CREEK INDIANS AT PLAY
A great deal of abuse has been poured, from time to time, on the
United States Government for its treatment of the North American
Indians. In point of fact, much of this abuse was quite undeserved,
for, as the well-known traveller, Captain Basil Hall, R.N., has shown,
constant endeavours were made by Congress to render the savages
self-supporting; large grants of money and land were given to those
who were dispossessed of their forest or prairie homes, and the
remainder were allowed and encouraged to preserve as many of their own
customs and laws as were not connected with blood-feud or revolt.
The redskins with whom Captain Hall came most in touch were the
Creeks, who--with the Choctaws, Chicasas, etc.--belong to the great
Muskhogean family, at one time the possessors of Kentucky, Tennessee,
Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. When the Captain first set foot in the
State of Georgia, in 1828, he knew little or nothing of the Indians,
save from books; and on entering upon the prairies near the Savannah
River, he was prepared for adventures thrilling and abundant. He and
his attendants were all well armed, for they had before them a lonely
ride that would occupy two days, to a small Government settlement on
the edge of a hilly forest, where they were to meet a United States
agent to whom the Captain had letters of introduction.
They rode all that day, however, without meeting a soul; and the
greater part of the next also. Then, as they crossed a stream which
formed a natural frontier between prairie and forest, smoke became
visible among the trees, and, shortly after, the travellers began to
catch glimpses, not of the wigwams which they had looked to see, but
of tarred log huts that were certainly not the work of unreclaimed
savages. But every man examined the loading of his firearms and
prepared to defend himself: a very needless precaution, as it turned
out. For, amid a confused barking of dogs and screaming of women, a
dozen or more redskins crept gloomily out from one or other of the
huts, and Captain Hall's heart sank in chill disappointment. Were
_these_ the noble savages whom, all his life, he had burned to see?
The "Black Eagles" and "Sparrowhawks" and "Pathfinders" of the
romance-writers?
The skinny, stooping, half-starved-looking group drew near. Not one
carried arms, not one appeared to have nerve enough to slay a spring
chicken; and the moment the white men reined up, all began a chorus of
whining appeals for tobacco, drink, or money, such as you may hear
from the gypsies along the Epsom Road. Hall hastily distributed some
small change and a handful of cigars and rode on again, having
scarcely the heart to look round on the dismal little village with
its scolding women, its disreputable fowls and dogs, and its little
company of loafing, unkempt men, the most energetic of whom could find
no more vigorous employment than the making of toy bows and arrows for
sale, or the listless sowing of seeds in ground that had never been
properly dug. And _these_ were the famous Creek Indians!
But compensation for the disappointment awaited him when, some hours
later, the forest path which he was following widened into a large
clearing where wigwams, as well as permanent huts, well-fed horses,
and camp fires announced at least a more virile and natural form of
life. A robust and well-dressed young white man came running out of
the first and largest of the huts and, greeting the Captain warmly,
introduced himself as the Government agent.
"Oh, pooh! They're not all so bad as that," he said when, seated over
a comfortable meal in the hut, Captain Hall dwelt on what he had seen
at the edge of the forest. "They're only the dregs and leavings. I'll
show you something different to that by and by. Poor beggars; I'm
afraid they've no one but themselves to thank for their condition."
"How do you make that out?" asked the Englishman.
"Well, when Congress claimed that bit of prairie land, these fellows
were given the patch where you saw them--and considerable money grants
as well. They went off to the towns and spent the money like children,
and when they hadn't got a red cent left, calculated to try farming. I
reckon you saw the sort of farming _they_ go in for, Captain. They're
too lazy to fell the trees, let alone grub out the roots or break up
the soil. We've given 'em corn for seed, but they only chaw it up and
then come back and ask for more. They had the option of coming out
here, but they ain't partial to forest hunting; they won't help
themselves, and they won't let us help them."
"But what's the good of their coming out here if you fellows are going
to turn them off when you think good?" asked the Captain.
The agent shrugged his shoulders. "Look here, sir, these chaps won't
be disturbed for another twenty years. The chiefs have had fair
warning, and if they don't turn to and help themselves before then,
it'll be their own look-out. Finer men you needn't wish to see--at
present."
Hall felt that the last remark was fully justified when, later in the
evening, his new friend conducted him to the middle of the clearing,
where the whole tribe had foregathered.
"Couldn't have come at a better time, Captain," said the Yankee.
"To-morrow's their Derby Day, University match, or whatever you like
to call it--the greatest day of the year. A team of up-forest Creeks
is now on the way to play against them at ball."
"Ball?"
"Ay, you'll see to-morrow. Come and be presented to the chiefs
now--and mind the dogs."
The caution was needful enough, for at the entry of every hut or
wigwam was a brace of half-wild Indian hounds, each fastened by a
thong to a stump, and ready to spring on the unwary.
