn, the non-
secession Indians of various tribes had made their own
appeal for help. They had made it to the United States
government and also, a little later on, to the Indian
tribes of Kansas. Along about the first of November,
a mixed delegation 534 of Creeks, Seminoles, and Chick-
compensation for services from the time they abandoned their homes
and all they possessed, and took up arms in support of the Government.
Although they claim' nothing of the kind, yet the moral effect of such
a tangible recognition of their early services, would insure fidelity of all
other tribes against any other future rebellion or disaffection against
our Government
The history of their destitution, and terrible sufferings in their pil-
grimage of three hundred miles in mid-winter, is familiar to you and
not necessary here to relate [General Files, Southern Superintendency ,
1863-1864, 824].
533 Others had reached that decision likewise. On the tenth of December,
McClellan had written to Hal leek, "I shall send troops to Hunter to enable
him to move into the Indian Territory west of Arkansas and upon Northern
Texas. That movement should relieve you very materially" - Official Records,
first ser., vol. viii, 419. See also the letter of December n, 1861 [ibid., 428].
534 It was to this delegation, I have no doubt, that the Shawnees sent their
note of encouragement. It bears date November 15, 1861 and was issued from
the Shawnee Agency, Johnson County, Kansas. Its inspiring passages are these:
Brothers, hold fast to the Union! Hold to your treaties! And now
call upon the United States government to fulfill their treaty stipula-
tions with you by protecting you in this your time of need, and save
your country to you first, and then, by so doing, save the whole of the
Indian country to the Union.
. . . And now our advice to you is, go immediately to Washing-
ton City, lay your case before President Lincoln, state everything, and
we assure you that he will protect you, and that immediately; we think
that delay on your part will be ruinous to your people; we believe that
266 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
asaws had made its appearance 535 at Leroy and, finding
there the United States Creek agent, George A. Cutler,
had consulted with him "in reference to the intentions
of the Federal government regarding the protection due
them under treaty stipulations." Cutler advised the
Indians to talk the matter over with Senator Lane and
accompanied them to Fort Scott, Lane's headquarters,
for the purpose. Arriving there, they learned that
Lane had gone to Washington and had left his com-
mand in charge of Colonel James Montgomery. Col-
onel Montgomery counselled with the Indians as Cut-
ler had done and helped them to reach the decision that
it would be best to proceed to Washington and lay their
complaints before the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
At the same time, Montgomery notified 536 President
Lincoln of their intention.
Still accompanied by Agent Cutler, the delegation
resumed its journey, going by way of Fort Leaven-
worth. There they conferred 537 with General Hunter
and left greatly strengthened in their resolution of pro-
ceeding to Washington; for Hunter, too, thought that
such a trip might compel the government to realize the
Indian's very real distress and its own obligation to re-
lieve it. We are fain to believe that General Hunter
personally believed in the military necessity of securing
Indian Territory even though he did do all he could to
oppose the project of Senator Lane in the early months
of 1862 and even though he did disapprove of the for-
mation of the department of Kansas and his own assign-
your agent ought to conduct you there. Put your confidence only in the
Union and you will be safe. . . - Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1861, p. 45.
535 Report of Agent Cutler, September 30, 1862 [Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 138].
B36 Montgomery to Lincoln, November 19, 1861 {ibid,, 1861, p. 461].
537 Hunter to Dole, December i, 1861 [Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1861, p. 49].
Alliance with the Confederacy 267
ment to it instead of to that of Missouri, which would
have been his preference. If he at any time to date had
wavered 538 in his opinion as to the needs of the Indians
and their legitimate claim upon the United States gov-
ernment for protection, Carruth's letter of November
twenty-sixth ought to have settled the matter, unless, in-
deed, its rather savage tone had created prejudice in-
stead of working conviction as was intended.
. . . I have from the first believed it would be good
policy to let loose the northern Indians, under the employ of
government; it certainly would be better for the border States
to have the Indian country for a battle ground than to have it
remain a shelter for rebel hordes the coming winter. . , 539
The visit of the Indians to Washington proved very
opportune. By the twenty-seventh of December, they
were back at Fort Leavenworth and considerably re-
assured. Superintendent Coffin had a council with
them on the twenty-eighth "at the Fort to good satisfac-
tion." He says of his interview,
I gave them Presents of Pipes, tobacco, and Sugar, and they
went on their way to Fort Scott rejoicing they seem to be in
fine Spirits, 540 but are at a Loss what to do for a living til Lanes
Army goes down there into the Indian Territory they want very
much to get Some of the Funds now due the Creeks. . . 541
538 Note that Hunter, when writing to McClellan, December 19, 1861
[Official Records, first sen, vol. viii, 450], professed that, previous to the re-
ceipt of McClellan's letter of the eleventh, he had not known that it was ex-
pected of him that he should undertake an expedition for the defense of Indian
Territory. He declared that Thomas' communication of November twenty-
sixth, touching the matter, had been vague in the extreme.
539 Extract from letter of Carruth to Hunter, November 26, 1861 [Com-
missioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1861, p. 49].
540 It seems a little surprising that they did depart from Fort Leavenworth
in such good spirits; for, while there, they surely must have heard rumors of
the final attack upon Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la. Agent Cutler tells us that he heard
of the exodus a few days after his return to Kansas with the delegation. He
had then left Leavenworth, however, for he says farther on in his letter that
he went back there to confer with Coffin as to what should be done.
541 Extract from letter of Coffin to Dole, December 28, 1861 [General
Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862}.
268 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
A more pathetic appeal, and one more immediately
telling in its effects, was that made to the brother In-
dians of Kansas. It came direct from Opoeth-le-yo-
ho-la and when it reached the Delawares found in them
a ready response. It invited their cooperation 542 in the
war and asked for men and ammunition. 543 This is the
Delaware reply: 54 *
We are much rejoiced to receive your letter by James Mc-
Daniel 545 and David Balon. Our Agent has sent it to our
542 See letter of Mix to F. Johnson at the Delaware Agency, Quindaro,
Kansas, dated January 22, 1862, acknowledging Johnson's letter of January
fourth, which enclosed
A copy of the reply of the Delaware Chiefs in Council to the letter of
the Creek Chief O-poeth-lo-yo-ho-la, inviting their cooperation against
the rebel States. . . - Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, pp. 271-272.
543 On the ist inst., I mailed you the letter of Opoth-la-yar-ho-la Mus-
cogee Chief to the Delawares asking for men and ammunition. On
the 2nd inst. the Delaware chiefs in Council returned the following let-
ter in answer to Opoth-la-ho-la. . . - F. JOHNSON to Dole, dated Quin-
daro, Kansas, January 4, 1862 [General Files, Delaware, 1862-1866,
J543].
544 John Connor, Head Chief, Ne-con-he-con, Sur-cox-ie, Chas. Jour-
neycake, Assistant Chiefs, to Oputh-la-yar-ho-la, Muscogee Chief War-
rior and our loyal Grand Children dated Delaware Nation, Kansas
Jan, 3rd 1861.
545 James McDaniel seems to have been a Cherokee. On April 2, 1862,
Agent Johnson reported to Dole that forty-one Delaware Indians had re-
turned destitute from the Cherokee country and that he had given them as-
sistance and also "a refugee Cherokee chief, James McDaniel." This idea
is further borne out by the following letter:
Office of U.S. Agent for Cherokees
Tahlequah, Ind. Ten April 7, 1873
HON. H. R. CLUM, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affs
SIR: I beg leave to call your attention to the fact that in the fall
and winter of 1861 Opothleyoholo a Creek and James McDaniel a Chero-
kee placed themselves at the head of the loyal Creeks, Seminoles,
Cherokees & others. Unsustained by any U.S. forces they gathered on
Bird Creek, in this Nation, to resist rebel conscription into their army.
They tried to avoid a fight, to make their way peacably to the union
army in Kansas, by a far western route. But Gen. Douglas H.
Coopper, & Gen. Stand Watie, with troops from Texas, & Arkansas, &
with rebel Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws &c pressed upon them, & at-
tempted to bring them into subjection to the Southern Confederacy.
Alliance with the Confederacy 269
great Father, the President, "at Washington," and to Gen. Hun-
ter at "Fort Leavenworth." It gives us great pleasure to hear
that you are good and true friends to the President, and to the
Government of the United States. We hope you will continue
to be their friend. If bad men of the South ask you to go to war
against the President, stop your ears, don't listen to them, they
are your worst enemies, they are trying to destroy you and the
Country.
Grand Children it does our hearts good, we rejoice to hear
of the victories you have gained over your enemies of the Gov-
ernment under your brave leader Oputh-la-yar-ho-la.
Grand Children we are ready and willing to help you. Our
brave Warriors are ready to spill their Blood for you, and are
only waiting to hear from our great Father at Washington, we
have asked of him the privaledge of going to your assistance, and
hope that our request will be granted, we don't wish to go to
War against the wishes of our great Father the President. We
have heard that the President will soon have a large Army in
They adhered to their loyalty. Fought the rebel forces in three or four
battles. At first vanquishing the rebel forces, but finally were over-
come, & compelled to flee to Kansas in mid-winter, with women & chil-
dren. In Kansas these men were organized into regiments, & on ar-
riving in the Cherokee Nation were largely reinforced by their friends
here, & in the Creek & Seminole Nations.
I have made this statement so that you may see the situation in
which these men are placed, & judge intelligently.
Now I wish to know if men wounded in those engagements, under
Opothleyoholo & James McDaniel, while fighting against the rebels,
& the widows of those who were killed, f those who were otherwise
disabled in those fights, & in the subsequent flight, are entitled to the
benefits of pension laws. Can they be pensioned under existing laws?
If not, can you, through the Secretary of the Interior, prevail on the
President to have the matter presented to the next Congress, with a
view to having these persons placed on the rolls of the pension office.
I need say nothing of the propriety of the Government rewarding as far
as possible, such acts of loyalty & voluntary fighting for the Govern-
ment by full blood Indians -when all the influence & power of faithless
Indian Agents, & Superintendants, & the Southern army from Texas &
Arkansas, & the more wealthy & educated mixed blood Indians, were
arrayed against them. It should be rewarded, as far [as] practicable,
as an incentive to like faithfulness in any emergency that may arise in
the future. I have the honor to be Very Respectfully Your Obdt. Ser-
vant JOHN B. JONES, U.S. Agent for Cherokees
270 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
the Indian Country to protect you, that he has ordered Gen.
Lane to march to your relief. We are confident that our great
Father is able and will protect his red children - Grand Chil-
dren we pray to the "great spirit" to protect you and keep you
out of the hands of the bad men of the South, who are trying to
destroy you and the Government We have no fears as to the
result of this war - the President has large Armies in the field
that will conquer and punish the Rebels - We are proud of our
Muscogee Children.
The United States government had already deter-
mined upon an expedition to the Indian country and,
yielding to the importunities of Senator Lane, who rep-
resented General Hunter as in full accord with himself
in the matter, had decided to use the Kansas Indians in
the making up of the attacking force. It was well that
the Indians had manifested a readiness to fight and that
the Delawares, particularly, had overcome their previ-
ous aversion. The first official record of the fact that
the decision to use the Kansas Indians had been reached
appears to be a communication 546 from Assistant Ad-
jutant-general E. D. Townsend to Surgeon-general
C. A. Finley, under date of December 31, 1861, notify-
ing him that medical supplies would soon be needed
for a force of about twenty-seven thousand men, about
four thousand of whom were to be Indians, which
was to be concentrated at an early day near Fort Leav-
enworth. On the third of January, Lane wrote 547 to
546 Official Records, first sen, vol. viii, 576.
547 WASHINGTON, D.C. January 3, 1862.
MAJOR-GENERAL HUNTER, Commanding Kansas Department:
It is the intention of the Government to order me to report to you
for an active winter's campaign. They have ordered General Denver
to another department. They have ordered to report to you eight regi-
ments cavalry, three of infantry, and three batteries, in addition to your
present force. They have also ordered you, in conjunction with the
Indian Department, to organize 4,000 Indians. Mr. Doles, Commis-
sioner, will come out with me. J. H. LANE.
Official Records, first ser., vol. viii, 482.
Alliance with the Confederacy 271
Hunter, informing him, as if at first hand and semi-
officially, of the new plan. It is not to be wondered at
that General Hunter took offence at the officiousness
and presumption Lane displayed. In point of fact, it
was a clear case of executive interference.
Now that it had, to all appearances, gained a long-
desired object, the Indian Office lost no time in lending
the War Department its hearty cooperation. Commis-
sioner Dole was especially enthusiastic and, under in-
structions from Secretary Smith, prepared to go out to
Kansas himself to help organize the Indians for army
service. He also sent particulars 548 of the new move-
ment to Superintendent Branch and a circular letter 549
to the agents of the central superintendency, detailing
the advantages that would accrue to individual Indians
should they enlist. Dole wrote these letters on the sixth
of January and was then expecting to be in Leaven-
worth City for the making of final arrangements eight
or ten days "hence." He did not manage to get away,
548 It being the intention of the Gov't of the United States to take into
its miliary service 4000 Indians from the borders of Kansas and Mis-
souri, to be organized under Major Gen 1 Hunter, you are hereby made
acquainted therewith. The different Agents in your superintendency
will be instructed direct from this Office to use their best endeavors to
engage the above number of Indians, taking care that those so engaged
are capable of good service and are well affected towards this Gov-
ernment.
All the operations in this behalf should be conducted with dispatch
and as much secrecy as the nature of the measure will admit of.
I understand that the Government proposes to equalize the pay of
these Indian volunteers with that of other volunteers, but giving the
chiefs an additional compensation. Each man will receive a blanket, and
those not having arms of their own will be provided by the Govern-
ment. Their subsistence will be the sanre as that provided in Re-
vised Regulations No. 5, Section 39 of this Bureau, or the army sub-
sistence, whatever that may be. Where any of the Indians, thus en-
gaged, shall die or be killed whilst in service, their pay will be given
over to their families -Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, pp. 211-212.
* Ibid., 215-216.
272 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
however, quite so soon ; but the agents went to work im-
mediately and, even before Dole arrived in Kansas,
Agent Farnsworth, who had always been rather too
eager for Indian enlistment, was able to report 550 the
initial steps taken. By the twenty-first of January, 551
Dole was well on his way west. He reached Kansas in
due season and there learned 552 for the first time, that
Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la had been completely overwhelmed,
that the refugees were on the Verdigris, and that Gen-
eral Hunter was subsisting them. This was doleful
news, indeed, and made the project of a southern ex-
pedition seem more and more expedient.
General Hunter had done the best he could to relieve
the awful sufferings of the refugees; but, on the sixth
of February, he was obliged to inform 553 Dole that he
could do no more, that he had practically reached the
sso Farnsworth wrote on the 2ist, acknowledging Dole's letter of the sixth
and saying,
Its contents has been explained to two trusty Indians, who will keep
the matter entirely secret until the time for public action comes. I have
sent for the Indians to come in. I think they will all be here by the
3Oth or 3ist of this month. I will enroll them as soon as possible. I
think I shall be able to enlist about 150 vigorous warriors. . . - Gen-
eral Files, Kickapoo, 1855-1862, 335.
551 Your communication to this office of the 3ist December last has been
received enclosing a letter which was brought to you by a messenger
from the South, as you were holding a Council with the Delaware
Chiefs of your Agency, and which letter you desired to be laid before
the President of the United States. Your communication also represent-
ed the readiness of the Delawares and all the other Western tribes to
engage in military service on the side of the Government against the
rebel States.
With reference to all these Subjects, you will have an opportunity of
conferring with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs (who has perused
your letter in person) at Leavenworth City, for which destination he
left this City on Sunday last on public business. - CHARLES E. Mix,
acting commissioner, to F. Johnson, January 21, 1862 [Indian Office,
Letter Book, no. 67, p. 268].
652 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, pp. 26, 147-148.
55 s I have the honor to inform you that Capt. J. W. Turner, Chief
Commissary of Subsistence of the Department, has just returned from
Alliance 'with the Confederacy 273
end of his resources, and that, after the fifteenth of Feb-
ruary, the whole responsibility of subsisting the desti-
tute Indians would have to fall upon the Interior De-
partment. Dole was almost at his wits' end. He had
no funds that he could use legitimately for the need that
had arisen. It was a case of emergency, however, and
something certainly had to be done. Before the fif-
teenth of December arrived, additional reports 554 came
the encampments of the loyal Indians, on the Verdigris river, and in its
vicinity. Having made arrangements for subsisting these unfortunate
refugees until the isth day of the present month.
In the neighborhood of Belmont and Roe's Fort, there were, at the
time Capt. Turner left, about four thousand five hundred Indians,
chiefly Creeks and Seminoles. But their number was being constantly
augmented by the arrival of fresh camps, tribes and families.
Their condition is pictured as most wretched - destitute of clothing,
shelter, fuel, horses, cooking utensils and food. This last named article
was supplied by Capt. Turner in quantities sufficient to last until the
I5th instant after which time, I doubt not, you will have made further
arrangements for their continued subsistence.
In taking the responsibility of supplying their wants until the Indian
Department could make provision for their necessities I but fulfilled a
duty due to our common humanity and the cause in which the Indians
are suffering. I now trust and have every confidence that under your
energetic and judicious arrangements these poor people may be sup-
plied with all they need after the isth instant, on which day the sup-
plies furnished by Capt. Turner will be exhausted.
I make no doubt that provision should be made for feeding, cloth-
ing and sheltering not less than six thousand Indians, and possibly as
high as ten thousand, on this point however, you are doubtless better
prepared to judge than myself. I only wish to urge upon you the neces-
sity for prompt measures of relief.
P.S. Copies of the reports made by Capt. Turner and Brigade Sur-
geon Campbell will be furnished to you by tomorrow's post, in view of
the urgency of this case, and the fact that these Indians cannot be
supplied any further than have been done from the supplies of the
army, I send one copy of this letter to Topeka and the other to Leaven-
worth City. Fearful suffering must ensue amongst the Indians unless
the steps necessary are promptly taken.
This letter was forwarded by Edw. Wolcott, at Dole's request, to the Indian
Office [General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Wsis].
554 Coffin to Dole, dated Fort Roe, Verdigris River, Kansas, February 13,
1862 [General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ci526]; Snow to
Coffin, February 13, 1862 [General Files, Seminole, 1858-1869].
274 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
in from Superintendent Coffin, detailing distress. Un-
der the circumstances it was necessary to act quickly
and without congressional authorization. Dole tele-
graphed 555 to Secretary Smith,
Six thousand Indians driven out of Indian territory, naked and
starving. General Hunter will only feed them until I5th.
Shall I take care of them on the faith of an appropriation?
He received a reply 556 that should have been dictated,
not so much in the spirit of generosity, as of simple jus-
tice:
Go on and supply the destitute Indians, Congress will supply
the means. War Department will not organize them.
With this approbation in hand, Dole went to work, pur-
chased sufficient supplies on credit, and appointed 557 a
special agent, Dr. William Kile of Illinois, who had
been commissioned 558 by President Lincoln to act on
Lane's staff and was then in Kansas as Lane's brigade
quartermaster, to attend to their distribution. Mean-
while, the attention of Congress had been called to the
matter and a particularly strong letter of Dole's, de-
scribing the utter misery of the exiles, was read in the
Senate February 14, in support of a joint resolution for
their relief. 555 It was intended originally to apply only
to the loyal Creeks, Seminoles, and Chickasaws but had
its title changed later so as to make it include the Choc-
taws. On the third of March, Congress passed 56 an act
providing that the annuities of the "hostiles," Creeks,
Chickasaws, Seminoles, Wichitas, and Cherokees, should
be applied, as might be necessary, to the relief of ref-
555 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 148.
556 Ibid.
557 Dole to Dr. Kile, February 10, 1862 [Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67,
pp. 450-452].
558 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1862, p. 148.
559 Congressional Globe, 37th congress, second session, p. 815.
560 United States Statutes at Large, vol. xiii, 562.
Alliance with the Confederacy 275
ugees from Indian Territory. It was expressly stipu-
lated in this enactment 561 that the money should not be
used for other than Indian Territory tribes.
Secretary Smith's telegram, as the reader has prob-
ably already observed, had given to Dole a small piece
of information that was not of slight significance, sig-
nifying as it did a change of front by the War Depart-
ment. The War Department had rescinded its former
action and had now refused to organize the Indians for
service. The objections to Lane's enterprise must have
been cumulative. Before the idea of it had embraced
the Indians and before it had become so closely identi-
fied with Lane's name and personality, in fact, while it
was more or less a scheme of McClellan's, Hunter had
interposed 562 objections, but purely on military grounds.
His force was scarcely equal to a movement southward.
Subsequently, Halleck interposed objections likewise
and his reasons, 563 whatever his motives may have been,
were perfectly sound, indeed, rather alarmingly so,
since they broadly hinted at the miserably local inter-
ests involved in the war in the west and the gross sub-
ordination of military policies to political. Then came
561 It was, however, the beginning of a great deal of graft and misuse of
government funds. Citizens of Kansas, otherwise reputable, prepared to reap
a rich harvest, and government officials were not at all behindhand in the
undertaking. Presumably, immediately upon the departure of Hunter's com-
missary from Fort Roe, the Indians began to get into the debt of the settlers
and the sum of the indebtedness soon mounted up tremendously. Coffin again
and again urged payment [Coffin to Dole, May 12, 1862], so did Colonel C.
R. Jennison of the Seventh Regiment Kansas Volunteers, and so did General
Blunt.
The act of March 3, 1862, reinforced by that of July 5, 1862 [United
States Statutes at Large, vol. xii, 528] was re-enacted, in whole or in part, each
year of the war [Act of March 3, 1863, United States Statutes at Large, vol.
x 'i> 793 ! Act of June 25, 1864, ibid., vol. xiii, 180]. In addition, special ap-
propriations were made, like that of May 3, 1864, for the refugees.
562 Hunter to Thomas, December n, 1861 {Official Records, first ser., vol.
viii, 428] ; McClellan to Hunter, December n, 1861 [ibid.].
563 Halleck to McClellan, January 20, 1862 [ibid., 509-510].
276 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Lane with energy like the whirlwind, a local politician
through and through. He had absolutely no respect
for official proprieties and the military men, opposed to
him, were men of small calibre. He reached Kansas,
joyfully intent upon putting into immediate effect the
power that Lincoln had conferred upon him, only to
find that there stood Hunter, fully prepared to contest
authority with him. The Adjutant-general had writ-
ten 564 Hunter that Lane had not been given a command
independent of his own and that, if he so desired, he
might conduct the expedition southward in person. In
the evening of the twenty-sixth, Lane reached Leaven-
worth, and the very next day, Hunter issued general
orders 665 that he would command in person. Taken
aback and excusably indignant, Lane communicated 566
at once with John Covode and requested him to impart
the news to the President, to Stanton 567 and the new Sec-
retary of War, and to General McClellan.
Official sensitiveness was unquestionably at the bot-
tom of the whole trouble, yet Lincoln was very largely
to blame for having yielded to Lane's importunities.
He frankly said that he had wished to keep the affair
out of McClellan's hands as far as possible. 568 He
hoped to profit by the services of both Hunter and
Lane; but, if they could not agree, then Lane must yield
the precedence to Hunter. He must report for orders
or decline the service. 569 Military men, stationed in
the west, and civil officers of Kansas were all prejudiced
564 Thomas to Hunter, January 24, 1862 [Official Records, first ser., vol.
viii, 525-526].
565 Ibid., 529-530.
566 _ Ufa
567 Stanton had become Secretary of War, January 15, 1862. On the real
reasons for Cameron's retirement, see Welles' Diary, vol. i, 57.
568 Lincoln to Stanton, January 31, 1862 [Official Records, first ser., vol.
viii, 538].
569 Lincoln to Hunter and Lane, February 10, 1862 [ibid., 551].
Alliance with the Confederacy 277
against the "Lane Expedition." 57 They expected it to
be nothing but jayhawking and marauding of the worst
description. The Indians, however, were deeply dis-
appointed 571 when a halt came in the preparations.
570 Hunter to Halleck, February 8, 1862 [Official Records, first sen, vol. viii,
829-831]; Halleck to Hunter, February 13, 1862 {ibid., 554-555]; McClellan to
Halleck, February 13, 1862 [ibid., 555].
571 My object more particularly in writing to you to-night is on account
of the orders that we learn here to-night from General Gennison to
General Hunter that no Indians are to be mustered into the Service
we have taken greate paines and have made flattering progress in en-
rooling them according to the orders of your Selfe and General Hunter
nearly all of them set apart 10 Dollars out of their wages pr month for
their families and many that have no families leave it in the hands of
the Agents for their benefit after the war is over and they are burning
with revenge and spiling for a fight and I have no dout at all but they
would doo good Service there are two amongst them at least perhaps
many more that I think would make good Commanders Billy Bowlegs
& Little Captain the latter a Creek that commands in all the Late Bat-
tles and they suposed that he was killed but he got in a few days sine
Billy has also recently arivd I am fully of the opinion that these Indians
at least two Thousand of them for such a campaigne as they are de-
signed for or the one is suposed to be that is to go South from here
are as well calculated for as any Troops that could be selected and it
will make great trouble with them as they have their harts set upon it
and will be most cruelly disappointed if not permettd to go and they
should be got back as soon as posabl to their homes as the planting sea-
son is near and if they do not get there in time for putting in a crop
the present Spring it looks like they will have to be suportd by the
Government til August 1863 or til a crop can be maturd nex year which
could not be sooner than August this would entail a heavy expense upon
the Indian department that I would like to be avoidd I have had an In-
terview with General Gennison and he is very sure that if they would
arm these Indians and give him three thousd other Troops he could
put those Indians into their homes in time for a crop this year all here
are very much disappointed and mortified at the course things are for
their families will be no small Item in lessening the expense of Sub-
sisting them which with all the Economy we can use will be very large.-
COFFIN to Dole, dated Humboldt, Kansas, February 28, 1862 [General
Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, Ci54i].
Since writing you from Huraboldt Dr. Kile & my selfe have visited
Fort Roe to make arrangements for moving the Indians to the Neosho
on getting there we found that about 1500 of them had left fbr\this
place they left Saturday noon it turned cold Saturday night and com-
278 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la personally addressed a communica-
tion 572 to Lincoln. He wanted nobody but Lane to
command the expedition. Pending a settlement, Dole
menced snowing and snowed hard most of the day Sunday and last
night was the coldest of the season the Indians all got to timber Sat-
urday night to camp and remained in camp Sunday but most of them
ware on the Road to day tho it was too coald to travel in the fix they
are in I saw many of them barefooted and many more that the feett
was a small part of them that was bare, these people realy seem to be
doomd to suffer for this Loyalty beyond measure, the goods and shoes
ordered by Dr. Kile and an order sent by myselfe before Kile's arival
have not yet reached here. Kile remained at Fort Roe to Settle and
close up business there and assist in the araingements for starting them
from there and I came on to se to those on the way and make araeng-
ments for taking care of them when they get here I found many of
them Sick and not able to leave camp till teams are sent to them to
aid them. We find that we cannot move them with less than about
three Teams to the Hundred and it may overrun that the weather is
moderating now and we shall make a vigorous effort to move them as
quick as possible, we find it very dificult to get Teams on government
vouchers and may not be able to move them in a reasonable time on
that account the funds I brot down three Thousand Dollars was nearly
exausted before Kile arived we are now nearly destitute of money if I
find it as dificult around here to get teams as I have between here and
the fort I shall make an effort to raise some funds for that purpose
tomorrow with what success remains to be seen we have kept them
pretty well suplied with Something to eat so far but that is all we can
bost of, iff we ware to say they ware well clothed there would be ten
thousand square ft of nakedness gaping forth its contradiction; they
have been out of Tobacco for Several days and I doo think one days
experience in camp would convince the most skeptical that with Indians
at least the weed is a necessity, the Indians of all tribs held a grand
council last Thursday at Fort Roe in regard to the war, at which they
determined with great unanimity to gather up and arm as best they
could, all there able bodied men and go down with the army on their
own hook and aid in driving out the Rebels from their homes in time
to plant a crop for this season and then gather all the Ponies they can
and they think they can capture enough from the Rebels with what they
have to come up for their families. Cannot the Government aid so
Laudible an enterprise as that at least with a few guns and some amun-
ition they appear to be in good earnest and are feeding up the best of
their Ponies for the Trip. . . - COFFIN to Dole, dated Leroy, March
3, 1862 [General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862, 1544].
572 Letter of January 28, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. viii, 534.].
Alliance with the Confederacy 279
ordered 573 Coffin 574 to desist from further enrollment.
Secretary Stanton was declared opposed to the use of
Indians in civilized warfare. 575 Soon the orders for the
expedition were countermanded with the understand-
ing, explicit or implied, that it should later proceed
under the personal direction of General Hunter.
The military situation in the middle west and the
great desire on the part of the Confederacy to gain Mis-
souri and to complete her secession from the old Union
necessitated, at the opening of 1862, a thorough-going
reorganization of forces concentrated in that part of the
country. Experience had shown that separate and in-
dependent commands had a tendency to become too
much localized, individual commanders too much in-
clined to keep within the narrow margin, each of his
573 I have a despatch from Secretary Smith saying that the Secretary
of War is opposed to mustering the Indians into the service, and that
he would see the President and settle the matter that day (Feb. 6).
This as you will see disarranges all my previous arrangements,
and devolves upon me the necessity of revoking my orders to you to
proceed with the agents, to organize the loyal Indians in your Superin-
tendency into companies preparatory to their being mustered into the
service by Gen. Hunter. I have now to advise that you explain fully
to the Chiefs that no authority has yet been received from Washington
authorizing their admission into the army of the United States; but I
would, at the same time advise that you proceed to ascertain what num-
ber are able and willing to join our army, and that you so far prepare
them for the service as you can consistently do, without committing
the Government to accept them, as I still hope for the power to get
these refugees if no others, into the service, it being one, and as I
think, the best means of providing for their necessities. . .-DOLE to
Coffin, February n, 1862 [Indian Office. Letter Book, no. 67, p. 448].
574 Coffin had not been written to, Jan. 6, because the original plan did
not contemplate the employment of southern Indians. Not until he heard of
their presence, as refugees in Kansas, did Dole include them in his list of
possible soldiers.
575 Superintendent Branch may have had something to do with the opposi-
tion that grew up in Washington after Dole's departure ; for he was there
the last days of the month. Lane asked for his immediate return to the west
[Mix to Lane, January 27, 1862, Indian Office, Letter Book, no. 67, p. 293].
280 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
instructions, for the good of the service as a whole to be
promoted. It was thought best, therefore, to establish
the Trans-Mississippi District of Department No. a 576
and to place in command of it, Major-general Earl Van
Dorn. The district was to comprise all of Louisiana
north of the Red River, all of Indian Territory proper,
all of Arkansas, and all of Missouri west of the St.
Francis. Wise in the main, as the scheme for consoli-
dation unquestionably was, it had its weak points. The
unrestricted inclusion of Indian Territory was decided-
ly a violation of the spirit of the Pike treaties, if not of
the actual letter. Under the conditions of their alli-
ance with the Confederacy, the Indian nations were not
obliged to render service outside of the limits of their
own country; but the Confederacy was obliged, inde-
pendent of any departmental reorganization or regula-
tions, to furnish them protection.
Almost the first thing that Van Dorn did, after as-
suming command of the new military district, was to
write, 577 from his headquarters at Jacksonport in east-
ern Arkansas, to Price, advising him that Pike would
shortly be ordered to take position in southwestern
Missouri, say in Lawrence County near Mt. Vernon,
"with instructions to cooperate with you in any emer-
gency." Van Dorn was then laboring under the im-
pression that Pike's force consisted of a majority of
white troops, three regiments, he thought, out of a
brigade of eight or nine thousand men, whereas there
was only one white regiment in the whole Indian de-
partment. Colonel Cooper complained 578 that this lat-
ter condition was the fact and insisted that it was con-
576 Special Orders, no. 8, Jan. 10, 1862 [Official Records, vol. viii, 734].
577 Van Dorn to Price, February 7, 1862 [Official Records, first ser., vol.
viii, 749].
578 Cooper to Pike, February 10, 1862 [ibid., vol. xiii, 896].
FOfiT WCVLLOGH
[From Office of Indian Affairs']
Alliance 'with the Confederacy 283
trary to the express promises made, by authority, 579 to
the Choctaws and Chickasaws when he had begun his re-
cruiting work among them the previous summer. Had
Van Dorn only taken a little trouble to inquire into the
real state of affairs among the Indians, he would, in-
stead of ordering Pike to bring the Indian regiments
out of Indian Territory, have seen to it that they stayed
at home and that danger of civil strife among the Cher-
okees was prevented by the presence of three white reg-
iments, as originally promised. At this particular time
as it happened, Pike was not called upon to move his
force; for the order so to move did not reach him until
after the Federals, "pursuing General Price, had in-
vaded Arkansas." 880
It proved, however, to be but a brief stay of execu-
tion; for, as soon as Van Dorn learned that Price had
fallen back from Springfield, he resolved 581 to form a
junction with McCulloch's division in the Boston
Mountains and himself take command of all the forces
in the field. He estimated 582 that, should Pike be able
to join him, with Price's and McCulloch's troops al-
ready combined, he would have an army of fully twen-
ty-six thousand men to oppose a Federal force of be-
tween thirty- five and forty thousand. Pike was duly
informed 583 of the new arrangement and ordered 584 to
"hasten up with all possible dispatch and in person
direct the march of" his "command, including Stand
Watie's, Mclntosh's, and Drew's regiments." His men
579 Walker to Cooper, May 13, 1861 [Official Records, first sen, vol. iii,
574-575]-
580 Report of Albert Pike, dated Fort McCulloch, May 4, 1862 [ibid., vol.
xiii, 819].
581 Van Dorn, Report to Bragg, March 27, 1862 [Official Records, first
sen, vol. viii, 283].
582 Van Dorn to Mackall, February 27, 1862 [ibid., 755].
583 Maury to Pike, March 3, 1862 [ibid. t 763-764].
584 Maury to Pike, March 3, 1862 [ibid., 764].
284 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
were to "march light, ready for immediate action." 585
The outcome of all these preparations was the Battle of
Pea Ridge 386 and that battle was the consummation, the
culminating point, in fact, of the Indian alliance with
the Southern Confederacy. It was the beginning of
the end. It happened just at the time when the Rich-
mond legislators were organizing 587 the great Arkansas
and Red River superintendency, 588 which was intended
to embrace all the tribes with whom Albert Pike had
made his treaties. Albert Pike retired from Pea Ridge
to his defences at Fort McCulloch, angry and indignant
that the Indians had been taken out of their own coun-
try to fight the white man's battles. His displeasure
was serious; for the Indian confidence in the Confed-
eracy depended almost wholly upon the promises and
the assurances of the Arkansas poet.
585 Maury to Drew, Mclntosh, and Stand Watie, March 3, 1862 [Official
Records, first ser., vol. viii, 764].
