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 apparently soon
vanished. On the twentieth of April, he wrote[331] 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, moreover, 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[336] 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 Crawford, 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 Quesenbury his clerk in the field.[337] Crawford had been very
prominent[338] in the Arkansas legislature the preceding 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
confusion.[341] John J. Humphreys[342] of Tennessee had meanwhile been
offered the Wichita Agency[343] 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 conclusively that Douglas H. Cooper had been
most instrumental in organizing the secession movement among the Indians
of at least his own agency. It was even reported[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 successor had been appointed
considerably before the end of that time, however, and, when the war was
over, the Indians themselves exonerated him from all responsibility in the
matter of their own defection.[347] Notwithstanding, he most certainly did
manifest unusual activity in behalf of the slaveholding power. Even his
motives for manifesting activity are, in a sense, impugned as instanced by
the following most extraordinary letter, which, written by Cooper to
Rector privately and in confidence and later transmitted to Washington 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 gratifying to know that such letters are very rare in
connection with the history of the American Civil War.
_Private & Confidential_
[_Copy_]
FORT SMITH May 1st 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.
When Captain Pike[349] reached the North Fork Village, very probably
still attended by the escort that the Military Board of Arkansas had
graciously--or perhaps officially since Pike, according to his own
confession, 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,[353] principal
chief of the Lower Creeks, and Echo Harjo, principal chief of the Upper
Creeks, both of whom had been absent[354] in Washington at the time the
inter-tribal 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 susceptible
to the plausible secessionist arguments of men like Agent Garrett.
Sometime in May, therefore, a delegation was sent to Montgomery[356] to
confer with authorities 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[357] 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 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
McIntosh, Samuel Checote and many 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 absence, 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 reconstruction 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
leader of the so-called "Loyal Creeks" and the foremost of the "Refugees."
If the Creeks were disturbed about their national finances, the
Choctaws[363] were even more so. There were many suspicious circumstances
connected with a certain corn contract and with the expenditure generally
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 Indians and the
discomfiture of the speculators. Wherever suspicion rested, Pike attempted
elaborate explanations and, wherever affairs could be turned to the
account of the Confederacy, he labored with redoubled zeal. His task was
an easy one comparatively-speaking, 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, announcing independence and calling for
troops, under compulsion and, in July, he may still have been secretly in
favor of neutrality. The joint treaty for the Choctaws 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[366] of the secessionists, 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. Perchance, 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, Choctaws, 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
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,[374] 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 immediately
provided for.[375] The head chief, Billy Bowlegs,[376] and other chiefs of
present and future importance, like John Chup-co,[377] refused[378] 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,[379] Contractor Charles
B. Johnson, and a host of minor enthusiasts, like J. J. Sturm and H. P.
Jones, all of whom had formerly 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, notwithstanding the fact that their agent
had openly thrown in his fortunes with the South[381] and was using 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, friendly Creeks and Seminoles, and with them
left the Seminole Council House. The Leased District once reached, some of
the hardest work of the whole negotiation began and two treaties[383] were
ultimately concluded, one 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 Wichitas 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
designated, "Treaty with Comanches and Other Tribes and Bands." The second
treaty, made with Indians belonging 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 military 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 resolution:
_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 consequence 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
Provisional Congress at its winter session.
President Davis's message of December 12, 1861, transmitting the Pike
treaties to the Provisional Congress, summarized their merits and their
defects and gave direction to the consideration and discussion that ended
in their ratification. It called particular attention to the pecuniary
obligations[388] assumed and to the 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 attention is
invited. That their advancement in civilization justified an
enlargement of their power in that regard will scarcely admit 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 compact of the Confederacy, and in
the meantime allowing each of these tribes to have a delegate in
Congress. These provisions 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, believing 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 documents accompanying it were referred to the Committee
on Indian Affairs. This was on the thirteenth of December and Johnson was
the chairman of the committee. On the nineteenth, the treaties began to be
considered[391] in executive session. The first to be so considered 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
Confederate Congress. This provision was finally amended[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
consideration 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
admitted and whose consent it is not in the power of the President or
the present Congress to guarantee in advance....[395]
In the afternoon of December twenty-first, the Provisional 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 witnesses and to have counsel, seemed likely to
create prejudice.[399] At length Waul of Texas suggested[400] 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 forthcoming. 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 illustration 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 article, in
respect to suits and proceedings in their several courts.[401]
From the latter, the phrase, "or of a State," was stricken 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
followed, even to the assumption of the pecuniary obligations. On the
twenty-third of December, Johnson reported[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
amendments the same day. The Quapaw Treaty came[407] next and with its
congressional ratification, the work of diplomatically securing the
Indians was practically done. The later Indian ratification was more or
less perfunctory.
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, antedated 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 service of the Confederate States, it is indisputable
that, immediately upon receiving Secretary Walker's communication[408] of
May thirteenth, he began to do it in real earnest and, from that time
forward, gained his recruits 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 Jefferson Davis from Marysville,
Kansas, on the twentieth of May, mapped out a tremendous programme of
activities 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 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
Confederate 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.
Whitney, 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 congressional 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]
The efforts of Cooper, coupled with those of Pike and McCulloch, in this
matter of the enlistment of Indian troops, were soon rewarded. Chief
Hudson's proclamation of June fourteenth, besides being a declaration 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 Indians 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-Chickasaw regiment, which was then well under
way towards 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 warriors[420] if needed. The Choctaws and Chickasaws
are extremely anxious to form another regiment.
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 progress with his treaties
and undoubtedly simplifying Cooper's task by embodying in those treaties
the principles 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.[422]