"What's all the din about?" asked Hall, as they came to the village
square or _place_.
"Local band," said the American briefly, and just then they came upon
the gifted instrumentalists, two in number, though making noise enough
for two dozen. One "uneasy imp of darkness" was beating with his fist
a drum made of deer-skin stretched over a short length of hollow
tree-trunk; the other had a gourd, so dry that it resembled wood,
which contained a double handful of pebbles and which he shook as a
child shakes a rattle, only with more disastrous results to Christian
ears.
The "square" was formed by four long huts or pavilions, in one of
which sat an assembly of chiefs, cross-legged and smoking; and to
these the Captain was introduced with a good deal of ceremony. In the
middle of the quadrangle was an enormous fire of pitch-pine, and,
between it and the hut where Hall was now seated, were over twenty
young women, who sat--in accordance with local etiquette--with their
backs turned to the chiefs and visitors. These were the dancers, and
at a given signal they all rose, and went through some manoeuvres far
more tedious than interesting.
Perhaps the Englishman's face showed that he was bored, for the oldest
of the braves ordered the dancing to cease after a while, and
remarking to the agent that he had something in store that _would_
amuse the stranger, banged a copper vessel which did duty for a gong.
Immediately thirty fine young men sprang up from various quarters of
the court, and made a dash for a heap of sticks or clubs which lay
close to where the white men were sitting. Certainly these Indians
were a contrast to the poor wretches encountered at the edge of the
wood; every one of them looked as hard as iron and as agile as a puma.
Uttering fearful shrieks, and swinging their clubs round their heads,
they performed the wild sort of war-dance that Captain Hall had heard
of and had despaired of seeing, and followed it up with a series of
very ingenious and difficult somersaults, round and round the fire.
"That's only the first part of the preparation for to-morrow," said
the agent. "Come along, we must go to the town hall for the second."
They followed the chiefs to a very large circular hut beyond the far
side of the square, which was lighted and heated by another pitch-pine
fire; and they had no sooner sat down than the thirty athletes crowded
into the building and at once stripped off ornaments and clothes.
Supporting the roof were six stanchions, and to each of these one of
the Indians betook himself and stood embracing it. Then six of the
chiefs rose solemnly, and at once every voice was hushed. Each of
these had provided himself with a short stick, at the end of which was
a tiny rake--in some cases consisting of a row of garfish teeth, in
others of a dozen or more iron needle-points, with their blunt ends
stuck in a corn-cob. Every chief approached his man, and having
drenched him from head to foot with water, commenced an operation
calculated to set any civilised man's teeth and nerves on edge.
_Scroop-scroop_, sounded the rakes, like razors being drawn over very
bristly chins; and Captain Hall realised that these young men had
given themselves up to be scraped and scarified with the rows of
teeth. All stood quite passive while both thighs, both calves, and
both upper-arms were scored with cuts seven or eight inches in length,
the pleasantness of which proceeding may be gauged by the fact that,
in a few minutes, the victims were bathed in blood from heel to
shoulder.
"But what's it _for_?" whispered the Captain, fretted by the long
silence and the whole uncanny exhibition, as batch after batch of
athletes submitted themselves to the ordeal.
"They reckon it makes them more limber for to-morrow's performance,"
explained the agent. "They're the 'ball' team, you know."
Captain Hall had seen enough for one day, but early the next morning
he rode further into the forest with his guide, towards the playing
ground, some six miles away. This turned out to be another clearing--a
space two hundred yards by twenty, at either end of which were two
large green boughs stuck six feet apart in the earth, evidently meant
to act as some sort of goals.
Here was the ground, right enough, and batches of spectators were
continually adding themselves to those already in attendance. But
where were the players, and what were they going to play?
"They go to meet the other team," said the agent; "and they usually
take their time over getting here, for there'll be a score or two of
private fights, that have been carried over from last year, to settle
by the way."
When the white men had waited for more than two hours, they lost
patience and rode further into the forest in search of the rival
companies, guiding themselves more or less by the warlike howls that
proceeded from the distance. And presently they came upon the bulk of
the missing men, some walking in twos and threes, others stopping to
adjust private grievances with the strangers or their own people (they
did not seem particular), and a third contingent lying in the rank
grass, singing war-songs, sleeping, smoking, or bedizening themselves.
These latter, who had left the putting on of their bravery till the
eleventh hour, were painting their eyelids (one black and the other
yellow) and adorning their persons artistically with feathers and the
tails of monkeys or wild cats. Clearly it would be idle to suggest
their hurrying themselves; and the Captain and his conductor rode back
to the field very much at their leisure.
Shortly after midday, however, both teams arrived, and having
inspected the ground for a bare minute, made a sudden stampede, each
side for its own goal.
"There's one thing, they don't waste any time about beginning, when
they _do_ get here," said Hall relievedly, at which remark the agent
only grinned.