586 This will be discussed fully in a later volume.
587 Journal, vol. i, 640, 743; vol. ii, 19, 20, 51, 52; vol. v, 47, 115, 116, 151,
167, 210.
588 The act was passed April 8, 1862 [Confederate Statutes at Large (edi-
tion of 1864), 11-25],
APPENDIX A -FORT SMITH PAPERS
Copy TAHLEQUAH, January gth 1857.
SIR : - Some time since I received a letter from you calling for in-
formation in reference to the white intruders who were settling upon
the Cherokee Neutral Land. I have been creditably (credibly) in-
formed that there are several white families living upon the Neutral
Land, some of them are making improvements, others are in the em-
ployment of Cherokee Citizens, living on the Neutral Land, from the
best information that I can get, most of the intruders are good citi-
zens of the U-States. I have notified them to leave, with the under-
standing that if they do not leave by spring, they will be removed by
the Military. My reason for not removing them at an earlier date is,
the weather is so cold and disagreeable that it would be improper to
turn women and children out of doors, therefore I will not remove
them til the winter breaks it maybe that the Military will have to be
employed in their removal : yet I shall make the effort to remove them
peacefully and without the military if possible. Very Respectfully,
Your ob't, Svt. (Signed). GEO. BUTLER, Cherokee Agent.
Doct. C. W. Dean, Sup't. of Ind. Affs.
Copy FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS, February igth, 1859.
SIR : I deem it my duty as an independant citizen to apprize you,
as the head of the Indian Bureau, of a recent transaction of the Super-
intendent of Indian Affairs at this place, and demand of you the proper
action the facts may impose.
A contract has been given to an intimate friend and relation of
the Superintendent, to feed the Witchita and other Indians inhabiting
the country between the gSth and looth degrees, West Longitude, at
a sum pr ration, of one third, perhaps one half, more than other per-
sons would have fed these Indians for; which persons were denied
the privilege of contending for the contract, as no puplic notice invit-
ing proposals was made, and the contract was given privately.
I assert this postively, as to the notice for proposals, and enclose
you a letter of Capt. J. H. Strain, confirmatory of the fact, that he
286 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
was willing to feed the Witchitas, for a sum far less than the records
of your Office must show the government has been pledged to pay
another. The character of this gentleman, who has been for years
Sutler at Fort Arbuckle, if unknown to you, can be avouched by the
U. S. Senators from this State.
The Seminoles are now fed under a contract given in the usual
regular mode of publishing invitations for proposals and awarding the
contract to the lowest bidder, at the sum of about seven cents pr ra-
tion. The Witchitas are encamped only forty or fifty miles from the
Seminoles and near the Texas and Chickasaw lines, where corn and
beef are much cheaper and more abundant. In proof of this I refer
you to late contracts for these articles given at Fort Washita and Fort
Arbuckle - the first being near the Witchitas, and the other near the
Seminoles. Captain Strain says he would have fed the Witchitas for
ten cents per ration, and if proposals had been invited, the Contract
would have been taken for a less sum.
There are some seven hundred Indians now fed, and thirteen cents
pr ration is the sum stated as allowed I believe it is more, but the
Indian Office contains the proof of the exact sum. If the Contract
had been given at nine cents pr ration, it would have been a saving of
twenty eight dollars pr day, over the price said to be now paid, which
would amount to eight hundred and forty dollars pr month, and ten
thousand and eighty dollars a year. This is surprisingly large, for a
small Indian contract, and at a time too when the duty of government
Officers to retrench expenses is so imperiously demanded.
I am opposed to such favoriteism under any circumstances, and par-
ticularly so, when the recipient can lay no claim to Democratic sup-
port.
I am credibly informed that the number of the Indians fed under
this contract, is rapidly increasing, and that efforts are all the time
made to induce the Texas Reserve Indians to claim relationship with
Wichitas, and come into their camp and draw rations. One of
the employees under this Contract makes this statement, and says quite
a number have already been induced so to come. If the number is
swelled to two thousand, as conjectured here, the large price now
paid will roll up the sum thus disbursed to the Superintendents fa-
vorite so much that other notice will be taken of it, unless you find it
in your power to interfere.
I am tired of such conduct and such unfairness towards the gov-
Fort Smith Papers 287
eminent, and now make the charge distinctly and demand of you that
it be stopped.
Of course I have no desire to withhold my name, and can refer you
to Senators Sebastian and Johnson for an endorsement of my character.
Please acknowledge receipt of this. I am most respectfully, Your
Obt. Servant, A. G. MAYERS.
Hon. J. W. Denver, Comr. Ind. Affairs,
Washington City, D. C.
P.S. I may add that I am not, nor have I ever been interested in
these sort of Contracts, and have no desire to be interested in this
one. A.G.M.
FORT SMITH i6th Feby. 759.
DEAR SIR: I am in receipt of yours of the I5th inst. You were
correct in understanding me to say, that I was willing to feed the
Witchita Indians, near Fort Arbuckle, at ten cents per ration.
Was the contract to be let to the lowest bidder, it would go below
what I said I was willing to take it at. Very Respectfully, Your Obt.
Servant J. H. STRAIN.
Gen. A. G. Mayers, Ft. Smith, Ark.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. OFFICE INDIAN AFFAIRS,
May 1 2th 1859.
SIR, For your information and such action as you may deem neces-
sary, I transmit a copy of a letter, and its enclosures, addressed to
this Office by A. G. Mayers on the 2ist ultimo, and of my reply of the
nth instant. Very respectfully, Your Obt. Servant,
CHARLES E. Mix, Commissioner, ad interim.
E. Rector Esq, Superintendent &c,
Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Copy FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS April 2ist 18^ >,
CHAS. E. Mix, Esq, Acting Comr. of Indian Affairs
Washington City D. C.
SIR : - Allow me to ask of you the favor to inform, officially wheth-
er the funds provided by the Government for the subsistence of the
Wichita Indians has been turned over to the Superintendent of Indian
Affairs at this place or any other disbursing offices of the department,
to carry out the Contract made by the Supt. with C. B. Johnson for
subsisting those Indians after the facts reported by me in regard to the
288 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
matter, in a letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of date the
1 9th Feby 59-.
It has been stated to me that such monies have been so turned over
to the Superintendent, and statement has been contracted, I therefore
wish to know of you the truth of the matter, and am assured such in-
formation will be readily afforded me,
I may add, to strengthen the report of facts formerly made by me
in regard to the Wichita Contracts, that the Seminoles, who are sub-
sisted at a sum less than seven cents per ration, under contract given
after publication for proposals, are near Fort Arbuckle, and the Wichi-
tas, who are subsisted under private contract at over thirteen cents per
ration, are near Fort Washita and within the Chickasaw Nation (much
of course to the annoyance of the Chickasaws). Now I ask a refer-
ence to the Comparative Contracts to feed the two tribes on file in your
office, with the Contract for corn and beef given at the two posts men-
tioned to supply the Soldiers, on file in the War Office, to convince
you that the Witchitas are fed at an exhorbitant cost to the Govern-
ment.
I also herewith enclose a letter from Mr. Dennis Trammel, who
was the Contractor to feed the Seminoles; stating that he was willing,
and had so stated it to the Supt, to feed the Wichitas for seven cents
pr ration. For Mr Trammel's veracity I can avouch and full en-
dorsement can be given of it from others, if required ; as can be done
for my own character and standing in this community .-
I intend to follow up this matter to a conclusion, and in so declair-
ing must state that I do it without motive of personal malice and
simply as an impartial Citizen and a supporter of the administration -
impelled to the duty in view of the universal acclaim throughout the
Country for economy in Govt. expenses on account of the depleted
state of the Treasury, Otherwise I might have left the unpleasant af-
fair to the proper officers of the Government to find out and determine
as they might see proper,
Let me ask ; - Is it true that the Supt. has received the Two hun-
dred thousand dollars due the Creeks under the treaty of 1851, with-
out an order from that tribe to the government to send out the money
and upon the Supt's own responsibility?- An early reply will greatly
oblige me, Very Respectfully Your obt. Svt. A. G. MAYERS.
Fort Smith Papers
Copy GREENWOOD ARKANSAS April i8th 1859.
DEAR SIR: I have understood that you was willing to feed the
Wichataw Indians at the same price that you received from the Gov-
ernment for feeding the Seminole Indians.
Please state if I am correct in so understanding your propositions
Very respectfully Your Obt. Servt. A. G. MAYERS
Mr Dennis Trammell, at Greenwood Arks.
Copy BACKS ARN Aprial 19. 1859.
DEAR SIR: I reed your note of the 18 instant and state that you
are correct, I have stated that I was willing to feed them at the same
price 7 cents. I am Yours, &c. DENNIS TRAMMELL
Genl, A. G. Myers Esq.
Copy DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE INDIAN AFFAIRS
nth May 1859.
SIR: In reply to your letter of the 2ist Ultimo I have the honor
to state that a portion of the funds appropriated by Congress towards
defraying the expenses of Colonizing the Wichita and other Indians
in the western part of the Choctaw and Chickasaw country, includ-
ing their temporary subsistance, has all along been in the hands of
Superintendent Rector, to meet any necessary current expenses con-
nected with said measure.
In regard to the contract made with Mr. C. B. Johnson by Super-
intendent Rector, for feeding the Witchitas, it was but a temporary
measure to meet an emergency, and was fully approved by the late
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, under subsequent instructions Supt.
Rector, will it is expected, at an early day, make a different arrange-
ment, for furnishing said Indians with such subsistence as must neces-
sarily be supplied to them by advertising for proposals therefor, or by
causing it to be purchased and issued to them direct by an agent of
the Government, as may be best and most economical.
The money due the Creeks under the Treaty of 1856, to which you
refer, was placed in Superintendent Rectors hands to be paid to them,
in compliance with the formal and urgent demand of the Council of
the tribe. Very respectfully Your Obt Servant
Signed. CHAS. E. Mix, Commissioner ad interim.
A. G. Mayers Esq., Fort Smith Arks.
290 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS,
March 14, 1860.
SIR: Robert J. Cowart, Esq. of Georgia, has been appointed by
the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, Agent
of the Cherokee Indians in place of George Butler, Esq. whose com-
mission has expired.
He has been directed to report himself to you at Fort Smith for
instructions, when you will assign him to duty. His compensation
will be at the rate of $1500 per annum, and the time of its commence-
ment will be fixed upon when he arrives in this City, which he has
been directed to take in his route to Fort Smith. The sufficiency of
his bond will also be made the subject of examination at this Office
upon his arrival.
A letter has been written to M r Butler notifying him of the ap-
pointment, and directing him to make up and forward his accounts
immediately, and to turn over to Mr. Cowart all moneys, papers, and
other property in his hands upon application. Very respectfully, Your
obedient servant, A. B. GREENWOOD, Commissioner.
Elias Rector, -Esq., Superintendent, &c., Present.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE INDIAN AFFAIRS,
April 21, 1860.
SIR : From information that has been received at this Office in re-
gard to certain persons, who are residing within the limits of the
Cherokee nation, it is found necessary to call your attention to the
propriety of seeing that the provisions of the Intercourse law are ob-
served with respect to them. By reference to the law, you will find
that no person can reside within the limits of the country of any In-
dian nation or tribe without permission, and such must be obtained
under certain prescribed rules; and even after permission is given, if
the party is found abusing the privilege by acting in violation of any
of the provisions of law, or is found unfit to reside in the country
whether from example, from the want of moral character, from his
interference with the institutions of the tribe, from seditious language
and teachings, or from any cause tending to disturb the peace and
quiet of the tribe, or tending to alienate their attachment to the Gov-
ernment of the United States, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs,
and Indian Agents have authority to remove him; and the President
is authorized to direct the Military force to be employed in such re-
moval.
Fort Smith Papers 291
The necessity for such power, and for greater facility in carrying
the same into execution, was so apparent, that at the first session of
the 35th Congress it was found advisable to legislate further in the
matter; and the 3rd Section of the Indian appropriation bill was ac-
cordingly passed, which is, "That the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
be, and he is hereby, authorized and required, with the approval of
the Secretary of the Interior, to remove from any tribal reservation
any person found therein without authority of law, or whose presence
within the limits of the reservation may, in his judgment, be detrimen-
tal to the peace and welfare of the Indians, and to employ for the pur-
pose such force as may be necessary to enable the agent to effect the
removal of such person or persons."
As I remarked before, I am induced to believe that the Cherokees
have just cause of complaint from the presence of some such persons
within their limits, and it is my desire that you call the attention of
the newly appointed Agent particularly to the subject. He should
look not only to those cases which are there originally without au-
thority of law, but also to those who, with ostensibly worthy purposes,
have received permission, and falsified their pretensions. This is a
delicate trust, and should be executed with great caution and discre-
tion, and you cannot enjoin upon the agent too much care and circum-
spection for although I shall examine carefully the grounds of his
charges, yet I must be guided in a great measure by his opinion, and
am determined that the law shall be enforced.
You w r ill therefore, so soon as Mr. Cowart shall report to you for
duty, communicate to him the contents of this letter, and require him
to investigate, as quietly as possible, the cases of all white persons
found within the limits of his agency, and report to me, through you,
such as are there without the authority of law, and such as may be un-
worthy longer to remain although they may have originally had per-
mission to enter the country. Very respectfully, Your Obt, Sevt.
A. B. GREENWOOD, Commissioner.
Elias Rector, Esq. ; Fort Smith, Arkansas.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE INDIAN AFFAIRS,
June 4th 1860.
SIR : The attention of this office has been called to an article which
appeared in the Fort Smith Times (which is herewith enclosed) in
which it will be seen that a secret organization has been formed in the
Cherokee Nation, which is rapidly increasing. The existence of such
292 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
an organization, the objects of which cannot be misunderstood, has
caused in my mind the greatest apprehension as to the future peace
and quiet of that country; and, if permitted to mature its plans, will
be productive of the worst results. The article alluded to points to
the Jones' as being the leaders in this movement, and who have been
permitted for a long time to enjoy the privileges of that Nation. It
is believed that the ultimate object of this organization is to interfere
with the institutions of that people, and that its influences will extend
to other tribes upon the Western border of Arkansas.
This scheme must be broken up: for if it is permitted to ripen,
that country will, sooner or later, be drenched in blood. You are
aware that there is a large slave property in the Cherokee country,
and if any steps are taken by which such property will be rendered un-
safe, internal war will be the inevitable result, in which the people of
the bordering state will be involved. The relations which the Editor
of the Times bears to the Cherokees enables him to procure reliable
information from that section which is not accessible to all and hence
the greater credit is due to his published statements in relation to the
affairs of that people. This office is also in possession of private ad-
vices from that country, which fully corroborates the statements in the
article referred to. This organization and its purposes are no longer
left to mere conjecture. In view of these facts I have to direct that
in addition to the instructions contained in a letter from this office, of
the 2 ist of April last, the contents of which you were instructed to
communicate to Agent Cowart, you will direct him immediately on
his arrival at his Agency to cautiously, institute inquiry as to the ex-
istence of this secret organization, its objects and purposes; who are
the counsellors and advisers of this movement, and proceed at once to
break it up ; and, if in his investigation he should be satisfied that any
white persons residing in the Nation are in any way connected with
this organization he will notify such person or persons forthwith to
leave the Nation. You will inform Agent Cowart that the Secretar
of War will be requested to place such force at his disposal as may b
necessary to enforce any order he may deem it his duty to make. Yoi
will direct him also to spare neither time or trouble in carrying ou
these instructions, and that he report direct to this office, advising yoi
in the meantime of his action.
A copy of this letter has been sent direct to Agent Cowart. Your
Respectfully, A. B. GREENWOOD, Commissioner
Elias Rector, Esq., Supt: Ind. Affairs:
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith Papers 293
TROUBLE BREWING AMONG THE CHEROKEES
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The Fort Smith (Ark.) Times says: We noticed a week or two
ago that there was a secret organization going on in the Cherokee Na-
tion, and that it was among the full-blood Indians alone. We are
informed by good authority that the organization is growing and ex-
tending daily, and that no half or mixed blood Indian is taken into
this secret organization. The strictest secrecy is observed, and it is
death, by the order, to divulge the object of the Society. They hold
meetings in the thickets, and in every secret place, to initiate members.
We are told that the mixed-bloods are becoming alarmed, and every
attempt to find out the object of this secret cabal has thus far proved
abortive. The Joneses are said to be the leaders in the work, and
what these things are tending to, no one can predict. We fear that
something horrible is to be enacted on the frontier, and that this secret
work will not stop among the Cherokees, but will extend to other
tribes on this frontier. The Government should examine into this
matter, before it becomes too formidable.
CHEROKEE AGENCY. Near Tahleguah C.N.
HON. ELIAS RECTOR, Supt. Ind. Affairs
Fort Smith, Ark.
Sir: Yours of the I5th Inst, is before me, contents closely noted.
In reply I have to state, that I am in receipt of the Instructions
of which you write, from the Indian Ag fc
And I now hasten to Lay before you the result of my investiga-
tions, thus far in this nation,
Soon after I entered the nation before I had proceeded say half
days travel, I was met with complaints against certain persons (white
men) who it was said had been enterf earing with the Institution of
Slavery - to which I invariably replied to the complainants, bring
me the charges - or the witnesses - by whome I can substantiate them,
and my duty, will be as pleasent, as promptly fulfilled none came,
In Tahlequah in time of Circuit Court, I made a short speach to
the Citizens, in which I told them, that if they, or any of them, knew
any thing on the subject - to report forthwith to me,- and none have
reported and while I have heard much said on the subject - 1 have not
as yet been able to get any thing that would do for proof that would
be reliable. And while I make the above statement I do not enter-
294 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
tain a doubt, of the truth of the charges - And being satisfied of the
truth of those charges - 1 shall use evry effort to establish them,
As regards those Secret Societies, I firmly believe, that they are
gotten up with a view to aid in coveying those abolition plans of
operation, to a successful termination Allow me to say that I
shall continue to travel in and through the Nation (unless differently
instructed) until I establish those charges if it can possible be done,
Mean while, I shall be pleased to recive Instructions and advice
from you on the subject, and will keep you advised of my movements,
I am Sir with much respect, your obt Servt,
ROBT. J. COWART, U. S. Cherokee Agent
Private
The Second Chief is about to call the Council together to take into
consideration the conduct of those white men who are interfearing
with the institutions of Slavery - and to devise means by which those
Secret Societies may be put down, and when the Council meets, I
think we can remidy all those evials -
I find there are many white men in the nation without permits -
and one or two English men, these I shall order to leave the nation
Instanter, R. J. COWART
TAHLEQUAH C. N. July gth 1860
DEAR MAJ RECTOR, When I reached home I found that Hon.
A. B. Greenwood had been here, stayed two days, and a half & left.
I am told that he expressed a verry strong desire to see me but had
not time to remain here or go to Fort Smith.
He has brought his family home to Ark. to remain as he writes
me
I wish now verry much to see you and Col. Pulliam, of which I
have written him, I would go forthwith to see Greenwood but sup-
pose from what he wroat me that he had left, or will have done so
before I could get there. I am with much respect, your friend
R. J. COWART
Hon. Elias Rector Fort Smith, Ark Tahlequah C.N.
CHEROKEE AGENCY. TAHLEQUAH C. N. August i5th 1860
HON. ELIAS RECTOR, Sup 1 Ind Affairs Fort Smith, Arks.
Dear Sir : Tomorrow morning I set out, to the Neutral Lands -
Fort Smith Papers 295
and am advised to take a few men with me which I propos doing,
It may be truely said, that, this Nation is in the midest of a crises.
I shall be compelled to call for Military aid -which I expect to
do forthwith -
Immediatly upon my return from the Neutral Lands - 1 expect
to go to Fort Smith
Please Remember me kindly to my friend Col Pulliam
I am very kindly your obt Servt. R. J. COWART
Tahlequah C. N.
OFFICE U.S. NEOSHO AGENCY, QUAPAW NATION
Augt 24th 1860
SIR: By refference to my letter of July nth you will find that I
according to your instructions, gave all the intruders upon the Osage
reservation notice to leave forthwith, or that they would be removed
by Military force. That notice was dated May 22nd 1860, & the
intruders are still there, and I have most respectfully now to suggest,
that in view of the situation of the Neutral land of the Cherokees and
the reserve of the Osages, they, laying adjoining each other, and the
great number of squatters therein, I would advise that at least two
companies of U. S. Dragoons or Cavalry be called for, both to act
together in the removal of the intruders from the Osage and Neutral
lands
I learn that Major Cowart expects to be at your office in a few
days, in order to make a Requisition upon the Commanding Officer
of Fort Caleb for Troops to remove the intruders from the Neutral
land, and enclosed you will find one from me, which if approved by
you, please forward by the same express, in order that the Troops
may march together, as their destination is about the same -
I would also say that in my opinion, that in order that the removal
should avail anything that all their improvements should be destroyed
by the Troops as they progress -
Your instructions are requested in all this matter. Very Re-
spectfully Your Obt Svt ANDREW J. DORN, U.S. Neosho Agnt
Major Elias Rector, Supt Indian Affairs
Fort Smith Arkansas.
N.B. Please forward the enclosed letter directed to Capt W. L.
Cabell U.S.A. and much oblige yours truly A.J.D.
296 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
EVANSVILLE, ARKS Sept 6th/6o
FRIEND, THAD ... I wish you woold come up in this part
of the country. I am going to start to Campmeeting next Saturday
at Cane Hill there was a big Camp meeting a going on when I came
here in the nation it was about five miles west of this place. I did
not go as I was busy fixing up to work tho if I dont have any bad
luck I think I will have a good time at Cane Hill
I think business will be pretty good here from the prospects I think
I will spend a couple months at Tahlequah this fall. I want to
attend the next council there which will begin in Oct. . . . etc.
Remain your Friend JNO. C. DICKENSON
Mark,, T,, Tatum, Greenwood, Arks
TAHLEQUAH CHEROKEE NATION, September 8th, 1860.
HON. ELIAS RECTOR, Supt. Indian Affairs, Fort Smith, Arks.
Dear Sir, Enclosed please find Copy of letter from the Secre-
tary of War, to Hon. A. B. Greenwood -
Unofficial WAR DEPARTMENT June I4th 1860,
DEAR SIR -In answer to your note of the nth Inst in regard to
trouble among the Cherokees, I have to inform you that orders have
been given to the Commander of Fort-Cobb, as suggested, Yours
&c, Signed JOHN B. FLOYD.
HON. A. B. GREENWOOD, Commr.- It seems from the above that
orders have been given the Commander at Fort Cobb to furnish me
Troops to remove intruders from this Nation. I have not heard
any thing from Washington since I left Fort Smith.
I would be glad to have the Troops as early as convenient, as I feel
that I can do but little more without them.
I this day sent a Notice to John, B. Jones to leave the Nation
by the 25th Inst.- which I trust he will do. I am writing to the
Department today and giving the facts in refference to this Nation -
I have asked for contingent funds, as the requirements of the Depart-
ment, are, that money appropriated for one purpose, should not
used for another.
Please give me the benefit of any information, you have or may
get on the subject of Troops. I am as ever your friend And obedient
Servt. R. J. Cow ART
Tahlequah C, N,
Fort Smith Papers 297
TAHLEQUAH CHEROKEE NATION, Oct 29th 1860
COL. PULLIAM,
My Dear friend, Will you be so kind as to forward the enclosed
Dispatch to Hon A. B. Greenwood Washington D.C. Please Con-
sult Capt. Sturgeons, you may, find it necessary, to change it, if so,
please make any alteration, you and the Capt may, think best.
I expect to visit Fort Smith in a few days when I hope to settle
up my accounts, and spend some time with you - 1 [illegible] say
pleasantly.
I Learned from Capt , your Recent affliction. Please al-
low me to tender to you and Especially to Mrs. Pulliam my heart
felt Simpathy.
Write me by the barer all the News, I send written to Maj.
Rector for two hundred Dollars, please see that the matter is ar-
ranged. I am very kindly yours, R. J. Cow ART
Tahlequah C. N.
Col R. P. Pulliam, Fort Smith Ark.
FORT SMITH A.R.K. Oct 3ist 1860.
HON. A. B. GREENWOOD Com. Ind. Affairs, Washington D.C.
Intruders Removed from Neutral land - much desire to confer
with you and [illegible] in person with Capt Sturgeons who com-
manded Troops. R. J. COWART, U.S. Cherokee Agent
SIR: I have received reliable information that Forts Washita,
Arbuckle, and Cobb, all in the Choctaw & Chickasaw Nations, and
recently abandoned by Federal troops, are now in possession of Texas
State troops, and that Texas is now urging at Montgomery, that the
Wichita Indians and bands affiliated with them, occupying the district
of Country between the 98 and 100 degrees west longitude & between
Red River & Canadian leased by the United States from the Choctaws
& Chickasaws, for the purpose of Locating said Indians are within the
Jurisdiction of this, the Southern Superintendency, and by an exam-
ination of the treaty of 1855 made between the U. S and the Choc-
taws & Chickasaws, you cannot fail to see the impropriety of the
Indians occupying said district being attached to the Jurisdiction of
Texas, unless she also extends her Jurisdiction over the Choctaws
and Chickasaws.- Texas has tried on several occasions heretofore to
have those Indians in the Leased district placed under her jurisdic-
298 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
tion, but the Indians regard her as their ancient, and present enemy,
and will never consent to such arrangement,
I have thought it my duty to call your attention to the subject
that you may, if you think it expedient, lay it before your Honorable
body for such action as it may think proper in the premises. Very
Respectfully Your obt Servt ELIAS RECTOR, Supt. Ind Affairs.
Hon David Walker, President Arks. State Convention.
CHEROKEE AGENCY, May the I5th 1861
To the Superintendent of Indian Affairs
Fort Smith Arks.
SIR: I have the honor of making the following report have this
day taken into my possession as Agent for the Cherokee Indians, the
following property as left by late Agent R. J. Corvort (gone) Dwell-
ing house Kitchen and other out houses one office, houses all in bad
repair one farm belonging to the Agency, in bad repair one table
three desks and papers all in very bad condition one box containing
old papers almost distroyed by rats one letter press and Books one
Rule one Inkstand and letter Stamp one chair one Iron Safe. I also
have in my possession 14 Bounty Land Warrants received by me from
you at office of Superintendency left by R. J. Corvort late Agent and
receipted for by me to Superintendant the Book on Treaties as re-
ported to of been, left by R. J. Corvort in office not found by me.
Yours Respectifully JOHN CRAWFORD, U.S. Agent for Cherokees
Elias Rector, Superintendant Indian Affairs.
WICHITA AGENCY L.D., June 30-1861
SIR, Enclosed herewith I have the honor to transmit my quar-
terly return, for the second quarter of the current year, and with it
my operations as a Federal Officer will cease.
The seizure of the mules, wagon etc. by Gen 1 Burrow, rendered it
necessary in my judgment, to issue at once to the Indians all the public
property, moneys and effects in my hands, intended for their use and
benefit by the original U. S. Government ; believing as I do, that the
moneys and other means which I have held in trust for them, would
be as liable to seizure as the mules and wagon were, and result in a
loss : the losses sustained by them on the Arkansas River and at Fort
Smith by fire of very many of their goods, cause them to be in much
need of the goods which I have issued, more particularly as there ap-
pears to be no arrangements by which they may expect supplies dur-
Fort Smith Papers 299
ing the present year. The sudden withdrawal of the troops spread
alarm and disquiet through the different settlements or encampments,
many of them fled from the L.D. with a hope elsewhere to find
security and protection, the remainder would have followed, but for
the issue of goods which I made them, and assurances that they would
not be molested.
With these remarks submitted, I have the honor to be, sir, Very
Respectfully Your Ob't Srv't, M. LEEPER, Ind. Agt.
Major Elias Rector, Supt. Ind. Affairs
Fort Smith, Arks.
ESTIMATE OF FUNDS REQUIRED IN THE OFFICE OF
SUPERINTENDENT INDIAN AFFAIRS ARKANSAS
SUPURENTENDENCY.
For Salary of Superintendent, for l / 2 year of 1861. which
includes 3 & 4th qrs. at $2.000 -per Anum . . $1000.00
Pay of Clerk y 2 year 3 & 4th qrs. at $1.500- . . 750.00
" " Interpreter " " " 400- . . 200.00
" Traveling expences. Contingences of office &c . 500.00
$2.450.00
Office rent for l /2 year .... 200.00
$2.65000
ESTIMATE OF FUNDS NECESSARY FOR DISBURSMENT
TO SEMINOLE INDIANS UP TO 3oTH DECEMBER 1861
AS PROVIDED FOR BY TREATY OF yTH AUGUST 1856
To provide for the Support of Schools for ten years the
sum of $3000 -per Annun. from 7th August, 1856
to 30th December 1861. . . . $16.000.00
For agricultural assistance, from 3Oth December 1859
to 30th December 1861. at $2000 -per Annm . 4.00000
For the Support of Smiths & Smith Shops from 3Oth
December 1859. to 3Oth Deer. 1861. at $2.200 per
Annum ...... 4.400.00
Interest on $500.000 - invested at 5 per Centum from
3Oth Deer 1860 to 3Oth Deer 1861. . . 25.000.00
$49.400 oo
300 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Pay of Agent for year 1861 . . . . 1.500.00
" " Interpreter for year 1861 . . . 400.00
Contingent expenses of Office .... 300.00
Provisions for Indians attending payments of annuities &
visiting Agency on business .... 30000
$2.50000
Amount invested by Old U S government for Seminoles as per treaty
7th August 1856 at 5 per centum. $500.000 - This amount has never
been invested in State bonds but held by the Government.
ESTIMATE OF FUNDS NECESSARY FOR DISBURSMENT
TO CREEK INDIANS FROM 3oTH JUNE TO 3iST DE-
CEMBER 1861. AND BALANCES DUE THEM BY THE OLD
U. S. GOVERNMENT. UP TO 3oTH JUNE 1861.
Permanent provisions for Blacksmiths for y 2 year 1861. 1. 680.00
" Iron & Steel " " " 540.00
" Wheelwrights " " " 300.00
" Wagon Makers " " " 300.00
1 Agricultural assistance for %
year . . . i.ooo.oo
Interest on $200.000 - at 5 per Centum, for purposes of
Education, from 3Oth June 1860 to 3Oth June 1861. io.ooo.oo
Interest on same from 3Oth June to 3Oth December " 5 ooo oo
Unexpended balances Interest due on same, up to 3Oth
June 1860 which has never been paid . . 15.00000
$33.82000
Pay of Agent for 3 & 4 qrs 1861 . . . 750.00
" " Interpreter 3 & 4 qrs 1861 . . . 200.00
Contingent Expences " " " " . . . 150.00
Provisions for Indians at payment of Annuities . . 1 5O.(
$35-070.c
Fort Smith Papers 301
Permanent Annuity ..... $24500.00
Permanent provisions for Blacksmiths . . . 3.36000
" Iron & Steel . . . 540.00
" Wheelwrights . . 60000
" " " Wagonmakers . . 60000
Assistance in Agriculture. . . . 2.000.00
Interest on $200.00. at 5 per centum for purposes of
Education lo.ooo.oo
$41.600.00
Amounts due Creek Indians for amounts
invested by Treaty 7th August 1856.
For purposes of Education . . $200000
Creek Orphan fund . . . 200 741
$400.741
CREEK ORPHAN FUND INVESTED AS FOLLOWS
In Bonds of State of Kentucky at 5pr Cent, . $i.ooooo
" " " " " Missouri " 5 l /2 " 28.00000
" " " " " " " 6 . 28.000.00
" " " " " Tennessee " 5 . 20.000.00
" " " " Virginia " 6 . 7380000
United States "6 " . 49 941 oo
$200.741.00
NORTH FORK OF CANADIAN RIVER, 5th July 1861
SIR: On receipt of this you will please effect a continuance, on
behalf of the Confederate States of America, with Mr. Charles B.
Johnson of Fort Smith, of the contract existing up to 3Oth June last
between the United States of America and himself, for feeding the
Wichitas, Caddoes, and other kindred and other bands of Indians
now settled in the country leased from the Choctaws and Chickasaws.
If no more favorable terms can be effected, you are authorized to
adopt those of the former contract, with its conditions and stipula-
tions in all respects.
You will provide that the contract shall end, at the pleasure of the
302 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, on the 3ist day of December 1861,
and not sooner; and that it shall be at his option to continue it for
such further term as he may please, upon the same terms in all
respects.
You will provide that the contract shall relate to, and take effect
as of the first day of July 1861 : and you will receive bond, in form
used by the United States, but to the Confederate States, with suffi-
cient sureties, and in such sum as you may consider sufficient to en-
sure faithful performance. I have the honor to be, Sir
ALBERT PIKE, Commissioner of the Conf.
States to Indian Tribes West of Arkansas.
Elias Rector Esq, Superintendent Ind. Affairs,
Arkansas Superintendency.
Agreement made and entered into, this I4th day of August 1861,
at the Wichita Agency, between Albert Pike, Commissioner of the
Confederate States of America to the Indians west of Arkansas, of
the one part, and Charles B. Johnson of the County of Sebastian and
State of Arkansas, of the other part.
This agreement witnesseth, that the said Albert Pike, Commis-
sioner as aforesaid, for and on behalf of the Confederate States of
America and the said Charles B. Johnson, his heirs executors and
administrators, have covenanted and agreed, and by these presents do
covenant mutually and agree to and with each other as follows to wit :
That the said Charles B. Johnson, his heirs, executors and admin-
istrators, shall and will supply and issue or cause to be issued and
supplied at such times and places in the Leased District west of the
98th degree of west longitude as the Wichita Agent may direct, dail
rations to the several Tribes and Bands of Comanches, Wichitas an
other Indians that now are or may hereafter during the continuanc
of the present contract be settled in the said Leased District, for an
during the term of one full year, commencing with the sixteenth da
of August instant, at the price of sixteen cents for each complet
ration issued as aforesaid : which rations shall be issued, one for eac
individual in all of said Tribes and Bands and shall consist of on
pound of fresh beef or fresh pork, and three quarters of a quart o
corn or corn meal or one pound of flour to every ration, with fou
quarts of salt, three pounds of coffee, six pounds of sugar, two quar
of vinegar, one and a half pounds of tallow and three pounds of soa
to every hundred rations.
Payment shall be made quarterly for the rations furnished und
Fort Smith Papers 303
this contract, but in the event of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
being without funds for such purposes, the payment to be made as
soon thereafter as funds are provided for such purposes.
This contract may be terminated in whole or in any part at any
time by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, upon equitable terms
and conditions whenever it shall be deemed expedient to do so upon
giving thirty days' notice of such intention.
Witness our hands and seals the day and year first above written.
Signed and Sealed in triplicate
ALBERT PIKE, Commissioner of the Confederate States
Signed and Sealed in our presence.
