Chapter C: A. HARRIS Esqr, Com{r} of Ind Affairs, (1)

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 McIntosh 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 & Rolly McIntosh, the latter has sworn to kill
A-po-the-ho-lo who was concerned in taking the life of his Father.
Rolly McIntosh 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ground mainly that they may probably be superseded, or their authority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 however report to you, fully, after I shall have
informed myself, of the state of feeling &c, and will endeavor with
Gen{l} Arbuckle, to bring about a reconciliation. Respectfully Your
Obt Servt

WM ARMSTRONG Act Supt West{n} Ter{y}

_War Department Files_, A37.

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_, I1537].

[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]

We the 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 respectfully ask
to make the following statement concerning the alliance between 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:

1st. The Alliance entered into by the Creek Nation with the
Confederate Government was entered into voluntarily, and without the
interference 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 posterity.

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
collected 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
circumstances over which we could not possibly exercise control seemed
to _demand_ an adoption of the course taken. The protection always
borne with the idea of allegiance, was taken from our Nation by the
withdrawal 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._

[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
uncontradicted 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 perpetuate the amicable relations subsisting between
itself and those people.--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.

[365] _Official Records_, first ser., vol. iii, 593.

[366] 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
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.

[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 understand 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 lead us to suspect [_Official Records_, first ser., vol. iii, 590]. We have, however, 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_, S291].

[373] 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 ser., 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 11, 1861 gives full particulars of this whole affair.

[375] See supplementary Article [_Official Records_, fourth ser., vol. i, 525].

[376] See communications from Bowlegs [So-nuk-mek-ko] to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, March 2, 1863 and May 13, 1863 [General Files, _Seminole, 1858-1869_, B131, B317]. 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 Documents_, 41st congress, second session, vol. iii, part 3, p. 521].

[378] See letter of E. H. Carruth.

[379] William 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_.

[381] 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
provision 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 received from the federal government, and before entering
upon your duties as such it will be your duty to take an oath before a
proper officer of a State of the Confederate States, to support the
Constitution of and accept a Commission from the Confederate States of
America....--_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."

[383] These two treaties are interesting in various particulars. They contained 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 necessary 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 signatures and of their schedules. The signatures included that of Rector, of the Creek chiefs, Motey Kennard and Chilly McIntosh, 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
colors, 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 powder, lead, flints and percussion caps, tobacco.

Two of a kind would have satisfied most of the requirements of these 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 illustration 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] The Tonkawas seem to have been the ones who were the most completely persuaded of all to adhere to the South and they continued unwaveringly loyal thereafter to its failing fortunes [S. S. Scott to Governor Winchester 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 unsigned receipt for money received from Pike, July 19, 1862, to carry out the terms of Articles XVI and XVII 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."

[385] _Journal_, vol. i, 565.

[386] Message of Dec. 12, 1861 [Richardson, _op. cit._, vol. i, 149-151; _Official Register_, fourth ser., vol. i, 785-786].

[387] This report I have been unable to find.

[388]

The pecuniary obligations of these treaties are of great importance.
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
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
invested 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 invested 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 assumption cannot be onerous, as the
amount due by States of the Confederacy on account of investments in
the funds of Northern Indians considerably 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 commissioner,
which contains a history of his negotiations and submits his reasons
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 ser., vol.
iii, 581.] In view of the circumstances by which we are surrounded,
the great importance 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 existing, I recommend the assumption of the stipulated
pecuniary obligations, and, with the modifications herein suggested,
that the treaties submitted be ratified.--_Official Records_, fourth
ser., vol. i, 786.

[389] _Official Record_, fourth ser., vol. i, 785-786.

[390] _Journal_, vol. i, 564, 565.

[391] --_Ibid._, 590-596.

[392] --_Ibid._, 590-591.

[393] _Statutes at Large_, 330.

[394] _Journal_, vol. i, 591-592.

[395] _Statutes at Large_, 331.

[396] _Journal_, vol. i, 597.

[397] --_Ibid._, 593.

[398] _Statutes at Large_, 367.

