Leased District forthwith, 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,
_Choctaw, 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 character for honesty seems to have been impeccable.
[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_, C445].
[93] George E. Baker, _Works of W. H. Seward_ (edition of 1884), vol. iv,
363; Bancroft's _Seward_, vol. ii, 460-470.
[94] _Congressional Globe_, 33rd congress, first session, Appendix, p.
155.
[95] Dean to Manypenny, October 24, 1855 [Dean's _Letter Book_].
[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 5-1/2 63,000.00
Missouri 6 484,000.00
North Carolina 6 562,000.00
Ohio 6 150,000.00
Pennsylvania* 5 96,000.00
South Carolina 6 125,000.00
Tennessee 5 218,000.00
Tennessee 6 143,000.00
United States 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 McCulloch, June 12, 1861 [_Official
Records_, first ser., vol. xiii, 497].
[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
situation nor their political organization permitted it.
[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.
[101] Van Buren had a short time previously been the headquarters of the
Southern Superintendency.
[102] We find that this intimate intercourse extended even to things
scholastic; for, though there were plenty of female seminaries, so-called,
within Indian Territory, Indian girls regularly attended similar
institutions in Fayetteville [Bishop, A. W., _Loyalty on the Frontier_,
143].
[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 organized in November of 1860.
[104] The following documents include the act of the Chickasaw Legislature
and related correspondence:
Be it enacted by 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 Chickasaw
Nation, to meet a like set of Commissioners appointed respectively 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 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 Nations
by a compact concluded & entered into on the 14th 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
proceedings of said Convention to the next session of the Chickasaw
Legislature for its approval or disapproval....
Passed the House Repts as amended Jany 5th 1861.
Passed Senate Jan. 5, 1861. Approved Jan. 5, 1861.
Indian Office General Files--_Cherokee 1859-1865_, C515.
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,
principal chief of the Cherokees, dated Tishomingo, C. N. January 5th,
1861 [_ibid._].
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 General
Convention of the Chickasaws, Choctaws, Cherokees, and Creeks. We
therefore appoint the 17th 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
opportunity 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 family
misunderstanding among themselves. And it behooves us to be careful,
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, to
bring about a peaceable and satisfactory adjustment of their
differences. And I do not think we have the right to anticipate any
contingency 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
appointed by the Creek Chiefs at your request, on the 17th inst. at
the Gen{l} 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
proceedings 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 11, 1861 [_ibid._].
[105] See preceding note.
[106] The Creek Agency was probably chosen because of its convenient
situation. It was at the junction of the North Fork and the Canadian and,
consequently, 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.
[109]
... 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 misrepresentation. Our
duty is very plain. We have only to adhere firmly to our respective
Treaties. By them we have placed ourselves under the protection of the
United States, and of no other sovereign whatever. We are bound to
hold no treaty with any foreign Power, or with any individual 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 responsibilities 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 &
discretion I will add no more.--CHIEF ROSS'S instructions to the
Cherokee Delegation, February 12, 1861 [Indian Office General File;
_Cherokee 1859-1865_, C515].
[110] The Indian Office files are full of testimony proving John Ross's
wisdom, 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.
[111] _Official Records_, first ser., vol. i, 682.
[112] The evidence of this is to be found in an official letter from
Commissioner 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 17th.
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,"
having 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 principal 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
determination to maintain a neutral position in the anticipated
difficulties throughout our Country, I would recommend that a depot
for arms be established 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.
[113] General Files, _Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862_, L632.
[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_,
governor 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
proceed 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 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 Seminary,
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
excuse for removing, the buildings here are ample for a large family,
watter good....--General Files, _Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862_,
C1229.
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 Book_, no. 66, which covers the period from June, 1861 to October,
1861, contains scarcely a letter to prove that the Indian Office was in
communication with Indian Territory. Official connection with the country
had been completely 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 _Elias
Rector_, Esq. ... You will repair to Fort Smith, Arkansas, as early as
practicable, for the purpose of relieving _Elias Rector_, Esq.
In your progress from Indiana to Fort Smith, should you deem it
expedient and advisable to pass down the Kansas line and among the
Indians 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 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 discretion may dictate. I
trust however that this discretionary authority may prove unnecessary
and that in the legitimate discharge of your duties, you may suffer no
interruption from any cause or source whatever. In a report from this
Office of the 30th Ultimo, with reference to anticipated Indian
troubles in your Superintendency consequent upon the removal 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
purpose of proper protection; and further calling his attention to the
expression 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
Indians there may be placed in possession of the means to defend
themselves against any attack. As yet no response to this report has
been received....--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,
_Letter Book_, no. 65, p. 104].
[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 letter from R. W. Johnson to L. P. Walker, published in
_Official Records_, first ser., vol. iii, 598.
[122] The 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 11, 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
connected 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
subject, and whenever I rec'd a mail he would bring an Interpreter &
remain 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
strengthened 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
Commissioners 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 Confederacy.