WM QUESENBURY CHARLES. B. JOHNSON.
W WARREN JOHNSON
NORTH FORK OF THE CANADIAN RIVER, 5th July 1861
SIR: I have sent a Special Messenger to the Wichita and other
Indians on the Reserve in the Country leased from the Choctaws
and Chickasaws, requesting Black Beaver, and other Captains and
Chiefs to meet me at the Seminole Agency on the 22nd instant, in
order to hear a talk from me and enter into a Treaty. If they should
not do so, I shall go from the Seminole Agency to the Reserve for
that purpose.
As it was through your instrumentality these Bands were settled
on the Reserve, and the promises made them were made through
you, and as you are favorably known to them for these reasons, and
as the Head of the Superintendency of Indian Affairs in which they
are included, your presence and cooperation with me, in negotiating
with them, will, I am very sure, be of great service.
I therefore request, that, if your health and other duties permit,
you will be present with me at the Seminole Agency on the 22nd,
and accompany me, if necessary, to the Reserve.
I shall leave this place about the 9th, and at furtherst by the loth,
land go round by Forts Washita and Arbuckle. I shall be gratified
; if you can so time your movements as to overtake me on the way.
I wish also to suggest that the presence of the Agent, Mr. Leeper,
will be indispensable, and to desire you to direct him to accompany
you, that he may as soon as possible repair to his Agency. I have the
lonor to be With deep regards your obt Svt
ALBERT PIKE, Commissioner of the Confederate
States to Indian Tribes west of Arkansas.
Hias Rector, Esq, Superintendent Ind. Aff. Arkansas Superintendency.
304 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Confederate
THE tf NWBB STATES,
TO Elias Rector
DR.
Date.
Dolls. Cts
1 86 1
August 24
For Services rendered assisting Comr.
Pike in making treaties with Seminole,
Wichita And Commanche Indians un-
der orders so to do, by Comr. Pike,
from loth July to 24th August 1861
inclusive 45 days at $5.00 pr day
For hire of Bugg. horses & driver for
same length of time at $5 per day
For hire of wagon team & driver for
same service & same time, to Trans-
port tent Baggage provisions &c. at
$5 Per day .
Forrage for 4 horses for same length of
time and for same service 50 cents per
day each horse
Paid ferrage Crossing streams .
225
225
225
90
oo
oo
oo
oo
$765
8
00
00
$77300
Received at 185 , of ELIAS RECTOR,
Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southern Superintendency,
Dollars in full of this account
$
(Triplicate.)
I CERTIFY, on honor, that the above account is correct and just,
and that I have actually, this day of 185 ,
paid the amount thereof. Sup't Indian Affairs.
WICHITA AGENCY L. D. Sept. I5th 1861
SIR; A considerable amount of intermittent fever has made its
appearance at this place, supposed to be occasioned by an unusual
degree of dampness produced by the most luxuriant growth of veg-
etation I ever knew, and the recent heavy rains which have been
Fort Smith Papers 305
almost incessant for many days past, it gives us just cause of alarm
as we are entirely out of medicines of almost every kind and placed
at so remote a distance from the settlements, that none can be pro-
cured short of a visit to Fort Smith; I had a slight attack of fever
myself and luckily for me, Dr. Shirley discovered a small portion of
Quinine which I partly consumed, and which had escaped the vigilant
search of the so called Texas Troops at the time they took from him
his medicines and medical books, and transferred them to parts un-
known. These causes in addition to some information in reference
to Indians which I will impart, I hope will be considered an ample
apology for incuring the expenses of an Express, I have employed a
man at $3.00 per day, he bears his own expense, and runs the risk of
meeting with wild Indians and land Sharks by the way.
The renowned Indian warrior and Chief Buffalo Hump has made
his appearance with fifteen or sixteen followers, the remainder of the
Indians and the principal part of his own party, he says are encamped
on the Canadian and head waters of the Washita, he called on me
the second day after his arrival, and told me that he was now old and
desirous of abandoning the war path, and spending his latter days in
quietness and peace with all men, but said the winter would soon be
at hand, and that he would require a much better house than any he
saw at the Comanche Camp, that he thought if he had a house, such
as the Agency building, that he would be warm in cold weather, and
that he would be content to live in it, and pursue the walks of white
men, I replied to him that I knew he was a great man and had an
immense amount of influence with the wild tribes, and that the Con-
federate States had also heard of him, and that if he thought proper
to bring in his people and settle down in good faith on the Reserve,
quit stealing and depredating upon the country, that they would give
him all that had been promised, and that he might calculate, that if
houses were built for him, that they would not be as good as those at
the Comanche Camp, that several of those houses were more extensive
and expensive, than would be deemed necessary in future, that he
might only look for small cabins, and perhaps only receive assistance
in their erection, that it was the object of the Confederate States to
learn the Indians to work and support themselves, not to work for
them and support them ; that upon those terms if he were disposed to
settle I would be glad to receive him, if not, it mattered but little,
that he was at liberty to pursue just such course as suited him best.
The next day he called again his tone and bearing was altogether
306 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
changed, professed to be satisfied and said at the falling of the leaves,
the time appointed for settlement and consumating the Treaty with
Capt. Pike, he would be here with his people. He gave it as his
opinion that the others who had a conference with Capt. Pike would
not come in or settle; but I learn from Py-oh who went out with
those Chiefs and returned with Buffalo Hump that their respective
bands are divided in sentiment, that about half of each band will
come in and settle, and that the others will probably remain on the
prairies, they have large bands of stolen horses and mules, and he
thinks they are afraid to bring them in, lest they should be taken away
from them.
Jim Ned and the other Delawares with the exception of one family
left the Reserve without any cause, he returned from his first en-
campment and attempted to persuade Jim Pock Marked to leave with
his people, by telling him that he would be assailed by the Texans be-
fore long, and if not by them, most certainly by the northern Troops,
and that he had better leave at once, and save the lives of his women
and children. Jim Ned is a most unmitigated scoundrel, and I have
no doubt that most if not all the disquiet heretofore produced among
the Reserve Indians might be traced to him, and I think it very for-
tunate that he has abandoned the Reserve, by doing so, he has forfeited
his right of citizenship upon it, and the protection which the Con-
federate States had guaranteed to him.
I learn from an Indian Mexican and a half breed Delaware Indian
who have recently returned from Santa Fe, that all the northern In-
dians who visit that part of the country are amply armed and equiped
by the Federalists, and sent in every direction over the plains as spy
Companies, that propositions of the like character, had been made to
the Southern Indians, but not accepted, they are now regarded as
enemies, and have retracted farther South, not being permitted to in-
habit the country or travel as far north as heretofore; Py-oh re-
marked that they were herded in by Texas and Mr. Lincoln's govern-
ment like a band of horses or cattle.
Please forward by my Expressman, blank forms of every descrip-
tion, and ask Mr. Johnson to forward blank forms for provision
checks; you will also oblige me by making an application for the
Indian mules taken by Burrow, and by aiding the bearer to procure
the public wagon and my harness which were loaned to Algernon
Cabell.
You are aware that I cannot close my returns without funds for
Fort Smith Papers 307
the purpose, when shall I look for them? Very Respectfully Your
obt. Srvt. M. LEEPER, Ind. Agent
Elias Rector Esqr., Supt. Ind. Affairs
Fort Smith Arks.
CREEK AGENCY, Sept soth 1861
SIR: I have the honor to hand you herewith the Bond License,
and Invoices of John Barnwell of the Creek Nation
Very Respectfully Your Obt Servant
W. H. GARRETT, C.S. Agent for Creeks
Maj Elias Rector, Superintendent C. A.
Fort Smith, Ar
TAHLEQUAH C. N. October the loth 1861
MAJ ELIAS RECTOR, Superintendant of Indian Affairs,
Fort Smith, Ark.
Dear Sir: I have the honor of transmitting through your office
to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Richmond a requisition for
the Annuities School and Orphan funds due the Cherokee Indian on
Stock invested up to July 1861. I send two copies. If it is not neces-
sary to send but on[e] you can arrange that in regard to the leave of
Asence that I wished you to grant me I will not ask for owing to the
Governor declaring my seat vacant in the Legislator and ordering an
election though I am under many obligations to you for your willing-
ness to grant me leave the Treaty will be ratified today. Every thing
going on well the Texas Troops passed through on Wednesday the
Creek excitement turned out to be nothing I shall be anxious to hear
from you at any time on all subjects I have the honor Sir to be
your most obedient Servnt
JOHN CRAWFORD Agent Cherokees, C.S.A.
Hon. E. Rector, Superintendant Indian Affairs
TAHLEQUAH, C. N. October loth, 1861
DAVID HUBBARD Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Richmond, Va.
Dear Sir: I have the honor to make out and transmit to you a
requisition for the Annuities due the Cherokee Indians for the year
1860 and 1 86 1
For the installments of interest on the permanent General fund as
estimated for July 1860 and January and July 1861 forty three Thou-
sand and three hundred and Seventy two dollars and thirty six Cents
$43 372 36
308 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
For the installments of interest on the permanent Orphan fund as
estimated and uninvested for July 1860 and January and July 1861
four thousand and five hundred dollars $4.500
For the installment of interest on the permanent School fund as es-
timated for July 1860 and January and July 1861 Seventeen thousand
Seven hundred and Seventy two dollars $17.772.
Total Amount due the Cherokees on Stock invested Sixty five Thou-
sand Six hundred and forty four dollars and thirty Six Cents
$65.644.36
One half years pay of Agent . . . 750 oo
Contingent expenses, *4,year 75 oo
pay of interpreter l /2 year . . . 200.00
$66.669.36
Sir the Statement as made out is correct to the best of my judgment
I have been acting as Agent for the Cherokee Indians Since the 22nd
day of April 1861 Came by request of Hon R. W. Johnson of Arkan-
sas, received a letter from the Hon David Hubbard Commissioner
of Indian Affairs dated 12 June 1861 requesting me to try and get
along as Agent of the Cherokees the best that I Could/ which I have
done to the best advantage and evry thing here is working well for
the South I have not received any moneys from the Lincoln goven-
ment Since I have been acting as Agent for the Cherokee Indians
Your most obedient Servt JOHN CRAWFORD,
Agent for the Cherokee Indians West of Arkansas, C.S.A.
David Hubbard, Commissioner of Indian Affairs
Richmond, Va
WICHITA AGENCY L.D. Oct. 2ist 1861
SIR: Five weeks ago I despatched a messenger to Fort Smith with
a report to you, and for medicines for the Agency and Indians; since
which time I have heard nothing either from the report or messenger,
sufficient time has elapsed for the man to have made two trips. In
the report of that date I apprised you of the sickness which had and
still prevails here to a considerable extent, and that we are destitute of
medicines : Dr. Shirley's supplies having been forcibly taken from him
by persons from Texas, claiming to act as a military posse from that
State. You are aware that we are entirely cut off from mail facilities,
and from an opportunity of procuring medicines of any description
short of Fort Smith, the want of which has been excessively annoying,
Fort Smith Papers 309
and perhaps the occasion of several deaths ; this report will be handed
you by a second messenger, whom I hope you will furnish with a
supply of Quinine, Calomel and blue mass if nothing more.
On friday last a man was shot at by an Indian in company with six
others within a mile of the late Fort Cobb; on the next day two
Indians arrived as messengers on the part of the Kiowas and all the
Southern bands of Comanches, who are said to be encamped on the
North Canadian within four days ride of this place; they say that
their intention is to be here at the falling of the leaves, to conclude a
treaty with Capt. Pike. The Kiowas inform us that they received
the white beads and tobacco from Capt. Pike, and that they desire to
be on terms of friendship with us, that it is the wish of the whole band,
with the exception of one bad man and fifteen or twenty followers,
whom they cannot control, and that they desire us to kill them, that
if it is not done, they will surely commit serious depredations, and
that they believe they are now in this vicinity.
The Indians at present on the Canadian are supposed to number
Seven or eight thousand, and if they should come here as is anticipat-
ed, they will require a large amount of provision, I would therefore
respectfully suggest the propriety of your notifying the Contractor of
the fact, that he may not be taken on Surprise : you will also perceive
the necessity of Capt. Pike or some other duly authorized person, to
be here at the appointed time to consummate treaties with them;
they say that no further depredations will be committed on Texas,
provided the twenty men above described are killed.
It is impossible for me to keep you advised of the affairs of this
reserve without some kind of mail facilities, therefore, I hope you will
unhesitatingly employ some one to carry the mail once in two weeks
at least, until such time as the Government shall have made permanent
arrangements, it is not more strange than true, that I have not since
my arrival here on the Sixth of August, received a solitary news paper
or any other item of news, except such as can be gathered from an
occasional stragling teamster, and that is the most reliable informa-
tion that I have in reference to the battle at Springfield, the partic-
ulars of which I know very little.
When Capt. Pike left here it was his intention to have the place
garrisoned in the shortest time practicable, he left authority with
Jno. Jones to enlist thirty Indians to act as a protection to the
Agency, and as a spy company in its vicinity, Jno. Jones could only
enlist Seventeen, all Comanches, those and the few employees on the
310 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
reserve are the only protection we have, and I would not give a fig
for the security the Indians would afford me in a case of actual danger,
they might be useful however in giving information of the approach
of an enemy: I shall feel obliged if you will inform me of the time
the troops may be expected, if the day is far distant, I shall deem it
my indispensable duty to select some place of security and safety for
my family, if it is the intention or wish of the Confederate Govern-
ment to leave this place ungarrisoned, I am willing to risk the con-
sequences myself, but I am unwilling to detain my family, where they
are in danger of being destroyed by savages: it is also apparent that
no Agent can exercise the control necessary to fill the expectations of
the Government, without the means placed within his reach of doing
so; without troops the most flagrant violations of the Intercourse
Laws might be practiced every day with impugnity; and without
funds to meet the expenses incident to the Agency, the employees can-
not be retained a great while. Those Indians who expect to treat
with Capt. Pike expect also supplies of blankets and clothing, and
white men to instruct them in the erection of houses for the winter.
Please advise me by the return of my messenger, when troops may
be expected, at what time the Commissioner will be here, and funds to
enable me to forward my accounts. The Estimates submitted in
August, in addition to the more liberal allowances of Capt. Pike in
his recent treaty with the Indians, I hope will be all that is required
on my part at present.
One of the Articles in Capt. Pike's late treaty, appears to be an
offense to the people of Texas, and I think it very doubtful whether
any assistance could be derived from that quarter, if we were threat-
ened with the most iminent danger: with these remarks submitted,
I have the honor to be, Very Respectfully Your Obt. Servt.
M. LEEPER, Indian Agent
Elias Rector Esq, Supt. Ind. Affairs
Fort Smith Arks
FORT SMITH ARKANSAS, Nov. 7th 1861
MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR, Superintendent of Indian affairs
Sir: As you intemated to me a few days since you ware going to
Richmond, and would do me a favor if it Laid in your Power
I ask you for the appointment of Forage Master at Fort Smith
and The Authority of Selling off all condemd Goverment Property
belonging to the confederate Stats at Fort Smith vanburen and Fay-
Fort Smith Papers 311
etteville, you can Sir do me this favour, I am also a good judge of
Stock capable of receiving and receipting for any property belonging
belonging to the quarter masters department,, Such as horses mules
oxen and Waggens
I want this appointment for The, Sole purpose of keeping yenkee
Edwards, from dying with a very common Disease in the Garrison
cald the Big head I am Sir with much Respect your Obt, Servent
THOS. McCARRON
P.,S if you do me this favour I will discharge the duties with Honour
to you, and credit to Myself T.M.C
RICHMOND 21" November 1861.
SIR : The Commissioner of Indian Affairs has caused to be trans-
mitted to New Orleans the sum of twenty five thousand dollars, to be
used in purchasing the articles that are to be supplied to the Coman-
ches and other Reserve Indians. As soon as you arrive here the money
will be placed at your disposal.
As soon as possible after receipt of this letter, you will please send
a proper person to the Wichita Agency, and let the Comanches who
it is said are encamped, waiting for the leaves to fall, that they may
come in and settle, that I have been delayed, by circumstances that I
could not control, so as not to be able to meet them as soon as I in-
tended; but that you will bring or send up their goods, and I will
meet them during the winter. It is important that this should be told
them at once. It would be better, if Col. Pulliam can go there him-
self, that he should do so. I do not know who else would answer.
Orders go by the messenger who takes this, from the Acting Com-
missioner to Agent Leeper, directing him to use all the government
laborers in putting up houses for the Comanches who are coming in,
and not to use them for any other purpose. If it is possible to send
up additional laborers, it had better be done. I am very respectfully
yours ALBERT PIKE, Commissioner of the Confederate
States to the Indian tribes West of Arkansas
Major Elias Rector, Superintendent of Ind. Affairs.
FORT SMITH, Novr. 22d 1861.
DR MAJOR. I send you the enclosed document from the Acting
Comr. Ind Affairs, reed here today. As I cannot respond to it for
you as you are there on the ground - 1 send it to you for you to make
such reply as you think proper, in the premises.
312 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
We have just reed authentic information from the armies above,,
the federals have left Springfield and are making their way towards
St. Louis, for what cause is not certainly known but it is thought that
their army have become demoralized by the displacing of Fremont
and the appointment of Hunter to the Command. Genl Price broke
up his encampment at Pineville at day light on Saturday last, and at
last accounts was at Sarcoxie. making his way towards the Mo. River
it is thought he is pursuing Hunter, you will see by an examination
of the map that he will cut of a considerable distance by that route.
Coming into the road Hunter will have to travel at Bolivar, or War-
saw. On the same day, (Saturday last) Genl McColloch took four
hundred picked men from each of his Mounted Regiments making
2000 men with ten days provisions and started in the direction of
Prices army, his destination however is not known, it is supposed
however that he & Price are going to throw their Cavalry forward
to attack & cut off, or hold until their Infantry can be brought up.,
Hunters army. Whether these conjectures are true or not time will
tell. Cooper is on the march after Opothleyohola. who it is said has
taken Maj Emorys trail through Kansas towards Leavenworth,
Small Pox still raging Mrs Nowland lost a negro to day. I
saw your boy Henry to day he says your family are all well.
My kind regards to Pike. Also to Mr Scott. Your friend &c
R. P. PULLIAM
The above war news is reliable, and you can give the information to
the papers if you wish. P
I write this in Suttons Store, he says the above contains all the news
we have, all of which is confirmed by Messengers and private letters.
Consequently he will not write as he promised until something further
turns up P
TISHOMINGO C.N., Nov. 26, 1 86 1
GEN. A. G. MAYERS
Sir: Having appointed as a Delegate from this Nation to the
Southern Congress, am at a loss when the Congress does meet. I
have all along understood from newspaper accounts that it was to be
on the 22d of February but some seems to think it is sooner. Will
you please inform me at your earliest convenience at what time the
S. Congress does meet. Your attention to the above is respectfully
requested I am yours very Respectfully JAMES GAMBLE
P.S. Please continue to send me the Parallel. I will make it all
right with you when on my way to Va. J.G.
Fort Smith Papers 313
OFFICE SUPT. IND. AFFAIRS FORT SMITH, Deer. 1861
MR. JESSE CHISHOLM
Dear Sir: I have just returned from Richmond where I have
been to see the President on Indian business. I wish you to go out
immediately and see the bands of Comanches that are encamped above
Fort Cobb and tell them that it is the wish of their great father at
Richmond that they come in at once and settle on the reserve, that so
soon as they do so they will be furnished with Beef - Flour, Salt,
Sugar & Coffee. And that the great father says that all the goods &
things that Commissioner Pike promised them will be furnished and
given to them. That the Arkansas River has now too little water in
it for Steam Boats to come up from the big Cities to bring goods, but
as soon as the big water comes in the River and Boats come up their
great father will send up to them many large wagons filled with nice
goods that I want them to send four or five of their Chiefs and head
men to Genl. Pikes head quarters, near Fort Gibson where he and
myself will meet them and talk with them and give them a great many
presents and satisfy them that the government will do all that Com-
missioner Pike promised them. I wish Buffalo Hump and his band
now on the reserve to be told this, and for him and four or five of
his principal men to come also,. I will direct the Contractor at the
Wichita Agency to furnish them with Rations to bring them over
and I will furnish them with Rations to return home, tell them to
bring, in all about twenty pack horses to carry back their presents. I
want them to meet us at Genl Pikes Camp or head quarters near Fort
Gibson, on the first of February if possible I have written a letter to
T Caraway inviting him to come with some three or four of his men
and I wish you to urge him to come, Commissioner Pike is now in
Richmond with their great father making arrangements to get their
goods and to do much for them he would have been up to see them
at the falling of the leaves but he has been very sick and could not
travel he is now well and will be here soon and will go from here to
his head quarters. [ELIAS RECTOR]
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT,
Office of Indian Affairs, Richmond, Dec 2d, 1861.
MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR, Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
Sir: I am instructed by the Secretary of War to say that three
requisitions have been drawn by him on the Secretary of the Treas-
314 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
ury in your favor, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs &c.,- One for
nine thousand, six hundred and fifty dollars, dated Dec. 4th 1861,
one for two thousand, one hundred and four dollars and fifty cents,
dated December 5th 1861, and the other for thirty thousand dollars,
dated December 6th 1861.
With the money received by you upon the first named requisition,
you will pay Charles B. Johnson, the amount of his account against
the Confederate States for Beef furnished certain Bands of Reserve
Indians, from July 1st to August i6th under a verbal contract made
by him with Albert Pike, Commissioner, &c., and also pay the mount-
ed escort of Creeks and Seminoles, engaged by General Pike to accom-
pany him to the Comanche Country, &c. In regard to this escort
General Pike, in a letter to the War Department, of the I4th Octo-
ber, says that he had muster rolls regularly made out, and gave pay
accounts to the officers, and slips showing the amount due each of the
men.
With the money received by you upon the second named requisi-
tion you will pay Charles B. Johnson the balance due him by the old
United States Government prior to the 3Oth June, 1861, and which
General Pike, at the time of making the verbal contract hereinbefore
mentioned, agreed to pay or have paid him.
And with the money received by you upon the third named requi-
sition, you will pay such expenses of the Superintendency and different
Agencies, as may be necessary, proper and legitimate. The balance of
this money can be applied to the purchase of suitable clothing, if it
can be bought at fair prices, for the Reserve Indians, which Commis-
sioner Pike, in the Treaty of the I2th August, 1861, agreed should
be speedily furnished them.
You will forward a statement as to the disbursement of these sev-
eral sums of money with the proper voucher, &c. Very respectfully,
S. S. SCOTT, Act'g Commr. of Indian Affairs.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, C.S.A., SECOND AUDITOR'S OFFICE
Richmond, Va, Dec 7th-i86i.
SIR: The Treasurer of the Confederate States will remit to you
the sum of Thirty two thousand one hundred & four 50/100 dollars
, being the amount of Requisition No. 1889 & 1890
issued in your favor on the 6th Inst-, with which you are charged
Fort Smith Papers 315
on the Books of this Office, on account of the following Appropria-
tion, to wit:
"To meet the Incidental Expenses of the Public service within the
Indian Tribes," as per Act May 21, 1861, No. 232.
Requisition No. 1889. . . . $2,104.50
Req. " 1890, Same as above . . 30.000. "
$32.104.50
The Treasurer will advise you when the same will be remitted for
which you will please forward a Receipt to this Office, specifying
therein the date, number and amount of said Requisition. I am,
very respectfully, Your Ob't Serv't AUDITOR.
To Elias Rector, Esq, Supt. Ind. Affairs, Present
WICHITA AGENCY L. D., Deer. I2th 1861.
SIR: In all my official relations I have endeavored to be governed
strictly by the instructions of my superior officers, and in reference
to the alledged real or imaginary impropriety of my course towards
Buffalo Hump in your letter of the I2th Oct. last, I must plead my
instructions in mitigation which I followed strictly, not being in pos-
session of any, except the verbal instructions of Commissioner Hub-
bard, which was in effect to exercise my best judgment in the manage-
ment of the affairs of the Reserve, but in all things to be governed
by strict rules of economy. In my report to you of the I2th Augst. I
solicited written instructions, a copy of the Intercourse Laws and of
the Contract for furnishing supplies for the Indians, but as yet, have
not received even a reply to my communication. There is no Indian
with whose character and habits I am more familiar than with Buf-
falo Humps; he is a fugitive from the Texas Agency of which I was
placed in charge; the late Superintendent of that State worried with
him for three years before he could induce him to settle, he would
come in and make promises to do so, and the Superintendent would
load him with presents, he would return to the prairies depredate up-
on the country until his blankets were worn out, then return with a
plausible excuse for not coming in with his people, receive other pres-
ents return again to the prairies and repeat the same thing over again
until the Superintendents patience became exhausted, and informed
Buffalo Hump that he would not submit to any further trifling on
the subject, that he had nothing more for him, but as he had come
in peace, he might return in peace, but that afterwards he would
316 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
pursue and hunt him down with the troops; Buffalo Hump then
changed his tone, begged to be permitted to have a certain length of
time allowed him to bring in his people without renumeration or
presents, at that time it was granted, and at the appointed time he
brought in his people and settled on the Reserve, where he remained
until a feud took place between him and the Chief of the band locat-
ed previously, which caused him to abandon the Reserve and pursue
his former predatory habits. I induced him to come in this time,
in addition to the other wild chiefs, who met Commissioner Pike
in Augst. last, and entered into an informal treaty with them, it
was the result of a years negotiation, which was carried on by means
of messengers from this Reserve; it was attempted years ago by
Judge Rollins, one of the ablest Indian Agents perhaps the U.S.
ever had, who spent eighteen months in attempting to accomplish
the object; Agent Stemm lost his life in efforts of the kind; Major
Neighbors a very ingenious and competent Agent exerted his influ-
ence for six or seven years to no purpose: Dr. Hill, a most popular
Indian Agent and influential man, labored four years without effect,
and Capt. Ross' influence was equally ineffectual, yet I am informed
in your letter of the I2th Oct. that both yourself and Commissioner
Pike regret much that I did not hold out all the inducements which
were in my power, and use all the forces and means at my command
to provide him with such houses as were contemplated and provided
by Commissioner Pike for the comfort of those Indians. In this
matter I appear to be peculiarly unfortunate. You are fully a\Vare
that I have not received any means for the erection of houses or for
any other purpose, and that the few employees who were induced to
engage in the work with a hope of renumeration hereafter were all
sick, which fact I made known in my report of the I5th Septr. last,
therefore it will be perceived that I had no means in my power to
build houses or any thing else, nor would I have employed them in
building houses for Buffalo Hump in advance of his settlement, if
I had possessed ever so much in the absence of positive instructions
to that effect. The course I pursued with him induced him to come
in with his people a week in advance of the time promised and settle,
he has given me no further trouble, tells me he intends to remain
here for life, that he does not wish houses built until such times as
he can select a suitable place on the Reserve for his future home,
and has employed as spies for me two of his sons who are with the
wild tribes watching their movements and those of the northern
Fort Smith Papers 317
troops, to give immediate notice in case of an advanced demonstration
upon this part of the country.
During a period of more than twenty years public service, I have
received two rebukes only from my superior officers on account of
my official conduct, yours in reference to Buffalo Hump and from
the late Superintendent in Texas for failing to insert at the close of
one of my official letters "your obt. Srvt."
I infer from your letter of the 3Oth of Octr. that you conclude,
I am disposed to interfere with your appointment of Commissary,
I can assure you that such was not nor never has been my intention
to disturb or meddle in the slightest degree with the appointment of
Commissary or any other which it may be your pleasure to make;
sending Sturm as messenger was a matter of necessity not of choice,
I apprised you by him that I was not only sick myself, but that my
family and almost every one on the Reserve were sick and without
medicine, Sturm although sick, was the only person I could obtain
as messenger who was willing to make the trip alone, and with the
confident hope that by sending him I would obtain medicines which
would afford my family relief ; I was induced to do so with an under-
standing that he was to receive pay not only as Commissary during
the time of his absence, but three dollars per day also for his services
as messenger and I procured the assistance gratuitously of M r
Bickel one of the interpreters to act as Commissary during his
absence, whose name appears on the prevision checks for that quarter
merely to prevent confusion of the accounts, but my most sanguine
hopes were disappointed for the messenger returned without medi-
cines, and my son has not recovered yet. Whilst upon this subject
allow me most respectfully to direct your attention to the fact, and
through you the Department, that the office of Commissary is a
sinecure, and expense which is utterly useless to the Government and
an injury to the public Service, the duty of Commissary simply being
an impartial weigher and witness to the delivery of supplies agreably
to the terms of the Contract; I, hold it to be the duty of the Agent
where issues are made at the Agency to be present, and represent the
interest of the Indians, and the Interpreters who are required to be
present to witness the issues, such has been the case heretofore, no
Commissary has ever been employed at other Agencies, except where
issues were made at remote places or where it was impracticable for
the Agent to be present; the Commissary is employed perhaps half
a day once a week, the remainder of the time is spent in utter idle-
318 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
ness, and in gossiping with the employees and Indians on the Reserve.
I received a recent visit from the Chiefs who met Comr. Pike in
Augst. last, after preparing to hold a Council or talk with them,
their first demand was whiskey, they said they could not talk without
having whiskey first, after a length of time however, I convinced
them that I had no whiskey, and that whiskey was not allowed on
the Reserve, they then informed me that they had approached this
place at the appointed time "the falling of the leaves" and ascer-
tained that the Commissioner was not here nor the presents agreably
to promise, that now they were here long after the time and still
there are no presents or Commissioner, I explained to them that the
Comr. had delegated to me his authority for the time being, and that
he was now purchasing goods to issue in accordance with his promise
as soon as they would comply with their part of the agreement and
settle with their people on the Reserve, that they would have the
privilege of settling on any part of the Leased District that suited
them best, and that I would issud provisions to them until such time
as the goods would arrive, they informed me that they had been lied
to a good deal, and that they wanted some greater and further
evidence now of the sincerity of the Government, that as the goods
were not here, which were intended for them, that they would take
a few that the trader had, and be satisfied with those, until such
time as the others would be forthcoming, and probably settle at the
time the grass rises in the Spring, I told them that the traders goods
did not belong to me or to the Government, and that I was conse-
quently unauthorized to issue them, they then instantly rose up and
told me they were going, I called back a Kioway Chief and told him
as it was his first visit, that I would make him a present of some
blankets, paint and tobacco, that I was glad to see him, that the
Government desired to be on friendly terms with him and his people,
and that if he thought proper to come here with his people and settle,
that he could do so on the same terms as the others, he informed
me that that was the object of his visit, that he would return and
consult on the subject and at no distant day would make me another
visit, and apprise me of the result of their deliberations; in the mean
time the others returned in a better humor, and I told them that upon
my own responsibility, I would make them a few little presents, of
blankets, paints, &c. which appeared to satisfy them, and when they
finally left, declared their friendly intentions, and said they would
ultimately settle here in compliance with the treaty.
Fort Smith Papers 319
In compliance with your letter of instructions of the 25th of Octr
last, I have rendered H. L. Rodgers all the assistance in my power
in the way of his building operations. Very Respectfully. Your
obt. Servt. M. LEEPER, Ind. Agt. C.S.A.
Elias Rector Esq., Supt. Indian Affairs.
Fort Smith, Arks.
FORT SMITH, ARK., Dec. ayth, 1861.
SIR: Owing to the continued excitement in the Creek and Semi-
nole Nations, and the dangers necessarily to be encountered by persons
either residing in or travelling through the Indian Country, my
return to the Agency has been delayed longer than I expected. Taking
into consideration all the circumstances of the case I deemed it best
and most prudent to await your return from Richmond and submit
a report of the case to you. When I left the Agency early in November
there seemed a unity of opinion and general profession of Loyalty to
the Southern Confederacy; but since then there has been much disaf-
fection and increase of excitement. The consequence has been that
some of the Traders residing among the upper Creeks have left
narrowly escaping with their lives. Others are, as I learn, preparing
to leave. Since my departure from the Agency there has been two
engagements between the Confederate forces under command of Col.
Cooper and the followers of Hopothleyoholo, in both engagements
Col. Cooper was victorious. This, however, has only increased the
vindictiveness of Hopothleyoholos Party and, consequently, magnified
the dangers attendent on travelling through or residing in the Nation.
My Agency is, as you are aware, situated two hundred miles west of
this place, and wholy unprotected and exposed to depredation, it is
very insecure. Parscofer and others as stated in my report to the
Department as heading the disaffected party, were leaders, in the
recent battles, on side of the enemy. But I am pleased to be able
to state that Jumper, Short Bird, Cloud and Holatut Fixico were
found with Col. Cooper doing their duty as faithful and Loyal allies.
It will, probably, not be a great while before the excitement may
subside, rendering travel and residence there more secure. When
you deem it necessary and safe for me to return I will be ready. I
await your orders on the subject. I am very Respectfully Your
obt. Servt. SAM'L M. RUTHERFORD, C.S. Agent for Seminoles.
Maj. E. Rector, Sup. Ind. Affairs, C.S. A.,
Fort Smith, Ark.
320 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
RICHMOND, VA., 29th December, 1861.
SIR: I send herewith, to your care, by a Special Messenger,
packages for the Principal Chiefs of the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole,
Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, which please forward to each
immediately by express.
Also a talk for the Comanches and Caiawas, which, if they are
still near Fort Cobb, I wish sent to them by express. There is a
letter to Chisholm, and it would perhaps be well to send the talk
to him and get him to go up and see them.
Also a letter for Major Dorn and one to his Indians. I want
them to come down to Head Quarters and receive what is to be
given them. I do not know how you will get his letter to him.
The Treaties are all ratified, with two or three amendments that
will cut no great figure. As to the money part, nothing has changed.
Congress appropriated $681,000 and over, under the Treaties, includ-
ing Charley Johnson's money up to middle of February, of the whole
sum, $265,000 and odd is to be paid in specie. I shall get the
Treasury notes to-morrow, and the Specie in New Orleans, and shall
bring it all to you. The Secretary agreed, indeed proposed, to send
it out by me.
Among them, they fixed my compensation at $3,750.
I mean to be at Head Quarters by the 25th of January. I hope
the different Tribes will ratify the amendments, so that you can pay
them pretty soon after that time.
I think you had better buy all the goods, of Cochran and others,
for the Comanches, that you can. I want them to meet me at
Head Quarters, and it will be necessary to have some goods for them.
Congress would not agree to give them any arms.
I hope when we pay the Indians their money, and I get some
white troops in the Country, we shall settle the difficulties there.
God knows.
Give my kind regards to Mrs. Rector and the children. Always
yours. ALBERT PIKE.
I send Dr. Duval's appointment, and Mr. Sandals', by the
Messenger.
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT
Office of Indian Affairs, Richmond, December 3Oth, 1861.
MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR, Superintendent of Indian Affairs,
Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Sir: The first session of the Congress of the Confederate State?