[399] _Journal_, 601.

[400] --_Ibid._, 598.

[401] _Statutes at Large_, 331.

[402] _Statutes at Large_, 331.

[403] _Journal_, vol. i, 610.

[404] --_Ibid._

[405] --_Ibid._, 632-633.

[406] --_Ibid._, 634.

[407] --_Ibid._, 635.

[408] _Official Records_, first ser., 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 ser., vol. iii, 578-579.

[411] --_Ibid._, vol. i, 618.

[412] Letter to Johnson, May 11, 1861, _ibid._, vol. iii, 572.

[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
Missouri especially along the line of the H. & St. Jo. RR., I have
refrained from writing to you.... Although the _Delawares_ were not
especially refered to in my instructions yet I visited the Mission &
Agent as it was quite convenient ... and ascertained to my complete
satisfaction ... 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
provisions: 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
Leavenworth....

Whitney speaks harshly of the Osages as lazy vagabonds and continues,

... 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 borderers 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
borderers....--Land Files, _Central Superintendency, 1852-1869_, W223.

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
northern 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
Indians, but I doubt whether it will be held.--General Files, _Central
Superintendency, 1860-1862_, S404.

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 preferring 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_, D250, and same to same, March 1, 1861, _ibid._, D251]; 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, _Shawnee, 1860-1865_]; and then, even farther north, from among the Otoes, came additional complaints; 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. 388-386], 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, _Pottawatomie, 1855-1861_, B704], Branch reported bad news that he had received from Agent Ross regarding 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 27, 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_, O40, B772], 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._, B361]. They, however, importunately demanded a treaty from the United States government in return for their loyalty. They were poor, they said, and had lost their hunting-grounds. Boone made good use of them as scouts and spies against the Texans [Letter of December 14, 1861, _ibid._, B1006]. They were of the Comanches 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 Alexander Culbertson and married to the daughter of the Blackfeet chief, as a secret agent to counteract their influence [General Files, _Central Superintendency, 1860-1862_].

[418] Letter to Walker, July 18, 1861 [_Official Records_, first ser., vol. iii, 611].

[419] 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 together 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 5,000
Choctaws 18,000
Cherokees 21,000
Creeks 13,550
Seminoles (of which 1,247 were males) 2,267

[Dole's answer, August 10, 1861].

In April, the report from the Indian Office had been:

Choctaws 18,000
Chickasaws 5,000
-------
Total 23,000

Creeks 13,550
Cherokees 17,530
Seminoles 2,267
Neosho Agency 4,863
Leased District 2,500
-------
Total 63,710

[Indian Office, _Report Book_, no. 12].

[421] 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 Choctaw 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
am satisfied that a worse appointment could not be made.--_Official
Records_, first ser., vol. iii, 597.

This was before the treaty had been negotiated and, after it had been negotiated, 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,
popular 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
interest did not require I should insist upon a contrary provision, by
which I might have jeoparded the treaty, I yielded, and the
consequence is that by the treaty, as signed and ratified by the Creek
council, 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,
requesting 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 severe 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. Reassure 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
mounted troops in the service, and not be moved beyond the limits of
the Indian country west of Arkansas without their consent.

[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 XLII 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 ser., vol. iii, 54]. Connelley says, in 1861, Quantrill, returning from Texas, lingered in the Cherokee 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 McCulloch to
Missouri.--_Quantrill and the Border Wars_, 198.

A letter, written by McCulloch to Colonel John Drew, September 1, 1861, 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 "pfaelzisch-badischen Revolutionaere" 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 Halleck" in _Deutsch-Amerikanische Geschichtsblaetter_, 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].

[431] "Meetings and Proceedings of the Executive Council of the Cherokee Nation, July 2, 1861" [General Files, _Cherokee, 1859-1865_, C515].

[432] See "Meetings and Proceedings of the Cherokee Executive Council, August 1, 1861" [General Files, _Cherokee, 1859-1865_, C515].

[433] Pike to Ross, August 1, 1861 [_ibid._].