In another moment an appalling chorus of yells arose from the
neighbourhood of either goal, and both teams began to dance like
madmen, waving over their heads the sticks with which they were going
to play.
And now--imagine the Oxford and Cambridge crews, as a preliminary
to the race, gathering one on either bank and bawling derisively at
each other, cursing like bargemen and screaming themselves hoarse in
a struggle as to which side could make the more noise and utter the
grosser invective or the more offensive personalities. This is
what these unsophisticated savages were doing, and continued to do
for a good twenty minutes, the one lot recalling to the other's
memory former defeats or instances of foul play, the other replying
with both wholesale and individual charges of lying, theft, etc. Then,
when the abuse began to grow monotonous, it dropped suddenly; and, at
a sign from one of the chiefs, both parties advanced to the centre
and laid down their sticks. These were bits of well-seasoned wood,
two feet long and split at one end, the fork thus made being laced
across with sinew or skin, so forming a small and very rough sort
of tennis-racquet.
A deputation of braves advanced, examined the sticks severally, and
carefully counted the men (thirty on each side), and, this being done
to universal satisfaction, a chief harangued the teams for a quarter
of an hour, bidding them "play the game." Having finished his speech,
he told them to pick up their sticks--each player had two--and go to
their places; whereupon they distributed themselves much as we should
do at football or hockey, each goal, however, being guarded by _two_
men. When all were ready the committee of elders passed the ball from
hand to hand, each inspecting it gravely to see that it satisfied the
regulations. It was a soft, rough edition of an ordinary cricket-ball,
being made of raw hide, neatly stitched, and stuffed with horse-hair.
By this time Hall had begun to understand why his companion had
smiled so subtly at his anticipation of a speedy commencement. They
had tethered their horses some distance away, and had secured for
themselves a point of vantage near the scorers. At last the old chief
threw the ball in the air and beat a hasty retreat. As it fell it was
caught deftly by one of the home team between his two bats, and,
regardless of tripping, kicking, punching, and snatching on the part
of the other side, he began bravely to force a way towards the
opposite goal, backed up sturdily by his fellows, who were waiting for
him to throw the ball to them as soon as he saw himself brought to a
final stop by his adversaries. And thus the match proceeded, being--as
may be seen--not at all unlike our Rugby game; and whenever a goal was
scored by either team, the delirious shouting of the spectators might
have added to the impression of a modern onlooker that he was
witnessing a Crystal Palace cup tie.
But there were two respects in which their rules would have profited
by a little overhauling. We consider an hour and a half ample time for
a match to last; but, though Captain Hall watched the Indians' game
for five hours, it was not quite finished when he left. Twenty "was
the game," and any footballer knows that that number of goals is not
to be scored all in a hurry, when both teams are equally active,
powerful, and skilled men. The scoring, by the way--or the counting of
the goals--was done by the two mathematicians of the tribe, each of
whom was supplied with ten sticks, and stuck one of them in the ground
every time a goal was gained by his side. The dear old gentlemen could
not count above ten, so, when the eleventh goal had to be marked, the
sticks were pulled up and the reckoning was begun a second time.
[Illustration: A GAME AT BALL
This game is a mixture of tennis, lacrosse, and Rugby football. The rules
are few and simple, the object being to gain possession of the ball by
any means and hurl it between the goalposts of the opponents. The safety
or comfort of the onlookers is of no consequence whatever.]
The other direction in which the Indian laws cried loudly for
amendment concerned the spectators even more closely than the players.
There was no "touch" line, nor was the ball, no matter where it went,
ever regarded as _in_ "touch." With a pitch only twenty yards wide, it
will easily be seen that the ball was, from time to time, knocked or
thrown among the onlookers; but that was their own affair, argued the
players, who rushed pell-mell among them, screaming and struggling,
hitting or kicking, or trampling right and left.
Indeed, it was one of these wild rushes that was the means of bringing
Captain Hall's interest in the contest to an abrupt end. The ball had
come within a yard or two of him, plump between the two scorers, each
of whom wisely made an instantaneous dash into the open and so avoided
the onrush of the players. If Hall had had two more seconds at his
disposal he would have seized the ball and flung it into play again;
but the sportsmen were too near.
"Tree, tree," shouted the agent behind him; and waiting for no second
reminder, the active sailor sprang at the bough above him and hoisted
himself into safety just as the crowd swarmed over and half killed a
boy who was trying to follow him into the tree.
When the ball was safely on the other side of the ground he climbed
down.
"I'm going," he said resolutely.
They reached their horses and were riding slowly back towards the
village when shouts resounded behind them, eclipsing the loudest and
noisiest of any they had heard that day.
"The end of the game," said Hall. "Our side were nineteen when we came
away."
"Ay, the end of the game," assented the young American; "and the
beginning of the fighting. The losers are getting ready to whop the
winners. Are you keen on going back again?"