Fort Smith Papers 321
will be held on the i8th February next; and it is important that the
Report, from this Bureau, in regard to Indian Affairs, for the benefit
of that Body, should be as full as possible. That this may be so, it
is essential that information should be sent here, at least by the I5th
of that month, of the true condition of affairs, in each of the several
Agencies under your supervision.
You will, therefore, write to all of the Agents, and state to them
these facts. Advise them also to give you full reports of all matters
connected with their respective charges, and forward them, when
received to this office. Very respectfully,
S. S. SCOTT, Act'g Commr. of Ind. Affairs.
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT
Office of Indian Affairs, Richmond, Jany. ist, 1862.
MAJOR ELIAS RECTOR, Superintendent of Indian Affairs,
Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Sir: An Act was recently passed by the Congress of the Confed-
erate States, and approved December 26th, 1861, "making appropria-
tions to comply, in part, with Treaty stipulations made with certain
Indian Tribes." The whole amount appropriated by this Act was
six hundred and eighty one thousand, eight hundred and sixty nine
dollars, and fifteen cents.
By sundry requisitions of the Secretary of War upon the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, this sum has been placed in the hands of General
Albert Pike, for delivery to you, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
Herewith you will receive Tabular Statements, marked Numbers
(i) and (2) for your information and guidance, as to the times
manner, &c., that this money is to be disbursed.
You will perceive from these statements, that one hundred and
nineteen thousand, three hundred and forty dollars can be used, for
the purposes indicated immediately, or, whenever, it may be deemed
essential by you; while the residue, amounting to five hundred and
sixty two thousand, five hundred and twenty nine dollars and fifteen
cents, is dependent, for its dusbursement, upon the ratification of the
Treaties, as amended by the several Indian Tribes. Very respect-
fully, S. S. SCOTT, Act'g Commr. of Indian Affairs.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, C.S.A., SECOND AUDITOR'S OFFICE,
Richmond, Va. Dec 3ist 1861.
SIR -The Treasurer of the Confederate States will remit to you
the sum of six hundred and eighty one thousand, eight hundred &
322 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
sixty nine 15/100 dollars-, being the amount of Requisitions Nos.
2175-76-77-78-79-80-81-82-83 & 84 issued in your favor on the 2Oth
Instant -, with which you are charged on the Books of this Office, on
account of the following Appropriation, to wit:
"An Act making Appropriations to comply in part with Treaty
Stipulations made with certain Indian Tribes," as per Act
Requisition No. 2175 For Contingencies of superintending & Agencies $ 3,500.00
Do " 2176 " Sundry Appropriations for Cherokee Indians 237,944.36
" 2177 " Do Do " Seminole Indians 61,050.00
" " 2178 " " " " Choctaw&Chick-
asavvs . . 115,126.89
" " 2179 " " " " Creek Indians 72,950.00
" " 2180 " " " " Coraanches . . 64,862.00
" " 2181 " " " " Reserve Indians 82,905.00
" " 2182 " " " " Seneca Indians 11,962.46
" " 2183 " " " " Quapaw Indians 9,000.00
" " 2184 " " " " Osage Indians 22,568.44
Total $681,869.15
The Treasurer will advise you when the same has been placed to
your credit on his Books, or hand you a Draft - for which you will
please forward a Receipt to this Office, specifying therein the date,
number and amount of said Requisition. I am, very respectfully,
your ob't serv't, W. H. S. TAYLOR, Auditor.
To Genl Albert Pike, Agent for the War Department for delivery
of the above funds to Elias Rector, Supt. Ind. Affairs, now in
Richmond, Va.
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, TREASURER'S OFFICE,
Richmond, Va., Jan? 23
ELIAS RECTOR, Fort Smith, Ark.
Sir, I have this day placed to your credit 3,000 Dollars, amount
of Warrant No. 23 Issued in your favor by War Department.
Your checks on the Treasurer of the Confederate States will be
honoured for that amount. Please acknowledge the receipt of this
Notification, and enclose your official signature. Very Respectfully,
E. C. ELMORE, Treasurer C.S.
Fort Smith Papers 323
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT,
Office of Indian Affairs, Richmond Jany 23d 1862.
MAJ. E. RECTOR, Superintendent &c, Fort Smith, Arkansas.
SIR: General Pike of date Dec. 3Oth 1861, writes to this Bureau,
as follows:
In order to obtain the ratification, by the several Indian Tribes, of
the amendments made by Congress to the Indian Treaties negotiated by
me, and to effect a Treaty with the Caiowas, I have sent messages to
the Creeks, Seminoles, Cherokees, Choctaws and Chickasaws, requesting
that their national Councils may be convened ; and to the Chiefs of the
Osages, Quapaws, Senecas, Senecas and Shawnes, Comanches, Reserve
Indians and Caiowas, requesting them to meet me at my head Quarters.
It will be necessary to furnish provisions to the Creek and Seminole
Councils, and to feed the more uncivilized Chiefs, while in Council,
and on their return, and also perhaps to make some presents ; for which
purposes no funds are in the hands of the Superintendent or myself.
In accordance with these suggestions and at the request of this
Bureau a requisition was drawn by the Secretary of War, a few days
ago, for the sum of three thousand dollars, which is to be placed to
your credit in the Treasury.
You will please use this money, or so much of it, as may be neces-
sary, for the purposes, and in the manner, above indicated. Very
respectfully, S. S. SCOTT, Act'g Commr. of Ind. Affairs.
LITTLE ROCK, ARK., 28th January, 1862.
DEAR RECTOR: I will leave here on Friday morning. It will
take me, I suppose, six days to reach Fort Smith with the money.
This will bring me to the 5th, 6th or 7th of February.
I have $265.927.50 in specie, all in gold except $65.000 in silver.
Of course I must stay with it. I think I can make the journey,
though in six days.
I think you had better go up to my head Quarters immediately,
and arrange to feed the Comanches and others if they come there;
and keep them there until I reach the place. I can take the money
there, and send by the same messenger who takes this, to Colonel
Cooper for an escort.
The Treasurer of the Choctaws means to sell the coin his people
get, buy Confederate paper, and put the difference in his pocket. We
must stop that. I think the best way will be for you to notify the
Chief, Hudson, the amount to be paid in coin, and that you will pay
it to the Treasurer only in the presence of three Commissioners
appointed by himself.
324 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
If you can pay the Choctaws and Chickasaws at my Head Quarters,
it will of course be much better.
I have had to ask the immediate removal of Leeper, and the
appointment of Col. Pulliam in his place. This I have done to-day,
sending extracts from your letter, Charley Johnson's and Quesen-
bury's.
The Secretary is also advised, now, of Garrett's continual
[illegible].
Why do you not demand his removal, and name a person for
his place?
I don't believe Col. Cooper will be removed. The President said
in my presence, "Now that the Choctaws have a Delegate in Congress,
what need of an Agent?"
About 150 gamblers are here, following up the Indian moneys.
I enclose an order requiring passports, that will keep them out of
the Nation.
I have the $150.000 advance for the Cherokees, the $12.000 due
the Nation, and the $10.300 due the Treaty party or Stand Watie's, -
all in paper. Also the $50.000 advance for the Choctaws. In paper
and specie, I have for you $631.000 and over.
Have you received the money, (some $3.000) that I asked should
be sent you to pay expenses of the new Indian Councils?
If you cannot go to Head Quarters immediately, you will have to
send some one, and let him and Colonel Cooper keep the Indians
contented. Always yours, ALBERT PIKE.
Maj. E. Rector.
OFFICE SUPT. IND. AFFAIRS, Fort Smith, Feby ist, 1862.
SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith the Reports of
Agents Leeper, Cooper, Rutherford and Crawford. No report has
been received from Agent Dorn.
Business of importance requires me to leave here to-day for Fort
Gibson and the Creek Agency, it is important for me to take charge
of the public property at the Creek Agency which I shall do on my
arrival there and I will turn the same over to R P Pulliam who
I have appointed Agent to act until the Department may make
permanent appointment and I hope Mr Pulliam may be the pers
appointed. I have also appointed to meet a delegation of Comanche
and Kiawas at Fort Gibson where I expect Genl Pike and myself
will effect treaties with them. I have sent a lot of goods to make
Fort Smith Papers 325
some presents to them and to the wild bands with whom Genl
Pike made treaties last fall and to whom he promised some goods;
after meeting these delegation and ascertaining what can be effected
with them I will make out and forward to you a report of Indian
matters generally in this superintendency which I hope will reach
you in time to be of some service to the Department. I could not,
until after I meet those Indians and ascertain the condition of the
Creek Agency, make a full and satisfactory report.
In regard to Agent Crawfords report I must here state, that from
the best information I can obtain of the condition of affairs among
the Cherokees, I cannot concur with him, but I will inform myself
fully in this regard during my present visit among them and will
furnish my views fully in my report, Very Respectfully Your Obt.
Servt. E. RECTOR, Supt. Ind. Affairs
S. S. SCOTT Esq Acting Comr. Ind. Affairs
Richmond, Va
OFFICE SUPT IND AFFAIR, Fort Smith Feby ist 1862
SIR: Genl. Pike is here with $50.000 Dollars in Gold and
Silver for the Choctaws, and as I am compelled to accompany him
on important business to Fort Gibson, I have determined to take the
above money with me to that place and pay it out there, which will
be as convenent for you as to pay it here, and as Col Cooper will
have to be present at the payment, it is necessary to make the payment
when he can attend. I will be ready to pay over to your Treasurer
the above money at Fort Gibson in days from this date, and I
wish you to send with your Treasurer a delegation of three responsi-
ble persons to be selected by you to witness the payment. This I re-
quire, as it is a special case with our government to pay out Coins to
the Indian tribes at this time, and to insure the payment by the Treas-
urer of the same funds to your people, that he receives from me. Our
government is determined to use all precautions to prevent specu-
lations out of the funds sent out to pay to Indian tribes. Very
Respectfully Your Obt Servt. E. RECTOR, Supt Ind Affrs
Hon Hudson, Chief Choctaw Nation.
326 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT
Office of Indian Affairs, Richmond, Feby 7th 1862.
MAJOR E. RECTOR, Superintendent of Ind. Affairs.
Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Sir: Your two letters, dated January gth & loth, have been
received. The former gave a brief statement of the facts, in relation
to the arrest, by Agent Leeper, of one Meyer, supposed to be a spy,
with $6.455.70, in Drafts and Specie upon his person, and enclosed
copies of letters from Messrs Leeper and Shirley, bearing upon same
subject. The latter simply covered the Affidavit of a Mr. Barnes,
claiming the Drafts referred to, followed by affidavits of Meyer and
one Jacob Mariner intended to substantiate it.
The questions presented in this case should properly be investigated
by Brig. Genl. Pike, who has command of the Department of the
Indian Territory, where this person was arrested; and a letter has
therefore been written to him from this Bureau, for the purpose of
calling his attention to the fact.
You will take the necessary steps to have the man Meyer turned
over to him. Very respectfully,
S. S. SCOTT, Act'g Comr. of Ind. Affairs.
FORT SMITH, i6th Feby 1862
ELIAS RECTOR Esq, Superintendent of Ind. Affairs
Sir: As to the case of Fredrick Meyer, arrested as a spy, there
is nothing beyond suspicion against him, except his possession of certain
drafts drawn by a U. S. Quartermaster on the Assistant Treasurer at
New York, and the Statements of Comanche Indians, who are not
competent witnesses.
I decline to place him in custody as a spy or to order a Miltary
Court to try him. I cannot order his discharge or the return of the
drafts and money taken from him, because the Military power is
silent, within the limits of Arkansas, in the presence of the Court
power, as to reports that may be asserted and remedies that may be
pursued, in the Courts. If I had the power, I should make the order.
If you continue to hold the property in question, or to detain the
party, you will please consider that you do it on your own authority.
I am very respectfully yours,
ALBERT PIKE, Brig. Genl. Commr. Ind. Dept.
Fort Smith Papers 327
MOUTH OF CANADIAN, 23d Febr. 1862.
MAJOR: I reached this place last night, and leave this morning.
The teams furnished me at Fort Smith are hardly able to go further,
and our progress must be slow. I shall hardly reach Spaniard's Creek
before tomorrow night, and wish you to meet me there. I did think
of sending the money, at least the specie, direct from this point to
North Fork, but have determined to keep it with me until I meet
you. If you will meet me at Spaniard's Creek, we can then determine
what disposition to make of it.
Gen. Price is at Walnut Grove, eight miles south of Fayetteville ;
will take position near Cane Hill, and means to attack as soon as
he gets 5,000. men in addition to his present force. McCulloch is
on the telegraph road, to his right. They are not acting in harmony,
Col. Gatewood says.
Our forces in Kentucky and Tennesse have had to fall back
before 70,000 of the enemy. The new position, it is expected, will
be at Stevenson and Charleston road. When the enemy took Fort
Donelson, both Bowling Green and Columbus became of value to
us. Each position was carried. But we have only taken a new
position, losing no battle. The fort surrendered. Columbus is or
will be evacuated and Nashville surrendered.
There are no means of crossing the Arkansas here, except one boat,
that must have a bottom put in it. I must bring at least part of the
Choctaws to Gibson, to cross the river and move towards Cane Hill,
and in order to be able to do it as soon as possible I wish to turn
over the money to you. Truly yours ALBERT PIKE
Major Elias Rector.
OFFICE SUP'T IND. AFF'RS, Fort Smith, Feb'y 28th, 1862.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
of 23d ultimo notifying me that the sum of $3,000 -had been placed
to my credit in the Treasury on Requisition No. 23 from the War
Department subject to my Draft and request my official signature
which is hereto affixed. Very Respectfully your Ob't Serv't.
E. RECTOR, Sup't Ind. Aff'rs.
E. C. Elmore Esq., Treasurer of the Confederate States
Richmond, Va.
328 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
OFFICE SUP'T IND. AFFAIRS, Fort Smith, Feb'y 28th, 1862.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
of Jany 1st accompanying Tabular Statements sent out by Gen'l
Pike. On his arrival here I was absent in the Indian Country where
I had been ordered by him to meet a Delegation of wild Comanches
and Kiawas. Genl P did not leave the money here to be paid
over to me but tuck it in the Indian Country to his head quarters,
where he will I presume pay it out to the Indians himself. Very
Respectfully, your ob't Serv't. E. RECTOR, Sup't Ind Affairs.
S. S. SCOTT Esq. Acting Com'r Ind. Affairs, Richmond, Va.
[Rector to Scott]
OFFICE SUPT IND. AFFAIRS, March 4th, 1862.
SIR: I deem it my duty, in justice to myself, as well as my duty
to the government to notify you that Gen'l Pike has been paying over
certain of the funds sent out by him to the Indians, one payment
which he has made, I wish here to enter my protest against as not
meeting with my approbation, it was in paying over to Agent A. J.
Dorn the specie sent out for the Indians in his Agency. My objec-
tions to said payment are these: Agent Dorn has never executed a
Bond to the Confederate government for the faithful accounting for
of funds placed in his hands, and I should certainly not turn over
large amounts of government funds to any Agent in my Department
until he first gave a good and sufficient Bond and next; the Agency
which Mr. Dorn fills is in the limits of the State of Kansas and has
been in the possession of the Federals for six or seven months, Dorn
cannot even get to it, he has no fixed locality for his Agency some-
times he is with the army, at others in the State and is now here at
this place and has with him the money.
I am clearly of the opinion that this money should have been kept
in some safe place in this State until after our present troubles are
over. The Federal army is now invading within fifty miles of this
place and between him and the Indians for whom Dorn is Agent,
which makes it impossible for him to pay it to them if he so intends.
None of the Agents in this Superintendency have entered into
Bond. Nor do I know whether they intend to do so except Agent
Rutherford he came here from his Agency a few days since for the
purpose of giving his Bond but is now on a bead of sickness from
w r hich it is doubtful if he ever recovers. . . ELIAS RECTOR. 589
589 The writer of this letter was evidently Elias Rector, although the docu-
ment from which this copy was made is in the handwriting of Albert Pike.
APPENDIX B-THE LEEPER 590 OR WICHITA
AGENCY PAPERS
OFFICE SUPT. INDIAN AFFAIRS, Fort Smith, Oct. i2th, 1861.
SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of I5th
590 The history of the collection that I have designated for convenience of
reference, the Leeper Papers, is outlined in the following letter from F. John-
son, Delaware Indian Agent, to Dole, January 20, 1863 [Indian Office, General
Files, Wichita, 1862-1871, J62].
On or about the first of September last a company of Delaware &
Shawnee Indians numbering ninety-six, seventy Delawares and twenty-
six Shawnees, left Kansas on an expedition southwest from Kansas un-
der the leadership of Ben Simon a Delaware Indian.
He reports that the expedition traveled to the Neosho River in south-
ern Kansas where the3 r halted a few days. From thence they marched
in a southwest direction seventeen days to the leased , district in Texas,
they then traveled up the Wichita River, one day to the neighbourhood
of the Wichita Agency. Simon then sent Spies and Scouts to the Agency
who reported two hundred Indians well armed at the Agency in the
Service of the Southern Confederacy. On receiving this intelligence the
Delawares & Shawnees immediately preceded to the Agency which they
reached about sundown. On arriving at the Agency they surrounded
the buildings when the Agent a man large sized with black hair came
out of the house and asked them what was wanting. Simon replied to
him that he was his prisoner. At the same instant the Indians rushed
into the house when one of the Delawares was shot dead and a Shawnee
wounded - there was four white men at the Agency ; when the Indians
saw their comrades killed and wounded they killed the three men in the
House and Agent Leeper who Simon had hold of at the door -the In-
dians then took possession of the Property and papers belonging to the
Agency and burned the buildings. On the next morning they found
the trail of the Indians who had escaped from the Agency and followed
it to a grove of timber and found as they supposed about one hundred
& fifty Indians a part of whom was women and children whom they
attacked and report they killed about one hundred the Ballance making
their escape. The Delawares and Shawnees then turned homewards
with their Booty which consisted of about One hundred Ponies Twelve
hundred Dollars in Confederate Money, the papers correspondence etc.
which is wrapped in a rebel Flag taken at the Agency Among the
papers taken I would respectfully call your attention to the treaties in
330 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
inst. by Expressman Sturm 591 at Tahlequah C.N. while on public
business at that place on the 2nd inst and in answer must say.
Your requisition for Medicine I cannot comply with. I have no
Medicines on hand for the Indian Service. Neither have I been
instructed to furnish either Medicines or Medical assistance to the
Indians, and if I were disposed to take the responsibility and advance
the funds to purchase Medicines they could not be procured at this
place.
I am pleased to learn that Buffalo Hump came in to see you, but
both myself & Com r . Pike regret that you did not hold out to him
all the inducements which were in your power, and use all the forces
and means at your command to provide him with such houses as were
contemplated and promised by Com r . Pike for the comfort of those
Indians and to make them satisfied and anxious to come in.
The Com r . has issued an order prohibiting Jim Ned from return-
ing to or ever occupying any portion of the Leased District again,
this order you will see carried out. He has also ordered the
Military to kill Ned should they find him.
No blanks have been furnished to the office as yet. Nor have
even forms been purchased for the vouchers, abstracts etc. You must
rule and arrange your papers as best you can for the present as I
have to do myself.
I have turned over to Mr. Sturm four mules turned over to me
as mules taken from you by Genl Burrow. I obtained them with
great difficulty in bad condition, nearly on the lift. I have had them
three or four weeks, these were all I could find and do not know
whether they are all that were taken from you or not.
manuscript entered into between Albert Pike Commissioner on the part
of the Confederate States and the diferent Tribes of Southern Indians
as also the commission of Mathew Leeper Indian Agent from James
Buchanan President of the United States dated ist of February 1861.
These Indians few in numbers marching upon a point more than
five hundred miles distant furnishing their own transportation forage
and provisions without cost to the Government certainly exhibits a great
degree of Loyalty daring and hardihood.
591 J. J. Sturm, commissary for the Indians of the Leased District [Rector
to Sturm, July x, 1861]. On Oct. 3, 1861, Sturm reported to Leeper:
I arrived here over a week ago, and have been waiting for Maj.
Rector, who is absent making a Treaty with the Cherokees, and other
Tribes at Telequa. . . No talk of anything but war here. Price
has taken Lexington, Mo., he took and killed over four thousand of
Abe's men, with a great deal of war material. . .
Wichita Agency Papers 331
As stated above I have received no funds for the Indian Service
from the Confederacy, in fact there has been no Indian Department
organized consequently no appropriation has been made nor will any
Indian business be done in the War Department until after the late
Treaties are submitted and approved.
I shall leave here in a short time for Richmond for the purpose
of organizing the business of the Superintendency, procuring funds,
goods etc. for the Indians in compliance with the Stipulations of the
late Treaties.
C. B. Johnson is absent at New Orleans and is expected back in
a few days.
Enclosed you will find Sutton & Springs receipt for $200.
Owing to Creek difficulties I send Mr. Sturm back by direct route
for his safety and the safety of your property. Very Respectfully
Your Ob't. Servant E. RECTOR, Supt. Ind. Affairs.
Col. M. Leeper, Ind. Agent, Wichita Agency, L.D.
OFFICE SUPT. IND. AFFAIRS, FORT SMITH, ARKS.
Oct. soth, 1 86 1.
SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 2ist
inst. by Expressman.
On the 1 2th Inst, I wrote you by your expressman Mr. Sturm
and as then, state I have no funds in my hands for the purchase of
Medicines or for any other purpose for the Indian Service. Nor
have I been authorized to provide the Indians with Medicines or
Medical assistance; there has been no Indian Department regularly
organized as yet, by our Government, nor will there be until after
the Treaties lately made by Comr Pike are laid before the President
and approved.
I have purchased for you on your own account, all the medicines
I can purchase in this place that would be useful to the Indians. I
send them by your Expressman with the bills, you can charge the
Government with them in your account.
I am pleased to learn that the Kiowa Indians are likely to come
in and make a treaty. Comr Pike cannot possibly be there to treat
with them for some months to come, the treaties made by him with
the Comanches places all of those Indians who may hereafter come
i in on the same footing with those who entered into treaty stipulations,
and I hereby authorize you, as I have authority to do from Comr
Pike, to make the same treaties and hold out the same inducements
332 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
to the Kiowas as were made by him with the Comanches, do not, how-
ever, promise them blankets this winter as it would be impossible to
procure them, the Government cannot procure a sufficiency of them for
the Soldiers, not even at the most exorbitant prices. Agents are travel-
ing over the States purchasing second hand blankets from families who
take them off their beds to accomodate the Soldiers in the field.
H. L. Rogers is now on his way to your agency with hands to
build houses for the Indians, he is sent out by Com r . Pike on his
responsibility. I wrote you by him.
Gen'l Pike will have command of the Military Department of
the Indian Country. He is now on his way to Richmond Va., when
he will [return] I am not advised, it will be with him to direct what
military force will be placed at Fort Cobb for the protection of your
agency, when that protection will be furnished I am unable to advise
you, of the importance of an efficient force being stationed there at
an early day there can be no doubt.
In regard to the Mail or Express arrangements you speak of, I
must say I have neither power, authority, or means to establish mail
or express routes to your agency or elsewhere. Our State and other
States are suffering greatly for want of mail facilities, and I cannot
involve myself pecuniarily in the matter, this matter must be brought
regularly before the Department and its action had.
In regard to the time when you may expect funds to close your
accounts I can only say that you need not expect funds until after the
treaties recently made are ratified and appropriations made in accord-
ance with your estimates furnished Com r Pike, the Government
will not, of course, send out funds for Indians until it is advised that
it has some treaty relations with them, I will leave here on the 7th
day of next month for Richmond for the purpose of assisting in the
organization of our Indian business, and for the procurement of
funds, goods, etc, to carry out the provisions of the late treaties, on
my return you will be advised of the result of my mission.
I learn from Mr. C. B. Johnson that you had advised him that
Mr. Beckle is acting as Commissary, this is wrong and is calculated
to produce confusion in the accounts. Mr. Sturm is the recognized
commissary regularly appointed by me, he should not be sent away
from his regular duties on any other business and I so informed him
while here and notified him that his absence from his regular duties
on another occasion would be sufficient cause for me to remove him
and appoint his successor, the appointment of commissary belongs
Wichita Agency Papers 333
exclusively to me, and you are well aware of the importance of his
being constantly at his post, as he is the check on the contractor in
rilling the requisitions of the agent. In future I hope he will not
be detailed for any other duties. Mr. Sturm is and will continue to
be Commissary until removed by me either upon charges or such cause
as I may think requires his removal. Very respectfully, Your Ob't.
Serv't, E. RECTOR, Supt. Ind. Affairs.
Col. M. Leeper, Indian Agent, Wichita Agency, L.D.
The bearer of this letter, Capt. H. L. Rogers, has been employed
and empowered by Genl Pike Commissioner with plenary powers, to
proceed to the Wichita Agency, with hands, to erect buildings neces-
sary for the Commissary and cabins for the Indians, Commissioner
Pike becomes responsible for the work. . . - RECTOR to Leeper,
dated Fort Smith, October 25, 1861.
SUBPOENA 592
Confederate States vs. Matthew Leeper, Indian Agt, Comanche, et al.
State of Arkansas, The Confederate States of America.
To J. J. Sturm Greeting. You are hereby commanded, that
laying all manner of excuses aside, you be and appear before the
undersigned, special commissioner of C.S.A. at the Law Office of
James P. Spring, in the City of Fort Smith, in the County of
Sebastian, and State of Arkansas, on the loth day of January, 1862.
Then and there to testify and the truth to speak in a certain matter
before said Commissioner pending, wherein The Confederate States
of America prefers certain charges against Matthew Leeper, Indian
Agent of Comanche and other reserved Indians west of the State of
Arkansas, and on behalf of the C.S.A.
Herein fail not at your peril.
In testimony whereof I, James P. Spring, Commissioner of Exami-
592 These two brief communications have a bearing upon Leeper's case:
You are hereby ordered to remain at Fort Smith Arkansas from
loth. January 1862 untill further ordered by the undersigned, as a
witness in the case of the Confederate States of America against M.
Leeper, Ind. Agt. on certain charges preferred. - JAMES P. SPRING, com-
missioner, to J. J. Sturm, dated Fort Smith, Ark., December 22, 1861.
Spring may not be able to begin on Leeper's case before Jan. 20-
Is obliged to leave city. If Leeper wants while Spring is away, [to go]
to Fayetreville, he may & Spring will telegraph him upon his return. -
SPRING to Leeper, dated Fort Smith, Ark., December 23, 1861.
334 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
nation, have hereunto set my hand and affixed my private seal [there
being no public seal for such purposes provided] in the City of Fort
Smith, this I2th. day of November, 1861.
JAMES P. SPRING, [Seal], Commissioner of Examination, C.S.A.
QUESENBURY 593 TO LEEPER
Gen. Pike is now in Richmond. I am engaged in building winter-
quarters for his Brigade. The General will probably return about
the loth of December.
I hope you will honour my requisitions for forage for the animals
of the expedition for the blankets at Mr. Shirley's. The trip will
be a hard one, and I fear a long one.
There is no news of import from my quarter. There was some-
thing of an occurrance in the Ho-poieth-le Yohola imbroglio the other
day. Mr. Scrimpsher can give you the current particulars. . .
FORT SMITH, Dec 4, 1861.
DR. SIR : - We have no late news of importance. The Federal
troops 30000 strong came as far as Springfield and fearing to advance
further returned to St. Louis & Kansas; the Kansas party took from
the vicinity of Springfield 600 negroes from Union men as well as
Secessionists.
A heavy battle was fought in Mo. opposite Columbus a few days
since. Pillow commanded the Confederate forces 2500 strong, the
Federals came down in their gun-boats 7000 strong & landed. The
fight lasted 4 hours with heavy losses on both sides. Pillow was then
reinforced and drove the Federals back to their boats making a perfect
slaughter of the Yankees. Our victory was complete and a very
important one it was. Price has gone back to the Mo. River,
McCulloch is bringing his army down here to go into winter quarters
on the Arks. River.
Hardin is marching on Louisville, Ky., with from 80 to 100,000
Confederate troops. We are expecting to hear of his having posses-
sion of that city soon.
McClellan is said to be advancing slowly and continuously on
Johnson and Boregard. They are anxious for him to pay them a visit.
Our legislature has elected Bob Johnson & Chas. Mitchell
Senators, the Washington County District elected Batson over
593 William Quessnbury to Leeper, dated Fort Gibson, C. N., Nov. 28, 1861.
Wichita Agency Papers 335
Thomason to Congress. G. D. Royston is elected in this District and
Judge Hanley in the Helena District.
Can't think of anything else that would interest you. Your friend
in haste, R. P. PULLIAM.
Col. M. Leeper.
OFFICE SUPT. IND. AFFAIRS, FORT SMITH, Dec. 4th, '61.
SIR: I enclose herewith a Copy of a letter from Albert Pike
Comr. etc. to Elias Rector, Supt. Ind. Aff., of date 2ist. ultimo also
two official letters.
That portion of Comr. Pike's letter relating to inviting the Indians
to settle on the Reserve was anticipated by Supt. Rector's letter of
instructions to you of the 3Oth October last.
The messages which Comr. Pike wishes given to the Indians you
will, of course, deliver to them.
Maj. Rector left here for Richmond about ten days ago. When
he will return I am unable to say, as it seems from Pike's letter he
has to purchase and bring on the Indian goods. Very respectfully,
R. P. PULLIAM, Clk.
Col. M. Leeper, Wichita Agent.
WICHITAW FED [FEED] HOUSE, December loth 1861
DEAR CONL. From what I can asertain the Dutchman supposed
to be a spy is one of the party who of ten, (five Mexicans & five
whites) who prevented the wild Comanchees from coming in by
telling them that we were fixing a trap to destroy the last one of
them, when we got them here, and as an indusement to dispose of
their Buffalo Robes this party told the Indians that we would take
the last Robe from them with our troops.
The [above] I was informed of by the Comanche Cheves several
days ago Very truly J. SHIRLEY
Col M. Leeper, Wichitaw Agency.
WICHITA AGENCY L.D., Deer loth 1861
A memorandum of moneys and effects found on the person of a
german who says his name is Frederick Myer, arrested and detained
'here, he being suspected of being a spy on the part of the United
States in opposition to the Confederate States of America. The indi-
vidual together with the moneys and property found upon his person
336 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
is intended to be forwarded to the Superintendent of Indian Affairs
Fort Smith at as early a day as practicable
Four drafts on the U. S. Asst. Treasurer New York, dated at
Santa Fe N. M. Sept. 17th 1861 and drawn by Jno P. Hatch Capt.
Rm R. Actg C. S. in favor John Dold transferred to Frederick
Myer, viz.
No 103. Twelve Hundred & fifty dollars
" 104. Twelve Hundred & fifty dollars
" 105. Four Hundred & Eighty four dollars
106. Two Hundred & nineteen 50/100 dollars.
Also five other drafts as above described dated on the igth Sept.
1861. viz;-
No. 112. Six Hundred dollars
" 113. Five Hundred dollars.
" 114. Four Hundred dollars
" 115. Three Hundred dollars
" 1 1 6. Two Hundred dollars.
One draft dated Sept. i8th 1861 drawn by J L Donnevhen P. M.
favor Stephen Bryce or order transferred to Frederick Myer
No 1669. Nine Hundred & eighty three 25/100 dollars.
Also in Gold One Hundred & fifty five dollars
Silver Seventy cents
One Colts Revolver, belt & Scabbard
One large Pocket Knife
Also found in his possission two ponies one gray and one sorrel
Four letters addressed as follows,
Mr. J. W. Gregory Santa Fe N. M.
Mr B Seligman
Mr. Geo. T. Madison
Mr W. W. Griffin
Received Wichita Agency L. D. Deer. 15 1861, all the above articles
moneys &c. excepting the two ponies bridle and saddle and saddle
bags, large knife and ten dollars in gold which were forwarded by
H. L. Rodgers accompanying the prisioner, all of which balance in
my possession to be delivered to the Superintendent of Indian Af-
fairs Fort Smith Arks. M. GRIMES
Received Fort Smith Dec. gth 1861 from M Grimes the above monies
& Pistol as per his Recpt to Col Leeper
E. RECTOR, Supt. Indian Affrs
Wichita Agency Papers 337
WICHITA AGENCY S.D., Deer. i2th 1861
SIR: I forward to your charge by H. L. Rodgers, a german by
the name of Frederick Myer, whom I arrested as a spy or smugler
in behalf of the United States, and upon whose person was found
Six Thousand three hundred dollars in drafts upon the Assistant
Treasurer New York, one hundred and fifty five dollars in gold and
seventy cents in silver, four private letters of unimportant import,
two ponies and revolver pistol No 72,942 belt and hoster, one riding
saddle, one pack saddle and one pair saddle bags, all of which will
be forwarded to you by Mr Marshall Grimes, with the exception of
the two ponies bridle and saddle and saddle bags and ten dollars in
gold, which I have placed in charge of Mr H. L. Rodgers and will
accompany the prisoner.
The principal evidence against Frederick Myer, was derived from
the Trader Mr. John Shirley, whose written statement is herewith
enclosed. Very Respectfully Your obt. sert.
M. LEEPER, Ind. Agt. C.S.A.
Elias Rector Esq, Supt. Ind. Affrs,
Fort Smith Arks.
WICHITA AGENCY, L.D. December I5th 1861
To JOHN JUMPER, and our brothers in the Seminole Nation,
We have nothing particular to write you, we are all well and
doing well here
Since we had the talk we have understood that you had some diffi-
culty among your people, but that does not have any bad effect upon
us as we are friends the same as at the time we made the treaties -
Our brothers the Comanches, and all the other tribes, are still friends
with you, and are all very sorry that you are fighting one against
another, brothers against brothers, and friends against friends. When
Mode Cunard and you were here and had the talk with Genl Pike -
we still hold to the talk we made with Genl Pike, and are keeping
the treaty in good faith, and are looking for him back again soon.
We look to you and Mode Cunard and Genl Pike as brothers -
General Pike told us at the council that, there were but few of us
here, and if anything turned up to make it necessary he would protect
them. We are just as we were when Genl Pike was up here and
keeping the treaty made with him - Our brothers the wild Comanches
have been in and are friendly with us.
All the Indians here have but one heart our brothers, the Texans,
338 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
and the Indians are away fighting the cold weather people we do
not intend to go North to fight them but if they come down here,
we will all unite to drive them away Some of my people are one
eyed and a little Crippled, but if the enemy comes here they will all
jump out to fight him Also that Pea-o-popicult has recently the
principal Kiowa Chief has recently visited the reserve, and has ex-
pressed friendly intentions, and has gone back to consult the rest of
his people and designs returning
HOSEEA MARIA BUFFALO HUMP
KI-KAD-A-WAH
Chiefs of the Comanches
TE-NAH JIM POCKMARK.
GEO WASHINGTON
The Confederate States of America
To M. GRIMES Dr.