[434]

A general meeting of the Cherokee people was held at Tahlequah on
Wednesday, the 21st day of August, 1861. It was called by the
executive of the Cherokee Nation for the purpose of giving the
Cherokee people an opportunity to express their opinions in relation
to subjects of deep interest to themselves as individuals and as a
nation. The number 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, 1861_, transmitted to General
McCulloch by the Executive Council, August 24, 1861 [_Official
Records_, first ser., vol. iii, 673].

[435] Evan Jones of the Baptist Mission, Cherokee Nation, to Dole, dated Lawrence, Kansas, November 2, 1861 [General Files, _Cherokee, 1859-1865_, J503].

[436] W. S. Robertson, who for twelve years had been "teaching in the Tullahassee 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_, R1615].

Robertson says, that

Having witnessed the whole struggle between the Loyal & War parties,
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 within
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
Tahlequah, I left the Cherokee country with my family, and after
encountering many dangers, succeeded in reaching Rolla, on the 23{rd}
Sept. without giving any pledge to the enemy.

Having written to the Sec. of the Interior (from St. Louis, Oct.
1{st}) stating my long residence among the Creeks and Cherokees, my
means of information, and my desire to give any information that would
benefit 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)
together with Chief Ross' speech at the Cherokee Convention at
Tahlequah, on the 21{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.
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_, R1664].

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
Administration 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 21{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
Winneconne, Wisconsin, December 12, 1861 [General Files, _Southern
Superintendency, 1859-1862_, R1658].

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
without such excuse.

The passage above quoted [meaning one from Coffin's report of
September 24, 1863--"They resisted the insidious influences which were
brought to bear upon them by Rector, Pike, Cooper, Crawford and other
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_, B60.

[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 spirited that it prevented the completion of the design."--Howard, _My life and experiences among our hostile Indians_, 100.

[438] For the entire address of John Ross, see _Official Record_, first ser., vol. iii, 673-675.

[439] _Official Record_, first ser., vol. iii, 675-676. A slightly incorrect copy of these same resolutions is to be found in vol. xiii, 499-500.

[440] John Ross and others to McCulloch, August 24, 1861 [_Official Records_, first ser., vol. iii, 673].

[441] Commissioner of Indian Affairs, _Report_, 1865. The Report of the Commissioner 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....

[442] McCulloch to Ross, September 1, 1861 [_Official Records_, first ser., vol. iii, 690].

[443] --_Ibid._; McCulloch to John Drew, September 1, 1861 [_ibid._, 691].

[444] In the course of the war, both inside and outside of Kansas, many instances 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 government, however, refused to accept the Pawnees for anything but scouts and, 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 individuals 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 particularly 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 composed 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, _Miscellaneous Files_, 1858-1863.

[445]

The bearer has a train of goods at this point en route for the Indians
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 reports have
come to us that our frontier settlements are in danger of attack 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
themselves 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
number 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 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
border. 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
Superintendency, 1860-1862_, B479. 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 16, 1861, enclosing communications from Senator Lane, Captain Price, and others, "relative to organizing the Indians for the defense of the Government" [General Files, _Kansas, 1855-1862_, B774].

Headquarters K.B. Ft. Lincoln, Aug. 22{d} 1861.

To Indian Agents Sac and Foxes--Shawnees--Delawares--Kickapoos--
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 appointed
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
assembling 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
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. Postal 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
Leading 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._

[447] On August 26, 1861, Wattles wrote Farnsworth from Lawrence,

I wrote you a few days ago concerning the employment of the Indians in
the defence of our frontier.

The necessity seemed imperative. But on hearing that the Commissioner
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--I 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 requesting 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 Congress.

[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. 11].

[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
Department. _Mr. Johnson_ the Agent called the tribe together before I
arrived 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 for Special Service and wished the Chiefs to make no objection.
I could not however get their consent even to acquiesce in their men
Volunteering 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] --_Ibid._

[452]

I am instructed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 13th
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. HOWARD,
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_].

[454] Dole to Captain Fall Leaf, November 22, 1863 [Indian Office, _Letter Book_, no. 72, p. 109].

[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]