1 86 1 : Nov 30 For Services rendered of negro man
Guss as Laborer from ist Oct. to
3Oth Nov 1 86 1, inclusive, 2 mos.
at $300.00 pr. an. . . $ 50.00
Received at Wichita Agency L.D. Deer 3ist 1861, of M. Leeper Ind.
Agt. C.S.A. Fifty dollars in full of the above account.
$50.00 M. GRIMES.
I certify on honor that the above account is correct and just, and that
I have actually this 3ist day of Deer. 1861, paid the amount
thereof. IND. ACT. C.S.A
[Triplicates]
The Confederate States of America
To A. OUTZEN Dr.
1861 : Deer 31 For Services rendered as Wheel-
wright etc. at Wichita Agency,
L.D. from ist Oct. to 3ist Deer.
1 86 1 inclusive, 3 months at
$600.00 pr an . . . $ i5O.(
Received at Wichita Agency L.D. Deer 3 ist 1861 of M. Leeper,
Indian Agent, C.S.A. One Hundred & fifty oo/ioo
$150.00 A. OUTZEN Wheelwright
I certify on honor that the above account is correct and just, and that
Wichita Agency Papers 339
I have actually this 3ist day of Deer 1861, paid the amount thereof,
[Triplicates] IND. ACT. C.S.A.
The Confederate States of America
To J. B. BEVELL Dr.
1 86 1 : Deer 3 1 For Services rendered as Laborer at
Wichita Agency L.D. June I
Oct. to 1 5th Nov 1 86 1 - inclusive
i mo & 15 days at $300.00 pr an $ 37.50
And as Farmer from 16 Nov to 31
Deer 1 86 1 inclusive I mo & 15
days at $600.00 pr an . 75-OO
$ 112.50
Received at Wichita Agency L.D. Deer 3ist 1861 of M. Leeper
Ind. Agt. C.S.A. One Hundred & twelve 50/100 Dollars in full
of the above account.
$112.50. JOHN BEVELL Farmer
I certify on honor that the above account is correct and just, and that
I have actually this 3ist day of Deer 1861, paid the amount thereof,
[Triplicates] IND. AGT., C.S.A.
The Confederate States of America
To D. SEALS Dr.
1861: Deer. 31 For Services rendered as Farmer at
Wichita Agency L.D. from 1st
Oct. to 3 1st Deer. 1861 inclusive,
3 months at $600.00 per an . $ 150.00
Received at Wichita Agency L.D. Deer. 3ist 1861 of M Leeper In-
dian Agent C.S.A. One Hundred & fifty 00/100 Dollars in full
of the above account.
$150.00 DAVID SEALS, Farmer
I certify that the above account is correct and just, and that I have
actually this 31 day of Deer 1861, paid the amount thereof,
[Triplicates] IND. ACT. C.S.A.
FORT SMITH, January I3th, 1862.
SIR: In compliance with your letter of instruction of the loth
inst. I have the honor to present in detail the condition of affairs con-
34 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
nected with the Wichita Agency. In thus presenting my report I
shall attempt to be governed by as much brevity as possible.
In detailing the affairs of the people in my charge and of my action
in reference to them it will become necessary to refer not only to the
present but to their past history in Texas. There was a time in
Texas when these people were in a prosperous and happy condition,
and they advanced as rapidly in the arts of civilization during that
time, perhaps, as any people ever did. But evil disposed persons in
their vicinity and those not far distant on the frontiers of Texas be-
came dissatisfied with their locality and determined to disperse and
break them up. They continued their work of desolation until the
indians were compelled to abandon their homes and seek a refuge west
of the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations on the Leased District. In
doing so they suffered many and very severe losses and privations.
Numbers of their horses and cattle were driven off by their enemies
and many things useful to them, were necessarily abandoned.
Estimates were prepared of the amount of damage and submitted to
the original United States Government but before any action was
taken, the government dissolved and their just claims consequently
failed. Therefore permit me most respectfully to suggest the pro-
priety of immediately calling the attention of our Government and
of the proper Department to the fact, in order that these people may
obtain adequate remuneration. In reference to their habitations, they
have nothing to claim. They have more and better houses than they
had in Texas. The Commanches have eight or ten neatly hewn log
cabins with good chimneys. Three double log hewn houses with good
chimneys, to each room for the chief's in addition to a number of
warm comfortable picket houses which they partly built themselves
and covered with grass.
In Texas they had but one house which belonged to the Chief, in
the scramble for the spoils at the time of the abandonment of Fort
Cobb by the federal troops they were not altogether behind for I
have observed among them several new Sibley tents and a number of
new common tents. The Tonkahwas have warm comfortable houses
made of poles and grass such as they had in Texas. And for the
chief I built a good double log house with chimneys to each room and
a hall or passage in the centre, in which he now lives.
The Anahdahkoes have quite a number of comfortable houses con-
sisting of four double houses with chimneys to each room, passages
in the centre and to some of them shed rooms attached. The re-
Wichita Agency Papers 341
mainder consist of hewn log cabins and Picket houses such as they
had in Texas covered with grass. The Caddoes also have quite a
number of houses consisting of various double houses, single houses
and picket houses.
The Witchitas have no houses except such as they have built for
themselves consisting of a net work of sticks and grass but they are
warm and comfortable. They are not decided upon a permanent
location and consequently refuse to have houses built. The Tahwac-
carroes, Wacoes, Ionics and Kechies inhabit the same kind of houses
as the Witchitas and like them have not decided upon a permanent
location. The Shawnees and Delawares all have good comfortable
cabins.
In February last whilst at Washington I closed all my former ac-
counts with the department of the Interior of the United States Gov-
ernment and estimated for the first and second quarter of 1861 which
estimates amounted to 13899 dollars and eighty-five cents. On my
way to the Agency in the Indian Country prepared to carry out the
designs and expectations of the government I was arrested by one
Burrow who represented himself to be a general on the part of the
State of Arkansas, who examined my papers and took from me one
wagon four set of harness, one horse and seven mules, property which
had been purchased by the United States government for the use and
benefit of the Indians in my charge, all of which has been subsequently
returned with the exception of two of the mules. After the wagon
and mules were taken I hired transportation and proceeded to the
Agency where I found the Indians in a high state of excitement and
alarm; their fears having been excited by a Delaware Indian by the
name of Jim Ned and other evil disposed persons, tattlers and tale
bearers who are apt to be found loitering about Indian Reserves.
In reference to the people of Texas, I succeeded in satisfying them
that their apprehensions were groundless, let several contracts for
breaking prairie and commenced to work generally in accordance with
my estimates and the wishes of the Department. But soon after-
wards my state (Texas) seceded from the Union and I determined
no longer to act as a federal officer, and having no authority to act
for the Confederate States, I delivered to the indians all the property
in my possession which was held in trust for their benefit with the
exception of two wagons which were used in my transportation, which
together with one which had previously been loaned to the Com-
missary are now reported on my property rolls. With a hope to
342 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
satisfy the indians until an agent should be appointed by the Confed-
erate States (which I assured them would soon take place) I ex-
pended the remainder of the money's in my hands for blankets tobacco
and clothing for them, they being in a destitute condition, occasioned
principally on account of losses sustained by their goods being sunk
in the Arkansas River and by the fire at Fort Smith. The goods
were intended to be duplicated and money's had been promised for
that purpose in advance of their regular supply of goods of which
the indians were apprised.
Upon the withdrawal of Texas from the Union, they again became
apprehensive of danger from the people of that State. I reminded
them that I was a Texan, and in order that they might have a positive
guaranty of safety, that they should have Texas troops to defend them.
I made the application and Capt. Diamond's company arrived on the
day of my departure.
During the whole course of my operations as Commanche Agent,
and more particularly the past year, my best efforts have been em-
ployed with a hope to induce all the southern bands of Comanches
to abandon their wandering habits become colonized and settle, that
being the most effectual means, and by far the least expensive mode
of checking their depredations on Texas, and finally by means of
messengers and messages I induced them to come in on the first of
August last and enter into treaty stipulations with Commissioner
Pike. A train of untoward circumstances prevented the commissioner
from complying strictly with his agreements with them which have
cast a shade of discontent upon their minds, and they say that it
is the cause of the non-compliance on their part, which was to settle
on the reserve last fall and abandon their roving habits. This how-
ever I do not believe: if the commissioner had met them at the time
appointed (the falling of the leaves) with all the goods promised I
am of opinion they would have received the goods made some excuse,
and returned again to the prairies. Such has been the case of the other
Comanches who have settled for several years and I think they would
have done so too. Perhaps their stealing operations would not have
been so extensive; but they say that that practice shall cease at any
rate as long as they are friends with us.
In November last I received a visit from a Kiowa chief by the
name of "Big-head" who made many fine promises and agreed to
settle on the reserve with his people, but in this I place but little
reliance. The Kiowa's are a very numerous band. They are north-
Wichita Agency Papers 343
ern indians and their principal range is from the sources of the Arkan-
sas River to Bents Fort. Their principal chief originally contempti-
ously spoke of the United States government and troops, notwith-
standing he annually received a large amount of presents from that
government, consisting of blankets, clothing, tobacco, rifles, powder
and lead, etc. They now have a federal agent at Bent's Fort.
During the past six months, but little has been done on the re-
serve - 1 have had no means to accomplish much. The employees
who have been engaged have suffered considerably with sickness dur-
ing the months of September and October last. They have built a
very comfortable double log house with a gallery in front and a
stable which is partly finished to which a room is attached for the
benefit of employees. Without such protection and security there is
no safety for the public animals necessary to carry on the farming
operations of the reserve.
No troops being stationed on the Leased District I have been un-
able to exercise the necessary control. The indians have been kept
in a constant state of turmoil by false representations both in reference
to myself and things affecting their individual interest. No Indian
reserve can be conducted in a satisfactory manner either to the gov-
ernment or indians without the cooperation of troops to enable the
Agent to enforce the intercourse laws and eject disorderly persons
from amongst them.
No funds as yet have been received to meet the current expenses
of the Agency, nor has any forage been furnished except twenty four
bushels of corn and twelve of oats, which were received from Com-
missioner Pike. The remainder of the forage which was used in
sustaining two government animals and four private animals employed
in the public service from the first of August until the last of October
and from that time till the 3ist of December four additional public
animals, was gathered up at the different corn houses which had been
abandoned and were going to destruction at Fort Cobb, and a small
amount purchased on my own responsibility from the contractor for
supplying the indians.
It is deemed useless to suggest additional plans of retrenchment
and economy to the government as I am not advised as to the extent
and nature of the design of its future operations in reference to the
affairs of the reserve. With these facts submitted I have the honor
to be Sir very respectfully Your obedient Servant [M. LEEPER.]
E. Rector, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Southern Superintend-
ency
344 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
WITCHITA AGENCY, Jan. 3ist., 1862.
BRIG. GEN'L A. PIKE, Com'd'y Indian Territory.
Sir : Enclosed please find muster roll of Reserve Indians enlisted
in the services of the Confederate Government under your authority
of the 3Oth Aug't, 1861 to M. Leeper, Indian Agent, to act as spies
and for the protection of the Agency until relieved by Confederate
forces.
You will perceive that I enlisted them on the gth Sept. last and
have made up the roll to the gth Feb'y, 1862, at which time I would
respectfully suggest the disbandment of them as they have already
served three months longer than they anticipated at the time of their
enlistment and they are anxious to be disbanded at the expiration of
this month.
As much doubt has been expressed by the other Indians not en-
listed, of these ever receiving pay for their services, I believe if they
were paid off [it] would at once convince them of the integrity and
honor of the Confederate Government and should any emergency
hereafter arise they will more readily flock to the standard of our
country.
Having received special instructions from M. Leeper, Indian
Agent, to remain at my post during his absence, I therefore forward
these papers by Mr. John Shirley and authorize him to act for me in
this matter.
MUSTER ROLL OF RESERVE INDIANS MUSTERED IN-
TO THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA UNDER
COMMAND OF LIEUT. GEN'L H. P. JONES,
SEPT. 9, 1861.
HORSE BRIDLE&SADDLE RIFLE Bow, ETC.
1. Pinahontsama, Sergt. $60. $5.00 $25. $5.00
2. Pive-ahope Corpl. $60.00 $5.00 do. 5.00
3. Chick- a-poo 30.00 5.00 25.00 5.00
4. Charley Chickapoo 30.00 5.00 25.00 5.00
5. Somo 40.00 5.00 10.00 5.00
6. Boo-y-wy-sis-ka 50.00 5.00 25.00 5.00
7. Cu-be-ra-wipo 50.00 5.00 25.00 5.00
8. Ca-na-with 40.00 5.00 25.00 5.00
9. A-ri-ka-pap 55-OO 5.00 25.00 5.00
10. Pith-pa- wah 50.00 5.00 5.00
11. Pe-ah-ko-roh 35-OO 5.00 35-OO 5.00
Wichita Agency Papers 345
HORSE BRIDLE & SADDLE RIFLE Bow, ETC.
12. Jim Chickapoo 65.00 5.00 six shooter 25.00 5.00
13. Na-na-quathteh 40.00 5.00 5.00
14. To-no-kah 80.00 5.00 25.00 5.00
15. Ath-pah 25.00 5.00 Pistol #5- 5.00
16. Pe-ba-rah 30.00 5.00 25.00 5.00
17. Cur-su-ah 45.00 5.00 10.00 5.00
18. Cow-ah-dan Sept.23d. $60. 5.00 15.00 5.00
Signed Sealed & delivered in the presence of David Seals & Dr.
Bucket, Sept. 9, 1861.
WICHITA AGENCY L. D. Feby the gth 1862
I certify on honor that I have received from Messrs Johnson &
Grimes Seventeen hundred and fifty-four rations of Beef, Flour,
Coffee, Sugar, Soap, and Salt for the use of my Spy Company raised
for the protection of the Wichita Agency by authority of Commis-
sioner A. Pike as per letter dated Augt. 3Oth 1861 to M. Leeper
Indian Agent H. P. JONES, Lt. Com'd'y. and Act'g C. of S.
HEAD QUARTERS DEP'T OF IND'N TERRITORY,
FORT McCuLLOCH, 23rd April 1862.
SPECIAL ORDERS, No. -
Lieut. Col. Harris, Commanding Chickasaw Battalion, will sta-
tion four companies instead of two, of his Battalion, at Camp Mcln-
tosh, and two only at Fort Arbuckle. He will consult with the Agent
for the Reserve Indians, Col. Matthew Leeper, and do everything in
his power to protect the Agency and the peaceful Indians on the Re-
serve, placing, if necessary his troops at or near the Agency, and con-
trolling the unruly Indians, by force of arms, if it becomes necessary.
By order of Brig. Gen'l Com'd'g
FAYETTE HEWITT A. A. General
[Copy] May 7, 1862.
Hon. Comr. Indian Affairs, enclosing copies from Gen'l Pike.
WASHITA AGENCY, L.D. May 7, 1862.
SIR: Enclosed herewith I have the honor to transmit for the in-
formation of the Department the copy of a letter addressed to Gen'l
Pike on the 1 3th April last, and his reply thereto; the troops promised
by the General have not arrived nor have I any tidings from them.
There can be no question, if the Confederate States desire to keep
up this Agency and to continue their friendly relations with the In-
346 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
dians adjacent to the Reserve, that a strong garrison is necessary.
The appearance of friendship could be maintained perhaps without
it, but to put an entire stop to the depredations upon Texas, cannot
be accomplished without the restraining influence of a military force ;
a small force at all times here is necessary to enable the Agent to
enforce the Intercourse Laws, and to expell from the Reserve, dis-
orderly persons and idlers, hovering around the Indian Camps with-
out any legitimate business or employment. I would further respect-
fully suggest with all due deference to the military skill of Gen.
Pike, that white troops would be infinitely better and far more avail-
able in every particular than Indians. It is well known that the
people of Texas adjacent to the Reserve have no very kind feelings
for Indians generally, and if it should become necessary to exercise
military authority over a Texan no matter who he is or however
worthless he might be, if it was done by Indian soldiers, it would en-
gender deep-rooted malice in the minds of very many of the Texan
people against the troops, which, in all probability would militate
largely against the interest of the Government. White troops have
a greater influence upon the Indians than Indian troops would have,
and understand more perfectly the obligations of enlisted men.
In my letter to Gen. Pike, I gave it as an opinion that it would be
better to either drive the Indians off, who are not located, or to re-
quire them to settle on the Reserve. Various conversations had with
them since that time has been the means of changing my opinion; I
think by continuing the practice of giving them provisions and more
supplies of presents when they visit the Agency will perhaps induce
them to remain quiet and not disturb Texas, particularly if we pre-
sent an array of troops sufficiently strong to chastise them in the event
of their forfeiting their promises and acting a faithless part. To-day
I held a Council with some of the wild chiefs, they made fair prom-
ises, and promised to bring to the Agency on the 2Oth of June next,
the other wild chiefs who have never visited this place, for the pur-
pose of entering into a general treaty of peace, and they say they will
use all their influence with the Kioways to restore the horses lately
stolen from the Reserve Indians and cause those to treat likewise. If
it should be the desire of the Government for me to have them sign
the Treaty with such amendments or alterations as may be suggested,
there would not be the slightest difficulty in the way, it can be accom-
plished without any further parade or expense, except the ordinary
supply of provision and a few small presents in the way of goods.
Wichita Agency Papers 347
Allow me to direct the attention of the Department to the fact that
the present Contract for furnishing rations to the Indians will expire,
I am told, on the i6th August next, (I have never been furnished
with a copy) and that it will be necessary in order to give satisfaction
to the public to give at least a month's notice of the time and place, a
new one will be let and having been informed that the next Contract
would be let at this agency, and that the local agent would be charged
with the duty, I deem it necessary immediately to repair to Fort Smith
to await instructions and other necessary papers in reference to my
official station and to receive funds for the present and to forward an
estimate for the ensuing fiscal year.
May 8th.
To-day I was visited by quite a number of chiefs belonging to the
wild Comanches who have never been here before. They say they
are desirous of making a perpetual and ever-lasting peace with the
Southern people, the fourth of July is appointed for a general gather-
ing in Council of all the Chiefs and principal men belonging to the
Comanches for the purpose of entering into a general and lasting peace
upon the same terms and conditions which are offered those already
settled. I appointed the 4th of July that I might have an opportunity
in the mean time of consulting with and ascertaining the pleasure of
the Government in reference to them. I am of the opinion that three
or four thousand dollars worth of goods furnished upon that occasion
and distributed to them as presents would have a beneficial effect.
I learn from them that four white men and four Indians were
recently killed on the Llano, Texas that the Indians were returning
from Mexico & without knowing anything of the friendly relations
which now exist between our people and theirs, they stopped as usual,
stole a parcel of horses, were pursued and the killing aforementioned
was the consequence, they assert that they will control their people
hereafter from depredating upon Texas, and that if any of their bad
men should cross Red River that they will give immediate notice of
the fact that they may be overtaken and killed, and if they should
escape notice steal horses and return they will immediately take them
from them, deliver them to the Agent with information in reference
to the place from which they were taken, so the owners can recover
them again.
With these facts submitted, I have the honor to be very respect-
fully, Your Obedient Servant
(Sgd.) M. LEEPER, Indian Agent, C.S.A.
348 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
COPY TO BRIG. GEN'L A. PIKE, APR. 13, 1862. IN REF-
ERENCE TO THE CONDUCTING OF THE RESERVE
COMANCHES AND WILD BANDS OF COMANCHES, AL-
SO REQUESTING A MILITARY FORCE TO BE STA-
TIONED ON THE RESERVE
WASHITA AGENCY, L.D. April 13, 1862.
BRIG. GEN'L A. PIKE, Com'd'g of Indian Terr'y
Sir: It becomes my duty under official instructions to keep you
advised of the feelings and bearings of the Indians on the Reserve
and more particularly of the wild bands adjacent to it who profess
friendship for us. The recent friendly relations which have been
professed on the part of the Indians and attempted to be cultivated
on our part have produced an opposite result upon the Comanche
Reserve Indians from that which was anticipated, boys who have been
partly reared upon the Reserve and who hitherto have conducted
themselves with the greatest propriety are now unruly and are subject
to the most unbridled passions and unheard of improprieties, they
have destroyed pretty much all the poultry belonging to Dr. Shirley,
have shot arrows into his milk cows, killed several of the beeves be-
longing to the contractor. They are in the habit of shooting beeves
full of arrows in the beef pen before they are issued, killing some
of them and rendering others unable to be driven to the different In-
dian encampments, this practice was repeated on yesterday in the
presence of the chiefs, when one of the interpreters, Mr. H. P. Jones,
admonished Buffalo Hump to check such outrages and reprove the
boys for such improprieties, but was fiercely turned upon by the old
Indian and abused in the most unmeasured terms, the boys then rode
to the Agency, approached the horse lot and one of them was just in
the act of shooting a horse, I succeeded in preventing him from doing
so myself.
Those wild fellows come in, hold war dances and scalp dances,
speak of their agility in stealing horses and of their prowress in taking
scalps of white men and Mexicans, and of the rapture with which
they are received and amorous embraces of the young damsels on their
return until the young men heretofore inclined to lead an idle but
civil life on the Reserve are driven mad with excitement, some of
them have left, others are going today with the wild Indians for the
ostensible purpose I am told of depredating upon Mexico, but really,
in my opinion upon Texas, many depredations have recently been com-
Wichita Agency Papers 349
mitted upon that frontier, and lately an Anahdahko Indian and a
negro belonging to that band crossed Red River, stole five horses,
killed three of them and returned home on the other two, they alledge
that it would not have taken place, but for the want of the restraining
influence of the Chief who was absent at Fort Davis for presents
(this is a mere subterfuge of course).
The wild Indians are principally located within two days ride of
this place and I suppose could muster two thousand warriors, when
they come here they are rather impudent and insolent in their demands
and upon one occasion threatened to force the doors of the Commis-
sary and help themselves. A few days since three of their young men
forcibly opened one of the doors of Dr. Shirley's house and attempted
to enter his wife's bed chamber. They were met by the doctor at
the door who, after a scuffle and slight altercation with one of them
caused them to desist.
Many horses have recently been stolen from the Reserve Indians,
some of which are known to have been taken by the bands professing
friendship, who promised to restore them.
I am clearly of the opinion that this Reserve cannot be sustained
without a strong military force, and that it would be much better to
require those wild fellows either to settle on the Reserve or quit the
country, at present they appear to make it a place of convenience, to
rest, feed and recruit themselves, on their return from a stealing ex-
pedition, and to procure provisions and a suitable outfit, the better to
enable them to prosecute their fiendish designs. Therefore permit me
respectfully to solicit j^ou to furnish at the shortest practicable period
a strong mounted force, say one Regiment at least to be situated here
to act in concert with the Civil Authorities in holding those Indians
in check, preventing the forays in Texas and in regulating the affairs
of the Reserve. I would also with due deference suggest the name
of Col. Alexander of Sherman, as a gentleman eminently qualified
for the service. Texas troops would be more available here at present
than any others, for the Indians have an instinctive dread of them.
In the event that it should become absolutely necessary in the
absence of suitable protection to abandon the Reserve, a suggestion
from you in reference to the proper course to be taken would be ac-
ceptable, my notion is to fall back upon Red River or into Texas
with all the Indians who are true to the South and if overtaken by
the way, defend to the last extremity.
350 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
All my official correspondence I report to the Department but
before I could get an expression of opinion from that source, it would
probably be too late to avail anything. I shall feel obliged for a reply
by the messenger. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant.
[M. LEEPER]
JONES 594 TO PIKE
I have the honor to inform you that the reserve Comanche indians
enlisted in the service of the Confederate States by your authority of
the 3Oth August 1861 were on the gth April last disbanded with the
consent and knowledge of Col. M. Leeper indian agent The reason
for so doing was that latterly they would not remain at their encamp-
ment and their horses were never at hand when wanted.
JONES 595 TO PIKE
The indians placed in my charge by your order for the protection
of this agency finally proved uncontrollable and utterly useless, and
were therefore with the knowledge and consent of the Agent dis-
charged on the 1 3th of April last. . .
[On the nth of August, 1862, Agent S. G. Colley transmitted to
Dole from Fort Larned two documents, 590 one of which he thought
reflected upon the loyalty or honesty of Capt. Whittenhall, formerly
commanding at Fort Larned.]
(A) I have this day received of Lone Wolf a chief Kiowas a
paper from Albert Pike of the so-called S.C. which I will give to him
again and another to the said Albert Pike after the Indian agent shall
distribute the goods to the Indians.
D. S. WHITTENHALL, Capt. Com'd'g Post.
July 22, 1862
[Endorsement] A true copy.
J. H. LEAVENWORTH, Col. 2nd Reg't C.V.
(B) WICHITA AGENCY L.D., May 3ist, 1862.
The bearer E-sa-sem-mus Kiowa Chief has visited and promised
on the part of their tribe to be friendly with the people of Texas and
594 H. P. Jones, late lieutenant-commanding to Brigadier-general A. Pike,
commanding Indian Territory, dated Washita Agency L.D., May 8, 1862.
595 H. P. Jones to Pike, dated Washita Agency, May 8, 1862.
596 Indian Office, Land Files, Upper Arkansas, 1855-1865, 1749.
Wichita Agency Papers 351
ourselves it is hoped that so long as they carry out that promise they
will be treated kindly. M. LEEPER, Ind. Agt. C.S.A.
per C. A. ZICHEL
[Endorsement] A true copy.
J. H. LEAVENWORTH Col. 2nd Reg't C.V.
LEEPER TO PIKE
WASHITA AGENCY, L.D., June 26, 1862.
BRIG. GEN'L A. PIKE, Com'd'y Ind. Terr'y and Act'g Superintendent.
Sir: Being desirous of keeping you advised of all my official oper-
ations, enclosed herewith you will please find a copy of requests made
by Capts. Hart & James. I found those officers courteous and
prompt, and manifesting an unreserved degree of willingness to aid
me in carrying out the designs of the Confederate States of America
in sustaining the Reserve and giving satisfaction to the Indians located
thereon.
I learn that an annual festival or dance of the Kioways and the
wild Comanche bands is expected to be held about this time, which
may detain them beyond the 4th of July, and with a view to have
reliable information in reference to the matter and ascertain the pre-
cise time they may be expected here, three or four days since I dis-
patched To-sha-hua and Pinahontsama to visit their encampments
for the purpose ; they will return in about six days. Upon the arrival
of the Kioway Chiefs here, I shall have your excellent address care-
fully interpreted to them and get them to sign the Treaty. If it
should be your pleasure they should do so, I apprehend that I can
take all the Comanche Chiefs and the Kioway Chiefs to your Head
Quarters, which I will cheerfully do, in that event however they
would naturally expect in addition to their daily supply of food a few
presents in the way of clothing and tobacco.
The present fiscal year is now within a few days of being closed,
the employees on the Reserve and the trader from whom small pres-
ents have been purchased for the Indians are unpaid, no funds have
been furnished for the purpose except fifteen hundred dollars which
was handed me by the late Superintendent and was in part used in
liquidation of my own Salary and the remainder, say six or seven
hundred dollars, in the payment of employees, for the want of funds
I have been unable to close my account, they will all be ready, how-
352 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
ever, on the first of July, and if you should be in possession of funds
for the purpose, after the anticipated meeting of the Indians here, if
it should meet your approbation, I will take the accounts to your
Head Quarters and submit them to your inspection in order that
they may be closed, provided it is inconvenient for you to transmit
the money to me.
I desire to call your attention particularly to the fact that the
present Contract for supplying the Indians with rations on the Reserve
will terminate I am told (I have never been favored with a copy) on
the 1 6th of August next, and it therefore would seem proper that a
new contract should be let in time for the Contractor to have his
supplies in readiness for delivery at that time, and it is but justice
to Mr. Chas. B. Johnson, the present Contractor to say that he has
complied with his Contract to the entire satisfaction of all concerned,
kept ample supplies at all times on hand, and disposed to be pleasant
and obliging not only to the Indians, but to all other persons with
whom he has had business to transact.
When the Kioways arrive I apprehend they will have many horses
and mules in their possession which will be identified by the Texas
people here as the property of people living in Texas; the friendly
relations and recent social intercourse of these Indians with those
of the wild bands has been the cause of introducing here several
horses and mules of that description already. My original instruc-
tions under the United States Government was to take possession
of all such property and have them delivered to their proper owners,
but if a course of that kind was now pursued it would at once defeat
the Treaty with the wild bands and cause them to recommence their
depredations with increased violence and renewed vigor. The loth
Article of the recent Treaty reads thus:
It is distinctly understood by the said four bands of the Ne-um, the
State of Texas is one of the Confederate States, and joins in this Con-
vention, and signs it when the Commissioner signs it, and is bound by
it; and that all hostilities and enmities between it and them are now
ended, and are to be forgotten and forgiven forever on both sides.
Also the I gth Article commencing at the I5th line reads thus:
And the same things in all respects are also hereby offered to the Kio-
ways and agreed to be given them, if they will settle in said Country,
atone for the murders and robberies they have lately committed and
show a resolution to lead an honest life; to which end the Confederate
States send the Kioways with this talk, the wampum of peace and the
bullet of war, for them to take their choice, now and for all time to come.
Wichita Agency Papers 353
But the Treaty is silent in reference to the manner in which the
owners of property lost in that manner are to be remunerated.
In a consultation which I held with Capts Hart and James we
determined to take proof in reference to the ownership of the prop-
erty, place a fair valuation upon it and submit it to the Confederate
Government for their approbation, approval, and allowance, pro-
vided, however, that it should meet your approbation in the first place.
A short time since a delegation from all the tribes here except the
Tonkahwas and Comanches visited the Kioways to obtain from them
their horses which were stolen by the Kioways, one of the Waco
Chiefs has returned and says they delivered to him ten of the stolen
horses, were disposed to be friendly and said all of them should be
given up, but after he left a Wichita stole from the Kioways twenty-
one horses and a Caddo four and have brought them to the Reserve.
I held a consultation with the Chiefs in reference to the matter in
which it was determined that the horses should be taken from those
who stole them and returned to the Kioways immediately after the
return of the Wichita Chief La-sa-di-wah, who will report the facts
as they are.
In all my official relations I have avoided, as far as possible, in-
curring useless or unnecessary expenses, and now the troubled condi-
tion of the country would seem to render it doubly necessary, allow
me therefore to suggest that the office of Commissiary is a sinecure,
a useless expenditure of public money to the Government and an in-
jury to the public service, it has never been allowed before at an
Agency where an agent could be present and witness the issues him-
self, the Interpreters necessarily have to be present, and heretofore
have witnessed the issues, the Commissary merely being an impartial
weigher between the Contractor and the Indians which can be done
just as well by one of the Interpreters without incurring any addi-
tional expense to the Government.
One of the greatest injuries which I have met with during a term
of more than five years service, has been experienced from officious
meddlers, idlers and tale-bearers who are apt to hover round Indian
encampments, and I have never found one more so than the present
Commissary. J. J. Sturm who spends the principal part of his time
at the Indian encampments pretends to know more than anyone else,
palpably neglects the instructions given him and has produced more
disquiet on the Reserve than has been produced from all other causes,
he would have been suspended and reported long since, but I was ap-
354 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
prehensive that it might be supposed that I was actuated from vin-
dictive feelings towards him on account of an injury which he at-
tempted to inflict upon me. At the close of the present Contract if
you should deem it necessary to continue such an office, I hope a more
suitable man will be appointed.
At the close of the present fiscal year I shall report in detail every-
thing connected with the Reserve and the Indians thereon, the ex-
penses thereof and the reasons and necessities for so doing. I am sir,
Very respectfully, Your obt. servant. [M. LEEPER]
LEEPER TO PIKE
Copy to Brig. Gen'l Albert Pike, Acting Supt., Comr., Etc., in refer-
ence to making a treaty with the Kioway Indians and the signing
of the amendments of Congress.
WASHITA AGENCY, L.D., July n, 1862.
BRIG. GEN'L ALBERT PIKE, & Act'g Superintendent, Commissioner,
etc.,
Sir: In compliance with your instructions and authority, I have
this day entered into Treaty stipulations with the Kioway Indians
and all the wild Comanche bands with the exception of the Kua-ha-
ra-tet-sa-co-no who inhabit the western portion of the "Staked Plains,"
and with those I am negotiating and shall probably conclude a treaty
of peace in September or October next. Those who treated in August
last have also signed and adopted amendments of Congress.
They retired well satisfied with themselves, and with the action of
the Confederate Government, consequently peace and quietness may
be expected to prevail in future upon the frontier of Texas, provided,
however, that a band of fugitives from the various clans who have
congregated on the Pecos, numbering it is said one hundred and fifty
or two hundred, governed by no law and disposed to spread desolation
wherever they go, are destroyed or our troops can receive aid from the
bands who have treated in hunting down and destroying those "fel-
lows". I am sir, Very respectfully, Your obt. ser't
[M. LEEPER] Ind. Agency, C.S.A.
NOTICE
As Agent and Acting Commissioner on the part of the Confederate
States of America, I have entered into Solemn Treaty stipulations of
perpetual friendship and peace with the Kioway Indians and wild
Wichita Agency Papers 355
bands of Comanches except the Kna-ha-ra-tet-sa-co-no whose habita-
tions are on the Western extremity of the "Staked Plains" and with
those I am negotiating and will probably conclude a treaty some time
in September next.
Therefore perfect peace and quietness may soon be expected to
prevail on the Texas frontier.
In order to convince the Indians of our sincerity and punctuality,
it is necessary to comply strictly with the Treaty, and to do that, the
Government expects me to employ four or five farmers and twenty
laborers which I desire to do; farmers with families would be pre-
ferred, to whom fifty dollars per month and rations will be given, and
to laborers twenty-five dollars per month and rations, negro men
would be preferred.
At present there is not the slightest danger there, the agency is
one of the most quiet and peaceful places within the limits of the
Confederate Government.
Apply to the undersigned who will remain a few days in Sherman
and afterward at the Washita Agency.
July 2 ist 1862.
LEEPER [?] TO PARKS
SHERMAN, TEXAS, July 28th, 1862.
MR. ROBERT W. PARKS,
Sir, - Enclosed you will please find the copy of a letter of instruc-
tions to me from Gen'l Pike the Acting Superintendent of Indian
Affairs (addressed to you) in reference to fifteen thousand dollars
appropriated by the Government to purchase farming utensils, oxen,
wagons and stock animals for Indians located on the Washita Reserve,
which fund was handed to you. The direction of the expenditures
of the fund legitimately belongs to the local Agent who is alone sup-
posed to know the amount and description of articles necessary to be
purchased for the Indians, hence Gen'l Pike's letter. Before making
any of the purchases indicated it would be well to see me in order to
ascertain the amount and description required, the Indians already
have been furnished with a few wagons, oxen and farming utensils,
in fact in reference to farming implements they are well enough sup-
plied with the exception of weeding hoes and axes; and in reference
to the stock animals to be purchased I would like to have a distinct
understanding with regard to the quality and the price ; a responsible
gentleman whom I met here is willing to furnish cows and calves,
356 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
the cows not to exceed six years old delivered at the agency at sixteen
dollars; therefore I should be unwilling to receive on the part of the
Government animals of that description at a higher price in the ab-
sence of positive instructions to that effect; the quantity also to be
purchased is an important item.
If you will take the trouble to visit the Agency, I will give you an
exact description of the articles necessary to be purchased and will
give you the preference as a contractor for furnishing the same.
A copy of this letter will be furnished the Acting Superintendent
Gen'l Pike, and the Department. Very respectfully, Your obt sevt.
[M. LEEPER]
WASH., ARK., Aug. 19, 1862.
COLONEL: I have forwarded you letters to the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs. Having resigned and been deprived of command in
the Indian Country, I am also relieved of duty as Acting Superin-
tendent, for which crowning mercy, God be thanked.
Mr. Parks returned on receiving your letter and refunded me
$15,000 placed in his hands, except $200, paid for a mowing ma-
chine. I have deposited the residue, with all other Indian moneys,
(Coin and paper), in a safe place, and so advised the Commissioner.
As soon as a new Superintendent is appointed, I hope to get rid of
it all.
If you had written me, before, what you write now, in regard to
McKusken[?], you would not have had to complain that I frustrated
your efforts. You sent him to me it is true, but with no such charges,
and consequently left me bound to pay him off. I had employed him,
and no showing was made to me that he did not deserve his pay. I
hear the charges now for the first time.
As to the corn at Cobb, I think you are misinformed. When I
returned there last fall I found it difficult to get a small quantity,
because the officer in Command said they needed it all; although the
troops were on the point of leaving. I know it had been so wasted
that there was not much left and what was left, you needed, as you
had none. I wonder you did not send your wagons and get it, as
soon as the troops left, if there was any remaining, and account for it.
I was sorry to hear that you had made unkind remarks in regard
to myself, and though apparently my friend, were secretly my enemy -
and I am truly glad to receive your flat contradiction. I have never
had any unkind feelings towards you, and was glad to believe after
Wichita Agency Papers 357
meeting you this Summer, that you had none towards me. For any
imputations against yourself in your official capacity, you are indebted
in chief measure to Major Rector who made them openly, anywhere,
and in the presence of many. What Mr. Sturm said was not said
willingly, but drawn from him. He showed a great disinclination to
say anything against you.
Believe me, I would now, as always for years past, rather serve
than injure you. And I sincerely hope our friendly relations may
continue. I expect to settle not far from you and will always gladly
aid in cultivating friendship with the Indians and enabling you to
succeed with them. I am very truly yours ALBERT PIKE
Col. M. Leeper C.S. Agent Etc.
DESHLER 597 TO LEEPER
Gen. Holmes in reply to your letter of I7th inst. just received,
instructs me to say, that Gen. Hindman is going to take command
of all the troops in the Indian country, he starts in a day or two.
Col. W. P. Lane's Reg't has been ordered to Fort Arbuckle. The
gen. com'd'g thinks these measures will be sufficient to insure quiet
in your region, but instructs me to say that if he knew of any avail-
able force in Texas he would have no objection to sending 5 or 6
Companies to you, but there are no troops available other than Col.
Lane's Reg't already ordered to Arbuckle.
597 James Deshler to Leeper, dated Little Rock, Sept 28, 1862.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. GENERAL ACCOUNT OF DOCUMENTARY SOURCES.
The material for this book has been drawn almost entirely from
documentary sources and, in a very large measure, from unpublished
documentary sources; namely, the manuscript records of the United
States Indian Office. Those records to-day are in a very disorganized
state, largely due to change of system and to the many removals to
which they have been subjected within the last few years. At the
time when they were examined for the purposes of the present work,
such of them as were not included in Registers, Letter Books, and
Report Books were classified as Land Files, General Files, Special
Files, Emigration Files, Miscellaneous Files, Star Files, and the like,
the basis of classification being, convenience in the current and routine
work of the office. The individual files were arranged according
to tribe, agency, or superintendency and every incoming letter had
its own file mark. It had a letter to designate the transmitter, that
letter being the initial of the transmitter's surname or of the office
he represented, and it had a number to indicate its rank in a series,
all the papers of which bore the same initial letter and had been
received in the same given year. Finally, it was rated as belonging
to a particular tribe, agency, or superintendency and to a particular
file.
In the autumn of 1911, an attempt was made to consolidate the
old Land and General Files with the result that now they are no
longer distinct from each other; but it has seemed best not to change
the reference in the citations. The year, the letter, and the number
are permanent indices and, with them at hand, there ought to be no
difficulty in the locating of a paper, except for the fact that nearly
everything in the United States Indian Office seems, just now, rather
transitory and chaotic. Had the inaugural ball for 1913 not been
dispensed with, the plan was, to use the records as the base for the
band-stand, a decidedly interesting reflection, one must admit, upon
the popular notion of the value of the national archives.
Among the manuscripts used in the preparation of the present
360 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
work, were two collections of papers that came into the United States
Indian Office out of the regular course of its official business. In the
citations, one is noted as Leeper Papers, and the other as Fort Smith
Papers. Their history, since they came into the Indian Office, proves
how urgent is the need for a Hall of Records. Inasmuch as these
papers were not required for the every-day business of the office, they
were packed away, years and years ago, along with a lot of other
commercially useless papers, in huge boxes and stored in the attic of
the old Post-office Building. There they were left to be forgotten.
In the course of time, the Office of Indian Affairs was moved from
the old Post-office Building to the Pension Building; but the packing-
boxes in the attic were inadvertently left behind. One day, however,
the writer discovered that papers, found at the Wichita Agency at
the time Agent Leeper was killed, October, 1862, had really come
into the Indian Office; but the question was, where were they? A
search high and low was totally without success until it developed
that the packing-boxes in the attic were supposed to contain "useless"
papers and were still in the old Post-office Building. Permission was
obtained to have them examined and, for this purpose, they were
transferred to the Pension Building. Among their contents was
found a number of interesting and valuable documents which very
likely would soon have been lost forever, destroyed by the General
Land Office because abandoned by the Indian. The contents included,
besides the Leeper Papers for which the search had been especially
conducted, letter-books of Michigan territorial governors, file-boxes
of all sorts, and a mass of Confederate stuff, brought from Fort Smith.
The last-named proved a veritable mine of wealth. It comprised
the occasional correspondence of Cooper, Cowart, Crawford, Drew,
Dean, Rector, Pike, and many others whose official life had brought
them into contact with the Indians. It was all very suggestive and
remunerative.
To supplement the manuscripts an exhaustive search of the Official
Records of the War of the Rebellion has been made and with good
results. It is a pity that the material in the Official Records is so
badly arranged and so much of it duplicated and often triplicated.
Had it been better edited and better indexed, the danger of over-
looking important documents would have been minimized a hundred-
fold. The volumes found particularly useful for Indian participation
in the Civil War were the following:
First Series, vols. i; iii; iv; viii; ix; xiii; xxii, parts I and 2;
Bibliography 361
xxvi, parts I and 2; xxxiv, parts i, 2, and 3; xli, parts I, 2, 3, and 4;
xlviii, parts I and 2; liii, supplement.
Third Series, vols. i; ii; iii.
Fourth Series, vols. i; ii; iii.
II. ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SOURCES
AMERICAN ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA, 1861-1865, inclusive (New
York).
ARKANSAS. Journal of the House of Representatives for the
Thirteenth Session of the General Assembly, November 5, 1860
January 21, 1 86 1 (Little Rock, 1861).
Journal of the Convention, 1861.
Messages of the Governors.
BUCHANAN, JAMES. Works, collected and edited by John Basset
Moore (Philadelphia, 1908-1911), 12 vols.
CAIRNES, J. E. Slave Power: its character, career, and probable
designs (New York, 1863), pamphlet.
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA. Journal of the Congress, 1861-
1865. (United States Senate Executive Documents, 58th con-
gress, second session, no. 234).
Provisional and permanent constitutions; and acts and reso-
lutions of the first session of the Provisional Congress (Richmond,
1861).
Special orders of the adjutant and inspector general's office,
1862 (Richmond, 1862).
CONNELLEY, WILLIAM E., editor. Provisional government of Ne-
braska Territory and the Journals of William Walker [Lincoln,
Nebraska, 1899].
DEAN, CHARLES W. Letter Book, May 26, 1855 to December 31,
1856 (Manuscript in United States Indian Office).
DREW, THOMAS S. Letter Book, June i, 1853 to June i, 1854
(Manuscript in United States Indian Office).
FORT SMITH PAPERS. A miscellaneous collection of manuscript
materials, transmitted from Fort Smith, Arkansas, at the close of
the Civil War. Among them is the fragment of one of Elias
Rector's Letter Books.
Minutes of the private meetings of the commissioners, 1865
(Land Files, Indian Talks, Councils, etc., Box 4).
HAGOOD, JOHNSON. Memoirs of the War of Secession from the
original manuscripts of Johnson Hagood (Columbia, S.C., 1912).
362 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
KAPPLER, CHARLES J., compiler and editor. Indian affairs: Laws
and Treaties (United States Senate Documents, 58th congress,
Second session, no. 319), 2 vols.
LEEPER PAPERS. Manuscripts, chiefly letters written or received
by Matthew Leeper, successively United States and Confederate
States Indian Agent, brought from the Wichita Agency after the
massacre of October, 1862.
LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Writings, edited by A. B. Lapsley (New
York, 1905-1906), 8 vols.
Complete Works, edited by John G. Nicolay and John Hay
(New York, 1894), 2 vols.
McPHERSON, EDWARD. Political history of the United States of
America during the Great Rebellion (Washington, 1864).
MASON, EMILY V. Southern poems of the war (Baltimore, 1867).
MATTHEWS, JAMES M., editor. Statutes at Large of the Confed-
erate States of America from February 8, 1861 to February 18,
1862, together with the constitution of the provisional government
and the permanent constitution of the Confederate States, and the
treaties concluded by the Confederate States with the Indian
tribes (Richmond, 1864).
Statutes at Large of the first congress of the Confederate States
of America (Richmond, 1862), pamphlet.
Statutes at Large of the Confederate States of America, com-
mencing the first session of the first congress and including the
first session of the second congress (Richmond, 1864).
MISSOURI. Adjutant-general's report of the Missouri State Militia
for 1 86 1 (St. Louis, 1862).
MOORE, FRANK, editor. Diary, or Rebellion record (New York,
1868), ii vols. and a supplementary volume for 1861-1864.
NEWSPAPERS. Arkansas Baptist (Little Rock).
Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock).
Arkansas Intelligencer (Van Buren).
Arkansas True Democrat (Little Rock).
Chronicle, The (Little Rock).
Daily National Democrat (Little Rock).
Daily State Journal (Little Rock).
National Democrat (Little Rock).
State Rights Democrat, The (Little Rock).
Unconditional Union (Little Rock).
Weekly Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock).
Bibliography 363
PHISTERER, FREDERICK. Statistical record of the armies of the
United States (New York, 1890).
Supplementary volume to the Campaigns of the Civil War Series.
PIKE, ALBERT. Poems, edited by his daughter, Mrs. Lillian Pike
Roome (Little Rock, 1900).
RAINES, C. W., editor. Six decades in Texas, or the memoirs of
F. R. Lubbock (Austin, 1890).
RECTOR, ELIAS. Letter Book.
A Fragment. Ms. in United States Indian Office among the Fort Smith
Papers. Many of the letters have been almost obliterated by exposure.
RICHARDSON, JAMES D., editor. Compilation of the messages and
papers of the Confederacy, including the diplomatic correspondence
(Nashville, 1905), 2 vols.
Compilation of the messages and papers of the presidents,
1789-1897 (Washington, 1896-1899), 10 vols.
SEWARD, WILLIAM H. Works, edited by G. E. Baker (New York,
1853-1884), 5 vols.
SMITH, WILLIAM R. History and debates of the convention of the
people of Alabama, January 7, 1861 (Montgomery, 1861).
TEXAS. Ordinances and resolutions of the convention held in the
city of Austin, January 28, 1861, to February 24, 1861 (Austin,
i860.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Attorney-general, opinions, 1791-
1908 (Washington, 1852-).
Report of Covode committee, 1860 (House Reports, 36th
congress, first session, no. 648).
Report of select committee to investigate abstraction of bonds
held in trust by the United States government for the Indian tribes
(House Reports, 36th congress, second session, no. 78).
Department of the Interior, Reports of the Secretary, 1861-
1865, inclusive.
Office of Indian Affairs, Land Files, General Files, Miscel-
laneous Files, and Special Files.
Office of Indian Affairs, Letter Books [letters sent] :
No. 50, August 28, 1854 to February 20, 1855.
51, February 21, 1855 to J une I2 > ^SS-
52, June 13, 1855 to October 27, 1855.
53, October 29, 1855 to March 19, 1856.
54, March 20, 1856, to July 30, 1856.
55, July 3* '856 to December 31, 1856.
56, January 2, 1857 to May 25, 1857.
57, May 26, 1857 to October 31, 1857.
364 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
" 58, November 2, 1857 to April 30, 1858.
" 59 May i, 1858 to October 23, 1858.
" 60, October 25, 1858 to April 29, 1859.
" 61, April 30, 1859 to August 23, 1859.
" 62, August 24, 1859 to February 9, 1860.
" 63, February 10, 1860 to June 26, 1860.
" 64, June 27, 1860 to December 7, 1860.
" 65, December 8, 1860 to June i, 1861.
" 66, June 3, 1861 to October 23, 1861.
" 67, October 24, 1861 to March 25, 1862.
" 68, March 26, 1862 to August 7, 1862.
" 69, August 8, 1862 to January 20, 1863.
" 70, January 20, 1863 to June 5, 1863.
" 71, June 5, 1863 to October 14, 1863.
" 72, October 15, 1863 to January 8, 1864.
" 73, January 9, 1864 to April 23, 1864.
" 74, April 25, 1864 to July 28, 1864.
" 75) July 28, 1864 to December 7, 1864.
" 76, December 8, 1864 to April 4, 1865.
" 77, April 4, 1865 to August 3, 1865.
" 78, August 3, 1865 to December 8, 1865.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Office of Indian Affairs, Registers
(letters received) :
No. 44, January 4, 1855 to July 31, 1855.
" 45, August i, 1855 to December 31, 1855.
" 46, January i, 1856 to June 30, 1856.
" 47, July i, 1856 to December 31, 1856.
" 48, January i, 1857 to June 30, 1857.
" 49, July i, 1857 to December 31, 1857.
" 50, January i, 1858 to June 25, 1858.
" 51, June 25, 1858 to December 29, 1858.
" 52, December 30, 1858 to June 27, 1859.
" 53, June 28, 1859 to December 31, 1859.
" 54, January i, 1860 to June i, 1860.
" S5> June *> 1860 to December 31, 1860.
" 56, January i, 1861 to June 30, 1861.
" 57> J u ^y J i J 86i to December 31, 1861.
" 58, January i, 1862 to July i, 1862.
" 59 July *> '862 to December 31, 1862.
" 60, January i, 1863 to June 30, 1863.
" 61, July i, 1863 to January 2, 1864.
" 62, January 2, 1864 to May 30, 1864.
" 63, June i, 1864 to December 31, 1864.
" 64, January i, 1865 to June 30, 1865.
" <>5 July i, 1865 to December 29, 1865.
Bibliography 365
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Office of Indian Affairs, Report
Books :
No. 8, May i, 1854 to August 9, 1855.
" 9, August 10, 1855 to December 31, 1856.
" 10, January i, 1857 to March 31, 1858.
" ii, April i, 1858 to September 2, 1860.
" 12, September 3, 1860 to December 9, 1862.
" 13, December 12, 1862 to August 19, 1864.
" 14, August 20, 1864 to December 12, 1865.
Department of War, Reports of the Secretary, 1861-1865,
inclusive.
Statutes at Large (Boston, 1850 -).
WAR OF THE REBELLION. Compilation of the official records of the
Union and Confederate armies (Washington), 129 serial volumes
and an index volume.
WELLES, GIDEON. Diary (Boston, 1911), 3 vols.
III. ALPHABETICAL LIST OF AUTHORITIES
ABBOTT, LUTHER J. History and Civics of Oklahoma (Boston,
1910).
ABEL, ANNIE HELOISE. Indians in the Civil War (American His-
torical Review, vol. xv, 281-296).
Indian reservations in Kansas and the extinguishment of their
titles (Kansas Historical Society, Collections, vol. viii, 72-109).
History of events resulting in Indian consolidation west of the
Mississippi River (American Historical Association, Report,
1906).
Proposals for an Indian State in the Union, 1778-1878
(American Historical Association, Report, 1907, vol. i, 89-102).
ADAMS, RICHARD C. Brief history of the Delaware Indians (Senate
Documents, 59th congress, first session, no. 501).
ALEXANDER, GROSS. History of the Methodist Church South (New
York, 1894).
BANCROFT, FREDERIC. Life of William H. Seward (New York,
1900), 2 vols.
BAPTIST HOME MISSIONS in North America, 1832-1882.
Published by the American Baptist Home Missionary Society, New
York, 1883.
BISHOP, ALBERT WEBB. Loyalty on the frontier, or sketches of
union men of the southwest (St. Louis, 1863).
366 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
BOUDINOT, ELIAS C. Speech delivered before the House Committee
on Territories, February 7, 1872 (Washington, 1872), pamphlet.
Oklahoma, an argument before the House Committee on Ter-
ritories, January 29, 1878 (Alexandria, 1878), pamphlet.
BREWERTON, G. DOUGLAS. War in Kansas (New York, 1856).
BRIGHAM, JOHNSON. James Harlan (Iowa City, la., 1913).
BRITTON, WILEY. Memoirs of the rebellion on the border, 1863
(Chicago, 1882).
Civil War on the border, 1861-1862 (New York, 1891).
BROUGH, CHARLES HILLMAN. Historic battlefields (Arkansas His-
torical Society, Publications, vol. i, 278-285).
BROWN, GEORGE W. Reminiscences of Governor R. J. Walker,
with the true story of the rescue of Kansas from slavery (Rock-
ford, 111., 1902).
BRUCE, HENRY. Life of General Houston (New York, 1891).
CALLAHAN, JAMES MORTON. Diplomatic history of the southern
confederacy (Baltimore, 1901).
CHEROKEE INDIANS. Memorial of the delegates of the Cherokee
Nation to the president and congress of the United States (Wash-
ington Chronicle Print, 1886).
CHESHIRE, JOSEPH BLUNT. Church in the Confederate States
(New York, 1912).
CONNELLEY, WILLIAM ELSEY. James Henry Lane (Topeka,
1899).
Quantrill and the border wars (Cedar Rapids, 1910).
CORDLEY, RICHARD. History of Lawrence (Lawrence, 1895).
DAVIS, JEFFERSON. Rise and fall of the Confederate government
(New York, 1881), 2 vols.
DELAWARE INDIANS. Report on the military service (United States
Senate Documents, 6ist congress, first session, no. 134).
DRAPER, J. W. History of the American Civil War (New York,
1867-1870), 3 vols.
EVANS, GENERAL CLEMENT A., editor. Confederate military his-
tory (Atlanta, 1899), 10 vols.
FITE, EMERSON DAVID. Presidential campaign of 1860 (New York,
1911).
FLEMING, WALTER L. Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama
(New York, 1905).
FOULKE, WILLIAM DUDLEY. Life of Oliver P. Morton (Indian-
apolis, 1899), 8 vols.
Bibliography 367
GARRISON, W. P. and F. J. GARRISON. William Lloyd Garrison,
1805-1879 (Boston, 1894), 4 v ls-
GIHON, JOHN H. Geary and Kansas (Philadelphia, 1866).
GOODLANDER, C. W. Memoirs and recollections of the early days
of Fort Scott (Fort Scott, Kans., 1899).
GREELEY, HORACE. American Conflict (Hartford, 1864-1867), 2
vols.
HALLUM, JOHN. Biographical and pictorial history of Arkansas
(Albany, 1887).
HILL, LUTHER B. History of the state of Oklahoma (Chicago,
1908), 8 vols.
HODDER, FRANK HEYWOOD. The Genesis of the Kansas-Nebraska
Act (Wisconsin State Historical Society, Proceedings for 1912,
pp. 69-86), (Madison, 1913), pamphlet.
HOLLOW AY, JOHN N. History of Kansas to 1861 (Lafayette, Ind.,
1868).
HOLST, HERMANN VON. Constitutional and political history of the
United States (Chicago, 1876-1892), 7 vols.
JOHNSON, ALLEN. Stephen A. Douglas (New York, 1908).
JOHNSON, THOMAS GARY. History of the Southern Presbyterian
Church (New York, 1894). American Church History Series,
vol. xi.
KAUFMAN, WILHELM. Sigel und Halleck (Deutsch-Am. Ge-
sc hie hts blatter, Band x, 210-216).
MARTIN, GEORGE W. First two years of Kansas (Topeka, 1907),
pamphlet.
MEIGS, W. M. Life of Thomas Hart Benton (Philadelphia, 1904).
NORTH, THOMAS. Five years in Texas, 1861-1865 (Cincinnati,
1871)-
PARKER, THOMAS VALENTINE. Cherokee Indians (New York,
1907).
PAXTON, WILLIAM M. Annals of Platte County, Missouri (Kan-
sas City, Mo., 1897).
PHILLIPS, ULRICH. Georgia and state rights (Washington, 1902).
The life of Robert Toombs (New York, 1913).
RAMSDELL, CHARLES WM. Reconstruction in Texas (Columbia
University Studies in History, Economics, and Public Law, vol.
xxxvi, no. i).
RAY, P. ORMAN. Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, its origin
and authorship (Cleveland, 1909).
368 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
REYNOLDS, JOHN H. Makers of Arkansas (Story of the States
series), (New York, 1905).
RHODES, JAMES FORD. History of the United States from the Com-
promise of 1850 (New York, 1893-1906), 7 vols.
ROBINSON, CHARLES. Kansas Conflict (Lawrence, 1898).
ROBLEY, T. F. History of Bourbon County, Kansas, to the close of
1865 (Fort Scott, 1894).
Ross, D. H. and others. Reply of the delegates of the Cherokee
Nation to the demands of the commissioner of Indian affairs, May,
1866 (Washington, 1866), pamphlet.
Land Files, Treaties, Box 3, M392.
Ross, MRS. WM. P. Life and times of William P. Ross (Fort
Smith, 1893).
SCHOULER, JAMES. History of the United States under the Con-
stitution (New York, 1899), 6 vols.
SCHWAB, JOHN CHRISTOPHER. Confederate States of America,
1861-1865 (New York, 1901).
SHINN, JOSIAH. Pioneers and makers of Arkansas (Little Rock,
1908).
SPECK, FRANK G. Creeks of Taskigi Town. American Anthro-
pological Association Publications, vol. ii, part 2.
SPEER, JOHN. Life of James H. Lane (Garden City, Kans., 1897).
SPRING, LEVERETT W. Kansas: the prelude to the War for the
Union (American Commonwealth series), (Boston, 1885).
STEPHENS, ALEXANDER H. Constitutional view of the late War
between the States (Philadelphia, 1870), 2 vols.
STOVALL, PLEASANT A. Robert Toombs (New York, 1892).
TENNEY, W. J. Military and naval history of the rebellion in the
United States (New York, 1866).
THOMPSON, ROBERT ELLIS. History of the Presbyterian Churches
in the United States (American Church History series, vol. vi),
(New York, 1893).
VAN DEVENTER, HORACE, Albert Pike, 1809-1891 (Knoxville,
1910).
VILLARD, OSWALD GARRISON. John Brown, 1800-1859; biography
fifty years after (Boston, 1910).
WALKER, WILLISTON. History of the Congregational Churches in
the United States (American Church History series, vol. iii),
(New York, 1894).
WILDER, D. W. Annals of Kansas (Topeka, 1875, 1885).
Bibliography 369
WILSON, HENRY. Rise and fall of the slave power in America
(Boston, 1872-1877), 3 vols.
WOOTEN, DUDLEY G. Comprehensive history of Texas (Dallas,
1898), 2 vols.
INDEX
ABBOTT, J. B : 245, footnote
Abel, Annie Heloise: work cited, 71,
footnote, 191, footnote
Abolitionists: Indians' slaves enticed
away, 23 ; charges against Cal-
houn, 30; Quantrill in league with,
48; desire Indian lands, 76, 118;
among Cherokees, 132 ; Cherokees re-
pudiate idea that they are, 225;
charges against, 291-294
Adair, W. P: 219, footnote
Address: of John Ross at Cherokee
mass-meeting, 220
Agency system: under Confederacy,
179
Alabama: Creeks, Choctaws, and
Chickasaws from, 20, 193, footnote]
Choctaws in, 20, footnote ; David
Hubbard, commissioner from, 108
Alliance: Indians given political posi-
tion in return for, 17; reasons for
southern Indians entering into, with
Confederacy, 18; Confederate State
Department to effect, 140, footnote',
failure of Pike to effect, with Cher-
okees, 156; Choctaw General Coun-
cil authorizes negotiation of treaty
of, 156; Confederacy paid dearly
for its Indian, 177; nature of Sem-
inole, with Confederacy, 197 ; prin-
ciples of active, inserted by Pike
into treaties, 212; McCulloch to ac-
cept Drew's regiment of Home
Guards as soon as treaty of, be con-
summated, 227 ; conditions of, be-
tween the Indians and Confederacy,
280; result of Battle of Pea Ridge
on Indian, 284
Allies: Indian, 17; hope of finding in
Cherokees, 125
Allotment in severally: suggested to
Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws,
58
American Baptist Missionary Union:
38
American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions: work among
Cherokees and Choctaws, 39; rec-
ords of, 40, footnote ; missionaries
among Choctaws remove themselves
from patronage, 41, 42, 43, footnote
American Civil War: [See Civil War]
American Historical Association: Re-
port, 20, footnote
American Revolution: effect upon
Cherokee emigration to Texas, 20,
footnote; work of Committees of
Correspondence in connection with,
83
Amnesty: provided for, 176
Annuities: negro and Indian half-
breeds share Indian, 23, footnote;
Choctaw, distinct from Chickasaw,
34, footnote; Indian, declared for-
feited by Lincoln government, 145 ;
John Ross considers Indian, safe,
147; payment of Indian, assumed by
Confederacy, 163 ; Indian, diverted
from regular channels, 170; to use,
of hostile Indians, 274; Crawford
makes requisition for Cherokee, 307
Antelope Hills: 55, 136, footnote
Apucks-hu-nubbe : district of, 34, foot-
note
Arbuckle, General: 193, footnote
Arkansas: Choctaws and Cherokees
tarry in, 19, footnote; Indian Ter-
ritory annexed to, for judicial pur-
poses, 23, footnote; and Indian pat-
ronage, 59; and Indian participa-
372 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
tion in Civil War, 63 ; interest in
Indian Territory, 67; Knights of
Golden Circle active in, 68 ; inter-
est in Indian alliance, 83 ; affairs
reach crisis, 97; Hubbard, commis-
sioner to, 108 ; sends commission to
Indian country, 119; sends Albert
Pike as delegate, 132-133
Arkansas Baptist: 47, footnote
Arkansas Convention: Journal, 119,
footnotes, 120, footnotes
Arkansas Historical Association: Pub-
lications, 106, footnote
Arkansas Legislature: House Journal,
103, footnote, no, footnote, in,
footnote
Arkansas River: 67, 76, 97, 135, foot-
note, 162, 175
Arms: description of, needed for In-
dians, 190, footnote; Choctaw-
Chickasaw regiment not furnished
with, 211; scarcity of, 211, footnote;
Cherokees in, at Tahlequah mass-
meeting, 217; Ross able to bear,
137, footnote; Creeks under, threaten
hostilities, 138, footnote; fear, for
Indians will be taken by secession-
ists, 228, footnote; Confederate dif-
ficulty in securing, 253 and footnote
Armstrong Academy: 40, footnote
Armstrong, William: 193, footnote
Asbury Mission: Indian amity com-
pact concluded at, 69, footnote
Assinneboin: suggested Territory of,
32, footnote
Atchison, David R: letter to, men-
tioned, 33, footnote
Austin State Gazette: 80, footnote
Averell, William W: 101, footnote
BAKER, GEORGE E: work cited, 58,
footnote
Balentine, H: 79
Ball-playing: connected with secret or-
ganization of "Pins," 86, footnote
Bancroft, Frederic: work cited, 58,
footnote
Barnes, James K: 260, footnote
Barnesville: 245, 246
Beams's Negroes: 23, footnote
Beaver Creek: 55
Beening, S. T: 102, footnote
Benjamin, Judah P: 140, footnote, 200,
footnote, 21$, footnote, 252, footnote
Benton, Thomas H: plan for a na-
tional highway, 28; request, 33,
footnote
Big Chief: merit chief of Great
Osages, 238
Billy Bowlegs: leaves Florida, 20,
footnote; communications from, 198,
footnote ; refuses to sign treaty with
Confederate States, 198-199; death
of, 198, footnote; regarded as good
commander, 277, footnote
Bird Creek: battle of, 138, footnote,
255-256
Bishop, A. W: work cited, 67, foot-
note, 68, footnote, 133, footnote
Black Beaver: 101 and footnote, 303
Black Dog: see" Shon-tah-sob-ba
Blackhoof, Eli: 209, footnote
Blain, S. A: 56, footnote, 57, footnote
Blankets: furnished Indian refugees,
261 ; to be furnished Indian soldiers
in U.S.A., 271, footnote; Indians
need, 310; Leeper offers to give
Kiowas, 318 ; Rector urges Leeper
not to promise, Kiowas, 332; Ki-
owas receive from U.S. government,
343
Bloomfield Academy: 40, footnote
Bob Deer: 244
Boggy Depot: 91, 230, footnote
Bonds: 61, 145-146
Boone, A. G: 210, footnote
Boonsboro [Boonsborough] : in and
footnote, 125
Boudinot, E. C: 119, 153, 156, foot-
note, 219, footnote
Bourland, James: appointed commis-
sioner, 88 ; report, 91
Branch, Harrison B: 182-183, 2 1O
footnote, 22%, 232-233, 249, 271, 279,
footnote
Brazos Agency: 55
Index
373
Bribery: William Mclntosh guilty of,
236; of chiefs to induce secession,
262, footnote
Brigade: jayhawking character of
Lane's, 233; Lane's gives John
Mathews his deserts, 239; Hunter
asks permission to muster, of friend-
ly Indians, 250; Kile, quartermaster
in, 274; proportion of white troops
in Pike's, 280
Brooks, Preston: 45, footnote
Brown, James: 217
Buchanan, James: administration
charged by free-state Kansans with
bad faith, 37 ; endorses pro-slavery
policy, 45, footnote; distrusted, 47;
"no coercion" policy, 87, footnote;
patronage, given to southern men,
262, footnote; work cited, 22, foot-
note, 29, footnote
Buckner, H. S: 92
Buffalo Hump: 305, 315, 330, 338, 348
Bureau of Indian Affairs (Confeder-
ate) : 128, 141, footnote, 190, foot-
note
Burgevin, Edmund: 105, footnote
Burleigh, Walter A: 227, footnote
Burlington: 259, 260, footnote
Burroughs, B: 120
Burrow, N. B: 99, 298, 305, 330, 341
Bushwhackers: drive Caddoes out of
Texas, 19, footnote
Butler, George: agent for Cherokees,
45, 47, footnote, 285, 290
Byington, Cyrus: 79
CACHE CREEK: 55
Caddoes: from Louisiana, 19, foot-
note; Pike to meet, 189, footnote;
horses stolen by, 353
Calhoun, J. M: 90, footnote
Calhoun, John C: report, 27; motive,
29; political heresy, 133
Cameron, Simon: 234, 249, footnote
Campbell, A. B : 260, footnote
Canadian River: 55, 63, 67, 162
Cane Hill: 296, 327
Carolinas: Catawbas in, 20, footnote
Carroll, H. K: work cited, 37, footnote
Carruth, E. H: report, 84, footnote,
*97 footnote, 198, footnote; appoint-
ed by Lane, 242; interviews Creek
delegates, 245 ; tries to arrange for
inter-tribal council, 246; letter, 267
Cass, Lewis: 193, footnote
Catawbas: admitted to Choctaw citi-
zenship, 20, footnote; in possession
of northeastern part of Choctaw
country, 20, footnote; in South Car-
olina fight with South, 20, footnote
"Catron letter": 29, footnote
Chah-la-kee: suggested territory of,
31, footnote
Chah-lah-ki: district of, 178
Chah-ta: suggested territory of, 31,
footnote
Chahta Tamaha: 189, footnote
Charterton, Charles W: 259, footnote
Checote, Samuel: 193, 194
Cherokee Declaration of Independence :
written by Pike, 137, footnote
Cherokee Executive Council, 136, foot-
note; John Ross promises to call
meeting of, 153; meeting of, 216,
217; communicates with McCulloch,
226
Cherokee Neutral Lands: location, 21,
footnote, 64; size, 21, footnote; in-
truded upon, 35, 46, 285, 290; project
for selling, 50, 163 ; McCulloch
takes position opposite, 225 ; Lane's
proposed camp in, 233 ; Stand
Watie ordered to take up a position
in, 252, footnote; Cowart sets out
for, 294
Cherokee Outlet: 54, footnote; 63,
footnote, 64
Cherokee Proclamation of Neutrality:
I53-IS4
Cherokee Strip: location, 21, 64; cov-
eted by Kansans, 21
Cherokee Treaty: 157 and footnote;
declares allegiance to C.S.A., 159,
footnote; contains guarantee of au-
tonomy, 159, footnote; contains prom-
ise of representation in Congress,
374 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
I S9> footnote; navigable waters,
174 ; admission to military academy,
1 80; appointment of postmasters,
180; considered by Provisional Con-
gress, 206; negotiated, 237; Ross's
characterization of, 257
Cherokees: from Tennessee and Geor-
gia, 20; tarried in Arkansas, 19,
footnote; go to Texas, 20, footnote;
removal to Arkansas suggested by
Jefferson, 20, footnote; in North
Carolina fight with South, 20, foot-
note; "Eastern" in controversy with
"Western," 20, footnote; character
of constitution, 31, footnote; visited
by Sacs and Foxes, 36, footnote;
work of A.B.C.F.M. among, 39 ;
schools among, 39, footnote; religious
denominations among, 39-40; desir-
able to have slaveholders settle
among them, 42; material progress
due to slavery, 46 ; search organiza-
tion among, 48 ; with Cooper as vol-
unteers, 54; antebellum relations
with people of Arkansas, 64; repre-
sentatives at inter-tribal conference,
71 ; visited by commissioners from
Texas, 92; in council with Creeks,
Seminoles, Quapaws, and Sacs, 94;
Pike's negotiations with, 134, foot-
note; to be indemnified, 163; made
an exception, 168; at Battle of
Wilson's Creek, 214-215, 214, foot-
note; secession of, 217; resolutions
of, 223-225 ; secret organization
among, 291-293
Chickasaw: district, 34, footnote, 52
Chickasaw and Choctaw Herald'. 56,
footnote
Chickasaw Legislature : act, 68 ; reso-
lutions, 122, footnote, 155
Chickasaw Manual Labor School: 40,
footnote
Chickasaws: from Alabama and Mis-
sissippi, 20; character of constitu-
tion, 31, footnote ; domestic troubles,
34; political connection with Choc-
taws, 34, footnote; religious denom-
inations among, 40, footnote; con-
struct government, 51 ; as volun-
teers, 54 ; country, 63 ; not repre-
sented at inter-tribal conference, 71 ;
convention of Choctaws and, 91 ;
prevented from attending council at
North Fork, 94; take charge of
property abandoned by Federals at
Fort Arbuckle, 102 ; appeal of Bur-
roughs to, 120-121 ; resolutions of
Choctaws and, 130; negotiations of
Albert Pike with, 136, footnote, 196-
197; reported as anxious to join
Southern Confederacy, 155; treaty
with, considered by Provisional
Congress, 204-207; E. H. Carruth
communicates with loyal portion of,
246-247
Chilton, William P: 127
Chippewas: from Michigan, 19; war-
riors, 227, footnote
Chi-sho-hung-ka : 238, footnote
Chisholm, Jesse: 313, 320
Choctaw-Chickasaw Regiment: 77,
207, 210, 211, 230, footnote, 252,
footnote
Choctaw-Chickasaw Treaty: 157, and
footnote; declares allegiance to C.
S. A., 159, footnote; contains prom-
ise of representation in Congress,
159, footnote; suggests ultimate
statehood, 160, footnote; recognizes
Choctaw country as distinct from
Chickasaw, 161 ; transfers lease of
Wichita Reserve to Confederate
States, 162; navigable waters, 174;
amnesty, 175
Choctaw Corn Contract: scandal in-
volves Pike, 57, footnote
Choctaw General Council: act, 20,
footnote; resolution, 72-74; under
authority of Chief Hudson declares
Choctaw Nation "free and inde-
pendent," 156, 196; plan treaty of
alliance and amity with Confeder-
acy, 156; communication from Pike,
187, footnote, 196, footnote
Choctaw Light Horse: 24, footnote
Index
375
Choctaws: tarried in Arkansas, 19,
footnote ; Catawbas wish to unite
with, 20, footnote; intimacy with
negroes, 20, footnote; in Mississip-
pi fight with South, 20, footnote;
prepared to assent to territorial bill,
31, footnote; domestic troubles, 34;
political connection with Chicka-
saws ended, 34, footnote; religious
denominations among, 39-40; schools
among, 40, footnote; desirable to
have slaveholders settle among
them, 42 ; ask relief, 57, footnote ;
country, 63 ; antebellum relations
with people of Arkansas and Texas,
64; not represented at inter-tribal
conference, 71; delegation, 74; af-
fairs, 75-79 ; treaty with Confed-
erate States, 78, 204; convention of
Chickasaws and, 91; prevented from
attending council at North Fork, 94 ;
resolutions of Chickasaws and, 130;
negotiations of Pike with, 136,
footnote, 196-197; reported as anx-
ious to join Confederacy, 155; en-
list in army, 210; Carruth in com-
munication with loyal portion, 246-
247
Chuahla: 39, footnote
Chustenahlah: battle of, 258
Citizenship : U.S. recommended for In-
dians, 31 and footnote; Ottawas ex-
press preference for U.S., 36, foot-
note; Indians to determine own
tribal, 169; Jim Ned's right of,
forfeited within Leased District,
306
Civil War (American) : no adequate
history of American, 17; Indian al-
lies of South in, 20, footnote; in
Choctaw-Chickasaw country threat-
ened, 34 and footnote; delays Indian
removal from Kansas, 37; corrupt
practices of Democratic Party just
prior to American, 45, footnote;
Stand Watie on Southern side in,
49, footnote; responsibility of Tex-
as and Arkansas for participation
of Indians in, 63 ; early interest of
Texas and Arkansas in Indian coun-
try, 67; see also Enlistment of In-
dians
Civilization Fund: 37
Clark, George W: 211, footnote, 240,
footnote
Clover, Seth: 209, footnote
Cobb, Howell : 45, footnote
Cockrell, S. R: 119
Coe, Chas. H : work cited, 20, footnote
Coffin, William G: 80 and footnotes,
184, 245, 247, 259, 274
Colbert, D: 41, footnote
Colbert, Holmes: 261, footnote
Colbert, Winchester: 197, 201, footnote
Colbert Institute: 40, footnote
Coleman, Isaac: 186, footnote, 259,
footnote
Collamore, George W: 261, footnote
Colley, S. G: 350
Collin (Texas) : exodus of non-seces-
sionists from, 95
Colorado: indigenous tribes in, 19,
footnote; attempts to secure Indian
cooperation, 83
Comanche Treaty: 157, footnote, 158;
amnesty, 176
Comanches: 51, 52, 55, 189, footnote,
zoo and footnote, 201, 206, 313, 320,
323, 324, 33', 337, 347, 3Si
Commission: from Texas to Indian
nations, 88 et seq; from Arkansas,
108, footnote
Concharta: 255
Confederate Contract: for supplying
Indians of Leased District, 301-303,
347, 352
Confederate Military History: work
cited, 103, footnote
Congressional Globe: work cited, 58,
footnote
Connelley, W. E: work cited, 34, foot-
note, 49, footnote
Connor, John: 544
Cooley, D. N: 56, footnote, 134, foot-
note, 226
Cooper, Douglas H: citizen of Mis-
sissippi, 41 ; fears abolitionization
of Indian country, 41 ; sends note
376 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
to Superintendent Dean, 42; san-
guine as to slavery conditions
among Indians, 45 ; survey of Leas-
ed District, 53 ; Choctaw Corn Con-
tract, 57, footnote; becomes colonel
in Confederate army, 76; regiment
of Choctaws to be under command
of, 77, 207; absent from post, 82
and footnote; apparently disap-
proves of Texan interference, 96;
receives suggestions from Rector,
106-107, footnote, 187; instructions
to, 147, footnote; defection of, 186-
187; asked to continue as agent,
190, footnote; wishes to be agent
and colonel, 197, footnote, 212, foot-
note; report concerning Indian en-
listment, 21 1 ; in battle with Opoe-
thleyohola, 254 et seq., 312; com-
plains of not having more white
troops, 280
Cooper, Samuel: 53, footnote, 147
Corn Contract: see Choctaw Corn
Contract
Council : Cherokee, in session at Tahle-
quah, 50, footnote; Choctaw at
Doaksville, 77; composition of
Doaksville, 77; at Fort Smith, 226-
227, 241 ; at Tahlequah, 237 et seq.,
240; Coffin holds, with representa-
tives of non-secession element of
various tribes, 267; Agent Johnson
holds, with Delaware chiefs, 272,
footnote; Indian refugees hold, at
Fort Roe, 278, footnote; Creek, de-
mands payment of money, 289; Co-
wart reports rumor of Cherokee,
294 ; Cherokee, to meet, 296 ; of
each tribe to consider amendments
to treaties, 323 ; Leeper holds with
Indians of Leased District, 346 ; Co-
manches propose, to effect everlast-
ing peace with Southern people,
347; see also Inter-tribal Confer-
ence
Covode, John: 276
Covode Committee: 45, footnote
Cowart, Robert J: 46, 82 and footnote,
89, footnote, 114 and footnote, 184,
290, 295, 298
Cowetah: 69, footnote
Cox, John T: 261, footnote
Crawford, John: 183, footnote, 184-
185, and footnotes, 190, footnote,
215, footnote, 216, 218, 219, footnote,
220, 223, 298, 325
Creek Country: Seminoles accommo-
dated within, 50; proposal for giv-
ing southern Comanches home with-
in, 51 and footnote; proposal to al-
lot lands in severally, 58
Creek Light Horse: 218, footnote
Creek National Council: rejects pro-
posal for allotment of lands in sev-
erally, 58, footnote; approves draft
of treaty with C.S.A., 194
Creek Treaty: 157 and footnote; Dole
ignorant of existence, 157, footnote;
declares allegiance to C.S.A., 159,
footnote; contains guarantee of au-
tonomy, 159, footnote; contains
promise of representation in Con-
gress, 159, footnote; model on sub-
ject of recognizing slavery, 166-167;
extradition, 173 ; negotiation of,
192-195; considered by Provincial
Congress, 206; clauses providing
for active alliance, 212
Creeks: from Georgia and Alabama,
19-20; assist in Seminole removal,
20, footnote; mixture with negroes,
20, footnote, 23, footnote; status of
free negro among, 23, footnote;
Presbyterians among, 40; desirable
to have slaveholders settle among,
42; repent giving home to Semin-
oles, 51; location, 67; representa-
tives at inter-tribal council, 71 ; vis-
isted by commissioners from Texas,
92 ; in council with Cherokees, Sem-
inoles, Quapaws, and Sacs, 94
Crime: unjustly charged against mis-
sionaries, 47; charged against Re-
serve Indians, 52
Crutchfield, Major P. T: in
Culbertson, Alexander: 210, footnote
Index
377
Cumberland Presbyterians: 40, foot-
note
Curtis, Gen. S. R: 138, footnote
Gushing, Caleb: opinion as attorney-
general, 22
Cutler, Abram: 229, footnote
Cutler, George A: 184, footnote, 249,
footnote, 259, footnote, 266
DAVIS, JEFFERSON: influences Gushing,
22; writes to Worcester, 23, foot-
note; nominates Hubbard Commis-
sioner of Indian Affairs, 128 ; ap-
points Pike special commissioner to
Indians, 130; message, 202; Mar-
shall writes to, 207
Davis, John B: 23, footnote
Davis, John D : 199, footnote
Davis, William P: 199, footnote
Dawson, J. L: 193, footnote
Dean, Charles W: 42; work cited, 35,
footnote, 60, footnote
Debray, X. B: 102, footnote
Decotah: suggested territory of, 31,
footnote
Deep Fork of Canadian: 254
Delawares: from Indiana, 19; tarry in
Missouri, 19, footnote; free state
men among, 35; anxious to avoid
white man's interference, 36, foot-
note; Baptist school on reservation,
38; as refugees, 56, footnote; Lee-
per to communicate with, 181, foot-
note; Pike hopes to meet, 189, foot-
note; wealth, 208, footnote; treaty
with, 231, footnote; employed as
scouts, 232; appeal to, 268; response
of, 268 ; and Shawnees attack
Wichita Agency and kill Leeper,
329, footnote
Delegates: five great tribes should
have, in Congress, 31, footnote;
Pike sent as, 132-133 ; to be allowed
in Confederate Congress, 159, 161,
177, 203, 204, 324; Creek, on way
to Washington, 245 ; Gamble to
Confederate Congress, 312
Delegation: Choctaw and Chicka-
saw, gives assurance to Indian Of-
fice of neutrality, 74 and footnote,
75; from non-secession element in
various tribes, 265-266 and footnote,
267 and footnote; from Leased Dis-
trict visits Kiowas, 353
Denton: exodus from, 95
Denver, J. W: 270
Derrysaw, Jacob: 69, footnote, 194,
218, footnote
Dickey, M. C: 209, footnote
Dickinson, J. C: 50, footnote, 296
Diplomacy: used to effect Indian al-
liance, 17; and intrigue to effect
Seminole removal from Florida, 20,
footnote
District of Columbia: status of slavery
in, 22
Disunion: Pike's poem on, 133 and
footnote
Doaksville: 39, footnote; Choctaw
constitution, 51 ; Council at, 77
Dole, William P: 56, footnote, 74,
footnote, 75, 80, 231 and footnote,
233, 241-242, 250, 266, 271, 273, 274
Dorn, Andrew J: 30, footnote; takes
charge of Neosho Agency, 35, foot-
note, 51; absent from post, 82; cit-
izen of Arkansas, 82, footnote; tells
Neosho River Agency Indians to at-
tend Tahlequah meeting, 241 ; letter
of, 295 ; Rector complains of con-
duct of, 328
Dred Scott Decision: effect upon In-
dian interests, 29
Drew, John: 137, footnote, 214, foot-
note, 217, 226, 253, footnote, 255
Drew, Thomas: work cited, 30, foot-
note; issues permits to peddle in
Indian country, 60
Drouth: 57, 146, 208
Du Val, Ben T: 104, footnote
Dwight: Cherokee school at, 39, foot-
note
ECHO HARJO: 58, footnote, 80, footnote,
192, 193, 243
Edwards, John: 78
378 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Elder, Peter P: 81, footnote
Elk Horn Tavern: battle of, 138, foot-
note
Ellis, Jo: 244
Emigration: of Indians voluntary, 19,
footnote
Emissaries: 83, 88, 89, footnote, 113 et
seg., 114, footnote, 115, footnote, 132,
142, 148, footnote, 183, 208, 210,
footnote, 218, footnote, 219, footnote,
242
Emory, William H: 96-102, 98, foot-
notes
Enlistment of Indians: Pike favors,
132; McCulloch instructed to se-
cure, 144, 147 ; no intention of Con-
federacy to use as Home Guards
exclusively, 148 ; Pike objects to use
outside of Indian country, 149 ; Hy-
ams urges, 155; Chief Hudson au-
thorizes, among Choctaws, 156;
Federal attitude towards, 227 et
seg.; compulsory, illegal, 228, foot-
note; Lane resolves upon, 229-230
and footnotes; Fremont favors, 231-
232 ; Delaware chiefs oppose, 232 ;
Lane persists in urging, 248 ; urged
by Hunter, 250; to be resorted to by
Federals in invading Indian Terri-
tory, 270-271 and footnotes, 272,
footnote; U.S. War Department re-
verses action respecting, 275, 279
and footnotes ; Coffin's views on, 277,
footnote; muster roll showing, 344;
among Comanches abandoned, 350
Euchees: 52
FACTIONS: among Cherokees, 49-50,
151 et seg., 215, 223, 240; among
Creeks, 192-194, 254; among Sem-
inoles, 198-199 ; among Comanches,
306
Fairfield: Cherokee school at, 39, foot-
note
Fall Leaf: 231, footnote, 232 and foot-
notes, 233, footnote
Farnsworth, H. W: 229, footnote, 272
Fayetteville: 67, footnote, 184, 310, 326
Female seminaries: Indian girls at-
tend, 67, footnote
Finch, John : 30, footnote
Finley, C. A: 270
Fishback, William Meade: 104, foot-
note
Fleming, Walter L: work cited, 108,
footnote
Floyd, John B: 53, 296
Folsom, George: 23, footnote
Folsom, Israel : 74
Folsom, Joseph P: 77
Folsom, Peter: 74, 76, 196
Folsom, Sampson: 41, footnote, 76, 196
Food: Indian refugees need, 260; to
destitute Delawares from Cherokee
country, 268, footnote; Creek refu-
gees destitute of, 273, footnote, 278,
footnote; supposed fraudulent char-
acter of contract for supplying, 285-
289 ; Confederate contract with
Charles B. Johnson for supplying,
301-303; for Comanches, 313; to be
furnished Indians in council consid-
ering amendments to treaties, 323 ;
receipt for, furnished, 345
Fort Arbuckle: 54, 87, footnote, 97,
135, footnote, 201, footnote, 297, 303,
345, 357
Fort Belknap: 88, footnote
Fort Caleb: 295
Fort Cobb: 82, footnote, 84, footnote,
9&> 97, 98 and footnote, 189, foot-
note, 296, 332, 356
Fort Coffee Academy: 40, footnote
Fort Davis: 349
Fort Gibson: abandoned as military
post, 53; Major Emory and, 104;
distance from Fort Smith, 108 ; Pike
returns to, 137, footnote; Armstrong
to meet emigrating Creeks at, 193,
footnote; Cooper draws off in direc-
tion of, 256 ; money at, 325
Fort Leavenworth: 88, footnote, 103,
208, footnote, 251, 259, 266, 267, 270
Fort Lincoln: 229, footnote, 230, 243
Fort McCulloch: 139, footnote, 284
Fort Randall: 227, footnote
Index
379
Fort Roe: 259 and footnote, 27$, foot-
note, 277, footnote
Fort Scott: 249, footnote, 266
Fort Smith: headquarters of southern
superintendency, 64; evacuated, 76;
W. G. Coffin fails to reach, 81, foot-
note ; Emory reaches, 97 ; Emory
tarries at, 99; hot-bed of sectional-
ism, 103 ; distance from Fort Gib-
son, 1 08; J. J. Gaines reaches, 113;
Pike proceeds to, 138, footnote;
McCulIoch at, 150; talk of confis-
cating Rector's property at, 182,
footnote; distance from Scullyville,
211 ; fire at, 298
Fort Smith Council: 192, footnote, 226-
227, 241
Fort Smith Papers: cited, 41, footnote,
43, footnote, 50, footnote, 104, foot-
note , 197, footnote, 198, footnote,
285-328
Fort Smith Times: cited, 47, footnote
Fort Sumter: 118
Fort Towson : 40, footnote
Fort Washita: 77, 91, 96, 189, foot-
note, 297, 303
Fort Wise: 210, footnote
Forty-niners: covet land in Indian
country, 28
Frauds: William Walker, head chief
of Wyandots, takes part in Kansas
election, 22, footnote
Frazier, Jackson: 41, footnote
Free negroes: status among Creeks and
Seminoles, 23, footnote; among Choc-
taws, 24, footnote; Leased District
rendezvous for, 56-57
Free-soilers: 45, 46, 113
Free-state expansion: charge that Cal-
houn intended to prevent, 30
Free-state men: intrenched among
Delawares north of Kansas River,
35
Fremont, John C: 214, footnote, 215,
footnote, 231, 232, 233, footnote, 248,
312
Frontier: action along Missouri-Ar-
kansas in Civil War, 17; character
of men of, 114; Indians exploited
for sake of men of, 170; trouble on,
to be expected, 183, footnote
Frozen Rock: 53
Fugitive Slave Law: operative within
Indian country, 22, 166, 178
GAINES, J. J: 113, 115, footnote, 116
Gamble, James: 41, footnote, 54, foot-
note, 197, 312
Garland, Samuel: 74, 76
Garrett, William H: 58, footnote, 82,
and footnote, 183, 184, 192, 194, 212,
footnote, 324
Georgia: Creeks and Cherokees from,
20, 193, footnote; D. E. Twiggs
from, 87
Grayton: exodus from, 95
Green, J. J: 105, footnote
Greenwood, A. B: 36, footnote, 45,
footnote, 46, 48, 113, 192, 209, foot-
note, 291, 292, 294
"Grier letter": 29, footnote
Griffith, Samuel: 119, 182, footnote,
183-184
Grimes, Marshal: 56, footnote, 57,
footnote, 98, footnote, 336, 337
HAGERSTOWN (Md.) : Quantrill, native
of, 48
Half-breeds: status of, 23, footnote;
generally slaveholders, 46; influence
sought in holding Indian country
for South, 67; planter class in In-
dian Territory, 67, 75; white men
and Choctaw, hold secession meet-
ing. 77? missionaries fear, 78;
hated by "loyal" Cherokees, 139,
footnote ; attempt to force full-bloods
into alliance with Confederacy, 216
Halleck, Henry W; 215, footnote, 275
Hamilton, Charles A: appointed com-
missioner, 88 ; report, 91
Harris, C. A: 193, footnote
Harris, Cyrus: 41, footnote, 69, foot-
note, 80, footnote; visited by com-
missioners from Texas, 91
Harris, Thomas A: 130
380 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Harrison, James E: appointed com-
missioner, 88 ; report, 91 ; referred
to by Governor Clark, 131, footnote
Helena (Ark.) : 104
Hemphill, John: 100, footnote
Hester, G. B: 230, footnote
Hicks, Charles: 237, footnote
Hindman, Thomas C: 48, footnote,
105, footnote, 357
Hobbs, Reverend Doctor S. L: 79
Hotchkin, Ebenezer: 42, 76
Houston, Sam: 31, footnote, 90, 93
Howard, O. O: work cited, 220, foot-
note
Hubbard, David: 108; letter to Gov-
ernor Moore, 109-110; nominated
as Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
128 ; Pike hopes for cooperation,
141 ; receives instructions from
Walker, 142-143; ill-health, 143,
footnote', writes to John Ross, 144-
145 ; reply of John Ross to, 146-
147; instructed not to offer state-
hood, 161 ; advice to Crawford, 308 ;
advises economy, 315
Hudson, George: 77, 80, footnote; de-
clares Choctaw Nation "free and
independent," 156; dealings with
Pike, 196; proclamation, 196, 210
Humboldt: 243, footnote, 247
Humphreys, John J: 185, 218, footnote
Hunter, David: 248, 249, and foot-
note, 250, 251, 260, 266, 270, 275,
276, 3'2
Hyams, S. M: 155
ILLINOIS: tribes from, 19
Indian adoption: 169
Indian camp: Lane plans establish-
ment to prevent foraging into Kan-
sas, 230; to be located in Cherokee
Neutral Lands, 233; Cooper reaches,
254
Indian country: west of Arkansas and
Missouri, 19; tribes within, indige-
nous and emigrant, 19 and footnote;
population, 2021 ; cut in two by
Missouri Compromise line, 20; res-
ervation system established, 21 ;
listed with District of Columbia as
strictly federal soil, 22; Fugitive
Slave Law declared operative with-
in, 22; presence of free negroes
sometimes source of grave danger,
23, footnote; constantly beset by dif-
ficulties, 24, 27; likely to be greatly
reduced in area by Manypenny
treaties, 35; intruders attracted by
supposed mines of precious metals,
35, footnote; rivalry among churches,
37; intruders to be removed by
Agent Cowart, 46; practically no
U.S. troops within, 52-53 ; northern
tribes of less importance politically
than southern, 62, footnote; slave-
holding politicians work through
halfbreeds to hold for South, 67;
strategic importance of, appreciated
by Arkansas, 108 ; military neces-
sity of securing, 131; Pike describes
sojourn in, 134 et seq., footnote;
McCulloch to give military protec-
tion to, 148 ; McCulloch lays plans
for taking possession of, 149 ; estab-
lishment of Confederate States
courts promised by treaty with great
tribes, 177; postal system to be
maintained throughout, 180; U.S.
War Department resolves upon ex-
pedition to, 270
Indian Home Guards: Pike in favor
of Indians as, 132; no evi-
dence that Indians wanted ex-
clusively as, 148 ; individual
Cherokees as, 149-151; disposition
to keep Indians as, 212; Ross's plan
defeated by McCulloch, 226-227;
authorized by Cherokee Executive
National Council, 226 ; Drew's regi-
ment tendered to McCulloch, 227;
Drew's regiment escorts Pike
Park Hill, 240
Indian Intercourse Law: difficulty it
enforcing, 24, footnote ; Greenwood's
exposition of, 290; Leeper asks fo
copy, 315; Leeper reports troops
Index
necessary to enforce law within
Leased District, 346
Indian Property Rights: put in jeop-
ardy by pioneer advance, 28; in
trans- Missouri region, 29; rendered
secure by treaty promises, chap, iii
Indian Removal: policy, 19, footnote;
Jaw for, 19, footnote; indemnifica-
tion for, 164-166
Indian States in Union: suggested by
southern politicians, 31; suggested
by Texas newspapers, 31, footnote;
Confederacy promises to Choctaws,
78 ; no assurance of, to be given by
Hubbard, 143 ; promised in treaties
made by Confederacy, 160 and fool-
note, 161; Davis calls attention to
clauses in Indian treaties providing
for, 203 ; Provisional Congress mod-
ifies treaty guarantee for, 204
Indian Territory: small tribes find
their way to, 19, footnote; annexed
for judicial purposes to Western
District of Arkansas, 23, footnote;
in danger of being abolitionized,
41-42 ; only home for Indians from
Kansas, 36; drouth in, 58; political
status of tribes in, 62, footnote;
position with respect to Texas and
Arkansas, 63 ; topographical de-
scription of, 63 ; early interest of
Texas and Arkansas in, 67 ; half-
breeds of, a planter class, 67, 75;
Knights of Golden Circle active in,
68 ; Indians to be driven out of, 76 ;
cut off from communication with
U.S. Indian Office, 81, footnote;
agents within, all southern men, 82;
Commissioner Dole urges reoccupa-
tion of, 241 ; strategical importance
of, 242; included within Trans-
Mississippi District of Department
No. 2, 280
Indian trade: licenses for, 59-60; reg-
ulations respecting, 169-171
Indiana: tribes from, 19; W. G. Cof-
fin from, 80
Indians: lands granted in perpetuity,
18; participation in American Civil
War inevitable, 18 ; as emigrants,
19; number of colonized, 20-21;
proportion of southern to northern,
21 ; slaves enticed away by aboli-
tionists, 23 ; seized as fugitives by
southern men, 23 ; interests militated
indirectly against by Dred Scott de-
cision, 29 ; territorial form of gov-
ernment for, 30, footnote, 31, foot-
note; treaty rights likely to be seri-
ously affected by repeal of Missouri
Compromise, 34; plan for coloniz-
ing Texas, 52, 55 ; Knights of Gol-
den Circle active among, 68 ; con-
dition of, reported by Texas com-
missioners, 94; Choctaw and Chick -
asaw friendly to Confederate States,
loo, footnote; enlistment, 132, 147-
X 49 *55 '81, footnote, 207, 210,
211-212, 227, footnote, 248, 250, 252,
footnote, 270, 275, 279; treaties with
Confederate States, 157-158, 202-
206; judicial rights under treaties
with Confederate States, 172-174;
military support secured early by
Confederacy, 207; use of, by U.S.
as soldiers uncertain, 227 et seq.;
not subject to conscription, 228, foot-
note; reported arming themselves
on southern border of Kansas, 228,
footnote; conference with Lane at
Fort Lincoln, 230; totally abandoned
by U.S. government, 262, footnote;
see also under names of individual
nations and tribes
Interior Department: 53, 80, 218, foot-
note, 242, 265, 273
Interlopers: encourage slavery within
Indian country, 22; see also In-
truders
Inter-tribal Conference: documents re-
lating to, called by the Chickasaws,
68, footnote; assembling of, at
Creek Agency, 70; attendance, 71;
action, 71-72 ; action not officially re-
ported to U.S. government, 82;
Motey Kennard and Echo Harjo in
382 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Washington at time, was planned,
192; Indians solicit, 209, footnote ;
Lane arranges for, to meet at Fort
Lincoln, 243, 246; Coffin desires, at
Humboldt, 247; plans for, at Le-
roy, 248 ; Hunter instructed to hold,
250; difference between, as planned
by Lane and by Hunter, 250, foot-
note; John T. Cox gives account of,
262, footnote
Interview: of Pike and McCulloch
with Cherokee Confederate sym-
pathizers, 135, footnote, 152; of
Lane with representatives of various
tribes at Fort Lincoln proposed,
243, 246; of Coffin with Carruth,
243, footnote; of Carruth with
Creek delegation, 245
Intrigue: and diplomacy to effect Sem-
inole removal from Florida, 20,
footnote; Pike expected to succeed
in, with Southern Indians, 86, foot-
note
Intruders: to be removed by Agent
Cowart, 46; interfere with slavery,
47; Confederate military authority
to supplement tribal in expulsion of,
169; Agent Butler's reports, 285;
Greenwood discusses matter with
Rector, 290-291 ; Cowart reports
progress in removal of, 295, 296,
297; Cowart gives notice to John
B. Jones to leave Cherokee Nation,
296 ; see also Interlopers
lowas: 189, footnote
Irish, O. H: 227, footnote
lyanubbi: Choctaw school at, 39, foot-
note
JACKSON, ANDREW: 19; inducements
offered to Indians, 58 ; procedure of,
72; opposed to political tenets of
John C. Calhoun, 133
Jay hawking: of Lane's brigade, 233,
234, 277
Jennison, C. R: 275, footnote
Jesup, Thomas S: 164, footnote, 165
Jim Ned 1306, 330, 341
Jim Pockmark: 306, 338
John Chupco: 198, footnote, 199
John Jumper: and Seminole removal
20, footnote ; favors boarding schools
for youth of tribe, 40, footnote ; ap-
proached by Albert Pike, 85, foot-
note, 197, footnote, 198, footnote;
signs complaint against Genera
Jesup, 164, footnote; signs treaty
with Confederate States, 198; sig-
nature attached to Comanche treat-
ies, 200, footnote; doing duty faith-
fully, 319; letter to, 337
Johnson, Charles B: 56, footnote, 98
footnote, 105, footnote, 190, footnote
199, 287, 289, 301, 314, 323, 332
352
Johnson, F: 231, footnote, 232, 248, am
footnote, 329, footnote
Johnson, James B: 105, footnote
Johnson, Richard H : 47, footnote, 105
footnote
Johnson, Robert W: 31, footnote, 47
footnote, 105, footnote, 127; corre-
spondence with Albert Pike, 131
132; motion, 204; Crawford serves
by request, 308; elected senator, 334
Johnson, Thomas: slavery-propaga-
tion work among Indians, 22, foot-
note, 39
Johnson, W. Warren: 303
Johnson: exodus from, 95
Jones, Evan: 47, 93, 135, footnote, 217,
218, footnote, 236, 240, footnote, 292,
293
Jones, H. P: 199, 348, 350
Jones, John: 309
Jones, John B: 47, 269, footnote, 296
Jones, R. M: 75, 77, 79, 197, 344*345
Journeycake, Charles: 231, footnote,
268, footnote
Jumper, John: see John Jumper
KA-HI-KE-TUNG-KA: 238, footnote
Kannady, J. R: 125
Kansa: indigenous to Kansas, 19; suf-
fering of, 209, footnote
Kansas: Indian tribes in, 19; agita-
Index
383
tion for the opening up of, 28 ; com-
pared with Choctaw country, 31,
footnote ; suggested organization
causes excitement among Indians,
33^34 >' citizens encroach upon Cher-
okee Neutral Lands, 46; drouth in,
58; political status of tribes in, 62,
footnote; and Cherokee Outlet, 64;
Elder, citizen of, 186; Pike desires
to raise Indian battalion, 207; In-
dians wish to fight, 227, footnote
Kansas Historical Society: Collections,
19, footnote, 34, footnote
Kansas-Nebraska Bill: effect upon In-
dian interests, 29, 35; settlers de-
mand Indians to vacate territory
covered by, 36; Seward's speech
on, 58-59
Kansas Territory: first districting il-
legally included Indian lands, 35 ;
free-state settlers charge Buchanan
government with bad faith, 37
Kappler, C. J : work cited, 20, footnote,
34, footnote, 49, footnote, 50, foot-
note, 52, footnote
Kaskaskias: from Illinois, 19
Keitt, Lawrence M: 127, 129
Kennedy, John C: 211, footnote
Kickapoos: from Indiana, 19; tarry in
Missouri, 19, footnote; denomina-
tionalism among, 37, footnote; ref-
ugees, 56, footnote; Leeper to com-
municate with, in name of Albert
Pike, 181, footnote; Pike hopes to
meet, 189, footnote
Kile, William: 261, footnote, 274
Kingsbury, Rev. Cyrus: 40, and foot-
note, 43, footnote, 76
Kingsbury Jr., Cyrus: 79
Kiowas: 52; Texans reported tamper-
ing with, 210, footnote; messengers
from, 309; talk for, 320; treaty
with, to be effected, 323, 331 ; dele-
gation of, 324; Big-head, chief of,
342; Lone Wolf, chief of, 350; E-sa-
sem-mus, chief of, 350; annual fes-
tival of, 351; treaty with, 354
Knights of Golden Circle: probable
influence with Arkansas Legislature,
68, footnote; evidence of activity
among Indians, 68; halfbreeds be-
long to, 86, footnote
Koonsha Female Seminary: 40, foot-
note
LANDS: plot to dispossess Indian of,
18 ; pledged by U.S. government as
Indian possession in perpetuity, 18,
28 ; of Cherokees extended north of
thirty-seventh parallel, 21 ; of In-
dians coveted by Forty-niners, 28 ;
of Indians in Kansas excluded from
local governmental control, 35; al-
lotment in severally proposed to
Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws,
58 ; violation of treaties to cost In-
dians their, 86, footnote; property
rights of Indians guaranteed by
Confederacy, 161 et seq. ; Indians
to have right to dispose of by will,
172; Cherokee halfbreeds fear de-
signs upon Indian, 216
Lane, James H: 125, 229, 231, foot-
note, 233, 242, 251 and footnote, 265,
270, 276, 278
Lane, W. P: 357
Laughinghouse, G. W: 120
Leased District: 52 and footnote, 54,
56, 57, footnote, 63, 67, 96, 179, 199,
297, 340, 349
Lee, Robert E: 88, footnote, 98, foot-
note, 99
Lee, S. Orlando: letter, 75-79, 197,
footnote
Leeper, Matthew: 57 and footnote, 82
and footnote, 96, 98 and footnote, 99,
180, footnote, 199, footnote, 303,
304-307, 311, 315-319; removal of,
asked for by Rector, 323 ; death of,
329, footnote; charges against, 333
Leeper Papers: cited, 57, footnote, 99,
footnote, 102, footnote, 181, footnote,
186, footnote, 199, footnote, 200,
footnote, 201, footnote, 329-357
384 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Lee's Creek: Cherokee school at, 39,
footnote
Lefontaine, Louis: 208, footnote
Leroy: 248, 266
Lincoln, Abraham: 68, 76, 80, 86, foot-
note, 93, 95, 118, 122, footnote, 182,
185, 234 and footnote, 250, 265, foot-
note, 266, 274, 276, 278
Little Captain: 277, footnote
Little Rock: 103, 108, 190, footnote
London, John T: 104, footnote
Long John: 198, footnote
Love, Overton: 23, footnote
Lower Creeks: 50, 80, footnote, 192,
244
Lowrie, Walter: 75
"Loyal Creeks": 192, footnote, 193, 194,
footnote, 195, 199, 243-246, 250, 254,
259; sufferings, 260; measures for
relief of, 260 et seg., 272 ; annuities
of "hostiles" to be applied to relief
of, 274
Luce, John B: 125, 182, footnote
MCCARRON, THOMAS: 311
McClellan, George B: 265, footnote,
275, 276
McCulloch, Ben: 85, footnote, 120,
*35 footnote, 141, 143-144; letter of
Hubbard to, 144-145 ; attempt to se-
cure Cherokee help, 149-153; com-
munication with John Ross, 149 ; re-
ply of John Ross to, 150; correspon-
dence with Secretary Walker, 151,
and footnote; reports Choctaws and
Chickasaws as anxious to join Con-
federacy, 155 ; accompanies Albert
Pike, 189, footnote; gives authority
for calling out six hundred rangers
from Fort Cobb, 198, footnote; ob-
jects to appointment of Garrett as
colonel of Creek regiment, 212, foot-
Mote; acts under direct orders from
Richmond, 225 ; promises to protect
Cherokee borders, 227 ; orders Stand
Watie to take up position in Chero-
kee Neutral Lands, 252, footnote;
goes to Richmond, 257, footnote
McCulloch, Henry E: 99, footnote, 207
McCulloch, Thomas C: 210, footnote
McDaniel, James: 262, footnote, 268,
and footnote
Machinations : secessionist sympathy of
Indians not due to, of agents and
others, 219, footnote
Mclntosh, Chilly: 92, 140, footnote,
193, and footnote, 200, footnote
Mclntosh, D. N: 92
Mclntosh, James : 256 et seg.
Mclntosh, Roily: 193, footnote
Mclntosh, William: 191, footnote, 193,
footnote; attempts to bribe John
Ross, 236, footnote
McRae, John J: presents petition for
removal of Choctaws, 20, footnote
McWillie, M. H: 207, footnote
Mails: insecurity, 116; none in Indian
country, 190, footnote; irregularity,
230, 252, footnote; must be provided
for in Leased District, 309 ; Rector
has no authority to establish, 332
Malfeasance: Rev. Thomas Johnson
suspected of, 39, 41 ; few Indian
Office officials free from, 56, foot-
note; Washburn implicated in, 85,
footnote; Indian agents guilty of,
262, footnote
Manassas Junction: battle of, 216
Mandan: suggested territory of, 32,
footnote
Manypenny, George W: 30, footnote;
Indian treaties made by, 33, foot-
note, 35; promises to look into ex-
pediency of Comanche removal, 51,
footnote; suggests giving Indians
control of trade, 170
Marcy, William L: 165, footnote
Marshall, F. J: 207
Marysville: 207
Mass-meeting: of Cherokees at Tahle-
quah, 217 et seg., 226, 234
Mathews, John: 235, footnote, 239
Mayers, Abram G: 56, footnote, 197,
footnote, 230, footnote, 287, 288, 289,
312
Mayes, Joel : 214, footnote
Index
385
Medicines: Texans seize, 305, 308;
Leeper's requisition can not be hon-
ored, 330-331
Memphis (Tenn.) : 97, 104, 134, foot-
note
Methodist Episcopal Church South: 37,
footnote, 38, 40, footnote
Methodists: 38
Mexican War: effect upon Indian in-
terests, 28; service of Pike in, 132
Miamies: from Indiana, 19; charges
against Agent Clover, 209, footnote
Michigan: tribes from, 19
Mikko Hutke: 194, 244
Military Board of Arkansas: 190
Minnesota: territory of Decotah to be
carved out of, 31, footnote
Mission: of Pike, 134 et seq.; of Hub-
bard, 143 e t seq. ; of Carruth, 242,
246-247
Missionaries: encourage slavery with-
in Indian country, 22 ; among In-
dians, 39 et seg.; suspected of at-
tempting to abolitionize Indian
country, 41 ; charged with inciting
to murder, 47; search organization
among Cherokees due to, 48
Missionary Herald: cited, 40, footnote,
41, footnote
Missions: 39 et seq., 143
Mississippi: Choctaws and Chickasaws
from, 20 ; Choctaws in, fight on side
of South, 20, footnote; Cooper, citi-
zen of, 41
Mississippi River: 17, 63
Missouri: Kickapoos, Shawnees, and
Delawares tarry in, 19, footnote; in-
terests herself in Indian alliance, 83
Missouri Compromise: line approxi-
mately boundary between northern
and southern Indian immigrants, 21 ;
encroachment upon northern rights
under, 22 ; as affected by Kansas-
Nebraska bill, 30
Mitchell, Charles B: 97, 98, 334
Montgomery: 76, 87, footnote, 94, 109,
192, 196, 297
Moore, Andrew B: 108
Moore, Frank: work cited, 45, foot-
note, 125, footnote, 227, footnote
Moore, Thomas O: 155, 192, footnote
Moo-sho-le-tubbee: district of, 34,
footnote
Moravians: 38
Morton, Jackson: 127
Motey Kennard: 58, footnote, 80, foot-
note, 92, 94, 119, 191, and footnote,
*93> !99> 200, footnote, 218, footnote,
243, 337
Mound City: 230, footnote
Munsees: from Ohio, 19; Moravians
among, 38
Murphy, J: 119
Mus-co-kee: territory of suggested,
31, footnote
NAVAJOE: suggested territory of, 32,
footnote
Ne-a-math-la: 193, footnote
Nebraska: indigenous tribes in, 19,
footnote; agitation for opening up
of, 28 ; drouth in, 57
Ne-con-he-con : 268, footnote
Negroes: Choctaws charged with mix-
ing with, 20, footnote; Creeks al-
most completely mixed with, 22,
footnote; Creeks possess no aversion
to race mixture, 23, footnote; no
rights that white men are bound to
respect, 29; Quantrill plans to res-
cue, 48; Indians agree to return
fugitive, 166, footnote; six hundred,
seized by Kansans, 334
Neighbors, Robert S: 56, footnote
Neosho: suggested territory of, 31,
footnote
Neosho River: 208, 277, footnote
Neosho River Agency: 30, footnote;
invaded, 35, footnote; Elder put in
charge of, 186; Indians of, at Fort
Smith Council, 241
Neutrality: McCulloch agrees to re-
spect Cherokee, 136, footnote; of
Indians scarcely possible, 145 ; Chief
Ross gives reasons for preserving,
147, 150; Chief Ross objects to vio-
386 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
lation of, 150; majority of Chero-
kees favor, 153 ; Chief Ross's Proc-
lamation of, 153-154; discussion in
Cherokee meeting at Tahlequah,
220 et seq. ; McCulloch orders Stand
Watie's men not to interfere with
Cherokee, 227
New Hope Academy: 40, footnote
New Orleans Picayune: 32, footnote
Newspapers: 47, 75, 80, footnote
New York Indians: from Wisconsin,
19; reservation invaded, 35; mem-
bers of Neosha River Agency, 51;
Refugees camp upon lands of, 260
North Carolina: Cherokees fight on
side of South, 20, footnote
North Fork Village: 92, 94, 95, 157,
188, 192
North Fork of Canadian: 67, 136,
footnote, 189, footnote, 254
Northern Baptists: 38, 39
Northern Indians: colonized within
limits of great American desert, 18;
relative position of, 21 ; Pike hoped
to exert influence over, 208 ; report-
ed organized into spy companies by
Federals, 306
OAK HILLS, or Wilson's Creek: battle
of, 215, 216, 225, 257, footnote
Ochiltree, William B: 129
Office of Indian Affairs: plans for re-
moval of Catawbas from Carolines,
20, footnote; takes measures for re-
moval of Seminoles from Florida,
20, footnote; refuses to remove
Choctaws from Mississippi, 20,
footnote; unable to execute plan for
removal of Texas Indians before
1859, 52 ; reply of Creeks to pro-
posals, 58; patronage of, 59; out of
communication with Indian Terri-
tory, 81, footnote; complaint filed
at, 96 ; in possession of documents
incriminating D. H. Cooper, 186;
discontinues Indian allowances, 192 ;
supports War Department, 271
Ogden, John B: 89, footnote, 108,
footnote, 115, footnote
Ohio: people of, desire information
about Manypenny treaties, 33, foot-
note
Okanagan: suggested territory of, 32,
footnote
Ok-ta-ha-hassee Harjo [Sands] : 194,
244, and footnote
Old Choctaw Agency: 211, footnote
Oldham, W. S: 100, footnote
Old Scottish Gentleman: 107 and
footnote
Old Settlers Party: 49
Omaha Mission School: youths from,
enlist in army, 227, footnote
Omahas: 227, footnote
Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la: 138, footnote, 193
and footnote, 194, 195, footnote, 198,
footnote, 236, footnote, 243, 253,
footnote, 254 et seq., 268, 278
Oregon: occupied, 28
Osage Manual Labor School: 38,
footnote
Osage Mission: 182, footnote
Osage River Agency: 208, footnote
Osage Treaty: 157 and footnote; lands
in Kansas guaranteed by, 162;
model on subject of rendition of
slaves, 167; navigable waters, 175;
negotiated, 237
Osages: indigenous to Kansas, 19;
Great and Little, 20, footnote; res-
ervation invaded, 35, 295; deter-
mined to resist removal, 36; Roman
Catholicism among, 38 ; members of
Neosho River Agency, 51;. negotia-
tions with Pike, 137, footnote; de-
scribed as "lazy," 208, footnote;
letter to, from John Ross, 235, 236,
footnote; bands of, 237
Otis, Elmer: 210, footnote
Otoes : 209, footnote
Ottawas : from Michigan, 19 ; regard
removal as useless, 36, footnote;
Baptists among, 38
Ozark Mountains: 19, footnote
Index
387
PACIFIC RAILROAD SURVEYS: cited, 54,
footnote
Pa-hiu-ska: 238, footnote
Panola: county of, 68, footnote
Pape, Henry: 182, footnote
Park Hill: Cherokee school at, 39,
footnote ; residence of John Ross,
135, footnote, 188, footnote ; John
Ross at, 150; W. S. Robertson re-
tires to, 218, footnote', Pike invited
to, 234; treaties negotiated at, 237
Parker, Eli S: 228, footnote
Parker, Thomas Valentine: work cit-
ed, 49, footnote
Parks, Robert W: 355
Pas-co-fa: 198 and footnote, 319
Pawnees: purchase from, 33, footnote;
offer to enlist in U. S. army de-
clined, 227, footnote
Pea Ridge: battle of, 138, footnote, 284
Pearce, N. Bart: 120, 131
Pegg, Major: 256, 257
Peoria, Baptiste: 235, footnote
Peorias: from Illinois, 19
Petition: of Representative John J.
McRae, 20, footnote
Phelps, J. S: 81, footnote; 211, foot-
note, 240, footnote
Phillips, U. B: work cited, 134, foot-
note, 191, footnote
Piankeshaws: from Illinois, 19
Pickens: county of, 68, footnote
Pierce, Franklin: 41, footnote, 56, foot-
note
Pike, Albert: dislike of Van Dorn, 55,
footnote; concerned with Choctaw
Corn Contract, 57, footnote; and
Choctaw commissioners, 78 ; writes
to Seminole chief, 84, footnote; tel-
egram, 105, footnote; poem in hon-
or of Elias Rector, 106; correspon-
dence with Robert Toombs, 129,
131, 134 and footnote, 152 and foot-
note; appointed by President Davis
special commissioner to Indians
west of Arkansas, 130; correspon-
dence with R. W. Johnson, 131, 132;
writings, 132, footnote, 133 and
footnote; unjust to John Ross, 134,
footnote; commissioner from Arkan-
sas, 190-191 ; views on use of In-
dians as soldiers, 149 ; continues
intercourse with Ridge Party, 156
and footnote; moderate in promises
to strong tribes, 163 ; assumes finan-
cial obligations in name of Confed-
eracy, 163-164; opens communica-
tion with Indian field service, 180-
181; offers post to Leeper, 180, foot-
note; negotiates with Creeks, 192-
195 ; negotiates with Choctaws and
Chickasaws, 196-197; negotiates
with Seminoles, 197-199; negotiates
with western Indians, 200-202, 200,
footnote; report submitted by Pres-
ident Davis to Provisional Congress,
202; invited to be present at con-
sideration of Indian treaties, 205 ;
desires to raise an Indian battalion
from Kansas, 208; informed of
Cherokee willingness to treat, 234;
assigned to command of Indian
Territory, 253-254, 322; Van Dorn's
plans for, 280, 283 ; retires to Fort
McCulloch, 284; continues Charles
B. Johnson as contractor, 301-303 ;
receives Leeper's apology, 356
Pike, W. L: 194
Pine Ridge: 43, footnote
Pins: 86, footnote, 135, footnote, 137,
footnote, 138, footnote, 216
Pioneers: 18, footnote
Pitchlynn, P. P: 74, 77
Pitchlynn, W. B: 197
Policy: of U. S. government with re-
spect to Indians, 18 ; of Confeder-
ate States government, 147
Politicians: as influencing Indian pol-
icy of government, 18, footnote; mo-
tives of, 21 ; demands of, for In-
dians, 31; reason for urging seces-
sion among Indians, 98, footnote;
unjust charges against Ross, 150
Polk, James K: work cited, 49, foot-
note, 166, footnote
Pomeroy, Samuel C: 231, footnote
388 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Pontotoc: county of, 68, footnote
Pope, John: 105, footnote
Population: of Indian country, 20-21;
of southern superintendency, 211,
footnote; of Creek Nation as esti-
mated by Agent Garrett in report
to Hubbard, 252-253, footnote
Postal system: to be maintained by
Confederate States throughout In-
dian country, 180
Potawatomies: from Indiana, 19; Ro-
man Catholicism among, 38; South-
ern Baptists among, 38
Poteau River: 108
Presbyterian Board of Foreign Mis-
sions: 37, footnote, 40, footnote, 41,
79
Presbyterians (Old School): 38, foot-
note, 39, 40, footnote, 41
Price, Sterling: 138, footnote, 225, 257,
footnote, 280, 283, 312, 326, 334
Prince, J. E: 98, footnote, 231, footnote
Proclamation: of Ross pledging Cher-
okee neutrality, 153-154; of Hudson
announcing Choctaw independence,
196, 210
Pro-slavery men: intrenched among
Shawnees south of Kansas River,
35 ; settled upon Cherokee Neutral
Lands, 35, footnote
Protectorate: over Indian tribes sug-
gested, 130, 142, 158, 190
Provisional Congress of Confederate
States: act of, May 21, 1861, 130,
158 and footnote; considers treaties
with Indian tribes, 202-206
Pulliam, Richard P: 183, footnote, 184,
294, 295, 297, 311, 324
Pushmataha: George Folsom, chief of
district of, 23, footnote; District
of, 34, footnote
QUAKERS: 39
Quantrill, Wm. Clarke: 48, 214, foot-
note
Quapaw Treaty: 157 and footnote
Quapaws: 51, 64, 67; in council with
Creeks, Cherokees, Seminoles, and
Sacs, 94; negotiations with Pike,
136, footnote, 235, footnote, 237
Quesenbury, William: 183, footnote,
184, 190, footnote, 194, 303, 323
RAY, P. ORMAN: work cited, 22, foot-
note, 34, footnote, 38, footnote
Reagan, J. H : 230, footnote
Rector, Elias: superintends removal
of Seminoles, 20, footnote, 182, foot-
note; demands for Indians, 31, foot-
note; Cooper writes to, 42; urges
that Frozen Rock be converted into
military post, 53 ; enters into sort
of private contract with Johnson
and Grimes, 56 and footnote;
Grimes and, 57, footnote, 285-289;
relieved, 80, footnote; seconds ef-
forts of cousin, 106 ; suggestion to
Cooper, 106-107, footnote, 187; gives
letter of introduction to Gaines, 113 ;
gives information concerning Choc-
taws and Chickasaws, 120; attempt
of U. S. government to find success-
or to, 182; uncertainty as to when
entering Confederate service, 182,
footnote; interview with Pike, 190,
footnote; in company of Pike, 197,
198, footnote; writes to Leeper, 199,
footnote; expense account of, 304;
complaint against Pike, 328
Rector, Henry M: 102, 112
Red Fork of Canadian: 67, 255
Red River: 55, 63, 77, 91, 95, 100 and
footnote, 108, 139, footnote, 175,
347. 349
Refugees: Opoethleyohola, leader of,
195; Coffin prepares to meet, 259;
take up station between Verdigris
and Arkansas Rivers, 259 ; approx-
imate number of, 260 and footnote;
sufferings of, 260-261 and footnotes,
265, footnote, 272; absolute destitu-
tion of, 273, footnote; Dole furnish-
es supplies to, 274; joint resolution
for relief of, 274; annuities of hos-
Index
389
tile Indians to be diverted to relief
of, 274 and footnote
Regiment: Colonel Cooper's filled with
Texans, 78 ; Choctaw-Chickasaw
and Creek, 210-211; Creek, to elect
its own officers, 213 ; Drew's, or-
ganized, 226-227; work and char-
acter of Drew's, 240 and footnote;
of Choctaw-Chickasaw Mounted
Rifles, of Creeks, and of Cherokee
Mounted Rifles, 252, footnote, 262,
footnote; Drew's deserts Cooper,
256; only one white, in whole In-
dian Department, 280; Leeper asks
for at least one, to keep order on
Reserve, 349
Reid, Alexander: 76, 78
Removal: of Indians more or less
compulsory, 19 and footnote ; slav-
ery advanced as objection to Indian,
21-22 ; makes no difference in mat-
ter of slavery among Indians, 22;
difficulties within Indian country in-
cident to, 27; Calhoun's plan for,
27 ; U. S. government slow to adopt
policy of, 27-28 ; settlers demand, of
Indians from Kansas, 36; certain
tribes contemplating, 36, footnote;
of Indians from Kansas delayed on
account of Civil War, 37; Mission-
ary Herald useful for history of,
40, footnote; reasons for, 48; pro-
ject for, of Cherokees causes dis-
sensions within tribes, 49 ; of Texas
Indians, 52 ; Wichitas ask for im-
mediate, 56 ; guarantee of territorial
integrity in treaties arranging for,
160-161 ; indemnification for, 164-
166 ; Choctaw claims under treaty
of, 196
Reservation: system, introduced into
trans-Missouri region, 21 ; Creeks
disgusted with idea of individual,
58
Reserve Indians: see Indians of Leased
District, Wichitas, Tonkaiuas, Eu-
chees, etc.
Resolutions: of Choctaws, February 7,
1861, 72-74, 75; of Chickasaw Leg-
islature, May 25, 1861, 122-124 an d
footnote ; offered by Chilton of Ala-
bama, 127; offered by Toombs for
appointment of special agent to In-
dian tribes, 129; of Choctaws and
Chickasaws showing friendly dis-
position towards South, 130 and foot-
note ; passed at Cherokee mass-meet-
ing at Tahlequah, August, 1861,
218, footnote, 223-225 ; joint, for re-
lief of Indian refugees in Kansas,
274
Rhodes, J. F: work cited, 45, footnote,
129, footnote, 146, footnote
Richardson, James D : work cited, 129,
footnote, 158, footnote, 202, footnote
Ridge, John: 47, footnote
Ridge, or Treaty Party: in favor of
Cherokee removal, 49; connives
with Ben McCulloch to circumvent
wishes of Chief Ross, 151; minority
party, 153; Pike's intercourse with,
continues, 156; attempts to develop
public sentiment in favor of Con-
federacy, 215 ; collision with Ross
faction, 240
Robertson, W. S: 101, footnote, 192,
footnote, 218, footnote
Robinson, Charles: 228, 234
Rock-a-to-wa : 231, footnote
Rogers, H. L: 332, 333, 336, 337
Rolla: W. S. Robertson fleeing from
Indian country, reaches, 218, foot-
note
Roman Catholics: 38, footnote
Ross, John: correspondence, 69, foot-
note, uncle of Wm. P. Ross, 71;
instructions of, 71, footnote; influ-
ence, 72; character, 72, footnote;
letter of Dole to, 80, footnote; no
one firmer friend to Union than,
86, footnote; correspondence with
John B. Ogden, 89, footnote, 115,
footnote; called upon by commis-
sioners from Texas, 93 ; letter from
Governor Rector, 112; letter to Rec-
tor, 117; letter from citizens of
390 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Boonsboro, HI, footnote, 124.; J. R.
Kannady communicates with, 125;
issues proclamation of neutrality,
125, 153-154; Albert Pike unjust to,
134, footnote] letter of Hubbard to,
144-145 ; reply to Hubbard, 146-147 ;
correspondence with Ben McCul-
loch, 149-151; sincerity possibly
doubted, 168; declared shrewd, 189,
footnote; Ridge Party attempts to
undermine popularity, 215; attends
meeting of Cherokee Executive
Council, 217 ; address, 220, 223 ;
suspected of not acting in good
faith, 226 ; notifies Pike of Chero-
kee willingness to treat, 234; com-
municates with Creeks and Osages,
235; called upon to rally Cherokees,
256
Ross, Lewis: 138, footnote
Ross, Mrs. John: 220, footnote
Ross, Mrs. William P: work cited, 71,
footnote
Ross, William P: 71, 89, footnote,
116, footnote, 137, footnote, 139, foot-
note, 217, 223
Ross, W. W: 210, footnote
Ross Party: opposed to removal, 49;
majority party, 153
Round Mountain: 255
Route: of Opoethleyohola's retreat,
261-262 and footnote
Rust, Albert: 105, footnote
Rutherford, A. H: 30, footnote, 190,
footnote
Rutherford, Samuel M: 86, footnote,
x ^3f J 99 an< l footnote, 319
SACKETT, MAJOR: 98, footnote
Sacs and Foxes: of Missouri, 36, foot-
note
San Antonio: 52, footnote
Sands: see Ok-ta-ha-hassee Harjo
Schoenmaker, John: 182, footnote
Scott, S. S: 198, footnote, 201, footnote,
314, 32i
Scott, Winfield: 88, footnote, 97, 249
Scottish Songs: work cited, 108, foot-
note
Screw Fly: work cited, 56, footnote
Scullyville: Choctaw constitution of,
51; Creek regiment forming at, 211
Sebastian, William K: 106, footnote,
2*7
Secession : meeting held by white men
and Choctaw half-bloods, 77; Pres-
byterian ordained missionaries favor,
79; Indian country threatened by
advocates for, 80; Indian agents ac-
tive for, 82-83 a d footnote; mer-
cenary motives in urging, 98, foot-
note; sentiment in Arkansas, 103
et seq.; Pike offers arguments for,
133 ; secret organization of "Pins,"
135, footnote; Stand Watie's party
afraid to raise flag of, 140, footnote ;
large element within Cherokee Na-
tion favors, 153; Griffith appointed
commissioner to interview Indians
in interests of, 184; Indian oppon-
ents absent from Pike's meeting at
North Fork Village, 192; Jones most
prominent of Choctaw advocates,
197; traces of influence of, 208;
August mass-meeting of Cherokees
ending in, 217
Second Seminole War: 20, footnote,
23, footnote, 164, footnote, 164-166
Secret Society: purpose of organiza-
tion, 32, footnote; in Missouri, 35,
footnote; among full-blooded Cher-
okees, 48; "the Pins," 86, footnote,
135, footnote, 216; among Chero-
kees for abolition purposes, 291,
293 ; Greenwood orders its dissolu-
tion, 292; Cowart's views upon
schemes of, 294
Sells, Elijah: 186, footnote
Seminole Treaty: 157 and footnote;
declares allegiance to C.S.A., 159,
footnote; contains guarantee of au-
tonomy, 159, footnote; contains
promise of representation in Con-
gress, 159, footnote; negotiated,
Index
391
197-199, 197, footnote; considered
by Provisional Congress, 206
Seminoles: from Florida, 20; removal
in late fifties, 20, footnote ; status
of free negro among, 40; Presby-
terians among, 40; manifest only
slight interest in education, 40, foot-
note; given home in Creek country,
50; destitute, 57, footnote; represen-
tatives at inter-tribal conference,
71; letter to chief of, 80, footnote;
condition reported by Carruth, 84,
footnote; in council with Creeks,
Cherokees, Quapaws, and Sacs, 94;
negotiations of Pike with, 136, foot-
note; complaint against General
Jesup, 164, footnote; Rector's trans-
actions with, 182, footnote
Seneca and Shawnee Treaty; 157 and
footnote
Senecas: 51, 64, 67; negotiations of
Pike with, 136, footnote; from Cat-
taraugus Reservation, 227, footnote
Senecas and Shawnees: 51, 64, 67; ne-
gotiations of Pike with, 136, foot-
note, 237
Settlers: in Kansas demand that In-
dians vacate territory, 36
Seward, William H: reference to
"higher law" speech, 42, footnote;
Chicago speech, 58, 75; Senate
speech, 58
Shawnee Manual Labor School, 38
Shawnee Mission: work of Rev.
Thomas Johnson at, 22, footnote
Shawnees: from Ohio, 19; tarry in
Missouri, 19, footnote; pro-slavery
men among, 35; reported by Agent
Dorn as anxious to leave Kansas,
36, footnote; Baptist school on res-
ervation of, 38; Southern Method-
ists among, 38; as refugees, 57,
footnote; trouble over tribal elec-
tions, 209, footnote; attack Wichita
Agency, 329, footnote
Shon-tah-sob-ba [Black Dog]: 235,
footnote, 238, footnote
Short Bird: 319
Shoshone: suggested territory of, 32,
footnote
Siebert, W. H: work cited, 23, foot-
note, 49, footnote
Sigel, Franz: 215, footnote
Simon, Ben: 329, footnote
Sioux: uprising, 21, footnote; warriors,
227, footnote
Slaughter, Thomas C: 208
Slavery: in Kansas, 22; encouraged,
22; among Southern Indians, 22,
292; influence of churches upon,
37; white men to prevent abolition
among Indians, 42; opposition
among Choctaws and Chickasaws,
45 ; is being interfered with by in-
truders, 47; cause in jeopardy
among Cherokees, 48 ; North to ex-
terminate among Indians, 145 ; rec-
ognized as legal institution by treat-
ies, 166 and footnote; offers easy
solution of labor problem, 219; Co-
wart reports complaints of interfer-
ence with, 293
Slaves: 22, 142, 143, 144-145, *&S>
166, footnote, 167, footnote, 172, 216,
261
Smith, Andrew J : charges against, 41,
footnote
Smith, Caleb B: 74, footnote, 183, 242,
271, 274, 275
Smith, E. Kirby: 100, footnote
Smith, John G: 192
Smith, William R: work cited, 108,
footnote, 109, footnote
Snow, George C: 198, footnote, 199,
footnote
Southern Baptist Convention: 39, foot-
note
Southern Baptists: 38, 39
South Carolina: 20, footnote
Southern Indians: 18, 21, 32, 34, 36
Southern Methodists: 38, 39, 40
Southern Superintendency : 30, foot-
note
Sparrow, Edward: 127
39 2 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
Spencer Academy: 40, footnote, 75,
76,78
Springfield: 214, footnote, 217, 255,
283, 312, 334
Spy companies: reported equipped by
Federals, 306
Stand Watie: 49, footnote, 137, foot-
note, 153, 156, footnote, 227, 240,
283, 324
Stanton, Edwin M: 276, 279
Stanwood, Edward: work cited, 106,
footnote
Stark, O. P: 76
State Department (C.S.A.) : Albert
Pike, commissioner from, 134, foot-
note, 152; Bureau of Indian Affairs,
part of, 188, footnote
Stephens, Alexander H: work cited,
118, footnote, 119, footnote
Stevens, R. S: 209, footnote
Stevens, Thaddeus: 210, footnote
Stidham, G. W: 194
Stocks: 61, 76, 203, footnote
Stockton, G. B: 107, footnote, 186,
footnote
Strain, J. H: 285, 287
Sturm, J. J: 199, 201, footnote, 330,
331, 353, 357
Sumner, Charles: 45, footnote
Sur-cox-ie: 268, footnote
Surveyors: 53
TAHLEQUAH: 39, footnote, 93, 188,
footnote, 217, and footnote, 218,
footnote, 226, 234, 237, 293
Tallise Fixico: 194
Tatum, Mark T: 50, footnote, 104,
footnote, 296
Taylor, J. W: 193, footnote
Taylor, N. G: 30, footnote
Tennessee: Cherokees from, 20; John
J. Humphreys from, 185
Tenney, W. J : work cited, 90, footnote
Tents: furnished to refugees, 261
Territorial expansion: 28, 58
Territorial form of government: 30,
31, footnote, 33
Texas: indigenous tribes in, 19, foot-
note; Indians expelled from, 19,
footnote, 52, 340; Cherokees in, 20,
footnote ; annexed, 28 ; troops from,
53; Indian patronage, 59; Indian
participation in Civil War, 63 ; in-
terest in Indian Territory, 67; in-
terest in securing alliance of In-
dians, 83, 88, 90; interest in am-
nesty provisions of Indian treaties,
175-176; commissioners from, 183;
attitude of northern countries of,
200, footnote ; desires Reserve In-
dians placed under her jurisdiction,
297
Texas Historical Association Quarter-
ly: work cited, 20, footnote
Texas Superintendency: 56, footnote
Thomason, Hugh F: 202, 335
Thompson, Jacob: 45, footnote, 46, 54,
56, footnote
Tishomingo: county of, 68, footnote
Tonkawas: 52 and footnote, 189, foot-
note, 200, 201, footnote, 340, 353
Toombs, Robert: 129, 131, 134 and
footnote, 135, footnote, 152
Totten, James: 103, 104
Traders: 22, 27, 59-60, 169 et seq.,
193, footnote, 238-239, 319
Trammel, Dennis: 288, 289
Treat, S. B: 43, footnote
Treaties: 34, footnote, 37, footnote, 53,
78, 84, footnote, 102, 117, 122, foot-
note; made with Indians as with
foreign powers, 17 ; Ohio desires in-
formation as to Manypenny, 33,
footnote; relations to U.S. in, 70,
footnote; obligation to abide by, 71,
footnote; reduction of forts viola-
tion of guaranties in, 97, footnote;
resulting from council at Tahle-
quah, 237 et seq. ; with the Chero-
kees in part the result of intimida-
tion, 240, footnote; with the Neosho
Agency Indians, 241 ; money due
the Creeks under, 289 ; Pike reports
all ratified, 320; amendments to,
323; manuscript copies of, 329-330,
footnote; no Indian Department to
Index
393
be organized until ratification of,
331; terms of the, with the wild
Indians, 352; Leeper makes a, with
the Comanches, 354-355
TROOPS: Confederate -in Cherokee
country, 136, footnote; no Arkan-
sas, available, 253, footnote; Van
Dorn's erroneous surmise as to pro-
portion of white, in Pike's brigade,
280; Van Dorn's plans as to dis-
position of, 283 ; Leeper inquires
when, may be expected, 310; Pike's
confidence in white, 320; lack of, in
Leased District, 343, 349; non-ar-
rival of, 345. Indian - Confeder-
acy secure before negotiation of
treaties of alliance, 207 ; plans for
distribution of, 207; Cherokee, un-
der McCulloch, 226-227; Northern,
offer to furnish U. S. with, 227, foot-
notes', large and increasing number
in Indian Territory, 252; not pos-
sible to keep order, 346. United
States - few within Indian country,
52-53 ; Secretary Floyd disposed to
withdraw from Indian frontier, 53 ;
from Texas ordered to protect U. S.
surveyors, 53 ; number to be re-
tained in Indian country queried,
72, footnote; Carruth reports all
gone from Indian Territory, 86,
footnote; ordered to leave, 87 and
footnote; disposition, reported upon
by Texas commissioners, 95 ; under
Emory ordered to Indian Territory,
96 et seq.; flee from Indian Ter-
ritory, 101 ; dissatisfaction at report-
ed change in disposition in Arkan-
sas, 103, 105 ; to counteract influ-
ence of secessionists, 216 ; method
of warfare under Lane, 233; Dole
urges to re-occupy Indian Territory,
241 ; sudden withdrawal spreads
alarm in Leased District, 299
True Democrat: work cited, 47, foot-
note, 48, footnote, 106, footnote
Tuckabatche Micco: 51, footnote
Tuckabatchee Town: 193, footnote
Tulsey Town: 255
Turnbull, John P: 189, footnote
Turner, J. W: 260, 272, footnote
Tusaquach: 247
Tush-ca-hom-ma : district of, 179
Twiggs, D. E: 55, footnote, 87
UMATILLA: suggested territory of, 32,
footnote
Underground railroad: 42
Upper Arkansas Agency: 210, footnote
Upper Creeks: 50, 208, footnote, 191,
footnote, 192, 193, footnote, 236,
footnote, 244, 319
Usher, John P: 56, footnote, 228, foot-
note
VAN BUREN (Ark.) : 64, footnote
Van Dorn, Earl: 55, 138, footnote,
280, 283
Vann, Joseph: 217, 223
Verdigris River: 259, 272
WAH-PA-NUC-KA INSTITUTE: 40, foot-
note
Walker, David: 116, 298
Walker, Leroy P: 119, 127, 142, 147,
151, 161, 200, footnote, 207, 215,
footnote
Walker, William: head chief of the
Wyandots, 22, footnote
Walker, William: 105, footnote
Wall, David: 23, footnote
Walnut Creek: 259
War Department: C.S.A., 128, foot-
note, 139, footnote, 140, footnote,
193, footnote, 257, footnote; U.S.A.,
52, 80, 87, 96, 228, footnote, 234,
241, 250, 264-265, 275
Washburn, J. W: 84, footnote, 164,
footnote, 238, and footnote
Washita: Indians driven from coun-
try of, 19, footnote
Wattles, Augustus: 229, footnote
Waul, Thomas N: 127, 205
Weas: from Illinois, 19
Weber's Falls: 86, footnote
Welch, George W: 84, footnote
394 The Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist
West Florida: seizure of, 28
West Point: 215, footnote
Wheelock: Choctaw school, 39, foot-
note
White, Joseph: 209, footnote
White, S. W: letter of, 33, footnote
White Cloud: 227, footnote
Whitney, Henry C: 208 and footnote
Whittenhall, Daniel S: 350
Wichita Agency: site for, 54, 56, foot-
note, 136, footnote, attack upon, 329,
footnote
Wichita Mountains: 51, 55
Wichita Treaty: 157, footnote, 158,
163, 176
Wichitas: 52; colonization of, 55; sub-
sistence given to, 57, footnote', Leas-
ed District of, 63 ; colonized on land
claimed as their own, 166; Pike
hopes to meet, 189, footnote; Pike
fears hostility of, 200; refuse to be
cajoled or intimidated, 201
Wilson, Henry: work cited, 32, foot-
note
Wilson, William: 23, footnote
Wilson's Creek: battle of, 225
Winneconne: 219, footnote
Wisconsin: tribes from, 19
Wolcott, Edward: 273, footnote
Worcester, Reverend S. A: 23, foot-
note; opposed to slavery, 41
Wyandots: from Ohio and Michigan,
19 ; William Walker, head chief of,
22, footnote; initiate movement for
organization of Nebraska Territory,
34; interested in Kansas election
troubles, 34, footnote; Methodism,
38
YANCTON Sioux: Agent Burleigh sug-
gests that garrison Fort Randall,
227, footnote
Young, William C: 100
Yulee, David L: 238, footnote
DEC
JU
Form L
University of California Library
Los Angeles
low.
UCLA URU1LL
NON-RENEWABL
mC'O LD-URL
ODE 2 INKS rip WE RECEiVED
JUL0 71997
VRY-6
^ ^